bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simultaneously Toughening and Reinforcing Polylactide by Regulating the Distribution of Core–Shell Rubber Particles with Carbon Black
Authors: Liu Huili , Yan Yanan , Cai Jiaming , Bai Dongyu , Liu Song , Wang Jianchuan , Gao Guangyong
Published: August 2022

Stiffness–toughness balance is an important issue in rubber toughened polymer blends. In this work, a facile and effective route to simultaneously toughen and reinforce polylactide (PLA) by regulating the distribution of core–shell rubber (CSR) nanoparticles with carbon black (CB) is reported. The PLA/CSR/CB nanocomposites are prepared via direct melt‐blending PLA, CSR, and CB nanoparticles with different self‐aggregate capabilities. The FTIR and DFT calculation results reveal that the interactions between CB and CSR are stronger than those between CB and PLA. Thus, CB nanoparticles with high self‐aggregate capability (HCB) can drive CSR nanoparticles to join into the HCB network structures and form CSR‐HCB network structures in the PLA/CSR/HCB nanocomposites. However, for the CB nanoparticles with low self‐aggregate capability (LCB), uniform dispersion of both CSR nanoparticles and small‐sized CB clusters in the PLA/CSR/LCB nanocomposites is observed. Compared to the network structures, the uniform dispersion structure can endow PLA/CSR/CB nanocomposites with much better stiffness–toughness balance performances. Additionally, the distribution of CSR nanoparticles on the rheological properties of PLA/CSR/CB nanocomposites are studied. This work reveals significant correlations between distribution of CSR nanoparticles and properties of PLA nanocomposites, which is helpful to prepare high‐performance PLA materials.
High‐gain stabilization for an axially moving beam under boundary feedback control
Authors: Li Cuiying , Cheng Yi , O'Regan Donal
Published: August 2022

This paper establishes the global existence and high‐gain stabilization of a nonlinear axially moving beam with control input at the free boundary. A high‐gain controller based on the transverse velocity feedbacks of the moving beam at the free end is designed. The existence and uniqueness of the solution depending on the initial values continuously for the resulting closed‐loop system are established by invoking the Faedo–Galerkin approximation approach. Then constructing a novel energy‐like function, the explicit exponential decay rate of the closed‐loop system is obtained via a generalized Gronwall‐type integral inequality.
The attractivity of functional hereditary integral equations
Authors: Fang Qingxiang , Liu Xiaoping , Peng Jigen
Published: August 2022

In this paper, the problem of attractivity of solutions for functional hereditary integral equations is initiated. A hereditary integral equation is converted into a second kind Volterra integral equation of convolution type by use of the property of convolution. Sufficient conditions for the existence of attractive solutions are established according to the fixed point theorem. The conclusions presented in this paper extend some published results. The effectiveness of the proposed results is illustrated by three numerical examples.
Quantitative uncertainty principles associated with the k$$ k $$‐Hankel wavelet transform on ℝd$$ {\mathbb{R}}^d $$
Authors: Mejjaoli Hatem , Shah Firdous A.
Published: August 2022

The
‐Hankel wavelet transform (
‐HWT) is a novel addition to the class of wavelet transforms, which has gained a respectable status in the realm of time‐frequency signal analysis within a short span of time. Knowing the fact that the study of uncertainty principles is both theoretically interesting and practically useful, we formulate several qualitative uncertainty principles for the
‐Hankel wavelet transform. First, we formulate the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle governing the simultaneous localization of a signal and the corresponding
‐HWT via three approaches:
‐type,
‐type, and
‐entropy based. Second, we derive some weighted uncertainty inequalities such as the Pitt's and Beckner's uncertainty inequalities for the
‐HWT. We culminate our study by formulating several concentration‐based uncertainty principles, including the Amrein–Berthier–Benedicks's and local inequalities for the
‐Hankel wavelet transform.
A fractional Borel–Pompeiu type formula and a related fractional ψ−$$ \psi - $$Fueter operator with respect to a vector‐valued function
Authors: González‐Cervantes José Oscar , Bory‐Reyes Juan
Published: August 2022

In this paper, we combine the fractional
hyperholomorphic function theory with the fractional calculus with respect to another function. As a main result, a fractional Borel–Pompeiu type formula related to a fractional
Fueter operator with respect to a vector‐valued function is proved.
High‐efficiency broadband rectifier with compact size for wireless power transfer
Authors: Long Hong‐Jun , Cheng Fei , Yu Sha , Gu Chao , Huang Kama
Published: August 2022

In this letter, an efficient broadband microwave rectifier with compact size for wireless power transfer is presented. It is proven that the proposed voltage doubler is easier to be matched than the series diode rectifier to achieve a wide bandwidth. In our analysis, the voltage doubler itself is already matched without the input matching network at the lower frequency band. For higher frequency band matching, a short section of microstrip line is connected to the input port of the voltage doubler. Thus, the proposed rectifier can operate over a broad bandwidth. To verify the design concept, a rectifier is fabricated, and the measurement results demonstrate that the power conversion efficiency is greater than 50% from 0.1 to 4.3 GHz at an 18 dBm input power level, and is higher than 70% within a wide bandwidth of 76.9%. In addition, when the input power is 18 dBm, the peak efficiency is 76.36% at 1.4 GHz. The results show that the proposed rectifier has the merits of compact size, broad bandwidth, and high efficiency.
Nano meets macro: Furnishing the surface of polymer molds with gold‐nanoparticle arrays
Authors: Wang Ruosong , Zimmermann Philipp , Schletz Daniel , Hoffmann Marisa , Probst Patrick , Fery Andreas , Nagel Jürgen , Rossner Christian
Published: August 2022

The formation of well‐defined, functional surfaces that incorporate the unique properties of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) requires robust and scalable fabrication strategies. Herein, we report a methodology for the decoration of polymer molds with plasmonic (gold) nanoparticle arrays. Wrinkled soft templates were used to assemble gold NPs (74 nm) into line arrays. These pre‐formed nanoparticle arrays were transferred in a subsequent step onto polycarbonate molds via an injection molding process. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the structural fidelity of the pattern structure upon transfer. The preservation of the optical functionality of the gold nanoparticle line arrays was proven by surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments. The reported strategy of nanoparticle pattern transfer to polymer bodies by this robust process is expected to prove useful for the fabrication of polymer surfaces with tailored optical functionality.
Impact of nutrition status and body mass index on mortality in hospitalized general medical patients: A prospective observational study
Authors: Agrawal Vineet , Subitha Lakshminarayanan , Medha Rajappa , Deepanjali Surendran
Published: August 2022

Background

Malnutrition and low body mass index (BMI) are risk factors for mortality in hospitalized patients. Data substantiating this are unavailable for hospitalized general medical patients in our setting. We studied the prevalence of malnutrition among patients admitted to general medical wards in a tertiary care hospital and its role as a risk factor for 1‐month mortality. We also investigated the association of BMI with mortality.

Methods

In this prospective observational study, nutrition assessment using Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and anthropometric measurements was performed in 395 hospitalized general medical patients. Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Modified Early Warning System (MEWS) score were calculated. Clinical course and vital status at 1 month after discharge was noted. Factors associated with mortality were identified using logistic regression.

Results

The mean age of the study population was 46.2 + 16.1 years; 247 (62.5%) were males. Of 395 patients, 129 (32.7%) belonged to SGA A, 155 (39.2%) to SGA B, and 111 (28.1%) to SGA C. Mean (±SD) BMI was 23.38 (±5.33); 141 (35.6%) were obese. Mortality was observed in 61 (15.4%) patients. Patients in the lowest BMI quartile had the lowest mortality. The adjusted regression analysis showed that higher age and MEWS scores were independently associated with mortality. Severe malnourishment (SGA C) was another important predictor. Further, the odds of death increased consistently across the consecutive BMI quartiles.

Conclusion

Higher age, higher MEWS scores, severe malnourishment, and higher BMI scores were independent risk factors for 1‐month mortality in hospitalized general medical patients.
Examining the relationship between corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation and brand equity in Indian banking industry
Authors: Aggarwal Aanchal , Saxena Noopur
Published: August 2022

This study is an attempt to explain the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate reputation, and brand equity in India's banking sector. The study uses Carroll's Pyramid of CSR and the ‘triple bottom line concept’ as the theoretical bases for proposing a conceptual model. The data pertaining to 482 saving bank customers were analysed using structural equation modelling for this study. The integrated effect of CSR and corporate reputation on brand equity has been examined using the analyses of both the direct and indirect model paths. The findings show that corporate reputation partially mediates the relationship between CSR and brand equity, and that there exists a direct relationship between CSR and brand equity. This research has significant implications for CSR managers seeking to gain a competitive advantage in the industry by focusing upon the CSR activities that help an organisation build a positive corporate reputation, leading to a high level of brand equity.
Tumour budding and poorly differentiated clusters in colon cancer – different manifestations of partial epithelial–mesenchymal transition
Authors: Pavlič Ana , Boštjančič Emanuela , Kavalar Rajko , Ilijevec Bojan , Bonin Serena , Zanconati Fabrizio , Zidar Nina
Published: August 2022

Morphological features including infiltrative growth, tumour budding (TB), and poorly differentiated clusters (PDCs) have a firmly established negative predictive value in colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite extensive research, the mechanisms underlying different tumour growth patterns remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in TB and PDCs in CRC. Using laser‐capture microdissection, we obtained distinct parts of the primary CRC including TB, PDCs, expansive tumour front, and the central part of the tumour, and analysed the expression of EMT‐related markers, i.e. the miR‐200 family, ZEB1/2, RND3, and CDH1. In TB, the miR‐200 family and CDH1 were significantly downregulated, while ZEB2 was significantly upregulated. In PDCs, miR‐141, miR‐200c, and CDH1 were significantly downregulated. No significant differences were observed in the expression of any EMT‐related markers between the expansive tumour front and the central part of the tumour. Our results suggest that both TB and PDCs are related to partial EMT. Discrete differences in morphology and expression of EMT‐related markers between TB and PDCs indicate that they represent different manifestations of partial EMT. TB seems to be closer to complete EMT than PDCs. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Long‐term spatiotemporal dynamics in a mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forest in south‐east Norway
Authors: Nygaard Per Holm , Bøhler Fredrik , Øyen Bernt‐Håvard , Tveite Bjørn
Published: August 2022

Mountain birch forest covers large areas in Eurasia, and their ecological resilience provides important ecosystem services to human societies. This study describes long‐term stand dynamics based on permanent plots in the upper mountain birch belt in SE Norway. We also present forest line changes over a period of 70 years. Inventories were conducted in 1931, 1953, and 2007. Overall, there were small changes from 1931 up to 1953 followed by a marked increase in biomass and dominant height of mountain birch throughout the period from 1953 to 2007. In addition, the biomass of spruce (Picea abies) and the number of plots with spruce present doubled. The high mortality rate of larger birch stems and large recruitment by sprouting since the 1960s reveal recurrent rejuvenation events after the earlier outbreak of the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata). Our results demonstrate both a high stem turnover in mountain birch and a great ability to recover after disturbances. This trend is interpreted as regrowth after a moth attack, but also long‐term and time‐lagged responses due to slightly improved growth conditions. An advance of the mountain birch forest line by 0.71 m year−1 from 1937 to 2007 was documented, resulting in a total reduction of the alpine area by 12%. Most of the changes in the forest line seem to have taken place after 1960. Regarding silviculture methods in mountain birch, a dimension cutting of larger birch trees with a cutting interval of c. 60 years seems to be a sustainable alternative for mimicking natural processes.
Total band alignment in theoretical and experimental aspects for enhanced performance of flexible and Cd‐free Cu (In,Ga)(S,Se)2 solar cell fabricated by all‐dry process
Authors: Chantana Jakapan , Kawano Yu , Mavlonov Abdurashid , Minemoto Takashi
Published: August 2022

Total band alignment parameters, which are CBO, ΔEC‐TA, and ΔEC‐TB values, in the Cu (In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSSe) solar cells are theoretically and experimentally optimized. Conduction band minimum (EC) difference between the CIGSSe absorber and buffer is represented by CBO, and that between absorber and transparent conductive oxide (TCO) is denoted by ΔEC‐TA. The EC difference between buffer and TCO is represented by ΔEC‐TA. Based on the measurement of photoelectron yield spectroscopy, the actual CBO, ΔEC‐TA, and ΔEC‐TB values are disclosed. According to the numerical simulation, the useful overview information about the appropriate CBO, ΔEC‐TA, and ΔEC‐TB values is disclosed for the selections of the suitable buffer and TCO materials to reduce the carrier recombination, thus enhancing the photovoltaic performances of the CIGSSe solar cell. As a result, the sputtered Zn0.84Mg0.16O buffer and sputtered Zn0.88Mg0.12O:Al TCO layers are experimentally applied for the appropriate CBO of +0.11 eV, ΔEC‐TA of +0.16 eV, and ΔEC‐TB of +0.05 eV, thus giving rise to the flexible, Cd‐free, and all‐dry process CIGSSe solar cell on stainless steel substrate with the increased conversion efficiency up to 15.3% (and the highest one of 16.5%) as the eco‐friendly and low‐cost solar cell. It is ultimately suggested that the experimental results are well predicted by the overview numerical results, which are useful for the improvement of the photovoltaic performances through the total band alignment.
“Late” effectors from Leptosphaeria maculans as tools for identifying novel sources of resistance in Brassica napus
Authors: Jiquel Audren , Gay Elise J. , Mas Justine , George Pierre , Wagner Armand , Fior Adrien , Faure Sébastien , Balesdent Marie‐Hélène , Rouxel Thierry
Published: August 2022

The Dothideomycete Leptosphaeria maculans, causing stem canker (blackleg) of Brassica napus, secretes different cocktails of effectors at specific infection stages. Some effectors (“Late” effectors) are specifically produced during the long asymptomatic phase of stem colonization. By manipulating their expression so that they are overexpressed during cotyledon infection (OEC transformants of the fungus), we previously postulated that resistance genes operating in the stem may be involved in gene‐for‐gene relationship and thus contribute to quantitative disease resistance (QDR). Here, we selected 10 relevant new effector genes, and we generated OEC transformants to screen a collection of 130 B. napus genotypes, representative of the available diversity in the species. Five B. napus accessions showed a typical hypersensitive response when challenged with effectors LmSTEE98 or LmSTEE6826 at the cotyledon stage, and all belong to the semi‐winter type of the diversity panel. In addition, five winter‐type genotypes displayed an intermediate response to another late effector, LmSTEE7919. These new interactions now have to be genetically validated to check that they also correspond to gene‐for‐gene interactions. In all cases, they potentially provide novel resources, easy to breed for, and accounting for part of the quantitative resistance in a species for which we are currently facing limited resistance sources.
Ultra‐stretchable, anti‐freezing conductive hydrogels crosslinked by strong hydrogen bonding for flexible sensors
Authors: Du Ying , Sun Yuanna , Lu Shuaishuai , Zhang Kaiyuan , Song Chen , Li Boyang , He Xinhai , Li Qingshan
Published: August 2022

Conductive hydrogel has shown unparalleled potential in flexible electronics. However, water‐based hydrogels will inevitably face deteriorated mechanical strength and ionic transport ability in low temperature, which may severely hinder their wide‐range application. To address the problem, we herein introduced a natural zwitterionic osmolyte (proline) and ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) as the anti‐freezing agent into a physically cross‐linked polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel (PA gel), as inspired by the nature‐gifted anti‐freezing ability. The resulting conductive hydrogel demonstrated high stretchability (up to 3305%), and excellent ion‐conductivity (up to 11.8 S/m) and could withstand a low temperature (−40°C). Moreover, the gel‐based sensor showed sensitive dynamic response to different tensile rates and tensile strain. It is expected that the plant‐inspired anti‐freezing hydrogel will provide more possibilities for the application in flexible sensors.
Eating disorders in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis
Authors: Kass Alexandra P. , Berbert Laura , Dahlberg Suzanne , Bern Elana , Sabharwal Sabina , Leonard Jessica , Richmond Tracy , Sawicki Gregory S.
Published: August 2022

Introduction

There is evidence for increased risk of eating disorders in individuals with diet‐treated chronic illnesses, however, data in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is less clear. No studies have evaluated avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in the CF population. We investigated the prevalence of eating disorders, including ARFID, in adolescents and young adults with CF.

Methods

Patients with CF aged 14–35 years were recruited to complete three validated surveys: (1) Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE‐Q), (2) Nine‐Item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Scale (NIAS), and (3) Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire‐Revised (CFQ‐R). Univariate linear regression analysis identified baseline risk factors associated with these survey scores. Variables with univariate p < 0.20 were considered for inclusion in a multivariable linear regression model. Backwards stepwise linear regression was used to identify the final model.

Results

A total of 52 patients enrolled. The prevalence of a positive screen on the EDE‐Q was 9.6%, and on the NIAS was 13.5%. The CFQ‐R eating and weight subscales were associated with scores on the EDE‐Q, and CFQ‐R eating subscale and being dF508 homozygous were correlated with the NIAS total score.

Discussion

A clinically significant number of participants screened positive for eating disorders on the EDE‐Q and NIAS. Scores on the eating and weight scales of the CFQ‐R were associated with the scores on these surveys. Further work is needed to better understand the optimal way to use such tools to screen and treat for eating disorders in individuals with CF.
Propiolate‐Terminated Polybutadiene‐Based Network Binders for Solid Propellants via Catalyst‐Free Azide‐Alkyne Cycloaddition
Authors: Min Byoung Sun , Lee Jinhyuk , Kim Sung June , Shim Hong Min
Published: August 2022

We developed the new preparation method of polybutadiene‐based binders, which has been widely used in solid composite propellants, under the triazole curing system formed by the Huisgen azide‐alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) without any promotors. Firstly, polybutadiene terminated with propiolate, alkyne adjacent to electron‐withdrawing group −C(=O)O−, PKPB(propiolate‐terminated polybutadiene), was prepared followed by the 1,3‐cycloaddition with trivalent azide curatives leading to form the polybutadiene binder cured via triazole linkages. Unexpectedly, compared to the conventional urethane‐cured binders, higher temperature and long time were required to cure the polybutadiene binder and the mechanical properties, especially tensile strength was not as good as that of binder formed under urethane curing system. For the triazole‐cured polybutadiene binder to exhibit the better mechanical properties, an asymmetric difunctional chain‐linker end‐capped with an alkyne and an isocyanate, respectively was introduced to modify the end‐groups of hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) with propiolates, ester alkynes, resulting in forming the propiolate‐terminated polyurethane butadiene (PTPUB). The triazole‐cured polyurethane butadiene‐based binders obtained from the click reaction of PTPUB with tri‐azide curatives conveyed the excellent mechanical properties as well as considerable shortening of reaction time, compared to PKPB‐based binders. Finally, both of triazole cured binders showed the good low‐temperature properties, Tg, available for solid propellants.
Population pharmacokinetic analysis for tisotumab vedotin in patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic solid tumors
Authors: Gibiansky Leonid , Passey Chaitali , Voellinger Jenna , Gunawan Rudy , Hanley William D. , Gupta Manish , Winter Helen
Published: August 2022

Tisotumab vedotin is an investigational antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) for treatment of solid tumors expressing tissue factor with accelerated approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression during or after chemotherapy. This study describes development of a population pharmacokinetic (PK) model to assess the PK profile of tisotumab vedotin and microtubule‐disrupting agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) using data from 399 patients with solid tumors across four phase I/II trials. The ADC–MMAE model describes ADC and MMAE concentrations following intravenous administration of tisotumab vedotin. This four‐compartment model comprises a two‐compartment ADC model with parallel linear and Michaelis–Menten elimination, a delay compartment, and a one‐compartment MMAE model. Nonspecific linear clearance of ADC was 1.42 L/day, central volume of distribution (Vc) was 3.10 L, and median terminal half‐life of ADC was 4.04 days. Apparent clearance of MMAE was 42.8 L/day, and apparent volume of distribution was 2.09 L. Terminal slope of the MMAE concentration–time curve was defined by the delay compartment rate with a half‐life of 2.56 days. Patients with higher body weight and lower albumin concentration had faster ADC clearance. Male patients and those with higher body weight and lower albumin concentration had higher Vc. Body weight was the most influential covariate influencing distribution and elimination of ADC and MMAE, thus supporting weight‐based dosing of tisotumab vedotin. Presence of antidrug antibodies (detected in 3.3% of patients) did not affect key PK parameters or exposures for ADC and MMAE.
Promising natural products against SARS‐CoV‐2: Structure, function, and clinical trials
Authors: Zhao Yan , Deng Shanshan , Bai Yujiao , Guo Jinlin , Kai Guoyin , Huang Xinhe , Jia Xu
Published: August 2022

The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS‐COV‐2) poses a severe threat to human health and still spreads globally. Due to the high mutation ratio and breakthrough infection rate of the virus, vaccines and anti‐COVID‐19 drugs require continual improvements. Drug screening research has shown that some natural active products can target the critical proteins of SARS‐CoV‐2, including 3CLpro, ACE2, FURIN, and RdRp, which could produce great inhibitory effects on SARS‐COV‐2. In addition, some natural products have displayed activities of immunomodulation, antiinflammatory, and antihepatic failure in COVID‐19 clinical trials, which may relate to their non‐monomeric structures. However, further evaluation and high‐quality assessments, including safety verification tests, drug interaction tests, and clinical trials, are needed to substantiate natural products' multi‐target and multi‐pathway effects on COVID‐19. Here, we review the literature on several promising active natural products that may act as vaccine immune enhancers or provide targeted anti‐COVID‐19 drugs. The structures, mechanisms of action, and research progress of these natural products are analyzed, to hopefully provide effective ideas for the development of targeted drugs that possess better structure, potency, and safety.
Creating physically coherent and spatially correlated perturbations to initialize high‐resolution ensembles of simulated convection
Authors: Labriola Jonathan D. , Wicker Louis J.
Published: August 2022

The use of ensembles for numerical weather prediction has become common during the last decade. For global models, the generation of initial‐condition perturbations has a number of well‐tested methodologies. In ensembles that predict convective storms explicitly (i.e.,  km), the generation of physically realistic perturbations is less well posed. This study introduces a technique to generate physically coherent and spatially correlated (PCSC) initial‐condition perturbations that are calibrated to the environment. Ensembles of idealized CM1 simulations, initialized with either PCSC perturbations (EXP_PCSC), spatially coherent random perturbations (EXP_3KM), or Gaussian white‐noise random perturbations (EXP_WHITE), are run for both a linear convective line of storms and a single “supercell” storm to demonstrate the utility of this new perturbation technique in diverse environments. PCSC perturbations are extracted from high‐resolution simulations of boundary‐layer turbulence and random perturbations are calibrated to be the same in magnitude as PCSC perturbations. EXP_PCSC simulations spawn turbulence fastest in this study. The simulated turbulence is more robust than in other experiments more than 1 hr into the simulation, because horizontal convective rolls enhance power at the largest scales. Random perturbations are slow to generate turbulence; this problem is exacerbated when the base model state flow is nonturbulent. Due to robust turbulence, EXP_PCSC ensemble spread increases fastest during the first simulation hour and remains largest throughout the remainder of the simulations. Although EXP_PCSC spread is the largest, the sensitivity of convection to the initial perturbations varies at different times in the storm life cycle. Storms appear more sensitive to perturbations added near the time of convective initiation.
Multidimensional modeling assisted mining of GDB17 chemical database: A search for polymer donors for organic solar cells and machine learning assisted performance prediction
Authors: Mebed Abdelazim M. , Jafri Hasnain Mehdi , Hakamy A. , Abd‐Elnaiem Alaa M. , Sulaman Muhammad , Elshahat Sayed
Published: August 2022

Indeed, the designing of efficient material for organic solar cells is challenging and time‐consuming task. In this work, we have proposed a design pipeline to screen efficient polymer donors. Machine learning based models are trained to predict the power conversion efficiency (PCE). Structural descriptors are used as input to train machine learning models. The data of organic molecules is extracted from Photovoltaics database. Best buildings blocks are selected on the basis of similarity analysis using PBT7‐Th and MP6 as reference (standard). New polymers are designed using building blocks having high similarity. The PCE is predicted with the help of high‐performance machine learning model. Top three candidates are studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Packing behavior of polymer donors and their blend with fullerene acceptor is studied using radial distribution function (RDF). Density functional theory analysis is also performed on selected polymers. Electrostatic potential analysis has indicated the highly polar behavior that can result higher charge generation. Our proposed pipeline has ability to design and screen the polymer donors, as well as can predict their PCE without any experimentation. More importantly computational cost is marginal.
Fertility and sexual dysfunction in young male cancer survivors
Authors: Yumura Yasushi , Takeshima Teppei , Komeya Mitsuru , Kuroda Shinnosuke , Saito Tomoki , Karibe Jurii
Published: August 2022

Background

Newly emerging serious post‐treatment complications among young male cancer survivors involve fertility and sexual function, preventing them from pursuing a normal family life.

Methods

We studied and summarized published studies that assess the relationship between cancer treatments and reduced spermatogenesis or sexual dysfunction.

Main findings

Infertility often occurs because of anticancer therapies that impair spermatogenesis. While some patients postremission functionally recover fertility, others experience a decreased sperm count and azoospermia. Fertility‐preserving modalities are currently being promoted worldwide to preserve spermatogenesis following cancer therapy. Patients who can ejaculate and have sperm in their semen should cryopreserve semen. However, for patients who have never ejaculated before puberty or in whom spermatogenesis has not been established, testis biopsy is performed to collect and preserve sperm or germ cells. Fertility preservation is gaining popularity and requires continuous information dissemination to oncologists and cancer treatment professionals. Furthermore, male sexual dysfunction predominantly involves erectile dysfunction and ejaculation disorder.

Conclusion

Although preventive and therapeutic methods for these disorders have been established within urology, patients and medical professionals in other fields remain uninformed of these advances. Therefore, dissemination of information regarding fertility preservation techniques should be accelerated.
Calculating the power to examine treatment‐covariate interactions when planning an individual participant data meta‐analysis of randomized trials with a binary outcome
Authors: Riley Richard D. , Hattle Miriam , Collins Gary S. , Whittle Rebecca , Ensor Joie
Published: August 2022

Before embarking on an individual participant data meta‐analysis (IPDMA) project, researchers and funders need assurance it is worth their time and cost. This should include consideration of how many studies are promising their IPD and, given the characteristics of these studies, the power of an IPDMA including them. Here, we show how to estimate the power of a planned IPDMA of randomized trials to examine treatment‐covariate interactions at the participant level (ie, treatment effect modifiers). We focus on a binary outcome with binary or continuous covariates, and propose a three‐step approach, which assumes the true interaction size is common to all trials. In step one, the user must specify a minimally important interaction size and, for each trial separately (eg, as obtained from trial publications), the following aggregate data: the number of participants and events in control and treatment groups, the mean and SD for each continuous covariate, and the proportion of participants in each category for each binary covariate. This allows the variance of the interaction estimate to be calculated for each trial, using an analytic solution for Fisher's information matrix from a logistic regression model. Step 2 calculates the variance of the summary interaction estimate from the planned IPDMA (equal to the inverse of the sum of the inverse trial variances from step 1), and step 3 calculates the corresponding power based on a two‐sided Wald test. Stata and R code are provided, and two examples given for illustration. Extension to allow for between‐study heterogeneity is also considered.
Use of copula to model within‐study association in bivariate meta‐analysis of binomial data at the aggregate level: A Bayesian approach and application to surrogate endpoint evaluation
Authors: Papanikos Tasos , Thompson John R. , Abrams Keith R. , Bujkiewicz Sylwia
Published: August 2022

Bivariate meta‐analysis provides a useful framework for combining information across related studies and has been utilized to combine evidence from clinical studies to evaluate treatment efficacy on two outcomes. It has also been used to investigate surrogacy patterns between treatment effects on the surrogate endpoint and the final outcome. Surrogate endpoints play an important role in drug development when they can be used to measure treatment effect early compared to the final outcome and to predict clinical benefit or harm. The standard bivariate meta‐analytic approach models the observed treatment effects on the surrogate and the final outcome outcomes jointly, at both the within‐study and between‐studies levels, using a bivariate normal distribution. For binomial data, a normal approximation on log odds ratio scale can be used. However, this method may lead to biased results when the proportions of events are close to one or zero, affecting the validation of surrogate endpoints. In this article, we explore modeling the two outcomes on the original binomial scale. First, we present a method that uses independent binomial likelihoods to model the within‐study variability avoiding to approximate the observed treatment effects. However, the method ignores the within‐study association. To overcome this issue, we propose a method using a bivariate copula with binomial marginals, which allows the model to account for the within‐study association. We applied the methods to an illustrative example in chronic myeloid leukemia to investigate the surrogate relationship between complete cytogenetic response and event‐free‐survival.
Abundant Dislocation Layered Double Hydroxides Synthesis by Molten Salt with Bound Water Boosting Oxygen Evolution
Authors: Chen Yi , Li Yuwen , Cui Yuanjing , Qian Guodong
Published: August 2022

Optimizing the adsorption free energy and promoting the active phase transition to further enhance the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity remain significant challenges. The adsorption free energy can be optimized by modulating the electronic structure and adjusting the crystal configuration. Meanwhile, the transformation of the active phase can be promoted by introducing strain energy. The theoretical calculations are conducted to verify the rational envisage. However, it is still a great obstacle to introducing strain into the electrocatalysts and avoiding destruction. The stress field caused by dislocation can realize both of the above. Hence, the molten salt with the bound water method is proposed and the abundant dislocation layered double hydroxides (D‐NiFe LDH) are constructed. The in situ characterizations further verify the dislocations significantly affect the generation of the active phase and the state of electronic structure. Consequently, the D‐NiFe LDH exhibits outstanding OER activity and obtains 10 mA cm−2, only requiring 199 mV overpotential with fabulous stability (100 mA cm−2 more than 24 h). The work paves a new avenue for the rational introduction dislocations to optimize the crystal configuration and boost the active phase formation, significantly enhancing the OER performance.
Facile Synthesis of Conductive Metal−Organic Frameworks Nanotubes for Ultrahigh‐Performance Flexible NO Sensors
Authors: Wang Liangjie , Chen Xin , Yi Zhengran , Xu Rui , Dong Junjie , Wang Shuai , Zhao Yan , Liu Yunqi
Published: August 2022

Cu‐benzenehexathiol (Cu‐BHT) has attracted significant attention due to its record high electrical conductivity and crystal defects Cu2c. However, the nonporous structure and small specific surface area of Cu‐BHT with two‐dimensional kagome lattice invariably limit its practical application in sensing and catalysis. In this work, Cu‐BHT nanotubes (Cu‐BHT‐NTs) are designed and prepared via a facile homogeneous reaction to solve these problems. Compared with the traditional nanorod‐like structure, the Cu‐BHT‐NTs not only have a higher specific surface area but also possess a higher proportion of crystal defects (66.6%). The successfully configured DPPTT/Cu‐BHT‐NTs heterostructure organic field‐effect transistor (OFET)‐based sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity as high as 13 610%, a minimum detection limits down to 5 ppb, and exceptional selectivity to nitric oxide (NO) toxic gases. Theoretical analysis systematically shows that Cu2c sites in the Cu‐BHT‐NTs increase the number of electrons transferred from the heterostructure to NO molecules, confirming that the high sensitivity and selectivity result from the high binding between Cu‐BHT‐NTs and NO molecules. Furthermore, a fully flexible device based on the heterojunction OFET sensor is prepared to ensure the convenience of wearing and carrying gas sensors, opening up a new avenue for the next generation of wearable intelligent electronics.
Chaotic neural networks and farfalle construction based parallel keyed secure hash function
Authors: Belal Mohamad Mulham , Maitra Tanmoy , Giri Debasis , Das Ashok Kumar
Published: August 2022

Parallel computing of hash functions along with the security requirements have great advantage in order to reduce the time consumption and overhead of the CPU. In this article, a keyed hash function based on farfalle construction and chaotic neural networks (CNNs) is proposed, which generates a hash value with arbitrary (defined by user) length (eg, 256 and 512 bits). The proposed hash function has parallelism merit because it is built over farfalle construction which avoids the dependency between the blocks of a given message. Moreover, the proposed hash function is chaos based (ie, it relies on chaotic maps and CNNs which have non‐periodic behavior). The security analysis shows that the proposed hash function is robust and satisfies the properties of hash algorithms, such as random‐like (non‐periodic) behavior, ideal sensitivity to original message and secret key, one‐way property and optimal diffusion effect. The speed performance of the hash function is also analyzed and compared with a hash function which was built based on sponge construction and CNN, and compared with secure hash algorithm (SHA) variants like SHA‐2 and SHA‐3. The results have shown that the proposed hash function has lower time complexity and higher throughput especially with large size messages. Additionally, the proposed hash function has enough resistance to multiple attacks, such as collision attack, birthday attack, exhaustive key search attack, preimage and second preimage attacks, and meet‐in‐the‐middle attack. These advantages make it ideal to be used as a good collision‐resistant hash function.
Effect of superabsorbent polymers on mechanical strength and cracking of mortar and concrete with water to cement ratios of 0.4 and 0.5
Authors: Borito Said Mirgan , Zhu Han , Yu Yong , Al‐shawafi Ali
Published: August 2022

Most studies of adding superabsorbent polymers (SAP) into concrete focus on high‐strength concrete, while this paper aims to understand the influence of SAP on “ordinary concrete” at a w/c ratio being 0.4 or 0.5. The proposed experiments include the effect of particle size, mixing methods, and dosages on the restrained shrinkage and mechanical properties of mortar and concrete. Mortar with varying dosages of SAP (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 wt.%) and two types of SAP (type‐a of 30–60 mesh and type‐d of 300–400 mesh) was studied to evaluate the effect of SAP on mortar's cracking and strength. Two mixing processes of SAP (dry and pre‐wetted) were used to examine the effect of SAP on the mortar's shrinkage and mechanical properties. Furthermore, concrete specimens with a w/c ratio of 0.5 were prepared to investigate the cracking performance of concrete using the restrained squared concentric ring test method, a new approach which can predict the cracks location and pattern to evaluate the restrained shrinkage of concrete. The result revealed that the addition of SAP in a prewetted state decreased the mechanical properties at early curing age. The addition of 0.3 wt.% SAP was found to have mitigated the restrained shrinkage while prolonging the time to cracking of cementitious composites. The major finding is that adding SAP to ordinary concrete reduces shrinkage and improves mechanical strength, which should be further looked into and explored in its application in engineering work.
Corporate social responsibility in the water industry: A critical review
Authors: Figueroa Cindy , Lee Kyungsun , Jepson Wendy
Published: August 2022

The public demand for companies to assume responsibility for social and environmental impacts of their operations has led to an increase in the number of industries adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. The water industry, defined in this article as public and private suppliers of water, holds the unique responsibility to manage a critical natural resource. As such, a review of scholarship on CSR in the water industry provides an entry point to assess the specific role the water industry plays in addressing societal and environmental concerns. This review identifies three prominent themes that appear in the existing literature. The first theme investigates the motivations for the water industry to utilize CSR strategies; the second describes the limitations of current CSR frameworks; and the last is an assessment of whether CSR policies and practices differ between public and private water companies. Through a critical review of each theme, this article evaluates the level of CSR engagement in the water industry, and if CSR activity supports further privatization. Taken together, this review article provides a summary of the current state of research on CSR within the water industry, analyses limitations on current evaluation methods and frameworks, and connects the literature to broader themes on the privatization of water and market environmentalism. We conclude with a discussion of future research topics such as CSR barriers to implementation, water‐related CSR indicators, and the relationship of CSR policies to remunicipalization of water providers.

This article is categorized under:

Human Water > Water Governance
A Billion SMT Queries a Day (Invited Paper)
Authors: Rungta Neha
Published: August 2022

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing services provider that has made significant investments in applying formal methods to proving correctness of its internal systems and providing assurance of correctness to their end-users. In this paper, we focus on how we built abstractions and eliminated specifications to scale a verification engine for AWS access policies, Zelkova, to be usable by all AWS users. We present milestones from our journey from a thousand SMT invocations daily to an unprecedented billion SMT calls in a span of five years. In this paper, we talk about how the cloud is enabling application of formal methods, key insights into what made this scale of a billion SMT queries daily possible, and present some open scientific challenges for the formal methods community.
The Lattice-Theoretic Essence of Property Directed Reachability Analysis
Authors: Kori Mayuko , Urabe Natsuki , Katsumata Shin-ya , Suenaga Kohei , Hasuo Ichiro
Published: August 2022

We present LT-PDR, a lattice-theoretic generalization of Bradley’s property directed reachability analysis (PDR) algorithm. LT-PDR identifies the essence of PDR to be an ingenious combination of verification and refutation attempts based on the Knaster–Tarski and Kleene theorems. We introduce four concrete instances of LT-PDR, derive their implementation from a generic Haskell implementation of LT-PDR, and experimentally evaluate them. We also present a categorical structural theory that derives these instances.
Software Verification of Hyperproperties Beyond k-Safety
Authors: Beutner Raven , Finkbeiner Bernd
Published: August 2022

Temporal hyperproperties are system properties that relate multiple execution traces. For (finite-state) hardware, temporal hyperproperties are supported by model checking algorithms, and tools for general temporal logics like HyperLTL exist. For (infinite-state) software, the analysis of temporal hyperproperties has, so far, been limited tok-safety properties, i.e., properties that stipulate the absence of a bad interaction between anyktraces. In this paper, we present an automated method for the verification of$$\forall ^k\exists ^l$$∀k∃l-safety properties in infinite-state systems. A$$\forall ^k\exists ^l$$∀k∃l-safety property stipulates that for anyktraces, thereexistltraces such that the resulting$$k+l$$k+ltraces do not interact badly. This combination of universal and existential quantification enables us to express many properties beyondk-safety, including, for example, generalized non-interference or program refinement. Our method is based on a strategy-based instantiation of existential trace quantification combined with a program reduction, both in the context of a fixed predicate abstraction. Notably, our framework allows for mutual dependence of strategy and reduction.
PoS4MPC: Automated Security Policy Synthesis for Secure Multi-party Computation
Authors: Fan Yuxin , Song Fu , Chen Taolue , Zhang Liangfeng , Liu Wanwei
Published: August 2022

Secure multi-party computation (MPC) is a promising technique for privacy-persevering applications. A number of MPC frameworks have been proposed to reduce the burden of designing customized protocols, allowing non-experts to quickly develop and deploy MPC applications. To improve performance, recent MPC frameworks allow users to declare variables secret only for these which are to be protected. However, in practice, it is usually highly non-trivial for non-experts to specify secret variables: declaring too many degrades the performance while declaring too less compromises privacy. To address this problem, in this work we propose an automated security policy synthesis approach to declare as few secret variables as possible but without compromising security. Our approach is a synergistic integration of type inference and symbolic reasoning. The former is able to quickly infer a sound—but sometimes conservative—security policy, whereas the latter allows to identify secret variables in a security policy that can be declassified in a precise manner. Moreover, the results from symbolic reasoning are fed back to type inference to refine the security types even further. We implement our approach in a new tool PoS4MPC. Experimental results on five typical MPC applications confirm the efficacy of our approach.
Program Verification with Constrained Horn Clauses (Invited Paper)
Authors: Gurfinkel Arie
Published: August 2022

Many problems in program verification, Model Checking, and type inference are naturally expressed as satisfiability of a verification condition expressed in a fragment of First-Order Logic called Constrained Horn Clauses (CHC). This transforms program analysis and verification tasks to the realm of first order satisfiability and into the realm of SMT solvers. In this paper, we give a brief overview of how CHCs capture verification problems for sequential imperative programs, and discuss CHC solving algorithm underlying the Spacer engine of SMT-solver Z3.