bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enhancing heterologous expression of a key enzyme for the biosynthesis of 2′‐fucosyllactose
Authors: Liu Wenxian , Tang Shizhe , Peng Jing , Pan Lina , Wang Jiaqi , Cheng Haina , Chen Zhu , Wang Yuguang , Zhou Hongbo 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBACKGROUND2′‐Fucosyllactose (2′‐FL) is the most abundant human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) in human milk and has important physiological functions. The market demand of 2′‐FL is continuing to grow, but high production cost has limited its availability. To solve the dilemma, biosynthesis of 2′‐FL has been proposed and is considered the most promising pathway for massive production. α‐1,2‐Fucosyltransferase is one of the key elements involved in its biosynthesis, but the limited intracellular accumulation and unstable properties of α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferases when expressed in host strains have become a major hurdle for the effective biosynthesis of 2′‐FL.RESULTSA combinatorial engineering strategy of synergic modification of ribosome binding site, fusion peptide and enzyme gene was leveraged to enhance the soluble expression of α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferases and promote enzyme activity. The preferable combination was to employ an optimized ribosome binding site region to drive 3 × FLAG as a fusion partner along with the α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferase for expression in Escherichia coli (DE3) PlySs, and protein yield and enzyme activity were remarkably improved by 11.51‐fold and 13.72‐fold, respectively.CONCLUSIONAfter finely tuning the synergy among different elements, the abundant protein yield and high enzyme activity confirmed that the drawbacks of heterologous expression in α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferase had been properly addressed. A suitable external environment further drives the efficient synthesis of α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferases. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a systematic and effective modification of α‐1,2‐fucosyltransferase expression, which could potentially serve as a guideline for industrial application. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Diversity‐stability relationships in temperate grasslands as a function of soil pH
Authors: Liu Kai , Liu Zunchi , Zhou Nan , Shi Xinrong , Lock T. Ryan , Kallenbach Robert L. , Yuan Zhiyou 
Published: March 2022

AbstractDiversity‐stability relationships in grasslands depend on the environment. Climate change and land degradation potentially alter soil pH and community stability within grassland environments, although it remains unclear how alteration in soil pH affects diversity‐stability relationships. From a three‐year experiment with acidification and alkalization treatments in three types of grasslands (i.e., desert, typical and meadow grasslands) in Northern China, we found that altered soil pH negatively impacted community biodiversity, especially in desert grasslands. Both soil acidification and alkalization reduced community stability in desert grasslands. Soil alkalization reduced community stability in typical grasslands. Altered soil pH did not affect community stability in meadow grasslands. The reduced community stability by soil acidification in desert grasslands could be attributed to the decreased dominant species stability, whereas the soil alkalization‐induced decline of community stability could be attributed to the reducing species asynchrony and dominant species stability. Our results suggest that soil pH‐mediated community stability is mainly driven by dominant species stability rather than diversity in desert grassland. Soil nutrients are affected by soil acidification and alkalization and varied among grasslands. Soil acidification enhanced nutrient availability and soil alkalization reduced soil total nutrients, both of which were negatively correlated with soil pH in desert grassland. Such changes in soil nutrients were associated with species asynchrony and then indirectly affected community stability, indicating the importance of soil nutrients in driving community stability. Our study suggests that drier grasslands might face greater stability risks and challenges than wetter grasslands under altered soil pH across spatial gradients of semiarid grasslands.
The fundamentals of sex‐based disparity in liver transplantation: Understanding can lead to change
Authors: Singh Noreen , Watt Kymberly D. , Bhanji Rahima A. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Liver transplantation (LT) is the definitive treatment for end‐stage liver disease. Unfortunately, women are disadvantaged at every stage of the LT process. We conducted a literature review to increase the understanding of this disparity. Hormonal differences, psychological factors, and Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score inequalities are some pretransplantation factors that contribute to this disparity. In the posttransplantation setting, women have differing risk than men in most major outcomes (perioperative complications, rejection, long‐term renal dysfunction, and malignancy) and assessing the two groups together is disadvantageous. Herein, we propose interventions including standardized criteria for LT referral, using an alternate MELD, education for support of women, and motivating women to seek living donors. Understanding sex‐based differences will allow us to improve access, tailor management, and improve overall outcomes for all patients, particularly women.
α‐Synuclein Radiotracer Development and In Vivo Imaging: Recent Advancements and New Perspectives
Authors: Alzghool Obada M. , van Dongen Guus , van de Giessen Elsmarieke , Schoonmade Linda , Beaino Wissam 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTα‐Synucleinopathies including idiopathic Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple systems atrophy share overlapping symptoms and pathological hallmarks. Selective neurodegeneration and Lewy pathology are the main hallmarks of α‐synucleinopathies. Currently, there is no imaging biomarker suitable for a definitive early diagnosis of α‐synucleinopathies. Although dopaminergic deficits detected with single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers can support clinical diagnosis by confirming the presence of dopaminergic neurodegeneration, dopaminergic imaging cannot visualize the preceding disease process, nor distinguish α‐synucleinopathies from tauopathies with dopaminergic neurodegeneration, especially at early symptomatic disease stage when clinical presentation is often overlapping. Aggregated α‐synuclein (αSyn) could be a suitable imaging biomarker in α‐synucleinopathies, because αSyn aggregation and therefore, Lewy pathology is evidently an early driver of α‐synucleinopathies pathogenesis. Additionally, several antibodies and small molecule compounds targeting aggregated αSyn are in development for therapy. However, there is no way to directly measure if or how much they lower the levels of aggregated αSyn in the brain. There is clearly a paramount diagnostic and therapeutic unmet medical need. To date, aggregated αSyn and Lewy pathology inclusion bodies cannot be assessed ante‐mortem with SPECT or PET imaging because of the suboptimal binding characteristics and/or physicochemical properties of current radiotracers. The aim of this narrative review is to highlight the suitability of aggregated αSyn as an imaging biomarker in α‐synucleinopathies, the current limitations with and lessons learned from αSyn radiotracer development, and finally to propose antibody‐based ligands for imaging αSyn aggregates as a complementary tool rather than an alternative to small molecule ligands. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson Movement Disorder Society.
Quilting Power:Mana,UNESCOand Spiritual Sovereignty in the Marquesas Islands
Authors: Donaldson Emily C. 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTThe Marquesas Islands were added to UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List (WHL) in 1996. Twenty‐five years later, the project to join the coveted WHL continues, plagued by volatile politics and, more subtly, an underlying discomfort with the colonial past. This world heritage initiative highlights key cultural and political tensions between the Marquesas and the two much larger partners involved in the project: Tahiti and France. As a colonial territory of France and an outlying archipelago of French Polynesia, the Marquesas see WHL status as a step toward greater global recognition and power. Yet UNESCO's specific requirements for how heritage is defined, perceived, and promoted threaten to suppress more local, embodied, and relational understandings of Marquesan heritage, echoing long‐standing colonial patterns of social and religious oppression. In particular, the troubled relationship between Islanders and their past trivializes questions about whether to recognize colonial or Indigenous ruins, illustrating the lasting entanglement of these histories and the insidious workings of power across local, state and territorial scales. While the WHL initiative expresses both Indigenous and colonial ambitions, different parties are using the term ‘heritage’ as a political tool that either voices or, in some cases, silences, Indigenous interpretations. The underlying link between Marquesan heritage and agency points to the critical role of spiritual sovereignty in the tense and dynamic interplay of power in contemporary French Polynesia.
Design and fabrication of an electrochemical‐based nanofibrous immunosensor for detection of prostate cancer biomarker, PSMA
Authors: Rezaei Zahra , Alemzadeh Iran , Vossoughi Manouchehr 
Published: March 2022

AbstractConvenient medical diagnostics and treatments can replace conventional healthcare procedures because of their fast and profitable applications with reduced infection risk. Meanwhile, early diagnosis of cancer is a leading research subject due to the high fatality rate of the disease and being a vital precursor in the treatment effectiveness. Electrochemical‐based micro‐biosensors are the best candidates for measuring particular biomarker concentrations in body fluids. To address this need, we used a simple fabrication approach to develop an effective immunosensor for the early detection of cancer, in particular prostate cancer. The carbon fibers, obtained from the electrospinning technique, decorate the sensor's working electrode. The available immobilization surface for antibodies doubled by taking advantage of carbon nanofibers. This modification would increase sensor sensitivity and simplify steps of immobilization. Furthermore, the prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) biomarker, a more reliable substitute for prostate‐specific antigen in prostate cancer diagnosis, was evaluated in cell culture media as a provisional model. Compared to other works, the present sensor uses more accessible materials and simple techniques. Still, it functions reasonably in the linear range of 10–200 ng/ml with the sensitivity of 22.1 pg/ml and detection limit of 9.5 ng/ml without the need for labeling or any other complicated processes. Specific sample concentrations were assessed with sensors and a commercial PSMA ELISA assay kit. According to obtained results, the present sensors have sufficient accuracy in PSMA detection.
Parametric investigation for mechanical properties of tetra‐anti‐chiral auxetic structures of polymer under compressive loading
Authors: Teraiya Soham , Vyavahare Swapnil , Kumar Shailendra 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn the present work, an experimental investigation is performed to study the influence of process parameters on mechanical properties of tetra‐anti‐chiral auxetic structures manufactured by material extrusion (ME) technique of additive manufacturing (AM). Process parameters namely layer height, print speed, and print temperature are considered, while responses are compressive strength (), modulus (E), and specific energy absorption (SEA). Specimens of acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) polymer are fabricated and then tested under compressive loading. From the experimental results, it is observed that all process parameters significantly influence the mechanical properties of the structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study microstructural defects of the tested specimen. To maximize the responses, optimization of process parameter is performed using desirability function approach. Regressive models are developed to predict the mechanical properties.
Advances in mass spectrometry‐based footprinting of membrane proteins
Authors: Sun Jie , Li Weikai , Gross Michael L. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractStructural biology is entering an exciting time where many new high‐resolution structures of large complexes and membrane proteins (MPs) are determined regularly. These advances have been driven by over 15 years of technological improvements, first in macromolecular crystallography, and recently in cryo‐electron microscopy. Obtaining information about MP higher order structure and interactions is also a frontier, important but challenging owing to their unique properties and the need to choose suitable detergents/lipids for their study. The development of mass spectrometry (MS), both instruments and methodology in the past 10 years, has also advanced it as a complementary method to study MP structure and interactions. In this review, we discuss advances in MS‐based footprinting for MPs and highlight recent methodologies that offer new promise for MP study by chemical footprinting and mass spectrometry.
Multivariate cumulative sum control chart for compositional data with known and estimated process parameters
Authors: Imran Muhammad , Sun Jinsheng , Zaidi Fatima Sehar , Abbas Zameer , Nazir Hafiz Zafar 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis article uses the classic multivariate cumulative sum () chart scheme proposed by Crossier (1988) to present a new modified chart for compositional data (). For this purpose, the data are first transformed using isometric log‐ratio () coordinates representation to eliminate the constant sum constraint of . The ‐ control chart has been defined along with the performance measures of the proposed chart using the average run length (). Besides, the Markov chain method has been used to study the performance of the proposed chart. Assuming that the transformed data are normally distributed, the proposed ‐ charts have been compared with existing competitors such as ‐ and ‐ charts. The comparison shows that the proposed chart has better performance than the ‐ control charts, while the performance of the proposed chart is comparable with the ‐ chart. The effect of the estimated mean vector and variance‐co‐variance matrix on run‐length characteristics of the proposed ‐ control chart has also been studied in this paper. For the performance of ‐ with estimated parameters Monte Carlo simulation has been adopted. The effect of the number of variables , sample size , and subgroup size has also been studied on the data's upper control limit () and . In the end, two illustrative examples of the particle size distribution of plants and production of muesli are provided to represent the practical implementation of the ‐ chart.
Lifting‐principle‐based design and implementation of fixed‐wing unmanned aerial–underwater vehicle
Authors: Wei Zhaoyu , Teng Yuehui , Meng Xiangyao , Yao Baoheng , Lian Lian 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis paper presents the implementation of a novel proof‐of‐concept design of a fixed‐wing unmanned aerial–underwater vehicle (UAUV). The UAUV is designed on the basis of the lifting principle and has an overall density between those of water and air. During air flight, fixed‐wings are deployed to create lift to overcome gravity, similar to ordinary fixed‐wing aircraft. Moreover, the fixed‐wings generate sufficient downward lift to overcome the large net buoyancy (FB), allowing the vehicle to dive during underwater cruising. Owing to the lack of buoyancy regulation and emergency load rejection systems, the proposed UAUV is relatively simpler than those of ordinary autonomous underwater vehicles or other UAUVs. Water exit of the proposed UAUV is driven by a combination of inertial and tractor propellers in conjunction with FB, which allows smooth maneuverability during water‐to‐air transition. A series of successful water‐exit tests are used to demonstrate that the proposed UAUV can rapidly exit from water with a wide range of pitch angles, indicating strong survival capability in the future bad sea condition. This paper presents the proof‐of‐concept, including the lifting‐based principle, general design, avionics and propulsion systems, and field tests in both air and water. The vehicle performance for endurance, duration, flight speed, attitudes during water‐to‐air transitions, and landing on the water surface are also analyzed and discussed.
Sustainable practices in hospitality pre and amid COVID‐19 pandemic: Looking back for moving forward post‐COVID‐19
Authors: Elkhwesky Zakaria , Salem Islam Elbayoumi , Varmus Michal , Ramkissoon Haywantee 
Published: March 2022

AbstractSustainability issues are becoming increasingly important in the hospitality sector during crisis times such as COVID‐19 and post‐pandemic. In order to synthesize the literature on sustainable practices in hospitality, we developed a systematic literature to illustrate the dominant sustainable practices in hospitality. We present a comprehensive review of the 48 articles on sustainable practices in hospitality through the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases; spanning over 2 years (2020–2021) pre‐and amid the COVID‐19 pandemic and extending the scope in distinctive ways. Our review has demonstrated that sustainable practices in hospitality have made progress in the years 2020 and 2021. However, there are conceptual and empirical overlaps among sustainable practices in hospitality. Additionally, hospitality sustainable practices research is restricted in research contexts. There is a lack of research on antecedents, outcomes, and integrating theories in studies. By following the guidance presented in this review, we expect to advance and maintain sustainable practices research to provide substantive insights over the coming years post‐COVID‐19. The current research is one of the first studies to systematically review sustainable practices in hospitality pre‐and amid the COVID‐19 pandemic. The research ends with a comprehensive research agenda and a framework to apprise future theoretical and empirical advances in the area.
Laplacian‐P‐splines for Bayesian inference in the mixture cure model
Authors: Gressani Oswaldo , Faes Christel , Hens Niel 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe mixture cure model for analyzing survival data is characterized by the assumption that the population under study is divided into a group of subjects who will experience the event of interest over some finite time horizon and another group of cured subjects who will never experience the event irrespective of the duration of follow‐up. When using the Bayesian paradigm for inference in survival models with a cure fraction, it is common practice to rely on Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods to sample from posterior distributions. Although computationally feasible, the iterative nature of MCMC often implies long sampling times to explore the target space with chains that may suffer from slow convergence and poor mixing. Furthermore, extra efforts have to be invested in diagnostic checks to monitor the reliability of the generated posterior samples. A sampling‐free strategy for fast and flexible Bayesian inference in the mixture cure model is suggested in this article by combining Laplace approximations and penalized B‐splines. A logistic regression model is assumed for the cure proportion and a Cox proportional hazards model with a P‐spline approximated baseline hazard is used to specify the conditional survival function of susceptible subjects. Laplace approximations to the posterior conditional latent vector are based on analytical formulas for the gradient and Hessian of the log‐likelihood, resulting in a substantial speed‐up in approximating posterior distributions. The spline specification yields smooth estimates of survival curves and functions of latent variables together with their associated credible interval are estimated in seconds. A fully stochastic algorithm based on a Metropolis‐Langevin‐within‐Gibbs sampler is also suggested as an alternative to the proposed Laplacian‐P‐splines mixture cure (LPSMC) methodology. The statistical performance and computational efficiency of LPSMC is assessed in a simulation study. Results show that LPSMC is an appealing alternative to MCMC for approximate Bayesian inference in standard mixture cure models. Finally, the novel LPSMC approach is illustrated on three applications involving real survival data.
Finite‐sample adjustments in variance estimators for clustered competing risks regression
Authors: Chen Xinyuan , Li Fan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe marginal Fine‐Gray proportional subdistribution hazards model is a popular approach to directly study the association between covariates and the cumulative incidence function with clustered competing risks data, which often arise in multicenter randomized trials or multilevel observational studies. To account for the within‐cluster correlations between failure times, the uncertainty of the regression parameters estimators is quantified by the robust sandwich variance estimator, which may have unsatisfactory performance with a limited number of clusters. To overcome this limitation, we propose four bias‐corrected variance estimators to reduce the negative bias of the usual sandwich variance estimator, extending the bias‐correction techniques from generalized estimating equations with noncensored exponential family outcomes to clustered competing risks outcomes. We further compare their finite‐sample operating characteristics through simulations and two real data examples. In particular, we found the Mancl and DeRouen (MD) type sandwich variance estimator generally has the smallest bias. Furthermore, with a small number of clusters, the Wald ‐confidence interval with the MD sandwich variance estimator carries close to nominal coverage for the cluster‐level effect parameter. The ‐confidence intervals based on the sandwich variance estimator with any one of the three types of multiplicative bias correction or the ‐confidence interval with the Morel, Bokossa and Neerchal (MBN) type sandwich variance estimator have close to nominal coverage for the individual‐level effect parameter. Finally, we develop a user‐friendly R package crrcbcv implementing the proposed sandwich variance estimators to assist practical applications.
Biocompatible Inorganic Nanoagent for Efficient Synergistic Tumor Treatment with Augmented Antitumor Immunity
Authors: Su Juanjuan , Lu Shuang , Wei Zheng , Li Bo , Li Jingjing , Sun Jing , Liu Kai , Zhang Hongjie , Wang Fan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractSynergistic therapy for malignant tumors has been developed in the past. However, several disadvantages that are associated with the applied inorganic nanoagents cannot be avoided, including intrinsic systemic toxicity, immunosuppression, and low therapeutic efficiency. Herein, a biocompatible, multifunctional, inorganic nanoagent that simultaneously integrates chemodynamic, starvation, and photothermal therapies is developed. This nanoagent effectively converts endogenous H2O2 into highly toxic hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction. Self‐reinforced cancer therapy is achieved via the scavenging of intracellular glutathione and glucose. The encapsulation of nanoagent by erythrocytes drastically reduces its immune recognition by macrophages. Thus, an augmented anti‐tumor immune response is realized. Moreover, in contrast to traditional inorganic chemodynamic nanomaterials, the nanoagent has outstanding photothermal efficiency. Therefore, the present system exhibits an effective tumor therapeutic outcome. This work may facilitate a new pathway for the development of highly efficacious synergetic therapies.