bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biochar research advancement in Bangladesh: challenges and opportunities of biochar in improving soil health
Authors: Baquy M. Abdulaha-Al , Mamun M. Abdullah Al , Mia Shamim , Alam Md. Mahedy , Khan M. Shahadat Hossain , Rahman Shah Moinur 
Published: August 2022

<p>Globally, biochar research and its application for soil improvement have attracted the interest of many researchers, primarily environmental and soil scientists, in the last decade. But, a limited number of biochar research studies have been conducted in Bangladesh. Therefore, a comprehensive study on biochar research is necessary to find out the scope and opportunities of biochar application in the soils of Bangladesh. Generally, biochar can improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. It also has a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions. The contaminated soils can also be remediated through the judicious application of biochar. In Bangladesh, biochar application enhanced soil pH, organic matter, phosphorus availability, and agricultural production while decreasing soil acidification, microbial activity, and heavy metals mobility. Besides that, there were both positive and negative findings regarding nitrogen availability, greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy metal accumulation. However, this review includes the selection of feedstock, the advancement of pyrolysis technology, the characterization of biochar, and the agronomic and environmental benefits of biochar use. This paper also reviews biochar study and application activities in Bangladesh over the last decade. Further research directions have been suggested to ensure the beneficial and safe application of biochar to agricultural property. </p>
Monitoring Evolution of Temperature and Strain in Cement Sheath Using Embedded Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings
Authors: Chen Shuo , Jin Jian-Zhou , Shen Jiyun , Guo Xueli , Wang Linlin 
Published: August 2022

SummaryIn the full life cycle of a well, thermal and mechanical loads may yield serious issues for the cement sheath integrity. However, the information for the integrity assessment, such as temperature and strain, is difficult to acquire underground. In this study, a full-scale experimental facility is used, allowing us to mimic the casing-cement sheath-formation (CCSF) system of a well. The system is monitored by fiber Bragg grating (FBG), enabling a real-time, high-accuracy, nondestructive measurement of temperature and strain inside the cement sheath in the sequence of setting and completion stage. Our observation reveals that the temperature of the cement sample cured in the mold is 22.3°C higher than the curing temperature; however, this temperature difference is not observed in the cement sheath cured in the CCSF system. This implies that the data obtained from the cement sample may overestimate the early-age performance of the cement sheath. Besides, the FBG measures a free strain of the tested cement during the hydration to be −370 με. This shrinkage can yield an internal stress in the CCSF system, which leads the cement sheath to swell circumferentially during the setting stage. During the completion stage, when the cement sheath is subjected to cyclic loading at three casing pressure levels, (i i.e., 10, 20, and 50 MPa), the maximum increment of circumferential strain reaches 160, 270, and 850 με, respectively. A plastic strain is observed for the 50 MPa pressure level, but not for the two other pressure levels (10 and 20 MPa). Unlike the observations in cyclic loading tests on cement samples, the plastic strain in the CCSF system accumulates linearly in the first 10 cycles and then increases slowly afterward. This difference is suggested to be attributed to the redistribution of internal stress along with the accumulation of plastic strain. Finally, the strains measured by the FBG are validated by the simulation, demonstrating the promising applicability of the FBG technology for monitoring the integrity of cement sheath.
Factors influencing complications after 3-columns spinal osteotomies for fixed sagittal imbalance from multiple etiologies: a multicentric cohort study about 286 cases in 273 patients
Authors: LAINE Gaetan , HUEC Jean Charles LE , BLONDEL Benjamin , FUENTES Stephane , FIERE Vincent , PARENT Henry , LUCAS Francois , ROUSSOULY Pierre , TASSA Ouazna , BRAVANT Estelle , BERTHILLER Julien , BARREY Cedric 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Purpose: Spinal osteotomies performed to treat fixed spinal deformities are technically demanding and associated with a high complications rate. The main purpose of this study was to analyze complications and their risk factors in spinal osteotomies performed for fixed sagittal imbalance from multiple etiologies. Methods: The study consisted of a blinded retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from a large multicentre cohort of patients who underwent 3-columns (3C) spinal osteotomy, between january 2010 and january 2017. Clinical and radiological datas were compared pre and post operatively. Complications and their risks factors were analyzed.Results: Two hundred eighty-six 3C osteotomies were performed in 273 patients. At 1year follow-up, both clinical (VAS pain, ODI and SRS-22 scores) and radiological (SVA, SSA, loss of lordosis and pelvic version) parameters were significantly improved (p<0.001). A total of 164 patients (59.2%) experienced at least 1 complication (277 complications). Complications-free survival rates was only 30% at 5 years. Most of those were mechanical (35.2%), followed by general (17.6%), surgical site infection (17.2%) and neurological (10.9%). Pre-operative neurological status (RR=2.3 [1.32-4.00]), operative time (+19% of risk each additional hour) and combined surgery (RR=1.76 [1.08-2.04]) were assessed as risk factors for overall complication (p<0.05). The use of Patient-specific rods appeared to be significantly associated with less overall complications (RR=0.5 [0.29-0.89]) (p=0.02).Conclusion: Spinal 3C osteotomies were efficient to improve both clinical and radiological parameters despite high rates of complication. Efforts should be made to reduce operative time which appears to be the strongest predictive risk factor for complication.
Attention-based Row Selecting Networks for Lane Detection
Authors: Jiang Man , Zhang Qian , Zhang Yuhang , Su Jiangtao 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Most mainstream methods mainly regard lane detection as a pixel-by-pixel segmentation task, resulting in high computational cost and time-consuming, and the accuracy is influenced by severe occlusion and extreme lighting conditions. To tackle these issues, we propose a novel Attention-based Row Selecting Networks(ARS-Net), which utilizes the row selecting method based on global features to detect lanes, greatly improves the detection speed. At the same time, channel and spatial attention mechanisms are integrated into ResNet as the backbone to focus on important features and suppress unimportant ones, so as to adjust feature weights and reduce information loss. Besides, group normalization is employed to replace batch normaliza-tion, which enhances the stability of accuracy. We carry out immense amounts of experiments on two international public datasets TuSimple and CULane, the experimental results show that our method achieves the state-of-the-art performance in both accuracy and speed and significantly outperforms other methods for real-time and efficient lane detection in real-world applications.
Selection, use and the influence of starter cultures in the nutrition and processing improvement of ‘ogi’
Authors: Teniola Olakunle David , Holzapfel Wilhelm H. , Odunfa Sunday Ayodele 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Starter cultures for ‘ogi’ production were selected with the aim of improving processing technique, lysine and methionine levels of ‘ogi’, a lactic acid fermented weaning food. Technological features of microorganisms from fermenting raw materials were screened to develop quality starter cultures. Lactobacillus brevis XO43 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae OY4 were finally selected and used as starter cultures in a pilot plant study. Fermentation with starter cultures showed constant final pH level of 3.35 in modified substrates after fermentation unlike spontaneously fermented; and significantly higher acidity (%TTA) indicative of faster fermentation. Addition of sugar (2%w/w) and soybean flours (1% w/w) also increased the acid levels during fermentation. Fermentation of dehulled maize grains fortified with glucose (2%w/w) alone by starter cultures shows the best quality in all the parameters considered except the available niacin yield. It is 24% higher than oven-dried ‘ogi’ flour from the traditional process and 11% higher than unprocessed whole maize grains. The methionine is 92% and 77% higher than the traditionally prepared ‘ogi’ and whole maize grains, respectively. The total amino acids level of the sample was 32% more than the traditionally fermented ‘ogi’ flour and 55% more than maize grains. Although, the soluble protein level was 23% lesser than the unfermented whole maize grains, it was 12% more than the dehulled maize substrate and ‘ogi’ from traditional process. Fermentation of corn into ‘ogi’ led to losses in the initial quantity of niacin. Starter cultures significantly improve the nutrients such as lysine, methionine, total amino acids, soluble protein and niacin more than spontaneous fermentation. Dehulling of grains, dewatering and oven drying significantly reduce nutrients. ‘Ogi’ fermentation process with the use of starter cultures and dehulled maize guarantee organoleptic qualities, improve ‘ogi’ production and create a better nutritional products.
Fibulin2: A negative regulator of BMSC osteogenic differentiation in infected bone fracture healing
Authors: Xu Xiang , Li Shidan , Xing Wei , Wang Shaochuan , Li Youbin , Jiang Hao , Zheng Hanxuan , Li Xiaoming , Yang Jing , guo Debin , Xie Xiaoyu , Jiang Renqing , Fan Chao , Li Lei , Fei Jun 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Bone fracture remains a common occurrence, with a population-weighted incidence of approximately 3.21 per 1000. In addition, approximately 2–50% of patients with skeletal fractures will develop an infection, one of the causes of disordered bone healing. Dysfunction of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) plays a key role in disordered bone repair. However, the specific mechanisms underlying BMSC dysfunction caused by bone infection are largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that Fibulin2 expression was upregulated in infected bone tissues and that BMSCs were the source of infection-induced Fibulin2. Importantly, Fibulin2 knockout accelerated mineralized bone formation during skeletal development and inhibited inflammatory bone resorption. We demonstrated that Fibulin2 suppressed BMSC osteogenic differentiation by binding to Notch2 and inactivating the Notch2 signalling pathway. Moreover, Fibulin2 knockdown restored Notch2 pathway activation and promoted BMSC osteogenesis; these outcomes were abolished by DAPT, a Notch inhibitor. Furthermore, transplanted Fibulin2-knockdown BMSCs displayed better bone repair potential in vivo. Altogether, Fibulin2 is a negative regulator of BMSC osteogenic differentiation that inhibits osteogenesis by inactivating the Notch2 signalling pathway in infected bone.
Measurements of Natural Radioactivity Levels in Soil Samples and Hazards in Lega Dembi Gold Mining, East Guji, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Authors: Yachiso Gebi , Chaubey A.K , Turi Birhanu 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
The fifteen common soil samples in Lega Dembi were collected to determine the amount of natural radiation released and its effects on humans. This is the first time that such research has been conducted. The natural radionuclide contents in soil were determined using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. It was observed that the mean activity for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K determined in the mining site were 23.87±0.7, 52.5±1.8, and 391.62±11.35 Bq/kg while in the living areas were 8.89±0.4, 13.83±0.6 and 423.68±9.5 respectively. The activity of 232Th was above the world mean average limit in the mining site; whereas for 226Ra and 40K were lower than the world limit. The activity concentration of 40K in the living area was higher than the world limit however 226Ra and 232Th were lower than the limit. The mean annual effective dose was lower than the world average limit. The calculated absorbed dose rate in the mining site was higher than the world average. The gamma activity index values were 0.94±0.05, and 0.48±0.06 for the mining and living site respectively. The gamma index had lower than the world means values. The mean annual gonadal dose equivalent value was found to be 494.8±8.7 lµSv/year in the mining site.
Real-Walk Modelling: Deep Learning Model for User Mobility in Virtual Reality
Authors: Dohan Murtada , Mu Mu , Ajit Suraj , Hill Gary 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Understanding human interactions in virtual reality (VR) can help developing intelligent applications that adapt to users' needs and enhance the user experience. The significant development of VR content has expanded the impact on VR complexity, making understanding VR spatial characteristics more difficult. While user mobility is a crucial part of their interactions with the VR environment, the current literature still does not provide a suitable framework to interpret and model VR user mobility data. We conducted a user experiment in the context of an abstract VR painting exhibition where users are prompted to walk naturally in a physical area to explore the VR painting. Deep Learning models are used to model user mobility sequences and predict their future movements while engaging with the art exhibition. Our user mobility model can support the development of new VR applications for the improved user navigation and social experience in VR.
Assessment of under nutrition and its influencing factors among prisoners living with HIV/AIDS in north Shoa zone Amhara region Ethiopia, 2021
Authors: Yilma Yohannis , Getachew Metasebia , fanta Asrat , Mezemir Yordanos 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Objective
- We performed an institution-based comparative cross-sectional study from August 1 to September 10, 2021, to compare the nutritional status and influencing factors among prisoners living with HIV/AIDS. A simple procedure for determining iron levels in blood using Hemo-cue methods was used to measure hemoglobin.
Result
- The overall prevalence of under nutrition among prisoners estimated as 33.8% (95% CI 28.8–39.3); and the prevalence of anaemia among PLHIV and negative sero-status residents was 54.2%, 50.8% respectively. The respondents who had anaemia were 3.26 times more likely to develop malnutrition AOR 3.269[95% CI 1.908-5.600]) than who had no anaemia.
Relationship of ethinylestradiol/drospirenone prescription on work productivity and activity impairment among women with menstruation-related symptoms: A multicenter prospective observational study
Authors: Ikeda Yumie , Egawa Miho , Ohsuga Takuma , Mandai Masaki , Takahashi Yoshimitsu , Nakayama Takeo 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Background
Although clinical effectiveness of ethinylestradiol (EE)/drospirenone (DRSP) to improve women’s premenstrual symptoms and dysmenorrhea has been established, the relationship with their work productivity and activity is not well-known. This study aimed to examine changes in work productivity and daily activity impairment among women by the medication.
Methods
Participants were women who were newly prescribed EE/DRSP at 25 private gynecological clinics in Japan. Eligible participants downloaded a smartphone app to record daily intake of EE/DRSP, genital bleeding, and daily symptoms for three months. The Work Productivity Activity Impairment Questionnaire General Health (WPAI-GH) was completed on the day of EE/DRSP initiation and every two weeks thereafter for three months. A linear mixed-effects model with person-specific random intercepts, with age, premenstrual syndrome status, and menstrual pain as covariates, was used.
Main Outcome Measures
Changes in total work productivity impairment and total activity impairment relative to baseline (i.e., before prescription) at 1 month (1m), 2 months (2m), and 3 months (3m) after EE/DRSP initiation.
Results
Work productivity impairment recovered by 20.0% (95%CI: 14.1–26.0%) at 1m and maintained for two months. Activity impairment recovered by 20.1% (95% CI:15.5–24.7%) at 1m and thereafter.
Conclusions
Improvements in work productivity and daily activities were observed at 1m after EE/DRSP initiation, with a sustained effect thereafter.
Effects of imeglimin on mitochondrial function, AMPK activity, and gene expression in hepatocytes
Authors: Hozumi Kaori , Sugawara Kenji , Ishihara Takaya , Ishihara Naotada , Ogawa Wataru 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Imeglimin is a recently launched antidiabetic drug structurally related to metformin. To provide insight into the pharmacological properties of imeglimin, we investigated its effects on hepatocytes and compared them with those of metformin. The effects of imeglimin on mitochondrial function and gene expression in HepG2 cells were examined with an extracellular flux analyzer and by comprehensive RNA-sequencing analysis, respectively. The effects of the drug on AMPK activity in HepG2 cells and mouse liver were also examined. Treatment of HepG2 cells with imeglimin reduced the oxygen consumption rate coupled to ATP production. Imeglimin activated AMPK in HepG2 cells with a potency similar to that of metformin. Bolus administration of imeglimin in mice also activated AMPK in the liver. Whereas the effects of imeglimin and metformin on gene expression in HepG2 cells were similar overall, the expression of genes encoding proteins of mitochondrial respiratory complex III and complex I was upregulated by imeglimin but not by metformin. Our results suggest that imeglimin and metformin exert similar pharmacological effects on mitochondrial respiration, AMPK activity, and gene expression in cultured hepatocytes, whereas the two drugs differ in their effects on the expression of certain genes related to mitochondrial function.
The importance of cultural tailoring of communicators and media outlets in an Influenza vaccination awareness campaign: A digital randomized trial
Authors: Habib G. L. , Yousuf H. , Bredius L. , Bindraban N. , Winter M. , Scherder E. , Linden S. van der , Narula J. , Hofstra L. 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of ethnic minorities, secondary to lower vaccination rates, higher prevalence of underlying disease and restricted access to care. We investigated the effect of cultural tailoring of communicators and media outlets, respectively, in an influenza vaccination campaign in the Netherlands. A total of 1226 participants were recruited from 2 culturally non-tailored media outlets (Dutch newspaper and Facebook), and 1 media outlet tailored to a large community in the Netherlands with Indian ancestry. The participants from all 3 media outlets were randomly exposed to a vaccination awareness video delivered by a physician with an Indian or Dutch background, followed by an online survey. Cultural tailoring compared to cultural non-tailoring of communicators showed no difference in improvement of vaccine willingness (13.9% vs. 20.7% increment, respectively, p = 0.083). However, the media outlet tailored to the Indian community, resulted in a higher improvement of vaccine willingness compared to non-tailored media outlets (46.7% vs. 14.7% increment, respectively, p < 0.001, unadjusted OR = 5.096). These results suggest that cultural tailoring of media outlets may be critical to effectively reach out to ethnic minorities to help optimize vaccination rates and improve general health.
Bias Reduction in Representation of Histopathology Images Using Deep Feature Selection
Authors: Bidgoli Azam Asilian , Rahnamayan Shahryar , Dehkharghanian Taher , Grami Ali , Tizhoosh Hamid R. 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
Appearing traces of bias in deep networks is a serious issue that can play a significant role in ethics and generalization. Recent studies report that the deep features extracted from the histopathology images of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the largest publicly available archive of 11,000 patients covering 25 organs and 32 cancer subtypes, are surprisingly able to accurately classify the whole slide images (WSIs) based on their acquisition site. This is clear evidence that the utilized Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) unexpectedly detect the specific patterns of the source site rather than histomorphologic patterns, biased behaviour resulting in degraded generalization. This observation motivated us to propose a method to alleviate the destructive impact of hospital bias through a novel feature selection process. To this effect, we have proposed an evolutionary strategy select a small set of optimal features to not only accurately represent the histological patterns of tissue samples but also to eliminate the features leading to internal bias toward the institution. The performance of the proposed method has been assessed using the features extracted from TCGA images made available by NIH (National Institute of Health). The selected features extracted by a state-of-the-art network trained on TCGA images (i.e., the KimiaNet), considerably decreased the institutional bias. The proposed scheme is not limited to DNNs and/or specific types of biases; it can be employed to reduce various kinds of bias in a much more comprehensive range of data-driven feature extraction models. The conducted experiments, the external validation in specific, clearly demonstrate that the bias cannot be fully controlled just during training a model. Therefore, a feature selection for downstream tasks plays a crucial role in significantly reducing the bias.
Event-Related Alpha Oscillatory Response in Early Stage of Facial Expression Processing in Social Anxiety: Influence of Language Context
Authors: Song Sutao , Liu Aixin , Shang Haiqing , Gao Shihao , Gao Zeyuan , Zhang Mingxian , Zhao Shimeng , Zheng Yuanjie , Ge’s Ruiyang 
Published: August 2022

AbstractBackground Accurate interpretation of the emotional information conveyed by others’ facial expression is crucial for social interactions. The alpha oscillation response, which is an important event-related potential-based metric in studies of emotional information processing, to emotional facial processing in social anxiety is unclear. Method In this case-control study, participants viewed facial expressions (angry, happy, neutral) preceded by a contextual sentence conveying either positive or negative evaluations about the participant. Contextual influences were reflected in rating and occipital and frontal alpha oscillation measured by event-related potentials (ERP). Results With congruently emotional context and expression, occipital alpha oscillation power was significantly lower in social anxiety group than healthy control group. And in negative context, frontal alpha lateralization was significantly lower in social anxiety group than healthy control group. Conclusion Social anxiety individuals might invest more attention resources in the emotional context for facial expression processing.