bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Multisite learning of high-dimensional heterogeneous data with applications to opioid use disorder study of 15,000 patients across 5 clinical sites
Authors: Liu Xiaokang , Duan Rui , Luo Chongliang , Ogdie Alexis , Moore Jason H. , Kranzler Henry R. , Bian Jiang , Chen Yong 
Published: June 2022

AbstractIntegrating data across institutions can improve learning efficiency. To integrate data efficiently while protecting privacy, we proposeAone-shot, summary-statistics-based,DistributedAlgorithm for fittingPenalized (ADAP) regression models across multiple datasets. ADAP utilizes patient-level data from a lead site and incorporates the first-order (ADAP1) and second-order gradients (ADAP2) of the objective function from collaborating sites to construct a surrogate objective function at the lead site, where model fitting is then completed with proper regularizations applied. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method using both simulation and a real-world application to study risk factors for opioid use disorder (OUD) using 15,000 patient data from the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium. Our results show that ADAP performs nearly the same as the pooled estimator but achieves higher estimation accuracy and better variable selection than the local and average estimators. Moreover, ADAP2 successfully handles heterogeneity in covariate distributions.
Degradation of gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by a novel UV-ozone technology
Authors: Oliva G. , Comia J. R. , Senatore V. , Zarra T. , Ballestreros F. , Belgiorno V. , Naddeo V. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractIn this study, a UV-assisted ozonation (UV/O3) process for the degradation of VOCs emissions with a final scrubbing phase was implemented to evaluate the removal efficiency of toluene and to prevent the release of polluting intermediates of the single-step process. Inlet toluene concentration and applied voltage were varied in order to investigate several operating conditions. The results highlighted that at higher inlet concentration the abatement of toluene was lower, while increase in ozone concentration led to an increase of the degradation efficiencies. The additional water scrubbing step enhanced the abatement of UV/O3 up to 98.5%, due to the solubilisation of ozone and by-products in the process water and, thus, the further oxidation of the contaminants within this phase. A maximum Elimination Capacity (ECmax) of 22.6 g m−3 h−1 was achieved with the UV/O3 + Scrubbing. The combined system boosted higher performance and stability compared to the stand-alone (UV/O3) process along with a more economical and environmental sustainability.
Accurate 3D hand mesh recovery from a single RGB image
Authors: Pemasiri Akila , Nguyen Kien , Sridharan Sridha , Fookes Clinton 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThis work addresses hand mesh recovery from a single RGB image. In contrast to most of the existing approaches where parametric hand models are employed as the prior, we show that the hand mesh can be learned directly from the input image. We propose a new type of GAN called Im2Mesh GAN to learn the mesh through end-to-end adversarial training. By interpreting the mesh as a graph, our model is able to capture the topological relationship among the mesh vertices. We also introduce a 3D surface descriptor into the GAN architecture to further capture the associated 3D features. We conduct experiments with the proposed Im2Mesh GAN architecture in two settings: one where we can reap the benefits of coupled groundtruth data availability of the images and the corresponding meshes; and the other which combats the more challenging problem of mesh estimation without the corresponding groundtruth. Through extensive evaluations we demonstrate that even without using any hand priors the proposed method performs on par or better than the state-of-the-art.
Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls
Authors: Rootman Joseph M. , Kiraga Maggie , Kryskow Pamela , Harvey Kalin , Stamets Paul , Santos-Brault Eesmyal , Kuypers Kim P. C. , Walsh Zach 
Published: June 2022

AbstractPsilocybin microdosing involves repeated self-administration of mushrooms containing psilocybin at doses small enough to not impact regular functioning. Microdose practices are diverse and include combining psilocybin with substances such as lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus; HE) and niacin (vitamin-B3). Public uptake of microdosing has outpaced evidence, mandating further prospective research. Using a naturalistic, observational design, we followed psilocybin microdosers (n = 953) and non-microdosing comparators (n = 180) for approximately 30 days and identified small- to medium-sized improvements in mood and mental health that were generally consistent across gender, age and presence of mental health concerns, as we all as improvements in psychomotor performance that were specific to older adults. Supplementary analyses indicated that combining psilocybin with HE and B3 did not impact changes in mood and mental health. However, among older microdosers combining psilocybin, HE and B3 was associated with psychomotor improvements relative to psilocybin alone and psilocybin and HE. Our findings of mood and mental health improvements associated with psilocybin microdosing add to previous studies of psychedelic microdosing by using a comparator group and by examining the consistency of effects across age, gender, and mental health. Findings regarding the combination of psilocybin, HE and B3 are novel and highlight the need for further research to confirm and elucidate these apparent effects.
Unique metabolism of different glucosinolates in larvae and adults of a leaf beetle specialised on Brassicaceae
Authors: Friedrichs Jeanne , Schweiger Rabea , Müller Caroline 
Published: June 2022

AbstractBrassicaceae plants contain glucosinolates, which are hydrolysed by myrosinases to toxic products such as isothiocyanates and nitriles, acting as defences. Herbivores have evolved various detoxification strategies, which are reviewed here. Larvae of Phaedon cochleariae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) metabolise hydrolysis products of benzenic glucosinolates by conjugation with aspartic acid. In this study, we investigated whether P. cochleariae uses the same metabolic pathway for structurally different glucosinolates, whether the metabolism differs between adults and larvae and which hydrolysis products are formed as intermediates. Feeding experiments were performed with leaves of watercress (Nasturtium officinale, Brassicaceae) and pea (Pisum sativum, non-Brassicaceae), to which glucosinolates with structurally different side chains (benzenic, indole or aliphatic) or their hydrolysis products were applied. Samples were analysed by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS or TD–GC–MS. The same aspartic acid conjugates as previously identified in larvae were also detected as major metabolites of benzenic glucosinolates in adults. Indol-3-ylmethyl glucosinolate was mainly metabolised to N-(1H-indol-3-ylcarbonyl) glutamic acid in adults and larvae, while the metabolism of 2-propenyl glucosinolate remains unclear. The metabolism may thus proceed primarily via isothiocyanates rather than via nitriles, while the hydrolysis occurs independently of plant myrosinases. A detoxification by conjugation with these amino acids is not yet known from other Brassicaceae-feeders.
Unsupervised-learning-based method for chest MRI–CT transformation using structure constrained unsupervised generative attention networks
Authors: Matsuo Hidetoshi , Nishio Mizuho , Nogami Munenobu , Zeng Feibi , Kurimoto Takako , Kaushik Sandeep , Wiesinger Florian , Kono Atsushi K. , Murakami Takamichi 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) scanner simultaneously acquires metabolic information via PET and morphological information using MRI. However, attenuation correction, which is necessary for quantitative PET evaluation, is difficult as it requires the generation of attenuation-correction maps from MRI, which has no direct relationship with the gamma-ray attenuation information. MRI-based bone tissue segmentation is potentially available for attenuation correction in relatively rigid and fixed organs such as the head and pelvis regions. However, this is challenging for the chest region because of respiratory and cardiac motions in the chest, its anatomically complicated structure, and the thin bone cortex. We propose a new method using unsupervised generative attentional networks with adaptive layer-instance normalisation for image-to-image translation (U-GAT-IT), which specialised in unpaired image transformation based on attention maps for image transformation. We added the modality-independent neighbourhood descriptor (MIND) to the loss of U-GAT-IT to guarantee anatomical consistency in the image transformation between different domains. Our proposed method obtained a synthesised computed tomography of the chest. Experimental results showed that our method outperforms current approaches. The study findings suggest the possibility of synthesising clinically acceptable computed tomography images from chest MRI with minimal changes in anatomical structures without human annotation.
Thermo-mechanical properties prediction of Ni-reinforced Al2O3 composites using micro-mechanics based representative volume elements
Authors: Shahzamanian M. M. , Akhtar S. S. , Arif A. F. M. , Basirun W. J. , Al-Athel K. S. , Schneider M. , Shakelly N. , Hakeem Abbas Saeed , Abubakar Abba A. , Wu P. D. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractFor effective cutting tool inserts that absorb thermal shock at varying temperature gradients, improved thermal conductivity and toughness are required. In addition, parameters such as the coefficient of thermal expansion must be kept within a reasonable range. This work presents a novel material design framework based on a multi-scale modeling approach that proposes nickel (Ni)-reinforced alumina (Al2O3) composites to tailor the mechanical and thermal properties required for ceramic cutting tools by considering numerous composite parameters. The representative volume elements (RVEs) are generated using the DREAM.3D software program and the output is imported into a commercial finite element software ABAQUS. The RVEs which contain multiple Ni particles with varying porosity and volume fractions are used to predict the effective thermal and mechanical properties using the computational homogenization methods under appropriate boundary conditions (BCs). The RVE framework is validated by the sintering of Al2O3-Ni composites in various compositions. The predicted numerical results agree well with the measured thermal and structural properties. The properties predicted by the numerical model are comparable with those obtained using the rules of mixtures and SwiftComp, as well as the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based computational homogenization method. The results show that the ABAQUS, SwiftComp and FFT results are fairly close to each other. The effects of porosity and Ni volume fraction on the mechanical and thermal properties are also investigated. It is observed that the mechanical properties and thermal conductivities decrease with the porosity, while the thermal expansion remains unaffected. The proposed integrated modeling and empirical approach could facilitate the development of unique Al2O3-metal composites with the desired thermal and mechanical properties for ceramic cutting inserts.
Caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide abrogates autophagy dysregulation in pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Venkatesan Shalini , Fan Liang , Tang Hua , Konduru Nagarjun V. , Shetty Sreerama 
Published: June 2022

AbstractIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and fatal form of interstitial lung disease. IPF is characterized by irreversible scarring of the lungs leading to lung function decline. Although the etiology remains poorly understood, dysregulated autophagy in alveolar-epithelial cells (AECs) together with interplay between apoptotic-AECs and proliferative-myofibroblasts have been strongly implicated in IPF pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed that a caveolin-1-derived 7-mer peptide, CSP7, mitigates established PF at least in part by improving AEC viability. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether and how CSP7 regulates autophagy in fibrotic-lung AECs. We found that p53 and autophagic proteins were markedly upregulated in AECs from mice with single/multi-doses of bleomycin—or silica-induced PF. This was abolished following treatment of PF-mice with CSP7. Further, CSP7 abrogated silica- or bleomycin-induced p53 and autophagy proteins in AECs. Immunoprecipitation further revealed that CSP7 abolishes the interaction of caveolin-1 with LC3BII and p62 in AECs. AEC-specific p53-knockout mice resisted silica- or bleomycin-induced changes in autophagy proteins, or CSP7 treatment. Our findings provide a novel mechanism by which CSP7 inhibits dysregulated autophagy in injured AECs and mitigates existing PF. These results affirm the potential of CSP7 for treating established PF, including IPF and silicosis.
Hydrodynamics of spike proteins dictate a transport-affinity competition for SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses
Authors: Moreno Nicolas , Moreno-Chaparro Daniela , Usabiaga Florencio Balboa , Ellero Marco 
Published: June 2022

AbstractMany viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 or Influenza, possess envelopes decorated with surface proteins (a.k.a. spikes). Depending on the virus type, a large variability is present in the surface-proteins number, morphology and reactivity, which remains generally unexplained. Since viruses’ transmissibility depends on features beyond their genetic sequence, new tools are required to discern the effects of spikes functionality, interaction, and morphology. Here, we postulate the relevance of hydrodynamic interactions in the viral infectivity of enveloped viruses and propose micro-rheological characterization as a platform for virus differentiation. To understand how the spikes affect virion mobility and infectivity, we investigate the diffusivity of spike-decorated structures using mesoscopic-hydrodynamic simulations. Furthermore, we explored the interplay between affinity and passive viral transport. Our results revealed that the diffusional mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 is strongly influenced by the size and distribution of its spikes. We propose and validate a universal mechanism to explain the link between optimal virion structure and maximal infectivity for many virus families.
Lichen speciation is sparked by a substrate requirement shift and reproduction mode differentiation
Authors: Kantelinen Annina , Printzen Christian , Poczai Péter , Myllys Leena 
Published: June 2022

AbstractWe show that obligate lignicoles in lichenizedMicareaare predominately asexual whereas most facultative lignicoles reproduce sexually. Our phylogenetic analyses (ITS, mtSSU,Mcm7) together with ancestral state reconstruction show that the shift in reproduction mode has evolved independently several times within the group and that facultative and obligate lignicoles are sister species. The analyses support the assumption that the ancestor of these species was a facultative lignicole. We hypothezise that a shift in substrate requirement from bark to wood leads to differentiation in reproduction mode and becomes a driver of speciation. This is the first example of lichenized fungi where reproduction mode is connected to substrate requirement. This is also the first example where such an association is demonstrated to spark lichen speciation. Our main hypothesis is that obligate species on dead wood need to colonize new suitable substrata relatively fast and asexual reproduction is more effective a strategy for successful colonization.
Acetone sensing in liquid and gas phases using cyclic voltammetry
Authors: Obeidat Yusra , Rawashdeh Abdel Monem , Hammoudeh Ayman , Al-Assi Rawan , Dagamseh Ahmad , Qananwah Qasem 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThis paper presents the use of cyclic voltammetry to measure acetone concentration in liquid and vapor forms at disposable screen-printed electrodes of platinum working electrode, platinum counter electrode, and silver/silver chloride reference electrode. The main characteristics of the acetone sensor including its linearity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and limit of detection (LOD) were studied by doing different experiments to test both liquid and vapor samples in the physiological range of 1 µM to 10 mM. The change in acetone concentration was monitored by comparing the lineshape of butterfly region before and after injecting the acetone sample in the baseline solution that contains 0.5 M H2SO4. The sensor was shown to have a good sensitivity, reproducibility, and a linear response with respect to the acetone concentration in both liquid and gas phases over a range of 1 µM to 10 mM with R2 > 0.97 and LOD of 0.1 µM. The system stability was improved by building a closed glass system to reduce the exchange of acetone with the surrounding air in an open environment. The closed system was tested using vapor samples and the error bars in the calibration curve were reduced to more than half of their values before using the closed system. The new system will be used extensively in future for an enzyme-based acetone sensor that will be used for diabetes monitoring.
N(6)-methyladenosine methylation-regulated polo-like kinase 1 cell cycle homeostasis as a potential target of radiotherapy in pancreatic adenocarcinoma
Authors: Tatekawa Shotaro , Tamari Keisuke , Chijimatsu Ryota , Konno Masamitsu , Motooka Daisuke , Mitsufuji Suguru , Akita Hirofumi , Kobayashi Shogo , Murakumo Yoshiki , Doki Yuichiro , Eguchi Hidetoshi , Ishii Hideshi , Ogawa Kazuhiko 
Published: June 2022

AbstractIn pancreatic cancer, methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), a N(6)-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase, has a favorable effect on tumors and is a risk factor for patients’ prognosis. However, the details of what genes are regulated by METTL3 remain unknown. Several RNAs are methylated, and what genes are favored in pancreatic cancer remains unclear. By epitranscriptomic analysis, we report that polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is an important hub gene defining patient prognosis in pancreatic cancer and that RNA methylation is involved in regulating its cell cycle-specific expression. We found that insulin like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) binds to m6A of PLK1 3′ untranslated region and is involved in upregulating PLK1 expression and that demethylation of this site activates the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein pathway by replicating stress and increasing mitotic catastrophe, resulting in increased radiosensitivity. This suggests that PLK1 methylation is essential for cell cycle maintenance in pancreatic cancer and is a new therapeutic target.
Phylogenomic insight into dysploidy, speciation, and plastome evolution of a small Mediterranean genus Reichardia (Cichorieae; Asteraceae)
Authors: Cho Myong-Suk , Yang JiYoung , Mejías José A. , Kim Seung-Chul 
Published: June 2022

AbstractReichardiaRoth is a small Mediterranean genus comprising ten homogeneous species with basic chromosome numbers of 7, 8, and 9. To assess the plastid genome evolution and differentiation ofReichardiaspecies, we assembled the complete plastome sequences of sevenReichardiaand twoLaunaeaspecies and conducted various phylogenomic analyses comparatively with nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS sequences.ReichardiaandLaunaeaplastomes were highly conserved in gene content and order, containing 130 genes. Plastid phylogenomic reconstruction strongly suggested thatReichardiawas a sister toLaunaea, and its common ancestor initially diverged into two major lineages: the first containing species with n = 8 chromosomes exclusively, and the other with n = 9, 8, and 7 chromosomes. Although the ancestralReichardiakaryotype was suggested to most likely be n = 9 from ancestral chromosome number reconstruction, the pattern of descending dysploidy indicated by the phylogenetic trees based on nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS was less evident in the trees based on the plastome. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.
A sandponics comparative study investigating different sand media based integrated aqua vegeculture systems using desalinated water
Authors: Sewilam Hani , Kimera Fahad , Nasr Peter , Dawood Mahmoud 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThis study investigated the utilization of fish effluents as irrigation water and nutrient sources to close the crop yield gap and increase Swiss chard productivity in a closed-loop sandponics system. The experiment was operated using desalinated water from a Reverse Osmosis plant. The study followed a completely randomized design with four variants, i.e., an aquaponic system (T1) and three sandponics systems; October (T2), Benu Suef (T3) and Fayoum (T4). Results indicated that T2 and T4 significantly recorded the highest plant heights in all cuts. The number of leaves per plant decreased with the increase in cut number. Leaf area and chlorophyll was significantly different between the treatments. T1 significantly had low biomass yields in cuts one and two, almost 40% less than T3 and T4. The various systems efficiently minimized water consumption ranging from 1.5 to 1.96 L/m2/day. The crop protein content ranged from 11.84 to 18.72 mg/100 g dry weight. Mineral composition in cut one was significantly higher compared to cuts two and three. The study recommends a novel technique for increasing crop production using fish effluents under sandponics systems while increasing water and fertilizer efficiency to close the crop yield gap.
Smart textiles using fluid-driven artificial muscle fibers
Authors: Phan Phuoc Thien , Thai Mai Thanh , Hoang Trung Thien , Davies James , Nguyen Chi Cong , Phan Hoang-Phuong , Lovell Nigel H. , Do Thanh Nho 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe marriage of textiles with artificial muscles to create smart textiles is attracting great attention from the scientific community and industry. Smart textiles offer many benefits including adaptive comfort and high conformity to objects while providing active actuation for desired motion and force. This paper introduces a new class of programmable smart textiles created from different methods of knitting, weaving, and sticking fluid-driven artificial muscle fibers. Mathematical models are developed to describe the elongation-force relationship of the knitting and weaving textile sheets, followed by experiments to validate the model effectiveness. The new smart textiles are highly flexible, conformable, and mechanically programmable, enabling multimodal motions and shape-shifting abilities for use in broader applications. Different prototypes of the smart textiles are created with experimental validations including various shape-changing instances such as elongation (up to 65%), area expansion (108%), radial expansion (25%), and bending motion. The concept of reconfiguring passive conventional fabrics into active structures for bio-inspired shape-morphing structures is also explored. The proposed smart textiles are expected to contribute to the progression of smart wearable devices, haptic systems, bio-inspired soft robotics, and wearable electronics.