bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of universal pre‐kindergarten policy on female labor force participation—A synthetic control approach
Authors: Li Hao 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of universal pre‐kindergarten (pre‐k) on the labor force participation of mothers with pre‐k‐aged children in Oklahoma and Georgia. I apply the synthetic control method (SCM) to Current Population Survey (CPS) data to identify the causal relationship between universal pre‐k and female labor market outcomes. I find that the universal pre‐k policy has a positive impact on the intensive margin of the labor supply of mothers with pre‐k‐aged children in Georgia, which provides full‐day child care services for all pre‐k programs. However, Oklahoma's universal pre‐k policy has little effect on the labor outcomes of mothers with 4‐year‐old children. The empirical results also suggest that universal pre‐k has heterogeneous impacts on subsamples stratified by education level, marital status, poverty status, and the age structure of children in the household.
Numerische Simulation von Vorspannkraftverlusten in Ringflanschverbindungen
Authors: Wegener Filip , Seidel Marc , Glienke Ralf , Marten Frithjof , Schwarz Mathias 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDie Betriebsbeanspruchung von Schrauben in Ringflanschverbindungen zur Verbindung von Tragstruktursektionen von Windenergieanlagen wird maßgeblich durch die vorhandene Pressung in der Flanschkontaktfuge beeinflusst, welche durch die eingebrachte Schraubenvorspannkraft erzielt wird. Unter den vorliegenden Belastungen im laufenden Betrieb der Anlage besteht die Möglichkeit, dass durch Plastifizierung im Flansch oder in der Schraube Vorspannkraft verloren geht. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand eines praxisnahen Beispiels gezeigt, ob und – wenn ja – in welcher Größenordnung Vorspannkraftverluste zu erwarten sind und durch welche Einflussfaktoren diese maßgeblich bestimmt werden. Hierzu werden verschiedene Last‐ und Vorspannkraftniveaus sowie unterschiedliche Imperfektionen in Form von Parallelklaffungen untersucht. Auf Basis der durchgeführten numerischen Untersuchungen kann festgehalten werden, dass Vorspannkraftverluste nur in geringer Höhe auftreten und eine hohe Vorspannkraft sich stets positiv auswirkt, auch wenn sich dadurch erste Plastifizierungseffekte schon auf einem niedrigeren Lastniveau einstellen.
Oxido‐inflammatory responses and histological alterations in rat lungs exposed to petroleum product fumes
Authors: Owumi Solomon E. , Elebiyo Tobiloba C. , Oladimeji Bidemi Noah 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPetroleum products—petrol, kerosene, and diesel—composed of volatile organic constituents contribute to air pollution. Exposure of gas station attendants (GSAs) to petroleum products fumes (PPFs) may account for occupation‐related predisposition to respiratory toxicity and disease pathogenesis. We simulated GSA exposure to PPF inhalation and examined their effect on oxido‐inflammatory responses, toxicity, and histopathological alterations in rat lungs, following 8‐hours daily exposure for 60 and 90 days. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers, namely: superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST), TNF‐α, IL‐1β, xanthine oxidase (XO), nitric oxide (NO) activity were evaluated. Besides, histopathological examination of the lungs and trachea of exposed rats, PPF exposure resulted in significant (P < .05) increases in RONS, biomarkers of oxidative stress, pro‐inflammation cytokines, and reduced (P < .05) GSH levels in rats, secondary to histopathological alteration in lungs and trachea cytoarchitecture examined in an exposure‐duration‐dependent manner. We conclude, therefore, that the observed biochemical and histological changes create a microenvironment that is permissive to diseases pathogenesis of the respiratory system via oxido‐inflammatory mechanistic pathways.
Association mapping of resistance to emerging stem rust pathogen races in spring wheat using genotyping‐by‐sequencing
Authors: Edae Erena A. , Rouse Matthew N. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe identification and characterization of resistance genes should outpace the rapid emergence of new P. graminis f. sp. tritici races, such as TTRTF and TTKTT, to mitigate stem rust damage to wheat. The objective of the current study was to identify and characterize P. graminis f. sp. tritici race resistance association signals. A total of 250 North American spring wheat lines were evaluated at the seedling stage with a total of seven isolates including TKKTP, TKTTF, TKTTF, TRTTF, TTRTF, TTKSK, and TTKTT. The lines were genotyped by a GBS platform and 9,042 SNPs were used for identification of chromosome regions associated with resistance against the seven isolates. Strong association signals were detected on chromosomes 6BL (Sr11 gene region) and 4AL, likely Sr7a, for resistance against both TKKTP and TKTTF. Similarly, association signals were also detected on chromosomes 4AL (race TTRTF resistance) and 4BS (race TTKSK and TTKTT resistance). Association analysis based on mean phenotypic differences between closely related isolates identified QTL that were not elucidated by direct association mapping of the responses, individually. Overall, with the exception of race TRTTF, each race shared at least one association signal with another race. However, the number of race‐specific association signals are larger than that of association signals common among races suggesting the need for identifying and characterizing QTL/genes for newly emerging stem rust pathogen races. There was also high concordance between PCA‐based GWAS association signals and association signals from that of both single and multi‐locus mixed models.
Coronaviruses in wild birds – A potential and suitable vector for global distribution
Authors: Rahman Md. Mijanur , Talukder Asma , Chowdhury Mohammed Mehadi Hassan , Talukder Reshma , Akter Rekha 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe recurrent appearance of novel coronaviruses (CoVs) and the mortality and morbidity caused by their outbreaks aroused a widespread response among the global science community. Wild birds' high biodiversity, perching and migratory activity, ability to travel long distances and possession of a special adaptive immune system may make them alarming sources of zoonotic CoV‐spreading vectors. This review gathers the available evidence on the global spread of CoVs in wild birds to date. The major wild birds associated with different types of CoVs are Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Pelecaniformes, Galliformes, Passeriformes, Psittaciformes, Accipitriformes, Ciconiiformes, Gruiformes and so on. However, the main type of CoVs found in wild birds is gammacoronavirus, followed by deltacoronavirus. Consequently, it is imperative to enable thorough research and continuous monitoring to fill the study gap in terms of understanding their role as zoonotic vectors and the frequent appearance of novel CoVs.
Electrochemical disinfection of irrigation water with a graphite electrode flow cell
Authors: Qing Geletu , Anari Zahra , Foster Shelby L. , Matlock Marty , Thoma Greg , Greenlee Lauren F. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn this work, we report experimental studies on the disinfection of irrigation water using a flow cell assembled with low‐cost graphite plates as both anode and cathode. Natural irrigation waters collected from two irrigation locations (Reservoir 225 and Bott Well Pond) in Hawaii were used, and synthetic irrigation waters were prepared based on the chemical analysis of natural irrigation waters. The concentration of chloride was 10.2 mg/L in the synthetic Reservoir 225 water and 6.9 mg/L in the synthetic Bott Well pond water. Escherichia coli K12 ER2738 was selected as a model bacterium to evaluate the disinfection capability of the flow cell. Experiments performed in the synthetic irrigation waters showed that E. coli was inactivated by free chlorine species electro‐generated from oxidation of chloride ions at the graphite anode. Complete removal of E. coli was achieved within 10 min in the synthetic irrigation waters. The disinfection of the natural irrigation waters took about four times longer than the disinfection of the synthetic irrigation waters. This result is most likely due to the presence of organic matter (and possibly other oxidizable species) in the natural irrigation waters.Practitioner points

Electrochemical flow cell disinfects to 99.9% with commercial graphite electrodes.

E. coli is removed in 10 min from synthetic irrigation water by a flow cell.

E. coli removal takes 4× longer in natural irrigation water.

A minimum current density of ≥1 mA/cm2 is required for disinfection.

The primary disinfection mechanism is through chlorine generated from chloride ions.
RNA structures in alternative splicing and back‐splicing
Authors: Xu Bingbing , Meng Yijun , Jin Yongfeng 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAlternative splicing greatly expands the transcriptomic and proteomic diversities related to physiological and developmental processes in higher eukaryotes. Splicing of long noncoding RNAs, and back‐ and trans‐ splicing further expanded the regulatory repertoire of alternative splicing. RNA structures were shown to play an important role in regulating alternative splicing and back‐splicing. Application of novel sequencing technologies made it possible to identify genome‐wide RNA structures and interaction networks, which might provide new insights into RNA splicing regulation in vitro to in vivo. The emerging transcription–folding–splicing paradigm is changing our understanding of RNA alternative splicing regulation. Here, we review the insights into the roles and mechanisms of RNA structures in alternative splicing and back‐splicing, as well as how disruption of these structures affects alternative splicing and then leads to human diseases.This article is categorized under:
RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing
RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems
Hemodynamic Data Assimilation in a Subject-specific Circle of Willis Geometry
Authors: Gaidzik Franziska , Pathiraja Sahani , Saalfeld Sylvia , Stucht Daniel , Speck Oliver , Thévenin Dominique , Janiga Gábor 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPurposeThe anatomy of the circle of Willis (CoW), the brain’s main arterial blood supply system, strongly differs between individuals, resulting in highly variable flow fields and intracranial vascularization patterns. To predict subject-specific hemodynamics with high certainty, we propose a data assimilation (DA) approach that merges fully 4D phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) data with a numerical model in the form of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.MethodsTo the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to provide a transient state estimate for the three-dimensional velocity field in a subject-specific CoW geometry using DA. High-resolution velocity state estimates are obtained using the local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF).ResultsQuantitative evaluation shows a considerable reduction (up to 90%) in the uncertainty of the velocity field state estimate after the data assimilation step. Velocity values in vessel areas that are below the resolution of the PC-MRI data (e.g., in posterior communicating arteries) are provided. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the analysis-based wall shear stress distribution is reduced by a factor of 2 for the data assimilation approach when compared to the CFD model alone.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the potential of data assimilation to provide detailed information on vascular flow, and to reduce the uncertainty in such estimates by combining various sources of data in a statistically appropriate fashion.
Multi-objective constrained Bayesian optimization for structural design
Authors: Mathern Alexandre , Steinholtz Olof Skogby , Sjöberg Anders , Önnheim Magnus , Ek Kristine , Rempling Rasmus , Gustavsson Emil , Jirstrand Mats 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe planning and design of buildings and civil engineering concrete structures constitutes a complex problem subject to constraints, for instance, limit state constraints from design codes, evaluated by expensive computations such as finite element (FE) simulations. Traditionally, the focus has been on minimizing costs exclusively, while the current trend calls for good trade-offs of multiple criteria such as sustainability, buildability, and performance, which can typically be computed cheaply from the design parameters. Multi-objective methods can provide more relevant design strategies to find such trade-offs. However, the potential of multi-objective optimization methods remains unexploited in structural concrete design practice, as the expensiveness of structural design problems severely limits the scope of applicable algorithms. Bayesian optimization has emerged as an efficient approach to optimizing expensive functions, but it has not been, to the best of our knowledge, applied to constrained multi-objective optimization of structural concrete design problems. In this work, we develop a Bayesian optimization framework explicitly exploiting the features inherent to structural design problems, that is, expensive constraints and cheap objectives. The framework is evaluated on a generic case of structural design of a reinforced concrete (RC) beam, taking into account sustainability, buildability, and performance objectives, and is benchmarked against the well-known Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) and a random search procedure. The results show that the Bayesian algorithm performs considerably better in terms of rate-of-improvement, final solution quality, and variance across repeated runs, which suggests it is well-suited for multi-objective constrained optimization problems in structural design.
Method development and validation for the quantification of organic acids in microbial samples using anionic exchange solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Authors: Heyen Simone , Scholz-Böttcher Barbara M. , Rabus Ralf , Wilkes Heinz 
Published: September 2020

AbstractOrganic acids play a key role in central metabolic functions of organisms, are crucial for understanding regulatory processes and are ubiquitous inside the cell. Therefore, quantification of these compounds provides a valuable approach for studying dynamics of metabolic processes, in particular when the organism faces changing environmental conditions. However, the extraction and analysis of organic acids can be challenging and validated methods available in this field are limited. In this study, we developed a method for the extraction and quantification of organic acids from microbial samples based on solid-phase extraction on a strong anionic exchange cartridge and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. Full method validation was conducted to determine quality parameters of the new method. Recoveries for 12 of the 15 aromatic and aliphatic acids were between 100 and 111% and detection limits between 3 and 272 ng/mL. The ranges for the regression coefficients and process standard deviations for these compound classes were 0.9874–0.9994 and 0.04–0.69 μg/mL, respectively. Limitations were encountered when targeting aliphatic acids with hydroxy, oxo or enol ester functions. Finally, we demonstrated the applicability of the method on cell extracts of the bacterium Escherichia coli and the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum.
A novel one-day phage-based test for rapid detection and enumeration of viable Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in cows’ milk
Authors: Foddai Antonio C. G. , Grant Irene R. 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Bacteriophage-based methods for the rapid detection of viable Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in veterinary specimens are a recent addition to the Johne’s disease diagnostic toolbox. Here, we report the use of D29 mycobacteriophage-coated tosylactivated paramagnetic beads to capture and concentrate MAP cells from samples (termed phagomagnetic separation, PhMS) and then naturally lyse viable MAP cells (from the inside out) to provide DNA for IS900 qPCR purposes. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that D29 phages had bound to beads in the correct orientation and that the phage-coated beads captured MAP cells from a suspension. During test optimization, conventional IS900 PCR results were used to subjectively assess the effect of different phage:bead coating ratios, differing amounts of coated beads during PhMS, optimal incubation time post-PhMS to obtain maximal MAP DNA, and the potential benefit of a brief heat shock (55 °C/1 min) prior to IS900 TaqMan qPCR. The limit of detection 50% (LOD50%) of the optimised PhMS-qPCR assay was 10.00 MAP cells/50 ml milk (95% CI 1.20–82.83). Finally, in order to demonstrate the new assay’s ability to detect viable MAP in naturally contaminated milk, bulk tank milk samples from 100 dairy farms were tested. Forty-nine (49%) of these tested PhMS-qPCR-positive, with viable MAP numbers detected ranging from 3–126 MAP/50 ml. The novel PhMS-qPCR assay is a sensitive, specific and easy-to-apply phage-based assay for viable MAP, with potential application for milk surveillance or diagnosis of Johne’s disease.

Key points
• Phage-coated magnetic beads could capture, concentrate and lyse MAP cells from milk.
• PhMS-qPCR assay proved to be a rapid, sensitive and specific test for viable MAP.
• A potential application of PhMS-qPCR assay for milk surveillance was demonstrated.
PSMA PET total tumor volume predicts outcome of patients with advanced prostate cancer receiving [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 radioligand therapy in a bicentric analysis
Authors: Seifert Robert , Kessel Katharina , Schlack Katrin , Weber Manuel , Herrmann Ken , Spanke Maximilian , Fendler Wolfgang P. , Hadaschik Boris , Kleesiek Jens , Schäfers Michael , Weckesser Matthias , Boegemann Martin , Rahbar Kambiz 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Introduction
[177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (Lu-PSMA) radioligand therapy is an emerging treatment option for patients with end-stage prostate cancer. However, response to Lu-PSMA therapy is only achieved in approximately half of patients. It is clinically important to identify patients at risk of poor outcome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate pretherapeutic PSMA PET derived total tumor volume and related metrics as prognosticators of overall survival in patients receiving Lu-PSMA therapy.

Methods
A total number of 110 patients form the Departments of Nuclear Medicine Münster and Essen were included in this retrospective analysis. Baseline PSMA PET-CT was available for all patients. Employing a previously published approach, all tumor lesions were semi-automatically delineated in PSMA PET-CT acquisitions. Total lesion number, total tumor volume (PSMA-TV), total lesion uptake (PSMA-TLU = PSMA-TV * SUVmean), and total lesion quotient (PSMA-TLQ = PSMA-TV / SUVmean) were quantified for each patient. Log2 transformation was used for regressions.

Results
Lesion number, PSMA-TV, and PSMA-TLQ were prognosticators of overall survival (HR = 1.255, p = 0.009; HR = 1.299, p = 0.005; HR = 1.326, p = 0.002). In a stepwise backward Cox regression including lesion number, PSMA-TV, PSA, LDH, and PSMA-TLQ, only the latter two remained independent and statistically significant negative prognosticators of overall survival (HR = 1.632, p = 0.011; HR = 1.239, p = 0.024). PSMA-TLQ and LDH were significant negative prognosticators in multivariate Cox regression in contrast to PSA value.

Conclusion
PSMA-TV was a statistically significant negative prognosticator of overall survival in patients receiving Lu-PSMA therapy. PSMA-TLQ was an independent and superior prognosticator of overall survival compared with PSMA-TV.
Diagnostic accuracy of spleen stiffness to evaluate portal hypertension and esophageal varices in chronic liver disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hu Xing , Huang Xiaojie , Hou Jianhua , Ding Lei , Su Chunling , Meng Fankun 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Objectives
To systematically review studies on the diagnostic accuracy of spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) for the detection of clinical significant portal hypertension (CSPH), severe portal hypertension (SPH), esophageal varices (EV), and high-risk esophageal varices (HREV) in patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD).

Methods
Through a systematic search, we identified 32 studies reporting the accuracy of SSM for the diagnosis of portal hypertension (PH) and/or EV in adults with CLD. A bivariate random-effects model was performed to estimate pooled sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR). The clinical utility of SSM was evaluated by Fagan plot.

Results
A total of 32 studies assessing 3952 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivities of SSM were 0.85 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.69–0.93) for CSPH; 0.84 (95% CI, 0.75–0.90) for SPH; 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83–0.94) for any EV; and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.77–0.93) for HREV. The pooled specificities of SSM were 0.86 (95% CI, 0.74–0.93) for CSPH; 0.84 (95% CI, 0.72–0.91) for SPH; 0.73 (95% CI, 0.66–0.79) for EV; and 0.66 (95% CI, 0.53–0.77) for HREV. Summary PPV and NPV of SSM for detecting HREV were 0.54 (95% CI, 0.47–0.62) and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.81–0.95), respectively.

Conclusions
Our meta-analysis suggests that SSM could be used as a helpful surveillance tool in management of CLD patients and was quite useful for ruling out the presence of HREV thereby avoiding unnecessary endoscopy.

Key Points
• SSM could be used to rule out the presence of HREV in patients with CLD thereby avoiding unnecessary endoscopy.
• SSM has significant diagnostic value for CSPH and SPH with high sensitivity and specificity in patients with CLD.
• SSM could be used as a helpful surveillance tool for clinicians managing CLD patients.