bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-wide transcriptome profiling revealed biological macromolecules respond to low temperature stress in Brassica napus L
Authors: Hussain Muhammad Azhar , Luo Dan , Zeng Liu , Ding Xiaoyu , Cheng Yong , Zou Xiling , Lv Yan , Lu Guangyuan
Published: November 2022

Brassica napus L. (B. napus) is a vital oilseed crop cultivated worldwide; low temperature (LT) is one of the major stress factors that limit its growth, development, distribution, and production. Even though processes have been developed to characterize LT-responsive genes, only limited studies have exploited the molecular response mechanisms in B. napus. Here the transcriptome data of an elite B. napus variety with LT adaptability was acquired and applied to investigate the gene expression profiles of B. napus in response to LT stress. The bioinformatics study revealed a total of 79,061 unigenes, of which 3,703 genes were differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 2,129 upregulated and 1,574 downregulated. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis pinpointed that the DEGs were enriched in LT-stress-responsive biological functions and metabolic pathways, which included sugar metabolism, antioxidant defense system, plant hormone signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Moreover, a group of LT-stress-responsive transcription factors with divergent expression patterns under LT was summarized. A combined protein interaction suggested that a complex interconnected regulatory network existed in all detected pathways. RNA-seq data was verified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Based on these findings, we presented a hypothesis model illustrating valuable information for understanding the LT response mechanisms in B. napus.
Building a foundation for gene family analysis in Rosaceae genomes with a novel workflow: A case study in Pyrus architecture genes
Authors: Zhang Huiting , Wafula Eric K. , Eilers Jon , Harkess Alex E. , Ralph Paula E. , Timilsena Prakash Raj , dePamphilis Claude W. , Waite Jessica M. , Honaas Loren A.
Published: November 2022

The rapid development of sequencing technologies has led to a deeper understanding of plant genomes. However, direct experimental evidence connecting genes to important agronomic traits is still lacking in most non-model plants. For instance, the genetic mechanisms underlying plant architecture are poorly understood in pome fruit trees, creating a major hurdle in developing new cultivars with desirable architecture, such as dwarfing rootstocks in European pear (Pyrus communis). An efficient way to identify genetic factors for important traits in non-model organisms can be to transfer knowledge across genomes. However, major obstacles exist, including complex evolutionary histories and variable quality and content of publicly available plant genomes. As researchers aim to link genes to traits of interest, these challenges can impede the transfer of experimental evidence across plant species, namely in the curation of high-quality, high-confidence gene models in an evolutionary context. Here we present a workflow using a collection of bioinformatic tools for the curation of deeply conserved gene families of interest across plant genomes. To study gene families involved in tree architecture in European pear and other rosaceous species, we used our workflow, plus a draft genome assembly and high-quality annotation of a second P. communis cultivar, ‘d’Anjou.’ Our comparative gene family approach revealed significant issues with the most recent ‘Bartlett’ genome - primarily thousands of missing genes due to methodological bias. After correcting assembly errors on a global scale in the ‘Bartlett’ genome, we used our workflow for targeted improvement of our genes of interest in both P. communis genomes, thus laying the groundwork for future functional studies in pear tree architecture. Further, our global gene family classification of 15 genomes across 6 genera provides a valuable and previously unavailable resource for the Rosaceae research community. With it, orthologs and other gene family members can be easily identified across any of the classified genomes. Importantly, our workflow can be easily adopted for any other plant genomes and gene families of interest.
Untargeted metabolomic profiling of fresh and dried leaf extracts of young and mature Eucalyptus globulus trees indicates differences in the presence of specialized metabolites
Authors: Pinto Mafalda , Soares Cristiano , Pereira Ruth , Rodrigues José António , Fidalgo Fernanda , Valente Inês Maria
Published: November 2022

Aqueous extracts from Eucalyptus globulus leaves contain a wide variety of specialized metabolites, mainly polyphenols and appreciable amounts of volatile compounds, which are responsible for their diverse biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and allelopathic features. For this reason, several studies have been conducted to explore the composition of E. globulus leaf extracts for multiple therapeutic and commercial applications. However, so far, the available bibliographic reports only refer to the chemical composition of extracts prepared with leaves from mature trees, leaving much to clarify about the composition of juvenile eucalyptus leaf extracts. Furthermore, there is no consensus regarding the type of leaves, fresh or dried ones, to be used in the extraction procedure, considering the highest recovery of biologically active compounds. In this sense, this study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of aqueous extracts prepared with fresh and dried leaves from young and mature E. globulus trees. For this, leaf biomass from young and mature E. globulus trees was collected in three distinct places from a forest area, and after oven-drying a portion of the leaves, an extraction in hot water was carried out, followed by GC-MS and HPLC-MS/MS analyses. The results revealed that the maturity of eucalyptus trees and biomass drying significantly influenced the volatile and non-volatile composition of the aqueous extracts. Accordingly, while fresh leaf extracts of young trees had great levels of hydrolysable tannins, extracts prepared with fresh leaves from mature trees presented a wide range of terpenes. When dried leaf material was used, extracts had notorious contents of amino acids derivatives, C13 norisoprenoids, fatty and other organic acids. Overall, this study showed, for the first time, that plant maturity (young vs mature) and pre-processing (fresh vs dried) of foliar biomass of E. globulus trees need to be considered in the preparation of leaf aqueous extracts depending on the desired purposes, since major changes in what regards biologically active compounds were found.
LDA-based topic modeling for COVID-19-related sports research trends
Authors: Lee Jea Woog , Kim YoungBin , Han Doug Hyun
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic could generate a turning point for introducing a new system for sports participation and business. The purpose of this study is to explore trends and topic structures of COVID-19-related sports research by analyzing the relevant literature.

Methods

Sports studies related to COVID-19 were collected in searching international academic databases. After the pre-processing step using the refinement and morpheme analysis function of the Net Miner program, topic modeling and social network analysis were used to analyze Journal Citation Reports found using the search term ‘COVID-19 sports’.

Results

As a result, this study used subject modeling to reveal important potential topics in COVID-19-related sports research articles. ‘Sports participation’, ‘elite players’, and ‘sports industry’ were macroscopically classified, and detailed research topics could be identified from each division.

Conclusion

This study revealed important latent topics from COVID-19-related sports research articles using topic modeling. The results of the research elucidate the structure of academic knowledge on this topic and provide guidance for future research.
Physical attractiveness and women’s intra-household bargaining power
Authors: Li Zhongwu
Published: November 2022

This paper explores the role of physical attractiveness in affecting women’s intra-household bargaining power. The empirical analysis based on the China Family Panel Studies finds that physical attractiveness significantly increases women’s intra-household bargaining power. To solve the endogenous problem of physical attractiveness, we employ an instrument-variable-based regression to corroborate the conclusion. Using generalized structural equation model, we show that income, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationship are three possible transmission channels (or mediators) between physical attractiveness and women’s intra-household bargaining power.
Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
Authors: Parsons-Smith Renée L. , Barkase Sherry , Lovell Geoff P. , Vleck Veronica , Terry Peter C.
Published: November 2022

Moods have been shown to be predictive of athletic performance and a reflection of mental health status. The aims of our study were (a) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes with population norms; (b) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes grouped by gender and age bands; (c) to explore whether six distinct mood profile clusters reported in the literature were evident among triathletes and their respective prevalence; (d) to determine if pre-race mood scores predicted triathlon performance; and (e) to interpret our findings in terms of the risk of mental health issues for triathletes. Participants were 592 age-group triathletes (also referred to as recreational or amateur triathletes) who completed the Brunel Mood Scale pre-race and recorded their time goal for the race. Mean mood scores deviated significantly from population norms, with Tension and Vigor scores at the 55th and 54th percentile, respectively, and Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion scores between the 42nd and 46th percentile. Females reported higher Tension scores than males (p < 0.001), and those in the 18–25  years and 26–35 years age bands reported higher Tension scores than those in the 46–55 years age band (p < 0.008). Using k-means cluster analysis, six distinct mood profiles were identified, the distribution of which approximated the general population, except for a low prevalence of very negative profiles. Mean scores for Depression and Anger were exceptionally low and only 1.5% of triathletes, compared to the normal prevalence of ~5%, reported an “inverse Everest” profile, which is associated with elevated risk of psychopathology. Mood scores did not predict triathlon performance, assessed by finish time as a percentage of time goal. Results showed an association between triathlon participation and psychological well-being. Findings will inform future investigations of mood responses among triathletes and provide a relevant point of reference for applied practitioners who work with triathletes.
Definition and attributes of the emotional memory images underlying psychophysiological dis-ease
Authors: Hudson Matt , Johnson Mark I.
Published: November 2022

Background

Previously, we proposed a “Split-second Unlearning” model to explain how emotional memories could be preventing clients from adapting to the stressors of daily living, thus forming a barrier to learning, health and well-being. We suggested that these emotional memories were mental images stored inside the mind as ‘emotional memory images’ (EMIs).

Objective

To elaborate on the nature of these emotional memory images within the context of split-second learning and unlearning and the broader field of psychoanalysis, to initiate a conversation among scholars concerning the path that future healthcare research, practice, and policy should take.

Method

A narrative review of the attributes of EMIs utilizing relevant and contentious research and/or scholarly publications on the topic, facilitated by observations and approaches used in clinical practice. Results: We propose a refined definition of EMIs as Trauma induced, non-conscious, contiguously formed multimodal mental imagery, which triggers an amnesic, anachronistic, stress response within a split-second. The systematic appraisal of each attribute of an EMI supports the idea that the EMI is distinct from similar entities described in literature, enabling further sophistication of our Split-second Unlearning model of psychophysiological dis-ease.

Conclusion

Exploration of the concept of EMIs provides further insight on mechanisms associated with psychophysiological dis-ease and opportunities for therapeutic approaches.
Do parental cognitions during pregnancy predict bonding after birth in a low-risk sample?
Authors: Bohne Agnes , Nordahl Dag , Høifødt Ragnhild Sørensen , Moe Vibeke , Landsem Inger Pauline , Wang Catharina E. A. , Pfuhl Gerit
Published: November 2022

Parental bonding to their infant is important for healthy parent-infant interaction and infant development. Characteristics in the parents affect how they bond to their newborn. Parental cognitions such as repetitive negative thinking, a thinking style associated with mental health issues, and cognitive dispositions, e.g., mood-congruent attentional bias or negative implicit attitudes to infants, might affect bonding.

To assess the influence of cognitive factors on bonding, 350 participants (220 pregnant women and their partners) were recruited over two years by midwives at the hospital and in the communal health care services. Participants were followed throughout the pregnancy and until the infant was seven months old as a part of the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study. Both mothers and fathers took part. First, we measured demographics, repetitive negative thinking, attentional bias, and implicit attitudes to infants during pregnancy, as predictors of bonding two months postnatally. Second, we also measured infant regulatory problems, and depressive symptoms at two months postnatally as predictors of parents’ perception of infant temperament at five months. Robust regression analyses were performed to test hypotheses.

Results showed that mothers and fathers differed on several variables. Parity was beneficial for bonding in mothers but not for fathers. Higher levels of mothers’ repetitive negative thinking during pregnancy predicted weaker bonding, which was a non-significant trend in fathers. For fathers, higher education predicted weaker bonding, but not for mothers. Mothers’ perception of their infant temperament at five months was significantly affected by bonding at two months, but for fathers, their depressive symptoms were the only significant predictor of perceived infant temperament.

In conclusion, for mothers, their relationship with their infant is essential for how they experience their infant, while for fathers their own wellbeing might be the most important factor. Health care providers should screen parents’ thoughts and emotions already during pregnancy to help facilitate optimal bonding.
The impacts of self-expectation leadership and organizational commitment on hand hygiene behavior of medical staff based on the theory of implicit leadership
Authors: Wang Qianning , Lai Xiaoquan , Zheng Feiyang , Yu Tiantian , Wang Lu , Wu Yuanyang , Wang Kang , Zhang Xinping , Zhou Qian , Tan Li
Published: November 2022

Hand hygiene behavior (HHB) in healthcare settings remains suboptimal globally. Self-expectation leadership and organizational commitment are emphasized as important factors influencing HHB. However, there are no studies to support any relationship between self-expectation leadership and organizational commitment to HHB. This study will fill the gap by applying implicit leadership theory (ILT) to support the further promote HHB among medical staff. A cross-sectional study of 23,426 medical staff was conducted in all second-level and third-level hospitals in Hubei province, China. Based on ILT, an online self-administered and anonymous questionnaire was designed for measuring the medical staff’s self-expectation leadership, organizational commitment, and HHB based on Offermann’s 8 dimensions scale, Chang’s 3 dimensions scale, and the specification of hand hygiene for healthcare workers, respectively, in which self-expectation leadership was divided into positive traits and negative traits parts. The structural equation model was used to examine the direct, indirect, and mediating effects of the variables. Positive traits of self-expectation leadership had a positive effect on organizational commitment (β = 0.617, p < 0.001) and HHB (β = 0.180, p < 0.001). Negative traits of self-expectation leadership had a negative effect on organizational commitment (β = –0.032, p < 0.001), while a positive effect on HHB (β = 0.048, p < 0.001). The organizational commitment had a positive effect on HHB (β = 0.419, p < 0.001). The mediating effect of the organizational commitment showed positively between positive traits of self-expectation leadership and HHB (β = 0.259, p < 0.001), while negatively between negative traits of self-expectation leadership and HHB (β = –0.013, p < 0.001). Positive traits of self-expectation leadership are important predictors of promoting organizational commitment and HHB, while negative traits of self-expectation leadership have a limited impact on organizational commitment and HHB in the field of healthcare-associated infection prevention and control. These findings suggest the need to focus on positive traits of self-expectation leadership; although negative traits of self-expectation leadership can also promote HHB to a lesser degree among medical staff, it will reduce their organizational commitment.
Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation combined with electroacupuncture promotes rapid recovery after abdominal surgery: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Li Hao , Du Chen , Lu Lingyun , Hu Xiangyun , Xu Huiming , Li Ning , Liu Hong , Wen Qian
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The most frequent complications after abdominal surgery include a decrease or loss of appetite, abdominal distension, abdominal pain caused by reduced gastrointestinal motility, anal arrest with intestinal distension and defecation, and nausea and vomiting due to anesthetic and opioid analgesic administration. These complications severely affect postoperative recovery, prolong hospital stay, and increase the financial burden. The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of three acupoint stimulation modalities (electroacupuncture [EA], transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation [TEAS], and transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation combined with EA [TEAS+EA]), and two EA instrument waveforms (continuous wave and dilatational wave) for rapid recovery after abdominal surgery.

Methods and analysis

A total of 560 patients will be recruited and randomly allocated to receive one of the following seven interventions: continuous wave EA, continuous wave TEAS, continuous wave TEAS + EA, dilatational wave EA, dilatational wave TEAS, dilatational wave TEAS + EA, and a control. For this study, continuous waves at 2 Hz, and dilatational waves at 2/50 Hz would be selected. The points to be stimulated by EA are the bilateral Neiguan (PC6), Hegu (LI6), Zusanli (ST36), Shangjuxu (ST37), and Xiajuxu (ST39), and TEAS would stimulate the bilateral Liangmen (ST21) and Daheng (SP15). The control group will neither receive EA nor TEAS. All patients will undergo an enhanced recovery plan after surgery and be provided with standardized perioperative management. Treatment will start on the first postoperative day and be administered once daily in the morning until the patient regains spontaneous bowel movements and can tolerate oral intake of solid food. The primary outcome is a composite of time to first defecation and time to tolerance of a solid diet. Secondary outcomes include time to first exhaustion; time of first defecation; time of tolerance of a solid diet; time to the first ambulation; length of hospital stay from surgery to discharge; visual analog scale score for postoperative daily pain, nausea, and vomiting; incidence of postoperative complications; and treatment acceptability.

Discussion

This study will compare the efficacy and safety of three acupoint stimulation methods and two EA instrument waveforms for rapid recovery after abdominal surgery.

Trial Registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn), ChiCTR2100043883.
Gender differences in association of urbanization with psychological stress in Chinese adults: A population-based study
Authors: Li Dianjiang , Ruan Yuhui , Kang Qi , Rong Chao
Published: November 2022

Objective

To investigate the gender-specific associations between exposure to urbanization and psychological stress in China experiencing rapid urbanization.

Methods

Data were obtained from the 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey. A total of 4,388 men and 5,098 women aged at least 18 years were obtained from 288 communities across 12 provinces and municipalities. Tertiles of the urbanization index, summarizing 12 urbanization dimensions at the community level, were used to define low, medium, and high levels of urbanization. The psychological stress was measured based on the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. The gender-stratified multilevel analysis (Level-1: Individuals, Level-2: Communities, and Level-3: provinces/municipalities) was used to estimate the association between exposure to urbanization and psychological stress.

Results

After controlling for age, education status, marital status, work status, household income per capita, current smoking, alcohol drinking, sleep duration, BMI, and chronic conditions, the urbanization index was negatively associated with psychological stress in women (Ptrend = 0.017) but not men (Ptrend = 0.476). More specifically, a one-standard deviation increase in the score of community population density (β = −0.329, P = 0.329), modern markets (β = −0.247, P = 0.044), education (β = −0.448, P = 0.002), and housing (β = −0.380, P = 0.005) was negatively associated with psychological stress only in women, separately.

Conclusion

Our data revealed that living in the most urbanized communities is associated with lower levels of psychological stress for women but not men. Thus, this study can help empower decision-makers to accurately target vulnerable communities and plan effective strategies to address psychological outcomes.
Advances in laboratory diagnostic methods for cerebrospinal fluid testing for neurosyphilis
Authors: Gao Zheng-Xiang , Gou Yu , Liu Xiao-Qin , Peng Lei-Wen
Published: November 2022

Neurosyphilis is a chronic infectious disease caused by the invasion of Treponema pallidum into the central nervous system. In recent years, with the increase in the latent syphilis infection rate, the incidence of neurosyphilis has gradually increased, the typical symptoms of neurosyphilis have decreased, atypical manifestations have increased, and the clinical manifestations have become increasingly diverse. Cerebrospinal fluid testing plays an important role in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. In recent years, there have been many advances in cerebrospinal fluid testing. This review focuses on the current and potential laboratory indicators of neurosyphilis in cerebrospinal fluid, aiming to provide a reference for clinical application and ideas for future experimental research of neurosyphilis.
Using genetic instruments to estimate the causal effect of hormonal reproductive factors on osteoarthritis
Authors: Wang Bingran , Wu Junhua , Li Han , Jin Xiaoyan , Sui Cong , Yu Zhen
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Hormonal reproductive factors have been considered to play an important role in the etiology of osteoarthritis (OA). We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) to examine whether a causal effect existed between them.

Methods

MR was performed by using publicly released genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics to estimate the causal associations of three relevant exposures, including age at menarche (AAM), age at natural menopause (ANM) and age at first birth (AFB), with the risk of OA. We employed several MR methods, including inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median and weighted mode, to estimate the causality. We performed a sensitivity analysis by manually pruning pleiotropic variants associated with the known confounder body mass index (BMI).

Results

The instrumental variables that achieved genome-wide significance, including 349 AAM single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 121 AAM SNPs, 54 ANM SNPs, and 10 AFB SNPs, were incorporated into the operation. IVW analysis indicated that each additional year in AFB was associated with a decreasing risk of hip and/or knee OA and overall OA (hip and/or knee OA: OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64–0.93, P = 1.33 × 10−3; overall OA: OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.68–0.92, P = 1.80 × 10−4). In addition, our results suggested that AAM exerted a causal effect on knee OA in an unfavorable manner (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76–0.95, P = 1.58 × 10−3). After accounting for the effect of BMI, the causal effect association between AFB and hip and/or knee OA was also examined (IVW: OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.66–0.92, P = 3.22 × 10−3).

Conclusion

Our findings add a growing body of evidence surrounding the unfavorable effects of early AFB on OA risk, suggesting the essential for relevant health problem management in susceptible populations.
Modeling approaches for early warning and monitoring of pandemic situations as well as decision support
Authors: Botz Jonas , Wang Danqi , Lambert Nicolas , Wagner Nicolas , Génin Marie , Thommes Edward , Madan Sumit , Coudeville Laurent , Fröhlich Holger
Published: November 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the lack of preparedness of many healthcare systems against pandemic situations. In response, many population-level computational modeling approaches have been proposed for predicting outbreaks, spatiotemporally forecasting disease spread, and assessing as well as predicting the effectiveness of (non-) pharmaceutical interventions. However, in several countries, these modeling efforts have only limited impact on governmental decision-making so far. In light of this situation, the review aims to provide a critical review of existing modeling approaches and to discuss the potential for future developments.
Perspective of Critical Factors toward Successful Public–Private Partnerships for Emerging Economies
Authors: Berisha Anisa , Kruja Alba , Hysa Eglantina
Published: November 2022

In the last decades, Albania has started the implementation of a new practice which is partnership with the private sector, named public–private partnership (PPP), due to the inabilities of the public sector to fulfill all its public needs. This represents a crucial ratio related to economic development and the struggle for a fair and transparent implementation process. Critical success factors (CSF) are the significant elements in the partnership which, if properly identified, provide success in implementation. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to highlight the factors which increase the chances of a successful implementation of PPPs in Albania and the items which contribute to each factor. The data used for the analysis were gained through 175 surveys conducted with people working in private and public institutions engaged in PPP. Of the main CSFs, the identification of the right project is ranked most critical to the success of PPP followed by financial capacity, trust, openness and fairness between parties, negotiation and defined revenue stream. The study findings further suggest that the accountability mechanism should be enforced in order for the public sector to act in accordance with the public interest. It is concluded that the findings of the study will guide the PPP stakeholders on the CSFs of PPPs in Albania.
Mechanical Characteristics of Lunar Regolith Drilling and Coring and Its Crawling Phenomenon: Analysis and Validation
Authors: Tang Junyue , Yang Tian , Chen Xiren , Zhang Zhiheng , Tian Ye , Zhang Weiwei , Jiang Shengyuan
Published: November 2022

The collection of lunar regolith with complete stratigraphic information is the key to analyzing the evolution and composition of the moon. To keep each sample’s stratification for further analysis, a sampling method called flexible-tube coring has been adopted for Chinses lunar explorations. Given the uncertain physical properties of lunar regolith, drilling force and core lift force should be adjusted immediately in piercing process. Otherwise, only a small amount of core could be sampled, and overload drilling faults could occur correspondingly. Due to the fact that the cored regolith is inevitably connected to the flexible tube, coring characteristics may have a great influence on both lifting force and sampling quantity. To comprehend the regolith coring characteristics, a flexible-tube coring motion mechanics model was established and verified to acquire the lifting force results accurately. Herein, the judgment conditions for the flexible tube crawling phenomenon are proposed. Finally, the accuracy of the model is verified by comparing it with the Chang’e V telemetry data. This article provides theoretical support for the design and regulation improvement of Chang’e VI drilling and coring in the future.
Validation for Aerodynamic Performance on Over-Expanded State of Single Expansion Ramp Nozzle Configuration
Authors: Chen Ye , Hou Zhongxi , Zhu Bingjie , Guo Zheng , Xu Boting
Published: November 2022

The performance of a single expansion ramp nozzle (SERN) drastically declines on over-expanded conditions. A numerical code can accurately predict nozzle performance in the over-expanded state, which is crucial for the SERN configuration design. A Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulation of the SERN jet in an over-expanded state was performed to verify the numerical performance of the well-established commercial CFD solver (ANSYS FluentTM v202) and rhoCentralFoam solver in OpenFOAM. The wall pressure distributions and flow field characteristics including the shock structures and the width of the jet were studied in detail with an inlet nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) of 1.5, 3, 4, and 8. The SERN aerodynamic performance with an inlet NPR ranging from 1.5 to 9 was then calculated. The results showed that the Fluent 3D simulation could qualitatively predict the characteristics of the internal and external flow of the nozzle, because it overestimated the wall pressure and shock wave position. Two-dimensional (2D) simulations made it difficult to capture the external flow structure due to the 3D effects. The simulation results of rhoCentralFoam for over-expanded SERN flow were not ideal. The Fluent can produce physical solutions, and it achieved limited success. The existing errors were mainly caused by the inlet boundary setting.
Analysis and Testing of Rigid–Flexible Coupling Collision Harvesting Processes in Blueberry Plants
Authors: Wang Haibin , Lv Xiaomeng , Xiao Feng , Sun Liangliang
Published: November 2022

China possesses a vast territory, and the manual harvesting of blueberries is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Due to the planting agronomy differences in other countries, China needs to develop a domestic blueberry harvester to realize mechanical blueberry harvesting. In the harvesting process, “collision” is the core problem. Most of the literature has studied rigid body–rigid body collision, while few authors have studied rigid–flexible coupling collision mechanisms in the field of berry harvesting. In this paper, a rigid–flexible coupling collision model between the harvester and the blueberry plant was established based on the L-N nonlinear spring damping model (describing the collision force model between two colliding objects, consisting of the nonlinear spring and the damper) and improved the Coulomb model (the tangential collision force model), and the collision mechanism of blueberry harvesting was analyzed. The harvesting collision process was analyzed using both MATLAB and ADAMS software and the same conclusions were obtained: the collision force and fruit harvesting force were inversely proportional to the machine velocity but positively proportional to the rotational velocity of the hydraulic motor of the harvesting device. The following machine parameters were required to meet harvesting conditions: a harvesting device output rotational velocity of 120–150 r/min and a machine velocity of 40–50 m/min. A harvesting field test using a self-propelled blueberry harvester was conducted, which showed that the test results were consistent with the software simulation conclusions. When the machine velocity of the harvester and the output rotational velocity of the hydraulic motor were 45 m/min and 130 r/min, respectively, the machine provided optimum harvesting efficiency and fruit quality with the following optimum parameters: a harvesting efficiency of 5.1 kg/min, a raw fruit harvesting rate of 2.9%, and a damaged fruit harvesting rate of 3.6%. This research can lay the preliminary theoretical foundation for the analysis of a blueberry harvesting mechanism, and the research results can provide a theoretical reference for the harvesting of other similar berry shrubs.
Parameter Optimization and Experiment of a Seed Furrow Cleaning Device for No-Till Maize Seeding
Authors: Yuan Panpan , Li Hongwen , Huang Shenghai , Jiang Shan , Xu Jing , Lin Han , Li Rongrong
Published: November 2022

To avoid the issues of seeds lying atop straw, where the seeds cannot germinate, during no-till maize seeding, a seed furrow cleaning device is proposed. The device uses rotating spring teeth and a curved sliding shovel to clear the straw from the seed furrow to the outside. The critical components of the side throwing mechanism, rotary disc and spring teeth design are analyzed, and the value range of the installation inclination angle, rotating speed and bending angle of spring teeth are determined. The force on the straw at the moment of starting to touch and throw it is analyzed theoretically in the three installation directions of forward inclination, radial and backward inclination on the rotary disc, and the backward inclination of the spring teeth is determined. A simulation model of the seed furrow cleaning device is established by using the discrete element method simulation software; the forwarding speed, rotating speed, installation inclination angle, and bending angle of spring teeth are used as influencing factors to carry out single-factor experiments. The influence characteristics of different parameters on seed ditch cleaning effect are analyzed from the aspects of straw cleaning quantity and soil disturbance. A field validation experiment is carried out, and the results show that when rotating speed is 180 r/min, installation inclination angle of spring teeth is 40°, and bending angle is 30°, the straw cleaning rate is 82.26%. The research could provide references to develop the no-till seeder for maize seeding.
Alternative Community-Based Village Development Strategies in Indonesia: Using Multicriteria Decision Analysis
Authors: Nugraha Leo Fatra , Sulistyowati Lies , Setiawan Iwan , Noor Trisna Insan
Published: November 2022

To achieve a prosperous village community by utilizing all the potential and resources they have, village development needs to be carried out in a planned and sustainable manner by the village government and the community. This research aims to analyze alternative community-based village development strategies, and formulate the best strategies and programs for community-based village development. The data analysis method used is multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). The location of this research is Parentas Village and Cidugaleun Village, Indonesia. The results showed that the utilization of the five development capitals at the research site could not be utilized optimally. This is influenced by the poor state of infrastructure, which causes an increase in farm production costs and reduces the price of produce at harvest. From the results of the analysis, there are also five main strategic factors that influence community-based village development: the culture of mutual assistance, community dependence on assistance, private investment, availability of technology, and outside parties that can trigger conflicts between communities. From the results of the analysis, the best conclusion in the strategy that can be applied is to use alternative V in the form of maximizing government programs in infrastructure development by involving the community. Based on the results of the analysis, it is expected to be an alternative and strategy for the government in the development of community-based villages.
Effects of Genotype and Diet on Performance, Carcass Traits, and Blood Profiles of Slow-Growing Chicks Obtained by Crosses of Local Breed with Commercial Genotype
Authors: Tudorache Minodora , Custura Ioan , Gheorghe Anca , Habeanu Mihaela , Lefter Nicoleta Aurelia , Pogurschi Elena Narcisa , Popa Dana Catalina
Published: November 2022

The effects of genotype and diet on growth performance, carcass traits and blood metabolites were investigated. The commercial Ross 308 (R) chickens genotype, a local Black Transylvanian Naked Neck (BTNN) breed, and their crosses were used in an 81-day study. A total of 720 one-d-old chicks were allotted into eight groups in a 4 × 2 factorial design with 4 genotypes: Rmale × Rfemale (R), BTNNmale × Rfemale (BTNN-R), BTNNmale × BTNNfemale (BTNN), Rmale × BTNNfemale (R-BTNN), and 2 diets: control and low-metabolisable energy (LME). Genotype affected performance parameters, namely body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), energy intake (EI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), energy conversion ratio (ECR), and production efficiency factor (PEF), irrespective of growth phase (p < 0.05). Diet had no significant effect on overall BWG, EI, ECR and PEF, except that it increased FI and FCR. Genotype influenced the carcass and organ yields (p < 0.05), except bursa weight, while diet had no significant effect. Blood parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, albumin and phosphorus) were affected only by genotype (p < 0.05). In summary, results show that from the two crossbreedings obtained between R and BTNN genotypes, the BTNN-R growth performance and carcass traits were superior to R-BTNN, even though both have had a similar improved plasma response. Lowering the ME level did not significantly affect the BWG but increased FI and FCR, whereas the production index was similar regardless of the genotype. Based on the present results, we concluded that the BTNN-R crosses are the most suitable for use in alternative rearing systems for slow-growing chickens.
Automated Behavior Recognition and Tracking of Group-Housed Pigs with an Improved DeepSORT Method
Authors: Tu Shuqin , Zeng Qiantao , Liang Yun , Liu Xiaolong , Huang Lei , Weng Shitong , Huang Qiong
Published: November 2022

Pig behavior recognition and tracking in group-housed livestock are effective aids for health and welfare monitoring in commercial settings. However, due to demanding farm conditions, the targets in the pig videos are heavily occluded and overlapped, and there are illumination changes, which cause error switches of pig identify (ID) in the tracking process and decrease the tracking quality. To solve these problems, this study proposed an improved DeepSORT algorithm for object tracking, which contained three processes. Firstly, two detectors, YOLOX-S and YOLO v5s, were developed to detect pig targets and classify four types of pig behaviors including lying, eating, standing, and other. Then, the improved DeepSORT was developed for pig behavior tracking and reducing error changes of pig ID by improving trajectory processing and data association. Finally, we established the public dataset annotation of group-housed pigs, with 3600 images in a total from 12 videos, which were suitable for pig tracking applications. The advantage of our method includes two aspects. One is that the trajectory processing and data association are improved by aiming at pig-specific scenarios, which are indoor scenes, and the number of pig target objects is stable. This improvement reduces the error switches of pig ID and enhances the stability of the tracking. The other is that the behavior classification information from the detectors is introduced into the tracking algorithm for behavior tracking. In the experiments of pig detection and behavior recognition, the YOLO v5s and YOLOX-S detectors achieved a high precision rate of 99.4% and 98.43%, a recall rate of 99% and 99.23, and a mean average precision (mAP) rate of 99.50% and 99.23%, respectively, with an AP.5:.95 of 89.3% and 87%. In the experiments of pig behavior tracking, the improved DeepSORT algorithm based on YOLOX-S obtained multi-object tracking accuracy (MOTA), ID switches (IDs), and IDF1 of 98.6%,15, and 95.7%, respectively. Compared with DeepSORT, it improved by 1.8% and 6.8% in MOTA and IDF1, respectively, and IDs had a significant decrease, with a decline of 80%. These experiments demonstrate that the improved DeepSORT can achieve pig behavior tracking with stable ID values under commercial conditions and provide scalable technical support for contactless automated pig monitoring.
Degradation Pattern of Five Biodegradable, Potentially Low-Environmental-Impact Mulches under Laboratory Conditions
Authors: Villena Jaime , Moreno Marta , González-Mora Sara , López-Perales Jesús , Morales-Rodríguez Pablo , Moreno Carmen
Published: November 2022

The use of biodegradable (BD) plastic mulch materials as alternatives to the widely used low-density polyethylene (PE) is increasing nowadays, mainly for environmental reasons. However, the success of these materials depends, in addition to fulfilling their function, on completely degrading in the short term, which depends on both their composition and environmental conditions. This study focused on the degradation pattern of five BD plastic materials of different composition (i.e., corn and potato starch, and polylactic acid plastic (PLA) films, blended with different copolyesters during their manufacture), in two soils with different granulometry (Soil 1 has less clay content than Soil 2), taken from organic vegetable fields under controlled laboratory conditions. Conventional PE was used as a reference. The degree of degradation was evaluated through the number of fragments, weight loss, and surface area loss until their total disappearance. The degradation trend of the BD materials was similar in both soils, although much faster in Soil 2. Their total visible disappearance was in the following ranges: potato starch, 225–250 days in Soil 1, 150–200 days in Soil 2; corn starch, 550 days in Soil 1, 300 days in Soil 2; PLA, 1000–1050 days in Soil 1, 350–475 days in Soil 2. PE remained practically intact in both trials. The degradation model of potato starch materials fitted a decreasing exponential model in both soils, while the other bioplastics followed a decreasing Gompertz model, in all cases with steeper slopes in Soil 2. The curves of the degradation models indicated how the same material can degrade differently depending on the type of soil, information that could be useful for users and manufacturers in the framework of a sustainable agriculture.
Method for Segmentation of Litchi Branches Based on the Improved DeepLabv3+
Authors: Xie Jiaxing , Jing Tingwei , Chen Binhan , Peng Jiajun , Zhang Xiaowei , He Peihua , Yin Huili , Sun Daozong , Wang Weixing , Xiao Ao , Lyu Shilei , Li Jun
Published: November 2022

It is necessary to develop automatic picking technology to improve the efficiency of litchi picking, and the accurate segmentation of litchi branches is the key that allows robots to complete the picking task. To solve the problem of inaccurate segmentation of litchi branches under natural conditions, this paper proposes a segmentation method for litchi branches based on the improved DeepLabv3+, which replaced the backbone network of DeepLabv3+ and used the Dilated Residual Networks as the backbone network to enhance the model’s feature extraction capability. During the training process, a combination of Cross-Entropy loss and the dice coefficient loss was used as the loss function to cause the model to pay more attention to the litchi branch area, which could alleviate the negative impact of the imbalance between the litchi branches and the background. In addition, the Coordinate Attention module is added to the atrous spatial pyramid pooling, and the channel and location information of the multi-scale semantic features acquired by the network are simultaneously considered. The experimental results show that the model’s mean intersection over union and mean pixel accuracy are 90.28% and 94.95%, respectively, and the frames per second (FPS) is 19.83. Compared with the classical DeepLabv3+ network, the model’s mean intersection over union and mean pixel accuracy are improved by 13.57% and 15.78%, respectively. This method can accurately segment litchi branches, which provides powerful technical support to help litchi-picking robots find branches.
Diversity and Resistance to Thiophanate-Methyl of Colletotrichum spp. in Strawberry Nursery and the Development of Rapid Detection Using LAMP Method
Authors: Wu Jianyan , Hu Shuodan , Ye Boyang , Hu Xiaoran , Xiao Wenfei , Yu Hong , Zhang Chuanqing
Published: November 2022

Anthracnose is a devastating fungal disease in strawberry nurseries. Multiple Colletotrichum species are responsible for strawberry anthracnose. In this study, 105 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from strawberry seedlings with anthracnose symptoms in fifteen nurseries located in Zhejiang province, China, and were classified based on multilocus sequence and morphological characteristic analyses. Analysis of ITS, ACT, CAL, CHS-1, and GAPDH revealed that four species within C. gloeosporioides species complex, including C. siamense (56 isolates, 53.3%), C. fructicola (37 isolates, 35.2%), C. gloeosporioides (7 isolates, 6.7%), and C. aenigma (5 isolates, 4.8%), were detected in diseased seedlings. Thiophanate-methyl is one of the benzimidazole fungicides, and has long been used to control strawberry anthracnose in China. Here, thiophanate-methyl resistance of Colletotrichum isolates was determined by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Our results indicated that the resistance frequency was up to 96.2%, containing 94.3% of highly resistant isolates. Only four sensitive isolates (two C. fructicola, one C. gloeosporioides, and one C. siamense isolates) and two moderately resistant isolates (one C. aenigma isolate and one C. siamense isolate) were detected. Our data indicated that the high resistance was mainly caused by the E198A mutation in the β-tubulin protein. In addition, F200Y (TTC→TAC) in the β-tubulin protein were detected in two moderately resistant isolates. Based on the point mutation at codon 198 (GAG→GCG) in the β-tubulin gene of Colletotrichum isolates, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to rapidly detect the E198A mutants. Collectively, our study indicated that four species within the C. gloeosporioides species complex were associated with anthracnose symptoms in strawberry nurseries in Zhejiang province, and serious resistance was widespread in each Colletotrichum species.