bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Weak Magnetic Fields on Plant Chemical Composition and Its Ecological Implications
Authors: Bellino Alessandro , Bisceglia Bruno , Baldantoni Daniela
Published: February 2023

The exposure of plants to weak magnetic fields (MFs) of various intensities and for different times is increasingly adopted to sustainably enhance plant growth in plant-based applications such as modern agriculture, phytoremediation and biogas production. However, little is known about the effects of MF exposure on plant chemical composition, and in turn on related ecosystem processes, such as the transfer of potentially toxic elements along food chains and the decomposition of organic matter. To fill this gap, the present research, through the study of the chemical composition of four edible crops (leaves of lettuce, parsley and basil, and fruits of tomato) differently exposed to weak MFs (75 Hz; 1.5 mT), aimed at evaluating the overall effects of the exposure on ecosystem processes. In particular, several essential (B, C, Ca, Cu, K, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, N, Ni, P, S, Zn), beneficial (Co, Na, Se, Si) and non-useful (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Li, Pb, Sr, Ti, V) elements, together with chemical compounds and derived parameters (soluble sugars, starch, chlorophylls, flavonoids, anthocyanins, nitrogen balance index), indicators of plant metabolism and health, and litter decomposability traits (C/N, C/P), were analyzed. Notwithstanding the expected variations in the observed effects among species and MF exposure conditions, the obtained results highlight a general decrease in most of the studied parameters (with the exception of those related to litter decomposability), attributable to a lower absorption/accumulation of the studied chemical elements and to a reduced synthesis of metabolites. The largest average reduction was observed for the non-useful elements, which outweighs the reduction in essential and beneficial elements and provides for an important MFinduced effect, considering their toxic, persistent and biomagnificable characteristics. Similarly, the induced increases in C/N and C/P ratios indicate the production of litter more recalcitrant to the decomposition process, suggesting that weak MF treatments may be useful to enhance soil C storage and reduce CO2 emissions.
Factors Influencing Public Risk Perception of Emerging Technologies: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Li Chong , Li Yingqi
Published: February 2023

The development and application of emerging technologies pose many social risks, which raise public concerns. Various factors influence the public risk perception of emerging technologies, and a systematic and accurate understanding of these factors plays a vital role in promoting the sustainable development of emerging technologies. Considerable inconsistency and ambiguity exist in the influence of relevant factors on the public risk perception of emerging technologies in existing studies, which need to be explored systematically and comprehensively through meta-analysis. This study constructs an analytical framework of “technology–psychology–society” and conducts a meta-analysis of 272 papers, including 449 correlations and 191,195 samples. The results show that perceived benefit, knowledge, innovativeness, trust, and social influence have significant negative effects on risk perception. Perceived cost has a significant positive effect on risk perception. Gender and cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism–collectivism, and masculinity–femininity have moderating effects on the relationship between relevant factors and risk perception; the type of emerging technology, age, and the cultural dimension of long-term/short-term orientation do not have moderating effects. Based on the above findings, this study proposes corresponding suggestions from the perspectives of R&D, application, and management of emerging technologies.
Reform of the Training Program of Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering of Universities in the Steel Industry
Authors: Duan Xianyin , Zhu Kunpeng , Wang Xingdong , Zhou Min
Published: February 2023

To meet the demand of talents in the rapid and sustainable development of the steel manufacturing industry and the needs of the local development of green and intelligent steel technology, this paper presented a reformed training program of intelligent manufacturing of universities for the steel industry. The training program explored the reform plan of talent training objectives, curriculum system, teaching mode, practical links, and operation mechanism of intelligent manufacturing engineering, and built a system with the goal of cultivating innovative ability covering green and intelligent concepts. A new mode of talent cultivation that covers the green and intelligent manufacturing concept and awareness, engineering knowledge, and innovation ability is built, to cultivate high-quality engineering talents who can adapt to the demand of green and intelligent development of steel and other industries. The innovative talent cultivation mode could reconstruct the steel intelligent manufacturing engineering education system and produce a demonstrative effect and good social benefits on the construction of intelligent manufacturing engineering specialty in the industry-featured colleges and universities.
At the Frontier of Sustainable Finance: Impact Investing and the Financial Tradeoff; Evidence from Private Portfolio Companies in the United Kingdom
Authors: Gigante Gimede , Sironi Emiliano , Tridenti Caterina
Published: February 2023

Drawing from the extremely novel impact investing landscape and the limited existing literature on the topic, it appears that investing in social enterprises should come at the cost of partially sacrificing financial returns to invested capital. This paper investigates the existence of this tradeoff by assessing how the performance of impact investing funds compares to that of traditional private equity and venture capital operators. Focusing on portfolio firm operating performance, we construct a dataset of 85 impact-investing observations and 5310 traditional observations over the period ranging from 2009 to 2020, in order to compare the performance of the traditional investor-backed firms with those of sustainable companies participated by social impact investors. Advanced matching methods such as Radius and Kernel matching suggest that the composition of the shareholding structure significantly affects the profitability of the company, with traditional firms outperforming their socially-concerned counterparts. Looking instead within the subsample of impact investor portfolio companies, and focusing only on the post-investment observations, we analyze how the percentage owned by the impact investors impacts the performance of the owned companies. The results show that, similarly to traditional ownership, a greater share controlled by impact investors leads to higher returns.
Gender Differences and Optimizing Women’s Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Visual Behavior While Viewing Urban Park Landscapes in Tokyo, Japan
Authors: Ma Ruochen , Luo Yuxin , Furuya Katsunori
Published: February 2023

Improving the inclusiveness of urban green spaces and enabling various groups to equally enjoy their benefits is the basis of sustainable urban development. Urban park design generally starts from a gender-neutral perspective, ignoring differences in needs related to gender, particularly women’s sensitivity to the environment. This study focused on visual perception and explored gender differences and proposed causes of visual-behavior differences while viewing landscapes. We used photo data from Mizumoto Park in Tokyo and recruited 16 master’s students living nearby to participate in an eye-tracking experiment. The results indicate that men and women have different eye-movement patterns and that elemental ratios affect eye movement behavior more among women than men. Moreover, this study found that men gaze longer at trees and more briefly at shrubs, flowers, and artificial elements than women. Attention-grabbing paths/grounds had a negative effect on the aesthetic evaluation of the scene among women but not men. Based on these findings, suggestions for optimizing women’s experiences at the visual level are proposed for aspects of vegetation density, visual focus, and road design. This study informs park design and improvement with the premise that gender alters the perception of these environments.
Hydraulic Characteristics Analysis of Double-Bend Roadway of Abandoned Mine Pumped Storage
Authors: Zhou Xin , Zhou Yuejin , Xu Xiaoding , Zeng Chunlin , Zhu Chaobin
Published: February 2023

The roadway of an abandoned mine is an ideal site for the construction of underground pumped storage hydropower, but the operation of the power station is deeply restricted by the structural characteristics of the roadway. With the common double-bend roadway of an abandoned mine as the research object, this study conducted numerical simulations based on the theory of mass conservation and momentum conservation and explored the law of the flow field characteristics and energy loss of a double-bend roadway with the roadway structure and angle. The results showed that a velocity gradient and a pressure gradient form from the outer wall to the inner wall when the fluid flows through the two bends of the roadway. The low-speed zone and maximum positive pressure appeared at the outside of the bend, while the high-speed zone and maximum negative pressure appeared at the inside of the bend. As the angle rose, the peak value of positive pressure increased correspondingly when the fluid flowed through Model A, whereas the negative pressure displayed a fluctuating trend of increasing first and then decreasing and reached its peak when β = 45°. By contrast, when the fluid flowed through Model B, the velocity gradient was symmetrically distributed at the two bends. The peak value of the positive pressure of the first bend increased, and the other positive and negative pressures displayed a trend of “first increasing and then decreasing” when the angle increased, and they reached their peak when β = 45°. When β ≥ 60°, the fluid formed a backflow zone when it flowed through each bend. With an increase in the angle, the area of the backflow zone increased correspondingly. The head loss of the two models increased with the angle. At the same angle, the head loss of Model B was greater than that of Model A. According to the requirement of abandoned mine pumped storage, the roadways with a bend angle of 15° or 30° in Model A and 15° in Model B can be used. The research results can provide some reference for the underground space exploitation and utilization of abandoned mine pumped storage.
Storage of Documents as a Function of Sustainability
Authors: Bolanča Mirković Ivana , Bolanča Zdenka
Published: February 2023

Sustainability is a premise that has been implemented in all technologies, industries, and service activities to have as little impact on the environment as possible. Typography as a profession made its contribution by creating eco fonts. In each country, the law regulates the lifespan of the storage of everyday business documents. One of the ways to reduce the impact on the environment is to reduce the consumption of ink, which can be achieved by printing the document with more sustainable fonts. By using the mentioned fonts when creating documents, the user should not notice a visual difference, and the document should have the same level of readability. Earlier research on ecological standards was only related to the environmental acceptability of materials, i.e., inks or printing substrates. Using eco fonts, each ink can have a reduced environmental impact. The more environmentally friendly fonts, Ryman Eco and Ecofont Sans, were tested in this experiment. Arial as a standard sans serif font and Times New Roman as a standard serif font were used as reference fonts. In the research, coverage data of different document samples created with different types of typeface and spacing are interpreted to investigate the possibility of saving ink. As eco fonts have been used since the end of the previous and beginning of this century, some stored documents are certainly ready for waste management, which is almost always recycled. By recycling document samples, the optical characteristics of laboratory paper sheets obtained by chemical deinking flotation were investigated. Another aim of the investigation is to provide insight into the quality of recycled fibres after the recycling process.
A Participatory Curriculum Approach to ICT-Enabled Education for Sustainability in Higher Education
Authors: Makrakis Vassilios , Kostoulas-Makrakis Nelly
Published: February 2023

This paper explores the ways in which a participatory curriculum planning model could help to address the embedding of an education on sustainability into higher education institutions; this is enabled by ICTs and is in particular reference to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Transforming university curricula in order to address sustainability has been tackled effectively through the development of a participatory curriculum planning model that was applied in seven higher education institutions. The interventions carried out by the ICTeEfS initiative have contributed significantly to producing a corpus of university teaching staff in each partner university which, in turn, has initiated curriculum revisions to address sustainability, mostly in teacher education.
The Role of Modified Biochar for the Remediation of Coal Mining-Impacted Contaminated Soil: A Review
Authors: Chandra Subhash , Medha Isha , Tiwari Ashwani Kumar
Published: February 2023

Land degradation and the release of contaminants such as heavy metals into the environment due to mining activities is a concerning issue worldwide. The bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the environmental matrix can severely damage flora and fauna and negatively impact human health. The poor physicochemical properties of mine spoil generated through mining operations make restoration of such contaminated and degraded lands challenging. In recent years, an exponential growth in the development and applications of biochar and its composites for the remediation of heavy metal-polluted environmental matrices such as soil and water has been observed. The literature review found that 95 review papers were published in the last five years reviewing the utility of biochar for heavy metals removal from the aqueous environment. However, no paper was published focusing on the application of biochar and its composites for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated coal mine soil. The objective of the present review is to critically review the impact of mining activities on the environment and the role of biochar and its composites in the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated mine soil. This review presented a detailed discussion and sufficient data on the impact of mining practices in India on the environment. In addition, it critically discussed the methods of the production of biochar from various wastes and methods of modifying the pristine biochar to develop functionalized biochar composites. The detailed mechanism through which biochar and its composites remove and immobilize the heavy metals in the soil was discussed. The efficacy of biochar for the remediation of contaminated mine soil was also critically evaluated using various case studies and data from previously published articles. Thus, the major conclusion drawn from the review is that the application of various functionalized biochar composites could effectively manage and remediate heavy metal-contaminated mine soil.
Antecedents and Consequences of Customers’ Engagement with Pro-Environmental Consumption-Related Content on Social Media
Authors: Alam Md. Moddassir , Lutfi Abdalwali , Alsaad Abdallah
Published: February 2023

Social media has been widely used to design and publish pro-environment campaigns; the goal is to spread awareness about environmental issues and explain how customers can change their consumption behavior to protect the environment. Customers’ engagement with pro-environmental campaigns (CEPC) on social media is crucial to achieving these objectives. Limited studies have examined the factors that could increase CEPC, and its effects, on pro-environmental consumption behavior. The available literature suggests the antecedents of social media engagement, but is restricted to brands/products. Based on these findings, this study explores the effects of advertising attractiveness, advertising-based skepticism, online interaction propensity, and privacy concerns on CEPC. This study also suggests that customers’ engagement with pro-environmental consumption-related content can be defined as a pro-environmental experience that could lead to pro-environmental consumption. The study was based on a sample of 262 responses from online users; the results indicated that CEPC is largely affected by advertising attractiveness, advertising skepticism, and online interaction propensity. The study further established that pro-environment consumption is a potential outcome of CPEC. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insight into ways in which activist groups can inspire consumers to engage with pro-environment content and exploring whether that engagement translates into a pro-environment intention.
Evaluating University Gardens as Innovative Practice in Education for Sustainability: A Latin-American Case Study
Authors: Fontalvo-Buelvas Juan Camilo , Eugenio-Gozalbo Marcia , de la Cruz-Elizondo Yadeneyro , Escalona-Aguilar Miguel Ángel
Published: February 2023

The aim of this study was to define a protocol for evaluating university gardens as innovative practice in Education for Sustainability and to apply it to a Latin-American study case, that of the Agroecological Garden in the Faculty of Biology at the Veracruzana University (Mexico). A comparative evaluation was conducted between two different moments (December 2018 and January 2021) based on sustainability indicators that were adapted from the SAEMETH-G methodology, using three levels of increasing complexity. These levels were the selection of sustainability dimensions, the individuation of the components, and the selection of the appropriate indicators. At the beginning of 2021, the selected Agroecological Garden showed high sustainability, with an accumulated score of 84.04 out of a total of 100 points, with the agro-environmental dimension being the best positioned (93.74), followed by the socio-educational (91.99) and the economic-administrative (66.4) domains. A significant robustness at the socio-environmental level was evidenced. However, it is necessary to address the substantial deficiencies evidenced at the economic-administrative level, especially in relation to financing and institutionalization, in order to make this innovative didactic resource sustainable and thus contribute to education for sustainability among university students.
Multi-Objective Optimization of Land Use in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region of China Based on the GMOP-PLUS Coupling Model
Authors: Meng Fandi , Zhou Zhi , Zhang Pengtao
Published: February 2023

The changeable patterns and contractions of land use have become increasingly significant in recent years as the economy and society have rapidly developed. Subsequently, land use change simulation has become a focal point in the study of land use patterns and change processes. Four development scenarios in 2030, including business-as-usual, ecological protection, economic development, and sustainable development scenarios, are proposed to realize the sustainable development of land use in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei in the context of a low-carbon economy and ecological security. Then, a feasible multi-objective land use optimization scheme suitable for the region’s long-term development was identified through comparative analysis. The GMOP-PLUS model analyzed changes in ecological and economic benefits and carbon emissions by optimizing the quantitative structure and spatial layout of land use in different scenarios. The cultivated land area in the four scenarios decreased, while the construction land area increased for all scenarios other than the ecological protection and sustainable development scenarios. Moreover, the target development of the sustainable development scenario was the most balanced, with carbon emissions and economic benefits reduced by 49.77 million tons and CNY 0.73 billion compared with the business-as-usual scenario, respectively. Meanwhile, the ecological benefits increased by CNY 0.03 billion, and the economic benefits increased by 1.54 times compared with those in 2020. Therefore, the sustainable development scenario was more in line with the needs of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei for high-quality economic and ecological development, aiming towards a low-carbon goal. This work provides a theoretical basis for Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei territorial spatial planning and more perspectives for the study of sustainable land use through the obtained results.
Channel Fading Characteristics of Hyperloop Scenarios Based on Ray-Tracing Model
Authors: Wang Kai , Liu Liu , Zhang Jiachi , Liu Meilu
Published: February 2023

Hyperloop is envisioned as the next generation of railway transportation mode, which can proceed at a speed of more than 1000 km/h. The safe operation of the Hyperloop depends heavily on the support of a stable communication system. In this paper, we propose a 3D channel model in vacuum tube scenarios based on the ray-tracing method. The reflection paths and line of sight (LoS) paths are considered. We derive the channel transfer function (CTF) expression for each multipath, and then the channel impulse response (CIR) is obtained. On this basis, the large-scale and small-scale channel characteristics, including path loss, shadow fading, correlation coefficient, delay spread, and angular spread, are investigated and analyzed. Simulation results show that the proposed channel model can characterize the wireless channel in the Hyperloop scenarios in detail, and the results maintain a high level of symmetry between the range of 0–250 m and 250–500 m. The relevant research results will contribute to the design of future Hyperloop wireless communication systems.
Hybrid Intrusion Detection System Based on Combination of Random Forest and Autoencoder
Authors: Wang Chao , Sun Yunxiao , Wang Wenting , Liu Hongri , Wang Bailing
Published: February 2023

To cope with the rising threats posed by network attacks, machine learning-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) have been intensively researched. However, there are several issues that need to be addressed. It is difficult to deal with unknown attacks that do not appear in the training set, and as a result, poor detection rates are produced for these unknown attacks. Furthermore, IDSs suffer from high false positive rate. As different models learn data characteristics from different perspectives, in this work we propose a hybrid IDS which leverages both random forest (RF) and autoencoder (AE). The hybrid model operates in two steps. In particular, in the first step, we utilize the probability output of the RF classifier to determine whether a sample belongs to attack. The unknown attacks can be identified with the assistance of the probability output. In the second step, an additional AE is coupled to reduce the false positive rate. To simulate an unknown attack in experiments, we explicitly remove some samples belonging to one attack class from the training set. Compared with various baselines, our suggested technique demonstrates a high detection rate. Furthermore, the additional AE detection module decreases the false positive rate.
A Novel Radio Geometric Mean Algorithm for a Graph
Authors: ELrokh Ashraf , Al-Shamiri Mohammed M. Ali , Abd El-hay Atef
Published: February 2023

Radio antennas switch signals in the form of radio waves using different frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. To avoid interruption, each radio station is assigned a unique number. The channel assignment problem refers to this application. A radio geometric mean labeling of a connected graph G is an injective function h from the vertex set, V(G) to the set of natural numbers N such that for any two distinct vertices x and y of G, h(x)·h(y)≥diam+1−d(x,y). The radio geometric mean number of h, rgmn(h), is the maximum number assigned to any vertex of G. The radio geometric mean number of G, rgmn(G) is the minimum value of rgmn(h), taken over all radio geometric mean labeling h of G. In this paper, we present two theorems for calculating the exact radio geometric mean number of paths and cycles. We also present a novel algorithm for determining the upper bound for the radio geometric mean number of a given graph. We verify that the upper bounds obtained from this algorithm coincide with the exact value of the radio geometric mean number for paths, cycles, stars, and bi-stars.
Advanced Deep Learning Approaches for Accurate Brain Tumor Classification in Medical Imaging
Authors: Mahmoud Amena , Awad Nancy Awadallah , Alsubaie Najah , Ansarullah Syed Immamul , Alqahtani Mohammed S. , Abbas Mohamed , Usman Mohammed , Soufiene Ben Othman , Saber Abeer
Published: February 2023

A brain tumor can have an impact on the symmetry of a person’s face or head, depending on its location and size. If a brain tumor is located in an area that affects the muscles responsible for facial symmetry, it can cause asymmetry. However, not all brain tumors cause asymmetry. Some tumors may be located in areas that do not affect facial symmetry or head shape. Additionally, the asymmetry caused by a brain tumor may be subtle and not easily noticeable, especially in the early stages of the condition. Brain tumor classification using deep learning involves using artificial neural networks to analyze medical images of the brain and classify them as either benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). In the field of medical imaging, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have been used for tasks such as the classification of brain tumors. These models can then be used to assist in the diagnosis of brain tumors in new cases. Brain tissues can be analyzed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). By misdiagnosing forms of brain tumors, patients’ chances of survival will be significantly lowered. Checking the patient’s MRI scans is a common way to detect existing brain tumors. This approach takes a long time and is prone to human mistakes when dealing with large amounts of data and various kinds of brain tumors. In our proposed research, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were trained to detect the three most prevalent forms of brain tumors, i.e., Glioma, Meningioma, and Pituitary; they were optimized using Aquila Optimizer (AQO), which was used for the initial population generation and modification for the selected dataset, dividing it into 80% for the training set and 20% for the testing set. We used the VGG-16, VGG-19, and Inception-V3 architectures with AQO optimizer for the training and validation of the brain tumor dataset and to obtain the best accuracy of 98.95% for the VGG-19 model.
Nonlinear T-symmetry Quartic, Sextic, Octic Oscillator Models under Real Spectra
Authors: Rath Biswanath , Asad Jihad , Jarrar Rabab , Shanak Hussein , Wannan Rania
Published: February 2023

We propose nonlinear model T-symmetry operators having quartic, sextic, octic anharmonicity and inverse quadratics under real spectra. In fact, the model operator is non-Hermitian but real in nature. A comparison with the corresponding hermitian counterpart shows higher energy levels (ET ≫ Ehermitian).
Mapping the Landscape of Blockchain Technology Knowledge: A Patent Co-Citation and Semantic Similarity Approach
Authors: Kim Brian Tae-Seok , Hyun Eun-Jung
Published: February 2023

The potential applications of blockchain technology across various business functions and industries have generated significant interest. However, its underlying knowledge structure remains unclear. This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the technological domain and knowledge structure of blockchain technology by analyzing 4753 USPTO patent data from 2008 to 2019. We used multiple approaches, such as analyzing patent filing volumes, constructing co-citation networks, and examining text (patent abstract) data with a variant of bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT). The results demonstrate the advantages of using an NLP-based BERT text analysis approach for examining technological knowledge and relationships within the blockchain technology field. Our findings reveal that the field of blockchain technology is expanding and diversifying, with increasing patent filings in both cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technologies and growing knowledge similarity between these two subdomains. We also found that patent assignees (companies) engage differently in innovative activities within the blockchain technology domain based on their prior experience in the field. These results hold potential for informing future research in emerging technology studies and guiding industry and policy decisions related to blockchain technology.
Investigation of Best Practices for Venom Toxin Purification in Jellyfish towards Functional Characterisation
Authors: Lausen Blake , Ahang Anahita , Cummins Scott , Wang Tianfang
Published: February 2023

The relative lack of marine venom pharmaceuticals can be anecdotally attributed to difficulties in working with venomous marine animals, including how to maintain venom bioactivity during extraction and purification. The primary aim of this systematic literature review was to examine the key factors for consideration when extracting and purifying jellyfish venom toxins to maximise their effectiveness in bioassays towards the characterisation of a single toxin.An up-to-date database of 119 peer-reviewed research articles was established for all purified and semi-purified venoms across all jellyfish, including their level of purification, LD50, and the types of experimental toxicity bioassay used (e.g., whole animal and cell lines). We report that, of the toxins successfully purified across all jellyfish, the class Cubozoa (i.e., Chironex fleckeri and Carybdea rastoni) was most highly represented, followed by Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa. We outline the best practices for maintaining jellyfish venom bioactivity, including strict thermal management, using the “autolysis” extraction method and two-step liquid chromatography purification involving size exclusion chromatography. To date, the box jellyfish C. fleckeri has been the most effective jellyfish venom model with the most referenced extraction methods and the most isolated toxins, including CfTX-A/B. In summary, this review can be used as a resource for the efficient extraction, purification, and identification of jellyfish venom toxins.
Biomimetic Nanotechnology for SARS-CoV-2 Treatment
Authors: Li Shuo , Liu Xue , Liu Gang , Liu Chao
Published: February 2023

More than 600 million people worldwide have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulting in the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In particular, new waves of COVID-19 caused by emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants pose new health risks to the global population. Nanotechnology has developed excellent solutions to combat the virus pandemic, such as ACE2-based nanodecoys, nanobodies, nanovaccines, and drug nanocarriers. Lessons learned and strategies developed during this battle against SARS-CoV-2 variants may also serve as inspiration for developing nanotechnology-based strategies to combat other global infectious diseases and their variants in the future.
Sustained Low Incidence of Severe and Fatal COVID-19 Following Widespread Infection Induced Immunity after the Omicron (BA.1) Dominant in Gauteng, South Africa: An Observational Study
Authors: Madhi Shabir A. , Kwatra Gaurav , Myers Jonathan E. , Jassat Waasila , Dhar Nisha , Mukendi Christian K. , Blumberg Lucille , Welch Richard , Izu Alane , Mutevedzi Portia C.
Published: February 2023

We conducted an epidemiologic survey to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) and anti-spike (anti-S) protein IgG from 1 March to 11 April 2022 after the BA.1-dominant wave had subsided in South Africa and prior to another wave dominated by the BA.4 and BA.5 (BA.4/BA.5) sub-lineages. We also analysed epidemiologic trends in Gauteng Province for cases, hospitalizations, recorded deaths, and excess deaths were evaluated from the inception of the pandemic through 17 November 2022. Despite only 26.7% (1995/7470) of individuals having received a COVID-19 vaccine, the overall seropositivity for SARS-CoV-2 was 90.9% (95% confidence interval (CI), 90.2 to 91.5) at the end of the BA.1 wave, and 64% (95% CI, 61.8 to 65.9) of individuals were infected during the BA.1-dominant wave. The SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality risk was 16.5–22.3 times lower in the BA.1-dominant wave compared with the pre-BA.1 waves for recorded deaths (0.02% vs. 0.33%) and estimated excess mortality (0.03% vs. 0.67%). Although there are ongoing cases of COVID-19 infections, hospitalization and death, there has not been any meaningful resurgence of COVID-19 since the BA.1-dominant wave despite only 37.8% coverage by at least a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Gauteng, South Africa.
Administration of Bacteriophages via Nebulization during Mechanical Ventilation: In Vitro Study and Lung Deposition in Macaques
Authors: Le Guellec Sandrine , Pardessus Jeoffrey , Bodier-Montagutelli Elsa , L’Hostis Guillaume , Dalloneau Emilie , Piel Damien , Samaï Hakim Chouky , Guillon Antoine , Mujic Elvir , Guillot-Combe Emmanuelle , Ehrmann Stephan , Morello Eric , Gabard Jérôme , Heuzé-Vourc’h Nathalie , Fevre Cindy , Vecellio Laurent
Published: February 2023

Bacteriophages have been identified as a potential treatment option to treat lung infection in the context of antibiotic resistance. We performed a preclinical study to predict the efficacy of delivery of bacteriophages against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) when administered via nebulization during mechanical ventilation (MV). We selected a mix of four anti-PA phages containing two Podoviridae and two Myoviridae, with a coverage of 87.8% (36/41) on an international PA reference panel. When administered via nebulization, a loss of 0.30–0.65 log of infective phage titers was measured. No difference between jet, ultrasonic and mesh nebulizers was observed in terms of loss of phage viability, but a higher output was measured with the mesh nebulizer. Interestingly, Myoviridae are significantly more sensitive to nebulization than Podoviridae since their long tail is much more prone to damage. Phage nebulization has been measured as compatible with humidified ventilation. Based on in vitro measurement, the lung deposition prediction of viable phage particles ranges from 6% to 26% of the phages loaded in the nebulizer. Further, 8% to 15% of lung deposition was measured by scintigraphy in three macaques. A phage dose of 1 × 109 PFU/mL nebulized by the mesh nebulizer during MV predicts an efficient dose in the lung against PA, comparable with the dose chosen to define the susceptibility of the strain.
Adverse Events to Comirnaty Vaccine Are Linked to Sex, Age and BMI: Should We Consider Reducing the Dose for Females?
Authors: Azzolini Elena , Mollura Maximiliano , Pozzi Chiara , Ubaldi Leonardo , Mantovani Alberto , Selmi Carlo , Barbieri Riccardo , Rescigno Maria
Published: February 2023

An important issue that is often neglected is the difference between male and female genders in response to medical treatments. In the context of COVID-19 vaccine administration, despite identical protocol strategies, it has been observed that females often suffer more adverse consequences than males. Here, we analyzed the adverse events (AEs) of the Comirnaty vaccine in a population of 2385 healthcare workers as a function of age, sex, COVID-19 history and BMI. Using logistic regression analysis, we showed that these variables may contribute to the development of AEs, particularly in young subjects, females and individuals with a BMI below 25 kg/m2. Moreover, partial dependence plots indicate a 50% probability of developing a mild AE for a long period of time (≥7 days) or a severe AE of any duration in women below 40 years old and with a BMI < 20 kg/m2. As this effect is more evident after the second dose of the vaccine, we propose to reduce the amount of vaccine for any additional booster dose in relation to age, sex and BMI. This strategy might reduce adverse events without affecting vaccine efficacy.
Analysis of the Salinity of the Vistula River Based on Patrol Monitoring and State Environmental Monitoring
Authors: Woźnica Andrzej , Absalon Damian , Matysik Magdalena , Bąk Małgorzata , Cieplok Anna , Halabowski Dariusz , Koczorowska Adrianna , Krodkiewska Mariola , Libera Marcin , Sierka Edyta , Spyra Aneta , Czerniawski Robert , Sługocki Łukasz , Łozowski Bartosz
Published: February 2023

Background: Secondary salinity of river water reduces the value of ecosystem services, negatively impacting the entire aquatic ecosystem and reducing the possibility of water use. In Poland, significant anthropogenic salinity of rivers and water reservoirs is usually associated with mining activity consisting of pumping salty mine water into settling ponds or often directly into rivers. However, to assess the reasons for the salinity of the Vistula waters, it is necessary to identify all sources of salt in surface waters, enabling the assessment of the salt load in the waters. Methods: The paper presents four sources of data which have been compiled to propose a valuable method for analyzing the threat of the river. Patrol monitoring was one method of data acquisition, and State Environmental Monitoring data ware also used. Clustering and correlation statistical techniques were used for analysis. Results: Of the 20 physical and chemical parameters analyzed, chloride, calcium sulphate and magnesium ions are important for salinity. Measurements with multi-parameter probes allowed for the identification of increased salinity pressure sites, while flow analyses were required to calculate the load. Conclusions: The Vistula River had the highest concentrations of the analyzed ions in the Silesia Region. The use of patrol monitoring can be highly useful in determining the causes of emerging problems with water quality and supporting State Environmental Monitoring.
Evaluation of the Gamma Law for Settling Velocity and Trapping Capacity Analysis of Suspended Particles in a Dam Reservoir (Lobo River in Côte d’Ivoire)
Authors: Koffi Bérenger , Sanchez Martin , Alex Kouadio Zilé , Habel Michal , Kouadio Jules Sekedoua , Kouadio Kouamé Olivier Jean , Brou Dibi , Kouassi Kouakou Lazare
Published: February 2023

Human activities and climate change are currently dominant processes that affect hydrological processes, resulting in alterations in water and sediment flows. Evaluation of the settling velocity of suspended solids is a critical parameter in modelling sediment transport. In this study, we investigated seasonal changes in suspended solids’ settling velocity and trapping capacity in the presence and absence of water turbulence on a dam reservoir. Using key parameters such as flow rate, mean settling velocity (V¯), critical velocity (vc), suspended solids concentration, ratio V¯/vc, and shape parameter ‘r’, the trapping capacity on the dam reservoir on the Lobo River in a tropical region was estimated. The results show that, considering the settling velocity of suspended solids, following the Gamma distribution law remains an innovative solution proposed to evaluate the trapping capacity in water reservoirs. The results show that the mean suspended solids settling velocity V¯ is well above the median rate V50%. For a parameter V¯/vc ≥ 4, there is an increase in the trapping capacity of the water retention. As established, a large proportion of the sediment is trapped. Furthermore, for a parameter V¯/vc ≤ 4, a decrease in the trapping capacity of the Lobo River water reservoir is observed.
Feature Extraction and Prediction of Water Quality Based on Candlestick Theory and Deep Learning Methods
Authors: Xu Rui , Wu Wenjie , Cai Yanpeng , Wan Hang , Li Jian , Zhu Qin , Shen Shiming
Published: February 2023

In environmental hydrodynamics, a research topic that has gained popularity is the transmission and diffusion of water pollutants. Various types of change processes in hydrological and water quality are directly related to meteorological changes. If these changing characteristics are classified effectively, this will be conducive to the application of deep learning theory in water pollution simulation. When periodically monitoring water quality, data were represented with a candlestick chart, and different classification features were displayed. The water quality data from the research area from 2012 to 2019 generated 24 classification results in line with the physics laws. Therefore, a deep learning water pollution prediction method was proposed to classify the changing process of pollution to improve the prediction accuracy of water quality, based on candlestick theory, visual geometry group, and gate recurrent unit (CT-VGG-GRU). In this method, after the periodic changes of water quality were represented by candlestick graphically, the features were extracted by the VGG network based on its advantages in graphic feature extraction. Then, this feature and other scenario parameters were fused as the input of the time series network model, and the pollutant concentration sequence at the predicted station constituted the output of the model. Finally, a hybrid model combining graphical and time series features was formed, and this model used continuous time series data from multiple stations on the Lijiang River watershed to train and validate the model. Experimental results indicated that, compared with other comparison models, such as the back propagation neural network (BPNN), support vector regression (SVR), GRU, and VGG-GRU, the proposed model had the highest prediction accuracy, especially for the prediction of extreme values. Additionally, the change trend of water pollution was closer to the real situation, which indicated that the process change information of water pollution could be fully extracted by the CT-VGG-GRU model based on candlestick theory. For the water quality indicators DO, CODMn, and NH3-N, the mean absolute errors (MAE) were 0.284, 0.113, and 0.014, the root mean square errors (RMSE) were 0.315, 0.122, and 0.016, and the symmetric mean absolute percentage errors (SMAPE) were 0.022, 0.108, and 0.127, respectively. The established CT-VGG-GRU model achieved superior computational performance. Using the proposed model, the classification information of the river pollution process could be obtained effectively and the time series information could also be retained, which made the application of the deep learning model to the transmission and diffusion process of river water pollution more explanatory. The proposed model can provide a new method for water quality prediction.
Interactions symboliques en milieu insulaire : les roches gravées précolombiennes de Guadeloupe et leur relation au paysage
Authors: Monney Julien
Published: February 2023

Située au coeur de la Caraïbe, l’île volcanique de Guadeloupe, ou Basse-Terre, recèle le plus important ensemble d’art rupestre précolombien des Petites Antilles. Ces manifestations graphiques sont généralement attribuées aux communautés céramistes horticoles très mobiles ayant vécu dans les Antilles au Néoindien entre env. 300 av. et 1200 apr. J.-C. Suite aux récentes recherches de terrain menées sur ces sites ornés de plein-air, de nombreuses données nouvelles ont été acquises. Leur analyse spatiale est proposée ici sur des bases quantitatives afin d’aborder les modalités socioculturelles d’ornementation et de fréquentation des sites ornés et, plus largement, le rapport à l’espace insulaire des sociétés précolombiennes ainsi que leurs interactions physiques et symboliques au sein de ce dernier. Les résultats obtenus font ressortir l’existence de plusieurs contextes topographiques distincts du point de vue de l’altitude et de la distance aux ressources en eau douce (source et/ ou rivière). Ils montrent par ailleurs que les sites côtiers occupent préférentiellement les zones du littoral les plus favorables au niveau pluviométrique, mais aussi les plus proches des îles avoisinantes. Une corrélation directe entre la position topographique des sites ornés, le degré d’élaboration et les dimensions des figures qu’ils comprennent est également relevée. Cette corrélation se traduit par une plus forte proportion de grandes figures élaborées aux embouchures et/ ou près de sources côtières comparativement aux sites de plateau et de rivière. Mis en perspective avec les réflexions actuelles sur la dimension archipélique des territoires précolombiens, ceci suggère une utilisation des sites ornés du littoral par une pluralité de groupes différents dans le cadre de leur approvisionnement en eau lors de trajets interinsulaires ou lors de rassemblements périodiques. Par contraste avec l’art rupestre de l’intérieur des terres, la forte proportion de grandes figures élaborées présentes sur les côtes est alors à envisager comme l’expression performative d’un rapport à des espaces partagés et aux autres groupes humains susceptibles de les fréquenter également.
Urine Sediment Examination: Comparison Between Laboratory-Performed Versus Nephrologist-Performed Microscopy and Accuracy in Predicting Pathologic Diagnosis in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Fadel Remy , Taliercio Jonathan J. , Daou Remy , Layoun Habib , Bassil Elias , Fawaz Adam , Arrigain Susana , Schold Jesse D. , Herlitz Leal , Simon James F. , Mehdi Ali , Nakhoul Georges
Published: February 2023

Key Points

A nephrologist is more likely to recognize the presence of pathologic casts and dysmorphic red blood cells.

Nephrologist-performed urine sediment analysis is also highly accurate in diagnosing acute tubular injury or glomerulonephritis when compared with kidney biopsy.

Introduction

Automated urine technology is becoming the standard for urinalysis microscopy. We sought to compare urine sediment analysis performed by a nephrologist with the analysis performed by the laboratory. When available, we also compared the suggested diagnosis per nephrologists' sediment analysis with the biopsy diagnosis.

Methods

We identified patients with AKI who had urine microscopy with sediment analysis performed by the laboratory (Laboratory-UrSA) and by a nephrologist (Nephrologist-UrSA) within 72 hours of each other. We collected data to determine the following: number of red blood cells (RBCs) and white blood cells (WBCs) per high-power field, presence and types of casts per low-power field, and presence of dysmorphic RBCs. We evaluated agreement between the Laboratory-UrSA and the Nephrologist-UrSA using cross-tabulation and the Kappa statistic. When available, we categorized the nephrologist sediment findings into four categories: (1) bland, (2) suggestive of acute tubular injury (ATI), (3) suggestive of glomerulonephritis (GN), and (4) suggestive of acute interstitial nephritis (AIN). In a group of patients with kidney biopsy within 30 days of the Nephrologist-UrSA, we assessed agreement between the nephrologist diagnosis and the biopsy diagnosis.

Results

We included 387 patients with both Laboratory-UrSA and Nephrologist-UrSA. The agreement was moderate for the presence of RBCs (Kappa, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.55) and fair for WBCs (Kappa, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.45). There was no agreement for casts (Kappa, 0.026; 95% CI, −0.04 to 0.07). Eighteen dysmorphic RBCs were detected on Nephrologist-UrSA compared with zero on Laboratory-UrSA. Among the 33 patients with kidney biopsy, 100% ATI and 100% GN suggested per Nephrologist-UrSA were confirmed on the biopsy. Of the five patients with bland sediment on the Nephrologist-UrSA, 40% showed ATI pathologically while the other 60% demonstrated GN.

Conclusion

A nephrologist is more likely to recognize the presence of pathologic casts and dysmorphic RBCs. Correct identification of these casts carries important diagnostic and prognostic value when evaluating kidney disease.