bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
NO Network for Plant–Microbe Communication Underground: A Review
Authors: Pande Anjali , Mun Bong-Gyu , Lee Da-Sol , Khan Murtaza , Lee Geun-Mo , Hussain Adil , Yun Byung-Wook
Published: March 2021

Mechanisms governing plant–microbe interaction in the rhizosphere attracted a lot of investigative attention in the last decade. The rhizosphere is not simply a source of nutrients and support for the plants; it is rather an ecosystem teeming with diverse flora and fauna including different groups of microbes that are useful as well as harmful for the plants. Plant–microbe interaction occurs via a highly complex communication network that involves sophisticated machinery for the recognition of friend and foe at both sides. On the other hand, nitric oxide (NO) is a key, signaling molecule involved in plant development and defense. Studies on legume–rhizobia symbiosis suggest the involvement of NO during recognition, root hair curling, development of infection threads, nodule development, and nodule senescence. A similar role of NO is also suggested in the case of plant interaction with the mycorrhizal fungi. Another, insight into the plant–microbe interaction in the rhizosphere comes from the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs)/microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) by the host plant and thereby NO-mediated activation of the defense signaling cascade. Thus, NO plays a major role in mediating the communication between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere. Interestingly, reports suggesting the role of silicon in increasing the number of nodules, enhancing nitrogen fixation, and also the combined effect of silicon and NO may indicate a possibility of their interaction in mediating microbial communication underground. However, the exact role of NO in mediating plant–microbe interaction remains elusive. Therefore, understanding the role of NO in underground plant physiology is very important, especially in relation to the plant’s interaction with the rhizospheric microbiome. This will help devise new strategies for protection against phytopathogens and enhancing plant productivity by promoting symbiotic interaction. This review focuses on the role of NO in plant–microbe communication underground.
Relationships Between Age, Frailty, Length of Care Home Residence and Biomarkers of Immunity and Inflammation in Older Care Home Residents in the United Kingdom
Authors: Castro-Herrera Vivian M. , Lown Mark , Fisk Helena L. , Owen-Jones Eleri , Lau Mandy , Lowe Rachel , Hood Kerenza , Gillespie David , Hobbs F. D. Richard , Little Paul , Butler Christopher C. , Miles Elizabeth A. , Calder Philip C.
Published: March 2021

Aging is associated with changes to the immune system, collectively termed immunosenescence and inflammageing. However, the relationships among age, frailty, and immune parameters in older people resident in care homes are not well described. We assessed immune and inflammatory parameters in 184 United Kingdom care home residents aged over 65 years and how they relate to age, frailty index, and length of care home residence. Linear regression was used to identify the independent contribution of age, frailty, and length of care home residence to the various immune parameters as dependent variables. Participants had a mean age (±SD) of 85.3 ± 7.5 years, had been residing in the care home for a mean (±SD) of 1.9 ± 2.2 years at the time of study commencement, and 40.7% were severely frail. Length of care home residence and frailty index were correlated but age and frailty index and age and length of care home residence were not significantly correlated. All components of the full blood count, apart from total lymphocytes, were within the reference range; 31% of participants had blood lymphocyte numbers below the lower value of the reference range. Among the components of the full blood count, platelet numbers were positively associated with frailty index. Amongst plasma inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), soluble E-selectin and interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) were positively associated with frailty. Plasma soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), IP-10 and tumor necrosis factor receptor II (TNFRII) were positively associated with age. Plasma monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 was positively associated with length of care home residence. Frailty was an independent predictor of platelet numbers, plasma CRP, IL-1ra, IP-10, and sE-selectin. Age was an independent predictor of activated monocytes and plasma IP-10, TNFRII and sVCAM-1. Length of care home residence was an independent predictor of plasma MCP-1. This study concludes that there are independent links between increased frailty and inflammation and between increased age and inflammation amongst older people resident in care homes in the United Kingdom. Since, inflammation is known to contribute to morbidity and mortality in older people, the causes and consequences of inflammation in this population should be further explored.
The Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil in Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Silva Luciana Leite da , Nascimento Patrícia Emanuelle , Araújo Ordália Cristina Gonçalves , Pereira Tamiris Maia Gonçalves
Published: March 2021

This article aims to analyze how the indigenous communities of Brazil have organized autonomous actions and strategies to confront the Covid-19 pandemic based on the articulation among their own historical experiences, their health conceptions, partnerships with scientific communities and other segments of society that support the indigenous struggle. The research articulates the political and theoretical modernity/coloniality/decoloniality movement with indigenous experiences and conceptions of health, body/spirituality and territory. For this task, we adopted an undisciplined methodology based on conversation, solidarity and analysis of discussions, sites, lives, bibliographic productions and official documents prepared by indigenous organizations and partner entities. The research has pointed out that the situation of greater vulnerability of indigenous populations is not only due to biological factors. Also, indigenous people have denounced the invasion of their territories, racism, the lack of sanitation policies, food insecurity, the circulation of people not belonging to the community (missionaries, miners, loggers, army), the difficult access to hospitals and the precariousness of the necessary resources for individual and collective asepsis have worsen the spread and lethality of the virus. Likewise the current indigenous struggle in this pandemic scenario, this article is not limited to a health discussion, yet it aims to contribute to think about the relationship between the pandemic and the dissemination of anti-democratic policies that simultaneously affect the right to health and the territory of these populations.
Effects of Camu-Camu (Myrciaria dubia) Powder on the Physicochemical and Kinetic Parameters of Deteriorating Microorganisms and Salmonella enterica Subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium in Refrigerated Vacuum-Packed Ground Beef
Authors: da Silva Jorge Luiz , Cadavez Vasco , Lorenzo José M. , Figueiredo Eduardo Eustáquio de Souza , Gonzales-Barron Ursula
Published: March 2021

This study aims to evaluate the effects of camu-camu powder (CCP), Amazonian berry fruit with documented bioactive properties, physicochemical meat parameters, and the growth kinetics parameters of S. enterica ser. Typhimurium, psychrotrophic bacteria (PSY), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in vacuum-packed ground beef. Batches of ground beef were mixed with 0.0%, 2.0%, 3.5%, and 5.0% CCP (w/w), vacuum-packed as 10 g portions, and stored at 5 °C for 16 days. Centesimal composition analyses (only on the initial day), pH, TBARS, and color were quantified on storage days 1, 7, and 15, while PSY and LAB were counted on days 0, 3, 6, 9, 13, and 16. Another experiment was conducted with the same camu-camu doses by inoculating S. enterica ser. Typhimurium microbial kinetic curves were modeled by the Huang growth and Weibull decay models. CCP decreased TBARS in beef from 0.477 to 0.189 mg MDA·kg−1. No significant differences in meat pH between treated and control samples were observed on day 15. CCP addition caused color changes, with color a* value decreases (from 14.45 to 13.44) and color b* value increases (from 17.41 to 21.25), while color L* was not affected. Higher CCP doses caused progressive LAB growth inhibition from 0.596 to 0.349 log CFU·day−1 at 2.0% and 5.0% CCP, respectively. Similarly, PSY growth rates in the treated group were lower (0.79–0.91 log CFU·day−1) compared to the control (1.21 log CFU·day−1). CCP addition at any of the investigated doses produced a steeper S. enterica ser. Typhimurium inactivation during the first cold storage day, represented by Weibull’s concavity α shape parameter, ranged from 0.37 to 0.51, in contrast to 1.24 for the control. At the end of the experiment, however, S. enterica ser. Typhimurium counts in beef containing CCP were not significantly different (p < 0.05) from the control. Although CCP affects bacterial kinetics, it does not protect ground beef against spoilage bacteria and Salmonella to the same degree it does against lipid peroxidation.
The Impact of RDP Measures on the Diversification of Agriculture and Rural Development—Seeking Additional Livelihoods: The Case of Poland
Authors: Biczkowski Mirosław , Jezierska-Thöle Aleksandra , Rudnicki Roman
Published: March 2021

The paper’s main aim is to assess the measures implemented within the Rural Development Program (RDP) 2007–2013 in Poland. This programme is dedicated to the diversification of business activities in rural areas and rural livelihood and, thus, the improvement of the multifunctionality of rural areas. The analysis covered two measures from Axis 3, Improvement of the quality of life in rural areas and diversification of rural economy: M311, diversification into non-agricultural activities; and M312, Establishment and development of micro-enterprise. The study and the discussion are presented from a geographical perspective and, in a broader context, take into account several conditions (natural, urban, agricultural and historical) and the spatial diversity of the allocation of European Union (EU) funds. Models of a policy of multifunctional rural development, implemented after accession to the EU, are presented. The research’s spatial scope covers Poland’s territory on two spatial scales: the system of regions (16 NUTS2 units) and poviats (314 LAU level 1 units). The analysis covers all the projects implemented in Poland under the two measures of Axis 3 of the RDP 2007–2013. A set of conditions was prepared for all LAU1 units, forming the background for assessing the impact of the EU funds on the development of non-agricultural activities. To determine the relationship between the RDP measures and the selected groups of conditions, a synthetic index and a correlation index are used. They are also used to determine the mutual relations between the two analyzed activities in terms of the spatial scales used. Access to the EU funds (RDP) has considerably enlarged the opportunities for accelerating agricultural modernisation and restructuration towards multifunctional development, as well as the opportunities for implementing new development and work methods in the countryside in Poland. The attractiveness of the two studied RDP measures varied across regions. The beneficiaries’ activity depended on the local potential (resources), culture and tradition of the region, and size and potential of the farm. In the areas where agriculture is deeply rooted, beneficiaries were more willing to engage in ventures tapping into the resources available in their farms. Thus, they create additional livelihood of income and workplaces for household members. In turn, the beneficiaries from the areas where farms are smaller and economically weaker often undertake activities related to setting up a new business (outside farming).
Search for Candidate Genes Causing the Excessive Ca Accumulation in Roots of Tipburn-Damaged Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) Cultivars
Authors: Kuronuma Takanori , Watanabe Hitoshi
Published: March 2021

Occurrence of tipburn is a severe problem in the production of lisianthus cultivars. Previous studies have shown excessive Ca accumulation in the roots of tipburn-damaged cultivars, where the distribution of Ca to the tips of the top leaves is inhibited. However, few studies have investigated the association between Ca accumulation and gene expression in horticultural crops. To provide a list of candidate target genes that might be causing the excessive Ca accumulation in roots, we focused Ca2+ transporter and pectin methylesterase (PME) genes and RNA-seq of upper leaves and roots in tipburn-occurrence cultivar (“Voyage peach”: VP) and non-occurrence cultivar (“Umi honoka”: UH) was conducted. In both the upper leaves and roots of VP, genes encoding the glutamate receptors (GLRs), cation/Ca2+ exchangers 4 (CCX4), Na+/Ca2+ exchanger-like protein (NCL), and PMEs were upregulated, and a gene encoding the cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel 9 (CNGC9) was downregulated. In contrast, genes encoding the vacuolar cation/proton exchanger 5 (CAX5), calcium-transporting ATPase 1 and 12 (ACA1 and ACA12) showed differential expression in each organ. Among them, only CAX5 was upregulated and ACA12 was downregulated in the roots of VP. Based on these results, we suggested that CAX5 and ACA12 are the candidate genes causing the excessive Ca accumulation in the roots of tipburn-occurrence lisianthus cultivars. Future studies should investigate the temporal changes in gene expression using quantitative PCR and conduct functional analysis of candidate genes in tipburn-damaged lisianthus cultivars.
Effect of Sucrose and Lactic Acid Bacteria Additives on Fermentation Quality, Chemical Composition and Protein Fractions of Two Typical Woody Forage Silages
Authors: Wang Xuekai , Liu Han , Xie Yixiao , Zhang Yingchao , Lin Yanli , Zheng Yulong , Yang Xueping , Wang Ningwei , Ni Kuikui , Yang Fuyu
Published: March 2021

Paper mulberry (PM) and mulberry (MU) have been considered potential substitutes for traditional forages in response to the increasing demand for high-protein feed for livestock. To improve the utility of these two typical woody forages, our study investigated the effects of sucrose and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) additives on the fermentation quality, nutritive value, and protein fractions of their leaf silages. Collected leaves were separately subjected to ensiling treatments, either with or without sucrose (S), in combination with Lactobacillus plantarum (LP), or Lactobacillus casei (LC). The silage was sampled and analyzed for fermentation parameters, carbohydrates, and protein fractions after ensiling for 60 days. The pH value of paper mulberry silages with S was 19% lower than that without S, while LAB-treated mulberry silages showed decreased ammonia nitrogen (by 71%) and fraction A in crude protein (by 15%) compared with no LAB additives. In summary, adding S improved the fermentation quality, with no positive effect on protein fractions, in PM silage, whereas LAB additives improved the potential utilization of protein in MU silage.
Potassium Application Positively Modulates Physiological Responses of Cocoa Seedlings to Drought Stress
Authors: Anokye Esther , Lowor Samuel T. , Dogbatse Jerome A. , Padi Francis K.
Published: March 2021

With increasing frequency and intensity of dry spells in the cocoa production zones of West Africa, strategies for mitigating impact of water stress on cocoa seedling survival are urgently required. We investigated the effects of applied potassium on biomass accumulation, physiological processes and survival of cocoa varieties subjected to water stress in pot experiments in a gauzehouse facility. Four levels of potassium (0, 1, 2, or 3 g/plant as muriate of potash) were used. Soil water stress reduced plant biomass accumulation (shoot and roots), relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content and fluorescence. Leaf phenol and proline contents were increased under water stress. Additionally, compared to the well-watered conditions, soils under water stress treatments had higher contents of exchangeable potassium and available phosphorus at the end of the experimental period. Potassium applied under well-watered conditions reduced leaf chlorophyll content and fluorescence and increased leaf electrolyte leakage, but improved the growth and integrity of physiological functions under soil water stress. Potassium addition increased biomass partitioning to roots, improved RWC and leaf membrane stability, and significantly improved cocoa seedling survival under water stress. Under water stress, the variety with the highest seedling mortality accumulated the highest contents of phenol and proline. A significant effect of variety on plant physiological functions was observed. Generally, varieties with PA 7 parentage had higher biomass partitioning to roots and better seedling survival under soil moisture stress. Proportion of biomass partitioned to roots, RWC, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf electrolyte leakage appear to be the most reliable indicators of cocoa seedling tolerance to drought.
Biodiversity of AM Fungi in Coffee Cultivated on Eroded Soil
Authors: Lara-Capistran Liliana , Zulueta-Rodriguez Ramon , Murillo-Amador Bernardo , Preciado-Rangel Pablo , Verdecia-Acosta Danis M. , Hernandez-Montiel Luis G.
Published: March 2021

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) play an important role in soil improvement, leading to the enhanced growth and yield of the host plants. The diversity, abundance, and richness of AMFs were evaluated in eight coffee plantations (Coffea arabica L.) with different erosion degrees. The results indicated that 26 AMFs morphotypes scattered across four genera were recovered and included five species. Funneliformis species were the most dominant representatives of the total isolates followed by Claroideoglomus, Rhizoglomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Glomus, Diversispora, Septoglomus, and Scutellospora. The highest diversity and richness were found in non-eroded agroecosystems, followed by sites with a minimum erosion, and the lowest values were reported within the highly eroded agroecosystems. These results suggest that eroded soil affects AMF fungi, creating the need to carry out studies that allow for the implementation of cultural practices where biodiversity and soil are preserved.
The Impact of Bushfire Smoke on Cattle—A Review
Authors: Eid Benjamin , Beggs David , Mansell Peter
Published: March 2021

In 2019–2020, a particularly bad bushfire season in Australia resulted in cattle being exposed to prolonged periods of smoke haze and reduced air quality. Bushfire smoke contains many harmful pollutants, and impacts on regions far from the fire front, with smoke haze persisting for weeks. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the major components of bushfire smoke known to have a negative impact on human health. However, little has been reported about the potential effects that bushfire smoke has on cattle exposed to smoke haze for extended periods. We explored the current literature to investigate evidence for likely effects on cattle from prolonged exposure to smoke generated from bushfires in Australia. We conducted a search for papers related to the impacts of smoke on cattle. Initial searching returned no relevant articles through either CAB Direct or PubMed databases, whilst Google Scholar provided a small number of results. The search was then expanded to look at two sub-questions: the type of pollution that is found in bushfire smoke, and the reported effects of both humans and cattle being exposed to these types of pollutants. The primary mechanism for damage due to bushfire smoke is due to small airborne particulate matter (PM). Although evidence demonstrates that PM from bushfire smoke has a measurable impact on both human mortality and cardiorespiratory morbidities, there is little evidence regarding the impact of chronic bushfire smoke exposure in cattle. We hypothesize that cattle are not severely affected by chronic exposure to smoke haze, as evidenced by the lack of reports. This may be because cattle do not tend to suffer from the co-morbidities that, in the human population, seem to be made worse by smoke and pollution. Further, small changes to background mortality rates or transient morbidity may also go unreported.
Effects of Exercise Combined with Undenatured Type II Collagen on Endurance Capacity, Antioxidant Status, Muscle Lipogenic Genes and E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in Rats
Authors: Orhan Cemal , Sahin Emre , Er Besir , Tuzcu Mehmet , Lopes Andrey P. , Sahin Nurhan , Juturu Vijaya , Sahin Kazim
Published: March 2021

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of exercise combined with undenatured type II collagen (UCII) administration on endurance capacity, lipid metabolism, inflammation, and antioxidant status in rats. Twenty-one male Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups as follows: (1) Sedentary control, (2) Exercise (E), (3) Exercise + UCII (4 mg/kg BW/day; E + UCII). The findings showed that the exhaustive running time in the UCII group was significantly prolonged compared to that of the non-supplemented group (p < 0.001). When compared to the control group, total serum cholesterol (TC, p < 0.05) and triglyceride (TG, p < 0.05) levels decreased, while creatinine kinase (CK) levels increased in the E group (p < 0.001). Serum creatinine kinase levels were reduced in the E + UCII group compared to the E group (p < 0.01). Serum lactate, myoglobin (p < 0.01), and osteocalcin levels (p < 0.01) increased significantly in exercised rats compared to sedentary control rats, while serum lactate (p < 0.01) and myoglobin (p < 0.0001) levels decreased in the E + UCII group compared to control. Additionally, UCII supplementation caused significant increases in antioxidant enzyme activities [SOD (p < 0.01) and GSH-Px (p < 0.05)] and decreases in malondialdehyde (MDA) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) levels (p < 0.001). Muscle lipogenic protein (SREBP-1c, ACLY, LXR, and FAS) levels were lower in the E + UCII group than in other groups. In addition, UCII supplementation decreased muscle MAFbx, MuRF-1, myostatin and increased MyoD levels in exercised rats. Moreover, the E + UCII group had lower muscle inflammatory markers [TNF-α (p < 0.0001) and IL-1β (p < 0.01)] than the control group. These results suggest exercise combined with UCII (4 mg/kg BW/day) modulates lipid, muscle, and antioxidant status in rats.
Recent Development of Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Methods through Metabolic Profiling of Bacteria
Authors: Chen Chen , Hong Weili
Published: March 2021

Due to the inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics, the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasing and have become a major threat to human health. A key factor in the treatment of bacterial infections and slowing down the emergence of antibiotic resistance is to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of infecting bacteria rapidly to prescribe appropriate drugs and reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Current phenotypic AST methods based on the detection of bacterial growth are generally reliable but are too slow. There is an urgent need for new methods that can perform AST rapidly. Bacterial metabolism is a fast process, as bacterial cells double about every 20 to 30 min for fast-growing species. Moreover, bacterial metabolism has shown to be related to drug resistance, so a comparison of differences in microbial metabolic processes in the presence or absence of antimicrobials provides an alternative approach to traditional culture for faster AST. In this review, we summarize recent developments in rapid AST methods through metabolic profiling of bacteria under antibiotic treatment.
Allysine and α-Aminoadipic Acid as Markers of the Glyco-Oxidative Damage to Human Serum Albumin under Pathological Glucose Concentrations
Authors: Luna Carolina , Arjona Alexis , Dueñas Carmen , Estevez Mario
Published: March 2021

Understanding the molecular basis of the disease is of the utmost scientific interest as it contributes to the development of targeted strategies of prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Protein carbonylation is a typical feature of glyco-oxidative stress and takes place in health disorders such as diabetes. Allysine as well as its oxidation product, the α-amino adipic acid (α-AA) have been found to be markers of diabetes risk whereas little is known about the chemistry involved in its formation under hyperglycemic conditions. To provide insight into this issue, human serum albumin was incubated in the presence of FeCl3 (25 μM) and increasing glucose concentrations for 32 h at 37 °C. These concentrations were selected to simulate (i) physiological fasting plasma concentration (4 mM), (ii) pathological pre-diabetes fasting plasma concentration (8 mM), and pathological diabetes fasting plasma concentration (12 mM) of glucose. While both allysine and α-AA were found to increase with increasing glucose concentrations, the carboxylic acid was only detected at pathological glucose concentrations and appeared to be a more reliable indicator of glyco-oxidative stress. The underlying chemical mechanisms of lysine glycation as well as of the depletion of tryptophan and formation of fluorescent and colored advanced glycation products are discussed.
Auraptene Enhances Junction Assembly in Cerebrovascular Endothelial Cells by Promoting Resilience to Mitochondrial Stress through Activation of Antioxidant Enzymes and mtUPR
Authors: Lee Min Joung , Jang Yunseon , Zhu Jiebo , Namgung Eunji , Go Dahyun , Seo Changjun , Ju Xianshu , Cui Jianchen , Lee Yu Lim , Kang Hyoeun , Kim Hyeongseok , Chung Woosuk , Heo Jun Young
Published: March 2021

Junctional proteins in cerebrovascular endothelial cells are essential for maintaining the barrier function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), thus protecting the brain from the infiltration of pathogens. The present study showed that the potential therapeutic natural compound auraptene (AUR) enhances junction assembly in cerebrovascular endothelial cells by inducing antioxidant enzymes and the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mtUPR). Treatment of mouse cerebrovascular endothelial cells with AUR enhanced the expression of junctional proteins, such as occludin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin), by increasing the levels of mRNA encoding antioxidant enzymes. AUR treatment also resulted in the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and activation of mtUPR. The ability of AUR to protect against ischemic conditions was further assessed using cells deprived of oxygen and glucose. Pretreatment of these cells with AUR protected against damage to junctional proteins, including occludin, claudin-5, ZO-1 and VE-cadherin, accompanied by a stress resilience response regulated by levels of ATF5, LONP1 and HSP60 mRNAs. Collectively, these results indicate that AUR promotes resilience against oxidative stress and improves junction assembly, suggesting that AUR may help maintain intact barriers in cerebrovascular endothelial cells.
Automatic Extraction of Adverse Drug Reactions from Summary of Product Characteristics
Authors: Shen Zhengru , Spruit Marco
Published: March 2021

The summary of product characteristics from the European Medicines Agency is a reference document on medicines in the EU. It contains textual information for clinical experts on how to safely use medicines, including adverse drug reactions. Using natural language processing (NLP) techniques to automatically extract adverse drug reactions from such unstructured textual information helps clinical experts to effectively and efficiently use them in daily practices. Such techniques have been developed for Structured Product Labels from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but there is no research focusing on extracting from the Summary of Product Characteristics. In this work, we built a natural language processing pipeline that automatically scrapes the summary of product characteristics online and then extracts adverse drug reactions from them. Besides, we have made the method and its output publicly available so that it can be reused and further evaluated in clinical practices. In total, we extracted 32,797 common adverse drug reactions for 647 common medicines scraped from the Electronic Medicines Compendium. A manual review of 37 commonly used medicines has indicated a good performance, with a recall and precision of 0.99 and 0.934, respectively.
Short-Term Analysis of Adhesive Types and Bonding Mistakes on Bonded-in-Rod (BiR) Connections for Timber Structures
Authors: Barbalić Jure , Rajčić Vlatka , Bedon Chiara , Budzik Michal K.
Published: March 2021

Bonded-in rods (BiR) represent a structural connection type that is largely used for new timber structures and rehabilitation (repair or reinforcement) of existing structural members. The technology is based on steel / Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) / Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rods bonded into predrilled holes in timber elements. The mechanical advantages of BiRs include high local force capacity, improved strength, a relatively high stiffness and the possibility of ductile behaviour. They also offer aesthetic benefits, given that rods are hidden in the cross sections of wooden members. As such, BiR connections are regarded as a solution with great potential, but still uncertain design formulations. Several research projects have dealt with BiRs, but a final definition of their mechanics and a universal design procedure is still missing. This research study explores the typical fracture mechanics modes for BiR connections. A special focus is given to the evaluation of the impact of adhesive bonds under various operational conditions (i.e., moisture content of timber). A total of 84 specimens are tested in pull-out setup, and investigated with the support of digital image correlation (DIC). The reliability of empirical equations and a newly developed analytical model in support of design, based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), is also assessed.
Quality Assessment of 3D Synthesized Images Based on Textural and Structural Distortion Estimation
Authors: Alvi Hafiz Muhammad Usama Hassan , Farid Muhammad Shahid , Khan Muhammad Hassan , Grzegorzek Marcin
Published: March 2021

Emerging 3D-related technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and stereoscopy have gained remarkable growth due to their numerous applications in the entertainment, gaming, and electromedical industries. In particular, the 3D television (3DTV) and free-viewpoint television (FTV) enhance viewers’ television experience by providing immersion. They need an infinite number of views to provide a full parallax to the viewer, which is not practical due to various financial and technological constraints. Therefore, novel 3D views are generated from a set of available views and their depth maps using depth-image-based rendering (DIBR) techniques. The quality of a DIBR-synthesized image may be compromised for several reasons, e.g., inaccurate depth estimation. Since depth is important in this application, inaccuracies in depth maps lead to different textural and structural distortions that degrade the quality of the generated image and result in a poor quality of experience (QoE). Therefore, quality assessment DIBR-generated images are essential to guarantee an appreciative QoE. This paper aims at estimating the quality of DIBR-synthesized images and proposes a novel 3D objective image quality metric. The proposed algorithm aims to measure both textural and structural distortions in the DIBR image by exploiting the contrast sensitivity and the Hausdorff distance, respectively. The two measures are combined to estimate an overall quality score. The experimental evaluations performed on the benchmark MCL-3D dataset show that the proposed metric is reliable and accurate, and performs better than existing 2D and 3D quality assessment metrics.
Clove Oil Protects β-Carotene in Oil-in-Water Emulsion against Photodegradation
Authors: Zhou Yi-Ming , Chang Hui-Ting , Zhang Jian-Ping , Skibsted Leif H.
Published: March 2021

β-Carotene degrades rapidly in a 2% oil-in-water emulsion, made from food-grade soy oil with 7.4 mg β-carotene/mL oil, during storage and when exposed to light. Added clove oil (2.0, 4.0, or 8.0 µL/mL of emulsion) protects against the photodegradation of β-carotene, regardless of the ratio between clove oil and β-carotene in the concentration range studied, suggesting that the regeneration of β-carotene is caused by eugenol, the principal plant phenol of clove oil to occur in the oil-water interface. Therefore, clove oil in low concentrations may find use as a natural protectant of provitamin A in enriched foods during retail display.
Applications for Microwave Kinetic Induction Detectors in Advanced Instrumentation
Authors: Ulbricht Gerhard , De Lucia Mario , Baldwin Eoin
Published: March 2021

In recent years Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) have emerged as one of the most promising novel low temperature detector technologies. Their unrivaled scalability makes them very attractive for many modern applications and scientific instruments. In this paper we intend to give an overview of how and where MKIDs are currently being used or are suggested to be used in the future. MKID based projects are ongoing or proposed for observational astronomy, particle physics, material science and THz imaging, and the goal of this review is to provide an easily usable and thorough list of possible starting points for more in-depth literature research on the many areas profiting from kinetic inductance detectors.
Deep Learning Based Human Activity Recognition Using Spatio-Temporal Image Formation of Skeleton Joints
Authors: Tasnim Nusrat , Islam Mohammad Khairul , Baek Joong-Hwan
Published: March 2021

Human activity recognition has become a significant research trend in the fields of computer vision, image processing, and human–machine or human–object interaction due to cost-effectiveness, time management, rehabilitation, and the pandemic of diseases. Over the past years, several methods published for human action recognition using RGB (red, green, and blue), depth, and skeleton datasets. Most of the methods introduced for action classification using skeleton datasets are constrained in some perspectives including features representation, complexity, and performance. However, there is still a challenging problem of providing an effective and efficient method for human action discrimination using a 3D skeleton dataset. There is a lot of room to map the 3D skeleton joint coordinates into spatio-temporal formats to reduce the complexity of the system, to provide a more accurate system to recognize human behaviors, and to improve the overall performance. In this paper, we suggest a spatio-temporal image formation (STIF) technique of 3D skeleton joints by capturing spatial information and temporal changes for action discrimination. We conduct transfer learning (pretrained models- MobileNetV2, DenseNet121, and ResNet18 trained with ImageNet dataset) to extract discriminative features and evaluate the proposed method with several fusion techniques. We mainly investigate the effect of three fusion methods such as element-wise average, multiplication, and maximization on the performance variation to human action recognition. Our deep learning-based method outperforms prior works using UTD-MHAD (University of Texas at Dallas multi-modal human action dataset) and MSR-Action3D (Microsoft action 3D), publicly available benchmark 3D skeleton datasets with STIF representation. We attain accuracies of approximately 98.93%, 99.65%, and 98.80% for UTD-MHAD and 96.00%, 98.75%, and 97.08% for MSR-Action3D skeleton datasets using MobileNetV2, DenseNet121, and ResNet18, respectively.
Quantitative Microbiological Analysis of Artisanal Stretched Cheese Manufacture
Authors: Lehotová Veronika , Antálková Veronika , Medveďová Alžbeta , Valík Ľubomír
Published: March 2021

To evaluate the behavior of the relevant microbial populations during stretched cheese production, quantitative microbiological analysis was performed during the critical steps of the preparation. The obtained data distributions proved statistically significant increases in all indicators, on average by 4.55 ± 0.64 log CFU/g of presumptive lactococci counts, 4.06 ± 0.61 of lactobacilli, 1.53 ± 0.57 log CFU/g of coliforms, 2.42 ± 0.67 log CFU/g of Escherichia coli, 1.53 ± 0.75 log CFU/g of yeasts and molds, and 0.99 ± 0.27 log CFU/g of presumptive Staphylococcus aureus, from the early stage of milk coagulation until curd ripening (0–24 h). The following steaming/stretching process caused reductions in viable counts with the most significant inactivation effect on coliform bacteria, including E. coli (−4.0 ± 1.0 log CFU/g). Total viable counts and yeasts and molds showed 2 and almost 3 log reduction (−2.2 ± 1.1 log CFU/g and −2.6 ± 0.9 log CFU/g), respectively. The lowest decreases in presumptive S. aureus counts were estimated at the level of −1.50 ± 0.64 log CFU/g. The counts of yeasts and molds showed the best indicatory function during the entire storage period of vacuum-packaged cheeses at 6 °C.
Evaluation of Ultrasound Accuracy in Acute Appendicitis Diagnosis
Authors: Alelyani Magbool , Hadadi Ibrahim , Shubayr Nasser , Alashban Yazeed , Alqahtani Mohammed , Adam Mohamed , Almater Hajar , Alamri Sultan
Published: March 2021

Acute appendicitis it a quite common abdominal disorder and considered as a difficult diagnosis. An accurate diagnosis is essential to prevent any complication from delayed surgical intervention. Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in acute appendicitis cases in Saudi Arabia compared with histopathology. Moreover, to determine whether there is a correlation between the accuracy of ultrasound in acute appendicitis and the sonographers’ expertise. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted, including patients who admitted to the emergency room with clinical symptoms of suspected acute appendicitis and underwent ultrasound examinations. Diagnostic features, including diameter of the appendix ≥7 mm, free fluid, lack of compressibility, no appendix seen, normal appearance, and thick wall, were recorded for each patient. Results: Only 61 of the 132 patients in the study were accurately diagnosed with the use of ultrasound. Just 44 of them were diagnosed with appendicitis (true positives) and 17 without appendicitis (true negatives). However, 69 patients who had positive histopathologic results received a negative ultrasound diagnosis (false negatives), and 2 patients with negative histopathologic findings had a positive ultrasound diagnosis (false positives). There was no significant association between the accuracy of the ultrasound diagnosis and the years of experience of the sonographers. Conclusion: a low level of diagnostic accuracy was demonstrated when utilizing ultrasound to diagnose cases of acute appendicitis. In addition, no association was found between the years of experience of the sonographer conducting the examination and the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
An Improved PID Controller for the Compliant Constant-Force Actuator Based on BP Neural Network and Smith Predictor
Authors: Pei Guojin , Yu Ming , Xu Yaohui , Ma Cui , Lai Houhu , Chen Fokui , Lin Hui
Published: March 2021

A compliant constant-force actuator based on the cylinder is an important tool for the contact operation of robots. Due to the nonlinearity and time delay of the pneumatic system, the traditional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) method for constant force control does not work so well. In this paper, an improved PID control method combining a backpropagation (BP) neural network and the Smith predictor is proposed. Through MATLAB simulation and experimental validation, the results show that the proposed method can shorten the maximum overshoot and the adjustment time compared with traditional the PID method.
Seismic Performance Evaluation of Steel Buildings with Oil Dampers Using Capacity Spectrum Method
Authors: Naqi Ahmad , Saito Taiki
Published: March 2021

This study proposes a capacity spectrum Method (CSM)-based procedure to estimate the maximum seismic performance of steel buildings passively controlled with bilinear oil dampers. In the proposed CSM, the maximum seismic response of a building was estimated, in the acceleration-displacement response spectrum, as the intersection between the capacity curve and the damping-adjusted demand curves, using the equivalent linearization method. The building equivalent damping ratio was determined by the sum of the inherent damping, and the square root of sum of squares (SRSS) of the hysteretic damping and the viscous damping of the supplemental oil devices. The calculation steps of the proposed CSM are explained in detail based on the equivalent single degree of freedom (ESDOF) system, and its accuracy was examined by comparison with time history analysis (THA) results. Two model steel buildings of 4 and 10 stories, uniformly equipped with oil dampers along the height, were subjected to six selected earthquake ground motions scaled to be compatible with Level-2 earthquakes, as defined in the Japanese Building Standard Law. The seismic performance of the buildings was estimated by the proposed CSM procedure and compared with the results of nonlinear THA in terms of the maximum story displacements and the shear forces. It was observed that the proposed CSM scheme provided a satisfactory accuracy to assess the maximum nonlinear response of steel buildings passively controlled with oil dampers.
Saturable Absorption Dynamics of Highly Stacked 2D Materials for Ultrafast Pulsed Laser Production
Authors: Jhon Young In , Lee Ju Han
Published: March 2021

This review summarizes recent developments of saturable absorbers (SAs) based on 2D materials for nonlinear optical absorption and ultrafast pulsed laser generation. Apart from graphene, various 2D materials such as topological insulators and transition metal dichalcogenides are investigated for SA applications and their important potential as passive mode-lockers for femtosecond laser production are extensively investigated. By selecting appropriate 2D materials, a wide spectral range of passively mode-locked pulsed lasers are obtained, covering visible, midinfrared and a terahertz region. A set of different approaches is used for fabricating SA modules of fiber laser photonics, which include sandwiching, side-polishing and tapering methods. Noticeably, through systematic studies, it is demonstrated that layer-stacking seldom deteriorates the SA performance of 2D materials in the evanescent regime, although their ultrathin nature may improve the efficiency in a transmission mode like sandwich-type SAs. The direction for designing new SAs is presented based on material characterization.
YeastNet: Deep-Learning-Enabled Accurate Segmentation of Budding Yeast Cells in Bright-Field Microscopy
Authors: Salem Danny , Li Yifeng , Xi Pengcheng , Phenix Hilary , Cuperlovic-Culf Miroslava , Kærn Mads
Published: March 2021

Accurate and efficient segmentation of live-cell images is critical in maximizing data extraction and knowledge generation from high-throughput biology experiments. Despite recent development of deep-learning tools for biomedical imaging applications, great demand for automated segmentation tools for high-resolution live-cell microscopy images remains in order to accelerate the analysis. YeastNet dramatically improves the performance of the non-trainable classic algorithm, and performs considerably better than the current state-of-the-art yeast-cell segmentation tools. We have designed and trained a U-Net convolutional network (named YeastNet) to conduct semantic segmentation on bright-field microscopy images and generate segmentation masks for cell labeling and tracking. YeastNet enables accurate automatic segmentation and tracking of yeast cells in biomedical applications. YeastNet is freely provided with model weights as a Python package on GitHub.
Uniformity, Periodicity and Symmetry Characteristics of Forces Fluctuation in Helical-Edge Milling Cutter
Authors: Meng Boyang , Liu Xianli , Li Maoyue , Liang Steven Y. , Wang Lihui , Wang Zhixue
Published: March 2021

Under most processing conditions, the milling force is expected to be stable and not to fluctuate, in order to improve the processing quality. This study focuses on analyzing the force fluctuation characteristics under conditions of different processing and cutter parameters. An original model is proposed to predict the force fluctuation during the milling process of a helical-edge cutter. At the same time, three force fluctuation characteristics related to the axial cutting depth and cutter parameters are determined: uniformity, periodicity and symmetry. The corresponding mathematical derivation and proof method are given for the first time through a force transformation of projecting the superposition chip thickness on a virtual cutting edge. On this basis, a fast estimation method and an accurate simulation method for force fluctuation prediction are established to quantify the intensity of force fluctuations under different parameters. Both two prediction methods and the experimental cutting tests validate the proposed theory effectively. The result shows a high potential of the proposed theory for studying the force behavior under different milling parameters or cutter parameters and at least 75% of the test workload can be reduced.
MuMIA: Multimodal Interactions to Better Understand Art Contexts
Authors: Raptis George E. , Kavvetsos Giannis , Katsini Christina
Published: March 2021

Cultural heritage is a challenging domain of application for novel interactive technologies, where varying aspects in the way that cultural assets are delivered play a major role in enhancing the visitor experience, either onsite or online. Technology-supported natural human–computer interaction that is based on multimodalities is a key factor in enabling wider and enriched access to cultural heritage assets. In this paper, we present the design and evaluation of an interactive system that aims to support visitors towards a better understanding of art contexts through the use of a multimodal interface, based on visual and audio interactions. The results of the evaluation study shed light on the dimensions of evoking natural interactions within cultural heritage environments, using micro-narratives for self-exploration and understanding of cultural content, and the intersection between human–computer interaction and artificial intelligence within cultural heritage. We expect our findings to provide useful insights for practitioners and researchers of the broad human–computer interaction and cultural heritage communities on designing and evaluating multimodal interfaces to better support visitor experiences.