bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
China material stocks and flows account for 1978–2018
Authors: Song Lulu , Han Ji , Li Nan , Huang Yuanyi , Hao Min , Dai Min , Chen Wei-Qiang 
Published: November 2021

AbstractAs the world’s top material consumer, China has created intense pressure on national or global demand for natural resources. Building an accurate material stocks and flows account of China is a prerequisite for promoting sustainable resource management. However, there is no annually, officially published material stocks and flows data in China. Existing material stocks and flows estimates conducted by scholars exhibit great discrepancies. In this study, we create the Provincial Material Stocks and Flows Database (PMSFD) for China and its 31 provinces. This dataset describes 13 materials’ stocks, demand, and scrap supply in five end-use sectors in each province during 1978–2018. PMSFD is the first version of material stocks and flows inventories in China, and its uniform estimation structure and formatted inventories offer a comprehensive foundation for future accumulation, modification, and enhancement. PMSFD contributes insight into the material metabolism, which is an important database for sustainable development as well as circular economy policy-making in China. This dataset will be updated annually.
Chromosome-scale genome assembly of the high royal jelly-producing honeybees
Authors: Cao Lianfei , Zhao Xiaomeng , Chen Yanping , Sun Cheng 
Published: November 2021

AbstractA high royal jelly-producing strain of honeybees (HRJHB) has been obtained by successive artificial selection of Italian honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica) in China. The HRJHB can produce amounts of royal jelly that are dozens of times greater than their original counterparts, which has promoted China to be the largest producer of royal jelly in the world. In this study, we generated a chromosome-scale of the genome sequence for the HRJHB using PacBio long reads and Hi-C technique. The genome consists of 16 pseudo-chromosomes that contain 222 Mb of sequence, with a scaffold N50 of 13.6 Mb. BUSCO analysis yielded a completeness score of 99.3%. The genome has 12,288 predicted protein-coding genes and a rate of 8.11% of repetitive sequences. One chromosome inversion was identified between the HRJHB and the closely related Italian honeybees through whole-genome alignment analysis. The HRJHB’s genome sequence will be an important resource for understanding the genetic basis of high levels of royal jelly production, which may also shed light on the evolution of domesticated insects.
Differences in characteristics between people with tinnitus that seek help and that do not
Authors: Rademaker M. M. , Stegeman I. , Brabers A. E. M. , de Jong J. D. , Stokroos R. J. , Smit A. L. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractKnowledge on characteristics of people that seek help for tinnitus is scarce. The primary objective of this study was to describe differences in characteristics between people with tinnitus that seek help compared to those who do not seek help. Next, we described differences in characteristics between those with and without tinnitus. In this cross-sectional study, we sent a questionnaire on characteristics in different domains; demographic, tinnitus-specific, general- and psychological health, auditory and noise- and substance behaviour. We assessed if participants had sought help or planned to seek help for tinnitus. Tinnitus distress was defined with the Tinnitus Functional Index. Differences between groups (help seeking: yes/no, tinnitus: yes/no) were described. 932 people took part in our survey. Two hundred and sixteen participants were defined as having tinnitus (23.2%). Seventy-three of those sought or planned to seek help. A constant tinnitus pattern, a varying tinnitus loudness, and hearing loss, were described more frequently in help seekers. Help seekers reported higher TFI scores. Differences between help seekers and people not seeking help were mainly identified in tinnitus- and audiological characteristics. These outcomes might function as a foundation to explore the heterogeneity in tinnitus patients.
Automating cell counting in fluorescent microscopy through deep learning with c-ResUnet
Authors: Morelli Roberto , Clissa Luca , Amici Roberto , Cerri Matteo , Hitrec Timna , Luppi Marco , Rinaldi Lorenzo , Squarcio Fabio , Zoccoli Antonio 
Published: November 2021

AbstractCounting cells in fluorescent microscopy is a tedious, time-consuming task that researchers have to accomplish to assess the effects of different experimental conditions on biological structures of interest. Although such objects are generally easy to identify, the process of manually annotating cells is sometimes subject to fatigue errors and suffers from arbitrariness due to the operator’s interpretation of the borderline cases. We propose a Deep Learning approach that exploits a fully-convolutional network in a binary segmentation fashion to localize the objects of interest. Counts are then retrieved as the number of detected items. Specifically, we introduce a Unet-like architecture, cell ResUnet (c-ResUnet), and compare its performance against 3 similar architectures. In addition, we evaluate through ablation studies the impact of two design choices, (i) artifacts oversampling and (ii) weight maps that penalize the errors on cells boundaries increasingly with overcrowding. In summary, the c-ResUnet outperforms the competitors with respect to both detection and counting metrics (respectively, $$F_1$$

F
1

score = 0.81 and MAE = 3.09). Also, the introduction of weight maps contribute to enhance performances, especially in presence of clumping cells, artifacts and confounding biological structures. Posterior qualitative assessment by domain experts corroborates previous results, suggesting human-level performance inasmuch even erroneous predictions seem to fall within the limits of operator interpretation. Finally, we release the pre-trained model and the annotated dataset to foster research in this and related fields.
Probabilistic projections of the stability of small tidal inlets at century time scale using a reduced complexity approach
Authors: Duong Trang Minh , Ranasinghe Roshanka , Callaghan David P. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractClimate change is widely expected to affect the thousands of small tidal inlets (STIs) dotting the global coastline. To properly inform effective adaptation strategies for the coastal areas in the vicinity of these inlets, it is necessary to know the temporal evolution of inlet stability over climate change time scales (50–100 years). As available numerical models are unable to perform continuous morphodynamic simulations at such time scales, here we develop and pilot a fast, probabilistic, reduced complexity model (RAPSTA – RAPid assessment tool of inlet STAbility) that can also quantify forcing uncertainties. RAPSTA accounts for the key physical processes governing STI stability and for climate change driven variations in system forcing. The model is very fast, providing a 100 year projection in less than 3 seconds. RAPSTA is demonstrated here at 3 STIs, representing the 3 main Types of STIs; Permanently open, locationally stable inlet (Type 1); Permanently open, alongshore migrating inlet (Type 2); Seasonally/Intermittently open, locationally stable inlet (Type 3). Model applications under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP 8.5), accounting for forcing uncertainties, show that while the Type 1 STI will not change type over the twenty-first century, the Type 2 inlet may change into a more unstable Type 3 system around mid-century, and the Type 3 STI may change into a less unstable Type 2 system in about 20 years from now, further changing into a stable Type 1 STI around mid-century. These projections underscore the need for future adaptation strategies to remain flexible.
Hybrid de novo genome-reassembly reveals new insights on pathways and pathogenicity determinants in rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae RMg_Dl
Authors: Reddy Bhaskar , Kumar Aundy , Mehta Sahil , Sheoran Neelam , Chinnusamy Viswanathan , Prakash Ganesan 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBlast disease incited by Magnaporthe oryzae is a major threat to sustain rice production in all rice growing nations. The pathogen is widely distributed in all rice paddies and displays rapid aerial transmissions, and seed-borne latent infection. In order to understand the genetic variability, host specificity, and molecular basis of the pathogenicity-associated traits, the whole genome of rice infecting Magnaporthe oryzae (Strain RMg_Dl) was sequenced using the Illumina and PacBio (RSII compatible) platforms. The high-throughput hybrid assembly of short and long reads resulted in a total of 375 scaffolds with a genome size of 42.43 Mb. Furthermore, comparative genome analysis revealed 99% average nucleotide identity (ANI) with other oryzae genomes and 83% against M. grisea, and 73% against M. poe genomes. The gene calling identified 10,553 genes with 10,539 protein-coding sequences. Among the detected transposable elements, the LTR/Gypsy and Type LINE showed high occurrence. The InterProScan of predicted protein sequences revealed that 97% protein family (PFAM), 98% superfamily, and 95% CDD were shared among RMg_Dl and reference 70-15 genome, respectively. Additionally, 550 CAZymes with high GH family content/distribution and cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE) such endoglucanase, beta-glucosidase, and pectate lyase were also deciphered in RMg_Dl. The prevalence of virulence factors determination revealed that 51 different VFs were found in the genome. The biochemical pathway such as starch and sucrose metabolism, mTOR signaling, cAMP signaling, MAPK signaling pathways related genes were identified in the genome. The 49,065 SNPs, 3267 insertions and 3611 deletions were detected, and majority of these varinats were located on downstream and upstream region. Taken together, the generated information will be useful to develop a specific marker for diagnosis, pathogen surveillance and tracking, molecular taxonomy, and species delineation which ultimately leads to device improved management strategies for blast disease.
Antioxidant status in relation to heavy metals induced oxidative stress in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Authors: Abudawood Manal , Tabassum Hajera , Alanazi Atheer H. , Almusallam Fatmah , Aljaser Feda , Ali Mir Naiman , Alenzi Naif D. , Alanazi Samyah T. , Alghamdi Manal A. , Altoum Ghadah H. , Alzeer Manar A. , Alotaibi Majed O. , Abudawood Arwa , Ghneim Hazem K. , Al-Nuaim Lulu Abdullah Ali 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a global health concern for women of reproductive age, as 6.5% of women worldwide are affected by this syndrome. PCOS is marked by hyperandrogenism, anovulation, menstrual abnormalities, and polycystic ovaries. Metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury are considered to be systemic toxicants/human carcinogens and seem to have devastating effects on humans, even at minimal exposures. One of the probable aetiological factors for PCOS has been identified as oxidative stress. In view of the probable associations among oxidative stress, metal toxicity and PCOS, the present study examined the role of heavy metals in the generation of oxidative stress among females. This prospective study included 106 women (56 women diagnosed with PCOS and 50 women who were not diagnosed with PCOS as control women). There were no significant differences in the sociodemographic characteristics between the two groups except for the irregularity of menses and the presence of acne. The serum As, Cd, Pb, and Hg levels increased and the serum glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels diminished significantly in the PCOS group compared to the control group at P < 0.001. The SOD levels were negatively correlated with the As and Pb levels at P < 0.05. Additionally, the PCOS group exhibited a strong negative correlation between the GSH and As levels (P < 0.01), GSH and Pb levels (P < 0.05) and GSH and Hg levels (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the As levels were positively correlated with increased levels of Cd, Pb and Hg among PCOS women. Significant positive correlations were observed between Pb and Cd and between Cd and Hg at P < 0.001. The outcome of the study provides clear insight into the role of metal-induced oxidative stress, which plays a vital role in the pathophysiology underlying PCOS and suggests the use of these markers as prognostic tools to reduce the consequences of high-risk exposure to these metals among females.
A highly stable, nanotube-enhanced, CMOS-MEMS thermal emitter for mid-IR gas sensing
Authors: Popa Daniel , Hopper Richard , Ali Syed Zeeshan , Cole Matthew Thomas , Fan Ye , Veigang-Radulescu Vlad-Petru , Chikkaraddy Rohit , Nallala Jayakrupakar , Xing Yuxin , Alexander-Webber Jack , Hofmann Stephan , De Luca Andrea , Gardner Julian William , Udrea Florin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe gas sensor market is growing fast, driven by many socioeconomic and industrial factors. Mid-infrared (MIR) gas sensors offer excellent performance for an increasing number of sensing applications in healthcare, smart homes, and the automotive sector. Having access to low-cost, miniaturized, energy efficient light sources is of critical importance for the monolithic integration of MIR sensors. Here, we present an on-chip broadband thermal MIR source fabricated by combining a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) micro-hotplate with a dielectric-encapsulated carbon nanotube (CNT) blackbody layer. The micro-hotplate was used during fabrication as a micro-reactor to facilitate high temperature (>700 $$^{\circ }$$

∘

C) growth of the CNT layer and also for post-growth thermal annealing. We demonstrate, for the first time, stable extended operation in air of devices with a dielectric-encapsulated CNT layer at heater temperatures above 600 $$^{\circ }$$

∘

C. The demonstrated devices exhibit almost unitary emissivity across the entire MIR spectrum, offering an ideal solution for low-cost, highly-integrated MIR spectroscopy for the Internet of Things.
The influence of gravity on respiratory kinematics during phonation measured by dynamic magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Traser Louisa , Schwab Carmen , Burk Fabian , Özen Ali Caglar , Burdumy Michael , Bock Michael , Richter Bernhard , Echternach Matthias 
Published: November 2021

AbstractRespiratory kinematics are important for the regulation of voice production. Dynamic MRI is an excellent tool to study respiratory motion providing high-resolution cross-sectional images. Unfortunately, in clinical MRI systems images can only be acquired in a horizontal subject position, which does not take into account gravitational effects on the respiratory apparatus. To study the effect of body posture on respiratory kinematics during phonation, 8 singers were examined both in an open-configuration MRI with a rotatable gantry and a conventional horizontal MRI system. During dynamic MRI the subjects sang sustained tones at different pitches in both supine and upright body positions. Sagittal images of the respiratory system were obtained at 1–3 images per second, from which 6 anatomically defined distances were extracted to characterize its movements in the anterior, medium and posterior section of the diaphragm as well as the rip cage (diameter at the height of the 3rd and 5th rip) and the anterior–posterior position of the diaphragm cupola. Regardless of body position, singers maintained their general principles of respiratory kinematics with combined diaphragm and thorax muscle activation for breath support. This was achieved by expanding their chest an additional 20% during inspiration when singing in the supine position but not for sole breathing. The diaphragm was cranially displaced in supine position for both singing and breathing and its motion range increased. These results facilitate a more realistic extrapolation of research data obtained in a supine position.
Electrospinning preparation of g-C3N4/Nb2O5 nanofibers heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water
Authors: Wang Lu , Li Ya , Han Pingfang 
Published: November 2021

AbstractIn this study, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and niobium pentoxide nanofibers (Nb2O5 NFs) heterojunction was prepared by means of a direct electrospinning approach combined with calcination process. The characterizations confirmed a well-defined morphology of the g-C3N4/Nb2O5 heterojunction in which Nb2O5 NFs were tightly attached onto g-C3N4 nanosheets. Compared to pure g-C3N4 and Nb2O5 NFs, the as-prepared g-C3N4/Nb2O5 heterojunction exhibited remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of rhodamine B and phenol under visible light irradiation. The enhanced catalytic activity was attributed predominantly to the synergistic effect between g-C3N4 sheets and Nb2O5 NFs, which promoted the transferring of carriers and prohibited their recombination, confirmed by the measurement of transient photocurrent responses and photoluminescence spectra. In addition, the active species trapping experiments indicated that superoxide radical anion (·O2–) and hole (h+) were the major active species contributing to the photocatalytic process. With its high efficacy and ease of preparation, g-C3N4/Nb2O5 heterojunction has great potentials for applications in treatment of organic pollutants and conversion of solar energy.
Mechanism of quercetin therapeutic targets for Alzheimer disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Zu Guoxiu , Sun Keyun , Li Ling , Zu Xiuli , Han Tao , Huang Hailiang 
Published: November 2021

AbstractQuercetin has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic activities, suggesting therapeutic potential against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, potential molecular targets of quercetin were first identified using the Swiss Target Prediction platform and pathogenic targets of T2DM and AD were identified using online Mendelian inheritance in man (OMIM), DisGeNET, TTD, DrugBank, and GeneCards databases. The 95 targets shared among quercetin, T2DM, and AD were used to establish a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, top 25 core genes, and protein functional modules using MCODE. Metascape was then used for gene ontology and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. A protein functional module with best score was obtained from the PPI network using CytoHubba, and 6 high-probability quercetin targets (AKT1, JUN, MAPK, TNF, VEGFA, and EGFR) were confirmed by docking simulations. Molecular dynamics simulation was carried out according to the molecular docking results. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that the major shared mechanisms for T2DM and AD include “AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,” “pathways in cancer,” and “MAPK signaling pathway” (the key pathway). We speculate that quercetin may have therapeutic applications in T2DM and AD by targeting MAPK signaling, providing a theoretical foundation for future clinical research.
A novel experimental approach to study disobedience to authority
Authors: Caspar Emilie A. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractFifty years after the experiments of Stanley Milgram, the main objective of the present paper is to offer a paradigm that complies with up-to-date ethical standards and that can be adapted to various scientific disciplines, ranging from sociology and (social) psychology to neuroscience. Inspired by subsequent versions of Milgram-like paradigms and by combining the strengths of each, this paper presents a novel experimental approach to the study of (dis)obedience to authority. Volunteers are recruited in pairs and take turns to be ‘agents’ or ‘victims’, making the procedure fully reciprocal. For each trial, the agents receive an order from the experimenter to send a real, mildly painful electric shock to the ‘victim’, thus placing participants in an ecological set-up and avoiding the use of cover stories. Depending on the experimental condition, ‘agents’ receive, or do not receive, a monetary gain and are given, or are not given, an aim to obey the experimenter’s orders. Disobedience here refers to the number of times ‘agents’ refused to deliver the real shock to the ‘victim’. As the paradigm is designed to fit with brain imaging methods, I hope to bring new insights and perspectives in this area of research.
Using the Newcomb–Benford law to study the association between a country’s COVID-19 reporting accuracy and its development
Authors: Balashov Vadim S. , Yan Yuxing , Zhu Xiaodi 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has spurred controversies related to whether countries manipulate reported data for political gains. We study the association between accuracy of reported COVID-19 data and developmental indicators. We use the Newcomb–Benford law (NBL) to gauge data accuracy. We run an OLS regression of an index constructed from developmental indicators (democracy level, gross domestic product per capita, healthcare expenditures, and universal healthcare coverage) on goodness-of-fit measures to the NBL. We find that countries with higher values of the developmental index are less likely to deviate from the Newcomb-Benford law. The relationship holds for the cumulative number of reported deaths and total cases but is more pronounced for the death toll. The findings are robust for second-digit tests and for a sub-sample of countries with regional data. The NBL provides a first screening for potential data manipulation during pandemics. Our study indicates that data from autocratic regimes and less developed countries should be treated with more caution. The paper further highlights the importance of independent surveillance data verification projects.
Effects of pulse parameters on the temperature distribution of a human head exposed to the electromagnetic pulse
Authors: Wang Shan , Song Zhongguo , Yuan Yanning , Guo Guozhen , Kang Jianjun 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe presence of blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle to effectively deliver therapeutics to the central nervous system (CNS); hence, the outcomes following treatment of CNS diseases remain unsatisfactory. Fortunately, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) provide a non-invasive method to locally open the BBB. To obtain the optimal pulse parameters of EMP-induced BBB opening to ensure the effective delivery of CNS drugs, it is particularly important to measure and assess the effects of pulse parameters on the temperature distribution in the human head exposed to EMPs. In this paper, the specific anthropomorphic mannequin phantom was adopted and the temperature increase in the human head induced by EMPs of different parameters was estimated in the software “COMSOL Multiphysics”. The results show that the temperature distribution profiles with different EMP parameters have almost similar characteristics, the highest temperature increase values in the human head are positively correlated with variations of EMP parameters, and potential hazards to the human head may occur when EMP parameters exceed the safety threshold, which will provide theoretical basis for seeking the optimal EMP parameters to open the BBB to the greatest extent within a safe range.