bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extended Storage of Yellow Pepper Fruits at Suboptimal Temperatures May Alter Their Physical and Nutritional Quality
Authors: Lama Kumar , Alkalai-Tuvia Sharon , Chalupowicz Daniel , Fallik Elazar
Published: August 2020

Yellow sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Dinamo) are generally more susceptible than red sweet peppers to physiological and pathological deterioration after harvest. Yellow peppers also fetch higher prices at market. In this study, we examined the external and nutritional quality attributes of yellow pepper fruits stored at suboptimal temperatures of 1.5 and 4 °C for 3 weeks, followed by a 3-day shelf-life simulation. Notably, yellow peppers kept in plastic (Xtend®, Stepac, Tefen, Israel) bags at 4 °C maintained their external quality just as well as peppers stored at the optimum temperature of 7 °C. In addition, nutrient content (namely ascorbic acid) and total phenolic and hydrophilic antioxidant contents were not reduced when the peppers were kept at suboptimal storage temperatures of 4 or 1.5 °C in Xtend® plastic packaging. Thus, the external and nutritional qualities of yellow pepper fruits can be preserved at suboptimal temperatures of 4 °C with Xtend® plastic packaging. This is particularly significant in light of the fact that storage at such temperatures is sometimes used as a quarantine method to eliminate pests on produce imported into Israel.
Improvement of a RD6 Rice Variety for Blast Resistance and Salt Tolerance through Marker-Assisted Backcrossing
Authors: Thanasilungura Korachan , Kranto Sukanya , Monkham Tidarat , Chankaew Sompong , Sanitchon Jirawat
Published: August 2020

RD6 is one of the most favorable glutinous rice varieties consumed throughout the north and northeast of Thailand because of its aroma and softness. However, blast disease and salt stress cause decreases in both yield quantity and quality during cultivation. Here, gene pyramiding via marker-assisted backcrossing (MAB) using combined blast resistance QTLs (qBl 1, 2, 11, and 12) and Saltol QTL was employed in solving the problem. To pursue our goal, the RD6 introgression line (RGD07005-12-165-1), containing four blast-resistant QTLs, were crossed with the Pokkali salt tolerant variety. Blast resistance evaluation was thoroughly carried out in the fields, from BC2F2:3 to BC4F4, using the upland short-row and natural field infection methods. Additionally, salt tolerance was validated in both greenhouse and field conditions. We found that the RD6 “BC4F4 132-12-61” resulting from our breeding programme successfully resisted blast disease and tolerated salt stress, while it maintained the desirable agronomic traits of the original RD6 variety. This finding may provide a new improved rice variety to overcome blast disease and salt stress in Northeast Thailand.
(Z)-3-Hexenyl Butyrate Induces Stomata Closure and Ripening in Vitis vinifera
Authors: Payá Celia , López-Gresa M. Pilar , Intrigliolo Diego S. , Rodrigo Ismael , Bellés José María , Lisón Purificación
Published: August 2020

Agronomy solutions for modifying pre-harvest grape ripening are needed for a more sustainable viticulture. Field experiments were performed in Vitis vinifera L. vines to study the effect of the previously described stomata-closing compound (Z)-3-hexenyl butyrate (HB). Exogenous treatments at different doses were periodically carried out using a randomized block design. Firstly, we observed that HB was able to induce stomatal closure in grapevine plants. Under field conditions, the application of HB around veraison induced a higher color intensity in berries, and vines treated at higher doses reached this stage earlier than the un-treated controls. There was also a clear increase in both grape anthocyanin concentration and total soluble solids without having a negative impact on total yield. We therefore, confirm the role of HB as a universal natural stomatal closure compound and propose a new use for HB in viticulture as a ripening inducer, by accelerating anthocyanin accumulation.
Excessive Calcium Accumulation in the Roots Is a Key Factor in Tipburn Incidence under High Ca Supply in Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) Cultivars
Authors: Kuronuma Takanori , Saotome Masanori , Ando Masaya , Watanabe Hitoshi
Published: August 2020

In lisianthus cultivars, the occurrence of tipburn is known to adversely affect quality and yield. However, information concerning the responses of tipburn incidence to different levels of Ca is limited. In addition, only a few studies have investigated the effect of potassium (K) concentration on Ca acquisition and distribution in lisianthus. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated tipburn incidence in three lisianthus cultivars (Umi honoka (UH), Reina white (RW), and Voyage peach (VP)) and the Ca and K concentrations in them under different concentrations of Ca supply (40, 80, and 120 ppm). These cultivars exhibited different responses to different concentrations of Ca supply. Tipburn was not observed in UH. In RW, tipburn incidence and severity significantly decreased with an increase in nutritional Ca concentration, because the Ca concentration in the tips of the top leaves significantly increased with Ca concentration. By contrast, in VP, tipburn incidence under all treatments was 100%, and there was no significant difference in the Ca concentration in the tips of the top leaves among the treatments, but the total Ca concentration significantly increased. VP was the only cultivar that significantly acquired and accumulated more Ca in the roots with an increase in nutritional Ca concentration. Overall, excessive Ca accumulation in the roots under high-Ca conditions inhibits the distribution of Ca to the tips of the top leaves and eventually manifests as tipburn in the cultivar. In addition, our results suggested that the content ratio of K in the nutrient solutions did not prevent Ca acquisition and distribution in lisianthus cultivars and that the K concentration has a negligible effect on the occurrence of tipburn.
Biocontrol of Crown Gall by Rhizobium rhizogenes: Challenges in Biopesticide Commercialisation
Authors: Kerr Allen , Bullard Gary
Published: August 2020

The biocontrol of crown gall has been practised in Australia for 48 years. Control is so efficient that it is difficult to find a galled stone fruit tree, when previously, crown gall had been a major problem. This paper explains how it works and why only pathogens are inhibited. A commercial biopesticide is available in Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, the USA, South Africa and Japan. The challenges of commercialising a biopesticide are outlined. Rigid regulations are preventing the wider use of biocontrol organisms.
Pharmacokinetics of Tildipirosin in Ewes after Intravenous, Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Administration
Authors: Galecio Juan Sebastián , Escudero Elisa , Cerón José Joaquín , Crescenzo Giuseppe , Marín Pedro
Published: August 2020

A single-dose disposition kinetics for tildipirosin was evaluated in clinically healthy ewes (n = 6) after intravenous (IV), intramuscular (IM), and subcutaneous (SC) administration of a commercial formulation. Tildipirosin concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Plasma concentration-time data was calculated by non-compartmental pharmacokinetic methods. The apparent volume of distribution (Vz) of tildipirosin after IV administration was 5.36 ± 0.57 L/kg suggesting a wide distribution in tissues and inside the cells. The elimination half-life (t½λz) was 17.16 ± 2.25, 23.90 ± 6.99 and 43.19 ± 5.17 h after IV, IM and SC administration, respectively. Following IM administration, tildipirosin was rapidly absorbed (tmax = 0.62 ± 0.10 h) even to a greater extent than after SC administration. Time to reach peak concentration (tmax) and peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) differed significantly, but both parameters showed a more significant variability after SC than after IM administration. Bioavailabilities after extravascular administration were high (>70%). Therefore, given general adverse reactions that were not observed in any ewe and favourable pharmacokinetics, tildipirosin could be effective in treating bacterial infections in sheep.
Dynamic in Species Estimates of Carnivores (Leopard Cat, Red Fox, and North Chinese Leopard): A Multi-Year Assessment of Occupancy and Coexistence in the Tieqiaoshan Nature Reserve, Shanxi Province, China
Authors: Vitekere Kasereka , Wang Jiao , Karanja Henry , Consolée Kahindo Tulizo , Jiang Guangshun , Hua Yan
Published: August 2020

Wildlife populations are spatially controlled and undergo frequent fluctuations in abundance and site occupation. A comprehensive understanding of dynamic species processes is essential for making appropriate wildlife management plans. Here, we used a multi-season model to describe the dynamics of occupancy estimates of the carnivores: North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis, Gray, 1862), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis, Kerr, 1792), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes, Linnaeus, 1758) in the Tieqiaoshan Nature Reserve, Shanxi Province, China, over a three-year study period using camera traps data. The occupancy probability of the North Chinese leopard did not markedly change with time as the occupancy equilibrium was constant or slightly enhanced. The occupancy of the leopard cat decreased with time. The occupancy equilibrium of the red fox alternately increased and decreased. However, all species presented a slight level of occupancy stability due to their small values of the rate of change in occupancy. Environmental factor and anthropogenic disturbances slightly influenced the occupancy of all species and the colonization and extirpation probability of the red fox. The colonization and extirpation for all species were relatively more strongly affected by the distances to villages and roads. Moreover, elevation increased the colonization and decreased the extirpation for the leopard cat. Species interaction factors increased with time for all species. The North Chinese leopard and the leopard cat avoided each other. The leopard cat and the red fox independently co-occurred. There was true coexistence between the North Chinese leopard and the red fox. This research confirmed that environmental factors and human perturbations are vital factors to consider in wild carnivores’ conservation and management.
Changes in Renal Resistive Index Values in Healthy Puppies during the First Months of Life
Authors: Agut Amalia , Soler Marta , Fernández-del Palacio M. Josefa
Published: August 2020

The purpose of this study is to establish renal resistive index (RRI) of normal kidneys in puppies aged from newborn to 20 weeks of age and to determine the age at which RRI reaches adult dog values. Six healthy adult intact beagles and six puppies from 1 day after birth to 20 weeks of age were used. In the adult dogs, the ultrasonographic scans were performed once, and in the puppies, the ultrasonographic studies were performed on the first day after birth and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 20 weeks of age. RRI was obtained at the interlobular and arcuate arteries in each kidney. There were no statistical differences between the RRI values obtained between the right and left kidney nor between intrarenal arteries (interlobar and arcuate). The RRI was the highest during the first weeks of life, after which it declined gradually with increasing age reaching adult dog values at 12 weeks of age. In conclusion, the normal mean RRI is age dependent in dogs. Twelve weeks can be regarded as the age at which adult mean RRI criteria can be applied to puppies.
Practice-Level Association between Antibiotic Prescribing and Resistance: An Observational Study in Primary Care
Authors: Batenburg Dylan , Verheij Theo , van’t Veen Annemarie , van der Velden Alike
Published: August 2020

A direct relation between antibiotic use and resistance has been shown at country level. We aim to investigate the association between antibiotic prescribing for patients from individual Dutch primary care practices and antibiotic resistance of bacterial isolates from routinely submitted urine samples from their patient populations. Practices’ antibiotic prescribing data were obtained from the Julius Network and related to numbers of registered patients. Practices were classified as low-, middle- or high-prescribers and from each group size-matching practices were chosen. Culture and susceptibility data from submitted urine samples were obtained from the microbiology laboratory. Percentages of resistant isolates, and resistant isolates per 1000 registered patients per year (population resistance) were calculated and compared between the groups. The percentages of resistant Escherichia coli varied considerably between individual practices, but the three prescribing groups’ means were very similar. However, as the higher-prescribing practices requested more urine cultures per 1000 registered patients, population resistance was markedly higher in the higher-prescribing groups. This study showed that the highly variable resistance percentages for individual practices were unrelated to antibiotic prescribing levels. However, population resistance (resistant strains per practice population) was related to antibiotic prescribing levels, which was shown to coincide with numbers of urine culture requests. Whether more urine culture requests in the higher-prescribing groups were related to treatment failures, more complex patient populations, or to general practitioners’ testing behaviour needs further investigation.
Antimicrobials as Single and Combination Therapy for Colistin-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa at a University Hospital in Thailand
Authors: Pungcharoenkijkul Supanun , Traipattanakul Jantima , Thunyaharn Sudaluck , Santimaleeworagun Wichai
Published: August 2020

Global infections with colistin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CoR-PA) are increasing; there are currently very few studies focused on the antimicrobial susceptibility of CoR-PA isolates, and none from Thailand. Here, we investigated the impact of various antimicrobials, alone and in combination, via the in vitro testing of CoR-PA clinical isolates. Eighteen CoR-PA isolates were obtained from patients treated at Phramongkutklao Hospital from January 2010 through June 2019; these were classified into six different clonal types by using the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR method, with a high prevalence of Group A (27.8%). The antimicrobial susceptibility was determined as the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) using the epsilometer-test (E-test) method. The synergistic activities of six antimicrobial combinations were reported via the fractional-inhibitory-concentration index. All CoR-PA isolates were susceptible to amikacin, meropenem, and ceftolozane/tazobactam, but only 5.56% were susceptible to imipenem. In vitro synergistic activities were detected for amikacin with aztreonam, piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem, and ceftazidime for 16.67%, 11.11%, 11.11%, and 5.55%, respectively. One CoR-PA isolate carried the blaVIM metallo-β-lactamase gene; none carried mcr-1 genes or detected plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase or an overproduction of chromosomal AmpC β-lactamase. Seven CoR-PA isolates (38.89%) were capable of biofilm formation. In conclusion, CoR-PA isolates are highly susceptible to antimicrobials; the synergy observed in response to the various agents should be examined in a clinical setting.
d-Galactose Decreases Anion Exchange Capability through Band 3 Protein in Human Erythrocytes
Authors: Remigante Alessia , Morabito Rossana , Spinelli Sara , Trichilo Vincenzo , Loddo Saverio , Sarikas Antonio , Dossena Silvia , Marino Angela
Published: August 2020

d-Galactose (d-Gal), when abnormally accumulated in the plasma, results in oxidative stress production, and may alter the homeostasis of erythrocytes, which are particularly exposed to oxidants driven by the blood stream. In the present investigation, the effect of d-Gal (0.1 and 10 mM, for 3 and 24 h incubation), known to induce oxidative stress, has been assayed on human erythrocytes by determining the rate constant of SO42− uptake through the anion exchanger Band 3 protein (B3p), essential to erythrocytes homeostasis. Moreover, lipid peroxidation, membrane sulfhydryl groups oxidation, glycated hemoglobin (% A1c), methemoglobin levels (% MetHb), and expression levels of B3p have been verified. Our results show that d-Gal reduces anion exchange capability of B3p, involving neither lipid peroxidation, nor oxidation of sulfhydryl membrane groups, nor MetHb formation, nor altered expression levels of B3p. d-Gal-induced %A1c, known to crosslink with B3p, could be responsible for rate of anion exchange alteration. The present findings confirm that erythrocytes are a suitable model to study the impact of high sugar concentrations on cell homeostasis; show the first in vitro effect of d-Gal on B3p, contributing to the understanding of mechanisms underlying an in vitro model of aging; demonstrate that the first impact of d-Gal on B3p is mediated by early Hb glycation, rather than by oxidative stress, which may be involved on a later stage, possibly adding more knowledge about the consequences of d-Gal accumulation.
Using Waste in Producing Bio-Composite Mycelium Bricks
Authors: Maximino C. Ongpeng Jason , Inciong Edward , Sendo Vince , Soliman Crizia , Siggaoat Adrian
Published: August 2020

One of the major causes of an increase in the consumption of resources is the progress of the construction industry. Although it leads to new technologies, it heavily contributes to global warming. In this study, the use of sustainable construction materials from waste in brick production with mycelium as a binder is investigated. The ability of mycelium, the root fibers of fungi, obtained from microorganisms is used as stabilizing and binding material on bricks. Forty-eight brick specimens from six design mixes were produced with a size of 200 mm length × 90 mm width × 60 mm height. The mechanical tests conducted were compressive and flexural strength. The changes in weight were recorded against its age to monitor the progress of mycelium growth inside the brick specimens. From the test, bricks made from sawdust and rice bran with mycelium had an increase of 31.0% to 38.5% in average compressive strength compared to the non-mycelium bricks, respectively. Furthermore, the bricks with mycelium experienced an increase in both flexural strength and midpoint displacement for all types of bricks (rice bran, sawdust, and clay). These mycelium-induced bricks can reduce the use and consumption of traditional construction materials with enhanced mechanical properties.
Industry-Friendly Hydroethanolic Extraction Protocols for Grateloupia turuturu UV-Shielding and Antioxidant Compounds
Authors: Félix Rafael , Carmona Ana M. , Félix Carina , Novais Sara C. , Lemos Marco F. L.
Published: August 2020

Grateloupia turuturu is an invasive macroalga on the Iberian coast, known to produce bioactive compounds with different cosmeceutical bioactivities, namely UV shielding and antioxidants. The goal of this study was to optimize the extraction procedure of main bioactivities of this species with cosmetic potential, using Response Surface Methodology. Two Box–Behnken designs were used to evaluate the effect of ethanol concentration (0–50%), liquid-solid ratio, time, pH, and temperature on yield, UV absorbance, and antioxidant activity. Both optimizations showed a similar trend: aqueous extracts have higher yields and extracts performed with ethanol as part of the solvent have higher activities concerning UV absorbance and antioxidant activity. For all the extracts an absorption peak between 320 and 340 nm was observed. This data now allows further studies by narrowing the extracts worthful of characterization. The development of industry-friendly extraction methods allows the valorization of this invasive species, contributing for the potential creation of natural and eco-friendly products by the cosmetic industry while contributing to the restoration of affected environments.
A Distributed Automatic Video Annotation Platform
Authors: Islam Md Anwarul , Uddin Md Azher , Lee Young-Koo
Published: August 2020

In the era of digital devices and the Internet, thousands of videos are taken and share through the Internet. Similarly, CCTV cameras in the digital city produce a large amount of video data that carry essential information. To handle the increased video data and generate knowledge, there is an increasing demand for distributed video annotation. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel distributed video annotation platform that explores the spatial information and temporal information. Afterward, we provide higher-level semantic information. The proposed framework is divided into two parts: spatial annotation and spatiotemporal annotation. Therefore, we propose a spatiotemporal descriptor, namely, volume local directional ternary pattern-three orthogonal planes (VLDTP–TOP) in a distributed manner using Spark. Moreover, we developed several state-of-the-art appearance-based and spatiotemporal-based feature descriptors on top of Spark. We also provide the distributed video annotation services for the end-users so that they can easily use the video annotation and APIs for development to produce new video annotation algorithms. Due to the lack of a spatiotemporal video annotation dataset that provides ground truth for both spatial and temporal information, we introduce a video annotation dataset, namely, STAD which provides ground truth for spatial and temporal information. An extensive experimental analysis was performed in order to validate the performance and scalability of the proposed feature descriptors, which proved the excellence of our proposed approach.
Fungal Assemblages on Indoor Surfaces with Visible Mold Growth in Homes after the 2016 Flood Disaster in Thailand
Authors: Precha Nopadol , Kliengchuay Wissanupong , Woo Cheolwoon , Yamamoto Naomichi , Tantrakarnapa Kraichat
Published: August 2020

Southern Thailand suffers from floods due to heavy rainfalls every year. Post-flood increases in indoor fungi are a public health concern. Here, we investigated fungal assemblages on indoor surfaces with visible mold growth in homes after the 2016 flood disaster in Trang Province in Southern Thailand, using swab sampling followed by high-throughput DNA sequencing of the fungal internal transcribed spacer 1 region. The most abundant phyla detected were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, with respective mean relative abundances of 87% and 13%. The dominant genera and their mean relative abundances were Leptospora (12.0%), Cystobasidium (7.7%), and Pyrenochaetopsis (6.5%). P-tests showed that indoor visible fungal assemblages in flooded homes in Thailand were significantly different from those in the non-flooded mold-laden homes observed in our previous study in South Korea. We detected 20 genera that contain species that can induce type I allergies, including Alternaria (3.8%) and Trichoderma (4.0%). Genera related to infectious, melanized, and toxigenic fungi were also detected. Indoor fungal measurements gathered using a DNA-based approach revealed fungal communities in homes in Thailand and provide important information about the potential health risks. Future research should examine the fungal infections and allergies that might be caused by flood disasters in less well studied tropical countries.
Gated Recurrent Attention for Multi-Style Speech Synthesis
Authors: Cheon Sung Jun , Lee Joun Yeop , Choi Byoung Jin , Lee Hyeonseung , Kim Nam Soo
Published: August 2020

End-to-end neural network-based speech synthesis techniques have been developed to represent and synthesize speech in various prosodic style. Although the end-to-end techniques enable the transfer of a style with a single vector of style representation, it has been reported that the speaker similarity observed from the speech synthesized with unseen speaker-style is low. One of the reasons for this problem is that the attention mechanism in the end-to-end model is overfitted to the training data. To learn and synthesize voices of various styles, an attention mechanism that can preserve longer-term context and control the context is required. In this paper, we propose a novel attention model which employs gates to control the recurrences in the attention. To verify the proposed attention’s style modeling capability, perceptual listening tests were conducted. The experiments show that the proposed attention outperforms the location-sensitive attention in both similarity and naturalness.
Multi-Term Attention Networks for Skeleton-Based Action Recognition
Authors: Diao Xiaolei , Li Xiaoqiang , Huang Chen
Published: August 2020

The same action takes different time in different cases. This difference will affect the accuracy of action recognition to a certain extent. We propose an end-to-end deep neural network called “Multi-Term Attention Networks” (MTANs), which solves the above problem by extracting temporal features with different time scales. The network consists of a Multi-Term Attention Recurrent Neural Network (MTA-RNN) and a Spatio-Temporal Convolutional Neural Network (ST-CNN). In MTA-RNN, a method for fusing multi-term temporal features are proposed to extract the temporal dependence of different time scales, and the weighted fusion temporal feature is recalibrated by the attention mechanism. Ablation research proves that this network has powerful spatio-temporal dynamic modeling capabilities for actions with different time scales. We perform extensive experiments on four challenging benchmark datasets, including the NTU RGB+D dataset, UT-Kinect dataset, Northwestern-UCLA dataset, and UWA3DII dataset. Our method achieves better results than the state-of-the-art benchmarks, which demonstrates the effectiveness of MTANs.
Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Direct Modulation Capability Enhancement Using Birefringent Fiber Loop
Authors: Rizou Zoe V. , Zoiros Kyriakos E. , Rampone Thierry , Sharaiha Ammar
Published: August 2020

The feasibility of employing a birefringent fiber loop to enhance the performance of a directly modulated reflective semiconductor optical amplifier is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. The birefringent fiber loop acts as an optical filter of opposite slope than that of the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier electro-optical response and counteracts the finite reflective semiconductor optical amplifier modulation bandwidth of only 0.89 GHz. By proper adjustment of its detuning, the birefringent fiber loop tailors the spectral components that physically manifest due to the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier dynamic perturbation subject to direct modulation in the saturated gain regime, and suppresses the pattern-dependent distortions in the time domain. In this manner, the birefringent fiber loop manages to significantly improve the quality characteristics of the encoded signal at higher data rates than those enabled by the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier limited modulation capability. Owing to the birefringent fiber loop, the reflective semiconductor optical amplifier modulation range is extended to 4 Gb/s at the raw bit error rate of 1.0×10−9, and to 11 Gb/s at the forward error correction limit of 3.8×10−3. These results, which are unique against the evaluation criterion adopted in the first case, and the modulation speed achieved with post-filtering schemes in the second, highlight the beneficial role that the birefringent fiber loop can play in supporting reflective semiconductor optical amplifier operation for intensity amplification and modulation purposes.
Special Issue “Multi-Agent Systems”: Editorial
Authors: Mariani Stefano , Omicini Andrea
Published: August 2020

Multi-agent systems (MAS) are built around the central notions of agents, interaction, and environment. Agents are autonomous computational entities able to pro-actively pursue goals, and re-actively adapt to environment change. In doing so, they leverage on their social and situated capabilities: interacting with peers, and perceiving/acting on the environment. The relevance of MAS is steadily growing as they are extensively and increasingly used to model, simulate, and build heterogeneous systems across many different application scenarios and business domains, ranging from logistics to social sciences, from robotics to supply chain, and more. The reason behind such a widespread and diverse adoption lies in MAS great expressive power in modeling and actually supporting operational execution of a variety of systems demanding decentralized computations, reasoning skills, and adaptiveness to change, which are a perfect fit for MAS central notions introduced above. This special issue gathers 11 contributions sampling the many diverse advancements that are currently ongoing in the MAS field.
Estimating Degradation Costs for Non-Cyclic Usage of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Cortés-Arcos Tomás , Dufo-López Rodolfo , Bernal-Agustín José L.
Published: August 2020

Estimating the degradation costs of lithium-ion batteries is essential to the designs of many systems because batteries are increasingly used in diverse applications. In this study, cyclic and calendar degradation models of lithium batteries were considered in optimization problems with randomized non-cyclic batteries use. Such models offer realistic results. Electrical, thermal, and degradation models were applied for lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technologies. Three possible strategies were identified to estimate degradation costs based on cell models. All three strategies were evaluated via simulations and validated by comparing the results with those obtained by other authors. One strategy was discarded because it overestimates costs, while the other two strategies give good results, and are suitable for estimating battery degradation costs in optimization problems that require deterministic models.
On the Differential Analysis of Enterprise Valuation Methods as a Guideline for Unlisted Companies Assessment (II): Applying Machine-Learning Techniques for Unbiased Enterprise Value Assessment
Authors: Vayas-Ortega Germania , Soguero-Ruiz Cristina , Rodríguez-Ibáñez Margarita , Rojo-Álvarez José-Luis , Gimeno-Blanes Francisco-Javier
Published: August 2020

The search for an unbiased company valuation method to reduce uncertainty, whether or not it is automatic, has been a relevant topic in social sciences and business development for decades. Many methods have been described in the literature, but consensus has not been reached. In the companion paper we aimed to review the assessment capabilities of traditional company valuation model, based on company’s intrinsic value using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). In this paper, we capitalized on the potential of exogenous information combined with Machine Learning (ML) techniques. To do so, we performed an extensive analysis to evaluate the predictive capabilities with up to 18 different ML techniques. Endogenous variables (features) related to value creation (DCF) were proved to be crucial elements for the models, while the incorporation of exogenous, industry/country specific ones, incrementally improves the ML performance. Bagging Trees, Supported Vector Machine Regression, Gaussian Process Regression methods consistently provided the best results. We concluded that an unbiased model can be created based on endogenous and exogenous information to build a reference framework, to price and benchmark Enterprise Value for valuation and credit risk assessment.
Temperature Fluctuation Attenuation of Circulating Cooling Water Using Dynamic Thermal Filtering
Authors: Lu Yesheng , Cui Junning , Tan Jiubin , Bian Xingyuan , Zhao Yamin
Published: August 2020

The Demand for circulating cooling water (CCW) with high temperature stability and a quick response to temperature control is essential for precision engineering, so a dynamic thermal filtering method is proposed in this paper. Some CCW is bypassed, blocked, and used as a thermal capacity medium, and the temperature fluctuation of CCW is significantly reduced by heat exchanging with the medium. The temperature of the medium dynamically follows the set value of the CCW temperature by real time updating, and so realizes a quick CCW temperature control response. The attenuation ratio of temperature fluctuation was derived, theoretically validating the effectiveness of the method. The experimental results indicate that a CCW temperature fluctuation attenuation ratio of tens of dB (−3.47 dB, −6.91 dB, −10.97 dB and −15.28 dB corresponding to temperature fluctuation frequencies of 0.01 Hz, 0.025 Hz, 0.053 Hz and 0.105 Hz, respectively) is achieved by the proposed method. The updating time of thermal capacity medium is 82 s, which means that the temperature fluctuation attenuation remains functionally valid when the set value of CCW changes. The proposed method is low cost in operation and provides an effective approach to satisfy the challenging demand for CCW with high stability and a good dynamic temperature control performance.
Rapid Screening of Retrieved Knee Prosthesis Components by Confocal Raman Micro-Spectroscopy
Authors: Hozan Calin Tudor , Cavalu Simona , Cinta Pinzaru Simona , Mohan Aurel George , Beteg Florin , Murvai Gelu
Published: August 2020

(1) Aim: To evaluate the failure reason and surface modifications of a retrieved knee prosthesis; (2) Methods: Rapid confocal Raman spectroscopy screening was applied on the surface of a retrieved knee prosthesis (both titanium and UHMWPE (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) component) in order to determine predominate implant damage, along with the chemical composition of synovial fluid accumulated in the stem of the tibial component during the implantation period. Correlations between the medical records of the patient (clinical and radiographic information) and spectroscopic results are pointed out, the parameters being interpreted in the context of proper functioning and life span of knee prosthesis; (3) Results: The metallic tibial component does not show any modification during the implantation period, as demonstrated by the well preserved titanium component with signature of anatase phase detected in retrieved component, compared to unused piece. The spectral features of polymeric component (ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, UHMWPE) revealed structural modification in crystallinity and amorphous phase accompanied by insignificant level of oxidation (OI < 1). Scratching, pitting and persistent organic spots as a result of mechanical and chemical deterioration were noticed on the surface of retrieved insert. Acrylic cement deterioration was also noticed. Synovial fluid collected from the stem of the tibial component demonstrated a lipidomic profile; (4) Conclusions: Combining the clinical evidences with confocal Raman spectroscopy allowed a rapid screening with high sensitivity and nondestructive measurements in the case of failure in TKA (total knee arthroplasty). The third body wear and lipidomic profile of synovial fluid are cumulative factors of failure in this case, resulting in an osteolysis that finally leads to an aseptic loosening.
Compound Heuristic Information Guided Policy Improvement for Robot Motor Skill Acquisition
Authors: Fu Jian , Li Cong , Teng Xiang , Luo Fan , Li Boqun
Published: August 2020

Discovering the implicit pattern and using it as heuristic information to guide the policy search is one of the core factors to speed up the procedure of robot motor skill acquisition. This paper proposes a compound heuristic information guided reinforcement learning algorithm PI2-CMA-KCCA for policy improvement. Its structure and workflow are similar to a double closed-loop control system. The outer loop realized by Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis (KCCA) infers the implicit nonlinear heuristic information between the joints of the robot. In addition, the inner loop operated by Covariance Matrix Adaptation (CMA) discovers the hidden linear correlations between the basis functions within the joint of the robot. These patterns which are good for learning the new task can automatically determine the mean and variance of the exploring perturbation for Path Integral Policy Improvement (PI2). Compared with classical PI2, PI2-CMA, and PI2-KCCA, PI2-CMA-KCCA can not only endow the robot with the ability to realize transfer learning of trajectory planning from the demonstration to the new task, but also complete it more efficiently. The classical via-point experiments based on SCARA and Swayer robots have validated that the proposed method has fast learning convergence and can find a solution for the new task.
Anomalous Solute Transport in a Cylindrical Two-Zone Medium with Fractal Structure
Authors: Khuzhayorov Bakhtiyor , Usmonov Azizbek , Nik Long N.M.A. , Fayziev Bekzodjon
Published: August 2020

In this paper, a problem of anomalous solute transport in a coaxial cylindrical two-zone porous medium with fractal structure is posed and numerically solved. The porous medium is studied in the form of cylinder with two parts: macropore—with high permeability characteristics in the central part and micropore—with low permeability around it. Anomalous solute transport is modeled by differential equations with a fractional derivative. The solute concentration and pressure fields are determined. Based on numerical results, the influence of the fractional derivatives order on the solute transport process is analysed. It was shown that with a decrease in the order of the derivatives in the diffusion term of the transport equation in the macropore leads to a “fast diffusion” in both zones. Characteristics of the solute transport in both zones mainly depend on the concentration distribution and other hydrodynamic parameters in the macropore.
Chirality at the Nanoparticle Surface: Functionalization and Applications
Authors: Zafar Muhammad Shajih , Ragusa Andrea
Published: August 2020

Chiral molecules, such as amino acids and carbohydrates, are the building blocks of nature. As a consequence, most natural supramolecular structures, such as enzymes and receptors, are able to distinguish among different orientations in space of functional groups, and enantiomers of chiral drugs usually have different pharmacokinetic properties and physiological effects. In this regard, the ability to recognize a single enantiomer from a racemic mixture is of paramount importance. Alternatively, the capacity to synthetize preferentially one enantiomer over another through a catalytic process can eliminate (or at least simplify) the subsequent isolation of only one enantiomer. The advent of nanotechnology has led to noteworthy improvements in many fields, from material science to nanomedicine. Similarly, nanoparticles functionalized with chiral molecules have been exploited in several fields. In this review, we report the recent advances of the use of chiral nanoparticles grouped in four major areas, i.e., enantioselective recognition, asymmetric catalysis, biosensing, and biomedicine.
Mesoscale Model Simulation of a Severe Summer Thunderstorm in The Netherlands: Performance and Uncertainty Assessment for Parameterised and Resolved Convection
Authors: Steeneveld Gert-Jan , Peerlings Esther E.M.
Published: August 2020

On the evening of 23 June 2016 around 18:00 UTC, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) with hail and wind gusts passed the southern province Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands, and caused 675 millions of euros damage. This study evaluates the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model with three cumulus parameterisation schemes (Betts–Miller–Janjic, Grell–Freitas and Kain–Fritsch) on a grid spacing of 4 km in the ‘grey-zone’ and with explicitly resolved convection at 2 and 4 km grid spacing. The results of the five experiments are evaluated against observations of accumulated rainfall, maximum radar reflectivity, the CAPE evolution and wind speed. The results show that the Betts–Miller–Janjic scheme is activated too early and can therefore not predict any MCS over the region of interest. The Grell–Freitas and Kain–Fritsch schemes do predict an MCS, but its intensity is underestimated. With the explicit convection, the model is able to resolve the storm, though with a delay and an overestimated intensity. We also study whether spatial uncertainty in soil moisture is scaled up differently using parameterised or explicitly resolved convection. We find that the uncertainty in soil moisture distribution results in larger uncertainty in convective activity in the runs with explicit convection and the Grell–Freitas scheme, while the Kain–Fritsch and Betts–Miller–Janjic scheme clearly present a smaller variability.
Fractional Singular Differential Systems of Lane–Emden Type: Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions
Authors: Gouari Yazid , Dahmani Zoubir , Farooq Shan E. , Ahmad Farooq
Published: August 2020

A coupled system of singular fractional differential equations involving Riemann–Liouville integral and Caputo derivative is considered in this paper. The question of existence and uniqueness of solutions is studied using Banach contraction principle. Furthermore, the question of existence of at least one solution is discussed. At the end, an illustrative example is given in details.
Which Zebrafish Strains Are More Suitable to Perform Behavioral Studies? A Comprehensive Comparison by Phenomic Approach
Authors: Audira Gilbert , Siregar Petrus , Strungaru Stefan-Adrian , Huang Jong-Chin , Hsiao Chung-Der
Published: August 2020

Wild-type (WT) zebrafish are commonly used in behavioral tests, however, the term WT corresponds to many different strains, such as AB, Tübingen long fin (TL), and Wild Indian Karyotype (WIK). Since these strains are widely used, there has to be at least one study to demonstrate the behavioral differences between them. In our study, six zebrafish strains were used, which are AB, absolute, TL, golden, pet store-purchased (PET), and WIK zebrafishes. The behavior of these fishes was tested in a set of behavioral tests, including novel tank, mirror-biting, predator avoidance, social interaction, and shoaling tests. From the results, the differences were observed for all behavioral tests, and each strain displayed particular behavior depending on the tests. In addition, from the heatmap and PCA (principal component analysis) results, two major clusters were displayed, separating the AB and TL zebrafishes with other strains in another cluster. Furthermore, after the coefficient of variation of each strain in every behavioral test was calculated, the AB and TL zebrafishes were found to possess a low percentage of the coefficient of variation, highlighting the strong reproducibility and the robustness of the behaviors tested in both fishes. Each zebrafish strain tested in this experiment showed specifically different behaviors from each other, thus, strain-specific zebrafish behavior should be considered when designing experiments using zebrafish behavior.
Structural Characterization of an S-enantioselective Imine Reductase from Mycobacterium Smegmatis
Authors: Meyer Timo , Zumbrägel Nadine , Geerds Christina , Gröger Harald , Niemann Hartmut H.
Published: August 2020

NADPH-dependent imine reductases (IREDs) are enzymes capable of enantioselectively reducing imines to chiral secondary amines, which represent important building blocks in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Since their discovery in 2011, many previously unknown IREDs have been identified, biochemically and structurally characterized and categorized into families. However, the catalytic mechanism and guiding principles for substrate specificity and stereoselectivity remain disputed. Herein, we describe the crystal structure of S-IRED-Ms from Mycobacterium smegmatis together with its cofactor NADPH. S-IRED-Ms belongs to the S-enantioselective superfamily 3 (SFam3) and is the first IRED from SFam3 to be structurally described. The data presented provide further evidence for the overall high degree of structural conservation between different IREDs of various superfamilies. We discuss the role of Asp170 in catalysis and the importance of hydrophobic amino acids in the active site for stereospecificity. Moreover, a separate entrance to the active site, potentially functioning according to a gatekeeping mechanism regulating access and, therefore, substrate specificity is described.
Is Memantine Effective as an NMDA Receptor Antagonist in Adjunctive Therapy for Schizophrenia?
Authors: Kikuchi Tetsuro
Published: August 2020

Memantine, an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist approved for treating Alzheimer’s disease, has a good safety profile and is increasingly being studied for possible use in a variety of non-dementia psychiatric disorders. There is an abundance of basic and clinical data that support the hypothesis that NMDA receptor hypofunction contributes to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, there are numerous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials showing that add-on treatment with memantine improves negative and cognitive symptoms, particularly the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, indicating that memantine as adjunctive therapy in schizophrenia helps to ameliorate negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. It remains unclear why memantine does not show undesirable central nervous system (CNS) side effects in humans unlike other NMDA receptor antagonists, such as phencyclidine and ketamine. However, the answer could lie in the fact that it would appear that memantine works as a low-affinity, fast off-rate, voltage-dependent, and uncompetitive antagonist with preferential inhibition of extrasynaptic receptors. It is reasonable to assume that the effects of memantine as adjunctive therapy on negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia may derive primarily, if not totally, from its NMDA receptor antagonist activity at NMDA receptors including extrasynaptic receptors in the CNS.
A Shift in Glycerolipid Metabolism Defines the Follicular Fluid of IVF Patients with Unexplained Infertility
Authors: Batushansky Albert , Zacharia Anish , Shehadeh Alaa , Bruck-Haimson Reut , Saidemberg Daniel , Kogan Natalya M. , Thomas Mannully Chanchal , Herzberg Shmuel , Ben-Meir Assaf , Moussaieff Arieh
Published: August 2020

Follicular fluid (FF) constitutes the microenvironment of the developing oocyte. We recently characterized its lipid composition and found lipid signatures of positive pregnancy outcome after in vitro fertilization (IVF). In the current study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that unexplained female infertility is related to lipid metabolism, given the lipid signature of positive-outcome IVF patients we previously found. Assuming that FF samples from IVF patients with male factor infertility can represent a non-hindered metabolic microenvironment, we compared them to FF taken from women with unexplained infertility. FF from patients undergoing IVF was examined for its lipid composition. We found highly increased triacylglycerol levels, with a lower abundance of monoacylglycerols, phospholipids and sphingolipids in the FF of patients with unexplained infertility. The alterations in the lipid class accumulation were independent of the body mass index (BMI) and were altogether kept across the age groups. Potential lipid biomarkers for pregnancy outcomes showed a highly discriminative abundance in the FF of unexplained infertility patients. Lipid abundance distinguished IVF patients with unrecognized infertility and provided a potential means for the evaluation of female fertility.