bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anthropometric measures are satisfactory substitutes for the DXA‐derived visceral adipose tissue in the association with cardiometabolic risk—The Tromsø Study 2015–2016
Authors: Lundblad Marie W. , Jacobsen Bjarne K. , Johansson Jonas , Grimsgaard Sameline , Andersen Lene F. , Hopstock Laila A.
Published: May 2021

Background

Body mass index (BMI) increases while cardiometabolic risk factors decrease in individuals in high‐income countries. This paradoxical observation raises the question of whether current measures of overweight and obesity properly identify cardiometabolic risk.

Methods

A total of 3675 participants (59% women) aged 40–84 years with whole‐body dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry scans from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study were included to examine the association between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in grams and BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR). Further, their association with single cardiometabolic risk factors (blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein), modified single components from the ATP Ⅲ criteria for metabolic syndrome (hypertension, diabetes, high triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol), and metabolic syndrome were examined.

Results

VAT mass was strongly correlated with BMI (r ≥ 0.77), WC (r ≥ 0.80), WHR (r ≥ 0.58), and WHtR (r ≥ 0.78). WC was the strongest predictor for VAT (area under the curve: 0.90). Compared to anthropometric measures, the associations between VAT and metabolic syndrome as well as single components of metabolic syndrome were statistically significantly stronger, but the clinical differences were likely minor.

Conclusion

Although VAT mass showed statistically stronger associations with cardiometabolic risk compared to traditional anthropometrics, the clinical importance was likely small. Simple, clinically available tools seem to satisfactory substitute for VAT to identify cardiometabolic risk.
A review on the applications of polyurea in the construction industry
Authors: Shojaei Behrouz , Najafi Mohammad , Yazdanbakhsh Amirhosein , Abtahi Mojtaba , Zhang Chunwei
Published: May 2021

Polyurea has drawn the attention of construction activists and engineers as a modern building material due to its unique structure, unique properties, and relatively easy application even in hard‐to‐reach places. A wide range of excellent properties such as durability and high resistance against the atmospheric, chemical, and biological factors have made this polymer a superb option for the construction industry. The ability to reinforce the building materials and structures coupled with excellent resistance against corrosion and abrasion has dramatically increased the popularity of polyurea as a protective coating in the construction industry. In these industries, sealing and insulating the different floors and surfaces have also been considered using the polyurea coating. Polyurea coating technology is a green technology without pollution and toxicity to the environment, which is an essential advantage over many competing technologies in the construction industry. The use of polyurea composite systems to optimize various properties such as mechanical and thermal properties in addition to reducing the costs and economic burden is increasing. In the present paper, multiple applications of polyurea‐based materials in the construction industry are discussed.
Unsatisfactory quality of E. coli asparaginase biogenerics in India: Implications for clinical outcomes in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Authors: Sidhu Jasmeet , Gogoi Manash Pratim , Agarwal Praveen , Mukherjee Tathagata , Saha Debparna , Bose Priyanka , Roy Prakriti , Phadke Yogesh , Sonawane Bhatu , Paul Pritha , Saha Vaskar , Krishnan Shekhar
Published: May 2021

Background

The biotherapeutic asparaginase is a cornerstone of therapy in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). With limited access to the original native Escherichia coli‐derived asparaginase (EcASNase), a variety of EcASNase biogenerics are used in low‐middle‐income countries (LMICs). The variable quality of these biogenerics potentially influences clinical outcomes.

Procedure

Seven biogeneric EcASNases (P1–P7) marketed widely in India were evaluated, with P2 as an exemplar for in vivo monitoring. Therapeutic activity of P2 (10,000 IU/m2/dose, intramuscular, every 72 hours) was monitored during induction therapy, and drug‐related toxicities recorded. Molecular identity, purity and in vitro drug activity of seven biogenerics were characterised using multimodal analyses, and findings compared with reference EcASNase (R).

Results

In patients (N = 62) receiving P2, subtherapeutic asparaginase activity (<100 U/L) was observed in 66% (46/70) of trough timepoints (72 hours postdose) during induction. Twelve patients (19%), 11 with high‐risk ALL, developed hypersensitivity. Isoforms of EcASNase were identified in all seven biogenerics. All generic products contained impurities with batch‐to‐batch variability. These included high levels of protein aggregates and host cell protein contamination. In vitro assays of EcASNase activity and leukaemia cell line cytotoxicity were not discriminatory.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm widespread concerns over the unsatisfactory quality and therapeutic activity of native EcASNase biogenerics marketed in LMICs. Appropriate use of these products requires monitored studies to identify clinical suitability and determine appropriate dosing and schedule. For large parts of the world, assured access to high‐quality asparaginases remains an unmet therapeutic need.
High‐temperature creep resistant ternary blends based on polyethylene and polypropylene for thermoplastic power cable insulation
Authors: Ouyang Yingwei , Pourrahimi Amir Masoud , Lund Anja , Xu Xiangdong , Gkourmpis Thomas , Hagstrand Per‐Ola , Müller Christian
Published: May 2021

The impact of a small amount of polystyrene‐b‐poly(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐polystyrene (SEBS) on the thermomechanical and electrical properties of blends comprising low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) and isotactic polypropylene (PP) is investigated. SEBS is found to assemble at the PP:LDPE interface as well as within isolated PP domains. The addition of 10 wt% SEBS significantly increases the storage modulus between the melting temperatures of the two polyolefins, 110 and 160°C, and results in improved resistance to creep during both tensile deformation as well as compression. Furthermore, the ternary blends display a very low direct‐current (DC) conductivity as low as 3.4 × 10−15 S m−1 at 70°C and 30 kV mm−1, which is considerably lower than values measured for neat LDPE. The here presented type of ternary blend shows potential as an insulation material for high‐voltage direct current power cables.
Nutritional status, swallowing disorders, and respiratory prognosis in adult Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients
Authors: Fayssoil Abdallah , Chaffaut Cendrine , Prigent Helene , Laforet Pascal , Clair Bernard , Orlikowski David , Ogna Adam , Chevret Sylvie , Meng Paris , Annane Djillali , Lofaso Frederic , Crenn Pascal
Published: May 2021

Malnutrition and swallowing disorders are common in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients. We assessed, in adult DMD with home mechanical ventilation (HMV) and cough assist device, its prevalence and the relationships with respiratory muscle strength and long‐term respiratory prognosis. We reviewed the patients (n = 117, age 18–39 years [median 24]), followed in a reference center, from 2006 to 2015, to obtain clinical baseline, nutritional status, vital capacity (VC), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). The median body mass index (BMI) was low (15.6 kg/m²). Included patients had severe restrictive respiratory function with a median VC of 10.5% [7–17] of the predicted value. All patients were on HMV. Prevalence of malnutrition, swallowing disorders, and gastrostomy were respectively 62%, 34%, and 11%. BMI and serum albumin level were significantly associated with MIP, MEP, and VC. The 1‐year/5‐years cumulative incidences of respiratory events (pulmonary sepsis and acute respiratory distress) were, respectively, 20.7%/44.5%. Using univariate analysis, predictive factors for respiratory events were swallowing disorders (p = .001), transthyretinemia (p = .034), MIP (p = .039), and MEP (p = .03) but not BMI or albuminemia. Using multivariate analysis, only swallowing disorders remained significantly associated with respiratory events (OR = 4.2, IC 95% 1.31–12.2, p = .01). In conclusion, this study highlights the interrelationships between nutritional intake, swallowing function, airway clearance, and respiratory function in adult DMD. A multidisciplinary approach focusing on these previous factors is essential to optimize DMD patient health.
DNA‐binding domain as the minimal region driving RNA‐dependent liquid–liquid phase separation of androgen receptor
Authors: Ahmed Junaid , Meszaros Attila , Lazar Tamas , Tompa Peter
Published: May 2021

Androgen receptor (AR) is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates the transcription of genes involved in the development of testis, prostate and the nervous system. Misregulation of AR is a major driver of prostate cancer (PC). The primary agonist of full‐length AR is testosterone, whereas its splice variants, for example, AR‐v7 implicated in cancer may lack a ligand‐binding domain and are thus devoid of proper hormonal control. Recently, it was demonstrated that full‐length AR, but not AR‐v7, can undergo liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) in a cellular model of PC. In a detailed bioinformatics and deletion analysis, we have analyzed which AR region is responsible for LLPS. We found that its DNA‐binding domain (DBD) can bind RNA and can undergo RNA‐dependent LLPS. RNA regulates its LLPS in a reentrant manner, that is, it has an inhibitory effect at higher concentrations. As RNA binds DBD more weakly than DNA, while both RNA and DNA localizes into AR droplets, its LLPS depends on the relative concentration of the two nucleic acids. The region immediately preceding DBD has no effect on the LLPS propensity of AR, whereas the functional part of its long N‐terminal disordered transactivation domain termed activation function 1 (AF1) inhibits AR‐v7 phase separation. We suggest that the resulting diminished LLPS tendency of AR‐v7 may contribute to the misregulation of the transcription function of AR in prostate cancer.
Repeated exposure of house dust mite induces progressive airway inflammation in mice: Differential roles of CCL17 and IL‐13
Authors: Malaviya Ravi , Zhou Zhao , Raymond Holly , Wertheimer Josh , Jones Brian , Bunting Rachel , Wilkinson Patrick , Madireddy Lohith , Hall LeRoy , Ryan Mary , Rao Tadimeti S.
Published: April 2021

We conducted a systematic evaluation of lung inflammation indued by repeated intranasal exposure (for 10 consecutive days) to a human aeroallergen, house dust mite (HDM) in BALB/c mice. Peak influx of neutrophils, monocytes/lymphocytes, and eosinophils was observed in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) on days 1, 7 and 11, respectively, and normalized to baseline by day 21. Peak elevations of Th2, myeloid‐derived cytokines/chemokines and serum IgE were seen both in BAL and lung tissue homogenates between days 7 and 11, and declined thereafter; however, IL‐33 levels remained elevated from day 7 to day 21. Airway hyperreactivity to inhaled methacholine was significantly increased by day 11 and decreased to baseline by day 21. The lung tissue showed perivascular and peribronchial cuffing, epithelial hypertrophy and hyperplasia and goblet cell formation in airways by day 11, and resolution by day 21. Levels of soluble collagen and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP) also increased reflecting tissue remodeling in the lung. Microarray analysis demonstrated a significant time‐dependent up‐regulation of several genes including IL‐33, CLCA3, CCL17, CD4, CD10, CD27, IL‐13, Foxa3, IL‐4, IL‐10, and CD19, in BAL cells as well as the lung. Pre‐treatment of HDM challenged mice with CCL17 and IL‐13 antibodies reduced BAL cellularity, airway hyper‐responsiveness (AHR), and histopathological changes. Notably, anti‐IL‐13, but not anti‐CCL17 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reduced BAL neutrophilia while both mAbs attenuated eosinophilia. These results suggest that CCL17 has an overlapping, yet distinct profile versus IL‐13 in the HDM model of pulmonary inflammation and potential for CCL17‐based therapeutics in treating Th2 inflammation.
Beyond the single average tumor: Understanding IO combinations using a clinical QSP model that incorporates heterogeneity in patient response
Authors: Kumar Rukmini , Thiagarajan Kannan , Jagannathan Lakshmanan , Liu Liming , Mayawala Kapil , de Alwis Dinesh , Topp Brian
Published: May 2021

A quantitative systems pharmacology model for metastatic melanoma was developed for immuno‐oncology with the goal of predicting efficacy of combination checkpoint therapy with pembrolizumab and ipilimumab. This literature‐based model is developed at multiple scales: (i) tumor and immune cell interactions at a lesion level; (ii) multiple heterogeneous target lesions, nontarget lesion growth, and appearance of new metastatic lesion at a patient level; and (iii) interpatient differences at a population level. The model was calibrated to pembrolizumab and ipilimumab monotherapy in patients with melanoma from Robert et al., specifically, waterfall plot showing target lesion response and overall response rate (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors [RECIST] version 1.1), which additionally considers nontarget lesion growth and appearance of new metastatic lesions. We then used the model to predict waterfall and RECIST version 1.1 for combination treatment reported in Long et al. A key insight from this work was that nontarget lesions growth and appearance of new metastatic lesion contributed significantly to disease progression, despite reduction in target lesions. Further, the lesion level simulations of combination therapy show substantial efficacy in warm lesions (intermediary immunogenicity) but limited advantage of combination in both cold and hot lesions (low and high immunogenicity). Because many patients with metastatic disease are expected to have a mixture of these lesions, disease progression in such patients may be driven by a subset of cold lesions that are unresponsive to checkpoint inhibitors. These patients may benefit more from the combinations which include therapies to target cold lesions than double checkpoint inhibitors.
All‐Inorganic Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals: Future Prospects and Challenges to Go Lead Free
Authors: Sarkar Sanjit
Published: April 2021

All‐inorganic halide perovskite (IHP) materials have shown superior stability but the performance is still a bottleneck for commercial applications. Hence, extensive attention is given to IHP‐based photovoltaics, light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), and photodetection applications to procure the advantage of stability without compromising the efficiencies. Plenty of reviews have been reported so far where emphasis is given to a particular aspect such as synthesis, stability, application, or toxicity. However, synthesis, stability, and performance are the key aspects for all three major optoelectronic applications. Hence, it is necessary to bring all the recent pioneering works together from three inter‐related optoelectronic applications. The detailed discussions on their synthesis, device architecture, performances, and stability of three applications are helpful for better understanding of the challenges. The toxicity of Pb is another issue to solve, especially in the present scenario of environmental crisis. Herein, the performances of lead and lead‐free IHP devices are presented in a comparative manner to outline the future prospects and narrow down the several challenges to shift toward a completely Pb‐free regime. Apart from three mainstream applications, other promising applications are pointed out with a brief discussion on their future potentials.
A Synaptic Transistor Based on Monolayer Monocrystalline‐MoS2 for Neuromorphic Applications
Authors: Yan Meng , Hu Kai , Wang Fang , Shan Xin , Lin Xin , Chen Peng , Zhao Xuanyu , Wei Junqing , Song Zhitang , Zhang Kailiang
Published: April 2021

Ultrathin 2D semiconductor materials have attracted tremendous attention due to their potential application in neuromorphic computing, especially for electronic devices with high stability and low energy consumption. Two‐terminal memristors cannot extend the range of functionalities for complex neuromorphic applications due to their inherent single presynaptic input; thus three‐terminal synaptic transistors based on monolayer monocrystalline‐MoS2 films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are fabricated in this work. Importantly, there are two modes including drain and gate dual tunability available in nonvolatile memory functions. Both drain terminal and gate terminal can be used as presynaptic inputs to successfully simulate excitatory/inhibitory postsynaptic current (EPSC/IPSC), spike‐amplitude‐dependent plasticity (SADP), spike‐timing‐dependent plasticity (STDP), and long‐term plasticity (LTP) of biological synapses, providing multiple degrees of freedom for synaptic weight modulation. The conductance modulation of drain and gate terminals can be attributed to the migration and charges trapping/detrapping process of sulfur vacancies. Using monocrystalline‐MoS2 films, the device not only attains a lower operation voltage and a higher endurance (5000 cycles), but exhibit low energy consumption during the LTP process (≈3.75 pJ) with the gate terminal, indicating more flexibility and great potential of complex neuromorphic application.
Tailoring Helicity Angle of Twisted Skyrmions in Multilayered Nanostructures
Authors: Bo Lan , Hu Chenglong , Ji Lianze , Kong Lingwen , Zhao Rongzhi , Zhang Xuefeng
Published: April 2021

Twisted skyrimons (TSs) are intermediate states between Bloch skyrmions and Néel skyrmions, and can emerge in multilayered systems due to the competition between Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and magnetic dipole–dipole interaction. Herein, TSs are investigated in terms of helicity angle variation and layer dependence in both three layer and general multilayer nanostructures. The tailoring of helicity angle from 0 to π is achieved by stacking the number of magnetic layers and controlling the relative position of each layer. In addition, the precise spatial range where TSs exist stably and the influence of layer and spacer thickness are also discussed. The results provide a fundamental understanding of TSs in multilayered nanostructures, which is significant for the development of skyrmion‐based devices.
Near‐Unity External Quantum Efficiency in GaAs|AlGaAs Heterostructures Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Authors: Giannini Nathan , Yang Zhou , Rai Ashish K. , Albrecht Alexander R. , Sheik-Bahae Mansoor
Published: May 2021

The external quantum efficiency (EQE) of a GaAs|AlGaAs double heterostructure, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, is measured as a function of temperature in the range of 350–100 K. Record EQEs of >80% at 300 K and >98% below 150 K are obtained. The temperature‐dependent lifetime measurement that corroborates the EQE data is also reported, suggesting that interface recombination remains the dominant mechanism for nonradiative decay. These results offer promising prospects for using these structures in thermal photovoltaic, electroluminescent, and laser cooling device applications.
New perspectives on natural flavonoids on COVID‐19‐induced lung injuries
Authors: Santana Fernanda Paula R. , Thevenard Fernanda , Gomes Kaio S. , Taguchi Laura , Câmara Niels Olsen S. , Stilhano Roberta S. , Ureshino Rodrigo P. , Prado Carla Maximo , Lago João Henrique Ghilardi
Published: April 2021

The SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, responsible for COVID‐19, spread rapidly worldwide and became a pandemic in 2020. In some patients, the virus remains in the respiratory tract, causing pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and sepsis, leading to death. Natural flavonoids (aglycone and glycosides) possess broad biological activities encompassing antiinflammatory, antiviral, antitumoral, antiallergic, antiplatelet, and antioxidant effects. While many studies have focused on the effects of natural flavonoids in experimental models, reports based on clinical trials are still insufficient. In this review, we highlight the effects of flavonoids in controlling pulmonary diseases, particularly the acute respiratory distress syndrome, a consequence of COVID‐19, and their potential use in coronavirus‐related diseases. Furthermore, we also focus on establishing a relationship between biological potential and chemical aspects of related flavonoids and discuss several possible mechanisms of action, pointing out some possible effects on COVID‐19.
Failure mode and effects analysis using function–motion–action decomposition method and integrated risk priority number for mechatronic products
Authors: Wang Zhichao , Ran Yan , Yu Hui , Jin Chuanxi , Zhang Genbao
Published: April 2021

Failure mode and effects analysis is a widely applied risk assessment method in various engineering and management domains. However, the identification of failure modes is difficult and uncountable. Therefore, a function–motion–action (FMA) decomposition method is developed to identify failure modes from the perspective of motion and extraordinarily suitable for mechatronic products. In the typical risk assessment, the ranking orders of failure modes are determined by risk priority number (RPN), which has been criticized for several drawbacks and improved by some alternative RPNs, but some drawbacks still exist, such as duplicate values, narrow admissible value range, and missing failure modes’ and risk factors’ weights. This study formulates several alternative weighted RPNs to overcome the above drawbacks, and the final ranking orders of failure modes are garnered through the integrated RPN (IRPN). First, failure modes are identified via the proposed FMA decomposition method and evaluated with crisp values, whose weights are aggregated from the basic failure modes’ weights. Second, the weights of the basic failure modes, risk factors and different RPN methods are derived from analytic hierarchy process. Third, the conditional weights of risk factors are determined by incorporating risk factors’ weights and failure modes’ conditional weights deduced from Shannon entropy. Next, several alternative weighted RPNs and IRPN are formulated to rank failure modes’ risk levels. Finally, an illustrative example about computer numerical control machine center is presented to demonstrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Pathways of interest and participation: How STEM‐interested youth navigate a learning ecosystem
Authors: Shaby Neta , Staus Nancy , Dierking Lynn D. , Falk John H.
Published: May 2021

Despite considerable efforts in recent years to encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) interest and participation among youth, STEM interest during adolescence continues to decline. Recently, researchers, educators, and policymakers have used a learning ecology perspective to better understand the development and persistence of youth interest in STEM topics or activities. This study examined the dynamics of the STEM interest and participation pathways of three youth in an under‐resourced, urban community. These three cases offer insights into how youth with a strong interest in a STEM topic or activity perceived the resources that were available to them in a STEM learning ecosystem and highlight the affordances and constraints each faced in pursuit of their interests. We interviewed each youth 4–5 times during their middle school and high school years (ages 11–14). The analysis reinforces the unique nature of youth interest pathways, but also common factors that contributed to each of these pathways. The ability of youth to navigate the ecosystem depended on the availability and accessibility of both in‐ and out‐of‐school learning resources related to their interest, and the support they received from significant adults in their lives in terms of both social, cultural, and financial capital. This study offers important insights into how STEM learning ecosystems might best be structured to enable more youth to develop strong, enduring interests in STEM.
Alleviating debt distress and advancing the sustainable development goals
Authors: Haughton Howard , Keane Jodie
Published: May 2021

External debt levels will be unprecedented in 2021—in this last decade of action to secure the sustainable development goals (SDGs)—and mostly in distress for low‐income‐developing countries (LIDC) and least developed countries (LDCs). However, increased levels of debt distress were on the horizon even before the dire economic effects of COVID‐19. These high levels of external debt and a decreasing inability to access international capital were already expected to impede the advancement of the SDGs; the situation has become far graver because of the Great Lockdown and efforts to stymie transmission of COVID‐19. The international community faces perhaps its greatest challenge: it must alleviate poor countries debt burdens exacerbated by COVID‐19 to effectively combat its spread, but there is no consensus as to how to achieve this. Though there is no historical parallel to the current debt crisis, the heavily indebted poor country initiative (HIPC) suggests debt relief alone will be insufficient to keep the SDGs on track. While the challenges that arise with regards to the scaling up of debt swap initiatives—learned from previous efforts—are formidable, this article provides critical reflection as to their effective operationalization within the current context: responding to the economic and social devastation wrought by COVID‐19 and keeping the SDGs on track. It shows how debt swaps can be effectively deployed as part of a revitalized global partnership for development, for the advancement of the SDGs and broader debt sustainability.
Assessing vaccine durability in randomized trials following placebo crossover
Authors: Fintzi Jonathan , Follmann Dean
Published: April 2021

Randomized vaccine trials are used to assess vaccine efficacy (VE) and to characterize the durability of vaccine‐induced protection. If efficacy is demonstrated, the treatment of placebo volunteers becomes an issue. For COVID‐19 vaccine trials, there is broad consensus that placebo volunteers should be offered a vaccine once efficacy has been established. This will likely lead to most placebo volunteers crossing over to the vaccine arm, thus complicating the assessment of long term durability. We show how to analyze durability following placebo crossover and demonstrate that the VE profile that would be observed in a placebo controlled trial is recoverable in a trial with placebo crossover. This result holds no matter when the crossover occurs and with no assumptions about the form of the efficacy profile. We only require that the VE profile applies to the newly vaccinated irrespective of the timing of vaccination. We develop different methods to estimate efficacy within the context of a proportional hazards regression model and explore via simulation the implications of placebo crossover for estimation of VE under different efficacy dynamics and study designs. We apply our methods to simulated COVID‐19 vaccine trials with durable and waning VE and a total follow‐up of 2 years.
Efficacy and Safety of Secukinumab for the Treatment of Severe ABCA12 Deficiency-Related Ichthyosis in a Child
Authors: Yogarajah J. , Gouveia C. , Iype J. , Häfliger S. , Schaller A. , Nuoffer J.M. , Fux M. , Gautschi M.
Published: May 2021

Background

Patients with severe autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) show a T helper 17/interleukin 17 (Th17/IL17) skewing in their skin and serum, resembling the inflammatory profile of psoriatic patients. Secukinumab, an IL-17A inhibitor, has shown clinical efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Aims

To test the clinical efficacy and safety of secukinumab in a paediatric patient with ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 12 deficiency-related severe erythrodermic ARCI.

Materials & Methods

6-months therapeutic trial. During the first 4-weeks induction period, the patient received weekly subcutaneous injections of 150 mg secukinumab (five injections in total). During the following 20-weeks maintenance period, the patient was given a subcutaneous injection of 150 mg secukinumab every 4 weeks.

Result & Discussion

After the 6-months therapy period, there was a 48% reduction from the baseline Ichthyosis-Area-Severity-Index (-Erythema/-Scaling) score. The treatment was well tolerated. Moreover, cytokine analysis revealed a reduction of keratinocyte-derived proinflammatory cytokines and an abrogation of Th17-skewing during therapy.

Conclusion

Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of the use of IL-17A inhibition in ARCI patients.
Copper (II) and Palladium (II) Schiff‐Base Complexes as Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalyst for Efficient α‐Methyl Oxidation Reaction: Experimental and DFT Approaches
Authors: Lashanizadegan Maryam , Ghiasi Mina , Mirzazadeh Hoda , Ferizhandi Azam N.
Published: April 2021

New homogenous catalysts of Schiff base/M(II), (M(II)=Cu, Pd), and new heterogeneous catalysts [graphene oxide (GO)/3‐chlorotrimethoxisilane (CPS) /Schiff base/M(II)] has been successfully synthesized. The heterogenous catalysts were synthesized using 3‐chlorotrimethoxisilane (CPS) via covalent bonding on graphene oxide and were characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy(EDS) techniques. Schiff base/M(II) and GO/CPS/Schiff base/M(II) were used as homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts in the oxidation of alkens. Catalytic results showed all the prepared samples were active in the oxidation of α‐methyl styrene. Over as‐prepared heterogeneous catalysts, more than 99 % conversion and selectivity for acetophenone could be achieved using (tert‐butyl hydroproxide (TBHP) : 22.5 mmol, Acetonitrile as solvent after 6 h).The recyclability experiment results indicated that heterogenous catalysts are excellent for α‐methyl styrene conversion and acetophenone selectivity even after being used for four cycles. Moreover, the electronic structures and net atomic charges are interpreted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Running title: Copper (II) and palladium (II) Schiff base complexes for experimental and theory study
Ag@AgCl Photocatalyst Loaded on the 3D Graphene/PANI Hydrogel for the Enhanced Adsorption‐Photocatalytic Degradation and In Situ SERS Monitoring Properties
Authors: Chen Fenghua , Liang Weiwei , Qin Xiaoyun , Jiang Liying , Zhang Yonghui , Fang Shaoming , Luo Dan
Published: April 2021

Here, 3D GH/PANI/Ag@AgCl composites were successfully synthesized by binding Ag+ ions with the Cl− ions of HCl‐doped PANI in 3D GH/PANI and the subsequent photo‐assisted reduction. Compared with 3D GH/PANI, Ag@AgCl and GO/PANI/Ag@AgCl catalysts, the synergistic effects of porous GH network structure, conductive 1D PANI, and the localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag@AgCl, enabled 3D GH/PANI/Ag@AgCl superior adsorption‐photocatalytic degradation performance of RhB under visible‐light irradiation. PL spectra and a serious of photoelectrochemical measurements were employed to investigate the reasons for such enhanced photocatalytic activity. Combined with the active species trapping experiments, the possible improved photocatalytic degradation mechanism was proposed. With the prepared 3D GH/PANI/Ag@AgCl photocatalyst itself as the substrate, real‐time SERS detection of the presence of RhB and its degradation process can also be achieved. Besides these important results, easy separation and good regeneration property of 3D GH/PANI/Ag@AgCl further make it a promising application in water purification.
Copper‐Based Metal‐Organic Framework for Selective CO2 Adsoprtion and Catalysis Fixation of CO2 into Cyclic Carbonates
Authors: Nguyen Phuong T. K. , Tran Y B. N.
Published: April 2021

Given the capture and utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, the CO2 separation and catalysis fixation of CO2 and epoxides have been of intense interest. In this respect, a microporous copper‐based metal‐organic framework (MOF) Cu2(ABTC) (ABTC=3,3’,5,5’‐azobenzenetetra‐carboxylic acid) was synthesized. The Cu–MOF endowed with open Cu sites, accessible pore cages and hexagonal channel (9.6 & 11 Å) exhibits permanent porosity (BET surface area of 2200 m2 g−1), good low‐pressure CO2 uptake (93 cm3 g−1, at 298 K), and moderate CO2 selectivity over N2 and CH4. In light of catalysis fixation of CO2 and epoxides, Cu2(ABTC) exhibited outstanding performance with high conversion of styrene oxide (96 %), and yield towards the formation of styrene carbonate (90 %) under mild conditions (1 atm of CO2, 60 °C, 8 h). Notably, the catalytic activity of Cu2(ABTC) outperformed that of other Cu‐MOFs, and the recovered Cu2(ABTC) can be reused up to six times without considerable reduction in catalytic activity.
Free‐enzymatic Indirect Detection of Malathion by SiC@CuO‐NPs Composite Nanomaterial Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode
Authors: Bakytkarim Yrysgul , Tursynbolat Satar , Huang Jianzhi , Wang Lishi
Published: April 2021

We prepared a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the free‐enzymatic indirect detection of malathion. The electrochemical sensor was based silicon carbide and copper oxide nanocomposite material. The structural and morphological properties of the SiC@CuO‐NPs nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). SiC‐NPs has the function of malathion pre‐concentration and SiC@CuO‐NPs nanocomposite was noted to possess high affinity towards malathion, thus the redox reaction of CuO could be hindered. This feature was utilized to design as a simple strategy for electrochemical detection of malathion. Electrochemical detection of malathion was investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), respectively. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the inhibition rate displays a good linear relationship with the concentration of malathion, the linear range is 0.03 nM∼3.0 nM, and the detection limit is 0.01 nM (S/N=3). In addition, the sensor exhibits good selectivity, stability and reproducibility, and has been successfully used in the detection of malathion in actual water samples with recoveries between 99.33 % and 106.6 %, which is satisfactory experimental results.
Pd‐Catalyzed Oxidative Sulfoalkenylation of Acetanilides and Traceless Removal of the Catalyst Directing Group
Authors: Sand Patrick , Schmidt Bernd
Published: May 2021

The palladium‐catalyzed oxidative Heck‐reaction, also referred to as Fujiwara‐Moritani‐reaction, has been investigated for the synthesis of styrenylsulfonyl compounds. Acetanilides and vinylsulfonyl compounds undergo dehydrogenative coupling reactions in moderate to quantitative yields, using benzoquinone as the oxidant of choice. Potassium peroxodisulfate, which had previously been identified as a superior oxidant for the coupling with acrylates, did not provide any coupling products with these olefins. Traceless removal of the catalyst directing group through a deacetylation‐diazotation‐coupling (DDC) sequence was demonstrated for 2‐arylethene sulfones.
Mi Casa Es Tu Casa: Immigrant Entrepreneurs as Pathways to Foreign Venture Capital Investments
Authors: Balachandran Sarath , Hernandez Exequiel
Published: April 2021

Research Summary

Venture capital (VC) firms predominantly source investments from local networks within tight geographic bounds. Against that tendency, VCs are increasingly investing internationally—but with substantial heterogeneity across firms in extent, location, and success. We propose a mechanism that explains these patterns. The ties VCs form to immigrant entrepreneurs when investing domestically provide access to the knowledge and connections of those immigrants, which facilitates VC investments in the immigrants' homelands. Using data on U.S. VC activity in India, we find that firms invest in more Indian startups as their ties to Indian entrepreneurs in the United States increase—particularly in the Indian region where immigrants originate and when the VC faces heightened domestic competition. Such ties also enhance the odds of successful exit for the VC's Indian investments.

Managerial Summary

Why are venture capital (VC) firms increasingly investing in foreign startups, and why do these firms differ in the location and success of such international investments? We demonstrate that the ties to immigrant entrepreneurs VCs establish when investing domestically provide knowledge and connections that enable future VC investments in the immigrants' homelands. Using data on U.S. VC firms, we find that the more ties to Indian immigrant entrepreneurs a firm develops, the more it subsequently invests in Indian startups. This effect is stronger when the VC firm faces heightened domestic competition (a push effect) and in the specific regions of India where the immigrants originate (a pull effect). Domestic ties to Indian immigrants also help U.S. VCs make more successful investments in India.
Random projections for quantile ridge regression
Authors: Zhou Yan , Liang Jiang , Hu Yaohua , Lian Heng
Published: May 2021

Quantile regression estimate gives more complete information about the response distribution but is more costly to compute than mean regression. When the dimension is large, a ridge penalty is conventionally used to stabilize the estimate and achieve better bias‐variance trade‐off. We investigate a random projection approach to ease the computational burden and establish its statistical properties. Monte Carlo studies are carried out to illustrate the computational and statistical properties of the estimates.
Impaired learning and memory in mice induced by nano neodymium oxide and possible mechanisms
Authors: Yang Ning , Yang Jing , Liu Yang , Fan Hongxing , Ji Le , Wu Tao , Jia Dantong , Ye Qianru , Wu Gang
Published: May 2021

A growing number of individuals are now exposed to neodymium (Nd) owing to its extensive applications. However, the biological effects of Nd on humans, especially on learning and memory, remain elusive. To investigate whether Nd exposure affects learning and memory, in this study female ICR mice were exposed to nano Nd2O3 via intranasal instillation at doses of 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg body weight, daily for 45 days. According to Morris water maze data, learning and memory parameters were significantly reduced in the 150 mg/kg nano‐Nd2O3 group than the sham control. Furthermore, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy analysis revealed that Nd levels were significantly higher in the hippo campus of the 100 and 150 mg/kg exposed group than the sham control; however, no significant differences were observed in the hippocampal histopathology between these groups. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species were elevated in hippocampal tissues of experimental groups than the sham control, 447.3 in high dose group and 360.0 in control group; however, malondialdehyde levels were significantly increased and superoxide dismutase activities were decreased only in mice exposed to 100 and 150 mg/kg Nd2O3. High‐performance liquid chromatography data demonstrated that levels of glutamic acid, glycine, and gamma‐aminobutyric acid were higher in the hippocampus of mice exposed to 150 mg/kg Nd2O3 than the sham control. Our findings indicated that the neuronal injury was induced by disruption of the oxidation–antioxidation homeostasis and altered amino acid neurotransmitter levels in the hippocampus, which could result in the poor cognitive performance demonstrated by exposed mice.
Teaching Students to Translate Poetry
Authors: Fishman Eric
Published: April 2021

The author describes a heritage language poetry translation project taught in a third‐ and fourth‐grade classroom with both multilingual and monolingual students. Students interviewed family members about their heritage languages, worked with family and community members to choose and analyze a poem in their heritage language, identified essential features of the poem, and developed two interpretive translations of the poem in English. The author discusses supports provided for students with a variety of linguistic and academic profiles. Teaching literary translation centers the linguistic and cultural knowledge of multilingual students, and helps all students develop translingual competencies as close readers and nuanced writers.
Re: Assessment of levator hiatal area using 3D/4D transperineal ultrasound in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis and superficial dyspareunia treated with pelvic floor muscle physiotherapy: randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hirsch M. , Duffy J. M. N. , Farquhar C. M. ,   endo:outcomes – an International Collaboration Harmonising Outcomes and Outcome Measures for Endometriosis Research
Published: May 2021

Linked article: This Correspondence comments on Del Forno et al. Click here to view the article.
Emphysematous hepatic abscess and pyometra, both caused byBurkholderia cepacia, in a bitch
Authors: Carrillo Juana , Escobar Maria Teresa , Porlan Sandra , Rodenas Carmen , Agut Amalia
Published: May 2021

A thirteen‐year‐old female intact mixed dog was presented to the emergency service with a history of vomiting and apathy. The bitch was under treatment of prednisone for chronic cough. The patient was depressed and showed abdominal pain. Abdominal radiographs revealed an increased liver size, a rounded structure of gas opacity located within the liver and a soft tissue opacity mass in the caudal abdomen. The ultrasonographic findings of the abdomen were consistent with emphysematous hepatic abscess (HA), vacuolar hepatopathy, focal peritonitis and pyometra. Surgical drainage, lavage and omentalisation of the liver abscess were performed, followed by an ovariohysterectomy. Twelve hours after surgery, the patient died due to the suspected multiple organ failure. Culture of the abscess and uterine fluid revealed presence ofBurkholderia cepacia. To the authors’ knowledge, this report represented the first description of HA presumably caused by the haematogeneous spread ofBurkholderia cepaciafrom a uterine infection.
Challenges in the Application of Manganese Oxide Powders as OER Electrocatalysts: Synthesis, Characterization, Activity and Stability of Nine Different MnxOy Compounds
Authors: Heese‐Gärtlein Justus , Rabe Anna , Behrens Malte
Published: May 2021

Manganese oxides are seen as potential electrocatalysts for the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER). To find the most suitable OER catalyst among the large number of known manganese oxide compounds, several comparative studies of selected MnxOy materials in water oxidation catalysis were reported in recent years with, in some cases, conflicting results. In this study, nine different manganese oxide powders differing in structure and/or composition were synthesized, characterized and compared regarding their OER activity and stability using a consistent set of experimental parameters. It turned out that the activity generally depends strongly on the manganese oxide compound. α‐MnO2 manganese oxides of the hollandite‐type were found to be more active than those with a lower oxidation state or other crystal structures. The most active catalyst cryptomelane, α‐(K)MnO2, reached a current density of 10 mA/cm2 at 1.77±0.02 V in LSV measurements. At a potential of 1.8 V, the current density was approximately 15 mA cm−2. In contrast, the samples with the lowest activity exhibited values less than 1 mA cm−2 at the same potential. The stability experiments revealed a fast decrease in activity of all samples within the first minutes of measurement and an almost complete activity loss after 60 min. Conductivity differences are discussed as a likely reason for the observed differences in performance.
Simulating magnetic monopole-defect dynamics
Authors: Lenhart Gannon E. , Royston Andrew B. , Wright Keaton E.
Published: April 2021

Abstract

We present simulations of one magnetic monopole interacting with multiple magnetic singularities. Three-dimensional plots of the energy density are constructed from explicit solutions to the Bogomolny equation obtained by Blair, Cherkis, and Durcan. Animations follow trajectories derived from collective coordinate mechanics on the multi-centered Taub-NUT monopole moduli space. We supplement our numerical results with a complete analytic treatment of the single-defect case.
Replica wormholes for an evaporating 2D black hole
Authors: Goto Kanato , Hartman Thomas , Tajdini Amirhossein
Published: April 2021

Abstract

Quantum extremal islands reproduce the unitary Page curve of an evaporating black hole. This has been derived by including replica wormholes in the gravitational path integral, but for the transient, evaporating black holes most relevant to Hawking’s paradox, these wormholes have not been analyzed in any detail. In this paper we study replica wormholes for black holes formed by gravitational collapse in Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity, and confirm that they lead to the island rule for the entropy. The main technical challenge is that replica wormholes rely on a Euclidean path integral, while the quantum extremal islands of an evaporating black hole exist only in Lorentzian signature. Furthermore, the Euclidean equations for the Schwarzian mode are non-local, so it is unclear how to connect to the local, Lorentzian dynamics of an evaporating black hole. We address these issues with Schwinger-Keldysh techniques and show how the non-local equations reduce to the local ‘boundary particle’ description in special cases.
Forschen in einer extremen Umwelt
Authors: Heine Eike-Christian
Published: May 2021

1958 startete vor der kleinasiatischen Küste eines der ersten Vorhaben für eine systematische archäologische Kampagne unter der Wasseroberfläche. Dabei wurde vor dem Kap Gelidonya das Wrack eines bronzezeitlichen Schiffs untersucht. Um die Arbeitsweise und die konkreten Probleme der Unterwasserarchäologie näher zu beleuchten, umfasst dieser Beitrag neben einer Beschreibung der konkreten Forschungsgegenstände und der eingesetzten technischen Hilfsmitteln auch die naturräumlichen Eigenschaften sowie die politischen Rahmenbedingungen jener Zeit. Am Übergang zwischen kolonialem Zeitalter und Kaltem Krieg zeichnet er zudem die biografischen Wege nach, welche die zentralen Akteur*innen der Kampagne am Fundort zusammenführten. Das ist notwendig, um zu verstehen, wieso Taucher*innen, die keine etablierten Archäolog*innen waren, diese Kampagne anstießen und durchführten. Der Artikel analysiert außerdem den Stand der Forschung im Jahr 1960 in diesem Feld und die Schwierigkeiten und Lösungen bei der Arbeit unter Wasser. Er versteht sich als Beitrag zur noch ungeschriebenen Geschichte der Unterwasserarchäologie.