bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stimuli-Responsive Nanotherapeutics for Treatment and Diagnosis of Stroke
Authors: Choudhary Manisha , Chaudhari Sayali , Gupta Tanisha , Kalyane Dnyaneshwar , Sirsat Bhagwat , Kathar Umesh , Sengupta Pinaki , Tekade Rakesh K.
Published: March 2023

Stroke is the second most common medical emergency and constitutes a significant cause of global morbidity. The conventional stroke treatment strategies, including thrombolysis, antiplatelet therapy, endovascular thrombectomy, neuroprotection, neurogenesis, reducing neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, hemostatic treatment, do not provide efficient relief to the patients due to lack of appropriate delivery systems, large doses, systemic toxicity. In this context, guiding the nanoparticles toward the ischemic tissues by making them stimuli-responsive can be a turning point in managing stroke. Hence, in this review, we first outline the basics of stroke, including its pathophysiology, factors affecting its development, current treatment therapies, and their limitations. Further, we have discussed stimuli-responsive nanotherapeutics used for diagnosing and treating stroke with challenges ahead for the safe use of nanotherapeutics.
Developing a Formulation Strategy Coupled with PBPK Modeling and Simulation for the Weakly Basic Drug Albendazole
Authors: Shah Harsh , Shah Kushal , Gajera Bhavin , Dave Rutesh H. , Taft David R.
Published: March 2023

Albendazole (ABZ) is a weakly basic drug that undergoes extensive presystemic metabolism after oral administration and converts to its active form albendazole sulfoxide (ABZ_SO). The absorption of albendazole is limited by poor aqueous solubility, and dissolution is the rate-limiting step in the overall exposure of ABZ_SO. In this study, PBPK modeling was used to identify formulation-specific parameters that impact the oral bioavailability of ABZ_SO. In vitro experiments were carried out to determine pH solubility, precipitation kinetics, particle size distribution, and biorelevant solubility. A transfer experiment was conducted to determine the precipitation kinetics. A PBPK model for ABZ and ABZ_SO was developed using the Simcyp™ Simulator based on parameter estimates from in vitro experiments. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of physiological parameters and formulation-related parameters on the systemic exposure of ABZ_SO. Model simulations predicted that increased gastric pH significantly reduced ABZ absorption and, subsequently, ABZ_SO systemic exposure. Reducing the particle size below 50 µm did not improve the bioavailability of ABZ. Modeling results illustrated that systemic exposure of ABZ_SO was enhanced by increasing solubility or supersaturation and decreasing the drug precipitation of ABZ at the intestinal pH level. These results were used to identify potential formulation strategies to enhance the oral bioavailability of ABZ_SO.
Synthesis and Characterization of Quercetin–Iron Complex Nanoparticles for Overcoming Drug Resistance
Authors: Prestianni Lucas , Espinal Eric R. , Hathcock Sarah F. , Vollmuth Nadine , Wang Pixiang , Holler Robert A. , Liu Shaoyang , Kim Brandon J. , Bao Yuping
Published: March 2023

Quercetin, one of the major natural flavonoids, has demonstrated great pharmacological potential as an antioxidant and in overcoming drug resistance. However, its low aqueous solubility and poor stability limit its potential applications. Previous studies suggest that the formation of quercetin-metal complexes could increase quercetin stability and biological activity. In this paper, we systematically investigated the formation of quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles by varying the ligand-to-metal ratios with the goal of increasing the aqueous solubility and stability of quercetin. It was found that quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles could be reproducibly synthesized with several ligand-to-iron ratios at room temperature. The UV-Vis spectra of the nanoparticles indicated that nanoparticle formation greatly increased the stability and solubility of quercetin. Compared to free quercetin, the quercetin-iron complex nanoparticles exhibited enhanced antioxidant activities and elongated effects. Our preliminary cellular evaluation suggests that these nanoparticles had minimal cytotoxicity and could effectively block the efflux pump of cells, indicating their potential for cancer treatment.
Effects of Plant Biostimulation Time Span and Soil Electrical Conductivity on Greenhouse Tomato ‘Miniplum’ Yield and Quality in Diverse Crop Seasons
Authors: Tallarita Alessio V. , Vecchietti Lorenzo , Golubkina Nadezhda A. , Sekara Agnieszka , Cozzolino Eugenio , Mirabella Massimo , Cuciniello Antonio , Maiello Roberto , Cenvinzo Vincenzo , Lombardi Pasquale , Caruso Gianluca
Published: March 2023

Biostimulants help plants cope with environmental stresses and improve vegetable yield and quality. This study was conducted to determine the protein hydrolysate (PH) effect of three different durations (weekly applications: three, six, or nine times plus an untreated control) in factorial combination with four soil electrical conductivities (EC: 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, or 6.0 mS·cm−1) on yield, fruit quality, and elemental composition of tomato ‘miniplum’ grown in a greenhouse. Fruit yield was best affected, during the summer, by six and nine biostimulant applications at EC 3.0 mS·cm−1, and in the same season, the six treatments led to the highest fruit number with no difference compared to nine applications; during the winter, the three and six treatments improved the mentioned variables at each EC level. Fruits’ dry residue and Brixo were positively affected by biostimulation both in summer and winter. In summer, the 6.0 mS·cm−1 EC led to the highest dry residue and Brixo values, though the latter did not show any significant difference compared to 4.5 mS·cm−1; in winter, the best results corresponded to 4.5 and 6.0 mS·cm−1. A higher beneficial effect of PH on fruit antioxidant status, i.e., lycopene, polyphenols, ascorbic acid levels, and lipophilic (LAA) and hydrophilic (HAA) activity, was recorded in winter compared with summer. Positive correlations between polyphenols and LAA, as well as ascorbic acid content and HAA were found for all EC and PH treatments. Most of the mineral elements tested demonstrated concentration stability, whereas the highest EC decreased P, Mg, Cu, and Se accumulation. The opposite effect was shown by PH application on Se and Mn levels, with P tending to increase. The concentrations of Fe, Zn, and Cu were the lowest under the longest duration of PH supply. These results further confirm the essential role of plant biostimulation in enhancing tomato yield and quality, with a particular focus on the treatment duration.
LSPpred Suite: Tools for Leaderless Secretory Protein Prediction in Plants
Authors: Lonsdale Andrew , Ceballos-Laita Laura , Takahashi Daisuke , Uemura Matsuo , Abadía Javier , Davis Melissa J. , Bacic Antony , Doblin Monika S.
Published: March 2023

Plant proteins that are secreted without a classical signal peptide leader sequence are termed leaderless secretory proteins (LSPs) and are implicated in both plant development and (a)biotic stress responses. In plant proteomics experimental workflows, identification of LSPs is hindered by the possibility of contamination from other subcellar compartments upon purification of the secretome. Applying machine learning algorithms to predict LSPs in plants is also challenging due to the rarity of experimentally validated examples for training purposes. This work attempts to address this issue by establishing criteria for identifying potential plant LSPs based on experimental observations and training random forest classifiers on the putative datasets. The resultant plant protein database LSPDB and bioinformatic prediction tools LSPpred and SPLpred are available at lsppred.lspdb.org. The LSPpred and SPLpred modules are internally validated on the training dataset, with false positives controlled at 5%, and are also able to classify the limited number of established plant LSPs (SPLpred (3/4, LSPpred 4/4). Until such time as a larger set of bona fide (independently experimentally validated) LSPs is established using imaging technologies (light/fluorescence/electron microscopy) to confirm sub-cellular location, these tools represent a bridging method for predicting and identifying plant putative LSPs for subsequent experimental validation.
Current State of the Art and Next Generation of Materials for a Customized IntraOcular Lens according to a Patient-Specific Eye Power
Authors: Vacalebre Martina , Frison Renato , Corsaro Carmelo , Neri Fortunato , Santoro Antonio , Conoci Sabrina , Anastasi Elena , Curatolo Maria Cristina , Fazio Enza
Published: March 2023

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) are commonly implanted after surgical removal of a cataractous lens. A variety of IOL materials are currently available, including collamer, hydrophobic acrylic, hydrophilic acrylic, PHEMA copolymer, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and silicone. High-quality polymers with distinct physical and optical properties for IOL manufacturing and in line with the highest quality standards on the market have evolved to encompass medical needs. Each of them and their packaging show unique advantages and disadvantages. Here, we highlight the evolution of polymeric materials and mainly the current state of the art of the unique properties of some polymeric systems used for IOL design, identifying current limitations for future improvements. We investigate the characteristics of the next generation of IOL materials, which must satisfy biocompatibility requirements and have tuneable refractive index to create patient-specific eye power, preventing formation of posterior capsular opacification.
Effective Endotoxin Removal from Chitosan That Preserves Chemical Structure and Improves Compatibility with Immune Cells
Authors: Reay Sophie L. , Jackson Emma L. , Salthouse Daniel , Ferreira Ana Marina , Hilkens Catharien M. U. , Novakovic Katarina
Published: March 2023

Chitosan is one of the most researched biopolymers for healthcare applications, however, being a naturally derived polymer, it is susceptible to endotoxin contamination, which elicits pro-inflammatory responses, skewing chitosan’s performance and leading to inaccurate conclusions. It is therefore critical that endotoxins are quantified and removed for in vivo use. Here, heat and mild NaOH treatment are investigated as facile endotoxin removal methods from chitosan. Both treatments effectively removed endotoxin to below the FDA limit for medical devices (<0.5 EU/mL). However, in co-culture with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), only NaOH-treated chitosan prevented TNF-α production. While endotoxin removal is the principal task, the preservation of chitosan’s structure is vital for the synthesis and lysozyme degradation of chitosan-based hydrogels. The chemical properties of NaOH-treated chitosan (by FTIR-ATR) were significantly similar to its native composition, whereas the heat-treated chitosan evidenced macroscopic chemical and physical changes associated with the Maillard reaction, deeming this treatment unsuitable for further applications. Degradation studies conducted with lysozyme demonstrated that the degradation rates of native and NaOH-treated chitosan-genipin hydrogels were similar. In vitro co-culture studies showed that NaOH hydrogels did not negatively affect the cell viability of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs), nor induce phenotypical maturation or pro-inflammatory cytokine release.
Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Concrete Containing Waste Glass and Its Application on Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular Columns
Authors: Diao Yan , Chen Long , Huang Yitao
Published: March 2023

Waste glass (WG), as a nonbiodegradable material, poses a threat to environmental protection. The reuse of WG as a raw material to replace cement or aggregate in concrete production is gaining attention for recycling purposes. However, the optimal proportion of WG in concrete mixtures and its particle size distribution are hard to determine. Large glass particles are prone to leading to the undesirable alkali–silica reaction (ASR) in concrete. Therefore, in this study, cement and aggregate in concrete mixtures are partially replaced by combinations of glass powder (<30 μm) and glass beads (0.2–1.7 mm), respectively. Glass concretes (GCs) containing waste glass at various replacement ratios (0, 10, 15, 20, and 30%) are prepared, and their flowability and compressive strength are evaluated and compared. Finally, steel tubes filled by ordinary concrete (OCFSTs) and steel tubes filled by glass concrete (GCFSTs) are fabricated and tested in axial compression. The test results show that the slump and slump flow increase when the replacement ratio is lower than 20%, and the maximum slump value (250 mm) is achieved for concrete with the use of 20% waste glass. With regard to compressive strength, as the glass replacement percentage is increased, the compressive strength of GC continues to reduce. The maximum decrease of compressive strength (merely 70% of compressive strength for original concrete) is observed in GC mixed with 20% glass, which might be attributed to the smooth surface of glass, consequently weakening the interfacial bond strength between the glass and matrix. In terms of the bearing capacity of GCFSTs, the axial compressive strength of GCFSTs decreases as more GC is used. However, no obvious reduction is observed compared to OCFSTs (less than 10% for GCFSTs containing 30% GP). Moreover, GCFSTs show greater (no less than 25% more) deformational ability at peak strength over OCFST columns, demonstrating that GC is a promising alternative for normal concrete. Finally, the feasibility of existing design codes (AISC, EC4, and GB50936-2014) to assess the bearing capacity of GCFSTs is evaluated by comparing the test and calculated results. The current codes, in general, give a conservative prediction and EC4 provides the closest value (predicted to experimental peak load ratio is 0.9).
The Cultic Reformation Chiastic Structure in the Book of Kings
Authors: Lee-Sak Yitzhak
Published: March 2023

The Book of Kings presents religious reforms in ancient Israel and Judah in an elaborately designed pattern. Repetitive verbal and thematic parallels concerning reforms and political incidents reveal a systematic–concentric chiastic structure. A good king/bad king pattern framed within a concept of “one Israel” shows that Solomon’s/Jeroboam’s and Manasseh’s/Josiah’s reforms are placed at the opposite ends of the chiasmus, enveloping those of Asa/Ahab and Ahaz/Hezekiah and then Jehu’s/Joash’s reforms centered within the larger structure. By virtue of their positioning inside the structure, the Yahwistic reforms of Solomon, Josiah, and Jehu/Joash are emphasized as compared to other kings’ reforms. All of northern Israel’s reforms fail, while in Judah only some succeed, and even these have limitations and require further development. The Davidic heirs and their supporters may now perceive that Kings presents and pursues the pro-Yahwistic reforms as the ideal ones, based on the Davidic covenant, while rejecting the potentially problematic ones.
On the Association between Fine Dust Concentrations from Sand Dunes and Environmental Factors in the Taklimakan Desert
Authors: Jin Lili , He Qing
Published: March 2023

Dust in sand dunes is an effective and important source of dust emission. The Taklimakan Desert (TD) is one of the main sources of global dust: the sand dunes account for approximately 85% of the total area of the TD. However, the dust concentration, emission characteristics, and physical factors of different parts of the sand dunes in the TD during the day and night, as well as dust and non-dust days, remain unclear. In this study, dust observations were collected over a 3 month period in the TD to investigate the physical processes by which dust moves across a surface and generates PM10 and PM2.5 from the top and bottom of sand dunes. The results showed that the daily average maximum concentrations of particulate matter with diameters below 2.5 and 10 µm (PM2.5 and PM10) in the dune during the observation period reach ~90 and ~190 µg·m−3, respectively. Dust emission generated in the saltation process (maximum emission of PM10 was 3–5 mg·m−2·s−1) in the TD dunes was larger than that in other areas and had a good correlation with u* (friction velocity), where u* = 0.4 m·s−1 was the threshold of sand dune dust emission. The wind speed at the top of dunes was larger than that at the bottom, which was conducive to the accumulation of PM10 at the top of the dune. Furthermore, the MLH (mixed layer height) decreased after sunset and the turbulence weakens, which was conducive to the retention of dust in the air. Moreover, the dust made the solar radiation at the top of the dune −15 W·m−2 (average) lower than at the bottom. These results provided a new understanding of dune emissions in the TD and could be used for dust modeling in regional and global models.
Temperature Dependence of the Beating Frequency of hiPSC-CMs Using a MEMS Force Sensor
Authors: Ikegami Ryota , Tsukagoshi Takuya , Matsudaira Kenei , Shoji Kayoko Hirayama , Takahashi Hidetoshi , Nguyen Thanh-Vinh , Tamamoto Takumi , Noda Kentaro , Koyanagi Ken’ichi , Oshima Toru , Shimoyama Isao
Published: March 2023

It is expected that human iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) can be used to treat serious heart diseases. However, the properties and functions of human adult cardiomyocytes and hiPSC-CMs, including cell maturation, differ. In this study, we focused on the temperature dependence of hiPSC-CMs by integrating the temperature regulation system into our sensor platform, which can directly and quantitatively measure their mechanical motion. We measured the beating frequency of hiPSC-CMs at different environmental temperatures and found that the beating frequency increased as the temperature increased. Although the rate at which the beating frequency increased with temperature varied, the temperature at which the beating stopped was relatively stable at approximately 20 °C. The stopping of beating at this temperature was stable, even in immature hiPSC-CMs, and was considered to be a primitive property of cardiomyocytes.
Sensing Mechanisms of Rough Plasmonic Surfaces for Protein Binding of Surface Plasmon Resonance Detection
Authors: Treebupachatsakul Treesukon , Shinnakerdchoke Siratchakrit , Pechprasarn Suejit
Published: March 2023

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been utilized in various optical applications, including biosensors. The SPR-based sensor is a gold standard for protein kinetic measurement due to its ultrasensitivity on the plasmonic metal surface. However, a slight change in the surface morphology, such as roughness or pattern, can significantly impact its performance. This study proposes a theoretical framework to explain sensing mechanisms and quantify sensing performance parameters of angular surface plasmon resonance detection for binding kinetic sensing at different levels of surface roughness. The theoretical investigation utilized two models, a protein layer coating on a rough plasmonic surface with and without sidewall coatings. The two models enable us to separate and quantify the enhancement factors due to the localized surface plasmon polaritons at sharp edges of the rough surfaces and the increased surface area for protein binding due to roughness. The Gaussian random surface technique was employed to create rough metal surfaces. Reflectance spectra and quantitative performance parameters were simulated and quantified using rigorous coupled-wave analysis and Monte Carlo simulation. These parameters include sensitivity, plasmonic dip position, intensity contrast, full width at half maximum, plasmonic angle, and figure of merit. Roughness can significantly impact the intensity measurement of binding kinetics, positively or negatively, depending on the roughness levels. Due to the increased scattering loss, a tradeoff between sensitivity and increased roughness leads to a widened plasmonic reflectance dip. Some roughness profiles can give a negative and enhanced sensitivity without broadening the SPR spectra. We also discuss how the improved sensitivity of rough surfaces is predominantly due to the localized surface wave, not the increased density of the binding domain.
Segmentation of Unsound Wheat Kernels Based on Improved Mask RCNN
Authors: Shen Ran , Zhen Tong , Li Zhihui
Published: March 2023

The grade of wheat quality depends on the proportion of unsound kernels. Therefore, the rapid detection of unsound wheat kernels is important for wheat rating and evaluation. However, in practice, unsound kernels are hand-picked, which makes the process time-consuming and inefficient. Meanwhile, methods based on traditional image processing cannot divide adherent particles well. To solve the above problems, this paper proposed an unsound wheat kernel recognition algorithm based on an improved mask RCNN. First, we changed the feature pyramid network (FPN) to a bottom-up pyramid network to strengthen the low-level information. Then, an attention mechanism (AM) module was added between the feature extraction network and the pyramid network to improve the detection accuracy for small targets. Finally, the regional proposal network (RPN) was optimized to improve the prediction performance. Experiments showed that the improved mask RCNN algorithm could identify the unsound kernels more quickly and accurately while handling adhesion problems well. The precision and recall were 86% and 91%, respectively, and the inference time on the test set with about 200 targets for each image was 7.83 s. Additionally, we compared the improved model with other existing segmentation models, and experiments showed that our model achieved higher accuracy and performance than the other models, laying the foundation for wheat grading.
Configuration Planning of Expressway Self-Consistent Energy System Based on Multi-Objective Chance-Constrained Programming
Authors: Huang Xian , Ji Wentong , Ye Xiaorong , Feng Zhangjie
Published: March 2023

Regarding the problem of the optimal configuration of self-consistent energy systems based on a 100% renewable energy supply for expressway electricity demand in no-grid areas, this paper proposes a multi-objective planning model based on chance-constrained programming (CCP) to achieve the optimization objectives of low cost and high reliability. Firstly, the number of units of different types of wind turbines (WT), the capacity of photovoltaic (PV) cells, and the number of sets of energy storage systems (ESS) are selected for the design variables in our configuration plan. After defining the load grading shedding and ESS scheduling strategy, the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method and the backward reduction method are applied to model the uncertainties of electric load and renewable energy sources. Finally, the set of Pareto solutions are optimized by the non-dominated sorted genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and its unique best solution is determined by the Criteria Importance Though Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach. Making use of the wind speed and solar radiation intensity historical data of an area in northwest China in the last five years, eight case studies of two typical scenarios are designed and carried out to explore in-depth the impact of different confidence levels and load fluctuation ranges on the planning results. The results verify that the proposed method can effectively improve the robustness of the system and satisfy the power demand in confidence scenarios.
Social Responsibility: Opportunities for Integral Assessment and Analysis of Connections with Business Innovation
Authors: Oliinyk Olena , Mishchuk Halyna , Vasa Laszlo , Kozma Katalin
Published: March 2023

The paper proposes an approach to the integrated assessment of the social responsibility of EU countries with a combination of data from three international indices most relevant to the monitoring of social responsibility at the macroeconomic level: the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index, the Sustainable Development Goals Index and the Social Progress Index. Applying the method of taxonomic analysis on the example of index values for EU countries, we assessed the differences and leaders in ensuring social responsibility. The authors do not consider country-level social responsibility only as a consequence of the development of responsible practices at all levels. Taking into account that social responsibility should be a prerequisite for expanding opportunities in all spheres, in particular, in business, the authors conducted a correlational analysis of the relationship between the taxonomic indicator of social responsibility and the development of innovative business. As a result, we confirmed significant connections with “Business sophistication” indicators (as part of the Global Innovation Index) and the share of innovative firms of total SMEs (according to OESD statistics). The obtained results strengthen the grounds for considering social responsibility not only as an important socially oriented concept, but also as a reliable basis for the development of innovative business due to the created comfortable institutional environment of business development.
Impact of Photovoltaic Penetration on Medium Voltage Distribution Network
Authors: Maghami Mohammad Reza , Pasupuleti Jagadeesh , Ling Chee Mei
Published: March 2023

Nowadays, large-scale solar penetration into the grid and the intermittent nature of PV systems are affecting the operation of distribution networks. This paper aims to investigate the effect of PV penetration on a typical medium-voltage distribution network in Malaysia. The main objectives of this study are to investigate voltage stability, power loss, and short circuit under two conditions: peak load and no load. The network is evaluated using two methods: static and dynamic analysis, utilizing the Digsilent Power Factory software. The network comprises two 33/11 kV parallel transformers connected to the 11 kV busbar and consists of 13 feeders and 38 loads. PV penetration of 500 kW per node is added, and the maximum potential PV penetration that is acceptable to connect to the grid is evaluated. The findings indicate that during peak load conditions, some nodes experience violations, but by increasing the PV penetration, the lower violations move up to the acceptable range. The highest power loss is 191 kW, occurring during peak load conditions at 0% PV penetration level. On the other hand, dynamic simulations were carried out with specific load time characteristics, and the results were compared under different PV penetration levels. The dynamic simulation results show that during contingency conditions, there are violations in peak load, and the maximum PV penetration for this study was determined to be 2MW. It is observed that the nodes 27, 28, and 29 violate lower voltage limits even at 100% PV penetrations.
The Environmental Footprint of Scientific Research: Proposals and Actions to Increase Sustainability and Traceability
Authors: Palmieri Margherita , Lasserre Bruno , Marino Davide , Quaranta Luca , Raffi Maxence , Ranalli Giancarlo
Published: March 2023

In their work, scientists are responsible for stating a purpose, defining experimental conditions, producing data, describing and analyzing these data by statistical means, arguing by comparison with the literature, and drawing conclusions. When a manuscript is submitted for publication, no assessment of the direct and indirect environmental impacts of producing the work is reported. In this context, the aim of our study is to suggest schematic methods to assess, reduce, and mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by three different papers (two scientific articles and a conference proceeding) previously published by the same authors. The results reported here show proposals and actions to contribute to the reduction of environmental impacts: a preliminary assessment of the inputs and outputs was initially converted into CO2 equivalents (CO2 eq.) and, subsequently, into partial mitigation action through the allocation of the planting of additional plants. Furthermore, real traceability and an opportunity to verify the close connection between initial works (papers and conference book) causing the environmental impact and new green life are suggested. Finally, we propose a new label (S-Paper to T-Plant) for eco-friendly guidelines.
The Inter-Relationship between Climate Change, Inequality, Poverty and Food Security in Africa: A Bibliometric Review and Content Analysis Approach
Authors: Tamasiga Phemelo , Onyeaka Helen , Akinsemolu Adenike , Bakwena Malebogo
Published: March 2023

Despite the persistent income inequality and climate change shocks in Africa, there is limited research on their effects on food security. Hence, this study adopted a mixed-methods approach including a bibliometric analysis and content analysis to examine emerging themes in the literature on climate change, inequality and poverty, and food insecurity in Africa. The bibliometric data used were retrieved from the Scopus database for the period 2000–2022. The exercise revealed an increasing trend in the number of publications in the field, as well as strong collaboration between African countries. Specifically, most of the leading research was published by Kenyan, USA, and UK institutes. From the analysis, seven themes emerged; namely; (1) the impact of governance and policy on poverty alleviation, nutrition status, and food security; (2) the role of innovation and sustainable agriculture in mitigating climate change in developing countries; (3) integrating gender in evaluations of the impact of climate change on food security and livelihoods in Africa; (4) climate change adaptation among smallholders in building resilience for nutrition; (5) the role of institutions in assisting smallholders mitigate and adapt to climate shocks; (6) inequality, food unavailability, and agricultural production; and (7) gendered impacts of climate-smart agriculture in climate adaptation and mitigation. We also found out that there was a dearth of longitudinal studies on these seven themes. Another key element revealed by the study was the lack of policies that address the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change; hence, there is limited research on the agricultural gender productivity gap. Policies based on the tenants of socio-economic inclusion need to guide the distribution of wealth and economic participation in order to reduce inequality and improve food security and nutrition outcomes.
Synergetic Effect of Chemical Coagulation and Electroflotation on Synthetic Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment
Authors: Fobang Enjeh Yoland , Fujino Takeshi , Meetiyagoda Thenuwara Arachchige Omila Kasun
Published: March 2023

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is considered the most environmentally harmful when discharged without proper treatment. In addition to conventional biological treatment methods, physicochemical treatment techniques are considered alternative methods to treat POME as polishing or post-treatment techniques to meet the discharge water quality standards set by authorities. Recently, electroflotation (EF) has gained popularity in wastewater treatment owing to its high efficiency, no harmful by-products, and ease of operation. However, EF has limitations on energy consumption because high current density and long electrolysis time are often used to increase the density of gas bubbles and metallic ions produced in the EF system used in pollutant removal. Polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) are used as alternative options for the production of coagulants instead of using a sacrificial anode in EF. In this study, we hypothesized that PAC and CPAM could enhance the efficiency and reduce the specific energy consumption of EF by minimizing the electrolysis time used in POME treatment. The effects of electrolysis time, current density, and coagulant dosage on POME treatment were investigated. EF treatment at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2 has achieved 82% of turbidity and 47% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal after 45 min electrolysis time, consuming 0.014 kWh of specific energy for the treatment of one gram of COD. There was no improvement in terms of turbidity removal when the current density was increased from 2.5 to 5 mA/cm2; however, the COD removal efficiency was increased up to 52% at 5 mA/cm2. When EF was performed at 1 A combined with PAC at a dosage of 40 mg/L and CPAM at a dosage of 20 mg/L, it was noticed that turbidity and COD removal increased up to 96% and 54%, respectively, within 15 min electrolysis. Subsequently, the specific energy consumption was reduced to 0.004 kWh (by 71%) per one gram of COD treatment. Results confirmed that the chemical coagulants could increase the POME treatment efficiency and reduce the specific energy consumption of EF. However, this method can be improved aiming at further reduction of COD by mineralizing the dissolved organic compounds to fulfill the POME discharge quality standards.
Multiple-Attribute Decision Making Based on Intuitionistic Hesitant Fuzzy Connection Set Environment
Authors: Ali Wajid , Shaheen Tanzeela , Haq Iftikhar Ul , Toor Hamza Ghazanfar , Akram Faraz , Jafari Saeid , Uddin Md. Zia , Hassan Mohammad Mehedi
Published: March 2023

The intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy set (IHFS) is an enriched version of hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs) that can cover both fuzzy sets (FSs) and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs). By assigning membership and non-membership grades as subsets of [0, 1], the IHFS can model and handle situations more proficiently. Another related theory is the theory of set pair analysis (SPA), which considers both certainties and uncertainties as a cohesive system and represents them from three aspects: identity, discrepancy, and contrary. In this article, we explore the suitability of combining the IHFS and SPA theories in multi-attribute decision making (MADM) and present the hybrid model named intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy connection number set (IHCS). To facilitate the design of a novel MADM algorithm, we first develop several averaging and geometric aggregation operators on IHCS. Finally, we highlight the benefits of our proposed work, including a comparative examination of the recommended models with a few current models to demonstrate the practicality of an ideal decision in practice. Additionally, we provide a graphical interpretation of the devised attempt to exhibit the consistency and efficiency of our approach.
Conceptually Related Smart Cities Services from the Perspectives of Governance and Sociotechnical Systems in Europe
Authors: Kim Nammi , Yang Seungwoo
Published: March 2023

The absence of a comprehensive smart city governance model has prompted research into the characteristics of the relationships among cities, services, and stakeholders. This study aims to identify, from the perspectives of governance and sociotechnical systems, the characteristics of conceptually related smart city service implementations based on stakeholder partnerships. Social network analysis was utilized based on existing research datasets. Stakeholders, services, and representative European sustainable smart cities were included in the dataset in relation to this study’s operational definition. The first finding is that the initial conceptually related smart city services are reflected in the accumulated and current characteristics of the smart city services. These depend on stakeholder partnerships, while the network foundation differs between the initial and latter services. The second finding clarifies how different development services depend on stakeholder partnerships and how multiple stakeholders, including local entities, are vital to deal with current challenges in massive urbanizations. The third finding demonstrates the emerging roles of private sectors and some intermediate services in the global network of cities. This study contributes to the management of smart cities by identifying how service development occurs based on stakeholder partnerships and contributes to their theoretical basis by empirically demonstrating the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships to address current urbanization challenges.
CORAL Models for Drug-Induced Nephrotoxicity
Authors: Toropov Andrey , Barnes Devon , Toropova Alla , Roncaglioni Alessandra , Irvine Alasdair , Masereeuw Rosalinde , Benfenati Emilio
Published: March 2023

Drug-induced nephrotoxicity is a major cause of kidney dysfunction with potentially fatal consequences. The poor prediction of clinical responses based on preclinical research hampers the development of new pharmaceuticals. This emphasises the need for new methods for earlier and more accurate diagnosis to avoid drug-induced kidney injuries. Computational predictions of drug-induced nephrotoxicity are an attractive approach to facilitate such an assessment and such models could serve as robust and reliable replacements for animal testing. To provide the chemical information for computational prediction, we used the convenient and common SMILES format. We examined several versions of so-called optimal SMILES-based descriptors. We obtained the highest statistical values, considering the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of the prediction, by applying recently suggested atoms pairs proportions vectors and the index of ideality of correlation, which is a special statistical measure of the predictive potential. Implementation of this tool in the drug development process might lead to safer drugs in the future.
Recent Advancements in Mosquito-Borne Flavivirus Vaccine Development
Authors: Wu Bingan , Qi Zhongtian , Qian Xijing
Published: March 2023

Lately, the global incidence of flavivirus infection has been increasing dramatically and presents formidable challenges for public health systems around the world. Most clinically significant flaviviruses are mosquito-borne, such as the four serotypes of dengue virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus. Until now, no effective antiflaviviral drugs are available to fight flaviviral infection; thus, a highly immunogenic vaccine would be the most effective weapon to control the diseases. In recent years, flavivirus vaccine research has made major breakthroughs with several vaccine candidates showing encouraging results in preclinical and clinical trials. This review summarizes the current advancement, safety, efficacy, advantages and disadvantages of vaccines against mosquito-borne flaviviruses posing significant threats to human health.
Efficient Cross-Screening and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies against Marek’s Disease Specific Meq Oncoprotein Using CRISPR/Cas9-Gene-Edited Viruses
Authors: Teng Man , Liu Jin-Ling , Luo Qin , Zheng Lu-Ping , Yao Yongxiu , Nair Venugopal , Zhang Gai-Ping , Luo Jun
Published: March 2023

Marek’s disease (MD) caused by pathogenic Marek’s disease virus type 1 (MDV−1) is one of the most important neoplastic diseases of poultry. MDV−1-encoded unique Meq protein is the major oncoprotein and the availability of Meq-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is crucial for revealing MDV pathogenesis/oncogenesis. Using synthesized polypeptides from conserved hydrophilic regions of the Meq protein as immunogens, together with hybridoma technology and primary screening by cross immunofluorescence assay (IFA) on Meq-deleted MDV−1 viruses generated by CRISPR/Cas9-gene editing, a total of five positive hybridomas were generated. Four of these hybridomas, namely 2A9, 5A7, 7F9 and 8G11, were further confirmed to secrete specific antibodies against Meq as confirmed by the IFA staining of 293T cells overexpressing Meq. Confocal microscopic analysis of cells stained with these antibodies confirmed the nuclear localization of Meq in MDV-infected CEF cells and MDV-transformed MSB-1 cells. Furthermore, two mAb hybridoma clones, 2A9-B12 and 8G11-B2 derived from 2A9 and 8G11, respectively, displayed high specificity for Meq proteins of MDV−1 strains with diverse virulence. Our data presented here, using synthesized polypeptide immunization combined with cross IFA staining on CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited viruses, has provided a new efficient approach for future generation of specific mAbs against viral proteins.
Sedimentary Records of Phytoplankton Communities in Sanmen Bay in China: The Impacts of ENSO Events over the Past Two Centuries
Authors: Chen Lihong , Xu Zengchao , Zeng Jiangning , Zhu Genhai , Liu Xin , Huang Bangqin
Published: March 2023

Phytoplankton communities, showing significant spatiotemporal variation within bay areas, play an important role in the structure and function of nearshore marine ecosystems. However, the absence of long-term high-resolution datasets has hindered our understanding of the effect of ENSO-driven environmental changes on phytoplankton communities in coastal ecosystems. Herein, by performing biomarker inversion analyses on two centuries’ worth of sedimentary organisms in the Sanmen Bay area, we observed a marked El Niño/La Niña-related succession; specifically, that El Niño-induced warming had increased the biomass of phytoplankton by 57.89%, while also increasing the proportion of diatoms by 76.40%. In contrast, La Niña years exhibited a decrease in the biomass of phytoplankton by 54.23%. Further, over three decades of observational data from the Sanmen Bay suggest that La Niña years can promote occasional blooms through monsoonal mixing and land-based inputs. Consequently, the nearshore marine ecosystem of the bay area, being subject to intense anthropogenic activity and land–sea interactions, can be said to be influenced by global-scale ocean–atmosphere processes. Going forward, the connection between short-term extreme events and long-term changes in the nearshore marine ecosystem should receive greater attention.
Classification of Mine Drainages in Japan Based on Water Quality: Consideration for Constructed Wetland Treatments
Authors: Soda Satoshi , Nguyen Thuong Thi
Published: March 2023

As a passive technology, constructed wetlands (CWs) are promising candidates for mine-drainage treatment. However, the design and operation of CWs have not been fully established because the chemical compositions of mine drainage are diverse. In this study data sets of 100 mine drainages in Japan were classified using multivariate analysis based on water quality. Mine drainage was classified into eight types based on the ratio of the concentrations of Cd, Pb, As, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn to the effluent standard: (I) neutral and low metal concentration, (II) weakly acidic and low metal concentration, (III) weakly acidic and high Zn concentration, (IV) weakly acidic and high Mn and Zn concentrations, (V) acidic and high As concentration, (VI) acidic and high Fe concentration, (VII) acidic and extremely high Fe concentration, and (VIII) acidic and high Zn concentration. Mechanisms for removing metals in CWs were discussed based on this classification. Metal hydroxides of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd can precipitate with an increasing pH. Under oxidative conditions, dissolved Fe and Mn are oxidized to metal oxides. Under reductive conditions, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu precipitate as metal sulfides. This classification of mine drainage will be helpful in the systematic design and operation of CWs.
Comparative Analysis of Drought Indices in Hydrological Monitoring in Ceará’s Semi-Arid Basins, Brazil
Authors: Gonçalves Suellen Teixeira Nobre , Vasconcelos Júnior Francisco das Chagas , Silveira Cleiton da Silva , Cid Daniel Antônio Camelo , Martins Eduardo Sávio Passos Rodrigues , Costa José Micael Ferreira da
Published: March 2023

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the applicability of five drought indices (Surface Water Supply Index—SWSI, Reclamation Drought Index—RDI, Streamflow Drought Index—SDI, Standardized Precipitation Index—SPI, and Evaporative Demand Drought Index—EDDI) as tools for monitoring, in identifying the duration, intensity, and frequency of hydrological droughts in the basins of the Banabuiú, Castanhão, and Orós reservoirs, located in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The analysis focused on determining the performance of the indexes for capturing the droughts characteristics from 2002 to 2020. Thus, the comparison of the values of the indexes with the Target Levels of the reservoir’s operation were used, as well as the analysis of six decision criteria: robustness, tractability, transparency, sophistication, extensibility, and dimensionality, to compare the behavior of drought indices. The results of the evaluation criteria showed that the SPI was superior to the other indices, being able to significantly represent the drought episodes, capturing a greater number of events. Thus, SPI received the highest total weighted score (118), followed by SWSI (97), EDDI (95), SDI (95), and RDI (88). In this context, it was found that the SPI and SWSI are the most suitable indices to monitor drought in the region and that the use of longer time scales can be recommended to manage hydrological droughts, in order to improve planning and management of water resources.
Adsorption of Atrazine from Synthetic Contaminated Water Using a Packed-Bed Column with a Low-Cost Adsorbent (Moringa oleifera Lam.)
Authors: Bergamasco Rosângela , Mantovani Daniel , Diório Alexandre , de Oliveira Bezerra Charleston , Quesada Heloise Beatriz , Wernke Gessica , Fagundes-Klen Márcia Regina , Cusioli Luís Fernando
Published: March 2023

Atrazine (ATZ) is an herbicide used for increased food production due to its weed and pesticide control capacity in different crops. However, ATZ is a chemical compound that is harmful to the environment and human health, and, unfortunately, it has been detected in surface and groundwater. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to perform the adsorption of Atrazine from a synthetically contaminated water sample using a packed-bed column with a low-cost adsorbent prepared from Moringa oleifera Lam. seeds. The synthesized adsorbent presented an increase in the surface specific area (SBET) of 37% in comparison with the in natura material. The effects of the peristaltic pump flow rate (Q), concentration of the ATZ inlet ([ATZ]inlet) solution, and bed height (H) were studied, with the highest percentage of ATZ removed through the adsorption column (50, 0%) obtained with a packed-bed column with H = 13 cm bed height, Q = 1 mL/min, [ATZ]inlet = 2.0 mg/L, pH = 5.0, a breakthrough time of 25 min, and a saturation time of 420 min. The logistic model was used to best fit the experimental data with an R2 > 0.99, and the Bohart–Adams, Thomas, and Yoon–Nelson models were used to explain and analyze the obtained effects in the continuous adsorption of ATZ. Therefore, the Moringa oleifera Lam. seeds provided a low-cost adsorbent for the continuous adsorption of the herbicide Atrazine in a packed-bed column.
Increasing dependence of modern society on electricity
Authors:   Orеl technical school of the service sector, Deulin B.I.
Published: March 2023

The article is devoted to energy - the most important sector of the economy. Therein lies its relevance. It gives a brief historical overview of the development of the energy industry and its impact on human civilization. It is shown that initially energy was generated due to the work of the muscular forces of people and animals, however, at the present stage of development, electricity began to play a leading role. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that it reveals the reasons for the total dependence of modern society on electricity and shows the trend of increasing this dependence in the near future.