bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Robinia pseudoacacia Depending on the Origin of Different Geographic Provenances
Authors: Roman Andrea M. , Truta Alina M. , Viman Oana , Morar Irina M. , Spalevic Velibor , Dan Catalina , Sestras Radu E. , Holonec Liviu , Sestras Adriana F.
Published: January 2022

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is recognised as a forest species of interest due to its multiple uses. The management of forest genetic resources and their efficient conservation suffer from variations in traits and start with seed germination. The aim of the current study was to investigate the germination of seeds obtained from plus trees selected in eight Romanian provenances, as well as to investigate the influence of the origin upon plants’ growth and development. Two experiments were undertaken to test seed germination: one treatment involved water-soaked seeds and heat/cold treatment, while the other treatment was based on sulphuric acid, at different concentrations (50, 70, 90%). The results were correlated with the morphological analysis of the seeds. Satu-Mare had the lowest germination rate within both treatments. Sulphuric acid did not improve seed germination as much as the heat treatment. The highest germination rate occurred for the water and temperature treatment on seeds from Bihor provenance (68.2%). The most distant provenance was Bihor, in inverse correlation with Bistrița Năsăud and grouped separately within the hierarchical dendrogram of cluster analysis based on the analysed parameters of the provenances investigated. The results demonstrated that the genotypes and environmental heterogeneity of the seed origin within the provenances may finally result in different performances.
Serum Vitamin D as a Biomarker in Autoimmune, Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Bivona Giulia , Gambino Caterina Maria , Lo Sasso Bruna , Scazzone Concetta , Giglio Rosaria Vincenza , Agnello Luisa , Ciaccio Marcello
Published: January 2022

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone regulating calcium-phosphorus homeostasis, immune response and brain function. In the past thirty years, an increasing number of cohort studies, meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials (RTCs) evaluated the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], which is considered the Vitamin D status biomarker, in patients affected by neurological, psychiatric and autoimmune diseases. Although an association between low 25(OH)D serum levels and the prevalence of these diseases has been found, it is still unclear whether the serum 25(OH)D measurement can be clinically useful as a biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis and predicting treatment response in neurodegeneration, mental illness and immune-mediated disorders. The lack of standardized data, as well as discrepancies among the studies (in the analytical methods, cut-offs, endpoints and study sets), weakened the findings achieved, hindered pooling data, and, consequently, hampered drawing conclusions. This narrative review summarizes the main findings from the studies performed on serum 25(OH)D in neurological, psychiatric and autoimmune diseases, and clarifies whether or not serum 25(OH)D can be used as a reliable biomarker in these diseases.
Simple Quantification of Surface Uptake in F-18 Florapronol PET/CT Imaging for the Validation of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Kim Do-Hoon , Son Junik , Hong Chae Moon , Ryu Ho-Sung , Jeong Shin Young , Lee Sang-Woo , Lee Jaetae
Published: January 2022

We developed a novel quantification method named shape feature using F-18 florapronol positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) and evaluated its sensitivity and specificity for discriminating between patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and patients with mild cognitive impairment or other precursors dementia (non-AD). We calculated the cerebral amyloid smoothing score (CASS) and brain atrophy index (BAI) using the surface area and volume of the region of interest in PET images. We calculated gray and white matter from trained CT data, prepared using U-net. Shape feature was calculated by multiplying CASS with BAI scores. We measured region-based standard uptake values (SUVr) and performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to compare SUVr, shape feature, CASS, and BAI score. We investigated the relationship between shape feature and neuropsychological tests. Fifty subjects (23 with AD and 27 with non-AD) were evaluated. SUVr, shape feature, CASS, and BAI score were significantly higher in patients with AD than in those with non-AD. There was no statistically significant difference between shape feature and SUVr in ROC analysis. Shape feature correlated well with mini-mental state examination scores. Shape feature can effectively quantify beta-amyloid deposition and atrophic changes in the brain. These results suggest that shape feature is useful in the diagnosis of AD.
A Novel Multistage Transfer Learning for Ultrasound Breast Cancer Image Classification
Authors: Ayana Gelan , Park Jinhyung , Jeong Jin-Woo , Choe Se-woon
Published: January 2022

Breast cancer diagnosis is one of the many areas that has taken advantage of artificial intelligence to achieve better performance, despite the fact that the availability of a large medical image dataset remains a challenge. Transfer learning (TL) is a phenomenon that enables deep learning algorithms to overcome the issue of shortage of training data in constructing an efficient model by transferring knowledge from a given source task to a target task. However, in most cases, ImageNet (natural images) pre-trained models that do not include medical images, are utilized for transfer learning to medical images. Considering the utilization of microscopic cancer cell line images that can be acquired in large amount, we argue that learning from both natural and medical datasets improves performance in ultrasound breast cancer image classification. The proposed multistage transfer learning (MSTL) algorithm was implemented using three pre-trained models: EfficientNetB2, InceptionV3, and ResNet50 with three optimizers: Adam, Adagrad, and stochastic gradient de-scent (SGD). Dataset sizes of 20,400 cancer cell images, 200 ultrasound images from Mendeley and 400 ultrasound images from the MT-Small-Dataset were used. ResNet50-Adagrad-based MSTL achieved a test accuracy of 99 ± 0.612% on the Mendeley dataset and 98.7 ± 1.1% on the MT-Small-Dataset, averaging over 5-fold cross validation. A p-value of 0.01191 was achieved when comparing MSTL against ImageNet based TL for the Mendeley dataset. The result is a significant improvement in the performance of artificial intelligence methods for ultrasound breast cancer classification compared to state-of-the-art methods and could remarkably improve the early diagnosis of breast cancer in young women.
Risk Indicators and Treatment Needs of Children 2–5 Years of Age Receiving Dental Treatment under General Anesthesia in Saskatchewan
Authors: Weninger Alyssa , Seebach Erica , Broz Jordyn , Nagle Carol , Lieffers Jessica , Papagerakis Petros , Da Silva Keith
Published: January 2022

Background: When compared to national averages in Canada, Saskatchewan has one of the highest rates of dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA) and average costs per child. Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study is to explore the risk indicators and treatment needs of children receiving dental treatment under GA in Saskatchewan. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited caregivers of children between 24 and 71 months of age in Saskatoon, Canada. Caregivers completed a 40-item questionnaire, which was supplemented with clinical data and then subject to statistical analysis (independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA). Results: A total of 90 caregiver/child dyads were enrolled with the mean age for children being 49.5 ± 12.3 months. The mean age of a child’s first dental visit was 34.7 ± 15.3 months with only 37.9% of children having a dental home. The mean deft index was 11.7 ± 3.4, with an average of 10.9 ± 3.5 teeth receiving treatment. Additionally, location of primary residence (p = 0.03), family income (p = 0.04), family size (p = 0.01), parental education (p = 0.03), dental home (p = 0.04), and body mass index (p = 0.04) had a statistically significant association with a higher mean deft. Conclusions: Our cross-sectional study confirms that children who require dental treatment under GA have a high burden of disease. While individual risk indicators such as diet and oral hygiene play a role in the progression of early childhood caries (ECC), we also demonstrate that children who do not have access to early preventive visits or a dental home are at a higher risk. In addition to improving motivation for oral hygiene at home and nutritional education, improving access to oral health care should be addressed in strategies to reduce ECC.
Atypical Peripheral Ossifying Fibroma of the Mandible
Authors: Katanec Tomislav , Budak Lea , Brajdić Davor , Gabrić Dragana
Published: January 2022

Peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) is a benign localized lesion originating from gingival and alveolar oral mucosa. Its origin can be cells of periodontal ligament. The lesions usually develop in women in their twenties. POF is a complex clinical and histological diagnosis due to its shared characteristics with many other conditions. In this paper, we presented a case of an atypical peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) in the left lateral part of the mandible in a 70-year-old male patient who had two semicircular bridges supported on four implants in the upper and lower jaws. A review of CBCT and orthopedic imaging showed no visible intraosseous changes. Histological analysis revealed the diagnosis of POF. The case in question is interesting, as elaborated on in the discussion section of this paper because POF is usually found in female patients aged between 20 and 30 years.
Application of the Catecholaminergic Neuron Electron Transport (CNET) Physical Substrate for Consciousness and Action Selection to Integrated Information Theory
Authors: Rourk Chris
Published: January 2022

A newly discovered physical mechanism involving incoherent electron tunneling in layers of the protein ferritin that are found in catecholaminergic neurons (catecholaminergic neuron electron transport or CNET) is hypothesized to support communication between neurons. Recent tests further confirm that these ferritin layers can also perform a switching function (in addition to providing an electron tunneling mechanism) that could be associated with action selection in those neurons, consistent with earlier predictions based on CNET. While further testing would be needed to confirm the hypothesis that CNET allows groups of neurons to communicate and act as a switch for selecting one of the neurons in the group to assist in reaching action potential, this paper explains how that hypothesized behavior would be consistent with Integrated Information Theory (IIT), one of a number of consciousness theories (CTs). While the sheer number of CTs suggest that any one of them alone is not sufficient to explain consciousness, this paper demonstrates that CNET can provide a physical substrate and action selection mechanism that is consistent with IIT and which can also be applied to other CTs, such as to conform them into a single explanation of consciousness.
STEAM Project-Based Learning Activities at the Science Museum as an Effective Training for Future Chemistry Teachers
Authors: Domenici Valentina
Published: January 2022

Non-formal learning environments, such as science museums, have a fundamental role in science education and high potentialities as ideal contexts for science teachers’ training. These aspects have been analyzed and reported in several recent works mainly focused on students’ perception of science and increased engagement towards scientific disciplines. In this work, a project-based learning methodology optimized and experimented in the frame of a pre-service chemistry teachers’ course at the University of Pisa (Italy), during the last eight years, involving in total 171 participants, is presented. This educational project has several distinctive features related to the STEAM philosophy, with a high level of multi-disciplinarity and creativity. Most of the laboratories and chemistry-centered activities were conceived, planned and carried out by the future chemistry teachers in non-formal contexts, such as science museums. A case study based on a series of non-formal laboratories designed by a group of students during their training in the academic year 2018–2019 and performed in a science museum is reported and examined in details. In this paper, all steps of the STEAM project-based learning methodology are described underlining the main learning outcomes and cognitive levels involved in each step and the relevant methodologies proposed during the training course and adopted in the project. The effectiveness of this pre-service teachers’ training methodology is finally discussed in terms of participants’ motivation and interest towards the course’s content, students’ final judgment of their training experiences and, in particular, of the STEAM project-based learning activities. From the students’ feedbacks and final assessment, the role of the non-formal context in teaching and learning chemistry and the efficacy of developing educational activities related to current and real-life chemistry-centered topics emerged as very positive aspects of the proposed approach.
Teaching Mathematics to Non-Mathematics Majors through Problem Solving and New Technologies
Authors: Marchisio Marina , Remogna Sara , Roman Fabio , Sacchet Matteo
Published: January 2022

The role of mathematics in several scientific disciplines is undisputed; work and everyday life take great advantage of its application. Nevertheless, students often tend to not particularly like it and to consider it of little interest. It is also believed that only people with a certain attitude are capable of mastering the subject. In consideration of this, we aimed to help science students develop mathematical competences by designing a course specifically oriented to applications and problem solving. We administered our course to students attending the first year of a program in biotechnology, asking them to work with technologies instilling curiosity and interest, thus achieving a better proficiency as a consequence. Two questionnaires, along with access and proficiency data, allowed us to collect information about students’ attitudes, beliefs, and activity, which we analyzed by means of descriptive statistics. The promotion of the interaction among learners made them active users of the contents, thus allowing for the adaptation of their learning paths according to their personal necessities, as well as the development of teamwork skills and flexibility. Finally, students recognized the usefulness of the problem-solving approach and the role played by software.
Uni-Cycle Genetic Algorithm as an Adaptation Engine for Wireless Channel Equalizers
Authors: Khafaji Mohammed J. , Krasicki Maciej
Published: January 2022

A recently developed adaptive channel equalizer driven by a so-called Uni-Cycle Genetic Algorithm (UCGA) is examined in the paper. The authors consider different initialization strategies of the iterative process and compare UCGA against the reference Recursive Least Squares (RLS) algorithm in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER) vs. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) performance and convergence rate of an adaptive channel equalizer. The results display a reasonable performance gain of UCGA over RLS for most of wireless channel models studied in the paper. Additionally, UCGA is capable of boosting the equalizer convergence. Thus, it can be considered a promising candidate for the future adaptive wireless channel equalizer.
Self-Interference Cancellation: A Comprehensive Review from Circuits and Fields Perspectives
Authors: Zhang Jiahao , He Fangmin , Li Wei , Li Yi , Wang Qing , Ge Songhu , Xing Jinling , Liu Hongbo , Li Yaxing , Meng Jin
Published: January 2022

Increased demand for higher spectrum efficiency, especially in the space-limited chip, base station, and vehicle environments, has spawned the development of full-duplex communications, which enable the transmitting and receiving to occur simultaneously at the same frequency. The key challenge in this full-duplex communication paradigm is to reduce the self-interference as much as possible, ideally, down to the noise floor. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the self-interference cancellation (SIC) techniques for co-located communication systems from a circuits and fields perspective. The self-interference occurs when the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna are co-located, which significantly degrade the system performance of the receiver, in terms of the receiver desensitization, signal masking, or even damage of hardwares. By introducing the SIC techniques, the self-interference can be suppressed and the weak desired signal from the remote transmitter can be recovered. This, therefore, enables the full-duplex communications to come into the picture. The SIC techniques are classified into two main categories: the traditional circuit-domain SICs and the novel field-domain SICs, according to the method of how to rebuild and subtract the self-interference signal. In this review paper, the field-domain SIC method is systematically summarized for the first time, including the theoretical analysis and the application remarks. Some typical SIC approaches are presented and the future works are outlooked.
Power Quality Disturbance Recognition Using Empirical Wavelet Transform and Feature Selection
Authors: Chen Sihan , Li Ziche , Pan Guobing , Xu Fang
Published: January 2022

With the growth of nonlinear electrical equipment, power quality disturbances (PQDs) often appear in electrical systems. To solve this, a practical heuristic methodology for PQD detection and classification based on empirical wavelet transform has been proposed. By using a multiresolution analysis tool, empirical wavelet transform, the voltage waveform signal is decomposed into several sub-signals, and some potential features are extracted in the statistical method. To reduce the feature vector dimensions, the ReliefF algorithm is used for feature selection and optimized for dimensionality reduction, which reduces the complexity of system calculation while ensuring accuracy. Finally, a classifier based on support vector machines (SVM) was built, and with the ranked feature vectors’ input, the PQD can be recognized. The experimental results verify that the classification results achieved high accuracy, which confirms the properties and robustness of the proposed approach in noisy environments.
Peculiarities of the Acoustic Wave Propagation in Diamond-Based Multilayer Piezoelectric Structures as “Me1/(Al,Sc)N/Me2/(100) Diamond/Me3” and “Me1/AlN/Me2/(100) Diamond/Me3” under Metal Thin-Film Deposition
Authors: Kvashnin Gennady , Sorokin Boris , Asafiev Nikita , Prokhorov Viacheslav , Sotnikov Andrei
Published: January 2022

New theoretical and experimental results of microwave acoustic wave propagation in diamond-based multilayer piezoelectric structures (MPS) as “Me1/(Al,Sc)N/Me2/(100) diamond/Me3” and “Me1/AlN/Me2/(100) diamond/Me3” under three metal film depositions, including the change in the quality factor Q as a result of Me3 impact, were obtained. Further development of our earlier studies was motivated by the necessity of creating a sensor model based on the above fifth layered MPS and its in-depth study using the finite element method (FEM). Experimental results on the change in operational checkpoint frequencies and quality factors under the effect of film deposition are in satisfactory accordance with FEM data. The relatively small decrease in the quality factor of diamond-based high overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR) under the metal layer effect observed in a wide microwave band could be qualified as an important result. Changes in operational resonant frequencies vs. film thickness were found to have sufficient distinctions. This fact can be quite explained in terms of the difference between acoustic impedances of diamond and deposited metal films.
Grey Wolf Optimizer in Design Process of the Recurrent Wavelet Neural Controller Applied for Two-Mass System
Authors: Zychlewicz Mateusz , Stanislawski Radoslaw , Kaminski Marcin
Published: January 2022

In this paper, an adaptive speed controller of the electrical drive is presented. The main part of the control structure is based on the Recurrent Wavelet Neural Network (RWNN). The mechanical part of the plant is considered as an elastic connection of two DC machines. Oscillation damping and robustness against parameter changes are achieved using network parameters updates (online). Moreover, the various combinations of the feedbacks from the state variables are considered. The initial weights of the neural network and the additional gains are tuned using a modified version of the Grey Wolf Optimizer. Convergence of the calculation is forced using a new definition. For theoretical analysis, numerical tests are presented. Then, the RWNN is implemented in a dSPACE card. Finally, the simulation results are verified experimentally.
Wearable Technology and Visual Reality Application for Healthcare Systems
Authors: Lin Kuang-Hao , Peng Bo-Xun
Published: January 2022

This study developed a virtual reality interactive game with smart wireless wearable technology for healthcare of elderly users. The proposed wearable system uses its intelligent and wireless features to collect electromyography signals and upload them to a cloud database for further analysis. The electromyography signals are then analyzed for the users’ muscle fatigue, health, strength, and other physiological conditions. The average slope maximum So and Chan (ASM S & C) algorithm is integrated in the proposed system to effectively detect the quantity of electromyography peaks, and the accuracy is as high as 95%. The proposed system can promote the health conditions of elderly users, and motivate them to acquire new knowledge of science and technology.
Novel Voltage-Based Weighted Hybrid Force/Position Control for Redundant Robot Manipulators
Authors: Dai Jun , Zhang Yi , Deng Hua
Published: January 2022

Existing hybrid force/position control algorithms mostly explicitly contain a dynamic model. Moreover, force and position controllers will be switched frequently. To solve the above problems, a novel voltage-based weighted hybrid force/position control algorithm is proposed for redundant robot manipulators. Firstly, mapping between voltage and terminal position and orientation is established so that the designed controller can be simplified by adopting the motor current as the feedback to replace the tedious calculation of the dynamic model. Secondly, a voltage-based weighted hybrid force/position control algorithm is proposed to eliminate the selection matrix. Force and position control laws are summed directly through a weighted way to avoid the problems of space decomposition and switching. Thirdly, the stability is proven using Lyapunov stability theory, then the selection method for weighted coefficient is provided. Fourthly, comparative simulations are performed. Results show that the proposed algorithm is suitable for impedance control and hybrid force/position control and can compensate for their deficiencies. Lastly, the transport experiment in the YZ plane is conducted. Results show that position and force accuracies in the Y- and Z-axis directions are 3.489 × 10−4 and 7.313 × 10−4 m and 1.238 × 10−1 and 1.997 × 10−1 N, respectively. Accordingly, it can effectively improve the operation capability and control accuracy.
Performance of Cathodes Fabricated from Mixture of Active Materials Obtained from Recycled Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Al-Shammari Hammad , Farhad Siamak
Published: January 2022

The cathode performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) fabricated from recycled cathode active materials is studied for three scenarios. These scenarios are based on the conditions for separation of different cathode active materials in recycling facilities during the LIB’s recycling process. In scenario one, the separation process is performed ideally, and the obtained pure single cathode active material is used to make new LIBs after regeneration. In scenario two, the separation of active materials is performed with efficiencies of less than 100%, which is the actual case in the recycling process. In this scenario, a single cathode active material that contains a little of the other types of cathode active materials is used to make new LIBs after the materials’ regeneration. In scenario three, the separation has not been performed during the recycling process. In this scenario, all types of cathode active materials are regenerated together, and a mixture is used to make new LIBs. The studies are performed through modeling and computer simulation, and several experiments are conducted for validation purposes. The cathode active materials that are studied are the five commercially available cathodes made of LiMn2O4 (LMO), LiCoO2 (LCO), LiNixMnyCo(1−x−y)O2 (NMC), LiNixCoyAl(1−x−y)O2 (NCA), and LiFePO4 (LFP). The results indicate that the fabrication of new LIBs with a mixture of cathode active materials is possible when cathode active materials are not ideally separated from each other. However, it is recommended that the separation process is added to the recycling process, at least for the separation of LFP or reducing its amount in the cathode active materials mixture. This is because of the difference of the voltage level of LFP compared to the other studied active materials for cathodes.
Partial Discharge Pulse Segmentation Approach of Converter Transformers Based on Higher Order Cumulant
Authors: Yang Dingqian , Zhang Weining , Xu Guanghu , Li Tiangeng , Shen Jiexin , Yue Yunkai , Li Shuaibing
Published: January 2022

As one of the most effective methods to detect the partial discharge (PD) of transformers, high frequency PD detection has been widely used. However, this method also has a bottleneck problem; the biggest problem is the mixed pulse interference under the fixed length sampling. Therefore, this paper focuses on the study of a new pulse segmentation technology, which can separate the partial discharge pulse from the sampling signal containing impulse noise so as to suppress the interference of pulse noise. Based on the characteristics of the high-order-cumulant variation at the rising edge of the pulse signal, a method for judging the starting and ending time of the pulse based on the high-order-cumulant is designed, which can accurately extract the partial discharge pulse from the original data. Simulation results show that the location accuracy of the proposed method can reach 94.67% without stationary noise. The field test shows that the extraction rate of the PD analog signal can reach 79% after applying the segmentation method, which has a great improvement compared with a very low location accuracy rate of 1.65% before using the proposed method.
Fatigue Performance of Natural and Synthetic Rattan Strips Subjected to Cyclic Tensile Loading
Authors: Gu Yanting , Zhang Jilei
Published: January 2022

Tensile fatigue performances of selected natural rattan strips (NRSs) and synthetic rattan strips (SRSs) were evaluated by subjecting them to zero-to-maximum constant amplitude cyclic tensile loading. Experimental results indicated that a fatigue life of 25,000 cycles began at the stress level of 50% of rattan material ultimate tensile strength (UTS) value for NRSs evaluated. Rattan core strips’ fatigue life of 100,000 cycles started at the stress level of 30% of its UTS value. Rattan bast strips could start a fatigue life of 100,000 cycles at a stress level below 30% of material UTS value. SRSs didn’t reach the fatigue life of 25,000 cycles until the applied stress level reduced to 40% of material UTS value and reached the fatigue life of 100,000 cycles at the stress level of 40% of material UTS value. It was found that NRSs’ S-N curves (applied nominal stress versus log number of cycles to failure) could be approximated by S=σou(1−H×log10⋅Nf). The constant H values in the equation were 0.10 and 0.08 for bast and core materials, respectively.
Waste Apple Pomace Conversion to Acrylic Acid: Economic and Potential Environmental Impact Assessments
Authors: Okoro Oseweuba Valentine , Nie Lei , Alimoradi Houman , Shavandi Amin
Published: January 2022

The global demand for acrylic acid (AA) is increasing due to its wide range of applications. Due to this growing demand, alternative AA production strategies must be explored to avoid the exacerbation of prevailing climate and global warming issues since current AA production strategies involve fossil resources. Investigations regarding alternative strategies for AA production therefore constitute an important research interest. The present study assesses waste apple pomace (WAP) as a feedstock for sustainable AA production. To undertake this assessment, process models based on two production pathways were designed, modelled and simulated in ASPEN plus® software. The two competing production pathways investigated included a process incorporating WAP conversion to lactic acid (LA) prior to LA dehydration to generate AA (denoted as the fermentation–dehydration, i.e., FD, pathway) and another process involving WAP conversion to propylene prior to propylene oxidation to generate AA (denoted as the thermochemical–fermentation–oxidation, i.e., TFO, pathway). Economic performance and potential environmental impact of the FD and TFO pathways were assessed using the metrics of minimum selling price (MSP) and potential environmental impacts per h (PEI/h). The study showed that the FD pathway presented an improved economic performance (MSP of AA: USD 1.17 per kg) compared to the economic performance (MSP of AA: USD 1.56 per kg) of the TFO pathway. Crucially, the TFO process was determined to present an improved environmental performance (2.07 kPEI/h) compared to the environmental performance of the FD process (8.72 kPEI/h). These observations suggested that the selection of the preferred AA production pathway or process will require a tradeoff between economic and environmental performance measures via the integration of a multicriteria decision assessment in future work.
Assessing Potential Safety Zone Suitability Using a New Online Mapping Tool
Authors: Campbell Michael J. , Dennison Philip E. , Thompson Matthew P. , Butler Bret W.
Published: January 2022

Safety zones (SZs) are critical tools that can be used by wildland firefighters to avoid injury or fatality when engaging a fire. Effective SZs provide safe separation distance (SSD) from surrounding flames, ensuring that a fire’s heat cannot cause burn injury to firefighters within the SZ. Evaluating SSD on the ground can be challenging, and underestimating SSD can be fatal. We introduce a new online tool for mapping SSD based on vegetation height, terrain slope, wind speed, and burning condition: the Safe Separation Distance Evaluator (SSDE). It allows users to draw a potential SZ polygon and estimate SSD and the extent to which that SZ polygon may be suitable, given the local landscape, weather, and fire conditions. We begin by describing the algorithm that underlies SSDE. Given the importance of vegetation height for assessing SSD, we then describe an analysis that compares LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Height and a recent Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite image-driven forest height dataset to vegetation heights derived from airborne lidar data in three areas of the Western US. This analysis revealed that both LANDFIRE and GEDI/Landsat tended to underestimate vegetation heights, which translates into an underestimation of SSD. To rectify this underestimation, we performed a bias-correction procedure that adjusted vegetation heights to more closely resemble those of the lidar data. SSDE is a tool that can provide valuable safety information to wildland fire personnel who are charged with the critical responsibility of protecting the public and landscapes from increasingly intense and frequent fires in a changing climate. However, as it is based on data that possess inherent uncertainty, it is essential that all SZ polygons evaluated using SSDE are validated on the ground prior to use.
Whey-Adapted versus Natural Cow’s Milk Formulation: Distinctive Feeding Responses and Post-Ingestive c-Fos Expression in Laboratory Mice
Authors: Wood Erin L. , Gartner Sarah N. , Klockars Anica , McColl Laura K. , Christian David G. , Jervis Robin E. , Prosser Colin G. , Carpenter Elizabeth A. , Olszewski Pawel K.
Published: January 2022

The natural 20:80 whey:casein ratio in cow’s milk (CM) for adults and infants is adjusted to reflect the 60:40 ratio of human milk, but the feeding and metabolic consequences of this adjustment have been understudied. In adult human subjects, the 60:40 CM differently affects glucose metabolism and hormone release than the 20:80 CM. In laboratory animals, whey-adapted goat’s milk is consumed in larger quantities. It is unknown whether whey enhancement of CM would have similar consequences on appetite and whether it would affect feeding-relevant brain regulatory mechanisms. In this set of studies utilizing laboratory mice, we found that the 60:40 CM was consumed more avidly than the 20:80 control formulation by animals motivated to eat by energy deprivation and by palatability (in the absence of hunger) and that this hyperphagia stemmed from prolongation of the meal. Furthermore, in two-bottle choice paradigms, whey-adapted CM was preferred against the natural 20:80 milk. The intake of the whey-adapted CM induced neuronal activation (assessed through analysis of c-Fos expression in neurons) in brain sites promoting satiation, but importantly, this activation was less pronounced than after ingestion of the natural 20:80 whey:casein CM. Activation of hypothalamic neurons synthesizing anorexigenic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) was also less robust after the 60:40 CM intake than after the 20:80 CM. Pharmacological blockade of the OT receptor in mice led to an increase in the consumption only of the 20:80 CM, thus, of the milk that induced greater activation of OT neurons. We conclude that the whey-adapted CM is overconsumed compared to the natural 20:80 CM and that this overconsumption is associated with weakened responsiveness of central networks involved in satiety signalling, including OT.
Herbal Mixture of Carthamus tinctorius L. Seed and Taraxacum coreanum Attenuates Amyloid Beta-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction In Vivo
Authors: He Meitong , Kim Jihyun , Park Chanhum , Cho Eunju
Published: January 2022

Deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) in the aging brain has been often observed and is thought to be a pathological feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The use of natural products for disease prevention and treatment is gaining attention worldwide. Carthamus tinctorius L. seed and Taraxacum coreanum have been used as traditional medicines in Asian countries, where they have been reported to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. It has been demonstrated that the combination of C. tinctorius L. seed and T. coreanum has an effect on cognitive enhancement, indicating a ratio of 5:5 synergistically enhancing learning and memory abilities in comparison with a single treatment. Here, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of C. tinctorius L. seed and T. coreanum mixture (CT) at different concentrations on cognition in Aβ25-35-infused mice. CT-administered mice showed significant cognitive improvement in the T-maze, novel object recognition, and Morris water maze tests. Moreover, amyloidogenesis-related proteins, such as β-secretase and γ-secretase, were detected and their protein levels decreased after treatment with CT. Our study shows that CT attenuates cognitive dysfunction by improving learning and memory capability and regulating Aβ-related proteins in Aβ25-35-injected mice. These findings suggest that CT might be a candidate for functional food on cognitive improvement.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids as Prebiotics: Innovation or Confirmation?
Authors: Rinninella Emanuele , Costantini Lara
Published: January 2022

The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), in its last consensus statement about prebiotics, defined polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as “candidate prebiotics” due to a lack of complete scientific evidence. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of microbiota to metabolize PUFAs, although the role of the resulting metabolites in the host is less known. Recent partial evidence shows that these metabolites can have important health effects in the host, reinforcing the concept of the prebiotic action of PUFAs, despite the data being mostly related to omega-6 linoleic acid and to lactobacilli taxon. However, considering that the symbionts in our gut benefit from the nutritional molecules that we include in our diet, and that bacteria, like all living organisms, cannot benefit from a single nutritional molecule, the concept of the “correct prebiotic diet” should be the new frontier in the field of gut microbiota research.
The Effect of Batter Characteristics on Protein-Aided Control of Fat Absorption in Deep-Fried Breaded Fish Nuggets
Authors: Cui Lulu , Chen Jiwang , Wang Yuhuan , Xiong Youling L.
Published: January 2022

Soy protein (SP), egg white protein (EP), and whey protein (WP) at 6% w/w were individually incorporated into the batter of a wheat starch (WS) and wheat gluten (WG) blend (11:1 w/w ratio). Moisture adsorption isotherms of WS and proteins and the viscosity, rheological behavior, and calorimetric properties of the batters were measured. Batter-breaded fish nuggets (BBFNs) were fried at 170 °C for 40 s followed by 190 °C for 30 s, and pick-up of BBFNs, thermogravimetric properties of crust, and fat absorption were determined. The moisture absorption capacity was the greatest for WS, followed by WG, SP, EP, and WP. The addition of SP significantly increased the viscosity and shear moduli (G″, G′) of batter and pick-up of BBFNs, while EP and WP exerted the opposite effect (p < 0.05). SP, EP, and WP raised WS gelatinization and protein denaturation temperatures and crust thermogravimetry temperature, but decreased enthalpy change (ΔH) and oily characteristics of fried BBFNs. These results indicate that hydrophilicity and hydration activity of the added proteins and their interactions with batter matrix starch and gluten reinforced the batter and the thermal stability of crust, thereby inhibiting fat absorption of the BBFNs during deep-fat frying.
Changing Food Consumption Patterns and Land Requirements for Food in the Six Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria
Authors: Chiaka Jeffrey Chiwuikem , Zhen Lin , Xiao Yu
Published: January 2022

Research on food consumption in Nigeria has mainly focused on food intake, household diversity, and purchasing power. We investigated a knowledge gap for food consumed by households and the land requirements for food resulting from household consumption patterns. The food consumed and the household size determine the land requirement for food. Therefore, a quantity-based analysis and a land demand methodology were applied to derive household food quantity and land requirements for food respectively. The results show that a greater percentage of household income is spent on cereals and starchy roots as the main source of calories and that cowpea is a secondary food option for households. In addition, households are changing their dietary intake from rice to maize and rice to cassava and yams as a cheaper alternative and experts’ measurements of food security at the household level indicates that households in our study are moderately food insecure. Other findings show that the country’s specific and per capita land requirements for food have gradually increased between 2000 and 2018. Across the six geopolitical zones, Northern regions with higher populations have high land requirements for food, especially for rice and maize (cereals), while Southern regions have high land requirements for cassava and yams (starchy roots) due to their respective consumption and household sizes. In addition, from our study, the land requirements for food show the actual cropland area of South South fed 5000 households. Consequently, a scenario analysis shows that the land requirements for food in our study exceeds the entire geographical area of Nigeria. Therefore, continued population growth without improved living standards and adequate food production output per hectare will further exacerbate food insecurity and land shortage in Nigeria.
Soft-Tissue-Mimicking Using Hydrogels for the Development of Phantoms
Authors: Tejo-Otero Aitor , Fenollosa-Artés Felip , Achaerandio Isabel , Rey-Vinolas Sergi , Buj-Corral Irene , Mateos-Timoneda Miguel Ángel , Engel Elisabeth
Published: January 2022

With the currently available materials and technologies it is difficult to mimic the mechanical properties of soft living tissues. Additionally, another significant problem is the lack of information about the mechanical properties of these tissues. Alternatively, the use of phantoms offers a promising solution to simulate biological bodies. For this reason, to advance in the state-of-the-art a wide range of organs (e.g., liver, heart, kidney as well as brain) and hydrogels (e.g., agarose, polyvinyl alcohol –PVA–, Phytagel –PHY– and methacrylate gelatine –GelMA–) were tested regarding their mechanical properties. For that, viscoelastic behavior, hardness, as well as a non-linear elastic mechanical response were measured. It was seen that there was a significant difference among the results for the different mentioned soft tissues. Some of them appear to be more elastic than viscous as well as being softer or harder. With all this information in mind, a correlation between the mechanical properties of the organs and the different materials was performed. The next conclusions were drawn: (1) to mimic the liver, the best material is 1% wt agarose; (2) to mimic the heart, the best material is 2% wt agarose; (3) to mimic the kidney, the best material is 4% wt GelMA; and (4) to mimic the brain, the best materials are 4% wt GelMA and 1% wt agarose. Neither PVA nor PHY was selected to mimic any of the studied tissues.
Molecular Characterization and Target Prediction of Candidate miRNAs Related to Abiotic Stress Responses and/or Storage Root Development in Sweet Potato
Authors: Sun Li , Yang Yiyu , Pan Hong , Zhu Jiahao , Zhu Mingku , Xu Tao , Li Zongyun , Dong Tingting
Published: January 2022

Sweet potato is a tuberous root crop with strong environmental stress resistance. It is beneficial to study its storage root formation and stress responses to identify sweet potato stress- and storage-root-thickening-related regulators. Here, six conserved miRNAs (miR156g, miR157d, miR158a-3p, miR161.1, miR167d and miR397a) and six novel miRNAs (novel 104, novel 120, novel 140, novel 214, novel 359 and novel 522) were isolated and characterized in sweet potato. Tissue-specific expression patterns suggested that miR156g, miR157d, miR158a-3p, miR167d, novel 359 and novel 522 exhibited high expression in fibrous roots or storage roots and were all upregulated in response to storage-root-related hormones (indole acetic acid, IAA; zeaxanthin, ZT; abscisic acid, ABA; and gibberellin, GAs). The expression of miR156g, miR158a-3p, miR167d, novel 120 and novel 214 was induced or reduced dramatically by salt, dehydration and cold or heat stresses. Moreover, these miRNAs were all upregulated by ABA, a crucial hormone modulator in regulating abiotic stresses. Additionally, the potential targets of the twelve miRNAs were predicted and analyzed. Above all, these results indicated that these miRNAs might play roles in storage root development and/or stress responses in sweet potato as well as provided valuable information for the further investigation of the roles of miRNA in storage root development and stress responses.
Genetic Regulation of Cytokine Response in Patients with Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Authors: Kühnapfel Andreas , Horn Katrin , Klotz Ulrike , Kiehntopf Michael , Rosolowski Maciej , Loeffler Markus , Ahnert Peter , Suttorp Norbert , Witzenrath Martin , Scholz Markus
Published: January 2022

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an acute disease condition with a high risk of rapid deteriorations. We analysed the influence of genetics on cytokine regulation to obtain a better understanding of patient’s heterogeneity. Methods: For up to N = 389 genotyped participants of the PROGRESS study of hospitalised CAP patients, we performed a genome-wide association study of ten cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, MCP-1 (MCAF), MIP-1α (CCL3), VEGF, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1. Consecutive secondary analyses were performed to identify independent hits and corresponding causal variants. Results: 102 SNPs from 14 loci showed genome-wide significant associations with five of the cytokines. The most interesting associations were found at 6p21.1 for VEGF (p = 1.58 × 10−20), at 17q21.32 (p = 1.51 × 10−9) and at 10p12.1 (p = 2.76 × 10−9) for IL-1β, at 10p13 for MIP-1α (CCL3) (p = 2.28 × 10−9), and at 9q34.12 for IL-10 (p = 4.52 × 10−8). Functionally plausible genes could be assigned to the majority of loci including genes involved in cytokine secretion, granulocyte function, and cilial kinetics. Conclusion: This is the first context-specific genetic association study of blood cytokine concentrations in CAP patients revealing numerous biologically plausible candidate genes. Two of the loci were also associated with atherosclerosis with probable common or consecutive pathomechanisms.
Unlocking the Complete Chloroplast Genome of a Native Tree Species from the Amazon Basin, Capirona (Calycophyllum Spruceanum, Rubiaceae), and Its Comparative Analysis with Other Ixoroideae Species
Authors: Saldaña Carla L. , Rodriguez-Grados Pedro , Chávez-Galarza Julio C. , Feijoo Shefferson , Guerrero-Abad Juan Carlos , Vásquez Héctor V. , Maicelo Jorge L. , Jhoncon Jorge H. , Arbizu Carlos I.
Published: January 2022

Capirona (Calycophyllum spruceanum Benth.) belongs to subfamily Ixoroideae, one of the major lineages in the Rubiaceae family, and is an important timber tree. It originated in the Amazon Basin and has widespread distribution in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. In this study, we obtained the first complete chloroplast (cp) genome of capirona from the department of Madre de Dios located in the Peruvian Amazon. High-quality genomic DNA was used to construct libraries. Pair-end clean reads were obtained by PE 150 library and the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. The complete cp genome of C. spruceanum has a 154,480 bp in length with typical quadripartite structure, containing a large single copy (LSC) region (84,813 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (18,101 bp), separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions (25,783 bp). The annotation of C. spruceanum cp genome predicted 87 protein-coding genes (CDS), 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one pseudogene. A total of 41 simple sequence repeats (SSR) of this cp genome were divided into mononucleotides (29), dinucleotides (5), trinucleotides (3), and tetranucleotides (4). Most of these repeats were distributed in the noncoding regions. Whole chloroplast genome comparison with the other six Ixoroideae species revealed that the small single copy and large single copy regions showed more divergence than inverted regions. Finally, phylogenetic analyses resolved that C. spruceanum is a sister species to Emmenopterys henryi and confirms its position within the subfamily Ixoroideae. This study reports for the first time the genome organization, gene content, and structural features of the chloroplast genome of C. spruceanum, providing valuable information for genetic and evolutionary studies in the genus Calycophyllum and beyond.