bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Análise multivariada da microflora epífita em S. Officinarum ensilada com G. Sepium*
Authors: Cabral Jr. C. , Silva D. , Amorim E. , Esfrain W. , Miranda E. , Pinheiro D. , Carnauba J.
Published: February 2021

Objetivou-se com este trabalho caracterizar a microflora epífita da cana-de-açúcar (C), da gliricídia fresca (GNE) e emurchecida (GE) e das misturas ensiladas. Este estudo foi desenvolvido na Universidade Federal de Alagoas, UFAL, de janeiro a dezembro de 2005. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial [(2x3x4)+4]. As silagens de cana-de-açúcar aditivadas com GNE e GE foram confeccionadas nas proporções: 100/0, 75/25, 50/50 e 25/75. Os 28 tratamentos, com três repetições cada, foram acondicionados em silos experimentais (baldes plásticos de 10 l), vedados com lona de PVC e mantidos sob condições controladas de temperatura, umidade e proteção da presença de roedores. Os tempos de armaze-namento das silagens foram: 15, 45, 90 e 120 dias, nos quais foram abertos para a coleta de amostras. A análise multivariada mostrou-se significativa para os efeitos dos fatores e variáveis analisadas (p
Poedeiras alimentadas com diferentes níveis de energia e oleo de soja na ração
Authors: Costa F. G. P. , Quirino B. J. S. , Givisiez P. E. N. , Silva J. H. V. , Almeida H. H. S. , Costa J. S. , Oliveira C. F. S. , Goulart C. C.
Published: February 2021

Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos de níveis crescentes de energia e de óleo de soja sobre o desempenho e a qualidade interna e externa dos ovos de poedeiras semipesadas. Foram utilizadas 360 poedeiras comerciais da linhagem Bovans Goldline, com 29 semanas de idade, durante cinco períodos de 28 dias, distribuídas num delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3 x 3, totalizando 9 tratamentos com 5 repetições de oito aves cada. Os fatores estudados foram níveis de óleo de soja (1, 2 e 3%) e níveis de energia metabolizável na ração (2600, 2750 e 2900 kcal/kg). Não foi observada interação entre os níveis do óleo de soja e a energia metabolizável da dieta. Os níveis de óleo de soja não promoveram efeito para nenhum dos parâmetros avaliados. Os níveis de energia metabolizável não influenciaram a produção de ovos, conversão alimentar, massa de ovos, peso de gema e de casca, percentagem de gema e de clara e gravidade específica. Foram observadas diferenças para conversão energética, peso do ovo e de clara, e percentagem de casca, sendo os maiores pesos observados no menor nível de energia e a maior percentagem observada no maior nível de energia. O fornecimento de 2600 kcal de EM/kg foi mais adequado para manter a produção e o peso corporal e para promover melhoria na conversão energética e aumento no peso do ovo.
Comparação do habito alimentar de eqüídeos sob pastejo
Authors: Zanine A. M. , Vieira B. R. , Ferreira D. J. , Vieira A. J. M. , Lana R. P.
Published: February 2021

Foi conduzido um experimento com o objetivo de avaliar as diferenças no comportamento de eqüídeos em pastagem de coast-cross. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, com três categorias (cavalos, éguas e mulas) representando os tratamentos, cada um com sete repetições. O período experimental foi de 40 dias, sendo 25 para adaptação dos animais e 15 para avaliações, que consistiram de três repetições, com duração de 24 horas cada, em intervalos de cinco dias. O teste t demonstrou que os cavalos passaram menos tempo pastejando durante o dia (6,38 horas) em relação às éguas (8,85 horas) e mulas (7,33 horas). Em relação ao tempo total em pastejo, as mulas gastaram mais tempo (14,77 horas), enquanto os cavalos pastejaram durante 11,60 horas. Os cavalos permaneceram maior tempo em ócio que as éguas e mulas, enfatizando a menor exigência nutricional dos cavalos. Não foram observadas diferenças entre cavalos e éguas, com relação à quantidade de bocados por minuto. As éguas e mulas aumentaram o seu tempo de pastejo como forma de atingir suas exigências nutricionais, já que não houve diferença na freqüência de bocados.
Agregação de valor em eqüinos da raça crioula: um estudo de caso
Authors: Gianluppi L. D. F. , Bortoli E. C. , Schvarz Sobrinho R. , Falcão T. F. , Silva T. N.
Published: February 2021

Com o melhoramento da raça, a admiração pelos cavalos Crioulos foi se tornando um vantajoso investimento. O Prêmio Freio de Ouro se tornou um dos instrumentos mais completos para se avaliar o potencial de lucratividade de um animal. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi retratar a agregação de valor em cavalos Crioulos destinados à competição. Esse objetivo foi alcançado pelo estudo de caso do vencedor do Prêmio Freio de Ouro 2006, Ganadero Da Harmonia, utilizando entrevistas e pesquisas em websites relacionados à raça em análise. Encontrou-se que a agregação de valor se inicia pela genealogia do animal, seguida pelo adestramento e, como fator mais importante, a premiação no Freio de Ouro. Conclui-se que a diferenciação do animal se dá pelo aprimoramento das qualidades já existentes e é fundamental para a agregar valor.
Processamento da dieta para larvas de mandi-pintado (Pimelodus britskii)
Authors: Neu D.H. , Diemer O.A. , Sary C. , Reis E.S.B. , Feiden A.A. , Boscolo W.R.B.
Published: February 2021

Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a influencia do processamento de ração na dieta sobre o desenvolvimento de larvas de mandi-pintado (Pimelodus britskii). Foram utilizadas 75 larvas, distribuídas em um experimento inteiramente casualizado em 15 aquários de 5 l de volume útil em uma densidade de uma larva por litro. As rações foram processadas e fornecidas na forma farelada, pastosa e extrusada moída. As larvas foram alimentadas até a saciedade aparente por um período de 30 dias, 4 vezes ao dia: 8, 11, 14 e 17 h. Os parâmetros da água (oxigênio dissolvido, pH e condutividade) foram mensurados uma vez por semana. Não foram observadas diferenças no desempenho das larvas em relação ao peso médio final e sobrevivência. Para o comprimento médio final, a dieta extrusada moída foi melhor que a ração farelada (p
Probiótico (enterococcus faecium) adicionado a dietas estándar y con baja proteína para cerdos
Authors: Reyes I. , Figueroa J. L. , Cobos M. A. , Sánchez-Torres M. T. , Zamora V. , Cordero J. L.
Published: February 2021

Se evaluó el comportamiento productivo (ganancia diaria de peso, GDP; consumo de alimento, COA; conversión alimenticia, CA; ganancia de carne magra, GCM), las características de la canal (área del músculo Longissimus, AML; grasa dorsal, GD; porcentaje de carne magra, CM), la concentración de urea en plasma, y la población microbiana en heces de 36 cerdos machos castrados híbridos (Yorkshire×Duroc×Pietrain) en iniciación (11,10 ± 0,51 kg), crecimiento (25,75 ± 1,13 kg), y finalización (51,03 ± 2,20 kg), en respuesta a dos niveles de proteína bruta (PB; iniciación: 20,5 y 16,0 %; crecimiento: 16,0 y 14,5 %; y finalización: 14,0 y 12,5 %) y dos niveles del probiótico (PRO) Enterococcus faecium (0,0 y 1,0 kg t-1 de alimento en cada etapa) en dietas sorgo-pasta de soya, en un diseño completamente al azar con arreglo factorial 2×2, con 9 repeticiones por tratamiento. La energía se mantuvo constante en 3,265 Mcal kg-1. En iniciación, la adición del PRO redujo (p£0,05) el AML, pero no afectó (p>0,05) otras variables en estudio; la urea en plasma disminuyó (p£0,05) en cerdos alimentados con baja proteína. En crecimiento y finalización, al reducir la PB disminuyó (p£0,01) la urea en plasma, pero no afectó (p>0,05) otras variables. Agregar PRO aumentó (p£0,05) la concentración de Enterococcus y el total de bacterias en heces en todas las etapas. Estos resultados indican que agregar PRO aumenta la población microbiana total y de Enterococcus, pero no afecta la respuesta productiva, las características de la canal, ni la concentración de urea en plasma de cerdos alimentados con dietas estándar o con baja proteína.
Análise técnico-econômica de diferentes níveis da torta de macaúba em dietas para vacas leiteiras
Authors: Costa R. G. , Lima A. G. V. O. , Oliveira C. F. S. , Azevedo P. S. , Medeiros A. N.
Published: February 2021

Utilização de diferentes metodologias para determinação da área de olho de lombo em ovinos
Farelo de arroz desengordurado com baixo teor de ácido fítico na alimentação da carpa capim
Authors: Costenaro-Ferreira C. , Silva L. P. , Della-Flora M. A. L. , Martinelli S. G. , Maschio D. , Corrêia V.
Published: February 2021

Com a necessidade de suplementação da alimentação da carpa capim (Ctenopharyngodon idella) com dietas artificiais, tem-se buscado ingredientes com disponibilidade regional para sua formulação. Países produtores de arroz possuem grande oferta de farelo de arroz desengordurado, porém sua utilização na alimentação de não ruminantes é limitada pela presença de ácido fítico. Assim, avaliou-se o desempenho e deposição de minerais nos ossos de juvenis de carpa capim alimentados com ração contendo 25 % de farelo de arroz desengordurado (FADE), 25 % de farelo de arroz desengordurado com ácido fítico extraído (FADEX) ou ração controle com ingredientes convencionais (CONT) na nutrição de peixes. Para isso, 300 juvenis de carpa capim (7,37 ± 0,61 g) foram alimentados com ração peletizada três vezes ao dia durante 60 dias em sistema de recirculação de água com temperatura controlada. Aos 30 e 60 dias foram avaliados peso, comprimento total (CT), taxa de crescimento específico (TCE), ganho médio diário (GMD), fator de condição (FC) e conversão alimentar aparente (CAA) e, aos 60 dias, ganho em peso (GP), rendimento de carcaça, deposição de cálcio, fósforo e cinzas nos ossos. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições. Os dados passaram por análise de variância e comparação de médias pelo teste de Duncan a nível de 5 % de significância. Aos 30 dias o tratamento FADEX mostrou valores de TCE e GMD superiores ao CONT e FADE. Ao final do experimento verificou-se que o CT, GP e TCE dos peixes do tratamento FADEX foram significa-tivamente maiores que os demais, mas não o GMD, indicando uma possível adaptação ao ácido fítico do tratamento FADE. FADEX promoveu maior deposição de P nos ossos que FADE e CONT. Concluiu-se que o FADEX melhora o desempenho e aumenta a deposição de P nos ossos de juvenis de carpa capim podendo ser utilizado como ingrediente de rações no nível de inclusão testado.
Comportamento ingestivo de novilhas suplementadas a pasto sob nutrição compensatória ingestive
Authors: Santana Júnior H. A. , Silva R. R. , Carvalho G. G. P. , Cardoso E. O. , Mendes F. B. L. , Pinheiro A. A. , Abreu Filho G. , Dias D. L. S. , Barroso D. S. , Silva F. F. , Trindade Júnior G.
Published: February 2021

O estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos da nutrição compensatória em novilhas suplementadas a pasto sobre o comportamento ingestivo. O experimento foi conduzido na fazenda Princesa do Mateiro, município de Ribeirão do Largo, Bahia. Foram utilizadas 20 novilhas com grau de sangue 5/8 Guzerá Leiteiro 3/8 Holandês, com média de 18 meses de idade e peso corporal médio de 187 ± 13,07 kg. O experimento teve duração de 224 dias e os animais foram mantidos em sistema de produção a pasto, em pastejo rotacionado de Brachiaria brizantha "Marandú". Os animais foram aleatoriamente alocados em cada um dos tratamentos: Controle (T100): Animais recebendo concentrado para suprir 100 % da exigência de nutrientes para ganho de 750 g/dia; Nutrição compensatória (NC): Animais que alternaram o nível de alimentação entre os períodos, sendo que nos períodos de restrição receberam concentrado para suprir 80 % da exigência de nutrientes digestíveis totais do tratamento controle (T80) e nos períodos de realimentação receberam concentrado para suprir 120 % das exigências de nutrientes digestíveis totais do tratamento controle (T120). Nos períodos de restrição, as médias do tempo de pastejo foram maiores para o NC (533 vs. 426 minutos) (p
Formulación de dietas para pollos: la importancia de usar de ecuaciones de predicción para estimar los valores de energía
Authors: Alvarenga R.  R. , Zangeronimo M.  G. , Rodrigues P.  B. , Pereira L.  J. , Wolp R.  C. , Almeida E.  C.
Published: February 2021

En la actualidad, la búsqueda de información más precisa acerca de los valores energéticos de las dietas es un factor importante en la preparación de alimentos para pollos. Hay varios factores que pueden influir en estos valores, tales como la composición química de los alimentos, los ingredientes, la edad y sexo de las aves. Estas variaciones están constantemente dando lugar a formulaciones incorrectas que reflejan directamente en el rendimiento y calidad de la canal. En este sentido, el uso de ecuaciones de predicción basadas en la composición química de los alimentos ha sido de gran valor. Ellos han sido la sustitución del uso de las tablas de composición de alimentos de la energía, especialmente cuando se considera el principio de meta-análisis en el desarrollo de estas ecuaciones. Sin embargo, estas nuevas líneas de investigación debe ser dirigida a redactar las ecuaciones más adecuadas para satisfacer las necesidades de las aves en diversas condiciones de la creación.
Nutrição in ovo: estratégia para nutrição de precisão em sistemas de produção avícola
Authors: Gonçalves F. M. , Santos V. L. , Contreira C. L. , Farina G. , Kreuz B. S. , Gentilini F. P. , Anciuti M. A. , Rutz F.
Published: February 2021

O intestino de um pintinho é relativamente subdesenvolvido após o nascimento e estratégias de alimentação inicial devem considerar este atraso, principalmente pelas condições de estresse a qual estes animais estão submetidos logo após a eclosão. A primeira refeição do embrião é o fluido amniótico o qual é ingerido antes da bicagem interna da casca do ovo iniciando no 13º dia de incubação estendendo-se até o 18º, preparando o trato gastrointestinal para o contato com nutrientes externos após a eclosão. Considerando o padrão fisiológico de um pintinho, as reservas de carboidratos são mínimas logo após a eclosão, ocorrendo uma relação inversa entre o peso da ave jovem e as reservas de glicogênio, sugerindo que o frango moderno, de crescimento rápido, possui maior requerimento metabólico que a genética de aves utilizadas em décadas anteriores. Atualmente a alimentação in ovo tem sido considerada uma alternativa viável como suporte ao desenvolvimento precoce dos pintinhos através da utilização de soluções nutritivas injetáveis durante o período de incubação. Objetivou-se discutir as possibilidades em implantação da técnica de nutrição in ovo na cadeia produtiva do frango considerando as necessidades fisiológicas dos animais e resultados obtidos por pesquisas científicas.
Georges Florovsky
Authors:   Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernyaev Anatoly
Published: February 2021

Georges Florovsky is one of the world-class thinkers who determined the ways of understanding and developing Russian philosophy and Orthodox theology in the modern era. The youngest contemporary of the brilliant period of the heyday of Russian philosophy, science and culture at the beginning of the 20th century, one of the founders of the concept of Eurasianism, a member of academic corporations of the largest institutions founded by Russian emigrants on both sides of the Atlantic, a participant in the ecumenical movement, he acquired considerable authority and influence in world Slavic studies and religious thought. Florovsky's main works are devoted to the interpretation of the Russian thought tradition and the study of the patristic heritage, on the basis of which he proposed a new project for the development of Orthodox thought: neo-patristic synthesis. It is necessary to consider these areas of Florovsky's activity in interconnection: the picture of the history of Russian religious thought presented in his works is intended to demonstrate that the separation from classical patristic models that occurred in it entailed a crisis of the spiritual culture of Russia, which led to a large-scale social crisis of the 20th century. Florovsky's philosophical and theological program of neo-patristic synthesis was formed in a polemic with the sophiological direction of Russian philosophy and can be regarded as its main alternative; this program received a response and development in the works of a number of domestic and foreign philosophers and theologians.
Chrysippus of Soli
Authors:   Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Stoliarov Alexander
Published: February 2021

Chrysippus of Soli (c. 280/77–208/5 BC) was a most multilateral stoic philosopher; he earned the title of Second Founder of Stoa. A prolific writer (he has written much more than any other stoic philosopher, but none of his works have survived except as fragments), Chrysippus expanded the fundamental doctrines of Zeno of Citium, the founder of the school. Chrysippus excelled in logic, the theory of knowledge, physics and ethics. He created an original system of propositional logic in order to better understand the causal interrelations of events in the universe. He adhered to a deterministic view of fate, but nevertheless sought a role for personal freedom in thought and action. Ethics, he thought, depended on understanding the nature of the universe, and he taught a therapy of extirpating the passions which depress the soul. He initiated the success of Stoicism as one of the most influential philosophical movements in the Greek and Roman world.
Paul Ricoeur about Co-existence of the People (through the pages of the book «Paul Ricoeur. Politique, économie et société. Écrits et conférences 4» (Paris, 2019))
Authors:   Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vdovina Irena
Published: February 2021

The 4th volume of “Manuscripts and Speeches” by the prominent contemporary thinker Paul Ricoeur (1913‑2005) contains works discussing one of his central themes — the problem of a common existence of men considered from the point of view of politics, economics, power, law, culture, morality, and ethics. At the same time, the French thinker specifically highlights and discusses such burning problems of modern life as mutual recognition, the fragility of human existence and earthly civilization in general, tolerance, care, justice, responsibility for the future of humanity, for the very idea of man. In a number of works, Ricoeur expresses his views on the possible future of Europe — on its new ethos overcoming the boundaries and structures of national states, on the combination of their “identity” and “otherness” at the global level. Translation from one language to another as a kind of a priori communication, exchange of memory as a preliminary transfer to a different cultural environment, forgiveness that stems from the suffering of others and raises the question of the burden of debt, — all this is being considered as a models of integration. Originally presented at philosophical congresses and symposia, as well as qua journal publications, the highlighted problems were fundamentally studied by the philosopher in his works “History and Truth” (1955), “Oneself as Another” (1990), “Ethics and Responsibility” (1994), “The Just” (vols. 1, 2 — 1995, 2001), “Ideology and Utopia” (1997), “Memory, History, Oblivion” (2000), “The Way of Recognition” (2004). The book “Paul Ricoeur. Politics, Economics and Society. Manuscripts and Speeches 4” is addressed to philosophers, cultural and political scientists and scholars representing different branches of humanitarian studies, as well as to readers interested in contemporary philosophy.
On the Discussion of Mannerheim's Role in the War with the USSR
Authors:   National research University Higher school of Economics, Maslov Viktor
Published: February 2021

The article is written in the form of an essay. It examines what value for the course of the Great Patriotic War of 1941‑1945, in particular for the defense of Leningrad, had neutral-restrained position of Mannerheim and Finland as a state, expressed in relative distancing from Nazi Germany: non-participation in the storming and bombing of Leningrad, refusal to provide the German army the territory of Finland for hitting the city, to block the "Road of Life" on the lake Ladoga. It is shown that this position was largely the result of the diplomatic efforts of the Soviet Ambassador to Sweden, Alexandra Kollontai, who had a special friendly relationship with Mannerheim. In the course of the argument, along with the analysis of objective and literarily documented facts, the author also relies on personal evidence rooted in the biography of his grandfather, the famous academician P.P. Maslov. The article uses a concrete example to show how personal positions and interpersonal relationships, subject to their own logic, become important elements of historically significant factors.
Assessing the Efficiency of Saturating Shale Oil Cores and Evaluating Hydrocarbon Gas Huff ‘n’ Puff Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Authors: Cudjoe S. E. , Barati R. , Tsau J.-S. , Zhang C. , Nicoud B. , Bradford K. , Baldwin A. , Mohrbacher D.
Published: February 2021

Shale oil formations have a very low primary yield despite advances in multistage hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. In so doing, gas huff ‘n’ puff (HnP), among other improved oil recovery methods, is implemented to recover more liquid hydrocarbons. Gas HnP has proven to be an effective recovery process in shales taking into account the fracture properties, fluid-fluid interactions, and gas diffusion controlled by matrix properties. However, a laboratory-scale understanding of the gas HnP mechanism proves challenging. At this scale, measuring saturation before and after HnP tests in a nonintrusive and nondestructive manner, and understanding rock properties that affect diffusion is essential. In addition to ascertaining how the multiscale pore systems and varying mineral composition of shales affect its evaluation. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is considered a suitable tool for estimating fluid content in shales and understanding rock/fluid interactions. Generally, synthetic oil samples are used on either outcrop core plugs or crushed reservoir samples for NMR measurements, which may not be representative of rock/fluid interactions in bulk shales.

This study is focused on carrying out NMR tests with dead oil on reservoir core plugs at relatively different depths to determine an effective means of saturation and understand oil production due to gas HnP. Gas HnP experiments were performed at reservoir conditions (3,500 psi and 125°C) on representative rock types from the Lower Eagle Ford (LEF) interval. Low field NMR measurements were subsequently carried out on the LEF core plugs at different states: as-received, saturated, and after gas HnP. The results show that oil recovery due to gas HnP occurred mainly in the organic pores (OPs) and inorganic pores (IPs) and ranged from 48 to 56% of the oil-in-place with indications of adsorbed/trapped methane (CH4) and remaining heavier components. This plays a vital role in evaluating the HnP process to know the extent of invasion and remaining oil components.

In saturating the core plugs, the optimum saturation period was found to be 2 weeks for the LEF shale at current conditions. This presents an idea of how long to saturate a shale oil core effectively before it is tested for gas HnP. On the basis of the impact of varying mineral composition on the recovery mechanism, we observed the LEF core plug with the highest clay content to have the least recovery. This is in line with a high T1/T2 ratio alluding to reduced mobility of fluids in the presence of clay minerals with relatively small sizes of clay porosity and adsorptive surfaces.
Bacterial expression and protein purification of mini-fluorescence-activating proteins
Authors: Klima Jason C. , Chow Cameron M. , Dou Jiayi , Vorobieva Anastassia A. , Carter Lauren , Baker David
Published: February 2021

Bacterial expression and purification of de novo designed mini-fluorescence-activating proteins (mFAPs) are accomplished by genetically fusing mFAP variants to an N-terminal 6xHis tag and optionally to a Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) protease epitope. The protocol can take less than 24 hours to complete, and allows for downstream in vitro characterization of photophysical properties of mFAPs by equilibration with exogenous fluorogenic compounds.
Intratracheal Keratinocyte Growth Factor Enhances Surfactant Protein B Expression in Mechanically Ventilated Preterm Pigs
Authors: Krishnan Ramesh , Arrindell Esmond , Caminita Frank , Zhang Jie , Buddington Randal
Published: February 2021

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a devastating disease of the premature newborn with high morbidity and mortality. Surfactant deficient preterm lungs are susceptible to ventilator induced lung injury, thereby developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Despite surfactant therapy and newer ventilation strategies, associated morbidity and mortality remains unchanged. Enhancing surfactant production and reducing ventilator induced lung injury in premature infants are critical. Recombinant keratinocyte growth factor previously been studied to treat adult respiratory distress syndrome. We hypothesized that administering recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor when initiating mechanical ventilation would help stimulate type II cell proliferation and surfactant production. Recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor may also help mitigate ventilator induced lung injury hereby reducing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, a possible precursor to later development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Methods: To test our hypothesis, we delivered preterm pigs via cesarean section on day 102. We performed intubation and ventilation for 24 hr. using intermittent positive pressure ventilation. After ventilation began, pigs randomly received intratracheal recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor (20 µg/kg; n=6) or sham treatment (0.5 ml 0.9% saline; n= 6). We recorded physiology data and arterial blood gases during ventilation. After 24 hr. pigs were extubated and received oxygen via nasal cannulation 12 hr. before euthanasia to collect lungs for histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry staining was graded and analyzed for surfactant protein B and epithelial to mesenchymal transition markers. Data were analyzed using t-test and Fisher’s exact test. Continuous variables analyzed using ANOVA.Results: Compared with control pigs, recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor pretreated pigs had improved ventilation with higher tidal volumes and required less oxygen (FiO2) during mechanical ventilation for similar peak pressures demonstrating improved lung compliance. Recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor pretreated pig lungs showed increased surfactant protein B expression (p< 0.05) and significantly reduced TGF-β (p< 0.05), a prominent marker for epithelial to mesenchymal transition.Conclusions: Intratracheal recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor administered at initiation of mechanical ventilation enhances surfactant production, reduce lung injury by mitigation of the changes by epithelial mesenchymal transition, thereby improving outcomes. Thus, recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor may represent a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
Influence of Low FODMAP and Gluten-Free Diets on Gut Microbiota Alternations and Symptom Severity in Iranian Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome; A Clinical Trial Study
Authors: Naseri Kaveh , Dabiri Hossein , Nejad Mohammad Rostami , Yadegar Abbas , Houri Hamidreza , Olfatifar Meysam , Sadeghi Amir , Saadati Saeede , Ciacci Carolina , Iovino Paola , Zali Mohammad Reza
Published: February 2021

Background & objective: Recently, dietary restriction of fermentable carbohydrates (a low-FODMAP diet) in combination with a gluten-free diet (GFD) has been proposed to reduce the symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. Different studies reported that IBS has been associated with dysbiosis in the gut microbiota. Additionally, a few studies have reported inflammation in gastrointestinal (GI) system of adults with IBS. In this study we aim to investigate the effects of GFD and low-FODMAP diet on clinical symptoms, intestinal microbiota diversity, and fecal calprotectin (FC) level in Iranian patients with IBS.Design: In this clinical trial study, 42 patients with IBS (Rome IV criteria) underwent GFD + low-FODMAP dietary intervention for 6 weeks. Symptoms were assessed using the IBS symptom severity scoring (IBS-SSS), and fecal samples were collected at baseline and after intervention and analyzed by quantitative 16S rRNA PCR assay. The diversity of gut microbiota compared before and after 6 weeks of dietary intervention. FC was also analyzed by ELISA method.Results: Thirty patients (mean age 37.8 ± 10.7 years) completed the 6-week diet. The IBS-SSS was significantly (P = 0.038) reduced after GFD + low-FODMAP dietary intervention compared to the baseline. Significant microbial differences before and after intervention were noticed in fecal samples. A significant increase was found in Bacteroidetes, and the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio was significantly ( P = 0.001) decreased after the dietary intervention. The value of FC was significantly decreased after 6 weeks dietary intervention (P = 0.001).Conclusions: Our study suggests that patients with IBS under a GFD + low-FODMAP diet had a significant improvement in IBS symptoms severity, with reduced FC level following normalization of their gut microbiota composition. Further rigorous trials are needed to establish long-term efficacy and safety of this dietary intervention for personalized nutrition in IBS.
Malament Stitch and Increased Risk of Bladder Neck Stenosis: Any Association Following Open Prostatectomy in Enugu Southeast Nigeria.
Authors: Amu okwudili , Affusim Emmanuel , Nnadozie Ugochukwu , Mbadiwe Okezie
Published: February 2021

Background: Malament stitch is one of the effective techniques employed to minimize bleeding in simple open prostatectomy but concerns about possibility of increased risk of bladder neck stenosis has limited its routine use. Aim: We studied patients who had open prostatectomy with malament stitch to determine the incidence of bladder neck stenosis amongst them.Material and methods: this was a prospective study of 72patients who had simple open prostatectomy in which malament stitch was applied from 2010 to 2020. A proforma was designed to collect data. Pretreatment variables were transrectal ultrasound ( TRUS) volume of prostate, pretreatment IPSS value, postvoidal residual urine volume before surgery, weight of enucleated prostate adenoma, time to removal of Malament stitch. Outcome measures were done with post treatment IPSS and PVR at 6weeks, 3months and 6months. Cystoscopy was done at 3months or 6months for patients with rising outcome measures to determine presence of bladder neck stenosis. RESULTS: The mean age of patients in this study was 68.3 years (SD=7.1, range = 52-82). The mean of the pretreatment score for IPSS was 30.7 (SD= 3.9, range= 18- 34) and 5.9 (SD= 0.2) for QOLS. The mean weight of prostate estimated with ultrasound was 169.5g and mean weight of enucleated adenoma of the prostate was 132.5g. The mean time of removal of Malament stitch was 23.1hrsOnly 3 (4.2%)patients required cystoscopy because of increasing IPSS and PVR at three months postprostatectomy . 2 (2.8%)patients out of 72patients were confirmed to have bladder neck stenosis at cystoscopy.Conclusion: Malament stitch did not lead to significant incidence of bladder neck stenosis in this study.
DEM Resolutions for Landslide Susceptibility Modeling
Authors: Wubalem Azemeraw
Published: February 2021

In landslide susceptibility mapping, the digital elevation model (DEM) is one of the most essential data sets, which is frequently used. Therefore, evaluate the effects of the spatial resolution of DEM on the landslide susceptibility model is very important. Hence, this paper is analyzed only the effects of the spatial resolution of DEM, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission, and Reflection (ASTER) was used for DEM data source. The ASTER DEM was resampled to 45, 60, 75, and 90 m spatial resolutions. A set of geodatabases were built using Geographic Information System (GIS), which contains landslide governing factors and landslide inventory. Frequency ratio (FR) and certainty factor (CF) statistical methods were employed to generate a landslide susceptibility map. Landslide density and area under the curve (AUC) were applied to evaluate the model's performance for each DEM resolution. The results of the predictive rate curve value of AUC showed a coarser DEM resolution (90 m) produced the best performance and prediction accuracy. This indicated that a coarser DEM resolution produced higher predictive accuracy than fine resolution. Concerning the statistical models, the frequency ratio model produced very good accuracy at the coarser DEM resolutions (75 and 90 m). The predictive rate curve value of AUC ranges from 86-92% for the FR model and 81-89% for the CF model which indicating very good accuracy of the models to predict future landslide incidence in the study area. Therefore, it is possible to endorse statistical methods (frequency ratio, and certainty factor) respect with to DEM resolution, which is satisfactory to landslide susceptibility mapping.
Changes in The Use of After-Hour House-Call Medical Services For Fever or Common Cold Symptoms During The COVID-19 Pandemic in Tokyo, Japan: A Descriptive Study
Authors: INOKUCHI Ryota , MORITA Kojiro , IWAGAMI Masao , WATANABE Taeko , ISHIKAWA Masatoshi , TAMIYA Nanako
Published: February 2021

BackgroundThe trend in the characteristics of patients using an after-hour house-call (AHHC) medical service changed the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but there has been no report on this issue since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate patients’ tendencies to seek an AHHC medical service for fever or common cold symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis cohort study compared the characteristics of patients with fever or symptoms of the common cold utilizing an AHHC medical service offered by a single large company between the control period (December 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019) and the COVID-19 pandemic exposure period (December 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020). It also assessed the proportion of these patients in relation to all patients calling for the service for any reason. ResultsDuring the control and COVID-19 pandemic exposure periods, 6,462 (median age: 8 [interquartile range {IQR}: 3, 11], males: 48.2%) and 10,003 (median age: 10 [IQR: 4, 33], males: 48.3%) patients, respectively, called for the AHHC medical service. Of these, 5,335 (82.6%) and 7,423 (74.2%) patients had fever or common cold symptoms, respectively. The disease severity was differently distributed between the groups: the proportions of people with severe, moderate, and mild illness were 0.3%, 28.7%, and 71.0% in the control period and 1.1%, 54.8%, and 44.1% in the COVID-19 pandemic exposure period (p < 0.001), respectively. The AHHC medical service identified six individuals with COVID-19.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of patients with fever or symptoms of the common cold was lower than that in the control period, but the illness severity was substantially higher.
Differentiation of Small (≤3 Cm) Hepatocellular Carcinomas From Benign Nodules in Cirrhotic Liver: Additive Value of MRI-Based Radiomics Analysis to LI-RADS Version 2018 Algorithm
Authors: Zhong Xi , Guan Tianpei , Tang Danrui , Li Jiansheng , Lu Bingui , Cui Shuzhong , Tang Hongsheng
Published: February 2021

Background
Accurate characterization of small nodules in a cirrhotic liver is challenging. We aimed to determine the additive value of MRI-based radiomics analysis to Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2018 (LI-RADS v 2018) algorithm in differentiating small (≤ 3 cm) hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) from benign nodules in cirrhotic liver.
Methods
Cirrhosis patients (150) with histopathologically confirmed small liver nodules (HCC, 112; benign nodules, 44) were included. Based on the LI-RADS algorithm, a LI-RADS category was assigned for each lesion. A radiomics signature was generated based on texture features extracted from T1-weighted, T2W, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images by using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model. A nomogram model was developed for the combined diagnosis. Diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis.
Results
A radiomics signature consisting of eight features were significantly associated with the differentiation of HCCs from benign nodules. Both LI-RADS algorithm (area under ROC [Az] = 0.898) and the MRI-Based radiomics signature (Az = 0.917) demonstrated good discrimination; and the nomogram model showed a superior classification performance (Az = 0.975). Compared with LI-RADS alone, the combined approach significantly improved the specificity (97.7% vs 81.8%, p = 0.030) and positive predictive value (99.1% vs 92.9%, p = 0.031) and afforded comparable sensitivity (97.3% vs 93.8%, p = 0.215) and negative predictive value (93.5% vs 83.7%, p = 0.188).
Conclusions
MRI-based radiomics analysis showed additive value to the LI-RADS v 2018 algorithm for differentiating small HCCs from benign nodules in cirrhotic liver.
Experimental Study on Shear Strength of Saturated Remolded Loess
Authors: Lai Jie , Liu Yun , Xiang Yuzhou , Wang Wei , Xu Jiangbo , Cao Baohua , Zhao Danni , Wei Wei , Bao Han , Yan Changgen , Lan Hengxing
Published: February 2021

Loess has the characteristic of macropore, loose structure, homogeneous composition and collapsibility. It is easy to saturate when it encounters heavy rainfall and irrigation, resulting in landslides, roadbed subsidence and dam instability in the loess area. To study the influence of dry density and shear rate on shear strength of saturated remolded loess, an SLB-6A stress-strain controlled triaxial shear penetration tester was used to conduct Consolidated Undrained(CU) test in the Yan'an area. During the test, three variables of shear rate, confining pressure and dry density were controlled. The dry densities of the samples were 1.5g/cm3, 1.6g/cm3 and 1.7g/cm3 respectively. The CU test of the saturated remolded loess at a confining pressure of 100kPa, 150kPa, and 200kPa was performed at a shear rate of 0.04mm/min, 0.08mm/min, 0.16 mm/min, and 0.4mm/min respectively. It is found that the stress-strain curve of saturated remolded loess gradually moves up with the increase of dry density. When the dry density is equal to ρd=1.5g/cm3, the deviatoric stress under different confining pressures there is a tendency to increase first and then decrease with increases of shear rate. When the dry density is equal to ρd=1.6g/cm3 and ρd=1.7g/cm3, the deviational stress under different confining pressures shows the trend of increasing first, decreasing and then increasing with the increase of shear rate, which is different from that at the dry density ρd =1.5g/cm3 at a shear rate v=0.4mm/min. When the dry density ρd=1.5g/cm3, the cohesive force decreases first and then increases with the increase of shear rate. When the dry density ρd=1.6g/cm3 and ρd=1.7g/cm3, the cohesive force first increases at 0.08 mm/min, and then decreases with the increase of shear rate. The cohesion and internal friction angles tend to increase as the dry density increases.
Fabrication of Different SnO2 Nanorods for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation and Antibacterial Activity
Authors: Gnanamoorthy Govindhan , Yadav Virendra Kumar , Yadav Krishna , Ramar Kandasamy , Alam Javed , Shukla Arun Kumar , Ali Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed , Alhoshan Mansour
Published: February 2021

The acid-mediated (Oxalic acid [OXA], Cinnamic acid [CA], and itaconic acid [IA]) SnO2 nanorods were synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The synthesized SnO2 nanorods, in turn, were analyzed with various physic-chemical techniques such as the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the different SnO2 nanorods was investigated with the malachite green (MG) dye under visible light illumination. The OXA-SnO2 nanorods displayed an excellent degradation performance with observed values of 91% compared to other nanomaterials’ (CA and IA-SnO2) photocatalytic activity. The different synthesized SnO2 materials were tested for antibacterial and antifungal studies; this result may be used or developed in future research activities.
Clinical profile and short-term outcomes of RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Hasan Md Zabir , Biswas Nirmol Kumar , Aziz Ahmad Monjurul , Chowdhury Juli , Haider Shams Shabab , Sarker Malabika
Published: February 2021

Background: After one year since emerging from Wuhan, China, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still raging worldwide. Still, there is a dearth of original research exploring the attributes of COVID-19 patients from lower-and middle-income countries, such as Bangladesh. Based on a case series from a tertiary healthcare center, this observational study has explored the epidemiological and clinical profile of COVID-19 patients in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 422 COVID-19 confirmed patients (via Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test) were enrolled in this study. We have compiled patients' medical records and reported their demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical features, treatment history, health outcome, and post-discharge complications descriptively.Result: Patients were predominantly male (64%), between 35 to 49 years (28%), with at least one comorbidity (52%), and had COVID-19 symptoms for one week before hospitalization (66%). A significantly higher proportion (P<0.05) of male patients had diabetes, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease, while females had a significantly higher proportion (P<0.05) of asthma. The most common symptoms were fever (80%), cough (60%), dyspnea (41%), and sore throat (21%). Most patients received antibiotics (77%) and anticoagulant therapy (56%) and stayed in the hospital for an average of 12 days. Over 90% of patients were successfully weaned, while 3% died from COVID-19, and 41% reported complications after discharge.Conclusion: The diversity of clinical and epidemiological characteristics and health outcomes of COVID-19 patients across age groups and gender is noteworthy. Our result will inform the clinicians and epidemiologists of Bangladesh of their COVID-19 mitigation effort.
Comparing Astrocytic Gap Junction of Genetic Absence Epileptic Rats with Control Rats: An Experimental Study
Authors: Cavdar Safiye , Köse Büşra , Sur İlknur , Özkan Mazhar
Published: February 2021

The synchronization of astrocytes via gap junctions (GJ) is a crucial mechanism in epileptic conditions, contributing to the synchronization of the neuronal networks. Little is known about the endogenous response of GJ in genetic absence epileptic animal models. We evaluated and quantified astrocyte GJ protein connexin 30 (Cx30) and 43 (Cx43) in the somatosensory cortex (SSCx), ventrobasal (VB), centromedian (CM), lateral geniculate (LGN) and thalamic reticular (TRN) nuclei of thalamus of genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS), Wistar albino glaxo rats from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) and control Wistar animals using immunohistochemistry and Western Blot. The Cx30 and Cx43 immunopositive astrocytes in per unite area were quantified for each region of the three animal strains. Further, Cx30 and Cx43 Western Blot was applied to the tissue samples from the same regions of the three strain. The number of Cx30 immunopositive astrocytes showed significant increase in both GAERS and WAG/Rij compared to control Wistar in all brain regions studied except LGN of WAG/Rij animals. Furthermore, Cx43 in both GAERS and WAG/Rij showed significant increase in SSCx, VB and TRN. The percentage of dual expression of Cx30 and Cx43 in the same astrocyte ranged between 17-100% for the 5 brain regions of the 3 animal strains studied. The protein expression of both Cx30 and Cx43 in the two epileptic strain showed an increase compared to Wistar control animals. The significant increase in the astrocytic GJ proteins Cx30 and Cx43 and the differences in the dual expression of Cx30 and Cx43 in the genetically absence epileptic strains compared to control animals may suggest that astrocytic Cx’s may be involved in the mechanism of absence epilepsy. Increased number of astrocytic Cx’s in GAERS and WAG/Rij may represent a compensatory response of the thalamocortical circuitry to the absence seizures or may be related to the production of absence seizures.
A Hybrid Ensembled Double-Input-Fuzzy-Modules Based Precise Prediction of PV Power Generation
Authors: Zhang Hualu , Shi Jie , Li Wei , Lv Hui
Published: February 2021

BackgroundAs one of the most widespread renewable energy technologies, photovoltaic power generation system provides great environmental and economic benefits. Uncertain output of the photovoltaic power generation system gets a lot of concern, due to its randomicity and intermittence features. Achieving precise prediction for the PV power generation will greatly improve the quality of electric energy and enhance the stability of power system operation. Inspired by the powerful ability of fuzzy logic to deal with uncertainty and the superiority of machine learning to handle the time series prediction, a hybrid ensembled model consisted of the Double-Input-Fuzzy-Modules (DIFM) and Extreme Learning Machine is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the PV power generation data is taken as the input of each DIFM in order to efficiently handle the uncertainties. Then, the outputs of each DIFM are used as the input of ELM. Moreover, the least square estimation is applied to train the parameters of the hybrid ensembled model to further enhance the predict precision. Finally, the proposed hybrid ensembled model is applied to achieve a real-world PV power generation forecasting. ResultsThe case study and comparisons results indicate that the proposed hybrid ensembled model outperforms other methods, including the adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system, the single-input-rule-modules connected fuzzy model, the support vector regression and the multiple linear regression, in terms of the mean absolute error, the root means square error, the mean absolute error percentage and the mean relative error. ConclusionsThis study fully took the advantages of fuzzy logic to deal with uncertainty and the superiority of machine learning to handle the time series prediction, then combined the DIFM and Extreme Learning Machine to propose a hybrid ensembled DIFM based PV power generation prediction model. Experimental results demonstrated the superiorities of the proposed model over the other comparisons, in both prediction accuracy and calculation speed.
Temperature relaxation in strongly-coupled binary ionic mixtures
Authors: Sprenkle Robert , Silvestri Luciano , Murillo M. S. , Bergeson Scott
Published: February 2021

New facilities such as the National Ignition Facility and the Linac Coherent Light Source have pushed the frontiers of high energy-density matter. These facilities offer unprecedented opportunities for exploring extreme states of matter, ranging from cryogenic solid-state systems to hot, dense plasmas, with applications to inertial-confinement fusion and astrophysics. However, significant gaps in our understanding of material properties in these rapidly evolving systems still persist. In particular, non-equilibrium transport properties of strongly-coupled Coulomb systems remain an open question. Here, we study ion-ion temperature relaxation in a binary mixture, exploiting a recently-developed dual-species ultracold neutral plasma. We compare measured relaxation rates with atomistic simulations and a range of popular theories. Our work validates the assumptions and capabilities of the simulations and invalidates theoretical models in this regime. This work illustrates an approach for precision determinations of detailed material properties in Coulomb mixtures across a wide range of conditions.