bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic-based Learning: A Novel Approach for Higher Education during COVID-19
Authors: Jumlongkul Arnon
Published: April 2021

Purpose: Now traditional lecture-based teaching and learning have been affected by the COVID-19. The objectives of this article are to design the novel educational technique called ‘dynamic-based learning’ (DBL) that provides the combination of online teaching-learning methods and student’s creativity, to evaluate primary dynamic-based learning function, and to propose dynamic-based learning for higher education. Methods: DBL composes of four steps, including, preparation, homework, classroom, and evaluation, which was designed, and taught in medical and dental schools. Online support materials included mobile phone, email, Facebook Messenger, Line Messenger, Cisco Webex, and Zoom Meetings applications were recruited for this novel method. Results: A total of 32 third-year medical students and 26 sixth-year dental students was treated by DBL similarly. three subjects, including, Innovation in Dentistry, Basic Medical Research, and Principles of Pathology and Forensic Medicine were selected in this article. The results showed students could create their knowledge, ideas, and creativity during the online classes.Conclusion: DBL can be used as an alternative learning mode during the COVID-19 crisis. The benefits of DBL also include high flexibility, dynamic process, active learning, and high creativity. DBL should be tested with other disciplines such as engineering school, laws school, health sciences school, and should be compared with other traditional teaching and learning modes in the future. This method may support the global higher education systems to move forward the COVID-19 pandemic to set a novel standard of a future normal.
High NO2 cOncentrations Measured by Passive Samplers in Czech Cities: Unresolved Aftermath of Dieselgate?
Authors: Vojtisek-Lom Michal , Sikorova Jitka , Sram Radim
Published: April 2021

This work examines the effects of two problematic trends in diesel passenger car emissions – increasing NO2/NOx ratio by conversion of NO into NO2 in catalysts and a disparity between the emission limit and the actual emissions in everyday driving – on ambient air quality in Prague. NO2 concentrations were measured by 104 membrane-closed Palmes passive samplers at 65 locations in Prague in March-April and September-October of 2019. NO2 concentrations measured by city stations during those periods were comparable with the 2016-2019. The average measured NO2 concentrations at the selected locations, after correcting for the 18.5% positive bias of samplers co-located with a monitoring station, were 36 µg/m3 (range 16-69 µg/m3, median 35.3 µg/m3), with the EU annual limit of 40 µg/m3 exceeded at 32% of locations. The NO2 concentrations have correlated well (R2=0.76) with the 2019 average daily vehicle counts, corrected for additional emissions due to uphill travel and intersections. In addition to expected “hot-spots” at busy intersections in the city center, new ones were identified, i.e. along a six-lane road V Holešovičkách. Comparison of data from six monitoring stations during March 15-April 30, 2020 travel restrictions with the same period in 2016-2019 revealed an overall reduction of NO2 and even a larger reduction of NO. The spatial analysis of data from passive samplers and time analysis of data during the travel restrictions both demonstrate a consistent positive correlation between traffic intensity and NO2 concentrations along/near the travel path. The slow pace of NO2 reductions in Prague suggests that stricter vehicle NOx emission limits, introduced in the last decade or two, have so far failed to sufficiently reduce the ambient NO2 concentrations, and there is no clear sign of remedy of Dieselgate NOx excess emissions.
Relationship between Fish Length and Otolith Morphological Characteristics of Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775) from the Southern Red Sea
Authors: Osman Yassein A. A. , Mahé Kélig , El-Mahdy Samia M. , Mohammad Ashraf S. , Mehanna Sahar
Published: April 2021

Otolith morphology analysis is one of the main tools used for fish or fish stock identification. Moreover, otolith shape can also be used in fish dietary studies (stomach content) for the identification of prey fishes and their size according to the relationship between fish and otolith sizes. In the present study, the relationship between fish length and otolith morphological dimensions was investigated for the sabre squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775) (family: Holocentridae). Samples of 185 fish were collected from the coast of the Red Sea, Egypt. To analyze the relationship between fish and otolith, otolith morphometric measurements (length, width, area, perimeter, weight, sulcus, and ostium) and shape factors (aspect ratio, compactness, form factor, rectangularity, roundness, ellipticity, squareness) describing outline shape were extracted using image analysis. Generalized linear models were applied for the relationship between body length and each otolith morphology feature. From the relationships between the total length of fish and fourteen morphology features, only otolith length, caudal length, and squareness were significantly correlated with fish size. Our results provide more information for the relationship between fish length and otolith morphometric features.
Generation and Activity Evaluation of a Mouse-Human Immunoglobulin G1 Chimeric Antibody to Histoplasma capsulatum HSP60
Authors: Nogueira D'Áurea Moura Ágata , Garforth Scott J. , Buffoni Roque da Silva Leandro , Woodley Darien , Vieira Barbalho Filipe , Quiroz Jose A. , Almo Steven C. , Lai Jonathan R. , Nosanchuk Joshua Daniel , Pelleschi Taborda Carlos
Published: April 2021

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved molecules that are constitutively expressed and upregulated in response to physiological stress conditions. These immunogenic chaperones can have essential functions in fungi, particularly in dimorphic pathogens. Histoplasma capsulatum and Paracoccidioides species are dimorphic fungi that are the causative agents of histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis, respectively, which are systemic mycoses with significant rates of morbidity and mortality. Current treatment consists of long-term antifungal agents, and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches with higher efficacy, lower toxicity, better biodistribution and improved selectivity. We engineered an immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) isotype chimeric mouse-human monoclonal antibody, titled ch-MAb 4E12, from the parental IgG2a MAb 4E12, a monoclonal antibody to H. capsulatum Hsp60 that is protective in experimental histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis models elicited by H. capsulatum var. capsulatum and Paracoccidioides lutzii, respectively. The ch-MAb 4E12 increased phagolysosomal fusion and enhanced the yeasts uptake by PMA differentiated human THP1 macrophage cells in vitro. At low concentrations, the chimeric antibody significantly reduced the pulmonary and splenic fungal burden compared to an irrelevant antibody or no treatment. These results are the first to show that a chimeric mouse-human antibody can modify infection caused by dimorphic fungi.
Charge transfer in a DNA molecule within a simple model of an open quantum system
Authors: Syurakshin Anton Victorovich , Lakhno Victor Dmitrievich , Yushankhai Victor Yulievich
Published: April 2021

The quantum-mechanical model proposed earlier by Skourtis and Nitzan (J. of Chem. Phys. 119, (2003) 6271) to describe a charge transfer in a fragment of artificial DNA molecule has been numerically investigated. The current rationale for the model is carried out and values of its parameters are indicated. Within this model, the description of the transport of a hole carrier in DNA is based on solutions to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation including damping effects. The non-unitary dynamics of the hole carrier is treated by us within the framework of a theory of continuous quantum measurements by the environment in an open quantum system. Results of numerical analysis of the model are in a good agreement with experimental observations and demonstrate two different types of the charged carrier motion, presumably tunneling and incoherent hopping. The main concepts of the theory of decoherence and superselection for open quantum systems and the prospects for their application for further study of various mechanisms of motion of a charged carrier in DNA are briefly discussed.
ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN LITERASI SAINS DITINJAU DARI KEBIASAAN MEMBACA, MOTIVASI BELAJAR DAN PRESTASI BELAJAR
Authors: Yanti Rosmalah , Prihatin Titi , Khumaedi Khumaedi
Published: April 2021

Penelitian  ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis (1) pengaruh langsung kebiasaan membaca terhadap motivasi belajar; (2) pengaruh langsung kebiasaan membaca terhadap prestasi belajar; (3) pengaruh langsung motivasi belajar terhadap prestasi belajar; (4) pengaruh langsung kebiasaan membaca terhadap kemampuan literasi sains; (5) pengaruh langsung motivasi belajar terhadap kemampuan literasi sains; (6) pengaruh langsung prestasi belajar terhadap kemampuan literasi sains; (7) pengaruh tidak langsung kebiasaan membaca terhadap prestasi belajar; (8) pengaruh tidak langsung kebiasaan membaca terhadap kemampuan literasi sains; dan (9) pengaruh tidak langsung motivasi belajar terhadap kemampuan literasi sains. Metode penelitian ini adalah Ex Post Facto. Sampel berjumlah 112 siswa kelas VII di Kabupaten Luwu. Pengambilan sampel menggunakan cluster random sampling. Teknik analisis data menggunakan analisis jalur. Hasil penelitian adalah sebagai berikut 1) kebiasaan membaca berpengaruh secara langsung sebesar 0,16% terhadap motivasi belajar, 9,67% terhadap prestasi belajar, dan 3,6% terhadap kemampuan literasi sains; 2) motivasi belajar dapat memberikan pengaruh langsung sebesar 1,58% terhadap prestasi belajar, dan 3) prestasi belajar memberi pengaruh langsung terhadap kemampuan literasi sains sebesar 7,12%. Pengaruh tidak langsung kebiasaan membaca sebesar 10,17% terhadap prestasi belajar melalui motivasi belajar, serta berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan literasi sains melalui motivasi belajar sebesar 3,73%. Motivasi belajar tidak berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan literasi sains siswa. Kemampuan literasi sains siswa secara dominan dipengaruhi oleh kebiasaan membaca sehingga sebaiknya siswa dilatih dan dibiasakan mengerjakan soal-soal yang menguji dan dapat meningkatkan kemampuan literasi sains.
Pengelolaan Sampah di Lingkungan Sekolah untuk Meningkatkan Kesadaran Ekologi Siswa
Authors: Purnami Wahyuni
Published: April 2021

Pengelolaan sampah merupakan masalah nasional yang harus ditangani secara menyeluruh mulai hulu hingga ke hilir. Pengelolaan sampah secara tepat harus ditanamkan pada anak sejak dini. Tujuan penulisan ini untuk memaparkan tentang definisi sampah, dampak sampah serta pengelolaan yang telah dilakukan oleh pemerintah maupun pengelolaan sampah di salah satu sekolah dasar di Ruteng, Manggarai, Flores. Penulisan ini merupakan studi literature tentang pendidikan lingkungan hidup khususnya pengelolaan sampah. Pengelolaan sampah yang tepat dilakukan dengan pola 3R (Reduce, Reuse dan Recycle) dengan penerapan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran tentang lingkungan hidup (awareness), meningkatkan berpikir mendalam tentang lingkungan (Thinking) dan melakukan pengelolaan sampah untuk meningkatkan nilai ekonomi dan nilai estetika sampah (doing). Penerapan Pola pengelolaan sampah dengan tepat meningkatkan kesadaran ekologis siswa.
Pseudotumors in Total Joint Arthroplasty
Authors: van der Merwe Johannes Michiel
Published: April 2021

» The true incidence of pseudotumors in association with total joint arthroplasty is underestimated.

» Pseudotumors occur with metal-on-metal, metal-on-polyethylene, and metal-on-ceramic articulations.

» Metal ion levels should not be the only factor in decision-making regarding revision surgery.

» Revision surgery is only indicated in symptomatic patients with clinical and radiographic findings and elevated metal ion levels.

» Revision to a non-metal articulation is strongly suggested.
Surfing Injuries
Authors: Bickley Ryan J. , Belyea Christopher M. , Harpstrite J. Kimo , Min Kyong S
Published: April 2021

» Surfing is safe: the risk of injury ranges from 0.26 to 0.90 injuries per surfer per year, 0.06 to 3.5 injuries per 1,000 days of surfing, and 1.1 to 13.0 injuries per 1,000 hours of surfing.

» The most common acute surfing injuries are lacerations, contusions, and sprains; the head and the neck as well as the lower extremities are the locations that are affected most.

» The most common mechanism of injury is striking a surfer’s own board or that of another surfer.

» A pathology that is unique to surfers is surfer’s myelopathy; bites and/or stings by sea life and infections caused by marine life also occur in surfers.
STUDY OF NUTRITIONAL CONTENTS OF SEA URCHIN GONAD FROM DRINI BEACH, GUNUNG KIDUL, YOGYAKARTA
Authors: Pringgenies Delianis , Indrajati Richardus Mahatmada , Djunaedi Ali
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to determine the types and contents of protein, fatty acids, amino acids and protein in the gonads of Arbacia lixula, Colobocentrotus atratus, Heterocentrotus trigonarius and Echinotrix diadema from the waters of Drini, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Kjedal method was used to analyze the protein content, while GC and HPLC methods were employed to analyze amino acids in this study. The results showed that the protein contents of each sample, consequently from highest to lowest, were Heterocentrotus trigonarius (13.3 %), Echinotrix diadema (10.86), Colobocentrotus atratus (10.41) and Arbacia lixula (9.90%). Amino acids analysis from all identified both saturated fatty acids, consisting of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidonic acid, lignoceric acid, as well as non-saturated fatty acids, consisting of palmitoleic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, erucic acid, EPA, and DHA. The highest contents of non-saturated fatty acids were identified in Colobocentrotus atratus (434.14 mg/100g) and the lowest content in Arbacia lixula (197.71 mg/100g). The highest percentage of essential fatty acids was found in Heterocentrotus trigonarius (0.29%), whereas the lowest was found in Echinotrix diadema (0.19 %). It is concluded that the gonad of Heterocentrotus trigonarius showed the highest protein and essential fatty acids contents. This study also found that Colobocentrotus atratus sea urchin gonads possess the highest content of non-saturated fatty acids (434.14 mg/100g).  Keywords: amino acid, fatty acid, protein, sea urchin gonad.
Aalenian–Lower Bajocian Foraminiferal Fauna from the Ammonitico Rosso Series of Bakonycsernye (Hungary). Part 1: Taxonomy and Biostratigraphy
Authors: Zsiborás Gábor , Görög Ágnes
Published: April 2021

This paper provides the first record of isolated foraminiferal assemblages from the continuous Aalenian–lower Bajocian succession from the pelagic region of the Neotethys. The studied Tűzkövesárok section B of Bakonycsernye (Hungary) has been well dated by ammonites and consists of Ammonitico Rosso type limestones. The foraminiferal fauna extracted by glacial acetic acid yielded 49 benthic taxa (species and subspecies); protoglobigerinids also occurred. Most specimens belonged to the suborder Spirillinina, followed by the suborder Lagenina and Rotaliina; agglutinated forms were subordinate and miliolids were absent. The majority of the species have wide stratigraphic ranges; moreover, the distributions of 11 species changed based on their appearances in this section. Nevertheless, the Aalenian and Bajocian parts of the section could be distinguished based upon the stratigraphic distributions of some species.
Discovery of metabolic biomarkers for gestational diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population
Authors: Lu Wenqian , Luo Mingjuan , Fang Xiangnan , Zhang Rong , Tang Mengyang , Yu Xiangtian , Hu Cheng
Published: April 2021

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), one of the most common pregnancy complications, can lead to morbidity and mortality in both the mother and the infant. Metabolomics has provided new insights into the pathology of GDM and systemic analysis of GDM with metabolites is required for providing more clues for GDM diagnosis and mechanism research. This study aims to reveal metabolic differences between normal pregnant women and GDM patients in the second- and third-trimester stages and to confirm the clinical relevance of these new findings.Methods: Metabolites were quantitated with the serum samples of 200 healthy pregnant women and 200 GDM women in the second trimester, 199 normal controls, and 199 GDM patients in the third trimester. Both function and pathway analyses were applied to explore biological roles involved in the two sets of metabolites. Then the trimester stage-specific GDM metabolite biomarkers were identified by combining machine learning approaches, and the logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate predictive efficiency. Finally, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis method was used to further capture the associations between metabolite modules with biomarkers and clinical indices. Results: This study revealed that 57 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were discovered in the second-trimester group, among which the most significant one was 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid. Similarly, 72 DEMs were found in the third-trimester group, and the most significant metabolites were ketoleucine and alpha-ketoisovaleric acid. These DEMs were mainly involved in the metabolism pathway of amino acids, fatty acids and bile acids. The logistic regression models for selected metabolite biomarkers achieved the area under the curve values of 0.807 and 0.81 for the second- and third-trimester groups. Furthermore, significant associations were found between DEMs/biomarkers and GDM-related indices. Conclusions: Metabolic differences between healthy pregnant women and GDM patients were found. Associations between biomarkers and clinical indices were also investigated, which may provide insights into pathology of GDM.
Detecting Vulnerability in Source Code Using CNN and LSTM Network
Authors: Guo Junjun , Wang Zhengyuan , Li Haonan , Xue Yang
Published: April 2021

Vulnerabilities can have very serious consequences for information security, with huge implications for economic, social, and even national security. Automated vulnerability detection has always been a keen topic for researchers. From traditional manual vulnerability mining to static detection and dynamic detection, all rely on human experts to define features. The rapid development of machine learning and deep learning has alleviated the tedious task of manually defining features by human experts while reducing the lack of objectivity caused by human subjective awareness. However, we still need to find an objective characterization method to define the features of vulnerabilities. Therefore, we use code metrics for code characterization, which are sequences of metrics that represent code. To use code metrics for vulnerability detection, we propose VulnExplore, a deep learning-based vulnerability detection model that uses a composite neural network of CNN + LSTM for feature extraction and learning of code metrics. Experimental results show that VulnExplore has a lower false positive rate, a lower miss rate, and a better accuracy rate compared to other deep learning-based vulnerability detection models.
Climate-driven Model Based on Long Short-Term Memory and Bayesian Optimization for Multi-day-ahead Daily Streamflow Forecasting
Authors: Lian Yani , Luo Jungang , Wang Jingmin , Zuo Ganggang
Published: April 2021

Many previous studies have developed decomposition and ensemble models to improve runoff forecasting performance. However, these decomposition-based models usually introduce large decomposition errors into the modeling process. Since the variation in runoff time series is greatly driven by climate change, many previous studies considering climate change focused on only rainfall-runoff modeling, with few meteorological factors as input. Therefore, a climate-driven streamflow forecasting (CDSF) framework was proposed to improve the runoff forecasting accuracy. This framework is realized using principal component analysis (PCA), long short-term memory (LSTM) and Bayesian optimization (BO) referred to as PCA-LSTM-BO. To validate the effectiveness and superiority of the PCA-LSTM-BO method with which one autoregressive LSTM model and two other CDSF models based on PCA, BO, and either support vector regression (SVR) or, gradient boosting regression trees (GBRT), namely, PCA-SVR-BO and PCA-GBRT-BO, respectively, were compared. A generalization performance index based on the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), called the GI(NSE) value, is proposed to evaluate the generalizability of the model. The results show that (1) the proposed model is significantly better than the other benchmark models in terms of the mean square error (MSE<=185.782), NSE>=0.819, and GI(NSE) <=0.223 for all the forecasting scenarios; (2) the PCA in the CDSF framework can improve the forecasting capacity and generalizability; (3) the CDSF framework is superior to the autoregressive LSTM models for all the forecasting scenarios; and (4) the GI(NSE) value is demonstrated to be effective in selecting the optimal model with a better generalizability.
Analysis of the non-periodic oscillations of a self-excited friction-damped system with closely-spaced modes
Authors: Woiwode Lukas , Vakakis Alexander F. , Krack Malte
Published: April 2021

It is widely known that dry friction damping can bound the self-excited vibrations induced by negative damping. The vibrations typically take the form of (periodic) limit cycle oscillations. However, when the intensity of the self-excitation reaches a condition of maximum friction damping, the limit cycle loses stability via a fold bifurcation. The behavior may become even more complicated in the presence of any internal resonance conditions. In this work, we consider a two-degree-of-freedom system with an elastic dry friction element (Jenkins element) having closely spaced natural frequencies. The symmetric in-phase motion is subjected to self-excitation by negative (viscous) damping, while the symmetric out-of-phase motion is positively damped. In a previous work, we showed that the limit cycle loses stability via a secondary Hopf bifurcation, giving rise to quasi-periodic oscillations. A further increase of the self-excitation intensity may lead to chaos and finally divergence, long before reaching the fold bifurcation point of the limit cycle. In this work, we use the method of Complexification-Averaging to obtain the slow flow in the neighborhood of the limit cycle. This way, we show that chaos is reached via a cascade of period doubling bifurcations on invariant tori. Using perturbation calculus, we establish analytical conditions for the emergence of the secondary Hopf bifurcation and approximate analytically its location. In particular, we show that non-periodic oscillations are the typical case for prominent nonlinearity, mild coupling (controlling the proximity of the modes) and sufficiently light damping. The range of validity of the analytical results presented herein is thoroughly assessed numerically. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first work that shows how the challenging Jenkins element can be treated formally within a consistent perturbation approach in order to derive closed-form analytical results for limit cycles and their bifurcations.
Antifungal Activity and Molecular Docking of Phenol, 2, 4-Bis (1, 1-Dimethylethyl) - Produced By Plant Growth-Promoting Mangrove Actinobacteria; Kutzneria Sp. Strain TSII
Authors: Devi Thangarasu Suganya , Vijay Karuppiah , RM Vidyavathi , Kumar Ponnuchamy , Govarthanan Muthusamy , Kavitha Thangavel
Published: April 2021

The present study reveals the plant growth-promoting (PGP) potentials and characterizes the antifungal metabolites of Kutzneria sp. strain TSII isolated from mangrove sediment soil through in vitro and in silico studies. In this study, Kutzneria sp. strain TSII was screened for PGP activities and the antifungal activities against Pithomyces atro-olivaceous, a leaf spot associated pathogen in groundnut plants. The ethyl acetate extract of Kutzneria sp. strain TSII was purified using column chromatography, and the presence of various antimicrobial compounds was studied by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. In silico modeling and docking were carried out to evaluate the antifungal potent of bioactive compound. Kutzneria sp. strain TSII produced Proteases, Phosphatases, Ammonia, Siderophores, Cellulases, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Lipases, and Amylases, indicating its ability to enhance the growth of plants. The ethyl acetate extract of Kutzneria sp strain TSII was found to be a potent inhibitor of fungal mycelial growth in the potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. The GC-MS spectral study showed 24 antimicrobial compounds belonging to five chemical groups: Phenolics, Phthalates, Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), Spiro, and Fatty alcohols. In silico docking studies showed that Phenol, 2, 4-Bis (1, 1-Dimethylethyl) – effectively attaches with the active site of mitochondrial F1F0 Adenosine triphosphate synthase enzymes of Pithomyces atro-olivaceous. Hence, it is clear that these antifungal compounds shall be formulated shortly to treat many plant fungal diseases in an eco-friendly manner.
Fine Mapping and Candidate Gene Analysis For A Novel Male-Sterile Mutant Ms40 in Maize
Authors: Xiaowei Liu , Yujing Yue , Zicheng Gu , Qing Huang , Zijin Pan , Zhuofan Zhao , Mingmin Zheng , Zhiming Zhang , Chuan Li , Cao Moju
Published: April 2021

Maize male sterile mutant 40 (ms40) was obtained from the progeny of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treated inbred line RP125. Genetic analysis showed that it was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. Cytological observation of anthers revealed that abnormal cuticles and disappearing of Ubisch bodies presented in ms40. Moreover, its tapetum exhibited delayed degradation and blocked the formation of abnormal microspore. Using map-based cloning, ms40 locus was located in a 282-kb interval on chromosome 4, five annotated genes were predicted within this region. PCR-based sequencing detected a single nonsynonymous SNP (G>A) which changed glycine (G) to arginine (A) in the seventh exon of Zm00001d053895, while no difference was found for the other four genes between ms40 and RP125. Zm00001d053895 encodes the bHLH transcription factor bHLH51 which protein was located at nuclear. Phylogenetic analysis presented that bHLH51 had the highest homology with Sb04g001650, a tapetum degeneration retardation (TDR) bHLH transcription factor in Sorghum bicolor. Co-expression analysis exposed a total of 1192 genes coexpressed with Zm00001d053895 in maize, 647 out of 1192 were anther-specific genes. In summary, these findings are conducive to the marker-assisted selection of ms40 in hybrid breeding and laid a foundation for further studies on the mechanisms of male fertility.
Outlining the Prior Infection with SARS-CoV-2 study (PICOV) - preliminary findings on symptoms in nursing home residents and staff.
Authors: Goossens Maria E. , Neven Kristof Y. , Pannus Pieter , Barbezange Cyril , Thomas Isabelle , Gucht Steven Van , Dierick Katelijne , Schmickler Marie-Noëlle , Verbrugghe Mathieu , Loon Nele Van , Ariën Kevin K , Marchant Arnaud , Goriely Stanislas , Desombere Isabelle
Published: April 2021

Background: COVID-19 has presented itself as one of the most important health concerns of 2020. The geriatric population is arguably hit the hardest by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The ”Prior Infection with SARS-COV-2” (PICOV) study investigates both residents and staﬀ members from nursing homes. The primary aim of the study is to compare the time to occurrence of an inﬂuenza-like illness (ILI) or acute respiratory infection (ARI) between participants with a conﬁrmed past SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without an infection. This paper details the study design, sampling scheme, biological measurements, and population characteristics at baseline.Methods: In 26 Belgian nursing homes, all eligible residents and staﬀ members with or without a past SARS-CoV-2 infection (ratio 40/60) were invited to participate. Consent was obtained from 1,375 participants and 1,226 completed the baseline questionnaire. Prevalence of symptoms during a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was compared between residents and staﬀ members with χ2 statistics.Results: Nursing home residents (both with and without a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection) systematically reported fewer symptoms than staﬀ members. Moreover, results from prior nasopharyngeal RT-qPCR and baseline serology show that antibody development after a SARS-CoV-2 infection diﬀers between residents and staﬀ members.Conclusions: We can postulate that disease development and symptoms is diﬀerent between a geriatric and younger population. Therefore, the occurrence and severity of a future ILI and/or ARI might vary from resident to staﬀ.
Associated factors of sexual and gender based violence among female high school students in Debre Markos Town, North West Ethiopia: an institutionally based cross-sectional study
Authors: Ashebir Wassachew , Ayichew Abiot
Published: April 2021

Background: Sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) continues to be a concern of health, sexual and reproductive rights, sustainable peace and development issue that cuts across boundaries, cultural backgrounds and socio-economic groups to touch individuals of every sort around the world. SGBV remains one of the greatest inequalities of our time that takes life, violates the right they are entitled with, and seriously endangers women and girl’s mental and physical wellbeing, as well as sexual and economical security. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of sexual and gender based violence among female high school students in Debre Markos Town, North West Ethiopia:. Methods: An institutionally based-cross-sectional study was conducted among 309 randomly selected female high school students in Debre Markos Town. Data was collected using self- administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression with odds ratio and 95% confidence interval to identify factors associated with sexual and gender based violence. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0.05.Results: The lifetime prevalence of GBV, sexual violence, and physical violence were found to be 47.0, 23.3, and 39.5%, respectively. The prevalence of sexual violence in the current academic year was 13.2%. Ever drink alcohol (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.18–0.86), have friends using substances (AOR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.09–0.82), Grade level (AOR = 3.15; 95% CI: 1.32–7.48), witnessing parental conflict (AOR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.17–0.52), ever discuss gender related issues (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI: 1.31–3.78) and living condition of students (AOR = 3.53; 95% CI: 1.55–8.07) were significantly associated with gender-based violence.Conclusion: The prevalence of sexual and gender-based-violence was high. This needs further intervention like awareness creation at school and community settings should be strengthened.
An Infrared Dim Target Detection Algorithm based on Density Peak Search and Region Consistency
Authors: Zhang Baohua , Zhu Jinhui , Lu XIAOQI , Gu Yu , Li Jianjun , Liu Xin , Zhang Ming
Published: April 2021

To suppress background clutter and improve detection accuracy, this paper propose a dim target detection algorithm based on density peak search and region consistency. Firstly the density peak search algorithm is used to extract the candidate targets. And then the candidate targets are classified and marked according to the local mosaic probability factor, which is important to suppress the background clutter and accurately strip the candidate target region from the background. Considering the regional stability of the dim targets, local mosaic gradient factors are used to screen real targets from the candidate targets, and then facet kernel filter is used to extract the irregular contours of the dim targets, and as a result, the targets can be enhanced. The experimental results show that compared with the existing algorithms, the proposed method has better detection accuracy and stronger robustness in different complex scenarios.
Greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potential of hybrid maize seed production in northwestern China
Authors: Liu Dan , Zhang Wushuai , Wang Xiaozhong , Guo Yanjun , Chen Xinping
Published: April 2021

Although hybrid maize seed production is one of the most important agriculture systems worldwide, its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and potential mitigation measures have not been studied. In this study, we used life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the GHG emissions of 150 farmers run by 6 companies in an area of northwest China known for hybrid maize seed production. The results indicated that the average reactive nitrogen (Nr) losses and GHG emissions from hybrid maize seed production were 53 kg N ha− 1 and 8077 kg CO2 eq ha− 1, respectively, which are higher than those of the conventional maize production system. Furthermore, the average nitrogen and carbon footprints of the process were 12.2 kg N Mg− 1 and 1495 kg CO2 eq Mg− 1, respectively. Nitrogen fertilizer and electricity consumption for irrigation were the main contributors to high GHG emissions, accounting for 60% and 30% of the total, respectively. The GHG emissions from seed production for different companies varied greatly with their resource input. There was also a large variation in environmental burdens among the 150 farmers. Based on an analysis of the yield group, we found that the carbon footprint of the first group (the one with the highest yield) was 27% lower than the overall average. Scenario analysis suggests that a combined reduction of N input rate, optimizing irrigation, and increasing yield can eventually mitigate the carbon footprint of hybrid maize seed production by 37%. An integrated systematic approach (e.g., ISSM: integrated soil-crop system management) can reduce the GHG emissions involved in producing hybrid maize seeds. This study provides quantitative evidence and a potential strategy for GHG emissions reduction of hybrid maize seed production.
Cartesian-closedness and Subcategories of (L,M)-fuzzy Q-convergence Spaces
Authors: Pang Bin , Zhang Lin
Published: April 2021

In this paper, we first construct the function space of ( L,M )-fuzzy Q-convergence spaces to show the Cartesian-closedness of the category ( L,M )- QC of ( L,M )-fuzzy Q-convergence spaces. Secondly, we introduce several subcategories of ( L,M )- QC , including the category ( L,M )- KQC of ( L,M )-fuzzy Kent Q-convergence spaces, the category ( L,M )- LQC of ( L,M )-fuzzy Q-limit spaces and the category ( L,M )- PQC of ( L,M )-fuzzy pretopological Q-convergence spaces, and investigate their relationships.
Effect of passenger uncertainty on the inertial properties of a railway coach
Authors: Gao Xue-jun , Li Yinghui
Published: April 2021

The rotation transformation matrix and translation transformation matrix are derived. They are combined to study the variation of inertial properties of the loaded coach with seating and standing passengers. After that, a CRH2 (China Railway Highspeed) motor coach and Chinese adults in statistical terms are illustrated for precise modelling. It is indicated that CG (Center of Gravity) positions and moments of inertia are all close to linear varying with passenger numbers but at different slopes before and after full-load. It is also found that yaw moment of inertia and pitch moment of inertia are highly correlated. The mass has larger correlation on CG z than CG x and CG y, and larger correlation on roll moment of inertia than yaw and pitch moment of inertia. It may offer some instructions and reference for more realistic simulation of railway vehicle dynamics and measure experiments.
Perception of University students towards National Efforts at Controlling COVID-19 Pandemics, The Practice of Prevention Measures and its Associated Factors During School Reopening
Authors: Tadese Mesfin , Desta Saba , Mihretie Abebe , Beyene Assalif , Tsegaw Birhan , Yeshaneh Alex , Misganaw Worku
Published: April 2021

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the whole communities, including students. University students are more dynamic and energetic than older ones so that they are more susceptible to contract and spread the virus. Up-to-date information about the disease, preventive methods, its spread, and government-issued advisories are crucial for containing an outbreak. Thus, the study aimed to assess the perception of students towards national efforts at controlling COVID-19 pandemics, the practice of prevention measures, and its associated factors during school reopening, Northeast Ethiopia.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Debre Berhan University students from December 1 to 15/2020, when students just get back to school. Multistage sampling technique was applied to recruit 682 participants. Epi-Data version 4.6 and SPSS version 25 software was used for data entry and analysis, respectively. The perception and practice of the participants were assessed using a scoring system. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to detect significant (p ≤0.05) predictors of COVID-19 prevention practice.Result: The overall high perception and good practice of prevention behaviors were 32%, 95% CI (28.8–35.2), and 37.5%, 95% CI (33.7–41.2), respectively. Being female (AOR (CI) =1.67(1.17-2.37), rural residence (AOR (CI)= 1.56(1.07-2.29), fathers’ education (AOR (CI)= 1.94(1.06-3.56), having respiratory disease (AOR (CI)= 2.81(1.32-5.95), and information source from YouTube (AOR (CI)= 1.87(1.19-2.91) were significant factors of COVID-19 prevention practice. Besides, high perception towards national efforts at controlling COVID-19 (AOR (CI)= 2.94(2.04-4.25) was positively associated with the practice of prevention measures.Conclusion: During school reopening, most students had a low perception towards national efforts at controlling COVID-19 and poor prevention practice. Socio-demographics, having a chronic illness, information source, and perception towards national efforts were factors of COVID-19 prevention practice. Thus, raising the perception about the national efforts, promoting precautionary measures, managing chronic illnesses, and disseminating information through YouTubes are critical to prevent and control COVID-19 among students during school reopening.
A Method for Assessing Axial and Temporal Effects of the Leaf Sheath on the Flexural Stiffness of the Maize Stem
Authors: Hale Jared , Webb Spencer , Hale Nathan , Stubbs Christopher , Cook Douglas D
Published: April 2021

Background: The leaf sheath of many plants has been observed to influence both stiffness of the stem and ultimate strength. The leaf sheath has been implicated in studies of maize “greensnap” (or “brittle-snap”) failure. However, but the influence of the sheath is still not well understood and few methods exist for studying the influence of the sheath. The goal of this study was to develop a method for assessing longitudinal and temporal patterns of sheath influence on flexural stiffness. This metric of flexural stiffness was chosen because it is non-destructive and has been shown to be highly predictive of bending strength. Results: A three-point bending test method was successfully developed for assessing the influence of the sheath on flexural stiffness. The method relies upon comparisons between pairs of tests at the same location (sheath present vs. absent). The influence of the sheath was statistically significant in all varieties tested. The test method provided insights into the longitudinal and spatial variation of sheath influence: sheath influence appears to be closely related to maturity since both spatial and temporal patterns of influence mirror the sigmoidal maturation patterns previously observed in maize stalks. Conclusions: The paired nature of this test method increases statistical significance while the non-destructive feature of this test allows for multiple tests along the length of the stalk. This method can be used to provide new insightsregarding how the leaf sheath influences stalk flexibility (and therefore strength). Preliminary results indicate that the influence of the sheath changes over the life span of the plant in parallel with maturation patterns. However, further studies will be needed to confirm this hypothesis more broadly and to study additional issues such as heritability and the influce of genotype and environment on sheath influence.
Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and irrigation management shaped the bacterial and fungal communities and networks in vineyard soils
Authors: Torres Nazareth , Yu Runze , Kurtural Kurtural
Published: April 2021

Background: Vineyard-living microbiota play a relevant role in supporting grapevine health and adaptation to changing environments and determining the biological quality of soils that strongly influence the wine quality and characteristics. However, management practices may shape the abundance and interactions of bacteria and fungi in vineyard soils. We conducted this experiment to assess whether the vineyard soil microbiome was altered by different management practices with the use of biostimulants (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation vs. non-inoculated) and/or irrigation management (full irrigated vs. half irrigated). Results: Bacterial and fungal communities in vineyard soils were shaped by both time course and soil management (i.e. use of biostimulants or irrigation). Regarding alpha diversity, fungal communities were more responsive to treatments whereas changes on beta diversity were mainly recorded in the bacterial communities. Edaphic factors rarely influenced bacterial and fungal communities. Microbial network analyses suggested that the bacterial associations were weaker than the fungal ones under half irrigation and that the inoculation with AMF led to the increase of positive associations between vineyard soil-living microbes. Conclusion: Our results indicated different sensibilities within microbial communities living in vineyards, as well as, how they changed during the season, and in response to management practices. Moreover, results highlighted the need of more studies leading with the effect of management practices, especially the addition of AMF, to cropping systems to fully understand the factors that drive their variability, strengthen beneficial microbial networks and achieved a better soil quality that improves crop performance.
Corrosion effects on high-cycle fatigue lifetime and fracture behavior for heat-treated aluminum-matrix nano-clay-composite compared to piston aluminum alloy
Authors: Aroo Hanieh , Azadi Mohammad , Azadi Mahboobeh
Published: April 2021

In this research, the corrosion effect has been investigated on the high-cycle fatigue lifetime and the fracture behavior for the heat-treated aluminum-matrix nano-clay-composite and piston aluminum alloys. For this objective, after fabricating stir-casted nano-clay-composite, standard samples were machined and rotary bending fatigue tests were performed. To study the corrosion effect, some specimens were corroded in in the 0.00235% H2SO4 solution after 200 hours and then, they were tested under cyclic bending loading. Due to increase in the hardness by adding nano-clay particles and the heat treatment, higher fatigue strength occurred, compared to the base material. Nano-clay particles shortened the fatigue lifetime; however, this effect was less in the corrosion-fatigue lifetime. Moreover, the failure mechanism was the brittle fracture behavior due to the observation of quasi-cleavage and cleavage marks.
Hydrochemical Characteristics, Toxic Element Sources, and Health Risk Assessment of Surface Waters in the Amu Darya Basin of Uzbekistan, arid Central Asia
Authors: Zhan Shuie , Wu Jinglu , Jin Miao
Published: April 2021

As the core of arid Central Asia, Uzbekistan is experiencing prominent water scarcity with increasingly warming climate and accelerated human impact. To determine the hydrochemical characteristics and sources of toxic elements, as well as to assess water quality and health risks in Uzbekistan, 55 surface water samples were collected from the Amu Darya Basin of Uzbekistan (ADBU) and monitored for 20 parameters. A hierarchical cluster analysis showed that river water samples from the middle reach and Amu Darya Delta (ADD) were dominantly HCO3-Ca and SO4-Ca·Mg type, respectively. While the water samples collected near the former shoreline of the ADD and sewage outlets were dominantly Cl-Ca·Mg and Cl-Na types, which were consistent with the distribution of sites with high concentrations of toxic elements, seriously affected by human activities. Furthermore, principal component analysis indicated that the toxic elements of Pb and Cd in surface waters of the ADBU had industrial origins; local agricultural activities were considered to have contributed much of the NO3, Zn, Ni, Hg and Mn through pesticides and fertilizers; and Cu, Cr, As, and Co were controlled by mixed anthropogenic and natural sources. The results of water quality and health risk assessment also suggested that unsuitable drinking waters were displayed near the former shoreline of the ADD region and sewage outlets, and human health risks also occurred these areas.
Preparation of polyethyleneimine modification of flower molybdenum disulfide composite(PEI/MoS2) adsorbent and studying it enriched and reduction property for hexavalent chromium from wastewater
Authors: Tang Miao Shan , Chen Jian hua , Wang JingMei , Lin Qiao Jing , Fang Li Jun
Published: April 2021

In this study, flower molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) was surface-modified with polyethyleneimine(PEI) to prepare PEI/MoS2 composite adsorbents for Cr(VI) enrichment in aqueous solution. The physicochemical properties of PEI/MoS2 were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR, BET and XPS methods. The influences of PEI loading, solution pH, contact time, adsorption temperature, and initial Cr(VI) ion concentration on the adsorption performance of PEI/MoS2 for Cr(VI) were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, and the initial Cr(VI) ion concentration is 50 mg L− 1, the adsorption capacity of PEI/MoS2 is 120.7 mg g− 1. The adsorption rate is fast, equilibrium time is 6 h. Competitive adsorption studies of the Cr(VI), Co(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) quaternion system were also investigated, the results indicated that selectively adsorbed amount of Cr(VI) on PEI/MoS2 is significantly higher than that of Co(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions. The adsorption process was spontaneous and conformed to Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second kinetic model. The consecutive adsorption-desorption experiments indicated that the PEI/MoS2 has excellent reusability.
Coverage versus response time objectives in ambulance location
Authors: Janosikova Ludmila , Jankovic Peter , Kvet Marek , Zajacova Frederika
Published: April 2021

Background: This paper deals with the location of emergency medical stations in a large-scale area. Operations research tools are used to design a new infrastructure that reflects demographic changes.Methods: A bi-criteria mathematical programming model is proposed. The criteria include the accessibility of high-priority patients in a short time limit and response time of all patients. The model is compared with the p-median model with a single response time objective and with a hierarchical pq-median model that considers different vehicle types. A detailed computer simulation model is used to evaluate the solutions.Results: The methodology is verified in the conditions of the Slovak Republic using real historical data on ambulance trips. Considerable improvements regarding the average response time, coverage of population and coverage of high-risk patients can be achieved by redistributing current stations. In a large-scale area, the coverage objective does not work well. It does not outperform the response time objective that enables saving more lives. The best results are achieved by the hierarchical median-type model.Conclusions: The resulting distribution of ambulances significantly improves the accessibility of urgent health care to patients.