bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The CODA Model: A Review and Skeptical Extension of the Constructionist Model of Emotional Episodes Induced by Music
Authors: Lennie Thomas M. , Eerola Tuomas
Published: April 2022

This paper discusses contemporary advancements in the affective sciences (described together as skeptical theories) that can inform the music-emotion literature. Key concepts in these theories are outlined, highlighting their points of agreement and disagreement. This summary shows the importance of appraisal within the emotion process, provides a greater emphasis upon goal-directed accounts of (emotion) behavior, and a need to move away from discrete emotion “folk” concepts and toward the study of an emotional episode and its components. Consequently, three contemporary music emotion theories (BRECVEMA, Multifactorial Process Approach, and a Constructionist Account) are examined through a skeptical lens. This critique highlights the over-reliance upon categorization and a lack of acknowledgment of appraisal processes, specifically goal-directed appraisal, in examining how individual experiences of music emerge in different contexts. Based on this critique of current music-emotion models, we present our skeptically informed CODA model - Constructivistly-Organised Dimensional-Appraisal model. This model addresses skeptical limitations of existing theories, reinstates the role of goal-directed appraisal as central to what makes music relevant and meaningful to an individual in different contexts and brings together different theoretical frameworks into a single model. From the development of the CODA model, several hypotheses are proposed and applied to musical contexts. These hypotheses address theoretical issues such as acknowledging individual and contextual differences in emotional intensity and valence, as well as differentiating between induced and perceived emotions, and utilitarian and aesthetic emotions. We conclude with a sections of recommendations for future research. Altogether, this theoretical critique and proposed model points toward a positive future direction for music-emotion science. One where researchers can take forward testable predictions about what makes music relevant and meaningful to an individual.
The Stressful Experience of Goal Orientations Under Frustration: Evidence Using Physiological Means
Authors: Antoniou Faye , Alkhadim Ghadah S.
Published: April 2022

The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that goal orientation is associated with divergent forms of emotional reactivity under frustration. Goal orientations were assessed using bifurcations of performance goals described earlier. Physiological stress levels were measured via a blood volume pulse analysis after individuals were subjected to a computerized Stroop task using a malfunctioning mouse to induce enhanced frustration. The results indicated that performance-avoidance goals were associated with the highest levels of emotional reactivity, with normative outcome goals being significantly more detrimental than ability goals. We concluded that the motivation to avoid failure or to outperform others is the most detrimental determinant of stress and needs to be avoided by all means. Instead, it is suggested that educators emphasize performance using personal best outcomes or by valuing engagement, deep processing and task completion.
Effects of Leisure Activities on the Cognitive Ability of Older Adults: A Latent Variable Growth Model Analysis
Authors: Zhu Chang-e , Zhou Lulin , Zhang Xinjie
Published: April 2022

Based on the data of four periods of CLHLS (2008, 2011, 2014, 2018), the latent variable growth model (LGCM) was applied to 2344 older adults who completed four follow-up surveys, to study the trajectory of leisure activities and cognitive ability and explore the relationship between leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults. The results showed that: (1) leisure activities and cognitive ability of older adults showed a non-linear downward trend; (2) leisure activities significantly and positively predicted the cognitive ability of older adults at every time point; (3) the initial level of leisure activity positively predicted the initial level of cognitive ability but negatively predicted the rate of cognitive decline; In addition, cognitive activities had a greater effect on cognitive ability than non-exercise physical activities; (4) the rate of decline of leisure activities also significantly and positively predicted the rate of decline of cognitive ability; (5) cross-lagged regression analysis further suggested the overall positive predictive effect of leisure activity on cognitive ability; (6) overall, education level had a significant contribution to cognitive ability, and the higher the education level, the slower the decline of cognitive ability; and (7) smoking could promote cognitive ability in older adults and no significant effect was found between alcohol drinking and cognitive ability. Accordingly, the government should encourage older adults to do more leisure activities, especially the cognitive activity, to effectively prevent cognitive decline.
Self-Assessed Driving Skills and Risky Driver Behaviour Among Young Drivers: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Lajunen Timo , Sullman Mark J. M. , Gaygısız Esma
Published: April 2022

The first few years of driving is a critical period when driving skills develop and the driving style is established. While the actual driving skills improve during the first few years of driving, a novice driver’s view of himself/herself as a safe and/or skilful driver also develops rapidly. The aim of this study was to investigate self-evaluated driver safety and perceptual-motor skills among different age groups of young drivers, along with the relationships between self-evaluated skills and driving behaviour. The sample consisted of a stratified random sample of 18–25-year-old drivers from the Finnish driving licence register. The questionnaires, which included the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and background information, were completed and returned by a total of 1,058 participants. While female drivers assessed their safety skills to be higher than their perceptual-motor skills, the opposite was true for males. In both sexes, perceptual-motor skills increased, and safety skills decreased with experience. Perceptual-motor skills correlated negatively with safety skills, lapses and errors, but positively with aggressive and ordinary violations. Safety skills correlated negatively with all DBQ variables. Safety orientation seems to be most clearly reflected in deliberate aberrant driving behaviours. Sex differences were observed in the development of behaviours and skills, perceptual-motor skills only increased with age among males, while safety skills decreased through experience among both men and women. Results showed that driving experience was strongly related to both driving style (violations, errors) and the drivers’ view of their skills (safety orientation), highlighting the importance of the first few years of driving.
Getting Into the Zone: A Pilot Study of Autonomic-Cardiac Modulation and Flow State During Piano Performance
Authors: Jha Shreya , Stogios Nicolette , de Oliveira Adriana Sarmento , Thomas Scott , Nolan Robert P.
Published: April 2022

Background

Music performance anxiety is a common experience among elite and professional musicians and impedes performers from achieving flow state, or a state of focused, sustained engagement that promotes optimal performance.

Objective

The aim of this study was to use heart rate variability (HRV) to determine the psychophysiological underpinnings of optimal music performance.

Methods

We assessed HRV to study how autonomic-cardiac modulation was associated with flow during piano performance. Twenty-two pianists (15–22 years) with at least a Grade 8 Royal Conservatory of Music certification prepared two standardized pieces and a self-selected piece. Performer heart rate data were measured with a Polar 800 watch in 5-min periods immediately before performances, during performances and post-performance. HRV was employed to assess autonomic modulation of cardiac intervals. HRV indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation of the heart were analyzed in 2.5-min segments to monitor short-term autonomic adjustments using the Kubios HRV Software. Flow state was measured using the 36-item Flow State Scale (FSS). Relationships were analyzed using zero-order correlations and multiple linear regressions.

Results

Our sample consisted of 22 RCM Grade 8 certified pianists. Participants achieved the highest level of flow during performance of the Bach piece. Decreased HRV was observed during performance, as indicated by a significant drop in total power. Flow state was positively associated with High Frequency (HF) power during the pre-performance phase, and inversely associated with Low Frequency (LF) power during performance.

Conclusion

Inverse association of flow with LF-HRV during performance affirms the importance of vagal-HR modulation for achievement of flow state. Increased HF-HRV and reduced LF-HRV immediately prior to performance suggests that flow state may be shaped as much by physiological preparation during pre-performance as it is by physiologic responses during performance. Further research is required to validate the correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and flow state. Evidence of this correlation between autonomic modulation of the heart and achievement of flow state may pave the way for further research on enhancing musical performance and targeting MPA through HRV-based interventions.
Neurobehavioral Dimensions of Prader Willi Syndrome: Relationships Between Sleep and Psychosis-Risk Symptoms
Authors: O'Hora Kathleen P. , Zhang Zizhao , Vajdi Ariana , Kushan-Wells Leila , Huang Zhengyi Sissi , Pacheco-Hansen Laura , Roof Elizabeth , Holland Anthony , Gur Ruben C. , Bearden Carrie E.
Published: April 2022

Background

Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of expression of the paternal copies of maternally imprinted gene(s) located at 15q11–q13. While the physical and medical characteristics of PWS, including short stature, hyperphagia and endocrine dysfunction are well-characterized, systematic investigation of the long-recognized psychiatric manifestations has been recent.

Methods

Here, we report on the first remote (web-based) assessment of neurobehavioral traits, including psychosis-risk symptoms (Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief Version; PQ-B) and sleep behaviors (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), in a cohort of 128 participants with PWS, of whom 48% had a paternal deletion, 36% uniparental disomy, 2.4% an imprinting mutation and 13% unknown mutation (mean age 19.3 years ± 8.4; 53.9% female). We aimed to identify the most informative variables that contribute to psychosis-risk symptoms. Multiple domains of cognition (accuracy and speed) were also assessed in a subset of PWS participants (n = 39) using the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (Penn-CNB).

Results

Individuals with PWS reported a range of psychosis-risk symptoms, with over half reporting cognitive disorganization (63.1%) and about one third reporting unusual beliefs (38.6%) and/or suspiciousness (33.3%). Subjectively-reported sleep quality, nap frequency, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and daytime dysfunction were significant predictors of psychosis-risk symptom frequency and severity (all p's < 0.029). Sleep disturbance ratings were the strongest predictors of psychosis-risk symptoms. Regarding cognition, individuals with PWS showed the most prominent deficits in accuracy on measures of social cognition involving faces, namely Face Memory, Age Differentiation and Emotion Recognition, and greatest slowing on measures of Attention and Emotion Recognition. However, there were no significant differences in psychosis-risk symptoms or cognitive performance as a function of PWS genetic subtype.

Conclusions

PWS is associated with a high prevalence of distressing psychosis-risk symptoms, which are associated with sleep disturbance. Findings indicate that self/parent-reported neurobehavioral symptoms and cognition can be assessed remotely in individuals with PWS, which has implications for future large-scale investigations of rare neurogenetic disorders.
Bending Properties of an Extensile Fluidic Artificial Muscle
Authors: Garbulinski Jacek , Wereley Norman M.
Published: April 2022

Low stiffness, large stroke, and axial force capabilities make Extensile Fluidic Artificial Muscles (EFAMs) a feasible soft actuator for continuum soft robots. EFAMs can be used to construct soft actuated structures that feature large deformation and enable soft robots to access large effective workspaces. Although FAM axial properties have been well studied, their bending behavior is not well characterized in the literature. Static and dynamic bending properties of a cantilevered EFAM specimen were investigated over a pressure range of 5–100 psi. The static properties were then estimated using an Euler-Bernoulli beam model and discrete elastic rod models. The experiments provided data for the determination of bending stiffness, damping ratio, and natural frequency of the tested specimen. The bending stiffness and the damping ratio were found to change fourfold over the pressure range. Experimentally validated bending properties of the EFAM presented insights into structural and control considerations of soft robots. Future work will utilize the data and models obtained in this study to predict the behavior of an EFAM-actuated continuum robot carrying payloads.
Explainable Machine Learning Approach Quantified the Long-Term (1981–2015) Impact of Climate and Soil Properties on Yields of Major Agricultural Crops Across CONUS
Authors: Sihi Debjani , Dari Biswanath , Kuruvila Abraham Peedikayil , Jha Gaurav , Basu Kanad
Published: April 2022

A comprehensive understanding of the long-term data on the crop, soils, environment, climate, and production management would facilitate efficient data-driven decision-making in agriculture production under changing climate. We have employed an explainable machine learning algorithm (random forest model coupled with LIME; Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations framework) using multi-decadal (1981–2015) data on climate variables, soil properties, and yield of major crops across the Coterminous United States (CONUS). This data-driven approach explained the multi-faceted factors of crop production for corn, soybean, cotton, and wheat under field conditions by leveraging agricultural informatics. We attempted to show how crop yields can better be correlated and explained when production input varies along with changing climatic/environmental and edaphic conditions. Our findings suggest Growing Degree Days (GDDs) as important climatic factors, while water holding capacity is one of the dominant soil properties in interpreting crop yield variability. Our findings will facilitate growers, crop production scientists, land management specialists, stakeholders, and policy makers in their future decision-making processes related to sustainable and long-term soil, water, and crop management practices.
Defined Antigen Skin Test for Bovine Tuberculosis Retains Specificity on Revaccination With Bacillus Calmette–Guérin
Authors: Subramanian Saraswathi , Srinivasan Sreenidhi , Ramaiyan Selvaraju Kathiravan , Vinoli Priyadharshini Michael , Selladurai Suganya , Ramasamy Boominathan , Kumaragurubaran Karthik , Bakker Douwe , Vordermeier Martin , Kapur Vivek , Gopal Dhinakar Raj
Published: April 2022

The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination provides partial protection against, and reduces severity of pathological lesions associated with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. Accumulating evidence also suggests that revaccination with BCG may be needed to enhance the duration of immune protection. Since BCG vaccine cross-reacts with traditional tuberculin-based diagnostic tests, a peptide-based defined antigen skin test (DST) comprising of ESAT-6, CFP-10, and Rv3615c to detect the infected among the BCG-vaccinated animals (DIVA) was recently described. The DST reliably identifies bTB-infected animals in experimental challenge models and in natural infection settings, and differentiated these from animals immunized with a single dose of BCG in both skin tests and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). The current investigation sought to assess the diagnostic specificity of DST in calves (Bos taurus ssp. taurus × B. t. ssp. indicus; n = 15) revaccinated with BCG 6 months after primary immunization. The results show that none of the 15 BCG-revaccinated calves exhibited a delayed hypersensitivity response when skin tested with DST 61 days post-revaccination, suggesting 100% diagnostic specificity (one-tailed lower 95% CI: 82). In contrast, 8 of 15 (diagnostic specificity = 47%; 95% CI: 21, 73) BCG-revaccinated calves were positive per the single cervical tuberculin (SCT) test using bovine tuberculin. Together, these results show that the DST retains its specificity even after revaccination with BCG and confirms the potential for implementation of BCG-based interventions in settings where test-and-slaughter are not economically or culturally feasible.
Regression Modeling Strategies to Predict and Manage Potato Leaf Roll Virus Disease Incidence and Its Vector
Authors: Ali Yasir , Raza Ahmed , Aatif Hafiz Muhammad , Ijaz Muhammad , Ul-Allah Sami , Rehman Shafeeq ur , Mahmoud Sabry Y. M. , Farrag Eman Saleh Hassan , Amer Mahmoud A. , Moustafa Mahmoud
Published: April 2022

The potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) disease is a serious threat to successful potato production and is mainly controlled by integrated disease management; however, the use of chemicals is excessive and non-judicious, and it could be rationalized using a predictive model based on meteorological variables. The goal of the present investigation was to develop a disease predictive model based on environmental responses viz. minimum and maximum temperature, rainfall and relative humidity. The relationship between epidemiological variables and PLRV disease incidence was determined by correlation analysis, and a stepwise multiple regression was used to develop a model. For this purpose, five years (2010–2015) of data regarding disease incidence and epidemiological variables collected from the Plant Virology Section Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad were used. The model exhibited 94% variability in disease development. The predictions of the model were evaluated based on two statistical indices, residual (%) and root mean square error (RMSE), which were ≤±20, indicating that the model was able to predict disease development. The model was validated by a two-year (2015–2017) data set of epidemiological variables and disease incidence collected in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The homogeneity of the regression equations of the two models, five years (Y = −47.61 − 0.572x1 + 0.218x2 + 3.78x3 + 1.073x4) and two years (Y = −28.93 − 0.148x1 + 0.510x2 + 0.83x3 + 0.569x4), demonstrated that they validated each other. Scatter plots indicated that minimum temperature (5–18.5 °C), maximum temperature (19.1–34.4 °C), rainfall (3–5 mm) and relative humidity (35–85%) contributed significantly to disease development. The foliar application of salicylic acid alone and in combination with other treatments significantly reduced the PLRV disease incidence and its vector population over control. The salicylic acid together with acetamiprid proved the most effective treatment against PLRV disease incidence and its vector M. persicae.
Development and Modeling of an Onion Harvester with an Automated Separation System
Authors: Erokhin Michel N. , Dorokhov Alexey S. , Sibirev Alexey V. , Aksenov Alexandr G. , Mosyakov Maxim A. , Sazonov Nikolay V. , Godyaeva Maria M.
Published: April 2022

One of the most important problems during the implementation of any technology is to reduce labor costs, energy, and resource conservation while increasing the yield of cultivated crops and, as a result, reducing the cost of production. Despite a significant amount of scientific research devoted to the problem of energy and resource conservation in the cultivation and harvesting of agricultural crops and the development of mechanization tools that ensure the high-quality performance of technological operations, there remain issues that have not been fully resolved to date. In addition, not all the results of known theoretical and experimental studies can be directly applied to intensify the process of harvesting root crops since the quality indicators of marketable products depend on the type and technological parameters of the separating working bodies. This article presents the design of a rod elevator with an adjustable angle of inclination of the web, which reduces damage to commercial products of root crops and bulbs with maximum completeness of separation. A laboratory facility has been developed to substantiate the design and technological parameters of a separating system with an adjustable web inclination angle. Based on the results of theoretical and experimental studies, a machine for harvesting onions with an adjustable blade inclination angle has been developed, which provides an increase in the quality indicators of onion harvesting at optimal values of the parameters: (1) translational speed of movement of the rod elevator with an adjustable web inclination angle of 1.7 m/s with a 98.4% completeness of separation and 1.7% damage to the bulbs; (2) translational speed of the movement of the machine for harvesting root crops and onions 1.0 m/s with a 98.5% separation completeness and 1.1% damage to the bulbs; (3) digging depth of the digging plowshare equal to 0.02 m, with an onion heap separation completeness of more than 98% and product damage of less than 1.4%. The results of theoretical and experimental studies of a rod elevator to substantiate the design and technological parameters during its interaction with a heap of onion are presented. Basic design and technological parameters of the studied rod elevator are substantiated, namely, the distance S1 of the movement of the rod of the actuators, the angle a1 of the longitudinal inclination of the surface of the rod elevator relative to the horizon, and differential equations of motion of the onion-sowing pile element on the surface of the rod elevator with an adjustable angle of inclination of the web.
Quantifying the Impact of Reduced Nitrogen Rates on Grain Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in the Wheat and Rice Rotation System of the Yangtze River Region
Authors: Nadeem Muhammad Yousaf , Zhang Jianwei , Zhou Yan , Ahmad Sajjad , Ding Yanfeng , Li Ganghua
Published: April 2022

Nitrogen (N) plays a vital role in plant growth; however, the yield response to N fertilizer is regularly declining in the major cropping systems due to overuse and the upper limit of yields. Heavy losses of N are also documented due to its excessive use in the rice-wheat rotation system, resulting in low nitrogen-use efficiencies (NUE) and environmental problems. Therefore, a three-year field experiment was performed with different N managements to investigate the impact of reduced N input rates in this exhaustive cropping system. Reducing the N application rates did not affect the wheat and rice yields significantly, only during the second wheat season was the yield slightly reduced as compared to higher N input treatments. Decreasing the N input rates in the prior crop and present crop, and the interactions of both rice and wheat seasons (R × W) did not influence the yields of either crop. A reduction in N fertilizer had a considerable impact on dry matter production during the wheat seasons but demonstrated no effect during the rice season. The accumulation of N was significantly reduced during both crop seasons by lowering the rate of N application. In addition, the NUE indices were significantly influenced by N fertilizer application rates. In conclusion, N fertilizer input rates for both rice and wheat crops can be lowered as compared to present fertilization rates without any risk of yield decline. Lowering the N input increases the NUE and effectively reduces N losses, and soil N status can also be maintained.
Best Linear Unbiased Predictions of Environmental Effects on Grain Yield in Maize Variety Trials of Different Maturity Groups
Authors: Zorić Marina , Gunjača Jerko , Galić Vlatko , Jukić Goran , Varnica Ivan , Šimić Domagoj
Published: April 2022

Development of new cultivars and agronomic improvements are key factors of increasing in future grain yield in maize grown in environments affected by climate change. Assessment of value for cultivation and use (VCU) reflects the results of latest breeding efforts showing yield trends, whereby external environmental covariates were rarely used. This study aimed to analyze several environmental effects including stress degree days (SDD) on grain yields in Croatian VCU trials in three maturity groups using linear mixed model for the estimation of fixed and random effects. Best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) of location-year interaction showed no pattern among maturity groups. SDD showed mostly non-significant coefficients of regression on location BLUPs for yield. Analyzing location BLUPs, it was shown that the effect became consistently stronger with later maturity, either positive or negative. The effects of management might play more critical role in maize phenology and yield formation compared with climate change, at least in suboptimum growing conditions often found in Southeast Europe. To facilitate more robust predictions of the crop improvement, the traditional forked approach dealing with G × E by breeders and E × M by agronomists should be integrated to G × E × M framework, to assess the full gradient of combinations forming the adaptation landscape.
Optimization of Rice-Based Double-Cropping System with Conservation Practice Mitigates Carbon Emission While Ensuring Profitability
Authors: Zhang Xin , Chen Tao , Qi Yongkui , Yang Ruiping , Deng Aixing , Wang Tianshu , Zheng Chengyan , Zhang Jun , Shang Ziyin , Song Zhenwei , Zhang Weijian
Published: April 2022

Including green manure into a rice-based double-cropping system has effects on both crop production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, few studies have considered the trade-off between crop productivity, profitability, and carbon footprint (CF) in this cropping system of China. Thus, the impacts of different cropping regimes on crop productivity, economic benefits, carbon footprint, and net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB) were investigated. The treatments were rice–wheat (R–W), rice–rape (R–R), rice–hairy vetch (R–H), rice–barley (R–B), rice–faba bean (R–F), and rice–fallow (R). Compared to R–W treatment, planting rape (R–R), green manure (R–F, R–H), or fallow (R) in winter season tended to improve rice yield, but they were not conducive to yield stability. Treatments of R–H, R–F, and R reduced both direct and indirect GHG emission, and thus mitigated the area-scaled carbon footprint by 34.4%, 44.2%, and 49.7%, respectively, compared to R–W treatment. The economic benefits under R–R, R–B, or R system were not different from those of R–W treatment, while R–H reduced the economic benefit by 70.1%. In comparison with R–W treatment, R–H treatment reduced the NEEB, while R–F significantly increased the NEEB by USD 4065 ha−1. The present results indicate that as a measure to realize the combination of food security and environmental cost reduction, substituting leguminous crops with wheat can mitigate carbon emissions while ensuring profitability, on the premise of yield stability.
Transcriptome Study of Rice Roots Status under High Alkaline Stress at Seedling Stage
Authors: Lin Yujie , Ma Jian , Wu Nan , Qi Fan , Peng Zhanwu , Nie Dandan , Yao Rongrong , Qi Xin , Slaski Jan , Yang Fu , Wang Ningning , Zhang Jian
Published: April 2022

Alkaline stress is harmful to plant growth and development, it would induce endogenic ionic concentration and osmotic pressure, trigger relevant genes expression with transcription factor binding, signal transduction and hormone synthesis. In this study, we selected “Dongdao-4”, a salt-alkali stress tolerance rice cultivar, which was subjected to extreme high pH (pH = 11.5) alkaline stress at the trefoil stage for 7 days. Using the RNA-seq technology, we analyzed variations in genes expressed between the fourth and the seventh day of treatment. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was 3804, 2534, 207 and 3276 for fourth day-stress vs. fourth day-control, seventh day-stress vs. seventh day-control, seventh day-control vs. fourth day-control and seventh day-stress vs. fourth day-stress, respectively. Gene ontology (GO) results revealed that DEGs were mainly enriched in apoptotic process, electron carrier activity, receptor activity, molecular transducer activity. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) results implied that DEGs were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In particular, DEGs were distributed in genes related to the transcription factor, leucine rich repeats (LRRs) and hormones. We also report here for the first-time identification of 125 genes specifically expressed during the alkaline stress. Our results provided important information assisting with the exploration of the molecular mechanisms of rice plants subjected to high pH condition and can facilitate rice abiotic tolerance breeding.
Crithmum maritimum L. Biomass Production in Mediterranean Environment
Authors: Zenobi Stefano , Fiorentini Marco , Ledda Luigi , Deligios Paola , Aquilanti Lucia , Orsini Roberto
Published: April 2022

Crithmum maritimum L., similarly to other halophytes, could be an essential plant in marginal areas of the Mediterranean basin; it can grow with low inputs and thus tackle environmental risks of soil erosion and biodiversity caused by climate change. The leaves can be used as food because of their good chemical and nutritional parameters, as a cosmetic product and in medicine. The three treatments studied in the context of organic farming (control without input, irrigated with irrigation water only and fertigated with organic liquid fertilizer diluted in irrigation water) have provided encouraging results; in fact, regardless of the meteorological trend of the two years of experimentation, the production of aerial biomass remained at satisfactory levels and in particular, in the year following the transplantation, the production saw a significant increase in the treatments tested with low inputs (irrigated and fertigated). So, in the second year of production, a low nitrogen input with fertigation induced the plants to produce significantly more leaf biomass than the irrigated treatment, which in turn was significantly superior to the control. The production results for dry biomass are encouraging and may promote the spread of the local germplasm of this species around the Conero Park, where it is being studied to produce fermented vegetable conserves.
Loline Alkaloid Effects on Gastrointestinal Nematodes
Authors: Froehlich Kelly Ann , McAnulty Robin , Greer Andy
Published: April 2022

Loline, an alkaloid with several derivatives, has suggested antimicrobial and anthelmintic properties. Therefore, loline was investigated as a natural anthelmintic against Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Teladorsagia circumcincta, and Haemonchus contortus. Preliminary in vitro studies had reduced L3 T. circumcincta establishment but no effect on L3 T. colubriformis larvae migration or H. contortus establishment. While loline-treated lambs had lower establishment of L4 and adult T. circumcincta and L4 T. colubriformis, L4 and adult H. contortus appeared unaffected. Following preliminary study, an in vivo experiment examined lambs infected with a mix of L4 T. circumcincta, T. colubriformis, and adult H. contortus. These lambs were treated with either a loline seed extract (LOL, n = 7), nothing (CON, n = 7), or a non-loline seed extract (NIL, n = 2). There were no differences in worm burdens, fecal egg counts, weight gain, or feed intake between treatments. However, an average growth efficiency (kg LWG/kg DM intake) was detected (p = 0.01) in CON (0.18) which was less than LOL (0.24) or NIL (0.23). There was limited evidence to support an in vivo anti-parasitic effect of loline despite in vitro studies indicating potential benefits. Discrepancies between in vivo and in vitro studies results were potentially a result of loline contact time with larvae, mode of ingestion or the forms of loline present.
TLR4 Signaling and Heme Oxygenase-1/Carbon Monoxide Pathway Crosstalk Induces Resiliency of Myeloma Plasma Cells to Bortezomib Treatment
Authors: Scandura Grazia , Giallongo Cesarina , Puglisi Fabrizio , Romano Alessandra , Parrinello Nunziatina Laura , Zuppelli Tatiana , Longhitano Lucia , Giallongo Sebastiano , Di Rosa Michelino , Musumeci Giuseppe , Motterlini Roberto , Foresti Roberta , Palumbo Giuseppe Alberto , Li Volti Giovanni , Di Raimondo Francesco , Tibullo Daniele
Published: April 2022

Relapse in multiple myeloma (MM) decreases therapy efficiency through unclear mechanisms of chemoresistance. Since our group previously demonstrated that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) are two signaling pathways protecting MM cells from the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (BTZ), we here evaluated their cross-regulation by a pharmacological approach. We found that cell toxicity and mitochondrial depolarization by BTZ were increased upon inhibition of HO-1 and TLR4 by using tin protoporphyrin IX (SnPP) and TAK-242, respectively. Furthermore, the combination of TAK-242 and BTZ activated mitophagy and decreased the unfolded protein response (UPR) survival pathway in association with a downregulation in HO-1 expression. Notably, BTZ in combination with SnPP induced effects mirroring the treatment with TAK-242/BTZ, resulting in a blockade of TLR4 upregulation. Interestingly, treatment of cells with either hemin, an HO-1 inducer, or supplementation with carbon monoxide (CO), a by-product of HO-1 enzymatic activity, increased TLR4 expression. In conclusion, we showed that treatment of MM cells with BTZ triggers the TLR4/HO-1/CO axis, serving as a stress-responsive signal that leads to increased cell survival while protecting mitochondria against BTZ and ultimately promoting drug resistance.
A New Hybrid Optimization Method, Application to a Single Objective Active Flow Control Test Case
Authors: Coma Martí , Tousi Navid Monshi , Pons-Prats Jordi , Bugeda Gabriel , Bergada Josep M.
Published: April 2022

Genetic Algorithms (GA) are useful optimization methods for exploration of the search space, but they usually have slowness problems to exploit and converge to the minimum. On the other hand, gradient based methods converge faster to local minimums, although are not so robust (e.g., flat areas and discontinuities can cause problems) and they lack exploration capabilities. This article presents a hybrid optimization method trying to combine the virtues of genetic and gradient based algorithms, and to overcome their corresponding drawbacks. The performance of the Hybrid Method is compared against a gradient based method and a Genetic Algorithm, both used alone. The rate of convergence of the methods is used to compare their performance. To take into account the robustness of the methods, each one has been executed more than once, with different starting points for the gradient based method and different random seeds for the Genetic Algorithm and the Hybrid Method. The performance of the different methods is tested against an optimization Active Flow Control (AFC) problem over a 2D Selig–Donovan 7003 (SD7003) airfoil at Reynolds number 6×104 and a 14 degree angle of attack. Five design variables are considered: jet position, jet width, momentum coefficient, forcing frequency and jet inclination angle. The objective function is defined as minus the lift coefficient (−Cl), so it is defined as a minimization problem. The proposed Hybrid Method enables working with N optimization algorithms, multiple objective functions and design variables per optimization algorithm.
Effect of Radial Height of Helical Static Blade on the Cavitation Performance of Inducer
Authors: Bi Chenyu , Li Jiawen
Published: April 2022

Cavitation is a major concern in liquid rocket engine turbopumps, and as an effective measure to improve cavitation quality, an inducer with helical static blades has attracted attention in recent years. In order to study the effect of the radial height of helical static blades on the cavitation performance of the inducer, CFD methods based on the Reynolds-averaged N-S equation, the standard k-ε turbulent model, and the Schnerr and Sauer cavitation model are employed to analyze the cavitation flow characteristics of a certain inducer with different helical static blades. The results show that with the increase in radial height, the backflow in the flow field is enhanced. Affected by this situation, the head is improved, the efficiency is reduced, and the low-pressure zone on the suction surface at entrance is enlarged. The helical static blade can delay the channel blocking of cavitation by providing an extra channel for the extension of bubbles. However, the effectiveness is restricted because the cavitation area enlarges with the radial height of the helical static blade. Although the effect of radial height on the head and the cavitation performance is opposite, there is an optimal radial height from 0.05 to 0.125 that improves both at the same time.
Hyperspectral Band Selections for Enhancing the Discrimination of Difficult Targets Using Local Band Index and Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Wang Hanwen , Yan Changxiang , Yuan Jing , Lu Qipeng
Published: April 2022

Due to their similar color and material variability, some ground objects have similar characteristics and overlap in some bands. This leads to a drop in the classification accuracy of hyperspectral images. To address this problem, we simulated hyperspectral images of vegetation and objects with similar colors by mixed pixel calculation to test the classification performance of the dimensionality reduction method for samples with close spectra. In addition, we proposed a novel wavelength selection algorithm called the LBI-BPSO (Binary Particle Swarm Optimization with Local Band Index), which combines the information amount and inter-class separability. The novelty of this study is in its proposal of an improvement of IOIF using inter-class distance. Based on the calculation of the information content by the local band index, the inter-class distance was introduced to measure the inter-class separability of ground objects, and a reasonable fitness function is proposed. It can obtain the wavelength combination of two DR criteria, which considers the larger amount of information and better sample separability. The classification performance of the simulation dataset is verified by comparing LBI-BPSO with Partitioned Relief-F, IOIF (Improved Optimum Index Factor) and GA-BPSO (Particle Swarm Optimization with a Genetic Algorithm). Under the conditions that the signal-to-noise ratio is 1000, compared with IOIF, the OA of LBI-BPSO improved by 2.90%, the AA improved by 2.75%, and the Kappa coefficient improved by 3.91%. LBI-BPSO also showed the best results in the analysis of different abundances and signal-to noise-ratios. The results show that the new wavelength selection algorithm LBI-BPSO, which combines the amount of information and inter-class separability, is more effective than IOIF and GA-BPSO in classifying objects with similar colors and effectively improves the classification accuracy.
ALIPPF-Controller to Stabilize the Unstable Motion and Eliminate the Non-Linear Oscillations of the Rotor Electro-Magnetic Suspension System
Authors: Saeed Nasser A. , Awrejcewicz Jan , Mousa Abd Allah A. , Mohamed Mohamed S.
Published: April 2022

Within this work, an advanced control algorithm was proposed to eliminate the non-linear vibrations of the rotor electro-magnetic suspension system. The suggested control algorithm is known as the Adaptive Linear Integral Positive Position Feedback controller (ALIPPF-controller). The ALIPPF-controller is a combination of first-order and second-order filters that are coupled linearly to the targeted non-linear system in order to absorb the excessive vibratory energy. According to the introduced control strategy, the dynamical model of the controlled rotor system was established as six non-linear differential equations that are coupled linearly. The obtained dynamical model was investigated analytically applying the asymptotic analysis, where the slow-flow equations were extracted. Based on the derived slow-flow equations, the bifurcation behaviors of the controlled system were explored by plotting the different bifurcation diagrams. In addition, the performance of the ALIPPF-controller in eliminating the rotor lateral vibrations was compared with the conventional Positive Position Feedback (PPF) controller. The acquired results illustrated that the ALIPPF-controller is the best control technique that can eliminate the considered system’s lateral vibrations regardless of the angular speed and eccentricity of the rotating shaft. Finally, to demonstrate the accuracy of the obtained analytical results, numerical validation was performed for all obtained bifurcation diagrams that were in excellent agreement with the analytical solutions.
Special Issue “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conversion Systems”
Authors: Ioinovici Adrian
Published: April 2022

In the current quest for new energy sources, green, environmentally friendly energy has taken a preponderant role [...]
Design and Disaster Resilience: Toward a Role for Design in Disaster Mitigation and Recovery
Authors: Charlesworth Esther , Fien John
Published: April 2022

This paper examines how the discourses and practices of design can be applied to both mitigate the damaging impacts of (un-)natural disasters and guide resilient post-disaster recovery. Integrated with systems analysis, design can provide both an innovative window for understanding the complexities of disaster-risk reduction and recovery, as well as a conceptual bridge to new ways of building socio-economic and physical resilience in disaster-affected communities. However, the skills of key systems and design thinkers, such as architects, urban planners, and landscape architects, are seldom employed, despite their demonstrated capacity to work with disaster-prone or -impacted communities to develop integrated spatial responses to guide both disaster-risk reduction and long-term rebuilding after a disaster. Indeed, there has been little focused investigation of the potential contributions of design per se in developing strategies for disaster-risk reduction and recovery. Similarly, there has been little attention in design education to complementing the creative problem-solving skills of the designer with the contextual and systemic understandings of disaster management and disaster-resilient design. This paper addresses these omissions in both disaster management and design education though a review of research on design contributions to disaster issues and provides a case study of the curriculum and pedagogical approaches appropriate to build capacity for enhancing this contribution.
Nitrous Oxide Profile Retrievals from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and Validation
Authors: Chen Cuihong , Ma Pengfei , Chen Liangfu , Zhang Yuhuan , Zhou Chunyan , Zhao Shaohua , Zhang Lianhua , Wang Zhongting
Published: April 2022

This paper presents an algorithm for the retrieval of nitrous oxide profiles from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) on the Earth Observing System (EOS)/Aqua using a nonlinear optimal estimation method. First, an improved Optimal Sensitivity Profile (OSP) algorithm for channel selection is proposed based on the weighting functions and the transmissions of the target gas and interfering gases, with 13 channels selected for inversion in this algorithm. Next, the data of the High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) aircraft and the Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) are used to verify the retrieval results, including the atmospheric nitrous oxide profile and the column concentration. The results show that using AIRS satellite data, the atmospheric nitrous oxide profile between 300–900 hPa can be well retrieved with an accuracy of ~0.1%, which agrees with the corresponding Jacobian peak interval of selected channels. Analysis of the AIRS retrievals demonstrates that the AIRS measurements provide useful information to capture the spatial and temporal variations in nitrous oxide between 300–900 hPa.
The Interplay of Microtubules with Mitochondria–ER Contact Sites (MERCs) in Glioblastoma
Authors: Grespi Francesca , Vianello Caterina , Cagnin Stefano , Giacomello Marta , De Mario Agnese
Published: April 2022

Gliomas are heterogeneous neoplasms, classified into grade I to IV according to their malignancy and the presence of specific histological/molecular hallmarks. The higher grade of glioma is known as glioblastoma (GB). Although progress has been made in surgical and radiation treatments, its clinical outcome is still unfavorable. The invasive properties of GB cells and glioma aggressiveness are linked to the reshaping of the cytoskeleton. Recent works suggest that the different susceptibility of GB cells to antitumor immune response is also associated with the extent and function of mitochondria–ER contact sites (MERCs). The presence of MERCs alterations could also explain the mitochondrial defects observed in GB models, including abnormalities of energy metabolism and disruption of apoptotic and calcium signaling. Based on this evidence, the question arises as to whether a MERCs–cytoskeleton crosstalk exists, and whether GB progression is linked to an altered cytoskeleton–MERCs interaction. To address this possibility, in this review we performed a meta-analysis to compare grade I and grade IV GB patients. From this preliminary analysis, we found that GB samples (grade IV) are characterized by altered expression of cytoskeletal and MERCs related genes. Among them, the cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4 or CLIMP-63) appears particularly interesting as it encodes a MERCs protein controlling the ER anchoring to microtubules (MTs). Although further in-depth analyses remain necessary, this perspective review may provide new hints to better understand GB molecular etiopathogenesis, by suggesting that cytoskeletal and MERCs alterations cooperate to exacerbate the cellular phenotype of high-grade GB and that MERCs players can be exploited as novel biomarkers/targets to enhance the current therapy for GB.