bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Speech air flow with and without face masks
Authors: Derrick Donald , Kabaliuk Natalia , Longworth Luke , Pishyar-Dehkordi Peiman , Jermy Mark 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFace masks slow exhaled air flow and sequester exhaled particles. There are many types of face masks on the market today, each having widely varying fits, filtering, and air redirection characteristics. While particle filtration and flow resistance from masks has been well studied, their effects on speech air flow has not. We built a schlieren system and recorded speech air flow with 14 different face masks, comparing it to mask-less speech. All of the face masks reduced air flow from speech, but some allowed air flow features to reach further than 40 cm from a speaker’s lips and nose within a few seconds, and all the face masks allowed some air to escape above the nose. Evidence from available literature shows that distancing and ventilation in higher-risk indoor environment provide more benefit than wearing a face mask. Our own research shows all the masks we tested provide some additional benefit of restricting air flow from a speaker. However, well-fitted mask specifically designed for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease reduce air flow the most. Future research will study the effects of face masks on speech communication in order to facilitate cost/benefit analysis of mask usage in various environments.
Bioinspired antifouling Fe-based amorphous coating via killing-resisting dual surface modifications
Authors: Li Yu , Zhang Ling-Yu , Zhang Cheng , Zhang Zhan-Rong , Liu Lin 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFe-based amorphous coatings with outstanding corrosion resistance are promise for marine applications. However, these coatings encounter a great challenge of biofouling in marine environments. Inspired by the unique micro-nano hierarchical structure of shark skin with excellent antifouling properties, in this paper, we construct a bioinspired Fe-based amorphous coating with killing-resisting dual-effect via proper surface modifications, i.e., the modification with micro-patterned nanostructured Cu2O fibers (killing effect), followed by the modification with superhydrophobic surface (resisting effect). As a result, the modified amorphous coating exhibits impressive antifouling properties, achieving 98.6% resistance toNitzschia closterium f. minutissima,87% resistance toBovine serum albuminprotein and 99.8% resistance toPseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. The remarkable antifouling performance is attributed to a synergistic antifouling mechanism from both resisting effect and killing effect, wherein the superhydrophobic surface provides a barrier to resist protein adsorption, while the patterned nanostructured Cu2O fibers supply Cu+ions to kill bacterial cells. In addition, the modified amorphous coating also exhibits excellent mechanical robustness, which ensures the durability of the Fe-based amorphous coating in practical services. This work may promote the development of new durable metal-based coatings integrated with anti-fouling and anti-corrosion properties.
Transvenous lead extraction using the TightRail mechanical rotating dilator sheath for Asian patients
Authors: Choi Ji-Hoon , Park Seung-Jung , Kim Hye Ree , Kwon Hee-Jin , Park Kyoung-Min , On Young Keun , Kim June Soo , Kim Ju Youn , Jung Won Young 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe need for transvenous lead extraction (TLE) is increasing worldwide including in Asia–Pacific regions. However, supporting evidence for TightRail, a relatively new rotating mechanical dilator sheath, is still lacking in Asian patients. The efficacy and safety of TLE using TightRail performed between March 2018 and June 2021 were evaluated in 86 consecutive patients with 131 leads. The mean lead age was 11.7 ± 7.3 (range, 1.0–41.4) years. Clinical and complete procedural success using TightRail were achieved in 93.0% and 89.5% of 86 patients, respectively, with 6 min of median fluoroscopic time and 9.3% of major complication rate: death (1.2%), cardiac tamponade (3.5%), severe tricuspid regurgitation (3.5%), and stroke (1.2%). However, in 46 patients with longest lead age ≤ 10 years, clinical/complete success and major cardiac complication rates turned out better as 97.8%, 95.7%, and 2.2%, respectively. Additionally, when patients were divided into 3 groups: the first 28, second 29, and the last 29 patients, there was a clear trend toward better efficacy and safety outcomes with more experience with TightRail (Ptrend < 0.05). Longest lead age > 10 years was closely associated with TLE-related major cardiac complication (P = 0.046) with 85.7% sensitivity, 57.0% specificity, 15.0% positive predictive value, and 97.8% negative predictive values. In conclusion, TLE using TightRail may be effectively and safely performed by experienced operators for Asian patients with the longest lead age ≤ 10 years. However, as TightRail is a potentially aggressive tool, special attention should be paid to patients with longer lead dwelling times (e.g., > 10 years).
Diagnosing challenges and setting priorities for sustainable water resource management under climate change
Authors: Mohammed Ibrahim Nourein , Bolten John D. , Souter Nicholas J. , Shaad Kashif , Vollmer Derek 
Published: January 2022

AbstractManaging transboundary river basins requires balancing tradeoffs of sustainable water use and coping with climate uncertainty. We demonstrate an integrated approach to exploring these issues through the lens of a social-ecological system, combining remote and in-situ earth observations, hydrologic and climate models, and social surveys. Specifically, we examine how climate change and dam development could impact the Se Kong, Se San and Sre Pok rivers in the Mekong region. We find that climate change will lead to increased precipitation, necessitating a shift in dam operations, from maintaining low flows to reducing flood hazards. We also find that existing water governance systems in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia are ill-prepared to address the problem. We conclude that the solution space for addressing these complex issues will be highly constrained unless major deficiencies in transboundary water governance, strategic planning, financial capacity, information sharing, and law enforcement are remedied in the next decades.
Multimodal deep learning applied to classify healthy and disease states of human microbiome
Authors: Lee Seung Jae , Rho Mina 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMetagenomic sequencing methods provide considerable genomic information regarding human microbiomes, enabling us to discover and understand microbial diseases. Compositional differences have been reported between patients and healthy people, which could be used in the diagnosis of patients. Despite significant progress in this regard, the accuracy of these tools needs to be improved for applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. MDL4Microbiome, the method developed herein, demonstrated high accuracy in predicting disease status by using various features from metagenome sequences and a multimodal deep learning model. We propose combining three different features, i.e., conventional taxonomic profiles, genome-level relative abundance, and metabolic functional characteristics, to enhance classification accuracy. This deep learning model enabled the construction of a classifier that combines these various modalities encoded in the human microbiome. We achieved accuracies of 0.98, 0.76, 0.84, and 0.97 for predicting patients with inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and colorectal cancer, respectively; these are comparable or higher than classical machine learning methods. A deeper analysis was also performed on the resulting sets of selected features to understand the contribution of their different characteristics. MDL4Microbiome is a classifier with higher or comparable accuracy compared with other machine learning methods, which offers perspectives on feature generation with metagenome sequences in deep learning models and their advantages in the classification of host disease status.
Phylogenetic relations and range history of jerboas of the Allactaginae subfamily (Dipodidae, Rodentia)
Authors: Lebedev Vladimir S. , Shenbrot Georgy I. , Krystufek Boris , Mahmoudi Ahmad , Melnikova Marina N. , Solovyeva Evgeniya N. , Lisenkova Alexandra A. , Undrakhbayar Enkhbat , Rogovin Konstantin A. , Surov Alexey V. , Bannikova Anna A. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFive-toed jerboas of the subfamily Allactaginae comprise several complex taxa occurring over a wide distribution range covering a large part of the Eurasian arid belt. In this study, we employed current methods of molecular phylogenetics based on 15 nuclear genes and the mitochondrial genecytbto revise relations and systematics within Allactaginae. We also applied species distribution modelling projected on paleo-environmental data to reconstruct the geographic patterns of speciation in Allactaginae. We elucidated the intergeneric relationships within this subfamily and clarified interspecies relations within the genusScarturus. Moreover, our results demonstrate the species status ofS. caprimulga; outline the currently understudied diversity withinOrientallactaga,Allactaga, andPygeretmus; and improve the divergence estimates of these taxa. Based on our results from modelling of geographic range fragmentation in allactagines, we suggest the dating and location of speciation events and present hypotheses regarding general habitat niche conservatism in small mammals.
A colonoscopy quality improvement intervention in an endoscopy unit
Authors: Palmier Rémi , Degand Thibault , Aho Serge , Lepage Côme , Facy Olivier , Michiels Christophe , Manfredi Sylvain 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMany studies identified colonoscopy quality indicators in order to improve performance and safety. We conducted a colonoscopy improvement study. Our study was designed according to a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle: first recording of our quality indicators and identification of shortcomings, second identification of improvement targets and implementation of new procedures, third second recording of quality indicators, fourth validation of procedures and identification of new goals. Quality indicators derived from European and French guidelines were recorded before and after our improvement actions. We were mainly interested in the quality indicators of the colonic preparation, the description of the diagnosed lesions and on the examination reports. The data of 134 patients prospectively included in January–February 2017 were compared to 133 patients included in May–June 2019, after implementation of improvement procedures, in the digestive endoscopy unit of the university hospital of Dijon, France. Our intervention, and in particular the implementation of new standardized forms, improved preparation quality: Boston Bowel Preparation Scale scores increased significantly from 7.8 to 8.2. Cecal intubation rate increased by 6%, and more adenomas were diagnosed and removed (+3.3%). Adenoma detection rate increased significantly from 26 to 42%. The completion of withdrawal time measure improved from 6.7 to 100%. Our study led to the rapid implementation of corrective actions and improved quality in our unit and in our personal practice. This quality improvement strategy could be easily implemented in every digestive endoscopy unit.
Germline sequence variants contributing to cancer susceptibility in South African breast cancer patients of African ancestry
Authors: Eygelaar Dewald , van Rensburg Elizabeth J. , Joubert Fourie 
Published: January 2022

AbstractSince the discovery of the breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, various other genes conferring an increased risk for breast cancer have been identified. Studies to evaluate sequence variants in cancer predisposition genes among women of African ancestry are limited and mostly focused on BRCA1 and BRCA2. To characterize germline sequence variants in cancer susceptibility genes, we analysed a cohort of 165 South African women of self-identified African ancestry diagnosed with breast cancer, who were unselected for family history of cancer. With the exception of four cases, all others were previously investigated for BRCA1 and BRCA2 deleterious variants, and were negative for pathogenic variants. We utilized the Illumina TruSight cancer panel for targeted sequencing of 94 cancer susceptibility genes. A total of 3.6% of patients carried a pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant in a known breast cancer susceptibility gene: 1.2% in BRCA1, 0.6% in each of BRCA2, ATM, CHEK2 and PALB, none of whom had any family history of breast cancer. The mean age of patients who carried deleterious variant in BRCA1/BRCA2 was 39 years and 8 months compared to 47 years and 3 months among women who carried a deleterious variant in other breast cancer susceptibility genes.
Serum-free cultures of C2C12 cells show different muscle phenotypes which can be estimated by metabolic profiling
Authors: Jang Mi , Scheffold Jana , Røst Lisa Marie , Cheon Hyejeong , Bruheim Per 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn vitro skeletal muscle cell production is emerging in the field of artificial lab-grown meat as alternative future food. Currently, there is an urgent paradigm shift towards a serum replacement culture system. Surprisingly, little is known about the impact of serum-free culture on skeletal muscle cells to date. Therefore, we performed metabolic profiling of the C2C12 myoblasts and myotubes in serum-free mediums (B27, AIM-V) and compared it with conventional serum supplementation culture. Furthermore, cell morphology, viability, and myogenic differentiation were observed for 7 days of cultivation. Intriguingly, the metabolic difference is more dominant between the cell status than medium effects. In addition, proliferative myoblast showed more distinct metabolic differences than differentiated myotubes in different culture conditions. The intracellular levels of GL3P and UDP-GlcNAc were significantly increased in myotubes versus myoblast. Non-essential amino acids and pyruvate reduction and transamination showed significant differences among serum, B27, and AIM-V cultures. Intracellular metabolite profiles indicated that C2C12 myotubes cultured in serum and B27 had predominant glycolytic and oxidative metabolism, respectively, indicating fast and slow types of muscle confirmed by MHC immunostaining. This work might be helpful to understand the altered metabolism of skeletal muscle cells in serum-free culture and contribute to future artificial meat research work.
Design specification management with automated decision-making for reliable optimization of miniaturized microwave components
Authors: Koziel Slawomir , Pietrenko-Dabrowska Anna , Plotka Piotr 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe employment of numerical optimization techniques for parameter tuning of microwave components has nowadays become a commonplace. In pursuit of reliability, it is most often carried out at the level of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models, incurring considerable computational expenses. In the case of miniaturized microstrip circuits, densely arranged layouts with strong cross-coupling effects make EM-driven tuning imperative to achieve the optimum performance. The process is even more challenging due to a typically large number of geometry parameters, and the lack of reasonable initial designs. The latter often encourages the use of global search procedures, which may be prohibitively expensive. In this paper, a novel automated framework for reliable optimization of miniaturized microwave components is proposed. Our methodology is based on design specification management, where the performance requirements imposed on the system are temporarily relaxed if the current design is unlikely to be improved (e.g., due to being away from the target operating frequency). The specifications are re-adjusted at each iteration of the algorithm, and eventually converge to their original values. Using two examples of compact microstrip couplers and a power divider, the presented technique is demonstrated to significantly improve the efficacy of local search routines under challenging design scenarios.
The effect of layer thickness and immobilization chemistry on the detection of CRP in LSPR assays
Authors: Kastner Stephan , Pritzke Pia , Csáki Andrea , Fritzsche Wolfgang 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe immobilization of a capture molecule represents a crucial step for effective usage of gold nanoparticles in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-based bioanalytics. Depending on the immobilization method used, the resulting capture layer is of varying thickness. Thus, the target binding event takes place at different distances to the gold surface. Using the example of a C-reactive protein immunoassay, different immobilization methods were tested and investigated with regard to their resulting target signal strength. The dependency of the target signal on the distance to the gold surface was investigated utilizing polyelectrolyte bilayers of different thickness. It could be experimentally demonstrated how much the LSPR-shift triggered by a binding event on the gold nanoparticles decreases with increasing distance to the gold surface. Thus, the sensitivity of an LSPR assay is influenced by the choice of immobilization chemistry.
Clinical and behavior characteristics of individuals who used ketamine
Authors: Lee Tony Szu-Hsien , Liu Yi-Hsuan , Huang Yun-Ju , Tang Wai-Kwong , Wang Yifan , Hu Sien , Lin Ching-Po , Li Chiang-Shan Ray , Hung Chia-Chun 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThis study aims to depict and compare clinical characteristics and risk behavior among groups of individuals using ketamine, polydrugs or smoking cigarette. A total of 185 drug-using participants and 49 smokers participated in this study. A cross-sectional interview was used to collect information on demographics, drug- and sex-related behaviors, HIV serostatus, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), behavioral dispositions. N-back memory test was used to measure short-term memory. Result shows that 10 participants (5.41%) were HIV positive and 14 (7.57%) having LUTS. Individuals with ketamine and polydrugs use have significantly worse drug-related problem than cigarette smokers. Compared to cigarette smokers and ketamine users, individuals with polydrug users scored significantly higher on impulsivity measures. Cigarette smokers performed significantly better than the other two groups on the memory tests. A few patients had been infected with HIV and diagnosed with LUTS. Findings support that memory on short term recalls of patients with ketamine use might be impaired. Study findings warrants the necessarily of further study on influences of using ketamine.
Frequency dependence prediction and parameter identification of rubber bushing
Authors: Li Guang , Wu Liguang , Zhang Shuyu , Liu Fang 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAffected by frequency, amplitude and some other factors, the dynamic mechanical properties of rubber bushing are nonlinear. In order to study the frequency dependence of the rubber bushing, a BP neural network optimized by genetic algorithm (GA-BP neural network) is applied to predict the dynamic stiffness and loss factor under frequency of 61–100 Hz. The training data refers to the test data under frequency of 1–60 Hz. And the algorithm is demonstrated by the elastomer test of rubber bushing under amplitudes 0.2 mm, 0.4 mm and 0.6 mm. The results show that the prediction error of dynamic stiffness is less than 1%, and the prediction error of loss factor is less than 3%. In order to apply the predicted results to the software for simulation, a five-parameter mathematical model (FPM) consisting of three elastic elements and two damping elements is developed, and the model parameters are identified by least squares method. According to the fitting results and test data, the fitting error of dynamic stiffness is less than 2%, and the fitting error of loss factor is less than 3%. The GA-BP neural network and FPM model predict the dynamic mechanical behaviour of rubber bushing without the performance of iterative experiments and the incurrence of a high computational cost, making it applicable to analyze full-size vehicles with numerous rubber bushings under various vibration load conditions.
Transcriptomic analysis of choroidal neovascularization reveals dysregulation of immune and fibrosis pathways that are attenuated by a novel anti-fibrotic treatment
Authors: Brandli Alice , Khong Fay L. , Kong Roy C. K. , Kelly Darren J. , Fletcher Erica L. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractNeovascular AMD (nAMD) leads to vision loss and is a leading cause of visual impairment in the industrialised world. Current treatments that target blood vessel growth have not been able to treat subretinal fibrosis and nAMD patients continue to lose vision. The molecular mechanisms involved in the development of fibrotic lesions in nAMD are not well understood. The aim of this study was to further understand subretinal fibrosis in the laser photocoagulation model of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) by studying the whole transcriptome of the RPE/choroid following CNV and the application of an anti-fibrotic following CNV. Seven days after laser induced CNV, RPE and choroid tissue was separated and underwent RNAseq. Differential expression analysis and pathway analysis revealed an over representation of immune signalling and fibrotic associated pathways in CNV compared to control RPE/choroid tissue. Comparisons between the mouse CNV model to human CNV revealed an overlap in upregulated expression for immune genes (Ccl2, Ccl8 and Cxcl9) and extracellular matrix remodeling genes (Comp, Lrcc15, Fndc1 and Thbs2). Comparisons between the CNV model and other fibrosis models showed an overlap of over 60% of genes upregulated in either lung or kidney mouse models of fibrosis. Treatment of CNV using a novel cinnamoyl anthranilate anti-fibrotic (OCX063) in the laser induced CNV model was selected as this class of drugs have previously been shown to target fibrosis. CNV lesion leakage and fibrosis was found to be reduced using OCX063 and gene expression of genes within the TGF-beta signalling pathway. Our findings show the presence of fibrosis gene expression pathways present in the laser induced CNV mouse model and that anti-fibrotic treatments offer the potential to reduce subretinal fibrosis in AMD.
Tuning three-dimensional nano-assembly in the mesoscale via bis(imino)pyridine molecular functionalization
Authors: Brisbin Ryan , Bartolo Mark , Leville Michael , Rajan Arya K. , Jahan Basharat , McCloskey Kara E. , Gopinathan Ajay , Ghosh Sayantani , Baxter Ryan 
Published: January 2022

AbstractWe investigate the effect of bis(imino)pyridine (BIP) ligands in guiding self-assembly of semiconducting CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) into three-dimensional multi-layered shells with diameters spanning the entire mesoscopic range, from 200 nm to 2 μm. The assembly process is directed by guest–host interactions between the BIP ligands and a thermotropic liquid crystal (LC), with the latter’s phase transition driving the process. Characterization of the shell structures, through scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, demonstrates that the average shell diameter depends on the BIP structure, and that changing one functional group in the chemical scaffold allows systematic tuning of shell sizes across the entire range. Differential scanning calorimetry confirms a relationship between shell sizes and the thermodynamic perturbation of the BIP molecules to the LC phase transition temperature, allowing analytical modeling of shell assembly energetics. This novel mechanism to controllably tune shell sizes over the entire mesoscale via one standard protocol is a significant development for research on in situ cargo/drug delivery platforms using nano-assembled structures.