bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Different Nitrogen Concentration on Plant Growth, Yield and Quality of Sweet Potato (Ipomea Batatas [L.] Lam) Cultivated in Soilless Culture System
Authors: Suhaimi Yaseer , Izyani R. , Ismawaty N. Noor , Effendi M. N. Mohd , Nurzahidah Z. A. Siti , Al-Asyraf A. L. Zakry , Faidhi T. Muhammad , Safuraa S. Noor 
Published: September 2022

The soilless culture system effectively promotes plant growth by facilitating water and nutrient uptake by plant roots. To increase sweet potato production (Ipomoea batatas), we developed containerized planting in which tuberous roots were grown in solid substrates in the polybags supplied with a nutrient solution through an irrigation system. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different nitrogen concentrations on sweet potato plant growth performance, yield, and tuber quality cultivated using a soilless culture system. The experimental setup included five treatments (T1-T5) with different levels of N (0-50-150-200-250 mg L-1), which were mixed in the nutrient solution, while P and K levels were held constant at 150 and 200 mg L-1 respectively. After three months of cultivation, there were significant differences between treatments in terms of plant growth performance, yield and tuber quality. Plants cultivated in the 250 mg L-1 of N showed the highest growth rate including plant height, shoot and leaves fresh weight, number of tillers, SPAD values, number of leaves, and diameter of tillers compared to other treatments. Data also revealed that the highest tuber yield was obtained from plants treated with 200 mg L-1 of N. Tuber harvested from the treatment of 200 mg L-1 of N showed the best quality in terms of Brix value, moisture content and tuber shape and length. Therefore, planting sweet potatoes using a soilless culture system is recommended with the application of 200 mg L-1 of N to obtain the optimum plant performance in terms of growth, yields, and tuber quality.
Occurrence, Physicochemical Properties and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Enteric Bacteria Isolated from Well Water in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria
Authors: Alajo Funmilayo Olanike , Akinyosoye Felix Akinsola 
Published: September 2022

Aims: TheoCcurrence and antibiotic resistance patterns of enteric bacteria isolated from well water sources and their physicochemical profile was ascertained in this study. Molecular analysis of the bacterial isolates from well water samples was conducted via polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based identification.
Study Design: Experimental design.
Methodology: A total of 12 wells were collected in triplicates from groundwater sources (wells), and mean values were obtained. The first batch of samples were collected during the dry season in January and February, 2020. The second batch of samples were collected during the rainy season in July 2020. The detection of coliforms and other enteric bacteria were conducted via the most probable number (MPN) method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based identification and characterization of bacterial isolates were employed. Antibiotic susceptibility test was done using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique. The determination of the physicochemical properties of the well water samples were conducted following customary protocol.
Results: Well water sample 7 had the highest count at 250 bacterial counts/100ml in the dry season and 200 bacterial counts/100ml in the rainy season, while well water sample 4, 10, and 11 had 14 bacterial counts/100ml in dry season, well water sample 2 had 140 bacterial counts/100ml in the dry season and 250 bacterial counts/100ml in the rainy season, whilst sample 11 had 7 bacterial counts/100ml in the rainy season. Klebsiella pnuemoniae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysentariae were the Gram-negative organisms enumerated and molecularly-identified as Klebsiella pnuemoniae subsp. Pnuemoniae HS11286, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica serovar typhimurium and Shigella dysentariae HNCMB 20080 from the well water samples with percentage identity of 97.19%, 87.44%, 80.45% and 96.19% respectively. Klebsiella pnuemoniae showed high resistant rate in augmentin at 67% in dry season and 100% in the rainy season. Shigella dysentariae showed 8.3% resistance to augmentin in the dry season and 75% in the rainy season. E. coli showed 67% and 58% resistance in the dry and rainy season respectively. Water hardness had the highest mean of 98.5 and 99.5 mg/L in dry and rainy season respectively while turbidity, and alkalinity had the least mean value at 1.2 (NTU) and 0.62 mg/L, 1.4 (NTU) and 0.7mg/L in both dry and rainy seasons.
Conclusion: Findings provided information on the poor quality of the well water, which will be useful in groundwater treatment strategies and policy formulation by appropriate groundwater source protection bodies.
The Unholy Consortium between COVID-19 and Mucormycosis and Identification of Some Potential Antifungal Herbs: A Review
Authors: Yepthomi Tokika , Sharma Sanjay , Khan Arshad Alam , Salman . , Mishra Abhishek , Jain Ashita 
Published: September 2022

Background: There has been a rise alarming in the number of Mucormycosis post COVID-19 infection. The enigmatic relationship between SARS CoV-2 and Mucormycosis is very complex. So far as the treatment is concerned, mankind is yet to discover a potent therapeutic drug that could effectively be used to treat this deadly fungal infection. For ages, mankind has always looked toward nature, and perhaps herbals are the best options in our quest to search for effective antifungal drugs against the ruthless and invasive Mucorales.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across the PubMed database, LILACS, the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar and others using key words COVID-19, SARS CoV-2, Mucormycosis, Rhizopus, vaccine, steroids, antifungal drugs and herbals. Full texts of the retrieved articles published in English were accessed.
Results: A handful of medicinal plants such as Satureja khuzestanica Jamzad, Thymus danensis and Thymus carmanicus, Thymus vulgaris L, Lavandula angustifolia, Mentha piperita and some species of pepper such as Piper sp., Piper tuberculatum and P. hispidum have all shown to have a promising antifungal effect on Mucorales fungus.
Conclusions: Limited knowledge and resources on antifungal (anti-Mucorales) due to lack of adequate research and clinical studies limits our search to identify potent antifungal herbs. An intensified research and evaluation for antifungal herbs can boost the identification, design and development of newer drugs with lesser adverse drug reactions and better mortality rate.
Evaluation of Generative Adversarial Networks for High-Resolution Synthetic Image Generation of Circumpapillary Optical Coherence Tomography Images for Glaucoma
Authors: Sreejith Kumar Ashish Jith , Chong Rachel S. , Crowston Jonathan G. , Chua Jacqueline , Bujor Inna , Husain Rahat , Vithana Eranga N. , Girard Michaël J. A. , Ting Daniel S. W. , Cheng Ching-Yu , Aung Tin , Popa-Cherecheanu Alina , Schmetterer Leopold , Wong Damon 
Published: September 2022

ImportanceDeep learning (DL) networks require large data sets for training, which can be challenging to collect clinically. Generative models could be used to generate large numbers of synthetic optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to train such DL networks for glaucoma detection.ObjectiveTo assess whether generative models can synthesize circumpapillary optic nerve head OCT images of normal and glaucomatous eyes and determine the usability of synthetic images for training DL models for glaucoma detection.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsProgressively growing generative adversarial network models were trained to generate circumpapillary OCT scans. Image gradeability and authenticity were evaluated on a clinical set of 100 real and 100 synthetic images by 2 clinical experts. DL networks for glaucoma detection were trained with real or synthetic images and evaluated on independent internal and external test data sets of 140 and 300 real images, respectively.Main Outcomes and MeasuresEvaluations of the clinical set between the experts were compared. Glaucoma detection performance of the DL networks was assessed using area under the curve (AUC) analysis. Class activation maps provided visualizations of the regions contributing to the respective classifications.ResultsA total of 990 normal and 862 glaucomatous eyes were analyzed. Evaluations of the clinical set were similar for gradeability (expert 1: 92.0%; expert 2: 93.0%) and authenticity (expert 1: 51.8%; expert 2: 51.3%). The best-performing DL network trained on synthetic images had AUC scores of 0.97 (95% CI, 0.95-0.99) on the internal test data set and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87-0.93) on the external test data set, compared with AUCs of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.94-0.99) on the internal test data set and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80-0.87) on the external test data set for the network trained with real images. An increase in the AUC for the synthetic DL network was observed with the use of larger synthetic data set sizes. Class activation maps showed that the regions of the synthetic images contributing to glaucoma detection were generally similar to that of real images.Conclusions and RelevanceDL networks trained with synthetic OCT images for glaucoma detection were comparable with networks trained with real images. These results suggest potential use of generative models in the training of DL networks and as a means of data sharing across institutions without patient information confidentiality issues.
Associations of Hearing Loss Severity and Hearing Aid Use With Hospitalization Among Older US Adults
Authors: Thai Anthony , Khan Suleman I. , Choi Jeff , Ma Yifei , Megwalu Uchechukwu C. 
Published: September 2022

ImportanceHearing loss is associated with higher hospitalization risk among older adults. However, evidence on whether hearing aid use is associated with fewer hospitalizations among individuals with hearing loss remains limited.ObjectiveTo assess the association between audiometric hearing loss severity and hearing aid use and hospitalization.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis population-based cross-sectional study used audiometric and health care utilization data for respondents aged 65 years or older from 4 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2016. Data were analyzed from February 23, 2021, to March 22, 2022.ExposuresAudiometric hearing loss severity and participant-reported hearing aid use.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcome was respondent-reported hospitalization in the past 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the association of hearing loss severity with hospitalization. To assess the association of hearing aid use with hospitalization, propensity score matching was performed with 2:1 nearest neighbor matching without replacement.ResultsOf 2060 respondents (mean [SD] age, 73.9 [5.9] years; 1045 [50.7%] male), 875 (42.5%) had normal hearing, 653 (31.7%) had mild hearing loss, 435 (21.1%) had moderate hearing loss, and 97 (4.7%) had severe to profound hearing loss. On multivariable analysis, moderate and severe hearing loss were associated with hospitalization (moderate hearing loss: odds ratio [OR], 1.50; 95% CI, 1.01-2.24; severe hearing loss: OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.03-2.84). Of 1185 respondents with at least mild hearing loss, 200 (16.9%) reported using a hearing aid. Propensity score–matched analysis showed that hearing aid use was not associated with hospitalization (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.74-1.84), including among respondents with moderate or severe hearing loss (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.71-1.92).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study, hearing loss was associated with higher risk of hospitalization, but hearing aid use was not associated with a reduction in hospitalization risk in the population with hearing loss. The association of hearing aid use with hospitalization should be evaluated in larger prospective studies with reliable data on the frequency of hearing aid use.
Controlling Interfacial Structural Evolution in Aqueous Electrolyte via Anti‐Electrolytic Zwitterionic Waterproofing
Authors: Bo Zheng , Zhou Meiqi , Zhou Shiyuan , Song Yajing , Liu Zhu , Liao Honggang , Yang Huachao , Yan Jianhua , Cen Kefa , Fan Xiulin , Yu Qian , Ostrikov Kostya (Ken) , Li Ju 
Published: September 2022

AbstractAqueous electrolytes are considered as an alternative to flammable and toxic organic electrolytes, whose broad applications in electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices unfortunately suffer from low electrochemical stability due to the easy electrolysis of water. Here, by performing in situ transmission electron microscope electrochemical characterizations at atomic resolution during charging/discharging, an anti‐electrolytic strategy is revealed in aqueous electrolytes via physical zwitterionic waterproofing. It is found that the zwitterionic molecules can be directionally adsorbed to the negative electrode's surface under the applied electric field, forming strings of zwitterionic molecules that extract water out from the electrode. More zwitterionic molecules further aggregate at the outer end of the strings through intermolecular electrostatic interactions, forming a waterproof layer that successfully expels water from the electrode's surface. Meanwhile, the self‐aggregation of zwitterionic additives in the bulk liquid successfully minimizes the influence on ion transport. Being intrinsically distinct from the solid electrolyte interphase concept associated with certain electrochemical reactions in organic or super‐concentrated electrolytes, the strategy is effective in improving the electrochemical stability while maintaining high ionic conductivity in various aqueous electrolytes even with a dilute concentration, shedding light on developing sustainable EES devices with high performance.
Directional Thermal Diffusion Realizing Inorganic Sb2Te3/Te Hybrid Thin Films with High Thermoelectric Performance and Flexibility
Authors: Wei Meng , Shi Xiao‐Lei , Zheng Zhuang‐Hao , Li Fu , Liu Wei‐Di , Xiang Li‐Ping , Xie Yang‐Su , Chen Yue‐Xing , Duan Jing‐Yi , Ma Hong‐Li , Liang Guang‐Xing , Zhang Xiang‐Hua , Fan Ping , Chen Zhi‐Gang 
Published: September 2022

AbstractInorganic films possess much higher thermoelectric performance than their organic counterparts, but their poor flexibilities limit their practical applications. Here, Sb2Te3/Tex hybrid thin films with high thermoelectric performance and flexibility, fabricated via a novel directional thermal diffusion reaction growth method are reported. The directional thermal diffusion enables rationally tuning the Te content in Sb2Te3, which optimizes the carrier density and leads to a significantly enhanced power factor of >20 µW cm–1 K–2, confirmed by both first‐principles calculations and experiments; while dense boundaries between Te and Sb2Te3 nanophases, contribute to the low thermal conductivity of ≈0.86 W m–1 K–1, both induce a high ZT of ≈1 in (Sb2Te3)(Te)1.5 at 453 K, ranking as the top value among the reported flexible films. Besides, thin films also exhibit extraordinary flexibility. A rationally designed flexible device composed of (Sb2Te3)(Te)1.5 thin films as p‐type legs and Bi2Te3 thin films as n‐type legs shows a high power density of >280 µW cm–2 at a temperature difference of 20 K, indicating a great potential for sustainably charging low‐power electronics.
Ultrasound‐Enhanced Antibacterial Activity of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Eradicating Bacterial Biofilms
Authors: Gopalakrishnan Sanjana , Gupta Aarohi , Makabenta Jessa M. V. , Park Jungmi , Amante John J. , Chattopadhyay Aritra Nath , Matuwana Dorcas , Kearney Cathal J. , Rotello Vincent M. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractBacterial biofilms are a major healthcare concern resulting in refractory conditions such as chronic wounds, implant infections and failure, and multidrug‐resistant infections. Aggressive and invasive strategies are employed to cure biofilm infections but are prone to long and expensive treatments, adverse side‐effects, and low patient compliance. Recent strategies such as ultrasound‐based therapies and antimicrobial nanomaterials have shown some promise in the effective eradication of biofilms. However, maximizing therapeutic effect while minimizing healthy tissue damage is a key challenge that needs to be addressed. Here a combination treatment involving ultrasound and antimicrobial polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) that synergistically eradicate bacterial biofilms is reported. Ultrasound treatment rapidly disrupts biofilms and increases penetration of antimicrobial PNPs thereby enhancing their antimicrobial activity. This results in superior biofilm toxicity, while allowing for a two‐ to sixfold reduction in both the concentration of PNPs as well as the duration of ultrasound. Furthermore, that this reduction minimizes cytotoxicity toward fibroblast cells, while resulting in a 100‐ to 1000‐fold reduction in bacterial concentration, is demonstrated.
Transparent and Skin‐Attachable Silver Nanowire Electrodes Embedded on Dissolvable Polyurethane for Highly Conformable Wearable Electronics
Authors: Kim Seung‐Rok , Jeon Jiwan , Kim Yu‐Chan , Park Jin‐Woo 
Published: September 2022

AbstractConformal contact with skin is a critical requirement for wearable electronics in medical healthcare, artificial electronics, and human–computer interfaces. Tattoo‐like electronics exploiting water‐dissolvable polymers have been introduced to directly transfer electronics to the skin increasing conformality and adhesion. However, water‐dissolvable polymers cannot be anchored on the skin while maintaining electrical properties because water‐based sweat can destroy the polymer substrate. In this study, we present a transparent and skin‐attachable electrode (TSE) composed of highly conductive silver nanowires and biocompatible polyurethane composite using surface redissolution by ethanol. The TSE can be fabricated into various patterns by a simple fabrication method and firmly mounted on the skin. There was no reddishness or residue on the attached spot after detachment. Additionally, the TSE showed low mechanical modulus of 225 kPa and an optical transmittance of ≈70% at 550 nm. Stable and conformal contact with the skin leads to effective body motion sensing and sensitive electrophysiological signal acquisition due to the low electrical interfacial impedance.
Phase‐Only Holographic Assisted Planar Printing for Massively Multiplexed Optical Display and Encryption
Authors: Wei Yunxuan , Hu Tie , Feng Xing , Zhao Ming , Yang Zhenyu 
Published: September 2022

AbstractMultiplexed planar printings, made of single or few layer micro and nano optical platforms, are essential for high capacity display, information storage, and encryption. Although they are developed rapidly, the demonstrated channels are still limited and also lack instantaneity. Here, holograms and printings, always regarded as two independent information coding domains with totally different principles, are combined together through this proposed angle multiplexing framework, leading to multiplexed printings with hundreds of channels. Based on such approach, the authors experimentally encode, respectively, 25 gray scale printings into 25 angles and even 8 gray scale videos into 8 angles with a phase‐only spatial light modulator. As a bridge between printings and holograms, this method allows to generate printings combining various holographic methods. Beneficial from this, a gradient metasurface based 324 channel printing is demonstrated which multiplexes angles, polarizations, and wavelengths simultaneously. This work paves the way to flexibly angle‐dependent printing display and massively multiplexed encryption systems.
Functional Phosphoproteomics in Cancer Chemoresistance Using CRISPR‐Mediated Base Editors
Authors: Li Jianan , Lin Jianxiang , Huang Shisheng , Li Min , Yu Wenxia , Zhao Yuting , Guo Junfan , Zhang Pumin , Huang Xingxu , Qiao Yunbo 
Published: September 2022

AbstractSelective inhibition of targeted protein kinases is an effective therapeutic approach for treatment of human malignancies, which interferes phosphorylation of cellular substrates. However, a drug‐imposed selection creates pressures for tumor cells to acquire chemoresistance‐conferring mutations or activating alternative pathways, which can bypass the inhibitory effects of kinase inhibitors. Thus, identifying downstream phospho‐substrates conferring drug resistance is of great importance for developing poly‐pharmacological and targeted therapies. To identify functional phosphorylation sites involved in 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) resistance during its treatment of colorectal cancer cells, CRISPR‐mediated cytosine base editor (CBE) and adenine base editor (ABE) are utilized for functional screens by mutating phosphorylated amino acids with two libraries specifically targeting 7779 and 10 149 phosphorylation sites. Among the top enriched gRNAs‐induced gain‐of‐function mutants, the target genes are involved in cell cycle and post‐translational covalent modifications. Moreover, several substrates of RSK2 and PAK4 kinases are discovered as main effectors in responding to 5‐FU chemotherapy, and combinational treatment of colorectal cancer cells with 5‐FU and RSK2 inhibitor or PAK4 inhibitor can largely inhibit cell growth and enhance cell apoptosis through a RSK2/TP53BP1/γ‐H2AX phosphorylation signaling axis. It is proposed that this screen approach can be used for functional phosphoproteomics in chemotherapy of various human diseases.
Near‐Infrared Carbonized Polymer Dots for NIR‐II Bioimaging
Authors: Han Tianyang , Wang Yajun , Ma Shengjie , Li Mengfei , Zhu Ningning , Tao Songyuan , Xu Jiajun , Sun Bin , Jia Yunlong , Zhang Yuewei , Zhu Shoujun , Yang Bai 
Published: September 2022

AbstractCarbon dots (CDs) or carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) are an emerging class of optical materials that have exceptional applications in optoelectronic devices, catalysis, detection, and bioimaging. Although cell studies of CPDs have produced impressive results, in vivo imaging requires available CPDs to fluoresce in the near‐infrared‐II (NIR‐II) window (1000−1700 nm). Here, a two‐step bottom‐up strategy is developed to synthesize NIR‐CPDs that provide bright emissions in both NIR‐I and NIR‐II transparent imaging windows. The designed strategy includes a hydrothermal reaction to form a stable carbon core with aldehyde groups, followed by the Knoevenagel reaction to tether the molecular emission centers. This procedure is labor‐saving, cost‐efficient, and produces a high yield. The NIR‐CPDs enable high‐performance NIR‐II angiography and real‐time imaging of the disease degree of colitis noninvasively. This technology may therefore provide a next‐generation synthesis strategy for CPDs with rational molecular engineering that can accurately tune the absorption/emission properties of NIR‐emissive CPDs.