bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous spheroids with tunable interior morphologies by droplet-based microfluidics
Authors: Zhan Zhen , Liu Zeyang , Nan Haochen , Li Jianjie , Xie Yuan , Hu Chengzhi 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Heterogeneous spheroids that mimic the complex three-dimensional environment of natural tissues are needed in various biomedical applications. Geometric cues from cellular matrix play invaluable roles in governing cell behavior and phenotype. However, the structural complexity of interior morphologies of spheroids is currently limited due to poor spatial resolution of positioning/orientation of cellular constructs. Here, a coaxial capillary microfluidic device is developed to generate gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) microspheres with tunable dimensions and interior morphologies, such as core-shell, or microspheres with interior undulated wavy, or spiral canals, by manipulating the two-phase flow of hydrogel precursor solution and methylcellulose solution. The formation of diverse and exquisite interior morphologies is caused by the interacting viscous instabilities of the two-phase flow in the microfluidic system, followed by water-in-oil emulsion and photo-initiated polymerization. Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) is incorporated into the GelMA solution to tune the mechanical properties of the fabricated microspheres, and an optimized concentration of PEGDA is confirmed by evaluating the in vitro proliferation and vascularization of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Further, a heterogeneous spheroid with spiral blood vessel lumen is constructed to demonstrate the versatility and potential of the proposed droplet-based microfluidic approach for building functional tissue constructs.
Investigation on characterization and machinability of Al-4032/SiC metal matrix composite
Authors: Saini Pardeep , Singh Pradeep K 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The Aluminium based metal matrix composites (AMCs) are quite popular for their superior mechanical properties, lightweight, and enhanced corrosion resistance. An increase in the reinforcement fraction enhances the mechanical properties of the base alloy but badly disturbs the ductility. The stir casting method has been employed for the fabrication of SiC reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite (MMC). Optical micrographs (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX) have been used for analysis of the composite microstructure, surface topography, and fracture behavior. Also, mechanical (tensile strength, micro-hardness, impact strength) characterization of the fabricated AMC has been attempted. The MMC has been machined with various combinations of machining parameters making use of a carbide cutter. The surface roughness (Ra value) has been measured to evaluate the surface quality. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been applied for optimizing the surface finish. The occurrence of hard reinforcement in base Al-alloy makes the MMC difficult to machine. But machining turns relatively easier at high cutting speed and low feed rate, causing improved surface finish. The best surface finish (Ra = 1.145 μm) was achieved at 0.066 feed rate (mm/tooth), 157 cutting speed (m/min), and 0.528 depth of cut (mm).
Gelatin/gentamicin sulfate-modified PMMA bone cement with proper mechanical properties and high antibacterial ability
Authors: Zheng Xiaoqiang , Wang Yifan , Liu Jingyu , Han Jintong , Cui Zhenduo , Wu Shuilin , Liang Yanqin , Zhu Shengli , Ge Xiang , Li Zhaoyang 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
With the aging of the population, the risk of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) caused by osteoporosis increases rapidly. Surgeons often fill the bone defect with injectable polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement through vertebroplasty. However, compared with cancellous bone, the higher mechanical properties of PMMA bone cement can easily lead to the fracture of the adjacent cone. Besides, the wound infection caused by surgery is also a serious problem. In order to solve these problems, we designed a new type of PMMA bone cement, by adding gelatin as a pore former, 5% (w/w) gentamicin sulfate (GS) for antibacterial purpose, and 30% (w/w) barium sulfate (BaSO4) to provide excellent radiopacity. Compared with the traditional PMMA bone cement, with the dissolution of gelatin after being immersed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 14 d, the mechanical properties of modified PMMA bone cement decreased by approximately 67%, which is close to the human cancellous bone. Besides, the release of GS increased 3.8 times, and the GS concentration remained above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for 12 d. In addition, the setting properties, contact angle, antibacterial ability, and cell compatibility of PMMA bone cement also maintained well. The integration and dissolution of gelatin were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). All results indicate that the new type of gelatin-modified PMMA bone cement is a potential candidate material for vertebroplasty.
Adsorption of phosphate by cancrinite in red mud: a first-principles study
Authors: Xiaotian Zhou , Li Longjiang , Yueqin Qiu , Wanshuang Liu 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Cancrinite is the key substance that affects the adsorption effect of phosphate from red mud(RM) . Therefore, cancrinite in RM was modified to improve its adsorption performance. Based on density functional theory(DTF), this paper optimized the structure of cancrinite, the main component of red mud, modified the cancrinite with sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, and studied the surface wettability changes of cancrinite before and after modification through dynamics relaxation. The effects of wetting modification on the adsorption properties of cancrinite were studied by molecular dynamics simulation of radial distribution function, adsorption site , adsorption energy and mean square displacement. Research shows that modified cancrinite Surface wettability increased by 77%, also has more adsorption sites, adsorption energy is smaller, diffusion process is accelerated, so the adsorption capacity is stronger. This study lays a theoretical foundation for enhancing the adsorption of phosphate from wastewater by RM.
Unconventional ferrimagnetism and enhanced magnetic ordering temperature in monolayer CrCl3 by introducing O impurities and Cl vacancies
Authors: Mastrippolito Dario , Wang Jing , Profeta Gianni , Ottaviano Luca 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Among chromium trihalides, a specific group of layered van der Waals magnetic materials, chromium trichloride (CrCl3) is the only system relatively stable under ambient conditions. This is also observed in reduced dimensionality where the emergence of extrinsic long-range ordered oxidized and Cl-vacancy-defective CrCl3 phases is experimentally reported. In this work, the magnetic properties of such two-dimensional (2D) systems are studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, including the electron-electron (U) repulsion interactions, and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Once the Cl vacancies are introduced, the results indicate that the monolayer CrCl3 has a magnetic moment that is enhanced linearly (up to 3.14 µ

B
/Cr) in the (1%–10%) vacancy concentration range. This determines a strengthening of the ferromagnetic state and a two-fold increase of the Curie temperature (up to 146 K) as valuated from MC simulations. More interestingly, once oxygen extrinsic impurities are considered, the monolayer CrCl3 structure is hybridized forming a stable ordered phase (O–CrCl3) with oxygen atoms allocated on the Cr atomic layer in the center of the honeycomb ring formed by Cr atoms. The magnetic moments of the O–CrCl3 system are localized on both Cr and O atoms, with oxygen antiferromagnetically coupled to chromium, resulting in a 2D ferrimagnetic hexagonal lattice system with an average magnetic moment of 2.14 µ

B
/Cr and a high magnetic ordering temperature (110 K) predicted with DFT in the mean field approach.
Interphases in the electrodes of potassium ion batteries
Authors: Han Yupei , Vijaya Kumar Saroja Ajay Piriya , Tinker Henry R , Xu Yang 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Rechargeable potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are of great interest as a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective energy storage technology. The electrochemical performance of a PIB is closely related to the reaction kinetics of active materials, ionic/electronic transport, and the structural/electrochemical stability of cell components. Alongside the great effort devoted in discovering and optimising electrode materials, recent research unambiguously demonstrates the decisive role of the interphases that interconnect adjacent components in a PIB. Knowledge of interphases is currently less comprehensive and satisfactory compared to that of electrode materials, and therefore, understanding the interphases is crucial to facilitating electrode materials design and advancing battery performance. The present review aims to summarise the critical interphases that dominate the overall battery performance of PIBs, which includes solid-electrolyte interphase, cathode-electrolyte interphase, and solid–solid interphases within composite electrodes, via exploring their formation principles, chemical compositions, and determination of reaction kinetics. State-of-the-art design strategies of robust interphases are discussed and analysed. Finally, perspectives are given to stimulate new ideas and open questions to further the understanding of interphases and the development of PIBs.
On some generic classes of ergodic measure preserving transformations
Authors: Glasner E. , Thouvenot J.-P. , Weiss B. 
Published: March 2022

We answer positively a question of Ryzhikov, namely we show that being a relatively weakly mixing extension is a comeager property in the Polish group of measure preserving transformations. We study some related classes of ergodic transformations and their interrelations. In the second part of the paper we show that for a fixed ergodic

T
T

with property

A

\mathbf {A}

, a generic extension

T
^

\widehat {T}

of

T
T

also has property

A

\mathbf {A}

. Here

A

\mathbf {A}

stands for each of the following properties: (i) having the same entropy as

T
T

, (ii) Bernoulli, (iii) K, and (iv) loosely Bernoulli.
A vacuolar membrane protein Vsb1p contributes to the vacuolar compartmentalization of basic amino acids in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Authors: Ohnishi Shota , Kawano-Kawada Miyuki , Yamamoto Yusuke , Akiyama Koichi , Sekito Takayuki 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACT
Accumulation levels of Arg, Lys, and His in vacuoles of Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells were drastically decreased by the disruption of SPAC24H6.11c (vsb1+) gene identified by a homology search with the VSB1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The Vsb1p fused with green fluorescent protein particularly localized at vacuolar membranes in S. pombe cells. Overexpression of vsb1+ markedly increased vacuolar levels of basic amino acids; however, overexpression of the vsb1D174A mutant did not affect the levels of these amino acids. These results suggest that the vsb1+ contributes to the accumulation of basic amino acids into the vacuoles of S. pombe, and the aspartate residue in the putative first transmembrane domain conserved among fungal homologs is crucial for the function of Vsb1p.
Evitar: designing anti-viral RNA therapies against future RNA viruses
Authors: Zhang Dingyao , Tian Jingru , Wang Yadong , Lu Jun 
Published: March 2022

AbstractMotivationThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the threat of emerging respiratory viruses and has exposed the lack of availability of off-the-shelf therapeutics against new RNA viruses. Previous research has established the potential that siRNAs and RNA-targeting CRISPR have in combating known RNA viruses. However, the feasibility and tools for designing anti-viral RNA therapeutics against future RNA viruses have not yet been established.ResultsWe develop the Emerging-Virus-Targeting RNA (Evitar) pipeline for designing anti-viral siRNAs and CRISPR Cas13a guide RNA (gRNA) sequences. Within Evitar, we develop Greedy Algorithm with Redundancy and Similarity-weighted Greedy Algorithm with Redundancy to enhance the performance. Time simulations using known coronavirus genomes deposited as early as 10 years prior to the COVID-19 outbreak show that at least three SARS-CoV-2-targeting siRNAs are among the top 30 pre-designed siRNAs. In addition, among the top 19 pre-designed gRNAs, there are three SARS-CoV-2-targeting Cas13a gRNAs that could be predicted using information from 2011. Before-the-outbreak design is also possible against the MERS-CoV virus and the 2009-H1N1 swine flu virus. Designed siRNAs are further shown to suppress SARS-CoV-2 viral sequences using in vitro reporter assays. Our results support the utility of Evitar to pre-design anti-viral siRNAs/gRNAs against future viruses. Therefore, we propose the development of a collection consisting of roughly 30 pre-designed, safety-tested and off-the-shelf siRNA/CRISPR therapeutics that could accelerate responses to future RNA virus outbreaks.Availability and implementationCodes are available at GitHub (https://github.com/dingyaozhang/Evitar).Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Novel Reduced Reference Image Quality Assessment Based on Formal Concept Analysis
Authors: AlShaikh Muath 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The assessment of image quality provides the confidentiality, safety, quality and transparency of the obtained images. At the same time, there are many existing quality metric approaches that belong to the group of modification alteration procedures (pixel-based metric). These techniques have not been well-matched with perceptual image quality. The Perceptual Human Visual System (HVS) aspect drives our approach; The human visual system (HVS) is the best judge of image quality. This paper presents a new reduced reference image quality metric in the spatial domain that reduces the complexity of the image quality assessment. From the reference and distortion images, we extract four intrinsic features, namely, contrast, entropy, histogram and standard deviation. Then, we build the formal concept analysis matrix for reference and distortion images. Finally, we compare the obtained matrixes to evaluate the image quality. The performance of the proposed technique is assessed using LIVE, TID2013 and CSIQ datasets, and the obtained results are compared in terms of PSNR, SSIM and NCC metrics. Also, a comparison with more recent and relevant approaches is performed to highlight the superior performance of our proposed approach, the experimental results indicated that the proposed approach provides efficient performance among the compression, Gaussian blur, Contrast and add noise distortion types.
The regulation of cardiac intermediary metabolism by NADPH oxidases
Authors: Nabeebaccus Adam A , Reumiller Christina M , Shen Jie , Zoccarato Anna , Santos Celio X C , Shah Ajay M 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
NADPH oxidases (NOXs), enzymes whose primary function is to generate reactive oxygen species, are important regulators of the heart’s physiological function and response to pathological insults. The role of NOX-driven redox signalling in pathophysiological myocardial remodelling, including processes such as interstitial fibrosis, contractile dysfunction, cellular hypertrophy, and cell survival, is well recognized. While the NOX2 isoform promotes many detrimental effects, the NOX4 isoform has attracted considerable attention as a driver of adaptive stress responses both during pathology and under physiological states such as exercise. Recent studies have begun to define some of the NOX4-modulated mechanisms that may underlie these adaptive responses. In particular, novel functions of NOX4 in driving cellular metabolic changes have emerged. Alterations in cellular metabolism are a recognized hallmark of the heart’s response to physiological and pathological stresses. In this review, we highlight the emerging roles of NOX enzymes as important modulators of cellular intermediary metabolism in the heart, linking stress responses not only to myocardial energetics but also other functions. The novel interplay of NOX-modulated redox signalling pathways and intermediary metabolism in the heart is unravelling a new aspect of the fascinating biology of these enzymes which will inform a better understanding of how they drive adaptive responses. We also discuss the implications of these new findings for therapeutic approaches that target metabolism in cardiac disease.
Lockdown and voting behaviour: a natural experiment on postponed elections during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Giommoni Tommaso , Loumeau Gabriel 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The goal of this paper is to study the electoral impact of crisis management policies. With this aim, we exploit a natural experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic in France to evaluate the effect of the lockdown on voting behaviour. In particular, the country has been divided in two areas, red and green, subject to a ‘hard’ and a ‘soft’ lockdown, respectively. To measure voting behaviour, before and after the policy, we rely on the 2020 French municipal elections: the first round took place before the introduction of the restrictions, while the second round was delayed after the end of the lockdown. We estimate a spatial regression-discontinuity-design model comparing electoral outcomes around the border of red and green areas both in the second round and between the two electoral rounds. The main results suggest that lockdown regulations significantly affected voting outcomes. First, in localities under a harder lockdown, the incumbent’s vote share is higher. Second, voter turnout is larger where more stringent restrictions are adopted. These results suggest that lockdown policy mobilizes citizens and leads them to rally around the incumbent politicians.
Social Vulnerability, Frailty, and Their Association With Mortality in Older Adults Living in Rural Tanzania
Authors: Cooper Fiona , Lewis Emma Grace , Urasa Sarah , Whitton Louise , Collin Harry , Coles Selina , Wood Greta Karen , Ali Ali Mohamed , Mdegella Deborah , Mkodo Joyce , Zerd Francis , Dotchin Catherine , Gray William K , Walker Richard W 
Published: March 2022

Abstract

Background
Social vulnerability correlates with frailty and is associated with mortality and disability. However, few studies have investigated this relationship outside of high-income country settings. This study aimed to produce and analyze a culturally adapted social vulnerability index (SVI) to investigate the relationship between social vulnerability, frailty, and mortality in older adults in Tanzania.

Methods
An SVI was produced using data from a cohort study investigating frailty in older adults in Tanzania. Variables were selected based on previous SVI studies using the categories established by Andrew et al. from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, and National Population Health Survey. The SVI distribution was examined and compared with a frailty index (FI) produced from the same sample, using mutually exclusive variables. Cox regression survival analysis was used to investigate the association between social vulnerability, frailty, and mortality.

Results
A stratified cohort of 235 individuals were included in the study at baseline, with a mean age of 75.2 (SD 11.5). Twenty-six participants died within the follow-up period, with a mean of 503 days (range: 405–568) following the initial assessment. The SVI had a median score of 0.47 (interquartile range: 0.23, range: 0.14–0.86). Social vulnerability significantly predicted mortality when adjusting for age and gender, but not when also adjusting for frailty.

Conclusions
Social vulnerability can be successfully operationalized and culturally adapted in Tanzania. Social vulnerability is associated with mortality in Tanzania, but not independently of frailty.
International Conference – IP Protection for Plant Innovation 2021
Authors: Ghimire Saurav , Verdonk Tom 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
On 2 and 3 December 2021, international experts, key decision-makers, industry representatives, and professionals from the global plant innovation sector gathered virtually for FORUM Institut’s biennial ‘Conference on Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Innovation’. Along with the global update on plant breeders’ rights and patents, the conference covered a wide range of issues in intellectual property (IP) law in plant innovation, including the use of New Breeding Technologies (NBTs) and commercial use of off-patent events. This report provides a summary of the key points of the conference.
Development and validation of a self-report social determinants of health questionnaire in Australia
Authors: Oster Candice , Gransbury Bill , Anderson Deb , Martin Vicki , Skuza Pawel , Leibbrandt Richard 
Published: March 2022

Summary
Social determinants of health have a significant effect on health and wellbeing. There is increasing recognition of the need for health professionals to measure and address the social determinants affecting the health and wellbeing of their clients, yet efforts to do so are hampered by the lack of a validated, brief self-report measure that covers a range of determinants in a single measure. This study aimed to develop and conduct initial validation of a measure of social determinants of health, the Steps to Better Health Questionnaire (STBH-Q). Construct validity was assessed via factorial validity using exploratory factor analysis and second order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), followed by convergent validity against the EQ-5D-5L quality of life measure. Reliability was assessed by exploring internal consistency. A convenience sampling approach was used, and 330 Australian adults aged 18 and over completed the survey. This initial validation suggests an underlying structure of STBH-Q consisting of Access; Employment, Finances & Education; Safety; Physical & Mental Health; and Family & Childhood, confirmed by second-order CFA. Results of convergent validity testing with the EQ-5D-5L demonstrated significant correlations of modest to moderate strength with the instrument as a whole and with the sub-scales in the expected direction. Cronbach’s alpha for the five scales ranged from 0.561 to 0.827. Further development and validation of the STBH-Q is needed to explore alternative questions regarding social connection and habits/addictions and add additional items to factors with only two items.