bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Frailty Index in the Colonias on the US-Mexico Border: A Special Report
Authors: Manusov Eron G. , Gomez De Ziegler Carolina , Diego Vincent P. , Munoz-Monaco Gerardo , Williams-Blangero Sarah
Published: August 2021

Frailty is the age-related decline in well-being. The Frailty index (FI) measures the accumulation of health deficits and reflects biopsychosocial and cultural determinants of well-being. Frailty is measured as a static phenotype or as a Frailty Index comprising a ratio of suffered health deficits and total deficits. We report a Frailty Index calculated from routinely measured clinical variables gathered from residents of two Colonias (neighborhoods) in South Texas. A Colonia is a predominantly Hispanic, economically distressed, unincorporated neighborhood. We analyzed retrospective data from 894 patients that live in two Colonias located on the Texas-Mexico border. We calculated the FI with seven physiological variables, PHQ-9 score, and the 11 domain-specific Duke Profile scores, for a total of 19 possible health deficits. FI against age separately in males (n = 272) and females (n = 622) was regressed. Females had a significantly higher starting frailty, and males had a significantly greater change rate with age. FI against age for Cameron Park Colonia and Indian Hills Colonia was regressed. We calculated a significantly higher starting FI in Indian Hills and a significantly greater change rate in Cameron Park residents. Frailty's contributors are complex, especially in neighborhoods of poverty, immigration, low education level, and high prevalence of chronic disease. We report baseline Frailty Index data from two Colonias in South Texas and the clinical and research implications.
Diagnostic Efficacy of Xpert MTB/RIF Assay in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Tracheobronchial Tuberculosis: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Sun Yue , Zhang Qing , Zhang Qin , Liu Chang , Zhang Hong , Fu Yinghui , Liu Yongyu , Hou Gang
Published: August 2021

Background: The Xpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampin (MTB/RIF) assay has shown good diagnostic efficacy in brushing and biopsy tissue samples from patients with tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBTB). However, its diagnostic value in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is still unclear. Therefore, the present retrospective study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF.

Methods: The clinical data of 266 patients with suspected TBTB from January 2018 to October 2020 were pooled with complete details of bronchial brush and bronchoalveolar lavage samples. Smears of the bronchial brushings were stained with Auramine O stain to detect acid-fast bacilli (AFB), and BALF samples were used for culturing MTB with the BACTEC MGIT 960 system and the Xpert MTB/RIF assay. The diagnostic performance of these methods was assessed and compared.

Results: A total of 266 patients suspected to have TBTB were enrolled in the final analysis. Of these patients, 179 patients were confirmed to have TBTB and 87 patients were non-TBTB. The sensitivity of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF (87.2%) was significantly higher than that of the brush smear for AFB (35.2%, p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed between the sensitivities of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF and MTB culture in BALF (87.2 vs. 84.9%, p = 0.542). The specificities of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF, MTB culture in BALF, and the bronchial brush smear were 97.7, 97.7, and 98.9%, respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF, MTB culture in BALF, and the bronchial brush smear were 98.7 and 78.7%, 98.7 and 75.9%, and 98.4 and 42.6%, respectively. Among the MTB culture-positive patients with TBTB detected by the Xpert assay, 27.0% (20/74) were identified to be resistant to RIF.

Conclusions: The Xpert MTB/RIF assay in BALF enables a rapid and accurate diagnosis of TBTB and identification of RIF resistance, which is crucial for timely and proper treatment. Moreover, in patients with TBTB, BALF could be used as an alternative to bronchial brushing and biopsy tissues for the Xpert MTB/RIF assay.
Case Report: A Novel Homozygous Variant Identified in a Chinese Patient With Benign Recurrent Intrahepatic Cholestasis-Type 1
Authors: Chen Huayu , Wu Dongbo , Jiang Wei , Lei Ting , Lu Changli , Zhou Taoyou
Published: August 2021

Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis (BRIC) is a rare hereditary cholestatic liver disorder. Accurate diagnosis and timely interventions are important in determining outcomes. Besides clinical and pathologic diagnosis, genetic study of BRIC remains limited. Here, we report a young man enduring recurrent jaundice and severe pruritus for 15 years. The increased level of direct bilirubin was the main biochemical abnormality, and the work-up for common causes of jaundice were unremarkable. Liver biopsy showed extensive cholestasis of hepatocytes in zone 3. The novel homozygous variant including c.1817T > C and p.I606T was detected on his ATP8B1gene. The patient was finally diagnosed with BRIC-1. His symptoms were relieved, and liver function tests returned to normal after taking ursodeoxycholic acid. This case provides a different perspective to the methodology employed when dealing with cases of jaundice and helping diagnose rare diseases.
The Potential Relationship Between HIF-1α and Amino Acid Metabolism After Hypoxic Ischemia and Dual Effects on Neurons
Authors: Li Kexin , Zheng Yang , Wang Xiaoming
Published: August 2021

Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is one of the major transcription factors through which cells and tissues adapt to hypoxic-ischemic injury. However, the specific mechanism by which HIF regulates amino acid metabolism and its effect on neurons during hypoxic ischemia (HI) have remained unclear. This study analyzed the changes in cerebral metabolism of amino acids after HI by using 1H-MRS and investigated the relationship between the changes in cerebral metabolism of amino acids and HIF-1α as well as the potential effects on neurons. Newborn pigs were used as an HI model in this study. Twenty-eight newborn Yorkshire pigs (male, 1.0–1.5 kg) aged 3–5 days were selected and randomly divided into experimental groups tested at 0–2 h (n = 4), 2–6 h (n = 4), 6–12 h (n = 4), 12–24 h (n = 4), 24–48 h (n = 4), and 48–72 h (n = 4) after HI, and a control group (n = 4). After the modeling was completed, 1H-MRS imaging was conducted, followed by immunohistochemical staining of HIF-1α, NeuN, and doublecortin (DCX), and immunofluorescence of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT)-1, GOT2, glutathione synthase (GS), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM) in brain tissues. The expression of HIF-1α exhibited two increases after HI injury. The first time was opposite to the trends of change of GOT2, aspartic acid, and the number of neurons, while the second was consistent with these trends, suggesting that HIF-1α may have a two-way induction effect on neurons by regulating GOT2 after HI. HIF-1α was closely related to GCLM expression, and GSH level was correlated with the number of hippocampal neurons, indicating that HIF-1α may regulate GCLM to promote GSH synthesis and additionally play a neuroprotective role.
How to Identify Patients at High Risk of Developing Nasal-Type, Extranodal Nature Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma-Associated Hemophagocytic Syndrome
Authors: Li Na , Jiang Ming , Wu Wan-Chun , Wei Wen-Wen , Zou Li-Qun
Published: August 2021

Nasal-type, extranodal nature killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (NK/T-LAHS) is a rare and life-threatening disease, requiring investigation of risk stratification. We conducted a retrospective study and proposed nomograms to predict NK/T-LAHS. The discriminative ability and calibration of the nomograms for prediction were tested using C statistics and calibration plots. We analyzed 533 patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL), out of which 71 were diagnosed with hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS), with a cumulative incidence of 13.3%. Significant difference for 2-year survival was found between patients with and without HPS (14.7% vs. 77.5%). Analyses showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) ≥2, B symptoms, and bone marrow (BM) invasion were significantly associated with NK/T-LAHS. We used these data as the basis to establish a nomogram of risk index for ENKTL (RINK). In 335 patients with available data for Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV-DNA), we found high viral copies (≥4,450 copies/ml) were correlated with NK/T-LAHS. When these data were added to RINK, we developed another nomogram that included EBV-DNA data (RINK-E). The nomograms displayed good accuracy in predicting NK/T-LAHS with a C-statistics of 0.919 for RINK and a C-statistics of 0.946 for RINK-E, respectively. The calibration chart also showed an excellent consistency between the predicted and observed probabilities. The proposed nomograms provided individualized risk estimate of HPS in patients with ENKTL.
Overall Survival Prediction for Gliomas Using a Novel Compound Approach
Authors: Huang He , Zhang Wenbo , Fang Ying , Hong Jialing , Su Shuaixi , Lai Xiaobo
Published: August 2021

As a highly malignant tumor, the incidence and mortality of glioma are not optimistic. Predicting the survival time of patients with glioma by extracting the feature information from gliomas is beneficial for doctors to develop more targeted treatments. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a way to quickly and clearly capture the details of brain tissue. However, manually segmenting brain tumors from MRI will cost doctors a lot of energy, and doctors can only vaguely estimate the survival time of glioma patients, which are not conducive to the formulation of treatment plans. Therefore, automatically segmenting brain tumors and accurately predicting survival time has important significance. In this article, we first propose the NLSE-VNet model, which integrates the Non-Local module and the Squeeze-and-Excitation module into V-Net to segment three brain tumor sub-regions in multimodal MRI. Then extract the intensity, texture, wavelet, shape and other radiological features from the tumor area, and use the CNN network to extract the deep features. The factor analysis method is used to reduce the dimensionality of features, and finally the dimensionality-reduced features and clinical features such as age and tumor grade are combined into the random forest regression model to predict survival. We evaluate the effect on the BraTS 2019 and BraTS 2020 datasets. The average Dice of brain tumor segmentation tasks up to 79% and the average RMSE of the survival predictive task is as low as 311.5. The results indicate that the method in this paper has great advantages in segmentation and survival prediction of gliomas.
Prognosis of Biliary Atresia Associated With Cytomegalovirus: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhao Yilin , Xu Xiaodan , Liu Gengxin , Yang Fang , Zhan Jianghua
Published: August 2021

Objective: The etiology of biliary atresia is unclear, but viral infection has been implicated. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to investigate relationships between cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the prognosis of biliary atresia.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, and Wanfang Data electronic databases were searched for eligible studies. Each relevant text was thoroughly reviewed and examined, including related papers in their reference lists.

Results: A total of nine studies including 784 patients were included in the analysis. Biliary atresia patients with CMV exhibited significantly lower jaundice clearance (odds ratio: 0.46, p < 0.0001; I2 = 15%, p = 0.31). There were no significant differences in the rates of cholangitis or native liver survival. CMV-pp65-positive biliary atresia patients had a significantly lower rate of jaundice clearance (odds ratio: 5.87, p = 0.003; I2 = 0%, p = 0.71) and a significantly higher rate of cholangitis (odds ratio: 0.21, p = 0.01; I2 = 0%, p = 0.43) than CMV antibody-positive biliary atresia patients.

Conclusion: Biliary atresia patients who were also infected with CMV had a poorer prognosis, particularly with respect to jaundice clearance. CMV status may influence the prognosis of biliary atresia. Clinicians should be able to routinely identify the subset of biliary atresia patients who are also CMV-positive, in order to improve native liver survival.
Predicting Drug-Induced Liver Injury Using Machine Learning on a Diverse Set of Predictors
Authors: Adeluwa Temidayo , McGregor Brett A. , Guo Kai , Hur Junguk
Published: August 2021

A major challenge in drug development is safety and toxicity concerns due to drug side effects. One such side effect, drug-induced liver injury (DILI), is considered a primary factor in regulatory clearance. The Critical Assessment of Massive Data Analysis (CAMDA) 2020 CMap Drug Safety Challenge goal was to develop prediction models based on gene perturbation of six preselected cell-lines (CMap L1000), extended structural information (MOLD2), toxicity data (TOX21), and FDA reporting of adverse events (FAERS). Four types of DILI classes were targeted, including two clinically relevant scores and two control classifications, designed by the CAMDA organizers. The L1000 gene expression data had variable drug coverage across cell lines with only 247 out of 617 drugs in the study measured in all six cell types. We addressed this coverage issue by using Kru-Bor ranked merging to generate a singular drug expression signature across all six cell lines. These merged signatures were then narrowed down to the top and bottom 100, 250, 500, or 1,000 genes most perturbed by drug treatment. These signatures were subject to feature selection using Fisher’s exact test to identify genes predictive of DILI status. Models based solely on expression signatures had varying results for clinical DILI subtypes with an accuracy ranging from 0.49 to 0.67 and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC) values ranging from -0.03 to 0.1. Models built using FAERS, MOLD2, and TOX21 also had similar results in predicting clinical DILI scores with accuracy ranging from 0.56 to 0.67 with MCC scores ranging from 0.12 to 0.36. To incorporate these various data types with expression-based models, we utilized soft, hard, and weighted ensemble voting methods using the top three performing models for each DILI classification. These voting models achieved a balanced accuracy up to 0.54 and 0.60 for the clinically relevant DILI subtypes. Overall, from our experiment, traditional machine learning approaches may not be optimal as a classification method for the current data.
cGAS-STING Signaling Pathway and Liver Disease: From Basic Research to Clinical Practice
Authors: Chen Bangjie , Rao Xianyue , Wang Xinyi , Luo Zhipan , Wang Jianpeng , Sheng Shuyan , Liu Yuchen , Zhang Ning , Jin Shiyu , Chen Haosong , Sun Chenyu , Xu Tao , Du Yingying
Published: August 2021

The cGAS-STING signaling pathway is an autoimmune inflammatory pathway that can trigger the expression of a series of inflammatory factors represented by type 1 interferon. Recent studies have found that the cGAS-STING signaling pathway played a significant role in liver physiology and was closely related to the progress of liver diseases. For example, activating the cGAS-STING signaling pathway could significantly inhibit hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication in vivo. Moreover, the cGAS-STING signaling pathway was also closely associated with tumor immunity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This review summarized the role of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in several common liver diseases, especially the current application of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in liver disease treatment, and prospected its future research, which provided a new idea for understanding and treating liver diseases.
Short-Term Effects of a Multidisciplinary Residential Rehabilitation Program on Perceived Risks, Confidence Toward Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment, and Self-Efficacy in a Sample of Individuals Affected by Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Authors: Scarpina Federica , Bastoni Ilaria , Cappelli Simone , Priano Lorenzo , Giacomotti Emanuela , Castelnuovo Gianluca , Molinari Enrico , Tovaglieri Ilaria Maria Angela , Cornacchia Mauro , Fanari Paolo , Mauro Alessandro
Published: August 2021

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome. However, optimizing adherence to CPAP therapy of individuals remains very challenging for clinicians because of the role played by the psychological components. In this study, we verified the changes in cognitions and beliefs of individuals after a four-week multidisciplinary residential rehabilitation program targeting the adaptation to CPAP therapy for OSA syndrome. We assessed the components of perceived risks, confidence toward the treatment, and self-efficacy through the self-report questionnaire, namely the Self-Efficacy Measure for Sleep Apnea (SEMSA) questionnaire. We also explored the role played by the temperamental traits on the changes registered in these components after the treatment. Forty-five participants completed the rehabilitation program, showing a higher level of adherence to the treatment. Significant changes were observed in terms of confidence toward the treatment, although no change was reported in terms of perceived risks and self-efficacy. Moreover, those individuals with a higher persistent temperamental trait reported a significant improvement in perceived risks, in the absence of other significant results. After the rehabilitation treatment, our participants were more prone to consider the effect of CPAP treatment on health outcomes. This was in line with the educational aim of the rehabilitation treatment. The temperament seemed to play only a marginal role in the global changes reported by our participants. We discussed the need for behavioral interventions, in addition to education, in improving self-efficacy.
Adolescents’ Mental Health at School: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction
Authors: Cavioni Valeria , Grazzani Ilaria , Ornaghi Veronica , Agliati Alessia , Pepe Alessandro
Published: August 2021

In this study, we further developed prior research on risk and protective factors in adolescents’ mental health. More specifically, we used structural equation modelling to assess whether relationships at school with teachers and peers, and life satisfaction predicted mental health in a large sample of adolescents, while also testing for age and gender invariance. The sample comprised 3,895 adolescents (Mage= 16.7,SD= 1.5, 41.3% girls), who completed self-report instruments assessing their perceived life satisfaction, student-teacher relationship, school connectedness and mental health. Overall, the results suggested that life satisfaction acted as a mediator between adolescents’ positive school relations and their mental health. Outcomes were invariant across genders, while quality of school relations and mental health declined with age. Limitations of the study and futures lines in mental health research among adolescents are briefly discussed.
Clustering of Multiple Psychiatric Disorders Using Functional Connectivity in the Data-Driven Brain Subnetwork
Authors: Tokuda Tomoki , Yamashita Okito , Sakai Yuki , Yoshimoto Junichiro
Published: August 2021

Recently, the dimensional approach has attracted much attention, bringing a paradigm shift to a continuum of understanding of different psychiatric disorders. In line with this new paradigm, we examined whether there was common functional connectivity related to various psychiatric disorders in an unsupervised manner without explicitly using diagnostic label information. To this end, we uniquely applied a newly developed network-based multiple clustering method to resting-state functional connectivity data, which allowed us to identify pairs of relevant brain subnetworks and subject cluster solutions accordingly. Thus, we identified four subject clusters, which were characterized as major depressive disorder (MDD), young healthy control (young HC), schizophrenia (SCZ)/bipolar disorder (BD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), respectively, with the relevant brain subnetwork represented by the cerebellum-thalamus-pallidum-temporal circuit. The clustering results were validated using independent datasets. This study is the first cross-disorder analysis in the framework of unsupervised learning of functional connectivity based on a data-driven brain subnetwork.
Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Among Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Song Wan-mei , Li Yi-fan , Liu Yun-xia , Liu Yao , Yu Chun-bao , Liu Jin-yue , Li Huai-chen
Published: August 2021

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), especially multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a public health threat. Little is known about estimates of different profiles and rates of DR-TB among children globally.

Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies reporting DR-TB among children by searching Embase, PubMed, and Scopus databases from January 1, 2000 to October 1, 2020. Publications reporting more than 60 children with bacteriological confirmed tuberculosis and phenotypical drug susceptibility testing (DST) results were included. Pooled proportions of MDR-TB and sub-analysis by age subgroups, regions, economical levels were performed.

Results: We identified 4,063 studies, of which 37 were included. Of 23,652 pediatric TB patients, the proportions of DR-TB, MDR-TB, mono-resistant TB, polydrug resistant TB, extensively drug-resistant TB were 13.59% (1,964/14,453), 3.72% (881/23,652), 6.07% (529/8,719), 1.61% (119/7,361), 0.44% (30/6,763), respectively. The pooled proportion of MDR-TB among 23,652 children of 37 studies was 3.7% (95% CI, 3.5–4.0%). Rate of MDR-TB was much lower in high-income countries (1.8%) than that in lower-middle-income countries (6.3%) and upper-middle-income countries (7.3%). More specifically, the rates of MDR-TB were 1.7% in USA, 1.7% in UK, 2.9% in India, 6.0% in South Africa, 9.8% in China, respectively.

Conclusions: The burden of DR-TB remains high in children, and there are potential associations between rates of pediatric MDR-TB and national economical levels. More interventions on child TB cases in low-income countries may be urgently needed in future.
Estimating Phase Amplitude Coupling between Neural Oscillations Based on Permutation and Entropy
Authors: Yin Liyong , Tian Fan , Hu Rui , Li Zhaohui , Yin Fuzai
Published: August 2021

Cross-frequency phase–amplitude coupling (PAC) plays an important role in neuronal oscillations network, reflecting the interaction between the phase of low-frequency oscillation (LFO) and amplitude of the high-frequency oscillations (HFO). Thus, we applied four methods based on permutation analysis to measure PAC, including multiscale permutation mutual information (MPMI), permutation conditional mutual information (PCMI), symbolic joint entropy (SJE), and weighted-permutation mutual information (WPMI). To verify the ability of these four algorithms, a performance test including the effects of coupling strength, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and data length was evaluated by using simulation data. It was shown that the performance of SJE was similar to that of other approaches when measuring PAC strength, but the computational efficiency of SJE was the highest among all these four methods. Moreover, SJE can also accurately identify the PAC frequency range under the interference of spike noise. All in all, the results demonstrate that SJE is better for evaluating PAC between neural oscillations.
Ensuring the Continuity of Power Supply to the On-Board Auxiliary Devices of the Trolleybus through the Recuperation of Kinetic Energy
Authors: Hołyszko Piotr , Zieliński Dariusz , Niewczas Andrzej , Rymarz Joanna , Dębicka Ewa
Published: August 2021

When a trolleybus travels through insulated sections of the overhead contact line, it experiences momentary power interruptions, which adversely affect the vehicle’s on-board auxiliary subassemblies. To reduce these negative effects, one can harness energy recovered via regenerative braking. A model power supply circuit diagram for structural systems of the trolleybus is proposed. Simulation tests were carried out to develop a method for analyzing power supply to trolleybus auxiliary devices and verify it in a real-life example. The results allow determination of the limit power that can be generated by the trolleybus drive system to feed auxiliary devices during interruptions in power supply from the overhead contact line. The possibility of powering the on-board auxiliary equipment of a trolleybus using energy from recuperation with a traction motor is presented.
Effect of Concrete Micro-Mechanical Properties under the Coupled Corrosion of Sulfate and High Water Head
Authors: Li Ruixin , Hou Huiming , Hu Dawei , Zou Yiquan
Published: August 2021

Large-scale water infrastructure such as immersed tunnels remain in a seawater environment for a long time, and gradually deteriorate under the action of high water head, soil pressure and corrosive ions in seawater solution. In order to simulate the corrosion damage and deterioration of concrete in seawater environment, 10% Na2SO4 solution was used to conduct indoor corrosion tests on concrete samples under different water heads and for different durations. The corrosion damage and micro-mechanical properties of concrete under the coupled action of high water head and sulfate are studied by micro-indentation tests. The effect of sulfate ion corrosion and complex mechanical loading was studied. The effect of micro-mechanical properties of concrete is studied on time and space. Numerical simulation and test results show that the results of micro-indentation are in good agreement with the fitting curves. The chemical damage rate and the corrosion depth increase with the increase of water head; the numerical simulation analysis shows that the sulfate concentration is high in the area where the mechanical damage variable is large, which indicates that the two kinds of corrosion occur in concrete and interact with each other.
Assessing Sustainable Urban Development Trends in a Dynamic Tourist Coastal Area Using 3D Spatial Indicators
Authors: Santos Teresa , Deus Raquel , Rocha Jorge , Tenedório José António
Published: August 2021

In coastal areas, the tourism sector contributes to the local economy, generating income, employment, investments and tax revenues but the rapid urban expansion creates great pressure on local resources and infrastructures, with negative repercussions on the residents’ quality of life, but also compromising the visitor’s experience. These areas face problems such as the formation of meteorological effects known as heat islands, due to the soil sealing, and increased energy demand in the peak season. To evaluate the impact of urban growth spatial pattern and change, three strategic sustainable challenges—urban form, urban energy, and urban outdoor comfort—were selected. The progress towards sustainability was measured and analyzed in a tourist city in the Algarve region, Portugal, for the period 2007–2018, using geographic information. A set of 2D and 3D indicators was derived for the building and block scales. Then, a change assessment based on cluster analysis was performed, and three different trends of sustainable development were identified and mapped. Results allow detecting the urban growth patterns that lead to more sustainable urban areas. The study revealed that a high sustainable development was observed in 12% of the changed blocks in the study area. All indicators suggest that the growth pattern of the coastal area is in line with the studied sustainability dimensions. However, most of the blocks that changed between 2007 and 2018 (82%) followed a low sustainable development. These blocks had the lowest variation in the built volume and density, and consequently the lowest variations in the roof areas with good solar exposition. The urban development also privileged more detached and less compact buildings. This analysis will support the integration of 2D and 3D information into the planning process, assisting smart cities to comply with the sustainable development goals.
EU Rural Policy’s Capacity to Facilitate a Just Sustainability Transition of the Rural Areas
Authors: Wieliczko Barbara , Kurdyś-Kujawska Agnieszka , Floriańczyk Zbigniew
Published: August 2021

The sustainability transition of rural areas is a must due to rapid climate changes and biodiversity loss. Given the limited resources of rural communities, policy should facilitate a just sustainability transition of the EU rural areas. The analysis of EU development policies, past performance and the envisaged scope of reform, presented in this study point to a serious inconsistency between the declaration and implementation of relevant policies. Namely, the marginal role rural areas perform in common agricultural policy and cohesion policy; a result of the lack of a complex approach to rural development. The analysis was based on the concept of good governance and took a multi-level perspective. It advocates territorial justice as an approach that should be at the core of creating a comprehensive policy for rural areas in the EU, including their diversity and empowering local communities to choose the transition pathway that is most in line with their current situation and development capacity. This analysis fills a gap in research on the evolution of the rural development policy in the EU. This research can inform the reprioritization and intensification of efforts to create equitable policies for EU rural development.
Recent Development of Two Alternative Gases to SF6 for High Voltage Electrical Power Applications
Authors: Owens John , Xiao Ang , Bonk Jason , DeLorme Michael , Zhang Agnes
Published: August 2021

For many years, SF6 has been the preferred dielectric medium in electrical power applications, particularly in high voltage gas-insulated equipment. However, with the recognition that SF6 has an extremely long atmospheric lifetime and very high global warming potential, governments have pursued emission reductions from gas-filled equipment. The electrical power industry has responded to this environmental challenge applying SF6-free technologies to an expanding range of applications which have traditionally used SF6, including gas-insulated switchgear, gas-insulated circuit breakers and gas-insulated lines or bus bars. Some of these SF6-free solutions include gas mixtures containing fluorinated compounds that have low climate impact, among them, a fluoronitrile and a fluoroketone developed as 3M™ Novec™ 4710 Insulating Gas and 3M™ Novec™ 5110 Insulating Gas, respectively. Both fluoronitrile and fluoroketone mixtures are successfully used in gas-insulated equipment currently operating on the grid where they reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 99% versus SF6. This paper reviews these leading components of alternative-gas mixtures with updates on the performance, safety and environmental profiles in electrical power applications.
Influence of Oxygen Ion Migration from Substrates on Photochemical Degradation of CH3NH3PbI3 Hybrid Perovskite
Authors: Zhidkov Ivan S. , Akbulatov Azat F. , Inasaridze Liana N. , Kukharenko Andrey I. , Frolova Lyubov A. , Cholakh Seif O. , Chueh Chu-Chen , Troshin Pavel A. , Kurmaev Ernst Z.
Published: August 2021

Measurements of XPS survey, core levels (N 1s, O 1s, Pb 4f, I 3d), and valence band (VB) spectra of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) hybrid perovskite prepared on different substrates (glass, indium tin oxide (ITO), and TiO2) aged under different light-soaking conditions at room temperature are presented. The results reveal that the photochemical stability of MAPbI3 depends on the type of substrate and gradually decreases when glass is replaced by ITO and TiO2. Also, the degradation upon exposure to visible light is accompanied by the formation of MAI, PbI2, and Pb0 products as shown by XPS core levels spectra. According to XPS O 1s and VB spectra measurements, this degradation process is superimposed on the partial oxidation of lead atoms in ITO/MAPbI3 and TiO2/MAPbI3, for which Pb–O bonds are formed due to the diffusion of the oxygen ions from the substrates. This unexpected interaction leads to additional photochemical degradation.
Experimental and Numerical Analysis on Two-Phase Induced Low-Speed Pre-Ignition
Authors: Zöbinger Norbert , Schweizer Thorsten , Lauer Thomas , Kubach Heiko , Koch Thomas
Published: August 2021

The root cause of the initial low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) is not yet clarified. The literature data suggest that a two-phase phenomenon is most likely triggering the unpredictable premature ignitions in highly boosted spark-ignition engines. However, there are different hypotheses regarding the actual initiator, whether it is a detached liquid oil-fuel droplet or a solid-like particle from deposits. Therefore, the present work investigates the possibility of oil droplet-induced pre-ignitions using a modern downsized engine with minimally invasive endoscopic optical accessibility incorporating in-cylinder lubrication oil detection via light-induced fluorescence. This setup enables the differentiation between liquid and solid particles. Furthermore, the potential of hot solid particles to initiate an ignition under engine-relevant conditions is analyzed numerically. To do so, the particle is generalized as a hot surface transferring heat to the reactive ambient gas phase. The gas-phase reactivity is represented as a TRF/air mixture based on RON/MON specifications of the investigated fuel. The chemical processes are predicted using a semi-detailed reaction mechanism, including 137 species and 633 reactions in a 2D CFD simulation framework. In the optical experiments, no evidence of a liquid oil droplet-induced pre-ignition could be found. Nevertheless, all observed pre-ignitions had a history of flying light-emitting objects. There are strong hints towards solid-like deposit LSPI initiation. The application of the numerical methodology to mean in-cylinder conditions of an LSPI prone engine operation point reveals that particles below 1000 K are not able to initiate a pre-ignition. A sensitivity analysis of the thermodynamic boundary conditions showed that the particle temperature is the most decisive parameter on the calculated ignition delay time.
Biocellulose for Treatment of Wastewaters Generated by Energy Consuming Industries: A Review
Authors: de Medeiros Alexandre D’Lamare Maia , da Silva Junior Cláudio José Galdino , de Amorim Julia Didier Pedrosa , do Nascimento Helenise Almeida , Converti Attilio , Costa Andréa Fernanda de Santana , Sarubbo Leonie Asfora
Published: August 2021

Water and energy are two of the most important resources used by humanity. Discharging highly polluting wastewater without prior treatment is known to adversely affect water potability, agriculture, aquatic life and even society. One of the greatest threats to water sources are contaminated effluents, which can be of residential or industrial origin and whose disposal in nature must comply with specific laws aimed at reducing their environmental impact. As the oil industry is closely related to energy consumption, it is among the sectors most responsible for global pollution. The damage caused by this industrial sector is present in all countries, whose legislations require companies to carry out wastewater treatment before disposal or recycling in their production process. Bacterial cellulose membranes have been shown to be efficient as filters for the removal of various contaminants, including biological and chemical agents or heavy metals. Therefore, their use could make an important contribution to bio-based technological development in the circular economy. Moreover, they can be used to produce new materials for industry, taking into consideration current environmental preservation policies aimed at a more efficient use of energy. This review aims to compare and describe the applications of cellulose membranes in the treatment of these effluents.
A Review of Low-CO2 Emission Fuels for a Dual-Fuel RCCI Engine
Authors: Karczewski Mirosław , Chojnowski Janusz , Szamrej Grzegorz
Published: August 2021

This article discusses the problems of exhaust gas emissions in the context of the possibility of their reduction through the use of fuels with hydrogen as an additive or hydrotreatment. These fuels, thanks to their properties, may be a suitable response to more and more demanding restrictions on exhaust emissions. The use of such fuels in reactivity controlled dual fuel engines (RCCI) is currently the most effective way of using them in internal combustion (IC) engines. Low-temperature combustion in this type of engine allows the use of all modern fuels intended for combustion engines with high thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency higher than in classic engines allows for additional reduction of CO2 emissions. In this work, the research on this subject was compiled, and conclusions were drawn as to further possibilities of popularizing the use of these fuels in a wide spectrum of applications and the prospect of using them on a mass scale.
Ukrainian Market of Electrical Energy: Reforming, Financing, Innovative Investment, Efficiency Analysis, and Audit
Authors: Kostyrko Ruslan , Kosova Tetiana , Kostyrko Lidiia , Zaitseva Liudmyla , Melnychenko Oleksandr
Published: August 2021

The aim of this research is to determine the influence of electrical energy market regulation reform in Ukraine on the competitive environment, the reproduction processes of financial and innovative support, and the energy efficiency of the national economy. The authors have put forward and verified the hypothesis that, under conditions of institutional maturity of the Ukrainian electrical energy market, its liberalization and separation of the kinds of activity related to generation, transmission, and distribution leads to a decrease in prices, and the level of economic concentration stimulates implementation of innovations and the formation of reports on sustainable development. Over the thirteen-year time interval, a steady trend of decreasing energy intensity of the Ukrainian economy was established, and the appropriateness of energy efficiency management based on strategic targets was substantiated. The electricity market model in Ukraine is defined as a hybrid one, with an emphasis on trade under bilateral agreements. It was statistically found that liberalization of the electrical energy market in Ukraine contributed to a decrease in prices, with the exception of the areas of largest household and non-household consumers. The high level of asset concentration in the accounts of large enterprises was revealed, and the conclusion concerning the improvement of the competitive environment in the electricity production sector and the existence of the features of natural monopolies in the areas of transmission and distribution of electricity was made. The assessment of the financial competitive ability and profitability of electrical energy market entities was made, the main entities of the investment activity and the sources of their financing were characterized, and innovations were emphasized. The role of the standards of the audit of integrated reporting of the Ukrainian energy holdings and their role in ensuring sustainable development was determined.
Analysis of the Effect of Mass Parameters on Motorcycle Vibration and Stability
Authors: Dębowski Andrzej
Published: August 2021

This paper presents a vibration analysis method and an example of its application to evaluate the influence of mass parameters on torsional vibration frequencies in the steering system of a motorcycle. The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent vibration frequencies can change during their daily operation. These changes are largely due to the ratio of vehicle weight to driver and load. The complex dynamics make it very difficult to conduct research using simple models. It is difficult to observe the influence of individual parameters because they are strongly interrelated. This paper provides a description of the vibration analysis method, and the results are presented in the form of Bode diagrams and tables. On this basis, it was found that the driver, deciding on the way of using the vehicle and introducing modifications in it, influences the resonant frequencies of the steering system. Typical exploitation factors, on the other hand, do not cause significant changes, although they may contribute to increasing the sensitivity of the system to vibrations. The conducted analysis also showed some nonlinear changes in the dynamics of the system with linear changes of the parameter values.
Retinoprotective Effects of PACAP Eye Drops in Microbead-Induced Glaucoma Model in Rats
Authors: Szabo Edina , Patko Evelin , Vaczy Alexandra , Molitor Dorottya , Csutak Adrienne , Toth Gabor , Reglodi Dora , Atlasz Tamas
Published: August 2021

Glaucoma is associated with increased intraocular pressure (IOP), causing the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the loss of their axons leading to blindness. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is neuroprotective in several neural injuries, including retinopathies. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PACAP1-38 eye drops in a model of glaucoma. IOP was elevated bilaterally by injections of microbeads to block the aqueous humor outflow. The control groups received the same volume of saline. Animals were treated with PACAP1-38 (1 µg/drop, 3 × 1 drop/day) or vehicle for 4 weeks starting one day after the injections. Retinal morphology by histology and optical coherence tomography, function by electroretinography, and IOP changes were analyzed. Animals were sacrificed 8 weeks after the injections. Microbeads injections induced a significant increase in the IOP, while PACAP1-38 treatment lowered it to normal levels (~10 mmHg). Significant retinal degeneration and functional impairment were observed in the microbead-injected group without PACAP1-38 treatment. In the microbeads + PACAP1-38 group, the retinal morphology and functionality were close to the normal values. In summary, our results show that PACAP1-38, given in form of eye drops, is neuroprotective in glaucoma, providing the basis for potential future therapeutic administration.
Sex-Specific Effects of Plastic Caging in Murine Viral Myocarditis
Authors: Bruno Katelyn A. , Macomb Logan P. , Morales-Lara A. Carolina , Mathews Jessica E. , Frisancho J. Augusto , Yang Alex L. , Di Florio Damian N. , Edenfield Brandy H. , Whelan Emily R. , Salomon Gary R. , Hill Anneliese R. , Hewa-Rahinduwage Chathuranga C. , Scott Ashley J. , Greyner Henry D. , Molina Frank A. , Greenaway Merci S. , Cooper George M. , Fairweather DeLisa
Published: August 2021

Background: Myocarditis is an inflammatory heart disease caused by viral infections that can lead to heart failure, and occurs more often in men than women. Since animal studies have shown that myocarditis is influenced by sex hormones, we hypothesized that endocrine disruptors, which interfere with natural hormones, may play a role in the progression of the disease. The human population is exposed to the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) from plastics, such as water bottles and plastic food containers. Methods: Male and female adult BALB/c mice were housed in plastic versus glass caging, or exposed to BPA in drinking water versus control water. Myocarditis was induced with coxsackievirus B3 on day 0, and the endpoints were assessed on day 10 post infection. Results: We found that male BALB/c mice that were exposed to plastic caging had increased myocarditis due to complement activation and elevated numbers of macrophages and neutrophils, whereas females had elevated mast cell activation and fibrosis. Conclusions: These findings show that housing mice in traditional plastic caging increases viral myocarditis in males and females, but using sex-specific immune mechanisms.
Role of S100A8/A9 for Cytokine Secretion, Revealed in Neutrophils Derived from ER-Hoxb8 Progenitors
Authors: Zhou Yang , Hann Justine , Schenten Véronique , Plançon Sébastien , Bueb Jean-Luc , Tolle Fabrice , Bréchard Sabrina
Published: August 2021

S100A9, a Ca2+-binding protein, is tightly associated to neutrophil pro-inflammatory functions when forming a heterodimer with its S100A8 partner. Upon secretion into the extracellular environment, these proteins behave like damage-associated molecular pattern molecules, which actively participate in the amplification of the inflammation process by recruitment and activation of pro-inflammatory cells. Intracellular functions have also been attributed to the S100A8/A9 complex, notably its ability to regulate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activation. However, the complete functional spectrum of S100A8/A9 at the intracellular level is far from being understood. In this context, we here investigated the possibility that the absence of intracellular S100A8/A9 is involved in cytokine secretion. To overcome the difficulty of genetically modifying neutrophils, we used murine neutrophils derived from wild-type and S100A9−/− Hoxb8 immortalized myeloid progenitors. After confirming that differentiated Hoxb8 neutrophil-like cells are a suitable model to study neutrophil functions, our data show that absence of S100A8/A9 led to a dysregulation of cytokine secretion after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that S100A8/A9-induced cytokine secretion was regulated by the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. These results were confirmed in human differentiated HL-60 cells, in which S100A9 was inhibited by shRNAs. Finally, our results indicate that the degranulation process could be involved in the regulation of cytokine secretion by S100A8/A9.
Iron–Quercetin Complex Preconditioning of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Accelerates Angiogenic and Fibroblast Migration: Implications for Wound Healing
Authors: Kantapan Jiraporn , Anukul Nampeung , Leetrakool Nipapan , Rolin Gwenaël , Vergote Jackie , Dechsupa Nathupakorn
Published: August 2021

Cell-based therapy is a highly promising treatment paradigm in ischemic disease due to its ability to repair tissue when implanted into a damaged site. These therapeutic effects involve a strong paracrine component resulting from the high levels of bioactive molecules secreted in response to the local microenvironment. Therefore, the secreted therapeutic can be modulated by preconditioning the cells during in vitro culturing. Herein, we investigated the potential use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes, the “iron–quercetin complex” or IronQ, for preconditioning peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to expand proangiogenic cells and enhance their secreted therapeutic factors. PBMCs obtained from healthy donor blood were cultured in the presence of the iron–quercetin complex. Differentiated preconditioning PBMCs were characterized by immunostaining. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was carried out to describe the secreted cytokines. In vitro migration and tubular formation using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were completed to investigate the proangiogenic efficacy. IronQ significantly increased mononuclear progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation into spindle-shape-like cells, expressing both hematopoietic and stromal cell markers. The expansion increased the number of colony-forming units (CFU-Hill). The conditioned medium obtained from IronQ-treated PBMCs contained high levels of interleukin 8 (IL-8), IL-10, urokinase-type-plasminogen-activator (uPA), matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), as well as augmented migration and capillary network formation of HUVECs and fibroblast cells, in vitro. Our study demonstrated that the IronQ-preconditioning PBMC protocol could enhance the angiogenic and reparative potential of non-mobilized PBMCs. This protocol might be used as an adjunctive strategy to improve the efficacy of cell therapy when using PBMCs for ischemic diseases and chronic wounds. However, in vivo assessment is required for further validation.