bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leveraging Immersive Technologies to Support Blended Learning Post Covid-19
Authors: Colreavy-Donnelly Simon , Ryan Alan , O'Connor Stuart , Caraffini Fabio , Kuhn Stefan , Hasshu Salim
Published: March 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a shift in teaching practice towards blended learning for many Higher Education institutions. This led to the rapid adoption of certain digital technologies within existing teaching structures as a means to meet student access needs and facilitate learning. Integration of these technologies caused numerous challenges for practitioners and often provided mixed results. This paper is an attempt to summarise and extend pre-Covid pedagogical research to leverage digital immersive technologies for blended teaching in the post-pandemic era. Focus is given towards the evolution of Virtual Learning Environments through elements of immersive audio-visual technologies, which are shown to be effective when coupled in a blended approach. It is both a review of these methodologies and a case study of the I-Ulysses: Virtual Learning Environment as a point of comparison for evaluating the review.
Scale-specific Prediction of Topsoil Organic Carbon Contents using Terrain Attributes and SCMaP Soil Reflectance Composites
Authors: Möller Markus , Zepp Simone , Wiesmeier Martin , Gerighausen Heike , Heiden Uta
Published: March 2022

There is a growing need for an area-wide knowledge of SOC contents in agricultural soils at field scale for food security, monitoring long-term changes related to soil health and climate change. In Germany, large-scale SOC maps are mostly available with a spatial resolution of 250 m to 1 km2. The nationwide availability of both digital elevation models at various spatial resolutions and multi-temporal satellite imagery enables the derivation of multi-scale terrain attributes and Landsat-based multi-temporal soil reflectance composites (SRC) as explanatory variables. On the example of an Bavarian test of about 8000 km2, the scale-specific dependencies between the representativeness of 220 soil samples and different aggregation levels of the explanatory variables were analyzed for their scale-specific predictive power. The aggregation levels were generated by applying a region-growing segmentation procedure, the SOC content prediction was realized by the Random Forest algorithm. In doing so, established approaches of (geographic) object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) and machine learning were combined. The modeling results revealed scale-specific differences. Compared to terrain attributes, the use of SRC parameters lead to a significant model improvement at large field-related scale levels. The joint use of both terrain attributes and SRC parameters resulted in further model improvements. The best modeling variant is characterized by an accuracy of R2=0.84 and RMSE=1.99.
Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics
Authors: Cho Brian , Geng Eric , Arvind Varun , Valliani Aly A. , Tang Justin E. , Schwartz John , Dominy Calista , Cho Samuel K. , Kim Jun S.
Published: March 2022

» Machine learning and artificial intelligence have seen tremendous growth in recent years and have been applied in numerous studies in the field of orthopaedics.

» Machine learning will soon become critical in the day-to-day operations of orthopaedic practice; therefore, it is imperative that providers become accustomed to and familiar with not only the terminology but also the fundamental techniques behind the technology.

» A foundation of knowledge regarding machine learning is critical for physicians so they can begin to understand the details in the algorithms that are being developed, which provide improved accuracy compared with clinicians, decreased time required, and a heightened ability to triage patients.
PENGARUH PELAKSANAAN METODE ACTIVE LEARNING TIPE HOME VISIT DAN LINGKUNGAN TEMAN SEBAYA TERHADAP MOTIVASI BELAJAR IPS SISWA KELAS VIII DI SMPN 1 SAWOO PONOROGO TAHUN AJARAN 2020/2021
Authors: Faizzana Pinta Hayu , Arisona Risma Dwi
Published: March 2022

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat pengaruh secara persial maupun simultan antara pelaksanaan metode active learning tipe home visit dan lingkungan teman sebaya terhadap motivasi belajar IPS. Penelitian ini dirancang dengan metode kuantitatif, deskriptif, dan verifikatif menggunakan Analisis Regresi Linier Berganda, Analisis Koefisien Determinasi, Uji T dan Uji F. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di SMPN 1 Sawoo Ponorogo. Ada 53 siswa kelas VIII C-D yang dijadikan populasi dalam penelitian. Penelitian ini menggunakan dokumentasi dan angket untuk mengumpulkan data. Berdasarkan analisis data ditemukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh signifikan pelaksanaan metode active learning tipe home visit terhadap motivasi belajar IPS dengan nilai koefisien determinasi (R2) sebesar 34,5%, dan nilai t hitung 4,476 > t tabel sebesar 1,994 dengan nilai signifikan (sig) 0.000 < 0,05, selanjutnya terdapat pengaruh signifikan lingkungan teman sebaya terhadap motivasi belajar IPS dengan nilai koefisien determinasi (R2) sebesar 22,7% dan nilai t hitung 3,023 > t tabel sebesar 1,994 dengan nilai signifikan (sig) 0.004 < 0,05, dan terdapat pengaruh signifikan pelaksanaan metode active learning tipe home visit dan lingkungan teman sebaya terhadap motivasi belajar IPS dengan nilai koefisien determinasi (R2) sebesar 44,5% dan nilai F hitung 20,425 > F tabel 3,11 dengan nilai signifikan (sig) 0.000 < 0,05.
BACTERIAL AND PCR BASED DIAGNOSIS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE AND BUFFALOES
Authors: Aslam M. Sohaib
Published: March 2022

Bovine tuberculosis causes huge economic losses to the dairy industry in terms of poor growth, reduce milk production potential of infected animals, emaciation and poor quality of carcass. Bovine tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis is a major threat to public health. Therefore, this study was aimed at to know the frequency of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle and buffaloes. A total of 265 animals, including adult cattle (132) and buffaloes (133) of different age and sex were screened for tuberculosis infection with tuberculin test. Equal numbers of milk and nasal swab samples were collected from tuberculin reactor and non-reactor cattle and buffaloes for the isolation and identification of the causative organism. The infectious agent was identified and confirmed through procedures such as culture characteristics, ZN (Ziehl-Neelsen) staining, and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) was also performed. The study revealed an overall 10.56% (95% C.I. 7.28 to 14.71) prevalence of bovine tuberculosis, the frequency of infectious agent was higher in buffaloes (11.04%) than cattle (9.76%). TB (Tuberculosis) was present in 100% herds. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with the backward elimination procedure revealed that, age (OR=1.564), body weight (OR=1.008) and status (OR=5.72) showed a significant association with the occurrence of tuberculosis. Nasal samples yielded more positive PCR results than milk samples. By considering PCR as a gold standard, ZN was more sensitive and PPD was a more specific test. Among all tests, PCR proved most accurate and fast test for the confirmation of bovine tuberculosis
POTENTIAL OF PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING BACILLUS STRAINS FOR IMPROVING GROWTH AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE IN MUNGBEAN AND MAIZE CROPS
Authors: Ahmad Maqshoof
Published: March 2022

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) improve plant nutrition by solubilizing insoluble phosphorus compounds in alkaline calcareous soils thus improve plant growth of both leguminous and non-leguminous crops. In the present study, two promising PSB strains Bacillus aryabhattai S10 and Bacillus subtilis ZM63 were evaluated for their potential to improve plant growth and nutritional status of mungbean and maize crops. The experiment was conducted in pots under wire house conditions following completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The results revealed that co-inoculation with Bacillus aryabhattai S10 and Bacillus subtilis ZM63 exhibited an increased nodulation in mungbean which was measured in terms of nodules number, and nodules fresh and dry weight as compared to sole inoculation. This co-inoculation of bacterial strains also increased plant growth and nutritional status of mungbean and maize crops. It increased nitrogen (N) concentration up to 142 and 18%, phosphorus (P) concentration up to 90 and 43%, and potassium (K) concentration up to 71 and 44%, in shoots of mungbean and maize crops, respectively. It is concluded that the tested PSB strains Bacillus aryabhattai S10 and Bacillus subtilis ZM63 have the potential to be used as promising bio-inoculants to maximize plant growth and nutritional status of the crop for sustainable production.
KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE; PREGNANCY AND ANTENATAL CARE AMONG YOUNG AGRARIAN & NON-AGRARIAN FEMALES IN FAISALABAD DISTRICT, PAKISTAN
Authors: Tarar Muhammad Ali
Published: March 2022

Reproductive health is concerned with the people’s ability to have a satisfying and safe sex life ensuring their capability to reproduce with a liberty of decision that if, when and how often they must do so. In Pakistan, culturally females are married in young age; become mother and are at risk of health complications in agrarian and non-agrarian communities. There is less utilization of reproductive health services throughout Pakistan that ultimately affect health status of people at very young age. Most of the communities are not aware of reproductive health services, thus not availing these facilities. So, the present study was designed to examine the females’ perceptions, attitude towards pregnancy and antenatal care (ANC) as well as their empowerment to take decisions regarding safe pregnancy and practice of antenatal care services and to suggest some measures for policy makers to improve the reproductive health state of young mothers in district Faisalabad. A sample of 600 young married females of age 15-32 years were selected through multistage sampling technique. Rural and Civics areas of District Faisalabad were universe of study. Uni-variate (frequency distribution and percentage) and Bivariate analysis (Chi square and Gamma Statistics) was carried out. Most (44.0%) of the respondents were of age 26-30 years their husbands (57.8%) were above 31 years old; mostly had primary and above level of education while their husbands’ (69.6%) had SSC or below level of education. About two third (65.9%) of the respondents had up to Rs. 10,000 per month income, 49.2% possessed 6-10 family members and 73.5% beard at least 2 and above live children and beard marriage duration more than 5 years (60.1%). Majority received ANC (79.8%) from clinics/ Doctor (30.7%), LHV/LHW (23.2%) in their last pregnancy; made one visit (69.2%) per month during pregnancy and each visit cost Rs. 251-1000 and more (72.7%); women need regular checkup (90.3%); it should start from 3rd month (56.2%); decision for treatment should be made by women herself (40.8%); pure food for mothers (70.7%) is needed as nature of care and causes of maternal death during pregnancy were heavy bleeding (29.0%) and miscarriage / due to complication (22.6%). Bi-variate analysis showed highly significant relationships among number of pregnancies, cultural hindrance vs. their reproductive health. Pregnancy and antenatal care has closely associated and had important place in reproductive life of a female. Females should be empowered to decide their numbers of pregnancies, spacing and ANC services to keep themselves healthy and productive.
FARM LEVEL IMPACTS OF CREDIT CONSTRAINTS ON AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT AND INCOME
Authors: . Amanullah , Jing Wang
Published: March 2022

Pakistan is an agriculture based economy and the main economic activity in Sindh province is farming, which is a capital intensive business. For diversified and efficient agricultural production, agricultural investment is important. Despite the importance of the modern technological practices, most farmers are still practicing subsistence agriculture. The lack of capital is the one of the major constraints in increasing investment in farming. The main focus of this article is to examine rice farmer’s investment and the income under credit constraints in rural Sindh, Pakistan. For this research an endogenous switching regression model was employed to conclude the problem of selection bias and endogeneity of credit constraints. In order to achieve the results from visible and invisible factors average treatment effect was utilized. The results revealed that more than half of farmers (65.0 percent) from the total sample are hampered by supply-side (34.0 percent) and demand-side (31.0 percent) credit constraints. Importantly, the results have significant implications that agricultural investment and income can be increased up to 7.3 and 5.1 percent, if there are no credit constraints. Therefore, it is suggested that investment in agriculture can be increased if there is no or minimized credit constraints, which can ultimately increase the farmers’ income in the country
Evaluation of CO2 as an Acid Catalyst Precursor for Promoting a Nitrogen-Generating System
Authors: Mesquita Marcos Vinicius Miranda , de Oliveira Alline V. B. , Bispo Felipe J. S. , Pacheco Ortiz Ronald Wbeimar , Venancio Fabricio , Gonçalves Vinicius Ottonio O. , Kartnaller Vinicius , Cajaiba João
Published: March 2022

Nitrogen-generating systems (NGSs) are mainly used in the oil industry to fluidize low melting point organic deposits and gas hydrate buildups. They are exothermic reactions between two nitrogenous salts in acidic catalytic media. This work investigates the use of CO2 to promote NGS reactions instead of commonly used acids such as acetic and citric acids, which can be problematic for corrosion control. Sodium nitrite and ammonium chloride were the reactants, and CO2 performance was evaluated for up to 4 hours at 5 and 25°C, and either under autogenous pressure at 10, 25, and 50 bar of CO2 or pressurized at 10 bar of CO2 by adding 40 bar of nitrogen (totaling 50 bar). The nitrite conversion was determined by measuring the concentration of residual nitrite using titration. Thus, it was verified that the CO2 effectively promoted the NGS at various experimental conditions. The nitrite conversion increased with increasing CO2 pressure and increasing temperature. Moreover, the nitrite conversion was enhanced in the pressurized system (PS) because the high pressure enabled the dissolution of CO2 in the aqueous medium, and therefore, the constant formation of carbonic acid, favoring the acidic catalytic medium at the reaction. This advantage was confirmed by carrying out an NGS catalyzed by acetic acid, in which the pH increases as reagents are consumed, and therefore, a lower nitrite conversion is achieved. The use of CO2 also converts the NGS in a process more suitable for flow assurance applications in offshore oil production, particularly in the Brazilian presalt fields where the coproduced CO2 can be used.
Dropped Head Syndrome in Myasthenia Gravis After a SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection: Case Report
Authors: Kreinter Hellen , Barroso Habib Moutran , Botero Cesar Forero , Rubio Carlos Martinez
Published: March 2022

Introduction: The current pandemic by the SARS-CoV-2 has affected the world's general population. While the predominant presentation is with respiratory disease, neurological complications are increasingly recognized. Post-infectious immune-mediated disorders such as Guillain Barré syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis (MG) have been described.Case presentation: We report a case with an unusual presentation of myasthenia gravis after a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection . We also present a retrospective review of the literature of all the reported cases of de novo myasthenia gravis associated with SARS-CoV2 infection from march-2020 to april-2021. Conclusion: Myasthenia gravis could also be the result of an autoimmune reaction triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Comprehensive Studies of Hydrogeophysical Potential of Groundwater Occurrences in Djohong Municipality, Adamawa Cameroon
Authors: Raouf Abdou , KASI NJEUDJANG , Yue Jianhua , Yang Haiyan , Li Fengping
Published: March 2022

Djohong municipality is located at the border between Eastern Cameroon and Central African Republic (CAR), in the Mbere division. The region is a shelter for thousands of people fleeing the socio-political crisis in CAR and it lacks safe drinking water supply. Surface water, rainwater, and shallow groundwater wells are the main water sources. As a result, deep aquifers appear to be an affordable solution to the widespread water demand gap in the region of Djohong. Forty-nine Schlumberger vertical electrical sounding (VES) were carried out in the framework of this study with maximum current electrode spacing of 240 m. The purpose was to investigate the occurrences of groundwater and related structural elements in the study area, which hosts two refugee camps, Ngam and Borgop. Eight geoelectric profiles were realized and their geological characteristics vary from the altered part to the bedrock, with ferruginous sediments and metaconglomerates in between. The altered part is composed of topsoil, travertines, sandy clay, clayey sand, and fractured shales with different geophysical characteristics. Two aquifer systems were highlighted, respectively in the altered soils of clayey sand and low permeability fractured rocks. The upper aquifer made of clayey sand is located in Ngam camp with thickness of 5 to 15 m and resistivity of 700 – 1500 Ω.m. The lower aquifer which is considered the main aquifer is located in both camps. It is hosted in the low permeability fractured shales of the Ngam camp, with resistivity of 200 to 1000 Ω.m and thickness of 34 to 82 m. In the Borgop camp, it occurs in the fractured granitic bedrock at about 8 and 19 m deep. Structurally, the study area is controlled by several potential faults, with NE – SW strike as a whole. The present study highlighted favourable conditions reducing geological and hydrogeological limitations to provision of safe drinking water for refugees of the two camps in Djohong.
Swine Influenza Virus Triggers Ferroptosis In A549 Cells To Enhance Virus Replication
Authors: Cheng Jinghua , Tao Jie , Li Benqiang , Shi Ying , liu Huili
Published: March 2022

Background: Recently, Influenza A virus (IAV) has been found to induce several programmed cell death pathways that play essential roles in host defense. Indeed, cell death caused by viral infection may be a mixed pattern of cell death instead of a certain single mode. Ferroptosis is a novel form of regulated cell death (RCD) that is mainly mediated by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Basis on the proteomic data, we wonder whether IAV can cause ferroptosis in host cells.Method: In this study, a quantitative proteomics approach based on an iTRAQ combined with LC–MS/MS was used to profile expressed proteins in A549 cells infected with H1N1 SIV. Meanwhile, we measured the intracellular iron content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) release and lipid peroxidation in response to SIV infection. At last, drug experiment was used to investigate effects of ferroptosis on modulating SIV survival.Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed several proteins closely relevant to iron homeostasis and transport are identified and ferroptosis signaling pathway are highly enriched in response to SIV infection. In our experiment, we found that aberrant expression of iron-binding proteins disrupts labile iron uptake and storage after SIV infection. Meanwhile, SIV infection inhibited system Xc−/GPX4 axis that result in GSH depletion and the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products. Notably, cell death caused by SIV as a result of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation can be partially rescued by ferroptosis inhibitor. Additionally, blockade of the ferroptotic pathway by Fer-1 treatment decreased viral titers and inflammatory response.Conclusion: This study revealed a new mode of cell death induced by IAV infection, which might improve the understanding of the underlying mechanism involved in interaction of virus and host cells.
LncRNA DUXAP8 Induces Breast Cancer Radioresistance by Modulating the PI3K/AKT Pathway and the EZH2-E-Cadherin/RHOB Pathway
Authors: Lei Changjiang , Li Shaoting , Fan Ying , Hua Li , Pan Qingyun , Li Yuan , Yang Rui , Long Zhixiong
Published: March 2022

BackgroundRadiation resistance poses a major clinical challenge in breast cancer (BC) treatment, but little is known about how long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) may regulate this phenomenon. We aimed to explore the role and possible mechanisms of lncRNA DUXAP8 in radiotherapy resistance of BC. Methods We used gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays to examine the impact of DUXAP8 on the radiosensitivity of BC cells. We performed RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays to determine the potential mechanisms of DUXAP8. Results Here, we reported that DUXAP8 was highly expressed in radioresistant BC tissues, and high expression of DUXAP8 was associated with poor prognosis. We found that the overexpression of DUXAP8 promoted radioresistance, while inhibition of DUXAP8 expression increased radiosensitivity. Further studies revealed that DUXAP8 enhanced the radioresistance of BC cells by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway and by repressing the expression of E-cadherin and RHOB through interaction with EZH2. Moreover, DUXAP8 depletion significantly improved the radiosensitivity of BC in vivo. Conclusions Together, our work demonstrates for the first time, the ability of DUXAP8 to promote radiation resistance through modulating the PI3K/AKT pathway and the EZH2-E-cadherin/RHOB pathway.
A Mechanism Study Of Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate On Oil Recovery: Effect Of Branched Chain Structure
Authors: Wang Shiyan , Guo Huiying , Wang Bei , Liu Sai , Yuan Shundong
Published: March 2022

The effects of the branched structures of SDBS molecules on oil recovery are investigated by molecular dynamics method. The relative density of oil molecules shows that SDBS molecule with benzene ring located near the center of alkyl chain has the best effect on oil displacement. Dynamic trajectories show that the water and SDBS molecules gradually occupy the calcite surface and replace the oil droplets. In this process, more water molecules gather nearby the polar groups of SDBS, indicating that the polar group has a significant effect on the water infiltration and the formation of water channels. Contact angle between SDBS molecule and calcite surface indicates that compared to straight chains, the branched structure tends to spread on the calcite interface. Moreover, adsorption energies of the simulation systems further prove that as the aromatic ring is closer to the middle of the alkyl chain, the oil displacement effect is better.
A universal approach to predicting resilience of complex systems
Authors: Xu Mengkai , Radhakrishnan Srinivasan , Jin Xiaoning , Kamarthi Sagar
Published: March 2022

Perturbations in networked dynamical complex systems could cause cascading failures, consequently instability, and eventually collapse of the systems. In this work, we derive a set of formulations that help us understand the mechanism of high-dimensional interactions among components and uncover the principles that control the dynamics of interacting components. Our formulation reduces the system’s high dimensional dynamics to a parsimonious resilience function of a parameter that solely depends on the topology but effectively captures the complex interaction structure. The experimental results demonstrate that the formulation can accurately predict the resilience loss brought about by perturbations and identify the tipping point where the systemic collapse occurs. These predictive results can be used for enhancing a complex system’s ability to withstand perturbations and avert catastrophic collapses. The study highlights the topological properties that can be used as principles for improving the resilience of ecosystems, biological systems, economic systems and technological infrastructures.
Split northern westerlies during the Little Ice Age
Authors: Shen Chuan-Chou , Chiang John , Trouet Valerie , Michel Véronique , Tsai Hsien-Chen , Valensi Patricia , Spötl Christoph , Starnini Elisabetta , Zunino Marta , Chien Wei-Yi , Sung Wen-Hui , Chien Yu-Tang , Chang Ping , Korty Robert , Hu Hsun-Ming
Published: March 2022

The Little Ice Age (LIA) was the coldest period of the past millennium, characterized by high-density volcanism, low solar activity, and increased Northern Hemisphere sea-ice cover. Past studies of LIA circulation changes over the North Atlantic sector have typically referenced the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), though recent studies have noted that LIA climate patterns appear to be possess complexity not captured by an NAO analog. Here, we present a new precipitation-sensitive stalagmite record from northern Italy that covers the past 800 years at high resolution. Combined with terrestrial and marine records in the North Atlantic realm, we show that in the early LIA (1470-1610 C.E.), a multi-decadal scale atmospheric blocking over northern Europe split the westerlies away from central and northern Europe, and towards the Arctic and the Mediterranean. This enhanced blocking results in a cold and dry climate over central and northern Europe, and wetter conditions over the Mediterranean. The LIA atmospheric blocking could be caused by the concurrent sea-ice reduction in the Arctic and the Spörer solar minimum. With ongoing ice melting in the northern high latitudes and decreasing solar irradiance in the coming years, the early LIA may potentially serve as an analog for European hydroclimatic conditions in the coming decades.
Effect of multiple spatial scale characterization of land use on water quality
Authors: Li Hongran , Zhao Binjie , Wang Dezhi , Zhang Kerong , Tan Xiang , Zhang Quanfa
Published: March 2022

Land-use in uplands is an important factor affecting water quality in its respective catchment, and its influences at the different spatial scales and configurations warrant further investigation. Here, we selected 26 catchments in the upper Han River (China) and sampled the surface water at the outlet of each catchment in four seasons during 2019. Multivariate statistics were used to identify the relationships between land use characteristics in uplands and water quality in river system. The results indicated that organic pollution (CODMn), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), ions concentration (EC), nutrient (i.e., NH+ 4-N, NO- 3-N and dissolved phosphorus (DP) in rivers displayed significant seasonal variations. Stepwise regression revealed that landscape metrics such as Patch Density (PD), Landscape Shape Index (LSI), and Splitting Index (SPLIT) were important factors influencing water quality in rivers regardless of their spatiality and seasonality. Urban was the most frequently appeared land-use type in the best prediction models, and forest area showed a negative correlation with water quality parameters in most cases. Overall, the influence of land-use on river water quality was slightly higher at reach scale than at catchment and riparian scales. Also, nutrients (i.e., NH+ 4-N, NO- 3-N, and DP) in rivers were primarily impacted by the land use characteristic at catchment and riparian scales. Overall, our results suggested that multi-scale explorations would help to achieve a fully understanding on the impacts of land use on river water quality.
Optimization and Kinetics Studies of Biodiesel Synthesis from Jatropha Curcas Oil Under the Application of Eco-Friendly Microwave Heating Technique: An Environmentally Benign and Sustainable Bio-Waste Management Approach
Authors: Amesho Kassian T.T. , Lin Yuan-Chung , Chen Chin-En , Cheng Pei-Cheng
Published: March 2022

This study attempts to synthesize biodiesel as a green liquid fuel from Jatropha curcas oil utilizing waste eggshell (WES) as an effective and excellent sustainable source of the heterogeneous catalyst under the application of environmental benign microwave heating technique. After preparing the CaO-based catalyst, diverse characterization techniques such as XRD, EDS, SEM, FITR, and BET were employed for measurements. Under different optimized conditions, a considerable high biodiesel yield of 91.7% was attained while employing the following reaction conditions; methanol to oil ratio (MTOR) of 9:1, 5 wt% catalyst loading, 165 min reaction time with a microwave power of 800 W, and a 65°C reaction temperature. The developed catalyst had significantly retained its reusability up to the 5th cycle of reuse. The catalysed transesterification process's activation energy (Ea) of 9.58 kJ/mol demonstrated that the reaction is chemically controlled. The physico-chemical properties of the Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) biodiesel were studied in accordance with international standards such as ASTM D6751 and EN14214, among others. Therefore, the waste eggshell has been utilized as a renewable base heterogeneous catalyst for novel biodiesel synthesis from JCO, which can be applied in diesel engines to lessen air pollution, specifically pollutant emissions from diesel vehicles. The results of this study are not for academic purposes only. They can also serve as models for industrial biodiesel production by exploiting bio-waste as catalysts and non-edible oils as feedstocks in microwave heating systems as environmentally friendly chemistry systems. In addition, our study uses non-consumable oil feedstock and bio-waste materials in an economical way to produce biofuel while contributing to environmental sustainability and sustainable bio-waste management. This approach extends to the existing state-of-the-art research. Therefore, the proposed value increase method contributes to integrating the circular economy concept through an efficient biorefinery model.
Parents’ Knowledge And Predictions About The Age Of Menarche: Experimental Evidence From Honduras
Authors: Accerenzi Michela , Brañas-Garza Pablo , Jorrat Diego
Published: March 2022

Access to accurate, timely and age-appropriate information about menarche is an essential part of menstrual health. Reliable evidence shows that girls primarily obtain information from their mothers and/or other female family members, therefore, it is important to determine parents’ knowledge and their predictions about other parents’ knowledge of the age of menarche. To this end, we performed a pre-registered study with data collected from 360 households in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras. We implemented a novel procedure to avoid social desirability bias whereby participants answered two separated questions: i) their knowledge about the age of menarche (self-report) and ii) to predict or guess the modal response of the other participants regarding the same question (modal guess). Participants were paid according to accuracy. Both questions appeared randomly in the survey. Results show that parents’ knowledge is high in the study area. Recent studies indicate the age of menarche at 12 years old and 56.11% of the sample gave the same response while 62.78% hit the modal value. We estimated the impact of different sociodemographic variables and found only marginal differences. Interestingly, people with formal education and women tend to respond with lower predictions.
Does Climate Aid Truly Work for Carbon Emissions Reduction? Evidence from the Belt and Road Countries
Authors: Zeng An , Sheng Yuhui , Gu Baihe , Wang Zhengzao , Wang Mingyue
Published: March 2022

The climate change crisis requires strong, rapid and sustained global actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. Although most developed countries are in the emissions reduction stage on the path towards carbon neutrality, numerous developing countries, mainly distributed along the Belt and Road, are facing severe pressure in the low-carbon transition. Therefore, a large amount of financial support from developed countries is required. Considering that the Belt and Road countries receive over 60% of global climate aid, with energy as the largest usage sector, the present study evaluated the effects of climate aid on carbon emissions and the impact mechanism through energy structure optimization. A systematic panel approach using system generalized method of moments estimators was established, and then the panel data of 93 Belt and Road countries from 2000–2018 were used for empirical analysis. The results show that climate aid has a significant reduction effect on the carbon emissions intensity of Belt and Road countries, and the dominant component of climate aid, i.e., mitigation aid, shows better carbon emissions reduction benefits than adaptation aid. The impact mechanism clarifies that climate aid has dual carbon emissions reduction effects in BRI countries with an intermediate energy structure, indicating that climate aid not only directly reduces carbon emissions by increasing carbon reduction resources in BRI countries but also indirectly reduces carbon emissions by promoting renewable energy to optimize the energy structure. This paper suggests that to promote the low-carbon transition and carbon neutrality process in Belt and Road countries, more climate finance support should be provided by developed countries as pledged, the effectiveness of climate aid should be improved by investing in projects with significant carbon reduction effects such as renewable energy, and monitoring and performance evaluation of climate aid should be strengthened.
Thymectomy in Ocular Myasthenia Gravis - Prognosis and Risk Factors Analysis
Authors: Zhang Jinwei , Zhang Zeyang , Zhang Hui , Cui Yuantao , Chen Yuan , Lv Peng , Zhang Peng
Published: March 2022

Background: Several retrospective studies have identiﬁed risk factors associated with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) generalization in non-operative patients. However, the outcome of OMG after thymectomy has not been properly investigated. This study aims to explore the clinical predictors for post-thymectomy OMG prognosis.Methods: We performed a retrospective review of OMG patients at our institution who underwent thymectomy from January 2012 to December 2021. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between clinical features and prognosis. Outcome measures consisted of OMG conversion and complete stable remission (CSR).Results: 58 patients were identified for conversion analysis. 13 developed generalized MG (GMG) at a median time of 12.7 (3-37.3) months from symptom onset. Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) positivity was associated with increased risk of conversion (p=0.002). Patients with histotype B2/B3 thymoma showed a higher risk of conversion (P =0.002) compared with patients with hyperplasia and AB/B1 thymoma. 52 patients fulfilled the criteria for CSR analysis. 16 achieved CSR at a median time of 28.7 (15-54) months after thymectomy. Patients achieved CSR showed a younger age of onset (p=0.022), lower percentage of acetylcholine receptor antibody (AchR Ab) seropositivity (p=0.029). Histologically, patients with thymic hyperplasia and stage I thymoma showed a higher chance of CSR (P =0.010) compared with patients with stage II/III thymoma. Multivariate analysis revealed that positive RNS (HR=6.007, p=0.021), histotype B2-3 thymoma (HR=4.611, p=0.048) were associated with OMG conversion. While, thymic hyperplasia and stage I thymoma (HR=0.300, p=0.026) were associated with OMG CSR after thymectomy.Conclusion: For OMG patients after thymectomy, RNS positivity and histotype B2-3 thymoma are independent predictors of developing GMG. Whereas thymic hyperplasia and stage I thymoma independently predict CSR.
Identification of biomarkers correlated with IgA nephropathy with co‐expression analysis
Authors: Wang Lijuan , Wang Dan , Hong Xiaofan , Li Ping , Bao Kun , Zhao Daixin
Published: March 2022

Background. IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common type of chronic glomerular disease with rapid disease progression. However, the pathogenesis of IgAN remains undefined, and it is necessary to improve treatments. Recently, many potential genes closely associated with the molecular mechanism of various diseases have been identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis.Results. We identified the 9 gene co-expression modules by performing WGCNA and the tan module was closely related to IgAN biological process. The most of the genes in this module largely involved in immunoreaction, and inflammatory response，such as T cell activation, positive regulation of leukocyte-cell adhesion, positive regulation of cell activation. After performing PPI network, we found Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Receptor Type C(PTPRC) was located at the center. It was identified as a key gene related to IgAN，potentially associated to the progression in IgAN. Additionally, validation with other three datasets from GEO also indicated that PTPRC was upregulated in IgAN compared with normal control. Finally, Pearson’s correlation analysis between the expression of PTPRC and IgAN kidney function indicated that the aberrant overexpression of PTPRC was related to IgAN renal lesions. Conclusions. Our study has demonstrated that PTPRC is a potential gene linked with the pathogenesis of IgAN for new interventions.Methods. We obtained microarray data from the GSE11662 dataset from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database containing 52 patients with IgAN and 7 healthy controls. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to find the trait-related module. Then, we conducted Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses for further biological information. Finally, we identified the hub gene by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and other three datasets validation, followed by exploring the associations between the key gene and kidney function with IgAN using the Nephroseq v5 online database.
Factors Influencing and Long-Term Effects of Manual Myotomy Phenomenon During Physiotherapy for Congenital Muscular Torticollis
Authors: Zhao Zhenhui , Deng Hansheng , Qiu Xin , Tang Gen , Zheng Huijia , Yang Fang , Gao Futang , wu Zhengyu , Li Yuanheng , Zeng Shuaidan , Zhao Jiaxin , Sun Yiyuan , Zhou Ziheng , Tang Yu , Cui Zhiwen , Li Weiqing , Chen Xiaodi , Cai Ting , Liu Xian , Li Shicheng , Yang Qisong , Tang Shengping , Xiong Zhu
Published: March 2022

Purpose
To investigate the factors influencing and long-term effects of manual myotomy (MM) occurring during physical therapy for congenital muscular torticollis (CMT).
Methods
We retrospectively collected the clinical data of children with CMT receiving physical treatment between 2008 and 2018. The children were divided into MM and NMM groups according to whether MM occurred during treatment. Clinical data and outcome indicators (craniofacial asymmetry parameters and Cheng–Tang rating score) were compared.
Results
The MM group had a significantly higher total Cheng–Tang rating score than the NMM group (P < 0.05). Age at initial physiotherapy session was the risk factor for MM during physiotherapy.
Conclusion
Children with CMT developing MM during physiotherapy generally have a good outcome, although we do not recommend MM as a goal of treatment. Physiotherapists should understand this phenomenon, assess relevant factors to predict risk, and carefully observe treatment to prevent possible complications.
Diagnostic Value of a New Modified HEART Score for Fatal Chest Pain Risk Stratification in Emergency Department
Authors: Zhang Ming , Xu Liang , Yin Yunjie , Jiang Jiandong , Chen Yanchun , Yang Song
Published: March 2022

Background
Because of the establish and maintain green channel for patients with acute chest pain, the mortality of fatal chest pain such as myocardial infarction has decreased. There are still some patients with chest pain, such as acute pulmonary embolism(PE) and acute aortic dissection(AAD), which is very easy to miss diagnosis and misdiagnosis. Therefore we establish a new modified HEART score for fatal chest pain risk stratification in emergency department to judge the prognosis of patients.
Methods
There were 541 patients enrolled in Yixing people’s Hospital from November 2018 to June 2020 at Department of Cardiology, Yixing people’s hospital. All patients were detailed medical history, years old, risk factors, hypertension and were detected by blood pressure, ECG, troponin, cardiac function, D-dimer. All patients with chest pain were scored by using HEART score and a new modified HEART score.
Results
A total of 317 patients with non fatal chest pain were divided into low-risk group, medium-risk group and high-risk group according to HEART score and modified HEART score. The results showed that the proportion of three groups were no significant difference. In 224 cases of fatal chest pain patients, according to the HEART score and modified HEART score, they were divided into three groups: low-risk group, medium risk group and high-risk group. The results showed that the proportion of low-risk group was no significant difference. The proportion of patients diagnosed as medium risk group was significant difference(36.16% vs 12.50%, p < 0.05). The proportion of high-risk group was significant difference(57.59% vs 82.59%, p < 0.05). The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic curve(ROC) evaluate new modified HEART score for the prognosis of fatal chest pain. The area under ROC curve of new modified HEART score were 0.975 (95%CI 0.964–0.987, p < 0.001), the best cut-off point was 5 scores, sensitivity and specificity were 90.7% and 93.3%.
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that a new modified HEART score can effectively and rapidly distinguish fatal chest pain and can play an important role in the prognosis of patients with chest pain in emergency department.
Terminal illeitis and cytotoxic lesion of corpus callous as the presenting features of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a case report
Authors: Davoodi Marzieh , Pouladfar Gholamreza , Kadivar Mohammad Rahim , Dehghan Alireza , Askarisarvestani Aida , Hamzavi Seyedeh Sedigheh
Published: March 2022

Background Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a postviral inflammatory vasculopathy characterized by persistent fever, multiorgan dysfunction, significant laboratory markers of inflammation, lack of an alternative diagnosis, and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure in children and adolescents. The most common early symptoms include a prolonged fever, as well as dermatologic, mucocutaneous, and GI symptoms such abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.Case presentation We present a pediatric patient with a multisystem inflammatory syndrome with the development of abdominal pain and seizure who was found to have a circumferential wall thickening of the terminal ileum and ileocecal junction in abdominal and pelvic CT, and brain MRI showed cytotoxic lesions of the corpus callosum (CLOCC) that have hypersignal intensity with a few diffusion restrictions in the splenium of the corpus calusom. Conclusion This case is being reported to raise awareness of MIS-C presenting characteristics. Given the rising number of MIS-C patients and a lack of understanding of early diagnostic clinical characteristics and therapy, further research into clinical presentations, treatment, and outcomes is urgently needed.
Real-Time Assessment of Liver Function During Sub-Normothermic Machine Perfusion by a Non-Invasive 13C Based Test
Authors: Leber Bettina , Weber Jennifer , Rohrhofer Lisa , Aigelsreiter Ariane , Niedrist Tobias , Stiegler Philipp , Schemmer Peter
Published: March 2022

Background
Assessment of liver quality during machine perfusion (MP) is under intensive investigation. Gold standard methods either are of limited validity or evaluation is time-consuming. Hence, herein we investigate a novel real-time method to estimate liver function during sub-normothermic MP.
Methods
Three healthy porcine livers and one non-allocable human liver were subjected to 24h of SNMP with either Custodiol® or Custodiol MP as perfusate. Additional to liver enzymes, Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1) as well-established markers of liver quality, a novel 13C-Methacetin based method was evaluated. Readouts of ϭ13CO2 plots generated by the 13CORLab Prototype were calculated and compared to established parameters.
Results
The newly established method mirrored the pathological findings as well as the increasing changes in liver enzymes, HMGB-1 and FMN levels bearing the advantage of being a real-time, non-invasive test which is applicable on site.
Conclusion
This novel method is an easy to implement and reliable tool for quick on-site estimation of liver function during liver SNMP.
N-th Nanoframes
Authors: Yoo Sungjae , Lee Jaewon , Hilal Hajir , Jung Insub , Park Woongkyu , Lee Joong Wook , Choi Soobong , Park Sungho
Published: March 2022

Herein, we report unprecedented four-dimensional complex nanoparticles by embedding various kinds of three-dimensional polyhedral nanoframes within a single entity. This synthetic strategy is based on the selective deposition of metal atoms on high surface energy facets and subsequent growth into solid platonic nanoparticles, followed by the etching of inner metals, leaving complex nanoframes. Our synthetic routes are rationally designed and executable on-demand with a high structural controllability. Diverse Au solid nanostructures (octahedra, truncated octahedra, cuboctahedra, and cubes) evolved into complex multi-layered nanoframes with different numbers/shapes/sizes of internal nanoframes. We refer to the resulting four-dimensional complex nanoframes as “N-th nanoframes”. After coating the surface of the N-th nanoframes with plasmonically active metal (like Ag), the materials exhibited highly enhanced electromagnetic near-field focusing embedded within the internal complicated rim architecture.
Silver Nanoparticles Decorated Graphene Filled PVDF/PMMA Blends with Advanced electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties
Authors: Khorramshokouh Afifeh , Ramezani Hesam , Sahami Mehdi , SHARIF MEHDI
Published: March 2022

In this paper, silver nanoparticles decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO-Ag) nanohybrids were prepared using an environmentally-friendly approach and incorporated as reinforcement in poly(vinylidene fluoride)-poly(methyl methacrylate) blends via melt mixing process. The effect of rGO-Ag nanohybrids was studied on various properties of the blends using different characterization methods. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results confirmed the successful synthesis of rGO-Ag nanohybrids. The mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of the resulting rGO-Ag filled nanocomposites were investigated using tensile, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and impedance spectroscopy methods. The Halpin-Tsai model also adjusted for PVDF/PMMA/rGO-Ag composites and the results confirmed that this model works well for the prediction of the tensile modulus. Investigation of mechanical properties demonstrated that the presence of rGO-Ag nanohybrids increased the yield strength and elastic modulus of the samples with the addition of only 1 wt % to the chosen blend sample. Impedance spectroscopy test results showed that the addition of rGO-Ag nanohybrids to PVDF/PMMA blend can effectively enhance the conductivity of the blends. Finally, TGA results demonstrated that the addition of rGO-Ag nanohybrids affected the thermal behavior of the samples and increased the thermal stability and degradation temperature of the resulting nanocomposites compared to the base PVDF/PMMA blend.