bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extraction of various metal ions by open-chain crown ether bridged diphosphates in supercritical carbon dioxide
Authors: Duan Di , Su Baogen , Bao Zongbi , Yang Qiwei , Yang Yiwen , Ren Qilong 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Various toxic metal ions were successfully removed from solid matrix into supercritical CO2 (scCO2) by open-chain crown ether bridged diphosphates at 313.15 K and 20 MPa, these diphosphates with different ester side chains and different length of ethylene oxide bridge group are highly soluble in supercritical CO2. The extraction efficiency (E%) of heavy metals is between 55 and 89%. Mulliken charge distribution of ligand’s P=O coordination group was calculated to indicate the stability of metal complex. The ligand structure effects and the rationale for different selectivity were discussed. In addition, binding property of these diphosphates towards the alkaline earth metals was further studied following the same extraction procedures. Alkaline earth metal ions Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ were extracted with E% at 49–74%, 50–73% and 16–64%, respectively. DFT calculations were performed to investigate the interaction energy of the complexes and the correlation with the E% was discussed.
A revolution in sex education using sex robots
Authors: Jacquerye Agnès 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAfter more than four decades of school sex education programs, there is still a great deal of inadequate information around, together with mixed messages and general confusion. Topics covered have ranged from “no sex” to “safe sex”, and there has been a tendency for pupils to drift into the “alternative” areas of pornographic media. This approach may have contributed to generations of women and men finding themselves, in adult life, living with unresolved sexual problems caused by a truncated and disorderly “education”. The arrival of robots presents an opportunity to reconsider the way in which sexuality is taught and to introduce an innovative and ethical educational practice. This article proposes a conceptual framework where there can be an extension of medical simulation toward sex education based on advanced sex robots, offering a dynamic, effective and ethical teaching method. This article considers why, how and where as well as what is workable and technically feasible. The target is that, with the help of a new generation of robots, a fulfilling love life will be accessible to every man and woman. The engagement of both, the simulation community itself and the political will, is vital to ensure that a more enlightened and emotionally intelligent sex education can become a reality in the near future.
Perceived and one’s own motion in response priming
Authors: Bermeitinger Christina , Hackländer Ryan , Kollek Marie , Stiegemeyer Matthis , Tränkner Alexandra E. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIn response priming, motor pre-activations from a prime to the response to a target can be measured, as a function of whether they require the same (compatible) or different (incompatible) responses. With moving primes and static arrow targets, the results depend on the stimulus onset asynchrony between prime and target: with short SOAs, there were faster responses to compatible than incompatible targets, with longer SOAs, the pattern reverses. However, this reversal was not found with more biological motions. The current study comprised 3 experiments in order to replicate several findings from previous research and add evidence regarding the interplay of one’s own and perceived motions. Subjects performed a response priming task with moving prime stimuli while in motion themselves. With this paradigm, we tested the general influence of motion on responding and compatibility effects in response priming with moving prime stimuli. Furthermore, we assessed specific interactions of features of the perceived stimuli (e.g., moving vs. static; direction of the prime or target) and the own motion (e.g., walking vs. standing; direction of being rotated). We used two different own motions (walking on a treadmill, Exp. 1 & 3; rotating in a human gyroscope, Exp. 2) and two different visual stimulus types (rows-of-dots, Exp. 1 & 2; point light displays, Exp. 3). Compatibility effects were, in general, neither increased nor decreased during motion. Their size depended on the stimulus type, the velocity of one’s own motion, and several interactions of perceived and own motion. We discuss our findings with respect to perception-action interactions and previous findings on response priming with moving prime stimuli.
A scoping review of sources of mercury and its health effects among Pakistan’s most vulnerable population
Authors: Khan Ejaz Ahmad , Abbas Zaigham 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Mercury and methyl mercury are poisonous to human body. In the recent times, exposure to mercury has been anthropogenic in nature. Within the past several decades, many incidences of mercury poisoning have been documented in several countries including Pakistan. Mercury has been ingested where it has been used to preserve crops, through the point and non-point source discharge into the surface water, and consequently entering the food chain. We conducted this scoping review of mercury and its health effects in Pakistan in order to raise the flag to a silent ongoing Minamata disease in the country. We conducted a systematic search of the available literature in Google Scholar, PubMed, and grey literature of unpublished theses and reports of various universities across the country. We found that in the northern Pakistan, suspended sediments were the major pathway of the riverine mercury transport. Sediments of Hunza and Gilgit River were found high in mercury concentrations. Gold mining leads to an increase in mercury concentration in soil and river waters flowing in this region. High concentrations up to 108 ng/L were found in Shimsal River. It is suspected that that high level of mercury transport may be leading to accumulation of mercury in major water bodies and lakes downstream. Occupational exposure to mercury and other heavy metals is common in an unregulated private sector of the country. Goldsmiths burn the amalgamated gold without personal protective measures. Direct exposure to the fumes of mercury leads to respiratory, dermatological, systemic and neurological ailments specific to mercury poisoning. We found good evidence of bioaccumulation of mercury in fish and fish products in Pakistan. The untreated waste water discharge is responsible to not only afflicted the fish but also the birds which feed on this fish. Further, the same untreated waste water from factories and agriculture runoffs affect vegetables grown in it. Studies looking at the biomarkers for mercury in humans have shown increased and even toxic levels of mercury among the most vulnerable populations of the country. Other sources of mercury exposure included mercury in traditional medicines and cigarette products. Though no evidence was found for its presence in drinking water, its existence in the food chain and occupational exposure pose great threat to the humans as well as animals.
Effect of occupational exposure to petrol and gasoline components on liver and renal biochemical parameters among gas station attendants, a review and meta-analysis
Authors: Rahimi Moghadam Somayeh , Afshari Mahdi , Ganjali Ali , Moosazadeh Mahmood 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Objectives
Kidney and liver are of the most affected organs during permanent exposure to petrol and gasoline components in gas stations. This study aims to investigate the renal and liver involvements in these workers using meta-analysis.

Methods
PubMed, Scopus, Science direct, ISI web of science, and Google scholar motor engine were searched using Mesh terms of the relevant keywords. Screening of titles, abstracts and full texts was continued until the eligible articles meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria were selected. Quality assessment was conducted using NOS (Newcastle–Ottawa Quality score). The pooled standard mean difference of the renal and liver indices between exposed/unexposed groups was estimated using Stata ver. 11 software.

Results
In this systematic review, 22 papers were entered. The pooled standard mean difference (95% confidence interval) between exposed and unexposed groups was estimated as of 0.74 (0.28, 1.21) for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), 2.44 (1.80, 3.08) for aspartate transaminase (AST), 2.06 (1.42, 2.69) for alanine transaminase (ALT), 0.10 (−0.09, 0.29) for total Bilirubin (TB), 0.74 (−0.42, −1.90) for total protein (TP), −0.49 (−0.82, −0.15) for albumin, 0.88 (−0.10, 1.87) for uric acid, 1.02 (0.45, 1.59) for creatinine and 1.44 (0.75, 2.13) for blood urea nitrogen (BUN).

Conclusion
Our meta-analysis showed that the serum AST, ALT, ALP, total protein, total bilirubin, BUN, uric acid and creatinine levels were higher among workers exposed to petrol and gasoline than control group, while albumin was lower in the serum of the exposed workers. Therefore, occupational exposure to gasoline stations can create adverse effects on kidney and liver function.
Testing the low dose mixtures hypothesis from the Halifax project
Authors: Goodson William H. , Lowe Leroy , Gilbertson Michael , Carpenter David O. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
In 2013, 60 scientists, representing a larger group of 174 scientists from 26 nations, met in Halifax, Nova Scotia to consider whether – using published research – it was logical to anticipate that a mixture of chemicals, each thought to be non-carcinogenic, might act together in that mixture as a virtual carcinogen. The group identified 89 such chemicals, each one affecting one or more Hallmark(s) – collectively covering all Hallmarks of Cancer – confirming the possibility that a chemical mixture could induce all the Hallmarks and function as a virtual carcinogen, thereby supporting the concern that chemical safety research that does not evaluate mixtures, is incomplete. Based on these observations, the Halifax Project developed the Low-Dose Carcinogenesis Hypothesis which posits “…that low-dose exposures to [mixtures of] disruptive chemicals that are not individually carcinogenic may be capable of instigating and/or enabling carcinogenesis.” Although testing all possible combinations of over 80,000 chemicals of commerce would be impractical, prudence requires designing a methodology to test whether low-dose chemical mixtures might be carcinogenic. As an initial step toward testing this hypothesis, we conducted a mini review of published empirical observations of biological exposures to chemical mixtures to assess what empirical data exists on which to base future research. We reviewed studies on chemical mixtures with the criteria that the studies reported both different concentrations of chemicals and mixtures composed of different chemicals. We found a paucity of research on this important question. The majority of studies reported hormone related processes and used chemical concentrations selected to facilitate studying how mixtures behave in experiments that were often removed from clinical relevance, i.e., chemicals were not studied at human-relevant concentrations. New research programs must be envisioned to enable study of how mixtures of small doses of chemicals affect human health, starting, when at all possible, from non-malignant specimens when studies are done in vitro. This research should use human relevant concentrations of chemicals, expand research beyond the historic focus on endocrine endpoints and endocrine related cancers, and specifically seek effects that arise uniquely from exposure to chemical mixtures at human-relevant concentrations.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation in children exposed to air pollution: a possible mechanism underlying respiratory health effects development
Authors: Suhaimi Nur Faseeha , Jalaludin Juliana , Abu Bakar Suhaili 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Air pollution is a substantial environmental threat to children and acts as acute and chronic disease risk factors alike. Several studies have previously evaluated epigenetic modifications concerning its exposure across various life stages. However, findings on epigenetic modifications as the consequences of air pollution during childhood are rather minimal. This review evaluated highly relevant studies in the field to analyze the existing literature regarding exposure to air pollution, with a focus on epigenetic alterations during childhood and their connections with respiratory health effects. The search was conducted using readily available electronic databases (PubMed and ScienceDirect) to screen for children’s studies on epigenetic mechanisms following either pre- or post-natal exposure to air pollutants. Studies relevant enough and matched the predetermined criteria were chosen to be reviewed. Non-English articles and studies that did not report both air monitoring and epigenetic outcomes in the same article were excluded. The review found that epigenetic changes have been linked with exposure to air pollutants during early life with evidence and reports of how they may deregulate the epigenome balance, thus inducing disease progression in the future. Epigenetic studies evolve as a promising new approach in deciphering the underlying impacts of air pollution on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) due to links established between some of these epigenetic mechanisms and illnesses.
Channels to consciousness: a possible role of gap junctions in consciousness
Authors: Dere Dorothea , Zlomuzica Armin , Dere Ekrem 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The neurophysiological basis of consciousness is still unknown and one of the most challenging questions in the field of neuroscience and related disciplines. We propose that consciousness is characterized by the maintenance of mental representations of internal and external stimuli for the execution of cognitive operations. Consciousness cannot exist without working memory, and it is likely that consciousness and working memory share the same neural substrates. Here, we present a novel psychological and neurophysiological framework that explains the role of consciousness for cognition, adaptive behavior, and everyday life. A hypothetical architecture of consciousness is presented that is organized as a system of operation and storage units named platforms that are controlled by a consciousness center (central executive/online platform). Platforms maintain mental representations or contents, are entrusted with different executive functions, and operate at different levels of consciousness. The model includes conscious-mode central executive/online and mental time travel platforms and semiconscious steady-state and preconscious standby platforms. Mental representations or contents are represented by neural circuits and their support cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, etc.) and become conscious when neural circuits reverberate, that is, fire sequentially and continuously with relative synchronicity. Reverberatory activity in neural circuits may be initiated and maintained by pacemaker cells/neural circuit pulsars, enhanced electronic coupling via gap junctions, and unapposed hemichannel opening. The central executive/online platform controls which mental representations or contents should become conscious by recruiting pacemaker cells/neural network pulsars, the opening of hemichannels, and promoting enhanced neural circuit coupling via gap junctions.
Detection of disease-associated microRNAs — application for autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Konečná Barbora , Radošinská Jana , Keményová Petra , Repiská Gabriela 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) diagnostic procedure still lacks a uniform biological marker. This review gathers the information on microRNAs (miRNAs) specifically as a possible source of biomarkers of ASD. Extracellular vesicles, and their subset of exosomes, are believed to be a tool of cell-to-cell communication, and they are increasingly considered to be carriers of such a marker. The interest in studying miRNAs in extracellular vesicles grows in all fields of study and therefore should not be omitted in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders. The summary of miRNAs associated with brain cells and ASD either studied directly in the tissue or biofluids are gathered in this review. The heterogeneity in findings from different studies points out the fact that unified methods should be established, beginning with the determination of the accurate patient and control groups, through to sample collection, processing, and storage conditions. This review, based on the available literature, proposes the standardized approach to obtain the results that would not be affected by technical factors. Nowadays, the method of high-throughput sequencing seems to be the most optimal to analyze miRNAs. This should be followed by the uniformed bioinformatics procedure to avoid misvalidation. At the end, the proper validation of the obtained results is needed. With such an approach as is described in this review, it would be possible to obtain a reliable biomarker that would characterize the presence of ASD.
Above and beyond emotional suffering: the unique contribution of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding in chronic pain
Authors: Carvalho Sérgio A. , Pinto-Gouveia José , Gillanders David , Lapa Teresa , Valentim Ana , Santos Elsa , Paciência Juliana , Castilho Paula 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Objectives
Studies have shown that self-compassion plays a protective role against depression in women with chronic pain (CP). However, the majority of studies in CP have used the total score of the self-compassion scale (SCS), which have raised concerns due to potential overlap, not only between the uncompassionate self-responding factors and psychopathology, but also between self-compassion as a whole and other well-known psychological processes (e.g., mindfulness, acceptance, psychological flexibility). This calls for a more nuanced understanding of which components of (un)compassionate self-responding adds to better mental health in CP.

Methods
This study explores the unique contribution of compassionate and uncompassionate self-responding to depressive symptoms in women with CP undergoing pain consultation (n = 49).

Results
Correlation analyses suggest that compassionate self-responding only significantly correlates with progress in valued living, while the uncompassionate self-responding significantly correlates with pain fusion, pain avoidance, obstructions to valued living and depression. Multiple regression analysis showed that self-compassion contributes to depressive symptoms (R2 = 8%) above and beyond pain intensity and disability (R2 = 12%) and psychological (in) flexibility processes (R2 = 31%), and uncompassionate (but not compassionate) self-responding uniquely contributes to depressive symptoms (sr

2
= 18%).

Conclusions
Findings suggest that uncompassionate self-responding is a stronger contributor to depression in CP than compassionate self-responding. Clinical implications are further discussed.
Southeast Asia after the Caliphate: Identifying Spatial Trends in Terrorism and Radicalization in Malaysia
Authors: Henkin Samuel , Boyd Marcus A. , Martin Adam 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Recent scholarship on militant Islamist radicalization in Southeast Asia highlights the significance of local context in understanding support and recruitment into militancy. While research on terrorism in Southeast Asia engenders a dynamism of epistemic inquiry in diverse areas of research, an empirical mapping of radicalization is generally absent. Research on militant Islamic radicalization in Southeast Asia needs more robust consideration of geospatial relations and data to fill this lacuna. A geospatial analysis is, above all else, synthesis. It bridges spatial statistical analytics and qualitative socio-spatial investigation. We argue that a geospatial analytical approach to understanding radicalization offers a way in which to begin empirically mapping radicalization in the region. Correspondingly, our work considers militant Islamic radicalization in Malaysia by employing geospatial analysis to build a more nuanced layering and comprehensive understanding of the spatial arrangements of radicalization. Viewed from this perspective, radicalization can be understood through spatial logics and practices aimed at facilitating better understandings of socio-political relations of political violence and terrorism more broadly.
The (crucial yet neglected) category of interjections in Xhosa
Authors: Andrason Alexander , Dlali Mawande 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The present paper analyzes the category of interjections in Xhosa within a prototype approach. The evidence demonstrates the robustness and internal complexity of the interjectional category. Interjections ranges from canonical and asystematic to non-canonical and (relatively) systematic, with emotive primary interjections entertaining the highest extent of interjectionality and asystematicity.
Orthogonale Regression – Realität oder Isotropie?
Authors: Lösler Michael , Eschelbach Cornelia 
Published: August 2020

Zusammenfassung
Nicht nur in der Metrologie wird für die Analyse von Daten auf eine orthogonale Regression zurückgegriffen. Bei der orthogonalen Regression stehen die zu minimierenden Verbesserungen senkrecht auf der Funktion, weshalb dem Verfahren häufig ein hoher Anschauungsgrad beigemessen wird. In diesem Beitrag werden einige Eigenschaften der orthogonalen Regression untersucht und geprüft, ob diese exklusiv diesem Verfahren zuzuordnen sind oder ob es sich lediglich um übertragene Eigenschaften eines allgemeinen Optimierungsproblems handelt. Ergänzend zu den Ausführungen von Kolaczia [9] soll die Frage nach der Eignung dieses Verfahrens für die Messtechnik beantwortet werden.
Re-placing PStem in the prosodic hierarchy
Authors: Downing Laura J. , Kadenge Maxwell 
Published: August 2020

AbstractA persistent issue for the Prosodic Hierarchy is what repertory of prosodic constituents is needed to define the commonly recurring domains for phonological processes. Even though there is a long tradition of work arguing in favor of up to three subphrasal constituents (Composite Group (CG), PWord and PStem), a body of recent work has argued in favor of a more parsimonious view of the repertory,making the strong claim that, at the subphrasal level, the Prosodic Hierarchy contains only one constituent, Phonological Word (PWord). Any additional subphrasal domains required by the phonology must be defined as recursions of PWord. This paper argues that PStem must find a place even in a parsimonious Prosodic Hierarchy. It cannot easily be replaced by recursive PWord or by a CG-PWord distinction. The cross-linguistic validity of a PStem-PWord distinction is supported by showing that it accounts for a robust cross-linguistic generalization concerning subphrasal phonological domains. Alternatives to PStem not only miss this generalization but also prove to be formally inadequate.
Eine Bildungsgenossenschaft für faire Studienfinanzierung
Authors: Littmann Annette 
Published: August 2020

ZusammenfassungIn dem Beitrag wird die Entstehung einer Bildungsgenossenschaft, der CHANCEN eG, zur Finanzierung von Studiengebühren beschrieben. Ziele des im Jahr 2016 aus dem Umfeld der Universität Witten/Herdecke gegründeten Sozialunternehmens sind Chancengerechtigkeit und Selbstbestimmung bei der Berufswahl. Im Besonderen wird auf die Gründe eingegangen, die für die Wahl der Rechtsform der Genossenschaft sprachen, sowie das Finanzierungsmodell der Genossenschaft, der „Umgekehrte Generationenvertrag“. Darüber hin­aus stellt der Beitrag die jüngste Entwicklung der CHANCEN eG und deren aktuelle Herausforderungen dar.