bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leisure Quality among German Parents—Exploring Urbanity, Mobility, and Partner Interaction as Determinants
Authors: Chidambaram Bhuvanachithra , Scheiner Joachim
Published: May 2021

Individuals with family obligations concurrently perform unpaid tasks. In particular, parents often multitask childcare during leisure, leading to low-quality leisure. In this study, we explored leisure quality by measuring pure and contaminated (i.e., leisure combined with childcare) leisure for German parents (lone versus partnered) by considering five diverse factors: demographics, job characteristics, spatial and travel attributes, time use perception/preferences, and gendering of partner interactions. We used the cross-sectional German Time Use Survey 2012/13 data and employed regression analysis. Four important findings of the study are: (a) across groups, women have the highest levels of contaminated leisure, while men have the highest levels of pure leisure; (b) for both lone and partnered respondents, spatial attributes (less dense residential areas), travel attributes (paid work trips, unpaid work trips, number of cars, travel by public transport) negatively determine both pure and contaminated leisure; (c) for partnered respondents, driving is positively associated with contaminated leisure; (d) partner’s time spent on childcare negatively affects women’s pure leisure but positively relates to their contaminated leisure, while partner’s time spent on leisure activities positively affects men’s pure leisure and contaminated leisure.
Toward Sustainable Governance: Strategic Analysis of the Smart City Seoul Portal in Korea
Authors: Yoo Yejin
Published: May 2021

Currently, the efforts of many cities around the world, including Seoul, are aimed at transforming themselves into smart cities under a governance vision. Thus, the purpose of this study is to propose a reinforcement plan for the ’Smart Seoul’ portal to develop into a cooperative, participatory, and network governance. We select four representative smart city portals from Barcelona, Amsterdam, Columbus, and Singapore and evaluate their main features and roles. We sort the features analyzed in each portal based on certain governance strategies, employing their key features as part of our evaluation criteria model. These evaluation criteria are used to analyze the ‘Smart Seoul’ portal and create a strengthening plan. The plan comprises a set of actions intended to improve the portal’s capabilities in terms of disclosure of information, the participation of stakeholders, and civil petition services. When this plan is implemented, the resulting optimal information disclosure through the ‘Smart Seoul’ portal will ensure the transparency of Seoul’s administration and create an environment in which citizens can actively participate in solving urban problems and making decisions. In addition, the results of this study will be an important guideline for the design and operation of smart city portals, and the catalogs for key features are expected to be used to make smart city portal design regulations in the future.
MedShard: Electronic Health Record Sharing Using Blockchain Sharding
Authors: Hashim Faiza , Shuaib Khaled , Sallabi Farag
Published: May 2021

Electronic health records (EHRs) are important assets of the healthcare system and should be shared among medical practitioners to improve the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis. Blockchain technology has been investigated and adopted in healthcare as a solution for EHR sharing while preserving privacy and security. Blockchain can revolutionize the healthcare system by providing a decentralized, distributed, immutable, and secure architecture. However, scalability has always been a bottleneck in blockchain networks due to the consensus mechanism and ledger replication to all network participants. Sharding helps address this issue by artificially partitioning the network into small groups termed shards and processing transactions parallelly while running consensus within each shard with a subset of blockchain nodes. Although this technique helps resolve issues related to scalability, cross-shard communication overhead can degrade network performance. This study proposes a transaction-based sharding technique wherein shards are formed on the basis of a patient’s previously visited health entities. Simulation results show that the proposed technique outperforms standard-based healthcare blockchain techniques in terms of the number of appointments processed, consensus latency, and throughput. The proposed technique eliminates cross-shard communication by forming complete shards based on “the need to participate” nodes per patient.
Chemical and Biological Enhancement Effects of Biochar on Wheat Growth and Yield under Arid Field Conditions
Authors: Khan Zarmeena , Rahman Muhammad Habib ur , Haider Ghulam , Amir Rabia , Ikram Rao Muhammad , Ahmad Shakeel , Schofield Hannah Kate , Riaz Bilal , Iqbal Rashid , Fahad Shah , Datta Rahul , Baazeem Alaa , Sabagh Ayman EL , Danish Subhan
Published: May 2021

Nitrogen (N) losses are prevalent under South East Asia’s due to high N fertilizer inputs, but low N fertilizer use efficiency. This leaves a large quantity of reactive N at risk of loss to the environment. Biochar has been found to reduce N losses across a variety of soil types, however, there is limited data available for semi-arid climates, particularly at a field-scale. Herein we present an exploration of the biological and chemical enhancement effects observed of a cotton stalk-based biochar on wheat growth and yield under arid field conditions. The biochar was treated with urea-N and biofertilizer (bio-power) in different treatment setups. The six experimental treatments included; (i) a full N dose “recommended for wheat crops in the region” (104 kg N ha−1) as a positive control; (ii) a half N dose (52 kg N ha−1); (iii) a half N dose + biofertilizer (4.94 kg ha−1) as a soil mixture; (iv) a half N dose + biofertilizer as a seed inoculation; (v) a full N dose as broadcast + biochar (5 t ha−1) inoculated with biofertilizer; and (vi) a full N dose loaded on biochar + biofertilizer applied as a soil mixture. The half dose N application or biofertilizer addition as soil mix/seed inoculated/biochar inoculation with biofertilizer caused reduced wheat growth and yield compared to the control (conventional N fertilization). However, co-application of chemically enhanced biochar (loaded with a full N dose) and biofertilizer as soil mixture significantly increased the crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area index (LAI). A significantly higher crop growth and canopy development led to a higher light interception and radiation use efficiency (RUE) for total dry matter (TDM) and grain yield (11% greater than control) production compared to the control. A greater grain yield, observed for the full N dose loaded on biochar + biofertilizer applied as a soil mixture, is attributed to prolonged N availability as indicated by greater plant and soil N content at harvest and different crop growth stages, respectively. The present study has improved our understanding of how the application of nitrogen loaded biochar and biofertilizer as soil mixtures can synergize to positively affect wheat growth and soil-nitrogen retention under arid environmental conditions.
Evaluating and Enhancing the Robustness of Sustainable Neural Relationship Classifiers Using Query-Efficient Black-Box Adversarial Attacks
Authors: Haq Ijaz Ul , Khan Zahid Younas , Ahmad Arshad , Hayat Bashir , Khan Asif , Lee Ye-Eun , Kim Ki-Il
Published: May 2021

Neural relation extraction (NRE) models are the backbone of various machine learning tasks, including knowledge base enrichment, information extraction, and document summarization. Despite the vast popularity of these models, their vulnerabilities remain unknown; this is of high concern given their growing use in security-sensitive applications such as question answering and machine translation in the aspects of sustainability. In this study, we demonstrate that NRE models are inherently vulnerable to adversarially crafted text that contains imperceptible modifications of the original but can mislead the target NRE model. Specifically, we propose a novel sustainable term frequency-inverse document frequency (TFIDF) based black-box adversarial attack to evaluate the robustness of state-of-the-art CNN, CGN, LSTM, and BERT-based models on two benchmark RE datasets. Compared with white-box adversarial attacks, black-box attacks impose further constraints on the query budget; thus, efficient black-box attacks remain an open problem. By applying TFIDF to the correctly classified sentences of each class label in the test set, the proposed query-efficient method achieves a reduction of up to 70% in the number of queries to the target model for identifying important text items. Based on these items, we design both character- and word-level perturbations to generate adversarial examples. The proposed attack successfully reduces the accuracy of six representative models from an average F1 score of 80% to below 20%. The generated adversarial examples were evaluated by humans and are considered semantically similar. Moreover, we discuss defense strategies that mitigate such attacks, and the potential countermeasures that could be deployed in order to improve sustainability of the proposed scheme.
A Review of Port Initiatives to Promote Freight Modal Shifts in Europe: Evidence from Port Governance Systems
Authors: Gonzalez-Aregall Marta , Cullinane Kevin , Vierth Inge
Published: May 2021

This study analyses how port governance systems in Europe have influenced the implementation of port initiatives focused on promoting modal shifts in freight transportation. Through a comprehensive review of port strategies, this research identified 49 individual modal shift initiatives among 21 port authorities in Europe. The results show that ports located in the Northern regions and managed by local governments, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands, are leaders in executing strategies for modal shifts in freight transportation. Technological solutions and promoting intermodal transportation were found to be the most popular initiatives used to promote hinterland movements of freight by rail and waterborne transportation.
A Low-Cost Platform for Environmental Smart Farming Monitoring System Based on IoT and UAVs
Authors: Almalki Faris A. , Soufiene Ben Othman , Alsamhi Saeed H. , Sakli Hedi
Published: May 2021

When integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) occurred, tens of applications including smart agriculture have emerged to offer innovative solutions to modernize the farming sector. This paper aims to present a low-cost platform for comprehensive environmental parameter monitoring using flying IoT. This platform is deployed and tested in a real scenario on a farm in Medenine, Tunisia, in the period of March 2020 to March 2021. The experimental work fulfills the requirements of automated and real-time monitoring of the environmental parameters using both under- and aboveground sensors. These IoT sensors are on a farm collecting vast amounts of environmental data, where it is sent to ground gateways every 1 h, after which the obtained data is collected and transmitted by a drone to the cloud for storage and analysis every 12 h. This low-cost platform can help farmers, governmental, or manufacturers to predict environmental data over the geographically large farm field, which leads to enhancement in crop productivity and farm management in a cost-effective, and timely manner. Obtained experimental results infer that automated and human-made sets of actions can be applied and/or suggested, due to the innovative integration between IoT sensors with the drone. These smart actions help in precision agriculture, which, in turn, intensely boost crop productivity, saving natural resources.
Effect of a Protestant Work Ethic on Burnout: Mediating Effect of Emotional Dissonance and Moderated Mediating Effect of Negative Emotion Regulation
Authors: Choi Sukbong , Kang Yungil , Yeo Kyunghwan
Published: May 2021

This study examined the effect of the Protestant work ethic on burnout using a sample of 259 South Korean workers from a manufacturing firm. We also investigated the mediating role of emotional dissonance on this effect and addressed the moderating and moderated mediating roles of negative emotion regulation on the relationship between Protestant work ethic and emotional dissonance. Our empirical results indicated a significant direct negative effect of the Protestant work ethic on burnout, but there was no evidence of an indirect relationship between these. Results also found that negative emotion regulation changed the relationship between Protestant work ethic and emotional dissonance. In addition, negative emotion regulation changed the mediating role of emotional dissonance in the relationship between Protestant work ethic and burnout. The study is meaningful in that it grasped the importance of value as a major factor in job burnout, and it finally confirmed the antecedents of Koreans’ diligence.
Effects of Compression Ratio of Bio-Fueled SI Engines on the Thermal Balance and Waste Heat Recovery Potential
Authors: Qasemian Ali , Haghparast Sina Jenabi , Azarikhah Pouria , Babaie Meisam
Published: May 2021

In internal combustion engines, a significant share of the fuel energy is wasted via the heat losses. This study aims to understand the heat losses and analyze the potential of the waste heat recovery when biofuels are used in SI engines. A numerical model is developed for a single-cylinder, four-stroke and air-cooled SI engine to carry out the waste heat recovery analysis. To verify the numerical solution, experiments are first conducted for the gasoline engine. Biofuels including pure ethanol (E100), E15 (15% ethanol) and E85 (85% ethanol) are then studied using the validated numerical model. Furthermore, the exhaust power to heat loss ratio (Q˙ex/Q˙ht) is investigated for different compression ratios, ethanol fuel content and engine speed to understand the exhaust losses potential in terms of the heat recovery. The results indicate that heat loss to brake power ratio (Q˙ht/W˙b) increases by the increment in the compression ratio. In addition, increasing the compression ratio leads to decreasing the Q˙ex/Q˙ht ratio for all studied fuels. According to the results, there is a direct relationship between the ethanol in fuel content and Q˙ex/Q˙ht ratio. As the percentage of ethanol in fuel increases, the Q˙ex/Q˙ht ratio rises. Thus, the more the ethanol in the fuel and the less the compression ratio, the more the potential for the waste heat recovery of the IC engine. Considering both power and waste heat recovery, the most efficient fuel is E100 due to the highest brake thermal efficiency and Q˙ex/Q˙ht ratio and E85, E15 and E00 (pure gasoline) come next in the consecutive orders. At the engine speeds and compression ratios examined in this study (3000 to 5000 rpm and a CR of 8 to 11), the maximum efficiency is about 35% at 5000 rpm and the compression ratio of 11 for E100. The minimum percentage of heat loss is 21.62 happening at 5000 rpm and the compression ratio of 8 by E100. The minimum percentage of exhaust loss is 35.8% happening at 3000 rpm and the compression ratio of 11 for E00. The most Q˙ex/Q˙ht is 2.13 which is related to E100 at the minimum compression ratio of 8.
Virtual Exchange to Develop Cultural, Language, and Digital Competencies
Authors: Machwate Said , Bendaoud Rachid , Henze Juergen , Berrada Khalid , Burgos Daniel
Published: May 2021

Many researchers have underlined the benefits of student mobility in strengthening their communication skills. Studying a foreign language and fostering knowledge about behavioural attitudes are the most common research cases. One of the major issues of mobility, by its very nature, is that it implies significant travel and accommodation costs. Virtual mobility, or Virtual Exchange (VE), can be introduced as a proactive alternative solution. This work presents an evaluation of a telecollaborative online course model organised as a VE between German and Moroccan universities. It was established to explore the benefits of integrating a VE experience by practicing some 21st-century knowledge elements as tools for the development of intercultural, language, and digital competencies from the perspective of mobility. In this paper, we present a VE model and its design, structure, and progress. Then, we evaluate this first experience to overcome some challenges that similar future experiences could face. We analyse the tools proposed in this design, the interactions between the different actors, and their feedback. The evaluative study shows the acquisition of awareness of cultural differences and the improvement of language skills through practice in addition to the development of some digital skills.
Success Factors and Sustainability of the K-Pop Industry: A Structural Equation Model and Fuzzy Set Analysis
Authors: Kim Joon-ho , Jung Seung-hye , Roh Jung-sik , Choi Hyun-ju
Published: May 2021

As the popularity of K-pop grows, the industry is contributing to the positive perceptions of South Korea’s overall national brand value. This has led to it being considered a strategic industry worth cultivating. However, many people are unsure of its sustainability. To address this, our study investigates the factors that are key to the industry’s success—K-pop industry success factors—and their relationship with sustainability (SNS citizenship behavior and tourist behavioral intention). The study surveyed 1247 global viewers (eight countries) who listen to K-pop via TV, radio, and the Internet, watch K-pop videos on YouTube, and search information related to K-pop on SNS. The collected data were analyzed using two statistical techniques: structural equation model (SEM) analysis and fuzzy set-quality comparative analysis (fsQCA). (1) According to the SEM analysis, of the K-pop success factors, three factors demonstrated a statistically significant positive influence on SNS citizenship behavior: casting, producing/promotion, and content. (2) SNS citizenship behavior showed a statistically significant positive influence on tourist behavioral intention. (3) According to the fsQCA results, casting, training, social media, content, and SNS citizenship behavior were commonly derived at least three times, indicating that these are key factors impacting tourist behavioral intention. (4) In summary, results confirmed that, with the exception of producers, the five K-pop success factors, casting, training, producing/promotion, social media, and content, are crucial to sustainability and to increasing tourist behavioral intention.
Construction Technologies for Sustainable Affordable Housing within Fragile Contexts: Proposal of a Decision Support Tool
Authors: Atta Nazly , Dalla Valle Anna , Campioli Andrea , Chiaroni Davide , Talamo Cinzia
Published: May 2021

The topic of sustainable affordable housing in developing countries is gaining increasing importance within international debates. The challenge is to find a balance between the concepts of sustainability and affordability in building construction within fragile contexts, overcoming basic self-made shelter solutions towards the creation of sustainable durable housing. In particular, concerning the selection of constructive technological solutions, the goal is to shift from the current decision-making process based only on economic factors to a more holistic approach based on a triple bottom line perspective, integrating economic, environmental and social sustainability. With this aim, this paper proposes a decisional support tool for contexts characterized by poor information to sustain decision-makers in identifying suitable technological solutions. The tool is based on a set of key indicators, articulated into the three pillars of sustainability. The proposed tool, conceived as scalable and replicable, is finally applied to the specific context of Mogadishu (Somalia), since it is representative of the uncertain social, political and economic nature of fragile contexts.
Cutting Waste Minimization of Rebar for Sustainable Structural Work: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Kwon Keehoon , Kim Doyeong , Kim Sunkuk
Published: May 2021

Rebar, the core resource of reinforced concrete structures, generates more carbon dioxide per unit weight than any other construction resource. Therefore, reducing rebar cutting wastes greatly contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG). Over the past decades, many studies have been conducted to minimize cutting wastes, and various optimization algorithms have been proposed. However, the reality is that about 3 to 5% of cutting wastes are still generated. In this paper, the trends in the research on cutting waste minimization (CWM) of rebar for sustainable work are reviewed in a systematic method with meta-analysis. So far, the literature related to cutting waste minimization or optimization of rebar published has been identified, screened, and selected for eligibility by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, and the final 52 records have been included in quantitative and qualitative syntheses. Review by meta-analysis was conducted on selected literatures, and the results were discussed. The findings identified after reviewing the literature are: (1) many studies have performed optimization for the market length, making it difficult to realize near-zero cutting wastes; (2) to achieve near-zero cutting wastes, rebars must be matched to a specific length by partially adjusting the lap splice position (LSP); (3) CWM is not a one-dimensional problem but an n-dimensional cutting stock problem when considering several rebar combination conditions; and (4) CWM should be dealt with in terms of sustainable value chain management in terms of GHG contributions.
Investigating the Impact of Regional Temperature on COVID-19 Pandemic during 2020
Authors: Marvi Murk , Arfeen Asad , Mehdi Mohammed Raza , Rauf Zahid
Published: May 2021

Several studies have attempted to uncover the impact of weather parameters on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the initial stage of its outbreak. However, they reported contradicting findings due to limited data available at an earlier stage of the outbreak. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the impact of regional temperature on the pandemic in 34 different locations of the globe by defining two main objectives. The first objective is focused on pattern analysis of an earlier stage of the pandemic. The conducted analysis suggests that the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak during its initial stage was slower in the regions experiencing extreme temperatures. The second objective is about understanding the impact of temperature on new cases (NC) and new deaths (ND) of COVID-19 reported per day by using linear regression (LR) as a statistical tool. For most of the locations, under simple LR analysis, a significant inverse relationship has been observed between average temperature and NC or ND. However, a few locations, including Pakistan, India, Singapore, Bahrain, and Qatar, have shown a significant positive relationship between average temperature and NC with a 99.9% confidence level. Furthermore, Pakistan, Thailand, Bahrain, and Qatar have shown a significant positive relationship between average temperature and ND with a 95% confidence level. Although most of these locations experienced temperatures with a mean greater than 22 °C and standard deviation greater than 5 °C, excluding India, the number of total COVID-19 cases reported in these locations is small. Moreover, the results of multiple LR analysis reveal a significant inverse relationship between average temperature and NC or ND with a 95% confidence level.
The Elaborated Assessment Framework of City Competitiveness from the Perspective of Regional Resource Integration
Authors: Chiu Yin-Hao , Liu Yu-Yun
Published: May 2021

Studies on regional development have generally focused on major cities, to the neglect of minor ones. In this research, a secondary city in Taiwan, namely Keelung, was selected as a case study for urban development assessment from the perspective of regional resource integration. This study combined the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method and analytic network process (ANP) to determine how dimensions influenced each other in Keelung and what their weights were. We used six dimensions that comprised 14 criteria. The adopted dimensions were economics, governance, society, physical environment, natural environment, and culture and creativity. On the basis of the DEMATEL-based ANP, experts considered the governance, economics, and society dimensions to be highly important and influential on the other dimensions. In elucidating the relationships between dimensions, our method allows policymakers to formulate holistic solutions rather than piecemeal ones. The satisfaction of experts and residents (who have expertise and considerable living experience in Keelung, respectively) with the current situation in Keelung regarding the dimensions and criteria was also determined.
Sustainability Analysis of the Production of Early Stages of the Atlantic Forest Lambari (Deuterodon iguape) in a Public Hatchery at a Rainforest Conservation Area
Authors: Belmudes Dalton , David Fernanda S. , Gonçalves Fernando H. , Valenti Wagner C.
Published: May 2021

Protected areas have been used worldwide to conserve natural resources. Nevertheless, economic activities to provide income for communities living within and surrounded by conservation areas remain an issue. This study aimed to assess the sustainability of a Deuterodon iguape hatchery, situated within an Atlantic Rainforest Park, to leverage grow-out farming of this small native fish, affording income and food security for local families. We have used a set of indicators of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The initial investment is about US$ 40,000, which should see a return in ~2 years. The internal rate of return is close to 50%, including the externality costs, which is attractive for both public and private investors. The hatchery generated few direct jobs, but the workforce can be recruited from the community, and the hatchery can enable the establishment of several small grow-out farms, leveraging the development of indirect jobs and self-employment. The system had a low environmental impact, showing a minor release of pollutants, a low risk for biodiversity, and absorption of 18 g of CO2 equivalent per thousand post-larvae produced, contributing to the struggle against climate change. Therefore, the D. iguape hatchery demonstrates the potential of combining biodiversity conservation and income generation, meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030.
EIMECA: A Proposal for a Model of Environmental Collective Action
Authors: Carmona-Moya Beatriz , Calvo-Salguero Antonia , Aguilar-Luzón María-del-Carmen
Published: May 2021

The deterioration and destruction of the environment is becoming more and more considerable and greater efforts are needed to stop it. To accomplish this feat, all members of society must identify with solving environmental problems, environmental collective action being one of the most relevant means of doing so. From this perspective, the analysis of the psychosocial factors that lead to participation in environmental collective action emerges as a priority objective in the research agenda. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the role of “environmental identity”, as conceptualized by Clayton, as a central axis for explaining environmental collective action. The inclusion of the latter in the theoretical framework of the SIMCA (social identity model of collective action) model gives rise to the model that we have called EIMECA (environmental identity model of environmental collective action). Two studies were conducted (344 and 720 participants, respectively), and structural equation modeling was used. The results reveal that environmental identity and a variety of negative emotional affects, as well as group efficacy, accompanied by hope for a simultaneous additive effect, are critical when it comes to predicting environmental collective action.
Study on Water Inflow Variation Law of No.1 Shaft Auxiliary Shaft in HighLiGongshan Based on Dual Medium Model
Authors: Li Jiabin , Wang Yonghong , Tan Zhongsheng , Du Wen , Liu Zhenyu
Published: May 2021

When the fracture is not developed and the connectivity is poor, the original single medium simulation cannot meet the accuracy requirements. Now, the seepage simulation of fractured rock mass has gradually developed from equivalent continuous medium to dual medium and multiple medium. However, it is still difficult to establish the connection between a discrete fracture network model and a continuous medium model, which makes it difficult to simulate the influence of fracture location on the seepage field of rock mass. As the excavation direction of the shaft is vertically downward, the surrounding strata are symmetrical around the plane of the shaft axis, which is different from the horizontal tunnel. Taking the auxiliary shaft of the No.1 Shaft in HighLiGongshan as the engineering background, combined with Monte Carlo methods and DFN generator built in FLAC3D5.01, a discrete fracture network is generated. Based on the dual medium theory, MIDAS is used to optimize the modeling of each fracture group. At the same time, the concept of “Fracture Weakening area” is introduced, and the simulation is carried out based on a fluid–solid coupling method. It is found that the simulation effect is close to the reality. The water inflow increases with the increase of shaft excavation depth, and the water inflow at the end of excavation is nearly three times larger than the initial value. Combined with Legendre equation, a new analytical formula of water inflow prediction is proposed. It is found that this analytical formula is more sensitive to permeability and has a greater safety reserve.
A New Strategy-Based PID Controller Optimized by Genetic Algorithm for DTC of the Doubly Fed Induction Motor
Authors: Mahfoud Said , Derouich Aziz , EL Ouanjli Najib , EL Mahfoud Mohammed , Taoussi Mohammed
Published: May 2021

Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) is the most popular controller used in automatic systems, because of its robustness, ability to adapt the behaviors of the system, making them converge toward its optimum. These advantages are valid only in the case of the linear systems, as they present poor robustness in nonlinear systems. For that reason, many solutions are adopted to improve the PID robustness of the nonlinear systems. The optimization algorithm presents an efficient solution to generate the optimums PID gains adapting to the system’s nonlinearity. The regulation speed in the Direct Torque Control (DTC) is carried out by the PID controller, which caused many inconveniences in terms of speed (overshoot and rejection time), fluxes, and torque ripples. For that, this work describes a new approach for DTC of the Doubly Fed Induction Motor (DFIM) powered by two voltage inverters, using a PID controller for the regulation speed, based on a Genetic Algorithm (GA), which has been proposed for adjustment and optimizing the parameters of the PID controller, using a weighted combination of objective functions. To overcome the disadvantages cited at the beginning, the new hybrid approach GA-DTC has the efficiency to adapt to the system’s nonlinearity. This proposed strategy has been validated and implemented on Matlab/Simulink, which is attributed to many improvements in DFIM performances, such as limiting speed overshoot, reducing response time and the rate of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of the stator and rotor currents, and minimizing the rejection time of speed and amplitude of the torque and flux ripples.
Effects of Acrylamide-Induced Vasorelaxation and Neuromuscular Blockage: A Rodent Study
Authors: Lin Wei-De , Ou Chu-Chyn , Hsiao Shih-Hao , Chang Chih-Han , Tsai Fuu-Jen , Liao Jiunn-Wang , Chen Yng-Tay
Published: May 2021

Acrylamide (ACR), which is formed during the Maillard reaction, is used in various industrial processes. ACR accumulation in humans and laboratory animals results in genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which ACR may induce vasorelaxation and neuromuscular toxicity. Vasorelaxation was studied using an isolated rat aortic ring model. The aortic rings were divided into the following groups: with or without endothelium, with nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition, with acetylcholine receptor inhibition, and with extracellular calcium inhibition. Changes in tension were used to indicate vasorelaxation. Neuromuscular toxicity was assessed using a phrenic nerve–diaphragm model. Changes in muscle contraction stimulated by the phrenic nerve were used to indicate neuromuscular toxicity. ACR induced the vasorelaxation of phenylephrine-precontracted aortic rings, which could be significantly attenuated by NOS inhibitors. The results of the phrenic nerve–diaphragm experiments revealed that ACR reduced muscle stimulation and contraction through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR). ACR-induced vasotoxicity was regulated by NOS through the aortic endothelium. Nicotinic AChR regulated ACR-induced neuromuscular blockage.
Impact of Fusarium-Derived Mycoestrogens on Female Reproduction: A Systematic Review
Authors: Kinkade Carolyn W. , Rivera-Núñez Zorimar , Gorcyzca Ludwik , Aleksunes Lauren M. , Barrett Emily S.
Published: May 2021

Contamination of the world’s food supply and animal feed with mycotoxins is a growing concern as global temperatures rise and promote the growth of fungus. Zearalenone (ZEN), an estrogenic mycotoxin produced by Fusarium fungi, is a common contaminant of cereal grains and has also been detected at lower levels in meat, milk, and spices. ZEN’s synthetic derivative, zeranol, is used as a growth promoter in United States (US) and Canadian beef production. Experimental research suggests that ZEN and zeranol disrupt the endocrine and reproductive systems, leading to infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome-like phenotypes, pregnancy loss, and low birth weight. With widespread human dietary exposure and growing experimental evidence of endocrine-disrupting properties, a comprehensive review of the impact of ZEN, zeranol, and their metabolites on the female reproductive system is warranted. The objective of this systematic review was to summarize the in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiological literature and evaluate the potential impact of ZEN, zeranol, and their metabolites (commonly referred to as mycoestrogens) on female reproductive outcomes. We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO registration CRD42020166469) of the literature (2000–2020) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The data sources were primary literature published in English obtained from searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The ToxR tool was applied to assess risk of bias. In vitro and in vivo studies (n = 104) were identified and, overall, evidence consistently supported adverse effects of mycoestrogens on physiological processes, organs, and tissues associated with female reproduction. In non-pregnant animals, mycoestrogens alter follicular profiles in the ovary, disrupt estrus cycling, and increase myometrium thickness. Furthermore, during pregnancy, mycoestrogen exposure contributes to placental hemorrhage, stillbirth, and impaired fetal growth. No epidemiological studies fitting the inclusion criteria were identified.
Early Botulinum Toxin Type A Injection for Post-Stroke Spasticity: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
Authors: Picelli Alessandro , Santamato Andrea , Cosma Michela , Baricich Alessio , Chisari Carmelo , Millevolte Marzia , Prete Cristina Del , Mazzù Ilenia , Girardi Paolo , Smania Nicola
Published: May 2021

Early management of spasticity may improve stroke outcome. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) is recommended treatment for post-stroke spasticity (PSS). However, it is usually administered in the chronic phase of stroke. Our aim was to determine whether the length of time between stroke onset and initial BoNT-A injection has an effect on outcomes after PSS treatment. This multicenter, longitudinal, cohort study included stroke patients (time since onset <12 months) with PSS who received BoNT-A for the first time according to routine practice. The main outcome was the modified Ashworth scale (MAS). Patients were evaluated before BoNT-A injection and then at 4, 12, and 24 weeks of follow-up. Eighty-three patients with PSS were enrolled. MAS showed a significant decrease in PSS at 4 and 12 weeks but not at 24 weeks after treatment. Among the patients with a time between stroke onset and BoNT-A injection >90 days, the MAS were higher at 4 and 12 weeks than at 24 weeks compared to those injected ≤90 days since stroke. Our findings suggest that BoNT-A treatment for PSS should be initiated within 3 months after stroke onset in order to obtain a greater reduction in muscle tone at 1 and 3 months afterwards.
Efforts to Identify and Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Uganda: A Systematic Review
Authors: Kivumbi Mark , Standley Claire
Published: May 2021

The global burden of antimicrobial resistance is on the rise, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality in our communities. The spread of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and development of resistant microbes is a challenge to the control of antimicrobial resistance. Approaches, such as antimicrobial stewardship programmes and enhanced surveillance, have been devised to curb its spread. However, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries, the overall extent of antimicrobial resistance and knowledge on ongoing surveillance, stewardship or investigation efforts, are often poorly understood. This study aimed to look at the efforts that have been undertaken to detect and combat antimicrobial resistance in Uganda as a means of establishing an overview of the situation, to help inform future decisions. We conducted a systematic literature review of the PubMed database to assess these efforts. A search combining keywords associated with antimicrobial resistance were used to find relevant studies between 1995 and 2020 on surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Uganda, and susceptibility of microbes to different drugs. The search yielded 430 records, 163 of which met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The studies were categorized according to country and region, the type of antimicrobial resistance, context of the study, study design and outcome of the study. We observed that antibacterial resistance and antimalarial resistance had the most published studies while antiviral and antifungal resistance were represented by very few studies each. Most studies were conducted in humans and hospital settings, with few in veterinary and One Health contexts, and only one that included environmental sampling. The majority of studies have focused on surveillance, susceptibility testing or resistance genes; none of our included papers had a policy or stewardship focus. The results from our work can inform public health policy on antimicrobial stewardship as it contributes to understanding the status of antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Uganda, and can also help to guide future research efforts. Notably, a One Health approach needs to be followed with respect to surveillance of antimicrobial resistance to better understand the mechanisms of resistance transfer across the human-animal–environment interface, including additional investigation in antiviral and antifungal resistance.
Phylogenetic Networks and Parameters Inferred from HIV Nucleotide Sequences of High-Risk and General Population Groups in Uganda: Implications for Epidemic Control
Authors: Bbosa Nicholas , Ssemwanga Deogratius , Nsubuga Rebecca N. , Kiwanuka Noah , Bagaya Bernard S. , Kitayimbwa John M. , Ssekagiri Alfred , Yebra Gonzalo , Kaleebu Pontiano , Leigh-Brown Andrew
Published: May 2021

Phylogenetic inference is useful in characterising HIV transmission networks and assessing where prevention is likely to have the greatest impact. However, estimating parameters that influence the network structure is still scarce, but important in evaluating determinants of HIV spread. We analyzed 2017 HIV pol sequences (728 Lake Victoria fisherfolk communities (FFCs), 592 female sex workers (FSWs) and 697 general population (GP)) to identify transmission networks on Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees and refined them using time-resolved phylogenies. Network generative models were fitted to the observed degree distributions and network parameters, and corrected Akaike Information Criteria and Bayesian Information Criteria values were estimated. 347 (17.2%) HIV sequences were linked on ML trees (maximum genetic distance ≤4.5%, ≥95% bootstrap support) and, of these, 303 (86.7%) that consisted of pure A1 (n = 168) and D (n = 135) subtypes were analyzed in BEAST v1.8.4. The majority of networks (at least 40%) were found at a time depth of ≤5 years. The waring and yule models fitted best networks of FFCs and FSWs respectively while the negative binomial model fitted best networks in the GP. The network structure in the HIV-hyperendemic FFCs is likely to be scale-free and shaped by preferential attachment, in contrast to the GP. The findings support the targeting of interventions for FFCs in a timely manner for effective epidemic control. Interventions ought to be tailored according to the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in the target population and understanding the network structure is critical in ensuring the success of HIV prevention programs.
Identification of Novel Candidate CD8+ T Cell Epitopes of the SARS-CoV2 with Homology to Other Seasonal Coronaviruses
Authors: Pushpakumara Pradeep Darshana , Madhusanka Deshan , Dhanasekara Saubhagya , Jeewandara Chandima , Ogg Graham S. , Malavige Gathsaurie Neelika
Published: May 2021

Cross-reactive T cell immunity to seasonal coronaviruses (HCoVs) may lead to immunopathology or protection during SARS-CoV2 infection. To understand the influence of cross-reactive T cell responses, we used IEDB (Immune epitope database) and NetMHCpan (ver. 4.1) to identify candidate CD8+ T cell epitopes, restricted through HLA-A and B alleles. Conservation analysis was carried out for these epitopes with HCoVs, OC43, HKU1, and NL63. 12/18 the candidate CD8+ T cell epitopes (binding score of ≥0.90), which had a high degree of homology (>75%) with the other three HCoVs were within the NSP12 and NSP13 proteins. They were predicted to be restricted through HLA-A*2402, HLA-A*201, HLA-A*206, and HLA-B alleles B*3501. Thirty-one candidate CD8+ T cell epitopes that were specific to SARS-CoV2 virus (<25% homology with other HCoVs) were predominantly identified within the structural proteins (spike, envelop, membrane, and nucleocapsid) and the NSP1, NSP2, and NSP3. They were predominantly restricted through HLA-B*3501 (6/31), HLA-B*4001 (6/31), HLA-B*4403 (7/31), and HLA-A*2402 (8/31). It would be crucial to understand T cell responses that associate with protection, and the differences in the functionality and phenotype of epitope specific T cell responses, presented through different HLA alleles common in different geographical groups, to understand disease pathogenesis.
Latest Insights into Unique Open Reading Frames Encoded by Unique Long (UL) and Short (US) Regions of Marek’s Disease Virus
Authors: Liao Yifei , Lupiani Blanca , Reddy Sanjay M.
Published: May 2021

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is an oncogenic avian alphaherpesvirus whose genome consists of unique long (UL) and short (US) regions that are flanked by inverted repeat regions. More than 100 open reading frames (ORFs) have been annotated in the MDV genome, and are involved in various aspects of MDV biology and pathogenesis. Within UL and US regions of MDV, there are several unique ORFs, some of which have recently been shown to be important for MDV replication and pathogenesis. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on these ORFs and compare their location in different MDV strains.
Recent Developments in Vaccines for Bovine Mycoplasmoses Caused by Mycoplasma bovis and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides
Authors: Dudek Katarzyna , Szacawa Ewelina , Nicholas Robin A. J.
Published: May 2021

Two of the most important diseases of cattle are caused by mycoplasmas. Mycoplasma bovis is a world-wide bovine pathogen that can cause pneumonia, mastitis and arthritis. It has now spread to most, if not all, cattle-rearing countries. Due to its increasing resistance to antimicrobial therapy, vaccination is the principal focus of the control of infection, but effective vaccines are currently lacking. Despite being eradicated from most parts of the world, Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides, the cause of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), continues to plague sub-Saharan Africa, affecting at least 25 countries. Numerous new experimental vaccines have been developed over the last 20 years to improve on protection afforded by the T1/44, a live vaccine in continuous use in Africa for over 60 years, but none so far have succeeded; indeed, many have exacerbated the disease. Tools for diagnosis and control are adequate for eradication but what is necessary are resources to improve vaccine coverage to levels last seen in the 1970s, when CBPP was restricted to a few countries in Africa. This paper summarizes the results of the main studies in the field of experimental mycoplasma vaccines, reviews data on commercially available bacterin vaccines and addresses issues relating to the search for new candidates for effective vaccines to reduce economic losses in the cattle industry caused by these two mycoplasmas.
Coastal Evolution in a Wetland Affected by Large Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in South-Central Chile: Criteria for Integrated Coastal Management
Authors: Martínez Carolina , Sepúlveda-Zúñiga Einer , Villagrán Mauricio , Rojas Octavio , Gómez Matías , López Pablo , Rojas Carolina
Published: May 2021

The coastal evolution of the microtidal Tubul-Raqui wetland in south-central Chile (36° S), which historically has been affected by large earthquakes and tsunamis, particularly the 1960 (Mw = 9.5) and 2010 (Mw = 8.8) subduction earthquakes and their associated tsunamis, is analyzed. Historical aerial photographs and topographic and bathymetric surveys from the 1961–2017 period, as well as salinity, sediment, and flora data obtained following the 2010 earthquake were used for comparison with data from prior to the event. A steady state of the shoreline was established, with an average erosion rate of −0.016 m/year in the 1961–2017 period. However, erosion predominated in the period between these two large earthquakes (1961–2009), with an average rate of −0.386 m/year. The wetland dried up, partially recovered saline intrusion a year later, and recovered the salinity conditions it had before the earthquake two years later. The postearthquake effects on the floristic composition were not significant, with the species Spartina densiflora, which presented a high tolerance to these types of changes, predominating. Moreover, 75 percent of the taxa in pre- and postearthquake conditions coincided, with the halophyte species Spartina densiflora, Sarcocornia fructicosa, and Cotula coronopifolia predominating, while the best-conserved community was Spartina-Sarcocornia association located in the saltmarsh. Seven years after the earthquake, the shoreline presented an accretion rate of 2.935 m/year; if the current tectonic conditions prevail, an erosive trend can be expected in the coming decades. The morphological variability and the changes associated with the shoreline in this wetland are strongly controlled by tectonic factors. Criteria aimed at integrated coastal management to promote its occupancy and use in accordance with its evolutionary dynamics are proposed.