bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An improved method for in vitro feeding of adult female Dermanyssus gallinae (poultry red mite) using Baudruche membrane (goldbeater’s skin).
Authors: Nunn Francesca G , Baganz Jessica , Bartley Kathryn , Hall Sarah , Burgess Stewart , Nisbet Alasdair J. 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background

Dermanyssus gallinae , or poultry red mite (PRM), is an important ectoparasite in laying hens, having a significant welfare and economic impact. Testing novel control compounds typically involves in vitro methodologies before in vivo assessments. Historically, in vitro methods have involved PRM feeding on hen blood through a membrane. The use of hen blood requires multiple procedures (bleeds) to provide sufficient material and the use of a larger species (e.g. geese), could serve as a refinement in the use of animals in research.

Methods

The existing in vitro feeding device, employing a Parafilm™ M membrane [1] and adult females was used to investigate any differences in mite feeding, egg laying and mortality when fed goose or hen blood. Effects on these parameters when PRM were fed through either; Parafilm™ M, Baudruche membrane, and a combination of these with an overlaid polyester mesh were then tested using goose blood.

Results

PRM fed equally well on goose or hen blood through a Parafilm™ M membrane, no significant differences in mortality of PRM fed with either blood type was demonstrated. A significant increase (t-test: t =3.467, df =4, P = 0.03). in eggs laid per fed mite when using goose blood was demonstrated. A 70% increase in PRM feeding was observed when mites were fed on goose blood through a Baudruche membrane when compared to the Parafilm™ M membrane. Addition of an overlaid polyester mesh did not improve feeding rates. A significant increase (ANOVA: F (3, 20) =3.193, P = 0.04) in PRM egg laying was observed in mites fed on goose blood through Baudruche membrane, compared to those fed through Parafilm™ M. A mean of 1.22 (SEM ± 0.04) eggs per fed mite was obtained using the Baudruche feeding device compared to only 0.87 (SEM ±0.3) eggs per fed mite using the Parafilm™ M device when neither had a polyester mesh overlay.

Conclusion

The in vitro feeding of adult female poultry red mite can be readily facilitated through the use of goose blood in feeding devices with Baudruche membrane.
Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with primary nephrotic syndrome: analysis of 18 cases
Authors: You Xiaohan , Zhang Ji , Zhou Qiongxiu , Zhang Jianna 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to analysis the clinical features, risk factors and outcomes of patients with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) who developed pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).Methods: We systematically reviewed medical records from 18 PNS patients with PCP admitted to our hospital from April 2007 to April 2019. A total of 180 cases were randomly selected as controls from PNS inpatients without infection. Results: In PCP patients, the mean age at presentation was 48.5 years, mean duration of prednisone treatment was 3.7 months and mean prednisone dose on admission was 31.3 mg/d, the most common clinical manifestation was fever (100%) and average PaO2 on admission was 59.5 mmHg. Eight patients (44.4%) had coexisting infections, most often was cytomegalovirus (4 patients), 11 patients (61.1%) had ICU admission and 9 patients (50%) had mechanical ventilation. PCP patients had more prednisone, more immunosuppressive therapy, lower CD4+ cell counts and hemoglobin, and higher serum creatinine than those without infections (p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that PNS patients with prednisone usage and lower CD4+ cell counts were independent risk factors of more likely to have PCP compared to controls (OR =3.39, p=0.002; OR =0.64, p=0.021p<0.05). All patients survived after treatment. Conclusion: PCP was not unusual in PNS patients, and the most important risk factors were prednisone usage and a lower CD4+ cell count, but however, these patients had a good outcome after enough treatments.
Adherence to veterinary recommendations for ectoparasiticides purchased by cat owners in the United States of America.
Authors: Lavan Robert Philip , Armstrong Rob , Normile Dorothy , Vaala Wendy 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: Safe and effective flea and tick treatment options for cats are important in companion animal practice because of feline ectoparasite infestation prevalence and the potential for parasitic disease transmission. Retrospective cat owner purchasing transactions at United States of America (U.S.) veterinary clinics were obtained for three topical feline flea and tick ectoparasiticides. One medication, fluralaner, had a 12-week redosing interval, while two other medications (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen ;imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen ) were approved for monthly redosing. The annual number of doses purchased by cat owners was determined for each of the three medications and then compared between medications. The objective was to evaluate whether 12-week retreatment intervals resulted in a different duration of coverage compared to monthly treatments for ectoparasiticide products.Methods: Study results were obtained by analyzing the transactional records from a commercial database derived from veterinary practice management software. The study database consisted of cat owner purchasing records from January 2017 through June 2019 from 671 veterinary practices representing 41,630 cats.Results: Cat owners purchased an average of 1.5 doses of fluralaner per year which, based on a 12-week redosing interval, provides 4.2 months of treatment coverage. Cat owners who used monthly flea and tick medications respectively purchased 3.6 months (fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen combination) and 2.8 months (imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen) annually of each of the two medications. Average yearly cat owner purchases of fluralaner provide a significantly longer duration of coverage than for cat owners purchasing fipronil/s-methoprene/pyriproxyfen (17% more) or imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen (50% more). Conclusion: Cat owners who obtained a flea and tick treatment with a 12-week redosing interval (fluralaner) protected their cats for up to 17% or 50% longer duration each year compared to the duration of protection obtained by cat owners who used a medication re-dosed monthly. Cat owners should increase their duration of flea and tick coverage to come closer to achieving veterinary recommendations.
Association between the non-HDL-cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Chinese children and adolescents: a large single-center cross-sectional study
Authors: Yang Shouxing , Zhong Jinwei , Ye Mengsi , Miao Lei , Lu Guangrong , Xu Changlong , Xue Zhanxiong , Zhou Xinhe 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: The non-HDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (NHDLC/HDLC) ratio is closely related to a variety of dyslipidemia-related disease. This study aimed to inspect the relationship between the NHDLC/HDLC ratio and non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) in childhood and adolescence. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, a total of 7,759 eligible Chinese children and adolescents (5,692 boys and 2,067 girls) were received routine medical examinations. The anthropometric and laboratory data of the subjects were collected. NAFLD was diagnosed by liver ultrasonography. The binary logistics regression analysis was performed on NHDLC/HDLC ratio, NHDLC and HDLC and NAFLD. ROC curve analysis was exploited to compare the diagnostic significance of the above parameters for NAFLD. Results: The total prevalence of NAFLD was 4.36%, and the prevalence of boys was higher than that of girls (5.61% vs. 1.9%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of NAFLD was positively correlated with the NHDLC/HDLC ratio (P < 0.001). The binary logistics regression analysis demonstrated that the OR was 8.61 (95% CI, 5.90-12.57, P < 0.001) in the tertile 3 (highest NHDLC/HDLC ratio) compared with the tertile 1 (lowest NHDLC/HDLC ratio). When potential confounders (age, sex, BMI, ALT, UA, TB, FPG and HOMA-IR) were adjusted, the OR for the tertile3 (OR=1.83, 95% CI, 1.04-3.22, P = 0.035) was still drastically higher than that of the tertile 1. The AUC of the NHDLC/HDLC ratio of boys was 0.787, which was significantly greater than that of NHDLC and HDLC (0.719 and 0.726, P < 0.001). For girls, the AUC of NHDLC/ HDLC ratio was 0.763, which was also significantly greater than that of NHDLC (0.661, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the cutoff points of NHDLC/HDLC ratio were 2.475 in boys and 2.695 in girls. Conclusions: The NHDLC/HDLC ratio was positively correlated with NALFD in Chinese children and adolescents. It may serve as an effective indicator to help identify NALFD in children and adolescents.
Sub-micro droplet reactors: Green synthesis of Li3VO4 anode materials for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Ha Tran , Vu Ngoc Hung , Ha Hyunwoo , Moon Joonhee , Kim Hyun You , Im Won Bin 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
A new green-chemistry strategy, based on modified solid-state reaction with the addition of water vapor to accelerate acid-base reactions (ABR) at low temperature, was developed along with Ca-doping to synthesize electrode material for lithium-ion batteries. The new method which helps in control the particles size and saving energy in synthesis has been developed. To explain this process, we proposed a mechanism in which water droplets play a key role as sub-micro reactors, calculated as few tens of nanometers, to ensure proper reaction conditions and confine crystal growth to nano-dimensions. The synergic effect of the proposed ABR method and Ca-doping is discussed to further explain the increase in the specific surface area and electrochemical performance of the anode material. The optimized material, Ca-doped Li3VO4, delivers a superior specific capacity of 543.1 mAh⸳g-1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA⸳g-1, which could be attributed to the contribution of pseudocapacitance.
A Synthetic Acetyl-CoA Bi-cycle Synergizes the Wood-Ljungdahl Pathway for Efficient Carbon Conversion in Syngas Fermentation
Authors: Wu Chao , Lo Jonathan , Urban Chris , Gao Xiang , Humphreys Jonathan , Shinde Shrameeta , Wang Xin , Chou Katherine , Maness PinChing , Tsesmetzis Nicolas , Parker David , Xiong Wei 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) is a natural carbon fixation pathway capable of converting one-carbon (C1) compounds (CO2, CO, formate) to two-carbon (C2) metabolite acetyl-CoA or coordinating with canonical glycolysis to convert sugar feedstocks to acetyl-CoA with high carbon yield. The catalytic inefficiency and engineering difficulty in key enzymes, however, limit the biosynthetic potential of this pathway. Here we design a synthetic acetyl-CoA bi-cycle to synergize the WLP for efficient C2 metabolite synthesis. This pathway produces an acetyl-CoA by fixation of two CO2 equivalents via three functional modules acting in series: carbon fixation, gluconeogenesis, and non-oxidative glycolysis. We examine the pathway through comprehensive in silico thermodynamic and kinetic analyses. The prototypic pathway is implemented in a syngas-fermenting Clostridium ljungdahlii DSM 13528 by expressing a heterologous phosphoketolase and coordinating with native enzymes in the host acetogen. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this synthetic pathway in carbon conversion under various growth conditions, which complements the WLP for valorization of syngas as well as sugar feedstocks with high catalytic efficiency. This study underscores the reductive acetyl-CoA bi-cycle as a practical strategy to improve carbon conversion and redox homeostasis in the acetogenic host.
Analysis and Prediction of COVID-19 using SIR, SEIR, and Machine Learning Models: Australia, Italy, and UK Cases
Authors: Rahimi Iman , Gandomi Amir H , Chen Fang 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
The novel Coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, is an outbreak that started in Wuhan, one of the Central Chinese cities. In this report, a short analysis focusing on Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom has been conducted. The analysis includes confirmed and recovered cases and deaths, the growth rate in Australia as compared with Italy and the United Kingdom, and the outbreak in different Australian cities. Mathematical approaches based on the susceptible, infected, and recovered case (SIR) and susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered (SEIR) models were proposed to predict the epidemiology in the countries. Since the performance of the classic form of SIR and SEIR depends on parameter settings, some optimization algorithms, namely, the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS), conjugate gradients (CG), L-BFGS-B, and Nelder-Mead are proposed to optimize the parameters of SIR and SEIR models and improve its predictive capabilities. The results of optimized SIR and SEIR models are compared with the Prophet algorithm and logistic function as two known ML algorithms. The results show that different algorithms display different behaviours in different countries. However, the improved version of the SIR and SEIR models have a better performance compared with other mentioned algorithms described in this study. Moreover, the Prophet algorithm works better for Italy and the United Kingdom cases than for Australian cases and Logistic function compared with Prophet algorithm has a better performance in these cases. It seems that Prophet algorithm is suitable for data with increasing trend in pandemic situations. Optimization of the SIR and SEIR models parameters has yielded a significant improvement in the prediction accuracy of the models. Although there are several algorithms for prediction of this Pandemic, there is no certain algorithm that would be the best one for all cases.
Photocatalytic selective oxidation of methane by quantum sized bismuth vanadate
Authors: Fan Yingying , Zhou Wencai , Qiu Xueying , Li Hongdong , Jiang Yuheng , Sun Zhonghui , Han Dongxue , Niu Li , Tang Zhiyong 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Selective oxidation of methane to desirable C1 oxygenates has long been the major challenge in catalysis. Here we report photocatalytic oxidation of methane by using quantum-sized bismuth vanadate nanoparticles as catalyst and oxygen as mild oxidant. A high selectivity towards methanol (1.1 mmol g-1 yield and 96.6% selectivity) and formaldehyde (13.1 mmol g-1 yield and 86.7% selectivity) products is successfully realized by simply controlling the light wavelength, light energy, reaction time and the amount of water solvent. Comprehensive characterizations disclose that the radical reaction mechanism is responsible for this efficient photocatalytic methane conversion.
Transcriptome Analysis Revealed The Mechanism of Exogenous ABA Increasing Anthocyanins in Blueberry Fruit During Veraison
Authors: Han Tianyu , Yan Zhixiang , Wu Wenlong , Li Weilin 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: Blueberry（Vaccinium Spp）is a popular healthy fruit all over the world. The health value of blueberry is mainly due to the fact that blueberry is rich in anthocyanins, which have a strong antioxidant capacity. However, due to the fact that blueberry is a non model plant, little is known about the structural genes and regulatory genes involved in the anthocyanin synthesis of blueberries. Previous studies have found that spraying abscisic acid at the late green stage of blueberry fruit can increase the content of anthocyanins. Based on the former results, the anthocyanin accumulation process of blueberry can be divided into six stages from late green stage to mature stage to analyze the anthocyanin synthesis mechanism. In order to identify the important genes in the anthocyanin synthesis process of blueberry, the transcriptome analysis was conducted to explore the key genes in blueberry anthocyanin synthesis process.Results: The results showed that ABA could increase the anthocyanin content of blueberry fruits during the veraison. The effect of ABA on blueberry fruit development was systematically analyzed by KEGG and GO. All structural genes and transcription factors (MYB, bHLH and WD40) involved in anthocyanin pathway were identified and their spatiotemporal expression patterns were analyzed. The expression of CHS, CHI, DFR and LDOX / ANS in ABA treated fruits was higher in S5-S6, which was consistent with the change of anthocyanins in fruits.In general, six MYB transcription factors, one bHLH transcription factor and four WD40 transcription factors under treatment were found to have significant changes in transcripts during fruit ripening. Conclusions: Our results suggest that VcMYBA should play a major role in the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in ABA signaling. This result preliminarily explained the mechanism of ABA increasing anthocyanin content and improves the efficiency of industrial use of blueberry anthocyanins.
Effects of Amyloid Light-Chain Amyloidosis on Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis in Multiple Myeloma: A Single-Center Retrospective Study
Authors: Xu Junhui , Wang Mangju , Shen Ye , Yan Miao , Xie Weiwei , Wang Bingjie , Song Zhengyang , Liu Huihui , Cen Xinan 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: Amyloid light-chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis) is commonly associated with multiple myeloma. However, the clinical characteristics and prognosis of symptomatic and smoldering multiple myeloma with AL amyloidosis is not particularly clear.Methods: Patients with symptomatic and smoldering multiple myeloma in the Peking University First Hospital registry from 2010 to 2018 were studied. The clinical and laboratory information were collected from first presentation to death or until the last available clinical follow-up. The patients’ survival and outcomes were analyzed, and the relationships between the clinical parameters and survival were also assessed.Results: Compared with symptomatic multiple myeloma patients without AL amyloidosis, patients with AL amyloidosis had higher incidence of BNP≧700pg/ml (P<0.001), ALP>187.5IU/L (P=0.032) and ALB<25g/L (P<0.001). Similarly, compared with smoldering multiple myeloma patients without AL amyloidosis, patients with AL amyloidosis had higher incidence of BNP≧700pg/ml (P=0.030) and Alb<25g/L (P=0.024). The existence of AL amyloidosis especially the heart involvement was related to shorter long-term survival of symptomatic and smoldering multiple myeloma according to univariate analyses. Renal involvement and gastrointestinal tract involvement had an impact on the prognosis of smoldering multiple myeloma but not on symptomatic multiple myeloma. Cox regression model for overall survival detected BNP≧700pg/ml in symptomatic multiple myeloma having independent prognostic significance (RR=2.455, P=0.004). Interestingly, BNP at diagnosis was significantly correlated with cardiac amyloidosis (r=0.496, P<0.001).Cox regression model for overall survival detected the presence of AL amyloidosis in smoldering multiple myeloma having independent prognostic significance (RR=8.741, P=0.002).Conclusions: AL amyloidosis is an independent poor prognostic factor for not only symptomatic multiple myeloma but also smoldering multiple myeloma is mainly because involvements of important organs especially the heart. AL amyloidosis probablely has a greater impact on the prognosis of smoldering multiple myeloma than symptomatic multiple myeloma.
Sex-Specific Cross Tissue Meta-Analysis Identifies Immune Dysregulation in Women with Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Paranjpe Manish D , Belonwu Stella , Wang Jason K , Oskotsky Tomiko , Gupta Aarzu , Taubes Alice , Zalokusky Kelly , Paranjpe Ishan , Glicksberg Benjamin S , Huang Yadong , Sirota Marina 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia in the United States. In spite of evidence of females having a greater lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and greater apolipoprotein E4-related (apoE4) AD risk compared to males, molecular signatures underlying these findings remain elusive. Methods: We took a meta-analysis approach to study gene expression in the brains of 1,084 AD patients and age-matched controls and whole blood from 645 AD patients and age-matched controls in seven independent datasets. Sex-specific gene expression patterns were investigated through use of gene-based, pathway-based and network-based approaches. The ability of a sex-specific AD gene expression signature to distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from healthy controls was assessed using a linear support vector machine model. Cell type deconvolution from whole blood gene expression data was performed to identify differentially regulated cells in males and females with AD.Results: Strikingly gene-expression, network-based analysis and cell type deconvolution approaches revealed a consistent immune signature in the brain and blood of female AD patients that was absent in males. In females, network-based analysis revealed a coordinated program of gene expression involving several zinc finger nuclease genes related to Herpes simplex viral infection whose expression was modulated by the presence of the apolipoprotein ε4 allele. Interestingly, this gene expression program was missing in the brains of male AD signature. Cell type deconvolution identified an increase in neutrophils and naïve B cells and a decrease in M2 macrophages, memory B cells, and CD8+ T cells in AD samples compared to controls in females. Interestingly, among males with AD, no significant differences in immune cell proportions compared to controls were observed. Machine learning-based classification of AD using gene expression from whole blood in addition to clinical features produced an improvement in classification accuracy upon stratifying by sex, achieving an AUROC of 0.91 for females and 0.80 for males. Conclusions: These results help identify sex and apoE4 genotype-specific transcriptomic signatures of AD and underscore the importance of considering sex in the development of biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for AD.
Transmissible plasma-evolved suspended graphene near room temperature
Authors: Sharma Kamal , Sharma Aliza Khaniya , Asaka Toru , Maruyama Takahiro 
Published: October 2020

Abstract
Top-down and bottom-up approaches are widely adopted to synthesize graphene from different carbon sources with the help of catalysts. The chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of carbon feedstock onto a catalyst surface, carbon species that are excited by a plasma, and high-energy laser irradiation of carbon surfaces are important methods for graphene production. However, for most techniques, high processing temperatures and time-consuming transfer and chemical treatment processes are essential to produce graphene for subsequent applications; therefore, a simple and straightforward alternative process is highly desirable. Here, we report a simple technique to produce suspended graphene with a short processing time and low temperature by employing a pulsed arc plasma. The catalytically active metal plasma is revealed to be transmissible through a suspended amorphous carbon (a-C) membrane, and the a-C evolves into highly graphitized C (sp2-C). The produced sp2-C is referred to as transmissible plasma-evolved graphene (TPEG). In this process, a pulsed arc plasma is generated from negatively biased metal electrodes, where each pulse lasts a fraction of a second, and the catalytic activity of the plasma is tuned by both the applied bias voltage and the number of pulses (not more than 10). Furthermore, TPEG with nanoparticles (NPs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are successfully produced by employing a dual pulsed arc plasma source, indicating that TPEG could be utilized for the characterization of zero-dimensional (0D) and one-dimensional (1D) materials, such as graphene synthesized by CVD. It is very surprising that even a-C on a polymer support is successfully transformed into graphene by the TPEG technique without sacrificing the polymer support, which confirmed that TPEG is formed near room temperature.