bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Management of the “building-base system” action, using a life cycle model
Authors: Sobczak-Piąstka Justyna , Kichaeva Oksana , Firsov Pavlo , Zolotov Sergey , Famulyak Yuriy 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis research aims to highlight the problem of creating various models that reflect the life cycle of the “building-base” system, and link the reliability of this system with its technical condition. Based on the proposed model of the life cycle “reconstructed building-base”, it is possible to regulate the condition of the building towards its restoration, changing the category of technical condition to higher and obtain new, adequate to the current state, reliability indicators. During the operation of this model, it is possible to control the system management on the basis of the obtained quantitative values of reliability. The result of the reliability calculation is the determination of such a technical solution of strengthening the “building-base” system, which will provide a given level of reliability. The research provides an example of the calculation of an operable monumental building before and after its restoration.
Evaluation of fish feeder manufactured from local raw materials
Authors: Khater El-Sayed , Bahnasawy Adel , Morsy Osama 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAn automatic feeder for fish feeding was manufactured and evaluated successively. Feed pellet size, air flow rate and feeder screw speed were the most important factors affecting the performance and efficiency of the automatic feeder. It was tested at 3 sizes of pellets (1, 2 and 3 mm), 3 air flow rates (10, 15 and 20 m3 min−1) and 5 screw speeds (180, 360, 540, 720 and 900 rpm). The automatic feeder productivity, efficiency, specific energy consumption and costs were determined. The obtained results indicated that the automatic feeder productivity increases with increasing feed pellets size, air flow rate and rotational speed of screw treatments under study, the automatic feeder efficiency increased with increasing rotational speed of screw until it reached the highest value at 540 rpm and then remain constant at 720–900 rpm and after that decreased with increasing speed. Meanwhile, the specific energy consumption of automatic feeder decreased with increasing feed pellets size, air flow rate and rotational speed of screw treatments under study. The total cost of using automatic feeder ranged from 0.09 to 0.16 EGP kg−1 ($ = 15.63 EGP) for all treatments under study. This feeder will save time, effort and cost for fish industry.
Empirical assessment of seismic design hazard’s exceedance area
Authors: Iervolino Iunio , Vitale Antonio , Cito Pasquale 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDesign ground motion intensities determine the actions for which structures are checked, in the conventional approach of seismic codes, not to fail the target performances. On the other hand, due to inherent characteristics of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), it is expected that site-specific design intensity based on PSHA is exceeded in the epicentral area of moderate-to-high magnitude earthquakes. In the context of regional seismic loss assessment and of the evolution of seismic codes from the regulator perspective, it is useful to gather insights about the extent of the zone around the earthquake source where code-conforming structures are expected to be systematically exposed to seismic actions larger than those accounted for in design. To assess such areal extent based on empirical evidence is the scope of the study presented in the paper. To this aim, peak ground acceleration ShakeMap data for Italian earthquakes from 2008 to 2020 were compared to the current design intensities in the same areas for which the maps are available. This allowed, first, to develop simple semi-empirical models of the exceedance area versus the magnitude of the earthquakes. Second, it allowed to model the probability that an earthquake of given magnitude causes exceedance of the design intensity via logistic regressions. Coupling the first and second class of models provides an approximation of the expected exceedance (logarithmic) area upon occurrence of an earthquake of given magnitude. Such an area can be of several thousand square kilometers for earthquakes occurring relatively frequently in countries such as Italy.
Structure and stability of the designer protein WRAP-T and its permutants
Authors: Mylemans Bram , Lee Xiao Yin , Laier Ina , Helsen Christine , Voet Arnout R. D. 
Published: September 2021

Abstract$$\beta $$
β
-Propeller proteins are common natural disc-like pseudo-symmetric proteins that contain multiple repeats (‘blades’) each consisting of a 4-stranded anti-parallel $$\beta $$
β
-sheet. So far, 4- to 12-bladed $$\beta $$
β
-propellers have been discovered in nature showing large functional and sequential variation. Using computational design approaches, we created perfectly symmetric $$\beta $$
β
-propellers out of natural pseudo-symmetric templates. These proteins are useful tools to study protein evolution of this very diverse fold. While the 7-bladed architecture is the most common, no symmetric 7-bladed monomer has been created and characterized so far. Here we describe such a engineered protein, based on a highly symmetric natural template, and test the effects of circular permutation on its stability. Geometrical analysis of this protein and other artificial symmetrical proteins reveals no systematic constraint that could be used to help in engineering of this fold, and suggests sequence constraints unique to each $$\beta $$
β
-propeller sub-family.
Pan-cancer proteogenomic investigations identify post-transcriptional kinase targets
Authors: Elmas Abdulkadir , Tharakan Serena , Jaladanki Suraj , Galsky Matthew D. , Liu Tao , Huang Kuan-lin 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIdentifying genomic alterations of cancer proteins has guided the development of targeted therapies, but proteomic analyses are required to validate and reveal new treatment opportunities. Herein, we develop a new algorithm, OPPTI, to discover overexpressed kinase proteins across 10 cancer types using global mass spectrometry proteomics data of 1,071 cases. OPPTI outperforms existing methods by leveraging multiple co-expressed markers to identify targets overexpressed in a subset of tumors. OPPTI-identified overexpression of ERBB2 and EGFR proteins correlates with genomic amplifications, while CDK4/6, PDK1, and MET protein overexpression frequently occur without corresponding DNA- and RNA-level alterations. Analyzing CRISPR screen data, we confirm expression-driven dependencies of multiple currently-druggable and new target kinases whose expressions are validated by immunochemistry. Identified kinases are further associated with up-regulated phosphorylation levels of corresponding signaling pathways. Collectively, our results reveal protein-level aberrations—sometimes not observed by genomics—represent cancer vulnerabilities that may be targeted in precision oncology.
Chemical shielding of H2O and HF encapsulated inside a C60 cage
Authors: Jarvis Samuel P. , Sang Hongqian , Junqueira Filipe , Gordon Oliver , Hodgkinson Jo E. A. , Saywell Alex , Rahe Philipp , Mamone Salvatore , Taylor Simon , Sweetman Adam , Leaf Jeremy , Duncan David A. , Lee Tien-Lin , Thakur Pardeep K. , Hoffman Gabriella , Whitby Richard J. , Levitt Malcolm H. , Held Georg , Kantorovich Lev , Moriarty Philip , Jones Robert G. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMolecular surgery provides the opportunity to study relatively large molecules encapsulated within a fullerene cage. Here we determine the location of an H2O molecule isolated within an adsorbed buckminsterfullerene cage, and compare this to the intrafullerene position of HF. Using normal incidence X-ray standing wave (NIXSW) analysis, coupled with density functional theory and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that both H2O and HF are located at an off-centre position within the fullerene cage, caused by substantial intra-cage electrostatic fields generated by surface adsorption of the fullerene. The atomistic and electronic structure simulations also reveal significant internal rotational motion consistent with the NIXSW data. Despite this substantial intra-cage interaction, we find that neither HF or H2O contribute to the endofullerene frontier orbitals, confirming the chemical isolation of the encapsulated molecules. We also show that our experimental NIXSW measurements and theoretical data are best described by a mixed adsorption site model.
Digoxin exerts anticancer activity on human nonsmall cell lung cancer cells by blocking PI3K/Akt pathway
Authors: Wang Yingying , Hou Yongqiang , Hou Lanjiao , Wang Wei , Li Ke , Zhang Zhe , Du Bo , Kong Dexin 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality because of its metastatic potential and high malignancy. The discovery of new applications for old drugs is a shortcut for cancer therapy. We recently investigated the antitumor effect of digoxin, a well-established drug for treating heart failure, against nonsmall cell lung cancer A549 and H1299 cells. Digoxin inhibited the proliferation and colony-forming ability of the two cell lines and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase in A549 cells and the G2/M phase in H1299 cells. Mitochondria-mediated apoptosis was induced in A549 cells but not in H1299 cells after treatment with digoxin. Moreover, digoxin inhibited the migration, invasion, adhesion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition of A549 and H1299 cells. Autophagy was induced in both cell lines after treatment with digoxin, with an increase in autophagosome foci. In addition, digoxin inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR and p70S6K, signaling molecules of the PI3K/Akt pathway that are known to be involved in tumor cell survival, proliferation, metastasis and autophagy. Our findings suggest that digoxin has the potential to be used for therapy for human nonsmall cell lung cancer, but further evidence is required.
A sticky situation: regulation and function of protein palmitoylation with a spotlight on the axon and axon initial segment
Authors: Petropavlovskiy Andrey A. , Kogut Jordan A. , Leekha Arshia , Townsend Charlotte A. , Sanders Shaun S. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractIn neurons, the axon and axon initial segment (AIS) are critical structures for action potential initiation and propagation. Their formation and function rely on tight compartmentalisation, a process where specific proteins are trafficked to and retained at distinct subcellular locations. One mechanism which regulates protein trafficking and association with lipid membranes is the modification of protein cysteine residues with the 16-carbon palmitic acid, known as S-acylation or palmitoylation. Palmitoylation, akin to phosphorylation, is reversible, with palmitate cycling being mediated by substrate-specific enzymes. Palmitoylation is well-known to be highly prevalent among neuronal proteins and is well studied in the context of the synapse. Comparatively, how palmitoylation regulates trafficking and clustering of axonal and AIS proteins remains less understood. This review provides an overview of the current understanding of the biochemical regulation of palmitoylation, its involvement in various neurological diseases, and the most up-to-date perspective on axonal palmitoylation. Through a palmitoylation analysis of the AIS proteome, we also report that an overwhelming proportion of AIS proteins are likely palmitoylated. Overall, our review and analysis confirm a central role for palmitoylation in the formation and function of the axon and AIS and provide a resource for further exploration of palmitoylation-dependent protein targeting to and function at the AIS.
Clinical Considerations for Routine Auditory and Vestibular Monitoring in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Garinis Angela C. , Poling Gayla L. , Rubenstein Ronald C. , Konrad-Martin Dawn , Hullar Timothy E. , Baguley David M. , Burrows Holly L. , Chisholm Jennifer A. , Custer Amy , Hawe Laura Dreisbach , Hunter Lisa L. , Marras Theodore K. , Ortiz Candice E. , Petersen Lucretia , Steyger Peter S. , Winthrop Kevin , Zettner Erika M. , Clark Khaya , Hungerford Michelle , Vachhani Jay J. , Brewer Carmen C. 
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Specific classes of antibiotics, such as aminoglycosides, have well-established adverse events producing permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance and/or vestibular problems (i.e., ototoxicity). Although these antibiotics are frequently used to treat
pseudomonas
and other bacterial infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), there are no formalized recommendations describing approaches to implementation of guideline adherent ototoxicity monitoring as part of CF clinical care.

Method
This consensus statement was developed by the International Ototoxicity Management Working Group (IOMG) Ad Hoc Committee on Aminoglycoside Antibiotics to address the clinical need for ototoxicity management in CF patients treated with known ototoxic medications. These clinical protocol considerations were created using consensus opinion from a community of international experts and available evidence specific to patients with CF, as well as published national and international guidelines on ototoxicity monitoring.

Results
The IOMG advocates four clinical recommendations for implementing routine and guideline adherent ototoxicity management in patients with CF. These are (a) including questions about hearing, tinnitus, and balance/vestibular problems as part of the routine CF case history for all patients; (b) utilizing timely point-of-care measures; (c) establishing a baseline and conducting posttreatment evaluations for each course of intravenous ototoxic drug treatment; and (d) repeating annual hearing and vestibular evaluations for all patients with a history of ototoxic antibiotic exposure.

Conclusion
Increased efforts for implementation of an ototoxicity management program in the CF care team model will improve identification of ototoxicity signs and symptoms, allow for timely therapeutic follow-up, and provide the clinician and patient an opportunity to make an informed decision about potential treatment modifications to minimize adverse events.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16624366
The Contribution of Age, Working Memory Capacity, and Inhibitory Control on Speech Recognition in Noise in Young and Older Adult Listeners
Authors: Stenbäck Victoria , Marsja Erik , Hällgren Mathias , Lyxell Björn , Larsby Birgitta 
Published: September 2021

Purpose
The study aimed to investigate the relationship between speech recognition in noise, age, hearing ability, self-rated listening effort, inhibitory control (measured with the Swedish Hayling task), and working memory capacity (WMC; measured with the Reading Span test). Two different speech materials were used: the Hagerman test with low semantic context and Hearing in Noise Test sentences with high semantic context, masked with either energetic or informational maskers.

Method

A mixed design was used. Twenty-four young normally hearing (
M
age
= 25.6 years) and 24 older, for their age, normally hearing individuals (
M
age
= 60.6 years) participated in the study. Speech recognition in noise in both speech materials and self-rated effort in all four background maskers were correlated with inhibitory control and WMC. A linear mixed-effects model was set up to assess differences between the two different speech materials, the four different maskers used in the study, and if age and hearing ability affected performance in the speech materials or the various background noises.

Results
Results showed that high WMC was related to lower scores of self-rated listening effort for informational maskers, as well as better performance in speech recognition in noise when informational maskers were used. The linear mixed-effects model revealed differences in performance between the low-context and the high-context speech materials, and the various maskers used. Lastly, inhibitory control had some impact on performance in the low-context speech material when masked with an informational masker.

Conclusion
Different background noises, especially informational maskers, affect speech recognition and self-rated listening effort differently depending on age, hearing ability, and individual variation in WMC and inhibitory control.
Improved Q‐learning algorithm for solving permutation flow shop scheduling problems
Authors: He Zimiao , Wang Kunlan , Li Hanxiao , Song Hong , Lin Zhongjie , Gao Kaizhou , Sadollah Ali 
Published: September 2021

AbstractGenerally, scheduling problems refer to allocation of available shared resources and the sorting of production tasks, in order to satisfy the specified performance target within a certain time. The fundamental scheduling problem is that all jobs need to be processed on the same route, which is called flow shop scheduling problems (FSSP). The goal of FSSP, proven as an NP‐hard problem, is to find a job sequence that minimizes the makespan. In this paper, an improved Q‐learning algorithm is proposed for solving the FSSP. Firstly, a problem model based on the basic Q‐learning algorithm is constructed. The makespan is used as the feedback signal, and the process of environmental state change is defined as the process of job selection. Q‐learning gives the expected utility of taking a given action in a given state. Afterwards, combined with the NEH heuristic, the algorithm efficiency is enhanced by changing the job inserting mode. In order to validate the proposed method, several simulation experiments are carried out on a set of test problems having different scales. The obtained optimization results of the proposed algorithm are compared to the standard Q‐learning algorithm and a hybrid algorithm. The discussion and analysis show that the proposed algorithm performs better than the others in solving the permutation FSSP. As a future direction, in order to shorten the running time, further improvements will be studied to increase the performance of the proposed algorithm and make it applicable and efficient for solving multi‐objective optimization problems.
TiO2-supported Au144 nanoclusters for enhanced sonocatalytic performance
Authors: Kawamura Kouhei , Ikeda Atsuya , Inui Ayaka , Yamamoto Ken , Kawasaki Hideya 
Published: September 2021

The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radicals, by ultrasonic activation of semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs), including TiO2, has excellent potential for use in sonodynamic therapy and for the sonocatalytic degradation of pollutants. However, TiO2 NPs have limitations including low yields of generated ROS that result from fast electron–hole recombination. In this study, we first investigated the sonocatalytic activity of TiO2-supported Au nanoclusters (NCs) (Au NCs/TiO2) by monitoring the production of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) under ultrasonication conditions. The deposition of Au144 NCs on TiO2 NPs was found to enhance sonocatalytic activity for •OH production by approximately a factor of 2. Electron–hole recombination in ultrasonically excited TiO2 NPs is suppressed by Au144 NCs acting as an electron trap; this charge separation resulted in enhanced •OH production. In contrast, the deposition of Au25 NCs on TiO2 NPs resulted in lower sonocatalytic activity due to less charge separation, which highlights the effectiveness of combining Au144 NCs with TiO2 NPs for enhancing sonocatalytic activity. The sonocatalytic action that forms electron–hole pairs on the Au144/TiO2 catalyst is due to both heat and sonoluminescence from the implosive collapse of cavitation bubbles. Consequently, the ultrasonically excited Au144 (3 wt. %)/TiO2 catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity for the production of •OH because of less light shadowing effect, in contrast to the lower catalytic activity when irradiated with only external light.
Phase separation vs aggregation behavior for model disordered proteins
Authors: Rana Ushnish , Brangwynne Clifford P. , Panagiotopoulos Athanassios Z. 
Published: September 2021

Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is widely utilized by the cell to organize and regulate various biochemical processes. Although the LLPS of proteins is known to occur in a sequence-dependent manner, it is unclear how sequence properties dictate the nature of the phase transition and thereby influence condensed phase morphology. In this work, we have utilized grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations for a simple coarse-grained model of disordered proteins to systematically investigate how sequence distribution, sticker fraction, and chain length impact the formation of finite-size aggregates, which can preempt macroscopic phase separation for some sequences. We demonstrate that a normalized sequence charge decoration (SCD) parameter establishes a “soft” predictive criterion for distinguishing when a model protein undergoes macroscopic phase separation vs finite aggregation. Additionally, we find that this order parameter is strongly correlated with the critical density for phase separation, highlighting an unambiguous connection between sequence distribution and condensed phase density. Results obtained from an analysis of the order parameter reveal that at sufficiently long chain lengths, the vast majority of sequences are likely to phase separate. Our results suggest that classical LLPS should be the primary phase transition for disordered proteins when short-ranged attractive interactions dominate and suggest a possible reason behind recent findings of widespread phase separation throughout living cells.
Globalization mitigates the risk of conflict caused by strategic territory
Authors: Gallea Quentin , Rohner Dominic 
Published: September 2021

Significance
In an era where global trade is under pressure, it is heatedly debated whether a more integrated, globalized world is fueling or appeasing conflicts. Past studies have focused on how trade links impact interstate wars, but the effects of globalization on domestic conflict have been severely understudied. Our dataset of the strategic importance of each point of the globe allows us to shed light on this controversy. This algorithm-based measure is constructed by using exclusively natural terrain features, thereby avoiding common methodological pitfalls confounding results. We find that while strategic locations may often be the object of armed competition, periods of international trade booms increase the incentives to protect trade routes and attenuate the conflict risk at strategically important locations.
Interprotomer disulfide-stabilized variants of the human metapneumovirus fusion glycoprotein induce high titer-neutralizing responses
Authors: Stewart-Jones Guillaume B. E. , Gorman Jason , Ou Li , Zhang Baoshan , Joyce M. Gordon , Yang Lijuan , Cheng Cheng , Chuang Gwo-Yu , Foulds Kathryn E. , Kong Wing-Pui , Olia Adam S. , Sastry Mallika , Shen Chen-Hsiang , Todd John-Paul , Tsybovsky Yaroslav , Verardi Raffaello , Yang Yongping , Collins Peter L. , Corti Davide , Lanzavecchia Antonio , Scorpio Diana G. , Mascola John R. , Buchholz Ursula J. , Kwong Peter D. 
Published: September 2021

Significance
Type I fusion machines rearrange from prefusion to postfusion conformations to induce viral-cell entry, with structure-based stabilization of the metastable prefusion forms of these machines yielding promising vaccine candidates. However, with human metapneumovirus (HMPV), both prefusion and postfusion forms of the fusion (F) glycoprotein yield equivalent titers. We therefore tried an alternative strategy, the creation of interprotomer disulfides (IP-DSs) linking together each of the three protomers of the F trimer. In mice, IP-DS stabilization induced significantly higher titers than non–IP-DS–stabilized trimers. In macaques, improvement was more modest; nonetheless, IP-DS–stabilized trimers, in either prefusion or postfusion forms, could induce neutralizing titers many times the average titer observed in a healthy human cohort, suggesting their utility as vaccine immunogens.