bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Wide Range of Antibiotic Resistance and Variability of Genotypic Profiles in Escherichia coli from Domestic Animals in Eastern Sicily
Authors: Russo Nunziatina , Stamilla Alessandro , Cascone Giuseppe , Randazzo Cinzia Lucia , Messina Antonino , Lanza Massimiliano , Pino Alessandra , Caggia Cinzia , Antoci Francesco
Published: December 2020

The emergence of multidrug resistance among Enterobacteriaceae in livestock poses a serious public health threat. Escherichia coli, a usual host of intestinal microbiota, is recognized also as etiological agent of numerous infections widespread in both humans and animals. The colibacillosis is one of the most reported zoonoses worldwide, typically treated with antibiotics in the primary stages. This strategy has promoted the onset of antibiotic-resistant serotypes of E. coli, reducing the effectiveness of therapeutic treatments and contributing to antibiotic resistance spread. The current study focused on biodiversity, pathogenicity, and antibiotic resistance profile of 104 E. coli strains isolated from domestic animals in Eastern Sicily. The strains were isolated from sick animals and carcasses of six different animal species and screened for resistance against 16 antibiotic molecules, as recommended by WHO and OIE. The antibiotic resistance patterns highlighted that all strains were multi-resistant, showing resistance to at least three antibiotic classes. The highest incidence of resistance was observed against amoxicillin (100%), tylosin (97%), sulfamethoxazole (98%), and erythromycin (92%), while the lowest for colistin (8%). The pathotype characterization identified two EPEC strains and the study of genetic linkage (PFGE) showed a wide variety of profiles. The current study emphasized the wide range of multidrug resistance and genotyping profiles in E. coli isolated in Easter Sicily.
Memory-Enhancing Effects of Mangosteen Pericarp Water Extract through Antioxidative Neuroprotection and Anti-Apoptotic Action
Authors: Oh Yeonsoo , Do Ha Thi Thu , Kim Sunyoung , Kim Young-Mi , Chin Young-Won , Cho Jungsook
Published: December 2020

Mangosteen has long been utilized as a traditional medicine in Southeast Asia. Diverse extracts of mangosteen pericarp and its bioactive xanthones exhibit various bioactivities. However, the pharmacological potential of mangosteen pericarp water extract (MPW) has not been reported yet. This study used primary cultured rat cortical cells to investigate the effect of MPW on neurotoxicity. We found that MPW inhibited neurotoxicity and production of reactive oxygen species triggered by Aβ(25–35) or excitatory amino acids. MPW inhibited caspase 3 activation and DNA fragmentation in Aβ(25–35)- or N-methyl-D-aspartate-treated cells, suggesting an anti-apoptotic action. Additionally, MPW reduced lipid peroxidation and scavenged 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals, assuring its antioxidant property. Furthermore, MPW suppressed β-secretase and acetylcholinesterase activities. These findings prompted us to evaluate its effect on memory dysfunction in scopolamine-treated mice using Morris water maze test. Oral administration of MPW at the dosage of 50, 100, or 300 mg/kg for four days significantly decreased the latency time to find the platform and markedly increased the swimming time in the target quadrant. Taken together, our results suggest that MPW exerts memory-enhancing effect through antioxidative neuroprotection and anti-apoptotic action. Accordingly, MPW may have a potential to prevent or treat memory impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Antioxidants in Fish Sperm and the Potential Role of Melatonin
Authors: Félix Francisca , Oliveira Catarina C. V. , Cabrita Elsa
Published: December 2020

In recent years, the effects of novel antioxidants have played an important role in the research focusing on fish cell protection. As food demand grows, aquaculture production becomes more intensive, and fish are more exposed to oxidative stress conditions, like high densities, temperature shifting, frequent fish handling and samplings, and prophylactic or disease treatments, which expose fish to a different environment. Particularly in reproduction, germ cells lose antioxidant capacity with spermatogenesis, as spermatozoa are more prone to oxidative stress. Antioxidants have been used in a variety of fish physiological problems including in reproduction and in the establishment of cryopreservation protocols. From the most used antioxidants to natural plant food and herbs, and endogenously produced antioxidants, like melatonin, a review of the literature available in terms of their effects on the protection of fish spermatozoa is presented here in a classified structure. Several direct and indirect approaches to improve gamete quality using antioxidants administration are mentioned (through feed supplementation or by adding in cryopreservation media), as well as factors affecting the efficiency of these molecules and their mechanisms of action. Special attention is given to the unclear melatonin pathway and its potential scavenger activity to prevent and counteract oxidative stress damage on fish spermatozoa.
A Fusion Approach to Detect Traffic Signs Using Registered Color Images and Noisy Airborne LiDAR Data
Authors: Javanmardi Mohammadreza , Song Ziqi , Qi Xiaojun
Published: December 2020

Traffic sign detection is considered as one of the active research topics in transportation and computer vision. The previous works mainly focus on detecting traffic signs in images or in mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. In this paper, we propose a novel deep learning method to accurately detect traffic signs by fusing the complementary features from registered airborne geo-referenced color images and noisy airborne LiDAR data. Specifically, we first segment the airborne color images to road and non-road segments by integrating various local features in an inequality constraint quadratic optimization model. Next, we find the corresponding road regions in LiDAR data and extract high elevated objects above the road. We then segment the extracted objects to different regions corresponding to traffic sign candidates using Euclidean distance-based clustering. Finally, we find the corresponding traffic sign candidates in color images, extract their deep features, and represent them in a convex optimization model to classify the candidates. A set of extensive experiments have been carried out on the airborne geo-referenced color images and noisy airborne LiDAR data captured by Utah State University from I-15 highway. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in detecting traffic signs.
A Review of Guidelines for Antibiotic Prophylaxis before Invasive Dental Treatments
Authors: Bakhsh Abdulaziz A. , Shabeeh Husain , Mannocci Francesco , Niazi Sadia Ambreen
Published: December 2020

Bacteraemia associated with invasive dental treatments can propagate infective endocarditis in high-risk cardiac patients. Over the past decade, antibiotic prophylaxis before dental treatment has been questioned. This review aims to compare the variations between the UK, European and American antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines before dental treatments. Antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)—Clinical Guideline 64, Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP), American Heart Association (AHA), European Society of Cardiology (ESC), European Society of Endodontology (ESE) and Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE) position statements were compared regarding the indications, high-risk patients and prophylaxis regimens before dental treatments. In the United Kingdom, the NICE—Clinical Guideline 64 and SDCEP—Implementation Advice do not advise the prescription of prophylactic antibiotics for the majority of high-risk cardiac patients undergoing routine dental treatments. On the contrary, the AHA, ESC and KEC recommend the prescription of antibiotics prior to invasive dental procedures in high-risk cardiac individuals. The ESE also indicates prophylaxis before endodontic procedures for patients with other conditions, including impaired immunologic function, prosthetic joint replacement, high-dose jaw irradiation and intravenous bisphosphonates. Among these guidelines, there are variations in antibiotic prophylaxis regimens. There are variations regarding the indications and antibiotic prophylaxis regimens before invasive dental treatments among these available guidelines.
Traffic Information Enrichment: Creating Long-Term Traffic Speed Prediction Ensemble Model for Better Navigation through Waypoints
Authors: Simunek Milan , Smutny Zdenek
Published: December 2020

Traffic speed prediction for a selected road segment from a short-term and long-term perspective is among the fundamental issues of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). During the course of the past two decades, many artefacts (e.g., models) have been designed dealing with traffic speed prediction. However, no satisfactory solution has been found for the issue of a long-term prediction for days and weeks using the vast spatial and temporal data. This article aims to introduce a long-term traffic speed prediction ensemble model using country-scale historic traffic data from 37,002 km of roads, which constitutes 66% of all roads in the Czech Republic. The designed model comprises three submodels and combines parametric and nonparametric approaches in order to acquire a good-quality prediction that can enrich available real-time traffic information. Furthermore, the model is set into a conceptual design which expects its usage for the improvement of navigation through waypoints (e.g., delivery service, goods distribution, police patrol) and the estimated arrival time. The model validation is carried out using the same network of roads, and the model predicts traffic speed in the period of 1 week. According to the performed validation of average speed prediction at a given hour, it can be stated that the designed model achieves good results, with mean absolute error of 4.67 km/h. The achieved results indicate that the designed solution can effectively predict the long-term speed information using large-scale spatial and temporal data, and that this solution is suitable for use in ITS.
Performance Analysis of Synchronous Multi-Radio Multi-Link MAC Protocols in IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput WLANs
Authors: Song Taewon , Kim Taeyoon
Published: December 2020

The representative media access control (MAC) mechanism of IEEE 802.11 is a distributed coordination function (DCF), which operates based on carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) with binary exponential backoff. The next amendment of IEEE 802.11 being developed for future Wi-Fi by the task group-be is called IEEE 802.11be, where the multi-link operation is mainly discussed when it comes to MAC layer operation. The multi-link operation discussed in IEEE 802.11be allows multi-link devices to establish multiple links and operate them simultaneously. Since the medium access on a link may affect the other links, and the conventional MAC mechanism has just taken account of a single link, the DCF should be used after careful consideration for multi-link operation. In this paper, we summarize the DCFs being reviewed to support the multi-radio multi-link operation in IEEE 802.11be and analyze their performance using the Markov chain model. Throughout the extensive performance evaluation, we summarize each MAC protocol’s pros and cons and discuss essential findings of the candidate MAC protocols.
Accuracy Improvement of Intraoral Scanning and Buccal Bite Registration Using Healing Abutment as Landmarks: An In Vitro Study
Authors: Jin Gan , Kim Jong-Eun , Nam Na-Eun , Shin Seung-Ho , Shim June-Sung
Published: December 2020

This study aimed to determine the influence of the healing abutment (HA), placed at the implant placement site, on the accuracy of intraoral scanning and buccal bite registration in quadrant maxillary and mandibular models when using three types of intraoral scanner (IOS) and elucidate the distribution of arch distortion. Six experimental groups based on whether the HA was connected and the location of missing teeth were digitized using one laboratory scanner (Identica T500) and three IOSs (Trios 3, CS3600, and i500). Three-way ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of the scanner, location and number of missing teeth, and HA using Tukey investigation analyses for multiple comparisons (α = 0.05). Linear distances between hemispheres from the upper and lower arches were analyzed using the Jonckheere–Terpstra trend test to investigate the tendency of distortion from anterior to posterior tooth positions (α = 0.05). The accuracy of IOSs in groups with HAs was found significantly more accurate than groups without HAs. There was a significant trend in distortion from anterior to posterior tooth positions when using the Trios 3 and i500 IOSs. The scanning accuracy was affected by the presence of an HA, and the distortion along with the arch span may vary with the IOS utilized.
Study of the Properties of Human Milk Fat Substitutes Using DSC and GC Methods
Authors: Bryś Joanna , Górska Agata , Ostrowska-Ligęza Ewa , Wirkowska-Wojdyła Magdalena , Bryś Andrzej , Brzezińska Rita , Dolatowska-Żebrowska Karolina , Ziarno Małgorzata , Obranović Marko , Škevin Dubravka
Published: December 2020

The development of infant milk fat similar in its structure and composition to that present in human milk receives a considerable amount of attention and has become a challenge for the world’s food industry. The aim of this work was an attempt to obtain structured lipids resembling human milk fat (HMF) by modifying mixtures of lard (L) and rapeseed oil (RO) catalyzed by Lipozyme RM IM. The enzymatic reactions were carried out at 70 °C for 4, 8, and 24 h. The second objective was to study the properties of obtained substitutes of human milk fat (HMFS) using gas chromatography, thin layer chromatography, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. Chromatographic methods were used to determine the composition of fatty acids (FAs) and the regiospecific structure of triacylglycerols (TAG) of obtained HMFS. DSC methods were used to establish the oxidative stability of HMFS and to calculate their kinetic parameters of oxidation. Structured lipids obtained from a mixture of L and RO after 4 h interesterification in 70 °C were characterized by the closest FA content and their distribution in TAG to HMF. Interesterification influenced the decrease of the induction time of obtained structured lipids.
Topology-Aware Retinal Artery–Vein Classification via Deep Vascular Connectivity Prediction
Authors: Shin Seung Yeon , Lee Soochahn , Yun Il Dong , Lee Kyoung Mu
Published: December 2020

Retinal artery–vein (AV) classification is a prerequisite for quantitative analysis of retinal vessels, which provides a biomarker for neurologic, cardiac, and systemic diseases, as well as ocular diseases. Although convolutional neural networks have presented remarkable performance on AV classification, it often comes with a topological error, like an abrupt class flipping on the same vessel segment or a weakness for thin vessels due to their indistinct appearances. In this paper, we present a new method for AV classification where the underlying vessel topology is estimated to give consistent prediction along the actual vessel structure. We cast the vessel topology estimation as iterative vascular connectivity prediction, which is implemented as deep-learning-based pairwise classification. In consequence, a whole vessel graph is separated into sub-trees, and each of them is classified as an artery or vein in whole via a voting scheme. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method is validated by conducting experiments on two retinal image datasets acquired using different imaging techniques called DRIVE and IOSTAR.
A Deep Residual U-Type Network for Semantic Segmentation of Orchard Environments
Authors: Shang Gaogao , Liu Gang , Zhu Peng , Han Jiangyi , Xia Changgao , Jiang Kun
Published: December 2020

Recognition of the orchard environment is a prerequisite for realizing the autonomous operation of intelligent horticultural tractors. Due to the complexity of the environment and the algorithm’s dependence on ambient light, the traditional recognition algorithm based on machine vision is limited and has low accuracy. However, the deep residual U-type network is more effective in this situation. In an orchard, the deep residual U-type network can perform semantic segmentation on trees, drivable roads, debris, etc. The basic structure of the network adopts a U-type network, and residual learning is added in the coding layer and bottleneck layer. Firstly, the residual module is used to improve the network depth, enhance the fusion of semantic information at different levels, and improve the feature expression capability and recognition accuracy. Secondly, the decoding layer uses up-sampling for feature mapping, which is convenient and fast. Thirdly, the semantic information of the coding layer is integrated by skip connection, which reduces the network parameters and accelerates the training. Finally, a network was built through the Pytorch Deep Learning Framework, which was implemented to train the data set and compare the network with the fully convolutional neural network, the U-type network, and the Front-end+Large network. The results show that the deep residual U-type network has the highest recognition accuracy, with an average of 85.95%, making it more suitable for environment recognition in orchards.
Postextraction Ridge Width Alterations Following Socket Seal Surgery—A Retrospective Study
Authors: Landsberg Cobi , Bender Omer , Weinreb Miron , Wigler Ronald , Chackartchi Tali , Matalon Shlomo , Weinberg Evgeny
Published: December 2020

Background and objectives: Preservation of alveolar ridge contour following tooth extraction is important to allow for restoration with prosthetics and implants. Socket seal surgery was introduced more than two decades ago for preservation of the form, volume and bone quality of the postextraction ridge. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the changes in alveolar ridge contour following socket seal surgery and to evaluate the survival of the soft tissue grafts sealing the extraction site. Materials and Methods: Digital images of the extraction sites treated with the socket seal surgery were obtained immediately after extraction and after a healing time of 6 months to measure the changes in the alveolar width. In addition, the sites were photographed 1 week postsurgery to evaluate the vitality of the soft tissue grafts. Results: The overall mean loss of buccal width following socket seal surgery was 5.3% (SD = 13.4%). The mean change in width at the incisor area (1.5% ± 13.1) was significantly lesser than those in the canine area (−17.0% ± 2.1, p < 0.01) or premolar area (−10.5% ± 11.2, p < 0.01). One-week post-surgery 69% of the grafts were vital, and 31% were partially vital. Complete necrosis of the grafts did not occur. Conclusions: Our results suggest that socket seal surgery has a beneficial effect on alveolar dimensional changes 6 months following tooth extraction and that the teeth that benefit mostly from socket seal surgery are incisors.
Time-Resolved XUV Absorption Spectroscopy and Magnetic Circular Dichroism at the Ni M2,3-Edges
Authors: Hennes Marcel , Rösner Benedikt , Chardonnet Valentin , Chiuzbaian Gheorghe S. , Delaunay Renaud , Döring Florian , Guzenko Vitaliy A. , Hehn Michel , Jarrier Romain , Kleibert Armin , Lebugle Maxime , Lüning Jan , Malinowski Gregory , Merhe Aladine , Naumenko Denys , Nikolov Ivaylo P. , Lopez-Quintas Ignacio , Pedersoli Emanuele , Savchenko Tatiana , Watts Benjamin , Zangrando Marco , David Christian , Capotondi Flavio , Vodungbo Boris , Jal Emmanuelle
Published: December 2020

Ultrashort optical pulses can trigger a variety of non-equilibrium processes in magnetic thin films affecting electrons and spins on femtosecond timescales. In order to probe the charge and magnetic degrees of freedom simultaneously, we developed an X-ray streaking technique that has the advantage of providing a jitter-free picture of absorption cross-section changes. In this paper, we present an experiment based on this approach, which we performed using five photon probing energies at the Ni M2,3-edges. This allowed us to retrieve the absorption and magnetic circular dichroism time traces, yielding detailed information on transient modifications of electron and spin populations close to the Fermi level. Our findings suggest that the observed absorption and magnetic circular dichroism dynamics both depend on the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) probing wavelength, and can be described, at least qualitatively, by assuming ultrafast energy shifts of the electronic and magnetic elemental absorption resonances, as reported in recent work. However, our analysis also hints at more complex changes, highlighting the need for further experimental and theoretical studies in order to gain a thorough understanding of the interplay of electronic and spin degrees of freedom in optically excited magnetic thin films.
A Framework for Fall Detection Based on OpenPose Skeleton and LSTM/GRU Models
Authors: Lin Chuan-Bi , Dong Ziqian , Kuan Wei-Kai , Huang Yung-Fa
Published: December 2020

Falling is one of the causes of accidental death of elderly people over 65 years old in Taiwan. If the fall incidents are not detected in a timely manner, it could lead to serious injury or even death of those who fell. General fall detection approaches require the users to wear sensors, which could be cumbersome for the users to put on, and misalignment of sensors could lead to erroneous readings. In this paper, we propose using computer vision and applied machine-learning algorithms to detect fall without any sensors. We applied OpenPose real-time multi-person 2D pose estimation to detect movement of a subject using two datasets of 570 × 30 frames recorded in five different rooms from eight different viewing angles. The system retrieves the locations of 25 joint points of the human body and detects human movement through detecting the joint point location changes. The system is able to effectively identify the joints of the human body as well as filtering ambient environmental noise for an improved accuracy. The use of joint points instead of images improves the training time effectively as well as eliminating the effects of traditional image-based approaches such as blurriness, light, and shadows. This paper uses single-view images to reduce equipment costs. We experimented with time series recurrent neural network, long- and short-term memory, and gated recurrent unit models to learn the changes in human joint points in continuous time. The experimental results show that the fall detection accuracy of the proposed model is 98.2%, which outperforms the baseline 88.9% with 9.3% improvement.
Parallel Complex Quadrature Spatial Modulation
Authors: Murtala Sheriff , Muchena Nishal , Holoubi Tasnim , Mohaisen Manar , Choi Kang-Sun
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we propose a new multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission scheme, called parallel complex quadrature spatial modulation (PCQSM). The proposed technique is based on the complex quadrature spatial modulation (CQSM) to further increase the spectral efficiency of the communication system. CQSM transmits two different complex symbols at each channel use. In contrast with CQSM, the new transmission scheme splits the transmit antennas into groups, and modulates the two signal symbols using the conventional CQSM before transmission. Based on the selected modulation order and the number of possible groups that can be realized, the incoming bits modulate the two signal symbols and the indices of the transmit antennas in each group. We demonstrated that while the complexity and performance of the proposed scheme is the same as that of CQSM, the number of required transmit antennas is significantly reduced. The proposed PCQSM achieves such a benefit without requiring any additional radio frequency (RF) chains. The results obtained from Monte Carlo simulation showed that at a Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10−4, the performance of the PCQSM with two antenna groups closely matches that of CQSM, and outperformed quadrature spatial modulation (QSM) and parallel quadrature spatial modulation (PQSM) by over 0.7 dB. As the number of antenna groups increased to 4, the BER performance of PCQSM with reduced number of transmit antenna and modulation order matches that of QSM. The BER of the proposed scheme using maximum likelihood (ML) receiver is also analyzed theoretically and compared with the BER obtained via simulations.
Biosurfactants’ Potential Role in Combating COVID-19 and Similar Future Microbial Threats
Authors: Çelik Pınar Aytar , Manga Enuh Blaise , Çabuk Ahmet , Banat Ibrahim M.
Published: December 2020

During 2020, the world has experienced extreme vulnerability in the face of a disease outbreak. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic discovered in China and rapidly spread across the globe, infecting millions, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, and severe downturns in the economies of countries worldwide. Biosurfactants can play a significant role in the prevention, control and treatment of diseases caused by these pathogenic agents through various therapeutic, pharmaceutical, environmental and hygiene approaches. Biosurfactants have the potential to inhibit microbial species with virulent intrinsic characteristics capable of developing diseases with high morbidity and mortality, as well as interrupting their spread through environmental and hygiene interventions. This is possible due to their antimicrobial activity, ability to interact with cells forming micelles and to interact with the immune system, and compatibility with relevant processes such as nanoparticle synthesis. They, therefore, can be applied in developing innovative and more effective pharmaceutical, therapeutics, sustainable and friendly environmental management approaches, less toxic formulations, and more efficient cleaning agents. These approaches can be easily integrated into relevant product development pipelines and implemented as measures for combating and managing pandemics. This review examines the potential approaches of biosurfactants as useful molecules in fighting microbial pathogens both known and previously unknown, such as COVID-19.
The Upper Bound Theorem in Forging Processes: Model of Triangular Rigid Zones on Parts with Horizontal Symmetry
Authors: Martín Francisco , Martín María Jesús , Cano María José
Published: December 2020

This paper presents the analytical method capacity of the upper bound theorem, under modular approach, to extend its application possibilities. Traditionally, this method has been applied in forging processes, considering plane strain condition and parts with double symmetry configuration. However, in this study, the double symmetry is eliminated by means of a fluency plane whose position comes from the center of mass calculated. The study of the load required to ensure the plastic deformation will be focus on the profile of the part, independently on both sides of the fluence plane, modifying the number and the shape of the modules that form the two halves in which the part is defined. This way, it is possible to calculate the necessary load to cause the plastic deformation, whatever its geometric profile.
Stock Assessment Using the LBB Method for Portunus trituberculatus Collected from the Yangtze Estuary in China
Authors: Yue Longtao , Wang Yibang , Zhang Hui , Xian Weiwei
Published: December 2020

Portunus trituberculatus is an important invertebrate species distributed in the Yangtze Estuary. However, its biomass and enrichment have been affected seriously by ongoing human activity in recent decades. The length-based Bayesian biomass estimator (LBB) is a novel and potent method to estimate the stocks for most commercial fishes and invertebrates in offshore using only length and frequency data. In this study, the results showed that the ratio of current exploited biomass relative to unexploited biomass (B/B0) was smaller than relative biomass capable of producing maximum sustainable yields (BMSY/B0) after handling of the catches of the P. trituberculatus collected from the Yangtze Estuary in 2018 using the LBB method. Therefore, this evidence indicated that the biomass of the swimming crab was relatively low as a result of the overfishing in this water area and the catches of the crabs should be controlled at a reasonable level in the future. Meanwhile, LBB is a promising method providing a theoretical basis for the management and protection of fishery resources.
Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Properties of Banana Inflorescence in a Beverage for Maternal Breastfeeding
Authors: Amornlerdpison Doungporn , Choommongkol Vachira , Narkprasom Kanjana , Yimyam Susanha
Published: December 2020

Banana inflorescence is consumed as a traditional Thai cuisine for milk lactation in maternal breastfeeding. In this study, the inflorescence of banana (Musa x paradisiaca) was extracted in various solvents to determine the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in 2,2′-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging. A suitable extract was developed into a beverage. We compared the results for the amount of total phenolic compounds and the capability of antioxidants obtained in polar and non-polar solvents. The extract in a high-polarity solvent demonstrated high total phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The bioactive compounds of banana inflorescence contained β- sitosterol, flavonoids, saponin, and other phenolic compounds such as catechin and isoquercetin. The aqueous extract of banana inflorescence was developed to act as a primary beverage ingredient. The beverage containing the aqueous extract of banana inflorescence (BAB) exhibited a brownish-yellow color and displayed high acidity and high total phenolic compounds, which are responsible for the antioxidant activity. The food processing of BAB showed no contamination of microbial pathogens. From our results, we concluded that banana inflorescence is a beneficial health food supplement for general consumers. Additionally, the beverage provides convenience and an alternative drink for postpartum mothers who breastfeed for their infants.
Modified Filtered-X Hierarchical LMS Algorithm with Sequential Partial Updates for Active Noise Control
Authors: Ramos Lorente Pedro , Martín Ferrer Raúl , Arranz Martínez Fernando , Palacios-Navarro Guillermo
Published: December 2020

In the field of active noise control (ANC), a popular method is the modified filtered-x LMS algorithm. However, it has two drawbacks: its computational complexity higher than that of the conventional FxLMS, and its convergence rate that could still be improved. Therefore, we propose an adaptive strategy which aims at speeding up the convergence rate of an ANC system dealing with periodic disturbances. This algorithm consists in combining the organization of the filter weights in a hierarchy of subfilters of shorter length and their sequential partial updates (PU). Our contribution is threefold: (1) we provide the theoretical basis of the existence of a frequency-dependent parameter, called gain in step-size. (2) The theoretical upper bound of the step-size is compared with the limit obtained from simulations. (3) Additional experiments show that this strategy results in a fast algorithm with a computational complexity close to that of the conventional FxLMS.
Safety Culture in the Spanish Nuclear Power Plants through the Prism of High Reliability Organization, Resilience and Conflicting Objectives Theories
Authors: Badia Eulàlia , Navajas Joaquín , Losilla Josep-Maria
Published: December 2020

Safety culture is the result of values, attitudes, and perceptions of the members of an organization that prioritize safety over competing goals. Previous research has shown the impact that organizational aspects can have in safety performance. Under the prism of the theoretical approaches from the high reliability organizations theory (HROT), resilience engineering (RE), and conflicting objectives perspective, this study was aimed at describing the overall main safety culture traits of the Spanish nuclear power plants, as well as identifying particularities associated with subcultures. For this purpose, a statistical analysis of safety culture surveys and behavioral anchored rating scales (BARS), handed over to all the operating Spanish nuclear power plants, was carried out. Results reveal that safety is a recognized value that prevails over production, there is a high degree of standardization, power plants are better prepared to organize plans and strategies than to adapt and cope with the needs of a crisis, and there is a critical and fragmented perception about the processes of resources allocation. Findings also identify that sociodemographic aspects, such as work location and contractual relationship, seem to be shaping differentiated visions. Several safety implications linked to the results are discussed.
Multi-Dimensional Routing, Wavelength, and Timeslot Allocation (RWTA) in Quantum Key Distribution Optical Networks (QKD-ON)
Authors: Yu Xiaosong , Ning Xian , Zhu Qingcheng , Lv Jiaqi , Zhao Yongli , Zhang Huibin , Zhang Jie
Published: December 2020

Currently, with the continuous advancement of network and communication technology, the amount of data carried by the optical network is very huge. The security of high-speed and large-capacity information in optical networks has attracted more and more attention. Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides information-theoretic security based on the laws of quantum mechanics. Introducing QKD into an optical network can greatly improve the security of the optical network. In order to reduce the cost of deployment on QKD infrastructure, quantum signals in QKD and classical signals in optical networks are multiplexed in the same fiber by wavelength-division manner. Moreover, due to the limited wavelength resources in an optical fiber, time-division technology is adopted to construct different kinds of channels in QKD system for efficient utilization of wavelength resources. Under such situation, how to satisfy the security requirements of service requests and complete the efficient scheduling of multi-dimensional resources, i.e., wavelengths and timeslots, is a challenging problem. This paper addresses this problem by considering multi-dimensional routing, wavelength, and timeslot allocation (RWTA) in short-distance quantum key distribution optical networks (QKD-ON), in which any two nodes can directly establish a quantum channel, and the maximum distance between any two nodes is less than the distance that can carry out point-to-point quantum key distribution process. While accommodating services with security requirements in QKD optical networks, to avoid the wavelength time-slot fragmentation caused by the constraints of wavelength consistency and time-slot continuity, we propose a time-window-based security orchestration strategy as well as relative-loss of time continuous compactness based RWTA strategy. We conducted the simulations under various scenarios, e.g., different key updating periods and different distributions on wavelength resources, etc., and the results show that the proposed strategy can achieve better performance compared with the baselines in terms of key success rate, key-updating delay, and blocking probability.
The Influence of Interesterification on the Thermal and Technological Properties of Milkfat-Rapeseed Oil Mixture and Its Potential Use in Incorporation of Model Meat Batters
Authors: Wirkowska-Wojdyła Magdalena , Chmiel Marta , Ostrowska-Ligęza Ewa , Górska Agata , Bryś Joanna , Słowiński Mirosław , Czerniszewska Agnieszka
Published: December 2020

Enzymatic interesterification gives the possibility to obtain a wide range of lipids with a modified structure. In the present study, model meat batters were produced from chicken breast muscles and enzymatically interesterified fats: milkfat:rapeseed oil (3:2 w/w). Fatty acids composition and their positional distribution in triacylglycerol, melting profile and oxidative stability have been determined in fats used for interesterification, after interesterification and extracted from meat batters. In meat batters, the physiochemical parameters were determined. Interesterified fats were characterized by significantly lower induction times than noninteresterified fat (85.29 and 18.21 min, respectively). Meat batters were also characterized by a lower oxidative stability of lipid fraction (24.90 and 13.67 min) than lipids used to their production. A higher content of unsaturated fatty acids was found in meat batters with noninteresterified and interesterified fats (69.40% and 70.03%, respectively) than in the control meat batter with a pork jowl (58.63%). In comparison to the control product, meat batter prepared with interesterified mixture was characterized by significantly lower apparent viscosity. In the analyzed meat batters, there were no differences in thermal drip and penetration force. The incorporation of interesterified milkfat with rapeseed oil in model meat batters can be a strategy to improve the nutritional quality without adversely affecting the quality characteristics.
CFD-Based Investigation of Lubrication and Temperature Characteristics of an Intermediate Gearbox with Splash Lubrication
Authors: Lu Fengxia , Wang Meng , Pan Wenbin , Bao Heyun , Ge Wenchang
Published: December 2020

In this study, we propose a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based method to study the lubrication and temperature characteristics of an intermediate gearbox with splash lubrication. A volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model was used to track the interface between oil and air. A multiple reference frame (MRF) model was adopted to accurately simulate the movement characteristics of the gears, bearings, and the surrounding flow field. The thermal-fluid coupling computational model of an intermediate gearbox with splash lubrication was then established. Combined with experimental results, we verified that the lubricating oil temperature was below the limit requirement (<110 °C). The numerical results revealed that large amounts of lubricating oil were splashed onto the tooth surfaces near the gear meshing area. A large convective heat transfer coefficient corresponds to a low gear tooth surface temperature. The tooth surface temperature of the driving gear is higher than that of the driven gear. The distribution law of oil volume fraction of the bearing roller was jointly affected by the roller rotation direction and gravity. The convective heat transfer coefficient of the roller wall was largely related to the lubrication environment of the roller, including the oil distribution inside the bearing cavity and the flow rate.
A Novel Ultrasonic Trepanning Method for Nomex Honeycomb Core
Authors: Sun Dingyi , Kang Renke , Wang Yidan , Guo Jialin , Dong Zhigang
Published: December 2020

The vertical surface is a common and typical characteristic structure among Nomex honeycomb core components. However, the conventional high-speed milling and ultrasonic cutting struggle to meet the high-quality machining requirements of a vertical surface. In this study, an ultrasonic trepanning method is proposed and a special ultrasonic trepanning tool is developed, aiming to improve the machining quality of the vertical surface. The trepanning quality of the vertical surface is further studied from the aspects of dimensional error and trepanning incision quality. Based on the kinematic characteristics of ultrasonic trepanning, a theoretical model of dimensional error in trepanning is established. Meanwhile, the influence of ultrasonic vibration on the trepanning process is analyzed, and the result shows that ultrasonic vibration significantly improves the equivalent elastic constant of the honeycomb core material. The theoretical model is proposed to predict the trepanning dimensional error, which is verified by experiment. The effectiveness of the ultrasonic vibration on the incision quality is verified by several experiments, and the quantitative analysis results demonstrate that ultrasonic vibration significantly improves the trepanning quality of the vertical surface.
Data-Driven Modeling of Low Frequency Noise Using Capture-Emission Energy Maps
Authors: Lee Jonghwan
Published: December 2020

A new approach for modeling low frequency noise is presented to enable the predictions of noise behavior from negative bias temperature instability (NBTI). The noise model is based on a capture-emission energy (CEE) map describing the probability density function of widely distributed defect capture-emission activation energies. To enlarge the capture-emission energy window and to perform the accurate estimation of the recoverable component of CEE, the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is applied to the CEE map. This approach provides an efficient identification of noise sources and an in-depth noise analysis under both stationary and cyclo-stationary conditions.
Taste as a Medium of Memory in Anna Królikiewicz’s Installations
Authors: Koczanowicz Dorota
Published: December 2020

The paper explores the multisensory artistic practices of the Polish artist Anna Królikiewicz, in which the sense of taste is pivotal as a medium of memory. Królikiewicz relies on tastes and smells to restore the memory of past moments, places, and people and to give life to the dead. Królikiewicz’s method is unique in that she abandons the exclusively cognitive mode of remembering, promoted by ocularcentrism, which distinctively pervades our culture. The artist aspires to stimulate sometimes anemic memory to compose from scratch an image of a place that is strongly marked by the presence of its previous dwellers. She does not propose a cognitive dialog or intellectual processing of sensory data; instead, she constructs a relationship ensuing from emotional and empathetic processes. She inquires into the nature of perception, modes of remembering, and possibilities to foster a community around the table. Once-alive existences resurface in Królikiewicz’s pieces in the form of sensory traces. Her works are on-site experimentations in which the relations between tasting and recollecting are studied. The paper focuses on two site-specific installations—How much sugar? and The Drugstore—where taste is relied on to build tunnels of memory connecting the contemporary residents of Sopot and Gdansk to the Germans who inhabited the two cities before the WW2.
Temperature-Related Mortality in Helsinki Compared to Its Surrounding Region Over Two Decades, with Special Emphasis on Intensive Heatwaves
Authors: Ruuhela Reija , Votsis Athanasios , Kukkonen Jaakko , Jylhä Kirsti , Kankaanpää Susanna , Perrels Adriaan
Published: December 2020

Urbanization and ongoing climate change increase the exposure of the populations to heat stress, and the urban heat island (UHI) effect may magnify heat-related mortality, especially during heatwaves. We studied temperature-related mortality in the city of Helsinki—with urban and suburban land uses—and in the surrounding Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital district (HUS-H, excluding Helsinki)—with more rural types of land uses—in southern Finland for two decades, 2000–2018. Dependence of the risk of daily all-cause deaths (all-age and 75+ years) on daily mean temperature was modelled using the distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM). The modelled relationships were applied in assessing deaths attributable to four intensive heatwaves during the study period. The results showed that the heat-related mortality risk was substantially higher in Helsinki than in HUS-H, and the mortality rates attributable to four intensive heatwaves (2003, 2010, 2014 and 2018) were about 2.5 times higher in Helsinki than in HUS-H. Among the elderly, heat-related risks were also higher in Helsinki, while cold-related risks were higher in the surrounding region. The temperature ranges recorded in the fairly coarse resolution gridded datasets were not distinctly different in the two considered regions. It is therefore probable that the modelling underestimated the actual exposure to the heat stress in Helsinki. We also studied the modifying, short-term impact of air quality on the modelled temperature-mortality association in Helsinki; this effect was found to be small. We discuss a need for higher resolution data and modelling the UHI effect, and regional differences in vulnerability to thermal stress.
Seasonal Variation of Biogenic and Anthropogenic VOCs in a Semi-Urban Area Near Sydney, Australia
Authors: Ramirez-Gamboa Jhonathan , Paton-Walsh Clare , Galbally Ian , Simmons Jack , Guerette Elise-Andree , Griffith Alan D. , Chambers Scott D. , Williams Alastair G.
Published: December 2020

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play a key role in the formation of ozone and secondary organic aerosol, the two most important air pollutants in Sydney, Australia. Despite their importance, there are few available VOC measurements in the area. In this paper, we discuss continuous GC-MS measurements of 10 selected VOCs between February (summer in the southern hemisphere) and June (winter in the southern hemisphere) of 2019 in a semi-urban area between natural eucalypt forest and the Sydney metropolitan fringe. Combined, isoprene, methacrolein, methyl-vinyl-ketone, α-pinene, p-cymene, eucalyptol, benzene, toluene xylene and tri-methylbenzene provide a reasonable representation of variability in the total biogenic VOC (BVOC) and anthropogenic VOC (AVOC) loading in the area. Seasonal changes in environmental conditions were reflected in observed BVOC concentrations, with a summer peak of 8 ppb, dropping to approximately 0.1 ppb in winter. Isoprene, and its immediate oxidation products methacrolein (MACR) and methyl-vinyl-ketone (MVK), dominated BVOC concentrations during summer and early autumn, while monoterpenes comprised the larger fraction during winter. Temperature and solar radiation drive most of the seasonal variation observed in BVOCs. Observed levels of isoprene, MACR and MVK in the atmosphere are closely related with variations in temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), but chemistry and meteorology may play a more important role for the monoterpenes. Using a nonlinear model, temperature explains 51% and PAR 38% of the isoprene, MACR and MVK variation. Eucalyptol dominated the observed monoterpene fraction (contributing ~75%), with p-cymene (20%) and α-pinene (5%) also present. AVOCs maintain an average concentration of ~0.4 ppb, with a slight decrease during autumn–winter. The low AVOC concentrations observed indicate a relatively small anthropogenic influence, generally occurring when (rare) northerly winds transport Sydney emissions to the measurement site. The site is influenced by domestic, commercial and vehicle AVOC emissions. Our observed AVOC concentrations can be explained by the seasonal changes in meteorology and the emissions in the area as listed in the NSW emissions inventory and thereby act as an independent validation of this inventory. We conclude that the variations in atmospheric composition observed during the seasons are an important variable to consider when formulating air pollution control policies over Sydney given the influence of biogenic sources during summer, autumn and winter.