bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolution of Hashimoto thyroiditis in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (TIDM)
Authors: Karachaliou Feneli , Skarakis Nikitas , Bountouvi Evangelia , Spyropoulou Theodora , Tsintzou Eleni , Simatou Aristofania , Papaevangelou Vassiliki
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Treatment of children with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) and particularly of those with coexistent diabetes mellitus type 1 (TIDM) and normal/mildly elevated serum TSH is controversial. The aim of the study was to evaluate the natural course of HT in children with TIDM compared with children with no other coexistent autoimmunity and investigate for possible predictive factors of thyroid function deterioration.

Methods

Data from 96 children with HT, 32 with T1DM (23 girls, nine boys) mean (sd) age: 10.6 (2.3) years, and 64 age and sex-matched without T1DΜ (46 girls, 18 boys), mean (sd) age: 10.2 (2.9) years were evaluated retrospectively. They all had fT4 and TSH values within normal ranges and available data for at least three years’ follow-up.

Results

During the follow-up period, 11 children (34.4%) with TIDM exhibited subclinical hypothyroidism and two children (6.2%) progressed to overt hypothyroidism compared to 12 (18.8%) and two (3.1%) among children without TIDM, respectively. Among children with HT, a higher percentage (40.6%) of children with T1DM progressed to subclinical or overt hypothyroidism, compared with children (21.9%) with similar characteristics but without TIDM or other coexistent autoimmunity.

Conclusions

The annual conversion rate from euthyroidism to hypothyroidism in children with T1DM was significantly higher compared to sex and age-matched children without TIDM. Prospective randomized trials are needed to support the view of an earlier intervention therapy even in milder degrees of thyroid failure in these children.
Delayed phenylketonuria diagnosis: a challenging case in child psychiatry
Authors: Serdari Aspasia E. , Zompola Christina , Evangeliou Athanasios
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency is an autosomal recessive inborn error of phenylalanine metabolism.

What is new?

Εven in cases with negative newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism, the possibility of a metabolic disorder including PKU should be considered in any child presenting symptoms of developmental disorders. Late diagnosed PKU patients require a more specialized and individualized management than if they were early treatment cases.

Case presentation

We discuss a case of a child with typical autistic symptomatology, in whom years later a diagnosis of phenylketonuria was set, even neonatal screening was negative. Τhe patient was placed on a phenylalanine-restricted diet. After a period of clinical improvement, severe behavioral problems with aggressiveness and anxiety were presented. Less restrictive diet ameliorated the symptomatology.

Conclusion

This case highlights the major medical importance of adequate newborn screening policy, in order to avoid missed diagnosed cases. PKU may be presented as autism spectrum disorder. Dietary management needs individualized attentive monitoring.
Familial neonatal nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism due to a gain-of-function (D619G) thyrotropin-receptor mutation
Authors: Taha Doris , Adhikari Amita , Flore Leigh Anne
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Activating germline mutations of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) are responsible for a rare form of neonatal nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism (NAH). We report the first case of familial neonatal neonatal nonautoimmune associated with c.1856A>G (p.Asp619Gly) variant in the TSHR gene.

Case presentation

We describe an eight-year-old African-American female presenting with neonatal NAH associated with an inherited heterozygous c.1856A>G (p.Asp619Gly) variant in the TSHR gene. This variant was previously described in one patient presenting with sporadic NAH in adolescence. Our patient was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in the neonatal period. The mother had a history of hyperthyroidism and had thyroidectomy at the age of 4 years. The patient had goiter and elevated free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels that normalized with methimazole treatment; however, TSH level remained suppressed. Thyroid antibodies were negative. The patient also had bilateral exotropia, a trait shared by the mother and may represent a new association.

Conclusions

Familial neonatal NAH is associated with heterozygous c.1856A>G (p.Asp619Gly) variant of the TSHR gene.
Differentiating syndrome of inappropriate ADH, reset osmostat, cerebral/renal salt wasting using fractional urate excretion
Authors: Assadi Farahnak , Mazaheri Mojgan
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Clinical and laboratory data of reset osmostat (RO) and cerebral/renal salt wasting (C/RSW) mimic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and can pose diagnostic challenges because of significant overlapping between clinical and laboratory findings. Failure to correctly diagnose hyponatremia may result in increased mortality risk, longer hospital stay, and is cost-effective. We aim to illustrate clinical and laboratory similarities and difference among patients with hyponatremic disorders and discuss the diagnostic value of factional uprate excretion (FEurate) to differentiate SIADH from RO and C/RSW.

Case presentations

We report the use of FEurate in the evaluation of three patients with hyponatremia and elevated urine osmolality in the absence of edema or clinical evidence of dehydration to differentiate SIADH from RO and C/RSW.

Conclusions

Measurement of FEurate may offset in part the diagnostic confusion imparted by the diagnoses of SIADH, RO, and C/RSW.
Quality improvement for reducing utilization drift in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy management
Authors: Carlton Katherine , Cabacungan Erwin , Adams Samuel J. , Cohen Susan S.
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Therapeutic hypothermia is an effective neuroprotective intervention for infants with moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). With the introduction of new medical therapy comes a learning curve with regards to its proper implementation and understanding of eligibility guidelines. We hypothesized that variation in patient selection and lack of adherence to established protocols contributed to the utilization drift away from the original eligibility guidelines.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted including infants who received therapeutic hypothermia in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for HIE to determine utilization drift. We then used QI methodology to address gaps in medical documentation that may lead to the conclusion that therapeutic hypothermia was inappropriately applied.

Results

We identified 54% of infants who received therapeutic hypothermia who did not meet the clinical, physiologic, and neurologic examination criteria for this intervention based on provider admission and discharge documentation within the electronic medical record (EMR). Review of the charts identified incomplete documentation in 71% of cases and led to the following interventions: 1) implementation of EMR smartphrases; 2) engagement of key stakeholders and education of faculty, residents, and neonatal nurse practitioners; and 3) performance measurement and sharing of data. We were able to improve both adherence to the therapeutic hypothermia guidelines and achieve 100% documentation of the modified Sarnat score.

Conclusions

Incomplete documentation can lead to the assumption that therapeutic hypothermia was inappropriately applied when reviewing a patient’s EMR. However, in actual clinical practice physicians follow the clinical guidelines but are not documenting their medical decision making completely. QI methodology addresses this gap in documentation, which will help determine the true utilization drift of therapeutic hypothermia in future studies.
Postnominal relative clauses in Chinese
Authors: Wang Fang , Wu Fuyun
Published: November 2020

In contrast to well-studied prenominal relative clauses (RCs) in Chinese, little has been known about postnominal RCs that are non-canonical but existent in spoken Chinese. Focusing on Standard Mandarin, this paper examines in a large-scale spoken corpus the distributional patterns of postnominal RCs. Using distribution patterns of prenominal RCs in existing corpus studies as benchmarks, we show that postnominal RCs in our spoken corpus of Standard Mandarin tend to modify sentential objects more frequently than sentential subjects, and that they are likely to be short, with extremely rare presence of aspect markers. Based on these patterns, we propose that postnominal RCs in Standard Mandarin are mostly afterthoughts, motivated by information structure of spoken languages and word order principles. To better understand their general coverage, we further investigate postnominal RCs in Chinese dialects using available resources, including Yue, Min, Xiang, and Wu, followed by a raw comparison of cross-dialectal similarities and differences. We conclude that postnominal RCs in Chinese are similarly motivated, but their degrees of grammaticalization vary.
Outlining a grammaticalization path for the Spanish formulaen plan (de): A contribution to crosslinguistic pragmatics
Authors: Rodríguez-Abruñeiras Paula
Published: November 2020

This article discusses the diachronic development of the Spanish multifunctional formulaen plan(with its varianten plan de, literally ‘in plan (of)’ but usually equivalent to Englishlike). The article has two main aims: firstly, to describe the changes that the formula has undergone since its earliest occurrences as a marker in the nineteenth century up to the early 21st century. The diachronic study evinces a process of grammaticalization in three steps: from noun to clause adverbial and then to discourse marker. Secondly, to conduct a contrastive analysis betweenen plan (de)and the English markerslikeandkind of/kindaso as to shed new light on the potential existence of a universal pathway of grammaticalization in the emergence of discourse markers.
Explicit determinantal formula for a class of banded matrices
Authors: Amanbek Yerlan , Du Zhibin , Erlangga Yogi , da Fonseca Carlos M. , Kurmanbek Bakytzhan , Pereira António
Published: November 2020

In this short note, we provide a brief proof for a recent determinantal formula involving a particular family of banded matrices.
Dynamic equation on time scale with almost periodic coefficients
Authors: Abbas Syed
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we discuss a nonautonomous dynamical equation on time scale in a Banach space. The nonautonomous case is particularly important and needs to be studied because it is frequently met in the mathematical models of evolutionary processes. We give sufficient condition for equation to have an exponentially stable almost periodic solution in terms of the accretiveness of an operator. At the end, examples are given to illustrate the analytical findings.
“Our graduates will have the edge”: Linguistic entrepreneurship and the discourse of Mandarin enrichment centers in Singapore
Authors: Starr Rebecca Lurie , Kapoor Shrutika
Published: November 2020

Although Singapore schools are English-medium, Mandarin is a compulsory subject for students of Chinese heritage. As young Singaporeans increasingly speak English at home, the required study of Mandarin has become a source of anxiety for families. Mandarin ‘enrichment centers’, which provide supplementary language classes, leverage this anxiety in various ways, from promising top exam results to highlighting non-traditional pedagogical approaches. This analysis draws on data from the websites of 14 such centers, focusing on how these programs position learners in relation to the notion of linguistic entrepreneurship (De Costa et al. 2016). We identify three broad classes of enrichment center: Traditional, Modern Traditional, and Anti-Traditional, each offering distinct imaginings of the learner as linguistic entrepreneur. Traditional centers highlight academic achievement, promising ‘exam-focused’ strategies to optimize school performance. Modern Traditional centers, in contrast, frame enrichment as an elite lifestyle choice, emphasizing exclusivity and luxury. Finally, Anti-Traditional centers distance themselves from conventional pedagogy, and invoke notions of holistic, experiential learning. Across these categories, we observe a common discourse of Mandarin learning as a character-building struggle, in which centers provide unique resources enabling learners to survive the Singapore education system and emerge as ideal neoliberal subjects who have maximized their potential.
Polariton panorama
Authors: Basov D. N. , Asenjo-Garcia Ana , Schuck P. James , Zhu Xiaoyang , Rubio Angel
Published: November 2020

In this brief review, we summarize and elaborate on some of the nomenclature of polaritonic phenomena and systems as they appear in the literature on quantum materials and quantum optics. Our summary includes at least 70 different types of polaritonic light–matter dressing effects. This summary also unravels a broad panorama of the physics and applications of polaritons. A constantly updated version of this review is available athttps://infrared.cni.columbia.edu.
Ligand-induced chirality and optical activity in semiconductor nanocrystals: theory and applications
Authors: Kuznetsova Vera , Gromova Yulia , Martinez-Carmona Marina , Purcell-Milton Finn , Ushakova Elena , Cherevkov Sergei , Maslov Vladimir , Gun’ko Yurii K.
Published: November 2020

Chirality is one of the most fascinating occurrences in the natural world and plays a crucial role in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, and medicine. Chirality has also been envisaged to play an important role in nanotechnology and particularly in nanophotonics, therefore, chiral and chiroptical active nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted a lot of interest over recent years. Optical activity can be induced in NPs in several different ways, including via the direct interaction of achiral NPs with a chiral molecule. This results in circular dichroism (CD) in the region of the intrinsic absorption of the NPs. This interaction in turn affects the optical properties of the chiral molecule. Recently, studies of induced chirality in quantum dots (QDs) has deserved special attention and this phenomenon has been explored in detail in a number of important papers. In this article, we review these important recent advances in the preparation and formation of chiral molecule–QD systems and analyze the mechanisms of induced chirality, the factors influencing CD spectra shape and the intensity of the CD, as well as the effect of QDs on chiral molecules. We also consider potential applications of these types of chiroptical QDs including sensing, bioimaging, enantioselective synthesis, circularly polarized light emitters, and spintronic devices. Finally, we highlight the problems and possibilities that can arise in research areas concerning the interaction of QDs with chiral molecules and that a mutual influence approach must be taken into account particularly in areas, such as photonics, cell imaging, pharmacology, nanomedicine and nanotoxicology.
Ultracompact and low-power-consumption silicon thermo-optic switch for high-speed data
Authors: Zhang Ruihuan , He Yu , Zhang Yong , An Shaohua , Zhu Qingming , Li Xingfeng , Su Yikai
Published: November 2020

Ultracompact and low-power-consumption optical switches are desired for high-performance telecommunication networks and data centers. Here, we demonstrate an on-chip power-efficient 2 × 2 thermo-optic switch unit by using a suspended photonic crystal nanobeam structure. A submilliwatt switching power of 0.15 mW is obtained with a tuning efficiency of 7.71 nm/mW in a compact footprint of 60 μm × 16 μm. The bandwidth of the switch is properly designed for a four-level pulse amplitude modulation signal with a 124 Gb/s raw data rate. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed switch is the most power-efficient resonator-based thermo-optic switch unit with the highest tuning efficiency and data ever reported.
Near-infrared dual-wavelength plasmonic switching and digital metasurface unveiled by plasmonic Fano resonance
Authors: Ou Jie , Luo Xiao-Qing , Luo You-Lin , Zhu Wei-Hua , Chen Zhi-Yong , Liu Wu-Ming , Wang Xin-Lin
Published: November 2020

Plasmonic Fano resonance (FR) that contributes to multitudinous potential applications in subwavelength nanostructures can facilitate the realization of tunable wavelength selectivity for controlling light–matter interactions in metasurfaces. However, the plasmonic FR can be generated in metasurfaces with simple or complex geometries, and few of them can support flexible amplitude modulation and multiwavelength information transfer and processing. Here, we study the near-infrared plasmonic FR in a hybrid metasurface composed of concentrically hybridized parabolic-hole and circular-ring-aperture unit cells, which can induce polarization-dependent dual-wavelength passive plasmonic switching (PPS) and digital metasurface (DM). It is shown that the designable plasmonic FR can be realized by changing the geometric configurations of the unit cells. In particular, owing to the polarization-dependent characteristic of FR, it is possible to fulfill a compact dual-wavelength PPS with high ON/OFF ratios in the related optical communication bands. Moreover, such PPS that manipulates the amplitude response of the transmitted spectrum is an efficient way to reveal a 1-bit DM, which can also be rationally extended to a 2-bit DM or more. Our results suggest a pathway for studying polarization-dependent PPS and programmable metasurface devices, yielding possibilities for subwavelength nanostructures in optical communication and information processing.
The crystal structure of 3-oxo-urs-12-en-28-oic acid, C30H46O3·1/6H2O
Authors: Wang Xiao-Hui , Wang Hui-yun , Wang Jia-Zhen , Zhang Mei , Chen Xiao-Qian , Zhao Feng-Lan , Meng Qing-Guo
Published: November 2020

C30H46O3·1/6H2O, monoclinic, C2 (no. 5), a = 29.4307(4) Å, b = 15.42797(17) Å, c = 18.4667(2) Å, β = 104.4652(12)°, V = 8119.11(17) Å3, Z = 12, R
gt(F) = 0.0432, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.1197, T = 293(2) K.

CCDC no.: 2016692
Crystal structure of (3E,5E)-3,5-bis-4-methoxy-3-(trifluoromethyl)benzylidene)-1-methylpiperidin-4-one, C24H21F6NO3
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Fan , Wang Hui-yun , Song Jia , Liang Lun-Hai , Xu Yang-Rong , Zhao Feng-Lan , Meng Qing-Guo
Published: November 2020

C24H21F6NO3, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 16.6493(9) Å, b = 15.3005(8) Å, c = 8.8554(5) Å, β = 99.746(6)°, V = 2223.3(2) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0444, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1094, T = 100 K.
Crystal structure of (1aS,1a
1
S,2S)-4a-butoxy-1a,1a
1,2,4a,5,6-hexahydro-1H-cyclobuta[de]naphthalen-2-yl-4-nitrobenzoate, C22H25NO5
Authors: Luo Jiahuan , Zhai Shengxian , Han Chuchu , Zhao Hanwen
Published: November 2020

C22H25NO5, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 15.7241(13) Å, b = 7.0223(5) Å, c = 18.4613(14) Å, β = 100.329(4)°, V = 2005.4(3) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0495, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1564, T = 296(2) K.
The crystal structure of 4-hydroxy-2,5-bis(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium-2-ylthio)-3,6-dioxocyclohexa-1,4-dienolate chloride monohydrate, C14H15N4O5S2Cl
Authors: Miao Ming-zhi , Li Ji
Published: November 2020

C14H15N4O5S2Cl, orthorhombic, Pbca (no. 69), a = 16.1956(11) Å, b = 11.7856(8) Å, c = 18.7814(13) Å, V = 3584.9(4) Å3, Z = 8, R

gt
(F) = 0.0459, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1218, T = 298(2) K.CCDC no.: 2034931
The crystal structure of aqua-tris (1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dionato-κ2
O,O′)-lanthanum(III), C45H35LaO7
Authors: Hickson Matthew , Sephton Abigail , Dugmore Travis , Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: November 2020

C45H35LaO7, trigonal, R3 (no. 146), a = 22.3832(11) Å, c = 6.4522(3) Å, V = 2799.5(3) Å3, Z = 3, R

gt
(F) = 0.0192, wRref
(F
2) = 0.0462, T = 200 K.
The crystal structure of 2-iso-propylimidazole, C6H10N2
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: November 2020

C6H10N2, triclinic, P

1
‾

$‾{1}$

(no. 2), a = 7.4423(5) Å, b = 7.9420(5) Å, c = 11.6711(8) Å, α = 96.667(3)°, β = 95.650(3)°, γ = 100.999(3)°, V = 667.42(8) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0620, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1681, T = 200 K.
The crystal structure of bi-1,1′-cyclopentane-1,1′-diol, C10H18O2
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: November 2020

C10H18O2, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 10.0025(5) Å, b = 18.8285(9) Å, c = 11.2384(6) Å, β = 115.327(2)°, V = 1913.11(17) Å3, Z = 8, R

gt
(F) = 0.0596, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1606, T = 200 K.
The crystal structure of 2,6-dimethyl-4-nitro-phenol, C8H9NO3
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: November 2020

C8H9NO3, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 6.9121(4) Å, b = 26.9700(15) Å, c = 8.7204(5) Å, β = 106.152(3)°, V = 1561.48(16) Å3, Z = 8, R

gt
(F) = 0.0486, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1399, T = 200 K.
The crystal structure of bis(1,3-dihydroxy-2-methylpropan-2-aminium) carbonate, C9H24N2O7
Authors: Hosten Eric C. , Betz Richard
Published: November 2020

C9H24N2O7, monoclinic, P21/n (no. 14), a = 11.1646(7) Å, b = 6.3264(4) Å, c = 18.6926(9) Å, β = 97.5994(18)°, V = 1308.69(13) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0385, wRref
(F
2) = 0.1057, T = 200 K.
Theoretical calculation of a TiO2-based photocatalyst in the field of water splitting: A review
Authors: Li Bianhong , Wu Shaofeng , Gao Xiangsheng
Published: November 2020

Currently, energy and environmental problems are becoming more serious. The use of solar energy to split water and produce clean, renewable hydrogen as an energy source is a feasible and effective approach to solve these problems. As the most promising semiconductor material for photocatalytic water splitting, TiO2-based nanomaterials have received increasing attention from researchers in academia and industry in recent years. This review describes the research progress in the theoretical calculations of TiO2-based photocatalysts in water splitting. First, it briefly introduces some commonly used theoretical calculation methods, the crystal structure of TiO2and its photocatalytic mechanism, and the principle of doping and heterojunction modification to improve the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. Subsequently, the adsorption state of water molecules with different coverages on the surface of TiO2, the rate-limiting steps of the splitting of water molecules on the surface of TiO2, and the transfer process of photogenerated current carriers at the interface between water molecules and TiO2are analyzed. In addition, a brief review of research into the theoretical calculations of TiO2-based commercial photocatalysts in the field of water splitting is also provided. Finally, the calculation of TiO2-based photocatalytic water-splitting simulations is summarized, and possible future research and development directions are discussed.
Decentralised sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) vine multiplication in Lake Zone, Tanzania: Five years later
Authors: McEwan Margaret A. , Almekinders Conny J. M. , Matui Moses S. , Lusheshanija Dorothy , Massawe Mariana , Chirimi Baker , Ogero Kwame
Published: November 2020

Farmer-based seed multiplication is widely promoted by development practitioners, but there is limited understanding of the individual or collective motivations of farmers to engage or disengage in specialised seed production. The objective of this study is to understand the factors influencing the continuity of sweetpotato vine multiplication enterprises in the Lake Zone of Tanzania, five years after support from a project ended. A total of 81 out of 88 trained group or individual decentralised vine multipliers (DVMs) were traced to assess their vine multiplication activities. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through telephone and field interviews. Our data showed that 40% of the 81 DVMs had sold vines in the year prior to the study and 20% had maintained the improved varieties for their own use. Some group members had continued vine sales as individuals. The DVMs’ reasons for abandoning vine multiplication included climatic and water access issues, market factors and group dynamics. The DVMs did not engage in high volumes of commercial sales. Socio-economic norms and values underpin the transactions of sweetpotato vines. These norms may undermine the emergence of commercially viable enterprises yet seem navigable for a substantial number of the DVMs. Group DVMs seem less commercially successful than individuals.
Farmers’ responses to organic rice farming in Indonesia: Findings from central Java and south Sulawesi
Authors: Rozaki Zuhud , Triyono  , Indardi  , Salassa Dara Intan , Nugroho Restu Budi
Published: November 2020

Organic rice farming (ORF) is getting more attention from many parties because conventional rice farming (CRF) has environmental issues and because people’s awareness of healthy food is increasing. The social, economical, and environmental challenges make ORF a potential path forward. This study aims to understand farmers’ responses to ORF. Data were collected through interviews with 37 respondents from Central Java and 67 respondents from South Sulawesi. The respondents, chosen randomly, represented 40.38% CRF farmers and 59.62% ORF farmers. A mean was used to present the difference between CRF and ORF farmers’ responses in each variable. Multiple linear regression was used to describe the factors affecting these responses. Results showed that ORF farmers’ mean on all response variables was higher than CRF farmers’, except market opportunity (MKOP), which showed only a slight difference in means at 4.357 (CRF) and 4.371 (ORF). MKOP is the one area of trust for both CRF and ORF farmers. Both responses from CRF and ORF farmers have value for use by stakeholders to develop Indonesian ORF.
Fire-retardant wood coating based on natural rubber bearing methacrylic functionality
Authors: Nontasak Watcharapong , Thongnuanchan Bencha , Ninjan Rattanawadee , Lopattananon Natinee , Wannavilai Puripong , Nakason Charoen
Published: November 2020

The main objective of the present work was to develop intumescent fire-retardant coating (IFRC) for wood based on modified natural rubber (NR). A newly modified form of NR, namely graft copolymers of NR and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), NR-g-PMAA, was first synthesized by a solution polymerization technique. The IFRC was then prepared by compounding the synthesized NR-g-PMAA with a curing agent and an intumescent additive to form a compound coating. Cross-linking of the NR-g-PMAA coating was achieved by reactions with polyisocyanate based on hexamethylene diisocyanate (poly‐HDI) under ambient conditions. Interactions of NR-g-PMAA with poly‐HDI were also studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Expandable graphite (EG) was employed as intumescent filler in the present study. The thermal stability of the NR-g-PMAA coating films was first studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The fire-retardant properties of wood, with or without the NR-g-PMAA coating, were then examined using the limiting oxygen index and cone calorimetry test. The flammability tests indicate that the flame-retardant properties of wood were greatly improved by treatment with the NR-g-PMAA-based IFRC. Hence, it can be stated that this new form of modified NR has shown to possess potential application in the IFRC when used in combination with EG.
Modeling and assessment of the transfer effectiveness in integrated bioreactor with membrane separation
Authors: Tsibranska Irene , Vlaev Serafim , Dzhonova Daniela , Tylkowski Bartosz , Panyovska Stela , Dermendzhieva Nadezhda
Published: November 2020

Integrating a reaction process with membrane separation allows for effective product removal, favorable shifting of the reaction equilibrium, overcoming eventual inhibitory or toxic effects of the products and has the advantage of being energy and space saving. It has found a range of applications in innovative biotechnologies, generating value-added products (exopolysaccharides, antioxidants, carboxylic acids) with high potential for separation/ concentration of thermosensitive bioactive compounds, preserving their biological activity and reducing the amount of solvents and the energy for solvent recovery. Evaluating the effectiveness of such integrated systems is based on fluid dynamics and mass transfer knowledge of flowing matter close to the membrane surface –shear deformationratesand shear stress at the membrane interface, mass transfercoefficients.A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based approach for assessing the effectiveness of integrated stirred tank bioreactor with submerged membrane module is compiled. It is related to the hydrodynamic optimization of the selected reactor configuration in two-phase flow, as well as to the concentration profiles and analysis of the reactor conditions in terms of reaction kinetics and mass transfer.
Climate engineering: a strategic approach to combat environmental potential risks associated with Pak-China Economic corridor (CPEC) Development
Authors: Ali Mahwish , Sajjad Wasim , Haleem Abdul
Published: November 2020

China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) has become a future economic potential for both countries. It will serve as a gateway to share trade and other industrial benefits with each other. On one hand it’s a blessing for both countries, the other way it is offering a potential threat to the environment i.e. due to wide construction of roads the major effect is threatening biodiversity and environmental sustainability. It will cause deforestation, floods, glacier melting, climate change, and global warming. “Climate engineering” is the newly emerging concept to resolve the problems related to the environment and biodiversity. Under the umbrella of concept “Climate engineering” we proposed attractive and environmentally friendly solutions that are helpful to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment of both countries. These proposed strategies include installation of CO2 scrubbers, construction of Algal ponds, and development of research stations across the roads and by introducing the concept of carbon canopy. It will also help the legislators and policymakers of both countries to incorporate these solutions for sustainable development on each side.
The Examination of Cultural Values and Social Media Usages in China
Authors: Xiao Ge , Lee HyeRyeon , Tessema Kedir , Wang Shaokang
Published: November 2020

Both social media usage statistics and recent studies outlined the importance for marketers to tap into China’s massive market with rapid growth rate. However, there is limited research focusing on investigating and explaining how the underlying values contribute to the social media usage behavior change. This research is aimed to fill the gap by examining the effect of cultural values on social media usage (e.g., shopping, interaction and information sharing) in China. It also explores the mediating effect of materialism on the relationship between cultural values and social media usage, along the male and female gender categories. While the size and scale of China’s social media market is astonishing, its market composition varies considerably from the rest of the world due to the Chinese government’s Internet censorship. As the study of major Chinese social media sites remains largely unexplored in the literature, this study studied the usage on different social media platforms in China. The survey were conducted online in China in 2018, and a total of 600 usable samples (n = 300 for males; n = 300 for females) were obtained. A principal components factor analysis with quartimax rotation was conducted in this study for a scale reduction purpose. Five cultural dimensions, namely power distance, collectivism/individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and long-term/short-term orientation, were obtained. Then, regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses on main and mediating effects for both male and female social media users. The hypotheses were partially supported. The following summarizes major findings: 1) a significant and substantial effect of materialism on social media usages, as well a significant and moderate effect of cultural values on materialism were observed in this study; 2) the results showed that higher levels of collectivism predict higher levels of social media usage for the purpose of shopping, interaction and sharing information; 3) this study found, only for female users, a positive effect of long-term orientation on social media usage for the purpose of shopping, interaction and sharing information; 4) this study only identified one negative relationship, which is the relationship between power distance and using social media for the purpose of interaction for male users; 5) This study found users in China mainly use social media for information sharing and shopping, but not interaction purpose. Meipai (The Flickr of China), Zhihub(The Quora of China), and Tudou Youku (Youtube of China) were the top three social media sites used to share information such as photos, videos, and knowledges. On the other hand, Baidu Tieba (A Search Engine Forum), Tencent QQ (Popular Instant Messaging App) and Sina Weibo (Twitter of China) were the top 3 platforms people used to research and find product information or shop directly.
Combining dependent p-values by gamma distributions
Authors: Chien Li-Chu
Published: November 2020

Combining correlated p-values from multiple hypothesis testing is a most frequently used method for integrating information in genetic and genomic data analysis. However, most existing methods for combining independent p-values from individual component problems into a single unified p-value are unsuitable for the correlational structure among p-values from multiple hypothesis testing. Although some existing p-value combination methods had been modified to overcome the potential limitations, there is no uniformly most powerful method for combining correlated p-values in genetic data analysis. Therefore, providing a p-value combination method that can robustly control type I errors and keep the good power rates is necessary. In this paper, we propose an empirical method based on the gamma distribution (EMGD) for combining dependent p-values from multiple hypothesis testing. The proposed test, EMGD, allows for flexible accommodating the highly correlated p-values from the multiple hypothesis testing into a unified p-value for examining the combined hypothesis that we are interested in. The EMGD retains the robustness character of the empirical Brown’s method (EBM) for pooling the dependent p-values from multiple hypothesis testing. Moreover, the EMGD keeps the character of the method based on the gamma distribution that simultaneously retains the advantages of the z-transform test and the gamma-transform test for combining dependent p-values from multiple statistical tests. The two characters lead to the EMGD that can keep the robust power for combining dependent p-values from multiple hypothesis testing. The performance of the proposed method EMGD is illustrated with simulations and real data applications by comparing with the existing methods, such as Kost and McDermott’s method, the EBM and the harmonic mean p-value method.
Challenges in evaluating the use of viral sequence data to identify HIV transmission networks for public health
Authors: Kantor Rami , Fulton John P. , Steingrimsson Jon , Novitsky Vladimir , Howison Mark , Gillani Fizza , Li Yuanning , Manne Akarsh , Parillo Zoanne , Spence Matthew , Marak Theodore , Chan Philip , Dunn Casey W. , Bertrand Thomas , Bandy Utpala , Alexander-Scott Nicole , Hogan Joseph W.
Published: November 2020

Great efforts are devoted to end the HIV epidemic as it continues to have profound public health consequences in the United States and throughout the world, and new interventions and strategies are continuously needed. The use of HIV sequence data to infer transmission networks holds much promise to direct public heath interventions where they are most needed. As these new methods are being implemented, evaluating their benefits is essential. In this paper, we recognize challenges associated with such evaluation, and make the case that overcoming these challenges is key to the use of HIV sequence data in routine public health actions to disrupt HIV transmission networks.
Schillers Theorien des ›tragischen Vergnügens‹ in »Über den Grund des Vergnügens an tragischen Gegenständen« und »Über die tragische Kunst«
Authors: Köppe Tilmann
Published: November 2020

In his »Über den Grund des Vergnügens an tragischen Gegenständen« and in »Über die tragische Kunst«, Schiller offers two different explanations of ›tragic pleasure‹, thereby addressing two different explanatory targets. In the first of these writings, Schiller identifies positive aspects in the tragic content that serve as objects of corresponding positive emotions; in the second, he argues that certain aspects of watching tragedy are intrinsically pleasurable. Hence, Schiller’s two writings on tragic pleasure involve two different conceptions of ›pleasure‹: on the one hand, he holds that pleasure is an emotion directed towards a suitably qualified object; on the other hand, he describes ›pleasure‹ as the felt quality (›hedonic tone‹) of a broader range of mental attitudes or states. This article offers a systematic reconstruction of Schiller’s theses that includes showing that the reconstructed theses have been historically available; and it also hints at how Schiller’s theses might be evaluated.
Electrochemical Discharge Grinding of Metal Matrix Composites Using Shaped Abrasive Tools Formed by Sintered Bronze/diamond
Authors: Liu Jiangwen , Huang Qinming , Wu Ming , Zou Zhixiang , Lin Zhibiao , Guo Zhongning , He Junfeng , Chen Xiaolei
Published: November 2020

Electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) is a well-known process for machining of particulate reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs). However, ECDM process suffers several drawbacks such as the lower material removal rate (MRR), high risks of tool wear rate (TWR) and relatively poor surface quality, etc. This study proposes a kind of electrochemical discharge grinding machining (ECDGM) method which employs a special shaped tool electrode. During the process, not only the can the hybrid action of electrochemical dissolution, spark erosion, and abrasive grinding improve the performance of machining MMCs, but also the special shaped of the tool electrode can be used to discharge the machined debris. And thus a higher machining efficiency and lower TWR can be obtained. The performance of developed process was conducted on machining of SiC particulate reinforced aluminum workpiece. The role of peak curre+nt, pulse duration, duty cycle, rotary speed and abrasive grit size has been investigated on MMR and TWR using the nonabrasive round electrode, abrasive round electrode, and abrasive shaped electrode respectively. The experimental results showed that using the shaped abrasive electrode for machining MMCs can achieve a higher MRR and lower TWR, as compared to the non-abrasive round electrode, abrasive round electrode. Besides, the orthogonal method was employed to analyze the relative importance of the machining parameters on MRR and TWR, it has been observed that MRR is affected by the processing parameters following the order of rotary speed > peak current > duty cycle > pulse duration, and TWR is following the order of peak current > duty cycle > pulse duration > rotary speed.
The origin of editorial images: Recycling, culture, and cognition
Authors: Abdel-Raheem Ahmed
Published: November 2020

This article investigates the origin of editorial images, with a focus on the mental processes that enable cartoonists and illustrators across cultures to come up with novel ideas. It provides the most compelling evidence to date that recycling, where artists regularly recycle pictorial and compositional ideas they have developed earlier, is the origin of ideas. Recycling theory is thus compatible with a variety of ongoing research programs. Among these are Turner’s work on blending (2014), Musolff’s research on scenarios (2016), Langacker’s ideas on constructional schemas (1991), Johnson’s work on image schemas (1987), and van Dijk’s proposals concerning discourse complexes and intertextuality (2014). More specifically, the present study gives cognitively plausible answers to the perennial questions: To what extent does recycling shape and constrain the human way of thinking? Is it bound to certain cultural traditions? Does it characterize the style of certain artists or artistic movements? How does it contribute to discourse? Are the products of recycling always imaginative and creative? Is it a mode of efficiency? The theoretical insights are applied to 440 editorial images of Egyptian and British origin. This investigation will aid both semiotics scholarship and cognition studies based on multimodal stimuli.
Organisationaler Wandel von Sportverbänden durch Änderungen in Vorstand und Vertretung (§ 26 BGB) – Eine Analyse am Beispiel des Deutschen Handballbundes
Authors: Fahrner Marcel , Lesch Lara
Published: November 2020

Um Fachkompetenz zu stärken und Verantwortung an Entscheidungskompetenz zu koppeln, haben einige Sportverbände mittlerweile bezahlte Führungskräfte als Vorstand nach § 26 BGB installiert, während ein ehrenamtliches Präsidium im Sinne eines Aufsichtsrats fungiert. Der vorliegende Beitrag zielt darauf ab, das Verständnis für den mit einer solchen Änderung hinsichtlich Vorstand und Vertretung verbundenen organisationalen Wandel zu schärfen und daraus folgende Effekte auf die Verbandsarbeit zu beleuchten. Am Beispiel der DHB-Strukturreform „Perspektive 2020+“ eröffnet die Analyse – basierend auf Dokumentenanalysen und problemzentrierten Interviews – differenzierte Einblicke in organisationalen Wandel von Sportverbänden und Schlussfolgerungen für die praktische Verbandsarbeit.
Hesperidin and eugenol attenuate cadmium-induced nephrotoxicity via regulation of oxidative stress, Bax/Bcl2 and cleaved caspase 3 expression
Authors: Hussein Rasha , Khalaf Marwa , Mohamed Wafaa
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that induces nephrotoxicity through stimulating the oxidative stress in kidney cells. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of hesperidin and eugenol on Cd-induced nephrotoxicity and their impact on modulating oxidative stress, Bax/Bcl2 ratio and cleaved caspase 3 level.

Methods

Male Wistar rats were divided into: Normal group; Cd-treated group; hesperidin & Cd-treated group and eugenol & Cd-treated group. Rats received CdCl2 (5 mg/kg body weight/daily) via oral gavage for four weeks to induce kidney toxicity.

Results

The results showed that, both hesperidin & Cd and eugenol & Cd- treated groups exhibited lower serum creatinine and urea levels as well as better kidney tissue integrity compared to the Cd-treated group. Moreover, they could preserve the cellular antioxidants to normal levels as was seen in a significantly lower malondialdehyde content, but significantly higher catalase and superoxide dismutase activities compared to the Cd-treated group. Furthermore, both groups significantly decreased the Cd-induced elevation in Bax/Bcl2 ratio and cleaved caspase 3 level.

Conclusion

Administration of hesperidin or eugenol effectively protected from the structural and functional kidney damage induced by Cd exposure via antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects.
Epitranscriptome of the ventral tegmental area in a deep brain-stimulated chronic unpredictable mild stress mouse model
Authors: Song Nan , Du Jun , Gao Yan , Yang Shenglian
Published: November 2020

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) applied to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) alleviates the depressive symptoms of major depressive disorders. We investigated the mechanism of this effect by assessing gene expression and RNA methylation changes in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) following NAc-DBS in a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) mouse model of depression. Gene expression and N
6-methyladenosine (m6A) levels in the VTA were measured in mice subjected to CUMS and then DBS, and transcriptome-wide m6A changes were profiled using immunoprecipitated methylated RNAs with microarrays, prior to gene ontology analysis. The expression levels of genes linked to neurotransmitter receptors, transporters, transcription factors, neuronal activities, synaptic functions, and mitogen-activated protein kinase and dopamine signaling were upregulated in the VTA upon NAc-DBS. Furthermore, m6A modifications included both hypermethylation and hypomethylation, and changes were positively correlated with the upregulation of some genes. Moreover, the effects of CUMS on gene expression and m6A-mRNA modification were reversed by DBS for some genes. Interestingly, while the expression of certain genes was not changed by DBS, long-term stimulation did alter their m6A modifications. NAc-DBS-induced modifications are correlated largely with upregulation but sometimes downregulation of genes in CUMS mice. Our findings improve the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying DBS effects on depression.
Multistability and chaotic scenario in a quantum pair-ion plasma
Authors: Pradhan Barsha , Mukherjee Sayan , Saha Asit , Natiq Hayder , Banerjee Santo
Published: November 2020

Multistability and chaotic scenario of arbitrary amplitude ion-acoustic waves in a quantum plasma consisting of negative ions, positive ions and electrons are investigated. The normalized basic equations are transformed to a four dimensional conservative dynamical system by introducing a travelling wave variable. Stability of the fixed points for the corresponding linearized system is briefly examined. Chaotic and quasi-periodic features of the arbitrary amplitude ion-acoustic waves are discussed using effective tools, viz. phase orientations, time series graph and graphs of Lyapunov exponents. Multistability phenomena is established with the help of phase spaces, largest Lyapunov exponents and cross-section of basins of attraction. The chaotic phenomena is further verified by 0−1 test. Results of this study can be applied in understanding dynamical phenomena of arbitrary amplitude ion-acoustic waves in quantum pair-ion plasmas.
Selective cyclization modes of methyl 3′-heteroarylamino-2′-(2,5-dichlorothiophene-3-carbonyl)acrylates. Synthesis of model (thienyl)pyrazolo- and triazolo[1,5-α]pyrimidines
Authors: Sweidan Nuha I. , El-Abadelah Mustafa M. , Nazer Musa Z. , Voelter Wolfgang
Published: November 2020

Interaction of methyl 3-ethoxy-2-(2,5-dichloro-3-thenoyl)acrylate (I) with 3-aminopyrazole and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole generated the respective pyrazolo[1,5-α]pyrimidine (4) and triazolo[1,5-α]pyrimidine (7). The formation of 4 entails selective and consecutive displacement of the 3-ethoxy and methoxy (ester) anions in I by 3-NH2 and 1-NH of 3-aminopyrazole. On the other hand, the formation of 7 implies selective displacement of 3-ethoxy in I by the ring-NH followed by cyclocondensation involving the keto group in I and 3-NH2 of aminotriazole. This latter selective displacement sequence is also followed by 3-amino-5-hydroxypyrazole in its reaction with I. The structures of the new compounds are supported by microanalytical and spectral data.