bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proteomic Profiling Differentiates Lymphoma Patients with and without Concurrent Myeloproliferative Neoplasia
Authors: Holst Johanne Marie , Enemark Marie Beck , Pedersen Martin Bjerregaard , Lauridsen Kristina Lystlund , Hybel Trine Engelbrecht , Clausen Michael Roost , Frederiksen Henrik , Møller Michael Boe , Nørgaard Peter , Plesner Trine Lindhardt , Hamilton-Dutoit Stephen Jacques , d’Amore Francesco , Honoré Bent , Ludvigsen Maja
Published: November 2021

Myeloproliferative neoplasia (MPN) and lymphoma are regarded as distinct diseases with different pathogeneses. However, patients that are diagnosed with both malignancies occur more frequently in the population than expected. This has led to the hypothesis that the two malignancies may, in some cases, be pathogenetically related. Using a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach, we show that pre-treatment lymphoma samples from patients with both MPN and lymphoma, either angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (MPN-AITL) or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (MPN-DLBCL), show differences in protein expression compared with reference AITL or DLBCL samples from patients without MPN. A distinct clustering of samples from patients with and without MPN was evident for both AITL and DLBCL. Regarding MPN-AITL, a pathway analysis revealed disturbances of cellular respiration as well as oxidative metabolism, and an immunohistochemical evaluation further demonstrated the differential expression of citrate synthase and DNAJA2 protein (p = 0.007 and p = 0.015). Interestingly, IDH2 protein also showed differential expression in the MPN-AITL patients, which contributes to the growing evidence of this protein’s role in both myeloid neoplasia and AITL. In MPN-DLBCL, the disturbed pathways included a significant downregulation of protein synthesis as well as a perturbation of signal transduction. These results imply an underlying disturbance of tumor molecular biology, and in turn an alternative pathogenesis for tumors in these patients with both myeloid and lymphoid malignancies.
A Feature Fusion Predictor for RNA Pseudouridine Sites with Particle Swarm Optimizer Based Feature Selection and Ensemble Learning Approach
Authors: Wang Xiao , Lin Xi , Wang Rong , Han Nijia , Fan Kaiqi , Han Lijun , Ding Zhaoyuan
Published: November 2021

RNA pseudouridine modification is particularly important in a variety of cellular biological and physiological processes. It plays a significant role in understanding RNA functions, RNA structure stabilization, translation processes, etc. To understand its functional mechanisms, it is necessary to accurately identify pseudouridine sites in RNA sequences. Although some computational methods have been proposed for the identification of pseudouridine sites, it is still a challenge to improve the identification accuracy and generalization ability. To address this challenge, a novel feature fusion predictor, named PsoEL-PseU, is proposed for the prediction of pseudouridine sites. Firstly, this study systematically and comprehensively explored different types of feature descriptors and determined six feature descriptors with various properties. To improve the feature representation ability, a binary particle swarm optimizer was used to capture the optimal feature subset for six feature descriptors. Secondly, six individual predictors were trained by using the six optimal feature subsets. Finally, to fuse the effects of all six features, six individual predictors were fused into an ensemble predictor by a parallel fusion strategy. Ten-fold cross-validation on three benchmark datasets indicated that the PsoEL-PseU predictor significantly outperformed the current state-of-the-art predictors. Additionally, the new predictor achieved better accuracy in the independent dataset evaluation—accuracy which is significantly higher than that of its existing counterparts—and the user-friendly webserver developed by the PsoEL-PseU predictor has been made freely accessible.
Solar and Anthropogenic Influences on Climate: Regression Analysis and Tentative Predictions
Authors: Stefani Frank
Published: November 2021

The paper aims to quantify solar and anthropogenic influences on climate change, and to make some tentative predictions for the next hundred years. By means of double regression, we evaluate linear combinations of the logarithm of the carbon dioxide concentration and the geomagnetic aa index as a proxy for solar activity. Thereby, we reproduce the sea surface temperature (HadSST) since the middle of the 19th century with an adjusted R2 value of around 87 percent for a climate sensitivity (of TCR type) in the range of 0.6 K until 1.6 K per doubling of CO2. The solution of the double regression is quite sensitive: when including data from the last decade, the simultaneous occurrence of a strong El Niño and of low aa values leads to a preponderance of solutions with relatively high climate sensitivities around 1.6 K. If these later data are excluded, the regression delivers a significantly higher weight of the aa index and, correspondingly, a lower climate sensitivity going down to 0.6 K. The plausibility of such low values is discussed in view of recent experimental and satellite-borne measurements. We argue that a further decade of data collection will be needed to allow for a reliable distinction between low and high sensitivity values. In the second part, which builds on recent ideas about a quasi-deterministic planetary synchronization of the solar dynamo, we make a first attempt to predict the aa index and the resulting temperature anomaly for various typical CO2 scenarios. Even for the highest climate sensitivities, and an unabated linear CO2 increase, we predict only a mild additional temperature rise of around 1 K until the end of the century, while for the lower values an imminent temperature drop in the near future, followed by a rather flat temperature curve, is prognosticated.
Drought and Elevated Carbon Dioxide Impact the Morphophysiological Profile of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)
Authors: Barickman T. Casey , Adhikari Bikash , Sehgal Akanksha , Walne C. Hunt , Reddy K. Raja , Gao Wei
Published: November 2021

Treating plants with elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) can increase their drought tolerance. Increased atmospheric CO2, a fundamental factor in climate change, may compensate for the drought-induced reduction in crop growth and yield. Basil, being moderately sensitive to drought stress (DS), experiences several morphological changes under DS. Thus, we designed an experiment that addresses how DS and different levels of CO2 affect the overall morphological growth patterns during basil’s early and late-season growth. The experiment was conducted under four different growth conditions: two water treatments, (1) a full-strength Hoagland’s solution was added to the basil plants at 120% of the evapotranspiration each day, and (2) 50% of the full-strength Hoagland’s solution was added to basil plants for the drought treatment, alongside two levels of CO2 application [ambient 420 ppm (aCO2) and elevated 720 ppm (eCO2)]). The DS had a severe impact on the morphological traits of the shoot and root systems. Compared to control, DS reduced the marketable fresh mass (FM) by 31.6% and 55.2% in the early and late stages of growth. FM was highest under control + eCO2 (94.4–613.7 g) and lowest under DS + aCO2 (67.9–275.5 g). Plant height under DS + aCO2 and DS + eCO2 reduced by 16.8% and 10.6% during the late season. On the other hand, dry mass percent (DM%) increased by 31.6% and 55.2% under DS + eCO2 compared to control in the early and late stages of growth, respectively. This study suggested that eCO2 during DS significantly impacts basil morphological traits compared to aCO2. Besides, anthocyanin decreased by 10% in DS + aCO2 and increased by 12.6% in DS + aCO2 compared to control. Similarly, nitrogen balance index, a ratio of chlorophyll and flavonoids, was recorded to be the highest in DS + aCO2 (40.8) compared to any other treatments. Overall, this study indicates that the suppression of basil’s morphophysiological traits by DS is more prominent in its later growth stage than in the earlier stages, and eCO2 played an important role in alleviating the negative effect of DS by increasing the DM% by 55%.
An Unusual Case of Polyautoimmunity with Concomitant Presentation of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Authors: Edwards Ellen , Z’Graggen Werner , Bassetti Claudio
Published: November 2021

Introduction: Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a chronic form of autonomic dysfunction characterized by symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, often accompanied by sudomotor dysfunction and gastrointestinal dysmotility. In a subgroup of patients with POTS, autoantibodies against adrenergic or cholinergic receptors suggest an immune-mediated etiology. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a hypercoagulative autoimmune disorder associated with anti-phospholipid-antibodies that causes arterial and venous thromboses. Concurrent occurrence of APS and immune-mediated POTS is rare. Methods and Results: Here, we report a 28-year-old female that experiences symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, vasovagal syncopes, gastrointestinal dysmotility and sudomotor dysfunction. She fulfills the formal diagnostic criteria of POTS showing a heart rate increment of ≥30 beats per minute (bpm) within 10 m of head-up tilt in the absence of orthostatic hypotension, accompanied by symptoms of orthostatic intolerance. The thermoregulatory sweat test reveals severe patchy anhidrotic areas. Gastric emptying scintigraphy shows an impaired gastrointestinal motility. Plasma norepinephrine levels and a skin biopsy appear normal. Finally, serological persistence of anti-alpha-1-adrenergic autoantibodies suggest an immune-mediated pathogenesis. Several years after initial presentation of POTS symptoms, the patient develops APS with recurrent venous emboli and persistent anti-phospholipid-antibodies. Recently the patient is diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) expressing high levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone and high titers of anti-thyroid antibodies. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of consecutive immune-mediated POTS, APS and HT in a young woman, possibly displaying a unique combination of three disorders of autoimmune etiology.
Sex/Gender Psychological Differences in the Adult Diabetic Patient and How a Child’s Response to Chronic Disease Varies with Age and Can Be Influenced by Technology
Authors: Taras Maria Antonietta , Pellegrini Alessandra
Published: November 2021

Chronic diseases have a negative impact on quality of life and perceived well-being. Depression tends to be more frequent in people with chronic diseases than the general population, and, for example, in diabetes, it has an incidence of two to three times higher and often remains under-diagnosed. The inability to control and predict the course of the disease exposes chronic patients to mood fluctuations which are often difficult to manage, also in virtue of the fact that in any chronic pathology a stabilization aimed at attenuating the symptoms or slowing the course is pursued, but it cannot tend to achieve complete healing. This fact of incurability for many subjects means the loss of control over their own body, in which the social and family role is also perceived as compromised and the experienced distress can result in the appearance of underlying disorders, both psychological or psychiatric. In this area, there is currently a great deal of focus on sex/gender differences. The aim of this article is to highlight these differences with regard to the emotional aspects that most affect the management of diabetic pathology. In this paper, we will underline a particularly underestimated eating disorder: diabulimia, then that the perception of itself is not only related to the sex assigned at birth, but also to the gender that is acquired during life, and we will also analyze the three phases related to the acquisition of gender identity during the evolutionary period. Finally, we will talk about the use of technology in diabetic patients (insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring variably integrated into each other) that might generate a series of psychological–behavioral reactions related to the integration between technology and body image and the experience of social acceptance of the individual, particularly in the evolution age.
A Biomorphic Model of Cortical Column for Content—Based Image Retrieval
Authors: Telnykh Alexander , Nuidel Irina , Shemagina Olga , Yakhno Vladimir
Published: November 2021

How do living systems process information? The search for an answer to this question is ongoing. We have developed an intelligent video analytics system. The process of the formation of detectors for content-based image retrieval aimed at detecting objects of various types simulates the operation of the structural and functional modules for image processing in living systems. The process of detector construction is, in fact, a model of the formation (or activation) of connections in the cortical column (structural and functional unit of information processing in the human and animal brain). The process of content-based image retrieval, that is, the detection of various types of images in the developed system, reproduces the process of “triggering” a model biomorphic column, i.e., a detector in which connections are formed during the learning process. The recognition process is a reaction of the receptive field of the column to the activation by a given signal. Since the learning process of the detector can be visualized, it is possible to see how a column (a detector of specific stimuli) is formed: a face, a digit, a number, etc. The created artificial cognitive system is a biomorphic model of the recognition column of living systems.
Structural, Electronic, and Optical Properties of p-Type Semiconductors Cu2O and ZnRh2O4: A Self-Consistent Hybrid Functional Investigation
Authors: Fritsch Daniel
Published: November 2021

The p-type semiconductors Cu2O and ZnRh2O4 have been under investigation for potential applications as transparent conducting oxides. Here, we re-evaluate their structural, electronic, and optical properties by means of first-principles calculations employing density functional theory and a recently introduced self-consistent hybrid functional approach. Therein, the predefined fraction α of Hartree–Fock exact exchange is determined self-consistently via the inverse of the dielectric constant ε∞. The structural, electronic, and optical properties will be discussed alongside experimental results, with a focus on possible technological applications.
Large Eddy Simulations on Film Cooling Flow Behaviors with Upstream Turbulent Boundary Layer Generated by Circular Cylinder
Authors: Kang Young Seok , Rhee Dong-Ho , Song Yu Jin , Kwak Jae Su
Published: November 2021

Large eddy simulations on film cooling hole array on a flat plate was carried out to investigate upstream turbulence effect. Circular cylinders were configured to create a turbulent boundary layer and its diameter has been adjusted to generate 13% upstream turbulence intensity in the main flow. Due to the small pitch to diameter configuration of the cylinder, two-dimensional LES analysis was carried out in advance and the results showed that LES was an essential method to resolve flow field around and downstream circular cylinder, which was not available in RANS simulations. The three-dimensional LES results showed reasonable agreement in turbulence intensity and normalized velocity distributions along the vertical with measured data. According to the blowing ratio, the cooling flow coverage on the surface along the stream-wise direction was varied and well agreed with measured data. Additionally, upstream boundary flows were partially ingested inside the cooling hole and discharged again near along the centerline of the cooling hole. This accounted for film cooling effectiveness distribution inside the cooling hole surface and along the centerline. The current study revealed that the LES for predicting turbulent boundary layer behaviors due to upstream turbulence generation source was an effective and feasible method. Moreover, the LES effectively resolved flow fields such as film cooling flow behaviors and corresponding film cooling effectiveness distributions.
Reference Trajectory Based Quasi-Sliding Mode with Event-Triggered Control
Authors: Adamiak Katarzyna , Bartoszewicz Andrzej
Published: November 2021

The study presents a novel event-triggered quasi-sliding mode control algorithm for linear discrete time systems. The problem is divided into two main parts. Firstly, the sliding mode control of perturbed discrete time systems is considered. In order to limit the impact of external disturbances to one sampling step only, a reference trajectory-based control law is introduced. The proposed control method drives the system’s representative point to an a priori designed reference position in each control step, thus minimizing the influence of disturbance and improving the robustness. Moreover, the reference trajectory is generated according to a novel reaching law, which ensures the nonswitching movement within the quasi-sliding mode band. In the latter part of the study, the proposed control strategy is supplemented with an event-triggering algorithm. In the modified strategy the control signal is only updated when a certain triggering condition occurs. Therefore, the need for communication between system elements is reduced. As follows, the delays in the digital control process may be reduced as well, without compromising the system’s robustness.
Comprehensive Evaluation of a Landscape Fabric Based Solar Air Heater in a Pig Nursery
Authors: Yu Li , Shah Sanjay B. , Knauer Mark T. , Boyette Michael D. , Stikeleather Larry F.
Published: November 2021

Supplementing fossil fuels with solar air tempering for brooding young livestock could reduce energy use and improve indoor air quality. Metal transpired solar collectors (TSC) are effective but too expensive for heating livestock buildings. An inexpensive 12.7 m2 dark grey landscape-fabric-based transpired solar collector (fTSC) was evaluated in a swine nursery with two herds of pigs. A fraction of the fTSC area was underlain with phase change material (PCM) to store excess heat. The Test room with the fTSC was compared with an adjacent identical Control room, each with 120 piglets. The fTSC provided supplemental heating, e.g., with a suction velocity (Vs) of 0.027 m/s during a 9 h period, air temperature was increased by 11.6 °C (mean irradiance of 592 W/m2). Between 4 pm and 9 pm that same day, the PCM increased air temperature by 3.9 °C. The fTSC did not reduce propane use or improve pig performance. Higher Vs, operational changes and controller modifications could improve system performance and reduce cost. Modeling could be used to optimize PCM use. Hence, this very low-cost fabric-based solar air heater offers potential for considerable reduction in heat energy use in livestock barns.
Modeling and Monitoring Erosion of the Leading Edge of Wind Turbine Blades
Authors: Duthé Gregory , Abdallah Imad , Barber Sarah , Chatzi Eleni
Published: November 2021

Leading edge surface erosion is an emerging issue in wind turbine blade reliability, causing a reduction in power performance, aerodynamic loads imbalance, increased noise emission, and, ultimately, additional maintenance costs, and, if left untreated, it leads to the compromise of the functionality of the blade. In this work, we first propose an empirical spatio-temporal stochastic model for simulating leading edge erosion, to be used in conjunction with aeroelastic simulations, and subsequently present a deep learning model to be trained on simulated data, which aims to monitor leading edge erosion by detecting and classifying the degradation severity. This could help wind farm operators to reduce maintenance costs by planning cleaning and repair activities more efficiently. The main ingredients of the model include a damage process that progresses at random times, across multiple discrete states characterized by a non-homogeneous compound Poisson process, which is used to describe the random and time-dependent degradation of the blade surface, thus implicitly affecting its aerodynamic properties. The model allows for one, or more, zones along the span of the blades to be independently affected by erosion. The proposed model accounts for uncertainties in the local airfoil aerodynamics via parameterization of the lift and drag coefficients’ curves. The proposed model was used to generate a stochastic ensemble of degrading airfoil aerodynamic polars, for use in forward aero-servo-elastic simulations, where we computed the effect of leading edge erosion degradation on the dynamic response of a wind turbine under varying turbulent input inflow conditions. The dynamic response was chosen as a defining output as this relates to the output variable that is most commonly monitored under a structural health monitoring (SHM) regime. In this context, we further proposed an approach for spatio-temporal dependent diagnostics of leading erosion, namely, a deep learning attention-based Transformer, which we modified for classification tasks on slow degradation processes with long sequence multivariate time-series as inputs. We performed multiple sets of numerical experiments, aiming to evaluate the Transformer for diagnostics and assess its limitations. The results revealed Transformers as a potent method for diagnosis of such degradation processes. The attention-based mechanism allows the network to focus on different features at different time intervals for better prediction accuracy, especially for long time-series sequences representing a slow degradation process.
An Evaluation of Flicker Emissions from Small Wind Turbines
Authors: Kondoh Junji , Kodaira Daisuke
Published: November 2021

It is well known that the output power from small wind turbines (SWTs) fluctuates noticeably more when compared to that from other types of dispersed generators, such as residential photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems. Thus, the degradation of voltage quality, such as flicker emissions, when numerous SWTs are installed in a low-voltage distribution system is a particular concern. Nevertheless, practical examples of flicker emissions from small wind power facilities have not been made public. This paper aims to clarify the characteristics of flicker emissions by SWTs and their severity. The measurement results at the two selected sites indicate that the flicker emissions solely caused by variable-speed SWTs with a total power rating of ~20 kW are notably lower than the upper limit, and they are at their highest when the mean total output power is approximately 3/4 of the total power rating of small wind power facilities.
Controlled Energy Flow in Z-Source Inverters
Authors: Rymarski Zbigniew , Bernacki Krzysztof , Dyga Łukasz
Published: November 2021

This paper proposes a method to reduce the output voltage distortions in voltage source inverters (VSI) working with impedance networks. The three main reasons for the voltage distortions include a discontinuous current in the coils of the impedance network, the double output frequency harmonics in the VSI’s voltage output caused by insufficient capacitance in the impedance network, and voltage drops on the bridge switches during the shoot-through time. The first of these distortions can be reduced by increasing the current of the impedance network when the output VSI current is low. This method requires storing energy in the battery connected to the DC link of the VSI during the “non-shoot through” time. Furthermore, this solution can also be used when the Z-source inverter works with a photovoltaic cell to help it attain a maximum power point. The Z-source inverter is essentially a voltage source inverter with the Z-source in the input. In this paper, the theory behind basic impedance networks of Z-source and quasi-Z-source (qZ-source) is investigated where simulations of the presented solutions and experimental verification of the results are also presented.
Testing the Impact of Braking Algorithm Parameters on Acceleration and Braking Distance for a Suspended Monorail with Regard to Acceptable Travel Speed in Hard Coal Mines
Authors: Świder Jerzy , Szewerda Kamil , Herbuś Krzysztof , Jura Jerzy
Published: November 2021

Increasing the maximum speed limit of suspended monorails, which became a very popular means of auxiliary transport, is one of the aspects of improving the efficiency of work in underground coal mines. It is especially important to enable higher (than allowed by the law) travel speed, when moving the crew to and from the workplace, which is often very distant from the shaft, and can take more than one hour of travel. Increasing this speed will make it possible to extend the effective working time of miners, which should have a positive impact on the economics of the mine. However, driving at a higher speed is also associated with increased risk of a negative impact of dynamic overload to people, e.g., during emergency braking of the suspended monorail. The concept of sequential emergency braking was developed in order to avoid excessive deceleration affecting passengers and the operator of the monorail, as well as to minimize the dynamic loads acting on the rail suspensions and on the roadway support frames, which could cause serious accidents. The developed assumptions with regard to the new method of braking are innovative in the area related to hard coal mining, where there are currently no such solutions. According to the principles of the developed concept, the total braking force was divided into two stages. The activation of the second stage depends on the deceleration measured after the time delay from activation of the first stage of braking. We present the results of the numerical simulations, which aimed to analyze the impact of changing the parameters of the braking algorithm on the braking deceleration, the braking time, and the braking distance. The possibility of changing the braking force and downward emergency braking on a high inclination angle were also taken into account during the numerical simulations. Use of the developed emergency braking algorithm enables the optimization of this process at a higher speed than is currently used. This aspect is also very important in increasing the safety for people travelling at a higher speed limit. The numerical simulations provide knowledge for safety in terms of the dynamic overload during emergency braking, without injury risk to miners or damage to equipment.
Improving Transport Modeling in MESSAGE Energy Planning Model: Vehicle Age Distributions
Authors: Neniškis Eimantas , Galinis Arvydas , Norvaiša Egidijus
Published: November 2021

In the European Green Deal, EU Commission has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector by 90% by 2050 compared to the 1990 level. Most likely, transport decarbonization will rely on a rapid expansion of electric and hydrogen vehicle fleet, which would seriously affect not just overall electricity demand, but also the shape of the electricity consumption curve. Consequently, our research focuses on integrated energy and transport modelling when analyzing its development pathways up to 2050 and beyond. This paper describes how already established transport modeling practices can be further improved by differentiating vehicles by age groups and setting vehicle age distributions to improve the representation of vehicle stock, fuel efficiencies and emissions, especially for countries that have non-declining vehicle age distributions. Modeling results using proposed and traditional approaches were compared for the Lithuanian case. It shows that the transport fuel shift using the proposed approach is more gradual than the traditional one. Diesel cars are phased out by 2050 versus 2040. Furthermore, the proposed approach provided more realistic CO2 emissions, 7% lower emissions for 2018 than estimated based on statistical data, while traditional approach was 27% lower.
Optimization of Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle Power Plant for Polygeneration of Power and Chemicals
Authors: Bany Ata Ammar , Seufert Peter Maximilian , Heinze Christian , Alobaid Falah , Epple Bernd
Published: November 2021

Efficient and flexible operation is essential for competitiveness in the energy market. However, the CO2 emissions of conventional power plants have become an increasingly significant environmental dilemma. In this study, the optimization of a steam power process of an IGCC was carried out, which improved the overall performance of the plant. CCPP with a subcritical HRSG was modelled using EBSILON Professional. The numerical results of the model were validated by measurements for three different load cases (100, 80, and 60%). The results are in agreement with the measured data, with deviations of less than 5% for each case. Based on the model validation, the model was modified for the use of syngas as feed and the integration of heat into an IGCC process. The integration was optimized with respect to the performance of the CCPP by varying the extraction points, adjusting the steam parameters of the extractions and modifying the steam cycle. For the 100% load case, a steam turbine power achieved increase of +34.2%. Finally, the optimized model was subjected to a sensitivity analysis to investigate the effects of varying the extraction mass flows on the output.
Innovative Model of the Cost Price Calculation of Products from Invasive Non-Native Wood Species Based on the FTDABC Method
Authors: Kropivšek Jože , Jošt Matej , Grošelj Petra , Kitek Kuzman Manja , Kariž Mirko , Merela Maks , Gornik Bučar Dominika
Published: November 2021

Invasive tree species continue to spread, so in addition to strategies to limit this their use in the production of innovative products must be considered. This research aimed to develop and apply a model for calculating the cost price of invasive wood products considering the specificities of materials and production process, and is suitable for quickly assessing the economic feasibility of using the selected tree species for a given product. The TDABC method with the inclusion of fuzzy logic was used to incorporate the uncertainty of time and quality parameters. In the model, the imprecise values of these parameters are represented with triangular fuzzy numbers. Using a furniture product (dining table) made of black locust wood as an example, we demonstrated the applicability of the developed model. We found that the most probable cost price of a table made of black locust wood is comparable to the price of a product made of oak wood. In this way, we proved the potentially high economic value of invasive wood. The innovative products from invasive non-native wood species can achieve a high added value due to their visual characteristics and attractive appearance. Such use could increase interest in the (more efficient) management of invasive tree species, which would help to manage and use them efficiently. For further research, it would be useful to apply the proposed model to other invasive tree species as well as to other products.
Interspecific Variance of Suitable Habitat Changes for Four Alpine Rhododendron Species under Climate Change: Implications for Their Reintroductions
Authors: Zhang Jin-Hong , Li Kun-Ji , Liu Xiao-Fei , Yang Liu , Shen Shi-Kang
Published: November 2021

Rapid temperature changes in mountain ecosystems pose a great threat to alpine plant species and communities. Rhododendron species, as the major component of alpine and sub-alpine vegetation, have been demonstrated to be sensitive to climate changes. Therefore, understanding how alpine Rhododendron species spread to new habitats and how their geographical distribution range shifts is crucial for predicting their response to global climate change and for facilitating species conservation and reintroduction. In this study, we applied MaxEnt modeling and integrated climate, topography, and soil variables in three periods under three climate change scenarios to predict the suitable habitat for four Rhododendron species in China. We measured the potential distribution change in each species using the change ratio and the direction of centroid shifts. The predicted results showed that (1) the threatened species R. protistum would have a maximum decrease of 85.84% in its distribution range in the 2070s under RCP 8.5, and R. rex subsp. rex as a threatened species would experience a distribution range expansion (6.62–43.10%) under all of the three climate change scenarios in the 2070s. (2) R. praestans would experience a reduction in its distribution range (7.82–28.34%) under all of the three climate change scenarios in the 2070s. (3) The four Rhododendron species would be moved to high latitudes in the north-westward direction as a whole in the future, especially the two threatened species R. protistum and R. rex subsp. rex. (4) Aside from climate variables, soil factors also exert an important influence on the distribution of Rhododendron species. This study revealed the species-specific response of Rhododendron species to climate change. The results can not only provide novel insights into conservation strategies of Rhododendron species, but also propose a valuable method for the habitat selection during the reintroduction of endangered species.
Molecular Characterization and Expression of the LAP3 Gene and Its Association with Growth Traits in the Blood Clam Tegillarca granosa
Authors: Yao Hanhan , Ren Fuzhen , Bao Yongbo , Dong Yinghui , Lin Zhihua
Published: November 2021

Leucine aminopeptidase 3 (LAP3) is a metallopeptidase that cleaves N-terminal residues and is involved in protein maturation and degradation. In this study, we characterized the leucine aminopeptidase 3 (LAP3) gene from Tegillarca granosa (Tg-LAP3 for short), which appeared to consist of 15,731 nucleotides encoding 530 amino acids. We identified 12 introns and 13 exons in the Tg-LAP3 gene, suggesting a highly conserved genomic structure. The proximal promoter sequence consists of 1922 bps with a typical TATA box structure, which is the general structural characteristic of core promoters in eukaryotes. We found two functional domains in the Tg-LAP3 protein, including an N-terminal domain (41–174aa) and a peptidase_M17 catalytic domain (209–522aa). Multiple alignment showed that Tg-LAP3 shares 73.4% identity with LAP3 of Mizuhopecten yessoensis and 55.2–70.7% identity with LAP3 of other species. Quantitative analysis of Tg-LAP3 in embryos/larvae and adult tissues indicated that the highest expression occurred in eyebot larva, with limited expression in other stages; among tissues, the highest expression was found in the liver (p < 0.05). Association analysis found that three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.-488A > G, g.-1123C > T, and g.-1304C > A) in the proximal promoter were successfully typed, but there was no significant difference in growth traits (body weight, shell length, shell width, and shell height) among these genotypes. The results of our study demonstrate the functional roles of the Tg-LAP3 gene and provide valuable information for molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) of the blood clam.
Development of a Scalable Thermal Reservoir Simulator on Distributed-Memory Parallel Computers
Authors: Liu Hui , Chen Zhangxin , Guo Xiaohu , Shen Lihua
Published: November 2021

Reservoir simulation is to solve a set of fluid flow equations through porous media, which are partial differential equations from the petroleum engineering industry and described by Darcy’s law. This paper introduces the model, numerical methods, algorithms and parallel implementation of a thermal reservoir simulator that is designed for numerical simulations of a thermal reservoir with multiple components in three-dimensional domain using distributed-memory parallel computers. Its full mathematical model is introduced with correlations for important properties and well modeling. Efficient numerical methods (discretization scheme, matrix decoupling methods, and preconditioners), parallel computing technologies, and implementation details are presented. The numerical methods applied in this paper are suitable for large-scale thermal reservoir simulations with dozens of thousands of CPU cores (MPI processes), which are efficient and scalable. The simulator is designed for giant models with billions or even trillions of grid blocks using hundreds of thousands of CPUs, which is our main focus. The validation part is compared with CMG STARS, which is one of the most popular and mature commercial thermal simulators. Numerical experiments show that our results match commercial simulators, which confirms the correctness of our methods and implementations. SAGD simulation with 7406 well pairs is also presented to study the effectiveness of our numerical methods. Scalability testings demonstrate that our simulator can handle giant models with billions of grid blocks using 100,800 CPU cores and the simulator has good scalability.
A Comprehensive Evaluation of Flavor Instability of Beer (Part 2): The Influence of De Novo Formation of Aging Aldehydes
Authors: Nobis Arndt , Kwasnicki Melanie , Lehnhardt Florian , Hellwig Michael , Henle Thomas , Becker Thomas , Gastl Martina
Published: November 2021

Flavor instability of beer is affected by the rise of aroma-active aldehydes during aging. Aldehydes can be either released from bound-state forms or formed de novo. This second part of our study focused on the de novo formation of aldehydes during the Maillard reaction, Strecker degradation, and oxidation reactions. Key precursor compounds for de novo pathways are free amino acids. This study varied the potential for reactions by varying free amino acid content in fresh beer using different proteolytic malt modification levels (569–731 mg/100 g d. m. of soluble nitrogen) of the used malt in brewing trials. Overall, six pale lager beers were produced from three malts (different malt modification levels), each was made from two different barley varieties and was naturally and forcibly aged. It was found that higher malt modification levels in fresh beer and during beer aging increased amino acid and dicarbonyl concentrations as aging precursors and Strecker aldehyde contents as aging indicators. Dicarbonyls were degraded during aging. Advanced glycation end products as possible degradation products showed no consistent formation during aging. Therefore, Strecker reactions were favored during beer aging. No alternative oxidative formation of Strecker aldehydes from their corresponding alcohols could be confirmed. Along with the preceding part one of our investigation, the results of this study showed that de novo formation and release occur simultaneously. After 4 months of natural aging, aldehyde rise is mainly accounted for by de novo formation.
The Bactericidal Efficacy and the Mechanism of Action of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on Listeria monocytogenes’ Survival
Authors: Li Huiying , Liang Duo , Huang Jin , Cui Chaojing , Rao Huan , Zhao Dandan , Hao Jianxiong
Published: November 2021

In the present work, the bactericidal efficacy and mechanism of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on L. monocytogenes were evaluated. The results showed that the strains of L. monocytogenes were killed completely within 30 s by SAEW whose available chlorine concentration (ACC) was higher than 12 mg/L, and it was confirmed that ACC is the main factor affecting the disinfection efficacy of SAEW. Moreover, our results demonstrated that SAEW could destroy the cell membrane of L. monocytogenes, which was observed by SEM and FT-IR, thus resulting in the leakage of intracellular substances including electrolyte, protein and nucleic acid, and DNA damage. On the other hand, the results found that SAEW could disrupt the intracellular ROS balance of L. monocytogenes by inhibiting the antioxidant enzyme activity, thus promoting the death of L. monocytogenes. In conclusion, the bactericidal mechanism of SAEW on L. monocytogenes was explained from two aspects including the damage of the cell membrane and the breaking of ROS balance.
Comprehensive Evaluation of Flavor in Charcoal and Electric-Roasted Tamarix Lamb by HS-SPME/GC-MS Combined with Electronic Tongue and Electronic Nose
Authors: Xu Yujun , Zhang Dequan , Chen Ruixia , Yang Xiaoyue , Liu Huan , Wang Zhenyu , Hui Teng
Published: November 2021

To prevent the pollution generated during charcoal roasting of tamarix lamb, environmental-friendly electric is gradually applied in meat processing. The profile and formation of flavor in roasted tamarix lamb were evaluated using HS-SPME/GC-MS combined with E-nose/-tongue. Results indicated that charcoal-roasted tamarix lamb exhibited the higher taste of umami and sourness in E-tongue and had higher contents of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, alkanes, and aromatics in E-nose, while the electric ones exhibited the higher taste of sweetness and bitterness and had higher contents of nitrogen oxides, terpenes, aromatics, and organic sulfur. Compared with charcoal, application of the electric significantly decreased the numbers of key volatile compounds with VIP > 1 (markers) and the contents of most markers.
Physicochemical and Functional Characterization of Newly Designed Biopolymeric-Based Encapsulates with Probiotic Culture and Charantin
Authors: Massounga Bora Awa Fanny , Li Xiaodong , Liu Lu
Published: November 2021

The identification of novel sources of synbiotic agents with desirable functionality is an emerging concept. In the present study, novel encapsulates containing probiotic L. acidophilus LA-05® (LA) and Charantin (CT) were produced by freeze-drying technique using pure Whey Protein Isolate (WPI), pure Maltodextrin (MD), and their combination (WPI + MD) in 1:1 core ratio, respectively. The obtained microparticles, namely WPI + LA + CT, MD + LA + CT, and WPI + MD + LA + CT were tested for their physicochemical properties. Among all formulations, combined carriers (WPI + MD) exhibited the highest encapsulation yields for LA (98%) and CT (75%). Microparticles showed a mean d (4, 3) ranging from 50.393 ± 1.26 to 68.412 ± 3.22 μm. The Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed uniformly amorphous and glass-like structures, with a noticeably reduced porosity when materials were combined. In addition, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy highlighted the formation of strong hydrogen bonds supporting the interactions between the carrier materials (WPI and MD) and CT. In addition, the thermal stability of the combined WPI + MD was superior to that of pure WPI and pure MD, as depicted by the Thermogravimetric and Differential Scanning Calorimetry analysis. More interestingly, co-encapsulation with CT enhanced LA viability (8.91 ± 0.3 log CFU/g) and Cells Surface Hydrophobicity (82%) in vitro, in a prebiotic-like manner. Correspondingly, CT content was heightened when co-encapsulated with LA. Besides, WPI + MD + LA + CT microparticles exhibited higher antioxidant activity (79%), α-amylase inhibitory activity (83%), and lipase inhibitory activity (68%) than single carrier ones. Furthermore, LA viable count (7.95 ± 0.1 log CFU/g) and CT content (78%) were the highest in the blended carrier materials after 30 days of storage at 4 °C. Synbiotic microparticle WPI + MD + LA + CT represents an effective and promising approach for the co-delivery of probiotic culture and bioactive compounds in the digestive tract, with enhanced functionality and storage properties.
Functionalization of a Vegan Mayonnaise with High Value Ingredient Derived from the Agro-Industrial Sector
Authors: De Bruno Alessandra , Romeo Rosa , Gattuso Antonio , Piscopo Amalia , Poiana Marco
Published: November 2021

This work aimed to evaluate the antioxidant effect determined by the addition of phenolic extract on the oxidative stability and quality of vegan mayonnaise. Two different antioxidant extracts containing 100 mg L−1 of hydroxytyrosol and obtained by olive mill wastewater were used in the preparation. After preliminary studies, already evaluated in other works, on hydrophilic and lipophilic food matrices, the results of this study could contribute to understanding the effects of the enrichment on emulsified food systems with phenolic extracts. The functionalized mayonnaise samples were monitored up to 45 days of storage at 10 °C in comparison with a control sample for microbiological, physicochemical, antioxidant, sensory properties and for oxidative stability. The results achieved through this work showed the efficacy of the use of phenolic extract as ingredients for its positive effect on chemical properties of mayonnaise. The adding extracts lead to the increase of oxidative stability with an induction period higher (about 24 h) than the control sample (about 12 h).
Evaluation of MEMS NIR Spectrometers for On-Farm Analysis of Raw Milk Composition
Authors: Uusitalo Sanna , Diaz-Olivares José , Sumen Juha , Hietala Eero , Adriaens Ines , Saeys Wouter , Utriainen Mikko , Frondelius Lilli , Pastell Matti , Aernouts Ben
Published: November 2021

Today, measurement of raw milk quality and composition relies on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to monitor and improve dairy production and cow health. However, these laboratory analyzers are bulky, expensive and can only be used by experts. Moreover, the sample logistics and data transfer delay the information on product quality, and the measures taken to optimize the care and feeding of the cattle render them less suitable for real-time monitoring. An on-farm spectrometer with compact size and affordable cost could bring a solution for this discrepancy. This paper evaluates the performance of microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers as on-farm milk analyzers. These spectrometers use Fabry–Pérot interferometers for wavelength tuning, giving them the advantage of very compact size and affordable price. This study discusses the ability of MEMS spectrometers to reach the accuracy limits set by the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) for at-line analyzers of the milk content regarding fat, protein and lactose. According to the achieved results, the transmission measurements with the NIRONE 2.5 spectrometer perform best, with an acceptable root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP = 0.21% w/w) for the measurement of milk fat and excellent performance (RMSEP ≤ 0.11% w/w) for protein and lactose. In addition, the transmission measurements using the NIRONE 2.0 module give similar results for fat and lactose (RMSEP of 0.21 and 0.10% w/w respectively), while the prediction of protein is slightly deteriorated (RMSEP = 0.15% w/w). These results show that the MEMS spectrometers can reach sufficient prediction accuracy compared to ICAR standard values for at-line and in-line fat, protein and lactose prediction.
Edible Mushrooms as a Natural Source of Food Ingredient/Additive Replacer
Authors: Rangel-Vargas Esmeralda , Rodriguez Jose Antonio , Domínguez Rubén , Lorenzo José Manuel , Sosa Maria Elena , Andrés Silvina Cecilia , Rosmini Marcelo , Pérez-Alvarez José Angel , Teixeira Alfredo , Santos Eva María
Published: November 2021

Although mushrooms have been exploited since ancient times because of their particular taste and therapeutic properties, the interest in edible species as a source of ingredients and bioactive compounds is recent. Their valuable nutritional contents in protein, dietary fiber and bioactive compounds make them ideal candidates for use in foods in efforts to improve their nutritional profiles. This trend is in line with the consumer’s growing demand for more plant-based foods. The present review paper explores different studies focused on the use of common edible mushrooms as an ingredient and additive replacer by using them in fresh, dried, or even extract forms, as meat, fat, flour, salt, phosphates, and antioxidant replacers. The replacement of meat, fat, flour, and salt by mushrooms from commercial species has been successful despite sensorial and textural parameters can be affected. Moderate concentrations of mushrooms, especially in powder form, should be considered, particularly in non-familiarized consumers. In the case of antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, results are variable, and more studies are necessary to determine the chemical aspects involved.