bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An open-closed-loop iterative learning control for trajectory tracking of a high-speed 4-dof parallel robot
Authors: Li Qiancheng , Liu Enyu , Cui Chuangchuang , Wu Guanglei
Published: May 2022

Precise control is of importance for robots, whereas, due to the presence of modeling errors and uncertainties under the complex working environment, it is difficult to obtain an accurate dynamic model of the robot, leading to decreased control performances. This work presents an open-closed-loop iterative learning control applied to a four-limb parallel Schönflies-motion robot, aiming to improve the tracking accuracy with high movement, in which the controller can learn from the iterative errors to make the robot end-effector approximate to the expected trajectory. The control algorithm is compared with classical D-ILC, which is illustrated along with an industrial trajectory of pick-and-place operation. External repetitive and non-repetitive disturbances are added to verify the robustness of the proposed approach. To verify the overall performance of the proposed control law, multiple trajectories within the workspace, different working frequencies for a prescribed trajectory, and different design methods are selected, which show the effectiveness and the generalization ability of the designed controller.
A four-stage suitability evaluation framework considering restrictive factor for underground space sustainable development and the application in Jinan Pilot zone
Authors: Feng Quanlin , Sun Hongjie , Wang Yang , Zhao Zhenhua , Liu Kai , Wang Zhihui , Yan Jinkai
Published: May 2022

One of the primary concerns for sustainable and safety development of urban underground space is to find out the key restrictive factors and the corresponding methods to avoid or modify the constraints. Aiming to provide practical decisions, a four-stage evaluation framework with fuzzy mathematics comprehensive evaluation (FMCE) method was adapted and proposed considering the restrictive factors and management programs. The four stages are 1) identifying the major indicators and restrictive factors that represent geological conditions, 2) collecting data from literature, field investigation and experts’ judgements, 3) combing the qualitative information and quantitative calculation to evaluate the suitability, 4) providing feasible suggestions with management programs that weaken the disadvantage. The four-stage framework is applied in Jinan Pilot Zone as an example. The FMCE method is conducted by employing hydrology, hydrogeology, engineering geology, mining goaf (the restrictive factor), building foundation, and developed underground space as the primary evaluation factors. Protected areas are indicated and two schemes of recharge filling and secondary landscape development are compared in terms of costs and benefits. It is suggested that the existing facilities should be used to develop the underground space with exploration and tourism projects, which might become one highlight of the Pilot Zone.
Research on evolutionary game of the transformation of green technological innovation in manufacturing industries under environmental regulation
Authors: Gao Jing , Feng Qiuhong , Guan Tao , Zhan Wanfei
Published: May 2022

As the product of the combination of the concept of sustainable development and the transformation of traditional manufacturing industries, green technological innovation will be affected by various factors, such as the willingness of subject of innovation, environmental regulation and so on. How to research the evolution law of the transformation of green technological innovation in manufacturing industries from the perspective of concept-behavior dual logic coupling is the focus of academia. This composition breaks through the traditional limitation of only studying green technological innovation from the perspective of behavior logic, and brings the conceptual logic of the subject into the perspective of research. It designs the mechanism of the transformation of green technological innovation in manufacturing industries driven by internal and external factors, constructs a three-party evolutionary game model of manufacturing-government-consumer, and mobilizes Matlab software to simulate. Thus, the effects of environmental regulations with different intensities on the transformation of green technology innovation in manufacturing industries are revealed, to provide a theoretical basis for environmental regulations to guide it.
A Lightweight Trust-less Authentication Framework for Massive IoT Systems
Authors: Ali Aitizaz , Delgado Noya Irene , Ur Rehman Ateeq , Ahmed Mehmood , Singh Aman , Anand Divya
Published: May 2022

When we talk about the Internet of Things, we are referring to the connecting of things to a1 physical network that is embedded with software, sensors, and other devices that allow information2 to be exchanged between devices. It is possible that the interconnection of devices will present3 issues in terms of security, trustworthiness, reliability, and confidentiality, among other things.4 The proposed approach is effective at detecting intrusions into the Internet of Things network.5 Initially, the privacy-preserving technology was deployed utilising a Blockchain-based methodology6 to ensure that personal information was protected. Patients’ health records (PHR) security is the7 most crucial component of encryption over the Internet because of the value and importance of these8 records, particularly in the context of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). The search terms access9 mechanism is one of the most common approaches used to access personal health records from a10 database, but it is vulnerable to a number of security flaws. However, while blockchain-enabled11 healthcare systems provide increased security, they may also introduce weaknesses into the current12 state of the art. Blockchain-enabled frameworks have been proposed in the literature as a means13 of resolving those challenges. These solutions, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with14 data storage, with Blockchain serving as a database. To enable secure search and keyword-based15 access to a distributed database, this study proposes the use of blockchain technology as a distributed16 database, together with a homomorphic encryption mechanism. Aside from that, the suggested17 system includes a secure key revocation mechanism that can be used to automatically update various18 policies.As a result, our proposed approach provides greater security, efficiency, and transparency19 while also being more cost-effective. We have compared the findings of our proposed models with20 those of the benchmark models, if appropriate. Our comparison research demonstrates that our21 suggested framework provides a more secure and searchable mechanism for the healthcare system22 than the current state of the art.
Reactogenicity of mRNA and non-mRNA Based COVID-19 Vaccines Among Lactating Mother and Baby Dyads
Authors: Jacob-Chow Beth , Kandarpa Lakshmi Vasundhara , Cheang Hon Kit , Lee Le Ye , Low Jia Ming , Zubair Amin
Published: May 2022

The aims of the study are: a) Describe the reactogenicity of WHO-approved two mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) and two non-RNA vaccines (Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinovac) among lactating mother and baby pairs; and b) compare and contrast the reactogenicity between mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines. A cross-sectional, self-reported survey was conducted amongst 1784 lactating women who received COVID-19 vaccinations. The most common maternal adverse reaction was a local reaction at the injection site; the largest minority of respondents, 43.7% (780/1784), reported experiencing worse symptoms when receiving the second dose compared to the first dose. There were no major reported adverse effects or behavioural changes in the breastfed infants. Among the respondents who received non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations, a majority reported no change in lactation but those who did more commonly reported an increase in milk supply, decrease in milk supply and pain in the breast. The more commonly reported lactation changes (fluctuations in breastmilk supply and pain in the breast) for the non-mRNA vaccines were similar to that of respondents who received mRNA vaccines. Our study, with a large cohort and wide geographical and racial mix, further augments earlier reported findings that COVID-19 vaccines are safe for breastfeeding mothers and her children.
Nanosafety: An Evolving Concept to Bring the Safest Possible Nanomaterials to Society and Environment
Authors: Lebre Filipa , Chatterjee Nivedita , Costa Samantha , Gortari Eli Fernández-de , Lopes Carla , Meneses João , Ortiz Luís , Ribeiro Ana R. , Vilas-Boas Vânia , Alfaro-Moreno Ernesto
Published: May 2022

The use of nanomaterials has been increasing in recent times, and they are widely used in industries such as cosmetics, drug, food, water treatment and agriculture. The rapid development of new nanomaterials demands a set of approaches to evaluate the potential toxicity and risks related to them. In this regard, nanosafety has been using and adapting already existing methods (toxicological approach), but the unique characteristics of nanomaterials demand new approaches (nanotoxicology) to fully understand the potential toxicity, immunotoxicity and (epi)genotoxicity. Also, new technologies, such as organ-on-chip and sophisticated sensors, are under development and/or adaptation. All the information generated is used to develop new in silico approaches trying to predict the potential effects of newly developed materials. The overall evaluation of how from the production to final disposition chain of nanomaterials is evaluated under Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is becoming an important element of nanosafety considering sustainability and environmental impact. In this review we give an overview of all these elements of nanosafety.
Dynamic Texture Analysis of Water Flow Video Using Temporal Binary Patern
Authors: Sirenden Bernadus Herdi , Mursanto Petrus , Wijonarko Sensus
Published: May 2022

This paper presents a robust method based on graph topology to find the topologically correct and consistent subset of inter-robot relative pose measurements for multi-robot map fusion. However, the absence of good prior gives a severe challenge to distinguish the inliers and outliers, and wrong loop closures can seriously corrupt the fused global map. Existing works mainly rely on the consistency of spatial dimension to select inter-robot measurements, which does not always hold. In this paper, we propose a fast inter-robot loop closure selection method that integrates the consistency and topology relationship of measurements, which both conform to the continuity characteristics of similar scenes and spatiotemporal consistency. The traditional high-dimensional consistency matrix is decomposed into the sub-matrix blocks corresponding to the overlapping trajectory area. Building on this logic, a clustering method involving topology correctness of inter-robot loop closures is introduced to split the entire measurement set into multiple clusters. We define the weight function to find the maximum cardinality subset with topologically correct and consistent, then convert the weight function to a maximum clique problem in the graph and solve it. We evaluate the performance of our method in a simulation and in a real-world experiment. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, the results show that our method can achieve competitive performance in accuracy while reducing computation time by 75%.
Export Decision and Formal Credit Constraints - Evidence in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises
Authors: Phan Trang
Published: May 2022

Export participation and restricted access to external formal credit are two factors attracting meticulous attention from researchers and policymakers, especially in developing countries. Exploring the interactive relationship of these factors in both the static and dynamic models is the purpose of this study. The study uses data sets from small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam for the period 2009 - 2015. The instrumental variable approach is implemented to deal with the endogenous variable problem in the model. The results show an effect of credit constraint on the firms’ exporting status, and continuous exports are likely to reduce the limit of credit constraint.
Surface Heat Flow, Deep Formation Temperature, and Lithospheric Thickness of the Different Tectonic Units in Tarim Basin, Western China
Authors: Liu Yuchen , Liu Bo , Fu Jian , Kang Le , Li Siqi
Published: May 2022

Herein, the new collected well-testing temperature as well as continuous steady-state temperature logs were achieved for the analysis of deep thermal structural characteristics and current thermal states of various tectonic units in Tarim Basin. Generally, geothermal gradient fluctuates in 14.6-31.1°C/km, the heat flow ranges between 31.6 and 59.2 mW/m2 with the average heat flow of 43.2 mW/m2, and these values are typical of low heat flow background in Precambrian craton basins. Furthermore, estimated formation temperature spatial distributions at 6~8 km depth are the same and are mainly under the control of basement structural pattern. At 6000 m depth, temperature is 99-188°C, which become 126-242°C and 113-215°C at 7000 m and 8000 m depths, respectively. These findings confirmed that heat flow in Tarim Basin was relatively low with similar geothermal regimes to other Precambrian craton basins around the globe. In addition, 1D theoretical crustal thermal structures in Tarim Basin were established based on the solution of the equation of steady-state heat conduction. The findings revealed that “thermal” lithosphere maximum thickness in Tarim Basin is witnessed in Manjiaer sag. Tazhong uplift thermal state differs from those of Tabei uplift and Manjiaer sag. Tazhong mantle heat flow is 23.9 mW/m2, which accounts for 48.8% of surface heat flow. Hotter thermal states of Tazhong uplift generated temperatures as high as ∼690°C in Moho. Tarim Basin heat flow distribution reveals that crustal heat flow plays a more significant role in surface heat flow and possesses typical “hot crust and cold mantle” model thermal structure properties.
Metamorphism of the Korvatundra Structure of the Lapland–Kola Orogen (Arctic Zone of the Fennoscandian Shield)
Authors: Nitkina E.A. , Belyaev O.A. , Dolivo-Dobrovol’skii D.V. , Kozlov N.E. , Kaulina T.V. , Kozlova N.E.
Published: May 2022

We study the P–T conditions and age of metamorphic evolution of the rocks that make up the Korvatundra structure in the northeast of the Fennoscandian Shield. The rocks underwent progressive metamorphism of the amphibolite facies at 625–660 ºC and 8.7–8.8 kbar 1945 ± 34 Ma (Sm–Nd data). The pegmatite cutting the metamorphic paragenesis that formed at this stage has an age of 1917 ± 6 Ma (zircon U–Pb data). Metamorphic transformations after 1917 Ma are manifested locally as discrete zones of blastomylonites in the rocks of the northern part and some inner sites of the Korvatundra structure. Both local increases and decreases in temperature and pressure are possible in these zones. The formation of light titanite with an age of 1863 ± 44 Ma marks the next stage of shear strain. Low-temperature alterations (chloritization and silicification) took place in the zones of final deformations 1722 ± 5 Ma (Rb–Sr data). Beginning from 1.94 Ga, the general deformational and metamorphic history of the Korvatundra structure, Lapland Granulite Belt, and Tana Belt confirms the assumption of the formation of a single inverted metamorphic zoning within the Korvatundra structure and the overlying Lapland–Kolvitsa Collision Belt in the Paleoproterozoic. The obtained data supplement the idea of the Paleoproterozoic geodynamic evolution of the Lapland–Kola orogen.
The Triassic of New Siberian Islands Archipelago and Its Position in the Structure of Sedimentary Cover of the Laptev Sea Shelf
Authors: Nikitenko B.L. , Devyatov V.P. , Konstantinov A.G. , Sobolev E.S. , Yadrenkin A.V. , Pestchevitskaya E.B. , Lebedeva N.K. , Goryacheva A.A.
Published: May 2022

The geological study of the Mesozoic sections of the New Siberian Islands archipelago and Asian coastal sections of the Arctic Ocean plays a key role in tying the results of comprehensive studies with seismic data on the Laptev Sea shelf and the western part of the East Siberian Sea. Therefore, it is extremely important to improve the subdivision of the Triassic system of the New Siberian archipelago and to define the position of the system in the structure of the Laptev Sea shelf sedimentary basin. The results of our study were used to improve and refine the lithostratigraphic subdivision of the Triassic in the study area and to recognize a distinct interregional stratigraphic marker, i.e., the Czekanowski Formation (lower Olenekian). In terms of genetic, structural, and sedimentological features, the Triassic strata were grouped into two Groups: the Reshetnikov Group (Induan–upper Ladinian) and the Svetlaya Group (Ladinian–Rhaetian), reflecting major stages of sedimentation. For the Triassic of the eastern Laptev Sea shelf and adjacent onshore areas, the facies zonation scheme has been developed and refined on a unified basis. Based on their structure, the Phanerozoic sections of the study area can be considered as a part of the intermediate structural stage of the Laptev Sea plate at the margins of the Siberian craton.
Determination of immune response persistence after SARS-CoV-2 infection by ELISA analysis of nucleocapsid specific IgG
Authors: Kldiashvili Ekaterina , Iordanishvili Saba , Shotadze Tamar , Lomidze Mariam
Published: May 2022

Objectives
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causes Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and a global pandemic resulting in major changes in our daily habits and social behaviors. The mechanisms and the peculiarities of immune response against SARS-CoV-2 are not yet determined. To address this question, we initiated the study aimed to determine the persistence of immune response against SARS-CoV-2.
Results
Blood samples of the registered participants (49 registered participants - 35 females and 14 males; 17-55 years old age group) with clinically documented episodes of SARS-CoV-2 infections were collected. The samples were analyzed for quantitative determination of IgG against nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 by enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) method. It has been revealed that: a) 16 (32.7%) are negative; b) 5 (10.2%) samples are equivocal; and c) 28 (57.1%) samples are positive for IgG SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. The IgG against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein can be used as the possible marker of the immune response. The persistence of COVID-19 immune response after 6 months of the clinical episode has been revealed. Despite of the quantity decreasing of IgG against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein with time the exact correlation specific to the decreasing tendency has not been determined.
Novel mechanisms of the transformations of the G·C base pairs in Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen configurations via the mutual rotations of the bases and proton transfer: A quantum-chemical investigation
Authors: Brovarets' Ol'ha , Muradova Alona , Hovorun Dmytro
Published: May 2022

In this study for the first time at the MP2/6-311++G(2df,pd)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory it was comprehensively investigated unusual conformationally-tautomeric transformations of the G*·C*(WC), G*·C*(rWC), G*·C*t(rWC), G*t·C*(rH) and G*t·C*t(rH) base pairs - G*·C*(WC)↔G*t·C(rwН)↑↔G*N7·C*(rwH)↑↔G*N7·C*(wH)↑↔G*t·C*O2(wH)↑↔ G*t·C*O2(rwH)↑, G*·C*(rWC)↔G*t·C*O2(rwWC)↓/↔G*t·C*O2(wH)↑, G*·C*t(rWC)↔G*t·C*tO2(wН)↓↔G*t·C*tO2(rwH)↓/↔G*t·C*tO2(rwWC)↓↔G*t·C*tO2(wWC)↓, G*t·C*(rH)↔G*·C*O2(wWC)↑/↔G*·C*O2(wH)↓ and G*t·C*t(rH)↔G*·C*tO2(wWC)↑/ ↔G*·C*tO2(rwH)↓↔G*·C*tO2(wH)↓. It was reliably established that they occur through the mutual rotations of the G and C bases around intermolecular H-bonds and proton transfer along the intermolecular H-bonds. These novel conformationally-tautomeric tranformations are intrinsically inherent properties of the Watson-Crick (WC) and Hoogsteen (H) G·C base pairs and lead to their transformation into the wobble (w) or reverse wobble (rw) base pairs. These conformationally-tautomeric transformations of the G·C base pairs are accompanied by the rearrangement of the intermolecular H-bonds and changing of the dipole moments.
Cough presentation and cough-related healthcare utilization in tertiary care: analysis of routinely collected academic institutional database
Authors: An Jin , Lee Ji-Hyang , Won Ha-Kyeong , Kang Yewon , Kwon Hyouk-Soo , Lee Jae-Seung , Lee Sei Won , Kim Tae-Bum , Oh Yeon-Mok , Cho You Sook , Lee Sang-Do , Moon Hee-Bom , Song Woo-Jung
Published: May 2022

Purpose: Routinely collected data (RCD) from electronic health records (EHR) are useful for studying disease epidemiology in the real world. We examined cough presentation and cough-related healthcare utilization using an academic institutional EHR database in Korea.Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with subacute (3–8 weeks) or chronic cough (>8 weeks in duration) referred to allergy and asthma clinics. Cases were identified using the search of the chief complaint in the data fields. Structured data were analyzed, including demographics, medical history, symptoms, and diagnostic tests. Healthcare utilization for 1 year was assessed for drug prescriptions, additional tests, or outpatient visits.Results: Among 28,312 new referrals for 8 years, cough was the chief complaint in 13,223 cases (46.7%); 3,810 subacute and 7,150 chronic cough patients were analyzed. Common demographic profile was middle-aged woman (mean age 52.1 years, and female 63%). Cough was frequently accompanied by anterior nasal (about 50%), lower airway (30%), or acid reflux disease symptoms (20%), and by test abnormalities in chest X-rays (14%), spirometry (23%), or T2 inflammation markers (40%). Chronic cough patients frequently required additional tests (chest CT scan: 24%), drug prescriptions (codeine: 21.5% and oral steroids: 9.9%), and long-term healthcare utilization (16.0%) for 1 year. Conclusions: This RCD analysis suggests that cough is a common chief complaint at allergy and asthma clinics, but the clinical presentation may be heterogeneous. Further studies are needed to understand long-term outcomes and reduce the disease burden.
Characteristics of gelatin from pig skin waste; effect of different organic acids used on pre-thermal treatment
Authors: LATORRE MARIA EMILIA , Velazquez Diego Ezequiel , Palacio Maria Ines , Sanchez Mariana Marta
Published: May 2022

Upcycled products prevent food waste and contribute to a sustainable solution to obtain novel by‑products. This research paper presents the properties and characteristics of gelatin obtained from pig skin waste using different organic acids solutions as a pretreatment that have been studied. The pH, hydroxyproline content (Hyp), the thermal properties and the color of the product were evaluated. All acids used are food-grade acids. There were differences the gelatin yield showed among the food‑grade acid solutions pretreatment, Acetic (AH), Latic (AL), Citric (AC) and Ascorbic acid (AA) (0.5M). AH and AA treatments resulted in higher gelatin Hyp content than AL and AC. The pH of each gelatin solution was 3.46, 3.10, 2.76 and 2.30 for AH, AA, AL and AC, respectively. The AH showed two gel-sol thermal transitions at 57.8°C and 127.5°C while treatments AL, AC, and AA showed only one thermal transition at 122.9°C, 121.4°C and 97.2°C, respectively. The DSC enthalpies energies result in differences between gelatin-films. The acid pretreatment affected the brightness of the gelatin-films and the color parameters. The lowest lightness resulted from AA, and the highest a* and b* color parameters were observed in the AC gelatin‑film. The results showed that the use of food-grade acids to obtain gelatin from waste pig skin is promising. Moreover, a good Hyp content can be obtained from all such treatments. The food‑grade acids used affect the gelatin thermal, gelation and color properties. The results suggest that the acid pretreatment causes substantive changes in protein functionality.
Safety and efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil in treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer having ascites
Authors: Matsumoto Toshihiko , Yamamura Shogo , Ikoma Tatsuki , Kurioka Yusuke , Doi Keitaro , Yasuda Tomoyo , Boku Shogen , Kawai Takeshi , Shibata Nobuhiro , Nagai Hiroki , Tsuduki Takao , Shimada Takanobu , Matsumoto Yusuke , Tsumura Takehiko , Takatani Masahiro , Yasui Hisateru , Satake Hironaga
Published: May 2022

Background: Trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) is an oral chemotherapy comprising a thymidine-based nucleoside analog and a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor. The FTD/TPI versus placebo in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic gastric cancer trial showed that FTD/TPI is effective with manageable toxicity in these patients. However, data on the effect of FTD/TPI on patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) having ascites are limited.Methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed the clinicopathologic data of patients with AGC who had received FTD/TPI monotherapy in our institutions from September 2019 to July 2021.Results: A total of 53 patients were included in this study. The median age was 70 (range, 37‒85) years, 39 patients were men, the numbers of patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status scores 0, 1, and 2 were 10, 39, and 4, respectively, and 27 patients had diffuse-type histology. A total of 29 patients had ascites, among whom 14 had massive ascites. The response rate and disease control rate (DCR) were 2% and 35%, respectively. The median progression-free survival was 2.4 months and median overall survival (OS) was 5.8 months. Patients with ascites exhibited significantly shorter OS (8.6 vs. 4.7 months, P=0.0291) than those without ascites, and DCR (54% vs. 18%, P=0.0055) was significantly worse in patients with ascites. There was no significant difference in the frequency of occurrence of adverse events of grade 3 or higher between patients with and without ascites.Conclusion: FTD/TPI has a moderate, although inadequate, effect on patients with AGC having ascites.
User Design and Development of a Culturally Inclusive, Online Wisdom Community
Authors: Cifuentes Lauren , Perry Michelle
Published: May 2022

Faculty and graduate students in an Educational Design and Learning Technologies program collaboratively developed their degree programs’ online wisdom community as a project in a Foundations of Learning Design course. Community goals established by program faculty and students were to facilitate learning community, enhance identity as professional educational technologists, expand professional knowledge for the duration of their studies toward their degrees, and leverage and prepare members to use various learning technologies. Sociocultural learning theories and user design frame the study. We applyied educational design and development research methods to analyse and explore Pre-Course and Post-Course surveys, an online discussion, the students’ design and development documents, and student-constructed prototype wisdom communities. Findings were activities and features learning technologies students wanted addressed in their Educational Design and Learning Technologies wisdom community as well as suggestions for implementation. We share guidelines for designing a culturally inclusive community that is responsive to students’ interests and needs for building professional identity as instructional designers and educational technologists.
Disentangling structural and functional responses of native versus alien communities by canonical ordination analyses and variation partitioning with multiple matrices
Authors: Sîrbu Ioan , Benedek Ana-Maria , Brown Bryan L. , Sîrbu Monica
Published: May 2022

Freshwaters are under accelerated human pressure, and mollusk communities are among its most sensitive, threatened, and valuable components. To the best of our knowledge, the overall effects of damming, environment, space, and invasive alien mollusk species, on the structural and functional responses of native mollusk communities were not yet studied synthetically. Using historical information and recent data from a river, we aimed to investigate and disentangle these effects and evaluate the differences in structural and functional responses of natives and alien invasives to the same predictors. Variation partitioning showed that alien species were as important predictors as were environmental factors and time in explaining species composition of native freshwater mollusk communities. Aliens were more independent of environmental conditions than natives and responded to different drivers, partially explaining their invasion success. The increased abundance of some alien gastropods was positively related to taxonomic diversity, while certain alien bivalves were negatively associated with the functional diversity of native communities. We introduce a cumulative variation partitioning with multiple response (native and alien) and predictor matrices, along with a diagram to show their relations, advocating for a conceptual shift in future ecology, "from variables to matrices" and from "multivariate analyses to multi-matrix statistical modeling."
Factorial Validity of the Self-Compassion Scale among University Female Students: A Comparative Study Between Saudi and Egyptian culture
Authors: Alzamil Wafaa , Alabdulkareem Rashid , Alkasabi Manal , Almusfir May F. , Ahmed Emad
Published: May 2022

The study aimed to verify the factorial construction of the self-compassion scale across cultures. The study is based on Neff et al.’s (2017) model that explains self-compassion in its three dimensions in a bipolar manner. The researchers relied on the Neff (2003) scale for self-compassion, the abbreviated form of 26 items. The participants consisted of 1039 university students, divided in terms of culture into 521 students at Zagazig University in Egypt, and 518 at Princess Nourah Bint AbdulRahman University in Saudi Arabia. The scale was prepared in the same electronic form. All females of the sample were informed of the purpose of the study. The sample was chosen randomly. Exploratory factor analysis was used to test the stability of items on the dimensions and results showed the stability of the kindness with self, isolation, shared humanity, and self-judgment dimensions. Confirmatory factor analysis results reached the best fit for the total sample. Factor analysis across the two groups was used to verify the existence of differences between Saudi and Egyptian cultures. The results revealed that the Egyptian environment model is superior to its Saudi counterpart, and it has been proven that there are no differences between the two cultures using the factorial differences indicators RSMEA, NNFI, GFI, and SRMR.
Possible protective effect of Costus root extract on liver of rat prior exposure with melamine: The hematology, biochemistry, histopathology and ultrastructure study
Authors: Hassan Khalid
Published: May 2022

The current study evaluated the protective effect of Costus root extract against the hematology, biochemistry, histopathology and ultra-structure changes induced in rat liver due to the sub chronic exposure with melamine. In recent years manufacturers adding melamine (MA) to milk to increase its protein content but this led to toxic effects on many organs such as kidneys, liver, brain, etc. in experimental animals. Recent studies have proved that Costus root extract has a hepatoprotective role and has many health-related benefits showed against various toxins related to oxidative stress. Eighty adult albino rats (200–250 gm) were further allocated into 04 equal sets; set 01 exposed with distilled water orally, set 02 exposed with costus plant extract (0.4 mg/ kg) orally, set 03 exposed with MA (50mg/kg b.wt/day), and set 04 exposed with MA (50 mg/kg b.wt/day) plus costus plant extract (0.4 mg/ kg) orally for the period of two months. The experimental rats were exposed to general anesthesia before the sacrifice and the sample of blood and liver were collected. The samples were further prepared for histopathological and ultrastructural examinations. The results revealed that MA treatment (set 03) caused hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and ultrastructural alterations. Co-administration of Costus root extract with MA ameliorated most of the toxic effects of melamine (set 04). The results demonstrated that Costus root extract exhibited a protective effect by decreasing the toxic pathological changes caused by MA in the liver of albino rats.
AMPK facilitates the hypoxic ventilatory response through non‑adrenergic mechanisms at the brainstem
Authors: MacMillan Sandy , Evans A. Mark
Published: May 2022

We recently demonstrated that the hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) is facilitated by the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in catecholaminergic neural networks that likely lie downstream of the carotid bodies within the caudal brainstem. Here we further subcategorise the neurons involved, by cross-comparison of mice in which the genes encoding the AMPK‑α1 (Prkaa1) and AMPK‑α2 (Prkaa2) catalytic subunits were deleted in catecholaminergic (TH-Cre) or adrenergic (PNMT-Cre) neurons. The HVR was markedly attenuated in mice with AMPK‑α1/α2 deletion in catecholaminergic neurons and modestly augmented in mice with AMPK‑α1/α2 deletion in adrenergic neurons when compared against a variety of controls (TH-Cre, PNMT‑Cre, AMPK‑α1/α2 floxed). Moreover, AMPK‑α1/α2 deletion in catecholaminergic neurons precipitated marked hypoventialtion and apnoea during poikilocapnic hypoxia, relative to controls, while mice with AMPK‑α1/α2 deletion in adrenergic neurons entered relative hyperventilation with reduced apnoea frequency and duration when compared to controls. We conclude, therefore, that AMPK facilitates the HVR through non‑adrenergic mechanisms, where adrenergic pathways may deliver weaker negative inputs.
Tormentic Acid Alters the Gut Microbiota of the Silkworm (Bombyx mori)
Authors: Bay Veysel , Gür Seray , Bayraktar Oğuz
Published: May 2022

In recent years, phytochemicals have started to attract more attention due to their contribution to health and bioactivity. Microorganisms in the intestines of organisms contribute to the processing, function, and biotransformation of these substances. The silkworm (Bombyx mori) is one of the organisms used for the biotransformation of phytochemicals due to its controlled reproduction and liability to microbial manipulation. In this study, a bioactive compound, tormentic acid (TA), extracted from Sarcopoterium spinosum was used in the diet of silkworm and the alterations of intestinal microbiota of the silkworm were assessed. To do this, silkworms were fed on diet with various tormentic acid content, and 16S metagenomic analysis was performed to determine and the alterations in the gut microbiota profile of these organisms. Diet with different TA content did not cause a change in bacterial diversity of the samples. Comprehensive comparisons between different feeding groups indicated increased abundance of bacteria associated with health, i.e., Intestinibacter spp., Flavonifractor spp., Senegalimassilia spp., through the utilization of bioactive substances such as flavonoids. In conclusion, it might be said that use of TA as a supplementary product might help ameliorating the infected gut and promoting the healthy gut and relieving the undesirable effects of medicines to gastrointestinal system.
Effect of integration of poultry manure and vinasse on the abundance and diversity of soil fauna, soil fertility index, and barley growth in calcareous soils
Authors: Seleem Mostafa , Khalafallah Naglaa , Zuhair Raghda , Ghoneim Adel , El-Sharkawy Mahmoud , Mahmoud Esawy
Published: May 2022

In Egypt, calcareous soils represent a large part of desert soils suffering from a shortage of nutrients and organic matter, which affects production and biological diversity in agroecosystems. Organic wastes, which negatively affect the environment, recycle it as a promising technology in different farming systems, and its impact on production and soil fauna is largely unknown. We investigated the effects of integrating poultry manure (P) with vinasse (V) at different rates on the diversity of soil fauna and barley growth (Hordeum aestivm) grown in calcareous soil. The results showed that the addition of P alone or combined with V at different rates had a significant effect on the soil fauna, soil fertility, yield of barley. The study showed a strong correlation between soil organic matter, soil fertility index, microbial biomass carbon, and soil fauna (R2 = 0.82, P < 0.05), (R2 = 0.86, P < 0.05), and (R2 = 0.98, P < 0.05) when treating soil with P alone or combined with V. P2V1 mixtures have the best results in OM with 65.0% compared to control, and V contributes more than 16% of them. Total individuals of soil fauna increased by 106.3%, 243.8%, 118.8% and 43.8% in P1V1, P1V2, P2V1 and P2V2 relative to control, respectively. In pots with P addition alone or combined with V at different rates, Shannon's index and Evenness index were significantly higher than the control treatment at the mature stage of barley growth. The interaction between P and V increased the grain yield of barley plant from 5.76 to 9.52 g pot− 1 in P2V2 and to 10.19 g pot− 1 in P2V1. The results indicate that integration of P and V can be promising organic amendments in improving soil fauna, soil fertility, and crop yield in calcareous soils.
Genome editing using a versatile vector-based CRISPR/Cas9 system in Fusarium species
Authors: Shinkado Sota , Saito Hiroki , Yamazaki Masaya , Kotera Shunsuke , Arazoe Takayuki , Arie Tsutomu , Kamakura Takashi
Published: May 2022

Fusarium species include important filamentous fungal pathogens that can infect plants, animals, and humans. Meanwhile, some nonpathogenic Fusarium species are promising biocontrol agents against plant pathogens. Here, we developed a genome editing technology using a vector-based CRISPR/Cas9 system for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol). This optimized CRISPR/Cas9 system, harboring an endogenous U6 small nuclear RNA promoter for the expression of single-guide RNA and an endogenous H2B nuclear localization signal for the localization of Cas9, enabled efficient targeted gene knock-out, including in the accessory chromosomal regions in Fol. We further demonstrated single crossover-mediated targeted base editing and endogenous gene tagging. This system was also applicable for genome editing in F. oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae and F. commune without any modifications, suggesting that this CRISPR/Cas9 vector has a potential application for a broad range of researches on other Fusarium species.
A comparative study to determine the association of gut microbiome with schizophrenia in Zhejiang, China
Authors: Yan Fuyang , Xia Lehong , Xu Li , Deng Liyun , Jin Guolin
Published: May 2022

Background
With the rapid progress of high-throughput sequencing technology, characterization of schizophrenia (SZ) with underlying probing of the gut microbiome can explore pathogenic mechanisms, estimate disease risk, and allow customization of therapeutic and prophylactic modalities. In this study, we compared the differences in gut microbial diversity and composition between 50 SZ subjects and 50 healthy matched subjects in Zhejiang, China via targeted next-generation sequencing (16S rRNA amplicon).
Results
Accordingly, the alpha diversity indices (observed species index, Shannon index, and Simpson index) of the gut microbiome in the healthy control group were higher than those in the SZ group. Additionally, principal coordinate analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling of beta diversity revealed that patients with SZ clustered more tightly than healthy controls. At the phylum level, we found that the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria in the SZ group was significantly increased. At the genus level, the relative abundances of Prevotella, Parabacteroides, and Sutterella were significantly higher, whereas the abundances of Faecalibacterium, Blautia, Lachnospira, Clostridium, Ruminococcus, and Coprococcus were lower than those in the healthy control group. Further analyses revealed that Succinivibrio, Megasphaera, and Nesterenkonia may serve as potential biomarkers for distinguishing patients with SZ from those in the control cohort.
Conclusions
This study profiled differences in gut microbiome diversity, taxonomic composition, and function between SZ and healthy cohorts, and the insights from this research could be used to develop targeted next-generation sequencing-based diagnoses for SZ.
Evaluation of inhibitory effect of the Abelmoschus esculentus flavonoid extract on digestive enzymes of citrus brown snail
Authors: Teimouri Paria , Mohadjerani Maryam
Published: May 2022

Objective: In this study, we extracted the flavonoid contents of Abelmoschus esculentus L. as the main bioactive components in the okra plant. Then, an ultraviolet colorimetric method and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were applied to measure the total flavonoid content of okra extract. Materials and methods: the inhibitory effect of okra extract on α-amylase and α-glucosidase was evaluated on the digestive enzymes from citrus brown snail (Caucasotachea lencoranea). Results: The results showed high content of rutin, chlorogenic acid, and catechin with remarkable inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Conclusion: Thus, studies related to an identifying the bioactive compounds and correlating them to their biological activities are beneficial for further research to explore the potential of A. esculentus as a source of therapeutic flavonoids.
Fecal microbiota transplantation via capsules relieves ulcerative colitis by improving gut microbiota and serum metabolites
Authors: Xu Hongzhi , Chen Qiongyun , Fan Yanyun , Zhang Bangzhou , Yan Changsheng , Zhang Qiang , Ke Yuhao , Chen Zhangran , Wang Lin , Shi Huaxiu , Hu Yiqun , Huang Qingwen , Su Jingling , Xie Chenxi , Zhang Xu , Zhou Lixiang , Ren Jianlin
Published: May 2022

BACKGROUND & AIMS:
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a therapy that can induce clinical remission in ulcerative colitis. FMT through enema or colonoscopy brings pain to patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficiency of FMT via capsules in UC and determine the specific factors related to the response to clinical remission.
METHODS
We conducted a single-blind trial in Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University, China. 21 patients were randomized to accept FMT, and 4 were assigned to the placebo. Patients in the FMT group received capsules filled with healthy donor fecal material and those in the placebo group received capsules filled with glycerol. We performed 16s ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomics in fecal samples and analyzed serum samples for metabolome features.
RESULTS
FMT via capsules could receive favorable levels of therapeutic success in UC. 3 FMTs in 1 week induced clinical remission in 57.1% (12 of 21) and clinical response in 76.2% (16 of 21). Gut bacterial richness after FMT was increased in the patients who achieved remission. The increased relative abundance of Alistipes sp, O. splanchnicus, and F. prausnitzii was the strongest predictor of clinical remission. Patients in remission after FMT had enrichment of Alistipes sp, O. splanchnicus and had increased levels of indolelactic acid. Patients who did not achieve remission had enrichment of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella and increased levels of 12,13-DiHOME and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis.
CONCLUSIONS
We had demonstrated the efficacy of FMT via capsules in active UC. We found that FMT could promote gut microbiome reconstruction, reduce the invasion of harmful bacteria and the synthesis of LPS, and accelerate the metabolism of indoleacetic acid by increasing the abundance of specific bacteria to alleviate intestinal inflammation. These findings may raise a new way in the design of FMT therapy for UC. ClinicalTrails.gov (NCT03426683).
Compound Fault Diagnosis for Cooling Dehumidifier Based on RBF Neural Network Improved by Kernel Principle Component analysis and Adaptive Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Gao Yunguang , Ma Changlin , Sheng An
Published: May 2022

Developing fault diagnosis for the cooling dehumidifier is very important for improving the equipment reliability and saving energy consumption. This paper mainly studies and explores the compound fault diagnosis for the cooling dehumidifier. Firstly, the dehumidifier data acquisition system is built, which can be applied to the data acquisition, work status simulation, and fault diagnosis. Secondly, a compound fault diagnosis model based on radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) improved by kernel principle component analysis (KPCA) and adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) is proposed. Aiming at the problems that the selection of RBF width depends on expert knowledge, the network structure scale is large or the training speed is slow in the conventional RBFNN models, on the one hand, AGA and K-means clustering algorithm are employed to automatically optimize the RBF width, the number of hidden layer neurons and the neuron centers, which guarantees the model has small structure and fast computing speed on the premise of sufficient output precision; on the other hand, KPCA is used to reduce the dimension of the model input data, which not only effectively extracts the nonlinear features, but also further simplifies the network structure. Finally, the proposed method is validated and compared with the conventional models. The results show that this proposed model can not only be effectively applied to the dehumidifier compound fault diagnosis, but also has prominent application advantages.
Establishment and Verification of a Predictive Model for Preeclampsia Based on Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Zhang Hongya , Li Xuexiang , Zhang Tianying , Zhang Cong
Published: May 2022

Preeclampsia (PE) has an increasing incidence worldwide, and there is no gold standard for prediction. Recent progress has shown that abnormal decidualization and impaired vascular remodeling are the keys to the pathogenesis of PE. Therefore, it is of great significance to analyze the decidua basalis and blood changes of PE to explore new methods. Here, we performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) based on 9553 differentially expressed genes of decidua basalis data from Gene Expression Omnibus to generate and screen relevant module-eigengenes (MEs). Among them, MEblue and the MEgrey were the most correlated with PE characteristics, which contained 371 core genes. Subsequently, we applied the logistic least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, screened 43 genes most relevant to prediction from the intersections of the 371 genes and blood sample genes (training set), and built a predictive model. The specificity and sensitivity of the model were illustrated by receiver operating characteristic curves, and the stability was verified by the other two sets of samples (validation sets). The results demonstrated that our predictive model showed good predictions, with an area under the curve of 0.991 [94.4%, 100.0%] for the training set, 0.874[80.9%,78.7%] and 0.986 [97.9%,91.7%] for the validation sets. Finally, we found the 43 key marker genes in the model were closely associated with the clinically accepted predictive molecules, including FLT1, PIGF, ENG and VEGF, although their AUCs were not very high. Therefore, this predictive model provides a new potential approach for the diagnosis and treatment of PE.