bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical and Physical Modelling of the Performance of the Pro-vortex Vanes in Shaft Spillways
Authors: Broucek Miroslav , Satrapa Ladislav , Kralik Martin , Soucek Jiri
Published: December 2021

The paper focuses on the analysis of hydraulic conditions in the proximity of the intake part of high shaft spillways equipped with pro-vortex vanes and discusses recent enhancements in modelling of the shaft spillways and compares the acquired results of the performance of the spillway after complete removal or rehabilitation of the vanes in context of capacity and overall hydraulic conditions. Increasing requirements on safety of embankment dams during floods with respect to anticipated effect of the climate change scenarios on parameters of design floods demand further assessment of capabilities of outlet structures to meet the updated needs. Such dam safety assessments often conclude in the need of designing additional measures to improve existing structures. Despite different approach to the evaluation of the uncertainties and subsequent risk assessment the goal of improving safety of large dams remains consistent in the effort of all developed countries. Adjustments of the intake part of shaft spillways can present a valid design option for increasing capacity of the complex spillway/tunnel structure if supported by solid analysis of hydraulic conditions inside these structures. As the governing idea of the pro-vortex vanes is to ensure spiral flow inside the shaft and to minimize the pressure fluctuations the paper presents results from physical model of several designs of the pro-vortex vanes which approximated possible adjustment of tower like shaft spillway of existing large dam in Czech Republic and also results from CFD modelling illustrating the importance of combination of both modelling approaches. For the CFD part, different turbulence models are discussed.
Evaluation of Water Retention Curves by Regression and Machine Learning Methods
Authors: Cisty Milan , Povazanova Barbora
Published: December 2021

The paper presents two methods that simplify the estimation of the water retention curves. The case study is evaluated for the soils of Záhorská lowland in the paper. These methods are based on the supposed dependence of the soil water content on the percentage content of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Kopecký grain categories, and the dry bulk density. The representative set of the drying branch of water retention curves was measured using soil samples from the Záhorská lowland region in a laboratory. Particle size distribution and dry bulk density were also determined. In this paper support vector machines and multiple linear regression is compared to estimate the pedotransfer functions that can be used for the prediction of the drying branch of the water retention curve. Both methods were verified on other data set of measured water retention curves than the one which was used for building the models with a close agreement to measured results.
Combined Building-Energy Systems with Heat Transfer Control by Building Constructions using RES
Authors: Kalús Daniel , Cvíčela Martin , Janík Peter , Kubica Matej
Published: December 2021

Energy systems built into one of the building structures that serve to capture solar energy, geothermic energy, and ambient energy, or which have the function of end elements of heating, cooling, and ventilation system, we generally call combined building-energy systems. Among combined building-energy systems we include solar roofs with built-in pipe absorbers, building structures with active thermal protection (ATP) - active heat transfer control, which have a multifunctional purpose – a thermal barrier, low-temperature heating, high-temperature cooling, recuperation and accumulation of heat, solar and ambient energy collection, large-capacity heat storage (ground heat accumulators built simultaneously in the foundation slab of the building), or heat exchangers used for recuperative ventilation of buildings built into the foundation slabs and wall structures. The research of combined building-energy systems at the Department of Building Services, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava has been carried out continuously since 2005. Within five research projects (responsible researcher, Kalús, D.) HZ 04-309-05, HZ 04-310- 05, HZ 04-142-07 (research and experimental measurements took place in the years 2005 to 2007), HZ PG73/2011 (research and experimental measurements took place in the years 2011 to 2013), [13,] and HZ PR10/2015 (research and experimental measurements have been carried out since 2015), two experimental houses IDA I. and EB2020, a mobile laboratory designed for measuring and optimizing a compact heat station using renewable heat sources, were designed and built by the research team at our workplace, and also a research of a fragment of a perimeter wall with built-in active thermal protection was carried out in the climatic chamber of the Faculty of Civil Engineering STU in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Significant contribution to the research was provided by doctoral students Ing. Martin Cvíčela, Ph.D., (supervisor, Kalús, D.), Ing. Peter Janik, PhD., (supervisor, Kalús, D.) and Ing. Martin Šimko, PhD., (supervisor, Kalús, D.), who described the results of the research in their dissertations. At present experimental measurements in the mobile laboratory are performed by doctoral student Ing. Matej Kubica, (supervisor, Kalús, D.). In the area of combined construction and energy systems, research and optimization of suitable solutions continues, which have been transformed into one European patent and three utility models.
Influence of Aramid-Polyolefin Fibers on the Properties of Bituminous Mixtures
Authors: Majer Stanisław , Budziński Bartosz
Published: December 2021

The use of additives in bituminous mixtures such as fibers has been the subject of various studies. Different fibres including cellulose fibres, steel fibres, basalt fibres, glass fibres and aramid fibres can be used to improve the properties of bituminous mixtures. Depending on the type of fibres used, different characteristics can be changed. The paper contains results of comparative tests of bituminous mixtures with aramid-polyolefin fibres. Asphalt concrete used for wearing course with maximum aggregate size of 11 mm was evaluated in the study. Reference mix with an average penetration grade of 50/70 was chosen as a base for modifications. Due to difficulty in preparing mixtures with fibers in a laboratory mixer, test specimens were obtained from a stationary plant. The fibers and aggregate mix was prepared before adding the asphalt. The fibers were added at a rate of 0.5 kg per 1000 kg of finished bituminous mixture. This allowed to obtain an even distribution of fibers in the mixture resulting in a homogeneity necessary for planned tests. This allowed to omit the scale effect, that could occur due to differences between laboratory and stationary mixing. Stiffness modulus tests were performed using the IT-CY (Indirect Tension to Cylindrical Specimens) method for a wide temperature range of 0-30°C. The specimen resistance to permanent deformation was evaluated. Obtained results has shown a clear increase in the resistance to permanent deformation of mixtures with aramid- polyolefin fibers, which is especially important for mixtures used for wearing course. The results has also shown a significant increase in the stiffness modulus regardless of temperature range. Results of conducted experiments has shown that it is possible to reduce the thickness of bituminous overlay in case of reinforcement of the existing pavement structure. The analysis of results has shown that the application of aramid-polyolefin fibres in bituminous mixtures can improve the functional features of the pavement and be beneficial to the investors.
The Impact of Wood Waste Ash on Physical Mechanical Properties of Concrete
Authors: Vaiciene Marija , Malaiskiene Jurgita
Published: December 2021

In this work is analysing the impact of wood waste bottom ash (WWBA) on the physical mechanical properties of Portland cement concrete (PCC). WWBA is a waste generated in power plants during burning forest residues to produce energy and heat. In 2019, about 19,800 tons of WWBA was generated only in Lithuania. Usually, WWBA is disposed of in landfills, only 26% of WWBA is used in the construction or maintenance of local roads, because of that it is useful to know properties of such WWBA and to analyse possibilities of using it in cement concrete. In the chemical composition of such WWBA type was fixed a big amount ~50% of CO2. It is known, that C retards cement hydration. Due to stabilisation this process, it was used in the same amounts catalyst waste from oil cracking (FCCCw), which could accelerate hydration processes. Oil refineries worldwide generate more than 800,000 tonnes of FCCCw per year, of which around 20% in Europe and it is the big problem to landfill. In the investigation the amount of Portland cement (5-20% by mass) was replaced by mentioned wastes and properties of fresh PCC (density, slump, flow diameter) and physical mechanical properties of hardened PCC (water absorption, capillary water absorption, ultrasound pulse velocity, density, compressive strength after 28 days and 2 years curing, SEM) were established. It was determined, that by increasing amount of waste (till 20%) the workability of concrete decreases, because used wastes had higher water requirement. The best results were obtained, when 5% of cement was replaced by WWBA. Then compressive strength after 28 days curing comparing to control sample decreased 8%, but after 2 years curing it increased 1%, also the capillary water absorption decreased, denser structure was formed. The obtained results of hardened PCC density, ultrasound pulse velocity and water absorption are similar to control samples.
Influence of Slenderness on the Evaluation of Epistemic Uncertainty Related to Non-Linear Numerical Analysis of RC Columns
Authors: Gino Diego , Anerdi Costanza , Bertagnoli Gabriele , Giordano Luca , Marano Giuseppe
Published: December 2021

This investigation is devoted to quantify the epistemic uncertainty related to the nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete columns characterized by high slenderness using numerical codes. The adoption of refined numerical tools, which are able to consider both mechanical and geometric non linearities, implies to perform assumptions and approximations with respect to reality. Whit reference to reliability analysis, these simplifications lead, inevitably, to additional uncertainties which are of epistemic nature. In fact, these uncertainties may be reduced by the engineers/analysts by increasing the level of refinement of the numerical model and/or increasing knowledge about parameters associated to material models. However, also numerical model established by expert engineers/analysts are affected by this kind of epistemic uncertainty. Accepting that the level of uncertainty associated to the experimental tests set are minimized, the epistemic uncertainty associated to non-linear numerical simulations can be quantified characterizing the model uncertainty random variable comparing the outcomes of numerical results to the associated experimental ones. The present investigation proposes the quantification of the model uncertainty related to non-linear numerical simulations of slender RC columns. A total number of 40 experimental results known from literature are herein selected in coherence with current Eurocodes specifications. The experiments are reproduced adopting non-linear numerical analysis differentiating between several modelling hypotheses (i.e., numerical code; materials models). The comparison between experimental and numerical results is adopted to characterize the most suitable probabilistic model for the model uncertainty random variable associated to non-linear numerical simulations of RC columns subjected to significant slenderness. The outcomes of the research are useful to provide background to the characterization of partial safety factor for model uncertainty in non-linear numerical analysis using the approach of the global resistance format for safety verifications.
Wind-Induced Vibration of an Irregular Pentagon Lamella
Authors: Jendzelovsky Norbert , Antal Roland
Published: December 2021

At present, there are increasingly encountering the use of lamellar structures, for example on the roofs of buildings, which, in addition to their visual function, also fulfil the function of reducing the flow of wind into the roof space. These structures are often designed as long and subtle structures and therefore their very common problem is unwanted vibration. In this article, the main focus is to show the methodology of the determination of the effects of wind on the lamella of the shape of an irregular pentagon. A real-size model made of steel with a total length of 2 m and a weight of 7.4 kg was used. Its size and shape were influenced by several factors which are specified in more detail in the paper. In the wind tunnel experiment, it was very important to ensure the exact position of the model and also to secure both ends of the model against shifting (to replicate fixed ends). Dynamic response of the structure in two directions together with wind speed were measured simultaneously. To investigate the wind effects by numerical analysis, fluid-structure interaction software simulation (FSI) on a full-size model was used. The main pitfall of the software solution was to get as close as possible to the conditions of the wind tunnel. The actual wind speed measured under laboratory conditions was used as the input wind speed for FSI simulation. The material of the model and the shape of the model was set in software simulation to be as close as possible to the real structure. Subsequently, other boundary conditions were set and the solution process was executed. The biggest problem, especially in terms of comparing the results of both approaches which greatly affected the results, was the very high stiffness of the model. Due to the extent and interconnectedness of results, findings are presented in more detail in the conclusions of the paper. The methodology of setting up a relatively complex FSI simulation, its results, as well as new findings that we came up with if the measurement of the dynamic effects of wind is the matter of interest are presented in this paper.
Bahareque as a Sustainable Construction System: Analysis of Unit Prices
Authors: Palacios Andrés , Angumba Pedro
Published: December 2021

The bahareque is a form of vernacular construction that, with the help of modern materials with adequate techniques and knowledge, constitute an alternative to provide housing solutions. Despite this, the lack of knowledge and technical processes in relation to costs, gives rise to a research problem. Thus, this document presents a set of technical strategies based on the Cost-Benefit analysis of using bahareque as a raw material and structuring a unit price analysis tool to guide construction professionals. The study had a qualitative and quantitative approach, surveys were applied to the population and professionals in the construction area that allowed to approach the reality of the construction system in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador. It is evident that people know about the construction system, but show some resistance to its application because they are unaware of the advantages and disadvantages of the vernacular technique. With the cost analyzes carried out, it is concluded that a typical house of 130 m2 has a cost of $ 36,387.72 dollars; which, starts from concrete foundations, which support a reinforced masonry assembly that raises the wooden frames, associated with meshes that erect the walls with mortar and finally covered with roofs with a mixed material of wood and tile fired with clay.
Seismic Vulnerability and Risk of Losses Case Study Center of the City of Azogues
Authors: Castro Carlos Julio Calle , Noboa Juan Sebastián Maldonado , Sánchez Luis Mario Almache
Published: December 2021

Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a country with high risk and seismic sensitivity, evidenced by the 6.8-degree earthquake in Ambato in 1949, which left approximately 6000 dead, the 7.8-degree earthquake in Manabí and Esmeraldas in the year 2016 with 663 victims and 29672 buildings without the possibility of use. Currently there is a problem about seismic performance in reinforced concrete buildings, since many were built with old regulations; so, it is necessary to assess their vulnerability. Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, large cities in Ecuador, have formal studies of seismic vulnerability, mostly carried out by university students and teachers. In contrast, most small cities do not have these studies; or, they need to be updated to validate their results. This is the case of the city of Azogues. The objective of this research is to evaluate the vulnerability of structures using the Hazus methodology, adapted to Ecuador, in the downtown area of the city of Azogues, in structures located around the Central Park, to establish the seismic performance in reinforced concrete buildings. The Hazus methodology, which determines the vulnerability of buildings from fragility curves, which are entered with inputs as the capacity, performance level and drift curves calculated through Ecuadorian models. The capacity curves, depending on various aspects such as: the material, number of floors, spans between columns, among others; they vary from building to building. In this sense, capacity curves were defined for sets of buildings with similar characteristics, coinciding with the Hazus methodology. The performance levels and the displacements were calculated with the ETABS computer package. For fragility curves, the model that most real simulates the response of a structure is the non-linear analysis, because it considers the decrease in stiffness in columns and beams, as well as the deterioration of the properties of the materials. In this sense, there are fragility curves of Ecuadorian buildings for four levels. The earthquake readings enable the construction of a demand spectrum, which, when contrasted with the capacity spectrum, leads to the performance point. Its position sometimes varies per the elastic demand spectrum, which is diminished by its inelastic behavior. As the demand spectrum decreases, the damage will increase. Once the coordinates of the performance point are known, the fragility curves are used; and, the possible damages are defined, quantifying them in percentage.
Materials and technologies to achieve better energy efficiency of buildings
Authors: Łoziczonek Henryk B.
Published: December 2021

The article will discuss the aspects of the possibilities of improving the energy efficiency of buildings. In particular, the author will analyze innovative technologies in the field of improving the thermal insulation of external partitions and improving the efficiency of underfloor heating. The author will present the results of research on the thermal properties of metal and wooden frame structures, as well as innovative veneer floor panels. Frame structures are increasingly used in single-family housing, and veneer floor panels are used in underfloor heating. Innovative solutions of building partitions are to improve the energy efficiency of newly constructed buildings, and thus reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Fault diagnosis of rolling bearing based on multi-scale one-dimensional convolutional neural network
Authors: Hou Xukun , Hu Pengjie , Du Wenliao , Gong Xiaoyun , Wang Hongchao , Meng Fannian
Published: December 2021

Aiming at the typical non-stationary and nonlinear characteristics of rolling bearing vibration signals, a multi-scale convolutional neural network method for bearing fault diagnosis based on wavelet transform and one-dimensional convolutional neural network is proposed. First, the signal is decomposed into multi scale components with wavelet transform, and then each scale component is reconstructed. The reconstructed signal is subjected to the Fourier transform to obtain the frequency spectrum representation, which is used as the input of the one-dimensional convolutional neural network. Finally, one-dimensional convolution neural network is used to learn the features of the input data and recognize the bearing fault. The performance of the model is verified by using data sets of rolling bearing. The results show that this method can intelligent feature extraction and obtain 99.94% diagnostic accuracy.
Modelling dimensional change of machined parts and optimizing replacement time and initial position of cutting tool
Authors: Jiang Renyan
Published: December 2021

In a manufacturing process, a key quality characteristic such as a certain dimension of machined parts can have a systematic shift toward the upper or lower specification limit due to the cutting tool wear. That is, the quality characteristic is a stochastic process with trend. As a result, the process capability and quality loss vary with time and depend on the initial position of the cutting tool. In this setting, decision problems that need to be solved are optimization of replacement time and initial position of the cutting tool. This paper proposes a non-homogenous Wiener process to model the dimensional change of machined parts; and the above-mentioned decision problems are solved through combining this model with a cost model that involves Taguchi quality loss. A real-world example is included to illustrate the appropriateness of the proposed models. The results are useful for both reliability researchers and manufacturing engineers.
Vibration response of defect-ball-defect of rolling bearing with compound defects on both inner and outer races
Authors: Luo Wei , Yan Changfeng , Yang Junbao , Liu Yaofeng , Wu Lixiao
Published: December 2021

Aiming at the problem that the existing compound defects model of rolling bearings under radial load is difficult to reflect the actual contact between rolling elements and defects. A new model is proposed to accurately reflect the simultaneous or sequential contact between inner and outer race defects and rolling elements. Considering the coupled excitation between shaft and bearing and pedestal, time-varying displacement excitation, and radial clearance, a four degree-of-freedom vibration model of rolling bearing with compound faults on both inner and outer races is built. The vibration equations are calculated by the method of numerical way, and the model is verified by experiment. The vibration response characteristics of the Defect-Ball-Defect model are studied, which renders a theoretical criterion for bearing fault diagnosis.
Comparative analysis and forecasting of isentropic efficiency of gas turbine compressor with ARIMA, VAR, NARNN and ANFIS approaches
Authors: Yao Jiachi , Liu Chao , Jin Yunfeng , Deng Gaofeng , Guan Yunlong , Hao Jiangang , Huang Haizhou , Jiang Dongxiang
Published: December 2021

It is extremely important to monitor the status of gas turbine to ensure its safe and reliable operation. In this work, the variation trend of isentropic efficiency of compressor is analysed based on the measured data of F-class heavy-duty gas turbine in practical industrial application. The actual measured data of F-class heavy-duty gas turbine includes the data under start-stop and unstable working conditions, which cannot be directly used for calculation and analysis. To solve this problem, the data selection rules are designed and determined according to the operating conditions of gas turbine to select the data under effective working state. The isentropic efficiency of compressor is calculated based on the selected data. Then the forecasting effects of four forecasting methods on the variation trend of isentropic efficiency of compressor are studied. Four indexes, namely, symmetric mean absolute percentage error (SMAPE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and similarity (SIM) values are utilized to evaluate the forecasting accuracy. The research results indicate that the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) method has better forecasting effect than Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Vector Autoregression (VAR) and Nonlinear Autoregression Neural Network (NARNN) for this F-class heavy-duty gas turbine. Through the ANFIS method, the SIM up to 96.77%, the SMAPE and MAPE are less than 0.1, and the RMSE is only 0.1157. Therefore, the ANFIS method is suitable for forecasting the isentropic efficiency of this F-class heavy-duty gas turbine compressor.
Adversarial flow-based model for unsupervised fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings
Authors: Dai Jun , Wang Jun , Yao Linquan , Shi Juanjuan , Wang Lei , Wang Guolei
Published: December 2021

Nowadays, numerous supervised deep learning models have been applied to bearing fault diagnosis. However, labelling the health states of the bearing vibration data is a time-consuming work and dependent on expert experience. In order to tackle this problem, a novel unsupervised bearing fault diagnosis method named adversarial flow-based model is explored in this paper. Flow-based model is a type of generative models that is proved to be better than other types in many aspects. This paper introduces the flow-based model into the field of machinery fault diagnosis, and designs an appropriate model architecture so as to train the model in unsupervised and adversarial ways. The proposed model contains an autoencoder (AE), a flow-based model, and a classifier. Firstly, the AE maps the vibration data from signal space to latent vector space. Then, the flow-based model aligns the distributions of the latent vectors of different bearing states with specific prior distributions. Finally, the classifier tries to discriminate the aligned latent vectors from the vectors sampled from the prior distributions. With the help of distinguishable prior distributions and the adversarial training mechanism between the classifier and the flow-based model together with the AE, the bearing data with the same health states are clustered into the same areas. The good clustering performance of the adversarial flow-based model is verified by a dataset with 10 health states from a bearing test rig.
Joint feature enhancement mapping and reservoir computing for improving fault diagnosis performance
Authors: Kong L J , Huang Y W , Yu Q B , Long J Y , Yang S
Published: December 2021

Complicated industrial robot structure and harsh working conditions may cause signal features collected in the condition monitoring process to be seriously disturbed. In this paper, a joint feature enhancement mapping and reservoir computing (FEM-RC) method is presented to handle the industrial robot fault diagnosis problem. Firstly, a feature enhancement mapping (FEM) method is proposed to achieve intraclass distance minimization and interclass distance equalization to obtain an enhanced feature matrix. Then, the first reservoir computing (RC) network is adopted to map the original feature matrix to the feature enhancement matrix, and the second RC network is for fault type classification. The results of the experiment carried out on a six-axial industrial robot demonstrate that compared with other peer models, the present FEM-RC has better fault diagnosis performance and robustness.
AMDE: a novel attention-mechanism-based multidimensional feature encoder for drug–drug interaction prediction
Authors: Pang Shanchen , Zhang Ying , Song Tao , Zhang Xudong , Wang Xun , Rodriguez-Patón Alfonso
Published: December 2021

The properties of the drug may be altered by the combination, which may cause unexpected drug–drug interactions (DDIs). Prediction of DDIs provides combination strategies of drugs for systematic and effective treatment. In most of deep learning-based methods for predicting DDI, encoded information about the drugs is insufficient in some extent, which limits the performances of DDIs prediction. In this work, we propose a novel attention-mechanism-based multidimensional feature encoder for DDIs prediction, namely attention-based multidimensional feature encoder (AMDE). Specifically, in AMDE, we encode drug features from multiple dimensions, including information from both Simplified Molecular-Input Line-Entry System sequence and atomic graph of the drug. Data experiments are conducted on DDI data set selected from Drugbank, involving a total of 34 282 DDI relationships with 17 141 positive DDI samples and 17 141 negative samples. Experimental results show that our AMDE performs better than some state-of-the-art baseline methods, including Random Forest, One-Dimension Convolutional Neural Networks, DeepDrug, Long Short-Term Memory, Seq2seq, Deepconv, DeepDDI, Graph Attention Networks and Knowledge Graph Neural Networks. In practice, we select a set of 150 drugs with 3723 DDIs, which are never appeared in training, validation and test sets. AMDE performs well in DDIs prediction task, with AUROC and AUPRC 0.981 and 0.975. As well, we use Torasemide (DB00214) as an example and predict the most likely drug to interact with it. The top 15 scores all have been reported with clear interactions in literatures.
Corticosteroids and mycophenolic acid analogues in immunoglobulin A nephropathy with progressive decline in kidney function
Authors: Huerta Ana , Mérida Eva , Medina Laura , Fernandez Maria , Gutierrez Eduardo , Hernandez Eduardo , López-Sánchez Paula , Sevillano Angel , Portolés Jose , Trimarchi Hernan , Praga Manuel
Published: December 2021

Background

A randomized controlled trial demonstrated a beneficial effect of corticosteroids (CS) + cyclophosphamide followed by azathioprine in progressive immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Although treatment with CS and mycophenolic acid analogues (MPAAs) remains controversial in IgAN, there is no information about their effects in progressive IgAN.

Methods

Patients with progressive IgAN, defined by a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 10 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the 12 months prior to the start of treatment, proteinuria ≥0.75 g/24 h despite maximum tolerated doses of renin–angiotensin system blockers, and persistent haematuria who had received treatment with CS + MPAA were included in this retrospective study. The main outcome was the difference between the eGFR slope from the start of treatment with CS + MPAA to the last visit with this treatment with respect to the eGFR slope during the 12 months prior to the start of treatment.

Results

A total of 25 patients were included in the study. The mean duration of CS + MPAA treatment was 24.7 ± 15.2 months. In the 12 months prior to treatment the median rate of kidney function decline was 23 mL/min/1.73 m2/year [interquartile range (IQR) –32 to –16]. After the onset of treatment, the median eGFR slope was 5 mL/min/1.73 m2/year (IQR 3–9; P = 0.001 with respect to the 12 months prior to treatment). Proteinuria decreased from 1.8 g/day (IQR 1.0–2.5) at baseline to 0.6 g/day (IQR 0.3–1.2) at the end of treatment (P = 0.01) and haematuria disappeared in 40% of patients. There were no serious adverse effects requiring treatment discontinuation.

Conclusions

CS + MPAA is an effective treatment in IgAN patients with a sustained decline in kidney function accompanied by persistent proteinuria and haematuria despite optimized conservative treatment. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these results.
A two-year study of the reproductive biology of the Sly CrayfishProcambarus versutus(Hagen, 1870) (Decapoda: Astacidea: Cambaridae)
Authors: Miller Jonathan M , Banks Kesley G , Helms Brian , Stoeckel James , Stewart Paul M
Published: December 2021

Nearly half of the over 400 North American crayfish species are imperiled and need some level of protection to ensure sustainable populations, but the detailed life histories of only about 12% of these crayfishes have been published. We provide needed baseline information on the reproductive biology of the Sly Crayfish, Procambarus versutus (Hagen, 1870), through sampling a small stream monthly (N = 23 samples) in the Choctawhatchee River watershed, southeastern Alabama, USA for two years. We collected data on 2,026 individuals (mean 88 sample–1) over the duration of the study and found minimum size at sexual maturity to be 18.3 mm for both males and females. Life cycles were consistent across both years with a major peak in reproductively active males in June and reproductively active females in July. Reproductively-active males and females were nevertheless collected nearly year-round, suggesting continuous low levels of reproduction throughout a given year, with three peaks in reproduction that vary in magnitude. Only three ovigerous females were collected over the study period, possibly because ovigerous females become reclusive and inactive, therefore difficult to collect. The maximum brood size sampled was 242 eggs female–1. There was no evidence for distinct age classes, likely due to year-round reproduction. Similar regional species with detailed information on reproductive biology available have reproduction patterns similar to those in our data. The information herein contributes to the largely lacking information on the life history of North American crayfishes and emphasizes the need to further evaluate the reproductive biology of species lacking sufficient data to aid conservation efforts.
A quantitative evaluation of the histological type dependence of the programmed death-ligand 1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer including various adenocarcinoma subtypes: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Kojima Kensuke , Sakamoto Tetsuki , Kasai Takahiko , Atagi Shinji , Yoon Hyungeun
Published: December 2021

The association between non-small cell lung cancer histology and programmed death-ligand 1 expression remains controversial. We retrospectively analyzed histological dependence of the programmed death-ligand 1 expression by a multiple regression analysis of 356 non-small cell lung cancer patients. The programmed death-ligand 1 expression patterns of adenocarcinoma were consistent with a pathological predominant growth pattern as a reference to papillary adenocarcinoma: minimally invasive adenocarcinoma[partial regression coefficient (B), 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.05–0.59], lepidic adenocarcinoma (B, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.23–0.90), acinar adenocarcinoma (B, 1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–3.76) and solid adenocarcinoma (B, 5.11; 95% confidence interval, 2.20–11.9). In histology other than adenocarcinoma, the programmed death-ligand 1 expression tended to be high with poor differentiation: adenosquamous carcinoma (B, 4.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–16.6), squamous cell carcinoma (B, 4.32; 95% confidence interval, 2.45–7.62) and pleomorphic carcinoma (B, 13.0; 95% confidence interval, 4.43–38.2). We showed quantitatively that the programmed death-ligand 1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer tended to be clearly histology-dependent, with more poorly differentiated histology showing a higher expression.
Doing It by the Book: Political Contestability and Public Contract Renegotiations
Authors: Beuve Jean , Moszoro Marian W , Spiller Pablo T
Published: December 2021

We present a public procurement model in which contractual flexibility and political tolerance for contractual deviations determine renegotiations. In the model, contractual flexibility allows for adaptation without formal renegotiation, while political tolerance for deviations decreases with political competition. We then compare renegotiation rates of procurement contracts in which the procurer is either a public administration or a private corporation. We find robust evidence consistent with the model predictions: public-to-private contracts are renegotiated more often than comparable private-to-private contracts, and that this pattern is more salient in politically contestable jurisdictions. The frequent renegotiation of public contracts results from their inherent rigidity and provides a relational quality of adaptability to contingencies in politically contestable environments. (JEL D23, D72, D73, D78, H57).
Eurasian lynx density and habitat use in one of Europe’s strongholds, the Romanian Carpathians
Authors: Iosif Ruben , Popescu Viorel D , Ungureanu Liviu , Șerban Călin , Dyck Marissa A , Promberger-Fürpass Barbara
Published: December 2021

The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) faces population declines in the western part of its range, and its ecological requirements are poorly understood in the eastern part of its range. The Romanian Carpathians harbor an intact large carnivore community, in which lynx co-occur with bears (Ursus arctos), wolves (Canis lupus), and humans (Homo sapiens), with which they potentially compete for ungulate prey. We provide a science-based estimate of lynx density and habitat use, combining non-invasive monitoring techniques (camera trapping) with spatially explicit capture-recapture models (SECR) in the Southern Carpathians of Romania. We sampled 59 and 76 trap stations during two monitoring sessions (winter and autumn), identified at least 30 individuals, from which we reconstructed encounter histories for 23 individuals. SECR modeling resulted in similar density estimates between winter and autumn (1.6 ± 0.39 SE and 1.7 ± 0.38 SE lynx/100 km2, respectively), but the cumulative number of lynx detected reached the asymptote faster during autumn, suggesting that monitoring prior to the mating season is preferable. Density varied within and across sessions with topography (slope), percent forest cover, and landscape heterogeneity (i.e., agricultural mosaic). Density hotspots shifted between low-altitude agricultural mosaic during winter and more rugged, mid-altitude forest stands during autumn. Estimated densities of lynx in the Romanian Carpathians are higher than those reported in the Alps or Slovak Carpathians, highlighting the importance of this population as a source both for natural recolonization and recent reintroduction programs. When used in an SECR framework, camera trapping is an efficient method for assessing spatial and temporal variation in lynx population density in the remote Romanian Carpathians. We recommend this methodology for improving lynx population estimates and to monitor lynx population trends nationwide.
Selection for Cell Yield Does Not Reduce Overflow Metabolism in Escherichia coli
Authors: Rabbers Iraes , Gottstein Willi , Feist Adam M , Teusink Bas , Bruggeman Frank J , Bachmann Herwig
Published: December 2021

Overflow metabolism is ubiquitous in nature, and it is often considered inefficient because it leads to a relatively low biomass yield per consumed carbon. This metabolic strategy has been described as advantageous because it supports high growth rates during nutrient competition.

Here, we experimentally evolved bacteria without nutrient competition by repeatedly growing and mixing millions of parallel batch cultures of Escherichia coli. Each culture originated from a water-in-oil emulsion droplet seeded with a single cell. Unexpectedly we found that overflow metabolism (acetate production) did not change. Instead, the numerical cell yield during the consumption of the accumulated acetate increased as a consequence of a reduction in cell size. Our experiments and a mathematical model show that fast growth and overflow metabolism, followed by the consumption of the overflow metabolite, can lead to a higher numerical cell yield and therefore a higher fitness compared with full respiration of the substrate. This provides an evolutionary scenario where overflow metabolism can be favorable even in the absence of nutrient competition.
Differentiation of European invasive clams of the genusCorbicula(Cyrenidae) using shell shape analysis
Authors: Morhun Halyna , Vinarski Maxim V , Labecka Anna Maria , van der Velde Gerard , Son Mikhail O
Published: December 2021

Here, we investigate the shell shape variation of some closely related freshwater species of the bivalve genus Corbicula using descriptive (qualitative), geometric morphometric and traditional conchometric approaches. The combination of these different approaches allows for an effective discrimination between the species C. fluminalis, C. fluminea and C. leana, as well as an unidentified Corbicula sp. The roundness of the shell hinge is an important diagnostic feature, as are shell sculpture (ribs), symmetry of the apertural margin, and both position and extension of the umbo. We also identify possible hybrids between C. fluminalis and C. leana, with these showing features intermediate to those of the parent species. We examine variability of shell features of C. leana in selected areas in Europe and compare these results with material from the native range of Japan and Korea. For C. leana, we identify two geographic morphotypes from the native area; within Europe, there is a high morphological diversity of this species with several new forms arising, most probably as a result of hybridization.
Na/K Diversity of Primary Basaltic Magmas Induced by the Separation of Slab-derived Supercritical Liquid: Implications from Alkali Basaltic Lavas from Rishiri Volcano, Southern Kuril Arc
Authors: Taniuchi Hajime , Kuritani Takeshi , Nakagawa Mitsuhiro
Published: December 2021

Primary basaltic magmas in subduction zones exhibit chemical diversity even in individual volcanoes. In this study, we aim to elucidate the dominant factors that determine the chemical composition, especially the Na/K, of primary basaltic magmas by conducting a comparative petrological study of the high-Na/K Horyosawa lava and low-Na/K Nozuka lava from Rishiri Volcano in the southern Kuril Arc. Both lava flows are basaltic and are suitable for estimating the magma generation conditions. The whole-rock SiO2 content of the high-Na/K Horyosawa lava, the main target of this study, ranges from 51·9 to 53·4 wt%. The petrological and geochemical features of this lava indicate that the effects of magma mixing and assimilation of crustal materials were limited, and the low-SiO2 magmas were essentially derived via olivine fractionation from the primary magma. The primary magma is estimated to have been generated by ~2·4 % partial melting of the source mantle with ~0·10 wt% water at ~1300 °C and ~2·4 GPa. By comparing the results of the high-Na/K Horyosawa lavas with those published for the low-Na/K basalts (Nozuka lava), we find that (1) the slab-derived fluids involved in their formation were supercritical liquids with similar compositions, including Na/K, when released from the subducting slab, and (2) the Horyosawa primary magma was generated at a shallower level in the mantle than the Nozuka primary magma. From these observations, it is inferred that the primary magma of the Horyosawa lava was formed by the influx melting of aqueous fluid separated from the supercritical liquid at depths shallower than the critical point, whereas the Nozuka lava was generated by supercritical liquid-fluxed melting at depths deeper than the critical point. These findings show that elemental partitioning during the separation of slab-derived supercritical liquid into aqueous fluid and hydrous melt can induce chemical diversity within the primary basaltic magmas of a single volcanic system.
A CASE toolkit for easy and efficient multiplex transgene-free gene editing
Authors: Liu Jin-Lei , Chen Meng-Meng , Chen Wen-Qiang , Liu Chun-Ming , He Yubing , Song Xiu-Fen
Published: December 2021

An integrated transgene-free multiplex gene-editing toolkit based on the Transgene Killer CRISPR technology greatly saves labor, time, and cost.
Optimizing Use of DMI Fungicides for Management of Apple Powdery Mildew Caused by Podosphaera leucotricha in New York State
Authors: Strickland David A. , Villani Sara M. , Cox Kerik D.
Published: December 2021

Powdery mildew, caused by the ascomycete Podosphaera leucotricha, is an endemic disease found wherever apples are grown that reduces both tree vigor and fresh market yield. In the absence of durable host resistance, chemical management is the primary means of disease control. Demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides are widely used to manage apple powdery mildew, but members within this fungicide class have been observed to differ in efficacy with respect to disease control. Moreover, debate exists as to the optimal timing of DMI fungicide applications for management of apple powdery mildew. In this regard, the goal of this study was to determine the best-use practices for DMI fungicides to manage apple powdery mildew in New York State. Multiyear trials were conducted to evaluate the potential differential efficacy performance of four common DMI fungicides, and additional trials were conducted to assess optimal application timing. In all years, we observed that treatments of flutriafol and myclobutanil consistently had the lowest incidences of powdery mildew compared with difenoconazole and fenbuconazole. In the 2018 and 2021 trials, the newly registered mefentrifluconazole was more comparable to the difenoconazole program with respect to powdery mildew disease incidence. We hypothesize that differences in DMI efficacy may result from each fungicide’s water solubility and lipophilicity characteristics and thus their ability to move systemically in the host or more easily penetrate the surface of germinating conidia. Applications timed between petal fall and first cover resulted in the lowest incidence of powdery mildew on terminal leaves of apple shoots compared with applications timed before petal fall. These observations are contrary to previous studies conducted in regions with differing climates. We also found that the incidence of secondary powdery mildew observed 2 weeks after petal fall was influenced by applications of DMI fungicides during the previous season. For example, management programs consisting of applications of flutriafol or myclobutanil in the previous season tended to have lower incidence of apple powdery in the next spring, presumably because of reductions in overwintering inoculum. Despite reports of DMI resistance in other apple pathosystems, the DMI fungicide class is still relevant for the successful management of apple powdery mildew in New York State.
Using an Environmentally Friendly Disposal Bag to Discard Leftover Opioids After Gynecologic Surgery
Authors: Boitano Teresa K. L. , Norton Sara Beth , Shrestha Kevin S. , Smith Haller J. , Leath Charles A. , Straughn J. Michael
Published: December 2021

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the effects of an environmentally friendly drug deactivation bag on opioid disposal among patients undergoing gynecologic surgery.

METHODS:

This prospective cohort study included patients undergoing gynecologic procedures requiring an opioid prescription from March 2020 to December 2020. Patients were managed on a restrictive opioid prescribing algorithm and given an opioid disposal bag. The carbon drug deactivation bag neutralizes the opioid medication and can be discarded safely in the trash. Patients were educated about pain management goals and the disposal bag. Patients were surveyed at their postoperative visit to evaluate satisfaction, number of leftover pills, and disposal methods. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 26.

RESULTS:

Two hundred patients were asked to complete the survey, with a response rate of 78%. The most common procedures were exploratory laparotomy (50%) and minimally invasive hysterectomy (41%). Most patients (91%, 95% CI 91–97) filled their opioid prescription and 64 (41%, 95% CI 34–48) had leftover opioid pills. Most patients with leftover opioid pills (73%, 95% CI 67–79) discarded them; 78%, 95% CI 69–80 used the disposal bag. Patients undergoing an exploratory laparotomy most commonly used the disposal bag. All patients who used the disposal bag stated they would use it again.

CONCLUSION:

Despite a restrictive opioid prescribing algorithm, 41% of gynecologic surgical patients had leftover opioid pills. This study demonstrated that leftover opioid pills were safely discarded 73% of the time when patients were provided an opioid disposal bag and preoperative education.