bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of Weibull parameters on the estimation of wind energy potential
Authors: Aziz Abdoul , Tsuanyo David , Nsouandele Jl , Mamate Inouss , Mouangue Ruben , Elé Abiama Patrice 
Published: March 2023

AbstractWind potential estimation is generally evaluated using two-parameter (k, c) Weibull distribution. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Coefficient of Determination (R2) and Relative Error (RE) are computed in order to comparatively analyse fourteen methods of determining Weibull parameters. They are the Graphical Method, the Standard Deviation Method, the Empirical Method of Justus, the Empirical Method of Lysen, the Energy Pattern Factor Method, the Maximum Likelihood Method, the Modified Maximum Likelihood Method, the Alternative Maximum Likelihood Method, the Least Square Method, the Weighted Least squares Method, the Curve Fitting Method, the Wind Variability Method, the Moroccan Method and the Median and Quartile Method. These methods have been applied on three different windy sites (slightly, moderately and very windy sites) with hourly wind data over a period of 10 years (2005–2014), measured at 10 m height. As a result, compared to the other methods, Energy Pattern Factor method is the more suitable method applicable to assess the Weibull parameters for all wind speeds. However, the values obtained from RMSE, R2 and RE tests revealed that the WVM and MoroM methods are not suitable while all other methods are acceptable for the estimation of k and c. parameters. The determination of the wind power density and the gap between the predicted standard deviation by each method and the measured standard deviation for all the sites highlighted the relevance of EPFM method and the others methods. Moreover, this work reveals that the Weibull shape factor k decrease with height above ground level, while that of the scale factor c increase with height.
Efficacy of a native entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (isolate Z-1) against potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Turkey
Authors: Barış Aydemir , Yağcı Mürşide , Çimen Harun , Yücel Cenk 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBackgroundPotato tuber worm (PTM) [Phthorimaea operculella(Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)] is one of the most significant and widespread pests of potato. PTM damages potatoes both in the field and in potato storage areas. Control of the pest is getting harder as it is developing resistance to pesticides. Several entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species have been reported to successfully control numerous agricultural pests worldwide. The main aim of the study was to isolate native nematode/s as a biological control agent againstP. operculella. Morphometric measurements of the infective juvenile (IJ) and sequencing and characterization of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was used to identify the nematode isolate to species level. The efficacy of EPN isolate Z-1 obtained from Zonguldak province, Turkey was tested against different life stages of the pest. Experiments were conducted in 150 ml plastic pots containing sterile soil mixture. Four EPN concentrations (i.e., 0, 250, 500 and 1000 IJs/ml) were applied to the soil. Data relating to the mortality of different life stages were collected daily till 6 days after inoculation.ResultsMolecular analyses based on the ITS sequence and morphometric data revealed that isolate Z-1 wasHeterorhabditis bacteriophora. Mortality rates of PTM larvae exposed to 250, 500, and 1000 IJs/ml concentrations of native EPN were 62.9 ± 9.8, 74.0 ± 3.7, and 92.5 ± 3.7%, respectively. There were non-significant differences among tested EPN concentrations for pupal mortality and the highest concentration (i.e., 1000 IJs/ml) caused 25.6% mortality.ConclusionsThe results revealed that the nativeH. bacteriophoraisolate was effective against late-stage larvae of PTM under laboratory conditions. Therefore, it can be used as an alternative management option of the pest.
Construction and validation of a multi-epitope in silico vaccine model for lymphatic filariasis by targeting Brugia malayi: a reverse vaccinology approach
Authors: Madanagopal Premnath , Muthusamy Sathya , Pradhan Satya Narayan , Prince Prabhu Rajaiah 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
Lymphatic filariasis (LF), often referred to as elephantiasis, has been identified as one of the 17 neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization. Currently, there are no vaccines available to treat this infection in humans. Therefore, with the objective of devising a novel preventive measure, we exploited an immunoinformatics approach to design a multi-epitope-based subunit vaccine for LF, that can elicit a variety of immune responses within the host.
In this study, different B cell, TC cell, and TH cell-binding epitopes were screened from the antigenic proteins of Brugia malayi and they were passed through several immunological filters to determine the optimal epitopes.

Results
As a result, 15 CD8+, 3 CD4+, and 3 B cell epitopes were found to be prominent, antigenic, non-toxic, immunogenic and non-allergenic. The presence of conformational B cell epitopes and cytokine-inducing epitopes confirmed the humoral and cell-mediated immune response that would be triggered by the constructed vaccine model.
Following that, the selected epitopes and TLR-4-specific adjuvant were ligated by appropriate peptide linkers to finalize the vaccine construct. Protein–protein docking of the vaccine structure with the TLR4 receptor predicted strong binding affinity and hence putatively confirms its ability to elicit an immune response. Further, the efficiency of the vaccine candidate to provide a long-lasting protective immunity was assessed by in silico immune simulation. The reverse translated vaccine sequence was also virtually cloned in the pET28a (+) plasmid after the optimization of the gene sequence.

Conclusion
So taken together, by monitoring the overall in silico assessment, we hypothesize that our engineered peptide vaccine could be a viable prophylactic approach in the development of vaccines against the threat of human lymphatic filariasis.

Graphical Abstract
Cardioprotective effects of deferoxamine in acute and subacute cardiotoxicities of doxorubicin: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Rahimi Kosar , Amoozgar Hamid , Zareifar Soheila , Shahriari Mahdi , Zekavat Omid Reza , Karimi Mehran , Fathpour Gholamreza , Saleh Fazl , Shakibazad Nader , Bordbar Shayan , Bordbar Mohammadreza 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
Cardiotoxicity is a major concern following doxorubicin (DOX) use in the treatment of malignancies. We aimed to investigate whether deferoxamine (DFO) can prevent acute cardiotoxicity in children with cancer who were treated with DOX as part of their chemotherapy.

Results
Sixty-two newly-diagnosed pediatric cancer patients aged 2–18 years with DOX as part of their treatment regimens were assigned to three groups: group 1 (no intervention, n = 21), group II (Deferoxamine (DFO) 10 times DOX dose, n = 20), and group III (DFO 50 mg/kg, n = 21). Patients in the intervention groups were pretreated with DFO 8-h intravenous infusion in each chemotherapy course during and after completion of DOX infusion. Conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography, serum concentrations of human brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were checked after the last course of chemotherapy.
Sixty patients were analyzed. The level of cTnI was < 0.01 in all patients. Serum BNP was significantly lower in group 3 compared to control subjects (P = 0.036). No significant differences were observed in the parameters of Doppler echocardiography. Significant lower values of tissue Doppler late diastolic velocity at the lateral annulus of the tricuspid valve were noticed in group 3 in comparison with controls. By using Pearson analysis, tissue Doppler systolic velocity of the septum showed a marginally significant negative correlation with DOX dose (P = 0.05, r = − 0.308). No adverse effect was reported in the intervention groups.

Conclusions
High-dose DFO (50 mg/kg) may serve as a promising cardioprotective agent at least at the molecular level in cancer patients treated with DOX. Further multicenter trials with longer follow-ups are needed to investigate its protective role in delayed DOX-induced cardiac damage.
Trial registration IRCT, IRCT2016080615666N5. Registered 6 September 2016, http://www.irct.ir/IRCT2016080615666N5.
Psychiatric patients: who brings them? And why?
Authors: Zarghami Mehran , Roshan Narjes Rezaee , Taheri Amirmasoud 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
The characteristics of people admitted to psychiatric wards act as one of the indicators of the performance of the service system as a whole. The characteristics of these people and how they are referred to psychiatric hospitals vary in different communities. The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with mental disorders who were referred to Zare Hospital in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province in the north of Iran, in 2020, based on their referral sources in order to better provide a health care system.

Results
The mean age of patients (male = 827, female = 293) was 38.25 ± 11.88. 84.2% were referred by family, 12.7% by judicial authorities, 1.7% by police, 0.9% by themselves, and 0.5% by other sources. The most common cause of referrals in all cases was aggression, and the most common diagnosis class was psychotic disorders with the highest frequency in the family referral group. About 21% of patients had methamphetamine abuse, of which about 20% were referred by the court and police.

Conclusions
The high prevalence of aggression and substance abuse raises the need to set up special services for such patients with the cooperation of mental health professionals, judicial authorities, and the police.
Molecular and Clinical Spectrum of Primary Hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Jha Smita , Simonds William F 
Published: March 2023

AbstractRecent data suggest an increase in the overall incidence of parathyroid disorders, with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) being the most prevalent parathyroid disorder. PHPT is associated with morbidities (fractures, kidney stones, chronic kidney disease) and increased risk of death. The symptoms of PHPT can be nonspecific, potentially delaying the diagnosis. Approximately 15% of patients with PHPT have an underlying heritable form of PHPT that may be associated with extraparathyroidal manifestations, requiring active surveillance for these manifestations as seen in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and 2A. Genetic testing for heritable forms should be offered to patients with multiglandular disease, recurrent PHPT, young onset PHPT (age ≤40 years), and those with a family history of parathyroid tumors. However, the underlying genetic cause for the majority of patients with heritable forms of PHPT remains unknown. Distinction between sporadic and heritable forms of PHPT is useful in surgical planning for parathyroidectomy and has implications for the family. The genes currently known to be associated with heritable forms of PHPT account for approximately half of sporadic parathyroid tumors. But the genetic cause in approximately half of the sporadic parathyroid tumors remains unknown. Furthermore, there is no systemic therapy for parathyroid carcinoma, a rare but potentially fatal cause of PHPT. Improved understanding of the molecular characteristics of parathyroid tumors will allow us to identify biomarkers for diagnosis and novel targets for therapy.
A comparative evaluation of micro shear bond strength and microleakage between the resin-modified glass ionomer cement and residual dentin following excavation of carious dentin using Carie CareTM and conventional caries removal in primary teeth: an in vitro study
Authors: Nair Megha , Rao Arathi , Kukkila Jayaprakash , Natarajan Srikant , Baranya Srikrishna Suprabha 
Published: March 2023

Background: The bond between the dentin and restorative material contributes to the success of the restoration. Structural changes associated with prepared dentin may influence the bonding of restorative materials. The present study evaluates the bond between the resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) and residual dentin following excavation of carious dentin using Carie CareTM and conventional caries removal in primary teeth. Methods: 52 primary teeth with dentinal caries were randomly grouped into group I, where caries removal was done using the conventional method, and group II which used Carie CareTM. All the teeth were restored using RMGIC. Micro shear bond strength between the residual dentin and the cement was tested using universal testing machine and the dye penetration method was used for microleakage testing. Independent t-test was performed for intergroup comparison. Pearson chi-square test was carried out to evaluate the microleakage patterns in the enamel and dentin. Results: The mean micro-shear bond strength of group I was 6.03±1.6 and that of group II was 8.54±2.92; this difference was statistically significant with a p-value of 0.012. Microleakage was higher in the test group (1.38±0.51) than the control group (0.77±0.6) and was significant with a p-value of .036. Conclusions: Papain-based chemomechanical agent Carie CareTM can be used as an alternative method to conventional caries removal. However, further studies need to explore methods to improve the marginal sealing capacity of RMGIC to the residual dentin after chemomechanical caries removal.
Essential oil of Cymbopogon martini, source of geraniol, as a potential antibacterial agent against Bacillus subtilis, a pathogen of the bakery industry
Authors: Santamarta Sara , Aldavero A. Cristina , Rojo M Angeles 
Published: March 2023

Background: Bacteria can adhere and grow on any surface due to their chemical and physical interaction, leading to the development of biofilms. Essential oils have a great potential for use in the food industry, as they can effectively prevent the presence of some pathogenic microorganisms. Species such as those in the Bacillus genus have the ability to produce toxins. Some strains of Bacillus subtilis have been related to cases of food‐borne diseases. In the bakery industry, B. subtilis also has been related to “rope” disease, linked to bread preservation processes. Methods: The aim of the study was to analyse the antibacterial properties of 24 chemotyped essential oils against the growth of B. subtilis. The biological activity study was carried out using disk diffusion in agar and broth dilution methods. Results: The essential oil of Cymbopogon martinii var. motia had a high geraniol content (>80.53%) and showed a high antimicrobial effect against the Gram-positive bacterium B. subtilis. Binary combinations of Cymbopogon martinii var. motia oil with Eugenia caryophyllus showed antagonistic effects on B. subtilis. Conclusions: The essential oil of Cymbopogon martinii var. motia has an interesting potential use in the bakery industry as a preservative, in applications such as nano encapsulation for bakery doughs, active packaging of baked products, or surface disinfectants.
Decreased hippocampal microglial cell activation by methanolic extract from the leaves of Mallotus oppositifolius (Geiseler) Müll. Arg contributes to its antidepressant-like effect
Authors: Kukuia Kennedy Kwami Edem , Takyi Ferka Yaw , Dugbartey George Johnson , Amoateng Patrick , Kudzi William , Amponsah Seth Kwabena , Koomson Awo Efua , Appiah Frimpong , Adi-Dako Ofosua , Ameyaw Elvis Ofori , Adutwum-Ofosu Kevin Kofi 
Published: March 2023

Background: Natural remedies with neuroprotective effect are useful in neuroinflammation-associated depression. Although Mallotus oppositifolius extract (MOE) has previously demonstrated antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties, its neuroprotective effect remains unknown. Thus, the study evaluated the effect of MOE on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation-associated depression in mice. Methods: Antidepressant-like effect of MOE (10 - 100 mg/kg), fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) and minocycline (50 mg/kg) was established in naïve Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice using the forced swim (FST), tail suspension (TST) and open-space swim (OSST) tests. In a separate experiment, FST and TST were used to assess the effect of an 11-day pre-treatment with MOE (10 - 100 mg/kg) or minocycline (50 mg/kg) on LPS (1 mg/kg) neuroinflammation at 6 and 24 hours post LPS. Following these tests, mice were sacrificed and their hippocampi isolated to evaluate their resting and activated microglial cells using Golgi-Cox staining technique. Open-field test was used to assess locomotor activity. Results: MOE, fluoxetine and minocycline significantly reduced immobility in FST, TST and OSST compared to vehicle (p < 0.05), confirming their antidepressant-like effect. Interestingly, MOE’s antidepressant-like effect was faster than fluoxetine and minocycline. Conversely, LPS treatment increased immobility behavior at 6 and 24 hours, suggestive of neuroinflammation-induced depression. Compared to vehicle group, pre-treatment with MOE and minocycline ameliorated LPS-induced hippocampal microglial activation and reversed increased immobility behavior without affecting locomotor activity (p < 0.05). Resting microglial cell count was significantly increased by MOE pre-treatment in the OSST-challenged mice compared to vehicle group (p < 0.01). Similarly, MOE pre-treatment reversed LPS-induced reduction in resting microglial count, and restored resting microglial count to normal levels compared to LPS naive vehicle group. Conclusions: Collectively, the results suggest that MOE exerts neuroprotective effect against LPS-induced neuroinflammation by decreasing the activation of microglia and increasing resting microglial count. This contributes to its antidepressant-like effect.
Trust and Reciprocity in Firms’ Capacity Sharing
Authors: Hu Xing , Caldentey René 
Published: March 2023

Problem definition: We study the use of nonmonetary incentives based on reciprocity to facilitate capacity sharing between two service providers that have limited and substitutable service capacity. Academic/practical relevance: We propose a parsimonious game theory framework, in which two firms dynamically choose whether to accept each other’s customers without the capability to perfectly monitor each other’s capacity utilization state. Methodology: We solve the continuous-time imperfect-monitoring game by focusing on a class of public strategy, in which firms’ real-time capacity-sharing decision depends on an intuitive and easy-to-implement accounting device, namely the current net number of transferred customers. We refer to such an equilibrium as a trading-favors equilibrium. We characterize the condition in which capacity sharing takes place in such an equilibrium. Results: We find that some degree of efficiency loss (as compared with a central planner’s solution) is necessary to induce reciprocity. The efficiency loss is small when the two firms have similar traffic intensity even if they are different in service-capacity scale, whereas the efficiency loss can be considerably large when the two firms have significantly different traffic intensities. The trading-favors mechanism, surprisingly, can outperform the perfect-monitoring benchmark when the two firms exhibit high asymmetry in terms of service-capacity scale or traffic intensity because the smaller firm tends to deviate from collaboration. Managerial implications: Firms should consider engaging in nonmonetary reciprocal capacity sharing if regulations, transaction costs, or other market and operational frictions make it difficult to use a capacity-sharing contract based on monetary payments. The trading-favors collaboration can improve the firms’ payoff close to the centralized upper bound when the firms have similar traffic intensities. However, when their traffic intensities are highly different, firms are better off with a monetary-payment contract to induce more capacity sharing and are worse off investing in increasing their visibility to each other’s real-time available capacity, namely investing in perfect monitoring. Funding: X. Hu thanks Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Hong Kong and R. Caldentey thanks the University of Chicago Booth School of Business for financial support. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2023.1203 .
The Impact of Healthcare Delivery Complexity on Practices for Clinical Quality Improvement: A Case of Healthcare Workers’ Hand Hygiene Compliance
Authors: Chen Wenlin , Tseng Chung-Li , Tseng Cynthia 
Published: March 2023

Healthcare providers often implement quality improvement (QI) practices to improve clinical quality, which may be measured as the extent to which healthcare workers (HCWs) comply with standardized procedures designed for ensuring patient safety. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of QI practices to improve clinical quality varies from facility to facility because of healthcare delivery complexity. In this paper, we consider the contextual complexity and the provider complexity arising from healthcare delivery processes, and we propose an exploratory study based on discrete choice experiments to examine their roles in the relationship between QI practices and clinical quality. By collecting and analyzing data from 320 HCWs at a university hospital in Taiwan, we found that healthcare delivery complexity significantly moderated the effectiveness of QI practices and how they improved clinical quality. We found that the contextual complexity influenced the level of effectiveness of the QI practices, whereas the provider complexity influenced whether a QI practice may be effective or not. We also studied the effect of implementing multiple QI practices simultaneously to counter the provider complexity. We found that implementing more QI practices does not necessarily lead to better outcomes, but implementing the right ones would. Our findings provide healthcare facilities with ex ante insights for designing QI practices to improve clinical quality. Funding: W. Chen was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71902017], and C.-L. Tseng was supported by the University of New South Wales UNOVA Knowledge Hub. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/serv.2023.0323 .