bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association between tea drinking and plasma folate concentration among women aged 18–30 years in China
Authors: Jia Xiaoqian , Ren Mengyuan , Zhang Yali , Ye Rongwei , Zhang Le , Li Zhiwen
Published: December 2020

Objective:

Association was found between tea and neural tube defects. However, few studies investigated the relationship between tea consumption and blood folate levels. We aimed to investigate the association between tea consumption and plasma folate concentrations among women aged 18–30 years in different ethnicities of China.

Design:

Data were obtained from a national cross-sectional study conducted from 2005 to 2006 of women aged 18–30 years in China. Socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle were obtained from a questionnaire. Dietary folate intake was determined by 24-h dietary recall. Plasma folate concentrations were measured by a microbiological assay. Multiple linear regression model was used to calculate partial regression coefficients after adjusting for confounding factors.

Setting:

Nine provinces or autonomous regions in China.

Participants:

A total of 2932 women aged 18–30 years in China.

Results:

After stratifying by ethnicity and tea type, tea consumption was significantly positively associated with plasma folate levels in Han women who drank unfermented tea weekly (β = 0·067, and P = 0·037) or daily (β = 0·119, and P = 0·031) and in Uighur women who drank fermented tea weekly (β = 0·325, and P = 0·028). For women who drank unfermented tea in Han ethnicity, weekly and daily tea drinkers had 6·77 % (95 % CI: 6·36 %, 7·21 %) and 7·13 % (95 % CI: 6·40 %, 7·96 %) increase in plasma folate concentration compared with no tea drinkers.

Conclusions:

There is a suggestion of possible positive association between unfermented tea drinking in Han ethnicity and plasma folate concentrations, for Chinese women aged 18–30 years. The relationship between tea drinking in other ethnic groups and plasma folate still needs to be further explored.
Associations between shopping patterns, dietary behaviours and geographic information system-assessed store accessibility among small food store customers
Authors: McGuirt Jared T , Wu Qiang , Laska Melissa N , Truesdale Kimberly P , Rafferty Ann P , Bell Ronny A , Ammerman Alice S , Jilcott Pitts Stephanie B
Published: December 2020

Objective:

To examine associations between geographic information systems (GIS)-assessed accessibility to small food stores, shopping patterns and dietary behaviours among small food store customers.

Design:

Residential addresses and customer shopping patterns (frequency of shopping, and previous purchase of fruits and vegetables) were gathered through customer intercept surveys. Addresses were geocoded, and GIS-assessed distance and driving time from the participants’ residence to the store were calculated. Dietary status and behaviours were assessed using an objective non-invasive measure of skin carotenoids, the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener, and items to assess sugary beverage intake. Associations between distance and driving time, demographics, shopping frequency, prior reported purchase of fruits and vegetables at the store and dietary behaviours were examined.

Setting:

Small food stores (n 22) across North Carolina.

Participants:

Cross-sectional convenience samples of English-speaking customers aged 18 years or older (n 692).

Results:

Participants living closer to the small store had lower income and formal education, were more likely to be Black, more likely to have previously bought fruits and vegetables at the store and more frequently shopped at the store. In adjusted models, skin carotenoids (n 644) were positively associated with distance to the store from home in miles (P = 0·01).

Conclusions:

Customers who lived closer to the stores were more frequent shoppers and more likely to have previously purchased fruits and vegetables at the store yet had lower skin carotenoids. These results support continued efforts to examine how to increase the availability and promotion of healthful foods at small food retail stores.
Religion and the Israeli Welfare State: The Case of Burial Services
Authors: Holler Roni
Published: December 2020

In recent years, the welfare state literature has been witnessing a “religious turn,” (re)reminding us the pivotal role of religion in shaping the modern welfare state. Notwithstanding its theoretical importance, this turn has been largely confined to European, North American, and antipodean settings. By drawing upon the historical case of Israeli burial services, this study seeks to make a modest step in closing this theoretical and empirical gap. Specifically, its findings point to the historical role of the Judaism in establishing universal burial services, funded by the state and operated almost exclusively by religious burial societies. Moreover, this policy legacy, which already had its roots in the British Mandate rule, is still at work, even in an era of “permanent austerity.” These findings problematize mainstream historical observations, which view the Israeli welfare state as a secular project, by suggesting a more nuanced and progressive role for Judaism in its history.
Tracing the Moisture That Nourishes the World’s Highest Glacier
Authors: Kornei Katherine
Published: December 2020

Using data from weather stations on and around Mount Everest, scientists find that the Khumbu Glacier receives most of its moisture from the Bay of Bengal.
Preferential Loss of High Trace Element Bearing Inner Calcite in Foraminifera During Physical and Chemical Cleaning
Authors: Fritz‐Endres Theresa , Fehrenbacher Jennifer
Published: December 2020

Trace elements (TEs) in the calcite shells of foraminifera are widely used in paleoceanographic reconstructions. Nearly all TE analytical protocols include cleaning to remove contaminant phases. Understanding, how the TE composition is altered during physical and chemical cleaning is of utmost importance in ensuring the accuracy of paleoclimate reconstructions. Aggressive cleaning steps that include corrosive reagents are commonly used to clean shells with elevated Ba/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios, under the assumption that these elements are elevated due to diagenetic overprinting. We provide evidence that elevated intrashell Ba/Ca, Mn/Ca, and Zn/Ca ratios are lattice bound and a primary signal incorporated into inner calcite during calcification in the nonspinose species Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata. We first demonstrate, using laser ablation depth profiling analyses, that aggressive cleaning following the full cleaning protocol traditionally used to eliminate Mn and Ba contamination, preferentially removes inner (ontogenic) calcite and favors the low Ba/Ca, Mn/Ca, Zn/Ca, and Mg/Ca crust/cortex calcite. In a separate experiment, we demonstrate that mechanical fragmentation of bulk shells prepared for solution analysis also preferentially removes inner calcite and favors the low TE crust/cortex calcite. Preferential loss of the ontogenic calcite decreases Ba/Ca, Mn/Ca, and Zn/Ca ratios by 50%–90% in N. dutertrei and P. obliquiloculata shells. This biases foraminiferal TE results toward lower values and may yield data that is problematic for the interpretation of downcore records.
Contributions of World Regions to the Global Tropospheric Ozone Burden Change From 1980 to 2010
Authors: Zhang Yuqiang , West J. Jason , Emmons Louisa K. , Flemming Johannes , Jonson Jan Eiof , Lund Marianne T. , Sekiya Takashi , Sudo Kengo , Gaudel Audrey , Chang Kai‐Lan , Nédélec Philippe , Thouret Valérie
Published: December 2020

We investigate the contributions of emission changes from 10 world regions, as well as the global methane concentration change, on the global tropospheric ozone burden change from 1980 to 2010. The modeled global tropospheric ozone burden has increased by 28.1 Tg, with 26.7% (7.5 Tg) of this change attributed to the global methane increase. Southeast Asia (5.6 Tg) and South Asia (4.0) contribute comparably to the global ozone burden change as East Asia (5.6), even though NOx emission increases in each region are less than one‐third of those in East Asia, highlighting the greater sensitivity of global ozone to these regions. Emission decreases from North America, Europe, and Former Soviet Union have led to ozone burden decreases of 2.8, 1.0, and 0.3 Tg. The greater sensitivity of the global ozone burden to emission changes in tropical and subtropical regions emphasizes the importance of controlling emissions in these regions for global ozone.
An Analysis of the Performance of the Houston Lightning Mapping Array During an Intense Period of Convection During Tropical Storm Harvey
Authors: Logan Timothy
Published: December 2020

Extreme lightning activity (∼300,000 flashes) was observed by the Houston Lightning Mapping Array (HLMA) network during Tropical Storm Harvey on August 26, 2017–August 27, 2017. There was an overall weak correlation between the lightning flash and precipitation rates (R = 0.14; p ∼ 0.17) likely due to feeder bands transitioning between deep and shallow convection. The peak precipitation rate (14.2 mm hr−1) lagged the peak lightning flash rate (∼18,000 flashes [30 min]−1) by 7 h. Adjusting for the lag, the correlation increased to 0.71 (p < 0.01) indicating a relationship between the uptick in lightning activity in the convective feeder bands and the resulting heavy precipitation during episodes of shallow convection. Peak lightning flash extent densities of 12.4 km−2 min−1 were spatially collocated with precipitation rates exceeding 9 mm hr−1. NEXRAD reflectivity data featured 30 dBZ echo heights in excess of 10 km that were collocated with peak lightning flash extent densities exceeding 3 km−2 min−1. The NEXRAD specific phase (kdp) and differential phase (Zdr) dual‐polarization products were highest (≥2° km−1 and dB) below the melting layer (4.6 km) indicating heavy precipitation and strong updrafts. Negative kdp and Zdr values (≤−0.15° km−1 and dB) collocated with the peak lightning flash extent density altitudes indicated ice particle generation which likely augmented the charge separation process. This is likely the first time a major tropical cyclone has occurred within the confines of a lightning mapping array. The lightning data, when used synergistically with radar and precipitation data, can adequately quantify tropical convection exhibiting an elevated mixed‐phase depth.
Land‐Surface Diurnal Effects on the Asymmetric Structures of a Postlandfall Tropical Storm
Authors: Zhang Feimin , Pu Zhaoxia , Wang Chenghai
Published: December 2020

After a tropical storm makes landfall, its vortex interacts with the surrounding environment and the underlying surface. It is expected that diurnal variation over land will affect storm structures. However, this has not yet been explored in previous studies. In this paper, numerical simulation of postlandfall Tropical Storm Bill (2015) is conducted using a research version of the NCEP Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model. Results indicate that during the storm's interaction with midlatitude westerlies over the Great Plains, the simulated storm with the SLAB land‐surface scheme is stronger, with faster eastward movement and attenuation, and more asymmetric structures than that with the NOAH land‐surface scheme. More symmetric structures correspond with a slower weakening and slower eastward movement of the storm over land. Further diagnoses suggest an obvious response of the storm's asymmetric structures to diurnal effects over land. Surface diabatic heating in the storm environment is important for the storm's symmetric structures and intensity over land. Specifically, during the transition from nighttime to daytime, the evident strengthening of convective instability, atmospheric baroclinicity, and the lateral advection of high air in the storm environment, associated with the rapid increase in surface diabatic heating, are conducive to the development of vertical vorticity and storm‐relative helicity, thus contributing to the maintenance of the storm's symmetric structures and intensity after landfall.
A therapeutic combination of two small molecule toxin inhibitors provides broad preclinical efficacy against viper snakebite
Authors: Albulescu Laura-Oana , Xie Chunfang , Ainsworth Stuart , Alsolaiss Jaffer , Crittenden Edouard , Dawson Charlotte A. , Softley Rowan , Bartlett Keirah E. , Harrison Robert A. , Kool Jeroen , Casewell Nicholas R.
Published: December 2020

Snakebite is a medical emergency causing high mortality and morbidity in rural tropical communities that typically experience delayed access to unaffordable therapeutics. Viperid snakes are responsible for the majority of envenomings, but extensive interspecific variation in venom composition dictates that different antivenom treatments are used in different parts of the world, resulting in clinical and financial snakebite management challenges. Here, we show that a number of repurposed Phase 2-approved small molecules are capable of broadly neutralizing distinct viper venom bioactivities in vitro by inhibiting different enzymatic toxin families. Furthermore, using murine in vivo models of envenoming, we demonstrate that a single dose of a rationally-selected dual inhibitor combination consisting of marimastat and varespladib prevents murine lethality caused by venom from the most medically-important vipers of Africa, South Asia and Central America. Our findings support the translation of combinations of repurposed small molecule-based toxin inhibitors as broad-spectrum therapeutics for snakebite.
Striking forest revival at the end of the Roman Period in north-western Europe
Authors: Lambert C. , Penaud A. , Vidal M. , Gandini C. , Labeyrie L. , Chauvaud L. , Ehrhold A.
Published: December 2020

The Holocene period (last 11,700 years BP) has been marked by significant climate variability over decadal to millennial timescales. The underlying mechanisms are still being debated, despite ocean–atmosphere–land connections put forward in many paleo-studies. Among the main drivers, involving a cluster of spectral signatures and shaping the climate of north-western Europe, are solar activity, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) varying atmospheric regimes and North Atlantic oceanic gyre dynamics. Over the last 2500 years BP, paleo-environmental signals have been strongly affected by anthropogenic activities through deforestation and land use for crops, grazing, habitations, or access to resources. Palynological proxies (especially pollen grains and marine or freshwater microalgae) help to highlight such anthropogenic imprints over natural variability. Palynological analyses conducted in a macro-estuarine sedimentary environment of north-western France over the last 2500 years BP reveal a huge and atypical 300 year-long arboreal increase between 1700 and 1400 years BP (around 250 and 550 years AD) that we refer to as the ‘1.7–1.4 ka Arboreal Pollen rise event’ or ‘1.7–1.4 ka AP event’. Interestingly, the climatic 1700–1200 years BP interval coincides with evidence for the withdrawal of coastal societies in Brittany (NW France), in an unfavourable socio-economic context. We suggest that subpolar North Atlantic gyre strengthening and related increasing recurrence of storminess extremes may have affected long-term coastal anthropogenic trajectories resulting in a local collapse of coastal agrarian societies, partly forced by climatic degradation at the end of the Roman Period.
Isolation and molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli from chicken meat
Authors: Rahman Md. Masudur , Husna Asmaul , Elshabrawy Hatem A. , Alam Jahangir , Runa Nurjahan Yasmin , Badruzzaman A. T. M. , Banu Nahid Arjuman , Al Mamun Mohammad , Paul Bashudeb , Das Shobhan , Rahman Md. Mahfujur , Mahbub-E-Elahi A. T. M. , Khairalla Ahmed S. , Ashour Hossam M.
Published: December 2020

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) are common in retail poultry products. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize multidrug resistant (MDR) E. coli in raw chicken meat samples collected from poultry shops in Sylhet division, Bangladesh, as well as to determine correlation between resistance phenotype and genotype. A total of 600 chicken meat swabs (divided equally between broiler and layer farms, n = 300 each) were collected and the isolates identified as E. coli (n = 381) were selected. Disc diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility assay showed resistance of these isolates to ampicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, streptomycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, and gentamicin. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identified several antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in our isolates. Among these ARGs, the prevalence of tetA (for tetracycline) was the highest (72.58%) in broiler chicken isolates, followed by sul1 (for sulfonamide; 44.16%), aadA1 (for streptomycin; 33.50%), ereA (for erythromycin; 27.41%), aac-3-IV (for gentamicin; 25.38%), and the two genes cmlA (24.87%) and catA1 (8.63%) for chloramphenicol. On the other hand, the respective prevalence in layer chicken isolates were 82.06%, 47.83%, 35.87%, 35.33%, 23.91%, 19.02%, and 5.43%. Furthermore, 49.23% of the isolates from broiler chicken were MDR, with the presence of multiple antibiotic resistance genes, including 3 (40.11%) and 4 (9.13%) genes. On the other hand, 51.09% of layer chicken E. coli isolates were MDR, with 3, 4 or 5 ARGs detected in 36.41%, 14.13%, and 0.54% of the isolates, respectively. We also found that 12.8% of broiler chicken E. coli isolates and 7.61% of layer chicken isolates carried genes coding for extended-spectrum SHV beta-lactamases. Lastly, we report the presence of the AmpC beta-lactamase producing gene (CITM) in 4.56% and 3.26% of broiler and layer chicken E. coli isolates, respectively. We found significant correlations between most of the antimicrobial resistant phenotypes and genotypes observed among the investigated E. coli isolates. Our findings highlight the need for the prudent use of antimicrobials in chickens to minimize the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
Porcine rotavirus B as primary causative agent of diarrhea outbreaks in newborn piglets
Authors: Miyabe Flavia Megumi , Dall Agnol Alais Maria , Leme Raquel Arruda , Oliveira Thalita Evani Silva , Headley Selwyn Arlington , Fernandes Thiago , de Oliveira Admilton Gonçalves , Alfieri Alice Fernandes , Alfieri Amauri Alcindo
Published: December 2020

Rotavirus (RV) is considered a major cause of acute viral gastroenteritis in young animals. RV is classified into nine species, five of which have been identified in pigs. Most studies worldwide have highlighted diarrhoea outbreaks caused by RVA, which is considered the most important RV species. In the present study, we described the detection and characterization of porcine RVB as a primary causative agent of diarrhoea outbreaks in pig herds in Brazil. The study showed a high frequency (64/90; 71.1%) of RVB diagnosis in newborn piglets associated with marked histopathological lesions in the small intestines. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP7 gene of wild-type RVB strains revealed a high diversity of G genotypes circulating in one geographic region of Brazil. Our findings suggest that RVB may be considered an important primary enteric pathogen in piglets and should be included in the routine differential diagnosis of enteric diseases in piglets.
DriveWays: a method for identifying possibly overlapping driver pathways in cancer
Authors: Baali Ilyes , Erten Cesim , Kazan Hilal
Published: December 2020

The majority of the previous methods for identifying cancer driver modules output nonoverlapping modules. This assumption is biologically inaccurate as genes can participate in multiple molecular pathways. This is particularly true for cancer-associated genes as many of them are network hubs connecting functionally distinct set of genes. It is important to provide combinatorial optimization problem definitions modeling this biological phenomenon and to suggest efficient algorithms for its solution. We provide a formal definition of the Overlapping Driver Module Identification in Cancer (ODMIC) problem. We show that the problem is NP-hard. We propose a seed-and-extend based heuristic named DriveWays that identifies overlapping cancer driver modules from the graph built from the IntAct PPI network. DriveWays incorporates mutual exclusivity, coverage, and the network connectivity information of the genes. We show that DriveWays outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in recovering well-known cancer driver genes performed on TCGA pan-cancer data. Additionally, DriveWay’s output modules show a stronger enrichment for the reference pathways in almost all cases. Overall, we show that enabling modules to overlap improves the recovery of functional pathways filtered with known cancer drivers, which essentially constitute the reference set of cancer-related pathways.
Association of Epstein-Barr virus infection with peripheral immune parameters and clinical outcome in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Tao Dan , Zhang Ningning , Huang Qingqing , Ge Chuang , Li Qicheng , Li Shujie , Weng Kegui , Guo Qishuai , Sui Jiangdong , Wang Can , Zhang Xin , Wang Ying
Published: December 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with peripheral blood immune cell counts and clinical outcomes in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. In a retrospective design, 146 patients with NPC at stage IV were enrolled in this study. The association of EBV status with peripheral blood immune cell counts, distant metastases, and long-term survival in patients with advanced NPC were determined. Eighty-seven (59.6%) of all patients were positive for EBV. Compared with patients with normal NK cell count, patients with lower NK cell count showed a significantly lower EBV viral load (median: 614.0 vs. 2190.0 copies/mL, P = 0.024). EBV-positive patients showed a significantly higher incidence of liver metastasis than EBV-negative patients (32.6% vs. 23.7%, P = 0.021). Multi-variant regression analysis showed that EBV infection was independently associated with liver metastasis (OR: 2.33, P = 0.043). EBV positive patients showed a significantly worse PFS (P = 0.001) and OS (P = 0.001) than EBV negative patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that EBV infection was independently associated with a worse PFS (HR: 1.94, P = 0.003), and OS (HR: 2.12, P = 0.014) in advanced NPC. In conclusion, EBV infection is associated with a high risk of liver metastasis and is also an independent negative predictor for PFS and OS in patients with advanced NPC. EBV infection is associated with lower CD8% and higher NK%, while lower NK cell count is associated with lower EBV viral load.
Identifying likely transmissions in Mycobacterium bovis infected populations of cattle and badgers using the Kolmogorov Forward Equations
Authors: Rossi Gianluigi , Crispell Joseph , Balaz Daniel , Lycett Samantha J. , Benton Clare H. , Delahay Richard J. , Kao Rowland R.
Published: December 2020

Established methods for whole-genome-sequencing (WGS) technology allow for the detection of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the pathogen genomes sourced from host samples. The information obtained can be used to track the pathogen’s evolution in time and potentially identify ‘who-infected-whom’ with unprecedented accuracy. Successful methods include ‘phylodynamic approaches’ that integrate evolutionary and epidemiological data. However, they are typically computationally intensive, require extensive data, and are best applied when there is a strong molecular clock signal and substantial pathogen diversity. To determine how much transmission information can be inferred when pathogen genetic diversity is low and metadata limited, we propose an analytical approach that combines pathogen WGS data and sampling times from infected hosts. It accounts for ‘between-scale’ processes, in particular within-host pathogen evolution and between-host transmission. We applied this to a well-characterised population with an endemic Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of bovine/zoonotic tuberculosis, bTB) infection. Our results show that, even with such limited data and low diversity, the computation of the transmission probability between host pairs can help discriminate between likely and unlikely infection pathways and therefore help to identify potential transmission networks. However, the method can be sensitive to assumptions about within-host evolution.
A small number of daily pitches induces shoulder and elbow injuries among high school baseball pitchers: a prospective study
Authors: Shitara Hitoshi , Tajika Tsuyoshi , Kuboi Takuro , Ichinose Tsuyoshi , Sasaki Tsuyoshi , Hamano Noritaka , Endo Takafumi , Kamiyama Masataka , Yamamoto Atsushi , Kobayashi Tsutomu , Takagishi Kenji , Chikuda Hirotaka
Published: December 2020

Baseball players frequently injure their shoulders and elbows. Preseason risk factors for such injuries have been relatively well studied, but in-season risk factors are less known, and the relationship between the number of pitches and the incidence of such injuries in baseball pitchers of any level is unclear. Identifying the risk factors related to the number of daily pitches is particularly important to prevent baseball-related arm injuries among young pitchers. Thus, we prospectively investigated the relationship between the number of daily full-power pitches in high school baseball pitchers and the incidence of shoulder and elbow injuries. We observed that a small number of daily full-power pitches, < 30 pitches per day, in high school baseball pitchers, significantly increased the risk of shoulder and elbow injuries: these players had a 2.3-times greater risk of injuries and a 45-day earlier occurrence of injuries than those pitching ≥ 30 pitches per day. Although unexpected, this was plausible as continuous daily pitching is required to maintain physical condition in growing and maturing high school pitchers. These findings may form the basis for establishing guidelines regarding the appropriate number of daily pitches required to prevent shoulder and elbow injuries in high school baseball pitchers.
Author Correction: Factors determining speed management during distracted driving (WhatsApp messaging)
Authors: Ortiz-Peregrina Sonia , Oviedo-Trespalacios Oscar , Ortiz Carolina , Casares-Lopez Miriam , Salas Carlos , Anera Rosario G.
Published: December 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Natural epialleles of Arabidopsis SUPERMAN display superwoman phenotypes
Authors: Bondada Ramesh , Somasundaram Saravanakumar , Marimuthu Mohan Premanand , Badarudeen Mohammed Afsal , Puthiyaveedu Vaishak Kanjirakol , Maruthachalam Ravi
Published: December 2020

Epimutations are heritable changes in gene function due to loss or gain of DNA cytosine methylation or chromatin modifications without changes in the DNA sequence. Only a few natural epimutations displaying discernible phenotypes are documented in plants. Here, we report natural epimutations in the cadastral gene, SUPERMAN(SUP), showing striking phenotypes despite normal transcription, discovered in a natural tetraploid, and subsequently in eleven diploid Arabidopsis genetic accessions. This natural lois lane(lol) epialleles behave as recessive mendelian alleles displaying a spectrum of silent to strong superwoman phenotypes affecting only the carpel whorl, in contrast to semi-dominant superman or supersex features manifested by induced epialleles which affect both stamen and carpel whorls. Despite its unknown origin, natural lol epialleles are subjected to the same epigenetic regulation as induced clk epialleles. The existence of superwoman epialleles in diverse wild populations is interpreted in the light of the evolution of unisexuality in plants.
Redox cycling-based detection of phenazine metabolites secreted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in nanopore electrode arrays
Authors: Do Hyein , Kwon Seung-Ryong , Baek Seol , Madukoma Chinedu S. , Smiley Marina K. , Dietrich Lars E. , Shrout Joshua D. , Bohn Paul W.
Published: December 2020

Phenazine metabolites produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are selectively transported into nanopore electrode arrays for enhanced detection by redox cycling reactions at the dual electrodes while the larger bacteria are excluded.
Metal–organic frameworks derived from a semi-rigid anthracene-based ligand and sulfonates: proton conductivity and dye degradation studies
Authors: Mohanty Aurobinda , Singh Udai P. , Ghorai Arijit , Banerjee Susanta , Butcher R. J.
Published: December 2020

The MOFs were constructed by ligand AHP and sulfonate analogues. MOF4 exhibits a high proton conductivity of 1.95 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 95 °C and 98% relative humidity. MOFs 1–5 also serve as photocatalysts for methylene blue degradation.
Kinetics of 1- and 2-methylallyl + O2 reaction, investigated by photoionisation using synchrotron radiation
Authors: Schleier Domenik , Reusch Engelbert , Gerlach Marius , Preitschopf Tobias , Mukhopadhyay Deb Pratim , Faßheber Nancy , Friedrichs Gernot , Hemberger Patrick , Fischer Ingo
Published: December 2020

The reaction kinetics of the isomers of the methylallyl radical with molecular oxygen has been studied in a flow tube reactor at the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) beamline of the Swiss Light Source storage ring.
Blueberry phenolics are associated with cognitive enhancement in supplemented healthy older adults
Authors: Rutledge Grant A. , Sandhu Amandeep K. , Miller Marshall G. , Edirisinghe Indika , Burton-Freeman Britt B. , Shukitt-Hale Barbara
Published: December 2020

Blueberries (BB) contain an array of bioactive phenolic compounds that may play a protective role against various age-related diseases.
Inert hydrophilic particles enhance the thermal properties and structural resilience of meat protein gels during heating
Authors: Katz Felix-Alexander , Grossmann Lutz , Gerhards Christian , Weiss Jochen
Published: December 2020

Meat protein gels are present in a variety of foods and are frequently filled with fat particles.
Mechanically tunable elastomer and cellulose nanocrystal composites as scaffolds for in vitro cell studies
Authors: Ustunel Senay , Prévôt Marianne E. , Rohaley Grace A. R. , Webb Caitlyn R. , Yavitt Benjamin , Freychet Guillaume , Zhernenkov Mikhail , Pindak Ron , Schaible Eric , Zhu Chenhui , Hegmann Torsten , Clements Robert J. , Hegmann Elda
Published: December 2020

Composites based on ε-caprolactone-d,l-lactide-based elastomer with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are investigated to understand how matching cells with appropriate mechanical environments can provide important insights into fundamental cell behaviors.
Preferential intermolecular interactions in a racemic mixture of amino acid Schiff base, conformational structures in solid state, and DFT studies
Authors: Lara-Cerón Jesús A. , Jiménez-Pérez Víctor M. , Molina-Paredes Areli A. , Sánchez Mario , Dias H. V. Rasika , Ramírez-Montes Pedro I. , Muñoz-Flores Blanca M.
Published: December 2020

In this work, we report the green synthesis of a Shiff base [N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthylidene)-l-phenylalanine (1)] derived from an α-amino acid through an ultrasound-assisted synthesis method with excellent chemical yield in a short period of time.
Synthesis and X-ray crystallographic analysis of free base and hexafluorophosphate salts of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines from the Bischler–Napieralski reaction
Authors: Puerto Galvis Carlos E. , Granados Cristian C. , Kouznetsov Vladimir V. , Macías Mario A.
Published: December 2020

Free base and hexafluorophosphate salts of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines from the Bischler–Napieralski reaction: potential supramolecular modulation. Centrosymmetric/enantiomorphic crystals.
PdII- and PtII-mediated coupling of aryl isocyanides with N-heterocyclic thiones
Authors: Popov Roman A. , Mikherdov Alexander S. , Novikov Alexander S. , Myznikov Leonid V. , Boyarskiy Vadim P.
Published: December 2020

A PdII- and PtII-mediated reaction of aryl isocyanides with N-heterocyclic thiones results in a previously undescribed type of regioselectivity for ambident nucleophile addition to coordinated isocyanides.
Dendrimer–tesaglitazar conjugate induces a phenotype shift of microglia and enhances β-amyloid phagocytosis
Authors: DeRidder Louis , Sharma Anjali , Liaw Kevin , Sharma Rishi , John John , Kannan Sujatha , Kannan Rangaramanujam M.
Published: December 2020

Switching microglia from a disease exacerbating, ‘pro-inflammatory’ state into a neuroprotective, ‘anti-inflammatory’ phenotype is a promising strategy for addressing multiple neurodegenerative diseases.
Flexoelectricity in atomic monolayers from first principles
Authors: Kumar Shashikant , Codony David , Arias Irene , Suryanarayana Phanish
Published: December 2020

We study the flexoelectric effect in fifty-four select atomic monolayers usingab initioDensity Functional Theory (DFT).
A one-step approach to green and scalable production of graphene inks for printed flexible film heaters
Authors: Xu Lingyun , Wang Haopeng , Wu Yadong , Wang Zian , Wu Lixin , Zheng Longhui
Published: December 2020

Green and scalable production of graphene inks by microfluidization for preparing flexible film heaters.
Metal-organic frameworks containing solid-state electrolytes for lithium metal batteries and beyond
Authors: Chen Tianhua , Chen Shimou , Chen Yong , Zhao Ming , Losic Dusan , Zhang Suojiang
Published: December 2020

In this paper, the mechanism, factors and applications of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and MOF derivatives in solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) is reviewed.
Statistical optimization of photo-induced biofabrication of silver nanoparticles using the cell extract of Oscillatoria limnetica: insight on characterization and antioxidant potentiality
Authors: Abo-Elmagd Rasha A. , Hussein Mervat H. , Hamouda Ragaa A. , Shalan Ahmed Esmail , Abdelrazak Ahmed
Published: December 2020

Silver nanoparticles were successfully fabricated through a very simple, rapid, one-step photo-induced green approach.
Chemoselective hydrogenation of heteroarenes and arenes by Pd–Ru–PVP under mild conditions
Authors: Chaudhari Chandan , Sato Katsutoshi , Nishida Yoshihide , Yamamoto Tomokazu , Toriyama Takaaki , Matsumura Syo , Ikeda Yasuyuki , Terada Kenji , Abe Naoya , Kusuda Kohei , Kitagawa Hiroshi , Nagaoka Katsutoshi
Published: December 2020

Recyclable Pd0.5Ru0.5–PVP catalyst showed higher activity than monometallic Pd or Ru catalyst for the hydrogenation of quinoline. Furthermore, Pd0.5Ru0.5–PVP was able to hydrogenate different arenes.
A dual-fluorophore sensor approach for ratiometric fluorescence imaging of potassium in living cells
Authors: Wang Zeming , Detomasi Tyler C. , Chang Christopher J.
Published: December 2020

We report a dual-fluorophore approach for ratiometric fluorescent imaging of K+ levels in live cells. Intracellular esterases cleave RPS-1 to detach the K+-responsive fluorophore (PS525) from its internal standard (Coumarin 343).
Surface chemistry of quantum-sized metal nanoparticles under light illumination
Authors: Stewart Shea , Wei Qilin , Sun Yugang
Published: December 2020

Size reduction of metal nanoparticles increases the exposure of metal surfaces significantly, favoring heterogeneous photochemistry at the surface of the nanoparticles.
Three-dimensional electron diffraction for porous crystalline materials: structural determination and beyond
Authors: Huang Zhehao , Willhammar Tom , Zou Xiaodong
Published: December 2020

Three-dimensional electron diffraction is a powerful tool for accurate structure determination of zeolite, MOF, and COF crystals that are too small for X-ray diffraction. By revealing the structural details, the properties of the materials can be understood, and new materials and applications can be designed.
Phase engineering of cobalt hydroxide toward cation intercalation
Authors: Li Jianbo , Li Zhenhua , Zhan Fei , Shao Mingfei
Published: December 2020

Phase engineering of cobalt hydroxide toward cations intercalation is explored. Among them, α-Co(OH)2 is proven to be more conductive to phase transition than β-Co(OH)2 during electrochemical activation, which shows superior multi-cations storage performance.
A solution processed Sb2S3-based photocathode with enhanced photocatalytic performance via constructing an ultrathin TiO2 overlayer and noble metal modification
Authors: Wang Yanwen , Liang Rong , Qin Chao , Ren Lei , Ye Zhizhen , Zhu Liping
Published: December 2020

An ultrathin TiO2 overlayer was deposited on nano-structured Sb2S3 absorption layers by a simple electrodeposition method, effectively increasing photoelectrochemical conversion and the onset potential of a photocathode for solar water splitting.
Experimental considerations to study Li-excess disordered rock salt cathode materials
Authors: Chung Hyeseung , Lebens-Higgins Zachary , Sayahpour Baharak , Mejia Carlos , Grenier Antonin , Kamm Gabrielle E. , Li Yixuan , Huang Ricky , Piper Louis F. J. , Chapman Karena W. , Doux Jean-Marie , Meng Ying Shirley
Published: December 2020

Synthesis parameters, storage conditions, and electrolyte chemistry are all critical parameters limiting the cycling performances of disordered rock salt cathodes.
Thermally stable fishnet-like 1T-MoS2/CNT heterostructures with improved electrode performance
Authors: Lei Zhendong , Yu Xue , Zhang Yong , Zhan Jing
Published: December 2020

A 3D fishnet-like 1T-MoS2 heterostructure was designed, and it was revealed that 1T phase MoS2 in the as-synthesized nanostructure is thermally-stable.
An amylopectin-enabled skin-mounted hydrogel wearable sensor
Authors: Kong Lingshu , Gao Zijian , Li Xinyao , Gao Guanghui
Published: December 2020

Self-adhesiveness is highly desirable for conformal and seamless wearable electronics.
The Quadrad of Performance: A Leadership Tool for Professional Growth
Authors: Page Michael D.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Clinical care in all aspects of audiology and speech-language pathology requires a significant and diverse skill set in order to screen, assess, diagnose, treat, and monitor performance of their patients. Communication skills are paramount in all directions of their relationship with patients and coworkers. Additionally, clinicians rarely work in isolation and are most often in a group environment and setting with other peer professionals, as well as affiliated professionals with differing yet complementary multifaceted skills associated with neighboring professions.

Conclusions

The aggregate of skills spans an enormous set. Expectations are high, and much is expected as a clinician and a colleague! While clinical skill and performance are certainly what most hiring managers look for, this clinical focus article will discuss the critical importance of aspects of relationship courtesy and trust. Indeed, these characteristics will be presented as even more critical than clinical skills alone. Four sets of skills will be presented, which the author claims mandatory for all clinical providers. They includeknowledge and competence,efficiency and productivity,relationships with patients, andrelationships with peers.
Space‐correlation‐based joint data transmission and on‐demand charging for rechargeable wireless sensor networks
Authors: Hu Qingsong , Yang Junwei , Huo Yu , Li Binghao , Li Shiyin
Published: December 2020

It is of great importance to power the nodes of the rechargeable wireless sensor network to detect events continuously in the area of interest. This paper proposes a joint data transmission and on‐demand charging algorithm based on the space correlation. The new algorithm optimises the event detection, data forwarding and node charging jointly to improve the charging efficiency. First, the active nodes participating in the event detection are selected using an improved iterative node selection method to reduce the number of nodes working concurrently. Then, the greedy data transmission scheme based on grid partition is proposed to transmit the observed data to the sink node. Finally, the nodes in the networks are charged using the on‐demand charging method based on grid partition, which greatly decreases the charging frequency and energy loss of the mobile charger. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method has superior performance in the distance travelled by the mobile charger, the energy utilisation, the average energy consumption of the mobile charger and the node charging latency.
On the risk of failure to prevent induction motors permanent damage, due to the short available time‐to‐diagnosis of inter‐turn short‐circuit faults
Authors: Bento Fernando , Adouni Amel , Muxiri Ananias C. P. , Fonseca Davide S. B. , Marques Cardoso Antonio J.
Published: December 2020

As one of the most important assets of the industry, it is crucial to fully characterise all failure modes showing potential to degrade the normal operation of induction motors (IMs). One of the failure modes which lacks detailed knowledge and proper diagnostic tools is the inter‐turn short‐circuit (SC) fault. Given the severity of such failure mode, it is pivotal to ensure that incipient fault symptoms are correctly identified, thus preventing critical damages to the IM. Unfortunately, the state‐of‐the‐art does not provide enough data to confirm whether the available diagnostic tools act out in due time to avoid permanent damage to the faulty IM. To evaluate the impacts of this failure mode in the temperature of the stator windings of an IM, this paper presents the results obtained from two alternative thermal models of the same IM, resorting to the lumped parameter thermal network method and to the finite elements method. The results confirm that diagnostic tools reported in the literature might not be effective, failing to correctly diagnose an inter‐turn SC fault and to warrant the lead time required to take actions suitable to prevent permanent damage to the IM.
Detecting and isolating false data injection attacks on electric vehicles of smart grids using distributed functional observers
Authors: Pham Thanh Ngoc , Oo Amanullah Maung Than , Trinh Hieu
Published: December 2020

This paper considers the problem of false data injection attacks (FDIAs) on load frequency control of interconnected smart grids (ISGs) with delayed electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energies. By intruding incorrect information, unauthorised users can corrupt the system information leading to degradation in the performance and disruptions of ISGs. In this paper, a model of ISGs subject to FDIAs in aggregator of EVs and power plants is first presented. This mathematical representation comprises dynamic interactions of power plants, delayed EVs, renewable energies and FDIAs on both system states and outputs. Based on recent advanced techniques on functional observers and matrix inequalities for time‐delay systems, then a new distributed functional observers based scheme is developed to realise the tasks of detecting and isolating FDIAs. Also, an effective procedure presented in tractable linear matrix inequalitiesis build with an optimisation process for the synthesis of the detector. The proposed detector is distributed, of reduced order, avoids the risk of centralised malicious incidents, therefore easy for implementation and monitoring tasks. The stability of ISGs and contribution of EVs subject to FDIAs are also discussed. Comprehensive simulations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method by using three‐area ISGs.
Enhancement of the thermal analysis of power cables installed in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ducts under continuous and cyclic current loading conditions
Authors: Gouda Ossama E. , Osman Gomaa F. A.
Published: December 2020

A study of the performance of power cables installed inside non‐metallic ducts is presented here. Cable capacity calculations for this type of installation are done. The thermal analysis of cables inside ducts which are installed in air as riser or buried in soils is presented. According to IEC 60287 cables can be installed in fibre ducts in concrete layer surrounded by the soil, in this article it is proposed to install the cables in PVC ducts directly buried in the soil. Based on IEC 60287‐1‐3 and IEC 60853‐2 standards proposed models in steady state and dynamic cable loadings are constructed. The proposed equivalent thermal models are used in the calculations of the cable components temperature for cables installed in ducts. It is concluded that very high increase in cable conductor temperature is observed when the cable is installed in duct and used as riser or even when it is installed in duct buried in soil. Significant decrease in the temperature of the cable conductor can be noticed when the cable is directly buried in the soil compared with that installed in ducts.
Automated detection of myocardial infarction from ECG signal using variational mode decomposition based analysis
Authors: Kapfo Ato , Dandapat Samarendra , Kumar Bora Prabin
Published: December 2020

In this Letter, the authors propose a variational mode decomposition method for quantifying diagnostic information of myocardial infarction (MI) from the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. The multiscale mode energy and principal component (PC) of multiscale covariance matrices are used as features. The mode energies determine the strength of the mode, and the PCs provide the representation of the ECG signal with less redundancy. K‐nearest neighbour and support vector machine classifier are utilised to assess the performance of the extracted features for the detection and classification of MI and normal (healthy control). The proposed method achieved a specificity of 99.88%, sensitivity of 99.90%, and accuracy of 99.88%. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method with the multiscale mode energy and PC features achieved better output compared to the previously published work.
Analytical solution of linearized equations for transient gas flows in gas pipelines
Authors: Beylin Alexandr , Sukharev Mikhail
Published: December 2020

We consider the new class of high precision simplified linear models of transient high-pressure gas flows along linear sections of pipelines. Representatives of this class are obtained from different initial models defined by partial differential equations. The new models are based on the exact solution of the Klein-Gordon equation, which appears as a result of piecewise linear approximation of nonlinear models in the form of Charny’s equations [1–4] or piecewise constant approximation in models that describe deviations of pressure and mass flow rates from their values in the basic stationary mode [10–13, 16–17]. The new class of models has significant advantages over nonlinear simplified models in optimization problems of large-scale networks, reducing the calculation time by more than two orders of magnitude. They are also free from errors of the approximate inverse Laplace transform or dimensionality reduction techniques traditionally applied in such situations.
A method of analysis of complex hydraulic networks
Authors: Duginov Leonid , Rozovskiy Michael , Korelstein Leonid
Published: December 2020

A simple and reliable iterative solution method of classical hydraulic network flow rate distribution problem is described. The method is based on chord linearization of inverse branch loss function which keeps basic branch properties. It has good speed of convergency which is practically independent of initial values.
Use of a switching platform in the Kumir-Resurs complex for the organization of commercial and technological metering in the pipeline energy system
Authors: Belousov Roman , Nikolaev Andrey , Fiskin Eugene , Fiskina Margarita
Published: December 2020

This work is aimed at crea Irkutsk ting a domestic switching IT platform that organizes commercial and technological data exchange with intelligent metering devices within the Kumir-Resource complex. To facilitate efficient control and management of the modern pipe line and electric grid infrastructure an IoT (Internet of Things) platform can be built to organize communication with a multi-million audience of end consumers using smart metering devices. Implementation of such a platform will allow centralized collection, monitoring, management, analysis and visualization of all pipeline system data.