bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of soils in regulation of freshwater and coastal water quality
Authors: Cheng Kun , Xu Xiangrui , Cui Liqiang , Li Yunpeng , Zheng Jufeng , Wu Wenao , Sun Jianfei , Pan Genxing 
Published: August 2021

Water quality regulation is an important ecosystem service function of soil. In this study, the mechanism by which soil regulates water quality was reviewed, and the effects of soil management on water quality were explored. A scientometrics analysis was also conducted to explore the research fields and hotspots of water quality regulation of soil in the past 5 years. This review found that the pollutants entering the soil can be mitigated by precipitation, adsorption and desorption, ion exchange, redox and metabolic decomposition. As an optimal substrate, soil in constructed wetlands has perfect performance in the adsorption and passivation of pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals in water, and degradation of pesticides and emerging contaminants. Mangrove wetlands play an important role in coastal zone protection and coastal water quality restoration. However, the excessive application of agricultural chemicals causes soil overload, which leads to the occurrence of agricultural non-point source pollution. Under the dual pressures of climate change and food insecurity in the future, developing environmentally friendly and economically feasible sustainable soil management measures is crucial for maintaining the water purification function of soil by relying on the accurate quantification of soil function based on big data and modelling.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.
The role of soil in the contribution of food and feed
Authors: Silver W. L. , Perez T. , Mayer A. , Jones A. R. 
Published: August 2021

Soils play a critical role in the production of food and feed for a growing global population. Here, we review global patterns in soil characteristics, agricultural production and the fate of embedded soil nutrients. Nitrogen- and organic-rich soils supported the highest crop yields, yet the efficiency of nutrient utilization was concentrated in regions with lower crop productivity and lower rates of chemical fertilizer inputs. Globally, soil resources were concentrated in animal feed, resulting in large inefficiencies in nutrient utilization and losses from the food system. Intercontinental transport of soil-derived nutrients displaced millions of tonnes of nitrogen and phosphorus annually, much of which was ultimately concentrated in urban waste streams. Approximately 40% of the global agricultural land area was in small farms providing over 50% of the world's food and feed needs but yield gaps and economic constraints limit the ability to intensify production on these lands. To better use and protect soil resources in the global food system, policies and actions should encourage shifts to more nutrient-efficient diets, strategic intensification and technological improvement, restoration and maintenance of soil fertility and stability, and enhanced resilience in the face of global change.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.
Earth as construction material in the circular economy context: practitioner perspectives on barriers to overcome
Authors: Morel Jean-Claude , Charef Rabia , Hamard Erwan , Fabbri Antonin , Beckett Chris , Bui Quoc-Bao 
Published: August 2021

The need for a vast quantity of new buildings to address the increase in population and living standards is opposed to the need for tackling global warming and the decline in biodiversity. To overcome this twofold challenge, there is a need to move towards a more circular economy by widely using a combination of alternative low-carbon construction materials, alternative technologies and practices. Soils or earth were widely used by builders before World War II, as a primary resource to manufacture materials and structures of vernacular architecture. Centuries of empirical practices have led to a variety of techniques to implement earth, known as rammed earth, cob and adobe masonry among others. Earth refers to local soil with a variable composition but at least containing a small percentage of clay that would simply solidify by drying without any baking. This paper discusses why and how earth naturally embeds high-tech properties for sustainable construction. Then the potential of earth to contribute to addressing the global challenge of modern architecture and the need to re-think building practices is also explored. The current obstacles against the development of earthen architecture are examined through a survey of current earth building practitioners in Western Europe. A literature review revealed that, surprisingly, only technical barriers are being addressed by the scientific community; two-thirds of the actual barriers identified by the interviewees are not within the technical field and are almost entirely neglected in the scientific literature, which may explain why earthen architecture is still a niche market despite embodying all the attributes of the best construction material to tackle the current climate and economic crisis.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.
The role of soils in learning and inspiration, physical and psychological experiences, and in supporting identities
Authors: McElwee Pamela 
Published: August 2021

This paper reviews the literature on soil and nature's contributions to people (NCP) around learning and inspiration, physical and psychological experiences, and supporting identities, revealing a range of relationships to imagining, understanding and experiencing soil. Often labelled elsewhere as ‘cultural ecosystem services’, these NCP provide a range of benefits that are mostly non-material, non-consumptive and intangible. The review finds that NCP framings help to highlight how soils have contributed to inspiring learning and creative works, like art; to mental and physical health benefits, such as through recreation and gardening; and to cultural identities and practices, including religious practices and efforts for social justice. Overall, soils have played a large role in human creative endeavours, are the root of significant relationships to the environment and can be conceptualized through key metaphors, ideas and theory as a bridge linking culture and nature together. Yet despite the wide-ranging contributions of soils to these NCP, the literature remains uneven and much more remains to be understood, including how relational values of care and stewardship with soils can be fostered and how attention to the co-produced ‘biosocial’ nature of soil can help improve practices for soil health.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.
Soil-derived Nature's Contributions to People and their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Smith Pete , Keesstra Saskia D. , Silver Whendee L. , Adhya Tapan K. , De Deyn Gerlinde B. , Carvalheiro Luísa G. , Giltrap Donna L. , Renforth Phil , Cheng Kun , Sarkar Binoy , Saco Patricia M. , Scow Kate , Smith Jo , Morel Jean-Claude , Thiele-Bruhn Sören , Lal Rattan , McElwee Pam 
Published: August 2021

This special issue provides an assessment of the contribution of soils to Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). Here, we combine this assessment and previously published relationships between NCP and delivery on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to infer contributions of soils to the SDGs. We show that in addition to contributing positively to the delivery of all NCP, soils also have a role in underpinning all SDGs. While highlighting the great potential of soils to contribute to sustainable development, it is recognized that poorly managed, degraded or polluted soils may contribute negatively to both NCP and SDGs. The positive contribution, however, cannot be taken for granted, and soils must be managed carefully to keep them healthy and capable of playing this vital role. A priority for soil management must include: (i) for healthy soils in natural ecosystems,protectthem from conversion and degradation; (ii) for managed soils,managein a way to protect and enhance soil biodiversity, health and sustainability and to prevent degradation; and (iii) for degraded soils, restore to full soil health. We have enough knowledge now to move forward with the implementation of best management practices to maintain and improve soil health. This analysis shows that this is not just desirable, it is essential if we are to meet the SDG targets by 2030 and achieve sustainable development more broadly in the decades to come.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People’.
Removal of the race coefficient and adjustment to individual BSA provide the most accurate estimation for GFR in Black adolescents
Authors: Bielopolski D , Bentur O , Singh N , Vaughan R , Charytan DM , Kost RG , Tobin JN 
Published: August 2021

AbstractIntroductionObesity is more prevalent among minorities, increasing the risk for cardio-renal morbidity. We explored interactions between race, body mass index (BMI), and the risk of hyperfiltration associated with Obesity Related Glomerulopathy (ORG).MethodsWe created a cohort of women and girls ages 12-21 from the New York Metropolitan area using electronic health records. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated in three ways: I) using the standard age recommended formulae, II) eGFRr – without a race-specific coefficient, and III) Absolute eGFRr – combing removal of the race coefficient and adjusting to individual body surface area. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the relative contribution of risk factors for ORG associated hyperfiltration, defined by a threshold of ≥135ml/min/1.73m2. Bland Altman analysis and Pearson’s coefficient assessed the correlation of each formula with creatinine clearance (CrCl).Results7315 Black and 15,102 non-Black women and girls had simultaneous evaluation of kidney function and body measures. CrCl was available in 207 non-Black and 107 Black individuals as an internal validation. Simultaneous removal of the race coefficient and adjustment to individual BSA estimated GFR most accurately compared to CrCl, across BMI groups and between races. Hyperfiltration was more frequent in obese Black compared to non-Black individuals when using standard eGFR (20% vs. 6.5% respectively) but had a lower frequency after eliminating the race-specific coefficient (4.5% vs. 6.5%). Black race was independently associated with a higher risk of hyperfiltration with standard eGFR calculations (OR=3.43, 95% CI 2.95-3.99) and with lower risk when estimated by eGFRr (OR=0.56, 95% CI 0.45-0.70). Simultaneous removal of the race coefficient from GFR calculation and adjustment to individual BSA attenuated the difference in risk between races (OR=0.8, 95% CI 0.68-0.94). The combined correction agreed well with creatinine clearance (Pearson’s correlation coefficient r=0.64, 0.52 and 0.52 for absolute eGFRr, eGFR and eGFRr respectively.ConclusionsRemoval of the race coefficient from GFR estimating equations obscures obesity associated hyperfiltration among Black adolescents. This correction should be accompanied by adjustment to individual BSA to improve estimation of GFR to avoid misclassification of obesity related hyperfiltration.
CandyCodes: Simple universally unique edible identifiers for confirming the authenticity of pharmaceuticals
Authors: Grover William H. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCounterfeit or substandard medicines adversely affect the health of millions of people and cost an estimated $200 billion USD annually. Their burden is greatest in developing countries, where the World Health Organization estimates that one in ten medical products are fake. In this work, I describe a simple addition to the existing drug manufacturing process that imparts an edible universally unique physical identifier to each pill, tablet, capsule, caplet, etc. This technique uses nonpareils (also called sprinkles and “hundreds and thousands”), tiny inexpensive multicolor candy spheres that are normally added to other candies or desserts as decorations. If nonpareils are applied at random to a pill immediately after manufacture, the specific pattern they form is unlikely to ever be repeated by random chance; this means that the pattern (or “CandyCode”) can be used to uniquely identify the pill and distinguish it from all other pills. By taking a photograph of each CandyCoded pill after manufacture and recording the location and color of each nonpareil, a manufacturer can construct a database containing the CandyCodes of all known-authentic pills they produce. A consumer can then simply use a cellphone to photograph a pill and transfer its image to the manufacturer’s server, which determines whether the pill’s CandyCode matches a known-good CandyCode in their database (meaning that the pill is authentic) or does not have a match in the database (in which case the consumer is warned that the pill may be counterfeit and should not be consumed). To demonstrate the feasibility of using random particles as universal identifiers, I performed a series of experiments using both real CandyCodes (on commercially produced chocolate candies) and simulated CandyCodes (generated by software). I also developed a simple method for converting a CandyCode photo to a set of strings for convenient storage and retrieval in a database. Even after subjecting CandyCodes to rough handling to simulate shipping conditions, the CandyCodes were still easily verifiable using a cellphone camera. A manufacturer could produce at least 1017CandyCoded pills—41 million for each person on Earth—and still be able to uniquely identify each CandyCode. By providing universally-unique IDs that are easy to manufacture but hard to counterfeit, require no alteration of the existing drug formation and minimal alteration of the manufacturing process, and need only a cameraphone for verification, CandyCodes could play an important role in the fight against fraud in pharmaceuticals and many other products.
Finding effective therapeutic approaches for motor rehabilitation after stroke: Insights from a thematic analysis
Authors: Ranganathan Rajiv , Doherty Carson , Gussert Michael , Kaplinski Eva , Koje Mary , Krishnan Chandramouli 
Published: August 2021

AbstractDespite tremendous advances in the treatment and management of stroke, restoring motor and functional outcomes after stroke continues to be a major clinical challenge. Given the wide range of approaches used in motor rehabilitation, several commentaries have highlighted the lack of a clear scientific premise for different interventions as one critical factor that has led to suboptimal study outcomes. To examine this issue in greater detail, we conducted a thematic analysis of randomized controlled trials in stroke rehabilitation over a 2-year period from 2019-2020. Our results revealed three primary findings: (i) most studies did not provide an explicit rationale for why the treatment would be expected to work, (ii) there was not a close correspondence between the active ingredients mentioned versus the active ingredients measured in the study, and (iii) multimodal approaches that involved more than one therapeutic approach tended to be combined in an ad-hoc fashion, indicating the lack of a targeted approach. These results highlight the need for strengthening cross-disciplinary connections between basic science and clinical studies, and the need for structured development and testing of therapeutic approaches to find more effective treatment interventions.
Playing the Harmonica with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A qualitative study
Authors: Lewis A , Conway J , Middleton J , Startup C , Wyatt J 
Published: August 2021

AbstractIntroductionPulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is the gold standard, group-based intervention for individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However, accessibility and adherence to PR is sub-optimal. Arts in Health interventions also improve health outcomes for people living with long term conditions. Playing the harmonica with COPD could be clinically beneficial. However, little is known about the patient experiences of playing the harmonica.MethodsA qualitative, interpretivist, phenomenological study was undertaken, exploring COPD patient experiences of harmonica playing with a group of others living with chronic respiratory disease. Semi-structured interviews were completed, transcribed, and reflexive inductive thematic analysis performed.ResultsEight people with COPD were interviewed. Thematic analysis generated five themes. Themes included “Hard in the beginning”, “Holding the condition”, “Breathing control”, “Gives you a high” and “Needing the Zoom class”. Playing the harmonica with COPD is difficult at first, particularly drawing a breath through the harmonica. With practice, experience in a fun activity, and quality teaching, individuals were able to become more attuned and embodied with their breathing. As breathing became easier the songs, rather than breathing, became the focus, and participants were able to escape living with respiratory disease when playing. The group was a priority in the weekly lives of participants, even though the buzz of being part of a group was lost.DiscussionPlaying the harmonica requires a different way of breathing and offers a breathing control strategy. Participants also reported the harmonica helped airway clearance and enabled a continued, regular social interaction through COVID-19. The results of this study compliment previous quantitative results and are relevant to physiotherapy. Further mechanistic studies and randomised controlled trials are needed to investigate the biopsychosocial benefits of playing the harmonica with COPD.
Booster and anergic effects of the Covishield vaccine among healthcare workers in South India
Authors: Kannian Priya , Mahanathi Pasuvaraj , Ashwini Veeraraghavan , Kumarasamy Nagalingeswaran 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCovishield (same as ChAdOx1) vaccine was rolled out in January 2021 against SARS-CoV2 in India. Although studies show good efficacy after two doses, there is limited data on the fate of the elicited antibody responses over time in groups with or without prior exposure to SARS-CoV2. Therefore, in this study we proposed to test naïve or previously exposed healthcare workers (HCWs) longitudinally after both doses for anti-SARS-CoV2 spike antibody (ASSA) levels. Serum samples were collected from 205 HCWs at days 14 and 28 after first dose, and at days 14, 28 and 3-months after second dose. ASSA levels were quantitated by ECLIA method. Non-responder rate was 17% (35/205) on day 14 and 2% (5/205) on day 28 after the first dose. After the second dose, the responder rate was 100%. Non-responder rate was significantly higher among males (p<0.00001) and senior citizens (p=0.008). The second dose boosted a 27-fold increase in the COVID-19 naïve (CN) group, but caused a 1.5-fold decline in the previously exposed groups. By three months, the antibody levels declined 3-4-folds in all the groups. In spite of high antibody levels (GM-1007 U/ml) after the second dose, 14% developed mild breakthrough infections (BTI). The booster effect was significantly higher when given 10-14 weeks later. The responder rate for Covishield was 98% after first dose and 100% after second dose. The vaccine elicited a prime-boost effect in CN HCWs and a boost-anergy effect in the previously exposed HCWs. ASSA levels began to decline proportionately by three months.
HIF1alpha Cardioprotection in COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Wang Bingyan J. , Vadakke-Madathil Sangeetha , Croft Lori B. , Brody Rachel I. , Chaudhry Hina W. 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACTImportanceSARS-CoV-2 infection directly causes severe acute respiratory illness, leading to systemic tissue hypoxia and ischemia including the heart. Myocardial cytopathy associated with hypoxic response has been largely overlooked in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, histology analysis and cardiac function of COVID-19 cases are often reported separately, rendering an incomplete understanding of COVID-19 cardiac symptoms.ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between myocardial cellular responses to hypoxic stress versus cardiac functional alterations within the same COVID-19 patients.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsCellular hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 alpha (HIF1α) expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using post-mortem COVID-19 heart and lung tissues with known cardiac echocardiography records from a total of 8 patients. Clinical echocardiography data were obtained from Mount Sinai Heart between March to December, 2020. All gender and age groups were considered as long as cardiac involvement meets the preserved (EF > 50%) or moderate to severe (EF < 45%) criteria with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cell-type specific subcellular localization of HIF1α expression and nuclear stability was examined by immunohistochemistry and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to quantify apoptosis.Main Outcomes and MeasuresNo planned outcomes of this study as this is a retrospective analysis based on post-mortem specimens exclusively.ResultsCardiac HIF1α expression was found to be significantly higher in patients with preserved EF levels than it was in the low EF group. In the preserved EF group, HIF1α is protective against apoptosis predominantly in endothelial cells and cardiac fibroblasts. In the low EF group, HIF1α protects cardiomyocyte nuclear integrity as evident by its nuclear accumulation with nuclear envelope preservation.Conclusions and RelevanceThis study establishes a direct link of cardiac cellular responses to hypoxic stress with matching functional and histological data, serving as one of the first studies to bridge previous stand-alone clinical data and cellular data. The protective role of HIF1α in hearts may help predict cardiac involvement in not only COVID-19 patients, but also decipher the underlying mechanisms in other forms of viral cardiomyopathy.KEY POINTSQuestionAre hypoxic signaling pathways associated with cardiac functional alterations in COVID-19 patients?FindingsCardiac HIF1α expression of COVID-19 patients with EF>50% or EF<45% was analyzed and quantified. Increased cardiac HIF1α+ cells were found in patients with higher EF. HIF1α+ endothelial cells are resistant to apoptosis, and HIF1α+ cardiomyocytes are able to retain nuclear envelope under hypoxic stress.MeaningHIF1α is cardioprotective in hearts of COVID-19 patients.