bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antibacterial Activity Prediction of Plant Secondary Metabolites Based on a Combined Approach of Graph Clustering and Deep Neural Network
Authors: Karim Mohammad Bozlul , Kanaya Shigehiko , Altaf‐Ul‐Amin Md. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe plants produce numerous types of secondary metabolites which have pharmacological importance in drug development for different diseases. Computational methods widely use the fingerprints of the metabolites to understand different properties and similarities among metabolites and for the prediction of chemical reactions etc. In this work, we developed three different deep neural network models (DNN) to predict the antibacterial property of plant metabolites. We developed the first DNN model using the fingerprint set of metabolites as features. In the second DNN model, we searched the similarities among fingerprints using correlation and used one representative feature from each group of highly correlated fingerprints. In the third model, the fingerprints of metabolites were used to find structurally similar chemical compound clusters. Form each cluster a representative metabolite is selected and made part of the training dataset. The second model reduced the number of features where the third model achieved better classification results for test data. In both cases, we applied the simple graph clustering method to cluster the corresponding network. The correlation‐based DNN model reduced some features while retaining an almost similar performance compared to the first DNN model. The third model improves classification results for test data by capturing wider variance within training data using graph clustering method. This third model is somewhat novel approach and can be applied to build DNN models for other purposes.
Promoting urinary continence in people suffering a stroke: Effectiveness of a complex intervention—An intervention study
Authors: Kohler Myrta , Ott Stefan , Mullis Jeanette , Mayer Hanna , Kesselring Jürg , Saxer Susi 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAimThe study aimed to implement and measure effectiveness of a systematic continence management intervention in people suffering a stroke in undertaking rehabilitation.DesignAn intervention study was conducted.MethodsIn the first part of the study, patients were included in the control group and observed. After the training of the nursing staff, participants were assigned to the intervention group. The intervention consisted of screening, assessment, treatment, communication and evaluation.ResultsForty‐six patients took part in the study, of which 35 were in the control and 11 in the intervention groups. Within the two groups, significant improvements in outcomes were mostly seen during the study. For the Incontinence Quality of Life Social Embarrassment scale, a significantly higher increase was observed for the intervention group. The improvement between admission and discharge in the intervention group was notably larger for the outcome's incontinence and quality of life.
High efficient degradation of organic dyes by polypyrrole‐multiwall carbon nanotubes nanocomposites
Authors: Pang Ai Ling , Arsad Agus , Ahmadipour Mohsen , Azlan Hamzah Azrul , Ahmad Zaini Muhammad Abbas , Mohsin Rahmat 
Published: January 2022

AbstractOver the years, there has been an emphasis on the improvement of novel materials for photocatalytic processes for practical application in treating wastewater. In this sense, the ultrasonic‐assisted in‐situ chemical polymerization route was used to synthesize polypyrrole‐multiwall carbon nanotubes (PPy‐MWCNTs) nanocomposites. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet visible (UV–vis) analysis were employed to study the impact of MWCNTs on the properties of PPy. TEM showed that the PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites consist of spherical PPy with 80 nm particle size, while the MWCNTs showed inner and outer diameters of 7 nm and 13 nm, respectively. XRD analysis showed that the crystallinity of the PPy increased with MWCNTs loading. The potential of PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites as photocatalysts was evaluated via the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) dyes. The photodegradation efficiency was found to have improved with increasing MWCNTs loading. Almost 99.36% and 78.30% of RhB and MB dye degradation were achieved after 35 min of reaction for the highest loading of MWCNTs. The remarkable nanocomposite photocatalytic activity was attributed to the optical bandgap energy (Eg) reduction with the addition of MWCNTs. These results foreshadow the potential use of the PPy‐MWCNTs nanocomposites for water purification.
Long‐read nanopore DNA sequencing can resolve complex intragenic duplication/deletion variants, providing information to enable preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Authors: Watson Christopher M. , Holliday Deborah L. , Crinnion Laura A. , Bonthron David T. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBackgroundThe adoption of massively parallel short‐read DNA sequencing methods has greatly expanded the scope and availability of genetic testing for inherited diseases. Indeed, the power of these methods has encouraged the integration of whole genome sequencing, the most comprehensive single approach to genomic analysis, into clinical practice. Despite these advances, diagnostic techniques that incompletely resolve the precise molecular boundaries of pathogenic sequence variants continue to be routinely deployed. This can present a barrier for certain prenatal diagnostic approaches. For example, the pre‐referral workup for couples seeking preimplantation genetic diagnosis requires intragenic dosage variants to be characterised at nucleotide resolution.ObjectiveWe sought to assess the use of long‐read nanopore sequencing to rapidly characterise an apparent heterozygous RB1 exon 23 deletion that was initially identified by multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA), in a patient with bilateral retinoblastoma.MethodsTarget enrichment was performed by long‐range polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification prior to Flongle sequencing on a MinION long‐read sequencer.ResultsCharacterisation of the deletion breakpoint included an unexpected 85‐bp insertion which duplicated RB1 exon 24 (and was undetected by MLPA). The long‐read sequence permitted design of a multiplex PCR assay, which confirmed that the mutation arose de novo.ConclusionOur experience demonstrates the diagnostic utility of long‐read technology for the precise characterisation of structural variants, and highlights how this technology can be efficiently deployed to enable onward referral to reproductive medicine services.
A process model of the public sphere: A case of municipal policy debates on Sina Weibo
Authors: Chen Qinying , Jacobson Tom 
Published: January 2022

AbstractSocial media have become a major venue where citizens discuss matters of public concern, prompting some scholars to apply theory of the public sphere to analyze online discussion. However, the public sphere is often viewed as a static space; little attention is given to the complex processes through which topics are raised, debated, and refined by the public through this discussion. This study conceptualizes the public sphere as a problematization process and proposes a novel framework combining a four‐phase process analysis together with content analysis to analyze public deliberation process on social media. A case study is conducted of public discussion on Sina Weibo about municipal policy in Hangzhou, China. Data generated using the framework illustrate how social media function as a filtering mechanism, channeling salient public opinions from civil society to decision‐making bodies in the center of the politico‐legal system, where these opinions play a role in policy decision‐making. This paper provides analytic leverage for understanding the relevance of public sphere theory to policymaking processes.
Sequence preference and scaffolding requirement for the inhibition of human neutrophil elastase by ecotin peptide
Authors: Bagga Tanaya , Loh Su Ning , Sivaraman J , Shankar Srihari 
Published: January 2022

AbstractHuman neutrophil elastase (hNE) is an abundant serine protease that is a major constituent of lung elastolytic activity. However, when secreted in excess, if not properly attenuated by selective inhibitor proteins, it can have detrimental effects on host tissues, leading to chronic lung inflammation and non‐small cell lung cancer. To improve upon the design of inhibitors against hNE for therapeutic applications, here, we report the crystal structure of hNE in complex with an ecotin (ET)‐derived peptide inhibitor. We show that the peptide binds in the nonprime substrate binding site. Unexpectedly, compared with full‐length (FL) ET, we find that our short linear peptides and circular amide backbone–linked peptides of ET are incapable of efficient hNE inhibition. Our structural insights point to a preferred amino acid sequence and the potential benefit of a scaffold for optimal binding and function of the peptide inhibitor, both of which are retained in the FL ET protein. These findings will aid in the development of effective peptide‐based inhibitors against hNE for targeted therapy.
Paracrine Wnt signaling is necessary for prostate epithelial proliferation
Authors: Wei Xing , Roudier Martine P. , Kwon Oh‐Joon , Lee Justin Daho , Kong Kevin , Dumpit Ruth , True Lawrence , Morrissey Colm , Lin Daniel W. , Nelson Peter S. , Xin Li 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIntroductionThe Wnt proteins play key roles in the development, homeostasis, and disease progression of many organs including the prostate. However, the spatiotemporal expression patterns of Wnt proteins in prostate cell lineages at different developmental stages and in prostate cancer remain inadequately characterized.MethodsWe isolated the epithelial and stromal cells in the developing and mature mouse prostate by flow cytometry and determined the expression levels of Wnt ligands. We used Visium spatial gene expression analysis to determine the spatial distribution of Wnt ligands in the mouse prostatic glands. Using laser‐capture microscopy in combination with gene expression analysis, we also determined the expression patterns of Wnt signaling components in stromal and cancer cells in advanced human prostate cancer specimens. To investigate how the stroma‐derived Wnt ligands affect prostate development and homeostasis, we used a Col1a2‐CreERT2 mouse model to disrupt the Wnt transporter Wntless specifically in prostate stromal cells.ResultsWe showed that the prostate stromal cells are a major source of several Wnt ligands. Visium spatial gene expression analysis revealed a distinct spatial distribution of Wnt ligands in the prostatic glands. We also showed that Wnt signaling components are highly expressed in the stromal compartment of primary and advanced human prostate cancer. Blocking stromal Wnt secretion attenuated prostate epithelial proliferation and regeneration but did not affect cell survival and lineage maintenance.DiscussionOur study demonstrates a critical role of stroma‐derived Wnt ligands in prostate development and homeostasis.
Visualizing primary cooling system risks with bowtie diagram for RSG GAS operator guidance
Authors: Tyas Ratih Luhuring , Deswandri  , Jatmiko Dicky Tri , Shariff Azmi Mohd , Hermansyah Heri 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe G.A. Siwabessy Multipurpose Reactor (RSG GAS) is a pool‐type research reactor. When the reactor operates, the heat released in the core is removed by the primary cooling system. It is necessary to evaluate this system, because failure can cause worst events such as the melting of reactor fuel and the release of radioactivity to the environment. Due to the possibility of radioactive material releases, safety issues are important to be evaluated. Several studies using event tree analysis (ETA), fuzzy fault tree analysis (FFTA) describe the results quantitatively. The varied educations of operators will provide various responses to quantitative results, and a need to create qualitative results that are simple and easy to understand using bowtie analysis that visualizes the risk scenario. Failure of this system causes loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and loss of flow accident (LOFA). The results show that the relationship between the consequences and causes of the risk occurrence LOCA and LOFA, and the controls used to prevent and reduce the hazard based on safety and emergency system at RSG GAS, can be depicted in a bowtie diagram. The bowtie diagram is simple and easy for an RSG GAS operator to carry out their duties and increase awareness regarding the safety of reactor operations.
NWP calibration applied to Aeolus Mie channel winds
Authors: Marseille Gert‐Jan , de Kloe Jos , Marksteiner Uwe , Reitebuch Oliver , Rennie Michael , de Haan Siebren 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAeolus is the first Doppler wind lidar (DWL) to measure wind profiles from space. Aeolus is an ESA (European Space Agency) explorer mission with the objective to retrieve winds from the collected atmospheric return signal which is the result of Mie and Rayleigh scattering of laser‐emitted light by atmospheric molecules and particulates. The focus of this paper is on winds retrieved from instrument Mie channel collected data, that is, originating from Mie scattering by atmospheric aerosols and clouds. The use of simulated data from numerical weather prediction (NWP) models is a widely accepted and proven concept for the monitoring of the performance of many meteorological instruments, including Aeolus. Continuous monitoring of Aeolus Mie channel winds against model winds from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) has revealed systematic errors in retrieved Mie winds. Following a reverse engineering approach, the systematic errors could be traced back to imperfections of the data in the calibration tables which serve as input for the on‐ground wind processing algorithms. A new algorithm, denoted NWP calibration, makes use of NWP model winds to generate an updated calibration table. It is shown that Mie winds retrieved by making use of the NWP‐based calibration tables show reduced systematic errors, not only when compared to NWP model winds but also when compared to an independent dataset of very‐high‐resolution aircraft wind data. The latter gives high confidence that the NWP‐based calibration algorithm does not introduce model‐related errors into retrieved Aeolus Mie winds. Based on the presented results in this paper, the NWP‐based calibration table, as part of the level‐2B wind processing, has become part of the operational processing chain since 01 July 2021.
A repetitive group sampling plan based on the lifetime performance index under gamma distribution
Authors: Wu Chien‐Wei , Lee Amy H. I. , Liu Shih‐Wen 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAs technology and living standards improve, people are becoming more concerned with the importance of quality. Quality, thus, becomes the key to company competitiveness, and process capability indices (PCIs) are effective means of measuring process performance. Most PCIs have been developed under the assumption that the quality characteristics are normally distributed; however, the lifetime of products generally possesses a non‐normal distribution. A lifetime performance index (LPI) CL has been proposed and used for measuring product lifetime performance. In this high‐quality era, the use of traditional testing methods incurs very high costs, so acceptance sampling plans have been widely used by industry to perform the inspection. This study considers the product lifetime with a gamma distribution and uses the uniformly minimum‐variance unbiased estimator (UMVUE) of the LPI to develop a repetitive group sampling plan (RGSP). For the practical purpose, this study presents a step‐by‐step procedure and tabulates the plan parameters for various combinations of acceptable and rejectable quality levels, producer's and consumer's risks, and shape parameter. Thus, practitioners can easily know the sample size and the corresponding critical values for decision making. This study also uses the results of the proposed plan to compare with the single sampling plan. Lastly, a practical example is used to illustrate how to apply this acceptance sampling plan.
Helium‐flushed sheathed nickel tube reactor for continuous flow oxygen stable isotope compound‐specific analysis
Authors: Johnson Carl G. , Galy Valier V. 
Published: January 2022

RationaleCompound‐specific oxygen stable isotope analysis has been commercially available for about 20 years but the technique has been infrequently applied and practical operating knowledge is limited. Existing reactor designs and chemistry fail to fully exclude contaminating oxygen, are chromatographically flawed, and are generally fabricated from expensive platinum tubing.MethodsAs a new interface between the gas chromatograph and isotope ratio mass spectrometer, we used a nickel tube reactor (containing no platinum wires) in a ceramic sheath with countercurrent helium flushing, operated at 1250°C. We analyzed suites of four long‐chain alcohols (LCAs), defining the least and most 18O‐enriched LCAs as internal standards. The other two LCAs, co‐injected in varying amounts, were treated as unknowns and amplitude‐corrected during data reduction.ResultsWith this design, signals from non‐oxygenated compounds are minimized with a hydrogen trickle, while excessive graphitization is counterproductive. A balance of hydrogen and graphite is required to maintain a proper, stable redox state in the reactor. With low extraneous oxygen, the exact hydrogen flow has little effect on final δ18O data quality. Overall average δ18O values precisions and errors for the unknowns were better than 0.4 ‰ for injections between 2 and 7 nmol per component.ConclusionsOur actively flushed sheath reduces oxygen infiltration to negligible levels and results in a chromatographic flow devoid of dead or poorly swept volumes. The improved design allows measurement of LCAs with accuracy and precision sufficient to enable investigating real processes, and may also have wider applications to other isotopes.
Adaptive longitudinal control for multivehicle cooperative systems with actuator saturation under road bumps
Authors: Yang Hongjiu , Wang Jin , Li Hongbo , Zuo Zhiqiang 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn this article, an adaptive longitudinal control strategy is proposed for a multivehicle cooperative system with actuator saturation. The multivehicle cooperative system is modeled as a longitudinal system. Uncertain disturbances caused by road bumps during vehicle driving are estimated by an adaptive extended state observer based on Silverman canonical transformation and pole placement. An adaptive integral sliding mode control algorithm is designed to accomplish adaptive longitudinal control and handle actuator saturation. With Lyapunov criterion, stability is presented for the multivehicle cooperative system with the adaptive longitudinal control strategy. Simulation results are given to show effectiveness of the adaptive extended state observer and the adaptive integral sliding mode control algorithm.
Robust dynamic output feedback stabilization for uncertain singular Markovian jump systems with time‐varying delays
Authors: Sun Meng , Zhuang Guangming , Xia Jianwei , Ma Qian , Chen Guoliang 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe article investigates robust dynamic output feedback (DOF) stabilization for uncertain time‐varying delays singular Markovian jump systems (SMJSs). First, by using improved Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, sufficient conditions of robust admissibility (namely regularity, non‐impulsiveness, and asymptotic stability) for unforced nominal time‐varying delays SMJSs are given. Second, by constructing a DOF controller such that the resulting closed‐loop system satisfies robust admissibility, the robust DOF stabilization problem is solved in terms of linear matrix inequalities via orthogonal complement technique. Finally, the availability and practicality of the prime results are certified by two numerical examples and a practical example of the oil catalytic cracking process.
B‐value and empirical equivalence bound: A new procedure of hypothesis testing
Authors: Zhao Yi , Caffo Brian S. , Ewen Joshua B. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn this study, we propose a two‐stage procedure for hypothesis testing, where the first stage is conventional hypothesis testing and the second is an equivalence testing procedure using an introduced empirical equivalence bound (EEB). In 2016, the American Statistical Association released a policy statement on P‐values to clarify the proper use and interpretation in response to the criticism of reproducibility and replicability in scientific findings. A recent solution to improve reproducibility and transparency in statistical hypothesis testing is to integrate P‐values (or confidence intervals) with practical or scientific significance. Similar ideas have been proposed via the equivalence test, where the goal is to infer equality under a presumption (null) of inequality of parameters. However, the definition of scientific significance/equivalence can sometimes be ill‐justified and subjective. To circumvent this drawback, we introduce the B‐value and the EEB, which are both estimated from the data. Performing a second‐stage equivalence test, our procedure offers an opportunity to improve the reproducibility of findings across studies.
Characteristic concrete compressive strength of existing structures—Evaluation of EN 13791:2019 for small sample sizes
Authors: Sefrin Rabea , Glock Christian 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn the sense of resource‐efficient handling of existing structures, conversion should be given priority over demolition and reconstruction of buildings. Accordingly, the assessment of existing structures is becoming increasingly important. Until now, the characteristic concrete compressive strength as one of the most important factors for the evaluation of existing structures has been determined at European level according to EN 13791:2007. Today, the new EN 13791:2019 replaces EN 13791:2007. Especially for small sample sizes of drill cores (3 ≤ n ≤ 7), the introduction of EN 13791:2019 results in significant changes for the determination of the characteristic in situ concrete compressive strength. In addition, there is only limited background information available for the statistical robustness of the new methods. Therefore, the methods for the determination of the characteristic concrete compressive strength of existing structures according to EN 13791:2019 have been evaluated with the help of an existing drill core database established at the TU Kaiserslautern.