bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CD39-Expressing CD8+ T Cells as a New Molecular Marker for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Liu Meitong , Zhao Yaning , Xiao Zhuoyun , Zhou Rongmiao , Chen Xiaodong , Cui Saijin , Cao Shiru , Huang Xi , Chen Tianyu , Huo Xiangran , Zhang Guoqiang , Tian Ziqiang , Wang Na
Published: February 2023

We aimed to explore the effect of CD39 expression on CD8+ T cells and on the diagnosis and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The independent prognostic factors for the surgical specimens of the 95 ESCC patients were screened by multivariate Cox regression analysis. Differential gene expression analysis was performed by the NetworkAnalyst platform based on data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The expression of CD39 on CD8+ T cells in the CK+ region was higher in cancer tissue than in paracancerous tissue (p = 0.011), and high CD39-expressing CD8+ T cells in the CK+ region (HR, 2.587; p = 0.033) and high CD39-expressing CD8+ T cells in the CK− region (HR, 3.090; p = 0.008) were independent risk factors for prognosis in ESCC patients; the expression of ENTPD1 was upregulated in ESCC tissues compared to normal tissues (adjusted p < 0.001; log2 fold change = 1.99), and its expression was significantly positively correlated with the expression of PDCD1, CTLA4, and HAVCR2. High CD39-expressing CD8+ T cells can be used as a new molecular marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of ESCC, and the restoration of partially exhausted CD8+ T cells by inhibiting CD39 may be a new strategy for treating ESCC.
Overview of Catalysts with MIRA21 Model in Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation of 2,4-Dinitrotoluene
Authors: Jakab-Nácsa Alexandra , Hajdu Viktória , Vanyorek László , Farkas László , Viskolcz Béla
Published: February 2023

Although 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) hydrogenation to 2,4-toluenediamine (TDA) has become less significant in basic and applied research, its industrial importance in polyurethane production is indisputable. The aim of this work is to characterize, rank, and compare the catalysts of 2,4-dinitrotoluene catalytic hydrogenation to 2,4-toluenediamine by applying the Miskolc Ranking 21 (MIRA21) model. This ranking model enables the characterization and comparison of catalysts with a mathematical model that is based on 15 essential parameters, such as catalyst performance, reaction conditions, catalyst conditions, and sustainability parameters. This systematic overview provides a comprehensive picture of the reaction, technological process, and the previous and new research results. In total, 58 catalysts from 15 research articles were selected and studied with the MIRA21 model, which covers the entire scope of DNT hydrogenation catalysts. Eight catalysts achieved the highest ranking (D1), whereas the transition metal oxide-supported platinum or palladium catalysts led the MIRA21 catalyst ranking list.
Effect of Alkoxy Substituents on the Regioselectivity of Catalytic C-H Activation in Benzoic Acids: Experimental and DFT Study
Authors: Kharitonov Vladimir B. , Muratov Dmitry V. , Nelyubina Yulia V. , Loginov Dmitry A.
Published: February 2023

This work demonstrates the influence of the catalyst and alkyne nature on the regioselectivity of rhodium-catalyzed annulation of alkoxy-substituted benzoic acids (such as 3-methoxybenzoic, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic, and piperonylic acids) with alkynes. Here, X-ray diffraction and DFT calculation data gave evidence that the observed regioselectivity is provided by both steric and coordination effects of methoxy groups. The latter is the result of weak non-covalent C–H⋯O interactions with the supporting ligand rather than with the rhodium atom. We believe that these results are also valid for other reactions of the C-H activation of methoxy-substituted arene compounds.
Influence of FeP and Al(H2PO4)3 Nanocatalysts on the Thermolysis of Heavy Oil in N2 Medium
Authors: Abdelsalam Yasser I. I. , Khamidullin Renat F. , Katnov Vladimir E. , Dengaev Aleksey V. , Aliev Firdavs A. , Vakhin Alexey V.
Published: February 2023

The high viscosity of heavy oil is the main challenge hindering its production. Catalytic thermolysis can be an effective solution for the upgrading of heavy oil in reservoir conditions that leads to the viscosity reduction of native oil and increases the yield of light fractions. In this study, the thermolysis of heavy oil produced from Ashalchinskoye field was carried out in the presence of FeP and Al(H2PO4) nanocatalysts at a temperature of 250 °C in N2 gas environment. It was shown that Al(H2PO4)3 and FeP catalysts at a concentration of 0.5% significantly promoted the efficiency of the heavy oil thermolysis and are key controlling factors contributing to the acceleration of chemical reactions. The Al(H2PO4)3 + NiCO3 nanoparticles were active in accelerating the main chemical reactions during upgrading of heavy oil: desulfurization, removal of the side alkyl chains from polyaromatic hydrocarbons, the isomerization of the molecular chain, hydrogenation and ring opening, which led to the viscosity reduction in heavy oil by 42%wt. Moreover, the selectivity of the Al(H2PO4)3 + NiCO3 catalyst relative to the light distillates increased up to 33.56%wt., which is more than two times in contrast to the light distillates of initial crude oil. The content of resins and asphaltenes in the presence of the given catalytic complex was reduced from 34.4%wt. to 14.7%wt. However, FeP + NiCO3 nanoparticles contributed to the stabilization of gasoline fractions obtained after upgraded oil distillation. Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that the thermolysis of heavy oil in the presence of FeP and Al(H2PO4)3 is a promising method for upgrading heavy oil and reducing its viscosity.
A Review on the Green Synthesis of Benzimidazole Derivatives and Their Pharmacological Activities
Authors: Nardi Monica , Cano Natividad Carolina Herrera , Simeonov Svilen , Bence Renata , Kurutos Atanas , Scarpelli Rosa , Wunderlin Daniel , Procopio Antonio
Published: February 2023

Benzimidazoles and their derivatives play an extraordinarily significant role as therapeutic agents, e.g., antiulcer, analgesic, and anthelmintic drugs. The organic synthesis of benzimidazoles and derivatives to obtain active pharmacological compounds represents an important research area in organic chemistry. The use of non-environmental organic compounds and application high energy synthetic methods, the production of waste, and the application of conventional toxic processes are a problem for the pharmaceutical industry and for these important drugs’ synthesis. The substituted benzimidazoles are summarized in this review to provide insight about their organic synthesis using ecofriendly methods, as well as their pharmacological activities.
Bio-Based Materials versus Synthetic Polymers as a Support in Lipase Immobilization: Impact on Versatile Enzyme Activity
Authors: Jasińska Karina , Zieniuk Bartłomiej , Jankiewicz Urszula , Fabiszewska Agata
Published: February 2023

To improve enzyme stability, the immobilization process is often applied. The choice of a support on which the enzymes are adsorbed plays a major role in enhancing biocatalysts’ properties. In this study, bio-based (i.e., chitosan, coffee grounds) and synthetic (i.e., Lewatit VP OC 1600) supports were used in the immobilization of lipases of various microbial origins (yeast (Yarrowia lipolytica) and mold (Aspergillus oryzae)). The results confirmed that the enzyme proteins had been adsorbed on the surface of the selected carriers, but not all of them revealed comparably high catalytic activity. Immobilized CALB (Novozym 435) was used as a commercial reference biocatalyst. The best hydrolytic activity (higher than that of CALB) was observed for Novozym 51032 (lipase solution of A. oryzae) immobilized on Lewatit VP OC 1600. In terms of synthetic activity, there were only slight differences between the applied carriers for A. oryzae lipase, and the highest measures were obtained for coffee grounds. All of the biocatalysts had significantly lower activity in the synthesis reactions than the reference catalyst.
Long-Term Seasonal Drought Trends in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Authors: Shelton Sherly , Dixon Ross D.
Published: February 2023

In recent years, drought events have influenced agriculture, water-dependent industries, and energy supply in many parts of the world. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is particularly susceptible to drought events due to large-scale monsoon circulation anomalies. Using the 0.5 × 0.5 resolution rainfall and potential evapotranspiration data set from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), we assessed the changes in seasonal drought variation and effects of climate variables on drought over the CPEC for the period of 1980 to 2018 using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Our results show a statistically significant negative trend of SPEI over the hyper-arid region for two monsoons (December–February and June–September) and intra-monsoonal seasons (March–May and October–November), suggesting that the hyper-arid region (southern and southwestern part of the CPEC) is experiencing more frequent drought. A high probability for the occurrence of winter (30–35%) and summer (20–25%) droughts are observed in hyper-arid regions and gradually decreases from south to north of the CPEC. Decreasing seasonal rainfall and increasing potential evapotranspiration with increasing temperature in hyper-arid and arid regions resulted in frequent drought events during the winter monsoon season (from December to February). The findings from this study provide a theoretical basis for the drought management of the CPEC and a framework for understanding changes in drought in this region from climate projections.
Do Suburban Populations of Lizards Behave Differently from Forest Ones? An Analysis of Perch Height, Time Budget, and Display Rate in the Cuban Endemic Anolis homolechis
Authors: Vidal Annabelle , Pradel Roger , Cézilly Frank
Published: February 2023

Urbanization transforms natural ecosystems into novel habitats, which can result in negative consequences for biodiversity. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms of maintenance of native species in urbanized environments, including behavior—which can act as a fast response to rapid environmental changes. We compared some behavioral traits between two suburban and two forest populations of Anolis homolechis. Direct observations of 779 individuals revealed that perch height was positively influenced by body size, but not by sex. Suburban individuals perched higher than forest ones, and even more so in the afternoon compared to the morning; a behavior that was not observed in forests populations. These differences might be due to a change from foraging activities in the morning to vigilance, display, and/or thermoregulation in the afternoon, promoted by suburban habitat conditions (e.g., higher predator abundance, open habitat structure, and urban heat). Video recordings of 81 focal individuals showed that males were more active than females (i.e., spending less time in stationary behavior and having a higher display rate), with no significant effect of habitat type. As some of our results diverge from previous studies on invasive anoles, we recommend extending comparative studies of urban and non-urban populations to other native Anolis.
New Data on the Occurrence of Scarabaeoid Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in Serbia
Authors: Byk Adam , Bidas Marek , Gazurek Tomasz , Kwiatkowski Adam , Marczak Dawid , Minkina Łukasz , Mroczyński Radosław , Pepłowska-Marczak Danuta , Stanković Saša S. , Žikić Vladimir , Tylkowski Sebastian
Published: February 2023

The Serbian fauna of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea is relatively well-known compared to the neighbouring countries. Many common species known from Serbia’s neighbouring countries are not recorded in Serbia, despite the richness of the country’s habitats, such as high-mountain meadows, pastures, deep gorges, riverbanks (including the exceptionally valuable sandy banks of the Danube) and old forests. Therefore, we aim to supplement the current information on the distribution of the species of the Serbian scarabaeoid beetles. The presented scarabaeoid beetles were caught during seven expeditions in 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019 (two expeditions), 2021, and 2022. As a result, 2031 beetles belonging to 120 species and five families of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Geotrupidae, Trogidae, Lucanidae, Glaphyridae, Scarabaeidae) were observed. In less than two months of the faunistic study, the authors confirmed the occurrence in Serbia of 49.5% of the scarabaeoid species previously known from this country and added 13 new species that had not been previously recorded: Eulasia pareyssei (Brullé, 1832), Pygopleurus apicalis (Brullé, 1832), Melinopterus reyi (Reitter, 1892), Nimbus johnsoni (Baraud, 1976), Planolinoides borealis (Gyllenhal, 1827), Copris hispanus Linnaeus, 1764, C. umbilicatus Abeille de Perrin, 1901, Cheironitis furcifer (P. Rossi, 1792), Onthophagus dellacasai Pittino & Mariani, 1981, O. similis (Scriba, 1790), Chaetonyx schatzmayri Mariani, 1946, Holochelus costulatus (Frivaldszky, 1835), and Omaloplia corcyrae (Baraud, 1965). Eight species and one subspecies typical for the Balkan Peninsula were also found: Jekelius punctulatus (Jekel, 1866), Pygopleurus apicalis, P. chrysonotus (Brullé, 1832), Onthophagus dellacasai, Chaetonyx robustus robustus Schaum, 1862, Ch. schatzmayri, Omaloplia corcyrae, O. illyrica (Baraud, 1965), and Triodontella dalmatica (Baraud, 1962). Thus, the number of currently known scarabaeoid species in Serbia has increased to 229. Our results indicate insufficient knowledge of the Scarabaeoidea of Serbia. Therefore, further research and new expeditions to Serbia are highly desirable. High-mountain and Danubian communities of dung beetles are priceless and deserve protection. Twenty-one species of scarabaeoid beetles are illustrated.
Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Droplet Drift Motion under Different Wind Speed Environments of Single-Rotor Plant Protection UAVs
Authors: Wang Juan , Lv Xiaoyi , Wang Bohong , Lan Xinguo , Yan Yingbin , Chen Shengde , Lan Yubin
Published: February 2023

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in plant protection, and the mechanism of droplet deposition drift while spraying with the 3WQF120-12 produced by Quanfeng Aviation, a representative model of single-rotor plant protection UAVs in China, still requires more research. This study used a combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel experiments to analyze the droplet deposition drift pattern of the 3WQF120-12 single-rotor plant protection UAV. The CFD modeling of the nozzle was confirmed to be feasible using wind tunnel experiments. Pearson correlation analysis was performed between experimental and simulated values, and multiple correlation coefficients reached above 0.89, which is a robust correlation. In this study, CFD simulations were performed to simulate the drift of UAV spray droplets under the rotor wind field and the combined effect of front and side winds. The deposition of droplets at different heights was simulated. The UAV’s spraying conditions at different flight speeds, side wind magnitudes, and spraying heights were evaluated. According to the CFD simulation results of the 3WQF120-12 plant protection UAV, the recommended flight height is 1–3 m, the recommended flight speed is below 3 m/s, and the recommended ambient wind speed is within 3 m/s. The simulation results were verified by the field test, and the trend of the field experimental data and CFD simulation results are qualitatively consistent to verify the reasonableness and feasibility of the simulation’s data. The simulated results were similar to the curves and spray area of the field test results at operating heights of 1.5 m and 3.5 m.
Frailty Screening Practice in Specialized Burn Care—A Retrospective Multicentre Cohort Study
Authors: Cords Charlotte I. , van der Vlies Cornelis H. , Stoop Matthea , Nieuwenhuis Marianne K. , Boudestein Kris , Mattace-Raso Francesco U. S. , van Baar Margriet E. ,   FRAIL Group,   Dutch Burn Repository Group
Published: February 2023

Background: Frailty can have a negative influence on outcomes in elderly patients after burn injuries. The Dutch hospitals have used a four-domain frailty screening instrument from the Dutch Safety Management System (DSMS) since 2012. However, its feasibility and validity have hardly been studied. We aim to assess the feasibility and validity of frailty screening in specialized burn care. Methods: A multicentre retrospective cohort study was conducted in all Dutch burn centres. Patients aged ≥ 70, with a primary admission between 2012–2018, were included. Data were derived from electronic patient files. Results: In total, 515 patients were included. Frailty screening was complete in 39.6% and partially complete in 23.9%. Determinants for a complete screening were admission after 2015 (OR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.42–3.25) and lower percentage TBSA burned (OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.05–029). In all completely screened patients, 49.9% were at risk of frailty. At risk patients were older, had more comorbidities (known group validity), a longer length of stay, and more frequently a non-home discharge (predictive validity). Conclusion: Frailty screening in specialized burn care is feasible and was conducted in 63.5% of admitted patients. In total, 44% of screened patients were at risk of frailty. Validity of frailty screening was confirmed. Frailty screening can contribute to optimal specialized burn care.
DC Charging Capabilities of Battery-Integrated Modular Multilevel Converters Based on Maximum Tractive Power
Authors: Balachandran Arvind , Jonsson Tomas , Eriksson Lars
Published: February 2023

The increase in the average global temperature is a consequence of high greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, using alternative energy carriers that can replace fossil fuels, especially for automotive applications, is of high importance. Introducing more electronics into an automotive battery pack provides more precise control and increases the available energy from the pack. Battery-integrated modular multilevel converters (BI-MMCs) have high efficiency, improved controllability, and better fault isolation capability. However, integrating the battery and inverter influences the maximum DC charging power. Therefore, the DC charging capabilities of 5 3-phase BI-MMCs for a 40-ton commercial vehicle designed for a maximum tractive power of 400 kW was investigated. Two continuous DC charging scenarios are considered for two cases: the first considers the total number of submodules during traction, and the second increases the total number of submodules to ensure a maximum DC charging voltage of 1250 V. The investigation shows that both DC charging scenarios have similar maximum power between 1 and 3 MW. Altering the number of submodules increases the maximum DC charging power at the cost of increased losses.
Hydrological Properties of Soil and Litter Layers of Four Forest Types Restored in the Gully Erosion Area of Latosol in South China
Authors: Tu Zhihua , Chen Suyi , Chen Zexian , Ruan Dongshuo , Zhang Wei , Han Yujie , Han Lin , Wang Kang , Huang Yanping , Chen Jinhui
Published: February 2023

Litter and soil play an important role in influencing hydrological processes and the global water cycle. Artificial afforestation, as a part of vegetation restoration, was constructed in the gully erosion areas of latosol with the objective to prevent erosion. Variations in the hydrological properties in soils that have undergone vegetation restoration from gully erosion are not well understood. In this study, we examine the variations in the litter thickness and mass, soil structure and porosity, and hydrological properties of four forest types (eucalyptus–grass forest, bamboo–grass forest, acacia–grass forest, and shrub–grass forest). The results show that the total litter thickness varied from 1.71 to 3.74 cm and was highest in the acacia–grass forest. The total litter mass for the acacia–grass forest, 3.49 ± 0.06 t·ha−1, was significantly higher than that for the other forest types. The mass of the undecomposed litter (UL) layer was significantly lower than that of the semi-decomposed litter (SL). (2) The maximum water-retention capacity (Wmax) and effective water-retention capacity (Weff) of the SL layer were greater than those of the UL layer. The Wmax and Weff for the acacia–grass forest were markedly larger than those of the eucalyptus–grass, bamboo–grass, and shrub–grass forests. The water absorption rates of the SL and UL layers were highest during the onset of the immersion experiment, declined exponentially with time, and declined rapidly in the first 2 h. (4) The soil bulk density ranged from 1.46 g·cm−3 to 1.54 g·cm−3, and the total porosity ranged from 32.06% to 37.13%. The soil bulk density increased with the increasing soil depth, while the total porosity decreased gradually. The soil water-holding capacity of the soil layer of 0–60 cm in the acacia–grass forest (301.76 t·ha−1) was greater than that of the other forest types. A comprehensive evaluation of the water conservation capacity by the entropy weight method showed that the water conservation capacity was greatest in the acacia–grass forest. The higher water-holding capacity of the acacia–grass forest may be more effective in enhancing rainfall interception, minimizing splash erosion, and decreasing surface runoff. Here, the results indicate that acacia–grass forest restoration can mitigate soil erosion by favoring soil and water conservation, improving the environment in the gully erosion area of latosol.
A Semi-Supervised Method for Real-Time Forest Fire Detection Algorithm Based on Adaptively Spatial Feature Fusion
Authors: Lin Ji , Lin Haifeng , Wang Fang
Published: February 2023

Forest fires occur frequently around the world, causing serious economic losses and human casualties. Deep learning techniques based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) are widely used in the intelligent detection of forest fires. However, CNN-based forest fire target detection models lack global modeling capabilities and cannot fully extract global and contextual information about forest fire targets. CNNs also pay insufficient attention to forest fires and are vulnerable to the interference of invalid features similar to forest fires, resulting in low accuracy of fire detection. In addition, CNN-based forest fire target detection models require a large number of labeled datasets. Manual annotation is often used to annotate the huge amount of forest fire datasets; however, this takes a lot of time. To address these problems, this paper proposes a forest fire detection model, TCA-YOLO, with YOLOv5 as the basic framework. Firstly, we combine the Transformer encoder with its powerful global modeling capability and self-attention mechanism with CNN as a feature extraction network to enhance the extraction of global information on forest fire targets. Secondly, in order to enhance the model’s focus on forest fire targets, we integrate the Coordinate Attention (CA) mechanism. CA not only acquires inter-channel information but also considers direction-related location information, which helps the model to better locate and identify forest fire targets. Integrated adaptively spatial feature fusion (ASFF) technology allows the model to automatically filter out useless information from other layers and efficiently fuse features to suppress the interference of complex backgrounds in the forest area for detection. Finally, semi-supervised learning is used to save a large amount of manual labeling effort. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of TCA-YOLO improves by 5.3 compared with the unimproved YOLOv5. TCA-YOLO also outperformed in detecting forest fire targets in different scenarios. The ability of TCA-YOLO to extract global information on forest fire targets was much improved. Additionally, it could locate forest fire targets more accurately. TCA-YOLO misses fewer forest fire targets and is less likely to be interfered with by forest fire-like targets. TCA-YOLO is also more focused on forest fire targets and better at small-target forest fire detection. FPS reaches 53.7, which means that the detection speed meets the requirements of real-time forest fire detection.
Disturbance of Wind Damage and Insect Outbreaks in the Old-Growth Forest of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Wang Anzhi , Liu Yage , Shen Lidu , Cai Rongrong , Wu Jiabing
Published: February 2023

The changing climate is worsening the threats to forests, such as insect outbreaks, fires, and drought, especially old-growth forest, which is more susceptible to disturbance. Therefore, it is important to detect the disturbance areas, identify the disturbance agents, and evaluate the disturbance intensity in old-growth forest. We tried to derive the forest disturbance information based on multiple remote sensing datasets (Global Forest Change, MODIS, and ERA5-Land) from 2000 to 2021 in Changbai Mountain, Northeast China, and explored their relationship with climate factors. The results showed that (1) wind damage and insect outbreaks are two main forest disturbance agents, (2) the increasing temperature during overwintering periods and the decreasing precipitation during activity periods increase the risk of insect outbreaks, and (3) disturbances lead to significant changes in forest structure and functional indices, which can be well captured by the remote sensing data. In the study, we creatively combined low-frequency remote sensing images and high-frequency meteorological data to determine the specific time of wind damage. The final results suggested that the vulnerability of old-growth forest to climate change may be mainly reflected through indirect implications, such as the increased risk of strong winds and insect disturbances.
Molecular Dynamics Study on Mechanical Properties of Cellulose with Water Molecules Diffusion Behavior at Different Oxygen Concentrations
Authors: Guo Yuanyuan , Wang Wei , Jiang Xuewei
Published: February 2023

Six groups of cellulose-water-oxygen simulation models with oxygen concentrations of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% were established by molecular dynamics software to analyze the effect of oxygen concentration on the mechanical properties of wood cellulose during water vapor heat treatment in terms of the number of hydrogen bonds, the diffusion coefficient of water molecules, the mean square displacement of cellulose chains, and mechanical parameters. The results showed that the diffusion coefficient of water molecules increased steadily as oxygen concentration increased, which affected cell size and density to some extent. The mean square displacement of the cellulose chain at a higher oxygen concentration was larger than at a lower oxygen concentration, indicating that the cellulose chain became more unstable at high oxygen concentration. This trend was consistent with the amount of hydrogen bonds inside the cellulose chains. The analysis of mechanical parameters showed that Young’s modulus and shear modulus showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing with increasing oxygen concentration, and wood cellulose had good resistance to deformation and rigidity at 2% oxygen concentration. Therefore, during the heat treatment of wood, appropriately increasing the oxygen concentration will potentially improve the rigidity and distortion resistance of wood.
Spatial and Temporal Changes of Habitat Quality and Its Influential Factors in China Based on the InVEST Model
Authors: Chen Chunyu , Liu Jin , Bi Linglan
Published: February 2023

The loss of biodiversity is one of the three global crises today. How to reduce habitat destruction and overexploitation to protect biodiversity is an urgent issue to be addressed. This study aims to explore the influential factors and driving mechanisms of habitat quality to find ways to reduce the interference of human activities on habitat quality. This paper evaluates the habitat quality in 30 provinces of China from 2010 to 2020 using the InVEST model and studies its geospatial differences by spatial auto-correlation. Then it investigates the influencing factors and driving mechanisms based on Geodetector and proposes strategies to improve habitat quality for different regions. The study shows that first, habitat quality is not distributed homogeneously in Chinese provinces, and habitat quality varies widely among different regions in the structure. Second, factors have different influences on habitat quality, which can be grouped into “key factors” and “auxiliary factors”. Its driving forces vary greatly over time, with per capita water resources, nighttime light index, area of afforested land, forest area, and destructed forest area as key factors in both 2010 and 2020. Third, the factor pairs are all bifactor or non-linear enhanced, showing that two factors have a stronger combined effect on habitat quality than a single factor. In particular, factors such as per capita water resources and area of afforested land in very strong interactions with others. Fourth, corresponding strategies are proposed for different regions in China to improve habitat quality according to the analysis of the spatial inequality of habitat quality and its driving mechanism, providing a reference for relevant regions abroad.
Fire-Induced Alterations of Soil Properties in Albic Podzols Developed under Pine Forests (Middle Taiga, Krasnoyarsky Kray)
Authors: Dymov Alexey A. , Startsev Viktor V. , Yakovleva Evgenia V. , Dubrovskiy Yurii A. , Milanovsky Evgenii Yu. , Severgina Dariy A. , Panov Alexey V. , Prokushkin Anatoly S.
Published: February 2023

Fires are one of the most widespread factors of changes in the ecosystems of boreal forests. The paper presents the results of a study of the morphological and physicochemical properties and soil organic matter (SOM) of Albic Podzols under pine forests (Pinus sylvestris L.) of the middle taiga zone of Siberia (Krasnoyrsky kray) with various time passed after a surface fire (from 1 to 121 years ago). The influence of forest fires in the early years on the chemical properties of Albic Podzols includes a decrease in acidity, a decrease in the content of water-soluble compounds of carbon and nitrogen and an increase in the content of light polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in organic and upper mineral horizons. Podzols of pine forests that were affected by fires more than forty-five years ago are close to manure forest soils according to most physical and chemical properties. Significant correlations were found between the thickness (r = 0.75, p < 0.05), the moisture content (r = 0.90, p < 0.05) of organic horizons and the content of ∑PAHs in the organic horizon (r = −0.71, p < 0.05) with the time elapsed after the fire (i.e., from 1 to 121 years). The index of the age of pyrogenic activity (IPA) calculated as the ratio of ∑ PAHs content in the organic horizon to ∑ PAHs at the upper mineral horizon is significantly higher in forests affected by fires from 1 to 23 years than for plots with «older» fires (45–121 years). Thus, the article presents the conserved and most changing factors under the impact of fires in the boreal forests of Russia.
Reproductive Characteristics of Pseudecheneis sulcatus (Siluriforms: Sisoridae) in the Lower Yarlung Zangbo River, Tibet
Authors: Lin Pengcheng , Hu Huaming , Gong Zheng , Wang Jian , Gao Xin
Published: February 2023

The present research offers novel understandings of the reproductive biology of Pseudecheneis sulcatus (McClelland, 1842) found in the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, a biodiversity hotspot. Reproductive characteristics of Pseudecheneis sulcatus, including their maturation age, fertility, spawning season, and maximum body size, constitute important aspects of its life-history traits. We collected a total of 310 specimens from the Yarlung Zangbo River’s Motuo reach between March and November 2016 and found the male-to-female ratio to be 0.73:1, markedly different from the anticipated 1:1. The total length of individuals ranged from 72 to 207 mm, while overall weight ranged from 2.5 to 65.0 g. Their length at first maturity was estimated as 131 mm in males and 132 mm in females. Based on the adult proportion and fluctuation in the monthly gonadosomatic index (GSI) and size distribution of oocytes, spawning was determined to occur from March to June. The absolute fecundity ranged between 247 and 2886 eggs, while the fluctuation in average relative fertility ranged between 16.8 and 77.1 eggs/g of fish. The fecundity of P. sulcatus was linearly correlated to the overall weight and length of the fish along with the ovarian weight. In conclusion, P. sulcatus spawned synchronously in spring and early summer, exhibiting low fecundity and large oocytes. Our results provided basic information in understanding how this species adapted well to the unique canyon environment, which may be useful for developing a sustainable conservation plan for P. sulcatus at the lower reach of the Yarlung Zangbo River.
Heat Transfer Correlations for Smooth and Rough Airfoils
Authors: Samadani Sepehr , Morency François
Published: February 2023

Low-fidelity methods such as the Blade Element Momentum Theory frequently provide rotor aerodynamic performances. However, these methods must be coupled to databases or correlations to compute heat transfer. The literature lacks correlations to compute the average heat transfer around airfoil. The present study develops correlations for an average heat transfer over smooth and rough airfoil. The correlation coefficients were obtained from a CFD database using RANS equations and the Spalart–Allmaras turbulent model. This work studies the NACA 0009, NACA 0012, and NACA 0015 with and without the leading roughness representative of a small ice accretion. The numerical results are validated against lift and drag coefficients from the literature. The heat transfer at the stagnation point compares well with the experimental results. The database indicates a negligible dependency on airfoil thickness. The work presents two correlations from the database analysis: one for the smooth airfoils and one for the rough airfoils. For the zero lift coefficient, the average Nusselt number is maximum. This increases with Re0.636 for the smooth surface and with Re0.85 for the rough surface. As the lift increases, the average Nusselt is reduced by values proportional to the square of the lift coefficient for the smooth surface, while it is reduced by values proportional to Re and the square of the lift coefficient for the rough surface.
Intelligent Measurement of Void Fractions in Homogeneous Regime of Two Phase Flows Independent of the Liquid Phase Density Changes
Authors: Iliyasu Abdullah M. , Fouladinia Farhad , Salama Ahmed S. , Roshani Gholam Hossein , Hirota Kaoru
Published: February 2023

Determining the amount of void fraction of multiphase flows in pipelines of the oil, chemical and petrochemical industries is one of the most important challenges. Performance of capacitance based two phase flow meters highly depends on the fluid properties. Fluctuation of the liquid phase properties such as density, due to temperature and pressure changes, would cause massive errors in determination of the void fraction. A common approach to fix this problem is periodic recalibration of the system, which is a tedious task. The aim of this study is proposing a method based on artificial intelligence (AI), which offers the advantage of intelligent measuring of the void fraction regardless of the liquid phase changes without the need for recalibration. To train AI, a data set for different liquid phases is required. Although it is possible to obtain the required data from experiments, it is time-consuming and also incorporates its own specific safety laboratory consideration, particularly working with flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil and gasoil. So, COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to model a homogenous regime of two-phase flow with five different liquid phases and void fractions. To validate the simulation geometry, initially an experimental setup including a concave sensor to measure the capacitance by LCR meter for the case that water used as the liquid phase, was established. After validation of the simulated geometry for concave sensor, a ring sensor was also simulated to investigate the best sensor type. It was found that the concave type has a better sensitivity. Therefore, the concave type was used to measure the capacitance for different liquid phases and void fractions inside the pipe. Finally, simulated data were used to train a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) neural network model in MATLAB software. The trained MLP model was able to predict the void fraction independent of the liquid phase density changes with a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 1.74.
On a System of Sequential Caputo Fractional Differential Equations with Nonlocal Boundary Conditions
Authors: Tudorache Alexandru , Luca Rodica
Published: February 2023

We obtain existence and uniqueness results for the solutions of a system of Caputo fractional differential equations which contain sequential derivatives, integral terms, and two positive parameters, supplemented with general coupled Riemann–Stieltjes integral boundary conditions. The proofs of our results are based on the Banach fixed point theorem and the Leray–Schauder alternative.
Systematic Review of Endoscopic Management of Stricture, Fistula and Abscess in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Pal Partha , Kanaganti Swathi , Banerjee Rupa , Ramchandani Mohan , Nabi Zaheer , Reddy Duvvuru Nageshwar , Tandan Manu
Published: February 2023

Background: Interventional inflammatory bowel disease (IIBD) therapies can play a key role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) related stricture/fistula/abscess deferring or avoiding invasive surgery. Methods: A total of 112 studies pertaining to IIBD therapy for strictures/fistula/abscess between 2002 and December 2022 were included by searching Pubmed, Medline and Embase with a focus on technical/clinical success, recurrence, re-intervention and complications. Results: IIBD therapy for strictures include endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD), endoscopic stricturotomy (ES) and self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) placement. EBD is the primary therapy for short strictures while ES and SEMS can be used for refractory strictures. ES has higher long-term efficacy than EBD. SEMS is inferior to EBD although it can be useful in long, refractory strictures. Fistula therapy includes endoscopic incision and drainage (perianal fistula)/endoscopic seton (simple, low fistula) and endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage (pelvic abscess). Fistulotomy can be done for short, superficial, single tract, bowel-bowel fistula. Endoscopic injection of filling agents (fistula plug/glue/stem cell) is feasible although durability is unknown. Endoscopic closure therapies like over-the-scope clips (OTSC), suturing and SEMS should be avoided for de-novo/bowel to hollow organ fistulas. Conclusion: IIBD therapies have the potential to act as a bridge between medical and surgical therapy for properly selected IBD-related stricture/fistula/abscess although future controlled studies are warranted.
Association between Polymorphism of Genes IL-1A, NFKB1, PAR1, TP53, and UCP2 and Susceptibility to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Pereira Esdras E. B. , Modesto Antônio A. C. , Fernandes Bruno M. , Burbano Rommel M. R. , Assumpção Paulo P. , Fernandes Marianne R. , Guerreiro João F. , Santos Sidney E. B. dos , Santos Ney P. C. dos
Published: February 2023

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for the vast majority of cases of lung neoplasms. It is formed in multiple stages, with interactions between environmental risk factors and individual genetic susceptibility and with genes involved in the immune and inflammatory response paths, cell or genome stability, and metabolism, among others. Our objective was to evaluate the association between five genetic variants (IL-1A, NFKB1, PAR1, TP53, and UCP2) and the development of NSCLC in the Brazilian Amazon. The study included 263 individuals with and without lung cancer. The samples were analyzed for the genetic variants of NFKB1 (rs28362491), PAR1 (rs11267092), TP53 (rs17878362), IL-1A (rs3783553), and UCP2 (INDEL 45-bp), which were genotyped in PCR, followed by an analysis of the fragments, in which we applied a previously developed set of informative ancestral markers. We used a logistic regression model to identify differences in the allele and the genotypic frequencies among individuals and their association with NSCLC. The variables of gender, age, and smoking were controlled in the multivariate analysis to prevent confusion by association. The individuals that were homozygous for the Del/Del of polymorphism NFKB1 (rs28362491) (p = 0.018; OR = 0.332) demonstrate a significant association with NSCLC, which was similar to that observed in the variants of PAR1 (rs11267092) (p = 0.023; OR = 0.471) and TP53 (rs17878362) (p = 0.041; OR = 0.510). Moreover, the individuals with the Ins/Ins genotype of polymorphism IL-1A (rs3783553) demonstrated greater risk for NSCLC (p = 0.033; OR = 2.002), as did the volunteers with the Del/Del of UCP2 (INDEL 45-bp) (p = 0.031; OR = 2.031). The five polymorphisms investigated can contribute towards NSCLC susceptibility in the population of the Brazilian Amazon.
ThrRS-Mediated Translation Regulation of the RNA Polymerase III Subunit RPC10 Occurs through an Element with Similarity to Cognate tRNA ASL and Affects tRNA Levels
Authors: Levi Ofri , Mallik Monalisha , Arava Yoav S.
Published: February 2023

Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are a well-studied family of enzymes with a canonical role in charging tRNAs with a specific amino acid. These proteins appear to also have non-canonical roles, including post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA expression. Many aaRSs were found to bind mRNAs and regulate their translation into proteins. However, the mRNA targets, mechanism of interaction, and regulatory consequences of this binding are not fully resolved. Here, we focused on yeast cytosolic threonine tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) to decipher its impact on mRNA binding. Affinity purification of ThrRS with its associated mRNAs followed by transcriptome analysis revealed a preference for mRNAs encoding RNA polymerase subunits. An mRNA that was significantly bound compared to all others was the mRNA encoding RPC10, a small subunit of RNA polymerase III. Structural modeling suggested that this mRNA includes a stem-loop element that is similar to the anti-codon stem loop (ASL) structure of ThrRS cognate tRNA (tRNAThr). We introduced random mutations within this element and found that almost every change from the normal sequence leads to reduced binding by ThrRS. Furthermore, point mutations at six key positions that abolish the predicted ASL-like structure showed a significant decrease in ThrRS binding with a decrease in RPC10 protein levels. Concomitantly, tRNAThr levels were reduced in the mutated strain. These data suggest a novel regulatory mechanism in which cellular tRNA levels are regulated through a mimicking element within an RNA polymerase III subunit in a manner that involves the tRNA cognate aaRS.
Identification and Functional Characterization of WRKY, PHD and MYB Three Salt Stress Responsive Gene Families in Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)
Authors: Li Shicong , Liu Jinyang , Xue Chenchen , Lin Yun , Yan Qiang , Chen Jingbin , Wu Ranran , Chen Xin , Yuan Xingxing
Published: February 2023

WRKY-, PHD-, and MYB-like proteins are three important types of transcription factors in mungbeans, and play an important role in development and stress resistance. The genes’ structures and characteristics were clearly reported and were shown to contain the conservative WRKYGQK heptapeptide sequence, Cys4-His-cys3 zinc binding motif, and HTH (helix) tryptophan cluster W structure, respectively. Knowledge on the response of these genes to salt stress is largely unknown. To address this issue, 83 VrWRKYs, 47 VrPHDs, and 149 VrMYBs were identified by using comparative genomics, transcriptomics, and molecular biology methods in mungbeans. An intraspecific synteny analysis revealed that the three gene families had strong co-linearity and an interspecies synteny analysis showed that mungbean and Arabidopsis were relatively close in genetic relationship. Moreover, 20, 10, and 20 genes showed significantly different expression levels after 15 days of salt treatment (p < 0.05; Log2 FC > 0.5), respectively. Additionally, in the qRT-PCR analysis, VrPHD14 had varying degrees of response to NaCl and PEG treatments after 12 h. VrWRKY49 was upregulated by ABA treatment, especially in the beginning (within 24 h). VrMYB96 was significantly upregulated in the early stages of ABA, NaCl, and PEG stress treatments (during the first 4 h). VrWRKY38 was significantly upregulated by ABA and NaCl treatments, but downregulated by PEG treatment. We also constructed a gene network centered on the seven DEGs under NaCl treatment; the results showed that VrWRKY38 was in the center of the PPI network and most of the homologous Arabidopsis genes of the interacted genes were reported to have response to biological stress. Candidate genes identified in this study provide abundant gene resources for the study of salt tolerance in mungbeans.
RNA-Sequencing Reveals the Involvement of Sesquiterpene Biosynthesis Genes and Transcription Factors during an Early Response to Mechanical Wounding of Aquilaria sinensis
Authors: Xu Jieru , Du Ruyue , Wang Yue , Chen Jinhui
Published: February 2023

Plants respond to wounding by reprogramming the expression of genes involved in secondary metabolism. Aquilaria trees produce many bioactive secondary metabolites in response to wounding, but the regulatory mechanism of agarwood formation in the early response to mechanical wounding has remained unclear. To gain insights into the process of transcriptome changes and to determine the regulatory networks of Aquilaria sinensis to an early response (15 days) to mechanical wounding, we collected A. sinensis samples from the untreated (Asc1) and treated (Asf1) xylem tissues and performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). This generated 49,102,523 (Asc1) and 45,180,981 (Asf1) clean reads, which corresponded to 18,927 (Asc1) and 19,258 (Asf1) genes, respectively. A total of 1596 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in Asf1 vs. Asc1 (|log2 (fold change)| ≥ 1, Padj ≤ 0.05), of which 1088 were up-regulated and 508 genes were down-regulated. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs showed that flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis pathways might play important roles in wound-induced agarwood formation. Based on the transcription factor (TF)-gene regulatory network analysis, we inferred that the bHLH TF family could regulate all DEGs encoding for farnesyl diphosphate synthase, sesquiterpene synthase, and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS), which contribute to the biosynthesis and accumulation of agarwood sesquiterpenes. This study provides insight into the molecular mechanism regulating agarwood formation in A. sinensis, and will be helpful in selecting candidate genes for improving the yield and quality of agarwood.