bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Overexpression of Alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 Protects from Asymmetric Dimethylarginine-induced Endothelial Dysfunction and Aortic Remodeling
Authors: Rodionov Roman N. , Jarzebska Natalia , Burdin Dmitrii , Todorov Vladimir , Martens-Lobenhoffer Jens , Hofmann Anja , Kolouschek Anne , Cordasic Nada , Jacobi Johannes , Rubets Elena , Morawietz Henning , O’Sullivan John , Markov Alexander G . , Bornstein Stefan R . , Hilgers Karl , Maas Renke , Pfluecke Christian , Chen YingJie , Bode-Böger Stefanie M . , Hugo Christian P . M. , Hohenstein Bernd , Weiss Norbert 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Objective: Elevated plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) are associated with an increased risk of mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. ADMA can be metabolized by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolases (DDAHs) and by alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 (AGXT2). Deletion of DDAH1 in mice leads to elevation of ADMA in plasma and blood pressure, while overexpression of human DDAH1 is associated with a lower plasma ADMA concentration and protective cardiovascular effects. The possible role of alternative metabolism of ADMA by AGXT2 remains to be elucidated. The goal of the current study was to test the hypothesis that transgenic overexpression of AGXT2 leads to lowering of plasma levels of ADMA and protection from vascular damage in the setting of DDAH1 deficiency.Approach and Results: We generated transgenic mice (TG) with ubiquitous overexpression of AGXT2. qPCR and Western Blot confirmed the expression of the transgene. Systemic ADMA levels were decreased by 15% in TG mice. In comparison with wild type animals plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylguanidino valeric acid (ADGV), the AGXT2 associated metabolite of ADMA, were six times higher. We crossed AGXT2 TG mice with DDAH1 knockout mice and observed that upregulation of AGXT2 lowers plasma ADMA and pulse pressure and protects the mice from endothelial dysfunction and adverse aortic remodeling.Conclusions: Upregulation of AGXT2 led to lowering of ADMA levels and protection from ADMA-induced vascular damage in the setting of DDAH1 deficiency. This is especially important, because all the efforts to develop pharmacological ADMA-lowering interventions by means of upregulation of DDAHs have been unsuccessful.
“After all, I have to think for myself”: A qualitative study into the perspectives of clients on shared decision-making as a method to support return to work.
Authors: Vooijs Marloes , Hazelzet Drs. Astrid M. , Kesteren Nicole M.C. , Verhoef Drs. Helen , Otten Wilma 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Psychological Impact of Cancellation of Elective Surgeries for Ophthalmic Patients During COVID-19&nbsp;Pandemic
Authors: Chu Stephanie , To David , Liu Candice , Wong Tony , Li Kenneth 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Purpose To identify the psychological impact of canceling cataract operations on patients during COVID-19 pandemic.Methods 99 participants aged from 59 years old who had their cataract surgeries postponed or as scheduled, were studied using the standardized patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) from April to June 2020 at Kowloon East Cataract Center, Tseung Kwan O Hospital, Hong Kong. ResultsNone of the patients who had the cataract surgeries rescheduled reached the cutoff score for major depression in PHQ-9, whereas for GAD-7, 5 patients had mild symptoms of anxiety, 1 had severe symptoms (p-value = 0.76). Conclusion There was no significant psychosocial impact of cancellation of cataract surgeries on patients.
Cellulose Non Freezing Bound Water and Activation Energy of Desorption by Thermogravimetric Analysis
Authors: Kramer Ricardo Klaus , Carvalho Antonio José Felix 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Understand water-cellulose interaction isa key factor in cellulose processing strategies and to achieve the best propertiesfor each application. The emergence of new advanced materials based on nanocelluloses calls for more precise methods to study these systems. In this work, we described the study of water-cellulose interaction by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), comparing dynamic and auto stepwise methods. The auto stepwise method was able to identify with precision the different species of water: i) the free water or freezing water, ii) the freezing bound water and iii) the non-freezing bound water. The Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method was used to estimate the activation energy of bound water desorption, Ea average = 50.45 kJ.mol-1 and the cellulose degradation energy, Ea average = 143.18 kJ.mol-1. The results obtained given a new knowledge on the interaction between water and cellulose since other techniques such as DSC are not sensitive to non-freezing bound water increasing the range of water content that can be studied.
Anomaly Prediction: Successive Analysis for Healthy State Based on the Expansion to Remaining Useful Life
Authors: Yin Yuhua , Liu Zhiliang 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The prediction of remaining useful life is the key to realize the condition-based maintenance. However, Existing studies on remaining useful life cannot effectively cope with the scenarios with extremely high requirement to stability. In this paper, the conception of anomaly prediction is introduced to solve the problem by expanding the remaining useful life to healthy stage to describe and predict the equipment condition at this stage. To obtain more reasonable health indicator, inverse number is firstly introduced into the feature selection. On this basis, a novel method is put forward, which consists of center optimization, boundary adjustment and regressive analysis, in order to realize the anomaly prediction and fills the gap of the absence to remaining life research at healthy stage. Two validations are subsequently implemented with the open dataset of XJTU-SY. The experimental results and comparison analysis demonstrate the feasibility and the superiority of proposed method, respectively. The dissection to the remaining useful life based anomaly prediction indicates that the related research is essential and of great significant to the condition-based maintenance.
Insight on to Mechanical, Thermal, Long-Term, Hydrothermal, and Chemical Stability of PSf Based Membrane Systems for Separation of O2 /N2
Authors: SWAIN SUCHHANDA , Unnikrishnan Lakshmi , Mohanty Smita , Nayak Sanjay K. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
MMMs have been opened up a new window in gas separation and purification applications, but the actual viability can be reckoned on the basis of performance achieved in realistic feed conditions. This research highlights the selection of silica decorated graphene for the first time to prepare nanocomposite membranes. In the study, XRD, Raman, and UV validated the existence of the different fillers within the host Polysulfone (PSf), while TEM authenticated their distribution. The burst strength and thermal properties were also investigated. Besides, it covered a prudent step towards resolving the dominant ingredients, which routinely appraise the stability and durability of the membranes. These indexes are long-term gas permeation up to 120 hours coupled with sustainability against hydrothermal and chemical resistance under various conditions similar to real-life separation applications. Finally, the report demonstrated that the nanohybrid integrated membrane systems displayed optimum separation performance and stability than their parent counterparts: PSf/mSiO2, PSf/GO.
TCO and back contact buffer significance to achieve highest open circuit voltage and efficiency of CdTe solar cells
Authors: Ghosh Bablu K. , Saad Ismail , Mahmood Khairul A 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
CdTe thin film (TF) solar cells are most promising in commercial stage photovoltaic (PV) technologies. Cell contacts and interface defects related opto-electrical losses are still vital to limit its further technological benefit. Thin film PV cells shallow recombination and parasitic loss lessening purpose carrier selective back contact selection with band matching interface layers are essential. Beside that layer thickness selection is vital for field assisted selective carrier collection. The suitable emitter and buffer layer selection with band gap matching to the active layer can lessen parasitic absorption loss. In this purpose SCAPS software based ZnO and SnO2 TCO as well as CdS and CdSe buffer impact are numerically analyzed. The TCO, emitter, back surface field and metal contacts effects on electrical performance is studied. In the model, TCO and back contact barrier thickness is shown significant to progress electrical performance. Eventually, open circuit voltage Voc = 0.9757 V and 19.92% efficiency is achieved for 90 nm of ZnTe BSF with ZnO TCO and CdS emitter layer of optimized thickness.
Camel milk in asthmatic children: a double blind randomized clinical trial
Authors: Bakhtiari Elham , Nekouhi Soudabeh , Zibaee Saeid , Rakhshandeh Hasan , Sayedi Seyed Javad 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Asthma is one of the prevalent diseases in children. There is some evidence regarding benefits of camel milk in asthma. Present study was carried out evaluating the effect of camel milk in asthmatic children. A randomized double blind clinical trial was operated between 2018 and 2019 in a tertiary center. Sixty children aged more than 6 years with not well control asthma were included. Intervention was consist of 200 milliliter camel milk or placebo daily for 2 months. Spirometry parameters and medication regimen were assessed before and after intervention. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. A total of 57 patients completed the trial. Patients were similar in demographic and baseline characteristics (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference between groups after intervention in use of inhaled corticosteroids (96.7% versus 70.4%, p value = 0.01), short acting beta agonists (53.3% versus 29.6%, p value = 0.0001) and long acting beta agonists (53.3% versus 40.7%, p value = 0.04) in control and intervention respectively. The percent of changes in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) in control and intervention groups was 18.54 ± 14.89 and 21.89 ± 17.83 respectively (p = 0.14). The percent of changes in FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) in control and intervention groups was 8.11 ± 7.12 and 11.11 ± 8.33 respectively (p = 0.14). Conclusion: Camel milk leads to significant decrease in inhaled corticosteroids, short acting beta agonists and long acting beta agonist's use, surprisingly. It was suggested that camel milk is added to pharmacological treatment of asthmatic children after more studies.
Higher expression of PAR-1 may be associated with severity of Glioblastomas
Authors: Tripathy Sukanya , Singh Sanjay , Siddiqui Sarfraj Ahmad , Rawat Atul , Modi Dinesh Raj , Banerjee Monisha , Sobti R C , Prakash Anand 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most malignant types of central nervous system tumors. Protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor that elicits several pro-tumoral responses. It has been linked to proliferation and invasiveness in glioblastomas. In the present study, prevalence of the receptor (PAR-1) and its associated downstream signaling was studied in two human glioblastoma cell lines D-54 MG and U-87 MG. The expression of PAR1 was found to be significantly higher in D-54 MG cell-line when compared to U-87 MG cell-line. The activation of PAR-1 in the presence of TFLLR (a synthetic peptide activator of PAR-1) led to an increase in ERK ½ activity along with a significant increase in the migration and invasion of these cell-lines. Subsequent treatment with SCH-79797 (PAR-1 inhibitor) significantly decreased the migration and invasion in these glioma cell lines, respectively. The relative increase and decrease in the migration and invasion of these cell lines in presence of activator and inhibitor respectively was found to be linked with the expression of PAR-1. To conclude the study links the PAR-1 signaling with progression of Glioblastoma. PAR-1 and associated downstream signaling may be a potential therapeutic target to preclude the pathogenesis of gliomas.
Cell-imprinted-based integrated microfluidic device for biomedical applications: Computational and experimental studies
Authors: Kashani Sepideh Yazdian , Moraveji Mostafa Keshavarz , Bonakdar Shahin 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
It has been proved that cell-imprinted substrates molded from template cells can be used for the re-culture of that cell while preserving its normal behavior or to differentiate the cultured stem cells into the template cell. In this study, a microfluidic device was presented to modify the previous irregular cell-imprinted substrate and increase imprinting efficiency by regular and objective cell culture. First, a cell-imprinted substrate from template cells was prepared using a microfluidic chip in a regular pattern. Another microfluidic chip with the same pattern was then aligned on the cell-imprinted substrate to create a chondrocyte-imprinted-based integrated microfluidic device. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to obtain suitable conditions for injecting cells into the microfluidic chip before performing experimental evaluations. In this simulation, the effect of input flow rate, number per unit volume, and size of injected cells in two different sizes of the chip were examined on exerted shear stress and cell trajectories. This numerical simulation was first validated with experiments with cell lines. Finally, chondrocyte was used as template cell to evaluate the chondrogenic differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) in the chondrocyte-imprinted-based integrated microfluidic device. ADSCs were positioned precisely on the chondrocyte patterns, and without using any chemical growth factor, their fibroblast-like morphology was modified to the spherical morphology of chondrocytes after 14 days of culture. Both immunostaining and gene expression analysis showed improvement in chondrogenic differentiation compared to traditional imprinting methods. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the cell-imprinted-based integrated microfluidic devices for biomedical applications.
17β-Estradiol Modulates the Expression of CD44 and CD326 in Estrogen-Sensitive Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Barros Daniel Pereira Maurício de , André Ayla Nóbrega , Aru Basak , Simsek Turkay , Demirel Gulderen Yanikkaya 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
With the emergence of Molecular Targeted Therapy, the interest in studying immunogenetic components that act in carcinogenesis has grown. The role of the estrogen receptor (ER) in initiation and progression of breast cancer is well documented and the estrogen treatment may affect expression of proteins described as tumor stem cell biomarkers in estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. The aim of this study is to analyze the expression of CD44 and CD326 on MCF-7 (ER+) and MDA-MB-231 (ER-) cell lines treated with 17β-estradiol for different periods. Our results indicate that 17β-estradiol can modulate CD44 and CD326 expression in breast cancer cells that have functional estrogen receptors in a time dependent manner. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the influence of 17β-estradiol on CD44 and CD326 expression in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Further investigations with primary patient samples and their cultures will enhance our knowledge on the effect of hormones on breast cancer.
Enhancement and Modeling of Drain Current in Negative Capacitance Double Gate TFET
Authors: S SHIKHA U , James Rekha K , Jacob Jobymol , Pradeep Anju 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The drain current improvement in a Negative Capacitance Double Gate Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (NC-DG TFET) with the help of Heterojunction (HJ) at the source-channel region is proposed and modeled in this paper. The gate oxide of the proposed TFET is a stacked configuration of high-k over low-k to improve the gate control without any lattice mismatches. Tangent Line Approximation (TLA) method is used here to model the drain current accurately. The model is validated by incorporating two dimensional simulation of DG-HJ TFET with one dimensional Landau-Khalatnikov (LK) equation. The model matches excellently with the device simulation results. The impact of stacked gate oxide topology is also studied in this paper by comparing the characteristics with unstacked gate oxide. Voltage amplification factor (Av), which is an important parameter in NC devices is also analyzed.
Occurrence of Banned and Currently Used Herbicides, in Groundwater of Northern Greece; A Human Health Risk Assessment Approach
Authors: Parlakidis Paraskevas , Rodriguez Soledad Maria , Alexoudis Christos , Perez-Rojas Greivin , Perez-Villanueva Marta , Carrera Alejandro Perez , Fernández-Cirelli Alicia , Vryzas Zisis 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The presence of pesticide residues in groundwater, many years after their phase out in European Union verifies that the persistence in aquifer is much higher than in other environmental compartments. Factors such as limited degradation, and adsorption in phreatic horizon have resulted in frequent detection of pesticide residues and their metabolites in the saturated zone. Currently used and banned pesticides were monitored in Northern Greece aquifers and risk to human health was assessed. The target compounds were the herbicides metolachlor, terbuthylazine, atrazine and its metabolites Deisopropylatrazine (DIA), Deethylatrazine (DEA) and Hydroxyatrazine (HA). The area’s aquifer has been extensively studied over the past 20 years. Eleven sampling sites were selected in order to have representatives of different type of wells. Namely, five drinking water, two irrigation wells and four experimental boreholes located close to Greek/Turkish/Bulgarian borders were monitored and fifty-four samples were analyzed. Pesticides were extracted by solid-phase extraction and analyzed by liquid chromatography. Metolachlor was detected in 100% of water samples followed by ATR (96.4%), DEA and HA (88.6%), DIA (78.2%) and TER (67.5%). Atrazine, DIA, DEA, HA, MET and TER mean concentrations detected were 0.18, 0.29, 0.14, 0.09, 0.16 and 0.15 μg/L, respectively. Obtained results were compared with historical data from our previous monitoring studies (1999-2003 and 2010-2012) and temporal trends were assessed. Preferential flow was the major factor facilitating pesticide leaching within the month of herbicide application. Moreover, apparent age of groundwater and the reduced pesticide dissipation rates on aquifers resulted of long-term detection of legacy pesticides. Although atrazine had been banned more than 15 years ago, it was detected frequently during our monitoring campaign and their concentrations in some cases were over the maximum permissible limit. Furthermore, human health risk assessment of pesticides was calculated for two different age groups though drinking water consumption. The presence of atrazine residues causes concerns related with chronic toxicity.
A Cross-sectional Survey of an Ongoing Public Multimodal Intervention for Cognitive Health for Older Adults in Times of Covid-19&nbsp;
Authors: Studer-Luethi Barbara , Brasser Maria , Lusti Simon , Schaerli Rahel 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
BackgroundIn recent decades, the proportion of older adults in the population has continued to rise and with it the need for intervention programs to maintain cognitive functions into old age. Multiple lifestyle factors, first and foremost physical, cognitive, and social activities, have been shown to be crucial to forestalling decline in cognitive functions. However, since Covid-19 has curtailed opportunities for such activities, strategies must be designed to support older adults to remain cognitively healthy. MethodsThis study describes a newly developed ongoing publicly available preventive intervention, called brain coach, to support and stimulate cognitive activity in older adults. The intervention consists of weekly recommendations for evidence-based physical, cognitive, social, mindful, and creative activation exercises that can be integrated in daily life. 660 participants participated in an online cross-sectional survey examining experienced benefits and changes in relation to the program.ResultsParticipants reported benefits in memory, well-being, attitudes towards the brain, and lifestyle habits. Importantly, time invested in the intervention as well as some characteristics of participants, such as personality and positive attitude toward brain health, show positive relationships with these experienced benefits. Further research will explore the effects of such a multimodal intervention in a longitudinal randomized controlled trial study.
Does a Relationship Exist Between Posterior Vitreous Detachment, Macular Thickness and Foveal Avascular Zone Dimensions in Myopic Eyes?
Authors: Janarthanam Jothi Balaji , Agarwal Arpit , Raman Rajiv , Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: The posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is a separation of the posterior vitreous cortex from the internal limiting membrane of the retina. The PVD induces several potentially serious pathologic events at the vitreoretinal interface. The aim of the study is to determine if relationships exist between PVD, macular thickness (MT) and the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in myopic eyes. Methods: This is a retrospective case study of 63 myopic subjects who underwent comprehensive eye examination including the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) between January 1 and Jun 30, 2019. The spherical equivalent (SE) was calculated using the manifest refraction. The myopia grouping was based on a severity scale, namely mild, moderate, high and very high using standard refractive error classifications. The PVD classification was based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. The status of the PVD and MT were evaluated with Macular Cube 200 × 200 images and the FAZ was imaged with an OCTA, Angioplex. The MT and FAZ dimensions were calculated using a custom algorithm. Results: A total of 114 myopic eyes subjects had median (range) age of 26.00 (22.00 - 28.00) years. Of this cohort, females comprised 62.3 % of the dataset, and the right eyes were 50.00 %. In this population, 10 eyes had no PVD in any quadrant, and 73 eyes had incomplete PVD in all four quadrants. The inferior quadrant had the maximum number of PVD cases and the nasal quadrant had the least number of cases. High myopic eyes exhibited significantly increased low foveal volume (p = 0.000). The inferior part of para- and perimacular area showed a significant thinning in very high myopic eyes (p = <0.05). A statistically significant alteration of FAZ circularity index found in very high myopic eyes (p = 0.002). Conclusion: In high and very high myopic eyes, an increasing trend of partial PVD is seen. The most commonly involved location was the inferior quadrant. A significant alteration in foveal volume and circularity index of the FAZ is seen in high and very high myopic eyes.