bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Occurrence and concentrations of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in highway stormwater: a comparative field study in Sweden
Authors: Beryani Ali , Flanagan Kelsey , Viklander Maria , Blecken Godecke-Tobias 
Published: May 2023

Abstract This study details the occurrence and concentrations of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in stormwater collected from a highway bridge catchment in Sweden. The prioritized OMPs were bisphenol-A (BPA), eight alkylphenols, sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and four fractions of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs), along with other global parameters, namely, total organic carbon (TOC), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, and conductivity (EC). A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation was applied to estimate the event mean concentrations (EMC) of OMPs based on intra-event subsamples during eight rain events, and analyze the associated uncertainties. Assessing the occurrence of all OMPs in the catchment and comparing the EMC values with corresponding environmental quality standards (EQSs) revealed that BPA, octylphenol (OP), nonylphenol (NP), five carcinogenic and four non-carcinogenic PAHs, and C16-C40 fractions of PHCs can be problematic for freshwater. On the other hand, alkylphenol ethoxylates (OPnEO and NPnEO), six low molecule weight PAHs, and lighter fractions of PHCs (C10-C16) do not occur at levels that are expected to pose an environmental risk. Our data analysis revealed that turbidity has a strong correlation with PAHs, PHCs, and TSS; and TOC and EC highly associated with BPA concentrations. Furthermore, the EMC error analysis showed that high uncertainty in OMP data can influence the final interpretation of EMC values. As such, some of the challenges that were experienced in the presented research yielded suggestions for future monitoring programs to obtain more reliable data acquisition and analysis.
A metabolomic signature of decelerated physiological aging in human plasma
Authors: Janssens Georges E. , Grevendonk Lotte , Schomakers Bauke V. , Perez Ruben Zapata , van Weeghel Michel , Schrauwen Patrick , Hoeks Joris , Houtkooper Riekelt H. 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

The degenerative processes that occur during aging increase the risk of disease and impaired health. Meanwhile, interventions that target aging to promote healthy longevity are gaining interest, both academically and in the public. While nutritional and physical interventions exist, efficacy is often difficult to determine. It is therefore imperative that an aging score measuring the biological aging process is available to the wider public. However, simple, interpret, and accessible biological aging scores are lacking. Here, we developed PhysiAge, a physiological aging score based on five accessible parameters that have influence on or reflect the aging process: (1) average daily step count, (2) blood glucose, (3) systolic blood pressure, (4) sex, and (5) age. Here, we found that compared to calendar age alone, PhysiAge better predicts mortality, as well as established muscle aging markers such as decrease in NAD+ levels, increase in oxidative stress, and decline in physical functioning. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of PhysiAge in identifying relevant factors associated with decelerated aging, we calculated PhysiAges for a cohort of aged individuals and obtained mass spectrometry-based blood plasma metabolomic profiles for each individual. Here, we identified a metabolic signature of decelerated aging, which included components of the TCA cycle, including malate, citrate, and isocitrate. Higher abundance of these metabolites was associated with decelerated aging, in line with supplementation studies in model organisms. PhysiAge represents an accessible way for people to track and intervene in their aging trajectories, and identifies a metabolic signature of decelerated aging in human blood plasma, which can be further studied for its causal involvement in human aging.
Evolution of the Addictovigilance Signal of Zopiclone: A 2014–2020 National Follow-up Study
Authors: Aquizerate Aurélie , Laforgue Edouard-Jules , Istvan Marion , Rousselet Morgane , Gérardin Marie , Jouanjus Emilie , Libert Frédéric ,   French Addictovigilance Network (FAN), Caous Anne-Sylvie , Djezzar Samira , Boucher Alexandra , Daveluy Amélie , Eiden Céline , Fauconneau Bernard , Fournier-Choma Christine , Gibaja Valérie , Lacroix Clémence , Lapeyre-Mestre Maryse , Le Boisselier Reynald , Revol Bruno , Guerlais Marylène , Victorri-Vigneau Caroline 
Published: May 2023

AbstractZopiclone, like zolpidem, is under surveillance in France due to its potential for dependence, abuse and misuse. However, part of the narcotics regulation was implemented in 2017 in France for zolpidem only, which has led to an increase in the number of zopiclone consumers. The objective of this article is to present French addictovigilance data regarding the evolution of the abuse, dependence and misuse profiles of zopiclone. We used the following 3 data sources over two periods: the 3-year period before the regulatory measure regarding zolpidem (2014–2016) and the 3-year period after the regulatory measure (2018–2020): (i) Medic'AM, a public database which provides a good overview of the number of boxes of zopiclone reimbursed in France; (ii) all French cases of drug dependence or abuse reported by health professionals to the French Addictovigilance Network (FAN); and (iii) a national epidemiological tool based on the surveillance of falsified prescriptions. Between the first and the second study periods (i) despite an increase in the exposure of the population to zopiclone, the proportion of reports to the FAN remained stable; (ii) the proportion of misusers increased significantly (p < 0.01), from 27% (n = 31) to 48.3% (n = 72); (iii) the profile of problematic users remained comparable with persistence of markers of problematic use; and (iv) there was a significant increase (p = 0.01) in zopiclone fraud for obtention, from 26.1% (n = 30) to 40.9% (n = 61), which mainly concerned nomadism. Prescribers should remain cautious in providing zopiclone prescriptions.
Coating of Aluminum with High Deposition Rates through Extreme High-Speed Laser Application
Authors: Koß Stephan , Vogt Sabrina , Göbel Marco , Schleifenbaum Johannes Henrich 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIn the past few years, the Extreme High-Speed Laser Application (EHLA) process has been used as a coating technology alongside conventional processes due to its unique process characteristics and as an economical and sustainable alternative to traditional technologies. Compared to other LMD processes, the main energy input is into the powder material instead of into the substrate. This potentiates the achievement of to significantly higher surface and deposition rates as well as the coating of heat-sensitive substrates. Moreover, this increase in resource efficiency leads to a more sustainable and economically attractive process. To reduce component´s weight as well as secondary energy consumption, aluminum has become an essential base material in most industrial sectors. Aluminum is not simple to process its resistance is comparatively small due to its low hardness in relation to widely used steels. The low melting temperature of aluminum (approx. 750 °C) poses a great challenge when coating with, for example, iron-based alloys. Another challenge for laser-based systems is the reflectance of aluminum in the wavelength range of conventional laser beam sources (approx. between 1030 and 1070 nm). Therefore, for conventional laser-based processes, laser beam sources in other wavelength spectra, e.g., green or blue, are being developed to improve the processing of aluminum. Currently, commercially available multi-kW lasers in the visible light spectrum are still below the available power of IR-beam sources. In the context of this study, the feasibility of coating aluminum mase materials using EHLA is investigated. Besides the feasibility, the focus is to determine the maximum achievable surface and deposition rates up to the utilization of the available 8 kW infrared laser powder.
Vorhersage bakterieller Genregulation
Authors: Dudek Christian-Alexander , Overmann Jörg , Jahn Dieter 
Published: May 2023

AbstractTranscriptional regulatory networks are coordinating the lifestyle of all living cells. Understanding regulatory networks is essential to understand how cells react to external stimuli. PRODORIC provides a powerful database and toolbox for the prediction and visualization of regulons in bacteria using transcription factor binding sites based on position weight matrices (PWM).
Pathoproteomik des humanpathogenen Pilzes Aspergillus fumigatus
Authors: Bigalke Arite , Krüger Thomas , Jia Lei-Jie , Kniemeyer Olaf , Brakhage Axel A. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAspergillus fumigatus is a medically important human pathogenic fungus. It can cause various diseases such as serious allergic reactions and life-threatening, invasive infections. Proteome analyses massively contribute to elucidating host-pathogen interactions. Here, we describe challenges to analyze host-pathogen interactions using mass spectrometry-based proetomics; we provide insights into our research findings and current understanding about the role of proteins from both the fungus and human immune cells during infections.
Wie sekundäre Transporter mit substratbindenden Proteinen interagieren
Authors: Peter Martin F. , Ruland Jan A. , Hagelueken Gregor 
Published: May 2023

AbstractTRAP-transporters are widespread in bacteria and archaea and are often responsible for the transport of nutrients or virulence factors in pathogens. They consist of three domains, a substrate-binding protein and two membrane domains. Using cryo-EM, we have determined the structure of the membrane domains, revealing a monomeric elevator architecture. Further studies gave insights into the interaction between the domains of TRAP-transporters and how they can be specifically inhibited by using a VHH antibody.
Deoxynivalenol affects cell metabolism in vivo and inhibits protein synthesis in IPEC-1 cells
Authors: Nossol Constanze , Landgraf Peter , Barta-Böszörmenyi Anikó , Kahlert Stefan , Kluess Jeannette , Isermann Berend , Stork Oliver , Dieterich Daniela C. , Dänicke Sven , Rothkötter H.-J. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractDeoxynivalenol is present in forage crops in concentrations that endanger animal welfare but is also found in cereal-based food. The amphipathic nature of mycotoxins allows them to cross the cell membrane and interacts with different cell organelles such as mitochondria and ribosomes. In our study, we investigated the gene expression of several genes in vivo and in vitro that are related to the metabolism. We observed a significantly higher COX5B and MHCII expression in enterocytes of DON-fed pigs compared to CON-fed pigs and a marked increase in GAPDH and SLC7A11 in DON-fed pigs, but we could not confirm this in vitro in IPEC-1. In vitro, functional metabolic analyses were performed with a seahorse analyzer. A significant increase of non-mitochondrial respiration was observed in all DON-treatment groups (50–2000 ng/mL). The oxygen consumption of cells, which were cultured on membranes, was examined with a fiber-glass electrode. Here, we found significantly lower values for DON 200- and DON 2000-treatment group. The effect on ribosomes was investigated using biorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) to tag newly synthesized proteins. A significantly reduced amount was found in almost all DON-treatment groups. Our findings clearly show that apical and basolateral DON-treatment of epithelial cell layer results in decreasing amounts of newly synthesized proteins. Furthermore, our study shows that DON affects enterocyte metabolism in vivo and in vitro.
Editorial: Religion in the public square. revisiting 9/11
Authors: Schmiedel Ulrich 
Published: May 2023

AbstractStudies on 9/11 could fill a library. In this short introduction, the editor explains the reason for overcoming the hesitation to add more studies to this library by contextualizing and charting the key concerns and the key concepts of the following contributions. These contributions suggest that 9/11 is not necessarily the watershed between a pre- and a post-9/11 order that politicians and pundits continue to write about. Instead, the attacks have served as a catalyst for trends and trajectories in the global governance of religion that continue to have a significant impact today. Returning to 9/11, then, the contributions take stock of these trends and trajectories in order to chart new ways of engaging with religion in the public square.
Isolation and characterization of three pairs of verrucosidin epimers from the marine sediment-derived fungus Penicillium cyclopium and configuration revision of penicyrone A and related analogues
Authors: Li Yan-He , Mándi Attila , Li Hong-Lei , Li Xiao-Ming , Li Xin , Meng Ling-Hong , Yang Sui-Qun , Shi Xiao-Shan , Kurtán Tibor , Wang Bin-Gui 
Published: May 2023

AbstractVerrucosidins, a methylated α-pyrone class of polyketides rarely reported upon, have been implicated in one or more neurological diseases. Despite the significance of verrucosidins as neurotoxins, the absolute configurations of most of the derivatives have not been accurately characterized yet. In this study, three pairs of C-9 epimeric verrucosidin derivatives, including the known compounds penicyrones A and B (1a/1b) and 9-O-methylpenicyrones A and B (2a/2b), the new compounds 9-O-ethylpenicyrones A and B (3a/3b), together with the related known derivative verrucosidin (4), were isolated and identified from the culture extract ofPenicillium cyclopiumSD-413, which was obtained from the marine sediment collected from the East China sea. Their structures were established based on an in-depth analysis of nuclear magnetic resonances (NMR) and mass spectroscopic data. Determination of the absolute configurations of these compounds was accomplished by Mosher’s method and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and optical rotation (OR). The configurational assignment of penicyrone A demonstrated that the previously reported C-6 absolute configuration of verrucosidin derivatives needs to be revised from (6S) to (6R). The 9R/9Sepimers of compounds1–3were found to exhibit growth inhibition against some pathogenic bacteria, indicating that they have potential as lead compounds for the creation of antimicrobial agents.
Real options in health insurance decisions: the Portuguese ADSE system
Authors: Fonseca Raquel J. , Cunha Luísa 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe choice between two different health insurance providers is, more often than not, taken from a static point of view, measuring costs and benefits at a specific point in time, not considering all the relevant changes that may occur in life and in health conditions. Inspired by the new regulations set in place by the exclusive Portuguese civil servant’s insurance scheme designated by ADSE, this study proposes a novel approach based on real options for an individual that needs to choose between a private health insurance and the apparently cheaper option provided by ADSE. Starting from the net present value approach, we subsequently show that, depending on some life changing events that may occur, it would be more beneficial for the individual to either abandon the health system or enter it at a later date. By incorporating the value of these options in the net present value calculation, decisions taken are not only more flexible, but also more realistic.
Stable Barium Isotope Fractionation in Pore Waters of Estuarine Sediments
Authors: Cao Zhimian , Rao Xinting , Li Yating , Hong Qingquan , Wei Lin , Yu Yang , Ehlert Claudia , Liu Bo , Siebert Christopher , Hathorne Ed C. , Zhang Zhouling , Scholz Florian , Kasten Sabine , Frank Martin 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe development of stable barium (Ba) isotope measurements provides a novel tool to investigate the geochemical cycling of Ba in the ocean and its sediments. In sediment pore waters, gradients of dissolved Ba concentrations result from various diagenetic processes. The distribution and fractionation of Ba isotopes in the pore waters are expected to further improve our understanding of these early diagenetic control mechanisms. Here, we present pore water profiles of dissolved stable Ba isotopic signatures (δ138Bapw) from shallow water sediments covering the entire Pearl River Estuary (PRE) in Southern China. We find pronounced depth‐dependent Ba isotope variations generally showing a shift from heavy to light δ138Bapw signatures from the sediment surface down to 15 cm depth. These gradients are well reproduced by a diffusion‐reaction model, which generates an apparent fractionation factor (138ε) of −0.60 ± 0.10‰ pointing to preferential removal of low‐mass Ba isotopes from the pore water during solution‐solid phase interactions. Consequently, the combined diagenetic processes induce the highest δ138Bapw values of +0.5 to +0.7‰ in the pore waters of the topmost sediment layer. Although the detrital fraction dominates the Ba content in the PRE surface sediments, the determined gradients of pore water Ba isotopes, together with concentration variations of Ba and other redox‐sensitive elements such as manganese (Mn), show that non‐detrital excess Ba carriers including Mn oxides and authigenic barite clearly affect the post‐depositional Ba dynamics. Stable Ba isotopes are thus a potentially powerful tracer of Ba geochemistry during early sediment diagenesis in estuarine depositional environments.
C-reactive protein/albumin ratio is the most significant inflammatory marker in unresectable pancreatic cancer treated with FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel
Authors: Shirakawa Tsuyoshi , Makiyama Akitaka , Shimokawa Mototsugu , Otsuka Taiga , Shinohara Yudai , Koga Futa , Ueda Yujiro , Nakazawa Junichi , Otsu Satoshi , Komori Azusa , Arima Shiho , Fukahori Masaru , Taguchi Hiroki , Honda Takuya , Shibuki Taro , Nio Kenta , Ide Yasushi , Ureshino Norio , Mizuta Toshihiko , Mitsugi Kenji , Akashi Koichi , Baba Eishi 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThere are limited absolute biomarkers for determining the prognosis before first- and second-line palliative chemotherapy in unresectable pancreatic cancer (urPC) patients. To find the best prognostic inflammatory marker, we investigated relationships between overall survival (OS) and six inflammatory markers; C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), prognostic nutrition index (PNI), platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), and prognostic index (PI). We examined 255 patients who received gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel or FOLFIRINOX as first-line chemotherapy and 159 patients who subsequently underwent second-line chemotherapy. First-line patients with lower CAR had better OS compared to those with a higher CAR (hazard ratio 0.57; 95% confidential index 0.42–77; P < 0.01). Similarly, lower NLR (P = 0.01), higher PNI (P = 0.04), lower PLR (P = 0.03), GPS score of 0 (P < 0.01) and PI score of 0 (P < 0.01) were all associated with better OS. CAR demonstrated the best superiority for determining survival prognosis through the use of area under the curve of time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic curves. Furthermore, a lower CAR before second-line therapy exhibited better OS versus higher CAR (P < 0.01). Therefore, CAR might be a useful biomarker for predicting urPC patient prognosis in both first- and second-line chemotherapy.
Exploratory preferences explain the human fascination for imaginary worlds in fictional stories
Authors: Dubourg Edgar , Thouzeau Valentin , de Dampierre Charles , Mogoutov Andrei , Baumard Nicolas 
Published: May 2023

AbstractImaginary worlds are present and often central in many of the most culturally successful modern narrative fictions, be it in novels (e.g.,Harry Potter), movies (e.g.,Star Wars), video games (e.g.,The Legend of Zelda), graphic novels (e.g.,One Piece) and TV series (e.g.,Game of Thrones). We propose that imaginary worlds are popular because they activate exploratory preferences that evolved to help us navigate the real world and find new fitness-relevant information. Therefore, we hypothesize that the attraction to imaginary worlds is intrinsically linked to the desire to explore novel environments and that both are influenced by the same underlying factors. Notably, the inter-individual and cross-cultural variability of the preference for imaginary worlds should follow the inter-individual and cross-cultural variability of exploratory preferences (with the personality trait Openness-to-experience, age, sex, and ecological conditions). We test these predictions with both experimental and computational methods. For experimental tests, we run a pre-registered online experiment about movie preferences (N = 230). For computational tests, we leverage two large cultural datasets, namely the Internet Movie Database (N = 9424 movies) and the Movie Personality Dataset (N = 3.5 million participants), and use machine-learning algorithms (i.e., random forest and topic modeling). In all, consistent with how the human preference for spatial exploration adaptively varies, we provide empirical evidence that imaginary worlds appeal more to more explorative people, people higher in Openness-to-experience, younger individuals, males, and individuals living in more affluent environments. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the cultural evolution of narrative fiction and, more broadly, the evolution of human exploratory preferences.
Molecule generation using transformers and policy gradient reinforcement learning
Authors: Mazuz Eyal , Shtar Guy , Shapira Bracha , Rokach Lior 
Published: May 2023

AbstractGenerating novel valid molecules is often a difficult task, because the vast chemical space relies on the intuition of experienced chemists. In recent years, deep learning models have helped accelerate this process. These advanced models can also help identify suitable molecules for disease treatment. In this paper, we propose Taiga, a transformer-based architecture for the generation of molecules with desired properties. Using a two-stage approach, we first treat the problem as a language modeling task of predicting the next token, using SMILES strings. Then, we use reinforcement learning to optimize molecular properties such as QED. This approach allows our model to learn the underlying rules of chemistry and more easily optimize for molecules with desired properties. Our evaluation of Taiga, which was performed with multiple datasets and tasks, shows that Taiga is comparable to, or even outperforms, state-of-the-art baselines for molecule optimization, with improvements in the QED ranging from 2 to over 20 percent. The improvement was demonstrated both on datasets containing lead molecules and random molecules. We also show that with its two stages, Taiga is capable of generating molecules with higher biological property scores than the same model without reinforcement learning.