bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Deconstructing sex differences in C‐reactive protein trends over time
Authors: Kranjac Ashley W. , Kranjac Dinko , Lounsbury Olivia
Published: November 2021

Objectives

Heightened inflammatory state, as measured by circulating C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels, can promote inflammation‐mediated disease risk. It is important to account for population fluctuation and sex variation in serum CRP concentrations on overall time trends.

Methods

Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, we specify linear and algebraic decomposition models separately by sex to identify the drivers of the changing trends in the distribution of CRP values in the population.

Results

We found a nonsignificant overall increase in CRP, but a significant decrease among women and increase among men, over a 10‐year period. We then used linear and algebraic decomposition techniques to identify the sources of change in CRP over time, separately for women and men. CRP increased among men mainly because lifestyle/health characteristics worsened over time, and because the size of socioeconomic/demographic groups with higher CRP increased and the size of groups with lower CRP decreased. The downward shift in CRP among women occurred because the typical woman across all cohorts had lower CRP levels.

Conclusions

We identified two fundamentally different processes of change driving the decline and rise in CRP values among women and men, respectively.
Design, Synthesis and Characterization of Aurone Based α,β‐unsaturated Carbonyl‐Amino Ligands and their Application in Microwave Assisted Suzuki, Heck and Buchwald Reactions
Authors: Khan Danish , Parveen Iram , Shaily  , Sharma Saurabh
Published: November 2021

A new series of phosphine‐free aurone‐based α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl‐amino bidentate ligands have been synthesized and characterized via different analytical techniques such as IR, 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR and mass spectrometry. Moreover, the structure of ligand A6 was also characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The synthesized ligands (A1–A6) with the PdCl2 salt showed excellent catalytic activity in the Suzuki‐Miyaura, Mizoroki‐Heck and Buchwald‐Hartwig reactions. A broad range of substrates including heterocycles, chalcones and sterically hindered coupling partners are well tolerated in the developed protocol. Additionally, the metal complex formed in the catalytic cycle was characterized by 1H‐NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.
An Activatable Afterglow/MRI Bimodal Nanoprobe with Fast Response to H2S for In Vivo Imaging of Acute Hepatitis
Authors: Zeng Wenhui , Wu Luyan , Ishigaki Yusuke , Harimoto Takashi , Hu Yuxuan , Sun Yidan , Wang Yuqi , Suzuki Takanori , Chen Hong‐Yuan , Ye Deju
Published: November 2021

Accurate detection of hepatic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to monitor H2S‐related enzymes’ activity is critical for acute hepatitis diagnosis, but remains a challenge due to the dynamic and transient nature of H2S. Here, we report a H2S‐activatable near‐infrared afterglow/MRI bimodal probe F1‐GdNP, which shows an “always‐on” MRI signal and “off‐on” afterglow signal toward H2S. F1‐GdNP shows fast response, high sensitivity and specificity toward H2S, permitting afterglow imaging of H2S and evaluation of cystathionine γ‐lyase (CSE)’s activity in living mice. We further employ the high spatial‐resolution MRI signal of F1‐GdNP to track its delivery and accumulation in liver. Importantly, F1‐GdNP offers a high signal‐to‐background ratio (SBR=86.2±12.0) to sensitively report on the increased hepatic H2S level in the acute hepatitis mice via afterglow imaging, which correlated well with the upregulated CSE activity in the liver, showcasing the good potential of F1‐GdNP for monitoring of acute hepatitis process in vivo.
Inhibitor‐Mediated Structural Transition in a Minimal Amyloid Model
Authors: Chakraborty Priyadarshi , Bera Santu , Mickel Phil , Paul Ashim , Shimon Linda J. W. , Arnon Zohar A. , Segal Daniel , Král Petr , Gazit Ehud
Published: November 2021

Despite the fundamental clinical importance of amyloid fibril formation, its mechanism is still enigmatic. Crystallography of minimal amyloid models was a milestone in the understanding of the architecture and biological activities of amyloid fibers. However, the crystal structure of ultimate dipeptide‐based amyloids is not yet reported. Herein, we present the crystal structure of a typical amyloid‐forming minimal dipeptide, Ac‐Phe‐Phe‐NH2 (Ac‐FF‐NH2), showing a canonical β‐sheet structure at the atomic level. The simplicity of the structure helped in investigating amyloid‐inhibition using crystallography, never previously reported for larger peptide models. Interestingly, in the presence of an inhibitor, the supramolecular packing of Ac‐FF‐NH2 molecules rearranged into a supramolecular 2‐fold helix (21 helix). This study promotes our understanding of the mechanism of amyloid formation and of the structural transitions that occur during the inhibition process in a most fundamental model.
The autistic brain can process local but not global emotion regularities in facial and musical sequences
Authors: Xu Jie , Zhou Linshu , Liu Fang , Xue Chao , Jiang Jun , Jiang Cunmei
Published: November 2021

Whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with a global processing deficit remains controversial. Global integration requires extraction of regularity across various timescales, yet little is known about how individuals with ASD process regularity at local (short timescale) versus global (long timescale) levels. To this end, we used event‐related potentials to investigate whether individuals with ASD would show different neural responses to local (within trial) versus global (across trials) emotion regularities extracted from sequential facial expressions; and if so, whether this visual abnormality would generalize to the music (auditory) domain. Twenty individuals with ASD and 21 age‐ and IQ‐matched individuals with typical development participated in this study. At an early processing stage, ASD participants exhibited preserved neural responses to violations of local emotion regularity for both faces and music. At a later stage, however, there was an absence of neural responses in ASD to violations of global emotion regularity for both faces and music. These findings suggest that the autistic brain responses to emotion regularity are modulated by the timescale of sequential stimuli, and provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying emotional processing in ASD.
Comparison of natural white clay and acid‐activated white clay for removal of Cd(II) ion from aqueous solution
Authors: Kim Daeik , Hwang Sun‐Jin , Ryoo Keon Sang
Published: November 2021

Natural white clay obtained from Pohang city in Korea was treated with 6 M H2SO4 and heated at 90 °C for 8 h. The generated clay, called as acid‐activated white clay in this study, was employed as an adsorbent for the removal of Cd2+ in aqueous solution. It was found that the specific surface area and the pore volume of acid‐activated white clay were enhanced when compared with those of natural white clay. The adsorption rate of acid‐activated white clay toward Cd2+ occurred steeply at initial contact time and reached equilibrium within 0.5 h. The amount of Cd2+ adsorbed at equilibrium reduced from 94.2% to 37.94% by increasing initial Cd2+ concentrations from 10 mg L−1 to 100 mg L−1, whereas the amount of Cd2+ increased from 13.54% to 93.38% as adsorbent dose increases from 0.1 g to 1.0 g. The adsorption data of Cd2+ by acid‐activated white clay were introduced to pseudo‐first‐order and pseudo‐second‐order kinetics, and Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms, respectively. It was seen that the pseudo‐second‐order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherms were applied well to describe the adsorption behavior of acid‐activated white clay toward Cd2+ due to their higher correlation coefficient R2. The maximum adsorption capacities of Langmuir, Q, for natural white clay and acid‐activated white clay were found to be 17.15 mg g−1 and 36.48 mg g−1, respectively. The results of study suggest that acid‐activated white clay can be used as an efficient and low‐cost material for the removal of Cd2+ from wastewater.
Study of the metabolism of myricetin in rat urine, plasma and feces by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Li Huajian , Li Haoran , Jiang Shan , Xu Jing , Cui Yifang , Wang Hong , Dai Long , Lin Yongqiang , Zhang Jiayu
Published: November 2021

Myricetin is a common natural flavonoid compound with various pharmacological activities. However, the metabolite characterization of this substance remains inadequate. In this study, a simple and rapid system strategy based on UHPLC‐Q‐Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry combining parallel reaction monitoring mode was established to screen and identify myricetin metabolites in rat urine, plasma and feces after oral administration. A total of 38 metabolites were fully or partially characterized based on their accurate mass, characteristic fragment ions, retention times, corresponding cLogP values, etc. These metabolites were presumed to be generated through glucuronidation, glucosylation, sulfation, dihydroxylation, acetylation, hydrogenation, hydroxylation and their composite reactions. In addition, the characteristic fragmentation pathways of flavonoids with more metabolites were summarized for the subsequent metabolite identification. The study provides an overall metabolic profile of myricetin, which would be of great help in predicting the in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles and understanding the action mechanism of this active ingredient.
Heilen mit Tiergiften
Authors: Lüddecke Tim , Vilcinskas Andreas
Published: November 2021

Tiergifte sind im Tierreich weit verbreitet und werden entweder aktiv oder passiv zum Beutefang, zur Verteidigung gegen Angreifer oder zur Konkurrenzvermeidung eingesetzt. Sie gehören zu den komplexesten chemischen Gemischen im Tierreich. Die darin enthaltenen Toxine sind extrem vielfältig und repräsentieren deshalb eine Schatztruhe für die Naturstoffforschung. Man schätzt, dass in den ca. 200.000 giftigen Tierarten bis 20 Millionen Wirkstoffe vorkommen, von denen etwa 16.000 untersucht wurden. Aus diesen resultierten bislang 18 Medikamente, die auf dem Markt sind. Der kombinierte Einsatz von modernen Omics‐Methoden (Transkriptomik, Genomik und Proteomik) und neuartigen bioinformatischen Werkzeugen im neuen Forschungsgebiet „Animal Venomics“ ermöglicht die effiziente Erschließung von Tiergiften als Bioressource für neue Wirkstoffe für Anwendungen in der Medizin oder im Pflanzenschutz. Dabei stehen nicht mehr nur tropische Giftschlagen, Skorpione oder Spinnen im Fokus, sondern zunehmend auch einheimische Tiere wie die Wespenspinne, der Feuersalamander oder die Kreuzotter.
Von Milch bis Käse, alles erste Sahne
Authors: Hild Pitt , Kallinna Kirsten , Löffel Thomas , Murer Livia , Emden Markus
Published: November 2021

Anliegen der in loser Folge erscheinenden Versuche ist es, Impulse für chemische Versuche zu geben, die gefahrlos zu Hause mit haushaltsüblichen Gegenständen durchgeführt werden können. Sie können damit als Quelle für das gemeinsame Ausprobieren mit Kindern zuhause dienen, in Kindergärten oder an Schulen sowie zur Verwendung bei Tagen der offenen Tür. Ein Stückweit sind sie zu verstehen als Antwort auf den oft gehörten Satz: „Ach, Du bist Chemiker/in? Dann mach doch mal eben ein Experiment.“
Expression of proteins associated with the Warburg‐effect and survival in colorectal cancer
Authors: Offermans Kelly , Jenniskens Josien CA , Simons Colinda CJM , Samarska Iryna , Fazzi Gregorio E , Smits Kim M , Schouten Leo J , Weijenberg Matty P , Grabsch Heike I , van den Brandt Piet A
Published: November 2021

Previous research has suggested that the expression of proteins related to the Warburg effect may have prognostic value in colorectal cancer (CRC), but results remain inconsistent. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between Warburg‐subtypes and patient survival in a large population‐based series of CRC patients. In the present study, we investigated the expression of six proteins related to the Warburg effect (LDHA, GLUT1, MCT4, PKM2, p53, PTEN) by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays (TMAs) from 2,399 incident CRC patients from the prospective Netherlands Cohort Study. Expression levels of the six proteins were combined into a pathway‐based sum‐score and patients were categorised into three Warburg‐subtypes (low/moderate/high). The associations between Warburg‐subtypes and CRC‐specific and overall survival were investigated using Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox regression models. CRC patients were classified as Warburg‐low (n = 695, 29.0%), Warburg‐moderate (n = 858, 35.8%) or Warburg‐high (n = 841, 35.1%). Patients with Warburg‐high CRC had the poorest CRC‐specific [hazard ratio (HR) 1.17; 95% CI 1.00–1.38] and overall survival (HR 1.19; 95% CI 1.05–1.35), independent of known prognostic factors. In stratified analyses, this was particularly true for patients with tumour‐node‐metastasis (TNM) stage III CRC (HRCRC‐specific 1.45; 95% CI 1.10–1.92 and HRoverall 1.47; 95% CI 1.15–1.87), and cancers located in the rectum (HRoverall 1.56; 95% CI 1.15–2.13). To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the prognostic value of immunohistochemistry‐based Warburg‐subtypes in CRC. Our data suggest that Warburg‐subtypes are related to potentially important differences in CRC survival. Further research is required to validate our findings and to investigate the potential clinical utility of these Warburg‐subtypes in CRC.
Enhanced Memristive Performance of Double Perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6‐xClx Devices by Chloride Doping
Authors: Sun Caixiang , Luo Feifei , Ruan Liuxia , Tong Junwei , Yan Linwei , Zheng Yadan , Han Xiaoli , Zhang Yanlin , Zhang Xianmin
Published: November 2021

Mixed halide perovskites are promising memristive materials because of their excellent electronic‐ionic properties. In this work, lead‐free Cs2AgBiBr6‐xClx (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) double perovskite films were fabricated using a one‐step solution spin‐coating method in air. Moreover, the ITO/Cs2AgBiBr6‐xClx/Al sandwich‐like devices are fabricated to investigate the memristive behaviors. The present memristors exhibit nonvolatile and bipolar resistive switching behaviors without electroforming process. Interestingly, as the chloride content increases, the ON/OFF ratio of the device increases from 103 to 104, the average SET voltage and the RESET voltage decrease from −0.40 V to −0.21 V and from 1.55 V to 1.34 V, respectively. In addition, resistance states of devices can be maintained after 100 switching cycles and 104 s of reading. This study provides new possibility for the development of low‐power and environmentally friendly memristors.
Metacognitive training modified for negative symptoms: A feasibility study
Authors: Swanson Linda , Schwannauer Matthias , Bird Tim , Eliasson Emma , Millar Audrey , Moritz Steffen , Griffiths Helen
Published: November 2021

Objective

Although patients often prioritize the treatment of negative symptoms, few psychological interventions targeting negative symptoms exist. This study attempts to fill this gap by piloting a modified metacognitive training programme, specifically targeted at negative symptoms (MCT‐N), with a group of patients with prominent negative symptoms.

Method

We adopted a mixed methods case series design, providing detailed quantitative data on changes over time, to focus on potential mechanisms underlying the intervention, in combination with qualitative interviews.

Results

The intervention showed good feasibility as demonstrated by the attendance rate, the positive feedback from participants and the multidisciplinary team, and the improvements on negative symptoms observed following the intervention. Multilevel modelling showed that depression, internalized stigma and reflective functioning explained the variance in negative symptoms.

Discussion

The pilot study indicated that the intervention has high feasibility and that improvements in negative symptoms can be partially explained by improvements on depression, stigma and reflective functioning.
Energy limitation or sensitive predators? Trophic and non‐trophic impacts of wastewater pollution on stream food webs
Authors: Mor Jordi‐René , Muñoz Isabel , Sabater Sergi , Zamora Lluís , Ruhi Albert
Published: November 2021

Impacts of environmental stressors on food webs are often difficult to predict because trophic levels can respond in divergent ways, and biotic interactions may dampen or amplify responses. Here we studied food‐web‐level impacts of urban wastewater pollution, a widespread source of degradation that can alter stream food webs via top‐down and bottom‐up processes. Wastewater may (1) subsidize primary producers by decreasing nutrient limitation, inducing a wide‐bottomed trophic pyramid. However, (2) wastewater may also reduce the quality and diversity of resources, which could decrease energy transfer efficiency by reducing consumer fitness, leading to predator starvation. Additionally, (3) if higher trophic levels are particularly sensitive to pollution, primary consumers could be released from predation pressure. We tested these hypotheses in 10 pairs of stream sites located upstream and downstream of urban wastewater effluents with different pollutant levels. We found that wastewater pollution reduced predator richness by ∼34%. Community size spectra (CSS) slopes were steeper downstream than upstream of wastewater effluents in all except one impact site where predators became locally extinct. Further, variation in downstream CSS slopes were correlated with pollution loads: the more polluted the stream, the steeper the CSS. We estimate that wastewater pollution decreased energy transfer efficiencies to primary consumers by ∼70%, limiting energy supply to predators. Additionally, traits increasing vulnerability to chemical pollution were overrepresented among predators, which presented compressed trophic niches (δ15N‐δ13C) downstream of effluents. Our results show that wastewater pollution can impact stream food webs via a combination of energy limitation to consumers and extirpation of pollution‐sensitive top predators. Understanding the indirect (biotically mediated) vs. direct (abiotic) mechanisms controlling responses to stress may help anticipating impacts of altered water quantity and quality, key signatures of global change.
Identifying patients at increased risk for poor outcomes from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the PROMPT‐HF risk model
Authors: DeVore Adam D. , Hill Claude Larry , Thomas Laine E. , Albert Nancy M. , Butler Javed , Patterson J. Herbert , Hernandez Adrian F. , Williams Fredonia B. , Shen Xian , Spertus John A. , Fonarow Gregg C.
Published: November 2021

Aims

We aimed to develop a risk prediction tool that incorporated both clinical events and worsening health status for patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Identifying patients with HFrEF at increased risk of a poor outcome may enable proactive interventions that improve outcomes.

Methods and results

We used data from a longitudinal HF registry, CHAMP‐HF, to develop a risk prediction tool for poor outcomes over the next 6 months. A poor outcome was defined as death, an HF hospitalization, or a ≥20‐point decrease (or decrease below 25) in 12‐item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ‐12) overall summary score. Among 4546 patients in CHAMP‐HF, 1066 (23%) experienced a poor outcome within 6 months (1.3% death, 11% HF hospitalization, and 11% change in KCCQ‐12). The model demonstrated moderate discrimination (c‐index = 0.65) and excellent calibration with observed data. The following variables were associated with a poor outcome: age, race, education, New York Heart Association class, baseline KCCQ‐12, atrial fibrillation, coronary disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking, prior HF hospitalization, and systolic blood pressure. We also created a simplified model with a 0–10 score using six variables (New York Heart Association class, KCCQ‐12, coronary disease, chronic kidney disease, prior HF hospitalization, and systolic blood pressure) with similar discrimination (c‐index = 0.63). Patients scoring 0–3 were considered low risk (event rate <20%), 4–6 were considered intermediate risk (event rate 20–40%), and 7–10 were considered high risk (event rate >40%).

Conclusions

The PROMPT‐HF risk model can identify outpatients with HFrEF at increased risk of poor outcomes, including clinical events and health status deterioration. With further validation, this model may help inform therapeutic decision making.
Identification of the characteristic parameters for gas pipe sections using the maximum likelihood method and least square method
Authors: Chen Huiyu , Qi Da , Wang Hui , Zhang Qiang , Bu Yaran , Zuo Lili
Published: November 2021

The pipeline efficiency factor (E‐value) and the overall heat transfer coefficient (K‐value) are, respectively, the characteristic parameters that describe the flow and heat transfer behavior of gas pipe sections. These parameters have a significant impact on the accuracy of the thermo‐hydraulic calculations of the gas flow processing. Hence, they should be investigated thoroughly. Due to various complex factors affecting the E‐value and the K‐value in operating the in‐service gas pipe sections, it is often difficult to calculate the two characteristic parameters accurately using physics‐based formulae. Based on quasi‐steady‐state historical operational data sets of the in‐service gas pipe section, the characteristic parameters are identified with the maximum likelihood method and the least square method, respectively. Besides, the characteristic parameters of the gas pipe section are derived from solving the inverse problem of the steady‐state thermo‐hydraulic calculations. Both methods are applied to an in‐service pipeline, and the two parameters are obtained from 144 historical operational data sets. By introducing the two parameters into the thermo‐hydraulic calculations for certain quasi‐steady‐state historical conditions in the same gas pipe section, the maximum relative errors occurred between the calculated results and the measured data are 2.91% and 2.66%, respectively. Additionally, the difference between the two methods is small, with a gap of 0.0037 W/(m2 K) in K‐value and 0.0206 in E‐value. The proposed identification methods are extendable to provide adequate technical support for large‐scale gas pipeline networks.
Prediction of short‐term photovoltaic power via codec neural network and mode decomposition based deep learning approach
Authors: Li Jie , Li RunRan , Jia YuanJie , Zhang ZhiXin
Published: November 2021

Accurate photovoltaic (PV) power prediction is of great significance for the stable operation of PV system, but the PV power sequence is nonstationary, so it is difficult to establish the prediction model effectively by a simple neural network. In this study, the MCVMD‐MI‐SWATS‐Codec (multidimensional constraints variational mode decomposition‐mixed initialization‐switching from Adam to stochastic gradient descent‐codec) that is based on the idea of deep model fusion is proposed to predict PV power generation. MCVMD method with parameter K determined by multidimensional constraint criterion is used to decompose the PV power data, and the frequency of each component sequence is analyzed after decomposition to explore the physical characteristics and application value of each component frequency. Then, a hybrid ResNet‐LSTM (residual network‐long‐ and short‐term memory) model based on codec mechanism integrates input data with different dimensions, such as weather conditions and historical IMF (intrinsic mode function), into dense vectors with the same dimension. The experimental data of polysilicon PV array in the Australian desert environment are used to test the proposed fusion neural network model and the other six competitive models. The results show that MCVMD algorithm is significantly helpful in decomposing the nonstationary data to improve the prediction accuracy, and MCVMD‐MI‐SWATS‐Codec model has high prediction accuracy and robustness in both stable and unstable weather conditions.
Developing an Innovative Elicited Imitation Task for Efficient English Proficiency Assessment
Authors: Davis Larry , Norris John
Published: November 2021

The elicited imitation task (EIT), in which language learners listen to a series of spoken sentences and repeat each one verbatim, is a commonly used measure of language proficiency in second language acquisition research. The TOEFL® Essentials™ test includes an EIT as a holistic measure of speaking proficiency, referred to as the “Listen and Repeat” task type. In this report, we describe the design considerations that informed the development of the EIT for TOEFL Essentials. We also report the results of a series of investigations conducted during the prototyping and pilot phases of test development, which were undertaken with the goal of confirming task design specifications, evaluating scoring performance, and obtaining initial validity evidence to support score interpretation and use of the EIT in the TOEFL Essentials test. We found that task design variables generally performed as expected. The length of input sentence was strongly associated with performance (Pearson r = .88), consistent with the construct measured by the EIT, while other task variables not directly related to the EIT construct did not impact performance (e.g., graphics, speaker accent, and response time). Scorers drawn from TOEFL iBT test raters were able to score responses consistently with over 98% exact or adjacent interrater agreement on a 6‐point scale, and scores on the pilot version of the EIT were highly reliable (Cronbach's α = .93 on the 15‐item pilot version). Correlations between EIT scores and other measures were generally as expected: Correlations with other speaking tasks were high (.78–.84) and slightly to somewhat lower for other language measures (.73 for writing, .68 for listening, and .57 for reading). Correlation with an independent measure of holistic language proficiency (C‐test) was moderately high (.69), as expected. We discuss the study findings in terms of the TOEFL Essentials test validity argument and point out limitations to the current results along with future research needs. Overall, we believe that the findings provide initial support to warrant the use of the EIT as operationalized in the TOEFL Essentials test.
A Mach–Zehnder modulator based novel regenerator for employment in relays used in free space optical communication
Authors: Ahmad Zaheer , Mirza Jawad , Jeza Aljohani Abdulah , Salman Ahmad , Ghafoor Salman
Published: November 2021

Relay nodes that are proposed for extending the length of free space optical links are generally based upon simple optical amplifiers. In this article, we have proposed an all‐optical relay that performs regeneration of optical signals along with the conventional optical amplification. Our proposed regenerator is based upon a dual‐drive Mach–Zehnder modulator. The optical pulsed signal received at the input of the regenerator is divided into two outputs using an optical splitter. One of the splitter outputs is converted into an electrical signal while the signal in the other path is given as input to the optical modulator. The negative slope of the modulator is used to compress intensity fluctuations over the pulsed optical signal by combining the converted electrical signal with the bias voltage of the modulator. We have compared the performance of our proposed regeneration scheme with the conventional optical amplifier based relay nodes in a free space optical link that is modeled by the Gamma–Gamma channel model. To simulate the effect of medium and strong turbulence of the free space optical link, the refractive index structure parameters chosen for the Gamma–Gamma channel model are and , respectively. It was observed that our proposed dual‐drive Mach–Zehnder modulator based relay significantly improves the receiver sensitivity by 4 dB under strong turbulence conditions and by 0.7 dB under medium turbulence conditions, respectively.
Toxicological evaluation of Phospholipase D from Kitasatospora paracochleata
Authors: Matten Kevin J. , Mak Alastair
Published: November 2021

Phospholipases are used extensively in the production of food ingredients, typically as processing aids, to enzymatically convert glycerophospholipids and provide functional properties in meat products or baking confections. The current study examined the safety of Phospholipase D derived from Kitasatospora paracochleata (strain No. 362‐PLD) for use as a processing aid in various food applications, where it may be present in the finished products at trace levels. The safety assessment of Phospholipase D included two in vitro genotoxicity studies and a 90‐day subchronic toxicity study in rats. No evidence of genotoxicity was observed in a bacterial reverse mutation test or in a chromosome aberration test. In the subchronic toxicity study, no test article‐related adverse effects were observed upon Phospholipase D administration to rats at doses levels of 0, 750, 1500, and 3000 mg/kg body weight/day throughout a 90‐day study period. Thus, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect level (NOAEL) was considered to be 3000 mg/kg body weight/day. This safety assessment supports the safe use of Phospholipase D as a processing aid in food production and the presence of trace levels in finished products.
COVID‐19 vaccines mix‐and‐match: The concept, the efficacy and the doubts
Authors: Rashedi Ronak , Samieefar Noosha , Masoumi Niloofar , Mohseni Sahar , Rezaei Nima
Published: November 2021

The search for developing effective vaccines against SARS‐CoV‐2 began with the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, and the first vaccine dose was administered in December 2020. Today, full vaccination of most of the world's population is considered the most important means to overcome the COVID‐19 pandemic. Vaccination has been associated with various struggles. Some adverse reactions have resulted in the discontinuation of the specific vaccines use in some countries. Countries in poor regions have faced difficulties supplying enough vaccine doses, and the emergence of new variants of concern has resulted in reduced effectiveness of available vaccines against COVID‐19. The mix‐and‐match strategy, using heterologous vaccines in the first and second doses, might successfully solve the mentioned struggles. Moreover, this strategy has been associated with higher cellular and humoral immune responses without significantly increasing the adverse reactions. Hence, this strategy can help improve the vaccines' effectiveness, and act as a solution for vaccine shortage in poor regions.
Cell wall modification and lignin biosynthesis involved in disease resistance against Diaporthe citri in harvested pummelo fruit elicited by carvacrol
Authors: Chen Chuying , Cai Nan , Wan Chunpeng , Huang Qiang , Chen Jinyin
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND

Phomopsis stem‐end rot caused by Diaporthe citri, causes significant commercial postharvest losses of pummelo fruit during storage. Carvacrol (CVR) is a known generally recognized as safe and has the ability to prolong the preservation of harvested fruits. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of CVR treatment at the appropriate concentration on Phomopsis stem‐end rot development of harvested pummelo fruit inoculated with D. citri were evaluated by the amounts of cell wall components, the activities and gene expressions of related enzymes involved in cell wall modification and lignin biosynthesis.

RESULTS

Results indicated that CVR completely inhibited D. citri growth in vitro at 200 mg L−1 and significantly controlled Phomopsis stem‐end rot development in harvested pummelo. The CVR treatment delayed peel softening and browning, and retarded electrolyte leakage, superoxide radical (O2•−) production, and malondialdehyde content. The CVR‐treated fruit maintained higher amounts of cell wall material, protopectin, hemicelluloses, and cellulose, but exhibited lower water‐soluble pectin amount. Moreover, in D. citri‐inoculated fruit, CVR treatment suppressed the activities and gene expressions of cell wall disassembling‐enzymes, including pectin methylesterase, polygalacturonase, cellulase, and β‐galactosidase, while the development of cell wall degradation was reduced. Meanwhile, the CVR treatment enhanced the lignin biosynthesis by increasing the activities and up‐regulating the gene expressions of phenylalanine ammonialyase, cinnamic alcohol dehydrogenase, and peroxidase accompanied with elevated level of lignin in pummelo fruit.

CONCLUSION

The disease resistance to D. citri in pummelo fruit elicited by CVR treatment is related to delaying cell wall degradation and enhancing lignin biosynthesis. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Contrasting responses to soil and water salinity in stomata and canopy traits produced convergence of water‐use in tomatoes (Solanum esculentum) and okra (Abelmoschus esculentus): application to water management
Authors: Yunusa Isa AM , Palmer Anthony R , Kamululdeen Jamal , Punthakey Jehangir F
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND

Salinity constrains agricultural sustainability and crops differ in their response. We tested the hypothesis that contrasting responses in canopy and stomatal traits to salinity will cause convergence of water‐use in okra and tomato.

RESULTS

Stomata were found almost exclusively (>90%) on the lower leaf surface of tomato, but okra produced ~30% of stomata on the upper leaf surface. While salinity reduced the magnitudes of canopy and stomata traits in tomato, stomata traits were either unaffected or enhanced in okra. Salinity reduced the rates and duration of stomatal conductance (gs) in both crops, more severely in tomato, in which gs was restricted to early mornings in contrast to its bell‐shape trend in okra. The superiority of okra in its stomata traits was compensated by the larger plant canopies in tomato, resulting in both daytime canopy transpiration and total plant water‐use within 17% and 28%, respectively, of each other for the two crops. A tight stomatal control of transpiration that minimised use of water and its uptake from the soil conferred a superior salinity tolerance on tomato over okra. In both crops, stomata density (D) was inversely correlated with stomata area (A), while water‐use was positively correlated with plant leaf area, in addition to D and A in tomato; gs was also correlated with stomata area index in tomato.

CONCLUSION

Differences in water‐use for both crops were relatively narrow, despite the several‐fold differences in their canopy and stomata traits. Under saline conditions, irrigation intervals should be long for tomato but short for okra. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Phenolic and flavonoid compounds and antioxidant activity in flowers of nine endemic Verbascum species from Iran
Authors: Amini Soniya , Hassani Abbas , Alirezalu Abolfazl , Maleki Ramin
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND

In this study, flowers of nine mullein species (Verbascum erianthum, V. songaricum, V. speciosum, V. szovitsianum, V. stachydiforme, V. sinuatum, V. haussknechtianum, V. cheirantifolium, and V. saccatum) were collected from Iran. The total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity, total carotenoid (TCC), β‐carotene content and the amount of phenolic compounds were determined in all of the collected mullein species. Quantitative analysis of phenolic compounds was performed using high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode‐array detection (HPLC‐DAD).

RESULTS

Verbascum saccatum and V. songaricum, in particular, were found to be rich in total flavonoids and exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity. The HPLC‐DAD analysis revealed that V. erianthum possessed the highest amount of caffeic acid (0.022 g kg−1 DW), chlorogenic acid (2.649 g kg−1 DW), p‐coumaric acid (0.253 g kg−1 DW), and apigenin (0.066 g kg−1 DW). The highest gallic acid (0.134 g kg−1 DW), rutin (5.254 g kg−1 DW), quercetin (1.303 g kg−1 DW), and cinnamic acid (1.031 g kg−1 DW) content were observed in V. saccatum. Our results demonstrate the considerable variations in the TFC, antioxidant activity, TCC, and β‐carotene content among the mullein species.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study provide useful information for breeding strategies, and for choosing the best species with high phenolic compound content to produce natural antioxidants for medical and pharmaceutical use. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Predictive Modeling and Risk Stratification of Patients With Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct
Authors: Farrokhian Nathan , Kocharyan Armine , Ruthberg Jeremy , Piper Robin , Rivas Alejandro , Semaan Maroun , Otteson Todd , Manzoor Nauman F.
Published: November 2021

Objectives/Hypothesis

To investigate patient‐specific characteristics that independently predict for progressive hearing loss in patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). Utilize multivariable predictive models to identify subgroups of patients with significantly different progression risks.

Study Design

Retrospective analysis of patients evaluated at an academic tertiary care center. Cohort included 74 ears of patients with a diagnosis of EVA as defined by the Cincinnati criteria.

Methods

Hearing trajectories were characterized, and a Kaplan–Meier estimator was utilized to determine progressive phenotype probabilities across the first 10 years after diagnosis. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify patient characteristics that independently altered this probability. Stratified risk groups were delineated from generated nomogram scores.

Results

Male gender was associated with a 4.53 hazard ratio for progressive hearing loss (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.53 to 12.59). Each millimeter increase in operculum size was independently associated with an 80.40% increase in expected hazard (95% CI, 40.18 to 120.62). Each dB increase in air pure tone average at time of diagnosis decreased expected hazard by 1.59% (95% CI, −3.02 to −0.17). The presence of incomplete partition type II was associated with a 2.44 hazard ratio (95% CI, 1.04 to 5.72). Risk groups stratified by median nomogram score evidenced the discriminative ability of our model with the progression probability in the high‐risk group being six times higher at 1 year, nearly five times greater at 3 years, and three times greater at 9 years.

Conclusions

EVA patient characteristics can be used to predict hearing loss probability with a high degree of accuracy (C‐index of 0.79). This can help clinicians make more proactive management decisions by identifying patients at high risk for hearing loss.

Level of Evidence

4 Laryngoscope, 132:1439–1445, 2022
Developing capacity for learning community systems: Experiences from the 100 Million Healthier Lives SCALE Initiative
Authors: Carr Tara , Holly Margaret , Reed Kristin , Rabbani Rumana , Chandler Caroline , Cook Brittany , Howard Paul , McPherson Marianne , Henry Becky , Ramaswamy Rohit
Published: November 2021

Introduction

This paper explores the capabilities that contribute to community transformation and the common pathways followed by communities in the 100 Million Healthier Lives SCALE (Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation) initiative in their transformation journeys towards a “Culture of Health”.

Methods

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), from 2016 to 2020, between 18 to 24 community coalitions nationwide participated in SCALE, the goal of which was to co‐design, implement, test, and scale up a model called the Community of Solutions (COS) Framework, that built community capacity around a set of skills and behaviors to advance culture change and create sustainable improvement in health, well‐being, and equity. We adapted and applied two qualitative research techniques, meta‐ethnography and participatory action synthesis, to evaluate SCALE initiative data.

Results

Eight concepts emerged that represent the knowledge, capabilities and practices commonly acquired and utilized across the communities. Overall, these concepts emphasize individual and team leadership, quality improvement skills, an intentional focus on equity, and partnerships for spread and sustainment. Concepts were linked into lines of arguments which were unique storylines explaining the transformation pathways. Three stories of the transformation process emerged from the data. Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) were created to represent non‐linear system relationships and visually capture some of the most important dynamics of the process of transformation. Even with vast heterogeneity among the SCALE communities and the diversity of activities that the communities undertook, our analysis showed there were a few basic principles that undergirded the process of building capability for transformation.

Conclusions

The knowledge from our findings should be useful to expand further research and practice in community learning systems.
Setting up clinical trials for success: Applying preclinical advances in combined TGFβ/PD‐L1 inhibition to ongoing clinical studies
Authors: Strait Alexander A. , Wang Xiao‐Jing
Published: November 2021

Combined TGFβ/PD‐L1 inhibition is currently undergoing clinical trials in multiple cancer types. The early reported clinical trials of bintrafusp alfa, a bifunctional fusion protein targeting both of these pathways, have had mixed results. Here, we briefly review recent preclinical advances that can be used to refine these ongoing clinical trials and improve their outcomes.
Progressive attention module for segmentation of volumetric medical images
Authors: Zhang Minghui , Pan Hong , Zhu Yaping , Gu Yun
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Medical image segmentation is critical for many medical image analysis applications. 3D convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely adopted in the segmentation of volumetric medical images. The recent development of channelwise and spatialwise attentions achieves the state‐of‐the‐art feature representation performance. However, these attention strategies have not explicitly modeled interdependencies among slices in 3D medical volumes. In this work, we propose a novel attention module called progressive attention module (PAM) to explicitly model the slicewise importance for 3D medical image analysis.

Methods

The proposed method is composed of three parts: Slice Attention (SA) block, Key‐Slice‐Selection (KSS) block, and Channel Attention (CA) block. First, the SA is a novel attention block to explore the correlation among slices for 3D medical image segmentation. SA is designed to explicitly reweight the importance of each slice in the 3D medical image scan. Second, the KSS block, cooperating with the SA block, is designed to adaptively emphasize the critical slice features while suppressing the irrelevant slice features, which helps the model focus on the slices with rich structural and contextual information. Finally, the CA block receives the output of KSS as input for further feature recalibration. Our proposed PAM organically combines SA, KSS, and CA, progressively highlights the key slices containing rich information for the relevant tasks while suppressing those irrelevant slices.

Results

To demonstrate the effectiveness of PAM, we embed it into 3D CNNs architectures and evaluate the segmentation performance on three public challenging data sets: BraTS 2018 data set, MALC data set, and HVSMR data set. We achieve 80.34%, 88.98%, and 84.43% of the Dice similarity coefficient on these three data sets, respectively. Experimental results show that the proposed PAM not only boosts the segmentation accuracy of the standard 3D CNNs methods consistently, but also outperforms the other attention mechanisms with slight extra costs.

Conclusions

We propose a new PAM to identify the most informative slices and recalibrate channelwise feature responses for volumetric medical image segmentation. The proposed method is evaluated on three public data sets, and the results show improvements over other methods. This proposed technique can effectively assist physicians in many medical image analysis. It is also anticipated to be generalizable and transferable to assist physicians in a wider range of medical imaging applications to produce greater value and impact to health.
Effects of school‐based “We Fit” weight control programme in adolescents
Authors: Chae Sun‐Mi , Yeo Ji‐Young , Hwang Ji‐Hye , Kang Hee Sun
Published: November 2021

Aim

This study examined the effects of a 12‐week school‐based “We Fit” weight control programme.

Design

A nonequivalent control group was used, with a non‐synchronized pretest–posttest design.

Methods

In total, 109 Korean high school adolescents participated. The programme comprised exergaming, diet diary and counselling, health education, and social networking service‐based group discussions. Anthropometric factors, physiological factors and physical activity (daily steps and sitting time) were measured in the intervention and the control groups before and after the intervention. Programme satisfaction was assessed post‐intervention. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics; the chi‐square, Mann–Whitney U and t tests; and generalized estimating equations.

Results

The intervention group showed a significantly decreased waist circumference, increased skeletal muscle mass, increased high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, decreased low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and reduced weekend sitting time.

Conclusion

This study adds to the evidence for the applicability and effectiveness of healthy weight control programmes using exergames for adolescents in school settings.
Performance degradation of commercial Ga‐doped passivated emitter and rear cell solar modules in the field
Authors: Chen Chuanke , Wang He , Wang Jianbo , Lv Jun , Yang Hong
Published: November 2021

Gallium‐doped passivated emitter and rear cells (PERCs) showed great promise for future advanced highly efficient solar cells. However, there is a lack of information available regarding the field degradation of gallium‐doped PERC solar modules. In this work, the field degradation of gallium‐doped PERC solar modules is investigated and compared with the field degradation of stabilized boron‐doped PERC solar modules. It is remarkable that the peak power degradation curves of the gallium‐doped PERC solar modules present two degradation stages which might be attributed to synthetical results of light‐induced degradation (LID) and light and elevated temperature‐induced degradation (LeTID). The extents of degradation for the gallium‐doped PERC solar modules are smaller than that of the stabilized boron‐doped PERC solar modules. The LID characteristic of the gallium‐doped PERC solar modules is caused by the presence of residual boron in Ga‐doped Cz‐Si wafers which has been demonstrated by the results of inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Moreover, a comparative study of daily yield for gallium‐ and boron‐doped PERC photovoltaic arrays is carried out. It was found that the gallium‐doped photovoltaic array has a higher energy yield and shows a better performance ratio than the boron‐doped photovoltaic array. The reason is that the performance degradation and its induced mismatch loss of gallium‐doped solar modules in the field are smaller than that of the boron‐doped solar modules.