bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vitamin–Microbiota Crosstalk in Intestinal Inflammation and Carcinogenesis
Authors: Zhai Zihan , Dong Wenxiao , Sun Yue , Gu Yu , Ma Jiahui , Wang Bangmao , Cao Hailong
Published: August 2022

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) are common diseases of the digestive system. Vitamin deficiencies and gut microbiota dysbiosis have a close relationship with the risk, development, and progression of IBD and CAC. There is a strong link between vitamins and the gut microbiome. Vitamins are extremely crucial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiota, promoting growth and development, metabolism, and innate immunity. Gut microbiota can not only influence the transport process of vitamins, but also produce vitamins to compensate for insufficient food intake. Emerging evidence suggests that oral vitamin supplementation can reduce inflammation levels and improve disease prognosis. In addition, improving the diet structure and consuming foods rich in vitamins not only help to improve the vitamin deficiency, but also help to reduce the risk of IBD. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and the application of vitamin-producing probiotics can better assist in the treatment of intestinal diseases. In this review, we discuss the interaction and therapeutic roles of vitamins and gut microbiota in IBD and CAC. We also summarize the methods of treating IBD and CAC by modulating vitamins. This may highlight strategies to target gut-microbiota-dependent alterations in vitamin metabolism in the context of IBD and CAC therapy.
Multicomponent Reactions for the Synthesis of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
Authors: Cores Ángel , Clerigué José , Orocio-Rodríguez Emmanuel , Menéndez J. Carlos
Published: August 2022

Multicomponent reactions 9i.e., those that engage three or more starting materials to form a product that contains significant fragments of all of them), have been widely employed in the construction of compound libraries, especially in the context of diversity-oriented synthesis. While relatively less exploited, their use in target-oriented synthesis offers significant advantages in terms of synthetic efficiency. This review provides a critical summary of the use of multicomponent reactions for the preparation of active pharmaceutical principles.
Impact of Kefiran Exopolysaccharide Extraction on Its Applicability for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Authors: Correia Susana , Gonçalves Cristiana , Oliveira Joaquim M. , Radhouani Hajer , Reis Rui L.
Published: August 2022

Kefiran is an exopolysaccharide produced by the microflora of kefir grains used to produce the fermented milk beverage kefir. The health-promoting and physicochemical properties of kefiran led to its exploration for a range of applications, mainly in the food industry and biomedical fields. Aiming to explore its potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) applications, the kefiran biopolymer obtained through three different extraction methodologies was fully characterized and compared. High-quality kefiran polysaccharides were recovered with suitable yield through different extraction protocols. The methods consisted of heating the kefir grains prior to recovering kefiran by centrifugation and differed mainly in the precipitation steps included before lyophilization. Then, kefiran scaffolds were successfully produced from each extract by cryogelation and freeze-drying. In all extracts, it was possible to identify the molecular structure of the kefiran polysaccharide through 1H-NMR and FTIR spectra. The kefiran from extraction 1 showed the highest molecular weight (~3000 kDa) and the best rheological properties, showing a pseudoplastic behavior; its scaffold presented the highest value of porosity (93.2% ± 2), and wall thickness (85.8 µm ± 16.3). All extracts showed thermal stability, good injectability and desirable viscoelastic properties; the developed scaffolds demonstrated mechanical stability, elastic behavior, and pore size comprised between 98–94 µm. Additionally, all kefiran products proved to be non-cytotoxic over L929 cells. The interesting structural, physicochemical, and biological properties showed by the kefiran extracts and cryogels revealed their biomedical potential and suitability for TERM applications.
Innovative Insights into In Vitro Activity of Colloidal Platinum Nanoparticles against ESBL-Producing Strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Vukoja Damir , Vlainić Josipa , Ljolić Bilić Vanja , Martinaga Lela , Rezić Iva , Brlek Gorski Diana , Kosalec Ivan
Published: August 2022

Growing morbidity and mortality rates due to increase in the number of infections caused by MDR (multi-drug resistant) microorganisms are becoming some of the foremost global health issues. Thus, the need to search for and find novel approaches to fight AMR (antimicrobial resistance) has become obligatory. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial properties of commercially purchased colloidal platinum nanoparticles by examining the existence and potency of their antibacterial effects and investigating the mechanisms by means of which they express these activities. Antimicrobial properties were investigated with respect to standard laboratory ATCC (American Type Cell Culture) and clinical extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains of Escherichia (E.) coli and Klebsiella (K.) pneumoniae. Standard microbiological methods of serial microdilution, modulation of microbial cell death kinetics (“time–kill” assays), and biofilm inhibition were used. Bacterial cell wall damage and ROS (reactive oxygen species) levels were assessed in order to explore the mechanisms of platinum nanoparticles’ antibacterial activities. Platinum nanoparticles showed strong antibacterial effects against all tested bacterial strains, though their antibacterial effects were found to succumb to time kinetics. Antibiofilm activity was modest overall and significantly effective only against E. coli strains. By measuring extracellular DNA/RNA and protein concentrations, induced bacterial cell wall damage could be assumed. The determination of ROS levels induced by platinum nanoparticles revealed their possible implication in antibacterial activity. We conclude that platinum nanoparticles exhibit potent antibacterial effects against standard laboratory and resistant strains of E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Both, cell wall damage and ROS induction could have important role as mechanisms of antibacterial activity, and, require further investigation.
Photodisruption of the Inner Limiting Membrane: Exploring ICG Loaded Nanoparticles as Photosensitizers
Authors: De Clerck Kaat , Accou Geraldine , Sauvage Félix , Braeckmans Kevin , De Smedt Stefaan C. , Remaut Katrien , Peynshaert Karen
Published: August 2022

The inner limiting membrane (ILM) represents a major bottleneck hampering efficient drug delivery to the retina after intravitreal injection. To overcome this barrier, we intend to perforate the ILM by use of a light-based approach which relies on the creation of vapor nanobubbles (VNBs) when irradiating photosensitizers with high intensity laser pulses. Upon collapse of these VNBs, mechanical effects can disrupt biological structures. As a photosensitizer, we explore indocyanine green (ICG) loaded nanoparticles (NPs) specifically designed for our application. In light of this, ICG liposomes and PLGA ICG NPs were characterized in terms of physicochemical properties, ICG incorporation and VNB formation. ICG liposomes were found to encapsulate significantly higher amounts of ICG compared to PLGA ICG NPs which is reflected in their VNB creating capacity. Since only ICG liposomes were able to induce VNB generation, this class of NPs was further investigated on retinal explants. Here, application of ICG liposomes followed by laser treatment resulted in subtle disruption effects at the ILM where zones of fully ablated ILM were alternated by intact regions. As the interaction between the ICG liposomes and ILM might be insufficient, active targeting strategies or other NP designs might improve the concept to a further extent.
Self-Supervised Learning for Scene Classification in Remote Sensing: Current State of the Art and Perspectives
Authors: Berg Paul , Pham Minh-Tan , Courty Nicolas
Published: August 2022

Deep learning methods have become an integral part of computer vision and machine learning research by providing significant improvement performed in many tasks such as classification, regression, and detection. These gains have been also observed in the field of remote sensing for Earth observation where most of the state-of-the-art results are now achieved by deep neural networks. However, one downside of these methods is the need for large amounts of annotated data, requiring lots of labor-intensive and expensive human efforts, in particular for specific domains that require expert knowledge such as medical imaging or remote sensing. In order to limit the requirement on data annotations, several self-supervised representation learning methods have been proposed to learn unsupervised image representations that can consequently serve for downstream tasks such as image classification, object detection or semantic segmentation. As a result, self-supervised learning approaches have been considerably adopted in the remote sensing domain within the last few years. In this article, we review the underlying principles developed by various self-supervised methods with a focus on scene classification task. We highlight the main contributions and analyze the experiments, as well as summarize the key conclusions, from each study. We then conduct extensive experiments on two public scene classification datasets to benchmark and evaluate different self-supervised models. Based on comparative results, we investigate the impact of individual augmentations when applied to remote sensing data as well as the use of self-supervised pre-training to boost the classification performance with limited number of labeled samples. We finally underline the current trends and challenges, as well as perspectives of self-supervised scene classification.
Identifying Urban Functional Regions from High-Resolution Satellite Images Using a Context-Aware Segmentation Network
Authors: Zhao Wufan , Li Mengmeng , Wu Cai , Zhou Wen , Chu Guozhong
Published: August 2022

The automatic identification of urban functional regions (UFRs) is crucial for urban planning and management. A key issue involved in URF classification is to properly determine the basic functional units, for which popular practices are usually based upon existing land use boundaries or road networks. Such practices suffer from the unavailability of existing datasets, leading to difficulty in large-scale mapping. To deal with this problem, this paper presents a method to automatically obtain functional units for URF classification using high-resolution remote sensing images. We develop a context-aware segmentation network to simultaneously extract buildings and road networks from remote sensing images. The extracted road networks are used for partitioning functional units, upon which five main building types are distinguished considering building height, morphology, and geometry. Finally, the UFRs are classified according to the distribution of building types. We conducted experiments using a GaoFen-2 satellite image with a spatial resolution of 0.8 m acquired in Fuzhou, China. Experimental results showed that the proposed segmentation network performed better than other convolutional neural network segmentation methods (i.e., PSPNet, Deeplabv3+, DANet, and JointNet), with an increase of F1-score up to 1.37% and 1.19% for road and building extraction, respectively. Results also showed that the residential regions, accounting for most of the urban areas, identified by the proposed method had a user accuracy of 94%, implying the promise of the proposed method for deriving the spatial units and the types of urban functional regions.
Outlier-Robust Truncated Maximum Likelihood Parameter Estimation of Compound-Gaussian Clutter with Inverse Gaussian Texture
Authors: Tian Chao , Shui Peng-Lang
Published: August 2022

Compound-Gaussian distributions with inverse Gaussian textures, referred to as the IGCG distributions, are often used to model moderate/high-resolution sea clutter in amplitude. In moderate/high-resolution maritime radars, parameter estimation of the IGCG distributions from radar returns data plays an important role in adaptive target detection. Due to the inevitable existence of outliers of high amplitude in radar returns data from targets and reefs, parameter estimation must be outlier robust. In this paper, an outlier-robust truncated maximum likelihood (TML) estimation method is proposed to mitigate the effect of outliers of high amplitude in data. The data are first transferred into the truncated data by removing a given percentage of the largest samples in amplitude. From the truncated data, the truncated likelihood function is constructed, and its maximum corresponds to the TML estimates of the scale and inverse shape parameters. Further, an iterative algorithm is presented to obtain the TML estimates from data with outliers, which is an extension of the ML estimation method in the case that data contain outliers. In comparison with outlier-sensitive estimation methods and outlier-robust bipercentile estimation methods, the performance of the TML estimation method is close to that of the best ML estimation method in the case that data are without outlier, and it is better in the case that data are with outliers.
A Survey of Dummy-Based Location Privacy Protection Techniques for Location-Based Services
Authors: Zhang Shiwen , Li Mengling , Liang Wei , Sandor Voundi Koe Arthur , Li Xiong
Published: August 2022

As smart devices and mobile positioning technologies improve, location-based services (LBS) have grown in popularity. The LBS environment provides considerable convenience to users, but it also poses a significant threat to their privacy. A large number of research works have emerged to protect users’ privacy. Dummy-based location privacy protection solutions have been widely adopted for their simplicity and enhanced privacy protection results, but there are few reviews on dummy-based location privacy protection. Or, for existing works, some focus on aspects of cryptography, anonymity, or other comprehensive reviews that do not provide enough reviews on dummy-based privacy protection. In this paper, the authors provide a review of dummy-based location privacy protection techniques for location-based services. More specifically, the connection between the level of privacy protection, the quality of service, and the system overhead is summarized. The difference and connection between various location privacy protection techniques are also described. The dummy-based attack models are presented. Then, the algorithms for dummy location selection are analyzed and evaluated. Finally, we thoroughly evaluate different dummy location selection methods and arrive at a highly useful evaluation result. This result is valuable both to users and researchers who are studying this field.
3D Measurement of Large Deformations on a Tensile Structure during Wind Tunnel Tests Using Microsoft Kinect V2
Authors: Marchisotti Daniele , Schito Paolo , Zappa Emanuele
Published: August 2022

Wind tunnel tests often require deformation and displacement measures to determine the behavior of structures to evaluate their response to wind excitation. However, common measurement techniques make it possible to measure these quantities only at a few specific points. Moreover, these kinds of measurements, such as Linear Variable Differential Transformer LVDTs or fiber optics, usually influence the downstream and upstream air fluxes and the structure under test. In order to characterize the displacement of the structure not just at a few points, but for the entire structure, in this article, the application of 3D cameras during a wind tunnel test is presented. In order to validate this measurement technique in this application field, a wind tunnel test was executed. Three Kinect V2 depth sensors were used for a 3D displacement measurement of a test structure that did not present any optical marker or feature. The results highlighted that by using a low-cost and user-friendly measurement system, it is possible to obtain 3D measurements in a volume of several cubic meters (4 m × 4 m × 4 m wind tunnel chamber), without significant disturbance of wind flux and by means of a simple calibration of sensors, executed directly inside the wind tunnel. The obtained results highlighted a displacement directed to the internal part of the structure for the side most exposed to wind, while the sides, parallel to the wind flux, were more subjected to vibrations and with an outwards average displacement. These results are compliant with the expected behavior of the structure.
Spatial Interpolation of Gravimetric Soil Moisture Using EM38-mk Induction and Ensemble Machine Learning (Case Study from Dry Steppe Zone in Volgograd Region)
Authors: Zeyliger Anatoly , Chinilin Andrey , Ermolaeva Olga
Published: August 2022

The implementation of the sustainable management of the interaction between agriculture and the environment requires an increasingly deep understanding and numerical description of the soil genesis and properties of soils. One of the areas of application of relevant knowledge is digital irrigated agriculture. During the development of such technologies, the traditional methods of soil research can be quite expensive and time consuming. Proximal soil sensing in combination with predictive soil mapping can significantly reduce the complexity of the work. In this study, we used topographic variables and data from the Electromagnetic Induction Meter (EM38-mk) in combination with soil surface hydrological variables to produce cartographic models of the gravimetric soil moisture for a number of depth intervals. For this purpose, in dry steppe zone conditions, a test site was organized. It was located at the border of the parcel containing the irrigated soybean crop, where 50 soil samples were taken at different points alongside electrical conductivity data (ECa) measured in situ in the field. The modeling of the gravimetric soil moisture was carried out with the stepwise inclusion of independent variables, using methods of ensemble machine learning and spatial cross-validation. The obtained cartographic models showed satisfactory results with the best performance R2cv 0.59–0.64. The best combination of predictors that provided the best results of the model characteristics for predicting gravimetric soil moisture were geographical variables (buffer zone distances) in combination with the initial variables converted into the principal components. The cartographic models of the gravimetric soil moisture variability obtained this way can be used to solve the problems of managed irrigated agriculture, applying fertilizers at variable rates, thereby optimizing the use of resources by crop producers, which can ultimately contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources.
Investigation of the Dynamic Pure-Mode-II Fracture Initiation and Propagation of Rock during Four-Point Bending Test Using Hybrid Finite–Discrete Element Method
Authors: Song Yushan , Fan Yuqing , An Huaming , Liu Hongyuan , Wu Shunchuan
Published: August 2022

A hybrid finite–discrete element method (FDEM) is proposed to investigate dynamic pure-mode-II fracture behaviors. The transition of continuum to discontinuum was applied to the FDEM through the use of three fracture modes, so that the whole fracture process could be modeled naturally. The FDEM was then employed to model the dynamic pure-mode-II fracture behavior of rock during a four-point bending test with a prefabricated notch. The results showed that the fracture initiated from the tip of the prefabricated notch under a relatively lower loading rate, i.e., 1 m/s and 5 m/s. However, when the loading rate reached higher levels, i.e., 10 m/s and 50 m/s, the prefabricated notch played a small role in the fracture patterns. Under these conditions, the fracture initiated from the center of the beam bottom or the stress concentration vicinity, instead of the tip of the prefabricated notch. Regardless of the loading rate, the obtained force-loading displacement curves showed a typical brittle material failure process. Additionally, by incorporating the empirical correlation between the static and dynamic strengths obtained from the dynamic rock fracture tests, the hybrid finite–discrete element method could effectively reflect the impact of the loading rate on the strength of the rock. To conclude, the hybrid finite–discrete element method is an effective instrument to investigate the fracture initiation and propagation of rock, since it can both naturally simulate the process of rock fracture and capture the effect of the loading rate on the rock behaviors.
Principles of Nutrient and Water Management for Indoor Agriculture
Authors: Langenfeld Noah James , Pinto Daniel Fernandez , Faust James E. , Heins Royal , Bugbee Bruce
Published: August 2022

Mass balance principles are a cornerstone of efficient fertilizer use and can be utilized to optimize plant nutrition without discarding or leaching solution. Here, we describe the maintenance of closed hydroponic and soilless substrate systems based on mass balance. Water removed by transpiration is restored with solution that replaces the nutrients that were taken up with the water. The concentration of nutrients in this refill/irrigation solution is determined by multiplying the optimal concentration of each nutrient in plant tissue by the water-use efficiency (WUE; ratio of dry mass to water transpired). Optimal leaf nutrient concentrations are well established, but WUE in controlled environments varies widely and is less well characterized. Elevated CO2 increases photosynthesis and demand for nutrients, but partially closes stomata and reduces transpiration; so high CO2 dramatically increases WUE. The concentration of the refill/irrigation solution must be adjusted to account for a two-fold range of WUE, from 3 g L−1 in ambient CO2 in lower humidity, to 6 g L−1 in elevated CO2 in higher humidity. WUE and nutrient requirements vary during the vegetative and reproductive stages of growth, and adjustment of the solution over the lifecycle can be beneficial. Measurement of solution electrical conductivity (EC) is helpful, but if the solution is appropriate, low EC usually means healthy plants and active nutrient uptake. The ammonium to nitrate ratio is critical to pH management. We have applied these principles across multiple species and environments to achieve long-term, steady-state nutrient concentrations with no discharge or leaching of solution.
Tourist Perspectives on Agricultural Heritage Interpretation—A Case Study of the Qingtian Rice-Fish System
Authors: Su Mingming , Wang Menghan , Sun Yehong , Wang Ying
Published: August 2022

The interpretation of an agricultural heritage system significantly affects the communication and connection between tourists and heritage sites. Taking the rice-fish system at Qingtian as an example, this study applies field investigations, a tourist questionnaire survey, and face-to-face in-depth interviews to explore agricultural heritage interpretation through the gaze of tourists. A two-dimensional framework integrating interpretation contents and forms for agricultural heritage systems is developed and adopted to guide the analysis. Research results show that tourists’ overall recognition of agricultural heritage features of the Qingtian rice-fish system is not high. Regarding interpretation contents, the rice-fish agricultural landscape, traditional cuisine, and biodiversity exhibit higher awareness. Compared to the static and interactive interpretations, participatory interpretations demonstrated high effectiveness in enhancing visitors’ understanding of agricultural heritage systems, thus raising tourist awareness for heritage conservation. Considering the high potential and the current low level of heritage interpretation, theoretical and managerial implications are then discussed to enhance agricultural heritage interpretations in both content and form to support the conservation and sustainable development of such dynamic agricultural heritage systems.
Stormwater Utility Fee Estimation Method for Individual Land Use Areas
Authors: Yoo Jaehyun , Park Kitae
Published: August 2022

In South Korea, a reasonable rate system that can be domestically applied to calculate sewage and stormwater separately from the domestic sewage fee system is needed. This study proposed a phased pricing scenario to separate sewage and stormwater in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, and the rate changes were compared based on a simulated calculation of the stormwater utility fee. In this investigation, stormwater runoff cases from other countries and the current domestic system were analyzed. A stormwater utility fee introduction scenario was presented that considers the impervious surface area. Water and sewage usage statistics and hydrant spatial data were collected from the Incheon Metropolitan City Waterworks Authority, and the total amount of water and sewage fees from the land use area were calculated. The stormwater utility fee was calculated, and the rates of each step were compared. The total sewage fee of Bupyeong-gu during 2014 was KRW 21,685,446,578, and the phased stormwater utility fee was calculated, assuming that 40% represents the stormwater cost. The sewage fee for the residential area in phase 3 decreased by 0.77% compared to phase 1. For the commercial areas, the sewage fee decreased by 36.87%. Because the impervious surface ratio was high, the overall area contributing to the impervious surface area was small. In the industrial area, the sewage fee increased by 8.35%. In the green area, the sewage fee increased by 37.46%. The sewage fee for the apartment complexes decreased by 10.6%. Finally, the possibility of estimating the actual stormwater utility fee was confirmed.
The Construction of an Evaluation System of Corporate Social Responsibility to Employees: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Clothing Industry
Authors: Jing Yanting , Zhang Wei , Tang Yongjun , Zhang Yuzi
Published: August 2022

Recently, with the intensification of employee suicides in well-known international companies such as Facebook and Pinduoduo, people are paying more and more attention to the violation of employee rights and interests. As an important embodiment of safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of employees, the corporate social responsibility to employees has become one of the focuses of academic discussions. The aim of this article is to build a corporate social responsibility evaluation system for employees for Chinese clothing companies. As a representative of labor-intensive enterprises, enterprises in the cloth industry often need to rely on the strength of their employees to create value more than ordinary enterprises. Therefore, it is of practical significance to study the corporate social responsibility of employees in the cloth industry. In addition, China is an important exporting country of clothing in the world, and its market environment is different from that of developed countries. Research with Chinese enterprises as samples may lead to different conclusions. Finally, unlike general CSR, the evaluation of employee CSR needs to consider the importance of subjective and objective factors. At this time, the use of the catastrophe progression method can more accurately evaluate the weight of each factor. The result of our research on 100 Chinese clothing companies shows that enterprises with higher rankings in clothing industry will fulfill social responsibility to employees better. The use of the catastrophe progression method to evaluate corporate social responsibility to employees can reduce errors caused by subjective steps such as assigning weights in Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and improve the accuracy of evaluation.
Sustainable Valorization of Four Types of Fruit Peel Waste for Biogas Recovery and Use of Digestate for Radish (Raphanus sativus L. cv. Pusa Himani) Cultivation
Authors: AL-Huqail Arwa A. , Kumar Vinod , Kumar Rohit , Eid Ebrahem M. , Taher Mostafa A. , Adelodun Bashir , Abou Fayssal Sami , Mioč Boro , Držaić Valentino , Goala Madhumita , Kumar Pankaj , Širić Ivan
Published: August 2022

Food waste has become a challenging global issue due to its inefficient management, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Among food waste items, fruit peel waste (FPW) is generated in enormous quantities, especially from juice vendors, resulting in arduous tasks for waste management personnel and authorities. However, considering the nutrient and digestible content of organic wastes, in this study four types of FPW (pineapple: PA; sweet lemon: SL; kinnow: KN; and pomegranate: PG) were investigated for their potential use within biogas production, using conventional and electro-assisted anaerobic reactors (CAR and EAR). In addition, the FPW digestate obtained after the biogas production experiments was considered as a soil bio-fertilizer under radish (Raphanussativus L. cv. Pusa Himani) cultivation. In the results, all four types of FPW had digestible organic fractions, as revealed from physicochemical and proximate analysis. However, PA-based FPW yielded the maximum biogas (1422.76 ± 3.10 mL/62.21 ± 0.13% CH4) using the EAR system, compared to all other FPW. Overall, the decreasing order of biogas yield obtained from FPW was observed as PA > PG > SL > KN. The kinetic analysis of the biogas production process showed that the modified Gompertz model best fitted in terms of coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.99) to predict cumulative biogas production (y), lag phase (λ), and specific biogas production rate (µm). Moreover, fertilizer application of spent FPW digestate obtained after biogas production significantly improved the arable soil properties (p < 0.05). Further, KN-based FPW digestate mixing showed maximum improvement in radish plant height (36.50 ± 0.82 cm), plant spread (70.80 ± 3.79 cm2), number of leaves (16.12 ± 0.05), fresh weight of leaves (158.08 ± 2.85 g/plant), fruit yield (140.10 ± 2.13 g/plant), and fruit length (25.05 ± 0.15 cm). Thus, this study suggests an efficient method of FPW management through biogas and crop production.
Bibliometric Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management Research: Global and South African Trends
Authors: Ndou Vhuthu , Rampedi Isaac Tebogo
Published: August 2022

Municipal solid waste management has become one of the most important environmental management issues around the world. In this study, a bibliometric analysis of the literature related to municipal solid waste management from a global and South African perspective was performed using the software, VOSviewer. Relevant scientific literature was sourced from the Scopus database. Results showed that, globally, articles based on this topic started during the 1968–1969 period, whereas in South Africa such articles only appeared in 1996. The keyword analysis showed that most studies were related to waste-to-energy technologies, waste treatment, and other management aspects. Globally, emerging keywords representing new research areas were COVID 19-related waste streams, life-cycle assessments, and the role of municipal solid waste management in the circular economy. In contrast, South Africa’s prominent keywords were municipal solid waste, developing country, landfills, waste treatment, waste-to-energy technologies, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and others. Based on these results, and possible solutions to reduce the amounts of MSW generation rates, recommendations are made to bring South African research on par with international trends.
Study on the Decoupling Relationship and Rebound Effect between Economic Growth and Carbon Emissions in Central China
Authors: Liu Ke , Zhao Mingxue , Xie Xinyue , Zhou Qian
Published: August 2022

The central area is the core region of China’s economic development. Under the current goal of carbon emission reduction, the analysis of the decoupling relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions and the carbon rebound effect will help us to formulate corresponding policies, achieve a carbon peak at an early date, and ensure high-quality economic development. Based on the energy consumption data from 2000 to 2019, the carbon emission of six provinces of the central region was calculated. The Tapio decoupling model was used to learn about the decoupling index. And then, by calculating the contribution rate of technological progress to both economic growth and carbon emission intensity, the carbon saving amount and carbon rebound amount can be calculated, and the rebound effect value of carbon emission is obtained. The results show that the economy in central China presents a trend of growth. In contrast, the carbon emission of each province shows a gradient structure with a large difference, and the economic growth and carbon emission show a weak decoupling in the past five years. We further analyzed the rebound effect of carbon emissions and found that 30% of the years in the central region have a rebound effect with values of more than one. Finally, this study puts forward policy suggestions for the early realization of carbon peaks and high-quality economic development in the central region.
The Galactic Interstellar Medium Has a Preferred Handedness of Magnetic Misalignment
Authors: Huang Zhiqi
Published: August 2022

The Planck mission detected a positive correlation between the intensity (T) and B-mode polarization of the Galactic thermal dust emission. The TB correlation is a parity-odd signal, whose statistical mean vanishes in models with mirror symmetry. Recent work has shown, with strong evidence, that local handedness of the misalignment between the dust filaments and the sky-projected magnetic field produces TB signals. However, it remains unclear whether the observed global TB signal is caused by statistical fluctuations of magnetic misalignment angles or whether some parity-violating physics in the interstellar medium sets a preferred misalignment handedness. The present work aims to make a quantitative statement about how confidently the statistical fluctuation interpretation is ruled out by filament-based simulations of polarized dust emission. We use the publicly available DUSTFILAMENTS code to simulate the dust emission from filaments whose magnetic misalignment angles are symmetrically randomized and construct the probability density function of ξp, a weighted sum of the TB power spectrum. We find that the Planck data have a ≳10σ tension with the simulated ξp distribution. Our results strongly support the idea that the Galactic filament misalignment has a preferred handedness, whose physical origin is yet to be identified.
Upstream of N-Ras (Unr/CSDE1) Interacts with NCp7 and Gag, Modulating HIV-1 IRES-Mediated Translation Initiation
Authors: Taha Nedal , Zgheib Sarwat , Sharma Kamal Kant , Humbert Nicolas , Boutant Emmanuel , Didier Pascal , Mély Yves , Real Eleonore
Published: August 2022

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid protein (NC) as a mature protein or as a domain of the Gag precursor plays important roles in the early and late phases of the infection. To better understand its roles, we searched for new cellular partners and identified the RNA-binding protein Unr/CSDE1, Upstream of N-ras, whose interaction with Gag and NCp7 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and FRET-FLIM. Unr interaction with Gag was found to be RNA-dependent and mediated by its NC domain. Using a dual luciferase assay, Unr was shown to act as an ITAF (IRES trans-acting factor), increasing the HIV-1 IRES-dependent translation. Point mutations of the HIV-1 IRES in a consensus Unr binding motif were found to alter both the IRES activity and its activation by Unr, suggesting a strong dependence of the IRES on Unr. Interestingly, Unr stimulatory effect is counteracted by NCp7, while Gag increases the Unr-promoted IRES activity, suggesting a differential Unr effect on the early and late phases of viral infection. Finally, knockdown of Unr in HeLa cells leads to a decrease in infection by a non-replicative lentivector, proving its functional implication in the early phase of viral infection.
HepG2-NTCP Subclones Exhibiting High Susceptibility to Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Authors: Zahoor Muhammad Atif , Kuipery Adrian , Mosa Alexander I. , Gehring Adam J. , Feld Jordan J.
Published: August 2022

HepG2 cells reconstituted with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) entry receptor sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) are widely used as a convenient in vitro cell culture infection model for HBV replication studies. As such, it is pertinent that HBV infectivity is maintained at steady-state levels for an accurate interpretation of in vitro data. However, variations in the HBV infection efficiency due to imbalanced NTCP expression levels in the HepG2 cell line may affect experimental results. In this study, we performed single cell-cloning of HepG2-NTCP-A3 parental cells via limiting dilution and obtained multiple subclones with increased permissiveness to HBV. Specifically, one subclone (HepG2-NTCP-A3/C2) yielded more than four-fold higher HBV infection compared to the HepG2-NTCP-A3 parental clone. In addition, though HBV infectivity was universally reduced in the absence of polyethylene glycol (PEG), subclone C2 maintained relatively greater permissiveness under PEG-free conditions, suggesting the functional heterogeneity within parental HepG2-NTCP-A3 may be exploitable in developing a PEG-free HBV infection model. The increased viral production correlated with increased intracellular viral antigen expression as evidenced through HBcAg immunofluorescence staining. Further, these subclones were found to express different levels of NTCP, albeit with no remarkable morphology or cell growth differences. In conclusion, we isolated the subclones of HepG2-NTCP-A3 which support efficient HBV production and thus provide an improved in vitro HBV infection model.
Isolation and Characterization of a Newly Discovered Phage, V-YDF132, for Lysing Vibrio harveyi
Authors: Kang Shaozhu , Zhang Luhao , Liao Jiaming , Zhang Dongzhuo , Wu Siting , Zhang Xin , Qin Qiwei , Wei Jingguang
Published: August 2022

A newly discovered lytic bacteriophage, V-YDF132, which efficiently infects the pathogenic strain of Vibrio harveyi, was isolated from aquaculture water collected in Yangjiang, China. Electron microscopy studies revealed that V-YDF132 belonged to the Siphoviridae family, with an icosahedral head and a long noncontractile tail. The phage has a latent period of 25 min and a burst size of 298 pfu/infected bacterium. V-YDF132 was stable from 37 to 50 °C. It has a wide range of stability (pH 5–11) and can resist adverse external environments. In addition, in vitro the phage V-YDF132 has a strong lytic effect on the host. Genome sequencing results revealed that V-YDF132 has a DNA genome of 84,375 bp with a GC content of 46.97%. In total, 115 putative open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted in the phage V-YDF132 genome. Meanwhile, the phage genome does not contain any known bacterial virulence genes or antimicrobial resistance genes. Comparison of the genomic features of the phage V-YDF132 and phylogenetic analysis revealed that V-YDF132 is a newly discovered Vibrio phage. Multiple genome comparisons and comparative genomics showed that V-YDF132 is in the same genus as Vibrio phages vB_VpS_PG28 (MT735630.2) and VH2_2019 (MN794238.1). Overall, the results indicate that V-YDF132 is potentially applicable for biological control of vibriosis.
ty-5 Confers Broad-Spectrum Resistance to Geminiviruses
Authors: Ren Yanxiang , Tao Xiaorong , Li Dawei , Yang Xiuling , Zhou Xueping
Published: August 2022

The selection of resistant crops is an effective method for controlling geminivirus diseases. ty-5 encodes a messenger RNA surveillance factor Pelota with a single amino acid mutation (PelotaV16G), which confers effective resistance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). No studies have investigated whether ty-5 confers resistance to other geminiviruses. Here, we demonstrate that the tomato ty-5 line exhibits effective resistance to various geminiviruses. It confers resistance to two representative begomoviruses, tomato yellow leaf curl China virus/tomato yellow leaf curl China betasatellite complex and tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus. The ty-5 line also exhibits partial resistance to a curtovirus beet curly top virus. Importantly, ty-5 confers resistance to TYLCV with a betasatellite. Southern blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses showed that significantly less DNA of these geminiviruses accumulated in the ty-5 line than in the susceptible line. Moreover, knockdown of Pelota expression converted a Nicotiana benthamiana plant from a geminivirus-susceptible host to a geminivirus-resistant host. Overall, our findings suggest that ty-5 is an important resistance gene resource for crop breeding to control geminiviruses.
Analysis of the Flow Energy Loss and Q-H Stability in Reversible Pump Turbine as Pump with Different Guide Vane Opening Angles
Authors: Yan Wei , Zhu Di , Tao Ran , Wang Zhengwei
Published: August 2022

The internal flow problem of a reversible pump turbine restricts its safe and stable operation. Among them, the influence of the guide vane on the internal flow field is very crucial. The flow–head relationship is of great significance in the performance stability of the unit. In this study, the performance and flow field characteristics under different flow rates were analyzed for different guide vane opening angles. By comparing the results of the model test and computational fluid dynamics simulation, it was found that the simulation can well predict the energy characteristics and flow field distribution. There is an optimal efficiency range under each guide vane opening angle. The increase or decrease in flow will reduce the efficiency. For the head, it will decrease significantly with a decrease in the flow rate, especially when it deviates seriously from the optimal efficiency region. From the contour of the flow energy loss and the vector of velocity, it can be seen that the head drop is closely related to the flow blockage caused by the difference between the runner incoming flow direction and the installation direction of the guide vane. This study deeply revealed the valley and peak of head variation under different guide vane opening conditions. It can provide technical support for improving the wide range operation stability of a pump turbine.
Metal Content and Enrichment in Bivalves within the Drainage Area of Seawater Used for a Desulfurization Process in Zhanjiang Bay, China
Authors: Zhang Jibiao , Peng Demeng , Zhang Peng , Rong Yumei , Hu Lifang , Zhao Lirong , Chen Chunliang
Published: August 2022

As heavy metals are easy to accumulate and have strong biological toxicity, they pose a potential threat to human health by entering the human body through the cumulative effect of marine life. Land-based input is an important source of heavy metals in the ocean, which has a great influence on coastal water quality. In this study, the spatial distribution characteristics of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, As) in the coastal waters of the desulfurization process outlet of a power plant in Zhanjiang Bay were investigated, and the enrichment behavior of heavy metals by organisms (oysters and barnacles) were also studied. The results showed that, before the seawater desulfurization system was closed, there were high concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr) in the surface seawater near the drainage outlet. The concentrations of these heavy metals in the surface seawater were higher than those in the bottom seawater within 100 m of the drainage outlet. After the seawater desulfurization system was closed, the average concentrations of Cu, Cr and As in seawater at each station decreased by 17.04%, 37.52% and 29.53%, respectively, while the average concentrations of Zn, Cd and Pb increased by 17.05%, 32.87% and 48.77%, respectively. Single factor pollution index (SFI) and bio-concentration factor (BCF) showed that there was a potential high accumulation risk of Zn in oysters and barnacles near the drainage outlet of desulfurization wastewater (0.5 < SFI < 1 and BCF > 1000). The SFI and BCF of each metal in oysters and barnacles decreased with the increase in distance from the drainage outlet. Generally, the coastal water quality of desulfurization process drainage area in Zhanjiang Bay were below the class Ⅱof the “Seawater quality standard” (GB 3097-1997) of China. However, the heavy metals content in seawater and organisms near the drainage outlet is slightly higher. This suggested that if the seawater desulfurization process runs for a long time, it will have a negative impact on the coastal water and organisms.
Recuperación económica POST COVID-19 desde la percepción de los empresarios
Authors: Aguilar-Morales Norma
Published: August 2022

Introducción: la pandemia ocasionada por el virus COVID-19 tuvo fuertes repercusiones a nivel mundial tanto en la salud de la población como en la economía de los países, México no fue la excepción y al ser un país de América Latina con rezagos estructurales y sociales acarreados de muchos años atrás, el impacto fue mayor. 

Objetivo: el propósito de la investigación fue conocer la percepción de empresarios de una ciudad capital del sureste de México acerca de los impactos que la pandemia produjo en sus empresas y los requerimientos que ellos contemplan para la recuperación económica post pandemia.

Material y método: estudio realizado bajo un enfoque cualitativo, a través del paradigma positivista. La técnica empleada fue el grupo de enfoque de manera virtual. 

Resultados: Los resultados reflejan que las categorías que reflejan el mayor número de frases expresadas por los empresarios fueron: trabajo, inversiones, preparación académica y apoyos de gobierno.

Conclusiones: se identificaron debilidades y necesidades del ámbito empresarial y también del sector educativo, ya que uno de los principales hallazgos fueron las carencias de conocimientos y habilidades del capital humano en cuestiones como el manejo de la tecnología, conocimientos de marketing y administrativos, así como de actitud y compromiso.
Pemberdayaan Kelompok Penggerak Pariwisata di Kabupaten Sumedang
Authors: Nugraha Dadan Setia
Published: August 2022

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana pemberdayaan kelompok penggerak pariwisata di Kabupaten Sumedang.  Fokus permasalahan pada penelitian ini yaitu mengenai pemberdayaan kelompok dan faktor penghambat pemberdayaan kelompok. Acuan teori yang digunakan adalah teori pemberdayaan kelompok menurut Akadun (2005) yang terdiri dari daya sosial, daya politik, dan daya psikologi. Metode penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data melalui studi kepustakaan dan studi lapangan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemberdayaan kelompok penggerak parwisata di Kabupaten Sumedang telah berjalan cukup baik. Adapun faktor penghambat dalam pemberdayaan kelompok penggerak pariwisata berupa kompetensi kelompok penggerak pariwisata yang masih minim didalam mengelola objek wisata di masing-masing Desa dan kurangnya sarana dan prasana didalam pengelolaan objek wisata yang menyebabkan beberapa fasilitas di objek wisata tidak terawat dengan baik.