bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Distribution, source apportionment and health risk assessment of phthalate esters in indoor dust samples across China
Authors: Li Xu , Zhang Wenping , Lv Jiapei , Liu Wenxiu , Sun Shanwei , Guo Changsheng , Xu Jian 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: Phthalates were detected in various environments due to their widespread application. In this study, indoor dust samples from 94 buildings, including 72 residences and 22 dormitories, were collected in seven geographical regions in China and analyzed for eight phthalate esters (PAEs). Investigation of contamination profiles, geographical distribution, sources and risks of PAEs in indoor dusts was explored.Results: The highest Σ8PAEs concentration in residential buildings was found in Northeast China (median: 164.71 μg·g−1), which was 2.3 and 2.8 times higher than that in South China (median: 71.71 μg·g−1) and Southwest China (median: 58.53 μg·g−1), respectively. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DIBP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) were the dominant compounds of Σ8PAEs in indoor dusts from residences and dormitories. The administrative levels revealed that the highly serious contamination occurred in the provincial capital, followed by non-provincial cities and countries. Such an occurrence was related to the usage of PAE products and the level of urbanization. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) showed that the emission from cosmetics and personal care products, plasticizers, and household building materials were the possible PAE sources in indoor dusts. Among three routes of ingestion, dermal adsorption, and inhalation, dust ingestion was the main route of human exposure to PAEs. The health risk of PAE exposure for different populations in descending order of children > women > men. The hazard indexes of non-cancer were higher than the threshold value of 10−6 during human exposure to DBP and DEHP. Children also faced potential non-cancer risk due to benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) exposure. The carcinogenic risks via exposure to BBzP and DEHP were negligible.Conclusion: Overall, PAEs were widely presented in indoor dusts. Obvious difference was observed in the distribution of PAEs concentration in indoor dusts due to the differences in economic development and usage of PAEs product. Plasticizers, household building materials, and cosmetics and personal care products were likely PAE sources in indoor dusts. The risk assessment suggested that carcinogenic risks of BBzP and DEHP were negligible, but DBP, DEHP, DnOP and BBzP may pose non-cancer risks to humans.
The Association Between Institutional Primary Healthcare Service Quality and Patients’ Experiences with Community Health Centres: Results from the Greater Bay Area Study, China
Authors: Liu RuQing , Meng YiFan , He Ning , Wu JingLan , Yan XinWen , Shi Leiyu , Hu RuWei 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: To explore the association between the service quality of community health centres (CHCs) as the supplier evaluation and patients’ experiences of health services as the demand-side evaluation.Methods: This study was conducted at six CHCs in the Greater Bay area of China. During August–October 2019, 1568 patients were recruited (55.8% women and 44.2% men). We evaluated the service quality of CHCs using the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient-Centered Medical Home (NCQA-PCMH) recognition questionnaire. We assessed patients’ experiences with medical and health services using the Primary Care Assessment Tools (PCAT). Results: The global PCAT score was higher at the CHCs with higher NCQA-PCMH levels, showing positive dose-effect trends. This was similar for the PCAT sub-dimensions. For example, the scores of each PCAT sub-dimension of NCQA-PCMH Level 3 were significantly higher than those of Levels 2 and 1. Except for D and F dimensions, the scores of other sub-dimensions of Level 2 were significantly higher than those of Level 1.Conclusions: Our results indicated that better institutional service quality evaluation determined by the NCQA-PCMH led to better patients’ experiences as determined by the PCAT. Our findings added new evidence in support of better institutional primary healthcare service quality leading to better experiences among patients, and would help further improve the patient-centred primary healthcare service policy and management.
Meteorological Drought in Northwestern Escarpment of Ethiopian Rift Valley: detection seasonal and spatial trends
Authors: Ahmed Jemal Nasir , Assefa Engdawork , Zeleke Tesfay , Gidey Eskinder 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: The Northwestern Escarpment of the Ethiopian Rift Valley has been frequently affected by droughts for decades. The area is among the most drought-prone and chronically food-insecure parts of the country. The study areas that include the Raya Valley livelihood Zone (RVLZ), Alagie-Offla livelihood Zone (ALOFLZ), and Tsirare Catchment Livelihood Zones (TCLZ) are amongst the most vulnerable and badly affected livelihood zones in the Northwestern Escarpment of the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Hence, this study aimed to monitor the meteorological drought conditions of the three LZs from 1983 to 2016 using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at three months’ time scale. Both monthly Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitations with Station data (CHIRPS) and Enhancing National Climate Service (ENACTS) temperature data (1983-2016) at moderate spatial resolution (i.e. 4 km-by-4km) were obtained from the National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia. Results: This study uncovers seasonally recurring droughts that vary in severity, frequencies, and durations within and between the livelihood zones. The results indicated that severe drought occurred in all livelihoods zone of the study area from years 1983 to 1991, while ALOFLZ and TCLZ have recorded relatively higher drought severity. From 1989 to 2016, the severity and frequency of droughts were increased during the Belg (small rain) season but decreased in Kiremt (summer). In most of the study years, there have been Belg or Kiremt or both drought seasons in the study areas. The severity and frequencies of Kiremt drought in this study were higher from 1983 to 1991, better 1993 to 1998, and mildly to moderate drought from 2000-2016. As the frequencies and persistence of mild drought have increased, the intensity and precipitation amount are too small to cultivate crops and forage growth. This problem needs special considerations on the current moisture harvesting system and afforestation practices to reduce natural and human-induced drought impacts.Conclusion: Studying drought with long recorded meteorological data from a large number and uniformly distributed meteorological grids in small scale livelihood zones had great implications to identify the real trends of spatiotemporal meteorological drought. This enabled the researchers to investigate the real drought frequencies, severity, and durations in small scale areas. The study will support to improve the existing drought monitoring system and to build resilience to drought at the household level. The finding also will have a significant contribution to early warning systems, particularly at district levels. Ended, it needs to consider solutions for short and long drought impacts. The agricultural sector should consider the long-cycle crop growth patterns to reduce crop failures and forage problems.
Inducing secondary metabolite production of Aspergillus sydowii through microbial co-culture with Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Sun Yu , Liu Wen-Cai , Shi Xuan , Zheng Hai-Zhou , Zheng Zhi-Hui , Lu Xin-Hua , Xing Yan , Ji Kai , Liu Mei , Dong Yuesheng 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: The co-culture strategy which mimics natural ecology by constructing an artificial microbial community is a useful tool to activate the biosynthetic gene clusters to generate new metabolites. However, the conventional method to study the co-culture is to isolate and purify compounds separated by HPLC, which is inefficient and time-consuming. Furthermore, the overall changes in the metabolite profile cannot be well characterized.Results: A new approach which integrates computational programs, MS-DIAL, MS-FINDER and web-based tools including GNPS and MetaboAnalyst, was developed to analyze and identify the metabolites of the co-culture of Aspergillus sydowii and Bacillus subtilis. A total of 25 newly biosynthesized metabolites were detected only in co-culture. The structures of the newly synthesized metabolites were elucidated, four of which were identified as novel compounds by the new approach. The accuracy of the new approach was confirmed by purification and NMR data analysis of 7 newly biosynthesized metabolites. The bioassay of newly synthesized metabolites showed that four of the compounds exhibited different degrees of PTP1b inhibitory activity, and compound N2 had the strongest inhibition activity with an IC50 value of 7.967 μM. Conclusions: Co-culture led to global changes of the metabolite profile and is an effective way to induce the biosynthesis of novel natural products. The new approach in this study is one of the effective and relatively accurate methods to characterize the changes of metabolite profiles and to identify novel compounds in co-culture systems.
Pregnane X receptor exacerbates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease accompanied by obesity- and inflammation-prone gut microbiome signature
Authors: Kim Sarah , Choi Sora , Dutta Moumita , Polunas Marianne , Goedken Michael , Gonzalez Frank , Cui Julia Yue , Gyamfi Maxwell 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a drug receptor with novel functions in promoting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We hypothesize that PXR worsens NAFLD accompanied by gut dysbiosis. Wild-type and PXR-knockout mice were fed control or high fat diet (HFD) for 16-weeks. Serum parameters, liver histopathology, transcriptomic profiling, 16S-rDNA sequencing, and bile acid (BA) metabolomics were performed. PXR enhanced HFD-induced weight gain, hepatic steatosis and inflammation especially in males, accompanied by male-specific and PXR-dependent up-regulation in pro-inflammatory cytokines and microbial response-related genes in liver, an increase in intestinal Firmicutes/Bacteroides ratio (hallmark of obesity) and the pro-inflammatory Lactobacillus, and a decrease in the anti-obese Allobaculum and the anti-inflammatory Bifidobacterum. The gut dysbiosis was associated with a reduction of hepatic beneficial BAs in males. In conclusion, PXR exacerbates hepatic steatosis and inflammation accompanied by obesity- and inflammation-prone gut microbiome signature, suggesting that gut microbiome may contribute to PXR-mediated exacerbation of NAFLD.
Node and Edge Eigenvector Centrality for Hypergraphs
Authors: Tudisco Francesco , Higham Desmond 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Network scientists have shown that there is great value in studying pairwise interactions between components in a system. From a linear algebra point of view, this involves defining and evaluating functions of the associated adjacency matrix.
Recent work indicates that there are further benefits from accounting directly for higher order interactions, notably through a hypergraph representation where an edge may involve multiple nodes. Building on these ideas, we motivate, define and analyze a class of spectral centrality measures for identifying important nodes and hyperedges in hypergraphs, generalizing existing network science concepts. By exploiting the latest developments in nonlinear Perron-Frobenius theory, we show how the resulting constrained nonlinear eigenvalue problems have unique solutions that can be computed efficiently via a nonlinear power method iteration.
We illustrate the measures on realistic data sets.
Topographic Analysis of Short Posterior Ciliary Arteries Using Wide-Field Swept-Source En-Face Optical Coherence Tomography
Authors: Lejoyeux Raphael , Atia Raphael , Vupparaboina Kiran , Ibrahim Mohamed , Sahel Jose-Alain , Dansingani Kunal , Chhablani Jay , Suthaharan Shan 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Purpose: To study the topographic distribution of the short posterior ciliary arteries (SPCA) entry sites into the choroid in normal eyes using structural en-face swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Methods: Retrospective analysis of SS-OCT scans (wide-field structural SS-OCT 12x12mm) of 13 healthy subjects was performed. Cross-sectional swept-source OCT scans derived from a volume scan were represented as en-face image display following the Choroid-Scleral Interface to obtain en-face OCT. SPCAs in their last scleral location before choroidal entrance were identified manually, counted and localized by two masked observers. Correlations between two masked observers were analyzed using inter- and intra- class correlation. Results: Accuracy for the choroidal inner and outer border segmentation was 95-99%. Eighteen eyes from 13 normal subjects were included for SPCA analysis. The mean number of arteries was 13.8±3.5 per eye. Thirty-six percent were in the center of the posterior pole image; however, 21% were in the temporal part of the posterior pole. Median accuracy of the detection is 0.94. The correlation between the two observers was fair (0.54).Conclusion: Our algorithm allows visualization of the SPCA at the posterior pole of the eye using wide-field en-face SS-OCT. It can also help the clinicians to study the SPCAs in numerous ocular diseases, particularly its relationship with focal choroidal diseases.
Structural Performance of Chemically Modified Natural Jute Yarn for Strength Demanding Composite Applications
Authors: Ashadujjaman MD , Saifullah Abu , Shah Darshil , Zhang Minglonghai , Akonda Mahmudul , Karim Nazmul , Sarker Forkan 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Manufacturing natural based high-performance composites is becoming a greater interest to the composite manufacturers and to their end users due to their bio-degredability,low cost and availability. Yarn based textile architecture is commonly used in manufacturing these composites due to their excellent formability. However, for using natural based yarn as a reinforcing architectures in high load bearing structural composite applications, a significant improvement in mechanical performance is required. Particularly, jute fibre yarn suffers with poor mechanical properties due to the presence of fibrillar network, polysacharides and other impurities in the fibre. For achieving this, we use aqueous glycine treatment (10%, W/V) on alkali(0.5 %, W/V) and untreated jute yarns for the first time. The glycine treatment on alkali treated jute yarns (ATG) shows a huge improvement in tensile strength and strain values by almost ⁓105% and ⁓50 % respectively compared to untreated jute yarns (UT) because of the strong interactions and bonds developed between glycine, alkali and jute yarns. It is believed that the newly developed glycine treated jute yarns will be helpful to promote jute yarns in composite industries where load-bearing is primary requirement and replace their synthetic counterparts.
Decomposition of Factors Associated With Housing Material Inequality in Under-Five Deaths in Low and Middle-Income Countries
Authors: Morakinyo Oyewale Mayowa , Fagbamigbe Adeniyi Francis , Adebowale Ayo Stephen 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: Low-and Medium-Income Countries (LMIC) continue to record high burden of under-five deaths (U5D). There is a gap in knowledge of the factors contributing to housing materials inequalities in U5D. This study examined the contributions of the individual- and neighbourhood-level factors to housing materials inequalities in influencing U5D in LMIC.Methods: We pooled data from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys for 56 LMIC conducted between 2010 and 2018. In all, we analysed the data of 798,796 children living in 59,791 neighbourhoods. The outcome variable was U5D among live births within 0 to 59 months of birth. The main determinate variable was housing material types, categorised as unimproved housing materials (UHM) and improved housing materials (IHM) while the individual-level and neighbourhood-level factors are the independent variables. Data were analysed using Fairlie decomposition analysis at α=0.05. Results: The overall U5D rate was 53 per 1000 children, 61 among children from houses built with UHM, and 41 among children from houses built with IHM (p<0.001). This rate was higher among children from houses that were built with UHM in all countries except in Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Maldives, Jordan, and Albania. None of these countries had significant pro-IHM inequality. The factors explaining housing inequalities in U5D include household wealth status, residence location, source of drinking water, media access, paternal employment, birth interval, and toilet type.Conclusions: There are variations in individual- and neighbourhood-level factors driving housing materials inequalities as it influences U5D in LMIC. Interventions focusing on reducing the burden of U5D in households built with UHM are urgently needed.
Enhanced Patterned Cocatalyst TiO2/Fe2O3 Photoanodes for Water-Splitting
Authors: Hung Wei-Hsuan , Teng Yung-Jen , Tseng Chuan-Ming , Nguyen Thi Thai Hien 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
In this study, we used a hot-pressing process to enhance the photocatalytic properties of TiO2/Fe2O3 bimetallic oxide with a periodic patterned structure on the surface to increase photon absorption for photocatalysis in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water splitting. The hot-pressed samples show that combining the two metal oxides improves the absorption band edge of the electrode at different wavelengths. The patterned structure obtained using the hot-pressing process successfully improves photon absorption, resulting in a two-fold enhancement compared with a flat surface electrode.
Angelica Polysaccharide Attenuates LPS-Induced Inflammation Response of Primary Dairy Cow Claw Dermal Cells Via NF-κB and MAPK Signaling Pathways
Authors: Tian Mengyue , Li Ke , Liu Ruonan , Du Jinliang , Zou Dongmin , Ma Yuzhong 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: Laminitis, an inflammation of the claw laminae, is one of the major causes of bovine lameness, which can lead to enormous economic losses and animal welfare problems in dairy farms. Angelica polysaccharide (AP) is proved to possess anti-inflammatory properties. But the role of AP on inflammatory response of the claw dermal cells has not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of AP on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced primary claw dermal cells of dairy cow and clarify the potential mechanisms. In the current research, the primary claw dermal cells were exposed to gradient concentrations of AP (10, 50, 100 µg/mL) in the presence of 10 µg/mL LPS. The levels of cytokines and nitric oxide (NO) were detected with ELISA and Griess colorimetric method. The mRNA expressions of TLR4, MyD88 and chemokines were measured with qPCR. The activation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways was detected with western blotting.Results: The results indicated that AP reduced the production of inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and NO), downregulated the mRNA expression of TLR4, MyD88 and some pro-inflammatory chemokines (CCL2, CCL20, CXCL2, CXCL8, CXCL10), and suppressed the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways evidenced by inhibition of the phosphorylation of IκBα, p65 and ERK, JNK, p38.Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that AP may exert its anti-inflammatory effects on claw dermal cells of dairy cow by regulating the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.
Screening and Validation of a Novel Universal Target DNA Sequence for Simultaneous Identification and Differentiation of Bovine- and Ovine-/caprine- Derived Ingredients in Ruminant Feeds
Authors: Liu Zuhong , Wang Xiaokang , Yan Zengqiang , Chu Binbin , Wang Wenjun , Liu Bang 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background: Ruminant feeds containing bovine- and ovine-/caprine- derived ingredients would increase the risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) spread. Results: In this study, a novel universal target DNA sequence was screened through genomic sequence alignment of 53 species, and an efficient and accurate PCR method was further developed to simultaneously identify and distinguish bovine- (125 bp) and ovine-/caprine- (107 bp) derived ingredients in ruminant feeds. The specificity of our PCR method was tested with 20 animal DNA and 3 feed material DNA. This novel universal target DNA sequence was specifically detected in only bovine species (including cattle, buffalo, yak, and zebu) and ovine/caprine species (including sheep and goat). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that through this universal target sequence, as low as 1% heat-treated (133 ℃, 300 kPa for 20 min) meat and bone meal (MBM) of bovine or ovine species could be detected from in ruminant feeds. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study screened a novel universal target DNA sequence, designed a universal primer pair, and developed an efficient and accurate PCR method for the simultaneous identification and differentiation of bovine- and ovine/caprine- derived ingredients in ruminant feeds.
Application of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy and Decreased Proteins As Parameter of Negative Neonatal Outcomes in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Bernardes-Oliveira Emanuelly , Freitas Daniel Lucas Dantas de , Cobucci Ricardo Ney , Cornetta Maria da Conceição Mesquita , Camargo Juliana Dantas de Araújo Santos , Lima Kássio Michell Gomes de , Crispim Janaina Cristiana de Oliveira 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
In this study, we found for the first time that macrosomal newborns were associated with lower protein density when mothers with GDM were analyzed by infrared ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform) spectroscopy, and the Genetic Algorithm (GA) mathematical model associated with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). This is a case-control study, comprised of a total of 49 newborns from mothers with GDM compared with 45 newborns from mothers without GDM. The evaluated neonatal outcomes were: type of delivery, prematurity, weight in relation to gestational age, apgar, macrosomia, and head/chest perimeter. Furthermore, we correlated the presence of these neonatal adverse effects with the density of proteins in GDM. The neonatal outcomes observed in newborns of mothers with GDM showed prematurity (p = 0.018), minimum head circumference (p = 0.027), abdominal circumference (p <0.01) and macrosomia (p <0.01) when compared to newborns of mothers without GDM. Prematurity and macrosomia occurred with greater significance among pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes (p <0.05). There was a correlation between macrosomal newborns and low protein density confirmed by ATR-FTIR (GA-LDA) in diabetic pregnant women. On the other hand, macrosomal newborns of mothers with GDM were correlated with women who showed lower density of protein when analyzed by ATR-FTIR (GA-LDA). In this study, we observed that macrosomia was associated with low protein density of a mother with GDM. The approach described here, can be useful for the identification and exploration of macrosomia inunder various pathophysiological conditions of maternal GDM.