bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Turfgrass Insects of the United States and Canada
Authors: Vittum Patricia J.
Published: January 2021

The first edition of this reference work became known as the bible of turfgrass entomology upon publication in 1987. It has proved invaluable to professional entomologists, commercial turf managers, and golf course superintendents and has been used widely in college extension courses. This classic of the field is now in its third edition, providing up-to-date and complete coverage of turfgrass pests in the continental United States, Hawaii, and southern Canada. This revised volume integrates all relevant research from the previous two decades. It provides expanded coverage of several pest species, including the annual bluegrass weevil, invasive crane fly species, chinch bugs, billbugs, mole crickets, and white grubs. The book also provides detailed information on the biology and ecology of all major pests and includes the most current information on conditions that favor insect development and biological control strategies pertinent to each species. The reader should be able to identify most turf insects through the use of this text. It is a critical reference work that any serious turf professional should own.
Introduction
Authors: Barnhart Joslyn
Published: January 2021

This chapter shows that Germany's catastrophic reaction to humiliation engendered by the outcome of World War I was not an anomaly. It talks about how Germany's humiliation was representative of a broader pattern of international behavior in which states that have experienced certain humiliating events are more likely to engage in international aggression and intentionally defiant foreign policies. It also explains how humiliated states will be more apt to pursue territorial conquest, intervene in the affairs of other states, engage in diplomatic hostility and verbal discord, and pursue advanced weaponry and other symbols of national resurgence. Humiliated states engage in hostile behaviors because they define high international status and enables those who identify with the state to overcome humiliation and regain a sense of collective efficacy and authority. The chapter explores the ways in which the hostile acts toughen the image of the state in the eyes of others because they demonstrate the state's distinctive capabilities as well as its intention to restore prior status.
“Our Honeymoon with the U.S. Came to an end”
Authors: Barnhart Joslyn
Published: January 2021

This chapter examines the significant role that national humiliation played in shaping Soviet policy during the most dangerous period of the Cold War. It defines the relationship between the Soviets' sense of humiliation perpetuated by U.S. surveillance flyovers between 1957 and 1961 through Soviet airspace and Nikita Khrushchev's decision to break ties with the Americans and place missiles in Cuba. It also establishes the important role that humiliating events played in stimulating the symbolic competition for status on the African continent. The chapter examines the status dynamics in the period of intense status competition at the end of the nineteenth century. Just as French and German status-seeking strategies in Africa challenged the status and interests of England and Italy, the Soviet Union's attempts to seek status through material practices befitting their desired superpower status presented a potential challenge to the status of the United States.
The Oil Strategies of Nazi Germany
Authors: Kelanic Rosemary A.
Published: January 2021

This chapter analyzes four cases that span the Nazi era in Germany. From the beginning of the Nazi regime in March of 1933 until its defeat in April of 1945, the chapter identifies three major turning points: (1) Adolf Hitler's announcement of the Four-Year Plan in September of 1936; (2) the imposition of an Anglo-French naval blockade against Germany on September 3, 1939; and (3) the shift from blitzkrieg to attrition warfare against the Soviet Union in December of 1941. This divides the case into four distinct periods: March 1933 to August 1936; September 1936 until September 3, 1939; September 4, 1939, until the end of December 1941; and January 1942 through the end of the war in April 1945. Hitler's anticipatory strategies changed over time, in tandem with his country's coercive vulnerability, intensifying from self-sufficiency before World War II to indirect control at the war's start to, finally, direct control after Operation Barbarossa failed to speedily defeat the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). One would expect that Hitler, as the most expansionist leader of the twentieth century, would engage in conquest to get oil; yet primarily, he sought oil security through less extreme measures.
The Case of Literature
Authors: Höcker Arne
Published: January 2021

This book offers a radical reassessment of the modern European literary canon. The book's reinterpretations of Goethe, Schiller, Büchner, Döblin, Musil, and Kafka show how literary and scientific narratives have determined each other over the past three centuries, and it argues that modern literature not only contributed to the development of the human sciences but also established itself as the privileged medium for a modern style of case-based reasoning. The book traces the role of narrative fiction in relation to the scientific knowledge of the individual from eighteenth-century psychology and pedagogy to nineteenth-century sexology and criminology to twentieth-century psychoanalysis. The book demonstrates how modern authors consciously engaged casuistic forms of writing to arrive at new understandings of literary discourse that correspond to major historical transformations in the function of fiction. It argues for the centrality of literature to changes in the conceptions of psychological knowledge production around 1800; legal responsibility and institutionalized forms of decision-making throughout the nineteenth century; and literature's own realist demands in the early twentieth century.
The Public Image of Eastern Orthodoxy
Authors: Bailey Heather L.
Published: January 2021

Focusing on the period between the revolutions of 1848 to 1849 and the First Vatican Council (1869–1870), this book explores the circumstances under which westerners, concerned about the fate of the papacy, the Ottoman Empire, Poland, and Russian imperial power, began to conflate the Russian Orthodox Church with the state and to portray the Church as the political tool of despotic tsars. As the book demonstrates, in response to this reductionist view, Russian Orthodox publicists launched a public relations campaign in the West, especially in France, in the 1850s and 1860s. The linchpin of their campaign was the building of the impressive Saint Alexander Nevsky Church in Paris, consecrated in 1861. The book posits that, as the embodiment of the belief that Russia had a great historical purpose inextricably tied to Orthodoxy, the Paris church both reflected and contributed to the rise of religious nationalism in Russia that followed the Crimean War. At the same time, the confrontation with westerners' negative ideas about the Eastern Church fueled a reformist spirit in Russia while contributing to a better understanding of Eastern Orthodoxy in the West.
The Early World of Chigagou, 1600–1750
Authors: Spinney Robert G.
Published: January 2021

This chapter talks about a marshy area Native Americans called Chigagou, meaning the “wild-garlic place”. It describes Chigagou as an inhospitable place and very few American Indians wanted to live on the area's marshy land. It also points out that the ancestors of the Native Americans who settled in the Chigagou area came from Siberia. This chapter explains that Chigagou was never the site of a major settlement and its geographic location suggests it was a place that American Indians passed through while traveling. The chapter mentions white traders that realized that the Chigagou swamp amounted to a mini-continental divide. East of Chigagou, rivers flowed eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean, and, west of the swamp, rivers flowed westward toward the Mississippi River.
Boom, Bust, and Recovery in Early Chicago, 1835–1850
Authors: Spinney Robert G.
Published: January 2021

This chapter looks at the start of construction on the long-anticipated portage canal that would link Chicago with the westward-flowing Des Plaines River in 1836. It mentions Judge Theophilus Smith of the Illinois Supreme Court who predicted that Chicago would boast 20,000 inhabitants in twenty years and 50,000 in fifty years. The chapter describes the enthusiasm of the local residents of Chicago that were wildly optimistic about the town's prospects and their expectation of Chicago to grow quickly into a frontier metropolis. It also talks about the level-headed observers that had every reason to reject the prospects of Chicago dominating the Old Northwest since it was considered small, dirty, and unattractive in 1836. It describes Chicago's winters that were bitter and long, in which the ice closed Lake Michigan to shipping for at least one-third of every year.
Life in a City on the Make, 1850–1900
Authors: Spinney Robert G.
Published: January 2021

This chapter explores Chicago's remarkable economic growth that was accompanied by a meteoric increase in population. It explains how Chicago was home to 30,000 residents in 1850 and then rose to 1,700,000 in 1900, making Chicago the second largest city in the United States. It also describes how Chicagoans' lives consisted of more than marketing grain, selling lumber, processing meat, and filling catalog orders amidst critical economic growth. The chapter highlights how the residents in Chicago threw themselves into political battles as they shaped their rapidly growing city. It also mentions the Chicagoans' establishment of institutions ranging from water pumping stations to Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) buildings in order to meet their needs.
The Great Depression, World War II, and Suburban Growth, 1929–1955
Authors: Spinney Robert G.
Published: January 2021

This chapter discusses how Chicago's Century of Progress International Exposition drew to a triumphant close in late 1934. It explains how the world's fair used the occasion of Chicago's hundredth birthday to celebrate scientific progress. The chapter describes the years between 1929 and 1955, in which Chicago was first rocked by the Great Depression and highlights the economic prosperity during World War II and the postwar years. It speaks of the famous Chicago political machine, which was born in the early 1930s that both flowered and faltered during the next twenty years. It also looks into issues that plagued Chicago in the 1940s, such as the de facto racial segregation and the controversy over housing for the growing African American population.
Who Wrote That?
Authors: Ostrowski Donald
Published: January 2021

This book examines nine authorship controversies, providing an introduction to particular disputes and teaching students how to assess historical documents, archival materials, and apocryphal stories, as well as internet sources and news. The book does not argue in favor of one side over another but focuses on the principles of attribution used to make each case. While furthering the field of authorship studies, the book provides an essential resource for instructors at all levels in various subjects. It is ultimately about historical detective work. Using Moses, Analects, the Secret Gospel of Mark, Abelard and Heloise, the Compendium of Chronicles, Rashid al-Din, Shakespeare, Prince Andrei Kurbskii, James MacPherson, and Mikhail Sholokov, the book builds concrete examples that instructors can use to help students uncover the legitimacy of authorship and to spark the desire to turn over the hidden layers of history so necessary to the craft.
Contesting Precarity in Japan
Authors: Shibata Saori
Published: January 2021

This book details the new forms of workers' protest and opposition that have developed as Japan's economy has transformed over the past three decades and highlights their impact upon the country's policymaking process. Drawing on a new dataset charting protest events from the 1980s to the present, the book produces the first systematic study of Japan's new precarious labor movement. It details the movement's rise during Japan's post-bubble economic transformation and highlights the different and innovative forms of dissent that mark the end of the country's famously non-confrontational industrial relations. In doing so, moreover, the book shows how this new pattern of industrial and social tension is reflected within the country's macroeconomic policymaking, resulting in a new policy dissensus that has consistently failed to offer policy reforms that would produce a return to economic growth. As a result, the book argues that the Japanese model of capitalism has therefore become increasingly disorganized.
The Roots of Resilience
Authors: Weiss Meredith L.
Published: January 2021

This book examines governance from the ground up in the world's two most enduring electoral authoritarian or “hybrid” regimes—Singapore and Malaysia—where politically liberal and authoritarian features are blended to evade substantive democracy. Although skewed elections, curbed civil liberties, and a dose of coercion help sustain these regimes, selectively structured state policies and patronage, partisan machines that effectively stand in for local governments, and diligently sustained clientelist relations between politicians and constituents are equally important. While key attributes of these regimes differ, affecting the scope, character, and balance among national parties and policies, local machines, and personalized linkages—and notwithstanding a momentous change of government in Malaysia in 2018—the similarity in the overall patterns in these countries confirms the salience of these dimensions. As the book shows, taken together, these attributes accustom citizens to the system in place, making meaningful change in how electoral mobilization and policymaking happen all the harder to change. This authoritarian acculturation is key to the durability of both regimes, but, given weaker party competition and party–civil society links, is stronger in Singapore than Malaysia. High levels of authoritarian acculturation, amplifying the political payoffs of what parties and politicians actually provide their constituents, explain why electoral turnover alone is insufficient for real regime change in either state.
How Western Residents in Riyadh and Dubai Produce and Challenge Exceptionalism
Authors: Le Renard Amélie
Published: January 2021

This chapter discusses how exceptionalist discourses contribute to the production of distinctive Western subjectivities, and thus social groupings and hierarchies, in two cities of the Arabian Peninsula: Riyadh and Dubai. It considers two research projects. The first one, conducted in 2012, focused on nationalization policies in a multinational, joint-venture Saudi–French bank in Riyadh. It highlights Euro-North American managers' discourses on Saudi (male and female) employees. The second research project, conducted between 2012 and 2015, initially focused on Western residents in Dubai's professional organizations; however, lifestyles, domesticities, and sociability became a prominent part of the research. The chapter analyzes two prominent themes within the narratives collected among residents with French passports: backward sexism in Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, and slavery-like exploitation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on the other hand. These two tropes construct the widespread self-representation of Westerners as outsiders who are more advanced, both professionally and morally.
Intimacy across the Fencelines
Authors: Forgash Rebecca
Published: January 2021

This book examines intimacy in the form of sexual encounters, dating, marriage, and family that involve US service members and local residents. The book analyzes the stories of individual U.S. service members and their Okinawan spouses and family members against the backdrop of Okinawan history, political and economic entanglements with Japan and the United States, and a longstanding anti-base movement. The narratives highlight the simultaneously repressive and creative power of military “fencelines,” sites of symbolic negotiation and struggle involving gender, race, and class that divide the social landscape in communities that host US bases. The book anchors the global U.S. military complex and US–Japan security alliance in intimate everyday experiences and emotions, illuminating important aspects of the lived experiences of war and imperialism.
Comparative Evaluation of Three Skin Closure Materials- A Microbiological Pilot Study
Authors: Pandya Kalpa , Pradeep S , Prasad Rajendra B , Sharma SM , Shetty Veena
Published: January 2021

Introduction: The goal of a skin closure technique is to precisely approximate the wound edges without tension for sufficient time, to allow healing to take place. The presence of a suture in surgical wounds has been found to increase the tissue’s susceptibility to infection. Increased microbial colonisation in a particular area results in higher risk of infection. There are limited studies investigating the presence and the type of microbial colonisation with respect to different skin closure techniques, especially metal staples. Aim: To compare and analyse microbial colonisation and wound complications in association with the use of surgical staples, nylon and polypropylene suture material; and to compare and analyse the incidence of wound complications in association with these three materials. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 patients, of which 20 underwent closure by prolene, 20 by nylon and 20 by metal staples. The prolene sutures, nylon sutures and staples were removed on 8th to 14th day postoperatively. The removed suture fragments and the staples were inoculated aerobically in suitable culture media according to the standard methodology to look for microbial growth. The results were derived using repeated measures ANOVA and Chi-square test. Results: A total of 70% of the patients from prolene group were found to have bacterial growth on microbial colonisation, whereas 30% did not show any growth. In the nylon group, 50% of the patients demonstrated bacterial growth whereas the rest of the 50% showed no growth. In the staples group 95% of the patients did not show any bacterial growth on culture media and only 5% showed positive bacterial growth. All of these differences were highly statistically significant (p<0.001). The most common colonising bacteria was Staphylococcus aureus followed by Klebsiella spp followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggested that prolene was most prone to bacterial colonisation followed by nylon and staples. The most common micro-organisms found were Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella spp.
Cavernous Sinus Metastasis from Carcinoma of Buccal Mucosa- A Rare Case Report and Review of Literature
Authors: Nanda Sambit S , Patni Ayushi , Gandhi Ajeet K , Rastogi Madhup , Rath Satyajeet
Published: January 2021

Distant metastasis from Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (HNSCC) is uncommon, Cavernous Sinus (CS) metastasis being very rare. Infrequent presentation and misdiagnosis makes it a difficult entity to identify and treat. Hereby, Authors present a rare case of 47 year old male of CS metastasis from postoperative carcinoma of buccal mucosa. The patient was a histopathologically proven case of poorly differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of left buccal mucosa for which he underwent definitive surgery. During adjuvant Radiotherapy (RT) he developed severe headache, diplopia and ptosis. 18Fluorodeoxy-Glucose-Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography (18FDG PET-CT) revealed an FDG avid lesion in left CS suggestive of CS metastasis. In view of local recurrence and CS metastasis palliative RT was given. Patient responded well to palliative RT but succumbed to the disease within months. CS metastasis has poor prognosis with limited treatment options which include palliative RT, either External Beam Radiotherapy (EBRT) or radiosurgery to CS. Chemotherapy for disseminated disease has limited benefits due to lesser penetration of the blood brain barrier.
Gender-based Genetic Variability of Ailanthus excelsa Roxb, Populations Using, RAPD, ISSR and SCoT Markers
Authors: Bano Shabnam , Ansari Sumaiya , Choudhary Meena , Tomar U. K.
Published: January 2021

Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. is an economically important and multipurpose dioecious tree species of India, mainly used for fodder and timber. Gender-based genetic diversity of five populations of two sites (Jodhpur, Rajasthan and Deesa, Gujarat) of A. excelsa was assessed. A total of 42 RAPD, 20 ISSR and 23 SCoT primers were screened for DNA amplification of 232 individuals. Out of which only 25 primers (13 RAPD, 6 ISSR and 6 SCoT) were found polymorphic. The SCoT markers were showed the highest value for PIC, MI, Rp value, Nei’s gene diversity and Shannon’s index, as compared with the other two markers. Female individuals in all five populations had slightly higher genetic diversity as compared with male individuals. A high level of genetic diversity (55%) was detected within the populations of male and female individuals. High gene flow (6.70) and low genetic differentiation (0.069) values were found between Jodhpur and Deesa sites. Principal component analysis for all populations were accounted for 48.7% of the genetic variation. The Mantel test showed significant correlation (R = 0.178, P = .01) between genetic and geographic distances. The present study showed that SCoT markers were best for genetic diversity assessment in A. excelsa over RAPD and ISSR markers. High gene flow and low genetic differentiation in A. excelsa indicates its poor population fragmentation despite long geographic distances.
In vitro and In vivo Anticonvulsant Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Moringa stenopetala in Mice Models
Authors: Salile Samson Sahile , Abula Teferra
Published: January 2021

Background: Epilepsy is a debilitating neurological disorder that directly affects approximately 65 million people worldwide. In the search of safe and effective antiepileptics traditional treatment practices are one area of research to obtain novel molecules. Moringa stenopetala root is claimed to be used for epilepsy treatment in Konso area, Southern Ethiopia. But there was no scientific research evidence for the claimed use of the plant.

Objective: This study was conducted to explore the anticonvulsant activity of hydro-alcoholic (80% methanol) extract of root of Moringa stenopetala.

Methods: The dry residues of the plant extract was used for the test. In vitro 0Mg2+ mice model at dose 0.7 mg/kg of extract, diazepam(3μM) and untreated brain slice groups were used to compare the presence of seizure like event (SLE). In vivo pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) model with 85 mg/kg subcutaneously was used to compare the seizure on set time with two extract doses and diazepam 5 mg/kg. The data was presented with mean± standard error. In maximum electric shock (MES) model 54 mA was passed for 0.2 second transauricularly in mice. The mean time of hind limb extension was recorded for doses 400 mg/kg and 800mg/kg of the extract and 10 mg/kg phenytoin. The means were compared for statistical significance using one way ANOVA post hoc LSD whereas proportions were compared using Fishers exact test with P-value < .05.

Results: M. stenopetala extract has shown statistically significant anticonvulsant activity in vitro compared to control (P<.05). A positive control, the known anticonvulsant diazepam (3μM), showed significant anticonvulsant activity (P<.05). In vivo MES model showed statistically significant anti-seizure activity at both doses (P<.05). But the crude extract failed to show statistically significant activity at all doses of PTZ model (P>.05).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that crude extract of Moringa stenopetala exhibited anti-convulsant effect both in vitro and in vivo MES models.
The non‐peptidomimetic IAP antagonist ASTX660 sensitizes colorectal cancer cells for extrinsic apoptosis
Authors: Knoll Gertrud , Ehrenschwender Martin
Published: January 2021

Apoptosis resistance worsens treatment response in cancer and is associated with poor prognosis. Inhibition of anti‐apoptotic proteins can restore cell death and improve treatment efficacy. cIAP1, cIAP2, and XIAP belong to the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family and block apoptosis. Targeting IAPs with peptides or peptidomimetics mimicking the IAP‐antagonizing activity of the cell's endogenous IAP antagonist SMAC (SMAC mimetics) showed promising results and fueled development of novel compounds. ASTX660 belongs to the recently introduced class of non‐peptidomimetic IAP antagonists and successfully completed phase I clinical trials. However, ASTX660 has thus far only been evaluated in few cancer entities. Here, we demonstrate that ASTX660 has cell death‐promoting activity in colorectal cancer and provide a head‐to‐head comparison with birinapant, the clinically most advanced peptidomimetic IAP antagonist. ASTX660 facilitates activation of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway upon stimulation with the death ligands TNF and TRAIL and boosts effector caspase activation and subsequent apoptosis. Mechanistically, ASTX660 enhances amplification of death receptor‐generated apoptotic signals in a mitochondria‐dependent manner. Failure to activate the mitochondria‐associated (intrinsic) apoptosis pathway attenuated the apoptosis‐promoting effect of ASTX660. Further clinical studies are warranted to highlight the therapeutic potential of ASTX660 in colorectal cancer.
Trump's HHS eliminates x‐waiver in last days of administration
Authors: Knopf Alison
Published: January 2021

The federal government's Jan. 14, 5 p.m. announcement that it would remove the eight‐hour training requirement for buprenorphine prescribers in order to facilitate treatment for opioid use disorders (OUD) during the increasing overdose epidemic was met with approval by harm‐reduction advocates and the American Medical Association (AMA). However, addiction treatment advocates, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), which appeared to be blindsided by the announcement; H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., former director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); David A. Fiellin, M.D., director of the Program in Addiction Medicine and Professor of Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine; and Elinore McCance‐Katz, M.D., Ph.D., who abruptly resigned from her position as SAMHSA administrator because of her disgust at President Trump's incitement of the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill (see ADAW, Jan. 18), all expressed varying degrees of reservations about the policy.
Patients with anxiety and depression likely to have cravings
Authors: Knopf Alison
Published: January 2021

Researchers have found that delay discounting (future versus immediate rewards) and cue‐induced craving were increased in patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) compared to controls. The delay discounting and craving scores were unrelated to methadone dosage, duration on methadone, withdrawal symptoms or nicotine dependence. Elevated delay discounting is of course present with opioid use disorder (OUD) as it is with all substance use disorders, but whether it continues with treatment was unclear.
Intensifying Heat Using MOF‐Isolated Graphene for Solar‐Driven Seawater Desalination at 98% Solar‐to‐Thermal Efficiency
Authors: Han Xuemei , Besteiro Lucas V. , Koh Charlynn Sher Lin , Lee Hiang Kwee , Phang In Yee , Phan‐Quang Gia Chuong , Ng Jing Yi , Sim Howard Yi Fan , Lay Chee Leng , Govorov Alexander , Ling Xing Yi
Published: January 2021

Photothermal materials are crucial for diverse heating applications, but it remains challenging to achieve high energy conversion efficiency due to the difficulty to concurrently improve light absorbance and suppress heat loss. Herein, a zeolitic imidazolate framework‐isolated graphene (G@ZIF) nanohybrid is demonstrated that utilizes ultrathin, heat‐insulating ZIF layers, and G@ZIF interfacial nanocavity to synergistically intensify light absorbance and heat localization. Under artificial sunlight illumination (≈1 kW m−2), the G@ZIF film attains a maximum temperature of 120 °C in an open environment with a 98% solar‐to‐thermal conversion efficiency. Importantly, the porous ZIF layer allows small molecules/media to enter and access the embedded hot graphene surface for targeted heat transfer in practical applications. As a proof‐of‐concept, the G@ZIF‐based steam generator realizes 96% energy conversion from light to vapor with near‐perfect desalination and water purification efficiencies (>99.9%). This design is generic and can be extended to other photothermal systems for advanced solar‐thermal applications, including catalysis, water treatments, sterilization, and mechanical actuation.
Photonic Vitrimer Elastomer with Self‐Healing, High Toughness, Mechanochromism, and Excellent Durability based on Dynamic Covalent Bond
Authors: Niu Wenbin , Cao Xianfei , Wang Yunpeng , Yao Bowen , Zhao Yusen , Cheng Jie , Wu Suli , Zhang Shufen , He Ximin
Published: January 2021

Vitrimers, with their unique dynamic covalent bonds, possess attractive self‐healability and mechanical robustness, providing an intriguing opportunity to construct functional soft materials. However, their potential for function recovery, especially optical function, is underexplored. Harnessing the synergistic effect of photonic crystals and vitrimers, a novel photonic vitrimer with light regulating and self‐healing capabilities is presented. The resulting photonic vitrimer exhibits a large tensile strain (>1000%), high toughness (21.2 kJ m−3), bright structural color, and mechanochromism. Notably, the structural color remains constant even after 10 000 stretching/releasing cycles, showing superior mechanical stability, creep‐resistance, and excellent durability. More importantly, the exchange of dynamic covalent bonds imparts the photonic vitrimer with a self‐healing ability (>95% efficiency), enabling the recovery of its optical function. Benefiting from the above merits, the photonic vitrimer has been successfully used as a sensor for human motion detection, which demonstrates visualized interactive sensibility even after self‐repairing. This material design provides a general strategy for optical functionalization of vitrimers. The photonic vitrimer elastomers present great potential as resilient functional soft materials for diverse flexible devices and a novel optical platform for soft robotics, smart wearable devices, and human‐machine interaction.
Biomimetic Design of Mitochondria‐Targeted Hybrid Nanozymes as Superoxide Scavengers
Authors: Zhang Yue , Khalique Anila , Du Xinchen , Gao Zhanxia , Wu Jin , Zhang Xiangyun , Zhang Ran , Sun Zhiyuan , Liu Qiqi , Xu Zhelong , Midgley Adam C. , Wang Lianyong , Yan Xiyun , Zhuang Jie , Kong Deling , Huang Xinglu
Published: January 2021

Development of enzyme mimics for the scavenging of excessive mitochondrial superoxide (O2•−) can serve as an effective strategy in the treatment of many diseases. Here, protein reconstruction technology and nanotechnology is taken advantage of to biomimetically create an artificial hybrid nanozyme. These nanozymes consist of ferritin‐heavy‐chain‐based protein as the enzyme scaffold and a metal nanoparticle core as the enzyme active center. This artificial cascade nanozyme possesses superoxide dismutase‐ and catalase‐like activities and also targets mitochondria by overcoming multiple biological barriers. Using cardiac ischemia‐reperfusion animal models, the protective advantages of the hybrid nanozymes are demonstrated in vivo during mitochondrial oxidative injury and in the recovery of heart functionality following infarction via systemic delivery and localized release from adhesive hydrogels (i.e., cardiac patch), respectively. This study illustrates a de novo design strategy in the development of enzyme mimics and provides a promising therapeutic option for alleviating oxidative damage in regenerative medicine.
Smart Thermally Switchable Liquid Crystal Window
Authors: Jiang Yingfei , Zhou Yaqing , Wang Meng , Yang Deng-Ke
Published: January 2021

Global warming, due to the consumption of fossil energy, is one of the biggest challenges in recent days. Air conditioning (cooling and heating) of office and residential buildings is one of the largest energy consumptions. One way to reduce the energy consumption is to use switchable architectural windows, which can control radiant energy flow. Herein, a smart thermally switchable window with transmittance sensitive to ambient temperature is reported. This smart window is based on a liquid crystal (LC) whose orientation varies with temperature. At temperatures lower than a low threshold temperature, such as in winter, the LC orients perpendicular to the window substrate, and the window is transparent and lets sunlight pass it to warm interiors of buildings. At temperatures higher than a high threshold temperature, such as in summer, the LC orients parallel to the substrate. The window becomes absorbing and blocks sunlight, resulting in a reduction of the solar heating. When temperature varies between these two thresholds, the window has gray‐level transmittances. It does not use electricity and is very energy‐saving, and has an immense potential in applications of smart architectural and vehicle windows.
Bridging Structural Inhomogeneity to Functionality: Pair Distribution Function Methods for Functional Materials Development
Authors: Zhu He , Huang Yalan , Ren Jincan , Zhang Binghao , Ke Yubin , Jen Alex K.‐Y. , Zhang Qiang , Wang Xun‐Li , Liu Qi
Published: January 2021

The correlation between structure and function lies at the heart of materials science and engineering. Especially, modern functional materials usually contain inhomogeneities at an atomic level, endowing them with interesting properties regarding electrons, phonons, and magnetic moments. Over the past few decades, many of the key developments in functional materials have been driven by the rapid advances in short‐range crystallographic techniques. Among them, pair distribution function (PDF) technique, capable of utilizing the entire Bragg and diffuse scattering signals, stands out as a powerful tool for detecting local structure away from average. With the advent of synchrotron X‐rays, spallation neutrons, and advanced computing power, the PDF can quantitatively encode a local structure and in turn guide atomic‐scale engineering in the functional materials. Here, the PDF investigations in a range of functional materials are reviewed, including ferroelectrics/thermoelectrics, colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) magnets, high‐temperature superconductors (HTSC), quantum dots (QDs), nano‐catalysts, and energy storage materials, where the links between functions and structural inhomogeneities are prominent. For each application, a brief description of the structure‐function coupling will be given, followed by selected cases of PDF investigations. Before that, an overview of the theory, methodology, and unique power of the PDF method will be also presented.
Graphene‐Based Nanotechnology in Neurodegenerative Disorders
Authors: Tapeinos Christos
Published: January 2021

Graphene‐based materials (GBMs) demonstrate unique electrochemical, mechanical, thermal, and optical properties rendering them attractive candidates for numerous biomedical applications. Since graphene's discovery, GBMs have been at the forefront of biomedical research offering innovative solutions for numerous diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders (NDs). There are numerous reviews in which synthesis and functionalization methods of GBMs are discussed. However, this review focuses specifically on the recent research advances of GBMs for NDs, and more specifically, on sensing and therapeutic applications. After a short description of NDs’ main characteristics, significant attention is given to the functionalization strategies used to improve the biomedical properties of GBMs, and recent applications for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A description of the use of GBMs and neural stem cell technology and known toxicity issues, followed by several limitations that current GBMs need to overcome, completes this review.
‘My Child is Anxious Because We Might Get Deported’: Brief Therapy from MRI with an Immigrant Family in the United States
Authors: Schlanger Karin , Viorreta Rocío Torralba , Arnal Gloria Díaz , Sánchez Ana Pascual
Published: January 2021

As we go to press in a COVID‐19 world, the topic of anxiety is foremost on our minds. While each situation has to be considered in its own context, how to manage different anxieties has common denominators. There is currently a sharp increase in forced migration around the globe so mental health professionals must develop effective skills, like the ability to adapt services to different contexts and cultures, to manage the needs of immigrant people. Problem‐Solving Brief Therapy, as developed at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, is a systemic model of therapy, which aims at promoting change in the complaint the presenting client (the ‘talker’) cares about. The model’s roots in Constructivism foster integrating the clients’ beliefs and values into therapy to allow the therapists to adapt to the clients’ particular needs. This paper is the analysis of a single case where the therapist worked with an immigrant family because their child suffered from severe anxiety related to the parents’ threatened deportation. The paper focuses on premises and strategies that allowed minimising cultural barriers between therapists and family members, thus facilitating a strong therapeutic alliance conducive to improvement.
Facile preparation of light‐weight biodegradable and electrically conductive polymer based nanocomposites for superior electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness
Authors: Nath Krishnendu , Ghosh Sabyasachi , Ghosh Suman Kumar , Das Palash , Das Narayan Ch.
Published: January 2021

Harmful electromagnetic radiations that are generated from different electronic devices could be absorbed by a light weight and mechanically flexible good electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding polymer nanocomposite. On the other hand, different electronic wastes (“e‐wastes”) which are generally polymer building materials generated from wastes of dysfunctional electronic devices are not naturally biodegradable. Our recent effort has been employed to produce bio‐degradable EMI shielding polymer nanocomposite. For that purpose, we had prepared a 50:50 ratio polylactic acid/thermoplastic polyurethane polymer nanocomposite by mixing the conducting carbon black with the blend following the facile and industrially feasible solution mixing method. Morphological characterizations by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the co‐continuous morphology of the neat blend as well as polymer nanocomposites with the preferential distribution of conductive filler on a particular polymer phase. The polymer nanocomposites gave good mechanically with improved thermal properties. We got EMI shielding effectiveness around −27 dB with a low percolation threshold at around 30 wt% filler loading in the polymer nanocomposite at the X‐band frequency domain (8.2–12.4 GHz). Later we had studied the biodegradability of the PLA/TPU along with their composites (TXPXCX) by employing the respirometry method and got a satisfactory result to ensure their biodegradability.
Coadministration of ARV (Atripla) and Topiramate disrupts quail cardiac neural crest cell migration
Authors: Tshabalala Thabiso , Nkomozepi Pilani , Ihunwo Amadi Ogonda , Mbajiorgu Felix
Published: January 2021

Introduction

Congenital anomalies such as ventricular septal defects and truncus communis have been reported with the prenatal use of antiretroviral therapy. The mechanism of antiretroviral therapy teratogenicity is unclear and is therefore the focus of this study. Some human immunodeficiency virus patients on antiretrovirals are placed on antiepileptic drugs which are also teratogenic. The interactive effects arising from this therapeutic combination may affect their teratogenic propensity through their effects on neural crest cell migration.

Methods

Appropriately cultured neural crest cells from dissected neural tubes of 32‐hr old quail embryos exposed to culture media containing peak plasma levels of Atripla, Topiramate and the combination of both were studied. Distance of migration of neural crest cells was measured using the migration assay and the cells were stained with rhodamine phalloidin to evaluate the cell actin. Also quail neural crest cells were brought into suspension and microinjected into chick hosts to determine the migration of the cells to the interventricular septum.

Results

Migration of cultured neural crest cells was extensive in the control cultures, but inhibited in the treated groups. The experimental cultures showed a disarray of actin cytoskeleton contrary to normal distribution of actin filaments in controls. Significantly, few quail neural crest cells migrated to the interventricular septum of chick host embryos compared to the control cultures. The coadministration of topiramate with antiretroviral therapy does not seem to affect the activity of the antiretroviral drug.

Conclusion

These results indicate that Atripla and Topiramate cause ventricular septal defects by inhibiting the migration of cardiac neural crest cells.
Kv1.1 deficiency alters repetitive and social behaviors in mice and rescues autistic‐like behaviors due to Scn2a haploinsufficiency
Authors: Indumathy Jagadeeswaran , Pruitt April , Gautier Nicole M. , Crane Kaitlin , Glasscock Edward
Published: January 2021

Background

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy are highly comorbid, suggesting potential overlap in genetic etiology, pathophysiology, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities; however, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. This work investigated how two ion channel mutations, one associated with autism (Scn2a‐null) and one with epilepsy (Kcna1‐null), interact to modify genotype–phenotype relationships in the context of autism. Previous studies have shown that Scn2a+/– ameliorates epilepsy in Kcna1–/– mice, improving survival, seizure characteristics, and brain–heart dynamics. Here, we tested the converse, whether Kcna1 deletion modifies ASD‐like repetitive and social behaviors in Scn2a+/– mice.

Methods

Mice were bred with various combinations of Kcna1 and Scn2a knockout alleles. Animals were assessed for repetitive behaviors using marble burying, grooming, and nestlet shredding tests and for social behaviors using sociability and social novelty preference tests.

Results

Behavioral testing revealed drastic reductions in all repetitive behaviors in epileptic Kcna1–/– mice, but relatively normal social interactions. In contrast, mice with partial Kcna1 deletion (Kcna1+/–) exhibited increased self‐grooming and decreased sociability suggestive of ASD‐like features similar to those observed in Scn2a+/– mice. In double‐mutant Scn2a+/–; Kcna1+/– mice, the two mutations interacted to partially normalize ASD‐like behaviors associated with each mutation independently.

Conclusions

Taken together, these findings suggest that Kv1.1 subunits are important in pathways and neural networks underlying ASD and that Kcna1 may be a therapeutic target for treatment of Scn2a‐associated ASD.
Circ_0008305‐mediated miR‐660/BAG5 axis contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma tumorigenesis
Authors: Yan Fuguo , Fan Bin , Wang Jianchu , Wei Wang , Tang Qianli , Lu Libai , Luo Zongjiang , Pu Jian , Yang Shan‐Shan
Published: January 2021

Increasing circRNAs have attracted a lot of attention because of their significant biological effects in many diseases. It has been reported that circ_0008305 can modulate lung cancer progression. However, the association between circ_0008305 and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) needs to be well explored. In this current research, we studied the molecular function and potential mechanism of circ_0008305 in HCC progression. First, it was demonstrated that circ_0008305 was greatly increased in HCC tissues and cells. Moreover, we observed silencing circ_0008305 markedly repressed HCC cells in vitro growth and reduced tumor growth in vivo. Additionally, it was identified that circ_0008305 can act as a sponge of miR‐660 while miR‐660 targeted Bcl‐2‐associated athanogene 5 (BAG5). BAG5 belongs to a member of BAG family and it is involved in multiple diseases. We reported that circ_0008305 contributed to the inhibition of miR‐660, which resulted in an upregulated expression of BAG5 in HCC. Subsequently, rescue assays were conducted and it was indicated that loss of BAG5 reversed the effects of miR‐660 inhibitors on HCC partially. To sum up, it was illustrated by our study that circ_0008305‐mediated miR‐660‐5p/BAG5 axis triggered HCC progression, which could provide a novel insight on the underlying mechanism of HCC progression.
Unmasking right ventricular failure in cardiogenic shock: The importance of serial hemodynamics
Authors: Lemor Alejandro , Al‐Darzi Waleed , O'Neill William , Basir Mir Babar
Published: January 2021

A 65‐year‐old female was transferred with myocardial infarction, three‐vessel coronary artery disease, cardiogenic shock and an intraaortic balloon pump. Given persistent shock, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) was upgraded using a left ventricular hemodynamic support device (Impella CP). The patient was monitored in the catheterization laboratory and serial hemodynamic measures were obtained. Initial hemodynamics showed relative improvement; however, serial assessments demonstrated worsening hemodynamics secondary to right ventricular failure, ultimately requiring a right ventricular hemodynamic support device. The case highlights the rapid changes that can occur with mechanical circulatory support devices and demonstrates the importance of obtaining serial hemodynamics in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Synchronous p16+ nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: a case report and review
Authors: Ali Muhammad , Kua Hock , Giddings Charles , Day Daphne , McDowell Lachlan
Published: January 2021

We report a case of synchronous p16+ SCC involving both the nasopharynx and base of tongue treated with definitive chemo‐radiotherapy with concurrent high dose cisplatin. The nasopharyngeal lesion was detected incidentally on PET/CT imaging. Head and neck clinicians treating p16+ SCC should consider the possibility of synchronous lesions, including lesions which may be located in the lymphoid tissue of the nasopharynx.
Iatrogenic left circumflex coronary occlusion following mitral valve replacement surgery: A case report
Authors: Yavari Negin , Ghorbanpour Landy Mina , Motevali Yasaman , Tavousi Tabatabaei Elham , Mansourian Soheil , Mohseni Badalabadi Reza , Javad Mehrabanian Mohammad , Hossein Ahmadi Tafti Seyed
Published: January 2021

Injury to epicardial coronary arteries following mitral valve replacement surgery, albeit rare, could have fatal complications. In this case, we suggest conservative medical treatment as a safe approach in patients who are not suitable to undergo revascularization.
Uncommon but valuable for diagnosis: Green deposits on peritoneal fluid cytospins
Authors: Lesesve Jean‐François , Gérard Delphine , Burgevin Alice
Published: January 2021

When ascites fluids are observed under the microscope, unshaped greenish deposits should not be considered as artifacts but should rather prompt to bile leakage assessment.