bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of informal settlements and wastewater treatment plants on helminth egg contamination of urban rivers and risks associated with exposure
Authors: Amoah Isaac Dennis , Kumari Sheena , Reddy Poovendhree , Stenström Thor Axel , Bux Faizal 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe quality of surface water could be influenced by both anthropogenic and natural factors. This study was designed to determine the impact of informal settlement and wastewater treatment plants on helminth egg contamination of urban rivers and the risks associated with everyday use. We also ascertained the accumulation of these eggs in the river sediments. The study was carried out in two rivers in the eThekwini Municipality of South Africa. Grab samples were taken at different points over a 10-month period. Ascaris spp., hookworm, Toxocara spp., Trichuris spp. and Taenia spp. were the helminth eggs detected in both the water column and sediments, with mean Ascaris spp. eggs of 0–6.3 (± 5.1)/L in the water and 0–6.8 (± 5.2)/kg in sediment samples. The helminth egg concentrations showed seasonal variation, probably due to changes in infection levels of the populations or natural factors, such as rainfall. The informal settlements had a greater impact than treated wastewater. For every 10,000 recreational users of the rivers 19 to 58 may be infected under undisturbed conditions, increasing to 29–88 individuals when the riverbed is disturbed. The risk from agricultural use of the rivers was above the tolerable risk values applicable for wastewater reuse, recommended by the World Health Organization. This calls for a re-evaluation of the policies governing surface water quality assessment, where the inclusion of helminth eggs and sediment monitoring will be critical.
Bio-processing of macroalgae Palmaria palmata: metabolite fractionation from pressed fresh material and ensiling considerations for long-term storage
Authors: Gallagher J. A. , Adams J. M. M. , Turner L. B. , Kirby M. E. , Toop T. A. , Mirza M. W. , Theodorou M. K. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRed algae, belonging to the phylum Rhodophyta, contain an abundance of useful chemicals including bioactive molecules and present opportunities for the production of different products through biorefinery cascades. The rhodophyte Palmaria palmata, commonly termed dulse or dillisk, grows predominantly on the northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is a well-known snack food. Due to its abundance, availability and cultivation capacity, P. palmata was selected for study as a potential candidate for a biorefinery process. In addition to studying juice and solid fractions of freshly harvested P. palmata, we have investigated the novel possibility of preserving algal biomass by ensilaging protocols similar to those employed for terrestrial forage crops. In the metabolite partitioning within the solid and liquid fractions following screw-pressing, the majority of the metabolites screened for—water soluble carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids, lipids, pigments, phenolics and antioxidant activity—remained in the solid fraction, though at differing proportions depending on the metabolite, from 70.8% soluble amino acids to 98.2% chlorophyll a and 98.1% total carotenoids. For the ensiling study, screw-pressed P. palmata, with comparative wilted and chopped, and chopped only samples, were ensiled at scale with and without Safesil silage additive. All samples were successfully ensiled after 90 days, with screw-pressing giving lower or equal pH before and after ensiling compared with the other preparations. Of particular note was the effluent volumes generated during ensiling: 26–49% of the fresh weight, containing 16–34% of the silage dry matter. This may be of advantage depending on the final use of the biomass.
Three-Dimensional and Histological Observations on Male Genital Organs of Greater Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
Authors: Sohn Joon Hyuk , Fukui Dai , Nojiri Taro , Minowa Kazuhiro , Kimura Junpei , Koyabu Daisuke 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAnatomy of bat genital organs has been conventionally studied by gross and microscopic observations to date. Here, we employ both histological observation and diceCT (diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography) to study the detailed three-dimensional morphological structure of the male genital organs in bats, using the greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. This is the first study to three-dimensionally describe the whole reproductive organs of bats in detail. Our highly resolved three-dimensional reconstruction reveals that the male organs of R. ferrumequinum consist of paired testes, epididymides, deferent ducts, and five accessory genital glands. The boundary between the ampullary and vesicular glands has been difficult to identify in previous observations, but our diceCT imaging allowed us to clearly differentiate the two. We found that the ampullary gland is located at the terminal part of the deferent ducts, and the vesicular gland lies distal to the ampullary glands. This species possesses a single and carrot-shaped urethral gland, which is not found in most chiropteran families. The presence of the urethral gland in this species and its secretions suggest that after copulation this species is capable of forming a vaginal plug, which can seal the female’s vaginal orifice to block the entrance of spermatozoa from other males. The presence of the urethral gland and elongated epididymal tail and the fact that some individuals can terminate their hibernation and reactivate imply forced copulation on hibernating females can occur in R. ferrumequinum.
The communities of ectomycorrhizal fungal species associated with Betula pendula Roth and Pinus sylvestris L. growing in heavy-metal contaminated soils
Authors: Bierza Wojciech , Bierza Karolina , Trzebny Artur , Greń Izabela , Dabert Miroslawa , Ciepał Ryszard , Trocha Lidia K. 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Aims
Pioneer tree species such as Betula pendula and Pinus sylvestris encroach soils contaminated with heavy metals (HMs). This is facilitated by ectomycorrhizal fungi colonizing tree roots. Thus, we evaluated the ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) communities of B. pendula and P. sylvestris growing in HM-contaminated soils compared to non-contaminated soils. We also studied the effect of HMs and soil properties on EMF communities and soil fungal biomass.

Methods
Roots of B. pendula and P. sylvestris were collected from three HM-contaminated sites and from two non-contaminated sites located in Poland. EMF species were identified using DNA barcoding. Soil fungal biomass was determined by soil ergosterol.

Results
B. pendula and P. sylvestris growing in HM-contaminated soils had similar EMF communities, where Scleroderma, Rhizopogon and Russula as well as ectomycorrhizae of the long-distance exploration type dominated. Among all of the examined soil factors studied, toxicity index (TITotal) was the most significant factor shaping the composition of EMF communities. Despite significant differences in the structure of the EMF communities of trees growing in HM-contaminated sites compared to control sites, no differences in overall diversity were observed.

Conclusions
Only well-adapted EMF species can survive toxic conditions and form ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with encroaching trees facilitating the forest succession on contaminated soils.
Quo Vadis English? The Post-Brexit Position of English as a Working Language of the EU
Authors: Kużelewska Elżbieta 
Published: October 2020

Abstract“Brexit” as a word entered the European language’s scene eight years ago as a term describing what seemed as a surrealistic scenario for the British. Since then, it has become the ‘political word of 2016,’ paved its way to the Oxford English Dictionary, and globally into the computer dictionaries which no longer underline it in red as an unknown term. ‘Brexit,’ as a political campaign motto, has also transformed into a realistic political strategy and eventually into a complicated, exhausting, dividing, yet finalized process. By the time it was accomplished, everyone in Europe was tired of it, but tiredness did not change the fact that Brexit was an historical period of turmoil of an unprecedented nature. Brexit occurred on a multitude of dimensions, including the EU language policy dimension. For the past 20 years, English has been by far the most commonly used language in the Union, not only as one of the 24 official languages of the Member States, but as a working language of all the institutions, all negotiations, and all political debates. This contribution aims to analyse the legal status and the practical dimension of the European Union working languages and to explore the position of the English language among them—both presently and with possible scenarios in the future Union, without the United Kingdom as the biggest English-speaking Member State. The initial assumption states that the geopolitical weight of the English language will diminish even if the Irish and Maltese will hold the language’s position as an official language of the Union. In mathematical terms, there will be more native speakers in Hungarian or Slovak than in English. In political terms, Germany and France will have a chance to improve their influences by advocating for more efficient use of their languages. ‘Quo vadisEnglish?’ seems a timely question to ask.
An efficient secure data compression technique based on chaos and adaptive Huffman coding
Authors: Usama Muhammad , Malluhi Qutaibah M. , Zakaria Nordin , Razzak Imran , Iqbal Waheed 
Published: October 2020

AbstractData stored in physical storage or transferred over a communication channel includes substantial redundancy. Compression techniques cut down the data redundancy to reduce space and communication time. Nevertheless, compression techniques lack proper security measures, e.g., secret key control, leaving the data susceptible to attack. Data encryption is therefore needed to achieve data security in keeping the data unreadable and unaltered through a secret key. This work concentrates on the problems of data compression and encryption collectively without negatively affecting each other. Towards this end, an efficient, secure data compression technique is introduced, which provides cryptographic capabilities for use in combination with an adaptive Huffman coding, pseudorandom keystream generator, and S-Box to achieve confusion and diffusion properties of cryptography into the compression process and overcome the performance issues. Thus, compression is carried out according to a secret key such that the output will be both encrypted and compressed in a single step. The proposed work demonstrated a congruent fit for real-time implementation, providing robust encryption quality and acceptable compression capability. Experiment results are provided to show that the proposed technique is efficient and produces similar space-saving (%) to standard techniques. Security analysis discloses that the proposed technique is susceptible to the secret key and plaintext. Moreover, the ciphertexts produced by the proposed technique successfully passed all NIST tests, which confirm that the 99% confidence level on the randomness of the ciphertext.
The evolution of sinus surgery in England in the last decade – An observational study
Authors: Gupta Keshav Kumar , Jolly Karan , Bhamra Navdeep , Osborne Max Sallis , Ahmed Shahzada Khuram 
Published: October 2020

Background and objectiveSinus surgery has seen significant changes over the years with advancements in instruments, endoscopes and imaging. This study aimed to use Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data to review the total number of sinus related procedures performed in both adults and children across England and identify whether there were any trends across the study period. We predicted an increase in endoscopic sinus procedures with a decline in open approaches to the paranasal sinuses.MethodsData from HES was extracted for the years 2010–2019. The operative (OPCS‐4) codes relevant to all sinus procedures between E12.1 and E17.9 were analysed. After examination of overall sinus related procedures, further subgroup analysis was performed with regards to open or endoscopic techniques.ResultsThe total number of sinus procedures performed between 2010 and 2019 was 89,495. There was an increase in endoscopic surgeries by 21.1% and a decrease of open surgeries 35.3% during this time. There was an overall increase in maxillary, frontal and sphenoid sinus procedures, with a decrease in ethmoid sinus and lateral rhinotomy operations. There was an increase in the proportion of endoscopic cases overall by 5.7% and for all sinuses individually.ConclusionOverall, we see an increase in sinus surgery over the last 9 years from 2010 to 2019. These findings are in keeping with our initial hypotheses. Although our data set is limited by coding, and lack of patient factors, it represents most, if not all, of the data in England over a large study period. It is therefore useful to add to previous studies when demonstrating the increasing popularity of endoscopic sinus surgery over open procedures.
Charismatic Leadership and the Formation of Hate Groups
Authors: Breen Clairissa D. , Frezza Stephen 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAs of 2019, there were 940 hate groups known to be active in the United States. Previous examinations of hate groups have assumed formation. This paper uses simulation modeling to test Weber’s 1947 socio-political theory of charismatic leadership. Simulation modeling creates a computer simulation that simplifies people and their interactions to mimic a real-world event or phenomena. Three models of hate group formation were created to test this theory. These experiments test the importance of personal and societal levels of hate in group formation and the influence of charismatic leadership. These experiments also tested hypotheses regarding the number of groups that form, the speed of formation, and group size. Data were collected from 13,000 model iterations to test these hypotheses. All models successfully generated hate groups. Hate groups formed at all levels of societal hate. An in-depth understanding of how hate groups form may assist in slowing the proliferation of these groups and decreasing their appeal.
Working Politically: Combining Socio-Legal Tools to Study Experiences of Law
Authors: Mant Jess 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis Article provides a novel insight into how earlycareer scholars in the UK may combine different theoretical tools in their research, and the implications that this may have for the socio-legal discipline. This Article draws upon the author’s experience of combining theoretical tools from different schools of thought: Feminist legal theory, Bourdieusian theory, and Actor Network Theory, within the context of recent research into experiences of those representing themselves in family court hearings in England and Wales. Combining these theories for the first time, this Article explores the difficulties, tensions, and benefits of combining tools within socio-legal research and reflects upon the influence of the pedagogical and institutional resources that characterize the socio-legal research environment in the UK. This Article argues that the task of combining different tools provides scholars with the opportunity to work politically, because the process of reconciling tensions between different approaches requires researchers to reflect upon the worldviews that underpin their selected theories. In this sense, it argues that combining different theories within socio-legal research is a political activity, because researchers are required to reflect not only on how theoretical choices may contest, expand, or develop dominant assumptions that characterize socio-legal scholarly traditions.
Increased burden of cardiovascular risk among youth suicide attempters
Authors: Zhong Yongqi , Pham Steven , Porta Giovanna , Douaihy Antoine , Marsland Anna , Brent David , Melhem Nadine M. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundSuicide and cardiovascular disease rank among the leading causes of disability and premature mortality worldwide. Young adult suicide attempters are at increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease even compared to those with major depressive disorder suggesting an increased burden of cardiovascular risk factors. We compared the cardiovascular risk burden between youth attempters and other high-risk individuals.MethodsParticipants were from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), a U.S. population-based study, aged 18–30 years [suicide attempt (SA): n = 303; suicidal ideation (SI): n = 451; controls: n = 3671]; and psychiatric inpatients admitted for a SA (n = 38) or SI (n = 40) and healthy controls (n = 37) aged 15–30 years. We computed a cardiovascular risk score and high- and low-risk latent classes based on risk factors of high blood pressure, obesity, and smoking.ResultsSuicide attempters showed an increased cardiovascular risk score (CPES: B = 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.31–0.54, p < 0.001; inpatient sample: B = 1.61, 95% CI 0.53–2.68, p = 0.004) compared to controls. They were also more likely to be classified in the high cardiovascular risk group (CPES: odds ratio (OR) 3.36, 95% CI 1.67–6.78, p = 0.001; inpatient sample: OR 9.89, 95% CI 1.38–85.39, p = 0.03) compared to those with SI (CPES: OR 1.15, 95% CI 0.55–2.39, p = 0.71; inpatient sample: OR 1.91, 95% CI 0.25–15.00, p = 0.53).ConclusionsYouth attempters show an increased burden for cardiovascular risk compared to other high-risk individuals in inpatient and population-based samples. Clinicians should pay particular attention to cardiovascular risk factors among suicide attempters in order to reduce their risk for cardiovascular events.
The mycological social network a way forward for conservation of fungal biodiversity
Authors: Irga Peter J , Dominici Laura , Torpy Fraser R 
Published: October 2020

SummaryBecause knowledge of fungal diversity is very incomplete, it is possible that anthropogenic impacts are driving species to extinction before they have been discovered. Fungal inventories are still incomplete and do not reflect the complete diversity of this large taxon. Whilst molecular advancements are leading to an increased rate of species discovery, there is still much to be done to understand the diversity of fungi, identify rare species and establish conservation goals. Citizen science via social media could play an increasingly important role in mycological research, and its continued development should be supported and encouraged. The involvement of non-professionals in data collection helps increase public awareness, as well as extending the scope and efficiency of fungal surveys. Future academic mycological research could benefit from social media interaction and engagement with the amateur mycological community, which may accelerate the achievement of more effective conservation goals.
Forward analysis for WSTS, part I: completions
Authors: Finkel Alain , Goubault-Larrecq Jean 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWe define representations for downward-closed subsets of a rich family of well-quasi-orders, and more generally for closed subsets of an even richer family of Noetherian topological spaces. This includes the cases of finite words, of multisets, of finite trees, notably. Those representations are given as finite unions of ideals, or more generally of irreducible closed subsets. All the representations we explore are computable, in the sense that we exhibit algorithms that decide inclusion, and compute finite unions and finite intersections. The origin of this work lies in the need for computing finite representations of sets of successors of the downward closure of one state, or more generally of a downward-closed set of states, in a well-structured transition system, and this is where we start: we define adequate notions of completions of well-quasi-orders, and more generally, of Noetherian spaces. For verification purposes, we argue that the required completions must be ideal completions, or more generally sobrifications, that is, spaces of irreducible closed subsets.
Aorto-left ventricular tunnel: case series of a rare disease
Authors: Diraneyya Obayda M. , Alhabshan Fahad , Alghamdi Abdullah , Moafa Hussein , Alnasef Mohammed , Kabbani Mohamed S. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIntroduction:Aorto-left ventricular tunnel is a rare disease that can cause significant morbidity early in life due to volume overload and left ventricular failure. Surgical intervention is usually curative with minimal early complications. However, long-term effects and outcome are not fully determined.Objective:We are reporting a case series of this rare CHD with its long-term outcome.Methods:We conducted a retrospective analysis of all children from birth to 14 years of age who were admitted between 2001 and 2020 with the diagnosis of aorto-left ventricular tunnel. Demographic, echocardiographic, and perioperative data were collected and reviewed. The pre-operative data were compared with data reviewed on the last outpatient follow-up.Results:Total of five patients fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Three patients were diagnosed after auscultating an incidental murmur, one had symptoms of congestive heart failure, and one had an abnormal fetal echocardiogram. Echocardiography demonstrated stenotic and regurgitant aortic valve with severely depressed left ventricle function in two patients, one of them with also single left coronary artery. The other three patients had normal aortic valve structure and normal ventricular function. All five patients had surgical repair, two by patch closure at aortic end of aorto-left ventricular tunnel, two by patch closure at both aortic and left ventricular ends, and one by aortic root replacement using a homograft. During follow-up, there was no residual aorto-left ventricular tunnel in any of our five cases, two had moderate aortic regurgitation and one had moderate residual aortic stenosis.Conclusions:Spectrum of presentation for aorto-left ventricular tunnel varies from an occult lesion to frank left heart failure due to volume or less commonly, pressure overload. Early surgical repair is recommended and is usually associated with complete resolution. Long-term follow-up is recommended for aortic root dilatation and aortic valve competency, as valve function need to be addressed in a timely manner to avoid further complications.