bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Performance of Fungal Growth Through Integrated Gompertz Model and Respiratory Quotient by Solid State Fermentation in Multi-Layer Squared Tray Solid State Bioreactor with Aeration Strategies
Authors: Manan Musaalbakri Abdul , Webb Colin 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
A newly designed, laboratory-scaled and multi-layer squared tray solid state bioreactor (SSB), was developed and successfully operated in solid state fermentation (SSF) conditions. The bioreactor was divided into eight layers of squared perforated trays. Wheat bran was used as a solid substrate for the growth of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae. The SSB was equipped with an oxygen (O2)/carbon dioxide (CO2) gas analyser and a thermocouple. Continuous on-line monitoring of fungal growth could be performed by indirect methods that measure O2 consumed, production of CO2 and metabolic heat. The advantage of using this method is that there are no tedious and time-consuming sampling processes. The evolution of CO2, which represents an accumulation term, was integrated with time and fitted to the Gompertz model in a log-like equation. The Gompertz model generated values that may be used to stimulate and verify the experimental data. Results strongly suggest that the evolved and accumulated CO2, excellently described fungal growth. Simulated results agreed with experimental results. The respiratory quotient (RQ), which is the ratio of CO2 evolution rate (CER) to O2 uptake rate (OUR), was determined by the gas balance method. CER and OUR confirmed that measurements correlated to fungal activity. Each RQ values can explain the differences of each SFF process carried out. Yet, heat evolved by fungal activity also described fungal growth. The current findings is an excellent pre-liminary experimental work, evidencing that multi-layer squared tray SSB with forced moistened aeration present a promising alternative of instrumented bioreactors for SSF processes.
MeSPL9 Attenuates Drought Resistance by Regulating JA Signaling and Protectant Metabolite Contents in Cassava
Authors: Li Shuxia , Cheng Zhihao , Li Zhibo , Dong Shiman , Yu Xiaoling , Zhao Pingjuan , Liao Wenbin , Yu Xiang , Peng Ming 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Drought stress severely impairs crop yield and is considered a primary threat to food security worldwide. Although the SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein-like 9 (SPL9) gene participates extensively in numerous developmental processes and in plant response to abiotic stimuli, its role and regulatory pathway in cassava (Manihot esculenta) response to the drought condition remain elusive. In the current study, we show that MeSPL9 plays negative roles in drought stress resistance. MeSPL9 expression was strongly repressed by drought treatment. Overexpression of a dominant-negative form of miR156-resistant MeSPL9, rMeSPL9-SRDX, in which a 12-amino acid repressor sequence was fused to rMeSPL9 at the C terminus, conferred drought tolerance without penalizing overall growth. rMeSPL9-SRDX-overexpressing lines not only exhibited increased osmoprotectant metabolites including proline and anthocyanin, but also accumulated more endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) and soluble sugars. Transcriptomic and real-time PCR analysis suggested that differentially expressed genes were involved in sugar or JA biosynthesis, signaling, and metabolism in transgenic cassava under drought conditions. Exogenous application of JA further confirmed that JA conferred improved drought resistance and promoted stomatal closure in cassava leaves. Taken together, our findings suggest that MeSPL9 affects drought resistance by modulating protectant metabolite levels and JA signaling, which have substantial implications for engineering drought tolerant crops.
Evaluating the Landscape of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Mitigation Goals of the Global Food and Beverage Sector
Authors: Reavis Megan , Ahlen Jenny , Rudek Joe , Naithani Kusum 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
The dramatic increase of emitted greenhouse gases (GHGs) by humans over the past century and a half has created an urgency for monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions as a first step towards mitigating the effects of climate change. Fifteen percent of global GHG emissions come from agriculture, and companies in the food and beverage industry are starting to set climate goals. We evaluated the GHG emissions reporting practices and climate goals of the top 100 global food and beverage companies and determined whether or not their goals are aligned with the science of reducing climate warming to less than 2 °C. We found that two thirds of the top 100 (as ranked by Food Engineering) global food and beverage companies are setting some sort of climate goals, but fewer than half included scope 3 emissions in their goals. Only four companies have goals that are aligned with the goal of the 3% Solution: a 4.3% annual emission reduction until 2050. While an increasing number of companies are disclosing and setting targets that include scope 3 emissions, many still do not disclose or report any of their emissions. Our results highlight an urgent need to develop protocols for monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emissions and to provide transparent information on climate goals and targets.
Second Opinions for Spine Surgery: A Scoping Review
Authors: Ferreira Giovanni E , Zadro Joshua , Liu Chang , Harris Ian , Maher Chris 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: Second opinions have the goal of clarifying uncertainties around diagnosis or management, particularly when healthcare decisions are complex, unpleasant, and carry considerable risks. Second opinions might be particularly useful for people recommended surgery for their back pain as surgery has at best a limited role in the management of back pain. No studies have attempted to summarise the available evidence for second opinion services designed for people with back pain that have been recommended to have surgery.Methods: We conducted a scoping review. Two independent researchers screened PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL from their inception to May 6th, 2021. Studies of any design were eligible provided that they described a second opinion intervention for people with spinal pain (low back or neck pain with or without radicular pain) either considering surgery or to whom surgery had been recommended. We assessed the methodological quality of studies with the Downs & Black scale. Outcomes were: i) characteristics of second opinion services for people considering or who have been recommended spinal surgery, ii) agreement between first and second opinions in terms of diagnoses, need for surgery and type of surgery, iii) their effectiveness in reducing surgery rates and improving patient –reported outcomes; and iv) the costs and healthcare use associated with these services. Outcomes were presented descriptively. Results: We included 12 studies (11 had poor methodological quality; one had fair). Studies described patient, doctor, and insurance-initiated second opinion services. Diagnostic agreement between first and second opinions varied from 53% to 96% across studies. Agreement for need for surgery between first and second opinions ranged from 0% to 83%. There is some very-low quality evidence that second opinion services may reduce surgery rates in the short-term, but it is unclear whether these reductions are sustained in the long-term or if patients only delay surgery. Second opinion services may reduce costs and some healthcare use (e.g. imaging), but might increase others (e.g. injections, prescription drugs). Conclusions: There is a need for high-quality studies to determine the value of second opinion services for reducing spinal surgery.
Evaluation of 3D Vertebral and Pelvic Position by Surface Topography in Asymptomatic Females: Presentation of Normative Reference Data
Authors: Wolf Claudia , Betz Ulrich , Huthwelker Janine , Konradi Jürgen , Westphal Ruben , Cerpa Meghan , Lenke Lawrence , Drees Philipp 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: Deviations from a conventional physiologic posture are often a cause of complaint. According to current literature the upright physiological spine posture exhibits inclinations in the sagittal plane but not in the coronal and transverse planes, but individual vertebral body positions of asymptomatic adults have rarely been described using Surface Topography. Therefore, this work aims to form a normative reference dataset for the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies and for the pelvis in all three planes in asymptomatic women.Methods: Prospective, cross-sectional, monocentric study of 100 pain-free asymptomatic women, ages 20-64 years-old, were enrolled. Habitual standing positions of the trunk were measured using Surface Topography. Data was analyzed in all three planes. Age sub-analysis was: 1) ages ≤40 years and 2) ages ≥41 years. Two-sample t-tests were used for age comparisons of the vertebral bodies, vertebra prominence (VP)-L4, and global parameters. One-sample t-tests were used to test deviations from symmetrical zero positions of VP-L4.Results: Coronal plane: on average the vertebral bodies were tilted to the right between the VP-T4 (maximum: T2 -1.8°±3.2), while between T6-T11 they were tilted to the left (maximum: T7 1.1°±1.9). T5 and L2 were in a neutral position. Overall, depicting a mean right-sided lateral flexion from T2-T7 (apex at T5). Sagittal plane: the kyphotic apex resided at T8 with -0.5°±3.6 and the lumbar lordotic apex at L3 with -2.1°±7.4. Transverse plane: participants had a mean vertebral body rotation to the right ranging from T6-L4 (maximum: T11 -2.2°±3.5). Age-specific differences were seen in the sagittal plane and had little effect on overall posture.Conclusions: Asymptomatic female volunteers standing in a habitual posture displayed an average vertebral rotation and lateral flexion to the right in vertebral segments T2-T7. The physiological asymmetrical posture of women should be considered in spinal therapies. With regard to spinal surgery, it should be clarified whether an approximation to an absolutely symmetrical posture is desirable from a biomechanical point of view? This data set can also be used as a reference in clinical practice.Trial registration: This study was registered with WHO (INT: DRKS00010834) and approved by the responsible ethics committee at the Rhineland-Palatinate Medical Association (837.194.16).
Two way Threshold Based Intelligent Water Drops Feature Selection Algorithm for Accurate Detection of Breast Cancer
Authors: Kalita Dhruba Jyoti , Singh Vibhav Prakash , Kumar Vinay 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Breast cancer is one of the common reasons for deaths of women over the globe. It has been found that a Computer- Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system can be designed using X-ray mammograms for early-stage detection of breast cancer, which can decrease the death rate to a large extend. This paper work proposes a novel 2-way threshold based Intelligent water drops (IWD) algorithm for feature selection to design an effective and efficient CAD system that can detect breast cancer in early stage. This approach first extracts the Local Binary Patterns (LBP) in wavelet domain from mammograms and then apply our introduced 2-way threshold based (IWD) algorithm to extract most important subset of features from the extracted features set. 2-way thresholding is a technique to find a lower bound (LB) and an upper bound (UB) on the number of features to be selected in the optimal subset. So, using these threshold values IWD is capable of producing multiple optimal subsets of features rather than producing a single optimal subset of features. The best subset among the above subsets is then used train and deploy Support Vector Machine (SVM) to classify new mammograms. The results have shown that the proposed model outperforms many of the existing CAD systems. Further we have compared our introduced feature selection technique with other meta heuristic features selection techniques such as Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Simulated Annealing (SA), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), Inclined Planes System Optimization (IPO) and Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm (GWO) and found that it outperforms the others. The accuracy, precision, recall, specificity and F1-score of our proposed framework are measured as 99%, 98.7% ,98.123%, 96.2% and 98.4% respectively.
The Role of Posterior Pallial Amygdala in Mediating Motor Behavior in Pigeons
Authors: Tian Xinmao , Shi Yuhua , Zhang Yifeng , Wang Yijie , Li Mengke , Cheng Han , Wang Zhenlong 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
The posterior pallial amygdala (PoA) is located on the basolateral caudal telencephalon, including the basal division of PoA (PoAb) and the compact division of PoA (PoAc). PoA plays a vital role in emotion regulation and is considered a part of the amygdala in birds. However, the regulatory functions responsible for motor behaviors and emotions between PoAb and PoAc are poorly understood. Therefore, we studied the structure and function of PoA by tract-tracing methods, constant current electrical stimulation, and different dopamine receptor drug injections in pigeons (Columba livia domestica). PoAb connects reciprocally with two nuclear groups in the cerebrum: 1) a continuum comprising the temporo–parieto–occipitalis, corticoidea dorsolateralis, hippocampus, and parahippocampalis areas and 2) rostral areas of the hemisphere, including the nucleus septalis lateralis and nucleus taeniae amygdalae. Extratelencephalic projections of PoAb terminate in the lateral hypothalamic nucleus and are scattered in many limbic midbrain regions. PoAb and PoAc mainly mediated the turning movement. D1 agonist and D2 antagonist could significantly reduce the latency period for entering into the central area and increase the stay time in the central area, whereas D1 antagonist and D2 agonist had the opposite effect. These findings indicate that PoAb may participate in interhemispheric exchange and that PoAc affects motor behaviors by regulating emotions. Hence, PoAb and PoAc are important brain areas that mediate turning behavior.
Phylogenetic Diversity and Antioxidant Activity of Selected Fungi From Ethno Medicinal Plants &amp; Soil
Authors: Mishra Rahul Chandra , Barrow Colin J , Dwivedi Neeraj , Deshmukh Sunil , Goel Mayurika 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Endophytic fungi are prolific generators of bioactive metabolites with natural antioxidant properties that have a range of potential uses. In the present work, the antioxidant activity and phylogenetic diversity of endophytic fungi obtained from semi-arid terrestrial plants and the fungi obtained from the mangrove soil samples is investigated. The fungal isolates were identified by employing morphological features and phylogenetic characterization by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Six taxonomic orders of Ascomycota associated with nine genera were identified, these being Diaporthales, Eurotiales, Hypocreales, Onygenales, Pleosporales and Xylariales. The antioxidant activity methanolic extracts of the fungal isolates were determined using modified 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonicacid) (ABTS) methods. Among the fungal isolates, Aspergillus sp. AREF023 and Fusarium sp. AREF014, obtained from different parts of Datura metel, displayed the highest level of radical inhibition (80.76% and 70.62% respectively). GC/-MS analysis of the active isolates confirmed the presence of known antioxidant phenolic compounds, including 2-tert-Butyl-5-hydroxymethyl-5-methyl-[1,3]dioxolan-4-one and Phenol, 2,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl), in the their crude extracts. Our findings suggest that fungal isolates from D. metel can be a sustainable resource for natural antioxidants.
Study on Design, Manufacture and Cutting Performance of Circular-arc Milling Cutters for Machining Titanium Alloy
Authors: Chen Tao , Gang Liu , Rui Li , Yujiang Lu , Guangyue Wang 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Titanium alloy is widely used for manufacturing structural parts of high-end equipment due to its excellent mechanical properties, despite difficulty in being machined. Nowadays, titanium alloy parts are mostly machined by ball-end milling cutters (BEMC), but the cutting edge structure of the BEMC limits the improvement in machining efficiency and surface quality of the parts. In this paper, a circular-arc milling cutter (CAMC) with large-curvature cutting edge was proposed; the differential geometry method was used for establishing the geometric model for the contour surface of the CAMC and the mathematical model for the spiral cutting edge line; the conversion matrix between grinding wheel and workpiece coordinates was introduced to derive the equation of grinding wheel trajectory when the rake face of the CAMC was ground; the self-designed CAMC was ground and tested in accuracy. The comparative research was conducted experimentally on the side milling of titanium alloy TC4 with the CAMC and BEMC, and consequently the variation laws of milling forces, wear morphology and machined surface quality were obtained about the two types of milling cutters. The results indicated that the CAMC can effectively reduce the main milling force and keep the milling process stable. Moreover, the CAMC was worn slower and produced better surface quality than the BEMC.
Impact of The Structure on The Thermal Burnout Effect Induced by Microwave Pulses of PIN Limiter Diodes
Authors: Zhao Jingtao , Chen Quanyou , Chen Zhidong , Chen Chaoyang , Liu Zhong , Zhao Gang 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) limiter are widely used to protect sensitive components from leakage power itself and adjacent high-power injection. Being the core of a PIN limiter, the PIN diode is possible to be burnt out by the external microwave pulses. Here, numerical simulations by our self-designed device-circuit joint simulator were carried out to study the influences of the I layer thickness and the anode diameter of the PIN diode on the maximum temperature variation curve of the PIN diode limiter. The damage threshold criterion in the numerical simulation was first studied by comparing experimental results with simulation results. Then, we determined the impact of the structure on the thermal burnout effect induced by microwave pulses of PIN limiter diodes.
Enriching Trace Level Adsorption Affinity of As3+ ion using Hydrothermally Synthesized Iron-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanorods
Authors: Panchu Sandeep Eswaran , Sekar Saranya , Rajaram Vani , Kolanthai Elayaraja , Panchu Sarojini Jeeva , Swart Hendrik C. , Kalkura NARAYANA 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Contamination of arsenic in the form of arsenite (As3+) and arsenate (As5+) in potable water causes serious illness in the human body even at a very low concentration (10 µg / L). As3+ is comparatively 60 times more toxic than As5+ species. Hence, this work is focused on the preparation of adsorbents for efficient removal of As3+ with higher adsorption affinity at trace level (≤50 µg/L). Here, iron-doped hydroxyapatite (Fe-HAp) synthesized by hydrothermal technique is employed as an efficient adsorbent. A very less quantity of Fe2+ ion (0.5 wt %) is incorporated in the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the HAp lattice along the c-axis which lead to drastic reduction in particle size (400%) and enhancing the specific surface area (105%), colloidal stability, and adsorption affinity. The maximum adsorption capacity of As3+ is 139±2 µg/g and 183±2 µg/g for HAp and Fe-HAp, respectively. The adsorption rate of Fe-HAp is very rapid which is 538% higher compared to HAp and also the As3+ adsorption affinity or sensitivity (0.71 µg/L) significantly improved 83-99% when compared to the adsorbents reported in the previous literature so far. The monolayer adsorption of As3+ is purely strong chemisorption as confirmed by the Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich (DKR) isotherm. The structure and morphology of HAp and Fe-HAp remain unchanged after the adsorption of As3+ ions and also no secondary toxic products were observed. Hence, the above results reveal Fe-HAp as an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for removal of highly toxic As3+ ions at the trace level.
What Impact has lockdown on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 incidence, prevalence and mortality during second wave of pandemic in 2021: - observational analysis of Bihar
Authors: Kumar Piyush 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: My research aimed to assess the impact of lockdown on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic 13 days before lockdown, first and second 13 days during lockdown, and 13 days after the lockdown on the trends in the incidence, prevalence and mortality in the state of Bihar, India, during COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The information on the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic in Bihar was obtained from Health Department Bihar, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and lockdown data were obtained from online websites as well. The impact of lockdown for 13 days before lockdown, first and second 13 days during lockdown, and 13 days after the lockdown on the incidence, prevalence and mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bihar was analyzed with Microsoft office and stata 15.1 for windows (64bit) will be used with Microsoft office in next version-2 of article. Results: The findings showed that except for Incidence /100000/ new death there was a trend toward a decline, and except for Prevalence/100000/confirmed cases from beginning of pandemic all other prevalence have increased. The total and observation period mortality rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic also increased. Conclusions: The findings indicate that 15 days after the lockdown, incidence, daily cases of COVID-19 and the growth of the disease showed a declined trend, but there was no significant decline in the prevalence and mortality.
Annual nitrate load patterns in an agricultural watershed in consecutive dry years
Authors: Chen Shuai , Ruan Xiaohong 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Nitrate (NO3-N) load characteristics in consecutive dry years in the Huai River Basin (HRB), China, were examined using streamflow and NO3-N concentration data. The data set spanned 12 years including three consecutive dry years. Baseflow separation, load estimation, and nonparametric linear regression were applied to separate point source (PS), baseflow, and surface runoff NO3-N loads from the total load. The mean annual nonpoint source (NPS) load was 2.84 kg·ha−1·yr−1, accounting for 90.8% of the total load. Baseflow contributed approximately one-fourth of the natural runoff and half of the NPS load. The baseflow nitrate index (i.e., the ratio of baseflow NO3-N load to total NPS NO3-N load) was 25.4% higher in consecutive dry years than in individual dry years. This study demonstrated that baseflow is the preferential hydrological pathway for NO3-N transport in the HRB and that baseflow delivers a higher NO3-N percentage to streams under long-term drought than under short-term drought. This study highlights the alarming evidence that continuous drought caused by climate change may lead to a higher rate of nitrogen loss in agricultural watersheds.