bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A global study of dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering through the Phanerozoic
Authors: Manche Cameron J. , Kaczmarek Stephen E.
Published: June 2021

Various geochemical proxies are used to constrain the diagenetic origin and evolution of ancient dolomites. Dolomite stoichiometry (mole % MgCO3) and cation ordering, two mineralogical attributes that define dolomite, have also been shown to demonstrate utility in this regard. Observations from laboratory experiments and field studies suggest that these attributes broadly reflect the fluid chemistry and temperature of the dolomitizing environment. The degree to which these parameters reflect global conditions during dolomitization (e.g., seawater chemistry, eustasy, atmospheric pCO2) and long-term geological processes is poorly understood, however. Here, a large dataset consisting of mineralogical data from over 1,690 Phanerozoic dolomites from various geographic locations, stratigraphic ages, platform types, and depositional environments are queried to investigate the broader geological controls on dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering in dolomites formed by early, near-surface dolomitization. A suite of statistical analyses performed on the global dataset indicate: 1) despite wide ranges at the eon, period, and epoch level, dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering broadly increase with geologic age; 2) significant variations in dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering throughout the Phanerozoic do not correlate with global parameters, such as seawater chemistry, eustasy, orogenic events, and ocean crust production; 3) dolomites associated with restricted depositional settings, such as restricted lagoons, and the intertidal and supratidal zones, are more stoichiometric than dolomites associated with open marine settings, such as the deep-subtidal and shallow-subtidal zones; and 4) dolomites from shallow ramps and epeiric carbonate platforms are generally more stoichiometric than dolomites from open shelves and isolated carbonate platforms. These observations permit a number of inferences to be drawn. First, the principal signal observed in the data is that local environmental conditions associated with platform type and depositional setting are the strongest control on dolomite mineralogy. The observation that more stoichiometric dolomites correlate with shallow and restricted depositional environments is consistent with laboratory experiments that show environmental factors, such as higher Mg:Ca, temperature, and salinity of the dolomitizing fluids yield more stoichiometric dolomite. Second, a weaker secondary signal is also observed such that dolomite stoichiometry and cation ordering both increase with geologic age, suggesting that progressive recrystallization driven by mineralogical stabilization during burial is also occurring. Collectively, these data suggest that spatial and temporal variations in stoichiometry and cation ordering reflect the interplay between local dolomitizing conditions near the surface and long-term mineralogical stabilization during burial.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Receipt of Lung Transplant and In-Hospital Mortality among Pediatric and Adolescent Patients in the United States
Authors: Salihu Hamisu , Garcia Brisa , Dongarwar Deepa
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze racial/ethnic disparity in inpatient mortality among pediatric and adolescent lung transplant recipients (≤19 years old) in the United States (US). The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) dataset from 2003-2017 was used for this analysis. Survey logistic regression model was utilized to find the association between lung transplant and inpatient mortality among various racial/ethnic groups. The overall inpatient mortality rate was 3.92 per 100 lung transplant hospitalizations. Overall, when adjusted for covariates, those who received lung transplants were 8.49 times as likely to experience inpatient mortality (95% CI: 5.66-12.73) compared to those who did not receive it. The likelihood of inpatient mortality was highest among Hispanics (OR=10.11, 95% CI=4.93-14.95) relative to the findings among other racial/ethnic groups. Our findings may guide healthcare providers when caring for pediatric and adolescent populations from different racial/ethnic backgrounds who need a lung transplant.
 
Copyright © 2021 Salihu, et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.
Marked Inequalities in COVID-19 Vaccination by Racial/Ethnic, Socioeconomic, Geographic, and Health Characteristics, United States, January 6 – February 15, 2021
Authors: Singh Gopal K , Lee Hyunjung , Azuine Romuladus E
Published: June 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial adverse impact on the health and wellbeing of populations in the United States (US) and globally. Since the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020, efforts have been underway to vaccinate priority populations who are at increased risks of COVID-19 infections, morbidity, and mortality, but rigorous and analytical national data on vaccination rates are lacking. Using the latest nationally representative data, we examine disparities in COVID-19 vaccination among US adults aged 18 years and older by a wide range of social determinants.
Methods: Using three consecutive rounds of the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from January 6 to February 15, 2021 (N=224,458), disparities in vaccination rates by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health insurance, health status, and metropolitan area were modeled by multivariate logistic regression.
Results: An estimated 33.6 million or 13.6% of US adults received COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccination rates varied 5-fold across the age range, from a low of 5.8% for adults aged 18-24 to 19.1% for those aged 65-74, and 29.0% for those aged ≥75 years. Males, non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, divorced/separated and single individuals, those with lower education and household income levels, renters, not-employed individuals, the uninsured, and individuals with higher depression levels reported significantly lower rates of vaccination. Controlling for covariates, non-Hispanic Blacks had 11% lower odds and Asians had 50% higher odds of receiving vaccination than non-Hispanic Whites. Adults with less than a high school education had 64% lower adjusted odds of receiving vaccination than those with a Master’s degree. Adults with an annual income of <$25,000 had 33% lower adjusted odds of vaccination than those with a ≥$200,000. Vaccination rates ranged from 10.7% in Riverside-San Bernardino, California to 16.1% in Houston, Texas.
Conclusion and Implications for Translation: Ethnic minorities, socioeconomically-disadvantaged individuals, uninsured adults, and those with serious depression reported significantly lower vaccination rates. Equitable vaccination coverage is critical to reducing inequities in COVID-19 health outcomes.
 
Copyright © 2021 Singh. et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.
The 2018 phreatic eruption at Mt. Motoshirane of Kusatsu–Shirane volcano, Japan: Eruption and intrusion of hydrothermal fluid observed by a borehole tiltmeter network
Authors: Terada Akihiko , Kanda Wataru , Ogawa Yasuo , Yamada Taishi , Yamamoto Mare , Ohkura Takahiro , Aoyama Hiroshi , Tomoki Tsutsui , Onizawa Shin’ya
Published: June 2021

We estimate the mass and energy budgets for the 2018 phreatic eruption of Mt. Motoshirane on Kusatsu–Shirane volcano, Japan, based on data obtained from a network of eight tiltmeters and weather radar echoes. The tilt records can be explained by a subvertical crack model. Small craters that were formed by previous eruptions are aligned WNW–ESE, which is consistent with the crack azimuth modeled in this study. The direction of maximum compressive stress in this region is horizontal and oriented WNW–ESE, allowing fluid to intrude from depth through a crack with this orientation. Based on the crack model, hypocenter distribution, and MT resistivity structure, we infer that fluid from a hydrothermal reservoir at a depth of 2 km below Kusatsu–Shirane volcano has repeatedly ascended through a pre-existing subvertical crack. The inflation and deflation volumes during the 2018 eruption are estimated to have been 5.1 * 10 5 and 3.6 * 10 5 m 3 , respectively, meaning that 1.5 * 10 5 m 3 of expanded volume formed underground. The total heat associated with the expanded volume is estimated to have been ≥10 14 J, similar to or exceeding the annual heat released from Yugama Crater Lake of Mt. Shirane and that from the largest eruption during the past 130 yr. Although the ejecta mass of the 2018 phreatic eruption was small, the 2018 MPCG eruption was not negligible in terms of the energy budget of Kusatsu–Shirane volcano. A water mass of 0.1–2.0 * 10 7 kg was discharged as a volcanic cloud, based on weather radar echoes, which is smaller than the mass associated with the deflation. We suggest that underground water acted as a buffer against the sudden intrusion of hydrothermal fluids, absorbing some of the fluid that ascended through the crack.
Impact of Hijlan Creek springs on water quality of the Euphrates River and the Hydrochemical characterization of the contamination plumes
Authors: Rabeea Muwafaq Ayesh , Al-Heety Ahmed J. R. , Mohammed Mahmmoud Ismail , Fayydh Adnan Mohammed , Elhag Mohamed
Published: June 2021

This work aims to present the hydrochemical mechanisms describing the system of the Euphrates River before and after mixing with groundwater from the springs of Hijlan (western Iraq). Continuously, the data generated from these springs' water have been adapted to provide an updated assessment for future water therapeutic purposes. Physicochemical characteristics of water in the mixing plume of Hijlan Creek and the Euphrates indicate the multi Hydrochemical plumes as revealed by the spatial variation of important parameters related to the ecological parameters including K+, Na+, Ca+ 2, Mg+ 2, HCO3−, SO4 − 2, Cl−, NO3−, PO4 − 3, Pb, Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Temp, DO, BOD5, H2S, Turbidity, EC, pH, and TDS. The re-aeration (k2) and de-oxygenation rate (k1) coefficients, as well as the self-purification factor (f) of the mixing plume, are 0.51 sec− 1, 2.03 sec− 1, and 0.25, respectively. The Cl− concentration in the confluence zone changes, due to the chloride content mixing rates of 7.1% and 92.9% for Euphrates and Hijlan creek water, respectively, with water discharge of 316,224 m3/day and chloride load discharge of 420 tons/day. The assessment of the water quality indicates unsuitability for aquaculture purposes. However, the water can be used for therapeutic purposes and to cure multiple diseases.
An Enhanced Spectrum Allocation Algorithm for Secondary Users in Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Agarwal Sheenu , Vijay Sandip , Bagwari Ashish
Published: June 2021

Wireless communication is a vast field in order to do researches on transmitter sections, wireless mediums, receiver sections, repeaters as well as different antennas. The spectrum used for wireless communication is limited and the number of users is increasing day by day. To use the available spectrum efficiently cognitive radio were introduced in which different allocation schemes were proposed by the researchers. In this paper an enhanced artificial bee colony algorithm is proposed for predicting and sensing the channel of primary user which results in the efficient usage of the available spectrum via secondary users, the enhanced artificial bee colony algorithm first predict the channel allocated to primary user, thereafter it performs sensing of the channel due to which the false alarm probability reduced and overall throughput of the network increases. The proposed algorithm overcomes the drawbacks of modified traditional methodologies which were used only for sensing a channel and shows 11.8% more efficiency as compared to binary artificial bee colony algorithm. In future, the method for predicting the channel’s availability can be enhanced in order to maximize the probability of channel allocation to the secondary user.
IOT Based Soil Monitoring and Automatic Irrigation System
Authors: Nahian Mohammad Shamiur Rahman Al , Biswas Arnab Piush , Tsou J. C. , Rahman Md. Hamidur
Published: June 2021

To serve the humanity nowadays technology is playing a wonderful role and a man’s basic and primary need is food indeed. It can be said that about more than 85% of people of Bangladesh are directly, indirectly depended on agriculture. Proper irrigation by water pump cannot be maintained due to frequent power outages, unavailability of grid lines in remote areas and scarcity/cost of fuel to run pumps. To make the sustainable irrigation system and field monitoring system for getting better crops growth as well as best production, this IOT based Automatic irrigation system is proposed. In this system IOT and WSN are used to control and monitor the irrigation system. IOT is used to obtain stored data monitoring and real time monitoring of various contents of soil. WSN is used to make a fully wireless system to make a user-friendly system to cultivate and irrigate water properly to the field. Different kinds of sensors are used. This report presents a fully automated drip irrigation system which is controlled and monitored by using “Thinkspeak Cloud Server”. Temperature and the humidity content of the soil are frequently monitored. The system informs user about any abnormal conditions like less moisture content and temperature rise, even concentration of water by sending notifications through the wireless module.
Identification of Significant Genes And Pathways In ARDS Via Bioinformatical Analysis
Authors: Lu Weina , Ji Ran
Published: June 2021

Background and Aims: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the most common acute thoracopathy with complicated pathogenesis in ICU. The study is to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the lung tissue and underlying altering mechanisms in ARDS.Methods: Gene expression profiles of GSE2411 and GSE130936 were available from GEO database, both of them included in GPL 339. Then, an integrated analysis of these genes was performed, including gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction, Transcription Factors (TFs) forecasting, and their expression in varied organs.Results: A total of 39 differential expressed genes were screened from the datasets, including 39 up-regulated genes and 0 down-regulated genes. The up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in the biological process, such as immune system process, innate immune response, inflammatory response, cellular response to interferon-beta and also involved in some signal pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, salmonella infection, legionellosis, chemokine, and Toll-like receptor signal pathway. GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3 were identified as hub genes in the lung by PPI network analysis with MCODE plug-in, as well as GO and KEGG re-enrichment. All of the three hub genes were regulated by the predictive common TFs, including STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, and IRF9. Conclusions: This study implied that hub gene GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3, which might be regulated by STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, or IRF9, played significant roles in ARDS. They could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets for ARDS patients.
Ideal Ratio Mask Estimation using Supervised DNN Approach for Target Speech Signal Enhancement
Authors: Selvaraj Poovarasan , Eswaran Chandra
Published: June 2021

The most challenging process in recent Speech Enhancement (SE) systems is to exclude the non-stationary noises and additive white Gaussian noise in real-time applications. Several SE techniques suggested were not successful in real-time scenarios to eliminate noises in the speech signals due to the high utilization of resources. So, a Sliding Window Empirical Mode Decomposition including a Variant of Variational Model Decomposition and Hurst (SWEMD-VVMDH) technique was developed for minimizing the difficulty in real-time applications. But, this is the statistical framework that takes a long time for computations. Hence in this article, this SWEMD-VVMDH technique is extended using Deep Neural Network (DNN) that learns the decomposed speech signals via SWEMD-VVMDH efficiently to achieve SE. At first, the noisy speech signals are decomposed into Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) by the SWEMD Hurst (SWEMDH) technique. Then, the Time-Delay Estimation (TDE)-based VVMD was performed on the IMFs to elect the most relevant IMFs according to the Hurst exponent and lessen the low- as well as high-frequency noise elements in the speech signal. For each signal frame, the target features are chosen and fed to the DNN that learns these features to estimate the Ideal Ratio Mask (IRM) in a supervised manner. The abilities of DNN are enhanced for the categories of background noise, and the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the speech signals. Also, the noise category dimension and the SNR dimension are chosen for training and testing manifold DNNs since these are dimensions often taken into account for the SE systems. Further, the IRM in each frequency channel for all noisy signal samples is concatenated to reconstruct the noiseless speech signal. At last, the experimental outcomes exhibit considerable improvement in SE under different categories of noises.
High-Output Micro-Machined Electrostatic Actuators
Authors: Abbasalipour Amin , Palit Prithviraj , Sheikhlari Sepehr , Pakdelian Siavash , Pourkamali Siavash
Published: June 2021

This work presents a new class of micromachined electrostatic actuators capable of producing output force and displacement unprecedented for MEMS actuators. The actuators feature submicron high aspect ratio transduction gaps lined up in two-dimensional arrays inspired by the cellular structure of animal muscle tissue. Such arrangement of micro-scale actuator cells, allows addition of force and displacements of a large number of cells (up to 7600 in one array demonstrated), leading to displacements in the hundreds of microns range and several gram-forces of axial force. For 50 µm thick actuators with horizontal dimensions in the 1-4 millimeters range, out of plane displacement of up to 678 µm, bending moment of up to 2.0 µNm i.e. 0.08 N (~8 gram-force) of axial force over the 50 µm by 2 mm cross-sectional area of the actuator (800 kPa of electrostatically generated stress), and energy density (mechanical work output per stroke per volume) up to 1.42 mJ/cm3 have been demonstrated for the actuators.
Linking Solar Minimum, Space Weather, and Night Sky Brightness
Authors: Grauer Albert D. , Grauer Patricia A.
Published: June 2021

New observations indicate previously unrecognized significant sources of night sky brightness variations, not involving corresponding changes in the Sun's EUV flux , occur during deep solar minimum. Our data was taken at 5 sites spanning more than 8,500 km during the deep minimum of Solar Cycle 24 into the beginning of Solar Cycle 25. It shows; 1) Semi-annual night sky brightness variations are produced by interactions between the Earth's magnetic field and the interplanetary magnetic field. 2) Solar wind plasma streams from solar coronal holes produce major night sky brightness increase events. 3) Some night sky brightness events are relatively local. Others extend at least 8,500 km along the Earth's surface. 4) It is plausible, terrestrial night airglow and geomagnetic indices have similar responses to the solar energy input into Earth's magnetosphere. Our empirical results contribute to a quantitative basis for understanding and predicting night sky brightness variations. They are applicable in astronomical, space weather, light pollution, biological, and recreational studies.
Interleukin-17-based cytokine signaling as a determinant for tumor immune microenvironment with prognostic value in triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Kok Victor C. , Wang Charles C.N. , Liao Szu-Han , Chen De-Lun
Published: June 2021

Background: Only a proportion of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is immunotherapy-responsive. We hypothesized that the tumor microenvironment (TME) might influence the outcomes of TNBC and investigated the relevant signaling pathways. Methods: RNA-seq data of 115 TNBC samples and 112 normal adjacent tissues were retrieved for ESTIMATE, CIBERSORTx, X2K, KEGG, and GSVA analyses. The immune score (IS) and stromal score (SS) were calculated and correlated with the overall survival (OS) in TNBC. Finally, we validated the altered transcription factor (TF) genes in the cBioPortal. Results: The SS is a good predictor of the OS (better survival in SS-low patients; P = 0.0081). In line with these results, when compared with IS-low/SS-high patients, IS-high/SS-low patients showed a better OS (P = 0.045). Moreover, macrophages were polarized toward the M2 phenotypes in IS-low/SS-high patients (P < 0.001). Compared with IS-low/SS-high patients, CIBERSORTx also showed that IS-high/SS-low patients had an increased number of memory B cells, CD8+ T cells (14.8% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.0286), activated CD4+ memory T cells, follicular helper T cells, and activated NK cells in the TME; additionally, fewer resting NK cells were detected in the TME (P = 0.0108). Additionally, there were 284 upregulated and 367 downregulated DEGs (Differentially Expressed Genes) in IS-high/SS-low, and 187 upregulated and 183 downregulated DEGs in IS-low/SS-high patients. KEGG analysis further revealed that the DEGs were enriched in the IL-17 and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways. Of note, as per the cBioPortal platform, we discovered that 13% of ER-negative, HER2-unamplified BC patients harbored IL17RA deep deletions and 25% harbored TRAF3IP2 amplifications; interestingly, the nine altered TF genes were associated with significantly worse relapse-free survival and OS, in the context of 2,377 and 4,819 BC patients, respectively.Conclusions: The TME with different immune cell components influences the survival of TNBC patients. IS-high/SS-low patients show a better overall survival. Further studies are required to examine whether an immune/stromal state also predicts the response to immunotherapy.
High-resolution based sustainable livestock management in China
Authors: Zhu Zhiping , Zhang Xiuming , Dong Hongmin , Wang Sitong , Reis Stefan , Li Yue , Gu Baojing
Published: June 2021

China is the largest producer of livestock globally, and associated nutrient losses and greenhouse gases emission have substantially affected the environment and human health. Here we present a first detailed assessment of livestock systems using over 480,000 feedlot surveys over the period from 2007 to 2017 across China. Results indicate that China produced more livestock protein with fewer animal numbers and total pollution impacts through better breeding and feeding in large-scale feedlots over this period. Hotspots of production can be observed across the North China Plain, Northeastern China and Sichuan Basin. The Clean Water Act reduced manure nutrient losses to water by one third, while slightly increasing methane emissions over the study period. Integrated abatement measures could reduce more than half of livestock pollution in 2050, with benefits of 30 billion US dollar (USD) due to avoided human health, ecosystem and climate costs with only 6 billion USD abatement cost.
Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Consortium 5H Under Hypersaline Conditions
Authors: Jin Jiaqi , Zhang Zuotao , Han Lu , Yan Chicheng , Ding Xinxing , Sun Jiage , Cui Jingyu , Wang Chongyang
Published: June 2021

PAHs were widely detected accumulated in saline and hypersaline environments. The halotolerant and halophilic microbes were considered as the most suitable player for the elimination of PAHs in such environments. In this study, consortium 5H was enriched under 5% salinity that was able to completely degrade phenanthrene in 5 days. By high-throughput sequencing, consortium 5H was identified mainly composed of Methylophaga, Marinobacter and Thalassospira. Combined with the investigation of intermediates and enzymatic activities, the degradation pathway of consortium 5H on phenanthrene was proposed. Meanwhile, consortium 5H was identified with ability to tolerate a wide range of salinity (1% to 10%) and initial PAHs concentration (50 mg/L to 400 mg/L). It was also able to work under neutral to week alkaline conditions (pH from 6 to 9) and the phytotoxicity of the produced intermediates showed no significant difference with distilled water. This study expanded the knowledge of PAH-degradation under hypersaline environments and consortium 5H was proposed with a good potential for the elimination of PAHs pollution under saline/hypersaline environments.
Is Nutritional Functional Diversity In The Rural Food And Nutrition System Associated With Food Security And Nutrient Adequacy? A Case Study of Rural Areas of Zahedan City, Iran
Authors: Sheikhi Mahdieh , Omidvar Nasrin , Tabatabaei Seyed Mehdi , Eini-Zinab Hassan
Published: June 2021

Background: An often overlooked problem in food and nutrition systems analysis is assuring adequate diversity of nutrients for healthy diet. Ntritional functional diversity (NFD) is a metric that describes diversity in providing‎ nutrients from farm fields to markets and all the way to the consumption level. The objective of this study was to determine the NFD score at different stages of rural food system, from Household’s agricultural and home production, processing, to purchased food and diet, and to explore the association between NFD and nutrient adequacy, food security and anthropometric indicators. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 321 household‎’s‎ in 6 villages of Zahedan district. The NFD score was measured at three subsystems (production, processing and consumption) of food and nutrition system. To assess the association between NFD and food and nutrition indicators, such variables as household‎’s food security, mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and anthropometric indicators of household‎’s head were also measured. Different bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques were applied to study the association between variables. Results: In rural food and nutrition system, the foods purchased from the city play the main roles in the household‎’s NFD score. Their role in NFD was twice that of the foods purchased from village. As well, NFD score of homestead production and household‎’s processing were found to be five times less than those of foods purchased from cities. The food insecure household‎’s had significantly lower NFD scores of food purchased from the city as well as higher NFD score for purchased foods from the rural market and native plants consumption. Additionally, a strong and positive relationship was observed between NFD of household‎’s diet with that of household‎’s MAR. Of note, no significant association was found between NFD score of homestead production and processing and food insecurity, MAR, and household head anthropometric. Conclusion: NFD score can serve as a good indicator in assessing the food system, which can also be used by policy makers to identify gaps in the local food and nutrition system, and plan appropriate interventions for improving diversity and addressing food insecurity.
An Approach For Drain Current Modeling Including Quantum Mechanical Effects For A DMDG Junctionless Field Effect Nanowire Transistor
Authors: Bora Nipanka
Published: June 2021

This paper presents the effects of quantum confinements on the surface potential, threshold voltage, drain current, transconductance, and drain conductance of a Dual Material Double Gate Junctionless Field Effect Nanowire Transistor (DMDG-JLFENT). The carrier energy quantization on the threshold voltage of a DMDG-JLFENT is modeled, and subsequently, other parameters like drain current were analytically presented. The QME considered here is obtained under the quantum confinement condition for an ultra-thin channel, i.e., below 10 nm of Si thickness. The threshold voltage shift due to QME can be used as a quantum correction term for compact modeling of junctionless transistors. The analytical model proposed for surface potential, threshold voltage, drain current, transconductance, and drain conductance were verified by TCAD 3-D quantum simulation results which makes it suitable for SPICE compact modeling.
Dynamic Slate Recommendation with Gated Recurrent Units and Thompson Sampling
Authors: Eide Simen , Leslie David , Frigessi Arnoldo
Published: June 2021

We consider the problem of recommending relevant content to users of an internet platform in the form of lists of items, called slates.

We introduce a variational Bayesian Recurrent Neural Net recommender system that acts on time series of interactions between the internet platform and the user, and which scales to real world industrial situations.

The recommender system is tested both online on real users, and on an offline dataset collected from a Norwegian web-based marketplace, FINN.no, that is made public for research.

This is one of the first publicly available datasets which includes all the slates that are presented to users as well as which items (if any) in the slates were clicked on.

Such a data set allows us to move beyond the common assumption that implicitly assumes that users are considering all possible items at each interaction.

Instead we build our likelihood using the items that are actually in the slate, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches theoretically and in experiments.

We also introduce a hierarchical prior for the item parameters based on group memberships.

Both item parameters and user preferences are learned probabilistically.

Furthermore, we combine our model with bandit strategies to ensure learning,

and introduce `in-slate Thompson Sampling' which makes use of the slates to maximise explorative opportunities. We show experimentally that explorative recommender strategies perform on par or above their greedy counterparts. Even without making use of exploration to learn more effectively, click rates increase simply because of improved diversity in the recommended slates.
Simultaneous Isolation and Enumeration of Virulent Vibrio Cholerae and Vibrio Vulnificus using an Advanced MPN-PCR Method
Authors: Lee Jae-Hwa , Park Seul-Ki , Khan Fazlurrahman , Jo Du-Min , Lee Do-ha , Kang Min-Gyun , Kim Young-Mog
Published: June 2021

Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus are one of the critical foodborne pathogens that need to be intensively controlled their infection as a result of the intake and distribution of seafood, especially raw oysters. For this reason, various methods have already been developed for the detection and enumeration of these bacteria. The most probable number (MPN)-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method is commonly used with the selective-differential medium for the efficiency and convenience of cell enumeration. One of the most frequently used for the detection of Vibrio spp. is Thiosulfate-Citrate-Bile salts-Sucrose (TCBS) agar. But this selective-differential medium can fail to distinguish between V. cholerae, V. vulnificus, and Vibrio alginolyticus. For this reason, the conventional MPN-PCR method with TCBS medium for the detection of Vibrio spp. has a problem that processing PCR to the two-times. This study suggests a simple and minimized detection method using one-time PCR and non-NaCl Luria-Bertani (LB-0) medium culture. This detection method is based on the difference in salt requirement between V. cholerae and V. vulnificus. Employing the developed methodology, the simultaneous cell enumeration of V. cholerae and V. vulnificus can be possible at a low cost. Furthermore, this study proposes a new specific primer to detect virulence-related genes from V. cholerae and V. vulnificus. This advanced MPN-PCR method was verified using bioaccumulated pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) by V. cholerae and V. vulnificus.
Transcription Factors E2F2/3/4 As Possible Colorectal Cancer Prognostic Biomarkers
Authors: Wang Wen-Da , Wang Li-Chun , Liu Mao-Xi , Lu Yan-Jun , Jiang Bo
Published: June 2021

Background: Prognostic biomarkers remain a focus in colorectal cancer during last decades. There are some studies of E2F transcription factors in different cancer. But the utility of E2F transcription factors as cancer biomarkers in colorectal cancer has not been confirmed. In this research we analyzed multiple databases and performed experimental validation of E2Fs as biomarkers. Methords: Bioinformatics analysis was the main part of this research. Besides, IHC was used to the huamn normal and tumor tissues.Results: Our study showed that the mRNA expression levels of E2F1/3/4/5/6/7/8 were significantly upregulated in carcinoma tissues, whereas E2F2 mRNA was downregulated. High E2F3/4 expression correlated with poor prognosis, whereas high E2F2 expression was correlated with good prognosis. Pathological parameters indicated that expression levels of E2F1/3/5 varied in different tumor stages; however, expression of E2F2/4/6/7/8 did not vary with tumor stage. E2F4 expression was higher in men than women. For pathological type, E2F8 expression was higher in the mucinous adenocarcinoma group compared with the adenocarcinoma group. E2F expression levels were altered in 175 of 524 patients (33%) with colorectal cancer, and the alterations of E2Fs in mucinous adenocarcinoma were more frequent than in adenocarcinoma. Cell cycle was the core function and the most enriched pathway of E2Fs. The functions of E2F2/3/4 may be regulated by some miRNAs. Conclusions: We proved that E2F2/3/4 can be used as prognostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer, and E2F2/3/4 mRNAs may be targeted by some miRNAs to influence “CELL CYCLE” pathway and exert their core functions in colorectal cancer.
Adsorption and Degradation Behavior of Six Herbicides in Different Agricultural Soils.
Authors: Sharipov Umrbek , Kočárek Martin , Jursík Miroslav , Nikodem Antonín , Borůvka Luboš
Published: June 2021

This study focuses on the assessment of herbicide adsorption and degradation in three soils (Haplic Chernozem, Haplic Fluvisol, and Arenic Regozem) from different agricultural regions of the Czech Republic where sunflower is cultivated. Soil samples were used in laboratory batch sorption and degradation experiments for six herbicides commonly used on sunflower crops. The findings are used to examine the effect of soil and herbicide properties on adsorption and degradation, as well as to determine the possible relation between the two processes. The (Kf) sorption coefficient ranged from 1.07 to 135.37 cm3/n μg1-1/n g-1, and sorption increased in order: dimethenamid-p < pethoxamid < s-metolachlor < flurochloridone < aclonifen < pendimethalin. Sorption of all six herbicides was positively correlated with organic matter content (p < 0. 001), and cation exchange capacity (p < 0.001). pH was negatively correlated with the sorption of all six compounds (p < 0.001). Degradation rates of herbicides ranged from 0. 012 to 0. 048 day-1, which corresponding to (DT50) half-lives between 14 - 57 days respectively. The longer half-lives were always found in Haplic Fluvisol with higher organic matter content. Results showed that both adsorption and degradation of herbicides is mainly controlled by soil organic matter. A negative relationship was found between the sorption coefficient and the rate of degradation. It can be concluded that the Freundlich sorption coefficient (Kf) can be a good predictor for soil degradation of the studied herbicides.
Exogenous Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Transplantation Results in Structural and Functional Recovery in a Preterm Infant Cerebral White Matter Injury Rat Model
Authors: Wang Zhaoyan , Zhang Leping , Yang Yinxiang , Wang Qian , Qu Suqing , Luan Zuo , He Zhixu
Published: June 2021

BackgroundCerebral white matter injury (WMI) is the most common brain injury in preterm infants; it leads to motor and developmental deficits and is often accompanied by cognitive impairment. WMI is characterized by the loss of pre-myelinating oligodendrocytes. Regeneration therapies for preterm neonates with WMI are still in the preclinical phase, among which oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) transplantation is a promising approach. One promising approach for treating preterm infants is cell replacement therapy, in which lost cells are replaced by human OPCs (hOPCs) derived from human neural stem cells (hNSCs). MethodsIn this study, we developed a method to induce the differentiation of hNSCs into hOPCs. OLIG2+/NG2+/PDGFRα+/O4+ hOPCs were enriched and transplanted into the corpus callosum of a preterm infant WMI rat model. ResultsTransplanted hOPCs survived and migrated throughout the major white matter tracts. Morphological differentiation of transplanted hOPCs was observed. Histology and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed lesioned structural repair. Electron microscopy revealed the re-myelination of the axons in the corpus callosum. The Morris water maze test revealed a recovery of cognitive function. ConclusionsOur study showed that transplantation of hOPCs derived from hNSCs is a viable therapeutic strategy for cerebral WMI. The results of our study contribute to the further development of cell therapeutic strategies.
Structural, Morphological and thermal properties of Nano filler Produced from Date Palm-based Micro Fibers (Phoenix Dactylifera L.)
Authors: Alothman Othman Y , Shaikh H.M. , Alshammari Basheer A. , Jawaid Mohammad
Published: June 2021

In this century, the development of nano-sized filler from biomass material has become the main focus of industries in achieving their final green composite product for wide range of applications. From commercial and environmental point of view, fragmentation and downsizing of waste lignocellulosic fibers without chemical treatments into small size particles is a viable option. In this study, an attempt was made to produce nano-sized lignocellulosic fillers from date palm micro fibers via simple mechanical ball milling process. The resultant nanofillers as well as the microfibers were characterized in details by various analytical techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), particle size analysis (PSA), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to assess their structure­—property relationship. From microscopy examination, the nanofillers showed a heterogeneous mix of irregular shaped particles, and while having a size ranging of 30-110 nm in width and 1-10 mm length dimensions. Also, the crystallography analysis revealed the crystallinity had mildly declined from microfibers (71.8%) to nanofiller (68.9%) due to amorphization effect. As for thermal analysis, the nanofillers exhibited relatively stable in both heat resistance and thermos changing behavior, suggesting its suitability for composite fabrication process at high temperature. Thus, the produced nanofillers can be used as a low cost reinforcing agent in the future for versatile polymer-based composite systems.
Impact of Geophysical and Anthropogenic Factors on Wildfire Size: A Spatiotemporal Data-Driven Risk Assessment Approach Using Statistical Learning
Authors: Masoudvaziri Nima , Ganguly Prasangsha , Mukherjee Sayanti , Sun Kang
Published: June 2021

Wildfire spread is a stochastic phenomenon driven by a multitude of geophysical and anthropogenic factors. In this study, we propose a spatiotemporal data-driven risk assessment framework to understand the effect of various geophysical/anthropogenic factors on wildfire size, leveraging a systematic machine learning approach. We apply this framework in the state of California—the most vulnerable US state to wildfires. Using county-level annual wildfire data from 2001-2015, and various geophysical (e.g., landcover, wind, surface temperature) and anthropogenic features (e.g., population density, housing type), we trained, tested, and validated a suite of ensemble tree-based learning algorithms to identify and evaluate the key factors associated with wildfire size. The extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm outperformed all the other models in terms of generalization performance, categorization of important features, and risk performance. We found that standard deviations of meteorological variables with long-tailed distributions play a key role in predicting wildfire size. Specifically, the top ten factors associated with high risk of larger wildfires include larger standard deviations of surface temperature and vapor pressure deficit, higher wind gust, more grassy and barren land covers, lower night-time boundary layer height and higher population density. Our proposed risk assessment framework will help federal/state decision-makers to adequately plan for wildfire risk mitigation and resource allocation strategies.
Electrochemical Sensing Behavior of Graphdiyne Nanoflake Toward Uric Acid; A Quantum Chemical Approach
Authors: Asif Misbah , Sajid Hasnain , Ayub Khurshid , Gilani Mazhar Amjad , Akhter Mohammed Salim , Mahmood Tariq
Published: June 2021

Though, the gas sensing applications of graphdiyne have widely reported; however, the biosensing utility of graphdiyne needs to be explored. This study deals with the sensitivity of graphdiyne nanoflake (GDY) towards the uric acid (UA) within the density functional framework. The uric acid is allowed to interact with graphdiyne nanoflake from all the possible orientations. Based on these interacting geometries, the complexes are differentiated with naming i.e., UA1@GDY, UA2@GDY, UA3@GDY and UA4@GDY (Figure 1). The essence of interface interactions of UA on GDY is derived by computing geometric, energetic, electronic and optical properties. The adsorbing affinity of complexes is evaluated at ωB97XD/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. The stabilities of the complexes are quantified through the interaction energies (Eint) with reasonable accuracy. The calculated Eint of the UA1@GDY, UA2@GDY, UA3@GDY and UA4@GDY complexes are -31.13, -25.87, -20.59 and -16.54 kcal/mol, respectively. In comparison with geometries, it is revealed that the higher stability of complexes is facilitated by π-π stacking. Other energetic analyses including symmetry adopted perturbation theory (SAPT0), noncovalent interaction index (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecule (QTAIM) provided the evidence of dominating dispersion energy in stabilizing the resultant complexes. The HOMO-LUMO energies, NBO charge transfer and UV-vis analysis justify the higher electronic transition in UA1@GDY, plays a role of higher sensitivity of GDY towards the π-stacked geometries over all other possible interaction orientations. The present findings bestow the higher sensitivity of GDY towards uric acid via π-stacking interactions.
Chest CT and Clinical Features of COVID-19 Patients in the Early Stage of the Epidemic: An Observational Study from China
Authors: Zeng Mei , Jian Xiangdong , Zhong Ning , Li Yu , Hu Zhao , Fei Jianchun , Hou Xinguo , Meng Fanli , Li Tao , Li Yuan , Qiao Yun , Zhang Yi , Bai Wenwu , Sun Huaibin , Meng Xiao , Yang Shaozhong , Bian Yuan , Wang Hao , Yu Xueyuan , Yu Guangcai , Jian Tianzi , Sun Cece , Liu Ya , Sun Jun
Published: June 2021

Background: COVID-19 had caused more than 2.8 million deaths globally, and the epidemic will persist for an extended period of time. We analyzed clinical features of patients in the early stage of the epidemic, so as to deepen the understanding of the disease.Methods: In this retrospective study, we included 84 confirmed cases of COVID-19 during February 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020. Baseline data were used to classify patients as moderate (57%) or severe/critical based on Chinese protocol. We focused on analyzing the differences in chest computed tomography (CT) between the two groups. Results: Of the 84 cases, 50 were male and the median age was 69 years. 55 (65%) patients had comorbidities at admission, more in the severe/critical group (P=0.040). 94% patients had bilateral lesions on CT, up to 68% had lesions involving all lobes. Ground glass opacification (GGO) (96%), consolidation (44%), Linear opacities (50%) and Air bronchogram (23%) were the mainly lesions. The lesion was gradually absorbed over time, but imaging abnormalities can persist for a long time. Compared with moderate cases, the severe/critical group had more pulmonary consolidation changes (P=0.044) and significantly higher CT severity Score (CTSS) (P=0.040). Lymphocyte counts were significantly lower (P=0.011) and NLR were higher (P=0.029) in severe/critical cases. Conclusions: Chest CT showed bilateral and multiple GGO and consolidation mainly. After treatment, pulmonary lesions were gradually absorbed over time, and imaging abnormalities can be persistent for a long time. Lung consolidation, CTSS, comorbidity, lymphocyte counts, and NLR may be predictors of severe COVID-19.
Male Mate Choice in Mosquitofish: Personality Outweighs Body Size
Authors: Li Chunlin , Zhang Xinyu , Cui Peng , Zhang Feng , Zhang Baowei
Published: June 2021

Background
Despite its important implications in behavioural and evolutionary ecology, male mate choice has been little studied, and the relative contribution of personality and morphological traits remains largely unknown. Using standard two-choice mating trials, we studied whether personality traits (i.e. shyness and activity) and body size of both sexes affect mate choice in male mosquitofish Gambusia affinis.
Results
Both shyness and activity in males were significantly repeatable and constituted a behavioural syndrome. No overall directional preference for large (or small) females with the same activity levels was detected because larger males preferred larger females and smaller males chose smaller females. However, males spent more time associating with active females regardless of their body lengths and had an enhanced preference for inactive females when they increased activity levels. We also found that more proactive (bolder and more active) males had stronger preferences for more active females.
Conclusions
Our study supports the importance of body size in male mate choice but highlights that personality traits may outweigh body size preferences when males choose mating partners.