bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Exercise on Improving Body Composition and PSA in High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients on Androgen-Deprivation Therapy
Authors: Lin Yu-Ching , Shao I-Hung , Juan Yu-Hsiang , Yeh Kun-Yun , Hou Chen-Pang , Chen Chien-Lun , Yu Kai-Jie , Chen Liang-Sien , Lin Chin-Li , Chuang Hai-Hua
Published: November 2022

This prospective study investigated how exercise impacted chronological changes in anthropometrics, body composition, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and prognostic nutrition index (PNI) in high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The patients were divided into either the usual care or exercise group. All patients received measurements a week before ADT initiation, six- and twelve months after treatment. The exercise group received both aerobic and resistance training. The analysis was conducted using appropriate statistical methods. There were 45 males enrolled (age 67.4 ± 8 years and BMI 25.5 ± 3.6 kg/m2). Profound changes were observed at six months follow-up. The exercise group showed a significant increase in the trunk and leg lean mass, and a lesser loss of total and arm lean mass. A significant decrease in PSA was also observed among the exercise group. PNI and PSA were significantly associated with regional lean mass. Exercise can prevent loss or even increase lean mass in high-risk PCa, especially in the early stage of ADT treatment. Moreover, a strong bond between lean mass and PNI and PSA further underscores the importance of early and continuous exercise interventions.
Sports and Energy Drink Consumption, Oral Health Problems and Performance Impact among Elite Athletes
Authors: Khan Kamran , Qadir Abdul , Trakman Gina , Aziz Tariq , Khattak Maria , Nabi Ghulam , Alharbi Metab , Alshammari Abdulrahman , Shahzad Muhammad
Published: November 2022

Frequent consumption of sports and energy drinks among athletes is of concern due to its detrimental impact on oral health. The present study aimed to assess sports and energy drink consumption, oral health status and impacts on daily activities and sports performance among elite athletes from Pakistan. Data regarding socio-demographic characteristics, sports and energy drink consumption, oral health and hygiene practices, self-reported oral health and psychosocial and performance impact was assessed using a self-administered, structured questionnaire followed by clinical oral examination by a single, experienced dentist. A total of 104 athletes, a majority of whom were male (80.8%), participated in the study. Around two third of the participants reported consumption of sports and energy drinks, energy gels or bars at least once a week, the commonest being Sting. Despite good oral hygiene practices, the athletes generally had poor oral health with high prevalence of dental caries (63.5%), gingivitis (46.1%), irreversible periodontitis (26.9%) and erosive tooth wear (21.2%). More than a quarter (28.8%) of the athletes rated their oral health as fair—very poor. Four in five athletes (80%) also experienced at least one oral problem with negative impacts on daily activities (64.4%) and participation training and sports performance (36.5%). Regression analyses revealed a significant association between periodontal disease and impact on both daily activities and sports performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting that high-prevalence sports and energy drink consumption and oral problems among elite athletes from Pakistan has a negative impact on daily activities and sports performance. These findings may have important implications for oral health education programs, and the need to create awareness among the athletes regarding the use of sports and energy drinks, as well as regular oral health screening of athletes to minimize the impact on performance.
The Tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta as an Important Model Organism in the Experimental Parasitology of the 21st Century
Authors: Sulima-Celińska Anna , Kalinowska Alicja , Młocicki Daniel
Published: November 2022

The tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta is a common parasite of the small intestine in rodents but it can also infect humans. Due to its characteristics and ease of maintenance in the laboratory, H. diminuta is also an important model species in studies of cestodiasis, including the search for new drugs, treatments, diagnostics and biochemical processes, as well as its host–parasite interrelationships. A great deal of attention has been devoted to the immune response caused by H. diminuta in the host, and several studies indicate that infection with H. diminuta can reduce the severity of concomitant disease. Here, we present a critical review of the experimental research conducted with the use of H. diminuta as a model organism for over more than two decades (in the 21st century). The present review evaluates the tapeworm H. diminuta as a model organism for studying the molecular biology, biochemistry and immunology aspects of parasitology, as well as certain clinical applications. It also systematizes the latest research on this species. Its findings may contribute to a better understanding of the biology of tapeworms and their adaptation to parasitism, including complex correlations between H. diminuta and invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. It places particular emphasis on its value for the further development of modern experimental parasitology.
High Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Children in Vietnam: An Observational, Hospital-Based Study
Authors: Tran Dien Minh , Vu Uyen Tu Thi , Hoang Canh Ngoc , Nguyen Ha Thu Thi , Nguyen Phu Huy , Tran Mai Chi Thi , Chu Anh Ngoc , Phan Phuc Huu
Published: November 2022

Background: The robustness of sero-surveillance has delineated the high burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children; however, these existing data showed wide variation. This study aimed to identify the serostatus of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and associated factors among children following the fourth pandemic wave in Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Vietnam National Children’s Hospital (VNCH) between March 13 and April 3, 2022. Thus, 4032 eligible children seeking medical care for any medical condition not related to acute COVID-19 infection were tested for IgG SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by ADVIA Centaur® SARS-CoV-2 IgG (sCOVG) assay using the residuals of routine blood samples. Results: The median age of enrolled children was 39 (IQR = 14–82) months. The overall seropositive prevalence was 59.2% (95%CI = 57.6–60.7) and the median antibody titer was 4.78 (IQR 2.38–9.57) UI/mL. The risk of seropositivity and the median antibody titer were not related to gender (58.6% versus 60.1%, 4.9 versus 4.6 UI/mL, all p > 0.05). Children aged ≤12 months were likely to be seropositive compared to children aged 36 to <60 months (59.2% versus 57.5%, p = 0.49) and those aged ≥144 months (59.2% versus 65.5%, p = 0.16). Children aged ≥144 months exhibited a significantly higher titer of protective COVID-19 antibodies than other age groups (p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression, we observed independent factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, including the age 13 to <36 months (OR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.06–1.56, p = 0.01), 60 to <144 months (OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.67–0.95, p = 0.01), ≥144 months (OR = 1.84, 95%CI = 1.21–2.8, p = 0.005), the presence of infected household members (OR = 2.36, 95%CI = 2.06–2.70, p < 0.001), participants from Hanoi (OR = 1.54, 95%CI = 1.34–1.77, p < 0.001), underlying conditions (OR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.60–0.85, p ≤ 0.001), and using corticosteroids or immunosuppressants (OR = 0.64, 95%CI = 0.48–0.86, p = 0.003). Conclusions: This study highlights a high seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among children seeking medical care for non-acute COVID-19-related conditions in a tertiary children’s hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. In the context of reopening in-person schools and future emerging COVID-19 variants, this point will also be a key message about the necessity of “rush-out” immunization coverage for children, especially those under the age of five years.
Surfactant Mediated Accelerated and Discriminatory In Vitro Drug Release Method for PLGA Nanoparticles of Poorly Water-Soluble Drug
Authors: Gupta Ritu , Chen Yuan , Sarkar Mahua , Xie Huan
Published: November 2022

In vitro drug release testing is an important quality control tool for formulation development. However, the literature has evidence that poly-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA)-based formulations show a slower in vitro drug release than a real in vivo drug release. Much longer in vitro drug release profiles may not be reflective of real in vivo performances and may significantly affect the timeline for a formulation development. The objective of this study was to develop a surfactant mediated accelerated in vitro drug release method for the PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) of a novel chemotherapeutic agent AC1LPSZG, a model drug with a poor solubility. The Sotax USP apparatus 4 was used to test in vitro drug release in a phosphate buffer with a pH value of 6.8. The sink conditions were improved using surfactants in the order of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) < Tween 80 < cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The dissolution efficiency (DE) and area under the dissolution curve (AUC) were increased three-fold when increasing the CTAB concentration in the phosphate buffer (pH 6.8). Similar Weibull release kinetics and good linear correlations (R2~0.99) indicated a good correlation between the real-time in vitro release profile in the phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and accelerated release profiles in the optimized medium. This newly developed accelerated and discriminatory in vitro test can be used as a quality control tool to identify critical formulation and process parameters to ensure a batch-to-batch uniformity. It may also serve as a surrogate for bioequivalence studies if a predictive in vitro in vivo correlation (IVIVC) is obtained. The results of this study are limited to AC1LPSZG NPs, but a similar consideration can be extended to other PLGA-based NPs of drugs with similar properties and solubility profiles.
Clickable C-Glycosyl Scaffold for the Development of a Dual Fluorescent and [18F]fluorinated Cyanine-Containing Probe and Preliminary In Vitro/Vivo Evaluation by Fluorescence Imaging
Authors: Ariztia Julen , Jouad Kamal , Jouan-Hureaux Valérie , Pierson Julien , Collet Charlotte , Kuhnast Bertrand , Selmeczi Katalin , Boura Cédric , Lamandé-Langle Sandrine , Pellegrini Moïse Nadia
Published: November 2022

Considering the individual characteristics of positron emission tomography (PET) and optical imaging (OI) in terms of sensitivity, spatial resolution, and tissue penetration, the development of dual imaging agents for bimodal PET/OI imaging is a growing field. A current major breakthrough in this field is the design of monomolecular agent displaying both a radioisotope for PET and a fluorescent dye for OI. We took advantage of the multifunctionalities allowed by a clickable C-glycosyl scaffold to gather the different elements. We describe, for the first time, the synthesis of a cyanine-based dual PET/OI imaging probe based on a versatile synthetic strategy and its direct radiofluorination via [18F]F-C bond formation. The non-radioactive dual imaging probe coupled with two c(RGDfK) peptides was evaluated in vitro and in vivo in fluorescence imaging. The binding on αvβ3 integrin (IC50 = 16 nM) demonstrated the efficiency of the dimeric structure and PEG linkers in maintaining the affinity. In vivo fluorescence imaging of U-87 MG engrafted nude mice showed a high tumor uptake (40- and 100-fold increase for orthotopic and ectopic brain tumors, respectively, compared to healthy brain). In vitro and in vivo evaluations and resection of the ectopic tumor demonstrated the potential of the conjugate in glioblastoma cancer diagnosis and image-guided surgery.
Natural Compounds as Non-Nucleoside Inhibitors of Zika Virus Polymerase through Integration of In Silico and In Vitro Approaches
Authors: Ramos Paulo Ricardo Pimenta da Silva , Mottin Melina , Lima Caroline Sprengel , Assis Letícia R. , de Oliveira Ketllyn Zagato , Mesquita Nathalya Cristina de Moraes Roso , Cassani Natasha Marques , Santos Igor Andrade , Borba Joyce Villa Verde Bastos , Fiaia Costa Vinícius Alexandre , Neves Bruno Junior , Guido Rafael Victorio Carvalho , Oliva Glaucius , Jardim Ana Carolina Gomes , Regasini Luis Octávio , Andrade Carolina Horta
Published: November 2022

Although the past epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV) resulted in severe neurological consequences for infected infants and adults, there are still no approved drugs to treat ZIKV infection. In this study, we applied computational approaches to screen an in-house database of 77 natural and semi-synthetic compounds against ZIKV NS5 RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (NS5 RdRp), an essential protein for viral RNA elongation during the replication process. For this purpose, we integrated computational approaches such as binding-site conservation, chemical space analysis and molecular docking. As a result, we prioritized nine virtual hits for experimental evaluation. Enzymatic assays confirmed that pedalitin and quercetin inhibited ZIKV NS5 RdRp with IC50 values of 4.1 and 0.5 µM, respectively. Moreover, pedalitin also displayed antiviral activity on ZIKV infection with an EC50 of 19.28 µM cell-based assays, with low toxicity in Vero cells (CC50 = 83.66 µM) and selectivity index of 4.34. These results demonstrate the potential of the natural compounds pedalitin and quercetin as candidates for structural optimization studies towards the discovery of new anti-ZIKV drug candidates.
Renal Proximal Tubular Cells: A New Site for Targeted Delivery Therapy of Diabetic Kidney Disease
Authors: Li Hao , Dai Wenni , Liu Zhiwen , He Liyu
Published: November 2022

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) worldwide. A significant number of drugs have been clinically investigated for the treatment of DKD. However, a large proportion of patients still develop end-stage kidney disease unstoppably. As a result, new effective therapies are urgently needed to slow down the progression of DKD. Recently, there is increasing evidence that targeted drug delivery strategies such as large molecule carriers, small molecule prodrugs, and nanoparticles can improve drug efficacy and reduce adverse side effects. There is no doubt that targeted drug delivery strategies have epoch-making significance and great application prospects for the treatment of DKD. In addition, the proximal tubule plays a very critical role in the progression of DKD. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the current understanding of proximal tubule cell-targeted therapy, screen for optimal targeting strategies, and find new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of DKD.
Weed Management Strategies for Tomato Plasticulture Production in Florida
Authors: Tiwari Ruby , Bashyal Mahesh , Kanissery Ramdas
Published: November 2022

Florida is the top producer of fresh market tomatoes in the U.S., with an average production of 0.4 million metric tons. Tomatoes are commercially grown on plastic mulched raised beds in Southwest Florida, the primary production region in the state. Low tomato yield in plasticulture production is often associated with the poor control of nutsedge species. Nutsedge management, therefore, remains a critical production challenge for tomato growers in Florida. Sandy soil in this region promotes herbicide movement after heavy rainfall or irrigation, affecting weed suppression. This will also potentially impact the timely establishment of new tomato transplants and, consequently, the crop vigor if the herbicides get into the root zone. This review aims to present and discuss an overview of available options to safely manage major weeds of tomatoes, including nutsedge species, in plasticulture production. In addition, this review seeks to discuss an approach for utilizing herbicide adjuvants, such as spray deposition agents or oil binding agents, to improve herbicides’ efficacy and tomato crop safety by enhancing their retention in plastic mulched raised beds.
Methanolic Extracts of Chiococca alba in Aedes aegypti Biorational Management: Larvicidal and Repellent Potential, and Selectivity against Non-Target Organisms
Authors: Borges Jaqueline C. M. , Haddi Khalid , Valbon Wilson R. , Costa Lara T. M. , Ascêncio Sérgio D. , Santos Gil R. , Soares Ilsamar M. , Barbosa Robson S. , Viana Kelvinson F. , Silva Eder A. P. , Moura Wellington S. , Andrade Bruno S. , Oliveira Eugenio E. , Aguiar Raimundo W. S.
Published: November 2022

The use of formulations containing botanical products for controlling insects that vector human and animal diseases has increased in recent years. Plant extracts seem to offer fewer risks to the environment and to human health without reducing the application strategy’s efficacy when compared to synthetic and conventional insecticides and repellents. Here, we evaluated the potential of extracts obtained from caninana, Chiococca alba (L.) Hitchc. (Rubiaceae), plants as a tool to be integrated into the management of Aedes aegypti, one of the principal vectors for the transmission of arborviruses in humans. We assessed the larvicidal and repellence performance against adult mosquitoes and evaluated the potential undesired effects of the extracts on non-target organisms. We assessed the susceptibility and predatory abilities of the nymphs of Belostoma anurum, a naturally occurring mosquito larva predator, and evaluated the C. alba extract’s cytotoxic effects in mammalian cell lines. Our chromatographic analysis revealed 18 compounds, including rutin, naringin, myricetin, morin, and quercetin. The methanolic extracts of C. alba showed larvicidal (LC50 = 82 (72–94) mg/mL) activity without killing or affecting the abilities of B. anurum to prey upon mosquito larvae. Our in silico predictions revealed the molecular interactions between rutin and the AeagOBP1 receptor to be one possible mechanism for the repellent potential recorded for formulations containing C. alba extracts. Low cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines reinforces the selectivity of C. alba extracts. Collectively, our findings highlight the potential of C. alba and one of its constituents (rutin) as alternative tools to be integrated into the management of A. aegypti mosquitoes.
Mitigation of Negative Effects of Chromium (VI) Toxicity in Faba Bean (Vicia faba) Plants through the Supplementation of Kinetin (KN) and Gibberellic Acid (GA3)
Authors: Alam Pravej , Azzam Maged A. , Balawi Thamer Al , Raja Vaseem , Bhat Javaid Akhter , Ahmad Parvaiz
Published: November 2022

The present study was carried out to explore the possible role of kinetin and gibberellic acid (GA3) on faba bean under chromium (Cr) stress. Cr treatment negatively affected growth and biomass production, reduced photosynthetic pigments, and inhibited photosynthesis, gas exchange parameters, antioxidant enzymes, and the glyoxylase cycle. Moreover, Cr stress enhanced the production of malondialdehyde (MDA, 216.11%) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 230.16%), electrolyte leakage (EL, 293.30%), and the accumulation of proline and glycine betaine. Exogenous application of kinetin and GA3 increased growth and biomass, improved pigment contents and photosynthesis, as well as up-regulated the antioxidant system by improving the antioxidant enzyme activities and the content of nonenzymatic components, and the glyoxylase cycle. Additionally, kinetin and GA3 application displayed a considerable enhancement in proline (602.61%) and glycine betaine (423.72), which help the plants to maintain water balance under stress. Furthermore, a decline in Cr uptake was also observed due to kinetin and GA3 application. Exogenous application of kinetin and GA3 ameliorated the toxic effects of Cr in faba bean plants, up-shooting the tolerance mechanisms, including osmolyte metabolism and the antioxidant system.
ROS and RNS Alterations in the Digestive Fluid of Nepenthes × ventrata Trap at Different Developmental Stages
Authors: Wal Agnieszka , Staszek Pawel , Pakula Barbara , Paradowska Magdalena , Krasuska Urszula
Published: November 2022

The carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes × ventrata (Hort. ex Fleming = N. ventricosa Blanco × N. alata Blanco), produces passive traps containing digestive fluid. Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the fluid were detected in some pitcher plants, the participation of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in the digestion process has not yet been examined. The aim of this work was to investigate the production of superoxide anion (O2•−), nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite (ONOO−) levels in the digestive fluid of traps throughout organ development. We revealed the ROS and RNS occurrence in the digestive fluid, linked to the ROS-scavenging capacity and total phenolics content. In digestive fluid from the fed traps, NO emission was higher than in the fluid from the developed unfed pitcher. The concentration of nitrite (NO2−) decreased in the fluid from the fed traps in comparison to the unfed ones, pointing at NO2− as the key source of NO. The enhanced emission of NO was associated with lowered content of ONOO− in the fluid, probably due to lower production of O2•−. At the same time, despite a decline in total phenolics, the maximum ROS scavenging capacity was detected. In addition, ROS and RNS were noted even in closed traps, suggesting their involvement not only in digestion per se but also their action as signaling agents in trap ontogeny.
Plant Tissue Culture and Secondary Metabolites Production
Authors: Danova Kalina , Pistelli Laura
Published: November 2022

Plants have developed a complex biochemical system for interacting and coping with dynamic environmental challenges throughout their whole life [...]
Quantitative Real-Time PCR Based on SYBR Green Technology for the Identification of Philaenus italosignus Drosopoulos & Remane (Hemiptera Aphrophoridae)
Authors: Rizzo Domenico , Bracalini Matteo , Campigli Sara , Nencioni Anita , Porcelli Francesco , Marchi Guido , Da Lio Daniele , Bartolini Linda , Rossi Elisabetta , Sacchetti Patrizia , Panzavolta Tiziana
Published: November 2022

The use of molecular tools to identify insect pests is a critical issue, especially when rapid and reliable tests are required. We proposed a protocol based on qPCR with SYBR Green technology to identify Philaenus italosignus (Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae). The species is one of the three spittlebugs able to transmit Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 in Italy, together with Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris. Although less common than the other two species, its identification is key to verifying which role it can play when locally abundant. The proposed assay shows analytical specificity being inclusive with different populations of the target species and exclusive with non-target taxa, either taxonomically related or not. Moreover, it shows analytical sensibility, repeatability, and reproducibility, resulting in an excellent candidate for an official diagnostic method. The molecular test can discriminate P. italosignus from all non-target species, including the congeneric P. spumarius.
Power Control Strategy for Hybrid System Using Three-Level Converters for an Insulated Micro-Grid System Application
Authors: Lawan Moussa Gaptia , Camara Mamadou Baïlo , Sabr Abdulkareem Shaheed , Dakyo Brayima , Al Ameri Ahmed
Published: November 2022

This paper presents a simulation of an insulated micro-grid system based on the three-level converters control for energy management. Different renewable power sources (wind turbine and Photovoltaic (PV) energy systems) are used to energize the micro-grid. However, a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a variable diesel generator are also used to improve the reliability of the system. The contribution of this research is focused on the power control method based on improving the quality of energy transfer, mastering dynamic interactions and maximum energy production from renewable energies to reduce the fuel consumption by the diesel. Firstly, the proposed control model for each renewable energy was carried out through simulation in the environments of Matlab and Simulink to test the robustness and performance. The second part of this research is dedicated to managing the sharing of power between load, generators, and storage systems by extracting the references of power. The three-level PWM rectifiers for variable speed diesel generators was used to maintain and control the DC bus voltage of the isolated micro-grid. The results obtained from simulations show a good correlation between static and dynamic systems even for fluctuating sun power and wind speed.
Research on Process of SCV Flue Gas Carbon Capture Based on LNG Cold Energy
Authors: Huang Kun , Chen Kun , Huang Cheng , Wang Lin , Chen Juan
Published: November 2022

Under the guidance of China’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the petrochemical industry is increasingly adopting energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies. To realize the low carbon operation of the LNG (liquefied natural gas) receiving terminal, an innovative SCV (submerged combustion vaporizer) flue gas carbon capture system using LNG cold energy was established, and the system also combined with an ORC (organic Rankine cycle). HYSYS software was used to simulate the process of the SCV flue gas carbon capture system and the LNG regasification system. The simulation results showed that the proposed system has low carbon emission and low energy consumption performance. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis of the evaporation pressure of working fluids, CO2 capture pressure, and CO2 capture temperature was carried out. The key parameters were optimized by HYSYS software to achieve the optimal operation cost of the system. When the evaporation pressure of working fluids, CO2 capture pressure, and CO2 capture temperature were set as 1300 kPa, 750 kPa, and 143.15 K, respectively, the optimized system resulted in an exergy efficiency of 13.63%, an LNG cold exergy utilization rate of 77.49%, a CO2 capture rate of 94.9%, and a CO2 capture capacity of 6620.4 kg/h.
The Geodiversity of Springs in the Potential Jericho Geopark/Palestine
Authors: Ghanem Marwan , de la Hera-Portillo África , Mohammad Alsharifa Hind , Laftouhi Nour-Eddine , Chulli Badiaa , Abdel-Gawad Fagr Kh.
Published: November 2022

The objective of this study is to investigate the hydrogeological and hydrochemical characteristics of the spring aquifer system in the potential Jericho Geopark in Jericho, Palestine. The spring’s hydrochemistry influences the physical and hydrochemical characteristics of Jericho Geopark in qualitative potentials. The springs are used for domestic water supplies and irrigation in Jericho area, which is considered as one of the most important agricultural baskets of the West Bank feeding from the “spring system complex”. From the geological and structural point of view, the area is considered to be complex in relation to the major structural features of faults and folds, which formed during the formation of the Jordan Rift Valley. The physical properties (pH, DO, temperature, TDS and EC) were interpreted. The hydro-chemical concentration major ions of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl−, SO42−, NO3− and HCO3− were analyzed for the spring water system samples. The dominant spring water type is the calcium bicarbonate due to the dissociation of calcite mineral during the water rock interaction processes. The microbiological parameters of Total and Fecal coliforms were analyzed for the targeted springs and indicates no detected pollution. The hydrochemical characteristics of the spring waters indicate no ion concentration trends. The calculated quality water Index indicated that all springs are of excellent spring water type. The study contributes to the qualitative spring water as a major component to the potential Jericho Geopark in order to have better understanding of the community-based protection practice.
Performance of Seven Gridded Precipitation Products over Arid Central Asia and Subregions
Authors: Song Lingling , Xu Changchun , Long Yunxia , Lei Xiaoni , Suo Nanji , Cao Linlin
Published: November 2022

The evaluation of gridded precipitation products is important for the region where meteorological stations are scarce. To find out the applicable gridded precipitation products in arid Central Asia (ACA) for better follow-up research, this paper evaluated the accuracy of five long-term gridded precipitation products (GPCC, CRU, MERRA-2, ERA5-Land, and PREC/L) and two short-term products (PERSIANN-CDR and GPM IMERG) on different time scales for the whole ACA and two subregions, Central Asia (CA) and Xinjiang of China (XJ). Seven evaluation indices were used to evaluate the consistency between the seven gridded precipitation products and observations at 328 meteorological stations for 40 years from 1980 to 2019. The main findings were as follows: (1) Each product can correctly reflect the trend of decreasing annual precipitation in CA and increasing annual precipitation in XJ, except for ERA5-Land. (2) GPCC captured extreme events by 75.9% for heavy rainfall and 67.9% for drought events, and GPM IMERG outperformed PERSIANN-CDR with a capture probability of 61% for heavy rainfall and 50% for drought events. (3) Annually, except for GPCC and CRU without significant deviations (BIAS < 2%), ERA5-Land, GPM IMERG, and PERSIANN-CDR generally overestimated precipitation (20% < BIAS < 60%). MERRA-2 and PREC/L underestimated precipitation, with approximately −5% for PREC/L and −20% for MERRA-2. (4) Seasonally, GPCC outperformed the other four long-term products in all seasons with the lowest BIAS (<0.93%), and GPM IMERG (BIAS < 30.88%) outperformed PERSIANN-CDR. (5) Monthly, the areas with large deviations (BIAS > 60%) for the seven products were near the Tianshan Mountains; comparatively, they performed better in CA than in XJ, with BIAS approximately 20% for CA and 40% for XJ. Despite regional differences, GPCC performed the best across the five long-term products overall, followed by CRU, MERRA-2, PREC/L, and ERA5-Land. For the two short-term products, GPM IMERG outperformed PERSIANN-CDR.
Ground-Penetrating Radar Full-Wave Inversion for Soil Moisture Mapping in Trench-Hill Potato Fields for Precise Irrigation
Authors: Wu Kaijun , Desesquelles Henri , Cockenpot Rodolphe , Guyard Léon , Cuisiniez Victor , Lambot Sébastien
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we analysed the effect of trench-hill soil surface on ground-penetrating radar (GPR) full-wave inversion for soil moisture measurement. We conducted numerical experiments by modelling the trench-hill surface using finite-difference time–domain (FDTD) simulations. The FDTD simulations were carried out with the open-source software gprMax, using different centre frequencies, namely, 150 MHz, 250 MHz and 450 MHz. The gprMax source/receiver for each centre frequency was calibrated, respectively, to transform the FDTD radar signal to normalized Green’s functions for wave propagation in multilayered media. The radar signals and inversion results of the three different frequency ranges are compared. The FDTD Green’s functions of the trench-hill surface with a flat surface are also compared. The results show that the trench-hill surface only slightly affects the inversion when frequency is lower than 190 MHz, which agrees with Rayleigh’s criterion. Field measurements were performed as well, using a prototype radar mounted on an irrigation robot. The low-frequency antenna was calibrated over a large water plane. The optimal operating frequency range was set to 130–190 MHz. TDR measurements were performed as well for comparison. The results demonstrated promising perspectives for automated and real-time determination of the root–zone soil moisture in potato fields, and thereby for precise and automatic irrigation.
Interpretable Deep Learning Applied to Rip Current Detection and Localization
Authors: Rampal Neelesh , Shand Tom , Wooler Adam , Rautenbach Christo
Published: November 2022

A rip current is a strong, localized current of water which moves along and away from the shore. Recent studies have suggested that drownings due to rip currents are still a major threat to beach safety. Identification of rip currents is important for lifeguards when making decisions on where to designate patrolled areas. The public also require information while deciding where to swim when lifeguards are not on patrol. In the present study we present an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that both identifies whether a rip current exists in images/video, and also localizes where that rip current occurs. While there have been some significant advances in AI for rip current detection and localization, there is a lack of research ensuring that an AI algorithm can generalize well to a diverse range of coastal environments and marine conditions. The present study made use of an interpretable AI method, gradient-weighted class-activation maps (Grad-CAM), which is a novel approach for amorphous rip current detection. The training data/images were diverse and encompass rip currents in a wide variety of environmental settings, ensuring model generalization. An open-access aerial catalogue of rip currents were used for model training. Here, the aerial imagery was also augmented by applying a wide variety of randomized image transformations (e.g., perspective, rotational transforms, and additive noise), which dramatically improves model performance through generalization. To account for diverse environmental settings, a synthetically generated training set, containing fog, shadows, and rain, was also added to the rip current images, thus increased the training dataset approximately 10-fold. Interpretable AI has dramatically improved the accuracy of unbounded rip current detection, which can correctly classify and localize rip currents about 89% of the time when validated on independent videos from surf-cameras at oblique angles. The novelty also lies in the ability to capture some shape characteristics of the amorphous rip current structure without the need of a predefined bounding box, therefore enabling the use of remote technology like drones. A comparison with well-established coastal image processing techniques is also presented via a short discussion and easy reference table. The strengths and weaknesses of both methods are highlighted and discussed.
Identification of Potential Natural Aquifer Recharge Sites in Islamabad, Pakistan, by Integrating GIS and RS Techniques
Authors: Alam Farooq , Azmat Muhammad , Zarin Riaz , Ahmad Shakil , Raziq Abdur , Young Hsu-Wen Vincent , Nguyen Kim-Anh , Liou Yuei-An
Published: November 2022

Islamabad is essentially the only well-planned city in Pakistan, but groundwater depletion has become a serious issue there because of the rapid increase in population, poor water management, and deforestation. The current water demand of the city is about 220 million gallons per day, with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) providing up to 70 million gallons per day. The need for water is mostly fulfilled through groundwater sources, such as water bores and commercial tube wells. Hence, identifying recharge sites for natural aquifers is a significant component of groundwater required to overcome the water crisis. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential sites for natural aquifer recharge by using analytical hierarchy process (AHP), weighted linear combination (WLC), and fuzzy logic methods. To achieve the stated objective, seven local influencing factors including soil, slope, water table, population density, land use land cover (LULC), drainage density, and elevation have been utilized in this study. AHP was utilized for the evaluation of the relative importance of the above-mentioned factors, while fuzzy logic was applied for the standardization of these factors. Finally, the AHP-WLC and fuzzy logic approaches were used to merge factor maps in order to identify suitable sites for natural aquifer recharge in Islamabad City. Two different suitability maps were constructed from both techniques, and on each of the resulting maps, the subregions were categorized into five classes: not suitable, less suitable, moderate, suitable, and most suitable. Based on the AHP-WLC results, 5% of the whole study area is deemed most suitable for natural aquifer recharge (NAR), whereas from the fuzzy logic results, 10% of the study area is marked as most suitable. In contrast, 37% and 32% of the whole study area were identified as suitable by the AHP-WLC and fuzzy logic methods, respectively. While both techniques can obtain satisfactory outcomes, the suitability map from fuzzy logic has produced more precise results. Hence, we propose to CDA-Islamabad here different sites for recharge wells based on the results of fuzzy logic. As recommended by this study, to date CDA has constructed twelve recharge wells.
ATSD: Anchor-Free Two-Stage Ship Detection Based on Feature Enhancement in SAR Images
Authors: Yao Canming , Xie Pengfei , Zhang Lei , Fang Yuyuan
Published: November 2022

Syntheticap erture radar (SAR) ship detection in harbors is challenging due to the similar backscattering of ship targets to surrounding background interference. Prevalent two-stage ship detectors usually use an anchor-based region proposal network (RPN) to search for the possible regions of interest on the whole image. However, most pre-defined anchor boxes are redundantly and randomly tiled on the image, manifested as low-quality object proposals. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel detection method combined with two feature enhancement modules to improve ship detection capability. First, we propose a flexible anchor-free detector (AFD) to generate fewer but higher-quality proposals around the object centers in a keypoint prediction manner, which completely avoids the complicated computation in RPN, such as calculating overlapping related to anchor boxes. Second, we leverage the proposed spatial insertion attention (SIA) module to enhance the feature discrimination between ship targets and background interference. It accordingly encourages the detector to pay attention to the localization accuracy of ship targets. Third, a novel weighted cascade feature fusion (WCFF) module is proposed to adaptively aggregate multi-scale semantic features and thus help the detector boost the detection performance of multi-scale ships in complex scenes. Finally, combining the newly-designed AFD and SIA/WCFF modules, we present a new detector, named anchor-free two-stage ship detector (ATSD), for SAR ship detection under complex background interference. Extensive experiments on two public datasets, i.e., SSDD and HRSID, verify that our ATSD delivers state-of-the-art detection performance over conventional detectors.
Dual Threshold Cooperative Sensing Based Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Algorithm for Integrated Satellite and Terrestrial System
Authors: Yang Mingchuan , Xue Guanchang , Liu Botao , Yang Yupu
Published: November 2022

In this paper, cognitive technology is introduced into the integrated satellite terrestrial system to realize the dynamic spectrum sharing of the system and improve the utilization rate of spectrum resources. To overcome the effects of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and noise uncertainty in the channel, a dual-threshold cooperative sensing strategy based on energy detection is introduced. Spectrum sensing is considered as a binary hypothesis problem, but the uncertainty of noise interference in the integrated satellite terrestrial cognitive system will cause the perception to appear ambiguous. Moreover, the noise power varies with time and relative position within a certain range. In the fuzzy state, the perception technology adopts the equal-gain merging algorithm, and derives the voting optimization algorithm to improve the accuracy of decision-making. In addition, taking the minimum error probability as the optimization goal, the optimal adjustment of the adaptive double threshold is realized based on the equal-gain combining algorithm. The simulation results show that the spectrum detection accuracy under low SNR is improved, and the opportunity for terrestrial networks to share spectrum resources is increased.
Assessing the Perspectives of Ground Penetrating Radar for Precision Farming
Authors: Lombardi Federico , Ortuani Bianca , Facchi Arianna , Lualdi Maurizio
Published: November 2022

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlighted the importance of adopting sustainable agricultural practices to mitigate the threat posed by climate change to food systems around the world, to provide wise water management and to restore degraded lands. At the same time, it suggested the benefits and advantages brought by the use of near-surface geophysical measurements to assist precision farming, in particular providing information on soil variability at both vertical and horizontal scales. Among such survey methodologies, Ground Penetrating Radar has demonstrated its effectiveness in soil characterisation as a consequence of its sensitivity to variations in soil electrical properties and of its additional capability of investigating subsurface stratification. The aim of this contribution is to provide a comprehensive review of the current use of the GPR technique within the domain of precision irrigation, and specifically of its capacity to provide detailed information on the within-field spatial variability of the textural, structural and hydrological soil properties, which are needed to optimize irrigation management, adopting a variable-rate approach to preserve water resources while maintaining or improving crop yields and their quality. For each soil property, the review analyses the commonly adopted operational and data processing approaches, highlighting advantages and limitations.
Reconstruction of Historical Land Use and Urban Flood Simulation in Xi’an, Shannxi, China
Authors: Wang Shuangtao , Luo Pingping , Xu Chengyi , Zhu Wei , Cao Zhe , Ly Steven
Published: November 2022

Reconstruction of historical land uses helps to understand patterns, drivers, and impacts of land-use change, and is essential for finding solutions to land-use sustainability. In order to analyze the relationship between land-use change and urban flooding, this study used the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) method to extract modern (2017) land-use data based on remote sensing images. Then, the Paleo-Land-Use Reconstruction (PLUR) program was used to reconstruct the land-use maps of Xi’an during the Ming (1582) and Qing (1766) dynasties by consulting and collecting records of land-use change in historical documents. Finally, the Flo-2D model was used to simulate urban flooding under different land-use scenarios. Over the past 435 years (1582–2017), the urban construction land area showed a trend of increasing, while the unused land area and water bodies were continuously decreasing. The increase in urban green space and buildings was 20.49% and 19.85% respectively, and the unused land area changed from 0.32 km2 to 0. Urban flooding in the modern land-use scenario is the most serious. In addition to the increase in impervious areas, the increase in building density and the decrease in water areas are also important factors that aggravate urban flooding. This study can provide a reference for future land-use planning and urban flooding control policy formulation and revision in the study area.
SNAPPING Services on the Geohazards Exploitation Platform for Copernicus Sentinel-1 Surface Motion Mapping
Authors: Foumelis Michael , Delgado Blasco Jose Manuel , Brito Fabrice , Pacini Fabrizio , Papageorgiou Elena , Pishehvar Panteha , Bally Philippe
Published: November 2022

We are communicating recent developments regarding the Surface motioN mAPPING (SNAPPING) service for the Sentinel-1 mission on the Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) platform in support of the scientific community as well as of EO practitioners. We present the processing scheme adopted for the service and the designed implementation on the GEP, and we discuss in detail the user-defined processing parameters and service outputs. SNAPPING is offered through three independent services, namely the SNAPPING IFG for the generation of interferometric stacks, utilized consequently as input for the SNAPPING PSI Med and SNAPPING PSI Full services, which execute Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) analyses at medium and full resolutions, respectively. The inter-verification of the SNAPPING results was performed to underline the robustness of the provided measurements, and several showcases from diverse environments are demonstrated. The service aims to pave the way towards the improved acceptance of EO-hosted processing services and deeper community engagement, anticipating operational exploitation in response to geohazards.
Sensors Technology for Medical Robotics
Authors: Muñoz Víctor F.
Published: November 2022

There are many definitions for the concept of a robot, perhaps too many; it has even been said that we do not know how to define them, but when we see a robot, we identify it [...]
Digital Histopathological Discrimination of Label-Free Tumoral Tissues by Artificial Intelligence Phase-Imaging Microscopy
Authors: Ganoza-Quintana José Luis , Arce-Diego José Luis , Fanjul-Vélez Félix
Published: November 2022

Histopathology is the gold standard for disease diagnosis. The use of digital histology on fresh samples can reduce processing time and potential image artifacts, as label-free samples do not need to be fixed nor stained. This fact allows for a faster diagnosis, increasing the speed of the process and the impact on patient prognosis. This work proposes, implements, and validates a novel digital diagnosis procedure of fresh label-free histological samples. The procedure is based on advanced phase-imaging microscopy parameters and artificial intelligence. Fresh human histological samples of healthy and tumoral liver, kidney, ganglion, testicle and brain were collected and imaged with phase-imaging microscopy. Advanced phase parameters were calculated from the images. The statistical significance of each parameter for each tissue type was evaluated at different magnifications of 10×, 20× and 40×. Several classification algorithms based on artificial intelligence were applied and evaluated. Artificial Neural Network and Decision Tree approaches provided the best general sensibility and specificity results, with values over 90% for the majority of biological tissues at some magnifications. These results show the potential to provide a label-free automatic significant diagnosis of fresh histological samples with advanced parameters of phase-imaging microscopy. This approach can complement the present clinical procedures.