bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Polymer-Assisted Metal Deposited Wood-Based Composites with Antibacterial and Conductive Properties
Authors: Shen Fangning , Yang Yu , Chu Zhuangzhuang , Yang Zhuohong
Published: August 2022

Compressible metallic porous materials (CMPMs) have great potential for development in the energy and environmental fields. However, the scale-up preparation of CMPMs with stable metal layers, excellent elasticity, and multifunctionality remains exceedingly challenging. In this study, we designed a novel strategy with the aid of polymer-assisted metal deposition to synthesize metallic porous wood (Ni-PW) with a hierarchical cellular structure and excellent elasticity. Our approach can produce highly compressible MPW using intrinsically porous delignified wood with only 15.16% strain loss under a large compressive strain of 40% after 1000 loading-unloading cycles and 129.4 μm of the average porous size of the Ni-PW measured by mercury injection method. The resulting Ni-PW displays excellent antibacterial properties for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and electric conductivity (Resistance < 7 ty), which renders great potential in energy and environmental applications. This research provides a new insight into the fabrication of CMPMs in a cost-effective (~56.5 ¥ m−2) and scalable way.
Thin Films Characterization and Study of N749-Black Dye for Photovoltaic Applications
Authors: Tahir Muhammad , Din Ikram Ud , Zeb Muhammad , Aziz Fakhra , Wahab Fazal , Gul Zahid , Alamgeer  , Sarker Mahidur R. , Ali Sajad , Ali Sawal Hamid Md , Kymissis Ioannis
Published: August 2022

This paper reports on the fabrication and photovoltaic characteristics of a heterojunction solar cell based on an organic small molecular semiconductor, N-749 black dye (N749-BD). To investigate the photovoltaic characteristics of N749-BD, an ITO/PEDOT:PSS/N749-BD/Ag device is prepared by spin casting a 100 ± 5-nm thin film of N749-BD on the poly(3,4, ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) film, which acts as buffer/hole transport layer (HTL) and indium tin oxide (ITO) is employed as a transparent conducting substrate. Under standard testing conditions (STC), i.e., 25 °C, 1.5 AM global and 100 mW/cm2 irradiation, the photovoltaic parameters of the device, such as fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE), are found to be 0.65 and 3.8% ± 0.5%, respectively. Current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of the device are also studied in dark conditions to measure reverse saturation current (I0), series resistance at the interface, rectification ratio (RR), barrier height (ϕb) and ideality factor (n). Optical bandgaps (Eg) of N749-BD thin film are found by applying Tauc’s plot on its ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrum, which are measured to be 1.68, 2.67, 3.52 and 4.16 eV. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements of the fabricated device are studied, which demonstrate large value of EQE ≈ 12.89%, with peak intensity at 626 nm. Bond dynamics and compositional analysis of N749-BD is carried out via Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Morphology of the thin film of N749-BD on quartz glass are investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with in-situ energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy which exhibits random distribution of N749-BD grains across the surface with nearly uniform grain sizes and shapes. The larger values of FF, PCE and EQE of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/N749-BD/Ag device suggests the potential of N749-BD to be utilized in low cost, simple manufacturing process and high performance of solar cells.
Transforming Points of Single Contact Data into Linked Data
Authors: Fragkou Pavlina , Maglaras Leandros
Published: August 2022

Open data portals contain valuable information for citizens and business. However, searching for information can prove to be tiresome even in portals tackling domains similar information. A typical case is the information residing in the European Commission’s portals supported by Member States aiming to facilitate service provision activities for EU citizens and businesses. The current work followed the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets) as well as the GO-FAIR principles and tried to transform raw data into fair data. The innovative part of this work is the mapping of information residing in various governmental portals (Points of Single Contacts) by transforming information appearing in them in RDF format (i.e., as Linked data), in order to make them easily accessible, exchangeable, interoperable and publishable as linked open data. Mapping was performed using the semantic model of a single portal, i.e., the enriched Greek e-GIF ontology and by retrieving and analyzing raw, i.e., non-FAIR data, by defining the semantic model and by making data linkable. The Data mapping process proved to require a significant manual effort and revealed that data value remains unexplored due to poor data representation. It also highlighted the need for appropriately designing and implementing horizontal actions addressing an important number of recipients in an interoperable way.
Plastic Damage Assessment in 316 Austenitic Steel Using the Misorientation Parameters from an In Situ EBSD Technique
Authors: Wang Xiao , Du Zechen , Zhang Fubao , Zhu Yu , Liu Yu , Wang Hui
Published: August 2022

Plastic damage assessment in 316 austenitic steel was performed in this research by using the misorientation parameters derived from an in situ EBSD technique. With the increase in plastic strain, the misorientation parameters, such as the Grain Reference Orientation Deviation (GROD), Grain Orientation Spread (GOS), the Grain Orientation Spread over the grain Diameter (GOS/D), and Geometrically Necessary Dislocation (GND) density presented a growing trend. Nevertheless, the variation in GROD did not show a monotony trend, and the relative increase in the amplitude of GOS and GND density was less in the late plastic stage. Compared with the above parameters, the (GOS)/D exhibited a near-linear increase during the plastic tensile stage. As the specimen was stretched to a strain of 56.99%, the (GOS)/D increased 8.9 times compared with the original specimen. The results showed that the (GOS)/D parameter has the potential of becoming an indicator for the assessment of plastic damage in 316 steel.
Ab-Initio Study of Calcium Fluoride Doped with Heavy Isotopes
Authors: Pimon Martin , Grüneis Andreas , Mohn Peter , Schumm Thorsten
Published: August 2022

Precision laser spectroscopy of the 229-thorium nuclear isomer transition in a solid-state environment would represent a significant milestone in the field of metrology, opening the door to the realization of a nuclear clock. Working toward this goal, experimental methods require knowledge of various properties of a large band-gap material, such as calcium fluoride doped with specific isotopes of the heavy elements thorium, actinium, cerium, neptunium, and uranium. By accurately determining the atomic structure of potential charge compensation schemes by using a generalized gradient approximation within the ab-initio framework of density functional theory, calculations of electric field gradients on the dopants become accessible, which cause a quadrupole splitting of the nuclear-level structure that can be probed experimentally. Band gaps and absorption coefficients in the range of the 229-thorium nuclear transition are estimated by using the G0W0 method and by solving the Bethe–Salpeter equation.
Donor-Site Morbidity and Quality of Life after Autologous Breast Reconstruction with PAP versus TMG Flap
Authors: Augustin Angela , Pülzl Petra , Morandi Evi M. , Winkelmann Selina , Schoberleitner Ines , Brunner Christine , Ritter Magdalena , Bauer Thomas , Wachter Tanja , Wolfram Dolores
Published: August 2022

The transverse myocutaneous gracilis (TMG) and the profunda artery perforator (PAP) flap are both safe choices for autologous breast reconstruction originating from the same donor region in the upper thigh. We aimed to compare the post-operative outcome regarding donor-site morbidity and quality of life. We included 18 patients who had undergone autologous breast reconstruction with a PAP flap (n = 27 flaps). Prospective evaluation of donor-site morbidity was performed by applying the same questionnaire that had already been established in a previous study evaluating TMG flap (n = 25 flaps) outcome, and results were compared. Comparison of the two patient groups showed equivalent results concerning patient-reported visibility of the donor-site scar and thigh symmetry. Still, the TMG group was significantly more satisfied with the scar (p = 0.015) and its position (p = 0.001). No difference was found regarding the ability to sit for prolonged periods. Donor-site wound complications were seen more frequently in the PAP group (29.6%) than in the TMG group (4.0%). Both groups expressed rather high satisfaction with their quality of life. Both flaps show minimal functional donor-site morbidity and high patient satisfaction. To minimize wound healing problems in PAP patients, thorough planning of the skin paddle is necessary.
Daily Life in the Limesgebiet: Archaeozoological Evidence on Animal Resource Exploitation in Lower Danubian Sites of 2nd–6th Centuries AD
Authors: Stanc Simina Margareta , Nuțu George , Mototolea Aurel Constantin , Bejenaru Luminița
Published: August 2022

Roman Limesgebiet was both a border between the Greco–Roman world and barbaricum, but also the contact area between these two parts of the ancient oicumene. In Moesia Inferior, this area was established after the Roman conquest in the 1st century AD, in order to defend the Danube border. This article analyses segments of the cultural landscape development in the Roman Danube limes: e.g., the animal resources of subsistence as a paleoeconomy component and reconstruction of the environmental context in the area. The settlements under archaeozoological study are: Sacidava, Capidava, Dinogetia, Noviodunum, Aegyssus, and Halmyris. The settlements have exploited a relatively large faunal spectrum, with taxa of 19 mammals being identified. Animal husbandry had a major importance in paleoeconomy and was focused on cattle, sheep/goat, and pig; other domestic species are horse, donkey, dog, and cat. The hunting is of small importance, according to the frequency of animal remains, and the forest species are dominant. Red deer and wild boar are present in all assemblages, and they are the dominant wild species in terms of frequency; roe deer, hare, wolf, aurochs, fox, beaver, badger, Eurasian otter, and pine marten have been also identified. Aquatic resources are represented by molluscs and fish.
A Tale of Native American Whole-Genome Sequencing and Other Technologies
Authors: Aguilar-Ordoñez Israel , Guzmán-Linares Josué , Ballesteros-Villascán Judith , Mirón-Toruño Fernanda , Pérez-González Alejandra , García-López José , Cruz-López Fabricio , Morett Enrique
Published: August 2022

Indigenous people from the American continent, or Native Americans, are underrepresented in the collective genomic knowledge. A minimal percentage of individuals in international databases belong to these important minority groups. Yet, the study of native American genomics is a growing field. In this work, we reviewed 56 scientific publications where ancient or contemporary DNA of Native Americans across the continent was studied by array, whole-exome, or whole-genome technologies. In total, 13,706 native Americans have been studied with genomic technologies, of which 1292 provided whole genome samples. Data availability is lacking, with barely 3.6% of the contemporary samples clearly accessible for further studies; in striking contrast, 96.3% of the ancient samples are publicly available. We compiled census data on the home countries and found that 607 indigenous groups are still missing representation in genomic datasets. By analyzing authorship of the published works, we found that there is a need for more involvement of the home countries as leads in indigenous genomic studies. We provide this review to aid in the design of future studies that aim to reduce the missing diversity of indigenous Americans.
Coverage Path Planning Based on the Optimization Strategy of Multiple Solar Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Le Wenxin , Xue Zhentao , Chen Jian , Zhang Zichao
Published: August 2022

In some specific conditions, UAVs are required to obtain comprehensive information of an area or to operate in the area in an all-round way. In this case, the coverage path planning (CPP) is required. This paper proposes a solution to solve the problem of short endurance time in the coverage path planning (CPP) problem of multi-solar unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Firstly, the energy flow efficiency based on the energy model is proposed to evaluate the energy utilization efficiency during the operation. Moreover, for the areas with and without obstacles, the coverage path optimization model is proposed based on the undirected graph search method. The constraint equation is defined to restrict the UAV from accessing the undirected graph according to certain rules. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to determine the flight path of each UAV with the objective of minimizing operation time. Through the simulation experiment, compared with the Boustrophedon Cellular Decomposition method for coverage path planning, it is seen that the completion time is greatly improved. In addition, considering the impact of the attitude angle of the solar powered UAV when turning, the operation time and the total energy flow efficiency are defined as the optimization objective. The bi-objective model equation is established to solve the problem of the CPP. A large number of simulation experiments show that the optimization model in this paper selects different optimization objectives and applies to different shapes of areas to be covered, which has wide applicability and strong feasibility.
Azapeptides as an Efficient Tool to Improve the Activity of Biologically Effective Peptides
Authors: Tarchoun Karima , Yousef Mo’ath , Bánóczi Zoltán
Published: August 2022

Peptides are highly potent biological active compounds with excellent selectivity and binding, but they have some drawbacks (e.g., low stability in vivo because of the enzymatic degradation, and fast elimination). To overcome their drawbacks, various peptidomimetics have been gaining ground. Different modifications have been examined, such as the modification of peptide backbone. One such seemingly simple modification is the replacement of the CHα group by an N atom. These amino acid derivatives are called azaamino acids, and peptides containing azaamino acid are called azapeptides. This exchange results in both steric and electronic differences from the original amino acids, thus affecting the structure and biological activity of the modified peptide. In this review, the synthesis possibilities of azapeptides and the impact of azaamino acid incorporation on the structure and biological activity are presented through examples. Different synthetic solutions for azaamino acid introduction and the various routes to build in the side chain are summarized to illustrate the improvement of the field of azaamino acid chemistry. The influence of the altered electronic and steric properties of N-atom on the structure is described, too. Finally, some examples are given with potent biological activity.
Jets, Disks and Winds from Spinning Black Holes: Nature or Nurture?
Authors: Blandford Roger , Globus Noémie
Published: August 2022

A brief summary is given of an alternative interpretation of the Event Horizon Telescope observations of the massive black hole in the nucleus of the nearby galaxy M87. It is proposed that the flow is primarily powered by the black hole rotation, not the release of gravitational energy by the infalling gas. Consequently, the observed millimetre emission is produced by an “ergomagnetosphere” that connects the black hole horizon to an “ejection disk” from which most of the gas supplied at a remote “magnetopause” is lost through a magnetocentrifugal wind. It is argued that the boundary conditions at high latitude on the magnetopause play a crucial role in the collimation of the relativistic jets. The application of these ideas to other types of source is briefly discussed.
An Integrative Genomic Prediction Approach for Predicting Buffalo Milk Traits by Incorporating Related Cattle QTLs
Authors: Hao Xingjie , Liang Aixin , Plastow Graham , Zhang Chunyan , Wang Zhiquan , Liu Jiajia , Salzano Angela , Gasparrini Bianca , Campanile Giuseppe , Zhang Shujun , Yang Liguo
Published: August 2022

Background: The 90K Axiom Buffalo SNP Array is expected to improve and speed up various genomic analyses for the buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Genomic prediction is an effective approach in animal breeding to improve selection and reduce costs. As buffalo genome research is lagging behind that of the cow and production records are also limited, genomic prediction performance will be relatively poor. To improve the genomic prediction in buffalo, we introduced a new approach (pGBLUP) for genomic prediction of six buffalo milk traits by incorporating QTL information from the cattle milk traits in order to help improve the prediction performance for buffalo. Results: In simulations, the pGBLUP could outperform BayesR and the GBLUP if the prior biological information (i.e., the known causal loci) was appropriate; otherwise, it performed slightly worse than BayesR and equal to or better than the GBLUP. In real data, the heritability of the buffalo genomic region corresponding to the cattle milk trait QTLs was enriched (fold of enrichment > 1) in four buffalo milk traits (FY270, MY270, PY270, and PM) when the EBV was used as the response variable. The DEBV as the response variable yielded more reliable genomic predictions than the traditional EBV, as has been shown by previous research. The performance of the three approaches (GBLUP, BayesR, and pGBLUP) did not vary greatly in this study, probably due to the limited sample size, incomplete prior biological information, and less artificial selection in buffalo. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study is the first to apply genomic prediction to buffalo by incorporating prior biological information. The genomic prediction of buffalo traits can be further improved with a larger sample size, higher-density SNP chips, and more precise prior biological information.
Towards Cleaner Production Ecosystem: An Analysis of Embodied Industrial Pollution in International Trade of China’s Processing versus Normal Exports
Authors: Dang Yuting , Song Yating , Mohiuddin Muhammad , Sheng Dan
Published: August 2022

While promoting economic growth, industrial development is causing serious environmental problems and threatening human health. Studies on pollution transfer through international trade often over-estimate the actual embodied emissions in exports and ignore the industrial pollutants. By designing a non-competitive input-output model which differentiates between processing exports and normal exports, we calculate the embodied domestic and imported industrial emissions in China’s processing and normal exports and imports. We also calculate the balance of embodied emission in trade (BEET) and the pollution terms of trade (PTT), as well as the decomposition of scale, structural, and technical effects on embodied emission in international trade. The results demonstrate that processing exports reduce domestic pollution by importing intermediate inputs; normal exports, on the other hand, have a considerable impact on domestic pollution. Bilateral trade between China and the US has the most detrimental impact on China’s local environment, followed by trade between China and Japan. China’s exports to Japan are more polluting per unit than those to the US and Germany. Technological upgradations and transformation of trade structure have helped to reduce the negative environmental consequences of China-US and China-Japan bilateral trade. Investment in technology and trade policy can lead to a cleaner production ecosystem.
Water Quality Assessment Bias Associated with Long-Screened Wells Screened across Aquifers with High Nitrate and Arsenic Concentrations
Authors: Huang Yibin , Li Yanmei , Knappett Peter S. K. , Montiel Daniel , Wang Jianjun , Aviles Manuel , Hernandez Horacio , Mendoza-Sanchez Itza , Loza-Aguirre Isidro
Published: August 2022

Semi-arid regions with little surface water commonly experience rapid water table decline rates. To hedge against the falling water table, production wells in central Mexico are commonly installed to depths of several hundred meters below the present water table and constructed as open boreholes or perforated casings across their entire length. Such wells represent highly conductive pathways leading to non-negligible flow across chemically distinct layers of an aquifer—a phenomenon known as ambient flow. The objectives of this study were to estimate the rate of ambient flow in seven production wells utilizing an end-member mixing model that is constrained by the observed transient chemical composition of produced water. The end-member chemical composition of the upper and lower layers of an urban aquifer that overlies geothermal heat is estimated to anticipate the future quality of this sole source of water for a rapidly growing urban area. The comprehensive water chemistry produced by seven continuously perforated municipal production wells, spanning three geologically unique zones across the city of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato State, was monitored during one day of pumping. The concentration of conservative constituents gradually converged on steady-state values. The model indicates that, relative to the lower aquifer, the upper aquifer generally has higher specific conductance (SC), chloride (Cl), nitrate (NO3), calcium (Ca), barium (Ba) and magnesium (Mg). The lower aquifer generally has a higher temperature, sodium (Na), boron (B), arsenic (As) and radon (Rn). Ambient flow ranged from 33.1 L/min to 225.7 L/min across the seven wells, but this rate for a given well varied depending on which tracer was used. This new 3D understanding of the chemical stratification of the aquifer suggests that as water tables continue to fall, concentrations of geothermally associated contaminants of concern will increase in the near future, potentially jeopardizing the safety of municipal drinking water.
Collateral Impact of COVID-19 Prevention Measures on Re-Emergence of Scarlet Fever and Pertussis in Mainland China and Hong Kong China
Authors: He Yiran , Ma Chenjin , Guo Xiangyu , Pan Jinren , Xu Wangli , Liu Shelan
Published: August 2022

The incidence of scarlet fever and pertussis has increased significantly in China in recent years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, stringent non-pharmaceutical intervention measures were widely adopted to contain the spread of the virus, which may also have essential collateral impacts on other infectious diseases, such as scarlet fever and pertussis. We compared the incidence data of scarlet fever and pertussis in Mainland China and Hong Kong from 2004 to 2021 before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that the incidence of both diseases decreased significantly in 2020–2021 compared to the after-re-emergence stage in these two locations. Specifically, in 2020, scarlet fever decreased by 73.13% and pertussis by 76.63% in Mainland China, and 83.70% and 76.10%, respectively, in Hong Kong. In the absence of COVID-19, the predicted incidence of both diseases was much higher than the actual incidence in Mainland China and Hong Kong in 2020–2021. This study demonstrates that non-pharmaceutical measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic can partially reduce scarlet fever and pertussis re-emergence in Mainland China and Hong Kong.
Conceptualising Inclusion and Participation in the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles
Authors: Bailey Richard Peter , Angit Suria
Published: August 2022

The central tension in health promotion is between a public health policy presumption that healthy lifestyles have benefits at both the individual and societal levels and should be assertively encouraged, and liberal demands that states should maintain a stance of non-interference concerning private affairs. This tension is heightened when the engagement of marginalised or disempowered groups, such as persons with disabilities, women, or immigrants, enter discussions. This paper examines the concept of inclusion within the context of the promotion of healthy lifestyles, primarily sport and physical activity in community contexts. Using a form of ‘reflective equilibrium’, it explores a series of distinctions to evaluate critically different accounts of inclusion and offers a novel and somewhat radical approach based on re-interpretations and alignments of participation and hegemonic relationships.
Intellectual Disability Profiles, Quality of Life and Maladaptive Behavior in Deaf Adults: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Eisinger Johanna , Dall Magdalena , Fogler Jason , Holzinger Daniel , Fellinger Johannes
Published: August 2022

Individuals who are prelingually deaf and have intellectual disabilities experience great challenges in their language, cognitive and social development, leading to heterogeneous profiles of intellectual and adaptive functioning. The present study describes these profiles, paying particular attention to domain discrepancies, and explores their associations with quality of life and maladaptive behavior. Twenty-nine adults with prelingual deafness (31% female) and mild intellectual functioning deficits (mean IQ = 67.3, SD = 6.5) were administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II (VABS-II) and an adapted sign language version of a quality of life scale (EUROHIS-QOL 8). Intellectual disability domain discrepancies were characterized as at least one standard deviation difference between the social domain and IQ and the practical domain and IQ, and a significant difference, according to the VABS-II manual, between the social and practical domains. Domain discrepancies were found between intellectual functioning and both the practical (58.6%) and social domain (65.5%). A discrepancy between intellectual and social functioning was significantly associated with a higher level of internalizing maladaptive behavior (T = 1.89, p < 0.05). The heterogeneous profiles highlight the importance of comprehensive assessments for adequate service provision.
Eye-Related COVID-19: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Production Indexed in Scopus
Authors: García-Pascual Verónica , García-Beltrán Elvira , Domenech-Amigot Begoña
Published: August 2022

This paper analyzes, from a bibliometric viewpoint, those publications that relate COVID-19 and eye indexed in Scopus since the beginning of the pandemic, and it identifies the resulting main research lines. A bibliographic search in the Scopus database was conducted for publications that simultaneously include ocular and visual manifestations and aspects with COVID-19, from 1 January 2020 to 16 March 2021, and the obtained bibliographic information was processed with VOSviewer (v. 1.6.16). A total of 2206 documents were retrieved, and 60% were original articles. The USA published the most studies (24.6%). The retrieved documents had a total of 18,634 citations. The h index of the set of retrieved documents was 58. The Indian Journal of Ophthalmology was the most productive journal, while JAMA Neurology and The Lancet accounted for 20% of citations. Three keyword clusters representing hotspots in this field were identified. Eye-related COVID-19 research is an emerging field with plenty of scientific evidence whose growth is expected to increase as the aspects and manifestations of the disease, its treatment and the effect of vaccination on it become known.
Historical Changes in Weight Classes and the Influence of NAFLD Prevalence: A Population Analysis of 34,486 Individuals
Authors: Nah Benjamin Kai Yi , Ng Cheng Han , Chan Kai En , Tan Caitlyn , Aggarwal Manik , Zeng Rebecca Wenling , Xiao Jieling , Chin Yip Han , Tan Eunice X. X. , Ren Yi Ping , Chee Douglas , Neo Jonathan , Chew Nicholas W. S. , Tseng Michael , Siddiqui Mohammad Shadab , Sanyal Arun J. , Dan Yock Young , Muthiah Mark
Published: August 2022

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease globally in tandem with the growing obesity epidemic. However, there is a lack of data on the relationship between historical weight changes 10 years ago and at present on NAFLD prevalence at the population level. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the relationship between weight classes and the prevalence of NAFLD. Methods: Data were used from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018. Univariate and multivariate general linear model analyses were used to obtain risk ratio (RR) estimations of NAFLD events. Results: In total, 34,486 individuals were analysed, with those who were lean at both time points as the control group. Overweight (RR: 14.73, 95%CI: 11.94 to 18.18, p < 0.01) or obese (RR: 31.51, 95%CI: 25.30 to 39.25, p < 0.01) individuals at both timepoints were more likely to develop NAFLD. Residual risk exists where previously obese individuals became overweight (RR: 14.72, 95%CI: 12.36 to 17.52, p < 0.01) or lean (RR: 2.46, 95%CI: 1.40 to 4.31, p = 0.02), and previously overweight individuals who became lean (RR 2.24, 95%CI 1.42 to 3.54, p = 0.01) had persistent elevated risk of developing NAFLD despite weight regression. Sensitivity analysis identified that a higher proportion of individuals with regression in weight class were diabetics and Mexican Americans, while fewer African Americans saw weight-class regression. Conclusions: Residual risk exists in patients who lost weight despite the smaller magnitude of effect, and targeted weight reductions should still be used to mitigate the risk of NAFLD at the population level.
Older Patients on Hemodiafiltration: Behavior of Uremic Toxins, Inflammation, Endothelium, and Bone Mineral Disorder
Authors: Morales-Jr Armando , Pinto Walter Pereira , Fanchini Vanessa Correa , de Almeida Silva Luana Cristina , Gonçalves Thiago José Martins , Choque Pamela Nithzi Bricher , Kussi Fernanda , Nakao Lia Sumie , Elias Rosilene Motta , Dalboni Maria Aparecida
Published: August 2022

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 10% of the world’s population. Uremic toxins, such as indoxyl sulfate (IS), p-Cresylsulfate (PCS) and indole acetic acid (IAA), are not sufficiently removed by conventional hemodialysis (HD) and have been associated with inflammation, poor quality of life, bone mineral disease (BMD) and endothelial injury. Online hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) may promote greater clearance of uremic toxins than HD. However, there are few studies evaluating the effect of OL-HDF on serum levels of IS, PCS, IAA, and biomarkers associated with inflammatory, endothelial, and bone and mineral disorder in the elderly population. We evaluated the effect of 6 months of OL-HDF on the serum concentration of uremic toxins, biomarkers of inflammation, endothelial and bone mineral disorder in older patients on OL-HDF. IS, PCS, and IAA were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. We included 31 patients (77.4 ± 7.1 years, 64.5% male, 35.5% diabetic, on maintenance dialysis for 45 ± 20 days). From baseline to 6 months there was a decrease in serum concentration of IS but not PCS and IAA. We found no change in serum concentration of inflammatory, endothelial, or mineral and bone biomarkers. In summary, OL-HDF was capable to reduce IS in older patients. Whether this reduction may have an impact on clinical outcomes deserves further evaluation.
The Effect of Interaction between Followers and Influencers on Intention to Follow Travel Recommendations from Influencers in Indonesia Based on Follower-Influencer Experience and Emotional Dimension
Authors: Purwandari Betty , Ramadhan Arief , Phusavat Kongkiti , Hidayanto Achmad Nizar , Husniyyah Adyssa Fairuz , Faozi Ferdinand Hanif , Wijaya Nicolas Henry , Saputra Rifqi Hilman
Published: August 2022

Social media has become a very commonplace way for many people to have social interactions. The role of social media has changed from what was originally only a way to bridge social interactions, to becoming a business tool in various industries, one of which is the tourism industry. The interaction between social media users can create new ways to increase public awareness of existing tourist objects. One way to achieve that goal is by utilizing social media influencers. This study aims to identify the factors that influence the intention of the followers to follow the travel recommendations given by the influencer. This study uses the theory of follower-influencer experience and the theory of emotional dimensions, as well as their effect on the level of commitment and intention to follow the recommendation. This research was conducted by distributing surveys through social media and we managed to obtain a total of 203 valid respondents. The results of the study were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), which showed that information experience and homophily experience had a significant effect on pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Pleasure and dominance have a significant effect on commitment, and commitment has a significant effect on the intention to follow the recommendation.
Multi-Target Rough Sets and Their Approximation Computation with Dynamic Target Sets
Authors: Zheng Wenbin , Li Jinjin , Liao Shujiao
Published: August 2022

Multi-label learning has become a hot topic in recent years, attracting scholars’ attention, including applying the rough set model in multi-label learning. Exciting works that apply the rough set model into multi-label learning usually adapt the rough sets model’s purpose for a single decision table to a multi-decision table with a conservative strategy. However, multi-label learning enforces the rough set model which wants to be applied considering multiple target concepts, and there is label correlation among labels naturally. For that proposal, this paper proposes a rough set model that has multiple target concepts and considers the similarity relationships among target concepts to capture label correlation among labels. The properties of the proposed model are also investigated. The rough set model that has multiple target concepts can handle the data set that has multiple decisions, and it has inherent advantages when applied to multi-label learning. Moreover, we consider how to compute the approximations of GMTRSs under a static and dynamic situation when a target concept is added or removed and derive the corresponding algorithms, respectively. The efficiency and validity of the designed algorithms are verified by experiments.
Application of Machine Learning Methods for Epilepsy Risk Ranking in Patients with Hematopoietic Malignancies Using
Authors: Skiba Iaroslav , Kopanitsa Georgy , Metsker Oleg , Yanishevskiy Stanislav , Polushin Alexey
Published: August 2022

Machine learning methods to predict the risk of epilepsy, including vascular epilepsy, in oncohematological patients are currently considered promising. These methods are used in research to predict pharmacoresistant epilepsy and surgical treatment outcomes in order to determine the epileptogenic zone and functional neural systems in patients with epilepsy, as well as to develop new approaches to classification and perform other tasks. This paper presents the results of applying machine learning to analyzing data and developing diagnostic models of epilepsy in oncohematological and cardiovascular patients. This study contributes to solving the problem of often unjustified diagnosis of primary epilepsy in patients with oncohematological or cardiovascular pathology, prescribing antiseizure drugs to patients with single seizure syndromes without finding a disease associated with these cases. We analyzed the hospital database of the V.A. Almazov Scientific Research Center of the Ministry of Health of Russia. The study included 66,723 treatment episodes of patients with vascular diseases (I10–I15, I61–I69, I20–I25) and 16,383 episodes with malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, hematopoietic, and related tissues (C81–C96 according to ICD-10) for the period from 2010 to 2020. Data analysis and model calculations indicate that the best result was shown by gradient boosting with mean accuracy cross-validation score = 0.96. f1-score = 98, weighted avg precision = 93, recall = 96, f1-score = 94. The highest correlation coefficient for G40 and different clinical conditions was achieved with fibrillation, hypertension, stenosis or occlusion of the precerebral arteries (0.16), cerebral sinus thrombosis (0.089), arterial hypertension (0.17), age (0.03), non-traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (0.07), atrial fibrillation (0.05), delta absolute neutrophil count (0.05), platelet count at discharge (0.04), transfusion volume for stem cell transplantation (0.023). From the clinical point of view, the identified differences in the importance of predictors in a broader patient model are consistent with a practical algorithm for organic brain damage. Atrial fibrillation is one of the leading factors in the development of both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. At the same time, brain infarction can be accompanied both by the development of epileptic seizures in the acute period and by unprovoked epileptic seizures and development of epilepsy in the early recovery and in a longer period. In addition, a microembolism of the left heart chambers can lead to multiple microfocal lesions of the brain, which is one of the pathogenetic aspects of epilepsy in elderly patients. The presence of precordial fibrillation requires anticoagulant therapy, the use of which increases the risk of both spontaneous and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage.
What Nephrologists Should Know about the Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis
Authors: Lamine Faiza , Pruijm Menno , Bahon Virginie , Zanchi Anne
Published: August 2022

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on renal replacement therapy represent a specific population with high morbidity and mortality, an increased risk of hypoglycemic episodes and large intra- and interdialysis glycemic variability. Antidiabetic treatment adjustment is therefore challenging, especially in insulin-treated patients. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is increasingly proposed to T2D patients on hemodialysis (HD), although data regarding flash monitoring systems (FMSs) and real-time CGM (rtCGM) in HD patients are limited. Small CGM pilot studies of a short duration demonstrated improvements in glycemic control and decreased hypoglycemic events, despite a lower accuracy of CGM as compared to capillary blood glucose. Moreover, CGM–drug interactions with vitamin C, mannitol and paracetamol can occur in HD diabetic patients and need further study. Despite these shortcomings, professional CGM has the potential to become an integral part of glucose monitoring of HD patients treated with insulin. Personal CGM prescriptions can especially be useful in highly selected, motivated T2D HD patients on multiple daily insulin injections or experiencing frequent hypoglycemia with preserved diabetes self-management abilities or in whom diabetes is fully managed by medical providers. A close collaboration between the clinical staff working on HD units and diabetology teams, and ongoing patient education, are mandatory for optimal use of CGM.
Exosomes: Small Vesicles with Important Roles in the Development, Metastasis and Treatment of Breast Cancer
Authors: Meng Ling’ao , Song Kedong , Li Shenglong , Kang Yue
Published: August 2022

Breast cancer (BC) has now overtaken lung cancer as the most common cancer, while no biopredictive marker isolated from biological fluids has yet emerged clinically. After traditional chemotherapy, with the huge side effects brought by drugs, patients also suffer from the double affliction of drugs to the body while fighting cancer, and they often quickly develop drug resistance after the drug, leading to a poor prognosis. And the treatment of some breast cancer subtypes, such as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), is even more difficult. Exosomes (Exos), which are naturally occurring extracellular vesicles (EVs) with nanoscale acellular structures ranging in diameter from 40 to 160 nm, can be isolated from various biological fluids and have been widely studied because they are derived from the cell membrane, have extremely small diameter, and are widely involved in various biological activities of the body. It can be used directly or modified to make derivatives or to make some analogs for the treatment of breast cancer. This review will focus on the involvement of exosomes in breast cancer initiation, progression, invasion as well as metastasis and the therapeutic role of exosomes in breast cancer.
Changes in Blood Metabolic Profiles Reveal the Dietary Deficiencies of Specific Nutrients and Physiological Status of Grazing Yaks during the Cold Season in Qinghai Province of China
Authors: Gao Jian , Yang Deyu , Sun Zhanying , Niu Jianzhang , Bao Yuhong , Liu Suozhu , Tan Zhankun , Hao Lizhuang , Cheng Yanfen , Liu Shujie
Published: August 2022

This study aimed to investigate the changes in the blood metabolic profiles of grazing yaks during the cold season to reveal their physiological status and seek the nutrients needed to be supplemented. Six castrated yaks (3 years old) with 166.8 kg (standard deviation = 5.3) of liveweight grazed in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were used as experimental animals without supplementary feeding. Blood samples of each animal were collected in October and December 2015, and March 2016 for the analysis of serum biochemicals and metabolome. Results showed serum indices involved in protein metabolism in grazing yaks showed greater differences during the cold season than the metabolisms of energy or minerals. Cold stress in December had minor effects on the serum metabolic profiles of yaks compared with those in October. Yaks in October and December shared seven differential serum metabolites and enrichments of the “arachidonic acid metabolism” and “glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism” pathways compared with those in March caused by the shortage of feeds. Summarily, the nutrient deficiency would be influential on the physiological status of grazing yaks during the cold season, especially on the protein metabolism, which could be improved by supplementary feeds.
HPLC–(Q)-TOF-MS-Based Study of Plasma Metabolic Profile Differences Associated with Age in Pediatric Population Using an Animal Model
Authors: Albóniga Oihane E. , González-Mendia Oskar , Blanco María E. , Alonso Rosa M.
Published: August 2022

A deep knowledge about the biological development of children is essential for appropriate drug administration and dosage in pediatrics. In this sense, the best approximation to study organ maturation is the analysis of tissue samples, but it requires invasive methods. For this reason, surrogate matrices should be explored. Among them, plasma emerges as a potential alternative since it represents a snapshot of global organ metabolism. In this work, plasma metabolic profiles from piglets of different ages (newborns, infants, and children) obtained by HPLC–(Q)-TOF-MS at positive and negative ionization modes were studied. Improved clustering within groups was achieved using multiblock principal component analysis compared to classical principal component analysis. Furthermore, the separation observed among groups was better resolved by using partial least squares-discriminant analysis, which was validated by bootstrapping and permutation testing. Thanks to univariate analysis, 13 metabolites in positive and 21 in negative ionization modes were found to be significant to discriminate the three groups of piglets. From these features, an acylcarnitine and eight glycerophospholipids were annotated and identified as metabolites of interest. The findings indicate that there is a relevant change with age in lipid metabolism in which lysophosphatidylcholines and lysophoshatidylethanolamines play an important role.
Recent Advances of Optical Sensors for Copper Ion Detection
Authors: Gerdan Zeynep , Saylan Yeşeren , Denizli Adil
Published: August 2022

A trace element copper (Cu2+) ion is the third most plentiful metal ion that necessary for all living organisms and playing a critical role in several processes. Nonetheless, according to cellular needs, deficient or excess Cu2+ ion cause various diseases. For all these reasons, optical sensors have been focused rapid Cu2+ ion detection in real-time with high selectivity and sensitivity. Optical sensors can measure fluorescence in the refractive index—adsorption from the relationships between light and matter. They have gained great attention in recent years due to the excellent advantages of simple and naked eye recognition, real-time detection, low cost, high specificity against analytes, a quick response, and the need for less complex equipment in analysis. This review aims to show the significance of Cu2+ ion detection and electively current trends in optical sensors. The integration of optical sensors with different systems, such as microfluidic systems, is mentioned, and their latest studies in medical and environmental applications also are depicted. Conclusions and future perspectives on these advances is added at the end of the review.
Development of a Flexible MEMS Sensor for Subsonic Flow
Authors: Murakami Koichi , Shiraishi Daiki , Mizumi Shunsuke , Oya Yoshiko , Omura Naoto , Shibata Takanori , Ichikawa Yoshiyasu , Motosuke Masahiro
Published: August 2022

Detection and control of flow separation is a key to improving the efficiency of fluid machinery. In this study, we developed a flexible MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensor for measuring the wall shear stress and flow angle in subsonic airflow. The developed sensor is made of a flexible polyimide film and a microheater surrounded by three temperature sensor pairs. The sensor measures the wall shear stress from the heater output and the flow angle from the temperature gradient around the heater. The geometry and design of the heater and temperature sensors were determined based on numerical simulations. To evaluate the validity of the sensor, we conducted an experiment to measure the wall shear stress and the flow angle in a wind tunnel in different velocities ranging from 30 m/s to 170 m/s, equivalent to Mach numbers from 0.1 to 0.5. The heater output was proportional to one-third power of the wall shear stress. Additionally, the bridge output correlating the temperature difference between two opposing temperature sensors showed sinusoidal variation depending on the flow angle. Consequently, we have clarified that the developed sensor can measure both the wall shear stress and flow direction in subsonic flow.