bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seasonal changes of prokaryotic microbial community structure in Zhangjiayan Reservoir and its response to environmental factors
Authors: Yu Xintao , Li Yong , Wu Yue , Gao Hui , Liu Wei , Liu Huan , Gong Sidan , Wu Honglian 
Published: March 2024

AbstractAs a typical sub-deep reservoir in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the southwest region, Zhangjiayan Reservoir is also an important source of drinking water. Exploring the role of microorganisms in the material cycle of water bodies is of great significance for preventing the exacerbation of eutrophication in the reservoir. In this study, water samples from the overlying water of five points in the reservoir were collected four times in spring (April), summer (July), autumn (November), and winter (January) of 2022–2023 using a gas-tight water sampler. Physicochemical factors were measured, and the microbial community structure was analyzed by high-throughput MiSeq sequencing of the V3–V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA gene in order to explore the relationship between physicochemical factors and microbial community structure and the dominant microbial populations that affect eutrophication of the reservoir. The following results were obtained through analysis. Among the 20 overlying water samples from Zhangjiayan Reservoir, a total of 66 phyla, 202 classes, 499 orders, 835 families, 1716 genera, and 27,904 ASVs of the bacterial domain were detected. The phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were dominant in the microbial community of the overlying water in Zhangjiayan Reservoir. At the genus level, hgcI_clade and Actinobacteria had the highest abundance and was the dominant population. The microbial community in the water of Zhangjiayan Reservoir has a high level of diversity. The diversity index ranked by numerical order was winter > autumn > summer > spring. Significant differences were found in the composition and structure of the microbial community between the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons (p < 0.05). Total phosphorus, dissolved total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen have a significant impact on the composition and structure of the microbial community (p < 0.01). The bacterial community in the overlying water of Zhangjiayan Reservoir showed a mainly positive correlation. Sphingomonas, Brevundimonas, and Blastomonas were the central populations of the bacterial community in the overlying water of Zhangjiayan Reservoir. This study indicates that environmental factors, such as phosphorus and other nutrients, have a significant impact on the formation of the microbial community structure in different seasons. Sphingomonas, Brevundimonas, and Blastomonas are key populations that may have a significant impact on eutrophication in Zhangjiayan Reservoir.
An exploratory study of the effect of age and gender on face scanning during affect recognition in immersive virtual reality
Authors: González-Gualda Luz M. , Vicente-Querol Miguel A. , García Arturo S. , Molina José P. , Latorre José M. , Fernández-Sotos Patricia , Fernández-Caballero Antonio 
Published: March 2024

AbstractA person with impaired emotion recognition is not able to correctly identify facial expressions represented by other individuals. The aim of the present study is to assess eyes gaze and facial emotion recognition in a healthy population using dynamic avatars in immersive virtual reality (IVR). For the first time, the viewing of each area of interest of the face in IVR is studied by gender and age. This work in healthy people is conducted to assess the future usefulness of IVR in patients with deficits in the recognition of facial expressions. Seventy-four healthy volunteers participated in the study. The materials used were a laptop computer, a game controller, and a head-mounted display. Dynamic virtual faces randomly representing the six basic emotions plus neutral expression were used as stimuli. After the virtual human represented an emotion, a response panel was displayed with the seven possible options. Besides storing the hits and misses, the software program internally divided the faces into different areas of interest (AOIs) and recorded how long participants looked at each AOI. As regards the overall accuracy of the participants’ responses, hits decreased from the youngest to the middle-aged and older adults. Also, all three groups spent the highest percentage of time looking at the eyes, but younger adults had the highest percentage. It is also noteworthy that attention to the face compared to the background decreased with age. Moreover, the hits between women and men were remarkably similar and, in fact, there were no statistically significant differences between them. In general, men paid more attention to the eyes than women, but women paid more attention to the forehead and mouth. In contrast to previous work, our study indicates that there are no differences between men and women in facial emotion recognition. Moreover, in line with previous work, the percentage of face viewing time for younger adults is higher than for older adults. However, contrary to earlier studies, older adults look more at the eyes than at the mouth.Consistent with other studies, the eyes are the AOI with the highest percentage of viewing time. For men the most viewed AOI is the eyes for all emotions in both hits and misses. Women look more at the eyes for all emotions, except for joy, fear, and anger on hits. On misses, they look more into the eyes for almost all emotions except surprise and fear.
Label-free nonlinear optical signatures of extracellular vesicles in liquid and tissue biopsies of human breast cancer
Authors: Sorrells Janet E. , Park Jaena , Aksamitiene Edita , Marjanovic Marina , Martin Elisabeth M. , Chaney Eric J. , Higham Anna M. , Cradock Kimberly A. , Liu Zheng G. , Boppart Stephen A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) have been implicated in metastasis and proposed as cancer biomarkers. However, heterogeneity and small size makes assessments of EVs challenging. Often, EVs are isolated from biofluids, losing spatial and temporal context and thus lacking the ability to access EVs in situ in their native microenvironment. This work examines the capabilities of label-free nonlinear optical microscopy to extract biochemical optical metrics of EVs in ex vivo tissue and EVs isolated from biofluids in cases of human breast cancer, comparing these metrics within and between EV sources. Before surgery, fresh urine and blood serum samples were obtained from human participants scheduled for breast tumor surgery (24 malignant, 6 benign) or healthy participants scheduled for breast reduction surgery (4 control). EVs were directly imaged both in intact ex vivo tissue that was removed during surgery and in samples isolated from biofluids by differential ultracentrifugation. Isolated EVs and freshly excised ex vivo breast tissue samples were imaged with custom nonlinear optical microscopes to extract single-EV optical metabolic signatures of NAD(P)H and FAD autofluorescence. Optical metrics were significantly altered in cases of malignant breast cancer in biofluid-derived EVs and intact tissue EVs compared to control samples. Specifically, urinary isolated EVs showed elevated NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime in cases of malignant cancer, serum-derived isolated EVs showed decreased optical redox ratio in stage II cancer, but not earlier stages, and ex vivo breast tissue showed an elevated number of EVs in cases of malignant cancer. Results further indicated significant differences in the measured optical metabolic signature based on EV source (urine, serum and tissue) within individuals.
Genome-wide identification of WRKY transcription factor family members in Miscanthus sinensis (Miscanthus sinensis Anderss)
Authors: Yan Yongkang , Yan Zhanyou , Zhao Guofang 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMiscanthus is an emerging sustainable bioenergy crop whose growing environment is subject to many abiotic and biological stresses. WRKY transcription factors play an important role in stress response and growth of biotic and abiotic. To clarify the distribution and expression of the WRKY genes in Miscanthus, it is necessary to classify and phylogenetically analyze the WRKY genes in Miscanthus. The v7.1 genome assembly of Miscanthus was analyzed by constructing an evolutionary tree. In Miscanthus, there are 179 WRKY genes were identified. The 179 MsWRKYs were classified into three groups with conserved gene structure and motif composition. The tissue expression profile of the WRKY genes showed that MsWRKY genes played an essential role in all growth stages of plants. At the early stage of plant development, the MsWRKY gene is mainly expressed in the rhizome of plants. In the middle stage, it is mainly expressed in the leaf. At the end stage, mainly in the stem. According to the results, it showed significant differences in the expression of the MsWRKY in different stages of Miscanthus sinensis. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the role of the MsWRKY gene in the growth and development of Miscanthus.
High methionine diet mediated oxidative stress and proteasome impairment causes toxicity in liver
Authors: Derouiche Faouzia , Djemil Randa , Sebihi Fatima Zohra , Douaouya Lilia , Maamar Hichem , Benjemana Katia 
Published: March 2024

AbstractMethionine (Met) rich diet inducing oxidative stress is reported to alter many organs. Proteasome as a regulator of oxidative stress can be targeted. This study was performed to investigate if excessive methionine supplementation causes hepatotoxicity related to proteasome dysfunction under endogenous oxidative stress in rats. Male Wistar albino rats (n = 16) were divided into controls and treated groups. The treated rats (n = 08) received orally l-methionine (1 g/kg/day) for 21 days. Total homocysteine (tHcy), total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), hepatic enzymes levels: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), with total bilirubin (TBil), albumin (Alb), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined in plasma by biochemical assays. Liver supernatants were used for malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PC), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), 20S proteasome activities and their subunits expression, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) evaluation by appropriate methods and light microscopy for liver histological examination. Methionine treatment increased homocysteine, TOS, oxidative stress index (OSI), MDA and PC but decreased TAS, GSH, CAT, SOD, GPx with the 20S proteasome activities and their β subunits expression. Liver proteins: AST, ALT, LDH, ALP, TBil and CRP were increased but Alb was decreased. Liver histology was also altered. An increase in liver TNF-α and IL-6 levels were observed. These findings indicated that methionine supplementation associated oxidative stress and proteasome dysfunction, caused hepatotoxicity and inflammation in rat. Further investigations should be to better understand the relation between methionine, oxidative stress, proteasome, and liver injuries.
Characterization of polychaetes inhabiting estuaries and inner bays by composition analysis of amino acids and lactate enantiomers
Authors: Onozato Mayu , Shinohara Wataru , Osaka Yuichiro , Sakamoto Tatsuya , Umino Maho , Nishigaki Atsuko , Okoshi Kenji , Fukushima Takeshi 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn this study, we investigated the composition of free amino acids and lactate (Lac) in polychaetes in river estuaries and inner bays using chromatographic techniques. Both l-amino acids and d-amino acids (d-asparagine, d-alanine (d-Ala), d-serine, d-aspartic acid, and d-proline (d-Pro)) were detected, indicating that polychaetes contain some d-amino acids. Some polychaete species exhibited notable amino acid levels, such as glycine in Capitellidae sp. and Thelepus sp., d-Pro in Glycera sp., and β-Ala in Scoletoma nipponica and Scoletoma sp.. High d-Lac levels were detected in Tylorrhynchus osawai and Hediste diadroma, (691 and 797 μmol/100 g-wet, respectively), with the d-form exceeding 98%. T. osawai was dominant in the upper tidal-sensitive zone, wherein other organisms were less abundant because of low salinity (3–8 PSU). Seasonal differences in the concentrations of components in T. osawai were observed, particularly a significant increase in d-Lac in the reproductive period. Notably, the d-Lac concentrations of T. osawai were higher upstream than downstream. Thus, d-Lac might be involved in strategies underlying adaptations to low salinity and reproductive activity. These results suggest that both the d-form of Lac and amino acids may play certain physiological roles in the life of polychaetes.
Complex hybrid weighted pruning method for accelerating convolutional neural networks
Authors: Geng Xu , Gao Jinxiong , Zhang Yonghui , Xu Dingtan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe increasing interest in filter pruning of convolutional neural networks stems from its inherent ability to effectively compress and accelerate these networks. Currently, filter pruning is mainly divided into two schools: norm-based and relation-based. These methods aim to selectively remove the least important filters according to predefined rules. However, the limitations of these methods lie in the inadequate consideration of filter diversity and the impact of batch normalization (BN) layers on the input of the next layer, which may lead to performance degradation. To address the above limitations of norm-based and similarity-based methods, this study conducts empirical analyses to reveal their drawbacks and subsequently introduces a groundbreaking complex hybrid weighted pruning method. By evaluating the correlations and norms between individual filters, as well as the parameters of the BN layer, our method effectively identifies and prunes the most redundant filters in a robust manner, thereby avoiding significant decreases in network performance. We conducted comprehensive and direct pruning experiments on different depths of ResNet using publicly available image classification datasets, ImageNet and CIFAR-10. The results demonstrate the significant efficacy of our approach. In particular, when applied to the ResNet-50 on the ImageNet dataset, achieves a significant reduction of 53.5% in floating-point operations, with a performance loss of only 0.6%.
Identified S100A9 as a target for diagnosis and treatment of ulcerative colitis by bioinformatics analysis
Authors: Tan Lulu , Li Xin , Qin Hong , Zhang Qingqing , Wang Jinfeng , Chen Tao , Zhang Chengwu , Zhang Xiaoying , Tan Yuyan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractUlcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory bowel disease. UC confronts with severe challenges including the unclear pathogenesis and lack of specific diagnostic markers, demanding for identifying predictive biomarkers for UC diagnosis and treatment. We perform immune infiltration and weighted gene co-expression network analysis on gene expression profiles of active UC, inactive UC, and normal controls to identify UC related immune cell and hub genes. Neutrophils, M1 macrophages, activated dendritic cells, and activated mast cells are significantly enriched in active UC. MMP-9, CHI3L1, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCR2 and S100A9 are identified as hub genes in active UC. Specifically, S100A9 is significantly overexpressed in mice with colitis. The receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrates the excellent performance of S100A9 expression in diagnosing active UC. Inhibition of S100A9 expression reduces DSS-induced colonic inflammation. These identified biomarkers associated with activity in UC patients enlighten the new insights of UC diagnosis and treatment.
Sex-specific associations of serum cortisol with brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s risk
Authors: Mosconi Lisa , Williams Schantel , Carlton Caroline , Zarate Camila , Boneu Camila , Fauci Francesca , Ajila Trisha , Nerattini Matilde , Jett Steven , Andy Caroline , Battista Michael , Pahlajani Silky , Osborne Joseph , Brinton Roberta Diaz , Dyke Jonathan P. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractEmerging evidence implicates chronic psychological stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Herein, we examined the relationships between serum cortisol and multimodality brain AD biomarkers in 277 cognitively normal midlife individuals at risk for AD. Overall, higher cortisol was associated with lower total brain volume, lower glucose metabolism (CMRglc) in frontal cortex, and higher β-amyloid (Aβ) load in AD-vulnerable regions; and marginally associated with phosphocreatine to ATP ratios (PCr/ATP) in precuneus and parietal regions. Sex-specific modification effects were noted: in women, cortisol exhibited stronger associations with Aβ load and frontal CMRglc, the latter being more pronounced postmenopause. In men, cortisol exhibited stronger associations with gray matter volume and PCr/ATP measures. Higher cortisol was associated with poorer delayed memory in men but not in women. Results were adjusted for age, Apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4 status, midlife health factors, and hormone therapy use. These results suggest sex-specific neurophysiological responses to stress, and support a role for stress reduction in AD prevention.
Fabrication of carbon black nanoparticles from green algae and sugarcane bagasse
Authors: Elmaghraby Nehad A. , Hassaan Mohamed A. , Zien Mohamed A. , Abedelrhim Elsayed M. , Ragab Safaa , Yılmaz Murat , El Nemr Ahmed 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThere are several industrial uses for carbon black (CB), an extremely fine powdered form of elemental carbon that is made up of coalesced particle aggregates and almost spherical colloidal particles. Most carbon black is produced from petroleum-derived feedstock, so there is a need to find an alternative method to produce CB, which relies on renewable resources such as algae and agricultural waste. A process involving hydrolysis, carbonization, and pyrolysis of green algae and sugarcane bagasse was developed, as the optimal hydrolysis conditions (16N sulfuric acid, 70 °C, 1 h, 1:30 g/ml GA or SC to sulfuric acid ratio), a hydrolysis ratio of 62% for SC and 85% for GA were achieved. The acidic solution was carbonized using a water bath, and the solid carbon was then further pyrolyzed at 900 °C. The obtained carbon black has a high carbon content of about 90% which is confirmed by EDX, XRD, and XPS analysis. By comparison carbon black from sugar cane bagasse (CBB) and carbon black from green algae Ulva lactuca (CBG) with commercial carbon black (CCB) it showed the same morphology which was confirmed by SEM analysis. The BET data, showed the high specific surface area of prepared CB, which was 605 (m2/g) for CBB and 424 (m2/g) for CBG compared with commercial carbon black (CBB) was 50 (m2/g), also the mean pore diameter of CBB, CBG and CCB indicated that CBB and CBG were rich in micropores, but CCB was rich in mesoporous according to IUPAC classification. This study might have created a technique that can be used to make carbon black from different kinds of biomass.
Online trend estimation and detection of trend deviations in sub-sewershed time series of SARS-CoV-2 RNA measured in wastewater
Authors: Ensor Katherine B. , Schedler Julia C. , Sun Thomas , Schneider Rebecca , Mulenga Anthony , Wu Jingjing , Stadler Lauren B. , Hopkins Loren 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWastewater surveillance has proven a cost-effective key public health tool to understand a wide range of community health diseases and has been a strong source of information on community levels and spread for health departments throughout the SARS- CoV-2 pandemic. Studies spanning the globe demonstrate the strong association between virus levels observed in wastewater and quality clinical case information of the population served by the sewershed. Few of these studies incorporate the temporal dependence present in sampling over time, which can lead to estimation issues which in turn impact conclusions. We contribute to the literature for this important public health science by putting forward time series methods coupled with statistical process control that (1) capture the evolving trend of a disease in the population; (2) separate the uncertainty in the population disease trend from the uncertainty due to sampling and measurement; and (3) support comparison of sub-sewershed population disease dynamics with those of the population represented by the larger downstream treatment plant. Our statistical methods incorporate the fact that measurements are over time, ensuring correct statistical conclusions. We provide a retrospective example of how sub-sewersheds virus levels compare to the upstream wastewater treatment plant virus levels. An on-line algorithm supports real-time statistical assessment of deviations of virus level in a population represented by a sub-sewershed to the virus level in the corresponding larger downstream wastewater treatment plant. This information supports public health decisions by spotlighting segments of the population where outbreaks may be occurring.
Validation of numerical simulations and experiments on impulse characteristics induced by self-excited oscillation
Authors: Wu Qiang , Ji Guodong , Zhao Jian , Sun Liudang , Han Dapeng , Liu Li , Hu Huaigang , Yu Jinping , Chen Changchang , Sun Yuqi , Guo Jinyong 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe high-frequency pulse flow, equivalent to the natural frequency of rocks, is generated by a self-excited oscillating cavity to achieve resonance rock-breaking. The flow field and oscillating mechanism of the self-excited oscillating cavity were simulated using the large eddy simulation method of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A field-scale testing apparatus was developed to investigate the impulse characteristics and verify the simulation results. The results show that the fluid at the outlet at the tool is deflected due to the pulse oscillation of the fluid. The size and shape of low-pressure vortices constantly change, leading to periodic changes in fluid impedance within the oscillating cavity. The impulse frequency reaches its highest point when the length–diameter ratio is 0.67. As the length–diameter ratio increases, the tool pressure loss also increases. Regarding the cavity thickness, the impulse frequency of the oscillating cavity initially decreases, then increases, and finally decreases again. Moreover, both the impulse frequency and pressure loss increase with an increase in displacement. The numerical simulation findings align with the experimental results, thus confirming the validity of the theoretical model. This research provides theoretical guidance for the practical application of resonance rock-breaking technology.
Multi-defect risk assessment in high-speed rail subgrade infrastructure in China
Authors: Wang Jinchen , Zhang Yinsheng , Wang Luqi , Sun Yifan , Zhang Jingyu , Li Jianlin , Li Sen 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis study addresses the escalating risk of high-speed railway (HSR) infrastructure in China, amplified by climate warming, increased rainfall, frequent extreme weather, and geohazard events. Leveraging a georeferenced dataset of recent HSR defects obtained through an extensive literature review, we employ machine learning techniques for a quantitative multi-defect risk assessment. Climatic, geomorphological, geohydrological, and anthropogenic variables influencing HSR subgrade safety are identified and ranked. Climatic factors significantly impact frost damage and mud pumping, while geomorphological variables exhibit greater influence on settlement and uplift deformation defects. Notably, frost damage is prevalent in the northeast and northwest, mud pumping along the southeast coast, and settlement and uplift deformation in the northwest and central areas. The generated comprehensive risk map underscores high-risk zones, particularly the Menyuan Hui Autonomous and Minle County sections of the Lanzhou-Urumqi HSR, emphasizing the need for focused attention and preventive actions to mitigate potential losses and ensure operational continuity.