bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Study on Drug Utilization of Antibiotics in Respiratory Tract Infections among Geriartrics
Authors: Charave Sripuram , Suresh Reshmi , Shihab , , Fayiz Mohammed , Dev Apoorva
Published: June 2020

Back ground: Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs) often pose a major threat for geriatric patients (>60 years) who are at higher risk of developing complications. The first line treatments for RTIs are antibiotics which help in reducing the infection. As there is increasing incidence of antimicrobial resistance it is necessary to conduct drug utilization of antibiotics which helps in better understanding about errors and risks involved in prescriptions.

Objectives: The objective of the study is to access the prescribing pattern, appropriate use of antibiotics and inappropriateness of antibiotics in viral infections.

Methodology: The present study is a prospective observational study. The study included 110 patients which included the evaluation of the patients medical records of antibiotics, sputum culture reports and physician records.

Results: Out of 110 geriartric RTI patients, female (59.09%) were more predominantly affected over males (40.90%). Among the RTIs diagnosed pneumonia (40%) was higher followed by LRTI (28.18%). The common signs and symptoms found were breathlessness (34.54%) with major comorbidity of diabetes milletus (47.31%). Piperacillin + tazobactam (40.90%) was the mostly prescribed antibiotic for both gram positive (Streptococci) and gram negative (E. coli) bacteria which was given through I.V. (90%). Total drug interactions and medication errors were 13.03% and 3.32% respectively.

Conclusion: The present study gives an overview of antibiotics use and complications involved in geriatric population diagnosed with RTIs. Appropriate antibiotic usage according to Hospital Antibiotic Policy was observed in the study site with lower number of medication errors and drug interactions.

Key words: Respiratory Tract Infections, drug utilization, antibiotics, geriatrics.
Development and Evaluation of Gastro-retentive Floating Tablet of Rilpivirine Hydrochloride for the Treatment of HIV
Authors: Trivedi Dipali , Majumdar Arti , Malviya Neelesh
Published: June 2020

Besides enormous improvements in drug delivery, oral route has been highly and effectively utilized route of administration. Floating drug delivery that is also known to be low density system is advancement in the class of gastro-retentive drug delivery system. In the present research work, floating drug delivery of Rilpivirine hydrochloride was developed by overcoming various limitations and troubles associated with the drug including poor absorption in intestinal pH and degradation when comes in contact with higher pH environment. [2] Prepared formulations were evaluated for various parameters like friability, hardness, thickness, drug content analysis, floating properties and in-vitro drug release study. Based on the evaluation, concluded that floating drug delivery system is a non-toxic as well as cost-effective technique for the rationale of enhancing bioavailability and absorption of poorly water soluble drugs. The improvement in gastric residence time is a clear sign. It can be able to use in the future for more acidic soluble drugs to enhance solubility and absorption.

Keywords: Floating drug delivery, gastric residence time, Rilpivirine, effervescent, NNRTI.
A Case Report on Viral Meningoencephalitis with Radiculoneuropathy
Authors: Ali Salman Mir , Faizan Abdullah Md , Baleeqhuddin Mohammed
Published: June 2020

Meningoencephalitis is an inflammation of brain and its surrounding membranes. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and by various other etiology. Radiculoneuropathy, also commonly referred to as pinched nerve, refers to a set of conditions in which one or more nerves are affected. The classic triad of fever, stiff neck and altered sensorium are seen in <50% of all patients with meningitis. Clinical presentation of viral encephalitis includes a prodrome of fever, headache, myalgia, and mild respiratory infection. Altered mentation, focal neurological deficits and seizures usually follow. Patient was brought to emergency department of hospital. He provided with empirical anti-biotic therapy and supportive care. Laboratory investigation like CSF analysis, liver function test, renal function test. Blood test like complete blood picture, dengue Ag. Microbiological test was also carried out. Radiological imaging like MRI of Brain, MRI of spine, Chest X-Ray. Upon clinical diagnosis patient was provided with antibiotic, antiviral and supportive care. Patient was also provided with mechanical ventilator. He was treated for 14 days.

Keywords: meningoencephalitis, CSF analysis, classical triad.
Vaccine Preperative Trial for Leptospirosis and their Pathological, Immunological Study by Serum Electrophoresis
Authors: MANAM VISHNU KIRAN , Sumathi G
Published: June 2020

Leptospirosis is a fatal infectious disease caused by different serovars of Leptospira spirochetes affecting humans and animals. In the present study, the trials of the whole-cell killed formalin treated monovalent vaccine using Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae and trivalent vaccine using Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae, Leptospira louisiana, and Leptospira hebdomadis were studied. The serum electrophoresis studies were done after administration of the vaccine into the experimental albino mice along with the booster dose of the vaccinated serum by densitometric readings. Similarly, the pathological observations were made by dissecting the virulent mice, vaccinated mice, and comparing them with the control mice. The MAT titre was also studied after the booster dose administration of the vaccinated serum. The monovalent and trivalent whole-cell killed formalin treated vaccines shows significant raise in the total proteins, albumin, globulin, α 1 globulin, α 2 globulin, β globulin and γ globulins of the serum as well as increase in significant levels in the antibody levels after the administration of the booster dose at an interval of 14 days.

Keywords: Leptospira, Whole-cell killed formalin treated vaccine, Immunological study, Pathological study, Serum electrophoresis.
The Community of Advantage
Authors: Sugden Robert
Published: June 2020

This is an interview by the Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics (EJPE) with Robert Sugden. The interview covers the intellectual trajectory of Sugden, from his early critique of Amartya Sen’s liberalism, to his interactions with James Buchanan and his contributions to behavioural economics. A major theme in the interview is Sugden’s development of a rival program of normative economics based on modern behavioural economics. The interview also discusses Sugden’s recent book The Community of Advantage which synthesizes many of the themes he worked on.
Indo-Iranian borrowings in Uralic (tulossa)
Authors: Holopainen Sampsa
Published: June 2020

Sampsa Holopaisen suomalais-ugrilaisen kielentutkimukseen alaan kuuluva väitöskirja tarkastettiin Helsingin ylipistossa lauantaina 14. joulukuuta 2019. Vastaväittäjänä toimi professori Matin Kümmel Jenan yliopistosta ja kustoksena professori Janne Saarikivi.

Sampsa Holopainen: Indo-Iranian borrowings in Uralic: critical overview of sound-substitutions and distribution criterion. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto 2019. Kirja on luettavissa osoitteessa http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-5729-4
Mathematical Representation Ability of Middle School Students through Model Eliciting Activities with STAD Type
Authors: Zairisma Zairisma , Apriliani Vina , Yunus Johan
Published: June 2020

The ability of mathematical representation is one of the abilities that must be possessed by students in learning mathematics. In fact, students 'mathematical representation ability is still relatively low, so we need a learning model that can improve students' mathematical representation abilities, namely Model Eliciting Activities (MEA) with STAD type. The purpose of this study is to compare the mathematical representation ability of students taught using MEA with STAD type and those taught with conventional learning. The approach to be used is a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental research method and using a control group pretest-posttest design. The population in this study were all VII grade students. Sampling was done using simple random sampling, which consisted of two classes, class VII1 as the experimental class and class VII2 as the control class. Data collection is used by using a mathematical representation ability test sheet. The data analysis technique used is independent t-test. Based on these analysis it can be concluded that the mathematical representation ability of students taught using MEA with STAD type is better than conventional learning.
Canonical Correlation Analysis of Global Climate Elements and Rainfall in the West Java Regions
Authors: Bowo Arisya Maulina , Irianingsih Iin , Ruchjana Budi Nurani
Published: June 2020

Indonesia has a diversity of climate influenced by several global phenomena such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and Asian-Australian Monsoon. Continuously climate changing indirectly causes a hydrometeorological disaster. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between global climate elements (ENSO, IOD, Asian-Australian Monsoon) with rainfall in the West Java regions (Bogor Regency, Bandung Regency, Sukabumi Regency, Garut Regency, and Kuningan Regency) simultaneously. The selection of the five regions was based on the natural disaster reports of Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB). The research method used was a quantitative research method through one of multivariate analysis technique called canonical correlation analysis. The results of this study indicate that there was a simultaneous relationship between global climate elements, with rainfall in the West Java regions by 0.819. The global climate element and rainfall in the West Java regions that most influenced the relationship were Asian-Austalian Monsoon and Kuningan Regency rainfall.
Regenerasi Fungsi x2-9x-99 Dalam Pembangkit Bilangan Acak Berbasis CSRPNG Chaos
Authors: Lihananto David , Wowor Alz Danny
Published: June 2020

This study examines whether the function f(x)=x2-9x-99 can be used as a key generator in cryptography. The quadratic function is regenerated using the fixed point iteration method into an iteration function. The distribution of digits to the output of iterative function to generate a number of chaos. Randomization testing uses run test and monobit testing. Followed by cryptographic testing to get the correlation between ciphertext and key which will be used as a decision whether the resulting key is random or not. Based on research that has been done iteration function xi = (xi-12-9xi-1-99)/9 can generate CSRPNG Chaos random numbers with the correlation level closest to the value of 0.
Analisis Routing Protokol Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) Pada Raspberry Pi
Authors: Permatasari Ulfa Septilia , Widiasari Indrastanti Ratna
Published: June 2020

Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR)is one of the two standard for mesh networks. OLSR is a link state routing protocol, which use hallo message and topology control (TC) to determine the link state information across the mobile ad-hoc network. OLSR is widely used in the wireless mesh network. Raspberry Pi is a mini computer which can be used as a node router to replace the function of a router in a wireless mesh network. In this research, Raspberry Pi is used as a router nodes to determine the performance of routing protocol OLSR. The parameters used to measure its performance is self-configure time, self-healing and bandwidth usage. The test results showed that the use of routing protocols OLSR on the Raspberry Pi in a wireless mesh network proved able to repair itself if there is a problem on the network since it has ability to self-configure and self-healing.
COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS SIMULATION OF KARTINI REACTOR FUELED PLATE
Authors: Susanto Tri Nugroho Hadi
Published: June 2020

The purpose of this study is to determine the characteristics of the cooling system on the new design of the Kartini Reactor plate fuel based on numerical calculations (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The fuel plate model was simplified and made in 3D. The model dimensions are 17.3 mm x 68 mm x 900 mm. The space between the two plates called the narrow rectangular channels has a gap of 2 mm. On these simulations a heat flux of 10612,7 watt/m2 was used which was obtained from the MCNP calculation program. Simulations were conducted in a steady state condition and single-phase model laminar flow of an incompressible fluid through the gap between the two fuel plates. This simulation uses UDF (User Define Function) to approach heat flux behaviour that follows the neutron distribution in the reactor core. The simulation results show that the maximum temperature that occur at a flow rate of 0.01 m/s was 43.5 °C.
Pola Kekuasaan Pendisiplinan dalam Membina Perilaku Peserta Didik di SMA Negeri Olahraga Sriwijaya
Authors: Marice Lamtarida Deasy , Taqwa Ridhah
Published: June 2020

The research was conducted at Sriwijaya Sports State High School, a special school for students who have talent in the field of sports. The aim is to know the pattern of discipline and the form of disciplinary techniques applied in fostering student behavior. The method used is descriptive qualitative with a case study approach that explores important information about the pattern of application and the form of disciplinary techniques. The data analysis is done by processing and preparing data, reflecting on meaning, processing information, data coding, and making narrative writings. The results of the study show that disciplinary patterns are applied through two mechanisms: first is through supervision (panapticon). This form of supervision takes the form of a point system that has the power to oversee the behavior of students. Other forms of supervision are raids on behavior that violates school rules. Second is the normalization, which is done by applying and enforcing punishment and reward. Disciplinary techniques that are carried out including the use of democratic discipline, permissive discipline, and the application of punishment that is educational in value, but does not lead to a form of violence.
COMPARISON OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING CURRICULUM AMONG SEVERAL CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES
Authors: Mehdi Ebadi Mohammad , Richards Michele , Brown Carol , Adeeb Samer
Published: June 2020

Growing attention to environmental sustainability, modular construction, and application of new generation of materials, accompanied with advanced data collection techniques and computer modeling, has revolutionized the area of Civil Engineering within the past few years. This demonstrates the necessity of continually reviewing the curriculum to assure that graduating engineers are knowledgeable enough to deal with complex problems in their area of specialty. This is also essential to satisfy the continual improvement process (CIP) requirements mandated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). As a first step to design a rigorous CIP, a comprehensive comparison was made between the Civil Engineering curricula of the University of Alberta (UofA) and eight other major universities across Canada, including the University of Calgary, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Windsor, University of Regina, University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Waterloo, and Polytechnic of Montreal. After categorizing the courses into twelve different streams, it was observed that some universities paid less attention to a specific stream in comparison with the average, which could be identified as a gap in the curriculum. A capstone design or group design project that is multidisciplinary and covers multiple areas of specialty is the predominant approach followed by most of the universities.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? UNDERSTANDING CAREER PERSISTENCE OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PRACTICE IN MANITOBA
Authors: Atamanchuk Kathryn , Friesen Marcia
Published: June 2020

Women are underrepresented in the Canadian engineering profession at a rate of nearly 10:1 when compared to their male counterparts. This poses a problem for a profession whose goal is to provide innovative and inclusive solutions that work for all people. In Manitoba, while women are underrepresented in engineering at the same rate as the national average, there is also evidence that some either never enter the profession after graduation, or leave at various stages in their career. While there is significant literature to examine recruitment to and retention of women to engineering study at colleges and universities, there is much less research on women’s persistence in engineering practice post-graduation.   Accordingly, this study was designed to address the research question: What are the elements of women’s experiences in the engineering profession that both enable and deter their persistence in the profession, and how do these elements or factors interact with one another over time & space?   The findings generally align with the literature-based conceptual framework and indicate that this is a multi-dimensional problem that includes factors such as a need for improved work-life balance, workplace cultural shifts, and confidence building.  Implications of these finding include a need to support both new graduates in the licensure process and former members who wish to return to practice.  Concrete proposals to ease re-entry to practice are also presented.
WHAT IS ENGINEERING SCIENCE? DEFINING A DISCIPLINE THROUGH A CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL COMPARISON AND A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL WORKSHOP
Authors: Romkey Lisa , Dawe Nikita , Khan Rubaina
Published: June 2020

The Division of Engineering Science at the University of Toronto offers a complex, multidisciplinary undergraduate program, commonly known as "EngSci”. We are in the first of a multi-year project titled ROLE (Realigning Outcomes with Learning Experiences), designed to proactively realign curriculum, pedagogy, students, and brand with our program goals. The first step in this process is to understand the state of Engineering Science as an academic discipline more broadly, and to better understand its role in the broader engineering and science landscape.  To better understand the discipline, we have used the academic plan model to compare eight engineering science programs from around the globe. The academic plan model supports the identification of internal and external factors that shape academic programs and frames the academic plan itself as seven related components that make up curriculum. Utilizing public-facing documentation such as websites and grey literature, we compared the IESC (International Engineering Science Consortium) programs and found differences in fundamental curriculum content, sub-disciplinary foci, organizational structure, and sources of external influence.  Concurrently, we conducted a workshop with members from the IESC to facilitate dialogue on the state of the discipline. This workshop resulted in a number of interesting artifacts, documenting the perspective of the participants. Some key themes that emerged included a strong focus on fundamentals and first principles; a focus on non-traditional and rapidly developing sub-disciplines, using the notion that Engineering Science can act as an “incubator” for new disciplines; and a diversity of views on the relationship between science and engineering within Engineering Science programs.  Finally, the paper paves a way forward for the next phase of the work, which involves interviewing program faculty and alumni to further understand perceptions of the discipline and the positioning of the discipline in the broader science and engineering landscape.
Editorial reprint: Call for a Canadian Public Mental Health System: Transformative change amid a global pandemic
Authors: Khanlou Nazilla
Published: June 2020

This Editorial was previously published in the Journal of Concurrent Disorders, https://concurrentdisorders.ca/and is reprinted here with permission of the editor.

Original source:

Khanlou N. (2020). Editorial: Call for a Canadian Public Mental Health System: Transformative change amid a global pandemic. Journal of Concurrent Disorders, 2(1), 1-2. Available url: https://concurrentdisorders.ca/2020/03/31/call-for-a-canadian-public-mental-health-system/
Article reprint: Nurses respond to COVID-19 pandemic: Mental health support for frontline nurses
Authors: Khanlou Nazilla , Orazietti Brenda E.
Published: June 2020

This article was previously published in the Journal of Concurrent Disorders, https://concurrentdisorders.ca/ andis reprinted here with permission of the editor.

Original source:

Khanlou N & Orazietti BE. (2020). Nurses respond to COVID-19 pandemic: Mental health support for frontline nurses. Journal of Concurrent Disorders, 2(1), 74-76. Available url: https://concurrentdisorders.ca/2020/04/11/nursesrespond-to-covid19-pandemic-mental-healthsupport-for-frontline-nurses/
Recent Events
Authors: Khanlou Nazilla
Published: June 2020

Recent events for INYI Journal Volume 9 Issue 1.
Russian landowners in the XVII century: lifestyle and mentality
Authors: Tikhonova Vera Borisovna
Published: June 2020

The subject of this research is the mentality of Russian landowners of the XVII century. This topic remains insufficiently studied, therefore the author sets a goal to identify the peculiarities of lifestyle and most characteristic mental features of the Russian provincial landowners of the XVII century. The authorial concepts is based on the assumption on possibility of deriving the mental attitudes of this social estate from their typical lifestyle. Due to the lack of direct testimonies on everyday life and apperception of the landowners of the period prior to Peter the Great, the author uses the research and sources on the social, military and agrarian history of the XVII century. A better understanding of the topic is achieved by means of attracting most substantial sources on the history of Russian nobility. From the perspective of the history of mentality, within the framework of interdisciplinary approach, the article generalizes the studies of various scientific disciplines that contain records on the typical lifestyle of Russian landowners of the XVII century. At the same time, features of the mentality of Russian landowners are viewed on the background of cultural worldview of Moscovian State of the XVII century. The mentality of Russian landowners of the XVII century was substantiated by a number of factors defining their lifestyle. The character and conditions of service contributed to mobility, modesty and adaptability. The specificity of conditional landownership, perhaps, accustomed to self-reliance and responsibility. The need to defending interests of the estates formed situational awareness. A peculiar factor for the mentality of landowners was an affiliation to the privileged estate. The “borderline” position with regards to unprivileged ranks classified the poorest landowners to the lowest ranks of service classes; actualized distancing with the latter and imparted e mentality of country landowners of the XVII century with such trait as a desire to preserve their privileged status.
A sistematização da assistência de enfermagem desenvolvida para um caso raro de Kérion Celsi: relato de experiência
Authors: Souza Brenda Ramos de , Medeiro Flávia Daniele de Alencar , Guimarães Suellen Cristhine Vital , Silva Tallyta Oliveira da , Ferreira Alan Rogério de Oliveira , Cunha Natacha Mariana Farias da
Published: June 2020

Objetivo: Relatar a construção do processo de enfermagem, por meio da Sistematização da Assistência de Enfermagem desenvolvida pela equipe de enfermeiros da pediatria para um caso raro de Kérion Celsi, desde sua admissão até a transferência do mesmo para resolução do caso. Relato de experiência: A primeira etapa para Sistematização de assistência de enfermagem consistiu na coleta de dados, seguida do exame físico realizado através de um formulário hospitalar. A partir dele, definiu-se os problemas ativos e potenciais que conduziram na definição de 6 diagnósticos de enfermagem adaptados à pediatria e intervenções voltadas a atuação nos problemas levantados, sendo a avaliação discutida e revisada diariamente através de uma evolução padronizada na Clínica pediátrica. Considerações finais: Neste relato, as etapas seguidas para realização do processo de enfermagem, através da sistematização da assistência de enfermagem, foram importantes para uma intervenção adequada, apesar de adaptada, para o caso em questão, necessitando de novos estudos para adequação da sistematização direcionada à assistência em enfermagem pediátrica.
Silent Sinus Syndrome: Interesting Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings
Authors: Albadr Fahad B.
Published: June 2020

Silent sinus syndrome (SSS) is the spontaneous unilateral collapse of the maxillary sinus and orbital floor with complete or partial opacification of the collapsed sinus. The key features in a patient who presents with SSS are painless progressive unilateral maxillary sinus disease in the absence of rhinosinusitis, trauma, or surgery. SSS is a rare disorder but could be under-diagnosed because of a lack of recognition. SSS is characterized by spontaneous and progressive enophthalmos (“sunken” eye-eye recession into the globe) and hypoglobus (globe displaced downward; and a drop in the pupillary level), so it is common for these patients to present first to an ophthalmologist. Although mostly observed in adults, there have been reports of SSS in children. SSS in younger individuals has characteristic clinical and radiologic signs with, in many cases, abnormal intranasal anatomic characteristics on the affected side. SSS should be differentiated from other causes of spontaneous enophthalmos, such as Parry-Romberg syndrome and linear scleroderma. The aim of this report was to alert the reader to the imaging findings in patients with SSS. This syndrome is well recognized by rhinologists and to a lesser extent to ophthalmologists but remains relatively unknown to general radiologists.
Comment on « N-terminal Protein Tail Acts as Aggregation Protective Entropic Bristles : The SUMO Case »
Authors: Sénéchal Magalie , Bouchenna Jennifer , Vicogne Jérôme , Melnyk Oleg
Published: June 2020

We provide a robust protocol for the far-UV CD analysis of SUMO-2 protein and SUMO-2 core domain as well as all the data as supplementary files for those interested by the study of SUMO protein conformation.

These analyses were performed after having read the report published in 2014 by Grana-Montes, R. et al. (Grana-Montes, R.; Marinelli, P.; Reverter, D.; Ventura, S., N-terminal protein tails act as aggregation protective entropic bristles: the SUMO case. Biomacromolecules 2014, 15 (4), 1194-203. DOI: 10.1021/bm401776z).
Dry Heat as a Decontamination Method for N95 Respirator Reuse
Authors: Oh Chamteut , Araud Elbashir , Puthussery Joseph V. , Bai Hezi , Clark Gemma G. , Verma Vishal , Nguyen Thanh H.
Published: June 2020

A pandemic such as COVID-19 can cause a sudden depletion in the worldwide supply of respirators, forcing healthcare providers to reuse them. In this study, we systematically evaluated dry heat treatment as a viable option for the safe decontamination of N95 respirators (1860, 3M) before its reuse. We found that the dry heat generated by an electric cooker (100°C, 5% relative humidity, 50 min) effectively inactivated Tulane virus (>5.2-log10 reduction), rotavirus (>6.6-log10 reduction), adenovirus (>4.0-log10 reduction), and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (>4.7-log10 reduction). The respirator integrity (determined based on the particle filtration efficiency and quantitative fit testing) was not compromised after 20 cycles of 50-min dry heat treatment. Based on these results, we propose dry heat decontamination generated by an electric cooker (e.g., rice cookers, instant pots, ovens) to be an effective and accessible decontamination method for the safe reuse of N95 respirators.
Reduction in Water Pollution in Yamuna River Due to Lockdown Under COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Arif Mohammad , Kumar Rajesh , Parveen shagufta
Published: June 2020

The epidemic of Novel COVID-19 was reported in India in January 2020 and increased day by day due to the movement of people from abroad to India and then to the different parts of the country. The COVID-19 has been declared as pandemic because of its high transmission rate and coved more than 2010 countries of the world. Under this scenario when there is no medicine for its treatment, the only solution to this problem is to break the chain of transmission and restrict the count of infected people. To contain a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Government of India announced the nationwide lockdown with effect from the midnight of 24th March 2020 followed by the extension of the lockdown periods and presently it is in its 4th phase. The various provisions were made under lockdown for closing the industries, transportation, etc. except the essential services. It has been very interesting to note that the behavioural changes in nature are highly positive and atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere are rejuvenating and it gives an appearance that the earth is under lockdown for its repairing work. Under this natural recovery, we tried to look at the improvement in the water quality of the Yamuna River in Delhi, which has been one of the burst polluted rivers. To study this river, the concentrations of pH, EC, DO, BOD, and COD have been measured which showed a reduction by 1-10%, 33-66%, 51%, 45-90%, and 33-82% respectively during the lockdown phase in comparison to the pre-lockdown phase. The Nizamuddin Bridge, Okhla U/s, Najafgarh Drain and Shahdara Drain were the major hotspots responsible for the deterioration of the water quality of Yamuna River while passing by Delhi region. Five major locations of Yamuna River have been analysed in this paper that showed a very impressive recovery of the water quality during the lockdown phase as compared to the pre-lockdown status of water quality.
COVID-KOP: Integrating Emerging COVID-19 Data with the ROBOKOP Database
Authors: Korn Daniel , Bobrowski Tesia , Li Michael , Kebede Yaphet , Wang Patrick , Owen Phillips , Vaidya Gaurav , Muratov Eugene , Chirkova Rada , Bizon Cristopher , Tropsha Alexander
Published: June 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we established COVID-KOP, a new knowledgebase integrating the existing ROBOKOP biomedical knowledge graph with information from recent biomedical literature on COVID-19 annotated in the CORD-19 collection. COVID-KOP can be used effectively to test new hypotheses concerning repurposing of known drugs and clinical drug candidates against COVID-19. COVID-KOP is freely accessible at https://covidkop.renci.org/. For code and instructions for the original ROBOKOP, see: https://github.com/NCATS-Gamma/robokop.
Iterative Experimental Design Based on Active Machine Learning Reduces the Experimental Burden Associated with Reaction Screening
Authors: Eyke Natalie , Green William H. , Jensen Klavs F.
Published: June 2020

High-throughput reaction screening has emerged as a useful means of rapidly identifying the influence of key reaction variables on reaction outcomes. We show that active machine learning can further this objective by eliminating dependence on complete screens through iterative selection of maximally informative experiments from the subset of all possible experiments in the domain. To demonstrate our approach, we conduct retrospective analyses of the preexisting results of high-throughput reaction screening experiments. We compare the test set errors of models trained on actively-selected reactions to models trained on reactions selected at random from the same domain. We find that the degree to which models trained on actively-selected data outperform models trained on randomly-selected data depends on the domain being modeled, with it being possible to achieve very low test set errors when the dataset is heavily skewed in favor of low- or zero-yielding reactions. Our results confirm that the active learning algorithm is a useful experiment planning tool that can change the reaction screening paradigm, by allowing discovery and process chemists to focus their reaction screening efforts on the generation of a small amount of high-quality data.
Electrolyte Oxidation Pathways in Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Rinkel Bernardine L. D. , Hall David S. , Temprano Israel , Grey Clare P.
Published: June 2020

The mitigation of decomposition reactions of lithium-ion battery electrolyte solutions is of critical importance in controlling device lifetime and performance. However, due to the complexity of the system, exacerbated by the diverse set of electrolyte compositions, electrode materials, and operating parameters, a clear understanding of the key chemical mechanisms remains elusive. In this work, operando pressure measurements, solution NMR, and electrochemical methods were combined to study electrolyte oxidation and reduction at multiple cell voltages. Two-compartment LiCoO2/Li cells were cycled with a lithium-ion conducting glass-ceramic separator so that the species formed at each electrode could be identified separately and further reactions of these species at the opposite electrode prevented. One principal finding is that chemical oxidation (with an onset voltage of ~4.7 V vs Li/Li+ for LiCoO2), rather than electrochemical reaction, is the dominant decomposition process at the positive electrode surface in this system. This is ascribed to the well-known release of reactive oxygen at higher states-of-charge, indicating that reactions of the electrolyte at the positive electrode are intrinsically linked to surface reactivity of the active material. Soluble electrolyte decomposition products formed at both electrodes are characterised, and a detailed reaction scheme is constructed to rationalise the formation of the observed species. The insights on electrolyte decomposition through reactions with reactive oxygen species identified through this work have direct impact on understanding and mitigating degradation in high voltage/higher energy density LiCoO2-based cells, and more generally for cells containing nickel-containing cathode materials (e.g. LiNixMnyCozO2; NMCs), as they lose oxygen at lower operating voltages.
Iron-Nickel Oxyhydroxide Catalyst from Watts Bath for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Water Electrolysis
Authors: Delgado Dario , Bucher Jan
Published: June 2020

A hydrogen economy is necessary to meet the social demands for less consumption of fossil fuels and it has several barriers that need to be addressed if this technology is to become cost effective. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of these barriers and catalysts based on nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOx) are believed to be promising for alkaline OER. We report results of iron doping for NiOx, we synthesized by electrodeposition, combinations of iron in Ni Watts solution to develop Fe- NiOx catalysts. The best sample has an overpotential of 254 mV at 10 mA cm-2 , this result is competitive to the best results found for alkaline OER. Our methodology consists of: linear and cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic stability and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as electrochemical techniques. In addition, physical catalyst characterization techniques include: scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and surface elemental analysis by wet chemistry.
Prediction of Molecular Electronic Transitions Using Random Forests
Authors: Kang Beomchang , Seok Chaok , Lee Juyong
Published: June 2020

Fluorescent molecules, fluorophores, play essential roles in bioimaging. Attachmentof fluorophores to proteins enables observation of the detailed structure and dynamicsof biological reactions occurring in the cell. Effective bioimaging requires fluorophoreswith high quantum yields to detect weak signals. Besides, fluorophores with variousemission frequencies are necessary to extract richer information. An essential com-putational component to discover novel functional molecules is to predict molecularproperties. Here, we present statistical machines that predict excitation energies andassociated oscillator strengths of a given molecule using a random forest algorithm. Ex-citation energies and oscillator strengths are directly related to the emission spectrumand the quantum yields of fluorophores, respectively. We discovered specific molecu-lar substructures and fragments that determine the oscillator strengths of moleculesfrom the feature importance analysis of our random forest machine. This discovery isexpected to serve as a new design principle for novel fluorophores.
Recent Advances in Stereochemistry Reveal Classification Shortcomings
Authors: Canfield Peter J. , Govenlock Linda J. , Reimers Jeffrey , Crossley Maxwell J.
Published: June 2020

We contend that the Polytope model utilized by IUPAC to specify stereoisomerism for species MLn with n > 3 should be universally applied. Such application recently led to the synthesis of isolable compounds displaying a new fundamental form of isomerism, akamptisomerism, pertinent to ML2 stereocenters. We review 443807 molecules that could be classified as akamptisomers. Some akamptisomers are described as being “wrong” by existing IUPAC rules, hindering molecular conception. For many classes of medicinal and technology-related molecules, software packages like ChemDraw mostly do not handle akamptisomers correctly, databases such as CAS provide 2D representations inconsistent with those presented in the original publications, and often the akamptisomeric identity of compounds remains unknown. These features hinder both human and machine-learning approaches to chemical design. Further, the existence of previously unrecognized isomeric forms has broad implications for patents and pharmaceutical-registration requirements. Hence, the immediate re-examination of stereochemistry is demanded.
Metabolic Characterisation of Magnetospirillum Gryphiswaldense MSR-1 Using LC-MS-Based Metabolite Profiling
Authors: Abdelrazig Salah , Safo Laudina , Rance Graham A , Fay Michael W , Theodosiou Eirini , Topham Paul D , Kim Dong-Hyun , Fernandez-Castane Alfred
Published: June 2020

Magnetosomes are nano-sized magnetic nanoparticles with exquisite properties that can be used in a wide range of healthcare and biotechnological applications. They are biosynthesised by magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) such as Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense MSR-1 (Mgryph). However, magnetosome bioprocessing yields low quantities compared to chemical synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles. Therefore, the understanding of the intracellular metabolites and the metabolic networks related to Mgryph growth and magnetosome formation are vital to unlock the potential of this organism to develop improved bioprocesses. In this work, we investigated the metabolism of Mgryph using untargeted metabolomics. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was performed to profile spent medium samples of Mgryph cells grown under O2-limited (n=6) and O2-rich conditions (n=6) corresponding to magnetosome- and non-magnetosome producing cells, respectively. Cross-validated multivariate, univariate and pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to identify significantly altered metabolites and pathways. Rigorous metabolite identification was carried out using authentic standards, Mgryph-specific metabolite database and MS/MS mzCloud database. PCA and OPLS-DA showed clear separation and clustering of sample groups with cross-validation values of R2X=0.76, R2Y=0.99 and Q2=0.98 in OPLS-DA. As a result, 50 metabolites linked to 45 metabolic pathways were found significantly altered in the tested conditions including glycine, serine and threonine; butanoate; alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism; aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and; pyruvate and citric acid cycle (TCA) metabolisms. Our findings demonstrate the potential of LC-MS to characterise key metabolites in Mgryph and will contribute to further understand the metabolic mechanisms that affect Mgryph growth and magnetosome formation.
Fullerene Dissymmetrization as a Means to Achieve Single Enantiomer Electron Acceptors with Maximized Chiroptical Responsiveness
Authors: Shi Wenda , Salerno Francesco , Santana-Bonilla Alejandro , Ward Matthew , Hou Xueyan , Dennis John , Campbell Alasdair , Jelfs Kim , Fuchter Matthew
Published: June 2020

Solubilized fullerene derivatives have revolutionised the development of organic photovoltaic devices, acting as excellent electron acceptors. The addition of solubilizing addends to the fullerene cage results in a large number of isomers, which are generally employed as isomeric mixtures. Moreover, a significant number of these isomers are chiral, which further adds to the isomeric complexity. The opportunities presented by single isomer, and particularly single enantiomer, fullerenes in organic electronic materials and devices are poorly understood. Here we separate 10 pairs of enantiomers from the 19 structural isomers of bis[60]PCBM, using them to elucidate important chiroptical structure-property relationships and demonstrating their application to a single enantiomer circularly polarized (CP) light detecting device. We find that larger chiroptical responses occur through inherent chirality of the fullerene cage and particularly through transitions with low CT character. When used in a single enantiomer organic field-effect transistor device, we demonstrate the potential to discriminate CP light with a fast light response time and with a very high photocurrent dissymmetry factor (gph = ±1.35). Our study thus provides key strategies to design fullerenes with large chiroptical responses for use as single enantiomer components of organic electronic devices. We anticipate that our data will position chiral fullerenes as an exciting material class for the growing field of chiral electronic technologies.
Colon targeting oral matrix tablets of mesalamine: Design, development and invitro evaluation
Authors: N Audinarayana , Srinivasulu Anala , Sruthikumari Vellore , Likitha  , Deepak V Ananda
Published: June 2020

The principle in this present research is to formulate Mesalamine containing colon targeted tablets by using different polymers and evaluate the effect of different polymers in drug release pattern. The matrix tablets of Mesalamine are formulated by polysaccharides based polymers like Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), Ethyl cellulose (EC), Guar gum (GG) and Xanthan gum (XG) which protects the drug to release in Stomach and Small Intestine. The invitro drug dissolution investigation of F2 (GG and XG) Matrix tablet was controlled by swelling into a viscous gel in colonic pH, which have been accomplished as the best tablet. The optimized tablet F2 was found to be stable in stability study (short term) with reproducible evaluation data, which also shows the highest swelling index, increased viscosity in colonic pH. The drug release pattern from the F2 formulation follows swelling and erosion behavior. From the data it show that F2 tablets suitable for providing colon targeted drug delivery.
Reproductive parameters of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) in the southern Sierra Nevada, California
Authors: Green RE , Purcell KL , Thompson CM , Kelt DA , Wittmer Heiko
Published: June 2020

© Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Mammalogists 2018. Quantifying reproductive parameters is essential for developing effective conservation plans for species of concern; however, studying reproduction in wild settings can be challenging and local data are frequently unavailable. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is an elusive forest-dwelling carnivore of conservation concern that occurs across much of boreal North America and reaches the southernmost limit of its distribution in the southern Sierra Nevada (SSN) in California. Data on fisher reproduction in this region are limited and applicability of parameters from other areas is uncertain. To clarify how fisher populations in the SSN compare with those elsewhere in North America, we conducted a comprehensive review of available literature on reproduction throughout the species' range in North America. We then compared findings from the review with data we collected during 7 years in the SSN, focusing on the proportion of females reproducing, litter size, and the parturition date. On average across the fisher's range, the proportion of adult females that reproduced was 0.71 (range: 0.40-1.00; n = 16 studies), litter size was 2.5 (range: 1-4; n = 16 studies), and parturition occurred on 25 March (range: 3 March-17 April; n = 16 studies). In our study area, we tracked 42 adult female fishers, 35 of which reproduced and used 257 reproductive dens (74 natal, 175 maternal, 8 early failures); 0.86 of our females attempted denning (range: 0.79-1.0; n = 93 opportunities) and 0.75 were successful (range: 0.64-1.0; n = 91 opportunities monitored through the den season). Mean litter size was 1.57 (range: 1-3; n = 75 litters) and mean parturition date was 30 March (range: 17 March-12 April; n = 69 natal dens initiated). Female fishers at the southern limit of their distribution in the SSN reproduced at a rate comparable to or higher than elsewhere in North America, but average litter size was the lowest reported for the species. Female fishers in the SSN gave birth at similar or later dates than elsewhere in their range. We explore factors that might explain patterns of variation in fisher reproductive parameters and discuss conservation implications of our findings.
Evaluation of remote cameras for monitoring multiple invasive mammals in New Zealand
Authors: Anton V , Hartley Stephen , Wittmer Heiko
Published: June 2020

© New Zealand Ecological Society. Numerous conservation projects in New Zealand aim to reduce populations of invasive mammalian predators to facilitate the recovery of native species. However, results of control efforts are often uncertain due to insufficient monitoring. Remote cameras have the potential to monitor multiple species of invasive mammals. To determine the efficiency of cameras as a multi-species monitoring tool, we compared the detection rates of remote cameras and tracking tunnels over 4 non-consecutive days across 40 sites in Wellington. On average, cameras detected significantly more hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) and rats (Rattus spp.) than tracking tunnels, and their images could be used to identify rats to the species level in 50% of detections. Cameras also detected more possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) but missed recording mice (Mus musculus) on some occasions where tracking tunnels detected them, and vice-versa. We conclude that remote cameras are well-suited for simultaneously monitoring multiple species of invasive mammals in New Zealand.