bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Molecular epidemiological and hematological profile of thalassemia in the Dongguan Region of Guangdong Province, Southern China
Authors: Peng Qi , Zhang Zhenhong , Li Siping , Cheng Chuyun , Li Wenrui , Rao Chunbao , Zhong Baimao , Lu Xiaomei 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundThalassemia is a common inherited hematological disease in tropical and subtropical regions. This study aimed to investigate the mutation spectrum of thalassemia in the Dongguan region of southern China and comprehensively analyze hematologic features of thalassemia carriers with various types of globin mutations.MethodsA hematological screening including hematological indices such as mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin content (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was conducted in 19 442 people from Dongguan region, Guangdong province of China. Then, 4891 suspected thalassemia carriers were further investigated by genetic analysis of combined NGS and gap‐PCR.ResultsTotally, 2319 (11.9%) cases were diagnosed as carriers of thalassemia, of which 1483 cases (7.6%) were α‐thalassemia, 741 cases (3.8%) were β‐thalassemia, and 95 cases (0.5%) were co‐inheritance of α‐ and β‐thalassemia. In α‐thalassemia carriers, the phenotypic severity increases with the number of nonfunctional α‐globin genes. The patients with –SEA/αWSα genotype have less severe clinical phenotypes than those with other Hb H diseases. As for β‐thalassemia, the MCV and MCH in both β0 and β+ carriers are markedly reduced.ConclusionsThis is the first comprehensive molecular epidemiological survey and hematological profiling of thalassemia in Dongguan area. This study will be benefit for genetic counseling in the clinic and may help pediatricians to make a correct diagnosis of different types of thalassemia.
Después de la tormenta: Collective trauma following Hurricane Maria in a northeastern Puerto Rican community in the United States
Authors: Macias R. Lillianne , LeBrón Alana , Taylor Kaylyn , Silva Michelle 
Published: September 2020

AbstractHurricane Maria was the largest disaster in Puerto Rico's history, affecting Puerto Rican communities throughout the United States. We conducted focus groups using a grounded theory approach with adults displaced from Puerto Rico to a northeastern community 12 (n = 5) and 17 months (n = 7) postdisaster. Key informant interviews were also conducted with nine community advocates working with displaced hurricane survivors. Emerging themes reflect narrative and social identity processes following collective trauma. Findings emphasize the need for timely and long‐term disaster responses that build on community strengths without leaving communities to cope on their own. We discuss how incorporating group storytelling in postdisaster research is a culturally sensitive practice that can promote resiliency among survivors.
Evolution and new frontiers of histology in bio‐medical research
Authors: Mazzarini Maria , Falchi Mario , Bani Daniele , Migliaccio Anna Rita 
Published: September 2020

AbstractHistology refers to the study of the morphology of cells within their natural tissue environment. As a bio‐medical discipline, it dates back to the development of first microscopes which allowed to override the physical visual limitation of the human eye. Since the first observations, it was understood that cell shape predicts function and, therefore, shape alterations can identify and explain dysfunction and diseases. The advancements in morphological investigation techniques have allowed to extend our understanding of the shape–function relationships close to the molecular level of organization of tissues, as well as to derive reliable data not only from fixed, and hence static, biological samples but also living cells and tissues and even for extended time periods. These modern approaches, which encompass quantitative microscopy, precision microscopy, and dynamic microscopy, represent the new frontier of morphology. This article summarizes how the microscopy techniques have evolved to properly face the challenges of biomedical sciences, thus transforming histology from a merely qualitative discipline, which played an ancillary role to traditional “major” sciences such as anatomy, to a modern experimental science capable of driving knowledge progress in biology and medicine.
The structural and ultrastructural organization of the cellular constituents of the trunk kidney of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
Authors: Mokhtar Doaa M. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe trunk kidney of grass carp mainly consisted of renal tubules with a few interstitial hematopoietic tissues. The component structure of fish nephron markedly varies between different species of fish. The nephron of grass carp consisted of morphologically distinct segments; renal corpuscles, neck segment, proximal, intermediate, distal, and collecting tubules. The glomerulus of renal corpuscles mainly composed of mesangial cells and well‐developed podocytes that extended their processes to the endothelium of glomerular capillaries forming the filtration barrier. The podocytes expressed both α‐SMA and the transforming growth factor gene, TGF‐β. The proximal convoluted tubules (PCTs) expressed α‐SMA iNOS2, and TGF‐β. The cytoplasm of PCT was rich in mitochondria and rER, in addition to the presence of well‐developed basolateral tubular system and apical brush borders. Collecting tubules distributed throughout the kidney and lined by principal and flask cells. The interstitial hemopoietic tissues contained iNOS2‐positive polymorphic granulocytes, CD3‐positive T lymphocytes, rodlet cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, melanomacrophage centers, and telocytes. This study described for the first time the cellular components of the nephron and its associated hemopoietic tissues that can act as a basis for studying the structural changes that may occur in the kidney of grass carp during water salinitiy, environmental, or experimental conditions.
Pursuing genetic testing for children with autism spectrum disorders: What do parents think?
Authors: Zhao Shixi , Chen Wei‐Ju , Dhar Shweta U. , Eble Tanya N. , Kwok Oi‐Man , Chen Lei‐Shih 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, and the American Academy of Neurology recommend genetic testing, as a genetic evaluation tool, for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Despite the potential benefits, the utilization of genetic testing is low. We proposed an integrated theoretical framework to examine parents’ intention and associated psychosocial factors in pursuing genetic testing for their children with ASD. Recruiting primarily from the Interactive Autism Network, a nationwide sample of 411 parents of children with ASD who had never pursued genetic testing for their children completed our theory‐based online survey. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. About half of the parents were willing to pursue genetic testing for their children with ASD. Findings of the structural equation modeling suggested a good model fit between our integrated theoretical framework and survey data. Parents’ intention was significantly and positively associated with their attitudes toward genetic testing, subjective norm, and self‐efficacy in having their children tested. This study serves as an initial window to understand parental intention to pursue genetic testing for their children with ASD. Our findings can help physicians and genetic counselors understand, educate, counsel, and support parents’ decision‐making about having their children with ASD genetically tested. Furthermore, our study can also assist physicians and genetic counselors in developing theory‐ and evidence‐based patient education materials to enhance genetic testing knowledge among parents of children with ASD.
Prevalence of therapeutic failure and evolution of biological factors amongst people living with HIV enrolled in antiretroviral therapy at the Ambulatory Treatment Center in Nouakchott, Mauritania
Authors: Ly Hawa Mariem Ibrahima , Kelly Mamadou , Fall Mohamed Vall Mazouzi , Fall‐Malick F‐Zahra , Kane Coumba Touré , Lo Baidy Boubou 
Published: September 2020

AbstractGoal: The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of therapeutic failure and the evolution of the biological factors after 6 and 12 months of anti‐retroviral treatment (ART) amongst human immunodefeciency virus (HIV) Patients receiving care through the Ambulatory Treatment Center in Nouakchott.Methods: The study presents a descriptive and retrospective analysis of 479 patients enrolled in ART between January 2015 and January 2019, with focus on treatment failures and related biomarkers. The average age of the patients studied was 37 ± 12.94 years. The majority (52.8%) were males, of whom (52.6%) were married.Results: The average body mass index (BMI) of the patients progressively increased after 6 and 12 months on ART. The average BMI increased from 20.3 ± 5.1 kg/m2, before treatment, to 21.7 ± 5.0 kg/m2 and 22.7 ± 5.4 kg/m2, after 6 and 12 months of treatment, respectively. Of the 479 patients, 97.3% were on 2 NRTIs + NNRTI. During the first 6 months of treatment, the clinical, immunological, and virological therapeutic failures were 0.6%, 34.10%, and 9%, respectively. After 6 and 12 months of ART, the TCD4, Hemoglobin, platelets, glycemia, creatinemia, and transaminase remained normal during the entire monitoring period.Conclusion: study demonstrated effective HIV treatment amongst the study patients. It showed clearance of virus and immune restoration can be attained after 6 and 12 months of ART. The number of patients who received the tests did decrease during the treatment period, which highlights the importance of adherence to patient management protocols, including clinical and biological monitoring.
An efficient spectral balance method for transient analysis of single phase overhead lines in the presence of surge arresters
Authors: Taghavi Seyed M. , Ostadzadeh Saeed R. , Sadeghi Seyed Hossein H. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn this paper, an efficient hybrid method is proposed for transient analysis of an overhead line equipped with a grounded arrester. The proposed method adopts a nonlinear equivalent circuit consisting of linear and nonlinear parts respectively associated with the overhead line and the arrester. In the first part of the paper, an intelligent model based on qualitative concepts in electromagnetics is proposed for derivation of the linear part. With the use of this qualitative model, the behavior of the linear part is first extracted as simple and unchanged membership functions, and effects of parameters of the problem, that is, the height of the overhead line and the electrical parameters of the ground, are then extracted as simple curves so that the linear part based on the qualitative model is efficiently computed in the frequency domain. The qualitative model, in contrast with the conventional numerical methods, is very efficient, and in comparison with the approximate ones, is broad band. In the second part of the paper, with the aid of an efficient optimization algorithm, called intelligent water drop algorithm (IWD), the lightning overvoltage across the arrester is efficiently computed.
The 2020 Siberian heat wave
Authors: Overland James E. , Wang Muyin 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSiberia saw a heat wave of extreme monthly temperatures of +6°C anomalies from January through May 2020, culminating with near daily temperature records at the Arctic station of Verhojansk in mid‐June. This was a major Arctic event. The proximate cause for the warm extremes from January through April was the record strength of the stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) and tropospheric jet stream. The SPV and high geopotential heights to the south combined to provide strong zonal winds from the west that reduced the potential penetration of cold air from the north. An index of vortex strength is the Arctic Oscillation (AO); averaged over January–April, the AO set extreme positive records in 1989, 1990, and 2020 (baseline starting in 1950). The strength and stability of the SPV over the central Arctic contributed to the winter–spring persistence of the heat wave in Siberia. May–June temperatures were related to high tropospheric geopotential heights over Asia. An open question is whether these dynamic events are becoming more persistent. Such record events will not occur every year but one can expect that they will occasionally naturally reoccur over the next decades due to internal atmospheric variability in addition to a continued global warming background.
Vicissitudes experienced by the oldest urban center in Bangladesh in relation to the migration of the Brahmaputra River
Authors: Hu Gang , Wang Ping , Rahman Sufi Mostafizur , Li Dehong , Alam Muhammad Mahbubul , Zhang Jiafu , Jin Zhengyao , Fan Anchuan , Chen Jie , Zhang Aimin , Yang Wenqing 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTBangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. There are 57 trans‐frontier rivers in the country, the widest being the Brahmaputra River. The river's channels have frequently changed course, but the relationship between such river migrations and human settlement patterns has remained unstudied. In this paper, optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating techniques were applied to sedimentary and organic materials in the oldest urban center (Wari‐Bateshwar) in Bangladesh. The results showed that the landscape around the urban center was dominated by floodplain and peatland facies between 7.9–7.6 and 4.7–1.6 ka, respectively. Humans occupied this area at ~3.2 ka, and manufactured delicate semi‐precious gemstone beads between ~2.4 and 1.8 ka. The urban center might be the same as an important city of the Gangaridai described in historical records. Due to fluvial migration at ~1.8 ka, the area surrounding the urban center was covered by fluvial sand. Humans might have been forced to abandon the urban center, leading to the bead processing technology in Bangladesh being lost forever.
Raman response of topologically protected surface states in sub‐micrometric Pb0.77Sn0.23Se flakes
Authors: Mehdipour Sanaz , López‐Diaz David , Velázquez María Mercedes , Hidalgo Pedro , Méndez Bianchi , Luna Mónica , Bellani Vittorio , Amado Mario , Balakrishnan Geetha , Diez Enrique 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe Raman spectra of the topological crystalline insulator Pb0.77Sn0.23Se flakes of thickness below 150 nm show the presence of plasma enhanced phonons related to topologically protected surface electronic states. The Fröhlich interaction between the topologically protected surface Dirac electrons and the phonons activates the forbidden phonons near the center of the Brillouin zone. An overtone is observed at a higher wavenumber, with a resonant response with temperature, related to an enhancement of the long‐range coupling between the topologically protected surface electrons and phonons.
Improving the precision of search strategies for guideline surveillance
Authors: Casey Monica , Raynor Michael , Jacob Catherine , Sharp Stephen , McFarlane Emma 
Published: September 2020

Introduction and aimNICE guideline surveillance determines whether previously published guidelines need updating. The surveillance process must balance time constraints with methodological rigor. It includes a rapid review to identify new evidence to contradict, reinforce or clarify guideline recommendations. Despite this approach, the screening burden can still be high. Applying additional search techniques may increase the precision of the database searches.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on five surveillance reviews with less than 2% of the studies included after screening. Modified searches were run in MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO (where appropriate) to test the impact of additional search techniques: focused subject headings, subheadings, frequency operators and title only searches. Modified searches were compared to original search results to determine: the retrieval of included studies, the precision of the search and the number needed to read. Studies not retrieved by the modified search were checked to determine if the surveillance decision would have been affected.ResultsThe additional search techniques tested indicated that a combination of focused subject headings and frequency operators could improve the precision of surveillance searches. The modified search retrieved all the original studies included in the surveillance review for three of the reviews tested. Some of the original included studies were not retrieved for two reviews but the missing studies would not have affected the surveillance decision.ConclusionsCombining focused subject headings and frequency operators is a viable option for improving the precision of surveillance searches without compromising recall and without impacting the surveillance decision.
Volatile organic compounds of tobacco leaves versus waste (scrap, dust, and midrib): extraction and optimization
Authors: Banožić Marija , Aladić Krunoslav , Jerković Igor , Jokić Stela 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDVolatile organic compounds are present at very low concentration but exhibit an important influence on flavor and aroma of tobacco leaves and products. During tobacco processing, at different stages, tobacco wastes occur. Since they are delivered directly from the tobacco plant, they are expected to have a similar aroma profile.RESULTSThe volatile composition of three types of tobacco waste (scrap, dust, and midrib) was characterized for the first time and compared with tobacco leaves’ volatile composition. Ultrasound‐assisted extraction with hexane followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was successfully applied. Different ultrasound‐assisted extraction parameters (temperature, time, and solvent:solid ratio) showed a significant influence on the volatile profiles of the extracts obtained. The most important compounds in tobacco leaves, scrap, and dust with the highest abundance were nicotine (up to 87.5%), 4,8,13‐duvatriene‐1,3‐diol (up to 16.2%), and neophytadiene (up to 9.4%). In midrib, only nicotine was present in all extracts. The most abundant compounds in the extracts were quantified and subjected to optimization using response surface methodology.CONCLUSIONRegression analysis showed that 83–98% of the variation was explained by the models obtained. The experimentally obtained values agreed with those predicted, thus indicating the suitability of the model employed and the success of response surface methodology in optimizing the extraction conditions. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Kinetics of isopropanol decomposition and reaction with H atoms from shock tube experiments and rate constant optimization using the method of uncertainty minimization using polynomial chaos expansions (MUM‐PCE)
Authors: Mertens Laura A. , Manion Jeffrey A. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWe have used the single‐pulse shock tube technique with postshock GC/MS product analysis to investigate the mechanism and kinetics of the unimolecular decomposition of isopropanol, a potential biofuel, and of its reaction with H atoms at 918‐1212 K and 183‐484 kPa. Experiments employed dilute mixtures in argon of isopropanol, a radical scavenger, and, for H‐atom studies, two different thermal precursors of H. Without an added H source, isopropanol decomposes in our studies predominantly by molecular dehydration. Added H atoms significantly augment decomposition, mainly by abstraction of the tertiary and primary hydrogens, reactions that, respectively, lead to acetone and propene as stable organic products. Traces of acetaldehyde were observed in some experiments above ≈ 1100 K and establish branching limits for minor decomposition pathways. To quantitatively account for secondary chemistry and optimize rate constants of interest, we employed the method of uncertainty minimization using polynomial chaos expansions (MUM‐PCE) to carry out a unified analysis of all datasets using a chemical model–based originally on JetSurF 2.0. We find: k(isopropanol → propene + H2O) = 10(13.87 ± 0.69) exp(−(33 099 ± 979) K/ T) s−1 at 979‐1212 K and 286‐484 kPa, with a factor of two uncertainty (2σ), including systematic errors. For H atom reactions, optimization yields: k(H + isopropanol → H2 + p‐C3H6OH) = 10(6.25 ± 0.42) T2.54 exp(−(3993 ± 1028) K /T) cm3 mol−1 s−1 and k(H + isopropanol → H2 + t‐C3H6OH) = 10(5.83 ± 0.37) T2.40 exp(−(1507 ± 957) K /T) cm3 mol−1 s−1 at 918‐1142 K and 183‐323 kPa. We compare our measured rate constants with estimates used in current combustion models and discuss how hydrocarbon functionalization with an OH group affects H abstraction rates.
Trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) and carboxamide interactions in TCCA/NaNO2 triggered nitration of pyrrole and indole in aqueous aprotic media: A kinetic correlation of solvent properties with reactivity
Authors: Duguta Govardhan , Muddam Bhooshan , Kamatala Chinna Rajanna , Utkoor Umesh Kumar 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis study deals with the trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) interactions with carboxamides like formamide (FMA), N,N′‐dimethyl formamide (DMF), and N,N′‐dimethyl acetamide (DMA) interactions during the nitration of heterocyclic compounds (HC) like pyrrole and indole in the presence of excess of [NaNO2] over the concentrations of all other reactants. All the reactions were performed in aqueous acetonitrile media containing carboxamide under acid‐free conditions. Kinetics of the reactions revealed first order in [nitrating agent] and [HC] under otherwise similar conditions. To gain an insight into the reactive species and role of added carboxamide (FAA, DMF, DMA, etc.), the observed rates of the nitration reaction (log k) were analyzed as a function of (1/D), ([D − 1]/[2D + 1]), mole fraction (nx), and volume (%) of carboxamide, 1/viscosity, density refractive index function), and Hildebrand solubility parameter plots. Linear regression analysis gave very good correlation coefficients (R2 values), which indicate the importance of several solvent properties in addition to the role of dielectric constant (D) of the reaction media. Multiple linear solvent energy relationships suggested by Abraham, Koppel, Palm, and Taft also afforded very good correlation coefficient (R2 values), showing the importance of cumulative effect of solvent properties. Besides these features, the negative entropies of activation (∆S#) suggest greater solvation in the transition state. Isokinetic temperature (β) values for different protocols were very close to the experimental temperature range (303‐323 K), indicating the importance of both enthalpy and entropy factors in controlling the reaction.