bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fast Determination of Phosphorus Concentration in Phosphogypsum Waste Using Calibration-Free LIBS in Air and Helium
Authors: Elsayed Khaled , Tawfik Walid , Khater Ashraf E M , Kayed Tarek S , Fikry Mohamed 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This work represents a novel method to determine phosphorus (P) concentration in phosphogypsum (PG) waste samples using calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A 50 mJ Q-switched Nd: YAG laser has generated the PG LIBS spectrum. Spectroscopic analysis of plasma evolution has been characterized by electron density Ne and electron temperature Te using the emission intensity and stark broadening for P I characteristic lines 213.61, 214.91, and 215.40 nm under non-purged (air) and purged (helium) conditions. It was found that both Te and Ne have significant changes linearly with P concentrations 4195, 5288, 6293, and 6905 ppm. The values of plasma Te and Ne increased from about 6900 to 10000 K and 1.1×1017 to 3.4×1017 cm− 3, respectively, for the non-purged PG. On the other hand, Te and Ne ranged from 8200 to 11000 K and 1.4×1017 to 3.5×1017 cm− 3, respectively, for the PG purged with helium. It is concluded that Te and Ne values represent a fingerprint plasma characterization for a given P concentration in PG samples, which can be used to identify P concentration without a PG's complete analysis. These results demonstrate a new achievement in the field of spectrochemical analysis of environmental applications.
First report of leaf spots caused by Pestalotiopsis trachicarpicola in Gentiana rhodantha
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyong , Yang Youlian , Li Shujiang , Yan Kai , Li Xinran 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
In August 2018, leaf spots were widely found with circular or irregular brown lesions on Gentiana rhodantha leaves in Liupanshui, Guizhou Province, China. Three strains of Pestalotiopsis spp were associated with leaf lesions by single-spore isolation. Based on asexual and sexual characteristics and multi-locus (ITS, TUB, tef-1 ) phylogenies data, strains were identified as Pestalotiopsis trachicarpicola . This is the first report of G. rhodantha leaf spot caused by P. trachicarpicola . The fungal culture tests showed that mycelia optimum growth temperature and pH were 20–25°C and pH 7–9, and for conidia germination were 25–30°C and pH 6–9, respectively.
Identification, Characterization, and Hydrolase Producing Performance of Thermophilic Bacteria: Geothermal Hot Springs in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey
Authors: Uluçay Orhan , Görmez Arzu , Öziç Cem 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
In the last twenty years, researchers have increasingly focused on the rich microorganism-based diversity of natural hot spring resources to explore the benefits of thermophiles in industrial and biotechnological fields. For this purpose, a total of 83 thermophilic bacilli were isolated from 7 different geothermal hot springs (at temperatures ranging between 40 and 85 ◦ C) located in the east and Southeastern of Turkey. These isolates were identified by different methods such as physiological, morphological, biochemical, molecular properties. According to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, 5 different isolates ( Bacillus coagulans , Bacillus licheniformis , Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus thuringiensis , and Geobacillus kaustophilus ) were identified. It was observed that B. licheniformis and B. subtilis were the most species obtained from the researched hot spring sources. Phylogenetic relationships of isolates were evaluated with the help of a phylogenetic tree. The conditions of bacterial isolates to synthesize various hydrolytic enzymes such as protease, cellulase, lipase, and amylase were investigated. When the potential of isolates to produce hydrolytic enzymes was examined, protease 73 (88%), cellulase 34 (41%), lipase 69 (83%), and amylase 68 (82%) were detected. All isolates have at least one or more extracellular protease, cellulase, amylase, or lipase activity. Besides, 32.8% (27) of bacterial isolates were able to synthesize all of the hydrolytic enzymes.
Dynamic Sensitivity Analysis of Deployable Flexible Space Structures With a Large Number of Design Parameters
Authors: Wang Shuai , Tian Qiang , Hu Haiyan , Shi Junwei , Zeng Lingbin 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
The reliability and dynamic performance of deployable flexible space structures significantly depend on their key design parameters. Sensitivity analysis of these design parameters in the frame of multibody dynamics can serve as a powerful tool to evaluate and improve the dynamic performances of deployable space structures. Nevertheless, previous studies on the dynamic sensitivity analysis are mainly confined to planar multibody systems with a few design parameters. In this study, an efficient computational methodology is proposed to perform the dynamic sensitivity analysis of the complex deployable space structures with a large number of design parameters. Firstly, the analytical sensitivity analysis formulations of objective functions with the parameter-dependent integration bounds are deduced via the direct differentiation method and adjoint variable method. A checkpointing scheme is further introduced to assist the backward integration of the high dimensional differential algebraic equations of the adjoint variables. The flexible beams in the deployable flexible space structure are described by the locking-free three-node spatial beam elements of absolute nodal coordinate formulation. Furthermore, a parallelized automatic differentiation algorithm is proposed to efficiently evaluate the complex partial derivatives in the sensitivity analysis formulations. Finally, four numerical examples are provided to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed computational methodology.
Effect of Gate Metal Work-function on Junctionless (JL) Nanowire GAA MOSFET Performance
Authors: Angara Manoj , Jena Biswajit , Rooban S. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Metal gate technology is one of the promising methods used to increase the drain current by increasing the electrostatic controllability. Different metals have different work-function that controls the device performance very closely as gate to source voltage is the basic inputs for these. In this paper the dependency of gate metal work-function on device performance (both for nMOS and pMOS) is extensively investigated. The gate metal work-function value is taken as 4.2eV to 5.1eV with one increment to see the change in potential profile. With this condition, the IOn current, IOff current, threshold voltage, transconductance also calculated for these structures. A decrease value in drain current (1e-6 to 1e-7 A) is observed for both the cases with increase in work-function of gate metal. However, the Off current is getting better (1e-7 to 1e-18 A) while moving towards higher metal work-function values. As a result of which the IOn/IOff ratio increases which leads to higher device performances.
Comparative Adsorptive Removal of Selected Heavy Metals from Battery Wastewater by Purified and Polyethylene Glycol Modified Carbon Nanotubes
Authors: AS Abdulkareem , WA Hamzat , JO Tijani , MT Bankole , Egbosiuba Titus , OK Abubakre , Mustapha S 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Comparative adsorption study of some toxic metals (Ni, Fe, Cu, Cd, and Pb) from battery industrial effluent by purified and polyethylene glycol-modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. The as-prepared CNTs via chemical vapour deposition method (A-CNTs), its acid purified form (P-CNTs), and polyethylene glycol functionalized form (PEG-CNTs) were characterized by HRTEM, BET, HRSEM, FTIR and XRD. The HRSEM and HRTEM micrograph revealed the formation of multi-walled tubular network structures of different inner and outer diameter. The BET study of PEG-CNTs and purified CNTs showed surface areas of 970.81 m2/g and 781.88 m2/g, respectively. The nanomaterials batch adsorption effect of various parameters such as contact time, nano-adsorbent dosage and temperature was conducted. The optimum equilibrium to achieve maximum removal of Cd (83.41 %), Ni (92.79 %), Fe (95.93%), Pb (97.16 %) Cu (99.9 9%) using PEG-CNTs was 90 min of contact time, 0.3 g of nano-adsorbent dosage and 60 oC temperature. While the maximum percentage removal efficiencies accomplished using P-CNTs under the same applied conditions were Cd (78.64 %), Ni (76.12 %), Fe (92.87 %), Pb (90.7 2%) Cu (99.09 %). PEG-CNTs was seen as more effective than P-CNTs. Adsorption data of Ni on P-CNTs followed Langmuir isotherm while the adsorption equilibrium model (Freundlich isotherm) of Ni, Fe, Cu and Pb on PEG-CNTs were fitted well. However, in both cases, the sorption kinetic study followed the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamics showed that the removal of toxic metals from battery wastewater was spontaneous and endothermic irrespective of the nano-adsorbents. The study found that surface modification of CNTs by polyethylene glycol adequately improved the nanotubes, thus leading to relatively adsorption capacities of heavy metals from industrial battery effluent.
An innovative tubular standing support incorporating PVC and FRP composites: laboratory tests
Authors: Zhang Baisheng , Zhao Hongchao 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
With the depletion of shallow resources, the drawbacks of conventional bolting system in sustaining the integrity of the roadway have drawn much attention. Developing the innovative secondary standing support is therefore to be urgent. This paper presents a hybrid tubular standing support, which consists of an exterior container made of PVC and fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and the infill material made of coal rejects and high flowable cementitious grout material. Compared with other marketable standing support, the combination application of the large rupture strain PVC tube and the FRP composite with high strength-to-weight ratio can provide the effective confinement to infill material, which may result in the strain hardening behaviour. The use of coal reject to generate the backfill material is believed to be effective and thus is attractive from the design aspect. To verify these mentioned advantages, a series of compression tests were conducted on this FRP-PVC tubular standing support (FPTSS) with different thickness of the FRP jacket. In addition, the compression tests were also conducted to investigate the compressive behaviour of FRP tubular standing support (FTSS) and PVC tubular standing support (PTSS). Test results indicated that the combination of FRP and PVC composite achieve the superior behaviour either in terms of the compressive strength or the deformation ability.
Biological functions of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus JB-1 membrane vesicles: lipoteichoic acid, immune activity, and gut epithelial endocytosis
Authors: Champagne-Jorgensen Kevin , Mian M. Firoz , Neufeld Karen-Anne McVey , Stanisz Andrew M. , Bienenstock John 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Intestinal bacteria have diverse and complex influence on their host. Evidence is accumulating that this may be mediated in part by bacterial extracellular membrane vesicles (MV), nanometer-sized particles important for intercellular communication. Little is known about the composition of MV from gram-positive beneficial bacteria nor how they interact with intestinal epithelial cells (IEC). Here we demonstrate that MV from Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus JB-1 are endocytosed in a likely clathrin-dependent manner by both mouse and human IEC in vitro and by mouse IEC in vivo. We further show that JB-1 MV contain lipoteichoic acid (LTA) which activates Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and induces immunoregulatory interleukin-10 expression by dendritic cells in an internalization-dependent manner. By contrast, neither LTA nor TLR2 appear to be required for JB-1 MV endocytosis by IEC. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism by which bacterial MV can influence host physiology and suggest one potential route for beneficial influence of certain bacteria and probiotics.
Seismic Performance of Strengthened Masonry Structures: Actual Behaviour of Buildings in Norcia and Campi Alto During the 2016 Central Italy Seismic Sequence
Authors: Sisti Romina , Ludovico Marco Di , Borri Antonio , Prota Andrea 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
The structural response of unreinforced masonry buildings designed for gravity load only or with reference to obsolete seismic provisions is widely studied in the literature in order to define proper strengthening strategies and solution to mitigate the seismic risk. However, the critical analysis of the effectiveness of past used strengthening solution is still lacking. To fill such gap, the present study deals with the evaluation of the seismic performances of buildings in the historical centre of Norcia and Campi Alto struck by the 2016 central Italy seismic sequence. A large part of these buildings was strengthened between 1980 and 2000 during the reconstruction processes following previous earthquakes occurred in 1979 and 1997. The strengthened buildings in Norcia reported limited damage while a significant and widespread level of damage was detected on several strengthened buildings in the hamlet of Campi Alto. The study focuses on such latter aspect with the aim of investigating on the reasons of such unsatisfactory behaviour. Thus, a comparison between seismic action experienced by buildings in Norcia and Campi Alto is initially analysed along with the evaluation of the main vulnerabilities of these buildings. Then, 20 projects of strengthening interventions submitted to the Civil Engineering Department of the Umbria Region between 1984 and 2012 have been herein analysed and discussed in order to focus on the effectiveness of the strengthening solution adopted in the past. The analyses of such projects and of the empirical damage detected after the 2016 seismic sequence is a unique opportunity to derive useful information for future applications.
Hsa_Circ_0054284 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor via The Mir-18a-3p/TIMP2 Pathway in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Xu Zhexuan , Lu Chunya , Zhang Guojun 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are basically at an advanced stage once diagnosed. In this study, our aimed to identify a new biomarker for early diagnosis of NSCLC.Methods and materials: CircRNA array analysis was designed to study the expression patterns of circRNAs in three pairs of NSCLC tissues. The expression of hsa_circ_0054284 were detected in 30 paired NSCLC tissues and adjacent normal tissues by qRT-PCR assay. A549 and H520 cells were transfected with overexpression vector of hsa_circ_0054284 and negative control. CCK-8, transwell invasion and Cell apoptosis assay were using to explore the internal relationship among the hsa_circ_0054284, miR-18a-3p and TIMP2. TIMP2 expression level was detected by qRT-PCR assay and western blotting analysis.Results: Hsa-circ-0054284 overexpression suppressed A549/H520 cell proliferation and invasion and promoted apoptosis via downregulation of miR-18a-3p and targeting TIMP2. This might be one of the possible mechanisms, which hsa-circ-0054284 plays in NSCLC.Conclusion: The current study provides novel insights into the circRNA-related ceRNA network in NSCLC and the hsa-circ-0054284 biomarkers may be Early diagnosis in NSCLC patients.
New adaptive lasso approaches for variable selection in automated pharmacovigilance signal detection
Authors: Courtois Émeline , Tubert-Bitter Pascale , Ahmed Ismaïl 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Adverse effects of drugs are often identified after market introduction. Post-marketing pharmacovigilance aims to detect them as early as possible and relies on spontaneous reporting systems collecting suspicious cases. Signal detection tools have been developed to mine these large databases and counts of reports are analysed with disproportionality methods. To address disproportionality method biases, recent methods apply to individual observations taking into account all exposures for the same patient. In particular, the logistic lasso provides an efficient variable selection framework, yet the choice of the regularization parameter is a challenging issue and the lasso variable selection may be inconsistent. Methods: We propose a new signal detection methodology based on the adaptive lasso in the context of high dimension. We derived two new adaptive weights from (i) a lasso regression using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and (ii) the class-imbalanced subsampling lasso (CISL), an extension of stability selection. The BIC is used in the adaptive lasso stage for variable selection. We performed an extensive simulation study and an application to real data, where we compared our methods to the existing adaptive lasso, and recent detection approaches based on lasso regression or propensity scores in high dimension. For both studies, we evaluate the methods in terms of false discoveries and sensitivity. Results: In the simulations and the application, both proposed adaptive weights show equivalent or better performances than the other competitors, with an advantage for the CISL-based adaptive weights. CISL and lasso regression using BIC are solid alternatives. Conclusion: Our proposed adaptive lasso is an appealing methodology for signal detection in pharmacovigilance. Although we cannot rely on test theory, our approaches show a low and stable False Discovery Rate in all simulation settings. All methods evaluated in this work are implemented in the adapt4pv R package.
Differential gene expression of ABCG2, SLC22A12, IL-1β and ALPK1 in peripheral blood leukocytes of primary&nbsp;gout&nbsp;patients, was associated to hiperuricemia and their comorbidities. A case control study
Authors: Paniagua-Díaz Natsuko , Sanchez-Chapul Laura , Clavijo-Cornejo Denise Refugio , Ventura-Ríos Lucio , Aguilar-Salinas Carlos , Sanchez-Muñoz Fausto , Macay Ambar López 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background. Genes ABCG2, SLC22A12, and ALPK1 have been strongly associated with dysfunction of urate metabolism in patients with gout, but it is unknown how these transporters are expressed in patients with acute or chronic gout. Our objective was to analyze the gene expression of urate transporters and inflammation genes in peripherial blood from gout patients and controls, to determinate if the metabolic profile of gout patients can influence at the gene expression profile. Our objective was to analyze the expression of urate transporters ABCG2, SLC22A12 and inflammation molecules ALPK1 and IL-1β in peripheral blood leukocytes from gout patients and to compare them with their metabolic profile and with the gene expression of people without gout and without hyperuricemia.Methods. A total of 36 chronic and acute patients and 52 controls were recruited, ABCG2, SLC22A12, IL-1β and ALPK1 gene expression was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. Correlations of gene expression with clinical and laboratory parameters of patients were also analyzed.Results. IL-1β was significantly increased in PBMCs of patients when compared with their PMNLs (p<0.05). A significant increase in ABCG2 and IL-1β were found in PMNLs from patients compared to controls (p<0.05). Correlations of gene expression in patients were related to levels of serum uric acid (sUA), serum creatinine, CRP, triglycerides, BMI, kidney disease, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome.Conclusions. Our data suggest that the leukocyte cells of the patients respond to the presence hyperuricemia and comorbidities expressing ABCG2 and IL-1β genes differentially compared to normouricemic and non disease state. Hyperuricemia, dyslipidemias and obesity should stimulate the differential gene expression of peripheral blood leukocytes (neutrophils and monocytes) even in an asymptomatic state.
Local-Scale Environmental Filtering Shape Plant Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Diversity in the Isolated Amazonian Tepui (Tepequém Table Mountain)
Authors: Campos Prímula , Schaefer Carlos Ernesto , Pontara Vanessa , Xavier Márcio , Júnior José Frutuoso Vale , Corrêa Guilherme , Villa Pedro 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Understanding how environmental drivers induce changes in plant composition and diversity across evolutionary time can provide important insights into the mechanisms of community assembly. We evaluated how taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and structure of plant communities change along a local-scale edaphic and topographic gradient in the Tepequém table mountain, Brazilian Amazon. We selected three phytophysiognomies along the altitudinal gradient: Open Rupestrian Grassland, Shrubby Rupestrian Grassland, and Forest. We compared community composition and taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity between phytophysiognomies, and we tested regression linear effect models to investigate the effect of altitude and soil properties on taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. The highest species richness and phylogenetic diversity were found at lower elevation for Forest. Mean pairwise phylogenetic distance, mean nearest taxon phylogenetic distance, and all standardised phylogenetic metrics were significantly lower in Shrubby Rupestrian Grassland. This phytophysiognomy showed phylogenetic clustering. Forest showed a cluster pattern when only terminal nodes are considered and random dispersion to deep phylogenetic nodes. Open Rupestrian Grassland also showed random phylogenetic structure. The regression analyses showed that species richness and different phylogenetic diversity metrics were explained by altitude and soil properties. However, standardised metrics were not explained by these environmental variables. Comprehensive studies including the role of environmental drivers in plant evolutionary history along the altitudinal gradient are necessary for explaining community assembly patterns and provide additional information for conservation planning.
PD-1 Protects Liver Damage by Suppressing IFN-γ Expression in T Cells in Infants and Neonatal Mice
Authors: Guo Xuangjie , Xu Yiping , Luo Wei , Cai Li , Wang Ping , Zhang Yuxia , Wen Zhe , Xu Yanhui 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is a severe cholangiopathy resulting from virus-induced and immune-mediated injury of the biliary system. IFN-g, secreted from CD4+ Th1 cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, is a major mediator of liver pathology. Programmed death 1 (PD-1) signaling suppresses T cell function. However, how PD-1 modify T cell function in BA remains incompletely understood. Methods: Frequencies of PD-1 expressing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were analyzed in the liver and blood from BA and control subjects. Associations of PD-1+CD4+/CD8+T cell abundances with liver function indices were measured. Function of PD-1 was measured by administration of an anti-PD-1 antibody in a Rhesus Rotavirus (RRV)-induced BA model. Survival, histology, direct bilirubin, liver immune cell subsets and cytokine production were analyzed. Results: PD-1 was significantly upregulated in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in patients with BA compared with control subjects. PD-1 expression in T cells was negatively associated with IFN-γ concentration in liver. Blockade of PD-1 increased IFN-g expression in CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells, suppressed bilirubin production and exacerbated liver immunopathology.Conclusions: PD-1 plays a protective role in infants with BA by suppressing IFN-g production in T cells. Increasing PD-1 signaling may serve as a therapeutic strategy for BA.