bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adopting an Actor Analysis Framework to a Complex Technology Innovation Project: A Case Study of an Electric Road System
Authors: Wang Qiuchen , Hauge Jannicke Baalsrud , Meijer Sebastiaan
Published: January 2020

An electric road system (ERS) is a transportation solution that provides electricity for fully electric vehicles while in motion. This solution might contribute to sustainable transportation by overcoming range anxiety problems that fully electric vehicles, especially heavy vehicles, have encountered due to battery technology limitations. However, large-scale ERS implementations are challenging, both technically and socially. An ERS is not only an engineering project, but also a complex technology innovation system composed of multiple subsystems and stakeholders, which requires an interdisciplinary means of aligning relations, problems, and solutions. In the policy analysis domain, researchers have developed actor analysis methods to support policy making processes. Actor analysis methods can provide an analytical reflection in solving complex multi-actor policy making challenges that ERSs are also facing. To uncover the complexity of multiple subsystems and stakeholders involved in an ERS, this paper applied a method to align system characteristics with the stakeholders’ perceptions to understand multi-stakeholder contexts in complex technology innovation projects. Desk research was first conducted to summarise ERS characteristics. Then, the dynamic actor network analysis method framework was adopted to establish an action, factor, goal (AFG) list, which was revised by independent researchers. Next, the AFG list was used to collect the perceptions of the ERS stakeholders, expressed as AFG selections and causal links through stakeholder interviews. The resulting AFG list was iterated through two rounds of interviews and then validated in a Swedish ERS case workshop. The results from this methodology showed that the actor analysis method can not only be applied to policy analysis domains, but can also be applied to technology innovation complex systems, using the electric road system as a case study, to help uncover the ERS complexity from the concerns of stakeholders and to secure a pathway towards sustainable technology implementation.
Daylight Provision Requirements According to EN 17037 as a Restriction for Sustainable Urban Planning of Residential Developments
Authors: Šprah Nataša , Košir Mitja
Published: January 2020

The attempt at a more sustainable land use by increasing urban density may have a negative effect on the daylighting of residential buildings. In densely built areas, obstructions generated by the surrounding buildings can substantially reduce the available amount of daylight, causing poorly daylit spaces and a less healthy indoor environment with higher electricity consumption as a consequence of artificial lighting. European standard EN 17037, Daylight in Buildings, was established in 2018 to ensure appropriately daylit spaces. In this paper, a three-step methodology was developed to investigate the relationship between certain urban planning parameters and the daylighting of a typical room defined by specific (Slovenian) legislative restrictions about its geometry and minimum required window to floor area ratio, in order to establish the maximum densities of residential developments still fulfilling the minimum requirements for daylight provision defined by EN 17037. The results show that a relatively low urban density is required to fulfil the stipulations for minimum daylight provision for the deepest permissible room according to the Slovenian legislation. The impact of the development floor area ratio on the daylighting potential of buildings was identified as significant, followed by the site coverage, development layout, and building typology. Furthermore, the developed methodological approach clearly demonstrates a substantial potential for application in urban planning, with indoor daylight environmental conditions being linked to the planning of residential developments in the earliest stages of the project.
Biomass Estimation, Nutrient Accumulation, and Stoichiometric Characteristics of Dominant Tree Species in the Semi-Arid Region on the Loess Plateau of China
Authors: Jing Guanghua , Hu Tianming , Liu Jian , Cheng Jimin , Li Wei
Published: January 2020

The biomass estimation, nutrient stock, and stoichiometric characteristics are critical for understanding forest productivity and quality. To date, there is not enough comprehensive research on nutrient stock and stoichiometric characteristics of each tissue among different tree species in the semi-arid region on the Loess Plateau. So, six dominant tree species were selected to estimate the forest biomass by allometric equation and to analyze the effects of tissue and species on biomass allocation and nutrient stock by variance analysis in our study. Results showed that forest biomass, nutrient concentration, nutrient stock, and stoichiometric characteristics varied with tissue and species. Betula platyphylla and Pinus tabulaeformis had high total biomass while Populus davidiana had the least total biomass, and the biomass allocation of each tissue generally followed the order of stem > branch > root > foliage. The weighted mean concentrations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) changed from 432.67 g·kg−1 to 481.43 g·kg−1, from 6.15 to 8.30 g·kg−1, and from 0.43 to 0.74 g·kg−1, respectively. The relatively high nutrient stocks were observed in Pinus tabulaeformis and Betula platyphylla across organs and in stem across species. The C:N and C:P ratios were higher in stem and root than those in branch and foliage for each species, while the effects of tissue on N:P varied with species. Overall, the N:P ranged from 7.92 for stem (Larix principis-rupprechtii) to 22.18 for foliage (Populus davidiana). Therefore, Pinus tabulaeformis and Betula platyphylla can increase effectively nutrient fixation capacity in the semi-arid region on the Loess Plateau. Also, N or P limitation of tree growth in this region varied with species.
Improvement Measure of Integrated Disaster Management System Considering Disaster Damage Characteristics: Focusing on the Republic of Korea
Authors: Song Young Seok , Park Moo Jong , Lee Jung Ho , Kim Byung Sik , Song Yang Ho
Published: January 2020

Recently, the Republic of Korea has experienced natural disasters, such as typhoons and heavy rainfall, as well as social accidents, such as large-scale accidents and infectious diseases, which are continuously occurring. Despite repeated disasters, problems such as inefficient early response and overlapping command systems occur continuously. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of disaster management systems by foreign countries, and the status of the damages by disasters for the past 10 years in the Republic of Korea, to suggest possible measures to improve the Republic of Korea’s integrated disaster management system. When a disaster occurs in the Republic of Korea, the Si/Gun/Gu Disaster Safety Measure Headquarters, under the command of the local governments, become the responsible agencies for disaster response while the central government supervises and controls the overall disaster support and disaster management. To improve the current disaster management system, we propose to incorporate all disaster types rather than dividing them by type into natural disasters and social disasters. To improve the disaster response and disaster management system, we propose to restructure the current administrative organization, revise the disaster-related laws, and overcome problems, such as inter-ministerial interconnectivity and overlapping regulation.
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): The Engine of Economic Growth through Investments and Innovation
Authors: Gherghina Ștefan Cristian , Botezatu Mihai Alexandru , Hosszu Alexandra , Simionescu Liliana Nicoleta
Published: January 2020

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are crucial for local economic development, playing a noteworthy role in job creation, poverty alleviation and economic growth, but they encounter many funding barriers. The purpose of the current paper is to investigate the impact of investments and innovation on territorial economic growth, as measured by turnover, for Romanian active enterprises, especially SMEs, over the period 2009–2017. By estimating several log–log linear regressions, the quantitative outcomes provide support for a positive influence of investments on turnover. The association was confirmed both for all active enterprises at the national level, as well as for micro, small, middle-sized and big companies. As regards expenditures on innovation, a positive impact on turnover was acknowledged for all enterprises and particularly for big companies, but there was an absence of any statistically significant relation in the case of SMEs. The impact of firm size on turnover was positive for all active enterprises at the national level, along with active micro-units. Also, the estimation results show a positive impact of the number of active micro-units on territorial economic growth. The empirical findings are relevant to managers and policymakers in order to stimulate, encourage and offer support to SMEs’ development through their strategies.
LSTM-Based Deep Learning Model for Predicting Individual Mobility Traces of Short-Term Foreign Tourists
Authors: Crivellari Alessandro , Beinat Euro
Published: January 2020

The increasing availability of trajectory recordings has led to the mining of a massive amount of historical track data, allowing for a better understanding of travel behaviors by revealing meaningful motion patterns. In the context of human mobility analysis, the problem of motion prediction assumes a central role and is beneficial for a wide range of applications, including for touristic purposes, such as personalized services or targeted recommendations, and sustainability studies related to crowd management and resource redistribution. This paper tackles a particular case of the trajectory prediction problem, focusing on large-scale mobility traces of short-term foreign tourists. These sparse trajectories, short and non-repetitive, lack spatial and temporal regularity, making prediction analysis based on individual historical motion data unreliable. To face this issue, we hereby propose a deep learning-based approach, taking into account the collective mobility of tourists over the territory. The underlying semantics of motion patterns are captured by means of a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network model trained on pre-processed location sequences, aiming to predict the next visited place in the trajectory. We tested the methodology on a real-world big dataset, demonstrating its higher feasibility with respect to traditional approaches.
Spatiotemporal Changes in the Built Environment Characteristics and Urban Heat Island Effect in a Medium-Sized City, Chiayi City, Taiwan
Authors: Huang Jou-Man , Chang Heui-Yung , Wang Yu-Su
Published: January 2020

This study took Chiayi City—a tropical, medium-sized city—as an example to investigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect using mobile transects and built environment characteristics in 2018. The findings were compared to those from a study in 1999 to explore the spatiotemporal changes in the built environment characteristics and UHI phenomenon. The result for the UHI intensity (UHII) during the day was approximately 4.1 °C and at midnight was approximately 2.5 °C. Compared with the survey in 1999, the UHII during the day increased by approximately 1.3 °C, and the UHII at midnight decreased by approximately 1.2 °C. The trend of the spatial distribution of the increasing artificial area ratio (AAR) proved the importance of urban land use expansion on UHI. The results of the air temperature survey were incorporated with the nesting space in GIS to explore the role of built environment characteristics in UHI effects. The higher the population density (PD) and artificial area ratio (AAR) were, the closer the proximity was to the downtown area. The green area ratio (GAR) was less than 0.2 in the downtown area and increased closer to the rural areas. The built environment factors were analyzed in detail and correlated with the UHI effect. The air temperature in the daytime increased with the population density (PD) and artificial area ratio (AAR), but decreased with the green area ratio (GAR) (r = ±0.3–0.4). The result showed good agreement with previous studies.
Review of Emergy Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment: Coupling Development Perspective
Authors: Wang Qingsong , Xiao Hongkun , Ma Qiao , Yuan Xueliang , Zuo Jian , Zhang Jian , Wang Shuguang , Wang Mansen
Published: January 2020

Two methods of natural ecosystem assessment—emergy analysis (EMA) and life cycle assessment (LCA)—are reviewed in this paper. Their advantages, disadvantages, and application areas are summarized, and the similarities and differences between these two evaluation methods are analyzed respectively. Their research progress is also sorted out. The study finds that EMA and LCA share common attributes in evaluation processes and research fields, but they focus on different aspects of macrocosms and microcosms. The assessment of system sustainability is valued by both EMA and LCA, but the former has unique advantages in natural system input analysis, and the latter is more convincing in assessing environmental loading capacity. If the system boundaries of the two methods are expanded, in other words, factors such as ecosystem services, labor, and infrastructure construction are integrated into the upstream of the target system, and environmental impact is further analyzed using LCA in the downstream of the system, the two approaches would complete each other. The quantified results would be more objective. Therefore, these two theories have the necessity of coupling development. After reviewing recent coupling application cases, the results show that LCA and EMA have commonality in the upstream of the target system (mainly in inventory database construction), while the environmental impact assessment methods are different in the downstream. So the overall coupling analysis method is not formed. The current paper gives rational suggestions on the coupling development of the two systems in terms of the aggregate emergy flow table, the indicator system construction and indicator evaluation methods. In addition, it is necessary to introduce sensitivity analysis and uncertainty analysis in order to improve the reliability of assessment results. At present, the research on the coupling development of the two theories is in rapid development stage, but there are still many problems that need further exploration.
Place Branding and Urban Regeneration as Dialectical Processes in Local Development Planning: A Case Study on the Western Visayas, Philippines
Authors: Nagaynay Christian , Lee Jeongwoo
Published: January 2020

Place branding is an emerging concept in urban regeneration strategies. To date, case studies on the link between place branding and urban regeneration have utilized ambiguous terminology and definitions, and often lack empirical and theoretical grounding. Available literature seldom considers the perspectives of government officials and experts, which are critical in terms of policy support and direction. In order to ensure the sustainability of place branding initiatives as core parts of urban regeneration, it will be necessary to engage local development stakeholders. Hence, this study frames place branding and urban regeneration within a dialectic process involving these key actors in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Our results indicate sporadic, but pragmatic, perceptions of place branding that are highly focused on slogans and logos. Moreover, the commonality between place promotion and cultural and historical preservation suggests a connection between place branding and urban regeneration. Specifically, flagship construction is the most favored place branding strategy, due to its high-weighted value in terms of applicability, sustainability, and the promotion of local development. The results of this study can serve as the groundwork for policies that will bring place branding and urban regeneration strategies into the mainstream of local development planning, with particular foci on how place branding can strengthen a place’s identity and establish sustainable regeneration strategies.
Understanding Better the Influential Factors of Commuters’ Multi-Day Travel Behavior: Evidence from Shanghai, China
Authors: Liu Xiaoning , Gao Linjie , Ni Anning , Ye Nan
Published: January 2020

Alleviating traffic congestion and developing sustainable transportation systems in a city can be assisted by promoting environmentally friendly transportation modes such as walking, cycling, and public transport. Strategies for promoting these desirable transportation modes can be identified based on a sound understanding of how commuters choose travel modes. In this study, multi-day commuting travel mode data was used to explore factors that influenced commute mode choice. A multinomial logit model and a binary logit model were proposed to study commuter travel behavior. The results showed the following. (1) Age, gender, and marriage indirectly influence the commute mode choice; (2) The cost of travel mode has little effect on commute mode choice; (3) The probability of commute mode change mainly influences the car mode choice; (4) The number of transfer times and the distance to the nearest public transport stations are main factors that restrict commuters from choosing public transport; (5) The number of bicycles in the family and commute distance are main factors that restrict commuters from choosing cycling for commuting. Based on these findings, several potential measures are demonstrated to policymakers and transportation planners to alleviate traffic congestion and develop sustainable transportation systems.
Modeling Co-Movement among Different Agricultural Commodity Markets: A Copula-GARCH Approach
Authors: Yuan Xinyu , Tang Jiechen , Wong Wing-Keung , Sriboonchitta Songsak
Published: January 2020

The aim of this research is to explore the volatility contagion among different agricultural commodity markets. For this purpose, this research make use of the copula-GARCH (Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) model for the daily spot prices of six major agriculture grain commodities including corn, wheat, soybeans, soya oil, cotton, and oat over the period from 2000 to 2019. Our results provide evidence that significant contagion effects and risk transmissions exist among different agricultural grain commodity markets, suggesting that potential speculation effects on one agricultural market could be contagious for another agricultural market and result an increase in volatility in agricultural product markets. Second, agricultural commodities appears to co-move symmetrically. We also find substantial extreme co-movements among agricultural commodity markets. This indicates that agricultural commodity markets tend to crash (boom) together during extreme events. Moreover, after the food crisis, contagion effects and risk transmissions among different agricultural commodity markets increased substantially. Fourth, we find that the strongest contagion effects and risk transmissions are between corn and soybeans, and the weakest contagion effects and risk transmissions are between soya oil cotton and between cotton and oat. Last, we document that the co-movement varies over time. Our findings hold important implications for modeling the co-movement by the copula-GARCH approach.
Exact Spherically Symmetric Solutions in Modified Gauss–Bonnet Gravity from Noether Symmetry Approach
Authors: Bahamonde Sebastian , Dialektopoulos Konstantinos , Camci Ugur
Published: January 2020

It is broadly known that Lie point symmetries and their subcase, Noether symmetries, can be used as a geometric criterion to select alternative theories of gravity. Here, we use Noether symmetries as a selection criterion to distinguish those models of f ( R , G ) theory, with R and G being the Ricci and the Gauss–Bonnet scalars respectively, that are invariant under point transformations in a spherically symmetric background. In total, we find ten different forms of f that present symmetries and calculate their invariant quantities, i.e., Noether vector fields. Furthermore, we use these Noether symmetries to find exact spherically symmetric solutions in some of the models of f ( R , G ) theory.
Study of the Vibration-Energy Properties of the CRTS-III Track Based on the Power Flow Method
Authors: Jiang Hanwen , Gao Liang
Published: January 2020

The vibration induced by the high-speed railway (HSR) system has been a severe problem during the construction and operation period. To investigate the vibration-energy properties of the China Railways Track System (CRTS)-III track, a vehicle-track-subgrade coupling model is developed, in which the distribution of the tangent force is symmetrical according to the FASTSIM theory, and the power flow method is utilized. What’s more, the corresponding evaluation indexes of the power flow are proposed to analyze the vibration energy of the track structure. The results reveal that the vibration energy decreases from top to bottom of the track structure among the frequency considered, and the decreasing trend is obvious. The vibration energy of the track structure is sensitive to the stiffness of fasteners. Differently, the vibration energy of the composite slab and the base slab is more sensitive to the stiffness of rubber damping pads than that of the rail. To sum up, this paper can provide a new perspective and method to study the vibration-energy properties and select the reasonable stiffness of the fasteners and the rubber damping pads of the CRTS-III track, and the proposed values of the stiffness of the fasteners and the rubber damping pads for the case under this study are 40 kN/mm and 400 MPa/m, respectively.
PointNet++ and Three Layers of Features Fusion for Occlusion Three-Dimensional Ear Recognition Based on One Sample per Person
Authors: Zhu Qinping , Mu Zhichun
Published: January 2020

The ear’s relatively stable structure makes it suitable for recognition. In common identification applications, only one sample per person (OSPP) is registered in a gallery; consequently, effectively training deep-learning-based ear recognition approach is difficult. The state-of-the-art (SOA) 3D ear recognition using the OSPP approach bottlenecks when large occluding objects are close to the ear. Hence, we propose a system that combines PointNet++ and three layers of features that are capable of extracting rich identification information from a 3D ear. Our goal is to correctly recognize a 3D ear affected by a large nearby occlusion using one sample per person (OSPP) registered in a gallery. The system comprises four primary components: (1) segmentation; (2) local and local joint structural (LJS) feature extraction; (3) holistic feature extraction; and (4) fusion. We use PointNet++ for ear segmentation. For local and LJS feature extraction, we propose an LJS feature descriptor–pairwise surface patch cropped using a symmetrical hemisphere cut-structured histogram with an indexed shape (PSPHIS) descriptor. Furthermore, we propose a local and LJS matching engine based on the proposed LJS feature descriptor and SOA surface patch histogram indexed shape (SPHIS) local feature descriptor. For holistic feature extraction, we use a voxelization method for global matching. For the fusion component, we use a weighted fusion method to recognize the 3D ear. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system outperforms the SOA normalization-free 3D ear recognition methods using OSPP when the ear surface is influenced by a large nearby occlusion.
Fuzzy Logic Applied to Sustainable Development Goals and Human Trafficking
Authors: Mordeson John N , Mathew Sunil
Published: January 2020

In 2015, the leaders of all the UN’s Member States agreed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their 169 associated targets address five areas of critical importance: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. The purpose of this paper is to take the metrics and data provided and transform them into a fuzzy logic setting. This allows for the analysis of the results in SDG Index and Dashboards Report 2019 by using the techniques of fuzzy logic. Many of these 17 Sustainable Development Goals are related to the terrible crime of human trafficking. We also examine these goals in a fuzzy logic setting.
Public Health Risk Associated with Botulism as Foodborne Zoonoses
Authors: Rasetti-Escargueil Christine , Lemichez Emmanuel , Popoff Michel R.
Published: January 2020

Botulism is a rare but severe neurological disease in man and animals that is caused by botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produced by Clostridium botulinum and atypical strains from other Clostridium and non-Clostridium species. BoNTs are divided into more than seven toxinotypes based on neutralization with specific corresponding antisera, and each toxinotype is subdivided into subtypes according to amino acid sequence variations. Animal species show variable sensitivity to the different BoNT toxinotypes. Thereby, naturally acquired animal botulism is mainly due to BoNT/C, D and the mosaic variants CD and DC, BoNT/CD being more prevalent in birds and BoNT/DC in cattle, whereas human botulism is more frequently in the types A, B and E, and to a lower extent, F. Botulism is not a contagious disease, since there is no direct transmission from diseased animals or man to a healthy subject. Botulism occurs via the environment, notably from food contaminated with C. botulinum spores and preserved in conditions favorable for C. botulinum growth and toxin production. The high prevalence of botulism types C, D and variants DC and CD in farmed and wild birds, and to a lower extent in cattle, raises the risk of transmission to human beings. However, human botulism is much rarer than animal botulism, and botulism types C and D are exceptional in humans. Only 15 cases or suspected cases of botulism type C and one outbreak of botulism type D have been reported in humans to date. In contrast, animal healthy carriers of C. botulinum group II, such as C. botulinum type E in fish of the northern hemisphere, and C. botulinum B4 in pigs, represent a more prevalent risk of botulism transmission to human subjects. Less common botulism types in animals but at risk of transmission to humans, can sporadically be observed, such as botulism type E in farmed chickens in France (1998–2002), botulism type B in cattle in The Netherlands (1977–1979), botulism types A and B in horses, or botulism type A in dairy cows (Egypt, 1976). In most cases, human and animal botulisms have distinct origins, and cross transmissions between animals and human beings are rather rare, accidental events. But, due to the severity of this disease, human and animal botulism requires a careful surveillance.
Control of Aflatoxigenic Molds by Antagonistic Microorganisms: Inhibitory Behaviors, Bioactive Compounds, Related Mechanisms, and Influencing Factors
Authors: Ren Xianfeng , Zhang Qi , Zhang Wen , Mao Jin , Li Peiwu
Published: January 2020

Aflatoxin contamination has been causing great concern worldwide due to the major economic impact on crop production and their toxicological effects to human and animals. Contamination can occur in the field, during transportation, and also in storage. Post-harvest contamination usually derives from the pre-harvest infection of aflatoxigenic molds, especially aflatoxin-producing Aspergilli such as Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Many strategies preventing aflatoxigenic molds from entering food and feed chains have been reported, among which biological control is becoming one of the most praised strategies. The objective of this article is to review the biocontrol strategy for inhibiting the growth of and aflatoxin production by aflatoxigenic fungi. This review focuses on comparing inhibitory behaviors of different antagonistic microorganisms including various bacteria, fungi and yeasts. We also reviewed the bioactive compounds produced by microorganisms and the mechanisms leading to inhibition. The key factors influencing antifungal activities of antagonists are also discussed in this review.
Reducing Competition of Pepsin in Aflatoxin Adsorption by Modifying a Smectite with Organic Nutrients
Authors: Barrientos Velazquez Ana Luisa , Deng Youjun
Published: January 2020

Carcinogenic aflatoxins can be inactivated by smectites (e.g., montmorillonite) through adsorption and degradation. Proteins in gastric fluids can reduce smectite’s adsorption capacity for aflatoxins. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of smectites modified with organic nutrients in restricting the influence of proteins on aflatoxin adsorption. Arginine, histidine, choline, lysine, and vitamin B1 were selected to occupy part of the interlayer space of montmorillonite to achieve a smectite structure more selective for aflatoxin adsorption, but not for the large protein molecules. The unmodified montmorillonite had a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.2 mol/kg in the presence of pepsin. The vitamin B1-montmorillonite showed significant improvements in the aflatoxin affinity constant from 0.065 to 0.201 μ M − 1 and the aflatoxin adsorption to 0.56 mol/kg. Choline-montmorillonite and histidine-montmorillonite showed a moderate increase in AfB1 adsorption. Arginine-montmorillonite and lysine-montmorillonite showed a slight increase in the adsorption capacity, but did not improve the affinity constant. The XRD results indicated that pepsin could still access the interlayer of nutrient-montmorillonite complexes. The intercalation of organic nutrients into the interlayer space of montmorillonite improved the AfB1 adsorption by restricting the adsorption of pepsin.
Large-Scale Comparison of Toxin and Antitoxins in Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Agüero José Antonio , Akarsu Hatice , Aguilar-Bultet Lisandra , Oevermann Anna , Falquet Laurent
Published: January 2020

Toxin–antitoxin systems (TASs) are widely distributed in prokaryotes and encode pairs of genes involved in many bacterial biological processes and mechanisms, including pathogenesis. The TASs have not been extensively studied in Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), a pathogenic bacterium of the Firmicutes phylum causing infections in animals and humans. Using our recently published TASmania database, we focused on the known and new putative TASs in 352 Listeria monocytogenes genomes and identified the putative core gene TASs (cgTASs) with the Pasteur BIGSdb-Lm database and, by complementarity, the putative accessory gene TAS (acTASs). We combined the cgTASs with those of an additional 227 L. monocytogenes isolates from our previous studies containing metadata information. We discovered that the differences in 14 cgTAS alleles are sufficient to separate the four main lineages of Listeria monocytogenes. Analyzing these differences in more details, we uncovered potentially co-evolving residues in some pairs of proteins in cgTASs, probably essential for protein–protein interactions within the TAS complex.
Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs
Authors: Chen Ling , Guo Weipeng , Zheng Yuqing , Zhou Jinzhen , Liu Tingting , Chen Wei , Liang Daqing , Zhao Meiping , Zhu Yudan , Wu Qingping , Zhang Jumei
Published: January 2020

Traditional medicinal herbs are widely used and may be contaminated with mycotoxigenic fungi during cultivation, harvesting, and storage, causing spoilage and mycotoxin production. We evaluated the predominant mycoflora and extent of mycotoxin contaminations in 48 contaminated samples of 13 different medicinal herbs. In total, 70.8% of herbs were slightly contaminated with aflatoxins (<5 μg kg−1). Codonopsis radix samples contained ochratoxin A (OTA) (360–515 μg kg−1), and Scutellariae radix samples contained OTA (49–231 μg kg−1) and citrinin (15–53 μg kg−1). Forty samples (83.3%) contained fungal contamination. Sixty-nine strains were characterized via morphological and molecular identification. The predominant mycoflora comprised four genera, Aspergillus spp. (26.1%), Penicillium spp. (24.6%), Rhizopus spp. (14.5%), and Trichoderma spp. (11.6%). Aflatoxins, OTA, and citrinin were detected in 37 cultures by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately 21.6% of Aspergillus and Penicillium isolates produced mycotoxins. One Penicillium polonicum strain isolated from Scutellariae radix synthesized citrinin. Multiplex PCR analysis showed that three Aspergillus flavus strains harbored aflatoxin biosynthesis genes. One Aspergillus flavus strain isolated from Amomi fructus produced AFB1 and AFB2. To the best of our knowledge, the citrinin production by Aspergillus chevalieri and Penicillium sacculum was first reported in this study, which poses a potential risk of mycotoxin contamination in medicinal herbs.
Discovery and Prevalence of Divergent RNA Viruses in European Field Voles and Rabbits
Authors: Tsoleridis Theocharis , Chappell Joseph G. , Monchatre-Leroy Elodie , Umhang Gérald , Shi Mang , Bennett Malcolm , Tarlinton Rachael E. , McClure C. Patrick , Holmes Edward C. , Ball Jonathan K.
Published: January 2020

The advent of unbiased metagenomic virus discovery has revolutionized studies of virus biodiversity and evolution. Despite this, our knowledge of the virosphere, including in mammalian species, remains limited. We used unbiased metagenomic sequencing to identify RNA viruses in European field voles and rabbits. Accordingly, we identified a number of novel RNA viruses including astrovirus, rotavirus A, picorna-like virus and a narmovirus (paramyxovirus). In addition, we identified a sobemovirus and a novel luteovirus that likely originated from the rabbit diet. These newly discovered viruses were often divergent from those previously described. The novel astrovirus was most closely related to a virus sampled from the rodent-eating European roller bird (Coracias garrulous). PCR screening revealed that the novel narmovirus in the UK field vole had a prevalence of approximately 4%, and shared common ancestry with other rodent narmoviruses sampled globally. Two novel rotavirus A sequences were detected in a UK field vole and a French rabbit, the latter with a prevalence of 5%. Finally, a highly divergent picorna-like virus found in the gut of the French rabbit virus was only ~35% similar to an arilivirus at the amino acid level, suggesting the presence of a novel viral genus within the Picornaviridae.
Novel Viruses Found in Antricola Ticks Collected in Bat Caves in the Western Amazonia of Brazil
Authors: Blomström Anne-Lie , Luz Hermes R. , Öhlund Pontus , Lukenge Matthew , Brandão Paulo Eduardo , Labruna Marcelo B. , Berg Mikael
Published: January 2020

In this study, we describe the viral composition of adult Antricola delacruzi ticks collected in a hot bat cave in the state of Rondônia, Western Amazonia, Brazil. A. delacruzi ticks, are special, compared to many other ticks, in that they feed on both bats (larval blood feeding) and bat guano (nymphal and adult feeding) instead of feeding exclusively on vertebrate hosts (blood feeding). Considering this unique life-cycle it is potentially possible that these ticks can pick up/be infected by viruses not only present in the blood of viremic bats but also by virus shed through the bat guano. The viral metagenomic investigation of adult ticks showed that single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses were the dominant group of viruses identified in the investigated ticks. Out of these, members of the Nairoviridae family were in clear majority constituting 88% of all viral reads in the data set. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses indicate the presence of several different orthonairoviruses in the investigated ticks with only distant relationship to previously described ones. In addition, identification of viral sequences belonging to Orthomyxoviridae, Iflaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Polycipiviridae, Reoviridae and different unclassified RNA viruses showed the presence of viruses with low sequence similarity to previously described viruses.
Tracing Baculovirus AcMNPV Infection Using a Real-Time Method Based on ANCHORTM DNA Labeling Technology
Authors: Hinsberger Aurélie , Graillot Benoît , Blachère Lopez Christine , Juliant Sylvie , Cerutti Martine , King Linda A. , Possee Robert D. , Gallardo Franck , Lopez Ferber Miguel
Published: January 2020

Many steps in the baculovirus life cycle, from initial ingestion to the subsequent infection of all larval cells, remain largely unknown; primarily because it has hitherto not been possible to follow individual genomes and their lineages. Use of ANCHORTM technology allows a high intensity fluorescent labelling of DNA. When applied to a virus genome, it is possible to follow individual particles, and the overall course of infection. This technology has been adapted to enable labelling of the baculovirus Autographa californica Multiple NucleoPolyhedroVirus genome, as a first step to its application to other baculoviruses. AcMNPV was modified by inserting the two components of ANCHORTM: a specific DNA-binding protein fused to a fluorescent reporter, and the corresponding DNA recognition sequence. The resulting modified virus was stable, infectious, and replicated correctly in Spodoptera frugiperda 9 (Sf9) cells and in vivo. Both budded viruses and occlusion bodies were clearly distinguishable, and infecting cells or larvae allowed the infection process to be monitored in living cells or tissues. The level of fluorescence in the culture medium of infected cells in vitro showed a good correlation with the number of infectious budded viruses. A cassette that can be used in other baculoviruses has been designed. Altogether our results introduce for the first time the generation of autofluorescent baculovirus and their application to follow infection dynamics directly in living cells or tissues.
HIV-1 Mutant Assembly, Processing and Infectivity Expresses Pol Independent of Gag
Authors: Yu Fu-Hsien , Huang Kuo-Jung , Wang Chin-Tien
Published: January 2020

The pol retrovirus gene encodes required enzymes for virus replication and maturation. Unlike HIV-1 Pol (expressed as a Gag–Pol fusion protein), foamy virus (described as an ancient retrovirus) expresses Pol without forming Gag–Pol polyproteins. We placed a “self-cleaving” 2A peptide between HIV-1 Gag and Pol. This construct, designated G2AP, is capable of producing virions with the same density as a wild-type (wt) HIV-1 particle. The 2A peptide allows for Pol to be packaged into virions independently from Gag following co-translationally cleaved from Gag. We found that G2AP exhibited only one-third the virus infectivity of the wt, likely due, at least in part, to defects in Pol packaging. Attenuated protease (PR) activity, or a reduction in Pol expression due to the placement of 2A-mediated Pol in a normal Gag–Pol frameshift context, resulted in significant increases in virus yields and/or titers. This suggests that reduced G2AP virus yields were largely due to increased PR activity associated with overexpressed Pol. Our data suggest that HIV-1 adopts a gag/pol ribosomal frameshifting mechanism to support virus assembly via the efficient modulation of Gag–Pol/Gag expression, as well as to promote viral enzyme packaging. Our results help clarify the molecular basis of HIV-1 gene expression and assembly.
Identification, Genetic Analysis, and Pathogenicity of Classical Swine H1N1 and Human-Swine Reassortant H1N1 Influenza Viruses from Pigs in China
Authors: Song Yafen , Zhang Yong , Zhang Bing , Chen Ling , Zhang Min , Wang Jingwen , Jiang Ying , Yang Chenghuai , Jiang Taozhen
Published: January 2020

Swine influenza virus causes a substantial disease burden to swine populations worldwide and poses an imminent threat to the swine industry and humans. Given its importance, we characterized two swine influenza viruses isolated from Shandong, China. The homology and phylogenetic analyses showed that all eight gene segments of A/swine/Shandong/AV1522/2011(H1N1) were closely related to A/Maryland/12/1991(H1N1) circulating in North America. The HA, NA, M, and NS genes of the isolate were also confirmed to have a high homology to A/swine/Hubei/02/2008(H1N1) which appeared in China in 2008, and the virus was clustered into the classical swine lineage. The gene segments of A/swine/Shandong/AV1523/2011(H1N1) were highly homologous to the early human H1N1 and H2N2 influenza viruses, except for the HA gene, and the virus was a reassortant H1N1 virus containing genes from the classical swine (HA) and human (NA, PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M, and NS) lineages. Both the viruses could cause lethal infection and replicate efficiently in the lungs, brains, spleens, and kidneys of mice. Histopathological examinations showed that AV1522 and AV1523 viruses caused a spectrum of marked pneumonia and meningoencephalitis according to the duration of infection, demonstrating a progression of respiratory disease and neurological disease over the course of infection that ultimately resulted in lethality for the infected mice. The changes in the pathogenicity of swine influenza viruses to mammals, accompanied with the continuous reassortment and evolution of the viruses, highlights the importance of ongoing epidemiological investigation.
Hydrological Alteration Index as an Indicator of the Calibration Complexity of Water Quantity and Quality Modeling in the Context of Global Change
Authors: Cakir Roxelane , Raimonet Mélanie , Sauvage Sabine , Paredes-Arquiola Javier , Grusson Youen , Roset Laure , Meaurio Maite , Navarro Enrique , Sevilla-Callejo Miguel , Lechuga-Crespo Juan Luis , Gomiz Pascual Juan Jesús , Bodoque Jose María , Sánchez-Pérez José Miguel
Published: January 2020

Modeling is a useful way to understand human and climate change impacts on the water resources of agricultural watersheds. Calibration and validation methodologies are crucial in forecasting assessments. This study explores the best calibration methodology depending on the level of hydrological alteration due to human-derived stressors. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is used to evaluate hydrology in South-West Europe in a context of intensive agriculture and water scarcity. The Index of Hydrological Alteration (IHA) is calculated using discharge observation data. A comparison of two SWAT calibration methodologies are done; a conventional calibration (CC) based on recorded in-stream water quality and quantity and an additional calibration (AC) adding crop managements practices. Even if the water quality and quantity trends are similar between CC and AC, water balance, irrigation and crop yields are different. In the context of rainfall decrease, water yield decreases in both CC and AC, while crop productions present opposite trends (+33% in CC and −31% in AC). Hydrological performance between CC and AC is correlated to IHA: When the level of IHA is under 80%, AC methodology is necessary. The combination of both calibrations appears essential to better constrain the model and to forecast the impact of climate change or anthropogenic influences on water resources.
Anthropogenic Occurrence of Phthalate Esters in Beach Seawater in the Southeast Coast Region, South Korea
Authors: Heo Huijin , Choi Mi-Jin , Park Jongkwan , Nam Taewoo , Cho Jaeweon
Published: January 2020

In modern times, humans have contributed to the occurrence of phthalate esters (PEs) in various environmental matrices by consuming plastics that generally contain PEs, which are essential synthetic organic chemicals for fabrication of various consumer products. Five beaches in Ulsan and Busan, South Korea, were investigated for the anthropogenic occurrence of four PEs (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) in beach seawater. Using stir-bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, DnBP and DEHP were determined as generally dominant. At Ilsan Beach, both the northern and southern ends showed higher DnBP and DEHP concentrations than the middle of the beach, while DMP and DEP showed similar concentrations at all points. The differences in the DnBP and DEHP concentrations may be related to the fishery industry and domestic sewage inflow to the beach. In addition, a comparison among Ilsan, Imnang, and Songjeong beaches suggested the effects of neighboring industrial areas on the DnBP and DEHP ratio. This study provides information on the effects of seasons, weather events, the proximity of rivers, industrial behavior, and domestic sewage to PE concentrations in beach seawater.
Monitoring of Cyanobacteria in Water Using Spectrophotometry and First Derivative of Absorbance
Authors: Agberien Adogbeji Valentine , Örmeci Banu
Published: January 2020

Management of cyanobacteria blooms and their negative impact on human and ecosystem health requires effective tools for monitoring their concentration in water bodies. This research investigated the potential of derivative spectrophotometry in detection and monitoring of cyanobacteria using toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of Microcystis aeruginosa. Microcystis aeruginosa was quantified in deionized water and surface water using traditional spectrophotometry and the first derivative of absorbance. The first derivative of absorbance was effective in improving the signal of traditional spectrophotometry; however, it was not adequate in differentiating between signal and noise at low concentrations. Savitzky-Golay coefficients for first derivative were used to smooth the derivative spectra and improve the correlation between concentration and noise at low concentrations. Derivative spectrophotometry improved the detection limit as much as eight times in deionized water and as much as four times in surface water. The lowest detection limit measured in surface water with traditional spectrophotometry was 392,982 cells/mL, and the Savitzky-Golay first derivative of absorbance was 90,231 cells/mL. The method provided herein provides a promising tool in real-time monitoring of cyanobacteria concentrations and spectrophotometry offers the ability to measure water quality parameters together with cyanobacteria concentrations.
Numerical Simulation of the Fluid–Solid Coupling Mechanism of Internal Erosion in Granular Soil
Authors: Wang Yu , Chai Junrui , Xu Zengguang , Qin Yuan , Wang Xin
Published: January 2020

Internal erosion involves migration and loss of soil particles due to seepage. The process of fluid–solid interaction is a complex multiphase, coupled nonlinear dynamic problem. In this study, we used Particle Flow Code (PFC3D, three-dimensional PFC) software to model solid particles, and we applied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the coarse mesh element method to solve the local Navier–Stokes equations. An information-exchange process for the PFC3D and CFD calculations was used to achieve fluid–solid coupling. We developed a numerical model for internal erosion of the soil and conducted relevant experiments to verify the usability of the numerical model. The mechanism of internal erosion was observed by analyzing the evolution of model particle migration, contact force, porosity, particle velocity, and mass-loss measurement. Moreover, we provide some ideas for improving the calculation efficiency of the model. This model can be used to predict the initiation hydraulic gradient and skeleton-deformation hydraulic gradient, which can be used for the design of internal erosion control.