bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Multistage Approach for Blind Source Separation of Noisy Convolutive Speech Mixture
Authors: Khan Junaid , Jan Tariqullah , Khalil Ruhul , Saeed Nasir , Almutiry Muhannad
Published: May 2021

This paper proposes a novel efficient multistage algorithm to extract source speech signals from a noisy convolutive mixture. The proposed approach comprises of two stages named Blind Source Separation (BSS) and De-noising. A hybrid source prior model separates the source signals from the noisy reverberant mixture in the BSS stage. Moreover, we model the low and high-energy components by generalized multivariate Gaussian and super-Gaussian models, respectively. We use Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) to reduce noise in the noisy convolutive mixture signal in the de-noising stage. Furthermore, two proposed models investigate the performance gain. In the first model, the speech signal is separated from the observed noisy convolutive mixture in the BSS stage, followed by suppression of noise in the estimated source signals in the de-noising module. In the second approach, the noise is reduced using the MMSE filtering technique in the received noisy convolutive mixture at the de-noising stage, followed by separation of source signals from the de-noised reverberant mixture at the BSS stage. We evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) with respect to other well-known multistage BSS methods. The results show the superior performance of the proposed algorithm over the other state-of-the-art methods.
Deterministic Model of the Eddy Dynamics for a Midlatitude Ocean Model
Authors: Uchida Takaya , Deremble Bruno , Popinet Stephane
Published: May 2021

Mesoscale eddies, the weather system of the oceans, although being on the scales of O(20-100km), have a disproportionate role in shaping the mean jets such as the separated Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean, which is on the scale of O(1000km) in the along-jet direction. With the increase in computational power, we are now able to partially resolve the eddies in basin-scale and global ocean simulations, a model resolution often referred to as mesoscale permitting. It is well known, however, that due to grid-scale numerical viscosity, mesoscale permitting simulations have less energetic eddies and consequently weaker eddy feedback onto the mean flow. In this study, we run a quasi-geostrophic model at mesoscale resolving resolution in a double gyre configuration and formulate a deterministic parametrization for the eddy rectification term of potential vorticity (PV), namely, the eddy PV flux divergence. We have moderate success in reproducing the spatial patterns and magnitude of eddy kinetic and potential energy diagnosed from the model. One novel point about our approach is that we account for non-local eddy feedbacks onto the mean flow by solving the eddy PV equation prognostically in addition to the mean flow. In return, we are able to parametrize the variability in total (mean+eddy) PV at each time step instead of solely the mean PV. A closure for the total PV is beneficial as we are able to account for both the mean state and extreme events.
New Reports of Wild Mushroom Diversity from Foothill Region of Uttarakhand
Authors: Sharma Vasundhra , Jaitly A. K.
Published: May 2021

A The present investigation was undertaken in foothill regions of Uttarakhand from July-2016 up to December-2018. A total of thirty four different sites ranging from the roadside areas, grasslands to forests were studied and Mushroom fruiting bodies were collected. A total of One Hundred sixty six fruiting counts were obtained and 68 mushroom genera belonging to 15 orders and 43 families were identified. During collection visits mushroom were apparent from organic debris of diversified habitats ranging from humid soil; grassland; leaf litter; living tree trunk; dead wood log of forest zone. Maximum fruiting bodies (75%) were obtained between July to September and minimum i.e. 6% between November – February. Among the collected mushroom Stereum rugosum, Crepidotus variabilis, Laccaria laccata, Schizophyllum commune, Ganoderma applantum, Cantharellus cibarius were more prevalent. Out of all collected mushroom sample the frequency of Mushroom belonging to order Agaricales was 45.18% followed by Polyporales i.e., 27.7%. The collected mushroom were cultured on PDA medium and their mycelial forms were preserved for further studies.
Technologies for the Development of New Value-Added Foods From Dates and Their Processing by-Products
Authors: López-Córdoba Alex
Published: May 2021

The changes in consumer preferences and the increasingly competitive global market have demanded that food entrepreneurs engage in innovative value-added activities. The date is a delicatessen fruit known by its content of active compounds (e.g., dietary fiber and antioxidants) and its biological activity which has a vast potential in the design of new products such as bioactive ingredients, sugar substitutes, dietary supplements, functional foods, among others. In the current paper, innovative approaches to the value addition to date fruits and their processing by-products have been reviewed from recent high-quality scientific works. New processes such as ultrafiltration and hydrothermal treatments are shown as a useful alternative to obtain differentiated date-based ingredients (e.g., fiber concentrates, sap syrups, and date powders). Moreover, the use of date fruits and their byproducts as natural sources of value-added active compounds in the preparation of dairy, meat, and bakery and cereal products is also presented.
Wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 Environmental Monitoring for Piedmont, Italy
Authors: Robotto Angelo , Lembo David , Quaglino Paola , Brizio Enrico , Polato Denis , Civra Andrea , Cusato Jessica , Di Perri Giovanni
Published: May 2021

The experience gained over the last hundred years clearly indicates that two groups of viruses represent the main risk for the development of highly transmissible epidemics and pandemics in the human species: influenza viruses and coronaviruses (CoV). Although the search for viruses with pandemic potential in the environment may have an important predictive and monitoring role, it is still based on empirical methodologies, mostly translated from the clinic and not fully validated for environmental matrices.As far as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, currently underway, is concerned, environmental monitoring activities aiming at checking the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater can be extremely useful to predict and control the diffusion of the disease. For this reason, the present study aims to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 diffusion by means of a wastewater-based environmental monitoring developed in Piedmont, N-W Italy, during the pandemic second and third waves. Sampling strategies, sampling points, sample pre-treatments and analytical methods have been developed and validated to give representative and reliable results. The outcomes highlighted by the present paper demonstrate a strong correlation between SARS-CoV-2 concentration in untreated wastewater and epidemic evolution in the considered areas as well as a predictive potential that could provide decision-makers with indications for establishing effective policies to mitigate the effects of the ongoing pandemic and to prepare response plans for future pandemics that could certainly arise in the decades to come.Moreover, the study highlights the potential of wastewater treatment plants to degrade the genetic material referable to SARS-CoV-2 as well.In conclusion, the preliminary data reported in the present paper, although they need to be complemented by further studies considering other geographical regions as well, are very promising.
Application of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Approach for Prediction of the Kinetic Parameters of Lignocellulosic Fibers
Authors: Ornaghi Júnior Heitor Luiz , Neves Roberta Motta , Monticeli Francisco Maciel
Published: May 2021

Lignocellulosic fibers are widely applied as composite reinforcement due to their properties. The thermal degradation behavior determines the maximum temperature in which the fiber can be applied without significant mass loss. It is possible to determine these temperatures using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG). In particular, when curves are obtained at different heating rates, kinetic parameters can be determined and more detailed characteristics of the material are obtained. However, every curve obtained at a distinct heating rate demands material, cost, and time. Methods to predict thermogravimetric curves can be very useful in the materials science field and in this sense mathematical approaches are powerful tools if well employed. For this reason, in the present study, curaua TG curves were obtained at three different heating rates (5, 10, 20, and 40 °C.min-1) and Vyazovkin kinetic parameters were obtained. After, the experimental curves were fitted using an artificial neural network (ANN) approach followed by a Surface Response Methodology (SRM). Curves at any heating rate between the minimum and maximum experimental heating rates were obtained with high reliability. Finally, Vyazovkin kinetic parameters were tested again with the new curves showing similar kinetic parameters from the experimental ones. In conclusion, due to the capability to learn from the own data, ANN combined with SRM seems to be an excellent alternative to predict TG curves that do not test experimentally, opening the range of applications.
Active and Stable MgAl2O4 and Ni(SA)/MgAl2O4 Catalysts for the Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction
Authors: Zhang Lingling , Song Qi , Xing Yimeng , Si Zhichun , Liu Yuxiang , Ran Rui , Wu Xiaodong , Weng Duan , Kang Feiyu
Published: May 2021

Reverse water gas shift reaction (RWGS) is an important process which plays a vital role in many CO2 utilization related reactions. Noble metals are the most active catalysts in RWGS, but the high price and low reserve strangled their applications. In the present work, we reported a non-transition-metal MgAl2O4 catalyst which showed outstanding activity and stability at high temperatures in the RWGS reaction and improved performance after doping of single atomic Nin+. The catalyst can obtain 46% of CO2 conversion in durability test of 75 h at 800 °C under high weight hourly space velocities (225 000 ml g-1 h-1). The adsorption sites, possible reaction route, and effects of Nin+ single atoms on the (111) surface of MgAl2O4 for RWGS were investigated by in situ DRIFTS and DFT calculations. The results indicated that the rate determining reaction step of RWGS on MgAl2O4 and Ni (SA)/MgAl2O4 were both the reaction of OH* + H* → H2O* + *, but the energy barrier was significantly reduced after introducing single atomic Nin+. Nin+ atoms can increase the hydroxyl coverage on the surface of catalyst and Al3+ sites near the Nin+ ion are considered as the predominant active sites for RWGS reactions.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Medicinal Chemistry and Validation of Emerging Drug Targets
Authors: Quazi Sameer , Jangi Rohit
Published: May 2021

Artificial learning and machine learning is playing a pivotal role is the society especially in the field of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Particularly its algorithms, neural networks or other recurrent networks drive this area. In this review, we have taken into account the diverse use of AI in a number of pharmaceutical industries including discovery of drugs, repurposing, development of pharmaceutical drug and its clinical trials. In addition, the efficiency of these artificial or machine learning programs in achieving the target drugs in short time period, along with accurate dosage and cost effectively of the drug has also been discussed. Numerous applications of AI in property prediction such as ADMET have been used for prediction of strength of this technology in QSAR. In case of de-novo synthesis, it results in generation of novel drug molecules with unique design proving this a promising field fir drug design. Moreover, its involvement in synthetic planning, ease of synthesis and much more contribute to automated drug discovery in near future.
A Vacuum of Quantum Gravity That is Ether.
Authors: Cherkas Sergey L. , Kalashnikov Vladimir L.
Published: May 2021

The fact that quantum gravity does not admit a co-variant vacuum state has far-reaching consequences for all physics. It points out that
space could not be empty, and we return to the notion of an
ether . Such a concept requires a preferred reference frame for, e.g., universe expansion and black holes. Here, we intend to discuss vacuum and quantum gravity from three essential viewpoints: universe expansion, black holes existence, and quantum decoherence.
Fatty acid and proteomic signatures of circulating CD81 positive small extracellular vesicles define the disease stage in melanoma patients
Authors: Paolino Giovanni , Huber Veronica , Camerini Serena , Casella Marialuisa , Macone Alberto , Bertuccini Lucia , Iosi Francesca , Moliterni Elisa , Cecchetti Serena , Ruspantini Irene , Chiarotti Flavia , Raggi Carla , Di Biase Antonella , Calvieri Stefano , Mercuri Santo Raffaele , Lugini Luana , Federici Cristina
Published: May 2021

The early detection of cutaneous melanoma, a potentially lethal cancer with rising incidence, is key to increase survival and therapeutic adjustment. Especially in stages II-IV biomarkers are urgently needed for adjuvant therapy purposes after resection and for treatment of metastatic patients. We here investigated if fatty acid (FA) and protein composition of small extracellular vesicles (sEV) deriving from plasma of 0-I, II, and III-IV stage melanoma patients (n=38) could reflect disease stage and thus function as biomarker. The subpopulation of sEV expressing CD81 (CD81sEV) was isolated by an ad hoc immune affinity technique from microvesicle-depleted plasma. Biological macromolecules were investigated by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in CD81sEV. A higher content of FA and a decrease in Saturation Index (C18:0/C18:1), already detectable in early stages, distinguished patients’ from healthy donor CD81sEV. Proteomics (identifier PXD024434) detected an exclusive and significant increase of CD14, PON1, PON3 and APOA5 in stage II and a significant decrease of Rap1b in stage III-IV CD81sEV. The FA and proteomic stage dependent CD81sEV signature strengthens the potential of circulating sEV studies in providing discriminatory information for early diagnosis, prediction of metastatic behavior and follow up of melanoma patients.
Influence of Teleconnections on the Precipitation
Authors: Aamir Erum
Published: May 2021

Precipitation plays vital role in the economy of agricultural country like Pakistan. Baluchistan being the largest province of Pakistan in term of land is facing reoccurring droughts as well as flashflood due unprecedent torrential precipitation pattern.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Under-Five Mortality in Ethiopia: Further Analysis of Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Surveys 2019
Authors: gilano girma , Hailegeberael Samuel
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Over decades, much have been said and done regarding under-five mortality in Ethiopia. The country has been following the lead of sustainable development goals and UNICEF with its transformation plan targets. However, unless the efforts supported by status assessing studies, it might be difficult for the country to progress. Thus, the current study was directed to identify the prevalence and associated factors of under-five mortality in 2019. Methods: According to the study criteria, we extract and cleaned data in STATA v. 15.0. The data then weighted as per the sampling weight, primary sampling unit, and strata before analyzing in STATA 15.0. Data management consisted of descriptive (mean, standard deviation, and proportion or percent) and association statistics. We deliberated binary logistic regression for this analysis and we checked each variable at 0.25 p-values to include in the model. The final p-value to declare association was p <0.05 and AOR with 95% CI was also applied to describe the results. The data source was the Ethiopian Mini Demographic Health Survey (EMDHS) 2019. EMDHS collected the data from 8,885 in a face-to-face manner with a 99% response rate. Results: From 5,527 numbers of weighted women with under-five analysed in this study, the proportion of under-five mortality was 277.23(5.02%). Factors like 2nd birth order 0.52(0.35, 0.79), 3rd-4th 0.49(0.28, 0.84), 1-2 ANC visits 0.24(0.12, 0.49, ANC visit three’ 0.14(0.07, 0.28), ANC visit four and above 0.22(0.14, 0.36), in marriage mother 0.43(0.19, 0.96), ‘1-2 under-five children 0.02(0.011, 0.03), and greater than three under-five children 0.007(0.0007, 0.004) were all negatively associated with under-five mortality rate. Conclusion: To obtain the exalted outcome out of this study, the government might need to increase antenatal care, women education, institutional delivery, and the modern contraceptive methods use through enhanced community mobilization, health education using community health workers, increasing access to essential cares of mothers and children, and the policy commitment for the issues related to family size, birth order, and birth interval.
A Re-evaluation of Climate Sensitivity
Authors: Wilson Ian Harold
Published: May 2021

Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is the change in global mean temperature expected to result from doubling atmospheric CO2 concentration from pre-industrial levels. Extensive research during the past 40 years has not reduced the uncertainty associated with ECS. Sherwood et al. [1] applied Bayesian statistics to evidence from climate-process physics, historical observations and earlier proxies to reduce the range of ECS from 1.5 – 4.5 K to 2.6 – 4.1 K. This paper examines their methods and many of the assumptions they made. It also evaluates two additional periods in the Holocene to show that factors other than CO2 drove recent climate change. It identifies potential systematic errors resulting from adding non-equilibrium short-term adjustments to the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases and from underestimating the effects of solar irradiance, ocean currents and aerosols. These factors have resulted in estimates of the forcing by CO2 that far exceed the apparent effects in paleoclimate data.
Mapping Global Surface HCHO Distribution with Confidential Interval by Satellite Observation
Authors: Jin Bohan , Guan Jian , Ding Yizhe , Wang Wen , Li Guoxiang
Published: May 2021

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is one of the most important carcinogenic air contaminants. However, the lack of global surface concentration of HCHO monitoring is currently hindering researches on outdoor HCHO pollution. Traditional methods are either too naïve or data-demanding for a global scale research. To alleviate this issue, we trained two fully-connected neural networks respectively for deriving point and interval estimation of surface HCHO concentration in 2019, where vertical column density data from TROPOMI, in-situ data from HAPs (harmful air pollutants) monitoring network and ATom mission are utilized. Our result shows that the global surface HCHO average concentration is 2.30 μg/m3. Furthermore, in terms of regions, the concentration in Amazon Basin, North China, South-east Asia, Bay of Bengal, Central and Western Africa are among the highest. Our study makes up for the global shortage of surface HCHO monitoring and helps people have a clearer understanding of surface concentration distribution of HCHO. In addition, with the help of quality-driven algorithm, interval estimation of surface HCHO concentration is believed to bring confidence to our results. As an early work adopting interval estimation in AI-driven atmospheric pollutant research and the first to map global HCHO surface distribution, our paper will pave way for rigorous study on global ambient HCHO health risk and economic loss, thus providing basis for pollutant controlling policies worldwide.
Patient Reported Outcome Measure in Atopic Dermatitis Patients Treated with Dupilumab: 52-Weeks Results
Authors: Marron Servando E. , Tomas-Aragones Lucia , Moncin-Torres Carlos A. , Gomez-Barrera Manuel , Aranibar Francisco Javier Garcia-Latasa de
Published: May 2021

Dupilumab is used to treat atopic dermatitis patients who have proven to be refractory to previous treatments. The aim of this study was to assess evolution and patient reported outcome measures in adult patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis treated with Dupilumab in routine clinical practice. The outcomes were evaluated and registered at baseline and weeks-16, 40 and 52. The variables evaluated were: diseases severity, pruritus, stressful life events, difficulty to sleep, anxiety and depression, quality of life, satisfaction, adherence to the treatment, efficacy and safety. Eleven patients were recruited between Nov 14th 2017 and Jan 16th 2018. Demographic variables: 90% Caucasian, 82% women. Clinical variables: Mean duration of AD =17.7 (±12.8), 91% had severe disease severity. At baseline, SCORAD mean score = 61.7 (±15.5); itch was reported by 100% of patients; itch Visual Analogue Scale mean range of 8 (6-10); HADS mean total score =13.9 (±5.5); DLQI mean score =13.3 (±8.3): EQ-5D-3L mean range = 57 (30-99). At week-52 there is a significant reduction of SCORAD scores, HADS total score and improved quality of life. ¡This study confirms that Dupilumab, used for 52-weeks under routine clinical practice, maintains the improved atopic dermatitis signs and symptoms obtained at week-16, with a good safety profile.
A Brief Review of the Studies of Teacher Talk in Second Language Classrooms
Authors: Wu Xiaochun
Published: May 2021

This paper systematically reviews the studies of second language teacher talk in language classrooms firstly from the perspective of framework and then from three categories-linguistic function, medium-oriented function, procedural and regulative function. Next, a critical review of the relevant literature in China will be presented with the help of the tool Citespace. Through the comparison of studies at home and abroad, it is of significance to enhance the research in primary and secondary schools in China and consider the frameworks of teacher talk given by domestic authoritative scholars and look deep into teachers' discourse awareness and competence. Additionally, there are still many fields that researchers have not paid attention to, such as language selection and conversion, language ability, other time of teacher talk (play time; silence), lesson type (listening and speaking, reading and writing) etc.
A Recurrent Neural Network–Based Proxy Model for Well-Control Optimization with Nonlinear Output Constraints
Authors: Kim Yong Do , Durlofsky Louis J.
Published: May 2021

In well-control optimization problems, the goal is to determine the time-varying well settings that maximize an objective function, which is often the net present value (NPV). Various proxy models have been developed to predict NPV for a set of inputs such as time-varying well bottomhole pressures (BHPs). However, when nonlinear output constraints (e.g., maximum well/field water production rate or minimum well/field oil rate) are specified, the problem is more challenging because well rates as a function of time are required. In this work, we develop a recurrent neural network (RNN)–based proxy model to treat constrained production optimization problems. The network developed here accepts sequences of BHPs as inputs and predicts sequences of oil and water rates for each well. A long-short-term memory (LSTM) cell, which is capable of learning long-term dependencies, is used. The RNN is trained using well-rate results from 256 full-order simulation runs that involve different injection and production-well BHP schedules. After detailed validation against full-order simulation results, the RNN-based proxy is used for 2D and 3D production optimization problems. Optimizations are performed using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with a filter-based nonlinear-constraint treatment. The trained proxy is extremely fast, although optimizations that apply the RNN-based proxy at all iterations are found to be suboptimal relative to full simulation-based (standard) optimization. Through use of a few additional simulation-based PSO iterations after proxy-based optimization, we achieve NPVs comparable with those from simulation-based optimization but with speedups of 10 or more (relative to performing five simulation-based optimization runs). It is important to note that because the RNN-based proxy provides full well-rate time sequences, optimization constraint types or limits, as well as economic parameters, can be varied without retraining.

NOTE: This paper is published as part of the 2021 Reservoir Simulation Conference Special Issue.
Salivary protein glycopatterns for natural regulation of oral microbiota
Authors: Shu Jian , Yu Hanjie , Wang Yan , Wang Xilong , Ren Xiameng , Zhang Kun , Tang Zhen , Chen Wentian , Li Baozhen , Li Zheng
Published: May 2021

Background：Little is known about the relationship between salivary protein glycopatterns and oral microbial communities in the patients of gastric cancer (GC) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods：In this study, the oral microbiome of healthy volunteers (HVs) and GC patients were detected using 16S rDNA sequencing. The Fucose-neoglycoproteins were synthesized and used to explore the effects of Fucose moiety against Aggregatibacter segnis (A. segnis). The sialoglycoproteins were isolated and used to assess the role of the Siaα2-3/6Gal-linked glycans against Candida albicans (C. albicans).Findings：The results showed that five species (e.g. A. segnis, Megasphaera micronuciformis) were significantly increased (p<0.05) while two species (Streptococcus salivarius and Oral taxon 870) were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in the saliva of GC patients compared to HVs. The adhesion of A. segnis could be inhibited by 30 μg/mL of fucose-neoglycoproteins. The growth and adhesion of C. albicans could be inhibited gradually by 50-400 μg/mL sialoglycoproteins. And Siaα2-3Gal moieties played a major role against the growth and adhesion of C. albicans.Interpretation：These findings provide a novel theory that dynamic communities of oral microbiota are regulated naturally by host salivary protein glycopatterns, having important implications for developing new carbohydrate drugs for oral and body health. Funding：This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81871955), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2020M673628XB), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (Grant No. 2021JQ-446).
Impact of a Health Educational Interventional Program on Reducing the Head Lice Infestation Among Pupils in an Elementary School of a Sub-Tropical Region
Authors: Najjari Mohsen , Gorouhi Mohammad Amin , Zarrinfar Hossein , Farash Bibi Razieh Hosseini , Jamali Jamshid , Moghaddas Elham , Ebrahimipuor Mohammad
Published: May 2021

Background: Pediculosis is an important social challenge that can be caused by human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis. This infestation is cosmopolitan, especially in countries with low hygiene and sanitation. Regular health education classes for students and their parents are required to reducing this infestation in schools and families. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a health education intervention program on reducing of head lice among pupils of an elementary school.Methods: In a pre-post study, a total of 594 pupils, a girl elementary school, were screened for pediculosis (2017-2018). The prevalence of pediculosis estimated before and after two month interventional education program. Visual inspection was applied for initial diagnosis of infection. The suspected cases were confirmed by wood lamp examination and potassium hydroxide (KOH) microscopic wet‐mount examination. An elementary school in the same area was selected as the control group, with no interference. The prevalence of contamination by the same method was obtained in the study group.Results: At the beginning of study, pre-intervention prevalence of pediculosis among pupils was 8.4% (49/594). The mean age in all pupils was 9.86±1.83 years old and the most infestation was showed in fourth-grade students with 10 years old. Analysis of statistics demonstrated a significance difference between having infestation and the number of members in the families. Post-intervention phase led to a decreased prevalence of pediculosis in pupils to 3% (8/594) (p-value < 0.05) and significant increase of parental knowledge on prevention program of pediculosis (p-value < 0.001), Conclusion: The prevalence of pediculosis was significantly reduced following the interventions in the school. The applied interventions may be implemented in other residual centers to get rid of this important infestation.
Python-based Fuzzy Control of Ore Feeding System
Authors: Du Yu , Liu Yuebing , Liu Dan , Liu Ruitao , Zhang Wenkang , Yu Longzhou
Published: May 2021

Using Python as a programming language, this study investigates the problem of controlling the ore amount in the field of mineral processing. First, data on the influencing factors collected from a certain beneficiation mill in Yuanyang are quantitatively analyzed using the NumPy module library. Factors having a greater influence are screened out and then selected as the input while the motor frequency is generated as the output by the fuzzy control algorithm developed using the SciKit Fuzzy module library. The range of values of the fuzzy control variable is defined, the fuzzy membership function is generated, and the fuzzy control rule is established. Finally, the fuzzy controller is activated to realize fuzzy control of the mine. The NumPy algorithm can be effectively applied to the quantitative analysis of data, and the calculation results are reasonable and interpretable. The simulation results are as follows: the hardness of the raw ore and the weight of the belt scale are the key factors for controlling the ore amount, and they can be used as the input variables of the fuzzy control system. The fuzzy controller developed using the SciKit Fuzzy module library can be effectively applied to the field of mineral processing, and it overcomes the limitations of current computer technology in industrial mineral processing.
RUFY3 and RUFY4 are ARL8 effectors that couple lysosomes to dynein-dynactin
Authors: Keren-Kaplan Tal , Saric Amra , Ghosh Saikat , Williamson Chad , Jia Rui , Li Yan , Bonifacino Juan
Published: May 2021

The small GTPase ARL8 associates with lysosomes and recruits several effectors that mediate coupling to kinesins for anterograde transport, as well as tethering for eventual fusion with other organelles. Herein we report the identification of the “RUN- and FYVE-domain-containing” proteins RUFY3 and RUFY4 as novel ARL8 effectors that couple lysosomes to dynein-dynactin for retrograde transport. Using various biochemical approaches, we find that RUFY3/4 interact with both GTP-bound ARL8 and dynein-dynactin. In addition, we show that RUFY3/4 are both necessary and sufficient for concentration of lysosomes in the juxtanuclear area of the cell. RUFY3/4 also promote retrograde transport of lysosomes in the axon of hippocampal neurons. The function of RUFY3/4 in retrograde transport is required for juxtanuclear redistribution of lysosomes upon serum starvation or cytoplasmic alkalinization, and may underlie the reported roles of RUFY3/4 in axon development/degeneration, cancer and immunity. These studies thus establish RUFY3/4 as novel ARL8-dependent, dynein-dynactin adaptors, and highlight the role of ARL8 in the regulation of both anterograde and retrograde lysosome transport.
Exploring the Effects of Climate-related Financial Policies on Carbon Emissions in G20 Countries: A Panel Quantile Regression Approach
Authors: D'Orazio Paola , Dirks Maximilian
Published: May 2021

This paper studies the effects of financial development, economic growth, and climate-related financial policies on carbon (CO 2 ) emissions for G20 countries. The focus is on policies implemented to different degrees by G20 countries to scale up green finance and address climate-related financial risks in 2000-2017 and represents this paper’s value-added. The empirical results obtained by relying on the panel quantile regression approach indicate that the impacts of the different explanatory variables on carbon emission are heterogeneous. Specifically, the effect of the stock of short-term financial policies on carbon emissions is negative, and its effect becomes smaller at higher quantiles. No significance is reported for the 10th quantile. The stock of long-term policies also show significant negative coefficients, but their impact is stronger for higher quantiles. Financial development contributes to improving environmental quality, and its impact is larger in higher emission countries. Energy consumption increases carbon emissions, with the strongest effects occurring at higher quantiles. Our results also support the validity of the EKC relationship and positive effects of GDP and population on high emissions levels. The study highlights that climate-related financial policies have a negative direct effect on CO 2 emissions but a positive indirect effect in some percentiles. This evidence can imply a worsening of environmental quality in high-emission countries when considering the stock of short-term policies and low-emission countries when analyzing the stock of long-term policies. The total effect appears nevertheless negative, which indicates that these policies may improve environmental quality overall in G20 countries.
Survival, Virulence Gene Expression and Difference in the Drug Susceptibility of Non-typhoidal Salmonella in Gut Physiological Conditions
Authors: Kotian Akshatha , Aditya Vankadari , Sheikh Jassiya , Saikrishnan Sreya , Rai Praveen , Chakraborty Anirban , Karunasagar Indrani , Deekshit VK
Published: May 2021

Salmonella is one among the most versatile and resilient enteric pathogens that known to have developed various survival strategies within the host system. The ability of the bacteria to circumvent the physiological parameters as well as dodge the antimicrobial stress environment within the host is one of the most crucial steps in establishing an infection. With an alarming rise in multi-drug resistant serovars of non-typhoidal Salmonella and lack of vaccine for combatting the infections, behaviour of the bacteria in the presence of host physiological gut conditions (NaCl, high and low iron) and antibiotics will help in understanding the survival strategies as well as mechanisms of resistance. 59 non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars isolated from poultry and seafood were used in the study. The isolates were screened for their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Two multi-drug resistant and two sensitive serovars were used for growth kinetics and virulence gene expression study. The results obtained revealed that despite similar resistance pattern, the effect of individual class of antibiotics on the growth of serovars varied. On contrary, no significant difference was observed in growth pattern on exposure to in vitro gut like experimental conditions. Nevertheless, the in-vitro gut conditions and exposure to antibiotics have drastically reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotics in resistant strains. A first of its kind study that draws attention on the significant effect of antibiotics and gut physiological conditions on MIC and expression of virulence genes from Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI) 1 and 2 between resistant and sensitive non typhoidal Salmonella serovars.
A meta-analysis of Twitter assisted learning outcomes in terms of country, gender, and Twitter usage
Authors: Yu Zhonggen
Published: May 2021

The use of social media such as Twitter has been widely used in education due to their positive learning outcomes. To summarize the effect of Twitter use on educational outcomes, this study included 22 high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles for meta-analysis. It is concluded that the Twitter assisted learning approach can lead to significantly higher learning outcomes than the non-Twitter assisted but the former cannot lead to significantly higher teaching effectiveness than the latter. The use of Twitter can improve learning outcomes in the USA and Sweden rather than Spain. Twitter can significantly improve learning engagement in the USA but not in Greece. Males tend to show significantly higher learning outcomes than females in the Twitter assisted learning context. Whether Twitter is used as a supplementary or an integrated tool can significantly improve learning outcomes. Future research may adopt more interdisciplinary methods and include more literature to summarize the effect of Twitter use on educational outcomes.
Preparation and Application of Sewage Sludge Bio-char/zero Valent Iron (SSBC/ZVI) Composite for Improving the Biodegradability of a Real Chemical Synthesis-based Pharmaceutical Wastewater
Authors: Qi Gaoxiang , Wang Xiaobo , Liu Xuecheng , Yu Shen
Published: May 2021

A new kind of micro-electrolysis filler sewage sludge biochar/zero violent iron (SSBC/ZVI) composite was prepared for a real chemical synthesis based pharmaceutical wastewater (CSPW) pretreatment for improving the biodegradation index (BI). The optimal operation condition of micro-electrolysis system was obtained at HRT of 2 h, the initial pH of 3.0 and filler dosage of 100 g/L, with COD removal rate of 30.5%. Comparative analysis of raw and used SSBC/ZVI filler, GC-MS analysis of raw and treated pharmaceutical wastewater suggested that the pollutants removal was mainly attributed to the combination of reduction and oxidation, absorption of SSBC and flocculation effect of iron sludge. In addition, SSBC/ZVI exhibited relative high stability and excellent reusability for COD removal and BI improvement of real pharmaceutical wastewater. The results of this study provide new ideas of sewage sludge utilization for real wastewater pretreatment.
A Comparative Analysis of L1 Retrotransposition Activities in Human Genomes Suggests an Ongoing Increase in L1 Number Despite an Evolutionary Trend Towards Lower Activity
Authors: Wehbi Sawsan Sami , zu Dohna Heinrich
Published: May 2021

BackgroundLINE-1 (Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements, L1) retrotransposons are the only autonomously active transposable elements in the human genome. The evolution of L1 retrotransposition rates and its implications for L1 dynamics are poorly understood. Retrotransposition rates are commonly measured in cell culture-based assays, but it is unclear how well these measurements provide insight into L1 population dynamics. This study applied comparative methods to estimate parameters for the evolution of retrotransposition rates, and infer L1 dynamics from these estimates.ResultsOur results show that the rates at which new L1s emerge in the human population correlate positively to cell-culture based retrotransposition activities, that there is an evolutionary trend towards lower retrotransposition activity, and that this evolutionary trend is not sufficient to counter-balance the increase in L1s resulting from continuing retrotransposition. ConclusionsTogether, these findings support a model of the population-level L1 retrotransposition dynamics that is consistent with prior expectations and indicate the remaining gaps in the understanding of L1 dynamics in human genomes.
Robust effects of springtime Arctic ozone depletion on surface climate
Authors: Friedel Marina , Chiodo Gabriel , Stenke Andrea , Domeisen Daniela , Fueglistaler Stephan , Anet Julien , Peter Thomas
Published: May 2021

Massive spring ozone loss due to anthropogenic emissions of ozone depleting substances is not limited to the austral hemisphere, but can also occur in the Arctic. Previous studies have suggested a link between springtime Arctic ozone depletion and Northern Hemispheric surface climate, which might add surface predictability. However, so far it has not been possible to isolate the role of stratospheric ozone from dynamical downward impacts. For the first time, we quantify the impact of springtime Arctic ozone depletion on surface climate using observations and targeted chemistry-climate model experiments to isolate the effects of ozone feedbacks. We find that springtime stratospheric ozone depletion is followed by surface anomalies in precipitation and temperature resembling a positive Arctic Oscillation. Most notably, we show that these anomalies, affecting large portions of the Northern Hemisphere, cannot be explained by dynamical variability alone, but are to a significant degree driven by stratospheric ozone. The surface signal is linked to reduced shortwave absorption by stratospheric ozone, forcing persistent negative temperature anomalies in the lower stratosphere and a delayed breakup of the polar vortex - analogous to ozone-surface coupling in the Southern Hemisphere.These results suggest that Arctic stratospheric ozone actively forces springtime Northern Hemispheric surface climate and thus provides a source of predictability on seasonal scales.
Amateur Singing Benefits Speech Perception in Aging Under Certain Conditions of Practice: Behavioural and Neurobiological Mechanisms.
Authors: Tremblay Pascale , Perron Maxime , Vaillancourt Josée
Published: May 2021

Limited evidence has shown that practising musical activities in aging, such as choral singing, could lessen age-related speech perception in noise (SPiN) difficulties. However, the robustness and underlying mechanism of action of this phenomenon remain unclear. In this study, we used surface-based morphometry combined with a moderated mediation analytic approach to examine whether singing-related plasticity in auditory and dorsal speech stream regions can mitigate age-related SPiN difficulties. 36 choral singers and 36 non-singers aged 20–87 years underwent cognitive, auditory, and SPiN assessments. Our results provide important new insights into experience-dependent plasticity by revealing that, under certain conditions of practice, amateur choral singing is associated with age-dependent structural plasticity within auditory and dorsal speech regions, which is associated with better SPiN performance in aging. Specifically, the conditions of practice that were beneficial for SPiN included frequent weekly practice at home, several hours of weekly group singing practice, singing in multiple languages, and having received formal singing training. These results suggest that the effect of amateur choral singing on SPiN is related to a dual mechanism involving auditory processing and auditory-motor integration and may be dose dependent, with more intense singing associated with greater benefit. Our results thus reveal that the relationship between musical practice and SPiN is complex, and underscore the importance of considering musical practice behaviours in understanding the effects of musical activities on the brain-behaviour relationship.
Comparison of Luteal Phase Estradiol Priming Stimulation Protocol and the Standard Antagonist Protocol in Patients With Diminished Ovarian Reserve Undergoing ICSI
Authors: Aksakal Sezin Erturk , Aldemir Oya , Kahyaoglu İnci , Kaplanoğlu İskender , Dilbaz Serdar
Published: May 2021

ObjectiveThis study aimed to compare the IVF outcomes in patients with diminished ovarian reserve stimulated with luteal phase estradiol (E2) priming protocol versus the standard antagonist protocol.MethodsThe study included 603 patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles (ICSI) with the diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) who were stimulated with the luteal E2 priming protocol (n=181) and the standard antagonist protocol (n=422). Groups were compared in terms of demographic characteristics, ovarian stimulation results, ICSI cycle outcomes, clinical pregnancy, and live birth rates per embryo transfer. ResultsThe duration of ovarian stimulation was longer, and the total gonadotropin dose used was significantly higher (p=0.001) in the E2 priming protocol group than the antagonist protocol group. The number of embryos transferred was higher in the antagonist protocol group compared with the luteal E2 priming protocol group (0.87±0.75 vs. 0.64±0.49; p=001), but there was no statistically significant difference in terms of embryo quality (p>0.05). The cycle cancellation rate and the clinical pregnancy and live birth rates per embryo transfer were similar in both groups.Conclusions﻿There was no significant difference between the ICSI outcomes of the patients diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve stimulated with the antagonist protocol and the luteal E2 priming protocol. The antagonist protocol might be considered more advantageous because of the shorter treatment duration and lower doses of gonadotropin, and it allows more embryos to be transferred. Additional randomized controlled trials are needed to verify these findings.
Palliative Care in the Community – The Role of the Resource Nurse
Authors: Johansen Håkon , Helgesen Ann Karin
Published: May 2021

Background : Approaches involving resource nurses have been used in several fields of practice to enhance quality of care. A literature review reveals limited research on the role of the resource nurse in palliative care in the community.Aim: To explore experiences pertaining to the resource nurse’s role in palliative care in nursing homes in Norway.Design: An explorative and descriptive design using group interviews. Methods: Two semi structured group interviews were conducted. Five resource nurses participated in the first interview, two resource nurses participated in the last interview. The group interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed with systematic text condensation.Results: The resource nurses wish to promote high-quality palliative care. They are skilled palliative nurses working clinically, and they use their experience and knowledge to talk about and demonstrate good practice. By conveying knowledge and being role models, they bolster their colleagues’ confidence and skills in palliative care and contribute to a shared view of quality. They can potentially play an important role in facilitating reflection and collaboration in the palliative care team. However, the resource nurse’s function is affected by interpersonal, managerial and organisational factors.Conclusion: The resource nurse most important tool in promoting high-quality palliative care may be to support their colleagues being a role model and sharing knowledge and experience. The resource nurses play an important role in facilitating reflection and collaboration in the palliative care team and may contribute to ethical awareness and proper dialogues about end of life issues.