bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Dietary Clostridium butyricum Supplementation on Growth Performance, Intestinal Barrier Function, Immune Function, and Microbiota Diversity of Pekin Ducks
Authors: Liu Yanhan , Liu Cun , An Keying , Gong Xiaowei , Xia Zhaofei
Published: August 2021

Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) is increasingly being used to test the promotion of the gut health of animals. However, the modes of action for such applications for waterfowl remain unclear. Thus, we investigated whether or not intestinal barrier function, immune-related gene expression, and the diversity of the intestinal microbiota in Pekin ducks varied under C. butyricum supplementation. A total of 500 ducks were randomly assigned into five treatments supplemented with basal diets containing: either 0 (group Control), 200 (group CB200), 400 (group CB400) and 600 (group CB600) mg/kg C. butyricum or 150 mg/kg aureomycin (group A150) for 42 days. In comparison with the control group, C. butyricum supplementation enhanced the growth performance and intestinal villus height of Pekin ducks at 42 d. Serum immune indexes and fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were all improved at both 21 d and 42 d after C. butyricum addition. The mRNA expression levels of Mucin2, Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), Caudin-3, and Occludin increased at 21 d and 42 d and the mRNA expression levels of IL-4 and IL-10 only increased at 42 d after C. butyricum addition. Dietary C. butyricum also resulted in an increase in the number of diversities of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and an increase in the α-diversity of intestinal microbiota. The addition of C. butyricum altered the composition of the intestinal microbiota from 21 d to 42 d. The relative abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes showed little changes among groups; however, the relative abundance of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes were found to have been significantly different between the 21 d and 42 d. C. butyricum administration improved the intestinal health of Pekin ducks by increasing the diversity of intestinal microbiota, enhancing the SCFAs contents, and strengthening the intestinal barrier function and immune systems. The optimal dietary supplementation dosage was recommended as 400 mg/kg in the diet.
Effects of Zinc Sources and Levels on Growth Performance, Zinc Status, Expressions of Zinc Transporters, and Zinc Bioavailability in Weaned Piglets
Authors: Ma Xin , Qian Mengqi , Yang Zhiren , Xu Tingting , Han Xinyan
Published: August 2021

The present study was conducted to explore the bioavailability of chitosan–zinc chelate (CS–Zn) in weaned piglets, and its characteristics of prepared and oral safety were also involved. A total of 210 crossbred weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Large White) with a mean body weight of 6.30 kg were randomly assigned into seven dietary treatments involving a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with two Zn sources (CS–Zn and ZnSO4) and three levels of added Zn (50, 100, 150 mg Zn/kg) plus a Zn-unsupplemented control diet. The feeding trial lasted 42 days. The AFM image of CS–Zn showed a rougher appearance and smaller size particles. The changes in spectrum peaks evidenced the successful chelating of Zn2+ with chitosan. The XRD patterns revealed the formation of a new crystalline phase. Moreover, the oral acute toxicity test of CS–Zn showed no lethal effects on mice. Weaned piglets fed dietary CS–Zn showed improved weight gain and decreased diarrhea incidence. Additionally, the bioavailability of CS–Zn was higher than that of ZnSO4 in piglets. Taken together, these results indicate that the prepared CS–Zn chelate, with rough surface and crystalline phase, is non-toxic and show enhanced bioavailability.
Genome-Wide Association Study Based on Random Regression Model Reveals Candidate Genes Associated with Longitudinal Data in Chinese Simmental Beef Cattle
Authors: Du Lili , Duan Xinghai , An Bingxing , Chang Tianpeng , Liang Mang , Xu Lingyang , Zhang Lupei , Li Junya , E Guangxin , Gao Huijiang
Published: August 2021

Body weight (BW) is an important longitudinal trait that directly described the growth gain of bovine in production. However, previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) mainly focused on the single-record traits, with less attention paid to longitudinal traits. Compared with traditional GWAS models, the association studies based on the random regression model (GWAS-RRM) have better performance in the control of the false positive rate through considering time-stage effects. In this study, the BW trait data were collected from 808 Chinese Simmental beef cattle aged 0, 6, 12, and 18 months, then we performed a GWAS-RRM to fit the time-varied SNP effect. The results showed a total of 37 significant SNPs were associated with BW. Gene functional annotation and enrichment analysis indicated FGF4, ANGPT4, PLA2G4A, and ITGA5 were promising candidate genes for BW. Moreover, these genes were significantly enriched in the signaling transduction pathway and lipid metabolism. These findings will provide prior molecular information for bovine gene-based selection, as well as facilitate the extensive application of GWAS-RRM in domestic animals.
Metabolic Profiling of Rumen Fluid and Milk in Lactating Dairy Cattle Influenced by Subclinical Ketosis Using Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Authors: Eom Jun-Sik , Kim Hyun-Sang , Lee Shin-Ja , Choi You-Young , Jo Seong-Uk , Kim Jaemin , Lee Sang-Suk , Kim Eun-Tae , Lee Sung-Sill
Published: August 2021

Ketosis metabolic research on lactating dairy cattle has been conducted worldwide; however, there have been very few Korean studies. Biofluids from lactating dairy cattle are necessary to study ketosis metabolic diseases. Six Holstein cows were divided into two groups (healthy (CON) and subclinical ketosis diagnosed (SCK)). Rumen fluid and milk samples were collected using a stomach tube and a pipeline milking system, respectively. Metabolites were determined using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and they were identified and quantified using the Chenomx NMR Suite 8.4 software and Metaboanalyst 5.0. In the rumen fluid of the SCK group, butyrate, sucrose, 3-hydroxybutyrate, maltose, and valerate levels were significantly higher than in the CON group, which showed higher levels of N,N-dimethylformamide, acetate, glucose, and propionate were significantly higher. Milk from the SCK group showed higher levels of maleate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, galactonate, and 3-hydroxykynurenine than that from the CON group, which showed higher levels of galactitol, 1,3-dihydroxyacetone, γ-glutamylphenylalanine, 5-aminolevulinate, acetate, and methylamine. Some metabolites are associated with ketosis diseases and the quality of rumen fluid and milk. This report will serve as a future reference guide for ketosis metabolomics studies in Korea.
Humulus lupulus Cone Extract Efficacy in Alginate-Based Edible Coatings on the Quality and Nutraceutical Traits of Fresh-Cut Kiwifruit
Authors: Carbone Katya , Macchioni Valentina , Petrella Greta , Cicero Daniel Oscar , Micheli Laura
Published: August 2021

In this work, an innovative coating strategy that is able to prolong the shelf-life of fresh-cut kiwifruit was proposed, and the effectiveness of the procedure was evaluated for a period of ten days under cold storage (4 °C). Alginate (2% m/v) functionalized with green extracts from hop (Humulus lupulus L.) cones (HE; 0.5 and 1%, v/v) was used as a coating material in order to assess the best performing strategy, leading to the most stable product. At the concentrations used to formulate the edible coatings, no contribution related to hop bitterness on the final product was recorded. The results were compared to control samples (without edible coating and coated only with alginate at 2% m/v). The plant extract was characterized by its main chemical traits and by 1H NMR profiling, revealing the presence of antioxidant and antimicrobial bioactive compounds (i.e., alpha and beta hop acids, xanthohumol). Furthermore, the characteristics of the samples during cold storage were evaluated by physico-chemical (i.e., weight loss, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pH, color attributes) and nutraceutical (i.e., total polyphenol, ascorbic acid content, total carotenoids, chlorophylls) traits. The results showed that the incorporation of hop extracts into the edible coatings tested was able to preserve the quality and nutraceutical traits of fresh-cut kiwifruit during cold storage, thus prolonging their shelf life and marketability.
Female Mice Reaching Exceptionally High Old Age Have Preserved 20S Proteasome Activities
Authors: Martínez de Toda Irene , Rattan Suresh I. S. , De la Fuente Mónica , Arranz Lorena
Published: August 2021

Oxidized, damaged and misfolded proteins accumulate during aging and contribute to impaired cell function and tissue homeodynamics. Damaged proteins are degraded by cellular clearance mechanisms like the 20S proteasome. Aging relates to low 20S proteasome function, whereas long-lived species show high levels. However, contradictory results exist depending on the tissue or cell type and it is unknown how the 20S proteasome functions in exceptionally old mice. The aim of this study was to investigate two proteasome activities (caspase-like and chymotrypsin-like) in several tissues (lung, heart, axillary lymph nodes, liver, kidney) and cells (peritoneal leukocytes) from adult (28 ± 4 weeks, n = 12), old (76 ± 4 weeks, n = 9) and exceptionally old (128 ± 4 weeks, n = 9) BALB/c female mice. The results show different age-related changes depending on the tissue and the activity considered, so there is no universal decline in proteasome function with age in female mice. Interestingly, exceptionally old mice displayed better maintained proteasome activities, suggesting that preserved 20S proteasome is associated with successful aging.
A Data-Driven Forecasting Strategy to Predict Continuous Hourly Energy Demand in Smart Buildings
Authors: Mariano-Hernández Deyslen , Hernández-Callejo Luis , Solís Martín , Zorita-Lamadrid Angel , Duque-Perez Oscar , Gonzalez-Morales Luis , Santos-García Felix
Published: August 2021

Smart buildings seek to have a balance between energy consumption and occupant comfort. To make this possible, smart buildings need to be able to foresee sudden changes in the building’s energy consumption. With the help of forecasting models, building energy management systems, which are a fundamental part of smart buildings, know when sudden changes in the energy consumption pattern could occur. Currently, different forecasting methods use models that allow building energy management systems to forecast energy consumption. Due to this, it is increasingly necessary to have appropriate forecasting models to be able to maintain a balance between energy consumption and occupant comfort. The objective of this paper is to present an energy consumption forecasting strategy that allows hourly day-ahead predictions. The presented forecasting strategy is tested using real data from two buildings located in Valladolid, Spain. Different machine learning and deep learning models were used to analyze which could perform better with the proposed strategy. After establishing the performance of the models, a model was assembled using the mean of the prediction values of the top five models to obtain a model with better performance.
Natural Dietary and Medicinal Plants with Anti-Obesity Therapeutics Activities for Treatment and Prevention of Obesity during Lock Down and in Post-COVID-19 Era
Authors: Sun Wenli , Shahrajabian Mohamad Hesam , Cheng Qi
Published: August 2021

Overweight and obesity have become global epidemics, especially during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential of medicinal plants as a better and safe option in treating obesity and overweight has gained attention in recent years. Obesity and overweight has become a major public health concern, and its incidence rising at an alarming rate. Obesity is one of the major types of metabolic syndrome, resulting in various types of problems such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and excess fat accumulation. The current searching was done by the keywords in main indexing systems including Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, the search engine of Google Scholar, and Institute for Scientific Web of Science. The keywords were traditional medicine, health benefits, pharmaceutical science, pomegranate, punicalin, punicalagin, and ellagitannins. Google Scholar was searched manually for possible missing manuscripts, and there was no language restriction in the search. This review was carried out to highlight the importance of medicinal plants which are common in traditional medicinal sciences of different countries, especially Asia to prevent and treatment of obesity and overweight during the global pandemic and the post-COVID-19 era.
Effect of Wood Vinegar Substitutes on Acetic Acid for Coagulating Natural Para Rubber Sheets during the Drying Process
Authors: Kalasee Wachara , Dangwilailux Panya
Published: August 2021

The coagulating properties of wood vinegar from para rubber wood, bamboo, and coconut shell used as a substitute for acetic acid in the production process of natural rubber (NR) sheets were investigated and considered. For the dirt and volatile content, the tensile strength at break, the percentage of elongation at break, and the 300% modulus, the results showed that the types of wood vinegar coagulants were not significantly different from acetic acid. However, the Mooney viscosity and plasticity retention index (PRI) properties were significantly different from those of acetic acid. The NR sheet temperature increased rapidly during the first hour after the drying process started due to heat transfer from the hot air. Afterward, the temperature of the NR sheet samples began to stabilize. When the drying process started, the drying temperature was increased, so the trend was reducing the drying time. For the yellowness index (YI) value, the increase in the YI value was related to the type of coagulating material, the increase in the airspeed, and the drying temperature. The dried sheet samples using para rubber wood vinegar as the coagulating material had a color value at the same level as acetic acid and the referent. However, the bamboo and coconut shell wood vinegars were at a lower level. In comparing the YI value data between the experimental results and prediction values, the second-degree model had a better fit in prediction than the zero-degree and first-degree models. This result was confirmed by the higher mean of the coefficient of determination. The dried sheet product coagulated by using wood vinegar had fungus growth prior to supplying it to the customer.
Prevention of Mandible Fractures in Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaws: The Role of Virtual Surgical Planning and Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing in Two Clinical Case Reports
Authors: Correia João André , Ferreira José Ricardo , Amaral Nunes Miguel , Capelo António , de Araújo Nobre Miguel , Salvado Francisco
Published: August 2021

Background: Marginal mandible resection is required to achieve healing in some cases of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ). Despite the sparsity of the literature, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) materials may provide superior outcomes for patients with an increased risk of mandible fracture. The aim of this study was to report a digital workflow for surgical interventions to prevent mandible fracture in MRONJ patients. Methods: We present two cases in which virtual surgical planning (VSP) and CAD/CAM surgical guides and reconstruction plates were used to prevent mandible fractures in elderly MRONJ patients submitted for marginal resection. Two osteoporotic patients, aged 73 and 84 years, presented with stage 3 MRONJ of the right mandibular body with inferior alveolar nerve involvement. The unaffected bone height was 6 mm in both cases, implying a high risk of mandible fracture. After preoperative VSP, surgery was performed through a combined intraoral–transbuccal approach. CAD/CAM-customized cutting guides and reconstruction plates were used for the marginal resection of necrotic bone and internal fixation. Results: Complete healing was achieved and the patients remained asymptomatic up to 1 year post-surgery. Conclusions: VSP and CAD/CAM-customized materials facilitated the complete resection of necrotic bone and rigid fixation in MRONJ patients, allowing a simplified approach with shorter operative times, reduced morbidity, and predictable results.
Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Pecorino di Farindola Cheese and Manufacturing with a Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Autochthonous Culture
Authors: Aprea Giuseppe , Alessiani Alessandra , Rossi Franca , Sacchini Lorena , Boni Arianna , D’Angelantonio Daniela , Scattolini Silvia , Sperandii Anna Franca , Centorotola Gabriella , Neri Diana , Pomilio Francesco , Di Giannatale Elisabetta , Del Matto Ilaria , Tucci Patrizia , Migliorati Giacomo
Published: August 2021

This study focused on the characterization of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in a renowned traditional Italian cheese, Pecorino di Farindola, in order to select an autochthonous culture and investigate its potential for the improvement of safety and functional properties. Two hundred and six LAB isolated throughout production and maturation from nine cheese lots of three farms were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and tested for the presence of genes encoding virulence factors, vancomycin resistance (for enterococci), biogenic amines (BAs) and bacteriocin production for antimicrobial activity; and for the capacity to survive in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) based on tolerance to low pH and bile salts and adhesion to CaCo-2 cells. A Lacticaseibacillus paracasei isolate was used in cheese making and determined a decline of spiked Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157 faster than in the control cheese. The autochthonous bacterial groups were numerically unaffected, apart from lactobacilli that were recovered in higher numbers in cheese with the addition of the L. paracasei strain. Based on repetitive extragenic palyndrome (Rep) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) profiles, the added strain possibly dominated until day 88 in the cheese. Results encourage further trials with autochthonous cultures in order to efficiently inhibit hazardous bacteria and to enrich a functional microbiota in Pecorino di Farindola and similar cheeses.
Towards a Tailored Engineering Design Process for Individualized Micro-Mechatronic Systems with a Novel Case-Based Methodology
Authors: Civelek Faruk , Fritz Karl-Peter , Zimmermann André
Published: August 2021

The development and manufacturing of high-precision micro-mechatronic systems (MMS) is a challenging task, and the high demand for individualized products complicates the engineering design process (EDP) in particular. The established EDP for MMS is not designed for individualized products. This article gives an overview of the challenges (critical factors) in product development and manufacturing of individualized MMS (iMMS), a novel definition of iMMS, and describes a new qualitative methodology in order to tailor an EDP based on use cases, so-called “Tailored EDP-Methodology” (TEDP-Methodology). This TEDP-Methodology allows creating use-case-based product groups through the abstraction of the use cases and evaluating the requirements, which is essential to tailor or develop a new EDP. For the development of this new approach, a literature review and qualitative content analysis are prefaced. The TEDP-Methodology is critically examined and validated with a real case study for the development and manufacturing of an iMMS. This study shows critical points within the EDP. It shows fields of action for innovative tools to support the development process of iMMS and requirements for different product groups within iMMS. This article has both theoretical and practical implications.
AI Approaches to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in the Mining and Metals Sector Using AutoML and Bayesian Modeling
Authors: Gerassis Saki , Giráldez Eduardo , Pazo-Rodríguez María , Saavedra Ángeles , Taboada Javier
Published: August 2021

Mining engineers and environmental experts around the world still identify and evaluate environmental risks associated with mining activities using field-based, basic qualitative methods The main objective is to introduce an innovative AI-based approach for the construction of environmental impact assessment (EIA) indexes that statistically reflects and takes into account the relationships between the different environmental factors, finding relevant patterns in the data and minimizing the influence of human bias. For that, an AutoML process developed with Bayesian networks is applied to the construction of an interactive EIA index tool capable of assessing dynamically the potential environmental impacts of a slate mine in Galicia (Spain) surrounded by the Natura 2000 Network. The results obtained show the moderate environmental impact of the whole exploitation; however, the strong need to protect the environmental factors related to surface and subsurface runoff, species or soil degradation was identified, for which the information theory results point to a weight between 6 and 12 times greater than not influential variables.
Multichannel Multiscale Two-Stage Convolutional Neural Network for the Detection and Localization of Myocardial Infarction Using Vectorcardiogram Signal
Authors: Karhade Jay , Ghosh Samit Kumar , Gajbhiye Pranjali , Tripathy Rajesh Kumar , Acharya U. Rajendra
Published: August 2021

Myocardial infarction (MI) occurs due to the decrease in the blood flow into one part of the heart, and it further causes damage to the heart muscle. The 12-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) has been widely used to detect and localize MI pathology in clinical studies. The vectorcardiogram (VCG) is a 3-channel recording system used to measure the heart’s electrical activity in sagittal, transverse, and frontal planes. The VCG signals have advantages over the 12-channel ECG to localize posterior MI pathology. Detection and localization of MI using VCG signals are vital in clinical practice. This paper proposes a multi-channel multi-scale two-stage deep-learning-based approach to detect and localize MI using VCG signals. In the first stage, the multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD) decomposes the three-channel-based VCG signal beat into five components along each channel. The multi-channel multi-scale VCG tensor is formulated using the modes of each channel of VCG data, and it is used as the input to the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify MI and normal sinus rhythm (NSR) classes. In the second stage, the multi-class deep CNN is used for the categorization of anterior MI (AMI), anterior-lateral MI (ALMI), anterior-septal MI (ASMI), inferior MI (IMI), inferior-lateral MI (ILMI), inferior-posterior-lateral (IPLMI) classes using MI detected multi-channel multi-scale VCG instances from the first stage. The proposed approach is developed using the VCG data obtained from a public database. The results reveal that the approach has obtained the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity values of 99.58%, 99.18%, and 99.87%, respectively, for MI detection. Moreover, for MI localization, we have obtained the overall accuracy value of 99.86% in the second stage for our proposed network. The proposed approach has demonstrated superior classification performance compared to the existing VCG signal-based MI detection and localization techniques.
Systematic Analysis of Wind Resources for Eolic Potential in Bangladesh
Authors: Hussain Mariam , Park Seon Ki
Published: August 2021

Energy consumption in Bangladesh increased for economic, industrial, and digitalization growth. Reductions in conventional sources such as natural gas (54%) and coal (5.6%) are calls to enhance renewable resources. This paper aims to investigate the atmospheric variables for potential wind zones and develop a statistical power-forecasting model. The study-site is Bangladesh, focusing on eight divisions across two regions. First, the southern zone includes Dhaka (Capital), Chittagong, Barishal, and Khulna. The northern regions are Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Sylhet. This investigation illustrates wind (m/s) speeds at various heights (m) and analyzes the boundary layer height (BLH) from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast reanalysis 5th generation (ERA5). The data is from a period of 40 years from 1979 to 2018, assessing with a climatic base of 20 years (1979 to 2000). The climatological analysis comprises trends, time series, anomalies, and linear correlations. The results for the wind speed (BLH) indicate that the weakest (lower) and strongest (higher) regions are Sylhet and Barishal, respectively. Based on power-curve relationships, a simple power predictive model (SPPM) is developed using global wind atlas (GWA) data (sample: 1100) to estimate the power density (W/m2) and found an accuracy of 0.918 and 0.892 for Exponential (EXP) and Polynomial (PN) with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of 22.92 and 21.8%, respectively. For validation, SPPM also forecasts power incorporating historical observations for Chittagong and obtains correlations of 0.970 and 0.974 for EXP and PN with a MAPE of 10.26 and 7.69% individually. Furthermore, calculations for annual energy production reveal an average megawattage of 1748 and 1070 in the southern and northern regions, with an MAPE of 15.71 and 5.85% for EXP and PN models, except Sylhet. The SPPM’s predictability can be improved with observed wind speeds and turbine types. The research wishes to apply SPPM for estimating energy in operational power plants.
Spinning of Endless Bioactive Silicate Glass Fibres for Fibre Reinforcement Applications
Authors: Eichhorn Julia , Elschner Cindy , Groß Martin , Reichenbächer Rudi , Martín Aarón X. Herrera , Soares Ana Prates , Fischer Heilwig , Kulkova Julia , Moritz Niko , Hupa Leena , Stommel Markus , Scheffler Christina , Kilo Martin
Published: August 2021

Bioactive glasses have been used for many years in the human body as bone substitute. Since bioactive glasses are not readily available in the form of endless thin fibres with diameters below 20 µm, their use is limited to mainly non-load-bearing applications in the form of particles or granules. In this study, the spinnability of four bioactive silicate glasses was evaluated in terms of crystallisation behaviour, characteristic processing temperatures and viscosity determined by thermal analysis. The glass melts were drawn into fibres and their mechanical strength was measured by single fibre tensile tests before and after the surface treatment with different silanes. The degradation of the bioactive glasses was observed in simulated body fluid and pure water by recording the changes of the pH value and the ion concentration by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; further, the glass degradation process was monitored by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, first in vitro experiments using murine pre-osteoblast cell line MC3T3E1 were carried out in order to evaluate the interaction with the glass fibre surface. The results achieved in this work show up the potential of the manufacturing of endless bioactive glass fibres with appropriate mechanical strength to be applied as reinforcing fibres in new innovative medical implants.
Full-Scale Field Test on Construction Mechanical Behaviors of Retaining Structure Enhanced with Soil Nails and Prestressed Anchors
Authors: Wang Hui , Cheng Jianhua , Li Hujun , Dun Zhilin , Cheng Baoquan
Published: August 2021

Soil nailing combined with prestressed anchors has a good workability and is relatively cheap in constraining the horizontal displacement. Current research on the technique, whether theoretical analyses, numerical simulations, or model tests, was conducted under ideal working conditions. However, in fact, external disturbances, such as tensioning-lagging of the anchor, are very common and play an important role on stress and displacement. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out a field test considering the effects of external disturbances, which can obtain real and reliable data through real-time monitoring. In this paper, the impacts of the construction conditions on practical engineering are discussed based on in situ tests, and some reasonable suggestions for the upgrading of misbehaviors in the current construction situation are put forward. In particular, the influence features of soil predisturbance, excessive excavation, unloading on the surface of edges, tensioning-lagging of the anchor, and continuous rainfall on the stress–time curve of soil nails under practical working conditions are analyzed. Behaviors of three different retaining structures enhanced with (i) soil nails; (ii) soil nails and prestressed anchors without unbonded parts; and (iii) soil nails and prestressed anchors with a 2.5 m unbonded part were monitored during staged excavation to investigate the influences of (i) the prestressing force and (ii) the unbonded part of the prestressed anchors on the performance of the entire retaining system. Results show that (i) the prestressing force is the main factor affecting the stress and deformation of the composite retaining system, which is consistent with the existing literature; (ii) the variation of the magnitude and distribution of the soil nail force responding to the anchor prestressing force, however, showed no systematic trend; and (iii) the unbonded part of anchors, which was validated to be the main factor affecting the structural stability in dense materials in the existing literature, is found to have a minor influence in loose fill materials used in this study.
The Effect of Porosity Change in Bentonite Caused by Decay Heat on Radionuclide Transport through Buffer Material
Authors: Liang Suu-Yan , Lin Wen-Sheng , Lin Gwo-Fong , Liu Chen-Wuing , Fan Chihhao
Published: August 2021

Bentonite is used as a buffer material in most high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository designs. Smectite clay is the main mineral component of bentonite and plays a key role in controlling the buffer’s physical and chemical behaviors. Moreover, the long-term functions of buffer clay could be lost through smectite dehydration under the prevailing temperature stemming from the heat of waste decay. Therefore, the influence of waste decay temperatures on bentonite performance needs to be studied. However, seldom addressed is the influence of the thermo-hydro-chemical (T-H-C) processes on buffer material degradation in the engineered barrier system (EBS) of HLW disposal repositories as related to smectite clay dehydration. Therefore, we adopted the chemical kinetic model of smectite dehydration to calculate the amount of water expelled from smectite clay minerals caused by the higher temperatures of waste decay heat. We determined that the temperature peak of about 91.3 °C occurred at the junction of the canister and buffer material in the sixth year. After approximately 20,000 years, the thermal caused by the release of the canister had dispersed and the temperature had reduced close to the geothermal background level. The modified porosity of bentonite due to the temperature evolution in the buffer zone between 0 and 0.01 m near the canister was 0.321 (1–2 years), 0.435 (3–10 years), and 0.321 (11–20,000 years). In the buffer zone of 0.01–0.35 m, the porosity was 0.321 (1–20,000 years). In the simulation results of near-field radionuclide transport, we determined that the concentration of radionuclides released from the buffer material for the porosity of 0.321 was higher than that for the unmodified porosity of 0.435. It occurs after 1, 1671, 63, and 172 years for the I-129, Ni-59, Sr-90, and Cs137 radionuclides, respectively. The porosity correction model proposed herein can afford a more conservative concentration and approach to the real release concentration of radionuclides, which can be used for the safety assessment of the repository. Smectite clay could cause volume shrinkage because of the interlayer water loss in smectite and cause bentonite buffer compression. Investigation of the expansion pressure of smectite and the confining stress of the surrounding host rock can further elucidate the compression and volume expansion of bentonite. Within 10,000 years, the proportion of smectite transformed to illite is less than 0.05%. The decay heat temperature in the buffer material should be lower than 100 °C, which is a very important EBS design condition for radioactive waste disposal. The results of this study may be used in advanced research on the evolution of bentonite degradation for both performance assessments and safety analyses of final HLW disposal.
Short-Term Assessment of Nitrous Oxide and Methane Emissions on a Crop Yield Basis in Response to Different Organic Amendment Types in Sichuan Basin
Authors: Oladipo Dayo George , Wei Kai , Hu Lei , Medaiyese Ayodeji , Bah Hamidou , Gbadegesin Lanre Anthony , Zhu Bo
Published: August 2021

Agriculture’s goal to meet the needs of the increasing world population while reducing the environmental impacts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer use without compromising output has proven to be a challenge. Manure and composts have displayed the potential to increase soil fertility. However, their potential effects on nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions have not been properly understood. Using field-scaled lysimeter experiments, we conducted a one-year study to investigate N2O and CH4 emissions, their combined global warming potential (GWP: N2O + CH4) and yield-scaled GWP in a wheat-maize system. One control and six different organic fertilizer treatments receiving different types but equal amounts of N fertilization were used: synthetic N fertilizer (NPK), 30% pig manure + 70% synthetic N fertilizer (PM30), 50% pig manure + 50% synthetic N fertilizer (PM50), 70% pig manure + 30% synthetic N fertilizer (PM70), 100% pig manure (PM100), 50% cow manure-crop residue compost + 50% synthetic N fertilizer (CMRC), and 50% pig manure-crop residue compost + 50% synthetic N fertilizer (PMRC). Seasonal cumulative N2O emissions ranged from 0.39 kg N ha−1 for the PMRC treatment to 0.93 kg N ha−1 for the NPK treatment. Similar CH4 uptakes were recorded across all treatments, with values ranging from −0.68 kg C ha−1 for the PM50 treatment to −0.52 kg C ha−1 for the PM30 treatment. Compared to the NPK treatment, all the organic-amended treatments significantly decreased N2O emission by 32–58% and GWP by 30–61%. However, among the manure-amended treatments, only treatments that consisted of inorganic N with lower or equal proportions of organic manure N treatments were found to reduce N2O emissions while maintaining crop yields at high levels. Moreover, of all the organic-amended treatments, PMRC had the lowest yield-scaled GWP, owing to its ability to significantly reduce N2O emissions while maintaining high crop yields, highlighting it as the most suitable organic fertilization treatment in Sichuan basin wheat-maize systems.
Large Eddy Simulations of Turbulent and Buoyant Flows in Urban and Complex Terrain Areas Using the Aeolus Model
Authors: Gowardhan Akshay A. , McGuffin Dana L. , Lucas Donald D. , Neuscamman Stephanie J. , Alvarez Otto , Glascoe Lee G.
Published: August 2021

Fast and accurate predictions of the flow and transport of materials in urban and complex terrain areas are challenging because of the heterogeneity of buildings and land features of different shapes and sizes connected by canyons and channels, which results in complex patterns of turbulence that can enhance material concentrations in certain regions. To address this challenge, we have developed an efficient three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code called Aeolus that is based on first principles for predicting transport and dispersion of materials in complex terrain and urban areas. The model can be run in a very efficient Reynolds average Navier–Stokes (RANS) mode or a detailed large eddy simulation (LES) mode. The RANS version of Aeolus was previously validated against field data for tracer gas and radiological dispersal releases. As a part of this work, we have validated the Aeolus model in LES mode against two different sets of data: (1) turbulence quantities measured in complex terrain at Askervein Hill; and (2) wind and tracer data from the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign for urban topography. As a third set-up, we have applied Aeolus to simulate cloud rise dynamics for buoyant plumes from high-temperature explosions. For all three cases, Aeolus LES predictions compare well to observations and other models. These results indicate that Aeolus LES can be used to accurately simulate turbulent flow and transport for a wide range of applications and scales.
Pichia pastoris (Komagataella phaffii) as a Cost-Effective Tool for Vaccine Production for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
Authors: de Sá Magalhães Salomé , Keshavarz-Moore Eli
Published: August 2021

Vaccination is of paramount importance to global health. With the advent of the more recent pandemics, the urgency to expand the range has become even more evident. However, the potential limited availability and affordability of vaccines to resource low- and middle-income countries has created a need for solutions that will ensure cost-effective vaccine production methods for these countries. Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) (also known as Komagataella phaffii) is one of the most promising candidates for expression of heterologous proteins in vaccines development. It combines the speed and ease of highly efficient prokaryotic platforms with some key capabilities of mammalian systems, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. This review will examine the latest developments in P. pastoris from cell engineering and design to industrial production systems with focus on vaccine development and with reference to specific key case studies.
Targeting Toll-like Receptor (TLR) Pathways in Inflammatory Arthritis: Two Better Than One?
Authors: Santos-Sierra Sandra
Published: August 2021

Inflammatory arthritis is a cluster of diseases caused by unregulated activity of the immune system. The lost homeostasis is followed by the immune attack of one’s self, what damages healthy cells and tissues and leads to chronic inflammation of various tissues and organs (e.g., joints, lungs, heart, eyes). Different medications to control the excessive immune response are in use, however, drug resistances, flare-reactions and adverse effects to the current therapies are common in the affected patients. Thus, it is essential to broaden the spectrum of alternative treatments and to develop disease-modifying drugs. In the last 20 years, the involvement of the innate immune receptors TLRs in inflammatory arthritis has been widely investigated and targeting either the receptor itself or the proteins in the downstream signalling cascades has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy. Yet, concerns about the use of pharmacological agents that inhibit TLR activity and may leave the host unprotected against invading pathogens and toxicity issues amid inhibition of downstream kinases crucial in various cellular functions have arisen. This review summarizes the existing knowledge on the role of TLRs in inflammatory arthritis; in addition, the likely druggable related targets and the developed inhibitors, and discusses the pros and cons of their potential clinical use.
An Immunosensor for the Determination of Cathepsin S in Blood Plasma by Array SPRi—A Comparison of Analytical Properties of Silver–Gold and Pure Gold Chips
Authors: Falkowski Pawel , Mrozek Piotr , Lukaszewski Zenon , Oldak Lukasz , Gorodkiewicz Ewa
Published: August 2021

The array SPR imaging (SPRi) technique is well suited to the determination of biomarkers in body fluids, called liquid biopsy. No signal enhancement or analyte preconcentration is required. With the aim of achieving signal enhancement and lowering the cost of a single determination, the replacement of gold-covered chips by silver–gold chips was investigated. The aim of this work was to investigate the analytical characteristics of a biosensor formed on a Ag/Au chip and to compare them with those of a biosensor formed on a gold chip. A biosensor for the determination of cathepsin S (Cath S) was chosen as an example. The biosensor consisted of the linker cysteamine and an immobilized rat monoclonal antibody specific for cathepsin S. Both biosensors exhibited a Langmuirian response to Cath S concentration, with linear response ranging from LOQ to 1.5 ng mL−1. The LOQ is 0.1 ng mL−1 for the biosensor formed on the Ag/Au chip, and 0.22 ng mL−1 for that formed on the gold chip. Recoveries and precision for medium and high Cath S concentrations were acceptable for both biosensors, i.e., precision better than 10% and recoveries within the range 102–105%. However, the results for the lowest Cath S concentration were better for the biosensor formed on the Ag/Au chip (9.4 and 106% for precision and recovery, respectively). Generally, no significant differences in analytical characteristics were observed between the Ag/Au and Au chips. The two biosensors were also compared in the determination of Cath S in real samples. Nine plasma samples from healthy donors and nine from patients with ovarian cancer were analyzed for Cath S concentration with the biosensors formed on Ag/Au and Au chips. The results obtained with the two biosensors were very similar and show no significant differences on the Bland–Altman plot. The Cath S concentration in the blood plasma of ovarian cancer patients was elevated by one order of magnitude as compared with the control (12.6 ± 3.6 vs. 1.6 ± 1.2 ng mL−1).
Role of PhOH and Tyrosine in Selective Oxidation of Hydrocarbons
Authors: Matienko Ludmila , Binyukov Vladimir , Mil Elena , Goloshchapov Alexander
Published: August 2021

Earlier, we established that nickel or iron heteroligand complexes, which include PhOH (nickel complexes) or tyrosine residue (nickel or iron complexes), are not only hydrocarbon oxidation catalysts (in the case of PhOH), but also simulate the active centers of enzymes (PhOH, tyrosine). The AFM method established the self-organization of nickel or iron heteroligand complexes, which included tyrosine residue or PhOH, into supramolecular structures on a modified silicon surface. Supramolecular structures were formed as a result of H-bonds and other non-covalent intermolecular interactions and, to a certain extent, reflected the structures involved in the mechanisms of reactions of homogeneous and enzymatic catalysis. Using the AFM method, we obtained evidence at the model level in favor of the involvement of the tyrosine fragment as one of the possible regulatory factors in the functioning of Ni(Fe)ARD dioxygenases or monooxygenases of the family of cytochrome P450. The principles of actions of these oxygenases were used to create highly efficient catalytic systems for the oxidation of hydrocarbons.
Heterogeneous Double Metal Cyanide Catalyzed Synthesis of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Polyols for the Preparation of Thermoplastic Elastomers
Authors: Tran Chinh-Hoang , Lee Min-Woong , Park Sang-Woo , Jeong Jae-Eon , Lee Soo-Jeong , Song Wenliang , Huh PilHo , Kim Il
Published: August 2021

A series of polycaprolactones (PCLs) with molecular weights of 950–10,100 g mol−1 and Ð of 1.10–1.87 have been synthesized via one-pot, solvent-free ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) using a heterogeneous double metal cyanide (DMC) catalyst. Various initiators, such as polypropylene glycol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerol, and sorbitol, are employed to tune the number of hydroxyl end groups and properties of the resultant PCLs. Kinetic studies indicate that the DMC-catalyzed ROP of CL proceeds via a similar mechanism with the coordination polymerization. Branched PCLs copolymers are also synthesized via the DMC-catalyzed copolymerization of CL with glycidol. The α,ω-hydroxyl functionalized PCLs were successfully used as telechelic polymers to produce thermoplastic poly(ester-ester) and poly(ester-urethane) elastomers with well-balanced stress and strain properties.
Comparison between Artificial Neural Network and Rigorous Mathematical Model in Simulation of Industrial Heavy Naphtha Reforming Process
Authors: Al-Shathr Ali , Shakor Zaidoon M. , Majdi Hasan Sh. , AbdulRazak Adnan A. , Albayati Talib M.
Published: August 2021

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed and compared with a rigorous mathematical model (RMM) to estimate the performance of an industrial heavy naphtha reforming process. The ANN model, represented by a multilayer feed forward neural network (MFFNN), had (36-10-10-10-34) topology, while the RMM involved solving 34 ordinary differential equations (ODEs) (32 mass balance, 1 heat balance and 1 momentum balance) to predict compositions, temperature, and pressure distributions within the reforming process. All computations and predictions were performed using MATLAB® software version 2015a. The ANN topology had minimum MSE when the number of hidden layers, number of neurons in the hidden layer, and the number of training epochs were 3, 10, and 100,000, respectively. Extensive error analysis between the experimental data and the predicted values were conducted using the following error functions: coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), mean relative error (MRE), and mean square error (MSE). The results revealed that the ANN (R2 = 0.9403, MAE = 0.0062) simulated the industrial heavy naphtha reforming process slightly better than the rigorous mathematical model (R2 = 0.9318, MAE = 0.007). Moreover, the computational time was obviously reduced from 120 s for the RMM to 18.3 s for the ANN. However, one disadvantage of the ANN model is that it cannot be used to predict the process performance in the internal points of reactors, while the RMM predicted the internal temperatures, pressures and weight fractions very well.
Optimized Synthesis Routes of MnOx-ZrO2 Hybrid Catalysts for Improved Toluene Combustion
Authors: Huang Xin , Li Luming , Liu Rong , Li Hongmei , Lan Li , Zhou Weiqi
Published: August 2021

In this contribution, the three Mn-Zr catalysts with MnxZr1−xO2 hybrid phase were synthesized by two-step precipitation route (TP), conventional coprecipitation method (CP) and ball milling process (MP). The components, textural and redox properties of the Mn-Zr hybrid catalysts were studied via XRD, BET, XPS, HR-TEM, H2-TPR. Regarding the variation of synthesis routes, the TP and CP routes offer a more obvious advantage in the adjustment of the concentration of MnxZr1−xO2 solid solution compared to the MP process, which directly commands the content of Mn4+ and oxygen vacancy and lattice oxygen, and thereby leads to the enhanced mobility of reactive oxygen species and catalytic activity for toluene combustion. Moreover, the TP-Mn2Zr3 catalyst with the enriched exposure content of 51.4% for the defective (111) lattice plane of MnxZr1−xO2 exhibited higher catalytic activity and thermal stability for toluene oxidation than that of the CP-Mn2Zr3 sample with a value of 49.3%. This new observation will provide a new perspective on the design of bimetal catalysts with a higher VOCs combustion abatement.