bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The microbiology of rebuilding soils with water treatment residual co‐amendments: Risks and benefits
Authors: Stone Wendy , Lukashe Noxolo S. , Blake Lynsay I. , Gwandu Tariro , Hardie Ailsa G. , Quinton John , Johnson Karen , Clarke Catherine Elaine 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWater treatment residual (WTR) is composed of sludges from the potable water treatment process, currently largely destined for landfill. This waste can be diverted to rebuild degraded soils, aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Consumption and Production) and 15 (Terrestrial Ecosystems). Biosolids are tested against stringent pathogen guidelines, yet few studies have explored the microbial risk of WTR land application, despite anthropogenic impacts on water treatment. We explored the microbial risks and benefits of amending nutrient‐poor sandy soil with WTRs. Our results showed that the culturable pathogen load of wet and dry WTRs did not warrant pre‐processing before land application, according to South African national quality guidelines, with fecal coliforms not exceeding 104 colony forming units per gram dry weight in wet sludges sampled from four South African and Zimbabwean water treatment plants and decreasing upon drying and processing. There was no culturable pathogenic (fecal coliforms, enterococci, Salmonella, and Shigella) regrowth in soil incubations amended with dry WTR. However, the competition (microbial load and diversity) introduced by a WTR co‐amendment did not limit pathogen survival in soils amended with biosolids. Application of WTR to nutrient‐poor sandy soils for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth improved the prokaryotic and eukaryotic culturable cell concentrations, similar to compost. However, the compost microbiome more significantly affected the bacterial beta diversity of the receiving soil than WTR when analyzed with automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Thus, although there was a low pathogen risk for WTR amendment in receiving soils and total soil microbial loads were increased, microbial diversity was more significantly enhanced by compost than WTR.
Rectal indomethacin and diclofenac are equally efficient in preventing pancreatitis following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in average‐risk patients
Authors: Yu Shuang , Shen Xumu , Li Liang , Bi Xiaofei , Chen Ping , Wu Wei 
Published: August 2021

AbstractRectal indomethacin and diclofenac are promising drugs for prevention of post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP). However, their prophylactic effect on PEP in average‐risk patients remains controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of rectal indomethacin and diclofenac in average‐risk patients, and to indirectly compare the prophylactic effect of the two drugs. A comprehensive search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on rectal indomethacin or diclofenac for prophylaxis against PEP. Fixed‐ and random‐effects models weighted by the Mantel–Haenszel method were used for direct comparisons. The adjusted indirect treatment comparison method was used to indirectly compare the efficacy of indomethacin and diclofenac. A total of 10 RCTs, including 2928 patients, met our inclusion criteria. No significant publication bias was identified. Pooled estimates showed that rectal indomethacin and diclofenac were associated with a significant reduction in the overall risk of PEP compared with control intervention [relative risk (RR) = 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46–0.83] in average‐risk patients. Subgroup analyses showed that both rectal indomethacin (RR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.49–0.94) and diclofenac (RR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.23–0.75) were effective in the prevention of PEP. Indirect comparison showed no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two drugs in the prevention of PEP (RR = 1.607; 95% CI: 0.824–3.136). The updated meta‐analysis suggests that both drugs provide equivalent protection against PEP in average‐risk patients.
Post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome (PCS) and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL)—A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Malik Preeti , Patel Karan , Pinto Candida , Jaiswal Richa , Tirupathi Raghavendra , Pillai Shreejith , Patel Urvish 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThere is an established literature on the symptoms and complications of COVID‐19 but the after‐effects of COVID‐19 are not well understood with few studies reporting persistent symptoms and quality of life. We aim to evaluate the pooled prevalence of poor quality of life in post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome (PCS) and conducted meta‐regression to evaluate the effects of persistent symptoms and intensive care unit (ICU) admission on the poor quality of life. We extracted data from observational studies describing persistent symptoms and quality of life in post‐COVID‐19 patients from March 10, 2020, to March 10, 2021, following PRISMA guidelines with a consensus of two independent reviewers. We calculated the pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (CI) and created forest plots using random‐effects models. A total of 12 studies with 4828 PCS patients were included. We found that amongst PCS patients, the pooled prevalence of poor quality of life (EQ‐VAS) was (59%; 95% CI: 42%–75%). Based on individual factors in the EQ‐5D‐5L questionnaire, the prevalence of mobility was (36, 10–67), personal care (8, 1–21), usual quality (28, 2–65), pain/discomfort (42, 28–55), and anxiety/depression (38, 19–58). The prevalence of persistent symptoms was fatigue (64, 54–73), dyspnea (39.5, 20–60), anosmia (20, 15–24), arthralgia (24.3, 14–36), headache (21, 3–47), sleep disturbances (47, 7–89), and mental health (14.5, 4–29). Meta‐regression analysis showed the poor quality of life was significantly higher among post‐COVID‐19 patients with ICU admission (p = 0.004) and fatigue (p = 0.0015). Our study concludes that PCS is associated with poor quality of life, persistent symptoms including fatigue, dyspnea, anosmia, sleep disturbances, and worse mental health. This suggests that we need more research on PCS patients to understand the risk factors causing it and eventually leading to poor quality of life.
Comparative study of feature extraction and classification based on dispersion Lempel‐Ziv complexity
Authors: Jiao Shangbin , Geng Bo , Li Yuxing , Zhang Qing , Wang Qing , Li Yujun , Wang Wenqing 
Published: August 2021

AbstractAs an important complexity feature of signal, Lempel‐Ziv complexity (LZC) has the advantage of simple‐to‐calculate, but it ignores amplitude information, and has low sensitivity at low amplitude. Dispersion Lempel‐Ziv complexity (DLZC) is a recently proposed nonlinear dynamic method, it has the advantage of immunity to noise even at relatively large proportion of noise and has been used to describe different pathological states. In view of its good performance in the field of biomedicine, we introduce DLZC into the field of underwater acoustic and fault diagnosis, and propose a feature extraction method for ship and gear fault signals based on DLZC, then an intelligent classification method was proposed by combining DLZC with K‐Nearest Neighbor (KNN) to further verify the effectiveness of the proposed feature extraction method, termed DLZC‐KNN. We conducted comparative experiments on feature extraction and classification, respectively: for the feature extraction comparison experiment, we compared the proposed feature extraction method with other feature extraction methods, which are based on Lempel‐Ziv complexity (LZC), permutation entropy (PE), dispersion entropy (DE), and fluctuation‐based dispersion entropy (FDE); for the classification comparison experiment, we compare the impact of different features and different classifiers on the recognition rate and also discussed the influence of different parameters on the experiment. The results show that DLZC has a better representation of signal complexity, and the DLZC‐KNN classification method gets a higher recognition rate than other comparative methods both in the field of fault diagnosis and underwater acoustic.
Production of multienzyme by Bacillus aestuarii UE25 using ionic liquid pretreated sugarcane bagasse
Authors: Zafar Hani , Rehman Iqra , Ejaz Uroosa , Ansari Asma , Sohail Muhammad 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe utilization of sugarcane bagasse (SB) in fermentation requires pretreatment processes to render fermentable components available to microorganisms. Pretreatment by using ionic liquids (ILs) is considered promising but the high cost is an impediment in its adoption, therefore, a mixture of IL pretreated and untreated SB was utilized to obtain bacterial multienzyme under solid‐state fermentation (SSF). Bacillus aestuarii UE25, a thermophilic strain was utilized for that purpose. Fermentation conditions were optimized by adopting a central composite design. The model showed a good correlation between the predicted and the experimental values for amylase, xylanase, endoglucanase, and β‐glucosidase. Volumetric and specific productivity of xylanase (4580 IU ml−1 h−1, 244.25 IU mg−1 substrate, and 50 IU mg−1 protein) were higher than the other enzymes. Changes in lignin content and reduced cellulose crystallinity due to IL pretreatment, followed by fermentation, were visualized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Nuclear magnetic resonance. The strategy adopted by utilizing a mixture of IL pretreated and untreated SB under SSF proved promising to obtain high titers of different enzymes simultaneously. Since the bacterial strain used is thermophilic, therefore, the multienzyme can find its application in commercial processes which are carried out at high temperatures.
Effect of intermittent or continuous feeding and amino acid concentration on urea‐to‐creatinine ratio in critical illness
Authors: Flower Luke , Haines Ryan W. , McNelly Angela , Bear Danielle E. , Koelfat Kiran , Damink Steven Olde , Hart Nicholas , Montgomery Hugh , Prowle John R. , Puthucheary Zudin 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundWe sought to determine whether peaks in essential amino acid (EAA) concentration associated with intermittent feeding may provide anabolic advantages when compared with continuous feeding regimens in critical care.MethodsWe performed a secondary analysis of data from a multicenter trial of UK intensive care patients randomly assigned to intermittent or continuous feeding. A linear mixed‐effects model was developed to assess differences in urea‐creatinine ratio (raised values of which can be a marker of muscle wasting) between arms. To investigate metabolic phenotypes, we performed k‐means urea‐to‐creatinine ratio trajectory clustering. Amino acid concentrations were also modeled against urea‐to‐creatinine ratio from day 1 to day 7. The main outcome measure was serum urea‐to‐creatinine ratio (millimole per millimole) from day 0 to the end of the 10‐day study period.ResultsUrea‐to‐creatinine ratio trajectory differed between feeding regimens (coefficient −.245; P = .002). Patients receiving intermittent feeding demonstrated a flatter urea‐to‐creatinine ratio trajectory. With k‐means analysis, the cluster with the largest proportion of continuously fed patients demonstrated the steepest rise in urea‐to‐creatinine ratio. Neither protein intake per se nor serum concentrations of EAA concentrations were correlated with urea‐to‐creatinine ratio (coefficient = .088 [P = .506] and coefficient <.001 [P = .122], respectively).ConclusionIntermittent feeding can mitigate the rise in urea‐to‐creatinine ratio otherwise seen in those continuously fed, suggesting that catabolism may have been, to some degree, prevented.
Neanderthal palaeoecology in the late Middle Palaeolithic of western Iberia: a stable isotope analysis of ungulate teeth from Lapa do Picareiro (Portugal)
Authors: Carvalho Milena , Jones Emily Lena , Ellis M. Grace , Cascalheira João , Bicho Nuno , Meiggs David , Benedetti Michael , Friedl Lukas , Haws Jonathan 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACTAdaptation to Late Pleistocene climate change is an oft‐cited potential contributor to Neanderthal disappearance in Eurasia. Accordingly, research on Neanderthal behaviour – including subsistence strategies, mobility, lithic technology, raw material procurement and demography – often focuses on linking changes observable in the archaeological record to specific phases of climate and environmental change. However, these correspondences are often tenuous because palaeoclimatic and archaeological records are rarely available on the same scale. In Iberia, a critical location for understanding the demise of Neanderthals, some research indicates that Neanderthal populations were unable to recover from environmental degradations known as Heinrich Events, while other studies suggest that enclaves of Neanderthal populations survived for several millennia longer in refugial zones. Here, we present a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction study using analysis of δ13C and δ18O of herbivore tooth enamel recovered from two Mousterian deposits at Lapa do Picareiro, a site located in Portuguese Estremadura. We then use these data, combined with other site‐based palaeoenvironmental indicators, to assess whether central Portugal acted as a refugium during periods of unfavourable climate, and to test whether Neanderthals in Portuguese Estremadura reorganised their mobility strategies after severe climate episodes.
Beyond vegetables: effects of indoor LED light on specialized metabolite biosynthesis in medicinal and aromatic plants, edible flowers, and microgreens
Authors: Appolloni Elisa , Pennisi Giuseppina , Zauli Ilaria , Carotti Laura , Paucek Ivan , Quaini Stefania , Orsini Francesco , Gianquinto Giorgio 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSpecialized metabolites from plants are important for human health due to their antioxidant properties. Light is one of the main factors modulating the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites, determining the cascade response activated by photoreceptors and the consequent modulation of expressed genes and biosynthetic pathways. Recent developments in light emitting diode (LED) technology have enabled improvements in artificial light applications for horticulture. In particular, the possibility to select specific spectral light compositions, intensities and photoperiods has been associated with altered metabolite content in a variety of crops. This review aims to analyze the effects of indoor LED lighting recipes and management on the specialized metabolite content in different groups of crop plants (namely medicinal and aromatic plants, microgreens and edible flowers), focusing on the literature from the last 5 years. The literature collection produced a total of 40 papers, which were analyzed according to the effects of artificial LED lighting on the content of anthocyanins, carotenoids, phenols, tocopherols, glycosides, and terpenes, and ranked on a scale of 1 to 3. Most studies applied a combination of red and blue light (22%) or monochromatic blue (23%), with a 16 h day−1 photoperiod (78%) and an intensity greater than 200 μmol m−2 s−1 (77%). These treatment features were often the most efficient in enhancing specialized metabolite content, although large variations in performance were observed, according to the species considered and the compound analyzed. The review aims to provide valuable indications for the definition of the most promising spectral components toward the achievement of nutrient‐rich indoor‐grown products. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Decoding Electrophysiological Signals with Organic Electrochemical Transistors
Authors: Zhong Yizhou , Saleh Abdulelah , Inal Sahika 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other transistors and make it a promising electronic transducer of biological events. High transconductance, flexibility, and biocompatibility render OECTs ideal for detecting electrophysiological signals. Device properties such as transconductance, response time, and noise level should, however, be optimized to adapt to the needs of various application environments including in vitro cell culture, human skin, and inside of a living system. This review includes an overview of the origin of electrophysiological signals, the working principles of OECTs, and methods for performance optimization. While covering recent research examples of the use of OECTs in electrophysiology, a perspective is provided for next‐generation bioelectric sensors and amplifiers for electrophysiology applications.
Structure elucidation of a new lanostane triterpene from Gabonese Ganoderma orbiforme fruiting bodies
Authors: Orango‐Bourdette Juliette Ornely , Beniddir Mehdi A. , Otogo N'Nang Elvis , Gallard Jean‐François , Ondo Joseph Privat , Sima Obiang Cédric , Rharrabti Somia , Miel Corto , Denis Stéphanie , Obame Engonga Louis Clément , Le Pogam Pierre 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe structure and complete nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) assignments of orbifomitellic acid, a novel lanostane triterpene isolated from the fruiting bodies of a Gabonese Ganoderma orbiforme (Polyporaceae), are reported. Within the vast catalogue of lanostanes documented from Ganoderma spp., orbifomitellic acid is the first disclosing a –COOH group at C‐4.
Free‐breathing MR elastography of the lungs: An in vivo study
Authors: Fakhouri Faisal , Kannengiesser Stephan , Pfeuffer Josef , Gokun Yevgeniya , Kolipaka Arunark 
Published: August 2021

PurposeLung stiffness alters with many diseases; therefore, several MR elastography (MRE) studies were performed earlier to investigate the stiffness of the right lung during breathhold at residual volume and total lung capacity. The aims of this study were 1) to estimate shear stiffness of the lungs using MRE under free breathing and demonstrate the measurements’ repeatability and reproducibility, and 2) to compare lung stiffness under free breathing to breathhold and as a function of age and gender.MethodsTwenty‐five healthy volunteers were scanned on a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner. Spin‐echo dual‐density spiral and a spin‐echo EPI MRE sequences were used to measure shear stiffness of the lungs during free breathing and breathhold at midpoint of tidal volume, respectively. Concordance correlation coefficient and Bland‐Altman analyses were performed to determine the repeatability and reproducibility of the spin‐echo dual‐density spiral–derived shear stiffness. Repeated measures analyses of variances were used to investigate differences in shear stiffness between spin‐echo dual‐density spiral and spin‐echo EPI, right and left lungs, males and females, and different age groups.ResultsFree‐breathing MRE sequence was highly repeatable and reproducible (concordance correlation coefficient > 0.86 for both lungs). Lung stiffness was significantly lower in breathhold than in free breathing (P < .001), which can be attributed to potential stress relaxation of lung parenchyma or breathhold inconsistencies. However, there was no significant difference between different age groups (P = .08). The left lung showed slightly higher stiffness values than the right lung (P = .14). There is no significant difference in lung stiffness between genders.ConclusionThis study demonstrated the feasibility of free‐breathing lung MRE with excellent repeatability and reproducibility. Stiffness changes with age and during the respiratory cycle. However, gender does not influence lungs stiffness.
Using codesign to develop a mobile application for pelvic floor muscle training with an intravaginal device (femfit®)
Authors: Pedofsky Laura , Nielsen Poul M. F. , Budgett David , Nemec Kathryn , Dumoulin Chantal , Kruger Jennifer 
Published: August 2021

AbstractAimsThe aim of this project was to use codesign to develop a mobile application (app) for pelvic floor muscle training, with an intravaginal device (femfit®). The objective was to obtain user feedback to guide the design and development of a mobile app, consistent with the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) framework.MethodsTwenty‐six women (22–62 years) provided mobile app feedback using a Design Thinking framework and grounded theory approach. Four focus groups (2 h each) and two sets of one‐to‐one interviews (1 h each) were held from May 2018 to October 2019. The researchers debriefed the focus groups and interviews, and undertook analysis based on project objectives and key questions.ResultsRecurring themes throughout the study aligned with sections of the MARS: (A) engagement (e.g., progress tracking), (B) functionality (e.g., intuitive interface), (C) aesthetics (e.g., smart graphics and colors), (D) information (e.g., clear, concise information). An internal preliminary assessment determined a MARS Quality Mean Score of 4.1 of 5 (engagement: 3.6 of 5; functionality: 4 of 5; aesthetics: 4.3 of 5: information: 4.4 of 5).ConclusionsThe development of the mobile app is on track to meet MARS requirements, and to be a fun, motivating app for women. Future work is required to investigate its efficacy.
Effects of synbiotic supplementation on the serum endotoxin level, inflammatory status, and clinical outcomes of adult patients with critical illness: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Seifi Najmeh , Sedaghat Alireza , Nematy Mohsen , Khadem‐Rezaiyan Majid , Shirazinezhad Reza , Ranjbar Golnaz , Safarian Mohammad 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackground Gutmicrobiota dysbiosis, endotoxemia, and systemic inflammation are major factors contributing to disease pathophysiology in patients with critical illness. The present study aimed to assess the effects of synbiotic supplementation on serum endotoxin and inflammationof adult patients with critical illness.Methods This double‐anonymized, randomized controlled trial was conducted at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. In the intervention group, 20 patients received synbiotic capsules (containing a combination of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, and fructooligosaccharides) twice per day for a maximum of 14 days. In the control group, 18 patients received placebo capsules. The serum levels of endotoxin and C‐reactive protein and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were measured before and after the intervention. In addition, clinical outcomes and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores were recorded.Results Basic characteristics were similar in the intervention and control groups. The NLR and serum endotoxin levels (median [IQR]) significantly declined in the synbiotic group (7.83 [4.58–12.57] to 6.01 [4.25–9.38]; P = .04; and 11.98 [10.64–12.65] to 10.58 [9.41–12.34]; P = .03, respectively). However, no significant changes were observed in the mentioned parameters in the placebo group. The clinical outcomes were also similar in the study groups, such as the length of hospital/ICU stay and hospital/28‐day mortality rate.Conclusion Although synbiotic supplementation (500 mg twice daily for 14 days) could reduce serum endotoxin and inflammatory markers, it had no effects on the clinical outcomes of the patients.