bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Green Polyethylene Glycol-Lauric Acid Demulsifier from a Natural Source and Its Application in Demulsification of Field Emulsion: Experimental and Modeling Approach
Authors: Dhandhi Yogesh , Naiya Tarun Kumar 
Published: June 2023

Summary
Green demulsifier was synthesized through an esterification technique by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and fatty acid (lauric acid). The synthesized demulsifier was characterized through several tests to analyze the functional groups and determined the molecular structure, thermal stability, and biodegradability of the demulsifier molecule. The performance of the synthesized demulsifier was investigated using the standard static bottle test method to break the water-in-oil (W/O) tight emulsion. Optical microscopic and viscosity studies of emulsions were also performed to understand the demulsification process and mechanism. Based on the response surface method (RSM), central composite design (CCD) was used to develop the statistical model of demulsification efficiency by considering the four most influencing factors—demulsifier concentration, water content, settling time, and temperature—and to examine the optimal condition for maximum water separation from the emulsion. The statistical model’s accuracy and significance were evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and diagnostic plots. The effect of each factor was analyzed through 3D graphs and contour maps. The result indicates that all the factors significantly influenced the demulsification efficiency with a p-value of &lt;0.0001, among which the presence of water is the dominating variable. At the optimal condition, the lauric acid-PEG-demulsifier (LPED) achieves a maximum demulsification efficiency of 95% in 30.9 minutes. Furthermore, the percent absolute deviation was computed after comparing the experimental findings to those predicted by the model and it was observed that the model’s prediction accuracy was &gt;97%. Finally, the biodegradability test results showed that the developed demulsifier is completely biodegradable in 21 days. Because the synthesized demulsifier is eco-friendly and has an excellent dehydration rate, it may be used in the petroleum industry for breaking field-tight emulsions as an alternative to chemical demulsifiers.
Simultaneous Optimization of Product Quality and Productivity for Multi-Factor designs of Circular Cross-Section Conformal Cooling Channels in Injection Molds
Authors: Simiyu Laura Wambani , Mutua James M. , Muiruri Patrick I. , Ikua Bernard W. , Gacharu Simon N. 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
The widespread use and demand for plastic products worldwide have caused manufacturers to covet high productivity and product quality. Most plastic products are produced using the injection molding technique. This technique is characterized by long cooling times, which affect the production cycle and product quality. According to the literature, cooling during the injection molding process can be significantly affected by the design of the cooling channels. This study is, therefore focused on multi-factor design optimization of circular cross-section conformal cooling channels for multiple responses. The Taguchi design-of-experiments approach was adopted in this study. The key variables of conformal cooling channels that were studied involved diameters, depths, and pitches. Solidworks® was used for 3D design and numerical simulation to determine the cooling time, volumetric shrinkage, warpage, and sink marks. Multi-response optimization was then conducted using the Taguchi-Grey Relational Analysis technique. Results show that the optimal cooling channel design has a minimum; diameter of 8 mm, a depth of 12 mm, and a pitch of 16 mm. Additionally, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that the diameter is the significant cooling channel design parameter contributing to all the responses concurrently, with the most significant percentage of 80.26%. Comparing the conformal and straight cooling channel designs, superior performance was noted for the former against the latter, with the optimal design recording an improvement of 29.35%, 5.99%, 19.77%, and 38.85% in the cooling time, volumetric shrinkage, warpage, and depth of sink marks, respectively.
Sorption Kinetics, Equilibria Parameters, and Persistence of Chlorpyrifos in Tropical Soils and Teflon Lined Centrifuge Container Walls
Authors: Oyege Ivan , Wasswa John , Srid Balaji Bhaskar Maruthi , Nkedi-Kizza Peter , Kasozi Gabriel N 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is strongly hydrophobic, adsorbing on container walls used in analysis in aqueous systems. The study investigated the aqueous sorption kinetics and equilibria parameters for CPF in Teflon Lined Centrifuge Container walls and tropical soils, as well as the persistence of CPF in the soils. Batch sorption kinetics experiments were conducted by varying methanol fractions, and the Solvophobic theory was employed to predict the sorption coefficients KW and KOC indirectly. Degradation experiments were conducted on ten soils to study the effect of biotic and abiotic processes under flooded and field capacity moisture conditions. The Groundwater ubiquity index was calculated to determine the leaching potential of CPF in soils. Sorption coefficients decreased exponentially with increasing methanol fraction, while the mass transfer coefficient increased with methanol content, with equilibrium attained after 4-8 hours. The KW value for container walls was 0.19 mL/g, while soil KW values ranged from 46.53 to 56.71 mL/g. The KOC values ranged from 1551 – 1890, which were lower than literature KOC values in experiments conducted in aqueous systems. The degradation rates were in order sterilized flooded > unsterilized flooded > sterilized field capacity > unsterilized field capacity soils, with calculated half-lives ranging from 18 to 52 days, 30 to 132 days, 18 to 21 days, and 32 to 33 days for sterilized flooded, unsterilized flooded soils, sterilized field capacity, and unsterilized field capacity soils, respectively. The Groundwater ubiquity index range was 1.013 and 1.536, showing that CPF does not leach in the selected soils.
Impacts of an online asynchronous continuing professional development toolkit supporting primary care nurses to engage in shared decision-making: A single-group pre-post study
Authors: Poitras Marie-Eve , Vaillancourt Vanessa T. , Beaupré Priscilla , Bernier Andréanne , Prévost Karina , Poirier Annie , Guérin Mireille , Pluye Pierre , Bujold Mathieu , Légaré France , Chouinard Maud-Christine , Hudon Catherine 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackground Shared decision-making (SDM) is central to person-centred care and professional nursing practice. Some primary care nurses must be more comfortable and prepared to use SDM in their practice, even more with patients with complex care needs. Methods We conducted a single-group pre-post study with primary care nurses to assess the relevance and impacts of the online continuing professional development (CPD) toolkit. Using theNew World Kirkpatrickmodel, we assessed the toolkit’s relevance (level-1, reaction) and nurses’ confidence and commitment (level-2, learning). We collaborated with the virtual community of practice for nurses in family medicine groups in Quebec to reach out to most nurses as possible. We sent hard copies of the toolkit to 42 primary care establishments. We used descriptive statistics and the studentt-test for quantitative data and analyzed open-ended questions with qualitative content analysis. Results One hundred sixty-five nurses used the toolkit, and 69 completed the pre- and post-training survey. Most were female (94.2%), aged between 31–45 years old (55.1%), and held a first university degree (91.3%). Ninety-six percent (96%) agreed or strongly agreed that the toolkit would improve their practice. The toolkit significantly increased nurses' confidence (p ≤ 0.001) and intention (p ≤ 0.01) to engage in SDM with patients with complex care needs. Nurses appreciated the relevance of video vignettes and accessibility, amongst others. Conclusions Primary care nurses felt better able to include SDM in their practice with patients with complex care needs and understand their roles better. A CPD toolkit by and for primary care nurses is relevant and increases learning.
Systematic Pan-Cancer Analysis of the Oncogenic and Immunological Function of Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1)
Authors: Gan Lin , Zhao Long , Yang Changjiang , Wang Shan , Gao Zhidong , Ye Yingjiang 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) plays an integral role in various cancers, but current studies provide limited information in pan-cancer. Here, we focus on its roles in prognosis and immunology in human cancers. Pan-cancer bulk sequencing data and online web tools were applied to analyze STC1’s correlations with prognosis,immune checkpoints (ICP), tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), cancer stemness, neoantigens and immune infiltratio in pan-cancer. We also used UALCAN, HPA, cBioPortal, Single-cell and GTAB database to explore the function of STC1 in different cancers. Moreover, multiple fluorescence staining was used to validate the association between STC1 expression and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Further, Western Blot was adopted to detect the expression of STC1 in Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) cells and tumor. We noticed that STC1 was highly expressed in most cancers and had strong relationships with prognosis, ICP, TMB, MSI, cancer stemness, and neoantigens. The utmost alteration frequency of STC1 was in patients with prostate adenocarcinoma and all of which were “Deep Deletion” kind. Single-cell and gene enrichment analysis indicated that abnormally expressed STC1 was significantly associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, we confirmed the up-regulated of STC1 in STAD cells and tumor tissue. In particular, the multiple fluorescence staining on STAD tissue chip confirmed that STC1 correlated with CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. This study identified that SCT1 was a novel oncogene, and it correlated with MSI, TMB, immune cells infiltration level and EMT. STC1 was highly associated with ICP and could be a novel target for tumor immunotherapy.
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of parents regarding the red flags of developmental milestones in children aged 0-5 years in Karachi, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Kumar Raman , Ali Malaika , Pasha Muhammad Saad , Ansari Haya Waseem , Durrani Noureen 
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Background Developmental delays in children are assessed in four basic domains: gross motor, fine motor, social, and language. Early years of life are crucial in a child’s development, so it is imperative that parents be aware of developmental milestones to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment in case of a developmental delay. This study aimed to assess parental knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding children's developmental milestones and associated “red flags”. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Pediatrics at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. 390 parents, who had at least one child under 5 years of age, with no diagnosed developmental delay, were interviewed during outpatient visits to clinics. The questionnaire consisted of three components to assess parental knowledge, attitude, and practices. Results 59% and 54% of parents had poor knowledge of gross and fine motor milestones respectively;88% incorrectly answered the age at which a child should walk along a straight line. In the social domain, 56% of the respondents had unsatisfactory knowledge. 42% had inadequate knowledge of language milestones; 83.3% did not know the age at which children should be able to respond to their name. 29% of parents strongly agreed that their Pediatricians provide satisfactory information regarding red flags of developmental milestones. 60% of parents strongly agreed that their child’s developmental delay would be a cause of concern for them. In case of developmental delay, 55% of parents said they would consult a general pediatrician, 11% preferred a pediatric neurologist, 21% opted for a developmental pediatrician and 13% opted for a family physician. Conclusion The majority of our respondents showed considerably poor knowledge regarding developmental milestones. This highlights the need to devise ways to educate parents on this subject to enable them to vigilantly monitor their child’s developmental status and any associated abnormalities and ultimately facilitate the right course of action.
Molecular dynamics simulations of displacement cascades in LiAlO 2 and LiAl 5 O 8 ceramics
Authors: Roy Ankit , Casella Andrew M. , Senor David J. , Jiang Weilin , Devanathan Ram 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Molecular dynamics was employed to investigate the radiation damage due to collision cascades in LiAlO2 and LiAl5O8, the latter being a secondary phase formed in the former during irradiation. Atomic displacement cascades were simulated by initiating primary knock-on atoms (PKA) with energy values = 5, 10 and 15 keV and the damage was quantified by the number of Frenkel pairs formed for each species: Li, Al and O. The primary challenges of modeling an ionic system with a core-shell model for oxygen atoms were addressed and new findings on the radiation resistance of these ceramics are presented. The working of a variable timestep function and the kinetics in the background of the simulations have been elaborated to highlight the novelty of the simulation approach. More importantly, the key results indicated that LiAlO2 experiences much more radiation damage than LiAl5O8, where the number of Li Frenkel pairs in LiAlO2 was 3–5 times higher than in LiAl5O8 while the number of Frenkel pairs for Al and O in LiAlO2 are ~ 2 times higher than in LiAl5O8. The primary reason is high displacement threshold energies (Ed) in LiAl5O8 for Li cations. The greater Ed for Li imparts higher resistance to damage during the collision cascade and thus inhibits amorphization in LiAl5O8. The presented results suggest that LiAl5O8 is likely to maintain structural integrity better than LiAlO2 in the irradiation conditions studied in this work.
Acupuncture Ameliorates Depression-like Behaviors through Modulating the Neuroinflammation Mediated by TLR4 Signaling Pathway in Rats Exposed to Chronic Restraint Stress
Authors: Jiang Huili , Long Xianqi , Wang Yu , Zhang Xuhui , Chen Lu , Yang Xinjing , Zhao Bingcong , Zhang Ye , Chai Yemao , Bao Tuya 
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Recently, emerging evidence has identified that stress-induced activation of neuroinflammation is considered to be one of the most prevalently precipitating factors in the pathogenesis of depression. Data from clinical trials and experimental findings has verified the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of depression. However, the mechanism of the antidepressant effect of acupuncture has not been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to investigate the antidepressant effect and mechanism of acupuncture through modulating the neuroinflammation mediated by toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway in rats exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS). All rats were subjected to CRS for 21 days, with the exception of rats in control group. One hour before CRS, rats in acupuncture group were exposed to acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29). The depression-like behaviors were evaluated by body weight assessment and sucrose preference test at 0, 7, 14, 21 days. The expression of activated microglia in hippocampus was detected by immunofluorescence. The expression of key proteins on TLR4 signaling pathway of TLR4, MyD88, TRAF6, NF-κB p65, TNF-α and mRNA of TLR4 in the hippocampus were detected by western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to investigate the effect of acupuncture on stress-induced activation of neuroinflammation. The present study provided evidence that acupuncture exerted potential antidepressant-like effect that might be mediated in part by suppressing the neuroinflammation induced by TLR4 signaling pathway, which may be a promising treatment target to improve current treatments for depression.
The Inter-dependence of the Limbs of Feedback Loops Affects the Regulation and Homeostasis of Multiple Physiological Systems.
Authors: Fitzgerald Stephen , Bean Nigel , Falhammar Henrik , Hoermann Rudolf , Kohanim Yael Korem , Pohlabeln Hermann , Beverborg Niels Grote 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
The fundamental models of physiological regulation and homeostasis remain uncertain and controversial. We aimed to derive quantitative evidence regarding these models from the study of population data of balance points of different parameters and their respective controlling hormones in terms of the slopes of correlations between parameters and controlling hormones, and the slopes of derived estimates of the physiological responses of parameters to their respective regulating hormones. Our simulations showed that changes to the population distribution of, or dependence between, feedback loop limbs alter these slopes of population data derived correlations and estimates in specific ways. Our corresponding empirical findings were similar across multiple systems and support a general model of regulation whereby the balance points of parameters are generated peripherally under the influence of feed-back loops, both limbs of which may interdependent. This interdependence potentially bestows evolutionary homeostatic and regulatory advantages.
Near real-time detecting of wildfire using MODIS and NOAA/AVHRR data
Authors: Aghazadeh Firouz 
Published: June 2023

AbstractForest fire in recent years has given much attention to climate change and ecosystem. Detection of fire in Near real time is necessary to prevent large-scale casualties. Remote sensing is a quick and inexpensive way to detect and monitor forest fires on a large scale. The purpose of this research is to identify forest and rangeland fire using MODIS and AVHRR sensors in Kayamaki Wildlife Refuge. In order to carry out research, the dates of the fire occurred at MODIS products were recorded. Then the images of both sensors were prepared based on the date of the fires. After preprocessing the images, different fire detection algorithms (i.e. IGBP, Giglio, Extended, Dynamic for NOAA/AVHRR images and Giglio, Extended for MODIS /AQUA &TERRA images) for fire detection were investigated. The results of fire detection algorithms with MODIS products were there by evaluated. The results showed that among different algorithms, the dynamic algorithm on NOAA/AVHRR images is more suitable than the other ones with a low error rate of 28% for fire detection. Although the IGBP algorithm has a lower error rate relative to the dynamic algorithm, based on the characteristics (using NDVI, the use of two images (D1, D2) to detect fire in Near real time, the thresholds for removal of wrong alarms, etc.) has a dynamic algorithm, but the IGBP algorithm shows incorrect alarms despite the low error rate and the Giglio algorithm on MODIS/TERRA images were determined as favorable algorithm with 28% error. This is confirmed in the fires that were detected in terms of location relative to the fire locations found in the MODIS products. Also, MODIS and AVHRR sensors were compared in terms of Near real-time fire detection ability. AVHRR detected the highest number of fires (68.25%) with low error rate (31.75%) and MODIS discovered lower fire numbers (46.5%) and high error rate (53.5%).
Comparison of three methods for determination of nitrate content in different vegetables
Authors: Beheshti Mehdi , Hasheminasab Kobra Sadat , Shahbazi Karim , Tavanamehr Ainaz , Cheraghi Meysam 
Published: June 2023

Abstract
Vegetables are the major source of dietary nitrate, with a wide range of nitrate content. The presence of nitrate in vegetables is often associated with harmful effects on human health, i.e. with toxic effects of methemoglobinemia and the possibility of causing an endogenous formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. Therefore, accurate measurement of nitrate in these products is of great importance. Various analytical techniques have been developed to determine nitrate in biological samples and vegetables. The purpose of this study is to compare the three methods BS EN 12014-2 (HPLC UV/Vis), ISO 6635, and Cd-column for nitrate measurement and to introduce an accurate, safe, and useful method for nitrate measurement in 11 important vegetables with a wide range of nitrate content. The results of this study showed strong agreement between the three methods. A strong and significant regression was observed between the HPLC run using ISO 6635 and the HPLC method using the Cd-column, with the slope of the regression curve close to 1 for most of the vegetable samples. Between HPLC and ISO 6635 methods, the fitted regression curve had slopes as high as 1.0946 and as low as 0.9195, respectively. While, the highest and lowest slopes of the fitted regression curve between HPLC and the Cd-column methods were 1.088 and 0.9217, respectively. The highest slope between the two methods ISO 6635 and Cd-column was equal to 1.0832 and the lowest was equal to 0.8421. The correlation coefficient of the regression equation was significant at a level of 99% (p ˂ 0.01) across all samples and correlations of linear regression. The results of this study showed that all three methods have high accuracy for nitrate measurement in vegetables. However, the type of sample and the accessibility of the facility plays a big role in the selection of an analytical method. The HPLC method is slower than the Spectrophotometry methods (ISO 6635 and Cd-column), despite having a higher initial investment cost. However, it has a lower risk of environmental pollution and health risk for the staff. Spectrophotometry methods have high speed, and the initial cost of equipment is lower, but they have more environmental risk and are labor-intensive than the HPLC method. Finally, despite the fact that the compared methods were very accurate at measuring nitrate in vegetables, the HPLC method is suggested because it is reliable, secure, and practical in vegetables due to the figure of merits mentioned.