bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Android Malware Classification Using Optimized Ensemble Learning Based on Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Taha Altyeb , Barukab Omar
Published: November 2022

The continuous increase in Android malware applications (apps) represents a significant danger to the privacy and security of users’ information. Therefore, effective and efficient Android malware app-classification techniques are needed. This paper presents a method for Android malware classification using optimized ensemble learning based on genetic algorithms. The suggested method is divided into two steps. First, a base learner is used to handle various machine learning algorithms, including support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), gradient boosting (GB), decision tree (DT), and AdaBoost (ADA) classifiers. Second, a meta learner RF-GA, utilizing genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the parameters of a random forest (RF) algorithm, is employed to classify the prediction probabilities from the base learner. The genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameter settings in the RF algorithm in order to obtain the highest Android malware classification accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed method was examined on a dataset consisting of 5560 Android malware apps and 9476 goodware apps. The experimental results demonstrate that the suggested ensemble-learning strategy for classifying Android malware apps, which is based on an optimized random forest using genetic algorithms, outperformed the other methods and achieved the highest accuracy (94.15%), precision (94.15%), and area under the curve (AUC) (98.10%).
The Dilemma and Countermeasures of Public Interest Litigation of Marine Environmental Pollution in China
Authors: Li Yingying
Published: November 2022

Cases of marine environmental pollution (MEP), such as condensate leakage in the Sanchi case, not only directly infringe on private personal health and property rights, but also cause serious damage to the marine ecological environment. This paper analyzes dozens of MEP cases and summarizes the typical rights, interests, and remedies under Chinese law. Traditional tort liability legislation remedies the problem of infringement of private interests by environmental torts through compensation and punitive damages but it cannot reverse the damage to the marine ecological environment. Traditional civil legislation is built on the basis of rights and interests regarding damages and relief. MEP infringes on a wide range of citizens’ environmental rights and should be addressed by the environmental public interest litigation (EPIL), which is an important way to protect citizens’ environmental rights. This paper analyzes the legal interests, relief measures, and limitations of the existing EPIL legislation that is applicable to MEP cases under Chinese law, so as to make corresponding legislative suggestions.
Gas-Supported Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on In Situ Gap-Generation Method for Biomechanical Energy Harvesting and Wearable Motion Monitoring
Authors: Jia Changjun , Zhu Yongsheng , Sun Fengxin , Wen Yuzhang , Wang Qi , Li Ying , Mao Yupeng , Zhao Chongle
Published: November 2022

The rapid development of wearable electronic devices (such as in applications for health care monitoring, intelligent sports, and human–computer interaction) has led to a huge demand for sustainable energy. However, the existing equipment cannot meet the requirements of energy harvesting, wearable sensing, and environmental protection concurrently. Herein, by an environmentally friendly in situ gap-generation method and doping technology, we have manufactured an Ecoflex–PVDF composite material as a negative triboelectric layer and used gas as a support layer for the triboelectric nanogenerator (EPGS-TENG). The device has excellent electrical output performance and working stability (pressure sensitivity of 7.57 V/N, angle response capacity of 374%, output power of 121 μW, temperature adaptability from 20 °C to 40 °C, durability over 3 h, and stability of 10 days). EPGS-TENG can meet the requirements of biomechanical energy collection and wearable self-powered sensing simultaneously. EPGS-TENG shows great application potential for the new generation of wearable devices.
The Core Value of Sustainable Fashion: A Case Study on “Market Gredit”
Authors: Kim Young , Suh Sungeun
Published: November 2022

Sustainability and ethical consumption have emerged as essential topics globally in the carbon-neutral era. The adoption of eco-friendly production and distribution methods have been prominent in the fashion industry as well. This study performed a qualitative case study analysis based on a literature review and in-depth expert interviews. The search yielded ten keywords reflecting how value producers pursue sustainable fashion. These keywords are “eco-friendly”, “recycled”, “vegan”, “upcycled”, “zero waste”, “local production”, “fair trade”, “women-owned”, “gives back” and “animal protection”. The values are divided into five core environmental values and five core social values. Based on in-depth interviews with domestic sustainable fashion experts, the core values and detailed standards of sustainable fashion were specified and presented as practical values. These values were also applied to the Market Gredit platform, an integrated e-commerce platform for sustainable fashion brands in South Korea. This research contributes to improving the environmental and social impacts throughout the value chain of the fashion industry by presenting the core values and detailed standards of sustainable fashion suitable for communication with consumers.
Lactic Acid Production by Fermentation of Biomass: Recent Achievements and Perspectives
Authors: Ren Yuanyuan , Wang Xiaona , Li Yemei , Li Yu-You , Wang Qunhui
Published: November 2022

Lactic acid is an important biochemical product. With the global pollution caused by plastics, especially marine plastics, the demand for lactic acid to produce polylactic acid has rapidly increased. However, the high costs of raw materials and fermentation–separation processes have severely limited lactic acid production. In this study, the research trend on lactic acid fermentation in recent years was analyzed by a bibliometric survey, and the latest progress in lactic acid fermentation using different biomass stocks and microorganisms is summarized. The effects of different fermentation modes and fermentation–separation coupling methods on lactic acid fermentation were analyzed. Finally, microbial strains for cooperative fermentation and polysaccharide utilization are discussed. It is meaningful to develop environmentally friendly, cost-effective in situ product removal technologies, use lactic acid as an intermediate to higher value-added products, and co-produce lactic acid and other products based on a biorefinery model.
Exploration of Rural Agroforestry–Pastoral Complex Systems Based on Ecological Footprint*—Taking Zhagana in Yiwa Township as an Example
Authors: Zhang Shiwen , Xie Xiaoling
Published: November 2022

Since 2010, with the rapid development of tourism in Zhagana, Yiwa township, problems with the agroforestry–pastoral complex system and economic development in Zhagana have come to the fore. In order to investigate the sustainability of the agroforestry–pastoral complex system, the ecological footprint model was used to analyse the sustainable development of the ecosystem in Yiwa township from 2005 to 2020 and the ecological security changes in Zhagana from 2010 to 2020 through examining the ecological footprint intensity, the ecosystem diversity index and the ecosystem development capacity index. The results of the study show that the per capita ecological footprint of Yiwa township showed an overall decreasing trend between 2005 and 2020, and the per capita ecological deficit also showed a decreasing trend. Forest land was the most important component of the ecological footprint per capita, and grassland was the most important component of the ecological carrying capacity per capita. The footprint depth tended to increase and then decrease, and the footprint width tended to decrease, with a gentle increase from 2010. The ecological pressure index showed an overall decreasing trend, and the ecological sustainability index showed a sudden upward fluctuation after 2016. Overall, the ecological economy of Zhagana has some capacity for development, but there is a high level of ecological pressure.
The Impact of ESG Activities on Firm Value: Multi-Level Analysis of Industrial Characteristics
Authors: Chang Yu-Jin , Lee Byung-Hee
Published: November 2022

The study attempted to identify how ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) activities affect firm value depending on the industrial environment to which the entity belongs, taking into account industrial characteristic factors that may affect the activities and performance of the entity from a strategic perspective. In order to analyze ESG activities, sustainability report data of South Korea containing ESG information of 87 domestic companies for the period 2002–2020 were collected, and then the effect of ESG according to industrial characteristics on firm value was investigated in depth. The empirical results are as follows. First, it was confirmed that ESG was found to have a positive effect on the firm value. Second, we found that industrial concentration and industrial growth rate, which are industrial characteristic variables, moderate the relationship between ESG and firm value. Through this study, it was possible to identify the importance of the industrial environment surrounding the company in enhancing firm value through ESG activities and to confirm its influence. These results may suggest which ESG strategy directions are needed internally according to the characteristics of the industry in which the company is engaged. We hoped that this study will serve as a stepping stone to broaden the scope of business management research on ESG and to contribute to the field of business strategy, subsequently contributing to the development of ESG in the future.
New Heuristic Methods for Sustainable Energy Performance Analysis of HVAC Systems
Authors: Jahanafroozi Nadia , Shokrpour Saman , Nejati Fatemeh , Benjeddou Omrane , Khordehbinan Mohammad Worya , Marani Afshin , Nehdi Moncef L.
Published: November 2022

Energy-efficient buildings have attracted vast attention as a key component of sustainable development. Thermal load analysis is a pivotal step for the proper design of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for increasing thermal comfort in energy-efficient buildings. In this work, novel a methodology is proposed to predict the cooling load (LC) of residential buildings based on their geometrical characteristics. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network was coupled with metaheuristic algorithms to attain its optimum hyperparameter values. According to the results, the LC pattern can be promisingly captured and predicted by all developed hybrid models. Nevertheless, the comparison analysis revealed that the electrostatic discharge algorithm (ESDA) achieved the most powerful MLP model. Hence, utilizing the proposed methodology would give new insights into the thermal load analysis method and bridge the existing gap between the most recently developed computational intelligence techniques and energy performance analysis in the sustainable design of energy-efficient residential buildings.
The Impact of Macroeconomic Risk Factors, the Adoption of Financial Derivatives on Working Capital Management, and Firm Performance
Authors: Reyad Hossain Mohammad , Zariyawati Mohd Ashhari , Ong Tze San , Muhamad Haslinah
Published: November 2022

This study examines macroeconomic risk factors to investigate how they affect working capital management (WCM) and, ultimately, firm performance. Additionally, we examine the effect of credit default swaps (CDSs) as a countermeasure for WCM in the presence of volatile macroeconomic risk factors. In doing so, we use firm-level data from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China between 2006 and 2020. The two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method is employed to analyze the study′s objectives. Results show that US, German, and Chinese firms are more conservative, while UK firms are more aggressive in maintaining WCM during economic policy uncertainty. Conversely, foreign exchange risks drive the USA, the UK, and Chinese firms to lengthen their cash conversion cycle level due to fear of value loss, while the opposite is true for German firms. Nevertheless, following CDS adoption, firms are more confident in working capital (WC) investment. CDSs eliminate the need for delayed receivables and payables and increased inventory as safety stock for US, UK, and Chinese firms. Finally, CDS interaction shows that USA, UK, and German firms may boost their profitability by increasing account receivable periods to create more sales, reducing account payable periods, and holding more inventories to expedite sales operations. Alternatively, CDSs suggest an optimal level of WC investment for Chinese firms. As a result, governments should consider CDS adoption in policy decisions when business performance sinks due to macroeconomic volatility.
How Compatible Are Western European Dietary Patterns to Climate Targets? Accounting for Uncertainty of Life Cycle Assessments by Applying a Probabilistic Approach
Authors: Ruett Johanna , Hennes Lena , Teubler Jens , Braun Boris
Published: November 2022

The food system plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Even if fossil fuel emissions are halted immediately, current trends in global food systems may prevent the achieving of the Paris Agreement’s climate targets. The high degree of variability and uncertainty involved in calculating diet-related greenhouse gas emissions limits the ability to evaluate reduction potentials to remain below a global warming of 1.5 or 2 degrees. This study assessed Western European dietary patterns while accounting for uncertainty and variability. An extensive literature review provided value ranges for climate impacts of animal-based foods to conduct an uncertainty analysis via Monte Carlo simulation. The resulting carbon footprints were assessed against food system-specific greenhouse gas emission thresholds. The range and absolute value of a diet carbon footprint become larger the higher the amount of products with highly varying emission values in the diet. All dietary pattern carbon footprints overshoot the 1.5 degrees threshold. The vegan, vegetarian, and diet with low animal-based food intake were predominantly below the 2 degrees threshold. Omnivorous diets with more animal-based product content trespassed them. Reducing animal-based foods is a powerful strategy to decrease emissions. However, further mitigation strategies are required to achieve climate goals.
Acid Resistance of Alkali-Activated Natural Pozzolan and Limestone Powder Mortar
Authors: Al-Sodani Khaled A. Alawi , Adewumi Adeshina A. , Mohd Ariffin Mohd Azreen , Salami Babatunde Abiodun , Yusuf Moruf O. , Ibrahim Mohammed , AlAteah Ali H. , Al-Tholaia Mohammed M. H. , Shamsah Sami M. Ibn , Ismail Mohammad
Published: November 2022

The development of sustainable, environmentally friendly alkali-activated binder has emerged as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement. The engineering and durability properties of alkali-activated binder using various precursor combinations have been investigated; however, no study has focused on the impact of high-volume natural pozzolan (NP) on the acid resistance of alkali-activated NP and limestone powder. Therefore, the current study assesses the impact of high-volume natural pozzolan (volcanic ash) on the durability properties of alkali-activated natural pozzolan (NP) and limestone powder (LSP) mortar by immersion in 6% H2SO4 for 365 days. The samples were prepared with different binder ratios using alkaline activators (10 M NaOH(aq) and Na2SO4) combined in a 1:1 ratio and cured at 75 °C. NP was combined with the LSP at three different combinations: NP:LSP = 40:60 (AAN40L60), 50:50 (AAN50L50), and 60:40 (AAN60L40), representing low-volume, balanced, and high-volume binder combinations. Water absorption, weight change, and compressive strength were examined. The microstructural changes were also investigated using FTIR, XRD, and SEM/EDS characterization tools. Visual examination showed insignificant deterioration in the sample with excess natural pozzolan (AAN60L40) after 1 year of acid exposure, and the maximum residual strengths were 20.8 MPa and 6.68 MPa in AAN60L40 and AAN40L60 with mass gain (1.37%) and loss (10.64%), respectively. The high sulfuric acid resistance of AAN60L40 mortar was attributed to the high Ca/Si = 10 within the C-A-S-H and N-A-S-H formed. The low residual strength recorded in AAN40L60 was a result of gypsum formation from an acid attack of calcium-dominated limestone powder. The controlling factor for the resistance of the binder to acid corrosion was the NP/LSP ratio, whose factor below 0.6 caused significant debilitating effects.
Citizens’ Social Participation to Implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Literature Review
Authors: Ozaki Yasutaka , Shaw Rajib
Published: November 2022

SDGs emphasize the importance of multi-stakeholder processes, particularly in promoting citizen-level participation. This paper aims to understand the current status of citizens’ social participation and the challenges in promoting them in order to achieve SDGs and create a resilient society. To achieve this objective, the literature review method is used. The literature was obtained from source databases related to recent literature on citizens’ participation with regard to SDGs. In the discussion and conclusion, this paper examines the possibility that one of the vital issues in promoting social participation of citizens could be information sharing. It also describes the cycle which citizens themselves become the main actors in generating information to promote citizen participation, and the information generated through this process leads further citizen participation. These results will be used as the basis for the following action research process. This paper is positioned as introductory in nature, and the importance of information sharing will be examined more closely in future studies.
Scoping Challenges and Opportunities Presented by COVID-19 for the Development of Sustainable Short Food Supply Chains
Authors: Baptista Nuno , Alves Helena , Matos Nelson
Published: November 2022

Over the past decades, short food supply chains attracted government and public support owing to their potential to mitigate some of the sustainability issues associated with the conventional globalized food supply system. The recent event of the coronavirus disease pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on food supply systems worldwide, and it constitutes a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of food chains. Through a scoping review of the academic literature, this study provides a critical assessment of the implications of the pandemic on short food supply chains in multiple economies. Following the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-ScR framework, the SCOPUS and ISI Web of Science databases were searched for the academic literature on the topic. The results of the review indicate that, besides the direct effects of the pandemic, the indirect effects resulting from public policies implemented to contain the spread of the virus affected all relevant dimensions of sustainability. Moreover, the consequences of the pandemic were more disruptive in the short food chains of low-income countries than in those of high-income countries. The main challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of short food supply chains are identified, and recommendations for future research are outlined.
Spatiotemporal Accessibility of COVID-19 Healthcare Facilities in Jakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Jumadi Jumadi , Fikriyah Vidya N. , Hadibasyir Hamim Z. , Sunariya Muhammad I. T. , Priyono Kuswaji D. , Setiyadi Noor A. , Carver Steve J. , Norman Paul D. , Malleson Nick S. , Rohman Arif , Lotfata Aynaz
Published: November 2022

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jakarta, Indonesia, the government designated some hospitals as specific COVID-19 healthcare centers to meet demand and ensure accessibility. However, the policy demand evaluation was based on a purely spatial approach. Studies on accessibility to healthcare are widely available, but those that consider temporal as well as spatial dynamics are lacking. This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of healthcare accessibility against COVID-19 cases within the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the overall pattern of spatiotemporal accessibility. A two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) was used to analyze the accessibility of COVID-19 healthcare against the monthly data of the COVID-19 infected population, as the demand. Such a spatiotemporal approach to 2SFCA has never been used in previous studies. Furthermore, rather than the traditional buffer commonly used to define catchments, the 2SFCA in this study was improved with automated delineation based on the road network using ArcGIS Service Areas Analysis tools. The accessibility tends to follow the distance decay principle, which is relatively high in the city’s center and low in the outskirts. This contrasts with the city’s population distribution, which is higher on the outskirts and lower in the center. This research is a step toward optimizing the spatial distribution of hospital locations to correspond with the severity of the pandemic condition. One method to stop the transmission of disease during a pandemic that requires localizing the infected patient is to designate specific healthcare facilities to manage the sick individuals. ‘What-if’ scenarios may be used to experiment with the locations of these healthcare facilities, which are then assessed using the methodology described in this work to obtain the distribution that is most optimal.
A Conceptual Model for Integrating Sustainable Supply Chain, Electric Vehicles, and Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Patel Ankit R. , Vyas Dhaval R. , Markana Anilkumar , Jayaraman Raja
Published: November 2022

The effects of climate change can be seen immediately in ecosystems. Recent events have resulted in a commitment to the Paris Agreement for the reduction of carbon emissions by a significant amount by the year 2030. Rapid urbanisation is taking place to provide room for an increasing number of people’s residences. Increasing the size of a city and the number of people living there creates a daily need for consumable resources. In the areas of transportation, supply chains, and the utilisation of renewable energy sources, deliver on pledges that promote the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. As a result, the supply chain needs to be handled effectively to meet the requirements of growing cities. Management of the supply chain should be in harmony with the environment; nevertheless, the question of how to manage a sustainable supply chain without having an impact on the environment is still mostly understood. The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual model that may be used to maintain a sustainable supply chain with electric vehicles in such a way that caters to both environmental concerns and human requirements. As part of the continual process of achieving sustainability, interrelationships between the various aspects that are being investigated, comprehended, and applied are provided by the model that was developed. It is self-evident that governmental and international organisations that are concerned with supply-demand side information will benefit from such a model, and these organisations will locate viable solutions in accordance with the model’s recommendations. Beneficiaries consist of individuals who are active in the supply chain and are concerned with supply-demand side information. These individuals also need to understand how to effectively manage this information.
A Comparison of CSR Image Construction between Chinese and American Petroleum Companies in the Context of Ecological Transition
Authors: Wang Xiao , Zhao Xiufeng , Wang Yaxian , Li Suzhen
Published: November 2022

CSR reports are currently employed by most petroleum corporates as powerful discursive resources to shift their image from “black” to “green”. However, on account of factors such as the corporate ethics and cultures and the social and political situations in which the corporates operate, the CSR reports for image reconstruction may vary in terms of discursive representations as well as the extent and means of achieving “greenness”. With the trend of economic and trade globalization, petroleum companies are bound to trade and open branch offices in countries in which they are not familiar with the ideologies and political atmosphere. Therefore, it is significant to learn about whether political background has an impact on petroleum CSR image construction or not. This paper examines the recent CSR reports by two oil companies, CNPC from China and CHV from America—two corporations diverging in many respects, the socio-political environment, in particular. In line with the constructive view of image, an approach of computer-assisted discourse analysis (CADS) is adopted for the comparison based on two corpora, each consisting of their 2015–2020 CSR reports. The findings have revealed that images constructed by CNPC and CHV have complex and dynamic characteristics as a result of political, social, cultural, and economic backgrounds, and the changes in historical conditions. On the whole, ethics and actions in promoting environmental friendliness constitute the predominant theme of their reports, an indication of their common awareness of the non-sustainable nature of their main and conventional business as environmentally sensitive industries. Nevertheless, CNPC and CHV differ in multiple respects. Firstly, CNPC tends to foreground its green image as an obligatory commitment to “ecological civilization”, a national political strategy. In contrast, CHV constructs its image as a multinational corporate with not much attention to its home-state interests. Secondly, in alignment with different socio-cultural contexts, their basic positioning, as well as primary environmental concerns, targets, implementation paths, and changes with time differ from each other. This study contributes to multidisciplinary research on corporate image construction, promoting the combination of economic management, politics, and discourse analysis with data science. In practice, this study provides a new perspective for analyzing motivations, efforts, and means for the construction of CSR images, as well as some suggestions to corporates on how to adapt their CSR images to the target cultural community.
Some Formulas and Recurrences of Certain Orthogonal Polynomials Generalizing Chebyshev Polynomials of the Third-Kind
Authors: Abd-Elhameed Waleed Mohamed , Al-Harbi Mohamed Salem
Published: November 2022

This paper investigates certain Jacobi polynomials that involve one parameter and generalize the well-known orthogonal polynomials called Chebyshev polynomials of the third-kind. Some new formulas are developed for these polynomials. We will show that some of the previous results in the literature can be considered special ones of our derived formulas. The derivatives of the moments of these polynomials are derived. Hence, two important formulas that explicitly give the derivatives and the moments of these polynomials in terms of their original ones can be deduced as special cases. Some new expressions for the derivatives of different symmetric and non-symmetric polynomials are expressed as combinations of the generalized third-kind Chebyshev polynomials. Some new linearization formulas are also given using different approaches. Some of the appearing coefficients in derivatives and linearization formulas are given in terms of different hypergeometric functions. Furthermore, in several cases, the existing hypergeometric functions can be summed using some standard formulas in the literature or through the employment of suitable symbolic algebra, in particular, Zeilberger’s algorithm.
A New Correlation Coefficient Based on T-Spherical Fuzzy Information with Its Applications in Medical Diagnosis and Pattern Recognition
Authors: Jin Yun , Hussain Muneer , Ullah Kifayat , Hussain Amir
Published: November 2022

The T-Spherical fuzzy set (TSFS) is the most generalized form among the introduced fuzzy frameworks. It obtains maximum information from real-life phenomena due to its maximum range. Consequently, TSFS is a very useful structure for dealing with information uncertainties, especially when human opinion is involved. The correlation coefficient (CC) is a valuable tool, possessing symmetry, to determine the similarity degree between objects under uncertainties. This research aims to develop a new CC for TSFS to overcome the drawbacks of existing methods. The proposed CCs are generalized, flexible, and can handle uncertain situations where information has more than one aspect. In addition, the proposed CCs provide decision-makers independence in establishing their opinion. Based on some remarks, the usefulness of the new CC is reviewed, and its generalizability is evaluated. Moreover, the developed new CC is applied to pattern recognition for investment decisions and medical diagnosis of real-life problems to observe their effectiveness and applicability. Finally, the validity of the presented CC is tested by comparing it with the results of the previously developed CC.
Paralytic Shellfish Toxins of Pyrodinium bahamense (Dinophyceae) in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Núñez-Vázquez Erick J. , Poot-Delgado Carlos A. , Turner Andrew D. , Hernández-Sandoval Francisco E. , Okolodkov Yuri B. , Fernández-Herrera Leyberth J. , Bustillos-Guzmán José J.
Published: November 2022

In September and November 2016, eight marine sampling sites along the coast of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico were monitored for the presence of lipophilic and hydrophilic toxins. Water temperature, salinity, hydrogen potential, dissolved oxygen saturation, inorganic nutrients and phytoplankton abundance were also determined. Two samples filtered through glass fiber filters were used for the extraction and analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) by lateral flow immunochromatography (IFL), HPLC with post-column oxidation and fluorescent detection (FLD) and UHPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Elevated nutrient contents were associated with the sites of rainwater discharge or those near anthropogenic activities. A predominance of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense was found with abundances of up to 104 cells L−1. Identification of the dinoflagellate was corroborated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Samples for toxins were positive by IFL, and the analogs NeoSTX and STX were identified and quantified by HPLC-FLD and UHPLC-MS/MS, with a total PST concentration of 6.5 pg cell−1. This study is the first report that confirms the presence of PSTs in P. bahamense in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Omics Methods in Toxins Research—A Toolkit to Drive the Future of Scientific Inquiry
Authors: Romano Joseph D.
Published: November 2022

A major trend in biomedical research has been an ideological shift away from studying individual components of an organism or biological process in isolation, and towards how those components function collectively, forming the basis of the field now known as systems biology [...]
An Eight-Year Survey on Aflatoxin B1 Indicates High Feed Safety in Animal Feed and Forages in Northern Italy
Authors: Ferrari Luca , Fumagalli Francesca , Rizzi Nicoletta , Grandi Elisa , Vailati Serena , Manoni Michele , Ottoboni Matteo , Cheli Federica , Pinotti Luciano
Published: November 2022

Aflatoxins (AFs) remain the main concern for the agricultural and dairy industries due to their effects on the performances and quality of livestock production. Aflatoxins are always unavoidable and should be monitored. The objective of this paper is to bring to light a significant volume of data on AF contamination in several animal feed ingredients in Northern Italy. The Regional Breeders Association of Lombardy has been conducting a survey program to monitor mycotoxin contamination in animal feeds, and in this paper, we present data relating to AFB1 contamination. In most cases (95%), the concentrations were low enough to ensure compliance with the European Union’s (EU’s) maximum admitted levels for animal feed ingredients. However, the data show a high variability in AF contamination between different matrices and, within the same matrix, a high variability year over year. High levels of AFs were detected in maize and cotton, especially in the central part of the second decade of this century, i.e., 2015–2018, which has shown a higher risk of AF contamination in feed materials in Northern Italy. Variability due to climate change and the international commodity market affect future prospects to predict the presence of AFs. Supplier monitoring and control and reduced buying of contaminated raw materials, as well as performing analyses of each batch, help reduce AF spread.
Recombinant Vaccinia Virus Expressing Plasmodium berghei Apical Membrane Antigen 1 or Microneme Protein Enhances Protection against P. berghei Infection in Mice
Authors: Kim Min-Ju , Chu Ki-Back , Lee Su-Hwa , Kang Hae-Ji , Yoon Keon-Woong , Ahmed Md Atique , Quan Fu-Shi
Published: November 2022

Recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVV) are effective antigen delivery vectors and are researched widely as vaccine platforms against numerous diseases. Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) is one of the candidate antigens for malaria vaccines but rising concerns regarding its genetic diversity and polymorphism have necessitated the need to search for an alternative antigen. Here, we compare the efficacies of the rVV vaccines expressing either AMA1 or microneme protein (MIC) of Plasmodium berghei in mice. Mice (BALB/c) were immunized with either rVV-AMA1 or rVV-MIC and subsequently challenge-infected with P. berghei. Compared to the control group, both antigens elicited elevated levels of parasite-specific antibody responses. Immunization with either one of the two vaccines induced high levels of T cells and germinal center B cell responses. Interestingly, rVV-MIC immunization elicited higher levels of cellular immune response compared to rVV-AMA1 immunization, and significantly reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine productions were observed from the former vaccine. While differences in parasitemia and bodyweight changes were negligible between rVV-AMA1 and rVV-MIC immunization groups, prolonged survival was observed for the latter of the two. Based on these results, our findings suggest that the rVV expressing the P. berghei MIC could be a vaccine-candidate antigen.
Malaria Preventive Practices among People Residing in Different Malaria-Endemic Settings in a Township of Myanmar: A Mixed-Methods Study
Authors: Aung Pyae Linn , Win Kyawt Mon , Pumpaibool Tepanata
Published: November 2022

Different villages in a township or an area exhibit different malaria endemicities. This study aimed to investigate malaria preventive practices among people residing in different villages with stratified malaria endemicity in a township in Myanmar. Quantitative data were collected using standardized questionnaires by conducting face-to-face interviews, and qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews using a guideline. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, whereas thematic analysis was used to visualize qualitative data. A total of 360 respondents with similar characteristics participated in the quantitative study. Knowledge regarding malaria and the availability of health information exhibited insignificant differences. Malaria preventive practices were considerably poor among people from moderate- and high-endemic villages (p < 0.05). Adult male farmers or gold miners with low annual family incomes reported poor preventive practices in both moderate- and high-endemic groups. People could not practice some malaria preventive measures because of a lack of resources, e.g., a lack of mosquito repellents. To eliminate the disparities of preventive practices in different malaria-endemic settings, heath-awareness-raising activities should be increased, especially in moderate- and high-endemic villages.
Pasta Phases in Neutron Star Mantle: Extended Thomas–Fermi vs. Compressible Liquid Drop Approaches
Authors: Shchechilin Nikolai N. , Zemlyakov Nikita A. , Chugunov Andrey I. , Gusakov Mikhail E.
Published: November 2022

Nuclear pasta phases in the neutron stars mantle can affect the mechanical and transport properties of superdense matter, thus playing an important role in the dynamics and evolution of neutron stars. In this paper, we compare results obtained by the Extended Thomas–Fermi (ETF) method with the compressible liquid drop model (CLDM), based on the thermodynamically consistent description of the surface properties calculated for the two-phase plane interface and the same energy-density functional (for numerical illustration, we applied the Skyrme-type functional SLy4). Our ETF calculations found that pasta phases in cylindrical form cover a significant crustal region (both normal and inverse phases, aka spaghetti and bucatini are presented). Meanwhile, within the applied CLDM framework, which includes the thermodynamically required effect of neutron adsorption on the cluster’s surface but neglects curvature corrections, only the spaghetti phase was found to be energetically favorable in the small density range prior to crust–core transition. On the other hand, the recent CLDM of Dinh Thi et al., 2021, which, on the contrary, accounts for curvature term but neglects neutron adsorption, predicts pasta phase onset in better agreement with the ETF. This fact highlights the importance of the curvature effects and allows counting on the potential validity of the CLDMs as a convenient, transparent and accurate tool for investigation of the pasta-phase properties.
On General-Relativistic Lagrangian Perturbation Theory and Its Non-Perturbative Generalization
Authors: Buchert Thomas , Delgado Gaspar Ismael , Ostrowski Jan Jakub
Published: November 2022

The Newtonian Lagrangian perturbation theory is a widely used framework to study structure formation in cosmology in the nonlinear regime. We review a general-relativistic formulation of such a perturbation approach, emphasizing results on an already developed extensive formalism including among other aspects: the non-perturbative modeling of Ricci and Weyl curvatures, gravitational waves, and pressure-supported fluids. We discuss subcases of exact solutions related to Szekeres Class II and, as an exact average model, Ricci-flat LTB models. The latter forms the basis of a generalization that we then propose in terms of a scheme that goes beyond the relativistic Lagrangian perturbation theory on a global homogeneous-isotropic background cosmology. This new approximation does not involve a homogeneous reference background and it contains Szekeres class I (and thus general LTB models) as exact subcases. Most importantly, this new approximation allows for the interaction of structure with an evolving “background cosmology”, conceived as a spatial average model, and thus includes cosmological backreaction.
Virus Prevalence in Egg Samples Collected from Naturally Selected and Traditionally Managed Honey Bee Colonies across Europe
Authors: Claeys Bouuaert David , De Smet Lina , Brunain Marleen , Dahle Bjørn , Blacquière Tjeerd , Dalmon Anne , Dezmirean Daniel , Elen Dylan , Filipi Janja , Giurgiu Alexandru , Gregorc Aleš , Kefuss John , Locke Barbara , de Miranda Joachim R. , Oddie Melissa , Panziera Delphine , Parejo Melanie , Pinto Maria Alice , de Graaf Dirk C.
Published: November 2022

Monitoring virus infections can be an important selection tool in honey bee breeding. A recent study pointed towards an association between the virus-free status of eggs and an increased virus resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) at the colony level. In this study, eggs from both naturally surviving and traditionally managed colonies from across Europe were screened for the prevalence of different viruses. Screenings were performed using the phenotyping protocol of the ‘suppressed in ovo virus infection’ trait but with qPCR instead of end-point PCR and a primer set that covers all DWV genotypes. Of the 213 screened samples, 109 were infected with DWV, 54 were infected with black queen cell virus (BQCV), 3 were infected with the sacbrood virus, and 2 were infected with the acute bee paralyses virus. It was demonstrated that incidences of the vertical transmission of DWV were more frequent in naturally surviving than in traditionally managed colonies, although the virus loads in the eggs remained the same. When comparing virus infections with queen age, older queens showed significantly lower infection loads of DWV in both traditionally managed and naturally surviving colonies, as well as reduced DWV infection frequencies in traditionally managed colonies. We determined that the detection frequencies of DWV and BQCV in honey bee eggs were lower in samples obtained in the spring than in those collected in the summer, indicating that vertical transmission may be lower in spring. Together, these patterns in vertical transmission show that honey bee queens have the potential to reduce the degree of vertical transmission over time.
Nanoparticle-Based Bivalent Swine Influenza Virus Vaccine Induces Enhanced Immunity and Effective Protection against Drifted H1N1 and H3N2 Viruses in Mice
Authors: Tang Pan , Cui En-hui , Chang Wen-chi , Yu Chen , Wang Hao , Du En-qi , Wang Jing-yu
Published: November 2022

Swine influenza virus (SIV) circulates worldwide, posing substantial economic loss and disease burden to humans and animals. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent SIV infection and transmission. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of a recombinant, baculovirus-insect cell system-expressed bivalent nanoparticle SIV vaccine in mice challenged with drifted swine influenza H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. After a prime-boost immunization, the bivalent nanoparticle vaccine (BNV) induced high levels of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibodies, virus-neutralization (VN) antibodies, and antigen-specific IgG antibodies in mice, as well as more efficient cytokine levels. The MF59 and CPG1 adjuvant could significantly promote both humoral and cellular immunity of BNV. The MF59 adjuvant showed a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response, and the CPG1 adjuvant tended to show a Th1-favored response. The BALB/c challenge test showed that BNV could significantly reduce lung viral loads and feces viral shedding, and showed fewer lung pathological lesions than those in PBS and inactivated vaccine groups. These results suggest that this novel bivalent nanoparticle swine influenza vaccine can be used as an efficacious vaccine candidate to induce robust immunity and provide broad protection against drifted subtypes in mice. Immune efficacy in pigs needs to be further evaluated.
Oviduct Epithelial Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Improve Porcine Trophoblast Outgrowth
Authors: Fang Xun , Tanga Bereket Molla , Bang Seonggyu , Seo Chaerim , Kim Heyyoung , Saadeldin Islam M. , Lee Sanghoon , Cho Jongki
Published: November 2022

Porcine species have a great impact on studies on biomaterial production, organ transplantation and the development of biomedical models. The low efficiency of in vitro-produced embryos to derive embryonic stem cells has made achieving this goal a challenge. The fallopian tube plays an important role in the development of embryos. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by oviductal epithelial cells play an important role in the epigenetic regulation of embryo development. We used artificially isolated oviductal epithelial cells and EVs. In this study, oviductal epithelial cell (OEC) EVs were isolated and characterized through transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticles tracking analysis, western blotting and proteomics. We found that embryo development and blastocyst formation rate was significantly increased (14.3% ± 0.6% vs. 6.0% ± 0.6%) after OEC EVs treatment. According to our data, the inner cell mass (ICM)/trophectoderm (TE) ratio of the embryonic cell number increased significantly after OEC EVs treatment (43.7% ± 2.3% vs. 28.4% ± 2.1%). Meanwhile, the attachment ability of embryos treated with OEV EVs was significantly improved (43.5% ± 2.1% vs. 29.2% ± 2.5%, respectively). Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), we found that the expression of reprogramming genes (POU5F1, SOX2, NANOG, KLF4 and c-Myc) and implantation-related genes (VIM, KRT8, TEAD4 and CDX2) significantly increased in OEC EV-treated embryos. We report that OEC EV treatment can improve the development and implantation abilities of embryos.
Risk Analysis of Reservoir Resettlers with Different Livelihood Strategies
Authors: Wang Feilong , Yao Kaiwen , Liu Bingwen , Zhang Dan
Published: November 2022

With the increase of economic strength and technological advancement, financial and technical issues are becoming less and less constraining for the construction of water conservancy and hydropower projects, and the resettlement of reservoir resettlers has become the most critical factor in determining the success or failure of the construction. This study constructs a risk analysis framework for reservoir resettlers’ livelihood strategy transformation from the perspective of “resilient livelihoods”, characterizing their risk exposure with a comprehensive risk index and testing the effectiveness of the framework through robustness analysis. The framework was used to analyze the risk of reservoir resettlers in Guangdong Province, from which we found that the degree of risk and the type of vulnerability faced by resettlers with different livelihood strategies differed significantly, and we discussed each of them to help resettlers minimize the possible harm that they might suffer from. Thus, this framework can help reservoir resettlers to achieve sustainable development to a certain extent and also provide useful suggestions for policy makers to ensure the smooth construction of water conservancy and hydropower projects.
Comparison of Different Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Predict Floods in Jhelum River, Pakistan
Authors: Ahmed Fahad , Loc Ho Huu , Park Edward , Hassan Muhammad , Joyklad Panuwat
Published: November 2022

Floods are among the major natural disasters that cause loss of life and economic damage worldwide. Floods damage homes, crops, roads, and basic infrastructure, forcing people to migrate from high flood-risk areas. However, due to a lack of information about the effective variables in forecasting, the development of an accurate flood forecasting system remains difficult. The flooding process is quite complex as it has a nonlinear relationship with various meteorological and topographic parameters. Therefore, there is always a need to develop regional models that could be used effectively for water resource management in a particular locality. This study aims to establish and evaluate various data-driven flood forecasting models in the Jhelum River, Punjab, Pakistan. The performance of Local Linear Regression (LLR), Dynamic Local Linear Regression (DLLR), Two Layer Back Propagation (TLBP), Conjugate Gradient (CG), and Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS)-based ANN models were evaluated using R2, variance, bias, RMSE and MSE. The R2, bias, and RMSE values of the best-performing LLR model were 0.908, 0.009205, and 1.018017 for training and 0.831, −0.05344, and 0.919695 for testing. Overall, the LLR model performed best for both the training and validation periods and can be used for the prediction of floods in the Jhelum River. Moreover, the model provides a baseline to develop an early warning system for floods in the study area.