bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interplay between structure and relaxation in polyurea networks: the point of view from a novel method of cooperativity analysis of dielectric response
Authors: Sebastián Nerea , Contal Christophe , Sánchez-Ferrer Antoni , Pieruccini Marco
Published: August 2018

Dielectric spectroscopy, X-ray and AFM experiments allow estimation of the size of cooperatively rearranging regions (CRR) in confined materials.
Water adsorption at zirconia: from the ZrO2(111)/Pt3Zr(0001) model system to powder samples
Authors: Lackner Peter , Hulva Jan , Köck Eva-Maria , Mayr-Schmölzer Wernfried , Choi Joong Il J. , Penner Simon , Diebold Ulrike , Mittendorfer Florian , Redinger Josef , Klötzer Bernhard , Parkinson Gareth S. , Schmid Michael
Published: August 2018

A comprehensive study of water adsorption and desorption on an ultrathin trilayer zirconia film by experimental and computational methods shows good agreement with data for H2O/ZrO2 powder material.
A highly hydrophobic fluorographene-based system as an interlayer for electron transport in organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells
Authors: Javaid Saqib , Myung Chang Woo , Pourasad S. , Rakshit Bipul , Kim Kwang S. , Lee Geunsik
Published: August 2018

Degradation of perovskite halide materials under humid conditions is one of the major hurdles in the commercialization of organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells.
Boosting the performance and stability of quasi-two-dimensional tin-based perovskite solar cells using the formamidinium thiocyanate additive
Authors: Kim Hongki , Lee Yoon Ho , Lyu Taecheon , Yoo Jong Heun , Park Taiho , Oh Joon Hak
Published: August 2018

Highly efficient tin-based perovskite solar cells are prepared by introducing the formamidinium thiocyanate additive into quasi-two-dimensional tin-based perovskites.
Highly dispersed ultrafine palladium nanoparticles encapsulated in a triazinyl functionalized porous organic polymer as a highly efficient catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of aldehydes
Authors: Yang Jin , Yuan Man , Xu Dan , Zhao Hong , Zhu Yangyang , Fan Menying , Zhang Fengwei , Dong Zhengping
Published: August 2018

A stable Pd@TP-POP catalyst with highly dispersed ultrafine Pd NPs confined in its organic pores was fabricated for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol and transfer hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes under very mild conditions.
The effects of TiO2 nanotube arrays with different diameters on macrophage/endothelial cell response and ex vivo hemocompatibility
Authors: Bai Long , Yang Ying , Mendhi Jayanti , Du Zeyu , Hao Rui , Hang Ruiqiang , Yao Xiaohong , Huang Nan , Tang Bin , Xiao Yin
Published: August 2018

Percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting is the most widely adopted surgical technique for the treatment of coronary disease.
Efficient emissive fluorene-based p–n conjugated porous materials for near-white electroluminescence: benefits of metal-free Friedel–Crafts green polymerization
Authors: Wei Chuan-Xin , Bai Lu-Bing , An Xiang , Han Ya-Min , Liu Yu-Qin , Yu Meng-Na , Lin Jin-Yi , Lin Zong-Qiong , Xie Ling-Hai , Xu Man , Zheng Qing-Huang , Zhao Jian-Feng , Wang Jian-Pu , Huang Wei
Published: August 2018

Efficient emissive fluorene-based p–n conjugated porous materials (CPMs) have been constructed via an effective Friedel–Crafts green polymerization.
Wideband internal PIFA‐loop antenna designed on the bezel of digital television applications for UHF band
Authors: Van Trinh Thai , Kim Gyonyun , Kim Jungjin , Won Jung Chang
Published: August 2018

A simple internal antenna that combines a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) and a loop antenna to achieve wideband (BW ∼ 48%) operation in ultra‐high frequency (UHF: 470–771 MHz) band for digital television (DTV) applications is presented. The design allows the installation of an antenna within a TV model, thereby addressing the limitations of space. The 49‐inch DTV is used for the practical implementation experiment. The TV bezel (made of polycarbonate‐acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC‐ABS): εr = 3.5; tan δ = 0.005) is used as the substrate for the antenna design. The antenna is placed on the top edge of the TV model. With the combination of the PIFA mode and loop mode operations, the operating bandwidth of the proposed PIFA‐loop antenna is significantly broadened. The measured results show that the proposed antenna has wide bandwidth of about 410 MHz (460–870 MHz) and suitable radiation performance with higher than 2.2 dBi of peak gain and 47% of efficiency within the operating bandwidth.
220–325 GHz high‐isolation SPDT switch in InP DHBT technology
Authors: Shivan T. , Hossain M. , Stoppel D. , Weimann N. , Boppel S. , Doerner R. , Heinrich W. , Krozer V.
Published: August 2018

A broadband single‐pole‐double‐throw (SPDT) switch is presented covering 220–325 GHz in 800 nm transferred substrate InP DHBT technology. The SPDT switch configuration employs shunt‐topology. The circuit achieves an isolation of >36 dB within the band with very low DC power of 9 mW, benefitting from the low intrinsic capacitance of the transistors. This is the highest reported isolation for wideband SPDT switches covering 220–325 GHz. This three‐stage SPDT switch also demonstrates the highest isolation of 12 dB per stage in this frequency range.
Marching‐on‐in‐time solution of delayed PEEC models of conductive and dielectric objects
Authors: Gianfagna Carmine , Lombardi Luigi , Antonini Giulio
Published: August 2018

In this work, a marching‐on‐time solver for time‐domain simulation of partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) models of electromagnetic systems is presented. The PEEC method is based on the electric field integral equation and the continuity equation. It describes separate magnetic and electric field couplings in terms of partial inductances and coefficients of potential. When the propagation delay is taken into account, the enforcement of Kirchhoff current and voltage laws results in a set of delayed differential equations. Typically, in the PEEC method, currents and charges are expanded with rectangular basis functions in both time and space. In this work, higher order basis functions are used to expand currents and charges in time. The resulting TD‐PEEC solver is tested by comparison with other solvers that operate in both the time‐ and the frequency‐domain and exhibits a satisfactory accuracy and better stability properties.
Improved design of a SIW long slot leaky wave antenna with low SLL
Authors: Mahmoodi Malekshah Amin , Majedi Mohammad Saeed , Attari Amir Reza
Published: August 2018

This study presents a new design for the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) long slot leaky wave antenna (LWA) with narrow beam, low side lobe level (SLL) and low cross‐polarisation. To meet these specifications, the changes of phase constant, , along the structure are compensated, the required leakage constant, , is determined more accurately by considering the loss and a straight slot along the antenna is used. In order to calculate the leakage constant of the leaky‐mode more accurately, thru‐reflect‐line method along with HFSS simulations is used. By properly determining the shape of SIW walls, the amount of leakage along the slot and the phase constant can be controlled. This results in a desired aperture amplitude and phase distribution. The presented LWA realises a Taylor distribution with a predefined SLL of −25 dB. Such a design also leads to a low cross‐polarisation level and narrow beam at centre frequency of 17 GHz. The measurement results are consistent with the simulation results.
Design, fabrication and characterisation of Si‐based capillary‐driven microfluidic devices
Authors: Ye Yifei , Zhao Yang , Cheng Jie , Li Mingxiao , Huang Chengjun
Published: August 2018

Capillary‐driven microfluidic devices have a great potential for the point‐of‐care testing systems based on the advantages of self‐pumping, low reagent usage and rapid detection. Here, the study presents a lidless Si‐based capillary‐driven microfluidic device, comprising two inlets for sample and buffer loading, a snake‐shaped microchannel (120/0.05/0.025 mm in length/width/depth) as a flow resistor, a micropillar array (25/5/8 μm in height/diameter/pitch) as a capillary pump and a vent. It was fabricated with lithographic technique in combination with deep Si etch technique. A simple and stable surface hydrophilisation modification method was demonstrated on the device by forming a self‐assembly monolayer through Cu‐catalysed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition reaction. The surface modified device allowed controllable autonomous capillary flow delivery with a contact angle of around 40° stabilised for at least 90 days. The design of two inlets with one common long snake‐shaped microchannel provided the sequential capillary flow generation and propagation with controlled flow rate and propagation distance, while the micropillar array with a high aspect ratio of 5 was considered as an effective capillary pump. Based on the obtained results, the proposed device makes possible for the on‐chip biosensing applications as a part of integrated point‐of‐care testing systems.
The hunt for self-similar core collapse
Authors: Pavlík Václav , Šubr Ladislav
Published: August 2018

Context. Core collapse is a prominent evolutionary stage of self-gravitating systems. In an idealised collisionless approximation, the region around the cluster core evolves in a self-similar way prior to the core collapse. Thus, its radial density profile outside the core can be described by a power law, ρ ∝ r−α.

Aims. We aim to find the characteristics of core collapse in N-body models. In such systems, a complete collapse is prevented by transferring the binding energy of the cluster to binary stars. The contraction is, therefore, more difficult to identify.

Methods. We developed a method that identifies the core collapse in N-body models of star clusters based on the assumption of their homologous evolution.

Results. We analysed different models (equal- and multi-mass), most of which exhibit patterns of homologous evolution, yet with significantly different values of α : the equal-mass models have α ≈ 2.3, which agrees with theoretical expectations, the multi-mass models have α ≈ 1.5 (yet with larger uncertainty). Furthermore, most models usually show sequences of separated homologous collapses with similar properties. Finally, we investigated a correlation between the time of core collapse and the time of formation of the first hard binary star. The binding energy of such a binary usually depends on the depth of the collapse in which it forms, for example from 100 kT to 104 kT in the smallest equal-mass to the largest multi-mass model, respectively. However, not all major hardenings of binaries happened during the core collapse. In the multi-mass models, we see large transfers of binding energy of ∼104 kT to binaries that occur on the crossing timescale and outside of the periods of the homologous collapses.
Identification of ductile to brittle transition temperature by using plane strain specimen in tensile test and correlation with instrumented Charpy impact test: experimental and numerical study
Authors: Tioguem Frank , Maziere Matthieu , Tankoua Franck , Galtier André , Gourgues-Lorenzon Anne-Françoise
Published: August 2018

This study addresses the correlation between the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature ranges of high strength 4140 steel obtained respectively from tensile tests under plane strain (PS) conditions and from conventional Charpy impact tests. Specimens were taken respectively at 25 mm (P) and at 55 mm (M) from skin of a cylindrical 90-mm-radius hot rolled bar water quenched from 875 °C, tempered at 600 °C and air cooled. P and M samples respectively showed a fully martensitic and a martensite-bainite microstructure. Fracture surface observations showed good agreement for physical fracture mechanisms (cleavage facet size, mixed ductile + brittle fracture in the transition region, ductile fracture at higher temperatures) between PS and Charpy, in particular sensitivity of upper bainite to cleavage fracture that reduces fracture energy in the lower self-energy on Charpy tests.
Probability prediction of tensile strength with acoustic emission count of a glass fiber reinforced polyamide
Authors: Mhalla Mohamed Makki , Bahloul Ahmed , Bouraoui Chokri
Published: August 2018

The aim of this paper is to develop a probabilistic approach for predicting the tensile strength behavior of a glass fiber reinforced polyamide. In the present study, the reliability of tensile strength is proposed based on the developed mathematical models, in which three factors with three levels are implemented. Glass fiber content, temperature and strain rate are chosen as the main input parameters in this study. The tensile strength is considered as output response which is evaluated through experimental tests. The “Strength-Load” method with Monte Carlo simulation is implemented for computing the tensile strength reliability. The proposed approach leads to predict useful the tensile strength behavior for different parameters. In addition, a sensitivity analysis of some input parameters on the reliability is discussed. This method has been also used to analyze and discuss the influence of the dispersions of the glass fiber content and the temperature of a glass fiber reinforced polyamide.
Recent advances on the characterization and control of sunflower soilborne pathogens under climate change conditions
Authors: Molinero-Ruiz Leire
Published: August 2018

The control of soilborne crop pathogens is conditioned by the limited management options due to difficult access to active infection courts and to restrictions in the use of synthetic pesticides in Europe. For most soilborne sunflower pathogens, an effective management relies on genetic resistance which is, however, hindered by new pathogen populations (new races). Special emphasis is thus put on updated monitoring and characterization of pathogens and on the enlargement of the set of tools for disease management. Concerning characterization, advances on the population structure of Verticillium dahliae affecting sunflower by means of genetic, molecular and pathogenic approaches are presented. Also in relation to increases of sunflower wilt diseases recently observed, the fungus Cadophora malorum has been identified in Russia and reported as a new pathogen of this crop. Third, new races of Plasmopara halstedii (sunflower downy mildew), have been identified in Spain and Portugal. Most of them have a high virulence, since they overcome several genes for resistance. With regard to alternatives for disease control, entomopathogenic fungi (EF) constitute a novel tool. Used for years in Integrated Pest Management strategies due to their efficacy in controlling insect pests affecting crops, new ecological roles of these fungi have recently been reported. The EF species Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum have been assessed by their in vitro effect against V. dahliae and C. malorum by our research group. Our results suggest that antibiosis and/or competition for ecological niche are operating in some EF-pathogen interactions. In summary, pathogen characterization is essential for genetic resistance for worldwide environments of sunflower production. Moreover, the security of sunflower yield and profitability is dependent not only on effective genetic resistance, but also on additional new control options that can be included in successful strategies of sunflower disease management.
Comprendre l’optique adaptative
Authors: Charlet Bertrand , Elhassouni Abdesselem , Hardy Vincent
Published: August 2018

L’optique adaptative (OA) est aujourd’hui une technologie bien connue des designers de systèmes optiques. C’est peutêtre parce qu’à première vue, elle paraît magique. Une image floue entre dans le système d’OA et en ressort nette !
Body as subject, body as object: how treatment of the obese patient can be improved by dance therapy
Authors: Muller-Pinget Solange , Allet Lara , Golay Alain
Published: August 2018

Objectives:To give obese patints the motivation to take care of themselves. To help them focus on self perception rather than on their figure and BMI. This study aimed to analyze the impact of dance therapy on the body as subject as experienced by the patient.Methodology:After randomization, 27 female patients undertook a dance therapy program for 16 weeks and were compared against a control group of 19 female patients. The effects on conscious walking, posture, self-esteem and quality of life were measured using questionnaires on self-perception of posture, walk, self-esteem and quality of life.Results:The results after dance therapy showed significant improvement in the body as subject (posturep < 0.02; conscious walkingp < 0.001; quality of lifep < 0.01; body esteemp < 0.003; and sense of self-worthp < 0.005). The results for the control group had not changed after 16 weeks.Conclusion:after 4 months of dance therapy, obese patients developed a perception of a “body as subject they experience”, which led them to significantly improve their self-esteem and quality of life.Practice implications:Dance therapy should be incorporated into therapeutic education programs to improve the perceptive dimension of our obese patients.
Efficacy of Add-on Pregabalin in the Treatment of Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Unipolar Major Depression With an Early Nonresponse to Escitalopram: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study
Authors: Fountoulakis Konstantinos N. , Karavelas Vangelis , Moysidou Stefania , Mavridis Dimitris , Pastiadis Konstantinos , Petalidou Nicole , Nimatoudis Ioannis , Kasper Siegfried
Published: August 2018

Introduction This study tests the efficacy of pregabalin versus placebo as adjunctive treatment in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) comorbid with unipolar major depression (UMD) and with an early nonresponse to escitalopram.

Methods This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled 8-week add-on study of pregabalin, 75–600 mg/day (n=31) versus placebo (n=29) on open-label escitalopram in outpatients meeting the DSM-IV-TR criteria for GAD and UMD. The main outcome measures were change from baseline to endpoint in total STAI-S, Trail-Making Test B (TMT-B) and the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Also changes in the parameters of the pupil’s reaction to light stimuli.

Results There was no significant difference in any of the primary or secondary outcomes or response and remission rates concerning any analysis (last observation carried-forward of at least visit 2 or completers) between the 2 treatment arms. One additional finding of the current study is that adding pregabalin does not have a significant effect on autonomic function.

Discussion This study does not support the usefulness of adding pregabalin in patients with GAD and UMD and with an early nonresponse to escitalopram (EudraCT Number: 2012-004062-17, Sponsor’s Protocol Code Number: WS1702721).
Low Molecular Weight Heparin and Compression Stockings in the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Neurosurgery
Authors: Nurmohamed M T , van Riel A M , Henkens C M A , Koopman M M W , Que G T H , D’Azemar P , Büller H R , ten Cate J W , Hoek J A , van der Meer J , van der Heul C , Turpie A G G , Haley S , Sicurella J , Gent M
Published: August 2018

Perioperative anticoagulant prophylaxis for postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) in neurosurgical patients has not gained wide acceptance due to the fear of intracranial bleeding. Physical methods give a worthwhile reduction of postoperative VTE but there still remains a substantial residual incidence. In other clinical indications, low molecular weight heparins have proven to be effective for prophylaxis of VTE when administered postoperatively, with the advantage of no bleeding enhancement during surgery.

Therefore, we performed a multicentre, randomized, double-blind trial in neurosurgical patients to investigate the efficacy and safety of adding a low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), nadroparin, initiated postoperatively, to graduated compression stockings in the prevention of VTE. Deep-vein thrombosis was detected by mandatory venography. Bleeding was determined according to pre-defined objective criteria for major and minor episodes.

An adequate bilateral venogram was obtained in 166 of 241 LMWH patients (68.9%) and 179 of 244 control patients (73.4%). A total of 31 of 166 LMWH patients (18.7%) and 47 of 179 control patients (26.3%) had VTE up to Day 10 postoperatively (p = 0.047). The relative risk reduction (RRR) was 28.9%. The rates for proximal deep-vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism were 6.9% and 11.5% for the two groups, respectively (RRR: 40.2%; p = 0.065).

Secondary analyses involved all VTE up to day 56 post-surgery which was detected in 33 patients of 241 in the LMWH group (13.7%) and 51 of 244 control patients (20.9%; RRR 34.5%; p = 0.018). The corresponding percentages for proximal deep-vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism were 5.8% and 10.2% for the two groups, respectively, giving a RRR of 43.3%; p = 0.036. Major bleeding complications, during the treatment period, occurred in six low molecular weight heparin treated patients (2.5%) and in two control patients (0.8%); p = 0.087.

A higher mortality was observed in the low molecular weight heparin group over the 56-day follow-up period (22 versus 10; p = 0.026). However, none of these deaths was judged by a blinded adjudication committee to be related to the study drug.

In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the low molecular weight heparin, nadroparin, added to graduated compression stockings results in a clinically significant decrease in VTE without inducing any significant increase of major bleeding.
Feasibility of Using Recombinant Factor VIIa in Continuous Infusion
Authors: Schulman S , Jensen M Bech , Varon D , Keller N , Gitel N , Horoszowski H , Heim M , Martinowitz U
Published: August 2018

Recombinant factor Vila (rFVIIa; NovoSeven®) is a recent addition to the hemostatic alternatives for the treatment of hemophiliacs with inhibitors. A drawback in the use of rFVIIa has been its half-life of only about 2 h, which necessitates very frequent and punctual injections. We evaluated the stability of reconstituted, but not further diluted, rFVIIa in 3 infusion systems (WalkMedTM 350 and CADD®-Plus minipumps and Meddex 2001 syringe pump). The factor VII (F VII) activity was maintained for at least 3 days at room temperature with only a minor and clinically insignificant increase in oxidized forms of rFVIIa and minimal leaching of the plastic softeners di-butylphthalate and di-octylphthalate after 24–48 h. Addition of heparin, 5–10 U/ml, to reconstituted rFVIIa caused a loss of about 50% of the activity within 4 h of storage in the infusion system, whereas low molecular weight heparin had no such effect. Repeated samples showed that the infusion systems maintained sterility. Reconstituted rFVIIa did not support bacterial growth when inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli to any greater extent than did reconstituted factor VIII, lidocaine in saline or heparin in saline. Two patients were treated with continuous infusion of rFVIIa on 4 occasions (total knee arthroplasty, wound revision, and twice straightening of a 90° contracture of the knee under general anaesthesia). A preoperative pharmacokinetic evaluation was performed, and the clearance was used to calculate the maintenance dose, aiming at a FVII level of 10 U/ml, which proved to be a hemostatic level. The first patient had no change in the clearance during the two treatment episodes. He suffered from repeated thrombophlebitis at the infusion site. The second patient had a progressive decrease of the clearance from 86.4 to 24.7 ml/h/kg. He received during the first treatment a parallel infusion with heparin (≈250 U/24 h) to the same venous access and did not develop thrombophlebitis during 3.5 days of therapy. For the second episode low molecular weight heparin was added directly to the infusion bag, and no adverse effects were observed. Continuous infusion with rFVIIa is thus feasible with the minipumps used by us, eliminates the need for 2 h injections and reduces the total dose of rFVIIa by 50–75%, depending on the behaviour of the clearance.
Identification and Biosynthesis of Fibrinogen in Human Uterine Cervix Carcinoma Cells
Authors: Young Lee Soo , Pyoung Lee Key , Weon Lim Joo
Published: August 2018

Fibrinogen has been detected in ME-180 human uterine cervix carcinoma cells, and synthesis of fibrinogen by ME-180 cells has been measured using [35S] L-methionine incorporation. Expression of mRNA for the B|3-chain of the fibrinogen in ME-180 cells has been identified by PCR-assisted mRNA amplification. The AΑ-, BΒ-, and Γ-chains of fibrinogen synthesized by ME-180 cells were chemically and immunologically identical to those of plasma fibrinogen. These findings suggest that fibrinogen is present and synthesized in ME-180 human uterine cervix carcinoma cells, and that fibrinogen plays a role in these malignant tumor cells.
Cavernous Carotid Artery Giant Aneurysm: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Packer Lucas , Vanzin José , Menegon Vinicius
Published: August 2018

The giant aneurysm of the cavernous internal carotid artery is an uncommon event. In the case of giant aneurysmal formation, the patient presents with some signs or symptoms, reported or observed on physical examination, which reveal a possible mass effect with neurovascular compression of the aneurysm, or even a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to the rupture of the aneurysm. We report the case of a 69-year-old patient who was admitted to the emergency department, referred by the basic health unit (BHU) of her locality for neurosurgical evaluation after suffering a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). The patient, who was asymptomatic, carried with her a tomographic computerized examination of the skull, performed one day after the incident, evidencing left nodular parasellar lesion involving the cavernous sinus, discovered at random. After more specific clinical, laboratory and imaging exams, she was diagnosed with a giant aneurysm of the cavernous segment of the left internal carotid artery (LICA) and was submitted to endovascular embolization for correction.
An Observational Study: Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring after Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty
Authors: Kenchi Gopi , Gajula Sunisha , Dangati Malleshwar
Published: August 2018

Aim In recent studies, lack of fall in nocturnal blood pressure (BP) has been presented as an independent predictor of poor prognosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of various variables of BP by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) measurement and sex-related differences after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA).

Methods This study included 100 patients who underwent PTCA in the authors’ institute from June 2017 to January 2018. They were monitored by 24-hour ABP for 1 day in the hospital.

Results One hundred patients were recruited in this study with mean age of 61.64 years, with female-to-male ratio of 0.27:1. All demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters including the ABP parameters were comparable between females and males, except smoking and alcoholism that were more frequent in males.

Out of 100 patients, 41 had nocturnal dipping in BP and 59 did not have nocturnal dipping. In this study, the variables among nondippers, 16 (27.1%) were females, 43 (72.8%) were males, 45 (63.3%) had diabetes mellitus (DM), 46 (75.4%) had hypertension (HTN), mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 141.7 ± 13.9 mm Hg, mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 86.34 ± 5.64 mm Hg, mean pulse pressure (PP) was 55.39 ± 9.25 mm Hg, and pulse-wave velocity (PWV) was 6.69 ± 2.22 m/s.

In females were more nondippers (27.1%) than dippers (12.1%), which was statistically significant (p = 0.05). Nondippers were more among hypertensive patients (77.9% vs. 36.5%; p = 0.00). Higher mean SBP (p = 0.001), higher mean BP (p = 0.032), and higher mean pulse pressure (p = 0.00) were observed in nondippers.

However, age, ejection fraction (EF), presence of DM, coronary artery disease (CAD) severity, type of presentation, and PWV were not different in dipper versus nondippers. Conclusion With comparable clinical, laboratory parameters along with BP parameters between females and males, immediate post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients, female PCI patients had more nondippers (p = 0.05). Overall nondippers had higher SBP, mean BP, and PP than dippers. Diabetes, severity of CAD, and type of presentation of CAD (as ACS or CSA) did not influence the nocturnal dipping quality of the BP.
Failure to Thrive: An Expanded Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Daymont Carrie , Ladda Roger , Lull Jordan , Ficicioglu Can , Cohen Jennifer , Aprile Justen , Lazzara Alexandra
Published: August 2018

The patient is a term 6-month-old male, who presented with failure to thrive since birth. History was remarkable for suspected milk and soy protein allergy, gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, and abdominal distension that was present since birth. He was losing weight despite oral intake of over 100 kcal/kg per day. Prior workup including laboratory studies, abdominal X-ray, upper gastrointestinal series with fluoroscopy, barium enema, and abdominal ultrasound were all within normal limits. The patient's history, diagnostic evaluation, and final diagnosis are revealed. This case highlights a rare condition presenting as failure to thrive, a common problem with a wide differential diagnosis.
Invited Review Article: Modeling ion beam extraction from different types of ion sources
Authors: Spädtke P.
Published: August 2018

The applications of ion beams are manifold. In most systems, improved extraction of the ion beam from the ion source can help to increase the ion beam current or to improve the ion beam emittance. Real understanding of the complete system is required to achieve improvement of ion beam intensity or ion beam quality. Mathematically, the situation is described by a boundary value problem for the fields and an initial value problem for ion beam tracking. Whereas the boundary value problem is similar for different ion sources, the initial value problem to be solved depends on very specific ion source conditions. The influence of different parameters like particle density and temperatures on the discharge itself is important. For the case of ion beam extraction from an electron cyclotron resonance ion source, the problems of a suitable model will be discussed in detail. It will be shown that specific diagnostics are required to measure specific beam parameters. Such diagnostics are to be included in the simulation as well. The overall goal remains to develop a model that can be used for further improvements of beam intensity and quality from specific ion sources.
Nonlocal symmetries classifications and exact solution of Chaplygin gas equations
Authors: Satapathy Purnima , Raja Sekhar T.
Published: August 2018

In this work, a complete tree of nonlocally related partial differential equations of Chaplygin gas equations is constructed. This tree includes the systems, which are obtained through local conservation laws and the local symmetry based method. We classify the nonlocal symmetries from potential systems as well as inverse potential systems (IPSs). Furthermore, we propose a systematic algorithm for identification of nonlocal symmetries through IPSs by combining the ideas in the studies of Bluman and Yang [J. Math. Phys. 54, 093504 (2013)] and Yang and Cheviakov [J. Math. Phys. 55, 083514 (2014)]. Finally, we obtain a new exact solution through nonlocal symmetry analysis and physical behavior of solution is presented.
Fitting a round peg into a round hole: Asymptotically correcting the generalized gradient approximation for correlation
Authors: Cancio Antonio , Chen Guo P. , Krull Brandon T. , Burke Kieron
Published: August 2018

We consider the implications of the Lieb-Simon limit for correlation in density functional theory. In this limit, exemplified by the scaling of neutral atoms to large atomic number, local density approximation (LDA) becomes relatively exact, and the leading correction to this limit for correlation has recently been determined for neutral atoms. We use the leading correction to the LDA and the properties of the real-space cutoff of the exchange-correlation hole to design, based upon Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) correlation, an asymptotically corrected generalized gradient approximation (acGGA) correlation which becomes more accurate per electron for atoms with increasing atomic number. When paired with a similar correction for exchange, this acGGA satisfies more exact conditions than PBE. Combined with the known rs-dependence of the gradient expansion for correlation, this correction accurately reproduces correlation energies of closed-shell atoms down to Be. We test this acGGA for atoms and molecules, finding consistent improvement over PBE but also showing that optimal global hybrids of acGGA do not improve upon PBE0 and are similar to meta-GGA values. We discuss the relevance of these results to Jacob’s ladder of non-empirical density functional construction.
Time series analysis in earthquake complex networks
Authors: Pastén Denisse , Czechowski Zbigniew , Toledo Benjamín
Published: August 2018

We introduce a new method of characterizing the seismic complex systems using a procedure of transformation from complex networks into time series. The undirected complex network is constructed from seismic hypocenters data. Network nodes are marked by their connectivity. The walk on the graph following the time of succeeding seismic events generates the connectivity time series which contains, both the space and time, features of seismic processes. This procedure was applied to four seismic data sets registered in Chile. It was shown that multifractality of constructed connectivity time series changes due to the particular geophysics characteristics of the seismic zones—it decreases with the occurrence of large earthquakes—and shows the spatiotemporal organization of these seismic systems.
Improvement of electrochemical properties of modified unitized regenerative fuel cells through a fluorination technique
Authors: Zhang Yubin , Ding Yichao , Zhao Xueqin
Published: August 2018

In this study, the fluorination technique is introduced into hydrogen storage alloys with the goal of improving the electrochemical performances of modified unitized regenerative proton exchange membrane fuel cells (M-UR-PEMFCs). The discharge performance of the cells is compared in two charging ways, namely, through electrochemical means and gas-solid hydrogenation. Compared to the M-UR-PEMFC, the specific discharge capacity of the hydrogenated fluoridated membrane electrode assembly increased from 59.3 mAh g−1 to 73.40 mAh g−1. The linear sweep voltammetry curve of the system displayed two reduction peaks separately at 0.75 V and 0.55 V which are associated with oxygen reduction at the Pt/C catalyst and the Ir/C catalyst, respectively. With the fluoridated treatment, the time for hydrogen completely evolving from metal hydride increased from 24 h to 48 h when the relative humidity was 100%, and from 72 h to 240 h when the humidity was 60%. However, the system does not work when charged by electrochemical methods.
Modified Jeans instability of collisional dusty magnetoplasma in presence of radiative cooling and dust charge fluctuation
Authors: Sharma Prerana , Patidar Archana , Jain Shweta , Vyas Bharat
Published: August 2018

We have investigated the modifications in the self-gravitational instability of magnetized collisional dusty plasma, arising from the radiative effects of electrons and ions, and charge fluctuation of dust. The electron and ion dynamics are described by their radiative effects and considering the full dynamics of dust and neutrals, the general dispersion relation is derived. The properties of the general dispersion relation are discussed in the absence and presence of dust charge fluctuation. The results of these two cases are further reduced for parallel and perpendicular modes of propagation. The consequences of magnetic field, collisions, dust charge fluctuation, and radiative condensation on the growth rate of self-gravitational instability are discussed analytically and graphically. We found that the radiative effects and dust charge variation increase the growth rate of self-gravitational instability while the presence of magnetic field and collisions shows the stabilizing behavior. The findings are discussed in context of the structure formation in interstellar clouds.
Manipulating polarizations and reflecting angles of electromagnetic fields simultaneously from conformal meta-mirrors
Authors: Zhang Aofang , Yang Rui
Published: August 2018

The reflecting spectra from convex meta-mirrors are investigated in this paper, where the polarizations and reflecting angles of electromagnetic fields are shown to be tunable at the same time through a proper arrangement of subwavelength ring patches. Especially, the 45°-skew-ring patches are employed to tune the amplitudes and phases of two orthogonal polarized components of electromagnetic fields with a fixed phase difference of 90°, thus enable the transformations of linearly polarized waves to circularly polarized waves while redirecting the reflected waves. Such a design is then extended into other conformal meta-mirrors with planar and concave profiles and also demonstrates the excellent performances of polarization conversions and anomalous reflections simultaneously. The present approach of building up a beam deflector and polarization converter simultaneously using meta-mirrors should pave the way for the development of conformal components on surfaces of various platforms.
Acceleration of DNA melting kinetics using alternating electric fields
Authors: Sensale Sebastian , Peng Zhangli , Chang Hsueh-Chia
Published: August 2018

We verify both theoretically and by simulation that an AC electric field, with a frequency much higher than the dissociation rate, can significantly accelerate the dissociation rate of biological molecules under isothermal conditions. The cumulative effect of the AC field is shown to break a key bottleneck by reducing the entropy (and increasing the free energy of the local minimum) via the alignment of the molecular dipole with the field. For frequencies below a resonant frequency which corresponds to the inverse Debye dipole relaxation time, the dissociation rate can be accelerated by a factor that scales as ω(ϵ′(ω)−1)E02, where ω is the field frequency, E0 is the field amplitude, and ϵ′(ω) is the frequency-dependent real permittivity of the molecule. At large amplitudes, we find that the accelerated melting rate becomes universal, independent of duplex size and sequence, which is in drastic contrast to Ohmic thermal melting. We confirm our theory with isothermal all-atomic molecular dynamics simulation of short DNA duplexes with known melting rates, demonstrating several orders in enhancement with realistic fields.
Polyaniline (C3N) nanoribbons: Magnetic metal, semiconductor, and half-metal
Authors: Tagani Meysam Bagheri , Vishkayi Sahar Izadi
Published: August 2018

A two-dimensional polyaniline sheet has been recently synthesized and found that it is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap. Polyaniline nanoribbons decomposed from the two-dimensional polyaniline sheet (C3N sheet) are investigated using a density functional theory. The existence of nitrogen atoms in the edge of the ribbons increases the stability and magnetization of the ribbons and make them different from graphene nanoribbons. Unsaturated nanoribbons are magnetic metals so that the armchair C3N nanoribbons are gap-less spin semiconductors in the antiferromagnetic state and half-metals in the ferromagnetic state. A transition from a metal to semiconductor is observed in the armchair C3N nanoribbons when the edge atoms are passivated by hydrogen. The band gap of the hydrogen saturated armchair C3N nanoribbons can be controlled using an external transverse electric field so that its magnitude is dependent on the direction of the electric field. Being a metal or semiconductor in hydrogen saturated zigzag C3N nanoribbons is strongly dependent on the edge atoms so that just ribbons having nitrogen atoms in both edges are semiconductor. An external electric field cannot induce any spin polarization in the zigzag nanoribbons, which is in contrast with what was observed in zigzag graphene nanoribbons.
Structural evolution and photoluminescence properties of a 2D hybrid perovskite under pressure
Authors: Feng Guoqiang , Qin Yan , Ran Cheng , Ji Lijun , Dong Liyuan , Li Wei
Published: August 2018

High pressure behavior of a 2D hybrid perovskite semiconductor, (BA)2PbBr4 (BA = benzylammonium), has been systematically studied via synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction over the range of 0-14.22 GPa. (BA)2PbBr4 shows a soft nature with a bulk modulus of 10(1) GPa and anisotropic linear compressibility with βa = 25(6), βb = 5.3(4), and βc = 15.1(8) TPa−1. Experiment-aided density functional theory calculations reveal that the structural changes of (BA)2PbBr4 under compression are attributed to the configurational alterations of BA+ organic cations and synergistic distortion of the (PbBr4)2− inorganic layer. Further extensive theoretical calculations of elastic tensors give full mapping of Young’s moduli, shear moduli, and Poisson’s ratios of (BA)2PbBr4, which confirm its anisotropic nature in elasticity. In addition, the photoluminescence of (BA)2PbBr4 exhibits a significant red-shift and an intensity decrease in response to hydrostatic stress which respectively arise from the contractions of Pb–Br bonds and distortions of PbBr6 octahedra in the inorganic layer mediated by the configurational alterations of BA+ cations upon compression.
Integrated tempering enhanced sampling method as the infinite switching limit of simulated tempering
Authors: You Zhiyi , Li Liying , Lu Jianfeng , Ge Hao
Published: August 2018

A fast and accurate sampling method is in high demand, in order to bridge the large gaps between molecular dynamic simulations and experimental observations. Recently, an integrated tempering enhanced sampling (ITS) method has been proposed and successfully applied to various biophysical examples, significantly accelerating conformational sampling. The mathematical validation for its effectiveness has not been elucidated yet. Here we show that the integrated tempering enhanced sampling method can be viewed as a reformulation of the infinite switching limit of the simulated tempering method over a mixed potential. Moreover, we demonstrate that the efficiency of simulated tempering molecular dynamics improves as the frequency of switching between the temperatures is increased, based on the large deviation principle of empirical distributions. Our theory provides the theoretical justification of the advantage of ITS. Finally, we illustrate the utility of the infinite switching simulated tempering method through several numerical examples.
Chaotic thinking: New neural network model recognizes human emotion from EEG data
Authors: Liebendorfer Adam
Published: August 2018

A technique bringing together recurrence quantification analysis and channel-frequency convulational neural networks boosts emotion prediction accuracy past 90 percent.
Synthesis of indoles: recent advances
Authors: Bugaenko Dmitry I. , Karchava Alexander V. , Yurovskaya Marina A.
Published: August 2018

Published data of the last 10 years concerning the development of new and upgrading of known approaches to indole synthesis are integrated and analyzed. Modern versions of the classical syntheses such as the Fischer synthesis, Nenitzescu synthesis, Ullmann reaction, Leimgruber – Batcho synthesis, Reissert synthesis, Bartoli reaction, Madelung synthesis and Cadogan – Sundberg reaction are considered. The presented new approaches include transformations of heterocycles, synthesis from o-alkynylanilines, reductive cyclization of nitrobenzene derivatives, synthesis with the use of arynes and catalysis by N-heterocyclic carbenes. The final Section summarizes original methods for the synthesis of indoles other than those listed above; they are classified in terms of the nature of the forming bond (C–C, C–N). Rarely used methods based on benzene ring construction in pyrrole derivatives are discussed separately.

The bibliography includes 246 references
Disturbance affects biotic community composition at desert wind farms
Authors: Keehn Jade E. , Feldman Chris R.
Published: August 2018

Context The global benefits of increased renewable energy production may come at a cost to local biotic communities and even regional ecosystems. Wind energy developments, in particular, are known to cause bird and bat mortalities, and to fragment habitat for terrestrial vertebrates within developed project areas. Effects on species sensitive to wind turbines (and increased prevalence of species tolerant to this disturbance) might alter community-level patterns of occurrence, with potentially detrimental changes to wildlife habitat and ecosystem health. Aims The present study assessed whether wind energy developments produced downstream ecological costs. Specifically, community composition and diversity were compared between wind farms and nearby areas without energy development. Methods Traditional diversity measures and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were used to map ecological dissimilarity across four wind farms and five reference (control) areas in Southern California, USA. Key results Wind farms had more noise and road disturbance than sites without turbine installations. Noise and disturbance were correlated with reduced plant richness, particularly for endemic plant species and, conversely, with increased non-native plant richness. Animal communities at wind farms were less diverse, with fewer species and lower evenness relative to reference areas with minor or no disturbances. Wind farms had fewer rare and unique species and, for some species of avian predators, encounter rates were lower at wind farms. Conclusions Renewable wind energy may indeed cause shifts in local communities. Although wind farms still supported many of the same species found in natural areas, suggesting that renewable wind energy facilities can provide useable habitat for some wildlife, these communities were also less rich and diverse. Implications Non-native species were more prevalent at wind farms, which may then facilitate further invasions into surrounding habitats. In addition, reduced overall plant and predator diversity at wind farms, and lower encounter rates for specific taxa (particular birds), may significantly affect community structure and function.
Machining protein microcrystals for structure determination by electron diffraction
Authors: Duyvesteyn Helen M. E. , Kotecha Abhay , Ginn Helen M. , Hecksel Corey W. , Beale Emma V. , de Haas Felix , Evans Gwyndaf , Zhang Peijun , Chiu Wah , Stuart David I.
Published: August 2018

We demonstrate that ion-beam milling of frozen, hydrated protein crystals to thin lamella preserves the crystal lattice to near-atomic resolution. This provides a vehicle for protein structure determination, bridging the crystal size gap between the nanometer scale of conventional electron diffraction and micron scale of synchrotron microfocus beamlines. The demonstration that atomic information can be retained suggests that milling could provide such detail on sections cut from vitrified cells.