bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis on Influences of Squeeze Film Damper on Vibrations of Rotor System in Aeroengine
Authors: Wang Haobo , Zhao Yulai , Luo Zhong , Han Qingkai
Published: January 2022

Squeeze film damper (SFD) is widely used in the vibration suppression of aeroengine rotor systems, but will cause complex motions of the rotor system under specific operating conditions. In this paper, a lumped-mass dynamic model of the high-pressure rotor system in an aeroengine is established, and the nonlinear stiffness and damping formula of SFD are introduced into the above model. The vibration responses of the rotor system under different rotating speeds and with different unbalances are investigated numerically, and the influence of SFD on the rotor system vibration and the change of suppression ability are compared and analyzed. The results show that in the case of high speed, together with a small unbalance, the rotor system will perform a complex vibration or a bistable vibration due to SFD. If the unbalance is properly increased under the same case of high speed, the vibration of the rotor becomes single-harmonic and the bistable vibration disappears. The research results can provide a helpful reference for analyzing complex vibration mechanisms of the rotor system with SFD and achieving an effective vibration suppression through unbalance regulation.
Frictional Behaviour of the Microstructural Surfaces Created by Cylindrical Grinding Processes
Authors: Cao Haoyang , Chen Xun , Li Haolin , Shen Chao
Published: January 2022

Cylindrical surface grinding can create defined textural patterns on a component with high quantity. This paper presents an experimental investigation of the frictional behaviours of ground cylindrical microstructural surfaces under a well lubrication condition. It shows that the coefficient of friction (COF) of microstructural surface is influenced by different workload and rotation speed. The results reveal that conventional surface roughness parameters do not present the influence of surface microstructure on friction performance well. However, the paper presents an interesting discovery that the friction behaviour of microstructural surfaces created by grinding could be controlled by combining dressing and grinding conditions. Such a discovery provides a logic way to reduce surface friction for energy efficiency applications. A few functional relationships have been established to illustrate the influence of microstructural features on friction. It was found that the ground microstructural surface could improve friction performance up to 20% compared to the smoother surfaces without defined surface textural patterns.
A Framework for Pedestrian Attribute Recognition Using Deep Learning
Authors: Sakib Saadman , Deb Kaushik , Dhar Pranab Kumar , Kwon Oh-Jin
Published: January 2022

The pedestrian attribute recognition task is becoming more popular daily because of its significant role in surveillance scenarios. As the technological advances are significantly more than before, deep learning came to the surface of computer vision. Previous works applied deep learning in different ways to recognize pedestrian attributes. The results are satisfactory, but still, there is some scope for improvement. The transfer learning technique is becoming more popular for its extraordinary performance in reducing computation cost and scarcity of data in any task. This paper proposes a framework that can work in surveillance scenarios to recognize pedestrian attributes. The mask R-CNN object detector extracts the pedestrians. Additionally, we applied transfer learning techniques on different CNN architectures, i.e., Inception ResNet v2, Xception, ResNet 101 v2, ResNet 152 v2. The main contribution of this paper is fine-tuning the ResNet 152 v2 architecture, which is performed by freezing layers, last 4, 8, 12, 14, 20, none, and all. Moreover, data balancing techniques are applied, i.e., oversampling, to resolve the class imbalance problem of the dataset and analysis of the usefulness of this technique is discussed in this paper. Our proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art methods, and it provides 93.41% mA and 89.24% mA on the RAP v2 and PARSE100K datasets, respectively.
Factors Influencing Changes of the Initial Stable Water Isotopes Composition in the Seasonal Snowpack of the South of Western Siberia, Russia
Authors: Papina Tatyana , Eirikh Alla , Noskova Tatiana
Published: January 2022

Stable water isotopes in snowpack and snowfalls are widely used for understanding hydrological processes occurring in the seasonally snow-covered territories. The present study examines the main factors influencing changes of the initial stable water isotopes composition in the seasonal snow cover of the south of Western Siberia. Studies of the isotopic composition of snow precipitation and snow cover, as well as experiments with them, were carried out during two cold seasons of 2019–2021, and laser spectroscopy PICARRO L2130-i (WS-CRDS) was used for the determination of water isotope composition (δ18O and δD). The main changes in the isotopic composition of the snow cover layers in the studied region are associated with the existence of a vertical temperature gradient between the layers and with the penetration of soil moisture into the bottom layers in the absence of soil freezing. During the winter period, the sublimation from the top layer of snow is observed only at the moments of a sharp increase in the daily air temperature. At the end of winter, the contrast between day and night air temperatures determines the direction of the shift in the isotopic composition of the top layer of snow relative to the initial snow precipitation.
Peak Shift of Coherent Edge Radiation Spectrum Depending on Radio Frequency Field Phase of Accelerator
Authors: Sei Norihiro , Zen Heishun , Ohgaki Hideaki
Published: January 2022

Spectra of coherent edge radiation (CER) were observed at the S-band linac facility of Kyoto University Free Electron Laser. A local maximum was observed in the CER spectrum on-crest operation of the radio frequency (RF) field. As the phase of the RF field was shifted from the crest, the frequency of the maximum decreased, and the CER spectrum approached a spectrum of Gaussian-distributed electrons in a bunch. It was found that this strange spectrum can be explained by a model in which a satellite pulse exists around a main pulse in the electron bunch. Furthermore, it demonstrated that CER is an effective tool for monitoring the shape of the electron bunch.
Decentralized Inner-Product Encryption with Constant-Size Ciphertext
Authors: Tseng Yi-Fan , Gao Shih-Jie
Published: January 2022

With the rise of technology in recent years, more people are studying distributed system architecture, such as the e-government system. The advantage of this architecture is that when a single point of failure occurs, it does not cause the system to be invaded by other attackers, making the entire system more secure. On the other hand, inner product encryption (IPE) provides fine-grained access control, and can be used as a fundamental tool to construct other cryptographic primitives. Lots of studies for IPE have been proposed recently. The first and only existing decentralized IPE was proposed by Michalevsky and Joye in 2018. However, some restrictions in their scheme may make it impractical. First, the ciphertext size is linear to the length of the corresponding attribute vector; second, the number of authorities should be the same as the length of predicate vector. To cope with the aforementioned issues, we design the first decentralized IPE with constant-size ciphertext. The security of our scheme is proven under the ℓ-DBDHE assumption in the random oracle model. Compared with Michalevsky and Joye’s work, ours achieves better efficiency in ciphertext length and encryption/decryption cost.
Development of an Underground Tunnels Detection Algorithm for Electrical Resistivity Tomography Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Hung Yin-Chun , Zhao Yu-Xiang , Hung Wei-Chen
Published: January 2022

Kinmen Island was in a state of combat readiness during the 1950s–1980s. It opened for tourism in 1992, when all troops withdrew from the island. Most military installations, such as bunkers, anti airborne piles, and underground tunnels, became deserted and disordered. The entries to numerous underground bunkers are closed or covered with weeds, creating dangerous spaces on the island. This study evaluates the feasibility of using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) to detect and discuss the location, size, and depth of underground tunnels. In order to discuss the reliability of the 2D-ERT result, this study built a numerical model to validate the correctness of in situ measured data. In addition, this study employed the artificial intelligence deep learning technique for reprocessing and predicting the ERT image and discussed using an artificial intelligence deep learning algorithm to enhance the image resolution and interpretation. A total of three 2D-ERT survey lines were implemented in this study. The results indicate that the three survey lines clearly show the tunnel location and shape. The numerical simulation results also indicate that using 2D-ERT to survey underground tunnels is highly feasible. Moreover, according to a series of studies in Multilayer Perceptron of deep learning, using deep learning can clearly show the tunnel location and path and effectively enhance the interpretation ability and resolution for 2D-ERT measurement results.
Root Cause Analysis of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Failure in a Public Transport Communication System
Authors: Tan Cher-Ming , Chen Hsiao-Hi , Wu Jing-Ping , Sangwan Vivek , Tsai Kun-Yen , Huang Wen-Chun
Published: January 2022

A printed circuit board (PCB) is an essential element for practical circuit applications and its failure can inflict large financial costs and even safety concerns, especially if the PCB failure occurs prematurely and unexpectedly. Understanding the failure modes and even the failure mechanisms of a PCB failure are not sufficient to ensure the same failure will not occur again in subsequent operations with different batches of PCBs. The identification of the root cause is crucial to prevent the reoccurrence of the same failure. In this work, a step-by-step approach from customer returned and inventory reproduced boards to the root cause identification is described for an actual industry case where the failure is a PCB burn-out. The failure mechanism is found to be a conductive anodic filament (CAF) even though the PCB is CAF-resistant. The root cause is due to PCB de-penalization. A reliability verification to assure the effectiveness of the corrective action according to the identified root cause is shown to complete the case study. This work shows that a CAF-resistant PCB does not necessarily guarantee no CAF and PCB processes can render its CAF resistance ineffective.
Leakage Current Mitigation of Photovoltaic System Using Optimized Predictive Control for Improved Efficiency
Authors: Routray Abhinandan , Hur Sung-Ho
Published: January 2022

This paper proposes an optimized predictive control strategy to mitigate the potential leakage current of grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) systems to improve the lifespans of PV modules. In this work, the PV system is controlled with an optimized predictive control algorithm that selects the switching voltage vectors intelligently to reduce the number of computational burdens. Thus, it improves the dynamic performance of the overall system. This is achieved through a specific cost function that minimizes the change in common-mode voltage generated by the parasitic capacitance of PV modules. The proposed controller does not require any additional modulation schemes. Normalization techniques and weighting factors are incorporated to obtain improved results. The steady state and dynamic performance of the proposed control scheme is validated in this work through simulations and a 600 W experimental laboratory prototype.
Prediction of River Sediment Transport Based on Wavelet Transform and Neural Network Model
Authors: Li Zongyu , Sun Zhilin , Liu Jing , Dong Haiyang , Xiong Wenhua , Sun Lixia , Zhou Hanyu
Published: January 2022

The sedimentation problem is one of the critical issues affecting the long-term use of rivers, and the study of sediment variation in rivers is closely related to water resource, river ecosystem and estuarine delta siltation. Traditional research on sediment variation in rivers is mostly based on field measurements and experimental simulations, which requires a large amount of human and material resources, many influencing factors and other restrictions. With the development of computer technology, intelligent approaches have been applied to hydrological models to establish small information in river areas. In this paper, considering the influence of multiple factors on sediment transport, the validity of predicting sediment transport combined with wavelet transforms and neural network was analyzed. The rainfall and runoff cycles are extracted and decomposed into time series sub-signals by wavelet transforms; then, the data post-processing is used as the neural network training set to predict the sediment model. The results show that wavelet coupled neural network model effectively improves the accuracy of the predicted sediment model, which can provide a reference basis for river sediment prediction.
Preliminary Evaluation of the Impact of Eurocode 8 Draft Revision on the Seismic Zonation of Romania
Authors: Pavel Florin , Vacareanu Radu , Pitilakis Kyriazis
Published: January 2022

This study is focused on the impact of the Eurocode 8 draft revision on the seismic zonation of Romania, one of the countries with the highest hazard levels in Europe. In this study, the design response spectra are evaluated for a number of sites in Romania for which both shear wave velocity profiles and ground motion recordings are available. The impact of the proposed changes on the structural design for structures situated in the southern part of Romania is also discussed. The results show considerable differences between the design response spectra computed according to the Eurocode 8 draft revision and the design response spectra from the current Romanian seismic code P100-1/2013. The differences are larger in the case of the sites situated in the southern part of Romania and those which have large design values for the control period TC. In Bucharest, for instance, it was found that the maximum design spectral accelerations would correspond to those from the 2006 version of the code while the maximum design spectral displacements would be significantly smaller than the levels produced by the 1981 or 1992 versions of the code. The results presented herein show that the differences in the seismic hazard and design ground motions are mainly due to the effects of local soil and site conditions and the associated site amplification proposed in the current Romanian seismic code and EC8 draft revision. Moreover, it has been shown that more analyses are needed to apply the seismic actions proposed in Eurocode 8 revision specifically for the sites in Romania under the influence of Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes so as to ensure an increased level of seismic safety for structures designed and built in the future.
Application of Deep Learning and Symmetrized Dot Pattern to Detect Surge Arrester Status
Authors: Wang Meng-Hui , Lu Shiue-Der , Hung Chun-Chun
Published: January 2022

Surge arresters primarily restrain lightning and switch surges in the power system to avoid damaging power equipment. When a surge arrester fails, it leads to huge damage to the power equipment. Therefore, this study proposed the application of a convolutional neural network (CNN) combined with a symmetrized dot pattern (SDP) to detect the state of the surge arrester. First, four typical fault types were constructed for the 18 kV surge arrester, including its normal state, aging of the internal valve, internal humidity, and salt damage to the insulation. Then, the partial discharge signal was measured and extracted using a high-speed data acquisition (DAQ) card, while a snowflake map was established by SDP for the features of each fault type. Finally, CNN was used to detect the status of the surge arrester. This study also used a histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) with support vendor machine (SVM), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and k-nearest neighbors (KNN) for image feature extraction and identification. The result shows that the proposed method had the highest accuracy at 97.9%, followed by 95% for HOG + SVM, 94.6% for HOG + BPNN, and 91.2% for HOG + KNN. Therefore, the proposed method can effectively detect the fault status of surge arresters.
Numerical Study of the Bond Strength Evolution of Corroded Reinforcement in Concrete in Pull-Out Tests
Authors: El Alami Eliass , Fekak Fatima-Ezzahra , Garibaldi Luigi , Moustabchir Hassane , Elkhalfi Ahmed , Scutaru Maria Luminita , Vlase Sorin
Published: January 2022

The corrosion of rebars in reinforced concrete structures impacts their geometry (diameter and ribs) and mass, damages the concrete at the interface between the two materials, deteriorates the bond strength, and causes the cracking of the concrete cover. In the following study, a 2D numerical model of the pull-out test is presented in order to study the impact of corrosion on the bond strength. Several parameters are investigated: the embedment depth, the rebar’s diameter, and the width of the concrete cover. The model reproduces the slip of the rebar and the failure through the splitting of concrete. It integrates an interface between the two materials and a concrete damage model that simulate the deterioration of concrete in compression and tension. The results obtained are validated with experimental data from the literature. Moreover, a parametric study is carried out to determine the impact of the embedment depth, the diameter of the rebar, and the concrete cover on the bond strength. The present study confirms that a greater embedment depth increases the pulling load. The study also confirms that the rebar’s diameter impacts highly the loss of bond between the rebar and the concrete cover. Lastly, the final main result of this paper is that the width of the concrete cover slows the loss of bond strength between the two materials.
DHA-Rich Aurantiochytrium Biomass, a Novel Dietary Supplement, Resists Degradation by Rumen Microbiota without Disrupting Microbial Activity
Authors: Rinttilä Teemu , Moran Colm A. , Apajalahti Juha
Published: January 2022

We first sought to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich microalgae, Aurantiochytrium limacinum (AURA), on rumen fermentation and the resistance of DHA to degradation and biohydrogenation by rumen microbes through ex vivo fermentation experiments. Subsequently, we sought to quantify the diet-derived DHA content of milk and the impact of AURA on microbial composition and metabolism in a pilot feeding trial with rumen-cannulated dairy cows. To achieve our aims, rumen fluid from cannulated cows was used as inoculum, and the effect of AURA inclusion on fermentation ex vivo was examined. At doses corresponding to the amount of AURA recommended for commercial production animals, only ~10% of DHA was degraded or biohydrogenated by rumen microorganisms. The results show that feeding with AURA had no effect on either total bacterial density or short-chain fatty acid production. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of the rumen fluid samples collected during a seven-week in vivo trial revealed that microbes related to lactic acid metabolism and methanogenesis were significantly suppressed by the AURA-supplemented diet. The DHA concentration in milk increased over 25-fold with the AURA-supplemented diet and dropped by 30–40% within one week of washout. The addition of A. limacinum biomass to dairy cow diets resulted in positive effects on rumen microbial composition with no adverse effect on fermentation activity. AURA-derived DHA was stable, with only modest degradation in the rumen, and was successfully deposited in milk. This is the first study to investigate the effect of supplementing the diet of dairy cows with a protist-based biomass, namely, on important rumen fermentation parameters and on DHA deposition in milk, using a combination of ex vivo and in vivo approaches.
LLCZN/PEO/LiPF6 Composite Solid-State Electrolyte for Safe Energy Storage Application
Authors: Danquah Samuel Adjepong , Strimaitis Jacob , Denize Clifford F. , Pradhan Sangram K. , Bahoura Messaoud
Published: January 2022

All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are gaining traction in the arena of energy storage due to their promising results in producing high energy density and long cycle life coupled with their capability of being safe. The key challenges facing ASSBs are low conductivity and slow charge transfer kinetics at the interface between the electrode and the solid electrolyte. Garnet solid-state electrolyte has shown promising results in improving the ion conductivity but still suffers from poor capacity retention and rate performance due to the interfacial resistance between the electrodes. To improve the interfacial resistance, we prepared a composite consisting of Li7La2.75Ca0.25Zr1.75Nb0.25O12 (LLCZN) garnet material as the ceramic, polyethylene oxide (PEO) as the polymer, and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) as the salt. These compounds are mixed in a stoichiometric ratio and developed into a very thin disc-shaped solid electrolyte. The LLCZN provides a lithium-ion transport path to enhance the lithium-ion conduction during charging and discharging cycles, while the LiPF6 contributes more lithium ions via the transport path. The PEO matrix in the composite material aids in bonding the compounds together and creating a large contact area, thereby reducing the issue of large interfacial resistance. FESEM images show the porous nature of the electrolyte which promotes the movement of lithium ions through the electrolyte. The fabricated LLCZN/PEO/LiPF6 solid-state electrolyte shows outstanding electrochemical stability that remains at 130 mAh g−1 up to 150 charging and discharging cycles at 0.05 mA cm−2 current. All the specific capacities were calculated based on the mass of the cathode material (LiCoO2). In addition, the coin cell retains 85% discharge capacity up to 150 cycles with a Coulombic efficiency of approximately 98% and energy efficiency of 90% during the entire cycling process.
Infusing Autopoietic and Cognitive Behaviors into Digital Automata to Improve Their Sentience, Resilience, and Intelligence
Authors: Mikkilineni Rao
Published: January 2022

All living beings use autopoiesis and cognition to manage their “life” processes from birth through death. Autopoiesis enables them to use the specification in their genomes to instantiate themselves using matter and energy transformations. They reproduce, replicate, and manage their stability. Cognition allows them to process information into knowledge and use it to manage its interactions between various constituent parts within the system and its interaction with the environment. Currently, various attempts are underway to make modern computers mimic the resilience and intelligence of living beings using symbolic and sub-symbolic computing. We discuss here the limitations of classical computer science for implementing autopoietic and cognitive behaviors in digital machines. We propose a new architecture applying the general theory of information (GTI) and pave the path to make digital automata mimic living organisms by exhibiting autopoiesis and cognitive behaviors. The new science, based on GTI, asserts that information is a fundamental constituent of the physical world and that living beings convert information into knowledge using physical structures that use matter and energy. Our proposal uses the tools derived from GTI to provide a common knowledge representation from existing symbolic and sub-symbolic computing structures to implement autopoiesis and cognitive behaviors.
Influence of Enamel Exposure to Acidic Drink on Shear Bond Strength of Different Fissure Sealants
Authors: Beltrami Riccardo , Colombo Marco , Cavada Andrea , Panizzi Sofia , Poggio Claudio , Scribante Andrea
Published: January 2022

In the present study, we evaluated the influence of bovine enamel exposure to acidic drinks (Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Company, Milano, Italy, pH = 2.37) on shear bond strength of three sealants (Fissurit; Grandio Seal and Admira Fusion—Voco Gmbh, Cuxhaven, Germany). For each sealant, two adhesive techniques were tested to investigate the impact of the adhesive application on shear bond strength of sealants after immersion in acidic drink and in the control: Group 1—Control: enamel surface was not in contact with acid drinks, acid etching application and self-adhesive technique for fissure sealant; Group 2—enamel surface was not in contact with acid drinks, acid etching, and adhesive applications, an etch-and-rinse technique for fissure sealant; Group 3—enamel surface was immersed in acid drink, acid etching application and self-adhesive technique for fissure sealant; Group 4—enamel surface was immersed in acid drink, acid etching, and adhesive applications, an etch-and-rinse technique for fissure sealant. For each specimen, the sealant composite resin was applied to the enamel surface and tested with a universal testing machine. Shear bond strength was measured in MPa and with an optical microscope to determine failure modes, quantified with adhesive remnant index (ARI). Enamel acidification variably influenced bond strength values of the different sealants. When no enamel pretreatment was applied, no significant differences were found among the sealants (p > 0.05). However, the mere application of acid etching without adhesive procedures resulted in lower bond strength (p < 0.001). The acid pretreatment affected significantly the bond strength of all sealants tested (p < 0.001), but no significant differences were recorded between the subgroups.
Motor Nerve Conduction Block Estimation in Demyelinating Neuropathies by Deconvolution
Authors: Mesin Luca , Lingua Edoardo , Cocito Dario
Published: January 2022

A deconvolution method is proposed for conduction block (CB) estimation based on two compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) elicited by stimulating a nerve proximal and distal to the region in which the block is suspected. It estimates the time delay distributions by CMAPs deconvolution, from which CB is computed. The slow afterwave (SAW) is included to describe the motor unit potential, as it gives an important contribution in case of the large temporal dispersion (TD) often found in patients. The method is tested on experimental signals obtained from both healthy subjects and pathological patients, with either Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) or Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN). The new technique outperforms the clinical methods (based on amplitude and area of CMAPs) and a previous state-of-the-art deconvolution approach. It compensates phase cancellations, allowing to discriminate among CB and TD: estimated by the methods of amplitude, area and deconvolution, CB showed a correlation with TD equal to 39.3%, 29.5% and 8.2%, respectively. Moreover, a significant decrease of percentage reconstruction errors of the CMAPs with respect to the previous deconvolution approach is obtained (from a mean/median of 19.1%/16.7% to 11.7%/11.2%). Therefore, the new method is able to discriminate between CB and TD (overcoming the important limitation of clinical approaches) and can approximate patients’ CMAPs better than the previous deconvolution algorithm. Then, it appears to be promising for the diagnosis of demyelinating polyneuropathies, to be further tested in the future in a prospective clinical trial.
Quantitative Insights into the Contribution of Nematocysts to the Adaptive Success of Cnidarians Based on Proteomic Analysis
Authors: Guo Qingxiang , Whipps Christopher M. , Zhai Yanhua , Li Dan , Gu Zemao
Published: January 2022

Nematocysts are secretory organelles in cnidarians that play important roles in predation, defense, locomotion, and host invasion. However, the extent to which nematocysts contribute to adaptation and the mechanisms underlying nematocyst evolution are unclear. Here, we investigated the role of the nematocyst in cnidarian evolution based on eight nematocyst proteomes and 110 cnidarian transcriptomes/genomes. We detected extensive species-specific adaptive mutations in nematocyst proteins (NEMs) and evidence for decentralized evolution, in which most evolutionary events involved non-core NEMs, reflecting the rapid diversification of NEMs in cnidarians. Moreover, there was a 33–55 million year macroevolutionary lag between nematocyst evolution and the main phases of cnidarian diversification, suggesting that the nematocyst can act as a driving force in evolution. Quantitative analysis revealed an excess of adaptive changes in NEMs and enrichment for positively selected conserved NEMs. Together, these findings suggest that nematocysts may be key to the adaptive success of cnidarians and provide a reference for quantitative analyses of the roles of phenotypic novelties in adaptation.
Comparative Analysis of the Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of Five Species of Ricaniidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha) and Phylogenetic Implications
Authors: Zhang Huan , Fang Wei , Zhao Xiaoyun , Jiang Xin , Stroiński Adam , Qin Daozheng
Published: January 2022

Ricaniidae is a relatively small planthopper family with about 69 genera and 442 species worldwide. Members of this family occur throughout the warm temperate and tropical regions. Some species cause devastating damage to major agricultural and economic plants. However, the relationship between Ricaniidae and other families of Fulgoroidea needs to be further explored. The morphological definitions of the two biggest genera, Pochazia Amyot & Serville, 1843 and Ricania Germar, 1818 (the type genus of Ricaniidae) remain controversial. In this study, mitogenomes of five representatives in these two genera were decoded using the next-generation sequence method and genome assembly. Results showed that their complete mitogenomes are circular DNA molecules with 15,457 to 16,411 bp. All protein-coding genes (PCGs) begin with the start codon ATN, GTG or TTG and end with TAA, TAG, an incomplete stop codon single T or an incomplete stop codon single A. A lost DHU arm was discovered in the trnS gene of the five mitogenomes and the trnV gene within Pochaziaconfusa, Pochazia guttifera and Ricania simulans. The remnant tRNAs folded into clover-leaf structures. The sliding window, genetic distance, and Ka/Ks analyses indicated that the cox1 gene is the slowest evolving and is relatively conserved. The phylogenetic tree topologies support (Delphacidae + (((Issidae + (Lophopidae + Caliscelidae)) + (Flatidae + Ricaniidae)) + (Achilidae + (Dictyopharidae + Fulgoridae)))) as the best topology, as recognized by both PhyloBayes, RAxML and MrBayes based on four data sets (PCG, PCGRNA, PCG12, PCG12RNA). The monophyly of Ricaniidae and the sister group status of two families Flatidae and Ricaniidae are supported, but all analyses failed to support the monophyly of Pochazia and Ricania. The diagnoses between these two genera cannot be resolved until more evidence is acquired.
Melatonin and KNO3 Application Improves Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Characteristics of Maize Seedlings under Waterlogging Stress Conditions
Authors: Ahmad Shakeel , Wang Guo-Yun , Muhammad Ihsan , Zeeshan Muhammad , Zhou Xun-Bo
Published: January 2022

Waterlogging is one of the serious abiotic stresses that inhibits crop growth and reduces productivity. Therefore, investigating efficient waterlogging mitigation measures has both theoretical and practical significance. The objectives of the present research were to examine the efficiency of melatonin and KNO3 seed soaking and foliar application on alleviating the waterlogging inhibited growth performance of maize seedlings. In this study, 100 µM melatonin and different levels (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g) of potassium nitrate (KNO3) were used in seed soaking and foliar applications. For foliar application, treatments were applied at the 7th leaf stage one week after the imposition of waterlogging stress. The results showed that melatonin with KNO3 significantly improved the plant growth and biochemical parameters of maize seedlings under waterlogging stress conditions. However, the application of melatonin with KNO3 treatments increased plant growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, and the net photosynthetic rate at a variable rate under waterlogging stress. Furthermore, melatonin with KNO3 treatments significantly reduced the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and it decreased the activity of pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase, while increasing enzymatic activities and soluble protein content of maize seedlings under waterlogging stress conditions. Overall, our results indicated that seed soaking with 100 µM melatonin and 0.50 g KNO3 was the most effective treatment that significantly improved the plant growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, and enzymatic activity of maize seedling under waterlogging conditions.
Additional Blue LED during Cultivation Induces Cold Tolerance in Tomato Fruit but Only to an Optimum
Authors: Affandi Fahrizal Yusuf , Prayoga Teddy , Ouzounis Theoharis , Giday Habtamu , Verdonk Julian C. , Woltering Ernst J. , Schouten Rob E.
Published: January 2022

Tomato is a chilling-sensitive fruit. The aim of this study is to examine the role of preharvest blue LED lighting (BL) to induce cold tolerance in ‘Foundation’ tomatoes. Blue and red supplemental LED light was applied to achieve either 0, 12 or 24% additional BL (0B, 12B and 24B). Mature green (MG) or red (R) tomatoes were harvested and cold stored at 4 °C for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 d, and then stored for 20 d at 20 °C (shelf life). Chilling injury (CI) indices, color and firmness, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde, ascorbic acid and catalase activity were characterized. At harvest, R tomatoes cultivated at 12B were firmer and showed less coloration compared to fruit of other treatments. These fruits also showed higher loss of red color during cold storage and lower CI symptoms during shelf-life. MG tomatoes cultivated at 12B showed delayed coloring (non-chilled) and decreased weight loss (long cold stored) during shelf life compared to fruit in the other treatments. No effects of light treatments, both for MG and R tomatoes, were observed for the selected antioxidant capacity indicators. Improved cold tolerance for R tomatoes cultivated at 12B points to lycopene having higher scavenging activity at lower concentrations to mitigate chilling injury.
Circumventing Zygotic Lethality to Generate Maternal Mutants in Zebrafish
Authors: Shi De-Li
Published: January 2022

Maternal gene products accumulated during oogenesis are essential for supporting early developmental processes in both invertebrates and vertebrates. Therefore, understanding their regulatory functions should provide insights into the maternal control of embryogenesis. The CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology has provided a powerful tool for creating genetic mutations to study gene functions and developing disease models to identify new therapeutics. However, many maternal genes are also essential after zygotic genome activation; as a result, loss of their zygotic functions often leads to lethality or sterility, thus preventing the generation of maternal mutants by classical crossing between zygotic homozygous mutant adult animals. Although several approaches, such as the rescue of mutant phenotypes through an injection of the wild-type mRNA, germ-line replacement, and the generation of genetically mosaic females, have been developed to overcome this difficulty, they are often technically challenging and time-consuming or inappropriate for many genes that are essential for late developmental events or for germ-line formation. Recently, a method based on the oocyte transgenic expression of CRISPR/Cas9 and guide RNAs has been designed to eliminate maternal gene products in zebrafish. This approach introduces several tandem guide RNA expression cassettes and a GFP reporter into transgenic embryos expressing Cas9 to create biallelic mutations and inactivate genes of interest specifically in the developing oocytes. It is particularly accessible and allows for the elimination of maternal gene products in one fish generation. By further improving its efficiency, this method can be used for the systematic characterization of maternal-effect genes.
Exhaustive Exercise Increases Spontaneous but Not fMLP-Induced Production of Reactive Oxygen Species by Circulating Phagocytes in Amateur Sportsmen
Authors: Chmielecki Adam , Bortnik Krzysztof , Galczynski Szymon , Padula Gianluca , Jerczynska Hanna , Stawski Robert , Nowak Dariusz
Published: January 2022

Strenuous exercise alters the oxidative response of blood phagocytes to various agonists. However, little is known about spontaneous post exercise oxidant production by these cells. In this cross-over trial, we tested whether an exhaustive treadmill run at a speed corresponding to 70% of VO2max affects spontaneous and fMLP-provoked oxidant production by phagocytes in 18 amateur sportsmen. Blood was collected before, just after, and 1, 3, 5 and 24 h post exercise for determination of absolute and normalized per phagocyte count spontaneous (a-rLBCL, rLBCL) and fMLP-induced luminol-enhanced whole blood chemiluminescence (a-fMLP-LBCL, fMLP-LBCL). a-rLBCL and rLBCL increased by 2.5- and 1.5-times just after exercise (p < 0.05) and then returned to baseline or decreased by about 2-times at the remaining time-points, respectively. a-fMLP-LBCL increased 1.7- and 1.6-times just after and at 3 h post-exercise (p < 0.05), respectively, while fMLP-LBCL was suppressed by 1.5- to 2.3-times at 1, 3, 5 and 24 h post-exercise. No correlations were found between elevated post-exercise a-rLBCL, a-fMLP-LBCL and run distance to exhaustion. No changes of oxidants production were observed in the control arm (1 h resting instead of exercise). Exhaustive exercise decreased the blood phagocyte-specific oxidative response to fMLP while increasing transiently spontaneous oxidant generation, which could be a factor inducing secondary rise in antioxidant enzymes activity.
Psychological, Physical, and Heat Stress Indicators Prior to and after a 15-Minute Structural Firefighting Task
Authors: Canetti Elisa F. D. , Gayton Scott , Schram Ben , Pope Rodney , Orr Robin M.
Published: January 2022

Firefighters work in strenuous conditions for prolonged periods wearing up to 20 kg of personal protective equipment. This often contributes to significant heat and cardiovascular strain. This study examined the relationships between psychological and physical measures taken prior to undertaking a 15 min firefighting task, and the occurrence of heat stress and high levels of fatigue following the task. Nine qualified firefighters completed a 15 min “live burn” scenario designed to mimic a fire started by a two-seater couch in a lounge room and completed simulated tasks throughout the duration. Logical reasoning, speed and accuracy, general motivation and fatigue, and physical and mental effort were recorded pre-scenario, and at 0- and 20-min post-scenario. General motivation and fatigue scores at 0- and 20-min post-scenario were highly correlated with each other (rs = 0.90; p = 0.001). The general motivation and fatigue scores, at 0- and 20-min post-scenario, were also strongly related to pre-task logic/reasoning test scores (Post 0 rs = −0.77, p = 0.016; Post 20 rs = −0.87, p = 0.002). Firefighters with lower logical reasoning and speed and accuracy scores were more susceptible to fatigue and impaired cognition when exposed to rises in core temperature and heat stress.
Transplantation of Fibroblast Sheets with Blood Mononuclear Cell Culture Exerts Cardioprotective Effects by Enhancing Anti-Inflammation and Vasculogenic Potential in Rat Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis Model
Authors: Sekine Kaori , Kawaguchi Akira T. , Miyazawa Masaki , Hanawa Haruo , Matsuda Shinichi , Tamaki Tetsuro , Asahara Takayuki , Masuda Haruchika
Published: January 2022

Fulminant myocarditis causes impaired cardiac function, leading to poor prognosis and heart failure. Cell sheet engineering is an effective therapeutic option for improving cardiac function. Naïve blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) have been previously shown to enhance the quality and quantity of cellular fractions (QQMNCs) with anti-inflammatory and vasculogenic potential using the one culture system. Herein, we investigated whether autologous cell sheet transplant with QQMNCs improves cardiac function in a rat model with experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM). Fibroblast sheets (F-sheet), prepared from EAM rats, were co-cultured with or without QQMNCs (QQ+F sheet) on temperature-responsive dishes. QQ+F sheet induced higher expression of anti-inflammatory and vasculogenic genes (Vegf-b, Hgf, Il-10, and Mrc1/Cd206) than the F sheet. EAM rats were transplanted with either QQ+F sheet or F-sheet, and the left ventricular (LV) hemodynamic analysis was performed using cardiac catheterization. Among the three groups (QQ+F sheet, F-sheet, operation control), the QQ+F sheet transplant group showed alleviation of end-diastolic pressure–volume relationship on a volume load to the same level as that in the healthy group. Histological analysis revealed that QQ+F sheet transplantation promoted revascularization and mitigated fibrosis by limiting LV remodeling. Therefore, autologous QQMNC-modified F-sheets may be a beneficial therapeutic option for EAM.
Projecting the Potential Distribution Areas of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Driven by Climate Change
Authors: Zhang Lu , Ma Delong , Li Chao , Zhou Ruobing , Wang Jun , Liu Qiyong
Published: January 2022

Ixodes scapularis is a vector of tick-borne diseases. Climate change is frequently invoked as an important cause of geographic expansions of tick-borne diseases. Environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation have an important impact on the geographical distribution of disease vectors. We used the maximum entropy model to project the potential geographic distribution and future trends of I. scapularis. The main climatic variables affecting the distribution of potential suitable areas were screened by the jackknife method. Arc Map 10.5 was used to visualize the projection results to better present the distribution of potential suitable areas. Under climate change scenarios, the potential suitable area of I. scapularis is dynamically changing. The largest suitable area of I. scapularis is under SSP3-7.0 from 2081 to 2100, while the smallest is under SSP5-8.5 from 2081 to 2100, even smaller than the current suitable area. Precipitation in May and September are the main contributing factors affecting the potential suitable areas of I. scapularis. With the opportunity to spread to more potential suitable areas, it is critical to strengthen surveillance to prevent the possible invasion of I. scapularis.
Association of IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 Polymorphisms with Intramuscular Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition in Pigs
Authors: Mekchay Supamit , Pothakam Nanthana , Norseeda Worrarak , Supakankul Pantaporn , Teltathum Tawatchai , Liu Guisheng , Naraballobh Watcharapong , Khamlor Trisadee , Sringarm Korawan , Krutmuang Patcharin
Published: January 2022

Interferon-alpha-16 (IFNA16) and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 19 (TNFRSF19) are cytokines that may play a role in adipogenesis and fatness. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 genes were verified and their association with intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid (FA) composition were evaluated in commercial crossbred pigs. Two non-synonymous SNPs of the porcine IFNA16 c.413G > A and TNFRSF19 c.860G > C loci were detected in commercial crossbred pigs. The porcine IFNA16 c.413G >A polymorphism was significantly associated with stearic acid, total saturated FAs (SFAs), and the ratio of monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) to SFAs (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the porcine TNFRSF19 c.860G > C polymorphism was found to be significantly associated with IMF content and arachidic acid levels (p < 0.05). The results revealed that porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 polymorphisms are related to IMF content and/or FA composition and affirmed the importance of these cytokine genes as potential candidate genes for lipid deposition and FA composition in the muscle tissue of pigs.
Effects of Reallocating Time Spent in Different Physical Activity Intensities on Sarcopenia Risk in Older Adults: An Isotemporal Substitution Analysis
Authors: Veen Jort , Montiel-Rojas Diego , Kadi Fawzi , Nilsson Andreas
Published: January 2022

The role of daily time spent sedentary and in different intensities of physical activity (PA) for the maintenance of muscle health currently remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the impact of reallocating time spent in different PA intensities on sarcopenia risk in older adults, while considering PA type (muscle strengthening activities, MSA) and protein intake. In a sample of 235 community-dwelling older adults (65–70 years), a sarcopenia risk score (SRS) was created based on muscle mass assessed by bioimpedance, together with handgrip strength and performance on the five times sit-to-stand (5-STS) test assessed by standardized procedures. Time spent in light-intensity PA (LPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and being sedentary was assessed by accelerometry, and PA type (MSA) by self-report. Linear regression models based on isotemporal substitution were employed. Reallocating sedentary time to at least LPA was significantly (p < 0.05) related to a lower SRS, which remained evident after adjustment by PA type (MSA) and protein intake. Similarly, reallocating time in LPA by MVPA was related to a significantly (p < 0.05) lower SRS. Our results emphasize the importance of displacing sedentary behaviours for more active pursuits, where PA of even light intensities may alleviate age-related deteriorations of muscle health in older adults.
Volatile Emissions and Relative Attraction of the Fungal Symbionts of Tea Shot Hole Borer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Authors: Kendra Paul E. , Tabanca Nurhayat , Cruz Luisa F. , Menocal Octavio , Schnell Elena Q. , Carrillo Daniel
Published: January 2022

Euwallacea perbrevis is an ambrosia beetle that vectors fungal pathogens causing Fusarium dieback in Florida avocado trees. Current monitoring lures contain quercivorol, a fungus-produced volatile, but the exact attractant is unknown since lures contain a mixture of p-menth-2-en-1-ol isomers and both α- and β-phellandrene. This study used pure cultures of six symbiotic fungi isolated from E. perbrevis to document volatile emissions and determine the relative attraction of symbionts in binary choice assays. In a comparative test, headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy was used to identify and quantify emissions from 3-week-old cultures. In a temporal study, Super-Q collection followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection was used to measure cis- and trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol emissions for three months. A total of 15 compounds were detected, with monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenoids predominating. Only trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol was common to all six symbionts. Peak levels of both isomers were observed at day 7, then gradually declined over a 90 day period. In choice tests, avocado sawdust disks inoculated with Fusarium sp. nov. were the most attractive. This symbiont produced only two volatiles, trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol and limonene. The combined results indicate that trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol is the primary female attractant emitted from symbiotic fungi, but limonene may be a secondary attractant of E. perbrevis.