bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Stirring Rate and Freezing Time on the Percentage of Recovery of Residual Oil from Palm Oil Mill Effluent via a Stirred Freeze Crystallizer
Authors: Mohamed Anuar M. A. , Amran N. A. , Ruslan M. S. H. 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
In palm oil industries, treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) is still problematic due to both technologies sustainability and management will. In conjunction with the POME problem, increasing the oil extraction rate (OER) is also the most crucial task for these palm oil production community. The most promising method to address these two challenges is by direct recovering of lost oil in the POME. Among the popular separation processes for recovery of residual oil from POME are by using evaporation, adsorption and reverse osmosis as process media generated a good amount of percentage recovery of residual oil from the effluent. However, these methods require high amount of energy and the process itself are complex where it can affect the quality of the residual oil. The goal of this project is to extract and recover the residual oil in POME using an advanced approach called progressive freezing, in order to meet the standard quality discharged of effluent and improve oil extraction rate (OER). In this research, a cylindrical stirred freeze crystallizer was designed and fabricated, where the crystallizer was immersed in a refrigerated water bath for cooling purpose. The effect of stirring rate and freezing time on the percentage of recovery of residual oil was investigated. It was found that higher stirring rate resulted in a lower percentage oil recovery, which translated into low efficiency. On the other hand, higher percentage of oil recovery was monitored as the freezing time is prolong from 20 to 60 minutes. The highest percentage oil recovery of 76.5% was obtained at coolant temperature of 2°C, freezing time of 40 minutes and the stirring rate of 150rpm.
Preparation of Highly Hydrophobic PVDF-HFP Membrane with Anti-Wettability Characteristic
Authors: Toh M J , Oh P C , Mohd Shaufi M I S 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Membrane gas-liquid separation technology has gained great interest in membrane desalination, distillation, and gas absorption attributed to its good operation flexibility, small footprint and high specific interfacial area. Membrane acts as the non-selective barrier between gas and liquid solvent by allowing the diffusion of gas molecules via pressure difference. Currently used membrane is susceptible to pore wetting at high operational pressure, transforming its non-wetted condition to partially wetted and wetted mode. Such condition introduces additional mass transfer resistance to gas molecules, leading to the poor removal flux. In order to alleviate the wetting tendency, membrane hydrophobicity needs to be enhanced. In this work, highly hydrophobic PVDF-HFP membrane of improved anti-wettability properties was synthesized via non-solvent induced phase separation. The effect of polymer concentration and coagulation medium on membrane wettability were studied. The results revealed that PVDF-HFP membrane of 10wt% polymer concentration presented high water contact angle of 100.4°. By changing water to ethanol as coagulation medium, membrane exhibited a symmetric nodular structure which enhanced water contact angle by 20.3% to 130.5º. To further improve membrane hydrophobicity, modified silica (MS) nanoparticles were used as surface modifier in coagulation bath. When the nanoparticles content increased from 0g to 2g, the water contact angle of the PVDF-HFP modified membrane increased significantly from 130.5° to 163.1°. As a result, the liquid entry pressure of the membranes increased gradually from 0.58bar to 3.38bar with MS incorporation. This disparity in membrane anti-wettability is due to the increase in surface roughness and reduction in surface energy. Additionally, the modified membrane at MS loading of 2g showed high porosity at 78%, which is adequate to provide increased mass transfer rate between gas and liquid solvent.
Preparation and properties of endothermic functional ceramics with iron tailings as raw materials
Authors: Meng Junping , Peng Jingxuan , Srinivasakannan C , Duan Xinhui , Liang Jinsheng 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
The present work attempts to utilize iron tailings as the main raw materials for preparation of functional ceramics as a means of resource utilization. A new type of endothermic functional ceramics, which can be used in the field of solar energy, was prepared via semi-dry pressing followed by pressureless sintering. The results show that the functional ceramics made of 68 wt% iron tailings, 26 wt% iron ore, 3 wt% alumina, 1 wt% potash feldspar and 2 wt% kaolin, sintered at 1185 °C exhibited the best overall performance. Visual observation reveals that there were no cracks on the surface of the samples even after 20 cycles of intense thermal shock. Other attributes could be summarized as follows: Infrared emissivity in mid-infrared region: 0.85; thermal conductivity at 500 °C: 2.066 W/(m·K); flexural strength: 119.03 MPa. XRD analysis indicates that the main crystalline phases in the samples are augite, magnetite and a small amount of hematite. An increase in the proportion of iron oxide contributed to lower melting temperature of the functional ceramics, deepen color, promote densification and increase infrared emissivity. In short, the introduction of iron tailings improves the thermal and physical properties to a certain extent.
The work of older people and their informal caregivers in managing an acute health event in a hospital at home or hospital inpatient setting
Authors: Mäkelä Petra , Stott David , Godfrey Mary , Ellis Graham , Schiff Rebekah , Shepperd Sasha 
Published: May 2020

Abstract

Background
There is limited understanding of the contribution made by older people and their caregivers to acute healthcare in the home and how this compares to hospital inpatient healthcare.

Objectives
To explore the work of older people and caregivers at the time of an acute health event, the interface with professionals in a hospital and hospital at home (HAH) and how their experiences relate to the principles underpinning comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).

Design
A qualitative interview study within a UK multi-site participant randomised trial of geriatrician-led admission avoidance HAH, compared with hospital inpatient care.

Methods
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 34 older people (15 had received HAH and 19 hospital care) alone or alongside caregivers (29 caregivers; 12 HAH, 17 hospital care), in three sites that recruited participants to a randomised trial, during 2017–2018. We used normalisation process theory to guide our analysis and interpretation of the data.

Results
Patients and caregivers described efforts to understand changes in health, interpret assessments and mitigate a lack of involvement in decisions. Practical work included managing risks, mobilising resources to meet health-related needs, and integrating the acute episode into longer-term strategies. Personal, relational and environmental factors facilitated or challenged adaptive capacity and ability to manage.

Conclusions
Patients and caregivers contributed to acute healthcare in both locations, often in parallel to healthcare providers. Our findings highlight an opportunity for CGA-guided services at the interface of acute and chronic condition management to facilitate personal, social and service strategies extending beyond an acute episode of healthcare.
Sympathetic Activation in Hypertension: Importance of the Central Nervous System
Authors: Hirooka Yoshitaka 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
The sympathetic nervous system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. The central nervous system (CNS) organizes the sympathetic outflow and various inputs from the periphery. The brain renin–angiotensin system has been studied in various regions involved in controlling sympathetic outflow. Recent progress in cardiovascular research, particularly in vascular biology and neuroscience, as well as in traditional physiological approaches, has advanced the field of the neural control of hypertension in which the CNS plays a vital role. Cardiovascular research relating to hypertension has focused on the roles of nitric oxide, oxidative stress, inflammation, and immunity, and the network among various organs, including the heart, kidney, spleen, gut, and vasculature. The CNS mechanisms are similarly networked with these factors and are widely studied in neuroscience. In this review, I describe the development of the conceptual flow of this network in the field of hypertension on the basis of several important original research articles and discuss potential future breakthroughs leading to clinical precision medicine.
SMNN: batch effect correction for single-cell RNA-seq data via supervised mutual nearest neighbor detection
Authors: Yang Yuchen , Li Gang , Qian Huijun , Wilhelmsen Kirk C , Shen Yin , Li Yun 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Batch effect correction has been recognized to be indispensable when integrating single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from multiple batches. State-of-the-art methods ignore single-cell cluster label information, but such information can improve the effectiveness of batch effect correction, particularly under realistic scenarios where biological differences are not orthogonal to batch effects. To address this issue, we propose SMNN for batch effect correction of scRNA-seq data via supervised mutual nearest neighbor detection. Our extensive evaluations in simulated and real datasets show that SMNN provides improved merging within the corresponding cell types across batches, leading to reduced differentiation across batches over MNN, Seurat v3 and LIGER. Furthermore, SMNN retains more cell-type-specific features, partially manifested by differentially expressed genes identified between cell types after SMNN correction being biologically more relevant, with precision improving by up to 841.0%.
DenvInD: dengue virus inhibitors database for clinical and molecular research
Authors: Dwivedi Vivek Dhar , Arya Aditya , Yadav Pardeep , Kumar Rajesh , Kumar Vinod , Raghava Gajendra P S 
Published: May 2020

AbstractDengue virus (DENV) researchers often face challenges with the highly time-consuming process of collecting and curating information on known inhibitors during the standard drug discovery process. To this end, however, required collective information is not yet available on a single platform. Hence, we have developed the DenvInD database for experimentally validated DENV inhibitors against its known targets presently hosted at https://webs.iiitd.edu.in/raghava/denvind/. This database provides comprehensive information, i.e. PubChem IDs, SMILES, IC50, EC50, CC50, and wherever available Ki values of the 484 compounds in vitro validated as inhibitors against respective drug targets of DENV. Also, the DenvInD database has been linked to the user-friendly web-based interface and accessibility features, such as simple search, advanced search and data browsing. All the required data curation was conducted manually from the reported scientific literature and PubChem. The collected information was then organized into the DenvInD database using sequence query language under user interface by hypertext markup language. DenvInD is the first useful repository of its kind which would augment the DENV drug discovery research by providing essential information on known DENV inhibitors for molecular docking, computational screening, pharmacophore modeling and quantitative structure-activity relationship modeling.
New approaches for testing non-inferiority for three-arm trials with Poisson distributed outcomes
Authors: Ghosh Samiran , Paul Erina , Chowdhury Shrabanti , Tiwari Ram C. 
Published: May 2020

Summary
With the availability of limited resources, innovation for improved statistical method for the design and analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is of paramount importance for newer and better treatment discovery for any therapeutic area. Although clinical efficacy is almost always the primary evaluating criteria to measure any beneficial effect of a treatment, there are several important other factors (e.g., side effects, cost burden, less debilitating, less intensive, etc.), which can permit some less efficacious treatment options favorable to a subgroup of patients. This leads to non-inferiority (NI) testing. The objective of NI trial is to show that an experimental treatment is not worse than an active reference treatment by more than a pre-specified margin. Traditional NI trials do not include a placebo arm for ethical reason; however, this necessitates stringent and often unverifiable assumptions. On the other hand, three-arm NI trials consisting of placebo, reference, and experimental treatment, can simultaneously test the superiority of the reference over placebo and NI of experimental treatment over the reference. In this article, we proposed both novel Frequentist and Bayesian procedures for testing NI in the three-arm trial with Poisson distributed count outcome. RCTs with count data as the primary outcome are quite common in various disease areas such as lesion count in cancer trials, relapses in multiple sclerosis, dermatology, neurology, cardiovascular research, adverse event count, etc. We first propose an improved Frequentist approach, which is then followed by it’s Bayesian version. Bayesian methods have natural advantage in any active-control trials, including NI trial when substantial historical information is available for placebo and established reference treatment. In addition, we discuss sample size calculation and draw an interesting connection between the two paradigms.
Molecular signature of slowly expanding lesions in progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Jäckle Katharina , Zeis Thomas , Schaeren-Wiemers Nicole , Junker Andreas , van der Meer Franziska , Kramann Nadine , Stadelmann Christine , Brück Wolfgang 
Published: May 2020

AbstractMultiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory disease of the CNS that leads to demyelinated lesions in the grey and white matter. Inflammatory, active demyelinating white matter lesions predominate in the relapsing-remitting disease stages, whereas in the progressive stage the so-called slowly expanding lesion is characteristic. These lesions show an accumulation of macrophages/microglia at their borders, mediating the ongoing myelin breakdown and axonal degeneration. The exact pathogenetic mechanisms of lesion progression in chronic multiple sclerosis are still not clear. In the present study, we performed a detailed immunological and molecular profiling of slowly expanding lesions (n = 21) from 13 patients aged between 30 to 74 years (five females and eight males), focusing on macrophage/microglia differentiation. By applying the microglia-specific marker TMEM119, we demonstrate that cells accumulating at the lesion edge almost exclusively belonged to the microglia lineage. Macrophages/microglia can be subdivided into the M1 type, which are associated with inflammatory and degenerative processes, and M2 type, with protective properties, whereby also intermediate polarization phenotypes can be observed. By using a panel of markers characterizing M1- or M2-type macrophages/microglia, we observed a preferential accumulation of M1-type differentiated cells at the lesion edge, indicating a crucial role of these cells in lesion progression. Additionally, unbiased RNA microarray analyses of macrodissected lesion edges from slowly expanding and chronic inactive lesions as well as normal-appearing white matter were performed. In slowly expanding lesions, we identified a total of 165 genes that were upregulated and 35 genes that were downregulated. The upregulated genes included macrophage/microglia-associated genes involved in immune defence and inflammatory processes. Among the upregulated genes were ALOX15B, MME and TNFRSF25. We confirmed increased expression of ALOX15B by quantitative PCR, and of all three genes on the protein level by immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, the present study characterized in detail slowly expanding lesions in progressive multiple sclerosis and demonstrated a preferential accumulation of resident microglia with M1 differentiation at the lesion edge. Microarray analysis showed an increased expression of genes related to immune function, metabolic processes as well as transcription/translation. Thus, these genes may serve as future therapeutic targets to impede lesion progression.
Habituation of auditory startle reflex is a new sign of minimally conscious state
Authors: Hermann Bertrand , Salah Amina Ben , Perlbarg Vincent , Valente Mélanie , Pyatigorskaya Nadya , Habert Marie-Odile , Raimondo Federico , Stender Johan , Galanaud Damien , Kas Aurélie , Puybasset Louis , Perez Pauline , Sitt Jacobo D , Rohaut Benjamin , Naccache Lionel 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Neurological examination of non-communicating patients relies on a few decisive items that enable the crucial distinction between vegetative state (VS)—also coined unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS)—and minimally conscious state. Over the past 10 years, this distinction has proven its diagnostic value as well as its important prognostic value on consciousness recovery. However, clinicians are currently limited by three factors: (i) the current behavioural repertoire of minimally conscious state items is limited and restricted to a few cognitive domains in the goldstandard revised version of the Coma Recovery Scale; (ii) a proportion of ∼15–20% clinically VS/UWS patients are actually in a richer state than VS/UWS as evidenced by functional brain imaging; and (iii) the neurophysiological and cognitive interpretation of each minimally conscious state item is still unclear and debated. In the current study we demonstrate that habituation of the auditory startle reflex (hASR) tested at bedside constitutes a novel, simple and powerful behavioural sign that can accurately distinguish minimally conscious state from VS/UWS. In addition to enlarging the minimally conscious state items repertoire, and therefore decreasing the low sensitivity of current behavioural measures, we also provide an original and rigorous description of the neurophysiological basis of hASR through a combination of functional (high density EEG and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET imaging) and structural (diffusion tensor imaging MRI) measures. We show that preservation of hASR is associated with the functional and structural integrity of a brain-scale fronto-parietal network, including prefrontal regions related to control of action and inhibition, and meso-parietal areas associated with minimally conscious and conscious states. Lastly, we show that hASR predicts 6-month improvement of consciousness. Taken together, our results show that hASR is a cortically-mediated behaviour, and suggest that it could be a new clinical item to clearly and accurately identify non-communicating patients who are in the minimally conscious state.
Prognostic Factors Among Children With Acute Encephalitis/Encephalopathy Associated With Viral and Other Pathogens
Authors: Hatachi Takeshi , Michihata Nobuaki , Inata Yu , Takeuchi Muneyuki , Matsui Hiroki , Fushimi Kiyohide , Yasunaga Hideo 
Published: May 2020

AbstractBackgroundAcute encephalitis/encephalopathy (AE) associated with viral and other pathogens leads to neurological sequelae and mortality. Knowing the prognostic factors is therefore important for immediate interventions. We examined early-phase unfavorable prognostic factors among children with AE using a nationwide database.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, which includes approximately half of acute-care inpatients across Japan. We enrolled children aged ≤ 18 years who were hospitalized for AE and discharged from April 2010 to March 2018. The composite unfavorable outcome included the following at discharge: in-hospital death, tracheostomy, enteral tube feeding, and physical rehabilitation. Unfavorable prognostic factors were assessed using a multivariable Poisson regression model including patient characteristics, associated pathogens, and interventions within 2 days of admission adjusting for within-hospital clustering.ResultsThis study included 9386 children with AE (median age, 3 years). A total of 241 (2.6%) in-hospital deaths occurred, and 2027 (21.6%) patients had the composite unfavorable outcome. Significant unfavorable prognostic factors were age 12–18 years, congenital anomalies, epilepsy, and Japan Coma Scale score of 100–300 at admission (ie, worse levels of consciousness). In contrast, herpes simplex virus infection and influenza virus infection were associated with favorable outcomes.ConclusionsWe identified early-phase (within 2 days of admission) unfavorable prognostic factors among children with AE. These findings will help identify patients who may benefit from early aggressive therapeutic interventions.
Valganciclovir Dosing for Cytomegalovirus Prophylaxis in Solid-organ Transplant Recipients on Continuous Veno-venous Hemodialysis
Authors: Jarrell Andrew S , Crow Jessica R , Strout Sara E , Kruer Rachel M , Toman Lindsey P , Dioverti-Prono Maria V , Lees Laura , Avery Robin K , Marzinke Mark A 
Published: May 2020

Abstract

Background
Optimal valganciclovir dosing for cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis in solid-organ transplant (SOT) patients on continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD) is not known. Ganciclovir trough concentrations ≥0.60 μg/mL have been suggested for CMV prophylaxis. This study was conducted to determine if valganciclovir 450 mg enterally every 24 hours achieves ganciclovir trough concentrations ≥0.60 μg/mL in patients on CVVHD.

Methods
This single-center, prospective, open-label, pharmacokinetic study included adult SOT patients admitted to an intensive care unit from March 2018 to June 2019 on CVVHD. All patients were receiving valganciclovir 450 mg enterally every 24 hours for CMV prophylaxis prior to enrollment. Each patient had a peak and trough sample drawn at steady state.

Results
Ten SOT patients were included in the study (6 liver, 1 simultaneous liver-kidney, 2 bilateral lung, 1 heart). The mean ± SD age was 51.8 ± 14.0 years, and average body mass index was 27 ± 6.9 kg/m2. Ganciclovir trough concentrations ranged from 0.31 to 3.16 μg/mL, and 80% of participants have trough concentrations ≥0.60 μg/mL. No patients had documented neutropenia while on valganciclovir and CVVHD; 60% of patients had significant thrombocytopenia.

Conclusions
Valganciclovir 450 mg enterally every 24 hours achieved ganciclovir trough concentrations ≥0.60 μg/mL in most patients on CVVHD, similar to those reported with intravenous ganciclovir for prophylaxis in this population. Based on these data, valganciclovir may require dosing every 24 hours to achieve concentrations equivalent to ganciclovir. Neutropenia did not occur in the study period. Thrombocytopenia was common and likely multifactorial.