bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimized reagents for immunopotency assays on mesenchymal stromal cells for clinical use
Authors: Torrents Sílvia , del Moral Andrés Escudero , Codinach Margarita , Rodríguez Luciano , Querol Sergi , Vives Joaquim 
Published: April 2023

Abstract
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) offer new therapeutic opportunities based on their ability to modulate an imbalanced immune system. Immunomodulatory potency is typically demonstrated in vitro by measuring the presence of surrogate markers (i.e., indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase, IDO; tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1, TNFR1) and/or functional assays in co-cultures (i.e., inhibition of lymphoproliferation, polarization of macrophages). However, the biological variability of reagents used in the latter type of assays leads to unreliable and difficult to reproduce data therefore making cross-comparison between batches difficult, both at the intra- and inter-laboratory levels. Herein, we describe a set of experiments aiming at the definition and validation of reliable biological reagents as a first step towards standardization of a potency assay. This approach is based on the co-culture of Wharton’s jelly (WJ)-derived MSC and cryopreserved pooled peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Altogether, we successfully defined a robust and reproducible immunopotency assay based on previously described methods incorporating substantial improvements such as cryopreservation of multiple vials of pooled peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 5 individual donors that enable a number of tests with same reagents, also reducing waste of PBMC from individual donors and therefore contributing to a more efficient and ethical method to use substances of human origin (SoHO). The new methodology was successfully validated using 11 batches of clinical grade MSC,WJ. Methods described here contribute to minimize PBMC donor variability while reducing costs, streamlining assay setup and convenience and laying the foundations for harmonization of biological reagents usage in standardized immunopotency assays for MSC.

Highlights
• The use of pools of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in potency assays contributes to robust and reproducible results, which is key in the assessment of mesenchymal stroma cells (MSC) potency for batch release.
• Cryopreservation of PBMCs does not impact negatively on their activation and proliferation abilities.
• Cryopreserved pools of PBMC constitutes convenient off-the-shelf reagents for potency assays.
• Cryopreservation of pooled PBMCs from multiple donors is a way to reduce waste of donated PBMC and its associated costs, as well as reducing the impact of individual donor variability of substances of human origin (SoHO).
Local Immigrant Councils as a Form of Participation and Governance: How Institutional Design and Agency Matter
Authors: Schiller Maria 
Published: April 2023

Abstract Over the past decades, Western European municipalities increasingly reacted to the presence of immigrants with efforts to include these new residents in local policymaking. As part of this, many cities installed local immigrant councils, allowing newcomers to participate in the political sphere and to bring their needs and interests into the political process. Even though immigrant councils became strongly institutionalized in countries like Germany, their role has been described as ambiguous and their relationship with local authorities as unequal. Existing research has examined immigrant councils as a form of political participation and urban governance and investigated their institutional design and agency of involved actors. Yet, to date, we have little research that systematically links institutional structures and agency of immigrant councils with these bodies’ participation in local policymaking and their collaboration with municipal actors. Based on qualitative research on immigrant councils in two German cities, this article takes a fresh look at this form of immigrant political involvement in cities. It finetunes previous findings by showing that these bodies do not necessarily have to be tokenistic. Strengthening their political rights, countering forms of discrimination and side-lining of immigrant councils and bolstering the ownership of local officials and political leaders for these bodies are three strategies that can support these bodies’ political participation and their role in urban governance.
Organisational happiness based on ‘GNH of Business’ in a non-Buddhist environment
Authors: Bencsik Andrea 
Published: April 2023

Abstract
The main aim of the study is to show that a method developed in the context of Buddhist culture (GNH of Business), which measures the happiness and well-being of employees in business and the organisational conditions for this, can be applied in other cultural contexts. The research adapted the logic and computational method of the original questionnaire survey (developed in Bhutan, GNH of Business) to a Central Eastern European country. All business education faculties/institutes of higher education institutions were involved in the quantitative research. The results of 239 employee and 14 manager questionnaires show that the method is fully applicable in Christian cultural contexts. The value of the happiness index of higher education institutions in the field of economics is below the average level. The biggest deficiencies are in the area of ‘Quality of Life’, while the indicators for ‘Cultural and Ecological Diversity’ need serious improvement in terms of organisational conditions. This research is the first to apply the GNH of Business calculation method outside Bhutan, demonstrating its validity in practice in European countries.
Experimental Investigation of Liquid Interface Stability During the Filling of a Tank in Microgravity
Authors: Govindan Sesha N. C. , Dreyer Michael E. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThe storage of propellants in space as well as the transfer and filling of spacecraft tanks is a prerequisite for future long-term space exploration missions. In this work, the vented filling of a partially filled tank, which is envisioned as a spacecraft tank, was investigated experimentally under compensated gravity in the Bremen Drop Tower. Experiments were performed with a partially filled tank and a test liquid HFE-7500. The drop tower provides 9 s of compensated gravity. The shape of the free liquid surface inside a right circular cylinder changes from the normal gravity configuration to a free fall configuration during the test. The filling was initiated after 3.5 s and continued until the end at 9 s. The interaction of the incoming liquid jet with the liquid interface was studied for different volumetric flow rates. A stable, but not steady liquid interface was characterized by a deformation due to the incoming liquid jet and the formation of a geyser. The growth of the geyser and the following disintegration into liquid droplets indicated an unstable liquid interface. Subcritical, critical and supercritical regimes of the volumetric flow rates were identified to classify stable and unstable liquid interfaces. The critical Weber number was found to be 1.04, which corresponds to a critical volumetric flow rate of 1.30 mL s-1. This critical Weber number was compared with the existing literature. Additionally, the behaviour of the liquid interface during the reorientation of the liquid inside the tank was observed.
Riesz Transforms on $$ax+b$$ Groups
Authors: Martini Alessio 
Published: April 2023

AbstractWe prove the$$L^p$$Lp-boundedness for all$$p \in (1,\infty )$$p∈(1,∞)of the first-order Riesz transforms$$X_j \mathcal {L}^{-1/2}$$XjL-1/2associated with the Laplacian$$\mathcal {L}= -\sum _{j=0}^n X_j^2$$L=-∑j=0nXj2on the$$ax+b$$ax+bgroup$$G = \mathbb {R}^n \rtimes \mathbb {R}$$G=Rn⋊R; here$$X_0$$X0and$$X_1,\dots ,X_n$$X1,⋯,Xnare left-invariant vector fields onGin the directions of the factors$$\mathbb {R}$$Rand$$\mathbb {R}^n$$Rnrespectively. This settles a question left open in previous work of Hebisch and Steger (who proved the result for$$p \le 2$$p≤2) and of Gaudry and Sjögren (who only considered$$n=1=j$$n=1=j). The main novelty here is that we can treat the case$$p \in (2,\infty )$$p∈(2,∞)and include the Riesz transform in the direction of$$\mathbb {R}$$R; an operator-valued Fourier multiplier theorem on$$\mathbb {R}^n$$Rnturns out to be key to this purpose. We also establish a weak type (1, 1) endpoint for the adjoint Riesz transforms in the direction of$$\mathbb {R}^n$$Rn. By transference, our results imply the$$L^p$$Lp-boundedness for$$p \in (1,\infty )$$p∈(1,∞)of the first-order Riesz transforms associated with the Schrödinger operator$$-\partial _s^2 + \textrm{e}^{2s}$$-∂s2+e2son the real line.
The Ability of Ruppia polycarpa to Regenerate from Seed Depends on Seasonal Porewater Salinity Dynamics and Declining Winter Rainfall Could Delay Recruitment
Authors: Webster Chanelle L. , Lavery Paul S. , Strydom Simone , Billinghurst Jessica , McMahon Kathryn 
Published: April 2023

AbstractFor many plants, regeneration from seed is vital for population recovery. Climate change is modifying the global hydrological cycle and a primary factor controlling germination of marine plants: salinity. How altered salinity regimes, and especially altered porewater salinity regimes, will regulate early life history stages of estuarine seagrasses is poorly understood. Here, we quantified the porewater salinity dynamics in two ephemeral estuaries that are dominated by the cosmopolitan genusRuppia. Seedbank, germlings (germinated seeds) and seedlings were found in salinities ranging from 5 to 110 over an annual cycle. To understand the germination ecology of the dominant species,Ruppia polycarpa, seeds were exposed to treatments simulating current salinity regimes and those predicted under climate change. Seeds underwent a Dormancy treatment (15, 60, 150) followed by a Germination treatment (10, 20, 80). Generally, early life history stages were positively affected by hypersaline dormancy conditions if the subsequent Germination salinity was ≤ 20. Germination success was significantly higher for seeds transferred to 10 (65%) compared to 20 (49%) whilst no seeds germinated in 80 highlighting the risk of lower germination as estuaries become drier and more hypersaline with declining winter rainfall. However, germlings were found in situ in salinities ≥ 80 suggesting aspects of the salinity dynamics, not captured by our experimental conditions, may broaden tolerances. Dormant seeds were continuously present in situ and seedlings were observed throughout the whole of the growing season. These results are indicative of bet-hedging strategies. Future research should explore the capacity of these strategies to afford resilience toR. polycarpato salinity variability under climate change.
Spray Deposited Cellulose Nanofibril Films: A Recyclability Study
Authors: Nadeem Humayun , Naseri Mahdi , Dehghani Mostafa , Pazirofteh Mahdieh , Raghuwanshi Vikram , Garnier Gil , Batchelor Warren 
Published: April 2023

AbstractSynthetic packaging has excellent performance, but most of them becomes a waste after their use and thus, poses serious concerns to the environment and consumer health. Considering current circumstances, the demand for sustainable packaging that is either recyclable or biodegradable if discarded has increased tremendously in last few years. Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) films are emerging as a sustainable packaging; however, their high energy consumption associated with the production of fibres and reduced properties on recycling are serious concerns. The aim of this study is to assess the recycling characteristics of spray deposited CNF films. For this purpose, the CNFs were recycled at different revolutions (75 × 103 to 999 × 103) in a laboratory disintegrator, followed by screening and their physical, barrier and environmental characteristics were evaluated. Results showed that recycled CNF films at 300 × 103 revolutions had identical barrier performance as compared with the non-recycled films. Additionally, the films after first recycling have maintained their mechanical properties without compromising their dimensional stability. However, the mechanical performance and transmittance of these films after the 2nd recycling have slightly reduced due to the agglomeration of the fibres as affirmed by the SEM images. The CNF films showed slightly higher environmental impact in terms of their embodied energies than conventional packaging; however, these impacts are expected to be lower on possibly further recycling of these films. The ease of recycling of these films without compromising the dimensional stability is an excellent route to contribute towards global sustainability.
Graphical Abstract
Testing the Weiss-Harter-Model in a prospective study design: the importance of perceived social support for youth physical activity
Authors: Fritsch Julian , Nigg Carina , Niessner Claudia , Schmidt Steffen , Woll Alexander , Jekauc Darko 
Published: April 2023

AbstractTo counteract low physical activity levels in children and adolescents, it is crucial to understand the relevant psychological processes that can promote physical activity in this age group. The Weiss-Harter model focuses on self-esteem as a central construct for physical activity promotion in youth, which mediates the effects of perceived competence and perceived social support on enjoyment and physical activity. However, in two cross-sectional studies, an adapted model was found to have a better model fit in which perceived social support has additional direct effects on physical activity and enjoyment. The purpose of the present study was to compare the original Weiss-Harter model and the adapted model in a prospective study design. Data were based on two assessment waves of the German Motorik-Modul-Study involving 1107 participants (603 female) with a mean age of 13.98 years (SD = 2.03). Participants filled out questionnaires on perceived competence, perceived social support, self-esteem, enjoyment, and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the first assessment. MVPA was again assessed about five years later allowing to test whether the models could predict (1) future MVPA and (2) the difference of MVPA from the first to the second assessment. For both research questions, the original Weiss-Harter model (Model 1a: χ2 = 812.44; df = 95; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.905; RMSEA = 0.083; Model 2a: χ2 = 755.29; df = 95; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.910; RMSEA = 0.079) had a worse fit than the adapted model (Model 1b: χ2 = 512.19; df = 93; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.943; RMSEA = 0.065; Model 2b: χ2 = 513.25; df = 93; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.943; RMSEA = 0.064). The results of this study highlight the role of perceived social support for youth MVPA.
Institutional barriers to clinical trial exploration experienced by the Latinx community
Authors: Sandoval Sabrina , Leung Ringo K. , Nguyen-Grozavu France , Wang Regina M. , Sadler Georgia Robins 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis
study evaluated two types of barriers that the authors deemed important to resolve during the early stage of cancer clinical trial exploration by Latinx community members. One was the accessibility of information provided on cancer centers’ websites. The other was the telephone responders’ clinical trial knowledge and their conveyance of a warm welcome to Latinx callers inquiring about the centers’ clinical trials. Simulated clinical trial inquiry calls were made to 17 National Cancer Institute-designated centers in this study. The centers were located in cities where the Latinx community accounted for at least 25% of the population, thereby justifying center-wide efforts to encourage the Latinx community to explore clinical trial participation. A rubric was developed to determine and quantify a Total Score that was partially composed of the accessibility of clinical trial information displayed on each cancer center’s website. A research assistant gathered information by posing as a person calling the cancer center to inquire about clinical trials on behalf of a family member with limited English proficiency and evaluated their response using a “mystery shopper” method of data collection. The warmth and sense of welcome conveyed by the telephone responder was also quantified and included in the rubric’s Total Score. A perfect Total Score reflected the likely existence of an environment that would encourage Latinx community members to continue exploring clinical trials, i.e., removed or diminished possible barriers. Welcoming characteristics, such as those elements included in the scoring rubric, can be monitored regularly to assure that centers are consistently conveying an optimal sense of welcome to the Latinx community, while also providing accessible clinical trial information. Among the 17 cancer centers, no correlation was found between the size of the Latinx population served and each center’s Total Score.
Development of a HPLC fluorometric method for the quantification of enfuvirtide following in vitro releasing studies on thermosensitive in situ forming gel
Authors: Li Huanhuan , Anjani Qonita Kurnia , McGuckin Mary B. , Himawan Achmad , Li Mingshan , Donnelly Ryan F. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractDue to the presence of peptidase and protease in the gastrointestinal tract, peptides are subjected to digestion and inactivation when administrated orally. To avoid degradation and maintain the desired efficacy of peptide drugs, there is a demand to develop transdermal and intradermal delivery systems. This requires efficient and specific analytical methods to separate and quantify the peptide drugs from the formulation and the skin matrix in the early stages of pharmaceutical development. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system equipped with a fluorometric detector was used to quantify enfuvirtide, which is the first fusion inhibitor for HIV treatment. The HPLC method was developed and validated according to the ICH Q2(R1) guidelines. The viability of the method was demonstrated during in vitro studies, where samples were analysed following intradermal administration of a thermosensitive in situ forming gel. Compared with previously reported methods, this assay proved efficient, sensitive and accurate, with a detection limit of 0.74 μg/mL and a run time of 9 min, mitigating the use of any internal standards and detergents. The addition of an organic solvent to the samples successfully solved the problem of low recovery caused by the adsorption of the drug to the plastic consumables in the sample treatment process. The amount of enfuvirtide releasing from the in situ gel through skin after 7 hours was 16.25 ± 7.08 μg, which was significantly lower than the reconstituted FUZEON® itself (26.68 ± 10.45 μg), showing a longer release profile. The results may be beneficial as a constructive input for future enfuvirtide quantification within a preclinical setting through in vitro release studies across the skin.
Graphical Abstract
Genome-wide association mapping in elite winter wheat breeding for yield improvement
Authors: Tyrka Mirosław , Krajewski Paweł , Bednarek Piotr Tomasz , Rączka Kinga , Drzazga Tadeusz , Matysik Przemysław , Martofel Róża , Woźna-Pawlak Urszula , Jasińska Dorota , Niewińska Małgorzata , Ługowska Bogusława , Ratajczak Dominika , Sikora Teresa , Witkowski Edward , Dorczyk Ada , Tyrka Dorota 
Published: April 2023

AbstractIncreased grain yield (GY) is the primary breeding target of wheat breeders. We performed the genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 168 elite winter wheat lines from an ongoing breeding program to identify the main determinants of grain yield. Sequencing of Diversity Array Technology fragments (DArTseq) resulted in 19,350 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and presence-absence variation (PAV) markers. We identified 15 main genomic regions located in ten wheat chromosomes (1B, 2B, 2D, 3A, 3D, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, and 7B) that explained from 7.9 to 20.3% of the variation in grain yield and 13.3% of the yield stability. Loci identified in the reduced genepool are important for wheat improvement using marker-assisted selection. We found marker-trait associations between three genes involved in starch biosynthesis and grain yield. Two starch synthase genes (TraesCS2B03G1238800 and TraesCS2D03G1048800) and a sucrose synthase gene (TraesCS3D03G0024300) were found in regions of QGy.rut-2B.2, QGy.rut-2D.1, and QGy.rut-3D, respectively. These loci and other significantly associated SNP markers found in this study can be used for pyramiding favorable alleles in high-yielding varieties or to improve the accuracy of prediction in genomic selection.
Anticancer and antioxidant activities of ethanolic extract and semi-purified fractions from guava and mango seeds
Authors: Mahmoud Moaaz , Mohamed Esraa M. , Aboul-Enein Ahmed M. , Diab Ayman A. , Shalaby Emad A. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractMango (Mangifera indica) and guava (Psidium guajava) seeds have several pharmaceutical applications and biological activities because as they have been recognized with different bioactive molecules (phenolic compounds) such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and catechins, so they have antioxidant and anticancer activities. The aim of the present study was to assess in vitro antioxidant and anticancer activities of successive extracts and semi-purified fractions from mango seeds. In this work, mango and guava seeds were collected and extracted using two solvents (ethanol 70% and ethyl acetate) followed by phytochemical screening and determination of biological activities such as antioxidant activity using five assays (DPPH, ABTS, KMnO4, Methylene blue and H2O2) additionally the antiradical activity and hybrid reaction for ethanolic extract of mango seeds as promising extract. The total phenolic, flavonoid, and catechin compounds were determined for all successive extracts, and finally, the anticancer activity of extracts was evaluated using MTT assay against HepG2 cell line and phenolic compounds were identified by HPLC. The phytochemical screening and TLC showed the primary investigation for phenolic compounds of ethanol extracts of both kind of seeds and only ethyl acetate of guava extract as promising extracts. However, HPLC determination of these three extracts showed high amount of gallic acid, naringenin, ellagic acid, and ferulic acid as they have anticancer and antioxidant activities. The antioxidant tests showed that the ethanolic mango extract is the highest antioxidant extract against DPPH by 84.0%, but recorded 82.0% with methylene blue and ABTS assays when compared with ascorbic acid. The ethyl acetate of guava extract showed strong cytotoxic effect with IC50 75.5 μg/mL against HepG2 cell line in all tested concentrations. From the obtained results, it could be concluded that mango ethanolic extract and its fractions are the most promising as antioxidants and ethyl acetate of guava extract the most promising in the anticancer activity.