bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Acute and sub-acute toxicity profile of crude extract and fractions of Gymnema sylvestre
Authors: Raji Rofiyat Omolara , Muhammad Hadiza Lami , Abubakar Abdulkadir , Maikai Sophia Shekwoyan , Raji Habibat Feyishara 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background
Gymnema sylvestre is a reputable medicinal plant commonly explore for the management of diabetes and other ailments in traditional medicine. In the present study, we investigated the phytochemical compositions and effect of crude extract, hexane, and ethyl-acetate fractions of Gymnema sylvestre on biochemical and hematological parameters of Wistar rats.

Methods
Albino rats were distributed randomly into a control group and nine treatment groups orally administered crude extract and fractions of Gymnema sylvestre (100, 300, and 600 mg/kg BW) for 21 days. Liver and kidney function indices, as well as hematological parameters, were monitored.

Results
Our results revealed that the crude methanol extract contains flavonoids (8.56 ± 0.50 mg/g), alkaloids (13.84 ± 0.67 mg/g), total phenol (1.98 ± 0.50 mg/g), saponins (23.85 ± 0.35 mg/g) and tannins (16.00 ± 0.34 mg/g). The crude methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane fractions of Gymnema sylvestre had LD50 greater than 5000 mg/kg BW in acute oral toxicity test. The extract and fractions at 300 and 600 mg/kg BW cause loss of body weight of the rats, significantly altered (p < 0.05) the levels of biochemical indices including the aspartate transaminases, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphates, bilirubin, proteins, urea, creatinine, and white blood cells (WBC) counts when compared with the non-treated control. However, the extract and fractions at 100 mg/kg BW did not cause any significant (p > 0.05) alterations to the levels of biochemical and hematological parameters when compared with the non-treated control.

Conclusion
Gymnema sylvestre at sub-acute doses of 300 and 600 mg/kg BW could compromise the functional integrity of the rats’ liver and kidney. The study, therefore, suggested the use of Gymnema sylvestre for oral remedy at a dose of 100 mg/kg or below.
Development of patient-reported outcomes item set to evaluate acute treatment toxicity to pelvic online magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy
Authors: Møller P. K. , Pappot H. , Bernchou U. , Schytte T. , Dieperink K. B. 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background
A new technology in cancer treatment, the MR-linac, provides online magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) that combines real-time visualization of the tumor and surrounding tissue with radiation therapy to deliver treatment more accurately. Online MRgRT makes it possible to minimize treatment volume, potentially reducing acute treatment toxicity. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) add the patient perspective to evaluating treatment toxicity related to new technology. The objective of this mixed-methods study was to develop and explore the content validity of a set of PRO items to evaluate acute pelvic toxicity to radiotherapy including online MRgRT.

Methods
A literature review and chart audit were conducted to identify symptomatic adverse events (AEs) to be selected from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) library and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) item library. To validate the content, the item set was applied in a prospective pilot cohort of patients referred for primary pelvic RT with curative intent. Patients reported symptoms weekly during RT (4–8 weeks) and the subsequent 4 weeks. Follow-up reports were collected at 8, 12, and 24 weeks after RT. To ensure symptom coverage clinician-reported toxicity and individual patient interviews were conducted. The symptomatic AEs were included in the final item set if ≥20% of patients reported them.

Results
Eighteen acute symptomatic AEs were selected for the initial item set. Forty patients (32 prostate cancer, 8 cervical cancer) were included in the pilot study. Patients with prostate cancer and those with cervical cancer both reported all 18 acute AEs. However, vomiting was not reported by > 20% of patients thus excluded from the item set. Adding a few diagnosis-specific AEs to the final item set was required for both prostate and cervical cancer patients.

Conclusions
A PRO item set for patients with pelvic cancer treated with radiotherapy with a curative intent was developed and content validity explored. In the pilot study, the item set captured the most common acute symptomatic AEs for patients with prostate and cervical cancer related to pelvic RT including online MRgRT. Further validation of the content in broader disease sites would be needed in future studies.
Quantitative benchmarking of iodine imaging for two CT spectral imaging technologies: a phantom study
Authors: Harsaker Vanja , Jensen Kristin , Andersen Hilde Kjernlie , Martinsen Anne Catrine 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background
The aim of this study was to quantitatively benchmark iodine imaging across specific virtual monoenergetic energy levels, iodine maps and virtual non-contrast images with different phantom sizes and iodine concentrations, using a rapid switching dual-energy CT (DECT) and a dual source DECT, in order to investigate accuracy and potential differences between the technologies.

Methods
Solutions of iodine contrast (10, 20, 30, 50, and 100 mg/mL), sterile water and saline were scanned in a phantom on a rapid switching single-source and dual-source DECT scanners from two different vendors. The phantom was equipped with polyurethane rings simulating three body sizes. The datasets were reconstructed in virtual monoenergetic energy levels (70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, and 140 keV), virtual non-contrast images and iodine maps. HU and iodine concentrations were measured by placing ROIs in the iodine solutions.

Results
The iodine concentrations were reproduced with a high degree of accuracy for the single-source DECT (1.8–9.0%), showing a slight dependence on phantom size. The dual source DECT technique showed deviant values (error -33.8 to 12.0%) for high concentrations. In relation to the virtual non-contrast measurements, the images from both vendors were affected by the iodine concentration and phantom size (-127.8 to 539.1 HU). Phantom size did not affect the calculated monoenergetic attenuation values, but the attenuation values varied between the scanners.

Conclusions
Quantitative measurements of post-processed images are dependent on the concentration of iodine, the phantom size and different technologies. However, our study indicates that the iodine maps are reliable for quantification of iodine.
Central Aspects of Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis (CAP-RA): protocol for a prospective observational study
Authors: Ifesemen Onosi S. , McWilliams Daniel F. , Ferguson Eamonn , Wakefield Richard , Akin-Akinyosoye Kehinde , Wilson Deborah , Platts Dorothy , Ledbury Susan , Walsh David A. 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Background
Pain and fatigue are persistent problems in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Central sensitisation (CS) may contribute to pain and fatigue, even when treatment has controlled inflammatory disease. This study aims to validate a self-report 8-item questionnaire, the Central Aspects of Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis (CAP-RA) questionnaire, developed to measure central pain mechanisms in RA, and to predict patient outcomes and response to treatment. A secondary objective is to explore mechanisms linking CS, pain and fatigue in people with RA.

Methods/design
This is a prospective observational cohort study recruiting 250 adults with active RA in secondary care. The CAP-RA questionnaire, demographic data, medical history, and patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) of traits associated with central sensitization will be collected using validated questionnaires. Quantitative sensory testing modalities of pressure pain detection thresholds, temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation will be indices of central sensitization, and blood markers, swollen joints and ultrasound scans will be indices of inflammation. Primary data collection will be at baseline and 12 weeks. The test-retest reliability of CAP-RA questionnaire will be determined 1 week after the baseline visit. Pain and fatigue data will be collected weekly via text messages for 12 weeks. CAP-RA psychometric properties, and predictive validity for outcomes at 3 months will be evaluated.

Discussion
This study will validate a simple self-report questionnaire against psychophysical indices of central sensitization and patient reported outcome measures of traits associated with CS in a population of individuals with active RA. The application of this instrument in the clinical environment could provide a mechanism-based stratification tool to facilitate the provision of targeted therapy to individuals with pain and fatigue in RA, alongside treatments that target joint inflammation.

Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04515589. Date of registration 17 August 2020.
Identification of salt-tolerant barley genotypes using multiple-traits index and yield performance at the early growth and maturity stages
Authors: Pour-Aboughadareh Alireza , Sanjani Sara , Nikkhah-Chamanabad Hamidreza , Mehrvar Mohammad Reza , Asadi Ameneh , Amini Ashkboos 
Published: June 2021

AbstractBackgroundSalinity is one of the major limiting abiotic stresses that decrease crop production worldwide. To recommend genotypes for cultivation under saline stress conditions, a comprehensive understanding of the genetic basis and plant responses to this stress is needed. In the present study, a total of 20 barley genotypes were investigated to identify potential salt-tolerant genotypes, both at the early growth stage using a hydroponic system, and in adult plants under field conditions. For these purposes, the multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) was used to identify salt-tolerant barley genotypes at the seedling stage, and the weighted average of absolute scores (WAASB) index was used to identify the high-yielding and stable genotypes in adult plant stage. At the early growth stage, barley seedlings were treated with two salinity levels: 0 mM NaCl (as control conditions) and 200 mM NaCl (as stress conditions) for 30 days, and during this period different growth and physiological traits were measured. Besides, the yield performance and stability of the investigated barley genotypes were evaluated across five environments during the 2018–2020 cropping seasons.ResultsSalinity stress significantly decreased growth and physiological traits in all seedling plants; however, some salt-tolerant genotypes showed minimal reduction in the measured traits. Multivariate analysis grouped the measured traits and genotypes into different clusters. In the early growth stage, the G12, G14, G6, G7, and G16 were selected as the most salt-tolerant genotypes using MGIDI index. In the multi-environment trials experiment, AMMI analysis showed that grain yields of the tested barley genotypes were influenced by the environment (E), genotype (G), and GE interaction. Based on the weighted average of absolute scores of the genotype index (WAASB) and other stability statistics, G7, G8, G14, and G16 were selected as superior genotypes.ConclusionTogether the MGIDI and WAASB indices revealed that three genotypes—G7, G14 and G16—can be recommended as new genetic resources for improving and stabilizing grain yield in barley programs for the moderate climate and saline regions of Iran. Our results suggest that using the MGIDI index in the early growth stage can accelerate screening nurseries in barley breeding programs. Besides, the WAASB index can be used as a useful stability measurement for identify high-yielding and stable genotypes in multi-environment trials.
Counting the Uncountable: Revisiting Urban Majorities
Authors: Simone AbdouMaliq , Rao Vyjayanthi 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Sustainable urban transformation increasingly relies upon technicities of computation and interoperability among variegated registers and domains. In contrast, the notion of an “urban majority,” first introduced by the authors nearly a decade ago, points to a different “mathematics” of combination. Here the ways in which different economic practices, demeanors, behavioral tactics, forms of social organization, territory, and mobility intersect and detach, coalesce into enduring cultures of inhabitation or proliferate as momentary occupancies of short-lived situations make up a kind of algorithmic process that continuously produces new functions and new values for individual and collective capacities, backgrounds, and ways of doing things. This capacity, albeit facing new vulnerabilities and recalibration, will become increasingly important in shaping urban change in a post-pandemic era.
The Chinese Century and the City of Gold: Rethinking Race and Capitalism
Authors: Huang Mingwei 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
This article tells a story about the unfolding “Chinese Century” in South Africa centered on China Malls, wholesale shopping centers for Chinese goods that have cropped up along Johannesburg's old mining belt since the early 2000s. Based in ethnographic and historical analysis, the essay takes a palimpsestic approach to imagine how Chinese capital enters into a terrain profoundly shaped by race, labor, and migration and is entangled with the afterlives of gold. Chinese migrant traders in South Africa draw on legacies of migrant mine labor and refashion processes that devalue Black labor. Whereas these histories are lost upon Chinese newcomers, African workers experience working for “the Chinese” through the memory of the mines. With the aim of theorizing emergent formations of race and capital in the Chinese Century, the essay threads this new epoch through the history of colonial and racial capitalism of the City of Gold.
The Childhood of Politics
Authors: Devji Faisal 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
This article argues that the global emergence of children at the forefront of causes from climate change to education reveals a contradiction at the heart of politics. If politics is defined by the making of a future, the children who are meant to be its heirs are crucial to it. Yet they represent the last category of persons formally to be disallowed political agency, suggesting it is their very unfreedom that allows children to exercise power. Does their mobilization in contemporary politics signal the limits of its realm?
Playing through the Apocalypse: Preparing Children for Mass Disasters in Japan and Chile
Authors: Watanabe Chika 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThere is a growing trend to prepare children for future disasters. A Japanese nonprofit organization has developed an event called Iza! Kaeru Caravan, which includes games that teach children and their families how to survive disasters, from earthquakes to floods. Many disaster experts and government officials from other countries have now implemented the Caravan in their own contexts. Based on ethnographic research in Japan and Chile, this article shows how playful methods in disaster preparedness orient children, and by proxy their families, to accept an apocalyptic future, helping the neoliberal state buy time. Advocates of disaster preparedness in Japan and Chile accept that state actors will not come immediately to the rescue. Playful methods mobilize children and their families to take responsibility for their own survival through the subjunctive work of the “as if.” Ambiguously positioned between fun and education, playful methods of preparedness command attention from children and adults—what I call “attentive play”—as they frame and reframe the games to figure out, “Is this play?” Ultimately, the article shows that attentive play buys time for the state to temporarily defer its responsibilities to citizens, but the ambiguity of play can also exceed its ideological effects.
Loss of vacuolar-type H+-ATPase induces caspase-independent necrosis-like death of hair cells in zebrafish neuromasts
Authors: Santra Peu , Amack Jeffrey D. 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
The vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) is a multi-subunit proton pump that regulates cellular pH. V-ATPase activity modulates several cellular processes, but cell-type-specific functions remain poorly understood. Patients with mutations in specific V-ATPase subunits can develop sensorineural deafness, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we show that V-ATPase mutations disrupt the formation of zebrafish neuromasts, which serve as a model to investigate hearing loss. V-ATPase mutant neuromasts are small and contain pyknotic nuclei that denote dying cells. Molecular markers and live imaging show that loss of V-ATPase induces mechanosensory hair cells in neuromasts, but not neighboring support cells, to undergo caspase-independent necrosis-like cell death. This is the first demonstration that loss of V-ATPase can lead to necrosis-like cell death in a specific cell type in vivo. Mechanistically, loss of V-ATPase reduces mitochondrial membrane potential in hair cells. Modulating the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, which regulates mitochondrial membrane potential, improves hair cell survival. These results have implications for understanding the causes of sensorineural deafness, and more broadly, reveal functions for V-ATPase in promoting survival of a specific cell type in vivo.
Por que é tão difícil montar um negócio convincente
Authors: Susteras Guilherme 
Published: June 2021

Empreendedores de startups de tecnologia limpa mostram que raramente saem boas propostas de valor só de post-its e canvas. É preciso ir ao mercado, testar formas de oferecer o produto ou serviço e engajar clientes em um processo colaborativo de cocriação.
Radiation Survey in the Area of Peaceful Nuclear Explosion «Takhta-Kugulta»
Authors: Titov A. , Shandala N. , Isaev D. , Bel'skih Yu. , Semenova M. , Doronieva T , Starinskiy V. , Starinskaya R. , Seregin V. , Ostapchuk T. , Chernobaev A. 
Published: June 2021

Purpose: Radiation survey in the area of peaceful nuclear explosion «Takhta-Kagylta» in the Stavropol Region.
Material and methods: Radiation survey was performed on the territory of the protected area and on the territory of the 30-km zone from the explosion site. Methods of pedestrian gamma survey with a portable spectrometric complex Multirad-M were used in the course of the survey, along with gamma spectrometric and radiochemical measurements of radionuclide activities in samples and radiochemical separation of 90Sr and 137Cs. The measurement of tritium activity concentration in water was carried out using a low-background liquid alpha-beta radiometer Quantulus-1220.
Results: The highest average value of gamma ambient dose equivalent rate was obtained in the area of the peaceful nuclear explosion site. A value of ambient dose equivalent rate at the area between the site and Kevsala village is lower than on the site, but higher than in Kevsala village and in other settlements. The mean value of the surface contamination of soil with 137Cs on the site was 0.43 kBq/m2, while that of 90Sr was 0.055 kBq/m2. Average values of soil surface contamination with radionuclides in the settlements located in the area of the explosion vary over the range between 0.16 and 0.37 kBq/m2 for 137Cs and between 0.035 and 0.066 kBq/m2 for 90Sr. 241Am specific activity values were below the minimum detectable activity (0.01 – 0.04 kBq/m2 at the time of the soil sample measurement of 10–30 h).
The contents of 3H, 90Sr and 137Cs radionuclides in drinking water and water of the surface water reservoirs is significantly lower than the intervention levels established in NRB-99/2009.
Conclusions: Radiation situation at the location of the technological well complies with the requirements of SanPiN 2.6.1.2819-10 “Radiation Safety and Protection of the Population Living in the Areas of Peaceful Nuclear Explosions (1965 – 1988)”, and does not pose a threat to the health of the population when staying there. It is necessary to arrange the territory of the protection area and technological (charging) well in accordance with the requirements of SanPiN 2.6.1.2819–10.
Within the framework of long-term radiation monitoring, it is necessary to provide for the monitoring of the tritium content in the produced gas and in the groundwater of the Krasnogvardeiskoe deposit (located in the direction of the spread of groundwater from the location of the peaceful nuclear explosion).
The Thyroid – a New Critical Body for Impacting Electromagnetic Fields Mobile Communications: Assessment of Possible Effects for Children and Adolescents
Authors: Grigor'ev Yuriy , Horseva N. , Grigor'ev Pavel 
Published: June 2021

This publication provides an analysis of the studies of Russian and foreign scientists dealing with the problem of studying the effect of electromagnetic fields on the state of the thyroid gland as a new critical organ directly experiencing this type of exposure when using a new generation of mobile communications – smartphones. The review includes an introduction, five sections, and a conclusion.
In the section “Distribution of absorbed doses when using mobile phones” studies of the distribution and level of absorption of electromagnetic fields when using mobile communications, including the thyroid gland, are presented. The issues of modelling taking into account the size of the head and the properties of the tissues of children are discussed. “Epidemiological and statistical assessments of thyroid dysfunction” – this section summarizes the data on the incidence of the thyroid gland among the child population in Russia for the period 1990 – 2019. The section “Experimental studies” presents the experimental data of domestic and foreign scientists on morphological and hormonal changes in the thyroid gland of experimental animals when exposed to electromagnetic fields of cellular communication. Biomedical studies of the effects of their impact are described in the section “Changes in the functioning of the thyroid gland in mobile users”. The review is completed by the section “Possible long-term consequences of prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields on the thyroid gland in mobile communication users”.
About of the Necessary the Review of the Government Decision of the Russian Federation from October 19, 2012 No. 1069 for Classification of Radioactive Wastes
Authors: Serebryakov Boris 
Published: June 2021

Purpose: Consideration of the shortcomings of the Government Decision of the Russian Federation of 19 October 2012 No. 1069 on the classification of radioactive waste. Development of recommendations to change the Regulations of radiation safety of current and future generations with the radioactive waste disposal.
Results: There was obtained the shortcomings of the Decree of the RF Government dated 19 October 2012, No. 1069 these deficiencies can lead to overexposure of present and future generations of people to unnecessary costs and mixed results in the classification of radioactive waste.
Conclusions: the developed proposals for the government’s decision:
1. Completely rework the requirements for waste include in radioactive waste.
2. To exclude from the solution of waste containing tritium.
3. To exclude from the resolution of solid and liquid wastes generated from implementation of the non-use of nuclear energy for mining and processing mineral and organic raw materials with high content of natural radionuclides.