bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two new species of Ilex (Aquifoliaceae) from Thailand
Authors: Pruesapan Kanchana ,   Plant Varieties Protection Office, Department of Agriculture, Bangkok 10900, Thailand, Welzen Peter C. van ,   Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Published: April 2021

Two new species of Aquifoliaceae are reported for Thailand. Ilex depressifructu is newly recorded from Umphang District, Tak Province (leaf blades ovate, ovate-oblong or oblong, base obtuse; infructescences solitary dichasia; fruits depressed globose with capitate stigma; pyrenes 5, shallowly-5-sulcate, 6-striate) and Ilex phanganensis (like I. umbellulata, but glabrous, smaller leaves, less veins, diplothyrsoid inflorescences with mainly alternate branches, less pyrenes), is newly recorded from Ko Phagnan Islands, Surat Thani Province. The descriptions and illustrations of the taxa are presented.
Modelling international tourism demand using seasonal ARIMA models
Authors: Baldigara Tea , Mamula Maja
Published: April 2021

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to establish a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model able to capture and explain the patterns and the determinants of German tourism demand in Croatia. Design – The present study is based on the Box-Jenkins approach in building a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model intend to describe the behaviour of the German tourists’ flows to Croatia. Approach – The proposed model is a seasonal ARIMA(0,0,0)(1,1,3)4 model. Findings – The diagnostic checking and the performed tests showed that the estimated seasonal ARIMA(0,0,0)(1,1,3)4 model is adequate in modelling and analysing the number of German tourists ‘arrivals to Croatia. Originality of the paper – This study provides a seasonal ARIMA model helpful to analyse, understand and forecast German tourists’ flows to Croatia. Such, more detailed and systematic studies should be considered as starting points of future macroeconomic development strategies, pricing strategies and tourism sector routing strategies in Croatia, as a predominantly tourism oriented country.
Nighttime transpiration: does it contribute to water stress in grape?
Authors: Dayer Silvina , Gambetta Gregory A.
Published: April 2021

Climate change is driving the search for grapevine cultivars and/or rootstocks that use water more efficiently. Recently, there has been increasing attention on nighttime transpiration. The reasoning is simple. While daytime transpiration results from the necessity to have stomata open so the plant can take up carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, nighttime transpiration could be considered a “waste” of water since no photosynthesis occurs at night. So how significant is nighttime water use in grape, and does it serve some other purpose that benefits the vine?
Performing sequential harvests based on berry sugar accumulation (mg/berry) to obtain specific wine sensory profiles
Authors: Antalick Guillaume , Šuklje Katja , Blackman John W. , Schmidtke Leigh M. , Deloire Alain
Published: April 2021

This study aimed to investigate the possible existence of reproducible aromatic red wine styles, focusing on fresh fruit aromas and mature fruit aromas (i.e., with dark, jammy fruit characteristics) and taking into account both vintage and vineyard.The study was performed on Australian Shiraz and Cabernet‑Sauvignon from three different meso-climate areas and two consecutive vintages. Sequential harvests were carried out based on the plateau of the physiological indicator berry sugar accumulation (mg/berry) in order to obtain fresh fruit and mature fruit wine sensory profiles. There was a predictable aromatic sequence during grape ripening at each of these two distinct maturity stages regardless of grape genotype (variety) and environment (vineyard and vintage). The post-plateau period of berry sugar accumulation was found to be crucial for the evolution of wine aromatic profiles. During this period, wine aromatic and phenolic maturity were uncoupled from technological maturity (i.e., berry sugar concentration). Dimethyl sulfide was found to be the most relevant wine aromatic marker for differentiating the fresh fruit and mature fruit stages irrespective of the variety. Specific cultivar markers with potential sensory contribution were also identified; for example, (Z)‐3‐hexenol, a possible contributor to the aromatic freshness of Shiraz wines from the fresh fruit stage. The evolution of terpenoids appeared to be separate from the dynamics of berry ripening post plateau of fruit sugar accumulation. On the other hand, ester composition was significantly altered during the same ripening period in Shiraz and Cabernet‑Sauvignon wines with a marked grape genotype effect. The results showed that yeast metabolism was also affected by berry ripening evolution from the plateau of berry sugar accumulation onwards.
Measuring the oxygen consumption rate of some inactivated dry yeasts: comparison with other common wine antioxidants
Authors: Pons-Mercadé Pere , Anguela Sergi , Giménez Pol , Heras José M. , Sieczkowski Nathalie , Rozès Nicolas , Canals Joan Miquel , Zamora Fernando
Published: April 2021

The aim of the study was to evaluate the oxygen consumption kinetics of some inactivated dry yeasts in comparison with those of sulfur dioxide, ascorbic acid and glutathione.The oxygen consumption rates of three inactivated dry yeasts, sulfur dioxide, ascorbic acid and glutathione at the usual doses in a model wine solution were determined by carrying out noninvasive fluorescence measurements. The results indicate that two of the studied inactivated dry yeasts consume oxygen more effectively than sulfur dioxide.                     These data suggest that some inactivated dry yeasts may be useful for protecting wine against oxidation.This study shows for the first time that inactivated dry yeasts can actually consume oxygen, therefore opening up an interesting area for future research.
Convoluted Stock Market: Using Convolution Operation for Stock Market Prediction
Authors: Alparslan Yigit , Moyer Ethan , Kim Edward
Published: April 2021

Many studies in the current literature annotate patterns in stock prices and use computer vision models to learn and recognize these patterns from stock price-action chart images. Additionally, current literature also use Long Short-Term Memory Networks to predict prices from continuous dollar amount data. In this study, we combine the two techniques. We annotate the consolidation breakouts for a given stock price data, and we use continuous stock price data to predict consolidation breakouts. Unlike computer vision models that look at the image of a stock price action, we explore using the convolution operation on raw dollar values to predict consolidation breakouts under a supervised learning problem setting. Unlike LSTMs that predict stock prices given continuous stock data, we use the continuous stock data to classify a given price window as breakout or not. Finally, we do a regularization study to see the effect of L1, L2, and Elastic Net regularization. We hope that combining regression and classification shed more light on stock market prediction studies.
The Valorization of Italian “Borghi” as a Tool for the Tourism Development of Rural Areas
Authors: Bizzarri Carmen , Micera Roberto
Published: April 2021

The paper comes from the need to search for criteria useful for the valorization of heritage towns, located in rural and/or inland areas of Italy, now affected to depression and depopulation process. To this end, the authors point out how territorial identity can constitute the theoretical foundation to influence the development policies and, in particular, the tourism development for sustainability process It was therefore decided to interview a number of stakeholders who could contribute with their professionalism and expertise to identify possible paths and processes for the enhancement of these areas for tourism development. The methodology was based on be to be interviews with open questions, which allowed to identify a SWOT analysis, offering a guideline for a correct governance of these rural areas for their tourist enhancement, in terms of sustainability of development and tourist attractiveness. The study is an observatory that will monitor the implementation of sustainable tourism enhancement of the borghi, heritage town
Stress and Burnout Among Social Workers in The VUCA world of COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Dima Gabriela , Meseșan Schmitz Luiza , Șimon Marinela Cristina
Published: April 2021

This paper aims to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers and the social work profession in Romania. Research has shown that social work is a profession at high risk for developing the burnout syndrome, which has many detrimental effects on both social workers and the clients that they serve. Two conceptual models are used to frame the discussion: the theoretical framework of VUCA (volatility, uncer-tainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to discuss the challenges of the unprecedented context the COVID-19 pandemic has created for social workers; stress and burnout to explain the negative impact of this period of time. Based on convergent mixt methods, the study sample consisted of 83 social workers employed in statutory and private social services in Romania, from different fields of intervention. Results show that 25,3% of respondents suffer from a high level of burnout and 44.6% scored in a range that indicate a medium level of burnout. A group of 31.1% have managed to handle stress factors in a healthy manner. Main stressors found are especially personal (fear of contamination, personal and family) and work-related factors (workload, new legislative rules and decisions, inconsistency, instability, ambiguity of managerial decisions, or even their absence or non-assumption, lack of clarity of working procedures, limited managerial and supervisory support, limited financial resources), less than client related factors (lack of direct contact, risk of contami-nation in two ways, managing beneficiaries fears, difficulties related to technology and digital skills). Study results point to the importance of organizational support and developing a self-care plan that help protect against occupational stress and burnout. Recommendations are made putting forward the voice of fieldworkers and managers fostering initiatives and applications of sustainability-based measures and activities designed to deal with the challenges of the VUCA environment.
Design of a Surgical Pen-Type Probe for Real-Time Diagnosis of Vascular Flow Using Indocyanine Green (ICG) Fluorescence Dye
Authors: Yoon Ki-Cheol , Kim Kwang Gi , Lee Seung Hoon
Published: April 2021

A surgical microscope is large in size, making portability impossible. The distance between the surgical microscope and the observation tissue is 15 to 30 cm, while the maximum adjustment range of the camera to the right and left is 30°. Therefore, surgical microscopes cause attenuation (above 58%) of the irradiation optical source owing to the long working distance. Moreover, the observation of tissue was dazzled with ambient light because the optical power source was strong (50 to 160 mW/cm2). Owing to the limited ability to adjust the camera to the right and left, a blind spot occurs with a surgical microscope. Therefore, it is difficult to clearly observe a tumor. In this study, a compact pen-type probe with a portable surgical microscope is proposed. The pen-type probe is small with a portable shape, and is capable of adjusting the working distance between itself and the observed tissue. It is also possible to adjust the viewing angle and fluorescence brightness. The proposed pen-type probe has no blind spots or optical density loss.
Possible Functions of P21 CDKN1A within the Germ Cells of the Mouse Sseminiferous Epithelium
Authors: Pedro Ana
Published: April 2021

The cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor P21 CDKN1A has been shown to be upregulated during differentiation and after DNA damage in somatic cells. We examined the expression of P21 CDKN1A and of γ-H2AX during the differentiation of germ cells in normal mouse testis. P21 CDKN1A was normally expressed in in a variable mode in different cell types (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, Sertoli cell) located since the basal till the lumen of the seminiferous tubules. Moreover, in agreement with γ-H2AX expression, P21 maybe involved in different cell cycle checkpoints in spermatocytes such as a pre-replication, XY body inactivation, a mid-pachytene and a metaphase I checkpoints. Finally, in comparison to control, the p21 deficient mouse testis show elevated numbers of apoptosis of elongated spermatids within stages VIII-IX but any difference in the number of spermatogonia mitosis.These results suggest that P21 also may take part in the regulation of the differentiation of the male germ cells and may have a role in spermatogonia not related with a mitotic checkpoint.
Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Canine Isolates from a Multicentric Study in Romania
Authors: Dégi János , Moțco Oana-Alexandra , Dégi Diana Maria , Suici Tiana , Mareș Mihai , Cristina Romeo Teodor
Published: April 2021

Treating infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is increasingly difficult due to high antimicrobial resistance, materialized through the presence of multiple resistance strains, as well as due to rapid development of resistance throughout treatment. The present survey was conducted to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility profile of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogens, in two University Veterinary hospitals from different geographical regions of Romania (i.e., south-west - Timisoara county and north-east – Iasi county) involved in canine superficial infections. A total of 142 swab specimens were collected from dogs with superficial infections (superficial skin infections, otitis externa, perianal abscess), with the aim of assessing the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, based on phenotypic and molecular characterization. Fifty-eight samples (40.84%; 58/142) were positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (according to their confirmed morphological and molecular features). Susceptibility to usual antibiotics used in the treatment of canine skin conditions was tested for all Pseudomonas strains that were isolated from canine superficial infections, using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Drug resistance was observed in the case of all tested antibiotics. The susceptibility rate of P. aeruginosa strains that were tested in this study was in the following order: ampicillin sulbactam (55.17%; 32/58), followed by ceftazidime (53.44%; 31/58), aztreonam (51.72%; 30/58), amikacin (44.82%; 26/58), azithromycin (41.37%; 24/58), gentamycin (37.93%; 22/58), cefepime (36.20%; 21/58) meropenem (25.86%; 13/58), piperacillin-tazobactam (25.86%; 13/58) imipenem (22.41%; 13/158), ciprofloxacin (17.24%; 10/58) tobramycin (8.62; 5/58), and polymyxin B (1.72; 1/58) respectively. The results highlight the importance of antibiotic susceptibility testing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from dogs with superficial infections, in order to use an adequate treatment plan for the management of the skin condition, and other pathology (otitis externa and perianal abscesses).
Inhibition of cAMP/PKA/CREB Signaling Axis Improves Fibroblast Plasticity for Direct Cardiac Reprogramming
Authors: Bektik Emre , Sun Yu , Dennis Adrienne , Sakon Phraew , Yang Dandan , Fu Jidong
Published: April 2021

Direct cardiac reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) is a promising approach but remains a challenging technology of regenerative medicine for damaged myocardium. Efforts have been focused on improving the efficiency by understanding fundamental mechanisms. One of the major challenges is that the plasticity of cultured fibroblast varies batch to batch with unknown mechanisms. Here, we noticed that a portion of in vitro cultured fibroblasts have been activated to differentiate into myofibroblasts, marked by the expression of αSMA, even in the primary cell culture of tissues. Both forskolin, which activates adenylyl cyclase and increases cAMP concentration, and TGFbeta inhibitor SB431542 can efficiently suppress myofibroblast differentiation of cultured fibroblasts. However, SB431542 improved but forskolin blocked iCM reprogramming of fibroblasts that were infected with retroviruses of Gata4, Mef2c and Tbx5 (GMT). Moreover, inhibitors of cAMP downstream signaling pathways, PKA or CREB-CBP, significantly improved the efficiency of iCM reprogramming. Consistently, inhibition of p38/MAPK, another upstream regulator of CREB-CBP, also improved reprogramming efficiency. We then investigated if inhibition of these signaling pathways in primary cultured fibroblast could improve their plasticity for reprogramming, and found that preconditioning of cultured fibroblasts with CREB-CBP inhibitor significantly improved the cellular plasticity of fibroblasts to be reprogrammed, yielding ~2-fold amount of reprogrammed iCMs compared to that of untreated control cells. In conclusion, suppression of cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling axis improves fibroblast plasticity for direct cardiac reprogramming.
Residual Tau-Fluvalinate in Honey Bee Colonies is Coupled with Evidence for Selection for Varroa Destructor Resistance to Pyrethroids
Authors: Benito-Murcia María , Bartolomé Carolina , Maside Xulio , Bernal José , Bernal José Luis , Nozal María Jesús , Meana Aránzazu , Botías Cristina , Martín Hernández Raquel , Higes Mariano
Published: April 2021

Varroa destructor is considered one of the most devastating parasites of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a major problem for the beekeeping industry. Currently, the main method to control Varroa mites is the application of drugs that contain different acaricides as active ingredients. The pyrethroid tau-fluvalinate is one of the acaricides most widely used in beekeeping due to its efficacy and low toxicity to bees. However, the intensive and repetitive application of this compound produces a selective pressure that, when maintained over time, contributes to the emergence of resistant mites in the honey bee colonies, compromising the acaricidal treatments efficacy. Here we studied the presence of tau-fluvalinate residues in hives and the evolution of genetic resistance to this acaricide in Varroa mites from honeybee colonies that received no pyrethroid treatment in the previous four years. Our data revealed the widespread and persistent tau-fluvalinate contamination of beeswax and beebread in hives, an overall increase of the pyrethroid resistance allele frequency and a generalized excess of resistant mites relative to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations. These results suggest that tau-fluvalinate contamination of the hives may seriously compromise the efficacy of pyrethroid-based mite control methods.
Malignant Transformation of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone 7 years After Initial Surgery
Authors: Matsunobu Tomoya , Maekawa Akira , Jotatsu Mao , Makihara Kosuke , Hisaoka Masanori , Iwamoto Yukihide
Published: April 2021

Case:

A 64-year-old man with a history of giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) in the fibula 7 years earlier developed a recurrence with histologic features of osteosarcoma. Both the primary GCTB and the secondary osteosarcoma were found to have the H3F3A gene mutation. Despite immediate above-the-knee amputation, the patient died of respiratory failure because of lung metastases 3 months later.

Conclusion:

This is the first report of proven H3F3A mutation in both the primary GCTB and the secondary osteosarcoma in the same case. Clinicians should consider secondary malignancy in patients presenting with a lesion at the site of a previously treated GCTB after a long interval.
Bayesian Spatial Quantile Interval Model with Application to Childhood Malnutrition in Ethiopia
Authors: Shibeshi Abdu H , Asfaw Zeytu G
Published: April 2021

Background: The national prevalence of stunting and wasting in Ethiopia is still very high and it is the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among under five years old children. The aim of the current study was to investigate the determinant of stunting and wasting in Ethiopia. Methods: The available Demographic and Health Survey ( EDHS ) data-set in 2016 for Ethiopia was analyzed using fully Bayesian spatial quantile interval regression models using R- INLA package. Results: The study found that child sex, child age, mother's education, mother's age , source of drinking water, mother's BMI, wealth index, region, residence, cooking fuel and toilet facility were significantly associated with childhood malnutrition(stunting and wasting). Conclusions: Furthermore, these findings imply that a multisectorial and multidimensional approach is important to address malnutrition in Ethiopia. Finally, the education sector should promote reduction of gender barriers that contribute to childhood malnutrition; the health sector should encourage positive behaviors toward childcare and other feeding practices.
Gastric-type mucinous adenocarcinoma of the cervix in a woman with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
Authors: Tong Tong , Fan Qiong , Shi Shu , Li Yuhong , Wang Yudong
Published: April 2021

Background: Peutz-Jeghers syndrome(PJS) is a very rare autosomal dominant disorder with predisposition to multiple neoplasms. Gastric-type adenocarcinoma (GAS) is a less common carcinoma of the cervix than squamous cell carcinoma, which is more aggressive and has lower 5 year survival rate than usual type endocervical adenocarcinoma (ECA), and unrelated to human papilloma virus(HPV) infection as well. We present a 32 year-old patient with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome who was found to have gastric-type adenocarcinoma of the cervix.Case presentation: A 32-year-old woman without sexual life ever who was diagnosed Peutz-Jeghers syndrome when she was two years old presented with watery discharge for more than 6 months. A tumor around 6cm was found on the cervix and she was diagnosed gastric-type mucinous adenocarcinoma of the cervix clinical stage IB3. She was treated with artery intervention chemotherapy for one course followed by radical surgery and then systematic chemotherapy.Conclusions: The case suggests more thorough cancer screening for patients with PJS as the disorder is rare and has high risk of malignancies. Young patients with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, including those without sexual life, who have watery discharge or bleeding should be screened for cervical carcinoma even if cytologic results or human papilloma virus (HPV) is negative.
The Location Inventory Routing Optimization Model and Algorithm for the Islands Shipping Network
Authors: Wu Di , Wang Nuo
Published: April 2021

This paper studies a hub-and-spoke shipping network of islands and integrates a maritime location inventory routing problem (MLIRP) for the islands shipping network. By determining a series of decisions including the location of the hub islands, the number of shipping routes, the schedule of every route, the running mode of every route, the ship size, the wharf scale and the inventory capacity, the objective of the paper is to minimize the total cost of the islands shipping network. For solving the integrated MLIRP model, a hybrid genetic algorithm based on the stepwise configuration (SC-GA) is presented. Finally, instances are put forward to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The results of sensitivity analysis show that the wharf construction cost affects the total costs the most, so more attention should be paid to it when making decisions. This paper can provide theoretical and practical information to design and optimize an islands shipping network.
Factors influencing severity of recurrent malaria in a conflict-affected State of south Sudan
Authors: Idris Israel Oluwaseyidayo , Ayeni Gabriel Omoniyi , Iyamu Ihoghosa Osamuyi , Sina-Odunsi Ayomide Busayo , Adebisi Yusuff Adebayo , Obwoya Justin Geno
Published: April 2021

Background South Sudan has borne the brunt of years of chronic warfare and remains endemic of malaria, with increasing mortality and morbidity. Limited data still exists on factors influencing the severity of recurrent malaria, especially in emergency context as South Sudan. This study therefore aimed to investigate factors influencing recurrence of severe malaria in selected primary healthcare centres in South Sudan. This would assist and guide in malaria prevention, treatment, and eradication efforts.Methods We conducted a retrospective study of routinely collected clinic data collected for individuals aged 1 year and above who received a diagnosis of severe malaria at 3 primary healthcare centres (PHCC); Malual Bab PHCC, Matangai PHCC and Malek PHCC between September 15, 2019 to December 15, 2019 in South Sudan. Patient characteristics were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics were also conducted to identify the associated factors influencing recurrence of severe malaria. All analyses were conducted using R Version 3.6.2.Results A total of 289 recurrent malaria cases were included in this study. More than half of the participants were female. Overall, the prevalence of severe recurrent malaria was 66.1% (191) while 74.4% (215) did not complete malaria treatment. Among those who did not complete malaria treatment, 76.7% (165) had severe recurrent malaria, while among those who completed malaria treatment 35.1% (26) had severe recurrent malaria (p<0.001). There is a significant association between marital status (OR= 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19-0.56, p<0.001), employment status (OR=0.35, 95% CI: 0.14-0.87, p=0.024), the use of preventive measures (OR=3.82, 95% CI: 1.81-8.43, p<0.001) and nutrition status (OR=0.22, 95% CI: 0.13-0.37, p<0.001). When adjusted for employment, marital status, nutritional and prevention measures in turns using Mantel-Haenszel test of association, this effect remained statistically significant.Conclusion Our study showed that there is a high prevalence of severe recurrent malaria in South Sudan and that significant relationship exists between severe recurrent malaria and antimalarial treatment dosage completion influenced by certain personal and social factors. Findings from our study would be useful for effective response to control and prevent malaria in endemic areas of South Sudan.
Associations between the Sense of Coherence and the Motivation to Start and Stop Smoking among Adolescents: findings from a school-based survey
Authors: Rios Leonardo Essado , Nicolau Belinda , Madathil Sreenath Arekunnath , Freire Maria do Carmo Matias
Published: April 2021

Background
The science of behaviour change has advanced considerably in understanding the psychological dimensions that make up individuals’ motivation to change their smoking behaviour. However, there is a lack of studies on the factors associated with the motivational system that prompts smoking initiation and cessation among adolescents. An important psychosocial factor related with smoking in adolescence, which has not yet been investigated in relation to their motivational system, is the Sense of Coherence (SOC). The present study aimed to estimate the extent to which the SOC is associated with the motivation to start and stop smoking among a population of adolescent students.
Methods
A cross-sectional school-based survey was carried out in Midwest Brazil. Participants were high-school students aged between 13 and 19 years who completed self-administered questionnaires. Explanatory variable was the SOC score, measured with Antonovsky’s Orientation to Life Questionnaire (13-item version). Motivation to start and stop smoking were measured with questions based on the Prime Theory of Motivation to address desire to smoke, belief on smoking benefit and intention to future smoking. Logistic regression was used in the statistical analysis, and a Directed Acyclic Graph was used to identify potential confounders.
Results
Participants (n = 2189) were 2073 never-smokers (94.7%) and 116 smokers (5.3%). The mean SOC score was 50.1 (95% CI = 49.6–50.7). About a quarter of the never-smokers were motivated to start smoking, and 14.7% of the smokers were not motivated to quit the habit. For each one-unit increase in the SOC score of never-smokers, the odds of desiring to smoke, believing on smoking benefit, and intending to smoke in the future decreased by 3%, 3% and 5%, respectively. Among smokers, the findings were inconclusive as to whether an association between SOC and motivation to stop smoking was present.
Conclusion
Increasing SOC was associated with decreasing motivation to start smoking among never-smokers. The findings indicate that SOC may play a protective role in the process of smoking initiation among adolescents, offering a potential adjuvant resource of theory-based interventions to prevent adolescent smoking.
Changes in subsidence and uplift and the nighttime land surface temperature anomaly related the distance to the earthquake epicenter and the faults using Sentinel and MODIS imageries
Authors: Kalkhajeh Reza Ghorbani , Jamali Ali Akbar
Published: April 2021

When an earthquake occurs, the faults of the region usually heat the rocks and soil of the region due to their movements. The purpose of this study was to analyze the uplift, subsidence, cloud cover and changes in nighttime land surface temperature (nLST) anomalies around faults and the earthquake epicenter in Kermanshah, Iran (date and time of earthquake 12 November, 2017 at 18:18 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and at 21:48 Iranian time(. Heat changes were investigated by considering the effect of other cooling factors such as vegetation (EVI), land altitude and soil moisture, rainfall and water areas. Using the MODIS sensor product, the amount of cloud cover and cooling factors were obtained. Using sentinel 1A the amount of earth uplift and subsidence were calculated. The results showed that using statistical analysis, a significant difference was observed in the nighttime land surface temperature around the faults and around the uplift and subsidence on the night of the accident, before and after night of earthquake. However, there was no significant difference between nighttime temperature and changes in the rate of spatial variation of cooling factors. It was found that the earthquake caused an increase in temperature at the fault and earthquake epicenter location. It also causes changes in height such as uplift and subsidence. Cloud cover situation showed before the earthquake, the cloud density was high and after the earthquake, the cloud density decreased. Crises managers can consider these results for monitoring metropolices for more readiness before earthquake accordance.
Photodegradation of fluoroquinolones in aqueous solution under light conditions relevant to surface waters, toxicity assessment of photoproduct mixtures.
Authors: Klementova Sarka , Poncarová Martina , Langhansová Helena , Lieskovská Jaroslava , Kahoun David , Fojtíková Pavla
Published: April 2021

Photochemical degradation of fluoroquinolones ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and norfloxacin in aqueous solution under light conditions relevant to surface waters at neutral and alkaline pH was found to proceed readily with half-lives between 0.9 and 2.7 min. The products of photochemical degradation identified by HPLC-MS included defluorinated, hydroxylated, and decarboxylated structures as well as structures with opened cyclic structures. For all of the studied substances, the reaction pathways were influenced significantly by the pH of the reaction system, with more products formed at alkaline pH than at neutral pH: the ratios of products in neutral and alkaline pH were 16/26, 9/19, 15/23 for ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and norfloxacin, respectively. The structures of photoproducts and pathways of photochemical degradation are proposed.
The antibacterial activities of photoproduct mixtures tested on E. coli and S. epidermidis were significantly higher in comparison to parental antibiotics in the case of both ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin with p-values less than 0.0001 in most cases. The effect of the photoproducts was shown to be dependent on the pH value of the original antibiotic solutions before photodegradation: for ciprofloxacin, antibacterial activity against E. coli was more notably pronounced with regard to neutral pH photoproducts, while a less significant, or in one case not significant, effect of pH was observed against S. epidermidis ; for norfloxacin, antibacterial activity against both E. coli and S. epidermidis were especially high with regard to alkaline pH photoproducts
Blast Induced Vibration Estimation by Using Different Machine Learning Methods in a Tunnel Excavation
Authors: Ozyurt Meric Can , SAHINOGLU ÜLKÜ KALAYCI , Karadogan Abdulkadir , Ozer Umit , Akgundogdu Abdurrahim , Callioglu Mert , Karstarli Cagrihan
Published: April 2021

This study aimed to develop a new model in which rock characteristics, blasting design parameters and excavation planning were also considered by using various machine learning methods in a funicular line excavation where blast-induced vibrations could not estimate with a high correlation by using the commonly and successfully used PPV-SD (Peak Particle Velocity-Scaled Distance) estimation formula. In addition to developing a new model, another aim was to reveal the effect of rock characteristics, blasting and excavation planning parameters on PPV estimation numerically in the form of weights. For this purpose, 225 events in 57 shots were recorded in the funicular line excavation. Each blasted cross-section's rock characteristics were obtained from on-site inspection and geological reports. At first, recorded blasting vibration data were evaluated using the well-known PPV–SD equation, and it was seen that the relationship between PPV and SD was not able to represent the site-specific vibration attenuation. Therefore, the obtained data were evaluated with Random Forest and other Machine Learning Methods. In these evaluations, RQD, UCS, unit of advance, the maximum charge per delay, the cross-sectional area of tunnel face, total charge, and distance between shot point and vibration measurement station were used as inputs, and peak particle velocity was used as output. The results showed that the random forest model's prediction accuracy was more acceptable than the well-known PPV–SD equation and other machine learning methods. Another significant finding of the study is that parameters not considered in PPV estimation, such as UCS, RQD, and cross-sectional area of tunnel face, may be more effective than the commonly used scaled distance.
Evidence for Enhanced Dissipation of Chlorpyrifos in an Agricultural Soil Inoculated with Serratia Rubidaea Strain ABS 10
Authors: Salem Asma Ben , Chaabane Hanene , Ghazouani Tesnime , Caboni Pierluigi , Coroneo Valentina , Devers Marion , Béguet Jérémie , Laurent Fabrice Martin , Fattouch Sami
Published: April 2021

Important mineralization of 14C-chlorpyrifos was found in a Tunisian soil exposed repeatedly to this insecticide. A bacterial strain able to grow in minimal salt medium (MSM) supplemented with 25 mg L− 1 of chlorpyrifos was isolated from this soil. It was characterized as Serratia rubidaea strain ABS 10 using morphological and biochemical analyses, as well as 16S rRNA sequencing. In liquid culture S. rubidaea stain ABS 10 was able to almost entirely dissipate chlorpyrifos within 48 hours of incubation. Although, S. rubidaea strain ABS 10 was able to grow on MSM supplemented with chlorpyrifos and to dissipate it in liquid culture, it was not able to mineralize 14C-chlorpyrifos. Therefore, one can conclude that the dissipation capability of this bacteria might be attributed to its capacity to adsorb CHL. In both non-sterile and sterile soil inoculated with S. rubidaea strain ABS 10, chlorpyrifos was more rapidly dissipated than in respective controls.
Men, the Missing Link in Gender-equitable Family Planning
Authors: Seth Kuhika , Nanda Sharmishtha , Sahay Aishwarya , Verma Ravi , Achyut Pranita
Published: April 2021

Background: Across societies, gender norms often allow men to hold key decision-making power within relationships, households and communities. This extends to almost all domains, consisting of family planning (FP) as well. FP programmes have largely engaged men as clients and rarely as equal partners or influencers although across lower and middle income countries (LMICs), and especially in South Asia, men hold key decision-making power on the domain of family planning. The objective of this article is to explore couple dynamics through the lens of spousal communication and decision-making and unpacking male engagement and spousal dynamics in family planning.Methods: This review presents a synthesis of evidence from two peer-reviewed databases, PubMed and Jstor, and and insights from programmatic documents to shed light on gender equitable engagement of young married men in family planning. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for both these databases was set and search strategies were finalized. This was followed by title and abstract screening, data extraction, synthesis and analysis.Results: Study participants included unmarried men (16%, n= 8), married men (19%, n= 9), married women (19%, n=9), married couples (25%, n =12) or more than two respondent categories (21%, n= 10). Almost three-fourth (71%, n=34) of the studies selected had FP as the primary area of inquiry. Other prominent thematics on which the studies reported were around norms (n=9, 16%), couple dynamics and intimacies (n=12, 22%).Conclusion: The evidence presented provides sufficient impetus to expand on gender-equitable male engagement, viewing men as equal and supportive partners for informed, equitable and collaborative contraceptive uptake and FP choices by couples.
Spectral characterization of the effect of gas-water ratio on dissolved organic nitrogen variation along biological aerated filter for micropolluted source water pre-treatment
Authors: Kang Jia , Song Gang-fu , Liu Shu-li , Song Chu-qiong , Gao Xu
Published: April 2021

In order to improve our understanding of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) variation characteristics in the biological aerated filter (BAF) for drinking water treatment, this study focused on gas-water ratio, a controlling factor of BAF operation, to study spectral characteristics of DON under different gas-water ratio conditions (0, 0.5:1, 2:1 and 10:1). The variations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and DON concentrations showed that DOC removal efficiency was consistent with DON concentration, both of which increased with the increase of gas-water ratio, but the increase gradually reduced and was certain limited. Three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (3D-EEM) spectroscopy combined with parallel factor (PARAFAC) model and fluorescence regional integration (FRI) technique were applied to analyze the effect of gas-water ratio on spectral characteristics of DON, PARAFAC analysis results identified the main component of DON were tryptophan and protein related substances. The resistances of various fluorescent substances in the FRI technique under the influence of gas-water ratio were shown as: protein substances > humic acid and fulvic acid substances ≈ SMPs-like substances. Correlation analysis showed that the variation of FIS from PARAFAC model was consistent with corresponding normalized integration volume in FRI analysis under different gas-water ratios.
Dopamine Signaling Modulates Microglial NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation: Implications for Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Pike Adrianne F. , Longhena Francesca , Faustini Gaia , Eik Jean-Marc van , Gombert Iris , Herrebout Maaike A.C. , Fayed Mona M.H.E. , Sandre Michele , Varanita Tatiana , Teunissen Charlotte E. , Hoozemans Jeroen J.M. , Bellucci Arianna , Veerhuis Robert , Bubacco Luigi
Published: April 2021

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons leading to impaired striatal dopamine signaling, α-synuclein- (α-syn-) rich inclusions, and neuroinflammation. Degenerating neurons are surrounded by activated microglia with increased secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), driven largely by the NLRP3 inflammasome. A critical role for microglial NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the progression of both dopaminergic neurodegeneration and α-syn pathology has been demonstrated in parkinsonism mouse models. Fibrillar α-syn activates this inflammasome in mouse and human macrophages, and we have shown previously that the same holds true for primary human microglia. Dopamine blocks microglial NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the MPTP model, but its effects in this framework, highly relevant to PD, remain unexplored in primary human microglia and in other in vivo parkinsonism models. Methods: Biochemical techniques including quantification of IL-1β secretion and confocal microscopy were employed to gain insight into dopamine signaling-mediated inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome mechanism in primary human microglia and the SYN120 transgenic mouse model. Dopamine and related metabolites were applied to human microglia together with various inflammasome activating stimuli. The involvement of the receptors through which these catecholamines were predicted to act were assessed with agonists in both species. Results: We show in primary human microglia that dopamine, L-DOPA, and high extracellular K+, but not norepinephrine and epinephrine, block canonical, non-canonical, and α-syn-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome-driven IL-1β secretion. This suggests that dopamine acts as an inflammasome inhibitor in human microglia. Accordingly, we provide evidence that dopamine exerts its inhibitory effect through dopamine receptor D1 and D2 (DRD1 and DRD2) signaling. We also show that aged mice transgenic for human C-terminally truncated (1-120) α-syn (SYN120 tg mice) display increased NLRP3 inflammasome activation in comparison to WT mice that is diminished upon DRD1 agonism. Conclusions: Dopamine inhibits canonical, non-canonical, and α-syn-mediated activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in primary human microglia, as does high extracellular K+. We suggest that dopamine serves as an endogenous repressor of the K+ efflux-dependent microglial NLRP3 inflammasome activation that contributes to dopaminergic neurodegeneration in PD, and that this reciprocation may account for the specific vulnerability of these neurons to disease pathology.
Intensity-dependent nonlinear optical properties in an asymmetric Gaussian potential quantum well modulated by external fields
Authors: Sayraç Muhammed , Turkoglu Aslan , Mora-Ramos Miguel Eduvardo , ungan fatih
Published: April 2021

In this paper, the effects of external electric, magnetic and non-resonant intense laser fields on the nonlinear optical rectification (NOR), second-harmonic (SH), and third-harmonic (TH) generation in a GaAs quantum well with asymmetrical Gaussian potential are theoretically investigated. Firstly, the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of a single electron confined in the structure are obtained by using the diagonalization method within the framework of the effective-mass and parabolic band approaches. Then, using these energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, expressions derived within the compact density matrix approximation has been employed to calculate the coefficients of the nonlinear optical response in the structure. The obtained simulation results show that the influence of the external fields leads to significant changes in the coefficients of nonlinear optical rectification, second and third harmonic generation in the system. As a result, it has been seen that the amplitude and position of the peaks of nonlinear optical rectification, second and third harmonic coefficients can be controlled by changing the applied external fields.
The mitochondrial calcium uniporter compensates for Complex I dysfunction
Authors: Balderas Enrique , Eberhardt David , Pleinis John , Sommakia Salah , Balynas Anthony , Yin Xue , Lee Sandra , Parker Mitchell , Maguire Colin , Cho Scott , Bakhtina Anna , Bia Ryan , Friederich Marisa , Locke Timothy , Hove Johan Van , Drakos Stavros , Sancak Yasemin , Tristani-Firouzi Martin , Franklin Sarah , Rodan Aylin , Chaudhuri Dipayan
Published: April 2021

Calcium (Ca2+) entering mitochondria potently stimulates ATP synthesis. Increases in Ca2+ preserve energy synthesis in cardiomyopathies caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, and occur due to enhanced activity of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter channel. The signaling mechanism that mediates this compensatory increase remains unknown. Here, we find that increases in the uniporter are due to impairment in Complex I of the electron transport chain (ETC). In normal physiology, Complex I promotes uniporter degradation via an interaction with the uniporter pore-forming subunit, a process we term Complex I-induced protein turnover (CLIPT). When Complex I dysfunction ensues, contact with the uniporter is inhibited, preventing degradation, and leading to a build-up in functional channels. Preventing uniporter activity leads to early demise in Complex I-deficient animals. Conversely, enhancing uniporter stability rescues survival and function in Complex I deficiency. Taken together, our data identify a fundamental pathway producing compensatory increases in Ca2+ influx during Complex I impairment.
Fully-automatic ultrasound-based neuro-navigation : The functional ultrasound brain GPS
Authors: Nouhoum M. , Ferrier J. , Osmanski B.-F. , Ialy-Radio N. , Pezet S. , Tanter M. , Deffieux T.
Published: April 2021

Recent advances in ultrasound imaging triggered by ultrafast plane waves transmission have rendered functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging a valuable neuroimaging modality capable of mapping cerebral vascular networks, but also to indirectly capture neuronal activity with high sensitivity thanks to the neurovascular coupling. However, the expansion of fUS imaging is still limited by the difficulty to identify cerebral structures during experiments based solely on the Doppler images and the shape of the vessels. In order to tackle this challenge, this study introduces the vascular brain positioning system (BPS), a GPS of the brain. The BPS is a whole-brain neuro-navigation system based on the on-the-fly automatic alignment of ultrafast ultrasensitive transcranial Power Doppler volumic images to common templates such as the Allen mouse brain Common Coordinates Framework. This method relies on the online registration of the complex cerebral vascular fingerprint of the studied animal to a pre-aligned reference vascular atlas, thus allowing rapid matching and identification of brain structures. We quantified the accuracy of the automatic registration using super-resolution vascular images obtained at the microscopic scale using Ultrasound Localization Microscopy and found a positioning error of 44 µm and 96 µm for intra-animal and inter-animals vascular registration, respectively. The proposed BPS approach outperforms the manual vascular landmarks recognition performed by expert neuroscientists (inter-annotator errors of 215 µm and 259 µm). Using the online BPS approach coupled with the Allen Atlas, we demonstrated the capability of the system to position itself automatically over chosen anatomical structures and to obtain corresponding functional activation maps even in complex oblique planes. Finally, we show that the system can be used to acquire and estimate functional connectivity matrices automatically. The proposed functional ultrasound on the fly neuro-navigation approach allows automatic brain navigation and could become a key asset to ensure standardized experiments and protocols for non-expert and expert researchers.