bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Radiation dosimetry for quality control of silicon wafer using electron beam
Authors: Muhamad Shalina Sheik , Hairaldin Siti Zulaiha , Ahmad Muhd Izham , Mansur Shahrina Akma , Ali Noor Hasni M. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Dosimetry studies using electron beams were performed with energies of up to 3 MeV, 2mA with various trolley speeds on the silicon wafer. The silicon wafer came with diameters of 152.4 and 203.2 mm with a thickness of 0.5 mm. The irradiations were performed by utilising the EPS 3000 Cockcroft-Walton type 3.0 MeV, 90 kwatts electron beam (EB) accelerator. Plastic film dosimeter, cellulose triacetate (CTA) was used as a dosimeter with a UV-vis spectrophotometer as the readout system. The dose setting in this investigation was ~100 kGy for 152.4 mm diameter and ~160 kGy for 203.2 mm diameter, which was based on the requirements of the customer. The acceptable dose value was set (± 10%) for better performance of the silicon wafer. It was important to comply with the international standards protocol for dosimeters in radiation processing dosimetry. The results showed that the dose and temperature decreased with increasing the speed. The optimum dose for both diameter of wafers when irradiate at electron beam current of 2 mA and the voltage of 3 MeV is at speed of 0.89 m/min. Based on these studies, it was found that it is important to control the speed of the trolley as it affects the irradiation conditions (e.g., temperature and dose measurements).
Assessment of elemental in plants acted as pollution biological indicator
Authors: Laili Zalina , Mejus Lakam , Hashim Azian , Diyana Nurul Fairuz , Mustaffa Mohammad Syahiran , Azman Muhammad Azfar , Yaccup Rahman , Mohd Hashim Mohd Muzamil , Omar Siti Aminah , Shukor Shakirah Abd. , Paulus Wilfred 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Direct exposed to sources of heavy metal pollution in the environment have increased the ability of a certain plant to adopt and grown in this kind of environment. Heavy metals concentration in plants grown in the Pasir Gudang industrial area were determined using neutron activation analysis (NAA) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The focus of this paper is to evaluating the potential use of plants in industrial areas as biological indicators to air and soil pollution. Nine plants species were collected based on the plants available at factories in the Pasir Gudang, Johor industrial area. The concentration of Fe, Zn, Co, Cr, As, Mn, Sb, Pb, Ni, Cd, and Cu in all plants were in the range of 0.186 to 482 mg kg-1 (dry weight). The results revealed the significant higher concentration of Al, Fe, Zn dan Mn in all polluted plants. Higher concentrations of Al, Fe and Zn were recorded in leaves of Acacia mangium leaves compared to other plant species. Our findings suggest that Acacia mangium plant is suitable as a tracer plant for a certain heavy metal absorption. More comprehensive monitoring is needed to understand the accumulation of heavy metal in the plant collected in Pasir Gudang Industrial area.
Potential of tropical expansive clays as natural sealing layer in nuclear waste repository system: a preliminary study
Authors: Shah A S N , Zali M A 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The issue of radioactive waste disposal in Malaysia is frequently debated, particularly in terms of human and environmental long-term well-being. The creation of a repository with minimal hazard risk and cost implications is a major environmental concern related to nuclear waste. Expansive clay has distinct characteristics that are readily available in the environment and can serve as a natural barrier (sealing system) against the migration of radioactive and chemical pollutants. In this study, the physico-chemical and microstructural properties of 2 types of tropical soils with dominant clays mineral (vermiculite and montmorillonite) were investigated to better understand the potential of these clays as natural sealing in nuclear waste repository systems. Based on preliminary findings, both types of soil have been classified as alkaline soil (>7) with high swelling capacity (FSI) (>80%) and high consistency (LL>50%; PI>30%). The microstructural study demonstrates that vermiculite clays have a noticeable flaky morphology and a porous structure as compared to montmorillonite, indicating that the soil can absorb more water, hence decreasing its infiltration capability. Pinhole dispersion analysis reveals that montmorillonite clay is more prone to dispersion due to the presence of sodium ions and has a higher erosion potential than vermiculite clay. Future Malaysian stakeholders may employ this research to establish a long-term plan for the management of radioactive waste through the usage of natural resources.
Sintering β-SiC nanopowder using novel microwave-current assisted sintering technique: preliminary study
Authors: Al-Jothery H K M , Albarody T M B , Sultan N M , Mohammed H G , Megat-Yusoff P S M , Almuramady N , AL-Nidawi W J A 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Silicon carbide is a crucial structure material because of its wide applications in different fields, such as electronics. The impurities have negative impact on the homogenous sinterability of nano SiC during the sintering process, especially the silicon dioxide. So, the consolidation of SiC nanopowders was conducted by the microwave-current assisted sintering process. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilised to examine the nanopowders and sintered samples of SiC. The results showed that the smallest average grain sizes of sintered specimens of treated and untreated-SiC nanopowders were 331 and 428 nm, respectively. The relative densities of sintered specimens of treated and untreated-SiC nanopowders were around 97.1% and 93.8%, respectively. In conclusion, the nanostructure of sintered SiC was the benchmark of the microwave-current assisted sintering technique.
High-level RNA editing diversifies the coleoid cephalopod brain proteome
Authors: Voss Gjendine , Rosenthal Joshua J C 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid and cuttlefish) have unusually complex nervous systems. The coleoid nervous system is also the only one currently known to recode the majority of expressed proteins through A-to-I RNA editing. The deamination of adenosine by adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) enzymes produces inosine, which is interpreted as guanosine during translation. If this occurs in an open reading frame, which is the case for tens of thousands of editing sites in coleoids, it can recode the encoded protein. Here, we describe recent findings aimed at deciphering the mechanisms underlying high-level recoding and its adaptive potential. We describe the complement of ADAR enzymes in cephalopods, including a recently discovered novel domain in sqADAR1. We further summarize current evidence supporting an adaptive role of high-level RNA recoding in coleoids, and review recent studies showing that a large proportion of recoding sites is temperature-sensitive. Despite these new findings, the mechanisms governing the high level of RNA recoding in coleoid cephalopods remain poorly understood. Recent advances using genome editing in squid may provide useful tools to further study A-to-I RNA editing in these animals.
MpbPPI: a multi-task pre-training-based equivariant approach for the prediction of the effect of amino acid mutations on protein–protein interactions
Authors: Yue Yang , Li Shu , Wang Lingling , Liu Huanxiang , Tong Henry H Y , He Shan 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The accurate prediction of the effect of amino acid mutations for protein–protein interactions (PPI $\Delta \Delta G$) is a crucial task in protein engineering, as it provides insight into the relevant biological processes underpinning protein binding and provides a basis for further drug discovery. In this study, we propose MpbPPI, a novel multi-task pre-training-based geometric equivariance-preserving framework to predict PPI $\Delta \Delta G$. Pre-training on a strictly screened pre-training dataset is employed to address the scarcity of protein–protein complex structures annotated with PPI $\Delta \Delta G$ values. MpbPPI employs a multi-task pre-training technique, forcing the framework to learn comprehensive backbone and side chain geometric regulations of protein–protein complexes at different scales. After pre-training, MpbPPI can generate high-quality representations capturing the effective geometric characteristics of labeled protein–protein complexes for downstream $\Delta \Delta G$ predictions. MpbPPI serves as a scalable framework supporting different sources of mutant-type (MT) protein–protein complexes for flexible application. Experimental results on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that MpbPPI is a state-of-the-art framework for PPI $\Delta \Delta G$ predictions. The data and source code are available at https://github.com/arantir123/MpbPPI.
The Deep Generative Decoder: MAP estimation of representations improves modelling of single-cell RNA data
Authors: Schuster Viktoria , Krogh Anders 
Published: August 2023

AbstractMotivationLearning low-dimensional representations of single-cell transcriptomics has become instrumental to its downstream analysis. The state of the art is currently represented by neural network models, such as variational autoencoders, which use a variational approximation of the likelihood for inference.ResultsWe here present the Deep Generative Decoder (DGD), a simple generative model that computes model parameters and representations directly via maximum a posteriori estimation. The DGD handles complex parameterized latent distributions naturally unlike variational autoencoders, which typically use a fixed Gaussian distribution, because of the complexity of adding other types. We first show its general functionality on a commonly used benchmark set, Fashion-MNIST. Secondly, we apply the model to multiple single-cell datasets. Here, the DGD learns low-dimensional, meaningful, and well-structured latent representations with sub-clustering beyond the provided labels. The advantages of this approach are its simplicity and its capability to provide representations of much smaller dimensionality than a comparable variational autoencoder.Availability and implementationscDGD is available as a python package at https://github.com/Center-for-Health-Data-Science/scDGD. The remaining code is made available here: https://github.com/Center-for-Health-Data-Science/dgd.
The Assassination Cases of Madan Lal Dhingra, 1909 and Udham Singh, 1940 as Social Drama
Authors: Seal Lizzie , Neale Alexa 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
There were two Indian nationalist assassinations in London in the twentieth century: Sir William Curzon Wyllie by Madan Lal Dhingra in 1909 and Sir Michael O’Dwyer by Udham Singh in 1940. We read these assassinations as social dramas during which shifting meanings of British imperialism were articulated, contested and reinforced. We compare the cases to examine how Dhingra and Singh’s insistence on the iniquity of colonial violence contested dominant narratives of the British Empire as benign. Capital trials offered Dhingra and Singh the chance to state their views on a public stage. The final act of these social dramas was the death penalty, a measure intended to restore order, but which also posed the risk of turning them into martyrs.
Exploring the Lived Experiences of Compassion Fatigue in Parents who Adopt Children with Trauma Histories
Authors: Agius Claire , Eve Zarah , Pearson Rebecca 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The challenges of caring for children with early life adversity have been identified as contributing to feelings of compassion fatigue (CF)—an emotional disconnection resulting from repeated exposure to another’s trauma. Although extensive studies have focused on contributors to trauma-inducing workplace stress and well-being, research on trauma-related stress in the home, especially in adoptive parent populations, is relatively underexplored. This study aimed to understand how adoptive parents make sense of their experiences of parenting adopted children, identify core components of CF, understand parents’ perceptions of contributing factors and explore wider relational impacts. Parents were recruited from Adoption UK via email invite. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve parents to form a holistic picture of adoptive parents’ experiences. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Findings yielded three overarching and interrelated themes: (i) a parent not a therapist; (ii) strained connections; and (iii) support is a mirage. Findings support recent literature highlighting the reality of CF in adoptive parents and the need to develop more preventative structures and responsive systems of support adapted to the needs of adopted children but also the unique needs of their families to help prevent mental health crises across the family and adoption breakdowns.
Comparative effectiveness of sotrovimab and molnupiravir for preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients on kidney replacement therapy: observational study using the OpenSAFELY-UKRR and SRR databases
Authors: Zheng Bang , Campbell Jacqueline , Carr Edward J , Tazare John , Nab Linda , Mahalingasivam Viyaasan , Mehrkar Amir , Santhakumaran Shalini , Steenkamp Retha , Loud Fiona , Lyon Susan , Scanlon Miranda , Hulme William J , Green Amelia C A , Curtis Helen J , Fisher Louis , Parker Edward , Goldacre Ben , Douglas Ian , Evans Stephen , MacKenna Brian , Bell Samira , Tomlinson Laurie A , Nitsch Dorothea ,   OpenSAFELY Collaborative and LH&W NCS (or CONVALESCENCE) Collaborative
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundDue to limited inclusion of patients on kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in clinical trials, the effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therapies in this population remains unclear. We sought to address this by comparing the effectiveness of sotrovimab against molnupiravir, two commonly used treatments for non-hospitalised KRT patients with COVID-19 in the UK.MethodsWith the approval of National Health Service England, we used routine clinical data from 24 million patients in England within the OpenSAFELY-TPP platform linked to the UK Renal Registry (UKRR) to identify patients on KRT. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of sotrovimab versus molnupiravir with regards to COVID-19-related hospitalisations or deaths in the subsequent 28 days. We also conducted a complementary analysis using data from the Scottish Renal Registry (SRR).ResultsAmong the 2367 kidney patients treated with sotrovimab (n = 1852) or molnupiravir (n = 515) between 16 December 2021 and 1 August 2022 in England, 38 cases (1.6%) of COVID-19-related hospitalisations/deaths were observed. Sotrovimab was associated with substantially lower outcome risk than molnupiravir {adjusted HR 0.35 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17–0.71]; P = .004}, with results remaining robust in multiple sensitivity analyses. In the SRR cohort, sotrovimab showed a trend toward lower outcome risk than molnupiravir [HR 0.39 (95% CI 0.13–1.21); P = .106]. In both datasets, sotrovimab had no evidence of an association with other hospitalisation/death compared with molnupiravir (HRs ranged from 0.73 to 1.29; P &gt; .05).ConclusionsIn routine care of non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19 on KRT, sotrovimab was associated with a lower risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes compared with molnupiravir during Omicron waves.
Measurement of urinary exosomal phospholipase A2 receptor is a sensitive method for diagnosis of PLA2R-associated membranous nephropathy
Authors: Wang Bin , Fu Yu-Qi , Xie Li-jun , Cao Jin-Yuan , Yang Min , Li Min , Chen Tian-Lei , Zhang Xiao-Liang , Luo Qian , Lv Lin-Li , Liu Bi-Cheng 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACT

Background
The discovery of phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) and its antibody (aPLA2Rab) has paved the way for diagnosing PLA2R-associated membranous nephropathy (PLA2R-MN) with a high specificity of 98%. However, the sensitivity was only 40% to 83.9%, and there is ongoing discussion around determining the optimal threshold for diagnosis. Recent advancements in the use of exosomes, a novel form of “liquid biopsy,” have shown great promise in identifying markers for various medical conditions.

Methods
Protein mass spectrometry and western blot were applied to verify the existence of PLA2R antigen in the urine exosome. We then evaluated the efficacy of urinary exosomal PLA2R antigen alone or combined with serum aPLA2Rab level to diagnose PLA2R-MN.

Results
The urinary exosomes contained a high abundance of PLA2R antigen as evidenced by protein mass spectrometry and western blot in 85 PLA2R-MN patients vs the disease controls (14 secondary MN patients, 22 non-MN patients and 4 PLA2R-negative MN patients) and 20 healthy controls. Of note, urinary exosomal PLA2R antigen abundance also had a good consistency with the PLA2R antigen level in the renal specimens of PLA2R-MN patients. The sensitivity of urinary exosomal PLA2R for diagnosing PLA2R-MN reached 95.4%, whereas the specificity was 63.3%. Combining detection of the urinary exosomal PLA2R and serum aPLA2Rab could develop a more sensitive diagnostic method for PLA2R-MN, especially for patients with serum aPLA2Rab ranging from 2 to 20 RU/mL.

Conclusions
Measurement of urinary exosomal PLA2R could be a sensitive method for the diagnosis of PLA2R-MN.
Examining the safety and effectiveness of a 4-week supervised exercise intervention in the treatment of frailty in patients with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Lorenz Elizabeth C , Hickson LaTonya J , Hogan Marie C , Kennedy Cassie C 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACT

Background
The optimal duration of antifrailty interventions and how best to deliver them to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the safety, feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 4-week supervised exercise intervention on frailty in patients with CKD.

Methods
We conducted a prospective feasibility study involving patients with ≥stage 3 CKD (1 patient with stage 3 CKD, 7 patients with stage 4 CKD and 17 patients with stage 5 CKD) who were either frail or prefrail according to the physical frailty phenotype and/or had a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score ≤10. The exercise intervention consisted of two supervised outpatient sessions per week for 4 weeks (eight total sessions). Frailty and other study measures were assessed at baseline and after 4 weeks of exercise.

Results
Of the 34 participants who completed the baseline assessment and were included in the analyses, 25 (73.5%) completed the 4-week assessment. Overall, 64.0% of patients were on dialysis and 64.0% had diabetes mellitus. After 4 weeks of exercise, frailty prevalence, total SPPB scores and energy/fatigue scores improved. No adverse study-related outcomes were reported.

Conclusions
The 4 weeks of supervised exercise was safe, was associated with an excellent completion rate and improved frailty parameters in CKD patients with CKD. This study provides important preliminary data for a future larger prospective randomized study.

Clinical Trial.gov
registration: NCT03535584
Linguistic Intervention Strategies Speech-Language Pathologists Use With Children Using Cochlear Implants
Authors: Mieres Daniela , Losilla Josep-Maria , Pérez Encarna , Cambra Cristina 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the strategies that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use during their linguistic interventions on children with cochlear implants (CIs). The sample comprised 7 SLPs in interactions with 62 children, 31 with CIs and 31 with typical hearing (TH), from 5 to 7 years of age. Two linguistic activities were used: conversation and naming. With children with CIs, the SLPs used 3.8 times more adaptation strategies and 5 times more educational strategies in the conversation activity, and 1.4 times more educational strategies in the naming activity than with children with TH. Communication strategies were significantly more frequent in the conversation activity than in the naming activity while educational strategies were more frequent in the naming activity than in the conversation activity. The auditory age of children with CIs also influenced the use of these two types of strategies, increasing the use of communication strategies by 0.6% and decreasing the use of educational strategies by 1.2% for each month of increase in the auditory age. In order to foster linguistic development, the SLPs used a wide variety of strategies with the children with CIs, adjusting them to the activity and the auditory age.
CD56bright natural killer cells preferentially kill proliferating CD4+ T cells
Authors: Lee Mercede , Bell Charles J M , Rubio Garcia Arcadio , Godfrey Leila , Pekalski Marcin , Wicker Linda S , Todd John A , Ferreira Ricardo C 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Human CD56br natural killer (NK) cells represent a small subset of CD56+ NK cells in circulation and are largely tissue-resident. The frequency and number of CD56br NK cells in blood has been shown to increase following administration of low-dose IL-2 (LD-IL2), a therapy aimed to specifically expand CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). Given the potential clinical application of LD-IL-2 immunotherapy across several immune diseases, including the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes, a better understanding of the functional consequences of this expansion is urgently needed. In this study, we developed an in vitro co-culture assay with activated CD4+ T cells to measure NK cell killing efficiency. We show that CD56br and CD56dim NK cells show similar efficiency at killing activated CD4+ conventional T (Tconv) and Treg cell subsets. However, in contrast to CD56dim cells, CD56br NK cells preferentially target highly proliferative cells. We hypothesize that CD56br NK cells have an immunoregulatory role through the elimination of proliferating autoreactive CD4+ Tconv cells that have escaped Treg suppression. These results have implications for the interpretation of current and future trials of LD-IL-2 by providing evidence for a new, possibly beneficial immunomodulatory mechanism of LD-IL-2-expanded CD56br NK cells.