bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on the Contamination Characteristics of V-Type Double Suspension Rod Insulators Based on the Influence of Wake Flow
Authors: Zhao Shanpeng , Wang Tianyu , Zhang Youpeng , Liu Yuantao
Published: August 2022

The insulators of the catenary of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway in windy areas suffer from serious contamination, which has led to frequent flashover accidents. The catenary of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway has adopted the unique external insulation of V-type double suspension rod insulators. To further determine the contamination characteristics of this type of insulator, a contamination simulation model of insulator is established in this paper based on the principles of fluid mechanics, which is used to analyze the contamination characteristics of the V-type double suspension rod insulators under the influence of wake flow. The research results show that wind speed directly determines the static pressure on the surface of the insulator, the wind speed and particle concentration are proportional to the contamination volumes on the windward and crosswind sides of insulator, while the particle size is inversely proportional to the contamination volume on the leeward side of the insulator. The direction of wake flow is consistent with the direction angle of external incoming flow, and the wake flow generating area affects the contamination characteristics of the insulator. When the incoming flow is at a prevailing wind direction of 0°, focus should be put on the windward and crosswind sides of the two insulators during insulator cleaning, and the contamination distributions on these two insulators are similar; when the incoming flow is at a prevailing wind elevation of 0°∼60°, focus should be put on the entire surface of 1# insulator and the windward and crosswind sides of 2# insulator during insulator cleaning.
Development of a Self-diagnostic System Integrated into a Cyber-Physical System
Authors: Oliveira Domingos F. , Gomes João P. , Pereira Ricardo B. , Brito Miguel A. , Machado Ricardo J.
Published: August 2022

CONTROLAR provides Bosch with an intelligent functional testing machine used to test the correct functioning of the car radios produced. During this process, the radios are submitted to several tests, raising the problem of how the machine detects errors in several radios consecutively, making it impossible to know if the device has a problem since it has no module to see if it works correctly. This article arises from the need to find a solution to solve this problem, which was to develop a self-diagnostic system that will ensure the reliability and integrity of the cyber-physical system, passing a detailed state of the art. The development of this system was based on the design of an architecture that combines the KDT methodology with a DSL to manage and configure the tests to integrate the self-diagnostic test system into a CPS. A total of 28 test cases were performed to cover all its functionalities. The results show that all test cases passed. Therefore, the system meets all the proposed objectives.
A State-of-the-Art Review on the Alternatives to Animal Testing for the Safety Assessment of Cosmetics
Authors: Silva Rita José , Tamburic Slobodanka
Published: August 2022

Almost a decade after the stipulated deadline in the 7th amendment to the EU Cosmetics Directive, which bans the marketing of animal-tested cosmetics in the EU from 2013, animal experimentation for cosmetic-related purposes remains a topic of animated debate. Cosmetic industry continues to be scrutinised for the practice, despite its leading role in funding and adopting innovation in this field. This paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of the field on alternative testing methods, also known as New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), with the focus on assessing the safety of cosmetic ingredients and products. It starts with innovation drivers and global regulatory responses, followed by an extensive, endpoint-specific overview of accepted/prospective NAMs. The overview covers main developments in acute toxicity, skin corrosion/irritation, serious eye damage/irritation, skin sensitisation, repeated dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity/endocrine disruption, mutagenicity/genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, photo-induced toxicity, and toxicokinetics. Specific attention was paid to the emerging in silico methodology. This paper also provides a brief overview of the studies on public perception of animal testing in cosmetics. It concludes with a view that educating consumers and inviting them to take part in advocacy could be an effective tool to achieve policy changes, regulatory acceptance, and investment in innovation.
Nutritional Content, Phytochemical Profiling, and Physical Properties of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Seeds for Promotion of Dietary and Food Ingredient Biodiversity
Authors: Neacsu Madalina , De Lima Sampaio Shirley , Hayes Helen E. , Duncan Gary J. , Vaughan Nicholas J. , Russell Wendy R. , Raikos Vassilios
Published: August 2022

The adoption of food crops as a source of dietary macro- and micro-nutrients is a sustainable way to promote diet biodiversity and health while being respectful to the environment. The aim of this work was to comprehensively characterize the nutrient and phytochemical content of buckwheat seeds (Fagopyrum esculentum) and assess their physical properties for the evaluation of their suitability as food ingredients. The buckwheat samples were found to be complete sources of amino acids (UPLC-TUV analysis), with a protein content between 11.71 ± 0.40% and 14.13 ± 0.50% (Vario Max CN analysis), and a source of insoluble fiber with 11.05 ± 0.25 %, in the UK hulled samples (GC analysis). The buckwheat samples were rich in phosphorus, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, magnesium, and selenium (ICP-MS analysis). A total of 196 plant metabolites were detected using HPLC and LCMS analysis, with anthocyanidins (pelargonidin and cyanidin) being the most abundant phenolic molecules that were measured in all the buckwheat samples. Removing the hull was beneficial for increasing the powder bulk density, whereas the hulled buckwheat samples were more easily rehydrated. The implementation of buckwheat as a staple food crop has enormous potential for the food industry, human nutrition, and diet diversification and could contribute towards meeting the daily recommendation for dietary fiber, essential amino acids, and minerals in Western-style diet countries such as the UK.
Tolerance and Adaptability of Tomato Genotypes to Saline Irrigation
Authors: Da Silva Oliveira Carlos Eduardo , Zoz Tiago , Jalal Arshad , Vendruscolo Eduardo Pradi , Nogueira Thiago Assis Rodrigues , Jani Arun Dilipkumar , Teixeira Filho Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto
Published: August 2022

High salt concentration in irrigation water is often a limiting factor to tomato production in Brazil. However, there is limited information available regarding the tolerance of tomato genotypes to saline irrigation. An experiment was conducted in a protected environment using a randomized block design with four replications. Treatments consisted of 12 tomato genotypes cultivated in an environment with varying levels of salt stress. Moderate and severe salt stress affected plant height, transversal and longitudinal diameter of fruit, fresh mass, yield, and number of tomato fruit per plant. Cluster analysis, stability, and adaptability provided the best estimates to identify the most adaptable genotype to saline stress, with the genotypes Maestrina, Onix, Pizzadoro, and Shanty being the best adapted to moderate and severe saline stress conditions. The genotypes Maestrina, Onix, Pizzadoro, and Shanty were identified as most adaptable to and stable under salt stress. Sodium absorption increased as irrigation salinity increased. In addition, P, K, and Ca concentration decreased under salt stress, which caused damage to all yield components and plant nutrition. The genotype Onix was more tolerant to the effects of moderate saline irrigation, while the genotypes Sheena, Sperare, Santa Clara, IPA 6, and Dominador had lower losses under severe salt stress conditions.
Study of the Sorption Properties of Natural Zeolite in Relation to Indium(III) and Gallium(III) Cations on the Model Systems
Authors: Sultanbayeva Gita , Agatayeva Aktolkyn , Kaiynbayeva Raushan , Kozhabekova Nazym , Chernyakova Raisa , Jussipbekov Umirzak
Published: August 2022

This paper presents the systematic studies of the sorption capacity of natural zeolite with respect to In3+ and Ga3+ cations in the model systems “natural zeolite–In3+–H2O” and “natural zeolite–In3+–Ga3+–H2O”, while varying a number of the main process factors. The patterns of sorption of In3+ and Ga3+ cations by the natural zeolite of the Shankanai deposit are revealed, depending on the zeolite vs. solution ratio, temperature, and time. It is shown that the sorption of In3+ cations by natural zeolite can be controlled by the process duration. The longer the process, the less the sorption by natural zeolite. It has been found that the sorption of In3+ cations in the “natural zeolite–In3+–Ga3+–H2O” model system depends on the amount of zeolite and temperature, and the sorption of Ga3+ cations depends on the temperature and time. The physicochemical characteristics of the spent sorbents confirm the sorption of the cations, present in the systems under study.
Transcriptome Profiles of Circular RNAs in Common Wheat during Fusarium Head Blight Disease
Authors: Yin Junliang , Han Xiaowen , Zhu Yongxing , Fang Zhengwu , Gao Derong , Ma Dongfang
Published: August 2022

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed RNA molecules, and have been identified in many crops. However, there are few datasets for circRNA junctions from common wheat during Fusarium head blight disease. In the present study, we used RNA-seq to determine the changes in circRNAs among the control (CK) and 1, 3, and 5 days post-Fusarium graminearum inoculation (dpi) samples. More than one billion reads were produced from 12 libraries, and 99.99% of the reads were successfully mapped to a wheat reference genome. In total, 2091 high-confidence circRNAs—which had two or more junction reads and were supported by at least two circRNA identification algorithms—were detected. The completed expression profiling revealed a distinct expression pattern of circRNAs among the CK, 1dpi, 3dpi and 5dpi samples. This study provides a valuable resource for identifying F. graminearum infection-responsive circRNAs in wheat and for further functional characterization of circRNAs that participated in the Fusarium head blight disease response of wheat.
Immune-Related Uncommon Adverse Events in Patients with Cancer Treated with Immunotherapy
Authors: Albarrán-Artahona Víctor , Laguna Juan-Carlos , Gorría Teresa , Torres-Jiménez Javier , Pascal Mariona , Mezquita Laura
Published: August 2022

Immunotherapy has dramatically changed the therapeutic landscape of oncology, and has become standard of care in multiple cancer types in front or late lines of therapy, with some longstanding responses and outstanding results. Notwithstanding, its use has brought a totally unique spectrum of adverse events, characterized by a myriad of diverse manifestations affecting nearly every organ and system of the body, including the endocrine, nervous, cardiac, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. Uncommon adverse events, defined as those occurring in less than 1% of patients, comprise an even more heterogeneous group of diseases that are being seen more recurrently as the use of immune check-point inhibitors increases and indications spread in different tumor types and stages. Here, we comprehensively review some uncommon, but exceedingly important, immune-related adverse events, with special emphasis in the clinical approach and diagnostic workup, aiming to reunite the evidence published previously, allowing an increase in awareness and knowledge from all specialists implicated in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of cancer patients treated with immunotherapy.
Colon Capsule Endoscopy in the Diagnosis of Colon Polyps: Who Needs a Colonoscopy?
Authors: Koffas Apostolos , Papaefthymiou Apostolis , Laskaratos Faidon-Marios , Kapsoritakis Andreas , Epstein Owen
Published: August 2022

Colon screening programs have reduced colon cancer mortality. Population screening should be minimally invasive, safe, acceptably sensitive, cost-effective, and scalable. The range of screening modalities include guaiac or immunochemical fecal occult blood testing and CT colonography and colonoscopy. A number of carefully controlled studies concur that second-generation capsule endoscopy has excellent sensitivity for polyp detection and a high negative predictive value. Colon capsules fulfill the screening expectation of safety, high sensitivity for polyp detection, and patient acceptance, and appear to straddle the divide between occult blood testing and colonoscopy. While meeting these criteria, there remains the challenges of scaling, capsule practitioner training, resource allocation, and implementing change of practice. Like CT colonography, capsule screening presents the clinician with a decision on the threshold for colonoscopy referral. Overall, colon capsules are an invaluable tool in polyp detection and colon screening and offer a filter that determines “who needs a colonoscopy?”.
Encapsulated Papillary Carcinoma: A Rare Case Report and Its Imaging Features
Authors: Ahmad Noorzuliana , Shantini Arasaratnam A. , Rizuana Iqbal Hussain , Rohaizak Muhammad
Published: August 2022

Papillary lesions in the breasts are uncommon and have a wide range of pathologies. Due to diverse non-specific findings radiologically and histologically, papillary neoplasms are always a challenge to radiologists. Encapsulated papillary carcinomas (EPCs) of the breast, also known as intracystic papillary carcinomas, are a subgroup of intraductal papillary lesions of the breast. We present a case of a painless right breast lump with the aim to describe a rare encapsulated papillary carcinoma and its imaging features.
Effect of Extending Corticotomy Depth to Trabecular Bone on Accelerating Orthodontic Tooth Movement in Rats
Authors: Pathomkulmai Thanapat , Chanmanee Pannapat , Samruajbenjakun Bancha
Published: August 2022

Corticotomy is a surgical procedure that induces injury to the cortical bone to accelerate tooth movement. This study aimed to increase the depth of corticotomy to the trabecular bone and to evaluate the amount and rate of tooth movement and alveolar bone changes in response to various degrees of cortical and trabecular bone injury. Seventy-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups based on procedure used: (1) baseline control group of orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) only; (2) OTM + 4 corticotomies (CO); (3) OTM + 4 osteotomies (OS); and (4) OTM + 16 CO. A closed-coil nickel–titanium spring was placed to move the maxillary first molar mesially with a 10 g force. On days 0, 7, 14, and 21, alveolar bone alteration and tooth movement were measured using microcomputed tomography. Significant tooth movement was related to the number and the depth of the perforations. The OTM + 16 CO group showed a greater amount and rate of tooth movement than the OTM + 4 CO group. When osteotomy and corticotomy were compared with the same volume of bone removed, the OTM + 4 OS group had a faster rate of tooth movement than the OTM + 16 CO group during the first week, with significantly reduced bone volume. However, no significant difference was observed in the amount of tooth movement between the OTM + 4 OS and OTM + 16 CO groups at the end of the study. Extending the depth of corticotomy to trabecular bone increased the amount of tooth movement by accelerating the induction and completion of bone remodeling, which accelerated the rate of tooth movement during the initial stage.
Labour Share Convergence in the European Union
Authors: Prohorovs Anatolijs , Bistrova Julija
Published: August 2022

The article examines the issue of labour share convergence between Western Europe (EU15) and Central and Eastern Europe (EU11). The results of our research show that for the period of 2009–2018, the convergence of labour share between the EU11 and the EU15 at the aggregate level was almost 40%. At the sectoral level, convergence of labour share between the EU11 and the EU15 occurred in three of the four main sectors—manufacturing, services, and construction—while there was a divergence in the trade sector. At the sectoral level, the highest level of convergence occurred in manufacturing—over 89.7%. In the service sector, the convergence of labour share was almost 45%, but this was mainly due to the fact that in the information and communication industry, the convergence was almost 87.8%. We have determined that for a number of sectors and industries there is an inverse relationship between the level of labour share and its dynamics, which influences the convergence of labour share between the EU11 and the EU15. We also determined that during the period under review, the level of convergence of labour share between the EU11 and the EU15 was five times higher than the level of convergence of the economy and ascertained the main reasons for the labour share convergence being higher than the economy convergence.
0.4-V, 81.3-nA Bulk-Driven Single-Stage CMOS OTA with Enhanced Transconductance
Authors: Ballo Andrea , Grasso Alfio Dario , Pennisi Salvatore
Published: August 2022

The paper describes a single-stage operational transconductance amplifier suitable for very-low-voltage operation in power-constrained applications. The proposed circuit avoids the tail current generator in the differential pair while preventing pseudo-differential operation. Moreover, the adoption of positive feedback allows increasing the stage transconductance while minimizing the current consumption. Experimental measurements on prototypes implemented in a standard CMOS 180-nm technology, show superior performance as compared to the state of the art.
A Comparative Analysis of SVM and ELM Classification on Software Reliability Prediction Model
Authors: Rath Suneel Kumar , Sahu Madhusmita , Das Shom Prasad , Bisoy Sukant Kishoro , Sain Mangal
Published: August 2022

By creating an effective prediction model, software defect prediction seeks to predict potential flaws in new software modules in advance. However, unnecessary and duplicated features can degrade the model’s performance. Furthermore, past research has primarily used standard machine learning techniques for fault prediction, and the accuracy of the predictions has not been satisfactory. Extreme learning machines (ELM) and support vector machines (SVM) have been demonstrated to be viable in a variety of fields, although their usage in software dependability prediction is still uncommon. We present an SVM and ELM-based algorithm for software reliability prediction in this research, and we investigate factors that influence prediction accuracy. These worries incorporate, first, whether all previous disappointment information ought to be utilized and second, which type of disappointment information is more fitting for expectation precision. In this article, we also examine the accuracy and time of SVM and ELM-based software dependability prediction models. Then, after the comparison, we receive experimental results that demonstrate that the ELM-based reliability prediction model may achieve higher prediction accuracy with other parameters, such as specificity, recall, precision, and F1-measure. In this article, we also propose a model for how feature selection utilization with ELM and SVM. For testing, we used NASA Metrics datasets. Further, in both technologies, we are implementing feature selection techniques to get the best result in our experiment. Due to the imbalance in our dataset, we initially applied the resampling method before implementing feature selection techniques to obtain the highest accuracy.
Assessment of Compressed and Decompressed ECG Databases for Telecardiology Applying a Convolution Neural Network
Authors: Soni Ekta , Nagpal Arpita , Garg Puneet , Pinheiro Plácido Rogerio
Published: August 2022

Incalculable numbers of patients in hospitals as a result of COVID-19 made the screening of heart patients arduous. Patients who need regular heart monitoring were affected the most. Telecardiology is used for regular remote heart monitoring of such patients. However, the resultant huge electrocardiogram (ECG) data obtained through regular monitoring affects available storage space and transmission bandwidth. These signals can take less space if stored or sent in a compressed form. To recover them at the receiver end, they are decompressed. We have combined telecardiology with automatic ECG arrhythmia classification using CNN and proposed an algorithm named TELecardiology using a Deep Convolution Neural Network (TELDCNN). Discrete cosine transform (DCT), 16-bit quantization, and run length encoding (RLE) were used for compression, and a convolution neural network (CNN) was applied for classification. The database was formed by combining real-time signals (taken from a designed ECG device) with an online database from Physionet. Four kinds of databases were considered and classified. The attained compression ratio was 2.56, and the classification accuracies for compressed and decompressed databases were 0.966 and 0.990, respectively. Comparing the classification performance of compressed and decompressed databases shows that the decompressed signals can classify the arrhythmias more appropriately than their compressed-only form, although at the cost of increased computational time.
Occluded Vehicle Detection via Multi-Scale Hybrid Attention Mechanism in the Road Scene
Authors: Deng Tianmin , Liu Xuhui , Wang Li
Published: August 2022

The obstruction of vehicles by surrounding vehicles, obstacles, etc. is a common phenomenon in the practical application of automatic driving. In view of the problem that the vehicle’s vision is affected by the occlusion, the vehicle feature information is incomplete, resulting in the low detection accuracy of the occlusion vehicle, and the occlusion vehicle detection method based on the multi-scale hybrid attention mechanism is proposed. The paper aims to fully excavate the advantages of multi-scale feature extraction, channel/space attention and other modules, and to design a multi-scale hybrid attention module suitable for occlusion vehicle detection to improve the detection accuracy of occlusion vehicles. Multi-scale features are enriched by the grouping convolution of different sizes of multi-scale feature extraction networks, and the parallel connection channels and spatial attention modules form different scale hybrid domain attention modules, which enhance the local feature information of the occluded vehicles and realize the reinforcement learning of multi-scale features and the suppression of occlusion interference information. Experimental results show that in the self-made occlusion vehicle dataset and the BDD100K occlusion vehicle dataset, the average mean accuracy of this method is 95.2% and 59.3%, respectively, which is 1.5% and 2.9% higher than that of the baseline network YOLOv5, respectively.
A Blockchain-Based and SGX-Enabled Access Control Framework for IoT
Authors: Han Jiujiang , Zhang Yuxiang , Liu Jian , Li Ziyuan , Xian Ming , Wang Huimei , Mao Feilong , Chen Yu
Published: August 2022

With the rapid development of physical networks, tens of billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices have been deployed worldwide. Access control is essential in the IoT system, which manages user access to vital IoT data. However, access control for the IoT is mainly based on centralized trusted servers, which face problems such as a single point of failure and data leakage. To tackle these challenges, we propose an access control framework for the IoT by combining blockchain and Intel software guard extension (SGX) technology. A blockchain validates both IoT devices and edge servers added to the network. The access control contract is deployed on the blockchain, which can manage attribute-based access control policies in a fine-grained manner and make access control decisions flexibly. SGX technology is introduced into the edge computing server to realize the confidentiality of data processing. Finally, we implemented the prototype of the framework on Quorum and conducted extensive experiments and theoretical analyses on the performance of the blockchain. The results of the experimental tests and theoretical analyses show that our framework has more advantages in computing costs and on-chain storage costs.
Modeling Push–Pull Converter for Efficiency Improvement
Authors: Ivanovic Zeljko , Knezic Mladen
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we model and analyze the power losses of push–pull converters. The proposed model considers conduction and dynamic power losses, as well as transformer and inductor losses. Transformer and inductor models include skin and proximity effects, as well as power losses in the core. Moreover, the model includes the diode recovery time losses. We derived the equations for both continuous and discontinuous current operating modes. All model parameters can be obtained either from the datasheets of the used components or by simple measurement techniques. The model is verified experimentally by measuring the efficiency of the 500 W push–pull converter prototype. Simulations and experimental validation are conducted using the assumption that the converter is used in a permanent magnet (PM) wind turbine generator.
A Comparative Study of Software Defined Networking Controllers Using Mininet
Authors: Gupta Neelam , Maashi Mashael S. , Tanwar Sarvesh , Badotra Sumit , Aljebreen Mohammed , Bharany Salil
Published: August 2022

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a relatively new networking architecture that has become the most widely discussed networking technology in recent years and the latest development in the field of developing digital networks, which aims to break down the traditional connection in the middle of the control surface and the infrastructure surface. The goal of this separation is to make resources more manageable, secure, and controllable. As a result, many controllers such as Beacon, Floodlight, Ryu, OpenDayLight (ODL), Open Network Operating System (ONOS), NOX, as well as Pox, have been developed. The selection of the finest-fit controller has evolved into an application-specific tool operation due to the large range of SDN applications and controllers. This paper discusses SDN, a new paradigm of networking in which the architecture transitions from a completely distributed form to a more centralized form and evaluates and contrasts the effects of various SDN controllers on SDN. This report examines some SDN controllers or the network’s “brains,” shows how they differ from one another, and compares them to see which is best overall. The presentation of SDN controllers such as Ryu, ODL, and others is compared by utilizing the Mininet simulation environment. In this study, we offer a variety of controllers before introducing the tools used in the paper: Mininet. Then, we run an experiment to show how to use ODL to establish a custom network topology on a Mininet. The experimental results show that the O controller, with its larger bandwidth and reduced latency, outperforms other controllers in all topologies (both the default topology and a custom topology with ODL).
Insight into the Characterization of Volatile Compounds in Smoke-Flavored Sea Bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) during Processing via HS-SPME-GC-MS and HS-GC-IMS
Authors: Feng Hua , Timira Vaileth , Zhao Jinlong , Lin Hong , Wang Hao , Li Zhenxing
Published: August 2022

The present study aimed to ascertain how the volatile compounds changed throughout various processing steps when producing a smoke-flavored sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus). The volatile compounds in different production steps were characterized by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). A total of 85 compounds were identified, and 25 compounds that may be considered as potential key compounds were screened by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Results indicated that aldehydes were the major volatile compounds throughout the processing. The characteristic volatile compound in fresh samples was hexanol, and curing was an effective method to remove the fishy flavor. The concentration of volatile compounds was significantly higher in dried, smoked, and heated samples than in fresh and salted samples. Aldehydes accumulated because of the drying process, especially heptanal and hexanal. Smoke flavoring was an important stage in imparting smoked flavor, where phenols, furans and ketones were enriched, and heating leads to the breakdown of aldehydes and alcohols. This study will provide a theoretical basis for improving the quality of smoke-flavored sea bass products in the future.
Antioxidant Activity of Vitis davidii Foex Seed and Its Effects on Gut Microbiota during Colonic Fermentation after In Vitro Simulated Digestion
Authors: Ma Huiqin , Hou Aixiang , Tang Jiaojiao , Zhong Aiai , Li Ke , Xiao Yu , Li Zongjun
Published: August 2022

Vitis davidii Foex whole seed (VWS) is a by-product during the processing of grape products, which is rich in bioactive compounds that have great potential in the food industry. In this study, the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of VWS were determined, and their dynamic changes during in vitro colonic fermentation were also investigated after VWS subjected to in vitro simulated digestion. Results showed that VWS were rich in polyphenols (23.67 ± 0.52 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (13.13 ± 1.22 mg RE/g), and proanthocyanidins (8.36 ± 0.14 mg CE/g). It also had good DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, which reached 82.10% and 76.10% at 1000 μg/mL. The alteration trend of the antioxidant activity during in vitro fermentation for 24 h was consistent with that of the content of bioactive substances, such as polyphenols, with the extension of fermentation time. The bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing, reaching the highest value at 8 h. The high-throughput sequencing analysis of the regulatory effect of VWS on intestinal micro-organisms revealed that VWS influenced intestinal microbiota diversity. The relative abundance of beneficial microbiota, such as Blautia and Parabacteroides, increased by 4.1- and 1.65-fold after 24 h of fermentation compared with that of the control group. It also reduced Escherichia-Shigella by 11.23% and effectively reduced host inflammation, while increasing the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid, and other metabolites. Taken together, these results reveal the value of VWS utilization and provide new insights into the nutritional and microbiota modulation effects of VWS, which could therefore serve as a nutraceutical ingredient in health promotion.
In Vitro Toxicity Studies of Bioactive Organosulfur Compounds from Allium spp. with Potential Application in the Agri-Food Industry: A Review
Authors: Cascajosa-Lira Antonio , Andreo-Martínez Pedro , Prieto Ana Isabel , Baños Alberto , Guillamón Enrique , Jos Angeles , Cameán Ana M.
Published: August 2022

Organosulfur compounds (OSCs) are secondary metabolites produced by different Allium species which present important biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, antispasmodic, etc. In recent years, their use has been promoted in the agri-food industry as a substitute for synthetic preservatives, increasing potential accumulative exposure to consumers. Before their application in the food industry, it is necessary to pass a safety assessment as specified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This work reviews the scientific literature on OSCs regarding their in vitro toxicity evaluation following PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Four electronic research databases were searched (Web of Science, Scopus, Science Database and PubMed) and a total of 43 works were selected according to predeterminate inclusion and exclusion criteria. Different data items and the risk of bias for each study were included. Currently, there are very few in vitro studies focused on investigating the potential toxicity of OSCs. Most research studies aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of OSCs to elucidate their antiproliferative effects focusing on their therapeutic aspects using cancer cell lines as the main experimental model. The results showed that diallyl disulfide (DADS) is the compound most studied, followed by diallyl trisulfide (DATS), diallyl sulfide (DAS), Allicin and Ajoene. Only 4 studies have been performed specifically to explore the safety of OSCs for agri-food applications, and genotoxicity studies are limited. More toxicity studies of OSCs are necessary to ensure consumers safety and should mainly be focused on the evaluation of genotoxicity and long-term toxicity effects.
Impact of Native Form Oat β-Glucan on the Physical and Starch Digestive Properties of Whole Oat Bread
Authors: Hu Han , Lin Huihui , Xiao Lei , Guo Minqi , Yan Xi , Su Xueqian , Liu Lianliang , Sang Shangyuan
Published: August 2022

To investigate the effect of oat bran on bread quality and the mechanism of reducing the glycemic index (GI) of bread, wheat bran (10%, w/w, flour basis), oat bran (10%), and β-glucan (0.858%) were individually added to determine the expansion of dough, the specific volume, texture, color, GI, starch digestion characteristics, and α-amylase inhibition rate of bread. The results showed that the incorporation of wheat bran and oat bran both reduced the final expanded volume of the dough, decreased the specific volume of the bread, and increased the bread hardness and crumb redness and greenness values as compared to the control wheat group. The above physical properties of bran-containing bread obviously deteriorated while the bread with β-glucan did not change significantly (p < 0.05). The GI in vitro of bread was in the following order: control (94.40) > wheat bran (69.24) > β-glucan (65.76) > oat bran (64.93). Correspondingly, the oat bran group had the highest content of slowly digestible starch (SDS), the β-glucan group had the highest content of resistant starch (RS), and the control group had the highest content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS). For the wheat bran, oat bran, and β-glucan group, their inhibition rates of α-amylase were 9.25%, 28.93%, and 23.7%, respectively. The β-glucan reduced the bread GI and α-amylase activity by intertwining with starch to form a more stable gel network structure, which reduced the contact area between amylase and starch. Therefore, β-glucan in oat bran might be a key component for reducing the GI of whole oat bread.
Robust H∞ Controller Design of Switched Delay Systems with Linear Fractional Perturbations by Synchronous Switching of Rule and Sampling Input
Authors: Lien Chang-Hua , Chang Hao-Chin , Yu Ker-Wei , Li Hung-Chi , Hou Yi-You
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we propose synchronous switching of rule and input to achieve H∞ performance for an uncertain switched delay system with linear fractional perturbations. Our developed simple scheme utilizes the linear matrix inequality optimization problem to provide a feasible solution for the proposed results; if the optimization problem was feasible, our proposed robust H∞ control could be designed. The feasibility of the optimization problem could be solved using the LMI toolbox of Matlab. In this paper, robust control with sampling is proposed to stabilize uncertain switching with interval time-varying delay and achieve H∞ performance. Interval time-varying delay and sampling were considered instead of constant delay and pointwise sampling. A full-matrix formulation approach is presented to improve the conservativeness of our proposed results. Some numerical examples are demonstrated to show our main contributions.
A Qualitative Game of Interest Rate Adjustments with a Nuisance Agent
Authors: Krawczyk Jacek B. , Petkov Vladimir P.
Published: August 2022

A qualitative game describes a situation in which antagonistic players strive to keep the evolutions of their state variables in predetermined constraint sets. We argue that a qualitative game model is a suitable mathematical representation of the struggle between a domestic central bank of a small open economy and a foreign central bank of a large economy to maintain their respective state variables within an acceptable band regardless of the other player’s choices. The actions of the foreign central bank affect the domestic exchange rate and, hence, domestic inflation, output gap and interest rate. However, these actions do not necessarily aim to destabilise the small open economy, nor do they take into account the state of the latter. The domestic bank’s problem, therefore, is similar to that of a game against nature. We refer to this type of qualitative game as a nuisance-agent game (or NA-game). We use viability theory to derive satisficing rules (in the sense of Simon) of nominal interest-rate adjustments for the domestic central bank of a small open economy in a qualitative NA-game against the foreign central bank.
Collagen Matrices Mediate Glioma Cell Migration Induced by an Electrical Signal
Authors: Yao Li , Tran Kimmy , Nguyen Diana
Published: August 2022

Glioma cells produce an increased amount of collagen compared with normal astrocytes. The increasing amount of collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates the matrix structure and the mechanical properties of the microenvironment, thereby regulating tumor cell invasion. Although the regulation of tumor cell invasion mainly relies on cell–ECM interaction, the electrotaxis of tumor cells has attracted great research interest. The growth of glioma cells in a three-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogel creates a relevant tumor physiological condition for the study of tumor cell invasion. In this study, we tested the migration of human glioma cells, fetal astrocytes, and adult astrocytes in a 3D collagen matrix with different collagen concentrations. We report that all three types of cells demonstrated higher motility in a low concentration of collagen hydrogel (3 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL) than in a high concentration of collagen hydrogel (10 mg/mL). We further show that human glioma cells grown in collagen hydrogels responded to direct current electric field (dcEF) stimulation and migrated to the anodal pole. The tumor cells altered their morphology in the gels to adapt to the anodal migration. The directedness of anodal migration shows a field strength-dependent response. EF stimulation increased the migration speed of tumor cells. This study implicates the potential role of an dcEF in glioma invasion and as a target of treatment.
Macroalgal-Derived Alginate Soil Amendments for Water Retention, Nutrient Release Rate Reduction, and Soil pH Control
Authors: van der Merwe Roelof du Toit , Goosen Neill Jurgens , Pott Robert William McClelland
Published: August 2022

There is a need to develop sustainably sourced products that can address the needs for improved water retention in soils, slow the release rate of fertilizers (to prevent leaching and downstream eutrophication), and control soil pH for use in agriculture. This article investigates the use of industrial kelp solid waste extracted alginate (IW) slurries to produce soil amendment beads, potentially improving soil water retention, acting as slow-release fertilizers (SRFs), and combined with limestone controls soil pH levels. Alginate extracted from the IW was determined to have a lower guluronic (G) to mannuronic (M) acid ratio than pure laboratory-grade (LG) alginate (0.36 vs. 0.53). Hydrogels produced from the IW alginate achieved significantly higher equilibrium swelling ratios (1 wt% IW = 1.80) than LG hydrogels with similar concentrations (1 wt% LG = 0.61). Hydrogel beads were impregnated with ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride to produce potential SRFs. The release rates of K+ and NO3− nutrients from the produced SRFs into deionised water were decreased by one order of magnitude compared to pure salts. The nutrient release rates of the IW-based SRFs were shown to be similar to SRFs produced from LG alginate. Hydrogel beads were impregnated with limestone, and it was determined that the alginate-based hydrogels could significantly decrease the nutrient release rate. Using industrial kelp solid waste extracted alginate slurries shows potential for soil amendments production. This report emphasises, for the first time, the use of a crude alginate product in soil amendment formation. Further, it demonstrates slower release rates and soil pH control.
Perception of the Geological-Mining Heritage to Promote Geotourism in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Authors: Herrera-Franco Gricelda , Apolo-Masache Boris , Escandón-Panchana Paulo , Jácome-Francis Kelly , Morante-Carballo Fernando , Mata-Perelló Josep , Carrión-Mero Paúl
Published: August 2022

Biodiversity is an essential component of nature, relegating the aspects of geodiversity, which provides geological and landscape variety to a territory. However, the importance of geodiversity and its social, economic, educational, scientific, and technological impact on a region, are not well understood. This article measures the geoheritage values of Guayaquil, a port city in Ecuador, via surveys and analyses of variables, with the aim of proposing guidelines or strategies that promote the knowledge and diffusion of that geoheritage. Our methodology included (i) a review of historical landmarks of Guayaquil and their relationship with geodiversity, (ii) a survey and data tabulation, (iii) an analysis of the local population’s perception of the city’s geoheritage, and (iv) the development of geodiversity strategies using computer tools. Our results determined that people approach areas of interest because of each site’s biodiversity and the available information about the site. Once there, they can obtain knowledge about the city’s geology, geodiversity, and urban geotourism. Therefore, geoheritage is an essential consideration in establishing educational plans, initiatives, and promotion strategies. Furthermore, the identification of a city’s heritage values following geoeducation, and the recognition by society of the city’s geosites and their historical–scientific significance, will provide a basis for using geotourism in a context of sustainability.
Functional MRI in Radiology—A Personal Review
Authors: Lotze Martin , Domin Martin , Langner Sönke , Platz Thomas
Published: August 2022

We, here, provide a personal review article on the development of a functional MRI in the radiology departments of two German university medicine units. Although the international community for human brain mapping has met since 1995, the researchers fascinated by human brain function are still young and innovative. However, the impact of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on prognosis and treatment decisions is restricted, even though standardized methods have been developed. The tradeoff between the groundbreaking studies on brain function and the attempt to provide reliable biomarkers for clinical decisions is large. By describing some historical developments in the field of fMRI, from a personal view, the rise of this method in clinical neuroscience during the last 25 years might be understandable. We aim to provide some background for (a) the historical developments of fMRI, (b) the establishment of two research units for fMRI in the departments of radiology in Germany, and (c) a description of some contributions within the selected fields of systems neuroscience, clinical neurology, and behavioral psychology.
Uncovering the Relationship between Urban Road Network Topology and Taxi Drivers’ Income: A Perspective from Spatial Design Network Analysis
Authors: Yuan Changwei , Zhao Jiannan , Mao Xinhua , Duan Yaxin , Ma Ningyuan
Published: August 2022

Over the past few decades, taxi drivers’ income has received extensive attention from scholars. Previous studies have investigated the factors affecting taxi drivers’ income from multiple perspectives. However, less attention has been paid to road network topology, which has a direct impact on taxis’ operation efficiency and drivers’ income. To fill this gap, this paper examines the relationship between taxi drivers’ income and urban road network topology; we employed various methods, namely, spatial design network analysis (sDNA), bivariate Moran’s I, and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The results show the following. (1) The total order income (TOI) of taxi drivers has a certain degree of positive spatial correlation with closeness and betweenness. (2) The impact of urban road network topology on the average order income (AOI) of taxi drivers is stable. Specifically, closeness and betweenness have significant impacts on the AOI of taxi drivers at the medium and larger scales. (3) Closeness has a negative impact on the AOI of taxi drivers, and betweenness has a positive impact on the AOI of taxi drivers. (4) Compared with betweenness, the impact of closeness on the AOI of taxi drivers is greater and more stable. These findings can provide useful reference values for the development of policies aimed at improving both taxi drivers’ income and urban road network efficiency.
Development of a Cognitive Digital Twin for Pavement Infrastructure Health Monitoring
Authors: Sierra Cristobal , Paul Shuva , Rahman Akhlaqur , Kulkarni Ambarish
Published: August 2022

A road network is the key foundation of any nation’s critical infrastructure. Pavements represent one of the longest-living structures, having a post-construction life of 20–40 years. Currently, most attempts at maintaining and repairing these structures are performed in a reactive and traditional fashion. Recent advances in technology and research have proposed the implementation of costly measures and time-intensive techniques. This research presents a novel automated approach to develop a cognitive twin of a pavement structure by implementing advanced modelling and machine learning techniques from unmanned aerial vehicle (e.g., drone) acquired data. The research established how the twin is initially developed and subsequently capable of detecting current damage on the pavement structure. The proposed method is also compared to the traditional approach of evaluating pavement condition as well as the more advanced method of employing a specialized diagnosis vehicle. This study demonstrated an efficiency enhancement of maintaining pavement infrastructure.
Survey of Natural Enemies of the Invasive Boxwood Moth Cydalima perspectalis in Southwestern Mediterranean Europe and Biocontrol Potential of a Native Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. Strain
Authors: López Carmen , Las Heras Sandra , Garrido-Jurado Inmaculada , Quesada-Moraga Enrique , Eizaguirre Matilde
Published: August 2022

Cydalima perspectalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a species native to East Asia, has been especially devastating in the Mediterranean region and Catalonia, northeast Spain, where Buxus sempervirens is an essential component of the natural forest. As an invasive species, the lack of biotic mortality factors in the arrival region has been one of the main factors allowing its expansion. Therefore, this study aimed to collect and identify possible indigenous natural enemies adapting to the new species in the boxwood of the southwest Mediterranean region. Later, the efficacy of some of the collected species for controlling C. perspectalis larvae was tested in laboratory conditions. The larval collection was carried out in successive years in the boxwood of the region. Several collected larvae were infected with an entomopathogen, Beauveria bassiana, or parasitized by Compsilura concinnata, both common in native Lepidoptera caterpillars. The B. bassiana strain was found to be highly virulent against the developed larvae of C. perspectalis, which suggests that B. bassiana may be an effective treatment in parks and gardens when the first overwintering larvae are detected. The biology of the parasitoid identified is not very well known in Europe, which suggests the necessity of studying its biology and alternative hosts in the region in order to improve its population.