bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Risk Characteristics of Heavy Metals in Urban Soil
Authors: Li Yan , Feng Dike , Ji Meiying , Li Zhanpeng , Zhang Ruocheng , Gu Chenwei 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
With the rapid development of China's industrial economy, heavy metals and other pollutants continue to accumulate in the environment, which has created serious threats for the ecological environment and human health. To comprehensively evaluate the ecological risks from heavy metals in the soil in Nanjing, China, as well as the status of the risks to human health, this study randomly collected 50 surface soil samples, and the contents of Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Ti, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in the samples were determined, combined with the ecological risk index and the USEPA health risk assessment model for a comprehensive risk assessment of soil heavy metals in Nanjing. The results show that there has been heavy metal enrichment of Mn, Pb, Zn and other heavy metals in the research area in Nanjing city, and the variation coefficients of Pb and Cu are distinctly large; that is, the distribution of Pb and Cu in the research area shows a great fluctuation. These elements are all slightly polluting, among which the Cu heavy metal pollution degree is different, and Pb element pollution is the most serious. Children are at a high risk of exposure in various ways, among which Pb and Cu elements have a high risk of causing non-carcinogenic issues. Overall, Pb and Cu in Nanjing are important risk elements that should be monitored and controlled. The results of the correlation analysis showed that the content changes of Pb, Zn and Cu; Ni, Ti and Fe; and Zn and Pb had extremely significant correlations, indicating that they may have the same source; while Ti and Ca, Ti and Cu, and Pb and Zn showed opposite changes, indicating that their concentrations were inversely related. The results of the principal component analysis showed that industrial sources in Nanjing contributed the most heavy metals, reaching 34.4%. The second largest source was from parent material and fertilizer, which contributed 32.3% and 19.6%, respectively. The sources with the lowest contributions were from weathering and deposition, which reached 13.7%.
Randomized Phase III Trial of Intravenous And Intraperitoneal Paclitaxel With S-1 Versus Gemcitabine Plus Nab-Paclitaxel For Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma With Peritoneal Metastasis (SP Study)
Authors: Yamamoto Tomohisa , Fujii Tsutomu , Hirano Satoshi , Motoi Fuyuhiko , Honda Goro , Uemura Kenichiro , Kitayama Joji , Unno Michiaki , Kodera Yasuhiro , Yamaue Hiroki , Shimokawa Toshio , Hashimoto Daisuke , Yamaki So , Yoshitomi Hideyuki , Miura Fumihiko , Ueno Hideki , Sekimoto Mitsugu , Satoi Sohei 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The prognosis of pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) with peritoneal metastasis remains dismal. Systemic chemotherapy alone may not be effective, and the combination of intraperitoneal chemotherapy with systemic chemotherapy is expected to prolong overall survival in patients with peritoneal metastasis. We have designed a randomized phase III trial to confirm the superiority of intravenous (i.v.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) paclitaxel (PTX) with S-1 relative to gemcitabine plus nab-PTX (GnP), which is the current standard therapy for patients with metastatic PDAC. A total of 180 patients will be accrued from 30 institutions within 3 years. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either i.v. and i.p. PTX with S-1 or GnP (target of 90 patients per group). The primary endpoint is overall survival; secondary endpoints are progression-free survival, response rate, proportion with negative peritoneal washing cytology during chemotherapy, proportion requiring conversion surgery, and adverse event profiles. This study has been registered with the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, registration number jRCTs051180199 (https://jrct.niph.go.jp/).
Green Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles Extracted From Guar Seedling Under Cu Heavy-Metal Stress By Trichoderma Harzianum And Their Bio-Efficacy Evaluation Against Staphylococcus Aureus And Escherichia Coli
Authors: Ahmadi-Nouraldinvand Farnaz , Afrouz Mehdi , Elias Sabry G , Eslamian Saeid 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Copper nanoparticles were successfully synthesized with the help of the agriculturally beneficial fungus Trichoderma harzianum through a simple green and eco-friendly route. The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate the application of Trichoderma harzianum and assess the effect of guar plant cultivation on heavy metal contaminated lands of copper in municipal and industrial wastewaters, and 2) develop a method to increase the antibacterial effects on the risk of two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli). Two factors were investigated: 1) two copper (Cu) levels, Natural Hoagland Arnold solution as a control, and application of 100 μlit Cu in Hoagland Arnold solution, and 2) two bio-fertilizer levels, no application as a control, and fungus application. Biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. Diffusion disk, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bacterial concentration (MBC) were used for the antibacterial tests. The results of TEM and SEM showed that the copper nanoparticles synthesize from guar extract, had a spherical structure, and a size of approximately 20 nm. The crystal structure from the XRD analysis, confirmed the synthesized particles as copper nanoparticles. The formation of Cu-NPs was confirmed by the FTIR analysis. Furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of copper nanoparticles towards bacterial growth were evaluated. The copper nanoparticles and Trichoderma harzianum fungi presented antibacterial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The results suggested that green synthesis of nanoparticles using guar extracts can increase their antibacterial effect. The effect of copper nanoparticles and Trichoderma harzianum fungi on biochemical properties of guar was also investigated. The results showed that the highest antioxidant enzymatic activity and proline amino acid were obtained at 100 μlit Cu and T. harzianum fungi application. Moreover, the results suggested that the use of T. harzianum fungi can be useful in increasing the resistance to heavy metal stress in plants by increasing the activity of some antioxidant enzymes and secondary metabolites.
Sodium Titanate Synthesis For The Photocatalytic Degradation of NO
Authors: Bastida Marco Antonio Cueto , Maldonado Yadira Guadalupe , Vidal Yolanda Reyes , Lopez Myriam Solis , Gonzalez Eduardo Coutino , Ayala Fabricio Espejel 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The synthesis and characterization of sodium titanates (ST) and its evaluation in the photocatalytic reduction of nitric oxide (NO) is described in this contribution. The materials were synthesized by an hydrothermal route using the following parameters; 5 M NaOH concentration used as TiO2 mineralizer agent, under 170 °C for 48 hours, and a dose of TiO2 of 0.06 mg/mL (expressed as the mass ratio of TiO2/mL with respect to NaOH); resulting in tri- and hexa- ST. A nanotubular morphology was observed for the ST as proved by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a subsequent heat-treatment at 400 °C allowed a complete transformation of tri- to hexa- sodium titanates to modify the bandgap. The obtained ST were impregnated with Ag+ and Zn+ cations, respectively (ST-Ag, ST-Zn), to tune the bandgap of the materials. XPS analysis of the ST-Ag materials showed evidence of metallic Ag pointing to the formation of silver nanoparticles, whereas for ST-Zn oxide phases were mainly spotted. The materials were evaluated for the photocatalytic reduction of NO using a reactor fed with a continuous flow rate of NO, generated in situ, at a flow rate of 280 ml/min using nitrogen and a 253 nm wavelength UV irradiation source. The photocatalytic tests showed that pristine ST (tri and hexa-titanate) was the photocatalyst that displayed the best performance in the reduction of NO with respect to the impregnated samples (ST-Ag, ST-Zn). Maximum efficiencies of 80% degradation were reached when using 1 g of photocatalyst with a flow of 280 ml/min and a lamp of 253 nm.
Exploration of Targeting Mechanisms of Cinnamon Essential Oil Against Water Borne Multiple Drug Resistant Isolate Aeromonas Hydrophila C4
Authors: Sagar Sadhana , Rani Sangeeta , Sanusree P.S. , Sru K.V 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Introduction:Cinnamon is dietary part of almost every Indian, hence there is no harm to consume it or apply it as antibacterial agent. Herein, we have observed that 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 % concentrations cinnamon essential oil sufficient to control A. hydrophila within 5hrs of exposure. Cinnamaldehyde of is major component of used essential oil which has targeted the Flgn, Fij and Flja protein of flagella flowed by inhibition of swimming motility. Cinnamaldehyde was associated with damaging of cell membrane and leakage of electrolytes in extracellular environment.Aim of the study:In the current study cinnamon essential oil has been used to control the growth of multiple drug resistant A. hydrophila. A. hydrophila was isolated from well water system, and it was imipenem resistant bacteria as well. Materials and Methods: Cinnamon essential oil was characterized by using HPLC and FTIR. Antibacterial killing mechanism was determined by using electrical conductivity test, cytotoxic test by MTT assay, cell wall integrity test and motility test. Results:Cinnamon essential oil has potential to control the growth of A. hydrophila, and complete inhibition of cells was observed within 5hrs of exposure to 0.7% concentration of essential oil. By motility test and molecular docking it has been confirmed that for killing of bacterial cells, cinnamaldehyde of cinnamon essential oil targeting the cell membrane proteins as well as flagellar proteins Flgn, Fij and Flja.
Comparative Evaluation of Agronomic Performance of Selected Landraces And Improved Groundnuts Cultivars In Central Uganda
Authors: Mulumba John W , Kakeeto Ronald , Nankya Rose , Lwandasa Hannington , Isabirye Brian , Jarvis Devra 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is important for providing food, income, livestock fodder for smallholder farmers, and improving soil fertility. However, groundnut yields on farmers’ fields in Sub-Saharan Africa are still very low due to various constraints. Several groundnut cultivars are available within the farmer’s domain but the adoption of these varieties favours landraces as opposed to improved varieties. Limited information is available on performance of commonly grown cultivars for guiding selection by different user groups (farmers, breeders and other users). This study was thus designed to determine the performance of selected landraces and improved groundnut varieties in Uganda. 23 groundnut lines with varying degrees of tolerance to a range of stresses were evaluated at two sites. Results showed significant (P ≤ 0.05 to P≤ 0.001) differences among genotypes for yield. Significant (P≤0.05 to P≤0.001) varietal differences were also observed between landraces and improved varieties for growth and physiological traits but not for pest and disease reaction. Clustering was not evident on the basis of either landraces or improved cultivars for pests and diseases incidences. However, associations of a mix of both groundnut classes of with particular diseases and/or pests were observed. Varieties such as India, Serenut 10, Kabonge, and DOK Tan associated with diseases such as rosette virus disease and its vector pest, the aphids. The results reported in this study shall be useful for driving the development of new cultivars owing to their good adaptability and acceptance thus the need to conserve and ensure sustainable use of these germplasm.
A phase I study of anlotinib combined with platinum-pemetrexed in untreated non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Huang Meijuan , Liu Yong-mei , Yu Min , Li Yan-ying , Zhang Yan , Zhu Jiang , Li Li , Lu You 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background

Anlotinib hydrochloride is an oral small molecule multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and it has been approved as third-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China. This dose-exploration study was designed to investigate the feasibility of anlotinib in combination with chemotherapy in patients with non-squamous NSCLC.
Methods

This phase I study followed a 3 + 3 dose reduction design with three dose levels of anlotinib (12mg, 10mg, 8mg). Anlotinib was given at an initial dose of 12mg with pemetrexed (500mg/m2) plus cisplatin (75mg/m2) or carboplatin (AUC = 5) on 21-day cycles for 4 cycles. The primary goal of the study was to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and secondary endpoints included progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results

A total of eight participants were enrolled. DLTs were observed in two patients (pts) at anlotinib 12mg (grade 3 hand-foot syndrome and grade 3 appetite loss). No DLTs occurred at anlotinib 10mg and the MTD was 10mg. Among seven pts evaluable, four achieved confirmed partial response (PR) and three had stable disease (SD). With a median follow-up of 10.05 months, the median PFS was 7.00 months (95%CI: 2.76 to NE). Grade 3 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) included appetite loss (n = 2), hypertension (n = 2), thrombocytopenia (n = 1), diarrhea (n = 1) and hand-foot syndrome (n = 1). No grade 4 or grade 5 TRAEs observed during the treatment.
Conclusion

The feasible dose of anlotinib in combination with platinum-pemetrexed as first-line therapy was 10 mg, which was well tolerated and showed promising antitumor activity in advanced non-squamous NSCLC.
A Regulatory Framework Assessment on Multispecies Urban Planning in Indonesia A Case Study of Two Indonesian Cities in Java and Borneo
Authors: Setiadi Rukuh , Nadhiroh Salma Zulfa , Rupprecht Christoph 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Despite benefits for human civilization, urbanization has brought an enormous consequence to non-human species. Multispecies planning is a potential solution in response to increasingly insensitive urban planning to non-human species. This paper aims to understand the link between a national regulatory framework and its outcome in terms of urban spatial plan from multispecies planning point of view using indicators such as from protected forest to natural reserve and from ecological corridors to private yards. It examines whether the existing regulatory framework is an obstacle to the practice and implementation of multispecies planning ideas in a city. We employ a content analysis to assess 18 laws and policies at the national level. We also utilize a case study to test the spatial plan outcome in two areas in Indonesia, namely the city of Semarang (Central Java) and Barito Utara Regency (Central Borneo), in which also involve additional content analysis of 4 local regulations accordingly. The study successfully maps out the extent of relative emphasis of each multispecies urban planning indicators according to Indonesian national regulatory frameworks. The study also reveals that regulatory frameworks at the national level do not really determine multispecies urban planning practices at the local level, nor does the status of biodiversity assets owned by a city or region. Improving the literacy of planners, planning committee, and other key decision makers in multispecies planning is pivotal and warrants a further investigation.
Tricking Enzymes In Living Cells: A Mechanism-Based Strategy For Design of DNA Topoisomerase Biosensors
Authors: Ba Sai , Gao Guangpeng , Li Tianhu , Zhang Hao 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Most activity-based molecular probes are designed to target enzymes that catalyze the breaking of chemical bonds and the conversion of a unimolecular substrate into bimolecular products. However, DNA topoisomerases are a class of enzymes that alter DNA topology without producing any molecular segments during catalysis, which hinders the development of practical methods for diagnosing these key biomarkers in living cells. Here, we established a new strategy for the effective sensing of the expression levels and catalytic activities of topoisomerases in cell-free systems and human cells. Using our newly designed biosensors, we tricked DNA topoisomerases within their catalytic cycles to switch on fluorescence and resume new rounds of catalysis. Considering that human topoisomerases have been widely recognized as biomarkers for multiple cancers and identified as promising targets for several anticancer drugs, we believe that these DNA-based biosensors and our design strategy would greatly benefit the future development of clinical tools for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The Classificatied Prediction of Coronary Heart Disease Based on Patient Similarity Analysis
Authors: LI Xinyao , ZHANG Linlin , BI Xuehua , ZHANG Ying , YU Guanglei , ZHAO Kai 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Objective:It is important for physicians' clinical decision support to classify the coronary heart disease (CHD).Customizing personalized predictive models for patients requires selecting a patient group from an existing medical database that most closely resembles the indexed patients. In this study,we introduce a new concept that using the patient similarity for the classification of patient with CHD.Materials and methods: We performed a structured representation of CHD patients. Obtain the multidimensional attribute distance matrix between patient pairs by calculating the multidimensional attribute distance of the patients. Predict similarity between patient pairs using machine learning (ML) models to predict clinical outcomes for indexed patients based on matched similar patients.Results:The new measure shows marked improvements over the traditional classification measures. LightGBM is the top-performing ML model. The best model achieved 88.52% accuracy.Conclusion:The medical applications of ML supported by similarity analytics represent a promising solution through which to reduce the physican workload to achieve the goal of “precision medicine”.
Segmentation of Lymph Nodes in Ultrasound Images using U-Net Convolutional Neural Networks and Gabor-based Anisotropic Diffusion
Authors: Chen Haobo , Wang Yuqun , Shi Jie , Xiong Jingyu , Jiang Jianwei , Chang Wanying , Chen Man , Zhang Qi 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Objective Automated segmentation of lymph nodes (LNs) in ultrasound images is a challenging task mainly due to the presence of speckle noise and echogenic hila. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic and accurate method for LN segmentation in ultrasound. Methods The proposed segmentation method integrates diffusion-based despeckling, U-Net convolutional neural networks and morphological operations. Firstly, we suppress speckle noise and enhance lymph node edges using the Gabor-based anisotropic diffusion (GAD). Secondly, a modified U-Net model is proposed to segment LNs excluding echogenic hila. Finally, morphological operations are adopted to segment entire LNs by filling the regions of echogenic hila.Results A total of 531 lymph nodes from 526 patients were included to evaluate the proposed method. Quantitative metrics of segmentation performance, including the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, Jaccard similarity and Dice coefficient, reached 0.934, 0.939, 0.937, 0.763 and 0.865, respectively.Conclusion The proposed method automatically and accurately segments LNs in ultrasound, which may assist artificially intelligent diagnosis of lymph node diseases.
Brazilian Private Health System: History, Scenarios, and Trends
Authors: Cruz June Alisson Westarb , Cunha Maria Alexandra Viegas Cortez da , Moraes Thyago Proença , Tuon Felipe Francisco , Linhares Gisele de Paula , Gomide Arivelton Loeschke , Marques Sandro 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background: Health care is a complex economic and social system, which combines market elements and public and social interest. This combination in Brazil, like systems in China and America, is operationalized through the public and private system. The sector represents approximately 9% of the country's GDP, of which 56% is privately sourced and 44% is of public origin. In the private sector, supplementary health includes a structure with 711 hospital medical health plan operators, 47 million beneficiaries and revenues of US$30 billion a year. Methods: Therefore, this research describes and analyzes the complementarity of Supplementary Health before the Brazilian Unified Health System, highlighting its main characteristics, scenarios, and trends in the face of the health system and the Brazilian market. This descriptive and exploratory research uses secondary data from various sources, submitted to quantitative data analysis methods. The object of the research is the history of supplementary health in Brazil and its main actors. Results: The data are organized into three groups, each with its approach of collection and analysis. Thus, it is perceived as the notorious growth of large operators, to the detriment of operators with a lower concentration of beneficiaries; the increasing concentration of the market through mergers and acquisitions promoted by large publicly traded corporations, especially in regions with a lower rate of supplementary health coverage; and the growth of the sector through business plans, whose central characteristic is the dependence on the country's employability rate.Conclusions: It is possible to perceive an intense trend of concentration of Brazilian supplementary health in large institutions that have capitalized and have a great appetite for growth through mergers and acquisitions, whether from smaller operators or health institutions that integrate their health networks, following complementary health models already consolidated in countries such as China, and the United, among others. This concentration projects a market with fewer options and competitiveness, reduction in transaction costs and operational effectiveness of care.