bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simulation Study of Rice Cleaning Based on DEM-CFD Coupling Method
Authors: Zhao Lei , Chen Liangyu , Yuan Fei , Wang Lei
Published: January 2022

In mechanized rice harvesting, the performance of the cleaning device is one of the important factors that affect the overall efficiency of the combine-harvester. To study the influence of different parameters on the cleaning efficiency, the influence of airflow velocity and the inclination angle on the cleaning effect was analyzed. Both simulation and experimental results prove that the increase of airflow velocity and the inclination angle will reduce the impurity rate of rice and increase the entrainment loss rate. The addition of a vibrating sieve to the device reduces the trash rate of rice, but the entrained loss rate increases accordingly. After tilting the sieve surface by 10°, a reduction in both the impurity rate and the entrainment loss rate of rice was found in combination with the force analysis of the particles on the sieve surface. The effect of the device structure on the internal flow field distribution was analyzed by comparing the eddy viscosity and velocity flow lines inside the three scavenging device structures. Simulation after calibration of rice moisture content revealed that humid rice cleaning was not effective.
Impact of Hydrolysis, Acetylation or Succinylation on Functional Properties of Plant-Based Proteins: Patents, Regulations, and Future Trends
Authors: Heredia-Leza Georgina L. , Martínez Luz María , Chuck-Hernandez Cristina
Published: January 2022

Nowadays, plant-based proteins are gaining momentum due to their wide availability, good amino acid content, and their market appeal. Unfortunately, these molecules usually have low water solubility, affecting other functional characteristics, such as foaming and emulsification, opening technological opportunities for research. Some plant-based protein applications rely on adjustments to final formulations and changing these chemical structures to produce new protein ingredients is also a path widely used in recent research. These modifications can be classified as physical or chemical, the latter being the most popular, and hydrolysis is one of the more widely reported modifications. This review explores the application of chemical modifications to plant-based proteins to improve techno-functional properties, when applied as part of food formulations. In addition, acetylation and succinylation, as the second and third most used processes, are discussed, including a deep analysis of their effects. Furthermore, since there is no concise compilation of patents associated with these technological efforts, some of the references that involve chemical modifications and current regulations used worldwide for novel foods produced with these technologies are included in this review. Finally, future perspectives for the chemical modification of proteins are discussed.
Impact of Cross-Flow and Membrane Plate Filtrations under Winery-Scale Conditions on Phenolic Composition, Chromatic Characteristics and Sensory Profile of Different Red Wines
Authors: Rosária Mariana , Oliveira Miguel , Correia Ana C. , Jordão António M.
Published: January 2022

Cross-flow microfiltration and membrane plate filtration are the main filtration processes used in wineries. However, the inherent compositional variability of red wines could affect the impact of these two filtration techniques on the final wine quality. Thus, this work aims to study, under winery-scale conditions, the impact of these two filtration processes on the turbidity level, phenolic composition, chromatic characteristics and sensory profile of red wine. For this purpose, three different Portuguese red wines with different initial phenolic contents were used. In this context, several methodologies were used to quantify the total phenolic composition, chromatic characteristics, individual anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins before and after filtration. The sensory profiles of the different red wines were also considered. The results indicated that each filtration process produced a substantial reduction in turbidity values and, consequently, an increase in wine clarification. In addition, the data obtained also indicated that both filtration techniques reduced the phenolic content of the different red wines that were studied. However, the impact of these two filtration options on wine characteristics (phenolic composition and sensory profile) was heterogenous, without a clear trend of differentiation between the wines depending on the type of filtration. Thus, this research points out evidence that the impact of the two filtration techniques that were studied is very dependent on the initial wine composition.
Interaction between Coal and Biomass during Co-Gasification: A Perspective Based on the Separation of Blended Char
Authors: Li Xiaoming , He Jingxia , Liu Mengjie , Bai Jin , Bai Zongqing , Li Wen
Published: January 2022

Co-gasification of coal and biomass is an important way to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and achieve the efficient utilization of biomass resources. Two kinds of biomass containing corn straw (CS) and poplar sawdust (PS) were blended with different coal. Then, the coal char was separated from the blended char after co-pyrolysis based on the difference in particle size. The structural properties, including alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEMs), microcrystalline structures, and molecular structures of the char samples were analyzed. Gasification reactivity of the char was determined by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results indicated that K and Mg contents in biomass evaporated easily and deposited on coal char, resulting in the increase in those in coal char during co-pyrolysis, and then the AAEMs contents in coal char were determined by the AAEM species and contents in biomass. Meanwhile, the inhibition effect on the graphitization degree of coal char increased with increasing blend ratio. Likewise, the inhibition effect of CS was higher than that of PS at the same blend ratio. The catalytic activity of inorganic mineral played a much more important role in predicting gasification reactivity than graphitization degree, and then the combination of alkali index and stacking layer number was proposed to better predict the reactivity of coal char.
A Simple Method of Mapping Landslides Runout Zones Considering Kinematic Uncertainties
Authors: Liu Jia , Wu Yuming , Gao Xing , Zhang Xuehua
Published: January 2022

Landslides can be triggered by natural and human activities, threatening the safety of buildings and infrastructures. Mapping potential landslide runout zones are critical for regional risk evaluation. Although remote sensing technology has been widely used to discover unstable areas, an entire landslide runout zone is difficult to identify using these techniques alone. Some simplified methods based on empirical models are used to simulate full-scale movements, but these methods do not consider the kinematic uncertainties caused by random particle collisions in practice. In this paper, we develop a semi-empirical landslide dynamics method considering kinematic uncertainties to solve this problem. The uncertainties caused by the microtopography and anisotropy of the material are expressed by the diffusion angle. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are adopted to calculate the probability of each cell. Compared with the existing Flow-R model, this method can more accurately and effectively estimate runout zones of the Yigong landslide where random particle collisions are intense. Combining the D-InSAR technique, we evaluate the runout zones in the Jinsha River from June 2019 to December 2020. This result shows that the method is of great significance in early warning and risk mitigation, especially in remote areas. The source area of the landslide and DEM resolution together affect the number of MC simulations required. A landslide with a larger volume requires a larger diffusion angle and more MC simulations.
The Potential of Fully Polarized ALOS-2 Data for Estimating Forest Above-Ground Biomass
Authors: Liu Zhihui , Michel Opelele Omeno , Wu Guoming , Mao Yu , Hu Yifan , Fan Wenyi
Published: January 2022

SAR data have a longer wavelength and stronger penetrating power compared with traditional optical remote sensing. Therefore, SAR data are more suitable for the estimation of the above-ground biomass (AGB) of forests. This study was aimed at evaluating the sensitivity of L-band full polarization data to AGB. L-band data were improved to estimate the saturation point produced by AGB, and were found to be suitable for estimating a wide range of AGB. This study extracted backscattering coefficients, polarization decomposition variables, and terrain factors. New parameters were constructed from these variables, and their performance in predicting AGB was evaluated. Significant variables found with AGB were added to the multivariate linear model. A statistical analysis showed the presence of multicollinearity between the variables. Therefore, ridge regression, random forest method (RF), and principal component analysis (PCA) were introduced to solve the problem of collinearity. In all the three methods, the saturation of the ridge regression model was low, reaching it at 150 t/ha. Better accuracy was obtained with the RF model. No obvious saturation incident was detected in the model established using the principal component analysis. This could be attributed to the low biomass levels observed in our study area. This model provided accurate results (adjusted r2 = 0.90 rmse = 14.24 t/ha), indicating that L-band data have the potential to estimate AGB. Additionally, suitable variables and models were selected in this study, with the principal component analysis being more helpful in combining various SAR parameters. The achievement of these accurate results could be attributed to the synergy among variables.
Modeling an Edge Computing Arithmetic Framework for IoT Environments
Authors: Roig Pedro Juan , Alcaraz Salvador , Gilly Katja , Bernad Cristina , Juiz Carlos
Published: January 2022

IoT environments are forecasted to grow exponentially in the coming years thanks to the recent advances in both edge computing and artificial intelligence. In this paper, a model of remote computing scheme is presented, where three layers of computing nodes are put in place in order to optimize the computing and forwarding tasks. In this sense, a generic layout has been designed so as to easily achieve communications among the diverse layers by means of simple arithmetic operations, which may result in saving resources in all nodes involved. Traffic forwarding is undertaken by means of forwarding tables within network devices, which need to be searched upon in order to find the proper destination, and that process may be resource-consuming as the number of entries in such tables grow. However, the arithmetic framework proposed may speed up the traffic forwarding decisions as relaying on integer divisions and modular arithmetic, which may result more straightforward. Furthermore, two diverse approaches have been proposed to formally describe such a design by means of coding with Spin/Promela, or otherwise, by using an algebraic approach with Algebra of Communicating Processes (ACP), resulting in a explosion state for the former and a specified and verified model in the latter.
Microscopies Enabled by Photonic Metamaterials
Authors: Xiong Yanyu , Li Nantao , Che Congnyu , Wang Weijing , Barya Priyash , Liu Weinan , Liu Leyang , Wang Xiaojing , Wu Shaoxiong , Hu Huan , Cunningham Brian T.
Published: January 2022

In recent years, the biosensor research community has made rapid progress in the development of nanostructured materials capable of amplifying the interaction between light and biological matter. A common objective is to concentrate the electromagnetic energy associated with light into nanometer-scale volumes that, in many cases, can extend below the conventional Abbé diffraction limit. Dating back to the first application of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for label-free detection of biomolecular interactions, resonant optical structures, including waveguides, ring resonators, and photonic crystals, have proven to be effective conduits for a wide range of optical enhancement effects that include enhanced excitation of photon emitters (such as quantum dots, organic dyes, and fluorescent proteins), enhanced extraction from photon emitters, enhanced optical absorption, and enhanced optical scattering (such as from Raman-scatterers and nanoparticles). The application of photonic metamaterials as a means for enhancing contrast in microscopy is a recent technological development. Through their ability to generate surface-localized and resonantly enhanced electromagnetic fields, photonic metamaterials are an effective surface for magnifying absorption, photon emission, and scattering associated with biological materials while an imaging system records spatial and temporal patterns. By replacing the conventional glass microscope slide with a photonic metamaterial, new forms of contrast and enhanced signal-to-noise are obtained for applications that include cancer diagnostics, infectious disease diagnostics, cell membrane imaging, biomolecular interaction analysis, and drug discovery. This paper will review the current state of the art in which photonic metamaterial surfaces are utilized in the context of microscopy.
Modeling the Voltage Produced by Ultrasound in Seawater by Stochastic and Artificial Intelligence Methods
Authors: Bărbulescu Alina , Dumitriu Cristian Ștefan
Published: January 2022

Experiments have proved that an electrical signal appears in the ultrasonic cavitation field; its properties are influenced by the ultrasound frequency, the liquid type, and liquid characteristics such as density, viscosity, and surface tension. Still, the features of the signals are not entirely known. Therefore, we present the results on modeling the voltage collected in seawater, in ultrasound cavitation produced by a 20 kHz frequency generator, working at 80 W. Comparisons of the Box–Jenkins approaches, with artificial intelligence methods (GRNN) and hybrid (Wavelet-ARIMA and Wavelet-ANN) are provided, using different goodness of fit indicators. It is shown that the last approach gave the best model.
Addressing Challenges of Distance Learning in the Pandemic with Edge Intelligence Enabled Multicast and Caching Solution
Authors: Bilal Kashif , Shuja Junaid , Erbad Aiman , Alasmary Waleed , Alanazi Eisa , Alourani Abdullah
Published: January 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world socially and economically changing behaviors towards medical facilities, public gatherings, workplaces, and education. Educational institutes have been shutdown sporadically across the globe forcing teachers and students to adopt distance learning techniques. Due to the closure of educational institutes, work and learn from home methods have burdened the network resources and considerably decreased a viewer’s Quality of Experience (QoE). The situation calls for innovative techniques to handle the surging load of video traffic on cellular networks. In the scenario of distance learning, there is ample opportunity to realize multi-cast delivery instead of a conventional unicast. However, the existing 5G architecture does not support service-less multi-cast. In this article, we advance the case of Virtual Network Function (VNF) based service-less architecture for video multicast. Multicasting a video session for distance learning significantly lowers the burden on core and Radio Access Networks (RAN) as demonstrated by evaluation over a real-world dataset. We debate the role of Edge Intelligence (EI) for enabling multicast and edge caching for distance learning to complement the performance of the proposed VNF architecture. EI offers the determination of users that are part of a multicast session based on location, session, and cell information. Moreover, user preferences and network’s contextual information can differentiate between live and cached access patterns optimizing edge caching decisions. While exploring the opportunities of EI-enabled distance learning, we demonstrate a significant reduction in network operator resource utilization and an increase in user QoE for VNF based multicast transmission.
Data-Driven Techniques for Low-Cost Sensor Selection and Calibration for the Use Case of Air Quality Monitoring
Authors: Kureshi Rameez Raja , Mishra Bhupesh Kumar , Thakker Dhavalkumar , John Reena , Walker Adrian , Simpson Sydney , Thakkar Neel , Wante Agot Kirsten
Published: January 2022

With the emergence of Low-Cost Sensor (LCS) devices, measuring real-time data on a large scale has become a feasible alternative approach to more costly devices. Over the years, sensor technologies have evolved which has provided the opportunity to have diversity in LCS selection for the same task. However, this diversity in sensor types adds complexity to appropriate sensor selection for monitoring tasks. In addition, LCS devices are often associated with low confidence in terms of sensing accuracy because of the complexities in sensing principles and the interpretation of monitored data. From the data analytics point of view, data quality is a major concern as low-quality data more often leads to low confidence in the monitoring systems. Therefore, any applications on building monitoring systems using LCS devices need to focus on two main techniques: sensor selection and calibration to improve data quality. In this paper, data-driven techniques were presented for sensor calibration techniques. To validate our methodology and techniques, an air quality monitoring case study from the Bradford district, UK, as part of two European Union (EU) funded projects was used. For this case study, the candidate sensors were selected based on the literature and market availability. The candidate sensors were narrowed down into the selected sensors after analysing their consistency. To address data quality issues, four different calibration methods were compared to derive the best-suited calibration method for the LCS devices in our use case system. In the calibration, meteorological parameters temperature and humidity were used in addition to the observed readings. Moreover, we uniquely considered Absolute Humidity (AH) and Relative Humidity (RH) as part of the calibration process. To validate the result of experimentation, the Coefficient of Determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) were compared for both AH and RH. The experimental results showed that calibration with AH has better performance as compared with RH. The experimental results showed the selection and calibration techniques that can be used in designing similar LCS based monitoring systems.
3D Static Point Cloud Registration by Estimating Temporal Human Pose at Multiview
Authors: Park Byung-Seo , Kim Woosuk , Kim Jin-Kyum , Hwang Eui Seok , Kim Dong-Wook , Seo Young-Ho
Published: January 2022

This paper proposes a new technique for performing 3D static-point cloud registration after calibrating a multi-view RGB-D camera using a 3D (dimensional) joint set. Consistent feature points are required to calibrate a multi-view camera, and accurate feature points are necessary to obtain high-accuracy calibration results. In general, a special tool, such as a chessboard, is used to calibrate a multi-view camera. However, this paper uses joints on a human skeleton as feature points for calibrating a multi-view camera to perform calibration efficiently without special tools. We propose an RGB-D-based calibration algorithm that uses the joint coordinates of the 3D joint set obtained through pose estimation as feature points. Since human body information captured by the multi-view camera may be incomplete, a joint set predicted based on image information obtained through this may be incomplete. After efficiently integrating a plurality of incomplete joint sets into one joint set, multi-view cameras can be calibrated by using the combined joint set to obtain extrinsic matrices. To increase the accuracy of calibration, multiple joint sets are used for optimization through temporal iteration. We prove through experiments that it is possible to calibrate a multi-view camera using a large number of incomplete joint sets.
Doulas, Racism, and Whiteness: How Birth Support Workers Process Advocacy towards Women of Color
Authors: Salinas Juan L. , Salinas Manisha , Kahn Megan
Published: January 2022

Systemic racism is embedded in healthcare settings and is linked to high maternal mortality rates for Black women in US Society. Doulas, or birth support workers, are uniquely positioned to advocate for women of color going through the birthing process, but little is understood on how doulas come to terms with race, racism, and whiteness in maternal healthcare settings. Using qualitative in-depth interviews with 11 doulas in northeast Florida, this research study found that doulas’ advocacy for maternal justice leads to an intersection with racial justice through their support of minority women clients. Doulas shared stories of racial injustice when they compared their white and Black client experiences, leading to shifting strategies to address racism in maternal healthcare settings. Doulas also grappled with their connection to whiteness through their own identities and interaction with white and minority clients. Many doulas shared a need for anti-racism training and recruitment of Black doulas to meet the needs of women of color going through the birthing process.
The Role of Crowd Support on Home Advantage during COVID-19 Restrictions on Italian Football Competitions. Comparison between 2018–19 and 2020–21 Seasons of the Italian Serie A and Serie B Championships
Authors: Vandoni Matteo , Ferraro Ottavia E. , Gatti Alessandro , Marin Luca , Giuriato Matteo , Silvestri Dario , Lovecchio Nicola , Puci Mariangela V. , Carnevale Pellino Vittoria
Published: January 2022

The home advantage (HA) affects football competitions, especially due to the presence of crowd support. Even though several studies demonstrated that HA (which is influenced by the crowd) decreased in recent years, the empty stadia caused by COVID-19 restrictions offered unique situations to explore and quantify HA. For this reason, we aimed to assess HA in two seasons of the major Italian Championships. We conducted an observational study with the data from the last three seasons of the Italian football championship A–B series, analyzing a total of 2.964 individual game scores. To quantify the HA, the number of points won at home was calculated as a percentage of the total number of points won, home and away. In every season and for every team classification, HA was found (scored points > 50% in home matches). We reported a difference in HA median score for Serie B. Additionally, a difference was found in Serie A for middle-ranking HA median scores in the two seasons compared (p-value = 0.017), which was similarly found in Serie B (p-value = 0.009). The number of penalties was lower in the season with a crowd compared to one without a crowd (p = 0.001). The HA did not disappear in empty stadiums, so there must be other contributing factors. Additionally, we found that the referees were biased by the presence of the crowd in favor of the home teams, and this result could be considered by the football association during referees’ training and formation.
A BIM-Based Solution for the Optimisation of Fire Safety Measures in the Building Design
Authors: Sabbaghzadeh Mahdi , Sheikhkhoshkar Moslem , Talebi Saeed , Rezazadeh Mohammad , Rastegar Moghaddam Mohammad , Khanzadi Mostafa
Published: January 2022

A significant number of injuries and fatalities occur annually due to fire in buildings. The proactive use of fire safety measures at the design stage can potentially lead to a considerable improvement in reducing casualties by assisting occupants in a safe evacuation. In this study, a framework is developed to obtain a set of appropriate fire safety measures while considering their effects on safe evacuation (i.e., increasing the percentage of survived occupants) and budget limits. The framework consists of four phases, namely (1) initial preparation, (2) optimisation with a meta-heuristic algorithm, (3) decision making when the designer should select appropriate measures considering the budget limit, and (4) applying the selected measures into BIM. A binary version of Billiards-inspired Optimisation Algorithm (BOA) is developed and utilised in the optimisation phase. A case study approach is adopted for this research and the performance of the proposed framework is evaluated by implementing it in two case projects: a residential building and a hospital building. The results indicate that the framework is a beneficial approach for designers to modify building designs in terms of safe evacuation at the design stage by using fire safety measures effectively and economically. It is expected that the output of this framework will help decrease fatalities of building users during a fire.
What Is the Socioeconomic Impact of the Tucuruí Dam on Its Surrounding Municipalities?
Authors: Velastegui-Montoya Andrés , de Lima Aline , Herrera-Matamoros Viviana
Published: January 2022

Hydroelectric energy is known for being renewable, clean, efficient and harmless in comparison to other nonrenewable energy sources. Nonetheless, the installation of a hydroelectric power complex (HC) in places, such as the Amazon, have proven to cause land cover changes, and alter local population dynamics. Issues like migration and city expansion can cause economic, social and cultural impacts locally, while the benefits are seen in other regions. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the socioeconomic indicators of the municipalities directly affected by the Tucuruí HPC. The study took into consideration three scenarios: the post-inauguration of the HC in 1988 (phase I), the beginning of construction in 2000 (phase II), and the completion of the Tucuruí HC in 2010 (phase III). Two types of multivariate analysis were conducted: the principal component analysis and cluster analysis, in order to identify the variables related to quality of life, and to be able to group the municipalities which have a similar quality of life. During the three scenarios studied, Tucuruí remained the only municipality with the highest quality of life index in the entire region, revealing the inequality present in the study area, which is something to be considered during the development of public policies.
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Greening and Human Well-Being Improving: The Role of Ecological Policies
Authors: Wang Shijin , Wei Yanqiang
Published: January 2022

Appropriate human activities can have significantly positive effects on vegetation dynamics. In the past 50 years, various ecological policies have improved both ecological change and human well-being in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), efficiently achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During 1981–2017, the annual mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of the protected areas (PAs) tended to increase significantly at a rate of 2.93 × 10−4/a (p < 0.01), while non-PAs only increased by 0.6 × 10−4/a (p < 0.5). Improvement in the NDVI of the PAs is more obvious than that of non-PAs. Specifically, the earlier the establishment of the Pas is, the more significant the greening effect will be. Moreover, ecological protection has not slowed improvements in human welfare; on the contrary, the Human Development Index (HDI) has nearly doubled in the past 40 years. In terms of global ecological construction, the Chinese government has demonstrated the responsibilities of a large country in global ecological governance. Chinese initiatives can guide other nations in contributing to the global sustainability aspirations embodied in the 2030 SDGs Agenda. This study can be used as a reference for other countries in the world to coordinate the development of ecological protection and well-being.
An Affordable Upper-Limb Exoskeleton Concept for Rehabilitation Applications
Authors: Palazzi Emanuele , Luzi Luca , Dimo Eldison , Meneghetti Matteo , Vicario Rudy , Luzia Rafael Ferro , Vertechy Rocco , Calanca Andrea
Published: January 2022

In recent decades, many researchers have focused on the design and development of exoskeletons. Several strategies have been proposed to develop increasingly more efficient and biomimetic mechanisms. However, existing exoskeletons tend to be expensive and only available for a few people. This paper introduces a new gravity-balanced upper-limb exoskeleton suited for rehabilitation applications and designed with the main objective of reducing the cost of the components and materials. Regarding mechanics, the proposed design significantly reduces the motor torque requirements, because a high cost is usually associated with high-torque actuation. Regarding the electronics, we aim to exploit the microprocessor peripherals to obtain parallel and real-time execution of communication and control tasks without relying on expensive RTOSs. Regarding sensing, we avoid the use of expensive force sensors. Advanced control and rehabilitation features are implemented, and an intuitive user interface is developed. To experimentally validate the functionality of the proposed exoskeleton, a rehabilitation exercise in the form of a pick-and-place task is considered. Experimentally, peak torques are reduced by 89% for the shoulder and by 84% for the elbow.
Computational Analysis of Mutations in the Receptor-Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Their Effects on Antibody Binding
Authors: Bozdaganyan Marine E. , Shaitan Konstantin V. , Kirpichnikov Mikhail P. , Sokolova Olga S. , Orekhov Philipp S.
Published: January 2022

Currently, SARS-CoV-2 causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is responsible for one of the most deleterious pandemics of our time. The interaction between the ACE2 receptors at the surface of human cells and the viral Spike (S) protein triggers the infection, making the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein a focal target for the neutralizing antibodies (Abs). Despite the recent progress in the development and deployment of vaccines, the emergence of novel variants of SARS-CoV-2 insensitive to Abs produced in response to the vaccine administration and/or monoclonal ones represent a potential danger. Here, we analyzed the diversity of neutralizing Ab epitopes and assessed the possible effects of single and multiple mutations in the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 S-protein on its binding affinity to various antibodies and the human ACE2 receptor using bioinformatics approaches. The RBD-Ab complexes with experimentally resolved structures were grouped into four clusters with distinct features at sequence and structure level. The performed computational analysis indicates that while single amino acid replacements in RBD may only cause partial impairment of the Abs binding, moreover, limited to specific epitopes, the variants of SARS-CoV-2 with multiple mutations, including some which were already detected in the population, may potentially result in a much broader antigenic escape. Further analysis of the existing RBD variants pointed to the trade-off between ACE2 binding and antigenic escape as a key limiting factor for the emergence of novel SAR-CoV-2 strains, as the naturally occurring mutations in RBD tend to reduce its binding affinity to Abs but not to ACE2. The results provide guidelines for further experimental studies aiming to identify high-risk RBD mutations that allow for an antigenic escape.
Well Put Together—A Guide to Accessorizing with the Herpesvirus gH/gL Complexes
Authors: Gonzalez-Del Pino Gonzalo L. , Heldwein Ekaterina E.
Published: January 2022

Herpesviruses are enveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a variety of hosts across the animal kingdom. Nine of these establish lifelong infections in humans, for which there are no cures and few vaccine or treatment options. Like all enveloped viruses, herpesviruses enter cells by fusing their lipid envelopes with a host cell membrane. Uniquely, herpesviruses distribute the functions of receptor engagement and membrane fusion across a diverse cast of glycoproteins. Two glycoprotein complexes are conserved throughout the three herpesvirus subfamilies: the trimeric gB that functions as a membrane fusogen and the heterodimeric gH/gL, the role of which is less clearly defined. Here, we highlight the conserved and divergent functions of gH/gL across the three subfamilies of human herpesviruses by comparing its interactions with a broad range of accessory viral proteins, host cell receptors, and neutralizing or inhibitory antibodies. We propose that the intrinsic structural plasticity of gH/gL enables it to function as a signal integration machine that can accept diverse regulatory inputs and convert them into a “trigger” signal that activates the fusogenic ability of gB.
Effects of the NF-κB Signaling Pathway Inhibitor BAY11-7082 in the Replication of ASFV
Authors: Gao Qi , Yang Yunlong , Feng Yongzhi , Quan Weipeng , Luo Yizhuo , Wang Heng , Zheng Jiachen , Chen Xiongnan , Huang Zhao , Chen Xiaojun , Xu Runda , Zhang Guihong , Gong Lang
Published: January 2022

African swine fever virus (ASFV) mainly infects the monocyte/macrophage lineage of pigs and regulates the production of cytokines that influence host immune responses. Several studies have reported changes in cytokine production after infection with ASFV, but the regulatory mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the immune response mechanism of ASFV using transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Through multi-omics joint analysis, it was found that ASFV infection regulates the expression of the host NF-B signal pathway and related cytokines. Additionally, changes in the NF-κB signaling pathway and IL-1β and IL-8 expression in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) infected with ASFV were examined. Results show that ASFV infection activates the NF-κB signaling pathway and up-regulates the expression of IL-1β and IL-8. The NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 inhibited the expression profiles of phospho-NF-κB p65, p-IκB, and MyD88 proteins, and inhibited ASFV-induced NF-κB signaling pathway activation. Additionally, the results show that the NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 can inhibit the replication of ASFV and can inhibit IL-1β and, IL-8 expression. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that ASFV infection activates the NF-κB signaling pathway and up-regulates the expression of IL-1β and IL-8, and inhibits the replication of ASFV by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-8 production. These findings not only provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of the association between the NF-κB signaling pathway and ASFV infection, but also indicate that the NF-κB signaling pathway is a potential immunomodulatory pathway that controls ASF.
Can PPSV-23 Vaccine Impact Exacerbations of Chronic Cough Symptoms and Medication Use in Younger Adult Asthmatics? A Clinical Question That Needs Answering
Authors: Lanz Alessandra M. , Chartrand Esther , Eisenlohr Claudia P. , Lanz Miguel J.
Published: January 2022

Symptoms of chronic cough (CC) from the airways are commonly treated with antibiotics, antitussives, bronchodilators, and steroids. There is a wide variability in treatment response, dependent on the exact cough etiology. Our case-series study was composed of 71 nonsmoking adults, 59 females, mean age 43 (±21) years, with a history of CC-asthma and history of ≥2 exacerbations/year requiring systemic steroids and/or antibiotics. All had decreased Streptococcus pneumoniae antibody titers, with a mean average of 3 of 23 normal serotypes and were subsequently vaccinated with PPSV-23. Pre- and post-12-month vaccination questionnaires were administered, and 35 (54%) reported both decreased CC symptoms and asthma medication use. Baseline comparisons to those with no change in CC symptoms or asthma medication use revealed significantly lower exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels (17 ± 10; 62 + 40 ppb), serum eosinophils (192 ± 156; 280 ± 166/mcL), and total IgE (132 ± 167; 275 ± 290 IU/mL) in those with improvement post-vaccination. Higher baseline symptoms scores for upper respiratory infections as a trigger to their CC (* p > 0.05) were found in those responding to PPSV-23. These data reveal a subset of asthma in younger adults, <65 years, with significantly decreased S. pneumoniae antibody titers with less CC symptoms and asthma medication use for exacerbations after PPSV-23 vaccination.
Influence of Adult Attachment on COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: The Mediating Roles of Help-Seeking Style and Professional Help-Seeking Behavior
Authors: Lu Junyu , Zhang Runzan , Zhang Xinping
Published: January 2022

Vaccination against COVID-19 is regarded as one of the most promising interventions to control the pandemic. This study aimed to examine whether adult attachment affects an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination intention and whether this relationship is mediated by help-seeking style and professional help-seeking behavior. A total of 401 Chinese adults participated in this online cross-sectional survey. The questionnaires for adult attachment (Depend, Close, and Anxiety), help-seeking style (dependency, autonomy, and avoidance), professional help-seeking behavior, and COVID-19 vaccination intention were rated on five-point or seven-point Likert scales, with satisfactory reliability (Cronbach’s α values were all >0.80). Structural equation modelling was used to construct path models based on the above elements. Higher scores in the Depend (Effect = 0.047, SE = 0.018, 95% CI = [0.019, 0.093]) and Close dimensions of attachment (Effect = 0.028, SE = 0.014, 95% CI = [0.007, 0.065]) predicted a stronger dependency-oriented help-seeking style, which thus predicted greater vaccination intention. Higher scores in the Close dimension (Effect = 0.007, SE = 0.004, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.018]) and lower scores in the Anxiety dimension of attachment (Effect = −0.003, SE = 0.002, 95% CI = [−0.008, −0.001]) predicted a stronger autonomy-oriented help-seeking style and further predicted more professional help-seeking behaviors, which promoted greater COVID-19 vaccination intention. The results of this study indicate that help-seeking moderates the relationship between adult attachment and COVID-19 vaccination intention. Guiding help-seeking behavior for individuals with different attachment styles may be an entry point for improving COVID-19 vaccination intention.
COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among ASEAN Countries: Does the Pandemic Severity Really Matter?
Authors: Duong An Hoai , Antriyandarti Ernoiz
Published: January 2022

The current study uses data surveyed between August and September 2021 in four ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries to identify drivers of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance with different levels of the pandemic severity. It also examines the impact of the drivers on vaccine acceptance. The results show that the number of respondents who accept vaccines significantly dominates that of those who do not. In addition, the number of respondents who get the vaccine if the pandemic becomes more severe dominates that of those if it becomes less severe. Results generated from the logistic regressions show that the impact of the drivers on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance with different levels of the pandemic severity varies in terms of magnitude and direction. Practical recommendations are made based on the findings.
High Gain Converter with Improved Radial Basis Function Network for Fuel Cell Integrated Electric Vehicles
Authors: Girirajan Balasubramanian , Shekhar Himanshu , Lai Wen-Cheng , Jagannathan Hariraj Kumar , Bidare Divakarachar Parameshachari
Published: January 2022

In a recent trend, electric vehicles (EV) have been facing various power quality issues, so fuel cells (FC) are considered the best choice for integrating EV technology to enhance performance. A fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is a type of EV that uses a fuel cell combined with a small battery or super-capacitor to power its on-board electric motor. However, the power obtained from the FC system is much less and is not enough to drive the EV. So, another energy source is required to deliver the demanded power, which should contain high voltage gain with high conversion efficiency. The traditional converter produces a high output voltage at a high duty cycle, which generates various problems, such as reverse recovery issues, voltage spikes, and less lifespan. High switching frequency and voltage gain are essential for the propulsion of FC-based EV. Therefore, this paper presents an improved radial basis function (RBF)-based high-gain converter (HGC) to enhance the voltage gain and conversion efficiency of the entire system. The RBF neural model was constructed using the fast recursive algorithm (FRA) strategy to prune redundant hidden-layer neurons. The improved RBF technique reduces the input current ripple and voltage stress on the power semiconductor devices to increase the conversion ratio of the HGC without changing the duty cycle value. In the end, the improved RBF with HGC achieved an efficiency of 98.272%, vehicle speed of 91 km/h, and total harmonic distortion (THD) of 3.12%, which was simulated using MATLAB, and its waveforms for steady-state operation were analyzed and compared with existing methods.
Lietuvos mažesniųjų brolių konventualų provincijos kolektyvinis portretas (XVIII a. antroji pusė – XIX a. pradžia) / Collective Portrait of the Lithuanian Order of Friars Minor Conventual (late eighteenth–early nineteenth century)
Authors: Drungilas Jonas
Published: January 2022

COLLECTIVE PORTRAIT OF THE LITHUANIAN ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL (LATE EIGHTEENTH–EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY) The article analyses data of the 567 Franciscan Friars Conventual from the Lithuanian St Casimir province, who died in the period of 1775–1832: age of entry, geographic and social background. These are the factors that allow to restore the dynamics of the development of this brotherhood. Order of Friars Minor Conventual accepted individuals from 12 to 40 years of age (94.6 % of all candidates), and this was in accordance with age requirements set within the Franciscan Order. Later, when faced with the calling crisis, the brotherhood started integrating candidates of a more mature age (sometimes even 67 years old) who could become both lay brothers (Lat. laicus professus) and friars priests (Lat. clericus proffessus). Likewise, both groups could include married men, who were formally named as friars of the Third Order (Lat. tertiarius claustralis). Therefore, this flexibility of the brotherhood, its ability to deal with the issues of the period, ensured viability of the community. The research revealed, that sometimes the brotherhood would be “enlivened” by the inter-congregational “migration” of the friars, which was not voluminous: the Franciscan Order would be joined by friars formerly from Carthusian, Bernardine, Discalced Carmelite and Piarist orders, yet sometimes Franciscan Conventual Friars would leave for the Dominicans or the Carmelites. Such movement shows the continuous search by the “men of prayer” on the path of spiritual calling. The established presence of several converts (Uniats, Jews) in the brotherhood shows that the Franciscans did have, even if not strong, influence in towns and in the eastern part of the Grand Duchy. On the other hand, “migrant” friars and converts would enrich the brotherhood spiritually and culturally.
Livonijos kanauninko, Vilkaviškio klebono Vincento Bakuzičiaus biografija. Keletas XVIII amžiaus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės katalikų dvasininko portreto detalių
Authors: Burba Domininkas
Published: January 2022

BIOGRAPHY OF CANON PRIEST OF LIVONIA, PARISH PRIEST OF VILKAVIŠKIS WINCENTY BAKUZICZ. A FEW STROKES TO THE PORTRAIT OF THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA The key figure of this article is the late eighteenth-century canon priest of Livonia and parish priest of Vilkaviškis and Vaukavysk Wincenty Bakuzicz. Historical information on this person is scarce. His career of a clergyman began with the service in Vilnius Chapter, however during Bar Confederation (1768–1772) he got involved in its activities, travelled with a mission to Teshin and later was imprisoned by Russian imperial army officers, providing information on the movements of the Confederates. After being released from prison, W. Bakuzicz did not make any significant career in Vilnius Chapter, becoming parish priest of Vilkaviškis and Vaukavysk and being involved in several criminal court cases in Vilnius and its district. In 1794, during the uprising of Tadeusz Kosciuszko he was imprisoned by the rebels in Vilnius, although soon released. In that year he arranged his will, where he assigned significant sums to charity. The life of W. Bakuzicz was one of paradox and contradiction, just as was the entire period. Keywords: Vilnius Chapter, parish priests, canon priests, criminal cases, Bar Confederation (1768–1772), trade, wills.
Architektas XVIII amžiaus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės visuomenėje
Authors: Butvilaitė Rasa
Published: January 2022

ARCHITECT IN THE SOCIETY OF THE 18TH CENTURY GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA The article deals with the problem of professional field of activity of an architect, the place of his profession in the system of crafts, sciences and arts, architects’ position in the society of the eighteenth century. Before the education reform undertaken by the Education Commission, architecture had not been developed into a separate subject that provided professional training in the schools of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The course in architecture was only a part of general education in Vilnius Jesuit Academy, in nobility schools of a military type, and Jesuit and Piarist Collegium Nobilium. There was not enough focus on architectural studies in these most important educational institutions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: a short course of up to two years provided only general and technical basis of the theory of architecture based on classical orders, and it was not capable of training high ranked professionals-practitioners. Until the eighties of the 18th century, to become an independent professional architect one had to continue his studies abroad. It is argued that the Enlightenment concept of a creator serving to the state and society as well as representing them has provided an important impetus to the growth of the value of the architect’s profession and its social status. While many eighteenth-century artists were still very close to craftsmen in terms of social status (it was considered, that they used to do specific tasks and earn a living by employing manual / physical, not intellectual / mental powers), architects, due to the specifics of their education – studies at the university and military careers (they were mostly employed as engineers) were granted titles of nobility. In the eighteenth century, the social and material position of the architect-creator, who had been liberated from the crafts guild system, had evolved considerably and created conditions for privileges and for the establishment in the rank of nobility. The nobilitation of architects, who usually also had the rank of an officer and executed significant orders in large estates, intensified especially during the period of the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Experienced architects were desired and welcome guests in the manors of the nobles. Successful architects used to invest accumulated funds in real estate and manors with land. The architect was no longer just a hired employee but became a patron himself – the one who was initiating and partly financing construction. Keywords: architect, engineer, social status of an architect, Enlightenment, nobilitation.