bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative transcriptome analysis provides novel insights into molecular response of salt-tolerant and sensitive polyembryonic mango genotypes to salinity stress at seedling stage
Authors: Perveen Nusrat , Dinesh M. R. , Sankaran M. , Ravishankar K. V. , Krishnajee Hara Gopal , Hanur Vageeshbabu S. , Alamri Saud , Kesawat Mahipal Singh , Irfan Mohammad
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Increased soil salinity in the recent years has adversely affected the productivity of mango globally. Extending the cultivation of mango in salt affected regions warrants the use of salinity tolerant/resistant rootstocks. However, the lack of sufficient genomic and transcriptomic information impedes comprehensive research at the molecular level.

Method

We employed RNA sequencing-based transcriptome analysis to gain insight into molecular response to salt stress by using two polyembryonic mango genotypes with contrasting response to salt stress viz., salt tolerant Turpentine and salt susceptible Mylepelian.

Results

RNA sequencing by Novaseq6000 resulted in a total of 2795088, 17535948, 7813704 and 5544894 clean reads in Mylepelian treated (MT), Mylepelian control (MC), Turpentine treated (TT) and Turpentine control (TC) respectively. In total, 7169 unigenes annotated against all the five public databases, including NR, NT, PFAM, KOG, Swissport, KEGG and GO. Further, maximum number of differentially expressed genes were found between MT and MC (2106) followed by MT vs TT (1158) and TT and TC (587). The differentially expressed genes under different treatment levels included transcription factors (bZIP, NAC, bHLH), genes involved in Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), ABA biosynthesis, Photosynthesis etc. Expression of few of these genes was experimentally validated through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and contrasting expression pattern of Auxin Response Factor 2 (ARF2), Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) and CDPK genes were observed between Turpentine and Mylepelian.

Discussion

The results of this study will be useful in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying salt tolerance in mango which can serve as valuable baseline information to generate new targets in mango breeding for salt tolerance.
Alternative splicing: transcriptional regulatory network in agroforestry
Authors: Hussain Syed Sarfaraz , Abbas Manzar , Abbas Sammar , Wei Mingke , El-Sappah Ahmed H. , Sun Yuhan , Li Yun , Ragauskas Arthur J. , Li Quanzi
Published: April 2023

Alternative splicing (AS) in plants plays a key role in regulating the expression of numerous transcripts from a single gene in a regulatory pathway. Variable concentrations of growth regulatory hormones and external stimuli trigger alternative splicing to switch among different growth stages and adapt to environmental stresses. In the AS phenomenon, a spliceosome causes differential transcriptional modifications in messenger RNA (mRNAs), resulting in partial or complete retention of one or more introns as compared to fully spliced mRNA. Differentially expressed proteins translated from intron-retaining messenger RNA (mRNAir) perform vital functions in the feedback mechanism. At the post-transcriptional level, AS causes the remodeling of transcription factors (TFs) by the addition or deletion of binding domains to activate and/or repress transcription. In this study, we have summarized the specific role of AS in the regulation of gene expression through repression and activation of the transcriptional regulatory network under external stimuli and switch among developmental stages.
Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of TCP family genes in Catharanthus roseus
Authors: Hao Juan , Zheng Lijun , Han Yidie , Zhang Hongshan , Hou Kailin , Liang Xueshuang , Chen Cheng , Wang Zhijing , Qian Jiayi , Lin Zhihao , Wang Zitong , Zeng Houqing , Shen Chenjia
Published: April 2023

Introduction

The anti-tumor vindoline and catharanthine alkaloids are naturally existed in Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus), an ornamental plant in many tropical countries. Plant-specific TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) transcription factors play important roles in various plant developmental processes. However, the roles of C. roseus TCPs (CrTCPs) in terpenoid indole alkaloid (TIA) biosynthesis are largely unknown.

Methods

Here, a total of 15 CrTCP genes were identified in the newly updated C. roseus genome and were grouped into three major classes (P-type, C-type and CYC/TB1).

Results

Gene structure and protein motif analyses showed that CrTCPs have diverse intron-exon patterns and protein motif distributions. A number of stress responsive cis-elements were identified in promoter regions of CrTCPs. Expression analysis showed that three CrTCP genes (CrTCP2, CrTCP4, and CrTCP7) were expressed specifically in leaves and four CrTCP genes (CrTCP13, CrTCP8, CrTCP6, and CrTCP10) were expressed specifically in flowers. HPLC analysis showed that the contents of three classic TIAs, vindoline, catharanthine and ajmalicine, were significantly increased by ultraviolet-B (UV-B) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) in leaves. By analyzing the expression patterns under UV-B radiation and MeJA application with qRT-PCR, a number of CrTCP and TIA biosynthesis-related genes were identified to be responsive to UV-B and MeJA treatments. Interestingly, two TCP binding elements (GGNCCCAC and GTGGNCCC) were identified in several TIA biosynthesis-related genes, suggesting that they were potential target genes of CrTCPs.

Discussion

These results suggest that CrTCPs are involved in the regulation of the biosynthesis of TIAs, and provide a basis for further functional identification of CrTCPs.
Exploring oral health indicators, oral health-related quality of life and nutritional aspects in 23 medicated patients from a short-term psychiatric ward
Authors: Frigaard Julie , Hynne Håvard , Randsborg Karoline , Mellin-Olsen Tonje , Young Alix , Rykke Morten , Singh Preet Bano , Hove Lene Hystad , Hofgaard Anne Kristine , Jensen Janicke Liaaen
Published: April 2023

Background

Patients suffering from psychiatric disorders face many difficulties due to their condition, medications and lifestyle. Oral health and nutrition may be affected, further complicating their lives. Our aim was to provide in-depth information on oral health and nutritional factors in a small group of patients in short-term psychiatric ward.

Methods

Twenty-three patients (mean age 36, average medications five) were recruited during short-term hospitalization in a psychiatric ward. Inclusion criteria: anxiety, psychosis and/or depression, and use of at least one antidepressant or anxiolytic/antipsychotic drug with xerostomia as a known side effect. Subjective oral dryness was evaluated using the Shortened Xerostomia Inventory (SXI). Oral examination included Clinical Oral Dryness Score (CODS), secretion of unstimulated (UWS) and stimulated whole saliva (SWS), and evaluation of dental, gingival, and periodontal status. Self-reported complaints of oral disorders were recorded. The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) was used to explore oral health-related quality of life. Nutritional status was assessed using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form (PG-SGA-SF), and diet quality was assessed using the Mediterranean diet score (KIDMED).

Results

Compared to healthy controls, the patients had significantly higher SXI scores and CODS, and SWS secretion was lower. Complaints of dysgeusia and halitosis were significantly more frequent among patients. Gingivitis was more common in patients. OHIP-14 scores were much higher in the patients, and they reported significantly poorer oral and general health. Most patients lacked a regular meal pattern. Very low diet quality was observed in five patients, while improvements were needed in twelve. “Dry mouth” and “No appetite, just did not feel like eating” were the most common symptoms preventing patients from eating enough. The PG-SGA-SF symptoms component score showed a strong negative correlation with self-reported oral health, and a strong positive correlation with OHIP-14.

Conclusion

This relatively small group of patients in short-term psychiatric ward had both reduced oral health and poor oral health-related quality of life. Furthermore, their nutritional intake was affected by their oral health problems. Although larger groups need to be studied, these findings indicate that oral health and nutrition should be evaluated and adjusted in these patients to improve their overall care.
A systematic review of the health effects of lead exposure from electronic waste in children
Authors: Desye Belay , Tesfaye Amensisa Hailu , Berihun Gete , Ademas Ayechew , Sewunet Birhanu
Published: April 2023

Introduction

Electronic waste (e-waste) is an emerging human and environmental problem. Lead (Pb) is one of the most dangerous chemicals for human health, and it is the most prevalent heavy metal pollutant in e-waste. Despite the rapid growth of e-waste globally and the health effects of Pb, there is little information regarding the effects of Pb exposure from e-waste on children. Therefore, the aim of this review was to provide concise information on the health effects of Pb exposure from e-waste on children.

Methods

A comprehensive search of databases was undertaken using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, HINARI, African Journal Online (AJOL), and additional sources were searched up to November 25, 2022. Eligibility criteria were determined using Population, Exposure, Comparator, and Outcome (PECO). The guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) were used during the article selection process. The protocol of this systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (Registration ID: CRD42022377028). The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) quality appraisal checklist was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

Results

From a total of 1,150 identified studies, 20 full-text studies were included in the systematic review. All most included studies were conducted in China recycling area for e-waste. The included studies were conducted with an exposed group versus a reference group. The majority of the included studies found that blood Pb levels were ≥5 μg/dl and that Pb exposures from e-waste were affecting children’s health, such as a decrease in serum cortisol levels, inhibition of hemoglobin synthesis, impact on neurobehavioral development, affect physical development, etc.

Conclusion

Lead exposure had a significant impact on children’s health as a result of informal e-waste recycling. Therefore, formalizing the informal sector and raising public health awareness are important steps toward reducing Pb exposure from e-waste. Moreover, the concerned stakeholders, like national and international organizations, should work together to effectively manage e-waste.
The emerging role of the HTRA1 protease in brain microvascular disease
Authors: Haffner Christof
Published: April 2023

Pathologies of the brain microvasculature, often referred to as cerebral small-vessel disease, are important contributors to vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia in aging societies. In addition to their role in acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, they have emerged as major cause of age-related cognitive decline in asymptomatic individuals. A central histological finding in these pathologies is the disruption of the vessel architecture including thickening of the vessel wall, narrowing of the vessel lumen and massive expansion of the mural extracellular matrix. The underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown, but from the investigation of several disease forms with defined etiology, high temperature requirement protein A1 (HTRA1), a secreted serine protease degrading primarily matrisomal substrates, has emerged as critical factor and potential therapeutic target. A genetically induced loss of HTRA1 function in humans is associated with cerebral autosomal-recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL), a rare, hereditary form of brain microvascular disease. Recently, proteomic studies on cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a common cause of age-related dementia, and cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), the most prevalent monogenic small-vessel disease, have provided evidence for an impairment of HTRA1 activity through sequestration into pathological protein deposits, suggesting an alternative mechanism of HTRA1 inactivation and expanding the range of diseases with HTRA1 involvement. Further investigations of the mechanisms of HTRA1 regulation in the brain microvasculature might spawn novel strategies for the treatment of small-vessel pathologies.
Effective Distance for Vortex Generators in High Subsonic Flows
Authors: Chung Ping-Han , Huang Yi-Xuan , Chung Kung-Ming , Huang Chih-Yung , Isaev Sergey
Published: April 2023

Vortex generators (VGs) are a passive method by which to alleviate boundary layer separation (BLS). The device-induced streamwise vortices propagate downstream. There is then lift-off from the surface and the vortex decays. The effectiveness of VGs depends on their geometrical configuration, spacing, and flow characteristics. In a high-speed flow regime, the VGs must be properly positioned upstream of the BLS region. Measurements using discrete pressure taps and pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) show that there is an increase in the upstream surface pressure and the downstream favorable pressure gradient. The effective distance for a flat plate in the presence of three VG configurations is determined, as is the height of the device (conventional and micro VGs).
QTL×QTL×QTL Interaction Effects for Total Phenolic Content of Wheat Mapping Population of CSDH Lines under Drought Stress by Weighted Multiple Linear Regression
Authors: Cyplik Adrian , Czyczyło-Mysza Ilona Mieczysława , Jankowicz-Cieslak Joanna , Bocianowski Jan
Published: April 2023

This paper proposes the use of weighted multiple linear regression to estimate the triple3interaction (additive×additive×additive) of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) effects. The use of unweighted regression yielded an improvement (in absolute value) in the QTL×QTL×QTL interaction effects compared to assessment based on phenotypes alone in three cases (severe drought in 2010, control in 2012 and severe drought in 2012). In contrast, weighted regression yielded an improvement (in absolute value) in the evaluation of the aaagw parameter compared to aaap in five cases, with the exception of severe drought in 2012. The results show that by using weighted regression on marker observations, the obtained estimates are closer to the ones obtained by the phenotypic method. The coefficients of determination for the weighted regression model were significantly higher than for the unweighted regression and ranged from 46.2% (control in 2010) to 95.0% (control in 2011). Considering this, it is clear that a three-way interaction had a significant effect on the expression of quantitative traits.
Imaging Sensor-Based High-Throughput Measurement of Biomass Using Machine Learning Models in Rice
Authors: Elangovan Allimuthu , Duc Nguyen Trung , Raju Dhandapani , Kumar Sudhir , Singh Biswabiplab , Vishwakarma Chandrapal , Gopala Krishnan Subbaiyan , Ellur Ranjith Kumar , Dalal Monika , Swain Padmini , Dash Sushanta Kumar , Singh Madan Pal , Sahoo Rabi Narayan , Dinesh Govindaraj Kamalam , Gupta Poonam , Chinnusamy Viswanathan
Published: April 2023

Phenomics technologies have advanced rapidly in the recent past for precision phenotyping of diverse crop plants. High-throughput phenotyping using imaging sensors has been proven to fetch more informative data from a large population of genotypes than the traditional destructive phenotyping methodologies. It provides accurate, high-dimensional phenome-wide big data at an ultra-super spatial and temporal resolution. Biomass is an important plant phenotypic trait that can reflect the agronomic performance of crop plants in terms of growth and yield. Several image-derived features such as area, projected shoot area, projected shoot area with height constant, estimated bio-volume, etc., and machine learning models (single or multivariate analysis) are reported in the literature for use in the non-invasive prediction of biomass in diverse crop plants. However, no studies have reported the best suitable image-derived features for accurate biomass prediction, particularly for fully grown rice plants (70DAS). In this present study, we analyzed a subset of rice recombinant inbred lines (RILs) which were developed from a cross between rice varieties BVD109 × IR20 and grown in sufficient (control) and deficient soil nitrogen (N stress) conditions. Images of plants were acquired using three different sensors (RGB, IR, and NIR) just before destructive plant sampling for the quantitative estimation of fresh (FW) and dry weight (DW). A total of 67 image-derived traits were extracted and classified into four groups, viz., geometric-, color-, IR- and NIR-related traits. We identified a multimodal trait feature, the ratio of PSA and NIR grey intensity as estimated from RGB and NIR sensors, as a novel trait for predicting biomass in rice. Among the 16 machine learning models tested for predicting biomass, the Bayesian regularized neural network (BRNN) model showed the maximum predictive power (R2 = 0.96 and 0.95 for FW and DW of biomass, respectively) with the lowest prediction error (RMSE and bias value) in both control and N stress environments. Thus, biomass can be accurately predicted by measuring novel image-based parameters and neural network-based machine learning models in rice.
Genetic Analysis of S5 Regulating the Hybrid Sterility between Indica and Japonica Subspecies in Rice
Authors: Guo Jie , Zhou Xinqiao , Chen Ke , Ye Chanjuan , Liu Juan , Sun Kangli , Tang Guang , Wang Shaokui , Zhang Guiquan , Chen Youding , Chen Dagang , Liu Chuanguang
Published: April 2023

Hybrid sterility is the major obstacle to the utilization of inter-subspecific heterosis in hybrid rice breeding. The S5 locus, composed of three adjacent genes ORF3, ORF4, and ORF5, plays a crucial role in regulating indica/japonica hybrids’ female sterility. Through a series of crosses involving 38 parents, three alleles of S5, ORF3+ORF4−ORF5n, ORF3+ORF4+ORF5n, and ORF3−/ORF4−/ORF5n, all could be regarded as wide-compatibility alleles, and when crossed with indica or japonica rice, they all showed significantly high fertility. Then, in order to explore the genes’ function, we further knocked out genes by using CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing. Our results demonstrate that the ORF3+ was not just the protector in the killer-protector system, and knocking out ORF3 of the indica allele seriously affected the rice’s normal development. We observed the concrete enhancing hybrid spikelet fertility from the crosses between the ORF4+ knockout japonica materials with indica varieties. By conducting the comparative RNA-Seq analysis of young spikelets, we found that the ORF4+/ORF4− could modulate the hybrid fertility by affecting the expressions of genes related to the function of the Golgi apparatus. This study indicated that knocking out the ORF4+ of the japonica allele or using the alleles carrying ORF5n would provide effective approaches to overcome indica/japonica hybrid female sterility in rice breeding.
Application of Acidulants to Control Salmonella spp. in Rendered Animal Fats and Oils with Different Levels of Unsaturation
Authors: Dhakal Janak , Aldrich Charles G.
Published: April 2023

Salmonella-contaminated pet foods could potentially become a source of human salmonellosis. This study evaluated the survival of Salmonella without and with the addition of acidulants in different fat types (chicken fat (CF), canola oil (CO), Menhaden fish oil (FO), lard (La), and tallow (Ta)) commonly used to coat dry pet food kibbles. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of individual acidulants and the combination were determined using the broth microdilution method. Autoclave-sterilized rendered fats were treated with pre-determined concentrations of antimicrobial acidulants (0.5% sodium bisulfate (SBS), 0.5% phosphoric acid (PA), 0.25% lactic acid (LA), etc.) and incubated overnight at 45 °C. The treated fats were inoculated with approximately eight logs of a Salmonella cocktail. Microbiological analyses were conducted separately for the fat-phase and water-phase at predetermined time intervals (0, 2, 6, 12, and 24 h) by plating them onto TSA plates. After incubating at 37 °C for 24 h, the plate count results were expressed as log CFU/mL. The MIC of SBS was 0.3125%, and of PA and LA were both 0.1953% against cocktail Salmonella serotypes. We observed a possible synergistic effect when SBS and organic acid were combined. All the acidulant tested at targeted concentrations individually as well as in combination with organic acids were highly effective against Salmonella spp. (non-detectable within 2 h) across different fat types. A potent anti-bactericidal effect leading to non-detectable Salmonella immediately (<1 h) at 45 °C was observed in the aqueous phase of the fish oil system, even without the addition of acidulants. These findings are significant for the dry pet food industries, where potential post-processing contamination of Salmonella could be controlled by treating fats and oils with acidulants.
Acoustic Presence of Cetaceans in the Miaodao Archipelago, China
Authors: Cheng Zhaolong , Li Yongtao , Pine Matthew Keith , Wan Xiaoling , Zuo Tao , Niu Mingxiang , Wang Jun
Published: April 2023

Once an important cetacean habitat, the Miaodao Archipelago has been altered by human-induced disturbances over several decades. While cetacean diversity is known to have decreased, no recent data on species diversity around Miaodao are known to exist. Capitalizing on the high vocal activity of cetaceans, three passive acoustic surveys, including towed and stationary types, were undertaken to detect the presence of species-specific vocalizations in May 2021, October 2021, and July 2022, as most cetacean sightings occurred during May and August in recent years. The results revealed that the East Asian finless porpoise is the sole cetacean species that can be reliably observed around the archipelago, as no other species were detected. The acoustic data also revealed potentially clumped distributions of finless porpoises with some seasonal variation. While not acoustically detected during any of the surveys, humpback whales, minke whales, and killer whales have been visually sighted in the region. The lack of acoustic detection of these species suggests that they are likely to be temporary visitors to the region, or at least exhibit strong seasonality in their presence within the region. These new data provide the latest snapshot of cetacean presence around the Miaodao Archipelago that can help inform future research and conservation.
Effects of Short-Duration Artificial Ultraviolet B Exposure on 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Concentrations in Domestic Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Authors: Molitor Laure E. , Rockwell Kelly , Gould Amelia , Mitchell Mark A.
Published: April 2023

Vitamin D is an important hormone that can be acquired through diet, exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, or a combination of these methods. In domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), both methods appear viable, but there is limited research evaluating the effects of UVB on this species. Previous studies found that 12 h of artificial UVB radiation significantly increased 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OHD3) concentrations over time. While these findings suggest UVB can be beneficial in rabbits, this form of radiation can also be detrimental to vertebrates. The purpose of this study was to determine if shorter-duration UVB could elicit a similar physiological response in rabbits while minimizing potential negative effects. Six rabbits were used for this pilot study. The baseline serum 25-OHD3 was measured for each rabbit and following 14 days of 6 h/day exposure to artificial UVB, a second 25-OHD3 sample was collected. There was a significant increase (p = 0.001) in serum 25-OHD3 over time (Baseline: 27.7 ± 8.1 nmol/L; Day 14: 79.8 ± 9 nmol/L). This study affirmed that 6 h of UVB produced 25-OHD3 concentrations similar to those found in rabbits exposed to 12 h of UVB. Future studies should continue to determine how the duration of UVB exposure affects 25-OHD3 concentrations.
Genetic Analysis of Methane Emission Traits in Holstein Dairy Cattle
Authors: Kamalanathan Stephanie , Houlahan Kerry , Miglior Filippo , Chud Tatiane C. S. , Seymour Dave J. , Hailemariam Dagnachew , Plastow Graham , de Oliveira Hinayah R. , Baes Christine F. , Schenkel Flavio S.
Published: April 2023

Genetic selection can be a feasible method to help mitigate enteric methane emissions from dairy cattle, as methane emission-related traits are heritable and genetic gains are persistent and cumulative over time. The objective of this study was to estimate heritability of methane emission phenotypes and the genetic and phenotypic correlations between them in Holstein cattle. We used 1765 individual records of methane emission obtained from 330 Holstein cattle from two Canadian herds. Methane emissions were measured using the GreenFeed system, and three methane traits were analyzed: the amount of daily methane produced (g/d), methane yield (g methane/kg dry matter intake), and methane intensity (g methane/kg milk). Genetic parameters were estimated using univariate and bivariate repeatability animal models. Heritability estimates (±SE) of 0.16 (±0.10), 0.27 (±0.12), and 0.21 (±0.14) were obtained for daily methane production, methane yield, and methane intensity, respectively. A high genetic correlation (rg = 0.94 ± 0.23) between daily methane production and methane intensity indicates that selecting for daily methane production would result in lower methane per unit of milk produced. This study provides preliminary estimates of genetic parameters for methane emission traits, suggesting that there is potential to mitigate methane emission in Holstein cattle through genetic selection.
Prepartum Magnesium Butyrate Supplementation of Dairy Cows Improves Colostrum Yield, Calving Ease, Fertility, Early Lactation Performance and Neonatal Vitality
Authors: Kovács Levente , Pajor Ferenc , Bakony Mikolt , Fébel Hedvig , Edwards Joan E.
Published: April 2023

Butyrate promotes rumen epithelium growth and function; however, the effect of prepartum butyrate supplementation on dairy cow productivity, health and their offspring has not been extensively studied. Furthermore, no studies have investigated the effect of magnesium butyrate (MgB), which is also a source of magnesium. A trial was performed to test the hypothesis that prepartum MgB supplementation (105 g/cow/day) would increase colostrum quality and improve calving, newborn calf vitality and cow health. Multiparous Holstein cows were randomly assigned to MgB supplemented (n = 107) and Control groups (n = 112). Colostrum yield and the total yield of IgG, protein and lactose were higher (p ≤ 0.05) in the supplemented group. The calving assistance rate was lower (p ≤ 0.012), and the neonatal vitality score was higher (p ≤ 0.001) in the MgB group. Improved parameters related to cow health and fertility were observed in the supplemented group. The MgB group also had higher milk yield during the first week of lactation (p ≤ 0.001), and a higher (p ≤ 0.05) body condition score from 3 to 9 weeks after calving. In conclusion, prepartum MgB supplementation provides a wide range of benefits for dairy cows, as well as their newborn calves.
Recent Trends on Mitigative Effect of Probiotics on Oxidative-Stress-Induced Gut Dysfunction in Broilers under Necrotic Enteritis Challenge: A Review
Authors: Obianwuna Uchechukwu Edna , Agbai Kalu Nenna , Wang Jing , Zhang Haijun , Qi Guanghai , Qiu Kai , Wu Shugeng
Published: April 2023

Gut health includes normal intestinal physiology, complete intestinal epithelial barrier, efficient immune response, sustained inflammatory balance, healthy microbiota, high nutrient absorption efficiency, nutrient metabolism, and energy balance. One of the diseases that causes severe economic losses to farmers is necrotic enteritis, which occurs primarily in the gut and is associated with high mortality rate. Necrotic enteritis (NE) primarily damages the intestinal mucosa, thereby inducing intestinal inflammation and high immune response which diverts nutrients and energy needed for growth to response mediated effects. In the era of antibiotic ban, dietary interventions like microbial therapy (probiotics) to reduce inflammation, paracellular permeability, and promote gut homeostasis may be the best way to reduce broiler production losses. The current review highlights the severity effects of NE; intestinal inflammation, gut lesions, alteration of gut microbiota balance, cell apoptosis, reduced growth performance, and death. These negative effects are consequences of; disrupted intestinal barrier function and villi development, altered expression of tight junction proteins and protein structure, increased translocation of endotoxins and excessive stimulation of proinflammatory cytokines. We further explored the mechanisms by which probiotics mitigate NE challenge and restore the gut integrity of birds under disease stress; synthesis of metabolites and bacteriocins, competitive exclusion of pathogens, upregulation of tight junction proteins and adhesion molecules, increased secretion of intestinal secretory immunoglobulins and enzymes, reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines and immune response and the increased production of anti-inflammatory cytokines and immune boost via the modulation of the TLR/NF-ĸ pathway. Furthermore, increased beneficial microbes in the gut microbiome improve nutrient utilization, host immunity, and energy metabolism. Probiotics along with biosecurity measures could mitigate the adverse effects of NE in broiler production.
Total Phenolic and Total Flavonoid Content, Individual Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity in Sweet Rowanberry Cultivars
Authors: Orsavová Jana , Juríková Tunde , Bednaříková Růžena , Mlček Jiří
Published: April 2023

Sweet rowanberry and its cultivars represent a less-known fruit species with significant antioxidant activity, mostly promoted by polyphenolic compounds. This paper examined seven Sorbus cultivars and evaluated their total polyphenolic and flavonoid content, as well as the content of individual polyphenolic compounds from the group of phenolic acids and flavonoids. It also determined their antioxidant activity using DPPH, ACW and ACL. Furthermore, to reflect the distribution of the contribution to antioxidant activity, correlations between antioxidant activity and the contents of ascorbic acid, vitamin E and individual phenolic compounds were established. The highest total phenolic content of 8307.4 mg kg−1 was determined in ‘Granatina’, with the main contribution of phenolic acid content of 7001.7 mg kg−1 and a significantly lower total flavonoid content of 1304.6 mg kg−1. Flavanols represented the most abundant group of flavonoids, with catechin being the second most frequent flavanol with the highest content of 633.67 mg kg−1 in ‘Granatina’. Flavonols were represented by rutin and quercetin. ‘Businka’ displayed a significant vitamin E content of 4.77 mg kg−1, and ‘Alaja Krupnaja’ had the highest vitamin C level of 7.89 g kg−1. These results emphasize their potential health and nutritional benefits and, thus, their promising and valuable role in the food processing industry.
Effect of the Organic Matter Content on the Mechanical Properties of Soils Stabilized with Xanthan Gum
Authors: Oliveira Paulo J. Venda , Reis Maria J. F. C. C.
Published: April 2023

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of the organic matter (OM) content on the effectiveness of the soil stabilization process using the biopolymer xanthan gum. Five different artificial soils with an organic matter content in the range of 1.5 to 7.7% are subjected to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and oedometer tests to evaluate their strength, stiffness and compressibility, respectively. These results are complemented by an analysis of SEM images. The results from the UCS tests show a positive effect of the stabilization process in terms of strength and stiffness in a range of an OM content of 1.5 to 5.5%, but a detrimental effect for a higher OM content (7.7%) is observed. Due to the hydration of the biopolymer’s hydrogels, the compressibility tends to increase in specimens stabilized with xanthan gum. This effect is amplified for higher OM contents. The results of oedometer tests also show that the stabilization with xanthan gum brings about a significant decrease in the coefficient of consolidation, inducing an increase in the primary consolidation time.
Deep-Learning-Based Sound Classification Model for Concrete Pouring Work Monitoring at a Construction Site
Authors: Kim Inchie , Kim Yije , Chin Sangyoon
Published: April 2023

In the present study, the utilization of sound data in research and technology is examined, data classification techniques are analyzed, and the applicability and necessity of these techniques are explored in order to propose an acoustic classification model that differentiates between normal and abnormal sounds during concrete pouring. The paper presents an experiment in which normal sound data occurring during concrete pouring, main noise data from construction, and symptom data that could affect structural quality or even cause a collapse incident were collected. By analyzing sound data from actual construction sites and experiments, a deep-learning-based classification model was developed with the aim of preventing events that could compromise the quality and safety of structures in advance. In the classification model, both CNN (convolutional neural network) and RNN (recurrent neural network) exhibited high accuracies of 94.38% and 93.26%, respectively, demonstrating remarkable performance in identifying the status of concrete placement. Unlike previous research that only collected and sorted normal construction-related sound data, the current study developed a sorting model that addresses quality- and safety-related matters by including sound data that may influence material separation, concrete leakage, and formwork collapse during concrete placement, and differentiating these sounds from normal concrete pouring sounds. The research findings are expected to contribute to the improvement of safety management and work efficiency at construction sites.
Analyzing the Effect of Yellow Safety Line Designs at the Platform Edge in Metro Stations: An Experimental Approach
Authors: Seriani Sebastian , Arce Pablo , Belmar Carla , Blanche Vicente , Valencia Alejandra , Luza David , Fujiyama Taku
Published: April 2023

The objective of this paper was to analyze the effect of yellow-safety-line designs on the behavior of passengers at the platform edge in metro stations. To achieve this, an experimental approach, based on observation, was used in existing metro stations in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile. The experiments were carried out for different widths of the yellow safety line: 5 cm, 10 cm, 24 cm, and 40 cm. In addition, the material was also changed to include yellow adhesive tape, PVC material with yellow pods, and carbon- and fiberglass-reinforced material with yellow pods. The experiments considered a mock-up to represent the hall entrance of the train and its adjacent platform, in which 25 participants were recruited, some of whom had reduced mobility. The results obtained from the experiments showed that the greater the width of the yellow safety line at the edge of the platform, the greater the level of compliance that was achieved. In addition, surveys were carried out with the passengers who participated in the experiment; the majority felt more comfortable and safer for a width of 24 cm. Some participants highlighted the phenomenon of “safety offers comfort”. In conclusion, the results of this research will allow the generation of new design and safety standards for the train–platform interface, which can then be tested in existing stations. Future research is expected to study the space occupied by different types of passengers and to study accessibility in other circulation spaces of metro stations.
A Real-Time Traffic Sign Recognition Method Using a New Attention-Based Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Smart Vehicles
Authors: Triki Nesrine , Karray Mohamed , Ksantini Mohamed
Published: April 2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the automotive industry allows car manufacturers to produce intelligent and autonomous vehicles through the integration of AI-powered Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and/or Automated Driving Systems (ADS) such as the Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) system. Existing TSR solutions focus on some categories of signs they recognise. For this reason, a TSR approach encompassing more road sign categories like Warning, Regulatory, Obligatory, and Priority signs is proposed to build an intelligent and real-time system able to analyse, detect, and classify traffic signs into their correct categories. The proposed approach is based on an overview of different Traffic Sign Detection (TSD) and Traffic Sign Classification (TSC) methods, aiming to choose the best ones in terms of accuracy and processing time. Hence, the proposed methodology combines the Haar cascade technique with a deep CNN model classifier. The developed TSC model is trained on the GTSRB dataset and then tested on various categories of road signs. The achieved testing accuracy rate reaches 98.56%. In order to improve the classification performance, we propose a new attention-based deep convolutional neural network. The achieved results are better than those existing in other traffic sign classification studies since the obtained testing accuracy and F1-measure rates achieve, respectively, 99.91% and 99%. The developed TSR system is evaluated and validated on a Raspberry Pi 4 board. Experimental results confirm the reliable performance of the suggested approach.
Leg-Joint Angle Estimation from a Single Inertial Sensor Attached to Various Lower-Body Links during Walking Motion
Authors: Alemayoh Tsige Tadesse , Lee Jae Hoon , Okamoto Shingo
Published: April 2023

Gait analysis is important in a variety of applications such as animation, healthcare, and virtual reality. So far, high-cost experimental setups employing special cameras, markers, and multiple wearable sensors have been used for indoor human pose-tracking and gait-analysis purposes. Since locomotive activities such as walking are rhythmic and exhibit a kinematically constrained motion, fewer wearable sensors can be employed for gait and pose analysis. One of the core parts of gait analysis and pose-tracking is lower-limb-joint angle estimation. Therefore, this study proposes a neural network-based lower-limb-joint angle-estimation method from a single inertial sensor unit. As proof of concept, four different neural-network models were investigated, including bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM), convolutional neural network, wavelet neural network, and unidirectional LSTM. Not only could the selected network affect the estimation results, but also the sensor placement. Hence, the waist, thigh, shank, and foot were selected as candidate inertial sensor positions. From these inertial sensors, two sets of lower-limb-joint angles were estimated. One set contains only four sagittal-plane leg-joint angles, while the second includes six sagittal-plane leg-joint angles and two coronal-plane leg-joint angles. After the assessment of different combinations of networks and datasets, the BLSTM network with either shank or thigh inertial datasets performed well for both joint-angle sets. Hence, the shank and thigh parts are the better candidates for a single inertial sensor-based leg-joint estimation. Consequently, a mean absolute error (MAE) of 3.65° and 5.32° for the four-joint-angle set and the eight-joint-angle set were obtained, respectively. Additionally, the actual leg motion was compared to a computer-generated simulation of the predicted leg joints, which proved the possibility of estimating leg-joint angles during walking with a single inertial sensor unit.
Methylation Genome-Wide Profiling in Lowly and Highly Efficient Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer in Pigs
Authors: Grzybek Maciej , Flisikowski Krzysztof , Giles Tom , Dyjak Marta , Ploski Rafal , Gasperowicz Piotr , Emes Richard D. , Lisowski Pawel
Published: April 2023

Swine is a common model organism for biomedical research. Epigenetic reprogramming in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos does not fully recapitulate the natural DNA demethylation events at fertilisation. This study aimed to conduct genome-wide methylation profiling to detect differentially methylated regions (DMRs) responsible for epigenetic differences in stem cells that displayed high and low efficiency of SCNT and to elucidate the low efficiency of cloning rate in pigs. Adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells (AMSC)s lines were isolated from adipose tissue of adult male pigs (n = 20; high-efficiency cells = 10; and low-efficiency cells = 10). Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) was performed on an Illumina HiSeq1500. Paired-end reads were filtered to remove the adapter contamination, and low-quality reads using TrimGalore! Filtered reads were mapped to the reference genome using Bismark. MethylKit was used to identify differentially methylated regions (DMRs) (bases and tiles), showing statistically significant differential methylation between high and low-efficiency AMSCs. Hierarchical cluster analysis according to methylation patterns clearly defined groups with low and high cloning efficiency. We report 3704 bases with statistically significant differences in methylation and 10062 tiles with statistically significant differences in methylation. Most differentially methylated sites are intergenic 62%, 31% are intronic, 4% are in exons, and 4% in promoters. Moreover, 37% of differentially methylated sites are located in known CpG islands (CGIs), and 4% in CpG island shores (CGSs).
Estimation of Stride Length, Foot Clearance, and Foot Progression Angle Using UWB Sensors
Authors: Park Ji Su , Lee Bohyun , Park Shinsuk , Kim Choong Hyun
Published: April 2023

Stride length (SL), foot clearance (FC), and foot progression angle (FPA) are the key parameters for diagnosing gait disorders. This study used the distance data between two feet measured by ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors installed on shoes and proposed a method for estimating the three gait parameters. Here, a method of compensating the offset of the UWB sensor and estimating the distances between a base sensor installed on one foot during the stance phase and three UWB sensors on the other during the swing phase was applied. Foot trajectory was acquired in a gait experiment with ten healthy adults walking on a treadmill. The results were compared with those obtained using a motion capture system (MCS). The UWBs sensor displayed average errors of 45.84 mm, 7.60 mm, and 2.82° for SL, FC, and FPA, respectively, compared with the MCS. A similar accuracy level was achieved in a previous study that used an inertial measurement unit (IMU). Thus, these results suggest that UWB sensors can be extensively applied to sensor systems used to analyze mobile gait systems.
A Novel L-Shaped Metalens for Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) Antenna Gain Improvement
Authors: Portosi Vincenza , Loconsole Antonella Maria , Campana Antonio , Anelli Francesco , Prudenzano Francesco
Published: April 2023

In this work, a novel metamaterial lens (metalens) is designed and optimized to improve the radiation performance of an antipodal Vivaldi antenna for wideband applications. The metalens is integrated into the antenna substrate, and placed close to the tapered slot in the end-fire direction, allowing the preservation of the lightweight and compactness of the antenna. The prototype has been fabricated and characterized, demonstrating good agreement with the simulations. The insertion of the metalens allows, with respect to the pristine Vivaldi, a measured maximum gain of Gmax=14.2  dB, increased by about ΔGmax=4.8 dB; an operating bandwidth of f=3÷14.7 GHz, increased by Δf=1.2 GHz; and a radiation pattern with a maximum reduction in half-power beamwidth of ΔHPBWmax=31.3°, more symmetrical in the E and H planes.
Training Spiking Neural Networks with Metaheuristic Algorithms
Authors: Javanshir Amirhossein , Nguyen Thanh Thi , Mahmud M. A. Parvez , Kouzani Abbas Z.
Published: April 2023

Taking inspiration from the brain, spiking neural networks (SNNs) have been proposed to understand and diminish the gap between machine learning and neuromorphic computing. Supervised learning is the most commonly used learning algorithm in traditional ANNs. However, directly training SNNs with backpropagation-based supervised learning methods is challenging due to the discontinuous and non-differentiable nature of the spiking neuron. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes a novel metaheuristic-based supervised learning method for SNNs by adapting the temporal error function. We investigated seven well-known metaheuristic algorithms called Harmony Search (HS), Cuckoo Search (CS), Differential Evolution (DE), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), and Grammatical Evolution (GE) as search methods for carrying out network training. Relative target firing times were used instead of fixed and predetermined ones, making the computation of the error function simpler. The performance of our proposed approach was evaluated using five benchmark databases collected in the UCI Machine Learning Repository. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm had a competitive advantage in solving the four classification benchmark datasets compared to the other experimental algorithms, with accuracy levels of 0.9858, 0.9768, 0.7752, and 0.6871 for iris, cancer, diabetes, and liver datasets, respectively. Among the seven metaheuristic algorithms, CS reported the best performance.
Directed Search for Non-Dominated Emergency Medical System Designs
Authors: Kvet Marek , Janáček Jaroslav
Published: April 2023

This research paper is aimed at a specific group of emergency medical service location problems, which are solved to save people’s lives and reduce the rate of mortality and morbidity. Since searching for the optimal service center deployment is a big challenge, many operations researchers, programmers, and healthcare practitioners have been making a great effort to find effective solutions since the 1960s. Within this paper, we study such a system design problem in which two contradictory objectives are taken into account. Since the optimization of one criterion causes deterioration in the value of the other, a specific small finite set of solutions seems to be a sufficient output of the associated solving process for further decision-making. Therefore, we study here several heuristic approaches that enable us to approximate the original Pareto fronts of non-dominated system designs. In addition to the theoretical explanation, we provide the readers with the results of numerical experiments in order to evaluate the quality of the proposed algorithms. Based on the presented results, it can be stated that the suggested approach is able to produce a good approximation of the Pareto front of emergency medical service system designs in acceptable computational time, which is in orders shorter than the one required by the former exact method.