bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transformational policies and strategies framework accelerating green transition – The case of agriculture in Vietnam
Authors: Thanh Binh Nguyen , Tan Sinh Bach , Van Thuy Tien Le
Published: April 2023

Green transition is an urgent need for all countries, but there are many challenges in its implementation, especially in developing countries like Vietnam. This study was carried out through an analysis of relevant policies and a case study of conversion from rice monoculture to an integrated rice‐shrimp farming system in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The results showed that Vietnam has many policies, strategies, and plans to promote economic transformation toward sustainable, green, low emission, and climate change adaptation. However, the implementation of these policies in practice still faces some difficulties. The case study's result revealed that the rice‐shrimp model is suitable and brings many benefits to society, economy, and environment. The success of the transition depends on many factors including initiative, creativity, and consensus at the local level. A theoretical framework was built to promote the transition toward green and sustainable development in the future.
Vermicomposting of solid textile sludge spiked with cow dung by epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida in variable population density
Authors: Zaman Asad Bin , Rahman Atoar , Mahmud Iqbal , Roy Hridoy , Hoque Sirajul , Uddin Jashim , Rahman Mominur
Published: April 2023

A six‐week study was conducted on vermicomposting of textile sludge spiked with cow dung at a dry mass ratio of 2:3 by epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida, with variable population densities (40, 80, and 120 earthworm/kg dry substrate). The earthworm characteristics and metal content of the substrate were observed at the beginning and the end of the experiment, whereas particle size, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), volatile matter (VM), total organic carbon (TOC), and total Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN) were determined at every week. No mortality of E. fetida was found during the composting process. A high rate of cocoon or egg production (~4 cocoon earthworm−1) was evident in the most populated substrate. However, overcrowding affected the production of hatchlings, resulting in 5.57–1.03 hatchling earthworm−1 from the lowest to the highest population densities. Growth of the adult earthworm was also retarded, which varied from 0.44 to 0.35 g earthworm−1 with the increase of population density due to high competition for food. The particle size of the substrate material was reduced from 4 mm to 0.6 mm in the most populated substrate which was ascertained to be the most efficient option to reduce substrate particle size. All final substrates gained a C/N ratio lower than 20 except the lowest populated substrate. The change in metallic contents incorporated in substrates showed reverse relationship with the population. Though the overall result demonstrated that the physicochemical properties of the substrate materials are favored by the higher population density, it showed negative effect on the biological activities of earthworms.
Thermoeconomic multiobjective optimization of tobacco drying heat pump recovering waste heat from monocrystal silicon furnace based on SVR ANN model in Southwest China
Authors: Hou Jiwei , Mao Chengbin , Xu Yingjie
Published: April 2023

Great quantities of energy are consumed by heat pump drying systems (HPDSs), such as tobacco drying. It can be reduced by increasing evaporating temperature using waste heat. In this paper, based on the case of two main industries in southwest China (monocrystalline silicon industry and tobacco industry), a novel integrated HPDS especially for the tobacco drying using waste heat from single crystal silicon furnaces is proposed. It is then analyzed from an energetic and economical perspective, investigating the effects of heat exchanger areas on system performance. To simultaneously minimize system CO2 emissions and total annual cost (TAC), a multiobjective optimization using nondominated sorting genetic algorithm is conducted based on the support vector regression model, which has been rarely reported for integrated HPDS improved by waste heat. The final optimum solution on the Pareto optimal front is selected using different decision‐making methods (LINMAP, TOPSIS, and fuzzy decision method), and are compared with the performance of the initial system. The results show that the TOPSIS method is most suitable in three decision‐making methods with a great reduction in (−12.7%) and nearly unchanged in TAC (+0.5%) compared with the initial solution. And the decreases in and TAC of the optimized system is as large as 50% and 1/3, compared with traditional vapor compression heat pump dryer without heat recovery of the monocrystal silicon furnace.
Analogous study of cumulative biogas production by anaerobic digestion of sewage treatment plant sludge, the proposal of universal dimensionless models
Authors: Ameri Billal , Hanini Salah
Published: April 2023

The current global concern is how to replace polluting fossil fuels with sustainable green fuels. On this basis, in this study, a characterization protocol for sewage sludge in Algeria was carried out. Their objective was to study the process of anaerobic digestion for biogas production by analogy to experiments that have already been made in the literature. The performance of the proposed models has been validated with experimental data from the scientific literature. Biodegradable organic matter levels are high (160–500 mg L−1) giving an acceptable yield for biogas production. The modeling of cumulative biogas production was carried out by Gompertz and models were proposed for different products. It has been observed that there is a better agreement of the models proposed with the experimental data with a maximum value of r2 = 0.9996. The modeling of the degradation of organic matter was carried out by the first order‐model, and dimensionless models were proposed. The latter gave a good agreement with the experimental data better than the model in the literature, with a maximum value of r2 = 0.9985. The proposed models to study the anaerobic digestion process of organic matter, as well as those related to the process of cumulative biogas production, are universal (without units of measurement), which will help producers in this field to improve production, as well as reduce the investment cost through preliminary simulations.
Environmental impacts of increasing numbers of artificial space objects
Authors: Gaston Kevin J , Anderson Karen , Shutler Jamie D , Brewin Robert JW , Yan Xiaoyu
Published: April 2023

For much of their existence, the environmental benefits of artificial satellites, particularly through provision of remotely sensed data, seem likely to have greatly exceeded their environmental costs. With dramatic current and projected growth in the number of Earth‐observation and other satellites in low Earth orbit, this trade‐off now needs to be considered more carefully. Here we highlight the range of environmental impacts of satellite technology, taking a life‐cycle approach to evaluate impacts from manufacture, through launch, to burn‐up during de‐orbiting. These include the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources (including those associated with the transmission, long‐term storage, and distribution of data), atmospheric consequences of rocket launches and satellite de‐orbiting, and impacts of a changing nighttime sky on humans and other organisms. Initial estimations of the scale of some impacts are sufficient to underscore the need for more detailed investigations and to identify potential means by which impacts can be reduced and mitigated.
Weekly versus 3‐weekly cisplatin along with radiotherapy for locoregionally advanced non‐nasopharyngeal head and neck cancers: Is the equipoise in literature addressed yet?
Authors: Chatterjee Sataksi , Kiyota Naomi , Vaish Richa , Sharma Atul , Tahara Makoto , Noronha Vanita , Prabhash Kumar , D'Cruz Anil
Published: April 2023

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with 3‐weekly cisplatin 100 mg/m2has been the standard of care for locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer (LA‐HNC) with level I evidence. While the outcomes in terms of efficacy have been well established, the toxicity profile, compliance, and real‐world applicability has been an area of ongoing concern for this regimen, leading the oncologists to explore weekly cisplatin chemoradiotherapy regimen to potentially address the issue. A review of literature was conducted in Pubmed, Scopus, and Medline to compare and evaluate the present role of weekly cisplatin chemotherapy along with radiotherapy versus 3‐weekly cisplatin chemotherapy along with radiotherapy in both adjuvant and definitive settings for locoregionally advanced head and neck cancers. Nasopharyngeal subsites were excluded from the literature review and 50 relevant articles were included in the analysis. Recently published evidences of noninferiority of weekly over 3‐weekly cisplatin chemoradiotherapy regimen in definitive as well as adjuvant settings in locoregionally advanced head and neck cancers is highlighted and interpreted. Results supporting and against the above in different publications is elaborated in this article. Trials designed to demonstrate noninferiority of the weekly cisplatin chemoradiotherapy regimen over 3‐weekly regimen, especially in definitive setting may conclude the debate in future. A lacunae in the existing literature is noted in the form of lack of superiority trials on the above topic, which may impact future conclusions.
Chemical reaction effects on magnetohydrodynamic convective flow past a vertical absorbent plate with ramped wall temperature and concentration
Authors: Harikrushna M. , Prabhakara Rao G. , Mallikarjuna Reddy A.
Published: April 2023

The numerical analysis is conducted to evaluate the heat generating as well as Soret–Dufour influences on magnetohydrodynamic unsteady chemically reacting fluid. It is owing to an exponentially stimulating perpendicular porous plate entrenched in the absorbent medium by considering ramped surface temperatures and concentrations in the endurance of thermal radiating. The fundamental governing set of equations of the fluid dynamics in the flow is converted into dimensionless form by inserting suitable dimensionless parameters and variables, and the resulting equations are numerically solved by the efficient Crank–Nicolson implicit finite difference method. The influence of several important substantial parameters into the model on the velocity, temperature, and concentration of the fluid, in addition to the skin‐frictions coefficient, Nusselt's number along with Sherwood's number for both thermal conditions has been studied and explored intensely by making use of graphs and tables. It is discovered that, with mounting values of Dufour, heat generating as well as thermal radiating parameters, the fluid temperatures, and velocity enhanced. Likewise, it is noticed that increasing the Soret parameter causes escalated fluid velocity and concentration, whereas the reverse result is noted with the chemical reaction parameter.
Heat transfer performance of thermoelectric cooling integrated with wavy channel heat sink with different magnetic distances
Authors: Wiriyasart Songkran , Kaewluan Sommas , Suksusron Poonyawee
Published: April 2023

Thermoelectric cooling (TEC) reverses the electrical energy to temperature caused by the Peltier effect, where a temperature difference occurs between two conductors, that is, hot and cold junctions. This article presents the enhanced heat transfer of a TEC module using a TEC1‐12710 model integrated with a wavy channel heat sink using ferrofluid as a coolant under continuous and pulsating flows, where the differences in the distance of the magnetic field are considered. Square permanent magnets measuring 30 mm × 20 mm × 4 mm (width × length × height) are used to transmit a magnetic field to the heat sink and then tested under a magnetic distance of 10–30 mm. The test is performed at a water flow rate from 0.0083 to 0.028 kg/s and supplied with a constant TEC voltage of 12 V. By applying a magnetic field to the TEC module with a magnetic distance of 20 mm and a ferrofluid concentration ratio of 0.015%, the cooling efficiency increases by approximately 18.64%. Hence, using pulsating flow may improve thermal efficiency by approximately 23%. The results show an exponential increase in the cooling efficiency when both passive and active cooling techniques are used.
Modelling infiltration and infiltration excess: The importance of fast and local processes
Authors: Bronstert Axel , Niehoff Daniel , Schiffler Gerd R.
Published: April 2023

Physically based distributed hydrological models aim at an adequate representation of hydrological processes, including runoff generation. A significant proportion of runoff is generated through the subsurface, that is, by groundwater flow or unsaturated subsurface stormflow. However, in the case of high rainfall intensity and/or low soil‐surface infiltrability, surface runoff may strongly contribute to total runoff, too, either through saturation excess (“Dunne‐type surface runoff”) or infiltration excess (“Hortonian surface runoff”). Both types of surface runoff can be rather important if antecedent wetness is high and parts of the catchment area are saturated (leading to saturation excess), or if the maximum infiltration rate into the soil surface is less than the actual rainfall intensity (resulting in infiltration excess). Even though the latter process can be very important during high‐intensity rainstorms, both for flood generation and for matter transport linked with surface runoff, an appropriate consideration of this process in catchment models is still challenging. Actually, budgeting between the actual rainfall intensity and the soil surface infiltration capacity is required and there are a number of challenges in the details: First, the “real” rainfall intensity may vary tremendously in time increments much smaller than the time step of the model. The soil surface infiltrability can also be significantly reduced, for example, by crusting, compaction or sealing of the soil surface or through hydrophobic effects. Otherwise, soil infiltrability can be strongly enhanced as a consequence of preferential flow paths/macropores caused by, for example, bioturbations or other voids. Finally, there is a high variability of such soil surface features at a small spatial scale, below the typical spatial modelling unit. We present observational data and approaches to deal with these challenges. We show results from combined infiltration/infiltration‐excess experiments and observations at three spatial scales. Then, we present a model approach based on a double‐porosity soil enabling the combined modelling of high infiltration rates and dampened soil moisture distribution after termination of infiltration, as observable in the field. Furthermore, we present an approach to model the effects of soil surface conditions on actual infiltration capacity. These approaches improved the plausibility and explanatory power of the model concerning surface runoff generation and soil moisture dynamics. For instance, model results at the plot and hillslope scales show that it is possible to simulate high infiltration rates jointly with a relatively slow movement of moisture within the soil matrix, field phenomena often observed in the case of heavy rainfall. We also simulate non‐linear and space–time variability effects of soil surface conditions, which can be important for flood generation.
Classification of skin lesions with generative adversarial networks and improved MobileNetV2
Authors: Wang Hui , Qi Qianqian , Sun Weijia , Li Xue , Dong Boxin , Yao Chunli
Published: April 2023

Malignant skin lesions pose a great threat to patients' health, and the use of computer algorithms for automatic skin medical image classification can effectively improve the efficiency of clinical diagnosis. However, the existing methods for skin classification have complex models and are greatly affected by the imbalance of the dataset. In this work, we propose a two‐stage framework called G‐DMN, it uses CycleGAN to expand the dataset and Dense‐MobileNetV2 (DMN) to achieve the automatic classification of skin lesion images. In the first stage, we use CycleGAN for data augmentation and propose a new image pairing strategy for training. Image pairs are formed from majority class images and minority class images, generators are trained for majority to minority class image conversion, and then minority class images are generated to balance the dataset. In the second stage, we propose a lightweight model called DMN by improving MobileNetV2, it enhances feature reuse by increasing the width of the network and allows the network to focus on focal areas from different scales. The original training set combined with the generated images is used to train DMN for skin lesion classification. We tested the proposed model on the HAM10000 dataset, and the G‐DMN achieved 87.07% classification accuracy, 80.13% precision, 75.28% sensitivity, 96.19% specificity, 77.26% F1‐Score and 0.952 AUC, which has a good classification effect, while the number of parameters of the model is only 5.33 M, which is much lower than other classical classification models. We demonstrate that the proposed method is lighter and more effective than classical classification methods, achieving significant performance improvements.
Positron emission tomography imaging sheds new light on hypoxia and antitumor therapies
Authors: Fang Hanyi , Wang Xingyi , Lan Xiaoli , Jiang Dawei
Published: April 2023

The effect of the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME) on the effectiveness of cancer treatments has received widespread attention. It is crucial to investigate the mechanisms by which hypoxia influences the efficacy of these treatments in order to improve the therapeutic outcomes for malignant tumors and the prognoses of patients. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a non‐invasive, reproducible, and quantitative imaging technique that can visualize molecular biological changes in vivo. By utilizing specific PET probes, it is possible to both depict in vivo oxygen levels within the TME and evaluate cancer treatment effectiveness at various targets. This review summarizes the effect of hypoxia on various cancer treatments and examines the role of PET imaging in understanding the mechanisms of hypoxia during and after cancer treatments. It is anticipated that this review will provide new insights for improving tumor therapy from the hypoxia perspective and for early prediction and assessment of therapeutic efficacy via PET imaging.
Rolipram suppresses migration and invasion of human choriocarcinoma cells by inhibiting phosphodiesterase 4‐mediated epithelial‐mesenchymal transition
Authors: Huang Yaqing , Zheng Yanmei , Wang Qianqian , Qi Caixia
Published: April 2023

Rolipram is a selective phosphodiesterase‐4 (PDE4) inhibitor. The effect of rolipram on the metastasis of choriocarcinoma is barely known. Here, we evaluated the role of rolipram in the migration and invasion of human choriocarcinoma cells in vitro. Human choriocarcinoma cells lines JEG3 and JAR were used in this study. The expression profile of PDE4 subfamily members in choriocarcinoma cells was evaluated using real‐time PCR. The migration and invasion properties of choriocarcinoma cells before and after inhibition of PDE4 by rolipram or RNAi‐directed knockdown were evaluated in vitro. Expression levels of MMP9, TIMP1, E‐cadherin, vimentin, TGFβ1, SMAD1, and SMAD4 of choriocarcinoma cells were compared before and after rolipram treatment, RNAi‐directed knockdown of PDE4D, and overexpression of PDE4D. We found PDE4D was the most commonly expressed isoform of PDE4 both in JEG3 and JAR cells. Rolipram and knockdown of PDE4D were efficient to inhibit the migration and invasion of choriocarcinoma cells in vitro, accompanied by decreased expression of MMP9 and TIMP1. Furthermore, rolipram and knockdown of PDE4D promoted the expression of E‐cadherin but reduced the expression of vimentin in choriocarcinoma cells, and overexpression of PDE4D decreased the expression of E‐cadherin but promoted the expression of vimentin. Rolipram suppressed migration and invasion of human choriocarcinoma cells in vitro, possibly by inhibiting epithelial‐mesenchymal transition through PDE4 inhibition.
The interplay between therapeutic relationship and therapeutic technique: The whole is more than the sum of its parts
Authors: Steindl Stanley R. , Matos Marcela , Dimaggio Giancarlo
Published: April 2023

The interplay between the therapeutic relationship and experiential techniques is powerful. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Therapeutic relationship predicts therapy outcomes, especially when this involves shared goals, agreed methods, and a strong interpersonal bond. When patients feel safely held in a therapeutic relationship, they feel more confident and willing to participate in experiential techniques. Conversely, the therapist's careful, purposeful implementation of techniques can help strengthen the therapeutic relationship. While the interplay between relationship and technique can be complicated, resulting in rupture, carefully repairing ruptures can both strengthen the relationship and increase willingness to engage with techniques. We comment on five case studies from this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session. We review the literature regarding this interplay between relationship and technique, summarize the case studies and lessons learned, consolidate the findings into a framework, and propose avenues for future therapy consideration and research.
Intracellular metabolomics and microRNAomics unveil new insight into the regulatory network for potential biocontrol mechanism of stress‐tolerant Tricho‐fusants interacting with phytopathogen Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc
Authors: Hirpara Darshna G. , Gajera Harsukh P.
Published: April 2023

The present study employed microRNA (miRNA) sequencing and metabolome profiling of Trichoderma parental strains and fusants during normal growth and interaction with the phytopathogen Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. In‐vitro antagonism indicated that abiotic stress‐tolerant Tricho‐fusant FU21 was examined as a potent biocontroller with mycoparasitic action after 10 days. During interaction with the test pathogen, the most abundant uprising intracellular metabolite was recognized as
l‐proline, which corresponds to held‐down
l‐alanine, associated with arginine and proline metabolism, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and nitrogen metabolism linked to predicted genes controlled by miRNAs viz., cel‐miR‐8210‐3p, hsa‐miR‐3613‐5p, and mml‐miR‐7174‐3p. The miRNAs‐ mml‐miR‐320c and mmu‐miR‐6980‐5p were found to be associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, transcription factors, and signal transduction pathways, respectively, and were ascertained downregulated in potent FU21_IB compared with FU21_CB. The amino benzoate degradation and T cell receptor signaling pathways were regulated by miRNAs cel‐miR‐8210 and tca‐miR‐3824 as stress tolerance mechanisms of FU21. The intracellular metabolites
l‐proline, maleic acid,
d‐fructose, Myo‐inositol, arabinitol,
d‐xylose, mannitol, and butane were significantly elevated as potential biocontrol and stress‐tolerant constituents associated with miRNA regulatory pathways in potent FU21_IB. A network analysis between regulatory miRNA‐predicted genes and intracellular metabolomics acknowledged possible biocontrol pathways/mechanisms in potent FU21_IB to restrain phytopathogen.
Decreased CRISPLD2 expression impairs osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells during in vitro expansion
Authors: Rong Weiqiong , Rome Calvin P. , Dietrich Marilyn A. , Yao Shaomian
Published: April 2023

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are the cornerstone of regenerative medicine; large quantities of hMSCs are required via in vitro expansion to meet therapeutic purposes. However, hMSCs quickly lose their osteogenic differentiation potential during in vitro expansion, which is a major roadblock to their clinical applications. In this study, we found that the osteogenic differentiation potential of human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSCs), dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs), and adipose stem cells (hASCs) was severely impaired after in vitro expansion. To clarify the molecular mechanism underlying this in vitro expansion‐related loss of osteogenic capacity in hMSCs, the transcriptome changes following in vitro expansion of these hMSCs were compared. Cysteine‐rich secretory protein LCCL domain‐containing 2 (CRISPLD2) was identified as the most downregulated gene shared by late passage hBMSCs, hDPSCs, and hASCs. Both the secreted and non‐secreted CRISPLD2 proteins progressively declined in hMSCs during in vitro expansion when the cells gradually lost their osteogenic potential. We thus hypothesized that the expression of CRISPLD2 is critical for hMSCs to maintain their osteogenic differentiation potential during in vitro expansion. Our studies showed that the knockdown of CRISPLD2 in early passage hBMSCs inhibited the cells' osteogenic differentiation in a siRNA dose‐dependent manner. Transcriptome analysis and immunoblotting indicated that the CRISPLD2 knockdown‐induced osteogenesis suppression might be attributed to the downregulation of matrix metallopeptidase 1 (MMP1) and forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1). Furthermore, adeno‐associated virus (AAV)‐mediated CRISPLD2 overexpression could somewhat rescue the impaired osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs during in vitro expansion. These results revealed that the downregulation of CRISPLD2 contributes to the impaired osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs during in vitro expansion. Our findings shed light on understanding the loss of osteogenic differentiation in hMSCs and provide a potential therapeutic target gene for bone‐related diseases.
Specific miRNAs are associated with human cancer cachexia in an organ‐specific manner
Authors: Krauss Tanja , Heisz Simone , Honecker Julius , Prokopchuk Olga , Martignoni Marc , Janssen Klaus‐Peter , Claussnitzer Melina , Hauner Hans , Seeliger Claudine
Published: April 2023

Background

Cancer cachexia (CCx) is a complex and multi‐organ wasting syndrome characterized by substantial weight loss and poor prognosis. An improved understanding of the mechanisms involved in the onset and progression of cancer cachexia is essential. How microRNAs contribute to the clinical manifestation and progression of CCx remains elusive. The aim of this study was to identify specific miRNAs related to organ‐specific CCx and explore their functional role in humans.

Methods

miRNA patterns in serum and in cachexia target organs (liver, muscle and adipose tissue) from weight stable (N ≤ 12) and cachectic patients (N ≤ 23) with gastrointestinal cancer were analysed. As a first step, a miRNA array (158 miRNAs) was performed in pooled serum samples. Identified miRNAs were validated in serum and corresponding tissue samples. Using in silico prediction, related genes were identified and evaluated. The findings were confirmed in vitro by siRNA knock‐down experiments in human visceral preadipocytes and C2C12 myoblast cells and consecutive gene expression analyses.

Results

Validating the results of the array, a 2‐fold down‐regulation of miR‐122‐5p (P = 0.0396) and a 4.5‐fold down‐regulation of miR‐194‐5p (P < 0.0001) in serum of CCx patients in comparison with healthy controls were detected. Only miR‐122‐5p correlated with weight loss and CCx status (P = 0.0367). Analysing corresponding tissues six muscle and eight visceral adipose tissue (VAT) cachexia‐associated miRNAs were identified. miR‐27b‐3p, miR‐375 and miR‐424‐5p were the most consistently affected miRNAs in tissues of CCx patients correlating negatively with the severity of body weight loss (P = 0.0386, P = 0.0112 and P = 0.0075, respectively). We identified numerous putative target genes of the miRNAs in association with muscle atrophy and lipolysis pathways. Knock‐down experiments in C2C12 myoblast cells revealed an association of miR‐27b‐3p and the in silico predicted atrophy‐related target genes IL‐15 and TRIM63. Both were up‐regulated in miR‐27b‐3p knock‐down cells (P < 0.05). Concordantly, in muscle tissue of CCx individuals, significant higher expression levels of IL‐15 (P = 0.0237) and TRIM63 (P = 0.0442) were detected. miR‐424‐5p was identified to regulate the expression of lipase genes. Knock‐down experiments in human visceral preadipocytes revealed an inverse association of miR‐424‐5p with its predicted target genes LIPE, PNPLA2, MGLL and LPL (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

The identified miRNAs, in particular miR‐122‐5p, miR‐27b‐3p, miR‐375 and miR‐424‐5p, represent features of human CCx and may contribute to tissue wasting and skeletal muscle atrophy through the regulation of catabolic signals. Further studies are needed to explore the potential of the identified miRNAs as a screening tool for early detection of cancer cachexia.
Turán number for odd‐ballooning of trees
Authors: Zhu Xiutao , Chen Yaojun
Published: April 2023

The Turán number is the maximum number of edges in an ‐free graph on vertices. Let be any tree. The odd‐ballooning of , denoted by , is a graph obtained by replacing each edge of with an odd cycle containing the edge, and all new vertices of the odd cycles are distinct. In this paper, we determine the exact value of for sufficiently large and being good, which generalizes all the known results on for being a star, due to Erdős, Füredi, Gould, and Gunderson (1995), Hou, Qiu, and Liu (2018), and Yuan (2018), and provides some counterexamples with chromatic number three to a conjecture of Keevash and Sudakov (2004), on the maximum number of edges not in any monochromatic copy of in a 2‐edge‐coloring of a complete graph of order .
Exploring genotype–phenotype correlations in glutaric aciduria type 1
Authors: Schuurmans Imke M. E. , Dimitrov Bianca , Schröter Julian , Ribes Antonia , de la Fuente Rubén Pérez , Zamora Berta , van Karnebeek Clara D. M. , Kölker Stefan , Garanto Alejandro
Published: April 2023

Glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) is a rare neurometabolic disease caused by pathogenic variants in the gene encoding the enzyme glutaryl‐CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH). We performed an extensive literature search to collect data on GA1 patients, together with unpublished cases, to provide an up‐to‐date genetic landscape of GCDH pathogenic variants and to investigate potential genotype‐phenotype correlation, as this is still poorly understood. From this search, 421 different GCDH pathogenic variants have been identified, including four novel variants; c.179T>C (p.Leu60Pro), c.214C>T (p.Arg72Cys), c.309G>C (p.Leu103Phe), and c.665T>C (p.Phe222Ser).The variants are mostly distributed across the entire gene; although variant frequency in GA1 patients is relatively high in the regions encoding for active domains of GCDH. To investigate potential genotype‐phenotype correlations, phenotypic descriptions of 532 patients have been combined and evaluated using novel combinatorial analyses. To do so, various clinical phenotypes were determined for each pathogenic variant by combining the information of all GA1 patients reported with this pathogenic variant, and subsequently mapped onto the 2D and 3D GCDH protein structure. In addition, the predicted pathogenicity of missense variants was analyzed using different in silico prediction score models. Both analyses showed an almost similar distribution of the highly pathogenic variants across the GCDH protein, although some hotspots, including the active domain, were observed. Moreover, it was demonstrated that highly pathogenic variants are significantly correlated with lower residual enzyme activity and the most accurate estimation was achieved by the REVEL score. A clear correlation of the genotype and the clinical phenotype however is still lacking.
Assessing and comparing the subseasonal variations of summer soil moisture of satellite products over eastern China
Authors: Zhou Yang , Chen Haishan , Sun Shanlei
Published: April 2023

Using the 43‐station soil moisture (SM) at a depth of 0–10 cm over eastern China, the near‐surface (about 0–5 cm) SM products from satellite missions including the level‐2 product of Chinese FengYun 3C (FY3C), level‐2 neural network product of the European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and level‐4 product of the US Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) were evaluated and compared during summers of 2015–2018. Thus, features of those products can be identified for their further application of climate study over eastern China. Large diversity is found among the satellite and field SM in terms of spatial distribution. This disagreement may cause the poor performance of the relationship between spatial coefficients of variation (CV) and mean SM. Compared with the field SM, the FY3C SM has smaller bias than the other satellite products. FY3C also performs better than SMOS in terms of the root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) and unbiased RMSE (ubRMSE) but has the smallest correlation coefficient (R). The SMAP product is generally the best among the three products in terms of RMSE, ubRMSE and R. However, a good performance in those metrics does not guarantee the same results on various time scales. On subseasonal time scales, the R in FY3C is the smallest among the three products, and the SMAP product has the largest R, but its amplitudes of the subseasonal variations are much smaller than the field observations. This indicates that when the SMAP products are applied for the analysis on subseasonal SM–atmosphere interactions, the effects of SM may be underestimated. On 10–30 days and above 60 days, dry period tends to have large spatial CV but this phenomenon is weak in all the satellite products. On the other hand, dry area tends to have large temporal CV on the four time scales, and this relationship is the strongest in SMAP but the weakest in FY3C. Therefore, there are large uncertainties of variability among different satellite SM products on subseasonal time scales over eastern China. Besides seasonal and overall performance, more attention is called to the variations on different time scales.
Effect of dehulling, roasting, and cooking on the nutritional composition of Himalayan barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea)
Authors: Rana Smita , Agnihotri Vasudha , Anjum Sofiya , Bhandari Narendra S.
Published: April 2023

Background

The Himalayan Echinochloa frumentacea (barnyard millet) is believed to be a nutritionally rich crop but remains underutilized. It is generally used after removing its seed coat (SC) through dehulling, and for making some food items, it is roasted before cooking. Such pre‐cooking processes, such as dehulling, roasting, and then cooking affect the nutraceutical potential of raw grains and food items prepared.

Results

The effects of processing techniques are determined in terms of variation in proximate properties, antinutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. The processing methods significantly (p < 0.05) affected the nutraceutical potential of the processed form of barnyard millet. While comparing the nutritional properties of raw and dehulled barnyard millet, it was found that the SCs are nutritionally very rich, which are generally either discarded or become part of cattle feed. Vitamin C, E, alkaloids, and oxalate content were found to decrease after roasting. Cooking had decreased the carbohydrate, fat, vitamin C, vitamin E, alkaloid, oxalate, and iron content in both food types in comparison to the pre‐cooking stage of the millet samples, while tannin content was found to have increased.

Conclusion

In this work, the variation in the nutritional parameters and phytochemicals of barnyard millet was studied during the processing steps, such as dehulling, roasting, and cooking. Roasting had shown a lesser impact on the selected nutritional properties of uncoated seeds, while cooking had changed some of the nutritional properties. The SC was also found to be nutritious, so it needs to be explored further for its efficient utilization.
Exploration of molecular interaction between different plant proteins and 2‐pentylfuran: based on multiple spectroscopy and molecular docking
Authors: Zhang Bin , Peng Jing , Pan Leiqing , Tu Kang
Published: April 2023

BACKGROUND

Soy protein, peanut protein and wheat protein are commonly applied in plant‐based products, but specific off‐odor makes it difficult for consumers to accept, with 2‐pentylfuran being one of the most representative flavors. In this study, 2‐pentylfuran was employed as an example to explore the behavior and mechanism of the three proteins in absorbing off‐odors.

RESULTS

Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric analysis indicated that different plant proteins were able to adsorb 2‐pentylfuran. Circular dichroism proved 2‐pentylfuran could drive the α‐helix to β‐sheet transition of soy protein, which was not obvious in peanut protein or wheat protein. Ultraviolet spectroscopy tentatively determined that 2‐pentylfuran caused changes in the tyrosine and tryptophan microenvironments of different plant proteins, which were further evidenced by synchronous fluorescence at fixed wavelength intervals of 15 nm and 60 nm. Static quenching of protein intrinsic fluorescence indicated that they formed a stable complex with 2‐pentylfuran, except for wheat protein (dynamic quenching).

CONCLUSION

The various conformations of the three proteins are the main reason for the difference in flavor retention of protein. Soy protein, peanut protein and wheat protein adsorbing 2‐pentylfuran relies on non‐covalent forces, especially hydrophobic interactions, maintained between the protein and 2‐pentylfuran. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Distinct drivers of two size fractions of operationally dissolved iron in a temperate river
Authors: Logozzo Laura A. , Hosen Jacob D. , McArthur Johnae , Raymond Peter A.
Published: April 2023

Riverine dissolved iron (Fe) affects water color, nutrients, and marine carbon cycling. Fe size and coupling with dissolved organic matter (DOM), in part, modulates the biogeochemical roles of riverine Fe. We used size fractionation to operationally define dissolved Fe (< 0.22 μm) into soluble (< 0.02 μm) and colloidal (0.02–0.22 μm) fractions in order to characterize the downstream drivers, concentrations, and fluxes of Fe across season and hydrologic regime at the freshwater Connecticut River mainstem, which we sampled bi‐weekly for 2 yrs. Drivers of colloidal and soluble Fe concentrations were markedly different. The response of colloidal Fe concentration to changes in discharge was modulated by water temperature; colloidal Fe decreased with increasing discharge at temperatures < 10.5°C, but increased with increasing discharge at temperatures > 10.5°C. Conversely, soluble Fe concentrations were only positively correlated to discharge at high temperatures (> 20°C). Soluble Fe was strongly positively correlated to a humic‐like DOM fluorescence component, suggesting coupling with DOM subsets, potentially through complexation. While average colloidal Fe fluxes varied twofold seasonally, soluble Fe fluxes varied ninefold; therefore, soluble Fe variability was more important to the overall dissolved Fe variability than colloidal Fe, despite lower concentrations. Seasonal Fe fluxes were decoupled from discharge: dissolved and soluble Fe fluxes were greatest in the fall, whereas discharge was greatest in the spring. Fluxes of soluble Fe, which may be more bioavailable and more likely to be exported to the ocean, were lowest in the summer when downstream biological demand is high, having implications for primary productivity and iron uptake.
Horizontal and vertical demand forecast information sharing in a distributive dual‐channel supply chain considering the manufacturer's product quality improvement
Authors: Dou Lei , Dai Ying , Song Han , Shen Lina , Li Haiyan
Published: April 2023

Under the influence of market demand uncertainty, we discuss the issue of horizontal and vertical demand forecast information‐sharing in a distributive dual‐channel supply chain composed of a manufacturer, a traditional retailer and an online retailer in which both retailers obtain heterogeneous demand information through big data technology. We analyze vertical information‐sharing strategies in the condition that the manufacturer invests in product quality improvement under different horizontal information‐sharing scenarios. We also explore the value of horizontal information‐sharing across different channels through contrastive analysis. And the equilibrium information‐sharing states in different scenarios are conducted.
A TNR Frameshift Variant in Weimaraner Dogs with an Exercise‐Induced Paroxysmal Movement Disorder
Authors: Christen Matthias , Gutierrez‐Quintana Rodrigo , James Matthew , Faller Kiterie M.E. , Lowrie Mark , Rusbridge Clare , Bossens Kenny , Mellersh Cathryn , Pettitt Louise , Heinonen Tiina , Lohi Hannes , Jagannathan Vidhya , Leeb Tosso
Published: April 2023

Background

Some paroxysmal movement disorders remain without an identified genetic cause.

Objectives

The aim was to identify the causal genetic variant for a paroxysmal dystonia–ataxia syndrome in Weimaraner dogs.

Methods

Clinical and diagnostic investigations were performed. Whole genome sequencing of one affected dog was used to identify private homozygous variants against 921 control genomes.

Results

Four Weimaraners were presented for episodes of abnormal gait. Results of examinations and diagnostic investigations were unremarkable. Whole genome sequencing revealed a private frameshift variant in the TNR (tenascin‐R) gene in an affected dog, XM_038542431.1:c.831dupC, which is predicted to truncate more than 75% of the open read frame. Genotypes in a cohort of 4 affected and 70 unaffected Weimaraners showed perfect association with the disease phenotype.

Conclusions

We report the association of a TNR variant with a paroxysmal dystonia–ataxia syndrome in Weimaraners. It might be relevant to include sequencing of this gene in diagnosing humans with unexplained paroxysmal movement disorders. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Data driven surrogate modeling of horn antennas for optimal determination of radiation pattern and size using deep learning
Authors: Piltan Onur Can , Kizilay Ahmet , Belen Mehmet A. , Mahouti Peyman
Published: April 2023

Horn antenna designs are favored in many applications where ultra‐wide‐band operation range alongside of a high‐performance radiation pattern characteristics are requested. Scattering‐parameter characteristics of antennas is an important design metric, where inefficiency in the input would drastically lower the realized gain. However, satisfying the requirement for scattering parameters are not enough for having an antenna with high‐performance results, where the radiation characteristic of the design can be changed independently than the scattering parameters behavior. A design might have a high‐efficiency performance, but the radiation characteristics might not be acceptable. Furthermore, there are other design considerations such as size and volume of the design alongside of these conflicting characteristics, which directly affect the manufacturing cost and limits the possible applications. In this work, by using data‐driven surrogate modeling, it is aimed to achieve a computationally efficient design optimization process for horn antennas with high radiation performance alongside of being small in or within the limits of the desired application limits. Here, the geometrical design variables, operation frequency, and radiation direction of the design will be taken as the input, while the realized gain of the design is taken as the output of the surrogate model. Series of powerful and commonly used artificial intelligence algorithms, including Deep Learning had been used to create a data‐driven surrogate model representation for the handled problem, and 80% computational cost reduction had been obtained via proposed approach. As for the verification of the studied optimization problem, an optimally designed antenna is prototyped via the use of three‐dimensional printer and the experimental results ware compared with the results of surrogate model.
Benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance performance evaluation according to ASTM E691–22 on a population of instruments: Molar substitution determination in hydroxypropyl betadex as a case study for use in quality control environments
Authors: Araneda Juan F. , Leclerc Matthew C. , Riegel Susanne D.
Published: April 2023

The inclusion of quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy in industry has historically been stifled by a lack of accessibility, caused in‐part by the large costs of traditional high‐field spectrometers, the maintenance required for these, and the expertise necessary to manage and use them. In recent years, the emergence of benchtop NMR technology, an accessible, affordable, and automatable alternative, has led to a more feasible incorporation of NMR into quality control spaces, an area traditionally reserved for other techniques such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, which are routinely combined with detection techniques such as mass spectrometry. While these techniques are commonly used in analyzer‐type applications using gold standard methods of analysis, wherein an instrument is dedicated to performing specific assays, this remains uncommon for NMR. Herein, we perform a full method verification using benchtop qNMR on a population of benchtop NMR instruments according to the ASTM designation E691–22, a standard used to determine the precision of a test method. To our knowledge, this is the first published example of this type of study for benchtop NMR spectroscopy. For this work, a total of five analysts performed assays on 23 different benchtop NMR instruments for the analysis of hydroxypropyl betadex according to the USP–NF method, and the results are compared using a variety of statistical methods. The results of this work demonstrate that benchtop NMR technology is effective and robust under repeatability and reproducibility conditions and is a powerful tool for these types of routine quality control analyses.