bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental study of the transient properties of a diesel and castor biodiesel blend in a mini boiler with the optimal combustion efficiency
Authors: Zeleke Dinku Seyoum , Haile Michael Bade 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
The researcher looks into alternative fuels because petroleum fuel is becoming increasingly scarce and energy demand is rising as a result of population expansion. In this work, experimental investigation of the transient characteristics of castor biodiesel and diesel is conducted. Castor crude oil was extracted with a Soxhlet apparatus. The crude oil is then transformed into biodiesel using potassium hydroxide as a catalyst in the esterification process. Different experimental procedures are employed for the small boiler (VITOLA 200) to ascertain the combustion performance, emission characteristics, and thermal efficiency with regard to time for blends of 10%, 20%, and 30% castor biodiesel. The results are then compared to 100% diesel fuel combustion performances. By setting the boiler pressure, mass flow rate, and damper opening to 200 kPa, 1.25 kg hr−1, and 41/2, respectively, the experiment tests are carried out. The outcomes demonstrated that the antioxidant from moringa increased the stability of the castor biodiesel blend’s combustion, resulting in an increase in cetane number to 56.61, which was significantly higher than the minimum cetane number (37.55) required to have good ignition. Furthermore, the 30% castor biodiesel blend results in a boiler with a maximum thermal efficiency of 63.25%. Additionally, a 30% castor biodiesel blend can reduce CO2 and HC emissions by 27.53% and 15.2%, respectively. Since the boiler uses heavy fuels, the investigation found that gasoline can be substituted with a blend of castor biodiesel and moringa antioxidant fuel. This seems like a promising way to lower greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously improving the boiler’s overall efficiency.
A high-resolution PheWAS approach to alcohol-related polygenic risk scores reveals mechanistic influences of alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives
Authors: Deng Wei Q , Belisario Kyla , Gray Joshua C , Levitt Emily E , MacKillop James 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Aims
This study uses a high-resolution phenome-wide approach to evaluate the motivational mechanisms of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) that have been robustly associated with coarse alcohol phenotypes in large-scale studies.

Methods
In a community-based sample of 1534 Europeans, we examined genome-wide PRSs for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), drinks per week, alcohol use disorder (AUD), problematic alcohol use (PAU), and general addiction, in relation to 42 curated phenotypes. The curated phenotypes were in seven categories: alcohol consumption, alcohol reinforcing value, drinking motives, other addictive behaviors, commonly comorbid psychiatric syndromes, impulsivity, and personality traits.

Results
The PRS for each alcohol phenotype was validated via its within-sample association with the corresponding phenotype (adjusted R2s = 0.35–1.68%, Ps = 0.012–3.6 × 10−7) with the exception of AUD. All PRSs were positively associated with alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives, with the strongest effects from AUDIT-consumption (adjusted R2s = 0.45–1.33%, Ps = 0.006–3.6 × 10−5) and drinks per week PRSs (adjusted R2s = 0.52–2.28%, Ps = 0.004–6.6 × 10−9). Furthermore, the PAU and drinks per week PRSs were positively associated with adverse childhood experiences (adjusted R2s = 0.6–0.7%, Ps = 0.0001–4.8 × 10−4).

Conclusions
These results implicate alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives as genetically-influenced mechanisms using PRSs for the first time. The findings also highlight the value of dissecting genetic influence on alcohol involvement through diverse phenotypic risk pathways but also the need for future studies with both phenotypic richness and larger samples.
Multi-indicator comparative evaluation for deep learning-based protein sequence design methods
Authors: Yu Jinyu , Mu Junxi , Wei Ting , Chen Hai-Feng 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Motivation
Proteins found in nature represent only a fraction of the vast space of possible proteins. Protein design presents an opportunity to explore and expand this protein landscape. Within protein design, protein sequence design plays a crucial role, and numerous successful methods have been developed. Notably, deep learning-based protein sequence design methods have experienced significant advancements in recent years. However, a comprehensive and systematic comparison and evaluation of these methods have been lacking, with indicators provided by different methods often inconsistent or lacking effectiveness.

Results
To address this gap, we have designed a diverse set of indicators that cover several important aspects, including sequence recovery, diversity, root-mean-square deviation of protein structure, secondary structure, and the distribution of polar and nonpolar amino acids. In our evaluation, we have employed an improved weighted inferiority–superiority distance method to comprehensively assess the performance of eight widely used deep learning-based protein sequence design methods. Our evaluation not only provides rankings of these methods but also offers optimization suggestions by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each method. Furthermore, we have developed a method to select the best temperature parameter and proposed solutions for the common issue of designing sequences with consecutive repetitive amino acids, which is often encountered in protein design methods. These findings can greatly assist users in selecting suitable protein sequence design methods. Overall, our work contributes to the field of protein sequence design by providing a comprehensive evaluation system and optimization suggestions for different methods.
Complex floral morphology and scent chemistry mediate hawkmoth pollination of an African orchid in the diverse Habenaria clade
Authors: Johnson Steven D , Balducci Marco G , Shuttleworth Adam 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
One explanation for the evolution of complex floral morphology in orchids is that it can function as a component of ‘lock-and-key’ mechanisms that ensure pollen transfer by specific flower visitors. We investigated the roles of floral morphology and scent in the pollination of Bonatea antennifera, an African orchid that is phylogenetically embedded in the hyper-diverse Habenaria clade. Using camera traps and direct observations, we established that B. antennifera is pollinated by an assemblage of short-tongued hawkmoths with proboscides ~4 cm in length, corresponding to the spur length of the orchid. Pollinaria are attached between the palps of these hawkmoths via an intricate mechanism involving a wedge-shaped rostellum chamber and a tooth in the floral spur that deflect the head and proboscis of the hawkmoth to either side of the spur entrance. This functional subdivision of the flower results in removal of a single pollinarium per visit. Scent production is synchronized with the peak activity of hawkmoths at dusk, and electrophysiology experiments showed that hawkmoth antennae respond to several of the dominant volatile terpenoid compounds [e.g. R-(−)-linalool, caryophyllene epoxide, and (E)-nerolidol] emitted by the flowers. These results illustrate the functional significance of complex floral morphology and scent for pollen transfer in orchids.
Enzyme model-catalyzed oxidative polymerization of 5-cyano-2-methoxyphenol, a new phenolic monomer with cyano substituent
Authors: Takechi Shimon , Oshima Takahiro , Nakano Akiyuki , Higashimura Hideyuki 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Oxidative polymerization of 5-cyano-2-methoxyphenol was achieved with high C–O coupling selectivity by an enzyme model-catalyst as the first example of a cyano-substituted phenol. The electron-withdrawing/donating interaction of the substituents would lead to high reactivity and selectivity. Surprisingly, the resulting polymer showed a very narrow molecular weight distribution. The polymer consisted of a linear unit with small amounts of branched and bent units, in which C=O structure was slightly detected but could be reduced by lowering the reaction temperature.
Downward occupational mobility and job satisfaction: when does it hurt less?
Authors: Zhou Ying , Zou Min , Williams Mark 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Downward occupational mobility is a generally under-explored subject in career research. This study examines how job satisfaction evolves before, during, and after a downward career transition and how the pattern is moderated by individual and contextual factors. Drawing on the UK Household Longitudinal Study which followed respondents from 40,000 households over the last decade, our fixed-effects analysis shows that downward occupational mobility has negative effects on job satisfaction that last for several years following the transition. However, the detrimental impact of downward occupational mobility on job satisfaction is mitigated when the event is preceded by a spell of unemployment or when individuals reside in regions with high levels of unemployment. These results likely reflect individuals’ tendency to evaluate their careers in the context of their employment history as well as their peers’ labour market experiences. This study highlights the relativity of subjective well-being function by showing that self- and social comparisons feature prominently in how people judge their lives.
Law, suspicion and social hermeneutics at the inception of the Terror, April 1793
Authors: Hesse Carla A 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This article revisits the genesis of the Law of Suspects of 17 September 1793, locating it in the longer durée of community and police surveillance, and the semantic field of ‘suspicion’ from the early eighteenth century to April 1793. It argues that the hermeneutics of suspicion, deployed by both citizens and the police as a means to ensure public safety, was a practice of keeping a watch out for suspicious social types (vagabonds, demobilized soldiers, foreigners, religious minorities etc.): people out of place or without occupation. With the Revolution of 1789, the social valences of suspicion underwent a carnivalesque inversion: the idle were now aristocrats rather than the poor; the drifter was now an émigré rather than a vagabond, immigrant, or solider; the religious outsider was now the recusant priest. But as the crisis of 1793–94 deepened, fear corroded all efforts to classify the social world. The Law of Suspects was an effort to rein in popular violence by offering a new way of reading social life through speech, comportment and behaviours rather than fixed categories of identity. ‘The suspect’—an identity defined only by transgression—incarnated the evil-doppelgänger of ‘the citizen’, whose legal parameters were yet to be defined.
Functional analysis of chromatin-associated proteins in Sordaria macrospora reveals similar roles for RTT109 and ASF1 in development and DNA damage response
Authors: Breuer Jan , Ferreira David Emanuel Antunes , Kramer Mike , Bollermann Jonas , Nowrousian Minou 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
We performed a functional analysis of two potential partners of ASF1, a highly conserved histone chaperone that plays a crucial role in the sexual development and DNA damage resistance in the ascomycete Sordaria macrospora. ASF1 is known to be involved in nucleosome assembly and disassembly, binding histones H3 and H4 during transcription, replication and DNA repair and has direct and indirect roles in histone recycling and modification as well as DNA methylation, acting as a chromatin modifier hub for a large network of chromatin-associated proteins. Here, we functionally characterized two of these proteins, RTT109 and CHK2. RTT109 is a fungal-specific histone acetyltransferase, while CHK2 is an ortholog to PRD-4, a checkpoint kinase of Neurospora crassa that performs similar cell cycle checkpoint functions as yeast RAD53. Through the generation and characterization of deletion mutants, we discovered striking similarities between RTT109 and ASF1 in terms of their contributions to sexual development, histone acetylation, and protection against DNA damage. Phenotypic observations revealed a developmental arrest at the same stage in Δrtt109 and Δasf1 strains, accompanied by a loss of H3K56 acetylation, as detected by western blot analysis. Deletion mutants of rtt109 and asf1 are sensitive to the DNA damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate, but not hydroxyurea. In contrast, chk2 mutants are fertile and resistant to methyl methanesulfonate, but not hydroxyurea. Our findings suggest a close functional association between ASF1 and RTT109 in the context of development, histone modification, and DNA damage response, while indicating a role for CHK2 in separate pathways of the DNA damage response.
HIV programme sustainability in Southern and Eastern Africa and the changing role of external assistance for health
Authors: Neel Abigail H , Rodríguez Daniela C , Sikazwe Izukanji , Pillay Yogan , Barron Peter , Pereira Shreya K , Makakole-Nene Sesupo , Bennett Sara C 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
High human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–prevalence countries in Southern and Eastern Africa continue to receive substantial external assistance (EA) for HIV programming, yet countries are at risk of transitioning out of HIV aid without achieving epidemic control. We sought to address two questions: (1) to what extent has HIV EA in the region been programmed and delivered in a way that supports long-term sustainability and (2) how should development agencies change operational approaches to support long-term, sustainable HIV control? We conducted 20 semi-structured key informant interviews with global and country-level respondents coupled with an analysis of Global Fund budget data for Malawi, Uganda, and Zambia (from 2017 until the present). We assessed EA practice along six dimensions of sustainability, namely financial, epidemiological, programmatic, rights-based, structural and political sustainability. Our respondents described HIV systems’ vulnerability to donor departure, as well as how development partner priorities and practices have created challenges to promoting long-term HIV control. The challenges exacerbated by EA patterns include an emphasis on treatment over prevention, limiting effects on new infection rates; resistance to service integration driven in part by ‘winners’ under current EA patterns and challenges in ensuring coverage for marginalized populations; persistent structural barriers to effectively serving key populations and limited capacity among organizations best positioned to respond to community needs; and the need for advocacy given the erosion of political commitment by the long-term and substantive nature of HIV EA. Our recommendations include developing a robust investment case for primary prevention, providing operational support for integration processes, investing in local organizations and addressing issues of political will. While strategies must be locally crafted, our paper provides initial suggestions for how EA partners could change operational approaches to support long-term HIV control and the achievement of universal health coverage.
Donor coordination to support universal health coverage in Malawi
Authors: Sharma Lalit , Heung Stephanie , Twea Pakwanja , Yoon Ian , Nyondo Jean , Laviwa Dalitso , Kasinje Kenasi , Connolly Emilia , Nkhoma Dominic , Chindamba Madalitso , Tebeje Mihereteab Teshome , Brady Eoghan , Gunda Andrews , Chirwa Emily , Manthalu Gerald 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Development assistance is a major source of financing for health in least developed countries. However, persistent aid fragmentation has led to inefficiencies and health inequities and constrained progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Malawi is a case study for this global challenge, with 55% of total health expenditure funded by donors and fragmentation across 166 financing sources and 265 implementing partners. This often leads to poor coordination and misalignment between government priorities and donor projects. To address these challenges, the Malawi Ministry of Health (MoH) has developed and implemented an architecture of aid coordination tools and processes. Using a case study approach, we documented the iterative development, implementation and institutionalization of these tools, which was led by the MoH with technical assistance from the Clinton Health Access Initiative. We reviewed the grey literature, including relevant policy documents, planning tools and databases of government/partner funding commitments, and drew upon the authors’ experiences in designing, implementing and scaling up these tools. Overall, the iterative use and revision of these tools by the Government of Malawi across the national and subnational levels, including integration with the government’s public financial management system, was critical to successful uptake. The tools are used to inform government and partner resource allocation decisions, assess financing and gaps for national and district plans and inform donor grant applications. As Malawi has launched the Health Sector Strategic Plan 2023–2030, these tools are being adapted for the ‘One Plan, One Budget and One Report’ approach. However, while the tools are an incremental mechanism to strengthen aid alignment, success has been constrained by the larger context of power imbalances and misaligned incentives between the donor community and the Government of Malawi. Reform of the aid architecture is therefore critical to ensure that these tools achieve maximum impact in Malawi’s journey towards UHC.
Conceptual design and optimization of polymer gear system for low-thrust turbofan aeroengine accessory transmission
Authors: Lu Zehua , Liu Chang , Liao Changjun , Zhu Jiazan , Liu Huaiju , Chen Yiming 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
The advancement in materials and lubrication has significantly improved the load-carrying capability of polymer gears, making them ideal for replacing metallic gears in power transmission. However, this conversion is not as simple as substituting steel with polymer; it requires a thorough redesign of the structural parameters specific to polymer gears. To enable the metallic-to-polymer conversion of gear in power transmission, a model for optimizing polymer gear systems was developed. An investigation of the accessory transmission system of a low-thrust turbofan aeroengine was conducted. A comprehensive performance index for the accessory transmission was developed using combined weighting coefficients to achieve the optimization goals including total mass, transmission efficiency, maximum transmission error, and so on. The polymer gear system developed using the proposed optimization model demonstrated a 70.4% reduction in total mass compared with the metallic gear system, as well as a transmission error decrease of over 29% when compared with polymer gear systems with standard tooth profiles. The contribution analysis results demonstrated that optimizing the tooth width, pressure angle, and addendum height of polymer gears can significantly enhance the load-carrying capacity of the polymer gear system while maximizing tooth profile flexibility.
Trends, demographics and reoperation rates of periacetabular osteotomy: an analysis from the PearlDiver database
Authors: Bigach Stephen D , Thakkar Akshar P , Buchler Lucas T , Ellman Michael B , Bhatia Sanjeev , Stover Michael D 
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACT
This study aims to examine the trends and demographics of periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) in the United States from 2016 to 2020 using a large healthcare database analysis. The PearlDiver database was queried for patients who underwent a PAO procedure starting with current procedural terminology (CPT) codes 27299, S2115 and 27146. Subsequently, the population was filtered for patients being ages 12–50, having an inpatient charge-type and those having a length of stay of at least 1 day. Patients with total hip arthroplasty were filtered out, and the resulting population was filtered by ICD-10 diagnosis codes. The providers of each patient were also examined to ensure their history of treating hip dysplasia. Student t and multiple regression analysis tests were used for statistical comparisons and trends analysis (P &lt; 0.05 reported as significant). A total of 535 consecutive patients were analyzed over the study period. There was a higher incidence of PAO in females compared with males (P &lt; 0.001) and a higher incidence of PAO in patients aged 15–19 years compared with older age groups (P = 0.017). Within the first year after the index PAO, 171 of the 535 patients, almost one-third (32%), received a reoperation. Of the 171 reoperations, 115 were deep removal of implant, 55 were a hip arthroscopy and 1 patient had a bone excision for heterotopic ossification. Similar studies should be carried out using other large health databases to confirm the external validity of these trends and rates across the United States.
Risk factors for bacteremia and mortality due to multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: a retrospective study
Authors: Yu Haibin , Hu Renjing , Hu Xichi , Lu Yimin , Yao Yanlin , Su Jianhua 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This research aimed to determine the relationships between the risk factors for nosocomial multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) bacteremia and associated mortality. We analyzed 144 patients treated for A. baumannii bacteremia, including 120 patients with MDRAB bacteremia, from March 2015 to March 2020, in this retrospective study. The overall bacteremia-related mortality rate was 48.6%. The mortality rates were 25.0% and 53.3% for non-MDRAB and MDRAB bacteremia, respectively. Risk factors for the development of MDRAB bacteremia were prior use of cephalosporins [odds ratio (OR): 8.62; P &lt; .001], carbapenems (OR: 15.04; P &lt; .001), or quinolones (OR: 5.02; P = .040); indwelling urinary catheters (OR: 21.38; P &lt; .001); and respiratory tract as the source of bacteremia (OR: 75.33; P &lt; .001). Patients with elective surgeries were inclined to develop non-MDRAB bacteremia (OR: 0.45; P = .029). High scores in the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (OR: 1.321; P &lt; .001) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (OR: 1.326; P &lt; .001) were risk factors for mortality from MDRAB infection. In summary, higher mortality rates occur in patients with MDRAB bacteremia, and risk factors include prior use of cephalosporins, carbapenems, or quinolones. Urinary catheters and the respiratory tract as sources of the infection increase the risk of MDRAB bacteremia.