bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lycium ruthenicum Murr. alleviates nonalcoholic fatty liver in mice
Authors: Lu Keke , Wang Jing , Yu Yueyuan , Wu Yikuan , He Zhao
Published: March 2020

Oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to hypertriglyceridemia‐induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Cholesterol‐enriched diets increase the risk of NAFLD. Lycium ruthenium Murr. (LRM) contains water‐soluble antioxidant proanthocyanidins. Whether Lycium ruthenium Murr. improves NAFLD remains elusive. In this study, we established a model of NAFLD‐induced by cholesterol‐enriched high‐fat diet (western diet) in ApoE−/− mice; oxidative stress and inflammation were examined and intervened by supplement of Lycium ruthenium Murr. (LRM) extracts. LRM supplement did not influence body weight gain, food intake, and lipotoxicity of mice. LRM supplement significantly alleviated triglyceride accumulation in liver, with reduced inflammation, elevated GSH‐Px activity, and reduced MDA levels. The expression of fatty acids oxidative gene Scd1 was significantly increased, and fatty acids synthesis‐related gene Pparγ was dramatically downregulated on mRNA level in liver of mice with LRM supplement. These data demonstrated that LRM supplement decreased ROS production and inflammation, increased fatty acids oxidation, and reduced fatty acids synthesis in liver, leading to ameliorate the development of NAFLD induced by high western diet. Thus, oxidative stress and inflammation also are involved in the pathogenesis of western diet‐induced NAFLD, which is independent of obesity.
A Wearable Capacitive Sensor Based on Ring/Disk‐Shaped Electrode and Porous Dielectric for Noncontact Healthcare Monitoring
Authors: Zheng Ya‐Nan , Yu Zhe , Mao Guoyong , Li Yunyao , Pravarthana Dhanapal , Asghar Waqas , Liu Yiwei , Qu Shaoxing , Shang Jie , Li Run‐Wei
Published: March 2020

Wearable sensors are gradually enabling decentralized healthcare systems. However, these sensors need to be closely attached to skin, which is unsuitable for long‐term dynamic health monitoring of the patients, such as infants or persons with burn injuries. Here, a wearable capacitive sensor based on the capacitively coupled effect for healthcare monitoring in noncontact mode is reported. It consists of a ring‐shaped top electrode, a disk‐shaped bottom electrode, and a porous dielectric layer with low permittivity. This unique design enhanced the capacitively coupled effect of the sensor, which enables a high noncontact detectivity of capacitance change. When an object approaches the sensor, its capacitance change (ΔC/Ci = −38.7%) is 3–5 times higher than that of previously reported sensors. Meanwhile, the sensor is insensitive to the stretching strain and pressure (ΔC/Ci < 5%) due to the unique ring‐shaped electrode and the incompressible closed cells of the porous dielectric material, respectively. Finally, various human physiological signals (pulse and respiratory) are recorded in noncontact mode, where a person wears loose and soft clothes implanted with the sensor. Thus, it is promising to build smart healthcare clothes based on it to develop wearable decentralized healthcare systems.
Patient choice, entry, and the quality of primary care: Evidence from Swedish reforms
Authors: Dietrichson Jens , Ellegård Lina Maria , Kjellsson Gustav
Published: March 2020

Policies aiming to spur quality competition among health care providers are ubiquitous, but their impact on quality is ex ante ambiguous, and credible empirical evidence is lacking in many contexts. This study contributes to the sparse literature on competition and primary care quality by examining recent competition enhancing reforms in Sweden. The reforms aimed to stimulate patient choice and entry of private providers across the country but affected markets differently depending on the initial market structure. We exploit the heterogeneous impact of the reforms in a difference‐in‐differences strategy, contrasting more and less exposed markets over the period 2005–2013. Although the reforms led to substantially more entry of new providers in more exposed markets, the effects on primary care quality were modest: We find small improvements of patients' overall satisfaction with care, but no consistently significant effects on avoidable hospitalisation rates or satisfaction with access to care. We find no evidence of economically meaningful quality reductions on any outcome measure.
Effects of seepage velocity and concentration on chromium(VI) removal in abiotic and biotic iron columns
Authors: Yin Weizhao , Fang Zhanqiang , Huang Jingling , Li Ping , Zhong Jiawei , Chiang Penchi , Wu Jinhua
Published: March 2020

Continuous‐flow iron and bio‐iron columns were used to evaluate the effects of seepage velocity and concentration on Cr(VI) removal from groundwater. Solid‐phase analysis showed that microorganisms accelerated iron corrosion by excreting extracellular polymeric substances and generated highly reactive minerals containing Fe(II), which gave the bio‐iron column a longer life span and enhanced capacity for Cr(VI) removal via enhanced adsorption and reduction by reactive minerals. The bio‐iron column showed much higher Cr(VI) removal capacity than the iron column with increasing Cr(VI) loading, which was obtained by increasing the seepage velocity or influent Cr(VI) concentration from 95 to 1138 m yr−1 and from 5 to 40 mg L−1, respectively. When the Cr(VI) loading varied in a range of 0 to 10 mg L−1 h−1, the bio‐iron column had a 60% longer longevity and one‐ to sixfold higher Cr(VI) elimination capacity than the iron column. This result indicated that, under fluctuating hydraulic conditions [e.g., seepage velocity and Cr(VI) concentration], the presence of microorganisms can significantly boost Cr(VI) removal using Fe0–based permeable reactive barriers.
Integrating stormwater management and stream restoration strategies for greater water quality benefits
Authors: Lammers Roderick W. , Dell Tyler A. , Bledsoe Brian P.
Published: March 2020

Urbanization alters the delivery of water and sediment to receiving streams, often leading to channel erosion and enlargement, which increases loading of sediment and nutrients, degrades habitat, and harms sensitive biota. Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are constructed in an attempt to mitigate some of these effects. In addition, stream restoration practices such as bank stabilization are increasingly promoted as a means of improving water quality by reducing downstream sediment and pollutant loading. Each unique combination of SCMs and stream restoration practices results in a novel hydrologic regime and set of geomorphic characteristics that interact to determine stream condition, but in practice, implementation is rarely coordinated due to funding and other constraints. In this study, we examine links between watershed‐scale implementation of SCMs and stream restoration in Big Dry Creek, a suburban watershed in the Front Range of northern Colorado. We combine continuous hydrologic model simulations of watershed‐scale response to SCM design scenarios with channel evolution modeling to examine interactions between stormwater management and stream restoration strategies for reducing loading of sediment and adsorbed phosphorus from channel erosion. Modeling results indicate that integrated design of SCMs and stream restoration interventions can result in synergistic reductions in pollutant loading. Not only do piecemeal and disunited approaches to stormwater management and stream restoration miss these synergistic benefits, they make restoration projects more prone to failure, wasting valuable resources for pollutant reduction. We conclude with a set of recommendations for integrated planning of SCMs and stream restoration to simultaneously achieve water quality and channel protection goals.
Role of delta‐front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea‐level rise and fluvial sediment decline
Authors: Yang Shi Lun , Luo Xiangxin , Temmerman Stijn , Kirwan Matthew , Bouma Tjeerd , Xu Kehui , Zhang Saisai , Fan Jiqing , Shi Benwei , Yang Haifei , Wang Ya Ping , Shi Xuefa , Gao Shu
Published: March 2020

Accelerating sea‐level rise and decreasing riverine sediment supply are widely considered to lead to global losses of deltaic marshes and their valuable ecosystem services. However, little is known about the degree to which the related erosion of the seaward delta front can provide sediments to sustain salt marshes. Here, we present data from the mesomacrotidal Yangtze Delta demonstrating that marshes have continued to accrete vertically and laterally, despite rapid relative sea‐level rise (∼10 mm yr−1) and a > 70% decrease in the Yangtze River sediment supply. Marsh progradation has decelerated at a lower rate than fluvial sediment reduction, suggesting an additional source of sediment. We find that under favorable conditions (e.g., a mesomacrotidal range, strong tidal flow, flood dominance, sedimentary settling lag/scour lag effects, and increasing high‐tide level), delta‐front erosion can actually supply sediment to marshes, thereby maintaining marsh accretion rates in balance with relative sea‐level rise. Comparison of global deltas illustrates that the ability of sediment remobilization to sustain marshes depends on coastal processes and varies by more than an order of magnitude among the world's major deltas.
Dityrosine formation via reactive oxygen consumption yields increasingly recalcitrant humic‐like fluorescent organic matter in the ocean
Authors: Paerl Ryan W. , Claudio Iliana M. , Shields Michael R. , Bianchi Thomas S. , Osburn Christopher L.
Published: March 2020

Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a massive elemental pool on Earth and is thought to consist of a chemically complex mixture of molecules. Part of marine DOM is fluorescent (FDOM) and includes humic‐like compounds. The chemical composition of, and biochemical pathways that yield, autochthonous humic‐like FDOM in the ocean is largely unknown. Inspired by medical and biochemical research detailing the formation of colored and fluorescent dityrosine via peroxidase mediated reactions, we used fluorometry and spectroscopy and found dityrosine exhibits humic‐like fluorescence similar to that of marine FDOM. Investigating its recalcitrance, we conducted short‐term nutrient‐addition and light exposure experiments with dityrosine and found it is resistant to respiration or assimilation by marine microbial communities, yet readily photodegraded. The formation and characteristics of dityrosine newly points to polymerization via reactive oxygen quenching, under aphotic and putatively photic conditions, as an explanation for autochthonous, humic‐like, (semi‐)recalcitrant DOM in the ocean.
Reconstruction of a C7–T1 brachial plexus lower root injury by transferring multiple nerves and a free gracilis muscle: Case report
Authors: Soldado Francisco , Ghizoni Marcos F. , Bertelli Jayme
Published: March 2020

Lower‐type brachial plexus injuries (BPI) are uncommon, and traditional reconstruction with tendon transfer procedures generally produce mediocre results. However, the advent of nerve transfers has rejuvenated the reconstructive options for peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries. In this paper, we report the case 32 year‐old patient with a C7–T1 avulsion BPI in whom multiple motor and sensory nerve transfers, combined with a free gracilis muscle flap transfer, were used to restore upper‐limb functional defects. Five months after injury, several nerves were transferred (posterior division of the axillary nerve to motor nerve branches of the triceps, extensor carpi radialis brevis to flexor pollicis longus, supinator to the posterior interosseous nerve, brachialis to the ulnar nerve, and a cutaneous branch to the palm of the median nerve to the ulnar proper palmar digital nerve of the little finger). No complications occurred. M4 strength elbow extension, complete active finger extension and ulnar protective sensation were obtained. However, unsuccessful finger flexion reconstruction required a free gracilis muscle flap transfer motorized by the distal branch of the pronator teres, performed 43 months after the first surgery and resulting in complete finger flexion. Multiple nerve transfers might be a valid strategy for reconstructing lower BPIs, either in their early or late stage, which might be combined with a free gracilis muscle flap transfer.
Permanence, existence, and stability of almost automorphic solution of a non‐autonomous Leslie–Gower prey–predator model with control feedback terms on time scales
Authors: Dhama Soniya , Abbas Syed
Published: March 2020

A general non‐autonomous Leslie–Gower prey–predator model on time scales with control input terms is examined in the present paper. The significant property permanence is established along with the existence of almost automorphic solution of the model system. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov functional, presence of a one of a kind all‐around attractive positive almost automorphic solution of the system is obtained. At the end, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our hypothetical outcomes with simulations. The outcomes are new and complement the existing ones.
Modeling the impact of out‐of‐phase ventilation on normal lung tissue response to radiation dose
Authors: Wallat Eric M. , Flakus Mattison J. , Wuschner Antonia E. , Shao Wei , Christensen Gary E. , Reinhardt Joseph M. , Baschnagel Andrew M. , Bayouth John E.
Published: March 2020

Purpose

To create a dose‐response model that predicts lung ventilation change following radiation therapy, and examine the effects of out‐of‐phase ventilation.

Methods

The dose‐response model was built using 27 human subjects who underwent radiation therapy (RT) from an IRB‐approved trial. For each four‐dimensional computed tomography, two ventilation maps were created by calculating the N‐phase local expansion ratio (LERN) using most or all breathing phases and the 2‐phase LER (LER2) using only the end inspiration and end expiration breathing phases. A polynomial regression model was created using the LERN ventilation maps pre‐RT and post‐RT and dose distributions for each subject, and crossvalidated with a leave‐one‐out method. Further validation of the model was performed using 15 additional human subjects using common statistical operating characteristics and gamma pass rates.

Results

For voxels receiving 20 Gy or greater, there was a significant increase from 52% to 59% (P = 0.03) in the gamma pass rates of the LERN model predicted post‐RT Jacobian maps to the actual post‐RT Jacobian maps, relative to the LER2 model. Additionally, accuracy significantly increased (P = 0.03) from 68% to 75% using the LERN model, relative to the LER2 model.

Conclusions

The LERN model was significantly more accurate than the LER2 model at predicting post‐RT ventilation maps. More accurate post‐RT ventilation maps will aid in producing a higher quality functional avoidance treatment plan, allowing for potentially better normal tissue sparing.
Is Bigger Better? Evaluation of Size-Selective Predation on Age-0 Walleye
Authors: Grausgruber Emily Elise , Weber Michael John
Published: March 2020

The success of fish stocking programs is dependent on poststocking survival. However, survival can be influenced by size-selective mortality, where larger individuals are expected to be less vulnerable to predation. Walleye Sander vitreus is a commonly stocked sport fish, but little is known regarding the role of size-selective predation on age-0 Walleye (90–290 mm TL) that are stocked in the presence of various piscivores with different foraging strategies and morphological features. Our objective was to evaluate whether the TL of consumed age-0 Walleye was related to predator TL, predator gape height, or the probability of predation. We also assessed whether length distributions varied among stocked, recaptured, and consumed age-0 Walleye. Data for the food habits of Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Smallmouth Bass M. dolomieu, Northern Pike Esox lucius, adult Walleye, and Muskellunge Esox masquinongy were collected from East Okoboji Lake and West Okoboji Lake, Iowa, USA during fall 2015–2017. Over the course of the study, 301 age-0 Walleye were recovered from 3,514 predator stomachs. Mean, maximum (85th percentile), and minimum (15th percentile) TL of the consumed age-0 Walleye were not related to the TL or gape height of the predators (P > 0.05), but the probability of predation decreased by 0.02 for every 10-mm increase in the TL of the age-0 Walleye. The length distributions indicated that consumed Walleye were generally smaller, whereas recaptured Walleye tended to be larger than stocked fish were. Our approach to evaluating poststocking size-selective predation on age-0 Walleye furthers the current understanding of the importance of size at stocking relative to stocking success and suggests that stocking Walleye > 220 mm is economically advantageous for reducing predation risk.
Difficulties in daily life and the association with self‐care ability in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Japan: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Umeda Eiko , Shimizu Yasuko , Kawai Nobuko
Published: March 2020

Aim

To identify the unique contents of difficulties experienced in daily life among adult type 1 diabetes mellitus patients and to determine how basic characteristics and diabetic‐related self‐care agency are associated with difficulties in daily life.

Methods

This study used two surveys: “Difficulties in Daily Life,” which was a questionnaire developed for this survey and “Instrument of Diabetes Self‐Care Agency.” These two measures were then used with demographic information for cross‐sectional analysis.

Result

The final sample included 321 type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. Difficulties in daily life were composed of four factors: “Difficulties in diseases disclosure,” “Difficulties accommodating diabetes into daily life,” “Difficulties in employment or continuing education” and “Lack of knowledge of diabetes.” The instrument of Diabetes Self‐Care Agency was found to be associated with all four factors of difficulties in daily life. In addition, sex and diabetes duration were shown to be important predictors.
Licogliflozin, a Novel SGLT1 and 2 Inhibitor: Body Weight Effects in a Randomized Trial in Adults with Overweight or Obesity
Authors: Bays Harold E. , Kozlovski Plamen , Shao Qing , Proot Pieter , Keefe Deborah
Published: March 2020

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the dose response of licogliflozin, a dual inhibitor of sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and 2 (SGLT2), by evaluating change in body weight in adults with overweight or obesity.

Methods

This dose‐response analysis evaluated change in body weight following 24 weeks with four once‐daily and twice‐daily licogliflozin doses (2.5‐150 mg) versus placebo (primary end point). A further 24‐week analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of two once‐daily licogliflozin doses in maintaining initial weight reduction.

Results

Licogliflozin once daily or twice daily produced a significant dose‐response signal for weight loss versus placebo (P < 0.0001). However, mean adjusted percent changes in body weight after 24 weeks were modest, ranging from −0.45% to −3.83% (in the 50 mg twice daily group [95% CI: −5.26% to −2.48%]; n = 75). Responder analysis of ≥ 5% weight loss at week 24 revealed significant differences versus placebo, which were most pronounced with highest doses of 50 mg twice daily (45.3%) and 150 mg once daily (42.9%) (both P < 0.01). While weight loss was greater at higher doses, gastrointestinal adverse events were also more frequent. The 50‐mg once‐daily dose had perhaps the best balance between efficacy and tolerability.

Conclusions

Licogliflozin produced significant reductions in body weight versus placebo. However, the magnitude of weight reduction was modest.
Social–ecological experiments to foster agroecological transition
Authors: Gaba Sabrina , Bretagnolle Vincent
Published: March 2020

A paradigm shift is needed to make agriculture sustainable, and various substitutes for intensive agriculture have been proposed. However, moving from theory to practice, in the context of climate change, natural resource depletion and worldwide economic and social disorder requires a novel approach that goes beyond the confines of ‘normal’ scientific practice, to (a) consider ecological and socioeconomic processes within the agricultural socio‐ecosystem and (b) involving stakeholders in the research process.

We propose an innovative experimental approach for identifying management practices that optimize multiple objectives, deliver a portfolio of ecosystem services and satisfy the social demands of key stakeholders while improving the socio‐economic welfare of farmers. Social–ecological experiments are undertaken in real‐field conditions, involving stakeholders explicitly, all along the experimental pathway, to help untangle the drivers of social–ecological dynamics under various practices of land management and farming. As an example, we describe a social–ecological experiment to reduce the intensity of weed control.

These ‘social–ecological experiments’ go further, to participatory action research by not only involving stakeholders in the research process but also by manipulating simultaneously socioeconomic and ecological processes under real‐field conditions to foster agroecological transition. Such experiments are distinct from adaptive management, participatory agricultural research and scenario‐planning approaches as they highlight the interactions between ecological and social processes, manipulate the processes shaping the system and show causal links between patterns and processes.

Social–ecological experiments offer great opportunities for increasing stakeholders' acceptance of environmental policies or sustainable agriculture programmes implemented through adaptive management. These experiments may help to identify management practices that deliver a portfolio of ecosystem services and satisfy key stakeholders.

A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Salvia miltiorrhiza stem‐leaf active components of salvianolic acids and flavonoids improved the hemorheological disorder and vascular endothelial function on microcirculation dysfunction rats
Authors: Sun Chengjing , Su Shulan , Zhu Yue , Guo Jianming , Guo Sheng , Qian Dawei , Yu Li , Gu Wei , Duan Jin‐ao
Published: March 2020

Microcirculation, which connects macrocirculation and cells between arterioles and venules, plays a major role in the early onset of a variety of diseases. In this article, a dextran‐induced microcirculation dysfunction (MCDF) model rats were adopted to evaluate the effects and mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza stem‐leaf extracts based on plasma and urine metabonomics. The results showed the effective components of S. miltiorrhiza stem‐leaf could significantly improve the hemorheology and coagulation index of MCDF rats and callback the expression of endothelin‐1 (ET‐1), induciblenitric oxide synthase (iNOS), vascularendothelial growth factor (VEGF), P‐Selectin, thromboxane A2, 6‐keto‐PGF1α, TNF‐α, and interleukin‐1β to control group in MCDF rats. The decrease of microvessel density (MVD) in lung and thymus caused by MCDF was upgraded by Salvia miltiorrhiza stem‐leaf. Based on the plasma and urine metabolic data, 20 potential biomarkers were identified. These biomarkers are mainly related to linoleic acid metabolism, glutathione metabolism, pantothenate and coenzyme A biosynthesis, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, pyruvate metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, beta‐alanine metabolism, and citrate cycle. The results indicated that the effective components of S. miltiorrhiza stem‐leaf can improve the hemorheological disorder and vascular endothelial function. Meanwhile, the effective components can regulate potential biomarkers and correlated metabolic pathway, which can provide guidance for the research and development of new drugs for MCDF.
Theoretical studies to estimate the skin sensitization potential of chemicals of the Schiff base domain
Authors: Gleeson Duangkamol , Gleeson Matthew Paul
Published: March 2020

Skin sensitization occurs when an exogenous chemical substance forms a covalent adduct with a dermal protein electrophile or nucleophile. This instigates an immune response which leads to inflammation. The local lymph node assay is an in vivo model used in the assessment of relative skin sensitizing potency of chemicals. The method is time consuming and expensive, as well as poses ethical questions given that a number of mice must be sacrificed for each compound assessed. In this work, we investigate the use of an inexpensive, rapid, and ethical method to predict the skin sensitization potential of Schiff base chemicals. We employ quantum chemical methods to rationalize the sensitization potential of 22 compounds with a diverse range of activities. To this end, we have evaluated the mechanistic profile associated with this type of reaction using gas‐phase models. We subsequently use the predicted rate determining barriers and key physico‐chemical parameters (such as logP) to establish stucture activity relationship (SAR) guidelines to predict the skin sensitization potential for new chemicals. We find that the predicted rate determining barriers for aldehydes, ketone, and 1,2 and 1,3 diones generally decrease in the given order, which concurs with the overall trends in sensitization. We find that lipophilicity also plays a role, with those chemicals displaying both low barriers to reaction, and lower lipophilicity (ie, diones), being more likely to display undesirable skin sensitization effects. These findings are in line with experiment‐based observations in the literature and point to the value 3D quantum chemical calculations could have if combined with other orthogonal approaches to estimate skin sensitization potential of chemicals.
Discover how to launch an advocate program to support students in the conduct process
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: March 2020

ARLINGTON, Va. — Although she knew state law entitles students to an advisor or advocate in the student conduct process, Sarah McDowell Shupp, Director of the Office of Student Conduct at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, noticed most students were showing up to their conduct hearings alone. And she wanted to help change that trend — especially for first‐generation, low‐income students who were less likely to have the resources or support to secure an attorney or other advisor. And that's how Shippensburg's Friendly Advisor Program was born.
Prepare for impact of esports clubs, programs on your college campus community
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: March 2020

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The popularity of esports among college‐age individuals brings a host of legal and policy issues to campuses, regardless of whether or not schools have esports teams, clubs, or programs. In fact, many college students have some interaction with esports, whether they're playing solo or competitively, watching in person or via livestream, working behind the scenes, betting on events, or planning to pursue a career. And your campus could attract potential students with an esports team, club, or major.
Learn to create ‘culture of care’ within your department
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: March 2020

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The level of caring and inclusiveness in your department is an important consideration for student affairs administrators to address.
The Interaction of Curcumin and Rosmarinic Acid with Non‐Amyloid‐Component Domain of Alpha‐Synuclein: A Molecular Dynamics Study
Authors: Rezaei Kamelabad Mahrokh , Jahanbin Sardroodi Jaber , Rastkar Ebrahimzadeh Alireza
Published: March 2020

One notable phenomenon in the Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment is the identification of inhibitors of the self‐assembly of Alpha‐Synuclein (AS) protein. Here, the interactions of two herbal compounds of Curcumin (CUR) and Rosmarinic‐acid (RA) with the NAC domain of AS were investigated by the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate the molecular aspects and the inhibition mechanism of the considered molecules, as well as evaluating their effectiveness in preventing the AS aggregation process. The trajectories of MD simulations were used to evaluate the structural properties of the simulated systems and to infer qualitative and quantitative facts regarding the interactions between the considered ligands and the NAC domains. In addition to the MD studies, the energetics of the ligand‐NAC domain interactions were studied by MM‐PBSA method. The free energy of binding and various contributions to it, as modeled in the MM‐PBSA method, were evaluated and analyzed. The results were also analyzed in terms of the rate and strength of ligand binding to the domains. These analyses showed that RA could bind to the NAC domain faster, as compared to CUR, while the latter binds to the domain more strongly than the former does. However, overall, the results imply that both CUR and RA could effectively bind to NAC domains; so, they could be considered as candidates to reduce the aggregation of AS or as potential drugs for PD.
Structural Color Materials for Optical Anticounterfeiting
Authors: Hong Wei , Yuan Zhongke , Chen Xudong
Published: March 2020

The counterfeiting of goods is growing worldwide, affecting practically any marketable item ranging from consumer goods to human health. Anticounterfeiting is essential for authentication, currency, and security. Anticounterfeiting tags based on structural color materials have enjoyed worldwide and long‐term commercial success due to their inexpensive production and exceptional ease of percept. However, conventional anticounterfeiting tags of holographic gratings can be readily copied or imitated. Much progress has been made recently to overcome this limitation by employing sufficient complexity and stimuli‐responsive ability into the structural color materials. Moreover, traditional processing methods of structural color tags are mainly based on photolithography and nanoimprinting, while new processing methods such as the inkless printing and additive manufacturing have been developed, enabling massive scale up fabrication of novel structural color security engineering. This review presents recent breakthroughs in structural color materials, and their applications in optical encryption and anticounterfeiting are discussed in detail. Special attention is given to the unique structures for optical anticounterfeiting techniques and their optical aspects for encryption. Finally, emerging research directions and current challenges in optical encryption technologies using structural color materials is presented.
The Food Matrix and the Gastrointestinal Fluids Alter the Features of Silver Nanoparticles
Authors: Laloux Laurie , Kastrati Donika , Cambier Sébastien , Gutleb Arno C. , Schneider Yves‐Jacques
Published: March 2020

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in the agri‐food sector, which can lead to their ingestion. Their interaction with food and their passage through the gastrointestinal tract can alter their properties and influence their fate upon ingestion. Therefore, this study aims at developing an in vitro method to follow the fate of AgNPs in the gastrointestinal tract. After incorporation of AgNPs into a standardized food matrix, a precolonic digestion is simulated and AgNPs are characterized by different techniques. The presence of food influences the AgNPs properties by forming a corona around nanoparticles. Even if the salivary step does not impact significantly the AgNPs, the pH decrease and the digestive enzymes induce the agglomeration of AgNPs during the gastric phase, while the addition of intestinal fluids disintegrates these clusters. AgNPs can thus reach the intestinal cells under nanometric form, although the presence of food and gastrointestinal fluids modifies their properties compared to pristine AgNPs. They can form a corona around the nanoparticles and act as colloidal stabilizer, which can impact the interaction of AgNPs with intestinal epithelium. This study demonstrates the importance of taking the fate of AgNPs in the gastrointestinal tract into account to perform an accurate risk assessment of nanomaterials.
Buchanan, Popular Myths, and the Social Responsibility of Economists
Authors: Marciano Alain
Published: March 2020

This article presents and discusses “The ‘Politics’ of Economic Policy,” an essay that remains unpublished and that James Buchanan wrote in 1953. In this essay, Buchanan, for the first time, claimed that politicians and bureaucrats are not benevolent despots—it was not an assumption. This helps to understand that Buchanan had abandoned the “romantic” belief that politicians were acting for the interest of the public early in his career, much earlier than usually acknowledged and even earlier than his first works in “nonmarket decision‐making.” Beyond this historical insight, we show that Buchanan wrote his article in response or echo to Knight's “The Rôle of Principles in Economics and Politics” (1951). Comparing Buchanan's and Knight's texts, we show that Buchanan adopted a Knightian perspective while criticizing Knight and departing from his views. Of particular importance is what Buchanan wrote on how economists should frame their policy recommendations and on how they may need to avoid very sophisticated theories.
Quantitative structure–activity relationship methods in the discovery and development of antibacterials
Authors: Suay‐Garcia Beatriz , Bueso‐Bordils Jose Ignacio , Falcó Antonio , Pérez‐Gracia María Teresa , Antón‐Fos Gerardo , Alemán‐López Pedro
Published: March 2020

With the pressing issue of antibiotic resistance, there is a constant need for new antibiotics. However, the fact that traditional methods of drug discovery are expensive and time‐consuming has discouraged the pharmaceutical industry, leaving the burden of discovery to research institutions. This is where quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) methods become a key tool in fighting multidrug‐resistant bacteria, seeing as they provide useful information for the rational design of new active molecules at a minimal cost. A variety of linear and nonlinear statistical methods are used to develop these models based on the 2D or 3D representations of the molecules. QSAR models have proven to be effective in rapidly providing lead compound candidates against resistant bacteria such as methicillin‐resistantStaphylococcus aureus,Escherichia coli,Pseudomonasspp.,Bacillus subtilis, orMycobacterium tuberculosis. Moreover, QSAR methods allow for a deeper analysis of a library of molecules, selecting those with not only the optimal activity, but also the most favorable pharmacokinetic and toxicological profiles. The information obtained from QSAR studies makes optimizing an existing drug simpler, which is a cost‐effective approach to obtain new treatments against increasingly resistant bacteria.

This article is categorized under:

  Computer and Information Science > Chemoinformatics

  Software > Molecular Modeling
SSCI mitigation of grid‐connected DFIG wind turbines with fractional‐order sliding mode controller
Authors: Li Penghan , Wang Jie , Xiong Linyun , Huang Sunhua , Wang Ziqiang , Ma Meiling
Published: March 2020

To mitigate subsynchronous control interaction (SSCI) in doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)‐based wind farm, this paper proposes a robust controller for rotor‐side converter (RSC) using fractional‐order sliding mode controller (FOSMC). The proposed FOSMC can improve robustness and convergence properties of the controlled system, thus achieving SSCI damping under various operating conditions. Impedance‐based analysis and time‐domain simulation are performed to check the capability of the designed FOSMC as compared with conventional sliding mode control (SMC) and subsynchronous damping control (SSDC). Simulation results demonstrate that FOSMC can mitigate SSCI within shorter time and effectively reduce the fluctuation range of system transient responses under various operating conditions of wind speeds and compensation levels. Moreover, FOSMC also improves system robustness against parameter uncertainties and external disturbances, which is important for safe operation of realistic wind farms.
Communication Studies: Effective Communication Leads to Effective Leadership
Authors: Banwart Mary
Published: March 2020

This chapter explores how communication studies focuses on human communication among people in groups, teams, and organizations. While persuasive communication has long been at the heart of leadership development, the discipline's contributions to effective leadership also range from advancing our understanding of organizational communicative systems to the development of skills for deliberative democracy and civic engagement.
Prediction of shape distortions during forming and welding of a double-curved strip geometry in alloy 718
Authors: Pérez Caro Lluís , Odenberger Eva-Lis , Schill Mikael , Steffenburg-Nordenström Joachim , Niklasson Fredrik , Oldenburg Mats
Published: March 2020

The finite element method (FEM) has considerably contributed to the development of advanced manufacturing methods for metal structures. The prediction of the final shape of a component is of great interest to the manufacturing industry. The level of demand may increase due to multistage processes. Therefore, including all steps of the manufacturing chain in the simulations is a key to being successful. This has been done for a long time in the stamping industry, which involves sequences of forming, trimming, and springback. However, more complex manufacturing procedures that include assembling of formed parts with forgings and castings via welding have been modelled with simplifications, resulting in a reduced prediction accuracy. In the present study, a double-curved part manufactured from alloy 718 is formed at 20 °C and laser-welded using the bead-on-plate procedure. The coupling of different manufacturing analyses, including cold forming, trimming, result mapping, welding, cooling, and springback, is achieved using LS-DYNA. Additionally, the effect of adding a damage and failure model in the forming simulation is studied. The results of the forming analysis are used as inputs for the material model *MAT_CWM in the welding simulation. The anisotropic thermomechanical properties of alloy 718 are determined at temperatures up to 1000 °C. Encouraging agreement is found between the model predictions and the results of forming and welding tests. The findings underscore the importance of including the material history and accurate process conditions along the manufacturing chain to both the prediction accuracy of shape distortions, and to the potential of the industry.
Towards new TB vaccines
Authors: Brazier Benedict , McShane Helen
Published: March 2020

Mycobacterium tuberculosisremains the leading cause of death attributed to a single infectious organism. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the standard vaccine againstM. tuberculosis, is thought to prevent only 5% of all vaccine-preventable deaths due to tuberculosis, thus an alternative vaccine is required. One of the principal barriers to vaccine development againstM. tuberculosisis the complexity of the immune response to infection, with uncertainty as to what constitutes an immunological correlate of protection. In this paper, we seek to give an overview of the immunology ofM. tuberculosisinfection, and by doing so, investigate possible targets of vaccine development. This encompasses the innate, adaptive, mucosal and humoral immune systems. Though MVA85A did not improve protection compared with BCG alone in a large-scale clinical trial, the correlates of protection this has revealed, in addition to promising results from candidate such as VPM1002, M72/ASO1E and H56:IC31 point to a brighter future in the field of TB vaccine development.
Die elektronische Patientenakte im Krankenhausinformationssystem
Authors: Mir Mohi Sefat Armin , Patermann Katrin , von Ohlen Lars , Kühr Andrea , Ranjbar Mahdy , Pauls Werner , Dück Rudolf , Grisanti Salvatore
Published: March 2020

Hintergrund

Die Einführung einer elektronischen Patientenakte (EPA) im Bereich der Ophthalmologie stellt für viele Kliniken eine Herausforderung dar. Obwohl alle Kliniken ein Krankenhausinformationssystem (KIS) besitzen, sind die wenigsten dieser Systeme für die komplexe ophthalmologische Patientenakte gerüstet.

Methodik

Wir berichten über die Implementierung einer ophthalmologischen EPA innerhalb des vorherrschenden KIS (Agfa-ORBIS; Agfa HealthCare GmbH, Bonn). Dabei werden sowohl die digitale Aktenführung als auch die Anbindung der vorhandenen Untersuchungsgeräte dargestellt.

Ergebnisse

Die von uns entwickelte EPA wird im klinischen Alltag seit 2009 genutzt und seitdem kontinuierlich weiterentwickelt. Durch eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit der IT-Abteilung konnten alle Untersuchungsgeräte digital angebunden werden und ein papierloses Arbeiten ermöglichen und die Nachteile der Papierakte vermeiden.

Diskussion

Die Nutzungsmöglichkeiten einer in das vorhandene KIS implementierten EPA sind vielfältig. Durch solch ein System kann eine lückenlose, fächerübergreifende und ubiquitäre Dokumentation erfolgen. Die Alternative stellt die Anschaffung eines Drittsystems dar, welches sowohl durch eine Schnittstelle mit dem Hauptsystem verbunden werden muss als auch deutliche höhere Anschaffungs- und Erhaltungskosten aufweist.
Analyse des dynamischen Verhaltens zweier gekoppelter Druckregelventile
Authors: Schröders Simon , Fidlin Alexander
Published: March 2020

In hydraulischen Systemen können Druckschwingungen aus unterschiedlichen Gründen und mit verschiedenen Amplituden und Frequenzen auftreten, zum Beispiel aufgrund von Pumpenpulsationen, hervorgerufen durch Instabilitäten hydraulischer Ventile oder durch externe Anregung. Die Reduktion dieser Druckschwingungen stellt somit bei der Konstruktion und Auslegung hydraulischer Systeme eine zentrale Herausforderung dar. Die gebräuchliche Lösung für diese Problematik besteht darin, hydraulische Widerstandselemente, welche die Schwingungen dämpfen sollen, zwischen verschiedenen Teilsystemen des hydraulischen Kreislaufs einzubringen. Dies ist energetisch ungünstig, da an jedem Widerstandselement Strömungs- und damit Leistungsverluste auftreten.

Dieser Beitrag behandelt die Modellbildung, Stabilitätsuntersuchung und dynamische Analyse eines Systems zweier gekoppelter Druckregelventile, wobei das erste Ventil als Druckbegrenzungsventil und das zweite als Druckminderventil fungiert. Das System stellt eine typische Konfiguration innerhalb eines hydraulischen Kreislaufs dar und beinhaltet die Problematik auftretender Druckschwingungen dadurch, dass die Gleichgewichtslagen der Ventile instabil werden können. Es wird gezeigt, dass bei dieser Ventilkonfiguration bei richtiger dynamischer Abstimmung die Ventilöffnung des Druckminderventils die Funktion einer sehr effizienten Dämpfungsblende erfüllen kann und in der Lage ist, Druckschwingungen, hervorgerufen durch das Druckbegrenzungsventil, signifikant zu reduzieren. Bei dieser Ventilkonfiguration kann somit auf zusätzliche Widerstandselemente verzichtet werden, weshalb sie energetisch besonders effizient ist.
Delegating Clozapine Monitoring to Advanced Nurse Practitioners: An Exploratory, Randomized Study to Assess the Effect on Prescription and Its Safety
Authors:   CLOZ-NP Study Group, van der Zalm Y. C. , Schulte P. F. , Bogers J. P. A. M. , Termorshuizen F. , Marcelis M. , van Piere M. A. G. B. , Sommer I. E. , Selten J. P.
Published: March 2020

To test whether: (1) psychiatrists will prescribe clozapine more often if they can delegate the monitoring tasks to an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP), (2) clozapine monitoring by an ANP is at least as safe as monitoring by a psychiatrist. Patients from 23 Dutch outpatient teams were assessed for an indication for clozapine. ANPs affiliated to these teams were randomized to Condition A: clozapine monitoring by an ANP, or Condition B: monitoring by the psychiatrist. The safety of monitoring was evaluated by determining whether the weekly neutrophil measurements were performed. Staff and patients were blinded regarding the first hypothesis. Of the 173 patients with an indication for clozapine at baseline, only seven in Condition A and four in Condition B were prescribed clozapine (Odds Ratio = 2.24, 95% CI 0.61–8.21; p = 0.225). These low figures affected the power of this study. When we considered all patients who started with clozapine over the 15-month period (N = 49), the Odds Ratio was 1.90 (95% CI 0.93–3.87; p = 0.078). With regard to the safety of the monitoring of the latter group of patients, 71.2% of the required neutrophil measurements were performed in condition A and 67.3% in condition B (OR = 0.98; CI = 0.16–3.04; p = 0.98). Identifying patients with an indication for clozapine does not automatically lead to improved prescription rates, even when an ANP is available for the monitoring. Clozapine-monitoring performed by an ANP seemed as safe as that by a psychiatrist.
To Be or Not to Be Governed Like That? Harmful and/or Offensive Advertising Complaints in the United Kingdom’s (Self-) Regulatory Context
Authors: Auxtova Kristina , Brennan Mary , Dunne Stephen
Published: March 2020

This paper demonstrates how the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) governs advertising ethics with and on behalf of its members and stakeholders. Drawing on an archive of 310 non-commercial (i.e., not-for-profit and public) adjudication reports, we highlight the substantive norms and procedural mechanisms through which the ASA governs advertising complaints alleging offence and/or harm. Substantively, the ASA precludes potential normative transgressions by publishing, disseminating, consulting upon, and updating detailed codes of advertising conduct. Procedurally, the ASA adjudicates between allegations and justifications of offence and harm on a received complaint-by-complaint basis, often upon consequentialist grounds. Such consequentialism, we claim, has the effect of normalizing power imbalances between the ASA’s members, on the one hand, and wider stakeholders, on the other hand. The paper argues that, in the context of UK advertising, what Michel Foucault called the right ‘to be or not to be governed like that’ is enjoyed by relatively few subjects. Having demonstrated how UK advertising practices are governed, the paper closes with suggestions as to how they might be governed otherwise.
Attunement in Music Therapy for Young Children with Autism: Revisiting Qualities of Relationship as Mechanisms of Change
Authors: Mössler Karin , Schmid Wolfgang , Aßmus Jörg , Fusar-Poli Laura , Gold Christian
Published: March 2020

This study examined whether musical and emotional attunement predicts changes in improvisational music therapy with children with autism (4–7 years,N = 101, majority: no/limited speech, low IQ), assessed over 12 months. Attunement, as observed from session videos, and changes in generalized social skills, judged by blinded assessors and parents, were evaluated using standardized tools (Assessment of the Quality of Relationship, Improvisational Music Therapy Principles, ADOS, SRS). In contrast to the smaller pilot, we did not find significant effects between attunement and changes in outcomes, only tendencies in the same direction are observed. Findings suggest that symptom severity is associated with the therapist’s ability to attune to the child. They further raise questions concerning outcome selection and user involvement.