bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of integrated modelling on the technical and economic indicators of the oil production process
Authors: Kutergina G V , Yapparov E N 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
The article outlines the findings of the reviewed list of tasks to be solved at different stages of oil fields development and operation with the use of integrated modelling technology. Operational and technological models are the most popular nowadays. However, there is no unified field model that would include all the elements of integrated planning. Systematisation of the solved problems and directions for reducing operating and investment costs at different stages of oil field development and operation remains relevant with the use of new modelling technology. Considering the possibilities of a series of integrated modelling programs (Mbal, Prosper, Gap) for optimising oil production process allows us to group the main problems using integrated modelling technology at the following stages: design and strategic decision-making, evaluation and optimising individual activities in the process of operational management, monitoring the development and oil field operation. Based on the analysis of open sources, we have concluded that the introduction of new ‘smart’ technologies significantly impacts technical and economic performance of oil and gas companies, including the level of oil recovery, reduction of drilling time, reduction of operating costs and profit growth, increasing the stability of design solutions and project efficiency in general.
Magnetic properties of polyurethane magnetorheological elastomer based on carbon nanotubes
Authors: Chen Lu , Liu Shaogang , Zhao Dan , Yang Song , Dong Na , Liu Yuxin 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
The paper has modified a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), a sensitive component of a sensing device, by adding conductive particles of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), to increase conductivity and reduce response time. After adding MWCNTs, the magnetoresistance calculation model is established based on the theories of effective medium and percolation. Also, MRE with different ratios of carbon nanotubes and carbonyl iron powder are prepared, and the test system for magnetoresistance is built. The test results show that when the ratio is 2:3, the resistivity reaches a minimum while the response time is the shortest. For the same 2:3 ratio and different conductive particle volume fractions, the relationship between electric resistance and magnetic induction is tested. The results show that the resistance decreases with the increase of the applied magnetic field strength, and the larger the volume fraction of the conductive particles, the more obvious the resistance drop. The resistance value as a function of applied magnetic field is predicted well by our model, which provides a new method for the calculation of the resistance value of MRE.
Study on the measurement and evaluation of cotton color using image analysis
Authors: Heng Chong , Chen Lijun , Shen Hua , Wang Fumei 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Color is an important property to grade cotton. However, precise measurement and comprehensive evaluation of cotton color have not yet been carried out because of instrumental defect, colorful trash and less indicators. This work proposed an accurate method of color measurement and cotton grading. In order to remove the influence of trash on result, a novel trash detection method based on color features of defined three categories of trash and cotton was introduced. In order to improve the accuracy of trash detection, a method based on two-step threshold algorithm is proposed. The original images stored in sRGB format was transformed into binary images according to fixed thresholds and ‘Otsu’ algorithm. Compared to previous trash detection methods, the two-steps detection method was more suitable for cottons with different trash-content. Indicators expressed in Hunter color space were determined by the conversion referring to optical theory and light source. The feasibility of the proposed method was confirmed by comparing the present result with that obtained from standard instruments system. Furthermore, the grading indicators of cotton discussed in this paper suggested that the variation and distribution within a cotton sample should be considered in cotton grading, including a parameter redness or blueness (a). Our work would provide a much better approach to measure and evaluate color of cotton.
Challenges for practical applications of shape memory alloy actuators
Authors: Kumar Dileep , Daudpoto Jawaid , Chowdhry Bhawani Shankar 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators present opportunities for the development of novel actuating systems. High force-to-weight ratio, silent operation, muscle-like motion, biocompatibility, and simple design possibilities have attracted researchers to SMA actuators. Many SMA actuated systems in engineering and medical domains have been reported in the literature. Recently, SMAs have also being used to develop soft robotic systems. However, low absolute force and high cycle time have limited the widespread use of these actuators. Moreover, non-linear and unpredictable behaviour caused by hysteresis results in difficulties to accurately control it. Some work detailing the strategies to overcome these shortcomings has been reported in the literature, this paper presents an articulated brief review of the techniques to overcome low force, long cycle time, and material non-linearity issues.
Statistical Properties of Stepped Wedge Cluster-Randomized Trials in Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Authors: Kennedy-Shaffer Lee , Lipsitch Marc 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Randomized controlled trials are crucial for the evaluation of interventions such as vaccinations, but the design and analysis of these studies during infectious disease outbreaks is complicated by statistical, ethical, and logistical factors. Attempts to resolve these complexities have led to the proposal of a variety of trial designs, including individual randomization and several types of cluster randomization designs: parallel-arm, ring vaccination, and stepped wedge designs. Because of the strong time trends present in infectious disease incidence, however, methods generally used to analyze stepped wedge trials might not perform well in these settings. Using simulated outbreaks, we evaluated various designs and analysis methods, including recently proposed methods for analyzing stepped wedge trials, to determine the statistical properties of these methods. While new methods for analyzing stepped wedge trials can provide some improvement over previous methods, we find that they still lag behind parallel-arm cluster-randomized trials and individually randomized trials in achieving adequate power to detect intervention effects. We also find that these methods are highly sensitive to the weighting of effect estimates across time periods. Despite the value of new methods, stepped wedge trials still have statistical disadvantages compared with other trial designs in epidemic settings.
Natural Transmission of Bat-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Without Proline-Arginine-Arginine-Alanine Variants in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients
Authors: Wong Yik Chun , Lau Siu Ying , Wang To Kelvin Kai , Mok Bobo Wing Yee , Li Xin , Wang Pui , Deng Shaofeng , Woo Kin Fai , Du Zhenglong , Li Cun , Zhou Jie , Chan Jasper Fuk Woo , Yuen Kwok Yung , Chen Honglin , Chen Zhiwei 
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Background
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contains the furin cleavage Proline-Arginine-Arginine-Alanine (PRRA) motif in the S1/S2 region, which enhances viral pathogenicity but is absent in closely related bat and pangolin coronaviruses. Whether bat-like coronaviral variants without PRRA (∆PRRA) can establish natural infections in humans is unknown.

Methods
Here, we developed a duplex digital polymerase chain reaction assay to examine ∆PRRA variants in Vero-E6-propagated isolates, human organoids, experimentally infected hamsters, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Results
We found that SARS-CoV-2, as currently transmitting in humans, contained a quasispecies of wild-type, ∆PRRA variants and variants that have mutations upstream of the PRRA motif. Moreover, the ∆PRRA variants were readily detected despite being at a low intra-host frequency in transmitted founder viruses in hamsters and in COVID-19 patients, including in acute cases and a family cluster, with a prevalence rate of 52.9%.

Conclusions
Our findings demonstrate that bat-like SARS-CoV-2ΔPRRA not only naturally exists but remains transmissible in COVID-19 patients, which has significant implications regarding the zoonotic origin and natural evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
COVID-19 in Civil or Commercial Disputes: First Responses from Chinese Courts
Authors: Liu Qiao 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
This comment highlights the major civil or commercial (mostly contract) law provisions in 24 judicial documents newly released by the Supreme People’s Court or High People’s Courts in China in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 and assesses the significance of key changes to the pre-pandemic law. It concludes by noting the increased role of the doctrine of the change of circumstances and the ‘contract purpose’ test, the emphasis placed on consensual solutions (by way of mediation and contract renegotiation), and the flexibility and relatively clearer guidance afforded to lower courts in their adjudication of disputes arising in connection with COVID-19.
99th Percentile Upper-Reference Limit of Cardiac Troponin and the Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Sandoval Yader , Apple Fred S , Saenger Amy K , Collinson Paul O , Wu Alan H B , Jaffe Allan S 
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Background
Concerns exist regarding how the 99th percentile upper reference limit (URL) of cardiac troponin (cTn) is determined and whether it should be derived from normal healthy individuals.

Content
The 99th percentile URL of cTn is an important criterion to standardize the diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) for clinical, research, and regulatory purposes. Statistical heterogeneity in its calculation exists but recommendations have been proposed. Some negativity has resulted from the fact that with some high-sensitivity (hs) cTn assays, a greater number of increases above the 99th percentile are observed when transitioning from a contemporary assay. Increases reflect acute or chronic myocardial injury and provide valuable diagnostic and prognostic information. The etiology of increases can sometimes be difficult to determine, making a specific treatment approach challenging. For those reasons, some advocate higher cutoff concentrations. This approach can contribute to missed diagnoses. Contrary to claims, neither clinical or laboratory guidelines have shifted away from the 99th percentile. To support the diagnosis of acute MI, the 99th percentile URL remains the best-established approach given the absence of cTn assay standardization. Importantly, risk stratification algorithms using hs-cTn assays predict the possibility of MI diagnoses established using the 99th percentile.

Summary
The 99th percentile of cTn remains the best-established criterion for the diagnosis of acute MI. While not perfect, it is analytically and clinically evidence-based. Until there are robust data to suggest some other approach, staying with the 99th percentile, a threshold that has served the field well for the past 20 years, appears prudent.
Impact of land use history on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in arid soils of Argentinean farming fields
Authors: Ontivero R Emanuel , Voyron Samuele , Allione Lucía V Risio , Bianco Paolo , Bianciotto Valeria , Iriarte Hebe J , Lugo Mónica A , Lumini Erica 
Published: July 2020

ABSTRACT
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are a key soil functional group, with an important potential to increase crop productivity and sustainable agriculture including food security. However, there is clear evidence that land uses, crop rotations and soil features affect the AMF diversity and their community functioning in many agroecosystems. So far, the information related to AMF biodiversity in ecosystems like the Argentinean Puna, an arid high plateau where plants experience high abiotic stresses, is still scarce. In this work, we investigated morphological and molecular AMF diversity in soils of native corn, bean and native potato Andean crops, under a familiar land use, in Chaupi Rodeo (Jujuy, Argentina), without agrochemical supplements but with different histories of crop rotation. Our results showed that AMF morphological diversity was not only high and variable among the three different crop soils but also complemented by Illumina MiSeq data. The multivariate analyses highlighted that total fungal diversity is significantly affected by the preceding crop plants and the rotation histories, more than from the present crop species, while AMF communities are significantly affected by preceding crop only in combination with the effect of nitrogen and calcium soil concentration. This knowledge will give useful information on appropriate familiar farming.
Impairment of MET transcriptional activators, MET4 and MET31 induced lipid accumulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Rajakumar Selvaraj , Suriyagandhi Vennila , Nachiappan Vasanthi 
Published: July 2020

ABSTRACT
The genes involved in the methionine pathway are closely associated with phospholipid homeostasis in yeast. The impact of the deletion of methionine (MET) transcriptional activators (MET31, MET32 and MET4) in lipid homeostasis is studied. Our lipid profiling data showed that aberrant phospholipid and neutral lipid accumulation occurred in met31∆ and met4∆ strains with low Met. The expression pattern of phospholipid biosynthetic genes such as CHO2, OPI3 and triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthetic gene, DGA1 were upregulated in met31∆, and met4∆ strains when compared to wild type (WT). The accumulation of triacylglycerol and sterol esters (SE) content supports the concomitant increase in lipid droplets in met31∆ and met4∆ strains. However, excessive supplies of methionine (1 mM) in the cells lacking the MET transcriptional activators MET31 and MET4 ameliorates the abnormal lipogenesis and causes aberrant lipid accumulation. These findings implicate the methionine accessibility plays a pivotal role in lipid metabolism in the yeast model.
Post-processing of the plane-wave approximation of Schrödinger equations. Part II: Kohn–Sham models
Authors: Dusson Geneviève 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
In this article, we provide a priori estimates for a perturbation-based post-processing method of the plane-wave approximation of nonlinear Kohn–Sham local density approximation (LDA) models with pseudopotentials, relying on Cancès et al. (2020, Post-processing of the plane-wave approximation of Schrödinger equations. Part I: linear operators. IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis, draa044) for the proofs of such estimates in the case of linear Schrödinger equations. As in Cancès et al. (2016, A perturbation-method-based post-processing for the plane-wave discretization of Kohn–Sham models. J. Comput. Phys., 307, 446–459), where these a priori results were announced and tested numerically, we use a periodic setting and the problem is discretized with plane waves (Fourier series). This post-processing method consists of performing a full computation in a coarse plane-wave basis and then to compute corrections based on the first-order perturbation theory in a fine basis, which numerically only requires the computation of the residuals of the ground-state orbitals in the fine basis. We show that this procedure asymptotically improves the accuracy of two quantities of interest: the ground-state density matrix, i.e. the orthogonal projector on the lowest $N$ eigenvectors, and the ground-state energy.
Pirfenidone reduces immune-suppressive capacity of cancer-associated fibroblasts through targeting CCL17 and TNF-beta
Authors: Aboulkheyr Es Hamidreza , Zhand Sareh , Thiery Jean Paul , Warkiani Majid Ebrahimi 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Various factors in the tumor microenvironment (TME) regulate the expression of PD-L1 in carcinoma cells. The cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play a crucial role in regulating and rewiring TME to enhance their immune suppressive function and to favor the invasion of the malignant cells. Tumor progression may be retarded by targeting CAFs in the TME. Various studies highlighted the ability of targeting CAF with pirfenidone (PFD), leading to increased efficacy of chemotherapy. However, its potential for the reduction of immune-suppression capacity of CAFs remains to be elusive. Here, we assessed the effect of PFD on the expression of PD-L1 on CAF cells. Besides migration inhibitory effects of PFD on CAFs, the expression level of PD-L1 reduced in CAFs after treatment with PFD. The downstream analysis of released cytokines from CAFs showed that PFD significantly dropped the secretion of CCL17 and TNF-β, where a positive association between PFD-targeted proteins and PD-L1 was observed. These data suggest that the treatment of CAF within TME through the PFD may reduce the acquisition of CAF-mediated invasive and immune-suppressive capacity of breast carcinoma cells.
Sofosbuvir and daclatasvir compared with standard of care in the treatment of patients admitted to hospital with moderate or severe coronavirus infection (COVID-19): a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sadeghi Anahita , Ali Asgari Ali , Norouzi Alireza , Kheiri Zahedin , Anushirvani Amir , Montazeri Mahnaz , Hosamirudsai Hadiseh , Afhami Shirin , Akbarpour Elham , Aliannejad Rasoul , Radmard Amir Reza , Davarpanah Amir H , Levi Jacob , Wentzel Hannah , Qavi Ambar , Garratt Anna , Simmons Bryony , Hill Andrew , Merat Shahin 
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Background
Currently no effective antiviral therapy has been found to treat COVID-19. The aim of this trial was to assess if the addition of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir improved clinical outcomes in patients with moderate or severe COVID-19.

Methods
This was an open-label, multicentre, randomized controlled clinical trial in adults with moderate or severe COVID-19 admitted to four university hospitals in Iran. Patients were randomized into a treatment arm receiving sofosbuvir and daclatasvir plus standard care, or a control arm receiving standard care alone. The primary endpoint was clinical recovery within 14 days of treatment. The study is registered with IRCT.ir under registration number IRCT20200128046294N2.

Results
Between 26 March and 26 April 2020, 66 patients were recruited and allocated to either the treatment arm (n = 33) or the control arm (n = 33). Clinical recovery within 14 days was achieved by 29/33 (88%) in the treatment arm and 22/33 (67%) in the control arm (P = 0.076). The treatment arm had a significantly shorter median duration of hospitalization [6 days (IQR 4–8)] than the control group [8 days (IQR 5–13)]; P = 0.029. Cumulative incidence of hospital discharge was significantly higher in the treatment arm versus the control (Gray’s P = 0.041). Three patients died in the treatment arm and five in the control arm. No serious adverse events were reported.

Conclusions
The addition of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir to standard care significantly reduced the duration of hospital stay compared with standard care alone. Although fewer deaths were observed in the treatment arm, this was not statistically significant. Conducting larger scale trials seems prudent.
Sideswipes and Backhanders: Abolition of the Reasonable Chastisement Defence in South Africa
Authors: Sloth-Nielsen Julia 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
This article reviews the abolition of the defence of reasonable chastisement by the South African Constitutional Court on the grounds that it infringes the Constitution. After detailing the history of the abolition of corporal punishment in a democracy with the Constitution as supreme law, the article dissects the reasoning of the Constitutional Court. It argues that judgment in Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (hereafter FORSA), whilst overall positive in its result, is probably a low water mark in the development of children’s rights jurisprudence in South Africa. There are a number of inadequacies and strangely deferential statements in the FORSA decision. Whilst inescapably coming to the constitutionally correct decision, the reluctance of the Court to reach this point, and its desire to accommodate the religious and cultural beliefs of the appellants, is evident. The way forward has, as a result, been left rather obscure.
Ruling out septic arthritis risk in a few minutes using mid-infrared spectroscopy in synovial fluids
Authors: Albert Jean-David , Le Corvec Maëna , Berthoud Olivia , David Claire , Guennoc Xavier , Hoppe Emmanuel , Jousse-Joulin Sandrine , Le Goff Benoît , Tariel Hugues , Sire Olivier , Jolivet-Gougeon Anne , Coiffier Guillaume , Loréal Olivier 
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Objectives
The aim of this study was to show the usefulness of a mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy point of care device in the identification of septic arthritis patients in a multicentre cohort, and to apply this technology to clinical practice among physicians.

Methods
SF samples from 402 patients enrolled in a multicentre cohort were frozen for analysis by mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy. The calibration cohort was divided into two groups of patients (septic arthritis and non-septic arthritis) and relevant spectral variables were used for logistic regression model. Model performances were tested on an independent set of 86 freshly obtained SF samples from patients enrolled in a single-centre acute arthritis cohort and spectroscopic analyses performed at the patient’s bedside.

Results
The model set-up, using frozen–thawed SFs, provided good performances, with area under the curve 0.95, sensitivity 0.90, specificity 0.90, positive predictive value 0.41 and negative predictive value 0.99. Performances obtained in the validation cohort were area under the curve 0.90, sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.81, positive predictive value 0.46 and negative predictive value 0.98. The septic arthritis probability has been translated into a risk score from 0 to 4 according to septic risk. For a risk score of 0, the probability of identifying a septic patient is very low (negative predictive value of 1), whereas a risk score of 4 indicates very high risk of septic arthritis (positive predictive value of 1).

Conclusion
Mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy could distinguish septic from non-septic synovial arthritis fluids with good performances, and showed particular usefulness in ruling out septic arthritis. Our data supports the possibility of technology transfer.

Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02860871.