bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anaerobic Mesophilic Co-Digestion of Swine Slurry and Hidrolyzate in Batch Reactors: A Case Study
Authors: Domingues Paulo S. , Pala Helena , Oliveira Nelson S. 
Published: June 2021

The management of residual flows from swine farms, such as slurry and hydrolyzate, is a serious environmental problem in Portugal, so the search for new solutions is important, especially if they can be implemented in production sites, avoiding the transport of waste. Anaerobic co-digestion can configure a sustainable method of management and valorization of these flows in swine farms, resulting in biogas to produce energy and a digestate with agronomic value. The swine hydrolyzate is the product from the elimination of swine carcasses on the farms, through a hydrolysis process. Its use in the anaerobic process wasn’t found in the literature, identifying the need to evaluate its potential. Thus, anaerobic co-digestion of swine slurry and hydrolyzate was carried out and the main purpose of this research was to find the best feeding ratio between the two substrates in batch test, focusing on biogas production. The study was developed in two phases, both under mesophilic conditions. In the first one, using 100 ml syringes, the effect of the relative proportion of substrates on the anaerobic co-digestion potential was investigated and the effect of pressure sterilization of the substrates on biogas production was verified. In the second phase, a larger scale study was carried out in a 4,500 ml digestor, ran under the conditions identified as the most favorable in the preliminary tests. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that the largest volume of accumulated biogas was obtained with the proportion of 90.9% swine slurry: 9.1% swine hydrolyzate (v/v); and that the sterilization of the substrates doesn’t constitute an effective thermal pre-treatment. The larger scale test revealed an inefficient anaerobic process due to the inhibitory effect caused by the accumulation of ammonia and volatile organic acids. However, the production yield was 606.8 LBiogas/kgVS and 431.6 LMethane/kgVS, indicating that process allowed a production of biogas and methane higher than the values cited in literature for anaerobic digestion of swine slurry. This result showed that the use of swine hydrolyzate as a co-substrate results in a better balance of nutrients, promoting a better development of microorganisms.
Responses of Soil Microbial Biomass and Enzyme Activities to Natural Restoration of Reclaimed Temperate Marshes After Abandonment
Authors: Wang Chunguang , Li Haixing , Sun Xiaoxin , Cai Tijiu 
Published: June 2021

Restoration of reclaimed marshes has great effects on soil biological processes. However, the responses of soil microbial properties (microbial biomass and enzyme activities) to natural restoration of reclaimed marshes is poorly studied, especially in a long restoration chronosequence. This study assessed the responses of soil microbial properties to natural restoration and investigated the relationships between soil microbial properties and soil physico-chemical and plant properties. We selected a restoration chronosequence (1, 4, 8, 13, 17, 27 years) after farmland abandonment, a soybean field, and a natural marsh in Sanjiang Plain, northeast China. For each site, we analyzed the soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), four enzymes (β-glucosidase, invertase, catalase, urease) activities, soil physico-chemical properties at 0–50 cm depths, and plant properties (biomass, height, and coverage). The MBC and MBN contents increased with restoration time, but MBN content slowed down after 8 years of restoration. After 27 years of restoration, the soil MBC and MBN contents were 15.7 and 3.2 times of those in the soybean field, but the largest contents of MBC and MBN in the restored sites were 7.78%, 27.76% lower than those in natural marshes, respectively. Moreover, soil enzyme activities and the geometric mean of enzymatic activities (GME) also increased with restoration but slowed down after 13 years of restoration. After 27 years of restoration, the GME was 2.9 times than that in the soybean field, but the largest GME in the restored sites was 31.15% lower than that in the natural marsh. MBC and MBN contents, soil enzyme activities, and GME had significant relationships with soil C:N ratio, organic carbon, nutrients (total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus), bulk density, moisture content, pH, plant properties, (i.e. biomass, height, and coverage) (p &lt; 0.01). Redundancy analysis revealed that soil C:N ratio, pH, moisture content, total nitrogen and phosphorus were main factors affecting MBC and MBN contents and enzyme activities. In conclusion, soil microbial properties can respond positively to the natural restoration process of the reclaimed marshes and were significantly correlated with specific parameters of soil physico-chemical and plant properties.
Mapping Spatial Distribution and Biomass of Intertidal Ulva Blooms Using Machine Learning and Earth Observation
Authors: Karki Sita , Bermejo Ricardo , Wilkes Robert , Monagail Michéal Mac , Daly Eve , Healy Mark , Hanafin Jenny , McKinstry Alastair , Mellander Per-Erik , Fenton Owen , Morrison Liam 
Published: June 2021

Graphical AbstractOverall research workflow showing data types, study area, model development and biomass results.
Deposition Characteristics of Firebrands on and Around Rectangular Cubic Structures
Authors: Mankame Aditya , Shotorban Babak 
Published: June 2021

The focus of the present work is on the deposition of firebrands in a flow over a rectangular cubic block representative of a structure in wildland-urban interface (WUI). The study was carried out by physics based modeling where the wind flow turbulence was dealt with by large eddy simulation (LES) and firebrands were treated by Lagrangian tracking. The Lagrangian equations coupled with the flow solver, accounted for both translational and rotational motions as well as thermochemical degradation of firebrands, assumed to be cylindrical. The dimensions of the structure were varied from 3 to 9 m in the simulations for a parametric study. The simulations were carried out by tracking many firebrands randomly released with a uniform distribution from a horizontal plane 35 m above the ground into the computational domain. The coordinates of the deposited firebrands were used to calculate their normalized number density (number of landed firebrands per unit surface area) to quantify their deposition pattern. On the leewardside of the block, an area, referred to as the safe zone, was identified right behind the structure where firebrands never deposit. The size of the safe zone in the direction perpendicular to the wind was nearly identical to the width of the structure. The length of the safe zone in the wind direction was proportional to the height of the structure. The leeward face of the blocks was never hit by a firebrand. The windward face was hit by many more firebrands than the lateral faces but much less than the top face. The distribution of the number density of the deposited firebrands on the top face was found to be correlated with the flow separation and reattachment on this face.
A Personal Respirator to Improve Protection for Healthcare Workers Treating COVID-19 (PeRSo)
Authors: Elkington Paul T. , Dickinson Alexander S. , Mavrogordato Mark N. , Spencer Daniel C. , Gillams Richard J. , De Grazia Antonio , Rosini Sebastian , Garay-Baquero Diana J. , Diment Laura E. , Mahobia Nitin , Mant Alexandra , Baynham Tom , Morgan Hywel 
Published: June 2021

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection is a global pandemic. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect healthcare workers has been a recurrent challenge in terms of global stocks, supply logistics and suitability. In some settings, around 20% of healthcare workers treating COVID-19 cases have become infected, which leads to staff absence at peaks of the pandemic, and in some cases mortality.Methods: To address shortcomings in PPE, we developed a simple powered air purifying respirator, made from inexpensive and widely available components. The prototype was designed to minimize manufacturing complexity so that derivative versions could be developed in low resource settings with minor modification.Results: The “Personal Respirator – Southampton” (PeRSo) delivers High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtered air from a battery powered fan-filter assembly into a lightweight hood with a clear visor that can be comfortably worn for several hours. Validation testing demonstrates that the prototype removes microbes, avoids excessive CO2 build-up in normal use, and passes fit test protocols widely used to evaluate standard N95/FFP2 and N99/FFP3 face masks. Feedback from doctors and nurses indicate the PeRSo prototype was preferred to standard FFP2 and FFP3 masks, being more comfortable and reducing the time and risk of recurrently changing PPE. Patients report better communication and reassurance as the entire face is visible.Conclusion: Rapid upscale of production of cheaply produced powered air purifying respirators, designed to achieve regulatory approval in the country of production, could protect healthcare workers from infection and improve healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MAPK-RAP1A Signaling Enriched in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Is Associated With Favorable Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells and Clinical Prognosis
Authors: Li Hailin , Han Guangyu , Li Xing , Li Bowen , Wu Bo , Jin Hongyuan , Wu Lingli , Wang Wei 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundMAPK-RAP1A signaling, which is involved in cancer progression, remains to be defined. Upregulation of MAPK-RAP1A signaling accounts for most cancers that harbor high incident rate, such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic cancer, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MAPK-RAP1A signaling plays an important function as clinical diagnosis and prognostic value in cancers, and the role of MAPK-RAP1A signaling related with immune infiltration for HCC should be elucidated.MethodsMicroarray data and patient cohort information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; n = 425) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC; n = 405) were selected for validation. The Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to construct a clinical prognostic model in this analysis and validation study. We also tested the area under the curve (AUC) of the risk signature that could reflect the status of predictive power by determining model. MAPK-RAP1A signaling is also associated with tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) as well as clinical parameters in HCC. The GSEA and CIBERSORT were used to calculate the proportion of TICs, which should be beneficial for the clinical characteristics (clinical stage, distant metastasis) and positively correlated with the survival of HCC patients.ResultsHCC patients with enrichment of MAPK-RAP1A signaling were associated with clinical characteristics and favorable T cell gamma delta (Vδ T cells), and STMN1, RAP1A, FLT3, HSPA8, ANGPT2, and PGF were used as candidate biomarkers for risk scores of HCC. To determine the molecular mechanism of this signature gene association, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was proposed. Cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, TGF-β signaling pathway, and Intestinal immune network for IgA production gene sets were closely related in MAPK-RAP1A gene sets. Thus, we established a novel prognostic prediction of HCC to deepen learning of MAPK-RAP1A signaling pathways.ConclusionOur findings demonstrated that HCC patients with enrichment of MAPK-RAP1A signaling were associated with clinical characteristics and favorable T cell gamma delta (Vδ T cells), which may be a novel prognostic prediction of HCC.
Implemented Interventions at the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute to Protect Patients and Medical Personnel From COVID Infections: Effectiveness and Patient Satisfaction
Authors: El Cheikh Jean , El Warrak Samantha , Ghaoui Nohra , Al Chami Farouk , Shahbaz Maya , Chehayeb Sarah , Saghir Nagi , Bazarbachi Ali , Taher Ali 
Published: June 2021

BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. The first case of COVID-19 was identified in Lebanon on the 21st of February 2020, amid a national economic crisis. As the numbers of cases increased, ICU admissions and mortality rose, which led hospitals across Lebanon to take certain safety measures to contain the virus. The Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute (NKBCI) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center handles oncology outpatient visits and outpatient treatment protocol infusions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the safety measures put forth by the NKBCI early in the pandemic.MethodsOncology patients are amongst the immunosuppressed population, who are at greatest risk of contracting COVID-19 and consequently suffering its complications. In this manuscript, we evaluated the precautionary measures implemented at the NKBCI of AUBMC from March 1st to May 31st of 2020, by surveying oncology patients on the telephone who had live and virtual appointments in both the oncology outpatient clinics and infusion unit. We conducted a prospective study of 670 oncology patients who had appointments at the NKBCI during this period and used their answers to draw responses about patient satisfaction towards those safety measures.ResultsOur results involved 387 responses of oncology patients who visited the NKBCI during the period of March 1st to May 31st of 2020. 99% of our respondents gave a rating of good to excellent with these new measures. The option of online consultation was given to 35% in the hematology group compared to 19% in those with solid tumors (p=0.001). From the total, 15% of patients opted for the telemedicine experience as a new implemented strategy to provide patient-centered medical care. Of this group of patients, 22% faced problems with connectivity and 19% faced problems with online payment.ConclusionNKBCI was competent in following the WHO guidelines in protecting the oncology patient population. Feedback collected from the surveys will be taken into account by the committee of the NKBCI to develop new safety measures that can better control viral spread while providing patient-centered medical care.
Repeated Aconitine Treatment Induced the Remodeling of Mitochondrial Function via AMPK–OPA1–ATP5A1 Pathway
Authors: Qiu Li-Zhen , Zhou Wei , Yue Lan-Xin , Wang Yi-Hao , Hao Fei-Ran , Li Peng-Yan , Gao Yue 
Published: June 2021

Aconitine is attracting increasing attention for its unique positive inotropic effect on the cardiovascular system, but underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. The cardiotonic effect always requires abundant energy supplement, which is mainly related to mitochondrial function. And OPA1 has been documented to play a critical role in mitochondrial morphology and energy metabolism in cardiomyocytes. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the potential role of OPA1-mediated regulation of energy metabolism in the positive inotropic effect caused by repeated aconitine treatment and the possible mechanism involved. Our results showed that repeated treatment with low-doses (0–10 μM) of aconitine for 7 days did not induce detectable cytotoxicity and enhanced myocardial contraction in Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes (NRVMs). Also, we first identified that no more than 5 μM of aconitine triggered an obvious perturbation of mitochondrial homeostasis in cardiomyocytes by accelerating mitochondrial fusion, biogenesis, and Parkin-mediated mitophagy, followed by the increase in mitochondrial function and the cellular ATP content, both of which were identified to be related to the upregulation of ATP synthase α-subunit (ATP5A1). Besides, with compound C (CC), an inhibitor of AMPK, could reverse aconitine-increased the content of phosphor-AMPK, OPA1, and ATP5A1, and the following mitochondrial function. In conclusion, this study first demonstrated that repeated aconitine treatment could cause the remodeling of mitochondrial function via the AMPK–OPA1–ATP5A1 pathway and provide a possible explanation for the energy metabolism associated with cardiotonic effect induced by medicinal plants containing aconitine.
Data Processing Thresholds for Abundance and Sparsity and Missed Biological Insights in an Untargeted Chemical Analysis of Blood Specimens for Exposomics
Authors: Barupal Dinesh Kumar , Baygi Sadjad Fakouri , Wright Robert O. , Arora Manish 
Published: June 2021

Background: An untargeted chemical analysis of bio-fluids provides semi-quantitative data for thousands of chemicals for expanding our understanding about relationships among metabolic pathways, diseases, phenotypes and exposures. During the processing of mass spectral and chromatography data, various signal thresholds are used to control the number of peaks in the final data matrix that is used for statistical analyses. However, commonly used stringent thresholds generate constrained data matrices which may under-represent the detected chemical space, leading to missed biological insights in the exposome research.Methods: We have re-analyzed a liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry data set for a publicly available epidemiology study (n = 499) of human cord blood samples using the MS-DIAL software with minimally possible thresholds during the data processing steps. Peak list for individual files and the data matrix after alignment and gap-filling steps were summarized for different peak height and detection frequency thresholds. Correlations between birth weight and LC/MS peaks in the newly generated data matrix were computed using the spearman correlation coefficient.Results: MS-DIAL software detected on average 23,156 peaks for individual LC/MS file and 63,393 peaks in the aligned peak table. A combination of peak height and detection frequency thresholds that was used in the original publication at the individual file and the peak alignment levels can reject 90% peaks from the untargeted chemical analysis dataset that was generated by MS-DIAL. Correlation analysis for birth weight data suggested that up to 80% of the significantly associated peaks were rejected by the data processing thresholds that were used in the original publication. The re-analysis with minimum possible thresholds recovered metabolic insights about C19 steroids and hydroxy-acyl-carnitines and their relationships with birth weight.Conclusions: Data processing thresholds for peak height and detection frequencies at individual data file and at the alignment level should be used at minimal possible level or completely avoided for mining untargeted chemical analysis data in the exposome research for discovering new biomarkers and mechanisms.
Novel Clinical Therapies and Technologies in Dialysis Vascular Access
Authors: Takahashi Edwin A. , Kilari Sreenivasulu , Misra Sanjay 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
The hemodialysis population continues to grow. Although procedures for dialysis have existed for >60 years, significant challenges with vascular access to support hemodialysis persist. Failure of arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) to mature, loss of AVF and graft patency, thrombosis, and infection hinder long-term access, and add extra health care costs and patient morbidity. There have been numerous innovations over the last decade aimed at addressing the issues. In this study, we review the literature and summarize the recent evolution of drug delivery, graft development, minimally invasive AVF creation, and stem-cell therapy for hemodialysis access.
The Development of Three Tier Test (TTT) Instruments to Identify Students Misconceptions on Material in Elementary
Authors: Dewi Suci Zakiah , Hilman Irfan 
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop the assessment instruments used in testing the level of science misconceptions in high grade elementary school. The instrument used is a Three-tier test (TTT) This research is a Research and Development (R&D) research that is a method of conducting research for research that produces a product, and testing the effectiveness of the product. The research stages are as follows: (1) Data Collection and Literature Studies, (2) Product Description and Design, (3) Small Scale Trials, (4) Product Analysis and Revision, (5) Broad-Scale Trials, and (6) Product Analysis and Revision. The research conducted at SDN 5 Sukagalih, Tarogong Kidul District, Garut on a small scale and for a large scale at SDN 1,2,3,4 and 5 Sukagalih, Tarogong Kidul District, Garut. Based on the results of the research obtained data that by using TTT instruments teachers can find out how much quantity of students are misconceptions, trials are conducted on a small scale and large scale and each is carried out 2 stages, namely the stage before the revision and after the revision of the instrument. The results of phase I tests on a large scale many students experienced misconceptions of 62.7% and the phase II test after instrument revision showed a significant decrease to 32.65% of students who experienced misconceptions, the presentation of a decrease in the quantity of misconceptions for large scale was 52.86%. the result was quite significant compared to the small scale which decreased by only 24.61%. The results showed that by using TTT techniques teachers will easily identify the quantity of students who misconception and for the next the teacher will provide treatment to students to lower the quantity.
ANALISIS BIAYA DAN KEUNTUNGAN PADA PERUSAHAAN PETERNAKAN BABI DI KOTA TOMOHON (STUDY KASUS)
Authors: Oroh Franky N 
Published: June 2021

abstract: this research were aimed (1) to analyze how large is the production cost which has been settled by farmers at pig farming company at tomohon regency, (2) to analyze how much profit obtained by the farmers, and (3), to analyze the breakeven point in this business. this research was using survey method by case study approached at 3 farms, owned by mr. jemmy eman (cv. anugerah), mr. ronald kalalo (ud. prima) and mr. piyau gerungai (ud. century). data analysis model were using descriptive analytical approach and mathematical approach in particular with analysis of production cost and profit, and breakeven point analysis. it could be concluded that (1) the use of production cost at cv. anugerah, ud. prima and ud. century pig farm companies at tomohon regency per period of production per year were efficient, as proved by the return of investment (roi) value gained at each farm which gives level of profit. (2) the value of breakeven point at each farm was on profitable production volume, because they have operated above breakeven point value. abstract : tujuan penelitian ialah (1) untuk menganalisis berapa besar biaya produksi usaha ternak babi yang dialokasikan oleh peternak pada perusahan peternakan babi di kota tomohon, (2) untuk menganalisis berapa besar keuntungan peternak pada perusahan peternakan babi di kota tomohon, dan (3) untuk menganalisis titik impas pada perusahan peternakan babi di kota tomohon. penelitian ini menggunakan metode survey melalui pendekatan studi kasus pada tiga perusahan peternakan babi yaitu perusahan peternakan babi milik bapak jemmy eman (cv. anugerah), bapak ronald kalalo (ud. prima) dan bapak piyau gerungai (ud. century). model analisis data menggunakan pendekatan analisis deskriptif dan matematik yaitu analisis biaya produksi dan keuntungan serta analisis titik impas. kesimpulan hasil penelitian ini ialah (1) penggunaan biaya produksi usaha peternakan babi pada perusahaan cv. anugerah, ud. prima dan ud. century di tomohon per periode produksi per tahun sudah efisien dengan dibuktikan oleh nilai return of investment (roi) yang diperoleh pada masing-masing perusahan peternakan babi yang memberikan tingkat keuntungan. (2) nilai titik impas yang diperoleh pada masing-masing perusahan peternakan babi baik cv. anugerah, ud. prima dan ud. century di tomohon berada pada volume produksi yang menguntungkan sebab sudah beroperasi diatas nilai titik impas. Cost, Benefit, Pig Farm