bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular mechanism and research progress on pharmacology of ferulic acid in liver diseases
Authors: Shi Yingying , Shi Lu , Liu Qi , Wang Wenbo , Liu YongJuan
Published: May 2023

Ferulic acid (FA) is a natural polyphenol, a derivative of cinnamic acid, widely found in Angelica, Chuanxiong and other fruits, vegetables and traditional Chinese medicine. FA contains methoxy, 4-hydroxy and carboxylic acid functional groups that bind covalently to neighbouring adjacent unsaturated Cationic C and play a key role in many diseases related to oxidative stress. Numerous studies have shown that ferulic acid protects liver cells and inhibits liver injury, liver fibrosis, hepatotoxicity and hepatocyte apoptosis caused by various factors. FA has protective effects on liver injury induced by acetaminophen, methotrexate, antituberculosis drugs, diosbulbin B and tripterygium wilfordii, mainly through the signal pathways related to TLR4/NF-κB and Keap1/Nrf2. FA also has protective effects on carbon tetrachloride, concanavalin A and septic liver injury. FA pretreatment can protect hepatocytes from radiation damage, protects the liver from damage caused by fluoride, cadmium and aflatoxin b1. At the same time, FA can inhibit liver fibrosis, inhibit liver steatosis and reduce lipid toxicity, improve insulin resistance in the liver and exert the effect of anti-liver cancer. In addition, signalling pathways such as Akt/FoxO1, AMPK, PPAR γ, Smad2/3 and Caspase-3 have been shown to be vital molecular targets for FA involvement in improving various liver diseases. Recent advances in the pharmacological effects of ferulic acid and its derivatives on liver diseases were reviewed. The results will provide guidance for the clinical application of ferulic acid and its derivatives in the treatment of liver diseases.
A regression method for EEG-based cross-dataset fatigue detection
Authors: Yuan Duanyang , Yue Jingwei , Xiong Xuefeng , Jiang Yibi , Zan Peng , Li Chunyong
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Fatigue is dangerous for certain jobs requiring continuous concentration. When faced with new datasets, the existing fatigue detection model needs a large amount of electroencephalogram (EEG) data for training, which is resource-consuming and impractical. Although the cross-dataset fatigue detection model does not need to be retrained, no one has studied this problem previously. Therefore, this study will focus on the design of the cross-dataset fatigue detection model.

Methods: This study proposes a regression method for EEG-based cross-dataset fatigue detection. This method is similar to self-supervised learning and can be divided into two steps: pre-training and the domain-specific adaptive step. To extract specific features for different datasets, a pretext task is proposed to distinguish data on different datasets in the pre-training step. Then, in the domain-specific adaptation stage, these specific features are projected into a shared subspace. Moreover, the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) is exploited to continuously narrow the differences in the subspace so that an inherent connection can be built between datasets. In addition, the attention mechanism is introduced to extract continuous information on spatial features, and the gated recurrent unit (GRU) is used to capture time series information.

Results: The accuracy and root mean square error (RMSE) achieved by the proposed method are 59.10% and 0.27, respectively, which significantly outperforms state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods.

Discussion: In addition, this study discusses the effect of labeled samples. When the number of labeled samples is 10% of the total number, the accuracy of the proposed model can reach 66.21%. This study fills a vacancy in the field of fatigue detection. In addition, the EEG-based cross-dataset fatigue detection method can be used for reference by other EEG-based deep learning research practices.
Response mechanism of growth and gypenosides content for Gynostemma longipes cultivated at two altitude habitats to fine root morphological characteristics
Authors: Li Doudou , Li Gang , Xi Benye , Gan Jiaxia , Wen Dingmei , Cao Feng , Suo Fengmei , Li Jincan , Ma Baiping , Guo Baolin
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Fine roots are the critical functional organs of plants to absorb water and nutrients from the soil environment, while the relation between fine root morphological characteristics and yield & quality has received less attention for medicinal plants.

Methods

Therefore, we investigated the relationship between fine root morphological characteristics and biomass & gypenosides content. We explored the primary environmental drivers of fine root indicators for Gynostemma longipes from three provenances cultivated at two altitude habitats.

Results

At the end of the growing season, compared with the low-altitude habitat, the underground biomass of G. longipes in the high-altitude habitat increased significantly by 200%~290% for all three provenances. The response of gypenosides content to different altitude habitats varied with provenance and plant organs. The biomass of G. longipes strongly depended on the fine root characteristic indicators (P < 0.001), fine root length density, and fine root surface area. Our results also showed that the harvest yield of G. longipes could be effectively increased by promoting the growth of fine roots per unit leaf weight (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.63). Both fine root length density and fine root surface area had strong positive correlations with soil nutrient factors (R2 > 0.55) and a strong negative correlation with soil pH (R2 > 0.48). In a word, the growth of G. longipes is strongly controlled by the fine root morphological characteristics through the response of fine roots to soil nutrient factors and pH.

Discussion

Our findings will help to deepen the understanding of the root ecophysiological basis driven by soil factors for the growth and secondary metabolites formation of G. longipes and other medicinal plants under changing habitat conditions. In future research, we should investigate how environmental factors drive plant morphological characteristics (e.g., fine roots) to affect the growth & quality of medicinal plants over a longer time scale.
Stepwise protein targeting into plastoglobules are facilitated by three hydrophobic regions of rice phytoene synthase 2
Authors: Yu Ji Su , You Min Kyoung , Lee Yeo Jin , Ha Sun-Hwa
Published: May 2023

Plastoglobules (PGs) are plastidial lipid droplets enclosed by a polar monolayer born from the thylakoid membrane when plants require active lipid metabolism, including carotenogenesis, under the environmental stress and during plastid transition. Despite the fact that many proteins are reported to target PGs, their translocation mechanism has remained largely unexplored. To elucidate this process, we studied the influence of three hydrophobic regions (HR)—HR1 (1–45th aa), HR2 (46–80th aa), and HR3 (229–247th aa)—of rice phytoene synthase 2 (OsPSY2, 398 aa), which has previously shown to target PGs. As results, HR1 includes the crucial sequence (31–45th aa) for chloroplast import and the stromal cleavage occurs at a specific alanine site (64th aa) within HR2, verifying that a N-terminal 64-aa-region works as the transit peptide (Tp). HR2 has a weak PG-targeting signal by showing synchronous and asynchronous localization patterns in both PGs and stroma of chloroplasts. HR3 exhibited a strong PG-targeting role with the required positional specificity to prevent potential issues such as non-accumulation, aggregation, and folding errors in proteins. Herein, we characterized a Tp and two transmembrane domains in three HRs of OsPSY2 and propose a spontaneous pathway for its PG-translocation with a shape embedded in the PG-monolayer. Given this subplastidial localization, we suggest six sophisticated tactics for plant biotechnology applications, including metabolic engineering and molecular farming.
Domestication, breeding, omics research, and important genes of Zizania latifolia and Zizania palustris
Authors: Xie Yan-Ning , Qi Qian-Qian , Li Wan-Hong , Li Ya-Li , Zhang Yu , Wang Hui-Mei , Zhang Ya-Fen , Ye Zi-Hong , Guo De-Ping , Qian Qian , Zhang Zhong-Feng , Yan Ning
Published: May 2023

Wild rice (Zizania spp.), an aquatic grass belonging to the subfamily Gramineae, has a high economic value. Zizania provides food (such as grains and vegetables), a habitat for wild animals, and paper-making pulps, possesses certain medicinal values, and helps control water eutrophication. Zizania is an ideal resource for expanding and enriching a rice breeding gene bank to naturally preserve valuable characteristics lost during domestication. With the Z. latifolia and Z. palustris genomes completely sequenced, fundamental achievements have been made toward understanding the origin and domestication, as well as the genetic basis of important agronomic traits of this genus, substantially accelerating the domestication of this wild plant. The present review summarizes the research results on the edible history, economic value, domestication, breeding, omics research, and important genes of Z. latifolia and Z. palustris over the past decades. These findings broaden the collective understanding of Zizania domestication and breeding, furthering human domestication, improvement, and long-term sustainability of wild plant cultivation.
BE3 is the major branching enzyme isoform required for amylopectin synthesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Courseaux Adeline , George Océane , Deschamps Philippe , Bompard Coralie , Duchêne Thierry , Dauvillée David
Published: May 2023

Starch-branching enzymes (BEs) are essential for starch synthesis in both plants and algae where they influence the architecture and physical properties of starch granules. Within Embryophytes, BEs are classified as type 1 and type 2 depending on their substrate preference. In this article, we report the characterization of the three BE isoforms encoded in the genome of the starch producing green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: two type 2 BEs (BE2 and BE3) and a single type 1 BE (BE1). Using single mutant strains, we analyzed the consequences of the lack of each isoform on both transitory and storage starches. The transferred glucan substrate and the chain length specificities of each isoform were also determined. We show that only BE2 and BE3 isoforms are involved in starch synthesis and that, although both isoforms possess similar enzymatic properties, BE3 is critical for both transitory and storage starch metabolism. Finally, we propose putative explanations for the strong phenotype differences evidenced between the C. reinhardtii be2 and be3 mutants, including functional redundancy, enzymatic regulation or alterations in the composition of multimeric enzyme complexes.
Evolution of the human tongue and emergence of speech biomechanics
Authors: Ekström Axel G. , Edlund Jens
Published: May 2023

The tongue is one of the organs most central to human speech. Here, the evolution and species-unique properties of the human tongue is traced, via reference to the apparent articulatory behavior of extant non-human great apes, and fossil findings from early hominids – from a point of view of articulatory phonetics, the science of human speech production. Increased lingual flexibility provided the possibility of mapping of articulatory targets, possibly via exaptation of manual-gestural mapping capacities evident in extant great apes. The emergence of the human-specific tongue, its properties, and morphology were crucial to the evolution of human articulate speech.
Examining the role of urgency in predicting binge size in bulimia nervosa
Authors: Davis Heather A. , Smith Gregory T.
Published: May 2023

Greater binge size within bulimia nervosa is associated with elevated distress and impairment. Theoretical models posit that emotion dysregulation predicts binge eating, but little research has investigated the potential for dispositional traits that reflect difficulty in emotion regulation to predict binge size among women with bulimia nervosa. Research supports that negative urgency, the tendency to act rashly when feeling distressed, is associated with binge eating behavior among individuals with bulimia nervosa. Relatively fewer studies have explored associations between binge eating and positive urgency, the tendency to act rashly when feeling extreme positive affect. The urgency traits may predict greater binge size within bulimia nervosa. The current study sought to examine negative urgency and positive urgency as predictors of test meal intake in a sample of 50 women, n = 21 with bulimia nervosa and n = 29 healthy controls. Dispositional levels of positive urgency, negative urgency, positive affect, and negative affect were measured prior to a laboratory binge eating paradigm. Participants in the bulimia nervosa group scored higher on negative urgency, positive urgency, and negative affect than participants in the control group. Across participants, lower levels of negative affect were associated with greater test meal intake. Elevated levels of positive urgency predicted significantly greater test meal intake, but only for participants with bulimia nervosa. No other dispositional traits predicted test meal intake when the interaction of positive urgency and group was included in the model. Findings suggest positive urgency is an underappreciated, but potentially important, risk factor for greater binge size in bulimia nervosa.
Psychometric evaluation of PHQ–9 and GAD–7 among community health volunteers and nurses/midwives in Kenya following a nation-wide telephonic survey
Authors: Odero Sabina Adhiambo , Mwangi Paul , Odhiambo Rachel , Mumbua Nzioka Brenda , Shumba Constance , Ndirangu-Mugo Eunice , Abubakar Amina
Published: May 2023

Background

Nurses/midwives and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are exposed to chronic stressors putting them at risk of developing mental health problems. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is limited empirical evidence of the burden of mental health problems among health care workers partly due to the lack of adequately standardized and validated measures for use among health care workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to perform the psychometric evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 administered to nurses/midwives and CHVs across 47 counties in Kenya.

Methods

Between June and November 2021, a national survey on mental well-being and resilience among nurses/midwives and CHVs was conducted via telephone interviews. The survey had a total sample size of 1907 nurses/midwives and 2027 CHVs. Cronbach’s alpha and MacDonalds’ omega were used to evaluate the scale’s internal consistency. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test the one-factor structure of the scales. Multi-group CFA was applied to evaluate the generalizability of the scales across the Swahili and English versions, and among male and female health workers. The Spearman correlation was used to assess the tools’ divergent and convergent validity.

Results

The internal consistency of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 was good, with alpha and omega values above 0.7 across study samples. CFA results indicated a one-factor structure of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 for both nurses/midwives and CHVs. Multi-group CFA showed that both scales were unidimensional across both language and sex. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were positively correlated with perceived stress, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder, indicating convergent validity. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were significantly negatively correlated with resilience and work engagement, supporting divergent validity.

Conclusion

The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are unidimensional, reliable, and valid tools for screening depression and anxiety among nurses/midwives and CHVs. The tools can be administered in a similar population or study setting using either Swahili or English.
Social support and self-efficacy multiply mediate the relationship between medical coping style and resilience in patients with type A aortic dissection
Authors: Hong Miaoxuan , Zhang Rong , Zhu Jin , Tan Wenxuan
Published: May 2023

Background

Previous research has shown that medical coping modes are associated with resilience in cardiovascular disease patients. However, postoperatively, the mechanism underlying this association in Stanford type A aortic dissection patients is poorly understood.

Objective

This study investigated the mediating effects of social support and self-efficacy on the relationship between medical coping modes and resilience in Stanford type A aortic dissection patients postoperatively.

Methods

We assessed 125 patients after surgery for Stanford type A aortic dissection using the Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Social Support Rating Scale, and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. Structural equation modeling with AMOS (v.24) was used to test the hypothesized model with multiple mediators. Both direct and mediational effects (through social support and self-efficacy) of medical coping modes on resilience outcomes were examined.

Results

The mean Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale score was 63.78 ± 12.29. Confrontation, social support, and self-efficacy correlated with resilience (r = 0.40, 0.23, 0.72, respectively; all p < 0.01). In multiple mediation models, social support independently (effect = 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04–0.27) and social support and self-efficacy serially (effect = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02–0.14) mediated the association of confrontation with resilience maintenance, accounting for 57.89 and 10.53% of the total effect, respectively.

Conclusion

Social support and self-efficacy were multiple mediators of the relationship between confrontation and resilience. Interventions designed to facilitate confrontation and subsequently increase social support and self-efficacy may be useful to increase resilience in Stanford type A aortic dissection patients.
Mapping the Peds QLTM 4.0 onto CHU-9D: a cross-sectional study in functional dyspepsia population from China
Authors: Wang Qiqi , Wan Chuchuan , Li Maozhen , Huang Yuankai , Xi Xiaoyu
Published: May 2023

Objective

The study aims to develop a mapping algorithm from the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4. 0 (Peds QL 4.0) onto Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D) based on the cross-sectional data of functional dyspepsia (FD) children and adolescents in China.

Methods

A sample of 2,152 patients with FD completed both the CHU-9D and Peds QL 4.0 instruments. A total of six regression models were used to develop the mapping algorithm, including ordinary least squares regression (OLS), the generalized linear regression model (GLM), MM-estimator model (MM), Tobit regression (Tobit) and Beta regression (Beta) for direct mapping, and multinomial logistic regression (MLOGIT) for response mapping. Peds QL 4.0 total score, Peds QL 4.0 dimension scores, Peds QL 4.0 item scores, gender, and age were used as independent variables according to the Spearman correlation coefficient. The ranking of indicators, including the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), adjusted R2, and consistent correlation coefficient (CCC), was used to assess the predictive ability of the models.

Results

The Tobit model with selected Peds QL 4.0 item scores, gender and age as the independent variable predicted the most accurate. The best-performing models for other possible combinations of variables were also shown.

Conclusion

The mapping algorithm helps to transform Peds QL 4.0 data into health utility value. It is valuable for conducting health technology evaluations within clinical studies that have only collected Peds QL 4.0 data.
Bidirectional associations of physical activity, sleep, and self-reported mental health in young adults participating in an online wellness intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Burns Ryan D. , Bilic Anna , Bai Yang , Brusseau Timothy A. , Lucero Julie E. , King Jensen Jessica L.
Published: May 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional associations of physical activity (PA), sleep, and mental health in young adults participating in an online wellness intervention from October 2021 to April 2022.

Methods

Participants were a sample of undergraduate students from one US university (N = 89; 28.0% freshman; 73.0% female). The intervention was a 1-h health coaching session that was delivered either once or twice by peer health coaches on Zoom during COVID-19. The number of coaching sessions was determined by random allocation of participants to experimental groups. Lifestyle and mental health assessments were collected at two separate assessment timepoints after each session. PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form. Weekday and weekend sleep were assessed by two one-item questionnaires and mental health was calculated from five items. Cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) examined the crude bidirectional associations of PA, sleep, and mental health across four-time waves (i.e., T1 through T4). To control for individual unit effects and time-invariant covariates, linear dynamic panel-data estimation using maximum likelihood and structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was also employed.

Results

ML-SEMs showed that mental health predicted future weekday sleep (β = 0.46, p < 0.001) and weekend sleep predicted future mental health (β = 0.11, p = 0.028). Although CLPMs showed significant associations between T2 PA and T3 mental health (β = 0.27, p = 0.002), no associations were observed when unit effects and time-invariant covariates were accounted for.

Conclusion

Self-reported mental health was a positive predictor of weekday sleep and weekend sleep positively predicted mental health during the online wellness intervention.
Image-based robot navigation with task achievability
Authors: Ishihara Yu , Takahashi Masaki
Published: May 2023

Image-based robot action planning is becoming an active area of research owing to recent advances in deep learning. To evaluate and execute robot actions, recently proposed approaches require the estimation of the optimal cost-minimizing path, such as the shortest distance or time, between two states. To estimate the cost, parametric models consisting of deep neural networks are widely used. However, such parametric models require large amounts of correctly labeled data to accurately estimate the cost. In real robotic tasks, collecting such data is not always feasible, and the robot itself may require collecting it. In this study, we empirically show that when a model is trained with data autonomously collected by a robot, the estimation of such parametric models could be inaccurate to perform a task. Specifically, the higher the maximum predicted distance, the more inaccurate the estimation, and the robot fails navigating in the environment. To overcome this issue, we propose an alternative metric, “task achievability” (TA), which is defined as the probability that a robot will reach a goal state within a specified number of timesteps. Compared to the training of optimal cost estimator, TA can use both optimal and non-optimal trajectories in the training dataset to train, which leads to a stable estimation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of TA through robot navigation experiments in an environment resembling a real living room. We show that TA-based navigation succeeds in navigating a robot to different target positions, even when conventional cost estimator-based navigation fails.
Optimizing the pipeline of multipurpose prevention technologies: opportunities across women's reproductive lifespans
Authors: Bershteyn Anna , Resar Danielle , Kim Hae-Young , Platais Ingrida , Mullick Saiqa
Published: May 2023

HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality are the two leading causes of death among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa. A growing body of research investigates opportunities for multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) that prevent unintended pregnancy, HIV, and/or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with a single product. More than two dozen MPTs are currently in development, most of them combining contraception with HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, with or without protection from other STIs. If successful, such MPTs could offer women benefits at multiple levels: greater motivation for effective use; lower product administration burden; accelerated integration of HIV, STI, and reproductive health services; and opportunities to circumvent stigma by using contraception as a “fig leaf” for HIV and/or STI prevention. However, even if women find respite from product burden, lack of motivation, and/or stigma in contraceptive-containing MPTs, their use of MPTs will be interrupted, often multiple times, over the reproductive lifecourse due to desire for pregnancy, pregnancy and breastfeeding, menopause, and changes in risk. Interruptions to the benefits of MPTs could be avoided by combining HIV/STI prevention with other life-stage-appropriate reproductive health products. New product concepts could include combining prenatal supplements with HIV and STI prevention, emergency contraception with HIV post-exposure prophylaxis, or hormone replacement therapies for menopause with HIV and STI prevention. Research is needed to optimize the MPT pipeline based on the populations underserved by available options and the capacity of resource-constrained health systems to deliver novel preventative healthcare products.
Factors affecting survival after liver retransplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Brombosz Elizabeth W. , Moore Linda W. , Mobley Constance M. , Kodali Sudha , Saharia Ashish , Hobeika Mark J. , Connor Ashton A. , Victor David W. , Cheah Yee Lee , Simon Caroline J. , Gaber Ahmed Osama , Ghobrial Rafik Mark
Published: May 2023

Background

Liver retransplantation (reLT) has historically had inferior survival relative to primary liver transplant (LT). To improve outcomes after reLT, researchers have identified factors predicting overall (OS) and/or graft survival (GS) after reLT. This systematic review and random effects meta-analysis sought to summarize this literature to elucidate the strongest independent predictors of post-reLT.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted to identify manuscripts reporting factors affecting survival in multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses. Papers with overlapping cohorts were excluded.

Results

All 25 included studies were retrospective, and 15 (60%) were single-center studies. Patients on pre-transplant ventilation (HR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.56–6.20; p = 0.001) and with high serum creatinine (HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.15–1.87; p = 0.002) had the highest mortality risk after reLT. Recipient age, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, donor age, and cold ischemia time >12 h also conferred a significant risk of post-reLT death (all p < 0.05). Factors affecting GS included donor age and retransplant interval (the time between LT and reLT; both p < 0.05). OS is significantly higher when the retransplant interval is ≤7 days relative to 8–30 days (p = 0.04).

Conclusions

The meta-analysis was complicated by papers utilizing non-standardized cut-off values to group variables, which made between-study comparisons difficult. However, it did identify 7 variables that significantly impact survival after reLT, which could stimulate future research into improving post-reLT outcomes.
Functioning: The Key to Understanding Health
Authors: Bickenbach Jerome , Rubinelli Sara , Baffone Cristiana , Stucki Gerold
Published: May 2023

Staying healthy is an important priority—but why is being healthy so important to you? It is because, when your body is healthy, you can do the things you want to do. We call this dimension of health functioning, and it results from complex interactions between biological health and a person’s external environment. If we want to include functioning in our definition of “health” so that it can be used in all fields of healthcare and research, we need a common set of terms and a shared set of methods for measuring human functioning. This article explains the concept of functioning and how this concept allows us to fully understand health—both the health of individuals and of the overall population. We will discuss how functioning can be measured by health professionals and describe an exciting new field, called human functioning sciences, that can open the door to a revolutionary approach to health and wellbeing. We will also provide an example of how functioning could be integrated into the healthcare system to improve patients’ experiences.
Investigating the variations in the composition and heating of interacting ICMEs
Authors: Srivastava Nandita , Mirtoshev Zavkiddin , Mishra Wageesh
Published: May 2023

Interacting coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been commonly reported during the STEREO era. With the interaction of CMEs in the heliosphere, it is expected that the participating CMEs will either merge to form a single interplanetary CME (ICME) or will arrive as distinct entities or ICMEs at 1 AU. Previous studies have focused on in situ observations of solar wind, i.e., plasma and magnetic field properties to understand the nature of the CME–CME interaction and its impact. In this study, we examine the observations of composition parameters of those ICMEs that resulted due to the interaction of two CMEs during their propagation between the Sun and the Earth. We report two events of the CME–CME interaction observed in 2012, of which one led to a merged structure after the interaction, as observed at 1 AU. The second interaction event was reported to arrive at L1 as two distinct structures. Our analysis reveals distinct composition signatures in the form of ion charge state enhancements. The results improve our understanding of the signatures of ICMEs and different complex structures formed after the interaction. The study reveals that compression can occur due to the passage of the shock associated with the following CME through the preceding CME and not due to the CME–CME interaction. The results also highlight the importance of the comparison of solar wind proton velocity data with the expected temperature data, in particular, to understand the ICME–ICME interaction processes.
IIR Cascaded-Resonator-Based Complex Filter Banks
Authors: Kušljević Miodrag D. , Vujičić Vladimir V. , Tomić Josif J. , Poljak Predrag D.
Published: May 2023

The use of a filter bank of IIR filters for the spectral decomposition and analysis of signals has been popular for many years. As such, a new filter-bank resonator-based structure, representing an extremely hardware-efficient structure, has received a good deal of attention. Recently, multiple-resonator (MR)-based and general cascaded-resonator (CR)-based filters have been proposed. In comparison to single-resonator-based analyzers, analyzers with a higher multiplicity of resonators in the cascade provide lower side lobes and a higher attenuation in stopbands. In previous works, it was shown that the CR-based filter bank with infinite impulse response (IIR) filters, which is numerically more efficient than one with finite impulse response (FIR) filters, is suitable for dynamic harmonic analysis. This paper uses the same approach to design complex digital filter banks. In the previous case, the optimization task referred to the frequency responses of harmonic filters. In this work, the harmonic filters of the mother filter bank are reshaped so that the frequency response of the sum (or difference, depending on the parity of the number of resonators in the cascade) of two adjacent harmonic filters is optimized. This way, an online adaptive filter base can be obtained. The bandwidth of the filters in the designed filter bank can be simply changed online by adding or omitting the output signals of the corresponding harmonics of the mother filter.
Pleurotus ostreatus Can Significantly Improve the Nutritive Value of Lignocellulosic Crop Residues
Authors: Olagunju Lydia K. , Isikhuemhen Omoanghe S. , Dele Peter A. , Anike Felicia N. , Essick Brandon G. , Holt Nathan , Udombang Nkese S. , Ike Kelechi A. , Shaw Yasmine , Brice Rosetta M. , Orimaye Oluteru E. , Wuaku Michael , Anele Uchenna Y.
Published: May 2023

Improvement in the nutritive value of corn stover after solid-state fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus is reported. Two ruminally cannulated dairy cows were used in an in vitro study arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial design with four replicates using P. ostreatus-treated corn stover. The increase in crude protein (58.5%) and ash (25.8%) contents of the treated stover were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the control. Results suggest a potential increase in in vitro microbial protein synthesis due to a consistent increase (p < 0.001) in microbial mass yield (106–681%), irrespective of the incubation time. The fiber components of the corn stover, except lignin, were significantly reduced (p < 0.05), and the non-fiber carbohydrates were increased by 118% in the treated samples. There was a significant (p < 0.001) increase in both in vitro dry matter disappearance (40.9–240%) and total VFA (5.85–11.2%). Treatment and time interaction was significant (p < 0.001) for propionate production (9.37–14.0%), indicating that the propionate rumen fermentation pathway was preferred. Acetate concentration was reduced (1.76–4.01%), which also resulted in a 7.09–11.42% decrease in the A:P ratio. Overall, results showed that P. ostreatus improved the nutritive value of corn stover by increasing its energetic values, crude protein, microbial mass, and total volatile fatty acid concentrations.
Evaluation of Coffea arabica Cultivars for Resistance to Meloidogyne konaensis
Authors: Myers Roxana , Mello Cathy , Nagai Chifumi , Sipes Brent , Matsumoto Tracie
Published: May 2023

Coffee is an important agricultural crop for the State of Hawaii. Developing new coffee cultivars with resistance to damaging pests and diseases is crucial for improving production and maintaining the profitability of the industry. With the recent discovery of Hemileia vastatrix, coffee leaf rust (CLR), to Hawaii there is a strong interest in replanting with CLR-resistant germplasm. However, when selecting an appropriate cultivar for replanting, susceptibility to other pathogens, such as plant-parasitic nematodes, should be taken into consideration. Meloidogyne konaensis, the Kona coffee root-knot nematode, causes severe destruction of the root system, reducing the yield and causing the mortality of susceptible Coffea arabica cv. Typica trees. Fortunately, resistance to root-knot nematodes has been found in some C. arabica germplasm. In this study, accessions of wild Ethiopian C. arabica and two CLR-resistant C. arabica cultivars, Tupi-HI and Obata, were evaluated for resistance to M. konaensis in a greenhouse bioassay. All Ethiopian accessions retained high levels of resistance, resulting in reproductive factors (Rfs) lower than 1.0, and low root-rot ratings. Tupi-HI was highly susceptible to M. konanensis, with an Rf value of 7.12, whereas Obata was slightly susceptible, with an Rf value of 2.33. Both cultivars had high root-rot ratings, suggesting intolerance to the nematode. Hybridizing Ethiopian C. arabica with Tupi-HI or Obata may result in new elite cultivars, resistant to both H. vastatrix and M. konaensis.
Evaluation of Different Methods and Models for Grass Cereals’ Production Estimation: Case Study in Wheat
Authors: Sala Florin , Herbei Mihai Valentin
Published: May 2023

Adequate management of agricultural crops requires, among other things, accessible and sufficiently accurate methods for assessing plant nutrition and crop vegetation status and for agricultural production estimation. Sustainable technologies are based on correct decisions, prompt interventions and appropriate works, and correct information in real time, and the obtaining information methods can be simple, accessible, and appropriate in relation to different user categories (e.g., farmers, researchers, decision makers). This study used mineral fertilization (NPK), with 11 experimental variants, to ensure a controlled differentiated nutrition of the wheat plants, “Alex” cultivar. Regression analysis was used to obtain models in estimating wheat production, by methods based on: (a) NPK fertilizers applied (F) in the 11 experimental variants; (b) physiological indices (PI), represented by the chlorophyll content (Chl), and plant nutrition status on the experimental variants, in terms of macroelement content in the leaves, evaluated by foliar diagnosis (Nfd, Pfd, Kfd); (c) imaging analysis (IA) based on digital images of the wheat experimental variants, and calculated indices. A set of models was obtained, with different precision levels and statistical safety: R2 = 0.763, p = 0.013 for the model based on applied fertilizers (NPKF); R2 = 0.883, p < 0.01 for the model based on foliar diagnosis (NPKfd); R2 = 0.857, p < 0.01 for the model based on chlorophyll content (Chl); R2 = 0.975, p < 0.01 for the model based on normalized rgb color parameters (RGB color system); R2 = 0.925, p < 0.01 for the model based on the DGCI calculated index. The model based on applied fertilizers (F model) was tested in relation to wheat production data, for a period of six years, communicated by other studies. Fit degree analysis between predicted yield based on the F model and real yield (six-year average) was confirmed by R2 = 0.717, compared to R2 = 0.763 for the F model in this study. The models obtained in this study, related to the “Alex” wheat cultivar, can be used for other studies, but with a certain margin of error, given the coefficient values, specific to the obtained equations. The approach concept, methods, and models presented can be opportunities for other studies to facilitate their comparative analysis, their adaptation, and/or development in the form of new models that are useful in different studies, research, or agricultural practices, for their integration into crop management strategies.
Assessment of the Degree of Relatedness of Some Inbred Lines Created at ARDS Turda
Authors: Varga Andrei , Călugăr Roxana Elena , Vana Carmen , Ceclan Loredana , Racz Ionuț , Tritean Nicolae
Published: May 2023

Knowledge of relatedness among maize elite breeding genotypes is useful in planning crosses for hybrid and inbred line improvement and assigning them into heterotic groups. This study investigated phenotypic and genetic similarities or diversities between 7 flint inbred lines (of common origin) adapted to the early maize growing regions created at ARDS Turda-Romania. They were studied for per se traits and in two crossing systems: a diallel crossing system, resulting in 21 hybrids and a cyclic system using four testers, thus resulting in 28 maize hybrids. Both parental inbred lines and hybrids were evaluated for several traits over three years. The level of relatedness/diversity was determined by various methods, grouped into: phenotypic methods and genetic methods. Similarities were identified between certain lines and a degree of differentiation between others. The analysis of the hybrid combinations from the diallel crossings between the seven sister lines highlighted the TD236 inbred line as the only one that differs genetically from the other. Following the analysis of the data obtained in the cyclic system, some inbred lines can be sources of favorable traits: TD236 and TD233 for yield, ear weight, grain/ear weight; TD233 and TD234 for the number of kernels/row, TD237 for plant breaking resistance.
Droplet Deposition of Leaf Fertilizers Applied by an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Coffea Canephora Plants
Authors: Crause Déborah Hoffmam , Vitória Edney Leandro da , Ribeiro Luis Felipe Oliveira , Ferreira Francisco de Assis , Lan Yubin , Chen Pengchao
Published: May 2023

The yield of coffee plants depends on several factors, and the leaf nutrition is one of the most important. The form of application of leaf fertilizers used is expensive considering the application efficacy and the efficacy of adherence and absorption of nutrients. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of configurations of operational parameters of centrifugal nozzle rotation and operational height on the application efficacy and efficacy of absorption of leaf fertilizers in Conilon coffee plants. The coverage, density, and deposition of spray droplets were efficacy parameters evaluated through water-sensitive paper tags and artificial targets. The efficacy of the macronutrients applied was confirmed through leaf analyses at 15 and 30 days after application. The application efficacy with a height of flight of 2.0 m and rotation of 10,000 rpm was the most adequate, with coverage of 12.4% and density of droplets of 127 droplets cm−2. The application of foliar fertilizers by UAV provided a distribution in newer leaves in which the absorption of macronutrients was greater, and the flight height of 2.0 m and rotation of the centrifugal nozzle of 10,000 rpm resulted in the best efficacy parameters.
Circular Economy Approach to Enhance Soil Fertility Based on Recovering Phosphorus from Wastewater
Authors: Ayeyemi Tolulope , Recena Ramiro , García-López Ana María , Delgado Antonio
Published: May 2023

Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable resource whose future scarcity will constrain agricultural sustainability. Thus, to ensure this sustainability, a circular economy approach involving the use of recycled P sources is needed. The objective of this study was to assess the fertilizer effect of two recycled P products that can be obtained from water purification: vivianites and struvites. Five vivianites (one synthetic, one obtained from industrial process, and three from water purification) and two struvites (named A and B) from diverse origins were compared with soluble mineral P fertilizer (superphosphate) in a pot experiment using wheat at two P rates (50 and 100 mg P kg−1) in two Mediterranean soils. Struvites performed similarly to superphosphate and outperformed all types of vivianites in terms of dry matter (DM) yield and P uptake. Industrial and synthetic vivianites, led to higher DM yield and P uptake by plants than vivianites from water purification. Synthetic and industrial process vivianites increased Olsen P in soils after harvesting, relative to non-fertilized soils. Differences between vivianites can be explained by the different Fe2+ to Fe3+ ratios, the different crystal sizes, and morphology. Struvite B can replace 65–92% superphosphate on a P uptake basis, and 94–154% on a DM yield basis (the range depends on the P rate). Vivianite from industrial process can replace 54–75% of superphosphate on a DM basis, depending on the P rate. Thus, struvites were as efficient as superphosphate as P fertilizer. However, the results obtained with industrial process vivianite are promising with a view to its potential use in agriculture.
Effect of the Onset of Intramammary Infection on the Electrical Conductivity of Ewe’s Milk and Study of Various Algorithms for Its On-Line Detection
Authors: Roca Amparo , Muelas Raquel , Alejandro Manuel , Romero Gema , Díaz José Ramón
Published: May 2023

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the onset of intramammary infection (IMI) on the electrical conductivity (EC) of ewe milk and assess the detection capability of various algorithms based on daily glandular milk EC measurement. An experiment was carried out with 26 Manchega sheep located at the farm of the Miguel Hernández University, Elche, Spain. The variables in milk from the gland (production, EC) were monitored daily for 2 weeks during the morning and evening milking; once infection was established in the gland, the variables were measured for a further 4 weeks. In addition, the SCC, sodium, potassium, chloride and milk macro-compositions were analysed. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for IMI detection of different algorithms were calculated using the EC variable. It was observed that the onset of IMI resulted in an increase in SCC and a significant decrease in yield, and EC rose significantly when infection occurred bilaterally. The best results for IMI detection were obtained with the algorithm that detected deviations greater than 3σ of the conductivity ratio between collateral glands with respect to a moving average calculated with a time horizon of 10 days (50% sensitivity and 100% specificity).
Current Aspects on the Plastic Nano- and Microparticles Toxicity in Zebrafish—Focus on the Correlation between Oxidative Stress Responses and Neurodevelopment
Authors: Savuca Alexandra , Nicoara Mircea Nicușor , Ciobica Alin , Gorgan Dragos Lucian , Ureche Dorel , Balmus Ioana Miruna
Published: May 2023

Recent reports focusing on the extent of plastic pollution have shown that many types of fibers and polymers can now be found in most marine species. The severe contamination of plastic nano-/microparticles (NPs/MPs) mainly results in immediate negative outcomes, such as organic impairments and tissue damage, as well as long-termed negative effects, such as developmental retardation and defects, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress (OS), metabolic imbalance, mutagenesis, and teratogenesis. Oxidative responses are currently considered the first line molecular signal to potential toxic stimuli exposure, as the oxidative balance in electron exchange and reactive oxygen species signaling provides efficient harmful stimuli processing. Abnormal signaling or dysregulated ROS metabolism—OS—could be an important source of cellular toxicity, the source of a vicious cycle of environmental and oxidative signaling-derived toxicity. As chemical environmental pollutants, plastic NPs/MPs can also be a cause of such toxicity. Thus, we aimed to correlate the possible toxic effects of plastic NPs/MPs in zebrafish models, by focusing on OS and developmental processes. We found that plastic NPs/MPs toxic effects could be observed during the entire developmental span of zebrafish in close correlation with OS-related changes. Excessive ROS production and decreased antioxidant enzymatic defense due to plastic NPs/MPs exposure and accumulation were frequently associated with acetylcholinesterase activity inhibition, suggesting important neurodevelopmental negative outcomes (cognitive abnormalities, neurodevelopmental retardation, behavioral impairments) and extraneuronal effects, such as impaired digestive physiology.
Osteoimmunology: A Link between Gastrointestinal Diseases and Skeletal Health in Chickens
Authors: Sharma Milan Kumar , Regmi Prafulla , Applegate Todd , Chai Lilong , Kim Woo Kyun
Published: May 2023

Bone serves as a multifunctional organ in avian species, giving structural integrity to the body, aiding locomotion and flight, regulating mineral homeostasis, and supplementing calcium for eggshell formation. Furthermore, immune cells originate and reside in the bone marrow, sharing a milieu with bone cells, indicating a potential interaction in functions. In avian species, the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases can alter the growth and the immune response, which costs a great fortune to the poultry industry. Previous studies have shown that coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis can dramatically reduce bone quality as well. However, possible mechanisms on how bone quality is influenced by these disease conditions have not yet been completely understood, other than the reduced feed intake. On the other hand, several mediators of the immune response, such as chemokines and cytokines, play a vital role in the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts responsible for bone resorption and osteoblasts for bone formation. In the case of Eimeria spp./Clostridium perfringens coinfection, these mediators are upregulated. One possible mechanism for accelerated bone loss after gastrointestinal illnesses might be immune-mediated osteoclastogenesis via cytokines-RANKL-mediated pathways. This review article thus focuses on osteoimmunological pathways and the interaction between host immune responses and bone biology in gastrointestinal diseases like coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis affecting skeletal health.