bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Serviceability of Canal Lining Based on AHP–Simple Correlation Function Method–Cloud Model: A Case Study in Henan Province, China
Authors: Li Qingfu , Zhou Huade , Ma Qiang , Lu Linfang
Published: November 2021

In the process of sustainable development within modern agriculture, in order to ensure that agricultural production has adequate water resources, canal lining (CL) is often used to transport water in order to reduce water seepage, thus promoting the sustainable utilization of water resources. However, due to the influence of the terrain, environment, human factors and other factors, the CL often suffers a certain degree of damage. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the serviceability of the CL, so to realize the sustainable use of the CL strategy. Aiming at the weight assignment of CL evaluation indices that are subjective and not combined with actual index data, a weight calculation method based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)–simple correlation function (SCF) method was proposed, and game theory was used to achieve combination weighting. For the evaluation indices with the characteristics of fuzziness and randomness, the cloud model (CM) was used to comprehensively consider these characteristics in order to realize the evaluation. Finally, a method to measure serviceability of CL based on AHP–SCF–CM was proposed. Taking a CL project in China as an example, this method was used to evaluate the serviceability of the CL. The evaluation result showed that the serviceability of the CL was poor, and the qualitative evaluation result was consistent with the actual damage condition of the project; meanwhile, a comparative study was performed in combination with the AHP–Entropy Weight (EW)–unascertained measurement theory (UMT). The quantitative evaluation results of the two methods displayed the same grade of serviceability, which verifies that the method proposed in this paper is more reasonable, objective and feasible from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Furthermore, the evaluation results lay the foundation for subsequent maintenance and fault prevention of the canal.
Stochastic Approach for Optimal Positioning of Pumps As Turbines (PATs)
Authors: Sambito Mariacrocetta , Piazza Stefania , Freni Gabriele
Published: November 2021

A generic water system consists of a series of works that allow the collection, conveyance, storage and finally the distribution of water in quantities and qualities such as to satisfy the needs of end users. In places characterized by high altitude differences between the intake works and inhabited centres, the potential energy of the water is very high. This energy is attributable to high pressures, which could compromise the functionality of the pipelines; it is therefore necessary to dissipate part of this energy. A common alternative to dissipation is the possibility of exploiting this energy by inserting a hydraulic turbine. The present study aims to evaluate the results obtained from a stochastic approach for the solution of the multi-objective optimization problem of PATs (Pumps As Turbines) in water systems. To this end, the Bayesian Monte Carlo optimisation method was chosen for the optimization of three objective functions relating to pressure, energy produced and plant costs. The case study chosen is the Net 3 literature network available in the EPANET software manual. The same problem was addressed using the NSGA-III (Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm) to allow comparison of the results, since the latter is more commonly used. The two methods have different peculiarities and therefore perform better in different contexts.
Exact Solutions of Boundary Layer Equations in Polymer Solutions
Authors: Burmistrova Oksana A. , Meleshko Sergey V. , Pukhnachev Vladislav V.
Published: November 2021

The paper presents new exact solutions of equations derived earlier. Three of them describe unsteady motions of a polymer solution near the stagnation point. A class of partially invariant solutions with a wide functional arbitrariness is found. An invariant solution of the stationary problem in which the solid boundary is a logarithmic curve is constructed.
A Novel Hybrid Method for KPI Anomaly Detection Based on VAE and SVDD
Authors: Zhao Yun , Zhang Xiuguo , Shang Zijing , Cao Zhiying
Published: November 2021

Key performance indicator (KPI) anomaly detection is the underlying core technology in Artificial Intelligence for IT operations (AIOps). It has an important impact on subsequent anomaly location and root cause analysis. Variational auto-encoder (VAE) is a symmetry network structure composed of encoder and decoder, which has attracted extensive attention because of its ability to capture complex KPI data features and better detection results. However, VAE is not well applied to the modeling of KPI time series data and it is often necessary to set the threshold to obtain more accurate results. In response to these problems, this paper proposes a novel hybrid method for KPI anomaly detection based on VAE and support vector data description (SVDD). This method consists of two modules: a VAE reconstructor and SVDD anomaly detector. In the VAE reconstruction module, firstly, bi-directional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) is used to replace the traditional feedforward neural network in VAE to capture the time correlation of sequences; then, batch normalization is used at the output of the encoder to prevent the disappearance of KL (Kullback–Leibler) divergence, which prevents ignoring latent variables to reconstruct data directly. Finally, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) is used to smooth the reconstruction error, which reduces false positives and false negatives during the detection process. In the SVDD anomaly detection module, smoothed reconstruction errors are introduced into the SVDD for training to determine the threshold of adaptively anomaly detection. Experimental results on the public dataset show that this method has a better detection effect than baseline methods.
Five-Year Performance of an ESE Lightning Protection System for a Large Scale PV Power Plant in Thailand
Authors: Kongnok Rungphet , Pummaitong Thanakorn , Plangklang Boonyang
Published: November 2021

This article presents a five-year performance review of an early streamer emission (ESE) air terminal lightning protection system for a large scale PV power plant in Thailand. The comparison effect of a Franklin lightning protection system and the ESE lightning protection system was analyzed for the PV power plant. The ESE lightning protection system was selected to be implemented in the PV power plant. The capacity of the PV power plant studied was 8 MWp on an area of 150,000 square meters in the Nong Ya Plong district, Phetchaburi province, Western Thailand. A Franklin lightning rod type was also designed to be implemented in this PV power plant. The Franklin lightning rod type comprised 122 pieces but the ESE lightning rod type consisted of only 11 pieces. The conceptual design of the Franklin rod type followed the standard of the Council of Engineers, Thailand, and the ESE lightning rod type followed the NFC17102 standard of France. The estimated cost of installation was a key comparison to select the lightning protection system; the total installation cost of the Franklin lightning rod type was USD 197,363.80 and the ESE lightning rod type was USD 44,338.06. The lightning system was applied to the lightning arrester in the power plant to provide good protection, in which the balance of the pole to the mounting position is required to optimize the system performance. The result of the simulation also showed that the shading effects of the Franklin rod type were greater than the ESE rod type. The installation cost of the Franklin lightning rod type was 4.45 times more expensive than the ESE lightning rod type. Therefore, the ESE lightning protection system was selected to be implemented in the PV power plant. From the recorded data of the five-year performance of the ESE lightning protection system (2016–2020), there were three occurrences of a lightning strike on the PV power plant. The ESE lightning protection system effectively protected and prevented the lightning strike to the PV power plant. This study can help and support with the selection of a lightning system for the protection of large scale PV power plants in the future.
HPS-Net: Multi-Task Network for Medical Image Segmentation with Predictable Performance
Authors: Wei Xin , Wan Huan , Ye Fanghua , Min Weidong
Published: November 2021

In recent years, medical image segmentation (MIS) has made a huge breakthrough due to the success of deep learning. However, the existing MIS algorithms still suffer from two types of uncertainties: (1) the uncertainty of the plausible segmentation hypotheses and (2) the uncertainty of segmentation performance. These two types of uncertainties affect the effectiveness of the MIS algorithm and then affect the reliability of medical diagnosis. Many studies have been done on the former but ignore the latter. Therefore, we proposed the hierarchical predictable segmentation network (HPS-Net), which consists of a new network structure, a new loss function, and a cooperative training mode. According to our knowledge, HPS-Net is the first network in the MIS area that can generate both the diverse segmentation hypotheses to avoid the uncertainty of the plausible segmentation hypotheses and the measure predictions about these hypotheses to avoid the uncertainty of segmentation performance. Extensive experiments were conducted on the LIDC-IDRI dataset and the ISIC2018 dataset. The results show that HPS-Net has the highest Dice score compared with the benchmark methods, which means it has the best segmentation performance. The results also confirmed that the proposed HPS-Net can effectively predict TNR and TPR.
Enamel Remineralization Competence of a Novel Fluoride-Incorporated Bioactive Glass Toothpaste—A Surface Micro-Hardness, Profilometric, and Micro-Computed Tomographic Analysis
Authors: Farooq Imran , Ali Saqib , Farooqi Faraz Ahmed , AlHumaid Jehan , Binhasan Mashael , Shabib Sara , Vohra Fahim , Abduljabbar Tariq
Published: November 2021

This study aimed to analyze the enamel remineralization efficacy of a novel fluoridated bioactive glass (F-BG) toothpaste compared to a standard fluoride toothpaste. Seventy-two enamel blocks (N = 72) were divided into groups of twenty-four blocks according to the toothpaste exposure—group 1: brushed with distilled water, group 2: brushed with fluoride toothpaste (ColgateTM), and group 3: brushed with F-BG toothpaste (BioMinFTM). Pre-brushing, enamel blocks were demineralized using 6 wt.% citric acid (pH = 2.4). Tooth brushing was performed using a mixture of respective toothpaste and artificial saliva (AS), and each enamel block received 5000 linear strokes. The samples were assessed for surface micro-hardness (to estimate Vickers hardness number, VHN), surface roughness (Ra), and volume loss/gain using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The highest increase in the VHN was noticed for group 3 (117.81) followed by group 2 (61.13), and all the intragroup comparisons were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Demineralization increased the Ra values, and a decrease was observed post-remineralization for all the groups. The maximum Ra decrease was observed for group 3 (−223.2 nm) followed by group 2 (−55.6 nm), and all the intragroup comparisons were again statistically significant (p < 0.05). Micro-CT investigation revealed that the enamel volume decreased after demineralization and increased after remineralization among all groups. The F-BG toothpaste showed greater enamel surface micro-hardness (increased VHN), smoother surface (low roughness), and better volume restoration (remineralization) in comparison to the fluoride toothpaste.
The Utilisation of Acrylamide by Selected Microorganisms Used for Fermentation of Food
Authors: Petka Katarzyna , Wajda Łukasz , Duda-Chodak Aleksandra
Published: November 2021

Acrylamide (AA) present in food is considered a harmful compound for humans, but it exerts an impact on microorganisms too. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of acrylamide (at conc. 0–10 µg/mL) on the growth of bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5) and yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces lactis var. lactis), which are used for food fermentation. Moreover, we decided to verify whether these microorganisms could utilise acrylamide as a nutritional compound. Our results proved that acrylamide can stimulate the growth of L. acidophilus and K. lactis. We have, to the best of our knowledge, reported for the first time that the probiotic strain of bacteria L. acidophilus LA-5 is able to utilise acrylamide as a source of carbon and nitrogen if they lack them in the environment. This is probably due to acrylamide degradation by amidases. The conducted response surface methodology indicated that pH as well as incubation time and temperature significantly influenced the amount of ammonia released from acrylamide by the bacteria. In conclusion, our studies suggest that some strains of bacteria present in milk fermented products can exert additional beneficial impact by diminishing the acrylamide concentration and hence helping to prevent against its harmful impact on the human body and other members of intestinal microbiota.
Dramatically Enhancing the Sensitivity of Immunoassay for Ochratoxin A Detection by Cascade-Amplifying Enzyme Loading
Authors: Song Zhuolin , Feng Lin , Leng Yuankui , Huang Mingzhu , Fang Hao , Tong Weipeng , Chen Xuelan , Xiong Yonghua
Published: November 2021

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is widely used in the routine screening of mycotoxin contamination in various agricultural and food products. Herein, a cascade-amplifying system was introduced to dramatically promote the sensitivity of an immunoassay for ochratoxin A (OTA) detection. Specifically, a biotinylated M13 bacteriophage was introduced as a biofunctional competing antigen, in which a seven-peptide OTA mimotope fused on the p3 protein of M13 was used to specifically recognize an anti-OTA monoclonal antibody, and the biotin molecules modified on capsid p8 proteins were used in loading numerous streptavidin-labeled polymeric horseradish peroxidases (HRPs). Owing to the abundance of biotinylated p8 proteins in M13 and the high molar ratio between HRP and streptavidin in streptavidin-polyHRP, the loading amount of HRP enzymes on the M13 bacteriophage were greatly boosted. Hence, the proposed method exhibited high sensitivity, with a limit of detection of 2.0 pg/mL for OTA detection, which was 250-fold lower than that of conventional ELISA. In addition, the proposed method showed a slight cross-reaction of 2.3% to OTB, a negligible cross-reaction for other common mycotoxins, and an acceptable accuracy for OTA quantitative detection in real corn samples. The practicability of the method was further confirmed with a traditional HRP-based ELISA method. In conclusion, the biotinylated bacteriophage and polyHRP structure showed potential as a cascade-amplifying enzyme loading system for ultra-trace OTA detemination, and its application can be extended to the detection of other analytes by altering specific mimic peptide sequences.
Regulated and Non-Regulated Mycotoxin Detection in Cereal Matrices Using an Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) Method
Authors: Tsagkaris Aristeidis S. , Prusova Nela , Dzuman Zbynek , Pulkrabova Jana , Hajslova Jana
Published: November 2021

Cereals represent a widely consumed food commodity that might be contaminated by mycotoxins, resulting not only in potential consumer health risks upon dietary exposure but also significant financial losses due to contaminated batch disposal. Thus, continuous improvement of the performance characteristics of methods to enable an effective monitoring of such contaminants in food supply is highly needed. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a hybrid quadrupole orbitrap mass analyzer (UHPLC-q-Orbitrap MS) method was optimized and validated in wheat, maize and rye flour matrices. Nineteen analytes were monitored, including both regulated mycotoxins, e.g., ochratoxin A (OTA) or deoxynivalenol (DON), and non-regulated mycotoxins, such as ergot alkaloids (EAs), which are analytes that are expected to be regulated soon in the EU. Low limits of quantification (LOQ) at the part per trillion level were achieved as well as wide linear ranges (four orders of magnitude) and recovery rates within the 68–104% range. Overall, the developed method attained fit-for-purpose results and it highlights the applicability of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) detection in mycotoxin food analysis.
Transcriptomic Profile of the Cockle Cerastoderma edule Exposed to Seasonal Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxin Contamination
Authors: Domínguez-Pérez Dany , Martins José Carlos , Almeida Daniela , Costa Pedro Reis , Vasconcelos Vitor , Campos Alexandre
Published: November 2021

Bivalves constitute an important source of proteins for human consumption, but some accumulate biotoxins such as diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs), constituting a risk to human health. The cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most important species harvested in the Portuguese coast but also one of the most affected species due to recurrent DSTs exposure. However, little is known regarding the effects of the toxins produced by blooming dinoflagellates on C. edule. Herein, we explore the Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) of two tissues (gills and digestive gland) from wild cockles sampled in Portugal, through their whole transcriptomic response in two different seasons (exposed and not exposed to DSTs). The de novo transcriptome assembly returned 684,723 contigs, N50 of 1049, and 98.53% completeness. Altogether, 1098 DEGs were identified, of which 353 DEGs were exclusive for the digestive gland, 536 unique for the gills and 209 DEGs were common. Among DEGs were identified known DSTs-biomarkers including glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, cytochrome P450, ABC transporters, actin and tubulin-related proteins, Heat shock proteins and complement C1Q-like proteins. This study provides the first transcriptomic profile of C. edule, giving new insights about its molecular responses under different environmental conditions of DSTs exposure.
Engineering of Cytolethal Distending Toxin B by Its Reducing Immunogenicity and Maintaining Stability as a New Drug Candidate for Tumor Therapy; an In Silico Study
Authors: Keshtvarz Maryam , Mahboobi Mahdieh , Kieliszek Marek , Miecznikowski Antoni , Sedighian Hamid , Rezaei Milad , Haghighi Mohammad Ali , Zareh Zahra , Rezaei Ehsan
Published: November 2021

The cytolethal distending toxin (CDT), Haemophilus ducreyi, is one of the bacterial toxins that have recently been considered for targeted therapies, especially in cancer therapies. CDT is an A-B2 exotoxin. Its catalytic subunit (CdtB) is capable of inducing DNA double strand breaks, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in host eukaryotic cells. The sequence alignment indicates that the CdtB is structurally homologyr to phosphatases and deoxyribonucleases I (DNase I). Recently, it has been found that CdtB toxicity is mainly related to its nuclease activity. The immunogenicity of CDT can reduce its effectiveness in targeted therapies. However, the toxin can be very useful if its immunogenicity is significantly reduced. Detecting hotspot ectopic residues by computational servers and then mutating them to eliminate B-cell epitopes is a promising approach to reduce the immunogenicity of foreign protein-based therapeutics. By the mentioned method, in this study, we try to reduce the immunogenicity of the CdtB- protein sequence. This study initially screened residue of the CdtB is B-cell epitopes both linearly and conformationally. By overlapping the B-cell epitopes with the excluded conserve residues, and active and enzymatic sites, four residues were allowed to be mutated. There were two mutein options that show reduced antigenicity probability. Option one was N19F, G74I, and S161F with a VaxiJen score of 0.45 and the immune epitope database (IEDB) score of 1.80, and option two was N19F, G74I, and S161W with a VaxiJen score of 0.45 and IEDB score of 1.88. The 3D structure of the proposed sequences was evaluated and refined. The structural stability of native and mutant proteins was accessed through molecular dynamic simulation. The results showed that the mutations in the mutants caused no considerable changes in their structural stability. However, mutant 1 reveals more thermodynamic stability during the simulation. The applied approaches in this study can be used as rough guidelines for finding hot spot immunogen regions in the therapeutic proteins. Our results provide a new version of CdtB that, due to reduced immunogenicity and increased stability, can be used in toxin-based drugs such as immunotoxins.
Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Rodents during the Epizootic and Enzootic Periods of Plague, with a Focus on Exu, Northeastern Brazil
Authors: Fernandes Diego Leandro Reis da Silva , Bezerra Matheus Filgueira , Duarte Bruna Mendes , de França Silva Mayara Paes , de Almeida Souza Hadassa , de Souza Gomes Elainne Christine , de Almeida Alzira Maria Paiva
Published: November 2021

The plague caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium is primarily a flea-transmitted zoonosis of rodents that can also be conveyed to humans and other mammals. In this work, we analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution of rodent populations during epizootic and enzootic periods of the plague in the municipality of Exu, northeastern Brazil. The geospatial analyses showed that all the rodent species appeared through the whole territory of the municipality, with different occurrence hotspots for the different species. Important fluctuations in the rodent populations were observed, with a reduction in the wild rodent fauna following the end of a plague epizootic period, mostly represented by Necromys lasiurus and an increase in the commensal species Rattus rattus. A higher abundance of rats might lead to an increased exposure of human populations, favoring spillovers of plague and other rodent-borne diseases. Our analysis highlights the role of wild rodent species as amplifier hosts and of commensal rats (R. rattus) as preserver hosts in the enzootic period of a specific transmission infection area.
The Making of Catalogues of Very-High-Energy γ-ray Sources
Authors: de Naurois Mathieu
Published: November 2021

Thirty years after the discovery of the first very-high-energy γ-ray source by the Whipple telescope, the field experienced a revolution mainly driven by the third generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The combined use of large mirrors and the invention of the imaging technique at the Whipple telescope, stereoscopic observations, developed by the HEGRA array and the fine-grained camera, pioneered by the CAT telescope, led to a jump by a factor of more than ten in sensitivity. The advent of advanced analysis techniques led to a vast improvement in background rejection, as well as in angular and energy resolutions. Recent instruments already have to deal with a very large amount of data (petabytes), containing a large number of sources often very extended (at least within the Galactic plane) and overlapping each other, and the situation will become even more dramatic with future instruments. The first large catalogues of sources have emerged during the last decade, which required numerous, dedicated observations and developments, but also made the first population studies possible. This paper is an attempt to summarize the evolution of the field towards the building up of the source catalogues, to describe the first population studies already made possible, and to give some perspectives in the context of the upcoming, new generation of instruments.
Curing Cats with Feline Infectious Peritonitis with an Oral Multi-Component Drug Containing GS-441524
Authors: Krentz Daniela , Zenger Katharina , Alberer Martin , Felten Sandra , Bergmann Michèle , Dorsch Roswitha , Matiasek Kaspar , Kolberg Laura , Hofmann-Lehmann Regina , Meli Marina L. , Spiri Andrea M. , Horak Jeannie , Weber Saskia , Holicki Cora M. , Groschup Martin H. , Zablotski Yury , Lescrinier Eveline , Koletzko Berthold , von Both Ulrich , Hartmann Katrin
Published: November 2021

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) caused by feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a common dis-ease in cats, fatal if untreated, and no effective treatment is currently legally available. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and toxicity of the multi-component drug Xraphconn® in vitro and as oral treatment in cats with spontaneous FIP by examining survival rate, development of clinical and laboratory parameters, viral loads, anti-FCoV antibodies, and adverse effects. Mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance identified GS-441524 as an active component of Xraphconn®. Eighteen cats with FIP were prospectively followed up while being treated orally for 84 days. Values of key parameters on each examination day were compared to values before treatment initiation using linear mixed-effect models. Xraphconn® displayed high virucidal activity in cell culture. All cats recovered with dramatic improvement of clinical and laboratory parameters and massive reduction in viral loads within the first few days of treatment without serious adverse effects. Oral treatment with Xraphconn® containing GS-441524 was highly effective for FIP without causing serious adverse effects. This drug is an excellent option for the oral treatment of FIP and should be trialed as potential effective treatment option for other severe coronavirus-associated diseases across species.
Cotton Leafroll Dwarf Virus US Genomes Comprise Divergent Subpopulations and Harbor Extensive Variability
Authors: Ramos-Sobrinho Roberto , Adegbola Raphael O. , Lawrence Kathy , Schrimsher Drew W. , Isakeit Thomas , Alabi Olufemi J. , Brown Judith K.
Published: November 2021

Cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) was first reported in the United States (US) in 2017 from cotton plants in Alabama (AL) and has become widespread in cotton-growing states of the southern US. To investigate the genomic variability among CLRDV isolates in the US, complete genomes of the virus were obtained from infected cotton plants displaying mild to severe symptoms from AL, Florida, and Texas. Eight CLRDV genomes were determined, ranging in size from 5865 to 5867 bp, and shared highest nucleotide identity with other CLRDV isolates in the US, at 95.9–98.7%. Open reading frame (ORF) 0, encoding the P0 silencing suppressor, was the most variable gene, sharing 88.5–99.6% and 81.2–89.3% amino acid similarity with CLRDV isolates reported in cotton growing states in the US and in Argentina and Brazil in South America, respectively. Based on Bayesian analysis, the complete CLRDV genomes from cotton in the US formed a monophyletic group comprising three relatively divergent sister clades, whereas CLRDV genotypes from South America clustered as closely related sister-groups, separate from US isolates, patterns reminiscent of phylogeographical structuring. The CLRDV isolates exhibited a complex pattern of recombination, with most breakpoints evident in ORFs 2 and 3, and ORF5. Despite extensive nucleotide diversity among all available CLRDV genomes, purifying selection (dN/dS < 1) was implicated as the primary selective force acting on viral protein evolution.
Characterization of Spanish Olive Virome by High Throughput Sequencing Opens New Insights and Uncertainties
Authors: Ruiz-García Ana Belén , Canales Celia , Morán Félix , Ruiz-Torres Manuel , Herrera-Mármol Magdalena , Olmos Antonio
Published: November 2021

The use of high throughput sequencing (HTS) for the analysis of Spanish olive trees showing leaf yellowing discoloration, defoliation, and/or decline has provided new insights into the olive viruses present in Spain and has opened discussions about the pros and cons of these technologies for diagnostic purposes. In this study, we report for the first time in Spanish orchards the presence of olive leaf yellowing-associated virus (OLYaV), for which the second full coding sequence has been determined. This virus has also been detected in a putative vector, the psyllid Euphyllura olivina. In addition, the presence in Spain of Olea europaea geminivirus (OEGV), recently reported in Italy, has been confirmed, and the full-length sequence of two isolates was obtained by HTS and Sanger sequencing. These results, as well as the detection of other viral sequences related to olive latent virus 3 (OLV-3) and olive viral satellite RNA, raises questions on the biological significance of the findings, about the requirement of standardization on the interpretation of HTS results, and the necessity of additional tests to confirm the relevance of the HTS detection of viral sequences.
HIV-1 Envelope Glycoproteins Proteolytic Cleavage Protects Infected Cells from ADCC Mediated by Plasma from Infected Individuals
Authors: Prévost Jérémie , Medjahed Halima , Vézina Dani , Chen Hung-Ching , Hahn Beatrice H. , Smith Amos B. , Finzi Andrés
Published: November 2021

The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum as a trimeric gp160 precursor, which requires proteolytic cleavage by a cellular furin protease to mediate virus-cell fusion. Env is conformationally flexible but controls its transition from the unbound “closed” conformation (State 1) to downstream CD4-bound conformations (States 2/3), which are required for fusion. In particular, HIV-1 has evolved several mechanisms that reduce the premature “opening” of Env which exposes highly conserved epitopes recognized by non-neutralizing antibodies (nnAbs) capable of mediating antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Env cleavage decreases its conformational transitions favoring the adoption of the “closed” conformation. Here we altered the gp160 furin cleavage site to impair Env cleavage and to examine its impact on ADCC responses mediated by plasma from HIV-1-infected individuals. We found that infected primary CD4+ T cells expressing uncleaved, but not wildtype, Env are efficiently recognized by nnAbs and become highly susceptible to ADCC responses mediated by plasma from HIV-1-infected individuals. Thus, HIV-1 limits the exposure of uncleaved Env at the surface of HIV-1-infected cells at least in part to escape ADCC responses.
Killing Two Birds with One Stone by Administration of Soluble ACE2: A Promising Strategy to Treat Both Cardiovascular Diseases and SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Authors: Feng Fengling , Chen Jiaoshan , Zhao Jin , Li Yanjun , Li Minchao , Sun Caijun
Published: November 2021

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters host cells mainly by the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which can recognize the spike (S) protein by its extracellular domain. Previously, recombinant soluble ACE2 (sACE2) has been clinically used as a therapeutic treatment for cardiovascular diseases. Recent data demonstrated that sACE2 can also be exploited as a decoy to effectively inhibit the cell entry of SARS-CoV-2, through blocking SARS-CoV-2 binding to membrane-anchored ACE2. In this study, we summarized the current findings on the optimized sACE2-based strategies as a therapeutic agent, including Fc fusion to prolong the half-life of sACE2, deep mutagenesis to create high-affinity decoys for SARS-CoV-2, or designing the truncated functional fragments to enhance its safety, among others. Considering that COVID-19 patients are often accompanied by manifestations of cardiovascular complications, we think that administration of sACE2 in COVID-19 patients may be a promising therapeutic strategy to simultaneously treat both cardiovascular diseases and SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review would provide insights for the development of novel therapeutic agents against the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Text Mining-Based Survey of Pre-Impressions of Medical Staff toward COVID-19 Vaccination in a Designated Medical Institution for Class II Infectious Diseases
Authors: Mori Yoshiro , Miyatake Nobuyuki , Suzuki Hiromi , Okada Setsuo , Tanimoto Kiyotaka
Published: November 2021

The present study investigated the pre-impressions of medical staff toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in a designated medical institution for class II infectious diseases in Sakaide, Japan using a text mining analysis. A total of 387 medical staff were surveyed on their pre-vaccination impressions toward the COVID-19 vaccine using an open-ended questionnaire from March 1st to 7th (the first survey) and from March 22nd to 28th (the second survey) at Sakaide City Hospital, Sakaide, Japan. A total of 296 people answered the question for the first time and 234 people answered for the second time among the 387 people. The vaccination rate was slightly lower for the younger generation than for the older generation. Before the first vaccination, the younger generation expressed concerns about side effects as well as a negative impact on pregnancy. However, before the second vaccination, there were fewer concerns regarding side effects and words of reassurance were also noted. Nurses expressed more opinions about side effects in both the first and second vaccinations than other medical staff. Concerns regarding side effects among medical staff decreased with the progression of COVID-19 vaccination. These data may provide useful information about the promotion of COVID-19 vaccination to the public, particularly in the young generation and women.
Body Appreciation as a Factor Associated with College Students’ Willingness to Receive Future COVID-19 Vaccines
Authors: Liu Zi-Han , Bai Wei , Cai Hong , Liu Shou , Chen Xu , Qi Han , Liu Rui , Cheung Teris , Su Zhaohui , Jackson Todd , Sha Sha , Xiang Yu-Tao
Published: November 2021

Background: Following the initial manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, numerous studies have investigated factors that influence people’s vaccination intentions. However, no studies have examined links of vaccination attitudes with body-related attitudes, especially body appreciation. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted this study to disentangle the relationship between college students’ COVID-19 vaccination intentions and body appreciation. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Chinese college students. Participants completed the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) and other questionnaire measures of demographics, intentions to be vaccinated, and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination programs. Results: A total of 2058 college students participated in this study. Students who were willing to get COVID-19 vaccines had significantly higher BAS-2 scores than did those who were unwilling to receive a vaccine (3.61 ± 0.84 vs. 3.34 ± 0.92, p < 0.001). A hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between body appreciation and COVID-19 vaccine intentions when controlling for other covariates; elevated BAS-2 scores were associated with greater willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines (OR = 1.250, 95%CI: 1.112–1.406, p < 0.001), independent of other significant influences. Conclusion: Our study was the first to reveal that body appreciation is a significant factor related to college students’ COVID-19 vaccination intentions. Public health interventions designed to improve people’s body-appreciation levels may help in efforts to promote universal immunization.
What Determines Pig Farmers’ Epidemic Coping Behaviors: A Qualitative Analysis of Endemically Infected Areas in Relation to African Swine Fever
Authors: Xu Bo , Zhou Lijuan , Qiu Chengmei , Li Yanling , Zhang Wei
Published: November 2021

An animal epidemic is a big threat for economic development that may seriously disturb the breeding industry and people’s normal life. The most effective approach so far for epidemic control is biosecurity, zoning, culling animals exposed, and other relevant measures, which highly demands the cooperation of farmers in epidemic areas. However, an uncooperative phenomenon among individual farmers facing an epidemic has been recorded for a long time and includes unwilling to report the epidemic and selling infected pork. It is important to unravel the determinants of farmers’ coping behaviors during an animal epidemic outbreak and use corresponding strategies to reduce farmers’ inappropriate behaviors. Taking African Swine Fever (ASF) crisis as an example, this study aimed to reveal the determinants and underlying mechanism of pig farmers’ coping behaviors. We adopted qualitative interviews with 45 pig farmers across four endemically infected areas in Hunan provinces, and the data collected were subjected to a grounded theory analysis. Our results showed that emergency response, information sources, and information channels jointly affected pig farmers’ epidemic risk perception and their perception of coping behaviors. Meanwhile, both the characteristics of the government and pig farmers moderated this affect. Consequently, by processing information through either a heuristic or an analytical path, pig farmers’ behavioral intention was transformed into actual coping behaviors. Our study emphasizes the value of sufficient risk communication, proper compensation policies, and strong public trust in the government for improving the farmers’ participation in the epidemic response. Theoretical and practical implications to animal epidemic prevention and control are provided.
A Molecular Study on Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) in Pigs in Bulgaria
Authors: Palombieri Andrea , Tsachev Ilia , Sarchese Vittorio , Fruci Paola , Di Profio Federica , Pepovich Roman , Baymakova Magdalena , Marsilio Fulvio , Martella Vito , Di Martino Barbara
Published: November 2021

Information on hepatitis E virus (HEV) strains circulating in animal reservoirs in Bulgaria is currently lacking. Herein, by screening HEV seropositive sera obtained from Bulgarian swine and wild boars, viral RNA was detected at high prevalence rate (28.2%) in industrial pigs. Sequence analysis of the partial polymerase (RdRp) region revealed the highest genetic correlation with HEVs of genotype (Gt) 3 identified in French and Dutch patients. For three such strains, a 700-bp fragment of the open reading frame 2 gene was generated. On phylogenetic analysis, the Bulgarian strains clustered tightly (93.8–98.3% nt) with human and animal HEVs classified within the Gt3 subtype c.
A Hybrid MPI-OpenMP Parallel Algorithm for the Assessment of the Multifractal Spectrum of River Networks
Authors: Primavera Leonardo , Florio Emilia
Published: November 2021

The possibility to create a flood wave in a river network depends on the geometric properties of the river basin. Among the models that try to forecast the Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (IUH) of rainfall precipitation, the so-called Multifractal Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (MIUH) rather successfully connects the multifractal properties of the river basin to the observed IUH. Such properties can be assessed through different types of analysis (fixed-size algorithm, correlation integral, fixed-mass algorithm, sandbox algorithm, and so on). The fixed-mass algorithm is the one that produces the most precise estimate of the properties of the multifractal spectrum that are relevant for the MIUH model. However, a disadvantage of this method is that it requires very long computational times to produce the best possible results. In a previous work, we proposed a parallel version of the fixed-mass algorithm, which drastically reduced the computational times almost proportionally to the number of Central Processing Unit (CPU) cores available on the computational machine by using the Message Passing Interface (MPI), which is a standard for distributed memory clusters. In the present work, we further improved the code in order to include the use of the Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP) paradigm to facilitate the execution and improve the computational speed-up on single processor, multi-core workstations, which are much more common than multi-node clusters. Moreover, the assessment of the multifractal spectrum has also been improved through a direct computation method. Currently, to the best of our knowledge, this code represents the state-of-the-art for a fast evaluation of the multifractal properties of a river basin, and it opens up a new scenario for an effective flood forecast in reasonable computational times.
Environmental Aspects of Historical Ferromanganese Tailings in the Šibenik Bay, Croatia
Authors: Huljek Laura , Strmić Palinkaš Sabina , Fiket Željka , Fajković Hana
Published: November 2021

The former manganese ferroalloy plant and the remaining tailings are affecting the quality of the environment in Šibenik Bay, Croatia, even though industrial activities ceased more than 25 years ago. This study has revealed that the main manganese mineral phases present in the recently collected tailings, as well as in the dust collected on the roof of the plant during the production period, are bustamite and Mn-oxides. The same type of Mn mineral phases was also found in recently collected sediments from Šibenik Bay. Detailed chemical and phase analyses (XRD, BCR sequential analysis, aqua regia and lithium borate fusion) of the dust sample revealed high manganese values (24.1%), while granulometric analysis showed that 50% of the particles are smaller than PM2.5. The influence of the tailings is visible in the sediment, but the concentrations of the potentially toxic elements determined by the sequential BCR analysis are within the legal limits. Some higher values (20.3 g/kg Mn, 595 mg/kg Pb and 494 mg/kg Zn) are detected in the tailings, which are still exposed to weathering and as such should be additionally monitored. On the other hand, this material contains a considerable number of elements that could be considered lucrative (∑ REE up to 700 mg/kg, Mn up to 23 g/kg, Fe up to 37 g/kg and Al up to 25 g/kg), opening the possibility of reuse and recovery.
Community Flood Impacts and Infrastructure: Examining National Flood Impacts Using a High Precision Assessment Tool in the United States
Authors: Porter Jeremy R. , Shu Evelyn , Amodeo Michael , Hsieh Ho , Chu Ziyan , Freeman Neil
Published: November 2021

Changing environmental conditions are driving worsening flood events, with consequences for counties, cities, towns, and local communities. To understand individual flood risk within this changing climate, local community resiliency and infrastructure impacts must also be considered. Past research has attempted to capture this but has faced several limitations. This study provides a nation-wide model of community flooding impacts within the United States currently and in 30 years through the use of high-resolution input data (parcel-level), multi-source flood hazard information (four major flood types), multi-return period hazard information (six return periods), operational threshold integration, and future-facing projections. Impacts are quantified here as the level of flooding relative to operational thresholds. This study finds that over the next 30 years, millions of additional properties will be impacted, as aspects of risk are expected to increase for residential properties by 10%, roads by 3%, commercial properties by 7%, critical infrastructure facilities by 6%, and social infrastructure facilities by 9%. Additionally, certain counties and cities persistently display impact patterns. A high-resolution model capturing aspects of flood risk as related to community infrastructure is important for an understanding of overall community risk.
Degradation of Micropollutants and Formation of Oxidation By-Products during the Ozone/Peroxymonosulfate System: A Critical Review
Authors: Liu Zhao , Liang Zhiting , Li Kai , Huang Tinglin , Ma Jun , Wen Gang
Published: November 2021

The O3/PMS system has appeared as an effective wastewater treatment method because of the simultaneous generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and sulfate radicals (SO4•−). Many research achievements have been made on the degradation of micropollutants and the reaction mechanism of the O3/PMS system. However, an integral understanding of the O3/PMS system is lacking, which limits the development of safe and effective AOP-based water treatment schemes. Therefore, in this review, the degradation effects, toxicity changes, and reaction mechanisms of various micropollutants in the O3/PMS system are reviewed. The formation of oxidation by-products (OBPs) is an important issue that affects the practical application of O3/PMS systems. The formation mechanism and control methods of OBPs in the O3/PMS system are overviewed. In addition, the influence of different reaction conditions on the O3/PMS system are comprehensively evaluated. Finally, future research needs are proposed based on the limited understanding of O3/PMS systems in the degradation of micropollutants and formation of OBPs. Specifically, the formation rules of several kinds of OBPs during the O3/PMS system are not completely clear yet. Furthermore, pilot-scale research, the operational costs, sustainability, and general feasibility of the O3/PMS system also need to be studied. This review can offer a comprehensive assessment on the O3/PMS system to fill the knowledge gap and provide guidance for the future research and engineering applications of the O3/PMS system. Through this effort, the O3/PMS system can be better developed and turned towards practical applications.
Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Residential Water Use Behavior in Japan
Authors: Toyosada Kanako , Nakagawa Chika , Mitsunaga Takehiko , Kose Hiroyuki
Published: November 2021

To investigate the effect of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on residential water use behavior in Japan, we conducted a web-based survey of 1310 people throughout Japan in March 2021, one year after the initial spread of coronavirus. The survey was designed to provide an average picture of Japan. The survey revealed that the time respondents spent at home increased during the pandemic for both men and women in all age groups by an average of 1 h, an increase of 9%. Changes in water use behavior increased almost in proportion to the increase in time spent at home, except for the frequency of defecation, which was limited to once a day. The amount of time spent in the washroom increased by 13%, an increase of more than 1.4 times the increase in the amount of time spent at home. The additional 40% increase could be considered an effect of the awareness of disease prevention. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to end in the near future. In Japan, the pandemic has led to a strong push for the reform of work styles. Therefore, even in a post-coronavirus-pandemic society, changes in work styles may normalize the increased time spent at home and the proportional increase in water use. However, because the change in water use behavior caused by quarantine awareness is a result of the fear of coronavirus infection, it is possible that water use will gradually return to pre-pandemic levels once the source of the fear is removed. To reflect the changes in water use behavior in the design of facilities in the post-coronavirus-pandemic society, it is necessary to continue this survey even once the pandemic has ended.