ahmedabdelwahed/Medical_papers_title_and_abstract_NLP_dataset huggingface dataset:
Effects of plate contouring quality on the biomechanical performance of high tibial osteotomy fixation: A parametric finite element study

Locking plates have threaded holes, in which threaded-head screws are affixed. Hence, they do not need to be in intimate contact with underlying bone to provide fixation. There are, however, reports that a large distance between the plate and the bone might cause clinical complications such as delayed union or nonunion, screw pull out, and screw and plate breakage. Considering the diversity in the capabilities and costs of different plate customization techniques, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the plate contouring quality on the biomechanical performance of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) fixation. A finite element model of proximal tibia was developed in Abaqus, using the QCT data of a cadaver. The model was then subjected to open-wedge HTO (correction angle 12°) with TomoFix plate fixation. The sagittal curvature of the plate was changed parametrically to provide certain levels of geometrical fit, and the biomechanical performance parameters of fixation were assessed. Results indicated 5%, 9% and 38% increase in the stiffness of the construct, and the von Mises stress in the plate and locking screw just above the osteotomy site, respectively, when the level of fit of plate changed from 0% (initial non-contoured initial shape) to 100% (fully adapted shape). The same change decreased the pressure at the lateral hinge of the osteotomy by 61%, and the mean of the tensile stress on the screw shaft by 12%. It was concluded that the level of fit has conflicting effects on the biomechanical parameters of the HTO fixation system, that is, the structural stiffness, the pressure at the lateral hinge, the stresses in the plate and screws, and the pull out resistance of the screws. In particular, for HTO patients with high quality bone, the optimal level of fit should provide a tradeoff between these parameters.
Vascular Contributions to Brain Health: Cross-Cutting Themes

As life expectancy grows, brain health is increasingly seen as central to what we mean by successful aging-and vascular brain health as central to overall brain health. Cerebrovascular pathologies are highly prevalent independent contributors to age-related cognitive impairment and at least partly modifiable with available treatments. The current Focused Update addresses vascular brain health from multiple angles, ranging from pathophysiologic mechanisms and neuroimaging features to epidemiologic risk factors, social determinants, and candidate treatments. Here we highlight some of the shared themes that cut across these distinct perspectives: (1) the lifetime course of vascular brain injury pathogenesis and progression; (2) the scientific and ethical imperative to extend vascular brain health research in non-White and non-affluent populations; (3) the need for improved tools to study the cerebral small vessels themselves; (4) the potential role for brain recovery mechanisms in determining vascular brain health and resilience; and (5) the cross-pathway mechanisms by which vascular and neurodegenerative processes may interact. The diverse perspectives featured in this Focused Update offer a sense of the multidisciplinary approaches and collaborations that will be required to launch our populations towards improved brain health and successful aging.
The effect of urban air pollutants in Germany: eco-efficiency analysis through fractional regression models applied after DEA and SFA efficiency predictions

Cities and living standards contribute intensively to air pollution, an environmental risk factor which causes diseases. Recently, in developed countries, the majority of cities has grown rapidly and has experienced increasing environmental problems. In this article we analyze the effect of urban air pollution considering the available data for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013 in 24 German cities. Proposing a new model, we start the analysis using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to predict eco-efficiency scores for the 24 German cities. Afterwards, it is applied fractional regression to infer about the influencing factors of the eco-efficiency scores, at the city level. Results suggest a significant impact over eco-efficiency due to the excess of PM10, the average temperature, the average of NO2 concentration and rainfall. The findings in this study hold important implications for policymakers and urban planners in Germany, especially those that coordinate environmental protection and economic development in cities. Therefore, interventions to reduce urban air pollution can be accomplished on different regulatory levels, leading to synergistic effects as the decrease of climate change effects and noise.
Testing efficacy of the nicotine protection of the substantia nigra pars compacta in a rat Parkinson disease model. Ultrastructure study

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) with subsequent motor manifestations. This study aimed to assess the ameliorative effects of nicotine, in rotenone-induced PD rat model. Thirty adult male Albino Wistar rats were divided into three equal groups. Group I received an injection of normal saline. Group II received subcutaneous injection of rotenone at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg every other day. Group III received rotenone in the same previous dose and nicotine at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg daily. After 11 days of treatment, body weight (BW) and rat motor behavior were estimated. Specimens from the midbrain were processed for light and electron microscopy. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), α-synuclein, and GFAP was examined. Serum levels of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and striatal levels of dopamine (DA) were analyzed. Group III revealed a significant improvement in BW and motor activity. Nicotine upregulated the expression of TH, downregulated the expression of α-synuclein and GFAP. The levels of MDA and TAC were improved but were still far from those of the control. Striatal DA levels increased. Nicotine activated the neurons and glial cells. The vascular endothelium, however, did not elicit improvement. Although nicotine ameliorated the loss of the dopaminergic neurons and motor deficit, it did not show improvement of vascular endothelium. It is still necessary to examine nicotin's ability to maintain the dopaminergic neurons in a good functioning state.
Anti-Allergic Properties of Humic Acids Isolated from Pine-Sphagnum-Cotton Sedge Peat

The course administration of humic acids isolated by the sodium pyrophosphate method from pine-sphagnum-cotton sedge peat reduced the general anaphylaxis reaction in mice and guinea pigs immunized with ovalbumin and decreased serum content of IgG1 and IgE in mice. The serum from mice treated with humic acids and sensitized with ovalbumin did not increase the rate of degranulation of mast cells isolated from intact Wistar rats in the presence of ovalbumin in comparison with the serum of control animals.
Hypothesis Testing for Network Data with Power Enhancement

Comparing two population means of network data is of paramount importance in a wide range of scientific applications. Numerous existing network inference solutions focus on global testing of entire networks, without comparing individual network links. The observed data often take the form of vectors or matrices, and the problem is formulated as comparing two covariance or precision matrices under a normal or matrix normal distribution. Moreover, many tests suffer from a limited power under a small sample size. In this article, we tackle the problem of network comparison, both global and simultaneous inferences, when the data come in a different format, i.e., in the form of a collection of symmetric matrices, each of which encodes the network structure of an individual subject. Such data format commonly arises in applications such as brain connectivity analysis and clinical genomics. We no longer require the underlying data to follow a normal distribution, but instead impose some moment conditions that are easily satisfied for numerous types of network data. Furthermore, we propose a power enhancement procedure, and show that it can control the false discovery, while it has the potential to substantially enhance the power of the test. We investigate the efficacy of our testing procedure through both an asymptotic analysis and a simulation study under a finite sample size. We further illustrate our method with examples of brain connectivity analysis.
The impact of renewable energy consumption on income inequality: Evidence from developed countries

Despite of the great number of studies on the impact that income gap has on the environment, we still do not know much about whether renewable energy could be a factor affecting income inequality. The goal of this study is therefore to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption on income inequality in a panel group of developed economies over the period 1990-2014. To this end, the study employs two dynamic panel data estimation techniques: (i) panel generalized method of moments in which slope coefficients are not allowed to vary, and (ii) the dynamic common correlated effects estimator in which heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence is taken into consideration. The results obtained from the both estimators indicate that an increase in renewable energy consumption leads to a decrease in income inequality. Beyond the environmental concerns, this result confirms that adoption of renewable energy sources will also play a crucial role in reducing income inequality. In addition, it is also proved that the role of renewable energy consumption on income inequality is robust to estimation technique. Policy implications of these results are also discussed. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The influence of carbon tax on the ecological efficiency of China's energy intensive industries-A inter-fuel and inter-factor substitution perspective

China's energy intensive industries have posed great challenges in achieving carbon emissions reduction goals. We calculate the influence of carbon tax levying on the CO2 emissions as well as ecological efficiency of China's energy intensive industries utilizing inter-fuel and inter-factor substitution channel. To allow for the slow adjustment process of the enterprises of different fuels and factors inputs, a dynamic model and three-stage estimation procedure are used. Based on the substitution among fuels and factors, the results indicate that carbon tax levying will make the enterprises transform from consuming coal (with a higher carbon efficient) to lower oil/gas and electricity, and from inputting energy to inputting more labor and capital. Therefore, carbon tax is conductive for the CO2 reduction in China's energy intensive industries. With regard to the two kinds of ecological efficiency, carbon tax plays a negative role in improving them. Thus, carbon tax levy is suggested to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions in China's energy intensive industries. The future assessment tasks should include the ecological efficiency in to make the assessment more reasonable.
Evaluating the potential health and economic effects of nitrogen fertilizer application in grain production systems of China

In past decades, large amounts of N fertilizers have been applied in agricultural production of China. N fertilizer has not only underpinned food production but also led to great concerns about negative environmental impacts. We used a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to assess nitrogen fertilizer induced potential human health risk (HHR) and human capital loss (HCL) of rice, wheat and maize production systems. We found that the HHR of rice, wheat and maize was 633004, 264105 and 418644 DALY/yr, respectively. The rice production system caused the highest potential risk while the wheat production system the lowest. Fine particulate matter formation (FPMF) was the most serious health risk index, and accounted for nearly 87% of HHR. Sown area and crop type both play an important role in HHR. The potential loss of human capital caused by rice, wheat and maize production are 37.5, 15.6 and 24.8 billion RMB/yr, respectively. The total HCL accounted for about 5.9% of the Chinese grain yield value in 2017. We constructed 3 scenarios to evaluate the potential for reduction of human health risk. In scenario A, reducing N fertilizer rates to an appropriate level, the HHR decreased by about 23%, while in scenario B, enhancing nitrogen use efficiency and production technology, decreased HHR by about 22%. Furthermore, when we combined both scenario A and B, the HHR was reduced by as much as 37%. Improving fertilizer management practices in grain production in China has a great potential to reduce adverse impacts on human health, and more attention should also be paid to the impacts of air pollutant emissions from agricultural production on human health. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Enhanced curcumin loaded nanocellulose: a possible inhalable nanotherapeutic to treat COVID-19

Nanocellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/curcumin (CNC/PVA/curcumin) nanoparticles with enhanced drug loading properties were developed by the dispersion of nanocellulose in curcumin/polyvinyl alcohol aqueous medium. Due to the physical and chemical nature of sulphuric acid hydrolyzed nanocellulose and the antiviral properties of curcumin, the possibility of using these nanoparticles as an inhalable nanotherapeutic for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is discussed. The adsorption of curcumin and PVA into nanocellulose, and the presence of anionic sulphate groups, which is important for the interaction with viral glycoproteins were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. FESEM images showed that the diameter of nanocellulose ranged from 50 to 100 nm, which is closer to the diameter (60-140 nm) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The solubility of poorly water-soluble curcumin was increased from 40.58 ± 1.42 to 313.61 ± 1.05 mg/L with increasing the PVA concentration from 0.05 to 0.8% (w/v) in aqueous medium. This is a significant increase in the solubility compared to curcumin's solubility in carboxymethyl cellulose medium in our previous study. The drug loading capacity increased by 22-fold with the addition of 0.8% PVA to the nanocellulose dispersed curcumin solution. The highest drug release increased from 1.25 ± 0.15 mg/L to 17.11 ± 0.22 mg/L with increasing the PVA concentration from 0 to 0.8% in the drug-loaded medium. Future studies of this material will be based on the antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and cell cytotoxicity studies. Due to the particulate nature, morphology and size of SARS-CoV-2, nanoparticle-based strategies offer a strong approach to tackling this virus. Hence, we believe that the enhanced loading of curcumin in nanocellulose will provide a promising nano-based solution for the treatment of COVID-19.
Environmental feasibility of secondary use of electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries in communication base stations

Repurposing spent batteries in communication base stations (CBSs) is a promising option to dispose massive spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) from electric vehicles (EVs), yet the environmental feasibility of this practice remains unknown. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used in this study to compare the environmental impacts of repurposed EV LIBs and lead-acid batteries (LABs) used in conventional energy storage systems (ESSs) of CBSs. The economic-based allocation method is used in the multi-functional system. The LCA results suggest that the manufacturing and reusing stages are the dominant contributors to the environmental impacts of repurposed LIBs, whereas battery recycling can reduce environmental impacts. In addition, the secondary use of EV LIBs results in less environmental impact than the use of LABs in all selected categories, except for metal depletion, which is attributed to the large lead consumption and low energy density of LABs. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to measure the influences of two alternative allocation methods (i.e., cut-off allocation and 50/50 allocation), the cycle life, and the electricity sources on the results. It is found that repurposing spent LIBs with 50/50 allocation method has the poorest environmental performance and is not sufficiently advantageous over using LABs. Moreover, extending the cycle life of repurposed LIBs and using a cleaner energy mix significantly reduce environmental impacts. This study offers implications to mitigate the end-of-life management problem of EV LIBs, including a life cycle management platform, an effective integration of the supply chain, and references for the ongoing "green" transition of the communication industry.
Teaching Metaphorical Generation via Tact and Match-to-Sample Instructions: A Brief Report

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an instructional sequence involving simple tact, category tact, and match-to-sample instructions on the emergence of metaphorical extensions about emotions for children with autism spectrum disorder. Three Chinese children (1 girl, 2 boys, 7-8 years old) with autism spectrum disorder participated. Results indicate that the participants' intraverbal responses for metaphorical extensions about emotions emerged or increased without direct training after completion of the instructional sequence to which verbal instruction had been added. All three children maintained the metaphorical extensions about emotions for 4 weeks.
Optimal sizing and power schedule in PV household-prosumers for improving PV self-consumption and providing frequency containment reserve

This paper presents a methodology for jointly optimizing the sizing and power management of PV household-prosumers, namely, photovoltaic (PV) power, electric vehicle charging load (EVCL), household consumption load (HCL), battery bank (BB), and power converters. The optimization includes PV self-consumption enhancement and frequency containment reserve (FCR). This innovative model uses an annual techno-economic assessment to calculate the total costs and revenue by means of the teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm. The assessment of BB aging takes into account the charge/discharge power as well as the depth of discharge (DOD). This methodology is applied to Spanish PV household-prosumers. Results are obtained for scenarios involving PV, EV, and BB. Moreover, the PV household-prosumer approximated the smart user concept by providing FCR service. The scenarios envisaged examined potential revenues based on markets (day-ahead and FCR market) and their influence on profitability. The results of this study confirmed that BB is a cost-effective way of enhancing PV self-consumption by decreasing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). In fact, when FCR provision was added, there was a significant increase in the total revenue with a relatively low impact on BB aging. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Consumer's food waste in different restaurants configuration: A comparison between different levels of incentive and interaction

Reducing food waste is necessary for achieving healthy diets and sustainable food systems due to its negative impacts on resource conservation, food security, and environmental, social and economic costs. This paper aim is to quantify the amount and types of food that is wasted by the consumers in different restaurant configurations. The second aim is to understand the reasons which lead them to waste food and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the waste. To fulfil the aims, a mixed methodology was used, including primary data collection in restaurants for the quantification of food waste, interviewing consumers and staff, along with calculating the environmental impact from the waste using life cycle assessment. The results show that different incentives and levels of interaction in consumer's choice of food types exert influence on plate food waste. When incentive and interaction are low, the amount of food waste is larger. It is the case of a la carte restaurants. The best performance in the restaurant categories was when both incentive and level of interaction were higher. Buffet where the consumers pay by weight, therefore, is the configuration that generates less food waste on the consumer's plate. The main wasted products are rice and beans, followed by beef, and then other carbohydrates. The life cycle assessment indicated a carbon footprint varying from 128 to 324 g CO2 eq./plate from the wasted food. The result of the interviews showed that the food waste on the plate is not visible to consumers, since in the majority of cases, they believe that their food waste on the plate in the day of the observation was an exception. There is a large potential to reduce food waste by giving consumers the possibility to influence the serving to get the right portion size. Also, to further emphasize this behaviour by creating incentives for consumers only to serve as much food as they actually eat. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Health risk assessment by toxic metals in little egrets ( Egretta garzetta) and food chain contaminations

This study analysed heavy metals from little egret (Egretta garzetta). Egret's Eggs, egg shells, food (fish and insects), blood, meat samples (thigh, liver, and chest), water, soil and sediments samples were collected from the two selected sites of the study area. Samples were analysed on flame atomic absorption spectrometer after acid digestion. Detected metals were found almost inline of concentrations when compared with the both sites. Among detected metals Mn was found higher in concentration (µg/g) i.e. 18.509 followed by Zn i.e. 9.383, Ni, Cu, Pb and Cd. Sediment exhibited higher levels (µg/g) of metals (25.061) followed by the meat (19.044) egrets food (18.825), excreta (16.26), blood serums (4.577), eggs (3.626) and water samples (2.432).The level of metals in sediments of the study are showed environmental concerns. Health risks were also investigated that were compared to guidelines of WHO and FAO threshold limits. It was found a marginal health risk to life through detected metals. This study revealed that little egret are good bio-indicator for the screening and investigation of contaminates presence in the environment.
LCA analysis of food waste co-digestion

The i-REXFO LIFE project designs an innovative business model with the objective of reducing significantly the amount of landfilled food waste. Given the availability of supermarket food waste in the Umbria region (Italy), the logistics is optimized using a Vehicle Routing Problem Solver, mass and energy balances of the biogas plant are partly calculated and partly measured from a real biogas plant. The data obtained from food waste transport and anaerobic co-digestion process are used as input for LCA analysis. The aimof themethodology is to assess the environmental and economic benefit of the substitution of energy crops (like corn silage) with food waste in anaerobic digestion. Two approaches are adopted: consequential LCA and attributional LCA. Only one impact category is taken into account: climate change. This decision has been taken to focus on two decision making criteria (economic feasibility and GHG emissions reduction). The results show that a reduction of 42% in the carbon foot-print of the electricity produced fromthe biogas plant can be obtained by substituting about 9900 t of corn silage with 6600 t of food waste. Through the combined use of economic analysis and consequential LCA it has been possible to identify an optimized scenario in which: food waste produced from food industries is collected and used to produce energy in Expired Food Energy chains (EFE), while the food obtained from supermarkets is used to promote charity initiatives in actions aiming at the Reduction of Expired Food waste (REF). (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.