bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Moderating Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Toward Environment on Relationship Between Green Supply Chain Management Practices and Sustainable Performance
Authors: Azam Tamoor , Malik Saqib Yaqoob , Ren Diandian , Yuan Wenrong , Mughal Yasir Hayat , Ullah Irfan , Fiaz Muhammad , Riaz Sidra
Published: May 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of “organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment” (OCBE) on the relation between “green supply chain management” (GSCM) practices and sustainable performance. The participants of the current study were manufacturing firms, and non-probability convenience sampling technique was used for selecting the sample size. The survey method used while data were collected from manufacturing firms was cross-sectional; a total of 151 responses were received and used in the analysis. For statistical analysis, “SmartPLS partial least square, structural equation modeling” PLS-SEM was used. From the findings, it was evident that in the measurement model, convergent and discriminant validities were established. In the second stage, a structural model was developed for hypotheses testing. It was found that sustainable performance was associated with proposed GSCM practices, excluding environmental management. OCBE being a moderator has significant impacts concerning GSCM operations and sustainability functions of firms. However, OCBE did not play the role of moderator between internal environmental management and EE and sustainable performance. The present study is significant for managers and policymakers for the attainment of competitive advantage, enhancement of OCBE, and sustainable performance. Furthermore, this research study is the first empirical study that has used OCBE as a moderator through the lens of NRBV.
Research on the Effect of Authenticity on Revisit Intention in Heritage Tourism
Authors: Zhou Gefen , Chen Wenkuan , Wu Yuting
Published: May 2022

The authenticity of heritage tourism is an important factor for attracting tourists. Research has shown that authenticity is related to revisit intention. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of heritage tourism authenticity on revisit intention. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, we constructed a model of the mechanism underlying this relationship. Questionnaires were distributed at one world heritage site (the Dujiangyan irrigation system) in China, and data from 596 valid cases were collected. Using structural equation modeling, the results showed that authenticity, directly and indirectly, affects tourists' revisit intention via memorable tourism experiences and place attachment. The current paper enriches existing literature on the relationship between authenticity and revisit intention and provides a theoretical basis for promoting authenticity and revisit intention in heritage tourism.
A Concise Occupational Mental Health Screening Tool for South African Workplaces
Authors: Van Wijk Charles H. , Martin Jarred H. , Meintjes W. A. J.
Published: May 2022

Mental health in the workplace is becoming of ever greater importance. General occupational health surveillance programmes are already in widespread use, with established referral systems for treatment and rehabilitation, and the same mechanisms could be expanded to include mental health screening and intervention. This study aimed to develop a concise composite mental health screening tool, based on analysis of existing data, for application in routine occupational health surveillance in South Africa. Data from workplace occupational health surveillance programs from 2,303 participants were analysed. Participants completed a number of questions/scaled items collated into a survey format, and partook in an interview with a psychologist. The data was analysed using frequency of positive self-reports, Chi square to calculate associations with outcomes, Receiver Operator Characteristic curve analysis to explore predictive ability, and binomial logistic regression to calculate the relative contribution of markers to outcomes. An exploratory factor analysis was further conducted on identified items. A general workplace model with 14 markers (and a maritime workplace model with 17 markers) were identified. The factor analysis suggested their organisation into five domains (similar for both models), namely neurocognitive health, common mental disorders, history of adaptation in occupational specific contexts, family-work interface, and stress overload. The study’s data-driven approach proposed a concise composite screener with less than 50 items, comprising five domains. This tool appears useful in identifying employees at risk for workplace injuries or poor mental health outcomes, and could be applied to related workplace settings in South Africa.
The Moderating Effect of Cultural Intelligence on the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction
Authors: Bal Yasemin , Kökalan Özgür
Published: May 2022

It is seen that employees with high emotional intelligence (EI) generally have low level of job stress; they can also integrate better with their jobs and provide a high level of job satisfaction (JS). This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of the cultural intelligence (CI) level of academicians on the relationship between their EI and JS. The data were collected from 470 academicians working in Turkish universities. The sample consists of 3 sub-groups: academicians that are Turkish citizens of and completed their entire education in Turkey, academicians that are Turkish citizens and received a part of their education abroad, and academicians that are not citizens of Turkey and completed their education outside of Turkey. According to the research results, it was found that there is a significant positive relationship between the EI level of the academicians and their JS. The research also determined that CI had a moderating effect on the positive relationship between EI and JS. The CI level of the academicians strengthens the positive relationship between their EI and JS.
Brand Potential User Identification Algorithm Based on Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Li Hongxia
Published: May 2022

This paper firstly compares the current research status of text sentiment analysis and potential customer identification, and introduces the process of building sentiment dictionaries and feature selection, feature screening, and common classification algorithms in text analysis. Secondly, around the most used tool for sentiment analysis, sentiment dictionary, the sentiment polarity discriminative rules of sentiment words are studied. In response to the shortcomings of using a single recognition algorithm in the current process of building sentiment dictionaries, an improved integration rule is designed and an automatic construction method for domain sentiment dictionaries in the social media environment is proposed. Then, this paper analyzes the sentiment topic information existing in user-generated content and adds the domain sentiment lexicon to the joint sentiment topic model as a posteriori information to extract the sentiment topic features, based on which the feature engineering study of potential customer identification is conducted and the feature set is constructed. In addition, a sample resampling method and a diverse integration framework for unbalanced data are designed to work together for the prospect identification task under data skewing in response to the category imbalance in real data. Finally, an experimental study is conducted using a social media text corpus to validate the proposed method in this paper. The proposed domain sentiment lexicon construction method and the joint domain sentiment topic-based lead identification method show good performance in different control group experiments. This paper provides an in-depth study on the construction of domain sentiment lexicon and imbalance classification in theory and provides solutions for companies to discover potential customers in practice, which has certain theoretical significance and practical value.
Componential Analysis of English Verbs
Authors: Kazeminejad Ghazaleh , Palmer Martha , Brown Susan Windisch , Pustejovsky James
Published: May 2022

Computational lexical resources such as WordNet, PropBank, VerbNet, and FrameNet are in regular use in various NLP applications, assisting in the never-ending quest for richer, more precise semantic representations. Coherent class-based organization of lexical units in VerbNet and FrameNet can improve the efficiency of processing by clustering similar items together and sharing descriptions. However, class members are sometimes quite different, and the clustering in both can gloss over useful fine-grained semantic distinctions. FrameNet officially eschews syntactic considerations and focuses primarily on semantic coherence, associating nouns, verbs and adjectives with the same semantic frame, while VerbNet considers both syntactic and semantic factors in defining a class of verbs, relying heavily on meaning-preserving diathesis alternations. Many VerbNet classes significantly overlap in membership with similar FrameNet Frames, e.g., VerbNet Cooking-45.3 and FrameNet Apply_heat, but some VerbNet classes are so heterogeneous as to be difficult to characterize semantically, e.g., Other_cos-45.4. We discuss a recent addition to the VerbNet class semantics, verb-specific semantic features, that provides significant enrichment to the information associated with verbs in each VerbNet class. They also implicitly group together verbs sharing semantic features within a class, forming more semantically coherent subclasses. These efforts began with introspection and dictionary lookup, and progressed to automatic techniques, such as using NLTK sentiment analysis on verb members of VerbNet classes with an Experiencer argument role, to assign positive, negative or neutral labels to them. More recently we found the Brandeis Semantic Ontology (BSO) to be an invaluable source of rich semantic information and were able to use a VerbNet-BSO mapping to find fine-grained distinctions in the semantic features of verb members of 25 VerbNet classes. This not only confirmed the assignments previously made to classes such as Admire-31.2, but also gave a more fine-grained semantic decomposition for the members. Also, for the Judgment-31.1 class, the new method revealed new, more fine-grained existing semantic features for the verbs. Overall, the BSO mapping produced promising results, and as a manually curated resource, we have confidence the results are reliable and need little (if any) further hand-correction. We discuss our various techniques, illustrating the results with specific classes.
Whey as Food-Grade Culture Medium on an Industrial Scale That Protects Probiotics During In Vitro Digestion
Authors: Bauer Estrada Katherine , Caldas Abril Miguel , Bonilla Bravo Valentina , Ruiz Monica , Quintanilla-Carvajal María Ximena
Published: May 2022

Production of probiotics at industrial scale to be used as food supplements involves diverse kinds of processes such as selection of microorganisms, 2) fermentation, 3) drying, and the use of non-food grade commercial culture mediums that should be washed after obtaining the ideal cell concentration. Then, food grade culture medium for probiotics that do not need to be washed and protect the microorganisms through the gastrointestinal tract, is proposed as a low-cost alternative to grow probiotics to be used for incorporation in food. In this way, an experimental design was carried out to obtain the operative conditions for spray drying food-grade culture medium at industrial scale. The factors evaluated were the inlet and outlet temperature and a specific heat treatment before the drying process. As response variables the physical properties of the food-grade medium in powder and the viability count of the probiotic Limosilactobacillus fermentum K73 were evaluated. The viability of four different known probiotics (Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbruekii, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus and Enterococcus faecium) was proved which resulted after 10 h in 10.6, 10.2, 10.1, and 11.2 logCFU/ml, respectively. Also, in vitro digestions of the probiotics in this food-grade medium were carried out and compared with digestions of the probiotics in the commercial medium MRS, demonstrating that the proposed medium protect the probiotics of the gastrointestinal conditions, allowing them to arrive at the intestine at 7.3, 6.8, 7.5 and 7 logCFU/mL, for L. fermentum, L. delbruekii, L. rhamnosus and E. faecium, respectively. Finally, the optimal conditions of the spray drying process were used to reproduce the whey food-grade medium at a large-scale spray dryer (dimensions), this to validate the medium performance in the production of powdered probiotics as L. fermentum.
Analyzing the Explanatory Power of Bionic Systems With the Minimal Cognitive Grid
Authors: Lieto Antonio
Published: May 2022

In this article, I argue that the artificial components of hybrid bionic systems do not play a direct explanatory role, i.e., in simulative terms, in the overall context of the systems in which they are embedded in. More precisely, I claim that the internal procedures determining the output of such artificial devices, replacing biological tissues and connected to other biological tissues, cannot be used to directly explain the corresponding mechanisms of the biological component(s) they substitute (and therefore cannot be used to explain the local mechanisms determining an overall biological or cognitive function replicated by such bionic models). I ground this analysis on the use of the Minimal Cognitive Grid (MCG), a novel framework proposed in Lieto (Cognitive design for artificial minds, 2021) to rank the epistemological and explanatory status of biologically and cognitively inspred artificial systems. Despite the lack of such a direct mechanistic explanation from the artificial component, however, I also argue that the hybrid bionic systems can have an indirect explanatory role similar to the one played by some AI systems built by using an overall structural design approach (but including the partial adoption of functional components). In particular, the artificial replacement of part(s) of a biological system can provide i) a local functional account of that part(s) in the context of the overall functioning of the hybrid biological–artificial system and ii) global insights about the structural mechanisms of the biological elements connected to such artificial devices.
Prevalence and Molecular Identification of Entamoeba spp. in Non-human Primates in a Zoological Garden in Nanjing, China
Authors: Liu Xinchao , Bao Guangbin , Yue Menglong , Fang Yi , Gu Yueyue , Li Wenchao , Gu Youfang , Cheng Wangkun , Lu Mingmin
Published: May 2022

Objective

Entamoeba spp. are globally distributed zoonotic parasites that infect various hosts, among which non-human primates (NHPs) have been identified as one of the most common hosts of these parasites. Consequently, the infections of Entamoeba spp. in captive NHPs from Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo in China were investigated in order to assess their zoonotic potential.

Methods

A total of 120 fresh fecal samples, including 19 species of NHPs, were collected from four breeding bases of the zoo from May to June 2019. The infections of six species of Entamoeba spp. were detected by PCR using the 16S or 18S rDNA-specific primers, and the positive samples were sequenced and analyzed.

Results

Entamoeba spp. were detected as positive in 59 NHPs fecal samples (49.17%), including five Entamoeba species: Entamoeba histolytica (7.50%), E. dispar (22.50%), E. coli (22.50%), E. chattoni (10.00%) and E. nuttalli (1.67%). Infection with one Entamoeba species was more common (35%) than co-infections (13.33%) or infections with three Entamoeba species (0.83%). There was a significantly higher prevalence rate of Entamoeba spp. in the species Pongo pygmaeus and Macaca mulatta than in Papio sp., Mandrillus sphinx, and Saimiri sciureus.

Conclusion

Entamoeba spp. are highly prevalent in the NHPs raised in Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo. Therefore, attention should be paid to the development of containment strategies of Entamoeba spp. in this zoological garden.
Health-Related Quality of Life in Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated With Liver Transplantation Compared to Chemotherapy
Authors: Smedman Tor Magnus , Guren Tormod Kyrre , Tveit Kjell Magne , Thomsen Maria , Andersen Marit Helen , Line Pål-Dag , Dueland Svein
Published: May 2022

Liver transplantation (LT) for patients with non-resectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) offers improved survival and has gained increased interest internationally the last years. The aim of this study was to describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with non-resectable CRLM receiving LT and how baseline HRQoL factors affect overall survival (OS). HRQoL data in the SECA (SEcondary CAncer) LT cohort was compared to data obtained from colorectal cancer patients starting first-line chemotherapy for metastatic disease in a clinical trial and data from a Norwegian normal population. HRQoL data from the QLQ-C30 questionnaire used in the SECA LT study and the NORDIC- VII study were reported. The relationship between patient-reported symptom burden at baseline and OS was investigated. In the SECA study longitudinal HRQoL assessment was used to describe the time until definitive deterioration as well as mean values at different time points. Patients in the SECA and NORDIC-VII studies reported similar baseline HRQoL. The median time until definitive deterioration in the transplanted patients was estimated to 36 months. In the SECA study appetite loss and pain at baseline had negative impact on OS (25.3 versus 71.7 months, p = 0.002 and 39.7 versus 71.7 months, p = 0.038, respectively). Despite a relapse in most of the LT patients the Global Health Score (GHS) remained good. Pain, and especially appetite loss at time of transplantation is associated with poor outcome after LT.
Review of Deep Reinforcement Learning Approaches for Conflict Resolution in Air Traffic Control
Authors: Wang Zhuang , Pan Weijun , Li Hui , Wang Xuan , Zuo Qinghai
Published: May 2022

Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has been widely adopted recently for its ability to solve decision-making problems that were previously out of reach due to a combination of nonlinear and high dimensionality. In the last few years, it has spread in the field of air traffic control (ATC), particularly in conflict resolution. In this work, we conduct a detailed review of existing DRL applications for conflict resolution problems. This survey offered a comprehensive review based on segments as (1) fundamentals of conflict resolution, (2) development of DRL, and (3) various applications of DRL in conflict resolution classified according to environment, model, algorithm, and evaluating indicator. Finally, an open discussion is provided that potentially raises a range of future research directions in conflict resolution using DRL. The objective of this review is to present a guidance point for future research in a more meaningful direction.
The Accumulation of Biomass Pre- and Post-Silking Associated with Gains in Yield for Both Seasons under Maize–Rice Double Cropping System
Authors: Han Yuling , Guo Dong , Xia Fei , Ma Wei , Salah Akram , Zhan Ming , Cao Cougui , Zhao Ming , Chen Chuanyong , Zhou Baoyuan
Published: May 2022

Due to relatively low yield as well as low resources use efficiency with double rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping systems (RR), exploring new cropping systems to increase yield and resources use efficiency simultaneously has become a large challenge of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (MRYR). Our previous study demonstrated that the maize (Zea mays L.)–rice cropping system (MR) exhibited higher superiority of yield and resource use efficiency compared with the conventional double-rice cropping system. However, the reason for the yield increases in both maize and rice and the physiological processes involved in those two crops under MR are poorly understood. A 3-year field experiment was conducted at two sites (Wuxue and Jingmen) from 2016 to 2018 to examine the differences in dry matter (DM) accumulation, soil properties, and resources use efficiency between the MR and RR cropping systems. Compared with RR, the annual yield of MR was 18.2–26.3% and 15.4–31.5% higher across three years at Wuxue and Jingmen, respectively. The average yield of maize in MR was 36.5% and 21.9% higher than that of early rice in RR at Wuxue and Jingmen, respectively. The yield increase for maize was mainly attributed to the 29.7% (Wuxue) and 28.5% (Jingmen) increases in post-silking DM accumulation due to the higher plant growth rate promoted by the higher net assimilation rate and radiation use efficiency. For the late rice in MR, the average yield was 10.9% and 14.5% higher than that of late rice in RR at Wuxue and Jingmen, respectively, which was promoted by the 7.8–23.3% increase in pre-anthesis DM accumulation due to improved soil properties. Compared with RR, the MR cropping system exhibited increased soil pH, total organic carbon, and mineral nitrogen, and decreased the bulk density in the late rice season. As a result of greater yield in both seasons under MR, the annual accumulated temperature and radiation use efficiency, partial factor productivity from applied nitrogen, and water use efficiency of MR were 17.7–26.4%, 22.2–25.5%, 5.5–7.8%, and 33.6–48.7% higher than those of RR, respectively. We conclude that the higher yield in the MR than in the RR cropping system was mainly attributed to the accumulation of post-silking biomass due to maximized use of radiation in the maize season, and the accumulation of pre-anthesis biomass due to improved soil nutrients in the late rice season.
Comprehensive Bioinformatics and Expression Analysis of the TLP Gene Family Revealed Its Role in Regulating the Response of Oryza sativa to Nilaparvata lugens, Laodelphax striatellus, and Jinggangmycin
Authors: Ahmad Sheraz , Zhu Haowen , Chen Yu , Xi Chuanyuan , Shah Amir Zaman , Ge Linquan
Published: May 2022

Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs), which belong to pathogenesis-related (PR) protein family 5 (PR5), are involved in the plant host defense and developmental processes. Detailed information regarding the TLP gene family in rice remains elusive. Here, we identified 43 OsTLP genes from the rice genome database. The in silico analysis comprised of the evolutionary tree, gene structure, conserved motifs, and chemical properties highlighted the key aspects of the OsTLP genes. By phylogenetic analysis, the OsTLP genes were classified into ten groups (OsTLPI-OsTLPX). Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that OsTLP genes regulate plant growth and response to various environmental stimuli. Moreover, most of the OsTLP genes are expressed in almost all tissues. Microarray data showed differential expression trends of OsTLP genes under salinity stress and hormonal treatments, whereas under BPH, SSB, and RFL, only OsTLP1, OsTLP2 and OsTLP27 were expressed. The qRT-PCR analysis showed OsTLP27 as the prominent gene, displayed by its upregulated expression under JGM. Our results provide detailed knowledge of OsTLP gene resistance in rice plants, and we believe the current study will facilitate the development of cultivars resistant to biotic/abiotic stress, particularly stress caused by the chewing and sucking of insect pests.
Temporal Response of Bacterial Community Associated Fe(III) Reduction to Initial pH Shift of Paddy Soils
Authors: Jia Rong , Fan Fangmei , Li Lina , Qu Dong
Published: May 2022

The temporal response of bacterial community, especially that of bacteria with Fe(III) reducing ability, in flooded paddy soils to initial pH changes, is not well-documented. This work demonstrated variations in concentration of Fe species, bacterial activity and community succession in paddy soils with initial pH shift to acidic or alkaline level. The causal links of pH shift-induced bacterial community succession with Fe(III) reduction was also assessed. Results showed that soil initial pH shifts greatly influenced bacterial community and Fe(III) reduction. A soil pH shift from acidic to alkaline level enhanced bacterial abundance and dehydrogenase activity (DHA), which accordingly caused an increase in Fe(III) reducing ratio by 22.26% on day One of flooding. The stimulated putative Fe(III) reducing species, Bacillus and Solibacillus, caused stimulation of Fe(III) reduction with pH increase. However, there was continuous inhibition of Fe(III) reduction with a pH shift from alkaline to acidic, with Fe(III) reducing ratios decreased by 11.98–40.04%. The inhibited DHA and Fe(III) reducing bacteria were amenable for the suspension of Fe(III) reduction. This study suggests that bacterial activity and Fe(III) concentration, in responses to initial soil pH shift, are primarily responsible for pH shift-induced Fe(III) reduction in paddy soils.
Bionic Optimization Design and Experiment of Reciprocating Cutting System on Single-Row Tea Harvester
Authors: Du Zhe , Li Denghui , Ji Jiangtao , Zhang Liyuan , Li Xinping , Wang Huankun
Published: May 2022

The reciprocating cutting system is one of the key parts of a tea harvester; and its cutting performance directly determines the cutting power consumption and harvesting quality of the machine. Because the structural parameters of reciprocating cutting systems do not match the tea cut; resulting in larger cutting resistance, it is necessary to optimize the structural parameters. The cricket mouth part has outstanding performance in tea tree fiber cutting; and the curved structural characteristics of the upper jaw of the cricket have been useful to improve the cutting efficiency of cutting system. Quantitative analysis of the structure of the upper jaw revealed that the arc-shaped structure of the incisor lobe would inspire new bionic blades and bionic cutters to solve the above problems. The cutting performance experiment of the cutting blade was designed for investigating the effects of inter-node number; tea variety and blade type (ordinary blade; bionic blade e and bionic blade f) on the cutting force and cutting power consumption. Experimental results of cutting performance have shown that the bionic blade could reduce cutting resistance and cutting power consumption. Tea varieties had little effect on cutting force and cutting power consumption. In addition, the orthogonal test was carried out to study the influence of cutter type with the cutting speed ratio and cutting angle on the integrity rate and missing rate of tea shoot. The field cutting experiment showed that the cutting angle was the most important for the integrity rate and missing rate of tea shoot; followed by the cutter speed ratio; and finally, the cutter type. The optimum combination of parameters was a cutting speed of 0.8 m/s; a forward speed of 1.0 m/s; a cutting angle of −3°, and using the bionic cutter e. With the optimal parameter combination, the integrity rate and missing rate of the tea shoot were 92.7% and 3.9%, which were increased by 13.2% and decreased by 6.4% compared to those under the condition of the 0° cutting angle and an ordinary cutter. As a result, the bionic cutter could obviously reduce cutting resistance; reduce cutting power consumption and improve the harvesting quality. These results would provide guidance for the design of the reciprocating cutting system of tea harvesters and other stalk cutting machinery.
Biochemical and Associated Agronomic Traits in Gossypium hirsutum L. under High Temperature Stress
Authors: Zafar Muhammad Mubashar , Zhang Yufang , Farooq Muhammad Awais , Ali Arfan , Firdous Hina , Haseeb Muhammad , Fiaz Sajid , Shakeel Amir , Razzaq Abdul , Ren Maozhi
Published: May 2022

Heat tolerance is a physiologically and genetically complex trait regulated by multiple genes. To investigate the genetic basis of heat tolerance, eight parents (five lines and three testers) and their fifteen F1 hybrids were evaluated under normal and high-temperature stress conditions for two consecutive years. Data were recorded for plant height, number of bolls, boll weight, seed cotton yield, ginning out turn (GOT%), H2O2, catalase, peroxidase, super-oxidase dismutase, total soluble proteins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a & b contents, short fiber index, fiber strength, UHML, micronaire value, reflectance, and uniformity index. Line × tester analysis suggested that the contribution of lines was higher than testers. Non-additive gene action was observed for all studied traits. The variances of SCA were greater than GCA variances for all studied traits revealed that these traits were governed by a few largely dominant genes. Fb-Shaheen, Eagle-2 and JSQ White Gold were found good general combiner whereas the cross Fb-Shaheen × JSQ White Gold was a good specific combiner and revealed significant better parent heterosis for most of the traits during two years under normal and high temperature stress conditions. The information obtained could be utilized in a breeding program for the development of new synthetic varieties of heat tolerance.
Estimation of Nitrogen Content Based on the Hyperspectral Vegetation Indexes of Interannual and Multi-Temporal in Cotton
Authors: Ma Lulu , Chen Xiangyu , Zhang Qiang , Lin Jiao , Yin Caixia , Ma Yiru , Yao Qiushuang , Feng Lei , Zhang Ze , Lv Xin
Published: May 2022

Crop nitrogen is an efficient index for estimating crop yield. Using hyperspectral information to monitor nitrogen in cotton information in real time can help guide cotton cultivation. In this study, we used drip-irrigation cotton in Xinjiang as the research object and employed various nitrogen treatments to explore the correlation between hyperspectral vegetation indexes and leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC) and the canopy nitrogen density (CND) of cotton in different growth periods and interannual. We employed 30 published hyperspectral vegetation indexes obtained through spectral monitoring in 2019 and 2020 to screen for hyperspectral vegetation indexes highly correlated with the nitrogen in cotton indexes. Based on the same group of hyperspectral vegetation indexes, interannual and multi-temporal nitrogen estimation models of cotton were established using three modeling methods: simple multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least-squares regression (PLSR), and support vector regression (SVR). The results showed the following: (1) The correlations between LNC and CND and vegetation index in individual growth periods of cotton were lower than those for the entire growth period. The correlations between hyperspectral vegetation indexes and cotton LNC, CND, leaf area index (LAI), and aboveground biomass (AGB), were significantly different between years and varieties. The relatively stable indexes between vegetation and LNC were TCARI, PRI, CCRI, and SRI-2, and the absolute values of correlation were 0.251~0.387, 0.239~0.422, 0.245~0.387, and 0.357~0.533. In addition, the correlation between CIred-edge and REIlinear and group indicators (CND, AGB, and LAI) was more stable. (2) In the models established by MLR, PLSR, and SVR, the R2 value from the SVR method was higher in the estimation model based on the entire growth period data and LNC and CND. (3) Using the same group of selected hyperspectral vegetation indexes to estimate nitrogen in cotton in different growth stages, the accuracy of the estimation model of canopy nitrogen density (CND) was higher than that of the estimation model for leaf nitrogen concentration. The canopy nitrogen density most stable model was established by MLR at the flowering and boll stages and the full-boll stage with R2 = 0.532~0.665. This study explored the application potential of hyperspectral vegetation indexes to the nitrogen of drip-irrigated cotton, and the results provide a theoretical basis for hyperspectral monitoring for crop nutrients and canopy structure.
Chitosan/Calcium–Alginate Encapsulated Flaxseed Oil on Dairy Cattle Diet: In Vitro Fermentation and Fatty Acid Biohydrogenation
Authors: Besharati Maghsoud , Giannenas Ilias , Palangi Valiollah , Ayasan Tugay , Noorian Fatemeh , Maggiolino Aristide , Lorenzo Jose Manuel
Published: May 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using chitosan nanoparticles and calcium alginate in the encapsulation of flaxseed oil on the biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids and in vitro fermentation. The experiments were performed in a completely randomized design with 7 treatments. The experimental treatments included: diets without oil additive (control), diet containing 7% flaxseed oil, diet containing 14% flaxseed oil, diet containing 7% oil encapsulated with 500 ppm chitosan nanocapsules, diet containing 14% flaxseed oil encapsulated with 1000 ppm chitosan nanocapsules, diet containing 7% of flaxseed oil encapsulated with 500 ppm of calcium alginate nanocapsules, diet containing 14% flaxseed oil encapsulated with 1000 ppm calcium alginate nanocapsules. The results showed that encapsulation of flaxseed oil with calcium alginate (14%) had a significant effect on gas production (p < 0.05). The treatment containing calcium alginate (14%) increased the digestibility of dry matter compared to the control treatment, but the treatments containing chitosan caused a significant reduction (p < 0.05). The results indicated that the percentage of ruminal saturated fatty acids decreased by encapsulation of flaxseed oil with chitosan (14% and 7%). The percentage of oleic unsaturated fatty acid by encapsulating flaxseed oil with chitosan (14%) had a significant increase compared to the control treatment (p < 0.05). As a result, encapsulating flaxseed oil with chitosan (14%) reduced the unsaturated fatty acids generated during ruminal biohydrogenation.
Improved Joint Health Following Oral Administration of Glycosaminoglycans with Native Type II Collagen in a Rabbit Model of Osteoarthritis
Authors: Sifre Vicente , Soler Carme , Segarra Sergi , Redondo José Ignacio , Doménech Luis , Ten-Esteve Amadeo , Vilalta Laura , Pardo-Marín Luis , Serra Claudio Iván
Published: May 2022

A prospective, experimental, randomized, double blinded study was designed to evaluate the effects of glycosaminoglycans, with or without native type II collagen (NC), in an osteoarthritis model induced by cranial cruciate ligament transection. The following compounds were tested: chondroitin sulfate (CS), glucosamine hydrochloride (GlHCl), hyaluronic acid (HA) and NC. Fifty-four female 12-week-old New Zealand rabbits were classified into three groups: CTR (control–no treatment), CGH (CS + GlHCl + HA) and CGH-NC (CS + GlHCl + HA + NC). Each group was subdivided into three subgroups according to survival times of 24, 56 and 84 days. Over time, all rabbits developed degenerative changes associated with osteoarthritis. CGH-NC showed significantly improved values on macroscopic evaluation, compared to CTR and CGH. Microscopically, significantly better results were seen with CGH and CGH-NC, compared to CTR, and synovial membrane values were significantly better with CGH-NC compared to CGH. A significant improvement in magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers was also observed with CGH-NC in cartilage transversal relaxation time (T2) and subchondral bone D2D fractal dimension in the lateral condyle. In conclusion, our results show beneficial effects on joint health of CGH and CGH-NC and also supports that adding NC to CGH results in even greater efficacy.
A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Taurine-Enriched Rotifers on the Growth and Survival of the Small Yellow Croaker Larimichthys polyactis Larvae
Authors: Cho Jeong-Hyeon , Kim Jae-Hoon , Park Jin Woo
Published: May 2022

The effect of feeding with taurine-enriched rotifers on larval growth and survival in the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis was investigated. Rotifers, control (without taurine enrichment) or enriched with a commercial taurine supplement at two concentrations (400, and 800 mg/L), were used. The larvae (initial notochord length = 3.83 mm) were fed taurine-enriched rotifers in triplicate, from 3 days after hatching for 12 days. The average taurine contents of the rotifers were 0.31, 5.34, and 8.55 mg/g dry matter, respectively. The rotifers from all treatments had similar fatty acid composition. The growth and survival rates of the larvae fed rotifers enriched with 800 mg/L taurine supplementation were significantly higher than those of larvae fed rotifers without taurine enrichment (p = 0.005 and 0.002, respectively). The whole-body taurine content in the fish increased significantly with the increase in taurine level in the rotifers: 1.02, 3.48, and 4.11 mg/g in larvae fed control rotifers, and rotifers enriched with 400, and 800 mg/L taurine supplementation, respectively. The results of this study indicate that small yellow croaker larvae benefit from taurine concentrations above those typically reported in non-taurine-enriched rotifers.
Replacement of Maize Silage and Soyabean Meal with Mulberry Silage in the Diet of Hu Lambs on Growth, Gastrointestinal Tissue Morphology, Rumen Fermentation Parameters and Microbial Diversity
Authors: Han Haoqi , Zhang Liyang , Shang Yuan , Wang Mingyan , Phillips Clive J. C. , Wang Yao , Su Chuanyou , Lian Hongxia , Fu Tong , Gao Tengyun
Published: May 2022

Maize silage has a significant environmental impact on livestock due to its high requirement for fertilizer and water. Mulberry has the potential to replace much of the large amount of maize silage grown in China, but its feeding value in the conserved form needs to be evaluated. We fed Hu lambs diets with 20–60% of the maize silage replaced by mulberry silage, adjusting the soybean meal content when increasing the mulberry silage inclusion rate in an attempt to balance the crude protein content of the diets. Mulberry silage had higher crude protein and lower acidic and neutral detergent fiber contents compared to maize silage. Replacing maize silage and soyabean meal with mulberry silage had no effect on the feed intake and growth rate of Hu lambs. However, the rumen pH increased, the acetate to propionate in rumen fluid increased, and the rumen ammonia concentration decreased as mulberry replaced maize silage and soyabean meal. This was associated with an increase in norank_f__F082 bacteria in the rumen. Rumen papillae were shorter when mulberry silage replaced maize silage, which may reflect the reduced neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content of the original silage. In conclusion, mulberry silage can successfully replace maize silage and soyabeans in the diet of Hu lambs without loss of production potential, which could have significant environmental benefits.
Prevalence, Antibiotic-Resistance, and Replicon-Typing of Salmonella Strains among Serovars Mainly Isolated from Food Chain in Marche Region, Italy
Authors: Russo Ilaria , Bencardino Daniela , Napoleoni Maira , Andreoni Francesca , Schiavano Giuditta Fiorella , Baldelli Giulia , Brandi Giorgio , Amagliani Giulia
Published: May 2022

Nontyphoidal salmonellosis (NTS) is the second most commonly reported gastrointestinal infection in humans and an important cause of food-borne outbreaks in Europe. The use of antimicrobial agents for animals, plants, and food production contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella strains that are transmissible to humans through food. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and the potential dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella strains isolated in the Marche Region (Central Italy) via the food chain. Strains were isolated from different sources: food, human, food animal/livestock, and the food-processing environment. Among them, we selected MDR strains to perform their further characterization in terms of resistance to tetracycline agent, carriage of tet genes, and plasmid profiles. Tetracycline resistance genes were detected by PCR and plasmid replicons by PCR-based replicon typing (PBRT). A total of 102 MDR Salmonella strains were selected among the most prevalent serovars: S. Infantis (n = 36/102), S. Derby (n = 20/102), S. Typhimurium (n = 18/102), and a monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium (MVST, n = 28/102). Resistance to sulfisoxazole (86%) and tetracycline (81%) were the most common, followed by ampicillin (76%). FIIS was the most predominant replicon (17%), followed by FII (11%) and FIB (11%) belonging to the IncF incompatibility group. Concerning the characterization of tet genes, tetB was the most frequently detected (27/89), followed by tetA (10/89), tetG (5/89), and tetM (1/89). This study showed the potential risk associated with the MDR Salmonella strains circulating along the food chain. Hence, epidemiological surveillance supported by molecular typing could be a very useful tool to prevent transmission of resistant Salmonella from food to humans, in line with the One Health approach.
Self-Medication with Antibiotics during COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries: A Review
Authors: Jirjees Feras , Ahmed Munazza , Sayyar Somayeh , Amini Monireh , Al-Obaidi Hala , Aldeyab Mamoon A.
Published: May 2022

Self-treatment with medicines including treatment with antibiotics is a growing global concern, as it can cause public health problems, such as antibiotic resistance and drug toxicity. Therefore, the significance of the self-medication impact of COVID-19 in any region can have an influence on the prevalence of such problems. The review aimed to investigate the self-treatment with antibiotics among the general population in Eastern Mediterranean region countries during COVID-19 pandemic. A comprehensive review of literature in four databases was conducted for the pandemic period from January 2020 to the end of March 2022. Nine studies related to self-treatment with antibiotics were found. The studies were homogeneous in terms of assessing the antibiotic self-treatment usage during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population and among community pharmacies. The prevalence of self-treatment with antibiotics ranged from 20.8% to 45.8% between the studies. The main reasons for that were cost-saving, fear of COVID-19 infection, quarantine, and ease of accessibility without time limits. Antibiotic self-treatment has been high during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it was less reported during the study period than before the time of the pandemic. There is a need for more restrictions on dispensing antibiotics from community pharmacies. In addition, there is a need to raise awareness among the population regarding self-treatment with antibiotics.
MDR Pumps as Crossroads of Resistance: Antibiotics and Bacteriophages
Authors: Nazarov Pavel A.
Published: May 2022

At present, antibiotic resistance represents a global problem in modern medicine. In the near future, humanity may face a situation where medicine will be powerless against resistant bacteria and a post-antibiotic era will come. The development of new antibiotics is either very expensive or ineffective due to rapidly developing bacterial resistance. The need to develop alternative approaches to the treatment of bacterial infections, such as phage therapy, is beyond doubt. The cornerstone of bacterial defense against antibiotics are multidrug resistance (MDR) pumps, which are involved in antibiotic resistance, toxin export, biofilm, and persister cell formation. MDR pumps are the primary non-specific defense of bacteria against antibiotics, while drug target modification, drug inactivation, target switching, and target sequestration are the second, specific line of their defense. All bacteria have MDR pumps, and bacteriophages have evolved along with them and use the bacteria’s need for MDR pumps to bind and penetrate into bacterial cells. The study and understanding of the mechanisms of the pumps and their contribution to the overall resistance and to the sensitivity to bacteriophages will allow us to either seriously delay the onset of the post-antibiotic era or even prevent it altogether due to phage-antibiotic synergy.
Triclosan: A Small Molecule with Controversial Roles
Authors: Sinicropi Maria Stefania , Iacopetta Domenico , Ceramella Jessica , Catalano Alessia , Mariconda Annaluisa , Pellegrino Michele , Saturnino Carmela , Longo Pasquale , Aquaro Stefano
Published: May 2022

Triclosan (TCS), a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, has been widely used in personal care products, medical products, plastic cutting boards, and food storage containers. Colgate Total® toothpaste, containing 10 mM TCS, is effective in controlling biofilm formation and maintaining gingival health. Given its broad usage, TCS is present ubiquitously in the environment. Given its strong lipophilicity and accumulation ability in organisms, it is potentially harmful to biohealth. Several reports suggest the toxicity of this compound, which is inserted in the class of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In September 2016, TCS was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Union in soap products. Despite these problems, its application in personal care products within certain limits is still allowed. Today, it is still unclear whether TCS is truly toxic to mammals and the adverse effects of continuous, long-term, and low concentration exposure remain unknown. Indeed, some recent reports suggest the use of TCS as a repositioned drug for cancer treatment and cutaneous leishmaniasis. In this scenario it is necessary to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of TCS, to understand whether its use is advisable or not. This review intends to highlight the pros and cons that are associated with the use of TCS in humans.
Multi-Objective Optimization Using Cooperative Garden Balsam Optimization with Multiple Populations
Authors: Wang Xiaohui , Li Shengpu
Published: May 2022

Traditional multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) consider multiple objectives as a whole when solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). In this paper, the hybridization of garden balsam optimization (GBO) is presented to solve multi-objective optimization, applying multiple populations for multiple objectives individually. Moreover, in order to improve the diversity of the solutions, both crowding distance computations and epsilon dominance relations are adopted when updating the archive. Furthermore, an efficient selection procedure called co-evolutionary multi-swarm garden balsam optimization (CMGBO) is proposed to ensure the convergence of well-diversified Pareto regions. The performance of the used algorithm is validated on 12 test functions. The algorithm is employed to solve four real-world problems in engineering. The achieved consequences corroborate the advantage of the proposed algorithm with regard to convergence and diversity.
A Fast Identification Method of Gunshot Types Based on Knowledge Distillation
Authors: Li Jian , Guo Jinming , Sun Xiushan , Li Chuankun , Meng Lingpeng
Published: May 2022

To reduce the large size of a gunshot recognition network model and to improve the insufficient real-time detection in urban combat, this paper proposes a fast gunshot type recognition method based on knowledge distillation. First, the muzzle blast and the shock wave generated by the gunshot are preprocessed, and the quality of the gunshot recognition dataset is improved using Log-Mel spectrum corresponding to these two signals. Second, a teacher network is constructed using 10 two-dimensional residual modules, and a student network is designed using depth wise separable convolution. Third, the lightweight student network is made to learn the gunshot features under the guidance of the pre-trained large-scale teacher network. Finally, the network’s accuracy, model size, and recognition time are tested using the AudioSet dataset and the NIJ Grant 2016-DN-BX-0183 gunshot dataset. The findings demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieved 95.6% and 83.5% accuracy on the two datasets, the speed was 0.5 s faster, and the model size was reduced to 2.5 MB. The proposed method is of good practical value in the field of gunshot recognition.