bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two-Port “Dry Vitrectomy” as a New Surgical Technique for Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment: Focus on Macula-on Results
Authors: Caporossi Tomaso , Scampoli Alessandra , Tatti Filippo , Mangoni Lorenzo , Carlà Matteo Mario , Pintor Emanuele Siotto , Frongia Francesca , Iovino Claudio , Bernardinelli Patrizio , Peiretti Enrico
Published: March 2023

We evaluated a new surgical technique for treating primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD), consisting of localized vitrectomy near the retinal break associated with drainage of subretinal fluid without infusion. Twelve eyes of twelve patients with primary RRDs with macula-on superior, temporal, and/or nasal quadrants’ RRD with retinal breaks between 8 and 4 o’clock, pseudophakic or phakic eyes, were enrolled. All eyes underwent a two-port 25-gauge vitrectomy with localized removal of the vitreous surrounding the retinal break(s), followed by a 20% SF6 injection and cryopexy. The difference between pre-operative (T0) and post-operative mean BCVA at 6 months follow-up (T6) was not statistically significant (0.16 logMAR vs. 0.21 logMAR; p = 0.055). Primary anatomic success at 6 months was achieved by 86% of patients. No other complications, except for two retinal re-detachments linked to an incorrect head position of the patients, were recorded. Although further studies are necessary to evaluate the treatment’s efficacy, we believe our technique could be considered a valid alternative for managing primary RRD.
In Vivo Assessment of the Calcium Salt-Forming Ability of a New Calcium Silicate-Based Intracanal Medicament: Bio-C Temp
Authors: Edanami Naoki , Belal Razi Saifullah Ibn , Takenaka Shoji , Yoshiba Kunihiko , Gutierrez Rosa Edith Baldeon , Takahara Shintaro , Yoshiba Nagako , Ohkura Naoto , Noiri Yuichiro
Published: March 2023

Calcium salt precipitation induced by intracanal medicaments contributes to the formation of apical hard tissue during apexification. This study compared the calcium salt-forming ability of a new calcium silicate-based intracanal medicament (Bio-C Temp) with that of two commercial calcium hydroxide pastes (Calcipex Plane II and Vitapex) in a rat subcutaneous implantation model. Polytetrafluoroethylene tubes containing each of the three materials were subcutaneously implanted in 4-week-old male Wistar rats. After 28 days, the composition and amount of calcium salts formed at the material–tissue interface were assessed using micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and elemental mapping. The tested materials produced white precipitates that had Raman spectra with peaks corresponding to hydroxyapatite and calcite. X-ray diffraction detected hydroxyapatite formation on Calcipex Plane II and Vitapex implants, as well as calcite formation on all three materials. Elemental mapping revealed that Bio-C Temp generated significantly smaller calcium- and phosphorus-rich calcified regions within the subcutaneous connective tissue than Vitapex. These results indicate that Bio-C Temp produced less calcium salt in rat subcutaneous tissue than Vitapex, although all materials formed hydroxyapatite and calcite in rat subcutaneous tissue. Bio-C Temp could be less effective than Vitapex in promoting apical hard tissue formation during apexification.
A Model to Explain the Impact of Government Revenue on the Quality of Governance and the SDGs
Authors: Hall Stephen , O’Hare Bernadette
Published: March 2023

This paper empirically investigates the link between the level of government revenue per capita and six indicators of the quality of governance in an unbalanced panel data set consisting of all countries in the world (217 countries; due to some missing data, (this was reduced to 196) using data from 1996 to 2020. It uses single-equation generalised method of moment (GMM) techniques and a vector autoregressive (VAR) and vector error correction model (VECM) approach to investigate this issue. The results suggest a strong effect over time whereby an increase in government revenue leads to a steady improvement in governance. These findings suggest an important virtuous circle between government revenue and governance. As a result, additional government revenue can significantly impact the Sustainable Development Goals more than our previous work has suggested.
Analysis of Electrostatic Discharge Interference Effects on Small Unmanned Vehicle Handling Systems
Authors: Zhang Yongqiang , Shen Yuejian , Ma Guilei , Man Menghua , Liu Shanghe
Published: March 2023

Electrostatic discharge is a common phenomenon in daily life, and the electromagnetic pulse radiation generated during discharge can cause great harm to power, communication, sensing, and other equipment, resulting in systems not working properly. To verify the safety and reliability of unmanned vehicle handling systems in complex electromagnetic environments, the interference effect of electrostatic discharge, a common source of electromagnetic interference in life, on unmanned vehicle systems was studied. According to the electrostatic discharge interference mechanism, typical electrostatic discharge mode, and discharge model, an unmanned vehicle handling system was tested for electrostatic discharge according to the ISO10605-2008 standard. Based on the measured data, the effect of electrostatic discharge on the safety and functionality of the unmanned vehicle handling system and its sensors was analyzed, and threshold values for the failure of the unmanned vehicle handling system under different discharge methods, discharge models, and discharge polarity were obtained. When the electrostatic discharge voltage amplitude is only 2 kV, the vehicle’s LiDAR data sensor cannot work normally due to the echo reception circuit, and the failure rate of LiDAR continues to increase with increasing discharge voltage. When the discharge voltage is only 4 kV, the millimeter-wave radar is disconnected from the vehicle module due to the electrostatic discharge interference of the transmission cable, and when the discharge voltage is 12 kV, the unmanned vehicle is unable to provide stable and accurate environmental information to avoid collisions. This study provides a reference for the design of electromagnetic protection of unmanned equipment and will have a guiding role in enhancing the construction of reliable, safe, and intelligent equipment in complex electromagnetic environments.
Toward Privacy-Preserving Directly Contactable Symptom-Matching Scheme for IoT Devices
Authors: Guo Rongrong , Zhu Jianhao , Cai Mei , He Wen , Yang Qianheng
Published: March 2023

The development of IoT devices has driven technological advancements across industries, especially in healthcare. IoT devices have brought many conveniences to patients, such as symptom matching, the real-time acquisition of health data, and online diagnosis. However, the development of the Internet of Things also brings security and privacy challenges, which have attracted the attention of many scholars. In symptom matching, patients can communicate with patients similar to themselves through symptom matching, exchange treatment experiences, and encourage each other. However, matching in plaintext will pose a huge threat to user privacy, such as discrimination, which in turn affects job hunting, etc. Therefore, this paper proposes a symptom-matching scheme for IoT devices based on the Diffie–Hellman key agreement. Specifically, we construct and formally define the Switching Threshold Label Private Set Intersection (STLPSI) protocol based on the Diffie–Hellman key agreement and apply it for medical symptom matching. Our protocol can not only set the threshold of the same symptoms, but also patients who meet the threshold can obtain one another’s contact information. Furthermore, our scheme does not rely on any trusted third parties. Through security analysis and experiments, our scheme is shown to be effective in preserving privacy during symptom matching.
The Impact of Data Quality on Software Testing Effort Prediction
Authors: Radliński Łukasz
Published: March 2023

Background: This paper investigates the impact of data quality on the performance of models predicting effort on software testing. Data quality was reflected by training data filtering strategies (data variants) covering combinations of Data Quality Rating, UFP Rating, and a threshold of valid cases. Methods: The experiment used the ISBSG dataset and 16 machine learning models. A process of three-fold cross-validation repeated 20 times was used to train and evaluate each model with each data variant. Model performance was assessed using absolute errors of prediction. A ‘win–tie–loss’ procedure, based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, was applied to identify the best models and data variants. Results: Most models, especially the most accurate, performed the best on a complete dataset, even though it contained cases with low data ratings. The detailed results include the rankings of the following: (1) models for particular data variants, (2) data variants for particular models, and (3) the best-performing combinations of models and data variants. Conclusions: Arbitrary and restrictive data selection to only projects with Data Quality Rating and UFP Rating of ‘A’ or ‘B’, commonly used in the literature, does not seem justified. It is recommended not to exclude cases with low data ratings to achieve better accuracy of most predictive models for testing effort prediction.
Learning Statics through Physical Manipulative Tools and Visuohaptic Simulations: The Effect of Visual and Haptic Feedback
Authors: Walsh Yoselyn , Magana Alejandra J.
Published: March 2023

In this study, we: (a) compared the differences in the learning of friction concepts between a physical manipulative tool (PMT) and a visuohaptic simulation (VHS) in four different configurations (visually enhanced feedback on/off, force feedback on/off), and (b) analyzed the influence of the visual and haptic feedback for learning the concept of friction. Specifically, this study explored the role of an object’s size in friction. In a three-stage experiment (i.e., pre-test, experimentation, and post-test), 206 undergraduate students compared the friction force, speed, acceleration, and traveled distance between two cubes with the same weight but different sizes pushed on a smooth surface. Our results suggest that (a) VHS was an effective tool for promoting the learning of friction concepts actively, (b) learners in the VHS condition outperformed the learners in the PMT condition (PMT < VHS), (c) the easy identification of the forces by enhanced visual cues promoted the acquisition of scientific knowledge, (d) the haptic feedback promoted a grounded experience for learning about friction, and (e) learners in the Sequenced (H→H + V) condition had more learning benefits than the Simultaneous (H + V), Visual, and Haptic conditions. Students in the Sequenced (H→H + V) condition took advantage of the affordances of the virtual and physical manipulatives. The implication for teaching and learning is that the virtual and physical affordances of the learning tools and the students’ prior knowledge must be considered in the design of the VHS to enhance learning. For the education research, the study implied that body actions positively impacted the learning experience.
A Study on Weight Reduction and High Performance in Separated Magnetic Bearings
Authors: Song Si-Woo , Kim Won-Ho , Lee Ju , Jung Dong-Hoon
Published: March 2023

Recently, high-speed motors are receiving a lot of attention in the industrial field. When driving a motor at high speed, the advantages include high power density, high efficiency, and miniaturization. However, the disadvantages of the high-speed operation of motors are mechanical and structural safety. This is because the bearings used in high-speed motors require characteristics such as precision and low friction. There are two prominent types of bearings mainly used in high-speed motors: rolling bearings and magnetic bearings. A feature of rolling bearings is that they reduce frictional resistance by contacting points or lines between the shaft and the bearing. However, the disadvantages of rolling bearings are high mechanical friction losses due to the need for contact with the lubrication system. Maintenance costs are high. For this reason, a lot of research on bearings is being conducted to reduce the frictional loss of bearings and increase their efficiency and reliability. Bearings that are advantageous for high-speed operation are magnetic bearings that do not require lubricants, have no friction loss, and have low maintenance. However, magnetic bearings have disadvantages such as high cost and difficulty in miniaturization. In this paper, a stator with a separated teeth structure was used to compensate for these disadvantages. Using this, a model with miniaturization, light weight, and high manufacturability was proposed. The model name proposed in this study is called the STMB (separated teeth magnetic bearing). There are also disadvantages of the STMB model proposed in this paper. A model that compensates for this drawback is called the HSTMB (hybrid separated teeth magnetic bearing). The HSTMB reduces the weight by removing the back yoke of the stator and has advantages of a high filling rate and high productivity in the form of a module. As a result, high productivity, light weight, and high performance are possible when the HSTMB is applied, which was proven through FEA (finite element analysis).
Analyzing the Role of Renewable Energy in Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Marco-Lajara Bartolomé , Martínez-Falcó Javier , Sánchez-García Eduardo , Millan-Tudela Luis A.
Published: March 2023

Academic contributions regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and renewable energy have been steadily increasing, given their essential relevance to economic, societal, and environmental progress. This research aims to examine the structure of scientific knowledge on the connection between SDGs and renewable energy by utilizing bibliometric methods and analyzing 3132 articles published between 1992 and 2022. Results indicate a sharp rise in the production rate since 2015, Environmental Sciences as the most prevalent area of study, and the leading role of publishers Elsevier, MDPI, and Springer in the publication of papers related to the subject. Consequently, this research may prove useful for both novice and veteran researchers who wish to further their understanding of the academic production regarding the SDGs and renewable energy.
Allowing Large Penetration of Concentrated RES in Europe and North Africa via a Hybrid HVAC-HVDC Grid
Authors: Wu Haoke , Solida Lorenzo , Huang Tao , Bompard Ettore
Published: March 2023

Renewable energy sources (RESs) and electricity demand are not evenly distributed geographically across Europe. Thus, harvesting the wind energy from the north and solar energy from the south and delivering them to the demand in central Europe is a more viable solution. However, the present High-voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission grids have been sometimes congested; thus, High-voltage direct current (HVDC) provides another possibility along the existing HVAC infrastructure. In this paper, we propose a hybrid HVAC-HVDC grid, allowing a large penetration of concentrated RES in Europe and North Africa. More specifically, the HVDC network is constructed to transfer wind and hydro electricity from northwestern Europe and solar electricity from north Africa, while the HVAC network is used to distribute electricity within each country or among adjacent areas. To quantitatively evaluate the feasibility and relevant performances, multiple dimensions of indicators are designed. Employing several European energy scenarios up to 2050, the performances of the proposed HVAC-HVDC infrastructure are analyzed and compared. The calculation results show that compared with the pure HVAC grid, the integrated HVAC-HVDC grid can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants, leading to a further reduction in the number of deaths from air pollution. In addition, the HVAC-HVDC grids can accommodate a higher penetration of RES without causing infeasible power flows.
Model-Free Predictive Current Control of a 3-φ Grid-Connected Neutral-Point-Clamped Transformerless Inverter
Authors: Zaid Sherif A. , Bakeer Abualkasim , Albalawi Hani , Alatwi Adel M. , Abdeldaim Hassan , Manqarah Bassel
Published: March 2023

Utility grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) installations are becoming a typical component of the current electrical energy grid. The adoption of transformerless inverters has recently changed the topology of these systems. Despite being small, inexpensive, and effective, transformerless inverters have a recurring leakage current issue. Numerous studies are being conducted to improve its performance and bring the leakage current down to acceptable levels. The studies propose three tracks for addressing the leakage current problem of transformerless PV systems: the control technique, the inverter modulation, and the inverter topology. This study applies the model-free predictive control (MFPC) technique to a grid-connected NPC 3-φ transformerless converter powered by a PV panel. An LCL filter connects the transformerless inverter to the grid. The system model considers the grid filter components and the internal impedance of the utility grid. The proposed system’s discrete model is established before describing the MFPC controller’s algorithm. The suggested system is simulated in MATLAB using the MFPC and a standard PI current controller with SVPWM modulation. According to the simulation’s findings, the MFPC controller performs best regarding current spectrum, THD, and earth leakage current. Additionally, MFPC-based systems are more efficient than those that use PI controllers.
Research on Supply Chain Optimization Considering Consumer Subsidy Mechanism in the Context of Carbon Neutrality
Authors: Liu Zheng , Sun Wenzhuo , Hu Bin , Han Chunjia , Ieromonachou Petros , Zhao Yuanjun , Zheng Jiazhuo
Published: March 2023

With the proposal of China’s “carbon peak, carbon neutral” strategy, the increasing awareness of low carbon production among consumers, and the government’s introduction of carbon trading mechanism and low carbon consumption subsidy policies, enterprises are facing good opportunities for development. However, how the government can reasonably formulate low carbon policies and how enterprises can implement optimal low-carbon production decisions are still key issues in China’s low-carbon transition development. In this context, this paper is based on the carbon trading mechanism and carbon consumption subsidies. In this context, based on the carbon trading mechanism, this paper focuses on green production and green consumption, considers the impact of low-carbon consumer preferences and government subsidies on enterprises’ low-carbon production decisions, and uses the optimal theory to study the optimal pricing strategy and the optimal carbon reduction strategy. The study shows that the increase in carbon price has a positive effect on the increase in enterprise profit; the increase of carbon emission has a negative effect on the increase of enterprise profit and the high carbon price will intensify this effect. In addition, changing the intensity of government subsidies to consumers will lead to the change of enterprise carbon emission strategy. The study of this paper provides a certain reference for the government to reasonably formulate carbon trading prices and consumer low-carbon subsidies. In addition, considering consumer low-carbon preferences is also conducive to promoting green production practices of enterprises, thus promoting the realization of the carbon neutral strategy.
State-of-the-Art Literature Review of Power Flow Control Methods for Low-Voltage AC and AC-DC Microgrids
Authors: Ilyushin Pavel , Volnyi Vladislav , Suslov Konstantin , Filippov Sergey
Published: March 2023

The development of AC distribution systems provides for the seamless integration of low-voltage microgrids with distributed energy resources (DERs). This poses new challenges for the control of normal, emergency, and post-emergency states of microgrids, calling for the creation and development of information and communications technology infrastructure. Power converters/inverters that are used to integrate renewable DERs lack inertia. Along with them, fossil fuel-fired generation units are also being integrated into microgrids. These include gas generator sets, diesel generator sets, and microturbines, having small (up to 1–2 s) values of mechanical inertia constants—Tj. This leads to an increase in the rate of transients by a factor of 5–10. Under these conditions, the technical requirements for the speed of automatic power flow control systems, as well as the methods they rely on, have to be reconsidered. Microgrids include DC microgrids, AC microgrids, and hybrid (AC-DC) microgrids. In the case of hybrid microgrids, DERs are connected to the DC grid and are integrated into the AC grid through a common inverter. The complexity of the task of microgrid control is due to the need to choose properly the type and extent of control actions so as to prevent the emergence and development of accidents. The employed control methods must ensure the reliable power supply to consumers and the quality of power in microgrids, as well as the reliable operation of the external distribution systems into which they are integrated. The article gives an overview of control methods for low-voltage AC and AC-DC microgrids, which allow one to tackle effectively solve the tasks.
Effect of Residual Water in Sediments on the CO2-CH4 Replacement Process
Authors: Lu Fuqin , Zhou Xuebing , Huang Caili , Li Dongliang , Liang Deqing
Published: March 2023

CO2 replacement is a promising method of gas hydrate recovery. However, the influence of residual water in the replacement process and selections of a suitable mining area remain uncertain. To better understand this method, we examined the influence of the particle size and initial hydrate saturation on the replacement process while using the same amount of residual free water. The results showed that during the replacement process, two stages of rapid reaction and slow reaction occurred, which were manifested by the speed of pressure change in the reactor. The CO2 sequestration ratio decreased with the increase in sediment particle size and increased with the increase in initial hydrate saturation. During the replacement process, two reactions occurred: CH4 was replaced by CO2 and CO2 hydrate was formed, and the replacement amount and recovery efficiency of CH4 increased with a decrease in sediment particle size. When the sediment particle size was less than 166 μm, the CH4 recovery efficiency was significantly affected by the particle size. The replacement amount of CH4 increased with the increase in initial hydrate saturation, and the recovery efficiency decreased. This study provides a basis for selecting suitable hydrate-accumulation areas for on-site mining.
Extended Operating Region Algorithm for PV Array Connected to Microgrids for Wide Frequency and Amplitude Variations
Authors: Garbarino Matías , Rohten Jaime , Morales Rodrigo , Espinoza José , Muñoz Javier , Silva José , Dewar David
Published: March 2023

The employment of microgrids and distributed power generation have exponentially increased over recent decades, due in part to the increased inclusion of renewable energies as these technologies become cheaper to install. However, microgrids are highly sensitive to power variation, leading to distortion of the grid voltage (amplitude and frequency changes) which could destabilize the entire microgrid under variation of loads and/or other power sources. In this context, a new control strategy is proposed for a photovoltaic grid connected system, operating under voltage variations typical of a low inertial electric power network. The main problem related to voltage fluctuation is that the variables may take the power converter out of the operating region, and therefore, all controllers, including the maximum power point tracking, will not work as designed. The analysis, based on the mathematical operating region, demonstrates that the control strategy can include overmodulation compensation—to overcome problems related to weak microgrids and systems variations—through the addition of smart power factor imposition and DC-link voltage variation in transient time when the variables are far from the nominal values. The proposal is validated through simulation in PSim®/Matlab® and implementation on a laboratory prototype, showing the feasibility of the designed algorithm.
Effect of the Density Ratio on Emulsions and Their Segregation: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study
Authors: Krzeczek Oscar , Trummler Theresa , Trautner Elias , Klein Markus
Published: March 2023

Using direct numerical simulation (DNS) in combination with the volume of fluid method (VoF), we investigate the influence of the density ratio between the carrier and dispersed phase on emulsions, where the baseline simulation approximately corresponds to the ratio of water-in-gasoline emulsions. For this purpose, homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT) is generated using a linear forcing method, enhanced by a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller, ensuring a constant turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) for two-phase flows, where the TKE balance equation contains an additional term due to surface tension. Then, the forcing is stopped, and gravitational acceleration is activated. The proposed computational setup represents a unique and well-controlled configuration to study emulsification and segregation. We consider four different density ratios, which are applied in industrial processes, to investigate the influence of the density ratio on the statistically steady state of the emulsions, and their segregation under decaying turbulence and constant gravitational acceleration. At the statistically steady state, we hold the turbulence constant and study the effects of the density ratio ρd/ρc, on the interface area, the Sauter mean diameter (SMD), and the statistical droplet size distribution. We find that all are affected by the density ratio, and we observe a relation between the SMD and ρd/ρc. Furthermore, we assume a dependence of the critical Weber number on the density ratio. In the second part of our work, we study the segregation process. To this end, we consider the change in the center of mass of the disperse phase and the energy release, to analyze the dependence of segregation on the density difference Δρ/ρd. We show that segregation scales with the density difference and the droplet size, and a segregation time scale has been suggested that collapses the height of the center of mass for different density ratios.
Digitalisation and Modernisation of Hydropower Operating Facilities to Support the Colombian Energy Mix Flexibility
Authors: Leguizamon-Perilla Aldemar , Rodriguez-Bernal Juan , Moralez-Cruz Laidi , Farfán-Martinez Nidia , Nieto-Londoño César , Vásquez Rafael , Escudero-Atehortua Ana
Published: March 2023

Hydropower plants cover almost 70% of the Colombian electrical demand, were built several decades ago, and present low levels of digitisation compared to other modern power-generation technologies, e.g., wind turbines, solar PV plants, and recently buil hydroelectric plants t. Renovating power plant equipment and investing in modernisation and digitisation can significantly increase the plant flexibility. Those actions will increase a plant’s operational safety and contribute to the solution of environmental and social problems. This work presents the actions followed to extend the lifetime of a 1000 MW hydropower plant operating for more than 40 years. Activities included a residual life status evaluation of generators and component upgrades, among others. The rehabilitation and digitalisation of the generation units allow their integration and remote monitoring so that diagnostic actions can be carried out during a continuous and economically sustainable operation. These activities complement the plan implemented by the company during the last decade to ensure the plant’s operation for another 50 years and its respective integration with nonconventional generation systems at the national level. Besides the generator’s life extension, the main result of rewinding is an increase in the Minimum Breakdown Voltage by almost 140% (from 38.4 kV to 95.6 kV) with respect to the current operation state, ensuring its operation for the following years.
Study on Surface Configurations and Force Transfer Mechanism of Dual-Wedge Shaped Slips for Liner Hanger
Authors: Han Feng , Han Hua , Zhong Pengrui , Zou Yong , Huang Jiqiang , Xue Long
Published: March 2023

The penetration force and depth of the slip teeth are important factors influencing the hanging capacity of liner hanger, which can lead to failure of well cementation. In this study, a method to calculate the penetration force of dual-wedge slip teeth was presented by considering the surface configuration and the force transfer mechanism of dual-wedge slip in three dimensions. The interaction between dual-wedge slips and casing was simulated using ABAQUS 6.14 software, and the contact force (penetration force) was obtained. Experimental research was carried out to verify the correction of calculation and simulation. The strain of casing was obtained after the dual-wedge slips set under axial loads. The experimental results, theoretical prediction, and the numerical simulation are in good agreement. The effects of geometrical parameters on force transfer characteristics were discussed, which shows that the penetration force of dual-wedge slips increases with increase in the liner weight and Eulerian angle γ, and it decreases with the increase in Eulerian angle α and friction coefficient. The geometric parameters of the dual-wedge slip can be designed to obtain an optimal penetration force, and ensure that the slip teeth penetrate into the inner wall of casing without damage to the casing. The penetration force can be obtained by optimizing the parameters related to geometry of dual-wedge slips.
CiteSpace Software Visualization Analyses of the Last Thirty Years of Research on Populus euphratica
Authors: Huang Xin , Lv Ruiheng , Zhou Zhengli , Fan Min , Bai Yinping , Ding Yihang , Yang Gang
Published: March 2023

Populus euphratica is the only tall tree species that adapts to the desert environment. It has strong drought tolerance and is the subject of extreme concern at home and abroad. After 30 years of development, the scope of research on Populus euphratica is very extensive, but the research content has not yet been crystalized into a mature field, and research directions at home and abroad differ. In this study, we retrieved research references on ‘P. euphratica’ published from 1992 to 2022 in both the China National Knowledge Infrastructure core journals database and the Web of Science core collection database, and CiteSpace software was employed to conduct keyword-centered bibliometric analysis in both the spatial and temporal dimensions. The purpose of this study is to clarify the research areas, developmental changes, differences between domestic and international research priorities in the last 30 years, and future trends in the field of P. euphratica research. The results show that there were 1619 domestic papers published in China related to the field of P. euphratica research, while there were only 656 foreign papers in the same field. The development of domestic P. euphratica research went through three stages initiation (1992–2000), growth (2001–2008) and stability (2009–2021), whereas no significant international trend change was observed. The domestic disciplines focus on biology, while international research focuses on crop science. In terms of content, domestic research focuses on sustainable uses of P. euphratica forests and their response to drought, intending to improve P. euphratica ecosystems. International research, on the other hand, focuses on revealing mechanisms of environmental stresses, including genetic and physiological–morphological characteristics, to exploit the excellent characteristics of P. euphratica to serve agriculture and other fields. The development process of P. euphratica research in the past 30 years has generally evolved from an initial focus on its natural conditions towards the study of the relationship between environmental factors and P. euphratica physiological and morphological characteristics and, finally, the study of stress tolerance mechanisms and gene expression of P. euphratica. There is a trend towards ‘applications of P. euphratica tolerance genes’, which may represent a direction for future growth research.
Detection and Identification of Fish Skin Health Status Referring to Four Common Diseases Based on Improved YOLOv4 Model
Authors: Yu Gangyi , Zhang Junbo , Chen Ao , Wan Rong
Published: March 2023

A primary problem affecting the sustainable development of aquaculture is fish skin diseases. In order to prevent the outbreak of fish diseases and to provide prompt treatment to avoid mass mortality of fish, it is essential to detect and identify skin diseases immediately. Based on the YOLOv4 model, coupled with lightweight depthwise separable convolution and optimized feature extraction network and activation function, the detection and identification model of fish skin disease is constructed in this study. The developed model is tested for the diseases hemorrhagic septicemia, saprolegniasis, benedeniasis, and scuticociliatosis, and applied to monitor the health condition of fish skin in deep-sea cage culture. Results show that the MobileNet3-GELU-YOLOv4 model proposed in this study has an improved learning ability, and the number of model parameters is reduced. Compared to the original YOLOv4 model, its mAP and detection speed increased by 12.39% and 19.31 FPS, respectively. The advantages of the model are its intra-species classification capability, lightweight deployment, detection accuracy, and speed, making the model more applicable to the real-time monitoring of fish skin health in a deep-sea aquaculture environment.
Zootechnical Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L. 1758) Ovarian Fluid Fails to Upregulate the Swimming Performances of Native Mediterranean Brown Trout (Salmo cettii Rafinesque, 1810) Sperm in the Biferno River
Authors: Rusco Giusy , Di Iorio Michele , Esposito Stefano , Gibertoni Pierpaolo , Antenucci Emanuele , Palombo Valentino , Roncarati Alessandra , Iaffaldano Nicolaia
Published: March 2023

In external fertilizer fish, ovarian fluid (OF) seems to play a key role in fertilization success, improving spermatozoa swimming performance. These OF/sperm interaction mechanisms are frequently species-specific and/or population-specific and could decrease the risk of genetic introgression of wild populations from introduced or escaped zootechnical individuals. The Mediterranean brown trout (Salmo cettii) is threatened by genetic introgression with strains of domestic brown trout (Salmo trutta) that were introduced for recreational purposes. The aim of our study was to test if native S. cettii females, rather than zootechnical S. trutta, produce OF with a greater ability to upregulate the sperm motility of conspecific males. Thus, we compared the sperm swimming performances of males inhabiting the Biferno River (Molise region—Southern Italy) activated in native S. cettii vs. zootechnical S. trutta female’s OFs. In our study, native females’ OFs (20% diluted), compared to spring water, has the ability to significantly boost the sperm performance of the autochthonous males, while zootechnical S. trutta fails. These preliminary results suggest that OF-sperm interactions could potentially influence or direct the hybridization mechanisms involving the native Mediterranean trout inhabiting the Biferno River and the domestic lineage of brown trout introduced in the past.
Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Vegan Gummy Candies Enriched with High-Fiber Jaban Watermelon Exocarp Powder
Authors: Tarahi Mohammad , Mohamadzade Fakhr-davood Malihe , Ghaedrahmati Shiva , Roshanak Sahar , Shahidi Fakhri
Published: March 2023

The customer demand for healthier, fortified, and vegan products has recently received much attention. In this study, the vitamin C content, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoid, and anthocyanin, as well as the antioxidant activity of Jaban watermelon exocarp (JWE) powder were first investigated. Then, the gummy candies (GCs) were prepared with different concentrations of JWE powder (20, 35, and 50%), citric acid (0.75 and 1%), and agar gum (0.5 and 1%), and their physicochemical and sensory properties were evaluated. The results showed that the moisture content and water activity of GCs decreased, while the pH value increased with the increasing concentration of JWE powder. Moreover, the GCs became brighter and more yellowish. The rheological and textural analysis indicated that the viscosity and hardness of GCs improved in higher JWE powder levels (0.457 to 1.550 Pa·s and 1667 to 7232 g, respectively). Furthermore, the highest panelists’ score was given to the GC 5 sample with 35% JWE powder, 0.75% acetic acid, and 0.5% agar gum.
Robust Satisfaction of Metric Interval Temporal Logic Objectives in Adversarial Environments
Authors: Niu Luyao , Ramasubramanian Bhaskar , Clark Andrew , Poovendran Radha
Published: March 2023

This paper studies the synthesis of controllers for cyber-physical systems (CPSs) that are required to carry out complex time-sensitive tasks in the presence of an adversary. The time-sensitive task is specified as a formula in the metric interval temporal logic (MITL). CPSs that operate in adversarial environments have typically been abstracted as stochastic games (SGs); however, because traditional SG models do not incorporate a notion of time, they cannot be used in a setting where the objective is time-sensitive. To address this, we introduce durational stochastic games (DSGs). DSGs generalize SGs to incorporate a notion of time and model the adversary’s abilities to tamper with the control input (actuator attack) and manipulate the timing information that is perceived by the CPS (timing attack). We define notions of spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal robustness to quantify the amounts by which system trajectories under the synthesized policy can be perturbed in space and time without affecting satisfaction of the MITL objective. In the case of an actuator attack, we design computational procedures to synthesize controllers that will satisfy the MITL task along with a guarantee of its robustness. In the presence of a timing attack, we relax the robustness constraint to develop a value iteration-based procedure to compute the CPS policy as a finite-state controller to maximize the probability of satisfying the MITL task. A numerical evaluation of our approach is presented on a signalized traffic network to illustrate our results.
Whole Genome Sequencing Provides Information on the Genomic Architecture and Diversity of Cultivated Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata) Broodstock Nuclei
Authors: Bertolini Francesca , Ribani Anisa , Capoccioni Fabrizio , Buttazzoni Luca , Bovo Samuele , Schiavo Giuseppina , Caggiano Massimo , Rothschild Max F. , Fontanesi Luca
Published: March 2023

The gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is a species of relevance for the Mediterranean aquaculture industry. Despite the advancement of genetic tools for the species, breeding programs still do not often include genomics. In this study, we designed a genomic strategy to identify signatures of selection and genomic regions of high differentiation among populations of farmed fish stocks. A comparative DNA pooling sequencing approach was applied to identify signatures of selection in gilthead seabream from the same hatchery and from different nuclei that had not been subjected to genetic selection. Identified genomic regions were further investigated to detect SNPs with predicted high impact. The analyses underlined major genomic differences in the proportion of fixed alleles among the investigated nuclei. Some of these differences highlighted genomic regions, including genes involved in general metabolism and development already detected in QTL for growth, size, skeletal deformity, and adaptation to variation of oxygen levels in other teleosts. The obtained results pointed out the need to control the genetic effect of breeding programs in this species to avoid the reduction of genetic variability within populations and the increase in inbreeding level that, in turn, might lead to an increased frequency of alleles with deleterious effects.
Stable Isotope Tracing Reveals an Altered Fate of Glucose in N-Acetyltransferase 1 Knockout Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Wise James T. F. , Yin Xinmin , Ma Xipeng , Zhang Xiang , Hein David W.
Published: March 2023

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. Recent studies found that arylamine N-acetyltransferase 1 (NAT1) is frequently upregulated in breast cancer, further suggesting NAT1 could be a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer. Previous publications have established that NAT1 knockout (KO) in breast cancer cell lines leads to growth reduction both in vitro and in vivo and metabolic changes. These reports suggest that NAT1 contributes to the energy metabolism of breast cancer cells. Proteomic analysis and non-targeted metabolomics suggested that NAT1 KO may change the fate of glucose as it relates to the TCA/KREB cycle of the mitochondria of breast cancer cells. In this current study, we used [U-13C]-glucose stable isotope resolved metabolomics to determine the effect of NAT1 KO on the metabolic profile of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. We incubated breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 cells) and NAT1 Crispr KO cells (KO#2 and KO#5) with [U-13C]-glucose for 24 h. Tracer incubation polar metabolites from the cells were extracted and analyzed by 2DLC-MS, and metabolite differences were compared between the parental and NAT1 KO cells. Differences consistent between the two KO cells were considered changes due to the loss of NAT1. The data revealed decreases in the 13C enrichment of TCA/Krebs cycle intermediates in NAT1 KO cells compared to the MDA-MB-231 cells. Specifically, 13C-labeled citrate, isocitrate, a-ketoglutarate, fumarate, and malate were all decreased in NAT1 KO cells. We also detected increased 13C-labeled L-lactate levels in the NAT1 KO cells and decreased 13C enrichment in some nucleotides. Pathway analysis showed that arginine biosynthesis, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, and the TCA cycle were most affected. These data provide additional evidence supporting the impacts of NAT1 knockout on cellular energy metabolism. The data suggest that NAT1 expression is important for the proper functioning of mitochondria and the flux of glucose through the TCA/Krebs cycle in breast cancer cells. The metabolism changes in the fate of glucose in NAT1 KO breast cancer cells offer more insight into the role of NAT1 in energy metabolism and the growth of breast cancer cells. These data provide additional evidence that NAT1 may be a useful therapeutic target for breast cancer.
A Complex Intrachromosomal Rearrangement Disrupting IRF6 in a Family with Popliteal Pterygium and Van der Woude Syndromes
Authors: Al-Kurbi Alya A. , Aliyev Elbay , AlSa’afin Sana , Aamer Waleed , Palaniswamy Sasirekha , Al-Maraghi Aljazi , Kilani Houda , Akil Ammira Al-Shabeeb , Stotland Mitchell A. , Fakhro Khalid A.
Published: March 2023

Clefts of the lip and/or palate (CL/P) are considered the most common form of congenital anomalies occurring either in isolation or in association with other clinical features. Van der woude syndrome (VWS) is associated with about 2% of all CL/P cases and is further characterized by having lower lip pits. Popliteal pterygium syndrome (PPS) is a more severe form of VWS, normally characterized by orofacial clefts, lower lip pits, skin webbing, skeletal anomalies and syndactyly of toes and fingers. Both syndromes are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, usually caused by heterozygous mutations in the Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6) gene. Here we report the case of a two-generation family where the index presented with popliteal pterygium syndrome while both the father and sister had clinical features of van der woude syndrome, but without any point mutations detected by re-sequencing of known gene panels or microarray testing. Using whole genome sequencing (WGS) followed by local de novo assembly, we discover and validate a copy-neutral, 429 kb complex intra-chromosomal rearrangement in the long arm of chromosome 1, disrupting the IRF6 gene. This variant is copy-neutral, novel against publicly available databases, and segregates in the family in an autosomal dominant pattern. This finding suggests that missing heritability in rare diseases may be due to complex genomic rearrangements that can be resolved by WGS and de novo assembly, helping deliver answers to patients where no genetic etiology was identified by other means.
Spatiotemporal Analysis of XCO2 and Its Relationship to Urban and Green Areas of China’s Major Southern Cities from Remote Sensing and WRF-Chem Modeling Data from 2010 to 2019
Authors: Tan Zixuan , Wang Jinnian , Yu Zhenyu , Luo Yiyun
Published: March 2023

Monitoring CO2 concentrations is believed to be an effective measure for assisting in the control of greenhouse gas emissions. Satellite measurements compensate for the sparse and uneven spatial distribution of ground observation stations, allowing for the collection of a wide range of CO2 concentration data. However, satellite monitoring’s spatial coverage remains limited. This study fills the knowledge gaps of column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CO2 (XCO2) products retrieved from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory Satellite (OCO-2) based on the normalized output of atmospheric chemical models, WRF-Chem, in Southern China during 2010–2019. Hefei (HF)/Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), Lulin (LLN)/World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) station observations were used to validate the results of void filling with an acceptable accuracy for spatiotemporal analysis (R = 0.96, R2 = 0.92, RMSE = 2.44 ppm). Compared to the IDW (inverse distance weighting) and Kriging (ordinary Kriging) interpolation methods, this method has a higher validation accuracy. In addition, spatiotemporal distributions of CO2, as well as the sensitivity of CO2 concentration to the urban built-up areas and urban green space areas in China’s major southern cities during 2010–2019, are discussed. The approximate annual average concentrations have gradually increased from 388.56 to 414.72 ppm, with an annual growth rate of 6.73%, and the seasonal cycle presents a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer or autumn from 2010 to 2019. CO2 concentrations have a strong positive correlation with the impervious area to city area ratio, while anomaly values of the impervious area to urban green area ratio occurred in individual cities. The experimental findings demonstrate the viability of the study hypothesis that combines remote sensing data with the WRF-Chem model to produce a local area dataset with high spatial resolution and an extracted urban unit from statistical data.