bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Automatic Generation of Literary Sentences in French
Authors: Moreno-Jiménez Luis-Gil , Torres-Moreno Juan-Manuel , Wedemann Roseli Suzi.
Published: March 2023

In this paper, we describe a model for the automatic generation of literary sentences in French. Although there has been much recent effort directed towards automatic text generation in general, the generation of creative, literary sentences that is not restricted to a specific genre, which we approached in this work, is a difficult task that is not commonly treated in the scientific literature. In particular, our present model has not been previously applied to the generation of sentences in the French language. Our model was based on algorithms that we previously used to generate sentences in Spanish and Portuguese and on a new corpus, which we constructed and present here, consisting of literary texts in French, called MegaLitefr. Our automatic text generation algorithm combines language models, shallow parsing, the canned text method, and deep learning artificial neural networks. We also present a manual evaluation protocol that we propose and implemented to assess the quality of the artificial sentences generated by our algorithm, by testing if they fulfil four simple criteria. We obtained encouraging results from the evaluators for most of the desired features of our artificially generated sentences.
Special Issue on Supervised and Unsupervised Classification Algorithms—Foreword from Guest Editors
Authors: Antonelli Laura , Guarracino Mario Rosario
Published: March 2023

Supervised and unsupervised classification algorithms are the two main branches of machine learning [...]
Static Aeroelastic Optimization of High-Aspect-Ratio Composite Aircraft Wings via Surrogate Modeling
Authors: Kilimtzidis Spyridon , Kostopoulos Vassilis
Published: March 2023

The race towards cleaner and more efficient commercial aviation demands novel designs featuring improved aerodynamic and structural characteristics, the main pillars that drive aircraft efficiency. Among the many proposed and introduced, the increase in the aspect ratio of the wings enables greater fuel efficiency by reducing induced drag. Nevertheless, such structures are characterised by elevated flexibility, aggravating static and dynamic aeroelastic phenomena. Consequently, the preliminary and conceptual design and optimization stages using high-fidelity numerical tools is rendered extremely intricate and prohibitive in terms of computational cost. Low-fidelity tools, contrastingly, enable computational-burden alleviation. In our approach, a computational framework for the low-fidelity steady-state static aeroelastic optimization of a composite high-aspect-ratio commercial aircraft wing via surrogate modelling is proposed. The methodology starts with the development of the 3D panel method as well of the elements of the surrogate model. The design variables, objective function and constraints which formulate the optimization problem are then provided. Moreover, comparison against rigid aerodynamics indicate the significant load-alleviation capabilities of the present case study. The effect of structural nonlinearities is also explored. The optimization framework is executed and optimal laminates for the structural members are obtained. The optimal structure was deemed critical in panel buckling.
Evaluation of Spray Drift of Plant Protection Drone Nozzles Based on Wind Tunnel Test
Authors: Wang Guobin , Zhang Tongsheng , Song Cancan , Yu Xiaoqing , Shan Changfeng , Gu Haozheng , Lan Yubin
Published: March 2023

The use of drones in agriculture is expanding at a brisk pace in crop production due to the superiority in precision, efficiency, and safety of their applicators. However, their potential drift risk also raises concern for users and regulatory authorities. The method of wind tunnel research can effectively evaluate the weighted influence of each drift factor, especially the drift characteristics of the nozzle and spray solution. Based on the wind tunnel test results, centrifugal nozzles have a higher drift risk than hydraulic nozzles, even with a similar DV50. The cumulative drift rate of the centrifugal nozzle at 2 m downwind was 90.1% compared to the LU12001 nozzle’s 40.6% under the wind speed of 3.5 m/s. Compared with the same coding as the flat fan hydraulic nozzle, the IDK nozzle can effectively reduce the drift rate. For the tested nozzles, DV50 and wind speed had a linear relationship with drift rate, and the sampling location had an exponential or logarithmic relationship with drift rate. Spray adjuvants, especially modified vegetable oils, had a significant effect on reducing the amount of drift. The results of this experiment provide a reference for the selection of nozzles and the addition of spray adjuvants. Further clarifying the spray drift characteristics of drones until a drift prediction model is available is still the focus of research.
Different Non-Target Site Mechanisms Endow Different Glyphosate Susceptibility in Avena Species from Spain
Authors: Vázquez-García José G. , Torra Joel , Palma-Bautista Candelario , Bastida Fernando , Alcántara-de la Cruz Ricardo , Portugal João , Jorrin-Novo Jesús V. , De Prado Rafael
Published: March 2023

In recent decades, cereal agriculture across main producing areas in Spain has progressively adopted direct sowing, associated with an increased use of herbicides in pre-sowing. Weedy species from genus Avena have been observed after the application of glyphosate in wheat. Here, Avena fatua (two accessions), Avena byzantina and Avena sterilis subsp. sterilis, one accession each, were taxonomically characterized by a biometric study. Dose-response trials confirmed that one A. fatua accession evolved to resistance, because it was four times more resistant (R) than the others, ascribed as susceptible (S). In addition, based on LD50, A. byzantina and A. sterilis had low susceptibility to glyphosate, with 604 and 458 g ae ha−1. Shikimic acid accumulation was able to discriminate between high susceptible (A. fatua (S)), low susceptible (A. byzantina and A. sterilis), and low resistant (A. fatua (R)) populations. On the other hand, the study revealed that A. fatua (R), A. byzantina and A. sterilis had low foliar uptake and decreased movement of glyphosate. In addition, the metabolism study showed less metabolite accumulation in A. byzantina and A. fatua (S). However, at 96 h after glyphosate application, A. fatua (R) and A. sterilis were able to convert more than 30% of glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and sarcosine. Enzyme basal activity and I50 values predicted high affinity between the herbicide and the target enzyme for all accessions, thus indicating that a target-site (TS) mechanism is probably not involved in the differences in glyphosate susceptibility. In closing, non-target site (NTS) mechanisms could participate both in A. fatua R to glyphosate, and low susceptibility in A. byzantina and A. sterilis from Spain.
Microbial Properties Depending on Fertilization Regime in Agricultural Soils with Different Texture and Climate Conditions: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Yuan Ding , Hu Yi , Jia Shengnan , Li Wenwen , Zamanian Kazem , Han Jiangang , Huang Fan , Zhao Xiaoning
Published: March 2023

Over-fertilization has a significant impact on soil microbial properties and its ecological environment. However, the effects of long-term fertilization on microbial properties on a large scale are still vague. This meta-analysis collected 6211 data points from 109 long-term experimental sites in China to evaluate the effects of fertilizer type and fertilization duration, as well as soil and climate conditions, on the effect sizes on various microbial properties and indices. The organic fertilizers combined with straw (NPKS) and manure (NPKM) had the highest effect sizes, while the chemical fertilizers N (sole N fertilizer) and NPK (NPK fertilizer) had the lowest. When compared with the control, NPKM treatment had the highest effect size, while N treatment had the lowest effect size on MBN (111% vs. 19%), PLFA (110% vs. −7%), fungi (88% vs. 43%), Actinomycetes (97% vs. 44%), urease (77% vs. 25%), catalase (15% vs. −11%), and phosphatase (58% vs. 4%). NPKM treatment had the highest while NPK treatment had the lowest effect size on bacteria (123% vs. 33%). NPKS treatment had the highest while N treatment had the lowest effect sizes on MBC (77% vs. 8%) and invertase (59% vs. 0.2%). NPKS treatment had the highest while NPK treatment had the lowest effect size on the Shannon index (5% vs. 1%). The effect sizes of NPKM treatment were the highest predominantly in arid regions because of the naturally low organic carbon in soils of these regions. The effect sizes on various microbial properties were also highly dependent on soil texture. In coarse-textured soils the effect sizes on MBC and MBN peaked sooner compared with those of clayey or silty soils, although various enzymes were most active in silty soils during the first 10 years of fertilization. Effect sizes on microbial properties were generally higher under NPKM and NPKS treatments than under NPK or N treatments, with considerable effects due to climate conditions. The optimal field fertilizer regime could be determined based on the effects of fertilizer type on soil microorganisms under various climate conditions and soil textures. This will contribute to the microbial biodiversity and soil health of agricultural land. Such controls should be used for adaptation of fertilization strategies to global changes.
Evolution of Maize Compost in a Mediterranean Agricultural Soil: Implications for Carbon Sequestration
Authors: M. San-Emeterio Layla , De la Rosa José M. , Knicker Heike , López-Núñez Rafael , González-Pérez José A.
Published: March 2023

Compost amendments, apart from improving fertility and the general characteristics of agricultural soils, have known implications for global C cycling and sequestration in soils. Their effects are usually assessed via the quantification of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools, usually labile (fast) and recalcitrant (slow) pools, with varying intrinsic decomposition rates and distinct resident times. However, the real C-sequestration potential of organic additions to soil is still under discussion. In this study, a field trial and a lab incubation experiment were designed to study the C-sequestration mechanism in an agricultural Mediterranean soil. Soil with a history of C3 photosystem crop was amended with two maize composts from maize harvesting surpluses (C4 photosystem) with different maturity stages (AC: aged compost; NC: new, less mature compost). The evolution of SOM was monitored for 6 months using complementary analytical techniques, including analysis of stable C isotopes (IRMS), thermogravimetry (TG) and C-stock and priming effect (PE) modelling. Based on the natural C-isotope labelling, the proportion of new C was calculated. More than 50% of the C added to the soil with the compost was incorporated into the SOM in only 6 months. However, the application of maize compost did not always enhance soil C-sequestration capacity. The addition of compost caused a general PE, enhancing SOM decay and reducing the fast (labile) SOM mean residence time (MRT) (11.2 days). This was more pronounced with the addition of a higher dose of AC, causing a PE up to a 718%. On the other hand, a higher MRT (54.4 days) occurred in soils with NC applied, likely due to its deleterious effects, limiting heterotrophic activity. Despite that, the average MRT of the slow (recalcitrant) SOM pool was lower than usually reported. The application of higher doses of both composts generally showed greater MRT values compared to control (1.7 years vs. 3.8 and 2.9 years for NC and AC, respectively), leading to an increase in this more stable C pool and effective soil C sequestration. The results described in this work may help readers to better understand SOM dynamics and may be of use in designing appropriate management strategies for improving OM quantity and quality and to optimize C storage in Mediterranean soils.
Enhancement of Morphological and Physiological Performance of Zea mays L. under Saline Stress Using ZnO Nanoparticles and 24-Epibrassinolide Seed Priming
Authors: Ahmad Awais , Tola ElKamil , Alshahrani Thobayet S. , Seleiman Mahmoud F.
Published: March 2023

Salinity is one of the most devastating environmental factors limiting crop productivity worldwide. Therefore, our study investigates the effect of seed priming with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs: 0, 50, and 100 mg L−1), 24-epibrassinolide (EBL: 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4 µM), and their combined treatments on maize (Zea mays L.) grown with different levels of saline stress (i.e., control, 5, 10 dS m−1) under semi-controlled conditions. Higher saline stress (10 dS m−1) negatively influenced the growth traits, physiological attributes, and elemental (i.e., Zn and K) uptake for both roots and shoots of maize, whereas it increased Na+ accumulation and Na+/K+ ratio in comparison to other treatments. However, seed priming with ZnO NPs and EBL as well as their combinations showed amelioration of the detrimental effects of saline stress on the growth and physiological and biochemical performance of maize. In general, seed priming with combined treatments of ZnO NPs and EBL were significantly more effective than either ZnO NPs or EBL as individual treatments. A combination of 100 mg L−1 ZnO NPS + 0.2 µM EBL resulted in the highest values of root length, root surface area, stem diameter, relative leaf water contents, total chlorophyll, net rate of photosynthesis, zinc accumulation, and K+ uptake, while it resulted in the lowest Na+ and Na+/K+ ratio, especially under the highest saline-stress treatment. Thus, we concluded that seed priming with combined ZnO NPs and EBL can effectively mitigate the saline-stress-mediated decline in the morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits of maize.
Dietary Fermentation Product of Aspergillus Oryzae Prevents Increases in Gastrointestinal Permeability (‘Leaky Gut’) in Horses Undergoing Combined Transport and Exercise
Authors: McGilloway Melissa , Manley Shannon , Aho Alyssa , Heeringa Keisha N. , Whitacre Lynsey , Lou Yanping , Squires E. James , Pearson Wendy
Published: March 2023

Equine leaky gut syndrome is characterized by gastrointestinal hyperpermeability and may be associated with adverse health effects in horses. The purpose was to evaluate the effects of a prebiotic Aspergillus oryzae product (SUPP) on stress-induced gastrointestinal hyperpermeability. Eight horses received a diet containing SUPP (0.02 g/kg BW) or an unsupplemented diet (CO) (n = 4 per group) for 28 days. On Days 0 and 28, horses were intubated with an indigestible marker of gastrointestinal permeability (iohexol). Half the horses from each feeding group underwent 60 min of transport by trailer immediately followed by a moderate-intensity exercise bout of 30 min (EX), and the remaining horses stayed in stalls as controls (SED). Blood was sampled before iohexol, immediately after trailering, and at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h post-exercise. At the end of the feeding period, horses were washed out for 28 days before being assigned to the opposite feeding group, and the study was replicated. Blood was analyzed for iohexol (HPLC), lipopolysaccharide (ELISA), and serum amyloid A (latex agglutination assay). Data were analyzed using three-way and two-way ANOVA. On Day 0, the combined challenge of trailer transport and exercise significantly increased plasma iohexol in both feeding groups; this increase was not seen in SED horses. On Day 28, EX increased plasma iohexol only in the CO feeding group; this increase was completely prevented by the provision of SUPP. It is concluded that combined transport and exercise induce gastrointestinal hyperpermeability. Dietary SUPP prevents this and therefore may be a useful prophylactic for pathologies associated with gastrointestinal hyperpermeability in horses.
Physicochemical Quality and Fatty Acid Profile in the Meat of Goats Fed Forage Cactus as a Substitute for Tifton 85 Hay
Authors: Pinheiro Rafael S. B. , Farias Iasmin M. S. C. , Francisco Caroline L. , Moreno Greicy M. B.
Published: March 2023

Low rainfall in Northeast Brazil is a limiting factor for animal production. Forages that present crassulacean acid metabolism, such as forage cactus, are adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of this region, as they lose little water through the stomata. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the physical and chemical quality, fatty acid profile and sensory acceptance of the meat from goats fed forage cactus as a substitute for Tifton 85 hay. Twenty-one uncastrated mixed-breed goats with a mean body weight of 18 ± 0.86 kg and 7 ± 1 months of age were used. A completely randomized design with three treatments and seven replications per treatment was performed. The inclusion of 0 (control), 25 and 55% of forage cactus in substitution of Tifton 85 hay in the diet of the goats was evaluated. The lipid content in the meat of animals fed 25 and 55% of forage cactus was 1.33% and 1.26%, respectively, and was lower (p < 0.05) in relation to the meat of animals that received the control diet (1.56%). The inclusion of 55% of forage cactus provided an increase (p < 0.05) in the content of monounsaturated fatty acids in the meat (52.71%) in relation to the control meat (37.75%). Sensory analysis differed (p < 0.05) between treatments. We recommend replacing Tifton 85 hay with 55% forage cactus, as it presents greater sensory acceptance, and provides lower lipid content and higher content of monounsaturated fatty acids in goat meat.
Development of an In Vivo Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia coli Model in Post-Weaned Pigs and Its Use in Assessment of Dietary Interventions
Authors: Laird Tanya , Jordan David , Pluske John , Mansfield Josie , Wilkinson Stuart , Cadogan David , Abraham Sam , O’Dea Mark
Published: March 2023

Current interventions targeting antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a major impact on commercial pork production, focus on reducing the emergence of AMR by minimising antimicrobial usage through antimicrobial stewardship and a range of alternative control methods. Although these strategies require continued advancement, strategies that directly aim to reduce or eliminate existing antimicrobial resistant bacteria, specifically bacteria resistant to critically important antimicrobials (CIAs), need to be investigated and established. This study established an in vivo model for examining the effects of postbiotics, in the form of Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products (LFP) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products (SFP), on the shedding of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant E. coli. The model was successful in demonstrating the presence of ESC-resistant E. coli as evidenced by its detection in 62 of 64 pigs. There was a strong trend (p = 0.065) for the SFP postbiotics to reduce the shedding of ESC-resistant E. coli, indicating positive impacts of this additive on reducing the carriage of bacteria resistant to CIAs. Overall, this in vivo model enables future evaluation of strategies targeting ESC-resistant E. coli while increasing our knowledge on the carriage of ESC-resistant E. coli in pigs.
A Research on Fault Diagnosis of a USV Thruster Based on PCA and Entropy
Authors: Choo Ki-Beom , Cho Hyunjoon , Park Jung-Hyeun , Huang Jiafeng , Jung Dongwook , Lee Jihyeong , Jeong Sang-Ki , Yoon Jongsu , Choo Jinhun , Choi Hyeung-Sik
Published: March 2023

This study focuses on faults in the thrusters of unmanned surface vehicles, which are fatal to the integrity of their missions. As for the fault conditions, the breakage of the thruster blade and the entanglement of floating objects were selected, and a data-driven method was used to diagnose the faults. In the data-driven method, it is important to select the sensitive fault feature. In this study, vibration, current consumption, rotational speed and input voltage were selected as fault features. An experiment was conducted in an engineering water tank to obtain and analyze data on fault conditions to verify the validity of the selected features. In addition, a new fault diagnosis algorithm combining principal component analysis and Shannon entropy was applied for analyzing the correlations among fault features. This algorithm reduces the dimensionality of data while preserving their structure and characteristics, and diagnoses faults by quantifying entropy values. A fault is detected by comparing the entropy value and a predetermined threshold value, and is diagnosed by analyzing the entropy value and visualized 2D or 3D principal component results. Moreover, the fault diagnosis performance of the unmanned surface vehicle’s thruster was verified by analyzing the results for each fault condition.
Interference Mitigation for Metro Train Location Based on Karhunen–Loeve Decomposition
Authors: Deng Xiwen , Deng Zhongliang , Liu Jingrong , Ding Zhenke , Zhang Zhichao
Published: March 2023

We propose a communication positioning integrated signal (CPIS) to achieve sub-meter positioning of metro trains. However, the electromagnetic environment of metro trains is complex, and the interference of radio frequency signals will reduce the accuracy of train positioning and affect the safe operation of trains. In this paper, an interference mitigation method for metro train positioning based on Karhunen–Loeve decomposition is proposed. The signal is orthogonally expanded, and the eigenvalues of the interference signal are obtained according to the distribution characteristics of the eigenvalues. The reconstructed interference signal is then subtracted from the received signal to achieve interference suppression. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in interference scenarios.
Method for the Quantification of mHealth Related Physical Activity Intensity Using Consumer Mobile Sensors
Authors: Tylcz Jean-Baptiste , Schreiber Max , Michalski Dominik , Classen Joseph , Ivanova Galina
Published: March 2023

Daily physical activity is one of the key factors to improve health and support the prevention of a variety of chronic diseases e.g., hypertension, depression or acute events such as strokes. Self-monitoring by the patients has shown to improve adherence to care and thus leads to general improvement of health conditions. However, precise physical activity detection and quantification may involve heavy or expensive sensors and often-complex computations. Other types of bottlenecks, such as proprietary algorithms or machine learning methods, which often do not meet requirements of medical use cases due to a lack in transparency and requested levels of accuracy and robustness, motivated the work presented here. In this paper, we propose the adaptation of the Euclidean norm minus one method, which was already demonstrated as relevant for physical activity intensity discrimination. The main modification stands in the use of a gravity estimate to countervail imprecise sensors, which allows using the metric with low sampled wrist accelerometer data, collected with off-the-shelf smartwatches in daily live environments. As proof of concept, the proposed algorithm was evaluated on a reference data set acquired on healthy subjects. The method shows the ability to discriminate between low, moderate, and high intensity activities.
Effectiveness of High-Damping Rubber (HDR) Damper and Tuned Mass—HDR Damper in Suppressing Stay-Cable Vibration
Authors: Xu Yichao , Li Changzhao , Cheng Yu , Zhang Yufeng
Published: March 2023

High-damping rubber (HDR) dampers have the advantages of convenience for various shapes of pressure blocks, aesthetic installation, easy maintenance, temperature stability, etc.; thus, they present good application prospects in the vibration reduction of stay cables. Hence, a model of a taut cable equipped with two types of HDR damper—i.e., HDR damper and tuned mass–high-damping rubber damper (TM-HDR-D)—is established herein. Then, based on this theoretical model, the effect of each damper acting alone and in combination on the cable’s additional modal damping is studied. Finally, an actual cable of a cable-stayed bridge is used to study the effectiveness of two dampers for practical engineering. The results show that, when the TM-HDR-D has a small mass, the total additional modal damping of the cable approximates the superposition of the respective effects of the two dampers. The damping effect of HDR mainly depends on its stiffness and installation position; meanwhile, the damping contribution of TM-HDR-D is mainly related to its tuning frequency and installation position. In practical engineering, the smaller installation mass of TM-HDR-D can make up for the lack of damping enhancement of the cable-end HDR damper.
Simplified Calculation of Shear Rotations for First-Order Shear Deformation Theory in Deep Bridge Beams
Authors: Emadi Seyyedbehrad , Ma Haiying , Lozano-Galant Jose Antonio , Turmo Jose
Published: March 2023

Nodal rotations are produced by bending and shear effects and bending rotations can be easily calculated using Euler–Bernoulli’s stiffness matrix method. Nevertheless, shear rotations are traditionally neglected, as their effects are practically negligible in most structures. This assumption might lead to significant errors in the simulation of the rotations in some structures, as well as the wrong identification of the mechanical properties in inverse analysis. Despite its important role, no other works studying the calculation of shear rotations in deep beams were found in the literature. To fill this gap, after illustrating the errors of commercial software regarding calculating the rotations in deep beams, this study proposed a simple and intuitive method to calculate shear rotations in both isostatic and statically redundant beams. The new method calculates the shear rotation for all segments separately and introduces the result to the total rotation of the structure. This method can be applied to find the shear rotation in a redundant structure as well. A parametric study was carried out to calculate slenderness ratios to determine in what structural systems the shear rotations can be neglected. In addition, the errors in the inverse analysis of deep beams were parametrically studied to determine the role of shear rotation in different structural systems. Finally, to validate the application of the method in actual structures, a construction stage of a composite bridge was analyzed.
On Pseudorandomness and Deep Learning: A Case Study
Authors: Ebadi Ansaroudi Zahra , Zaccagnino Rocco , D’Arco Paolo
Published: March 2023

Pseudorandomness is a crucial property that the designers of cryptographic primitives aim to achieve. It is also a key requirement in the calls for proposals of new primitives, as in the case of block ciphers. Therefore, the assessment of the property is an important issue to deal with. Currently, an interesting research line is the understanding of how powerful machine learning methods are in distinguishing pseudorandom objects from truly random objects. Moving along such a research line, in this paper a deep learning-based pseudorandom distinguisher is developed and trained for two well-known lightweight ciphers, Speck and Simon. Specifically, the distinguisher exploits a convolutional Siamese network for distinguishing the outputs of these ciphers from random sequences. Experiments with different instances of Speck and Simon show that the proposed distinguisher highly able to distinguish between the two types of sequences, with an average accuracy of 99.5% for Speck and 99.6% for Simon. Hence, the proposed method could significantly impact the security of these cryptographic primitives and of the applications in which they are used.
Rhodospirillum rubrum L-Asparaginase Conjugates with Polyamines of Improved Biocatalytic Properties as a New Promising Drug for the Treatment of Leukemia
Authors: Dobryakova Natalia V. , Zhdanov Dmitry D. , Sokolov Nikolay N. , Aleksandrova Svetlana S. , Pokrovskaya Marina V. , Kudryashova Elena V.
Published: March 2023

L-asparaginase Rhodospirillum rubrum (RrA) is an enzyme (amidohydrolases; EC 3.5.1.1) that catalyzes the L-asparagine hydrolysis reaction to form L-aspartic acid. Due to the shortcomings of existing L-asparaginases from Esherichia coli (EcA) and Erwinia chrysanthemi (ErA), RrA may turn out to be a new promising drug for the treatment of leukemia. RrA has a low homology with EcA and ErA, which makes the enzyme potentially less immunogenic. RrA has pronounced antitumor activity on a number of leukemia cells. However, there is a need to improve the biocatalytic properties of the enzyme. So, in this study, the RrA conjugates with polyamines with different molecular architectures were developed to regulate the catalytic properties of the enzyme. Linear polyethyleneimine (PEI), branched polyethyleneimine, modified with polyethylene glycol (PEI-PEG), and spermine (Spm) were used to obtain conjugates with RrA. It was discovered by gel permeation chromatography that Spm allows the most active tetrameric form of RrA to be obtained and stabilized. Molecular docking was used to study the binding of spermine to RrA subunits. The activity of the RrA conjugates with Spm and PEI-PEG was 23–30% higher than the native enzyme. The pH optimum of the conjugates shifted from 9.0 to 8.5. The conjugates had higher stability: Spm and PEI-PEG reduced the inactivation constant (kin) more than two-fold upon incubation at 53 °С. The conjugate RrA-PEI-PEG reduced the accessibility of trypsin to the protein surface and reduced kin by eight times. The modification of RrA with polyamines made it possible to obtain enzyme preparations with improved biocatalytic properties. These conjugates represent interest for further study as potential therapeutic agents.
Recognition of the Perceived Benefits of Smartphones and Tablets and Their Influence on the Quality of Learning Outcomes by Students in Lower Secondary Biology Classes
Authors: Lang Vida , Šorgo Andrej
Published: March 2023

After the appearance of the first smartphones in 2007 and shortly thereafter, tablets became not only useful communication tools, but also objects that function as life organisation units. However, although they are ubiquitous, their actual and potential role in biology education has not been sufficiently explored. The objectives of the survey were to investigate the recent use of smartphones in the last two grades of Slovenian comprehensive school by 14- to 15-year-old students, their satisfaction with them for educational purposes, and the perceived impact on the quality of schoolwork in biology classes. Based on the responses of 313 lower secondary school students, we can conclude that by the end of compulsory education, almost all of them have used smartphones and tablets for educational purposes to some extent, even if the reported use in different school subjects is low. Based on structural equation modelling, which examines the influence of the constructs of support, perceived usability, perceived ease of use, attitudes, and perceived pedagogical impact on the quality of smartphone-based schoolwork, it can be concluded that only perceived pedagogical impacts and perceived usability impacted quality, leading to the conclusion that additional efforts should be made to explore their full potential and the gaps that should be addressed through formal education. Leaving students to their own devices is the worst solution, resulting in a permanent lack of skills, such as the ability to select and interpret information provided through the media.
Water Needs of Sweet Cherry Trees in the Light of Predicted Climate Warming in the Bydgoszcz Region, Poland
Authors: Rolbiecki Stanisław , Rolbiecki Roman , Jagosz Barbara , Kasperska-Wołowicz Wiesława , Kanecka-Geszke Ewa , Stachowski Piotr , Kocięcka Joanna , Bąk Bogdan
Published: March 2023

The Bydgoszcz region (Poland) is located in an area with a very high demand for supplementary irrigation during the vegetation period of plants. The projected global warming will bring a rise in the water needs of crops, and thus a further increase in irrigation needs. The goal of the study was an attempt to estimate the water needs of sweet cherry trees in 2021–2050 (forecast period) in the region of Bydgoszcz. The years 1981–2010 were adopted as the reference period. The water needs of sweet cherry trees were calculated on the basis of air temperature using the Treder method, in which water needs are equated with the potential evapotranspiration of a given fruit tree species. It was found that in the growing season of the forecast period, the relative diversity of sweet cherries’ water needs was relatively small (7%). The highest variability of monthly water needs was in April, May, and June. The seasonal water needs amounted to 573 mm, with very high monthly water needs noted in July (139 mm) and August (134 mm). A significant trend of the time variability of water needs was calculated only in August. During this month, it is predicted that the water needs will rise by 5 mm in each subsequent decade. These results will be helpful in the design of sweet cherry irrigation treatments.
A Symmetry-Based Superposition Method for Planning and Surgical Outcome Assessment
Authors: Hsiao Yu-Ching , Fang Jing-Jing
Published: March 2023

Computer-aided surgical planning has been widely used to increase the safety and predictability of surgery. The validation of the target of surgical planning to surgical outcomes on a patient-specific model is an important issue. The aim of this research was to develop a robust superposition method to assess the deviation of planning and outcome by using the symmetrical characteristic of the affected target. The optimal symmetry plane (OSP) of an object is usually used to evaluate the degree of symmetry of an object. We proposed a refined OSP-based contouring method to transfer a complex three-dimensional superposition operation into two dimensions. We compared the typical iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm with the refined OSP-based contouring method and examined the differences between them. The results using the OSP-based method were much better than the traditional method. As for processing time, the OSP-based contouring method was 11 times faster than the ICP method overall. The proposed method was not affected by the metallic artifacts from medical imaging or geometric changes due to surgical intervention. This technique can be applied for post-operative assessment, such as quantifying the differences between surgical targets and outcomes as well as performing long-term medical follow-up.
Quality Control—A Stepchild in Quantitative Proteomics: A Case Study for the Human CSF Proteome
Authors: Rozanova Svitlana , Uszkoreit Julian , Schork Karin , Serschnitzki Bettina , Eisenacher Martin , Tönges Lars , Barkovits-Boeddinghaus Katalin , Marcus Katrin
Published: March 2023

Proteomic studies using mass spectrometry (MS)-based quantification are a main approach to the discovery of new biomarkers. However, a number of analytical conditions in front and during MS data acquisition can affect the accuracy of the obtained outcome. Therefore, comprehensive quality assessment of the acquired data plays a central role in quantitative proteomics, though, due to the immense complexity of MS data, it is often neglected. Here, we address practically the quality assessment of quantitative MS data, describing key steps for the evaluation, including the levels of raw data, identification and quantification. With this, four independent datasets from cerebrospinal fluid, an important biofluid for neurodegenerative disease biomarker studies, were assessed, demonstrating that sample processing-based differences are already reflected at all three levels but with varying impacts on the quality of the quantitative data. Specifically, we provide guidance to critically interpret the quality of MS data for quantitative proteomics. Moreover, we provide the free and open source quality control tool MaCProQC, enabling systematic, rapid and uncomplicated data comparison of raw data, identification and feature detection levels through defined quality metrics and a step-by-step quality control workflow.
Detection of Liver Tumour Using Deep Learning Based Segmentation with Coot Extreme Learning Model
Authors: Sridhar Kalaivani , C Kavitha , Lai Wen-Cheng , Kavin Balasubramanian Prabhu
Published: March 2023

Systems for medical analytics and decision making that make use of multimodal intelligence are of critical importance in the field of healthcare. Liver cancer is one of the most frequent types of cancer and early identification of it is crucial for effective therapy. Liver tumours share the same brightness and contrast characteristics as their surrounding tissues. Likewise, irregular tumour shapes are a serious concern that varies with cancer stage and tumour kind. There are two main phases of tumour segmentation in the liver: identifying the liver, and then segmenting the tumour itself. Conventional interactive segmentation approaches, however, necessitate a high number of intensity levels, whereas recently projected CNN-based interactive segmentation approaches are constrained by low presentation on liver tumour images. This research provides a unique deep Learning based Segmentation with Coot Extreme Learning Model approach that shows high efficiency in results and also detects tumours from the publicly available data of liver images. Specifically, the study processes the initial segmentation with a small number of additional users clicks to generate an improved segmentation by incorporating inner boundary points through the proposed geodesic distance encoding method. Finally, classification is carried out using an Extreme Learning Model, with the classifier’s parameters having been ideally chosen by means of the Coot Optimization algorithm (COA). On the 3D-IRCADb1 dataset, the research evaluates the segmentation quality metrics DICE and accuracy, finding improvements over approaches in together liver-coloured and tumour separation.
Inhibition of Microglial GSK3β Activity Is Common to Different Kinds of Antidepressants: A Proposal for an In Vitro Screen to Detect Novel Antidepressant Principles
Authors: Kalkman Hans O.
Published: March 2023

Depression is a major public health concern. Unfortunately, the present antidepressants often are insufficiently effective, whilst the discovery of more effective antidepressants has been extremely sluggish. The objective of this review was to combine the literature on depression with the pharmacology of antidepressant compounds, in order to formulate a conceivable pathophysiological process, allowing proposals how to accelerate the discovery process. Risk factors for depression initiate an infection-like inflammation in the brain that involves activation microglial Toll-like receptors and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β). GSK3β activity alters the balance between two competing transcription factors, the pro-inflammatory/pro-oxidative transcription factor NFκB and the neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative transcription factor NRF2. The antidepressant activity of tricyclic antidepressants is assumed to involve activation of GS-coupled microglial receptors, raising intracellular cAMP levels and activation of protein kinase A (PKA). PKA and similar kinases inhibit the enzyme activity of GSK3β. Experimental antidepressant principles, including cannabinoid receptor-2 activation, opioid μ receptor agonists, 5HT2 agonists, valproate, ketamine and electrical stimulation of the Vagus nerve, all activate microglial pathways that result in GSK3β-inhibition. An in vitro screen for NRF2-activation in microglial cells with TLR-activated GSK3β activity, might therefore lead to the detection of totally novel antidepressant principles with, hopefully, an improved therapeutic efficacy.
Recent Progress of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Bacteria Detection
Authors: Liu Lulu , Ma Wenrui , Wang Xiang , Li Shunbo
Published: March 2023

There are various pathogenic bacteria in the surrounding living environment, which not only pose a great threat to human health but also bring huge losses to economic development. Conventional methods for bacteria detection are usually time-consuming, complicated and labor-intensive, and cannot meet the growing demands for on-site and rapid analyses. Sensitive, rapid and effective methods for pathogenic bacteria detection are necessary for environmental monitoring, food safety and infectious bacteria diagnosis. Recently, benefiting from its advantages of rapidity and high sensitivity, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has attracted significant attention in the field of bacteria detection and identification as well as drug susceptibility testing. Here, we comprehensively reviewed the latest advances in SERS technology in the field of bacteria analysis. Firstly, the mechanism of SERS detection and the fabrication of the SERS substrate were briefly introduced. Secondly, the label-free SERS applied for the identification of bacteria species was summarized in detail. Thirdly, various SERS tags for the high-sensitivity detection of bacteria were also discussed. Moreover, we emphasized the application prospects of microfluidic SERS chips in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). In the end, we gave an outlook on the future development and trends of SERS in point-of-care diagnoses of bacterial infections.
Surface-Activated Pencil Graphite Electrode for Dopamine Sensor Applications: A Critical Review
Authors: Srinivas Sakthivel , Senthil Kumar Annamalai
Published: March 2023

Pencil graphite electrode (PGE) is an alternative, commercially available, ready-to-use, screen-printed electrode for a wide range of electroanalytical applications. Due to the complex-matrix composition and unpredictable electro-inactive nature of PGE in its native form, a surface pre-treatment/activation procedure is highly preferred for using it as an electroactive working electrode for electroanalytical applications. In this article, we review various surface pre-treatment and modification procedures adopted in the literature with respect to the sensitive and selective detection of dopamine as a model system. Specific generation of the carbon–oxygen functional group, along with partial surface exfoliation of PGE, has been referred to as a key step for the activation. Based on the Scopus® index, the literature collection was searched with the keywords “pencil and dopamine”. The obtained data were segregated into three main headings as: (i) electrochemically pre-treated PGE; (ii) polymer-modified PGEs; and (iii) metal and metal nanocomposite-modified PGE. This critical review covers various surface activation procedures adopted for the activation for PGE suitable for dopamine electroanalytical application.
Development of Gold-Nanoparticle-Based Lateral Flow Immunoassays for Rapid Detection of TB ESAT-6 and CFP-10
Authors: Seele Palesa Pamela , Dyan Busiswa , Skepu Amanda , Maserumule Charlotte , Sibuyi Nicole Remaliah Samantha
Published: March 2023

The current study reports on the development of a rapid and cost-effective TB-antigen diagnostic test for the detection of Mycobacterium biomarkers from non-sputum-based samples. Two gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in the form of lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) were developed for detection of immunodominant TB antigens, the 6 kDa early secreted antigen target EsxA (ESAT-6) and the 10 kDa culture filtrate protein EsxB (CFP-10). AuNPs were synthesized using the Turkevich method and characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometer and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The AuNP–detection probe conjugation conditions were determined by comparing the stability of 14 nm AuNPs at different pH conditions, following salt challenge. Thereafter, ESAT-6 and CFP-10 antibodies were conjugated to the AuNPs and used for the colorimetric detection of TB antigens. Selection of the best detection and capture antibody pairs was determined by Dot spotting. The limits of detection (LODs) for the LFIAs were evaluated by dry testing. TEM results showed that the 14 nm AuNPs were mostly spherical and well dispersed. The ESAT-6 LFIA prototype had an LOD of 0.0625 ng/mL versus the CFP-10 with an LOD of 7.69 ng/mL. Compared to other studies in the literature, the LOD was either similar or lower, outperforming them. Moreover, in some of the previous studies, an enrichment/extraction step was required to improve on the LOD. In this study, the LFIAs produced results within 15 min and could be suitable for use at PoCs either in clinics, mobile clinics, hospitals or at home by the end user. However, further studies need to be conducted to validate their use in clinical samples.
The Influence of Individual and Contextual Factors on the Vocational Choices of Adolescents and Their Impact on Well-Being
Authors: Fantinelli Stefania , Esposito Ciro , Carlucci Leonardo , Limone Pierpaolo , Sulla Francesco
Published: March 2023

Adolescents who have to make decisions regarding their future career or academic path can be greatly influenced by parental expectations and other individual and contextual factors. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of adolescent–parent career congruence on adolescents’ well-being and future intention to enroll in a university course. The recruitment of participants took place through a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling. A sample of 142 high school students who are managing their decisions for the future completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed through a path analysis (SEM) with observed variables, and different indices were evaluated to check the model goodness of fit. The data show that congruence with parents’ wishes has a significant effect on academic motivation, work hope and mattering, which in turn have a positive and significant effect on both future intentions to undertake university studies and on the participants’ occupational well-being. In line with past studies, our results demonstrate correlations between adolescent–parent career congruence in career exploration and decision making, pointing out in particular the influence due to complementary congruence with mothers. Furthermore, our study underscores the important role played by both individual and contextual factors in adolescent well-being and intentions for their future. Finally, implications for the practice of vocational guidance practitioners are discussed.