bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Toxoplasma gondii Infection Causes an Atypical Abundance of Oxytocin and Its Receptor in the Female Rat Brain
Authors: Abdulai-Saiku Samira , Vyas Ajai
Published: November 2021

Infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii causes loss of innate fear of cat odors in both male and female rats. This behavioral change is presumed to reflect a parasitic manipulation that increases transmission of the parasite from its intermediate to definitive host. The host behavioral change in male rats is dependent on gonadal steroids. In contrast, the loss of fear in female rats is not accompanied by greater gonadal steroids and cannot be rescued by gonadectomy. This disparity suggests that proximate mechanisms of the post infection host behavioral change in rats are sexually dimorphic. Here, we report that female rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii exhibit greater abundance of messenger RNA for oxytocin and oxytocin receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and posterodorsal medial amygdala, respectively. Brain oxytocin is critical for sex-typical social and sexual behaviors in female rodents. The change in oxytocin and its receptor could potentially alter activity in the social salience circuits, leading to a reduction in defensive behaviors and an increase in approach to ambivalent environmental cues. Our results argue that sexually dimorphic neural substrates underpin sexually monomorphic host behavioral change in this host–parasite association.
Image Contrast Improvement in Interference-Dark-Field Digital Holographic Microscopy
Authors: Chang Chi-Ching , Chew Yang-Kun , Chan Huang-Tian , Chou Mei-Fang , Wang Je-Chung
Published: November 2021

Conventional dark-field digital holographic microscopy (DHM) techniques require the use of specialized optics, and, thus, obtaining dark-field images with high contrast has a high cost. Herein, we propose a DHM system that uses an interference-dark-field technique for improving image contrast. Unlike conventional dark-field DHM, the proposed technique does not require expensive and specialized optical elements, or a complicated optical setup, to obtain dark-field images. The proposed technique employs a pure optical basis method to suppress scattering noise—namely, interference-dark-field—and mainly adopts an arbitrary micro-phase shifting method to achieve destructive interference for obtaining holograms. Under the framework of the proposed technique and through the observation of the USAF 1951 resolution target, the reconstructed image can retain the high contrast of the interference-dark-field DHM. The image contrast is enhanced by at least 43% compared to that which is obtained by conventional dark-field DHM. The resolution of the system can be as high as 0.87 μm. The proposed technique can switch between bright-field and dark-field DHM and prevents damage to the sample, which results from high-intensity illumination in conventional techniques.
Coco Peat as Agricultural Waste Sorbent for Sustainable Diesel-Filter System
Authors: Verasoundarapandian Gayathiri , Zakaria Nur Nadhirah , Shaharuddin Noor Azmi , Khalil Khalilah Abdul , Puasa Nurul Aini , Azmi Alyza Azzura , Gomez-Fuentes Claudio , Zulkharnain Azham , Wong Chiew Yen , Rahman Muhammad Fahdli , Ahmad Siti Aqlima
Published: November 2021

Oil spill incidents are hazardous and have prolonged damage to the marine environment. Management and spill clean-up procedures are practical and rapid, with several shortcomings. Coco peat (CP) and coco fibre (CF) are refined from coconut waste, and their abundance makes them desirable for diesel spillage treatment. Using a filter-based system, the selectivity of coco peat sorbent was tested using CP, CF and peat-fibre mix (CPM). CP exhibited maximal diesel sorption capacity with minimal seawater uptake, thus being selected for further optimisation analysis. The heat treatment considerably improved the sorption capacity and efficiency of diesel absorbed by CP, as supported by FTIR and VPSEM–EDX analysis. Conventional one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) examined the performance of diesel sorption by CP under varying parameters, namely temperature, time of heating, packing density and diesel concentration. The significant factors were statistically evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM) via Plackett–Burman design (PB) and central composite design (CCD). Three significant (p < 0.05) factors (time, packing density and diesel concentration) were identified by PB and further analysed for interactions among the parameters. CCD predicted efficiency of diesel absorbed at 59.92% (71.90 mL) (initial diesel concentration of 30% v/v) and the experimental model validated the design with 59.17% (71.00 mL) diesel sorbed at the optimised conditions of 14.1 min of heating (200 °C) with packing density of 0.08 g/cm3 and 30% (v/v) of diesel concentration. The performance of CP in RSM (59.17%) was better than that in OFAT (58.33%). The discoveries imply that natural sorbent materials such as CP in oil spill clean-up operations can be advantageous and environmentally feasible. This study also demonstrated the diesel-filter system as a pilot study for the prospective up-scale application of oil spills.
Chemical and Biological Characterization of the Anticancer Potency of Salvia fruticosa in a Model of Human Malignant Melanoma
Authors: Kyriakou Sotiris , Tragkola Venetia , Plioukas Michael , Anestopoulos Ioannis , Chatzopoulou Paschalina S. , Sarrou Eirini , Trafalis Dimitrios T. , Deligiorgi Maria V. , Franco Rodrigo , Pappa Aglaia , Panayiotidis Mihalis I.
Published: November 2021

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of skin cancer with an increasing incidence worldwide. Thus, the development of innovative therapeutic approaches is of great importance. Salvia fruticosa (SF) is known for its anticancer properties and in this context, we aimed to investigate its potential anti-melanoma activity in an in vitro model of human malignant melanoma. Cytotoxicity was assessed through a colorimetric-based sulforhodamine-B (SRB) assay in primary malignant melanoma (A375), non-malignant melanoma epidermoid carcinoma (A431) and non-tumorigenic melanocyte neighbouring keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. Among eight (8) different fractions of S. fruticosa extracts (SF1-SF8) tested, SF3 was found to possess significant cytotoxic activity against A375 cells, while A431 and HaCaT cells remained relatively resistant or exerted no cytotoxicity, respectively. In addition, the total phenolic (Folin–Ciocalteu assay) and total flavonoid content of SF extracts was estimated, whereas the antioxidant capacity was measured via the inhibition of tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation levels. Finally, apoptotic cell death was assessed by utilizing a commercially available kit for the activation of caspases - 3, - 8 and - 9. In conclusion, the anti-melanoma properties of SF3 involve the induction of both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathway(s), as evidenced by the increased activity levels of caspases - 8, and - 9, respectively.
SNP- and Haplotype-Based GWAS of Flowering-Related Traits in Brassica napus
Authors: Helal MMU , Gill Rafaqat Ali , Tang Minqiang , Yang Li , Hu Ming , Yang Lingli , Xie Meili , Zhao Chuanji , Cheng Xiaohui , Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhang Xiong , Liu Shengyi
Published: November 2021

Traits related to flowering time are the most promising agronomic traits that directly impact the seed yield and oil quality of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Developing early flowering and maturity rapeseed varieties is an important breeding objective in B. napus. Many studies have reported on days to flowering, but few have reported on budding, bolting, and the interval between bolting and DTF. Therefore, elucidating the genetic architecture of QTLs and genes regulating flowering time, we presented an integrated investigation on SNP and haplotype-based genome-wide association study of 373 diverse B. napus germplasm, which were genotyped by the 60K SNP array and were phenotyped in the four environments. The results showed that a total of 15 and 37 QTLs were detected from SNP and haplotype-based GWAS, respectively. Among them, seven QTL clusters were identified by haplotype-based GWAS. Moreover, three and eight environmentally stable QTLs were detected by SNP-GWAS and haplotype-based GWAS, respectively. By integrating the above two approaches and by co-localizing the four traits, ten (10) genomic regions were under selection on chromosomes A03, A07, A08, A10, C06, C07, and C08. Interestingly, the genomic regions FT.A07.1, FT.A08, FT.C06, and FT.C07 were identified as novel. In these ten regions, a total of 197 genes controlling FT were detected, of which 14 highly expressed DEGs were orthologous to 13 Arabidopsis thaliana genes after integration with transcriptome results. In a nutshell, the above results uncovered the genetic architecture of important agronomic traits related to flowering time and provided a basis for multiple molecular marker-trait associations in B. napus.
Seaweed Extract-Stimulated Priming in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum
Authors: Islam Md Tohidul , Arioli Tony , Cahill David M.
Published: November 2021

Plant priming is an induced physiological state where plants are protected from biotic and abiotic stresses. Whether seaweed extracts promote priming is largely unknown as is the mechanism by which priming may occur. In this study, we examined the effect of a seaweed extract (SWE) on two distinct stages of plant priming (priming phase and post-challenge primed state) by characterising (i) plant gene expression responses using qRT-PCR and (ii) signal transduction responses by evaluating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The SWE is made from the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum and Durvillaea potatorum. The priming phase was examined using both Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum. At this stage, the SWE up-regulated key priming-related genes, such as those related to systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and activated the production of ROS. These responses were found to be temporal (lasting 3 days). The post-challenge primed state was examined using A. thaliana challenged with a root pathogen. Similarly, defence response-related genes, such as PR1 and NPR1, were up-regulated and ROS production was activated (lasting 5 days). This study found that SWE induces plant priming-like responses by (i) up-regulating genes associated with plant defence responses and (ii) increasing production of ROS associated with signalling responses.
Chemotypes and Their Stability in Mentha longifolia (L.) L.—A Comprehensive Study of Five Accessions
Authors: Patonay Katalin , Szalontai Helga , Radácsi Péter , Zámboriné-Németh Éva
Published: November 2021

Mentha longifolia (L.) L. is the most widespread wild-growing mint species found, and its chemical composition is extremely diverse. We studied the essential oil (EO) yield, composition, and chemotaxonomy of five, northern Hungarian accessions of the species in a cultivation experiment covering two vegetation years at two parallel sites. The long-term goal is to establish the cultivation of this stress-tolerant species in Hungary as a source of flavoring and preservative agents for commercial use. Essential oil yield (1–2 mL/100 g) was observed to be dependent on both the accession and the year. Accession HV1 is assumed to be a new, presumably rare chemotype containing carvacrol (19.28–20.56%), 1,8-cineole (14.87–17.45%), thymol (13.36–13.90%), carvacryl acetate (8.81–10.40%), and para-cymene (7.24–8.01%). Only minor fluctuations occurred in concentrations of these constituents due to habitats and years. A radical change in essential oil composition was observed in accession HV2, as one batch was based on thymol (19.79%) and 1,8-cineole (14.93%), while the others were rich in dihydrocarvone isomers (up to 69%). Although this needs further investigation, it does explain the coexistence of limonene-oxo and γ-terpinene pathways in horsemint. According to the literature, the pathway leading to thymol isomers and/or esters may be rare in the entire Mentha genus. We also demonstrated that known chemotypes of horsemint may differ in variability of their EO composition. Our results also led to the conclusion that any declaration on chemotype needs detailed examination and is not realistic on the basis of a single sample. Assumptions were made about the potential areas of utilization: beside fragrance and flavoring uses of essential oils free from pulegone and menthofurane, thymol-based ones may be used as antioxidative and anti-spoilage agents.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.) Seed Yield and Efficiency in Soils Deficient of Nitrogen in the Bolivian Altiplano: An Analytical Review
Authors: Cárdenas-Castillo Jesús E. , Delatorre-Herrera José , Bascuñán-Godoy Luisa , Rodriguez Juan Pablo
Published: November 2021

Quinoa is a strategic crop due to its high N content and its adaptability to adverse conditions, where most of the soils are deficient of nitrogen (N). The central question in this review was the following: How can quinoa yield low levels of nitrogen in the soils of Altiplano? This question was unraveled based on different factors: (1) fertilization effect on productivity, (2) fertilization limits, (3) uptake and assimilation of nitrogen parameters, (4) monoculture practice effect, and (5) possible sources and strategies. One hundred eleven articles of different scientific platforms were revised and data were collected. Information from articles was used to calculate the partial factor productivity for nitrogen (PFPN), the apparent use efficiency of N (APUEN), available nitrogen (AN), and nitrogen content harvested in grains (HarvN). Quinoa responds positively to fertilization, but differences in yield were found among irrigated and rainfed conditions. Quinoa can produce 1850 kg grains ha−1 with 50 kg N ha−1 under irrigated conditions, and 670 kg grains ha−1 with 15 kg N ha−1 in rainfed conditions. Quinoa increases seed yield and HarvN increases N fertilization, but decreases nitrogen efficiency. In Altiplano, without nitrogen fertilizer, the quinoa yield relies on between 500 and 1000 kg ha−1, which shows that in the soil, there are other nitrogen sources.
Massive Ulva Green Tides Caused by Inhibition of Biomass Allocation to Sporulation
Authors: Hiraoka Masanori
Published: November 2021

The green seaweed Ulva spp. constitute major primary producers in marine coastal ecosystems. Some Ulva populations have declined in response to ocean warming, whereas others cause massive blooms as a floating form of large thalli mostly composed of uniform somatic cells even under high temperature conditions—a phenomenon called “green tide”. Such differences in population responses can be attributed to the fate of cells between alternative courses, somatic cell division (vegetative growth), and sporic cell division (spore production). In the present review, I attempt to link natural population dynamics to the findings of physiological in vitro research. Consequently, it is elucidated that the inhibition of biomass allocation to sporulation is an important key property for Ulva to cause a huge green tide.
Nutritional Characteristics Assessment of Sunflower Seeds, Oil and Cake. Perspective of Using Sunflower Oilcakes as a Functional Ingredient
Authors: Petraru Ancuţa , Ursachi Florin , Amariei Sonia
Published: November 2021

Ample amounts of by-products are generated from the oil industry. Among them, sunflower oilcakes have the potential to be used for human consumption, thus achieving the concept of sustainability and circular economy. The study assessed the nutritional composition of sunflower seeds, cold-pressed oil and the remaining press-cakes with the aim of its valorization as a food ingredient. Sunflower oil contains principally oleic (19.81%) and linoleic (64.35%) acids, which cannot be synthetized by humans and need to be assimilated through a diet. Sunflower seeds are very nutritive (33.85% proteins and 65.42% lipids and 18 mineral elements). Due to the rich content of lipids, they are principally used as a source of vegetable oil. Compared to seeds, sunflower oilcakes are richer in fibers (31.88% and 12.64% for samples in form of pellets and cake, respectively) and proteins (20.15% and 21.60%), with a balanced amino acids profile. The remaining oil (15.77% and 14.16%) is abundant in unsaturated fatty acids (95.59% and 92.12%). The comparison between the three products showed the presence of valuable components that makes them suitable for healthy diets with an adequate intake of nutrients and other bioactive compounds with benefic effects.
Investigation of the Process of Simple Distillation in Irrigated Pipe Elements
Authors: Ponikarov Artem Sergeevich , Ponikarov Sergey Ivanovich , Osipov Eduard Vladislavovich
Published: November 2021

In modern chemical and oil refining complexes, separation processes are among the most popular and energy-intensive. Installations for their implementation should be equipped with nodes for creating vapor (evaporators) and liquid (deflegmators) irrigation. Evaporators of any type (film, thermosiphon, gas lift, cubic) belong to this class of devices. For example, in cubic evaporators, the gas flow is completely formed from flux bubbles that originate on the heat-conducting surface and float in the volume of the cubic liquid located in the apparatus. Due to the accompanying mass exchange, the bubbles are enriched with volatile components during ascent and noticeably increase in volume, and the growth of the bubble is determined, among other things, by the total flow. At the same time, in real bubbling-type equipment, the total mass transfer surface exceeds the cross-section of the device itself by more than two orders of magnitude. Thus, according to, the ratio of the internal cross-sectional area of the apparatus to the developed mass transfer surface is 0.0015–0.002. Based on the analysis of the integral equation of the diffusion boundary layer, it is shown that the presence of a resultant flow of substance through the phase interface (non-equimolarity of the process) in a two-phase gas (vapor)–liquid system leads to the transformation of the structure of the traditional mass transfer equation itself. The use of a new structure obtained for both binary and multicomponent mixtures makes it possible to significantly simplify the approach to the description and generalization of arbitrary mass transfer processes. The innovativeness of the proposed approach lies in its universality for non-equimolar processes. This simplifies the creation of models of any mass transfer devices and entire production lines. In addition, the proposed approach is a good auxiliary tool for various researchers and experimenters. It should also be noted that the separation processes of many products of organic origin during heating are characterized by the appearance of undesirable side reactions (thermal decomposition, condensation, polycondensation, formation of harmful impurities, etc.), which occur most intensively in the heating zones. At the same time, the evaporation and distillation units are subject to requirements for the minimum hydraulic resistance of the structure, the maximum separation capacity (efficiency), and the minimum residence time of the product in the apparatus (equivalent to the minimum holding capacity of the structure). It was noted that the specified requirements are most fully met by film-type devices.
Identification of Unknown Abnormal Conditions in Catalytic Cracking Process Based on Two-Step Clustering Analysis and Signed Directed Graph
Authors: Hong Juan , Qu Jian , Tian Wende , Cui Zhe , Liu Zijian , Lin Yang , Li Chuankun
Published: November 2021

There are many unknown abnormal working conditions in industrial production. It is difficult to identify unknown abnormal working conditions because there are few relative sample and experience in this field. To solve this problem, a new identification method combining two-step clustering analysis and signed directed graph (TSCA-SDG) is proposed. Firstly, through correlation analysis and R-type clustering analysis, the variables are effectively selected and extracted. Then, a two-step clustering analysis was carried out on the selected variables to obtain the cluster results. Through the establishment of the signed directed graph (SDG) model, the causes of abnormal working conditions and their mutual influence are deduced from the mechanism. The application of the TSCA-SDG method in the catalytic cracking process shows that this method has good performance for abnormal condition identification.
Vaporization, Diffusion and Combustion of Laser-Induced Individual Magnesium Microparticles in Inert and Oxidizing Atmospheres
Authors: Yang Fan , Li Shengji , Lin Xunjie , Zhang Jiankan , Li Heping , Huang Xuefeng , Xu Jiangrong
Published: November 2021

Although the gas phase combustion of metallic magnesium (Mg) has been extensively studied, the vaporization and diffusive combustion behaviors of Mg have not been well characterized. This paper proposes an investigation of the vaporization, diffusion, and combustion characteristics of individual Mg microparticles in inert and oxidizing gases by a self-built experimental setup based on laser-induced heating and microscopic high-speed cinematography. Characteristic parameters like vaporization and diffusion coefficients, diffusion ratios, flame propagation rates, etc., were obtained at high spatiotemporal resolutions (μm and tens of μs), and their differences in inert gases (argon, nitrogen) and in oxidizing gases (air, pure oxygen) were comparatively analyzed. More importantly, for the core–shell structure, during vaporization, a shock wave effect on the cracking of the porous magnesium oxide thin film shell-covered Mg core was first experimentally revealed in inert gases. In air, the combustion flame stood over the Mg microparticles, and the heterogeneous combustion reaction was controlled by the diffusion rate of oxygen in air. While in pure O2, the vapor-phase stand-off flame surrounded the Mg microparticles, and the reaction was dominated by the diffusion rate of Mg vapor. The diffusion coefficients of the Mg vapor in oxidizing gases are 1~2 orders of magnitude higher than those in inert gases. However, the diffusive ratios of condensed combustion residues in oxidizing gases are ~1/2 of those in inert gases. The morphology and the constituent contents analysis showed that argon would not dissolve into liquid Mg, while nitrogen would significantly dissolve into liquid Mg. In oxidizing gases of air or pure O2, Mg microparticles in normal pressure completely burned due to laser-induced heating.
‘Purest Bones, Sweet Remains, and Most Sacred Relics.’ Re-Fashioning St. Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (1458–84) as a Medieval Saint between Counter-Reformation Italy and Poland-Lithuania
Authors: Noyes Ruth Sargent
Published: November 2021

This article explores the Counter-Reformation medievalization of Polish–Lithuanian St. Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (1458–1484)—whose canonization was only finalized in the seventeenth century—as a case study, taking up questions of the reception of cults of medieval saints in post-medieval societies, or in this case, the retroactive refashioning into a venerable medieval saint. The article investigates these questions across a transcultural Italo–Baltic context through the activities of principal agents of the saint’s re-fashioning as a venerable saint during the late seventeenth century: the Pacowie from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Medici from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, during a watershed period of Tuscan–Lithuanian bidirectional interest. During this period, the two dynasties were entangled not only by means of the shared division of Jagiellończyk’s bodily remains through translatio—the ritual relocation of relics of saints and holy persons—but also self-representational strategies that furthered their religio-political agendas and retroactively constructed their houses’ venerable medieval roots back through antiquity. Drawing on distinct genres of textual, visual, and material sources, the article analyzes the Tuscan–Lithuanian refashioning of Kazimierz against a series of precious reliquaries made to translate holy remains between Vilnius to Florence to offer a contribution to the entangled histories of sanctity, art and material culture, and conceptual geography within the transtemporal and transcultural neocolonial context interconnecting the Middle Ages, Age of Reformations, and the Counter-Reformation between Italy and Baltic Europe.
Attention-Guided Siamese Fusion Network for Change Detection of Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Chen Puhua , Guo Lei , Zhang Xiangrong , Qin Kai , Ma Wentao , Jiao Licheng
Published: November 2021

Change detection for remote sensing images is an indispensable procedure for many remote sensing applications, such as geological disaster assessment, environmental monitoring, and urban development monitoring. Through this technique, the difference in certain areas after some emergencies can be determined to estimate their influence. Additionally, by analyzing the sequential difference maps, the change tendency can be found to help to predict future changes, such as urban development and environmental pollution. The complex variety of changes and interferential changes caused by imaging processing, such as season, weather and sensors, are critical factors that affect the effectiveness of change detection methods. Recently, there have been many research achievements surrounding this topic, but a perfect solution to all the problems in change detection has not yet been achieved. In this paper, we mainly focus on reducing the influence of imaging processing through the deep neural network technique with limited labeled samples. The attention-guided Siamese fusion network is constructed based on one basic Siamese network for change detection. In contrast to common processing, besides high-level feature fusion, feature fusion is operated during the whole feature extraction process by using an attention information fusion module. This module can not only realize the information fusion of two feature extraction network branches, but also guide the feature learning network to focus on feature channels with high importance. Finally, extensive experiments were performed on three public datasets, which could verify the significance of information fusion and the guidance of the attention mechanism during feature learning in comparison with related methods.
The Cooling Effect of Urban Green Spaces in Metacities: A Case Study of Beijing, China’s Capital
Authors: Yan Liang , Jia Wenxiao , Zhao Shuqing
Published: November 2021

Urban green spaces have many vital ecosystem services such as air cleaning, noise reduction, and carbon sequestration. Amid these great benefits from urban green spaces, the cooling effects via shading and evapotranspiration can mitigate the urban heat island effect. The impact of urban green spaces (UGSs) on the urban thermal environment in Beijing was quantified as a case study of metacities using four metrics: Land surface temperature (LST), cooling intensity, cooling extent, and cooling lapse. Three hundred and sixteen urban green spaces were extracted within the 4th ring road of Beijing from SPOT 6 satellite imagery and retrieved LST from Landsat 8 remote sensing data. The results showed that the cooling intensity of green spaces was generally more prominent in the areas with denser human activities and higher LST in this metacity. Vegetation density is always the dominant driver for the cooling effect indicated by all of the metrics. Furthermore, the results showed that those dispersive green spaces smaller than 9 ha, which are closely linked to the health and well-being of citizens, can possess about 6 °C of cooling effect variability, suggesting a great potential of managing the layout of small UGSs. In addition, the water nearby could be introduced to couple with the green and blue space for the promotion of cooling and enhancement of thermal comfort for tourists and residents. As the severe urban heating threatens human health and well-being in metacities, our findings may provide solutions for the mitigation of both the urban heat island and global climate warming of the UGS area customized cooling service.
A Sentinel-1 Backscatter Datacube for Global Land Monitoring Applications
Authors: Wagner Wolfgang , Bauer-Marschallinger Bernhard , Navacchi Claudio , Reuß Felix , Cao Senmao , Reimer Christoph , Schramm Matthias , Briese Christian
Published: November 2021

The Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites allow global monitoring of the Earth’s land surface with unprecedented spatio-temporal coverage. Yet, implementing large-scale monitoring capabilities is a challenging task given the large volume of data from Sentinel-1 and the complex algorithms needed to convert the SAR intensity data into higher-level geophysical data products. While on-demand processing solutions have been proposed to cope with the petabyte-scale data volumes, in practice many applications require preprocessed datacubes that permit fast access to multi-year time series and image stacks. To serve near-real-time as well as offline land monitoring applications, we have created a Sentinel-1 backscatter datacube for all continents (except Antarctica) that is constantly being updated and maintained to ensure consistency and completeness of the data record over time. In this technical note, we present the technical specifications of the datacube, means of access and analysis capabilities, and its use in scientific and operational applications.
A Full-Polarization Radar Image Reconstruction Method with Orthogonal Coding Apertures
Authors: Zhao Tiehua , Wu Qihua , Zhao Feng , Xu Zhiming , Xiao Shunping
Published: November 2021

Imaging radar is widely applied in both military and civil fields, including remote sensing. In recent years, polarization information has attracted more and more attention in the imaging radar. The orthogonality between different channels is always the core problem for the full-polarization imaging radar. To solve this problem, an image reconstruction method using orthogonal coding apertures technique is proposed for full-polarization imaging radar in this paper. Firstly, the signal model of the orthogonal coding apertures is proposed. This model realizes the ideal time-domain orthogonality between switching two channels by the apertures with two trains of orthogonal codes. Then, a multichannel joint reconstruction method based on compressed sensing is proposed for the imaging processing, which is named the coded aperture simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit (CAS-OMP) algorithm. The proposed algorithm combines the information of all polarization channels so as to ensure the consistency of the scattering point position obtained by each polarization channel and also improves the reconstruction accuracy. Finally, the simulation experiments using both the simple scaled model of the satellite and measured data of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are conducted, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified.
Determination of Thermostability Degree of Lycopene in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)
Authors: Tremlova Bohuslava , Mikulaskova Hana , Pencak Tomas , Tesikova Karolina , Dordevic Simona , Dordevic Dani
Published: November 2021

The aim of the work was to determine the degree of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) thermostability according to the content of the present bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties. The watermelon samples were exposed to the following temperatures/time regimes: 40, 70, and 100 °C; 2, 5, and 15 min. The sample characteristics were monitored by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed between the heat-treated samples compared to the heat-untreated control sample; differences were found almost between all samples. The total polyphenol content increased in all heat-treated samples. The highest total polyphenol content was observed among samples treated at 40 °C for 15 min (1.38 ± 0.01 mg/g). Lycopene content (measured by spectrophotometer) also increased in the same samples exposed to 40 °C for 5 min (65.45 ± 0.20 mg/kg), though higher temperatures (70 and 100 °C) resulted in lycopene degradation. Chromatographic method (measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography) showed lycopene degradation after each heating treatment. Not unambiguously, results and observations were not found in antioxidant activity due to oscillations in measured bioactive compounds. The obtained results emphasize processes in heat-treated watermelon, and they can be useful in the production of different products where this food commodity can be included.
Development of a New LC-MS/MS Screening Method for Detection of 120 NPS and 43 Drugs in Blood
Authors: Vaiano Fabio , Bertol Elisabetta , Mineo Maria , Pietrosemoli Laura , Rubicondo Jolanda , Supuran Claudiu T. , Carta Fabrizio
Published: November 2021

In the last few years, liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has been increasingly used for screening purposes in forensic toxicology. These techniques have the advantages of low time/resource-consuming and high versatility and have been applied in numerous new multi-analytes methods. The new psychoactive substance (NPS) phenomenon provided a great impulse to this wide-range approach, but it is also important to keep the attention on “classical” psychoactive substances, such as benzodiazepines (BDZ). In this paper, a fully validated screening method in blood for the simultaneous detection of 163 substances (120 NPS and 43 other drugs) by a dynamic multiple reaction monitoring analysis through LC-MS/MS is described. The method consists of a deproteinization of 200 µL of blood with acetonitrile. The LC separation is achieved with a 100 mm long C18 column in 35 min. The method was very sensitive, with limits of quantification from 0.02 to 1.5 ng/mL. Matrix effects did not negatively affect the analytical sensitivity. This method proved to be reliable and was successfully applied to our routinary analytical activity in several forensic caseworks, allowing the identification and quantification of many BDZs and 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).
Coreografías pastoriles
Authors: Fontes Cristina
Published: November 2021

El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar las relaciones que los pobladores de áreas rurales de la Quebrada de Humahuaca establecen con los animales (ya sean domésticos o no), a partir de las movilidades inherentes a la práctica del pastoreo. El foco del análisis está puesto en la articulación de los movimientos entre ambos, ya sea cuando el pastor camina junto con sus ovejas o en los modos corporales que tiene de relacionarse con el puma, uno los de depredadores habituales de la zona. Desde una perspectiva fenomenológica basada en el concepto de intercorporalidad, se puede concluir que los movimientos y los gestos corporales de los pastores y de los animales pueden ser considerados como un modo de comunicación interespecífica, mediante la cual las intenciones y los estados de ánimo de unos se vuelven legibles para los otros dentro de un mismo contexto físico y experiencial.
Los Negros, la primera comparsa de blancos personificando negros del carnaval porteño (1865-1870)
Authors: Adamovsky Ezequiel
Published: November 2021

El carnaval porteño del último tercio del siglo XIX fue una arena para la negociación de las diferencias étnico-raciales en la que era una de las urbes más multiétnicas y de población cambiante del planeta. Durante el carnaval se realizaban diversas performances de apropiación cultural, una de las más notables de las cuales fue la de los blancos que se disfrazaban de negros. Este trabajo apunta a emprender una indagación sobre el fenómeno de las comparsas de falsos negros, comenzando por la primera y más conocida, Los Negros. Sobre la base de un trabajo exhaustivo de fuentes primarias, revisaré sus rasgos principales y sus conexiones posibles con la cultura transnacional y avanzaré en un análisis de las performances que pusieron en juego en los carnavales.
Synthesis of Polypeptides with High-Fidelity Terminal Functionalities under NCA Monomer-Starved Conditions
Authors: Li Lei , Cen Jie , Pan Wenhao , Zhang Yuben , Leng Xuanxi , Tan Zhengqi , Yin Hao , Liu Shiyong
Published: November 2021

Controlled polypeptide synthesis via
α
-amino acid
N
-carboxylic anhydride (NCA) polymerization using conventional primary amine initiators encounters two major obstacles: (i) normal amine mechanism (NAM) and activated monomer mechanism (AMM) coexist due to amine basicity and nucleophilicity and (ii) NCA is notoriously sensitive towards moisture and heat and unstable upon storage. We serendipitously discover that
N
-phenoxycarbonyl-functionalized
α
-amino acid (NPCA), a latent NCA precursor, could be polymerized solely based on NAM with high initiating efficiency by using primary amine hydrochloride as an initiator. The polymerization affords well-defined polypeptides with narrow polydispersity and high-fidelity terminal functionalities, as revealed by the clean set of MALDI-TOF MS patterns. We further demonstrate successful syntheses of random and block copolypeptides, even under open-vessel conditions. Overall, the integration of moisture-insensitive and air-tolerant NPCA precursors with stable primary amine hydrochloride initiators represents a general strategy for controlled synthesis of high-fidelity polypeptides with sophisticated functions.
Tolkappiyam’s courtship and exogamy
Authors: D Thirupathi , P Velmurugan
Published: November 2021

The human race has gone through various transformations. It also presented impediments to sexual activity. People lived in groups and had their sexual relations inside them throughout the prehistoric period. Simultaneously, there was promiscuous intercourse. The clan was then created as a result of many external developments in society that resulted in the restriction of promiscuous relations. Because the father's identity is unknown, the descent was calculated using the mother's line. Endogamy was forbidden in clans, while exogamy was tolerated. Exogamy was unavoidable over time, and it is also the reason for the Clan's existence. Exogamy was practiced in many countries without protest, whereas endogamy was permitted in India but exogamy was condemned. It's important to figure out why this disagreement exists. First and foremost, we must investigate the following question: ‘In India, which sexual form, endogamy or exogamy, was allowed among the clan?' We can investigate it with the aid of ancient literature. Tolkappiyam, one of the earliest literary masterpieces of the Tamil race in current Indian civilization, is preserved in this fashion. In Tolkappiyam, there were two sexual forms: 'kalavu' and 'karpu.' This paper investigates the concept that the 'kalavu' referenced in Tolkappiyam may represent exogamy from the Marxist perspective through ‘Tolkappiya Poruladhigaram.
Heidegger and the History of Words: Formative Aspect of the Destruction of Tradition
Authors: Doro Marcelo José , Dalbosco Cláudio Almir , Rodrigues Raísla Girardi
Published: November 2021

This article presents the results of a hermeneutical investigation on the constant etymological incursions performed by Heidegger throughout his works. We will try to show, first, how the recovery of the history of words promoted by the philosopher is associated with a way of understanding and doing philosophy, which he called destruction (Destruktion) of tradition; then we will explore the pedagogical-educational character that underlies this way of dealing with history and, more specifically, with language. We will argue in favor of the idea that by means of this way of proceeding, in this peculiar way for which Heidegger does philosophy, the loosening of dogmatic structures of interpretation of self and of the world is opportunistic and opens up for new possibilities of articulation of meaning (that is, projection of self and of the world as a whole). In the educational context, this destructive posture would have the important role of breaking both with dogmatic attitudes arising from immediate daily life and with metaphysical ideals linked to theoretical positions, both of which are opposed to the plurality of ways of being in today's society.
Critical Factors for the Development of Women Entrepreneurship in Retail Business of Bangladesh
Authors: Islam Dr. Nazrul , Ahmed Mustafi Mohitul Ameen , Aziz Abid , Bapi Amitava Bose , Afrin Dr. Sharmina , Uddin Talukdar Md. Monowar
Published: November 2021

Development of women entrepreneurship in the SME sector has a crucial importance in a developing country like Bangladesh where women constitute half of the total population. The majority of them are underprivileged, under nourished, illiterate and poor. Hence, the development of women entrepreneurship has tremendous potentials for transforming the society through socioeconomic empowerment of the women. This potential is remained untapped in Bangladesh because of lower number of women entrepreneurs in business and economic activities. According to the Bangladesh Economic Review 2009, around six percent of the country’s $90 billion economy comes from SMEs, which is also the largest sector in terms of employment generation. But the women entrepreneurs are less than ten percent of the total entrepreneurs of the country. However, in the recent years, women entrepreneurship in small retail businesses of the country has been increasing which is a good sign for the positive growth of the economy.
Gamification Model Framework and its Use in E-Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Toimah Tatu Fidiatu , Maulana Yusril Ihza , Fajar Irfan
Published: November 2021

The manuscript that we examined contains the introduction of gamification into e-learning lecture activities in universities. A literature study will explain conceptual differences between the techniques and methods of mechanics and game dynamics used by students. Gamification will be combined into e-learning at a university, and this has various benefits in the learning process, such as higher motivation, more fun learning, and active learning. This Paper shows the importance of gamification in learning, including in higher education. The manuscript that we created presents a different perspective on the concept of gamification in the University. The innovation in this paper describes incorporating characteristics of gamification and e-learning that can demonstrate the practical use of gamification in e-learning. The method used is a literature study. Further research expected that this framework can be applied in various universities.
Literasi Keuangan pada UMKM (Studi Pemetaan Sistematis dan Analisis Co-Authorship pada Basis Data Scopus)
Authors: Maulana Yogi Sugiarto , Maulina Erna , Kostini Nenden , Herawati Tetty
Published: November 2021

Financial literacy has been widely discussed in various countries with a wide range of subject areas, focuses, and loci. The purpose of this paper is to map the trends of scientific publications and map the network of authors on financial literacy, especially in the MSME sector. We have developed bibliometric analysis through VOSviewer software, supplemented by literature reviews. A total of 126 articles were obtained from Scopus related to the topics "financial literacy" and "micro small medium enterprise". We present trends in financial literacy research, author productivity, and journals, as well as detailing the network of co-authorships who have researched and published in the scientific domain. The results of the study are known that 1) The application of financial literacy in MSMEs only appeared in 2010 and experienced a significant upward trend. 2) Penulis most productive comes from china, where there are 2 authors each produce 3 articles. 3) Co-authorship has not been established between writers in each country and between countries. 4) Indonesia contributes financial literacy publications in MSMEs the most compared to other countries, with the number of publications as many as 34 articles. Lastly, the mapping provides an overview of which countries and writers are concentric and collaborate with each other on the topic of financial literacy in MSMEs.
Rematerializando ausencias
Authors: Laguens Andrés
Published: November 2021

En este trabajo se relatan experiencias de trabajos de arqueología en ex Centros Clandestinos de Detención en la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina, en función de demandas de la Justicia Federal. A partir de allí se reflexiona cómo, a través del trabajo arqueológico, el encuentro con los vestigios materiales de las detenciones y desapariciones forzadas de personas que pasaron por esos centros permite que esas ausencias forzadas se tornen en presencias, en un aquí y ahora que se ven materializadas a través de las relaciones establecidas entre esos contextos físicos, las experiencias personales en dichos espacios que hoy son lugares de memoria y la distintas subjetividades, con efectos en el presente.
Agricultura y ritual en el paisaje humano de 1000 AP de las nacientes de la Quebrada de Humahuaca
Authors: Hernández Llosas María Isabel , Leoni Juan B. , Scaro Agustina , Hernández Anahí , Fabron Giorgina , Hesse Paul , Bosio Luis A. , Quinteros Ramón A. , Castro Mora del Pilar
Published: November 2021

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de los estudios arqueológicos llevados a cabo en el sitio Casas Grandes, realizados dentro de un proyecto de investigación regional que abarca las nacientes de la Quebrada de Humahuaca en su intersección con la Puna, ecotono y umbral geo-ambiental que ocurre en este sector de la Provincia de Jujuy, Argentina. Se expone aquí una síntesis del marco general del proyecto, las escalas de análisis (espacial y temporal) así como los lineamientos teórico/metodológicos del mismo. Luego se presentan las características del sitio, su geomorfología, sus sectores y la evidencia arqueológica encontrada en cada uno de ellos. A su vez, se describen los distintos tipos hallazgos realizados y los resultados de sus respectivos análisis, focalizando en el sector bajo del sitio, donde la evidencia hallada aporta excepcional información sobre prácticas económicas y rituales realizadas en torno a los 1000 años antes del presente. En base a estos estudios y a los fechados radiocarbónicos obtenidos se presenta una discusión general sobre la articulación de este sitio con otros estudiados dentro del mismo proyecto, así como su importancia en el contexto de la arqueología de Quebrada y Puna jujeña, a partir de su comparación e integración con la evidencia proveniente de otros sitios con ocupaciones humanas contemporáneas localizados en estos dos geo-ambientes.
El logro de la indización en SCOPUS, un camino de arduo trabajo
Authors: Díaz-Vélez Cristian
Published: November 2021

Editorial (Sin resumen)