bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The design and planning of an integrated supply chain for perishable products under uncertainties
Authors: Dutta Pankaj , Shrivastava Himanshu 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to design an optimal supply chain network and to develop a suitable distribution planning under uncertainty for perishable product's supply chain. The ultimate goal is to help in making decisions under uncertain environments.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, stochastic programming is used under conditions of demand, supply and process uncertainties, and a non-linear mathematical model is developed for perishable product’s supply chain. Authors’ study considers disruptions in transportation routes and also within the facilities and investigates optimal facility location and shipment decisions while minimising the total supply chain cost. A scenario-based approach is used to model these disruptions. The retailer level uncertainty due to demand-supply mismatch is handled by incorporating the newsvendor model into the last echelon of supply chain network. In this paper, two policies are proposed for making decisions under uncertain environments. In the first one, the expected cost of the supply chain is minimised. To also consider the risk behaviour of the decision maker, authors propose the second policy through a conditional value-at-risk approach.FindingsAuthors discuss the model output through various examples that are provided via a case study from the milk industry. The supply chain design and planning of the disruption-free model are different from those of the resilient model.Practical implicationsAuthors’ research benefits the perishable products industries which encounter the disruption problems in their transportation routes as well as in the facilities. Authors have demonstrated the research through a real-life case in a milk industry.Originality/valueThe major contribution of authors’ work is the design of the supply chain network under disruption risks by incorporating aspects of product perishability. This work provides insight into areas such as the simultaneous consideration of demand, supply and process uncertainties. The amalgamation of newsvendor model and the approximation of the non-linearity of retailer level cost function especially in the context of supply chain under uncertainty is the first of its kind. We provide a comprehensive statistical study of uncertainties that are present in the supply chain in a unique manner.
High-precision six-degree-of-freedom pose measurement and grasping system for large-size object based on binocular vision
Authors: Wan Guoyang , Li Fudong , Zhu Wenjun , Wang Guofeng 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
The positioning and grasping of large-size objects have always had problems of low positioning accuracy, slow grasping speed and high application cost compared with ordinary small parts tasks. This paper aims to propose and implement a binocular vision-guided grasping system for large-size object with industrial robot.

Design/methodology/approach
To guide the industrial robot to grasp the object with high position and pose accuracy, this study measures the pose of the object by extracting and reconstructing three non-collinear feature points on it. To improve the precision and the robustness of the pose measuring, a coarse-to-fine positioning strategy is proposed. First, a coarse but stable feature is chosen to locate the object in the image and provide initial regions for the fine features. Second, three circular holes are chosen to be the fine features whose centers are extracted with a robust ellipse fitting strategy and thus determine the precise pose and position of the object.

Findings
Experimental results show that the proposed system has achieved high robustness and high positioning accuracy of −1 mm and pose accuracy of −0.5 degree.

Originality/value
It is a high accuracy method that can be used for industrial robot vision-guided and grasp location.
The identity and role of stakeholders in the medical tourism industry: state of the art
Authors: Kamassi Ahmed , Abd Manaf Noor Hazilah , Omar Azura 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to address and identify the major stakeholders in the medical tourism industry, based on their participation in medical tourism activities and their support for medical tourism development.Design/methodology/approachThis paper systematically reviews the content of medical tourism studies from literature to identify key stakeholders and address the roles they play in the medical tourism industry.FindingsThis study shows that the key stakeholders in the medical tourism industry are eight, namely, medical tourists, health-care providers, government agencies, facilitators, accreditation and credentialing bodies, health-care marketers, insurance providers and infrastructure and facilities. These stakeholders strongly influence medical tourists’ decision-making process in seeking medical treatment abroad. Besides, a successful medical tourism development depends greatly on the excellent partnership between all stakeholders.Practical implicationsThis paper sheds light on the crucial role of these stakeholders that can be an important consideration in medical tourists’ decision-making process and industry growth. The study can facilitate policymakers in designing and developing policies to improve medical tourism practices.Originality/valueThis paper expands the knowledge about medical tourism literature by identifying and explaining the significant role of each stakeholder in the industry. The results of this paper are quite revealing to all practitioners in terms of the potential strategies and medical tourism growth. The study establishes a foundation for future medical tourism research in the rapidly growing industry.
Controlled deposition of electrospun nanofibres using active time-varying secondary electrodes
Authors: Nurfaizey Abdul Hamid , Akop Mohd Zaid , Salim Mohd Azli , Mohd Rosli Mohd Afzanizam , Masripan Nor Azmmi 
Published: February 2020

Purpose
In this study, a new method of controlled deposition in electrospinning process is investigated using active time-varying secondary electrodes, in particular sine and triangular potentials to produce a wide and uniform electrospun fibre web.

Design/methodology/approach
A special electrospinning setup was designed to include two independently charged secondary electrodes and a rotating collector. LabVIEW programme was used to control the applied potential at the electrodes. An aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol was used as the model material. An image analysis method was used to quantify the results. MATLAB programme was used to simulate the experimental results. Scanning electron microscope and SEM analyser software were used to examine the fibres.

Findings
It was observed that when a time-varying electric potential was used, the electrospinning jet was periodically move to-and-fro in agreement with the varying electric field. The continuous movement of the jet expanded the width of the deposited web. The smooth oscillation of a sine wave potential was initially thought to produce a uniform pattern of deposited web; however, the results showed otherwise. A similar result was also found in simulations. The reason behind this observation was due to the difference in jet scanning speed between the two potentials.

Originality/value
This study provides useful information for understanding how an active secondary electrode can be used as a new method of fibre deposition control in electrospinning process.
Trophic transfer of pesticides: The fine line between predator–prey regulation and pesticide–pest regulation
Authors: Baudrot Virgile , Fernandez‐de‐Simon Javier , Coeurdassier Michael , Couval Geoffroy , Giraudoux Patrick , Lambin Xavier 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Understanding pesticide impacts on populations of target/non‐target species and communities is a challenge to applied ecology. When predators that otherwise regulate pest densities ingest prey contaminated with pesticides, this can suppress predator populations by secondary poisoning. It is, however, unknown how species relationships and protocols of treatments (e.g. anticoagulant rodenticide [AR]) interact to affect pest regulation.

To tackle this issue, we modelled a heuristic non‐spatialized system including montane water voles, specialist vole predators (stoats, weasels) and a generalist predator (red fox) which consumes voles, mustelids and other prey. By carrying out a broad‐range sensitivity analysis on poorly known toxicological parameters, we explored the impact of five farmer functional responses (defined by both AR quantity and threshold vole density above which AR spreading is prohibited) on predator–prey interactions, AR transfer across the trophic chain and population effects.

Spreading AR to maintain low vole densities suppressed mustelid and fox populations, leading to vole population dynamics being entirely regulated by AR use. Such vole‐suppression treatment regimes inhibited predation ecosystem services and promoted pesticide dependence.

Keeping vole density below acceptable bounds by spreading AR while maintaining sufficient voles as prey resources led to less AR being applied and extended periods without AR in the environment, benefiting predators while avoiding episodes with high vole density. This may meet farm production interests while minimizing the impact on mustelid and fox populations and associated ecosystem processes. These alternating phases of mustelids and farmer regulation highlight the consequence of intraguild relationship where mustelids may rescue foxes from poisoning. Both global and wide‐range sensitivity analysis illustrate the tightrope between predator–prey regulation and pesticide–pest regulation.

Synthesis and applications. Different pesticide protocols lead to a rich variety of predator–prey dynamics in agro‐ecosystems. Our model reveals the need to maintain refuges with sufficient non‐poisoned voles for sustaining specialist mustelids, to conserve the predator community given the potential of secondary poisoning with rodenticides. We suggest that long periods without pesticide treatment are essential to maintain predator populations, and that practices of pesticides use that attempt to permanently suppress a pest over a large scale are counterproductive.
The evolution of realized niches within freshwater Synechococcus
Authors: Tromas Nicolas , Taranu Zofia E. , Castelli Mathieu , Pimentel Juliana S. M. , Pereira Daniel A. , Marcoz Romane , Shapiro B. Jesse , Giani Alessandra 
Published: January 2020

SummaryUnderstanding how ecological traits have changed over evolutionary time is a fundamental question in biology. Specifically, the extent to which more closely related organisms share similar ecological preferences due to phylogenetic conservation – or if they are forced apart by competition – is still debated. Here, we explored the co‐occurrence patterns of freshwater cyanobacteria at the sub‐genus level to investigate whether more closely related taxa share more similar niches and to what extent these niches were defined by abiotic or biotic variables. We used deep 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and measured several abiotic environmental parameters (nutrients, temperature, etc.) in water samples collected over time and space in Furnas Reservoir, Brazil. We found that relatively more closely related Synechococcus (in the continuous range of 93%–100% nucleotide identity in 16S) had an increased tendency to co‐occur with one another (i.e. had similar realized niches). This tendency could not be easily explained by shared preferences for measured abiotic niche dimensions. Thus, commonly measured abiotic parameters might not be sufficient to characterize, nor to predict community assembly or dynamics. Rather, co‐occurrence between Synechococcus and the surrounding community (whether or not they represent true biological interactions) may be a more sensitive measure of realized niches. Overall, our results suggest that realized niches are phylogenetically conserved, at least at the sub‐genus level and at the resolution of the 16S marker. Determining how these results generalize to other genera and at finer genetic resolution merits further investigation.
Rate of kidney function decline and factors predicting progression of kidney disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with reduced kidney function: A nationwide retrospective cohort study
Authors: Kaewput Wisit , Thongprayoon Charat , Chewcharat Api , Rangsin Ram , Satirapoj Bancha , Kaewput Chalermrat , Suwannahitatorn Picha , Bathini Tarun , Mao Michael A. , Cato Liam D. , Harrison Andrew M. , Vaitla Pradeep , Cheungpasitporn Wisit 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCurrently, the data on independent risk factors for the progression of kidney disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with CKD are limited. This study aimed to investigate CKD progression in T2DM patients who have reduced kidney function with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFRs) between 15 and 59 mL/min/1.73 m2. This study was composed of a nationwide retrospective cohort of adult T2DM patients from 831 public hospitals in Thailand during the year 2015. T2DM patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 were followed up, until development of CKD stage 5, requirement of chronic dialysis, loss to follow‐up, death, or 31 May 2018, whichever came first. Cox proportional hazard regression was utilized for analysis. A total of 8464 participants were included; 30.4% were male. The mean age was 69 ± 10 years. The mean eGFR was 45 ± 11 mL/min/1.73 m2. The incidence of CKD stage 5 or the need for chronic dialysis was 16.4 per 1000 person‐years. The annual rate of eGFR decline during a mean follow‐up of 29 months was −2.3 mL/min/1.73 m2; 14.4% had a rapid decline in eGFR. The risk factors associated with progression to CKD stage 5 or the need for chronic dialysis were diabetes duration, systolic blood pressure, serum uric acid, albuminuria, and baseline eGFR. Conversely, older age and the use of renin‐angiotensin aldosterone system blockade were associated with decreased risks for rapid CKD progression and incidence CKD stage 5 or dialysis. This study identifies multiple predictive risk factors that support a multifaceted approach to prevent progression of advanced CKD.
Extraction of phycocyanin—A natural blue colorant from dried spirulina biomass: Influence of processing parameters and extraction techniques
Authors: Li Ying , Zhang Zhong , Paciulli Maria , Abbaspourrad Alireza 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPhycocyanin, a natural blue colorant, is typically extracted from liquid biomass of Arthrospira platensis, a blue–green algae called spirulina. In this study, we developed a scalable process to extract phycocyanin from dried spirulina biomass. First, we established the optimal ionic strength and pH for the extraction buffer. The results showed that a minimum ionic strength (>5 g/L NaCl) must be maintained to minimize the co‐extraction of the green chlorophyll. The optimal pH of the phosphate buffer (100 mM) for phycocyanin extraction is 7.5; however, the pH should be immediately adjusted to 6.0 to 6.5 after the extraction to keep phycocyanin stable. Second, we also investigated three processing techniques, that is, high‐pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric field (PEF), and ultrasonication, to break the cell walls of spirulina and facilitate the release of phycocyanins into extraction buffers. HPP and PEF do not lead to the release of phycocyanin into the extraction buffer. However, ultrasonication breaks down the spirulina into fine particles and releases most of the phycocyanin, along with other impurities, immediately after the treatment. Last, it has been revealed that most of the phycocyanin can be extracted from biomass within 3 hr by phosphate buffer only (pH 7.5, 100 mM) at room temperature. It is concluded that there is no need to treat the rehydrated biomass solution by HPP, PEF, or ultrasonication due to the minimal benefits they brought for the extraction. Based on these results, we proposed an extraction process for the plant production of phycocyanin starting from dried spirulina biomass.Practical ApplicationsLimited information can be found on the extraction of phycocyanin from dried spirulina biomass, especially how to better preserve the natural blue color of phycocyanin during extraction. We have investigated the method and presented a different view from previous processes. Pulsed electric field, high‐pressure processing, and ultrasonication were employed to accelerate the extraction of phycocyanin from dried biomass. However, it was found that, unlike the extraction from live wet biomass, these techniques do not help with the extraction from dried biomass. Based on investigations, we have proposed a process that can be easily scaled up for the commercial production of phycocyanin from dried spirulina biomass.
Evaluation of structural and physicochemical properties of octenyl succinic anhydride modified sweet potato starch with different degrees of substitution
Authors: Guo Jieli , Tang Weimin , Quek Siew Young , Liu Zhe , Lu Shengmin , Tu Kang 
Published: January 2020

AbstractOctenyl succinic anhydride modified sweet potato starch (OSA‐SPS) were synthesized in different degrees of substitution (DS) from 0.0073 to 0.0153. Unlike sweet potato starch (SPS), two additional characteristic peaks were detected at 1,572 and 1,724 cm−1 from the Fourier Transform‐Infrared spectroscopy in OSA‐SPS and their intensities were generally increased with the elevation in DS. Scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction analyses revealed that the esterification did not alter the initial shape of starch granules and mainly occurred on the surface of starch pellets. In addition, OSA‐SPS possessed higher transmittance, viscosity and stability, lower gelatinization temperature, and shorter gelatinization time than SPS. The changes of these properties of SPS after the esterification with OSA would be more conducive to its application in food and other fields.Practical ApplicationOctenyl succinic anhydride modified starch (OSAS), as a relatively novel amphiphilic surfactant, have been applied to the processing of many products due to its special hydrophilicity and lipophilicity. The structural and physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch (SPS) and octenyl succinic anhydride modified sweet potato starch (OSA‐SPS) with different degrees of substitution (DS) were systematically analyzed in this research. The findings give fundamental understanding of OSA‐SPS and provide a basic reference for its application in industries including food, cosmetics, textiles, and so on.
Investigating above‐ground biomass in old‐growth and secondary montane forests of the Cameroon Highlands
Authors: Ngute Alain Senghor K. , Sonké Bonaventure , Nsanyi Sainge Moses , Calders Kim , Marchant Rob , Cuni‐Sanchez Aida 
Published: January 2020

AbstractTropical montane forests can store and sequester substantial amounts of carbon in above‐ground biomass (AGB), but variations in this storage related to location or degradation have not been quantified in the Cameroon Highlands. We established 25 permanent plots (20 m × 40 m) and sampled all trees ≥10 cm diameter following standard RAINFOR protocols. We estimated AGB and investigated variations related to taxonomic and structural forest attributes, including the height–diameter allometry in five forest types (four old‐growth dominated by different species and one secondary forest). Secondary forests had significantly lower AGB than old‐growth forests (49.4 ± 2.5 vs. >476.3 ± 168.7 Mg/ha, respectively), mostly related to lower basal area and tree height. Significant differences in species composition but not in forest structure or AGB were found between the four types of old‐growth forests studied, located at different altitudes and mountains. We discuss the importance of these montane forests for carbon storage and, considering their high diversity and current threats, their potential for carbon finance mechanisms related to both avoided deforestation and forest restoration.
Variables affecting the presence of mesenchymal stromal cells in peripheral blood and their relationship with apheresis products
Authors: Jain Ankur , Khadwal Alka , Sachdeva Man Updesh Singh , Bose Praveen , Lad Deepesh , Bhattacharya Shalmoli , Prakash Gaurav , Malhotra Pankaj , Varma Neelam , Varma Subhash 
Published: February 2020

SummaryMesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) demonstrate the properties of self‐renewal, multipotentiality, and immunosuppression, which are responsible for their widespread clinical applications in tissue repair and regeneration. MSCs have been isolated from bone marrow, adipose tissue, and cord blood using culture in specialised media. Their presence in peripheral blood (PB) is debatable. We studied the presence of MSCs at baseline (PB) and following mobilisation with growth factors [PB and apheresis product (AP)] in patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation and healthy donors using flow cytometry. We conclude that both mobilised PB and AP are potential sources of MSCs. Given their small numbers in PB/AP, clinical use is feasible following ex‐vivo expansion. Variables affecting the presence of MSCs in PB and AP are also discussed.
Protective effect of cilastatin against diclofenac‐induced nephrotoxicity through interaction with diclofenac acyl glucuronide via organic anion transporters
Authors: Huo Xiaokui , Meng Qiang , Wang Changyuan , Wu Jingjing , Wang Chong , Zhu Yanna , Ma Xiaodong , Sun Huijun , Liu Kexin 
Published: January 2020

Background and PurposeDiclofenac is a widely used nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug. However, adverse effects in the kidney limit its clinical application. The present study was aimed to evaluate the potential effect of cilastatin on diclofenac‐induced acute kidney injury and to clarify the potential roles of renal organic anion transporters (OATs) in the drug‐drug interaction between cilastatin and diclofenac.Experimental ApproachThe effect of cilastatin was evaluated in diclofenac‐induced acute kidney injury in mice. Human OAT1/3‐transfected HEK293 cells and renal primary proximal tubule cells (RPTCs) were used to investigate OAT1/3‐mediated transport and the cytotoxicity of diclofenac.Key ResultsCilastatin treatment decreased the pathological changes, renal dysfunction and elevated renal levels of oxidation products, cytokine production and apoptosis induced by diclofenac in mice. Moreover, cilastatin increased the plasma concentration and decreased the renal distribution of diclofenac and its glucuronide metabolite, diclofenac acyl glucuronide (DLF‐AG). Similarly, cilastatin inhibited cytotoxicity and mitochondrial damage in RPTCs but did not change the intracellular accumulation of diclofenac. DLF‐AG but not diclofenac exhibited OAT‐dependent cytotoxicity and was identified as an OAT1/3 substrate. Cilastatin inhibited the intracellular accumulation and decreased the cytotoxicity of DLF‐AG in RPTCs.Conclusion and ImplicationsCilastatin alleviated diclofenac‐induced acute kidney injury in mice by restoring the redox balance, suppressing inflammation, and reducing apoptosis. Cilastatin inhibited OATs and decreased the renal distribution of diclofenac and DLF‐AG, which further ameliorated the diclofenac‐induced nephrotoxicity in mice. Cilastatin can be potentially used in the clinic as a therapeutic agent to alleviate the adverse renal reaction to diclofenac.