bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of Data-Driven Techniques For Landslide Susceptibility Prediction Along An Earthquake Affected Road Section in Kashmir Himalaya
Authors: Gardezi Syed Ahsan Hussain , Usmani Nadeem Ahmad , Chen Xiao-qing , Ikram Nawaz , Ahmad Sajjad , Wani Saad 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The interaction of seismic events with geo-environmental conditions and anthropogenic activities may exacerbate the risk of landslide hazard in a mountainous region. As an example of this, 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered a large number of shallow to deep slope failures, which was further intensified in following years by human activities notably along road networks, posing a long-term hazard. Hence, this study was planned to evaluate the effectiveness of landslide susceptibility prediction along earthquake affected road-section of Neelum Highway using six different data-driven models. We applied analytical hierarchy process as heuristic approach, weight of evidence and index of entropy as statistical models and multi-layer perceptron, support vector machine and binary logistic regression (BLR) as machine learning models. Initially, 224 landslides locations were marked through field surveys to prepare landslide inventory which was further randomly divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) datasets. Then, 13 landslide causative factors (LCFs) were extracted from geo-spatial database and analysed by measuring collinearity among factors and assessing their contribution in landslide occurrence using different feature selection methods for inclusion in susceptibility modelling. Thereafter, six employed models were trained to produced landslide susceptibility maps of investigated road-section. Finally, the area under receiver operating characteristics (AU-ROC) curve and various statistical measures were applied to validate and compare the performance of modeled landslide susceptibility. The results revealed that no collinearity issue exists among all 13 LCFs, and all six models exhibited satisfying performance in predicting landslide susceptibility of study area. However, BLR model have produced most promising and optimum results as compared to other models with AU-ROC (0.881), Matthew’s correlation coefficient (0.609), Kappa coefficient (0.604), accuracy (0.797) and F-score (0.787). The outcomes of this study can be used as pertinent guide for preventing and managing the landslide disaster risk along Neelum Highway and beyond.
Molecular Docking Study and ADMET Profile: Manipulation of Angiotensin II Pathophysiology in COVID-19 by Potentilla Reptans Root Compounds
Authors: Enayati Ayesheh , Mirzaei Hassan , Khori Vahid , Jabbari Ali , Salehi Aref , Soltani Alireza 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
In the novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a global emergency event, the main reason of the cardiac injury from COVID-19 is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) targeting in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The inhibition of ACE2 induces an increase in the angiotensin II (Ang II) and the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) leading to impaired cardiac function or cardiac inflammatory responses. The ethyl acetate fraction of Potentilla reptans L. root can rescue heart dysfunction, oxidative stress, cardiac arrhythmias and apoptosis. Therefore, isolated components of P. reptans evaluated to identify natural anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents via molecular docking. In silico molecular docking study were carried out using the Auto Dock software on the isolated compounds of Potentilla reptans root. The protein targets of selective ACE and others obtained from Protein Data Bank (PDB). The best binding pose between amino acid residues involved in active site of the targets and compounds was discovered via molecular docking. Furthermore, ADMET properties of the compounds were evaluated. The triterpenoids of P. reptans showed more ACE inhibitory potential than catechin in both domains. They were selective on the nACE domain, especially compound 5. Also, the compound 5 & 6 had the highest binding affinity toward active site of nACE, cACE, AT1R, ACE2, and TNF-α receptors. Meanwhile, compound 3 showed more activity to inhibit TXA2. Drug likeness and ADMET analysis showed that the compounds passed the criteria of drug likeness and Lipinski rules. The current study depicted that P. reptans root showed cardioprotective effect in COVID-19 infection and manipulation of angiotensin II-induced side effects.
Influence of Aerosols on Atmospheric Gravity Waves at an Urban Tropical Location
Authors: Jana Soumyajyoti , Rakshit Gargi , Maitra Animesh 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The elevated layer of heat-absorbing pollutant aerosols causes temperature perturbations in the pre-monsoon period above the boundary layer height (1.6-4 km) as observed over a polluted tropical urban location Kolkata (22°34' N, 88°22' E) during 2007-2016. Satellite observations of different types of aerosols show an increase in aerosol extinction coefficient around 1.6-4 km altitude, enhancing the perturbations in both temperature and wind profiles at that height. The opposing air mass movement within and above the boundary layer, which is strengthened by elevated heat-absorbing aerosols, is illustrated by height profiles of atmospheric vorticity and divergence. This results in higher Brunt-Vaisala frequencies indicating increased atmospheric oscillations. Consequently, atmospheric gravity waves, which manifest the temperature and wind profile perturbations, have enhanced energy in the upper troposphere (6-10 km). Based on multi- technique observations consisting of radiosonde, space-borne lidar and model data, this study reveals the interactions between aerosol and other atmospheric processes such as temperature variations and wind perturbations, which affect the atmospheric instability and increase gravity wave activities during the pre-monsoon period over a tropical metropolis.
Molecular Epidemiology and Genetic Evolution of Canine Parvovirus Type 2 in Diarrheic Dogs in Serbia From 2008 To 2020
Authors: Milicevic Vesna , Glisic Dimitrije , Sapundzic Zorana Zurovac , Ninkovic Milan , Milovanovic Bojan , Veljovic Ljubisa , Kureljusic Branislav 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Canine Parvovirus 2 (CPV2) is a causal agent of an infectious disease with the highest fatality rate among dogs. However, in Serbia, it has never been investigated thoroughly. This study was conducted on samples originating from dogs with diarrhea in anamnesis, stored in the sample bank, submitted for various reasons to the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of Serbia. In total, 50 rectal swab samples were collected from the period 2008 to 2020, and consequently tested. Out of 50 rectal swab samples, the CPV2 genome was detected in 14 (28%). This retrospective study showed the presence of three different variants of CPV2 in diarrheic dogs during the last 12 years in Serbia. CPV2a was the most prevalent variant (60%) followed by CPV2b (30%), and CPV2c (10%). Interestingly, CPV2a had been the predominantly detected variant up until 2018. Nevertheless in 2019, there was the first detected occurrence of the CPV2b variant, followed by the first detection of the CPV2c in 2020. This study reports the evidence and distribution of CPV2 throughout the time-lapse from 2008 to 2020, providing new information about the presence and the prevalence of virus strains in Serbia.
An Efficient and Easy Micro-propagation of Reseda Lutea (Resedaceae) a Rare and Medicinally Valuable Plant of Saudi Arabia
Authors: AL-QURAINY FAHAD , ALANSI SALEH , KHAN SALIM , NADEEM MOHAMMAD , AL-SHAMERI AREF , TARROUM MOHAMED , GAAFAR ABDEL-RHMAN Z. , AL-FARRAJ NORA 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The goal of this work was to look at the propagation of Reseda lutea L. by organogenesis in tissue culture. Explants from in vitro grown seedlings were taken from the axillary bud. After seven days of culture on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l BA, the adventitious buds developed. After three weeks of culturing on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg/l BA, the maximum multiplication of shoots (16.12 shoots/explant) was discovered, with an average (7.37 cm) shoots/explant. These shoots were sub-cultured on MS media with varying concentrations of NAA and IBA for root initiation. The MS medium combined with IBA produced the greatest percentage of root development (92%) and the greatest number of roots (7.37 roots/plant). In MS media supplemented with 0.5 NAA, the longest roots (3.08 cm) were found. After 17 days in a glasshouse, the plantlets were acclimatized in pots containing Peat moss and pearlite, 98 percent of the plantlets were acclimatized. To get a plant in a pot, the complete procedure took about 75 days. The technique proposed could aid in the preservation of the plant both in vivo and in vitro.
Study on the effect of Koumiss on the intestinal flora of mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Yan Xinlei , Han Wenying , Jin Xindong , Sun Yufei , Gao Jialu , Yu Xiuli , Guo Jun 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide food-borne parasite that can infect almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans. To date, there are no effective drugs to prevent or eradicate T. gondii infection. Recent studies have shown that probiotics could influence the relationship between the microbiota and parasites in the host. Koumiss has been used to treat many diseases based on its probiotic diversity. Therefore, we explored the effect of koumiss on T. gondii infection via its effect on the host intestinal flora. BALB/c mice were infected with T. gondii and treated with PBS, koumiss and mares’ milk. Brain cysts were counted, and long-term changes in the microbiota and the effect of koumiss on gut flora were investigated with high-throughput sequencing technology. The results suggested that koumiss treatment significantly decreased the cyst counts in the brain (P < 0.05). Moreover, T. gondii infection changed the microbiota composition, and koumiss treatment increased the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Akkermansia muciniphila, which were associated with preventing T. gondii infection. Moreover, koumiss could inhibit or ameliorate T. gondii infection by increasing the abundance of certain bacteria that control unique metabolic pathways. The study not only established a close interaction among the host, intracellular pathogens and intestinal flora but also provided a novel focus for drug development to prevent and eradicate T. gondii infection.
Characterization of Spatio-temporal Trends in Long-term Rainfall of Three Weather Stations in Benin: Implications for Agricultural Decision Making.
Authors: WABI Moudjahid Akorédé , Vanhove Wouter , Idohou Rodrigue , Hounkpèvi Achille , Kakaï Romain Lucas Glèlè , Damme Patrick Van 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
A better understanding of rainfall variability and trends is vital for agricultural production systems. This study evaluates the spatio-temporal variability and trends in annual, seasonal and daily rainfall in Benin. Daily rainfall data for the 1970-2016 period measured at three weather stations (Savè, Malanville, and Tanguiéta) were obtained from the Benin National Weather Agency. Descriptive statistics, standardized anomaly of rainfall (SAR) and rainfall intensity were used to analyze rainfall variability. For rainfall trends analysis, we tested for auto-correlation and used the Mann-Kendall and Modified Mann-Kendall tests for non-auto-correlated and auto-correlated data, respectively. Trend magnitude was estimated using Sen’s slope. Globally a moderate-to-high seasonal rainfall and low variability of yearly rainfall were observed. The SAR indicated more than 50% of the years in the studies period experienced dry years. Between 1970 and 2016, a significant 20 % increase was observed in the yearly rainfall in Tanguiéta whereas no significant trends were observed in Malanville (10% increase) and Savè (0.6% decrease). The general rainfall increase observed during the post-monsoon season (October to November) in the three weather stations potentially increases flood frequencies during the harvest period of some crops, which can reduce crop yields. The changes in the pre-monsoon season (March to May) and monsoon season (June to September) were not globally uniform and can have positive/negative impact on agriculture, certainly when no adaptation strategies are applied. These findings are essential to the resilience building and climate risk management in agriculture which is largely dependent on weather conditions.
“Right Ventricle Speckle Tracking in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: One Year Follow Up”
Authors: Clavero-Adell Marcos , Palanca-Arias Daniel , López-Ramón Marta , Jiménez-Montañés Lorenzo , Serrano-Viñuales Itziar , Rite-Gracia Segundo , Ayerza-Casas Ariadna 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Purpose: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is still a main problem in preterm infants. The screening of secondary right ventricle (RV) failure concern neonatologist and pediatric cardiologists. Measurements of right ventricle deformation through speckle tracking analysis in echocardiography could help to early diagnosis.Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was carried out over 28 months at a tertiary care pediatric cardiology reference center. Under 32 weeks’ pre-term infants were eligible for the study. Twenty-eight days after birth, all enrolled patients were included in one group: no bronchopulmonary dysplasia (NO-BPD) or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). At 36 PMA, BPD patients were included in one group according to severity categorization (mild, moderate, severe). At three time points echocardiogram measurements were performed. Right ventricle strain was studied using speckle tracking analysis and it was compared with classical function parameters between groups and along time. Results: Fifty patients were enrolled in the study, 22 on NO-BPD group and 28 on BPD group (16 mild, 8 moderate, 4 severe). RV strain showed no statistical differences between groups. However, BDP group showed worse RV function than NO-BPD group, both in speckle tracking analysis and in classical parameters. During de follow-up, an improvement trend is shown in RV strain. Conclusions: RV longitudinal strain and strain rate derived by speckle tracking is feasible in preterm infants. Although it seems to be a good correlation between RV strain and BPD severity, authors cannot conclude it. More studies should be carried out to investigate the optimum echocardiographic screening model of RV dysfunction in BPD patients.
Patient Reported Experience of Clinical Care of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Smyth Debra , Hytiris Monica , Kelday Coreen , McDonnell Ciara , Burren Christine , Gardner Adrian , Mills Lisa , Parekh Susan , Semler Joerg , Stewart Angie , Westerheim Inguun , Javaid Kassim , Osborne Patricia , Ahmed Syed Faisal 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background Research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with rare diseases is limited. Few studies compare healthcare throughout the progression of the ongoing pandemic.Aims To assess the impact of lockdown on individuals with OI (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) across two consecutive years of the pandemic, to understand what challenges were encountered, and to analyse the experience of remote consultation.Methods Two independent surveys were distributed in August 2020 and April 2021. The primary survey was distributed following the first lockdown, and the second survey built on the experiences reported from the initial survey. The surveys explored four key themes- effects on therapy, alternatives to consultation, effect on mental health, and perceived risks of COVID-19.Results In the primary 2020 survey of the 110 respondents 69 (63%) had at least one appointment delayed due to lockdown, increasing to 89 of the 124 respondents (72%) in the follow-up survey. Of the 110 initial survey participants, 57 (52%) had a remote consultation, increasing to 92 of 124 (74%) in the follow-up survey. In the primary survey 63 of 91 (69%) expressed increasing anxiety due to lockdown, compared with 76 of 124 (61%) in the follow-up survey. In the primary survey 12 of 91 respondents (13%) expressed concerns at not seeing friends and family compared with 103 of 124 (83%) in the follow-up survey. In the second survey of 124 participants there were concerns regarding weight and diet (55, 44%), mobility (70, 56%), pain (71, 57%), and keeping physically active (89, 72%). The majority of participants felt they would have a worse illness and require longer rehabilitation than someone without OI (81 of 117 respondents, and 77 of 120 respectively), and the majority of participants (68%) had been vaccinated at the time of the second survey.Conclusions The pandemic has had widespread effects on both the mental and physical health of those with OI. These repercussions are likely to be felt for years to come. On the other hand, the pandemic has also revealed that in certain situations remote consultation may prove a viable long-lasting alternative to face-to-face appointments.
MicroRNA Candidate Biomarkers for Parkinson’s Disease and Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
Authors: Wu Ligang , Liu Jun , Li Yuanyuan , Cao Ying , Liu Wei , Zhang Hongdao , Zhao Aonan , Luo Ningdi 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD), a severe neurodegenerative disorder, and idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a parasomnia recognized as the prodromal stage of synucleinopathies (including PD), both lack reliable, non-invasive biomarker tests for early intervention and management. Objectives: To investigate whether plasma extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated sncRNAs could discriminate PD and/or iRBD patients from healthy individuals.Methods: We optimized a cDNA library construction method, EVsmall-seq, for high throughput sequencing of sncRNAs associated with plasma EVs. We profiled EV-sncRNAs from the plasma of 60 normal controls, 56 iRBD patients, and 53 PD patients, and constructed a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to identify the informative miRNA features to distinguish PD and/or iRBD patients from healthy individuals. Results: First, a sixteen-miRNA signature was found to distinguish PD patients from healthy individuals with 88% sensitivity, 90.43% specificity, and 89.13% accuracy. Second, a three-miRNA signature was found to distinguish iRBD patients from healthy individuals with 96% sensitivity, 86.36% specificity, and 91.49% accuracy. Third, tweenty 20 miRNAs were found consistently increased or decreased in expression from healthy subjects to iRBD to PD patients, which might be linked to PD development through iRBD.Conclusions: Current study provides a valuable and highly informative dataset of EV-associated sncRNAs from plasma of iRBD and PD patients. We identified miRNA signature features that could serve as minimally-invasive, blood-based surveillance biomarkers for distinguishing iRBD or PD from healthy individuals with high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.
Variation in the Accuracy of Endpoint Selection in Clinical Studies for Rare Diseases in Respect of Increasing Knowledge on Disease-Severity Measurement
Authors: Jandhyala Ravi 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background: Previous research assessed the accuracy of disease-severity measurement in clinical studies as a mathematical relationship between the set of endpoints selected and the disease-severity scale (DSS), a surrogate for the theoretical Neutral list of indicators representing the disease phenotype. New DSSs are continually developed, so clinical studies’ operationalisation of the Neutral list and resulting relative neutrality may vary over time. We assessed variation in the neutrality of clinical studies over time and the probability of false positive and false negative classifications at different disease prevalence rates.Methods: We used search strings extracted from the Orphanet Register of Rare Diseases using a proprietary algorithm to conduct a systematic review of studies published until January 2021 per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Overall, 483 studies and 12 rare diseases met inclusion criteria. We extracted all indicators from clinical studies and calculated neutrality and its components, sensitivity and specificity, as well as the probability of misclassifications at 20%, 50% and 80% disease prevalence rates at two time points, the times of publication of the first and last DSS. Surrogate Neutral lists were the first DSS and a composite of all later DSSs.Results: Over time, the neutrality of clinical studies increased for six diseases and decreased for five diseases, driven by sensitivity for all but Friedreich ataxia. The neutrality of clinical studies in encephalitis decreased, but sensitivity remained constant at zero. At both timepoints, the likely false negative rate increased and the likely false positive rate decreased with increasing disease prevalence. The probability that the least neutral clinical study for most diseases would yield a false positive result was equal to one at all disease prevalence rates. Conclusions: The potential for accurate clinical trial disease-severity measurement increases over time. Neutral theory showed that endpoint selection and DSSs may need improvement in Charcot Marie Tooth disease, Gaucher disease Type I, Huntington’s disease, Sjogren’s syndrome and Tourette syndrome. Using Neutral theory to benchmark disease-severity measurement in rare disease clinical trials may reduce the risk of misclassification, ensuring that recruitment and treatment effect assessment optimise medicine adoption and benefit patients.
Design, Manufacture and Experimental Characterization of Magnetorheological Rotary Brake Based on an Peristaltic Pump System
Authors: Korona Tomasz , Kowol Pawel , SCIUTO GRAZIA LO 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
In this article the design and manufacture of the innovative MR rotary brake based on peristaltic pump inspired by the concept model of the pliers and the Rochester Pean forceps are presented .
For the calculation and analysis of created structure comprehensive of roller, housing and pliers, simulations concerning the stress and strain are conducted to investigate the deformation and possible failure of part or assembly.
Experimental tests including measurements of compression force and magnetic field were conducted to evaluate the performance of proposed designed MR rotary brake based on peristaltic pump system constituted by tube containing MR fluid and pliers with arm responsible of the movement and arm completely hold on bench vise
Synapsin III Controls Early Phases of Dopaminergic Neurons Development in Fishes and Mammals by Acting Upstream of BDNF and Cdk5 Signaling
Authors: Faustini Gaia , Longhena Francesca , Muscò Alessia , Bono Federica , Parrella Edoardo , Via Luca La , Barbon Alessandro , Pizzi Marina , Onofri Franco , Benfenati Fabio , Missale Cristina , Memo Maurizio , Zizioli Daniela , Bellucci Arianna 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Polymorphisms in the Synapsin III (Syn III) gene can associate with attention deficits and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by alterations in the mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways. In spite of evidence supporting that Syn III controls the development of cortical and hippocampal short-projecting neurons, whether it plays a similar role in midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDN), owning extensively arborized long-distance multi-synaptic axonal projections, was unexplored. Our studies on mDN development in zebrafish embryos exposed to Syn III gene knock-down (KD), Syn III knock-out (ko) mice and Syn III-deleted human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived neurons disclose that Syn III governs early mDN developmental stages in fishes and mammals. Differently to what observed in cortical and hippocampal neurons, this Syn III function impinges on the upstream control of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-mediated and cAMP-dependent protein kinase 5 (Cdk5)-stimulated dendrite development. These findings have significant implications for deciphering the basis of ADHD.