bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ruderal Plants in Urban and Sub-Urban Walls and Roofs
Authors: YALÇINALP Emrah , MERAL Alperen 
Published: December 2018

Objective: Main purpose of this study is to identify the ruderal plant species which spontaneously grows on the wall and roof surfaces in urban and sub-urban areas due to their limited ecological needs and to contribute to the creating of the sustainable green areas in urban environments by understanding the parameters that ruderals depend on while they require little maintenance and irrigation support if not no.Material and Methods: The main material of this study is the ruderal plants which were collected from totally 60 walls and 36 roof surfaces within six districts of Trabzon city –Akçaabat, Arsin, Çaykara, Of, Ortahisar and Yomra in Turkey. From these 96 habitats, 1540 plants samples form the walls and 448 plant samples from the roofs were collected. All the plant samples collected from the research area were identified in the herbarium of the faculty of forestry in Karadeniz Technical University. Apart from this, parametres affecting coverage rate of common species on three different habitats were analysed.Results: It was found that 448 samples from the roof surfaces distributed into 61 species while 1540 samples from the walls distributed into 196 species. Plus, according to the analyses, 28species were found on all three different habitats. As a result of the observations, measurements and analyses, it is clear from the study that coverage rate of the plant species depends onanthropogenic interaction, daylight period and depth of the media but there is no relation with the number of the species on the surfaces.Conclusion: Ruderal plants are definitely important to study on, if the world wants the term sustainability to find its real meaning as they require nearly nothing to grow in hard conditions.In urban life, maintenance is getting more and more expensive for green areas in urban life and this makes it difficult for them to survive especially when cities have limited budget on this, which has often occurred all over the world recently. There is no doubt that ruderal plants offer a great opportunity for modern era urban areas with their limited needs to grow in hard conditions. Furthermore, when thinking about the fact a serious amount of the ruderal plants detected on all three basic habitats has a great landscape plant characteristics, the approaches to their usage in urban areas are really critical.
MULTISLICE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TO MEASURE VISCERAL FAT AREA IN PATIENT WITH ASTHMA AND OBESITY
Authors: Serova N. S. , Chichkova N. V. , Gasparyan A. A. , Kapanadze L. B. , Fomin V. V. 
Published: December 2018

Asthma and obesity prevalence in population have increased over the last years. In the Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention (GINA, 2017) the “asthma-obesity” phenotype is identified, it has certain clinical features, disease course and response to therapy. One of the hypotheses explaining the relationship between asthma and obesity is the systemic inflammation theory. The visceral adipose tissue (VAT) plays a key role in this hypothesis, it produces various adipokines, imbalance of which results in the state of mild inflammation. With that only the body mass index (BMI) is used to diagnose obesity in asthma patients, but BMI doesn’t take into account the amount of VAT in the body.The clinical case of a patient with asthma in combination with third degree of obesity is presented. Additionally the patient was given a multislice computed tomography to measure the visceral and subcutaneous fat areas, followed by an evaluation of the obtained data and a collation of the parameters with clinical and anthropometric characteristics.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control of Surfactants for Field-Scale Enhanced-Oil-Recovery Pilot Projects
Authors: Barnes J. R. , van Batenburg D. W. , Faber M. J. , van Rijn C. H. , Geib S.. , van Kuijk S. R. , Perez Regalado D.. , King T. E. , Doll M. J. , Crom L. E. 
Published: December 2018

Summary
Alkaline/surfactant/polymer (ASP) flooding is an enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) technique that involves the injection of a solution of surfactant, alkali, and polymer into an oil reservoir to mobilize and produce the remaining oil. There are several pattern-flood pilots in progress or that will soon be executed to evaluate ASP at a scale relevant to commercial-scale application. The quantities of surfactants needed for these pilots and potential future commercial-scale applications are large (hundreds to thousands of tonnes) and necessitate large-scale manufacture using existing processes and plants for the different manufacturing steps. These operate under slightly different process conditions than those used to make the smaller quantity (50 to 400 kg) of the reference blend used to design the formulation in the laboratory. The upscaling of the surfactant production itself is an essential step to enable field-scale implementation of ASP. To ensure and control the quality of the surfactants produced for pilots with Shell interests, a stage-gated quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program was designed and executed. The application of the QA/QC process for a high- and a low-active-matter surfactant-blend concentrate (approximately 60% and 20% active, respectively) is used to illustrate the process.
The early definition of the QA/QC program provided a framework with clearly defined stages for upscaling from laboratory- to large-scale production. The definition of analytical and performance-based laboratory experiments with upfront-defined specifications (minimum and maximum values) and repeatability allowed for clear, unambiguous decisions. Correlations between composition and performance that were developed dependent on pilot-scale production were essential to assure the performance of the larger-scale production. Corefloods, used as the ultimate performance check, showed virtually identical performance for pilot-scale prepared surfactants and surfactants from different large-scale batches.
The paper illustrates that consistent industrial-scale production of surfactants for application in chemical EOR (CEOR) is feasible. To ensure the quality of such surfactant requires a detailed QA/QC program. The successful execution of the QA/QC program for the surfactants for the pattern pilots ensures that the produced large-scale surfactant blend performs as the reference blend used to design the formulation.
Study on the influence of bus suspension parameters on ride comfort
Authors: Long Le Xuan , Quynh Le Van , Cuong Bui Van 
Published: December 2018

This study proposes a three-dimensional vibration model of bus with 10 DOF (degree of freedom) based on Dragan Sekulić model to analyze the suspension parameters directly influenced ride comfort. The suspension parameters which include the stiffness and damping parameters are analyzed based on the weighted r.m.s. (root-mean-square) acceleration responses of the space of a driver, passenger in the middle part of the bus and passenger in the rear overhang according to ISO 2631-1:1997. The results show that both stiffness and damping parameters of vehicle suspension have important influences on ride comfort. Especially, the stiffness and damping values of vehicle suspension are within the value ranges (0.5k0 ≤ k ≤ 0.75 k0) and (0.5c0 ≤ c ≤ 0.75c0) to improve the ride comfort of driver and passengers.
Building trust: the importance of democratic legitimacy in the formation of consumer attitudes toward drinking water
Authors: Bondelind M. , Markwat N. , Toljander J. , Simonsson M. , Säve-Söderbergh M. , Morrison G. M. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to explore the role of democratic decision legitimacy in the formation of consumer attitudes toward drinking water. Using consumer-level data on the decision to change the drinking water sources in two Swedish cities, three core sets of variables were constructed: (1) the overall democratic decision legitimacy, defined as the citizens' support for the decision; (2) the input, throughput and output dimensions of decision legitimacy, representing the citizens' perceived opportunity to provide input, their ability to oversee, as well as their level of satisfaction with the outcome of the decision-making process; and (3) consumer attitudes toward drinking water, comprising trust, risk perception and acceptance. The results of the study provide support for the proposed mechanism that consumers that perceive a decision-making process more positively also tend to support the ultimate decision more, which in turn helps to establish more positive consumer attitudes towards their drinking water. Consequently, democratic legitimacy is an important precursor for building trust. This is particularly important if a waterborne outbreak has negatively impacted consumers' trust in their water, and when political and engineering decisions must be made.
Ion-exchange for trihalomethane control in potable water treatment – a municipal water treatment case study in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada
Authors: Brezinski Kenneth , Gorczyca Beata , Sadrnourmohammadi Mehrnaz 
Published: December 2018

Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate the ability for ion-exchange (IX) to control trihalomethane (THM) formation, and to act as a potential treatment addition (upgrade) to a conventional treatment plant in Rainy River Ontario, Canada. The primary goal was to investigate the total organic carbon (TOC) and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) removal as a function of resin dose; and note the relative improvements over current conventional plant operation. IX resin (DOWEX TAN-1, Purolite 502P and 860, and Amberlite PWA9) removed 68–72% of TOC and 30–40% THMFP from the conventionally filtered water. Fixed-bed fluidized bed contactor was used to investigate the TOC/THMFP breakthrough for the DOWEX TAN-1 resin. Complete resin breakthrough occurred followed by 1,275 and 1,075 bed volumes for TOC and THMFP, respectively. Breakthrough output following 1,000 treated bed volumes was noted as the point at which THMFP levels reach the 0.1 mg L–1 water quality standard threshold required by Canadian regulators. High exchange capacities were recorded for the TAN-1 (3.02 mg mL–1) and PWA9 (2.03 mg mL–1) resins – both of which contain styrene backbones. The results produced in the bench-scale experiments were used very successfully in a full-scale upgrade of the Rainy River water treatment plant.
Recent Advances in Multi-target Anti-Alzheimer Disease Compounds (2013 Up to the Present)
Authors: Wang Ning , Qiu Panpan , Cui Wei , Yan Xiaojun , Zhang Bin , He Shan 
Published: December 2018

:
Since the last century, when scientists proposed the lock-and-key model, the discovery of
drugs has focused on the development of drugs acting on single target. However, single-target drug
therapies are not effective to complex diseases with multi-factorial pathogenesis. Moreover, the
combination of single-target drugs readily causes drug resistance and side effects. In recent years,
multi-target drugs have increasingly been represented among FDA-approved drugs. Alzheimer’s
Disease (AD) is a complex and multi-factorial disease for which the precise molecular mechanisms
are still not fully understood. In recent years, rational multi-target drug design methods, which combine
the pharmacophores of multiple drugs, have been increasingly applied in the development of
anti-AD drugs. In this review, we give a brief description of the pathogenesis of AD and provide
detailed discussions about the recent development of chemical structures of anti-AD agents (2013 up
to present) that have multiple targets, such as amyloid-β peptide, Tau protein, cholinesterases,
monoamine oxidase, β-site amyloid-precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1, free radicals, metal ions
(Fe2+, Cu2+, Zn2+) and so on. In this paper, we also added some novel targets or possible pathogenesis
which have been reported in recent years for AD therapy. We hope that these findings may provide
new perspectives for the pharmacological treatment of AD.
The Substantial Improvement of Amphotericin B Selective Toxicity Upon Modification of Mycosamine with Bulky Substituents
Authors: Borowski Edward , Salewska Natalia , Boros-Majewska Joanna , Serocki Marcin , Chabowska Izabela , Milewska Maria J. , Ziętkowski Dominik , Milewski Sławomir 
Published: December 2018

Background:
It is assumed that the unfavorable selective toxicity of an antifungal drug
Amphotericin B (AmB) can be improved upon chemical modification of the antibiotic molecule.

Objective:
The aim of this study was verification of the hypothesis that introduction of bulky substituents
at the amino sugar moiety of the antibiotic may result in diminishment of mammalian in
vitro toxicity of thus prepared AmB derivatives.

Methods:
Twenty-eight derivatives of AmB were obtained upon chemical modification of the
amino group of mycosamine residue. This set comprised 10 N-succinimidyl-, 4 N-benzyl-, 5 Nthioureidyl-
and 9 N-aminoacyl derivatives. Parameters characterizing biological in vitro activity
of novel compounds were determined.

Results:
All the novel compounds demonstrated lower than AmB antifungal in vitro activity but
most of them exhibited negligible cytotoxicity against human erythrocytes and three mammalian
cell lines. In consequence, the selective toxicity of majority of novel antifungals, reflected by the
selective toxicity index (STI = EH50/IC50) was improved in comparison with that of AmB, especially
in the case of 5 compounds. The novel AmB derivatives with the highest STI, induced substantial
potassium efflux from Candida albicans cells at concentrations slightly lower than IC50s
but did not trigger potassium release from human erythrocytes at concentrations lower than 100
μg/mL.

Conclusion:
Some of the novel AmB derivatives can be considered promising antifungal drug
candidates.
Hypoglycemic and Hypolipemic Effects of a New Lecithin Formulation of Bergamot Polyphenolic Fraction: A Double Blind, Randomized, Placebo- Controlled Study
Authors: Mollace Vincenzo , Scicchitano Miriam , Paone Sara , Casale Francesca , Calandruccio Carla , Gliozzi Micaela , Musolino Vincenzo , Carresi Cristina , Maiuolo Jessica , Nucera Saverio , Riva Antonella , Allegrini Pietro , Ronchi Massimo , Petrangolini Giovanna , Bombardelli Ezio 
Published: December 2018

Objective: Hyperlipemia represents an independent risk factor in the development of atherosclerosis
in patients undergoing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Moreover, the pharmacological treatment
of dyslipemia in patients undergoing type 2 DM (e.g. by means of statins), is accompanied by
relevant side effects and oral supplementation with natural antioxidants, such as Citrus polyphenols,
has recently been suggested to improve cardioprotection in such patients. However, due to the poor
gastrointestinal absorption of polyphenols, novel formulations have recently been developed for getting
a better bioavailability of polyphenolic rich fractions of citrus species extract rich in polyphenols.

Methods:
Here, we investigated the effect of standard bergamot polyphenolic fraction (BPF®) as well
as of its phytosomal formulation (BPF Phyto), in patients with type 2 DM and hyperlipemia. A randomized,
double blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out in 60 patients suffering from type 2
DM and mixed hyperlipemia.
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Patients were divided into three groups: one receiving placebo, the second receiving standard BPF and
the third BPF Phyto.

Results:
In the groups receiving BPF and BPF Phyto, a significant reduction of fasting plasma glucose,
serum LDL cholesterol and triglycerides accompanied by increased HDL cholesterol was observed.
This effect was associated with significant reduction of small dense atherogenic LDL particles, as detected
by means of proton NMR Spectroscopy, thus confirming the hypolipemic and hypoglycemic
effect of bergamot extract both when using standard formulation as well as BPF Phyto. No differences
were seen in the therapeutic response among groups receiving BPF and BPF Phyto, thus suggesting a
substantial bioequivalence in their hypoglycemic and hypolipemic profile. However, when comparing
the pharmacokinetic profile of naringin (the major component of BPF) and its metabolites, in patients
treated with BPF Phyto, an at least 2,5 fold increase in its absorption was found, confirming in human
studies the better profile of BPF Phyto compared to standard BPF.

Conclusion:
These data suggest that better absorption and tissue distribution of BPF Phyto formulation
represents an innovative approach in supplementation treatments of cardiometabolic disorders.
Effect of Angle and Type of Customized Abutment (Castable & Cast-to) on Torque Loss and Fracture Resistance After Cyclic Loading
Authors: Shirazi Moeen Hosseini , Memarian Maryam , Alikhasi Marzieh , Zeighami Somayeh 
Published: December 2018

Background:
Implant placement with more than 25° angle and use of customized abutments are still challenging in implant dentistry. Also, casting is still the most commonly used method for fabrication of customized abutments.

Objective:
This study evaluated the effect of angulation and type of abutment (castable and cast-to) on torque loss and fracture resistance after cyclic loading.

Methods:
Two implants were mounted with 0 and 30° angle on a gypsum model. Castable and Cast-to abutments were casted by cobalt-chromium alloy on each implant (10 samples in 4 groups). Rotational freedom was measured by a video-measuring microscope. The reverse torque values before and after cyclic loading (500,000 cycles) were measured by a digital torque-meter. Abutments were subjected to fracture resistance test in a universal testing machine. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis, two-way ANOVA and repeated measures tests.

Results:
Difference between castable and cast-to abutments regarding rotational freedom was not significant. Torque loss in castable abutments was significantly greater than cast-to abutments before and after cyclic loading (P < 0.05). The effect of abutment angle on torque loss before and after cyclic loading was not significant.

Conclusion:
Irrespective of the abutment angle, torque loss was significantly higher in castable groups. Considering the high fracture resistance, abutment fractures were not clinically an issue.
Antineoplastic Chemotherapy and its Effects on the Gastrointestinal Parasitism of the Dog
Authors: Costa João Lory , Alho Ana Margarida , Gomes Lídia , Eiras Ana , Nunes Telmo , Vicente Gonçalo , Lopes Patrícia , Madeira de Carvalho Luís 
Published: December 2018

Background:
In veterinary medicine, an increasing incidence of neoplastic diseases has been followed by a growth in the use of chemotherapeutic drugs, often associated with opportunistic infections.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs undergoing antineoplastic chemotherapy in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, as well as their evolution throughout the protocol and respective effects of chemotherapy on dogs’ lifestyle.

Methods:
Faecal samples were collected in a group of 30 dogs being treated for neoplastic diseases under different protocols, previous (G1) and during chemotherapy (G2). In total, 60 samples were analysed by Willis flotation, natural sedimentation, Baermann technique and faecal smear stained with Ziehl-Neelsen. A survey to characterize animal lifestyles and deworming care were also conducted with dog’s tutors.

Results:
In total, there were two positive samples for the protozoan Giardia sp., one of which is in association with the nematode Toxascaris leonina. The two dogs only obtained positive results during chemotherapy (G2). An overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of 6.7%, in G2, and 0%, in G1, was obtained.

Conclusion:
The low parasite prevalence has not allowed the evaluation of an association between the use of antineoplastic compounds and infections by gastrointestinal parasites. However, it was concluded that the studied groups were efficiently dewormed, as well as they did not experience any obvious changes in their parasitological component and its lifestyle.
Intestinal helminths in Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) from Northwest Spain
Authors: Muñoz Sara , Ramos Pedro Luis , Carretón Elena , Diosdado Alicia , González-Miguel Javier , Simón Fernando , Morchón Rodrigo 
Published: December 2018

Background:
We present a study about helminth parasites in wolf (Canis lupus signatus) from Sierra de la Culebra, a protected area in the Northwest of Spain, where is the largest population of wolves of the Spanish territory and one of the largest in Western Europe.

Materials and Methods:
To this aim, 93 fecal samples were collected during May and June of 2013 using 33% zinc sulphate flotation technique and classified based on their morphology, color, structure and size.

Results:
Parasites were present in 66.67% of the samples and classified as Eucoleus aerophilus (50.54%), Strongyloides sp. (27%), Ancylostomidae gen. sp. (19.35%), Toxocara Canis (10.75%), Taeniidae gen. sp. (9.68%), Trichuris vulpis (9.68%) and Toxascaris leonina (2.15%). Their distributions were very heterogeneous with the highest prevalence being in Northwest Spain. These differences found can be attributed to local environmental factors (ambient temperature, humidity) as well as animal feeding and social behavior.

Conclusion:
A wide helminthofauna is observed in the studied wolves, similar to other studies carried out in Europe (Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden). In addition, this study constitutes the first description of the presence of Strongyloides sp. in Iberian wolf in Spain.
Comparative evaluation of the use of a chitosan-based multicomponent remedy in patients with acantholytic lesion of the tissues of the prosthetic bed to provide conditions for the use of removable dentures
Authors: Genyk Bogdan 
Published: December 2018

The article describes the offered by us multicomponent remedy based on chitosan, to provide analgesic and wound-healing effect in patients with acantholytic lesions of the prosthetic bed tissues.
Objective of the study. To improve the conditions of removable dentures use for patients with acantholytic pemphigus.
Materials and methods. The study involved 56 patients with acantholytic pemphigus, aged from 45 to 63 years old, who were divided into 2 clinical groups. The main group used the proposed remedy; the comparative group received the standard local pemphigus treatment. Methods for determining the area of ​​mucus lesion and the method for determining the intensity of pain syndrome were used to evaluate the final results.
Results of the study and their discussion. The average value of visual analogue scale (VAS) was 4.76±0.56 cm in patients of the main group during the first day. During the 7th and 14th day, the value decreased to 2.4±0.28 cm and 1.87±0.12 cm, respectively. In patients of the comparison group, the average value of VAS was 5.07±0.36 cm as for the first day and 4.45±0.45 and 2.36±0.17 cm during the 7th and 14th days, respectively. The ratio of the mean value of the affected area in patients of the main group and the comparison group was 1.04 during the first day, and during the 7th and 14th day the area of ​​injury in patients of the main group was lower 1.29- and 1.84 -fold, respectively.
Conclusions The results of the study confirm the necessity of using a multicomponent remedy based on chitosan together with the removable dentures in patients with acantholytic pemphigus, due to its clearly expressed epithelial and analgesic action.