bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Sample Preparation Methods for Shotgun Proteomic Studies in Aquaculture Species
Authors: Araújo Mário Jorge , Sousa Maria Lígia , Felpeto Aldo Barreiro , Turkina Maria V. , Fonseca Elza , Martins José Carlos , Vasconcelos Vítor , Campos Alexandre
Published: November 2021

Proteomics has been recently introduced in aquaculture research, and more methodological studies are needed to improve the quality of proteomics studies. Therefore, this work aims to compare three sample preparation methods for shotgun LC–MS/MS proteomics using tissues of two aquaculture species: liver of turbot Scophthalmus maximus and hepatopancreas of Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. We compared the three most common sample preparation workflows for shotgun analysis: filter-aided sample preparation (FASP), suspension-trapping (S-Trap), and solid-phase-enhanced sample preparations (SP3). FASP showed the highest number of protein identifications for turbot samples, and S-Trap outperformed other methods for mussel samples. Subsequent functional analysis revealed a large number of Gene Ontology (GO) terms in turbot liver proteins (nearly 300 GO terms), while fewer GOs were found in mussel proteins (nearly 150 GO terms for FASP and S-Trap and 107 for SP3). This result may reflect the poor annotation of the genomic information in this specific group of animals. FASP was confirmed as the most consistent method for shotgun proteomic studies; however, the use of the other two methods might be important in specific experimental conditions (e.g., when samples have a very low amount of protein).
Unified Parameterization and Calibration of Serial, Parallel, and Hybrid Manipulators
Authors: Moser Benjamin L. , Gordon Joshua A. , Petruska Andrew J.
Published: November 2021

In this work, we present methods allowing parallel, hybrid, and serial manipulators to be analyzed, calibrated, and controlled with the same analytical tools. We introduce a general approach to describe any robotic manipulator using established serial-link representations. We use this framework to generate analytical kinematic and calibration Jacobians for general manipulator constructions using null space constraints and extend the methods to hybrid manipulator types with complex geometry. We leverage the analytical Jacobians to develop detailed expressions for post-calibration pose uncertainties that are applied to describe the relationship between data set size and post-calibration uncertainty. We demonstrate the calibration of a hybrid manipulator assembled from high precision calibrated industrial components resulting in 91.1 μm RMS position error and 71.2 μrad RMS rotation error, representing a 46.7% reduction compared to the baseline calibration of assembly offsets.
Validation of Multi-Year Galileo Orbits Using Satellite Laser Ranging
Authors: Tao Enzhe , Guo Nannan , Xu Kexin , Wang Bin , Zhou Xuhua
Published: November 2021

Satellite laser ranging (SLR) observations provide an independent validation of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) orbits derived using microwave measurements. SLR residuals have also proven to be an important indicator of orbit radial accuracy. In this study, SLR validation is conducted for the precise orbits of eight Galileo satellites covering four to eight years (the current longest span), provided by multiple analysis centers (ACs) participating in the multi-GNSS experiment (MGEX). The purpose of this long-term analysis (the longest such study to date), is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of orbit product quality, its influencing factors, and the effect of perturbation model updates on precise orbit determination (POD) processing. A conventional ECOM solar radiation pressure (SRP) model was used for POD. The results showed distinct periodic variations with angular arguments in the SRP model, implying certain defects in the ECOM system. Updated SRP descriptions, such as ECOM2 or the Box-Wing model, led to significant improvements in SLR residuals for orbital products from multiple ACs. The standard deviation of these residuals decreased from 8–10 cm, before the SRP update, to about 3 cm afterward. The systematic bias of the residuals was also reduced by 2–4 cm and the apparent variability decreased significantly. In addition, the effects of gradual SRP model updates in the POD were evident in orbit comparisons. Orbital differences between ACs in the radial direction were reduced from the initial 10 cm to better than 3 cm, which is consistent with the results of SLR residual analysis. These results suggest SLR validation to be a powerful technique for evaluating the quality of POD strategies in GNSS orbits. Furthermore, this study has demonstrated that perturbation models, such as SRP, provide a better orbit modeling for the Galileo satellites.
Carbene Ligand-Doped Fe2O3 Composite for Rapid Removal of Multiple Dyes under Sunlight
Authors: Yang Siwei , Zhuang Yichao , Shen Yuanfang , Han Weihang , Chen Liangchen , Sun Qiang , Wu Di , Zheng Hui
Published: November 2021

Contaminated water due to industrial organic dyes presents a significant challenge to sustainability. As a material of green energy, photocatalysts offer an effective and environmentally friendly way to deal with organic dyes for water treatment. A series of simple and highly efficient iron photocatalysts with carbene ligands were developed, which, under the illumination of sunlight, can rapidly degrade multiple organic dyes in water at room temperature, including rhodamine B (RhB), indigo carmine (IC), methyl blue (MB), and congo red (CR). The field-only surface integral method was carried out to determine the absorption spectrum of photocatalyst particles. Under the optimized experimental conditions which were selected by the orthogonal experiments for four dyes, 0.5a@Fe2O3 and 2c@Fe2O3 demonstrated good stability and photocatalytic activity. These two composite materials not only have the ability to remove 98.0% of the degradation in 10 s, but also maintain high reactivity after a few cycles of repeated use.
The Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) as a Simple Qualitative Method to Detect Changes in Environment—Example Detecting Trends of the Total Monthly Precipitation in Semiarid Area
Authors: Achite Mohammed , Ceribasi Gokmen , Ceyhunlu Ahmet Iyad , Wałęga Andrzej , Caloiero Tommaso
Published: November 2021

Precipitation is a crucial component of the water cycle, and its unpredictability may dramatically influence agriculture, ecosystems, and water resource management. On the other hand, climate variability has caused water scarcity in many countries in recent years. Therefore, it is extremely important to analyze future changes of precipitation data in countries facing climate change. In this study, the Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) method was applied for precipitation trend detection at seven stations located in the Wadi Sly basin, in Algeria, during a 50-year period (1968–2018). In particular, the IPTA method was applied separately for both arithmetic mean and standard deviation. Additionally, results from the IPTA method were compared to the results of trend analysis based on the Mann–Kendall test and the Sen’s slope estimator. For the different stations, the first results showed that there is no regular polygon in the IPTA graphics, thus indicating that precipitation data varies by years. As an example, IPTA result plots of both the arithmetic mean and standard deviation data for the Saadia station consist of many polygons. This result means that the monthly total precipitation data is not constant and the data is unstable. In any case, the application of the IPTA method showed different trend behaviors, with a precipitation increase in some stations and decrease in others. This increasing and decreasing variability emerges from climate change. IPTA results point to a greater focus on flood risk management in severe seasons and drought risk management in transitional seasons across the Wadi Sly basin. When comparing the results of trend analysis from the IPTA method and the rest of the analyzed tests, good agreement was shown between all methods. This shows that the IPTA method can be used for preliminary analysis trends of monthly precipitation.
Machine Learning Simulation of Land Cover Impact on Surface Urban Heat Island Surrounding Park Areas
Authors: McCarty Dakota , Lee Jaekyung , Kim Hyun Woo
Published: November 2021

The urban heat island effect has been studied extensively by many researchers around the world with the process of urbanization coming about as one of the major culprits of the increasing urban land surface temperatures. Over the past 20 years, the city of Dallas, Texas, has consistently been one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and has faced rapid urbanization and great amounts of urban sprawl, leading to an increase in built-up surface area. In this study, we utilize Landsat 8 satellite images, Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, land use/land cover (LULC) data, and a state-of-the-art methodology combining machine learning algorithms (eXtreme Gradient Boosted models, or XGBoost) and a modern game theoretic-based approach (Shapley Additive exPlanation, or SHAP values) to investigate how different land use/land cover classifications impact the land surface temperature and park cooling effects in the city of Dallas. We conclude that green spaces, residential, and commercial/office spaces have the largest impacts on Land Surface Temperatures (LST) as well as the Park’s Cooling Intensity (PCI). Additionally, we have found that the extent and direction of influence of these categories depends heavily on the surrounding area. By using SHAP values we can describe these interactions in greater detail than previous studies. These results will provide an important reference for future urban and park placement planning to minimize the urban heat island effect, especially in sprawling cities.
Contract Farming towards Social Business: A New Paradigm
Authors: Abbasi Iffat Abbas , Ashari Hasbullah , Jan Amin , Ariffin Ahmad Shabudin
Published: November 2021

The current paper conceptualises an innovative, sustainable social business contract farming model by blending three essential business aspects, namely, relational norms, social capital, and social business dimensions. In the case of contract farming, evidence shows that the social aspect and social business-based contract farming model are over-sighted. This study offers an efficient social business contract farming model by, first, reviewing the conventional contract farming model and, secondly, by developing and proposing a robust, multidimensional model for contract farming. This proposed framework may have profound implications for the agriculture sector and may provide a strong sustainable contract farming management guideline for the global agriculture industry.
Explorative Study of Aquaponics Systems in Indonesia
Authors: Tarigan Nurhayati Br , Goddek Simon , Keesman Karel J.
Published: November 2021

Aquaponics is the combined cultivation of fish in aquaculture systems and plants in hydroponic systems. This study aimed to explore and evaluate new aquaponics system designs in Jakarta, Indonesia, in terms of water and nutrient efficiency, and/or profitability. In total, one brackish water system with barramundi and tomato (BW) and three freshwater systems with Nile tilapia, rice, and duckweed (FW + DW), Nile tilapia and rice (FW − DW), and Nile tilapia and tomato (FW-tomato) were investigated using dynamic mathematical models. The results showed an increase of N, P, and water use efficiency by 10%, 18%, and 31%, respectively, in FW-tomato compare to FW − DW. Meanwhile, FW + DW only slightly increased the efficiency but worsened the already negative net present value (NPV) of FW − DW due to the high land prices. The BW system had similar water and nutrient efficiency to FW-tomato, but lower NPV. Profit of the BW and FW-tomato becomes comparable if the hydroponic area in the BW system can be expanded by 35%, or the selling price of tomato or fish in the BW can be increased by 20%. Given the expected growth of both the production of tomatoes and aquaculture in Indonesia, there is potential for further introduction of aquaponics systems in Indonesia.
The Role of Accounting Information System and Knowledge Management to Enhancing Organizational Performance in Iraqi SMEs
Authors: Kareem Haitham Mohsin , Dauwed Mohammed , Meri Ahmed , Jarrar Mu’taman , Al-Bsheish Mohammad , Aldujaili Ali Abdulameer
Published: November 2021

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Iraq have experienced low performance due to the limited usage of accounting information systems (AIS) and the inability to exploit knowledge of management capabilities (KMC). These deficiencies have led to competitive pressures in the marketplace that have adversely affected their sales and production. This study investigates the role of AIS in terms of operation support, knowledge support, regulatory support, and the role of KMC, including knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer, and knowledge utilized to enhance organizational performance in Iraqi SMEs. The target population was managers and owners in SMEs using AIS in Iraq’s cities. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data, and self-administered printed questionnaires were distributed to the SME managers and owners; 236 questionnaires were used for analysis. Partial least squares was used to examine the role of AIS and the meditation of KMC through second-order analysis. The results showed that AIS and KMC have a positive and significant role in enhancing organizational performance. The study also found that KMC partially mediated between AIS and organizational performance. The findings show that managers and owners of SMEs should focus on AIS and pay more attention to KMC to improve organizational performance.
An Analysis on the Influence of R&D Fiscal and Tax Subsidies on Regional Innovation Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from China
Authors: Liu Weijiang , Bai Yue
Published: November 2021

To promote the National Mid-andLong-Term Scientific and Technical Development Program, utilizing the technical innovation data from 30 provinces of China from2002–2016, this paper evaluates the inter-provincial differences of China’s regional innovation efficiency from four aspects of technical efficiency, efficiency index change, returns to scale, and projection analysis by using the DEA-Malmquist index method and constructs of the DEA-Tobit random response model to explore the impact of government funding on regional innovation efficiency. The research results show that: (1) The local development of regional innovation efficiency in China is unbalanced, and the level of pure technical efficiency restricts the improvement of innovation efficiency. (2) In the prophase of the scientific and technical development plan, technological progress has led to the growth of total factor productivity, resulting in the formation of scale effect; in the later stage, the scale return shows an overall increasing trend, and the continuous expansion of technological scale and opportunities has improved the regional innovation efficiency. (3) The R&D fiscal and tax subsidies have policy sustainability, and the direct government funding can significantly improve innovation efficiency, while the enterprises investment is opposite, and the pretax additional deduction has a negative but not significant impact. The government should give priority to direct subsidy and supplemented by tax preference, making reasonable policy allocations to expand the policy effect.
Business, Human Rights and the Environment—Using Macro Legal Analysis to Develop a Legal Framework That Coherently Addresses the Root Causes of Corporate Human Rights Violations and Environmental Degradation
Authors: Turner Stephen J.
Published: November 2021

This article applies ‘macro’ legal analysis to the challenge of legal reform related to corporate responsibility for human rights violations and degradation of the environment. It recognises that the approaches from different communities of lawyers to the negative impacts on human rights and the environment caused by companies, sometimes operate in isolation from each other, are not always mutually supportive, can lead to a fragmentation of effort, and may not address the root causes of the problem. In particular, this article analyses the extent to which existing approaches tend to address symptoms of the issues, rather than the root causes themselves. It makes the case that in this regard specific root causes exist within the frameworks of corporate law in all jurisdictions and various aspects of international economic law too. To carry out the study, it employs macro legal analysis, a methodology not previously applied in this field, as a means of developing an understanding of the legal frameworks that, it argues, influence corporate decision making that can affect human rights and the environment. It undertakes an analysis that incorporates relevant corporate law, World Trade Organisation (WTO) law, international investment law, the law relating to multilateral development banks (MDBs), and international insurance law. By using this form of anlaysis it is possible to show how legal frameworks can operate in unison, reinforcing each other providing a cumulative effect that can influence corporate decision makers. Finally, based on the results of the analysis, it suggests a possible strategy of macro-level reforms that could be applied to the re-design of relevant legal frameworks to better facilitate the full protection of human rights and to achieve net zero degradation of the environment. As a result it seeks to demonstrate how this approach can be strategically applied by both human rights and environmental lawyers as a common pathway towards effective legal reform.
Unleashing the Barriers to CSR Implementation in the SME Sector of a Developing Economy: A Thematic Analysis Approach
Authors: Mahmood Asif , Naveed Rana Tahir , Ahmad Naveed , Scholz Miklas , Khalique Muhammad , Adnan Mohammad
Published: November 2021

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of sustainability has been a part of the academic discussion in recent years. Different studies have also highlighted the inability of the SME sector to implement a CSR plan to achieve sustainability objectives. However, why this sector is unable to adopt CSR is something that has not been properly attended by contemporary scholars. Against this backdrop, the current study aims to explore the major barriers that inhibit SMEs from implementing CSR and sustainability measures. The current study data were collected from the senior management of different SMEs in Pakistan and were analyzed using thematic analysis to extract different patterns of themes. The results unveil that the “lack of finances” is the most critical barrier for CSR, followed by the “lack of CSR knowledge.” The implications for theory and practice are also discussed in detail.
Strategic Alliance for Resilience in Supply Chain: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Philsoophian Maryam , Akhavan Peyman , Abbasi Morteza
Published: November 2021

Resilience is a particularly important quality for supply chains in this turbulent environment. Resilience in the supply chain is the ability to retain, resume, and recover operations after an intense destructive incident. One of the strategic solutions for managing supply chain disruptions is to establish collaboration and strategic alliances in order to achieve competitive advantage. Therefore, given the increasing publication of articles in areas of strategic alliances and supply chain resilience, it is a good opportunity to review these articles, identify gaps in the current literature, demonstrate links between the two areas, and provide suggestions for future research. For these purposes, a bibliometric analysis has been performed on literature available on the Web of Science database. The distribution of articles based on year and country, influential journals, research areas, authors, affiliations, keywords, citations, and reference co-citation analysis are discussed. Results indicate that studies about strategic alliances, meant to increase resilience, are growing in areas such as “Management”, “Operations research”, “Management science”, and “Business”. Furthermore, the sources could be categorized into five clusters; namely “From knowledge concept to value creation”, “Internal and external relationships”, “Logistics and supply chain performance”, “Intellectual capital and strategic management”, and “Critical success factors and alliances”. This article can be useful for both practitioners and academics who explore the topic of strategic alliances and resilience in the supply chain, and also offers managers the opportunity to overcome supply chain disruptions and negative consequences of risks by becoming familiar with the key concepts of resilience. The persistence of businesses and supply chains is guaranteed through communicating with partners and even competitors in the light of alliance according to the findings of this research. Managers can pay attention to the integration of the supply chain to improve resilience and increase collaboration between suppliers and customers. Given the research results, strategic alliances can be noted in expanding organizational entrepreneurship and shaping strategic collaboration networks in light of strategic alliances.
An Integrated Fuzzy Goal Programming—Theory of Constraints Model for Production Planning and Optimization
Authors: Zare Habib , Kamali Saraji Mahyar , Tavana Madjid , Streimikiene Dalia , Cavallaro Fausto
Published: November 2021

Manufacturing companies are under constant pressure to optimize the economic sustainability of their production systems. Production planning and optimization is a well-established strategy for considering resource constraints and improving economic productivity. This study proposes an integrated fuzzy goal planning and the theory of constraints for production planning and optimization. To this end, a hybrid Delphi–Buckley method was used to identify the relevant goals and a paired matrix questionnaire was used to determine the fuzzy weights of the goals. Furthermore, a fuzzy bottleneck detection algorithm was used to deal with the bottlenecks. A case study in the cable industry is presented to demonstrate the applicability and exhibit the efficiency of the proposed model. The results indicate that production planning in the cable industry could experience less deviation, almost 11% less, from the goals by applying the fuzzy goal programming under the theory of constraints, compared to the traditional method or crisp-goal programming.
Smart Additive Manufacturing: The Path to the Digital Value Chain
Authors: Araújo Nuno , Pacheco Vânia , Costa Leonardo
Published: November 2021

The aim of this article is to characterize the impacts of Smart Additive Manufacturing (SAM) on industrial production, digital supply chains (DSCs) and corresponding digital value chains (DVCs), logistics and inventory management. The method used consists of a critical review of the literature, enriched by the authors’ field experience. The results show that digital transformation of manufacturing is affecting business models, from resource acquisition to the end user. Smart manufacturing is considered a successful improvement introduced by Industry 4.0. Additive Manufacturing (AM) plays a crucial role in this digital transformation, changing the way manufacturers think about the entire lifecycle of a product. SAM combines AM in a smart factory environment. SAM reduces the complexity of DSCs and contributes to a more flexible approach to logistics and inventory management. It has also spurred the growth and popularization of customized mass production as well as decentralized manufacturing, rapid prototyping, unprecedented flexibility in product design, production and delivery, and resource efficiency and sustainability. SAM technology impacts all five Fletcher’s stages in DVCs. However, the need for clear definitions and regulations on 3D printing of digital files and their reproduction, as well as product health, safety, and integrity issues, cannot be ignored. Furthermore, investment in this technology is still expensive and can be prohibitive for many companies, namely SMEs.
Characteristics and Risk Assessments of Mercury Pollution Levels at Domestic Garbage Collection Points Distributed within the Main Urban Areas of Changchun City
Authors: Wang Zhaojun , Zhang Yangjie , Wang Lei , Li Xu , Zhou Xuhang , Li Xiangyun , Yan Mengping , Lu Qiuming , Tang Zhanhui , Zhang Gang , Wang Deli
Published: November 2021

The mercury that is released from the centralized treatment of municipal solid waste is an important source of atmospheric mercury. We chose the main urban area of Changchun as a representative area. Environmental factors such as total mercury content, temperature, wind speed, and other factors were measured in samples from the trash cans of two types of collection points (trash cans and garbage stations), the topsoil under the selected trash cans, and the ambient air above the selected trash cans. The potential ecological risks of mercury pollution were evaluated. The results showed that the mercury content levels of all sample types in the refuse transfer station were higher than the garbage cans and there were no significant differences observed between soil surface mercury and garbage cans. The mercury content levels in the atmosphere and the surface soil at the garbage collection points were found to increase along the cascade relationship of the garbage collection. However, there were no correlations observed between the atmospheric mercury content levels and the surface soil mercury content levels with the attachments and the sum of the former two. There were no correlations observed between surface soil and the attachments, or among the attachments, surface soil, and the atmospheric mercury content levels. The mercury content levels in the attachments, surface soil, and atmosphere of the garbage collection points in the study area were negatively correlated with the loop lines. Meanwhile, the potential ecological risk indexes of the garbage cans and garbage stations were found to be high. The chronic non-carcinogenic risks of mercury to children and adults were determined to be very low. The risks of mercury to children were higher when compared with adults. The highest non-carcinogenic risks of mercury pollution were determined to be within the central area of Changchun.
Organophosphate Esters in China: Fate, Occurrence, and Human Exposure
Authors: Hu Zhihui , Yin Lingshi , Wen Xiaofeng , Jiang Changbo , Long Yuannan , Zhang Jiawei , Liu Ruyi
Published: November 2021

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely used as flame retardants and plasticizers. OPEs have been released into various environments (e.g., water, sediments, dust and air, and soil). To investigate the occurrence and distribution of OPEs in various environments in China, this review collects and discusses the published scientific studies in this field. Chlorinated OPEs, as flame retardants, are the predominant OPEs found in the environment. The analysis of data revealed large concentration variations among microenvironments, including inflowing river water (range: 0.69–10.62 µgL−1), sediments (range: 0.0197–0.234 µg/g), dust (range: 8.706–34.872 µg/g), and open recycling sites’ soil (range: 0.122–2.1 µg/g). Moreover, OPEs can be detected in the air and biota. We highlight the overall view regarding environmental levels of OPEs in different matrices as a starting point to monitor trends for China. The levels of OPEs in the water, sediment, dust, and air of China are still low. However, dust samples from electronic waste workshop sites were more contaminated. Human activities, pesticides, electronics, furniture, paint, plastics and textiles, and wastewater plants are the dominant sources of OPEs. Human exposure routes to OPEs mainly include dermal contact, dust ingestion, inhalation, and dietary intake. The low level of ecological risk and risk to human health indicated a limited threat from OPEs. Furthermore, current challenges and perspectives for future studies are prospected. A criteria inventory of OPEs reflecting the levels of OPEs contamination association among different microenvironments, emerging OPEs, and potential impact of OPEs on human health, particularly for children are needed in China for better investigation.
On the 2PN Periastron Precession of the Double Pulsar PSR J0737–3039A/B
Authors: Iorio Lorenzo
Published: November 2021

One of the post-Keplerian (PK) parameters determined in timing analyses of several binary pulsars is the fractional periastron advance per orbit kPK. Along with other PK parameters, it is used in testing general relativity once it is translated into the periastron precession ω˙PK. It was recently remarked that the periastron ω of PSR J0737–3039A/B may be used to measure/constrain the moment of inertia of A through the extraction of the general relativistic Lense–Thirring precession ω˙LT,A≃−0.00060∘yr−1 from the experimentally determined periastron rate ω˙obs provided that the other post-Newtonian (PN) contributions to ω˙exp can be accurately modeled. Among them, the 2PN seems to be of the same order of magnitude of ω˙LT,A. An analytical expression of the total 2PN periastron precession ω˙2PN in terms of the osculating Keplerian orbital elements, valid not only for binary pulsars, is provided, thereby elucidating the subtleties implied in correctly calculating it from k1PN+k2PN and correcting some past errors by the present author. The formula for ω˙2PN is demonstrated to be equivalent to that obtainable from k1PN+k2PN by Damour and Schäfer expressed in the Damour–Deruelle (DD) parameterization. ω˙2PN actually depends on the initial orbital phase, hidden in the DD picture, so that −0.00080∘yr−1≤ω˙2PN≤−0.00045∘yr−1. A recently released prediction of ω˙2PN for PSR J0737–3039A/B is discussed.
Meningitis Caused by the Live Varicella Vaccine Virus: Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing, Immunology Exome Sequencing and Cytokine Multiplex Profiling
Authors: Ramachandran Prashanth S. , Wilson Michael R. , Catho Gaud , Blanchard-Rohner Geraldine , Schiess Nicoline , Cohrs Randall J. , Boutolleau David , Burrel Sonia , Yoshikawa Tetsushi , Wapniarski Anne , Heusel Ethan H. , Carpenter John E. , Jackson Wallen , Ford Bradley A. , Grose Charles
Published: November 2021

Varicella vaccine meningitis is an uncommon delayed adverse event of vaccination. Varicella vaccine meningitis has been diagnosed in 12 children, of whom 3 were immunocompromised. We now report two additional cases of vaccine meningitis in twice-immunized immunocompetent children and we perform further testing on a prior third case. We used three methods to diagnose or investigate cases of varicella vaccine meningitis, none of which have been used previously on this disease. These include metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cytokine multiplex profiling of cerebrospinal fluid and immunology exome analysis of white blood cells. In one new case, the diagnosis was confirmed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid. Both varicella vaccine virus and human herpesvirus 7 DNA were detected. We performed cytokine multiplex profiling on the cerebrospinal fluid of two cases and found ten elevated biomarkers: interferon gamma, interleukins IL-1RA, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17F, chemokines CXCL-9, CXCL-10, CCL-2, and G-CSF. In a second new case, we performed immunology exome sequencing on a panel of 356 genes, but no errors were found. After a review of all 14 cases, we concluded that (i) there is no common explanation for this adverse event, but (ii) ingestion of an oral corticosteroid burst 3–4 weeks before onset of vaccine meningitis may be a risk factor in some cases.
Drug Resistance Profile and Clinical Features for Hepatitis C Patients Experiencing DAA Failure in Taiwan
Authors: Hong Chun-Ming , Lin You-Yu , Liu Chun-Jen , Lai Ya-Yun , Yeh Shiou-Hwei , Yang Hung-Chih , Kao Jia-Horng , Hsu Shih-Jer , Huang Yi-Hsiang , Yang Sheng-Shun , Kuo Hsing-Tao , Cheng Pin-Nan , Yu Ming-Lung , Chen Pei-Jer
Published: November 2021

About 4% of the population in Taiwan are seropositive for anti-HCV Ab and 70% with HCV RNA. To address this high chronic hepatitis C disease load, Taiwan National Health Insurance started reimbursing genotype-specific DAAs in 2017 and pangenotype DAAs in mid-2018. With a 97% SVR12 rate, there were still 2–3% of patients that failed to clear HCV. To understand the causes of DAA failure in Taiwan, we conducted a multi-center, clinical, and virologic study. A total of 147 DAA-failure patients were recruited, and we searched HCV NS3/4A, NS5A and NS5B for known resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) by population sequencing, and conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) for those without known RASs. A total of 107 patients received genotype-specific DAAs while 40 had pangenotype DAAs. Clinically, the important cause of failure is poor adherence. Virologically, common RASs in genotype-specific DAAs were NS5A-L31, NS5A-Y93, and NS5B-C316, while common RASs in pangenotype DAAs were NS5A-L31, NS5A-A/Q/R30, and NS5A-Y93. Additionally, new amino acid changes were found by WGS. Finally, we identified 12 cases with inconsistent baseline and post-treatment HCV genotypes, which is suggestive of re-infection rather than treatment failure. Our study described the drug resistance profile for DAA failure in Taiwan, showing differences from other countries.
Natural History of Aerosol-Induced Ebola Virus Disease in Rhesus Macaques
Authors: Downs Isaac , Johnson Joshua C. , Rossi Franco , Dyer David , Saunders David L. , Twenhafel Nancy A. , Esham Heather L. , Pratt William D. , Trefry John , Zumbrun Elizabeth , Facemire Paul R. , Johnston Sara C. , Tompkins Erin L. , Jansen Nathan K. , Honko Anna , Cardile Anthony P.
Published: November 2021

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a serious global health concern because case fatality rates are approximately 50% due to recent widespread outbreaks in Africa. Well-defined nonhuman primate (NHP) models for different routes of Ebola virus exposure are needed to test the efficacy of candidate countermeasures. In this natural history study, four rhesus macaques were challenged via aerosol with a target titer of 1000 plaque-forming units per milliliter of Ebola virus. The course of disease was split into the following stages for descriptive purposes: subclinical, clinical, and decompensated. During the subclinical stage, high levels of venous partial pressure of carbon dioxide led to respiratory acidemia in three of four of the NHPs, and all developed lymphopenia. During the clinical stage, all animals had fever, viremia, and respiratory alkalosis. The decompensatory stage involved coagulopathy, cytokine storm, and liver and renal injury. These events were followed by hypotension, elevated lactate, metabolic acidemia, shock and mortality similar to historic intramuscular challenge studies. Viral loads in the lungs of aerosol-exposed animals were not distinctly different compared to previous intramuscularly challenged studies. Differences in the aerosol model, compared to intramuscular model, include an extended subclinical stage, shortened clinical stage, and general decompensated stage. Therefore, the shortened timeframe for clinical detection of the aerosol-induced disease can impair timely therapeutic administration. In summary, this nonhuman primate model of aerosol-induced EVD characterizes early disease markers and additional details to enable countermeasure development.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus: New Challenges for Molecular Epidemiology Surveillance and Vaccination Strategy in Patients with ILI/SARI
Authors: Tramuto Fabio , Maida Carmelo Massimo , Di Naro Daniela , Randazzo Giulia , Vitale Francesco , Restivo Vincenzo , Costantino Claudio , Amodio Emanuele , Casuccio Alessandra , Graziano Giorgio , Immordino Palmira , Mazzucco Walter
Published: November 2021

Several respiratory pathogens are responsible for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe respiratory infections (SARI), among which human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) represents one of the most common aetiologies. We analysed the hRSV prevalence among subjects with ILI or SARI during the five influenza seasons before the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Sicily (Italy). Respiratory specimens from ILI outpatients and SARI inpatients were collected in the framework of the Italian Network for the Influenza Surveillance and molecularly tested for hRSV-A and hRSV-B. Overall, 8.1% of patients resulted positive for hRSV. Prevalence peaked in the age-groups <5 years old (range: 17.6–19.1%) and ≥50 years old (range: 4.8–5.1%). While the two subgroups co-circulated throughout the study period, hRSV-B was slightly predominant over hRSV-A, except for the season 2019–2020 when hRSV-A strongly prevailed (82.9%). In the community setting, the distribution of hRSV subgroups was balanced (47.8% vs. 49.7% for hRSV-A and hRSV-B, respectively), while most infections identified in the hospital setting were caused by hRSV-B (69.5%); also, this latter one was more represented among hRSV cases with underlying diseases, as well as among those who developed a respiratory complication. The molecular surveillance of hRSV infections may provide a valuable insight into the epidemiological features of ILI/SARI. Our findings add new evidence to the existing knowledge on viral aetiology of ILI and SARI in support of public health strategies and may help to define high-risk categories that could benefit from currently available and future vaccines.
Process Development for Newcastle Disease Virus-Vectored Vaccines in Serum-Free Vero Cell Suspension Cultures
Authors: Fulber Julia Puppin Chaves , Farnós Omar , Kiesslich Sascha , Yang Zeyu , Dash Shantoshini , Susta Leonardo , Wootton Sarah K. , Kamen Amine A.
Published: November 2021

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic drew global attention to infectious diseases, attracting numerous resources for development of pandemic preparedness plans and vaccine platforms—technologies with robust manufacturing processes that can quickly be pivoted to target emerging diseases. Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) has been studied as a viral vector for human and veterinary vaccines, but its production relies heavily on embryonated chicken eggs, with very few studies producing NDV in cell culture. Here, NDV is produced in suspension Vero cells, and analytical assays (TCID50 and ddPCR) are developed to quantify infectious and total viral titer. NDV-GFP and NDV-FLS (SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike protein) constructs were adapted to replicate in Vero and HEK293 suspension cultures using serum-free media, while fine-tuning parameters such as MOI, temperature, and trypsin concentration. Shake flask productions with Vero cells resulted in infectious titers of 1.07 × 108 TCID50/mL for NDV-GFP and 1.33 × 108 TCID50/mL for NDV-FLS. Production in 1 L batch bioreactors also resulted in high titers in culture supernatants, reaching 2.37 × 108 TCID50/mL for NDV-GFP and 3.16 × 107 TCID50/mL for NDV-FLS. This shows effective NDV production in cell culture, building the basis for a scalable vectored-vaccine manufacturing process that can be applied to different targets.
A Review on Promising Membrane Technology Approaches for Heavy Metal Removal from Water and Wastewater to Solve Water Crisis
Authors: El Batouti Mervette , Al-Harby Nouf F. , Elewa Mahmoud M.
Published: November 2021

Due to the impacts of water scarcity, the world is looking at all possible solutions for decreasing the over-exploitation of finite freshwater resources. Wastewater is one of the most reliable and accessible water supplies. As the population expands, so do industrial, agricultural, and household operations in order to meet man’s enormous demands. These operations generate huge amounts of wastewater, which may be recovered and used for a variety of reasons. Conventional wastewater treatment techniques have had some success in treating effluents for discharge throughout the years. However, advances in wastewater treatment techniques are required to make treated wastewater suitable for industrial, agricultural, and household use. Diverse techniques for removing heavy metal ions from various water and wastewater sources have been described. These treatments can be categorized as adsorption, membrane, chemical, or electric. Membrane technology has been developed as a popular alternative for recovering and reusing water from various water and wastewater sources. This study integrates useful membrane technology techniques for water and wastewater treatment containing heavy metals, with the objective of establishing a low-cost, high-efficiency method as well as ideal production conditions: low-cost, high-efficiency selective membranes, and maximum flexibility and selectivity. Future studies should concentrate on eco-friendly, cost-effective, and long-term materials and procedures.
Informing Environmental Flow Planning through Landscape Evolution Modeling in Heavily Modified Urban Rivers in China
Authors: Wu Minghao , Wu Hong , Warner Andrew T. , Li Hao , Liu Zhicheng
Published: November 2021

Worldwide, urban rivers suffer various degrees of ecological degradation. Rehabilitating heavily modified urban rivers requires holistic approaches, including environmental flow management. We examine the case of Lower Yongding River, Beijing’s mother river, which had dried up since the 1980s and is undergoing a flow replenishment experiment, receiving 342 million m3 of water during 2019–2020 for ecosystem enhancement. Considering the massive cost of replenishment, we address the urgent need to evaluate its outcomes and inform future management through an interdisciplinary modeling approach under the circumstance of severe data shortage. We simulated the study reach’s landscape evolution under five flow scenarios and assessed their ecological effects using the CAESAR-Lisflood model and habitat suitability index method. Despite overall minor morphological differences across scenarios, individual reaches presented pronounced physical changes. Higher-flow scenarios shaped a distinct channel in certain reaches, but historic channel modifications by mining and farming caused minimal responses in others. Additionally, higher-flow scenarios generally created larger and more evenly distributed habitat areas but showed a low payback given the higher flow volumes needed. Targeted channel-floodplain geomorphological restoration is essential for flows to generate desired ecological outcomes. The demonstrated modeling framework offers great promise, informing future rehabilitation actions for heavily modified urban streams.
Water Rights in a Time of Fragility: An Exploration of Contestation and Discourse around Cape Town’s “Day Zero” Water Crisis
Authors: Dugard Jackie
Published: November 2021

South Africa is an interesting case study on the right to water. It is an upper-middle income country with a history and current reality of extreme racialised inequality, including the water services sphere. It is water scarce, and during 2018, Cape Town was expected to be the first major metropolitan city in the world to run out of water. South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, which incorporated socio-economic rights including the right to water as explicitly justiciable long before the international right to water was recognised. However, despite clear water-security and water-equity fault lines on the one hand and conducive legal frameworks on the other hand, there has been relatively little water rights contestation in post-apartheid South Africa. It is this paradox and, in particular, how it played out in the clear case of water insecurity in Cape Town’s “Day Zero” crisis that are the subjects of examination in this article. Aiming to make an original contribution to the scholarship on the “Day Zero” crisis by exploring it from the perspective of interlocutors and those affected by it, this article also hopes to contribute towards a better understanding of the nature and application of water rights more broadly.
Identification of Preferential Runoff Belts in Jinan Spring Basin Based on Hydrological Time-Series Correlation
Authors: Niu Shuyao , Shu Longcang , Li Hu , Xiang Hua , Wang Xin , Opoku Portia Annabelle , Li Yuxi
Published: November 2021

The Jinan karst system is one of the typical karst systems in North China. The karst springs in Jinan are important historical heritage in China. However, in recent years, due to urbanization and the excessive exploitation of groundwater resources in Jinan City, the rate of spring flow has decreased tremendously. Preferential runoff belts are channels of karst aquifers where fractures and conduits are well-developed and serve as the main pathways for groundwater movement and solute transport. In view of this, a study was conducted in the Jinan Spring Basin to identify preferential runoff belts based on hydrological time-series correlation. Firstly, through cross wavelet transform and Pearson correlation coefficient, the time-lag and correlation of spring water level and precipitation were analyzed, the result show that the precipitation in the areas of Xinglong, Donghongmiao, Qiujiazhuang, Xiying, Yanzishan and Liubu stations has a greater impact on spring water level. In addition, combined with the hydrogeological conditions of the Jinan Spring Basin, the above stations meet the characteristics of the preferential runoff belt. In conclusion, the above stations are most likely to be located on the preferential runoff belt. The results of this study can serve as great reference points for building a correct hydrogeological conceptual model, and for the future planning of spring protection measures.
Advanced Modeling Strategies for Hydraulic Engineering and River Research
Authors: Tritthart Michael
Published: November 2021

Our society in general and the work environment in particular are currently undergoing a large-scale digital transformation [...]
An Alternative to Laboratory Testing: Random Forest-Based Water Quality Prediction Framework for Inland and Nearshore Water Bodies
Authors: Xu Jianlong , Xu Zhuo , Kuang Jianjun , Lin Che , Xiao Lianghong , Huang Xingshan , Zhang Yufeng
Published: November 2021

Water quality monitoring plays a vital role in the water environment management, while efficient monitoring provides direction and verification of the effectiveness of water management. Traditional water quality monitoring for a variety of water parameters requires the placement of multiple sensors, and some water quality data (e.g., total nitrogen (TN)) requires testing instruments or laboratory analysis to obtain results, which takes longer than the sensors. In this paper, we designed a water quality prediction framework, which uses available water quality variables (e.g., temperature, pH, conductivity, etc.) to predict total nitrogen concentrations in inland water bodies. The framework was also used to predict nearshore seawater salinity and temperature using remote sensing bands. We conducted experiments on real water quality datasets and random forest was chosen to be the core algorithm of the framework by comparing and analyzing the performance of different machine learning algorithms. The results show that among all tested machine learning models, random forest performs the best. The data prediction error rate of the random forest model in predicting the total nitrogen concentration in inland rivers was 4.9%. Moreover, to explore the prediction effect of random forest algorithm when the independent variable is non-water quality data, we took the reflectance of remote sensing bands as the independent variables and successfully inverted the salinity distribution of Shenzhen Bay in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. According to the experimental results, the random forest-based water quality prediction framework can achieve 92.94% accuracy in predicting the salinity of nearshore waters.