bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Degradation of Nitrate, Ammonium and Phosphate in Domestic Wastewater by Aquatic Plants, Actinoscirpus grossus in Floating Treatment Wetland System (FTWs)
Authors: Syafrizal  , Suhendrayatna  , Zaki Muhammad , Elvitriana  
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Ecological technologies such as wetlands constructed for wastewater treatment are innovative solutions for environmental protection and restoration. This study examines a Floating Treatment Wetlands System (FTWs), which is a new treating concept using macrophytes rooted in modified growing aquatic plants with floating systems. An aquatic plant, Actinoscirpus grossus obtained from rice fields in Banda Aceh. FCWs filled with five plants per shoot with five compartments were fed with domestic wastewater with a flow rate of 7 L/hour. Plant height was varied by 90cm - 150cm in Pond 1 and 50cm - 90cm in Pond 2, and Pond 3 was prepared as a control (without plants). Water quality in influent and effluent was analyzed every two weeks with a duration of 18 weeks and nine times sampling. Results showed a decrease in the concentration of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate in the effluent flow with degradation efficiency (% DE) on average, NO3-N: 76.34%; NH4-N: 97.75%; and PO4
3-: 89.45%; respectively. The degradation of domestic wastewater showed very significant results. The periodic harvest management process becomes an important part of aquatic plants, Actinoscirpus grossus to achieve optimum results in treating waste, i.e., for 112 days with a maximum plant growth height of 165cm and 173cm for both variations of experimental ponds.
Performance of Terminalia Catappa Leaves Extract as Bio-Corrosion Inhibitor for Mild Steel in H2SO4Solution
Authors: Pramudita Marta , Sukirno  , Nasikin M 
Published: April 2020

AbstractTerminalia catappaleaves extract has a high content of polyphenol compounds. Polyphenol compounds inhibit the corrosion rate for mild steel. This study aimed to assess the ability ofterminalia catappaleaves extract to inhibit bio-corrosion on the surface of mild steel placed in a corrosive medium of 1M sulphuric acid, and to compare this with that of tannin and sodium phosphate. The method used was the loss of weight at temperatures of 313K, 333K and 353K. It found that the inhibition efficiency was susceptible to increased temperature. The efficiency of bio-corrosion inhibition of sodium phosphate> tannin>Terminaliacatappaleaves extract; that is, the ability ofTerminalia catappaleaves extract to inhibit bio-corrosion was relatively lower than that of tannin and sodium phosphate.Terminalia catappaleaves extract’s inhibiting corrosion rate of mild steel was very good at 333K and 1250 ppm concentration, with an efficiency inhibition of 64%. The adsorption mechanism is a Langmuir isotherm, and the process is endothermic and spontaneous.
Optimization adsorption of lead (II) using Aceh natural-bentonite by response surface methodology
Authors: Jakfar J. , Husin H. , Muslim A. , Darmadi D. , Nasution F. , Thursina A.R. , Rahmawati E. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Response Surface Methodology was employed for the removal of lead on synthetic water. The process parameters including bentonite mass (0.5; 1.25; 2.0 g), lead concentration (10; 55; 100 mg/L), and agitation time (5; 17.5; 30 minutes) were optimized using statistical Box-Behnken Design. The experimental data were obtained and analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and fit to a quadratic polynomial equation (Regression Analysis, R2 = 0.9996) for 17 runs experiment and 5 runs of the central-point (confidence level at 95%). The numerical optimation was used to identify the optimum condition for maximum removal of lead. The maximum adsorption efficiency expressed as the adsorption capacity, which was found to be 7.42 mg/L, at agitation time 17.5 minutes and adsorbent dosage 2.0 g.
Application of Clustering and VARIMA for Rainfall Prediction
Authors: Rusyana Asep , Tatsara Nidya , Balqis Rozatul , Rahmi Syafinatur 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Global warming causes climate change throughout the world which has an impact on changes in erratic rainfall. For fishermen, the estimated rainfall is an important thing to know before sailing. VARIMA is divided into VAR, VMA, VARMA, and VARIMA. This study uses a rainfall dataset consisting of rainfall (mm), temperature (°C), humidity (%) and wind speed (km/hour) with observations per day for one year in 2018. Training data is data that starts from 1 January 2018 until 30 November 2018 and the testing data starts on 1 December 2018 until 31 December 2018. Clustering was carried out in the area around Lampulo Pelabuhan Perikanan Samudera (PPS) which are Bandar Raya, Lampineung, Kuta Radja, and Kuta Alam. The best model obtained is VARIMA (1,1,2), which is based on the smallest AIC and BIC values, which are 8.5104 and 9.0581. The VARIMA (1,1,2) model also fulfills the white noise test, so it can be concluded that the data does not have autocorrelation and model can be used for predictions. Estimated values of rainfall, temperature, humidity and wind speed are not much different from actual values, with MAPE of all variables are relatively low.
Time-course study of a gold nanoparticle contrast agent for cardiac-gated micro-CT imaging in mice
Authors: El Ketara Samir , Ford Nancy Lee 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Although micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) images have high contrast for bone or air, between soft tissues the contrast is typically low. To overcome this inherent issue, attenuating exogenous contrast agents are used to provide contrast enhancement in the vasculature and abdominal organs. The aim of this study is to measure the contrast enhancement time course for a gold nanoparticle blood-pool contrast agent and use it to perform cardiac-gated 4D micro-CT scans of the heart. Six healthy female C57BL/6 mice were anesthetized and imaged after receiving an injected dose of MVivo gold nanoparticle blood-pool contrast agent. Following the injection, we performed micro-CT scans at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 4, 8, 24, 48 and 72 h. The mean CT number was measured for 7 different organs. No contrast enhancement was noticed in the bladder, kidneys or muscle during the time-course study. However, it clearly appears that the contrast enhancement is high in both right ventricle and vena cava. To perform cardiac-gated imaging, either the gold nanoparticle agent (n = 3) or an iodine-based (n = 3) contrast agent was introduced and images representing 9 phases of the cardiac cycle were obtained in 6 additional mice. A few typical cardiac parameters were measured or calculated, with similar accuracy between the gold and iodinated agents, but better visualization of structures with the gold agent. The MVivo Au contrast agent can be used for investigations of cardiac or vascular disease with a single bolus injection, with an optimal cardiac imaging window identified during the first hour after injection, demonstrating similar image quality to iodinated contrast agents and excellent measurement accuracy. Furthermore, the long-lasting contrast enhancement of up to 8 h can be very useful for scanning protocols that require longer acquisition times.
Recent progress in encapsulation strategies to enhance the stability of organometal halide perovskite solar cells
Authors: Corsini Francesca , Griffini Gianmarco 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Organometal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation thin-film solar cells. Over the past ten years, the efficiency of PSCs has increased from 3.8% to over 25% through the optimization of the perovskite film formulation and the engineering of suitable fabrication strategies and device architectures. However, the relatively poor long-term device stability, which has not been able to exceed some hundreds of hours until now, represents one of the key aspects still hampering their widespread diffusion to commercial contexts.
After briefly introducing the origin and basic mechanisms behind PSC degradation and performance decline, a systematic outline and classification of the available strategies to improve the long-term stability of this class of photovoltaic devices will be presented, mainly focusing on encapsulation procedures. Indeed, the aim of this review is to offer an in-depth and updated account of the existing encapsulation methods for PSCs according to the present understanding of reliability issues. More specifically, an analysis of currently available encapsulation materials and on their role in limiting the penetration of UV light and external agents, such as water vapour and oxygen, will be proposed. In addition, a thorough discussion on various encapsulation techniques and configurations will be presented, highlighting specific strengths and limitations of the different approaches. Finally, possible routes for future research to enhance the effectiveness of the most performing encapsulation procedures will be suggested and new paths to be explored for further improvements in the field will be proposed.
Impact of Uric Acid on Hypertension Occurrence and Target Organ Damage: Insights From the STANISLAS Cohort With a 20-Year Follow-up
Authors: Kanbay Mehmet , Girerd Nicolas , Machu Jean-Loup , Bozec Erwan , Duarte Kevin , Boivin Jean-Marc , Wagner Sandra , Ferreira João Pedro , Zannad Faiez , Rossignol Patrick 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Recent studies have shown that hyperuricemia may be associated with incident hypertension (HTN). We examined whether serum uric acid (SUA) is a predictor of HTN and target organ damage (TOD) 20 years later in initially healthy middle-aged individuals.

METHODS
Participants from the Suivi Temporaire Annuel Non-Invasif de la Santé des Lorrains Assurés Sociaux (STANISLAS) a single-center familial longitudinal cohort study (961 initially healthy adults and 570 children) underwent clinical and laboratory measurements at baseline and after approximately 20 years. Blood pressure (BP: using ambulatory BP measurements), urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), diastolic dysfunction, and carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured at the end of follow-up.

RESULTS
In the parent population, higher baseline or last SUA levels and higher change in SUA (ΔUA) were significantly associated with an increased risk of HTN development, even after adjusting for known HTN risk factors (all P &lt; 0.01). Higher baseline SUA was marginally associated with an increased risk of having high carotid–femoral PWV (P = 0.05). The association of SUA with BP increase was body mass index dependent (the increase in BP being greater in leaner subjects; interactionp &lt; 0.05), and the association of SUA with eGFR decline was age dependent (the decline in eGFR being greater in older subjects; interactionp &lt; 0.05). There was no significant association between SUA and diastolic dysfunction or LVH. In the whole population (i.e. including children), a significant association between SUA at baseline and the risk of HTN and higher carotid–femoral PWV was also found (both P &lt; 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
Increased SUA is associated with the development of HTN and vascular/renal TOD in initially healthy midlife subjects.
Prognostic Value of a Riser Pattern of Nighttime Blood Pressure in Very Elderly Adults of ≥80 Years: A General Practice-Based Prospective SEARCH Study
Authors: Fujiwara Takeshi , Hoshide Satoshi , Kanegae Hiroshi , Kario Kazuomi 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

BACKGROUND
We examined our hypothesis that participants with higher mean nighttime blood pressure (BP) levels and/or those with a riser BP pattern, both measured by ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM), would show higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events compared to those with normal nighttime BP levels or a normal dipper BP pattern of circadian BP rhythm, even in very elderly participants in a general practice population.

METHODS
This prospective observational study enrolled 485 very elderly outpatients of ≥80 years (mean age: 83.2 ± 3.3 years; 44.7% male; 89.3% using antihypertensive medications). The prevalences of extreme dipper, dipper, nondipper, and riser status were 15.5%, 38.6%, 32.2%, and 13.8%, respectively.

RESULTS
During a mean follow-up of 3.9 years (1,734 person-years), 41 CVD events occurred. The participants with a riser pattern (higher nighttime systolic BP [SBP] than daytime SBP) showed a significantly higher risk for CVD events with adjustment for covariates: hazard ratio (HR), 2.61; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–6.62. Even after adjusting for covariates and mean nighttime SBP level, the CVD risks in participants with a riser pattern remained significant: HR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.10–8.88. On the other hand, all BP variables showed no significant risks for CVD events. In addition, when we divided study participants into quartiles by their ambulatory BP levels, none of the ambulatory BP variables showed a J- or U-shaped relationship with CVD event risk.

CONCLUSIONS
In very elderly general practice outpatients, a riser BP pattern was significantly associated with CVD events independently of mean nighttime BP.
Reduced Serum Levels of Cluster of Differentiation 200 in Alcohol-Dependent Patients
Authors: Chaturvedi Abhishek , Rao Guruprasad , Praharaj Samir Kumar , Guruprasad Kanive Parashiva , Pais Vivek 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Aim
Chronic alcohol consumption can activate and dysregulate the neuroimmune system which leads to neuroinflammation. Neuroimmune regulatory proteins (NIReg) (e.g. Cluster of Differentiation 200 (CD200)) are the regulators of innate immune response and are responsible for silencing the innate immunity and suppression of inflammation. In this study, we explored the changes of serum levels of CD200 in patients with alcohol dependence at baseline, after one-week alcohol withdrawal and after one-month of alcohol abstinence.

Methods
Seventeen patients with alcohol dependence admitted for de-addiction treatment and 12 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were collected at baseline, after one-week, and after one-month, and CD200 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit and compared with the healthy controls.

Results
The serum level of the neuroimmune regulatory protein CD200 in alcohol dependent group (at baseline) was significantly lower compared to healthy controls (p=0.003), and increased after one-week, and one-month period.

Conclusion
The present study indicates that decrease of CD200 serum levels in alcohol dependent patients and its rise during alcohol withdrawal and abstinence may provide a preliminary evidence of the role of neuroimmune regulatory proteins in neuroadaptation during alcohol withdrawal.
CScape-somatic: distinguishing driver and passenger point mutations in the cancer genome
Authors: Rogers Mark F , Gaunt Tom R , Campbell Colin 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Motivation
Next-generation sequencing technologies have accelerated the discovery of single nucleotide variants in the human genome, stimulating the development of predictors for classifying which of these variants are likely functional in disease, and which neutral. Recently, we proposed CScape, a method for discriminating between cancer driver mutations and presumed benign variants. For the neutral class, this method relied on benign germline variants found in the 1000 Genomes Project database. Discrimination could, therefore, be influenced by the distinction of germline versus somatic, rather than neutral versus disease driver. This motivates this article in which we consider predictive discrimination between recurrent and rare somatic single point mutations based solely on using cancer data, and the distinction between these two somatic classes and germline single point mutations.

Results
For somatic point mutations in coding and non-coding regions of the genome, we propose CScape-somatic, an integrative classifier for predictively discriminating between recurrent and rare variants in the human cancer genome. In this study, we use purely cancer genome data and investigate the distinction between minimal occurrence and significantly recurrent somatic single point mutations in the human cancer genome. We show that this type of predictive distinction can give novel insight, and may deliver more meaningful prediction in both coding and non-coding regions of the cancer genome. Tested on somatic mutations, CScape-somatic outperforms alternative methods, reaching 74% balanced accuracy in coding regions and 69% in non-coding regions, whereas even higher accuracy may be achieved using thresholds to isolate high-confidence predictions.

Availability and implementation
Predictions and software are available at http://CScape-somatic.biocompute.org.uk/.

Contact
mark.f.rogers.phd@gmail.com or C.Campbell@bristol.ac.uk

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Pooled variable scaling for cluster analysis
Authors: Raymaekers Jakob , Zamar Ruben H 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Motivation
Many popular clustering methods are not scale-invariant because they are based on Euclidean distances. Even methods using scale-invariant distances, such as the Mahalanobis distance, lose their scale invariance when combined with regularization and/or variable selection. Therefore, the results from these methods are very sensitive to the measurement units of the clustering variables. A simple way to achieve scale invariance is to scale the variables before clustering. However, scaling variables is a very delicate issue in cluster analysis: A bad choice of scaling can adversely affect the clustering results. On the other hand, reporting clustering results that depend on measurement units is not satisfactory. Hence, a safe and efficient scaling procedure is needed for applications in bioinformatics and medical sciences research.

Results
We propose a new approach for scaling prior to cluster analysis based on the concept of pooled variance. Unlike available scaling procedures, such as the SD and the range, our proposed scale avoids dampening the beneficial effect of informative clustering variables. We confirm through an extensive simulation study and applications to well-known real-data examples that the proposed scaling method is safe and generally useful. Finally, we use our approach to cluster a high-dimensional genomic dataset consisting of gene expression data for several specimens of breast cancer cells tissue obtained from human patients.

Availability and implementation
An R-implementation of the algorithms presented is available at https://wis.kuleuven.be/statdatascience/robust/software.

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Leaf teeth in eudicots: what can anatomy elucidate?
Authors: Rios Alex Batista Moreira , Menino Gisele Cristina de Oliveira , Dalvi Valdnéa Casagrande 
Published: April 2020

AbstractLeaf teeth are projections on the leaf blade margin. They are structurally variable, with characters that are important for taxonomy and phylogeny, but there is a paucity of information on the anatomy of these structures and little understanding of the features and their functions. Here we describe and compare the leaf tooth anatomy of 47 eudicot species. Toothed margin samples from leaves at different developmental stages were collected, fixed and studied under light and scanning electron microscopy. We identified eight leaf tooth morphotypes, six of which occurred with glands. Hydathodes were the most common glands, being found in 11 species; colleters were found in ten species and extrafloral nectaries were found in two species. Cunonioid teeth either devoid of glands or associated with hydathodes were found in Lamiales, Asterales and Apiales. Dillenioid teeth associated with hydathodes were found in Dilleniales. Spinose teeth associated with colleters were found in Aquifoliales. In rosids, we found begonioid, malvoid, theoid, urticoid and violoid teeth, which may be associated with either colleters or nectaries or lack an associated gland. For each family studied, there was only one type of association between gland and tooth, demonstrating the systematic potential of these glands in eudicots.
Alterations in Local Connectivity and Their Developmental Trajectories in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Does Being Female Matter?
Authors: Kozhemiako Nataliia , Nunes Adonay S , Vakorin Vasily , Iarocci Grace , Ribary Urs , Doesburg Sam M 
Published: April 2020

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed more often in males with a ratio of 1:4 females/males. This bias is even stronger in neuroimaging studies. There is a growing evidence suggesting that local connectivity and its developmental trajectory is altered in ASD. Here, we aim to investigate how local connectivity and its age-related trajectories vary with ASD in both males and females. We used resting-state fMRI data from the ABIDE I and II repository: males (n = 102) and females (n = 92) with ASD, and typically developing males (n = 104) and females (n = 92) aged between 6 and 26. Local connectivity was quantified as regional homogeneity. We found increases in local connectivity in participants with ASD in the somatomotor and limbic networks and decreased local connectivity within the default mode network. These alterations were more pronounced in females with ASD. In addition, the association between local connectivity and ASD symptoms was more robust in females. Females with ASD had the most distinct developmental trajectories of local connectivity compared with other groups. Overall, our findings of more pronounced local connectivity alterations in females with ASD could indicate a greater etiological load for an ASD diagnosis in this group congruent with the female protective effect hypothesis.
Maize Infestation of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Within Agro-Ecological Zones of Togo and Ghana in West Africa 3 Yr After Its Invasion
Authors: Koffi Djima , Agboka Komi , Adenka Delanyo Kokouvi , Osae Michael , Tounou Agbeko Kodjo , Anani Adjevi Mawuko Kossi , Fening Ken Okwae , Meagher Robert L 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) invaded several West African countries in 2016 causing severe injury to maize plants and economic damage. This study assesses variations in the occurrence of this species in different Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) in Togo and Ghana during the 3 yr following its discovery. The surveys were conducted on 120 farms in Togo and 94 farms in Ghana by collecting larvae from 200 maize plants per hectare. Infestation levels were 68.46% in 2016, 55.82% in 2017, and 17.76% in 2018. The number of larvae recorded per hectare and infestation levels were higher in Togo than in Ghana. The lowest number of collected larvae and infestation levels of S. frugiperda were in 2018, compared to the other 2 yr. Larvae per hectare and the infestation level varied regionally inside the two countries. The southern part of Togo (AEZ five) contained higher numbers of larvae and higher infestation levels during the 2 yr following the invasion of the pest. We concluded that infestation levels of S. frugiperda are much lower in 2018 than the two previous years and it is therefore necessary to determine the factors that affect the population dynamics of S. frugiperda in the field, which is a perquisite for developing management interventions.