bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome Analysis of Goose-Origin Astroviruses Causing Fatal Gout in Shanghai, China Reveals One of Them Belonging to a Novel Type Is a Recombinant Strain
Authors: Shen Quan , Zhuang Zi , Lu Juan , Qian Lingling , Li Guangquan , Kanton Aaron Gia , Yang Shixing , Wang Xiaochun , Wang Huiying , Yin Jun , Zhang Wen
Published: June 2022

Since 2014, a goose-origin astroviruses disease, which is characterized by urate precipitation in viscera, has rapidly spread to major commercial goose provinces leading to huge economic losses in the poultry industry of China. In March 2020, a goose farm locates in Shanghai, China, where there was no goose astroviruses (GAstVs) infection reported before, experienced an outbreak of gout disease in geese. The etiological investigation was carried out by virus metagenomics and bacterial culture and two GAstVs strains, designated as CHSH01 and CHSH02, were determined. Their complete genomes were measured to 7,154 and 7,330 nt in length, excludingthe poly(A) tail, respectively, and had different genomic features and classifications. CHSH01 shared a very low sequence identity with other strains in terms of not only the complete genome but also different ORFs. Phylogenetic analysis showed CHSH02 belonged to GAstV-2, which was the predominant species in the geese with gout in China according to the previous study. Meanwhile, CHSH01 strain displayed low identity with other AstVs, and phylogenetic and recombination analysis suggested that CHSH01 belonging to a novel type was a recombinant strain, one parent strain of which was an AstV determined from a bar-headed goose (a kind of migrant bird). Moreover, the primary epidemiological investigation showed that the two strains were prevalent in the same goose farm and co-infection occurred. These findings arise the potential cross-species transmission of CHSH01 between domestic and wild fowl.
Brief Research Report: Effect of Triiodothyronine on Hepatic Growth Hormone Receptor Expression in Primary Bovine Hepatocytes
Authors: Stiensmeier Vera , Schmicke Marion
Published: June 2022

In previous studies, triiodothyronine (T3) was found to be lower in cows with ketosis and an effect of T3 on Growth Hormone Receptor (GHR) expression is described, e. g., in a human hepatoma cell line. Therefore, this study aimed to test whether T3 affects GHR messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in a well-established bovine hepatocyte model. Hepatocytes were kept in a sandwich culture and stimulated for 6 days with constant (10 μg/ml) or decreasing (from 10 to 5 μg/ml) T3 concentrations, and GHR, as well as IGF-1 mRNA expression, was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We could confirm in vitro that T3 has a stimulatory effect on GHR1A mRNA expression.
Sustained Negative Mental Health Outcomes Among Healthcare Workers Over the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Mediavilla Roberto , Fernández-Jiménez Eduardo , Martinez-Morata Irene , Jaramillo Fabiola , Andreo-Jover Jorge , Morán-Sánchez Inés , Mascayano Franco , Moreno-Küstner Berta , Minué Sergio , Ayuso-Mateos José Luis , Bryant Richard A. , Bravo-Ortiz María-Fe , Martínez-Alés Gonzalo
Published: June 2022

Objective: To characterize the evolution of healthcare workers’ mental health status over the 1-year period following the initial COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and to examine baseline characteristics associated with resolution or persistence of mental health problems over time.

Methods: We conducted an 8-month follow-up cohort study. Eligible participants were healthcare workers working in Spain. Baseline data were collected during the initial pandemic outbreak. Survey-based self-reported measures included COVID-19-related exposures, sociodemographic characteristics, and three mental health outcomes (psychological distress, depression symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms). We examined three longitudinal trajectories in mental health outcomes between baseline and follow-up assessments (namely asymptomatic/stable, recovering, and persistently symptomatic/worsening).

Results: We recruited 1,807 participants. Between baseline and follow-up assessments, the proportion of respondents screening positive for psychological distress and probable depression decreased, respectively, from 74% to 56% and from 28% to 21%. Two-thirds remained asymptomatic/stable in terms of depression symptoms and 56% remained symptomatic or worsened over time in terms of psychological distress.

Conclusion: Poor mental health outcomes among healthcare workers persisted over time. Occupational programs and mental health strategies should be put in place.
Central Control for Optimized Herbaceous Feedstock Delivery to a Biorefinery from Satellite Storage Locations
Authors: Resop Jonathan P. , Cundiff John S. , Grisso Robert D.
Published: June 2022

The delivery of herbaceous feedstock from satellite storage locations (SSLs) to a biorefinery or preprocessing depot is a logistics problem that must be optimized before a new bioenergy industry can be realized. Both load-out productivity, defined as the loading of 5 × 4 round bales into a 20-bale rack at the SSL, and truck productivity, defined as the hauling of bales from the SSLs to the biorefinery, must be maximized. Productivity (Mg/d) is maximized and cost (USD/Mg) is minimized when approximately the same number the loads is received each day. To achieve this, a central control model is proposed, where a feedstock manager at the biorefinery can dispatch a truck to any SSL where a load will be available when the truck arrives. Simulations of this central control model for different numbers of simultaneous load-out operations were performed using a database of potential production fields within a 50 km radius of a theoretical biorefinery in Gretna, VA. The minimum delivered cost (i.e., load-out plus truck) was achieved with nine load-outs and a fleet of eight trucks. The estimated cost was 11.24 and 11.62 USD/Mg of annual biorefinery capacity (assuming 24/7 operation over 48 wk/y for a total of approximately 150,000 Mg/y) for the load-out and truck, respectively. The two costs were approximately equal, reinforcing the desirability of a central control to maximize the productivity of these two key operations simultaneously.
A Decision System for Routing Problems and Rescheduling Issues Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Lin I-Ching , Lin Tsan-Hwan , Chang Sheng-Hung
Published: June 2022

In recent years, consumers have come to expect faster and better delivery services. Logistics companies, therefore, must implement innovative technologies or services in their logistics processes. It is critical to adopt unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in last mile delivery and urban logistics. The service provider applies the characteristics of UAVs to complete more requests, benefiting more revenue. However, it may not be a satisfactory solution, because the customers will be dissatisfied if the actual delivery time does not align with their expectations. This study constructs a revenue maximization model subject to time windows and customer satisfaction. Instead of addressing the traveling salesmen problem, this model takes new customer requests during the delivery process into account. We solved the problem using a genetic algorithm. The results show: (1) the model found an approximate and effective solution in the real-time delivery environment; (2) customer satisfaction is inversely proportional to the total delivery distance; (3) regarding the result of the sensitivity analysis of this study, investment in UAV has no influence on total profit and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the customer is a key factor in the logistics decision-making platform, not the provider’s investment in UAVs.
Impact of Sulfur Infiltration Time and Its Content in an N-doped Mesoporous Carbon for Application in Li-S Batteries
Authors: Laverde Jennifer , Rosero-Navarro Nataly C. , Miura Akira , Buitrago-Sierra Robison , Tadanaga Kiyoharu , López Diana
Published: June 2022

Li-S batteries are ideal candidates to replace current lithium-ion batteries as next-generation energy storage systems thanks to their high specific capacity and theoretical energy density. Composite electrodes based on carbon microstructures are often used as a host for sulfur. However, sulfur lixiviation, insoluble species formation, and how to maximize the sulfur-carbon contact in looking for improved electrochemical performance are still major challenges. In this study, a nitrogen doped mesoporous carbon is used as a host for sulfur. The S/C composite electrodes are prepared by sulfur melting-diffusion process at 155 °C. The effect of the sulfur melting-diffusion time [sulfur infiltration time] (1–24 h) and sulfur content (10–70%) is investigated by using XRD, SEM, TEM and TGA analyses and correlated with the electrochemical performance in Li-S cells. S/C composite electrode with homogeneous sulfur distribution can be reached with 6 h of sulfur melting-diffusion and 10 wt.% of sulfur content. Li-S cell with this composite shows a high use of sulfur and sufficient electronic conductivity achieving an initial discharge capacity of 983 mA h g−1 and Coulombic efficiency of 99% after 100 cycles.
Different Models to Predict the Risk of Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Setting of Liver Transplantation
Authors: Degroote Helena , Geerts Anja , Verhelst Xavier , Van Vlierberghe Hans
Published: June 2022

Liver transplantation is the preferred therapeutic option for non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma in early-stage disease. Taking into account the limited number of donor organs, liver transplantation is restricted to candidates with long-term outcomes comparable to benign indications on the waiting list. Introducing the morphometric Milan criteria as the gold standard for transplant eligibility reduced the recurrence rate. Even with strict patient selection, there is a risk of recurrence of between 8 and 20% in the transplanted liver, and this is of even greater importance when using more expanded criteria and downstaging protocols. Currently, it remains challenging to predict the risk of recurrence and the related prognosis for individual patients. In this review, the recurrence-risk-assessment scores proposed in the literature are discussed. Currently there is no consensus on the optimal model or the implications of risk stratification in clinical practice. The most recent scorings include additional biological markers for tumour behavior, such as alfa-foetoprotein, and the response to locoregional therapies, in addition to the number and diameter of tumoral nodules. The refinement of the prediction of recurrence is important to better inform patients, guide decisions about prioritization and listing and implement individualized surveillance strategies. In the future, this might also provide indications for tailored immunosuppressive therapy or inclusion in trials for adjuvant treatment.
Association between Breast Cancer and Second Primary Lung Cancer among the Female Population in Taiwan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Lin Fan-Wen , Yeh Ming-Hsin , Lin Cheng-Li , Wei James
Published: June 2022

Purpose: A special association between breast cancer and second primary lung cancer in Taiwanese women has been discovered not only in clinical practice, but also in a large population-based study. We hereby investigate the association between breast cancer and second primary lung cancer in Taiwanese women. Methods: This study was conducted from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI). Patients older than 18 years old and hospitalized with a first diagnosis of breast cancer during 2000 to 2012 were enrolled in the breast cancer group. Patients who were cancer free were frequency-matched with the breast cancer group by age (every five-year span) and index year. The ratio of breast cancer group to non-breast cancer group was 1:4. The event as the outcome in this study was lung cancer. The comorbidities viewed as important confounding factors included coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, tuberculosis, chronic kidney disease, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. We estimated the hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of lung cancer in the breast cancer group and non-breast cancer group using Cox proportional hazard models. Sensitivity analysis was also done using propensity score matching. All of the statistical analyses were performed using SAS statistical software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Results: There were 94,451 breast cancer patients in the breast cancer group and 377,804 patients in the non-breast cancer group in this study. After being stratified by age, urbanization level, and comorbidities, the patients with breast cancer had a significantly higher risk of lung cancer compared with the patients without breast cancer, particularly for those who aged between 20 and 49 years (aHR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.71–2.58), 50 and 64 years (aHR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.15–1.58), and those without any comorbidities (aHR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.64–2.23). Conclusion: Patients with breast cancer had a significantly higher risk of developing second primary lung cancer compared with patients without breast cancer, particularly in younger groups and in those without any comorbidities. The special association may be attributed to some potential risk factors such as genetic susceptibility and long-term exposure to PM2.5, and is supposed to increase public awareness. Further studies are necessary given the fact that inherited genotypes, different subtypes of breast cancer and lung cancer, and other unrecognized etiologies may play vital roles in both cancers’ development.
Change in Voice Quality after Radiotherapy for Early Glottic Cancer
Authors: Mekiš Jana , Strojan Primož , Mekiš Dušan , Hočevar Boltežar Irena
Published: June 2022

Our aim was to track the changes in voice quality for two years after radiotherapy (RT) for early glottic cancer. A videoendostroboscopy, subjective patient and phoniatrician voice assessments, a Voice Handicap Index questionnaire, and objective acoustic measurements (F0, jitter, shimmer, maximal phonation time) were performed on 50 patients with T1 glottic carcinomas at 3, 12, and 24 months post-RT. The results were compared between the subsequent assessments, and between the assessments at 3 months and 24 months post-RT. The stroboscopy showed a gradual progression of fibrosis of the vocal folds with a significant difference apparent when the assessments at 3 months and 24 months were compared (p < 0.001). Almost all of the subjective assessments of voice quality showed an improvement during the first 2 years, but significant differences were noted at 24 months. Jitter and shimmer deteriorated in the first year after RT with a significant deterioration noticed between the sixth and twelfth months (p = 0.048 and p = 0.002, respectively). Two years after RT, only 8/50 (16%) patients had normal voices. The main reasons for a decreased voice quality after RT for early glottic cancer were post-RT changes in the larynx. Despite a significant improvement in the voice after RT shown in a few of the evaluation methods, only a minority of the patients had a normal voice two years post-RT.
Contribution of the Skin–Gut Axis to Immune-Related Adverse Events with Multi-System Involvement
Authors: Kuo Alyce M. , Kraehenbuehl Lukas , King Stephanie , Leung Donald Y. M. , Goleva Elena , Moy Andrea P. , Lacouture Mario E. , Shah Neil J. , Faleck David M.
Published: June 2022

Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) frequently complicate treatment with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) targeting CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1, which are commonly used to treat solid and hematologic malignancies. The skin and gastrointestinal (GI) tract are most frequently affected by irAEs. While extensive efforts to further characterize organ-specific adverse events have contributed to the understanding and management of individual toxicities, investigations into the relationship between multi-organ toxicities have been limited. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a characterization of irAEs occurring in both the skin and gut. A retrospective analysis of two cohorts of patients treated with ICB at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was conducted, including a cohort of patients with cutaneous irAEs (ircAEs) confirmed by dermatologists (n = 152) and a cohort of patients with biopsy-proven immune-related colitis (n = 246). Among both cohorts, 15% (61/398) of patients developed both skin and GI irAEs, of which 72% (44/61) patients had ircAEs preceding GI irAEs (p = 0.00013). Our study suggests that in the subset of patients who develop both ircAEs and GI irAEs, ircAEs are likely to occur first. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate our findings, to assess the overall incidence of co-incident irAEs, and to determine whether ircAEs are predictors of other irAEs. This analysis highlights the development of multi-system dermatologic and gastrointestinal irAEs and underscores the importance of oncologists, gastroenterologists, and dermatologists confronted with an ircAE to remain alert for additional irAEs.
Outcomes of Geriatric Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Lee Chern-Horng , Yen Tzung-Hai , Hsieh Sen-Yung
Published: June 2022

Background: The treatment modalities and outcomes of geriatric patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain controversial. This retrospective observational cohort study compared the outcomes of HCC between geriatric and younger patients. Methods: The medical records of patients with HCC managed between January 2001 and December 2017 were retrieved from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Research Database. Patients were stratified by age into two groups: a geriatric group (65–75 years) and a younger group (<65 years). The two groups were matched through 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM) according to sex, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular attack, diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and hypertension. Results: Of the 11,033 patients with HCC, 2147 patients aged 65–75 years and 4294 patients aged <65 years were identified after 1:2 PSM. The Kaplan–Meier model revealed that the HCC outcomes in patients older than 65 years were not significantly different after 3 years (p = 0.060). Consistent results were also obtained when the laboratory data associated with HCC incidence were included in the Fine–Gray competing risk model after 1:2 PSM (p = 0.1695). The major risk factors for HCC survival were systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) ≥ 610 × 109 cells/L, advanced tumor stage, and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, etc. Conclusion: Age was not an independent factor for mortality in patients with HCC in the first 3 years. Geriatric patients with HCC should be as aggressively managed as younger patients.
Dataset for Detecting the Electrical Behavior of Photovoltaic Panels from RGB Images
Authors: Villegas-Ceballos Juan-Pablo , Rico-Garcia Mateo , Ramos-Paja Carlos Andres
Published: June 2022

The dynamic reconfiguration and maximum power point tracking in large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems require a large number of voltage and current sensors. In particular, the reconfiguration process requires a pair of voltage/current sensors for each panel, which introduces costs, increases size and reduces the reliability of the installation. A suitable solution for reducing the number of sensors is to adopt image-based solutions to estimate the electrical characteristics of the PV panels, but the lack of reliable data with large diversity of irradiance and shading conditions is a major problem in this topic. Therefore, this paper presents a dataset correlating RGB images and electrical data of PV panels with different irradiance and shading conditions; moreover, the dataset also provides complementary weather data and additional image characteristics to support the training of estimation models. In particular, the dataset was designed to support the design of image-based estimators of electrical data, which could be used to replace large arrays of sensors. The dataset was captured during 70 days distributed between 2020 and 2021, generating 5211 images and registers. The paper also describes the measurement platform used to collect the data, which will help to replicate the experiments in different geographical locations.
An Autonomous Control Framework of Unmanned Helicopter Operations for Low-Altitude Flight in Mountainous Terrains
Authors: Jin Zibo , Nie Lu , Li Daochun , Tu Zhan , Xiang Jinwu
Published: June 2022

Low-altitude flight in mountainous terrains is a difficult flight task applied in both military and civilian fields. The helicopter has to maintain low altitude to realize search and rescue, reconnaissance, penetration, and strike operations. It contains complex environment perception, multilevel decision making, and multi-objective flight control; thus, flight is currently mainly conducted by human pilots. In this work, a control framework is implemented to realize autonomous flight for unmanned helicopter operations in an unknown mountainous environment. The identification of targets and threats is introduced using a deep neural network. A 3D vector field histogram method is adopted for local terrain avoidance based on airborne Lidar sensors. In particular, we propose an intuitive direct-viewing method to judge and change the visibilities of the helicopter. On this basis, a finite state machine is built for decision making of the autonomous flight. A highly realistic simulation environment is established to verify the proposed control framework. The simulation results demonstrate that the helicopter can autonomously complete flight missions including a fast approach, threat avoidance, cover concealment, and circuitous flight operations similar to human pilots. The proposed control framework provides an effective solution for complex flight tasks and expands the flight control technologies for high-level unmanned helicopter operations.
Developing Novel Rice Yield Index Using UAV Remote Sensing Imagery Fusion Technology
Authors: Zhou Jun , Lu Xiangyu , Yang Rui , Chen Huizhe , Wang Yaliang , Zhang Yuping , Huang Jing , Liu Fei
Published: June 2022

Efficient and quick yield prediction is of great significance for ensuring world food security and crop breeding research. The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology makes it more timely and accurate to monitor crops by remote sensing. The objective of this study was to explore the method of developing a novel yield index (YI) with wide adaptability for yield prediction by fusing vegetation indices (VIs), color indices (CIs), and texture indices (TIs) from UAV-based imagery. Six field experiments with 24 varieties of rice and 21 fertilization methods were carried out in three experimental stations in 2019 and 2020. The multispectral and RGB images of the rice canopy collected by the UAV platform were used to rebuild six new VIs and TIs. The performance of VI-based YI (MAPE = 13.98%) developed by quadratic nonlinear regression at the maturity stage was better than other stages, and outperformed that of CI-based (MAPE = 22.21%) and TI-based (MAPE = 18.60%). Then six VIs, six CIs, and six TIs were fused to build YI by multiple linear regression and random forest models. Compared with heading stage (R2 = 0.78, MAPE = 9.72%) and all stage (R2 = 0.59, MAPE = 22.21%), the best performance of YI was developed by random forest with fusing VIs + CIs + TIs at maturity stage (R2 = 0.84, MAPE = 7.86%). Our findings suggest that the novel YI proposed in this study has great potential in crop yield monitoring.
On the Inertial Range Bounds of K-41-like Magnetohydrodynamics Turbulence
Authors: Tegegn Tesfalem Abate
Published: June 2022

The spectral slope of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence varies depending on the spectral theory considered; −3/2 is the spectral slope in Kraichnan–Iroshnikov–Dobrowolny (KID) theory, −5/3 in Marsch–Matthaeus–Zhou and Goldreich–Sridhar theories, also called Kolmogorov-like (K-41-like) MHD theory, the combination of the −5/3 and −3/2 scales in Biskamp, and so on. A rigorous mathematical proof to any of these spectral theories is of great scientific interest. Motivated by the 2012 work of A. Biryuk and W. Craig (Physica D 241(2012) 426–438), we establish inertial range bounds for K-41-like phenomenon in MHD turbulent flow through a mathematical rigor; a range of wave numbers in which the spectral slope of MHD turbulence is proportional to −5/3 is established and the upper and lower bounds of this range are explicitly formulated. We also have shown that the Leray weak solution of the standard MHD model is bonded in the Fourier space, the spectral energy of the system is bounded and its average over time decreases in time.
Impact of Using Facemasks on Literacy Learning: The Perception of Early Childhood Education Teachers
Authors: Vergara Diego , Antón-Sancho Álvaro , Maldonado Juan-José , Nieto-Sobrino María
Published: June 2022

In this work, quantitative research is carried out on the importance that educators give to literacy work in early childhood education classrooms and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of facemasks have had on it. To this end, a survey designed for this purpose has been used, which has been passed on to a set of 112 Spanish early childhood educators. The teachers surveyed occupy different positions in the classroom (tutors, support technicians, specialists in bilingualism, therapeutic pedagogy and speech and hearing), and, in addition, they themselves learned to read from different methods of literacy learning (synthetic or analytical). The results found in this study indicate that educators express intermediate evaluations of the importance of literacy work in the classroom, higher if it is done through digital resources, and higher for the synthetic method than for the analytical method. In addition, the impact of the use of masks on literacy learning was rated as very negative. On the other hand, gaps have been identified in the above perceptions by the position occupied in the classroom and by the method used to learn to read. Finally, some actions are suggested to homogenize the perceptions of the different professionals, and some lines of research are proposed.
Improved Body Force Model for Estimating Off-Design Axial Compressor Performance
Authors: Huang Jia , Lv Yongzhao , Xia Aiguo , Zhang Shengliang , Tuo Wei , Xue Hongtao , Sun Yantao , He Xiuran
Published: June 2022

Based on the COMSOL software, body forces substituted into the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations as the source terms instead of the actual blade rows were improved to better predict the compressor performance. Improvements in parallel body force modeling were implemented, central to which were the local flow quantities. This ensured accurate and reliable off-design performance prediction. The parallel force magnitude mainly depended on the meridional entropy gradient extracted from three-dimensional (3D) steady single-passage RANS solutions. The COMSOL software could easily and accurately translate the pitchwise-averaged entropy into the grid points of the body force domain. A NASA Rotor 37 was used to quantify the improved body force model to represent the compressor. Compared with the previous model, the improved body force model was more efficient for the numerical calculations, and it agreed well with the experimental data and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. The results indicate that the improved body force model could quickly and efficiently capture the flow field through a turbomachinery blade row.
Peoples’ Perception towards Nuclear Energy
Authors: Iqbal Meesha , Moss Rae , van Woerden Irene
Published: June 2022

Perception towards nuclear energy is a vital factor determining the success or failure of nuclear projects. An online survey obtained attitudes toward nuclear energy, opinions on whether benefits of nuclear energy outweigh the risks, and views of using nuclear energy as an energy source. A total of 4318 participants from across the U.S. completed the survey. Logistic regression was used to predict perceptions of nuclear energy by participant demographics and geographical location. Participants living closest to Idaho National Laboratory (INL) were more likely to have positive attitudes towards nuclear energy (aOR: 7.18, p < 0.001), believe the benefits were greater than the risks (aOR: 4.90, p < 0.001), and have positive attitudes toward using nuclear energy as an electricity source (aOR: 5.70, p < 0.001), compared to people living farther from INL. Males and non-Hispanic white participants were more likely to have positive perceptions of nuclear energy. Developing and implementing awareness raising campaigns for people living further away from nuclear power plants, targeting females and Hispanic whites, may be key to improving the overall perceptions of nuclear energy.
A Non-Invasive Method Based on AI and Current Measurements for the Detection of Faults in Three-Phase Motors
Authors: Gargiulo Federico , Liccardo Annalisa , Schiano Lo Moriello Rosario
Published: June 2022

Three-phase motors are commonly adopted in several industrial contexts and their failures can result in costly downtime causing undesired service outages; therefore, motor diagnostics is an issue that assumes great importance. To prevent their failures and face the considered service outages in a timely manner, a non-invasive method to identify electrical and mechanical faults in three-phase asynchronous electric motors is proposed in the paper. In particular, a measurement strategy along with a machine learning algorithm based on an artificial neural network is exploited to properly classify failures. In particular, digitized current samples of each motor phase are first processed by means of FFT and PSD in order to estimate the associated spectrum. Suitable features (in terms of frequency and amplitude of the spectral components) are then singled out to either train or feed a neural network acting as a classifier. The method is preliminarily validated on a set of 28 electric motors, and its performance is compared with common state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. The obtained results show that the proposed methodology is able to reach accuracy levels greater than 98% in identifying anomalous conditions of three-phase asynchronous motors.
Influence of Space Charge on Dielectric Property and Breakdown Strength of Polypropylene Dielectrics under Strong Electric Field
Authors: Xing Zhaoliang , Gu Zhenlu , Zhang Chong , Guo Shaowei , Cui Huize , Lei Qingquan , Li Guochang
Published: June 2022

Space charge accumulation in polypropylene (PP) affect the dielectric properties and breakdown strength of the material. The pre-injected charge in PP under the action of different polarity voltage is quantitatively characterized, and the effects of the pre-injected charge inside the dielectric on the dielectric properties and breakdown strength are measured and analyzed. Based on the molecular simulations, the influence mechanism of the temperature on dielectric properties and breakdown are discussed. The experimental results show that the injected charges in PP under the negative polarity voltage is significantly larger than that of the positive polarity. These charges have a great influence on the dielectric constant and breakdown performance of PP, and the effect is different for different charge polarity. The effect of negative polarity pre-voltage conditions on the dielectric constant is much greater than that of positive polarity, and the dielectric constant of PP decreases from 2.2 to 1.3, decreasing about 41% under the negative polarity pre-voltage. By contrast, the dielectric constant slightly increases under the effect of the homopolar preload. Furthermore, the breakdown strength of the dielectric after the heteropolar preload is 249 kV/mm, which is 36% lower than that of PP without pre-voltage, and it slightly increases after the positive polarity pre-voltage. As the temperature increases, the increase in free volume favors the development of electron collision ionization and electron collapse processes, leading to a decrease in breakdown voltage at high temperatures. This work has a good guiding significance for the comprehensive evaluation of energy storage parameters.
The Use of a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) in the Operator Reliability Assessment of the Critical Infrastructure on the Example of Water Supply System
Authors: Boryczko Krzysztof , Szpak Dawid , Żywiec Jakub , Tchórzewska-Cieślak Barbara
Published: June 2022

Background: Specialist literature indicates a large share of the human factor among the causes of failure of technical systems at the level of 70 to 90%, which depends on the sector studied. The collective water supply system is an anthropotechnical system, i.e., it is a complex connection between man and the technical system resulting from the deliberate influence of man on the technical system. Methods: The work presents an assessment of operator reliability of a selected water treatment process based on the fault tree analysis (FTA). Elementary events are determined by the operator’s error probability. Results: A failure tree was prepared for the peak event of the filter station failure, resulting from an operator’s error during the filter washing procedure. The probability of a peak event occurring is 0.0580. Conclusions: The developed fault tree allows for the identification of elementary events leading to an emergency event. The operator fulfills its task of maintaining the continuity of water treatment.
Magnetic Equivalent Circuit Modelling of Synchronous Reluctance Motors
Authors: Jayarajan Rekha , Fernando Nuwantha , Mahmoudi Amin , Ullah Nutkani
Published: June 2022

This paper proposes a modelling technique for Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRMs) based on a generalized Magnetic Equivalent Circuit (MEC). The proposed model can be used in the design of any number of stator teeth, rotor poles, and rotor barrier combinations. This technique allows elimination of infeasible machine solutions during the initial machine sizing stage, resulting in a lower cohort of feasible machine solutions that can be further optimized using finite element methods. Therefore, saturation effects, however, are not considered in the modelling. This paper focuses on modelling a generic structure of the SynRM in modular form and is then extended to a full SynRM model. The proposed model can be iteratively used for any symmetrical rotor pole and stator teeth combination. The developed technique is applied to model a 4-pole, 36 slot SynRM as an example, and the implemented model is executed following a time stepping strategy. The motor characteristics such as flux distribution and torque of the developed SynRM model is compared with finite elemental analysis (FEA) simulation results.
Use of High-Frequency Ultrasound Waves for Boiler Water Demineralization/Desalination Treatment
Authors: Brandão Yago Fraga Ferreira , dos Santos Leonardo Bandeira , de Araújo Gleice Paula , Pedrosa Júnior Leonildo Pereira , da Costa Neto Benjamim Francisco , da Silva Rita de Cássia Freire Soares , Benachour Mohand , Converti Attilio , Sarubbo Leonie Asfora , dos Santos Valdemir Alexandre
Published: June 2022

Isolated ultrasonic vibrations were used to treat feed water from a 20 bar steam-producing water tube boiler. Physical treatments such as ultrasounds and reverse osmosis (RO) are recommended as the most eco-friendly for this purpose. A novel bench-scale prototype delivering 6 L/h of treated water was designed and built. The ultrasonic atomization of raw water with 1.7 MHz piezoelectric transducers and subsequent humidification and dehumidification of drag airflow was the innovating sequence of operations used as a treatment technique. To ensure greater humidification capacity to the drag air, the energy available from the thermal inertia of the liquid column (raw water) in the prototype vaporization chamber was used to heat this air flow. After a single pass of raw water through the bench-scale prototype, a 98.0% reduction in conductivity and a 99.0% decrease in the content of total dissolved solids were obtained at a drag air temperature of 70 °C. Compared to RO, two of the main advantages of the proposed ultrasonic wave method are the elimination of the use of chemical agents in the pre-treatment phase and a significant reduction in maintenance costs by membrane replacement.
Selection of Planning Options of Electricity and Freshwater Cogeneration Method Based on High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor
Authors: Gao Liben , Dong Yujie , Guo Huiping
Published: June 2022

The lack of fresh water in the world has become a growing concern. As an open-source incremental technology for water resources, desalination has become an important method to solve the global water crisis. Based on the inherent safety, versatility, modularity, and advantages of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, the Saudi Arabia desalination project is the relying background. This paper proposes a complete solution for the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor power and water coproduction project by selecting a combination of process-proven multi-effect distillation (MED) and reverse osmosis (RO). In the scheme, a tertiary circuit is designed for the isolation of radioactive entities. An innovative comparative analysis of the engineering investment and production costs of different desalination technologies, such as MED and RO, and a comparison of the investment estimates of the “thermal” and “membrane” methods for the production of 10,000 tonnes of fresh water per day are performed. The feasibility and energy efficiency of the multi-effect distillation–reverse osmosis (MED-RO) scheme are presented, demonstrating the feasibility and practicality of the above approach.
Influence of Compartment Fire Behavior at Ignition and Combustion Development Stages on the Operation of Fire Detectors
Authors: Zhdanova Alena , Volkov Roman , Sviridenko Aleksandr , Kuznetsov Geniy , Strizhak Pavel
Published: June 2022

This paper presents experimental research findings for those involved in the early phase of fire in office buildings. Class A model fires with a reaction area from 5 cm2 to 300 cm2 were chosen for investigation. To mock up a fire, the following combustible materials typical of offices were used: wood pieces, heat-insulated linoleum, paper and cardboard. The main characteristics of a model fire were recorded: temperature in the combustion zone, heat release, time of complete burnout and concentration of flue gas components. Typical trends and histograms of changes of these characteristics over time were presented; stages of ignition, flame combustion and smoldering were illustrated. The key characteristics of fire detector activation at different stages of model fire combustion were analyzed. Dead bands and operation conditions of a group of detectors (smoke, heat, optical, flame), their response time and errors were identified. It has been established that the most effective detectors are flame and smoke detectors. Specific operational aspects of detectors were established when recording the ignition of different types of model fires. The viability of combining at least two detectors to record fire behavior was established. Recommendations were made on using the obtained findings when optimizing the systems for detecting and recording the start of a compartment fire.
A New Approach to Compare the Strong Convergence of the Milstein Scheme with the Approximate Coupling Method
Authors: Alnafisah Yousef
Published: June 2022

Milstein and approximate coupling approaches are compared for the pathwise numerical solutions to stochastic differential equations (SDE) driven by Brownian motion. These methods attain an order one convergence under the nondegeneracy assumption of the diffusion term for the approximate coupling method. We use MATLAB to simulate these methods by applying them to a particular two-dimensional SDE. Then, we analyze the performance of both methods and the amount of time required to obtain the result. This comparison is essential in several areas, such as stochastic analysis, financial mathematics, and some biological applications.
States of Intimacy: Refugee Parents, Anxiety, and the Spectral State in Denmark
Authors: Bregnbæk Susanne
Published: June 2022

This article examines the ways in which parenting practices of refugee parents are the object of concern for the Danish welfare state. Emphasis is placed on how interventions of daycare institutions and other welfare professionals have been experienced by refugee families who live in a context of radical uncertainty since they hold temporary residence permits in Denmark. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with families spanning several years, I analyze the experiences of a number of refugee families from Syria and Iran. Drawing on what has been called “the spectral turn” or “hauntology” in anthropology, I argue that welfare state belonging causes ambiguity for families who appreciate protection and sometimes family-like care from state agents but also fear its repercussions. As a result, I argue that relationships between refugee parents and agents of the welfare state are characterized not only by “fear of proximity” but also by “intimate distance”, since refugee parents experience “the system” as being nowhere in particular but potentially everywhere.
Vasa Is a Potential Germ Cell Marker in Leopard Coral Grouper (Plectropomus leopardus)
Authors: Wang Mingyi , Ding Hui , Wu Shaoxuan , Wang Mengya , Wei Cun , Wang Bo , Bao Zhenmin , Hu Jingjie
Published: June 2022

Vasa (Ddx4, DEAD box polypeptide 4), an extremely specific marker of germ cells in vivo, is an ATP-dependent RNA helicase that plays an essential role in germ cell development and gametogenesis. However, the expression and function information about this gene in groupers remains lacking. Here, vasa homolog termed Plvasa was isolated and identified Plvasa as a putative germ cell marker in the leopard coral grouper, (Plectropomus leopardus). Results indicated that Plvasa contained 17 exons in the genomic sequence and 9 conserved motifs of the DEAD-box protein by sequence analysis. The sequence comparison, phylogenetic analyses and synteny analyses showed that Plvasa was homologous with other teleosts. Additionally, the expression of Plvasa was significantly higher in gonads than in other tissues in adult individuals (p < 0.05). Further, the distribution of Plvasa revealed that it was only expressed in the germ cells, such as spermatids, germline stem cells and oocytes at different stages, and could not be detected in the somatic cells of gonads. The current study verified that the Plvasa gene is a valuable molecular marker of germ cells in leopard coral grouper, which potentially plays an important role in investigating the genesis and development of teleost germ cells.
Antioxidant Activity of Phenolic Extraction from Different Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) Blades and Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes of Phenolic Metabolism in Two Genotypes
Authors: Chen Peitao , Ran Hairong , Li Jiaxin , Zong Jikai , Luo Qingqing , Zhao Tengfei , Liao Zhihua , Tang Yueli , Fu Yufan
Published: June 2022

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), which has a complex genome, is one of the most important storage root crops in the world. Sweetpotato blades are considered as a potential source of natural antioxidants owing to their high phenolic content with powerful free radical scavenging ability. The molecular mechanism of phenolic metabolism in sweetpotato blades has been seldom reported thus far. In this work, 23 sweetpotato genotypes were used for the analysis of their antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). ‘Shangshu19’ and ‘Wan1314-6’ were used for RNA-seq. The results showed that antioxidant activity, TPC and TFC of 23 genotypes had significant difference. There was a significant positive correlation between TPC, TFC and antioxidant activity. The RNA-seq analysis results of two genotypes, ‘Shangshu19’ and ‘Wan1314-6’, which had significant differences in antioxidant activity, TPC and TFC, showed that there were 7810 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two genotypes. Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis was the main differential pathway, and upregulated genes were mainly annotated to chlorogenic acid, flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis pathways. Our results establish a theoretical and practical basis for sweetpotato breeding with antioxidant activity and phenolics in the blades and provide a theoretical basis for the study of phenolic metabolism engineering in sweetpotato blade.
Transcriptome and Differentially Expressed Gene Profiles in Mycelium, Primordium and Fruiting Body Development in Stropharia rugosoannulata
Authors: Hao Haibo , Zhang Jinjing , Wang Qian , Huang Jianchun , Juan Jiaxiang , Kuai Benke , Feng Zhiyong , Chen Hui
Published: June 2022

Stropharia rugosoannulata uses straw as a growth substrate during artificial cultivation and has been widely promoted in China. However, its fruiting body formation and development processes have not been elucidated. In this study, the developmental transcriptomes were analyzed at three stages: the mycelium (G-S), primordium (P-S) and fruiting body (M-F) stages. A total of 9690 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the different developmental stages. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses showed that these DEGs were involved mainly in hydrolase activity, structural molecule activity and oxidoreductase activity as well as xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism and energy metabolism pathways. We further found that the higher expression of most carbohydrate enzyme (i.e., GH, CE, CBM, AA and PL) genes in the hyphal (i.e., G-S) stage was related mainly to substrate degradation, while the upregulation of glycosyltransferase (GT) gene expression in the P-S and M-F stages may be related to cell wall synthesis. In addition, we found that CO2-sensing-related genes (i.e., CA-2, CA-3, PKA-1 and PKA-2) were upregulated in the P-S and M-F stages, heat shock protein genes (HSP60 and HSP90) were significantly downregulated in the P-S stage and upregulated in the M-F stage and the transcription factors (i.e., steA, MYB, nosA, HAP1, and GATA-4/5/6) involved in growth and development were significantly upregulated in the P-S stage. These results suggest that environmental factors (i.e., CO2 and temperature) and transcription factors may play a key role in primordium formation. In short, this study provides new insights into the study of stimulating primordia formation affecting the development of fruiting bodies of S. rugosoannulata.
Influence of Vermicompost Application on the Growth of Vinca rosea valiant, Pelargonium peltatum L. and Pegasus patio rose
Authors: Esringü Aslihan , Turan Metin , Sushkova Svetlana , Minkina Tatiana , Rajput Vishnu D. , Glinushkin Alexey , Kalinitchenko Valery
Published: June 2022

Vermicompost (VC) is a nutrient-rich material that is mixed with soil, and it is used in this study. Four different environments were created such as control (Soil:VC:100–0%), mix one (Soil:VC:70–30% w/w), mix two (Soil:VC:50–50% w/w), and mix three (Soil:VC:40:60% w/w), and three well-developed roses (Vinca rosea valiant, Pelargonium peltatum, Pegasus patio) seedlings were transferred to individual pots. Plant growth parameters, i.e., the number of flowers, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll reading value, fresh flower weight, and flower dry weight height, were compared with respect to control seedlings. The improvement in the number of flowers, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll reading value, fresh flower weight, and flower dry weight height by 264, 71, 58, 255, and 193% for Vinca rosea valiant rosea, 138, 12, 160, 13, 55 and 112% for P. patio rose, and 50, 14, 23, 8, 61, and 41% for P. peltatum, respectively, grown in soil mixed with VC as compared to control. As a result of the research, the optimum growth parameter values and chlorophyll Meter SPAD values were obtained from the mix-three mediums for all three roses species. These results showed that 40% soil and 60% VC application could be proposed as the most effective medium in ornamental plant production.