bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship between lymph nodes examined and survival benefits with postoperative radiotherapy in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients with stage T1-2N1M0
Authors: Fan Sufeng , Jiang Wenmei , Fang Zhongyi , Li Ruiyu , Li Yudong , Chen Yanfeng , Zhang Quan
Published: September 2022

Background

This study aims to explore the relationship between the lymph nodes examined and survival benefits of postoperative radiotherapy in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients with stage T1-2N1M0.

Methods

This study retrieved patients who underwent dissection of the primary site and neck lymph nodes for pT1-2N1M0 oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma without adverse nodal features from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from 2004 to 2015. Propensity score matching analysis was conducted, and the best cutoff value of the lymph nodes examined was determined by X-tile. Cancer-specific survival was the primary outcome. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to assess the relation between postoperative radiotherapy and cancer-specific survival, adjusting for other prognostic factors.

Results

A total of 469 patients were finally enrolled according to our exclusion criteria, and then 119 pairs of patients were matched by propensity score matching analysis. The best cutoff value of the lymph nodes examined was determined by X-tile, stratifying patients into lymph nodes examined ≤16 group and lymph nodes examined >16 group. For the whole matched cohort, the choice of postoperative radiotherapy had no correlation with other factors (all p’s > 0.05), and postoperative radiotherapy made no contribution to a better survival outcome for patients (p = 0.289). After stratified by the lymph nodes examined, in the lymph nodes examined ≤16 group, significantly improved CSS was found for those who undertook postoperative radiotherapy compared to those who just received surgery (unadjusted hazard ratio, 0.541; 95% confidence interval, 0.333–0.878; p = 0.013).

Conclusions

Our study revealed that pT1-2N1M0 oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients were more likely to benefit from postoperative radiotherapy when unsatisfactory neck dissection was conducted, indicating that the number of lymph nodes examined might be a factor when clinicians do therapeutic planning for early-stage oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma patients.
Comparison of clinical safety and feasibility between reduced-port laparoscopic radical gastrectomy and conventional laparoscopic radical gastrectomy: A retrospective study
Authors: Wang Liang , Deng Yingfang , Yan Su , Ma Xinfu , Wang Cheng , Miao Wei , Chen Xiaoqian
Published: September 2022

Background

Traditional open gastric cancer surgery has evolved from porous to reduced-hole, single-hole, or even natural cavity surgery to laparoscopic surgery, due to the continuous development of minimally invasive concepts and medical technologies, as well as awareness for the concept of rapid recovery. Conventional laparoscopic radical gastrectomy is quite mature in age at the moment, but how to progress to minimally invasive surgery without increasing the difficulty of surgery while ensuring clinical safety and feasibility is worth further investigation. Therefore, the clinical safety and feasibility of reduced port laparoscopic radical gastrectomy were assessed in this study.

Methods

Information on the clinical data of patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastric cancer surgery in a single centre between May 2020 and May 2022 was collected, and a total of 232 patients were included in this study according to the study protocol design. The clinical data of 232 patients with gastric cancer treated by two different surgical methods, namely, reduced port laparoscopic surgery (RPLS) or conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS), were retrospectively analysed. The intraoperative indices, postoperative pathological indices, and short-term postoperative complications (within 30 days) of the two different surgical methods were evaluated, as well as the surgical methods’ feasibility and short-term postoperative recovery effect.

Results

There was no significant difference between the general data of patients with RPLS and CLS (P > 0.05). Compared with CLSG, the operation time, digestive tract reconstruction time and lymph node dissection time of RPLSG are shorter. The intraoperative blood loss was less, and the incision was minimally invasive (P < 0.05). In the short-term postoperative effect, the level of white blood cell count on the first day, the time of getting out of bed, the time of removing drainage tube, the time of hospitalization and the VAS of pain on the first, third and fifth days after operation, RPLSG was obviously superior to CLSG (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between RPLSG and CLSG in terms of pathological indices (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

The treatment of gastric cancer with RPLS has good safety, feasibility and short-term postoperative effects, which is in line with the implementation of the modern concept of rapid rehabilitation surgery.
Detection and Classification of Unannounced Physical Activities and Acute Psychological Stress Events for Interventions in Diabetes Treatment
Authors: Askari Mohammad Reza , Abdel-Latif Mahmoud , Rashid Mudassir , Sevil Mert , Cinar Ali
Published: September 2022

Detection and classification of acute psychological stress (APS) and physical activity (PA) in daily lives of people with chronic diseases can provide precision medicine for the treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes. This study investigates the classification of different types of APS and PA, along with their concurrent occurrences, using the same subset of feature maps via physiological variables measured by a wristband device. Random convolutional kernel transformation is used to extract a large number of feature maps from the biosignals measured by a wristband device (blood volume pulse, galvanic skin response, skin temperature, and 3D accelerometer signals). Three different feature selection techniques (principal component analysis, partial least squares–discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and sequential forward selection) as well as four approaches for addressing imbalanced sizes of classes (upsampling, downsampling, adaptive synthetic sampling (ADASYN), and weighted training) are evaluated for maximizing detection and classification accuracy. A long short-term memory recurrent neural network model is trained to estimate PA (sedentary state, treadmill run, stationary bike) and APS (non-stress, emotional anxiety stress, mental stress) from wristband signals. The balanced accuracy scores for various combinations of data balancing and feature selection techniques range between 96.82% and 99.99%. The combination of PLS–DA for feature selection and ADASYN for data balancing provide the best overall performance. The detection and classification of APS and PA types along with their concurrent occurrences can provide precision medicine approaches for the treatment of diabetes.
Soil Bacteria Mediate Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration under Different Tillage and Straw Management in Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems
Authors: Guo Lijin , Shi Jie , Lin Wei , Liang Jincheng , Lu Zhenhua , Tang Xuexiao , Liu Yue , Wu Purui , Li Chengfang
Published: September 2022

Soil organic carbon (SOC) largely influences soil quality and sustainability. The effects of no-till (NT) and crop straw return practices (SR) on soil organic carbon sequestration have been well documented. However, the mechanism of soil bacterial community in regulating soil organic carbon under NT and SR remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the impacts of tillage (conventional tillage (CT) and NT) and crop straw return practices (crop straw removal (NS) and SR) on topsoil layer (0–5 cm) bacterial community, CH4 and CO2 emissions and SOC fractions in rice-wheat cropping system. Overall, in the wheat season following the annual rice-wheat rotation in two cycles, NT significantly increased SOC by 4.4% for 1–2 mm aggregates in the 0–5 cm soil layer, but decreased CO2 emissions by 7.4%. Compared with NS, SR notably increased the contents of SOC in the topsoil layer by 6.5% and in macro-aggregate by 17.4% in 0–5 cm soil layer, and promoted CH4 emissions (by 22.3%) and CO2 emissions (by 22.4%). The combination of NT and NS resulted in relatively high SOC and low CH4 emissions along with high bacterial community abundance. The most abundant genus under different treatments was Gp6, which significant impacted SOC and MBC. Bacterial communities like Subdivision3 had the most impact on CH4 emissions. Structural equation modeling further suggested that the soil bacterial community indirectly mediated the SOC through balancing SOC in 1–2 mm aggregates and CH4 emissions. This study provides a new idea to reveal the mechanism of short-term tillage and straw return on SOC.
Design and Experiment with a Double-Roller Sweet Potato Vine Harvester
Authors: Mu Guizhi , Wang Wanshuai , Zhang Tingting , Hu Lianglong , Zheng Wenxiu , Zhang Wanzhi
Published: September 2022

The yield of sweet potato vines is large, making it a good source of food. However, it is difficult to harvest sweet potato vines due to creeping and intertwining. Therefore, according to the domestic sweet potato planting model, this paper designed a double roll sweet potato vine harvester which can complete the operations of vine picking, vine killing, conveying and header harvesting at one time. The machine adopts the process of front roll vine picking, rear roll vine killing and rod bar lifting. The key components of the vine picking device, vine killing device and lifting device were designed and calculated. A numerical simulation test of the vine harvesting process was carried out by using the discrete element numerical simulation method. It was determined that the length of the vine picking rod from the outside to the inside is 175 mm, 150 mm and 105 mm, respectively, and the inclination angle of the end is 160°. There are six vine killing knives on each vine killing knife plate. The inclination of the lifting device is 50°and the conveying speed is 3 m/s. Using the box Behnken experimental design method, taking the vine picking roller speed, vine killing roller speed and ground clearance as the experimental factors, and taking the sweet potato vine harvest rate, stubble height and potato injury rate as the evaluation indexes, a quadratic regression orthogonal test was carried out, the effects of various factors on the evaluation indexes were analyzed, and the experimental factors were optimized and verified. The experimental results showed that the optimal parameter combination is as follows: the rotation speed of vine picking roller should be 716 r/min, the rotation speed of vine killing roller should be 1960 r/min and the ground clearance should be 16 mm. With these parameters, the harvest rate of sweet potato vines is 93.1%, the stubble height is 29.5 mm and the potato injury rate is 0.174%. As such, the harvester meets the requirements for the mechanized harvesting of sweet potato vines and is of great significance as a light and simplified product for the sweet potato industry.
Technology of Microclimate Regulation in Organic and Energy-Sustainable Livestock Production
Authors: Havelka Zbynek , Kunes Radim , Kononets Yevhen , Stokes Jessica Elizabeth , Smutny Lubos , Olsan Pavel , Kresan Jan , Stehlik Radim , Bartos Petr , Xiao Maohua , Kriz Pavel , Findura Pavol , Roztocil David
Published: September 2022

The control of climatic conditions where cattle are kept is one of the challenges in the livestock sector regarding the digital automation of the process. (1) Background: The main purpose of this study is to define the optimal foundations for automatic climatic systems in organic and energy-sustainable livestock production. In particular, the following components are suggested: (a) the determination of current deviations and interdependency between factors; (b) an algorithm for defining the possible sources of regulation; (c) the ranking approach of the optimal sequence of possible sources; and (d) ensuring transparency and coordination of the model with organic and energy certificates. (2) Methods: This investigation accumulates information on the characteristics of the main microclimatic parameters and simulates their possible combinations in a livestock building in Poland within 24 h of a spring day. A few indices are considered that signal the impact on the thermal comfort of cattle based on the example of recommended measures for the Angus steer genotype. (3) Results: The proposed transparent algorithm is designed for selecting and ranking potential sources of microclimate control according to three criteria. (4) Conclusions: This paper potentially contributes to determining the most optimal digital algorithm for managing microclimate conditions to ensure acceptable comfort for animals, meeting the requirements of organic certification with minimum costs of production, and switching to sustainable types of energy with consideration of technologies’ efficiency. The algorithm is scalable and adjustable to the individual conditions of any livestock premise with a digitally controlled environment.
Chorisia speciosa Extract Induces Systemic Resistance against Tomato Root Rot Disease Caused by Rhizoctonia solani
Authors: Behiry Said I. , Soliman Seham A. , Al-Mansori Al-Naji A. , Al-Askar Abdulaziz A. , Arishi Amr A. , Elsharkawy Mohsen Mohamed , Abdelkhalek Ahmed , Heflish Ahmed A.
Published: September 2022

Chemical pesticides and fungicides are used extensively, negatively affecting people’s health and the environment. Reducing synthetic pesticides and increasing the efficiency of sustainable food production using plant extracts as natural chemicals is a win–win. Here, we first describe and evaluate an ethanolic extract of Chorisia speciosa for its protective and curative activities against Rhizoctonia solani in greenhouse-grown tomato plants. The results showed that the mycelial growth of R. solani was completely suppressed in vitro by C. speciosa extract (10 µg/mL). Twenty days after fungal inoculation, the results demonstrated that using C. speciosa extract (10 µg/mL) in vivo significantly improved shoot and root growth parameters in protective and curative treatments. Further, the protective and curative treatments decreased the disease index by 26.67% and 53.33%, respectively. C. speciosa-treated tomato plants showed significantly increased antioxidant enzyme production (PPO, CAT, and SOD) and up-regulated PR-1, PR-2,PR-3, PAL, and CHS expression levels compared to untreated plants. According to HPLC examination, the most prevalent phenolic acids or flavonoid components quantities (µg/mL) noticed in C. speciosa extract were 7-OH-flavone (10.36), kaempferol (9.23), p-coumaric acid (8.65), ferulic acid (8.14), caffeic acid (7.59), gallic acid (6.33), and iso-ferulic (5.71). Our findings are the first to demonstrate that a C. speciosa extract can assist plants in combating fungal infestation. Therefore, the data imply that C. speciosa extract, as a natural and renewable product, could be adopted as a long-term approach for regulating plant fungus.
Mechanical and Biological Soil Decompaction for No-Tillage Maize Production
Authors: Torres José Luiz Rodrigues , Leal Júnior André Luís Benaventana , Barreto Antônio Carlos , Carvalho Fabio Janoni , de Assis Renato Lara , Loss Arcângelo , Lemes Ernane Miranda , da Silva Vieira Dinamar Márcia
Published: September 2022

Soil structural quality in areas under a no-tillage system is altered after successive crops, where compaction is a recurrent problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different forms of soil decompaction on maize grain production. A randomized split-plot block design with four replications was used, in a 5 × 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, consisting of five forms of mechanical soil decompaction: ripping to a depth of 0.3 m, ripping to a depth of 0.5 m, subsoiling to a depth of 0.3 m, and subsoiling to a depth of 0.5 m, and no-tillage; three crop seasons: 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017; and two cover crops: sunn hemp and pearl millet. The soil resistance to root penetration (RP, 0.0–0.40 m), density (0.0–0.40 m), moisture (0.0–0.40 m), fresh (FB), and dry (DB) above-ground biomass of cover crops, and maize yield were evaluated. The subsoiling to a depth of 0.3 or 0.5 m results in higher production of sunn hemp biomass but has no effect on millet. Mechanical and biological soil decompaction improved maize grain yield throughout the seasons by at least 28% above the average yield in the study area region. The RP of up to 3.3 MPa did not negatively affect cover crop biomass production and maize grain. The association between the mechanical and biological decompaction method using cover crops provided greater resilience to the preparation carried out up to three years after the application of the treatments, resulting in greater corn grain productivity.
Evaluation and Application of the AquaCrop Model in Simulating Soil Salinity and Winter Wheat Yield under Saline Water Irrigation
Authors: Zhai Yaming , Huang Mingyi , Zhu Chengli , Xu Hui , Zhang Zhanyu
Published: September 2022

Saline water irrigation has been considered a useful practice to overcome the freshwater shortage in arid and semi-arid regions. Assessing and scheduling the appropriate irrigation water amount, salinity, and timing is essential to maintaining crop yield and soil sustainability when using saline water in agriculture. A field experiment that included two irrigation levels (traditional and deficit irrigation) and three water salinities (0, 5, and 10 dS/m) was carried out in the North China Plain during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 winter wheat growing seasons. AquaCrop was used to simulate and optimize the saline water irrigation for winter wheat. The model displayed satisfactory performance when simulating the volumetric soil water content (R2 ≥ 0.85, RMSE ≤ 2.59%, and NRMSE ≤ 12.95%), soil salt content (R2 ≥ 0.71, RMSE ≤ 0.62 dS/m, and NRMSE ≤ 26.82%), in-season biomass (R2 ≥ 0.89, RMSE ≤ 1.03 t/ha, and NRMSE ≤ 18.92%), and grain yield (R2 ≥ 0.92, RMSE ≤ 0.35 t/ha, and NRMSE ≤ 7.11%). The proper saline water irrigation strategies were three irrigations of 60 mm with a salinity up to 4 dS/m each at the jointing, flowering, and grain-filling stage for the dry year; two irrigations of 60 mm with a salinity up to 6 dS/m each at the jointing and flowering stage for the normal year; and one irrigation of 60 mm with a salinity up to 8 dS/m at the jointing stage for the wet year, which could achieve over 80% of the potential yield while mitigating soil secondary salinization. Nonetheless, the model tended to overestimate the soil moisture and wheat production but underestimate the soil salinity, particularly under water and salt stress. Further improvements in soil solute movement and crop salt stress are desired to facilitate model performance. Future validation studies using long-term field data are also recommended to obtain a more reliable use of AquaCrop and to better identify the influence of long-term saline water irrigation. Finally, AquaCrop maintained a good balance between simplicity, preciseness, and user-friendliness, and could be a feasible tool to guide saline water irrigation for winter wheat.
Estimation of Potato Chlorophyll Content from UAV Multispectral Images with Stacking Ensemble Algorithm
Authors: Yang Huanbo , Hu Yaohua , Zheng Zhouzhou , Qiao Yichen , Zhang Kaili , Guo Taifeng , Chen Jun
Published: September 2022

Rapid and accurate crop chlorophyll content estimation is crucial for guiding field management and improving crop yields. This study explored the potential for potato chlorophyll content estimation based on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery. To search the optimal estimation method, three parts of research were conducted as following. First, a combination of support vector machines (SVM) and a gaussian mixture model (GMM) thresholding method was proposed to estimate fractional vegetation cover (FVC) during the potato growing period, and the proposed method produced efficient estimates of FVC; among all the selected vegetation indices (VIs), the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) had the highest accuracy. Second, the recursive feature elimination (RFE) algorithm was utilized to screen the VIs and texture features derived from multispectral images: three Vis, including modified simple ratio (MSR), ratio vegetation index (RVI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); three texture features, including correlation in the NIR band (corr-NIR), correlation in the red-edge band (corr-Red-edge) and homogeneity in the NIR band (hom-NIR), showed higher contribution to chlorophyll content estimation. Finally, a stacking model was constructed with K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), a light gradient boosting machine (light-GBM), SVM algorithm as the base model and linear fitting as the metamodel, and four machine learning algorithms (SVM, KNN, light-GBM and stacking) were used to build the chlorophyll content estimation model suitable for different growing seasons. The results were: (1) The performance of the estimation model could be improved based on both VIs and texture features over using single-type features, and the stacking algorithm yielded the highest estimation accuracy with an R2 value of 0.694 and an RMSE value of 0.553; (2) When FVC was added, the estimation model accuracy was further improved, and the stacking algorithm also produced the highest estimation accuracy with R2 value of 0.739, RMSE value of 0.511 (3) When comparing modeling algorithms, stacking algorithms had greater advantages in the estimation chlorophyll content with potato plants than using single machine learning algorithms. This study indicates that taking into account the combination of VIs reflecting spectral characteristics, texture features reflecting spatial information and the FVC reflecting canopy structure properties can accomplish higher chlorophyll content estimation accuracy, and the stacking algorithm can integrate the advantages of a single machine learning model, with great potential for estimation of potato chlorophyll content.
Yield Attributes Response to Nitrogen Fertilization in Low-Nitrogen Tolerant Hybrid Rice
Authors: Tao Zui , Liu Yu , Chen Jiana , Cao Fangbo , Huang Min
Published: September 2022

The development of low-nitrogen (N) tolerant varieties is an effective way to improve the use efficiency of N in rice and is crucial to the sustainable rice production in China. Recently, we observed that higher grain yields were obtained in the hybrid rice variety Deyou 4727 (DY4727) than in the hybrid rice variety Y-liangyou 900 (YLY900) under zero-N fertilization conditions, suggesting that DY4727 has higher low-N tolerance compared to YLY900. In this study, field experiments were performed in 2020 and 2021 to compare the responses of yield attributes to N fertilization (180 kg N ha–1) relativized to zero-N fertilization between DY4727 and YLY900. Results showed that the response of grain yield to N fertilization was 13–55% for two varieties in two years. DY4727 had lower response of grain yield to N fertilization than YLY900 by 47% in 2020 and by 70% in 2021. There were no significant or consistent differences in responses of spikelets per m2, spikelet filling percentage, aboveground biomass, intercepted radiation, radiation use efficiency, and aboveground N uptake to N fertilization between DY4727 and YLY900. DY4727 had 32% and 26% lower positive response of grain weight to N fertilization compared to YLY900 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The response of harvest index to N fertilization was negative (−3% in 2020 and −9% in 2021) for DY4727 but positive (1% in 2020 and 12% in 2021) for YLY900. DY4727 had higher negative response of internal N-use efficiency to N fertilization (−41% in 2020 and −24% in 2021) than YLY900 (−11% in 2020 and −10% in 2021). This study suggests that grain weight, harvest index, and internal N-use efficiency are key traits determining the difference in response of grain yield to N fertilization between DY4727 and YLY900.
Effect of Ratios of Red and White Light on the Growth and Quality of Pak Choi
Authors: He Xinyang , He Rui , Li Yamin , Liu Kaizhe , Tan Jiehui , Chen Yongkang , Liu Xiaojuan , Liu Houcheng
Published: September 2022

The effects of different ratios of red:white light on the biomass, photosynthetic capacity, phytochemical accumulation, and antioxidant capacity of pak choi were investigated. There were three treatments: red:white = 1:2 (LR), red:white = 1:1 (MR), red:white = 2:1 (HR) with white light as control (CK) at photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 250 μmol·m−2·s−1. In LR treatment, chlorophyll fluorescence and nitrate content were reduced, while the photosynthetic rate (Y(ll)), the contents of soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, flavonoids, polyphenols, glucosinolates, FRAP, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-bitter acyl radical scavenging increased. The chlorophyll content was enhanced in MR treatment, and the photosynthetic rate and glucosinolate content increased in HR treatment. The most suitable light for the cultivation of pak choi in the plant factory was red:white = 1:2.
Biofertilizer with Bacillus pumilus TUAT1 Spores Improves Growth, Productivity, and Lodging Resistance in Forage Rice
Authors: Agake Shin-ichiro , Ohwaki Yoshinari , Kojima Katsuhiro , Yoshikawa Emon , Artigas Ramirez Maria Daniela , Bellingrath-Kimura Sonoko Dorothea , Yamada Tetsuya , Ookawa Taiichiro , Ohkama-Ohtsu Naoko , Yokoyama Tadashi
Published: September 2022

Bacillus pumilus strain TUAT1 is a plant growth-promoting bacterium (PGPB) applied as a biofertilizer, containing its spores, for rice. In this study, we analyzed the short-term effects of biofertilization on plant growth in the nursery and long-term effects on plant vegetative growth, yield, and lodging resistance in paddy fields using animal feed rice (‘Fukuhibiki’ and line LTAT-29 which was recently officially registered as a cultivar ‘Monster Nokodai 1′) and fodder rice (line TAT-26). The effects of the biofertilization were analyzed under two nitrogen treatments and at two transplanting distances in the field. The application of 107 colony forming units (CFU) mL−1 bacterial spore solution to seeds on plant box significantly improved the initial growth of rice. The biofertilizer treatment with this strain at 107 CFU g−1 onto seeds in nursery boxes increased the nitrogen uptake at the early growth of rice in the field, resulting in higher growth at the late vegetative growth stage (e.g., tiller number and plant height). Furthermore, the improvement of growth led to increases of not only yield components such as the total panicle number (TPN) and the number of spikelets in a panicle (NSP) in LTAT-29 but also the straw yield and quality of TAT-26. The lodging resistances of these forage rice plants were also improved due to the increased root development and photosynthesis creating tougher culms.
Optimization of an Enzyme-Assisted Extraction Method for the Anthocyanins Present in Açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.)
Authors: Alavarsa-Cascales Diego , Aliaño-González María José , Palma Miguel , Barbero Gerardo F. , Carrera Ceferino
Published: September 2022

Several investigations have proven the presence of anthocyanins in different parts of açai plants. These compounds are responsible for the notable therapeutic properties of açai such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anticonvulsant. We have therefore optimized an enzyme-assisted extraction method for the anthocyanins found in açai, to be subsequently applied in many fields such as agrifood, medicine, or cosmetics. A Plackett–Burman design with seven variables (time of extraction, pH, temperature, agitation, percentage of ethanol in the solvent, amount of sample, and units of enzyme) was employed to determine the predominant extraction variables, of which four were categorized as influential. Subsequently, a Box–Behnken design–response surface methodology made it possible to determine the degree of influence from these variables and their optimal values. The optimal conditions were established as 0.1 g of açai heated up to 60 °C and extracted using 15 mL of solvent with pH 4 and 40% ethanol, 500 units of enzyme per gram of sample, and agitation at 150 rpm for 15 min. The repeatability and intermediate precision of the developed method were confirmed by variation coefficients below 5%. Finally, the developed method was compared against the extensively used maceration and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods.
Reducing and Delaying Nitrogen Recommended by Leaf Critical SPAD Value Was More Suitable for Nitrogen Utilization of Spring Wheat under a New Type of Drip-Irrigated System
Authors: Wan Wenliang , Zhao Yanhui , Xu Jing , Liu Kaige , Guan Sihui , Chai Yaqian , Cui Hongxing , Wu Pei , Diao Ming
Published: September 2022

Timely and accurate judgment of the nitrogen nutritional status of crops is the key to develop an optimal nitrogen application strategy. However, the evaluation criteria of nitrogen nutrition and nitrogen application strategies at each growth stage of wheat are not clear for the new type of drip-irrigated spring wheat system, TR6S (where one drip tube serves six rows of wheat, with a row spacing (RS) of 10 cm, inter-block space (IBS) of 25 cm and the lateral spacing (LS) of 80 cm, which achieved a lower drip-tube input and higher profit compared with the traditional planting system in Xinjiang). Therefore, we studied the recommendation mechanism of nitrogen fertilizer in different growth stages of wheat based on the critical SPAD values of leaves under TR6S. We set four nitrogen treatments (N1 (300 kg ha−1), N2 (270 kg ha−1), N3 (240 kg ha−1) and N4 (0 kg ha−1)) during two spring wheat growth seasons. The results revealed that the correlation coefficient (r2) between SPAD (soil plant analysis development) value and plant nitrogen content in the middle of first top leaf (L1-M) of wheat was higher than that in other leaf types and leaf positions under TR6S. A quadratic function relationship existed between a SPAD value of L1-M and grain yield. The critical SPAD values at the jointing, booting, anthesis, early milk, and late milk stages were 37.34, 39.40, 42.25, 45.57, and 35.91, respectively. In addition, through the establishment of the nitrogen application recommendation model for various wheat growth stages based on the critical SPAD value, the recommended optimal nitrogen application rates at jointing, booting, anthesis, early milk, and late milk stages were observed to be 69.4, 80.0, 90.8, 44.0, and 6.0 kg ha−1, respectively. This recommended nitrogen application strategy exhibited a better parallel relationship with the nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) of each growth period than the conventional nitrogen application strategy. Therefore, it was more in line with the actual absorption and utilization of nitrogen in wheat of TR6S. In conclusion, the SPAD values of L1-M could be relatively more accurate to evaluate the nitrogen nutrition status of wheat. Compared to traditional nitrogen application strategy, reducing and delaying nitrogen application, recommended based on the leaf SPAD model, was more suitable for nitrogen utilization under TR6S. The results can be applied in other arid and semiarid regions.
Animals in Animal-Assisted Services: Are They Volunteers or Professionals?
Authors: Wijnen Brigitte , Martens Pim
Published: September 2022

With the increasingly common practice of Animal-Assisted Services (AAS), whether in therapy, coaching, education, or volunteering programs, the concern over animal welfare has also risen. However, no standards have yet been established for good practices to ensure the animal’s mental health. This is largely due to the wide variety of roles played by animals in interventions and the lack of ‘job descriptions’ for the animal in diverse settings. Some professionals call their animal a ‘volunteer’, others mention that some directive guidance is given to the therapy animal, and some assistance animals are highly trained. Misunderstandings could be avoided if the integrated animal were to receive a justifiable label: volunteer or professional. Choosing either one comes with obligations for the owner, handler, or therapist. In this paper, we compare the roles of human volunteers and professionals to the roles of animals involved in therapy. We also demonstrate the obligations that come along with the decision to label animals as such either volunteers or professionals. Furthermore, we make a plea for animal-friendly interventions, whether in a volunteer position or as a professional, in order to stimulate the animal’s cooperation and motivation. Studying dopamine and translating the findings into context-ethograms can provide a way to judge behavior more objectively.
Effects of Sex on the Muscle Development and Meat Composition in Wuliangshan Black-Bone Chickens
Authors: Ou Zhengmiao , Shi Yanyan , Li Qingqing , Wu Yun , Chen Fenfen
Published: September 2022

This study was conducted to illustrate the morphological features of the breast and thigh muscles at four developmental stages (1, 42, 84, and 126 days of age) of Wuliangshan Black-bone chickens and to compare the chemical composition, fatty acid, and amino acid contents of their meat at 126 days of age (D126). In total, 80 chickens (male, n = 40 and female, n = 40) in the sixth generation from the breeding farm were used in the experiment under free-range rearing conditions. The cross-sectional areas (CSA) of muscle fibers and meat composition were compared between different sex and different muscle types. The results showed that gender did not affect the CSA of the breast muscle fibers but did affect the CSA of the thigh muscle fibers at D42, D84, and D126 (p < 0.05). Muscle types affected the CSA of muscle fibers: male chickens exhibited significantly higher values than female chickens at D42, D84, and D126 (p < 0.05). The results of moisture, crude protein, and crude fat at D126 showed that moisture contents were higher in the thigh muscles than in the breast muscles in male and female chickens (p < 0.05). Gender affected the crude protein contents and crude fat contents: the breast muscle crude protein content was significantly higher than that in the thigh muscle, both in males and females (p < 0.05), whereas the crude fat contents were significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.05); moreover, the thigh muscle fat contents were significantly higher than those of the breast muscles both in males and females (p < 0.05). Gender and muscle types also affected the fatty acid contents: the PUFA contents of the breast and thigh muscles were significantly higher in male than in female chickens (p < 0.05). Muscle types significantly influenced the total EAA, NEAA, and flavor amino acid contents. The total EAA contents of the breast muscles were significantly higher than those of the thigh muscles in males and females (p < 0.05), whereas the total NEAA and total flavor amino acid contents of the thigh muscles were significantly higher than those of the breast muscles (p < 0.05). Our results may lead to a better understanding of the effects of gender on the breast and thigh muscle development and meat composition of Wuliangshan Black-bone chicken.
Possible Effects of Early Maternal Separation on the Gut Microbiota of Captive Adult Giant Pandas
Authors: Zhang Xiaohui , Wang Xueying , Ayala James , Liu Yuliang , An Junhui , Wang Donghui , Cai Zhigang , Hou Rong , Zhang Mingyue
Published: September 2022

Maternal deprivation (MD) in early life induces dysbiosis in the host gut microbiota, which is a key determinant of abnormal behavior in stress model individuals. Compared with the early parenting environment of the wild, captive giant pandas face frequent and premature maternal separation. Will this lead to imbalance in intestinal flora and stress in captive giant pandas? The purpose of this research is to evaluate the possible adverse effects of the traditional parenting mode on the gut microbiota of captive giant pandas. The results showed that the frequent and premature maternal separation at early stages of the young did not change α and β diversity indices of the gut microbes, but it increased the relative abundance of s_Clostridium_tetani and s_Clostridium_sp_MSJ_8 (significantly positively correlated with the metabolism of propionic acid) and also the concentrations of fecal metabolites that are related to stress (N-acetyl-l-aspartic acid and corticosterone) in the intestinal tract of giant pandas in adulthood. Thereby, the function of protein digestion and absorption in the intestines of captive giant pandas was decreased, and the metabolism of short-chain fatty acids was disturbed. In conclusion, the parenting experience of early maternal separation could adversely affect the stress caused by the unfavorable parenting environment in the early life of captive giant pandas related to the gut microbiota of the captive giant pandas in adulthood.
Effect of Reduced Fluoroquinolone Use on Cephalosporin Use, Susceptibilities and Clostridioides difficile Infections
Authors: Wren Callyn Mariah , Cowper Jill , Greer Nickie , Goldin Laurel , Perry Alicia
Published: September 2022

Background: Overuse of fluoroquinolones has led to concerning rates of resistance, particularly among Gram-negative organisms. They are also highly implicated as a risk factor for Clostridioides difficile infection, and reports of other serious adverse events led to recommendations to restrict their use. Our health system began targeting the reduction in unnecessary fluoroquinolone prescribing in 2018, aiming to promote their safe and effective use. Broad-spectrum cephalosporins are often used as an alternative to fluoroquinolones. We sought to evaluate whether decreased fluoroquinolone use was associated with increased third- and fourth-generation cephalosporin use and whether these changes in utilization impacted other outcomes, including C. difficile infection (CDI) rates and susceptibilities among Gram-negative organisms. Methods: This retrospective descriptive analysis included adult patients who received a fluoroquinolone or broad-spectrum cephalosporin in a three-year time period across a large healthcare system. The primary objective was to evaluate the change in days of therapy (DOT) of fluoroquinolones and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins. Secondary objectives included rates of resistance among common Gram-negative organisms, CDI, and analyses stratified by antibiotic indication. Results: Cephalosporin use increased by an average of 1.70 DOT/1000 PD per month (p < 0.001). Additionally, fluoroquinolone use decreased by an average of 1.18 DOT/1000 PD per month (p < 0.001). C. difficile infections decreased by 0.37 infections/10,000 patient-days per month (p < 0.001). Resistance to fluoroquinolones remained stable from 2018 to 2020, and a declining trend was observed in 2021. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that reduced fluoroquinolone use in a large healthcare system was associated with increased usage of broad-spectrum cephalosporins, decreased CDI and improvements in resistance patterns.
Women in Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Valls Aida , Gibert Karina
Published: September 2022

Artificial Intelligence (AI) research has expanded very quickly in recent years due to the increase in data and resources, along with the engagement of companies in proposing many challenging applications [...]
Geoarchaeological Investigation of Abydos Area Using Land Magnetic and GPR Techniques, El-Balyana, Sohag, Egypt
Authors: Abudeif Abdelbaset M. , Abdel Aal Gamal Z. , Masoud Marwa M. , Mohammed Mohammed A.
Published: September 2022

Abydos Temple is one of Egypt’s most significant sites which has a long history that dates back to the ancient monarchy and continued until the coming of Islam and also served as one of Egypt’s most significant ancient royal and high-ranking official burial sites. The main objective of this work was discovering more archaeological features buried underground such as ancient walls, monuments, and tombs. This objective was achieved using two near surface sophisticated geophysical techniques, namely ground magnetic survey and ground penetrating radar (GPR). This site was surveyed firstly using ground magnetic survey as reconnaissance stage and the locations which contain potential anomalies were resurveyed using GPR technique for determination the depth and the geometry of this potential targets. This site was divided into four regular grids and GPR model SIR-4000 equipment with 200 MHz central frequency antenna was used in this survey. The output of the magnetic survey is a total magnetic anomaly map which was filtered using High pass (HP) and first vertical derivative (VFD) techniques to extract the residual component of the shallow objects which may be archaeological targets. The results of the magnetic methods showed a group of anomalies which appeared on the residual map and were attributed to archaeological features by comparing them with the current excavated objects in and around the site. Their geometrical shapes and depths were estimated using source parameter imaging (SPI) and analytical signal (AS) techniques in Geosoft Oasis Montag Software. The estimated depth of these objects is between 1–3 m. Several hyperbolic shapes appeared in the radargram sections, indicating the possibility of probable buried archaeological objects. These potential objects can be found at depths of 2 to 4 m below the ground surface. The presence of eight probable targets associated with archaeological features at depths between 1–4 m is therefore the most likely outcome from both magnetic and GPR approaches. Therefore, this site contains potential archaeological targets which need confirmation by excavation. These results will influence domestic and foreign tourism in Egypt, leading to an increase in visitors and a rise in Economy.
A Multi-Agent Approach Used to Predict Long-Term Glucose Oscillation in Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Aragão Pereira João Paulo , Franco Brandão Anarosa Alves , Bevilacqua Joyce da Silva , Côrrea-Giannella Maria Lucia Cardillo
Published: September 2022

The glucose–insulin regulatory system and its glucose oscillations is a recurring theme in the literature because of its impact on human lives, mostly the ones affected by diabetes mellitus. Several approaches have been proposed, from mathematical to data-based models, with the aim of modeling the glucose oscillation curve. Having such a curve, it is possible to predict when to inject insulin in type 1 diabetes (T1D) individuals. However, the literature presents prediction horizons of no longer than 6 h, which could be a problem considering their sleeping time. This work presents Tesseratus, a model that adopts a multi-agent approach used to combine machine learning and mathematical modeling to predict the glucose oscillation for up to 8 h. Tesseratus can support endocrinologists and provide personalized recommendations for T1D individuals to keep their glucose concentration in the ideal range. It brings pioneering results in an experiment with seven real T1D individuals. Using the Parkes error grid as an evaluation metric, it can be depicted that 93.7% of measurements fall in zones A and B during the night period with MAE 27.77 mg/dL. It is our claim that Tesseratus will be a reference for the classification of a glucose prediction model, supporting the mitigation of long-term complications in the T1D individuals.
Assessment of Runway Surface Conditions by British Pendulum Testing under the Global Reporting Format Winter Conditions
Authors: Brassard Jean-Denis , Beaulieu Audrey , Tremblay Marc Mario , Momen Gelareh
Published: September 2022

Poor braking performance on runways during winter is one of the most significant factors causing runway excursions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) proposed a standardized method, named the Global Reporting Format (GRF), to establish runway surface conditions based on human observers. The GRF includes the description of most winter conditions. This work aimed at reproducing the GRF winter conditions in the laboratory, and to monitor the effect of the surface conditions, both without surface treatment and with surface treatment using liquid runway de-icing products (RDP) in both de-icing and anti-icing modes, using the British Pendulum Tester (BPT). The reproduction of the GRF winter conditions was possible in the laboratory since the BPT results correlated well with the GRF ratings. The worst conditions retained snow on ice. Wet conditions obtained with water and RDPs (potassium formate KFO, potassium acetate KAC and hybrid glycol-KAC HYB) behave similarly, indicating that RDPs alone on a runway for prevention are not any more dangerous than just water. The range from wet to dry, equivalent to a British Pendulum Number (BPN) from ~40 to ~50, was considered as good conditions on the runway. All the RDPs tested in the study improved the BPN from untreated conditions. In most of the conditions, the RDPs improved the BPN to values in the range of favorable conditions. KFO and KAC reacted almost in the same way for each condition. However, the HYB was better in conditions with ice. The obtained results demonstrated that simulated laboratory winter conditions could be used to determine the efficiency of RDPs in both de-icing and anti-icing modes.
Honey and Other Beekeeping Products Intake among the Romanian Population and Their Therapeutic Use
Authors: Ioniță-Mîndrican Corina-Bianca , Mititelu Magdalena , Musuc Adina Magdalena , Oprea Eliza , Ziani Khaled , Neacșu Sorinel Marius , Grigore Nicoleta Diana , Negrei Carolina , Dumitrescu Denisa-Elena , Mireșan Horațiu , Roncea Florentina Nicoleta , Ozon Emma Adriana , Măru Nicoleta , Drăgănescu Doina , Ghica Manuela
Published: September 2022

Honey and other bee products have been used for food and therapeutic purposes since ancient times. There are many varieties of honey with time-proven therapeutic properties, used in both traditional and modern medicine, along with various beekeeping products. In this study, conducted based on the dissemination of a questionnaire with 43 questions, an evaluation of the consumption of different types of honey for both food and therapeutic purposes was carried out. Hence, the frequency of the consumption of honey for food purposes was evaluated, as well as the pharmaceutical forms of honey and bee products utilized for therapeutic purposes, the population’s trust in their therapeutic potential, and their trust in the quality of bee products among the Romanian population. After processing the data, 917 responses were recorded, and it was found that the preferred types of honey were black locust (83.5%), multi-floral (81.9%), and linden (74.9%), and among the other bee products, the most consumed were propolis (44.2%) and bee pollen (29.2%). Regarding the use of honey as a sweetener, the majority of the respondents considered honey to be the healthiest option (81.7%), and regarding the use of honey for therapeutic purposes, most of the respondents stated that they used honey to strengthen the immune system (65.4%), as well as for skin treatment, laxative action, or energizing. The centralization and processing of the collected responses indicated a considerable level of readiness related to the increase in honey consumption in particular, but there is a need for the dissemination of effective information related to the nutritional and therapeutic value of beekeeping products to the population.