bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Template-free method for the synthesis of high-pore-volume γ-Al2O3 nanofibers in a membrane dispersion microreactor
Authors: Li Fei , Wan Lisha , Wang Yuqi , Wang Yujun
Published: January 2021

Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 nanofibers with high pore volume and uniform pore size distributions were successfully synthesized via a template-free method in a membrane dispersion microreactor followed by calcination. The effects of crystal temperature, pH values, continuous phase concentration and washing solvent on the γ-Al2O3 nanofibers were carefully studied. The results showed that the as-obtained γ-Al2O3 nanofibers showed a length of 40–60 nm and a width of 3.2–3.4 nm, which were attributed to the high microscopic mixing rate in the membrane dispersion microreactor. Moreover, the precursors of γ-Al2O3 nanofibers treated with deionized water and mixed deionized water/alcohol solution had high pore volumes, reaching to 1.60 ml g−1 and 2.00 ml g−1, respectively. Furthermore, the adsorption performance of γ-Al2O3 nanofibers with high pore volumes was also investigated. These fibers showed an excellent adsorption capacity of 1323.68 mg g−1 for the removal of Congo red from aqueous solution, thereby indicating their potential for applications in adsorption and other related areas.
Colorimetric and turn-on fluorescence determination of mercury (II) by using carbon dots and gold nanoparticles
Authors: Lu Changfang , Ding Hao , Wang Yutong , Xiong Chaoying , Wang Xianxiang
Published: January 2021

A colorimetric and turn-on fluorometric assay with high sensitivity and selectivity is described for the optical detection of mercury (II) ions (Hg2+), based on carbon dots with –SH (SN-CDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). On addition of Hg2+, the color of the system (SN-CDs/AuNPs) changes from red to blue. A new absorption peak appears at 700 nm, and its absorbance increases with the concentration of Hg2+, while at 530 nm, the absorbance of AuNPs decreases. Taking the ratio of absorbance at 700 and 530 nm as a signal, a colorimetric method with linear detection range of 0.5–4.0 μM was established for the determination of Hg2+. Meanwhile, citrate ions on the surface of AuNPs can reduce Hg2+ to Hg0, and through the strong affinity of Hg0 and gold, gold–mercury alloys were formed to occupy the surface of AuNPs, so that the SN-CDs were re-free and the fluorescence of SN-CDs was restored. Consequently, a fluorometric method was founded in the linear detection range from 0.5 to 15.0 μM of mercury (II). This dual-mode (colorimetric and turn-on fluorometric) method was applied successfully for determination of Hg2+ in real water samples.
Graphene oxide based synaptic memristor device for neuromorphic computing
Authors: Sahu Dwipak Prasad , Jetty Prabana , Jammalamadaka S Narayana
Published: January 2021

Brain-inspired neuromorphic computing which consist neurons and synapses, with an ability to perform complex information processing has unfolded a new paradigm of computing to overcome the von Neumann bottleneck. Electronic synaptic memristor devices which can compete with the biological synapses are indeed significant for neuromorphic computing. In this work, we demonstrate our efforts to develop and realize the graphene oxide (GO) based memristor device as a synaptic device, which mimic as a biological synapse. Indeed, this device exhibits the essential synaptic learning behavior including analog memory characteristics, potentiation and depression. Furthermore, spike-timing-dependent-plasticity learning rule is mimicked by engineering the pre- and post-synaptic spikes. In addition, non-volatile properties such as endurance, retentivity, multilevel switching of the device are explored. These results suggest that Ag/GO/fluorine-doped tin oxide memristor device would indeed be a potential candidate for future neuromorphic computing applications.
Head-and-neck organs-at-risk auto-delineation using dual pyramid networks for CBCT-guided adaptive radiotherapy
Authors: Dai Xianjin , Lei Yang , Wang Tonghe , Dhabaan Anees H , McDonald Mark , Beitler Jonathan J , Curran Walter J , Zhou Jun , Liu Tian , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: January 2021

Organ-at-risk (OAR) delineation is a key step for cone-beam CT (CBCT) based adaptive radiotherapy planning that can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and subject-to-variability process. We aim to develop a fully automated approach aided by synthetic MRI for rapid and accurate CBCT multi-organ contouring in head-and-neck (HN) cancer patients. MRI has superb soft-tissue contrasts, while CBCT offers bony-structure contrasts. Using the complementary information provided by MRI and CBCT is expected to enable accurate multi-organ segmentation in HN cancer patients. In our proposed method, MR images are firstly synthesized using a pre-trained cycle-consistent generative adversarial network given CBCT. The features of CBCT and synthetic MRI (sMRI) are then extracted using dual pyramid networks for final delineation of organs. CBCT images and their corresponding manual contours were used as pairs to train and test the proposed model. Quantitative metrics including Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Hausdorff distance 95% (HD95), mean surface distance, and residual mean square distance (RMS) were used to evaluate the proposed method. The proposed method was evaluated on a cohort of 65 HN cancer patients. CBCT images were collected from those patients who received proton therapy. Overall, DSC values of 0.87 ± 0.03, 0.79 ± 0.10/0.79 ± 0.11, 0.89 ± 0.08/0.89 ± 0.07, 0.90 ± 0.08, 0.75 ± 0.06/0.77 ± 0.06, 0.86 ± 0.13, 0.66 ± 0.14, 0.78 ± 0.05/0.77 ± 0.04, 0.96 ± 0.04, 0.89 ± 0.04/0.89 ± 0.04, 0.83 ± 0.02, and 0.84 ± 0.07 for commonly used OARs for treatment planning including brain stem, left/right cochlea, left/right eye, larynx, left/right lens, mandible, optic chiasm, left/right optic nerve, oral cavity, left/right parotid, pharynx, and spinal cord, respectively, were achieved. This study provides a rapid and accurate OAR auto-delineation approach, which can be used for adaptive radiation therapy.
Gold nanoparticle detection and quantification in therapeutic MV beams via pair production
Authors: Brivio D , Sajo E , Zygmanski P
Published: January 2021

Purpose. We propose a new detection method of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) in therapeutic megavoltage (MV) x-ray beams by means of coincidence counting of annihilation photons following pair production in gold. Methods. The proposed MV x-ray induced positron emission (MVIPE) imaging technique is studied by radiation transport computations using MCNP6 (3D) and CEPXS/ONEDANT (1D) codes for two water phantoms: a 35 cm slab and a similarly sized cylinder, both having a 5 cm AuNP filled region in the center. MVIPE is compared to the standard x-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT). MVIPE adopts MV x-ray sources (Co-60, 2 MV, 6 MV, 6 MV with closed MLC and 15 MV) and relies on the detection of 511 keV photon-pairs. XFCT uses kilovoltage sources (100 kVp, 120 kVp and 150 kVp) and imaging is characterized by analysis of k
α1,2 Au characteristic lines. Three levels of AuNP concentration were studied: 0.1%, 1% and 10% by weight. Results. Annihilation photons in the MVIPE technique originate both in the AuNP and in water along the x-ray beam path with significantly larger production in the AuNP-loaded region. MVIPE signal from AuNP is linearly increasing with AuNP concentration up to 10%wt, while XFCT signal reaches saturation due to self-absorption within AuNP. The production of annihilation photons is proportional to the MV source energy. MVIPE technique using a 15 MV pencil beam and 10 wt% AuNP detects about 4.5 × 103 511 keV-photons cm−2 at 90° w/r to the incident beam per 109 source photons cm−2; 500 of these come from AuNP. In contrast, the XFCT technique using 150 kVp detects only about 100 k

α1-photons cm−2 per 109 source photons cm−2. Conclusions. In MVIPE, the number of annihilation photons produced for different MV-beam energies and AuNP concentrations is significantly greater than the k

α1 photons generated in XFCT. Coincidence counting in MVIPE allows to avoid collimation, which is a major limiting factor in XFCT. MVIPE challenges include the filtering of Compton scatter and annihilation photons originating in water.
Stereoscopic portable hybrid gamma imaging for source depth estimation
Authors: Bugby S L , Lees J E , McKnight W K , Dawood N S
Published: January 2021

Advances in gamma imaging technology mean that is now technologically feasible to conduct stereoscopic gamma imaging in a hand-held unit. This paper derives an analytical model for stereoscopic pinhole imaging which can be used to predict performance for a wide range of camera configurations. Investigation of this concept through Monte Carlo and benchtop studies, for an example configuration, shows camera-source distance measurements with a mean deviation between calculated and actual distances of <5 mm for imaging distances of 50–250 mm. By combining this technique with stereoscopic optical imaging, we are then able to calculate the depth of a radioisotope source beneath a surface without any external positional tracking. This new hybrid technique has the potential to improve surgical localisation in procedures such as sentinel lymph node biopsy.
GroupRegNet: a groupwise one-shot deep learning-based 4D image registration method
Authors: Zhang Yunlu , Wu Xue , Gach H Michael , Li Harold , Yang Deshan
Published: January 2021

Accurate deformable four-dimensional (4D) (three-dimensional in space and time) medical images registration is essential in a variety of medical applications. Deep learning-based methods have recently gained popularity in this area for the significantly lower inference time. However, they suffer from drawbacks of non-optimal accuracy and the requirement of a large amount of training data. A new method named GroupRegNet is proposed to address both limitations. The deformation fields to warp all images in the group into a common template is obtained through one-shot learning. The use of the implicit template reduces bias and accumulated error associated with the specified reference image. The one-shot learning strategy is similar to the conventional iterative optimization method but the motion model and parameters are replaced with a convolutional neural network and the weights of the network. GroupRegNet also features a simpler network design and a more straightforward registration process, which eliminates the need to break up the input image into patches. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated on two public respiratory-binned 4D-computed tomography datasets. The results suggest that GroupRegNet outperforms the latest published deep learning-based methods and is comparable to the top conventional method pTVreg. To facilitate future research, the source code is available at https://github.com/vincentme/GroupRegNet.
Waveform characterisation and comparison of nystagmus eye-tracking signals
Authors: Rosengren William , Nyström Marcus , Hammar Björn , Stridh Martin
Published: January 2021

Objective. Pathological nystagmus is a symptom of oculomotor disease where the eyes oscillate involuntarily. The underlying cause of the nystagmus and the characteristics of the oscillatory eye movements are patient specific. An important part of clinical assessment in nystagmus patients is therefore to characterise different recorded eye-tracking signals, i.e. waveforms.
Approach. A method for characterisation of the nystagmus waveform morphology is proposed. The method extracts local morphologic characteristics based on a sinusoidal model, and clusters these into a description of the complete signal. The clusters are used to characterise and compare recordings within and between patients and tasks. New metrics are proposed that can measure waveform similarity at different scales; from short signal segments up to entire signals, both within and between patients. Main results. The results show that the proposed method robustly can find the most prominent nystagmus waveforms in a recording. The method accurately identifies different eye movement patterns within and between patients and across different tasks. Significance. In conclusion, by allowing characterisation and comparison of nystagmus waveform patterns, the proposed method opens up for investigation and identification of the underlying condition in the individual patient, and for quantifying eye movements during tasks.
Correlation-estimated conditional average method and its application on solitary oscillation in PANTA
Authors: Kobayashi T-K , Fujisawa A , Nagashima Y , Moon C , Yamasaki K , Nishimura D , Inagaki S , Yamada T , Kasuya N , Kosuga Y , Sasaki M , Kawachi Y
Published: January 2021

The conditional average is a technique to extract a typical waveform from bursty or quasi-periodic phenomena regarded as a combination of deterministic trend and residual fluctuations (or probabilistic part). The article proposes a new conditional average technique that is an extension from what is called the template method that allows automatic selection, using the correlation analysis, of the identical events of the phenomena. The proposed method is applied on a quasi-periodic oscillation observed in a linear magnetized plasma, and successfully divides the phenomenon into the deterministic trend and residual fluctuations. Moreover, the statistical error analysis on the power of the residual fluctuations discloses the presence of mutual interactions between the deterministic trend and the residual fluctuations.
A wind-induced negative damping method to achieve high-energy orbit of a nonlinear vibration energy harvester
Authors: Lan Chunbo , Hu Guobiao , Liao Yabin , Qin Weiyang
Published: January 2021

Maintaining high-energy orbit oscillation of a nonlinear vibration energy harvester (VEH) is the key to achieve high-performance, broadband energy harvesting. Conventional orbit-jump strategies, such as mechanical modulation or electrical control methods, need to consume the limited harvested energy and may unfavourably reduce the energy harvesting efficiency. To avoid the undesired energy consumption, we focus on utilizing the overlooked wind energy to assist a nonlinear VEH to attain the preferred high-energy orbit. The novel orbit-jump method proposed in this letter is based on the wind-induced negative damping mechanism and the resultant self-excited behaviour. Both numerical simulation and experimental results validate the feasibility of the proposed method to efficiently trigger the high-energy orbit oscillations of a nonlinear VEH. Moreover, the required wind energy to achieve self-excited oscillation for different excitation frequencies and acceleration levels, is quite stable and can be easily satisfied, which demonstrates good robustness for practical applications.
Size-dependent free vibration analysis of functionally graded porous piezoelectric sandwich nanobeam reinforced with graphene platelets with consideration of flexoelectric effect
Authors: Chen Qingqing , Zheng Shijie , Li Zongjun , Zeng Chunying
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates the effect of flexoelectricity on the vibration responses of functionally graded porous piezoelectric sandwich nanobeam reinforced by graphene platelets (GPLs). The Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and the general modified strain gradient theory are employed to formulate the constitutive equations. Different distributions of porosity and GPLs dispersion patterns are considered and the Halpin–Tsai model is used to predict Young’s modulus and density of the nanobeam. The governing equations and boundary conditions are derived based on the general strain gradient theory and solved by differential quadrature method. A parametric study is accomplished to investigate the effects of flexoelectricity, size-dependence, porosity coefficient, GPLs weight fraction, porosity distributions as well as GPLs dispersion patterns on the fundamental frequency of composite nanobeam. Numerical results indicate that the porosity, GPLs and flexoelectricity can effectively influence the vibration behavior of nanobeam.
Piezoelectric-silicone structure for vibration energy harvesting: experimental testing and modelling
Authors: Zabek Daniel , Pullins Rhys , Pearson Matthew , Grzebielec Andrzej , Skoczkowski Tadeusz
Published: January 2021

Mechanical vibrations from heavy machines, building structures, or the human body can be harvested and directly converted into electrical energy. In this paper, the potential to effectively harvest mechanical vibrations and locally generate electrical energy using a novel piezoelectric-rubber composite structure is explored. Piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate is bonded to silicone rubber to form a cylindrical composite-like energy harvesting device which has the potential to structurally dampen high acceleration forces and generate electrical power. The device was experimentally load tested and an advanced dynamic model was verified against experimental data. While an experimental output power of 57 μW cm−3 was obtained, the advanced model further optimises the device geometry. The proposed energy harvesting device generates sufficient electrical power for structural health monitoring and remote sensing applications, while also providing structural damping for low frequency mechanical vibrations.
Control of photorefractive space-charge field and its deflection application in Mn-doped KTa1−x
Nb
x
O3 crystal
Authors: Wang Yu , Tan Peng , Zhou Zhongxiang , Huang Xiaolin , Hu Chengpeng , Meng Xiangda , Huang Fei , Wang Jing , Tian Hao
Published: January 2021

The photorefractive effect is an effective way of achieving control of a beam by inducing a space-charge field and controlling the distribution of the refractive index. Herein, the one-dimensional gradient distribution of a space-charge field is structured, and the deflection of the transmitted beam is achieved. The method of regulation and control of the space-charge field was studied by digital holographic microscopy based on a Mn-doped KTN single crystal. The realized deflector has a maximum deflection angle of 0.3° and maintains good frequency-response characteristics up to 50 kHz. This work provides guidance for optical functional devices based on engineering distribution of a space-charge field.
Searching for signatures of quantum gravity in quantum gases
Authors: Haine Simon A
Published: January 2021

We explore the possibility of testing the quantum nature of the gravitational field with an ensemble of ultra-cold atoms. The use of many microscopic particles may circumvent some of the experimental obstacles encountered in recent proposals involving a pair of particles with mesoscopic mass. We employ multi-parameter estimation techniques, including the quantum and classical Fisher information to provide a criteria for the observability of the quantum effects, and compare to other recently proposed schemes. Crucially, we find that by preparing the appropriate initial state, interactions mediated via a quantum-valued gravitational field provide a signature that is distinct from classical gravitational interactions. We find that a definitive demonstration of the quantum gravitational interaction is not possible with current experimental capabilities, due to uncertainty in the residual electromagnetic interactions between the atoms. However, it may be possible with significant improvements to current experimental techniques.
Quantum dynamics of electric-dipole coupled defect centers in solids
Authors: Tang Feng , Zhou Lei-Ming , Zhao Nan
Published: January 2021

We investigate the quantum dynamics of two defect centers in solids, which are coupled by vacuum-induced dipole–dipole interactions. When the interaction between defects and phonons is taken into account, the two coupled electron–phonon systems make up two equivalent multilevel atoms. By making Born–Markov and rotating wave approximations, we derive a master equation describing the dynamics of the coupled multilevel atoms. The results indicate the concepts of subradiant and superradiant states can be applied to these systems and the population transfer process presents different behaviors from those of the two dipolar-coupled two-level atoms due to the participation of phonons.
Sensitivity of energy eigenstates to perturbation in quantum integrable and chaotic systems
Authors: Xu Zao , Lyu Yin-Chenguang , Wang Jiaozi , Wang Wen-Ge
Published: January 2021

We study the sensitivity of energy eigenstates to small perturbation in quantum integrable and chaotic systems. It is shown that the distribution of rescaled components of perturbed states in unperturbed basis exhibits qualitative difference in these two types of systems: being close to the Gaussian form in quantum chaotic systems, while, far from the Gaussian form in integrable systems.
Average coherence with respect to complementary measurements
Authors: Chen Bin , Fei Shao-Ming
Published: January 2021

We investigate the average coherence with respect to a complete set of complementary measurements. By using a Wigner–Yanase skew information-based coherence measure introduced in Luo and Sun (2017 Phys. Rev. A 96, 022130), we evaluate the average coherence of a state with respect to any complete set of mutually unbiased measurements and general symmetric informationally complete measurements, respectively. We also establish analytically the relations among these average coherences.
Resolving neural states from optical neural response readout
Authors: Zheltikov Aleksei M
Published: January 2021

We examine two types of information loss function encountered in optical neural recording—the uncertainty of neural states encoding an external stimulus and the incompleteness of information that laser-excited fluorescence can read out from these neural states. We show that, even though these uncertainties are of distinctly different nature, they can be treated on an equal footing against the Fisher information metric, revealing the fundamental information limits inherent in optical neural recording.
Behaviors of thermalization for the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou system with small number of particles*
Authors: Zhang Zhenjun , Kang Jing , Wen Wen
Published: January 2021

We study the behaviors of thermalization in Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou (FPUT) system with small number of particles using periodic boundary conditions. The total energy has initially equidistributed among some of the lowest frequency modes. The thermalization time t
eq depending on system’s energy density ε scales as t
eq ∝ ε
−4 only within a certain range of nonlinearity. In this range of nonlinearity, energies can interchange between the initial excited modes and other modes continuously with time until reaching the thermalized state. With a further decreasing nonlinearity, a steeper growth than ε
−4 will appear. In the very weakly nonlinear regime, energies on low frequency modes are found to be frozen on large time scales. Redistribution of mode energies happens through the resonances of high frequency modes.
Analyzing protein-protein interactions of coronavirus using markov clustering with cuckoo search and ant lion optimization
Authors: Afriyani R , Bustamam A , Sarwinda D
Published: January 2021

Proteins are complex organic compounds made up of smaller units called amino acids that are bonded together in long chains. Protein interacts with other proteins or molecules and becomes essential in the structure, function, and regulation of organisms’ cells. The Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) results in a considerably large network. Consequently, there is a need to find a method to simplify the network for easy interpretation of the protein-protein interaction. One of the most common methods is Markov Clustering (MCL). MCL has been applied to solve graph clustering problems based on stochastic flow simulation. MCL has three main stages in the process, namely expansion, inflation, and pruning. Although MCL produces a fast and well-balanced non-hierarchical clustering, it has a limitation where the results depend on the inflation parameter being inputted manually. In this study, we develop a method to combine Markov Clustering (MCL) with Cuckoo Search (CS) and Ant Lion Optimization (ALO) Algorithm. CS and ALO are applied in MCL algorithm to obtain an optimized inflation parameter automatically. PPI network of SARS-CoV-2 and other related coronavirus datasets are used in this research and is presented in the form of a graph. The experiment shows that CS-MCL forms 47 clusters, while ALO-MCL yields 14 cluster on the PPI dataset.
Strengthened ocean-desert process in the North Pacific over the past two decades
Authors: Meng Siyu , Gong Xun , Yu Yang , Yao Xiaohong , Gong Xiang , Lu Keyu , Zhang Chao , Shi Jie , Yu Xiaojie , Gao Huiwang
Published: January 2021

North Pacific ocean desert (NPOD) refers to the subtropical North Pacific Ocean of low chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations, as the largest ocean desert globally. Studies have suggested a development of NPOD over recent decades based on limited evidences from in-field measurements and yet elusive mechanism. In this study, we characterize intensity, area and position of the NPOD from year 1998 to 2018, and investigate its control by the coherent climate processes, based on an available, longest satellite observations of Chl-a concentration. Our results suggested that NPOD oligotrophication and expansion processes were correlated with warming upper oceans in most part of the NPOD, except for the SW NPOD area where the Chl-a variations were linked with regional change in sea surface heights. Moreover, based on our analysis, insignificant shift but only NW-SE variability of the NPOD mean position was likely controlled by the Pacific decadal oscillation processes.
Climate impact and adaptation to heat and drought stress of regional and global wheat production
Authors: Pequeno Diego N L , Hernández-Ochoa Ixchel M , Reynolds Matthew , Sonder Kai , MoleroMilan Anabel , Robertson Richard D , Lopes Marta S , Xiong Wei , Kropff Martin , Asseng Senthold
Published: January 2021

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is the most widely grown food crop in the world threatened by future climate change. In this study, we simulated climate change impacts and adaptation strategies for wheat globally using new crop genetic traits (CGT), including increased heat tolerance, early vigor to increase early crop water use, late flowering to reverse an earlier anthesis in warmer conditions, and the combined traits with additional nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications, as an option to maximize genetic gains. These simulations were completed using three wheat crop models and five Global Climate Models (GCM) for RCP 8.5 at mid-century. Crop simulations were compared with country, US state, and US county grain yield and production. Wheat yield and production from high-yielding and low-yielding countries were mostly captured by the model ensemble mean. However, US state and county yields and production were often poorly reproduced, with large variability in the models, which is likely due to poor soil and crop management input data at this scale. Climate change is projected to decrease global wheat production by −1.9% by mid-century. However, the most negative impacts are projected to affect developing countries in tropical regions. The model ensemble mean suggests large negative yield impacts for African and Southern Asian countries where food security is already a problem. Yields are predicted to decline by −15% in African countries and −16% in Southern Asian countries by 2050. Introducing CGT as an adaptation to climate change improved wheat yield in many regions, but due to poor nutrient management, many developing countries only benefited from adaptation from CGT when combined with additional N fertilizer. As growing conditions and the impact from climate change on wheat vary across the globe, region-specific adaptation strategies need to be explored to increase the possible benefits of adaptations to climate change in the future.
Permafrost-derived dissolved organic matter composition varies across permafrost end-members in the western Canadian Arctic
Authors: MacDonald Erin N , Tank Suzanne E , Kokelj Steven V , Froese Duane G , Hutchins Ryan H S
Published: January 2021

Organic matter, upon dissolution into the aqueous state as dissolved organic matter (DOM), can undergo mineralization by microbes. There has been increasing effort to characterize DOM released from thawing permafrost because it may perpetuate a permafrost carbon feedback. Permafrost-derived DOM often has a composition that can be highly susceptible to mineralization by microbes, but most studies to date that characterize permafrost-derived DOM have been limited to select regions, and tend to focus on a single type of permafrost (sometimes unspecified) that reflects a particular deposit type. Importantly, diversity in the nature of the deposit, formation of permafrost, and thaw modification processes leads to spatial and stratigraphic variability in its properties, but our understanding of variation in the composition of DOM derived from differing permafrost types (end-members) is poor. Here, we used ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize DOM composition derived from a series of permafrost end-member types that are commonly found within the thaw-vulnerable western Canadian Arctic, including: tills (glacially deposited), diamicton (thawed and remobilized material of mixed origin), lacustrine (lake basin sediments into which permafrost has aggraded), peat (partially decomposed organic material), and Yedoma (syngenetic silty loess) deposits. We identified marked variation in DOM composition among permafrost end-member types. Tills were compositionally dissimilar to all other permafrost end-members. Compounds unique to Yedoma were predominantly aliphatic, while compounds unique to peat, lacustrine, and diamicton spanned saturation and oxygenation gradients. All permafrost leachates were generally higher in aliphatics, lower in aromatics, and less oxygenated than active layer leachates. Compositional differences appear to reflect variation in permafrost parent materials, and particularly strong effects from past modification processes while in the unfrozen or thawed state. Constraining DOM composition and assessing its stratigraphic variability will become more pressing as the spatial and stratigraphic extent of thaw increases with future warming.
Simultaneous block diagonalization of matrices of finite order
Authors: Bischer Ingolf , Döring Christian , Trautner Andreas
Published: January 2021

It is well known that a set of non-defect matrices can be simultaneously diagonalized if and only if the matrices commute. In the case of non-commuting matrices, the best that can be achieved is simultaneous block diagonalization. Here we give an efficient algorithm to explicitly compute a transfer matrix which realizes the simultaneous block diagonalization of unitary matrices whose decomposition in irreducible blocks (common invariant subspaces) is known from elsewhere. Our main motivation lies in particle physics, where the resulting transfer matrix must be known explicitly in order to unequivocally determine the action of outer automorphisms such as parity, charge conjugation, or time reversal on the particle spectrum.
Building a model for predicting digestive enzymes activity depending on lipid composition of diet
Authors: Akimov S S , Grechkina V V , Lebedev S V
Published: January 2021

Animal nutrition is an important aspect in optimizing the production process of meat and dairy farming. In the process of feeding animals, various digestive enzymes are released, which contribute to the proper functioning of the animal’s body. Biochemical blood indicators can be an indicator of health. They can characterize the level of animals’ adaptation to various stressful factors including the specific conditions of animal feeding. Research results show that a high correlation between the digestive enzymes of the pancreas and biochemical parameters of calves’ blood was shown with regards to the time factor and fat component when they were injected with vegetable fats. The dependent relationship in the experimental groups was as follows: sunflower oil (+) uric and acid lipase (r=0.57), total bilirubin and protease (r=0.51), glucose and lipase (r=0.68), protease and total protein (r=0.59), protease and albumin (r=0.51), protease and total bilirubin (r=0.63), protease–phosphorus (r=–0.55), respectively. (–) AST amylase (r=–0.54), ALT lipase (r=–0.52), amylase and total bilirubin (r=–0.68), amylase and iron (r=–0.62). Palm oil (+) total protein and lipase (r=0.58), glucose and protease (r=0.51), AST protease (r=0.54), iron amylase (r=0.57), calcium and lipase (r=0.63), negative gamma–GT and lipase (r=–0.53). Soybean oil (+) protease and creatinine (r=0.50). (–) urea lipase (r=–0.52), LDH protease (r=–0.75), iron and protease (r=–0.58), amylase–iron (r=–0.65) amylase–g–GT (r=–0.64), amylase–ALT (r=0.62). Flaxseed oil (+) albumin protease (r=0.53), ALT amylase (r=0.627), ALT protease (r=0.56), AST lipase (r=0.52), cholesterol amylase (r=0.55), phosphorus lipase (r=0.523). (–) gamma–GT protease (r=–0.54), glucose amylase (r=–0.63), glucose protease (r=–0.52). Thus, a pronounced positive relationship was observed over a period of time in sunflower (30–60 minutes), palm (60–90 minutes) and linseed (0–30 minutes) oils. Negative effects can be seen when using a diet supplemented with soybean oil. The developed mathematical models make it possible to predict the secretory function of the pancreas and the body’s response to various types of fats, with a database of biochemical parameters and the enzymatic activity of the pancreas.
Influence of climatic seasons and the origin of animals on indicators of cattle productivity
Authors: Kolpakov V , Ruchay A , Dzhulamanov K , Kosyan D
Published: January 2021

The processes of life of the body, as well as its physiological functions, are largely characterized by the biochemical and morphological compositions of blood. Studying the level and direction of metabolic processes in animals under the influence of genotypic and paratypical factors is of great practical interest. The object of the study was bull-calves from cows of different productive values of the created hornless type of Hereford breed cattle. We found an increased level of β-globulins in experimental bulls of groups III and V in the winter as well as a significant (in 1.2 times) increase (p≤0.05) of the vitamin A content in group II, compared to the first group. A significant increase in the concentration of carotene in the II experimental group reached a 1.3 times point (p≤0.05) and, at the same time, found its decrease in the IV group by 17.1 % (p≤0.05) compared to the first group. It was noted that the more massive calves had higher levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells in temperature-contrast periods of the year. The superiority of bulls from group III over peers in these indices was 5.05–16.29 % and 5.1–13.5 %. All changes in the values of the morphological and biochemical compositions of blood were at the optimal level changing by seasons of the year. In most cases, the high values corresponded to a higher growth rate of the live mass of the bulls of studied genotypes.
Comparison of productive and biological characteristics of indigenous and imported cattle in Yakutia
Authors: Miroshnikov S , Yausheva E , Kosyan D , Sleptsov I , Martynov A
Published: January 2021

The aim of this research was evaluation of the rumen and faecal bacterial communities with high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA in indigenous Yakut and transferred Kalmyk cows, which have potentially valuable gene pools for beef cattle breeding. The obtained results showed a similar composition of the microbiomes in the rumens of Yakut and Kalmyk cows. The dominant bacterial phyla in the rumen microbiocenoses were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes represented mainly by the Prevotellaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Ruminococccaceae and Lachnospiraceae families. In the faeces of the cow breeds, compared families Bacteroidaceae, Clostridiaceae, Ruminococcaceae and Verrucomicrobiaceae were the most numerous. Further work is necessary to reveal the role of the identified bacterial taxa in changes of the rumen fermentation.
Materials and equipment for seed production in Russia
Authors: Marinchenko T E
Published: January 2021

Cultivated plants, which form the basis of the human diet, are also used for feeding livestock and poultry and as process raw materials. With the growth of human needs and an increase in the number of factors and the degree of negative impact on plants (changing unstable climate, including drought, decreased fertility, increased resistance of plant pathogens and pests to pesticides, cumulative effects of agrochemical load, etc.), there is a need for further development of research in the field of breeding and seed production. The development of these areas through the introduction of competitive domestic technologies based on the latest scientific achievements is the national interest of the state in the field of food security for the long term. Provision of Russian producers with high-quality domestic seeds of high reproduction for a number of crops is insufficient, which creates a threat to the country’s food independence. An important factor in providing agricultural producers with domestic seeds is the development of the material and technical base of breeding and seed production, including state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment for seed preparation, since processing and preparation of seeds are today necessary conditions for improving the quality and competitiveness of domestic seed. The state and problems of the development of plant breeding and seed production, as well as the proportion of seed supply of domestic breeding are discussed. Some domestic projects in the field of seed production are analyzed in order to determine their potential for solving strategic tasks for the development of domestic seed production.
Biotechnology for the Production of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Plant Material and its Pharmacognostic Analysis
Authors: Tikhomirova L I , Lisenko R C
Published: January 2021

The paper describes a technique for micropropagation of S. baicalensis. It implies the use of seeds as primary explants, reproduction of an actively proliferating culture on an MS medium containing 1.0-0.5 μM kinetin and 0.25 μM IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) and 0.05 μM GA (gibberellic acid), rooting of shoots on a medium containing 1 μM IBA. A microscopic analysis of Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) grown in a tissue culture made it possible to establish the following diagnostic signs: - for the leaf – diacytic stomatal complex, simple warty hairs and capitate hairs; essential oil glands with 4.6 and 8 excretory cells; - for the stem – simple warty and capitate hairs, prosenchyme cells in the epidermis. Biologically active substances of 70% ethanol extracts from progeny plants were screened. Tanins, xanthones, flavonoids and other phenolic compounds were found to be present. A quantitative analysis of some biologically active substances made it possible to obtain the following data: the content of extractives amounted to 12.50±1.03%, with the tannins to make up 8.25±0.62% and a total of flavonoids to be in the range of 5.8±0.2%. For the first time, the content of xanthones was determined in progeny plants of S. baicalensis in terms of mangiferin to be 48±0.01% per ADM.
Assessment of the quality and safety of the use of vegetable fats in meat production
Authors: Sheida E V , Lebedev S V , Vershinina I A , Grechkina V V , Gubaidullina I Z
Published: January 2021

The high demand for quality and nutritious foods is constantly growing. To provide the population with high-quality meat products, it is necessary to determine the impact of the components introduced into the feed ration, which have a negative and positive impact on the production of these products, and then develop and apply tools to improve their quality. The oil and fat industry is a potential source of production of high-quality feed products for various types of animal husbandry, since the composition of oil-containing raw materials contains all the necessary components for animal nutrition. The main objective of our study was to assess and predict the quality and safety of the use of vegetable fats (palm, sunflower, soybean, rapeseed and flaxseed oils) in the production of beef meat. It has been found that the additional inclusion of vegetable fats enhances the intensity of metabolic processes in the body and thereby contributes to an increase in meat productivity.
Influence of processing factors on raw chicken meat quality and safety
Authors: Berketova L V , Gribova N A , Perov V. I. , Eliseeva L G , Akimova N. A. , Soltaeva N L
Published: January 2021

The paper analyzes the latest researches and reviews the issues devoted to procurement of qualitative and safe food stock and food products of chicken meat. The authors consider various factors influencing the quality of primary food stock that is further used in human food ration. The use of additives in chicken feed enhances the nutrition value of chicken meat due to an increase in the content of proteins, fats, essential amino acids, unsaturated fatty acids, which, in turn, contributes to an increase in biological value of food stock. Feed additives containing selenium make it possible to receive meat enriched with this nutrient for use in dietary ration. Different ways of raw chicken meat processing are analyzed, including scalding, injection and treatment with different mixtures; their impact on nutrition value of chicken meat is studied with the purpose of using it in dietary rations and groups of consumers. The object of the research was to identify factors influencing the quality and safety of chicken meat.
Carcass quality traits of beef cattle with different DGAT1 genotypes
Authors: Sedykh T A , Kalashnikova L A , Gizatullin R S
Published: January 2021

The paper presents the research results on carcass quality traits of beef cattle for different DGAT1 genotypes. The study aimed to detect the effect of SNP DGAT1-K232A on carcass and beef quality of Hereford and Limousine bull calves of different genotypes. The tasks were SNP genotyping of animals by DGAT1-K232A, detecting the impact of SNP on carcass quality and morphological composition, weight and yield of half carcasses, organoleptic properties of meat, as well as the chemical composition of beef. The method of a polymerase chain reaction with a subsequent restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was used to genotype fattening bull calves of Hereford (91 heads) and Limousine (109 heads) breeds. The animals were raised until 20 months of age in conditions of a resource-saving indoor and pasture-based system. There was an apparent effect of SNP DGAT1-K232A (DGAT1KK>DGAT1AA, P◘0.05) on the interior raw fat weight and yield indicators, subcutaneous fat tissue thickness, fat content in the rib eye and a sample of minced meat. Thus, genotyping by SNP DGAT1-K232A can be used as an additional criterion to improve the quality traits of meat in beef cattle breeding.
Antioxidant profile of Amaranthus paniculatus L. of the Pamyat of Kovas variety
Authors: Gins V K , Motyleva S M , Kulikov I M , Tumanyan A F , Romanova E V , Baikov A A , Gins E M , Terekhin A A , Gins M S
Published: January 2021

The study of the composition and content of biologically active compounds in the leaves and inflorescences of the Pamyat of Kovas vegetable variety of the VNIISSOK selection revealed a difference in their accumulation in the leaves of the lower and upper layers. The maximum accumulation of biologically active substances was found in the leaves and inflorescences of the upper layer, exhibiting high antioxidant activity. In the studied extracts, antioxidant metabolites were found: amarantine, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids, simple phenols and hydroxybenzoic acids, as well as pectins. The features typical for vegetable leaf crops were found: the maximum number of studied antioxidant metabolites accumulates in the leaves of the upper layer and amaranth inflorescences, while the decrease in the content of antioxidants is observed in aging leaves.
Study of the influence of anthropogenic factors on organism
Authors: Notova S V , Kazakova T V , Marshinskaia O V , Kiyaeva E V , Sheida E V
Published: January 2021

The use of iron nanoparticles of various forms in industry continues to grow; therefore, there are risks of environmental damage and toxicity. The study was conducted on Wistar rats (n = 36). Nanoparticles of iron oxide and cobalt ferrite were injected once intraperitoneally at doses of 2 and 2.3 mg/kg (45 nm). On the 1st, 7th and 21st day of the experiment, the emotional and motor activities were assessed using the Open Field and Black and White Chamber tests. The results presented demonstrate that the liver and spleen are target organs that are able to accumulate nanoparticles; iron nanoparticles have a neurotropic effect and may have an anxiolytic effect. Despite the negative results obtained, the prospects of using nanoparticles cannot be denied. The use of a systematic and comprehensive approach to the assessment of risks and toxicity of nanomaterials will allow creating conditions to build a unified concept of nanosafety.
Fertilizers effect on yield and apples’ fruits quality on leached chernozem
Authors: Dzanagov S Kh , Gazdanov A V , Lazarov T K , Asaeva T D , Basiev A E , Kanukov Z T
Published: January 2021

In the Central Ciscaucasia, including North Ossetia-Alania, in recent years, new fast-growing, immune, highly-productive varieties of apple trees of an intensive type have become widespread. The effectiveness of the use of fertilizers for growing new varieties of apple trees has not been studied. In this regard, a study was made of the responsiveness of three apple varieties to mineral and organic fertilizers (manure) and their combination. The apple orchard was studied on leached chernozem, covered by pebble from a depth of 50 cm and having a wash water regime. As a result of research, it was found that the use of mineral and organic fertilizers in this type of garden is an effective agrotechnological technique. The use of mineral and organic fertilizers increases the productivity of the fruits of the varieties Aidored, Florina and Stark-Nart by 20.0–130.4 % compared with non-fertilized control. The Florina variety was the most fruitful. Significantly less productive is the Aydored variety and especially Stark-Nart. In the control, respectively, Florin’s variety – 22.0 t/ha, Aidored – 12.5 t/ha and Stark-Nart – 11.5 t/ha. Of the fertilized options, the best in all three varieties was N150P150К150: productivity was 40.5, 28.5, and 26.5 t/ha, respectively. The fertilizers under study affected the quality indicators of fruits in different ways. For Aidored variety, there is a tendency toward a decrease in the dry matter content and fruit acidity as the level of mineral nutrition increases, while the content of sugar, vitamin C, P-active substances, sugar-acid index and pectin substances increase. According to these indicators, N150P150К150 stands out as the best of the fertilized options. In relation to the Florin and Stark-Nart varieties, it should be pointed out that the patterns of action of fertilizers on the quality of fruits noted for the Aidored variety are identical, although the quantitative indicators are not the same. In particular, it can be noted that in terms of sugar content, Stark-Nart is inferior to two other varieties. And in terms of acidity, Florin is an advantage (the fruits are less acidic). Vitamin C is more in the fruits of the Aidored variety (9.3 mg / 100 g in the control), Florin is in second place, and Stark-Nart is in third (in the control of 8.0 and 7.1, respectively).