bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implications of Climate-Driven Fallowing for Ecological Connectivity of Species At Risk
Authors: McComb Sofie HE , Powers Claire , Melton Forrest , Larsen Ashley 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Context.

Climate change and agricultural intensification are modifying the configuration of natural lands within agricultural landscapes, further impacting species’ ability to move freely between remaining natural areas. These working landscapes have inherently high opportunity costs, making the establishment of additional permanent reserves for species movement unlikely.
Objectives.

Here we explore the potential for opportunistic and dynamic conservation reserves, in the form of temporary fallowed croplands, to increase connectivity in competing land use regions.
Methods.

We evaluate the potential for fallowed lands to facilitate habitat connectivity for at-risk species in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), an intensive agricultural landscape in California. We perform landscape connectivity analyses to examine how historic drought-induced fallowing from 2011 to 2017 in the SJV region impacted connectivity within Kern County for the endangered, endemic San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica).
Results.

We found that an increase in temporary fallowing from 2011 to 2015/2017 in Kern County likely increased habitat connectivity for the kit fox. This finding was represented by reductions in average Cost-Weighted Distances (CWD), Effective Resistances, and CWD-to-Least Cost Path Ratios between core habitat areas, indicating that cumulative costs incurred by kit foxes travelling between primary habitats decreased.
Conclusions.

Our findings highlight that strategic and cooperative, yet temporary, conservation actions have the potential to reduce the conflict between biodiversity preservation and agricultural production in working landscapes while increasing landscape connectivity. Fallowing-based, agri-environmental schemes could help working areas meet statewide groundwater management policy targets while improving species’ mobility in the face of climate change.
Association of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Adult Patients with Existing Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Dai Lei , Liu Man , Chen Liangkai 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background:Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are common in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to prospectively examine the associations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among adult patients with existing CVD.Methods:We included 37,080 patients with CVD from the UK Biobank study, a prospective cohort of half a million participants aged 40–69 years. We defined patients with CVD as those who suffered coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, or stroke. The associations of serum 25(OH)D concentration with all-cause and cause-specific mortality were examined by using multivariable Cox regression models and competing risk analyses.Results:Among 37,080 patients with CVD at baseline, 57.5% were subjected to vitamin D deficiency (i.e., 25[OH]D <50 nmol/L). During a median follow-up of 8.9 years, 3920 total deaths occurred, including 1411 deaths from CVD, 1497 deaths from cancer, 368 deaths from respiratory disease, and 644 other-cause deaths. We observed non-linear inverse associations for all-cause, cancer, respiratory disease, and other-cause mortality (P-nonlinearity <0.001) and approximately linear inverse associations for CVD mortality (P-nonlinearity = 0.069). Among CVD patients with vitamin D deficiency, per 10 nmol/L increment in serum 25(OH)D concentrations was associated with an 11% reduced risk for all-cause mortality and 10% reduced risk for CVD mortality.Conclusion:Among patients with existing CVD, increasing levels in serum 25(OH)D were independently associated with a decreased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. These findings suggest that elevated serum 25(OH)D concentration benefits CVD patients with vitamin D deficiency.
Reimbursement Decisions for Medical Services in Austria: An Analysis of Influencing Factors for the Hospital Individual Services Catalogue Between 2008 and 2020
Authors: Goetz Gregor , Panteli Dimitra , Busse Reinhard , Wild Claudia 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
ObjectivesTo (1) describe the (evidence-based) reimbursement process of hospital individual services, (2) evaluate the accordance between evidence-based recommendations and reimbursement decision of individual services and (3) elaborate potential aspects that play a role in the decision-making process in Austria.Method:The reimbursement process is described based on selected relevant sources such as official documents. Evidence-based recommendations and subsequent reimbursement decisions for the annual maintenance of the hospital individual service catalogue in Austria between 2008 and 2020 were analysed using a mixed methods approach, encompassing descriptive statistics and a focus group with Austrian decision makers. Results:118 evidence-based recommendations were analysed. There were 93 (78.8%) negative and 25 (21.2%) positive evidence-based recommendations. In total, 107 out of 118 evidence-based recommendations (90.1%) did not lead to a deviating reimbursement decision. We identified six aspects that may have played a role in the decision-making process for the annual maintenance of the hospital individual service catalogue, with clinical evidence being the most notable. Further aspects included quality assurance/organisational aspects (i.e., structural quality assurance), costs (if comparable to already existing medical services, not: cost-effectiveness), procedural aspects (e.g., if certain criteria for adoption have not been met formally through the proposals), “other countries” (i.e., taking into account how other countries decided) and situational aspects (such as the COVID-19 pandemic).Conclusions:There is good accordance between evidence-based recommendations and reimbursement decisions regarding hospital individual services in Austria. Beyond clinical evidence, organizational aspects seem to be considered often with regard to quality assurance but costs do not appear to play a major role. The Austrian system has mechanisms in place that can restrict widespread adoption of novel hospital individual services with uncertain clinical benefits. Future studies could investigate how well these mechanisms work and how they compare to other health systems in Europe.
Ladle Intelligent Re-scheduling Method in Steelmaking–Refining–Continuous Casting Production Process based on BP Neural Network Working Condition Estimation
Authors: Liu Wei , Pang Xinfu , Li Haibo , Sun Liangliang 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
The ladle re-scheduling of steelmaking and continuous casting production aims at continuously casting many charges with the same cast and avoiding conflicts of adjacent charges on the same machine. It proposes a method of ladle re-scheduling in the production process of steelmaking–refining–continuous casting, including two parts: plan re-scheduling and ladle optimisation scheduling. Firstly, a re-scheduling optimisation model of the steelmaking and continuous casting production is built, which aims at minimising the waiting time of all charges. The re-scheduling strategy of steelmaking and continuous casting production is proposed by interval processing time of charges and scheduling expert experience. The re-scheduling strategy is composed of two parts: re-scheduling charge decision and charge processing machine decision. Then, the first-order rule learning is used to select the optimisation target to establish the ladle optimal scheduling model. The ladle matching rules are extracted by the rule reasoning of the minimum general generalisation. The ladle optimisation scheduling method consisting of the optimal selection of the ladle and the preparation of the optimal path of the ladle is proposed. Ladle selection is based on the production process and adopts rule-based reasoning to select decarburised ladle after choosing dephosphorised ladle. Ladle path preparation, a multi-priority heuristic method, is designed to decide the path of the ladle from the converter to the refining furnace to the continuous casting machine. Finally, it was actually verified based on a large-scale steel company in Shanghai, China. Results showed that the production efficiency of steelmaking-refining-continuous casting was improved.
Isolation And Characterization Of Pectinase Producing Bacteria From Avocado Peel Wastes For Application In Juice Clarification
Authors: Haile Setegn , Masi Chandran , Tafesse Mesfin 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: Pectinase is an enzyme of bacterial origin that has been used to degrade pectin polysaccharide materials in various industries. This study aims to isolate and screen pectinase-producing bacteria from avocado peel wastes and to study the produced pectinase enzyme’s application in fruit juice extraction and clarification. Results: First, four different bacterial strains were isolated from avocado peel waste samples through the primary screening method. These isolates were further screened for pectinase production capability by employing the secondary screening method. Two bacterial isolates (W3 and R5) which had higher pectinase activities were then identified to be Lysinibacillus macrolides (W3) and Serratia marcescens (R5) respectively. The analysis of pectinase synthesis and application in fruit juice clarification was performed using one of the bacterial strains, Serratia marcescens (R5). As a result, the maximum crude pectinase enzyme activity from Serratia marcescens (R5) was found in 72 hours of incubation time, at the optimum temperature of 35oC, pH 8, using 1% pectin substrate as carbon sources. This bacterial strain's pectinase enzyme was partially isolated using ammonium sulfate and dialysis. In comparison to crude pectinase (33.68 U/mg), the partially distilled pectinase had a high basic enzyme activity after dialysis (47.32 U/mg). Finally, the percentage yield and clarity of apple, lemon, and mango fruit juices were investigated using both crude and partially filtered pectinase. As a result, for lemon fruit juice processing, the partially filtered pectinase enzyme had the highest percentage yield and clarity of 86.67% and 96.67% percent, respectively.Conclusions: According to this article, the pectinase enzyme isolated from Serratia marcescens has the potential to clarify fruit juices. Further research should focus on a comprehensive evaluation of this enzyme to ensure and improve the efficiency of the bacteria and pectinase enzyme it produces for possible use in the fruit industry and other applications.
Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitor Dapagliflozinstabilizes Diabetes-Induced Atherosclerotic Plaque Instability
Authors: Chen Yung-Chih , Jandeleit-Dahm Karen , Peter Karlheinz 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Aims/hypothesis: Diabetes is known to accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis and increase plaque instability. However, there has been a lack of suitable animal models to study the effect of diabetes on plaque instability. We hypothesized that the tandem stenosis (TS) mouse model, which reflects plaque instability and rupture as seen in patients, can be applied to study the effects of diabetes and its respective therapeutic approaches on plaque instability/rupture. Methods: ApoE -/- mice at 7 weeks of age were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) for 5 consecutive days. 5 weeks after STZ injection, mice were surgically subjected to TS in the right carotid artery and fed with a high-fat diet for an additional 7 weeks. To validate this newly developed animal model, administration of the interventional drug dapagliflozin was provided via drinking water (25 mg/kg) 3 days after TS surgery. Results: Diabetic mice showed an increase in the size of unstable atherosclerotic plaques in the TS model. Plaque instability markers such as MCP-1, CD68, and necrotic core (NC) size were significantly increased. Mice treated with the sodium glucose co-transporter 2i (SGLT2i) dapagliflozin demonstrated attenuated glucose levels. Importantly, these mice demonstrated plaque stabilization with enhanced collagen accumulation, increased fibrosis, increased cap-to-lesion ratios, and significant upregulation of plaque NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) expression. Conclusions/interpretation: The TS mouse model in combination with the application of STZ represents a highly suitable and unique mouse model for studying plaque destabilization under diabetic conditions. Furthermore, for the first time, we provide evidence of plaque-stabilizing effects of SGLT2i. Our data also suggest that this newly developed mouse model is an attractive preclinical tool for testing anti-diabetic drugs for their highly sought-after potential to stabilize atherosclerotic plaques.
WNT Signaling Influences Neurological Function and Psychiatric Disorders Through Regulating Glia Phenotypes and Neuron Plasticity
Authors: Wang Haochen , Yan Mengyang , Cheng Zhiqi , Rui Tongyu , Yan Yanan , Chen Jie , Gu Zhiya , Hui Li , Jia Qiufang , Chen Xiping , Tao Luyang 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: As an important signaling pathway during embryonic development, WNT/β-catenin signaling regulates cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the role of WNT pathway on central nervous system (CNS) injury is not clear. Methods: In this study, based on traumatic brain injury (TBI, in vivo) and acute neuroinflammation (in vivo and in vitro) models, WNT signaling regulating glia cell phenotypes and the fate of neurons was investigated, and the effect on neurological function and anxiety behavior were also studied. The intercellular interaction was verified by transwell experiments. Results: The result showed that WNT signaling was inhibited at acute stage of brain injury and TBI, and the expression of WNT/β-catenin decreased in primary cultured neurons and astrocytes after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. WNT agonists (LiCl and Wnt3a) treatment significantly relieved psychiatric symptoms post-TBI compared to vehicle-treated group. WNT agonist treatment accelerated the polarization of astrocytes and generated A2 astrocytes, and activation of WNT signaling in astrocytes could promote neuron axon formation and maintain neuronal stability. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that WNT signaling could influence neuron plasticity through regulating the phenotypes of microglia and astrocytes, and thereby affect neurological function and anxiety state. This study provides an evidence that WNT signaling may be therapeutic target against psychiatric disorder after TBI
Group Decision-making Method Based on Grey Relational Analysis and Evidence Theory for XAI
Authors: Sun Decai , Luo Dang 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
For the uncertainty and complexity ingroup decision making and the differences of decision makers’ reliabilities, a group decision making method based on grey relational analysis and evidence theory is proposed. Combining grey relational analysis with evidence theory, a novel decision-making method extracting the degree of ignorance for individual decision makers’ information and constructing the Mass function is presented based on the comprehensive grey relational analysis (CGRA) method. We should also address how AI systems make their black box decisions, which calls for research into Explainable AI (XAI) by pursuing reverse engineering and self-explainability in AI. Considering the differences of decision makers’ reliabilities, the Mass function is modified by the evidence weight, and the group decision information is fused by the Dempster’s combination rule. On this basis, the Mass function is further transformed into the probability by the Pignistic probability transformation, which issued for ranking analysis of group decision making. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the green supplier selection, and the comparative analysis is further performed to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Novel Method of Ranking Intuitionistic Fuzzy Numbers using Value and θ Multiple of Ambiguity at Flexibility Parameters
Authors: Chutia Rituparna 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
In this paper a novel method of ordering intuitionistic fuzzy numbers, based on the notions of ‘value’ and θ-multiple of ‘ambiguity’ of an intuitionistic fuzzy number, is developed. Further, the flexibility parameters, of decision-making at (α, β)-levels, are used in the method. These parameters allow the decision-maker to take decisions at various (α, β)-levels of decision-making.
Many a times, all the reasonable properties of ranking intuitionistic fuzzy numbers were never checked in the existing studies. However, in this study an utmost attempt is being made to
study the reasonable properties thoroughly. Further, the existing methods are mostly based on intuition and the geometry of the intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. However, the proposed method
completely complies with the reasonable properties of ranking intuitionistic fuzzy numbers as well as the coherent intuition and the geometry of the intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. Further, newer properties are also being developed in this study. These prove the novelty of the proposed method. Further, a few numerical examples are discussed that demonstrates the proposed method.
Characterization of a Bacteriophage Isolated from a River water against a Local Field Strain Multi-Drug Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Authors: Rai Akanksha , Khairnar Krishna 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
It is becoming increasingly difficult in combating Multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. MDR Staphylococcus aureus particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus is one such notorious pathogen in clinical settings and the food industry. With increasing incidences of drug resistance and slow progress in developing new antibiotics, bacteriophages against pathogenic S. aureus are promising as antibacterial. We isolated Four local field MDR S. aureus from wastewater samples. We got a bacteriophage against an MDR S. aureus from a river-water sample. The bacteriophage was lytic and was stable at various temperatures ranging from − 20°C to 37°C. the bacteriophage was stable at a highly alkaline PH and had a narrow host range. Through genomic analysis, the bacteriophage DNA encodes 52 genes, and all predicted genes are on one strand, it also encodes a phage RNA polymerase; although it does not show similarity to any known staphylococcal bacteriophage, it shows similarity (91%) to Enterobacteriaceae phages. When surveying the research articles about Staphylococcal phages, we could find about the unclassified and Singleton-Staphylococcal phages.
Is Salvage Surgery for Large Vestibular Schwannomas After Failed Gamma-knife Radiosurgery More Challenging?
Authors: Troude Lucas , Boucekine Mohamed , Balossier Anne , Baucher Guillaume , Lavieille Jean-Pierre , Régis Jean , Roche Pierre-Hugues 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Objectives: In order to verify whether a previous Gamma-Knife surgery (GKS) treatment could influence the oncological and functional outcome in large vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery, we have compared group of patients operated on for large VS after failed-GKS to a group of genuine VS that underwent the same functional nerve-sparing resection technique regimen in the same period.Methods: Single center retrospective cohort study of 23 consecutive GKS-failure and 170 genuine VS patients operated on between April 2003 and March 2019. After resection, patients were allocated to a Wait-&-rescan or an upfront GKS policy.Results: At last follow-up examination, the facial nerve function was good (House-Brackmann Grades I or II) in 95% of the GKS-failure and 84% of the genuine VS patients (p=.25). The median volume of tumor residue was .56cc in the GKS-failure group, and .62cc in the genuine VS group (p=.70). Tumor control was achieved in 91% and 83% of cases with a mean follow-up of 74 and 63 months in the GKS-failure and the genuine VS populations, respectively. The 1-, 5- and 7-year progression free survival were 100%, 95% & 85% respectively in the GKS-failure group, and 97%, 80% & 81% in the genuine VS group (p=.27).Conclusion: Despite significant modifications of the microsurgical environment associated to salvage surgery after GKS-failure, a functional nerve-sparing resection is an effective strategy to optimize the results on facial nerve function, with similar long-term tumor control to those observed in the genuine VS population.
Structural, Optical and Microwave Dielectric Properties of Ba(Ti1-xSnx)4O9, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7 Ceramics
Authors: Ali Asad , Uddin Sarir , Lal Madan , Zaman Abid , Iqbal Zafar , Althubeiti Khaled 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Sn-doped BaTi4O9 (BT4) microwave ceramics were prepared by a mixed oxide route. Preliminary X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural study shows that the samples have orthorhombic symmetry with space group (Pnmm). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM ) shows that the grain size of the samples decreases with increasing Sn4+ contents. The presence of the metal oxide efficient group was revealed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The Photoluminescence spectra of the samples reported red color ~ 603, 604, 606.5 and 605 nm with excitation energy ~ 2.06, 2.05, 2.04 and 2.05 eV for Sn content at x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, respectively. The microwave dielectric properties of all the samples were investigated by an impedance analyzer. The excellent microwave dielectric properties i.e. high relative permittivity (εr = 57.29), high-quality factor (Qf = 11,852), and low-dielectric loss (3.007) has been observed.
Development and Validation of Nomograms to Predict Long-term Oncological Outcomes in Serous Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Yuan-yuan Liu , Ren-feng Zhao , Chao Liu , Jie Zhou , Liu Yang , Li Li 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background: Nomograms are statistics-based predictive tools that integrate predictive factors. We developed and validated a nomogram to predict overall survival (OS) in serous ovarian cancer (SOC).Methods: In total, 6957 patients from the SEER database were included in the training group; the external validation group included 1244 SOC patients from two Chinese hospitals. The nomogram was structured on Cox regression analyses and was evaluated in both the training and validation groups using consistency index, area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), calibration plots, and risk subgroup classification. Kaplan–Meier curves were plotted to compare survival outcomes between subgroups. A decision-curve analysis was used to test the clinical value of the nomogram.Results: The independent factors identified by multivariate analysis in the training cohort and selected for the nomogram included age, tumor grade, and FIGO stage. The consistency indexes for OS were 0.689 (95% confidence interval: 0.677–0.701) in the training cohort and 0.639 (95% confidence interval: 0.601–0.670) in the validation cohort; the AUCs were 0.675 and 0.661 in the validation cohorts, respectively. Calibration curves showed good consistency between predicted and actual 3- and 5-year OS. Significant differences were observed in the survival curves of different risk subgroups. The decision-curve analysis indicated our nomogram was superior to the AJCC staging system.Conclusion: We constructed a nomogram to predict long-term OS in SOC and externally verified it in an Asian population. This nomogram showed more accurate survival predictions, which will help provide personalized treatments and follow-up strategies.