bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two peptides derivate from Acinetobacter baumannii outer membrane protein K as vaccine candidates: A comprehensive in silico study
Authors: Heidarinia Hana , Tajbakhsh Elahe , Rostamian Mosayeb , Momtaz Hassan
Published: February 2023

Background
The lack of appropriate vaccines is an obstacle to the effective management of A. baumannii infections. Peptide vaccines can provide attractive and promising preventive strategies against A. baumannii.
Objective
Here, specific T cell epitopes of A. baumannii outer membrane protein K (OMPK) were found using comprehensive bioinformatics and detailed molecular docking analysis.
Methods
Both class-I and class-II T cell epitopes of A. baumannii OMPK were predicted by three tools namely IEDB, SYFPEITHI, and ProPred. The predicted epitopes were shortlisted via several analyses such as prediction scoring, clustering, human similarity exclusion, considering immunogenicity and cytokine production, and removing toxic and/or allergen epitopes. The epitopic peptides with high prediction scores and appropriate properties that contained both class-I and class-II T cell epitopes were selected. Two of these class I/II epitopic peptides were chosen for molecular docking studies and assessing their physicochemical properties as vaccine candidates.
Results
The results showed many T-cell epitopes of OMPK that could be evaluated for possible immunogenicity. Two of these epitopes (containing both class-I and II epitopes) had high prediction scores, predicted by several tools, attached to several HLAs, and had the best docking score (bind efficiently to their specific HLAs). They had different physicochemical properties and were conserved among Acinetobacter species.
Discussion
We identified the A. baumannii OMPK high immunogenic class-I and class-II T cell epitopes and introduced two promising high immunogenic peptides as vaccine candidates. It is recommended to do an in vitro/in vivo investigation of these peptides to determine their true efficacy and efficiency.
Photo-manipulated polyunsaturated fatty acid-doped liposomal hydrogel for flexible photoimmunotherapy
Authors: Lan Xinyue , Liang Junguang , Wen Churan , Quan Xiaolong , Lin Huimin , Xu Qinqin , Luo Wei , Yao Guangyu , Zhou Dan , Yu Meng
Published: February 2023

Background
Despite the synergy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) holds great promise as countermeasures against breast cancer, exploring long-term or flexible short-time therapeutic strategies in “cold” tumors remains great challenge.
Methods
Programmed death-ligand 1 antibody (αPD-L1) and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) were loaded in polyunsaturated fatty acid-doped liposomal hydrogel Lp(DHA)@CP Gel for flexible local photoimmunotherapy with merely single-dosed administration. Phototriggered drug release and ROS generation of Lp(DHA)@CP Gel were evaluated in vitro. To investigate tumor therapeutic effect, NIR laser of 671 nm was used to irradiate tumor site after a single dose of peritumoral administration of Lp(DHA)@CP Gel of 4T1-bearing mice.
Results
With syringe-injectable and self-healing property, Lp(DHA)@CP Gel showed a photo-triggered release of αPD-L1 repeatedly induced to in situ in response to PDT for at least 11 days. Additionally, Lp(DHA)@CP Gel exhibited prominent antitumor efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. The on-demand treatment can maximize the patient compliance and safety by adjusting therapeutic behaviors via a photo on-off switch. Furthermore, the immunogenic cell death (ICD) effect of PDT evoked “cold” breast tumor to “hot” one, and then assisted the cascade released αPD-L1 to synergistically boost the immunotherapy.
Conclusion
Lp(DHA)@CP Gel is a flexible medication platform, showing promise in improving the objective response rate of ICB therapy and minimizing its systemic toxicity.
Identifying the critical areas and primary sources for agricultural non-point source pollution management of an emigrant town within the Three Gorges reservoir area
Authors: Xu Wen , Liu Ling , Zhu Shi-jiang , Sun Ai-hua , Ding Zhi-yu , Wang Hao
Published: February 2023

Agricultural non-point source pollution is threatening water environmental health of the Three Gorges reservoir. However, current studies for precision management of the agricultural non-point source pollution within this area are still limited. The objective of this study was identifying the critical areas and primary sources of agricultural non-point source pollution for precision management. Firstly, the inventory analysis approach was used to estimate the discharge amount of TN, TP, and COD from farmland fertilizer, crop residues, livestock breeding, and daily activities. Afterwards, the deviation standardization method was applied to evaluate the emission intensity of TN, TP, and COD, as well as calculating the comprehensive pollution index (CPI) of each village, based on which the critical areas for agricultural non-point source pollution management could be distinguished. Moreover, the equivalence pollution load method was conducted to identify the primary pollution sources within each critical zone. The above methods were implemented to an emigrant town, Gufu, within the Three Gorges reservoir area. Results showed that agricultural non-point source pollution in Gufu town has been alleviated to a certain extent between 2016 and 2021. Nevertheless, in four areas of the town, such as Longzhu, Fuzi, Shendu, and Maicang, the agricultural non-point source pollution still deserves attention and improvement. For the mentioned critical areas, farmland fertilizer and livestock breeding were the primary sources causing agricultural non-point source pollution. The emission amount of TN and TP from farmland fertilizer accounted for 60% and 48% of the total, respectively. And those from livestock breeding were 29% and 46%. Our research could provide definite targets to relieve agricultural non-point source pollution, which had great significance to protect water environment while coordinating regional economic growth after emigrant resettlement.
Targeting Unfolded Protein Response reverts ER stress and ER Ca2+ homeostasis in cardiomyocytes expressing the pathogenic variant of Lamin A/C R321X.
Authors: Pietrafesa Giusy , De Zio Roberta , Scorza Simona , Armentano Mariafrancesca , Pepe Martino , Forleo Cinzia , Procino Giuseppe , Gerbino Andrea , Svelto Maria , Carmosino Monica
Published: February 2023

Background We previously demonstrated that an Italian family affected by a severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with history of sudden deaths at young age, carried a mutation in the Lmna gene encoding for a truncated variant of the Lamin A/C protein (LMNA), R321X. When expressed in heterologous systems, such variant accumulates into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), inducing the activation of the PERK-CHOP pathway of the unfolded protein response (UPR), ER dysfunction and increased rate of apoptosis. The aim of this work was to analyze whether targeting the UPR can be used to revert the ER dysfunction associated with LMNA R321X expression in HL-1 cardiac cells.
Methods HL-1 cardiomyocytes stably expressing R321X LMNA were used to assess the ability of 3 different drugs targeting the UPR, salubrinal, guanabenz and empagliflozin to rescue ER stress and dysfunction. In these cells, the state of activation of both the UPR and the pro-apoptotic pathway were analyzed monitoring the expression levels of phospho-PERK, phospho-eIF2a, CHOP and PARP-CL. In addition, we measured ER-dependent intracellular Ca2+ dynamics as indicator of proper ER functionality.
Results We found that salubrinal and guanabenz increased the expression levels of phospho-eIF2a and downregulated the apoptosis markers CHOP and PARP-CL in R321X LMNA-cardiomyocytes, maintaining the so-called adaptive UPR. These drugs also restored ER ability to handle Ca2+ in these cardiomyocytes. Interestingly, we found that empagliflozin downregulated the apoptosis markers CHOP and PARP-CL shutting down the UPR itself through the inhibition of PERK phosphorylation in R321X LMNA-cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, upon empagliflozin treatment, ER homeostasis, in terms of ER ability to store and release intracellular Ca2+ was also restored in these cardiomyocytes.
Conclusions. We provided evidence that the different drugs, although interfering with different steps of the UPR, were able to counteract pro-apoptotic processes and to preserve the ER homeostasis in R321X LMNA-cardiomyocytes. Of note, two of the tested drugs, guanabenz and empagliflozin, are already used in the clinical practice, thus providing preclinical evidence for ready-to-use therapies in patients affected by the R321X LMNA associated cardiomyocytes.
Cost effectiveness of the Mia artificial intelligence technology for detection of breast tumours as part of the NHS breast screening service in the UK
Authors: Palacios Armando Vargas , Sharma Nisha , Sagoo Gurdeep
Published: February 2023

In the UK, the NHS National Breast Screening programme, which aims to detect breast cancer at earlier stages, has been shown to be cost-effective. 1,2 The reference standard within the service is for mammograms to be independently double-read3. The double reading is performed by consultant radiologists, consultant radiographers, advanced practitioners, and breast clinicians. If the readers disagree, then arbitration by a single or several readers will take place. This process has reduced false positives and recall rates whilst producing a high level of accuracy, 4 but the process is labour-intensive. In the UK, this has put the service under pressure due to a radiology work force crisis. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been suggested as a substitute for a human reader as a solution.5 While such technology has shown to be non-inferior in performance as a second reader6, the minimum requirements needed (effectiveness, set-up costs, maintenance, etc) for such technology to be a cost-effective alternative for use in the NHS, have not been evaluated. To assess the later, we developed a simulation model replicating the UK NHS screening services. Our results indicate that if non-inferiority is maintained, the use of an AI technology as a second reader is a viable and potentially cost-effective alternative for use in a service such as the NHS.
The return of China’s forests: Three decades of forest transition revealed by satellites
Authors: Tong Xiaowei , Brandt Martin , Yue Yuemin , Zhang Xiaoxin , Fensholt Rasmus , Ciais Philippe , Wang Kelin , Liu Siyu , Zhang Wenmin , Jepsen Martin
Published: February 2023

A large-scale greening and forest expansion has been observed in China over the past decades, which has accelerated since around 2010. This has been inferred by the use of satellite data, however with too coarse spatial resolution to reveal spatial details about China’s forest transition. By using three decades of dense satellite observations at a 30-m spatial resolution, we reveal here the complex spatio-temporal patterns of individual forest stands forming the forest return history of southern China. We calculate forest age, forest densification rates, and annual landscape fragmentation, and show that the observed forest area surge around 2010 is a result of trees planted after 2000 that formed dense forests about a decade later. We document that old forests in the 1980s were mostly fragmented into scattered patches located on mountain tops, but forests rapidly expanded downhill by 729,540 km2 from 1986–2018, connecting forest patches and creating buffer zones that alleviated the clear-cut and logging pressure from old forests. This process decreased forest fragmentation and sextupled core forest areas. Our study contests several widely accepted assumptions that negatively relate humans actions with forest dynamics, and provides a detailed documentation of forest densification and expansion for a country that had been largely deforested three decades ago.
Effect of transporting Oreochromis niloticus in water with and without sodium chloride on some skin immunity-related genes expression
Authors: Hana Heba Naeim Sadek , Ahmed Mohamed Abd El‑Aziz  Abd El‑Galil , Mousa Mohamed Abd Allah , El-Lateif Rasha S. B. Abd , Emam Arafah M.
Published: February 2023

This study conducted to investigate Mucin, Antimicrobial peptides, Cytokines, prolactin and growth hormones gene expression of skin of Oreochromis niloticus after transportation for 5-hour in water with and without salt. Three experimental groups (Control, post-transport without salt (PT-S) and post-transport with 5g salt/L (PT + S)) were investigated. Overall, they were dramatically changed in the PT-S group than PT + S group indicating that the addition of salt to transport water mitigated the stress effect on the O. niloticus physiology and immunity. MUC + 2 a greater up-regulation was recorded in the PT-S group (7.58 folds) comparing to 3.30 folds in the PT + S group and the MUC5-AC greater up-regulated in the PT-S group (6.29 folds) comparing to a 4.16 folds in the PT + S group. The antimicrobial peptides Dβ1, Dβ2 and Cath1 genes expression were all significantly down regulated in the PT-S and PT + S skin comparing with the control and this down regulation was more dramatic in the PT-S group recording 0.42, 029 and 0.16 folds matching with 0.82, 0.69 and 0.75 in the PT + S group respectively. Scanning microscopy of skin of PT-S group showed few scratched white patches among normal regions that may represent thickened surface with absence of opening of goblets cell, while the skin of PT + S group showed moderate preservation of surface skin features with some goblet cells opening and slight thickened white patches could be observed and goblet cells opening were not so clear like control.
Perinatal and neonatal factors and mental disorders in children and adolescents: looking for the contributions of the early environment to common and dissociable aspects of psychopathology
Authors: Leusin Fabiane , Damiano Rodolfo Furlan , Mendes Lorenna Sena Teixeira , Hoffmann Maurício Scopel , Manfro Arthur Gus , Pan Pedro Mario , Gadelha Ary , Mari Jair , Manfro Gisele Gus , Miguel Eurípedes Constantino , Rohde Luis Augusto , Bressan Rodrigo Affonseca , Salum Giovanni Abrahão
Published: February 2023

High rates of co-occurrence of mental disorders have been hypothesized to represent a result of common susceptibility to overall psychopathology. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that commonalities among psychiatric disorders might be partially driven by shared perinatal and neonatal environmental factors for mental disorders. Participants were 6-14 years of age children and their parents. Primary caregivers provided data on perinatal and neonatal information assessed retrospectively (n=2,231). Psychiatric disorders diagnoses were assessed using the Development and Well Being Behavior Assessment (DAWBA). We used bifactor models to disentangle common from dissociable aspects of psychopathology. These models allow modeling psychiatric disorders as the result of a common domain of psychopathology (p-factor) and three dissociable domains (fear, distress, and externalizing symptoms). Associations were tested using linear and tobit regression models. The p-factor was associated with low socioeconomic status, gestational smoking, gestational drinking, no breastfeeding, low levels of maternal education and presence of mental disorder in the mother. Associations with specific factors also emerged suggesting some risk factors might also have some role for fear, distress and externalizing factors. Our study supports the hypothesis that overall susceptibility to psychopathology might be partially driven by shared perinatal and neonatal factors.
A clustering study of the old open cluster Trumpler 19
Authors: Gao Xinhua , Fang Dan
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we investigate the spatial structure and dynamical state of the poorly studied old (∼ 4 Gyr) open cluster Trumpler 19 based on reliable cluster members from Gaia-DR3. The DBSCAN clustering algorithm is used to estimate membership probabilities and select likely cluster members in a normalized 5D parametric space. We identify 859 likely cluster members down to G ∼ 20 mag in the field of the cluster. We estimate a cluster radius of R cl ∼ 18 arcmin (13.1 pc) based on the radial distribution of the cluster members. We find that the cluster is deficient in faint and low-mass stars (G > 19 mag), possibly resulting from star evaporation and external tidal effects. Strong mass segregation effect can be detected in the cluster based on the obtained membership probabilities. We estimate a core radius of R c = 3.0 ± 0.2 arcmin (2.2 ± 0.1 pc) and a tidal radius of R t = 30.7 ± 9.0 arcmin (22.3 ± 6.5 pc) for the cluster. We estimate a concentration parameter of log(R t /R c) ∼ 1.0, indicating that Trumpler 19 has formed a clear core-halo structure due to dynamical evolution. We investigate the dynamical state of the cluster using 26 blue stragglers (BSs) identified in the cluster. We find that the BSs extend to a radius of ∼ 10.5 arcmin (3.5R c), and 16 of them (∼ 62%) are located in the core radius of the cluster. We also find that the BSs are significantly more concentrated than the red giant branch (RGB) stars, indicating that Trumpler 19 is a dynamically old cluster.
Beyond fixed sets: Boundary conditions for obtaining SNARC-like effects with continuous semantic magnitudes
Authors: Leth-Steensen Craig , Farahi Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Moshirian , Al-Juboori Noora
Published: February 2023

Previous research has demonstrated the presence of an effect (i.e., the spatial-numerical association of response codes or SNARC) in both numerical parity and magnitude judgment tasks in which smaller numerical magnitudes are manually responded to faster on the left side and larger numerical magnitudes on the right side. Such a result has typically been attributed to a spatially based representation of numerical magnitude in long-term memory, the format of which has recently been postulated to be positional in line with learning of a canonically ordered number sequence. As a test of this view, in the current research, participants made classification judgments involving either the size (N = 88) or the living-nonliving status (N = 114) corresponding to the names of animals/objects etc. (for which no learned canonical ordering of size exists). Names were taken from a very large set of 400 animals/objects etc. and each name was presented only once in an experimental session. Responses were made using left and right manual keypresses. The lack of any differential performance effects in response time (or accuracy) involving the relative sizes of the animals/objects and the side of response in this current work indicated that SNARC-like effects do not seem to occur under conditions in which the use of positional coding of size in either long- or short-term memory is precluded.
Learning of a covert sequence of effector movements: limits to its acquisition
Authors: Johannsen Leif , Koch Iring
Published: February 2023

Sequence learning in serial reaction time (SRT) tasks is an established, lab-based experimental paradigm to study acquisition and transfer of skill based on the detection of predictable stimulus and motor response sequences. Participants learn a stimulus sequence by associating their responses to the targets with the subsequently presented targets in the sequence. In the traditional paradigm, however, actions and targets are directly related. In contrast, the present study asked whether participants would demonstrate acquisition of a sequence of effector movements such as the left vs. right hand (e.g., hand sequence learning), whilst the actual targets and associated finger responses are unpredictable. Twenty-seven young adults performed a SRT task to visually presented characters with the index or middle fingers of both hands. While the specific fingers to respond with were randomly selected for each stimulus presentation, both hands followed a covert sequence. We asked whether participants would learn the underlying hand sequence as demonstrated by shortened response latencies and increased accuracy compared to a fully randomized hand sequence. The results show sequence-specific learning effects. However, categorization of hand responses depending on the previous response suggested that learning occurred predominantly for subsequent finger responses of the same hand but not between the hands. Nevertheless, a small effect was observed for predictable shifts between hands irrespective of the fingers involved. Our results thus suggest that humans are able to benefit from predictable hand repetitions but less so for predicted shifts between hands.
Neural Topic Model with Distance Awareness
Authors: Chen Shangyu , Zhao He , Huynh Viet , Cai Jianfei , Phung Dinh
Published: February 2023

Neural topic models (NTM) have shown their success in topic modelling with awide range of applications in text analysis. NTMs based on generative modelstend to have good refactoring capabilities in achieving good document represen-tations, rather than providing a topic representation that has an understandableassociation with documents and words. To bridge this gap, we have proposeda neural topic model that allows simultaneously learning topics from text dataas well as capturing the structural manifold in the original data space of doc-uments. Comprehensive experiments have shown that the proposed model canimprove learned topics in terms of intrinsic metrics (purity and coherence)and extrinsic downstream tasks (clustering, classification). Beyond that, themodel can provide interpretable low dimensional presentations of documents
Abnormal brain protein abundance and mRNA expression of SARM1 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors: Ma Yanni , Qin Fengqin , Jia Tingting , He Yongji , Han Feng , Zhang Chengcheng
Published: February 2023

There is an urgent need to identify additional causal genes utilizing innovative methodologies due to the limits of the existing identified disease-associated genes in explaining the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this study, the abnormal protein abundance in the human brain was used to identify the ALS risk genes and their aberrant expression was verified in multiple tissues. We conducted a two-stage proteome-wide association study (PWAS) using the ALS genome-wide association study (GWAS) data and two distinct human brain protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL). To further support the PWAS risk genes, we also performed colocalization followed by differential expression analysis on lower motor neuron, skeletal muscle, and whole blood samples. Six ALS risk genes (SCFD1, SARM1, TMEM175, BCS1L, WIPI2, and DHRS11) were found during the PWAS discovery phase, and two of them (SARM1 and BCS1L) were confirmed during the validation phase. The following Bayesian colocalization analysis supported SARM1 had causal gene that drove both of the pQTL and GWAS signals. Further differential expression analysis revealed that SARM1 was markedly down-regulated in lower motoneurons, skeletal muscle, and whole blood tissues. Our findings supported the existence of ALS-related risk genes and identified many promising protein candidates for the future investigation of therapeutic targets. The dysregulation of SARM1 in multiple tissues provides a new direction to explain the ALS pathology and the clinical manifestations of muscle weakness in ALS patients.
Predicting Foodborne Pathogens and Probiotics Taxa within Poultry-Related Microbiomes Using a Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Ayoola Moses B. , Pillai Nisha , Nanduri Bindu , Rothrock Michael J. , Ramkumar Mahalingam
Published: February 2023

Background
Microbiomes that can serve as an indicator of gut, intestinal, and general health of humans and animals are largely influenced by food consumed and contaminant bioagents. Microbiome studies usually focus on estimating the alpha (within sample) and beta (similarity/dissimilarity among samples) diversities. This study took a combinatorial approach and applied machine learning to microbiome data to predict the presence of disease-causing pathogens and their association with known/potential probiotic taxa. Here, 16S rRNA gene high-throughput Illumina sequencing of temporal pre-harvest (feces, soil) samples of 41 pastured poultry flocks from southeastern U.S. farms were used to generate the relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) as machine learning input. Unique genera from the OTUs were used as predictors of the prevalence of foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria) at different stages of poultry growth (START (2–4 weeks old), MID (5–7 weeks old), END (8–11 weeks old)), association with farm management practices and physicochemical properties.
Result
While we did not see any significant associations between known probiotics and Salmonella or Listeria, we observed significant negative correlations between known probiotics (Bacillus and Clostridium) and Campylobacter at mid-timepoint of sample collection. Our data indicates a negative correlation between potential probiotics and Campylobacter at both early and end-timepoint of sample collection. Furthermore, our model prediction shows that changes in farm operations such as how often the houses are moved on pasture, age at which chickens are introduced to the pasture, diet composition, presence of other animals on the farm could favorably increase the abundance and activity of probiotics that could reduce Campylobacter prevalence.
Conclusion
Integration of microbiome data with farm management practices using machine learning provided insights on how to reduce Campylobacter prevalence and transmission along the farm-to-fork continuum. Altering management practices to support proliferation of beneficial probiotics to reduce pathogen prevalence identified here could constitute a complementary method to the existing but ineffective interventions such as vaccination and bacteriophage cocktails usage. Study findings also corroborate the presence of bacterial genera such as Caloramator, DA101, Parabacteroides, Faecalibacterium as potential probiotics.
Changes in EEG frequency characteristics during sevoflurane general anesthesia: feature extraction by variational mode decomposition
Authors: Yamada Tomomi , Obata Yurie , Sudo Kazuki , Kinoshita Mao , Naito Yoshifumi , Sawa Teiji
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Mode decomposition is a method of extracting the characteristic intrinsic mode function (IMF) from various multidimensional time-series signals. Variational mode decomposition (VMD) searches for IMFs by optimizing the bandwidth to a narrow band with the norm while preserving the online estimated central frequency. In this study, we applied VMD to the electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis during general anesthesia.
Methods: Using a bispectral index monitor, EEGs were recorded for 10 adult surgical patients (mean age ± sd: 43.7 ± 18.5 years) who were anesthetized with sevoflurane. We created an application named EEG Mode Decompositor, which decomposes the recorded EEG into IMFs and displays the Hilbert spectrogram.
Results: During the 30-minute recovery from general anesthesia, the mean of the bispectral index increased from 45.4 ± 6.8 to 96.7 ± 1.5, whereas the central frequencies of IMF-1, IMF-2, IMF-3, IMF-4, IMF-5, and IMF-6 increased significantly from 0.35 ± 0.21 Hz to 0.18 ± 0.11 Hz, 1.54 ± 0.73 Hz to 5.32 ± 3.94 Hz, 5.79 ± 2.31 Hz to 15.64 ± 8.02 Hz, 10.34 ± 2.75 Hz to 26.13 ± 7.89 Hz, 14.23 ± 3.63 Hz to 35.50 ± 4.78 Hz, and 13.74 ± 5.42 Hz to 43.20 ± 3.16 Hz, respectively.
Conclusion: The characteristic frequency component changes in the specific IMFs during emergence from general anesthesia were visually captured. EEG analysis by VMD is useful for extracting distinct changes in an EEG during general anesthesia.
Global existence and uniqueness of the 2D damped wave type MHD equations
Authors: Sun Weixian , Wang Wenjuan
Published: February 2023

We consider the two-dimensional damped wave type magnetohydrodynamic equations with fractional dissipation. We prove the global existence and uniqueness of solution for small initial data in Sobolev spaces.
AMS Subject Classification 2010: 35A05; 35Q35; 76D03
Cobalt Oxide Modified Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Alsherari Sahr A.
Published: February 2023

In this paper, Co3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and Co3O4 modified reduced graphene oxide (Co3O4/rGO) are successfully elaborated by hydrothermal method and used as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The structure, composition, and morphology of the hydrothermal powders are characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and TEM while their electrochemical performance was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge/discharge studies. The Co3O4/rGO anode exhibit improved electrochemical performance in terms of specific capacitance, reversibility and stability compared to single-component Co3O4. At 0.1 A.g− 1, the specific discharge capacity for the pure Co3O4 and Co3O4/rGO composite is about 850 mAh g− 1 and 1285 mAh g− 1 respectively. The improvement in the electrochemical capacity of the composite anode is mainly ascribed to a cooperative effect between the reduced graphene with good electrical conductivity and the unique nano-sized Co3O4 with a short diffusion pathway for lithium ions diffusion.
Facile, One-pot, pseudo four component synthesis of novel benzimidazolyl- thiazoles via multi-component approach and their biological evaluation
Authors: Chedupaka Raju , Audipudi Amrutha V , Sangolkar Akansha Ashok , Mamidala Srikanth , Venkatesham Papisetti , Penta Santhosh , Vedula Rajeswar Rao
Published: February 2023

A general and sustainable multicomponent approach for the synthesis of benzimidazolyl-thiazole compounds via an efficient, one-pot, pseudo four-component reaction using 5-amino-2-mercaptobenzimidazole, aralkyl halides, ammonium thiocyanate, and substituted α-bromo-acetophenones in glacial acetic acid at ambient temperature to give final compounds (4a-p) in good yields in shorter time. The spectral data of synthesized compounds were evaluated by analytical and spectral techniques (IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and ESI-HRMS). Further, some of the synthesized compounds were screened for their in-vitro antibacterial activity studies using the agar well diffusion method against Gram-positive Streptococcus Pneumoniae (2451) bacteria and Gram-negative Porteous Mirabilis (2081) bacteria. Based on the MIC results, it was observed that the most active compounds 4b, 4e, 4f, and 4k are shown promising anti-bacterial activity with the zone of inhibition values of 2.85 cm 2.75 cm, 3.6 cm, and 3.3 cm against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria cell lines respectively. Further, we have also insight into the molecular simulation studies, based on the binding results, compound 4i showed stable binding interactions with streptomycin drug with active site of the gyrase protein (PDB ID: 1KIJ). The structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of all the title scaffolds were also established. The antibacterial activity, molecular docking studies, molecular dynamic simulations of the title compounds were suggested that these are promising anti-bacterial active skeletons.
Heavy metal pollution and ecological risk under different land use types: based on the similarity of pollution sources and comparing the results of three evaluation models
Authors: Gao Haoran , Gong Jian , Yang Jianxin , Chen Guang , Ye Teng
Published: February 2023

In key areas of ecological protection, it is significant to consider the similarity of pollution sources among heavy metals and the interaction between different sources, especially the ecological risk areas caused by heavy metal pollution. We collected 51 soil samples from five land use types with different soil depths in an industrial area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Two and three major heavy metal combination types of Cd Cu Cr Pb and Zn in different soil layers were identified using absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression models, and the potential pollution sources corresponding to the different types were quantified using Geo-Detector models. Industrial activities, especially metallurgy and mining, are the most likely potential sources of Cd Cu and Pb pollution, while the enrichment effects caused by rivers and roads are also evident in the study area. Heavy metal levels were generally higher in watered and urban lands and lower in grasslands. The downward migration of heavy metals in the study area was inferred from the similar trends of several indicators between soil layers A and B. The new model Nemerow Integrated Risk Index (NIRI) was used to analyse the integrated ecological risk across the study area and under different land use types by comparing with the pollution load index and Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index, and it was found that the risk level was lower in grassland and forest land than under other land use types, while it was higher in urban land and irrigated land. NIRI was able to highlight the impact of high Cd toxicity factors on the overall risk level, and is more accurate and flexible in identifying risk areas.
Vapor-Liquid and Chemical Equilibrium for Esterification of Acetic Acid + Isopropanol with [HSO3 -bmim][HSO4 ] at 101.33 kPa
Authors: Guo Yimin , Zou Yun , Huang Kelei , Li Qing , Tong Zhangfa
Published: February 2023

Vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data of binary systems (water + acetic acid, isopropanol + water, and acetic acid + isopropyl acetate), and ternary systems (water + acetic acid + 1-sulfobutyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([HSO3-bmim][HSO4]), isopropanol + water + [HSO3-bmim][HSO4], and acetic acid + isopropyl acetate +[HSO3-bmim][HSO4]) were determined at 101.33 kPa. The non-random two liquid (NRTL) model was fitted well with the experimental data. The σ-profiles of water, acetic acid, isopropanol, isopropyl acetate, [HSO3-bmim]+, and [HSO4]- were calculated using COSMO-RS model. Furthermore, the binding ability of [HSO3-bmim][HSO4] ionic liquid with water, acetic acid, isopropyl alcohol, and isopropyl acetate was analyzed by σ-profiles. The chemical and phase equilibrium (CPE) data of acetic acid + isopropanol, acetic acid + isopropanol + [HSO3-bmim][HSO4] systems were determined, and the chemical equilibrium constant Kr was calculated. These results provided basic thermodynamic data for [HSO3-bmim][HSO4] as the catalyst for the esterification system of acetic acid with isopropanol.
Operando X-Ray imaging of stochastic inter-regime instabilities in laser melting processes: direct evidence of acoustic emission signatures
Authors: Nasab Milad Hamidi , Masinelli Giulio , de Formanoir Charlotte , Schlenger Lucas , Petegem Steven Van , Esmaeilzadeh Reza , Wasmer Kilian , Ganvir Ashish , Salminen Antti , Aymanns Florian , Marone Federica , Pandiyan Vigneashwara , Goel Sneha , Logé Roland
Published: February 2023

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a metal additive manufacturing technique involving complex interplays between vapor, liquid, and solid phases. Despite LPBF’s unprecedented capabilities compared to conventional manufacturing methods, the underlying physical phenomena can result in inter-regime instabilities followed by transitions between conduction and keyhole melting regimes — leading to defects. For the first time, we investigated these issues through operando synchrotron X-ray imaging synchronized with acoustic emission recording, during the remelting processes of LPBF-produced thin walls, monitoring regime changes occurring under constant laser processing parameters. The collected data show an increment in acoustic signal amplitude when switching from conduction to keyhole regime, which we correlated to changes in laser absorptivity. Moreover, a full correlation between X-ray imaging and the acoustic signals permitted the design of a simple filtering algorithm to predict the melting regimes. As a result, conduction, stable keyhole, and unstable keyhole regimes could be identified with a time resolution of 100 µs, even under rapid transitions, providing a straightforward method to accurately detect undesired processing regimes without the use of artificial intelligence.
Towards a taxonomy for business capabilities determining data value
Authors: Hafner Markus , Silva Miguel Mira da
Published: February 2023

Data and its valuation become increasingly crucial for enterprises and academia, which coincides a multitude of data valuation approaches including numerous affected focus areas, dimensions, and characteristics. Therefore, this paper analyzes different approaches to determine data value from a business capability perspective according to the TOGAF standard. Specifically, this paper deals with (a) the development of a taxonomy for data valuation business capabilities (DVBC) as well as (b) the taxonomy validation by the use of existing data valuation approaches. The applied methodologies are taxonomy development techniques for information systems, which are based on a previously executed systematic literature review with a sample size of 67 articles. Further, the data valuation business capability taxonomy is validated through applying two recent data valuation approaches from academia. As a result, the taxonomy developed consists of four business capability layers, nine dimensions, and 36 characteristics. The characteristics are of exclusive or non-exclusive nature, depending on their meaningfulness, and are validated by the successful application of two data valuation approaches. Compiled findings meet both objective and subjective quality standards. With the developed DVBC taxonomy, scholars and professionals are equipped with a tool to classify and structure their data valuation endeavors. In addition, the DVBC taxonomy bridges the domains of information systems, enterprise architecture management, and data management to serve as a foundation for interdisciplinary value generation with and through data.
Machine learning and statistical classification of birdsong links vocal acoustic features with phylogeny
Authors: Rivera Moises , Edwards Jacob A. , Hauber Mark E. , Woolley Sarah M. N.
Published: February 2023

Birdsong is a longstanding model system for studying evolution, and has recently emerged as a measure of biodiversity loss due to deforestation and climate change. Here, we collected and analyzed high quality song recordings from seven species in the familyEstrildidae. We measured the acoustic features of syllables and then used dimensionality reduction and machine learning classifiers to identify features that accurately assigned syllables to species. Species differences were captured by the first 3 principal components, corresponding to basic spectral features, spectral shape, and spectrotemporal features. We then identified the measured features underlying classification accuracy. We found that fundamental frequency, mean frequency, spectral flatness, and syllable duration were the most informative features for species identification. Next, we tested whether specific acoustic features of species’ songs predicted phylogenetic distance. We found significant phylogenetic signal in syllable spectral features, but not in spectral shape or spectrotemporal features. Results indicate that spectral features are more constrained by species’ genetics than are other features, and are the best signal features for identifying species from song recordings. The absence of phylogenetic signal in spectral shape and spectrotemporal features suggests that these song features are labile, reflecting learning-processes and individual recognition.
Electrochemical formation and behavior of silver and lead chlorides as potential cathodes for quasi-rechargeable magnesium seawater cell
Authors: Popović Aleksandra S. , Grgur Branimir
Published: February 2023

Primary seawater magnesium-based cell with AgCl or PbCl2 cathodes is widely used as power sources. In this paper, we consider the cyclic galvanostatic formation of silver and lead chloride, and their electrochemical behavior for potential applications in the new concept of the seawater quasi-rechargeable magnesium cell. For potential cells, the voltage for Mg alloy AZ63 and AgCl is ~ 1.5 V, and for the PbCl2, ~ 1 V. High discharge specific capacity, energy, and power are obtained under the very high discharge rate. Consideration of the improvements for the application in a real cell is given.
Preserving Wetlands in Maine
Authors: Flynn Sean , Flynn Sean Patrick
Published: February 2023

Wetlands can be found throughout the United States and, more specifically, within the State of Maine, and the wetlands within the area need to be protected. Using many Geographic Information Systems and analysis measures, I located and examined many potential wetland areas that can support endangered and threatened species. The final results show over 10 locations for wetland habitats in the county that is near the Moosehead Region. With the forestry business cutting down trees, the preservation of the identified areas are crucial for the endangered and threatened populations.
BioPRYN®, a Measure of Pregnancy-specific Protein B for Detection of Pregnancy in Ruminant Animals
Authors: Sasser R. G. , Branen J. , Howard J. , Passavant C. , Pals D.
Published: February 2023

Pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB) was discovered in 1979 by immunological methods and was found by molecular cloning to be a sub-group of the aspartic acid protease family of proteins. The original protein isolate had several immunoreactive, molecular weight, and isoelectric variants. Chemical characteristics were studied. Subsequently, similar protein isolates of PSPB of cattle were given a different name. These are pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) and pregnancy serum protein 60. Precise and accurate radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for PSPB have been used to detect pregnancy in ruminant animals. BioPRYN is an ELISA assay, using the PSPB protein isolate, for detection of pregnancy in ruminants. Radioimmunoassay or ELISA ( the BioPRYN test), specifically using PSPB as the molecule for standard and antigen for obtaining antibodies, equaled or exceeded transrectal sonography, PAG-1 or palpation in comparative tests for pregnancy detection. Development of tests for molecular variants that appear early in gestation can improve on the technology. BioPRYN is available on a commercial basis for livestock breeders or those managing wildlife species. Several affiliate laboratories across the USA and internationally conduct the BioPRYN test with kits offered by BioTracking LLC, Moscow, Idaho. Over 498,115 cattle tests were sold in 2008.
BVD Control for the Dairy Practitioner
Authors: Smith Scott T.
Published: February 2023

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) continues to be an infectious disease of importance to cattle populations throughout the world. In recent years, efforts to establish BVD control programs has been a high priority for various veterinary and producer groups in North America. These efforts have resulted in the adoption of industry-wide position statements on disclosure of BVD-PI cattle. While various documents and BVD control programs have been outlined for beef cattle, few documents have been aimed specifically at BVD control in dairy cattle populations. The goal of this presentation is to focus on BVD control strategies for dairy cattle enterprises, including examples of BVD control plans from actual farms.
Determining the Prevalence of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Persistently Infected Calves Originating from a Number of Modem Western Well-vaccinated Dairy Herds
Authors: Shelton T. , Hoffman B.
Published: February 2023

All arriving heifer calves and some additional bull calves were tested for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) persistently infected (PI) status when received by the calf ranch to determine incidence of occurrence across individual dairies contributing calves to this calf ranch. After confirmation of positive status, these animals were removed to eliminate potential for infection in subsequent breeding populations. In addition, 40 random positive PI samples were submitted for typing and genetic characterization to create a dendogram for comparison among PI calves and existing vaccination programs.
Odd Reproductive Problems of Small Ruminants
Authors: Roberson Jerry R.
Published: February 2023

Sheep, and especially goats, tend to have some fairly strange reproductive issues that while not especially common, do occur with a high enough frequency that the small ruminant practitioner will likely be presented with some of these cases. This session will discuss odd reproductive issues of primarily female sheep and goats including ring womb, atypical udder development, and pseudopregnancy, as well as a few other issues.
Evaluation of Alternate Weaning Techniques with Fecal Cortisol Metabolites
Authors: Swecker W. S. , Gilbertie J. M. , Milton S. C. , Fiske D. A. , Wahlberg M. L.
Published: February 2023

Weaning in beef cattle is defined as the physical separation of the cow-calf pair and is normally associated with dietary, social, environmental, and immunological changes in the calf. Abrupt weaning leads to behavioral changes, decreased weight gain, and increased levels of stress-associated hormones.

Alternative weaning methods are utilized to decrease stress on calves. Fenceline weaning is moving the calf into an adjacent paddock which ends suckling, but allows the calf to maintain social contact with its dam. Fenceline weaning reduces the time calves spend walking and vocalizing, and increases the time calves spend eating and lying down. Measurement of blood cortisol can be problematic due to the acute nature of cortisol release which may reflect handling and response to blood collection in addition to baseline cortisol status. The utilization of fecal cortisol metabolites allows determination of cortisol status hours prior to sampling. The objective of this study was to compare fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations in beef calves weaned abruptly and by alternate techniques.
Review of AMDUCA and Extra-Label Drug Use in Food Animals
Authors: Baynes Ronald E.
Published: February 2023

This presentation will review the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA) of 1994 and how the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) provides scientifically-based residue withholding information within the context of extra-label drug use guidelines. Several beef and dairy cases will be presented to demonstrate FARAD’s successes and challenges to minimize violative drug residues in animal-derived food products. Finally, several of the research initiatives developed by FARAD scientists that have improved withdrawal time estimation will be reviewed within the context of extra-label drug use in food animals.
Taking the Long View
Authors: Van Amburgh M. E. , Soberon F. , Raffrenato E. , Karzses J. , Everett R. W.
Published: February 2023

Calf nutrition and management programs have focused on early weaning and modest liquid feed intake designed to encourage dry feed intake for enhanced rumen development. This was done primarily to reduce cost and also to reduce the risk for diarrhea and other disease concerns.

Data are being generated demonstrating that early life management and nutrition, starting with colostrum, positively reinforces the genetic capacity of the calf for feed efficiency and milk producing ability. Factors in colostrum, such as certain growth factors and hormones, appear to enhance the efficiency of use of absorbed nutrients, providing a broader role for colostrum intake and composition beyond the traditional role for immune function. Published data demonstrate differences in feed efficiency of over 26% in calves with higher levels of colostrum intake, independent of Ig status. The objective of doubling the birth weight of the calf by weaning through increased milk or milk replacer intake has demonstrated positive effects on milk production in the first and subsequent lactation. In several studies, the milk yield of calves have been enhanced from 500 to over 3,000 lb in the first lactation through increased liquid feed intake and data are now available indicating the increased milk yield is extended into subsequent lactations. Overall, this data demonstrates that the calf experiences epigenetic modification of their milk producing ability through increased nutrient intake in the first 42 to 49 days of life. The economic consequences of this outcome are discussed.