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•Kitchen waste biodrying used a compound stone amendment to partially replace sawdust.•Biomarker analysis and KEGG prediction highlight the role of the thermophilic ...phase.•Thermophilic phase inactivated pathogens, potentially improving nutrient metabolism.•After biodrying, microbial richness rebounded, including pathogenic microorganisms.•The new amendment improved biodrying so the product can be used as biofuel.
Biodrying in conjunction with compound stone amendment was used to treat kitchen waste, which improved biodrying. After 16 days, the pile moisture content decreased from 68.8% to 23.0%. Lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose concentrations decreased from 104.6 mg g−1 d.b., 322.9 mg g−1 d.b. and 155.9 mg g−1 d.b., respectively, to 74.0 mg g−1 d.b., 224.8 mg g−1 d.b. and 134.5 mg g−1 d.b., respectively. The Shannon index for bacteria increased from 2.5 to 3.1, while for fungi, it decreased from 4.6 to 0.6. The relative abundances of Amino Acid Metabolism and Carbohydrate Metabolism exceeded 7%. The thermophilic phase during the process inactivated the pathogenic microorganisms, increased the bacterial diversity, decreased the fungal diversity, and potentially improved the metabolism of nutrients, including amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins. The biomarker analysis and predicated protein sequences provide genetic evidence to elucidate why the thermophilic phase is the peak time for nutrient metabolism.
•Issues on domain size and resolution of μ-CT images of cement paste are identified.•Phase separation procedure for μ-CT images of cement paste is extended.•Phase field fracture model performs ...adequately as a virtual loading tool.•Virtual experiment shows a potential to supplement real experiment of cement paste.
There are issues on the microstructure characterization of cement paste obtained from μ-CT due to resolution limits, and evaluation of properties through virtual experiments. A phase separation procedure between the solid and pore phases, which can be used for pure cement paste microstructures, is proposed. The problems of underestimation of microstructural characteristics such as porosity in virtual specimens from μ-CT, as compared to real specimens, are addressed. Reflecting such underestimation, the process of input modeling parameter determination for virtual experiments on mechanical property evaluation using the phase field fracture model is elaborated. Through virtual tests, the effects of domain size and mesh resolution on the evaluated properties are investigated, and the correlation between the microstructural characterization parameters and mechanical properties is reconfirmed. It is shown that the virtual experiment framework proposed in this study can be used as a loading tool to supplement time and effort consuming real experiments for evaluating the mechanical properties of cement paste at the micro-scale.
Meta-heuristic algorithms have gained substantial popularity in recent decades and have focused on applications in a wide spectrum of fields. In this paper, a new and powerful physics-based algorithm ...named nuclear reaction optimization (NRO) is presented. Meanwhile, NRO imitates the nuclear reaction process and consists of two phases, namely, a nuclear fission (NFi) phase and a nuclear fusion (NFu) phase. The Gaussian walk and differential evolution operators between nucleus and neutron are employed for exploitation and appropriate exploration in the (NFi) phase, respectively. Meanwhile, the variants of differential evolution operator are utilized for exploration in the NFu phase, which consists of the ionization and fusion stages. Additionally, the variants of Levy flight are used for random searching to escape from the local optima in each stage of the NFu phase. The exploration and exploitation abilities of NRO can be balanced due to a combination of the two phases. Both constrained and unconstrained benchmark functions are employed for testing the performance of NRO. To make comparisons between NRO and the state-of-the-art algorithms, 23 classic benchmark functions and twenty-night modern benchmark functions are performed. Moreover, three engineering design optimization problems are solved as constrained benchmark functions by using NRO and the compared algorithms. The results illustrate that the proposed nuclear reaction optimization algorithm is a potential and powerful approach for global optimization.
Spermatogenesis is precisely controlled by complex gene expression programs and involves epigenetic reprogramming, including histone modification and DNA methylation. SET domain–containing 2 (SETD2) ...is the predominant histone methyltransferase catalyzing the trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36me3) and plays key roles in embryonic stem cell differentiation and somatic cell development. However, its role in male germ cell development remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate an essential role of Setd2 for spermiogenesis, the final stage of spermatogenesis. Using RNA-seq, we found that, in postnatal mouse testes, Setd2 mRNA levels dramatically increase in 14-day-old mice. Using a germ cell–specific Setd2 knockout mouse model, we also found that targeted Setd2 knockout in germ cells causes aberrant spermiogenesis with acrosomal malformation before step 8 of the round-spermatid stage, resulting in complete infertility. Furthermore, we noted that the Setd2 deficiency results in complete loss of H3K36me3 and significantly decreases expression of thousands of genes, including those encoding acrosin-binding protein 1 (Acrbp1) and protamines, required for spermatogenesis. Our findings thus reveal a previously unappreciated role of the SETD2-dependent H3K36me3 modification in spermiogenesis and provide clues to the molecular mechanisms in epigenetic disorders underlying male infertility.
The natural distribution of textual data used in text classification is often imbalanced. Categories with fewer examples are under-represented and their classifiers often perform far below ...satisfactory. We tackle this problem using a simple probability based term weighting scheme to better distinguish documents in minor categories. This new scheme directly utilizes two critical information ratios, i.e. relevance indicators. Such relevance indicators are nicely supported by probability estimates which embody the category membership. Our experimental study using both Support Vector Machines and Naïve Bayes classifiers and extensive comparison with other classic weighting schemes over two benchmarking data sets, including Reuters-21578, shows significant improvement for minor categories, while the performance for major categories are not jeopardized. Our approach has suggested a simple and effective solution to boost the performance of text classification over skewed data sets.
Foamed concrete is highly porous, and the pores inside the material improve the insulation performance. However, the material strength decreases with increasing pores (porosity). To enhance the ...mechanical properties of the material without reducing porosity, the solid matrix of foamed concrete can be adjusted. For this purpose, several foamed cementitious specimens with various supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) and compositions were produced and investigated to evaluate the effect of SCMs on the microstructures of foamed cement paste. In addition to the specimen with cement only, SCMs such as fly ash and silica fume were used to produce foamed cementitious specimens with increased strength. To compare the effect of the water/binder ratio on the microstructure characteristics, a set of specimens was prepared with varying water/binder ratios. The microstructures of the foamed cementitious specimens with the various SCMs were analyzed using three different approaches: X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray micro-computed tomography. The results from those approaches as complementary tools demonstrated that pozzolanic SCMs can improve the material strength of foamed cement paste by increasing the amount of C–S–H or Si phases. In addition, the microstructural investigation also confirmed that the water/binder ratio affects the degree of hydration.
Male infertility has become an increasingly common health concern in recent years. Apart from environmental factors, nutrition, lifestyle, and sexually transmitted diseases, genetic defects are ...important causes of male infertility. Many genes have been demonstrated to be associated with male infertility. However, the roles of some functional genes in infertility, especially those that are specifically expressed in the reproductive system, remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrated that the testis-specific gene coiled-coil domain-containing 87 (Ccdc87) is critical for male fertility. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses revealed that the Ccdc87 mRNA and protein were only expressed in mouse testis. Ccdc87 expression first appeared at postnatal day 14 and remained at a relatively high level until adulthood. Male mice lacking Ccdc87 gene (Ccdc87−/−) were found to be subfertile. Approximately 20% of Ccdc87-null sperm from the testis and epididymis displayed severe abnormity of acrosome and cell nucleus. Sperm isolated from the cauda epididymides of Ccdc87−/− mice exhibited decreased initial motility but did not show any change in capacitation. Additionally, Ccdc87 disruption led to the impotency of sperm spontaneous and progesterone-induced acrosome reaction. Moreover, in vitro fertilization assays indicated that the fertilizing capacity of Ccdc87−/− sperm was significantly reduced. Taken together, these findings provide a new clue to understand the genetic causes of male infertility. Summary Sentence A testis-specific protein, coiled-coil domain-containing 87 (CCDC87), plays critical roles in male fertility as a participant to regulate sperm morphology and acrosome reaction.
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