bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acanthosis Nigricans in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes or Obesity: The Potential Interplay Role between Insulin Resistance and Excess Weight
Authors: Calcaterra Valeria , De Silvestri Annalisa , Schneider Laura , Acunzo Miriam , Vittoni Viola , Meraviglia Giulia , Bergamaschi Francesco , Zuccotti Gianvincenzo , Mameli Chiara
Published: August 2021

Acanthosis nigricans (AN) is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes, where insulin resistance (IR) is considered a predisposing factor. IR can also affect patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). We evaluated the prevalence of AN in patients with T1D compared to subjects with obesity in order to define the interplay between IR and excess weight. We considered 138 pediatric patients who presented with T1D and 162 with obesity. As controls, 100 healthy normal-weight subjects were included. A physical examination with the detection of AN and biochemical assessments was performed. IR was calculated by using the homeostasis model assessment for IR in patients with obesity and the estimated glucose disposal rate in T1D. The AN prevalence was higher in T1D and obese subjects compared with controls in whom AN was not detected (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively). A greater number of AN cases were observed in subjects with obesity compared with T1D (p < 0.001). Patients with AN were older than subjects without AN (p = 0.005), and they had higher body mass index (BMI) values, waist circumference (WC), fasting triglycerides and blood pressure (all p < 0.001). Thirty-five patients with AN exhibited IR with an association between AN presence and IR in patients with obesity (p < 0.001). In T1D, there was an association between AN and being overweight/obese (p = 0.02), independently of IR. AN is a dermatological condition associated with obesity. In T1D, the presence of AN was significantly associated with overweight status or obesity but not IR. The presence of AN in the absence of IR supports the interplay role between impaired insulin signaling, IR and excess weight in the pathogenic mechanism.
Peridural Anesthesia and Cancer-Related Survival after Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer—A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Alexander Andrea , Lehwald-Tywuschik Nadja , Rehders Alexander , Rabenalt Stefanie , Verde Pablo E. , Eisenberger Claus F. , Picker Nina , Knoefel Wolfram Trudo , Kienbaum Peter
Published: August 2021

Background: In patients with prostatic and breast cancer the application of peridural anesthesia (PDA) showed a beneficial effect on prognosis. This was explained by reduced requirements for general anesthetics and perioperative opioids as well as a lower perioperative stress level. The impact of PDA in patients with more aggressive types of cancer has not been completely elucidated. Here, we analyzed the prognostic influence of PDA on overall survival after surgery as primary in patients that underwent radical resection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Methods: Records of 98 consecutive patients were reviewed. In 70 of these cases PDA was applied. Patient characteristics such as demographics, TNM stage, and operative data were retrospectively collected from medical records and analyzed. Survival data were analyzed by Cox’s proportional hazard regression model. Results: Overall, no significant prognostic influence of PDA on recurrence or overall survival (p = 0.762, Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.884, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.398–1.961) was found. However, there was a trend towards a longer overall survival (p = 0.069, HR 0.394, 95% CI 0.144–1.078) associated with PDA in a subgroup of patients with better differentiation of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: The observation of longer survival associated with PDA in our subgroup of patients with better-differentiated pancreatic carcinomas is in line with previous reports on various other less aggressive tumor entities. Our results indicate that PDA might improve the oncological outcome of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Application of Propolis Extract in Gelatin Coatings as Environmentally Friendly Method for Extending the Shelf Life of Pork Loin
Authors: Marcinkowska-Lesiak Monika , Wojtasik-Kalinowska Iwona , Onopiuk Anna , Zalewska Magdalena , Poltorak Andrzej
Published: August 2021

This study evaluates the effects of gelatin coating enriched with ethanolic propolis extract (PE) at 1%, 2% or 3% (w/v) on the quality parameters of pork meat during storage at 2 °C. Physical (pH, weight loss, color) and chemical parameters (percentage contents of metmyoglobin (MetMb), along with thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)) were measured, and microbiological (total aerobic plate count (TAPC)) analysis, as well as consumer evaluation, was carried out every four days during the storage period of twelve days. The results indicated that the proposed treatments affected (p < 0.05) the quality characteristics of meat samples. The high prevention of physicochemical alterations and maximum inhibition of microorganisms was obtained for samples stored in gelatin coatings containing 2% and 3% PE. Additionally, despite a slight deterioration in odor on Day 4 in the P3 group, no negative changes in overall acceptability of the P2 and P3 groups compared to uncoated samples were observed. The obtained results indicate a significant role of propolis extract incorporation into gelatin packaging to extend the shelf life of stored pork.
Enhanced Antibacterial Efficiency of Cellulosic Fibers: Microencapsulation and Green Grafting Strategies
Authors: Dridi Dorra , Bouaziz Aicha , Gargoubi Sondes , Zouari Abir , B’chir Fatma , Bartegi Aghleb , Majdoub Hatem , Boudokhane Chedly
Published: August 2021

We report an analysis of chemical components of essential oils from barks of Ceylon cinnamon and cloves of Syzygium aromaticum and an investigation of their antibacterial activity. The components of oils were determined by using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, and the antimicrobial activity was assessed by the disk diffusion test. The synergic effect of essential oils mixture (cinnamon oil and clove oil) was evaluated. Antimicrobial properties were conferred to cellulosic fibers through microencapsulation using citric acid as a green binding agent. Essential oil mixture was encapsulated by coacervation using chitosan as a wall material and sodium hydroxide as a hardening agent. The diameter of the produced microcapsules varies between 12 and 48 μm. Attachment of the produced microcapsules onto cotton fabrics surface was confirmed by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transformed Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis. The results show that microcapsules were successfully attached on cotton fabric surfaces, imparting antibacterial activity without significantly affecting their properties. The finished cotton fabrics exhibited good mechanical properties and wettability.
Using the Context-Sensitive Policy Mechanism for Building Data Acquisition Systems in Large Scale Distributed Cyber-Physical Systems Built on Fog Computing Platforms
Authors: Vodyaho Alexander , Zhukova Nataly , Kulikov Igor , Abbas Saddam
Published: August 2021

The article deals with the use of context-sensitive policies in the building of data acquisition systems in large scale distributed cyber-physical systems built on fog computing platforms. It is pointed out that the distinctive features of modern cyber-physical systems are their high complexity and constantly changing structure and behavior, which complicates the data acquisition procedure. To solve this problem, it is proposed to use an approach according to which the data acquisition procedure is divided into two phases: model construction and data acquisition, which allows parallel realization of these procedures. A distinctive feature of the developed approach is that the models are built in runtime automatically. As a top-level model, a multi-level relative finite state operational automaton is used. The automaton state is described using a multi-level structural-behavioral model, which is a superposition of four graphs: the workflow graph, the data flow graph, the request flow graph and the resource graph. To implement the data acquisition procedure using the model, the context-sensitive policy mechanism is used. The article discusses possible approaches to implementation of suggested mechanisms and describes an example of application.
Beam Shaping for Wireless Optical Charging with Improved Efficiency
Authors: Tian Lei , Nie Jiewen , Yang Haining
Published: August 2021

Optical wireless charging is a nonradiative long-distance power transfer method. It may potentially play an important role in certain scenarios where access is challenging, and the radio frequency power transfer is less efficient. The divergence of the optical beam over distances is a key limiting factor for the efficiency of any wireless optical charging system. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a holographic optical beam shaping system that can restrict the divergence of the optical beam. Our experimental results showed up to 354.88% improvement in the charging efficiency over a 10 m distance.
Amino Acid Substitutions in the Non-Ordered Ω-Loop 70–85 Affect Electron Transfer Function and Secondary Structure of Mitochondrial Cytochrome c
Authors: Chertkova Rita V. , Bryantseva Tatyana V. , Brazhe Nadezhda A. , Kudryashova Kseniya S. , Revin Victor V. , Nekrasov Alexei N. , Yusipovich Alexander I. , Brazhe Alexey R. , Rubin Andrew B. , Dolgikh Dmitry A. , Kirpichnikov Mikhail P. , Maksimov Georgy V.
Published: August 2021

The secondary structure of horse cytochrome c with mutations in the P76GTKMIFA83 site of the Ω-loop, exhibiting reduced efficiency of electron transfer, were studied. CD spectroscopy studies showed that the ordering of mutant structure increases by 3–6% compared to that of the WT molecules due to the higher content of β-structural elements. The IR spectroscopy data are consistent with the CD results and demonstrate that some α-helical elements change into β-structures, and the amount of the non-structured elements is decreased. The analysis of the 1H-NMR spectra demonstrated that cytochrome c mutants have a well-determined secondary structure with some specific features related to changes in the heme microenvironment. The observed changes in the structure of cytochrome c mutants are likely to be responsible for the decrease in the conformational mobility of the P76GTKMIFA83 sequence carrying mutations and for the decline in succinate:cytochrome c-reductase and cytochrome c-oxidase activities in the mitoplast system in the presence of these cytochromes c. We suggest that the decreased efficiency of the electron transfer of the studied cytochromes c may arise due to: (1) the change in the protein conformation in sites responsible for the interaction of cytochrome c with complexes III and IV and (2) the change in the heme conformation that deteriorates its optimal orientation towards donor and acceptor in complexes III and IV therefore slows down electron transfer. The results obtained are consistent with the previously proposed model of mitochondrial cytochrome c functioning associated with the deterministic mobility of protein globule parts.
Mammal Species Richness at a Catena and Nearby Waterholes during a Drought, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Authors: Janecke Beanélri B.
Published: August 2021

Catenas are undulating hillslopes on a granite geology characterised by different soil types that create an environmental gradient from crest to bottom. The main aim was to determine mammal species (>mongoose) present on one catenal slope and its waterholes and group them by feeding guild and body size. Species richness was highest at waterholes (21 species), followed by midslope (19) and sodic patch (16) on the catena. Small differences observed in species presence between zones and waterholes and between survey periods were not significant (p = 0.5267 and p = 0.9139). In total, 33 species were observed with camera traps: 18 herbivore species, 10 carnivores, two insectivores and three omnivores. Eight small mammal species, two dwarf antelopes, 11 medium, six large and six mega-sized mammals were observed. Some species might not have been recorded because of drought, seasonal movement or because they travelled outside the view of cameras. Mammal presence is determined by food availability and accessibility, space, competition, distance to water, habitat preferences, predators, body size, social behaviour, bound to territories, etc. The variety in body size and feeding guilds possibly indicates a functioning catenal ecosystem. This knowledge can be beneficial in monitoring and conservation of species in the park.
Decline of the Commercially Attractive White Morph in Goliath Beetle Polymorphic Populations
Authors: Dendi Daniele , Ajong Stephanie N. , Amori Giovanni , Luiselli Luca
Published: August 2021

The Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliatus) is one of the largest and most commercially valuable (for collection exports) beetle species worldwide, and occurs in West and Central Africa, with polymorphic populations being found in Benin, Eastern Nigeria, and Western Cameroun. The white morph is the most commercially valuable, and therefore is actively searched for by hunters and dealers. In a long-term, opportunistically conducted study in south-eastern Nigeria, we documented a substantial decline of the white morph compared to the normally coloured brown morph, although an overall decline in the number of observed beetles was evident for both colour morphs. Although a combination of reasons may have caused the white form decline, it is likely that overcollecting was the primary threat behind the observed pattern. Therefore, we urge the competent authorities to better protect the polymorphic populations of these giant beetles and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to make a quick assessment for eventual inclusion of the species among the threatened taxa Red List.
Correlation between Pre- and Post-Surgical Findings for Long-Term Neurocognitive and Behaviour Development Due to Posterior Fossa Pilocytic Astrocytomas: The Trend after 10 Years
Authors: Chieffo Daniela Pia Rosaria , Arcangeli Valentina , Moriconi Federica , Zanetti Camilla , Frassanito Paolo , Bianchi Federico , Massimi Luca , Tamburrini Gianpiero
Published: August 2021

Objective: The objective of the present study was to selectively evaluate the long-term impact of posterior fossa pilocytic astrocytomas, which are known to be among the most benign forms of paediatric brain tumours on neurocognitive and behavioural functions. Methods: Children that were operated on for a posterior fossa pilocytic astrocytoma in the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department of the Catholic University Medical School were selected according to the following criteria: (a) age > 5 years (in order to have a complete set of neurocognitive evaluations data), (b) ability to perform a complete set of tests before and after surgery, and (c) children that had a regular follow-up up to 10 years from the surgical treatment. Results: Forty-three percent of the children selected for the present study showed a borderline IQ before surgery, which is a result corresponding to those previously reported in the literature for children affected by posterior fossa pilocytic astrocytomas; praxis and visual perception were the selective functions that were more frequently affected. Language performance tests scores were below average in 40% of the cases but tended to improve in terms of expressive and receptive skills even at the 1-year follow-up; the improvements became significant at the 5-year and 10-year follow-ups. Conclusions: Recognising and measuring the short- and long-term effects of cerebellar tumours in children and their treatment are the first step towards improving their clinical course and quality of life. Early interventions should be offered to all of them, with specific attention bestowed on visual-spatial stimulation, speech and occupational therapies in order to act on praxic and visuo-perceptive skills, as well as on emotion and behaviour tracts of the neurocognitive profile, which more commonly tend to persist in the long term.
An Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Pipeline for Medical Domain: Malaysian Breast Cancer Survivorship Cohort as a Case Study
Authors: Ganggayah Mogana Darshini , Dhillon Sarinder Kaur , Islam Tania , Kalhor Foad , Chiang Teh Chean , Kalafi Elham Yousef , Taib Nur Aishah
Published: August 2021

Automated artificial intelligence (AI) systems enable the integration of different types of data from various sources for clinical decision-making. The aim of this study is to propose a pipeline to develop a fully automated clinician-friendly AI-enabled database platform for breast cancer survival prediction. A case study of breast cancer survival cohort from the University Malaya Medical Centre was used to develop and evaluate the pipeline. A relational database and a fully automated system were developed by integrating the database with analytical modules (machine learning, automated scoring for quality of life, and interactive visualization). The developed pipeline, iSurvive has helped in enhancing data management as well as to visualize important prognostic variables and survival rates. The embedded automated scoring module demonstrated quality of life of patients whereas the interactive visualizations could be used by clinicians to facilitate communication with patients. The pipeline proposed in this study is a one-stop center to manage data, to automate analytics using machine learning, to automate scoring and to produce explainable interactive visuals to enhance clinician-patient communication along the survivorship period to modify behaviours that relate to prognosis. The pipeline proposed can be modelled on any disease not limited to breast cancer.
Human-Robot Motion Control Application with Artificial Intelligence for a Cooperating YuMi Robot
Authors: Michalík Roman , Janota Aleš , Gregor Michal , Hruboš Marián
Published: August 2021

This paper deals with the application focused on motion control for a cooperating YuMi robot. The use of sensors on gloves or other controls to control robots may restrict both operation of the robot and the operator’s activities. Therefore, research focusing on camera-based monitoring of body parts or hand gestures is becoming increasingly popular. The presented approach is based on using a camera to recognize hand gestures and implementing artificial intelligence to control a YuMi robot with Python using a TCP/IP connection. The program can be expanded by integrating other IoT devices to help control the robot and collect data useful for a needed application.
An Empirical Evaluation of NVM-Aware File Systems on Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Modules
Authors: Zhu Guangyu , Han Jaehyun , Lee Sangjin , Son Yongseok
Published: August 2021

The emergence of non-volatile memories (NVM) brings new opportunities and challenges to data management system design. As an important part of the data management systems, several new file systems are developed to take advantage of the characteristics of NVM. However, these NVM-aware file systems are usually designed and evaluated based on simulations or emulations. In order to explore the performance and characteristics of these file systems on real hardware, in this article, we provide an empirical evaluation of NVM-aware file systems on the first commercially available byte-addressable NVM (i.e., the Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Module (DCPMM)). First, to compare the performance difference between traditional file systems and NVM-aware file systems, we evaluate the performance of Ext4, XFS, F2FS, Ext4-DAX, XFS-DAX, and NOVA file systems on DCPMMs. To compare DCPMMs with other secondary storage devices, we also conduct the same evaluations on Optane SSDs and NAND-flash SSDs. Second, we observe how remote NUMA node access and device mapper striping affect the performance of DCPMMs. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the database (i.e., MySQL) on DCPMMs with Ext4 and Ext4-DAX file systems. We summarize several observations from the evaluation results and performance analysis. We anticipate that these observations will provide implications for various memory and storage systems.
Multi-Path Deep CNN with Residual Inception Network for Single Image Super-Resolution
Authors: Muhammad Wazir , Bhutto Zuhaibuddin , Ansari Arslan , Memon Mudasar Latif , Kumar Ramesh , Hussain Ayaz , Shah Syed Ali Raza , Thaheem Imdadullah , Ali Shamshad
Published: August 2021

Recent research on single-image super-resolution (SISR) using deep convolutional neural networks has made a breakthrough and achieved tremendous performance. Despite their significant progress, numerous convolutional neural networks (CNN) are limited in practical applications, owing to the requirement of the heavy computational cost of the model. This paper proposes a multi-path network for SISR, known as multi-path deep CNN with residual inception network for single image super-resolution. In detail, a residual/ResNet block with an Inception block supports the main framework of the entire network architecture. In addition, remove the batch normalization layer from the residual network (ResNet) block and max-pooling layer from the Inception block to further reduce the number of parameters to preventing the over-fitting problem during the training. Moreover, a conventional rectified linear unit (ReLU) is replaced with Leaky ReLU activation function to speed up the training process. Specifically, we propose a novel two upscale module, which adopts three paths to upscale the features by jointly using deconvolution and upsampling layers, instead of using single deconvolution layer or upsampling layer alone. The extensive experimental results on image super-resolution (SR) using five publicly available test datasets, which show that the proposed model not only attains the higher score of peak signal-to-noise ratio/structural similarity index matrix (PSNR/SSIM) but also enables faster and more efficient calculations against the existing image SR methods. For instance, we improved our method in terms of overall PSNR on the SET5 dataset with challenging upscale factor 8× as 1.88 dB over the baseline bicubic method and reduced computational cost in terms of number of parameters 62% by deeply-recursive convolutional neural network (DRCN) method.
Emulation of Circuits under Test Using Low-Cost Embedded Platforms
Authors: Guerrero-Rodríguez José-María , Cobos Sánchez Clemente , Quirós-Olozábal Ángel , Leñero-Bardallo Juan A.
Published: August 2021

Electrical engineering education requires the development of the specific ability and skills to address the design and assembly of practical electronic circuits, as well as the use of advanced electronic instrumentation. However, for electronic instrumentation courses or any other related specialty that pursues to gain expertise testing a physical system, the circuit assembly process itself can represent a bottleneck in a practical session. The time dedicated to the circuit assembly is subtracted both to the measurements and the final decision-making time. Therefore, the student’s practical experience is limited. This article presents a reconfigurable physical system based on the Arduino™ shield pin-out, which (after specific programming) can virtually behave as a device under test to carry out measurement procedures on it, emulating any system or process. Although it has been mainly oriented to the Arduino boards, it is possible to add different control devices with a connector compatible. The user does not need to assemble any circuit. Our approach does not only pursue the correct instrument handling as a goal, but it also immerses the student in the context of the functional theory of the proposed circuit under test. Consequently, the same emulation platform can be utilized for other techno-scientific specialties, such as electrical engineering, automatic control systems or physics courses. Besides that, it is a compact product that can be adapted to the needs of any teaching institution.
Classification of Microscopic Laser Engraving Surface Defect Images Based on Transfer Learning Method
Authors: Zhang Jing , Li Zhenhao , Hao Ruqian , Wang Xiangzhou , Du Xiaohui , Yan Boyun , Ni Guangming , Liu Juanxiu , Liu Lin , Liu Yong
Published: August 2021

Microscopic laser engraving surface defect classification plays an important role in the industrial quality inspection field. The key challenges of accurate surface defect classification are the complete description of the defect and the correct distinction into categories in the feature space. Traditional classification methods focus on the terms of feature extraction and independent classification; therefore, feed handcrafted features may result in useful feature loss. In recent years, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved excellent results in image classification tasks with the development of deep learning. Deep convolutional networks integrate feature extraction and classification into self-learning, but require large datasets. The training datasets for microscopic laser engraving image classification are small; therefore, we used pre-trained CNN models and applied two fine-tuning strategies. Transfer learning proved to perform well even on small future datasets. The proposed method was evaluated on the datasets consisting of 1986 laser engraving images captured by a metallographic microscope and annotated by experienced staff. Because handcrafted features were not used, our method is more robust and achieves better results than traditional classification methods. Under five-fold-validation, the average accuracy of the best model based on DenseNet121 is 96.72%.
Congestion Prediction in FPGA Using Regression Based Learning Methods
Authors: Goswami Pingakshya , Bhatia Dinesh
Published: August 2021

Design closure in general VLSI physical design flows and FPGA physical design flows is an important and time-consuming problem. Routing itself can consume as much as 70% of the total design time. Accurate congestion estimation during the early stages of the design flow can help alleviate last-minute routing-related surprises. This paper has described a methodology for a post-placement, machine learning-based routing congestion prediction model for FPGAs. Routing congestion is modeled as a regression problem. We have described the methods for generating training data, feature extractions, training, regression models, validation, and deployment approaches. We have tested our prediction model by using ISPD 2016 FPGA benchmarks. Our prediction method reports a very accurate localized congestion value in each channel around a configurable logic block (CLB). The localized congestion is predicted in both vertical and horizontal directions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our model on completely unseen designs that are not initially part of the training data set. The generated results show significant improvement in terms of accuracy measured as mean absolute error and prediction time when compared against the latest state-of-the-art works.
Electric Arc Furnaces as a Cause of Current and Voltage Asymmetry
Authors: Olczykowski Zbigniew
Published: August 2021

In the case of three-phase arc furnaces, two types of asymmetry can be distinguished: constructional and operational. The structural asymmetry is related to the construction of high-current circuits supplying the arc furnace. The knowledge of the parameters of the high-current circuit allows to determine the operating characteristics of the arc device. The author proposed a method for calculating the real values of the resistance and reactance of the high-current circuit. For this purpose, tests were made to short-circuit the electrodes with the charge. During the short-circuit, with the use of a power quality analyzer, measurements of electrical indicators were carried out, which allow to determine the parameters of the high-current circuit. A new method for determining voltage operational unbalance is also presented in this paper. The theoretical considerations presented in the article were verified in industrial conditions.
Long-Term Eutrophication and Dynamics of Bloom-Forming Microbial Communities during Summer HAB in Large Arctic Lake
Authors: Kashulin Nikolay , Kashulina Tatiana , Bekkelund Alexander
Published: August 2021

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in arctic lakes are recent phenomena. In our study, we performed a long-term analysis (1990–2017) of the eutrophication of Lake Imandra, a large subarctic lake, and explored the biodiversity of bloom-forming microorganisms of a 2017 summer HAB. We performed a 16Sr rRNA metabarcoding study of microbial communities, analysed the associations between N, P, C, and chlorophyll concentrations in the lake water, and developed models for the prediction of HABs based on total P concentration. We have demonstrated that blooms in Lake Imandra occur outside of optimal Redfield ratios and have a nonlinear association with P concentrations. We found that recent summer HABs in a lake occur as simultaneous blooms of a diatom Aulacoseira sp. and cyanobacteria Dolichospermum sp. We have studied the temporal dynamics of microbial communities during the bloom and performed an analysis of the publicly available Dolichospermum genomes to outline potential genetic mechanisms beneath simultaneous blooming. We found genetic traits requisite for diatom-diazotroph associations, which may lay beneath the simultaneous blooming of Aulacoseira sp. and Dolichospermum sp. in Lake Imandra. Both groups of organisms have the ability to store nutrients and form a dormant stage. All of these factors will ensure the further development of the HABs in Lake Imandra and the dispersal of these bloom-forming species to neighboring lakes.
The Fast Approval and Slow Rollout of Sputnik V: Why Is Russia’s Vaccine Rollout Slower than That of Other Nations?
Authors: Mikule Elza , Reissaar Tuuli , Villers Jennifer , Takoupo Penka Alain Simplice , Temerev Alexander , Rozanova Liudmila
Published: August 2021

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the beginning of 2020 led to the deployment of enormous amounts of resources by different countries for vaccine development, and the Russian Federation was the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine on 11 August 2020. In our research we sought to crystallize why the rollout of Sputnik V has been relatively slow considering that it was the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the world. We looked at production capacity, at the number of vaccine doses domestically administered and internationally exported, and at vaccine hesitancy levels. By 6 May 2021, more first doses of Sputnik V had been administered abroad than domestically, suggesting that limited production capacity was unlikely to be the main reason behind the slow rollout. What remains unclear, however, is why Russia prioritized vaccine exportation. We provide three hypotheses that may contribute to explaining the slow domestic rollout: a generalized vaccine distrust among the Russian population, a desire to help less technologically advanced nations, and possible geopolitical incentives.
Invertebrates in Fruitbodies of Heterobasidion spp., Infected Picea abies Logs and Adjacent Soil
Authors: Legzdina Liva , Spungis Voldemars , Burnevica Natalija , Gaitnieks Talis , Menkis Audrius
Published: August 2021

Heterobasidion spp. pathogenic fungi produce conspicuous fruitbodies on infected wood, which may represent a habitat for a range of organisms, including invertebrates. The aim was to: (i) assess and compare invertebrate diversity in Heterobasidion spp. fruitbodies, infected Picea abies wood and adjacent soil; (ii) test methods for collecting invertebrates from Heterobasidion spp. fruitbodies. A total of 69 Heterobasidion fruitbody samples, 46 wood samples and 19 soil samples were collected at two forest sites in Latvia. In total, 7311 invertebrate individuals were collected representing 62 different taxa, among which 55 were in fruitbodies, 47 in wood and 36 in soil. The dominant invertebrates in fruitbodies were Acari (82.4%), Collembola (6.2%), Coleoptera (4.7%); in wood were Acari (78.6%), Collembola (9.6%), Diplopoda (3.1%); in soil were Acari (90.6%), Collembola (3.4%) and Coleoptera (1.4%). Among all taxa, 17.7% were found exclusively in fruitbodies, 3.2% in wood, 4.8% in soil, while 48.4% were shared among different substrates. Although many invertebrate taxa were shared, their relative abundance differed substantially among different substrates. The sampling methods used provided valuable information on invertebrate communities. Further development of these methods may be needed to obtain more detailed and specific information about invertebrates inhabiting different habitats.
Ready for Screening: Fast Assessable Hydraulic and Anatomical Proxies for Vulnerability to Cavitation of Young Conifer Sapwood
Authors: Rosner Sabine , Nöbauer Sebastian , Voggeneder Klara
Published: August 2021

Research Highlights: novel fast and easily assessable proxies for vulnerability to cavitation of conifer sapwood are proposed that allow reliable estimation at the species level. Background and Objectives: global warming calls for fast and easily applicable methods to measure hydraulic vulnerability in conifers since they are one of the most sensitive plant groups regarding drought stress. Classical methods to determine P12, P50 and P88, i.e., the water potentials resulting in 12, 50 and 88% conductivity loss, respectively, are labour intensive, prone to errors and/or restricted to special facilities. Vulnerability proxies were established based on empirical relationships between hydraulic traits, basic density and sapwood anatomy. Materials and Methods: reference values for hydraulic traits were obtained by means of the air injection method on six conifer species. Datasets for potential P50 proxies comprised relative water loss (RWL), basic density, saturated water content as well as anatomical traits such as double wall thickness, tracheid lumen diameter and wall/lumen ratio. Results: our novel proxy P25W, defined as 25% RWL induced by air injection, was the most reliable estimate for P50 (r = 0.95) and P88 (r = 0.96). Basic wood density (r = −0.92), tangential lumen diameters in earlywood (r = 0.88), wall/lumen ratios measured in the tangential direction (r = −0.86) and the number of radial cell files/mm circumference (CF/mm, r = −0.85) were also strongly related to P50. Moreover, CF/mm was a very good predictor for P12 (r = −0.93). Conclusions: the proxy P25W is regarded a strong phenotyping tool for screening conifer species for vulnerability to cavitation assuming that the relationship between RWL and conductivity loss is robust in conifer sapwood. We also see a high potential for the fast and easily applicable proxy CF/mm as a screening tool for drought sensitivity and for application in dendroecological studies that investigate forest dieback.
Genetic Diversity Analysis and Potential Distribution Prediction of Sophora moorcroftiana Endemic to Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China
Authors: Yang Lan , Li Huie , Li Qian , Guo Qiqiang , Li Jiangrong
Published: August 2021

Sophora moorcroftiana (Benth.) Baker is an endemic woody species distributed in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), a part of the world characterized by high altitude and cold weather. In this study, the genetic diversity of S. moorcroftiana was evaluated based on 300 representative samples of 15 populations using 20 polymorphic SSR markers, and its potential distribution was predicted according to 19 bioclimatic factors using MaxEnt modeling. Results showed the population genetic diversity of S. moorcroftiana was generally not high (around 0.5), and the range of variation was small (0.437–0.539). Altitude, rather than other environmental factors, was the key factor affecting the present genetic diversity. Moreover, due to climate change in the QTP, the suitable area is increasing and will continue to increase by 48.35%, 84.44%, 101.98%, and 107.30% in the four future periods of 2030s, 2050s, 2070s, and 2090s, respectively, compared to the present, which is beneficial for S. moorcroftiana. These results will provide a theoretical basis for the development of germplasm conservation strategies for S. moorcroftiana and enrich information on the impacts of climate change on plants in the QTP.
Scientometric and Methodological Analysis of the Recent Literature on the Health-Related Effects of Tomato and Tomato Products
Authors: Tilesi Francesca , Lombardi Andrea , Mazzucato Andrea
Published: August 2021

The health benefits of tomato, a vegetable consumed daily in human diets, have received great attention in the scientific community, and a great deal of experiments have tested their utility against several diseases. Herein, we present a scientometric analysis of recent works aimed to estimate the biological effects of tomato, focusing on bibliographic metadata, type of testers, target systems, and methods of analysis. A remarkably variable array of strategies was reported, including testers obtained by standard and special tomatoes, and the use of in vitro and in vivo targets, both healthy and diseased. In vitro, 21 normal and 36 cancer human cell lines derived from 13 different organs were used. The highest cytotoxic effects were reported on cancer blood cells. In vivo, more experiments were carried out with murine than with human systems, addressing healthy individuals, as well as stressed and diseased patients. Multivariate analysis showed that publications in journals indexed in the agriculture category were associated with the use of fresh tomatoes; conversely, medicine and pharmacology journals were associated with the use of purified and formulate testers. Studies conducted in the United States of America preferentially adopted in vivo systems and formulates, combined with blood and tissue analysis. Researchers in Italy, China, India, and Great Britain mostly carried out in vitro research using fresh tomatoes. Gene expression and proteomic analyses were associated with China and India. The emerging scenario evidences the somewhat dichotomic approaches of plant geneticists and agronomists and that of cell biologists and medicine researchers. A higher integration between these two scientific communities would be desirable to foster the assessment of the benefits of tomatoes to human health.
Use of Food Additive Titanium Dioxide (E171) before the Introduction of Regulatory Restrictions Due to Concern for Genotoxicity
Authors: Blaznik Urška , Krušič Sanja , Hribar Maša , Kušar Anita , Žmitek Katja , Pravst Igor
Published: August 2021

Food-grade titanium dioxide (TiO2; E171) is a coloring food additive. In May 2021, a scientific opinion was published by the European Food Safety Authority concluding that TiO2 can no longer be considered as a safe food additive. Our aim was to investigate the trends in the use of TiO2 in the food supply. A case study was conducted in Slovenia using two nationally representative cross-sectional datasets of branded foods. Analysis was performed on N = 12,644 foods (6012 and 6632 in 2017 and 2020, respectively) from 15 food subcategories where TiO2 was found as a food additive. A significant decrease was observed in the use of TiO2 (3.6% vs. 1.8%; p < 0.01). TiO2 was most often used in the chewing gum category (36.3%) in 2017, and chocolate and sweets category (45.9%) in 2020. Meanwhile, in 2017, the largest share of TiO2-containing foods was observed in the chewing gum category, namely, 70.3%, and these products presented over 85% of the market share. In 2020, only 24.6% of chewing gums contained TiO2, which accounted for only 3% of the market share. In conclusion, we showed an overall decrease in TiO2 use, even though it has not yet been officially removed from the list of authorized food additives.
Sensory Consumer and Descriptive Analysis of Steaks from Beef Animals Selected from Tough and Tender Animal Genotypes: Genetic Meat Quality Traits Can Be Detected by Consumers
Authors: O’Sullivan Maurice G. , O’Neill Ciara M. , Conroy Stephen , Judge Michelle J. , Crofton Emily C. , Berry Donagh P.
Published: August 2021

The objective of the present study was to determine if animals who were genetically divergent in the predicted tenderness of their meat actually produced more tender meat, as well as what the implications were for other organoleptic properties of the meat. The parental average genetic merit for meat tenderness was used to locate 20 “Tough genotype” heifers and 17 “Tender genotype” heifers; M. longissimus thoracis steaks from all heifers were subjected to sensory affective analysis (140 consumers) and sensory profiling using two trained sensory panels. All sample steaks were treated identically regarding pre- and post-mortem handling, storage, cooking and presentation (i.e., randomised, blind coded). For the affective consumer study, eight steaks were sectioned from the same location of the striploin muscles from each of the heifers. In total, 108 steaks from the Tender genotype and 118 from the Tough genotype were tested in the consumer study to determine the preference or liking of these steaks for appearance, aroma, flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability. The consumer study found that the Tender genotype scored higher (p < 0.0001) for liking of tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall acceptability compared to the Tough genotype. Similar results were generally found for the separate consumer age cohorts (18–64 years) with lower sensory acuity in the 65+ age cohort. For the descriptive analysis, the Tender genotype scored numerically more tender, juicy and flavoursome, although the differences were only significant for one of the panels. The critical outcome from this study is that parental average genetic merit can be used to pre-select groups of animals for tenderness, which, in turn, can be detected by consumers.
Dynamics of the Fermentation Process and Chemical Profiling of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) Wines Obtained by Different Cultivar×Yeast Combinations
Authors: Cardinale Massimiliano , Trinchera Roberto , Natrella Giuseppe , Difonzo Graziana , De Benedittis Carlo , D’amato Ilario , Mascellani Marco , Paradiso Vito Michele , Rustioni Laura
Published: August 2021

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the historical tree crops in the Mediterranean region and is nowadays commercialized for its beneficial properties in the form of fruits, juice, jams and, in some East countries, as fermented juice (pomegranate wine). However, pomegranate wines are not established as a common beverage in Western countries. In this work, we produced pomegranate wines using two cultivars and two yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain Clos and S. cerevisiae ex-bayanus strain EC1118) with contrasting characteristics. A comprehensive chemical profile of the wines was obtained. Notable differences were observed in the function of the cultivars and the yeasts. Different cultivar×yeast combinations provided wines with clearly different chemical profiles and specific features in the patterns of organic acids, phenolics, and volatile compounds. This highlights the opportunity to obtain tailored pomegranate wines with desired chemical profiles and, consequently, sensory properties, through management optimization of pomegranate winemaking. In this view, pomegranate wines have the potential to become an established beverage in Western countries.
The Use of Demographics and Psychographics to Study Product Effects with Nutrient Supplements: Exploratory Multi-Country Data
Authors: Meiselman Herbert L. , Kuesten Carla , Bi Jian
Published: August 2021

Demographics and psychographics are used to study the influence of different consumers on product effects in food development and testing. Demographics have a longer history and are routinely used in most research; psychographics are more recent, raising the question of whether they add to research on food products. The research presented here represents extensive exploratory data that demonstrate that both demographic measures and psychographic measures add to our understanding of consumer’s liking ratings for nutrient supplements. The results are discussed in the context of broader research on a range of food products. In addition, the research reported here was conducted in four different countries, demonstrating many country effects. Finally, tests were conducted with users of the products, lapsed users of the product, and users of other nutrient supplements (non-users), and this led to many differences in product testing. These results further suggest that age and gender are not the only demographic variables to be studied, along with psychographic variables. The psychographic variables should be selected for a particular product category under investigation, as effects of specific psychographic measures vary for product categories. Specific variables do not fit all products for both demographics and psychographics.
Novel Technologies for Target Delivery of Therapeutics to the Placenta during Pregnancy: A Review
Authors: Pepe Gerald J. , Albrecht Eugene D.
Published: August 2021

Uterine spiral artery remodeling is essential for placental perfusion and fetal growth and, when impaired, results in placental ischemia and pregnancy complications, e.g., fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, premature birth. Despite the high incidence of adverse pregnancies, current treatment options are limited. Accordingly, research has shifted to the development of gene therapy technologies that provide targeted delivery of “payloads” to the placenta while limiting maternal and fetal exposure. This review describes the current strategies, including placental targeting peptide-bound liposomes, nanoparticle or adenovirus constructs decorated with specific peptide sequences and placental gene promoters delivered via maternal IV injection, directly into the placenta or the uterine artery, as well as noninvasive site-selective targeting of regulating genes conjugated with microbubbles via contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The review also provides a perspective on the effectiveness of these technologies in various animal models and their practicability and potential use for targeted placental delivery of therapeutics and genes in adverse human pregnancies affected by placental dysfunction.
HD-ZIP Gene Family: Potential Roles in Improving Plant Growth and Regulating Stress-Responsive Mechanisms in Plants
Authors: Sharif Rahat , Raza Ali , Chen Peng , Li Yuhong , El-Ballat Enas M. , Rauf Abdur , Hano Christophe , El-Esawi Mohamed A.
Published: August 2021

Exploring the molecular foundation of the gene-regulatory systems underlying agronomic parameters or/and plant responses to both abiotic and biotic stresses is crucial for crop improvement. Thus, transcription factors, which alone or in combination directly regulated the targeted gene expression levels, are appropriate players for enlightening agronomic parameters through genetic engineering. In this regard, homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-ZIP) genes family concerned with enlightening plant growth and tolerance to environmental stresses are considered key players for crop improvement. This gene family containing HD and LZ domain belongs to the homeobox superfamily. It is further classified into four subfamilies, namely HD-ZIP I, HD-ZIP II, HD-ZIP III, and HD-ZIP IV. The first HD domain-containing gene was discovered in maize cells almost three decades ago. Since then, with advanced technologies, these genes were functionally characterized for their distinct roles in overall plant growth and development under adverse environmental conditions. This review summarized the different functions of HD-ZIP genes in plant growth and physiological-related activities from germination to fruit development. Additionally, the HD-ZIP genes also respond to various abiotic and biotic environmental stimuli by regulating defense response of plants. This review, therefore, highlighted the various significant aspects of this important gene family based on the recent findings. The practical application of HD-ZIP biomolecules in developing bioengineered plants will not only mitigate the negative effects of environmental stresses but also increase the overall production of crop plants.