bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive investment in women holds the key to child survival and to a healthy nation: Can MDGs help?
Authors:   African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Oniang'o Ruth
Published: April 2024

With 2015 fast approaching, there is pressure on governments to demonstrate real progress made towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is no doubt that many UN member countries respect not just the MDGs, but any corporate resolution that comes out of the various global meetings organized by the United Nations. Now, most of the countries are using every available opportunity to publicly report on their positive progress towards meeting the MDGs. It should be remembered that most UN resolutions are not legally binding to nations; they are guidelines or recommendations at best. However, it is always politically correct to be seen to be addressing them as they normally address challenges that cut across many communities in the world, and which challenges member states will have signed to. As a reminder, MDGs constitute a set of principles that countries need to translate into appropriate implementable programs. Millennium Development Goals endorsed and adopted on September 8, 2000 bythe largest-ever gathering of Heads of States of 189 UN Member States.
BELL HOOKS: princípios éticos e pilares educacionais para a construção da Comunidade Pedagógica
Authors: Bezerra Teresa Christina da Cruz , Oliveira Ivanilde Apoluceno de , Rodrigues Kássya Christinna Oliveira
Published: April 2024

Neste ensaio, tecemos reflexões sobre a Comunidade Pedagógica elaborada por Bell Hooks (2017), trazendo os contributos de sua ética amorosa, comprometida com as diferenças, para o processo criativo da sala da aula libertadora ancorada na Educação como Prática da Liberdade. Objetiva este ensaio dialogar com princípios éticos e pilares educacionais presentes na Comunidade Pedagógica de Bell Hooks que orientam práticas educativas de enfrentamento ao racismo e todas as formas de exclusão social. Trata-se de um ensaio teórico com reflexões ancoradas em obras de Bell Hooks (2017, 2019, 2020, 2021a, 2021b) e de autores afins ao seu pensamento libertador. Entre os resultados, identificou-se que a ética inscrita na obra de Bell Hooks permite a sensibilização de educadores/as e educando/as para assumirem posturas inclusivas na sala de aula e os pilares educacionais da comunidade pedagógica: abraçar a mudança, a conversação, o ensinar o pensamento crítico, o compartilhar histórias são colaborativos com a práxis da sala de aula libertadora.
ASPEN Study Case: Real Time in Situ Tomato Detection and Localization for Yield Estimation
Authors: Chiang Camilo
Published: April 2024

As the human population continues to grow, our food production system is challenge. With tomato as the main fruit produced indoors, the selection of varieties adapted to specific conditions and higher yields is an imperative task if we are to meet the growing food demand. To assist growers and researchers in the task of phenotyping, we present a study case of the Agroscope phenotyping tool (ASPEN) in tomato. We show that when using the ASPEN pipeline, it is possible to obtain real-time in situ yield estimation without a previous calibration. To discuss our results, we analyse the two main steps of the pipeline in a desktop computer: object detection and tracking, and yield prediction. Thanks to the use of YOLOv5, we obtain a mean average precision for all categories of 0.85, which together with the best multiple object tracking (MOT) tested allow obtaining a correlation value of 0.97 compared to the real number of tomatoes harvested and a correlation of 0.91 when considering the yield thanks to the use of a SLAM algorithm. In addition, the ASPEN pipeline demonstrated to be able of predicting subsequent harvests. Our results demonstrate in situ and real-time size and quality estimation per fruit, which could be beneficial for multiple users. To increase the accessibility and use of new technologies, we make publicly available the necessary hardware material and software to reproduce this pipeline, which includes a dataset of more than 820 relabelled images for the tomato object detection task and the trained weights.
Validation of the Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire for the Portuguese Population: Recovery and Predictors in People with Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Azevedo Julieta , Carreiras Diogo , Guiomar Raquel , Martins Maria João , Macedo António , Castilho Paula
Published: April 2024

Introduction: The paradigm in mental health care is progressively moving towards a recovery-focused perspective. Thus, there is a need for validated instruments to measure recovery in bipolar disorder (BD). The Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire (BRQ) is the most used instrument to assess it. The aim of this study was to translate and perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the BRQ to European Portuguese (PT-PT) and to explore further associations of recovery with sociodemographic and emotional regulation, as well as recovery predictors to inform future research and clinical practice.Methods: The BRQ was forward-translated and back-translated until a consensus version was found, and a test-retest design was used to assess temporal stability. Participants were recruited in public hospitals and organizations supporting people with BD, either referred by their psychiatrists or psychologists or through self-referral. Eighty-eight individuals diagnosed with BD were recruited to complete a battery of Portuguese-validated self-report questionnaires to assess recovery (BRQ), clinical mood symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale), well-being (brief Quality of Life for Bipolar Disorder; Satisfaction with Life Scale) and emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale).Results: The BRQ showed excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.92, and test-retest exhibited good reliability (r = 0.88). Construct validity was confirmed through/by positive and moderate correlations with quality of life (QoL; r = 0.58) and positive affect (r = 0.52), and negative moderate correlations with depression (r = -0.64), and negative affect (r = -0.55). Both satisfaction with life (β = 0.38, p = 0.010) and recovery (β = 0.34, p = 0.022) impacted quality of life, supporting the BRQ’s incremental validity. Depressive symptoms and emotion dysregulation accounted for 51% of its variance.Conclusion: The BRQ is a valid and reliable instrument to measure recovery in people with BD in the Portuguese population and is suitable for both clinical and research contexts.
AGROWISATA PERTANIAN DI KECAMATAN KERTAK HANYAR KALIMANTAN SELATAN
Authors: Hakim Ihsanul , Aufa Naimatul
Published: April 2024

Agriculture is an important sector for the State of Indonesia which is an agricultural country and most of its population works in this sector. However, the rapid development of industry and technology has made the agricultural sector less attractive to the public. Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan, which is the main food supplier district in South Kalimantan, has also experienced this, agricultural land has begun to decrease due to changing functions, the number of workers in the agricultural sector has decreased every year and the profession of farmers is less attractive to the young generation. Agro-tourism design in Kertak Hanyar District aims to increase the interest of the younger generation in the agricultural sector by combining agricultural activities with tourism activities located in agricultural areas. By using the concept of recreational and educational architecture which aims to provide a better psychological experience when visiting agricultural land.
ATHLETE VILLAGE AT SOUTH BORNEO's SPORT CENTER
Authors: Tahmidillah Muhammad Yusuf , Muchamad Bani Noor
Published: April 2024

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are a trigger for global change and excessive use of energy in buildings. The design focuses on the design of the athlete's homestead that is able to be an answer to sustainable design and faces resource problems, especially energy. In achieving sustainability goals and answering architectural problems, the athlete's guesthouse design applies 5 principles of a holistic approach to green buildings and the concept of sustainable architecture as an effort to minimize the negative impact of designs that are able to deal with current crisis conditions such as the energy crisis, greenhouse gas emissions, the environment to the economy. Qualitatively and quantitatively based on the results of the analysis and supporting theories.
CREATIVE HUB BANJARBARU
Authors: Lesmana Rizqy Frakhesty Islamy , Hadinata Irwan Yudha
Published: April 2024

The design of the creative hub in Banjarbaru was motivated by seeing the preferences oftoday's youth with creative and collaborative work. This creative hub aims to be a place that can be aplace for character building, a productive place, a place of escape that can provide benefits, a placefor gatherings to share creative ideas, develop, build relationships and so on so as to be able to give aunited effect to a group of young people. which is designed using the architectural program methodaccompanied by the concept of in motion. The program concept has two main principles, namelyexperience space, which relies on visual actors on physical properties and collaborative spaceprinciples. Conceptual methods and principles will lead to designs with a non-monotonous impressionof space and encourage actors to be creative and collaborative through spatial experience.
REDESAIN TAMAN WISATA ALAM PULAU BAKUT
Authors: Ilman Ahmad Barkah , Heldiansyah J.C
Published: April 2024

Nature tourism park is a designation for landscapes that are protected through long-term planning, sustainable use and agriculture. These precious landscapes are preserved in their current state and promoted for tourism purposes. In the Bakut Island Nature Park, there are several groups of proboscis monkeys spread across the island, which are known as their natural habitat. Currently, the proboscis monkey, which is endemic to the island of Kalimantan, has received an endangered status after experiencing a population decline caused by the loss of the proboscis monkey's natural habitat. Currently, Bakut Island is one of the natural proboscis monkey conservation locations, but there is a natural tourism park that openly shows human activity at that location. This can affect the activity of proboscis monkeys in their survival. Responding to this, it is felt necessary to redesign the TWA which uses a concept that creates a relationship between humans and proboscis monkeys without directly involving the proboscis monkeys with the concept of Camouflage Architecture which hides human activity from the proboscis monkey's view and Biophilic Architecture in efforts to heal nature.
Behind the scenes – Rigour of a Master’s clinical and counselling psychology degree selection process
Authors: Derwin R , Spies R , Coetzee H
Published: April 2024

This article reports on the rigour of a selection process for master’s degree programmes in clinical and counselling psychology at an undisclosed university in South Africa over a six-year period (n=81). This was achieved by completing correlation and regression analyses between the six selection activities, the six course modules, and the course average in the student’s M1 year. Results showed significant positive regressions between the metaphors activity, child psychopathology, and theory of psychological interventions modules, between the research task and neuropsychology, between the psychopharmacology and psychopathology modules, and between the problem-solving activity and the course average. The case study activity negatively predicted the ethics and practical work and applied and community psychology modules. The conclusion was that the selection process can be considered valid, as the skills assessed for most of the selection activities positively correlated and predicted the skills required to succeed both academically in the M1 year and as a practising psychologist. However, the case study activity required further investigation, as the skills that are purportedly assessed should correlate and positively predict the ethics and practical work module, which was not the case. Future studies should also investigate the usefulness of interviews during this process.
Aspirant South African accountants’ perceptions of the usefulness of a research project as a learning tool to develop professional competency
Authors: Rudman R , Sexton N.D
Published: April 2024

The current business climate has been described as being volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). This new world paradigm requires new skill sets. Professional bodies are responding to changes created by this new-world paradigm that university graduates will enter with revised competency frameworks that focus on business, digital, relational, and decision-making acumen (SAICA 2021b) and include both professional (i.e., non-technical) and technical skills. Historically, accounting departments that trained chartered accountants focused on developing technical competencies in students and did not have a tradition of research. Accounting departments are investigating various teaching initiatives or tools to help develop non-technical skills in response to the changing work environment and to comply with the updated Competency Framework. Research projects, where students must formulate and investigate an unstructured question and present their findings, are used globally as a tool to develop professional competencies; however, there is limited application of research projects in the training of aspirant chartered accountants in South Africa. The 2020 cohort of postgraduate accounting students at a South African university provided a unique opportunity to investigate students’ perceptions of professional skills competency development through a group research project as very few had prior experience in conducting research. This study documents students’ perceptions of the use of the research project as a learning tool to develop specific professional competencies not traditionally taught and assessed. Although students found the research challenging, they believed that it supported the professional competency development required of future graduates that was not previously addressed appropriately.
Essential skills and strategies in higher education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A systematic literature review
Authors: Aboderin O.S , Havenga M
Published: April 2024

The Fourth Industrial Revolution necessitates relevant initiatives to stay abreast. Higher education plays a pivotal role in providing nuanced opportunities for the future workforce and enabling students to address real-world problems in a complex world. Despite new developments, it is not clear how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will influence the educational sector. We followed a systematic review approach with the aim of providing a comprehensive view on crucial strategies and skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We applied the processes of Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre as a guideline for conducting the systematic review and retrieved relevant articles published from 2017 to 2021. The results highlight that critical thinking is the most emphasised skill and student-centred teaching-learning strategies are essential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and future demands. Implications for self-directed learning were also outlined.
Developing a customised learning design tool in support of curriculum design, professional development and institutional management within a South African military education context
Authors: van der Merwe K
Published: April 2024

Learning design at tertiary level is a challenging and complex task with many aspects to take into consideration (Bennett, Lockyer, Agostinho 2018; Bower and Vlachopoulos 2018, 975; Bates, 2019). Learning design is identified as a core aspect of a tertiary educator’s role, but often, little guidance is given to educators on this topic. Changes in the higher education landscape also bring about questions about ideal learning design. With changing times that require institutions to introduce other models like blended and online learning, more pedagogical guidance might be necessary to advise lecturers on best practices in terms of module design (Kebritchi, Lipschuetz, and Santiague 2017). To aid learning design thinking and to make the pedagogic structure of the design apparent, Laurillard and Ljubojevic (2011) and others have suggested the use of a learning design tool or aid. A learning design tool is a means which can provide analytical support for lecturers to evaluate their own practices (Bower et al. 2011). This study looks at the creation of a customised learning design tool (CLDT) and discusses whether it can serve as an Electronic Performance Support System, which is a tool that can guide and assist users in their roles in the workplace. This case study canvassed the experiences and opinions of faculty members in Military Education on the use of this CLDT. The tool is designed to capture and depict various features of a module’s design. This study made use of design-based research which is a methodology requiring a phased approach and aims to influence practice. Inputs from the participants revealed the perceived value and benefits along with the necessary amendments needed for the tool.
Pesquisas no Serviço de Alimentação e Higiene Escolar do Departamento de Ensino Profissional do estado de São Paulo
Authors: Carvalho Maria Lucia Mendes de
Published: April 2024

Neste ano, comemoram-se os 85 anos do primeiro curso no campo da alimentação e nutrição no Brasil, o curso “Auxiliares em Alimentação”, criado por Francisco Pompêo do Amaral na Superintendência do Ensino Profissional de São Paulo, com a divulgação do manuscrito do discurso proferido por Pompêo do Amaral por ter sido agraciado com o Prêmio Nacional de Alimentação pela obra de sua autoria “A Alimentação em São Paulo no período de 1940 – 1951”, com a colaboração de dietistas, na Secção de Pesquisa e Ensino da Alimentação do Serviço de Alimentação e Higiene Escolar. O prêmio foi conferido pelo Serviço de Alimentação da Previdência Social, em 1954. O manuscrito encontra-se no arquivo pessoal de Debble Smaíra Pasotti, que guardou, durante toda a vida, livros, correspondências e relatórios desse médico.
Schistosoma mansoni Infection and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Comorbidity Study
Authors: Allam Amal Farahat , Farag Hoda , Shehab Amel , Sahy Ahmed El , Khalil Safia , El-Latif Naglaa Abd
Published: April 2024

Background The implication of human Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) infection in concomitance with other risk factors such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still under controversy. This work aimed
to evaluate the role of S. mansoni infection in association with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and other risk factors in the development and/or progress of HCC.
Methods The present study was carried out on 90 HCC patients recruited from Kafr El-Sheikh Liver Disease Research Institute. After obtaining their informed consents, socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and patients were examined for S. mansoni by Kato-Katz and indirect hemagglutination (IHA) techniques. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was determined. The Child-Pugh scoring system and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system were used to evaluate the pathological features of the studied patients.
Results All participants were negative for active S. mansoni by Kato-Katz. Based on IHA, the participants were categorized into two groups: group I: sixty-two patients negative for S. mansoni and group II: twenty-eight schistosomiasis positive. The patients’ age ranged between 40->60 years with a mean of 57.07± 8.12 years. HCC was more prevalent in the age range of >50-60 years in both groups. Males were more than females and rural participants were more than urban patients in both groups. Most of the patients (88.9%) had HCV while 7.8% had HBV. A higher proportion of HCC patients showed concomitant HCV and S. mansoni (92.6%) than the S. mansoninegative group. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was higher in group II than that in group I with no significant difference. Statistical analysis showed no difference between the two studied groups regarding Child scores. On the contrary, BCLC class D was significantly higher among HCC positive schistosomiasis cases compared to the negative group.
Conclusion Concomitant S. mansoni with HCV and HBV potentiate HCC progression.
Plasma bioactive adrenomedullin predicts mortality and need for dialysis in critical COVID-19
Authors: Johnsson Patrik , Sievert Theodor , Didriksson Ingrid , Friberg Hans , Frigyesi Attila
Published: April 2024

COVID-19 is a severe respiratory disease affecting millions worldwide, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) is a vasoactive hormone regulating the endothelial barrier and has been associated with COVID-19 mortality and other adverse events.
This prospective cohort study included 119 consecutive patients with verified SARS-CoV-2infection admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Bio-ADM was retrospectively analysed from plasma on ICU admission, day2, and day 7. Information on comorbidities, adverse events and mortality was collected. The primary outcome was 90-daymortality, and secondary outcomes were markers of disease severity. The association between bio-ADM and outcomes was analysed using survival analysis, logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics curves.
Bio-ADM predicts 90-daymortality with an area under the receiver operating Curve (AUC) of 0.66, 0.68, and 0.70 for sampling on admission, day 2 and day 7. Age alone predicted 90-day mortality with an AUC of 0.78. The AUCs for age combined with bio-ADM were 0.81, 0.81,and 0.82 (n.s.). Bio-ADM predicted the need for renal replacement therapy with AUCs of 0.77, 0.82, and 0.81.
Bio-ADM on ICU admission, day 2 and day 7 predicted 90-day mortality and dialysis needs, which highlights the importance of bio-ADM inCOVID-19 pathophysiology. Bio-ADM could be used to triage patients with a risk of adverse outcomes and as a potential target for clinical interventions
Effect of Metakaolin and Lime addition on Geopolymerization of Construction and Demolition Waste
Authors: Pathak Arvind , Kumar Sanjay , Jha Vinay Kumar
Published: April 2024

New challenges are arising everyday due to the waste management problems. Construction is one of the most important activities and it is seen as a real threat to sustainable development considering permanent use of limited natural resources and the disposal of huge amount of debris. Construction and demolition wastes contain aluminosilicates as major constituents. In this study an attempt has been made to investigate the mechanical effect of the addition of metakaolin and lime to synthesize geopolymer using construction waste. The compressive strengths of the geopolymer products developed at 28 days from brick dust, metakaolin and lime with activator solution were found 8.35, 21.30 and 25.0 MPa, respectively. Addition of metakaolin and lime had increased the compressive strength by more than 2.5 and 3.0 folds respectively in comparison to the product obtained from brick dust only. The FTIR spectra and SEM-EDX micrographs of the reaction had shown structural changes and formation of aluminosilicate hydrate and calcium silicate hydrate gel. Geopolymer synthesized from brick dust was found very hard ceramic like product with potential applications such as pavement blocks, tiles, retaining walls etc.
Capturing biological interactions improves predictive ability of complex traits via epistatic model
Authors: Gao Ning , Teng Jinyan , Ye Shaopan , Lin Qing , Gao Yahui , Wang Jiaying , Huang Shuwen , He Jun , Li Jiaqi , Chen Yaosheng , Fang Lingzhao , Zhang Qin , Zhang Zhe
Published: April 2024

Recent studies have emphasized the significance of epistatic effects in unraveling the underlying genetic architectures of complex traits. However, the rich landscape of biological interactions is often disregarded when statistically modeling epistatic effects for the purpose of dissecting and predicting complex traits/diseases. In this study, we utilize KEGG pathways as carriers of biological interactions, thereby bridging the gap between statistical and biological interactions and enable to capture the epistatic effects of complex traits. We introduce biBLUP (biological interaction best linear unbiased prediction) model for modelling the epistatic effects among genes from the KEGG pathways. Simulation experiments demonstrate that biBLUP effectively captures two- and three-dimensional interaction effects underlying complex traits across diverse scenarios, resulting in a maximum increase of 62% in the predictive accuracy of the simulated complex traits. In a specific application on data consisted of 6,642 yeast lines, biBLUP successfully links complex phenotypes to biological pathways. By modeling the genetic interaction effects within the KEGG pathway associated with allantoin utilization, biBLUP achieves 40.36% improvement in accuracy for predicting the growth rate of yeast. Additionally, our study demonstrates that the incorporation of KEGG into biBLUP effectively captures the validated epistatic effects related to the flowering time of rice. This integration results in an improvement of 16.29% in the accuracy for predicting the flowering time of rice using biBLUP. In summary, this study enhances our understanding of the genetic architecture underlying complex traits and improves our ability to predict and study complex phenotypes more comprehensively.
Adsorption Performance of g-C3N4/graphene, and MIL-101(Fe)/graphene for the Removal of Pharmaceutical Contaminants: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
Authors: Ibrahim Qusai , Gharbia Salem
Published: April 2024

The rising presence of drug-related contaminants in water sources is a major environmental and public health concern. Several studies have addressed the hazardous influence of these pollutants on the lives of over 400 million people worldwide. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate the efficacy of two promising composite materials for the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants by using the adsorption technique. Graphitic carbon nitride/graphene (g-C3N4/graphene) and metal-organic framework (MIL-101(Fe))/graphene have been simulated for the first time for the removal of three of the most common pollutants (acetaminophen, caffeine, and sulfamethoxazole). The nanocomposite structure has been created and optimized using the geometry optimization task in the DFTB Modules in the Amsterdam Modeling Suite. Our results reveal the remarkable ability of the g-C3N4/graphene and MIL-101(Fe)/graphene composites to adsorb acetaminophen, caffeine, and sulfamethoxazole. Using the Reactive Forcefield (ReaxFF) software, we reveal the mechanisms of the adsorption process, calculating van der Waals interactions, and the adsorption capacity. We found that the combination of MIL-101(Fe)/graphene had a higher adsorption capacity for the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants than g-C3N4/graphene. At 40 Ps (Picosecond), 80 molecules of each pharmaceutical contaminants (Acetaminophen, Caffeine and Sulfamethoxazole) have been adsorbed by MIL-101(Fe)/graphene with higher exothermic energy equated to (-1174, -1630, and − 2347) MJ/mol respectively. While for g-C3N4/graphene at 40 Ps, 70 molecules of each pharmaceutical contaminants have been adsorbed with exothermic energy equated to (-924, -966, and − 1268) MJ/mol respectively. Finally, we summarized the condition of the essential parameters (Temperature, pressure, and density) of the simulation box during the MD-simulation, and the adsorption kinetics using Pseudo-First Order (PFO) in order to ensure the accuracy of our MD-simulation results.
Improving the Validity in Upper Limb Measurements for people with tetraplegia: An Investigation using Construct Specification Equations
Authors: Wangdell Johanna , Pendrill Leslie , Dunn Jennifer Anne , Hill Bridget , Melin Jeanette
Published: April 2024

The aim of this paper is two-fold: to investigate development of a CSE for UL task difficulty, 𝛿, and a CSE for person UL ability, 𝜃, in support of the validity of these two constructs. Measurements of UL task difficulty, 𝛿, and person UL ability, 𝜃were derived from applying the Rasch model on the Tetraplegia Upper Limb Activity Questionnaire (TUAQ). The formulations of CSEs as explanations of the two constructs were done using Principal Component Regression (PCR).
The CSE for UL task difficulty, 𝛿, was to a large degree explained by the number of joints involved with and the CSE for person UL ability, 𝜃, was dominated by grasp-related variables. Pearson coefficients of 0.94 and 0.73 were obtained between UL task difficulty and UL person ability from the CSE, respectively, when correlated with each empirical measure. The present work has both explored and extended the methodology for using more qualitative explanatory variables. Specifically, for UL measurements for people with tetraplegia a good CSE for task difficulty, 𝛿, supports the validity of TUAQ when measuring person UL ability. Additionally, the CSE formulated for person ability, 𝜃, can be used both for validation purposes as well as a clinical tool.
Research on gearbox bearing fault diagnosis based on SSA-VMD-CNN algorithms
Authors: Zhang Jianrui , Guo Jinchang , Geng Baolong , Song Haoyang , Zhang Yue , Zhao Rong
Published: April 2024

Gearbox bearings are crucial components in numerous mechanical systems. These gearboxes typically operate in environments characterized by significant noise, causing their fault signals to be obscured by background interference, vibrations, and signals from other mechanical parts. This interference complicates the accurate extraction and diagnosis of fault characteristics from complex data. To address this challenge, we propose a novel bearing fault diagnosis model that integrates Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and advanced optimization algorithms. Initially, the Squirrel Search Algorithm (SSA) is employed to automatically optimize VMD parameters, enabling efficient extraction of denoised signal features. VMD decomposes vibration signals into multiple Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs), which are then analyzed and reconstructed using kurtosis and cross-correlation criteria. Subsequently, these processed signals serve as input feature vectors for the CNN model, facilitating both training and testing phases. The model is designed to construct a singular value vector matrix that reflects the current fault state based on the position of each submatrix. Simulation verification of our model demonstrates an accuracy exceeding 95% in bearing fault diagnosis, a substantial improvement over traditional methods. This advancement offers a new perspective for the health monitoring and maintenance of critical mechanical equipment, such as gearboxes. It holds significant potential for application in intelligent manufacturing and automated monitoring systems in the future.
High order invariant manifold model reduction for systems with non-polynomial non-linearities: geometrically exact finite-element structures and validity limit
Authors: GROLET Aurélien , Vizzaccaro Alessandra , Debeurre Marielle , Thomas Olivier
Published: April 2024

This paper considers the computation of reduced-order models for systems of ordinary differential equations that include non-polynomial non-linearities. An targeted example is the case of a geometrically exact model of highly flexible slender structure, that includes, after space discretisation, trigonometric non-linear terms. With a suitable change of variables, this system can be rewritten in an equivalent one with polynomial non-linearities at most quadratic, at the price of introducing additional variables linked to algebraic equations, leading to a differential algebraic set of equations (DAE) to be solved. This DAE is reduced thanks to a normal form parametrisation of its invariant manifolds and selecting a set of master ones.
Arbitrary order expansions are detailed for the coefficients of the change of variable and the reduced dynamics, using linear algebra in the space of multivariate polynomials of a given degree. In the case of a single non-linear mode reduction, a criterion to evaluate the quality of the normal form results is also proposed based on an estimation of the convergence radius of the polynomial asymptotic expansion representing truncated series. The method is then applied to compute a single mode reduction of three test cases -- a Duffing oscillator, a simple pendulum and a clamped clamped beam with von~K\'arm\'an model --, in order to investigate the effect of the algebraic part of the DAE on the quality of the model reduction and its validity range. Then, the more involved case of a cantilever beam modelled by geometrically exact finite elements is considered, underlining the ability of the method to produce accurate and converged results in a range of amplitude that can be bounded thanks to a convergence criterion.
DenseGNN: universal and scalable deeper graph neural networks for high-performance property prediction in crystals and molecules
Authors: Wang Hong , Du Hongwei , Hui Jian , zhang lanting
Published: April 2024

Modern deep learning-driven generative models have made it possible to design millions of hypothetical materials. However, to sift through these candidate materials and identify promising new materials, we need fast and accurate models for predicting material properties. Graph neural networks (GNNs) have emerged as a current research hotspot due to their ability to directly operate on the graph representations of molecules and materials, enabling comprehensively capturing key information and exhibiting outstanding performance in predicting material properties. Nevertheless, GNNs still face several key problems in practical applications: firstly, existing nested graph network strategies, while able to incorporate critical structural information such as bond angles, significantly increase the number of trainable parameters in the model, leading to a substantial rise in training costs; secondly, extending GNN models to broader fields such as molecules, crystalline materials, and catalysis, as well as adapting to small datasets, remains a challenge; finally, the scalability of GNN models are limited by the over-smoothing problem. To address these problems, we propose the DenseGNN model, which combines dense connectivity network (DCN), hierarchical node-edge-graph residual networks (HSN), and Local structure Order Parameters Embedding (LOPE) strategies, aiming to create a universal, scalable and efficient GNN model. We have achieved state-of-the-art (SOAT) performance on multiple datasets including JARVIS-DFT, Materials Project, QM9, Lipop, FreeSolv, ESOL, and OC22, demonstrating the generality and scalability of our approach. By fusing DCN and LOPE strategies into GNN models in the fields of computer, crystal materials, and molecules, we have significantly enhanced the performance of models such as GIN, Schnet, and Hamnet on material datasets like Matbench. The LOPE strategy optimizes the embedding representation of atoms, enabling our model to train efficiently at a minimal level of edge connections, significantly reducing computational costs, shortening the time required to train large GNNs, while maintaining accuracy. Our technique not only supports the construction of deeper GNNs, avoiding performance degradation problems seen in other models, but is also applicable to a wide range of applications requiring large deep learning models. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that by utilizing structural embeddings from pre-trained models, our model not only outperforms other GNNs in crystal structure distinguishment, but also approaches the standard X-ray diffraction (XRD) method.
Infrared Drying of Bocaiuva (Acrocomia Aculeata) Slices: Drying Kinetics, Energy Consumption, and Quality Characteristics
Authors: Junqueira João Renato Jesus , Carmo Juliana Rodrigues , Miyagusku Luciana , Balbinoti Thaisa Carvalho Volpe , Junqueira Mariel de Carvalho Rafael Salgado , Lucena Reinaldo Farias Paiva
Published: April 2024

Bocaiuva is the fruit of the palm tree Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd, native to various regions of Brazil, particularly in the Cerrado and Pantanal biomes. However, its commercialization is hindered by its fibrous nature and short shelf life, leading to post-harvest losses. This study aimed to obtain bocaiuva slices at different infrared drying temperatures (60, 70 and 80 ºC). It was found that a shortening in the drying time at 80 ºC caused an increase in the drying rate. Fick’s second law and Page’s equation were suitable for describing the process behavior. The thermodynamics and energetic analysis demonstrated higher energy efficiency at 80 ºC. Lower temperature (60 ºC) promoted lower total color difference and hygroscopicity, and higher volumetric shrinkage. The results suggested that IRD at 80 ºC was able to produce bocaiuva slices with suitable physical characteristics. Furthermore, the production of dried bocaiuva contributes to the regional development of the Cerrado biome, thereby enhancing the bioeconomy.
Life cycle cost (LCC) for waste to compost process: Evaluation of life cycle cost for the comparison of decentralized waste to compost and landfill facility in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC)
Authors: Ashraf Azad Ibn , Mohareb Eugene , Vahdati Maria
Published: April 2024

Background
Rapid urbanization and economic development in developing countries, such as Dhaka and Bangladesh, have led to an increase in municipal refuse. Traditional waste management practises, such as landfilling and conventional composting, have been shown to be ineffective and expensive owing to the large amounts of land required.
Objective
The purpose of this research is to do a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCC) of a Dhaka-based waste-to-composting operation. The objective is to examine how much money it would save in comparison to current practices so that urban waste management problems may be solved in the long run.
Methodology:
In order to evaluate the potential of the planned decentralized compost plant, LCC methods are used in the study. This includes an analysis of both upfront and ongoing expenses, as well as a comparison to more traditional approaches.
Result
The research found that the overall cost of the decentralized compost facility was $5,226,616, much less than the expenditures associated with landfilling and conventional composting methods in Dhaka.
Conclusion
This study shows that a decentralized waste-to-compost plant may be a profitable option for dealing with city trash. Its potential to ease stress on municipal governments is highlighted by its much lower price tag. Insightful for policymakers and urban planners in emerging nations confronting comparable waste management difficulties, this research stresses the need to implement such creative, cost-effective approaches in quickly rising metropolitan centres.
Continuous Bump Attractor Networks Require Explicit Error Coding for Gain Recalibration
Authors: Secer Gorkem , Knierim James , Cowan Noah
Published: April 2024

Representations of continuous variables are crucial to create internal models of the external world. A prevailing model of how the brain maintains these representations is given by continuous bump attractor networks (CBANs) in a broad range of brain functions across different areas, such as spatial navigation in hippocampal/entorhinal circuits and working memory in prefrontal cortex. Through recurrent connections, a CBAN maintains a persistent activity bump, whose peak location can vary along a neural space, corresponding to different values of a continuous variable. To track the value of a continuous variable changing over time, a CBAN updates the location of its activity bump based on inputs that encode the changes in the continuous variable (e.g., movement velocity in the case of spatial navigation)---a process akin to mathematical integration. This integration process is not perfect and accumulates error over time. For error correction, CBANs can use additional inputs providing ground-truth information about the continuous variable's correct value (e.g., visual landmarks for spatial navigation). These inputs enable the network dynamics to automatically correct any representation error. Recent experimental work on hippocampal place cells has shown that, beyond correcting errors, ground-truth inputs also fine-tune the gain of the integration process, a crucial factor that links the change in the continuous variable to the updating of the activity bump's location. However, existing CBAN models lack this plasticity, offering no insights into the neural mechanisms and representations involved in the recalibration of the integration gain. In this paper, we explore this gap by using a ring attractor network, a specific type of CBAN, to model the experimental conditions that demonstrated gain recalibration in hippocampal place cells. Our analysis reveals the necessary conditions for neural mechanisms behind gain recalibration within a CBAN. Unlike error correction, which occurs through network dynamics based on ground-truth inputs, gain recalibration requires an additional neural signal that explicitly encodes the error in the network's representation via a rate code. Finally, we propose a modified ring attractor network as an example CBAN model that verifies our theoretical findings. Combining an error-rate code with Hebbian synaptic plasticity, this model achieves recalibration of integration gain in a CBAN, ensuring accurate representation for continuous variables.
Autopolyploidization and in vitro regeneration of three blueberry cultivars from leaves and microstems.
Authors: Tauler Gabriela Jarpa , Martínez-Barradas Vera , Romero-Romero Jesús Lucina , Arce-Johnson Patricio
Published: April 2024

Blueberries are a fruit with an increasing global demand due to their phytochemical and bioactive compounds content. They are promoted worldwide because of their health benefits. For optimal growth and productivity, blueberry crops need acidic soil pH, specific chilling hours, and an adequate atmospheric temperature. This delicate production equilibrium is under severe threat from climate change, potentially leading to reduced yields and increased cultivation costs unless new cultivars are developed for each edafoclimatic zone. Therefore, considering varietal replacements with more productive cultivars offering higher quality and better adaptability to local conditions is imperative. In this study, we employ polyploidization and in vitro tissue culture to promote variability and lay the foundation for new cultivar development. We report the successful induction of octoploids in three blueberry cultivars, namely 'Biloxi,' 'Legacy,' and 'Duke', through whole-genome duplication. Leaves and microstem explants were exposed to 0.1% colchicine for 24 and 48 hours in in vitro culture. After analyzing the polyploid level of 160 regenerated shoots using DNA flow cytometry, we obtained a total of 18 mutants, consisting of 8 mixoploids and 10 octoploids. The number of chloroplasts in the stomata was analysed by fluorescence microscopy, revealing the duplication of these organelles in the induced octoploid plants. To our knowledge, this represents the first successful induction of octoploids in three blueberry cultivars -'Biloxi,' 'Legacy,' and 'Duke'- achieved by exposing leaves and microstem explants to colchicine in in vitro culture. This technique holds promise as a valuable tool for the development of improved blueberry cultivars.
Effects of low-temperature stress during heading stage on carbon and nitrogen allocation in paddy eco-system of northeastern China
Authors: Sun Tao , Ruan Junmei , Cao Tiehua , Gao Xinhao , Yao Li , Zhao Zichao , Zhang Jun , Li Jiarui , Deng Aixing , Zhang Weijian , Song Zhenwei
Published: April 2024

Background and aims
In high-latitude area, climate change has resulted in frequent chilling stress which affects rice sustainable production as well as changes carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) allocation in paddy ecosystem. However, the response characteristics of C and N allocation in paddy ecosystem to low-temperature stress during key growth stage are not fully understood.
Methods
A rice pot experiment of two varieties combined with 13C and 15N isotope labelling method was conducted to evaluate how low-temperature stress at heading stage affects rice yield, above- and below-ground C and N partitioning, and soil C and N changes.
Results
Low-temperature stress significantly reduced rice grain yield of JN809 (sensitive to low-temperature stress) and J88 (resistant to low-temperature stress) varieties 27.6% and 21.4%, respectively, Low-temperature stress was prone to increase C and N accumulation in stems and leaves of rice and soil. The low temperature tolerance variety (J88) reduced the effects of low temperature stress on rice yield and the allocation of C and N between soil and rice
Conclusion
Low-temperature during rice heading stage significantly hindered transportation of C assimilate and absorbed N from soil. Low temperature tolerant variety reduced the effect of low temperature chilling stress on rice yield, and C and N allocation. Present study provides a basis for rice breeding and cultivation techniques that can enhance rice resilience and adaptability to climate change, as well as optimize C and N sequestration practices in rice fields to ensure high yields and resource use efficiency.
Genome-wide identification and analyses of ZmAPY genes reveal their roles involved in maize development and abiotic stress responses
Authors: He Zhenghua , Zhang jie , Jia Haitao , Zhang Shilong , Sun Xiaopeng , Zhang Hui , Dai Mingqiu
Published: April 2024

Apyrase is a class of enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates/diphosphates (NTP/NDP), which widely involved in regulation of plant growth and stress responses. However, apyrase family genes in maize have not been identified, and their characteristics and functions are largely unknown. In this study, we identified 16 apyrases (named as ZmAPY-ZmAPY16) in maize genome, and analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, chromosomal distribution, upstream regulatory transcription factors and expression patterns. Analysis of the transcriptome database unveiled tissue-specific and abiotic stress-responsive expression of ZmAPY genes in maize. qPCR analysis further confirmed their responsiveness to drought, heat, and cold stresses. Association analyses indicated that variations of ZmAPY genes may regulate maize agronomic traits and drought responses. Our findings shed light on the molecular characteristics and evolutionary history of maize apyrase genes, highlighting their roles in various biological processes and stress responses. This study forms a basis for further exploration of apyrase functions in maize.
The study findings demonstrated a significant association between C-reactive protein levels and trabecular bone score : NHANES 2005-2008
Authors: Yan Huangze , Wang Shenjie , Cao Huikun , Zhong Haobo , Sun Chunhan
Published: April 2024

Objectives: The association between C-reactive protein and bone density has been primarily investigated in previous studies., with little to no research investigating its relationship with total bone trabecular score.
Methods: Data from the NHANES database (500 males and 633 females) were utilized in this study to perform a multiple weighted linear regression analysis to estimate this relationship of CRP and TBS. Subsequently, population characterization, univariate logistic regression analysis, subgroup and interaction analysis were in progress.
Results: Upon covariate adjustment, the analysis revealed a notable negative correlation between CRP and TBS(β=-0.0081; 95% CI (-0.0142, -0.0019); P=0.009). Furthermore, no interactions were detected within any subgroups.
Conclusion: This finding enhances our comprehension of the relationship in inflammation and bone health, offering the novel research outlook for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures.