bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hydrogeochemistry and surface water quality assessment of IB valley coalfield area, India
Authors: Sahoo Bishnu Prasad , Sahu Himanshu Bhushan , Pradhan Dhruti Sundar 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCoal mining and ancillary activities have the potential to cause water pollution characterized by acid mine drainage, acid mine leachates, extreme pH conditions and heavy metal contaminations. In the present work, 33 water samples in premonsoon and 34 water samples in monsoon were collected from the surface water bodies of Ib Valley coalfield, India for hydrogeochemical analysis. In premonsoon, pH, TSS, Turbidity, DO, BOD, COD, Magnesium, Cadmium, Selenium, Nickel, Aluminum and in monsoon, pH, TSS, Turbidity, DO, BOD, COD, Iron, Cadmium, Selenium, Nickel and Aluminum were nonconforming to the permissible limit set by the Bureau of Indian Standards, World Health Organisation and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. The average BOD/COD ratio of less than 0.6 in both seasons indicated Ib valley coalfield water was not fairly biodegradable. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that significant seasonal variation (p < 0.05) was observed in the hydro-chemical parameters viz. TSS, turbidity, redox potential, acidity, total hardness, bicarbonate alkalinity, chloride, sulfate, nitrate, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, cadmium, chromium and magnesium during the entire sampling period. Whereas, no significant seasonal variation (p > 0.05) was observed in pH, EC, TDS, DO, BOD, residual chlorine, COD, oil and grease, fluoride, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium, nickel, aluminum, boron, silica, temperature, salinity, cyanide and phenol. Water Quality Index revealed that 39.39% and 35.29% samples belong to poor water quality category in premonsoon and monsoon, respectively. As per Heavy Metal Pollution Index, Degree of Contamination (Cd) and Heavy metal evaluation index, medium degree of pollution were exhibited by 51.52%, 30.30% and 45.45% samples in premonsoon and 20.59%, 35.29% and 26.47% samples in monsoon. Whereas, 5.88%, 2.94% and 5.88% samples were having high degree of pollution in monsoon and 15.15% samples caused high degree of pollution with respect to Cd in premonsoon. However, EC, Na%, PI, SAR and RSC values suggested that the water can be used for irrigation. Water type of the region had been found to be Ca–Mg–Cl–SO4 by Piper diagram.
Optimal operation of a multi-distribution natural gas pipeline grid: an ant colony approach
Authors: Arya Adarsh Kumar 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe enormous cost of transporting oil and gas through pipelines and the operational benefits that the industry receives through optimization has incited analysts for decades to find optimization strategies that help pipeline managers operate pipeline grids with the least expense. The paper aims to minimize the pipeline grids' operating costs using an ant colony optimization strategy. The article constructs a multi-objective modeling framework for a natural gas pipeline grid based on data from the French gas pipeline network corporation 'Gaz De France,' using pipeline and compressor hydraulics. The gas pipeline grid comprises seven gas supply nodes and nineteen gas distribution centers. Seven compressor stations provided at various locations on the pipeline route raise the gas pressure. Two competing objectives of reducing fuel usage in compressors and increasing throughput at distribution centers are acknowledged to reduce the pipeline's operating cost. The 'multi-objective ant colony optimization (MOACO)' approach is implemented to the pipeline transportation model to reduce the natural gas pipeline grid's operating cost. The process variables include the amount of gas flowing through the pipe and the pressure at pipe nodes. This method provides the optimum solution for each fuel consumption level on each compressor, and it does so by producing a Pareto front for each of the nineteen gas distribution points. The blueprints of the methodology used and the findings collected intend to guide pipeline managers and select the best of the most preferred solutions.
Bayesian Analysis of Nonnegative Data Using Dependency-Extended Two-Part Models
Authors: Rodrigues-Motta Mariana , Forkman Johannes 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThis article is motivated by the challenge of analysing an agricultural field experiment with observations that are positive on a continuous scale or zero. Such data can be analysed using two-part models, where the distribution is a mixture of a positive distribution and a Bernoulli distribution. However, traditional two-part models do not include any dependencies between the two parts of the model. Since the probability of zero is anticipated to be high when the expected value of the positive part is low, and the other way around, this article introduces dependency-extended two-part models. In addition, these extensions allow for modelling the median instead of the mean, which has advantages when distributions are skewed. The motivating example is an incomplete block trial comparing ten treatments against weed. Gamma and lognormal distributions were used for the positive response, although any density on the support of real numbers can be accommodated. In a cross-validation study, the proposed new models were compared with each other and with a baseline model without dependencies. Model performance and sensitivity to choice of priors were investigated through simulation. A dependency-extended two-part model for the median of the lognormal distribution performed best with regard to mean square error in prediction. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.
Evolution of Outrigger Structural System: A State-of-the-Art Review
Authors: Kavyashree B. G. , Patil Shantharam , Rao Vidya S. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThis paper presents the development of the outrigger structural system from the conventional outrigger to damped outrigger concepts. Outrigger structural system development from the conservative design as a rigid connection to a virtual connection with passive control, active control system, semi-active control system to hybrid control system is deliberated. Following brief overviews on history of outriggers, types of the outrigger, analysis of tall buildings without outriggers, formulation of equations for outrigger structure to simplify analysis are elaborated. Different approach to locate optimum positioning of outriggers in tall structure is elucidated. Analysis of outrigger to study its behavior in high-rise buildings using different methods is stated, and review on the damped outrigger system is explicated. This paper tries to highlight the advantages of outrigger structure with semi-active control and performance enhancement of the outrigger system with the effective devices, and enhanced results are also depicted. This review also paves a way for the new area of research in structural control with the incorporation of smart devices and smart technology.
One-Pot Synthesis of Sulfonated Carbon/Palygorskite Solid-Acid Catalyst for the Esterification of Oleic Acid with Methanol
Authors: Zhang Jiadong , Jiang Wenbin , Jiang Jinlong , Wu Mei , Shi Yingying , Mao Ping , Deng Qiulin 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSulfonated carbon is a ‘green,’ solid-acid catalyst. For applications purposes, its surface area needs to be improved and its preparation needs to be made environmentally friendly. The objective of the present study was to provide a green and economical method of preparing a sulfonated carbon catalyst by using palygorskite (Plg) fiber as a support for sulfonated carbon. Sulfonated carbon/palygorskite solid-acid catalyst (SC-Plg) was synthesized via one-step carbonization-sulfonation by mixing palygorskite with sucrose as the carbon source and p-toluenesulfonic acid as the sulfonating agent. The catalyst was characterized by SEM, EDX, TEM, FTIR, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results indicated that sucrose-derived carbon was loaded uniformly on the surface of Plg fibers and formed the SC-Plg catalyst. The inexpensive Plg fibers could replace sucrose-derived carbon and increase the surface area of the resulting catalyst. The SC-Plg shows significant catalytic performance and excellent stability when used in the esterification of oleic acid with methanol. The conversion of oleic acid reached 68.09%, even after five cycles. This work paves the way for the development of highly active, carbon-based, solid-acid composite catalysts using a natural Plg nanofiber template.
Telomere shortening in patients on long‐term hemodialysis
Authors: Wang Yucheng , Chen Siyu , Feng Shi , Wang Cuili , Jiang Hong , Rong Song , Hermann Haller , Chen Jianghua , Zhang Ping 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundLeukocyte telomere length shortening is a characteristic of premature senescence, a process that can be accelerated by oxidative stress. In general, patients with end‐stage renal disease undergoing regular hemodialysis (HD) are repeatedly exposed to oxidative stress. Patients undergoing HD tend to have cardiovascular diseases associated with oxidative stress and inflammation. Therefore, we assumed that telomere length is associated with HD vintage and the degree of vascular calcification.MethodsA total of 144 patients undergoing regular HD before kidney transplantation and 62 patients on hemodialysis, but not undergoing kidney transplantation, were enrolled. We measured common laboratory values, such as calcium, phosphate, and hemoglobin levels, and assessed the degree of vascular calcification in the patients. The leukocyte telomere length was measured using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and Spearman correlation was used for correlation analysis.ResultsThe leukocyte telomere length was negatively associated with age (rho = −0.306, P＜0.01); it was shorter in middle‐aged patients than in young patients (13.48 ± 4.80 vs. 15.86 ± 4.51, P < 0.01). The telomere length was significantly different among patients aged 52–74 years in groups with different HD vintages. Additionally, the telomere length was positively associated with serum hemoglobin (Hb) levels in all patients (rho = 0.290, P < 0.01). There was a significant difference among patients divided into three groups according to the degree of anemia (17.09 ± 5.64 vs. 14.40 ± 4.07 vs. 13.99 ± 3.95, P < 0.01). Further, a significant difference was observed in the telomere length among patients with different degrees of vascular calcification (16.79 ± 4.91 vs. 13.61 ± 2.82 vs. 14.62 ± 3.63 vs. 10.71 ± 3.74, P < 0.01). The telomere length was shorter in the patients on hemodialysis who did not receive a kidney transplant than in the surgical patients (8.12 ± 1.83 vs. 14.33 ± 4.63, P < 0.01).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the telomere length was significantly correlated with HD vintage in patients of a certain age group. The telomere length was shorter in patients on hemodialysis who matched for age and dialysis vintage with kidney transplant patients. It was also associated with vascular calcification and serum Hb levels in all patients undergoing HD.
Optic neuritis concomitant with pituitary macroadenoma in a patient with active COVID-19 infection: A case report
Authors: Al-Salihi Mohammed Maan , Rahman Moshiur , Al-Jebur Maryam Sabah , Rahman Sabrina , Lozada-Martinez Ivan David , Rahman Raphia , Moscote-Salazar Luis Rafael 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction and importance:
Several neuro-ophthalmic manifestations have been reported with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. However, isolated optic neuritis was infrequently reported in humans with COVID-19. If it occurred, optic neuritis was usually a part of a demyelinating syndrome.

Case presentation:
In this paper, we report a case of optic neuritis concomitant with an undiagnosed pituitary macroadenoma discovered during active COVID-19 infection. The case was a 33-year-old woman with infertility who was recently found to have a pituitary macroadenoma secreting prolactin. During active COVID-19 infection, the patient developed optic neuritis that responded well to corticosteroids. Brain imaging and hormonal profile negated the presence of any demyelinating disease or pituitary apoplexy.

Clinical discussion:
A dilemma of whether optic neuritis occurring concomitantly with pituitary macroadenoma is just a coincidence, or there is an association remains unresolved. Whether COVID-19 infection might precipitate optic neuritis in patients with pituitary macroadenoma or not remains an issue to be answered by observing data from future case reports about similar findings.

Conclusion:
Optic neuritis in concomitant with pituitary macroadenoma following COVID-19 infection represents a dilemma of whether the visual symptoms are attributed to the tumor or COVID-19 infection.

Highlights
Voices in Hostile Sources: In The Matter of Nat Turner and the Historiography of Reading Rebellion
Authors: Arnold John H. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThis engagement with Christopher Tomlins’s In the Matter of Nat Turner (2020) focuses on a key methodological issue faced by the author, namely how one reads and positions the “authentic voice” of a past subaltern subject, known to us only through a hostile written source. This challenge is well-known to social historians of the European middle ages, and this essay suggests various ways in which Tomlins’s monograph contributes to existing debate, regarding both method and how one culturally situates and interprets the voice(s) thus identified, particularly with regard to the politics of apocalypticism.
THE BEGINNING AND EARLY YEARS OF RADIOCARBON DATING IN RUSSIA: LABORATORIES AND PERSONALITIES
Authors: Kuzmin Yaroslav V , Burova Natalia D , Zazovskaya Elya P , Zaretskaya Nataliya E , Savinetsky Arkady B , Khasanov Bulat F 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACTWe present an overview of the beginning and early years of radiocarbon dating in Russia. Achievements of several major scholars in this field from Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Moscow and Novosibirsk are briefly described. The existing and closed Russian laboratories are also mentioned.
Helminth communities in amphibians from Latvia, with an emphasis on their connection to host ecology
Authors: Čeirāns A. , Gravele E. , Gavarane I. , Pupins M. , Mezaraupe L. , Rubenina I. , Kvach Y. , Skute A. , Oskyrko O. , Nekrasova O. , Marushchak O. , Kirjushina M. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractHelminth infracommunities were studied at 174 sites of Latvia in seven hosts from six amphibian taxa of different taxonomical, ontogenic and ecological groups. They were described using a standard set of parasitological parameters, compared by ecological indices and linear discriminant analysis. Their species associations were identified by Kendall's rank correlation, but relationships with host size and waterbody area were analysed by zero-inflated Poisson and zero-inflated negative binomial regressions. The richest communities (25 species) were found in post-metamorphic semi-aquaticPelophylaxspp. frogs, which were dominated by trematode species of both adult and larval stages. Both larval and terrestrial hosts yielded depauperate trematode communities with accession of aquatic and soil-transmitted nematode species, respectively. Nematode loads peaked in terrestrialBufo bufo. Helminth infracommunities suggested some differences in host microhabitat or food object selection not detected by their ecology studies. Associations were present in 96% of helminth species (on average, 7.3 associations per species) and dominated positive ones. Species richness and abundances, in most cases, were positively correlated with host size, which could be explained by increasing parasite intake rates over host ontogeny (trematode adult stages) or parasite accumulation (larvalAlaria alata). Two larval diplostomid species (Strigea strigis,Tylodelphys excavata) had a negative relationship with host size, which could be caused by parasite-induced host mortality. The adult trematode abundances were higher in larger waterbodies, most likely due to their ecosystem richness, while higher larval abundances in smaller waterbodies could be caused by elevated infection rates under high host densities.
Context v. algorithm: evidence that a transdiagnostic framework of contextual clinical characterization is of more clinical value than categorical diagnosis
Authors: van Os Jim , Pries Lotta-Katrin , ten Have Margreet , de Graaf Ron , van Dorsselaer Saskia , Bak Maarten , Kenis Gunter , Lin Bochao D. , Gunther Nicole , Luykx Jurjen J. , Rutten Bart P. F. , Guloksuz Sinan 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundA transdiagnostic and contextual framework of ‘clinical characterization’, combining clinical, psychopathological, sociodemographic, etiological, and other personal contextual data, may add clinical value over and above categorical algorithm-based diagnosis.MethodsPrediction of need for care and health care outcomes was examined prospectively as a function of the contextual clinical characterization diagnostic framework in a prospective general population cohort (n = 6646 at baseline), interviewed four times between 2007 and 2018 (NEMESIS-2). Measures of need, service use, and use of medication were predicted as a function of any of 13 DSM-IV diagnoses, both separately and in combination with clinical characterization across multiple domains: social circumstances/demographics, symptom dimensions, physical health, clinical/etiological factors, staging, and polygenic risk scores (PRS). Effect sizes were expressed as population attributable fractions.ResultsAny prediction of DSM-diagnosis in relation to need and outcome in separate models was entirely reducible to components of contextual clinical characterization in joint models, particularly the component of transdiagnostic symptom dimensions (a simple score of the number of anxiety, depression, mania, and psychosis symptoms) and staging (subthreshold, incidence, persistence), and to a lesser degree clinical factors (early adversity, family history, suicidality, slowness at interview, neuroticism, and extraversion), and sociodemographic factors. Clinical characterization components in combination predicted more than any component in isolation. PRS did not meaningfully contribute to any clinical characterization model.ConclusionA transdiagnostic framework of contextual clinical characterization is of more value to patients than a categorical system of algorithmic ordering of psychopathology.
The digital inclusion of older people in Spain: technological support services for seniors as predictor
Authors: Tirado-Morueta Ramón , Rodríguez-Martín Alejandro , Álvarez-Arregui Emilio , Ortíz-Sobrino Miguel Ángel , Aguaded-Gómez José Ignacio 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWhile life expectancy increases in developed countries and there is evidence that demonstrates the potential of the internet to optimise or compensate for the losses associated with ageing, there is a high proportion of older people who continue to be disconnected from the digital world. In this scenario, the technological support offered by public institutions has the potential to be an accessible source for the digital literacy of older people. This study, using the model of digital inequality, had the aim of analysing the ability of these institutional supports to determine and predict the digital inclusion of older people. The sample was retired adults (over 54 years) residing in Spain who are users of technological support services in four organisational contexts: nursing homes, senior community centres, University Programs for Seniors and adult education programmes. Through binary logistic regression analysis, we found that the ability of the availability of literacy support to determine and predict access, autonomy, skills and use of the internet for social connectivity depends on the social and organisational context of the technology support service. These findings support empirically the situated nature of technological support for the digital inclusion of older people and provide a useful comparative vision for the design of accessible support services adapted to the needs of its users.
On the mixing time of coordinate Hit-and-Run
Authors: Narayanan Hariharan , Srivastava Piyush 
Published: August 2021

AbstractWe obtain a polynomial upper bound on the mixing time
$T_{CHR}(\epsilon)$
of the coordinate Hit-and-Run (CHR) random walk on an
$n-$
dimensional convex body, where
$T_{CHR}(\epsilon)$
is the number of steps needed to reach within
$\epsilon$
of the uniform distribution with respect to the total variation distance, starting from a warm start (i.e., a distribution which has a density with respect to the uniform distribution on the convex body that is bounded above by a constant). Our upper bound is polynomial in n, R and
$\frac{1}{\epsilon}$
, where we assume that the convex body contains the unit
$\Vert\cdot\Vert_\infty$
-unit ball
$B_\infty$
and is contained in its R-dilation
$R\cdot B_\infty$
. Whether CHR has a polynomial mixing time has been an open question.
Culture of preantral ovarian follicles ofBos taurus indicuswith alpha-lipoic acid
Authors: Bergamo Larissa Zamparone , Bonato Denis Vinicius , Bizarro-Silva Camila , Bonato Francieli Gesleine Capote , González Suellen Miguez , Rossaneis Ana Carolina , Verri Waldiceu A. , Morotti Fábio , Seneda Marcelo Marcondes 
Published: August 2021

SummaryThe aim of this study was to evaluate follicular development, morphological integrity, and antioxidant potential of preantral ovarian follicles fromBos taurus indicusfemales grownin vitrowith alpha-lipoic acid. Ovaries (n= 24) ofBos taurus indicus(n= 12) females were collected during slaughter and fragmented. A randomly obtained fragment from each pair of ovaries was fixed in Bouin (non-cultivated control; D0). These fragments were intended for classical histology (morphology and evaluation of follicular growth), and a fragment from each pair of ovaries was frozen at −80°C (non-cultivated control; D0), and assigned for analysis of oxidative stress [thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)]. The remaining fragments were culturedin vitrofor 6 (D6) or 12 (D12) days, containing only minimum essential medium (MEM) or MEM supplemented with alpha-lipoic acid (50, 100, or 250 ng/ml), on an extracellular matrix of agarose gel, in an oven at 38.5ºC. Every 2 days, 100% of the culture medium was replaced. Supplementation with 100 ng/ml was effective for maintaining follicular integrity after 6 days of culture (primordial: 51.28%; development: 36.88%;P< 0.0001). There was no difference (P> 0.05) between treatments compared with the non-cultivated control treatment (D0), using the NBT and TBARS assays. Therefore, supplementation of thein vitroculture medium of bovine preantral ovarian follicles with a concentration of 100 ng/ml of alpha-lipoic acid at 6 days of culture was effective for maintaining follicular integrity and, after 6 days, maintaining stable levels of reactive oxygen species.