bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modeling and comparing minimum miscibility pressure using multiple mixing cells for injection of enriched gases with Naphta, LPG, and NGL
Authors: Rashidi Mohammad Amin , Khademahmadi Mohammad Reza , Kazemzadeh Yousef , Riazi Masoud 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe increase in oil production from hydrocarbon reservoirs has always been of interest due to the increase in global oil consumption. One of the effective and useful methods for enhancing oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs is gas injection. Injectable gas can be injected into two modes, miscible and immiscible. However, to inject more efficiently, different factors, including Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP) in the gas near-miscible injection mode, should be investigated and determined. In order to investigate the minimum miscible pressure, different laboratory and simulation methods have been prepared and developed. This method uses the theory of multiple mixing cells to simulate, calculate and compare the minimum miscible pressure in gas injection enriched with Naptha, LPG, and NGL. Also vaporizing and condensing process is also considered in the simulation. The constructed model is presented with a new algorithm. This modeling has been validated and compared with laboratory results. The results showed that dry gas enriched by Naphta due to having more intermediate compounds at lower pressure (16 MPa) is miscible. In addition, dry gas, due to very light compounds, needs higher pressures (20 MPa) than all enriched gases for miscibility. Therefore, Naptha can be a good option for injecting rich gas into oil reservoirs to enrich gas.
R-LESS-RP versus C-LESS-RP: a single-institution retrospective comparative study
Authors: Wei Yong , Ji Qianying , Zhou Xin , Shen Luming , Wang Xiaping , Zhu Chen , Su Jian , Zhu Qingyi 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis study aimed to compare the peri- and postoperative outcomes of patients treated with conventional versus robot-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site radical prostatectomy (C-LESS-RP vs. R-LESS-RP). Data of patients with prostate cancer (106 who underwent C-LESS-RP, 124 underwent R-LESS-RP) were retrospectively collected and analyzed. All operations were performed by the same surgeon from January 8, 2018, to January 6, 2021, in the same institution. Information on clinical characteristics and perioperative outcomes was obtained from records at the medical institution. Postoperative outcomes were acquired from follow-up. Intergroup differences were retrospectively analyzed and compared. All patients had similar clinical characteristics in meaningful aspects. The perioperative outcomes were better with R-LESS-RP than with C-LESS-RP in terms of operation time (120 min vs. 150 min, p < 0.05), estimated blood loss (17.68 ml vs. 33.68 ml, p < 0.05), and analgesic duration (0 days vs. 1 days, p < 0.05). The drainage tube duration and postoperative stay did not differ significantly between groups. However, R-LESS-RP was more expensive than C-LESS-RP (56559.510 CNY vs. 44818.27 CNY, p < 0.05). The patients who underwent R-LESS-RP had better urinary incontinence recovery and higher European quality of life visual analog scale scores than those who underwent C-LESS-RP. However, no significant intergroup difference was noted in biochemical recurrence. In conclusion, R-LESS-RP could achieve better perioperative outcomes, especially for those skilled surgeons who have mastered C-LESS-RP. Additionally, R-LESS-RP accelerated the recovery from urinary incontinence effectively and presented some benefits in health-related quality of life with additional costs.
Growth changes of tomato seedlings responding to sodium salt of α-naphthalene acetic acid and potassium salt of fulvic acid
Authors: Ren Maofei , Mao Guiling , Zheng Huabin , Wang Weiqin , Tang Qiyuan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn present study, sodium salt of α-naphthalene acetic acid (NA), potassium salt of fulvic acid (KF) and their combinations were applied to the growth substrates of tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under chilling stress. The changes in aboveground biomass, root attributes, pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis, osmotic regulation substances, and antioxidant enzymes activity of the tomato seedlings in response to NA and KF were investigated. The application of NA, KF and their combination could promote the growth of plant height and stem diameter of tomato seedlings under chilling stress to varying degrees, and improve root characteristics by increasing root volume, root length and root activity, and increase dry matter accumulation. In addition, the combined use of NA and KF improved the seedling leaf chlorophyll content, qP, Fv/Fm, ΦPSII , Pn and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the tomato plants. The above results suggested a synergistic effect between NA and KF to stimulate the seedlings growth and to enhance the ROS scavenging ability of tomato, which has never been reported in previous research before. However, further researches are needed to explore the physiological and molecular mechanism underlying the synergistic effect between NA and KF.
Changes in bispectral index and patient state index during sugammadex reversal of neuromuscular blockade under steady-state sevoflurane anesthesia
Authors: Kim Jeayoun , Kim Doyeon , Kim Inho , Jeong Ji Seon 
Published: March 2023

AbstractFew studies have investigated the changes in patient state index (PSI) and bispectral index (BIS) in response to abrupt increase in electromyographic (EMG) activity. These were performed using intravenous anesthetics or reversal agents for neuromuscular blockade (NMB) other than sugammadex. We compared the changes in BIS and PSI values caused by the sugammadex reversal of NMB during steady-state sevoflurane anesthesia. We enrolled 50 patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1 and 2. At the end of the surgery, we administered 2 mg kg−1 sugammadex while maintaining sevoflurane for a 10-min study period. The changes in BIS and PSI from baseline (T0) to train of four ratio of 90% were not significantly different (median difference 0; 95% CI − 3 to 2; P = 0.83), neither were the changes in BIS and PSI values from T0 to their maximum values (median difference 1; 95% CI − 1 to 4; P = 0.53). Maximum BIS and PSI were significantly higher than their baseline values (median difference 6; 95% CI 4–9; P < 0.001 and median difference 5; 95% CI 3–6; P < 0.001, respectively). We found weak positive correlations between BIS and BIS-EMG (r = 0.12, P = 0.01), as well as PSI and PSI-EMG (r = 0.25, P < 0.001). Both PSI and BIS were affected to some extent by EMG artifacts after sugammadex administration.
Creep behavior and long-term strength characteristics of pre-peak damaged sandstone under conventional triaxial compression
Authors: Hou Rongbin , Cui Qingzhe , Wu Hanhan , Shi Yanke 
Published: March 2023

AbstractA series of creep tests were carried out on sandstone specimens with different pre-peak instantaneous damage characteristics under different confining pressures. The results revealed that the creep stress was the key factor affecting the occurrence of the three stages of creep, and the steady-state creep rate increased exponentially with increasing creep stress. Under the same confining pressure, the larger the instantaneous damage of the rock specimen was, the more quickly creep failure occurred and the lower the creep failure stress was. For the pre-peak damaged rock specimens, the strain threshold for accelerating creep was the same for a given confining pressure. The strain threshold increased with increasing confining pressure. In addition, the long-term strength was determined using the isochronous stress–strain curve and the variation in the creep contribution factor. The results revealed that the long-term strength decreased gradually with increasing pre-peak instantaneous damage under lower confining pressures. However, the instantaneous damage had little effect on the long-term strength under higher confining pressures. Finally, the macro–micro-failure modes of the sandstone were analyzed according to the fracture morphology observed via scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the macroscale creep failure patterns of the sandstone specimens could be divided into a shear-dominated failure mode under high confining pressures and a mixed shear-tensile failure mode under low confining pressures. At the microscale, as the confining pressure increased, the micro-fracture mode of the sandstone changed gradually from a single brittle fracture to a mixed brittle and ductile fracture mode.
Rethinking infrastructure design: evaluating pedestrians and VRUs’ psychophysiological and behavioral responses to different roadway designs
Authors: Guo Xiang , Angulo Austin , Tavakoli Arash , Robartes Erin , Chen T. Donna , Heydarian Arsalan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe integration of human-centric approaches has gained more attention recently due to more automated systems being introduced into our built environments (buildings, roads, vehicles, etc.), which requires a correct understanding of how humans perceive such systems and respond to them. This paper introduces an Immersive Virtual Environment-based method to evaluate the infrastructure design with psycho-physiological and behavioral responses from the vulnerable road users, especially for pedestrians. A case study of pedestrian mid-block crossings with three crossing infrastructure designs (painted crosswalk, crosswalk with flashing beacons, and a smartphone app for connected vehicles) are tested. Results from 51 participants indicate there are differences between the subjective and objective measurement. A higher subjective safety rating is reported for the flashing beacon design, while the psychophysiological and behavioral data indicate that the flashing beacon and smartphone app are similar in terms of crossing behaviors, eye tracking measurements, and heart rate. In addition, the smartphone app scenario appears to have a lower stress level as indicated by eye tracking data, although many participants do not have prior experience with it. Suggestions are made for the implementation of new technologies, which can increase public acceptance of new technologies and pedestrian safety in the future.
Comparison of the association intensity of creatinine and cystatin C with hyperphosphatemia and hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Min Byungju , Yun Sung-Ro , Yoon Se-Hee , Kim Jong-Dai , Hwang Wan Jin , Hwang Won Min , Park Yohan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractHerein, we compared the association intensity of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations using creatinine (Cr) or cystatin C (CysC) with hyperphosphatemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism occurrence, which reflect the physiological changes occurring during chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. This study included 639 patients treated between January 2019 and February 2022. The patients were divided into low- and high-difference groups based on the median value of the difference between the Cr-based eGFR (eGFRCr) and CysC-based eGFR (eGFRCysC). Sociodemographic and laboratory factors underlying a high difference between eGFRCr and eGFRCysC were analyzed. The association intensity of eGFRCr, eGFRCysC and both Cr- and CysC-based eGFR (eGFRCr-CysC) was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AuROC) values for hyperphosphatemia and hyperparathyroidism occurrence in the overall cohort and the low- and high-difference groups. Age > 70 years and CKD grade 3 based on eGFRCr were significant factors affecting the high differences. eGFRCysC and eGFRCr-CysC showed higher AuROC values than that of eGFRCr, especially in the high-difference group and in patients with CKD grade 3. Our results show that CysC should be evaluated in patients with significant factors, including age > 70 years and CKD grade 3, to accurately assess kidney function to better determine the physiological changes in CKD progression and predict prognosis accurately.
Seasonal trends in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and mortality in the United States and Europe
Authors: Wiemken Timothy L. , Khan Farid , Puzniak Laura , Yang Wan , Simmering Jacob , Polgreen Philip , Nguyen Jennifer L. , Jodar Luis , McLaughlin John M. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractDetermining whether SARS-CoV-2 exhibits seasonality like other respiratory viruses is critical for public health planning. We evaluated whether COVID-19 rates follow a seasonal pattern using time series models. We used time series decomposition to extract the annual seasonal component of COVID-19 case, hospitalization, and mortality rates from March 2020 through December 2022 for the United States and Europe. Models were adjusted for a country-specific stringency index to account for confounding by various interventions. Despite year-round disease activity, we identified seasonal spikes in COVID-19 from approximately November through April for all outcomes and in all countries. Our results support employing annual preventative measures against SARS-CoV-2, such as administering seasonal booster vaccines in a similar timeframe as those in place for influenza. Whether certain high-risk individuals may need more than one COVID-19 vaccine booster dose each year will depend on factors like vaccine durability against severe illness and levels of year-round disease activity.
On the role of inhibition in suppression-induced forgetting
Authors: van Schie Kevin , Fawcett Jonathan M. , Anderson Michael C. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSuppressing retrieval of unwanted memories can cause forgetting, an outcome often attributed to the recruitment of inhibitory control. This suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) generalizes to different cues used to test the suppressed content (cue-independence), a property taken as consistent with inhibition. But does cue-independent forgetting necessarily imply that a memory has been inhibited? Tomlinson et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:15588–15593, 2009) reported a surprising finding that pressing a button also led to cue-independent forgetting, which was taken as support for an alternative interference account. Here we investigated the role of inhibition in forgetting due to retrieval suppression and pressing buttons. We modified Tomlinson et al.’s procedure to examine an unusual feature they introduced that may have caused memory inhibition effects in their experiment: the omission of explicit task-cues. When tasks were uncued, we replicated the button-press forgetting effect; but when cued, pressing buttons caused no forgetting. Moreover, button-press forgetting partially reflects output-interference effects at test and not a lasting effect of interference. In contrast, SIF occurred regardless of these procedural changes. Collectively, these findings indicate that simply pressing a button does not induce forgetting, on its own, without confounding factors that introduce inhibition into the task and that inhibition likely underlies SIF.
Investigation the effect of different ionic liquids based-aryl imidazole on the onset precipitation of asphaltene
Authors: El-Nagar Raghda A. , Nessim Maher I. , Ismail Dina A. , Mohamed Manal G. , Ghanem Alaa 
Published: March 2023

AbstractPrecipitation and deposition of asphaltene are considered as catastrophic issues facing the petroleum industry. Asphaltene deposition mainly occurs at variety places such as formation pore spaces, pumps, pipelines, wellbore, wellhead, tubing, surface facilities and safety valves causing operational problems, production deficiencies and enormous economic losses. This work aims to study the effect of series of synthesized aryl ionic liquids (ILs) containing different alkyl chains, named as R8-IL, R10-IL, R12-IL, and R14-IL, on the onset precipitation point of asphaltene in crude oil. R8-IL, R10-IL, R12-IL, and R14-IL were synthesized with high yields (the yield varied between 82 and 88%) and characterized via different tools of analysis (FTIR, 1H NMR, and Elemental Analysis). Their Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) was investigated and showed a reasonable degree of stability. It was found that R8-IL (short alkyl chain) has the highest stability, while R14-IL (long alkyl chain) is the lowest one. Quantum chemical calculations were conducted to study the reactivity and geometry of their electronic structures. Moreover, surface and interfacial tension of them were studied. It was found that the efficiency of the surface active parameters increased by increasing the length of the alkyl chain. The ILs were evaluated to delay the onset precipitation point of asphaltene using to different methods; the kinematic viscosity and the refractive index. Results from the two methods showed delaying of onset precipitation after the addition of the prepared ILs. The asphaltene aggregates was dispersed due to the π–π* interactions and hydrogen bonds formation with the ILs.
A bidirectional Mendelian randomized study of classical blood lipids and venous thrombosis
Authors: Lin Liu , Luo Pan , Yang Mingyi , Wang Jiachen , Hou Weikun , Xu Peng 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThere is still some controversy about the relationship between lipids and venous thrombosis (VTE). A bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study was conducted to clarify the causal relationship between three classical lipids (low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides (TGs)) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) (deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE)). Three classical lipids and VTE were analysed by bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR). We used the random effect inverse variance weighted (IVW) model as the main analysis model and the weighted median method, simple mode method, weighted mode method and MR–Egger methods as supplementary methods. The leave-one-out test was used to determine the influence of outliers. The heterogeneity was calculated by using Cochran Q statistics in the MR–Egger and IVW methods. The intercept term in the MR‒Egger regression was used to indicate whether horizontal pleiotropy affected the results of the MR analysis. In addition, MR-PRESSO identified outlier single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and obtained a stable result by removing outlier SNPs and then performing MR analysis. When we used three classical lipids (LDL, HDL and TGs) as exposure variables, no causal relationship between them and VTE (DVT and PE) was found. In addition, we did not find significant causal effects of VTE on the three classical lipids in reverse MR analysis. There is no significant causal relationship between three classical lipids (LDL, HDL and TGs) and VTE (DVT and PE) from a genetic point of view.
A novel, extreme low-cost poly (Erythrosine) modified pencil graphite electrode for determination of Adrenaline
Authors: Sukanya S. D. , Swamy B. E. Kumara , Shashikumara J. K. , Sharma S. C. , Hariprasad S. A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractA simple, novel, and less cost yellow (Erythrosine) modified pencil graphite electrode (Po-ERY/MGPE) was successfully fabricated via electropolymerization method using cyclic voltammetric techniques. The fabricated Po-ERY/MGPE opted as a sensor for the detection of Adrenaline (ADR) in 0.2 M PBS (7.4 pH). This reported senor displayed excellent electrocatalytic activity, increased sensitivity, high stability, superior electron transfer kinetics in the oxidation of ADR once relative to BGPE. The significance of pH, scan rate, and impact of concentration was assessed at the sensor. As per the pH and scan rate study, redox routes carry the same number of electrons and protons, and electro-oxidation of ADR was adsorption controlled respectively. The LOD of ADR was found to be 0.499 µM. The DPV data indicate that there is a significant peak divergence among ADR and uric acid (UA) which could make it easier to determine them alone and simultaneously on the sensor. The described method has been employed for the determination of ADR in injection sample. Good recovery values indicate the efficacy and applicability of the sensor in detecting ADR.
Serum levels of IL-4, IL-13 and IL-33 in patients with age-related macular degeneration and myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Gotfredsen Kathrine , Liisborg Charlotte , Skov Vibe , Kjær Lasse , Hasselbalch Hans Carl , Sørensen Torben Lykke 
Published: March 2023

AbstractImmune responses play a key role in the pathogenesis and progression of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Recent studies suggested using MPNs as a “Human Inflammation Model” of drusen development and previous results showed interleukin-4 (IL-4) dysregulation in MPN and AMD. IL-4, IL-13 and IL-33 are all cytokines involved in the type 2 inflammatory response. This study investigated the cytokine levels of IL-4, IL-13 and IL-33 in serum of MPN and AMD patients. This cross-sectional study included 35 patients with MPN with drusen (MPNd) and 27 with MPN and normal retinas (MPNn), 28 patients with intermediate AMD (iAMD) and 29 with neovascular AMD (nAMD). With immunoassays, we quantified and compared levels of IL-4, IL-13 and IL-33 in serum between the groups. The study was conducted at Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark, between July 2018 and November 2020. The serum levels of IL-4 were significantly higher in the MPNd group than in the MPNn group (p = 0.003). In regard to IL-33, the difference between MPNd and MPNn was not significant (p = 0.069), however, when subdivided into subgroups, a significant difference was found between polycythemia vera patients with drusen and those without drusen (p = 0.005). We found no IL-13 difference between the MPNd and MPNn groups. Our data didn’t show any significant IL-4 or IL-13 serum level difference between the MPNd and iAMD groups but in regard to IL-33, data recorded a significant serum level difference between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the MPNn, iAMD and nAMD groups in levels of IL-4, IL-13 and IL-33. These findings suggested that the serum levels of IL-4 and IL-33 might play a role in drusen development in MPN patients. The results might represent the type 2 inflammatory arm of the disease. The findings support the association between chronic inflammation and drusen.
Mesh shrinkage after transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair
Authors: Watanobe Ikuo , Miyano Shozo , Machida Michio , Sugo Hiroyuki 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSynthetic mesh is now used for inguinal hernia repair in most cases. It is well known that the indwelling mesh contracts after placement in the body, regardless of the material. The aim of this study was to develop a method for indirect measurement of the mesh area postoperatively that allows for easy comparison with the condition of the mesh immediately after surgery. X-ray-impermeable tackers were used to fix the mesh, and changes of the indwelling mesh after surgery were measured indirectly using two mesh materials. This study involved 26 patients who underwent inguinal hernia repair with a polypropylene or polyester mesh (13 patients each). Polypropylene showed a stronger tendency to shrink, but there was no significant difference between the materials. For both materials, some patients showed relatively strong shrinkage and others showed relatively weak shrinkage. The group with the strong shrinkage had significantly higher body mass index. The results of the present study showed that mesh surly shrinked over time and there was no adverse effect of mesh shrinkage on the patients outcomes in this population. Mesh would shrink over time regardless of the sort of mesh but it did not affect the patients outcomes.