bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Motivated, Willing, and Able: Non-Cognitive Factors Influence Complex Problem Solving Performance beyond Cognitive Ability
Authors: Vaughan Arabella Charlotte , Birney Damian Patrick , Fayn Kirill
Published: July 2022

Complex problem-solving (CPS) tasks have become an increasingly popular tool for understand-ing and assessing cognitive ability. These tasks have been repeatedly shown to be predictors of academic and workplace success above and beyond traditional measures of general intelligence and fluid intelligence. To date, there has been little exploration of the underlying mechanisms that drive this additional predictive utility. In this study, we examined the role of a variety of non-cognitive personality and investment traits that could drive performance on CPS tasks. Adult participants (n = 152) were recruited via M-Turk and completed a battery of personality and in-vestment trait measures, a measure of general mental ability, and a 61-trial microworlds-style CPS task. Generalised linear mixed-effects models revealed a wide variety of personality and in-vestment traits influenced task performance above and beyond general mental ability. Specifical-ly, two clusters of traits emerged as important determinants of performance: one cluster that in-fluenced the capacity to deal with the introduction of system randomness (Conscientiousness and Extraversion) and one cluster that influenced the capacity to deal with the introduction of system delays (NFC, Learning Goal Orientation, and Intellect). These findings suggest that CPS tasks do capture more than just general mental ability and may be good predictors of academic and workplace success because they tap into both cognitive ability and the motivation and willingness to engage in cognitive exploration and mental effort.
Urban Sprawl and Its Influence on Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Bagdad City from 1985 to 2021
Authors: Rasul Azad
Published: July 2022

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change and urban growth have a significant influence on local climate of cities. From 1985 to 2021 the population of Baghdad increased by 103%. Therefore, the risen question is how this expansion influences the temperature of the city. The study aims to identify urban growth of Baghdad, investigate its influence on variation of Land Surface Temperature (LST) and identify the main factors that control the surface temperature of the city. Three Landsat images from 1985 to 2021, in addition to sixteen potential factors, were used in the study. Our findings suggest that during the study period, vegetated areas declined by 39% while built-up class increased by 139%. Bare soil recorded the highest surface temperature. The study found that surface temperature has a strong inverse relationship with vegetation (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): r = -0.62, p < 0.001) and moisture (Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI): r = -0.65, p < 0.001). Therefore, increasing vegetation and water body lead to decrease temperature of the city. Our findings help policymakers to deal with climatic issues rising from urban growth of the city.
Исследование статистик графов ближайших соседей
Authors: Кислицын Алексей Алексеевич , Kislitsyn Aleksei Alekseevich
Published: July 2022

Описываются некоторые свойства статистик графов ближайших соседей. Изучаются выборочные распределения таких графов по числу несвязных фрагментов, фрагментов по числу вершин и вершин по степеням входящих ребер. Доказываются утверждения об асимптотических свойствах указанных распределений для графов большой размерности, отмечается их связь с классическими диаграммами Юнга и полукруговым распределением Вигнера. Рассматривается задача об определении вероятности реализации определенной структуры ближайших соседей в зависимости от функции распределения расстояний между элементами изучаемого множества. Показано, что с точностью до изоморфизма граф ближайших соседей не зависит от распределения расстояний. Этот факт позволяет построить основные статистики, используя равномерное распределение, и получить в результате численного моделирования табулированные данные для выборочных статистик графов ближайших соседей. Проведено исследование на условный экстремум вероятности реализации распределения вершин графа по степеням, что позволяет оценить долю случайности для той или иной структуры, возникающей в результате кластеризации элементов некоторого множества методом ближайших соседей. Описывается алгоритм сбора выборочных статистик графов ближайших соседей, использующий специфику именно таких графов.
Efficiency of an Inverted-Shroud Gravitational Gas Separator: Effect of the Liquid Viscosity and Inclination
Authors: Miranda-Lugo P. J. , Barbosa Marcel C. , Ortiz-Vidal L. Enrique , Rodriguez O. M. H.
Published: July 2022

Gas-liquid separation is a typical process in many applications. For instance, gas separation is critical for the proper operation of electrical submergible pumps in the oil and gas industry as the pumps’ performance and lifetime are severely reduced when working with high gas/oil ratios. Gas-liquid separators are installed in oil production wells to reduce the void fraction at the pump inlet. The inverted-shroud gravitational separator stands out due to its efficiencies higher than 97%. This separator performs the gas separation process in two stages. The first is a segregation process related to inversion from liquid to gas continuous flow, whereas the second stage is related to gas entrainment associated with kinetic-energy dissipation process. The latter is more complex to model in the vertical than in the inclined separator’s position. Previous studies revealed that the liquid flow rate and separator’s inclination are relevant parameters for the gas separation efficiency (GSE). However, studies regarding the effect of the liquid viscosity on GSE are scanty. We evaluate the influence of the liquid viscosity and separator’s inclination on the GSE of an inverted-shroud separator (IS-separator) with water-air and oil-air mixtures. Efficiency maps for each inclination and empirical correlations to predict the GSE in the vertical inclination are proposed. New experimental data collected for several liquid flow rates and separator inclinations are offered in this study as a starting point to develop universal GSE maps. Different gas separation phenomena are observed depending on the flow pattern at the inner annular channel (IAC) of the separator and its inclination. The experiments conducted with the water-air mixture indicated turbulent flow, while the oil-air mixture revealed laminar flow for both inclined and vertical positions. The results suggest that the greater the liquid viscosity, the higher the GSE. The efficiency maps indicate that it is possible to reach total gas separation (TGS) for many experimental conditions. In practice, our approach proposes an alternative technology where the variables that influence the production well’s dynamic fluid level are actively controlled. Therefore, the IS-separator can operate under operational field conditions similar to those tested on a laboratory scale. This fact makes the IS-separator a promising tool for industrial applications.
A Study on the Integrated Physical Fitness Test for Men and Women of Fire Officials
Authors:   Korean Association of Public Safety and Criminal Justice, Kim Pil- Seung
Published: July 2022

Ten years after the introduction of the evaluation criteria for the physical examination of firefighters, integrated physical fitness standards for men and women have been raised. This study was conducted with the aim of producing basic data to prepare policy improvement measures to prevent physical factors from hindering the recruitment and deployment of female firefighters. According to the results of the physical fitness test conducted by foreign fire organizations, the difference in the evaluation criteria for men's and women's physical fitness test is reduced or eliminated, and in particular, the work situation, such as fire officials, is required to meet the same working environment. Currently, there are differences in male and female standards in the evaluation criteria of the physical fitness test and physical fitness test of firefighters, and these differences are applied to male applicants of firefighters. Therefore, it is believed that a physical fitness certification agency is needed to be in charge of the physical fitness test to recruit firefighters so that there is no disadvantage in fairness and specific gender as well as to derive scientific and reasonable physical fitness measurement methods. It is difficult to deny that it is still insufficient to analyze as each country's firefighting environment, firefighting laws, and male and female employment laws affect physical fitness test items and standards. It is hoped that follow-up research will be more active and will be the basis for the establishment of reasonable Fitness examination measures without gender advantages.
German Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Person-Centred Practice Inventory - Staff (PCPI-S)
Authors: von Dach Christoph , Schlup Nanja , Gschwenter Stefan , MCCormack Brendan
Published: July 2022

Background: The person-centred practice framework represents the cornerstone of a middle-range theory of person-centred practice. Internationally, person-centredness has become an increasingly common topic. The measurement of the existence of a person-centred culture is complex and subtle. The Person-centred Practice Inventory-Staff (PCPI-S) measures clinicians’ experience of a person-centred culture in their practice. The PCPI-S was developed in English and no German translation was available. Therefore the aims of this study were (1) to translate the PCPI-S into German and to cross-culturally adapt to the acute care setting (PCPI-S aG); and (2) to investigate the psychometric properties of the PCPI-S aG. Methods: The two phases investigation of this cross-sectional observational study followed the guidelines and principles of good practice for the process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of self-reporting measures. Phase 1 involved an eight-step translation and cultural adaptation of the PCPI-S. In Phase 2, psychometric retesting and statistical analysis based on a quantitative cross-sectional survey were undertaken. To evaluate the construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis was implemented. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency. Results: A sample of 711 nurses participated in testing the PCPI-S aG. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good overall model fit, validating the strong theoretical framework, which underpins the PCPI-S aG. Cronbach’s alpha scores demonstrating excellent internal consistency. Conclusion: The chosen procedure ensured cultural adaptation into the German-speaking part of Europe. The psychometric results were good to excellent and comparable with the two other translations of the instrument.
Structural basis for the regulatory mechanism of mammalian mitochondrial megacomplex-I2III2IV2
Authors: Yang Maojun , Zhang Laixing , Guo Runyu , Xiao Chun , Li Jiaqi , Gu Jinke
Published: July 2022

Mammalian mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes are the most important and complicated protein machineries in mitochondria. Although this system has been studied for more than a century, its composition and molecular mechanism is still largely unknown. Here we report the high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of porcine respiratory chain megacomplex-I2III2IV2 (MCI2III2IV2) in five different conformations, including State 1, State 2, Mid 1, Mid 2, and Mid 3. High-resolution cryo-EM imaging, combined with super-resolution gated stimulated emission depletion microscopy (gSTED), strongly supports the formation of MCI2III2IV2 in live cells. Each MCI2III2IV2 structure contains 141 subunits (70 different kinds of peptides, 2.9 MDa) in total with 240 transmembrane helices. The mutual influence among CI, CIII, and CIV shown in MCI2III2IV2 structure suggests this megacomplex could act as an integral unit in electron transfer and proton pumping. The conformational changes from different states suggest a plausible regulatory mechanism for the MCI2III2IV2 activation/deactivation process.
Model Transformation and Code Generation Using a Secure Business Process Model
Authors: M Mythily , M Arul Xavier V , David Beaulah , Sagayam K. Martin , Elngar Ahmed A.
Published: July 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Decomposition and Us-Up Relationship of RDX Molecular Crystal subjected High Velocity impact
Authors: Pahari P. , Rao A. D.P. , Warrier M.
Published: July 2022

1-D shock wave propagation in RDX crystal is simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) with the ReaxFF potential, a forcefield that can simulate chemical reactions in C,H,N,O systems. High velocity impact simulations in RDX molecular crystal along the X, Y and Z axes have been carried out to (i) obtain the relation between the shock velocity (U s) versus the particle velocity (U p) and (ii) to study the decomposition products of RDX under shock conditions. The U s –U p shows a reasonable match with experiments. It is seen that crystal RDX decomposes only at impact velocities greater than 2.0 kmps and the decomposition products observed favours two of the three different decomposition pathways that have been proposed earlier for RDX.
Life on the edge - a changing genetic landscape within an iconic American pika metapopulation over the last half century
Authors: Klingler Kelly , Nichols Lyle , Hekkala Evon , Peacock Mary
Published: July 2022

Declines and extirpations of American pika (Ochotona princeps) populations at historically occupied sites started being documented in the literature during the early 2000s. Commensurate with global climate change, many of these losses at peripheral and lower elevation sites have been associated with changes in ambient air temperature and precipitation regimes. Here, we report on a decline in available genetic resources for an iconic American pika metapopulation, located at the southwestern edge of the species distribution in the Bodie Hills of eastern California, USA. Composed of highly fragmented habitat created by hard rock mining, the ore dumps at this site were likely colonized by pikas at the end of the 19th century from nearby natural talus outcrops. Genetic data extracted from both contemporary samples and archived natural history collections allowed us to track population and patch-level genetic diversity for Bodie pikas across three distinct sampling points during the last half- century (1948, 1988–1991, 2013–2015). In addition to declines in within-population allelic diversity and expected heterozygosity, we observed an increase in population structure and a reduction in effective population size from more extensive sampling of extant patches during 1988–1991 and 2013–2015, respectively. Furthermore, census records from the last 50 years as well as archived museum samples collected in 1947 from a nearby pika population in the Wassuk range (NV, USA) provide further support of the increasing isolation and genetic coalescence occurring in this region. This study highlights the importance of museum samples and long-term monitoring in contextualizing our understanding of population viability.
How does the North Pacific Oscillation affect tropical variability? Part I: Role of Stationary Wave Propagation
Authors: Kug Jong-Seong , Zhao Jiuwei , Sung Mi-Kyung , Park Jae-Heung , Luo Jing-Jia
Published: July 2022

The North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), a representative midlatitude atmospheric variability, has been known to affect tropical Pacific variability through the atmospheric boundary layer processes coupled with the mixed-layer ocean. Different from the existing hypothesis, in this study, we propose a new mechanism to link the NPO to tropical Pacific variability via upper-tropospheric teleconnections. Analyses of the wave activity flux show that wave energy associated with the NPO directly propagates from midlatitude to the tropics, modulating the tropical atmospheric circulation. During the NPO event, this equatorward energy flux becomes pronounced after the NPO peak phase and persists for more than two weeks. As a result, when a positive NPO grows (here, north anticyclonic–south cyclonic circulation), upper-level easterly wind anomalies are situated along the equatorial Pacific. Accordingly, anomalous lower-level westerly winds simultaneously occur in the western equatorial Pacific. To demonstrate the wave energy propagation via the upper-level troposphere, a stationary wave model experiment was performed with an NPO-like barotropic vorticity forcing. The results show equatorward wave propagation consistent with the observation.
Successful treatment of diffuse pustular inflammatory tinea capitis in the elderly with repeated debridement, terbinafine and short-course steroids
Authors: Xu Yuan , Xia Xiu-Jiao , Zhi Hui-Lin , Liu Ze-Hu
Published: July 2022

Inflammatory tinea capitis is the result of an intense hypersensitivity reaction from a dermatophytic infection, which is easy to be misdiagnosed by clinicians unfamiliar, leading to delays in diagnosis and inappropriate management. We report a case of a severe inflammatory tinea capitis in a healthy adult female who was not responsive to antifungal therapy according to guidelines. The patient was later successfully treated by repeated debridement, terbinafine and short-course steroids without routine surgery drainage.
Endometrial stromal PRMT5 plays a crucial role in decidualization by regulating NF-κB signaling in endometriosis
Authors: Yan Guijun , Cai Xinyu , Xu Manlin , Zhang Hui , Zhang Mei , Wang Junxia , Mei Jei , Zhang Yang , Zhou Jidong , Zhen Xin , Nannan Kang , Yue Qiuling , Sun Haixiang , Jiang Ruiwei
Published: July 2022

Decidualization is a prerequisite for successful embryo implantation, in which elongated fibroblast-like endometrial stromal cells differentiate into more rounded decidual cells. Accumulating evidence has stressed the important role of the defective eutopic endometrium in infertility in endometriosis patients. However, the role of arginine methylation in the process of physiological decidualization and pathological decidualization defects is not clear. Here, we observed that the expression level of PRMT5, the main type II PRMT, was decreased in the endometrium of endometriosis patients, predominantly in stromal cells. Compared with the undecidualized state, PRMT5 was increased in the stromal cells of normal secretory endometrium in humans and in the decidua of normal pregnant mice or mice with artificially induced decidualization. The inhibition of PRMT5 resulted in a significant decrease in uterine weight and decidualization-related regulator expression, including FOXO1, HOXA10 and WNT4, in mice and IGFBP1 and prolactin levels in human endometrial stromal cells. Transcriptome analysis showed that decreased PRMT5 activity led to NF-κB signaling activation by inducing p65 translocation to the nucleus, which was also observed in endometriosis patients. Finally, overexpression of PRMT5 rescued the defective expression of IGFBP1 and prolactin in primary endometrial stromal cells from endometriosis patients. Our results indicate that promotion of PRMT5 may provide novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of decidualization defects in infertile women, such as those with endometriosis.
Strain-specific alterations in gut microbiome and host immune responses elicited by tolerogenic Bifidobacterium pseudolongum
Authors: Ma Bing , Gavzy Samuel J. , Saxena Vikas , Song Yang , Piao Wenji , Lwin Hnin Wai , Lakhan Ram , Lyyathurai Jegan , Li Lushen , France Michael , Paluskievicz Christina , WillsonShirkey Marina , Hittle Lauren , Munawwar Arshi , Mongodin Emmanuel F. , Bromberg Jonathan S.
Published: July 2022

The beneficial effects attributed to Bifidobacterium are largely attributed to their immunomodulatory capabilities, which are likely to be species- and even strain-specific. However, their strain-specificity in direct and indirect immune modulation remain largely uncharacterized. We have shown that B. pseudolongum UMB-MBP-01, a murine isolate, is capable of suppressing inflammation and reducing fibrosis in vivo. To ascertain the mechanism driving this activity and to determine if it is specific to UMB-MBP-01, we compared it to B. pseudolongum type strain ATCC25526 of porcine origin using a combination of in vitro and in vivo experimentation and comparative genomics approaches. Despite many shared features, we demonstrate that these two strains possess distinct genetic repertoires in carbohydrate assimilation, differential activation signatures and cytokine responses in innate immune cells, and differential effects on lymph node morphology with unique local and systemic leukocyte distribution. Importantly, the administration of each B. pseudolongum strain resulted in major divergence in the structure, composition, and function of gut microbiota. This was accompanied by markedly different changes in intestinal transcriptional activities, suggesting strain-specific modulation of the endogenous gut microbiota as a key to host responses of immune modulation and changes in intestinal B. pseudolongum strains. Our study demonstrated a single probiotic strain can influence local, regional, and systemic immunity through both innate and adaptive pathways in a strain-specific manner. It highlights the importance to investigate both the endogenous gut microbiome and the intestinal responses in response to probiotic supplementation, which underpins the mechanisms through which the probiotic strains drive the strain-specific effect to impact health outcomes.
Peak Ground Acceleration Prediction using supervised Machine Learning algorithm for earthquakes of Mw5.6-7.9 occurring in India and Nepal
Authors: Mandal Prantik , Mandal Priyank
Published: July 2022

The absence of key input parameters and use of least squares technique have resulted in most of the available empirical ground motion prediction models (GMPEs) in India, as a function of epicentral distances and magnitudes, resulting in large uncertainty in the predictive model. Here we apply a supervised Machine Learning technique (XGBoost) to design a robust improved GMPE of peak ground acceleration (PGA) for the Indian sub-continent and Nepal, utilizing independent input parameters viz., moment magnitudes, hypocentral distances, focal depths and site proxy (in terms of average seismic shear-wave velocity from the surface to a depth of 30m (Vs30)). This has been achieved using PGA dataset of nine earthquakes of Mw5.6-7.9 from Nepal Himalaya, Uttarakhand Himalaya, Kachchh (Gujarat), and Koyna (Maharashtra). Our dataset also includes 225 strong-motion records of 30 significant Bhuj aftershocks of Mw3.3-5.0 (during 2002–2008) with epicentral distances ranging from 1.0 to 288 km. We also test the ground motion predictability of our supervised ML model using the whole dataset and randomized test dataset (30% of total data points). The correlation coefficient of observed and predicted PGA values for the whole dataset is found to be ±0.994 while our predictability on the randomized test dataset suggests a correlation coefficient of 0.944. Also, the model predictability of our supervised ML model suggests a good prediction of the observed PGA dataset for twelve Indian and Nepal earthquakes of Mw5.6-7.9 (viz., the 2001 Bhuj (Gujarat) earthquake sequence, the 2015 Nepal earthquake sequence, the 1999 Chamoli earthquake, the 1967 Koyna earthquake, the 2009 Mw6.2 Bhutan event and two Mw5.9 Myanmar-India border earthquakes of September 2009 and January 2013), suggesting that our ML GMPE model would work for earthquakes occurring in India and Nepal, within the range of Mw [3.3–7.9], focal depths [3–94 km], epicentral distances [1-565 km] and Vs30 [177–760 m/s].
A precise mathematical approach for analyzing the performance of MIMO-STBC systems over Weibull fading channels
Authors: Bessate Abdelmajid , Miftah Youssef , Ben-Azza Hussain , Bouanani Faissal El
Published: July 2022

MIMO systems have shown to be effective in addressing today’s high demand for WC, particularly next generation (4G and 5G) mobile technologies, by combating the problem of fading and improving the quality and rate of wireless communications. MIMO-systems with space-time block codes (STBC) is a good choice to provide a complete variety with coherent flat-fading channels. We used a new accurate approximation probability density function (PDF) of the totality of correlated Weibull random variables to examine the performance metrics of MIMO-STBC systems with correlated Weibull fading channels and to emphasize the correlation impacts on such systems in this work. New tight approximation equations for numerous performance metrics, like OP, average capacity under various rate adaption methods, and average symbol/bit error rate (ASER/ABER), have been derived based on this PDF. The Monte-Carlo simulation method has validated all derived expressions.
Factors Associated With Contraceptive Uptake After Elective Safe Abortion Care at Reproductive Health Care Centres in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana
Authors: Odame Frank , Mumuni Kareem , Samba Ali , Asah-Opoku Kwaku , Sifa Jerry
Published: July 2022

Background
Globally, post-abortion contraception has been shown to reduce unplanned pregnancies and therefore repeat abortion as well as abortion related complications in women in their reproductive age. However, the determinants of post-abortion contraception uptake in the Greater Accra Region are unclear. This study therefore sought to examine the factors associated with post abortion contraceptive uptake after elective safe abortion in the region.
Methods
The study adopted a prospective study design. The study employed a consecutive sampling involving women seeking elective abortion services at the selected public reproductive health units in the region. Descriptive statistics including frequency, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were used. The Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests were used, depending on the number of values in each cell, for bivariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used for modelling the relationship between the covariates and the outcome variable using a 95% confidence interval.
Results
Approximately 82% of the 357 participants accepted contraception after the elective safe abortion care. The multivariate analysis shows that having the partner fund for the abortion increased the woman’s odds for contraceptive uptake (aOR = 4.76; 95% CI = 1.73–13.12), compared to self-funding. The women who have experienced modern contraceptives were 6.6(95% CI = 2.67–16.24) times more likely to accept contraception post-abortion care compared to counterparts who have never used a modern contraceptive. Compared to those who underwent manual vacuum abortion, the women who underwent medication were less likely to accept a contraceptive after abortion (aOR = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.13–0.89).
Conclusion
Post-abortion contraceptive uptake was high in the Greater Accra Region. Some of the predicting factors associated with post-abortion contraception uptake after elective safe abortion care are modifiable.
Protection by amino acids against certain metal ion-induced toxicity in Spirulina platensis
Authors: Vijayarti HS , Agarwal Vanshita , Sah Nand Kishore , Seniya Chandrabhan
Published: July 2022

Numerous health issues, such as allergy, cardiovascular, renal, lung, and nose cancers, among others, may be brought on by nickel (Ni) exposure. However, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are frequently linked to nickel ions even though the molecular mechanism(s) of nickel-induced toxicity is poorly understood. Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis is a reliable source of high-quality nutritive proteins for man as well as domestic animals. The present research work demonstrates a significant defensive effect of amino acids like methionine, glutathione and ascorbic acid against the abiotic metabolic stress induced by heavy metals. The changes in biomass, carbohydrate, protein, pigmentation (chlorophyll-a), antioxidant potential, and nitric oxide radical scavenging potential have been investigated in metabolic stressed Spirulina platensis. Our experimental results showed that the growth hampered by doses of nickel and silver was overcome in the presence of amino acids. The effect was significantly attenuated when the culture medium was supplemented with 10 µg/ml amino acids (namely, methionine, glutathione, and ascorbic acid). Further, metabolically stressed S. platensis cultures supplemented with amino acids not only boosted biomass but also phycocyanin that to exhibit a variety of pharmacological properties. The supplementation with the amino acids showed insignificant protection against Ni-induced toxicity.
Engineering of a cellulose synthase gene improves brown rice processing efficiency and disease resistance
Authors: Chen Xuewei , Zou Li , Yin Junjie , Zhu Xiaobo , Chern Mawsheng , Wan Jiang , Wei Yan , Zhu Xiao , Lu Xiang , Xiong Qing , Tang Yongyan , Qi Tuo , Song Li , Yang Yi , Hou Qingqing , Zhang Cheng , Yuan Miao , Wang Qian , Yuan Hong , Shao Jing , Wang Long , Ye Dai , Li Mingwu , Qing Hai , Bi Yu , Liu Jiali , HE MIN , Wang Wenming , Li Shigui , Wang Jing , Li Weitao
Published: July 2022

Post-harvest processing efficiency and in-field disease resistance are two major traits for crop improvement. Higher grain-processing efficiency saves energy while stronger disease resistance reduces pesticide usage contributing to human health and environmental safety. However, simultaneous improvement on these two traits is exceptionally difficult due to the lack of suitable germplasm/gene resources and technologies. To address this problem in rice, we screened a rice mutant population and identified a rice mutant, improved brown rice processing efficiency 1 (ipe1), which has OsCesA7 mutated leading to improved brown rice processing efficiency. However, ipe1 shows reduced disease resistance. To restore disease resistance in ipe1 but keep its improved grain processing efficiency, we identified a rice intrinsic histone deacetylase 705 (HDA705) gene promoter, which has a similar expression pattern as the OsCesA7 promoter except with little expression in rice glumes, and expressed OsCesA7 with this promoter (proHDA705:OsCesA7). The proHDA705:OsCesA7 lines carry enhanced disease resistance and elevated brown rice processing efficiency with no compromises in other agronomic traits. This engineering strategy greatly saves energy used for brown rice processing and reduces pesticide usage, contributing not only to grain yield but also to human health, environmental safety, and energy saving.
Delaying methane mitigation increases the risk of breaching the 2°C warming limit
Authors: Nzotungicimpaye Claude-Michel , MacIsaac Alexander , Zickfeld Kirsten
Published: July 2022

Atmospheric methane levels are growing rapidly, raising concerns that sustained methane growth could constitute a challenge for limiting global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, even under stringent CO2 mitigation. Here we use an Earth system model to investigate the importance of immediate versus delayed methane mitigation to comply with the 2°C limit under a future scenario of low CO2 emissions. Our results suggest that methane mitigation initiated before 2030, alongside stringent CO2 mitigation, could enable to limit global warming to well below 2°C over the next three centuries. However, delaying methane mitigation to 2040 or beyond increases the risk of breaching
the 2°C limit, with every 10-year delay resulting in an additional peak warming of ~0.1°C. We find that CO2 feedbacks
amplify the peak warming level under delayed versus early methane mitigation. We conclude that urgent methane mitigation is needed to increase the likelihood of achieving the 2°C goal.
Rapid quantification of goat milk adulteration with cow milk using Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics
Authors: Li Wangfang , Huang Wei , Fan Desheng , Gao Xuhui , Zhang Xian , Meng Yaoyong , Cheng Timon Cheng-yi
Published: July 2022

As goat milk has a higher economic value compared to cow milk, the phenomenon of adulterating goat milk with cow milk appears in the market. In this article, the potential of Raman spectroscopy along with chemometrics was investigated for authentication and quantitation liquid goat milk adulterated with cow milk. First, the Raman spectra of goat milk and cow milk were examined by principal component analysis (PCA), the results showed that there were differences between the Raman spectra of cow and goat milk, which made quantitative experiments possible. For quantification, three different brands of cow milk and goat milk were selected randomly and adulterated goat milk with cow milk at the proportion of 5%-95%. 342 samples were used for the construction of the partial least square regression (PLSR) model, with 80% for the training set and 20% for the test set. The PLSR model showed the excellent performance for quantifying the level of adulteration, for the prediction set, with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9781, root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.82%, ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD) of 6.8. The results demonstrated the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a rapid, low cost and nondestructive analytical tool for adulteration detection in goat milk.
Introducing the Circularity Index for Dam/Reservoirs (CIDR)
Authors: Patino Carmen , Molina Jose-Luis , Espejo Fernando , Zazo Santiago
Published: July 2022

The world currently faces significant hydrologic changes associated with global climate change. Such as changes in precipitation patterns, rising surface temperature, and increases in frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, will affect the design capacity and operating characteristics of dams/reservoirs. This brings new challenges to current water management strategies. This research is aimed to create, apply, and provide a novel indicator named Circularity Index for Dam/Reservoir (CIDR) that allows to the determination of the water circularity level on the dual dam/reservoir system. This new method includes hydrological, economic, and environmental variables as well as social ones. This indicator is defined as the sum of the scores of the eleven indicators comprising the model multiplied by the weight. The method has been implemented giving the same weight for each indicator. It has been successfully applied in the 18 dams/reservoirs systems managed by the Duero River Basin, located in the region of “Castilla y León” (Spain). The CIDR provides maximum information in a single indicator value ranging from 0 to 55. A higher value of CIDR indicates a better practice of water circularity management. The results probe the increased utility of the index and suggest that six dams/reservoirs present high circularity of water flow.
Comparison of cultural preferences and cultural practices in website design in Pakistan
Authors: Nizamani Sehrish , Nizamani Saad , Basir Nazish , Khoumbati Khalil , Nizamani Sarwat , Memon Shahzad
Published: July 2022

Culture influences website designs. These websites benefit from the cultural elements incorporated into them. A website that is designed and used based on the preferences of its users and their culture is considered usable. Individuals' cultural preferences refer to their level of cultural comfort, whereas cultural practices are shared perceptions of how people behave in a culture regularly as a whole. This article discusses the comparison of the web design preferences of users with the actual working practices of the three categories of websites in Pakistan. The disparity between preferences and practices is examined using Hofstede's six cultural dimensions. The website design practices are collected using the observational research method. This paper concludes that web design practices in Pakistan correspond to preferences in the individualism versus collectivism and indulgence versus restraint dimensions of Hofstede dimensions of culture. The design practices for the remaining dimensions vary and do not adhere to the associated cultural dimension. The implications are discussed considering cultural research and website design.
Comparison of the accuracy of Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index with that of the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form and GLIM criteria in assessing nutritional status to predict the 1-year prognosis of hospitalized Japanese older adults: A single-institutional cohort study
Authors: Hiraike Taeko , Momoki Chika , Habu Daiki
Published: July 2022

BackgroundThe global leadership initiative on malnutrition (GLIM) proposed the first international standards (GLIM criteria) for undernutrition diagnosis. Early screening using a prognostic nutritional assessment tool is recommended to improve the prognosis of older patients. The association between Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNAⓇ-SF) and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) and prognosis has been reported, but there is insufficient evidence to develop the GLIM criteria for older inpatients. In the present study, the nutritional assessment tools MNAⓇ-SF, GNRI, and GLIM criteria were investigated to determine whether contribute to the prognosis of hospitalized older patients 1 year after discharge.MethodsA total of 386 patients were hospitalized between September 2014 and October 2015, May and December 2019 were enrolled. After excluding 18 patients who died during initial hospitalization, 22 who were lost to follow-up after 1 year, 40 who had missing data on admission, and 1 who discontinued follow-up, only 318 were included in the final analysis.The primary outcome was death within 1 year after discharge, assessed using the MNA®-SF, GNRI, and GLIM criteria; survival analysis was conducted. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis was also performed to identify the nutritional assessment tools that contribute to patients’ prognosis.ResultsA total of 43 died within 1 year. Of these patients, 58.1% had malnutrition and 39.5% had moderate malnutrition assessed using the MNAⓇ-SF, 27.9% had severe malnutrition using the GNRI, and 58.1% had severe malnutrition using the GLIM criteria. The percentages of malnutrition and severe malnutrition were significantly higher in the mortality group than in the survival group.Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that MNAⓇ-SF had a hazard ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24–4.71) for at risk, 2.17 (95% CI: 0.48–9.84) for malnutrition, 5.68 (95% CI: 2.74–11.80) for moderate GNRI, 7.69 (95% CI: 3.13–18.91) for severe GNRI, and 1.47 (95% CI: 0.48–4.50) for moderate GLIM criteria, 2.45 (95% CI: 1.22–4.93) for severe GLIM criteria; GNRI had the most significant contribution to the prognosis.ConclusionsGNRI contributed to the prognosis 1 year after discharge of hospitalized older patients than MNAⓇ-SF and GLIM criteria.
Coupling fermentation of glutamic acid and γ-polyglutamic acid and preparation of poly(amino acid) superabsorbent polymers
Authors: Zhao Jianbo , Jun Wei , Xuanlin Wang , Hui Cao
Published: July 2022

γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a biomarker that can be directly obtained by microbial fermentation, poly (amino acid) superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) were prepared with purified γPGA as raw material and ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDGE) as cross-linking agent. However, γ-PGA fermentation broth has a high viscosity, requires complex extraction and separation processes, and entails high energy consumption, resulting in the high cost of poly (amino acid) SAPs. Therefore, the coupling fermentation processes of glutamate polyglutamic acid, using glutamate fermentation broth instead of pure glutamate powder for fermentation, and treating the fermentation broth with centrifugation, UV irradiation, and high temperature, respectively were studied. The γ-PGA-co-PASP SAPs were prepared with fermentation broth instead of some part being water by combining the process of preparing polyaspartic acid (PASP) SAPs with polysuccinimide (PSI). The results showed that the yield of γ-PGA after centrifugation decreased by 5%, but it did not affect the synthesis of hydrogels. The addition of γ-PGA fermentation broth had a significant effect on the performance of γ-PGA-co-PASP SAPs. When the liquid-solid ratio of PSI: PGA was 2:1, the water absorption of super-absorbent resin was 40.4% which was higher than that of pure PASP, and the heat resistance and viscoelasticity were significantly improved. This work not only avoids the separation of complex γ-PGA fermentation broth, reduces the cost, but can improve the performance of super-absorbent resin, which has application potential.
Interpretation and Investigations of Topology based Routing Protocols applied in Dynamic System of VANET
Authors: sehrawat preeti , Chawla Mridul
Published: July 2022

The intelligent transportation system is necessary for smart connection among vehicles and roadways equipment. VANET is an emerging research area and gaining attention for this smart connection where each vehicle is a node in the ad-hoc network consists of groups of stationary or moving vehicles. These dynamic system of vehicles are linked together through a wireless link i.e., VANET. It provides an infrastructure that builds new solution for safety, comfort of drivers and passengers but the implementation of the VANET presents a hurdle in the selection and designing of a routing mechanism for dynamic vehicle system which is capable of providing reliable and efficient transportation of packets. To improve performance of dynamic system of VANET there are several routing protocols which may enable packet transport from the source node to the destination node. The prior objective of this research is to select and suggest reliable routing protocol for VANET’s implementation in vehicle system dynamics. This research presents the overall investigation and interpretation of routing protocol based on topology i.e., AODV, OLSR, DSR, and DSDV on the grounds of simulation parameters (packet delivery ratio, overhead, throughput). The performance is evaluated using network simulator (NS-3) and mobility simulator (SUMO). The result shows that in case of throughput and overhead, protocol DSR outperforms but in case of PDR, protocol AODV outperforms. From the above, conclusion is that this research will assist the researchers in selecting the better routing protocol in the implementation of dynamic system of VANET infrastructure.
Recent trends in anthropometric indices and lipoprotein indices as non-invasive biomarkers of atherosclerosis and coronary heart diseases in general population of Amritsar city
Authors: Monu Monika , Gandhi Gursatej
Published: July 2022

Elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in circulation may get deposited in coronary arteries and result in atherosclerotic plaques at an early age and act as risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. More recent and detailed anthropometric indices in addition to traditional indices were assessed in this study along with lipid profile and lipoprotein indices in urban population (n=100) of Amritsar, Punjab. n=48 subjects comprised the case group and n=52 subjects the control group. Study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Guru Nanak Dev University and individual voluntary written informed consent was provided by the study group. 46% of cases were obese and lipids and lipoprotein indices were significantly higher in obese group while low density lipoprotein cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol also in overweight category. Factor analysis extracted the 7 components out of 23 variables with a cummulative variance of 81.45%. Females had higher central obesity, waist hip ratio, waist height ratio and body adiposity index. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a positive significant association of age (r=0.363, p=0.027), socio-economic status (r=0.328,p=0.023), waist hip ratio (r=0.298,p=0.042), waist height ratio (r=0.864,p=0 000) and body mass index (r=0.794,p=0.000) with low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and of gender with atherogenic index(r=0.363,p=0.011). Also, a significant correlation of total body fat mass with atherogenic index(r=0.286,p=0.048) and and body roundness index with low density lipoprotein(r=0.345,p=0.016) was observed. Multivariate regression analysis revealed age (B=0.318,t=2.380,p=0.022) and gender (B=0.370,t=2.687,p=0.010) to be significant predictors of body roundness index as well as age (B=0.139,t=2.307,p=0.027) of low density lipoprotein cholesterol. The highest prediction accuracy was showed by waist circumference (AUC=0.597) and the least by a body shape index (AUC=0.458) as revealed by Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis.
Drought induces soil microbial stress responses and emissions of volatile organic compounds in an artificial tropical rainforest
Authors: Honeker Linnea , Pugliese Giovanni , Ingrisch Johannes , Fudyma Jane , Gil-Loaiza Juliana , Carpenter Elizabeth , Singer Esther , Hildebrand Gina , Shi Lingling , Hoyt David , Krechmer Jordan , Claflin Megan , Ayala-Ortiz Christian , Freire-Zapata Viviana , Pfannerstill Eva , Daber L. , Dippold Michaela , Kreuzwieser Jürgen , Williams Jonathan , Ladd S. , Werner Christiane , Tfaily Malak , Meredith Laura
Published: July 2022

Drought impacts microbial carbon cycling, and thus the fate of carbon in soils. Carbon allocation to energy via CO2 producing respiration and to biosynthesis via volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions both represent consequent carbon loss to the atmosphere, although only the former is well studied. Here, we examined drought impacts on carbon allocation by soil microbes to CO2 and VOCs using position-specific 13C-labeled pyruvate and multi-omics in an artificial tropical rainforest. During drought, 13C-VOCs efflux increased, driven by increased production and buildup of intermediate metabolites due to decreased interconnectivity between central carbon metabolism pathways, and 13C-CO2 efflux decreased, driven by an overall decrease in microbial activity. However, internal carbon allocation to energy relative to biosynthesis did not change, signifying maintained energy demand toward biosynthesis of VOCs and drought-stress induced biosynthesis pathways. Therefore, while carbon loss to the atmosphere via CO2 decreases during drought, carbon loss via VOCs may increase.
Dual roles of Curcumin Encapsulated Alginate/­Fe3O4 Nanoparticles in MRI Enhancement and Hyperthermia for Cancer Treatment
Authors: Nguyen Dac Tu , Ha Phuong Thu , To Thanh Thuy , Hoang Thi My Nhung , Bui Thi Van Khanh , Pham Hong Nam , Lam Khanh , Do Xuan Hai
Published: July 2022

Background
Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (MNPs) had a high potential in biomedical application, including hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The combination of MNPs and curcumin has been reported to have synergetic effect on cancer cell death. In this study, we aimed to identify the bioactivities of the nanoconjugates composed of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated by alginate and curcumin (Fe3O4/Cur@ALG) on cancer cells in both in vitro and in vivo models.
Results
The results showed that Fe3O4/Cur@ALG NPs enhanced the contrast of MRI in cell culture and Swiss mice bearing tumor. The autofluorescence signal of curcumin revealed the penetration of the nanoparticles into Sarcoma cells. Besides, this nanoconjugate synergistically inhibited the growth of Sarcoma 180 tumor through the magnetic heating and the anti-cancer effect of curcumin. These MNPs had had high biocompatibility with a low toxicity on mice at the concentration of Fe3O4 up to 120 mg/kg. Histological analysis indicated that the MNPs presented in the liver tissue, but not in the kidney, with the increase of AST value. Interestingly, Fe3O4/Cur@ALG NPs were cleared from blood after more than 10 minutes.
Conclusion
Our study revealed that Fe3O4/Cur@ALG had a high potential in medicinal application and should be further developed to use in cancer diagnosis and treatment.