bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuel Property Investigation: Jatropha Biodiesel, Used Cooking Oil Biodiesel and Fuel-grade Ethanol Blends
Authors: Sahu Tomesh Kumar , Shukla Pravesh Chandra , Sahu Vikas Kumar , Gupta Satyajit , Sarkar Sumit
Published: May 2021

Compression ignition (CI) engines are one of the promising power producing units which provide higher efficiency and durability. Increasing environmental pollution and depleting resources led the research in the field of alternative fuels such as biodiesels, ethanol etc. for utilization in CI engines. In the present study, two different types of biodiesels i.e. Jatropha Biodiesel (JBD), Used Cooking Oil (UCO) Biodiesel and Ethanol were investigated for the fuel properties and compared. Various fuel properties like density, kinematic viscosity, calorific value, oxidation stability, cold weather properties (CFPP, CF, and PP), and flash point temperature were measured and compared for pure form of alternative fuels. Different blends (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) of JBD, UCO biodiesel and ethanol were also investigated. It has been observed that ethanol showed lower density, lower viscosity and superior cold weather properties compared to the tested fuels/blends. The average viscosity for ethanol was measured to be 1.08 mm2/sec which is ∼61.8 % less compared to mineral diesel. Oxidation stability tests were also performed where mineral diesel shows 83.15 min for 10% pressure drop at 140°C and 700 kPa, UCO biodiesel and JBD shows 9.2 min and 8.32 min. 5% ethanol blend showed sharp reduction in flash point compared to mineral diesel, however, it remained almost at the same level with further blending.
Study in the Changes on the Functional Groups Present in Biomass during Pyrolysis Process
Authors: Suman S , Yadav AM , Jain T , SK A Ali
Published: May 2021

In this study, investigate the changes occurs on the functional groups of biochar materials. The biomass materials subjected to the pyrolysis, which is a thermochemical conversion process to obtain biochar material. It was produced by slow-pyrolysis method by subjected in different pyrolysis temperatures (400, 600, 800 and 1000°C). Effect of the treatment procedures was determined by the modifications in the functional groups of the obtained bio-char during the pyrolysis treatment was determined with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). FTIR methods deliver fast, low-cost and non-destructive analysis and have shown qualitative and quantitative outcomes. The analysis was applied to some agricultural biomass materials such as saw dust, rice hull, wheat hull, tea wastes, and eucalyptus shell. Results are associated with literature, and species potentially computable by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy are reviewed. The result showed that the aliphatic, hydroxyl and aromatic groups gradually diminishes by increasing the temperature from 400 to 1000°C.
Study on PCM Assisted Constant Temperature Water Heating System
Authors: Lad Pragnan , Saxena Rajat , Patel Jatin
Published: May 2021

Spread of novel coronavirus across the globe creates panic situations internationally. Major challenge of this pandemic situation is the absence of a specific treatment or vaccine for curing the disease. As per published report of WHO, temperature above 55 ° C is potentially kill Corona virus. This study focuses on design a water heating system that could provide water above the required temperature with minimal input power even during the off-sunshine hours. The thermal performance of Phase Change Material (PCM) integrated solar water heating system providing water temperature above 56 ° C both during the day and the off sunshine hours has been discussed in this present study.

The phase change behaviour of paraffin-wax-6035 confined within a copper tube of 100 mm diameter and 1000 mm length and 1 mm thickness, has been studied using CFD analysis. The analysis is carried out for three different cases viz. conventional solar water heating system, modified solar water heating system integrated with bare PCM tube and finned PCM tube of 1 mm fin thickness. The thermal storage capacity of solar water heater is compared based on the thermal storage capacity factor which is calculated to be 1.1149 & 1.1586 for bare PCM tube and finned PCM tube case, respectively with respect to the conventional solar water heater.
Theoretical design of solar-powered vapor absorption refrigeration system coupled with latent heat energy storage
Authors: Raut Devendra , Tiwari Arunendra Kumar , Kalamkar Vilas R
Published: May 2021

In this work, the vapor absorption refrigeration system (VARS) with a cooling capacity of 1kW is designed. VARS is designed to be driven by hot water available from the solar thermal collector during the day. In the Sun’s absence, the system is designed to run by a coupled latent heat energy storage system. The unit has three major components: evacuated tube collector, latent heat energy storage, and VARS. The system is designed for a cooling capacity of 1 kW. The size of other components has been calculated by adopting the heat exchanger design approach and the relevant equations presented in the published works. The corresponding size of absorber, generator & condenser comes out to be 1.412kW, 1.46 kW & 0.96 kW, respectively for the cooling capacity of 1 kW. The evacuated tube collector of 100 LPD capacity is sufficient to provide the required heat to run the VARS and charge the thermal energy storage. Latent heat energy storage of 2.25 kW charging and discharging time of 3 hours kW is coupled with the system. The designed system gives the COP of 0.875.
MYC Expression Is Associated With p53 Expression and TP53 Aberration and Predicts Poor Overall Survival in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma
Authors: Gao Linlin , Harbaugh Brent , Parr Kevin , Patel Payal , Golem Shivani , Zhang Da , Woodroof Janet , Cui Wei
Published: May 2021

Objectives

We evaluated MYC and p53 expression, TP53 aberration, their relationship, and their impact on overall survival (OS) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL).

Methods

We identified 173 patients with ALL and LBL, including 12 cases of mixed-phenotype acute leukemia, 8 cases of therapy-related B-cell ALL (B-ALL), 119 cases of B-ALL, and 34 cases of T-cell ALL/LBL diagnosed from 2003 to 2019. We retrospectively assessed p53 and MYC expression by immunohistochemistry of bone marrow and correlated MYC expression with p53 expression and TP53 aberration.

Results

Expression of p53 and MYC was present in 11.5% and 27.7% of ALL/LBL cases (n = 20 and n = 48), respectively. MYC expression was significantly correlated with p53 expression and TP53 aberration (P = .002 and P = .03), and p53 expression and MYC expression had an adverse impact on OS in patients with ALL/LBL (P < .05). MYC and p53 dual expression as well as combined MYC expression and TP53 aberration had a negative impact on OS in patients with ALL/LBL.

Conclusions

MYC expression is correlated with p53 overexpression, TP53 aberration, and poor OS in patients with ALL/LBL.
PRG2 and AQPEP are misexpressed in fetal membranes in placenta previa and percreta†
Authors: Zhang Elisa T , Hannibal Roberta L , Badillo Rivera Keyla M , Song Janet H T , McGowan Kelly , Zhu Xiaowei , Meinhardt Gudrun , Knöfler Martin , Pollheimer Jürgen , Urban Alexander E , Folkins Ann K , Lyell Deirdre J , Baker Julie C
Published: May 2021

The obstetrical conditions placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) and placenta previa are a significant source of pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality, yet the specific molecular and cellular underpinnings of these conditions are not known. In this study, we identified misregulated gene expression patterns in tissues from placenta previa and percreta (the most extreme form of PAS) compared with control cases. By comparing this gene set with existing placental single-cell and bulk RNA-Seq datasets, we show that the upregulated genes predominantly mark extravillous trophoblasts. We performed immunofluorescence on several candidate molecules and found that PRG2 and AQPEP protein levels are upregulated in both the fetal membranes and the placental disk in both conditions. While this increased AQPEP expression remains restricted to trophoblasts, PRG2 is mislocalized and is found throughout the fetal membranes. Using a larger patient cohort with a diverse set of gestationally aged-matched controls, we validated PRG2 as a marker for both previa and PAS and AQPEP as a marker for only previa in the fetal membranes. Our findings suggest that the extraembryonic tissues surrounding the conceptus, including both the fetal membranes and the placental disk, harbor a signature of previa and PAS that is characteristic of EVTs and that may reflect increased trophoblast invasiveness.
Inequality and individuals’ social networks: the other face of social capital
Authors: Pena-López Atilano , Rungo Paolo , Sánchez-Santos José Manuel
Published: May 2021

Social capital is a controversial concept, which is used in economics as a generic form of pro-sociality and a simple means to introduce the social context into mainstream approaches. However, the accepted view underestimates social conflict and does not properly characterise social capital as an asset. When considering these issues, a different face of social capital emerges, one that can be associated with closure and privilege maintenance. This paper studies how access to and the extraction of social network resources depend on the social structure. By analysing data from a survey that included a position and a resource generator, we find that for the case of Spanish society, people endowed with high levels of economic and human capital enjoy improved accessibility and networks with a high prevalence of instrumental relations. There is essential inequality in the endowment of social capital, which augments economic inequality. When inequality is socially embedded, traditional redistributive policies may have limited effectiveness.
Domar, expectations, and growth stabilization
Authors: Boianovsky Mauro
Published: May 2021

Evsey Domar investigated in the 1940s the implementation of growth stabilization policy under the assumption that policy makers and businessmen alike believed his theoretical growth model. Economic policy was supposed to work merely through the impact of its announcement on expectations. He claimed that confident expectations, generated by government’s assurance of future growth through fiscal policy, would induce private investment decisions in a scale that would bring about the required growth rate and by that justify the expectations, without putting the guarantee to test. Domar’s policy framework contrasts with the policy-ineffectiveness proposition of New Classical macroeconomics advanced in the 1970s. Domar’s stabilization plan is discussed in detail in the context of his growth model, together with similar ideas put forward by Roy Harrod, as the latter modified aspects of his original growth model, and critical reactions by Alvin Hansen.
Bat Ant Lion Optimization-Based Generative Adversarial Network For Structural Heath Monitoring In IoT
Authors: S Yoganand , S Chithra
Published: May 2021

Attributable to the rapid growth of information technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) having strong permeability characteristics, huge usage of action and better comprehensive benefits. However, it encourages the development of IoT technology in the detection of structural engineering. Structural health monitoring (SHM) is responsible for identifying techniques and for prototyping systems performing a state diagnosis of structures. Its aim is to prevent sudden civil infrastructure failure as a result of several invisible sources of damage. This paper devises a novel method, namely bat-antlion Optimization dependent generative adversarial network (BALO-based GAN) for monitoring the states of structural health. Here, IoT nodes sense the signals of each channels and sensed data are transmitted to base station (BS) using Monarch-Earthworm (Monarch-EWA)-enabled secure routing protocol that selects the optimal path for the data transmission. After performing the IoT routing, the state of the structural health is monitored at the BS. For SHM, the input signal acquired from the IoT routing phase is fed to the pre-processing step for improving the signal quality for further processing. Then, the feature extraction is performed using fractional-amplitude modulation spectrogram (fractional AMS) for extracting the best features for improving the classification accuracy. The extracted features are adapted by the GAN, which is trained by BALO. The proposed BALO is newly designed by integrating the Bat algorithm and antlion optimizer. The proposed BALO-based GAN showed improved performance with maximal accuracy of 0.912, maximal sensitivity of 0.911, maximal throughput of 0.972 and maximal specificity of 0.913, respectively.
Prediction intervals reporting in orthodontic meta-analyses
Authors: Seehra Jadbinder , Stonehouse-Smith Daniel , Pandis Nikolaos
Published: May 2021

Background

A prediction interval represents a clinical interpretation of heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of prediction interval reporting in orthodontic random effect meta-analyses. The corroboration between effect size estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and prediction intervals were also explored.

Materials and methods

Systematic reviews (SRs) published between 1 January 2010 and 31 January 2021 containing at least one random effects meta-analysis (minimum of three trials) were identified electronically. SR and meta-analyses characteristics were extracted and prediction intervals, where possible, were calculated. Descriptive statistics and the percentage of meta-analyses where the prediction interval changed the interpretation based on the 95% CI were calculated. Fisher’s exact test was used to examine associations between the study variables and reporting of prediction intervals.

Results

One hundred and twenty-one SRs were included. The median number of SR authors was 5 (interquartile range: 4–6). The reporting of prediction intervals was undertaken in only 19.0% (N = 23/121) of meta-analyses. Out of 95 meta-analyses, only in 6 (6.3%, N = 6/95) were the 95% CI corroborated by the prediction interval. In 60 meta-analyses (63.3%, N = 60/95) despite a 95% CI indicating a statistically significant result, this was not corroborated by the corresponding prediction interval.

Conclusions

Within the study timeframe, reporting of prediction intervals is not routinely undertaken in orthodontic meta-analyses possibly due to a lack of awareness. In future orthodontic random effects models containing a minimum of three trials, reporting of prediction intervals is advocated as this gives an indication of the range of the expected effect of treatment interventions.
Shaping healthy and sustainable food systems with behavioural food policy
Authors: Reisch Lucia A
Published: May 2021

This paper focuses on policies that are enlightened by behavioural insights (BIs), taking decision-makers’ biases and use of heuristics into account and utilising a people-centric perspective and full acknowledgement of context dependency. Considering both the environmental and pandemic crises, it sketches the goal of resilient food systems and describes the contours of behavioural food policy. Conceptually built on BIs derived from behavioural economics, consumer research and decision science, such an approach systematically uses behavioural policies where appropriate and most cost-effective. BI informed tools (nudges) can be employed as stand-alone instruments (such as defaults) or used to improve the effectiveness of traditional policy tools.
Endosperm and Seed Transcriptomes Reveal Possible Roles for Small RNA Pathways in Wild Tomato Hybrid Seed Failure
Authors: Florez-Rueda Ana Marcela , Fiscalini Flurin , Roth Morgane , Grossniklaus Ueli , Städler Thomas
Published: May 2021

Crosses between the wild tomato species Solanum peruvianum and Solanum chilense result in hybrid seed failure (HSF), characterized by endosperm misdevelopment and embryo arrest. We previously showed that genomic imprinting, the parent-of-origin–dependent expression of alleles, is perturbed in the hybrid endosperm, with many of the normally paternally expressed genes losing their imprinted status. Here, we report transcriptome-based analyses of gene and small RNA (sRNA) expression levels. We identified 2,295 genes and 387 sRNA clusters as differentially expressed when comparing reciprocal hybrid seed to seeds and endosperms from the two within-species crosses. Our analyses uncovered a pattern of overdominance in endosperm gene expression in both hybrid cross directions, in marked contrast to the patterns of sRNA expression in whole seeds. Intriguingly, patterns of increased gene expression resemble the previously reported increased maternal expression proportions in hybrid endosperms. We identified physical clusters of sRNAs; differentially expressed sRNAs exhibit reduced transcript abundance in hybrid seeds of both cross directions. Moreover, sRNAs map to genes coding for key proteins involved in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, suggesting a regulatory feedback mechanism. We describe examples of genes that appear to be targets of sRNA-mediated gene silencing; in these cases, reduced sRNA abundance is concomitant with increased gene expression in hybrid seeds. Our analyses also show that S. peruvianum dominance impacts gene and sRNA expression in hybrid seeds. Overall, our study indicates roles for sRNA-mediated epigenetic regulation in HSF between closely related wild tomato species.
HyRAD-X Exome Capture Museomics Unravels Giant Ground Beetle Evolution
Authors: Toussaint Emmanuel F A , Gauthier Jérémy , Bilat Julia , Gillett Conrad P D T , Gough Harlan M , Lundkvist Håkan , Blanc Mickael , Muñoz-Ramírez Carlos P , Alvarez Nadir
Published: May 2021

Advances in phylogenomics contribute toward resolving long-standing evolutionary questions. Notwithstanding, genetic diversity contained within more than a billion biological specimens deposited in natural history museums remains recalcitrant to analysis owing to challenges posed by its intrinsically degraded nature. Yet that tantalizing resource could be critical in overcoming taxon sampling constraints hindering our ability to address major evolutionary questions. We addressed this impediment by developing phyloHyRAD, a new bioinformatic pipeline enabling locus recovery at a broad evolutionary scale from HyRAD-X exome capture of museum specimens of low DNA integrity using a benchtop RAD-derived exome-complexity-reduction probe set developed from high DNA integrity specimens. Our new pipeline can also successfully align raw RNAseq transcriptomic and ultraconserved element reads with the RAD-derived probe catalog. Using this method, we generated a robust timetree for Carabinae beetles, the lack of which had precluded study of macroevolutionary trends pertaining to their biogeography and wing-morphology evolution. We successfully recovered up to 2,945 loci with a mean of 1,788 loci across the exome of specimens of varying age. Coverage was not significantly linked to specimen age, demonstrating the wide exploitability of museum specimens. We also recovered fragmentary mitogenomes compatible with Sanger-sequenced mtDNA. Our phylogenomic timetree revealed a Lower Cretaceous origin for crown group Carabinae, with the extinct Aplothorax Waterhouse, 1841 nested within the genus Calosoma Weber, 1801 demonstrating the junior synonymy of Aplothorax syn. nov., resulting in the new combination Calosoma  burchellii (Waterhouse, 1841) comb. nov. This study compellingly illustrates that HyRAD-X and phyloHyRAD efficiently provide genomic-level data sets informative at deep evolutionary scales.
Specific heparan sulfate modifications stabilize the synaptic organizer MADD-4/Punctin at Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junctions
Authors: Cizeron Mélissa , Granger Laure , Bülow Hannes E , Bessereau Jean-Louis
Published: May 2021

Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans contribute to the structural organization of various neurochemical synapses. Depending on the system, their role involves either the core protein or the glycosaminoglycan chains. These linear sugar chains are extensively modified by HS modification enzymes, resulting in highly diverse molecules. Specific modifications of glycosaminoglycan chains may thus contribute to a sugar code involved in synapse specificity. Caenorhabditis elegans is particularly useful to address this question because of the low level of genomic redundancy of these enzymes, as opposed to mammals. Here, we systematically mutated the genes encoding HS modification enzymes in C. elegans and analyzed their impact on excitatory and inhibitory neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Using single chain antibodies that recognize different HS modification patterns, we show in vivo that these two HS epitopes are carried by the SDN-1 core protein, the unique C. elegans syndecan ortholog, at NMJs. Intriguingly, these antibodies differentially bind to excitatory and inhibitory synapses, implying unique HS modification patterns at different NMJs. Moreover, while most enzymes are individually dispensable for proper organization of NMJs, we show that 3-O-sulfation of SDN-1 is required to maintain wild-type levels of the extracellular matrix protein MADD-4/Punctin, a central synaptic organizer that defines the identity of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic domains at the plasma membrane of muscle cells.
Magnetic radial inversion for 3-D source geometry estimation
Authors: Vital L B , Oliveira Jr. V C , Barbosa V C F
Published: May 2021

We present a method for inverting total-field anomaly data to estimate the geometry of a uniformly magnetized 3-D geological source in the subsurface. The method assumes the total-magnetization direction is known. We approximate the source by an ensemble of vertically juxtaposed right prisms, all of them with the same total-magnetization vector and depth extent. The horizontal cross-section of each prism is a polygon defined by a given number of equi-angularly spaced vertices from 0° to 360°, whose polygon vertices are described by polar coordinates with an origin defined by a horizontal location over the top of each prism. Because our method estimates the radii of each polygon vertex we refer to it as radial inversion. The position of these vertices, the horizontal location of each prism and the depth extent of all prisms are the parameters to be estimated by solving a constrained non-linear inverse problem of minimizing a goal function. We run successive inversions for a range of tentative total-magnetization intensities and depths to the top of the shallowest prism. The estimated models producing the lowest values of the goal function form the set of candidate solutions. To obtain stabilized solutions, we impose the zeroth- and first-order Tikhonov regularizations on the shape of the prisms. The method allows estimating the geometry of both vertical and inclined sources, with a constant direction of magnetization, by using the Tikhonov regularization. Tests with synthetic data show that the method can be of utility in estimating the shape of the magnetic source even in the presence of a strong regional field. Results obtained by inverting airborne total-field anomaly data over the Anitápolis alkaline–carbonatitic complex, in southern Brazil, suggest that the emplacement of the magnetic sources was controlled by NW–SE-trending faults at depth, in accordance with known structural features at the study area.
Optimal boundary control of Saint-Venant equations with arbitrary friction and space-varying slope
Authors: Wang Yang-Yang , Sun Bing
Published: May 2021

This paper is concerned with the optimal boundary control for the one-dimensional Saint-Venant equations with arbitrary friction and space-varying slope. By the Dubovitskii and Milyutin functional analytical approach, the Pontryagin maximum principles of the optimal control systems equipped with two boundary control variables are investigated and the first-order necessary optimality conditions are presented in both the fixed and the free final horizon cases, respectively. Finally, a remark on numerical solution is made for illustrating how to apply the obtained results to the investigational optimal boundary control problem.
Pragmatism in IR: The Prospects for Substantive Theorizing
Authors: Pratt Simon Frankel , Schmidt Sebastian , Avant Deborah , Cochran Molly , Jackson Patrick Thaddeus , Farrell Henry , Knight Jack , Hellmann Gunther
Published: May 2021

The contributors to this forum all draw significantly from pragmatist philosophy and social theory for making sense of international politics. Collectively, we affirm the value of pragmatist work beyond metatheory and methodology, both politically and epistemically—that is, as both a moral project and an explanatory one. Indeed, we are especially united on the notion that pragmatism “bridges” the divide between these things, and several contributors focus their discussion on how. However, we differ in what exactly it means to offer a distinctly pragmatist explanation or a “substantive” pragmatist theory, as well as in how pragmatism allows us to navigate the analytical and ethical challenges of the field. Over ten years ago, an earlier forum in this journal helped establish that pragmatism had something to offer; with over a decade of scholarship and reflection since, we revisit and expand on the question of how to deliver on it.
Using ethnographic methods to classify the human experience in medicine: a case study of the presence ontology
Authors: Maitra Amrapali , Kamdar Maulik R , Zulman Donna M , Haverfield Marie C , Brown-Johnson Cati , Schwartz Rachel , Israni Sonoo Thadaney , Verghese Abraham , Musen Mark A
Published: May 2021

Objective

Although social and environmental factors are central to provider–patient interactions, the data that reflect these factors can be incomplete, vague, and subjective. We sought to create a conceptual framework to describe and classify data about presence, the domain of interpersonal connection in medicine.

Methods

Our top-down approach for ontology development based on the concept of “relationality” included the following: 1) a broad survey of the social sciences literature and a systematic literature review of >20 000 articles around interpersonal connection in medicine, 2) relational ethnography of clinical encounters (n = 5 pilot, 27 full), and 3) interviews about relational work with 40 medical and nonmedical professionals. We formalized the model using the Web Ontology Language in the Protégé ontology editor. We iteratively evaluated and refined the Presence Ontology through manual expert review and automated annotation of literature.

Results and Discussion

The Presence Ontology facilitates the naming and classification of concepts that would otherwise be vague. Our model categorizes contributors to healthcare encounters and factors such as communication, emotions, tools, and environment. Ontology evaluation indicated that cognitive models (both patients’ explanatory models and providers’ caregiving approaches) influenced encounters and were subsequently incorporated. We show how ethnographic methods based in relationality can aid the representation of experiential concepts (eg, empathy, trust). Our ontology could support investigative methods to improve healthcare processes for both patients and healthcare providers, including annotation of videotaped encounters, development of clinical instruments to measure presence, or implementation of electronic health record-based reminders for providers.

Conclusion

The Presence Ontology provides a model for using ethnographic approaches to classify interpersonal data.
Umbelliferone ameliorates oxidative stress and testicular injury, improves steroidogenesis and upregulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in type 2 diabetic rats
Authors: Allam Mohamed A M , Khowailed Akef A , Elattar Samah , Mahmoud Ayman M
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease associated with serious complications, including male infertility. Umbelliferone (UMB) is a coumarin with promising antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other beneficial effects. This study investigated the ameliorative effect of UMB against testicular injury, oxidative stress and altered steroidogenesis in rats with type 2 DM.

Methods

Rats received a high fat diet for 4 weeks followed by a single injection of streptozotocin. Diabetic rats were treated with UMB or pioglitazone (PIO) for 6 weeks and samples were collected for analysis.

Key findings

Diabetic rats exhibited hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia associated with increased serum pro-inflammatory cytokines, and decreased gonadotropins and testosterone. UMB significantly ameliorated metabolic alterations, decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased gonadotropins and testosterone levels. UMB prevented testicular injury, suppressed lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide and increased antioxidants in diabetic rats. In addition, UMB upregulated testicular gonadotropins receptors, steroidogenesis markers (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 family 17 subfamily A member 1 [CYP17A1], 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase [3ß-HSD] and 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase [17ß-HSD]), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) expression.

Conclusions

UMB prevents testicular injury by preventing metabolic alterations, suppressing oxidative damage and inflammation, and boosting antioxidant defenses in diabetic rats. UMB enhanced pituitary-gonadal axis and steroidogenesis and upregulated testicular PPARγ in diabetic rats. Thus, UMB may represent a protective agent against testicular injury and sexual dysfunction associated with chronic hyperglycemia.
Determination of Vega’s rotational velocity based on the Fourier analysis of spectral line profiles
Authors: Takeda Yoichi
Published: May 2021

While it is known that the sharp-line star Vega (vesin i ∼ 20 km s−1) is actually a rapid rotator seen nearly pole-on with low $i\, ({\lt}10^{\circ })$, no consensus has yet been accomplished regarding its intrinsic rotational velocity (ve), for which rather different values have been reported so far. Methodologically, detailed analysis of spectral line profiles is useful for this purpose, since they reflect more or less the ve-dependent gravitational darkening effect. However, direct comparison of observed and theoretically simulated line profiles is not necessarily effective in practice, where the solution is sensitively affected by various conditions and the scope for combining many lines is lacking. In this study, determination of Vega’s ve was attempted based on an alternative approach making use of the first zero (q1) of the Fourier transform of each line profile, which depends on K (temperature sensitivity parameter differing from line to line) and ve. It turned out that ve and vesin i could be separately established by comparing the observed $q_{1}^{\rm obs}$ and calculated $q_{1}^{\rm cal}$ values for a number of lines of different K. Actually, independent analysis applied to two line sets (49 Fe i lines and 41 Fe ii lines) yielded results reasonably consistent with each other. The final parameters of Vega’s rotation were concluded as vesin i = 21.6(±0.3) km s−1, ve = 195(±15) km s−1, and i = 6.4(±0.5)○.
Representativeness of systemic sclerosis patients in interventional randomized trials: an analysis of the EUSTAR database
Authors: Iudici Michele , Jarlborg Matthias , Lauper Kim , Müller-Ladner Ulf , Smith Vanessa , Allanore Yannick , Balbir-Gurman Alexandra , Doria Andrea , Airò Paolo , Walker Ulrich A , Riccieri Valeria , Vonk Madelon C , Gabrielli Armando , Hoffmann-Vold Anna-Maria , Szücs Gabriella , Martin Thierry , Distler Oliver , Courvoisier Delphine S ,   EUSTAR collaborators
Published: May 2021

Objective

To estimate the extent of and the reasons for ineligibility in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SSc patients included in the EUSTAR database, and to determine the association between patient’s features and generalizability of study results.

Methods

We searched Clinicaltrials.gov for all records on interventional SSc-RCTs registered from January 2013 to January 2018. Two reviewers selected studies, and information on the main trial features were retrieved. Data from 8046 patients having a visit in the EUSTAR database since 2013 were used to check patient’s eligibility. The proportion of potentially eligible patients per trial, and the risk factors for ineligibility were analysed. Complete-, worst- and best-case analyses were performed.

Results

Of the 37 RCTs included, 43% were conducted in Europe, 35% were industry-funded, and 87% investigated pharmacological treatments. Ninety-one percent of 8046 patients included could have participated in at least one RCT. In complete-case analysis, the median [range] proportion of eligible patients having the main organ complication targeted by each study was 60% [10–100] in the overall sample of trials, ranging from 50% [32–79] for trials on skin fibrosis to 90% [34–77] for those targeting RP. Among the criteria checked, treatment- and safety-related but not demographic were the main barriers to patient’s recruitment. Older age, absence of RP, and lower mRSS were independently associated with the failure to fulfill criteria for any of the included studies.

Conclusions

Patient’s representativeness in SSc-RCTs is highly variable and is driven more by treatment- and safety-related rather than demographic criteria.
Risk factors of digital dermatitis in feedlot cattle
Authors: Cortes Julian A , Thomas Anice , Hendrick Steve , Janzen Eugene , Pajor Ed A , Orsel Karin
Published: May 2021

Digital dermatitis (DD) has been reported in North American feedlots, although risk factors are not well characterized. Our objectives were to analyze: (1) foot and leg conformation and (2) pen hygiene, as potential variables that predispose feedlot cattle to DD. Production parameters in DD-affected cattle were compared with healthy cattle and with those diagnosed with more commonly known infectious lesion foot rot (FR). In total, 2,854 feedlot cattle in 11 pens in 2 feedlots were assessed (bi-weekly pen walks) throughout the feeding cycle. Pen condition was categorized as: “dry,” “mud present but has good bedding,” “more mud than bedding,” and “excessive mud.” Gait scoring was competed and cattle with abnormal gait or evident foot lesions (i.e., DD or FR) were restrained in a cattle chute for a close foot inspection (n=280), including scoring of foot angle and claw set and hind and side views of rear feet and legs. Cumulative incidence of DD (present or absent) and FR was 2.5% (71/2,854) and 11.6% (331/2,854), respectively. Foot and leg conformation was not significantly different between left and right sides or between cattle with (n=71) and without DD (n=209). Lameness was diagnosed in only 22% of cattle with DD. Cattle with DD gained 0.27 kg/d less compared with healthy cattle (mean ± SD: 1.29 ± 0.29 vs. 1.56 ± 0.27, P<0.05) and 0.4 kg/d less compared with FR (1.29 ± 0.29 vs. 1.69 ± 0.25). Presence of DD was not significantly different between pens with “dry” and “mud present but has good bedding,” but for pens with “more mud than bedding” or “excessive mud,” the risk of cattle having DD cases increased significantly [odds ratio (OR)=8.55, confidence interval (CI): 4.0–18.4 and OR=14.1, CI: 5.9–33.8, respectively]. In conclusion, it is important to keep good pen conditions to reduce the risk of DD, which can be managed through proper stocking density and strategic bedding, irrespective of foot and leg conformation.
Ammonium transporter PsAMT1.2 from Populus simonii functions in nitrogen uptake and salt resistance
Authors: Li Wenxin , Feng Zimao , Zhang Chunxia
Published: May 2021

Ammonium (NH4+) is a primary nitrogen (N) source for many species, and NH4+ uptake is mediated by various transporters. However, the effects of NH4+ transporters on N uptake and metabolism under salt stress remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the expression characteristics and transport function of PsAMT1.2 in Populus simonii and its role in ammonium uptake and metabolism under salt stress. PsAMT1.2 was localized in the plasma membrane highly expressed in the roots. Heterologous functionality tests demonstrated that PsAMT1.2 mediates NH4+ permeation across the plasma membrane in yeast mutants, restoring growth. A short-term NH4+ uptake experiment showed that PsAMT1.2 is a high-affinity NH4+ transporter with a Km value of 80.603 μM for NH4+. Compared with the wild type (WT, Populus tremula × Populus alba INRA 717-IB4 genotype), PsAMT1.2-overexpressing transgenic poplar grew better, with higher increases in stem height and relative chlorophyll content under both control and salt-stress conditions. PsAMT1.2 overexpression significantly increased the total NH4+ concentration and total N of whole plants under salt stress. The glutamate synthase (GS), glutamine synthetase (GOGAT) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activities and the total amino acids largely increased in the roots of PsAMT1.2-overexpressing transgenic plants compared with the WT plants under control conditions, suggesting that PsAMT1.2 overexpression promotes NH4+ assimilation and metabolism in poplar roots. Consistent with the increased total amino acid content, GS1.3, GS2 and Fd-GOGAT expression was upregulated in the roots and leaves of the PsAMT1.2-overexpressing transgenic plants compared with the WT plants under salt stress. Collectively, PsAMT1.2 encodes a high-affinity NH4+ transporter crucial to NH4+ uptake and metabolism under salt stress.
Implementing Value-Added Medical Education: Lessons Learned From the Student-Initiated Stanford Frontline COVID-19 Consult Service
Authors: Zhou Bright , Calkins Christopher , Jayaraman Tanvi , Cassells Sandrene , Rotto Torsten , Vaughan Laura , Srinivasan Malathi , Schillinger Erika
Published: May 2021

Problem

Value-added medical education (VAME) has been difficult to implement due to student and educator constraints. The COVID-19 pandemic caused mass transitions to online learning, removed students from clinical settings, and underscored students’ desires for meaningful VAME opportunities. The authors introduced the Stanford Frontline COVID-19 Consult Service (SFCS), through which off-service medical and physician assistant (PA) students provided assistance to clinicians in the form of rapid research regarding COVID-19 clinical questions.

Approach

The SFCS, a student-derived VAME initiative, was implemented from March to May 2020 by Stanford University medical students, PA students, and faculty. SFCS aligned with not only the interests of clinicians and students but also national accreditation standards. Students attended weekly editorial meetings, didactic sessions on literature reviews and information management, and they underwent rigorous training on the peer review process. After 2 months, the authors expanded the service to local community clinicians.

Outcomes

The SFCS enrolled 16 students, was supported by 13 faculty members, and produced 87 peer-reviewed evidence syntheses. Of the 16 SFCS students, 13 (81%) completed evaluations; of 128 Stanford Primary Care and Population Health clinicians, 48 (38%) completed evaluations. Overall student satisfaction with the SFCS was 4.9/5 (standard deviation [SD] 0.3). Self-assessed achievement of SFCS learning objectives exceeded 90% for all objectives. Overall faculty satisfaction with the SFCS was 4.4/5 (SD 0.8). Most faculty (40/46 [87%]) planned to use the database to answer future COVID-19 questions.

Next Steps

The SFCS is a novel, student-initiated VAME curriculum focused on increasing students’ meaningful contributions to patient care. The authors will track SFCS students throughout their clerkships to gauge clerkship performance/preparedness, and they will develop training for integrating VAME into preclerkship curricula at other institutions. Given its adaptive, student-driven design, the VAME framework used to develop the SFCS empowers students to create their own personalized, experiential learning.
Timing of Intubation in Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Study of Ventilator Mechanics, Imaging, Findings, and Outcomes
Authors: Bavishi Avni A. , Mylvaganam Ruben J. , Agarwal Rishi , Avery Ryan J. , Cuttica Michael J.
Published: May 2021

Objectives:

Determine the variation in outcomes and respiratory mechanics between the subjects who are intubated earlier versus later in their coronavirus disease 2019 course.

Design:

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting:

Northwestern Memorial Hospital ICUs.

Patients:

All patients intubated for coronavirus disease 2019 between March 2020 and June 2020.

Interventions:

Patients were stratified by time to intubation: 30 subjects were intubated 4–24 hours after presentation and 24 subjects were intubated 5–10 days after presentation. Baseline characteristics, hospitalization, ventilator mechanics, and outcomes were extracted and analyzed. Ten clinically available CT scans were manually reviewed to identify evidence of pulmonary vascular thrombosis and intussusceptive angiogenesis.

Measurements and Main Results:

Median time from symptom onset to intubation was significantly different between the early and late intubation cohorts, with the latter being intubated later in the course of their illness (7.9 vs 11.8 d; p = 0.04). The early intubation cohort had a lower mortality rate than the late intubation cohort (6% vs 30%, p < 0.001) without significantly different respiratory mechanics at the time of intubation. The late intubation cohort was noted to have higher dead space ratio (0.40 vs 0.52; p = 0.03). On review of CT scans, the late intubation cohort also had more dilated peripheral segments on imaging (two segments vs five segments).

Conclusions:

The question as to whether delaying intubation is beneficial or harmful for patients with coronavirus disease 2019-induced hypoxemic respiratory failure has yet to be answered. As our approaches to coronavirus disease 2019 continue to evolve, the decision of timing of intubation remains paramount. Although noninvasive ventilation may allow for delaying intubation, it is possible that there are downstream effects of delayed intubation that should be considered, including the potential for pulmonary vascular thrombosis and intussusceptive angiogenesis with delayed intubation.
Physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of
spray-dried powder from safflower extract
Authors: Lim Mi Jeong , Hong Joo-Heon
Published: May 2021

This study was conducted to examine the physicochemical properties and
antioxidant activities of spray-dried (SD) powders using different cyclodextrin
and maltodextrin ratios of safflower extract. The extraction yield of SD powders
was 68.02-87.68%. The moisture content of 10% maltodextrin spray-dried powder
(MD10) was higher than that of the other powders investigated. The color values
L, a, and b of SD powders were higher than those of freeze-dried (FD) powder.
The particle size increased as the wall material increased. Scanning electron
microscope (SEM) images showed that the SD powders were spherical. The water
absorption index and water solubility index of the SD powders were 0.55-0.61 and
90.67-96.67%, respectively. The decomposition temperature of SD powders was
283℃. The concentration of the phenolic compounds of MD10 (1.07 g/100 g)
was higher than those of the SD powders (0.20-1.06 g/100 g). The DPPH and ABTS
radical scavenging activities of MD10 at 1,000 μg/mL were 13.40 and
24.10%, respectively. The FRAP activity of SD powders from 100 to 1,000
μg/mL was 16.70 to 191.57 μM, respectively. The superoxide radical
scavenging activity of MD10 (85.37%) was superior to those of other SD powders.
This study suggests that SD powders with safflower extract have enhanced storage
stability and may be useful as functional processing materials.
Dysbiosis in pre-cancerous mucosa may drive immune dysfunction – a study of immune system: microbiota interaction in familial adenomatous polyposis
Authors: Noble Alistair , Durant Lydia , Dilke Stella M , Man Ripple , Martin Isabel , Patel Roshani , Hoyles Lesley , Pring Edward T , Latchford Andrew , Clark Susan K , Carding Simon R , Knight Stella C
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a condition caused by a constitutional pathogenic variant of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene that results in intestinal adenoma formation and colorectal cancer (CRC), necessitating pre-emptive colectomy. We sought to examine interaction between the mucosal immune system and commensal bacteria in FAP to test for immune dysfunction that might accelerate tumorigenesis.

Methods

Colonic biopsies were obtained from macroscopically normal mucosal tissue from 14 healthy donors and 13 patients with FAP during endoscopy or from surgical specimens. Intraepithelial and lamina propria lymphocytes were phenotyped. Intraepithelial microbes were labelled with anti-IgA/IgG and analyzed by flow cytometry.

Results

Proportions of resident memory CD103-expressing CD8+and γδ T cell receptor+intraepithelial lymphocytes were dramatically reduced in both left and right colon of patients with FAP compared to healthy controls. In lamina propria, T-cells expressed less CD103 and CD4+CD103+cells expressed less CD73 ectonucleotidase. IgA coating of epithelia-associated bacteria, IgA+peripheral B cells and CD4 T-cell memory responses to commensal bacteria were increased in FAP.

Conclusions

Loss of resident memory T-cells and γδ T-cells in mucosal tissue of patients with FAP accompanies intestinal microbial dysbiosis previously reported in this pre-cancerous state and suggests impaired cellular immunity and tumor surveillance. This may lead to barrier dysfunction, possible loss of regulatory T-cell function and excess IgA antibody secretion. Our data are the first to implicate mucosal immune dysfunction as a contributing factor in this genetically driven disease and identify potentially critical pathways in the etiology of CRC.
COVID-19 wastewater based epidemiology: long-term monitoring of 10 WWTP in France reveals the importance of the sampling context
Authors: Lazuka A. , Arnal C. , Soyeux E. , Sampson M. , Lepeuple A.-S. , Deleuze Y. , Pouradier Duteil S. , Lacroix S.
Published: May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been advancedas a relevant indicator of distribution of COVID-19 in communities, supporting classical testing and tracing epidemiological approaches. An extensive sampling campaign, including ten municipal wastewater treatment plants, has been conducted in different cities of France over a 20-weeks period, encompassing the second peak of COVID-19 outbreak in France. A well-recognised ultrafiltration - RNA extraction - RT-qPCR protocol was used and qualified, showing 5.5 +/-0.5% recovery yield on heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2. Importantly the whole, solid and liquid, fraction of wastewater was used for virus concentration in this study.

Campaign results showed medium- to strong-correlation between SARS-CoV-2 WBE data and COVID-19 prevalence. To go further, WWTP inlet flow rate and raining statistical relationships were studied and taken into account for each WWTP in order to calculate contextualized SARS-CoV-2 loads. This metric presented improved correlation strengths with COVID-19 prevalence for WWTP particularly submitted and sensitive to rain. Such findings highlighted that SARS-CoV-2 WBE data ultimately require to be contextualised for relevant interpretation.

Highlights

First study monitoring inlet of 10 WWTPs located in France for SARS-CoV-2 RNA quantification over a 20-weeks period encompassing the second peak of COVID-19 outbreak

Viral recovery yield was 5.5 % +/-0.5% using heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2

Medium to high Spearman’s correlation strength was observed between SARS-CoV-2 WBE and COVID-19 prevalence data

Considering sampling context (ei. rain events) improved data consistency and correlation strength

Graphical Abstract