bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nano-based adsorbent and photocatalyst use for pharmaceutical contaminant removal during indirect potable water reuse
Authors: Fanourakis Sofia K. , Peña-Bahamonde Janire , Bandara Pasan C. , Rodrigues Debora F. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIncreasing human activity, including commercial and noncommercial use of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and agricultural products, has introduced new contaminants that can be challenging to remove with currently available technologies. Pharmaceuticals, in particular, can be especially challenging to remove from the water supply and can pose great harm to people and local ecosystems. Their highly stable nature makes their degradation with conventional water treatment techniques difficult, and studies have shown that even advanced treatment of water is unable to remove some compounds. As such, decontamination of water from pharmaceuticals requires the development of advanced technologies capable of being used in indirect and direct potable water reuse. In this review, we discuss pharmaceutical removal in indirect potable water treatment and how recent advancements in adsorption and photocatalysis technologies can be used for the decontamination of pharmaceutical-based emerging contaminants. For instance, new materials that incorporate graphene-based nanomaterials have been developed and shown to have increased adsorptive capabilities toward pharmaceuticals when compared with unmodified graphene. In addition, adsorbents have been incorporated in membrane technologies, and photocatalysts have been combined with magnetic material and coated on optical fibers improving their usability in water treatment. Advancements in photocatalytic material research have enabled the development of highly effective materials capable of degradation of a variety of pharmaceutical compounds and the development of visible-light photocatalysts. To understand how adsorbents and photocatalysts can be utilized in water treatment, we address the benefits and limitations associated with these technologies and their potential applicability in indirect potable water reuse plants.
Two-dimensional echocardiography after return of spontaneous circulation and its association with in-hospital survival after in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Authors: Song In-Ae , Cha Jun Kwon , Oh Tak Kyu , Jo You Hwan , Yoon Yeonyee E. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis retrospective cohort study investigated the association between in-hospital survival and two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography within 24 hours after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients who underwent in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ICPR) after in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (IHCA). The 2D-echo and non-2D-echo groups comprised eligible patients who underwent transthoracic 2D echocardiography performed by the cardiology team within 24 hours after ROSC and those who did not, respectively. After propensity score (PS) matching, 142 and 284 patients in the 2D-echo and non-2D-echo groups, respectively, were included. A logistic regression analysis showed that the likelihood of in-hospital survival was 2.35-fold higher in the 2D-echo group than in the non-2D-echo group (P < 0.001). Regarding IHCA aetiology, in-hospital survival after cardiac arrest of a cardiac cause was 2.51-fold more likely in the 2D-echo group than in the non-2D-echo group (P < 0.001), with no significant inter-group difference in survival after cardiac arrest of a non-cardiac cause (P = 0.120). In this study, 2D echocardiography performed within 24 hours after ROSC was associated with better in-hospital survival outcomes for patients who underwent ICPR for IHCA with a cardiac aetiology. Thus, 2D echocardiography may be performed within 24 hours after ROSC in patients experiencing IHCA to enable better treatment.
Visualization of mucosal field in HPV positive and negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas: combined genomic and radiology based 3D model
Authors: Orosz Eva , Gombos Katalin , Petrevszky Nerina , Csonka David , Haber Istvan , Kaszas Balint , Toth Arnold , Molnar Krisztian , Kalacs Krisztina , Piski Zalan , Gerlinger Imre , Burian Andras , Bellyei Szabolcs , Szanyi Istvan 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe aim of this study was to visualize the tumor propagation and surrounding mucosal field in radiography-based 3D model for advanced stage HNSCC and combine it with HPV genotyping and miRNA expression characterization of the visualized area. 25 patients with T1-3 clinical stage HNSCC were enrolled in mapping biopsy sampling. Biopsy samples were evaluated for HPV positivity and miR-21-5p, miR-143, miR-155, miR-221-5p expression in Digital Droplet PCR system. Significant miRNA expression differences of HPV positive tumor tissue biopsies were found for miR-21-5p, miR-143 and miR-221-5p compared to the HPV negative tumor biopsy series. Peritumoral mucosa showed patchy pattern alterations of miR-21-5p and miR-155 in HPV positive cases, while gradual change of miR-21-5p and miR-221-5p was seen in HPV negative tumors. In our study we found differences of the miRNA expression patterns among the HPV positive and negative tumorous tissues as well as the surrounding mucosal fields. The CT based 3D models of the cancer field and surrounding mucosal surface can be utilized to improve proper preoperative planning. Complex evaluation of HNSCC tissue organization field can elucidate the clinical and molecular differentiation of HPV positive and negative cases, and enhance effective organ saving therapeutic strategies.
Sympatric competitors have driven the evolution of temporal activity patterns in Cnemaspis geckos in Southeast Asia
Authors: Nguyen Hung Ngoc , Hung Chih-Ming , Yang Ming-Yuan , Lin Si-Min 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIt is often assumed that animals’ temporal activity patterns are highly conserved throughout evolution. While most geckos are nocturnal, the species in theCnemaspisgenus are mostly diurnal (only a few are nocturnal). This raises a question about the evolution of a diel niche in theCnemaspisgenus.Cnemaspisgeckos are distributed across Southeast Asia and are often sympatric withCyrtodactylus, another widespread gecko genus in the same area. Since both genera are mainly rocky habitat specialists, we hypothesize thatCyrtodactylusmay influence the temporal activity pattern ofCnemaspiswhen they are sympatric through competition. By analyzing habitat data, diel activity, and the existence of sympatricCyrtodactylusspecies across the phylogeny of theCnemaspisgenus, we found (1) strong phylogenetic signals in the habitat use trait but not in temporal activity, suggesting that the diel niche of this genus is more labile compared with habitat niche, and (2) a significant association with the temporal activity pattern ofCnemaspisand the sympatry between the two genera, with the former tending to be diurnal when they are sympatric. Originated from a diurnal common ancestor, the release from competition withCyrtodactylusspecies might open an opportunity for someCnemaspisspecies to shift to nocturnal niches.
Meta-analysis of Pandemic Escherichia coli ST131 Plasmidome Proves Restricted Plasmid-clade Associations
Authors: Kondratyeva Kira , Salmon-Divon Mali , Navon-Venezia Shiri 
Published: January 2020

AbstractExtraintestinal multidrug resistant Escherichia coli sequence type (ST) 131 is a worldwide pandemic pathogen and a major cause of urinary tract and bloodstream infections. The role of this pandemic lineage in multidrug resistance plasmid dissemination is still scarce. We herein performed a meta-analysis on E. coli ST131 whole-genome sequence (WGS) databases to unravel ST131 plasmidome and specifically to decipher CTX-M encoding plasmids-clade associations. We mined 880 ST131 WGS data and proved that CTX-M-27-encoding IncF[F1:A2:B20] (Group1) plasmids are strictly found in clade C1, whereas CTX-M-15-encoding IncF[F2:A1:B-] (Group2) plasmids exist only in clade C2 suggesting strong plasmid-clade adaptations. Specific Col-like replicons (Col156, Col(MG828), and Col8282) were also found to be clade C1-associated. BLAST-based search revealed that Group1 and Group2 plasmids are narrow-host-range and restricted to E.coli. Among a collection of 20 newly sequenced Israeli ST131 CTX-M-encoding plasmids (2003–2016), Group1 and Group2 plasmids were dominant and associated with the expected clades. We found, for the first time in ST131, a CTX-M-15-encoding phage-like plasmid group (Group3) and followed its spread in the WGS data. This study offers a comprehensive way to decipher plasmid-bacterium associations and demonstrates that the CTX-M-encoding ST131 Group1 and Group2 plasmids are clade-restricted and presumably less transmissible, potentially contributing to ST131 clonal superiority.
The theoretical direct-band-gap optical gain of Germanium nanowires
Authors: Xiong Wen , Wang Jian-Wei , Fan Wei-Jun , Song Zhi-Gang , Tan Chuan-Seng 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe calculate the electronic structures of Germanium nanowires by taking the effective-mass theory. The electron and hole states at the Γ-valley are studied via the eight-band k.p theory. For the [111] L-valley, we expand the envelope wave function using Bessel functions to calculate the energies of the electron states for the first time. The results show that the energy dispersion curves of electron states at the L-valley are almost parabolic irrespective of the diameters of Germanium nanowires. Based on the electronic structures, the density of states of Germanium nanowires are also obtained, and we find that the conduction band density of states mostly come from the electron states at the L-valley because of the eight equivalent degenerate L points in Germanium. Furthermore, the optical gain spectra of Germanium nanowires are investigated. The calculations show that there are no optical gain along z direction even though the injected carrier density is 4 × 1019 cm−3 when the doping concentration is zero, and a remarkable optical gain can be obtained when the injected carrier density is close to 1 × 1020 cm−3, since a large amount of electrons will prefer to occupy the low-energy L-valley. In this case, the negative optical gain will be encountered considering free-carrier absorption loss as the increase of the diameter. We also investigate the optical gain along z direction as functions of the doping concentration and injected carrier density for the doped Germanium nanowires. When taking into account free-carrier absorption loss, the calculated results show that a positive net peak gain is most likely to occur in the heavily doped nanowires with smaller diameters. Our theoretical studies are valuable in providing a guidance for the applications of Germanium nanowires in the field of microelectronics and optoelectronics.
Development of a novel anti-hepatitis B virus agent via Sp1
Authors: Hayakawa Michiyo , Umeyama Hideaki , Iwadate Mitsuo , Taguchi Y.-H. , Yano Yoshihiko , Honda Takashi , Itami-Matsumoto Saori , Kozuka Ritsuzo , Enomoto Masaru , Tamori Akihiro , Kawada Norifumi , Murakami Yoshiki 
Published: January 2020

AbstractNucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy has proven effective in treating chronic hepatitis B. However, NAs frequently result in viral relapse after the cessation of therapy. This is because NAs cannot fully eliminate the viral episomal covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the nucleus. In this study, we identified small molecular compounds that control host factors related to viral replication using in silico screening with simulated annealing based on bioinformatics for protein-ligand flexible docking. Twelve chemical compound candidates for alpha-glucosidase (AG) inhibitors were identified from a library of chemical compounds and used to treat fresh human hepatocytes infected with HBV. They were then monitored for their anti-viral effects. HBV replication was inhibited by one candidate (1-[3-(4-tert-butylcyclohexyl)oxy-2-hydroxypropyl]-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-ol) in a dose-dependent manner. This compound significantly reduced ccc DNA production, compared to Entecavir (p < 0.05), and had a lower anti-AG effect. Gene expression analysis and structural analysis of this compound showed that its inhibitive effect on HBV was via interaction with Sp1. The nuclear transcription factor Sp1 acts on multiple regions of HBV to suppress HBV replication. Identifying candidates that control nuclear transcription factors facilitate the development of novel therapies. Drugs with a mechanism different from NA are promising for the elimination of HBV.
Architecture of The Human Ape1 Interactome Defines Novel Cancers Signatures
Authors: Ayyildiz Dilara , Antoniali Giulia , D’Ambrosio Chiara , Mangiapane Giovanna , Dalla Emiliano , Scaloni Andrea , Tell Gianluca , Piazza Silvano 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAPE1 is essential in cancer cells due to its central role in the Base Excision Repair pathway of DNA lesions and in the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in tumor progression/chemoresistance. Indeed, APE1 overexpression correlates with chemoresistance in more aggressive cancers, and APE1 protein-protein interactions (PPIs) specifically modulate different protein functions in cancer cells. Although important, a detailed investigation on the nature and function of protein interactors regulating APE1 role in tumor progression and chemoresistance is still lacking. The present work was aimed at analyzing the APE1-PPI network with the goal of defining bad prognosis signatures through systematic bioinformatics analysis. By using a well-characterized HeLa cell model stably expressing a flagged APE1 form, which was subjected to extensive proteomics analyses for immunocaptured complexes from different subcellular compartments, we here demonstrate that APE1 is a central hub connecting different subnetworks largely composed of proteins belonging to cancer-associated communities and/or involved in RNA- and DNA-metabolism. When we performed survival analysis in real cancer datasets, we observed that more than 80% of these APE1-PPI network elements is associated with bad prognosis. Our findings, which are hypothesis generating, strongly support the possibility to infer APE1-interactomic signatures associated with bad prognosis of different cancers; they will be of general interest for the future definition of novel predictive disease biomarkers. Future studies will be needed to assess the function of APE1 in the protein complexes we discovered. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD013368.
Characterization of goat prions demonstrates geographical variation of scrapie strains in Europe and reveals the composite nature of prion strains
Authors: Nonno Romolo , Marin-Moreno Alba , Carlos Espinosa Juan , Fast Christine , Van Keulen Lucien , Spiropoulos John , Lantier Isabelle , Andreoletti Olivier , Pirisinu Laura , Di Bari Michele A. , Aguilar-Calvo Patricia , Sklaviadis Theodoros , Papasavva-Stylianou Penelope , Acutis Pier Luigi , Acin Cristina , Bossers Alex , Jacobs Jorge G. , Vaccari Gabriele , D’Agostino Claudia , Chiappini Barbara , Lantier Frederic , Groschup Martin H. , Agrimi Umberto , Maria Torres Juan , Langeveld Jan P. M. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the only animal prion which has been recognized as a zoonotic agent so far. The identification of BSE in two goats raised the need to reliably identify BSE in small ruminants. However, our understanding of scrapie strain diversity in small ruminants remains ill-defined, thus limiting the accuracy of BSE surveillance and spreading fear that BSE might lurk unrecognized in goats. We investigated prion strain diversity in a large panel of European goats by a novel experimental approach that, instead of assessing the neuropathological profile after serial transmissions in a single animal model, was based on the direct interaction of prion isolates with several recipient rodent models expressing small ruminants or heterologous prion proteins. The findings show that the biological properties of scrapie isolates display different patterns of geographical distribution in Europe and suggest that goat BSE could be reliably discriminated from a wide range of biologically and geographically diverse goat prion isolates. Finally, most field prion isolates showed composite strain features, with discrete strain components or sub-strains being present in different proportions in individual goats or tissues. This has important implications for understanding the nature and evolution of scrapie strains and their transmissibility to other species, including humans.
1/f critical current noise in short ballistic graphene Josephson junctions
Authors: Pellegrino Francesco M. D. , Falci Giuseppe , Paladino Elisabetta 
Published: January 2020

AbstractShort ballistic graphene Josephson junctions sustain superconducting current with a non-sinusoidal current-phase relation up to a critical current threshold. The current-phase relation, arising from proximitized superconductivity, is gate-voltage tunable and exhibits peculiar skewness observed in high quality graphene superconductors heterostructures with clean interfaces. These properties make graphene Josephson junctions promising sensitive quantum probes of microscopic fluctuations underlying transport in two-dimensions. We show that the power spectrum of the critical current fluctuations has a characteristic $$1/f$$
1
∕
f
dependence on frequency, $$f$$
f
, probing two points and higher correlations of carrier density fluctuations of the graphene channel induced by carrier traps in the nearby substrate. Tunability with the Fermi level, close to and far from the charge neutrality point, and temperature dependence of the noise amplitude are clear fingerprints of the underlying material-inherent processes. Our results suggest a roadmap for the analysis of decoherence sources in the implementation of coherent devices by hybrid nanostructures.
Functional metagenomic exploration identifies novel prokaryotic copper resistance genes from the soil microbiome
Authors: Xing Chao , Chen Jinghao , Zheng Xin , Chen Liang , Chen Miaomiao , Wang Likun , Li Xiaofang 
Published: January 2020

AbstractFunctional metagenomics is a premise-free approach for exploring metal resistance genes, enabling more profound effects on the development of bioremediation tools than pure culture based selection. Six soil metagenomic libraries were screened for copper (Cu) resistance genes in the current study through conventional functional genomics. Clones from the six metagenomic libraries were randomly selected from solid medium supplied with Cu, resulting in 411 Cu resistance clones. Thirty-five clones with the strongest Cu resistance were sequenced and 12 unique sequences harboring 25 putative open reading frames were obtained. It is inferred by bioinformatic analysis that putative genes carried by these recombinant plasmids probably function in the pathways of responding to Cu stress, including energy metabolism, integral components of membrane, ion transport/chelation, protein/amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate/fatty acid metabolism, signal transduction and DNA binding. The sequenced clones were re-transformed into Escherichia coli strain DH5α, and the host’s biomass and the metal sorption under Cu stress were subsequently determined. The results showed that the biomass of eight of the clones was significantly increased, whereas four of them were significantly reduced. A negative correlation (R = 0.86) was found between the biomass and Cu sorption capacity. The 12 positive clones were further transferred into a Cu-sensitive E. coli strain (ΔCopA), among which nine restored the host’s Cu resistance substantially. The Cu resistant genes explored in this study by functional metagenomics possess a potential capacity for developing novel bioremediation strategies, and the findings imply a vast diversity of microbial Cu resistance genetic factors in soil yet to be discovered.
Listening-Related Fatigue in Children With Unilateral Hearing Loss
Authors: Bess Fred H. , Davis Hilary , Camarata Stephen , Hornsby Benjamin W. Y. 
Published: January 2020

PurposeListening-related fatigue is an understudied construct that may contribute to the auditory, educational, and psychosocial problems experienced by children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL). Herein, we present an overview of listening-related fatigue in school-age children with hearing loss (CHL), with a focus on children with UHL.MethodFollowing a review of research examining listening-related fatigue in adults and CHL, we present preliminary findings exploring the effects of unilateral and bilateral hearing loss on listening-related fatigue in children. For these exploratory analyses, we used data collected from our ongoing work developing and validating a tool, the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale, for measuring listening-related fatigue in children. Presently, we are assessing 3 versions of the fatigue scale—child self-report, parent proxy, and teacher proxy. Using these scales, data have been collected from more than 900 participants. Data from children with unilateral and bilateral hearing loss and for children with no hearing loss are compared with adult Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale data.ResultsResults of our literature review and exploratory analyses suggest that adults and CHL are at increased risk for listening-related fatigue. Importantly, this increased risk was similar in magnitude regardless of whether the loss was unilateral or bilateral. Subjective ratings, based on child self-report and parent proxy report, were consistent, suggesting that children with unilateral and bilateral hearing loss experienced greater listening-related fatigue than children with no hearing loss. In contrast, results based on teacher proxy report were not sensitive to the effects of hearing loss.ConclusionsChildren with UHL are at increased risk for listening-related fatigue, and the magnitude of fatigue is similar to that experienced by children with bilateral hearing loss. Problems of listening-related fatigue in school-age CHL may be better identified by CHL themselves and their parents than by teachers and specialists working with the children.
AC‐SJ VDMOS with ultra‐low resistance
Authors: Wang Yandong , Duan Baoxing , Zhang Chen , Wang Xiameng , Yang Yintang 
Published: January 2020

An accumulation superjunction (AC‐SJ) vertical power metal–oxide–semiconductor field‐effect transistor (VDMOS) is proposed and its mechanism is investigated. Different from the conventional VDMOS, a number of carriers are accumulated and modulate the conductivity of the drift region when the AC‐SJ VDMOS works in the on‐state. The causes of carrier AC and the factors affecting the amount of carrier are analysed. The influences of these factors on the output characteristics are studied by simulation. Simulation results show that the on specific resistance (Ron,sp) of the AC‐SJ VDMOS decreases from 6.64 mΩ cm2 of the conventional VMOS to 1.53 mΩ cm2 with the same drift region length of 15 μm. The AC‐SJ VDMOS obtains very low Ron,sp by accumulating electrons while maintains high breakdown voltage due to SJ theory, thereby breaking the SJ limit in silicon.
Synthesis and photocatalytic property of Cu2CoSnS4 nanocrystals with stannite and wurtzite structure
Authors: Guan Hao , Ma Xiao , Zhao Jia 
Published: January 2020

Stannite and wurtzite Cu2CoSnS4 (CCTS) nanocrystals are successfully prepared via a solvothermal approach. X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy reveal that pure CCTS phases with stannite and wurtzite structure are obtained. Scanning electron microscopy shows that CCTS nanocrystals with stannite structure are composed of nanosheets with the thickness of about 50 nm while CCTS nanocrystals with wurtzite structure exhibit large number of irregular nanoparticles. Furthermore, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy are used to investigate optical and photocatalytic properties of CCTS nanocrystals. When CCTS nanocrystals with stannite and wurtzite structure are used as photocatalysts, the degradation of methylene blue can reach up to 72 and 53%, respectively, within 100 min under visible‐light irradiation, which are suitable for effective visible‐light photocatalysts.