bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Challenges for the adoption of ICT for diabetes self‐management in South Africa
Authors: Petersen Fazlyn , Brown Afeefa , Pather Shaun , Tucker William D. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThe increasing disease burden in developing countries inhibits the provision of quality care to citizens. However, the increased availability of information communication and technology (ICT) tools makes this a viable option for inclusion in primary health care. Even so, barriers are impeding the successful adoption and usage of ICT tools in health care contexts. This research focuses on one such context to identify the challenges and barriers for the adoption of ICT tools for diabetes self‐management in the Western Cape province of South Africa.The extended technology acceptance model (TAM) and four factors (educational, technological, economic, and sociocultural factors) were identified as a basis for investigation. Evidence was gathered from a sample of 131 diabetic patients using semistructured interviews. These factors, together with TAM constructs, explore how patients interact with ICT and their attitudes towards the use of ICT for diabetes self‐management. The results indicate that all four factors form barriers to ICT adoption for diabetes self‐management. These findings provide a basis to inform how future interventions at the primary health care level may be developed to overcome the identified barriers in efforts to integrate ICT tools into diabetic patients' daily self‐management routines.
Distributed ledger technology and European Union General Data Protection Regulation compliance in a flexible working context
Authors: Rotondi Domenico , Saltarella Marco , Giordano Gaetano , Pellecchia Francesco 
Published: August 2019

AbstractCompliance of distributed ledger technology (DLT) based solutions with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) is currently a hot topic both from a technical point of view, as well as from a legal and normative one. Flexible working is a new working model where employees can perform their work activity without specific time and space constraints. In this context privacy and information trustworthiness are relevant and, therefore, on the one hand it can gain benefit from using DLT based solutions, on the other hand it must comply with the GDPR. This paper describes a solution that combines DLTs and the new Ciphertext‐Policy Attribute Based Encryption cryptographic techniques to support compliance with the EU GDPR in the context of flexible working. The devised solution is being concretely experimented, in the context of the EU H2020 CITADEL project, by the Municipality of Bari (Italy).
Food‐grade titanium dioxide (E171) by solid or liquid matrix administration induces inflammation, germ cells sloughing in seminiferous tubules and blood‐testis barrier disruption in mice
Authors: Rodríguez‐Escamilla Juan Carlos , Medina‐Reyes Estefany I. , Rodríguez‐Ibarra Carolina , Déciga‐Alcaraz Alejandro , Flores‐Flores José O. , Ganem‐Rondero Adriana , Rodríguez‐Sosa Miriam , Terrazas Luis I. , Delgado‐Buenrostro Norma L. , Chirino Yolanda I. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractFood‐grade titanium dioxide labeled as E171 has been approved for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and by the European Union for five decades. However, titanium dioxide has been classified as a possible carcinogen for humans by the International Agency of Research in Cancer raising concerns of its oral intake and the translocation to bloodstream, which could disturb barriers such as the blood‐testis barrier. There is evidence that titanium dioxide by intragastric/intraperitoneal/intravenous administration induced alterations on testosterone levels, testicular function and architecture, but studies of the E171 effects on the testicle structure and blood‐testis barrier are limited. E171 is contained not only in foods in liquid matrix but also in solid ones, which can exert different biological effects. We aimed to compare the effects of E171 consumption in a solid matrix (0.1%, 0.5% and 1% in pellets) and liquid suspension (5 mg/kg body weight) on testis structure, inflammation infiltrate and blood‐testis barrier disruption of male BALB/c mice. Results showed that none of the administration routes had influence on body weight but an increase in germ cell sloughing and the infiltrate of inflammatory cells in seminiferous tubules, together with disruption of the blood‐testis barrier were similar in testis of both groups even if the dose received in mice in liquid matrix was 136 or 260 times lower than the dose reached by oral intake in solid E171 pellets in 0.5% E171 and 1% E171, respectively. This study highlights the attention on matrix food containing E171 and possible adverse effects on testis when E171 is consumed in a liquid matrix.
Fetal bovine serum impacts the observed N‐glycosylation defects in TMEM165 KO HEK cells
Authors: Vicogne Dorothée , Houdou Marine , Garat Anne , Climer Leslie , Lupashin Vladimir , Morelle Willy , Foulquier François 
Published: August 2019

AbstractTMEM165 is involved in a rare genetic human disease named TMEM165‐CDG (congenital disorders of glycosylation). It is Golgi localized, highly conserved through evolution and belongs to the uncharacterized protein family 0016 (UPF0016). The use of isogenic TMEM165 KO HEK cells was crucial in deciphering the function of TMEM165 in Golgi manganese homeostasis. Manganese is a major cofactor of many glycosylation enzymes. Severe Golgi glycosylation defects are observed in TMEM165 Knock Out Human Embryonic Kidney (KO HEK) cells and are rescued by exogenous manganese supplementation. Intriguingly, we demonstrate in this study that the observed Golgi glycosylation defect mainly depends on fetal bovine serum, particularly its manganese level. Our results also demonstrate that iron and/or galactose can modulate the observed glycosylation defects in TMEM165 KO HEK cells. While isogenic cultured cells are widely used to study the impact of gene defects on proteins' glycosylation patterns, these results emphasize the importance of the use of validated fetal bovine serum in glycomics studies.
Time‐domain homogenization of multiturn windings based on RL Cauer ladder networks
Authors: Niyomsatian Korawich , Gyselinck Johan , Sabariego Ruth V. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThis paper deals with the synthesis of an RL Cauer ladder network to homogenize multiturn windings in time‐domain finite element (FE) computations. In frequency domain, the macroscopic model of eddy currents in the winding can be described by frequency‐dependent complex impedance and reluctivity for skin and proximity effects respectively. To represent those in time domain, two RL Cauer networks are synthesized to match each, with the accuracy depending on the order of the network to be appended. The proposed method yields an improved accuracy as compared with the previous work in which the topology of the ladder network was not well chosen. The results are validated by means of a 2‐D axisymmetric inductor with a nonlinear gapped core.
Historical and future storm surge around New Zealand: From the 19th century to the end of the 21st century
Authors: Cagigal Laura , Rueda Ana , Castanedo Sonia , Cid Alba , Perez Jorge , Stephens Scott A. , Coco Giovanni , Méndez Fernando J. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractWe developed a new hindcast for storm surge at a 0.25° spatial scale for the whole New Zealand area using a statistical downscaling technique that links the mean local atmospheric conditions with the maximum storm surge levels at a daily scale. After validating the hindcast against sea level instrumental records from 17 tidal gauges around New Zealand, the same technique has been applied to obtain storm surge projections until 2,100 using different global climate models. The global climate models have been previously classified according to their ability to reproduce the past climatology in the studied area and seven models have been selected in order to explore their effect on storm surge projections. For the two representative Concentration Pathways studied, the projections indicate that the storm surge associated with the 50 years return period will increase in magnitude in the Southern areas while it will decrease in the Northern region. Even where a decreasing linear trend over the annual maxima is observed in the future time series, sporadic events of higher magnitude than the historical peaks can be.
Multi‐year assessment of atmospheric circulation and impacts on air temperature variation on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula
Authors: Ambrožová Klára , Láska Kamil , Kavan Jan 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThe influence of synoptic‐scale circulation on air temperature variation in the ice‐free and glaciated areas on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has been analysed. For this purpose, a new classification of atmospheric circulation with 15 synoptic patterns in the AP region was developed using the self‐organizing maps technique. The synoptic patterns were compared with air temperature observations from coastal and glacial sites on James Ross Island, northeastern AP, in the period 2005–2015. The most frequent synoptic pattern with a frequency of 13.7% was dominated by a low‐pressure centre in the northwestern Bellingshausen Sea, which extended over the AP to the Weddell Sea. On the other hand, the largest inter‐annual variability was observed for a synoptic pattern with a low‐pressure centre in the southern Bellingshausen Sea. This synoptic pattern also had the highest air temperature anomalies at both investigated sites year‐round. Air temperature anomalies at the lower lying site (Mendel station) were the lowest during a high‐pressure ridge dominating the AP region due to a combination of local and synoptic‐scale processes. At Davies Dome, the glacial site, southerly barrier winds advecting cold air from the ice‐covered Weddell Sea during a strong low‐pressure system in the Weddell Sea ensured the coldest air temperature anomalies.
A new analytical method to measure S‐methyl‐l‐methionine in grape juice reveals the influence of yeast on dimethyl sulfide production during fermentation
Authors: Deed Rebecca C , Pilkington Lisa I , Herbst‐Johnstone Mandy , Miskelly Gordon M , Barker David , Fedrizzi Bruno 
Published: August 2019

AbstractBACKGROUNDDimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a small sulfur‐containing impact odorant, imparting distinctive positive and / or negative characters to food and beverages. In white wine, the presence of DMS at perception threshold is considered to be a fault, contributing strong odors reminiscent of asparagus, cooked cabbage, and creamed corn. The source of DMS in wine has long been associated with S‐methyl‐l‐methionine (SMM), a derivative of the amino acid methionine, which is thought to break down into DMS through chemical degradation, particularly during wine ageing.RESULTSWe developed and validated a new liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method with a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) to measure SMM in grape juice and wine. The application of this new method for quantitating SMM, followed by the quantitation of DMS using headspace‐solid phase micro‐extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS‐SPME/GC–MS), confirmed that DMS can be produced in wine via the chemical breakdown of SMM to DMS, with greater degradation observed at 28 °C than at 14 °C. Further investigation into the role of grape juice and yeast strain on DMS formation revealed that the DMS produced from three different Sauvignon blanc grape juices, either from the SMM naturally present or SMM spiked at 50 mmol L−1, was modulated depending on each of the four strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast used for fermentation.CONCLUSIONThis study confirms the existence of a chemical pathway to the formation of DMS and reveals a yeast‐mediated mechanism towards the formation of DMS from SMM during alcoholic fermentation. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Untargeted metabolomics of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa ‘Camarosa’) fruit from plants grown under osmotic stress conditions
Authors: Antunes Ana CN , Acunha Tanize dos S , Perin Ellen C , Rombaldi Cesar V , Galli Vanessa , Chaves Fabio C 
Published: August 2019

AbstractBACKGROUNDPlants activate defense mechanisms to cope with adverse environmental conditions, leading to the accumulation and / or depletion of general and specialized metabolites. In this study, a multiplatform untargeted metabolomics strategy was employed to evaluate metabolic changes in strawberry fruit of cv. Camarosa grown under osmotic stress conditions. Liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) data from strawberries grown under two water‐deficit conditions, irrigated at 95% crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and 85% ETc, and one excess salt condition with a 80 mmol L−1 NaCl solution, were analyzed to determine treatment effects on fruit metabolism.RESULTSMultivariate principal component analysis, orthogonal projections to latent structures – discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA), and univariate statistical analyses were applied to the data set. While multivariate analyses showed group separation by treatment, T‐tests and fold change revealed 12 metabolites differentially accumulated in strawberries from different treatments – among them phenolic compounds, glycerophospholipids, phytosterols, carbohydrates, and an aromatic amino acid.CONCLUSIONUntargeted metabolomic analysis allowed for the annotation of compounds differentially accumulated in strawberry fruit from plants grown under osmotic stress and non‐stressed plants. The metabolic disturbance in plants under stress involved metabolites associated with the inhibition of reactive oxygen species and cell‐wall and membrane lipid biosynthesis, which might serve as osmotic stress biomarkers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Dynamic interaction of tourism, finance, and institutions in explaining growth in Asia's little dragon economies
Authors: Tang Chor Foon , Salman Asma , Abosedra Salah 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThis study attempts to investigate the role of institutions in enhancing the effect of tourism and financial development on economic growth in Asia using a panel sample from 1984 to 2016. Our findings reveal that tourism and finance are two important variables accountable for growth in our selected countries. Furthermore, our empirical results suggest that their effects on growth are enhanced by the level of institutional quality. Therefore, institutional reforms should thus precede tourism attraction and financial development policies used in these countries in an effort to enhance the benefits from the tourism and financial sector development on growth.
Exploring local knowledge and socio‐economic factors for touristic attractiveness and sustainability
Authors: De Lucia Caterina , Pazienza Pasquale , Balena Pasquale , Caporale Diana 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThe present study investigates residents' perception of tourism as a sustainable development driver and explores the reasons why residents recognize their own place of residence as an attractive tourism destination. The work considers one of Italy's most visited tourist destinations (Puglia) and uses quantitative (i.e., inferential and text mining) and qualitative (i.e., survey) approaches. Main results reveal that socio‐economic and environmental factors positively affect residents' perception of tourism as a driver of sustainable development. Furthermore, the spatial dimensions of the territories of Puglia, perceived by indigenous local knowledge, are key elements for tourist attractiveness of its destinations.
Subsidized or stressed? Shifts in freshwater benthic microbial metagenomics along a gradient of alkaline coal mine drainage
Authors: Bier Raven L. , Wernegreen Jennifer J. , Vilgalys Rytas J. , Ellis Joseph Christopher , Bernhardt Emily S. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractChemical pollution mixtures enter aquatic environments and interact with microorganisms in eclectic ways with disparate consequences for microbial ecosystem services. Can using a thermodynamic framework help to determine the net influence of a chemical mixture on the functional capacity of benthic microbial communities? We examined this question by comparing benthic stream microbial communities exposed to a gradient of neutral‐alkaline coalmine effluent. Using a combination of approaches (metagenomics, quantitative polymerase chain reaction [qPCR], and functional assays), we show that functional genes and pathways of microbial communities growing in mine effluent differed in composition, but not diversity. The majority of functional genes and pathways that changed decreased at sites exposed to mine effluent, resulting in lower abundances of nitrogenase and methanogen genes and fermentation pathways. However, selenate reductase gene abundance increased with water and sediment concentration of an ecologically important contaminant at mined sites: selenium. Denitrification genes nosZ and nirK differed between sites: metagenome‐based nosZ increased with dissolved nitrate concentration and qPCR‐based nirK had a hump‐shaped pattern across the mining gradient. Osmoprotectant gene abundance did not change. Extracellular enzyme assays and alkaline phosphatase gene relative abundance suggested that mined stream microbial communities may be constrained by phosphorus bioavailability. Subsidies and stressors related to changes in a set of functional genes and pathways, but differences were not consistently predictable using thermodynamic expectations. This suggests that pairing hypotheses for expected subsidies and stressors with post hoc explorations can yield valuable directions for future study of how microbial functional capacity responds to pollutant mixtures.
Lower Limb Somatosensory Discrimination Is Impaired in People With Parkinson's Disease: Novel Assessment and Associations With Balance, Gait, and Falls
Authors: Gorst Terry , Marsden Jonathan , Freeman Jenny 
Published: August 2019

ABSTRACTBackgroundPeople with Parkinson's disease (PD) have often compromised walking and balance. This may be the result of the impaired lower limb tactile and proprioceptive sensation. Existing clinical measures may not be sufficiently sensitive to uncover these sensory impairments.ObjectiveTo determine whether novel measures of lower limb somatosensory discrimination are psychometrically robust and associated with mobility outcomes in people with PD.MethodsLower limb somatosensation was assessed on 2 occasions, 3 to 7 days apart, using the following 3 novel tests: gradient discrimination, roughness discrimination, and step height discrimination. Static and dynamic balance (Brief Balance Evaluations Systems Test), falls incidence, falls confidence (Falls Efficacy Scale), and gait (speed and step length) were also obtained. The participants were 27 people with PD and 27 healthy controls.ResultsNovel tests showed good to excellent intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.72–0.92). Significantly higher gradient and step height discrimination thresholds (P < 0.01) were demonstrated in the participants with PD when compared with the healthy controls, indicating worse position sense at the ankle, knee, and hip. Significant correlations were identified between gradient discrimination and falls incidence (r = 0.55), falls confidence (r = 0.44), and balance (r = 0.63), but not gait (r = 0.21). Step height discrimination was significantly correlated with balance (r = 0.54). Foot roughness discrimination was not significantly different between people with PD and healthy controls and was not significantly correlated with mobility measures (P > .05).ConclusionThese novel tests are psychometrically robust and identify impaired lower limb position sense, which was associated with balance and falls in this sample of PD patients. Interventions targeting somatosensory processing in PD may improve aspects of balance and reduce falls risk. Further research is warranted.
The Parkinson's Disease Activities of Daily Living, Interference, and Dependence Instrument
Authors: Deal Linda S. , Flood Emuella , Myers Daniela E. , Devine Jacob , Gray David L. 
Published: August 2019

ABSTRACTBackgroundIndividuals with Parkinson's disease often experience periods of off time when their motor symptoms are poorly controlled, significantly impacting their lives.ObjectivesTo identify the consequences of motor fluctuations on day‐to‐day activities and areas of unmet treatment priority among individuals with moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease, to assess whether existing patient‐reported outcome instruments adequately capture these consequences and priorities, and based on these evaluations, to adapt an existing or develop a new instrument.MethodsThe research was conducted in 2 stages: concept exploration and content confirmation. Concept exploration included direct input from individuals with Parkinson's disease representing the intended context of use via concept elicitation interviews. Content confirmation and item refinement was achieved through 5 rounds of cognitive debriefing. Final rounds of cognitive debriefing also included usability testing of the draft instrument for electronic data capture.ResultsConcept elicitation interviews were conducted among 29 individuals with Parkinson's disease (55% male; mean age 60.8 years). Concept saturation was achieved quickly with more than 90% of concepts identified by the end of the 16th interview. None of the existing outcome instruments were found to be fit for purpose in the intended context of use; therefore, a new instrument was developed. After 5 rounds, cognitive debriefing participants indicated clear and consistent interpretation of the items.ConclusionsEvidence from this study supports the content validity of the Parkinson's Disease Activities of Daily Living, Interference and Dependence Instrument as the basis of a clinical trial endpoint for capturing priority treatment benefit outcomes to individuals with moderate to advanced Parkinson's disease experiencing motor fluctuations.
Prediction of the ENSO and EQUINOO indices during June–September using a deep learning method
Authors: Saha Moumita , Nanjundiah Ravi S. 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThe Equatorial Indian Ocean Oscillation (EQUINOO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are important climatic oscillations over the Indian and Pacific oceans influencing the inter‐annual variation of the Indian monsoon. The study of these indices, including their relationship and influence over various climatic phenomena, is the main focus in the literature. However, an attempt is made here to predict the indices for different temporal periods. Though ENSO prediction is established by many statistical and numerical models, the prediction of the EQUINOO index is not much studied. A deep‐learning method using an autoencoder is proposed for the prediction of the EQUINOO and ENSO. An autoencoder assists in feature learning. The learned features are ranked using linear and nonlinear correlation studies. This assists in identifying a set of potential predictors, used for indices prediction, with an ensemble of regression trees and decision forest models. Predictors identified by nonlinear correlation are observed to predict with better accuracy as compared with linear correlation. The predicted indices show high correlation against the observed values. The EQUINOO prediction is provided with a high lead of 7 months with a 0.88 correlation co‐efficient (p < 0.001) and the ENSO with a lead of 1 month with a 0.87 correlation co‐efficient (p < 0.001) between the observed and predicted indices. Moreover, the proposed method proves efficient in predicting the positive or negative index values with an appropriate sign. The ENSO prediction by the proposed approach is observed to be comparable with the existing models.