The study investigates long-term changes in annual and seasonal rainfall patterns in the Indira Sagar Region of Madhya Pradesh, India, from 1901 to 2010. Agriculture sustainability, food supply, natural resource devel...The study investigates long-term changes in annual and seasonal rainfall patterns in the Indira Sagar Region of Madhya Pradesh, India, from 1901 to 2010. Agriculture sustainability, food supply, natural resource development, and hydropower system reliability in the region rely heavily on monsoon rainfall. Monthly rainfall data from three stations (East Nimar, Barwani, and West Nimar) were analyzed. Initially, the pre-whitening method was applied to eliminate serial correlation effects from the rainfall data series. Subsequently, statistical trends in annual and seasonal rainfall were assessed using both parametric (student-t test) and non-parametric tests [Mann-Kendall, Sen’s slope estimator, and Cumulative Sum (CUSUM)]. The magnitude of the rainfall trend was determined using Theil-Sen’s slope estimator. Spatial analysis of the Mann-Kendall test on an annual basis revealed a statistically insignificant decreasing trend for Barwani and East Nimar and an increasing trend for West Nimar. On a seasonal basis, the monsoon season contributes a significant percentage (88.33%) to the total annual rainfall. The CUSUM test results indicated a shift change detection in annual rainfall data for Barwani in 1997, while shifts were observed in West and East Nimar stations in 1929. These findings offer valuable insights into regional rainfall behavior, aiding in the planning and management of water resources and ecological systems.展开更多
Traditional Chinese preserved egg products have exhibited some anti-inflammatory effects,but their mechanisms of action remain unknown.This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of preserved egg whi...Traditional Chinese preserved egg products have exhibited some anti-inflammatory effects,but their mechanisms of action remain unknown.This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of preserved egg white(PEW)treatment on dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced colitis in mice and the underlying mechanisms.The results showed that treatment with PEW in mice with DSS-induced colitis for 14 days effectively improved the clinical signs,inhibited the secretion and gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines,and reduced myeloperoxidase(MPO)activity and oxidative stress levels.In addition,western blotting results showed that PEW significantly suppressed DSS-induced phosphorylation levels of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)p65 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)in colon tissues of mice with colitis.PEW also enhanced the production of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)and modulated gut microbiota composition in mice with DSS-induced colitis,including increasing the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria Lachnospiraceae,Ruminococcaceae and Muribaculaceae,and reducing the relative abundance of harmful bacteria Proteobacteria.Taken together,our study demonstrated that preserved egg white could alleviate DSS-induced colitis in mice through the reduction of oxidative stress,modulation of inflammatory cytokines,NF-κB,MAPK and gut microbiota composition.展开更多
By the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution,interconnected devices and sensors generate large-scale,dynamic,and inharmonious data in Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)platforms.Such vast heterogeneous data i...By the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution,interconnected devices and sensors generate large-scale,dynamic,and inharmonious data in Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)platforms.Such vast heterogeneous data increase the challenges of security risks and data analysis procedures.As IIoT grows,cyber-attacks become more diverse and complex,making existing anomaly detection models less effective to operate.In this paper,an ensemble deep learning model that uses the benefits of the Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)and the AutoEncoder(AE)architecture to identify out-of-norm activities for cyber threat hunting in IIoT is proposed.In this model,the LSTM is applied to create a model on normal time series of data(past and present data)to learn normal data patterns and the important features of data are identified by AE to reduce data dimension.In addition,the imbalanced nature of IIoT datasets has not been considered in most of the previous literature,affecting low accuracy and performance.To solve this problem,the proposed model extracts new balanced data from the imbalanced datasets,and these new balanced data are fed into the deep LSTM AE anomaly detection model.In this paper,the proposed model is evaluated on two real IIoT datasets-Gas Pipeline(GP)and Secure Water Treatment(SWaT)that are imbalanced and consist of long-term and short-term dependency on data.The results are compared with conventional machine learning classifiers,Random Forest(RF),Multi-Layer Perceptron(MLP),Decision Tree(DT),and Super Vector Machines(SVM),in which higher performance in terms of accuracy is obtained,99.3%and 99.7%based on GP and SWaT datasets,respectively.Moreover,the proposed ensemble model is compared with advanced related models,including Stacked Auto-Encoders(SAE),Naive Bayes(NB),Projective Adaptive Resonance Theory(PART),Convolutional Auto-Encoder(C-AE),and Package Signatures(PS)based LSTM(PS-LSTM)model.展开更多
This research paper assesses the reality of Climate-Smart Agriculture(CSA)practices’potential to promote the outcomes of sustainable food systems(SFS)within Ghana’s smallholding agriculture context.The study demon-s...This research paper assesses the reality of Climate-Smart Agriculture(CSA)practices’potential to promote the outcomes of sustainable food systems(SFS)within Ghana’s smallholding agriculture context.The study demon-strates that rural farmers generally perceive CSA’s contribution to‘food and nutrition security’and‘economic performance’as more important than CSA’s contribution to‘social equity’and‘environmental stewardship’.From a narrow perspective,the study demonstrates that farmers perceive CSA’s potential to‘prevent pest and disease outbreaks’and‘increase human capital information’as the most important contribution of CSA to SFS outcomes.In contrast,CSA’s potential to promote environmental stewardship is perceived as the least important among Ghana’s rural farmers.This enormity of displacement of smallholders’perceptions at large is motivated by de-mographic,socioeconomic and ecological factors.Moreso,the CSA for SFS outcomes narratives is driven by farmers’self-apprise,social networks and other local information dissemination agents.Furthermore,research findings suggest farmers’awareness of CSA practices and interventions is deficient owing to unmet training and information needs for approximately 82%of the CSA practices and interventions.This situation elucidates the dichotomy of CSA practices’narratives as tools for attaining food,nutrition security and economic performance to the detriment of critical issues such as increasing awareness and building farmers’capacity to engage with CSA practices while also managing socio-ecological trade-offs that emerge over time due to engagement with CSA.Critical(re)orientation is needed across the scale to drive CSA practices and interventions that confine cli-mate adaptation and food production practices within safe planetary boundaries without undermining social,economic,food and nutrition security needs.展开更多
Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)systems depend on a growing number of edge devices such as sensors,controllers,and robots for data collection,transmission,storage,and processing.Any kind of malicious or abnormal fu...Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)systems depend on a growing number of edge devices such as sensors,controllers,and robots for data collection,transmission,storage,and processing.Any kind of malicious or abnormal function by each of these devices can jeopardize the security of the entire IIoT.Moreover,they can allow malicious software installed on end nodes to penetrate the network.This paper presents a parallel ensemble model for threat hunting based on anomalies in the behavior of IIoT edge devices.The proposed model is flexible enough to use several state-of-the-art classifiers as the basic learner and efficiently classifies multi-class anomalies using the Multi-class AdaBoost and majority voting.Experimental evaluations using a dataset consisting of multi-source normal records and multi-class anomalies demonstrate that our model outperforms existing approaches in terms of accuracy,F1 score,recall,and precision.展开更多
Climate change has an impact on various climatic variables. In this study our focus is mainly on temperature characteristics of climate parameter. In temperate and humid regions like southern Ontario, the effect of cl...Climate change has an impact on various climatic variables. In this study our focus is mainly on temperature characteristics of climate parameter. In temperate and humid regions like southern Ontario, the effect of climate change on Frost-free days in winter is distinctive. The average annual temperature is going upward but the extreme increase is in the winter temperature. Winter average temperature is going up by about 2˚C. However, extreme daily minimum temperature is going up by more than 3˚C. This climate effect has a great impact on the nature of precipitation and length of frost-free days. The snowfall over winter months is decreasing and the rainfall is increasing. However, the number of frost-free days during late fall months, early winter months, late winter months and early spring months are increasing. This result reveals an increase in length of the growing season. This research focuses on the effect of change in climatic variables on Frost-free days in Southern Ontario. Therefore, special attention should be given to the effect of change in climate Frost-free conditions on length of crop growing in winter season for potential investigation.展开更多
Background: Soybean meal is an excellent and cost-effective protein source; however, its usage is limited in the piglet due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors and the antigens glycinin and β-conglycinin. The...Background: Soybean meal is an excellent and cost-effective protein source; however, its usage is limited in the piglet due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors and the antigens glycinin and β-conglycinin. The objective of the current study was to screen and select for bacteria that can be efficiently adopted to ferment soybean meal in order to solve this problem.Results: Bacteria were isolated from fermented soy foods and the grass carp intestine, and strains selected for high protease, cellulase and amylase activities. The isolated bacteria were characterized as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacilus amyloliquefacien, respectively. Fermentation with food-derived Isolate-2 and fish-derived F-9 increased crude protein content by 5.32% and 8.27%, respectively; improved the amino acid profile by increasing certain essential amino acids, broke down larger soy protein to 35 k Da and under, eliminated antigenicity against glycinin and β-conglycinin, and removed raffinose and stachyose in the soybean meal following a 24-h fermentation.Conclusions: Our results suggest these two B. amyloliquefaciens bacteria can efficiently solid state ferment soybean meal and ultimately produce a more utilizable food source for growing healthy piglets.展开更多
Meat analogues,or plant-based products that simulate the properties of traditional meat products,have secured a position in the conversation of protein foods.Rapid growth of the meat analogue industry is occurring in ...Meat analogues,or plant-based products that simulate the properties of traditional meat products,have secured a position in the conversation of protein foods.Rapid growth of the meat analogue industry is occurring in the global food marketplace in both the retail and food service sectors.The purpose of this review was to investigate the ingredients used in the formulation of modern meat analogues,evaluate the nutrient specifications of modern meat analogue products,and then form a comparison with traditional meat products.Based on this investigation,it was determined–firstly,the ingredients used in the formulation of modern meat analogue products make these products fit under the classification of ultra-processed foods;and secondly,the nutrient specifications of popular meat analogue products can effectively simulate the nutrient specifications of the meat products they are attempting to simulate.Therefore,based on these findings,modern meat analogue products can offer roughly the same composition of nutrients as traditional meat products,albeit with many different ingredients and a high level of further processing.展开更多
Three long-term field trials in humid regions of Canada and the USA were used to evaluate the influence of soil depth and sample numbers on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plow...Three long-term field trials in humid regions of Canada and the USA were used to evaluate the influence of soil depth and sample numbers on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plow (MP) corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) production systems. The first trial was conducted on a Maryhill silt loam (Typic Hapludalf) at Elora, Ontario, Canada, the second on a Brookston clay loam (Typic Argiaquoll) at Woodslee, Ontario, Canada, and the third on a Thorp silt loam (Argiaquic Argialboll) at Urbana, Illinois, USA. No-tillage led to significantly higher SOC concentrations in the top 5 cm compared to MP at all 3 sites. However, NT resulted in significantly lower SOC in sub-surface soils as compared to MP at Woodslee (10-20 cm, P = 0.01) and Urbana (20-30 cm, P < 0.10). No-tillage had significantly more SOC storage than MP at the Elora site (3.3 Mg C ha-1) and at the Woodslee site (6.2 Mg C ha-1) on an equivalent mass basis (1350 Mg ha-1 soil equivalent mass). Similarly, NT had greater SOC storage than MP at the Urbana site (2.7 Mg C ha-1) on an equivalent mass basis of 675 Mg ha-1 soil. However, these differences disappeared when the entire plow layer was evaluated for both the Woodslee and Urbana sites as a result of the higher SOC concentrations in MP than in NT at depth. Using the minimum detectable difference technique, we observed that up to 1500 soil sample per tillage treatment comparison will have to be collected and analyzed for the Elora and Woodslee sites and over 40 soil samples per tillage treatment comparison for the Urbana to statistically separate significant differences in the SOC contents of sub-plow depth soils. Therefore, it is impracticable, and at the least prohibitively expensive, to detect tillage-induced differences in soil C beyond the plow layer in various soils.展开更多
This paper studies how the price movements of pork,chicken and egg respond to those of related cost factors in short terms in Chinese market.We employ a linear quantile approach not only to explore potential data hete...This paper studies how the price movements of pork,chicken and egg respond to those of related cost factors in short terms in Chinese market.We employ a linear quantile approach not only to explore potential data heteroscedasticity but also to generate confidence bands for the purpose of price stability study.We then evaluate our models by comparing the prediction intervals generated from the quantile regression models with in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts.Using monthly data from January 2000 to October 2010,we observed these findings:(i) the price changes of cost factors asymmetrically and unequally influence those of the livestock across different quantiles;(ii) the performance of our models is robust and consistent for both in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts;(iii) the confidence intervals generated from 0.05th and 0.95th quantile regression models are good methods to forecast livestock price fluctuation.展开更多
Background:The current study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined occurrence of aflatoxin B_(1)(AFB_(1)),deoxynivalenol(DON)and zearalenone(ZEN)in feeds from various Provinces of China during 2018 ...Background:The current study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined occurrence of aflatoxin B_(1)(AFB_(1)),deoxynivalenol(DON)and zearalenone(ZEN)in feeds from various Provinces of China during 2018 to 2020.A total of 3,507 feed samples,including 2,090 feed ingredients and 1,417 complete feed samples,were collected from different areas of China for mycotoxins analysis.Results:The individual contamination of AFB_(1),DON and ZEN were present in more than 81.9%,96.4% and 96.9% of feed samples,respectively,with average concentration ranges of AFB_(1) between 1.2-27.4μg/kg,DON between 458.0-1,925.4μg/kg and ZEN between 48.1-326.8μg/kg.Notably,0.9%,0.5% and 0.1% of feed ingredients,and 1.2-12.8%,0.9-2.9% and 0-8.9% of complete feeds for pigs,poultry and ruminants with AFB_(1),ZEN and DON that exceeded China’s safety standards,respectively.Moreover,more than 81.5%of feed ingredients and 95.7% of complete feeds were co-contaminated with various combinations of these mycotoxins.Conclusion:This study indicates that the feeds in China were universally contaminated with AFB_(1),DON and ZEN during the past 3 years.These findings highlight the significance of monitoring mycotoxin contaminant levels in the domestic animal feed,and the importance of carrying out feed administration and remediation strategies for mycotoxin control.展开更多
Breast cancer affected 1.7 million people worldwide in 2012 and accounts for approximately 23.3 % of all cancers diagnosed in women. The disease is characterized by a genetic mutation, either inherited or resulting fr...Breast cancer affected 1.7 million people worldwide in 2012 and accounts for approximately 23.3 % of all cancers diagnosed in women. The disease is characterized by a genetic mutation, either inherited or resulting from environmental factors, that causes uncontrollable cellular growth of breast tissue or adjacent tissues. Current means of diagnosing this disease depend on the individual analyzing the results from bulky, highly technical, and expensive equipment that is not globally accessible. As a result, patients can go undiagnosed due to a lack of available equipment or be overdiagnosed due to human error. This review attempts to highlight current means of diagnosing breast cancer and critically analyze their effectiveness and usefulness in terms of patient survival. An alternative means based on microfluidics biomarker detection is then presented. This method can be considered as a primary screening tool for diagnosing breast cancer based on its robustness, high throughput, low energy requirements, and accessibility to the general public.展开更多
A sensitive and specific immunosensor for the detection of the hormones cortisol and lactate in human or animal biological fluids, such as sweat and saliva, was devised using the label-free electrochemical chronoamper...A sensitive and specific immunosensor for the detection of the hormones cortisol and lactate in human or animal biological fluids, such as sweat and saliva, was devised using the label-free electrochemical chronoamperometric technique. By using these fluids instead of blood,the biosensor becomes noninvasive and is less stressful to the end user, who may be a small child or a farm animal.Electroreduced graphene oxide(e-RGO) was used as a synergistic platform for signal amplification and template for bioconjugation for the sensing mechanism on a screenprinted electrode. The cortisol and lactate antibodies were bioconjugated to the e-RGO using covalent carbodiimide chemistry. Label-free electrochemical chronoamperometric detection was used to analyze the response to the desired biomolecules over the wide detection range. A detection limit of 0.1 ng mL^(-1) for cortisol and 0.1 mM for lactate was established and a correlation between concentration and current was observed. A portable, handheld potentiostat assembled with Bluetooth communication and battery operation enables the developed system for point-of-care applications. A sandwich-like structure containing the sensing mechanisms as a prototype was designed to secure the biosensor to skin and use capillary action to draw sweat or other fluids toward the sensing mechanism. Overall, the immunosensor shows remarkable specificity, sensitivity as well as the noninvasive and point-of-care capabilities and allows the biosensor to be used as a versatile sensing platform in both developed and developing countries.展开更多
Since the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper on Bitcoin in 2008,blockchain has(slowly)become one of the most frequently discussed methods for securing data storage and transfer through decentralized,tru...Since the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper on Bitcoin in 2008,blockchain has(slowly)become one of the most frequently discussed methods for securing data storage and transfer through decentralized,trustless,peer-to-peer systems.This research identifies peer-reviewed literature that seeks to utilize blockchain for cyber security purposes and presents a systematic analysis of the most frequently adopted blockchain security applications.Our findings show that the Internet of Things(IoT)lends itself well to novel blockchain applications,as do networks and machine visualization,public-key cryptography,web applications,certification schemes and the secure storage of Personally Identifiable Information(PII).This timely systematic review also sheds light on future directions of research,education and practices in the blockchain and cyber security space,such as security of blockchain in IoT,security of blockchain for AI data,and sidechain security.展开更多
The silicification of rice straw is a factor that affects the grain production and straw nutritive quality. The procedure of chemical analysis for silicon in straw is, however, time and labor consuming, and slightly p...The silicification of rice straw is a factor that affects the grain production and straw nutritive quality. The procedure of chemical analysis for silicon in straw is, however, time and labor consuming, and slightly poor in accuracy. The study has attempted to apply near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)technique as an advanced alternative to predict the fiber composition and silicification in rice straw. Ninetytwo samples from different seasons and varieties were collected over the Fujian Province. Their chemical analyses were carried on the aspects of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, extractable and non-extractable silicon,and the results were used as a database for NIRS analyses. The prediction model was developed through modified partial least square regression (MPLS) for a calibration program. The factors that may affect the calibration, cross-validation and the prediction for the application of NIRS on rice straw were also discussed.展开更多
In the early 1900 s, numerous seminal publications reported that high rates of cancer occurred in certain occupations. During this period, work with infectious agents produced only meager results which seemed irreleva...In the early 1900 s, numerous seminal publications reported that high rates of cancer occurred in certain occupations. During this period, work with infectious agents produced only meager results which seemed irrelevant to humans. Then in the 1980 s ground breaking evidence began to emerge that a variety of viruses also cause cancer in humans. There is now sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for human T-cell lymphotrophic virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpes virus 8 according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC). Many other causes of cancer have also been identified by the IARC, which include: Sunlight, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, hormones, alcohol, parasites, fungi, bacteria, salted fish, wood dust, and herbs. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have determined additional causes of cancer, which include beta carotene, red meat, processed meats, low fibre diets, not breast feeding, obesity, increased adult height and sedentary lifestyles. In brief, a historical review of the discoveries of the causes of human cancer is presented with extended discussions of the difficulties encountered in identifying viral causes of cancer.展开更多
In order to efficiently explore and use woody biomass,six lignin fractions were isolated from dewaxed Caragana sinica via successive extraction with organic solvents and alkaline solutions.The lignin structures were c...In order to efficiently explore and use woody biomass,six lignin fractions were isolated from dewaxed Caragana sinica via successive extraction with organic solvents and alkaline solutions.The lignin structures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) and 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR).FT-IR spectra revealed that the "core" of the lignin structure did not significantly change during the treatment under the conditions given.The results of 1H and 13C NMR demonstrated that the lignin fraction L2,isolated with 70% ethanol containing 1% NaOH,was mainly composed of β-O-4 ether bonds together with G and S units and trace p-hydroxyphenyl unit.Based on the 2D HSQC NMR spectrum,the ethanol organosolv lignin fraction L1,extracted with 70% ethanol,presents a predominance of β-O-4′ aryl ether linkages(61% of total side chains),and a low abundance of condensed carbon-carbon linked structures(such as ββ′,β-1′,and β-5′) and a lower S/G ratio.Furthermore,a small percentage(ca.9%) of the linkage side chain was found to be acylated at the γ-carbon.展开更多
The chromosomal localization of 45S ribosomal RNA genes in Ambystoma jeffersonianum was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization with 18S rDNA fragment as a probe (FISH-rDNA). Our results revealed the presence...The chromosomal localization of 45S ribosomal RNA genes in Ambystoma jeffersonianum was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization with 18S rDNA fragment as a probe (FISH-rDNA). Our results revealed the presence of rDNA polymorphism among A.jeffersonianum populations in terms of number,location and FISH signal intensity on the chromosomes. Nine rDNA cytotypes were found in ten geographically isolated populations and most of them contained derivative rDNA sites. Our preliminary study provides strong indication of karyotypic diversification of A.jeffersonianum that is demonstrated by intraspecific variation of 45S rDNA cytotypes. rDNA cytotype polymorphism has been described in many other caudate amphibians. We predict that habitat isolation,low dispersal ability and decline of effective population size could facilitate the fixation and accumulation of variable rDNA cytotypes during their chromosome evolution.展开更多
Background'.Central arterial stiffness is a cardiovascular risk factor that can be readily affected through engagement in physical exercise training,with resistance and aerobic exercise having disparate affects.De...Background'.Central arterial stiffness is a cardiovascular risk factor that can be readily affected through engagement in physical exercise training,with resistance and aerobic exercise having disparate affects.Despite the growing popularity of high-intensity cross-training(HICT),little is currently known about the effects of this mixed modality exercise stimulus on arterial stiffness.Therefore,the purpose of this study was to characterize the arterial stiffness of habitual HICT participants vs.aerobically active and sedentary controls using a cross-sectional design.Methods'.A total of 30 participants were recruited:10 middle-aged long-term participants of HICT(CrossFit)and 20 age,sex,and height matched controls(10 recreationally active,10 sedentary).Central and peripheral pulse wave velocities were measured for the carotid-femoral and femoral-dorsalis pedis arterial segments.Aerobic fitness(maximal oxygen uptake,VChmax)was measured and typical exercise participation rates were self-reported for each group.Results'.HICT participants manifested central pulse wave velocity(PWV)(5.3±1.0 m/s,mean±SD)and VChmax(43±6 mL/kg/min)values nearly identical to active controls.Both active groups had significantly better values than sedentary controls(7.1±1.0 m/s,p≤0.001;and 32±7 mL/kg/min,p=0.01).No differences were observed in peripheral PWV between groups.Conclusion'.Habitual participation in HICT exercise was not associated with increased central nor peripheral arterial stiffness.Long-term HICT participants presented with similar fitness and arterial stiffness as compared with participants who practiced traditional aerobic exercise.Compared to sedentary living,HICT may offer musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health benefits without negatively impacting arterial stiffness.展开更多
文摘The study investigates long-term changes in annual and seasonal rainfall patterns in the Indira Sagar Region of Madhya Pradesh, India, from 1901 to 2010. Agriculture sustainability, food supply, natural resource development, and hydropower system reliability in the region rely heavily on monsoon rainfall. Monthly rainfall data from three stations (East Nimar, Barwani, and West Nimar) were analyzed. Initially, the pre-whitening method was applied to eliminate serial correlation effects from the rainfall data series. Subsequently, statistical trends in annual and seasonal rainfall were assessed using both parametric (student-t test) and non-parametric tests [Mann-Kendall, Sen’s slope estimator, and Cumulative Sum (CUSUM)]. The magnitude of the rainfall trend was determined using Theil-Sen’s slope estimator. Spatial analysis of the Mann-Kendall test on an annual basis revealed a statistically insignificant decreasing trend for Barwani and East Nimar and an increasing trend for West Nimar. On a seasonal basis, the monsoon season contributes a significant percentage (88.33%) to the total annual rainfall. The CUSUM test results indicated a shift change detection in annual rainfall data for Barwani in 1997, while shifts were observed in West and East Nimar stations in 1929. These findings offer valuable insights into regional rainfall behavior, aiding in the planning and management of water resources and ecological systems.
基金financially supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Funds (31772043)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2662018JC021)
文摘Traditional Chinese preserved egg products have exhibited some anti-inflammatory effects,but their mechanisms of action remain unknown.This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of preserved egg white(PEW)treatment on dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced colitis in mice and the underlying mechanisms.The results showed that treatment with PEW in mice with DSS-induced colitis for 14 days effectively improved the clinical signs,inhibited the secretion and gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines,and reduced myeloperoxidase(MPO)activity and oxidative stress levels.In addition,western blotting results showed that PEW significantly suppressed DSS-induced phosphorylation levels of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)p65 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)in colon tissues of mice with colitis.PEW also enhanced the production of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)and modulated gut microbiota composition in mice with DSS-induced colitis,including increasing the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria Lachnospiraceae,Ruminococcaceae and Muribaculaceae,and reducing the relative abundance of harmful bacteria Proteobacteria.Taken together,our study demonstrated that preserved egg white could alleviate DSS-induced colitis in mice through the reduction of oxidative stress,modulation of inflammatory cytokines,NF-κB,MAPK and gut microbiota composition.
文摘By the emergence of the fourth industrial revolution,interconnected devices and sensors generate large-scale,dynamic,and inharmonious data in Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)platforms.Such vast heterogeneous data increase the challenges of security risks and data analysis procedures.As IIoT grows,cyber-attacks become more diverse and complex,making existing anomaly detection models less effective to operate.In this paper,an ensemble deep learning model that uses the benefits of the Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)and the AutoEncoder(AE)architecture to identify out-of-norm activities for cyber threat hunting in IIoT is proposed.In this model,the LSTM is applied to create a model on normal time series of data(past and present data)to learn normal data patterns and the important features of data are identified by AE to reduce data dimension.In addition,the imbalanced nature of IIoT datasets has not been considered in most of the previous literature,affecting low accuracy and performance.To solve this problem,the proposed model extracts new balanced data from the imbalanced datasets,and these new balanced data are fed into the deep LSTM AE anomaly detection model.In this paper,the proposed model is evaluated on two real IIoT datasets-Gas Pipeline(GP)and Secure Water Treatment(SWaT)that are imbalanced and consist of long-term and short-term dependency on data.The results are compared with conventional machine learning classifiers,Random Forest(RF),Multi-Layer Perceptron(MLP),Decision Tree(DT),and Super Vector Machines(SVM),in which higher performance in terms of accuracy is obtained,99.3%and 99.7%based on GP and SWaT datasets,respectively.Moreover,the proposed ensemble model is compared with advanced related models,including Stacked Auto-Encoders(SAE),Naive Bayes(NB),Projective Adaptive Resonance Theory(PART),Convolutional Auto-Encoder(C-AE),and Package Signatures(PS)based LSTM(PS-LSTM)model.
基金PTQ receives funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund(Grant No.499077)and the Canada Research Chairs Program.
文摘This research paper assesses the reality of Climate-Smart Agriculture(CSA)practices’potential to promote the outcomes of sustainable food systems(SFS)within Ghana’s smallholding agriculture context.The study demon-strates that rural farmers generally perceive CSA’s contribution to‘food and nutrition security’and‘economic performance’as more important than CSA’s contribution to‘social equity’and‘environmental stewardship’.From a narrow perspective,the study demonstrates that farmers perceive CSA’s potential to‘prevent pest and disease outbreaks’and‘increase human capital information’as the most important contribution of CSA to SFS outcomes.In contrast,CSA’s potential to promote environmental stewardship is perceived as the least important among Ghana’s rural farmers.This enormity of displacement of smallholders’perceptions at large is motivated by de-mographic,socioeconomic and ecological factors.Moreso,the CSA for SFS outcomes narratives is driven by farmers’self-apprise,social networks and other local information dissemination agents.Furthermore,research findings suggest farmers’awareness of CSA practices and interventions is deficient owing to unmet training and information needs for approximately 82%of the CSA practices and interventions.This situation elucidates the dichotomy of CSA practices’narratives as tools for attaining food,nutrition security and economic performance to the detriment of critical issues such as increasing awareness and building farmers’capacity to engage with CSA practices while also managing socio-ecological trade-offs that emerge over time due to engagement with CSA.Critical(re)orientation is needed across the scale to drive CSA practices and interventions that confine cli-mate adaptation and food production practices within safe planetary boundaries without undermining social,economic,food and nutrition security needs.
文摘Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)systems depend on a growing number of edge devices such as sensors,controllers,and robots for data collection,transmission,storage,and processing.Any kind of malicious or abnormal function by each of these devices can jeopardize the security of the entire IIoT.Moreover,they can allow malicious software installed on end nodes to penetrate the network.This paper presents a parallel ensemble model for threat hunting based on anomalies in the behavior of IIoT edge devices.The proposed model is flexible enough to use several state-of-the-art classifiers as the basic learner and efficiently classifies multi-class anomalies using the Multi-class AdaBoost and majority voting.Experimental evaluations using a dataset consisting of multi-source normal records and multi-class anomalies demonstrate that our model outperforms existing approaches in terms of accuracy,F1 score,recall,and precision.
文摘Climate change has an impact on various climatic variables. In this study our focus is mainly on temperature characteristics of climate parameter. In temperate and humid regions like southern Ontario, the effect of climate change on Frost-free days in winter is distinctive. The average annual temperature is going upward but the extreme increase is in the winter temperature. Winter average temperature is going up by about 2˚C. However, extreme daily minimum temperature is going up by more than 3˚C. This climate effect has a great impact on the nature of precipitation and length of frost-free days. The snowfall over winter months is decreasing and the rainfall is increasing. However, the number of frost-free days during late fall months, early winter months, late winter months and early spring months are increasing. This result reveals an increase in length of the growing season. This research focuses on the effect of change in climatic variables on Frost-free days in Southern Ontario. Therefore, special attention should be given to the effect of change in climate Frost-free conditions on length of crop growing in winter season for potential investigation.
基金Swine Innovation Porc Canada provided the funding support
文摘Background: Soybean meal is an excellent and cost-effective protein source; however, its usage is limited in the piglet due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors and the antigens glycinin and β-conglycinin. The objective of the current study was to screen and select for bacteria that can be efficiently adopted to ferment soybean meal in order to solve this problem.Results: Bacteria were isolated from fermented soy foods and the grass carp intestine, and strains selected for high protease, cellulase and amylase activities. The isolated bacteria were characterized as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacilus amyloliquefacien, respectively. Fermentation with food-derived Isolate-2 and fish-derived F-9 increased crude protein content by 5.32% and 8.27%, respectively; improved the amino acid profile by increasing certain essential amino acids, broke down larger soy protein to 35 k Da and under, eliminated antigenicity against glycinin and β-conglycinin, and removed raffinose and stachyose in the soybean meal following a 24-h fermentation.Conclusions: Our results suggest these two B. amyloliquefaciens bacteria can efficiently solid state ferment soybean meal and ultimately produce a more utilizable food source for growing healthy piglets.
文摘Meat analogues,or plant-based products that simulate the properties of traditional meat products,have secured a position in the conversation of protein foods.Rapid growth of the meat analogue industry is occurring in the global food marketplace in both the retail and food service sectors.The purpose of this review was to investigate the ingredients used in the formulation of modern meat analogues,evaluate the nutrient specifications of modern meat analogue products,and then form a comparison with traditional meat products.Based on this investigation,it was determined–firstly,the ingredients used in the formulation of modern meat analogue products make these products fit under the classification of ultra-processed foods;and secondly,the nutrient specifications of popular meat analogue products can effectively simulate the nutrient specifications of the meat products they are attempting to simulate.Therefore,based on these findings,modern meat analogue products can offer roughly the same composition of nutrients as traditional meat products,albeit with many different ingredients and a high level of further processing.
文摘Three long-term field trials in humid regions of Canada and the USA were used to evaluate the influence of soil depth and sample numbers on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in no-tillage (NT) and moldboard plow (MP) corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) production systems. The first trial was conducted on a Maryhill silt loam (Typic Hapludalf) at Elora, Ontario, Canada, the second on a Brookston clay loam (Typic Argiaquoll) at Woodslee, Ontario, Canada, and the third on a Thorp silt loam (Argiaquic Argialboll) at Urbana, Illinois, USA. No-tillage led to significantly higher SOC concentrations in the top 5 cm compared to MP at all 3 sites. However, NT resulted in significantly lower SOC in sub-surface soils as compared to MP at Woodslee (10-20 cm, P = 0.01) and Urbana (20-30 cm, P < 0.10). No-tillage had significantly more SOC storage than MP at the Elora site (3.3 Mg C ha-1) and at the Woodslee site (6.2 Mg C ha-1) on an equivalent mass basis (1350 Mg ha-1 soil equivalent mass). Similarly, NT had greater SOC storage than MP at the Urbana site (2.7 Mg C ha-1) on an equivalent mass basis of 675 Mg ha-1 soil. However, these differences disappeared when the entire plow layer was evaluated for both the Woodslee and Urbana sites as a result of the higher SOC concentrations in MP than in NT at depth. Using the minimum detectable difference technique, we observed that up to 1500 soil sample per tillage treatment comparison will have to be collected and analyzed for the Elora and Woodslee sites and over 40 soil samples per tillage treatment comparison for the Urbana to statistically separate significant differences in the SOC contents of sub-plow depth soils. Therefore, it is impracticable, and at the least prohibitively expensive, to detect tillage-induced differences in soil C beyond the plow layer in various soils.
基金supported by the Key Project of National Key Technology R&D Program of China(2009BADA9B01)
文摘This paper studies how the price movements of pork,chicken and egg respond to those of related cost factors in short terms in Chinese market.We employ a linear quantile approach not only to explore potential data heteroscedasticity but also to generate confidence bands for the purpose of price stability study.We then evaluate our models by comparing the prediction intervals generated from the quantile regression models with in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts.Using monthly data from January 2000 to October 2010,we observed these findings:(i) the price changes of cost factors asymmetrically and unequally influence those of the livestock across different quantiles;(ii) the performance of our models is robust and consistent for both in-sample and out-of-sample forecasts;(iii) the confidence intervals generated from 0.05th and 0.95th quantile regression models are good methods to forecast livestock price fluctuation.
基金supported by the Chinese Natural Science Foundation projects(32072775 and 31772636)National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFD0501207)JiangSu Aomai Bio-Technology Co.,Ltd.(Nanjing,China).
文摘Background:The current study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined occurrence of aflatoxin B_(1)(AFB_(1)),deoxynivalenol(DON)and zearalenone(ZEN)in feeds from various Provinces of China during 2018 to 2020.A total of 3,507 feed samples,including 2,090 feed ingredients and 1,417 complete feed samples,were collected from different areas of China for mycotoxins analysis.Results:The individual contamination of AFB_(1),DON and ZEN were present in more than 81.9%,96.4% and 96.9% of feed samples,respectively,with average concentration ranges of AFB_(1) between 1.2-27.4μg/kg,DON between 458.0-1,925.4μg/kg and ZEN between 48.1-326.8μg/kg.Notably,0.9%,0.5% and 0.1% of feed ingredients,and 1.2-12.8%,0.9-2.9% and 0-8.9% of complete feeds for pigs,poultry and ruminants with AFB_(1),ZEN and DON that exceeded China’s safety standards,respectively.Moreover,more than 81.5%of feed ingredients and 95.7% of complete feeds were co-contaminated with various combinations of these mycotoxins.Conclusion:This study indicates that the feeds in China were universally contaminated with AFB_(1),DON and ZEN during the past 3 years.These findings highlight the significance of monitoring mycotoxin contaminant levels in the domestic animal feed,and the importance of carrying out feed administration and remediation strategies for mycotoxin control.
基金the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canadathe Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation for funding this study
文摘Breast cancer affected 1.7 million people worldwide in 2012 and accounts for approximately 23.3 % of all cancers diagnosed in women. The disease is characterized by a genetic mutation, either inherited or resulting from environmental factors, that causes uncontrollable cellular growth of breast tissue or adjacent tissues. Current means of diagnosing this disease depend on the individual analyzing the results from bulky, highly technical, and expensive equipment that is not globally accessible. As a result, patients can go undiagnosed due to a lack of available equipment or be overdiagnosed due to human error. This review attempts to highlight current means of diagnosing breast cancer and critically analyze their effectiveness and usefulness in terms of patient survival. An alternative means based on microfluidics biomarker detection is then presented. This method can be considered as a primary screening tool for diagnosing breast cancer based on its robustness, high throughput, low energy requirements, and accessibility to the general public.
基金the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (400705) for funding this study
文摘A sensitive and specific immunosensor for the detection of the hormones cortisol and lactate in human or animal biological fluids, such as sweat and saliva, was devised using the label-free electrochemical chronoamperometric technique. By using these fluids instead of blood,the biosensor becomes noninvasive and is less stressful to the end user, who may be a small child or a farm animal.Electroreduced graphene oxide(e-RGO) was used as a synergistic platform for signal amplification and template for bioconjugation for the sensing mechanism on a screenprinted electrode. The cortisol and lactate antibodies were bioconjugated to the e-RGO using covalent carbodiimide chemistry. Label-free electrochemical chronoamperometric detection was used to analyze the response to the desired biomolecules over the wide detection range. A detection limit of 0.1 ng mL^(-1) for cortisol and 0.1 mM for lactate was established and a correlation between concentration and current was observed. A portable, handheld potentiostat assembled with Bluetooth communication and battery operation enables the developed system for point-of-care applications. A sandwich-like structure containing the sensing mechanisms as a prototype was designed to secure the biosensor to skin and use capillary action to draw sweat or other fluids toward the sensing mechanism. Overall, the immunosensor shows remarkable specificity, sensitivity as well as the noninvasive and point-of-care capabilities and allows the biosensor to be used as a versatile sensing platform in both developed and developing countries.
文摘Since the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto's white paper on Bitcoin in 2008,blockchain has(slowly)become one of the most frequently discussed methods for securing data storage and transfer through decentralized,trustless,peer-to-peer systems.This research identifies peer-reviewed literature that seeks to utilize blockchain for cyber security purposes and presents a systematic analysis of the most frequently adopted blockchain security applications.Our findings show that the Internet of Things(IoT)lends itself well to novel blockchain applications,as do networks and machine visualization,public-key cryptography,web applications,certification schemes and the secure storage of Personally Identifiable Information(PII).This timely systematic review also sheds light on future directions of research,education and practices in the blockchain and cyber security space,such as security of blockchain in IoT,security of blockchain for AI data,and sidechain security.
文摘The silicification of rice straw is a factor that affects the grain production and straw nutritive quality. The procedure of chemical analysis for silicon in straw is, however, time and labor consuming, and slightly poor in accuracy. The study has attempted to apply near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)technique as an advanced alternative to predict the fiber composition and silicification in rice straw. Ninetytwo samples from different seasons and varieties were collected over the Fujian Province. Their chemical analyses were carried on the aspects of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, extractable and non-extractable silicon,and the results were used as a database for NIRS analyses. The prediction model was developed through modified partial least square regression (MPLS) for a calibration program. The factors that may affect the calibration, cross-validation and the prediction for the application of NIRS on rice straw were also discussed.
文摘In the early 1900 s, numerous seminal publications reported that high rates of cancer occurred in certain occupations. During this period, work with infectious agents produced only meager results which seemed irrelevant to humans. Then in the 1980 s ground breaking evidence began to emerge that a variety of viruses also cause cancer in humans. There is now sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for human T-cell lymphotrophic virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpes virus 8 according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC). Many other causes of cancer have also been identified by the IARC, which include: Sunlight, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, hormones, alcohol, parasites, fungi, bacteria, salted fish, wood dust, and herbs. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research have determined additional causes of cancer, which include beta carotene, red meat, processed meats, low fibre diets, not breast feeding, obesity, increased adult height and sedentary lifestyles. In brief, a historical review of the discoveries of the causes of human cancer is presented with extended discussions of the difficulties encountered in identifying viral causes of cancer.
基金Major State Basic Research Projects of China(973-2010CB732204)Specific Programs in Graduate Science and Technology Innovation of Beijing Forestry University(BLYJ201110)
文摘In order to efficiently explore and use woody biomass,six lignin fractions were isolated from dewaxed Caragana sinica via successive extraction with organic solvents and alkaline solutions.The lignin structures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) and 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR).FT-IR spectra revealed that the "core" of the lignin structure did not significantly change during the treatment under the conditions given.The results of 1H and 13C NMR demonstrated that the lignin fraction L2,isolated with 70% ethanol containing 1% NaOH,was mainly composed of β-O-4 ether bonds together with G and S units and trace p-hydroxyphenyl unit.Based on the 2D HSQC NMR spectrum,the ethanol organosolv lignin fraction L1,extracted with 70% ethanol,presents a predominance of β-O-4′ aryl ether linkages(61% of total side chains),and a low abundance of condensed carbon-carbon linked structures(such as ββ′,β-1′,and β-5′) and a lower S/G ratio.Furthermore,a small percentage(ca.9%) of the linkage side chain was found to be acylated at the γ-carbon.
文摘The chromosomal localization of 45S ribosomal RNA genes in Ambystoma jeffersonianum was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization with 18S rDNA fragment as a probe (FISH-rDNA). Our results revealed the presence of rDNA polymorphism among A.jeffersonianum populations in terms of number,location and FISH signal intensity on the chromosomes. Nine rDNA cytotypes were found in ten geographically isolated populations and most of them contained derivative rDNA sites. Our preliminary study provides strong indication of karyotypic diversification of A.jeffersonianum that is demonstrated by intraspecific variation of 45S rDNA cytotypes. rDNA cytotype polymorphism has been described in many other caudate amphibians. We predict that habitat isolation,low dispersal ability and decline of effective population size could facilitate the fixation and accumulation of variable rDNA cytotypes during their chromosome evolution.
基金supported by a Discovery Grant (No. 03974) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada
文摘Background'.Central arterial stiffness is a cardiovascular risk factor that can be readily affected through engagement in physical exercise training,with resistance and aerobic exercise having disparate affects.Despite the growing popularity of high-intensity cross-training(HICT),little is currently known about the effects of this mixed modality exercise stimulus on arterial stiffness.Therefore,the purpose of this study was to characterize the arterial stiffness of habitual HICT participants vs.aerobically active and sedentary controls using a cross-sectional design.Methods'.A total of 30 participants were recruited:10 middle-aged long-term participants of HICT(CrossFit)and 20 age,sex,and height matched controls(10 recreationally active,10 sedentary).Central and peripheral pulse wave velocities were measured for the carotid-femoral and femoral-dorsalis pedis arterial segments.Aerobic fitness(maximal oxygen uptake,VChmax)was measured and typical exercise participation rates were self-reported for each group.Results'.HICT participants manifested central pulse wave velocity(PWV)(5.3±1.0 m/s,mean±SD)and VChmax(43±6 mL/kg/min)values nearly identical to active controls.Both active groups had significantly better values than sedentary controls(7.1±1.0 m/s,p≤0.001;and 32±7 mL/kg/min,p=0.01).No differences were observed in peripheral PWV between groups.Conclusion'.Habitual participation in HICT exercise was not associated with increased central nor peripheral arterial stiffness.Long-term HICT participants presented with similar fitness and arterial stiffness as compared with participants who practiced traditional aerobic exercise.Compared to sedentary living,HICT may offer musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health benefits without negatively impacting arterial stiffness.
