bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of N2 carbonization temperature on porous activated carbon derived from jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus L.) peel as electrode material for supercapacitor
Authors: Taer Erman , Riccahd G Arnold , Apriwandi  , Taslim Rika
Published: February 2022

This study presents the different effects of nitrogen carbonization temperature of porous carbon as electrode material based for supercapacitor applications. The precursor origin material as a carbon source is focused on the bio-waste of jicama peel. The precursor is directly chemically activated ZnCl2 followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. This work has been performed with three different carbonization temperatures of 550 °C, 600 °C, and 650 °C. Experimental results show that carbonization at different temperatures causes the formation of different material properties to support the performance of the supercapacitor. The dimensions of the carbon coins display different density values with data trends being degraded after the high-temperature pyrolysis process. In addition, microcrystalline properties were also evaluated by means of the X-ray diffraction technique. The supercapacitor cells were evaluated in two-electrode configurations with an organic membrane as a separator. Electrochemical properties such as specific capacitance, energy density, and power density were thoroughly evaluated through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques. The highest specific capacitance was confirmed at 179 F g−1 in a constant current density of 1.0 A g−1. Furthermore, the maximum energy density was found as high as 12.60 Wh kg−1 at the optimum power density of 105.86 Wh kg−1. These results confirm that the carbonization temperature needs to be considered to obtain high-porous activated carbon derived from bio-waste jicama peel for supercapacitor electrode materials.
High potential of yellow potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) peel waste as porous carbon source for supercapacitor electrodes
Authors: Pertiwi Dinda , Yanti Novi , Taslim Rika
Published: February 2022

Yellow potato peel contains chemical components such as protein, fiber, starch and sugar which is composed atom carbon chains bonding. Heating potato peel at high temperatures can disrupt the bonding of the carbon atoms of the constituents, vaporizing volatile compounds, thereby producing high carbon fixed. This study preparation yellow potato peel-based carbon electrodes through a single-stage integrated pyrolysis with carbonization from room temperature to 600 °C in N2 gas atmosphere followed by physical activation to a temperature of 850°C in CO2 gas environment. The impregnation of ZnCl2 at different concentrations was optimized as an independent variable precursor to produce porous activated carbon for energy storage devices. The difference in concentration of 0.1M, 0.3M and 0.5M ZnCl2 can increase the porosity, structure of amorphous carbon and the resulting high electrochemical performance. Electrochemical properties were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge discharge methods in an aqueous electrolyte of 1M H2SO4 at a voltage of 0-1000 mV and a scanning rate of 1 mV s−1. Furthermore, the resulting specific capacitance increased from 82.82 F g−1, 195.66 F g−1 and 147.03 F g−1 based on the effect of the concentration of the chemical activator ZnCl2. While the specific capacitance obtained using the GCD method shows higher numbers, namely 145.13 F g−1, 223.25 F g−1 and 174.08 F g−1. Energy density 27.18 Wh kg−1 and power density 97.93 W kg−1 from cv method. The simple approach of activated carbon from potato peel waste is expected to produce an economical and simple porous carbon electrode for high performance energy storage application.
Development of an ADVICE training model for radiotherapy medical physicists in North Sumatera-Indonesia
Authors: Nasution Ikhsan Bagatondi , Napitupulu Efendi , Sitompul Harun
Published: February 2022

Radiotherapy is a fundamental part of effective cancer treatment. Medical physicists are one of the personnel who play a major role in radiation planning for cancer patients, but in North Sumatra, there are still 71.4% who do not have competency certificates due to limitations in accessing appropriate training. The type of study is a research and development study. Data obtained directly from respondents to validate research products and their feasibility. The resulting training model is the ADVICE training model which consists of six syntaxes, namely: analyze, design, verify, implement, control and evaluate. The development of the ADVICE training model was developed from the ADDIE learning model. The products produced are in the form of model books, textbooks, training manuals for instructors and training manuals for training participants and videos of the results of making 3D FIF radiation planning techniques for nasopharyngeal cancer. The validity of the model development is measured with several tools. The validation sheet tool is used to assess the quality of the content, construction and syntax of the ADVICE training model and its feasibility is measured based on the results of the review by design experts, material experts and media. The results of due diligence on the product from the results of research on the development of the ADVICE training model are declared feasible by the user. The educational impact that occurs when using the ADVICE model is the formation of a simple, creative and flexible training concept. Participants create training products.
Structure evolution due to heat treatment of aluminum nanoparticle with different sizes: a molecular dynamics study
Authors: Fahdiran Riser , Sugihartono Iwan , Delina Mutia , Prayitno Teguh Budi , Sunaryo  , Nasbey Hadi
Published: February 2022

In this study, we performed Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulation to investigate the significance of diameter during heat treatment of Aluminum nanoparticle. Structure information along with thermodynamics evolution is analyzed to explain the significance. Different sizes of nanoparticle diameter, i.e., 5 nm, 10 nm, and 15 nm, were investigated with same heating rate. The results show that smallest diameter is suffered for total melting, while for larger nanoparticle small fractions remains. Thermodynamics information indicated the relation that smaller diameter will experience faster pressure oscillations period. While for larger system, the period is longer, but the pressure value become stronger. Structure analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles are melted at the end of the simulation.
Comparative study of mineral element content in fishes from the south and north seas of java island using neutron activation analysis
Authors: As’ari A H , Mulyaningsih T R , Yusuf S
Published: February 2022

Fish is an environmental bioindicator and a contributor to the daily intake of mineral elements. The content of mineral elements in fish is influenced by what it eats and its environment. Moreover, based on location, around the north coast of Java there are denser residential and industrial areas compared to around the south coast of Java. In this study, we analyzed the mineral content of fish of the same species originating from the southern and northern seas of Java using neutron activation analysis. Fish samples of the same 11 species were each collected from fish auctions in Pemalang and Garut districts. The samples were washed, and then the meat was taken and dried by the freeze-drying method. The samples were irradiated in the G.A. Siwabessy multi-purpose reactor through the rabbit system then counted using gamma spectrometry. The results obtained as many as 17 mineral elements in fish: Na, K, Mg, Cl, Ca, Br, Fe, Zn, Sr, Al, Cr, Se, Rb, Mn, Co, Hg, and Cs. Statistical test results show that there are various differences (positive covariance on 14 elements, negative covariance on 3 elements) for each element between fish from the South Java Sea and North Sea, which indicates that marine environmental conditions have contributed significantly to changes in mineral content on fish.
Forecasting of salt demand using ARIMA model to prevent the bullwhip effect in salt supply chain
Authors: Novianti Trisita , Utami Issa Dyah , Prima Dania Wike Agustin
Published: February 2022

The volume of imported salt contributed roughly up to 50.29 percent in Indonesia. However, until the end of 2020, salt from domestic farmers reached 2.89 million tons. Based on these conditions, it is necessary to plan how to expand the distribution of local salt. Not only does distribute the salt to the domestic market, but also exports it, so the stock of salt does not accumulate in the warehouse. The work demonstrated in this article constituted to predict the demand of salt especially exported salt. This research utilized the historical demand data from 2014 to 2019 to predict the market of exported salt in Indonesia. The historical data were used to develop several models of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). This method was used to analysed how the forecast affected to supply chain and to prevent the bullwhip effect on it. The bullwhip effect could be known as the small fluctuations in retail demand level which could cause progressively larger fluctuation in demand at the distributor and supplier levels. The selected model corresponded to the ARIMA (1,0,1) of the tentative models with the smallest RSME value of 9.566. These results will provide to the manager of salt manufacturing to make decisions related to expand the salt market by exporting it rather than only distributing in domestic market.
Performance analysis and microstructure of brake shoe composite material made of pecan, aluminum, and pineapple leaf fiber
Authors: Mulia  , Supriadi  , Gunawan Safri
Published: February 2022

This research develops natural composite such as pecan, aluminum, and pineapple leaf fiber and polyurethane as matrix filler. The objective of this study is to get brake shoe performance in braking wheel and its micro structure. The ability in braking wheel rotation of 200 rpm and pedal load 2 kg, 200 rpm and pedal load 3 kg, 400 rpm and pedal load 2 kg, and 400 rpm and pedal load 3 kg for Honda Genuine Part (HGP) are 15.59m, 15.13m, 28.44m, and 27.85, respectively, and for composite brake shoe are 15.61m, 15.35m, 28.47m, and 27.99m, respectively. Microstructure tests with variation 200 rpm and pedal load 3 kg resulting carbon, oxygen, chlore, calcium, zirconium, aluminum with composition 68.06%, 24.56%, 0.82%, 0.51%, 0.16%, 0.33%, respectively on its surface. The conclusion shows that the motorbike brake shoe composite material is recommended as new material for brake shoe based on the experiment data.
Developing a measurement tool for assessing situation awareness of operator in the MCR of SMR
Authors: Suryono T J , Santoso S , Maerani R
Published: February 2022

Automated action is one of the main features in the modern main control room (MCR) of nuclear power plants including small and modular reactors (SMR). The automated systems can increase the safe operation of the plants and can make it easier for operators to monitor and control the plant. However, it can reduce the awareness of operators about the current status of the plant. This paper discusses a tool to measure the situation awareness of operators of MCR of Nuscale, one of SMR type reactor. The tool is developed based on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) that measures operator workload that affects the situation awareness based on the 6 subscales: mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, frustration, effort, and performance. The types of workloads of the operator are investigated and some questioners related to the 6 subscales are made. The result shows that the tool is suitable for assessing the situation awareness of the operator of MCR of Nuscale.
The effect of ZnO – TiO2 synthesis analysis using sol-gel method on calcination temperature of thin film as an alternative energy materials
Authors: Rais Abdul , Sembiring Timbangen , Humaidi Syahrul , Hakim Abdul
Published: February 2022

The manufacture of solar cells from ZnO – TiO2 is synthesized at 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. This research was carried out by synthesizing ZnO, TiO2, and ZnO + TiO2 with the sol-gel method and was ground using a stirrer at 80°C, 200 rpm for 30 minutes. In this study, the thin-film glass used was Select Micro Slides, which measures 76 x 26 mm of 1.0/1.2 mm thick. The synthetic mixture used is 98% ethanol. Before testing, materials synthesis resulted from 2x2 mm coated thin glass was furnished for 1 hour with the calcination temperature of 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C. The results or the characterization performed on ZnO with a temperature of 400°C, has a peak point: 50 - 20. The graph described that there are two pairs of the same peak point, namely: 27 and 20. TiO2 with a temperature of 500oC has a peak point of 300 - 20, and 20. And ZnO + TiO2 with a temperature of 600°C has a peak point of 340 - 4. The temperature of crystal size varied; ZnO at a temperature of 400°C has a crystal size of 792.0585 AO or 79.205 nm, TiO2 at a temperature of 500oC has a crystal size 492.10489 AO or 49.21 nm, and ZnO + TiO2 at a temperature of 600°C has a crystallite size of 453 440 Ao or 45.34 nm. The result of the synthesis was different from the XRD characterization, wavelength, and crystal size. ZnO and TiO2 can influence various characteristics such as; increasing peak point, wavelength, crystal size, and other effects that can provide heat or electrical energy.
Biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles using methanol extract of sugar-apple leaves (Anonnaceae squamosa), and its antioxidant activity
Authors: Maulana I , Fasya D , Ginting B , Efendi R
Published: February 2022

Study on the biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles has been carried out employing the green synthesis method using methanol extract of Sugar-Apple leaf (Anonnaceae squamosa) as a reducing agent and stabilizer. The results of the reduction reaction of Cu2+ ions were confirmed using a UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The results of the characterization analysis showed that the nanoparticles formed were Cu, CuO2, Cu2O, and CuO, with crystal size of 38.17 nm, 27.82 nm, 15.59 nm, and 37.08 nm respectively. The obtained copper nanoparticles were tested for their antioxidant activity using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrihydrazil (DPPH) method. The antioxidant test results from the formed copper nanoparticles showed an IC50 value of 263.35 ppm, while vitamin C was 5.81 ppm. The previous study on the antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of Sugar-Apple leaf showed an IC50 value of 5.6 ppm. Therefore, it can be concluded that the antioxidant activity of the formed nanoparticles has a weak inhibitory power against 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrilhydrazil (DPPH) radicals.
Effect of volcanic ash as partial replacement of ground-granulated blast-furnace slag based alkaline activated mortar
Authors: Karolina Rahmi , Tarigan Johannes , Megat Johari Megat Azmi , Hardjasaputra Harianto , Mijarsh M.J.A.
Published: February 2022

Volcanic ash obtained from Mount Sinabung is an aluminosilicate material that is generally available deposited in the land of Sinabung. The study focuses to investigate the effect of volcanic ash as partial replacement of ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) based alkaline activated mortar (AAM) in varying six ratios from 10 wt.% to 60 wt.% in terms of the compressive strength (CS) and structural characteristics. The six-mixture design of AAM was conducted with addition of alkaline activator solution (AAS) to solid material. The AAS were prepared from a combination of 10 M NaOH and Na2SiO3, whereas, solid materials consisted of GGBFS, VA and fine aggregates. The results of the experiments were analysed by CS at the age of 7, 28, and 56 days and supported by SEM characterization for the optimum mixture. The results have revealed that the least significant factor in terms of compressive strength value is the addition of volcanic ash content whereby the highest value of 93.50 MPa produced by Va 10% and the lowest of 35.80 MPa from Va 60% for all of ages day. In addition, the regression linear values show the overall compressive strength decreased slowly over the ages. Contrastingly, the addition of volcanic ash higher than 40% exhibited an increment of compressive strength. Based on SEM observation dense and continuous microstructure was observed which reflects a high degree of polymerization reactions. At the same time, no cracks were observed in the surface microstructure that shows proper aggregate-binder bonding that influences the compressive strength results finding.
RETRACTED: Biomass pyrolysis briquette molding machine design and analysis
Authors: Putra Agus Noviar , Sabri M. , Nur Taufiq Bin
Published: February 2022

The increasing population and industry in the world have increased the energy demand. Fossil fuel still dominates the current energy consumption in Indonesia, although renewable energy sources are widely available in the country. One of the sources that can be used as a renewable energy source is a solid waste as biomass from palm oil processing. The biomass can be converted to solid fuel by using the pyrolysis technique prior molded into a briquette. This study aims to analyze the biomass briquette molding machine in the simulation environment. The solid work simulation is used to analyze the machine regarding the material strength, static test, displacement, strain, and safety factor. The strength test of von mises stresses achieves a maximum value of 3.713 x 105 psi with node 43.485. It is known that the frame is still safe to use because the Yield Strange value is below the Von miss Stress value. Meanwhile, with a maximum displacement of 0.748 cm at node 62816, a maximum strain of 0.00104 at element 43485, and a safety factor of 3.278 x 108, it shows this briquette’s design molding machine is safe to use.
STEM course on circuit design accomplished to enhance scientific and technological capabilities of students
Authors: Vexler V , Aibashev M , Saipbekova A , Fominykh I , Bazhenov R
Published: February 2022

The aim of the research is to develop an interdisciplinary course of extracurricular activities integrating knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students to develop their scientific and technological skills. 52 students from secondary schools of Engels, Yoshkar-Ola (Russia), Sholom-Aleichem Priamursky State University (Birobidzhan, Russia), Osh State University College (Osh, Kyrgyz Republic) took part in the educational experiment. The theme-based course Basic Concepts of Arduino Systems Engineering is developed based on the proprietary technology of simple projects of practical relevance. The projects render the general concept from knowledge to competence. The course consists of four modules: Start, Big Workshop/Hands-on Training, Go Ahead/Step forward, Group Design. Arduino applied in design modeling allows students to create electrical devices that would be productive in one or another area of life at a low cost. The course program is aimed at engaging students in innovative design technologies, computer programming and using robotic devices. The findings of the study were observed as part of an interview with students, educational achievement, subsequent STEM literacy test activities and the performance of game summarizing projects. The recommended method has shown the efficiency in mastering the required core set of skills of circuit design and computer programming.
The efficiency of multimedia technologies utilized in studying Mathematics course in the fields of Engineering
Authors: Eyrikh N , Zholdosheva A , Shakeeva C , Gorbunova T , Bazhenov R
Published: February 2022

The learning model represented in the paper implies the use of specifically designed workbooks and dynamic presentations, original (self-developed) interactive computer games and training systems, LearningApps.org web service, mobile applications in Glide, Kahoot! in-game learning platform, Desmos graphing calculator and the Maple computer algebra system in learning. The applied educational tools give students an opportunity not only to get to know basic mathematical concepts, work out and test their computation skills individually but also to model processes that change over time, changing the process variables interactively. The article provides several examples of such assignments for students. In this model of arranging to learn, an educator is becoming free from a lot of routine work (manual check of tasks and tests). The educational experiment took place in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. 167 Engineering students from Sholom-Aleichem Priamursky State University, Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, and Osh State University participated in it. The conducted experiment proved the effectiveness of the learning model suggested: competent academic performance of students has increased by 15%. Therefore, supported multimedia technologies, involving most of the sensory experience of a student in understanding learning materials, make learning more productive.
The effect of corncob as activated carbon on exhaust emission and engine performance
Authors: Gunawan Safri , Hasan Hanapi , Januariyansah Sapitri , Pakpahan Binsar Maruli Tua
Published: February 2022

This research focuses on corncob waste as activated carbon. The matrix of tapioca (starch) is used as adhesive. The objective of this research is to compare the results of engine exhaust emission, power, and torque of vehicle with and without AC made of corncobs. The utilization of AC classified into two types of composition namely corncob and starch with 80:20 and 70:30. It arranged on the intake air filter bound and neatly to absorb nitrogen from the air so that pure oxygen burned in the combustion chamber. The results show that the AC reduces the percentage of CO, HC, CO2, O2, and AFR at various engine rotation. It also influences power and torque of vehicle performance. The result shows that AC slightly effect the performance. It decreases the torque at 70:30 composition. The main conclusion can be drawn that AC from corncobs greatly affects exhaust emissions in vehicles.
Sensitivity analysis of SEIR epidemic model of Covid 19 spread in Indonesia
Authors: Rangkuti Y.M. , Firmansyah  , Landong A.
Published: February 2022

Epidemiological models may provide public health practitioners with some fundamental guidelines, allowing for the examination of issues that may influence disease prevention and treatment techniques. On establish the relative impact of the model parameters to disease transmission, a sensitivity analysis of the epidemiological model is undertaken. A sensitivity analysis of the Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, and Recovered (SEIR) model of corona virus 2019 (COVID 19) was undertaken to determine the parameters’ influence on the basic reproduction number and endemic equilibrium. The rate of contact between susceptible individual and exposed individuals and rate of exposed to infected individuals are the most impactful parameters on the basic reproduction number and the number of infectious individuals, according to our findings. Furthermore, the number of people who have been exposed is affected by the rate at which they proceed from exposed to infect. The findings show that if infectious people recover faster, the number of contagious people will decrease.
Analysis of DSSC (dye sensitized solar cell) and characterization of ZnO-TiO2 semiconductor using method sol-gel as a material solar cell
Authors: Rais Abdul , Warti Yuni
Published: February 2022

Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) has been made from ZnO-TiO2, activated carbon, electrolyte, ITO coatingHCl and Na2SO4. The process of making ZnO-TiO2 used the method sol gel. The results of the ZnO-TiOlayer2 with various dehydrolysis temperatures: 3000C, 5500C, 8000C, 10000C and 12500C, were characterized using X-Ray to determine the crystal size and peak wavelength. The results of X-Ray analysis on the ZnO-TiO layer have grain sizes ranging from (457.425; 45.74), (427.717; 42.77) and (374.419; 37.44) nm. The X-Ray The highest and lowest peaks were found at 800oC. The size of the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) type EVO MA 10 was to determine the surface morphology. The results of SEM analysis on the ZnO-TiOlayer2 have grain sizes ranging from (35.325±4.701); (47.451 ± 13.242) and (51.541 ± 13.564) μm for each dihidrolisis temperature of 300 ° C, 550 ° C, 800 ° C, 1000oC and 1250oC. To determine the absorbance of the dye to a layer of ZnO-TiO2 used UV - VisSpectrophotometer RayLEIGH – UV-1601 and I-V brandmeter Keithley for DSSC current and voltage measurement. The UV-Vis Spectrophotometer results showed that the ZnO-TiOlayer2 successfully absorbed the solution dye in the visible light absorption area. The temperature change of the hydrolysis suggests that heating the ZnO-TiOlayer2 influences solar cell performance. The maximal efficiency at 800C is (7..1±0.025)x10-3 % using IV-a meter Keithley and (8.5±0.35)x10-3 % using a circuit. The result can provide a current of 1.9-4.5 mA and a maximum voltage of 3.7 - 8.5 eV.
Developing android-based application for relieving fatigue
Authors: Gultom Syamsul , Endriani Dewi , Harahap Agustin Sastrawan
Published: February 2022

Fatigue is the problem for all workers in the world. Fatigue can influence the work performance of the workers. A relaxation model to decrease the fatigue level had been developed before by the researcher, it is named TOM’S MODEL. By, the increasing of the technology, so this study tried to improve TOM’S MODEL into android-based application. The participants of the study were the workers in one university in Indonesia. There were fourty workers recruited for this study. The participants were involved in a series of treatment. Altogether there are five treatments included pre-test and post-test. The physical fatigue and mental fatigue measured by using Whole Body Reation Tester (WBRT) and Bourdon Wiersman. The results show that there is significant reducing of fatigue both physical and mental, after the participants applied the relaxation from the android application. The interview results show that the android-based application is easier to use since it is integrated in their cellular phone. They can use it at any time and place during their work without any problems. The movement in relaxation is also simple to follow. This application can be applied for all workers in any field.
Android-based household electronic maintenance reminder system
Authors: Sinaga Nelson , Baharuddin  , Waluyo Bakti Dwi
Published: February 2022

Along with the development of electronic devices used in households such as fans, rice cookers, and others do not always function appropriately. There are times when the device is damaged, and the user will try to fix it. One way to fix this is to find an electronic equipment repair place. Therefore, the electronic user will lose time and energy to find a service place. So we need an online ordering service that specifically handles the maintenance and repair of household electronic equipment. With this system, it is also beneficial for business actors of electronic equipment repair and maintenance services. They will effortlessly get information about customers who need repair or maintenance services for electronic equipment. Thus this system is expected to facilitate service users and increase the income of service users.
First measurement of neutrons produced by deuterium fusion reactions in SPIDER
Authors: McCormack O. , Giacomelli L. , Croci G. , Muraro A. , Mario I. , Zuin M. , Cordaro L. , Gorini G. , Cippo E.P. , Grosso G. , Rigamonti D. , Rebai M. , Pasqualotto R. , Tardocchi M.
Published: February 2022

The inaugural deuterium acceleration campaign in the SPIDER negative ion source facility in Padua has recently taken place. The first neutrons generated by deuterium-deuterium beam-target fusion reactions (2.45 MeV) have been recorded, occurring from the collision of accelerated deuterium with deuterium absorbed by the calorimeter of SPIDER. A neutron detector based on a novel EJ276 plastic scintillator has been employed to successfully measure the neutron flux, which shows strong agreement with the extracted current of the acceleration grid. We have performed neutron-gamma pulse shape discrimination with the EJ276 device at SPIDER combined with direct spectroscopic comparisons of the D-D neutrons with data from the Frascati neutron generator (241AmB quasi-monoenergetic 2.5 MeV). Despite the low statistics produced in this first campaign, both pulse shape discrimination and spectral analysis of the fusion neutrons was viable. The success of these first measurements has led to the installation of an array of 6 new scintillators to be used for further physical studies in future campaigns.
Glass-like transition described by toppling of stability hierarchy*
Authors: Grela Jacek , Khoruzhenko Boris A
Published: February 2022

Building on the work of Fyodorov (2004) and Fyodorov and Nadal (2012) we examine the critical behaviour of population of saddles with fixed instability index k in high dimensional random energy landscapes. Such landscapes consist of a parabolic confining potential and a random part in N ≫ 1 dimensions. When the relative strength m of the parabolic part is decreasing below a critical value m
c, the random energy landscapes exhibit a glass-like transition from a simple phase with very few critical points to a complex phase with the energy surface having exponentially many critical points. We obtain the annealed probability distribution of the instability index k by working out the mean size of the population of saddles with index k relative to the mean size of the entire population of critical points and observe toppling of stability hierarchy which accompanies the underlying glass-like transition. In the transition region m = m
c + δN
−1/2 the typical instability index scales as k = κN
1/4 and the toppling mechanism affects whole instability index distribution, in particular the most probable value of κ changes from κ = 0 in the simple phase (δ > 0) to a non-zero value κ
max ∝ (−δ)3/2 in the complex phase (δ < 0). We also show that a similar phenomenon is observed in random landscapes with an additional fixed energy constraint and in the p-spin spherical model.
Comparasion of different of Difference Extraction Methods, Types of Materials and Plant Parts of Indonesian Local Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) on Phytochemical Quality
Authors: Priadi G , Anggraheni Y G D , Mulyaningsih E S , Hartati N S , Hapsari Y , Bustanussalam  , Simanjuntak P
Published: February 2022

Lemongrass is a wealth of Indonesian spices that have many functional benefits. The purpose of the study was to extract lemongrass essential oil and determine the difference of the type of material, extraction method, and plant parts on the phytochemical characteristics of the extract produced. Lemongrass is extracted in fresh and dried form. The selected extraction method is sonication and maceration with parts of stalks and leaves as the material. The plant material was extracted using 96% ethanol solvent. The phytochemical characteristics analyzed were antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols, and flavonoids. The results showed the highest antioxidant capacity and total phenol obtained from the fresh leaves extracted by maceration. Plant part and type of material significantly affect antioxidant capacity, total polyphenols, and total flavonoids in lemongrass. The antioxidant capacity of lemongrass is positively correlated with total polyphenols
Sagacious epitope selection for vaccines, and both antibody-based therapeutics and diagnostics: tips from virology and oncology
Authors: Gan Samuel Ken-En , Phua Ser-Xian , Yeo Joshua Yi
Published: February 2022

The target of an antibody plays a significant role in the success of antibody-based therapeutics and diagnostics, and vaccine development. This importance is focused on the target binding site—epitope, where epitope selection as a part of design thinking beyond traditional antigen selection using whole cell or whole protein immunization can positively impact success. With purified recombinant protein production and peptide synthesis to display limited/selected epitopes, intrinsic factors that can affect the functioning of resulting antibodies can be more easily selected for. Many of these factors stem from the location of the epitope that can impact accessibility of the antibody to the epitope at a cellular or molecular level, direct inhibition of target antigen activity, conservation of function despite escape mutations, and even noncompetitive inhibition sites. By incorporating novel computational methods for predicting antigen changes to model-informed drug discovery and development, superior vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics or diagnostics can be easily designed to mitigate failures. With detailed examples, this review highlights the new opportunities, factors, and methods of predicting antigenic changes for consideration in sagacious epitope selection.
Close observation of a common fern challenges long-held notions of how plants move. A commentary on ‘Fern fronds that move like pine cones: humidity-driven motion of fertile leaflets governs the timing of spore dispersal in a widespread fern species’
Authors: Watkins James E , Testo Weston L
Published: February 2022

This article comments on:

Jacob S. Suissa, Fern fronds that move like pine cones: humidity-driven motion of fertile leaflets governs the timing of spore dispersal in a widespread fern species, Annals of Botany, Volume 129, Issue 5, 11 April 2022, Pages 519–527 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcab137
iGRLCDA: identifying circRNA–disease association based on graph representation learning
Authors: Zhang Han-Yuan , Wang Lei , You Zhu-Hong , Hu Lun , Zhao Bo-Wei , Li Zheng-Wei , Li Yang-Ming
Published: February 2022

While the technologies of ribonucleic acid-sequence (RNA-seq) and transcript assembly analysis have continued to improve, a novel topology of RNA transcript was uncovered in the last decade and is called circular RNA (circRNA). Recently, researchers have revealed that they compete with messenger RNA (mRNA) and long noncoding for combining with microRNA in gene regulation. Therefore, circRNA was assumed to be associated with complex disease and discovering the relationship between them would contribute to medical research. However, the work of identifying the association between circRNA and disease in vitro takes a long time and usually without direction. During these years, more and more associations were verified by experiments. Hence, we proposed a computational method named identifying circRNA–disease association based on graph representation learning (iGRLCDA) for the prediction of the potential association of circRNA and disease, which utilized a deep learning model of graph convolution network (GCN) and graph factorization (GF). In detail, iGRLCDA first derived the hidden feature of known associations between circRNA and disease using the Gaussian interaction profile (GIP) kernel combined with disease semantic information to form a numeric descriptor. After that, it further used the deep learning model of GCN and GF to extract hidden features from the descriptor. Finally, the random forest classifier is introduced to identify the potential circRNA–disease association. The five-fold cross-validation of iGRLCDA shows strong competitiveness in comparison with other excellent prediction models at the gold standard data and achieved an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.9289 and an area under the precision-recall curve of 0.9377. On reviewing the prediction results from the relevant literature, 22 of the top 30 predicted circRNA–disease associations were noted in recent published papers. These exceptional results make us believe that iGRLCDA can provide reliable circRNA–disease associations for medical research and reduce the blindness of wet-lab experiments.
TRScore: a 3D RepVGG-based scoring method for ranking protein docking models
Authors: Guo Linyuan , He Jiahua , Lin Peicong , Huang Sheng-You , Wang Jianxin
Published: February 2022

Motivation

Protein–protein interactions (PPI) play important roles in cellular activities. Due to the technical difficulty and high cost of experimental methods, there are considerable interests towards the development of computational approaches, such as protein docking, to decipher PPI patterns. One of the important and difficult aspects in protein docking is recognizing near-native conformations from a set of decoys, but unfortunately, traditional scoring functions still suffer from limited accuracy. Therefore, new scoring methods are pressingly needed in methodological and/or practical implications.

Results

We present a new deep learning-based scoring method for ranking protein–protein docking models based on a 3D RepVGG network, named TRScore. To recognize near-native conformations from a set of decoys, TRScore voxelizes the protein–protein interface into a 3D grid labeled by the number of atoms in different physicochemical classes. Benefiting from the deep convolutional RepVGG architecture, TRScore can effectively capture the subtle differences between energetically favorable near-native models and unfavorable non-native decoys without needing extra information. TRScore was extensively evaluated on diverse test sets including protein–protein docking benchmark 5.0 update set, DockGround decoy set, as well as realistic CAPRI decoy set and overall obtained a significant improvement over existing methods in cross-validation and independent evaluations.

Availability and implementation

Codes available at: https://github.com/BioinformaticsCSU/TRScore
Agency, teleonomy and signal transduction in plant systems
Authors: Gilroy Simon , Trewavas Tony
Published: February 2022

Plants are the basis of nearly all food chains. The evolutionary response to inevitable predatory and other contingent hazards has provided plants with remarkable regenerative and plastic capabilities. Teleonomy has been characterized as purposive, adaptive and goal-directed behaviour. The evidence that plants are agents, that they act purposefully, is indicated by numerous behaviours, most notably plasticity. Through recurrent information exchange, growing roots construct a dynamic niche with bacterial and fungal symbionts. Purposeful shoot plasticity enables adaptive responses to abiotic and biotic hazards, with the goal of survival. Transgenerational inheritance furthers that goal for sibling survival. Teleonomic goals in shoot growth use proprioception to ensure successful tropic responses. Unlike animals that acquire energy biotically, nearly all plants are dependent solely on the physical environment. Convergent evolution is common and may result from the constraints of unchanging physical laws. Phenotypic plasticity initially provides a direction for evolutionary change. Our article indicates that there are features to evolutionary change in plants additional to those indicated by the modern synthesis and thus supports the extended evolutionary hypothesis.
‘Seeding’ the idea of early diagnostics in synucleinopathies
Authors: Gallups Nicole J , Harms Ashley S
Published: February 2022

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein seed quantification in synucleinopathies’ by Poggiolini et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab431).
Using InSAR for evaluating the accuracy of locations and focal mechanism solutions of local earthquake catalogues
Authors: Ghayournajarkar Nematollah , Fukushima Yo
Published: February 2022

Earthquake source parameters play a fundamental role in evaluating seismic hazard. In many countries, the relatively low accuracy of the earthquake source parameters owing to sparse seismic monitoring networks prevents accurate seismic hazard evaluation. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a useful tool for accurate fault parameter determination of shallow inland earthquakes. We compared the fault parameters (location and rupture geometry) derived from InSAR with those derived from local and global seismic data to assess the credibility of the earthquake catalogues. We set our targets to Iran and Japan, where seismic networks are relatively sparse and dense, respectively, and analysed a total of 10 shallow inland earthquakes. To compare the fault parameters for each studied earthquake, we first created interferograms using InSAR data from multiple satellites and conducted fault model inversions assuming uniform slip on a rectangular finite fault. For the studied Iranian earthquakes, the epicentres of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) catalogue were more consistent with the InSAR-derived fault model compared to those of the local catalogue of the Iranian Seismological Center (IRSC). For the studied Japanese earthquakes, the epicentres of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) catalogue were more consistent with the InSAR-derived fault model compared to those of the USGS. Assuming that the accuracy of the USGS locations is comparable for the two countries, the JMA catalogue has a higher accuracy than the IRSC catalogue. The difference in the accuracy for the two local catalogues can be explained by the larger azimuthal gaps of the IRSC seismic network. We also showed that the IRSC- and JMA-derived centroids were more consistent with the InSAR-derived fault model compared to those of the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (GCMT) catalogue. The focal mechanism solutions derived from InSAR and seismic CMT solutions were significantly different, highlighting the difficulties in determining the focal mechanism parameters from seismic data, even when the seismic station coverage is dense. As InSAR data can be easily accessed, this study presents a cost-effective method to assess and improve the accuracy of the local earthquake catalogues anywhere in the world.
Sustaining a Nonviolent Self: Mahatma Gandhi, Madeleine Slade, and Manu Gandhi
Authors: Arora Nikita
Published: February 2022

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) articulated and practised a unique ideology of ahimsa, nonviolence, in his life. Most importantly, ahimsa included refusing the needs and pleasures of the body – sex, food, care, and desire. For Gandhi, embodiment was an intrinsically violent condition, but he ultimately did live in his body. In this paper, I argue that while he perfected a nonviolent selfhood for himself, he relied on the physical and emotional labour of others, particularly the women in his ashrams (and life), to do so. I analyse the writings of two of his women followers, Madeleine Slade (Mirabehn) and Manu Gandhi (his grandniece, with whom he did his infamous experiment of celibacy), to investigate the contours of Gandhi’s selfhood through his interpersonal relationships and quotidian interactions with others. I argue that Gandhi developed a higher-than-human and nonviolent self by denying and repressing his human needs and desires, and by outsourcing some parts of his human self to Madeleine Slade and Manu Gandhi rather violently.
Dietary supplementation with fiber, “biotics,” and spray-dried plasma affects apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility and the fecal characteristics, fecal microbiota, and immune function of adult dogs
Authors: Lee Anne H , Lin Ching-Yen , Do Sungho , Oba Patricia M , Belchik Sara E , Steelman Andrew J , Schauwecker Amy , Swanson Kelly S
Published: February 2022

A variety of functional ingredients, including fibers, prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics may be added to pet foods to support gastrointestinal and immune health. While many of these ingredients have been tested individually, commercial foods often include blends that also require testing. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets containing blends of fibers, “biotics,” and/or spray-dried plasma on apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), stool quality, fecal microbiota and metabolites, and immune health outcomes of adult dogs. A total of 12 healthy adult intact English pointer dogs (6 M, 6 F; age = 6.4 ± 2.0 yr; BW = 25.8 ± 2.6 kg) were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design to test diets formulated to: 1) contain a low concentration of fermentative substances (control diet, CT); 2) be enriched with a fiber–prebiotic–probiotic blend (FPPB); and 3) be enriched with a fiber–prebiotic–probiotic blend + immune-modulating ingredients (iFFPB). In each 28-d period, 22 d of diet adaptation was followed by a 5-d fecal collection phase and 1 d for blood sample collection. All data were analyzed using SAS 9.4, with significance being P < 0.05 and trends being P < 0.10. FPPB and iFPPB diets led to shifts in numerous outcome measures. Dry matter (DM), organic matter, fat, fiber, and energy ATTD were lower (P < 0.01), fecal scores were lower (P < 0.01; firmer stools), and fecal DM% was higher (P < 0.0001) in dogs fed FPPB or iFPPB than those fed CT. Serum triglycerides and cholesterol were lower (P < 0.01) in dogs fed FPPB or iFPPB than those fed CT. Fecal protein catabolites (isobutyrate, isovalerate, indole, and ammonia) and butyrate were lower (P < 0.05), while fecal immunoglobulin A (IgA) was higher (P < 0.01) in dogs fed FPPB and iFPPB than those fed CT. Fecal microbiota populations were affected by diet, with alpha-diversity being lower (P < 0.05) in dogs fed iFPPB and the relative abundance of 20 bacterial genera being altered in dogs fed FPPB or iFPPB compared with CT. The circulating helper T cell:cytotoxic T cell ratio was higher (P < 0.05) in dogs fed iFPPB than those fed CT. Circulating B cells were lower (P < 0.05) in dogs fed FPPB than those fed iFPPB, and lower (P < 0.05) in dogs fed iFPPB than those fed CT. Our results demonstrate that feeding a fiber–prebiotic–probiotic blend may provide many benefits to canine health, including improved stool quality, beneficial shifts to fecal microbiota and metabolite profiles, reduced blood lipids, and increased fecal IgA.