bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Lithiophilic LiC6 Layers on Carbon Hosts Enabling Stable Li Metal Anode in Working Batteries
Authors: Shi Peng , Li Tao , Zhang Rui , Shen Xin , Cheng Xin‐Bing , Xu Rui , Huang Jia‐Qi , Chen Xiao‐Ru , Liu He , Zhang Qiang
Published: January 2019

Lithium (Li) metal‐based battery is among the most promising candidates for next‐generation rechargeable high‐energy‐density batteries. Carbon materials are strongly considered as the host of Li metal to relieve the powdery/dendritic Li formation and large volume change during repeated cycles. Herein, we describe the formation of a thin lithiophilic LiC6 layer between carbon fibers (CFs) and metallic Li in Li/CF composite anode obtained through a one‐step rolling method. An electron deviation from Li to carbon elevates the negativity of carbon atoms after Li intercalation as LiC6, which renders stronger binding between carbon framework and Li ions. The Li/CF | Li/CF batteries can operate for more than 90 h with a small polarization voltage of 120 mV at 50% discharge depth. The Li/CF | sulfur pouch cell exhibits a high discharge capacity of 3.25 mAh cm−2 and a large capacity retention rate of 98% after 100 cycles at 0.1 C. It is demonstrated that the as‐obtained Li/CF composite anode with lithiophilic LiC6 layers can effectively alleviate volume expansion and hinder dendritic and powdery morphology of Li deposits. This work sheds fresh light on the role of interfacial layers between host structure and Li metal in composite anode for long‐lifespan working batteries.
Probing the Domain Architecture in 2D α‐Mo2C via Polarized Raman Spectroscopy
Authors: Li Tianshu , Luo Weijun , Kitadai Hikari , Wang Xingzhi , Ling Xi
Published: January 2019

MXenes are emerging 2D materials with intriguing properties such as excellent stability and high conductivity. Here, a systematic study on the Raman spectra of 2D α‐Mo2C (molybdenum carbide), a promising member in MXene family, is conducted. Six experimentally observed Raman modes from ultrathin α‐Mo2C crystal are first assigned with the assistance of phonon dispersion calculated from density functional theory. Angle‐resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy indicates the anisotropy of α‐Mo2C in the b–c plane. Raman spectroscopy is further used to study the unique domain structures of 2D α‐Mo2C crystals grown by chemical vapor deposition. A Raman mapping investigation suggests that most of the α‐Mo2C flakes contain multiple domains and the c‐axes of neighboring domains tend to form a 60° or 120° angle, due to the weak MoC bonds in this interstitial carbide and the low formation energy of the carbon chains along three equivalent directions. This study demonstrates that polarized Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and effective way to characterize the domain structures in α‐Mo2C, which will facilitate the further exploration of the domain‐structure‐related properties and potential applications of α‐Mo2C.
Magnetically thiamine palladium complex nanocomposites as an effective recyclable catalyst for facile sonochemical cross coupling reaction
Authors: Naeimi Hossein , Kiani Fatemeh
Published: January 2019

The carbon–carbon cross coupling reactions through transition‐metal‐catalyzed processes has been significantly developed for their important synthetic applications. In this research, we have shown that NiFe2O4@TASDA‐Pd(0) is a highly active, novel and reusable catalyst with excellent performance for the Mizoroki–Heck coupling reaction of several types of iodo, bromo, and even aryl chlorides in DMF under ultrasound irradiation. The novel palladium catalyst prepared and characterized by using FT‐IR spectrum, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The catalyst can be recovered and recycled several times without marked loss of activity.
Statistical significance and effect sizes of differences among research universities at the level of nations and worldwide based on the leiden rankings
Authors: Leydesdorff Loet , Bornmann Lutz , Mingers John
Published: January 2019

The Leiden Rankings can be used for grouping research universities by considering universities which are not statistically significantly different as homogeneous sets. The groups and intergroup relations can be analyzed and visualized using tools from network analysis. Using the so‐called “excellence indicator” PPtop‐10%—the proportion of the top‐10% most‐highly‐cited papers assigned to a university—we pursue a classification using (a) overlapping stability intervals, (b) statistical‐significance tests, and (c) effect sizes of differences among 902 universities in 54 countries; we focus on the UK, Germany, Brazil, and the USA as national examples. Although the groupings remain largely the same using different statistical significance levels or overlapping stability intervals, these classifications are uncorrelated with those based on effect sizes. Effect sizes for the differences between universities are small (w < .2). The more detailed analysis of universities at the country level suggests that distinctions beyond three or perhaps four groups of universities (high, middle, low) may not be meaningful. Given similar institutional incentives, isomorphism within each eco‐system of universities should not be underestimated. Our results suggest that networks based on overlapping stability intervals can provide a first impression of the relevant groupings among universities. However, the clusters are not well‐defined divisions between groups of universities.
A Novel Design of Sulfur Cathode Integrating a Sulfur Film on a Carbon Electrode for a Low‐Cost and Facile Fabrication of Sustainable LiS Cells
Authors: Kang Ji Hoon , Kang Jukyoung , Kang Jin Kyeong , Jung Yongju
Published: January 2019

We present a sulfur‐layered carbon electrode, a new configuration of sulfur cathode, which is constructed by a two‐step slurry‐casting process. The LiS cells employing the new sulfur cathode normally operate with large capacities. Sulfur particles on the carbon layer are not visible upon discharging to 2.1 V in the first discharge, indicating that electrically isolated sulfur is participated in the electrochemical reactions at the carbon surface. This strategy will bring about a paradigm shift in the design of high‐performance sulfur cathodes and open new perspectives in the low‐cost manufacturing of sustainable LiS cells.
Loss is a loss, why categorize it? Mental accounting across cultures
Authors: Banerjee Pronobesh , Chatterjee Promothesh , Mishra Sanjay , Mishra Anubhav A.
Published: January 2019

Consumers regularly track their expenses and assign them to categories like food, entertainment, and clothing, which is popularly known as mental accounting. In this paper, we show that consumption biases that result from mental accounting—underconsumption or overconsumption—are not prevalent in Easterners due to their holistic thinking style, whereas Westerners exhibit such biases due to their analytic thinking style. In Study 1, we collected data with Easterners (students from the eastern part of India) and show that they do not exhibit mental accounting biases as is seen in Westerners. In Study 2, we show that such differences in mental accounting across cultures result from their thinking styles by manipulating thinking styles within a Western population (American students from the Midwest). We also show that the differences in styles of thinking across cultures motivate two different types of accounting processes—a piecemeal accounting process in the Westerners and a comprehensive accounting process in the Easterners—which in turn influence the differences in mental accounting biases across cultures. This finding adds to the growing literature in cross‐cultural differences in consumer decision making and explores how and why a well‐documented robust effect, mental accounting, varies with the cultural background of the consumers.
Comparative Study of Alkali‐Cation‐Based (Li+, Na+, K+) Electrolytes in Acetonitrile and Alkylcarbonates
Authors: Amara Samia , Toulc'Hoat Joël , Timperman Laure , Biller Agnès , Galiano Hervé , Marcel Corinne , Ledigabel Matthieu , Anouti Mérièm
Published: January 2019

The development of a suitable functional electrolyte is urgently required for fast‐charging and high‐voltage alkali‐ion (Li, Na, K) batteries as well as next‐generation hybrids supercapacitors. Many recent works focused on an optimal selection of electrolytes for alkali‐ion based systems and their electrochemical performance but the understanding of the fundamental aspect that explains their different behaviour is rare. Herein, we report a comparative study of transport properties for LiPF6, NaPF6, KPF6 in acetonitrile (AN) and a binary mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC): (EC/DMC : 1/1, weigh) through conductivities, densities and viscosities measurements in wide temperature domain. By application of the Stokes‐Einstein, Nernst‐Einstein, and Jones Dole equations, the effective ionic solvated radius of cation (reff), the ionic dissociation coefficient (αD) and structuring Jones Dole's parameters (A, B) for salt are calculated and discussed according to solvent or cation nature as a function of temperature. From the results, we demonstrate that better mobility of potassium can be explained by the nature of the ion‐ion and ion‐solvent interactions due to its polarizability. In the same time, the predominance of triple ions in the case of K+, is a disadvantage at high concentration.
Corporate sustainability performance measurement based on a new multicriteria sorting method
Authors: Küçükbay Füsun , Sürücü Ebru
Published: January 2019

The concept of sustainability deals with protecting and sustaining society and environment for future generations while trying to meet the maximization of market capitalization objective. Despite the increased awareness of corporate sustainability, questions remain on how to measure performance. The objective of this paper is to propose a new measurement method, which is Multimoora Sort, for corporate sustainability performance and make an empirical case with the 25 companies listed in Fortune 500 USA. We chose four economic subcriteria, two environmental subcriteria, and four social subcriteria for the methodology. The results of the study show that the proposed methodology is a practical and efficient decision method. The most important contribution of the study to the literature is to present a new evaluation method in the measurement of sustainability performance as well as the results of the empirical case are supported by the resource dependency theory, institutional theory, and stakeholder theory.
Sustainable Asymmetric Organolithium Chemistry: Enantio‐ and Chemoselective Acylations through Recycling of Solvent, Sparteine, and Weinreb “Amine”
Authors: Monticelli Serena , Holzer Wolfgang , Langer Thierry , Roller Alexander , Olofsson Berit , Pace Vittorio
Published: January 2019

The well‐established Hoppe–Beak chemistry, which involves enantioselective generation of organolithium compounds in the presence of (−)‐sparteine, was revisited and applied to unprecedented acylations with Weinreb amides to access highly enantioenriched α‐oxyketones and cyclic α‐aminoketones. Recycling of the sustainable solvent cyclopentyl methyl ether, sparteine, and the released Weinreb “amine” [HNMe(OMe)] was possible through a simple work‐up procedure that enabled full recovery of these precious materials. The methodology features a robust scope and flexibility, thus allowing the enantioselective preparation of scaffolds amenable of further derivatization.
New Halimanes from the Australian Rainforest Plant Croton Insularis
Authors: Maslovskaya Lidia A. , Savchenko Andrei I. , Gordon Victoria A. , Reddell Paul W. , Pierce Carly J. , Boyle Glen M. , Parsons Peter G. , Williams Craig M.
Published: January 2019

Two novel (EBC‐204 and EBC‐205), together with three known, halimanes were isolated from the Australian rainforest plant Croton insularis. EBC‐203 strongly inhibited K562 leukemia cell growth.
Establishing a balanced scorecard measurement system for integrated care organizations in China
Authors: Wu Xiaobo , Li Sihan , Xu Ning , Wu Dong , Zhang Xinli
Published: January 2019

To address, among other issues, the regional and international challenges of the heavy health care burden caused by an aging population, integrated care organizations (ICOs) were proposed at the end of the 20th century for health care delivery. However, the implementation of ICOs has not progressed smoothly, and the current results have not eliminated the imbalance of medical service capabilities among hospitals of different levels. To make up for the deficiency in the current evaluation system at ICOs and offer suggestions for improved sustainable health planning and management, this study establishes a balanced scorecard based on a comprehensive measurement system valid for a Chinese ICO by surveying the staff at the West China Hospital ICO. This study collected valid responses from 216 professional staff members at the ICO via questionnaires. K‐means clustering and the coefficient of variation method were used to evaluate the weights of the first‐ and second‐level indicators. The results show the importance ranking of the core perspectives of the ICO balanced scorecard in the following order: patient, internal process, learning and growth, and financial. The weight‐based analysis identified the importance ranking of all indicators and pointed to the areas that require close attention in future ICO planning and management.
Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with/without induction chemotherapy in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Long‐term results of phase 3 randomized controlled trial
Authors: Li Wen‐Fei , Chen Nian‐Yong , Zhang Ning , Hu Guo‐Qing , Xie Fang‐Yun , Sun Yan , Chen Xiao‐Zhong , Li Jin‐Gao , Zhu Xiao‐Dong , Hu Chao‐Su , Xu Xiang‐Ying , Chen Yuan‐Yuan , Hu Wei‐Han , Guo Ling , Mo Hao‐Yuan , Chen Lei , Mao Yan‐Ping , Sun Rui , Ai Ping , Liang Shao‐Bo , Long Guo‐Xian , Zheng Bao‐Min , Feng Xing‐Lai , Gong Xiao‐Chang , Li Ling , Shen Chun‐Ying , Xu Jian‐Yu , Guo Ying , Chen Yu‐Ming , Zhang Fan , Lin Li , Tang Ling‐Long , Liu Meng‐Zhong , Ma Jun , Sun Ying
Published: January 2019

To report long‐term results of a randomized controlled trial that compared cisplatin/fluorouracil/docetaxel (TPF) induction chemotherapy (IC) plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with CCRT alone in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Patients with stage III–IVB (except T3–4 N0) NPC were randomly assigned to receive IC plus CCRT (n = 241) or CCRT alone (n = 239). IC included three cycles of docetaxel (60 mg/m2d1), cisplatin (60 mg/m2d1), and fluorouracil (600 mg/m2/d civ d1–5) every 3 weeks. Patients from both groups received intensity‐modulated radiotherapy concurrently with three cycles of 100 mg/m2cisplatin every 3 weeks. After a median follow‐up of 71.5 months, the IC plus CCRT group showed significantly better 5‐year failure‐free survival (FFS, 77.4%vs. 66.4%,p= 0.019), overall survival (OS, 85.6%vs. 77.7%,p= 0.042), distant failure‐free survival (88%vs. 79.8%,p= 0.030), and locoregional failure‐free survival (90.7%vs. 83.8%,p= 0.044) compared to the CCRT alone group.Post hocsubgroup analyses revealed that beneficial effects on FFS were primarily observed in patients with N1, stage IVA, pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase ≥170 U/l, or pretreatment plasma Epstein–Barr virus DNA ≥6000 copies/mL. Two nomograms were further developed to predict the potential FFS and OS benefit of TPF IC. The incidence of grade 3 or 4 late toxicities was 8.8% (21/239) in the IC plus CCRT group and 9.2% (22/238) in the CCRT alone group. Long‐term follow‐up confirmed that TPF IC plus CCRT significantly improved survival in locoregionally advanced NPC with no marked increase in late toxicities and could be an option of treatment for these patients.
Multiple shape memory behavior of highly oriented long‐chain‐branched poly(lactic acid) and its recovery mechanism
Authors: Li Jiafeng , Zhao Xiaowen , Ye Lin , Coates Phil , Caton‐Rose Fin
Published: January 2019

The shape memory effect of highly oriented long‐chain‐branched poly(lactic acid) (LCB‐PLA) prepared through solid‐phase die drawing technology was studied by comparison with PLA. When the recovery temperature increased from 60°C to 120°C, for PLA, only one‐step recovery at about 80°C can be observed and the recovery ratio was below 21.5%, while, for LCB‐PLA, multiple recovery behavior with high recovery ratio of 78.8% can be achieved. For oriented PLA, the recovery curve of the final sample showed the same trend with that of sample suffering just free drawing; while for oriented LCB‐PLA, the recovery curve of the final sample showed the same trend with that of sample suffering just die drawing. After shape recovery, the mechanical properties of LCB‐PLA showed a linear downward trend with the recovery temperature. Together with amorphous phase, the oriented mesomorphic phase, which formed during solid die drawing, can act as switching domains. And thus, upon heating, the chain segment of amorphous phase relaxed at first and triggered the first macroscopical shape recovery, leading to the decrease of long period (Lac) and the thickness of the amorphous layer (La). Then, with further increasing temperature, the oriented mesomorphic phase gradually relaxed resulting subsequently multi‐shape recovery, and the Lac and the La further decreased. Therefore, by regulating the recovery temperature of oriented LCB‐PLA, the shape recovery ratio and mechanical strength can be controlled effectively, and thus the self‐reinforced and self‐fastening effect can be achieved simultaneously for PLA as bone fixation material. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 872–883, 2019.
Polymer scaffold architecture is a key determinant in mast cell inflammatory and angiogenic responses
Authors: Abebayehu Daniel , Spence Andrew J. , McClure Michael J. , Haque Tamara T. , Rivera Kevin O. , Ryan John J.
Published: January 2019

Implanted polymer scaffolds can induce inflammation leading to the foreign body response (FBR), fibrosis, and implant failure. Thus, it is important to understand how immune cells interact with scaffolds to mitigate inflammation and promote a regenerative response. We previously demonstrated that macrophage phenotype is modulated by fiber and pore diameters of an electrospun scaffold. However, it is unclear if this effect is consistent among other innate immune cells. Mast cells are inflammatory sentinels that play a vital role in the FBR of implanted biomaterials, as well as angiogenesis. We determined if altering electrospun scaffold architecture modulates mast cell responses, with the goal of promoting regenerative cell‐scaffold interactions. Polydioxanone (PDO) scaffolds were made from 60 mg/mL or 140 mg/mL PDO solutions, yielding structures with divergent fiber and pore diameters. Mouse mast cells plated on these scaffolds were activated with IL‐33 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Relative to the 60 mg/mL scaffold, 140 mg/mL scaffolds yielded less IL‐6 and TNF, and greater VEGF secretion. Pores >4–6 μm elicited less IL‐6 and TNF secretion. IL‐33‐induced VEGF regulation was more complex, showing effects of both pore size and fiber diameter. These data indicate parameters that can predict mast cell responses to scaffolds, informing biomaterial design to increase wound healing and diminish implant rejection. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 884–892, 2019.
Parallelized Natural Extension Reference Frame: Parallelized Conversion from Internal to Cartesian Coordinates
Authors: AlQuraishi Mohammed
Published: January 2019

The conversion of polymer parameterization from internal coordinates (bond lengths, angles, and torsions) to Cartesian coordinates is a fundamental task in molecular modeling, often performed using the natural extension reference frame (NeRF) algorithm. NeRF can be parallelized to process multiple polymers simultaneously, but is not parallelizable along the length of a single polymer. A mathematically equivalent algorithm, pNeRF, has been derived that is parallelizable along a polymer's length. Empirical analysis demonstrates an order‐of‐magnitude speed up using modern GPUs and CPUs. In machine learning‐based workflows, in which partial derivatives are backpropagated through NeRF equations and neural network primitives, switching to pNeRF can reduce the fractional computational cost of coordinate conversion from over two‐thirds to around 10%. An optimized TensorFlow‐based implementation of pNeRF is available on GitHub at https://github.com/aqlaboratory/pnerf © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nomograms for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Measurements in the Pediatric Age Group: To Define the Normal and the Expected Abnormal Values in Corrected/Palliated Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Voges Inga , Giordano Raffaele , Koestenberg Martin , Marchese Pietro , Scalese Marco , Ait‐Ali Lamia , Santoro Giuseppe , Iervasi Giorgio , Valverde Israel , Kutty Shelby , Cantinotti Massimiliano
Published: January 2019

Our purpose is to provide an overview and to systematically review the strengths and limitations of studies on pediatric and adolescent normal values for cardiovascular MRI parameters. A literature search was performed within the National Library of Medicine using the following keywords: normal, reference values, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, and children/pediatric. Eleven published studies evaluating cardiovascular MRI measurements in normal children were included in the present analysis. Our results revealed reasonable consistencies in the protocols employed for cardiovascular MRI. Inter‐ and intraobserver variability analyses were performed in most studies and generally showed acceptable reproducibility. However, several numerical and methodological limitations emerged. Besides small sample sizes (the largest study enrolled 114 subjects), data for some structures (pulmonary arteries, aortic arch) were limited, and neonates/infants were poorly represented (eg, only two studies). There was heterogeneity regarding measurement normalization (eg, for gender, age, or both), and data were mostly expressed as mean values, while z‐scores (commonly used in pediatric echocardiography) were rarely employed. Theoretically, a z‐score or a standard deviation of ±2 is considered pathological. Furthermore, differences among races and ethnic groups were not evaluated. In conclusion, our analyses revealed an important need for generation of pediatric and adolescent cardiovascular MRI nomograms built over a wide population of healthy children, using consistent methodologies and with consideration of potentially relevant confounders. More data on expected abnormal values in specific CHD populations (eg, univentricular hearts) also need to be defined.

Level of Evidence: 2

Technical Efficacy Stage: 3

J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1222–1235.
Improving the detection specificity of endogenous MRI for reactive oxygen species (ROS)
Authors: Tain Rong‐Wen , Scotti Alessandro M. , Cai Kejia
Published: January 2019

Background

The detection of tissue reactive oxygen species (ROS) using endogenous MRI methods has great potential applications in research and the clinic. We recently demonstrated that ROS produce a significant T1‐shortening effect. However, T1 or T1‐weighted contrast is not specific, as there are many other factors that alter tissue T1.

Purpose

To investigate whether the presence of ROS alters tissue environmental conditions such as the proton exchange rate (K
ex) to improve the detection specificity of endogenous ROS MRI.

Study Type

Prospective.

Subjects/Phantom

The ROS‐producing phantoms consisted of fresh egg white treated with H2O2 and healthy mice injected with pro‐oxidative rotenone.

Field Strength/Sequence

T1 mapping was performed based on fast spin‐echo sequence and K
ex was evaluated using chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI with varied saturation power (QUESP) on a 9.4 T animal scanner.

Assessment

Phantom experiments were conducted to evaluate the overall K
ex of CEST‐expressing metabolites in fresh egg white treated with H2O2 of various concentrations (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.25 v/v%). The egg white phantom continuously produced ROS for more than 3 hours. Various experiments were performed to rule out potential contributing factors to the observed K
ex changes. In addition, in vivo MRI study was conducted with a well‐established rotenone‐exposed mouse model.

Statistical Tests

Student's t‐test.

Results

Egg white phantoms treated with H2O2 of various concentrations showed a 26–85% increase in K
ex compared with controls. In addition, the K
ex of egg white is negligibly affected by other potential confounding factors, including paramagnetic contrast agents (<11%), oxygen (2.3%), and iron oxidation (<10%). Changes in temperature (<1°C) and pH (ΔpH <0.1) in H2O2‐treated egg white were also negligible. Results from the in vivo rotenone study were consistent with the phantom studies by showing reduced T1 relaxation time (6%) and increased K
ex (9%) in rotenone‐treated mice.

Data Conclusion

We demonstrate that the specificity of endogenous ROS MRI can be improved with the aid of proton exchange rate mapping.

Level of Evidence: 2

Technical Efficacy Stage: 2

J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:583–591.
Influence of convectively coupled equatorial waves and intra‐seasonal oscillations on rainfall extremes over India
Authors: Subudhi Anup K. , Landu Kiranmayi
Published: January 2019

Convectively coupled equatorial waves and intra‐seasonal oscillations are known to modulate rainfall over the Tropics significantly. The effect of these oscillations on the frequency distribution of extreme precipitation events (defined based on percentile threshold) over Indian region is investigated for the monsoon months of June–September. Based on the variance and phase of the wave, any given day is classified into wet phase and dry phase. Modulation of extreme event probability by the presence of these phases over a given region is quantified for different waves, namely Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), equatorial Rossby wave (ER), equatorial Kelvin wave and mixed Rossby gravity and tropical depressions (MT). It is shown that the presence of wet phase of the waves increases the probability of extreme precipitation occurrence by as much as 150% of the baseline probability while the presence of dry phase can decrease the probability by half over certain regions depending on the wave. Averaged over the whole country, wet phase increases the probability by 30–60% while dry phase decreases by 20–40% except for MT waves where there is increased extreme activity during dry phase. However, the intensity of extreme precipitation does not show significant sensitivity to the changes in phase of the waves.
Feasibility of a Support Vector Machine Classifier for Myofascial Pain Syndrome: Diagnostic Case‐Control Study
Authors: Behr Michael , Noseworthy Michael , Kumbhare Dinesh
Published: January 2019

Objectives

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is the most common cause of chronic pain worldwide. The diagnosis of MPS is subjective, which has created a need for a robust quantitative method of diagnosing MPS. We propose that using a support vector machine (SVM) along with ultrasound (US) texture features can differentiate between healthy and MPS‐affected skeletal muscle.

Methods

B‐mode US video data were collected in the upper trapezius muscle of healthy (29) participants and patients with active (21) and latent (19) MPS, using an acquisition method outlined in previous works. Regions of interest were extracted and filtered to obtain a unique set of 917 images where texture features were extracted from each region of interest to characterize each image. These texture features were then used to train 4 separate binary SVM classifiers using nested cross‐validation to implement feature selection and hyperparameter tuning. The performance of each kernel was estimated on the data and validated through testing on a final holdout set.

Results

The radial basis function kernel classifier had the greatest Matthews correlation coefficient performance estimate of 0.627 ± 0.073 (mean ± SD) along with the largest area under the curve of 91.0% ± 3.0%. The final holdout test for the radial basis function classifier resulted in 86.96 accuracy, a Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.724, 88% sensitivity, and 86% specificity, validating our earlier performance estimates.

Conclusions

We have demonstrated that specific US texture features that have been used in other computer‐aided diagnostic literature are feasible to use for the classification of healthy and MPS muscle using a binary SVM classifier.
3D Printing Amorphous Polysiloxane Terpolymers via Vat Photopolymerization
Authors: Sirrine Justin M. , Zlatanic Alisa , Meenakshisundaram Viswanath , Messman Jamie M. , Williams Christopher B. , Dvornic Petar R. , Long Timothy E.
Published: January 2019

Photocuring and vat photopolymerization (VP) additive manufacturing (AM) is reported for two families of fully amorphous poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) terpolymers containing either diphenylsiloxy (DiPhS) or diethylsiloxy (DiEtS) repeating units. A thiol‐functionalized PDMS crosslinker enables rapid crosslinking in air using efficient thiol–ene addition. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirm the absence of crystallinity for the DiPhS‐containing systems, while DMA shows a rubbery plateau extending to greater than 200 °C for the DiEtS‐containing system. VP‐AM of both photopolymer systems afford well‐defined 3D geometries, including high aspect ratio structures, which demonstrate feasibility of these photopolymers for the 3D printing of unique geometric objects that require elastomeric performance to temperatures as low as −120 °C.
Mass‐Production of Electrospun Carbon Nanofiber Containing SiOx for Lithium‐Ion Batteries with Enhanced Capacity
Authors: Moon Seongjun , Yun Jisu , Lee Jae Young , Park Gyori , Kim Sung‐Soo , Lee Kyung Jin
Published: January 2019

In this study, electrospun carbon nanofibers hybridized with silicon oxide (SiOx) are prepared by using a syringeless electrospinning system of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution containing tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) via a sequential pyrolysis process. The syringeless electrospinning system provides a large number of composite nanofibers in a short time, and the obtained composite nanofibers exhibit uniform diameter and morphology. The composite nanofiber is converted into a carbon nanofiber containing SiOx via a simple pyrolysis. The obtained SiOx‐carbon nanofiber mat exhibits higher charge/discharge capacity than a general carbon nanofiber, and it provides more stable retention than single crystalline silicon materials. Thus, the mass‐production of a SiOx‐carbon nanofiber from syringeless electrospinning is a promising method to produce anodic materials for Li‐ion batteries.
Viewpoint: WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student initiative: Implementation issues in low‐ and middle‐income countries
Authors: Evans‐Lacko Sara , Thornicroft Graham
Published: January 2019

The university system and students are rapidly growing and changing in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This growth can facilitate enhanced national productivity yet it can also bring potential risks to student mental health. The World Mental Health Surveys International College Student (WMH‐ICS) initiative could increase information and support in a relatively low‐cost manner for university students in LMICs—a group that is particularly vulnerable to mental health problems and who live in an environment where few targeted resources may be available. Effective implementation of the WMH‐ICS initiative, however, requires long‐term planning and consideration of the specific challenges present in LMIC settings. Planning as to what types of interventions would be needed and achievable in the next 10 to 15 years and consideration of local issues related to uptake, acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, and sustainability from the very beginning would be needed to ensure that the initiative would be useful in the future.
Damping Mechanisms of Piezoelectric Quartz Tuning Forks Employed in Photoacoustic Spectroscopy for Trace Gas Sensing
Authors: Giglio Marilena , Menduni Giansergio , Patimisco Pietro , Sampaolo Angelo , Elefante Arianna , Passaro Vittorio M. N. , Spagnolo Vincenzo
Published: January 2019

A study of the dependence of main loss mechanisms on the geometry of piezoelectric quartz tuning forks (QTFs) is reported. The influence of these loss mechanisms on the quality factor Q occurring while the QTF vibrates at the in‐plane flexural fundamental and first overtone resonance modes is investigated. From this study, two QTFs efficiently operating both at the fundamental and first overtone mode are designed and realized. Data analysis demonstrates that air viscous damping is the dominant energy dissipation mechanism for both flexural modes. However, at the first overtone mode the air damping is reduced and higher quality factors can be obtained when operating at the first overtone mode with respect to the fundamental one.
Dynamically Steered Maser Action of Rydberg Excitons in Cu2O
Authors: Ziemkiewicz David , Zielińska‐Raczyńska Sylwia
Published: January 2019

The Rydberg excitons in Cu2O are a promising candidate for realization of solid state maser. The highly excited states, unique to this crystal, provide the necessary energy level transitions for emission of microwaves. The achievement of population inversion is facilitated by exceptionally long lifetimes of excitons and their strong coupling to external field. Moreover, due to the strong Stark shift of excitonic energy levels, one can tune the emission wavelength on demand.
New LbL‐TiO2/ZnO Compact Films to Improve Performance of Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Matos Lais S. , Amaral Ronaldo C. , Murakami Iha Neyde Y.
Published: January 2019

The preparation of nanostructured thin films consisted of TiO2/ZnO bilayers (BL) and their application in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are reported. The film was prepared by the Layer‐by‐Layer (LbL) technique using, respectively, acid and basic sols of TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles. The particles in the sols were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the compact morphology of the LbL films were probed by scanning electronic (SEM) and atomic force (AFM) microscopies. The photoelectrochemical parameters of DSCs with 0, 15 and 20 BL were assessed by current‐voltage (JxV) curves, incident photon‐to‐current efficiency (IPCE), electron lifetime and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). These results revealed a significant improvement (up to 67%) on the DSC conversion efficiency promoted by LbL film underlayers, with enhancements ascribed to an efficient blocking effect preventing the FTO/I3− charge recombination and improved contact between the mesoporous‐TiO2 and the conducting substrate (FTO).
Highly Selective Solid‐Phase Extraction of Pb(II) by Ion‐Imprinted Superparamagnetic Mesoporous Silica
Authors: Shah Syed Mazhar , Su Xingguang , Muhammad Faheem , Traore Zoumana Sékou , Gao Yuan
Published: January 2019

Pb (II)‐imprinted superparamagnetic mesoporous silica (SPMS) adsorbent has been synthesized and characterized. The thiol functionalized SPMS offered a fast adsorption kinetics for Pb(II) and equilibrium was achieved in just 20 min at pH 8.0. The adsorption isotherm data fits well with Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 377.36 mg g−1. The selectivity co‐efficients of imprinted adsorbent for Pb(II)/Cu(II) and Pb(II)/Bi(III) were 3.36 and 3.05 times higher than that of non‐imprinted adsorbent. The imprinted adsorbent was employed for the solid phase extraction of Pb(II) and its detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS).The parameters affecting the determination of Pb(II) were also well investigated and optimized. A linear relationship between the Pb(II) concentration and the absorbance was found in the range of 0.8‐500 ng mL−1 with a detection limit of 0.25 ng mL−1. The imprinted adsorbent was applied to the determination of Pb(II) in two certified sediment samples with satisfactory results, which indicates that Pb(II)‐imprinted superparamagnetic mesoporous silica adsorbent possess promising features of a viable adsorbent for the preconcentration of Pb(II) ions in complex matrices.
Transition‐Metal Single Atoms Anchored on Graphdiyne as High‐Efficiency Electrocatalysts for Water Splitting and Oxygen Reduction
Authors: He Tianwei , Matta Sri Kasi , Will Geoffrey , Du Aijun
Published: January 2019

Single‐atom catalysts, which can maximize the utility of metal atoms, and at the same time achieve high catalytic performance, have attracted great interest in research. In this present study, 11 transition metal atoms supported on a graphdiyne (GDY) monolayer (TM@GDY, where TM represents a transition metal from Sc to Zn and Pt) as electrocatalysts are investigated by means of first‐principle calculations. It is found that the supported single atom is very stable at the corner of the acetylenic ring. These features can help in the realization of uniformly distributed and well‐ordered single atoms on GDY. Few composites viz Sc@GDY, Ti@GDY, V@GDY, Fe@GDY, and Pt@GDY display high catalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Especially for Ti@GDY and V@GDY, both C and TM are active sites which are the best HER catalysts among the studied composites. Moreover, Pt@GDY and Ni@GDY composites can be promising bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting [0.01 and 0.46 V for HER and oxygen evolution reaction (OER)] and metal–air‐battery (0.29 and 0.40 V for OER and oxygen reduction reaction) catalysts, respectively. This work demonstrates that GDY is indeed a promising single‐atom support which can be considered for the design of high activity and inexpensive multifunctional electrocatalysts for practical catalytic applications.
Phase‐Engineered Weyl Semi‐Metallic MoxW1‐xTe2 Nanosheets as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Hudie Shemsia Mohammed , Lee Chuan‐Pei , Mathew Roshan Jesus , Chien Tzu‐En , Huang Yi‐June , Chen Han‐Ting , Ho Kuo‐Chuan , Tseng Chi‐Ang , Chen Yit‐Tsong
Published: January 2019

The emerging Weyl semi‐metals with robust topological surface states are very promising candidates to rationally develop new‐generation electrocatalysts for dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this study, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method to synthesize highly crystalline Weyl semi‐metallic MoxW1‐xTe2 nanocrystals, which are applied for the counter electrode (CE) of DSSCs for the first time, are employed. By controlling the temperature‐dependent phase‐engineered synthesis, the nanocrystal grown at 760 °C exhibits the mixed phases of semiconducting Td‐ & 2H‐Mo0.32W0.67Te2.01 with charge carrier density of (1.20 ± 0.02) × 1019 cm−3; whereas, the nanocrystal synthesized at 820 °C shows a single phase of semi‐metallic Td‐Mo0.29W0.72Te1.99 with much higher carrier density of (1.59 ± 0.04) × 1020 cm−3. In the cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis over 200 cycles, the MoxW1‐xTe2‐based electrodes show better stability in the I−/I3− electrolyte than a Pt electrode. In DSSC tests, a Td‐Mo0.29W0.72Te1.99‐decorated CE achieves the efficiency (η) of 8.85%, better than those CEs fabricated with Td‐ & 2H‐Mo0.32W0.67Te2.01 (7.81%) and sputtered Pt (8.01%). The electrochemical impedance spectra reveal that the Td‐Mo0.29W0.72Te1.99 electrode possesses low charge‐transfer resistance in electrocatalytic reactions. These exceptional properties make Weyl semi‐metallic Td‐MoxW1‐xTe2 a potential electrode material for a wide variety of electrocatalytic applications.
Weakly sensitive analysis for JavaScript object‐manipulating programs
Authors: Ko Yoonseok , Rival Xavier , Ryu Sukyoung
Published: January 2019

While JavaScript programs have become pervasive in web applications, they remain hard to reason about. In this context, most static analyses for JavaScript programs require precise call graph information, since the presence of large numbers of spurious callees significantly deteriorates precision. One of the most challenging JavaScript features that complicate the inference of precise static call graph information is read/write accesses to object fields, the names of which are computed at runtime. JavaScript framework libraries often exploit this facility to build objects from other objects, as a way to simulate sophisticated high‐level programming constructions. Such code patterns are difficult to analyze precisely, due to weak updates and limitations of unrolling techniques. In this paper, we observe that precise field origination relations can be inferred by locally reasoning about object copies, both regarding to the object and to the program structure, and we propose an abstraction that allows to separately reason about field read/write access patterns working on different fields and to carefully handle the sets of JavaScript object fields. We formalize and implement an analysis based on this technique. We evaluate the performance and precision of the analysis on the computation of call graph information for examples from jQuery tutorials.
QCD calculations of B → π, K form factors with higher-twist corrections
Authors: Lü Cai-Dian , Shen Yue-Long , Wang Yu-Ming , Wei Yan-Bing
Published: January 2019

Abstract

We update QCD calculations of B → π, K form factors at large hadronic recoil by including the subleading-power corrections from the higher-twist B-meson light-cone distribution amplitudes (LCDAs) up to the twist-six accuracy and the strange-quark mass effects at leading-power in Λ/m

b
from the twist-two B-meson LCDA ϕ

B

+
(ω, μ). The higher-twist corrections from both the two-particle and three-particle B-meson LCDAs are computed from the light-cone QCD sum rules (LCSR) at tree level. In particular, we construct the local duality model for the twist-five and -six B-meson LCDAs, in agreement with the corresponding asymptotic behaviours at small quark and gluon momenta, employing the method of QCD sum rules in heavy quark effective theory at leading order in α

s
. The strange quark mass effects in semileptonic B → K form factors yield the leading-power contribution in the heavy quark expansion, consistent with the power-counting analysis in soft-collinear effective theory, and they are also computed from the LCSR approach due to the appearance of the rapidity singularities. We demonstrate explicitly that the SU(3)-flavour symmetry breaking effects between B → π and B → K form factors, free of the power suppression in Λ/m

b
, are suppressed by a factor of

$$ {\alpha}_s\left(\sqrt{m_b\Lambda}\right) $$

α
s

m
b

Λ

in perturbative expansion, and they also respect the large-recoil symmetry relations of the heavy-to-light form factors at least at one-loop accuracy. An exploratory analysis of the obtained sum rules for B → π, K form factors with two distinct models for the B-meson LCDAs indicates that the dominant higher-twist corrections are from the Wandzura-Wilczek part of the two-particle LCDA of twist five g

B

−
(ω, μ) instead of the three-particle B-meson LCDAs. The resulting SU(3)-flavour symmetry violation effects of B → π, K form factors turn out to be insensitive to the non-perturbative models of B-meson LCDAs. We further explore the phenomenological aspects of the semileptonic B → πℓν decays and the rare exclusive processes B → Kνν, including the determination of the CKM matrix element |V

ub
|, the normalized differential q
2 distributions and precision observables defined by the ratios of branching fractions for the above-mentioned two channels in the same intervals of q
2.
On lepton flavor universality in top quark decays
Authors: Kamenik Jernej F. , Katz Andrey , Stolarski Daniel
Published: January 2019

Abstract

We propose a novel strategy to test lepton flavor universality (LFU) in top decays, applicable to top pair production at colliders. Our proposal exploits information in kinematic distributions and mostly hinges on data-driven techniques, thus having very little dependence on our theoretical understanding of top pair production. Based on simplified models accommodating recent hints of LFU violation in charged current B meson decays, we show that existing LHC measurements already provide non-trivial information on the flavor structure and the mass scale of such new physics (NP). We also project that the measurements of LFU in top decays at the high-luminosity LHC could reach a precision at the percent level or below, improving the sensitivity to LFU violating NP in the top sector by more than an order of magnitude compared to existing approaches.
Towards a C-theorem in defect CFT
Authors: Kobayashi Nozomu , Nishioka Tatsuma , Sato Yoshiki , Watanabe Kento
Published: January 2019

Abstract

We explore a C-theorem in defect conformal field theories (DCFTs) that unify all the known conjectures and theorems until now. We examine as a candidate C-function the additional contributions from conformal defects to the sphere free energy and the entanglement entropy across a sphere in a number of examples including holographic models. We find the two quantities are equivalent, when suitably regularized, for codimension-one defects (or boundaries), but differ by a universal constant term otherwise. Moreover, we find in a few field theoretic examples that the sphere free energy decreases but the entanglement entropy increases along a certain renormalization group (RG) flow triggered by a defect localized perturbation which is assumed to have a trivial IR fixed point without defects. We hence propose a C-theorem in DCFTs stating that the increment of the regularized sphere free energy due to the defect does not increase under any defect RG flow. We also provide a proof of our proposal in several holographic models of defect RG flows.
On the connection between hydrodynamics and quantum chaos in holographic theories with stringy corrections
Authors: Grozdanov Sašo
Published: January 2019

Abstract

Pole-skipping is a recently discovered signature of many-body quantum chaos in collective energy dynamics. It establishes a precise connection between resummed, all-order hydrodynamics and the underlying microscopic chaos. In this paper, we demonstrate the existence of pole-skipping in holographic conformal field theories with higher-derivative gravity duals. In particular, we first consider Einstein-Hilbert gravity deformed by curvature-squared (R
2) corrections and then type IIB supergravity theory with the α

′ 3
R
4 term, where α

′
is set by the length of the fundamental string. The former case allows us to discuss the effects of leading-order 1/N

c
corrections (with N

c
being the number of colours of the dual gauge group) and phenomenological coupling constant dependence. In Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory, pole-skipping turns out to be valid non-perturbatively in the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. The α

′ 3
R
4 deformation enables us to study perturbative inverse ’t Hooft coupling corrections (α

′ 3 ∼ 1/λ
3/2) in SU(N

c
),

$$ \mathcal{N}=4 $$

N
=
4

supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with infinite N

c
. While the maximal Lyapunov exponent characterising quantum chaos remains uncorrected, the butterfly velocity is shown to depend both on N

c
and the coupling. Several implications of the relation between hydrodynamics and chaos are discussed, including an intriguing similarity between the dependence of the butterfly velocity and the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density on stringy corrections.