bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teaching While Becoming: The Transnational Expertise of a Korean Immigrant Youth‐Educator
Authors: Kwon Jungmin , Sun Wenyang , Rheem Christine Seon
Published: June 2022

Immigrant youth accumulate expansive linguistic, cultural, and experiential knowledge through their border‐crossing experiences. These transnational funds of knowledge accompany immigrant youth as they enter various literacy development contexts, including community‐based heritage language (HL) schools. This ethnographic case study focuses on a 15‐year‐old Korean American female student and the ways she sustains her HL by maintaining her transnational connections. This study also highlights how the focal youth passes down her multilingual and transnational expertise to younger generations by fostering the children's HL literacy and teaching them culture through her transnational experiences. The study demonstrates the importance of recognizing immigrant youth's transnational experiences as curricular resources and creating opportunities for them to mentor and teach young children as youth‐educators. Additionally, this study shows that youth should be involved in designing culturally sustaining HL curriculum to help support the HL and literacy learning of children and youth from immigrant families.
The SHARK integral generation and digestion system
Authors: Neese Frank
Published: June 2022

In this paper, the SHARK integral generation and digestion engine is described. In essence, SHARK is based on a reformulation of the popular McMurchie/Davidson approach to molecular integrals. This reformulation leads to an efficient algorithm that is driven by BLAS level 3 operations. The algorithm is particularly efficient for high angular momentum basis functions (up to L = 7 is available by default, but the algorithm is programmed for arbitrary angular momenta). SHARK features a significant number of specific programming constructs that are designed to greatly simplify the workflow in quantum chemical program development and avoid undesirable code duplication to the largest possible extent. SHARK can handle segmented, generally and partially generally contracted basis sets. It can be used to generate a host of one‐ and two‐electron integrals over various kernels including, two‐, three‐, and four‐index repulsion integrals, integrals over Gauge Including Atomic Orbitals (GIAOs), relativistic integrals and integrals featuring a finite nucleus model. SHARK provides routines to evaluate Fock like matrices, generate integral transformations and related tasks. SHARK is the essential engine inside the ORCA package that drives essentially all tasks that are related to integrals over basis functions in version ORCA 5.0 and higher. Since the core of SHARK is based on low‐level basic linear algebra (BLAS) operations, it is expected to not only perform well on present day but also on future hardware provided that the hardware manufacturer provides a properly optimized BLAS library for matrix and vector operations. Representative timings and comparisons to the Libint library used by ORCA are reported for Intel i9 and Apple M1 max processors.
Towards a transferable nonelectrostatic model for continuum solvation: The electrostatic and nonelectrostatic energy correction model
Authors: Vassetti Dario , Labat Frédéric
Published: June 2022

In this work, we introduce an electrostatic and non‐electrostatic (ENE) correction to the solvation energy based on the Solvent‐Accessible Surface Area (SASA) of the solute and the solvent static dielectric constant. The proposed correction was developed for neutral solutes in non‐aqueous solvents, considering three different implicit solvation models based on a Self‐Consistent Reaction Field treatment of solute‐solvent mutual polarization using an Apparent Surface Charge formalism, namely the Integral Equation Formalism of the Polarizable Continuum Model using a continuous surface charge scheme (PCM), the Solvation Model based on solute electron density (SMD), and the generalized Finite‐Difference Poisson‐Boltzmann (FDPB) model. The proposed correction was parametrized on a diverse training set of 4980 solvation data from the Solv@tum database of experimental solvation energies, and validated on the non‐aqueous subset of the MNSOL database comprising 2140 solvation energies. The performances of the proposed ENE models with minimal and extended parameters formulations have been analyzed and the latter variant has been further compared to the widely used Cavity, Dispersion, and Solvent structural effects (CDS) non‐electrostatic model originally developed for the SMx family of implicit solvation models. Overall, a very good agreement between the computed solvation energies with the ENE correction and the reference experimental data has been found on both the training and test sets for all continuum solvation models considered. Furthermore, results for the ENE correction are on par with the reference CDS non‐electrostatic model for both SMD and FDPB electrostatics, but with the advantage of using a lower number of parameters and thus an improved transferability between different electrostatics treatments.
The Impact of Suboptimal 25‐Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Cholecalciferol Replacement on the Pharmacokinetics of Oral Midazolam in Control Subjects and Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Tuey Stacey M. , Prebehalla Linda , Roque Amandla‐Atilano , Roda Gavriel , Chonchol Michel B. , Shah Nirav , Wempe Michael F. , Hu Yichun , Hogan Susan L. , Nolin Thomas D. , Joy Melanie S.
Published: June 2022

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of suboptimal 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25‐VitD) and cholecalciferol (VitD3) supplementation on the pharmacokinetics of oral midazolam (MDZ) in control subjects and subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Subjects with CKD (n = 14) and controls (n = 5) with suboptimal 25‐VitD levels (<30 ng/mL) were enrolled in a 2‐phase study. In phase 1 (suboptimal), subjects were administered a single oral dose of VitD3 (5000 IU) and MDZ (2 mg). In phase 2 (replete) subjects who achieved 25‐VitD repletion after receiving up to 16 weeks of daily cholecalciferol were given the identical single oral doses of VitD3 and MDZ as in phase 1. Concentrations of MDZ and metabolites, 1′‐hydroxymidazolam (1′‐OHMDZ), and 1′‐OHMDZ glucuronide (1′‐OHMDZ‐G) were measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and pharmacokinetic analysis was performed. Under suboptimal 25‐VitD, reductions in MDZ clearance and renal clearance of 47% and 87%, respectively, and a 72% reduction in renal clearance of 1′‐OHMDZ‐G were observed in CKD vs controls. In phase 1 versus phase 2, MDZ clearance increased in all control subjects, with a median (interquartile range) increase of 10.5 (0.62‐16.7) L/h. No changes in MDZ pharmacokinetics were observed in subjects with CKD between phases 1 and 2. The effects of 25‐VitD repletion on MDZ disposition was largely observed in subjects without kidney disease. Impaired MDZ metabolism and/or excretion alterations due to CKD in a suboptimal 25‐VitD state may not be reversed by cholecalciferol therapy. Suboptimal 25‐VitD may augment the reductions in MDZ and 1′‐OHMDZ‐G clearance values observed in patients with CKD.
Control and adaptability of seasonal changes in behavior and physiology of latitudinal avian migrants: Insights from laboratory studies in Palearctic‐Indian migratory buntings
Authors: Sharma Aakansha , Tripathi Vatsala , Kumar Vinod
Published: June 2022

Twice‐a‐year migrations, one in autumn and the other in spring, occur within a discrete time window with striking alterations in the behavior and physiology, as regulated by the interaction of endogenous rhythms with prevailing photoperiod. These seasonal voyages are not isolated events; rather, they are part of an overall annual itinerary and remain closely coupled to the other annual subcycles, called seasonal life history states (LHSs). The success of migration depends on appropriate timing of the initiation and termination of each LHS, for example, reproduction, molt, summer nonmigratory, preautumn migratory (fattening and weight gain), autumn migratory, winter nonmigratory (wnM), prevernal (spring) migratory (fattening and weight gain), and spring migratory LHSs. Migration‐linked photoperiod‐induced changes include the body fattening and weight gain, nocturnalZugunruhe(migratory restlessness), elevated triglycerides and free fatty acids, triiodothyronine and corticosterone levels. Hypothalamic expression of the thyroid hormone‐responsivedio2anddio3, light‐responsiveper2,cry1, andadcyap1andth(tyrosine hydroxylase, involved in dopamine biosynthesis) genes also show significant changes with transition from wnM to the vernal migratory LHS. Concurrent changes in the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism and its transport also occur in the liver and flight muscles, respectively. Interestingly, there are clear differences in the behavioral and physiological phenotypes, and associated molecular changes, between the autumn and vernal migrations. In this review, we discuss seasonal changes in the behavior and physiology, and present molecular insights into the development of migratory phenotypes in latitudinal avian migrants, with special reference to Palearctic‐Indian migratory buntings.
Future counselors’ voices: A qualitative investigation of microaggression training
Authors: Dunn Marianne , Chambers Carissa , Cho Jihee , Cheng Min
Published: June 2022

The present study is a qualitative investigation of the voices of counseling graduate trainees (n = 76) in response to a multicultural competence training on racial microaggressions. The didactic and experiential training included readings, lecture, videos, large and small group discussions, and skills practice sessions. Upon completion of the training, trainees in individual and group counseling skills classes responded to open‐ended questions in journals. These journals were subsequently analyzed using consensual qualitative research‐modified, and responses were examined according to race/ethnicity (i.e., trainees of color vs. White trainees). Four primary domains emerged from the analysis: difficult, most and least helpful aspects of training, and racial‐cultural identity influences on training. Recommendations for future training are presented, along with salient patterns that emerged from the voices of trainees of color and White trainees.
SARS‐CoV‐2 and mutation RT‐qPCR test positivity correlation with ABO and Rh blood types
Authors: Gürer Giray Burcu , Güven Açık Gökçe
Published: June 2022

Studies show that there may be a relationship between ABO blood type and SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission. It was aimed to determine by investigating the blood type of patients whose one‐step reverse transcription and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) test were positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. ABO and Rh blood types of individuals whose RT‐qPCR test was positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 were examined and an evaluation was made to identify whether there was a relationship between them or not. The blood type data of 44.928 SARS‐CoV‐2 positive RT‐qPCR test results have been obtained. 17.656 (39.29%) were delta, 8048 (17.91%) were alpha, 800 (1.78%) were beta, and 3000 (6.67%) were omicrons while 15.424 (34.33%) SARS‐CoV‐2 positive mutation was found to be negative. Our study suggests that O and Rh (−) blood types may provide protection against delta, AB and Rh (+) blood types may hinder omicron infection while A and Rh (+) blood types may be more vulnerable to alpha and delta while B and Rh (+) are more sensitive to beta mutation. The molecular mechanism underlying the relationship between blood types and SARS‐CoV‐2 infection needs further molecular studies and multi‐centered studies.
The role of stress mindsets and coping in improving the personal growth, engagement, and health of small business owners
Authors: Paustian‐Underdahl Samantha C. , Palmer Joshua C. , Halliday Cynthia Saldanha , Blass Fred R.
Published: June 2022

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on small businesses and nonprofit organizations worldwide, resulting in rising stress and worry for many small business owners. While stress is typically considered to be harmful to health and well‐being, recent work suggests that improving one's mindset about the benefits of stress can help one to respond to stress more effectively. In the current study, we use a preintervention and postintervention design and latent change score analysis to examine the impact of changing one's stress mindset on changes in personal growth, engagement, and health among small business owners—via changes in coping behaviors. Further, we examine how the perceived likelihood of needing to permanently close one's business may strengthen the effects of changing one's stress mindset on changes in approach and avoidance coping, and subsequent outcomes. In doing so, we begin to uncover the theoretical mechanisms underlying how having a stress‐is‐enhancing mindset can bring about changes in personal growth, engagement, and health. We also incorporate qualitative data to better contextualize the stress and coping‐related attitudes and behaviors of small business owners during the pandemic. This work has significant practical implications for small business owners and others experiencing work‐related stressors.
Characterization of unifloral Italian (Piedmont region) honeys by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Authors: Bonometti Elisabetta , Giordana Alessia , Operti Lorenza , Rabezzana Roberto , Turco Francesca , Volpi Giorgio
Published: June 2022

Background

The characterization of five different types of Italian unifloral honeys was performed by means of headspace solid‐phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The main volatile compounds of the honeys were identified and semi‐quantified. Pattern recognition methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and k‐nearest neighbors (k‐NN) were performed to classify honey samples with different botanical origins, and identify the most discriminating parameters.

Results

More than 100 of compounds were unambiguously identified in the honeys sampled. Methyl salicylate was present in honeydew honeys only, and this permitted to differentiate this kind of honeys from the others. Dandelion honeys featured high levels of nitriles, while lime tree honeys displayed the presence of carvacrol and of the terpenes cis and trans‐p‐mentha‐2,8‐dien‐1‐ol. Acacia honeys did not display potential chemical markers but were characterized by low levels of benzaldehyde and high levels of cis‐linalool oxide. Chestnut and rhododendron honeys did not show a volatile profile markedly different from those of other honeys. Application of PCA and k‐NN methods did not allow a complete classification of honeys of different botanical origin on the basis of their volatile profile.

Conclusion

Unifloral honeys from Piedmont (Italy) displays a rich and variegate profile of volatile compounds, some of which are candidates as markers. Nonetheless, to classify honeys, further studies are necessary likely comprising a larger set of samples and the determination of different chemical parameters in conjunction with volatile compounds.
Preparation, structural characteristics, and application of taro polysaccharides in food
Authors: Zhang Wenting , Huang Gangliang
Published: June 2022

Taro, a staple food for residents in Africa and parts of Asia, is an important source of carbohydrate. China has abundant taro resources. Taro contains polysaccharide, vitamins, minerals and other substances. Taro polysaccharides, as a significant active ingredient in taro, are mainly composed of monosaccharide units such as glucose, galactose, arabinose, mannose, and so on. Taro polysaccharides have antioxidant, lipid‐lowering, and immunomodulatory effects. In today's world, people are interested in food containing natural ingredients, which stimulates the potential of taro polysaccharides in the food, pharmaceutical, medical, and other fields. Herein, the extraction and purification, structural characterization, functional activity, and application of taro polysaccharides are reviewed to strengthen the cognition of taro polysaccharides. It provides references for further research and development of taro polysaccharides. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Long‐term outcomes of arterial ischemia or venous occlusion on vascularized groin lymph nodes in a rat model
Authors: Yang Chin‐Yu , Tinhofer Ines E. , Cheng Ming‐Huei
Published: June 2022

Background

This study investigated the long‐term effects of arterial ischemia and venous occlusion on lymph node drainage function in a rat model.

Methods

Bilateral groin lymph node flaps of 18 Lewis rats were dissected. The pedicle artery was clamped for 4, 5, and 6 h (A4, A5, and A6 groups), and the vein for 3, 4, and 5 h (V3, V4, and V5 groups) in six flaps. At 4 weeks, the evaluations included gross morphomics, indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography, histological section, immunofluorescence of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay, and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) stain.

Results

The lymph node flaps developed shrinkage and partial necrosis in A5, A6, V4, and V5 groups. Hemorrhage in the lymph node cortex and medulla was observed histologically in A5, A6, and V5 groups. ICG lymphography showed loss of lymphatic drainage function in 2 of 6 flaps in A6 and V5 groups. Cell death was shown partly in cortical follicles in A5 and V4 groups and completely in A6 and V5 groups. The HO‐1 expression was statistically increased in A5 and V5 groups, respectively (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The critical arterial ischemia and venous occlusion time were 4 h at 4 weeks of follow‐up.
Room Temperature Fluorescence Blinking in MoS2 Atomic Layers by Single Photon Energy Transfer
Authors: He Mai , Ge Cuihuan , Braun Kai , Huang Lanyu , Yang Xin , Zhao Hepeng , Meixner Alfred J. , Wang Xiao , Pan Anlian
Published: June 2022

The quantum optical phenomena, such as single‐photon emission, in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have triggered extensive research on 2D material‐based quantum optics and devices. By far, most reported quantum optical emissions in TMDCs are based on atomic defects or the local confinement of excitons. In contrast, energy transfer between two materials could also manipulate the photon emission behaviors in materials, even at the single‐photon level. Here, fluorescence blinking from MoS2 atomic layers in quantum dot (QD)/MoS2 hybrid heterostructure at room temperature is reported. The single‐photon nature of the QDs in heterostructures by second‐order photon correlation measurements is demonstrated. Based on the transient PL spectroscopy and PL time trajectories, the fluorescence blinking behavior in MoS2 is attributed to the single‐photon energy transfer from QD to MoS2. This work could open the possibility to achieve correlated quantum emitters in TMDCs at room temperature.
Injectable and Self‐Healing Polysaccharide Hydrogel Loading Molybdenum Disulfide Nanoflakes for Synergistic Photothermal‐Photodynamic Therapy of Breast Cancer
Authors: Qi Yujie , Yuan Yifeng , Qian Zhiyi , Ma Xiaodie , Yuan Weizhong , Song Ye
Published: June 2022

In order to overcome the limitation of traditional therapies for cancer and improve the accuracy of treatment, more advantageous cancer treatment methods need to be explored and studied. As a result, photothermal photodynamic therapy of breast cancer using bovine serum albumin (BSA) modifies molybdenum disulfide nanoflakes. Then the well‐dispersed BSA‐MoS2 NFs are loaded in the injectable and self‐healing polysaccharide hydrogel which is prepared by the reaction of oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) and hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCS) through the formation of Schiff base bonds. The injection and self‐healing properties of the nanocomposite hydrogel are investigated. In vitro photothermal and photodynamic investigations demonstrate that BSA‐MoS2 NFs possess obvious photothermal conversion and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under the irradiation of near infrared (NIR) laser (808 nm). In vivo anticancer investigation indicates that the nanocomposite hydrogel can be directly injected and remain in the tumor sites and achieve the synergistic photothermal‐photodynamic therapy of cancer.
Roe v. Wade and Other Social Issues in 2022
Authors: Wich Scott
Published: June 2022

With the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court in the waning days of the presidency of Donald Trump, a five‐judge conservative block (along with Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh) was established in the nation's highest court. A revisiting and potential reversal of the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade in light of the shift in the Court's perspective was largely expected. Yet, when Justice Alito's draft opinion was leaked in the Spring, protests erupted across the country. The risk that many women see from a reversal became very real. Almost immediately, states began talks to discuss legislation to either bolster or further distance themselves from the Roe v. Wade decision. Some companies, such as Uber and Amazon, have already announced that benefits would be provided to assist employees impacted by a reversal of the decision in Roe v. Wade.
A novel approach based on probability theory for material selection
Authors: Zheng M. , Wang Y. , Teng H.
Published: June 2022

A novel approach for material selection is developed on basis of probability theory. The novel concept of favorable probability is formed to express the favorable degree of a candidate material in the selection. It assumes that all utility indexes of material performance indicators can be attributed to beneficial or unbeneficial type, and each utility index of material performance indicator devotes to one partial favorable probability in the selection; a partial favorable probability is linearly correlative to the corresponding utility index of material performance indicator in positive or negative manners upon its nature of whether beneficial or unbeneficial type; the product of all the partial favorable probabilities forge the overall / global favorable probability of a candidate material. Finally, all the candidate materials can be ranked according to their overall favorable probability comparatively in the material selection. As application examples, the quantitative material selections of cylindrical shaft, stamping of titanium bipolar plates for fuel cell and tribological coatings are given; furthermore, the novel approach is combined with the orthogonal and uniform experiment designs to conduct their optimizations under multi‐object conditions.
Highly accelerated EPI with wave encoding and multi‐shot simultaneous multislice imaging
Authors: Cho Jaejin , Liao Congyu , Tian Qiyuan , Zhang Zijing , Xu Jinmin , Lo Wei‐Ching , Poser Benedikt A. , Stenger V. Andrew , Stockmann Jason , Setsompop Kawin , Bilgic Berkin
Published: June 2022

Purpose

To introduce wave‐encoded acquisition and reconstruction techniques for highly accelerated EPI with reduced g‐factor penalty and image artifacts.

Theory and Methods

Wave‐EPI involves application of sinusoidal gradients during the EPI readout, which spreads the aliasing in all spatial directions, thereby taking better advantage of 3D coil sensitivity profiles. The amount of voxel spreading that can be achieved by the wave gradients during the short EPI readout period is constrained by the slew rate of the gradient coils and peripheral nerve stimulation monitor. We propose to use a “half‐cycle” sinusoidal gradient to increase the amount of voxel spreading that can be achieved while respecting the slew and stimulation constraints. Extending wave‐EPI to multi‐shot acquisition minimizes geometric distortion and voxel blurring at high in‐plane resolutions, while structured low‐rank regularization mitigates shot‐to‐shot phase variations. To address gradient imperfections, we propose to use different point spread functions for the k‐space lines with positive and negative polarities, which are calibrated with a FLEET‐based reference scan.

Results

Wave‐EPI enabled whole‐brain single‐shot gradient‐echo (GE) and multi‐shot spin‐echo (SE) EPI acquisitions at high acceleration factors at 3T and was combined with g‐Slider encoding to boost the SNR level in 1 mm isotropic diffusion imaging. Relative to blipped‐CAIPI, wave‐EPI reduced average and maximum g‐factors by up to 1.21‐ and 1.37‐fold at Rin × Rsms = 3 × 3, respectively.

Conclusion

Wave‐EPI allows highly accelerated single‐ and multi‐shot EPI with reduced g‐factor and artifacts and may facilitate clinical and neuroscientific applications of EPI by improving the spatial and temporal resolution in functional and diffusion imaging.
Activity and footwear characteristics in people with and without plantar heel pain: A matched cross‐sectional observational study
Authors: Landorf Karl B. , Kaminski Michelle R. , Munteanu Shannon E. , Zammit Gerard V. , Menz Hylton B.
Published: June 2022

Background

Activity and footwear may be associated with plantar heel pain (PHP), however both factors have rarely been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate activity and footwear characteristics in PHP while controlling for important confounders.

Method

This cross‐sectional observational study compared 50 participants with PHP to 25 participants without PHP who were matched for age, sex and body mass index. Activity was measured using the Stanford Activity Questionnaire, as well as the number of hours per day participants stood for, and whether they stood on hard floors. Footwear characteristics were measured using the footwear domain of the Foot Health Status Questionnaire (FHSQ), as well as the style of shoe, heel height, and the Shore A hardness value of the heel of the shoe most used.

Results

Participants with PHP stood for more than twice as long as participants without PHP (mean difference 3.4 hours, p < 0.001, large effect size). Participants with PHP also reported greater difficulty accessing suitable footwear (FHSQ footwear domain mean difference (MD) 22 points, p = 0.002, large effect size (ES), and they wore harder‐heeled shoes (Shore A MD 6.9 units, p = 0.019, medium ES). There were no significant differences for physical activity, whether they stood on hard floors, the style of shoe they wore, or heel height.

Conclusions

Compared to people without PHP, people with PHP stand for more than twice the amount of time each day, have substantial difficulties accessing suitable footwear, and the primary shoes they wear are harder under the heel.
Quick and green toward conductive thermally‐stable biobasedstar‐shapedoligomers
Authors: Shahkarami Fatemeh , Kabiri Kourosh , Piri Farideh , Moini Nasrin , Jahandideh Arash
Published: June 2022

Today every single step toward green chemistry is a high priority to avoid global warming and environmental contaminations. In this regard, conductive, asymmetric star‐shaped, bio‐based structures, comprising tetramers of aniline (SSB‐TA) was synthesized from bio‐sourced resin using microwave irradiation. The hydroxyl‐functional SSB‐TA was characterized by FT‐IR,1H‐NMR,13C‐NMR, and the thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of oligomer and its hybrid with poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate), (HEMA) were measured by TGA, DMTA and four probe conductometer. Results show that SSB‐TA is highly thermal‐stable conductive biobased oligomer (T50% = 452°C [higher than tetraniline] andσ = 8.9 × 10−4 S cm−1) and 2.5% SSB‐TA is the optimum content to improve thermal properties up to 62% and enhance the level of electrical conductivity of poly (HEMA) 12 times. This functional structure can be considered as a suitable candidate to be employed in tissue engineering and biobased adhesives contributing into the self‐assembly process, post treatment reactions as well as additive in not only HEMA but also star‐shaped lactic acid–based systems.
A phase 2 pharmacodynamic dose‐finding, safety, and efficacy study of dalteparin for pediatric venous thromboembolism treatment in children with and without cancer
Authors: Hartman Lisa R. , Nurmeev Ildar , Svirin Pavel , Wolter Kevin D. , Yan Jean Li , Jani Darshana , Goldenberg Neil A. , Sherman Nancy
Published: June 2022

Data from registrational trials of pediatric venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment are sparse, especially among cancer patients. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, open‐label trial (NCT00952380) on dose‐finding, safety, and efficacy (measured by 90‐day risks of clinically relevant bleeding [CRB] and symptomatic recurrent VTE [srVTE]) of twice‐daily subcutaneous dalteparin for acute VTE treatment in patients ≤18 years old. Among 38 patients (cancer,n = 26; noncancer,n = 12), median dalteparin dose requirements per kilogram varied with age but not cancer status. Risks of CRB and srVTE were <4% in cancer and noncancer subgroups. Dalteparin is an important FDA‐approved treatment for pediatric VTE, particularly with cancer.
Evaluation of morphological, rheological, mechanical, and dielectric properties of aluminum dross filled polyoxymethylene (POM) composites
Authors: Yurtbasi Zuhal , Kuyumcu Mustafa , Kurt Gökçe , Kasgoz Alper
Published: June 2022

In this study, different amounts of aluminum dross (Al‐dross) powders were incorporated into polyoxymethylene (POM) by the melt‐mixing method, and morphological, thermal, rheological, mechanical and dielectric properties of the obtained composite samples were investigated. So, it was aimed to develop value‐added products and create an alternative utilization method for industrial waste that poses environmental risk and does not have a useful application area. The morphological analyses performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the Al‐dross contained various inorganic components with different particle sizes such as Al2O3, NaCl. Moreover, no significant structural incompatibility between the POM and Al‐dross was observed. In contrast, the SEM analyses showed non‐coated filler particle surfaces, which were probably due to the breaking of NaCl particles during the extrusion process. In the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, it was found that the effect of Al‐dross addition on the crystallization temperature, amount of crystalline structure in the polymer phase or crystallization rate was limited. The rheological analyses showed that the Al‐dross particles formed rheological percolated structures at an Al‐dross ratio of 20% wt. In the dynamic mechanic analysis (DMA), it was observed that the modulus of elasticity (E') increased by approximately 40% and creep strain decreased by approximately 50% by the addition of Al‐dross into the POM phase at the 40% in %wt. Finally, in the dielectric analyses carried out in the frequency range of 1–14 GHz by a vector network analyzer, it was concluded that incorporating Al‐dross at 40% caused an increase of 1.5 and 3 times in real and imaginary part of the complex permittivity.
Suitability assessment of raw‐alkalizedZiziphus nummulariabark fibers and its polymeric composites for lightweight applications
Authors: SV Gurupranes , I Rajendran , N Shanmuga Sundaram
Published: June 2022

The global trend of environmental protection has led to replacing synthetic fibers in every feasible application with natural fibers. An alteration of the fiber's surface is essential for the natural fiber to be more suitable for use. In this study, the mercerization processes including 5% (wt/vol) sodium hydroxide solution at five different soaking times (15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 min), were used in this study to enhance various features ofZiziphus nummulariafibers isolated fromZiziphus nummulariaplant stems. Results showed that 60 min alkalizedZiziphus nummulariafibers had cellulose content of 65.72%, which seems to be higher, and it was termed as optimally alkalizedZiziphus nummulariafibers. The thermal studies showed that optimally alkalizedZiziphus nummulariafibers had a degradation temperature of 360°C. The optimally alkalizedZiziphus nummulariafibers showed a crystalline index of 50.6% and crystal size of 3.52 nm. Epoxy composites were manufactured with various loading percentages of optimally alkalized and rawZiziphus nummulariafibers to prove the application suitability. It was shown that 20 wt% of optimally alkalizedZiziphus nummulariafibers‐based epoxy composites showed a higher ultimate tensile strength of 40.31 MPa than all other composites. Scanning Electron microscope studies elucidated the fiber's surface behavior and other characteristics of fibers and tested epoxy composites.
Are talented people more virtuous in the eyes of others? Positive effects of competence on perceived morality
Authors: Chen Feifei , Guo Tieyuan , Bi Chongzeng
Published: June 2022

Existing research on competence and morality focuses on their role in impression formation, overlooking their impact on each other. In five studies, we explored whether a target person's competence influences perceived morality of the target through interpersonal attraction. The results showed that perceived competence of a target individual was positively correlated with interpersonal attraction, which in turn positively correlated with morality (Study 1). Using an experimental design, we further found that competent individuals were considered more attractive, making them being perceived more moral than incompetent ones (Studies 2–4). In addition, an initially immoral individual was perceived as being moral when he was described as highly competent (Study 3) whereas an initially moral individual was perceived as being immoral when he was described as having low competence (Study 4). These findings were not completely accounted for by the halo effect (Study 5). The results supported that competence information promotes perceptions of morality in person perception.
Surface tailored graphite–polymer composite electrodes through cold plasma for electrochemical applications
Authors: Luhar Sunil , Rane Ramkrishna , Srivastava Divesh N.
Published: June 2022

Composite electrodes are gradually gaining interest due to their versatile applications. plastic chip electrode (PCE) comprising of graphite and Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is one such composite that can be fabricated by simple solution‐phase mixing followed by solvent evaporation. In this study, we report more than two times enhancement in the bulk conductance of PCE by removing the passivating superficial polymer layer above the filler, through the treatment of cold plasma. Comparative characterization of the pre‐ and posttreated electrode has been performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), spreading resistance imaging (SRI), contact angle, and current–voltage characteristics as well as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Improved electroactivity of PCE has been demonstrated through cyclic voltammetry (CV).
Metallic Sodium Anodes for Advanced Sodium Metal Batteries: Progress, Challenges and Perspective
Authors: Shi Huan , Zhang Yamin , Liu Yang , Yuan Changzhou
Published: June 2022

Sodium (Na)‐based batteries, as the ideal choice of large‐scale and low‐cost energy storage, have attracted much attention. Na metal anodes with high theoretical specific capacity and low potential are considered to be one of the most promising anodes for next‐generation Na‐based batteries. However, the high reactivity of Na metal anodes makes the electrode/electrolyte phase unstable, resulting in formation of Na dendrites, short cycle life and safety problems. Herein, the contribution outlines the latest development of Na metal anodes for Na metal batteries. The design strategies for high efficiency utilization of Na metal anodes are elucidated, including sophisticated electrode construction, liquid electrolyte optimization, electrode/electrolyte interface stabilization, and solid electrolyte adaptation. Finally, the future research direction and existing problems are proposed.
Wildland fires ignited by avian electrocutions
Authors: Barnes Taylor A. , Dwyer James F. , Mojica Elizabeth K. , Petersen Paul A. , Harness Richard E.
Published: June 2022

Uncontrolled wildfires are occurring with increasing frequency across western North America due to a combination of wildfire suppression, climate change, impacts from mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae), alterations in range composition by nonnative grasses, and human population growth in fire‐prone landscapes. A poorly studied mechanism of wildland fire ignitions occurs when a bird perched on an overhead power line is electrocuted, its plumage ignites, and the burning bird falls into and ignites dry vegetation. Avian‐caused ignitions have been occasionally documented, but not spatially analyzed in the contiguous United States. We hypothesized that spatial analyses could demonstrate specific regions where ignitions from avian electrocutions occur most frequently. To test our hypothesis, we compared public reports of wildland fires ignited by bird electrocutions to Environmental Protection Agency ecoregions. We found reports of 44 wildland fires ignited by avian electrocutions in the contiguous U.S. from January 2014 to December 2018. The Mediterranean California ecoregion had the highest density of avian‐caused fires. It would be prudent for electric utilities in the Mediterranean California ecoregion in the U.S., and in fire‐prone landscapes globally, to develop fire mitigation plans that include modifying power poles to reduce risk of avian electrocutions and resulting wildfires.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression, anxiety, loneliness, and satisfaction in the German general population: a longitudinal analysis
Authors: Hettich Nora , Entringer Theresa M. , Kroeger Hannes , Schmidt Peter , Tibubos Ana N. , Braehler Elmar , Beutel Manfred E.
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Cross-sectional studies found high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, and loneliness during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reported increases were lower in longitudinal population-based findings. Studies including positive outcomes are rare. This study analyzed changes in mental health symptoms, loneliness, and satisfaction.

Methods

Respondents of the German Socio-Economic Panel (N = 6038) were surveyed pre-pandemic (2017/2019) and during the first (June 2020) and second wave (January and February 2021) of the pandemic. Self-report screeners assessed depression and anxiety symptoms, loneliness, life and health satisfaction. Difference scores were analysed using ANCOVAs focusing on time, gender, age groups.

Results

Depression and anxiety symptoms and health satisfaction increased from pre-pandemic to the first wave, but declined in the second pandemic wave. Loneliness increased and life satisfaction decreased during the first and the second wave of the pandemic. Young adults and women reported more distress and loneliness, even after controlling for pre-pandemic scores, education, and income. All effects remained stable when controlling for self-reported previous diagnosis of depression or region of residence.

Conclusion

Increases and decreases in mental health symptoms and health satisfaction showed little variation. Of concern are the strong increases of loneliness and decreased life satisfaction being important targets for interventions. Main risk factors are young age and female gender.
Bayesian flexible beta regression model with functional covariate
Authors: Di Brisco Agnese Maria , Bongiorno Enea Giuseppe , Goia Aldo , Migliorati Sonia
Published: June 2022

Standard parametric regression models are unsuitable when the aim is to predict a bounded continuous response, such as a proportion/percentage or a rate. A possible solution is the flexible beta regression model which is based on a special mixture of betas designed to cope with (though not limited to) bimodality, heavy tails, and outlying observations. This work introduces such a model in the case of a functional covariate, motivated by a spectrometric analysis on milk specimens. Estimation issues are dealt with through a combination of standard basis expansion and Markov chains Monte Carlo techniques. Specifically, the selection of the most significant coefficients of the expansion is done through Bayesian variable selection methods that take advantage of shrinkage priors. The effectiveness of the proposal is illustrated with simulation studies and the application on spectrometric data.
How to avoid misinterpretation of dual reporter gene assay data affected by cell damage
Authors: Nilles Julie , Weiss Johanna , Haefeli Walter E. , Ruez Stephanie , Theile Dirk
Published: June 2022

The activity of nuclear receptors (e.g., pregnane x receptor, PXR) can be assessed by luminescence-based dual reporter gene assays. Under most conditions, receptor-activated firefly luminescence is normalized to Renilla luminescence, which is triggered by a constitutively active promoter. Simultaneous damage to the cells can however disrupt these signals and thus impair the interpretation of the data. Consequently, this study addressed three important aspects: First, idealized models were described, each highlighting crucial characteristics and important pitfalls of dual PXR reporter gene assays used to evaluate PXR activation or inhibition. Second, these models were supported by experimental data obtained with a strong PXR activator (rifampicin) with low cytotoxicity, a PXR activator with high cytotoxicity (dovitinib), a proposed PXR inhibitor that reportedly has no toxic effects (triptolide), and a cytotoxic control (oxaliplatin). Data were evaluated for relative PXR activity data, individual firefly or Renilla luminescence, and anti-proliferative effects of the compounds (assessed by crystal violet staining). Finally, a step-by-step guide is proposed to avoid misleading set-up of the assay or misinterpretation of the data obtained. Key considerations here include (1) omission of drug concentrations beyond 10–20% proliferation inhibition; (2) observation of Renilla luminescence, because this tends to indicate ‘false PXR activation’ when it inexplicably decreases; (3) parallel decrease of relative PXR activity and proliferation below baseline levels in conjunction with a sharp decrease in Renilla luminescence indicates ‘false PXR antagonism’; (4) non-sigmoidal relationships suggest the absence of concentration dependency.
‘Holey’ niche! finding holes in niche hypervolumes using persistence homology
Authors: Conceição Pedro , Morimoto Juliano
Published: June 2022

Living organisms are limited in the range of values of ecological factors they can explore. This defines where animals exist (or could exist) and forms an ecological fingerprint that explains species’ distribution at global scales. Species’ ecological fingerprints can be represented as a n-dimensional hypervolume – known as Hutchinson’s niche hypervolume. This concept has enabled significant progress in our understanding of species’ ecological needs and distributions across environmental gradients. Nevertheless, the properties of Hutchinson’s n-dimensional hypervolumes can be challenging to calculate and several methods have been proposed to extract meaningful measurements of hypervolumes’ properties. One key property of hypervolumes are holes, which provide important information about the ecological occupancy of species. However, to date, current methods rely on volume estimates and set operations to identify holes in hypervolumes. Yet, this approach can be problematic because in high-dimensions, the volume of region enclosing a hole tends to zero. We propose the use of persistence homology (PH) to identify holes in hypervolumes and in ecological datasets more generally. PH allows for the estimates of topological properties in n-dimensional niche hypervolumes independent of the volume estimates of the hypervolume. We demonstrate the application of PH to canonical datasets and to the identification of holes in the hypervolumes of five vertebrate species with diverse niches, highlighting the potential benefits of this approach to gain further insights into animal ecology. Overall, our approach enables the study of a yet unexplored property of Hutchinson’s hypervolumes, and thus, have important implications to our understanding of animal ecology.
Quantification and reduction of cross-vendor variation in multicenter DWI MR imaging: results of the Cancer Core Europe imaging task force
Authors: Sedlaczek Oliver Lukas , Kleesiek Jens , Gallagher Ferdia A. , Murray Jacob , Prinz Sebastian , Perez-Lopez Raquel , Sala Evia , Caramella Caroline , Diffetock Sebastian , Lassau Nathalie , Priest Andrew N. , Suzuki Chikako , Vargas Roberto , Giandini Tommaso , Vaiani Marta , Messina Antonella , Blomqvist Lennart K. , Beets-Tan Regina G. H. , Oberrauch Petra , Schlemmer Heinz-Peter , Bach Michael ,   for the CCE – Imaging Task Force
Published: June 2022

Objectives

In the Cancer Core Europe Consortium (CCE), standardized biomarkers are required for therapy monitoring oncologic multicenter clinical trials. Multiparametric functional MRI and particularly diffusion-weighted MRI offer evident advantages for noninvasive characterization of tumor viability compared to CT and RECIST. A quantification of the inter- and intraindividual variation occurring in this setting using different hardware is missing. In this study, the MRI protocol including DWI was standardized and the residual variability of measurement parameters quantified.

Methods

Phantom and volunteer measurements (single-shot T2w and DW-EPI) were performed at the seven CCE sites using the MR hardware produced by three different vendors. Repeated measurements were performed at the sites and across the sites including a traveling volunteer, comparing qualitative and quantitative ROI-based results including an explorative radiomics analysis.

Results

For DWI/ADC phantom measurements using a central post-processing algorithm, the maximum deviation could be decreased to 2%. However, there is no significant difference compared to a decentralized ADC value calculation at the respective MRI devices. In volunteers, the measurement variation in 2 repeated scans did not exceed 11% for ADC and is below 20% for single-shot T2w in systematic liver ROIs. The measurement variation between sites amounted to 20% for ADC and < 25% for single-shot T2w. Explorative radiomics classification experiments yield better results for ADC than for single-shot T2w.

Conclusion

Harmonization of MR acquisition and post-processing parameters results in acceptable standard deviations for MR/DW imaging. MRI could be the tool in oncologic multicenter trials to overcome the limitations of RECIST-based response evaluation.

Key Points

•Harmonizing acquisition parameters and post-processing homogenization, standardized protocols result in acceptable standard deviations for multicenter MR–DWI studies.

•Total measurement variation does not to exceed 11% for ADC in repeated measurements in repeated MR acquisitions, and below 20% for an identical volunteer travelling between sites.

•Radiomic classification experiments were able to identify stable features allowing for reliable discrimination of different physiological tissue samples, even when using heterogeneous imaging data.