bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Maternal Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea on 24-Hour Blood Pressure, Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping and Arterial Stiffness in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
Authors: Panyarath Pattaraporn , Goldscher Noa , Pamidi Sushmita , Daskalopoulou Stella S. , Gagnon Robert , Dayan Natalie , Raiche Kathleen , Olha Allen , Benedetti Andrea , Kimoff R. John
Published: October 2021

Rationale: Maternal obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea (OSAH) is associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). Attenuation of the normal nocturnal blood pressure (BP) decline (non-dipping) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. OSAH is associated with nocturnal non-dipping in the general population, but this has not been studied in pregnancy. We therefore analyzed baseline data from an ongoing RCT (NCT03309826) assessing the impact of OSAH treatment on HDP outcomes, to evaluate the relationship of OSAH to 24-h BP profile, in particular nocturnal BP dipping, and measures of arterial stiffness.

Methods: Women with a singleton pregnancy and HDP underwent level II polysomnography. Patients with OSAH (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 events/h) then underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring and arterial stiffness measurements (applanation tonometry, SphygmoCor). Positive dipping was defined as nocturnal systolic blood pressure (SBP) dip ≥ 10%. The relationships between measures of OSAH severity, measures of BP and arterial stiffness were evaluated using linear regression analyses.

Results: We studied 51 HDP participants (36.5 ± 4.9 years, BMI 36.9 ± 8.6 kg/m2) with OSAH with mean AHI 27.7 ± 26.4 events/h at 25.0 ± 4.9 weeks’ gestation. We found no significant relationships between AHI or other OSA severity measures and mean 24-h BP values, although BP was generally well-controlled. Most women were SBP non-dippers (78.4%). AHI showed a significant inverse correlation with % SBP dipping following adjustment for age, BMI, parity, gestational age, and BP medications (β = −0.11, p = 0.02). Significant inverse correlations were also observed between AHI and DBP (β = −0.16, p = 0.01) and MAP (β = −0.13, p = 0.02) % dipping. Oxygen desaturation index and sleep time below SaO2 90% were also inversely correlated with % dipping. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and REM AHI (β = 0.02, p = 0.04) in unadjusted but not adjusted analysis.

Conclusion: Blood pressure non-dipping was observed in a majority of women with HDP and OSAH. There were significant inverse relationships between OSAH severity measures and nocturnal % dipping. Increased arterial stiffness was associated with increasing severity of OSAH during REM sleep in unadjusted although not adjusted analysis. These findings suggest that OSAH may represent a therapeutic target to improve BP profile and vascular risk in HDP.
The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis During Heat Stress in Chickens: A Review
Authors: Cao Chang , Chowdhury Vishwajit S. , Cline Mark A. , Gilbert Elizabeth R.
Published: October 2021

Heat stress is a global issue for the poultry industries with substantial annual economic losses and threats to bird health and welfare. When chickens are exposed to high ambient temperatures, like other species they undergo multiple physiological alterations, including behavioral changes, such as cessation of feeding, initiation of a stress signaling cascade, and intestinal immune, and inflammatory responses. The brain and gut are connected and participate in bidirectional communication via the nervous and humoral systems, this network collectively known as the gut-brain axis. Moreover, heat stress not only induces hyperthermia and oxidative stress at the gut epithelium, leading to impaired permeability and then susceptibility to infection and inflammation, but also alters the composition and abundance of the microbiome. The gut microflora, primarily via bacterially derived metabolites and hormones and neurotransmitters, also communicate via similar pathways to regulate host metabolic homeostasis, health, and behavior. Thus, it stands to reason that reshaping the composition of the gut microbiota will impact intestinal health and modulate host brain circuits via multiple reinforcing and complementary mechanisms. In this review, we describe the structure and function of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, with an emphasis on physiological changes that occur in heat-stressed poultry.
Sirtuin 6 Protects Against Oxidative Stress and Vascular Dysfunction in Mice
Authors: Greiten Lawrence E. , Zhang Bin , Roos Carolyn M. , Hagler Michael , Jahns Fritz-Patrick , Miller Jordan D.
Published: October 2021

Objective: Sirtuin deacetylases are major regulators of organismal aging, and while depletion of sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) in mice results in a profound progeroid phenotype, the role of SIRT6 in the regulation of vasomotor function is unknown. Thus, our objective was to test the hypothesis that reductions in SIRT6 elicit endothelial dysfunction in young, genetically altered mice.

Results and Approach: We used young (3 month old), littermate-matched, SIRT6 wild-type (WT), and SIRT6 heterozygous (HET) mice. SIRT6 expression (qRT-PCR) was reduced by 50% in HET mice. Carotid vessel responses to acetylcholine, sodium nitroprusside, U46619, and serotonin were examined in isolated organ chamber baths. Relaxation in response to acetylcholine (ACH) was impaired in HET mice compared to littermate-matched WT controls (67 ± 3% versus 76 ± 3%, respectively; p < 0.05), while responses to sodium nitroprusside were unchanged. Short-term incubation of carotid rings with the NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor, apocynin, significantly improved in vessels from HET mice but not their WT littermates. Peak tension generated in response to either U46619 or serotonin was significantly blunted in HET mice compared to their WT littermates.

Conclusion: These data suggest that SIRT6 is a key regulator of vasomotor function in conduit vessels. More specifically, we propose that SIRT6 serves as a tonic suppressor of NAD(P)H oxidase expression and activation, as inhibition of NAD(P)H oxidase improved endothelial function in SIRT6 haploinsufficient mice. Collectively, SIRT6 activation and/or histone acetyltransferase inhibition may be useful therapeutic approaches to reduce endothelial dysfunction and combat age-associated cardiovascular disease.
Genome, Transcriptome, and Germplasm Sequencing Uncovers Functional Variation in the Warm-Season Grain Legume Horsegram Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.
Authors: Mahesh H. B. , Prasannakumar M. K. , Manasa K. G. , Perumal Sampath , Khedikar Yogendra , Kagale Sateesh , Soolanayakanahally Raju Y. , Lohithaswa H. C. , Rao Annabathula Mohan , Hittalmani Shailaja
Published: October 2021

Horsegram is a grain legume with excellent nutritional and remedial properties and good climate resilience, able to adapt to harsh environmental conditions. Here, we used a combination of short- and long-read sequencing technologies to generate a genome sequence of 279.12Mb, covering 83.53% of the estimated total size of the horsegram genome, and we annotated 24,521 genes. De novo prediction of DNA repeats showed that approximately 25.04% of the horsegram genome was made up of repetitive sequences, the lowest among the legume genomes sequenced so far. The major transcription factors identified in the horsegram genome were bHLH, ERF, C2H2, WRKY, NAC, MYB, and bZIP, suggesting that horsegram is resistant to drought. Interestingly, the genome is abundant in Bowman–Birk protease inhibitors (BBIs), which can be used as a functional food ingredient. The results of maximum likelihood phylogenetic and estimated synonymous substitution analyses suggested that horsegram is closely related to the common bean and diverged approximately 10.17 million years ago. The double-digested restriction associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing of 40 germplasms allowed us to identify 3,942 high-quality SNPs in the horsegram genome. A genome-wide association study with powdery mildew identified 10 significant associations similar to the MLO and RPW8.2 genes. The reference genome and other genomic information presented in this study will be of great value to horsegram breeding programs. In addition, keeping the increasing demand for food with nutraceutical values in view, these genomic data provide opportunities to explore the possibility of horsegram for use as a source of food and nutraceuticals.
The Efficiency of Cooperative Learning in Physical Education on the Learning of Action Skills and Learning Motivation
Authors: Yang Cairu , Chen Rongli , Chen Xiaozhong , Lu Kuan-Han
Published: October 2021

This paper proposes a cooperative learning method for use in physical education, involving two different grouping methods: S-type heterogeneous grouping and “free” grouping. Cooperative learning was found to enhance the effectiveness of basketball skills learning and learning motivation. A comparison was made of the differences between action skills grouping (the control group) and “free” grouping (the experimental group). The ARCS Motivation Scale and Basketball Action Skills Test were used to measure results, and SPSS statistical analysis software was used for relevant statistical processing (with α set to.05). The results showed that overall skills, dribbling and passing among the action skills groups and “free” groupings significantly improved, but results for shooting were not significant; motivation levels for the two grouping methods significantly improved overall, and no significant differences in learning motivation and learning effectiveness were found between the different grouping methods. It is clear that teachers should first establish a good relationship between and with students, and free grouping methods can be used to good effect. Teachers using cooperative learning should intervene in a timely manner and choose suitable grouping methods according to the teaching goals.
How Leader Narcissism Links to Team Voice Behavior: The Mediating Mechanisms of Leader Voice Solicitation and Team Voice Climate
Authors: Zhou Rong , Yin Wenjun , Sun Lin
Published: October 2021

Drawing on the narcissism literature and social information processing theory, we theorized and examined a serial mediation model linking leader narcissism with team voice behavior through leader voice solicitation and team voice climate. We tested our hypotheses using data collected from a time-lagged and multisource survey of 223 frontline employees in 60 teams at a large manufacturing organization. The results indicated that leader narcissism had a negatively indirect effect on team voice climate via leader voice solicitation. Team voice climate positively predicted team voice behavior, and the indirect effects of leader narcissism via leader voice solicitation and team voice climate on team voice behavior were significantly negative. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical implications of our findings for both the narcissism literature and the voice literature, along with their practical implications.
Mental Health and the Role of Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Ai Xianfeng , Yang Jingjing , Lin Zhibin , Wan Xiaohong
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related public health restrictions are having an increasingly serious impact on mental health, and measures need to be taken to curb this trend. The positive relationship between physical exercise and mental health has been well-established, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, with various restrictions, the space and facilities for physical exercise are limited. This article explores the relationship between physical exercise and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the latest research findings published in 2019–2021. We offer a novel model that consists of three central arguments. First, physical exercises during COVID-19, especially supervised exercises, are conducive to enhancing happiness and improving mental health. Second, physical exercise reduces people's anxiety, sadness and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, the maintenance and improvement of mental health are related to the intensity and frequency of physical exercise. Intensive and frequent physical exercise are conducive to maintaining mental health. Finally, this article proposes important directions for future research.
The Role of Grit on Students' Academic Success in Experiential Learning Context
Authors: Li Jiaze , Li Yang
Published: October 2021

Students' success as a cognitive issue in learning is prejudiced by proper learning approaches which improve their comprehension and achievement. In an attempt to scrutinize supplementary or alternate variables that envisage students' success, the researcher inspected a non-cognitive factor, namely grit, theorized as passion and perseverance due to its long-term quality, on the one hand, and its popularity among scholars in preceding decades on the other hand. Moreover, experiential learning (EL) is a momentous instructional approach used in the educational process to accelerate “do it and learn.” The proposed review aims to gauge the EL approach as well as grit to regulate learners' educational success. Consequently, some pedagogical implications are presented for teachers, students, and syllabus designers.
Microbiome-Specific Statistical Modeling Identifies Interplay Between Gastrointestinal Microbiome and Neurobehavioral Outcomes in Patients With Autism: A Case Control Study
Authors: Huang Minshi , Liu Jun , Liu Kevin , Chen Jierong , Wei Zhen , Feng Zhe , Wu Yuyu , Fong Michelle , Tian Ruiyi , Wang Bryan , Budjan Christoph , Zhuang Patrick , Wan Guobin , Kong Xue-Jun
Published: October 2021

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with unclear mechanisms of pathogenesis. Gastrointestinal microbiome alterations were found to correlate with ASD core symptoms, but its specific role in ASD pathogenesis has not been determined. In this study, we used a case-control strategy that simultaneously compared the ASD gastrointestinal microbiome with that from age-sex matched controls and first-degree relative controls, using a statistical framework accounting for confounders such as age. Enterobacteriaceae (including Escherichia/Shigella) and Phyllobacterium were significantly enriched in the ASD group, with their relative abundances all following a pattern of ASD > first degree relative control > healthy control, consistent with our hypothesis of living environment and shared microbial and immunological exposures as key drivers of ASD gastrointestinal microbiome dysbiosis. Using multivariable omnibus testing, we identified clinical factors including ADOS scores, dietary habits, and gastrointestinal symptoms that covary with overall microbiome structure within the ASD cohort. A microbiome-specific multivariate modeling approach (MaAsLin2) demonstrated microbial taxa, such as Lachnoclostridium and Tyzzerella, are significantly associated with ASD core symptoms measured by ADOS. Finally, we identified alterations in predicted biological functions, including tryptophan and tyrosine biosynthesis/metabolism potentially relevant to the pathophysiology of the gut-brain-axis. Overall, our results identified gastrointestinal microbiome signature changes in patients with ASD, highlighted associations between gastrointestinal microbiome and clinical characteristics related to the gut-brain axis and identified contributors to the heterogeneity of gastrointestinal microbiome within the ASD population.
Hand Tracking for Immersive Virtual Reality: Opportunities and Challenges
Authors: Buckingham Gavin
Published: October 2021

Hand tracking has become an integral feature of recent generations of immersive virtual reality head-mounted displays. With the widespread adoption of this feature, hardware engineers and software developers are faced with an exciting array of opportunities and a number of challenges, mostly in relation to the human user. In this article, I outline what I see as the main possibilities for hand tracking to add value to immersive virtual reality as well as some of the potential challenges in the context of the psychology and neuroscience of the human user. It is hoped that this paper serves as a roadmap for the development of best practices in the field for the development of subsequent generations of hand tracking and virtual reality technologies.
Whole-Body Reactive Agility Metrics to Identify Football Players With a Core and Lower Extremity Injury Risk
Authors: Bruce Scott L. , Wilkerson Gary B.
Published: October 2021

Clinical prediction models are useful in addressing several orthopedic conditions with various cohorts. American football provides a good population for attempting to predict injuries due to their relatively high injury rate. Physical performance can be assessed a variety of ways using an assortment of different tests to assess a diverse set of metrics, which may include reaction time, speed, acceleration, and deceleration. Asymmetry, the difference between right and left performance has been identified as a possible risk factor for injury. The purpose of this study was to determine the whole-body reactive agility metrics that would identify Division I football players who were at elevated risk for core, and lower extremity injuries (CLEI). This cohort study utilized 177 Division I football players with a total of 57 CLEI suffered who were baseline tested prior to the season. Single-task and dual-task whole-body reactive agility movements in lateral and diagonal direction reacting to virtual reality targets were analyzed separately. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses narrowed the 34 original predictor variables to five variables. Logistic regression analysis determined the three strongest predictors of CLEI for this cohort to be: lateral agility acceleration asymmetry, lateral flanker deceleration asymmetry, and diagonal agility reaction time average. Univariable analysis found odds ratios to range from 1.98 to 2.75 for these predictors of CLEI. ROC analysis had an area under the curve of 0.702 for any combination of two or more risk factors produced an odds ratio of 5.5 for risk of CLEI. These results suggest an asymmetry of 8–15% on two of the identified metrics or a slowed reaction time of ≥0.787 s places someone at increased risk of injury. Sixty-three percent (36/57) of the players who sustained an injury had ≥2 positive predictors In spite of the recognized limitation, these finding support the belief that whole-body reactive agility performance can identify Division I football players who are at elevated risk for CLEI.
School and Employment-Related Barriers for Youth and Young Adults with and without a Disability during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area
Authors: Lindsay Sally , Ahmed Hiba
Published: October 2021

Purpose: Youth and young adults are particularly vulnerable to the socio-economic impacts of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to explore barriers to school and employment for youth with and without a disability during the pandemic. Methods: This qualitative comparison study involved in-depth interviews with 35 youth and young adults (18 with a disability; 17 without), aged 16–29 (mean age 23). An interpretive, thematic analysis of the transcripts was conducted. Results: Our findings revealed several similarities and some differences between youth and young adults with and without disabilities regarding barriers to school and employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key themes related to these barriers involved: (1) difficult transition to online school and working from home (i.e., the expense of setting up a home office, technical challenges, impact on mental health), (2) uncertainty about employment (i.e., under-employment, difficult working conditions, difficulty finding work, disability-related challenges) and (3) missed career development opportunities (i.e., canceled or reduced internships or placements, lack of volunteer opportunities, uncertainties about career pathway, the longer-term impact of the pandemic). Conclusion: Our findings highlight that youth and young adults with disabilities may need further support in engaging in meaningful and accessible vocational activities that align with their career pathway.
Comparison of Soil Biology Quality in Organically and Conventionally Managed Agro-Ecosystems Using Microarthropods
Authors: Mantoni Cristina , Pellegrini Marika , Dapporto Leonardo , Del Gallo Maria , Pace Loretta , Silveri Donato , Fattorini Simone
Published: October 2021

Since management practices profoundly influence soil characteristics, the adoption of sustainable agro-ecological practices is essential for soil health conservation. We compared soil health in organic and conventional fields in the Abruzzi region (central Italy) by using (1) the soil biology quality (QBS) index (which expresses the level of specialisation in soil environment shown by microarthropods) and (2) microarthropod diversity expressed by Hill numbers. QBS values were calculated using both the original formulation based on only presence/absence data and a new abundance-based version. We found that organic management improves soil biology quality, which encourages the use of organic farming to maintain soil health. Including arthropod abundance in QBS calculation does not change the main outcomes, which supports the use of its original, speedier formulation. We also found that agricultural fields included in protected areas had greater soil health, which shows the importance of the matrix in determining agricultural soil health and highlights the importance of land protection in preserving biodiversity even in managed soils. Finally, we found that soil biology quality and microarthropod community structure are distinctly influenced by certain physical and chemical characteristics of the soil, which supports the use of microarthropods as biological indicators.
The Use of New Parameters to Optimize the Composting Process of Different Organic Wastes
Authors: Pezzolla Daniela , Cucina Mirko , Proietti Primo , Calisti Roberto , Regni Luca , Gigliotti Giovanni
Published: October 2021

The correct development of the composting process is essential to obtain a product of high value from organic wastes. Nowadays, some composting mixture parameters (i.e., air-filled porosity, moisture and the C/N ratio) are used to optimize the composting process, but their suitability is still debated because the literature reports contrasting results. This paper aimed to find other parameters that control the correct development of composting. The relationship between these and the compost quality was then verified. Twelve different composting mixtures were prepared using different organic wastes and bulking agents and were aerobically treated in a 300 L composter. The physico-chemical and chemical parameters of initial mixtures were analyzed, with particular regard to the total and water-extractable forms of organic C and N and their ratios and correlated with the temperature measured during composting. A positive correlation between temperature parameters during the active phase and soluble forms of N in the initial mixtures was found. A high total organic C to soluble N ratio in the composting mixtures was correlated with the low quality of the compost produced. Based on the results, a minimum content of WEN (water-extractable N) (0.4% w/w) or a TOC/WEN (total organic C/WEN) ratio in the range of 40–80 was recommended to ensure the correct development of the process and to produce compost of high quality.
Cyclosporine Treatment in Cats with Presumed Chronic Pancreatitis—A Retrospective Study
Authors: Hoeyrup Nina , Spillmann Thomas , Toresson Linda
Published: October 2021

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a common disease in middle-aged to older cats. Cyclosporine has been suggested as an alternative treatment when other immunosuppressive treatments are insufficient or contraindicated. However, no published studies have investigated its efficacy on feline CP. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporine on supranormal serum feline pancreas-specific lipase (Spec fPL) concentrations in cats with presumed CP. Inclusion criteria were history and clinical signs suggestive of CP, serum Spec fPL concentrations above 5.3 μg/L (reference range 0–3.5 μg/L, equivocal range 3.6–5.3 μg/L) on at least two occasions and treatment with cyclosporine for at least three weeks. Serum Spec fPL was analyzed at Idexx Laboratories, Kornwestheim, Germany. Nineteen cats, aged 6.9–17.5 years (median 11.6), were included. No pancreatic biopsies were available. Median (range) serum Spec fPL concentration was 14.2 μg/L (6.1–43.3) at baseline and 6.7 μg/L (0.9–23.6) at follow-up. Cyclosporine treatment (5.0–7.9 mg/kg orally SID) was associated with a significant reduction in serum Spec fPL concentrations (p < 0.001) at follow-up after 23–206 days (median 35). Body weight decreased significantly between inclusion and follow-up (p = 0.013). Significant improvement of clinical signs could not be measured (p = 0.781). This study has several limitations, including unstandardized treatment length and dose, no control group and lack of pancreatic biopsies. Despite the limitations, our results suggest that cyclosporine treatment reduces supranormal serum Spec fPL concentrations in cats with presumed CP.
Effect of Supercritical Extract from Black Poplar and Basket Willow on the Quality of Natural and Probiotic Drinkable Yogurt
Authors: Walter Marcin , Brzozowski Bartosz , Adamczak Marek
Published: October 2021

Yogurt is a fermented milk drink produced by Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrüeckii ssp. bulgaricus, or Lactobacillus rhamnosus, which can be enriched with polyphenolic compounds to enhance its antioxidant properties. Supercritical (scCO2/H2O) extracts obtained from the mixture of bark and wood of black poplar (Populus nigra) and basket willow (Salix viminalis) are the source of bioactive compounds. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of supercritical extracts from the P. nigra and S. viminalis on the fermentation, quality, and bioactive properties of drinkable natural and probiotic yogurts. The incorporation of scCO2/H2O extracts at a dose of 0.01% (w/v) into milk for the production of natural and probiotic yogurts increases their functional properties by enhancing the antioxidant activity without causing negative effects on the physicochemical and organoleptic properties of products. The antioxidant activity of yogurt with scCO2/H2O extract from P. nigra and S. viminalis was higher than control yogurts by 1.3–13.2% and 4.4–37.5%, respectively. The addition of a supercritical S. viminalis extract reduced the time of natural and probiotic yogurt fermentation. Natural and probiotic yogurt with scCO2/H2O extracts added was characterised by a bacterial population size of over 7 log cfu/g, and the microflora was active throughout the cold storage period. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of scCO2/H2O extracts from P. nigra or S. viminalis in both types of yogurt. A secondary structure analysis confirmed interactions between compounds of scCO2/H2O extract from P. nigra and S. viminalis extract with milk proteins. These interactions affect the compounds’ structural and functional properties by changing, e.g., their digestibility and antioxidant properties.
Modified Nano-Montmorillonite and Monensin Modulate In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation, Nutrient Degradability, and Methanogenesis Differently
Authors: Soltan Yosra , Morsy Amr , Hashem Nesrein , Elazab Mahmoud , Sultan Mohamed , Marey Haneen , Lail Gomaa Abo El , El-Desoky Nagwa , Hosny Nourhan , Mahdy Ahmed , Hafez Elsayed , Sallam Sobhy
Published: October 2021

Two types of modified nano-montmorillonite (MNM) were developed by ion-exchange reactions using two different surfactants; sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CETAB), to prepare MNMSDS and MNMCETAB, respectively. Both MNM types were on the nano-scale and had higher cation-exchange capacity values than NM clay. The MNMCETAB had the highest zeta potential (−27 mV) compared with the other clays. Effects of MNM types on in vitro ruminal batch culture fermentation, nutrient degradability, and methane (CH4) emission compared with monensin were evaluated in vitro using a semi-automatic gas production system. The experimental treatments were the control (0 supplementations), monensin (40 mg/kg DM), and NM (5 g NM/kg DM), and two levels of MNMSDS and MNMCETAB were supplemented at 0.05 (low) and 0.5 (high) g/kg DM to the control basal feed substrate. Among the experimental treatments, the high dose of both MNM types reduced (p < 0.01) CH4 production and ammonia concentrations compared with the control, while only MNMCETAB treatment tended to increase (p = 0.08) the truly degraded organic matter compared with monensin. All MNM treatments increased (p < 0.01) acetate molar proportions compared with monensin. The high MNMCETAB increased (p < 0.01) the in vitro ruminal batch culture pH compared with the control and monensin. The MNMCETAB supplemented at 0.5 g/kg DM is the most efficient additive to reduce CH4 emission with the advantage of enhancing the in vitro nutrient degradability of the experimental feed substrate. These results indicated that MNM could modulate the in vitro ruminal fermentation pattern in a dose- and type-dependent manner.
Antibacterial Activity of Kaolin–Silver Nanomaterials: Alternative Approach to the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Production
Authors: Pérez-Etayo Lara , González David , Leiva José , Díez-Leturia María , Ezquerra Alba , Lostao Luis , Vitas Ana Isabel
Published: October 2021

According to the search for alternatives to replace antibiotics in animal production suggested in the antimicrobial resistance action plans around the world, the objective of this work was to evaluate the bactericidal effect of kaolin–silver nanomaterial for its possible inclusion as an additive in animal feed. The antibacterial activity of the C3 (kaolin–silver nanomaterial) product was tested against a wide spectrum of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria (including multidrug resistant strains) by performing antibiograms, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC), as well as growth inhibition curves against seven strains causing infections in animals. The C3 product generated inhibition halos in all the tested strains, and a higher activity against Gram-negative bacteria was found, with MBC values ranged from 7.8 µg/mL (P. aeruginosa) to 15.6 µg/mL (E. coli and Salmonella). In contrast, it was necessary to increase the concentration to 31.3 µg/mL or 250 µg/mL to eliminate 99.9% of the initial population of S. aureus ATCC 6538 and E. faecium ATCC 19434, respectively. Conversely, the inhibition growth curves showed a faster bactericidal activity against Gram-negative bacteria (between 2 and 4 h), while it took at least 24 h to observe a reduction in cell viability of S. aureus ATCC 6538. In short, this study shows that the kaolin–silver nanomaterials developed in the framework of the INTERREG POCTEFA EFA183/16/OUTBIOTICS project exhibit antibacterial activity against a wide spectrum of bacteria. However, additional studies on animal safety and environmental impact are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed alternative in the context of One Health.
Endolysin, a Promising Solution against Antimicrobial Resistance
Authors: Rahman Mujeeb ur , Wang Weixiao , Sun Qingqing , Shah Junaid Ali , Li Chao , Sun Yanmei , Li Yuanrui , Zhang Bailing , Chen Wei , Wang Shiwei
Published: October 2021

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global crisis for human public health which threatens the effective prevention and control of ever-increasing infectious diseases. The advent of pandrug-resistant bacteria makes most, if not all, available antibiotics invalid. Meanwhile, the pipeline of novel antibiotics development stagnates, which prompts scientists and pharmacists to develop unconventional antimicrobials. Bacteriophage-derived endolysins are cell wall hydrolases which could hydrolyze the peptidoglycan layer from within and outside of bacterial pathogens. With high specificity, rapid action, high efficiency, and low risk of resistance development, endolysins are believed to be among the best alternative therapeutic agents to treat multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. As of now, endolysins have been applied to diverse aspects. In this review, we comprehensively introduce the structures and activities of endolysins and summarize the latest application progress of recombinant endolysins in the fields of medical treatment, pathogen diagnosis, food safety, and agriculture.
Earthquake Damage Assessment in Three Spatial Scale Using Naive Bayes, SVM, and Deep Learning Algorithms
Authors: Ahadzadeh Sajjad , Malek Mohammad Reza
Published: October 2021

Earthquakes lead to enormous harm to life and assets. The ability to quickly assess damage across a vast area is crucial for effective disaster response. In recent years, social networks have demonstrated a lot of capability for improving situational awareness and identifying impacted areas. In this regard, this study proposed an approach that applied social media data for the earthquake damage assessment at the county, city, and 10 × 10 km grids scale using Naive Bayes, support vector machine (SVM), and deep learning classification algorithms. In this study, classification was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and F-score metrics. Then, for understanding the message propagation behavior in the study area, temporal analysis based on classified messages was performed. In addition, variability of spatial topic concentration in three classification algorithms after the earthquake was examined using location quotation (LQ). A damage map based on the results of the classification of the three algorithms into three scales was created. For validation, confusion matrix metrics, Spearman’s rho, Pearson correlation, and Kendall’s tau were used. In this study, binary classification and multi-class classification have been done. Binary classification was used to classify messages into two classes of damage and non-damage so that their results could finally be used to estimate the earthquake damage. Multi-class classification was used to categorize messages to increase post-crisis situational awareness. In the binary classification, the SVM algorithm performed better in all the indices, gaining 71.22% accuracy, 81.22 F-measure, 79.08% accuracy, 85.62% precision, and 0.634 Kappa. In the multi-class classification, the SVM algorithm performed better in all the indices, gaining 90.25% accuracy, 88.58% F-measure, 84.34% accuracy, 93.26% precision, and 0.825 Kappa. Based on the results of the temporal analysis, most of the damage-related messages were reported on the day of the earthquake and decreased in the following days. Most of the messages related to infrastructure damages and injured, dead, and missing people were reported on the day of the earthquake. In addition, results of LQ indicated Napa as a center of the earthquake as the concentration of damage-related messages in all algorithms were based there. This indicates that our approach has been able to identify the damage well and has considered the earthquake center one of the most affected counties. The findings of the damage estimation showed that going away from the epicenter lowered the amount of damage. Based on the result of the validation of the estimated damage map with official data, the SVM performed better for damage estimation, followed by deep learning. In addition, at the county scale, algorithms showed better performance with Spearman’s rho of 0.8205, Pearson correlation of 0.5217, and Kendall’s tau of 0.6666.
Exploiting Script Similarities to Compensate for the Large Amount of Data in Training Tesseract LSTM: Towards Kurdish OCR
Authors: Idrees Saman , Hassani Hossein
Published: October 2021

Applications based on Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) require large amounts of data for their training. Tesseract LSTM is a popular Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine that has been trained and used in various languages. However, its training becomes obstructed when the target language is not resourceful. This research suggests a remedy for the problem of scant data in training Tesseract LSTM for a new language by exploiting a training dataset for a language with a similar script. The target of the experiment is Kurdish. It is a multi-dialect language and is considered less-resourced. We choose Sorani, one of the Kurdish dialects, that is mostly written in Persian-Arabic script. We train Tesseract using an Arabic dataset, and then we use a considerably small amount of texts in Persian-Arabic to train the engine to recognize Sorani texts. Our dataset is based on a series of court case documents in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We also fine-tune the engine using 10 Unikurd fonts. We use Lstmeval and Ocreval to evaluate the outputs. The result indicates the achievement of 95.45% accuracy. We also test the engine using texts outside the context of court cases. The accuracy of the system remains close to what was found earlier indicating that the script similarity could be used to overcome the lack of large-scale data.
Multi-Objective Optimization of CO2 Sequestration in Heterogeneous Saline Aquifers under Geological Uncertainty
Authors: Park Changhyup , Oh Jaehwan , Jo Suryeom , Jang Ilsik , Lee Kun Sang
Published: October 2021

This paper presents a Pareto-based multi-objective optimization for operating CO2 sequestration with a multi-well system under geological uncertainty; the optimal well allocation, i.e., the optimal allocation of CO2 rates at injection wells, is obtained when there is minimum operation pressure as well as maximum sequestration efficiency. The distance-based generalized sensitivity analysis evaluates the influence of geological uncertainty on the amount of CO2 sequestration through four injection wells at 3D heterogeneous saline aquifers. The spatial properties significantly influencing the trapping volume, in descending order of influence, are mean sandstone porosity, mean sandstone permeability, shale volume ratio, and the Dykstra–Parsons coefficient of permeability. This confirms the importance of storable capacity and heterogeneity in quantitatively analyzing the trapping mechanisms. Multi-objective optimization involves the use of two aquifer models relevant to heterogeneity; one is highly heterogeneous and the other is less so. The optimal well allocations converge to non-dominated solutions and result in a large injection through one specific well, which generates the wide spread of a highly mobile CO2 plume. As the aquifer becomes heterogeneous with a large shale volume and a high Dykstra–Parsons coefficient, the trapping performances of the combined structural and residual sequestration plateau relatively early. The results discuss the effects of spatial heterogeneity on achieving CO2 geological storage, and they provide an operation strategy including multi-objective optimization.
The Role of Peripheral Nerve Electrotherapy in Functional Recovery of Muscle Motor Units in Patients after Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Huber Juliusz , Leszczyńska Katarzyna , Wincek Agnieszka , Szymankiewicz-Szukała Agnieszka , Fortuna Wojciech , Okurowski Stefan , Tabakow Paweł
Published: October 2021

Functional electrical nerve stimulation (FES) is a non-invasive technique for neuromodulation and may have the potential for motor rehabilitation following incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Axonal degeneration in motor fibers of lower extremity nerves is an inevitable secondary pathological change in iSCI subjects, despite no direct damage to lumbosacral neuromeres. This study evaluated the role of FES with individual parameters based on results of comparative neurophysiological studies. Forty-two participants with C4 to Th12 iSCI received repetitive sessions of electrostimulations applied to peroneal and tibial motor fibers, performed five times a week from 6 to 14 months, and the uniform system of kinesiotherapeutic treatment. The average duration of one electrostimulation session was 17 min, stimulation frequency of a train 20–70 Hz, duration of 2–3 s, intervals 2–3 s, pulses intensity 18–45 mA. The algorithm change was based on objective tests of subsequent surface electromyography (sEMG), and electroneurography (ENG) recordings. The same neurophysiological studies were also performed in patients after C2-Th12 iSCI treated with kinesiotherapy only (K group, N = 25) and compared with patients treated with both kinesiotherapy and electrostimulation (K + E, N = 42). The study revealed improvements in sEMG parameters recorded from tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, extensor digitorum brevis muscles, and ENG evoked a compound muscle action potential recorded following bilateral stimulation of more peroneal than tibial nerves. Neurophysiological recordings had significantly better parameters in the K + E group of patients after therapy but not in the K group patients. The improvement of the motor transmission peripherally may reflect the specific neuromodulatory effect of FES algorithm evaluated with sEMG and ENG. FES may inhibit degeneration of axons and support functional recovery after iSCI.
Mechanism Analysis of the Influence of Seat Attributes on the Seat Dip Effect in Music Halls
Authors: Min Hequn , Liao Yitian
Published: October 2021

The seat dip effect (SDE) is an acoustic phenomenon of low-frequency band attenuation that occurs in the music halls when the sound of the music passes at a near grazing incidence over the seats. In this paper, the numerical simulations on the basis of the finite element method are conducted to study the influence of seat attributes (seat height, seat spacing and seat absorption) on the SDE and the corresponding mechanism. The mapping of sound spatial distribution related to the SDE is employed to observe the behavior of sound between the seats. The results show that the dip frequency of the SDE can be shifted to frequencies lower than theoretical values when the seat height is smaller than the seat spacing. Additionally, the SDE attenuation can be distinctly suppressed in a sequence from the front seats to the rear seats with an absorption improvement to the seat back or cushion, and the seat back absorption is more effective than the cushion absorption. A mechanism analysis reveals that the SDE is highly associated with standing waves inside the seat gaps and with the “diffusion” effect on the grazing incident waves by energy flow vortexes around the top surfaces of the seats.
A Fast and Robust Rotation Search and Point Cloud Registration Method for 2D Stitching and 3D Object Localization
Authors: Sun Lei , Deng Zhongliang
Published: October 2021

Rotation search and point cloud registration are two fundamental problems in robotics, geometric vision, and remote sensing, which aim to estimate the rotation and transformation between the 3D vector sets and point clouds, respectively. Due to the presence of outliers (probably in very large numbers) among the putative vector or point correspondences in real-world applications, robust estimation is of great importance. In this paper, we present Inlier searching using COmpatible Structures (ICOS), a novel, efficient, and highly robust solver for both the correspondence-based rotation search and point cloud registration problems. Specifically, we (i) propose and construct a series of compatible structures for the two problems, based on which various invariants can be established, and (ii) design time-efficient frameworks to filter out outliers and seek inliers from the invariant-constrained random sampling based on the compatible structures proposed. In this manner, even with extreme outlier ratios, inliers can be effectively sifted out and collected for solving the optimal rotation and transformation, leading to our robust solver ICOS. Through plentiful experiments over standard datasets, we demonstrated that: (i) our solver ICOS is fast, accurate, and robust against over 95% outliers with nearly a 100% recall ratio of inliers for rotation search and both known-scale and unknown-scale registration, outperforming other state-of-the-art methods, and (ii) ICOS is practical for use in real-world application problems including 2D image stitching and 3D object localization.
Augmented Reality Assisted Assembly Training Oriented Dynamic Gesture Recognition and Prediction
Authors: Dong Jiaqi , Xia Zeyang , Zhao Qunfei
Published: October 2021

Augmented reality assisted assembly training (ARAAT) is an effective and affordable technique for labor training in the automobile and electronic industry. In general, most tasks of ARAAT are conducted by real-time hand operations. In this paper, we propose an algorithm of dynamic gesture recognition and prediction that aims to evaluate the standard and achievement of the hand operations for a given task in ARAAT. We consider that the given task can be decomposed into a series of hand operations and furthermore each hand operation into several continuous actions. Then, each action is related with a standard gesture based on the practical assembly task such that the standard and achievement of the actions included in the operations can be identified and predicted by the sequences of gestures instead of the performance throughout the whole task. Based on the practical industrial assembly, we specified five typical tasks, three typical operations, and six standard actions. We used Zernike moments combined histogram of oriented gradient and linear interpolation motion trajectories to represent 2D static and 3D dynamic features of standard gestures, respectively, and chose the directional pulse-coupled neural network as the classifier to recognize the gestures. In addition, we defined an action unit to reduce the dimensions of features and computational cost. During gesture recognition, we optimized the gesture boundaries iteratively by calculating the score probability density distribution to reduce interferences of invalid gestures and improve precision. The proposed algorithm was evaluated on four datasets and proved to increase recognition accuracy and reduce the computational cost from the experimental results.
Some Unified Integrals for Generalized Mittag-Leffler Functions
Authors: Singh Prakash , Jain Shilpi , Cattani Carlo
Published: October 2021

Here, we ascertain generalized integral formulas concerning the product of the generalized Mittag-Leffler function. These integral formulas are described in the form of the generalized Lauricella series. Some special cases are also presented in terms of the Wright hypergeometric function.
The Combination of Solid-State Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry as the Basis for the Synthesis of Theranostics Platforms
Authors: Korolev Dmitry , Postnov Viktor , Aleksandrov Ilia , Murin Igor
Published: October 2021

This review presents the main patterns of synthesis for theranostics platforms. We examine various approaches to the interpretation of theranostics, statistics of publications drawn from the PubMed database, and the solid-state and medicinal chemistry methods used for the formation of nanotheranostic objects. We highlight and analyze chemical methods for the modification of nanoparticles, synthesis of spacers with functional end-groups, and the immobilization of medicinal substances and fluorophores. An overview of the modern solutions applied in various fields of medicine is provided, along with an outline of specific examples and an analysis of modern trends and development areas of theranostics as a part of personalized medicine.