bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of ionic strength on the interaction of AuNPs with calf spleen DNA
Authors: Rageh Monira M. , Gaber M. H. , Mostafa Samar M. 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are well-known biomedical and biotechnological applications because of their interesting properties. They easily cross the cell membranes and interact with intracellular materials. This study was designed to investigate the interaction of calf spleen DNA with AuNPs at a molar ratio of 2:1 in an aqueous solution with different ionic strengths (10, 50, and 100%). AuNPs and AuNPs/DNA complex were characterized by different techniques such as UV/Vis spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform IR spectrophotometry. The results revealed that the maximum absorption (λmax) of AuNPs synthesis was observed at 520 nm, and the average particle size was about 13 nm. In addition to a negative zeta potential (− 37 mV), the interaction of AuNPs with DNA was confirmed by melting point and TEM. The melting point that reflects the DNA became unstable in the presence of AuNPs, and the melting temperature decreased by about 3–5 °C with different ionic strength. Additionally, the TEM image of AuNPs/DNA complex obviously illustrated the location of AuNPs on the DNA groove. Finally, these results clearly indicate the attachment of AuNPs with DNA.
Investigating the properties of tin-oxide thin film developed by sputtering process for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Onyeagba Chijioke Raphael , Islam Majedul , Yarlagadda Prasad K. D. V. , Tesfamichael Tuquabo 
Published: December 2022

AbstractTin oxide (SnO2) nano-crystalline thin films were deposited on silicon and glass substrates at room temperature by sputtering at a constant power of 30 W and different working pressure of 10, 7, and 5 mTorr. Surface morphology, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated to optimise the deposition condition of the films as electron transport layer (ETL) for high-power conversion efficiency perovskite solar cells. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis–NIR Spectrophotometer, and Four-point probe. SnO2 films obtained at working pressure of 10 mTorr exhibited uniform surface morphology with high light transmittance (90%) and conductivity (4 S/m). These sputtered SnO2 films appeared to have shown promising properties as ETL for PSC, and further investigation is justified to establish the optimal fabrication parameters and resulting energy conversion efficiency.
Modeling of groundwater quality index by using artificial intelligence algorithms in northern Khartoum State, Sudan
Authors: Mohammed Musaab A. A. , Khleel Nasraldeen A. A. , Szabó Norbert P. , Szűcs Péter 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn the present study, multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network and support vector regression (SVR) models were developed to assess the suitability of groundwater for drinking purposes in the northern Khartoum area, Sudan. The groundwater quality was evaluated by predicting the groundwater quality index (GWQI). GWQI is a statistical model that uses sub-indices and accumulation functions to reduce the dimensionality of groundwater quality data. In the first stage, GWQI was calculated using 11 physiochemical parameters collected from 20 groundwater wells. These parameters include pH, EC, TDS, TH, Cl−, SO4−2, NO3−, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, and HCO3−. The primary investigation confirmed that all parameters except for EC and NO3− are beyond the standard limits of the World Health Organization (WHO). The measured GWQI ranged from 21 to 396. As a result, groundwater samples were classified into three classes. The majority of the samples, roughly 75%, projected into the excellent water category; 20% were considered good water and 5% were classified as unsuitable. GWQI models are powerful tools in groundwater quality assessment; however, the computation is lengthy, time-consuming, and often associated with calculation errors. To overcome these limitations, this study applied artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to develop a reliable model for the prediction of GWQI by employing MLP neural network and SVR models. In this stage, the input data were the detected physiochemical parameters, and the output was the computed GWQI. The dataset was divided into two groups with a ratio of 80% to 20% for models training and validation. The predicted (AI) and actual (calculated GWQI) models were compared using four statistical criteria, namely, mean square error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2). Based on the obtained values of the performance measures, the results revealed the robustness and efficiency of MLP and SVR models in modeling GWQI. Consequently, groundwater quality in the north Khartoum area is evaluated as suitable for human consumption except for BH 18, where highly mineralized water is observed. The developed approach is advantageous in groundwater quality evaluation and is recommended to be incorporated in groundwater quality modeling.
There is an elephant in the room: towards a critique on the use of fairness in biometrics
Authors: Valdivia Ana , Serrajòrdia Júlia Corbera , Swianiewicz Aneta 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe proliferation of biometric systems in our societies is shaping public debates around its political, social and ethical implications. Yet, whilst concerns towards the racialised use of this technology have been on the rise, the field of biometrics remains unperturbed by these debates. Despite the lack of critical analysis, algorithmic fairness has recently been adopted by biometrics. Different studies have been published to understand and mitigate demographic bias in biometric systems, without analysing the political consequences. In this paper, we offer a critical reading of recent debates about biometric fairness and show its detachment from political debates. Building on previous fairness demonstrations, we prove that biometrics will be always biased. Yet, we claim algorithmic fairness cannot distribute justice in scenarios which are broken or whose intended purpose is to discriminate. By focusing on demographic biases rather than examine how these systems reproduce historical and political injustices, fairness has overshadowed the elephant in the room of biometrics.
DEI co-mentoring circles for clinical research professionals: A pilot project and toolkit
Authors: Kolb H. Robert , Pineda Tiffany Danielle , Sow Angela , Hinton Michael , Noguera Martin , Ramirez-Hiller Tatiana , McCaslin Gailine , Jones Carolynn Thomas 
Published: December 2022

Abstract

Background:
There have been a number of federal policies and guidance’s impacting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI) in clinical research. While these are needed, they have not diminished the gaps related to clinical trial recruitment, research professional’s capacity for cultural competence, and clinical research professional role development. Mentoring and co-mentoring circles have traditionally been used in Medicine, but until now had not been used for workforce development of clinical research professionals (CRPs).

Materials/Methods:
We designed a six-session, monthly co-mentoring circle to take place at two academic medical centers to pilot an interinstitutional co-mentoring circle centered on storytelling videos of Black Voices in Clinical Research. This provided a DEI framework for discussions on role experiences, cultural competence, and role progression.

Results:
Seven CRPs completed the DRC pilot. The participants positively evaluated the experience and made recommendations for future iterations. Discussion: Co-mentoring circles can be useful tools to connect CRPs across complex research medical centers and provide support that may have a positive impact on role satisfaction and retention.

Conclusion:
This framework for developing co-mentoring circles can serve as a toolkit for future CRP co-mentoring circles within and across institutions for workforce development. The Black Voices in Clinical Research storytelling videos provide a rich foundation for future discussion on DEI issues for CRPs and collaborating with participants.
Local limit theorem for a Markov additive process on with a null recurrent internal Markov chain
Authors: de Loynes Basile 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn the classical framework, a random walk on a group is a Markov chain with independent and identically distributed increments. In some sense, random walks are time and space homogeneous. This paper is devoted to a class of inhomogeneous random walks on
$\mathbb{Z}^d$
termed ‘Markov additive processes’ (also known as Markov random walks, random walks with internal degrees of freedom, or semi-Markov processes). In this model, the increments of the walk are still independent but their distributions are dictated by a Markov chain, termed the internal Markov chain. While this model is largely studied in the literature, most of the results involve internal Markov chains whose operator is quasi-compact. This paper extends two results for more general internal operators: a local limit theorem and a sufficient criterion for their transience. These results are thereafter applied to a new family of models of drifted random walks on the lattice
$\mathbb{Z}^d$
.
SELF-EMBEDDINGS OF MODELS OF ARITHMETIC; FIXED POINTS, SMALL SUBMODELS, AND EXTENDABILITY
Authors: BAHRAMI SAEIDEH 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn this paper we will show that for every cut I of any countable nonstandard model
$\mathcal {M}$
of
$\mathrm {I}\Sigma _{1}$
, each I-small
$\Sigma _{1}$
-elementary submodel of
$\mathcal {M}$
is of the form of the set of fixed points of some proper initial self-embedding of
$\mathcal {M}$
iff I is a strong cut of
$\mathcal {M}$
. Especially, this feature will provide us with some equivalent conditions with the strongness of the standard cut in a given countable model
$\mathcal {M}$
of
$ \mathrm {I}\Sigma _{1} $
. In addition, we will find some criteria for extendability of initial self-embeddings of countable nonstandard models of
$ \mathrm {I}\Sigma _{1} $
to larger models.
Stratifying seamanship: sailors’ knowledge and the mechanical arts in eighteenth-century Britain
Authors: Jones Elin 
Published: December 2022

AbstractA new genre of treatises on practical seamanship emerged in eighteenth-century Britain. Authored by a group of seamen with decades of experience on the lower deck of merchant and naval vessels, these texts represented the ship as a machine, and seamanship as a form of mechanical experiment which could only be carried out by deep-sea sailors. However, as this article finds, this group of sailor–authors had only a brief moment of authoritative legitimacy before their ideas were repackaged and promoted by land-bound authors and naval officers, and the progenitors of the ‘science of seamanship’ were deemed unfit participants in its ongoing practice. This article explores this brief moment, taking seriously the ideas and influences of the maritime milieu which spawned it, and arguing that the codification and circulation of ‘useful knowledge’ in eighteenth-century Britain often hardened social hierarchies. Examining seamanship forces us to question the progressivist linear trajectory of an increasingly open scientific culture during this period, and to focus instead on a repeating pattern in which the working knowledge of labourers and artisans was appropriated and its original practitioners denigrated.
Field arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation increased plant performance without phosphorus fertilizer supply of four promoted upland rice varieties in Madagascar
Authors: Rakotoarivelo Njaramanana Naliharilala Miora , Rahetlah Volatsara Baholy , Trap Jean , Autfray Patrice 
Published: December 2022

Summary
In Madagascar, upland rice cropping is constrained by soil acidity and low phosphorus (P) bioavailability. Given their role in plant P nutrition, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may improve crop yield in nutrient-poor tropical soils. In the Vakinankaratra region, a field experiment was conducted at 908 m asl on an acidic Ferralsol during the 2019–2020 growing season. The aim was to test the ability of four promoted rice varieties to respond to AMF seed-coating inoculation with a commercial strain of Rhizophagus irregularis in the absence or presence of P fertilizer (20 kg ha−1 of P2O5) under no expected nitrogen (N) limitation. In absence of P fertilization, both at tillering and at maturity and irrespective of the rice varieties, AMF inoculation significantly improved plant performance and finally grain yield, grain N, and grain P amounts by an average of 28%, 30%, and 39%, respectively. In contrast, when P fertilizer was supplied, no significant effect of AMF inoculation was observed. Rice growth variables were significantly higher with the application of P fertilizer than with AMF inoculation both at tillering and at maturity. P fertilizer without inoculation provided an average grain yield improvement of 85%. At tillering, mycorrhizal parameters for root colonization assessment were not positively linked with rice growth variables suggesting an early effect of AMF inoculation. We concluded that, with no P fertilization, AMF seed coating inoculation at the field scale significantly improved upland rice plant performance in a limited soil P environment. Our rice genetic variability did not interfere significantly both with mycorrhizal parameters and crop AMF inoculation benefits.
A giant dromaeosaurid theropod from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan and the status of Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis
Authors: Sues Hans-Dieter , Averianov Alexander , Britt Brooks B. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan has yielded many isolated bones and teeth representing a variety of non-avian theropod dinosaurs. A pedal phalanx II-2 indicates the presence of a dromaeosaurid theropod that attained a larger body size than any previously known member of that clade. The same formation also yielded a large maxillary fragment that has recently been described as a neovenatorid carcharodontosaurian (Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis). However, this specimen lacks unambiguously diagnostic features of that clade, and its purported carcharodontosaurian characters are either taphonomic artefacts or also shared by dromaeosaurids. Thus, the phylogenetic relationships of Uleghbegsaurus uzbekistanensis remain uncertain. A giant dromaeosaurid occurred together with the medium-sized tyrannosauroid Timurlengia euotica in the Bissekty assemblage.
Immunosuppression, infection, and epidermal compromise: an aetiological triad for necrotising otitis externa that highlights potential modifiable risk factors
Authors: Bisbinas V , Stapleton E 
Published: December 2022

AbstractObjectiveA key clinical feature of necrotising otitis externa is granulation tissue arising from the ear canal, representing epidermal compromise. The aim of this work was to explore the role of epidermal compromise in the aetiology of necrotising otitis externa.MethodA structured risk factor history was taken from 54 patients diagnosed with necrotising otitis externa between 2017 and 2022. Primary care records were also reviewed.ResultsA total of 94 per cent of patients reported incidents of potential epidermal compromise preceding severe pain onset, including a 35 per cent incidence of ear syringing. A total of 94 per cent of patients were immunosuppressed, including 78 per cent with diabetes. All patients had medical co-morbidities.ConclusionThis study proposed an aetiological triad for necrotising otitis externa: immunosuppression, infection and epidermal compromise. Epidermal compromise is a potentially modifiable risk factor for necrotising otitis externa. Meticulous primary ear care for older adult, diabetic and immunosuppressed patients is recommended. These populations should never undergo ear syringing and should avoid ear canal trauma and prolonged exposure to moisture.
Vote Aquí Hoy: The 1975 Extension of the Voting Rights Act and the Creation of Language Minorities
Authors: LOZANO ROSINA 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe year 1975 marked a watershed year for Spanish-surnamed people in the United States and their relationship with the federal government. In that year Congress extended the Voting Rights Act to include a “language minority” category, requiring federal election officials to translate election materials under certain conditions. By validating language rights for language minorities, Congress expanded federal voting protections far beyond African Americans. Advocates for Spanish speakers took up the cause before Congress, which created a new federally protected category based on the long history of discrimination in education and society they collected in testimonies. These language protections catered largely to Spanish speakers, though the category also included Alaska Natives, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. The process of gaining a separate language minority status is explored in this article, which explains how Congress chose to create a law that included Spanish speakers by name.
Global Evaluation of Runoff Simulation From Climate, Hydrological and Land Surface Models
Authors: Hou Ying , Guo Hui , Yang Yuting , Liu Wenbin 
Published: December 2022

AbstractRecent advances in global hydrological modeling yield many global runoff data sets that are extensively used in global hydrological analyses. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of simulated runoff from 21 global models, including 12 climate models from CMIP6, six global hydrological models from the Inter‐Sectoral Impact Model Inter‐Comparison Project (ISMIP2a) and three land surface models from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), against observed streamflow in 840 unimpaired catchments globally. Our results show that (a) no model performs consistently better in estimating runoff from all aspects, and all models tend to perform better in more humid regions and non‐cold areas; (b) the interannual runoff variability is well represented in ISIMIP2a and GLDAS models, and no model performs satisfactorily in capturing the annual runoff trend; (c) the runoff intra‐annual cycle is reasonably captured by all models yet an overestimation of intra‐annual variability and an early bias in peak flow timing are commonly found; and (d) model uncertainty leads to a larger uncertainty in runoff estimates than that induced by forcing uncertainty in ISIMIP2a, and model uncertainty in GLDAS is larger than that in ISIMIP2a. Finally, we confirm that the multi‐model ensemble is an effective way to reduce uncertainty in individual models except for CMIP6 regarding mean annual magnitude and annual runoff trend. Overall, our findings suggest that assessments/projections of runoff changes based on these global outputs contain great uncertainties and should be interpreted with caution, and call for more advanced, observation‐guided ensemble techniques for better large‐scale hydrological applications.
Global TEC Map Fusion Through a Hybrid Deep Learning Model: RFGAN
Authors: Chen Zhou , Zhou Kecheng , Li Haimeng , Wang Jing‐song , Ouyang Zhihai , Deng Xiaohua 
Published: December 2022

AbstractTimely, reliable and comprehensive global observation information is essential for space weather research. However, limited observation technology hinders the consecutive global coverage of observation data. For the integrity and continuity of the global observation data, deep learning can obtain a global Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) map by fusing multi‐source TEC maps. Different from the previous methods, in the study, a deep learning hybrid model (RFGAN) based on Dual‐Discriminator Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (DDcGAN) and Free‐Form Image Inpainting with Gated Convolution (Deepfill v2) is proposed to fuse the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)—TEC, International Global Navigation Satellite System TEC (IGS‐TEC) and altimetry satellite TEC. Throughout the RFGAN structure, we use an autoencoder model with gated convolution to inpaint the missing parts of MIT‐TEC and altimetry satellite TEC. Meanwhile, DDcGAN fuses the inpainted MIT‐TEC (MIT'‐TEC) and IGS‐TEC to get a global TEC map with high accuracy. To a certain extent, we inpainted the ocean area of MIT‐TEC through RFGAN. At the same time, RFGAN keeps the consistency of RFGAN‐TEC and MIT‐TEC in the continent area. Our proposed deep learning hybrid model can be easily extended and widely applied to other fields of space science, especially in addressing observational data loss and multi‐source data fusion.
The impact of increasing levels of blood C-reactive protein on the inflammatory loci SPI1 and CD33 in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Huang Jinghan , Tao Qiushan , Ang Ting Fang Alvin , Farrell John , Zhu Congcong , Wang Yixuan , Stein Thor D. , Lunetta Kathryn L. , Massaro Joseph , Mez Jesse , Au Rhoda , Farrer Lindsay A. , Qiu Wei Qiao , Zhang Xiaoling ,   For the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2022

AbstractApolipoprotein ε4 (APOE ε4) is the most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Elevated blood C-reactive protein (CRP) further increases the risk of AD for people carrying the APOE ε4 allele. We hypothesized that CRP, as a key inflammatory element, could modulate the impact of other genetic variants on AD risk. We selected ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in reported AD risk loci encoding proteins related to inflammation. We then tested the interaction effects between these SNPs and blood CRP levels on AD incidence using the Cox proportional hazards model in UK Biobank (n = 279,176 white participants with 803 incident AD cases). The five top SNPs were tested for their interaction with different CRP cutoffs for AD incidence in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Generation 2 cohort (n = 3009, incident AD = 156). We found that for higher concentrations of serum CRP, the AD risk increased for SNP genotypes in 3 AD-associated genes (SPI1, CD33, and CLU). Using the Cox model in stratified genotype analysis, the hazard ratios (HRs) for the association between a higher CRP level (≥10 vs. <10 mg/L) and the risk of incident AD were 1.94 (95% CI: 1.33–2.84, p < 0.001) for the SPI1 rs1057233-AA genotype, 1.75 (95% CI: 1.20–2.55, p = 0.004) for the CD33 rs3865444-CC genotype, and 1.76 (95% CI: 1.25–2.48, p = 0.001) for the CLU rs9331896-C genotype. In contrast, these associations were not observed in the other genotypes of these genes. Finally, two SNPs were validated in 321 Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging (ADNI) Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients. We observed that the SPI1 and CD33 genotype effects were enhanced by elevated CRP levels for the risk of MCI to AD conversion. Furthermore, the SPI1 genotype was associated with CSF AD biomarkers, including t-Tau and p-Tau, in the ADNI cohort when the blood CRP level was increased (p < 0.01). Our findings suggest that elevated blood CRP, as a peripheral inflammatory biomarker, is an important moderator of the genetic effects of SPI1 and CD33 in addition to APOE ε4 on AD risk. Monitoring peripheral CRP levels may be helpful for precise intervention and prevention of AD for these genotype carriers.