bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of productive performance of broiler in response to Koroch (Pongamia pinnata) cake feeding
Authors: Habib Masuma , Ferdaus Abu Jafur Md , Islam Md Touhidul , Hassin Begum Mansura , Ali Md Shawkat
Published: August 2016

The study was conducted for a period of 28 days to investigate the response of broiler to the inclusion of de-oiled koroch (Pongamia Pinnata) seed cake in the diet of broiler. A total of 192 day-old broiler chicks were individually weighed and randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatment groups having 4 replications of 12 chicks each, in a completely randomized design. Broilers under treatment 1 received a basal diet containing no koroch seed cake, considered as control; in treatment 2, 3 and 4, broilers were fed on basal diet containing 2%, 4% and 6% koroch seed cake, respectively. All productive performances (live weight, live weight gain, feed consumption and feed efficiency) of broiler fed on koroch seed cake were significantly (P<0.01) depressed compared to the control. The degree of depression was increased with the increasing level of koroch seed cake in the diet at all ages of broiler. The meat yield parameters showed a non-significant (P>0.05) effect except for the percentage of dressing yield, breast, liver and gizzard weight for the broilers in all treatment groups. Broilers fed on diet containing 6% koroch seed cake yielded the lowest dressed weight in the treatment groups. Inclusion of 2% koroch seed cake resulted in higher breast meat yield compared to any other level of koroch cake inclusion in the diet (P<0.01). However, liver and gizzard weight were increased significantly (P<0.05) for incorporation of de-oiled koroch seed cake in the diet at all levels (2%, 4% or 6%). On the basis of these results it is concluded that feeding de-oiled koroch cake had no positive effect on growth response and meat yield characteristics of broiler. Therefore, it is suggested that the koroch seed cake may contain anti-nutritional factor(s), which seemed to be associated with growth depression in broilers. Further research is warranted to alleviate the potential toxic effect of koroch seed cake on broiler performances.Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.3(2): 315-321, August 2016
Advantages and Disadvantages of Bone Protective Agents in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Lessons Learned
Authors: Thomas Christian , Bartsch Georg , Walter Christian , Borgmann Hendrik , Brandt Maximilian , Höfner Thomas , Haferkamp Axel , Tsaur Igor
Published: August 2016

Nine out of ten metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) patients will develop osseous metastases. Of these, every second will suffer from skeletal-related events (SRE). SRE are associated with an increased risk for death, which is markedly increased in the presence of pathological fracture. Moreover, health insurance costs nearly double in the presence of SRE. Zoledronic acid and denosumab are both approved drugs for the prevention or delay of SRE in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients with osseous metastases. However, long-term treatment with one of these two drugs is associated with the development of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). Routine inspections of the oral cavity before and during treatment are mandatory in these patients. Regarding imaging techniques, bone scintigraphy seems to be a promising tool to detect early stage MRONJ. Zoledronic acid does not reduce the incidence of SRE in hormone-sensitive PCa. First data shows 3-monthly application of zoledronic acid to be equi-effective to monthly application.
Optimal Noise Benefit in Composite Hypothesis Testing under Different Criteria
Authors: Liu Shujun , Yang Ting , Tang Mingchun , Liu Hongqing , Zhang Kui , Zhang Xinzheng
Published: August 2016

The detectability for a noise-enhanced composite hypothesis testing problem according to different criteria is studied. In this work, the noise-enhanced detection problem is formulated as a noise-enhanced classical Neyman–Pearson (NP), Max–min, or restricted NP problem when the prior information is completely known, completely unknown, or partially known, respectively. Next, the detection performances are compared and the feasible range of the constraint on the minimum detection probability is discussed. Under certain conditions, the noise-enhanced restricted NP problem is equivalent to a noise-enhanced classical NP problem with modified prior distribution. Furthermore, the corresponding theorems and algorithms are given to search the optimal additive noise in the restricted NP framework. In addition, the relationship between the optimal noise-enhanced average detection probability and the constraint on the minimum detection probability is explored. Finally, numerical examples and simulations are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.
DMFC Performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes Prepared from a Graft-Copolymer Consisting of a Polysulfone Main Chain and Styrene Sulfonic Acid Side Chains
Authors: Endo Nobutaka , Ogawa Yoshiaki , Ukai Kohei , Kakihana Yuriko , Higa Mitsuru
Published: August 2016

Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications were prepared from a graft-copolymer (PSF-g-PSSA) consisting of a polysulfone (PSF) main chain and poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) side chains with various average distances between side chains (Lav) and side chain lengths (Lsc). The polymers were synthesized by grafting ethyl p-styrenesulfonate (EtSS) on macro-initiators of chloromethylated polysulfone with different contents of chloromethyl (CM) groups, and by changing EtSS content in the copolymers by using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The DMFC performance tests using membrane electrode assemblis (MEAs) with the three types of the PEMs revealed that: a PSF-g-PSSA PEM (SF-6) prepared from a graft copolymer with short average distances between side chains (Lav) and medium Lsc had higher DMFC performance than PEMs with long Lav and long Lsc or with short Lav and short Lsc. SF-6 had about two times higher PDmax (68.4 mW/cm2) than Nafion® 112 at 30 wt % of methanol concentration. Furthermore, it had 58.2 mW/cm2 of PDmax at 50 wt % of methanol concentration because of it has the highest proton selectivity during DMFC operation of all the PSF-g-PSSA PEMs and Nafion® 112.
Femtosecond Laser Patterning of the Biopolymer Chitosan for Biofilm Formation
Authors: Estevam-Alves Regina , Ferreira Paulo , Coatrini Andrey , Oliveira Osvaldo , Fontana Carla , Mendonca Cleber
Published: August 2016

Controlling microbial growth is crucial for many biomedical, pharmaceutical and food industry applications. In this paper, we used a femtosecond laser to microstructure the surface of chitosan, a biocompatible polymer that has been explored for applications ranging from antimicrobial action to drug delivery. The influence of energy density on the features produced on chitosan was investigated by optical and atomic force microscopies. An increase in the hydrophilic character of the chitosan surface was attained upon laser micromachining. Patterned chitosan films were used to observe Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) biofilm formation, revealing an increase in the biofilm formation in the structured regions. Our results indicate that fs-laser micromachining is an attractive option to pattern biocompatible surfaces, and to investigate basic aspects of the relationship between surface topography and bacterial adhesion.
1α,25(OH)2D3 Suppresses the Migration of Ovarian Cancer SKOV-3 Cells through the Inhibition of Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition
Authors: Hou Yong-Feng , Gao Si-Hai , Wang Ping , Zhang He-Mei , Liu Li-Zhi , Ye Meng-Xuan , Zhou Guang-Ming , Zhang Zeng-Li , Li Bing-Yan
Published: August 2016

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy due to its high metastatic ability. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is essential during both follicular rupture and epithelium regeneration. However, it may also accelerate the progression of ovarian carcinomas. Experimental studies have found that 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D3 [1α,25(OH)2D3] can inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. In this study, we investigated whether 1α,25(OH)2D3 could inhibit the migration of ovarian cancer cells via regulating EMT. We established a model of transient transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)-induced EMT in human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line SKOV-3 cells. Results showed that, compared with control, 1α,25(OH)2D3 not only inhibited the migration and the invasion of SKOV-3 cells, but also promoted the acquisition of an epithelial phenotype of SKOV-3 cells treated with TGF-β1. We discovered that 1α,25(OH)2D3 increased the expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreased the level of mesenchymal marker, Vimentin, which was associated with the elevated expression of VDR. Moreover, 1α,25(OH)2D3 reduced the expression level of transcription factors of EMT, such as slug, snail, and β-catenin. These results indicate that 1α,25(OH)2D3 suppresses the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting EMT, implying that 1α,25(OH)2D3 might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Plant Polyphenols as Chemopreventive Agents for Lung Cancer
Authors: Amararathna Madumani , Johnston Michael , Rupasinghe H.
Published: August 2016

Lung cancer may be prevented by a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as they are enriched with dietary antioxidant polyphenols, such as flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, lignans, stilbenes, and phenolic acids. Dietary polyphenols exert a wide range of beneficial biological functions beyond their antioxidative properties and are involved in regulation of cell survival pathways leading to anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic functions. There are sufficient evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiological studies to suggest that the dietary intervention of polyphenols in cancer prevention, including the chemopreventive ability of dietary polyphenols, act against lung carcinogens. Cohort and epidemiological studies in selected risk populations have evaluated clinical effects of polyphenols. Polyphenols have demonstrated three major actions: antioxidative activity, regulation of phase I and II enzymes, and regulation of cell survival pathways against lung carcinogenesis. They have also shown an inverse association of lung cancer occurrences among high risk populations who consumed considerable amounts of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. In in vitro cell culture experimental models, polyphenols bind with electrophilic metabolites from carcinogens, inactivate cellular oxygen radicals, prevent membrane lipid peroxidation and DNA oxidative damage, and adduct formation. Further, polyphenols enhance the detoxifying enzymes such as the phase II enzymes, glutathione transferases and glucuronosyl transferases.
Involvement of Three Esterase Genes from Panonychus citri (McGregor) in Fenpropathrin Resistance
Authors: Shen Xiao-Min , Liao Chong-Yu , Lu Xue-Ping , Wang Zhe , Wang Jin-Jun , Dou Wei
Published: August 2016

The citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor), is a major citrus pest with a worldwide distribution and an extensive record of pesticide resistance. However, the underlying molecular mechanism associated with fenpropathrin resistance in this species have not yet been reported. In this study, synergist triphenyl phosphate (TPP) dramatically increased the toxicity of fenpropathrin, suggesting involvement of carboxylesterases (CarEs) in the metabolic detoxification of this insecticide. The subsequent spatiotemporal expression pattern analysis of PcE1, PcE7 and PcE9 showed that three CarEs genes were all over-expressed after insecticide exposure and higher transcripts levels were observed in different field resistant strains of P. citri. Heterologous expression combined with 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetra-zolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells revealed that PcE1-, PcE7- or PcE9-expressing cells showed significantly higher cytoprotective capability than parental Sf9 cells against fenpropathrin, demonstrating that PcEs probably detoxify fenpropathrin. Moreover, gene silencing through the method of leaf-mediated dsRNA feeding followed by insecticide bioassay increased the mortalities of fenpropathrin-treated mites by 31% (PcE1), 27% (PcE7) and 22% (PcE9), respectively, after individual PcE gene dsRNA treatment. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that PcE1, PcE7 and PcE9 are functional genes mediated in fenpropathrin resistance in P. citri and enrich molecular understanding of CarEs during the resistance development of the mite.
Addendum: Bassan, J.C.; et al. Immobilization of Trypsin in Lignocellulosic Waste Material to Produce Peptides with Bioactive Potential from Whey Protein. Materials 2016, 9(5), 357
Authors: Bassan Juliana , De Souza Bezerra Thaís , Peixoto Guilherme , Da Cruz Clariana , Galán Julián , Dos Santos Vaz Aline , Garrido Saulo , Filice Marco , Monti Rubens
Published: August 2016

The authors would like to add the following sentence to the “Acknowledgments” section of their article [1]:[...]
Leaching Kinetics of Zinc from Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) with Sulfuric Acid
Authors: Kim Youngjin , Lee Jaeryeong
Published: August 2016

The leaching kinetics of zinc from zinc oxide-based metal oxide varistors (MOVs) was investigated in H2SO4 at atmospheric pressure. Kinetics experiments were carried out at various agitation speeds, particle sizes, initial H2SO4 concentrations, and reaction temperatures. It was determined that the leaching rate of zinc was independent of agitation speed above 300 rpm and also independent of particle size below 105 μm, whereas it dramatically increased with an increasing H2SO4 concentration. Except for when the H2SO4 concentration was varied, the m-values were almost constant at varying agitation speeds (m-values: 0.554–0.579), particle sizes (m-values: 0.507–0.560) and reaction temperature (m-values: 0.530–0.560) conditions. All of the m-values in these experiments were found to be below 0.580. Therefore, it is proposed that the extraction of zinc is a diffusion-controlled reaction. The leaching kinetics followed the D3 kinetic equation with a rate-controlling diffusion step through the ash layers, and the corresponding apparent activation energy was calculated as 20.7 kJ/mol in the temperature range of 313 K to 353 K.
Immunomodulatory and Antioxidant Effects of Polysaccharides from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino in Immunosuppressed Mice
Authors: Shang Xiaoya , Chao Yu , Zhang Yuan , Lu Chengyuan , Xu Chunlan , Niu Weining
Published: August 2016

The immunomodulatory and antioxidant activities of crude polysaccharides extracted from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino (GPMPP) were investigated. GPMPP was composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose and galactose in the molar ratio of 1.39:3.76:1.00:1.64:4.98:5.88. In vivo studies showed GPMPP significantly increased the spleen and thymus indices, activated the macrophage phagocytosis and NK cells, and exhibited activity on none or Con A/LPS-stimulated splenocytes in a dose-dependent manner in C57BL/6 mice. Moreover, GPMPP elevated CD4+ T lymphocyte counts as well as the CD4+/CD8+ ratio dose-dependently, and it increased IL-2 level in the sera and spleen of Cy-immunosuppressed mice. Furthermore, GPMPP significantly increased the SOD, GSH-Px, T-AOC, GSH and CAT level, and decreased the MDA level. The results showed that GPMPP might play an important role in prevention of oxidative damage in immunological system. These findings indicate GPMPP has immunomodulatory activity in vivo and seems to be an effective natural immunomodulatory agent.
Porphyromonas gingivalis Lipopolysaccharide Induced Proliferation and Activation of Natural Killer Cells in Vivo
Authors: Wang Yuhua , Zhang Wei , Xu Li , Jin Jun-O
Published: August 2016

Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) promoted different innate immune activation than that promoted by Escherichia coli (E. coli) LPS. In this study, we examined the effect of P. gingivalis LPS on the proliferation and activation of natural killer (NK) cells in vivo and compared that function with that of E. coli LPS. Administration of P. gingivalis LPS to C57BL/6 mice induced stronger proliferation of NK cells in the spleen and submandibular lymph nodes (sLNs) and increased the number of circulating NK cells in blood compared to those treated with E. coli LPS. However, P. gingivalis LPS did not induce interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) production and CD69 expression in the spleen and sLN NK cells in vivo, and this was attributed to the minimal activation of the spleen and sLN dendritic cells (DCs), including low levels of co-stimulatory molecule expression and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Furthermore, P. gingivalis LPS-treated NK cells showed less cytotoxic activity against Yac-1 target cells than E. coli LPS-treated NK cells. Hence, these data demonstrated that P. gingivalis LPS promoted limited activation of spleen and sLN NK cells in vivo, and this may play a role in the chronic inflammatory state observed in periodontal disease.
Comprehensive Quantitative Analysis of SQ Injection Using Multiple Chromatographic Technologies
Authors: Chau Siu-Leung , Huang Zhi-Bing , Song Yan-Gang , Yue Rui-Qi , Ho Alan , Lin Chao-Zhan , Huang Wen-Hua , Han Quan-Bin
Published: August 2016

Quality control of Chinese medicine injections remains a challenge due to our poor knowledge of their complex chemical profile. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of one of the best-selling injections, Shenqi Fuzheng (SQ) injection (SQI), via a full component quantitative analysis. A total of 15 representative small molecular components of SQI were simultaneously determined using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with quadrupole tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS); saccharide composition of SQI was also quantitatively determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) on an amino column before and after acid hydrolysis. The existence of polysaccharides was also examined on a gel permeation chromatography column. The method was well validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy and stability, and was successfully applied to analyze 13 SQI samples. The results demonstrate that up to 94.69% (w/w) of this injection product are quantitatively determined, in which small molecules and monosaccharide/sucrose account for 0.18%–0.21%, and 53.49%–58.2%, respectively. The quantitative information contributes to accumulating scientific evidence to better understand the therapy efficacy and safety of complex Chinese medicine injections.
Do Lower Calorie or Lower Fat Foods Have More Sodium Than Their Regular Counterparts?
Authors: John Katherine , Maalouf Joyce , B. Barsness Christina , Yuan Keming , Cogswell Mary , Gunn Janelle
Published: August 2016

The objective of this study was to compare the sodium content of a regular food and its lower calorie/fat counterpart. Four food categories, among the top 20 contributing the most sodium to the US diet, met the criteria of having the most matches between regular foods and their lower calorie/fat counterparts. A protocol was used to search websites to create a list of “matches”, a regular and comparable lower calorie/fat food(s) under each brand. Nutrient information was recorded and analyzed for matches. In total, 283 matches were identified across four food categories: savory snacks (N = 44), cheese (N = 105), salad dressings (N = 90), and soups (N = 44). As expected, foods modified from their regular versions had significantly reduced average fat (total fat and saturated fat) and caloric profiles. Mean sodium content among modified salad dressings and cheeses was on average 8%–12% higher, while sodium content did not change with modification of savory snacks. Modified soups had significantly lower mean sodium content than their regular versions (28%–38%). Consumers trying to maintain a healthy diet should consider that sodium content may vary in foods modified to be lower in calories/fat.
Modeling and Analysis of Micro-Spacecraft Attitude Sensing with Gyrowheel
Authors: Liu Xiaokun , Zhao Hui , Yao Yu , He Fenghua
Published: August 2016

This paper proposes two kinds of approaches of angular rate sensing for micro-spacecraft with a gyrowheel (GW), which can combine attitude sensing with attitude control into one single device to achieve a compact micro-spacecraft design. In this implementation, during the three-dimensional attitude control torques being produced, two-dimensional spacecraft angular rates can be sensed from the signals of the GW sensors, such as the currents of the torque coils, the tilt angles of the rotor, the motor rotation, etc. This paper focuses on the problems of the angular rate sensing with the GW at large tilt angles of the rotor. For this purpose, a novel real-time linearization approach based on Lyapunov’s linearization theory is proposed, and a GW linearized measurement model at arbitrary tilt angles of the rotor is derived. Furthermore, by representing the two-dimensional rotor tilt angles and tilt control torques as complex quantities and separating the twice periodic terms about the motor spin speed, the linearized measurement model at smaller tilt angles of the rotor is given and simplified. According to the respective characteristics, the application schemes of the two measurement models are analyzed from the engineering perspective. Finally, the simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.
A Fuzzy Logic Prompting Mechanism Based on Pattern Recognition and Accumulated Activity Effective Index Using a Smartphone Embedded Sensor
Authors: Liu Chung-Tse , Chan Chia-Tai
Published: August 2016

Sufficient physical activity can reduce many adverse conditions and contribute to a healthy life. Nevertheless, inactivity is prevalent on an international scale. Improving physical activity is an essential concern for public health. Reminders that help people change their health behaviors are widely applied in health care services. However, timed-based reminders deliver periodic prompts suffer from flexibility and dependency issues which may decrease prompt effectiveness. We propose a fuzzy logic prompting mechanism, Accumulated Activity Effective Index Reminder (AAEIReminder), based on pattern recognition and activity effective analysis to manage physical activity. AAEIReminder recognizes activity levels using a smartphone-embedded sensor for pattern recognition and analyzing the amount of physical activity in activity effective analysis. AAEIReminder can infer activity situations such as the amount of physical activity and days spent exercising through fuzzy logic, and decides whether a prompt should be delivered to a user. This prompting system was implemented in smartphones and was used in a short-term real-world trial by seventeenth participants for validation. The results demonstrated that the AAEIReminder is feasible. The fuzzy logic prompting mechanism can deliver prompts automatically based on pattern recognition and activity effective analysis. AAEIReminder provides flexibility which may increase the prompts’ efficiency.
Transportation Modes Classification Using Sensors on Smartphones
Authors: Fang Shih-Hau , Liao Hao-Hsiang , Fei Yu-Xiang , Chen Kai-Hsiang , Huang Jen-Wei , Lu Yu-Ding , Tsao Yu
Published: August 2016

This paper investigates the transportation and vehicular modes classification by using big data from smartphone sensors. The three types of sensors used in this paper include the accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope. This study proposes improved features and uses three machine learning algorithms including decision trees, K-nearest neighbor, and support vector machine to classify the user’s transportation and vehicular modes. In the experiments, we discussed and compared the performance from different perspectives including the accuracy for both modes, the executive time, and the model size. Results show that the proposed features enhance the accuracy, in which the support vector machine provides the best performance in classification accuracy whereas it consumes the largest prediction time. This paper also investigates the vehicle classification mode and compares the results with that of the transportation modes.
A Hybrid Vehicle Detection Method Based on Viola-Jones and HOG + SVM from UAV Images
Authors: Xu Yongzheng , Yu Guizhen , Wang Yunpeng , Wu Xinkai , Ma Yalong
Published: August 2016

A new hybrid vehicle detection scheme which integrates the Viola-Jones (V-J) and linear SVM classifier with HOG feature (HOG + SVM) methods is proposed for vehicle detection from low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. As both V-J and HOG + SVM are sensitive to on-road vehicles’ in-plane rotation, the proposed scheme first adopts a roadway orientation adjustment method, which rotates each UAV image to align the roads with the horizontal direction so the original V-J or HOG + SVM method can be directly applied to achieve fast detection and high accuracy. To address the issue of descending detection speed for V-J and HOG + SVM, the proposed scheme further develops an adaptive switching strategy which sophistically integrates V-J and HOG + SVM methods based on their different descending trends of detection speed to improve detection efficiency. A comprehensive evaluation shows that the switching strategy, combined with the road orientation adjustment method, can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the vehicle detection from UAV images. The results also show that the proposed vehicle detection method is competitive compared with other existing vehicle detection methods. Furthermore, since the proposed vehicle detection method can be performed on videos captured from moving UAV platforms without the need of image registration or additional road database, it has great potentials of field applications. Future research will be focusing on expanding the current method for detecting other transportation modes such as buses, trucks, motors, bicycles, and pedestrians.
A Microfluidic Approach for Inducing Cell Rotation by Means of Hydrodynamic Forces
Authors: Torino Stefania , Iodice Mario , Rendina Ivo , Coppola Giuseppe , Schonbrun Ethan
Published: August 2016

Microfluidic technology allows to realize devices in which cells can be imaged in their three-dimensional shape. However, there are still some limitations in the method, due to the fact that cells follow a straight path while they are flowing in a channel. This can result in a loss in information, since only one side of the cell will be visible. Our work has started from the consideration that if a cell rotates, it is possible to overcome this problem. Several approaches have been proposed for cell manipulation in microfluidics. In our approach, cells are controlled by only taking advantages of hydrodynamic forces. Two different devices have been designed, realized, and tested. The first device induces cell rotation in a plane that is parallel (in-plane) to the observation plane, while the second one induce rotation in a plane perpendicular (out-of-plane) to the observation plane.
Novel Role of Rural Official Organization in the Biomass-Based Power Supply Chain in China: A Combined Game Theory and Agent-Based Simulation Approach
Authors: Luo Kaiyan , Zhang Xingping , Tan Qinliang
Published: August 2016

Developing biomass-based power generation is helpful for China to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and to release the targets of carbon emission peak. The decentralized farming method leads to Chinese farmers’ weak willingness to collect and sell crop residues to biomass-based power plants. The purpose of this paper is to solve the issue by proposing a novel biomass feedstock supply model with China’s rural official organization—villagers’ committee, which has great influence on villagers’ decision making. Introducing it into the biomass-based power supply chain is beneficial to motivating farmers’ supplying enthusiasm. A combined game theory and agent-based simulation approach is applied to study the effectiveness of this new supply model. Multiple simulation scenarios are built to study impacts of different simulation parameters, and results show that farmers tend to supply more biomass material for electricity production in the proposed villagers’ committee model, compared with the two conventional supply models, direct-deal and broker models. The supply model incorporating the rural official organization can ensure the feedstock sufficiency for plants. A proper model design depends on the feed-in tariff subsidy for biomass-based electricity, feedstock shipping distance, performance appraisal system of the villagers’ committee, as well as farmers’ utility weights on net income and public service improvement.
Ecological Security and Ecosystem Services in Response to Land Use Change in the Coastal Area of Jiangsu, China
Authors: Xu Caiyao , Pu Lijie , Zhu Ming , Li Jianguo , Chen Xinjian , Wang Xiaohan , Xie Xuefeng
Published: August 2016

Urbanization, and the resulting land use/cover change, is a primary cause of the degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems. Reclamation projects are seen as a way to strike a balance between socioeconomic development and maintenance of coastal ecosystems. Our aim was to understand the ecological changes to Jiangsu’s coastal wetland resulting from land use change since 1977 by using remote sensing and spatial analyses. The results indicate that: (1) The area of artificial land use expanded while natural land use was reduced, which emphasized an increase in production-orientated land uses at the expense of ecologically important wetlands; (2) It took 34 years for landscape ecological security and 39 years for ecosystem services to regain equilibrium. The coastal reclamation area would recover ecological equilibrium only after a minimum of 30 years; (3) The total ecosystem service value decreased significantly from $2.98 billion per year to $2.31 billion per year from 1977 to 2014. Food production was the only one ecosystem service function that consistently increased, mainly because of government policy; (4) The relationship between landscape ecological security and ecosystem services is complicated, mainly because of the scale effect of landscape ecology. Spatial analysis of changing gravity centers showed that landscape ecological security and ecosystem service quality became better in the north than the south over the study period.
Impact of Environmental Regulation and Technical Progress on Industrial Carbon Productivity: An Approach Based on Proxy Measure
Authors: Zhang Huan , Xu Kangning
Published: August 2016

This research aims to study the main influencing factors of China’s industrial carbon productivity by incorporating environmental regulation and technical progress into an econometric model. The paper focuses on data from 35 of China’s industrial sectors and covers the period from 2006 to 2014, in order to examine the impact of environmental regulation and technical progress on carbon productivity. Methods applied include panel fixed effect model, panel random effect model and two stage least squares with instrumental variables (IV-2SLS). The effect of environmental regulation and technical progress has industrial heterogeneity. The paper subdivides industrial sectors into capital and technology intensive, resource intensive and labor intensive sectors according to factor intensiveness. The estimation results of the subgroups have uncovered that for capital and technology intensive and resource intensive sectors, environmental regulation has a more significant impact than technical progress; while for labor intensive sectors, innovation more significantly influences carbon productivity. In addition, foreign direct investment (FDI) and industrialization level facilitate improving carbon productivity for the full sample. By contrast, industrial structure inhibits the overall industrial carbon productivity. The industry-specific results indicate that for capital and technology intensive sectors, optimizing of the industrial structure can improve carbon productivity; for resource intensive sectors, FDI and energy consumption structure should be emphasized more; for labor intensive sectors, industrialization levels help enhance carbon productivity. Finally the industrial sector-specific policy suggestions are proposed.
Essential Oils Modulate Gene Expression and Ochratoxin A Production in Aspergillus carbonarius
Authors: El Khoury Rachelle , Atoui Ali , Verheecke Carol , Maroun Richard , El Khoury Andre , Mathieu Florence
Published: August 2016

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin, mainly produced on grapes by Aspergillus carbonarius, that causes massive health problems for humans. This study aims to reduce the occurrence of OTA by using the ten following essential oils (E.Os): fennel, cardamom, anise, chamomile, celery, cinnamon, thyme, taramira, oregano and rosemary at 1 µL/mL and 5 µL/mL for each E.O.As a matter of fact, their effects on the OTA production and the growth of A. carbonarius S402 cultures were evaluated, after four days at 28 °C on a Synthetic Grape Medium (SGM). Results showed that A. carbonarius growth was reduced up to 100%, when cultured with the E.Os of cinnamon, taramira, and oregano at both concentrations and the thyme at 5 µL/mL. As for the other six E.Os, their effect on A. carbonarius growth was insignificant, but highly important on the OTA production. Interestingly, the fennel E.O at 5 µL/mL reduced the OTA production up to 88.9% compared to the control, with only 13.8% of fungal growth reduction. We further investigated the effect of these E.Os on the expression levels of the genes responsible for the OTA biosynthesis (acOTApks and acOTAnrps along with the acpks gene) as well as the two regulatory genes laeA and vea, using the quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) method. The results revealed that these six E.Os reduced the expression of the five studied genes, where the ackps was downregulated by 99.2% (the highest downregulation in this study) with 5 µL/mL of fennel E.O.As for the acOTApks, acOTAnrps, veA and laeA, their reduction levels ranged between 10% and 96% depending on the nature of the E.O and its concentration in the medium.
A Single Dose of ViperfavTM May Be Inadequate for Vipera ammodytes Snake Bite: A Case Report and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation
Authors: Kurtović Tihana , Brvar Miran , Grenc Damjan , Lang Balija Maja , Križaj Igor , Halassy Beata
Published: August 2016

ViperfavTM is a commercial F(ab’)2 antivenom prepared against European vipers venom. It is safe and effective for treating envenomation caused by Vipera aspis and Vipera berus. Therapeutic efficacy for treating Vipera ammodytes ammodytes (V. a. ammodytes) envenoming has not been yet described, although protective efficacy has been demonstrated in preclinical studies. We report on a 32-year-old man bitten by V. a. ammodytes who was treated with Viperfav™. Viperfav™ promptly reduced local extension and improved systemic pathological signs, but 24 h after the incident a recurrence of thrombocytopenia occurred despite a favorable pharmacokinetic profile with systemic clearance (1.64 (mL·h−1)·kg−1) and elimination half-life (97 h) among the highest ever reported. The recommended dose of Viperfav™ for V. aspis and V. berus bites may be inadequate for serious V. a. ammodytes envenomations. Following V. a. ammodytes bite, serial blood counts and coagulation profiles should be performed to help guide Viperfav™ treatment, along with supplemental administration as indicated.
Inoculation of Goats, Sheep, and Horses with MERS-CoV Does Not Result in Productive Viral Shedding
Authors: Adney Danielle , Brown Vienna , Porter Stephanie , Bielefeldt-Ohmann Helle , Hartwig Airn , Bowen Richard
Published: August 2016

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first recognized in 2012 and can cause severe disease in infected humans. Dromedary camels are the reservoir for the virus, although, other than nasal discharge, these animals do not display any overt clinical disease. Data from in vitro experiments suggest that other livestock such as sheep, goats, and horses might also contribute to viral transmission, although field data has not identified any seropositive animals. In order to understand if these animals could be infected, we challenged young goats and horses and adult sheep with MERS-CoV by intranasal inoculation. Minimal or no virus shedding was detected in all of the animals. During the four weeks following inoculation, neutralizing antibodies were detected in the young goats, but not in sheep or horses.
Subversion of the Immune Response by Rabies Virus
Authors: Scott Terence , Nel Louis
Published: August 2016

Rabies has affected mankind for several centuries and is one of the oldest known zoonoses. It is peculiar how little is known regarding the means by which rabies virus (RABV) evades the immune response and kills its host. This review investigates the complex interplay between RABV and the immune system, including the various means by which RABV evades, or advantageously utilizes, the host immune response in order to ensure successful replication and spread to another host. Different factors that influence immune responses—including age, sex, cerebral lateralization and temperature—are discussed, with specific reference to RABV and the effects on host morbidity and mortality. We also investigate the role of apoptosis and discuss whether it is a detrimental or beneficial mechanism of the host’s response to infection. The various RABV proteins and their roles in immune evasion are examined in depth with reference to important domains and the downstream effects of these interactions. Lastly, an overview of the means by which RABV evades important immune responses is provided. The research discussed in this review will be important in determining the roles of the immune response during RABV infections as well as to highlight important therapeutic target regions and potential strategies for rabies treatment.
Impact of Fertilizer N Application on the Grey Water Footprint of Winter Wheat in a NW-European Temperate Climate
Authors: Brueck Holger , Lammel Joachim
Published: August 2016

Nutrient management is central in water footprint analyses as it exerts strong control over crop yield and potentially contributes to pollution of freshwater, the so-called grey water footprint. In the frame of grey water footprint accounting, two methods are suggested, the constant leaching fraction approach (10% of applied fertilizer N) and the N surplus approach. We compared both approaches and expected that the N surplus approach gives lower estimates of N leaching (and fertilizer-induced freshwater pollution) when the N surplus is small and higher N leaching estimates when the N surplus is high. We compared N fertilizer application at which the N balance = 0 with the N application at which profit is highest. We further expect pronounced differences in N surplus between farm sites and years, due to yield and soil fertility differences. N response trials were conducted at several locations over three years in Germany. Fertilizer-induced N surplus was calculated from the difference between applied N fertilizer and grain N removal. N fertilizer application at which N balance = 0 (NBal = 0) was lower than economic optimum N application rates (NEcon). N surplus at NEcon was linearly correlated with the additional N applied. Pooled over years and sites the median N surplus was 39 kg N ha−1. Differences between sites rather than between years dominated variation in fertilizer-induced N surplus. Estimated N leaching at NEcon was on average 9% of applied fertilizer N. The product water footprint was on average 180 m3 per ton of grain, but differences between sites were substantial with values varying between 0 and >400 m3 per ton. Yield and protein contents were lower at NBal = 0 compared to NEcon indicating a trade-off between freshwater protection, yield, wheat grain quality and economic optimum N application. Site-specific fertilizer strategies which consider soil type, crop development, annual field water balance, in-season nutrient dynamics and crop rotational effects are key to minimize fertilizer‑induced leaching of N into groundwater.
Does selection for gamete dispersal and capture lead to a sex difference in clump water‐holding capacity?
Authors: Moore Jonathan D. , Kollar Leslie M. , McLetchie D. Nicholas
Published: August 2016

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:

Differences in male and female reproductive function can lead to selection for sex‐specific gamete dispersal and capture traits. These traits have been explored from shoot to whole plant levels in wind‐pollinated species. While shoot traits have been explored in water‐fertilized species, little is known about how whole plant morphology affects gamete dispersal and capture. We used the dioecious, water‐fertilized plant Bryum argenteum to test for differences in clump morphology and water‐holding characteristics consistent with divergent selection. We hypothesized that sex‐specific clump morphology, arising at maturity, produces relatively low male water‐holding capacity for gamete dispersal and high female capacity for gamete capture.

METHODS:

We measured isolated young shoot and clump water‐holding capacity and clump morphological characteristics on greenhouse‐grown plants. Young shoot capacity was used to predict clump capacity, which was compared with actual clump capacity.

KEY RESULTS:

Young male shoots held more water per unit length, and male clumps had higher shoot density, which extrapolated to higher clump water‐holding capacity. However, female clumps held more water and were taller with more robust shoots. Actual clump capacity correlated positively with clump height and shoot cross‐sectional area.

CONCLUSIONS:

The sex difference in actual clump capacity and its unpredictability from younger shoots are consistent with our hypothesis that males should hold less water than females to facilitate sexual reproduction. These results provide conceptual connections to other plant groups and implications for connecting divergent selection to female‐biased sex ratios in B. argenteum and other bryophytes.
Effects of pollination and postpollination processes on selfing rate in Mimulus ringens
Authors: Sorin Yuliya B. , Mitchell Randall J. , Trapnell Dorset W. , Karron Jeffrey D.
Published: August 2016

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:

Selfing rates vary widely within and among populations of self‐compatible flowering plants. This variation is often attributed to differences in the amount and timing of self and outcross pollen deposition on stigmas, as well as to the influence of postpollination mechanisms that control fertilization success. This study explores the relative importance of pollination and postpollination processes in determining selfing rates in monkeyflower, Mimulus ringens.

METHODS:

We hand‐pollinated flowers on 17 unrelated mothers with pollen from one of three experimental treatments intended to replicate field conditions: (1) simultaneous deposition of 50% self pollen and 50% outcross pollen from 5 unrelated donors; (2) self pollen followed 15 min later by application of an equal amount of outcross pollen from five unrelated donors; and (3) outcross pollen from 5 unrelated donors followed 15 min later by application of an equal amount of self pollen. We genotyped 757 progeny at 8 polymorphic microsatellite loci and used paternity exclusion to determine whether each seedling was selfed or outcrossed.

KEY RESULTS:

When self and outcross pollen arrived simultaneously, and when self pollen arrived 15 min prior to outcross pollen, the observed proportions of self and outcross progeny did not deviate from the expected 1:1 ratio. However, when outcross pollen was applied 15 min prior to self pollen, there was a significant excess of outcross progeny.

CONCLUSIONS:

Selfing rate in Mimulus ringens is influenced by small differences in the timing of pollen arrival, but not by nonrandom postpollination sorting.
Pollination of a native plant changes with distance and density of invasive plants in a simulated biological invasion
Authors: Bruckman Daniela , Campbell Diane R.
Published: August 2016

PREMISE OF THE STUDY:

Effects of an exotic plant on pollination may change as the invasive increases in density. Quantity of pollinator visits to a native may increase, decrease, or change nonlinearly, while visit quality is likely to decrease with greater interspecific pollen movement. How visit quantity and quality contribute to the effect on reproductive success at each invasion stage has not been measured.

METHODS:

We simulated four stages of invasion by Brassica nigra by manipulating the neighborhood of potted plants of the native Phacelia parryi in a field experiment. Stages were far from the invasion, near the invasion, intermixed with the invasive at low density, and intermixed at high density. We measured pollinator visitation, conspecific and invasive pollen deposition, and seed set for P. parryi at each stage.

KEY RESULTS:

Native individuals near invasive plants and within areas of low invasive density showed greatest seed production, as expected from concurrent changes in conspecific and invasive pollen deposition. Those plants experienced facilitation of visits and received more conspecific pollen relative to plants farther from invasives. Native individuals within high invasive density also received frequent visits by many pollinators (although not honeybees), but the larger receipt of invasive pollen predicted interference with pollen tubes that matched patterns in seed set.

CONCLUSIONS:

Pollinator visitation was highest when exotic plants were nearby. Detrimental effects of heterospecific pollen deposition were highest at high exotic density. Our study quantified how reproduction benefits from near proximity to a showy invasive, but is still vulnerable when the invasive reaches high density.
NOVEL MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR PREDICTION OF MICROBIAL GROWTH KINETICS AND CONTAMINANT DEGRADATION IN BIOREMEDIATION PROCESS
Authors: KHOSHDEL Azadeh , VAZIRI Behrooz MAHMOODZADEH
Published: August 2016

Bioremediation is defined as a process, which involves decomposition of organic pollutant compounds available in soil and water resources into safe and eco-friendly materials, like water and CO2, by the microorganisms. In the present article, mathematical modeling of the bioremediation process was conducted comprehensively, and new models proposed for the microbial growth kinetics and substrate consumption (contaminant degradation). Accordingly, six kinetic models were suggested for the biomass growth and six models for the substrate consumption. Moreover, two models were considered for specific growth rate constant of the microorganisms. Then, model predictions were compared to and validated by the available experimental data in the literature. According to the obtained results, the microbial growth kinetic model, entitled as “MVKH2”, the substrate (contaminant) consumption model, entitled as “MVKH2s”, and the Aiba specific growth rate constant model had the best performance and the least error value in predicting the bioremediation process. Results achieved from this study are a promising beginning for practical and experimental works.
NONSINGULAR UNIVERSES IN GAUSS–BONNET GRAVITY’S RAINBOW
Authors: Hendi Seyed Hossein , Momennia Mehrab , Panah Behzad Eslam , Faizal Mir
Published: August 2016

In this paper, we study the rainbow deformation of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology in both Einstein gravity and Gauss–Bonnet (GB) gravity. We demonstrate that the singularity in FRW cosmology can be removed because of the rainbow deformation of the FRW metric. We obtain the general constraints required for FRW cosmology to be free of singularities. We observe that the inclusion of GB gravity can significantly change the constraints required to obtain nonsingular universes. We use rainbow functions motivated by the hard spectra of gamma-ray bursts to deform FRW cosmology and explicitly demonstrate that such a deformation removes the singularity in FRW cosmology.