bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adolescent girls' experiences of menstruation and schooling in monastic schools in Magway Region, Myanmar: A mixed-methods exploration
Authors: Swe Zay Yar , Mon Nwe Oo , Than Kyu Kyu , Azzopardi Peter S. , Kennedy Elissa C. , Davis Jessica , Burns Lia J. , Hennegan Julie
Published: August 2022

Background

Despite increasing recognition that menstruation matters for adolescent girls' health and education, few studies have investigated menstrual health challenges and impacts in Myanmar. In this study we aimed to (1) understand the menstrual experiences of girls attending monastic schools in Magway Region, Myanmar and (2) explore the associations between their reported unmet menstrual health needs and school absenteeism.

Methods

We undertook a mixed-methods exploration across 16 Monastic schools in rural and semi-rural areas. In-depth interviews with 10 adolescent girls, 10 Focus-Group Discussions (FGDs) with girls, 10 FGDs with boys, 5 FGDs with mothers, along with 24 key-informant interviews were analyzed using a framework approach to explore girls' menstrual experiences and challenges in school settings. A cross-sectional survey of 421 post menarche girls (mean-age-14 years) was used to describe the prevalence of menstrual health challenges and test associations with self-reported school absenteeism.

Results

Girls described a range of menstrual health challenges including access to information and social support, behavioral restrictions, stigma surrounding menstruation, difficulties managing menstrual bleeding and pain. Girls also described fear and distress associated with menstruation and impacts on school attendance and participation. Of girls surveyed, 12.8% had missed school due to their last period. In multivariable analysis, grade level (aOR = 0.76 95%CI 0.60–0.97), menstrual pain (aOR = 2.10 95%CI 1.10–4.00), and heavy bleeding (aOR = 3.33 95%CI 1.51–7.34) were associated with absenteeism. Knowledge about menstrual biology was not related to absenteeism, but a more negative attitude toward menstruation may have predicted greater absences (aOR 1.34 95%CI 0.99–1.80). Confidence to talk to friends or teachers about menstruation was not associated with absenteeism, nor was using a disposable-pad or feeling confident to manage menses at school. However, feeling confident to ask a teacher for a pad was associated with greater absenteeism and may have indicated that girls more regularly needing to request products had lower attendance (aOR = 1.93 95%CI 1.06–3.54).

Conclusions

Adolescent girls in Magway face substantial challenges during menstruation, adversely impacting on their education and wellbeing. Providing age-appropriate education and addressing shame and taboos are important components of a comprehensive menstrual health response. In addition, our study highlights the need to ensure access to menstrual resources and WASH facilities, along with access to adequate menstrual pain relief.
Fostering food preservation practice: Lessons from a community train-the-trainer program on Canada's west coast
Authors: Oloko Majing , Reed Maureen G. , Robson James P.
Published: August 2022

Local food systems programs in Canada's rural and remote communities support residents to improve their access to healthy food by strengthening various social practices within the system. Designing programs to strengthen social practices can help address food insecurity by providing a support structure where people can build competencies and access materials necessary to engage in practices like food preservation, and make meanings that will encourage them to sustain their engagement. The elements needed for successfully establishing a social practice–competencies, materials, and meanings–must be present. Unfortunately, food preservation programs in Canada's local food systems have not fully embedded structures to bring all three elements of social practice together or undertake a participant-focused program assessment. Consequently, we do not know the potential of local food preservation to meet peoples' various needs or the challenges that program participants experience practicing food preservation. This paper uses a social practice framework to determine the extent to which a community food preservation program on Canada's west coast strengthened the three elements of social practice. Findings from interviews show that in line with the paper's three objectives, participants of a community train-the-trainer program (1) built and shared food preservation competencies, (2) accessed materials to practice food preservation, and (3) formed meanings to support their continuous engagement in food preservation. The paper shows how a social practice framework can support a participant-focused program evaluation and provide a practical and straightforward tool for assessing food systems programs.
Payment options: An analysis of 6 years of payment plan data and potential implications for for-profit clinics, non-profit veterinary providers, and funders to access to care initiatives
Authors: Cammisa Heather J. , Hill Samantha
Published: August 2022

Analyzing a dataset of payment plans disassociated with traditional credit scoring, this research, for the first time, offers insights into the mitigation of cash flow and credit ineligibility challenges in access to veterinary care. Specifically, this paper explores financial fragility among pet families and whether payment options offer substantial bridges in access to care challenges for veterinarians and clients. Researchers introduce a veterinary care multiplier to estimate the potential increase in veterinary care that may be provided by for-profit and non-profit clinics from additional payment options. The implications for non-profits working to address access to care is that by directing donor dollars to cover the 6.9% that is potentially left unpaid in meeting pet families simply facing cash flow challenges, a non-profit clinic could provide 14.5 times the veterinary care vs. full subsidies. In for-profit clinics, allocating some of a clinic's discount budget may similarly yield 14.5 times the care for clients likely to be declined by the traditional credit options. Further research is recommended to explore how deeply these options penetrate all financially fragile pet owners and outcomes in the absence of these tools for credit-declined clients. Additional research to determine the levels at which payment options reduce economic euthanasia decisions, reduce the client and staff stress, increase the value perception and compliance with suggested care, enable better outcomes for patients, and increase clinic revenue is also recommended. The researchers conclude that payment options that are independent of traditional credit scoring mitigate financial barriers to obtaining veterinary care.
Research of Flexible Assembly of Miniature Circuit Breakers Based on Robot Trajectory Optimization
Authors: Han Yan , Shu Liang , Wu Ziran , Chen Xuan , Zhang Gaoyan , Cai Zili
Published: August 2022

This paper is dedicated to achieving flexible automatic assembly of miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) to resolve the high rigidity issue of existing MCB assembly by proposing a flexible automatic assembly process and method with industrial robots. To optimize the working performance of the robot, a time-optimal trajectory planning method of the improved Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) with a multi-optimization mechanism is proposed. The solution uses a fitness switch function for particle sifting to improve the stability of the acceleration and jerk of the robot motion as well as to increase the computational efficiency. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves flexible assembly for multi-type MCB parts of varying postures. Compared with other optimization algorithms, the proposed improved PSO is significantly superior in both computational efficiency and optimization accuracy. Compared with the standard PSO, the proposed trajectory planning method shortens the assembly time by 6.9 s and raises the assembly efficiency by 16.7%. The improved PSO is implemented on the experimental assembly platform and achieves smooth and stable operations, which proves the high significance and practicality for MCB fabrication.
Effects of Burst Ratio and Frequency on the Passage Vortex Reduction of a Linear Turbine Cascade Using a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator
Authors: Matsunuma Takayuki
Published: August 2022

A dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator was employed to reduce the passage vortex generated in a turbine cascade. This study focused on the burst mode drive of a plasma actuator and examined the relationship between flow field changes and the burst ratio and frequency. The non-dimensionalized burst frequency was fixed at F+ = 1.26, and the burst ratio was varied from 0.01 (1% operation) to 1 (100% operation, continuous mode). Generally, an increase in the burst ratio weakens the passage vortex, and the center of the passage vortex moves more toward the upper endwall surface and blade suction surface side. However, the velocity distribution, secondary flow streamlines, turbulence intensity distribution, and vorticity distribution did not change proportionally with changes in the burst ratio. Furthermore, the burst ratio was fixed at BR = 0.5, and the non-dimensional burst frequency varied from F+ = 0.013 to 62.9. Low burst frequencies led to a decrease in the peak velocity of the passage vortex, vorticity at the passage vortex center, and negative peak vorticity; however, an increase in the distance of the center of the passage vortex from the upper endwall surface and the turbulence intensity at the vortex center was observed. In contrast, high burst frequencies resulted in a decrease in the position of the vortex center and the turbulence intensity of the passage vortex center, while the peak velocity of the passage vortex, vorticity at the vortex center, and negative peak vorticity increased. The non-dimensionalized burst frequency around F+ = 1 is appropriate because both effects are balanced.
Flying State Sensing and Estimation Method of Large-Scale Bionic Flapping Wing Flying Robot
Authors: Liu Guangze , Wang Song , Xu Wenfu
Published: August 2022

A large bionic flapping wing robot has unique advantages in flight efficiency. However, the fluctuation of fuselage centroid during flight makes it difficult for traditional state sensing and estimation methods to provide stable and accurate data. In order to provide stable and accurate positioning and attitude information for a flapping wing robot, this paper proposes a flight state sensing and estimation method integrating multiple sensors. Combined with the motion characteristics of a large flapping wing robot, the autonomous flight, including the whole process of takeoff, cruise and landing, is realized. An explicit complementary filtering algorithm is designed to fuse the data of inertial sensor and magnetometer, which solves the problem of attitude divergence. The Kalman filter algorithm is designed to estimate the spatial position and speed of a flapping wing robot by integrating inertial navigation with GPS (global positioning system) and barometer measurement data. The state sensing and estimation accuracy of the flapping wing robot are improved. Finally, the flying state sensing and estimation method is integrated with the flapping wing robot, and the flight experiments are carried out. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, which can provide a guarantee for the flapping wing robot to achieve autonomous flight beyond the visual range.
Tank-Mix Adjuvants Regulate the Deposition, Absorption, and Permeation Behavior of Pesticide Solutions on Rice Plant
Authors: Zhao Pengyue , Zheng Li , Li Yuanyuan , Wang Chaojie , Cao Lidong , Cao Chong , Huang Qiliang
Published: August 2022

Pesticide foliage treatment is used in agricultural production to protect plants from diseases, pests, or weeds. Tank-mix adjuvants added to the barrel can improve the effective utilization rate of pesticides. Herein, a comparative study was conducted to investigate the effect of three kinds of tank-mix adjuvant on the deposition, absorption, and permeation behavior of epoxiconazole and chlorantraniliprole solutions. Surface tension and contact angle results indicate that polyether-modified trisiloxane may be the best surface-active agent for pesticides, whereas methyl oleate and green-peel orange essential oil were found to be more suitable for improving pesticide deposition, absorption, and permeation in some cases. These findings indicate that various tank-mix adjuvants had different effects on pesticide application on plants. Appropriate tank-mix adjuvants need to be selected for comprehensive practical application.
Multi-Criteria Analysis of Investment Choices Following Flood Damage: The Case Study of Sustainable Citrus Farming in Sicily
Authors: Scuderi Alessandro , Matarazzo Agata , La Via Giovanni , Cammarata Mariarita , Timpanaro Giuseppe
Published: August 2022

Current climate change is confronting farms with extreme conditions, with severe drought for a good part of the year and flooding rains for a month. The changes taking place on our planet make it necessary for farmers to understand and assess how they can counteract the damage of climate change by adopting sustainable strategies to cope with the future. This makes environmental, economic and social sustainability more relevant than ever in the production sector. The research, in relation to the spread of exceptional conditions, which cause damage and extraordinary changes in the production system of farmers, aims to define a sustainable assessment model by evaluating the three pillars of sustainability. The proposed methodology, which is based on participatory planning of investment choice, starts from the assumption that the application of methodologies regarding the choice of investment projects must be placed in a broader context than just economic evaluation, including all dimensions of sustainability. Through the involvement of industry stakeholders, it emerged that the implementation of drastic measures is the long-term optimal choice.
When Mobilenetv2 Meets Transformer: A Balanced Sheep Face Recognition Model
Authors: Li Xiaopeng , Du Jinzhi , Yang Jialin , Li Shuqin
Published: August 2022

Sheep face recognition models deployed on edge devices require a good trade-off between model size and accuracy, but the existing recognition models cannot do so. To solve the above problems, this paper combines Mobilenetv2 with Vision Transformer to propose a balanced sheep face recognition model called MobileViTFace. MobileViTFace enhances the model’s ability to extract fine-grained features and suppress the interference of background information through Transformer to distinguish different sheep faces more effectively. Thus, it can distinguish different sheep faces more effectively. The recognition accuracy of 96.94% is obtained on a self-built dataset containing 5490 sheep face photos of 105 sheep, which is a 9.79% improvement compared with MobilenetV2, with only a small increase in Params (the number of parameters) and FLOPs (floating-point operations). Compared to models such as Swin-small, which currently performs SOTA, Params and FLOPs are reduced by nearly ten times, whereas recognition accuracy is only 0.64% lower. Deploying MobileViTFace on the Jetson Nano-based edge computing platform, real-time and accurate recognition results are obtained, which has implications for practical production.
How Does China’s New Rural Pension Scheme Affect Agricultural Production?
Authors: Ji Xing , Xu Jingwen , Zhang Hongxiao
Published: August 2022

This study examines the spillover effects of China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) implemented in 2009 as a cash transfer program for agricultural production. Based on the data collected by the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) in four periods (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018), we employ Seemingly Unrelated Regression to explore how China’s NRPS affects agricultural production. Our findings show that NRPS pensions reduce household operating areas by 1.99 mu and agricultural investment by 1150 yuan, while increasing the labor time of their own agricultural production by 168 h, and farmers in the payment period have a similar impact. This finding is still reliable after a series of robustness tests. Gender heterogeneity analysis indicates that male participation in NRPS is more likely to reduce the actual operating area and increase the labor input of the family, while female participation in NRPS is more likely to reduce the agricultural capital input of the family. Moreover, the in-depth study of agricultural performance shows that the implementation of NRPS helps increase the average output value per mu by 700 yuan and technical efficiency by 0.2%, although this is at the cost of declining labor productivity. This study links the joint decision-making of agricultural production factor inputs with pension schemes and contributes to the development of relevant research, which may provide policy implications for how cash transfer schemes affect agricultural production and agricultural performance in other countries.
Algal-Mediated Nanoparticles, Phycochar, and Biofertilizers for Mitigating Abiotic Stresses in Plants: A Review
Authors: Abideen Zainul , Waqif Huma , Munir Neelma , El-Keblawy Ali , Hasnain Maria , Radicetti Emanuele , Mancinelli Roberto , Nielsen Brent L. , Haider Ghulam
Published: August 2022

The excessive use of agrochemicals to ensure food security under the conditions of a growing population, global climate change, weather extremes, droughts, wasteful use of freshwater resources, and land degradation has created severe challenges for sustainable crop production. Since the frequent and abrupt environmental changes are outcompeting the existing agricultural technologies of crop production systems to meet food security, the development and use of modern technologies and nature-based solutions are urgently needed. Nanotechnology has shown potential for revolutionizing agri-production and agri-business in terms of nanofertilizers and nanoparticles for crop protection. Furthermore, in the recent past, biochar has been identified as a negative emission technology for carbon sequestration and soil fertility improvement. However, supply chain issues for biochar, due to feedstock availability, challenges its worldwide use and acceptability. Meanwhile progress in algae research has indicated that, algae can be utilized for various agro-ecosystem services. Algae are considered an efficient biological species for producing biomass and phytochemicals because of their high photosynthetic efficiency and growth rate compared to terrestrial plants. In this context, various options for using algae as a nature-based solution have been investigated in this review; for instance, the possibilities of producing bulk algal biomass and algal-based biofertilizers and their role in nutrient availability and abiotic stress resistance in plants. The potential of algae for biochar production (hereafter “phycochar” because of algal feedstock), its elemental composition, and role in bioremediation is discussed. The potential role of agal nanoparticles’ in mitigating abiotic stress in crop plants was thoroughly investigated. This review has effectively investigated the existing literature and improved our understanding that, algae-based agro-solutions have huge potential for mitigating abiotic stresses and improving overall agricultural sustainability. However, a few challenges, such as microalgae production on a large scale and the green synthesis of nanoparticle methodologies, still need further mechanistic investigation.
Can Comparable Vine and Grape Quality Be Achieved between Organic and Integrated Management in a Warm-Temperate Area?
Authors: Morelli Raffaella , Roman Tomas , Bertoldi Daniela , Zanzotti Roberto
Published: August 2022

The high demand for wine in Europe has increased the impact of viticulture on the environment. In line with European objectives, more sustainable agronomic practices have spread as an alternative to traditional management. This study aimed to compare, in a vineyard of Pinot blanc and Rhine Riesling in northeast Italy, the integrated agronomic practices (INT) with two types of organic management (ORG1—cattle manure and ORG2—green manure), in terms of production, grape quality, pest susceptibility, and soil nutrient availability. The results, after the fifth, sixth, and seventh year of testing, showed that organic management obtained a yield and vegetative features comparable to INT. Grape quality also did not show considerable overall differences between the theses in the must properties, despite the higher total sugar content and lower yeast available in ORG1. In the three-year period, the management of downy mildew, powdery mildew, and rot, as well as the soil fertilization, with the products available in organic farming proved to be comparable to the INT method. The application of cattle manure contributed by enriching the soil in K and P, while a balanced green manure mix has proven to be the best agronomic practice in terms of the release of mineral N during the phenological stages of greatest need of the vine. Organic management appears as an agronomic strategy able quantitatively and qualitatively support the vineyard system.
Discrete Element Simulation Modeling Method and Parameters Calibration of Sugarcane Leaves
Authors: Ren Jiahui , Wu Tao , Mo Wangyujie , Li Ke , Hu Ping , Xu Fengying , Liu Qingting
Published: August 2022

Objective The construction method of the discrete element model and the setting of simulation parameters in the strip- and blade-shaped sugarcane leaf are unclear. The simulation model’s accuracy greatly influences the dynamic response characteristics between particles, and it is necessary to improve the accuracy of simulation parameters through parameter calibration. Method The discrete element parameters are optimized and calibrated based on the response surface methodology (RSM) with sugarcane leaf physical angle of repose as the response value. Firstly, the basic physical parameters and angle of repose of sugarcane leaves were measured by physical tests, and the simulation model of sugarcane leaf was established by the multi-sphere polymerization model and XML method. The effects of the sugarcane leaf model filled with different radii particles on the simulation angle of repose and simulation efficiency were analyzed to find the optimal filling particle size of the sugarcane leaf model. Then, a Plackett-Burman test was used to select the parameters that significantly influence the simulation angle of repose. Furthermore, the optimal value ranges of the three significant parameters were determined by a steepest ascent search test, and the second-order regression equation between the significant parameters and angle of repose was established based on the Box-Behnken test, the optimal combination of parameters was obtained with the physical angle of repose of 21.15° as the optimal target value. Finally, a gas-solid coupling simulation test was conducted with the trash content as the test index and compared with the field test. Result The optimal filling particle size of the sugarcane leaf simulation model was 2 mm. The optimal combination of significant parameters was as follows: the static and rolling friction coefficients between sugarcane leaves were 0.21 and 0.05, respectively, and the static friction coefficient between sugarcane leaves and steel was 0.30. There was no significant difference between the simulation value and the test value of trash content, and the maximum relative error between them was 8%, which further showed that the parameter calibration of the sugarcane leaf model was reliable. Conclusions The results showed that the modeling method and parameter calibration of the sugarcane leaf model was accurate and reliable and could be used for subsequent gas-solid coupling simulation research, as well as providing a reference for the calibration of the discrete element parameters of the strip-and blade-shape materials.
Transcriptome Analysis of Sponge Gourd (Luffa cylindrica) Reveals Candidate Genes Associated with Fruit Size
Authors: Qiao Shuting , Xu Yufei , Hu Qizan , Dong Wenqi , He Shengmi , Qi Xingjiang , Sun Yuyan
Published: August 2022

Sponge gourd belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and Luffa genus. It is an economically valuable vegetable crop with medicinal properties. The fruit size of sponge gourd presents distinct diversity; however, the molecular insights of fruit size regulation remain uncharacterized. Therefore, two sponge gourd materials with distinct fruit sizes were selected for a comparative transcriptome analysis. A total of 1390 genes were detected as differentially expressed between long sponge gourd (LSG) and short sponge gourd (SSG) samples, with 885 downregulated and 505 upregulated in SSG compared with LSG. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the MAPK signaling pathway, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and plant hormone signal transduction were significantly enriched. The DEGs involved in the cell cycle and cell division, plant hormone metabolism, and MAPK signal transduction were crucial for sponge gourd fruit size regulation. Additionally, the transcription factor families of ERF, NAC, bHLH, MYB, WRKY, and MADS-box were associated with fruit size regulation. The qRT-PCR validation for selected DEGs were generally consistent with the RNA-Seq results. These results obtained the candidate genes and pathways associated with fruit size and lay the foundation for revealing the molecular mechanisms of fruit size regulation in sponge gourd.
Current and Future Challenges and Opportunities for Livestock Farming in West Africa: Perspectives from the Case of Senegal
Authors: Eeswaran Rasu , Nejadhashemi A. Pouyan , Faye Aliou , Min Doohong , Prasad P. V. Vara , Ciampitti Ignacio A.
Published: August 2022

Livestock farming is a livelihood activity and is critically important for the food and nutritional security of the majority of the population in West African countries, including Senegal. Nevertheless, livestock farming operates far below the optimum production potential, mainly due to demographical, biophysical, economic, environmental, and sociopolitical challenges. To address these issues, we conducted this review with an overall objective of characterizing different livestock farming systems and to identify challenges and opportunities to improve livestock production in West Africa through the broader perspectives from the case of Senegal. Pastoral, agropastoral, and off-land systems are the three major livestock production systems in this region, which are unique in terms of agroclimatology and degree of intensification and integration. The major challenges identified in livestock farming systems are lack of pasture and quality feed, scarcity of water resources, climate change, undeveloped breeding and management of livestock, poor marketing and trade, and socioeconomic constraints. Moreover, we contribute to the literature on crop-livestock farming in Senegal and West Africa by proposing plausible interventions to improve the productivity of the farming system to improve food and nutritional security. Concentrated efforts must be taken in co-designing effective management interventions for sustainable intensification of livestock sector in the region, considering site-specific approaches.
Analysis of Physiological Status in Response to Water Deficit of Spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta) Cultivars in Reference to Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare)
Authors: Radzikowska Dominika , Sulewska Hanna , Bandurska Hanna , Ratajczak Karolina , Szymańska Grażyna , Kowalczewski Przemysław Łukasz , Głowicka-Wołoszyn Romana
Published: August 2022

Climate change, including decreasing rainfall, makes cultivating cereals more difficult. Drought stress reduces plant growth and most all yields. On the other hand, consumers’ interest in ancient wheat varieties, including spelt, is growing. The aim of this work is to compare the response to drought stress between spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare). Six cultivars of spelt from different European countries and common wheat ‘Bogatka’ as a reference were chosen for research. The photosynthesis process, chlorophyll fluorescence, relative water content, and the content of free proline and anthocyanins in well-watered and drought-stressed plants were measured. It was shown that the spelt cultivars ‘Franckenkorn’ and ‘Badengold’ were much more resistant to water deficit than other cultivars and even common wheat. A slight reduction of CO2 assimilation (by 27%) and no reduction of transpiration rate, with simultaneous intensive proline (eighteen times fold increase) and anthocyanins accumulation (increase by 222%) along with a slight increase in lipid peroxidation level (1.9%) revealed in ‘Franckenkorn’ prove that this cultivar can cope with drought and can be effectively cultivated in areas with limited water abundance.
Screening of Microbial Fermentation Products for Anti-M. tuberculosis Activity
Authors: Reheman Aikebaier , Lu Di , Wang Yifan , Chen Xi , Cao Gang , Wan Chuanxing
Published: August 2022

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by M. tuberculosis (M.tb), is the leading infectious cause of mortality worldwide. The emergence of drug-resistant M.tb has made the control of TB more difficult. In our study, we investigated the ability of microorganism fermentation products from the soil to inhibit M.tb. We successfully identified four fermentation products (Micromonospora chokoriensis, Micromonospora purpureochromogenes, Micromonospora profundi, Streptomyces flavofungini) that inhibited the growth of M.tb in vitro and in intracellular bacteria at 25 μg/mL MIC. Importantly, the fermentation products decreased some essential gene expression levels for M.tb growth. Our data provide the possibility that microbial fermentation products have potential development value for anti-M.tb drugs.
Potential Utility of Natural Products against Oxidative Stress in Animal Models of Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Zha Zheng , Liu Sisi , Liu Yijiang , Li Chen , Wang Lei
Published: August 2022

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune-mediated degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by immune cell infiltration, demyelination and axonal injury. Oxidative stress-induced inflammatory response, especially the destructive effect of immune cell-derived free radicals on neurons and oligodendrocytes, is crucial in the onset and progression of MS. Therefore, targeting oxidative stress-related processes may be a promising preventive and therapeutic strategy for MS. Animal models, especially rodent models, can be used to explore the in vivo molecular mechanisms of MS considering their similarity to the pathological processes and clinical signs of MS in humans and the significant oxidative damage observed within their CNS. Consequently, these models have been used widely in pre-clinical studies of oxidative stress in MS. To date, many natural products have been shown to exert antioxidant effects to attenuate the CNS damage in animal models of MS. This review summarized several common rodent models of MS and their association with oxidative stress. In addition, this review provides a comprehensive and concise overview of previously reported natural antioxidant products in inhibiting the progression of MS.
An In Vitro and In Silico Perspective Study of Seed Priming with Zinc on the Phytotoxicity and Accumulation Pattern of Arsenic in Rice Seedlings
Authors: Choudhury Shuvasish , Moulick Debojyoti , Mazumder Muhammed Khairujjaman , Pattnaik Binaya Kumar , Ghosh Dibakar , Vemireddy Lakshminarayana R. , Aldhahrani Adil , Soliman Mohamed Mohamed , Gaber Ahmed , Hossain Akbar
Published: August 2022

Arsenic (As) contamination of the rice agro-ecosystem is a major concern for rice farmers of South East Asia as it imposes a serious threat to human and animal life; thus, there is an unrelenting need to explore the ways by which arsenic stress mitigation could be achieved. In the present investigation, we explore the effect of zinc (Zn2+) supplementation using the seed priming technique for the mitigation of As-induced stress responses in developing rice seedlings. In addition to the physiological and biochemical attributes, we also studied the interactive effect of Zn2+ in regulating As-induced changes by targeting antioxidant enzymes using a computational approach. Our findings suggest that Zn2+ and As can effectively modulate redox homeostasis by limiting ROS production and thereby confer protection against oxidative stress. The results also show that As had a significant impact on seedling growth, which was restored by Zn2+ and also minimized the As uptake. A remarkable outcome of the present investigation is that the varietal difference was significant in determining the efficacy of the Zn2+ priming. Further, based on the findings of computational studies, we observed differences in the surface overlap of the antioxidant target enzymes of rice, indicating that the Zn2+ might have foiled the interaction of As with the enzymes. This is undoubtedly a fascinating approach that interprets the mode of action of the antioxidative enzymes under the metal/metalloid-tempted stress condition in rice by pointing at designated targets. The results of the current investigation are rationally significant and may be the pioneering beginning of an exciting and useful method of integrating physiological and biochemical analysis together with a computational modelling approach for evaluating the stress modulating effects of Zn2+ seed priming on As-induced responses in developing rice seedlings.
VGG16-MLP: Gait Recognition with Fine-Tuned VGG-16 and Multilayer Perceptron
Authors: Mogan Jashila Nair , Lee Chin Poo , Lim Kian Ming , Muthu Kalaiarasi Sonai
Published: August 2022

Gait is a pattern of a person’s walking. The body movements of a person while walking makes the gait unique. Regardless of the uniqueness, the gait recognition process suffers under various factors, namely the viewing angle, carrying condition, and clothing. In this paper, a pre-trained VGG-16 model is incorporated with a multilayer perceptron to enhance the performance under various covariates. At first, the gait energy image is obtained by averaging the silhouettes over a gait cycle. Transfer learning and fine-tuning techniques are then applied on the pre-trained VGG-16 model to learn the gait features of the attained gait energy image. Subsequently, a multilayer perceptron is utilized to determine the relationship among the gait features and the corresponding subject. Lastly, the classification layer identifies the corresponding subject. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method on the CASIA-B dataset, the OU-ISIR dataset D, and the OU-ISIR large population dataset. The comparison with the state-of-the-art methods shows that the proposed method outperforms the methods on all the datasets.
The Heritability of Upper Airway Dimensions Using MRI Scans in Twins
Authors: Jokkel Zsofia , Szily Marcell , Sipos Boldizsar , Oluk Ezgisu , Piroska Marton , Kalina Ildikó , Maurovich-Horvat Pál , Bikov Andras , Tarnoki David Laszlo , Tarnoki Adam Domonkos
Published: August 2022

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by the repetitive collapse of the upper airways during sleep, most likely in the oropharyngeal region. Anatomical factors significantly contribute to the disease development; however, the heritability of the upper airway dimensions, which lead to the collapsibility of the upper airways, is less known. In the current study, we aimed to quantify the impact of heritable and environmental factors on the upper airway dimensions in twins using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: We completed head and neck MRI imaging on 110 (66 monozygotic and 44 dizygotic, age median and Q1–Q3: 53 (44–63.75) years) adult twins from the Hungarian Twin Registry. We completed cephalometric, soft tissue and fatty tissue space measurements on T1- and T2-weighted images in sagittal, coronal and axial planes. For the analysis of the genetic and environmental, the determination of the measured parameters was performed with an ACE twin statistical model. Results: We found a strong genetic determination in the anteroposterior diameter of the tongue and the thickness of the submental fatty tissue of the neck. Other parameters of the tongue, soft palate and uvula have shown moderate heritability, while we found strong environmental determination in the thickness of the parapharyngeal fatty tissue, the thickness of the pharyngeal wall, and the smallest diameter of the posterior upper airways. Conclusion: Our twin study can help better understand the genetic and environmental background of anatomical structures involved in the development of sleep apnea.
Correlation Mapping of Perfusion Patterns in Cutaneous Tissue
Authors: Procka Patrik , Celovska Denisa , Smondrk Maros , Borik Stefan
Published: August 2022

Perfusion patterns of cutaneous tissue represent a valuable source of information about the state of the patient’s cardiovascular system and autonomic nervous system (ANS). This concept aims to observe the perfusion changes in the foot sole in two healthy individuals and two subjects affected by diabetes mellitus (DM). We use photoplethysmography imaging (PPGI) to monitor cutaneous perfusion changes. This method, in contrast to conventional contact photoplethysmography (PPG), allows the monitoring of skin perfusion with spatial distribution. We use a machine vision camera and an illumination system using the green light. To induce the perfusion changes, we perform an experiment in the form of a deep breathing test (DBT). The experiment consists of three stages, with the middle stage being the DBT. To evaluate spatial perfusion changes, we use a normalized measure of the correlation of PPGI signals with a reference PPG signal obtained from the foot’s little toe. This method also increases the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Subjects with DM shows different patterns of tissue perfusion changes compared to healthy subjects. The DM subjects show increased perfusion after DBT compared to the pre-DBT state, whereas in healthy subjects, the tissue perfusion does not reach the level of the pre-DBT phase. This work can be considered as proof of concept in developing a non-contact and non-intrusive monitoring system that allows a different view of microcirculatory damage in patients with diabetes mellitus, focusing on its spatial distribution.
Multi-Spacecraft Tracking and Data Association Based on Uncertainty Propagation
Authors: Zhou Xingyu , Wang Shuo , Qin Tong
Published: August 2022

This paper proposed a novel multi-spacecraft tracking and data association method based on the orbit uncertainty propagation. The proposed method makes full use of the dynamic information and thus the data association performance is enhanced. The proposed method is divided into three portions, i.e., the uncertainty propagation, the data association, and the orbit estimation. The second-order solutions derived for state and measurement prediction, on which to base the optimal association, are set up. The optimal association is solved by the contract network algorithm to reduce the computing cost. Finally, a second-order extended Kalman filter is designed to estimate the orbit of each spacecraft. The proposed method is successfully applied for solving a four-spacecraft tracking problem. Simulations show that all the four targets are well tracked. The method demonstrates close to 100% data association precision. The proposed method is proved to be efficient and effective to solve the multi-spacecraft tracking problem.
Seismic Response of a Large LNG Storage Tank Based on a Shaking Table Test
Authors: Chen Zengshun , Xu Zhengang , Liu Yang , Fu Jun , Cheng Huayan , Zhang Likai , Xue Xuanyi
Published: August 2022

In order to study the dynamic response of the LNG storage tank under the action of seismic load and the seismic isolation effect of the lead-core rubber bearing, this paper establishes the experimental storage tank model with reference to the structural form of the large-scale LNG storage tank, and the seismic response of the test tank is obtained using a shaking table test. Simplified mechanical models of non-isolated and isolated storage tanks are proposed and the seismic responses of the corresponding storage tanks are calculated using the Newmark-beta method. Under the action of seismic waves with different acceleration peaks, the results show that (a) more excitation directions of the seismic wave can lead to the greater acceleration and displacement response of the tank and (b) the isolation bearing has a damping effect on the acceleration response of the storage tank, but it has an amplifying effect on the displacement of the storage tank. Comparing the results of the simplified model and the shaking table test, it is found that the change trend of the acceleration response of the experimental results and simplified mechanical models is the same. The spectral characteristic curve of them is not large, which verifies the effectiveness of the simplified model.
A High-Throughput Vernier Time-to-Digital Converter on FPGAs with Improved Resolution Using a Bi-Time Interpolation Scheme
Authors: Xu Guangbo , Zha Bingting , Xia Tuanjie , Zheng Zhen , Zhang He
Published: August 2022

A novel ring oscillator-based Vernier-type time interpolation method, known as the fine-timestamp maker, is proposed for field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based time-to-digital converters (TDCs). This method determines lower measurement dead time and improves resolution by using a bi-time interpolation scheme, first presented in this paper. Additionally, a group of cascaded delay units are packaged as an intellectual property core (DU-IP) to form a ring delay line and to adjust its length via the engineering change order (ECO) tool, which makes the adjustment of the ring oscillator’s frequency more linear and less position dependent. A prototype TDC was implemented on a Kintex-7 FPGA. The experimental results demonstrate that a single TDC channel only consumes 35 DFFs, 31 LUTs, and 16 CARRY4 logics after specific adjustment. The results, with a time resolution of 20 ps, dead time of 58 ns, and a root-mean-square error of 15–20 ps, show a significant performance improvement compared to traditional Vernier-type TDCs.
Design and Validation of an Instrument for Technical Performance Indicators of the Kick (Chagi) Technique in Taekwondo
Authors: Sousa José Luís , Gamonales José M. , Louro Hugo , Sobreiro Pedro , Ibáñez Sergio J.
Published: August 2022

Taekwondo is a martial art and combat sport that originated in medieval or similar cultures, but today it is primarily a combat activity conditioned by safety rules. The kick technique is called “chagi” (Korean language). “Eyeballing” is a problem that is being addressed with traditional training methods used in Taekwondo. (1) Background: To solve this problem, the main aim of this study was to develop an Observation System for Technical Performance Indicators-Chagi (OSTPI-C). The validation and reliability processes were carried out by 19 expert judges, who were required to meet at least four out of the five selected inclusion criteria. (2) Methods: The content validity was calculated using Aiken’s V coefficient value on qualitative (relevance, univocity, and importance) and quantitative levels (rating scale from one to five), through the agreement and consensus of the panel experts. The reliability of the instrument was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. (3) Results: The results demonstrated the high content validity indexes (0.90) and high reliability (alpha > 0.70) of the observational instrument. (4) Conclusions: The OSTIP-C observational instrument could be used in the Olympic and Paralympic Taekwondo sport environment as a valid and reliable tool to evaluate the technical execution of kick technical processes.
Characteristics of Urban Heat Island in China and Its Influences on Building Energy Consumption
Authors: Wang Shaopeng , Wang Zihan , Zhang Yicheng , Fan Yifan
Published: August 2022

Urban heat island (UHI) draws more attention as it affects not only the health of residents but also the energy consumption of buildings at the city scale. To achieve carbon neutrality goals, it is crucial to better understand the mechanism of the UHI influences on building energy consumption. The characteristics of urban heat island intensity (UHII) and the relationship between the UHII effect and building electricity and related coal consumption were analyzed, based on the long period of monitoring data with hourly weather data from 1 January to 31 December 2019. Results show that a strong correlation between the annual mean UHII and the median daily mean UHII exists. The synthetic diurnal UHII of most cities presents a U-shaped variation trend. In different building climate zones in China, namely, severe cold region (SCR), cold region (CR), hot summer cold winter region (HSCWR), hot summer and warm winter region (HSWWR), and mild region (MR), the influences of UHII on building energy consumption were analyzed. The existence of UHI reduces building energy consumption in 96.7% of SCR cities and 60.8% of CR cities, while in HSCWR, HSWWR, and MR cities, the percentage of cities where the building energy consumption is increased by UHI is 69.4%, 80%, and 63.6%, respectively. Urban climate strongly influences building energy consumption, indicating that it should be considered and analyzed in detail for making future urban development or carbon emission reduction strategies.
LogInjector: Detecting Web Application Log Injection Vulnerabilities
Authors: Pan Zulie , Chen Yu , Chen Yuanchao , Shen Yi , Li Yang
Published: August 2022

Web applications widely use the logging functionality, but improper handling can bring serious security threats. An attacker can trigger the execution of malicious data by writing malicious data to the web application logs and then accessing the view–logs interface, resulting in a vulnerability of the web application log injection. However, detecting this type of vulnerability requires automatic discovery of log-injectable interfaces and view–logs interfaces, which is difficult. In addition, bypasssing the application-specific input-filtering checks to write an effective payload to the log is also challenging. This paper proposes LogInjector, an efficient web application log injection vulnerability detection method. First, it obtains the log storage form and location and then finds the log-injectable interfaces through the extended dynamic crawler. Second, it automatically identifies the web application view–logs interfaces. Finally, LogInjector utilizes a dynamic testing approach based on the feedback-guided mutation to detect web application log injection vulnerabilities. To verify the effectiveness of LogInjector, we test it in 14 popular web applications in real-world cases and compare it with Black Widow, the state-of-the-art web vulnerability scanner. LogInjector detects 16 web application log injection vulnerabilities, including 6 zero-day vulnerabilities, while Black Widow can only detect three log injection vulnerabilities, demonstrating the effectiveness of LogInjector in practice.