bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of the Composite Hydrotalcite (Mg/Al)/Chitosan as Adsorbent for the Treatment of Raw Water of Municipal Waterworks PDAM Bandarmasih
Authors: Ramadhan Maulana Wahyu Noor , Irawan Chairul , Wijayanti Hesti , Elma Muthia
Published: October 2019

Research has been carried out about raw water treatment of PDAM Bandarmasih by hydrotalcite (Mg/Al) + chitosan (shell of haruan and papuyu fish) adsorbent reviews of decreasing dye value (PtCo), iron (Fe), and turbidity. This research intended to  produce drinking water from utilization of fish shell that were still underutilized into chitosan to be matched with hydrotalcite (Mg/Al) with variations of 1, 2 and 3 grams with a duration of 24 hours. The results showed that the decrease in dyestuff value were 96.78%, 95.03% and 92.98%. Persentage decrease in iron (Fe) were 94.38%, 93.78 and 91.87% and percent of turbidity reduction were 97.98%, 79.76% and 76.56%. Best decrease in variations of  hydrotalcite (Mg/Al) + chitosan was 1 gram for a duration of 24 hours which resulted in a decrease in dyestuff, iron and turbidity of 11 PtCo, 0.047 mg/L, 0.76 NTU where the results were appropriate in the drinking water requirements in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia no:492/MENKES/PES/IV/2010.
Harmonization of Landsat and Sentinel 2 for Crop Monitoring in Drought Prone Areas: Case Studies of Ninh Thuan (Vietnam) and Bekaa (Lebanon)
Authors: Nguyen Minh D. , Villanueva Oscar B. , Bui Duong D. , Nguyen Phong T. , Ribbe Lars
Published: October 2019

Proper satellite-based crop monitoring applications at the farm-level often require near-daily imagery at medium to high spatial resolution. The synthesizing of ongoing satellite missions by ESA (Sentinel 2) and NASA (Landsat7/8) provides this unprecedented opportunity at a global scale; nonetheless, this is rarely implemented because these procedures are data demanding and computationally intensive. This study developed a complete stream processing in the Google Earth Engine cloud platform to generate harmonized surface reflectance images of Landsat7,8 and Sentinel 2 missions. The harmonized images were generated for two agriculture schemes in Bekaa (Lebanon) and Ninh Thuan (Vietnam) during the period 2018-2019. We evaluated the performance of several pre-processing steps needed for the harmonization including image co-registration, brdf correction, topographic correction, and band adjustment. This study found that the miss-registration between Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 images, varied from 10 meters in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam to 32 meters in Bekaa, Lebanon, and if not treated, posed a great impact on the quality of the harmonized dataset. Analysis of a pair overlapped L8-S2 images over the Bekaa region showed that after the harmonization, all band-to-band spatial correlations were greatly improved from (0.57, 0.64, 0.67, 0.75, 0.76, 0.75, 0.79) to (0.87, 0.91, 0.92, 0.94, 0.97, 0.97, 0.96) in bands (blue, green, red, nir,swir1,swir2, ndvi) respectively. We demonstrated that dense observation of the harmonized dataset can be very helpful for characterizing cropland in highly dynamic areas. We detected unimodal, bimodal and trimodal shapes in the temporal NDVI patterns (likely cycles of paddy rice) in Ninh Thuan province only during the year 2018. We fitted the temporal signatures of the NDVI time series using harmonic (Fourier) analysis. Derived phase (angle from the starting point to the cycle's peak) and amplitude (the cycle's height) were combined with max-NDVI to generate an R-G-B image. This image highlighted croplands as colored pixels (high phase and amplitude) and other types of land as grey/dark pixels (low phase/amplitude). Generated harmonized datasets that contain surface reflectance images (bands blue, green, red, nir, swir1, swir2, and ndvi at 30 meters) over the two studied sites are provided for public usage and testing.
Assisted History Matching for Reservoir Simulation Models
Authors: Syrtlanov Vil , Golovatskiy Yury , Ishimov Ivan , Mezhnova Natalia
Published: October 2019

Реɜюмe

The paper presents assisted history matching methods for the preparation and modification of the simulation model parameters (absolute permeability, relative permeability, etc.)). The proposed approaches allow both to speed up the history matching process and improve the accuracy of the simulation results.
A Model To Simulate Matrix-Acid Stimulation for Wells in Dolomite Reservoirs with Vugs and Natural Fractures
Authors: Ali Mahmoud T. , Ezzat Ahmed A. , Nasr-El-Din Hisham A.
Published: October 2019

Designing matrix-acid stimulation treatments in vuggy and naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs is a challenging problem in the petroleum industry. It is often difficult to physically model this process, and current mathematical models do not consider vugs or fractures. There is a significant gap in the literature for models that design and evaluate matrix-acid stimulation in vuggy and naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs. The objective of this work is to develop a new model to simulate matrix acidizing under field conditions in vuggy and naturally fractured carbonates.

To obtain accurate and reliable simulation parameters, acidizing coreflood experiments were modeled using a reactive-flow simulator. A 3D radial field-scale model was used to study the flow of acid in the presence of vugs (pore spaces that are significantly larger than grains) and natural fractures (breaks in the reservoir that were formed naturally by tectonic events). The vugs’ size and distribution effects on acid propagation were studied under field conditions. The fracture length, conductivity, and orientation, and the number of fractures in the formation, were studied by the radial model. The results of the numerical simulation were used to construct Gaussian-process (GP)-based surrogate models for predicting acid propagation in vuggy and naturally fractured carbonates.

Finally, the acid propagation in vuggy/naturally fractured carbonates was evaluated, as well.The simulation results of vuggy carbonates show that the presence of vugs in carbonates results in faster and deeper acid propagation in the formation when compared with homogeneous reservoirs at injection velocities lower than 8×10–4 m/s. Results also revealed that the size and density of the vugs have a significant impact on acid consumption and the overall performance of the acid treatment. The output of the fracture model illustrates that under field conditions, fracture orientations do not affect the acid-propagation velocity. The acid does not touch all of the fractures around the well. The GP model predictions have an accuracy of approximately 90% for both vuggy and naturally fractured cases. The vuggy/naturally fractured model simulations reveal that fractures are the main reason behind the fast acid propagation in these highly heterogeneous reservoirs.
Chicken adaptive response to low energy diet: main role of the hypothalamic lipid metabolism revealed by a phenotypic and multi-tissue transcriptomic approach
Authors: Jehl Frédéric , Désert Colette , Klopp Christophe , Brenet Marine , Rau Andrea , Leroux Sophie , Boutin Morgane , Lagoutte Laetitia , Muret Kévin , Blum Yuna , Esqu Diane , Gourichon David , Burlot Thierry , Collin Anne , Pitel Frédérique , Benani Alexandre , Zerjal Tatiana , Lagarrigue Sandrine
Published: October 2019

Background
Production conditions of layer chicken can vary in terms of temperature or diet energy content compared to the controlled environment where pure-bred selection was undertaken. The aim of this study was to better understand the effect of a 15%-energy depleted diet on egg-production, energy homeostasis and metabolism via a multi-tissue transcriptomic analysis. Study was designed to compare effects of the nutritional intervention in two layer chicken lines divergently selected for residual feed intake.
Results
Chicken significantly increased their feed intake and decreased their abdominal adipose tissue weight in response to the low-energy diet, whereas their egg-production was unchanged. For each production trait, no significant interaction was observed between diet and line. Moreover, the low energy diet had no effect on adipose tissue and liver transcriptomes. By contrast, the nutritional challenge affected the blood transcriptome and, more severely, the hypothalamus transcriptome which displayed 2700 differentially expressed genes. In this tissue, the low-energy diet lead to an over-expression of genes related to endocannabinoid signaling (CN1R, NAPE-PLD) known to regulate feed intake, and to genes related to polyunsaturated fatty acids synthesis (FADS1, ELOVL5 and FADS2) such as the arachidonic acid which is a precursor of anandamide, a key endocannabinoid. A possible regulatory role of NR1H3 (alias LXRα) has been associated to these transcriptional changes. The low-energy diet further affected brain plasticity-related genes involved in the cholesterol synthesis and in the synaptic activity, revealing a link between nutrition and brain plasticity. It also upregulated genes related to protein synthesis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation in the hypothalamus, suggesting reorganization in nutrient utilization and biological synthesis in this brain area.
Conclusions
We observed a complex transcriptome modulation in the hypothalamus of chicken in response to low-energy diet suggesting numerous changes in synaptic plasticity, endocannabinoid regulation, neurotransmission, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial activity and protein synthesis. This global transcriptomic reprogramming could explain the adaptive behavioral response (i.e. increase of feed intake) of the animals to the low-energy content of the diet.
Detection and application of genome-wide variations in peach for association and genetic relationship analysis
Authors: Guan Liping , Cao ke , Li yong , guo jian , xu qiang , Wang Lirong
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background: Peach (Prunus persica L.) is a diploid species and model plant of the Rosaceae family. In the past decade, significant progress has been made in peach genetic research via DNA markers, but the number of these markers remains limited.
Results: In this study, we performed a genome-wide DNA markers detection based on sequencing data of six distantly related peach accessions. A total of 650,693~1,053,547 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 114,227~178,968 small insertion/deletions (InDels), 8,386~12,298 structure variants (SVs), 2,111~2,581 copy number variants (CNVs) and 229,357~346,940 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected and annotated. To demonstrate the application of DNA markers, 944 SNPs were filtered for association study of fruit ripening time and 15 highly polymorphic SSRs were selected to analyze the genetic relationship among 221 accessions.
Conclusions: The results showed that the use of high-throughput sequencing to develop DNA markers is fast and effective. Comprehensive identification of DNA markers, including SVs and SSRs, would be of benefit to genetic diversity evaluation, genetic mapping, and molecular breeding of peach.
Moderate and deep sedation for non-invasive paediatric procedures in tertiary maternity and children’s hospitals in China: A questionnaire survey from China
Authors: Li Bo , Zhang Ruidong , Huang Yue , Zhang Kan , Wat Chun Yin , Bai Jie , Zhang Mazhong , Zheng Jijian
Published: October 2019

Background: Moderate and deep sedation are well-established techniques in many developed countries, and several guidelines have been published. However, they have received attention in China only in recent years. The aim of this study is to investigate current paediatric sedation practices in tertiary children’s hospitals and tertiary maternity and children hospitals in China. Methods: All tertiary children’s hospitals and tertiary maternity and children hospitals registered with the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China were invited to participate in an electronic survey, which included information on the sedation caseload, facility availability, staff structure, clinical-skill requirements for sedation providers, fasting guidelines, patient-monitoring practices, and choice of sedatives. Results: Fifty-eight of the 63 hospitals that completed the survey (92.1%) provided moderate and deep sedation. Dedicated sedation rooms and post-sedation recovery rooms were found in only 14 (24.1%) and 19 (32.8%) hospitals, respectively. Sedation for non-invasive procedures was primarily performed by anaesthesiologists (69.0%); however, 75.9% of the sedation providers had not received paediatric basic and advanced life-support training. Children were asked to fast from clear liquids for at least 2 h in 44.8% of hospitals and at most 6 h in 5.2% of hospitals; they were asked to fast from solid food/milk for at least 4 h in 27.6% of hospitals and more than 8 h in 1.7% of hospitals. The most commonly used sedative in all groups was chloral hydrate. For rescue, propofol was the most widely used sedative, particularly for children older than 4 years. Conclusion: Moderate and deep sedation practices vary widely in tertiary children’s hospitals and tertiary maternity and children hospitals in China. More optimized practices should be established to improve the quality of moderate and deep sedation.
The Year of Care approach: developing a model and delivery programme for care and support planning in long term conditions within general practice
Authors: Roberts Sue , Eaton Simon , Finch Tracy , Lewis-Barned Nick , Lhussier Monique , Oliver Lindsay , Rapley Tim , Temple-Scott Dawn
Published: October 2019

Background: People with long term conditions (LTCs) make most of the daily decisions and carry out the activities which affect their health and quality of life. Only a fraction of each contact with a health care professional (HCP) is spent supporting this. This paper describes how care and support planning (CSP) and an implementation framework to redesign services, were developed to address this in UK general practice. Focussed on what is important to each individual, CSP brings together traditional clinical issues and the person’s lived experience in a solution focussed, forward looking conversation with an emphasis on ‘people not diseases’. Methods: The components of CSP were developed in three health communities using diabetes as an exemplar. This model was extended and refined for other single conditions and multimorbidity across 40 sites and two nations, over 15 years. Working with local teams and communities the authors used theoretical models of care, implementation and spread, developing and tailoring training, support and resources to embed CSP as usual care, sharing learning across a community of practice. Results: The purpose, content, process, developmental hurdles and impact of this CSP model are described, alongside an implementation strategy. There is now a robust, reproducible five step model; preparation, conversation, recording, actions and review. Uniquely, preparation, involving information sharing with time for reflection, enables an uncluttered conversation with a professional focussed on what is important to each person. The components of the Year of Care House act as a checklist for implementation, a metaphor for their interdependence and a flexible framework. Spreading CSP involved developing exemplar practices and building capacity across local health communities. These reported improved patient experience, practitioner job satisfaction, health behaviours and outcomes, teamwork, practice organisation, resource use, and links with wider community activities. Conclusions: Tested in multiple settings, CSP is a reproducible and practical model of planned care applicable to all LTCs, with the capacity to be transformative for people with LTCs and health care professionals. It recaptures relational dimensions of care with transactional elements in the background. Options for applying this model and implementation framework at scale now need to be explored.
Individualized PEEP titration guided by intratidal compliance profile analysis improves regional ventilation – a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Weber Jonas , Gutjahr Jan , Schmidt Johannes , Lozano-Zahonero Sara , Borgmann Silke , Schumann Stefan , Wirth Steffen
Published: October 2019

Background
Application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) improves lung aeration and reduces mechanical stress during mechanical ventilation. Although numerous approaches for PEEP titration have been proposed, there is no accepted strategy to titrate optimal PEEP. By analyzing the intratidal compliance profiles, PEEP may be titrated patient-individually.
Methods
After obtaining informed consent, we measured respiratory system mechanics, regional ventilation in 60 consecutive patients undergoing elective surgery, randomly allocated to the control group (PEEP = 5 cmH2O) or the intervention group receiving individually titrated PEEP, guided by intratidal compliance profile analysis. Primary endpoint was the frequencies of nonlinear intratidal compliance (CRS) profiles of the respiratory system (horizontal, increasing, decreasing and mixed). We further investigated respiratory and hemodynamic variables and regional ventilation.
Results
Frequencies of CRS profiles were comparable between the groups. Besides PEEP [control: 5.0 (0.0), intervention: 5.8 (1.1) cmH2O, p<0.001] respiratory and hemodynamic variables were comparable between the two groups. The compliance profile analysis showed no significant differences between the two groups. The loss of ventral and dorsal regional ventilation was higher in the control [ventral: 41.0 (16.3) %, dorsal: 25.9 (13.9) %] than in the intervention group [ventral: 29.3 (17.6) %, dorsal: 16.4 (12.7) %, p (ventral) = 0.039, p (dorsal) = 0.028].
Conclusions
Individualized PEEP titration according to bedside compliance profile analysis improves regional ventilation without affecting respiratory and hemodynamic variables negatively and may be a promising approach to patient-individual ventilation setting.
Comparative analysis of retrograde intrarenal surgery and modified Ultra-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy in management of lower pole renal stones (1.5-3.5 cm)
Authors: Li Zhuohang , Lai Cong , Shah Arvind K. , Xie Weibin , Liu Cheng , Huang Li , Li Kuiqing , Yu Hao , Xu Kewei
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background：To compare the safety and efficacy of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) and modified Ultra-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (UMP) in semi-supine combined lithotomy position for the management of 1.5-3.5 cm lower pole renal stones (LPSs).
Methods: A total of 63 patients with 1.5-3.5 cm LPSs who underwent RIRS (n= 33) or modified UMP (n= 30) in diameter between January 2017 and January 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Modified UMP was performed in semi-supine combined lithotomy position and a 9.5/11.5 F ureteral access sheath (UAS) was inserted during the procedure in order to maintain low pelvic pressure and to facilitate the removal of stone fragments. Base-line parameters, stone characteristics, illness condition, operation time, postoperative hemoglobin (Hb) drop, postoperative creatinine (Cr) elevation, length of hospital stay, length of postoperative hospital stay, stone-free rate (SFR) and complications were compared between the two groups.
Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in base-line parameters, stone characteristics and illness condition. The mean operating time of RIRS group was longer than UMP group (95.61 ± 21.9 vs. 55.0 ± 16.1 min, p< 0.001). The mean postoperative Hb drop was less in RIRS group (7.42 ± 4.7 vs. 15.70 ± 9.8 g/L, p< 0.001). The length of hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay for RIRS were shorter than UMP (4.76 ± 1.1 vs. 5.83 ± 0.8 d, p< 0.001, 2.97 ± 0.9 vs. 4.07 ± 0.9 d, p< 0.001). The Early SFR was higher in UMP group (54.5 vs. 80.0%, p< 0.050) while SFR at 1-month and 3-months postoperatively was similar in both groups (p= 0.504, p= 0.675). There were no significant differences between the two groups in complications (p= 0.228).
Conclusion：For patients with 1.5-3.5 cm LPSs, both modified UMP and RIRS are safe and viable. The modified UMP technique was used in this study, application semi-supine combined lithotomy position and the retention of UAS can improve the surgical efficiency and maintain low pressure perfusion in the kidney, which resulted in superior treatment efficacy. Therefore, we highly recommend this technique for LPSs with heavy stone burdens.
Severity and prevalence of various types of mental ill-health in a general adult population: Age and sex differences
Authors: Höglund Per , Hakelind Camilla , Nordin Steven
Published: October 2019

Purpose Taking a broad approach, the aim of this study was to better understand the extent of severity and prevalence in various types of mental ill-health across age groups and sexes in the general adult population. A first objective was to determine symptom severity of anxiety, depression, insomnia, burnout and somatization in combinations of different age groups and sex. A second objective was to determine prevalence of caseness of these types of mental ill-health in both absolute and relative terms in the combinations of age groups and sex. Methods: Cross-sectional data were used from the Västerbotten Environmental Health Study in Sweden. In total 3406 participants, aged 18 to 79 years, constituted a random sample stratified for age and sex.Results The results show that severity and prevalence of anxiety, insomnia and burnout were high among women, in particular young women, but decreased with age. Men aged 30-49 years had the highest prevalence for mental ill-health compared to other age groups among men. Men and women aged 60-69 years had generally the lowest symptom severity and caseness. In contrast to many other studies the prevalence for depression shows a similarity between men and women in all age groups. The sex-related differences in extent were generally largest in the youngest age group, and gradually decreased with age.Conclusion As mental ill-health starts early in life, interventions aimed at early detection and treatment are necessary to reduce the severity and prevalence of common types of mental ill-health in society.
High-throughput sequencing analysis of intestinal flora changes in elderly hemodialysis CKD patients
Authors: liu yan , Hu Jianguang , Zhong Xiaoshi , Yan Jing , Zhou Daoyuan , Qin Danping , Xiao Xiao , Zheng Yuanyuan
Published: October 2019

Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) disease affects gut flora by causing dysbiosis and lead to systemic inflammatory conditions. Here, we provide intestinal flora changes of CKD patients undertook different hemodialysis therapy.Methods Patients were recruited during 2017-2019 and divided into healthy control group (CT), CKD non-dialysis group (CKD), hemodialysis group (HD) and peritoneal dialysis group (PD). Intestinal flora genome 16S rDNA sequencing and further bio-informatic analysis were performed.Results Decreased diversity and altered communities of intestinal flora in PD patients, in which microbial diversity was positive correlated with the albumin level were observed. A total of 20 intestinal flora phyla were detected in 166 fecal samples, divided into 3 dominant intestinal types including Bacteroides-dominant gut type, Firmicutes-dominant type and Proteobacteria-dominant gut type. Further analyses found 198 genera, the abundance of 86 genera were significantly different. Butyrate-producing taxa as Faecalibacterium in genera level and Bifidobacteriaceae and Prevotellaceae in family level were dominant genus in CT, CKD, and HD groups, while urease containing-, indole- and p-cresol-forming taxa as Escherichia in genera and Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae in family level was dominated genus in PD group. Number of differential expressed genes in KEGG enrichment pathways were significantly different in PD group in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, translation, and membrane transport.Conclusion Our results suggest peritoneal dialysis therapy could result in reduced diversity and altered microbial communities, with reduced probiotic butyrate-producing taxa and increased urease containing-, indole- and p-cresol-forming taxa. The disordered intestinal flora can seriously affect the nutrition level in CKD patients with PD therapy.
Active Ankylosing Spondylitis Increases Blood Loss during Total Hip Arthroplasty for a Stiff Hip Joint
Authors: Hu Yong , Jiang Wei-Zhou
Published: October 2019

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been highlighted as the best treatment option for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with advanced hip involvement. The huge blood loss associated with THA is a common concern of postoperative complications. Disease activity is a specific reflection of systematic inflammation of AS. The purpose of this study was to determine the eﬀect of disease activity on blood loss during THA in patients with AS. Methods: Forty-nine patients with AS who underwent unilateral THAs were retrospectively studied. Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) was employed to evaluate the disease activity. Orthopedic Surgery Transfusion Hemoglobin European Overview (OSTHEO) formula was used to assess the surgical blood loss. The patients were divided into active group (ASDAS≥1.3; n=32) and stable groups (ASDAS<1.3; n=17) based on the ASDAS. Peri-operative laboratory values, plain radiographs, intra-operative data, transfusion volume, and use of hemostatic agents were recorded and statistically analyzed. Results: The ASDAS, pre-operative C-reactive protein level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and fibrinogen concentration in the active group were higher than the stable group (all P <0.05); however, the pre-operative hemoglobin concentration and albumin level were higher in the stable group (both P <0.05). The total blood loss during THA in stable patients was 1415.31 mL and 2035.04 mL in active patients ( P =0.006). The difference between the two groups was shown to be consistent after excluding the gender difference ( P =0.030). A high transfusion rate existed in both groups (stable group, 76.47% with an average of 1.53 units; active group, 84.37% with an average of 2.31 units), but there was no significant difference between the two groups (both P >0.05). Compensated blood loss, corresponding to transfusion, was noted significantly more often in the active group compared to the stable group ( P =0.027). Conclusion: Active AS patients are at high risk for increased blood loss during THA compared to stable patients. The underlying mechanism includes disorders of the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems, poor nutrition status, osteoporosis, imbalance of oxidative–antioxidative status and local inflammatory reaction. It is strongly recommended to perform THA in AS patients with stable disease.
Differential use of pulse wave velocity and ankle-brachial index in elderly Chinese and novel serum bio-markers for predicting arterial stiffness: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Fu Guoxiang , Zhong Yuan , Pan Fengfeng , Xu Chanchan
Published: October 2019

Background Arterial stiffness is characterized by the loss of vessel elasticity and arterial compliance. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) and ankle-brachial Index (ABI) are widely used in clinic for evaluating arterial stiffness. This study aimed to compare the efficiency of PWV and ABI in elderly Chinese and investigate novel bio-markers for aging related arterial stiffness. Methods PWV and ABI were evaluated in 169 elderly Chinese with mean age of 85.7 years. 86 of the participants had serum concentrations of angiotensin Ⅱ, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), osteopontin and glutathione peroxidase tested in further. Results Compared with normotensive participants, PWV levels elevated in both limbs of hypertensive patients ( 2219 ± 90 cm/s v.s. 1970 ± 66 cm/s, P = 0.090 and 2141 ± 52 cm/s v.s. 1932 ± 67 cm/s, P = 0.023, separately) . Compared with non- diabetes mellitus participants, ABI levels declined in both limbs of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients( 0.96 ± 0.02 v.s. 1.05 ± 0.02, P = 0.002 and 0.99 ± 0.03 v.s. 1.03 ± 0.02, P = 0.071, separately). VCAM was included in both regression models for predicting PWV in left limbs and PWV in right limbs ( Beta= - 0.307, P= 0.048; Beta= - 0.358, P= 0.020, separately). Osteopontin was included in both regression models for predicting ABI in left limbs and ABI in right limbs ( Beta= - 0.320, P= 0.039; Beta= - 0.290, P= 0.011, separately). Conclusions: Differential use of PWV and ABI should be considered in elderly with hypertension and/or DM. Serum levels of VCAM and osteopontin might be independent bio-markers for predicting arterial stiffness. KEYWORDS Arterial stiffness in elderly; Pulse wave velocity; Ankle-brachial Index; Vascular cell adhesion molecule; Osteopontin
The material quality of a new hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lens
Authors: Yildirim Timur M. , Fang Hui , Schickhardt Sonja K. , Wang Qiang , Merz Patrick R. , Auffarth Gerd U.
Published: October 2019

Background The formation of fluid-filled microvacuoles, termed glistenings, is a common complication of intraocular lenses (IOLs) made from hydrophobic acrylate. Using our well established in-vitro laboratory method, we evaluated a new IOL material’s resistance to glistenings formation. Methods An in-vitro stress test for glistenings induction was performed on twenty samples of hydrophobic acrylic IOLs: ten of the new Eyecryl ASHFY600 (Biotech Vision Care, Ahmedabad, India) compared with ten samples of AcrySof IQ SN60WF (Alcon, Fort Worth, USA). The number of microvacuoles per square millimetre (MV/mm 2 ) was evaluated in five sections of each IOL. The results for each model were compared and rated on the Miyata Scale for grading glistening severity. Results In all cases, glistenings number was higher in the central section of the IOL optic than in the periphery. Mean number of MV/mm 2 was highest in the central part of the AcrySof IQ SN60WF, with 41.84 (±27.67) MVs/mm 2 . The lowest number of glistenings was found in the five sections of the Eyecryl ASHFY600 with 0.52 (±0.24) MVs/mm 2 . Mean value of the Eyecryl ASHFY600 IOL, using the Miyata Scale, was Zero. Conclusion In this in-vitro laboratory study, the new hydrophobic acrylic IOL showed a high resistance to microvacuole formation. In clinical use, one can confidently expect glistenings numbers will be low and clinically irrelevant in the Eyecryl ASHFY600.
iPNHOT: A knowledge-based approach for identifying protein-nucleic acid interaction hot spots
Authors: Zhu Xiaolei , Liu Ling , He Jingjing , Fang Ting , Xiong Yi , Mitchell Julie C.
Published: October 2019

Background

The interaction between proteins and nucleic acids plays pivotal roles in various biological processes such as transcription, translation, and gene regulation. Hot spots are a small set of residues that contribute most to the binding affinity of a protein-nucleic acid interaction. Compared to the extensive studies of the hot spots on protein-protein interfaces, the hot spot residues within protein-nucleic acids interfaces remain less well-studied, in part because mutagenesis data for protein-nucleic acids interaction are not as abundant as that for protein-protein interactions.Results

In this study, we built a new computational model, iPNHOT, to effectively predict hot spot residues on protein-nucleic acids interfaces. One training data set and an independent test set were collected from dbAMEPNI and some recent literature, respectively. To build our model, we generated 97 different sequential and structural features and used a two-step strategy to select the relevant features. The final model was built based only on 7 features using a support vector machine (SVM). The features include two unique features such as ∆SASsa 1/2 and esp3, which are newly proposed in this study. Based on the cross validation results, our model gave F1 score and AUC as 0.725 and 0.807 on the subset collected from ProNIT, respectively, compared to 0.407 and 0.670 of mCSM-NA, a state-of-the art model to predict the thermodynamic effects of protein-nucleic acid interaction. The iPNHOT model was further tested on the independent test set, which showed that our model outperformed other methods.Conclusion

In this study, by collecting data from a recently published database dbAMEPNI, we proposed a new model, iPNHOT, to predict hotspots on both protein-DNA and protein-RNA interfaces. The result shows that our model outperformed the existing state-of-art models. Our model is available for users through a webserver: http://zhulab.ahu.edu.cn/iPNHOT/ .
Exploring the Genetic Diversity of Wild Cranberry Populations in the Upper Midwestern United States
Authors: Rodríguez‐Bonilla Lorraine , Bonilla Fabian Rodríguez , Matusinec Daniel , Wiesman Eric , Schoville Sean D. , Atucha Amaya , Zalapa Juan
Published: October 2019

Plant breeding continuously evolves to satisfy the needs of the growing population, but in many crops, it has resulted in a decline in the genetic diversity available. Therefore, increasing knowledge of the range, genetic relationships, and diversity among crop wild relatives (CWR) is essential for the efficient use of available germplasm in breeding programs. In cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.), most cultivars share the same genetic background based on only a few wild selections. This limits the breeding pool for selection to support the cranberry industry. Therefore, we studied 36 wild populations of V. macrocarpon and V. oxycoccos L. across Wisconsin and Minnesota using 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. We found high levels of heterozygosity in both species, despite previous molecular markers studies revealing low genetic variation. In V. macrocarpon, a total of 294 alleles and moderate to high levels of heterozygosity (observed [HO] = 0.51, total [HT] = 0.66) were found. As expected for outcrossed polyploid species (4x), higher levels of heterozygosity (HO = 0.81, HT = 0.83) were found in V. oxycoccos than in V. macrocarpon. A comparison between wild V. macrocarpon with a group of cultivated and experimental hybrids found a distinct separation between both groups, suggesting there is diversity in the wild that needs to be explored and incorporated into breeding programs. The results of our studies are the first to explore in depth the genetic diversity of wild cranberry populations in the upper midwestern United States and provide novel information to support in situ conservation efforts to protect CWR of one of the few North American native crops.
Organic Transportation Networks: Human-Oriented Renewal of Modern Megapolises
Authors: Galychyn Oleksandr , Ahmeti Shqiprim , Ustundag Kevser
Published: October 2019

Studies related to the growth of the transportation networks from the second half of the 20th century have constantly been focused on the topological complexity of motorized & public transportation network (internal geometry & dynamics, occupied space, and geographical settings), or the structural properties (complexity of network structure). However, those studies have failed to incorporate the concept of an integrated public-soft transportation network, and the human-oriented transportation system, and its structural elements: soft transportation network, accessible nodes called Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs), healthy neighborhoods and, most importantly, its attributes. Additionally, the relative location (urban geographical settings) haven't been conceptualized in their models.In this paper, the ontological frameworks of an integrated public-soft transportation network and human-oriented transportation system will be proposed. Secondly, the attributes of those networks will be determined by comparing the integrated public-soft transportation network in Finland (Helsinki) with ordinary one in Italy (Rome) through the human-oriented transportation system framework. Thirdly, the applicability of the concept of human-oriented transportation system in Bozcaada (Tenedos) Island will be discussed. Thus, a new conceptual model of the human oriented transportation system will be proposed.
Nearshore two-step typhoon wind-wave prediction using deep recurrent neural networks
Authors: Wei Chih-Chiang , Cheng Ju-Yueh
Published: October 2019

Because Taiwan is located within the subtropical high and on the primary path of western Pacific typhoons, the interaction of these two factors easily causes extreme climate conditions, with strong wind carrying heavy rain and huge wind waves. To obtain precise wind-wave data for weather forecasting and thus minimize the threat posed by wind waves, this study proposes a two-step wind-wave prediction (TSWP) model to predict wind speed and wave height. The TSWP model is further divided into TSWP1, which uses data attributes at the current moment as input values and TSWP2, which uses observations from a lead time and predicts data attributes from input data. The classical one-step wave height prediction (OSWP) approach, which directly predicts wave height, was used as a benchmark to test TSWP. Deep recurrent neural networks (DRNNs) can be used to construct TSWP and OSWP approach-based models in wave height predictions. To compare with the accuracy achieved using DRNNs, linear regression, multilayer perceptron (MLP) networks, and deep neural networks (DNNs) were tested as benchmarks. The Guishandao Buoy Station located off the northeastern shore of Taiwan was used for a case study. The results were as follows: (1) compared with the shallower MLP network, the DNN and DRNN demonstrated a lower prediction error. (2) Compared with OSWP, TSWP1 and TSWP2 provided more accurate results. Therefore, the TSWP approach using a DRNN algorithm can effectively predict wind-wave heights.
Water smart technologies for irrigation water management of elephant foot yam in tropical zones of India
Authors: Sunitha S. , George James , Suja G. , Jyothi A. N. , Rajalekshmi A.
Published: October 2019

Water is the most crucial input in agriculture and declared to become the most scarce input in the near future, hence, judicious management of irrigation water is the need of the hour in tropical countries. In this study, a comparison of different water smart technologies, namely, porous ground cover mat, super absorbent polymer, partial root zone drying technique, bio mulching and foliar application of antitranspirant was made for enhancing water productivity in tuber crops using elephant foot yam as the test crop. Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) is an important tropical tuber crop in India, and has attained commercial status in many states under assured irrigation. Mulching with ground cover mat and soil application of cassava starch-based super absorbent polymer recorded higher water productivity, reduced irrigation water requirement to 50% and enhanced the corm yield of elephant foot yam by 8–12% and energy use efficiency by 24–28% as compared to 100% irrigation. In the context of expected climate change and water scarcity, water smart technologies such as ground cover mats and super absorbent polymers would help in the cultivation of the tuber crop elephant foot yam with less irrigation, without adversely affecting the corm yield under humid tropical situations.
Biochars preparation from waste sludge and composts under different carbonization conditions and their Pb(II) adsorption behaviors
Authors: Li Suhe , Yao Ying , Zhao Tuo , Wang Meiling , Wu Feng
Published: October 2019

This study prepared nine biochars from three biomass wastes (CompostA, CompostB and Sludge) through different carbonization conditions. The adsorption behaviors and mechanisms of these biochars for Pb(II) were tested by a series of adsorption experiments and properties analysis. Preliminary experiments showed biochars obtained from CompostA and Sludge had better Pb(II) adsorption performance than CompostB and the optimum carbonization temperature of CompostA was lower than that of Sludge. Adsorption experimental results demonstrated that CompostA600 (numbers represent carbonization temperatures) had the largest adsorption capacity of 57.34 mg/g for Pb(II) among samples, followed by Sludge800 of 50.00 mg/g. The kinetic adsorption of CompostA600 and Sludge800 were both described by the Nth-order model very well. Pb(II) adsorption of CompostA600 most appropriately followed the Langmuir–Freundlich model and the Redlich–Peterson model. Characterization analysis suggested diverse carbonization temperatures and precursors caused discrepant pore size distributions and element contents, which determined the deposition of lead compound crystals on materials. This study examined the effects of raw materials and carbonization temperatures on obtained biochars and provided an inexpensive and environmental-friendly way for biochar sorbent preparation and heavy metal wastewater treatment.
Lei nº 255, de 13 de dezembro de 1949
Authors: Araujo Marta Maria
Published: October 2019

No Brasil, a década de 1940 foi a época quando foram planejadasas políticas de “educação de base de adultos”, precedidas das medidas localizadasde “educação popular” para jovens e adultos analfabetos no cursodos governos províncias (regime imperial) e dos governos estaduais (regimerepublicano). No ano de 1947, o então Ministério da Educação e SaúdePública institucionalizou a Campanha de Educação de Adolescentes e Adultos,a partir da criação do Fundo Nacional do Ensino Primário (1942) e da instalaçãodo Serviço de Educação de Adultos (1947), no Departamento Nacionalde Educação, destinado à orientação e à coordenação dos planos anuaisde ensino supletivo para alfabetização de adolescentes e adultos. É, pois,no decurso da primeira fase da Campanha (1947-1950), quando ManoelBergström Lourenço Filho foi o Diretor-Geral (além de ter concebido a orientaçãoteórica e didática da Campanha e acompanhado a implantação da redede escolas supletivas no Brasil), que a Assembleia Legislativa do Rio Grandedo Norte criou o Serviço de Ensino Supletivo (Lei nº 255, de 13 de dezembrode 1949, abaixo descrita), para orientar a Alfabetização de Adolescentes eAdultos no Estado, sancionado pelo governador José Augusto Varela.
O ensino jurídico em contexto universitário português: tradições curriculares em debate
Authors: Nunes Cely do Socorro Costa
Published: October 2019

O artigo objetiva compreender como a invenção/manutenção das tradições curriculares no ensino jurídico se estabelece em uma instituição universitária. Busca-se, a partir de 20 horas de observação de sala de aula, entrevistas à professora e a 11 estudantes e análise documental, compreender como este ensino é percepcionado pela sua comunidade. Apple (1999), Goodson (2001), Fernandez e Fernandez (2005), Hobsbawm (2008), Francishetto (2010), Leite (2011) ajudam a ponderar que tal ensino decorre de uma tradição curricular favorecedora da manutenção do Estilo Coimbrã de ensino: dicotomia teoria e prática e do conhecimento técnico e político, cuja raiz reside na vocação do Direito Positivo. Tradição pouco contestada pelo ensino jurídico lusófono, contribuindo para sua perpetuação a qual dificulta que outras tradições curriculares críticas possam ser inventadas.
Expansão da educação superior e a reforma da rede federal de educação profissional
Authors: Mancebo Deise , Silva Júnior João dos Reis
Published: October 2019

O presente artigo discute a expansão da rede federal de educação profissional no Brasil. Considera que o crescimento dessa modalidade educacional é mais uma dimensão da marcante diversificação da educação superior, que remete à reprodução das desigualdades sociais. Trata-se de um estudo de caráter exploratório e sua construção apoia-se em pesquisa bibliográfica e análise documental necessária à compreensão do tema, em sua dimensão conceitual e histórica. Conclui, apresentando a dualidade do sistema federal de educação superior, hoje composto por universidades e a rede profissional, com objetivos, funções, controles e clientelas distintos.
A educação superior no Brasil: os desafios da expansão e do financiamento e comparações com outros países
Authors: Chaves Vera Lúcia Jacob , Amaral Nelson Cardoso
Published: October 2019

O artigo discute os desafios existentes na educação superior brasileira para conseguir atingir mais de 30% de seus jovens com idade entre 18 e 24 anos, matriculados nesse nível educacional. Utilizamos dados financeiros do Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira − Inep, dentre outras fontes. Os dados apontam que há uma enorme privatização desse nível educacional e uma grande diversificação de instituições e cursos. Os recursos financeiros aplicados na educação pública atingem 5,3% do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), o que resulta em um baixo valor por pessoa em idade educacional, quando comparações são realizadas entre o Brasil e diversos países selecionados.
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of the Hevea brasiliensis Latex under Ethylene and Calcium Stimulation
Authors: Wu Bingsun , Gao Le , Sun Yong , Wu Min , Wang Dan , Wei Jiashao , Wang Guihua , Wu Wenguan , Xiao Junhan , Wang Xuchu , He Peng
Published: October 2019

Background:

Calcium ions usually act as a second messenger in the signal transmission process and a major element required by plants. In Hevea, calcium ion could alleviate the negative effects of long-term ethylene application to a certain extent. However, the molecular mechanisms remain unclear.

Methods:

Two-dimensional electrophoresis was used to determine the pattern of protein changes in latex after treatments with calcium and/or ethylene. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to determine the expression levels of some proteins and genes. STRING software was used to determine the protein-protein interaction network of the identified proteins.

Results:

Comparative proteomics identified 145 differentially expressed proteins, which represented 103 unique proteins. The abundance change patterns of some proteins involved in signal transduction, rubber particle aggregation, and natural rubber biosynthesis were altered upon calcium stimulation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 29 proteins showed that gene expression did not always maintain the same trend as protein expression. The increased enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase suggested that calcium can enhance the antistress ability of plants by increasing the activity of their antioxidant enzyme systems.

Conclusion:

These results supplement the rubber latex proteome, and provide evidence for investigating the molecular mechanisms by which calcium alleviates the negative effects of ethylene stimulation.