bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low-waste fermentation-derived organic acid production by bipolar membrane electrodialysis—an overview
Authors: Hülber-Beyer Éva , Bélafi-Bakó Katalin , Nemestóthy Nándor 
Published: June 2021

AbstractOrganic acids, e.g, citric acid, fumaric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, pyruvic acid and succinic acid, have important role in the food industry and are potential raw materials for the sustainable chemical industry. Their fermentative production based on renewable raw materials requires innovatively designed downstream processing to maintain low environmental impact and resource efficiency throughout the production process. The application of bipolar membranes offers clean and effective way to generate hydrogen ions required for free acid production from its salt. The water dissociation reaction inside the bipolar membrane triggered by electric field plays key role in providing hydrogen ion for the replacement of the cations in organic acid salts. Combined with monopolar ion-exchange membranes in a bipolar membrane electrodialysis process, material flow can be separated beside the product stream into additional reusable streams, thus minimizing the waste generation. This paper focuses on bipolar membrane electrodialysis applied for organic acid recovery from fermentation broth.
Analysis of Mercury Concentration in Honey from the Point of View of Human Body Exposure
Authors: Fischer Agnieszka , Brodziak-Dopierała Barbara , Bem Joanna , Ahnert Bożena 
Published: June 2021

AbstractHoney is a highly valued product due to its nutritional value, pro-health and healing properties. Pollutants from the environment penetrate into nectar, honeydew, pollen and next into bee products and can cause human exposure after ingestion. Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal to living organisms. This is why it was important to determine the level of Hg in consumed honey.The aim of this manuscript is to analyse mercury concentration in honeys collected on the territory of Poland. A total of 108 samples of honey purchased in regional apiaries and hypermarkets were tested. The concentration of Hg was analysed in various types of honey (multifloral, honeydew, linden, goldenrod, acacia, buckwheat, rapeseed, sunflower, heather, dandelion, phacelia). The values of the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Estimated Weekly Intake (EWI) and % Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (% PTWI) were calculated. This allowed estimating the amount of Hg taken during consumption of the tested honeys.The concentration of Hg ranged from 0.01 to 1.71 µg/kg and was 0.43 µg/kg on average. A higher concentration of Hg, which was statistically significant, was recorded in honeydew honey, then in compound honeys. Honeys produced from one raw material had the lowest concentration of Hg. There were no significant differences in the concentration of Hg depending on the origin of honey. The calculations have shown that consumption of a portion (19 g) of the tested honey per week is safe for both adults and children according to the applicable standards.
Tarzan and chain: exploring the ICO jungle and evaluating design archetypes
Authors: Bachmann Nina M. , Drasch Benedict , Fridgen Gilbert , Miksch Michael , Regner Ferdinand , Schweizer André , Urbach Nils 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe phenomenon of a blockchain use case called initial coin offering (ICO) is drawing increasing attention as a novel funding mechanism. ICO is a crowdfunding type that utilizes blockchain tokens to allow for truly peer-to-peer investments. Although more than $7bn has been raised globally via ICOs as at 2018, the concept and its implications are not yet entirely understood. The research lags behind in providing in-depth analyses of ICO designs and their long-term success. We address this research gap by developing an ICO taxonomy, applying a cluster analysis to identify prevailing ICO archetypes, and providing an outlook on the token value market performance for individual archetypes. We identify five ICO design archetypes and display their secondary market development from both a short-term and a long-term perspective. We contribute to an in-depth understanding of ICOs and their implications. Further, we offer practitioners tangible design and success indications for future ICOs.
Small scale photo bioreactor treatment of tannery wastewater, heavy metal biosorption and CO2 sequestration using microalga Chlorella sp.: a biodegradation approach
Authors: Rajalakshmi A. M. , Silambarasan T. , Dhandapani R. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractRecently, mass production of lipid along with heavy metal reduction is gaining momentum due to their cost-effective and greener approach towards waste water treatment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the small scale photo bioreactor treatment of tannery effluent using Chlorella sp. isolated form Yercaud lake, Tamil Nadu, India. The results showed a significant decrease in the heavy metals content in the tannery effluent after the treatment. Maximum reduction of the heavy metal Chromium (Cr) of 10.92 mg L−1 was recorded, followed by Cobalt (Co)-7.37 mg L−1, Nickel (Ni)-9.15 mg L−1, Cadmium (Cd)-8.48 mg L−1, Lead (Pb)-12.54 mg L−1, Zinc (Zn)-11.56 mg L−1 and Copper (Cu)-10.71 mg L−1 at the end of the 20th day of treatment. The microalgae, Chlorella sp. was analyzed for their biosorption ability and the maximum biosorption capacity (qmax) rate against heavy metals was 81.36, 70.53, 82.15, 63.29, 58.92, 83.43, 64.83 µg L−1 for Cr, Pb, Ni, Cd, Co, Zn, and Cu respectively. It matched with the Langmuir and Freundlich kinetics models. The maximum CO2 utilization was found to be 60.50% and maximum concentration of lipid, carbohydrate and protein was found to be 0.95 g L−1, 250 µg mL−1 and 160 µg mL−1, respectively. The presence of various groups such as hydroxyl, alkyl, carbonyl and carboxylic acids was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared analysis. Thus, the isolated microalgae showed good biosorption ability towards the various heavy metal pollutants from tannery waste water.
Hydrogen Production via Hydrolysis and Alcoholysis of Light Metal-Based Materials: A Review
Authors: Ouyang Liuzhang , Jiang Jun , Chen Kang , Zhu Min , Liu Zongwen 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAs an environmentally friendly and high-density energy carrier, hydrogen has been recognized as one of the ideal alternatives for fossil fuels. One of the major challenges faced by “hydrogen economy” is the development of efficient, low-cost, safe and selective hydrogen generation from chemical storage materials. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in hydrogen production via hydrolysis and alcoholysis of light-metal-based materials, such as borohydrides, Mg-based and Al-based materials, and the highly efficient regeneration of borohydrides. Unfortunately, most of these hydrolysable materials are still plagued by sluggish kinetics and low hydrogen yield. While a number of strategies including catalysis, alloying, solution modification, and ball milling have been developed to overcome these drawbacks, the high costs required for the “one-pass” utilization of hydrolysis/alcoholysis systems have ultimately made these techniques almost impossible for practical large-scale applications. Therefore, it is imperative to develop low-cost material systems based on abundant resources and effective recycling technologies of spent fuels for efficient transport, production and storage of hydrogen in a fuel cell-based hydrogen economy.
N-acetylcysteine in substance use disorder: a lesson from preclinical and clinical research
Authors: Smaga Irena , Frankowska Małgorzata , Filip Małgorzata 
Published: June 2021

AbstractSubstance use disorder (SUD) is a chronic brain condition, with compulsive and uncontrollable drug-seeking that leads to long-lasting and harmful consequences. The factors contributing to the development of SUD, as well as its treatment settings, are not fully understood. Alterations in brain glutamate homeostasis in humans and animals implicate a key role of this neurotransmitter in SUD, while the modulation of glutamate transporters has been pointed as a new strategy to diminish the excitatory glutamatergic transmission observed after drugs of abuse. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), known as a safe mucolytic agent, is involved in the regulation of this system and may be taken into account as a novel pharmacotherapy for SUD. In this paper, we summarize the current knowledge on the ability of NAC to reduce drug-seeking behavior induced by psychostimulants, opioids, cannabinoids, nicotine, and alcohol in animals and humans. Preclinical studies showed a beneficial effect in animal models of SUD, while the clinical efficacy of NAC has not been fully established. In summary, NAC will be a small add-on to usual treatment and/or psychotherapy for SUD, however, further studies are required.
Prophylactic Pretransplant Ganciclovir to Reduce Cytomegalovirus Infection After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Reed Daniel R. , Petroni Gina R. , West Melissa , Jones Caroline , Alfaraj Abeer , Williams Paige G. , DeGregory Kathlene , Grose Kyle , Monson Sandra , Varadarajan Indumathy , Volodin Leonid , Donowitz Gerald R. , Kindwall-Keller Tamila L. , Ballen Karen K. 
Published: June 2021

Objective/Background:
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation remains a serious complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) occurring in approximately 60–70% of CMV-seropositive HCT recipients. CMV reactivation leads to adverse outcomes including end-organ damage, graft-versus-host disease, and graft failure.

Methods:
Ganciclovir was administered pretransplant at 5 mg/kg twice daily intravenously from the start of conditioning to Day T-2 to CMV-seropositive patients receiving their first allogeneic HCT. CMV DNA was monitored weekly until at least Day 100 posttransplant.

Results:
A total of 109 consecutive patients were treated, median age 57 (range 20–73) years. Of these, 36 (33%) patients had a CMV reactivation within the first 105 days posttransplant with a median time of reactivation of 52.5 (range 36–104) days posttransplant. The cumulative incidence of CMV reactivation at Day 105 posttransplant was 33.1% (95% confidence interval: 24.4–42.0). One patient developed CMV disease.

Conclusion:
The use of pretransplant ganciclovir was associated with low incidence of CMV reactivation and disease. These data suggest that pretransplant ganciclovir with preemptive therapy for viral reactivation may be a useful strategy to reduce CMV reactivation. Future prospective trials are needed to compare strategies for CMV prophylaxis.
Primary Mediastinal Large B-cell Lymphoma
Authors: Elhagracy Rehab , Hamadah Abdulaziz , Tawab Rasha abd el , Pinto Karen , Hussain Amany , Osmani Mohammad , Alshemmari Salem 
Published: June 2021

Objective/background:
Data generated from retrospective studies on primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) outcome are valuable as no prospective phase 3 trials have been conducted in this rare type of lymphoma.

Methods:
Our goal was to assess the long-term outcome of 41 patients with PMBCL who were treated at the Kuwait Cancer Center. We evaluated two types of multidrug treatment, R-CHOP (rituximab, vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and prednisone) and DA-EPOCH-R (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab), and determined overall survival and complete response (CR) as primary endpoints.

Results:
In our cohort, 27 (66%) cases were treated with R-CHOP and 14 (34%) cases were treated with DA-EPOCH-R. The overall median follow-up time was 34 months. Among the patients treated with R-CHOP, 23 out of 27 (92.6%) patients achieved CR; similarly, 10 out of 14 patients (85.7%) in the DA-EPOCH-R group achieved CR after initial treatment. There were no differences in OS between patients treated with R-CHOP versus DA-EPOCH-R.

Conclusion:
The findings of this study indicate that combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy results in excellent long-term outcome of patients with PMBCL. At our center, we prefer R-CHOP to DA-EPOCH-R for low-risk patients with nonbulky disease.
The Association Between Hemoglobin A1c Levels and Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Infection: Analysis of US Insurance Claims Data
Authors: Chen Tony , Li Shufeng , Eisenberg Michael L. 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe association between elevated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and the risk of postoperative infection after penile prosthesis surgery remains controversial.AimTo examine the association between HbA1c levels and penile implant infections in men undergoing inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery for erectile dysfunction using a large insurance claims database.MethodsThis was a retrospective review using Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics Data Mart Database. Male subjects 18 years and older with available laboratory data undergoing IPP insertion between 2003 and 2018 were included. Administrative diagnosis and procedural codes were used to assess subsequent penile implant revision surgery status for either infectious or noninfectious causes. Associated conditions were controlled for such as smoking status, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity status, and Peyronie’s disease.OutcomesThe main outcomes were risk of revision for infection and time to revision.RESULTSA total of 2,363 individuals underwent initial IPP insertion and had available HbA1c data with a mean HbA1c of 6.9%. The overall IPP infection revision rate was 3.9% and the highest rate of 12.1% was seen in the highest HbA1c group (&gt;10%). After adjusting for demographic and health factors, a higher HbA1c level was associated with a higher risk of revision for infection, with every 1 point increase in HbA1c conferring an increased risk of infection requiring revision by 29% (95% CI 17–42%). When infections did occur, they happened sooner in men with HbA1c &gt; 10.0% with an average of 1.3 months vs 3.5 months in the HbA1c &lt; 6.0% group.Clinical ImplicationsThese findings provide insight into the potential relationship between HbA1c levels and postoperative risk of infection after penile prosthesis surgery and may aid in clinical decision-making.Strengths and LimitationsStrengths include the large sample size, length of data coverage, and real-world analysis of surgeries done across the United States. Limitations include the reliance on insurance claims data, the retrospective study design, and lack of additional relevant clinical variables that may impact infection rates.CONCLUSIONSWhile the overall risk of penile prosthesis infection remains modest, the current report notes an increased risk of infection for diabetic men with poor glycemic control.
Tropical Pacific Air‐Sea Interaction Processes and Biases in CESM2 and Their Relation to El Niño Development
Authors: Wei Ho‐Hsuan , Subramanian Aneesh C. , Karnauskas Kristopher B. , DeMott Charlotte A. , Mazloff Matthew R. , Balmaseda Magdalena A. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractCoupled processes and associated subsurface dynamics near the eastern edge of the Indo/western Pacific (WP) Warm Pool are important for air‐sea interactions involved in tropical Pacific dynamics. We seek to shed light on the physical mechanisms governing air‐sea interactions in the region and the impacts of their biases in models. In this study, we use the Ocean ReAnalysis System 5 (ORAS5) to identify mean‐state biases in the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) with a particular focus on upper ocean properties and air‐sea interaction processes. We show that the CESM2 has warm and fresh surface biases in the tropical Pacific Ocean, a barrier layer that is too thin in the WP, and an isothermal layer depth (ILD) that is too deep in the eastern Pacific (EP). These biases impact air‐sea interaction processes involved in El Niño development. We compare the strong El Niño events in ORAS5 and CESM2 and show that biases in barrier layer thickness in the WP and in ILD in the EP are significant before the onset of the El Niño events. These biases then influence vertical mixing and entrainment processes, resulting in mixed layer cooling biases. Biases in the sea surface temperature seasonal cycle in the CESM2 also influence the development of the El Niño. We emphasize how the El Niño progression in models can be influenced by its sensitivity to the mean state biases in both subsurface ocean structure and seasonal cycle through local as well as the large‐scale physical processes.
Evaluation of Aerosol Properties Observed by DSCOVR/EPIC Instrument From the Earth‐Sun Lagrange 1 Orbit
Authors: Ahn Changwoo , Torres Omar , Jethva Hiren , Tiruchirapalli Ramaswamy , Huang Liang‐Kang 
Published: June 2021

AbstractFrequent observations of aerosols from space are essential for studying aerosol effects on climate and air quality applications. We present results of aerosol properties derived from observations made by the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) sensor onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite. EPIC's near‐hourly measured radiances at 340 and 388 nm from sun rise to sunset have been used as input to the EPIC near‐UV aerosol algorithm (EPICAERUV) for retrieving aerosol extinction optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo (SSA), above‐cloud aerosol optical depth (ACAOD), and ultraviolet Aerosol Index. Comparisons of AERONET and EPIC daily mean AOD values at eight selected representative sites yield correlation coefficients in the range from 0.68 to 0.89 and root mean square errors from 0.10 to 0.31. A similar comparison of EPIC‐retrieved SSA against the AERONET inverted SSA product revealed nearly 51% (76%) of matchups in agreement within ±0.03 (±0.05). Furthermore, the retrievals of ACAOD are also found to compare reasonably well, with 50%–70% of matchups falling within expected uncertainty against the direct airborne measurements acquired during the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS campaign. Using the EPICAERUV aerosol product, we analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of specific smoke events caused by wildfires over North America over the last four years.
VHF Radio Spectrum of a Positive Leader and Implications for Electric Fields
Authors: Pu Yunjiao , Cummer Steven A. , Liu Ningyu 
Published: June 2021

AbstractElectric fields associated with a developing natural lightning leader are difficult to measure. This work demonstrates a new approach to indirectly probing the electric fields in the streamer zone of a lightning leader. Using a 10–250 MHz broadband lightning interferometer, very high frequency (VHF) radio emissions from the tip of a positive cloud‐to‐ground (CG) leader were measured and localized. We specially use a normalized spectral analysis to avoid the challenge of absolute system calibration to show that the positive leader spectrum exhibits a clear cutoff frequency at 80 MHz. Compared with theoretical predictions, this cutoff frequency corresponds to a streamer growth rate of and an average electric field of 0.9 times the conventional breakdown field in streamer bursts from the positive leader. Implications for the detectability of positive leaders through VHF emissions and for the production of X‐rays by positive leaders are analyzed.
Subduction Polarity Reversal: Induced or Spontaneous?
Authors: Zhang Shengxing , Leng Wei 
Published: June 2021

AbstractSubduction polarity reversal (SPR) is the subduction initiation process following the arc‐continent collision. Previous models emphasized the need for the external compressional force to induce it. However, the explanation of different geological structures in the reported SPR zones was poor. Based on our new thermomechanical model, we confirm the possibility of establishing a spontaneous SPR system, which is self‐sustained by negative buoyancy. The spontaneous SPR will occur when the whole overriding oceanic plate has a small plastic strength, while the arc‐continent collision system with a strong overriding plate and a limited weak back‐arc/arc structure prefers the compression‐induced SPR. Moreover, a rather young oceanic plate (≤20 Ma) can trigger the SPR without any weak area. This study provides new insights into the different initiation mechanisms and evolutionary pathways of the potential Cenozoic SPR events in Ryukyu, Kamchatka, and New Hebrides.
Plasma lipidome is dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease and is associated with disease risk genes
Authors: Liu Yue , Thalamuthu Anbupalam , Mather Karen A. , Crawford John , Ulanova Marina , Wong Matthew Wai Kin , Pickford Russell , Sachdev Perminder S. , Braidy Nady 
Published: June 2021

AbstractLipidomics research could provide insights of pathobiological mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease. This study explores a battery of plasma lipids that can differentiate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients from healthy controls and determines whether lipid profiles correlate with genetic risk for AD. AD plasma samples were collected from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (MAS) Sydney, Australia (aged range 75–97 years; 51.2% male). Untargeted lipidomics analysis was performed by liquid chromatography coupled–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). We found that several lipid species from nine lipid classes, particularly sphingomyelins (SMs), cholesterol esters (ChEs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PIs), phosphatidylinositols (PIs), and triglycerides (TGs) are dysregulated in AD patients and may help discriminate them from healthy controls. However, when the lipid species were grouped together into lipid subgroups, only the DG group was significantly higher in AD. ChEs, SMs, and TGs resulted in good classification accuracy using the Glmnet algorithm (elastic net penalization for the generalized linear model [glm]) with more than 80% AUC. In general, group lipids and the lipid subclasses LPC and PE had less classification accuracy compared to the other subclasses. We also found significant increases in SMs, PIs, and the LPE/PE ratio in human U251 astroglioma cell lines exposed to pathophysiological concentrations of oligomeric Aβ42. This suggests that oligomeric Aβ42 plays a contributory, if not causal role, in mediating changes in lipid profiles in AD that can be detected in the periphery. In addition, we evaluated the association of plasma lipid profiles with AD-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and polygenic risk scores (PRS) of AD. We found that FERMT2 and MS4A6A showed a significantly differential association with lipids in all lipid classes across disease and control groups. ABCA7 had a differential association with more than half of the DG lipids (52.63%) and PI lipids (57.14%), respectively. Additionally, 43.4% of lipids in the SM class were differentially associated with CLU. More than 30% of lipids in ChE, PE, and TG classes had differential associations with separate genes (ChE-PICALM, SLC24A4, and SORL1; PE-CLU and CR1; TG-BINI) between AD and control group. These data may provide renewed insights into the pathobiology of AD and the feasibility of identifying individuals with greater AD risk.