bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Laser‐Assisted Combination Chemotherapy: An Explorative Imaging‐Guided Treatment With 5‐Fluorouracil and Cisplatin for Basal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Wenande Emily , Hendel Kristoffer , Mogensen Mette , Bagger Charlotte , Mårtensson Nina L. , Persson Daniel P. , Lerche Catharina M. , Husted Søren , Janfelt Christian , Togsverd‐Bo Katrine , Anderson Richard R. , Haedersdal Merete
Published: September 2020

Background and Objectives

Rising incidences of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) have increased the need for effective topical therapies. By enhancing cutaneous uptake of the chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin and 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU), laser‐assisted delivery may provide a new combination treatment for BCC. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate tumor response, safety, and drug biodistribution in tumors and blood after topical laser‐assisted 5‐FU + CIS treatment in BCC patients.

Study Design/Materials and Methods

This open‐label, proof‐of‐concept trial investigated laser‐assisted combination cisplatin + 5‐FU treatment in 20 patients with histologically verified, low‐risk superficial or nodular BCCs on the face (<20 mm) or trunk/extremities (<50 mm). After tumor demarcation guided by optical coherence tomography (OCT), BCCs were exposed to ablative fractional CO2 laser followed by 60 minutes topical cisplatin solution and 7‐day exposure to 5% 5‐FU cream under occlusion. After 30 days, treatment was repeated if any tumor residual was identified. Tumor response at day 30 and month 3 was assessed clinically as well as by OCT, reflectance confocal microscopy, and ultrasound, supplemented by histological verification at 3 months. Local skin reactions (LSRs) and side effects were evaluated on days 1, 3–5, 14, 30, and month 3. Drug detection in tumors and blood was performed in a subset of patients 1‐ and 24 hours after treatment.

Results

Nineteen patients completed the trial, with 32% (6/19) receiving a single treatment and 68% (13/19) treated twice. At 3 months, clinical clearance was seen in 18/19 patients with a corresponding 94% (17/18) achieving histological clearance. Baseline tumor thickness and subtype did not influence treatment number or clearance rate (P ≥ 0.61). LSRs were well‐tolerated and consisted of erythema, edema, and erosion, followed by crusting by day 14. Erythema declined gradually by month 3, with 94% of patients and 79% of physicians rating cosmesis as “good” or “excellent.” Scarring or hyperpigmentation was noted in 50% and 56%, respectively, while pain and infection were not observed during the follow‐up period. Although chemotherapy uptake was visualized extending to deep skin layers, no systemic exposure to cisplatin or 5‐FU was detected in patient blood.

Conclusion

Laser‐assisted cisplatin + 5‐FU shows potential as an effective and tolerable treatment option for low‐risk BCC, particularly in instances where self‐application is not possible or where in‐office, non‐surgical therapy is preferred. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC
Combining Deep Learning With Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging to Determine Scalp Hair and Follicle Counts
Authors: Urban Gregor , Feil Nate , Csuka Ella , Hashemi Kiana , Ekelem Chloe , Choi Franchesca , Mesinkovska Natasha A. , Baldi Pierre
Published: September 2020

Background and Objectives

One of the challenges in developing effective hair loss therapies is the lack of reliable methods to monitor treatment response or alopecia progression. In this study, we propose the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and automated deep learning to non‐invasively evaluate hair and follicle counts that may be used to monitor the success of hair growth therapy more accurately and efficiently.

Study Design/Materials and Methods

We collected 70 OCT scans from 14 patients with alopecia and trained a convolutional neural network (CNN) to automatically count all follicles present in the scans. The model is based on a dual approach of both detecting hair follicles and estimating the local hair density in order to give accurate counts even for cases where two or more adjacent hairs are in close proximity to each other.

Results

We evaluate our system on 70 OCT manually labeled scans taken at different scalp locations from 14 patients, with 20 of those redundantly labeled by two human expert OCT operators. When comparing the individual human predictions and considering the exact locations of hair and follicle predictions, we find that the two human raters disagree with each other on approximately 22% of hairs and follicles. Overall, the deep learning (DL) system predicts the number of follicles with an error rate of 11.8% and the number of hairs with an error rate of 18.7% on average on the 70 scans. The OCT system can capture one scalp location in three seconds, and the DL model can make all predictions in less than a second after processing the scan, which takes half a minute using an unoptimized implementation.

Conclusion

This approach is well‐positioned to become the standard for non‐invasive evaluation of hair growth treatment progress in patients, saving significant amounts of time and effort compared with manual evaluation.

Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SIRT2 modulates VEGFD‐associated lymphangiogenesis by deacetylating EPAS1 in human head and neck cancer
Authors: Hu An , Yang Li‐Yun , Liang Jia , Lu Dan , Zhang Jia‐Li , Cao Fan‐Fan , Fu Jia‐Ying , Dai Wei‐Jun , Zhang Jing‐Fei
Published: September 2020

Sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) is one of seven mammalian homologs of silent information regulator 2 (Sir2) and an NAD+‐dependent deacetylase; however, its critical role in lymphangiogenesis remains to be explored. We investigate SIRT2 mediated regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGFD) expression and lymphangiogenesis by deacetylating endothelial PAS domain protein 1 (EPAS1) in head and neck cancer (HNC) in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we report that SIRT2, rather than other members of the Sir2 family, reduces the expression of VEGFD and lymphangiogenesis in hypoxia‐induced HNC cells and transplanted HNC mice models by reducing EPAS1 acetylation at Lys674 and decreasing the transcriptional activity of EPAS1 target genes. The expression of SIRT2 was closely related to the expression of VEGFD, lymphangiogenesis in subcutaneously transplanted mice models, and lymphangiogenesis in patients with HNC. Our results suggest that SIRT2 plays a central role in tumor lymphangiogenesis via deacetylating EPAS1 protein. Reagents targeting the NAD+‐dependent deacetylase activity of SIRT2 would be beneficial for inhibiting tumor lymphangiogenesis and treating other hypoxia‐related diseases.
Topology identification of multi‐weighted complex networks based on adaptive synchronization: A graph‐theoretic approach
Authors: Yao Xupan , Xia Dan , Zhang Chunmei
Published: September 2020

This paper aims to identify the topological structures of multi‐weighted complex networks (MWCN) with and without time delay based on adaptive synchronization. First, by using the concept of drive‐response synchronization, one takes the MWCN as a drive system and introduces the adaptive controller and white noise in the response system to get stochastic MWCN. Then, drive system and response system achieve synchronization by combining graph theory, Lyapunov stability theory, and adaptive control technique. At the same time, the uncertain multiple topological structures of drive system can be identified by response system based on adaptive synchronization. Furthermore, topological structures of MWCN with time delay are also successfully identified. Finally, numerical simulations for the identification of coupled chaotic systems are provided to verify the effectiveness of theoretical results.
An attention‐supervised full‐resolution residual network for the segmentation of breast ultrasound images
Authors: Qu Xiaolei , Shi Yao , Hou Yaxin , Jiang Jue
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Medical ultrasound imaging is one of the widely applied breast imaging methods for breast tumors. Automatic breast ultrasound (BUS) image segmentation can measure the size of tumors objectively. However, various ultrasound artifacts hinder segmentation. We proposed an attention‐supervised full‐resolution residual network (ASFRRN) to segment tumors from BUS images.

Methods

In the proposed method, Global Attention Upsample (GAU) and deep supervision were introduced into a full‐resolution residual network (FRRN), where GAU learns to merge features at different levels with attention for deep supervision. Two datasets were employed for evaluation. One (Dataset A) consisted of 163 BUS images with tumors (53 malignant and 110 benign) from UDIAT Centre Diagnostic, and the other (Dataset B) included 980 BUS images with tumors (595 malignant and 385 benign) from the Sun Yat‐sen University Cancer Center. The tumors from both datasets were manually segmented by medical doctors. For evaluation, the Dice coefficient (Dice), Jaccard similarity coefficient (JSC), and F1 score were calculated.

Results

For Dataset A, the proposed method achieved higher Dice (84.3  10.0%), JSC (75.2  10.7%), and F1 score (84.3  10.0%) than the previous best method: FRRN. For Dataset B, the proposed method also achieved higher Dice (90.7  13.0%), JSC (83.7  14.8%), and F1 score (90.7  13.0%) than the previous best methods: DeepLabv3 and dual attention network (DANet). For Dataset A + B, the proposed method achieved higher Dice (90.5  13.1%), JSC (83.3  14.8%), and F1 score (90.5  13.1%) than the previous best method: DeepLabv3. Additionally, the parameter number of ASFRRN was only 10.6 M, which is less than those of DANet (71.4 M) and DeepLabv3 (41.3 M).

Conclusions

We proposed ASFRRN, which combined with FRRN, attention mechanism, and deep supervision to segment tumors from BUS images. It achieved high segmentation accuracy with a reduced parameter number.
In vivo Nakagami‐m parametric imaging of microbubble‐enhanced ultrasound regulated by RF and VF processing techniques
Authors: Wang Diya , Liu Dong , Sang Yuchao , Zhang Yu , Wan Mingxi , Diederich Chris J.
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Application of the Nakagami statistical model and associated m parameter has the potential to suppress artifacts from adjustable system parameters and operator selections typical in echo amplitude‐coded microbubble‐enhanced ultrasound (MEUS). However, the feasibility of applying m estimation and determination of the associated Nakagami distribution features for in vivo MEUS remain to be investigated. Sensitivity and discriminability of m‐coded MEUS are often limited since raw envelopes are regulated by complex radiofrequency (RF) and video‐frequency (VF) processing. This study aims to develop an improved imaging approach for the m parameter estimation which can overcome the above limitations in in vivo condition.

Method

The regulation effects of RF processing of pulse‐inversion (PI) harmonic detection techniques and VF processing of logarithmic compression in Nakagami distributions were investigated in MEUS. A window‐modulated compounding moment estimator was developed to estimate the MEUS m values. The sensitivity and discriminability of m‐coded MEUS were quantified with contrast‐to‐tissue ratio (CTR), contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR), and axial and lateral resolutions, which were validated through in vivo perfusion experiments on rabbit kidneys.

Results

Regulated by RF and VF processing, the distributions of MEUS obeyed the Nakagami statistical model. The Nakagami‐fitted correlation coefficient was 0.996 ± 0.003 (P < 0.05 in the t test and P < 0.001 in the Kolmogorov−Smirnov test). Among each of the m‐coded MEUS methods, the logarithmic m‐coded PI‐MEUS scheme effectively characterized the peripheral rim perfusion features and details within the renal cortex. The CTR and CNR in this region reached 7.9 ± 1.5 dB and 34.4 ± 1.7 dB, respectively, which were higher than those of standard amplitude‐coded MEUS; and the axial and lateral resolutions were 1.02 ± 0.02 and 0.91 ± 0.02 mm, respectively, which were slightly longer than those of amplitude‐coded MEUS.

Conclusions

The Nakagami statistical model could characterize MEUS even when the envelope distributions were regulated by RF and VF processing. The logarithmic m‐coded PI‐MEUS scheme significantly improved the sensitivity, discriminability, and robustness of m estimation in MEUS. The scheme provides an option to remove artifacts in echo amplitude‐coded MEUS and to distinctly characterize the inherent microvasculature enhanced by microbubbles, with potential to improve and expand the role of MEUS in diagnostic ultrasound.
Incontinence Quiz: Translation, validation, and reproducibility in Portuguese women
Authors: Carvalhais Alice , Araújo Fábio , Ferreira Margarida
Published: September 2020

Aim

The purpose of the present study was to translate and validate the Incontinence Quiz (IQ) questionnaire into a Portuguese version.

Methods

The Portuguese version of the 14‐item Incontinence Quiz was prepared following translation and back‐translation procedures and was tested on a pilot group of 10 women. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α), test‐retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]), and construct validity (using two indicators: education level and being a qualified health professional) were assessed in 141 women from the staff of two higher education institutions. Participant's socio‐demographic characteristics were collected by questionnaire.

Results

The translation and back‐translation process was performed without constraints. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.696 (Item 13) to 0.748 (Item 6), and global Chronbach's α was  .740. ICC values for the IQ total score were  .78, .57, and .79 for correct, wrong, and do not know answers, respectively. Both economic indicators were positively associated with the percentage of correct answers.

Conclusions

Validity and reliability of the translated Portuguese IQ were achieved which will allow the comparison of results with studies in other cultures.
Characterizing voiding experiences of men choosing seated and standing positions
Authors: Namiri Nikan K. , Cheema Bhagat , Lui Hansen , Enriquez Anthony , Rios Natalie , Srirangapatanam Sudarshan , Cohen Andrew J. , Mmonu Nnenaya A. , Breyer Benjamin N.
Published: September 2020

Aims

Voiding positions and preferences in men are not well characterized. In this study, we aim to understand the interplay of voiding characteristics and their impact on voiding position.

Methods

We designed a 27‐item survey to assess voiding characteristics and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) severity in men seen in urology and other outpatient clinics. Participants included adult men patients and adult men accompanying patients at our institution's outpatient clinics. Data collected included demographics, International Prostate Symptom Score questionnaire, stream type (single, split, and dribble), voiding behavior, positional stream quality, and voiding bother.

Results

We received 195 completed surveys (80% response rate). Of men queried, 18% (35/195) preferred to sit while voiding. Overall, men who sit had a higher proportion of LUTS (66% [23/35] vs. 41% [66/160]; p = .01), more physical limitations affecting voiding choice (20% [7/35] vs. 3% [5/160]; (p = .001), and a lower desire to stand (6% [2/35] vs. 24% [38/160]; p = .02), compared to men who stand. Men who sit while voiding reported nearly double the amount of voiding associated bother (34% [12/35]) compared to men who stand (18% [28/160]; p = .04). Older aged men reported a similar rate of seated urination compared to younger men. The most common reasons to void seated included comfort and avoidance of spraying.

Conclusions

Our findings discourage the use of anecdotal beliefs founded on generalizable characteristics, such as age and stream type, to infer a patient's voiding characteristics. Open dialog with patients regarding voiding preferences may garner important information regarding overall urologic health and better inform urologic care.
The mixed capacitated general routing problem with time‐dependent demands
Authors: Ahabchane Chahid , Langevin André , Trépanier Martin
Published: September 2020

The mixed capacitated general routing problem (MCGRP) is defined over a mixed graph, for which some nodes, arcs, and edges must be serviced. The problem consists of determining a set of routes of minimum cost that satisfy the demand. Some problems like salt spreading have a time‐dependent demand which was ignored in the previous studies. This variation of demand is due to the weather or traffic conditions. This study presents a mixed integer programming model without graph transformation to node routing. We use CPLEX to solve small instances and we develop a Slack Induction by String Removals metaheuristic for large instances adapted to this problem. The proposed model and metaheuristic were tested on problems derived from a set of classical instances of the MCGRP with some modifications to include time‐dependent demands.
Multilevel graph embedding
Authors: Quiring Benjamin , Vassilevski Panayot S.
Published: September 2020

The goal of the present paper is the design of embeddings of a general sparse graph into a set of points in for appropriated ≥ 2. The embeddings that we are looking at aim to keep vertices that are grouped in communities together and keep the rest apart. To achieve this property, we utilize coarsening that respects possible community structures of the given graph. We employ a hierarchical multilevel coarsening approach that identifies communities (strongly connected groups of vertices) at every level. The multilevel strategy allows any given (presumably expensive) graph embedding algorithm to be made into a more scalable (and faster) algorithm. We demonstrate the presented approach on a number of given embedding algorithms and large‐scale graphs and achieve speed‐up over the methods in a recent paper.
A Riemannian inexact Newton‐CG method for stochastic inverse singular value problems
Authors: Ma Ru‐Ru , Bai Zheng‐Jian
Published: September 2020

In this article, we consider the stochastic inverse singular value problem (ISVP) of constructing a stochastic matrix from the prescribed realizable singular values. We propose a Riemannian inexact Newton‐CG method with various choices of forcing terms for solving the stochastic ISVP. We show the proposed method converges linearly or superlinearly for different forcing terms under some assumptions. We also extend the proposed method to the case of prescribed entries. Finally, we report some numerical results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

MOS SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION

65F18; 65F15; 15A18; 65K05; 90C26; 90C48
Household characteristics of persons with complex care needs in the community: A preliminary study
Authors: Yoshioka‐Maeda Kyoko , Fujii Hitoshi
Published: September 2020

Aim

To identify the characteristics of households of persons with complex care needs and clarify the care period length required to resolve their primary health issues.

Design

A descriptive cross‐sectional study design.

Methods

We collected registered data and nursing records from 155 households living in City A within the Tokyo Metropolis. They were designated as complex care cases by the home care and life support centre and needed a multidisciplinary approach to care from April 2018–July 2019.

Results

Most households comprised an elderly with a single adult child (N = 47, 30.3%). Mental illness and economic distress overlapped as the most common issues. The mean length of care period was 147.7 days (SD = 120.6). The log‐rank test showed that single persons took significantly less time to resolve their primary health issues than elders with single‐child households or single‐person <65‐year‐old households.
In‐silico analysis of the strigolactone ligand‐receptor system
Authors: Bürger Marco , Chory Joanne
Published: September 2020

Strigolactones (SLs) are a diverse class of butenolide‐bearing plant hormones associated with several processes of major agricultural concern. SLs initiate symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, cause germination of crop‐devastating parasitic plants, and inhibit shoot branching in vascular plants. SLs are perceived by dual receptor‐hydrolase proteins, and capturing the intact ligand inside the receptor remains a key challenge for structural biologists. In addition, many discovered SLs are hard to obtain and too unstable to work with. In a computer‐based approach, we investigated the interaction of 20 different SL molecules with nine crystal structures of SL receptors. Our results suggest an important role of the active site for ligand binding and orientation, and that the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica has developed both promiscuous and type‐specific SL receptors as part of its host recognition strategy.
Registration of ‘Hilliard’ wheat
Authors: Griffey Carl , Malla Subas , Brooks Wynse , Seago John , Christopher Anthony , Thomason Wade , Pitman Robert , Markham Robin , Vaughn Mark , Dunaway David , Beahm Mary , Barrack C. Lin , Rucker Elizabeth , Behl Harry , Hardiman Thomas , Beahm Bruce , Browning Phillip , Schmale David , McMaster Niki , Custis J. Tommy , Gulick Steve , Ashburn S. Bobby , Jones Ned , Baik Byung‐Kee , Bockelman Harold , Marshall David , Fountain Myron , Brown‐Guedira Gina , Cowger Christina , Cambron Sue , Kolmer James , Jin Yue , Chen Xianming , Garland‐Campbell Kimberly , Sparry Ellen
Published: September 2020

‘Hilliard’ (Reg. no. CV‐1163, PI 676271), a soft red winter (SRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) developed and tested as VA11W‐108 by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, was released in March 2015. Hilliard was derived from the cross ‘25R47’/‘Jamestown’. Hilliard is widely adapted, from Texas to Ontario, Canada, and provides producers with a mid‐season, medium height, awned, semi‐dwarf (Rht2) cultivar that has very high yield potential, good straw strength, and intermediate grain volume weight and quality. It expresses moderate to high levels of resistance to most diseases prevalent in the eastern United States and Ontario. In the 2016–2018 USDA‐ARS Uniform SRW Wheat nurseries, Hilliard ranked first in grain yield in the southern nursery across all 3 yr (5,147–5,758 kg ha−1). In the uniform eastern nursery, it ranked first for grain yield in 2016 (6,159 kg ha−1) and 2017 (5,633 kg ha−1) and second in 2018 (5,515 kg ha−1). Grain volume weights of Hilliard were similar to overall trial averages in the uniform southern (73.4–75.2 kg hl−1) and eastern (70–75.8 kg hl−1) nurseries. Hilliard has soft grain texture with flour softness equivalent values varying from 58.1 to 61.7 g 100 g−1. Straight grade flour yields on a Quadrumat Senior mill varied from 66.8 to 68.4 g kg−1. Flour protein concentration varied from 7.0 to 9.1 g 100 g−1 and gluten strength from 108 to 128 g 100 g−1, as measured by lactic acid solvent retention capacity. Cookie spread diameter varied from 18.3 to 18.6 cm.
Coronavirus global pandemic: An overview of current findings among pediatric patients
Authors: Perikleous Evanthia , Tsalkidis Aggelos , Bush Andrew , Paraskakis Emmanouil
Published: September 2020

Background

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) epidemic has been emerged as a cardinal public health problem. Children have their own specific clinical features; notably, they seem to be escaping the severe respiratory adverse effects. The international scientific community is rapidly carrying out studies, driving to the need to reassess knowledge of the disease and therapeutic strategies.

Aim

To assess the characteristics of COVID‐19 infected children worldwide of all ages, from neonates to children and adolescents, and how they differ from their adult counterparts.

Search Strategy

An electronic search in PubMed was conducted, using combinations of the following keywords: coronavirus, SARS‐CoV‐2, COVID‐19, children. The search included all types of articles written in English between January 1, 2019 until August 15, 2020.

Results

The search identified 266 relevant articles. Children were mainly within family clusters of cases and have relatively milder clinical presentation compared with adults; children were reported to have better outcomes with a significantly lower mortality rate. Cough and fever were the most common symptoms while pneumonia was the cardinal respiratory manifestation of infected children. Laboratory results and thoracic imaging give varying results.

Conclusions

Children were mainly family cluster cases and usually presented with a mild infection, although cases presented with the multisystem inflammatory syndrome are becoming more apparent. Studies determining why the manifestations of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection are so variable may help to gain a better understanding of the disease and accelerate the development of vaccines and therapies.
The cerebrovascular response to norepinephrine: A scoping systematic review of the animal and human literature
Authors: Froese Logan , Dian Joshua , Gomez Alwyn , Unger Bertram , Zeiler Frederick A.
Published: September 2020

Intravenous norepinephrine (NE) is utilized commonly in critical care for cardiovascular support. NE’s impact on cerebrovasculature is unclear and may carry important implications during states of critical neurological illness. The aim of the study was to perform a scoping review of the literature on the cerebrovascular/cerebral blood flow (CBF) effects of NE. A search of MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library from inception to December 2019 was performed. All manuscripts pertaining to the administration of NE, in which the impact on CBF/cerebral vasculature was recorded, were included. We identified 62 animal studies and 26 human studies. Overall, there was a trend to a direct vasoconstriction effect of NE on the cerebral vasculature, with conflicting studies having demonstrated both increases and decreases in regional CBF (rCBF) or global CBF. Healthy animals and those undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstrated a dose‐dependent increase in CBF with NE administration. However, animal models and human patients with acquired brain injury had varied responses in CBF to NE administration. The animal models indicate an increase in cerebral vasoconstriction with NE administration through the alpha receptors in vessels. Global and rCBF during the injection of NE displays a wide variation depending on treatment and model/patient.
Transfer of heavy metal along food chain: a mini‐review on insect susceptibility to entomopathogenic microorganisms under heavy metal stress
Authors: Jiang Dun , Tan Mingtao , Guo Qingxi , Yan Shanchun
Published: September 2020

The development and physiological status of pest insects are important factors that affect the effectiveness of biological control. Current knowledge reveals that heavy metals can be transferred to phytophagous insects through food chains and cause various chronic toxicological effects on the growth and physiology of phytophagous insects. These findings potentially attribute heavy metal contamination to an environmental factor governing biocontrol efficiency against pest insects, pointing to an urgent demand to better understand the effects of heavy metal exposure on insect susceptibility to entomopathogenic microorganisms. Here we discuss the transfer characteristics of heavy metals along the food chains to phytophagous insects and conclude that heavy metal exposure may promote insect susceptibility to entomopathogenic microorganisms in the heavy metal‐contaminated regions. Furthermore, we propose a ‘combined effect’ hypothesis that combination of entomopathogenic agent and heavy metal stress can cause a much higher overall insect mortality than does the entomopathogenic agent or the heavy metal stress alone. This is a new and relatively unexplored area in the microbial‐based biocontrol research, which might have great potential for future optimization of biocontrol strategies against economically and ecologically important agricultural or forest pests in the heavy metal polluted areas. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Increasing the activity of cell adherent cyclic NGR peptides by optimizing the peptide length and amino acid character
Authors: Kozaki Ikko , Suzuki Takehiro , You Sheng‐Chao , Shimizu Kazunori , Honda Hiroyuki
Published: September 2020

Cyclic peptides are an attractive modality for the development of therapeutics and the identification of functional cyclic peptides that contribute to novel drug development. The peptide array is one of the optimization methods for peptide sequences and also useful to understand sequence–function relationship of peptides. Cell adherent cyclic NGR peptide which selectively binds to the aminopeptidase N (APN or CD13) is known as an attractive tumor marker. In this study, we designed and screened a library of different length and an amino acid substitution library to identify stronger cell adhesion peptides and to reveal that the factor of higher binding between CD13 and optimized cyclic peptides. Additionally, we designed and evaluated 192 peptide libraries using eight representative amino acids to reduce the size of the library. Through these optimization steps of cyclic peptides, we identified 23 peptides that showed significantly higher cell adhesion activity than cKCNGRC, which was previously reported as a cell adhesion cyclic peptide. Among them, cCRHNGRARC showed the highest activity, that is, 1.65 times higher activity than cKCNGRC. An analysis of sequence and functional data showed that the rules which show higher cell adhesion activity for the three basic cyclic peptides (cCX1HNGRHX2C, cCX1HNGRAX2C, and cCX1ANGRHX2C) are related with the position of His residues and cationic amino acids.
Traditional Chinese medicine may be further explored as candidate drugs for pancreatic cancer: A review
Authors: Gao Yue , Chen Shiyu , Sun Jiayi , Su Siyu , Yang Dong , Xiang Li , Meng Xianli
Published: September 2020

Pancreatic cancer is a disease with a high mortality rate. Although survival rates for different types of cancers have improved in recent years, the five‐year survival rate of pancreatic cancer stands at 8%. Moreover, the current first‐line therapy, gemcitabine, results in low remission rates and is associated with drug resistance problems. Alternative treatments for pancreatic cancer such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy provide marginal remission and survival rates. This calls for the search of more effective drugs or treatments. Traditional Chinese medicine contains numerous bioactive ingredients some of which show activity against pancreatic cancer. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of five types of traditional Chinese medicine monomers. In so‐doing, we provide new potential drug candidates for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Immune response following infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 and other coronaviruses: A rapid review
Authors: O Murchu Eamon , Byrne Paula , Walsh Kieran A. , Carty Paul G. , Connolly Máire , De Gascun Cillian , Jordan Karen , Keoghan Mary , O'Brien Kirsty K. , O'Neill Michelle , Smith Susan M. , Teljeur Conor , Ryan Máirín , Harrington Patricia
Published: September 2020

In this review, we systematically searched and summarized the evidence on the immune response and reinfection rate following SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. We also retrieved studies on SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV to assess the long‐term duration of antibody responses. A protocol based on Cochrane rapid review methodology was adhered to and databases were searched from 1/1/2000 until 26/5/2020.

Of 4744 citations retrieved, 102 studies met our inclusion criteria. Seventy‐four studies were retrieved on SARS‐CoV‐2. While the rate and timing of IgM and IgG seroconversion were inconsistent across studies, most seroconverted for IgG within 2 weeks and 100% (N = 62) within 4 weeks. IgG was still detected at the end of follow‐up (49‐65 days) in all patients (N = 24). Neutralizing antibodies were detected in 92%‐100% of patients (up to 53 days). It is not clear if reinfection with SARS‐CoV‐2 is possible, with studies more suggestive of intermittent detection of residual RNA.

Twenty‐five studies were retrieved on SARS‐CoV. In general, SARS‐CoV‐specific IgG was maintained for 1‐2 years post‐infection and declined thereafter, although one study detected IgG up to 12 years post‐infection. Neutralizing antibodies were detected up to 17 years in another study. Three studies on MERS‐CoV reported that IgG may be detected up to 2 years.

In conclusion, limited early data suggest that most patients seroconvert for SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific IgG within 2 weeks. While the long‐term duration of antibody responses is unknown, evidence from SARS‐CoV studies suggest SARS‐CoV‐specific IgG is sustained for 1‐2 years and declines thereafter.
Fast and stable composite learning via high‐order optimization
Authors: Jiang Tao , Han Hongwei
Published: September 2020

Fast and stable adaptation is necessary to achieve stringent tracking performance specifications in the face of large system uncertainties. This work develops a novel fast adaption architecture based on a high‐order optimization idea, where an approximated filter of weight is applied to smoothen and stabilize the estimation process. Larger learning rate can be selected to achieve fast adaption in that high‐frequency uncertainties are attenuated. Moreover, composite learning combined with filtering regression and experience replay technique is utilized to further smoothen and accelerate the parameter estimation process. Given a nonlinear plant with multi‐input multi‐output strict‐feedback structure, the proposed adaptive control is integrated into the backstepping framework. The uniformly bounded property of the tracking errors and the approximation errors is proven by Lyapunov theory. The superiority of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparative simulations.
Quantifying the habitat preferences of the stoneflyPteronarcys californicain Colorado
Authors: Kowalski Dan A. , Richer Eric E.
Published: September 2020

The salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica) is a large stonefly species that is ecologically important and recreationally significant to anglers in coldwater river systems throughout the western United States. Salmonflies are sensitive to disturbance and pollution and are considered an indicator of quality coldwater stream habitat. They are declining in range and abundance in some river systems and their extirpation from several western rivers has led to restoration attempts including habitat improvement projects and direct reintroductions. These efforts could be improved with a clear understanding of the causes of these declines, a quantitative description of the species' preferred habitat, and practical management recommendations for the restoration of habitat where it has been lost. The objective of this study was to measure variables that describe the physical habitat of sites supporting varying densities of salmonflies in Colorado. Width to depth ratio, bed slope, D50 sediment size, percent fine sediment, and embeddedness were measured at 18 riffle sites and compared to an index of salmonfly density estimated over 3 years. Correlation analysis and multiple linear regression with model selection were used to identify important variables. Salmonfly density was highest at sites with low amounts of fine sediment, low cobble embeddedness, and large cobble size. Fine sediment (particles < 2 mm) was the single best predictor of salmonfly density and ranged from 0–6% at sites with high salmonfly densities. As habitat characteristics influence the range and density of salmonflies in Colorado and elsewhere, results from this study can inform land use practices, flow management, and river restoration activities to benefit this important indicator species.
Formulating causal questions and principled statistical answers
Authors: Goetghebeur Els , le Cessie Saskia , De Stavola Bianca , Moodie Erica EM , Waernbaum Ingeborg ,   “on behalf of” the topic group Causal Inference (TG7) of the STRATOS initiative
Published: September 2020

Although review papers on causal inference methods are now available, there is a lack of introductory overviews on what they can render and on the guiding criteria for choosing one particular method. This tutorial gives an overview in situations where an exposure of interest is set at a chosen baseline (“point exposure”) and the target outcome arises at a later time point. We first phrase relevant causal questions and make a case for being specific about the possible exposure levels involved and the populations for which the question is relevant. Using the potential outcomes framework, we describe principled definitions of causal effects and of estimation approaches classified according to whether they invoke the no unmeasured confounding assumption (including outcome regression and propensity score‐based methods) or an instrumental variable with added assumptions. We mainly focus on continuous outcomes and causal average treatment effects. We discuss interpretation, challenges, and potential pitfalls and illustrate application using a “simulation learner,” that mimics the effect of various breastfeeding interventions on a child's later development. This involves a typical simulation component with generated exposure, covariate, and outcome data inspired by a randomized intervention study. The simulation learner further generates various (linked) exposure types with a set of possible values per observation unit, from which observed as well as potential outcome data are generated. It thus provides true values of several causal effects. R code for data generation and analysis is available on
www.ofcaus.org, where SAS and Stata code for analysis is also provided.
Conversion of Biomass Wastes into Activated Carbons by Chemical Activation for Hydrogen Storage
Authors: Peng Zifang , Xu Ying , Luo Weimin , Wang Chenguang , Ma Longlong
Published: September 2020

The investigation of activated carbons for hydrogen storage has attracted great attention due to their easy availability, adjustable microstructure and large specific surface area. Herein, three kinds of agricultural biomass wastes (bagasse, cornstalk and pine powder) are used to prepare activated carbons via chemical activation (H3PO4, ZnCl2 and KOH). The interinfluence of precursors and activators on the activated carbon was investigated. We found that the same biomass treated with different activators possessing totally unique characters, whereas three kinds of biomass activated with the same activators exhibited mild difference. Specifically, KOH contributed the largest specific surface area. The optimized activated carbons were used for hydrogen storage measurement and exhibited high storage capacity. Hydrogen storage capacity of activated carbon is proportional to volume of micropores. Conversion of cheap biomass wastes into activated carbon for hydrogen storage is significant for rational utilization of resources and energy storage.
Tautomeric Study of Schiff Bases Derived from o‐Dihydroxybenzaldehyde by UV‐Vis, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR Spectroscopy and Computational Modeling.
Authors: Atzin‐Macedo Carmen María , Pastor‐Ramírez Cándida , González‐Peláez Rafael , Pérez‐Flores Francisco Javier , Hernández‐Anzaldo Samuel , Vazquez‐Lima Hugo , Reyes‐Ortega Yasmi
Published: September 2020

Tautomeric equilibria at room temperature were studied for three aromatic imine polyol compounds, previously reported 2‐((2‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)‐2‐(hydroxymethyl)propane‐1,3‐diol 1 and two new compounds 2‐(((1,3‐dihydroxy‐2‐(hydroxymethyl)propan‐2‐yl)imino)methyl)benzene‐1,4‐diol 2 and 3‐(((1,3‐dihydroxy‐2‐(hydroxymethyl)propan‐2 yl)imino)methyl)benzene‐1,2‐diol 3. The dynamic behavior of these equilibria is described by a combination of IR, UV‐Vis and NMR spectroscopic measurements with DFT and TDDFT calculations in condensed phase. Among the different approaches, the combination of UV‐Vis experimental spectra with the oscillator strengths values estimated from TDDFT calculations allowed for the assessment of the tautomeric populations in DMSO and methanol. These results were consistent with different functionals employed GGA, Hybrid and MetaGGA.
Z‐scheme 3 D g‐C3N4/TiO2−x Heterojunctions with High Photocatalytic Efficiency
Authors: Li Zhenxing , Ge Kai , Yang Kai , Wang Shuang , Li Xuehan , He Jiahui , Fu Congcong , Ye Jin , Zhang Yue , Yang Yongfang
Published: September 2020

The 3D network structure composed of g‐C3N4 nanorods was prepared via treatment of bulk g‐C3N4 with hot HNO3 followed by adjustment the pH and lyophilization. Then the 3D g‐C3N4/TiO2−x heterojunctions with a strong interface was constructed via loading TiO2−x nanoparticles onto the 3D g‐C3N4 networks under hydrothermal conditions. The structure and morphology of the 3D g‐C3N4/TiO2−x heterojunctions was characterized by infrared spectrum (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and field emission transmission electron microscope (TEM). The photo‐degradation rate of Doxycycline HCl for 3D g‐C3N4/TiO2−x heterojunction is about 4 times of that original bulk‐C3N4 and 2.75 times of 3D g‐C3N4. The improved photocatalytic efficiency is attributed to 3D g‐C3N4 networks, which provides the more transfer channel to accelerate the electron transportation and the strong heterointerface between g‐C3N4 and TiO2−x which promotes the separation of the electron‐holes. Besides, more adsorption capacity of the pollutant onto the 3D g‐C3N4/TiO2−x also contributed to this high efficiency.
Interface Engineering of Partially Phosphidated Co@Co–P@NPCNTs for Highly Enhanced Electrochemical Overall Water Splitting
Authors: Jiao Jiqing , Yang Wenjuan , Pan Yuan , Zhang Chao , Liu Shoujie , Chen Chen , Wang Dingsheng
Published: September 2020

Interface engineering is promising but still challenging for developing highly efficient and stable non‐noble‐metal‐based electrocatalysts for water splitting. Herein, partially phosphidated core@shell Co@Co–P nanoparticles encapsulated in bamboo‐like N, P co‐doped carbon nanotubes (denoted as Part‐Ph Co@Co–P@NPCNTs) are prepared through a pyrolysis–oxidation–phosphidation strategy. In this structure, each Co nanoparticle is covered with a thin Co–P layer to form a special core@shell heterojunction interface, and the core@shell structure is further encapsulated by N, P co‐doped CNTs that not only protect the Co from corrosion but also guarantee an effective and fast electron transfer on cobalt phosphide. As a bifunctional catalyst for both the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, it exhibits an excellent activity for overall water splitting, and enables long‐term operation without significant degradation. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the interface of the Co/Co2P heterojunction could lower the values of ΔGH* (hydrogen adsorption) and ΔGB (water dissociation), which are negatively correlated to the j10, because of the electronic structures of up‐shifted d‐band center. This study not only presents an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for overall water splitting but also provides a special route for the interface engineering of heterostructures.
SeC Bonding Promoting Fast and Durable Na+ Storage in Yolk–Shell SnSe2@SeC
Authors: Xiao Shuhao , Li Zhenzhe , Liu Jintao , Song Yushan , Li Tingshuai , Xiang Yong , Chen Jun Song , Yan Qingyu
Published: September 2020

Tin‐based compounds have received much attention as anode materials for lithium/sodium ion batteries owing to their high theoretical capacity. However, the huge volume change usually leads to the pulverization of electrode, giving rise to a poor cycle performance, which have severely hampered their practical application. Herein, highly durable yolk–shell SnSe2 nanospheres (SnSe2@SeC) are prepared by a multistep templating method, with an in situ gas‐phase selenization of the SnO2@C hollow nanospheres. During this process, Se can be doped into the carbon shell with a tunable amount and form SeC bonds. Density functional theory calculation results reveal that the SeC bonding can enhance the charge transfer properties as well as the binding interaction between the SnSe2 core and the carbon shell, favoring an improved rate performance and a superior cyclability. As expected, the sample delivers reversible capacities of 441 and 406 mAh g−1 after 2000 cycles at 2 and 5 A g−1, respectively, as the anode material for a sodium‐ion battery. Such performances are significantly better than the control sample without the SeC bonding and also other metal selenide‐based anodes, evidently showing the advantage of Se doping in the carbon shell.
Highly Ordered Nanochannels in a Nanosheet‐Directed Thin Zeolite Nanofilm for Precise and Fast CO2 Separation
Authors: Wang Bin , Wu Tangyin , Yu Miao , Li Shiguang , Zhou Rongfei , Xing Weihong
Published: September 2020

Precise molecular and ion separations depend largely on the size and uniformity of the nanochannels in a defect‐free microporous nanofilm. Ordered and perpendicular nanochannels with uniform pore size are assembled into a continuous and defect‐free film by a “gel nuclei‐less” route. The ultrathin (<50 nm) zeolite nanosheets seeding layer induces the formation of defect‐free zeolite nanofilms (500–800 nm) with preferential [100] orientation well‐aligned to the transport pathway. The large‐area and thin silicoaluminophosphate‐34 (SAPO‐34) nanofilm consisting of uniform and straight nanochannels shows a milestone CO2 permeance of ≈1.0 × 10−5 mol (m2 s Pa)−1 and high CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities of 135 and 41 in equimolar binary mixtures at room temperature and 0.2 MPa feed pressure, respectively. These results suggest that highly oriented and thin SAPO‐34 nanofilms prepared from nanosheets might have great potential for CO2 capture from natural gas, biogas, and flue gas.
Electrochemical Insights, Developing Strategies, and Perspectives toward Advanced Potassium–Sulfur Batteries
Authors: Yuan Xiaomin , Zhu Bo , Feng Jinkui , Wang Chengguo , Cai Xun , Qiao Kun , Qin Rongman
Published: September 2020

The boosting demand for high‐capacity energy storage systems requires innovative battery technologies with low‐cost and sustainability. The advancement of potassium–sulfur (K–S) batteries have been triggered recently due to abundant resource and cost effectiveness. However, the functional performance of K–S batteries is fundamentally restricted by the vague understanding of K–S electrochemistry and the imperfect cell components or architectures, facing the issues of low cathode conductivity, intermediate shuttle loss, poor anode stability, electrode volume fluctuation, etc. Inspired by considerable research efforts on rechargeable metal–sulfur batteries, the holistic K–S system can be stabilized and promoted through various strategies on rational physical regulation and chemical engineering. In this review, first an attempt is made to address the electrochemical kinetic concept of K–S system on the basis of the emerging studies. Then, the classification of performance‐improving strategies is thoroughly discussed in terms of specific battery component and prospective outlooks in materials optimization, structure innovations, as well as relevant electrochemistry are provided. Finally, the critical perspectives and challenges are discussed to demonstrate the forward‐looking developmental directions of K–S batteries. This review not only endeavors to provide a deep understanding of the electrochemistry mechanism and rational designs for high‐energy K–S batteries, but also encourages more efforts in their large‐scale practical realization.