bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Towards Complete Basic Immunization for Children
Authors: Putri Suri Kusuma , Kurnia Muhammad Aditya , Chandra Siahaan Perry Boy , Simangunsong Pahala Maringan J. , Siregar Christhin Ester , Christine  , Sinurat Buenita
Published: October 2022

Based on the data from the Public Health Office of Medan City about comprehensive immunization coverage in Medan Deli Public Health Center was 47,3% as of December 2020. This is qualitative research with in-depth interview and case study design. This research aims to know the regulations, health human resources and facility and infrastructure resources, and social environment conditions in the implementation of Complete Basic Immunization for children in Public Health Center Medan Deli during COVID-19 pandemic. The policy of immunization program underwent many changes. One of them is the postponement of immunization according to the official regulation from the Medan City government. The health officers for immunization program during COVID-19 pandemic were sufficient, however after the pandemic their responsibilities were increased. The health officers had to give COVID-19 vaccines to the public, while also had to give immunization to children. The facilities and infrastructure of immunization program were sufficient, but cadres and public who received health services from Integrated Healthcare Center hope that the facilities should be upgraded, e.g. scales and height metre. Moreover, the low enthusiasm of the public and lack of mother’s information about the importance of immunization for children caused the low coverage of the immunization program in Public Health Center.
Characteristics of Keraca (Thalamita sp.) Crab Shell Flour as Functional Food Ingredients
Authors: Luthfiyana Novi , Nusaibah  , Sumartini  , Asniar
Published: October 2022

Keraca (Thalamita sp.) crab shell waste increases and its use as food. Crab shell waste can be used as a nutritious food source because it contains minerals. Keraca crab shell flour is proven to be nutritious, safe, and has potential as a functional food ingredient and a source of minerals. This study aims to obtain characteristics of keraca crab shell flour as a functional food ingredient through analysis of the chemical composition, the content of calcium, phosphorus, and identification of pathogenic bacteria salmonella. The material used in this study is flour from the shells and claws of the Keraca crab. The method is quantitative descriptive. The results proved that the Keraca crab shell flour contained 3.45±0.08% water content, 16.67±0.23% protein, 2.61±0.03% fat, 61.86±0.01% ash, and 15.41±0.13% carbohydrates. Keraca crab flour contains 9.01±0.18% calcium, 1.20±0.01% phosphorus, and no pathogenic bacteria Salmonella.
Analysis of Diseases in the Elderly Affecting Covid-19
Authors: Zamali Sindi Achmad , Girsang Ermi , Mutia Maya Sari , Suyono Tan
Published: October 2022

Covid-19 virus began in December 2019, and the coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted several countries, affecting more than 90,000 patients and making it a global pandemic. Where health workers include doctors, nurses, and other health workers, play a role in treating infected patients and become the vanguard in the handling of coronavirus. Based on data Indonesia positive cases of Covid-19 as many as 3,872,738 people and patients recovered 3,381,884 people and patients who died as many as 118,883 people and 48.3% of the cases of COVID-19 patients in Indonesia are elderly. The actual SARS-CoV-2 outbreak caused a highly transmissible disease with a tremendous impact on elderly people. This study focused on very elderly patients (over 80 years old) was created with the aim of analyzing the relationship of some diseases in the elderly that affect covid-19 at Royal Prima Hospital Medan in 2020, And the conclusion of this study based statistically shows that there is no link between DM, heart and kidney diseases in the elderly that affect covid-19, as well as the presence of hypertensive disease and ARI in the elderly that affects covid-19.
Synthesis Of Spherical Chitosan-Zeolite Composite (Ch-Z Spherical) From Shrimp Shells Using Crosslinking Method As Adsorbent Of Metal Ca (Ii) And Mg (Ii)
Authors: Alawiyah Tuty , Azmiyati Uzlifatul , Gandri Haryono M. , Cahyani Reni Tri
Published: October 2022

Water quality is very important to know because it is related to the use of water for daily needs and has a direct effect on the health of humans who consume the water. Water quality includes three main parameters, namely physics, chemistry, and biology. One of Chemical water quality parameter is the level of water hardness. One of the efforts made to reduce hardness is to add materials that can bind Ca (II) and Mg (II) metal ions. In this study, the material used was chitosan from shrimp shell waste modified with zeolite into a chitosan/zeolite composite in a spherical form using Tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking which interacts to form bonds through ionic gelation. The spherical chitosan-zeolite composite was characterized using FT-IR. The results of characterization using FT-IR at a wavelength of 4000-450 cm-1 show a typical IR spectrum for Chitosan-Zeolite Spherical (Ch-Z Spherical) at wavelengths 1639 cm-1, 1638.71 cm-1, respectively. and 1638.58 cm-1 which is the -C⁼N strain or structural change (deformation) of NH2.Chitosan-Zeolite Spherical Composite was applied to reduce the concentration of Ca(II) and Mg(II) metals which can cause water hardness. To determine the effectiveness of the optimum absorption time of the Spherical Chitosan-Zeolite composite, contact time variations were made, namely 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 with a concentration of 500 ppm of Ca (II) and Mg (II) metals with a stirring process. The results showed that the optimum time for the absorption of metal Ca(II) was 90 minutes with an absorption concentration of 0.012 mol/g. The optimum contact time of the spherical chitosan-zeolite composite to Mg(II) metal ion is 15 minutes with an absorption concentration of 0.1 mol/g.
Analysis of Wound Healing Activity from Rose Petal Extract Ointment in Wistar Rats.
Authors: Latcuba Swastina Pinky , Chiuman Linda , Nasution Ali Napiah , Ginting Chrismis Novalinda
Published: October 2022

Basic Health Report (2013) reports that burns rank sixth in unintentional injuries. Rose petals have various pharmacological effects that can increase wound healing activity. In this study, the activity of healing burns using rose petals as an ointment was tested on 25 male wistar rats which were grouped into: control (Ointment base), standard (Nebacetin), 7.5%, 10%, and 15% of rose petal ointment doses, respectively. The Rose petal ointment was made from the extraction by maceration. Two parameters used for evaluation were wound contraction and epithelialization period. In addition, the skin was also excised for histological studies. The highest wound contraction was obtained in the standard group (87.47%), followed by 15% (85.07%), 10% (73.33%), 7.5% (69.16%) rose petal ointment, control group (64.27%). While the length of epithelialization of each treatment group (P-value = 0.301) did not show a significant difference in all groups. Histological studies also showed that the highest rose petal ointment had more developed hair follicles and denser collagen fibers like the standard group. Overall, it can be concluded that the rose petal methanol extract as an ointment has a very good wound healing effect.
Study of Mud Crab Species (Scylla Spp.) In Brackish Waters North Kalimantan Province
Authors: Iromo Heppi , Zainuddin  , Syawaluddin dan
Published: October 2022

Despite the importance of the mud crab species (genus Scylla) both in the development of crab culture in brackish waters, knowledge of mud crab species diversity for sustainable management throughout the coastal areas of North Kalimantan Province is still unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted to describe. The diversity of mud crabs in these waters is based on observations of crab morphology collected from five small islands in the coastal area of North Kalimantan. This study aims to identify the mud crab (Scylla spp.) species that live in the waters of North Kalimantan. It is hoped that this research can provide basic information about the types of mangrove crabs (Scylla spp.) that exist and live in the waters of North Kalimantan so that they can be used as a reference in the development and conservation of mud crab resources in North Kalimantan. This study uses a descriptive method to describe and describe the existing conditions in the field. Sampling was taken at random with different weights of 5 crabs/location at each high tide and carried out 2 times in every month. Sampling locations were carried out on several islands with many traditional ponds around the waters of North Kalimantan. The results of the study from Abstract100 samples of mud crabs showed that the types of mangrove crabs found in the waters of North Kalimantan were two species, namely Scylla serrata and Scylla tranquebarica.
A Sequential Auto Irrigation for Smart Chili Farming
Authors: Rahmadhani Ferdy , Murniarti Erni , Gilbert Yohanes S , Giraldo Jeremy S , Turnip Arjon
Published: October 2022

In an agricultural country, agriculture is an important role in meeting basic needs and supporting the economy including Indonesia. The author focusesfor cultivation of chili plants, especially red chili. Red chili (Capsicum Anuum L) is a herbaceous plant that is widely cultivated in Indonesia. Red chili contains many vitamins and nutrients such as calcium, vitamins A, B1, and C, protein, fat, calories, and carbohydrates that are beneficial to the body. With that, we can conclude that smart farming with an automatic sequential irrigation on chili plants will certainly helps farmers to simplify the irrigation process, this research is packaged properly starting from the creation of the device to the application programs. This research was successfully carried out in accordance with the purpose of irrigating chili plants sequentially and automatically depending on the sensor readings that have been presented, when the sensor readings are below 80% at 7.00 to 9.00 WIB, they will alternately enter the system to be irrigated sequentially, when the solenoid valve is opened, it is ensured that the flow of water will comes out according to the needs of each plot.
Bioactivity of extracts from Syzygium aromaticum, Annona muricata, and Piper retrofractum against Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Sianturi Y P P A , Dadang  , Sartiami D
Published: October 2022

Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is an important pest on maize. One of the environmentally friendly control strategies of FAW is by utilizing botanical insecticides. Extracts of Syzygium aromaticum, Annona muricata, and Piper retrofractum are known to be able to control various types of insect pests and ensure sustainability in farming. The objective of this research was to study the effective control of three plant extracts against FAW, including the toxicity against larvae using leaf residual method, the feeding inhibition against larvae, and the oviposition deterrence against female. Probit analysis was used to estimate LC50 and LC95 values of the extracts. The extract of P. retrofractrum exhibited highest mortality compared to the other extracts with LC95 values of 0.230%, followed by S. aromaticum 0.349%, then A. muricata 1.387% against first-instar larvae at 96 hours. P. retrofractum extract showed the highest feeding inhibition of 90.14% at LC95 value, which gradually decreased on S. aromaticum and A. muricata extracts were 80.33% and 78.44%, respectively. Three plant extracts at LC99 and 2 x LC99 levels deterred female oviposition by 100%. This results indicate that P. retrofractum extract has great potential for further development as a botanical insecticide to controlling FAW.
Characteristics Of The Distribution Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contaminants (Pahs) In Coastal Waters, Tarakan City, North Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Achyani Ratno , Syamsiyah
Published: October 2022

PAHs are mutagenic and carcinogenic. Concentrations at certain levels in water and sediments can be toxic to benthic and pelagic marine organisms. The extent of the presence and distribution of PAHs in the aquatic environment in the coastal area of Tarakan City has not been answered. The purpose of this study was to analyze its presence and distribution in the coastal environment of Tarakan City. The samples used were water and sediment samples. Determination of the sampling location at sea, considering the type of activity, very dense (West and South) Tanjung, moderate activity (North) and infrequent activity (East). Analysis of the types of PAHs of all samples was carried out using GC-MS type Thermo Trace 1310 Single quadrupole Mass Spectrometer, Coulum GC-MS and determination of distribution pattern using Ocean Data View (ODV) software. PAHs were found in the sea waters of Tarakan City. Its distribution is widespread in all water locations. Cyclic chain types 2, 4 and 5 were found at each location. Cyclic chain type 3 is only found in dense and infrequent representational locations. Meanwhile, the cyclic chain type 6 was only found at the location of moderate activity. The concentration of PAHs in the sea waters of Tarakan City is still lower than some locations in the world.
Development of an Irrigation System for Predicting Watering Time with ANFIS Method for Chili Plants
Authors: George Michael T , Turnip Mardi , Muniarti Erni , Sitompul Erwin , Turnip Arjon
Published: October 2022

Recently, precision farming has become a necessity due to the increasing global demand for staples and water. Thus, farmers will need the availability of sufficient water and fertile soil to meet these needs. Due to the limited availability of both resources, farmers need solutions that change conventional farming systems. Precision farming is the solution to deliver larger and more profitable yields with fewer resources. Currently, several artificial intelligence-based irrigation models have been proposed to use water more efficiently. However, the limited irrigation capabilities of the previous model make it unsuitable for unpredictable climates. The authors conducted research on ANFIS-based intelligent irrigation systems for irrigation system models and the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect sensors to actuators via the cloud. The daily water requirement parameter for plants can be determined using conventional measurements (Gravimetry), this parameter will be the output parameter in the ANFIS modeling. This modeling is compared with reference measurements (conventional) resulting in a fairly accurate accuracy of 87.5%. The proposed system is simple and affordable which makes the technology more precise.
Carbon accumulation dynamics of the Klukva peatland at the southern boundary of broad-leaved forest zone in European Russia
Authors: Volkova E M , Leonova O A , Boikova O I , Novenko E Yu , Olchev A V
Published: October 2022

The study is focused on reconstructing the carbon accumulation rate of the peatland Klukva (1 ha) situated at the southern boundary of broad-leaved forest zone within the Oka river basin in European Russia. The age of the peatland is about 9400 cal years BP and it is one of the oldest peatlands within the Central Russian Upland. The results of our experimental study showed that the rate of peat accumulation is ranged from 0.15 to 0.9 mm/year and it was strongly influenced by climatic factors. Two main stages were distinguished in the peatland genesis. The longest was the mesotrophic stage, which began in the Early Holocene at about 9400 cal years BP and ended in the Late Holocene at about 1500 cal years BP. Since 1500 cal years BP there has been a gradual transition of the peatland from mesotrophic to oligotrophic type. The mean carbon accumulation rate during the peatland Klukva development was about 20 gC/(m2yr). This process was most actively going between 2500 and 6300 cal yrs BP, when the rates of peat accumulation increased to 26-29 gC/(m2yr). Nowadays, the carbon stock in the peat deposit of the peatland Klukva is amounted to 175 kgC/m2 and it is comparable with the carbon stocks of boreal peatlands in Northern Eurasia. This means that the oligotrophic peatlands situated at the southern boundary of broad-leaved forest zone, despite the small areas, continue to be a large stock of atmospheric carbon.
Method for determining microbial activity (hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate (FDA), 490 nm)
Authors: Frlolov O A , Terekhin A V , Yakushev A V , Milanovskiy E Yu
Published: October 2022

Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) is used to determine microbial activity. The determination of this activity can be carried out within the frame of various study objects using soil, litter, peat, etc. This method is based on a hydrolysis reaction of converting fluorescein diacetate (FDA) to fluorescein. The concentration is usually determined using a spectrophotometer in the UV range. This article discusses the possible concentration of fluorescence in the visible spectrum (490 nm). The activity of microorganisms was determined in the Chernozem typical arable horizon. The work used two methods for determining the concentration of fluorescence by optical density. The first option is to use a calibration concentration (the dependence of optical density on the concentration of fluorescein). In this case two options were used: with heating (60 °C) and without it (25 °C). The second option is to use the Bouguer-Lambert-Beer equation and the extinction coefficient. The results were used for calculating the Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) and the maximum reaction rate (Vm). While determining the microbial activity with FDA, the concentration of fluorescein can be determined in the visible range. The more preferable way of determining the concentration of fluorescein is by using the extinction coefficient of fluorescein, rather than by plotting a calibration graph based on matrix solutions.
On question of optimal swampiness in a region
Authors: Kaverin A V , Grishutkin O G , Kiryushin A V , Masserov D A
Published: October 2022

The article is devoted to the optimal waterlogging of a region on the example of the Republic of Mordovia. In the 20th century, significant anthropogenic changes took place, affecting swamp ecosystems, significantly reducing the area of wetlands. At present, the human impact on the swamps has decreased, but their further use requires certain measures, the main of which are inventory of the existing swamps and rationing the load on the ecosystems.
Organogenic landforms on the regressive mires of the Lower Amur and Southern Priokhotie
Authors: Chakov V V , Kuptsova V V
Published: October 2022

The article examines the distribution features of specific organocryogenic landforms in the waterlogged areas of the cryolithozone of the Northwest Coast of the Pacific, within the borders of the Lower Amur and Southern Priokhotie. It is suggested that the considered landforms are closely related to the regressive processes occurring in certain mire areas due to thermokarst phenomena. Attention is focused on the specifics of morphometric features of the ridge-hollow reliefwith a parallel arrangement of elements formed in local runoff hollows and low-flow basins.
Recent Advances in Laterally-Loaded Piles within Mechanically-Stabilized Earth Walls
Authors: Jawad S , Han Jie
Published: October 2022

Pile foundations have been increasingly installed within mechanically-stabilized earth walls (MSE) on rocks or compressible soils to support structural loads. Integral abutment bridges, sound walls, and traffic signs are common examples of the structures supported by pile foundations installed within or behind MSE walls. These structures are often subjected to lateral loads resulting from earthquakes, traffic loads, wind loads, and/or thermal expansion and contraction of bridge girders. Typical approaches available to design MSE walls are limited to MSE walls without pile foundations present within reinforced fill. To minimize the interaction between piles and the MSE wall, designers often suggest to place the piles at a distance of six to eight times the pile diameter and/or isolate the piles from the MSE wall by using corrugated pipes. These suggested designs lead to increasing the cost of projects by increasing the length of bridge spans or the diameter of piles and requiring pile embedment. Recently, several studies have been conducted to understand the interaction between piles and MSE walls when the piles are constructed within and close to wall facing. This paper provides a literature review on full-scale tests, reduced-scale tests, and numerical studies of piles constructed within or behind MSE walls. The review will focus on the effects of three key influence factors on lateral capacities of laterally-loaded piles and facing deflections of MSE walls including the plie location behind the wall facing, the ratio of the reinforcement length to the wall height, and the stiffness of the reinforcement layer. This paper will also discuss the available approaches to estimate the forces in the reinforcement layers and the lateral earth pressures behind the MSE wall facing due to the laterally-loaded piles.
Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Enhanced GCLs in Freshwater Reservoirs
Authors: Ozhan H O
Published: October 2022

Biopolymers that are environmentally friendly organic products are increasingly used in geotechnical applications instead of synthetic polymers and other chemical additives. Cellulose is a biopolymer that is obtained from the cell walls of plants. In order to evaluate its effect on internal erosion, triaxial permeability tests were performed on a sodium carboxymethyl cellulose-enhanced geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) with Ca bentonite that was placed over a coarse gravel with an average grain diameter of 2.5 cm and permeated with tap water. Furthermore, unconfined compression tests were conducted on the cellulose-added bentonite component of the GCL in order to evaluate the mechanical effect of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose addition to the GCL on internal erosion. Test results indicated that 2% cellulose addition by dry weight maintained sufficient hydraulic and mechanical performances with almost 2.5 orders of magnitude decrease in permeability and 10 times increase in unconfined compressive strength. However, cellulose addition had only a slight enhancement against internal erosion. All the tested GCLs resisted against internal erosion up to a hydraulic head of 25 m. But 30 m hydraulic head resulted in internal erosion for the GCLs enhanced with up to a content of 2% cellulose.
Stepped Reinforced Soil Retaining Walls at Railway Corridor Rokycany – Plzeň
Authors: Hubík P , Kašpar M , Vodáček O
Published: October 2022

As a part of a modernization of railway corridor Rokycany - Plzeň a support wall structure was designed on both sides of the slopes. All local conditions have been taken into decision-making what technology to use, in particular, the speed of construction, geotechnical conditions and minimization of the land engagement. Reinforced soil technology was selected to meet all the constraints and requirements and finally the project was completed. As soil cladding, self-standing high concrete panels were used, making the 12 m total height structure unique. Many pictures declaring construction sequence are attached.
A rheological model for georeinforced embankments based on piled foundations
Authors: Mangraviti V , Flessati L , di Prisco C
Published: October 2022

Concrete columns are commonly used methods to improve the performances of embankments on soft soil strata. To further reduce settlements and stresses on the soft foundation soil, geosynthetic reinforcements are often installed at the base of embankments. Existing design methods for these “geostructures” commonly does not take into consideration both the effect of the embankment construction process and the stiffness of the system components (embankment, soft soil, column and geosynthetics) as design parameters. As a consequence, these approaches do not allow the estimation of the settlements at the top of the embankment. In this paper a new rheological model capable of assessing both tensile forces in the geosynthetic and settlements at the embankment top induced by the construction process is presented. In this model, the variables defining the system performance (tensile forces in geosynthetics, stresses acting on piles and settlements) are explicitly related to the embankment height, interpreted as a generalized loading variable. The model has been validated on the results of 3D numerical analyses.
Applications of Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation on Non-Woven Geotextiles
Authors: Duman E , Sarıçiçek Y E , Pekcan O , Gurbanov R , Gözen A G
Published: October 2022

Recently, an innovative ground improvement method known as microbially induced calcium precipitation (MICP) has been proposed as an alternative to conventional ground improvement techniques. Having numerous advantages such as being environmentally friendly and promoting sustainable solutions, MICP has been studied by researchers from various civil engineering sub-disciplines to solve problems related to crack propagation of concrete, insufficient soil strength characteristics, soil erosion, asphalt cracks, etc. This study aims at moving MICP one step further by introducing a hybrid approach that combines MICP and geotextiles to produce a good quality product for reliable field use. Within this scope, MICP is applied on non-woven geotextiles. Physical (imaging) and mechanical (puncture resistance) properties of non-woven geotextiles subjected to MICP treatments under soaking conditions are investigated. Puncture resistance tests are performed and the details of laboratory work including specimen preparation and MICP treatments are presented in this paper. This study, together with its implications for future works, also highlights the next steps to be taken for properly using the MICP method when other geosynthetics are used.
Reliability of road pavement constructions reinforced by geosynthetic materials
Authors: Gameliak I , Nikolaichuk A , Zhurba G
Published: October 2022

Existing experience of unpaved road constructions reinforced by geogrids is described in the article, amended by own practical experience of reinforcement usage in unpaved road constructions. The Object of the research is reinforced and non-reinforced unpaved road constructions. The Purpose of the research is to determine influence of unpaved constructions reinforcement by rigid geogrids on overall bearing capacity and its deviation. The Methods of the research are field bearing capacity dynamic testing and statistic data analysis. The article is a long-term study generalization of unpaved road constructions with grained layers reinforced by rigid geogrids. The study was performed within the period of 2017-2019, and it covers both the construction and operation stages within the period of moisture accumulation and during the drainage period. The results of the study can be used for design and calculation for road constructions by geogrids and geotextile. Forecast assumptions about the object of the research are expansion of the experimental base, taking into account different test methods, different reinforcing materials and different construction conditions.
Finite Difference Modelling of Deformable Geosynthetics-Reinforced Barriers (DGRB) under the dynamic impact of debris avalanches
Authors: Moretti S , Cuomo S , Frigo L
Published: October 2022

The behaviour of Deformable Geosynthetics-Reinforced Barrier (DGRB) is investigated with reference to the dynamic impact of debris avalanches. The aim of these barriers is to protect life of inhabitants and reduce the threat for the exposed structures. A Finite Difference Method code (FLAC, Itasca) is used and the dynamic impact is simulated as an external pressure applied over time to the barrier. The peak lateral pressure exerted by a debris avalanche is evaluated by a literature formulation including a flow-height dependent static component and a flow-velocity dependent dynamic component. Real values of height and velocity of debris avalanches are taken from previous research works. The trend of the pressure during the impact is obtained from the landslide volume and the impulse theorem. The DGRBs are composed of: i) coarse-grained material, ii) bidirectional PET geogrids; iii) external formwork. The soil-geosynthetics contact is simulated through a frictional interface. The several components used in the wrap-around technique are simulated following two different schematizations and the differences between them are highlighted. The used mathematical formulation allows reproducing the impacted barrier both in small and large displacement cases. The local and global displacements of the barrier, its failure mechanisms and the soil-geogrid interaction inside the barrier are investigated. The results outline the differences between the two ways of modelling the wrap-around technique. In particular, the computed global displacements are comparable in the two computational schemes while the simulated stress-strain responses of the structural elements are somehow different.
Intelligent Soft Hands and Benchmarking towards General-Purpose Robotic Manipulation
Authors: Gilday Kieran , Iida Fumiya
Published: October 2022

In order to progress the development of intelligent soft hands for general-purpose use in humanoid robots, social assistive robots, adaptive manufacturing, prosthetics and more, we need to rethink our approach to benchmarking. Where previously, hands are compared by their performance in a limited set of tasks, resulting in performance optimisations in the subjective, most common tasks. Instead, we must focus on increasing the hand’s potential at the lowest level, by improving the underlying passive behaviours, in terms of increased behavioural diversity and cheap control.
Mechanical Sensing in Embodied Agents
Authors: Preti Matteo Lo , Thuruthel Thomas George , Gilday Kieran , Beccai Lucia , Iida Fumiya
Published: October 2022

Sensors enable autonomous systems to obtain information about their internal states and the environment for guiding their actions. It is as essential for these sensors to reject disturbances as to gather the correct information. There are numerous trade-offs and considerations in designing these sensory systems. For instance, natural agents evolved a vast diversity of highly optimized sensory organs to perform their tasks. This work focuses on how these sensory systems estimate mechanical stimuli. We look at some of the strategies and design principles found in nature to understand fundamental trade-offs and design considerations when acquiring and processing mechanical information.
Photophysical, optical and lasing analysis of fluorinated β-keto carboxylate europium(III) complexes
Authors: Khatri Savita , Ahlawat Pratibha , Khatkar S P , Taxak V B , Kumar Rajesh
Published: October 2022

Six luminescent, bright red Eu(III) complexes with a β-keto-carboxylic acid as prime ligand and N-donor aromatic systems as auxillary ligand were synthesised via ecologically efficient grinding method. The distinctive red peak (5D0 → 7F2) of Eu(III) ion is exhibited in emission spectra of all complexes. The luminescent properties of complexes were analysed through decay time, color coordinates, luminescence efficiency and Judd Ofelt parameters. The value of Ω2 is found to be higher than Ω4 which indicated hypersensitive nature of 5D0 → 7F2 transition. The results established the complexes as a strong contender for red light emitting display devices. The fluorescence branching ratios, stimulated emission cross section, gain band width and optical gain showed the good lasing strength of 5D0 → 7F2 transition of complexes. The complexes exhibited decent thermal stability and have optical energy band gap value in semiconductor range, thus can have relevance in optoelectronic devices. Energy transfer mechanism was investigated for complexes which affirmed the efficacious transfer of energy from ligands to Eu(III) ion. The synthesised complexes were also assayed for antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. All complexes are reported to show better antioxidant behaviour than the prime ligand and also exhibited upstanding antibacterial activities.
Delicate modulation of mixed conducting properties of PEDOT:PSS via crosslinking with polyvinyl alcohol
Authors: Kim Ji Hwan , Wieland Matthias , Omiecienski Beatrice , Kim Youngseok , Park Jaeil , Kim Gunwoo , Ludwigs Sabine , Yoon Myung-Han
Published: October 2022

Despite possible toxicity issues, chemical reduction or non-polarizable electrodes incorporated with highly reactive chemical species have been utilized to control the operational characteristics of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) for bioelectronic interfacing applications. In this study, we demonstrate that crosslinking between highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and biocompatible nonconductive polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) effectively modulates the mixed conducting properties of PEDOT:PSS. The PEDOT:PSS–PVA films prepared by simple PEDOT:PSS and PVA blending at various ratios, spin-coating, crosslinking, and sulfuric acid treatment were comprehensively studied using optical spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and electrical/electrochemical device characterizations. With PVA contents up to 20 wt.%, the resultant PEDOT:PSS–PVA-based OECTs showed a linear threshold voltage shift with a marginal loss of transconductance, suggesting an effective modulation of the peak transconductance gate voltage. Furthermore, the PVA content also affects the ion transport dynamics, which is related to the crystallite size and ionic functional group density in the PEDOT:PSS–PVA system. The detailed mechanism of delicately controlled mixed conduction in the PEDOT:PSS–PVA system is proposed from the perspective of structure-property relations.
Nonunitary gate operations by dissipation engineering
Authors: Zapusek Elias , Javadi Alisa , Reiter Florentin
Published: October 2022

Irreversible logic is at odds with unitary quantum evolution. Emulating such operations by classical measurements can result in disturbances and high resource demands. To overcome these limitations, we propose protocols that harness dissipation to realize the nonunitary evolution required for irreversible gate operations. Using additional excited states subject to decay, we engineer effective decay processes that perform the desired gate operations on the smallest stable Hilbert space. These operate deterministically and in an autonomous fashion, without the need for measurements. We exemplify our approach considering several classical logic operations, such as the OR, NOR, and XOR gates. Towards experimental realization, we discuss a possible implementation in quantum dots. Our study shows that irreversible logic operations can be efficiently performed on realistic quantum systems and that dissipation engineering is an essential tool for obtaining nonunitary evolutions. The proposed operations expand the quantum engineers’ toolbox and have promising applications in NISQ algorithms and quantum machine learning.
The impact of Mn nonstoichiometry on the oxygen mass transport properties of La0.8Sr0.2Mn
y
O3±δ
thin films
Authors: Chiabrera Francesco M , Baiutti Federico , Börgers Jacqueline M , Harrington George F , Yedra Lluís , Liedke Maciej O , Kler Joe , Nandi Pranjal , Sirvent Juan de Dios , Santiso Jose , López-Haro Miguel , Calvino José J , Estradé Sonia , Butterling Maik , Wagner Andreas , Peiró Francesca , De Souza Roger A , Tarancón Albert
Published: October 2022

Oxygen mass transport in perovskite oxides is relevant for a variety of energy and information technologies. In oxide thin films, cation nonstoichiometry is often found but its impact on the oxygen transport properties is not well understood. Here, we used oxygen isotope exchange depth profile technique coupled with secondary ion mass spectrometry to study oxygen mass transport and the defect compensation mechanism of Mn-deficient La0.8Sr0.2Mn
y
O3±δ
epitaxial thin films. Oxygen diffusivity and surface exchange coefficients were observed to be consistent with literature measurements and to be independent on the degree of Mn deficiency in the layers. Defect chemistry modeling, together with a collection of different experimental techniques, suggests that the Mn-deficiency is mainly compensated by the formation of

La

Mn

×

antisite defects. The results highlight the importance of antisite defects in perovskite thin films for mitigating cationic nonstoichiometry effects on oxygen mass transport properties.
Cytokinins and auxins in organs of aquatic carnivorous plants: what do they reflect?
Authors: Adamec Lubomír , Plačková Lenka , Doležal Karel
Published: October 2022

Background and Aims

Aquatic carnivorous plants have typical rootless linear shoots bearing traps and exhibit steep physiological polarity with rapid apical growth. The aim was to analyse auxin and cytokinin metabolites in traps, leaves/shoots and shoot apices in several species of genera Aldrovanda and Utricularia to elucidate how the hormonal profiles reflect the specific organ functions and polarity.

Methods

The main auxin and cytokinin metabolites were analysed in miniature samples (>2 mg dry weight) of different organs of Aldrovanda vesiculosa and six Utricularia species using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.

Key Results

Total contents of biologically active forms (free bases, ribosides) of all four main endogenously occurring cytokinin types were consistently higher in traps than in leaves in four Utricularia species with monomorphic shoots and/or higher than in shoots in two Utricularia species with dimorphic shoots. In Aldrovanda traps, the total content of different cytokinin forms was similar to or lower than that in shoots. In U. australis leaves, feeding on prey increased all cytokinin forms, while no consistent differences occurred in Aldrovanda. In four aquatic Utricularia species with monomorphic shoots, the content of four auxin forms was usually higher in traps than in leaves. Zero IAA content was determined in U. australis leaves from a meso-eutrophic site or when prey-fed.

Conclusions

Different cytokinin and auxin profiles estimated in traps and leaves/shoots of aquatic carnivorous plants indicate an association with different dominant functions of these organs: nutrient uptake by traps versus photosynthetic function of traps. Interplay of cytokinins and auxins regulates apical dominance in these plants possessing strong polarity.
Efficient enzymatic production of benzaldehyde from l-phenylalanine with a mutant form of 4-hydroxymandelate synthase
Authors: Takakura Yasuaki , Ono Takuto , Danjo Keiko , Nozaki Hiroyuki
Published: October 2022

Benzaldehyde is an organic compound with an almond-like aroma and one of the most important and widely used flavorings in the food industry. To develop an enzymatic process for the production of benzaldehyde from l-phenylalanine, four enzymes were expressed in Escherichia coli; l-amino acid deaminase, 4-hydroxymandelate synthase, (S)-mandelate dehydrogenase, and benzoylformate decarboxylase. Although each E. coli strain could be used to synthesize benzaldehyde from l-phenylalanine, the yield was low due to the accumulation of an intermediate, phenylpyruvic acid. We developed a second reaction step by engineering 4-hydroxymandelate synthase of Actinoplanes teichomyceticus. A quadruple mutant of 4-hydroxymandelate synthase (A199V/Q206R/I217V/K337Q) obtained by random and site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated 2.4-fold higher activity than wild type. Furthermore, the mutant-expressing strain was able to produce benzaldehyde from 100 mm l-phenylalanine at a conversion rate of 84% (wild type, 37%). We report the development of an efficient process for benzaldehyde production using l-phenylalanine as a substrate.
Handcrafted versus non-handcrafted (self-supervised) features for the classification of antimicrobial peptides: complementary or redundant?
Authors: García-Jacas César R , García-González Luis A , Martinez-Rios Felix , Tapia-Contreras Issac P , Brizuela Carlos A
Published: October 2022

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have received a great deal of attention given their potential to become a plausible option to fight multi-drug resistant bacteria as well as other pathogens. Quantitative sequence-activity models (QSAMs) have been helpful to discover new AMPs because they allow to explore a large universe of peptide sequences and help reduce the number of wet lab experiments. A main aspect in the building of QSAMs based on shallow learning is to determine an optimal set of protein descriptors (features) required to discriminate between sequences with different antimicrobial activities. These features are generally handcrafted from peptide sequence datasets that are labeled with specific antimicrobial activities. However, recent developments have shown that unsupervised approaches can be used to determine features that outperform human-engineered (handcrafted) features. Thus, knowing which of these two approaches contribute to a better classification of AMPs, it is a fundamental question in order to design more accurate models. Here, we present a systematic and rigorous study to compare both types of features. Experimental outcomes show that non-handcrafted features lead to achieve better performances than handcrafted features. However, the experiments also prove that an improvement in performance is achieved when both types of features are merged. A relevance analysis reveals that non-handcrafted features have higher information content than handcrafted features, while an interaction-based importance analysis reveals that handcrafted features are more important. These findings suggest that there is complementarity between both types of features. Comparisons regarding state-of-the-art deep models show that shallow models yield better performances both when fed with non-handcrafted features alone and when fed with non-handcrafted and handcrafted features together.
METAbolomics data Balancing with Over-sampling Algorithms (META-BOA): an online resource for addressing class imbalance
Authors: Hashimoto-Roth Emily , Surendra Anuradha , Lavallée-Adam Mathieu , Bennett Steffany A L , Čuperlović-Culf Miroslava
Published: October 2022

Motivation

Class imbalance, or unequal sample sizes between classes, is an increasing concern in machine learning for metabolomic and lipidomic data mining, which can result in overfitting for the over-represented class. Numerous methods have been developed for handling class imbalance, but they are not readily accessible to users with limited computational experience. Moreover, there is no resource that enables users to easily evaluate the effect of different over-sampling algorithms.

Results

METAbolomics data Balancing with Over-sampling Algorithms (META-BOA) is a web-based application that enables users to select between four different methods for class balancing, followed by data visualization and classification of the sample to observe the augmentation effects. META-BOA outputs a newly balanced dataset, generating additional samples in the minority class, according to the user’s choice of Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE), Borderline-SMOTE (BSMOTE), Adaptive Synthetic (ADASYN) or Random Over-Sampling Examples (ROSE). To present the effect of over-sampling on the data META-BOA further displays both principal component analysis and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding visualization of data pre- and post-over-sampling. Random forest classification is utilized to compare sample classification in both the original and balanced datasets, enabling users to select the most appropriate method for their further analyses.

Availability and implementation

META-BOA is available at https://complimet.ca/meta-boa.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
E-SNPs&GO: embedding of protein sequence and function improves the annotation of human pathogenic variants
Authors: Manfredi Matteo , Savojardo Castrense , Martelli Pier Luigi , Casadio Rita
Published: October 2022

Motivation

The advent of massive DNA sequencing technologies is producing a huge number of human single-nucleotide polymorphisms occurring in protein-coding regions and possibly changing their sequences. Discriminating harmful protein variations from neutral ones is one of the crucial challenges in precision medicine. Computational tools based on artificial intelligence provide models for protein sequence encoding, bypassing database searches for evolutionary information. We leverage the new encoding schemes for an efficient annotation of protein variants.

Results

E-SNPs&GO is a novel method that, given an input protein sequence and a single amino acid variation, can predict whether the variation is related to diseases or not. The proposed method adopts an input encoding completely based on protein language models and embedding techniques, specifically devised to encode protein sequences and GO functional annotations. We trained our model on a newly generated dataset of 101 146 human protein single amino acid variants in 13 661 proteins, derived from public resources. When tested on a blind set comprising 10 266 variants, our method well compares to recent approaches released in literature for the same task, reaching a Matthews Correlation Coefficient score of 0.72. We propose E-SNPs&GO as a suitable, efficient and accurate large-scale annotator of protein variant datasets.

Availability and implementation

The method is available as a webserver at https://esnpsandgo.biocomp.unibo.it. Datasets and predictions are available at https://esnpsandgo.biocomp.unibo.it/datasets.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Estimation of speciation times under the multispecies coalescent
Authors: Peng Jing , Swofford David L , Kubatko Laura
Published: October 2022

Motivation

The multispecies coalescent model is now widely accepted as an effective model for incorporating variation in the evolutionary histories of individual genes into methods for phylogenetic inference from genome-scale data. However, because model-based analysis under the coalescent can be computationally expensive for large datasets, a variety of inferential frameworks and corresponding algorithms have been proposed for estimation of species-level phylogenies and associated parameters, including speciation times and effective population sizes.

Results

We consider the problem of estimating the timing of speciation events along a phylogeny in a coalescent framework. We propose a maximum a posteriori estimator based on composite likelihood (MAPCL) for inferring these speciation times under a model of DNA sequence evolution for which exact site-pattern probabilities can be computed under the assumption of a constant θ throughout the species tree. We demonstrate that the MAPCL estimates are statistically consistent and asymptotically normally distributed, and we show how this result can be used to estimate their asymptotic variance. We also provide a more computationally efficient estimator of the asymptotic variance based on the non-parametric bootstrap. We evaluate the performance of our method using simulation and by application to an empirical dataset for gibbons.

Availability and implementation

The method has been implemented in the PAUP* program, freely available at https://paup.phylosolutions.com for Macintosh, Windows and Linux operating systems.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.