Study on the mechanical effect and wear behaviour of middle trough of a scraper conveyor based on DEM–MBD

Middle trough is the main-force portion of a scraper conveyor during transport, and its performance directly affects the reliability and service life of the scraper conveyor. To investigate the wear of a middle trough, a coupling-wear model of a middle trough was built to analyse the motion state and stress of a scraper, and the wear of the middle trough was analysed according to the wear morphology of the middle plate. The research results demonstrated that the simulation model based on coupling of the discrete element method and multi-body dynamics could effectively simulate the transport conditions of a scraper conveyor. The wear of the middle trough was mainly caused by three-body wear. Formation of three-body wear required that the coal particles between the scraper (chain) and middle plate must be in a certain position and posture, and the coal particles were subjected to the normal force of the scraper (chain) and middle plate. Constant fluctuation in the movement and force of the scraper (chain) resulted in uneven wear of the middle trough and random occurrence of three-body wear. This study provides a theoretical basis for wear prediction of the middle trough of a scraper conveyor and a simulation basis for further research on the wear resistance of a middle trough.

Dual respiratory virus detection in adult patients with acute respiratory illness

Background Nonrandom multiple respiratory virus (RV) detection provides evidence for viral interference among respiratory viruses. However, little is known as to whether it occurs randomly. Methods The prevalence of dual RV detection (DRVD) in patients with acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) at 4 academic medical centers was investigated; data about the prevalence of 8 RVs were collected from the Korean national RV surveillance dataset. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess the correlation between observed and estimated prevalence of each type of DRVD. Results In total, 108 patients with ARIs showing DRVD were included in this study between 2011 and 2017. In several types of regression analysis, a strong correlation was observed between the observed and estimated prevalence of each type of DRVD. Excluding three DRVD types (influenza/picornavirus, influenza/human metapneumovirus, and adenovirus/respiratory syncytial virus), the slope of the regression line was higher than that of the line of random occurrence (1.231 > 1.000) and the 95% confidence interval of the regression line was located above the line of random occurrence. Conclusions Contrary to the results of previous epidemiologic studies, most types of DRVD occur more frequently than expected from the prevalence rates of individual RV, except for three underrepresented pairs above.

GEPSi: A Python Library to Simulate GWAS Phenotype Data

Many computational methods aim to identify genetic variants associated with diseases and complex traits. Due to the absence of ground truth data, simulated genotype and phenotype data is needed to benchmark these methods. However, phenotypes are frequently simulated as an additive function of randomly selected variants, neglecting biological complexity such as non-random occurrence of causal SNPs, epistatic effects, heritability and dominance. Including such features would improve benchmarking studies and accelerate the development of methods for genetic analysis. Here, we describe GEPSi (GWAS Epistatic Phenotype Simulator), a user-friendly python package to simulate phenotype data based on user-supplied genotype data for a population. GEPSi incorporates diverse biological parameters such as heritability, dominance, population stratification and epistatic interactions between SNPs. We demonstrate the use of this package to compare machine learning methods for GWAS analysis. GEPSi is freely available under an Apache 2.0 license, and can be downloaded from https://github.com/clara-parabricks/GEPSi.

Asymmetrical Meter, Ostinati, and Cycles in the Music of Tigran Hamasyan

Tigran Hamasyan (b. 1987) is an Armenian jazz pianist and composer whose music has been described as “grounded in serious reinterpretations of Armenian culture via his take on Bach, French romantics, jazz, dubstep, metal, and modern electronic music” (".fn_cite_year($manukian_2018).", 637). Hamasyan has recorded thirteen studio albums between the years of 2006–2020, and analyzing these recordings suggests that asymmetrical meter, ostinati, and cycles are not a random occurrence in Hamasyan’s music but rather a crucial component of his compositional language. This article defines three types of cycles—phrasal, structural, and developmental—each of which has a unique compositional function. Another important distinction made in this article is the difference between “complete” and “incomplete” cycles. Complete cycles are those that repeat two metrical layers without disruption until they return to a shared point of alignment, while incomplete cycles are those in which the meter used in one or more of the layers is disrupted before returning to a shared point of alignment. Several of my own transcriptions of Hamasyan’s music are analyzed to discuss how asymmetrical meter, ostinati, and cycles are used to create various formal processes in Hamasyan’s compositions.

Seed Set Patterns in East African Highland Cooking Bananas Show Asymmetric Distribution in Bunches and Fruits

Low female fertility in bananas is the biggest hurdle for banana breeding. The aim of this study was to determine seed set patterns in East African Highland Cooking bananas (EAHBs) to inform future decisions on a more targeted approach of increasing seed set and subsequently banana-breeding efficiency. Matooke (AAA) and Mchare (AA) bananas are genetically distinct but belong to the same genetic complex, referred to as EAHBs. Seed set patterns in “Enzirabahima” (AAA), “Mshale” (AA), and “Nshonowa” (AA), all with residual fertility, were examined after hand pollination with a highly male fertile wild banana “Calcutta 4” (AA). Seed set in “Enzirabahima” is predominant in distal hands. Mchare cultivars have a slightly more even distribution of seeds in their hands compared to “Enzirabahima”. There is a gradual increase in seed set from proximal to distal hands with a slight drop in the last hand. This pattern is more definite in “Enzirabahima” and “Mshale”, while “Nshonowa” has a somewhat inconsistent pattern. There is also a drop in seed set per 100 fruits per hand from small to larger bunches. However, larger bunches have a higher pollination success compared to smaller bunches. They therefore set more seed on 100 fruits per hand and per bunch basis, if bunches without seed are accounted for. Pollination success rate increases from smaller to larger bunches of EAHBs. Seed set is biased toward the distal third part of fruits of examined EAHBs, as well as tetraploid Matooke hybrid “401K-1” (AAAA), and improved diploid “Zebrina” GF (AA) that were used for comparison. In comparison, in the highly female fertile “Calcutta 4”, seed set is along the entire length of the fruit. Seed set bias in the distal hands and distal end of fruits suggests a systematic mechanism rather than a random occurrence. It is expected that this information will provide a foundation for increased crossbreeding efficiency in bananas.

Exploring the occurrence of thioflavin-T-positive insulin amyloid aggregation intermediates

The aggregation of proteins is considered to be the main cause of several neurodegenerative diseases. Despite much progress in amyloid research, the process of fibrillization is still not fully understood, which is one of the main reasons why there are still very few effective treatments available. When the aggregation of insulin, a model amyloidogenic protein, is tracked using thioflavin-T (ThT), an amyloid specific dye, there is an anomalous occurrence of double-sigmoidal aggregation kinetics. Such an event is likely related to the formation of ThT-positive intermediates, which may affect the outcome of both aggregation kinetic data, as well as final fibril structure. In this work we explore insulin fibrillization under conditions, where both normal and double-sigmoidal kinetics are observed and show that, despite their dye-binding properties and random occurrence, the ThT-positive intermediates do not significantly alter the overall aggregation process.

ProTG4: A Web Server to Approximate the Sequence of a Generic Protein From an in Silico Library of Translatable G-Quadruplex (TG4)-Mapped Peptides

An RNA G-quadruplex in the protein coding segment of mRNA is translatable [Formula: see text] and may potentially impact protein translation. This can be consequent to staggered ribosomal synthesis and/or result in an increased frequency of missense translational events. A mathematical model of the peptides that encompass the substituted amino acids, ie, the [Formula: see text]-mapped peptidome, has been previously studied. However, the significance and relevance to disease biology of this model remains to be established. ProTG4 computes a confidence-of-sequence-identity [Formula: see text]-score, which is the average weighted length of every matched [Formula: see text]-mapped peptide in a generic protein sequence. The weighted length is the product of the length of the peptide and the probability of its non-random occurrence in a library of randomly generated sequences of equivalent lengths. This is then averaged over the entire length of the protein sequence. ProTG4 is simple to operate, has clear instructions, and is accompanied by a set of ready-to-use examples. The rationale of the study, algorithms deployed, and the computational pipeline deployed are also part of the web page. Analyses by ProTG4 of taxonomically diverse protein sequences suggest that there is significant homology to [Formula: see text]-mapped peptides. These findings, especially in potentially infectious and infesting agents, offer plausible explanations into the aetiology and pathogenesis of certain proteopathies. ProTG4 can also provide a quantitative measure to identify and annotate the canonical form of a generic protein sequence from its known isoforms. The article presents several case studies and discusses the relevance of ProTG4-assisted peptide analysis in gaining insights into various mechanisms of disease biology (mistranslation, alternate splicing, amino acid substitutions).

SPATIAL EXPLORATION OF BOKO HARAM ATTACKS AND IT’S ASSOCIATED INFLUENCE ON TOURISM BUSINESSES IN NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA

This study was on the spatial exploration of Boko Haram terrorist attacks and its influence on components of tourism businesses (hotels) in Northeastern Nigeria. Secondary data on location, nature, date, and number of fatalities from the Boko Haram attack were sourced from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). Data on the location of hotels were sourced from the field with the use of the Geographic Positioning System (GPS). A total of 558 hotels were selected in a one-stage cluster sampling technique. The study adopts a longitudinal research design where centrographic analysis was carried out to describe the spatial distribution of events. Results of the study revealed that Boko Haram attacks were more coordinated rather than a random occurrence with most of the attacks concentrated in Borno State. Furthermore, Boko Haram did not directly target tourism businesses though some of the hotels fell within a 1.5km radius of the attacks. The study, therefore, recommends for an intense media promotion of the areas and States not majorly affected by the crisis, rebuilding of areas and States recovered from the group, provisions of more resilient security apparatus, and general development of social, educational, and economic infrastructures to help revamp not only the tourism sector of the area but its general socioeconomic activities.

Rarely Occurring Defects on Tinplates

This paper deals with rarely occurring defect on the surface of the tinplates produced in the conditions of U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o. at the cleaning section of the continuous annealing line (CAL), which was caused by burnt. Random occurrence of such surface imperfections was observed within the short period of time (two months) for various continuous annealed tinplate grades, i.e. TH415, TH435 or TH550 with the thickness of the materials in the interval of 0.172 – 0.240 mm. Surface defects caused by burnt (thermal attack) manifested in different ways. Their appearance on the sheet surface was spot with regular or irregular circle shape, as well as line with the length of up to 2 mm oriented not directly in the rolling direction. By observing of the imperfections in scanning electron microscope (SEM) it was found that the surface of the steel substrate was always compact in the defective areas with clearly visible rolling lines. Foreign material, EDS analysis of which revealed that its chemical composition was on the basis of Fe and Cr, was deposited on the surface of the base material. The appearance of the foreign material shape indicated that it was in the liquid state at the time of incidence on the steel substrate surface. Metallographic analysis from the longitudinal metallographic sections through the defective areas revealed that the substrate under the spot defect with regular circle shape had thermally influenced microstructure. Similar manifestations of the microstructure influence were observed for the line defects. In the case of the spot defect with irregular shape, the microstructure of the material was not influenced, what indicated that the particle of liquid metal was solidified at the time of incidence on the plate surface. After revising technical conditions of the cleaning section of CAL, this type of imperfection was suppressed.

Seed Set Patterns in East African Cooking Bananas are Asymmetric in Bunches and Fruits

Background: Low female fertility in bananas is the biggest hurdle for banana breeding. The aim of this study was to determine seed set patterns in East African cooking bananas EACBs to inform future decisions on a more targeted approach of increasing seed set and subsequently banana breeding efficiency. Matooke (AAA) and Mchare (AA) bananas are genetically distinct but belong to the same genetic complex, they referred to as EACBs. Seed set patterns in ‘Enzirabahima’ (AAA), ‘Mshale’ (AA) and ‘Nshonowa’ (AA) all with residual fertility were examined after hand pollination with a highly male fertile wild banana ‘Calcutta 4’ (AA). Results: Seed set in ‘Enzirabahima’ is predominant in distal hands. Mchare cultivars have a slightly more even distribution of seeds in their hands compared to ‘Enzirabahima.’ There is a gradual increase in seed set from proximal to distal hands with a slight drop in the last hand. This pattern is more definite in ‘Enzirabahima’ and ‘Mshale’ while ‘Nshonowa’ has a somewhat inconsistent pattern. There is also a drop in seed set per 100 fruits per hand from small to larger bunches. However, larger bunches have a higher pollination success compared to smaller bunches. They therefor set more seed on 100 fruits per hand and per bunch basis if bunches without seed are accounted for. Pollination success rate increases from smaller to larger bunches of EACBs. Seed set is biased toward the distal third part of fruits of examined EACBs as well tetraploid Matooke hybrid ‘401K-1’ (AAAA) and improved diploid ‘Zebrina’ GF (AA) that were used for comparison. In comparison, in the highly female fertile ‘Calcutta 4,’ seed set is along the entire length of the fruit.Conclusion: Seed set bias in the distal hands and distal end of fruits suggests a systematic mechanism rather than a random occurrence. It is expected that this information will provide a foundation for increased crossbreeding efficiency in bananas.