bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrology drives export and composition of carbon in a pristine tropical river
Authors: Drake Travis W. , Barthel Matti , Mbongo Christian Ekemba , Mpambi Davin Mata , Baumgartner Simon , Botefa Clement Ikene , Bauters Marijn , Kurek Martin R. , Spencer Robert G. M. , McKenna Amy M. , Haghipour Negar , Ekamba Godé Lompoko , Wabakanghanzi Jose N. , Eglinton Timothy I. , Van Oost Kristof , Six Johan
Published: October 2023

The Ruki is a pristine blackwater tributary in the Congo Basin draining tropical lowland forest. Daily discharge and fortnightly concentrations, isotopic ratios, and molecular composition of carbon and organic matter were measured for 1 yr (2019–2020). Like the Congo River, discharge peaked from November–January, with a smaller secondary peak in June. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), inorganic carbon (DIC), carbon dioxide (pCO2), and methane (pCH4) concentrations were high (21.3 ± 4.8 mg C L−1, 5.8 ± 0.9 mg C L−1, 6370 ± 1740 ppm, and 250 ± 100 ppm, respectively) and positively correlated with discharge, indicating transport limitation. Total suspended solids and particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations were generally low (3.68 ± 1.61 mg L−1, 0.88 ± 0.33 mg C L−1, respectively) and varied inversely with discharge, indicating source limitation. The Ruki exported a total of 3.25 Tg C yr−1, of which DOC, DIC, and POC comprised 76%, 20%, and 3%, respectively. This DOC flux represents ~ 20% of the annual Congo Basin flux from about 5% of its area, highlighting the high yield. Isotopic ratios of DOC and POC indicate modern C3 forest vegetation as a source, except for a few older samples potentially indicating peat inputs. The bulk molecular composition of dissolved organic matter was seasonally consistent; however, a more oxidized and aromatic assemblage occurred at high discharge, corresponding with forest vegetation, while a more aliphatic, nitrogen‐, and sulfur‐enriched assemblage was found during low discharge, corresponding with soil‐derived organic matter. Overall, these results underscore how hydrology controls C concentrations in the Ruki River and how this blackwater river contributes disproportionately to C export per unit area within the Congo Basin hydrosystem.
Generic Vectorial Hologram Based on Simultaneous and Independent Amplitude and Phase Modulation of Orthogonal Polarization States via Single Completely Spin‐Decoupled Meta‐Particles
Authors: Chu Zuntian , Liu Tonghao , Li Tiefu , Ma Jiachen , Zhu Ruichao , Sun Huiting , Jia Yuxiang , Han Yajuan , Wang Jiafu
Published: October 2023

Metasurfaces composed of subwavelength structure arrays provide a diverse and powerful platform for generation of complicated electromagnetic (EM) fields and wavefronts manipulation and have triggered an unprecedented research upsurge in electromagnetism with the development of computer‐generated holography (CGH). Different from conventional scalar holograms only containing amplitude and phase properties, a vectorial hologram that benefits from the maneuverability of polarization of EM fields exhibits more immeasurable application potential and is simultaneously regarded as an urgent requirement. In this work, assisted by single completely spin‐decoupled meta‐particles, which perfectly combine the functions of simultaneous and independent amplitude and phase modulation of orthogonal polarization states containing left‐ and right‐handed circularly polarized (LCP&RCP) components, a vectorial hologram induced through eigenstates degeneracy with the ability of encoding arbitrary polarization is proposed in the microwave region. As the proof of concept, eight distinct holograms with specified polarizations and six‐channel polarization‐multiplexed hologram display are fabricated and characterized, further showcaing the versatility of the approach for the customization of arbitraty polarization and integration of reconstructed patterns. With the advantages of multi‐controllability and ultra‐compactness, the constructed monolayer completely spin‐decoupled paradigm for vectorial regulation may find prospective application aspects in spin detection, target perception, multi‐channel data encryption, and many other related fields.
Metallic‐Polyphenolic Nanoparticles Reinforced Cationic Guar Gum Hydrogel for Effectively Treating Burn Wound
Authors: Bai Yangjing , Lang Shiying , Du Yangrui , Hu Qinsheng , Li Xinyun , Liu Gongyan
Published: October 2023

The development of injectable hydrogel dressings which are long‐term moisturizing, easy‐to‐apply, and effectively inhibiting infection and inflammatory is essential to promote burn wound repairing. Herein, an injectable hydrogel with moisturizing, antibacterial, and anti‐inflammation abilities via multiple reversible interactions between cation guar gum (CG) and metallic‐polyphenolic nanoparticles (PA‐ZnII NPs) is developed. Specifically, PA‐ZnII NPs is formed by synergistic complexation of protocatechualdehyde (PA) and zinc ion (Zn2+), provides CGPZ hydrogel with plentiful reversible interactions to inhibit the loss of moist. By interacting with PA‐ZnII NPs, the CGPZ hydrogel can provide enhanced moisturization for more than 3 days. Moreover, the CGPZ hydrogel can maintain good adhesion for a period of time with injection and self‐healing capabilities due to reversible interactions between CG and PA‐ZnII NPs. In addition, CGPZ hydrogel exhibits outstanding broad spectrum antibacterial performance, as its killing efficiency against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus is all greater than 99.99%. Importantly, compared with commercial dressing, the CGPZ hydrogel can promote wound healing faster by inhibiting tissue damage from dysregulated inflammation and accelerating neovascularization. It is believed that the moisturizing CGPZ hydrogel with antibacterial and anti‐inflammation performance can serve as a promising dressing for the effective treatment of burn wound.
A numerical solution for unsteady anisotropic diffusion reaction equation of time–space variable coefficients
Authors: Azis Mohammad Ivan
Published: October 2023

Two‐dimensional transient problems for anisotropic functionally graded materials governed by a diffusion reaction equation of time–space dependent coefficients are considered. Using a transformation, the space–time dependent coefficients equation is reduced to a time‐dependent coefficients equation. Then taking a Laplace transform will result in a constant coefficients equation, which can be written in forms of boundary‐only integral equations and solved using a standard boundary element method for the solutions. These boundary element method solutions are then numerically inverse transformed to get the solutions in the time variable. Some problems of trigonometrically, exponentially and quadratically graded materials are solved. The numerical solutions obtained are quite accurate.
A preliminary study of dynamic interactive simulation and computational CT scan of the ideal alveolus model
Authors: Liu Yang , Li Longyu , Huang Guangtao , Qiu Weiyan , Yang Yingjian , Guo Yingwei , Li Wei , Xu Jiaxuan , Chen Rongchang , Kang Yan
Published: October 2023

Background

While the development of CT imaging technique has brought cognition of in vivo organs, the resolution of CT images and their static characteristics have gradually become barriers of microscopic tissue research.

Purpose

Previous research used the finite element method to study the airflow and gas exchange in the alveolus and acinar to show the fate of inhaled aerosols and studied the diffusive, convective, and sedimentation mechanisms. Our study combines these techniques with CT scan simulation to study the mechanisms of respiratory movement and its imaging appearance.

Methods

We use 3D fluid‐structure interaction simulation to study the movement of an ideal alveolus under regular and forced breathing situations and ill alveoli with different tissue elasticities. Additionally, we use the Monte Carlo algorithm within the OpenGATE platform to simulate the computational CT images of the dynamic process with different designated resolutions. The resolutions show the relationship between the kinematic model of the human alveolus and its imaging appearance.

Results

The results show that the alveolus and the wall thickness can be seen with an image resolution smaller than 15.6 μm. With ordinary CT resolution, the alveolus is expressed with four voxels.

Conclusions

This is a preliminary study concerning the imaging appearance of the dynamic alveolus model. This technique will be used to study the imaging appearance of the dynamic bronchial tree and the lung lobe models in the future.
Long‐term culture induces Bax‐dependent apoptosis in rat preimplantation embryos
Authors: Nakamura Kazuomi , Seno Misako , Yoshimura Yuki , Suzuki Osamu
Published: October 2023

Although rat preimplantation embryos are necessary for producing genetically modified rats, their in vitro culture remains a challenge. Rat zygotes can develop from the one‐cell stage to the blastocyst stage in vitro; however, long‐term culture reduces their developmental competence via an unknown mechanism. In this study, we examined how in vitro conditions affect rat preimplantation embryos, which may explain this reduced competence. Comprehensive gene expression analysis showed that genes related to apoptosis and energy metabolism were differentially expressed in rat embryos cultured long‐term in vitro compared with those developed in vivo. Furthermore, we found that the expression of Bak1 and Bax, which are responsible for mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization, were more upregulated in embryos cultured in vitro than those developed in vivo. Similarly, apoptosis‐dependent DNA fragmentation was also exacerbated in in vitro culture conditions. Finally, gene disruption using CRISPR/Cas9 showed that Bax, but not Bak1, was responsible for these effects. These findings suggest that long‐term in vitro culture induces Bax‐dependent apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway and may provide clues to improve the long‐term culture of rat preimplantation embryos for genetic engineering research.
SLEQP: An open‐source package for nonlinear programming
Authors: Hansknecht Christoph , Kirches Christian
Published: October 2023

We present SLEQP, an open source C‐package consisting of an active‐set method capable of solving large‐scale nonlinear programming (NLP) problems based on successive linear programming and equality constrained quadratic programming techniques. The method includes a feasibility restoration phase and second‐order corrections (SOCs), achieving robust practical performance. It has also been adapted for the special cases of unconstrained optimization, box‐constrained problems, and nonlinear least squares problems and contains interfaces to both Python and MATLAB. To demonstrate the performance of the package, we perform a computational study based on the well‐known CUTest suite of NLP problems.
History of mathematics at the University of Freiburg
Authors: Kroener Dietmar
Published: October 2023

This paper is about the history of the Mathematical Institute of the University of Freiburg with special reference to the applied mathematician Henry Görtler.
Microultrasound in the detection of the index lesion in prostate cancer
Authors: Pedraza Adriana M. , Gupta Raghav , Musheyev David , Pino Tanisha , Shah Akash , Brody Rachel , Wagaskar Vinayak , Kaufmann Basil , Gorin Michael A. , Menon Mani , Tewari Ashutosh
Published: October 2023

Introduction and Objective

The natural progression of prostate cancer is primarily driven by an index lesion (IL). Studies have shown that different metastases within the same patient arise from a single precursor cell. Therefore, our aim is to assess the effectiveness of transrectal microultrasound (MUS) in comparison to multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) for detecting the IL in prostate cancer. We used quarter‐mount pathological results as the reference standard for this evaluation.

Materials and Methods

Three hundred and sixty‐three patients who underwent Robot‐Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP) from June 2021 to August 2022 were included. All received mpMRI and MUS before RARP. MUS was performed by experienced operators blinded to mpMRI and biopsy results. The IL in the radical prostatectomy specimen was defined as the lesion with extraprostatic extension, the highest Grade Group (GG), or the largest tumor volume if the GG was the same. The correlation between imaging and final pathology findings was performed. A descriptive statistical analysis is presented.

Results

The patients' prostates were analyzed in 12 regions (anterior/posterior, right/left, apex/mid/base). A total of 4308 regions were identified. Of these, 935 were involved by the ILs. Compared with final pathology, MUS demonstrated a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 68.7%, 96.3%, 80.8%, and 93.1%, respectively, while mpMRI showed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 68.6%, 97.2%, 86.1%, and 92.5%, respectively, for the detection of the IL. Most of the lesions missed by MUS were located in the anterior zone (62%).

Conclusion

MUS exhibits a diagnostic performance similar to mpMRI when it comes to detecting the IL in prostate cancer. MUS is a cost‐effective option, offers real‐time evaluation, and has no delay in the acquisition process.
Berbamine targets cancer stem cells and reverses cabazitaxel resistance via inhibiting IGF2BP1 and p‐STAT3 in prostate cancer
Authors: Wang Lili , Lyu Chen , Stadlbauer Birgit , Buchner Alexander , Nößner Elfriede , Pohla Heike
Published: October 2023

Background

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subpopulation of tumor cells with the capability of self‐renewal and drug resistance, leading to tumor progression and disease relapse. Our study aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of berbamine, extracted from berberis amurensis, on prostate CSCs.

Methods

Sphere formation was used to collect prostate CSCs. The viability, proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis assays were used to evaluate the antitumor effect of berbamine on prostate CSCs. Prostate CSC markers were analyzed by flow cytometry and qRT‐PCR. Small RNA sequencing analysis was conducted to analyse miRNAs. Exosomes were extracted using the ExoQuick‐TC kit and verified by testing exosomal markers using western blot.

Results

Berbamine targets prostate CSCs. Additionally, berbamine enhanced the antitumor effect of cabazitaxel, a second‐line chemotherapeutic drug for advanced prostate cancer, and re‐sensitized Cabazitaxel‐resistant PCa cells (CabaR‐DU145) to cabazitaxel by inhibiting ABCG2, CXCR4, IGF2BP1, and p‐STAT3. Berbamine enhanced the expression of let‐7 miRNA family and miR‐26b and influenced the downstream targets IGF2BP1 and p‐STAT3, respectively. Silencing CXCR4 and ABCG2 downregulated the expression of IGF2BP1 and p‐STAT3, respectively. Importantly, berbamine enhanced also levels of exosomal let‐7 family and miR‐26b, suggesting that berbamine possibly influences the expression of let‐7 family and miR‐26b through exosome delivery. Exosomes derived from berbamine‐treated CabaR‐DU145 cells re‐sensitized the cells to cabazitaxel.

Conclusion

Berbamine enhanced the toxic activity of cabazitaxel and reversed cabazitaxel resistance potentially through CXCR4/exosomal let‐7/IGF2BP1 and ABCG2/exosomal miR‐26b/p‐STAT3 axes.
Warmer temperatures trigger insecticide‐associated pest outbreaks
Authors: Crossley Michael S , Smith Olivia M , Barman Apurba K , Croy Jordan R , Schmidt Jason M , Toews Michael D , Snyder William E
Published: October 2023

BACKGROUND

Rising global temperatures are associated with emerging insect pests, reflecting earlier and longer insect activity, faster development, more generations per year and changing species' ranges. Insecticides are often the first tools available to manage these new threats. In the southeastern US, sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) has recently become the major threat to vegetable production. We used data from a multi‐year, regional whitefly monitoring network to search for climate, land use, and management correlates of whitefly activity.

RESULTS

Strikingly, whiteflies were detected earlier and grew more abundant in landscapes with greater insecticide use, but only when temperatures were also relatively warm. Whitefly outbreaks in hotter conditions were not associated with specific active ingredients used to suppress whiteflies, which would be consistent with a regional disruption of biocontrol following sprays for other pests. In addition, peak whitefly detections occurred earlier in areas with more vegetable production, but later with more cotton production, consistent with whiteflies moving among crops.

CONCLUSION

Altogether, our findings suggest possible links between warmer temperatures, more abundant pests, and frequent insecticide applications disrupting biological control, though this remains to be explicitly demonstrated. Climate‐initiated pesticide treadmills of this type may become an increasingly common driver of emerging pest outbreaks as global change accelerates. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Multiperspective view of the 1976 drought–heatwave event and its changing likelihood
Authors: Kendon Elizabeth J. , Ciavarella Andy , McCarthy Mark , Brown Simon , Christidis Nikos , Kay Gillian , Dunstone Nick , Fereday David , Pope James O.
Published: October 2023

1976 was one of the most acute droughts in the UK, exceptional due to the compounding effects of low rainfall and hot summer temperatures. In this study, we provide a multiperspective view of the likelihood of a 1976‐like compound event occurring now and into the future. We find a high level of consistency in the messages emerging across a range of different approaches and climate modelling tools, from convection‐permitting climate projections to decadal hindcasts and global coupled‐model attribution ensembles. 1976 summer average temperatures remain, at the time of writing, amongst the highest on record, but with warming are becoming increasingly common. The nine‐month rainfall deficit to August 1976 was incredibly rare. Analysis here indicates that compound extremes like 1976 are expected to occur on time‐scales of hundreds to thousands of years in the present‐day climate, decreasing slightly into the future. The probability remains very small even if we account for favourable sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation that occurred in 1976. Similar but less severe events with a 1% chance of occurring in the present day are five times more frequent from the 2040s under RCP8.5. The occurrence of such compound events is significantly (up to an order of magnitude) higher than expected if temperature and rainfall extremes occurred independently. In general, differences in likelihood estimates between approaches can begin to be understood from how dependence between variables is handled, differences in bias correction, and different levels of conditioning (i.e., the probability given particular atmospheric or ocean states). The appropriate choice of conditioning very much depends on the question being asked and its unconscious use may lead to apparent contradictions. Parallels can be drawn between 1976 and the recent summer of 2022, and results here suggest that with hotter summers we should be prepared for more severe droughts like 1976 in the future.
Simulation study of three new quadrupole ion funnels to improve low‐mass ion transmission
Authors: Qiu Chaohui , Li Xiaolong , Li Zhe , Yang Liu , Wang Weimin , Xu Fuxing , Ding Chuan‐Fan
Published: October 2023

Rationale

By applying radio frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) voltages to corresponding ring electrodes, ion funnel (IF) can efficiently focus and transmit ions. However, IF has an inherent mass discrimination problem that will greatly limit low mass‐to‐charge (m/z) ion focusing and transmission. To improve the transmission efficiency (TE) of the IF, this paper explores three new profile quadrupole ion funnels (QIF).

Methods

Computer simulations of the potential field distributions of QIFs and conventional IFs were performed to assess their focusing characteristics. To compare the TE, ion optics simulation programs SIMION and AXSIM were used to perform a series of simulations. Three QIF types (toroidal, cylindrical, and hyperbolic configurations) were used to improve ion TE, and their transmission and focus performance were also compared with conventional IF.

Results

By simulating the trajectories of ions in the IF, the optimum electrical parameters for three new QIFs were obtained and compared with conventional IFs, with TE improvements recorded for m/z < 100 of 16%, 20%, and 13%.

Conclusions

The results indicate that studying these three new IF configurations has great research significance for improving sensitivity to low m/z ions in mass spectrometer instruments.
Dual docking technique for robotic repair of simultaneous inguinal and umbilical hernia: A preliminary single center experience
Authors: Anoldo Pietro , Manigrasso Michele , D’Amore Anna , Musella Mario , De Palma Giovanni Domenico , Milone Marco
Published: October 2023

Background

This study aimed to assess clinical results in terms of intraoperative outcomes, recovery and recurrence of our robotic technique for the treatment of patients affected by simultaneous inguinal and umbilical hernia, providing technical details to facilitate multiquadrant surgery in robotic hernia repair.

Methods

Data from patients affected by simultaneous primary inguinal and umbilical hernia who underwent robotic repair with our dual docking technique was retrospectively analysed.

Results

Fifteen patients were included. No intraoperative complications occurred. All patients achieved complete mobilisation within 7 h. The mean length of hospital stay was 21.6 h, with five patients discharged on the same day of surgery. There was no major complication and no recurrence within the median follow‐up period of 673 days.

Conclusions

This surgical technique shows optimal postoperative outcomes, such as early mobilisation and short length of stay. Our study provides an aid to surgeons performing multiquadrant robotic surgery for the treatment of abdominal hernias.
Adaptive tracking control for stochastic nonlinear systems with asymmetric full state constraints
Authors: Peng Yanru , Xu Shengyuan , Zhang Zhengqiang
Published: October 2023

This article addresses the problem of adaptive tracking control for stochastic nonlinear systems with asymmetric full state constraints. Different from the traditional log‐type or tan‐type barrier Lyapunov functions (BLFs), a new asymmetric BLF is proposed in this article. Then, a state feedback controller is constructed with backstepping method so that all signals of the closed‐system are bounded and the asymmetric state constraint is well kept all the time. Without changing the structure of the controller, the design and the analysis for constrained and unconstrained systems are unified. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed control strategy has been demonstrated by simulations of numerical example and the single‐link robot arm model.
Quinoxaline‐Based Materials That Exhibit a Significant Passivation Effect and Lead to the Enhancement in the Power Conversion Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Lin Ying-Sheng , Chen Nai-Hwa , Liu Chung-Ming , Chow Tahsin J. , Chen Chih-Ping , Chang Yuan Jay
Published: October 2023

The efficacy of three bifunctional organic materials, referred as quinoxaline‐based hole‐transporting materials (Qu‐HTMs) (quinoxaline‐based cyano [Qu‐CN], carboxylic acid [Qu‐COOH], and triphenylamine), is showcased in this study. These materials comprise a quinoxaline core, functionalized with carboxylic acid and nitrile as electron acceptors and triphenylamine as a donor. These Qu‐HTMs demonstrate excellent thermal stability and coplanarity, which facilitate a dense packing in an ordered arrangement. This can be attributed to the sulfur–sulfur interaction that promotes intermolecular attractions. In addition to passivating the coordination defects of Pb2+ in the perovskite layer, Qu‐HTMs also enhance the charge mobility, short‐circuit current density (Jsc), and open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of perovskite solar cells. The observations indicate that the annealing processes between the interface of Qu‐CN and perovskite, as well as Qu‐COOH and perovskite, lead to the formation of the α/δ phase on the surface of perovskite, which is advantageous for charge conduction. Using Qu‐CN as HTM and Qu‐COOH as a passivator in antisolvent showed the best performance, which exhibited a Jsc of 23.36 mA cm−2, a Voc of 1.09 V, and a fill factor of 0.802, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 20.42% (cf. a control device 17.25% of 2,2′7,7′‐tetrakis(N,N′‐di‐p‐methoxyaniline)‐9,9′‐spirobifluorene). After 480 h operation, the device can maintain 70% of original efficiency.
Nonlinear analysis of square steel‐reinforced concrete‐filled steel tubular short columns considering local buckling
Authors: Ahmed Mizan , Shahin Ramy I. , Yehia Saad A. , Emara Mohamed , Patel Vipulkumar Ishvarbhai , Liang Qing Quan
Published: October 2023

This paper presents a fiber element analysis model that simulates the structural responses of square steel‐reinforced concrete‐filled steel tubular (SRCFST) short columns under concentric compression including local buckling effects. The method of effective widths is utilized to model the gradual postlocal buckling of the steel tube walls of a SRCFST column loaded axially to failure. A new confinement model is developed for the concrete based on test results, considering the confinement induced by the embedded steel section. This confinement model is incorporated into the fiber model, and its accuracy is verified by experimental results. The accuracy of various confinement models proposed for concrete‐filled steel tubular (CFST) square columns in predicting the performance of SRCFST columns is evaluated. A parametric study is performed to investigate the performance of SRCFST columns with various parameters. The applicability of the design formulas specified in current standards for CFST columns to the design of SRCFST columns is examined. A formula is proposed to predict the strength of SRCFST short columns. The developed inelastic simulation model, confinement model, and design formula are found to yield performance predictions of SRCFST columns with good accuracy.
CFD simulation of wind loads of kilometer‐scale super tall buildings with typical configurations in veering wind field
Authors: Feng Chengdong , Gu Ming
Published: October 2023

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), whose total height is about 1–1.5 km, is composed of the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) and the Ekman layer, which typically account for the lower 10% and the upper 90% of the ABL, respectively. The wind veering angle in the Ekman layer can be between 10° and 30°, which may be an important influence factor for the wind‐resistant design of kilometer‐scale super‐tall buildings. Unfortunately, there is very little research on this issue so far due to the difficulty in simulations of veering wind in wind tunnels and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation platforms. In this study, the simulations of non‐veering and veering wind fields are presented, and furthermore, the wind loads of kilometer‐scale super tall buildings with several typical configurations in veering wind fields are numerically investigated. Specifically, the large eddy simulations (LES) of unsteady flow around three buildings, namely, a square building, a tapered building (tapering ratio: 6.6%), and a 4‐layer setback building with the same height and the same aspect ratio of 9:1, are systematically performed for the cases of veering wind and non‐veering wind. The wind pressures and wind forces on these buildings are obtained and comprehensively analyzed. The differences in the wind loads among the building configurations are highlighted, and the mechanisms are discussed based on the time‐averaged and instantaneous flow fields.
Cyclizations of Alkenyl(Alkynyl)‐Functionalized Quinazolinones and their Heteroanalogues: A Powerful Strategy for the Construction of Polyheterocyclic Structures
Authors: Vaskevych Alla , Dekhtyar Maryna , Vovk Mykhailo
Published: October 2023

Quinazolin‐4‐one, its heteroanalogues, and derivatives represent an outstandingly important class of compounds in modern organic, medicinal, and pharmaceutical chemistry, as these molecular structures are noted for their wide synthetic and pharmacological potential. In the last years, ever‐increasing research attention has been paid to quinazolinone derivatives bearing alkenyl and alkynyl substituents on the pyrimidinone nucleus. The original structural combination of synthetically powerful endocyclic amidine (or amidine‐related) and exocyclic unsaturated moieties provides a driving force for cyclizations, which offer an efficient toolkit to construct a variety of fused pyrimidine systems with saturated N‐ and N,S‐heterocycles. In this connection, the present review article is mainly aimed at systematic coverage of the progress in using alkenyl(alkynyl)quinazolinones and their heteroanalogues as convenient bifunctional substrates for regioselective annulation of small‐ and medium‐sized heterocyclic nuclei. Much attention is paid to elucidating the structural and electronic effects of reagents on the regio‐ and stereoselectivity of the cyclizations as well as to clarifying the relevant reaction mechanisms.
Alginate supramolecular hydrogels based on viologen and cucurbit[8]uril: Host‐induced caveolae‐mediated endocytosis to white blood cancer cells
Authors: Chandra Falguni , Bykova Maria , Poulose Vijo , Laha Paltan , Aktanova Alina , Boeva Olga , Barkovskaya Margarita , Pashkina Ekaterina , Saleh Na'il
Published: October 2023

The cellular uptake of drug carriers to the cytosol of a specific cell remains challenging, and a non‐classical supramolecular strategy is motivated. Here, we select a model host–guest complex in which a diamino‐viologen (1,1′‐bis(4‐aminophenyl)‐[4,4′‐bipyridine]−1,1′‐diium dichloride [VG]) fluorescent tag was engulfed by cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) and covalently linked to alginate polysaccharides (alginic acid [ALG]) as the modified drug vehicle. When adsorbed on the ALG surface, the encapsulation of VG was first confirmed utilizing Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic methods. Solid optical measurements (diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and time‐resolved photoluminescence) revealed emissive materials at around 650 nm and that CB8 enhanced the rigidity of the modified hydrogel. The molar composition of 2:1 for the complexation of VG to CB8 on the alginate surface and the thermal stabilities were also confirmed using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. CB8 induced a dramatic decrease in the average size of the VGALG polysaccharides from 485 to 165 nm and a turnover in their charge from –19.8 to +14.4 mV. Flow cytometry with inhibitors of various endocytosis pathways was employed to track the cellular uptake across different blood cell types: human T‐cell leukemia 1301 and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Noticeably, complexation of VG with the CB8 host on top of the sugar platform dramatically enhanced the internalization into 1301 cells (viz. from 1% to 99%) at a concentration of 1.8 mg/mL via caveolae‐mediated endocytosis because of the size reduction, turnover in the charge from negative to positive, and rigidity induction. These observations reveal a more profound understanding of the macrocyclic effects on drug delivery.
Exploring the synergistic effect of inorganic and organic particulates in polyvinyl chloride composites through comparative analysis and accelerated weathering
Authors: Chaturvedi Ranjan , Pappu Asokan , Gupta Manoj Kumar
Published: October 2023

Poly(vinyl chloride) based composite materials with two distinct reinforcements, namely calcium carbonate (CC) and marble waste (MW), along with bamboo sawdust (BSD), were made through melt processing. The experimental findings revealed that the MW filled composite exhibited higher tensile strength than conventionally used CC filled composites. Composites with CC and MW have almost similar densities and MW filled composite absorbed only 0.46% more water than unfilled PVC, and CC filled composite absorbed 0.26% less water. Accelerated weathering altered composite surface, confirmed by optical microscopy and FT‐IR analysis of weathered samples revealed UV‐induced breakdown products. Composites with MW and CC fillers along with BSD in it showed less reduction in strength (5.2 and 5.8 MPa respectively) after going through accelerated weathering as compared to those with only MW (7.2 MPa) and CC (6.3 MPa) fillers. This study stablishes MW's usability as a sustainable filler in PVC composites, with comparable performance to CC, even along with cellulosic fibers.

Highlights

Marble waste filled composite has higher tensile strength than calcium carbonate.

Both composites had similar densities and MW absorbed only ~1% more water than CC.

Composite with bamboo sawdust performed slightly better after accelerated weathering.

MW can be used as a sustainable filler in PVC, with comparable performance to CC.
Using the Sustainable Development Goals in undergraduate leadership programs
Authors: Coers Natalie , Widner Tara , Williams Kyle Patrick , Cardani‐Trollinger Chad
Published: October 2023

Undergraduate leadership education prepares students for meaningful roles in various aspects of civic and professional life. In this article, the authors explore the contextual facets of undergraduate academic leadership programs and courses utilizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for addressing local and global challenges through leadership education and development at two higher education institutions. Each example is described contextually followed by promising classroom practices embedded through the use of the SDG framework.
Fostering leadership learning for applied problem‐solving: Navigating the crossroads of the sustainable development goals and immersive experiential learning
Authors: Andenoro Anthony C. , Brown David , Cerialo Kelly , McManus Robert M.
Published: October 2023

This paper highlights how immersive educational experiences can help students understand the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their relation to leadership. The paper provides an example of how a carefully designed faculty‐led program using original research can cultivate cross‐cultural competencies and build student knowledge and skills to support sustainability. Educators can use this paper as a guide to other immersive experiences to address the SDGs while developing student leadership capacity.
Addressing the crisis: Leveraging the United Nations sustainable development goals to prepare student leaders to tackle the opioid epidemic
Authors: Xavioer Sharon , Bethishou Laressa , Dintzner Madeline , Taheri Reza , Lewis Jelena
Published: October 2023

The United States faces several ongoing public health issues including the opioid epidemic. This article describes a new model aimed at providing a framework that incorporates the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to develop pharmacy student leaders through education, experiences, and development of critical skills. This holistic approach can serve as an example methodology to equip future leaders across public health domains to tackle many of the critical problems we face today.
The Foggy Window: Passive Empathy and the Fight for Testimonial Reading in Neoliberal Higher Education
Authors: Weber Lauren
Published: October 2023

The concept of empathy and its value to literary studies is new and exciting and contentious. Megan Boler theorises the different kinds of empathy a reader might experience when engaging with a text and how these ‘kinds’ have important consequences both in and out of the classroom. ‘Passive empathy’ is argued to be risky because it has the potential to fetishise the pain of the other. Conversely, ‘testimonial reading’ offers the reader an opportunity to situate their cultural and social context in relation to the other and witness their experience rather than consume it. In this chapter, I explore Boler’s argument and her taxonomy of empathy to think through questions involving the empathetic exchange between reader and fiction, altruism and empathy, and the pedagogical goals of reading fiction in our neoliberal world.
Performing Empathy with Neoliberalism, or Kendall Jenner on the Streets, Thomas Gradgrind in the Sheets: A Response to Lauren Weber
Authors: Norman Pat
Published: October 2023

The literary imagination helps broaden our ethical horizon. Engaging that imagination through reading draws on politics and emotion, as exemplified in the pedagogical approaches of Martha Nussbaum and Megan Boler. Lauren Weber has noted that these practices can also become bound up in the demands of neoliberalism. I argue that neoliberalism encourages us to engage in a different form of ‘reading’: reading the text of the world as consumers. Ideas that threaten neoliberalism—such as empathy—are appropriated into its form of public pedagogy. However, these forms of ‘depoliticised’ politics can reveal the emptiness of neoliberal claims to be concerned with social justice. One such case is Pepsi’s ‘Live for Now’ campaign, which attempted to appropriate the imagery of Black Lives Matter and similar social movements. This chapter positions such thinned out readings of the world against forms of pedagogy that deal in affect, empathy, and uncanniness: practices that create room for thinking differently and ‘repoliticising’ education.
Students, Biopolitics, and State Racism: A Response to Ren-Hao Xu
Authors: Low Remy Y. S.
Published: October 2023

In this response, I offer a brief addendum to Ren-Hao Xu’s chapter on Foucault and biopolitics. I will do this by joining together two seemingly unrelated points he raised: the first is personal, where he mentions reading Foucault on biopolitics in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of Australia’s international borders, and the second is his key argument that higher education enrolment can be linked not only to individual employability, but also to the larger purpose of underwriting the social order and prosperity at the level of the population, thus legitimating sovereignty. For me as a teacher in higher education, a question that arises for me as I reflect on my work is this: Who is this ‘population’ that is to be educated, whose productivity is accounted for within the calculus of national competitiveness, whose life is to be fostered for the sake of securing the nation’s future, and who is not a part of this? This raises another aspect of Foucault’s conceptualisation of biopolitics: the operation of state ‘racism’ as a dividing principle for determining those who are worth ‘making live’ and those who not and that it can hence ‘let die’.
Dialogues Between Activist Knowledge and Southern Theory
Authors: Serrano-Amaya José Fernando
Published: October 2023

While academia is usually represented in public culture as the most common place for knowledge production, activism is seen more as direct action but less as a source of knowledge in its own right. This chapter troubles those separations using examples from theory and personal experience. Many areas of struggle for social justice and social change have challenged those separations, highlighting the politics that create hierarchies and divisions in knowledge production and suggesting several interconnections. Connell’s “Southern Theory” opens the possibility to reflect on the role of knowledge produced for activist purposes as a kind of knowledge project that is both useful for social struggles and for theory development. These projects operate as interpellation of the politics of not knowing that ignore the issues that are the matter for activism. They also intend to produce knowledge that is useful and makes justice to social struggles. Besides, activist knowledge as a knowledge project challenges power relations by giving those in subordinated positions the possibility to connect in unexpected ways. If the idea is to trouble separations, we need to invent other dialogues between academia and activism, theory and practice and the Global North and the Global South.
The Good University Examined: A Response to Meenakshi Krishnaraj, Ren-Hao Xu, and Pat Norman
Authors: Connell Raewyn
Published: October 2023

In her response to Meenakshi Krishnaraj, Ren-Hao Xu, and Pat Norman on The good university (2019), Raewyn Connell begins by offering some biographical background to her writing of the text. She then engages with each of the authors of the chapter on The good university, specifically the forces driving change in the work culture of higher education institutions as described by Norman, the alternative models of higher education and modes of teaching in India’s past and present raised by Krishnaraj, and the relationship between research and politics in Taiwanese history recounted by Xu. Along the way, Connell demonstrates two important points of about social theory. First, that while scholarly writing is valued for its tidiness and abstraction, social theories usually arise from authors’ and social groups’ lived and messy struggles. Second, that while the form of scholarly publications (e.g., books, journal articles) suggests a ‘finished’ quality to theories, as experiments in thought and imagination theories evolve and change, and do so through a continuing process of dialogue.
Extending the thermodynamic form factor bootstrap program: multiple particle-hole excitations, crossing symmetry, and reparameterization invariance
Authors: Panfil Miłosz , Konik Robert M.
Published: October 2023

Abstract

In this study, we further the thermodynamic bootstrap program which involves a set of recently developed ideas used to determine thermodynamic form factors of local operators in integrable quantum field theories. These form factors are essential building blocks for dynamic correlation functions at finite temperatures or non-equilibrium stationary states. In this work we extend this program in three ways. Firstly, we demonstrate that the conjectured annihilation pole axiom is valid in the low energy particle-hole excitations. Secondly, we introduce a crossing relation, which establishes a connection between form factors with different excitation content. Typically, the crossing relation is a consequence of Lorentz invariance, but due to the finite energy density of the considered states, Lorentz invariance is broken. Nonetheless a crossing relation involving excitations with both particles and holes can established using the finite volume representation of the thermodynamic form factors. Finally, we demonstrate that the thermodynamic form factors satisfy a reparameterization invariance, an invariance which encompasses crossing. Reparameterization invariance exploits the fact that the details of the representation of the thermodynamic state are unimportant. In the course of developing these results, we demonstrate the internal consistency of the thermodynamic form factor bootstrap program in a number of ways. Finally, we provide explicit computations of form factors of conserved charges and densities with crossed excitations and show our results can be used to infer information about thermodynamic form factors in the Lieb-Liniger model.
Vergleich von Diagnosedaten nach der Einführung des Mukoviszidosescreenings bei Neugeborenen in Deutschland
Authors: Nährlich Lutz , Brockow Inken
Published: October 2023

Hintergrund

Zum 01.09.2016 wurde das Neugeborenenscreening (NGS) auf Mukoviszidose (Cystic Fibrosis – CF) in Deutschland eingeführt. Bisher gibt es keinen epidemiologischen Goldstandard für die Erfassung der Diagnosezahlen. Daher werden Daten der in der Konfirmationsdiagnostik bestätigten Fälle der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neugeborenenscreening (DGNS) und die Diagnosehäufigkeiten des Deutschen Mukoviszidoseregisters (DMR) gegenübergestellt. Dies kann auch die Evaluation des CF-Screenings unterstützen. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die Daten der DGNS und des DMR zu vergleichen und Limitationen sowie Stärken dieser Datenquellen darzustellen.

Methoden

Analysiert werden die Mukoviszidose-Diagnosedaten der DGNS (Datenstand 14.04.2023) und des DMR (Datenstand 12.04.2023) für 2017–2021 geborene Kinder im Hinblick auf Häufigkeiten, Anzahl falsch-negativ Gescreenter und Verhältnis CF zu „Fällen mit positivem Mukoviszidosescreening und unklarer Konfirmationsdiagnostik“ (CFSPID).

Ergebnisse

Der DGNS liegen 767 Datensätze von Neugeborenen mit CF/CFSPID vor, dem DMR 910 bestätigte Diagnosefälle CF/CFSPID. Ein falsch-negatives Screening wird von der DGNS für 37/767 (4,8 %) und vom DMR für 49/910 (5,4 %) berichtet. Das Verhältnis von CF zu CFSPID beträgt 17,4:1 (DGNS, 2017–2020) bzw. 28,1:1 (DMR).

Diskussion

Die DGNS und das DMR liefern bei unterschiedlichen Stärken in der Dokumentation der Screening-(DGNS) und Diagnosedaten (DMR) wichtige Anhaltspunkte für die Anzahl neu diagnostizierter Mukoviszidosepatienten nach Einführung des NGS. Gesetzliche Vorgaben zur Nachverfolgung der Gescreenten und Erfassung aller Kinder mit Mukoviszidose sowie der Datenaustausch zwischen DGNS und DMR könnten zukünftig die Evaluation verbessern.
Numerical treatment of reactive diffusion using the discontinuous Galerkin method
Authors: Flachberger Wolfgang , Svoboda Jiri , Antretter Thomas , Petersmann Manuel , Leitner Silvia
Published: October 2023

This work presents a new finite element variational formulation for the numerical treatment of diffusional phase transformations using the discontinuous Galerkin method (DGM). Steep concentration and property gradients near phase boundaries require particular focus on a sound numerical treatment. There are different ways to tackle this problem ranging from (i) the well-known phase field method (PFM) (Biner et al. in Programming phase-field modeling, Springer, Berlin, 2017, Emmerich in The diffuse interface approach in materials science: thermodynamic concepts and applications of phase-field models, Springer, Berlin, 2003), where the interface is described continuously to (ii) methods that allow sharp transitions at phase boundaries, such as reactive diffusion models (Svoboda and Fischer in Comput Mater Sci 127:136–140, 2017, 78:39–46, 2013, Svoboda et al. in Comput Mater Sci 95:309–315, 2014). Phase transformation problems with continuous property changes can be implemented using the continuous Galerkin method (GM). Sharp interface models, however, lead to stability problems with the GM. A method that is able to treat the features of sharp interface models is the discontinuous Galerkin method. This method is well understood for regular diffusion problems (Cockburn in ZAMM J Appl Math Mech 83(11):731–754, 2003). As will be shown, it is also particularly well suited to model phase transformations. We discuss the thermodynamic background by review of a multi-phase, binary system. A new DGM formulation for the phase transformation problem with sharp interfaces is then introduced. Finally, the derived method is used in a 2D microstructural evolution simulation that features a binary, three-phase system that also takes the vacancy mechanism of solid body diffusion into account.
Job expectations and financial fragility: evidence from pre-COVID Spain
Authors: Álvarez-Espiño Marcos , Fernández-López Sara , Rey-Ares Lucía
Published: October 2023

Previous research has related household financial fragility (FF) and the employment status of the household members by focusing only on the labour income channel. In contrast, the literature has scarcely addressed the study of this relationship from a psychological perspective that could be related to the theory of bounded rationality. This article aims to analyse how job expectations relate to the level of household FF. Using a sample of 8554 Spanish individuals in the period 2016–2017, we construct a multidimensional index of household FF. The results indicate that households with unemployed, self-employed, or part-time workers have higher levels of FF, but the job expectations of the household and the individual play an even more important role in the level of the FF. These findings suggest that the perception of labour market uncertainty may influence the level of household FF to a greater extent than the objective employment situations of the individuals.