bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stage‐specific regulation of oligodendrocyte development by Hedgehog signaling in the spinal cord
Authors: Xu Xiaofeng , Yu Qian , Fang Minxi , Yi Min , Yang Aifen , Xie Binghua , Yang Junlin , Zhang Zunyi , Dai Zhongmin , Qiu Mengsheng
Published: October 2019

Elucidation of signaling pathways that control oligodendrocyte (OL) development is a prerequisite for developing novel strategies for myelin repair in neurological diseases. Despite the extensive work outlining the importance of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling in the commitment and generation of OL progenitor cells (OPCs), there are conflicting reports on the role of Hh signaling in regulating OL differentiation and maturation. In the present study, we systematically investigated OPC specification and differentiation in genetically modified mouse models of Smoothened (Smo), an essential component of the Hh signaling pathway in vertebrates. Through conditional gain‐of‐function strategy, we demonstrated that hyperactivation of Smo in neural progenitors induced transient ectopic OPC generation and precocious OL differentiation accompanied by the co‐induction of Olig2 and Nkx2.2. After the commitment of OL lineage, Smo activity is not required for OL differentiation, and sustained expression of Smo in OPCs stimulated cell proliferation but inhibited terminal differentiation. These findings have uncovered the stage‐specific regulation of OL development by Smo‐mediated Hh signaling, providing novel insights into the molecular regulation of OL differentiation and myelin repair.
A mutant KRAS‐induced factor REG4 promotes cancer stem cell properties via Wnt/β‐catenin signaling
Authors: Hwang Jeong‐Ha , Yoon Junyong , Cho Yong‐Hee , Cha Pu‐Hyeon , Park Jong‐Chan , Choi Kang‐Yell
Published: October 2019

Mutant KRAS provides a driving force for enhancement of cancer stem cells (CSCs) characteristics contributing transformation of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells harboring adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations. Here, we identified the factors mediating the promotion of CSCs properties induced by KRAS mutation through microarray analyses of genes specifically induced in CRC spheroids harboring both KRAS and APC mutations. Among them, REG4 was identified as a key factor since CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated knockout of REG4 most significantly affected the stem cell characteristics in which CSCs markers were effectively suppressed. We show that REG4 mediates promotion of CSCs properties via Wnt/β‐catenin signaling in various in vitro studies including tumor organoid systems. Furthermore, expression patterns of CSCs markers and REG4 correlated in intestinal tumors from Apcmin/+/KrasG12DLA2 mice and in CRC patient tissues harboring both KRAS and APC mutations. The role of REG4 in the tumor‐initiating capacity accompanied by enhancement of CSCs characteristics was also revealed by NSG mice xenograft system. Collectively, our study highlights the importance of REG4 in promoting CSCs properties induced by KRAS mutation, and provides a new therapeutic strategy for CRC harboring both APC and KRAS mutations.
Genetic variants of DNAH11 and LRFN2 genes and their association with ovarian and breast cancer
Authors: Verma Sonali , Bakshi Divya , Sharma Varun , Sharma Indu , Shah Ruchi , Bhat Amrita , Bhat Ghulam Rasool , Sharma Bhanu , Wakhloo Ajay , Kaul Sandeep , Heer Vikas , Bhat Audesh , Abrol Deepak , Verma Vijeshwar , Kumar Rakesh
Published: October 2019

Objective

To investigate the association of newly identified genetic variants G>A (rs2285947) of the DNAH11 gene and G>A (rs2494938) of the LRFN2 gene with ovarian and breast cancers in women belonging to Jammu and Kashmir state, where the prevalence of ovarian and breast cancers is remarkably high in the population.

Methods

A candidate gene prospective case‐control association study design was adopted, in which 354 cases (219 cases of ovarian cancer and 135 cases of breast cancer) were histopathologically confirmed and 330 healthy controls matched for age and ethnicity were recruited. The details of cases and controls were also recorded in a predesigned pro forma after their written informed consent. Both variants were genotyped by TaqMan allele discrimination assay using real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the corrected odds ratio (OR), confidence interval (CI), and level of significance (P value) for potential confounding factors.

Results

The rs2285947 variant of DNAH11 was found to be significantly associated with both ovarian and breast cancers with adjusted ORs of 1.7 (95% CI 1.2–2.4; P=0.004) and 1.70 (95% CI 1.13–2.54; P=0.0009), respectively. However, no significant association of variant rs2494938 of LRFN2 was observed with ovarian cancer (estimated OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.6–1.4; P=0.919) or breast cancer (estimated OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.8–1.9; P=0.216).

Conclusions

The collected data proposed that the variant rs2285947 of DNAH11 gene is a potential risk factor for ovarian and breast cancers in the studied population.
Orthogonal test design for the optimization of superparamagnetic chitosan plasmid gelatin microspheres that promote vascularization of artificial bone
Authors: Tao Chen , Lina Xie , Changxuan Wang , Cong Luo , Xiaolan Yang , Tao Huang , Hong An
Published: October 2019

The optimal conditions for the preparation of superparamagnetic chitosan plasmid (pReceiver‐M29‐VEGF165/DH5a) gelatin microspheres (SPCPGMs) were determined. Then, the performance of the SPCPGMs during neovascularization was evaluated in vivo. The SPCPGMs were prepared through a cross‐linking curing method and then filled into the hollow scaffold of an artificial bone. Neovascularization at the bone defect position was histologically examined in samples collected 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the operation. The cellular magnetofection rate of superparamagnetic chitosan nanoparticles/plasmid (pReceiver‐M29‐VEGF165/DH5a) complexes reached 1–3% under static magnetic field (SMF). Meanwhile, the optimal conditions for SPCPGM fabrication were 20% Fe3O4(w/v), 4 mg of plasmid, 5.3 mg of glutaraldehyde, and 500 rpm of emulsification rotate speed. Under oscillating magnetic fields (OMFs), 4–6 μg of plasmids was released daily for 21 days. Under the combined application of SMF and OMF, evident neovascularization occurred at the bone defect position 6 weeks after the operation. This result is expected to provide a new type of angiogenesis strategy for the research of bone tissue engineering.
A comparison of stability of chemical analytes in plasma from the BD Vacutainer® Barricor™ tube with mechanical separator versus tubes containing gel separator
Authors: Gawria Ghassaan , Tillmar Linda , Landberg Eva
Published: October 2019

Background

There is a need of prolonged stability of certain chemical analytes in lithium heparin tubes with separators. A new tube with a mechanical separator has recently been launched (Barricor™), which according to the manufacturer may have these benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate stability performance of this tube in comparison with plasma gel tubes under clinically realistic circumstances.

Methods

Blood was collected in tubes containing lithium heparin with different separators; gel separator (Vacutainer® PST™, Becton Dickinson and Vacuette®, Greiner bio‐one) and mechanical separator (Vacutainer® Barricor™, Becton Dickinson). All tubes had an aspiration volume of 3 mL and were centrifuged at similar time and force. Tubes were transported manually or by car. Seven analytes from 122 patients were analyzed after 3 to 80 hours by Cobas c701 (Roche).

Results

The Barricor™ tube showed increased stability of phosphate and potassium and similar stability of aspartate aminotransferase, glucose, homocysteine, lactate dehydrogenase, and magnesium compared with gel tubes. Maximal allowable bias for phosphate was exceeded after 68 hours for Barricor™ tubes compared with 29 or 35 hours for gel tubes and for potassium after 40 hours for Barricor™ tubes vs 9 or 12 hours for gel tubes. Transportation did not affect stability. Hemolysis index was slightly lower in Barricor tubes than in gel tubes (P = .01).

Conclusion

Implementing the new Barricor™ tube will improve stability of potassium and phosphate in plasma. Blood sampling facilities far from the laboratory may benefit from using these tubes, thus diminishing preanalytical errors.
Bioaugmentation of p‐chloronitrobenzene in bioelectrochemical systems with Pseudomonas fluorescens
Authors: Song Tian‐shun , Zhou Boyi , Wang Haoqi , Huang Qiong , Xie Jingjing
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

p‐Chloronitrobenzene (p‐CNB) is easily accumulated in the environment and subsequently is a threat to humans and the ecosystem. The anaerobic process as an important pathway for p‐CNB degradation has a relatively low degradation rate. This study illustrated that the strain Pseudomonas fluorescens was evaluated as the biocatalyst for bioaugmentation to enhance the p‐CNB removal in bioelectrochemical system (BES).

RESULTS

When the initial p‐CNB concentration was 100 mg L−1, the p‐CNB removal efficiency reached 100% at 12 h in BES with P. fluorescens. All the p‐CNB removal efficiencies in BES were higher than that in anaerobic degradation and electrocatalysis. Meantime, the highest total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency was obtained at 89.8% after augmentation with P. fluorescens. During the bioaugmentation, microbial community analysis showed that the main abundance changes were in Pseudomonas, Romboutsia and Macellibacteroides. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) showed BES with bioaugmentation had the highest activity in reducing p‐CNB and hydrogen evolution. Combined with intermediates analysis, bioaugmentation possibly stimulated nitro reduction and hydrodechlorination rate in p‐CNB reduction.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate that BES with P. fluorescens bioaugmentation could serve as a potential treatment process for p‐CNB removal. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Microalgal–bacterial aggregates with flue gas supply as a platform for the treatment of anaerobic digestion centrate
Authors: Vital‐Jácome Miguel , Díaz‐Zamorano Ana L , Cuautle‐Marín Manuel , Moreno Gloria , Buitrón Germán , Muñoz Raúl , Quijano Guillermo
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

Centrate treatment using microalgal–bacterial processes might be limited by the hydraulic retention time (HRT) required to achieve satisfactory chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients removal. Moreover, the poor settling of microalgal biomass still limits the technical and economic performance of microalgal–bacterial processes. In this work, the performance of microalgal–bacterial aggregates (MABAs) supplied with flue gas was investigated as an effective strategy to improve the treatment of centrate from anaerobic digestion of winery wastewater.

RESULTS

MABAs supplied with flue gas achieved maximum soluble COD, N‐NO3−, P‐PO43− and N‐NH4+ removal efficiencies of 95%, 94%, 100%, and 100%, respectively, in five‐fold centrate dilution within 7 days of operation. Centrate turbidity or its components did not hinder the performance of the MABAs under the conditions tested and no aggregates were formed in controls without MABAs inoculation. The mean diameter of the MABAs after centrate treatment was the same or even larger than that of the aggregates of the inoculum. Scanning electron microscopy analyses showed that the liquid medium composition influenced the structure and the type of microalgae cells established in the MABAs.

CONCLUSION

MABAs‐based centrate treatment supported by flue gas is a promising technology for improving COD and nutrients removal from centrate as well as further biomass harvesting. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Health communication roles in Latino, Pacific Islander, and Caucasian Families: A qualitative investigation
Authors: Pokharel Manusheela , Elrick Ashley , Canary Heather E. , Clayton Margaret F. , Sukovic Masha , Champine Marjan , Hong Soo Jung , Kaphingst Kimberly A.
Published: October 2019

Family communication about health is critical for the dissemination of information that may improve health management of all family members. Communication about health issues, attitudes, and behaviors in families is associated with life expectancy as well as quality of life for family members. This study addresses family communication about health by examining individual roles for family health communication and factors related to these roles, among families of three different racial/ethnic groups: Caucasians, Latinos, and Pacific Islanders. Data were collected from 60 participants recruited as 30 family dyads, 10 from each group, through qualitative semistructured interviews. Interviews were conducted with each participant separately and then together in a dyadic interview. Two coders independently coded interview transcripts using NVivo 11. Results identified the family health communication roles of collector, disseminator, health educator, and researcher. We also identified several factors related to these roles using the lens of family systems theory—the presence of chronic conditions in the family, previous experience, medical education, and family hierarchy. Findings demonstrate many similarities and relatively few differences in the family health communication roles and the related factors among the families of different race/ethnicity. Conclusions highlight implications for future research and intervention development.
Glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome and the ketogenic diet
Authors: Schwantje Marit , Verhagen Lilly M. , van Hasselt Peter M. , Fuchs Sabine A.
Published: October 2019

Glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1DS) is characterised by deficient glucose transport over the blood‐brain barrier and reduced glucose availability in the brain. This causes epilepsy, movement disorders, and cognitive impairment. Treatment with ketogenic diet provides ketones as alternative energy source. However, not all GLUT1DS patients are on dietary treatment (worldwide registry: 77/181 [43%] of patients). The current 25‐year experience allows evaluation of effects and tolerability of dietary treatment for GLUT1DS. To this end, literature was searched up to January 2019 for individual case reports and series reporting (side) effects of dietary treatment for GLUT1DS. Upon aggregation of data for analysis, we identified 270 GLUT1DS patients with dietary treatment with a mean follow‐up of 53 months. Epilepsy improved for 83% of 230 patients and remained unchanged for 17%, movement disorders improved for 82% of 127 patients and remained unchanged for 17%, and cognition improved for 59% of 58 patients and remained stable for 40%. Effects on epilepsy were seen within days/weeks and were most pronounced in patients with early treatment initiation. Effects on movement disorders were noticed within months and were strongest in patients with higher cerebrospinal fluid‐to‐blood glucose ratio. Although side effects were minimal, 18% of 270 patients reported poor compliance. In individual patients, symptoms deteriorated upon low ketosis, poor compliance, or treatment discontinuation. Based on the good tolerability and strong favourable effect of dietary treatment on GLUT1DS symptoms, we advocate dietary treatment in all GLUT1DS patients and prompt diagnosis or screening to allow early treatment.
Elliptical shaped wide slot monopole patch antenna with crossed shaped parasitic element for WLAN, Wi‐MAX, and UWB application
Authors: Jain Pawan K. , Sharma Braj Raj , Jangid Krishan G. , Shekhawat Sumita , Saxena Virender K. , Bhatnagar Deepak
Published: October 2019

This paper illustrates the design and performance of microstrip feed elliptical shaped patch antenna having crossed shaped parasitic element. The overall size of antenna is 40 mm × 40 mm × 1.59 mm. For optimization of the performance of antenna, CST Microwave studio 2014 simulator is used while antenna is tested with available facilities under laboratory conditions. Proposed antenna provides triple impedance bandwidth extended between frequency ranges of 2.28‐2.62 GHz, 2.70‐3.96 GHz, and 5.1‐6.29 GHz with flat gain (close to 3‐5 dBi) in the desired frequency range. Good circular polarization conditions are realized at frequency 5.90 GHz for different sets of elevation and azimuth angles with maximum axial ratio bandwidth close to 600 MHz at the same frequency. The SAR values at desired frequencies are much lower than those for specified frequencies of modern communication systems. This antenna may be a useful structure for Wi‐Fi, WLAN, Wi‐MAX communication bands and lower and median UWB bands.
An iterative multi‐path fully convolutional neural network for automatic cardiac segmentation in cine MR images
Authors: Ma Zongqing , Wu Xi , Wang Xin , Song Qi , Yin Youbing , Cao Kunlin , Wang Yan , Zhou Jiliu
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Segmentation of the left ventricle (LV), right ventricle (RV) cavities and the myocardium (MYO) from cine cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) images is an important step for diagnosis and monitoring cardiac diseases. Spatial context information may be highly beneficial for segmentation performance improvement. To this end, this paper proposes an iterative multi‐path fully convolutional network (IMFCN) to effectively leverage spatial context for automatic cardiac segmentation in cine MR images.

Methods

To effectively leverage spatial context information, the proposed IMFCN explicitly models the interslice spatial correlations using a multi‐path late fusion strategy. First, the contextual inputs including both the adjacent slices and the already predicted mask of the above adjacent slice are processed by independent feature‐extraction paths. Then, an atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) module is employed at the feature fusion process to combine the extracted high‐level contextual features in a more effective way. Finally, deep supervision (DS) and batch‐wise class re‐weighting mechanism are utilized to enhance the training of the proposed network.

Results

The proposed IMFCN was evaluated and analyzed on the MICCAI 2017 automatic cardiac diagnosis challenge (ACDC) dataset. On the held‐out training dataset reserved for testing, our method effectively improved its counterparts that without spatial context and that with spatial context but using an early fusion strategy. On the 50 subjects test dataset, our method achieved Dice similarity coefficient of 0.935, 0.920, and 0.905, and Hausdorff distance of 7.66, 12.10, and 8.80 mm for LV, RV, and MYO, respectively, which are comparable or even better than the state‐of‐the‐art methods of ACDC Challenge. In addition, to explore the applicability to other datasets, the proposed IMFCN was retrained on the Sunnybrook dataset for LV segmentation and also produced comparable performance to the state‐of‐the‐art methods.

Conclusions

We have presented an automatic end‐to‐end fully convolutional architecture for accurate cardiac segmentation. The proposed method provides an effective way to leverage spatial context in a two‐dimensional manner and results in precise and consistent segmentation results.
Reevaluating Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Essentiality in Nile Tilapia
Authors: Jackson Christopher J , Trushenski Jesse T , Schwarz Michael H
Published: October 2019

Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus have a reported dietary requirement for the n-6 C18 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) 18:2n-6 (linoleic acid), but direct provision of the n-6 long-chain (LC) PUFA 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid) may be a more efficient approach. No quantitative requirement for n-3 fatty acids has been formally recognized for tilapias, but beneficial effects of having both n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in the diet have been reported. To better understand PUFA essentiality in tilapias, we formulated diets to assess the growth performance and tissue fatty acid composition of juvenile Nile Tilapia (mean ± SD = 25.7 ± 0.2 g/fish) that were fed different combinations of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs: a positive control containing menhaden fish oil, a negative control containing hydrogenated soybean oil, and experimental diets containing hydrogenated soybean oil amended with ethyl esters of 18:3n-3; 18:3n-3 and 18:2n-6; 22:6n-3; 22:6n-3 and 20:4n-6; or 20:5n-3, 22:6n-3, and 20:4n-6. After 7 weeks, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and specific growth rate were significantly greater among fish that received the positive control feed than among fish that were fed the negative control feed. The addition of n-3 and n-6 PUFA supplements generally improved performance in most cases. No fish showed any gross indications of fatty acid deficiency, although significant differences in fatty acid deficiency indicator ratios (i.e., 20:3n-9 : 20:4n-6 and 22:5n-6 : 22:6n-3) were present in all tissues analyzed. Nile Tilapia that were fed an n-3 PUFA-free diet exhibited significantly elevated 22:5n-6 : 22:6n-3 ratios, indicating a developing n-3 PUFA deficiency. Feeding n-3 PUFAs—as 18:3n-3, 22:6n-3, or a combination of n-3 LC-PUFAs—had a corrective effect on these ratios, affirming the importance of a proper balance of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs to satisfy the essential fatty acid requirements of Nile Tilapia and further illustrating the ability of this species to satisfy physiological demand for LC-PUFAs through de novo biotransformation of C18 PUFAs.
Structural basis of chemokine and receptor interactions: Key regulators of leukocyte recruitment in inflammatory responses
Authors: Bhusal Ram Prasad , Foster Simon R. , Stone Martin J.
Published: October 2019

In response to infection or injury, the body mounts an inflammatory immune response in order to neutralize pathogens and promote tissue repair. The key effector cells for these responses are the leukocytes (white blood cells), which are specifically recruited to the site of injury. However, dysregulation of the inflammatory response, characterized by the excessive migration of leukocytes to the affected tissues, can also lead to chronic inflammatory diseases. Leukocyte recruitment is regulated by inflammatory mediators, including an important family of small secreted chemokines and their corresponding G protein‐coupled receptors expressed in leukocytes. Unsurprisingly, due to their central role in the leukocyte inflammatory response, chemokines and their receptors have been intensely investigated and represent attractive drug targets. Nonetheless, the full therapeutic potential of chemokine receptors has not been realized, largely due to the complexities in the chemokine system. The determination of chemokine–receptor structures in recent years has dramatically shaped our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underpin chemokine signaling. In this review, we summarize the contemporary structural view of chemokine–receptor recognition, and describe the various binding modes of peptide and small‐molecule ligands to chemokine receptors. We also provide some perspectives on the implications of these data for future research and therapeutic development.

Importance Statement

Given their central role in the leukocyte inflammatory response, chemokines and their receptors are considered as important regulators of physiology and viable therapeutic targets. In this review, we provide a summary of the current understanding of chemokine: chemokine–receptor interactions that have been gained from structural studies, as well as their implications for future drug discovery efforts.
Comparison of gut bacterial communities and their associations with host diets in four fruit borers
Authors: Liu Yanjun , Shen Zhongjian , Yu Jianmei , Li Zhen , Liu Xiaoxia , Xu Huanli
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

Microbiota that live in the gut of insects have a wide range of effects on host nutrition, physiology, and behavior. They may shape the adaptation of their hosts to different habitats and lifestyles. To characterize the gut microbiota of fruit borers comprehensively, we compared bacterial communities among Grapholita molesta, Conogethes punctiferalis, Carposina sasakii, and Cydia pomonella, which are serious lepidopteran pests. We selected G. molesta as a representative pest to more explicitly test the influence of host dietary niche on the insect gut microbiome, and compared the bacterial microbial communities of G. molesta fed different diets (peach shoots and apple) using Illumina high‐throughput sequencing technology.

RESULTS

The results show that Proteobacteria and Firmicutes are dominant in their gut microbiota. The C. sasakii had the highest richness values and G. molesta (shoot‐feeding) had the highest diversity, whereas C. pomonella and G. molesta (fruit‐feeding) had the lowest bacterial richness and diversity, respectively. The ANOSIM analysis revealed significant differences in the structure of gut microbiota among different insects. In addition, G. molesta with a different feeding diet had significant differences in gut microbiota composition. PICRUSt analysis indicated that most functional prediction categories were related to metabolism.

CONCLUSION

Our results show that gut microbiota composition is affected significantly not only by host species but also host diets. An enhanced understanding of these herbivore‐associated microbial symbionts is essential for understanding the biology and ecology of the host insect, and may offer new possibilities to improve integrated pest‐management strategies for efficient control of fruit borers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Highdetectivity AlInSb Midinfrared Photodiode Sensors with Dislocation Filter Layers for Gas Sensing
Authors: Nakayama Mitsuhiro , Fujita Hiromi , Morohara Osamu , Geka Hirotaka , Sakurai Yoshiki , Yasuda Daiki , Suzuki Masaru , Shibata Yoshihiko , Kuze Naohiro
Published: October 2019

A midinfrared photodiode is developed for methane gas sensing based on the highly mismatched AlInSb/GaAs system. Inserting optimized dislocation filter layers (DFLs) in the buffer layer reduced the threading dislocation density in the active layer to less than one‐third of that in the photodiode without DFLs. This improvement produces a high normal incidence detectivity of 1.8 × 109 cm √Hz W−1 at 3.3 μm, which is more than twice the highest detectivity previously obtained for a photodiode without DFLs.
Role of donor‐acceptor functional groups in N3P3 cyclic‐triphosphazene backbone. Unraveling bonding characteristics from natural orbitals within an extended transition state‐natural orbital for the chemical valence scheme
Authors: Linares‐Flores Cristian , Ramirez‐Tagle Rodrigo , Rojas‐Poblete Macarena , Arratia‐Perez Ramiro , Muñoz‐Castro Alvaro , Guajardo‐Maturana Raul
Published: October 2019

The formation of cyclophosphazenes containing several ligands or substituent groups gives rise to an attractive derivative set, for development of novel applications, with variable properties. Here, it is possible to unravel the role of different functional groups attached to the N3P3 backbone, to reach a better understanding of the bonding character in the cyclic [─P─N─] skeleton. We employed the extended transition state‐natural orbital for the chemical valence scheme to unravel the σ and π orbital kernels that are involved in the assembling of such structures, by varying the acceptor‐donor characteristics of the ─CF3, ─NO2, ─COOH, ─CN, ─NH2, ─OH, and ─OCH3 groups, where ─NO2 behaves as a stronger electron‐withdrawing substituent rather than ─CF3, ─COOH, and ─CN, denoting that the nature of the ligand‐phosphazene interaction contributes to some degree to the bond strength of the cyclic [─P─N─] backbone. Our results reveal that the electron‐withdrawing ─NO2 group leads to higher σ and π [─P─N─] orbital‐energy contributions, which is reflected in a shortening of the [─P─N─] distance, contrasting with the case of electron‐donating groups such as ─NH2, ─OH, and ─OCH3 within the phosphazene set. These insights allow further variation and modulation of the bonding in the [─P─N─] ring.
Categorical cognition and outcome efficiency in impact investing decisions
Authors: Lee Matthew , Adbi Arzi , Singh Jasjit
Published: October 2019

Research Summary

The emerging practice of “impact investing” optimizes both financial and social outcomes, and thus promises to support hybrid organizations that simultaneously pursue financial and social goals. We argue, however, that impact investing decisions may be prone to behavioral factors that limit their outcome efficiency. In a portfolio allocation task designed to reflect the essential features of an impact investing decision, we find across a range of scenarios that individuals systematically fail to choose investment portfolios that achieve financial and social outcomes efficiently and thereby waste opportunities for value creation. We further show in online and in‐person experiments that outcome inefficiency is related to “categorical cognition”: suppression of categorical labels on investment options increases efficiency.

Managerial Summary

The “impact investing” approach promises to encourage greater financial investments in hybrid organizations that pursue a combination of financial and social goals. We experimentally demonstrate a challenge of this approach: People struggle to identify portfolios of investments that simultaneously optimize across financial and social outcomes. This is partly due to “categorical cognition”: a natural tendency to view investments in terms of known categories rather than the actual outcomes they produce. Our experiments show that removing the labels “for‐profit company,” “charity,” and “social enterprise” from investment options—thus making it more difficult to think about them categorically—increases outcome‐efficient allocations. We therefore show that realizing the full potential of impact investing will require that investors transcend conventional thinking about business and charity as separate domains.
Mechanism of Current Shunting in Flexible Cu2Zn1−xCdxSn(S,Se)4 Solar Cells
Authors: Yan Qiong , Cheng Shuying , Yu Xue , Jia Hongjie , Fu Junjie , Zhang Caixia , Zheng Qiao , Wu Sixin
Published: October 2019

Partial cation substitution is an effective way to inhibit defects and carrier recombination, which can improve the efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells. Herein, flexible Cu2Zn1−xCdxSn(S,Se)4 (x = 0–15%) solar cells are fabricated on Mo foils with partial Cd substitution for Zn via a green solution‐process. The best device performance can be achieved when Cd/(Zn + Cd) = 8%, with an efficiency up to 6.49% and a significantly improved device repeatability. The EU decreases from 24 to 15 meV, indicating that antisite defects and band tailings are effectively suppressed. C–V data reveal that Wd and Vbi are enhanced after doping Cd, resulting in a stronger built‐in electric field which facilitates Fermi‐level splitting and hence increases band bending of the absorber toward the junction interface. Furthermore, the mechanism of current shunting is studied using an equivalent circuit model with three parallel current pathways to fit J–V curves. The key parameters for the solar cell diode such as A, J0, and Rsh are significantly improved by partially substituting Zn with Cd, demonstrating that current shunting loss is suppressed and the junction quality is improved, resulting in a significant improvement in device repeatability.
Peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal motility disorders
Authors: Feng Jie , Ali Raja Waqar , Hao Jin-yong , Kong Gui-xiang , Yang Li-hong , Huang Xiao-jun
Published: October 2019

Background

Esophageal motility disorders which include achalasia, esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (EGJ outflow obstruction), jackhammer esophagus (JE), distal esophageal spasm (DES), etc. are rare disease of unknown causes. The diagnosis is based on endoscopy, barium meal, and high-resolution manometry (HRM). With the development of endoscopy, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has emerged as a standard method for the treatment of achalasia.

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to enable gastroenterologists to have a more comprehensive understanding of the application status, technical characteristics, clinical efficacy and future prospect of POEM in the treatment of esophageal motility disorders.

Methods

Through a large number of reading literature, combined with clinical practice, summary and analysis of the indications, procedure, efficacy, complications, and controversies of POEM in the treatment of esophageal motility disorders, as well as the current and future perspectives of POEM were studied.

Results

POEM is safe and effective in the treatment of esophageal motility disorders, but the GERD reflux rate is higher.

Conclusions

POEM can be a new option for the treatment of esophageal movement disorders, but large sample, multi-center, long-term study reports are needed, and it promotes the development of NOTES technology.
Conformational flexibility of adenine riboswitch aptamer in apo and bound states using NMR and an X-ray free electron laser
Authors: Ding Jienv , Swain Monalisa , Yu Ping , Stagno Jason R. , Wang Yun-Xing
Published: October 2019

Riboswitches are structured cis-regulators mainly found in the untranslated regions of messenger RNA. The aptamer domain of a riboswitch serves as a sensor for its ligand, the binding of which triggers conformational changes that regulate the behavior of its expression platform. As a model system for understanding riboswitch structures and functions, the add adenine riboswitch has been studied extensively. However, there is a need for further investigation of the conformational dynamics of the aptamer in light of the recent real-time crystallographic study at room temperature (RT) using an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and femtosecond X-ray crystallography (SFX). Herein, we investigate the conformational motions of the add adenine riboswitch aptamer domain, in the presence or absence of adenine, using nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation measurements and analysis of RT atomic displacement factors (B-factors). In the absence of ligand, the P1 duplex undergoes a fast exchange where the overall molecule exhibits a motion at kex ~ 319 s−1, based on imino signals. In the presence of ligand, the P1 duplex adopts a highly ordered conformation, with kex~ 83 s−1, similar to the global motion of the molecule, excluding the loops and binding pocket, at 84 s−1. The µs–ms motions in both the apo and bound states are consistent with RT B-factors. Reduced spatial atomic fluctuation, ~ 50%, in P1 upon ligand binding coincides with significantly attenuated temporal dynamic exchanges. The binding pocket is structured in the absence or presence of ligand, as evidenced by relatively low and similar RT B-factors. Therefore, despite the dramatic rearrangement of the binding pocket, those residues exhibit similar spatial thermal fluctuation before and after binding.
Oral Health–Related Quality of Life After Gastric Bypass Surgery
Authors: Taghat Negin , Werling Malin , Östberg Anna-Lena
Published: October 2019

Objective

The aim was to examine how individuals treated for obesity with gastric bypass (GBP) surgery perceived their oral health and oral health–related quality of life (OHRQoL).

Method

All individuals in one Swedish region who had undergone GBP surgery (n = 1182) were sent a postal questionnaire 2 years after surgery. The questionnaire comprised items on sociodemographics, oral symptoms and the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 to assess the OHRQoL.

Results

The mean age was 47.6 years with 75% females, response rate 55.3%. The self-perceived oral health was rated low by 45% of the respondents. Gender differences were seen, for instance, regarding hypersensitive teeth (men 18.8%, women 30.8%, p = 0.003). Nine out of ten reported at least one oral impact experienced sometimes, fairly or very often, according to the Oral Health Impact Profile-49 (OHIP-49). The mean additive OHIP-49 score was 30.3 (SD 36.1). The associations between self-reported oral health and OHRQoL were consistent throughout. Tooth hypersensitivity generated an OR of 2.28 (95% CI 2.28–8.46) of having ≥ 2 impacts on OHRQoL.

Conclusion

A large proportion of individuals having undergone GBP surgery reported problems with their oral health and impacts on their OHRQoL, indicating a need for medical and dental staff—surgeons and general practitioners as well as other health professionals—to offer oral health promotion and prevention measures.
On the Weyl transform for rotationally invariant symbols
Authors: Ortner Norbert , Wagner Peter
Published: October 2019

Several formulas for the eigenvalues $$\lambda _j$$

λ
j

of the Weyl transforms $$W_\sigma $$

W
σ

of symbols $$\sigma $$
σ
given by radially symmetric distributions are derived. These yield criteria for the boundedness and the compactness, respectively, of the pseudo-differential operators $$W_\sigma .$$

W
σ

.

We investigate some examples by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of $$\lambda _j$$

λ
j

for $$j\rightarrow \infty $$

j
→
∞

.
Future Perspectives for Patient-Centric Pharmaceutical Drug Product Design with Regard to Solid Oral Dosage Forms
Authors: Drumond Nélio
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Additional costs for healthcare provision are expected for cases where the level of care provided is not according to the patient’s needs and demands. To address these issues and reduce costs, fundamental changes need to be made on how healthcare provision is administered to patients, which raises the opportunity for the implementation of patient-centric systems.

Methods

This review addresses the importance of implementing a patient-centric approach in current healthcare provision and emphasizes the need to adjust current development and business models for a successful application of patient-centric care.

Results

To increase awareness and avoid confusion, the purpose of patient-centric pharmaceutical drug product design is reviewed in detail and future market opportunities for patient-centric drug products are discussed.

Conclusions

With regard to solid oral dosage forms, the subject of patient-centric pharmaceutical drug product design will focus more on the customization of existing technologies (e.g., dosage form size reduction) to address the needs of specific patient populations such as pediatrics, geriatrics, dysphagia patients, or the cognitively impaired.
Spectrophotometric assessment of bowel perfusion during low anterior resection: a prospective study
Authors: Darwich Ibrahim , Rustanto Darmadi , Friedberg Ronald , Willeke Frank
Published: October 2019

Good perfusion of the bowel and a tension-free anastomosis are the two main prerequisites for an uneventful anastomotic healing in rectal surgery. This prospective cohort study investigates the noninvasive intraoperative spectrophotometric assessment of the bowel perfusion using a device called “Oxygen to See” (O2C®). Forty patients, planned for low anterior resection, were prospectively enrolled in this study to undergo an intraoperative spectrophotometric assessment of the bowel. Three different O2C® parameters were collected from the colonic and the rectal stumps before fashioning the anastomosis: SO2 (capillary venous oxygen saturation), rHb (relative hemoglobin amount), and flow (blood flow velocity). Bowel perfusion was also assessed with the cold-steel-test (CST), which involves severing the colic marginal artery of Drummond at the tip of the colon stump. The data collected from the spectrophotometric measurement and the CST were analyzed for correlation of both methods with respect to each other and to the outcome of the anastomosis. Nine patients were excluded due to different reasons, thus leaving 31 patients for statistical analysis. Three flow parameters collected at the colonic stump significantly predicted an anastomotic leak (p: 0.0057; p: 0.0250; p: 0.0404). One rHb parameter collected at the rectal stump correlated weakly with the anastomotic outcome (p: 0.0768). The CST did not correlate significantly with anastomotic leak (p: 0.1195), but showed significant correlations to some rHb values. Intraoperative noninvasive spectrophotometric measurement is feasible and could be a useful method in assessing bowel perfusion before fashioning a colorectal anastomosis.
Diagnostic stability and long-term symptomatic and functional outcomes in first-episode antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Klærke Lea R. , Baandrup Lone , Fagerlund Birgitte , Ebdrup Bjørn H. , Pantelis Christos , Glenthøj Birte Y. , Nielsen Mette Ø.
Published: October 2019

Objective:

In a prospective cohort design, we investigated: i) diagnostic stability of initially antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients, ii) symptom severity including symptomatic remission, and iii) functional remission including full recovery.

Methods:

We included 143 antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. After 4–18 years, we clinically re-evaluated diagnosis, symptom severity and functioning for 70 patients. From the nationwide Danish registers, we extracted pragmatic outcome measures for 142 patients. We examined associations between baseline variables (age at diagnosis, sex, and premorbid intelligence) and long-term outcome status (symptomatic and functional remission).

Results:

At 4–18 years follow-up, 80% met the criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, however, despite the high diagnostic stability 53% met the criteria of symptomatic and/or functional remission. Symptomatic remission characterized 34% of the patients and was associated with female sex, better premorbid intelligence, and a younger age at schizophrenia diagnosis. Functional remission characterized 41% of the patients and 17% of patients met criteria for full recovery both of which were associated with female sex. The clinically re-evaluated patients did not differ from the drop-outs on key register-based variables.

Conclusion:

We confirm the emerging evidence of a decreasing long-term diagnostic stability of schizophrenia, and a protective role of female sex. The association between premorbid intelligence and symptomatic remission underscores the pertinence of including cognitive deficits in the diagnostic category of schizophrenia. The association between younger age at diagnosis and symptomatic remission may reflect positive effects of early detection or a drift in the interpretation of the diagnostic classification system.
In‐office balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube under local anesthesia: A retrospective review
Authors: Dean Marc
Published: October 2019

Objective

To study the effectiveness and feasibility of in office balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube (BDET) utilizing a novel anesthetic protocol. Study design: retrospective review.

Methods

Retrospective chart review looking at the tolerability and effectiveness of stand‐alone BDET in an office setting utilizing a novel topical anesthesia protocol in 33 patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction as defined by an ETDQ‐7 score greater than 2.2 and type B or C tympanograms for greater than 3 months despite maximal medical management, including at least 4 weeks of nasal steroids.

Results

BDET in the office was well tolerated with 94% (31/33) of patients completing the procedure as planned. No adverse effects or complications were reported; however, the planned dilation time was cut short in one case due to significant discomfort and aborted prior to dilation in another due significant coughing. Tympanograms normalized at six weeks in 87.1% (27/31) of patients who underwent dilation.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that performing BDET in an office setting utilizing a local anesthesia protocol is feasible and effective when the unique barometric considerations of BDET are addressed.
Topside Ionospheric Conditions During the 7–8 September 2017 Geomagnetic Storm
Authors: Jimoh Oluwaseyi , Lei Jiuhou , Zhong Jiahao , Owolabi Charles , Luan Xiaoli , Dou Xiankang
Published: October 2019

The uplooking total electron contents (TECs) from the GRACE, SWARM‐A, TerraSAR‐X, and MetOp‐A satellites and in situ electron density (Ne) from SWARM‐A were utilized to investigate the topside ionospheric conditions during the 7–8 September 2017 geomagnetic storm. The rate of TEC index (ROTI) and rate of density index (RODI), which are derivative indices of TEC and Ne, respectively, were also used to characterize the topside ionospheric irregularities. The main results of this study are as follows: (1) There were significant enhancements seen in the uplooking TEC during the first main phase of the storm. (2) The uplooking TEC did not show unusual enhancement at the morning and evening local times in the Asian‐Australian sector during the recovery phase of the storm. (3) Prominent TEC hemispheric asymmetry at the middle and high latitudes was observed at both day and night sectors. (4) Long‐duration recovery of topside TEC with respect to the prestorm condition was also detected in this event. (5) Nighttime ROTI enhancements were presented in a wide latitudinal range from the equator to the poles during the main phases of the storm. (6) The ionospheric electric field disturbances associated with IMF‐Bzfluctuations probably played a very important role in triggering ionospheric irregularities during the relatively weak geomagnetic activity on 7 September, which implies that ionospheric irregularities do not necessarily occur under the severe geomagnetic conditions only.
The Storm‐Time Ring Current Response to ICMEs and CIRs Using Van Allen Probe Observations
Authors: Mouikis C. G. , Bingham S. T. , Kistler L. M. , Farrugia C. J. , Spence H. E. , Reeves G. D. , Gkioulidou M. , Mitchell D. G. , Kletzing C. A.
Published: October 2019

Using Van Allen Probe observations of the inner magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs), we characterize the impact of these drivers on the storm‐time ring current development. Using 25 ICME‐ and 35 CIR‐driven storms, we have determined the ring current pressure development during the prestorm, main, early‐recovery, and late‐recovery storm phases, as a function of magnetic local time, L shell and ion species (H+, He+, and O+) over the 100‐ to 600‐keV energy range. Consistent with previous results, we find that during the storm main phase, most of the ring current pressure in the inner magnetosphere is contributed by particles on open drift paths drifting duskward leading to a strong partial ring current. The largest difference between the ICME and CIR ring current responses during the storm main and early‐recovery phases is the difference in the response of the <~55‐keV O+ to these drivers. While the H+ pressure response shows similar source and convection patterns for ICME and CIR storms, the O+ pressure response is significantly stronger for ICME storms. The ICME O+ pressure increases more strongly than H+ with decreasing L and peaks at lower L shells than H+.
Isolated Auroral Spots Observed by DMSP/SSUSI
Authors: Zhou Su , Luan Xiaoli , Pierrard Viviane , Han Desheng
Published: October 2019

This work reports auroral spots event observed by the SSUSI instruments on board the DMSP spacecraft between 22 and 23 July 2009 during the recovery phase of a moderate magnetic storm. The spots were observed between 18:00 and 02:00 magnetic local time and stayed at ~60° magnetic latitude. They lasted for ~10 hr and corotated with ~64% of the Earth's rotational speed. In situ observations indicate that the isolated auroral spots were produced by energetic ions at energies between 10 and 240 keV, with significantly anisotropic electron (30–300 keV) precipitations. It is expected that the energetic ions originate from the ring current and can be scattered by the EMIC waves through cyclotron resonance. The energetic electrons can be precipitated by the nonresonant interaction between the electrons and EMIC waves, which is suggested by previous works.