bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Morphological and Molecular Characterization of the Invasive Pestiferous Land Snail Macrochlamys indica Godwin-Austen, 1883 (Gastropoda: Ariophantidae) from Saudi Arabia
Authors: Abobakr Yasser , Al-Sarar Ali S. , Alzabib Ali A. , Saleh Amgad A.
Published: October 2022

Many terrestrial gastropod species have been dispersed as a result of anthropogenic activities and have adapted to new habitats where they are considered as alien or invasive species. Several synanthropic gastropods are invasive in urban and agricultural environments worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, increased human activities have accelerated the introduction of terrestrial gastropod species, increasing the need to study its gastropod fauna. Our preliminary survey disclosed the presence of ariophantid snails in a number of agricultural nurseries. Based on morphological features of shell, body, and reproductive system, we report the first record of Macrochlamys indica from Saudi Arabia. The phylogenetic analysis obtained from DNA sequences of the mitochondrial COI and 16S regions confirmed the identity of M. indica. One third of the investigated nurseries were infested with this snail, however, we did not find any specimens of M. indica in natural habitats or open agricultural fields. The snail-infested nurseries were distributed all over Saudi Arabia. The occurrence of one haplotype of partial mitochondrial COI sequence from these nurseries suggests that the introduction of M. indica is likely very recent. Based on the obtained results, it is recommended that control measurements must be implemented in order to eradicate or at least restrict the dissemination of M. indica from nurseries to natural habitats or agricultural fields.
The Role of Radiation in the Modelling of Crop Evapotranspiration from Open Field to Indoor Crops
Authors: Flores-Velazquez Jorge , Akrami Mohammad , Villagrán Edwin
Published: October 2022

The agricultural sector continues to be the largest consumer of useful water. Despite knowing the volume of water required by plants (evapotranspiration), methodologies must be adapted to current production systems. Based on the energy balance (radiation), it is feasible to establish models to estimate evapotranspiration depending on the production system: extensive crops, closed, and interior systems. The objective of this work was to present related research to measure and model the evapotranspiration of crops under current production techniques, based on the energy balance. The original FAO Penman–Monteith model is considered to be the model that best describes the evapotranspiration process, and with advances in instrumentation, there are sensors capable of measuring each of the variables it contains. From this model, procedures have been approximated for its use in extensive crops through remote sensing to calculate evapotranspiration, which jointly integrates the climatic variables and the type and age of the crop, with which real evapotranspiration is obtained. The same Penman–Monteith model has been adapted for use in greenhouse crops, where given the reduced root space and being in a closed environment, it is possible to know the variables specifically. Keeping the root container saturated, crop transpiration will basically depend on the physiology of the plant (LAI, stomatal resistance, etc.) and the characteristics of the air (radiation, VPD, wind speed, etc.). Models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been developed, which predict the real evapotranspiration of the crop by activating the discrete ordinate (DO) radiation sub-model. For indoor crops, in the absence of solar radiation, and replaced with artificial lights (LEDs)—although it is true that they are hydroponic crops and water can be estimated through a balance of levels—it would be possible to use CFD to estimate transpiration by transforming flux units (Mmol) into radiation (W m−2). The transpiration of indoor crops works as a cooling system and stabilizes the environment of the plant factory or vertical farm. In each crop production system (from open field to indoor crops) models have been developed to manage water and microclimate. The result is reports that more than 90% of the water is saved.
Role of ZmGST Gene Family Involved in Nicosulfuron Stress Tolerance Revealed by Genomic and Transcriptomic Analyses
Authors: Liu Xiaomin , Zhao Dan , Xu Xian , Yuan Libing , Zhao Bochui , Li Binghua , Guo Xinli , Wang Guiqi
Published: October 2022

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are a large family of polymorphous proteins that play important roles in herbicide detoxification and stress response. Nicosulfuron is the most broadly used herbicide in maize fields, and it can cause different injuries to maize varieties, but little is studied about the systemic and comprehensive GST gene family responding to nicosulfuron stress in maize. In this research, pre-treatment with glutathione S-transferase inhibitor 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) increased nicosulfuron phytotoxicity to both sensitive and tolerant maize genotypes. A total of 55 ZmGST genes belonging to six major sub-classes were identified in the maize genome and named according to the nomenclature system. Based on phylogenetic analyses, highly conserved gene structure and motif distribution were detected in the same class. Chromosome mapping results showed that ZmGST genes were distributed over the 10 chromosomes unevenly. There were thirteen and eight gene pairs identified as tandem and segmental duplication events, respectively, which played important roles in the expansion of the GST gene family in maize. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses showed that there were great dissimilarities in ZmGST gene expression patterns between the tolerant and sensitive maize plants. More highly expressed ZmGST genes were found in the tolerant than in the sensitive without nicosulfuron stress. However, under 60 g a.i. ha−1 nicosulfuron stress, more ZmGST genes were significantly upregulated in HB41 than in HB09. This study provided experimental evidence showing that glutathione S-transferases were involved in nicosulfuron stress in maize. It will contribute to the further functional analysis of the GST gene family in maize.
A Size-Grading Method of Antler Mushrooms Using YOLOv5 and PSPNet
Authors: Wu Yanqiang , Sun Yongbo , Zhang Shuoqin , Liu Xia , Zhou Kai , Hou Jialin
Published: October 2022

Quality grading in antler mushroom industrial production is a labor-intensive operation. For a long time, manual grading has been used for grading, which produces various problems such as insufficient reliability, low production efficiency, and high mushroom body damage. Automatic grading is a problem to be solved urgently for antler mushroom industrial development with increasing labor costs. To solve the problem, this paper deeply integrates the single-stage object detection of YOLOv5 and the semantic segmentation of PSPNet, and proposes a Y-PNet model for real-time object detection and an image segmentation network. This article also proposes an evaluation model for antler mushroom’s size, which eliminates subjective judgment and achieves quality grading. Moreover, to meet the needs of efficient and accurate hierarchical detection in the factory, this study uses the lightweight network model to construct a lightweight YOLOv5 single-stage object detection model. The MobileNetV3 network model embedded with a CBAM module is used as the backbone extractor in PSPNet to reduce the model’s size and improve the model’s efficiency and accuracy for segmentation. Experiments show that the proposed system can perform real-time grading successfully, which can provide instructive and practical references in industry.
Impacts of Alexandrian Clover Living Mulch on the Yield, Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Capacity of Leek and Shallot
Authors: Sałata Andrzej , Nurzyńska-Wierdak Renata , Kalisz Andrzej , Moreno-Ramón Héctor
Published: October 2022

The use of living mulches (LM) grown in-season together with the cash crop is a potentially important method of organic vegetable production. There are only a few reports on the influence of LM on the biological value of vegetable crops. The impacts of LM of Alexandrian clover on the yields and levels of phenolic compounds in leeks and shallots were investigated. There were three sowing dates for the clover plants: 3 weeks before planting the leeks and shallot, at the planting date, and three weeks from planting the leeks and shallots. The yields of leeks and shallots with LM were higher than without the clover LM; the plants grown with LM accumulated more total phenolic (TP) compounds, and the plant extracts showed significantly higher antioxidant activity (AA). In shallot bulbs, the LM of Alexandrian clover increased the ferulic acid and chlorogenic acid levels, while in leek pseudo-stems the quercetin level was increased. The level of bioactive compounds depended on the date of clover planting. The most favorable sowing dates for clover planting were at the time of planting the leeks and shallots and three weeks after planting the plants. The LM of Alexandrian clover can be considered as a tool that can influence the nutritional value of leeks and shallots.
Responses of the Lodging Resistance of Indica Rice Cultivars to Temperature and Solar Radiation under Field Conditions
Authors: Luo Xiaoyun , Wu Zefang , Fu Lu , Dan Zhiwu , Long Weixiong , Yuan Zhengqing , Liang Ting , Zhu Renshan , Hu Zhongli , Wu Xianting
Published: October 2022

Much attention has shifted to the effects of temperature and solar radiation on rice production and grain quality due to global climate change. Meanwhile, lodging is a major cause of rice yield and quality losses. However, responses of the lodging resistance of rice to temperature and solar radiation are still unclear. To decipher the mechanisms through which the lodging resistance might be affected by temperature and solar radiation, 32 rice cultivars with different lodging resistance were grown at two eco-sites on three sowing dates over a period of three years. Based on the field observation, 12 indica rice cultivars which did not lodge were selected for analysis. Significant differences were found in the lodging resistance of the indica rice cultivars at different temperature and solar radiation treatments. The results showed that temperature was the main factor that affected the lodging resistance of indica rice cultivars under the conditions of this study. With the increased average daily temperature, the lodging resistance decreased rapidly, primarily due to the significant reduction in physical strength of the culm, which was attributed to the longer and thinner basal second internode. Among the 12 indica rice cultivars, the lodging-moderate cultivar Chuanxiang 29B was most sensitive to temperature, and the lodging-resistant cultivar Jiangan was least responsive to temperature. These results suggested that rice breeders could set the shorter and thicker basal internode as the main selection criteria to cultivate lodging-resistant indica cultivars to ensure a high yield at a higher ambient temperature.
Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Betalains from Opuntia Fruit Pulp of Different Color Varieties
Authors: Vázquez-Espinosa Mercedes , González-de-Peredo Ana V. , Carrera Ceferino , Palma Miguel , Barbero Gerardo F. , Aliaño-González María José
Published: October 2022

Betalains are water-soluble pigments that have exhibited important pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anticancer, antilipidemic and antimicrobial activity. These compounds have been isolated in numerous purple plants or fruits, as is the case of the wild species under the Opuntia genus. The fruits of these species are often disregarded because of their small size as well as the frequent presence of prickles. Based on this, this research has as its objective the optimization of a method based on ultrasound-assisted extraction to obtain extracts enriched with betalains from a wild Opuntia species (Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.) Haw.). Four variables (%EtOH in the solvent, temperature of extraction, ultrasound amplitude and cycle) were selected using a Box–Behnken design. The quadratic interaction of %EtOH and the interaction of %EtOH–cycle have proven to be influential variables at 95% confidence. The conditions to obtain the highest betalain concentration were 100 mg of pulp with 20 mL (60%:40% EtOH:H2O) solvent at 20 °C at 24% amplitude and 0.2 cycle for 10 min. The suitability and reliability of the method were evaluated with repeatability and intermediate precision tests obtaining CVs <5%. Finally, the developed method has been employed in the analysis of five Opuntia commercial samples and obtained significant antioxidant activity of the extracts, confirming its applicability.
Study on Regulation Mechanism of Tomato Root Growth in Greenhouse under Cycle Aerated Subsurface Drip Irrigation
Authors: Zhang Qian , Zhang Peng , Deng Yunpeng , Sun Chitao , Tian Xiaoxu , Si Bingcheng , Li Bo , Guo Xiaohong , Liu Fusheng , Zhang Zhenhua
Published: October 2022

Aerobic irrigation can effectively improve the oxygen environment in the root zone, and enhance crop quality and yield. However, how aerobic irrigation regulates root growth has not been elucidated. In this study, tomato plants were irrigated with three levels of oxygen (high, medium, and low) under underground drip irrigation. The morphology, activity, transcriptome, and hormone content of tomato roots under oxygen irrigation were analyzed. We found that the aeration irrigation significantly promoted root development. Notably, in the high-aeration irrigation treatment (HAI), the total root length, total surface area, total volume, and root activity were 12.41%, 43.2%, 79.1%, and 24.15% higher than in the non-aeration irrigation treatment (CK), respectively. The transcriptome of tomato roots under aeration irrigation was determined with a total of 272 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 131 up-regulated and 141 down-regulated genes. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that the DEGs were enriched mainly in the metabolic pathways and plant hormone signal transduction. Among the plant hormone signal transduction, 50% of DEGs belonged to IAA signal-related genes and were upregulated. LC-MS analysis showed that the content of auxin hormones in the tomato roots subjected to aeration irrigation was significantly higher than that in CK. The content of Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), Indole-3-carboxylic acid (ICA) and Indole-3-carboxaldehyde (ICAld) were 2.3, 2.14 and 1.45 times higher than those of the CK, but insignificant effects were exerted on the contents of cytokinins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, and ethylene. Meanwhile, the key enzyme of auxin synthesis flavin monooxygenase (YUCCA) was significantly up-regulated. The aforementioned results show that aeration irrigation may promote the growth and development of roots by auxin regulation.
Effects of Eugenol on Water Quality and the Metabolism and Antioxidant Capacity of Juvenile Greater Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) under Simulated Transport Conditions
Authors: He Yuhang , Fu Zhengyi , Dai Shiming , Yu Gang , Guo Yunfeng , Ma Zhenhua
Published: October 2022

This study investigated the effects of added eugenol on water quality and the metabolism and antioxidant capacity of the liver and gills of the greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) during simulated transport. The juvenile fish (10.34 ± 1.33 g) were transported in sealed plastic bags containing different eugenol concentrations at a density of 24.79 kg/m3 for 8 h. The different eugenol concentrations were divided into five groups: 0 μL/mL (control group), 0.0125 μL/mL, 0.025 μL/mL, 0.0375 μL/mL, and 0.05 μL/mL, with three replicates of each. The results showed that 0.05 μL/mL of eugenol could significantly increase dissolved oxygen, but 0.025 μL/mL–0.0375 μL/mL resulted in a significant decrease in dissolved oxygen and significant increases in NH4+-N and NO2−-N. It was found that 0.05 μL/mL of eugenol caused significant up-regulation of the relative expression of CPT-1 in the liver, significant down-regulation of the relative expression of FAS and PK in the liver and gills, a significant increase in glycogen concentration, and a significant decrease in glucose concentration. This suggests that 0.05 μL/mL of eugenol could reduce the metabolic capacity of fish. In addition, 0.05 μL/mL of eugenol caused significant up-regulation of the relative expression of CAT and a significant decrease of MDA concentration in the liver. Meanwhile, the gills showed significant up-regulation of CAT relative expression, significant down-regulation of Keap1 relative expression, and a significant increase in GSH activity, resulting in a significant increase in MDA concentration when the concentration of eugenol reached or exceeded 0.025 μL/mL. This suggests that 0.05 μL/mL eugenol could improve the antioxidant capacity of fish and lipid peroxidation levels in the gills. In conclusion, the addition of 0.05 μL/mL eugenol could improve water quality, and the metabolic and antioxidant capacities of liver and gills, but it could also increase lipid peroxidation levels in the gills under transport conditions.
Fine-Grained Butterfly Recognition via Peer Learning Network with Distribution-Aware Penalty Mechanism
Authors: Xu Chudong , Cai Runji , Xie Yuhao , Cai Huiyi , Wang Min , Gao Yuefang , Ma Xiaoming
Published: October 2022

Automatic species recognition plays a key role in intelligent agricultural production management and the study of species diversity. However, fine-grained species recognition is a challenging task due to the quite diverse and subtle interclass differences among species and the long-tailed distribution of sample data. In this work, a peer learning network with a distribution-aware penalty mechanism is proposed to address these challenges. Specifically, the proposed method employs the two-stream ResNeSt-50 as the backbone to obtain the initial predicted results. Then, the samples, which are selected from the instances with the same predicted labels by knowledge exchange strategy, are utilized to update the model parameters via the distribution-aware penalty mechanism to mitigate the bias and variance problems in the long-tailed distribution. By performing such adaptive interactive learning, the proposed method can effectively achieve improved recognition accuracy for head classes in long-tailed data and alleviate the adverse effect of many head samples relative to a few samples of the tail classes. To evaluate the proposed method, we construct a large-scale butterfly dataset (named Butterfly-914) that contains approximately 72,152 images belonging to 914 species and at least 20 images for each category. Exhaustive experiments are conducted to validate the efficiency of the proposed method from several perspectives. Moreover, the superior Top-1 accuracy rate (86.2%) achieved on the butterfly dataset demonstrates that the proposed method can be widely used for agricultural species identification and insect monitoring.
Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in Wild Birds from a Wildlife Rescue Centre
Authors: Casalino Gaia , D’Amico Francesco , Dinardo Francesca Rita , Bozzo Giancarlo , Napoletano Valeria , Camarda Antonio , Bove Antonella , Lombardi Roberto , D’Onghia Francesco Paolo , Circella Elena
Published: October 2022

Climate change, excessive exploitation of agricultural land which reduces natural habitats, wildlife shooting, and the use of pesticides all cause difficulties for wildlife, with considerable numbers of animals being brought to wildlife rescue centres. Although the efforts of staff involved in wildlife management at these centres usually focus on therapeutic treatments to reintroduce them into the wild, the monitoring of pathogens that may be transmitted to humans is of relevance. Campylobacter (C.) jejuni and C. coli are frequently carried by animals without inducing clinical signs and are responsible for enteric disorders and more rarely extra-intestinal disease in humans. Farm species and poultry, in particular, are the main reservoirs of C. jejuni and C. coli, but wild animals may also be carriers. The aim of this paper was to investigate the presence of C. jejuni and C. coli in wild birds housed at a wildlife rescue centre and to evaluate the sensitivity of the detected strains to antibiotics. Campylobacter was found in 52 out of 209 (24.88%) birds from 33 different species. C. jejuni was more prevalent, while C. coli was only detected in three Long-eared Owls (Asio otus). The incidence of the infection was particularly high (72.22%) among omnivorous species. Infection rates were higher in birds housed indoors (57.14%) than outdoors (31.74%). Moreover, Campylobacter was not detected in species whose mean temperature body is below 40 °C or higher than 42.2 °C. The most common antibiotic resistance in the tested strains was against trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin. In addition, multi-drug resistance was also found. The results highlight the need to increase biosecurity measures at rescue centres so as to reduce health-related risks to workers involved in wildlife management.
Beyond “Doing Better”: Ordinal Rating Scales to Monitor Behavioural Indicators of Well-Being in Cats
Authors: Ellis Jacklyn J.
Published: October 2022

Safeguarding the well-being of cats is essential to the mission of any responsible animal shelter. Environmental enrichment and behaviour modification are often key to this goal. Measuring response to these interventions is essential to ensure strategies are successful. There are often many staff and volunteers involved in these efforts, and a lack of standardised language can make monitoring progress difficult. Ordinal rating scales of key behaviours can be a useful way to summarise observations and ensure that common language is used. However, it is crucial that these scales have good interobserver agreement and reliability, so operational definitions and training systems are important. This paper presents a method for evaluating four different expressions of cat welfare on a 0–5 scale: modified Fear, Anxiety, and Stress score; Response to Petting score; Participation in Play score; and Food Intake Summary score. All scales showed almost perfect average interobserver agreement (linear weighted κ) and excellent average interobserver reliability (interclass correlation coefficient). These scales may prove useful to other shelters, or any other environment where evaluating response to interventions is important to the welfare of cats, such as research facilities or home environments. The exceptional interobserver agreement and reliability of this study compared with some others highlights the importance of standardised training programs.
Genetic Resistance of Bovines to Theileriosis
Authors: Valente Diana , Gomes Jacinto , Coelho Ana Cláudia , Carolino Inês
Published: October 2022

Diseases caused by ticks have a high impact on the health, welfare, and productivity of livestock species. They are also an important cause of economic losses in farms worldwide. An example of such diseases is theileriosis, which can be controlled by drugs or vaccines, although these are not fully efficient. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative and more sustainable and efficient complementary strategies. These may involve the identification and selection of animals more resistant to the disease. Several previous studies have identified significant differences in resistance between different breeds, with resistant breeds typically identified as those native to the region where they are being studied, and susceptible as those from exotic breeds. These studies have indicated that resistance traits are intrinsically related to the modulation of the immune response to infection. This review aims to systematize the general knowledge about theileriosis, emphasize resistance to this disease as a sustainable control strategy, and identify which traits of resistance to the disease are already known in cattle.
Macrobiotus rebecchii sp. nov.: A New Limno-Terrestrial and Hermaphroditic Tardigrade from Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Stec Daniel
Published: October 2022

A new tardigrade species of the genus Macrobiotus C.A.S. Schultze, 1834 from Kyrgyzstan, is described and illustrated in this paper. Macrobiotus rebecchii sp. nov. is a hermaphroditic and limnoterrestrial species found in a moss growing on a rock in Toluk village. Specimens of the new species were examined for its morphological details using contrast phase light microscope (PCM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Genetic data in the form of DNA sequences of commonly used molecular markers were also obtained (18S rRNA, COI). Phenotypically the new species is most similar to Macrobiotus joannae Pilato & Binda, 1983, Macrobiotus punctillus Pilato, Binda & Azzaro, 1990, and Macrobiotus hannae Nowak & Stec, 2018, but can be easily differentiated from all of them by its body granulation pattern.
Morphological, Phaneroptic, Habitat and Population Description of Three Muntjac Species in a Tibetan Nature Reserve
Authors: Wang Yuan , Li Dajiang , Wang Guanglong , Zhu Pu Bu Dun , Liu Wulin , Li Cheng , Jin Kun
Published: October 2022

Researchers have proposed a variety of classification schemes for the species in the genus Muntiacus (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) based on morphological, molecular, and other evidence, but disputes remain. The Tibetan Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve in the Eastern Himalayas is an area with a rich diversity of muntjac species. The habitats of many species overlap in this area, but systematic research in this area is lacking. To clarify the species, population and habitat size of muntjac species in the study area, we used camera-traps to monitor muntjacs in the nature reserve from 2013 to 2021 and described and compared morphological characteristics of the muntjac species. Subsequently, we used the MaxEnt model to simulate the habitats of the muntjac species and the Random Encounter Model to estimate the population density and numbers of muntjacs. Three muntjac species were found in the area, namely Muntiacus vaginalis (n = 7788 ± 3866), Muntiacus gongshanensis (n = 6673 ± 2121), and Muntiacus feae (n = 3142 ± 942). The red muntjac has the largest habitat area, the highest population density, and largest size, followed by Gongshan muntjac and Fea’s muntjac. This study provides basic data for improving the background knowledge of the animal diversity in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, as well as detailed information and references required by wildlife workers for species identification.
Genome-Wide Association Studies Revealed Significant QTLs and Candidate Genes Associated with Backfat and Loin Muscle Area in Pigs Using Imputation-Based Whole Genome Sequencing Data
Authors: Li Jie , Wu Jie , Jian Yunhua , Zhuang Zhanwei , Qiu Yibin , Huang Ruqu , Lu Pengyun , Guan Xiang , Huang Xiaoling , Li Shaoyun , Min Li , Ye Yong
Published: October 2022

Improvement of carcass features is an essential goal in pig genetic breeding programs. Backfat (BF) and loin muscle area (LMA) are important carcass production metrics and useful indicators of pig production performance and lean meat rate. However, the genetic architecture of BF and LMA traits remains elusive. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes associated with these traits, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using imputation-based whole genome sequencing data for four phenotypes (adjusted 100 kg BF and LMA, adjusted 100 kg BF EBV and LMA EBV) in 1131 pigs from 3 breeds (French Yorkshire, Landrace, and Duroc). After genotype imputation and quality control, 14,163,315 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were retained for further analysis. For the adjusted 100 kg BF trait, using the 2-LOD drop method, a QTL with a 13.4 Kb interval (2.91 to 2.93 Mb on SSC2) and containing a SHANK2 gene was defined. In addition, two QTLs with 135.40 Kb (from 66.10 to 66.23 Mb) and 3.12 Kb (from 66.886 to 66.889 Mb) intervals containing CCND2 and TSPAN11 genes, respectively, were found on SSC5. For the BF-EBV trait, two QTLs (128.77 Kb from 66.10 to 66.23 Mb on SSC5 and 42.10 Kb from 2.89 to 2.93 Mb on SSC2) were identified. Notably, CCND2 and SHANK2 were the only candidate genes in their respective QTL interval. Furthermore, we detected a 3.33 Kb (66.106 to 66.110 Mb on SSC2) haplotype block which was detected as affecting the BF_EBV trait, which only contained the CCND2 gene. Thus, we suggested CCND2 and SHANK2 as strong candidate genes for regulating the BF trait for pigs. The empirical confidence intervals of the QTLs were 1.14 Mb (165.65 to 166.79 Mb on SSC6) for adjusted 100 kg LMA and 1.49 Mb (165.26–166.74 Mb on SSC6) for LMA-EBV. These two confidence intervals contained 13 and 28 annotated genes, respectively. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the genetic basis of pig carcass traits. The identified molecular markers will be useful for selecting breeding lines for breeding pigs with superior carcass traits.
An Optimized Workflow for the Discovery of New Antimicrobial Compounds Targeting Bacterial RNA Polymerase Complex Formation
Authors: Caputo Alessia , Sartini Sara , Levati Elisabetta , Minato Ilaria , Elisi Gian Marco , Di Stasi Adriana , Guillou Catherine , Goekjian Peter G. , Garcia Pierre , Gueyrard David , Bach Stéphane , Comte Arnaud , Ottonello Simone , Rivara Silvia , Montanini Barbara
Published: October 2022

Bacterial resistance represents a major health problem worldwide and there is an urgent need to develop first-in-class compounds directed against new therapeutic targets. We previously developed a drug-discovery platform to identify new antimicrobials able to disrupt the protein–protein interaction between the β’ subunit and the σ70 initiation factor of bacterial RNA polymerase, which is essential for transcription. As a follow-up to such work, we have improved the discovery strategy to make it less time-consuming and more cost-effective. This involves three sequential assays, easily scalable to a high-throughput format, and a subsequent in-depth characterization only limited to hits that passed the three tests. This optimized workflow, applied to the screening of 5360 small molecules from three synthetic and natural compound libraries, led to the identification of six compounds interfering with the β’–σ70 interaction, and thus was capable of inhibiting promoter-specific RNA transcription and bacterial growth. Upon supplementation with a permeability adjuvant, the two most potent transcription-inhibiting compounds displayed a strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values among the lowest (0.87–1.56 μM) thus far reported for β’–σ PPI inhibitors. The newly identified hit compounds share structural feature similarities with those of a pharmacophore model previously developed from known inhibitors.
Rational Use of Ceftriaxone in Necrotizing Fasciitis and Mortality Associated with Bloodstream Infection and Hemorrhagic Bullous Lesions
Authors: Chen Hung-Yen , Huang Tsung-Yu , Chen Jiun-Liang , Kuo Liang-Tseng , Huang Kuo-Chin , Tsai Yao-Hung
Published: October 2022

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is an uncommon life-threatening necrotizing skin and soft tissue infection. The formation of hemorrhagic bullae is a special skin sign of NF. The purposes of this study were to investigate the incidence of hemorrhagic bullae formation and bacteremia associated with different organisms, to appraise the appropriate use of ceftriaxone, and to compare the clinical and laboratory risk indicators of NF patients with Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections on the initial examination. Methods: From March 2018 to December 2020, there were seventy-four NF patients with positive monomicrobial bacterial cultures enrolled based on surgical confirmation, and were categorized into two groups: the Gram-positive group and the Gram-negative group. Ceftriaxone susceptibility tests were carried out using the standard disk diffusion technique. Data, such as demographics, clinical outcomes, microbiological results, presentations of hemorrhagic bullae, and laboratory findings, were compared among these two groups. Results: The Gram-negative group included 52 patients, of whom 6 patients died, resulting in a mortality rate of 11.5%. The Gram-positive group included 22 patients and none died. Patients with bacteremia, hemorrhagic bullae, shock, fever, higher segmented forms and banded forms, and lower platelet counts constituted higher proportions in the Gram-negative group than in the Gram-positive group. The multivariate analysis identified six variables for the differentiation of Gram-negative and Gram-positive NF: the presentation of bacteremia, hemorrhagic bullae, shock at first consultation, fever with body temperature > 38.5 °C, band forms > 0%, and segmented forms ≦ 74%. A total of 66 isolates (89.2%) was susceptible to ceftriaxone. Conclusions: Gram-negative NF patients were significantly associated with hemorrhagic bullae presentation, blood stream infection, and mortality. Physicians should be alert to NF patients with the appearance of bacteremia, shock, fever, higher WBC banded and segmented forms, and lower platelet counts at the emergency department, with patients revealed to more likely have Gram-negative infections. Ceftriaxone with/without other appropriate antibiotics under the supervision of infectious doctors appeared to be clinically effective for the treatment of NF and blood stream infections.
Comparative Study of Antiviral, Cytotoxic, Antioxidant Activities, Total Phenolic Profile and Chemical Content of Propolis Samples in Different Colors from Turkiye
Authors: Boke Sarikahya Nazli , Varol Ekin , Sumer Okkali Gaye , Yucel Banu , Margaoan Rodica , Nalbantsoy Ayse
Published: October 2022

Propolis is a valuable natural substance obtained by honey bees after being collected from the bark, resin of trees, plant leaves and mixed with their saliva, and has been widely used for various biological activities. The properties of propolis can vary widely by botanical origin, location of the hives and colony population. It is thought that the color of propolis is one of the main factors determining its acceptability and originates from the flower markers, pollen and nectar of some plants and is directly related to its chemical content. It is important to compare and standardize the colors, chemical content and biological activities of propolis in our country, which has a rich endemic plant diversity. Thus, in this study, the color indexes of 39 propolis samples from different locations in Turkiye were determined by Lovibond Tintometer, for the first time. The color index, total phenolic content, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities relationship of propolis and two commercial propolis samples were also investigated by HCA and PCA. Turkish propolis, which is defined by its color indices, chemical contents and many different activity potentials, such as antioxidant, antiviral and cytotoxic activity, will find use in many fields from medicine to cosmetics with this study.
Foreword to the Special Issue on Application of Nanomaterials in Dentistry
Authors: Derchi Giacomo , Marchio Vincenzo
Published: October 2022

In modern medicine and, in particular, in modern dentistry, prevention has become fundamental in every private practice [...]
Spatial Heterogeneity of Excess Lung Fluid in Cystic Fibrosis: Generalized, Localized Diffuse, and Localized Presentations
Authors: Schwartz Ashley V. , Lee Amanda N. , Theilmann Rebecca J. , George Uduak Z.
Published: October 2022

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has demonstrated that CF subjects have a significantly higher lung density (e.g., fluid content) when compared with healthy control subjects, but, at present, there are no techniques to quantify the spatial presentation of these lung abnormalities. The excess fluid in MR lung images for CF subjects with mild (n = 4), moderate (n = 5), and severe (n = 4) disease and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 13) in both the right and left lungs was identified and quantified using a thresholding-based image segmentation technique using healthy controls as a baseline. MR lung images were categorized into one of three spatial presentation groups based on their regional and global percent area of the lung covered by excess fluid (i.e., spatial distribution): (i) generalized for sparse, (ii) localized diffuse for a moderate focality, and (iii) localized for a strong focality. A total of 96% of the controls presented as generalized. CF subjects populated all three presentation groups and an individual’s right and left lungs did not always categorize identically. The developed metrics for categorization provide a quantification method to describe the spatial presentation of CF disease and suggests the heterogeneous nature of the disease.
Vehicle-Following Control Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Huang Yong , Xu Xin , Li Yong , Zhang Xinglong , Liu Yao , Zhang Xiaochuan
Published: October 2022

Intelligent vehicle-following control presents a great challenge in autonomous driving. In vehicle-intensive roads of city environments, frequent starting and stopping of vehicles is one of the important cause of front-end collision accidents. Therefore, this paper proposes a subsection proximal policy optimization method (Subsection-PPO), which divides the vehicle-following process into the start–stop and steady stages and provides control at different stages with two different actor networks. It improves security in the vehicle-following control using the proximal policy optimization algorithm. To improve the training efficiency and reduce the variance of advantage function, the weighted importance sampling method is employed instead of the importance sampling method to estimate the data distribution. Finally, based on the TORCS simulation engine, the advantages and robustness of the method in vehicle-following control is verified. The results show that compared with other deep learning learning, the Subsection-PPO algorithm has better algorithm efficiency and higher safety than PPO and DDPG in vehicle-following control.
MDA: An Intelligent Medical Data Augmentation Scheme Based on Medical Knowledge Graph for Chinese Medical Tasks
Authors: Shi Binbin , Zhang Lijuan , Huang Jie , Zheng Huilin , Wan Jian , Zhang Lei
Published: October 2022

Text data augmentation is essential in the field of medicine for the tasks of natural language processing (NLP). However, most of the traditional text data augmentation focuses on the English datasets, and there is little research on the Chinese datasets to augment Chinese sentences. Nevertheless, the traditional text data augmentation ignores the semantics between words in sentences, besides, it has limitations in alleviating the problem of the diversity of augmented sentences. In this paper, a novel medical data augmentation (MDA) is proposed for NLP tasks, which combines the medical knowledge graph with text data augmentation to generate augmented data. Experiments on the named entity recognition task and relational classification task demonstrate that the MDA can significantly enhance the efficiency of the deep learning models compared to cases without augmentation.
Analysis of the Driving Force of Spatial and Temporal Differentiation of Carbon Storage in Taihang Mountains Based on InVEST Model
Authors: Wang Chengwu , Luo Junjie , Qing Feng , Tang Yong , Wang Yunfei
Published: October 2022

The Taihang Mountains are an important ecological barrier in China, and their ecosystems have good carbon sink capacity. Studying the spatial-temporal variation characteristics and driving factors of carbon storage in the Taihang Mountains ecosystem provides decision-making for the construction of “dual carbon” projects and the improvement of ecological environment quality in this region. This paper takes the area in the Taihang Mountains as the research area, based on the land use and carbon density data of 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019 of the Taihang Mountains, calculates the carbon storage in the region with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, explores the main factors affecting the spatial differentiation of carbon storage in this region, and analyzes their driving mechanisms by Geodetector. The results show that: (1) From 2005 to 2019, the land use of the Taihang Mountains changed somewhat. The area of forest and construction land increased slightly, while the area of farmland and grassland decreased. (2) The current carbon storage in the Taihang Mountains ranges from 1472.91 × 106 t to 1478.17 × 106 t (t is the abbreviation of ton), and shows a decreasing trend, which is due to the decrease in forest and the increase in construction land. (3) Slope and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are the main driving factors affecting the spatial variation of carbon storage in the Taihang Mountains ecosystem. Temperature, precipitation, and population density are the secondary factors affecting the spatial variation of carbon storage. (4) The synergy between the driving factors is more potent than the individual factor, which is the most evident between NDVI and slope. This means some areas may have more abundant carbon storage under the combined effect of slope and NDVI.
An Assessment of Two Types of Industrially Produced Municipal Green Waste Compost by Quality Control Indices
Authors: Borisova Daniela V. , Kostadinova Gergana S. , Petkov Georgi S. , Dermendzhieva Diyana M. , Beev Georgi G.
Published: October 2022

Municipal green waste (MGW) has significantly increased with the development of urban green areas, and its utilization by composting is a good alternative to solve the problem. This paper presents the results from the quality assessment of two industrial composts (from the composting facility of a regional nonhazardous waste landfill) based on their physicochemical properties, hygienic safety (microbiological parameters), fertilizing potential (by fertilizing index, FI) and heavy metal polluting potential (by clean index, CI). Compost 1 (C1) was made from MGW (100%) and Compost 2 (C2) was made from MGW (75%) and discarded green peppers (25%). The evaluation of physicochemical parameters was conducted according to Bulgarian Standards (BDS) methods and microbiological analysis using selective, chromogenic detection systems. It was found that the EC, P, K, Mg, Cu, Cr and Ni were lower for C1 (p < 0.05–0.001). On the other hand, Pb concentration was higher compared to C2 (p < 0.001); the concentrations of Cd, Hg and the E. coli were very low for both composts; presence of Salmonella was not detected. The estimated quality indexes (FI and CI) classified C1 as Class B compost (very-good-quality compost with medium fertilizing potential) and C2 as Class A compost (best-quality compost with high soil fertility potential and low heavy metal content). The C1 and C2 composts meet the requirements of EU and Bulgarian legislation and can be used as soil fertilizers.
Concept and Architecture for Applying Continuous Machine Learning in Multi-Access Routing at Underground Mining Vehicles
Authors: Pääkkönen Pekka , Backman Jere , Pakkala Daniel , Paananen Jori , Seppänen Kari , Ahola Kimmo
Published: October 2022

Autonomous moving vehicles facilitate mining of ore in underground mines. The vehicles are usually equipped with many sensor-based devices (e.g., Lidar, video camera, proximity sensor, etc.), which enable environmental monitoring, and remote control of the vehicles at the control center. Transfer of sensor-based data from the vehicles towards the control center is challenging due to limited connectivity enabled by the multi-access technologies of the communication infrastructure (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi) within the underground mine, and the mobility of the vehicles. This paper presents design, development, and evaluation of a concept and architecture enabling continuous machine learning (ML) for optimizing route selection of real-time streaming data in a real and emulated underground mining environment. Continuous ML refers to training and inference based on the most recently available data. Experiments in the emulator indicated that utilization of a ML-based model (based on the RandomForestRegressor) in decision making achieved ~5–13% lower one-way delay in streaming data transfers, when compared to a simpler heuristic model.
A Novel Approach for Selecting Effective Threshold Values in Ternary State Estimation Using Particle Swarm Optimization
Authors: Davar Somayeh , Fevens Thomas
Published: October 2022

Inspired by recent breakthroughs in cyber-physical systems (CPSs) and their applications, in this paper, we propose a novel multi-objective method to optimize the threshold values within the ternary event-based framework. To reduce communication overhead, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach is applied as an optimizer to identify Pareto optimal set values of the threshold. The proposed optimization technique is subject to constraints to ensure its feasibility. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the recommended method. Furthermore, the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed framework is comprehensive and capable of finding a wide variety of Pareto optimal ternary event-based state estimations for each predefined threshold.
3D FEM Analysis of the Subsoil-Building Interaction
Authors: Nepelski Krzysztof
Published: October 2022

This paper presents the process of advanced numerical analysis of interaction between a building and the subsoil. The analysis covered a wide range of work for both computing and research. As part of the research work, field and laboratory subsoil tests were carried out, as well as geodetic measurements of building settlement and measurements of natural vibrations of an object. The computational work included the analysis of a total of 47 FEM models. The subsoil was described using the Modified Cam-Clay model, with parameters determined using field CPT and SDMT tests, as well as triaxial and edometric laboratory tests. Parts with geodetic benchmarks were separated from the building model, and then multi-variant calculations were made on smaller, partial models with parameters obtained from various methods. Calibration of the main models was performed using 8 partial models for which calculations were carried out in 4–5 variants of parameters. This gave a total of 38 partial models. Then, calculations were carried out on the full model of the building with subsoil. At each stage, the results of vertical displacements were compared to the geodetic values. The measured settlement of the real building in the time from the construction of the underground story to its use for the period of 1 year, was from 2.3 mm to 7.8 mm. The settlement from FEM calculations of small calibration models for the same benchmarks was from 2.0 mm to 9.8 mm with parameters derived from CPT tests and from 1.8 to 7.3 mm for parameters derived from SDMT. For the full building model, settlement from FEM calculations ranged from 2.2 to 8.8 for the variant with a simplified subsoil model, and from 3.7 to 10.5 for the model taking into account the inhomogeneity of the subsoil. As a result, it was found that the displacements from the numerical analysis were convergent with the geodetic values. Detailed numerical analyses also allowed to detect the deviations of the segments from the vertical and to indicate potential damage to the structure. It was also indicated how the work of the subsoil influences the stress distribution in selected structural elements. Behaviour of the subsoil has an impact on the behaviour of the building and its deformations, as well as on the distribution of stresses in the structural elements, and, as a result, on the change in the distribution of internal forces in the structure.