bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transmission of monkeypox/mpox virus: A narrative review of environmental, viral, host, and population factors in relation to the 2022 international outbreak
Authors: Pan Daniel , Nazareth Joshua , Sze Shirley , Martin Christopher A. , Decker Jonathan , Fletcher Eve , Déirdre Hollingsworth T. , Barer Michael R. , Pareek Manish , Tang Julian W.
Published: January 2023

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has spread globally. Emerging studies have now provided evidence regarding MPXV transmission, that can inform rational evidence‐based policies and reduce misinformation on this topic. We aimed to review the evidence on transmission of the virus. Real‐world studies have isolated viable viruses from high‐touch surfaces for as long as 15 days. Strong evidence suggests that the current circulating monkeypox (mpox) has evolved from previous outbreaks outside of Africa, but it is yet unknown whether these mutations may lead to an inherently increased infectivity of the virus. Strong evidence also suggests that the main route of current MPXV transmission is sexual; through either close contact or directly, with detection of culturable virus in saliva, nasopharynx, and sperm for prolonged periods and the presence of rashes mainly in genital areas. The milder clinical presentations and the potential presence of presymptomatic transmission in the current circulating variant compared to previous clades, as well as the dominance of spread amongst men who have sex with men (MSMs) suggests that mpox has a developed distinct clinical phenotype that has increased its transmissibility. Increased public awareness of MPXV transmission modalities may lead to earlier detection of the spillover of new cases into other groups.
Ultrastructural analysis of monkeypox virus replication in Vero cells
Authors: Witt Amanda Stéphanie Arantes , Trindade Giliane de Souza , Souza Fernanda Gil de , Serafim Mateus Sá Magalhães , da Costa Alana Vitor Barbosa , Silva Marcos Vinícius Ferreira , de Melo Iani Felipe Campos , Rodrigues Rodrigo Araújo Lima , Kroon Erna Geessien , Abrahão Jônatas Santos
Published: January 2023

In early May 2022, the first worldwide monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak was reported, with different clinical aspects from previously studied human monkeypox infections. Despite monkeypox medical importance, much of its biological aspects remain to be further investigated. In the present work, we evaluated ultrastructural aspects of MPXV asynchronous infections in Vero cells by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The viral strain was isolated from a male patient infected during the 2022 outbreak. TEM analysis showed: (i) adhered intracellular mature virus particles before entry of the host cell; (ii) a reorganization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae into the so‐called “mini‐nuclei” structure associated with genome replication; and (iii) noticeably different sites within the viral factory presenting granular or fibrillar aspects. We also observed viral crescents, different MPXV particle morphotypes, and cellular alterations induced by infection, such as changes in the cytoskeleton structure and multimembrane vesicles abundance. Taken together, to the best of our knowledge, these results revealed for the first‐time ultrastructural aspects of different steps of the MPXV cycle.
Production, purification, and characterization of inulinase from Streptomyces anulatus
Authors: Beroigui Oumaima , El ghadraoui Lahsen , Errachidi Faouzi
Published: January 2023

Inulinase is an enzyme that catalyzes inulin to d‐fructose. This enzyme can be extracted from plants, but it is difficult to obtain it in large quantities, so its production cost is high. Therefore, microbial inulinase has great potential for industrial needs. In the last decade, there have been very few reports on actinobacterial inulinases, especially on purification and characterization of inulinase process extraction. This study aims to select actinomycetes that possess high inulinase activity from the soil. To screen inulinase‐producing bacteria, modified Czapex‐Dox agar supplemented with 1% inulin powder was used. The most effective isolate was Streptomyces sp. EFBO8, morphological and genotypic identification methods, confirmed that the strain is Streptomyces anulatus and that its nucleotide sequence has been deposited in GenBank under accession number OQ073700. To optimize inulinase production, kinetics were performed by using S. anulatus strain, which proved to be most productive with a value of 24,024 EU/mL. The enzyme was purified from the culture filtrate by precipitation with ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, followed by column chromatography Sephadex (G‐50) separation. Purified protein has a molecular mass of 3331.83 Da.
Influences of atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation in mid–high latitudes on winter haze pollution over the Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region
Authors: Wu Danyang , Zhao Shuyun , Li Jianying , Wang Wuke
Published: January 2023

This paper analyses the intraseasonal evolution of the winter haze pollution over the Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei (BTH) region in China between 1979 and 2013, and the influences of the atmospheric intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) in mid–high latitudes. Two significant ISO signals of 10–20‐day and 20–40‐day are identified from the winter haze pollution over the BTH region, and their superposition notably contributes to the occurrence of haze pollution. On the 10–20‐day timescale, the haze pollution is intimately associated with a mid–high‐level southeastward propagating wave train that originates from the North Atlantic. With the wave evolution, an anomalous anticyclone reaches the Korean Peninsula–Japan, leading to strong descents and anomalous southerly winds over the BTH region, favourable for haze pollution. On the 20–40‐day timescale, the atmospheric wave train originates from the eastern North America, propagates eastward to the northwestern Lake Baikal, and then turns southward to the northeastern China–Japan. The peak stage of the haze pollution is related to the resultant zonal dipole, with the anomalous cyclone over the northwestern Lake Baikal and the anomalous anticyclone over the northeastern China–Japan. The dominance of the mid–upper tropospheric anticyclone over the BTH region suppresses the development of convection, thus hindering the vertical diffusion and wet deposition of pollutants. Moreover, the anomalous westerly winds between the dipole weaken the incursion of cold mass from higher latitudes, thus further contributing to the peak of haze pollution.
Multiyear dry periods in Southern Africa
Authors: Hoell Andrew , Magadzire Tamuka , McNally Amy , Eischeid Jon
Published: January 2023

Characteristics and physical features related to low precipitation across many years in Southern Africa that lead to societal disruptions are diagnosed using observed analyses and an ensemble of historical coupled climate model simulations during 1921 to 2014. Four regions are evaluated, as identified through a hierarchical clustering algorithm applied to the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) during the October–April precipitation season. Although dryness spanning many October–April occurs periodically in each region, they seldom occur simultaneously, consistent with largely insignificant SPI cross‐correlations between them. However, characteristics relevant to low precipitation across many years are generalizable between the four regions, including the serial persistence of October–April precipitation, the likelihood of consecutive dry October–April, and the likelihood of dry October–April in temporal extents of up to 10 consecutive such 7‐month seasons. Systematic precipitation persistence is not a feature in any of the four Southern Africa regions, as serial correlations of October–April SPI are not statistically significant at any time lags. It follows that there is an exponential‐folding decay in the likelihood of consecutive October–April for various SPI thresholds and that there is a large spread in the likelihood of low October–April SPI across many years. In terms of physical features, low October–April SPI in each Southern Africa region is closely related to local atmospheric circulations; however, they are not as closely related to sea surface temperatures (SSTs). These results suggest that dryness spanning many years is determined primarily by persistent local circulations related to atmospheric variability and to a lesser extent variability related to SST anomalies, including the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
Relationship between Satsuma mandarin yield and meteorological factors in Shizuoka and distribution of alternative flowering indices in Mikkabi production area, Japan
Authors: Yamaga Ittetsu , Unno Yuto
Published: January 2023

BACKGROUND

Biennial bearing, the biggest factor destabilizing citrus fruit production, is primarily attributed to unfavorable weather changes. However, the relationship between the yield of Satsuma mandarin for more than 50 years and the weather remains poorly understood. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of meteorological factors, such as average temperature, precipitation, and sunshine duration, on the yield of Satsuma mandarin in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. We analyzed fruit production statistics and meteorological observation data from 1961 to 2018. Furthermore, we investigated the alternative indices of flowering and sprouting in each of the 20 districts of Mikkabi Town, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

RESULTS

We detected a positive correlation between the average temperatures in March and February and yields in Shizuoka and Hamamatsu Cities. All alternative indices, except flowering in the early‐maturing cultivar, were significantly lower in the southern than in the northern districts (P < 0.01 or 0.05). Particularly, the alternative index of flowering in the late‐maturing cultivar was significantly different between the northern and southern districts (P < 0.01). Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between the mean annual temperature or average temperature from January to April and alternative indices of flowering and sprouting.

CONCLUSION

The findings of our field survey in Mikkabi production area suggest that mean annual temperature may affect the biennial bearing of Satsuma mandarin. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Hypoxia increases cellular levels of phosphatidic acid and lysophospholipids in undifferentiated Caco‐2 cells
Authors: Shimizu Yoshibumi , Tamiya‐Koizumi Keiko , Tsutsumi Toshihiko , Kyogashima Mamoru , Kannagi Reiji , Iwaki Soichiro , Aoyama Mineyoshi , Tokumura Akira
Published: January 2023

Cancer cells are known to survive in a hypoxic microenvironment by altering their lipid metabolism as well as their energy metabolism. In this study, Caco‐2 cells derived from human colon cancer, were found to have elevated intracellular levels of phosphatidic acid and its lysoform, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), under hypoxic conditions. Our results suggested that the elevation of LPA in Caco‐2 cells was mainly due to the combined increases in cellular levels of lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine by phospholipase A2 and subsequent hydrolysis to LPA by lysophospholipase D. We detected the Ca2+‐stimulated choline‐producing activities toward exogenous lysophosphatidylcholines in whole Caco‐2 cell homogenates, indicating their involvement in the LPA production in intact Caco‐2 cells.
Coastal darkening exacerbates eutrophication symptoms through bottom‐up and top‐down control modification
Authors: Garnier Aurélie , Östman Örjan , Ask Jenny , Bell Olivia , Berggren Martin , Rulli Mayra P. D. , Younes Hani , Huss Magnus
Published: January 2023

Coastal eutrophication due to excessive anthropogenic nutrient loading is a major threat worldwide, and especially in estuaries and semi‐enclosed waterbodies, like the brackish Baltic Sea. In addition, coastal waters may become darker (coastal darkening) due to increased input of colored compounds from terrestrial run‐off and sediment resuspension. Still, the effects of darkening on coastal food web responses to eutrophication are unknown. In a mesocosm experiment with benthic and pelagic habitats, we manipulated nutrient loading, presence of fish and light availability to disentangle bottom‐up and top‐down control of eutrophication symptoms in ambient and darkened waters. Overall, we found higher pelagic Chlorophyll a concentrations (a proxy of algal biomass) with darkening and with nutrient enrichment in both clear and dark waters. Albeit fish had a strong impact on zooplankton and zoobenthos, they had no cascading effect on algae. We conclude that coastal darkening due to changes in land use and climate change can pose an additional challenge concerning the recovery of coastal waters from eutrophication.
Effect of different structures on corrosion resistance of Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu alloys
Authors: Xu Saifei , Hu Yong , Tian Jinsong
Published: January 2023

Compared with traditional magnesium alloys, magnesium‐based metallic glasses exhibit favorable properties, making them potential materials for clinical implants. In this work, to develop magnesium‐based metallic glasses suitable for different degradation requirements, the effects of different structures of Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu alloys on their corrosion resistance were investigated. Mg66Zn29.5Ca4Cu0.5 metallic glasses were prepared by copper mold injection, and the alloys were heat treated at 90°C, 160°C, 230°C, and 270°C. The phase composition was determined by X‐ray diffraction, and electrochemical tests and hydrogen evolution experiments were carried out in a simulated liquid at 37°C. The results show that the corrosion resistance of the alloy is seriously affected by its microstructure.
Synthesis and Property of an Organosilicon Polyurethane Acrylate Prepolymer Containing Disulfide Bonds for Photopolymerization
Authors: Wang Wenhao , Peng Rongchang , Gao Yanjing , Nie Jun , Sun Fang
Published: January 2023

Photocurable organosilicon polyurethane acrylate materials combine the merits of both polyurethane and organosilicon and have become the most widely used class of photocurable resins due to the advantages of easy preparation and performance tunability, but they suffer from serious volume shrinkage and difficult degradation. In this article, an organosilicon polyurethane acrylate prepolymer (SSiPUA) containing disulfide bonds is designed and synthesized. The prepolymer exhibits good ability to photopolymerize and reduce the volume shrinkage. The final double bond conversion (DBC) of the system with SSiPUA reaches 92%, and the volume shrinkage is decreased to 4.9% that is much less than that (13.9%) without SSiPUA. Besides, with the increase of SSiPUA content within a certain range, the hydrophobicity, heat resistance, the tensile strength, and the elongation at break of the photocured films gradually increase. The water contact angle, initial decomposition temperature, the tensile strength, and the elongation at break reach up to 93°, 282 °C, 1.8 MPa, and 576.2%, respectively. However, the glass transition temperature is reduced with the increase of SSiPUA content owing to the excellent flexibility of polysiloxane chain segments. More significantly, the SSiPUA containing disulfide bonds endows the photocured film with good degradation properties.
Driving Impairment in Movement Disorders
Authors: Makhoul Karim , Jankovic Joseph
Published: January 2023

Background

Driving may be adversely affected by any movement disorder, but has been mostly studied in Parkinson's disease (PD). Few studies have addressed driving impairment in patients with Huntington's disease (HD); driving in other movement disorders such as dystonia, blepharospasm and Tourette syndrome (TS) has not been adequately evaluated.

Objectives

The aim of this review is to summarize the findings of driving impairment in movement disorders and evaluate the usefulness of clinical tools in guiding clinicians whether to refer patients for driving assessment.

Methods

A review of literature was performed on PubMed and articles on driving and movement disorders were identified using a Boolean phrase.

Results

We were able to identify 66 articles that fulfilled the target subject: impairment of driving in PD, cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, HD and TS. We also included articles discussing the role of driving rehabilitation in patients with movement disorders.

Conclusions

Driving is often impaired in patients with PD and other movement disorders not only due to motor symptoms but also because of cognitive and behavioral co‐morbidities. Certain screening tools may be helpful in guiding the clinician in referring the patients for driving assessment.
A model of a nonisothermal two‐phase flow of compressible fluids
Authors: Feireisl Eduard , Petcu Mădălina , She Bangwei
Published: January 2023

We introduce a simple model of the time evolution of a binary mixture of compressible fluids including the thermal effects. Despite its apparent simplicity, the model is thermodynamically consistent admitting an entropy balance equation. We introduce a suitable weak formulation of the problem based on a combination of the entropy inequality with the total energy conservation principle. Finally, we show compactness of any bounded family of weak solutions and establish a global existence result.
Singular limit of Lamé equations
Authors: Qin Zengyun
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we study the asymptotic behavior of the solution to the Lamé equations with a parameter
. We prove that the solution will converge to the solution of a Maxwell‐type system as
. Meanwhile, we will show that the solution converges to the solution of a Stokes‐type system as
.
The Ability of Streptococcus thermophilus BT01 to Modulate Urease Activity in Healthy Subjects’ Fecal Samples Depends on the Biomass Production Process
Authors: Martinović Anđela , Chittaro Marco , Mora Diego , Arioli Stefania
Published: January 2023

Scope

This study evaluates how manufacturing conditions of probiotic biomass production, using two different cryoprotectants, Cryo‐A and Cryo‐B, can affect Streptococcus thermophilus BT01 in vivo gastrointestinal tract survival and its ability to modulate the level of urease activity in fecal samples of healthy subjects.

Methods and results

A randomized controlled cross‐over study is carried out on 20 adult healthy subjects to evaluate total and viable loads, persistence of S. thermophilus BT01, and urease activity in fecal samples. Strain‐specific quantification by using developed culture‐based method and molecular qPCR tool allows to quantify viable S. thermophilus BT01 strain in 90% of the subjects. The quantification of both total DNA and recovered viable S. thermophilus BT01 in fecal samples does not reveal significant differences between Cryo‐A or Cryo‐B treated biomass. However, the administration of S. thermophilus BT01 produced with Cryo‐A results in a decreased urease activity in fecal samples compared to Cryo‐B protected cells.

Conclusion

This study i) highlights how the manufacturing conditions can play a role in influencing the probiotic functionality in vivo and ii) represents the first evidence that links S. thermophilus to a specific probiotic mechanism, the reduction of urease activity in fecal samples.
Region‐related focal loss for 3D brain tumor MRI segmentation
Authors: Li Bo , You Xinge , Peng Qinmu , Wang Jing , Yang Chuanwu
Published: January 2023

Background

In the brain tumor magnetic resonance image (MRI) segmentation, although the 3D convolution networks (CNNs) has achieved state‐of‐the‐art results, the class and hard‐voxel imbalances in the 3D images have not been well addressed. Voxel independent losses are dependent on the setting of class weights for the class imbalance issue, and are hard to assign each class equally. Region‐related losses cannot correctly focus on hard voxels dynamically and not be robust to misclassification of small structures. Meanwhile, repeatedly training on the additional hard samples augmented by existing methods would bring more class imbalance, overfitting and incorrect knowledge learning to the model.

Purpose

A novel region‐related loss with balanced dynamic weighting while alleviating the sensitivity to small structures is necessary. In addition, we need to increase the diversity of hard samples in the training to improve the performance of model.

Methods

The proposed Region‐related Focal Loss (RFL) reshapes standard Dice Loss (DL) by up‐weighting the loss assigned to hard‐classified voxels. Compared to DL, RFL adaptively modulate its gradient with an invariant focalized point that voxels with lower‐confidence than it would achieve a larger gradient, and higher‐confidence voxels would get a smaller gradient. Meanwhile, RFL can adjust the parameters to set where and how much the network is focused. In addition, an Intra‐classly Transformed Augmentation network (ITA‐NET) is proposed to increase the diversity of hard samples, in which the 3D registration network and intra‐class transfer layer are used to transform the shape and intensity respectively. A selective hard sample mining(SHSM) strategy is used to train the ITA‐NET for avoiding excessive class imbalance. Source code (in Tensorflow) is available at: https://github.com/lb‐whu/RFL_ITA.

Results

The experiments are carried out on public data set: Brain Tumor Segmentation Challenge 2020 (BratS2020). Experiments with BraTS2020 online validation set show that proposed methods achieve an average Dice scores of 0.905, 0.821, and 0.806 for whole tumor (WT), tumor core (TC) and enhancing tumor (ET), respectively. Compared with DL (baseline), the proposed RFL significantly improves the Dice scores by an average of 1%, and for the small region ET it can even increase by 3%. And the proposed method combined with ITA‐NET improves the Dice scores of ET and TC by 5% and 3% respectively.

Conclusions

The proposed RFL can converge with a invariant focalized point in the training of segmentation network, thus effectively alleviating the hard‐voxel imbalance in brain tumor MRI segmentation. The negative region term of RFL can effectively reduce the sensitivity of the segmentation model to the misclassification of small structures. The proposed ITA‐NET can increase the diversity of hard samples by transforming their shape and transfer their intra‐class intensity, thereby effectively improving the robustness of the segmentation network to hard samples.
Transcriptional Ontogeny Platform of Sex Determination/Sex Differentiation Genes in Almaco Jack Larvae
Authors: Guerrero-Tortolero Danitzia A. , Vázquez-Islas Grecia , Campos-Ramos Rafael
Published: January 2023

The fish sex determination/sex differentiation (SD) system is still intriguing in many species, such as Seriola fish. Marine amberjacks have a conserved ZW/ZZ SD system. We aimed to identify how early SD genes were expressed in larval Almaco Jack Seriola rivoliana by RNA sequencing and to determine whether there was an early developmental differential expression up to the onset of exogenous feeding. Transcriptome analysis identified sox5 and sox7 (female) and sox3 and sox8 (male) genes; all of the known female SD genes, including hsd17b1 (master sex gene in Seriola), foxl2, and cyp19a, plus genes involved in female sexual development and maintenance, estrogen signaling, and osteoclast proliferation; and all of the known male SD genes, including dmrt1, nr5a1, gsdf, amhy, and amhr2. The expression of most SD genes occurred on each day during larval development. However, most of them showed low abundance levels and null differential expression except for the downregulation of the sox and foxl2 genes, which might have served an unknown function or were maternally derived rather than autonomously downregulated. We suggest that the concomitant expression of female and male SD genes in early larval stages is a biological transcriptional ontogeny sex platform that ensures posterior sex-specific expression and sex differentiation. A single missense single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) near the catalytic center of hsd17b1 has been suggested to differentiate phenotypic sex in Seriola by an endocrine regulation on estradiol synthesis. In that case, the ontogeny sex platform would be directed by the SNP but still critical to differentiate gonads.
Capture Is Predicted by Behavior and Size, Not Metabolism, in Muskellunge
Authors: Bieber John F. , Louison Michael J. , Suski Cory D.
Published: January 2023

Fish that strike angling lures often have a set of characteristics that predispose them to capture. Vulnerable fish may then be removed from a population, either through harvest or incidental mortality, and in turn leave individuals in a population that are less vulnerable to angling. Over time, the removal of vulnerable individuals can erode capture rates, possibly resulting in evolutionary changes if traits that result in capture correlate with characteristics such as fecundity or growth. We sought to define the mechanisms driving individual angling vulnerability in Muskellunge Esox masquinongy, with the intent of informing management activities to conserve populations. The behavior of individually identified Muskellunge (n = 68; mean TL = 310.2 mm; range = 229–350 mm) was assessed using standard open-field tests; the fish were then stocked into earthen-bottom ponds to assess angling vulnerability. After angling, all captured fish and a subset of uncaptured fish were assessed for metabolic parameters. Results indicated that larger Muskellunge displaying low levels of exploration and aggression were preferentially captured. Behaviors such as boldness and activity did not influence capture, and metabolic parameters did not differ between captured and uncaptured fish.
Sexual dysfunction in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome: Do onabotulinum toxin‐A injections improve sexual function?
Authors: Topcuoglu Murat , Karaburun Murat Can , İbiş Arif , Gokce Mehmet İlker , Süer Evren , Gülpinar Omer
Published: January 2023

Introduction

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) has a negative impact on female sexual function. We aimed to evaluate the effect of intravesical botulinum toxin‐A (BTX‐A) injection on the improvement of sexual dysfunction and urinary symptoms using the multi‐domain female sexual function Index (FSFI), interstitial cystitis symptom index (ICSI), and interstitial cystitis problem index (ICPI).

Material and Method

The data of the 23 patients (study group) who received intravesical BTX‐A with the diagnosis of IC/BPS were reviewed. Twenty‐three age‐matched healthy, sexually active women were determined as the control group. Patients received 100 U BTX‐A submucosally injections, including the trigone. One hundred units of BTX‐A were diluted to 20 cc 0.9% saline, and 1  cc was then applied submucosally on 20 different points of the bladder wall (5 U/1 mL per site). The study group was asked to fill out FSFI, ICSI, and ICPI, as well as the visual analog scale (VAS) and bladder diary before and 3 months after the treatment. Patients in the control group completed the same questionnaires once. The pre‐ and post‐treatment questionnaire scores were compared in the study group. The study group's data were also compared to the control group.

Results

Compared to the pretreatment period, the study group showed statistically significant improvement in the total FSFI score and each domain of the FSFI after BTX‐A injection. The mean total FSFI score and three domains of FSFI (desire, lubrication, pain) reached to the score of the control group following BTX‐A injection. Statistically significant improvements were also shown in scores of ICSI, ICPI, and VAS. (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

IC/BPS is associated with a very high incidence of sexual dysfunction. Intravesical BTX‐A injection may provide significant improvement in sexual dysfunction in women with IC/BPS.
Structure preserving quaternion full orthogonalization method with applications
Authors: Li Tao , Wang Qing‐Wen
Published: January 2023

This article proposes a structure‐preserving quaternion full orthogonalization method (QFOM) for solving quaternion linear systems arising from color image restoration. The method is based on the quaternion Arnoldi procedure preserving the quaternion Hessenberg form. Combining with the preconditioning techniques, we further derive a variant of the QFOM for solving the linear systems, which can greatly improve the rate of convergence of QFOM. Numerical experiments on randomly generated data and color image restoration problems illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in comparison with some existing methods.
Damage mode identification in carbon/epoxy composite via machine learning and acoustic emission
Authors: Qiao Shuai , Huang Man , Liang Yu‐jiao , Zhang Shuan‐zhu , Zhou Wei
Published: January 2023

Combining acoustic emission (AE) and machine learning algorithms to understand damage and failure of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) under bending loads is a challenging task in their practical applications. This work aims to identify different characteristics of the signal induced by damage patterns of carbon/epoxy composites using machine learning model. By carrying out wavelet packet analysis of the AE signals allowing the identification of four macroscopic damage modes. Four types of signals corresponding to matrix cracking, delamination, fiber/matrix debonding and fiber breakage are characterized by the frequency bands of the main energy distribution in the original waveform. The frequency bands are (62.5–125 kHz) or (125–187.5 kHz), (187.5–250 kHz), (250–312.5 kHz) and (312.5–375 kHz) and above, respectively. To test the actual performance of the established model, called support vector machine (SVM) classifier, several precracked and untreated specimens have been fabricated and subjected to three‐point bending test. The classification result of constructed classifier was compared with the k‐means algorithm, which is widely accepted for classifying AE signals, and the similarity of the two results is analyzed. The results indicated that the similarity of different clusters exceeded 92%, 84%, 83% and 77%, respectively. It can be seen that the SVM classifier was considered promising to provide new ideas for the health monitoring of composite structures.
Preparation and characterization of toughened polyurea aerogels incorporating linear long‐chain in the structure
Authors: Luo Yumei , Zhou Yi , Bai Xiaodong , Cai Xuetong , Luo Xiuling , Deng Xifeng , Wu Di
Published: January 2023

In order to reduce the brittleness of polyurea (PUA) aerogel, reactive incorporation of linear long‐chain poly‐1,4‐butanediol bis(4‐aminobenzoate) (P1000) into PUA backbone was made by reacting mixed diamines with triisocyanates. The mixed diamines were composed of 4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA) and P1000. PUA aerogels were produced by freeze‐drying. The effect of P1000 percentage and solid content on the properties of PUA aerogel was investigated. It was found that the little addition of P1000 has a reinforcing and toughening effect on PUA aerogels, where the samples maintain a high extent of hydrogen bonding and low linear shrinkage, with a more compact and homogeneous microstructure. The resulting aerogels show apparent density between 0.05 and 0.18 g/cm3, surface area between 41 and 179 m2/g, and initial decomposition temperature of about 300°C. At 10% solid content and 15 mol % P1000 (in mixed diamines), the overall performance is optimal, with low apparent density (0.113 g/cm3), low thermal conductivity (0.021 W/m K), and high modulus (compressive modulus 7.4 MPa; flexural modulus 18.8 MPa).
Chitin nanocrystals supported copper: a new nanomaterial with high activity with P. syringae pv. Tabaci
Authors: Cao Zhe , Ma Xiaozhou , Zou Aihong , Shi Zhenxu , Xiang Shunyu , Xu Jingyun , Cai Lin , Huang Jin , Sun Xianchao
Published: January 2023

BACKGROUND

The application of chemical pesticides in control of plant bacterial disease may cause potential environmental pollution. Herein, based on the resistance‐inducing ability and the special rod‐like structure with high aspect ratio of bio‐derived chitin nanocrystals (ChNC), a new Cu composite rod‐like nanoparticle was fabricated (ChNC@Cu). The antibacterial activity of the composite nanoparticle was systematically studied, and its safety was evaluated.

RESULTS

TEM, FTIR, ICP and other characterization methods proved that ChNC@Cu is a nano rod‐like structure, with a Cu2+ loading capacity of 2.63%. In vitro experiments showed that the inhibition rate of ChNC@Cu to P. syringae pv. tabaci was more than 95% when the copper content was 41.6 μg mL−1. In vivo experiments showed that ChNC@Cu had a good protective effect on P. syringae pv. tabaci of tobacco. In addition, ChNC@Cu exhibited stronger antibacterial activity than Thiodiazole copper (TC) at the same copper content. The study on the antibacterial mechanism of ChNC@Cu proved that ChNC@Cu caused bacterial death by destroying the bacterial cell membrane structure and damaging the DNA bacteria. And ChNC@Cu is highly safe for plants and can promote seed germination and plant growth.

CONCLUSION

The special rod‐like structure of ChNC can enrich Cu2+ to form ChNC@Cu. ChNC@Cu has a good protective effect on bacterial infection of tobacco, and achieves a great antibacterial activity at low Cu2+ concentration, which indicated that ChNC@Cu has induced resistance and antibacterial effect. As a novel green nanofungicide, ChNC@Cu has high potential application value in control of agricultural bacterial diseases. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Asymmetric Electrode Influence upon Ferroelectric Switching Dynamics in Ag/PVDF‐HFP/ITO Capacitor Structures
Authors: Roy Jyotirmoy , Joseph Bekcy , Gangineni Ramesh Babu
Published: January 2023

Asymmetric electrode (Ag and indium tin oxide (ITO)) influence upon ferroelectric switching dynamics in polyvinylidene fluoride‐hexafluoropropylene (PVDF‐HFP) thin films across Ag/PVDF‐HFP/ITO capacitor structures is systematically investigated. Grazing incidence X‐Ray diffraction (GI–XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV–visible spectroscopy are utilized to comprehend the structural and microstructural characteristics of PVDF–HFP thin films upon ITO interface. Low voltage rectified and asymmetric current–voltage (I–V) curves reveal the varied barrier potential due to the asymmetric electrodes. Typical squared hysteresis loops along with uniform domain growth model are verified from quasi‐static and dynamic ferroelectric loop measurements. Further, from low‐frequency (10 and 15 mHz) quasi‐static and dynamic (100–1000 Hz) triangular pulses, the switching time, domain dimension with respect to frequency, and amplitude of the electric field are separately evaluated and noted that smaller switching times when electron traverses from Ag to ITO electrode.
Mössbauer Spectroscopic Analysis of La1−xSrxFeO3−δ Perovskites
Authors: Lu Zeyi , Shen Jiyu , Zou Jiangqiang , Zhang Qinghang , Mo Jiajun , Wu Zhongjin , Xia Yanfang , Liu Min
Published: January 2023

Herein, the effects of different Sr content doping on the crystal structure and electronic structure of La1−xSrxFeO3−δ (LSFO‐x, x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0) are studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. It is shown in the XRD results that the structure of LSFO‐x changes from orthorhombic (Pnma [#62]) to cubic (Pm‐3m (#221)) to tetragonal (I4/mmm (#139)) with increasing strontium doping. It is shown in Mössbauer spectrum analysis that with the gradual increase of Sr doping, iron ions finally change from +3 oxidation state to +4 oxidation state after passing through an intermediate oxidation state of +3.5. The Fe3.5+ state can result from rapid electron exchange (Fe3+ + Fe4+ ⇋ Fe4+ + Fe3+) between iron ions of different oxidation states within the crystal structure; the study provides some reference for future research to study the effect of iron‐oxidation state on the specific activity of strontium‐doped LaFeO3.
Supercritical CO2‐Induced Stress for Assistance of Ion Exchange in Confined Space of Potassium Titanate
Authors: Han Yixin , Yan Pengfei , Xu Qun
Published: January 2023

As a novel functional layered material, alkali titanates have been widely studied in the fields of catalysis, wastewater treatment, energy storage, and gas sensing. The exchange of alkali metal ions with other functional cations by breaking the ionic bonds between titanium oxide layers is proved to be an effective strategy for the functionalization of alkali titanate. Herein, based on theoretical simulations and experimental studies, for the first time, it is found out that the introduction of CO2 in the interlayer confinement space of potassium titanate can lead to tensile stress and it can help the exchange of H+/K+. Therefore, this work provides a new efficient based on stress engineering to break the ionic bonds and realize the ion‐exchange process of alkali titanates.
Re‐randomization tests as sensitivity analyses to confirm immunological noninferiority of an investigational vaccine: Case study
Authors: Grassano Luca , Ranzato Giulia , Pellegrini Michele , Costantini Marco
Published: January 2023

Here we present as case study how re‐randomization tests were performed in two randomized, controlled clinical trials as sensitivity analyses, as recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the context of adaptive randomization. This was done to confirm primary conclusions on immunological noninferiority of an investigational new fully liquid presentation of a quadrivalent cross‐reacting material conjugate meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY‐CRM), over its licensed lyophilized/liquid presentation. In two phase 2b studies (Study #1: NCT03652610; Study #2: NCT03433482), noninferiority of the fully liquid presentation of MenACWY‐CRM to the licensed presentation was assessed and demonstrated for immune responses against meningococcal serogroup A (MenA), the only vaccine component modified from lyophilized to liquid in the new presentation. The original vaccine assignment algorithm, with a minimization procedure accounting for center or center within age strata, was used to re‐randomize participants belonging to the fully liquid and licensed vaccine groups while keeping antibody responses, covariates and entry order as observed. Test statistics under re‐randomization were generated according to the ANCOVA model used in the primary analysis. To confirm immunological noninferiority following re‐randomization, the corresponding p‐values had to be <0.025. For both studies and all primary objective evaluations, the re‐randomization p‐values were well below 0.025 (0.0004 for Study #1; 0.0001 for the two co‐primary endpoints in Study #2). Re‐randomization tests performed to comply with a regulatory request confirmed the primary conclusions of immunological noninferiority for the MenA of the fully liquid compared to the licensed vaccine presentation.
Impact of climate change on public health in Brazil
Authors: Ferreira Mariana Abou Mourad , Leite Yuri Luiz Reis , Junior Crispim Cerutti , Vicente Creuza Rachel
Published: January 2023

Brazil is South America's largest country and economy, represented mainly by agricultural commodities. Its vast rainforest and biodiversity are at constant risk from human actions that are seen by scientists contributing to climate change. This article dissects how Brazil influences and is directly and indirectly affected by climate change and possible strategies to control the current situation. Climate change impacts Brazilian public health in multi‐scenarios and is influenced by socioeconomical and geopolitical aspects, such as urbanization, access to sanitation and sewage, precipitation intensity and frequency, and public health policies. Therefore, surveillance and control measures, alongside socioeconomic policies, must be orchestrated to minimize human actions that impact climate change.
Noninvasive determinants of pulmonary hypertension in interstitial lung disease
Authors: Joseph Phillip , Savarimuthu Stella , Zhao Jiayi , Yan Xiting , Oakland Hannah T. , Cullinan Marjorie , Heerdt Paul M. , Singh Inderjit
Published: January 2023

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is associated with increased mortality and impaired exertional capacity. Right heart catheterization is the diagnostic standard for PH but is invasive and not readily available. Noninvasive physiologic evaluation may predict PH in ILD. Forty‐four patients with PH and ILD (PH‐ILD) were compared with 22 with ILD alone (non‐PH ILD). Six‐min walk distance (6MWD, 223 ± 131 vs. 331 ± 125 m, p = 0.02) and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO, 33 ± 14% vs. 55 ± 21%, p < 0.001) were lower in patients with PH‐ILD. PH‐ILD patients exhibited a lower gas‐exchange derived pulmonary vascular capacitance (GXCAP, 251 ± 132 vs. 465 ± 282 mL × mmHg, p < 0.0001) and extrapolated maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) (56 ± 32% vs. 84 ± 37%, p = 0.003). Multivariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of VO2max. GXCAP was the only variable that predicted extrapolated VO2max among PH‐ILD and non‐PH ILD patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis assessed the ability of individual noninvasive variables to distinguish between PH‐ILD and non‐PH ILD patients. GXCAP (area under the curve [AUC] 0.85 ± 0.04, p < 0.0001) and delta ETCO2 (AUC 0.84 ± 0.04, p < 0.0001) were the strongest predictors of PH‐ILD. A CART analysis selected GXCAP, estimated right ventricular systolic pressure (eRVSP) by echocardiogram, and FVC/DLCO ratio as predictive variables for PH‐ILD. With this analysis, the AUC improved to 0.94 (sensitivity of 0.86 and sensitivity of 0.93). Patients with a GXCAP ≤ 416 mL × mmHg had an 82% probability of PH‐ILD. Patients with GXCAP ≤ 416 mL × mmHg and high FVC/DLCO ratio >1.7 had an 80% probability of PH‐ILD. Patients with GXCAP ≤ 416 mL × mmHg and an elevated eRVSP by echocardiogram >43 mmHg had 100% probability of PH‐ILD. The incorporation of GXCAP with either eRVSP or FVC/DLCO ratio distinguishes between PH‐ILD and non‐PH‐ILD with high probability and may therefore assist in determining the need to proceed with a diagnostic right heart catheterization and potential initiation of pulmonary arterial hypertension‐directed therapy in PH‐ILD patients.
Neuroadptive quantization tracking control with accelerate convergence rate for self‐restructuring systems
Authors: Gao Zhen , Wen Changyun , Song Yongduan
Published: January 2023

In this article, we investigate the tracking control problem for a class of self‐restructuring systems with quantized input. The underlying system model is different from the one with fixed structure, and is able to reflect the impact arising from subsystem failure, system switching, and subsystem self‐expansion and so forth. Furthermore, the system is driven with quantized input. For such systems we develop a neural network‐based adaptive quantization control method with several attractive features including: (1) it is a less model‐dependent based control approach with which little information on the system model is required; (2) the quantized input does not require exact knowledge of quantization parameters; (3) the tracking error is ensured to be ultimately uniformly bounded and convergence rate of the tracking error is adjustable via the introduced rate function in the control algorithm, and the tracking error converges into a specific compact set. The benefits and feasibility of the proposed control method are also validated and confirmed by numerical simulations.
Flow resistance law in channels with fully submerged and rigid vegetation
Authors: Nicosia Alessio , Carollo Francesco G. , Di Stefano Costanza , Pasquino Vittorio , Ferro Vito
Published: January 2023

The estimate of flow resistance in vegetated channels is a challenging topic for programming riparian vegetation management, controlling channel conveyance and flooding propensity, for designing soil bioengineering practices. In this paper, measurements collected by Gualtieri et al. (2018), in a flume where rigid cylinders were set in two arrangements (staggered, aligned) at high submergence ratios (ratio between the water depth and the vegetation height greater than 5), were used to study the effect of rigid submerged vegetation on estimating flow resistance. The theoretical flow resistance equation, obtained by integrating the power flow velocity distribution, was first summarized. Then, this flow resistance equation was calibrated and tested by measurements of Gualtieri et al. (2018). In particular, a relationship between the Γ function of the power velocity distribution, the channel slope, the flow Froude number, and the submergence ratio was established by using the available measurements carried out for the two arrangements with different stem concentrations. The calibration of this relationship was carried out by (i) distinguishing measurements corresponding to different vegetation arrangements (staggered, aligned), (ii) joining all available data, and (iii) using only a scale factor representing the effect of vegetation arrangements. For the cases (ii) and (iii), the analysis demonstrated that the theoretical flow resistance equation allows an accurate estimate of the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor, which is characterized by errors that are always less than 5% and less than or equal to 2.5% for 88% of the investigated cases.
Particle size distribution of growing media constituents using dynamic image analysis: Parametrization and comparison to sieving
Authors: Durand Stan , Jackson Brian E. , Fonteno William C. , Michel Jean‐Charles
Published: January 2023

Growing media constituents have heterogeneous particle size and shape, and their physical properties are partly related to them. Particle size distribution is usually analyzed through sieving process, segregating the particles by their width. However, sieving techniques are best describing more granular shapes and are not as reliable for materials exhibiting large varieties of shapes, like growing media constituents. A dynamic image analysis has been conducted for a multidimensional characterization of particle size distribution of several growing media constituents (white and black peats, pine bark, coir, wood fiber, and perlite), from particles that were segregated and dispersed in water. Diameters describing individual particle width and length were analyzed, then compared to particle size distribution obtained by dry and wet sieving methods. This work suggests the relevance of two parameters, FeretMAXand ChordMINdiameters for assessing particle length and width, respectively. They largely varied among the growing media constituents, confirming their non‐spherical (i.e., elongated) shapes, demonstrating the advantages of using dynamic image analysis tools over traditional sieving methods. Furthermore, large differences in particle size distribution were also observed between dynamic image analysis and sieving procedures, with a finer distribution for dynamic image analysis. The discrepancies observed between methodologies were discussed (particle segregation, distribution weighing, etc.), while describing in details methodological limitations of dynamic image analysis.
Subaqueous pedology and soil‐landscape model evaluation in South River, Maryland, USA
Authors: Park Cedric Evan , Wessel Barret M. , Rabenhorst Martin C.
Published: January 2023

Using a subaqueous soil‐landscape conceptual model previously developed in an adjacent subestuary, a subaqueous soil survey was undertaken for the South River subestuary of Chesapeake Bay. Using available bathymetry, subaqueous landforms and soil map units were delineated prior to the initiation of any field work. To evaluate the predictive usefulness of the conceptual model, the study area was subsequently sampled at 52 points along specified transects. The soils were described and classified, and the observed soils were compared to the predicted soils from the model using a bootstrapping analysis approach. We concluded that the conceptual model did provide significant positive guidance to generate a useful soil map in South River, by successfully predicting the distribution of soil material types. It did not, however, address the distribution of hypersulfidic materials prevalent in South River soils. The additional information gained on the soils and pedogenic processes gained during this study were incorporated into the final soil survey for the subestuary, and they were also used to refine the soil‐landscape conceptual model to improve its potential usefulness in future mapping of western shore subestuaries of Chesapeake Bay.