bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oxygen‐carrying semiconducting polymer nanoprodrugs induce sono‐pyroptosis for deep‐tissue tumor treatment
Authors: Wang Fengshuo , Fan Yongliang , Liu Yue , Lou Xiangxin , Sutrisno Linawati , Peng Shaojun , Li Jingchao
Published: February 2024

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has been explored for cancer therapy, especially for deep tumors due to its low tissue penetration restriction. The therapeutic efficacy of SDT is limited due to the complicated tumor microenvironment. This study reports the construction of oxygen‐carrying semiconducting polymer nanoprodrugs (OSPNpro) for deep tumor treatment via combining amplified SDT with pyroptosis. An oxygen carrier perfluorohexane, sonodynamic semiconducting polymer as the sonosensitizer, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐responsive prodrug are co‐loaded into a nanoparticle system, leading to the formation of these polymer nanoprodrugs. Such OSPNpro show an effective accumulation in tumor tissues after systemic administration, in which they deliver oxygen to relieve tumor hypoxia microenvironment and thus mediate amplified SDT via producing ROS under ultrasound (US) irradiation, even when the tumors are covered with a 2‐cm chicken breast tissue. In addition, the ROS‐responsive prodrugs are activated by the generated ROS to trigger pyroptosis of tumor cells. Such a sono‐pyroptosis induces a strong antitumor immunity with obviously higher level infiltrations of effector immune cells into tumors. Therefore, OSPNpro‐based combinational therapy can greatly inhibit the growth of 2‐cm chicken breast tissue‐covered deep tumors and suppress tumor metastasis. This study offers a prodrug nanoplatform for treatment of deep tumor via sono‐pyroptosis strategy.
Forecasting the high‐frequency volatility based on the LSTM‐HIT model
Authors: Liu Guangying , Zhuang Ziyan , Wang Min
Published: February 2024

Volatility forecasting from high‐frequency data plays a crucial role in many financial fields, such as risk management, option pricing, and portfolio management. Many existing statistical models could better describe and forecast the characteristics of volatility, whereas they do not simultaneously account for the long‐term memory of volatility, the nonlinear characteristics of high‐frequency data, and technical index information during the modeling phase. The purpose of this paper is to use the prediction advantage of deep learning long short‐term memory (LSTM) model to predict the volatility fusing three classes of information, that is, high frequency realized volatility (H), technical indicators (I), and the parameters of generalized autoregression conditional heteroskedasticity(GARCH), heterogeneous autoregressive (HAR), and c, resulting in a novel LSTM‐HIT model to forecast realized volatility. We employ the extreme value theory (EVT) of a semiparametric method to estimate the quantile of standardized return and construct the LSTM‐HIT‐EVT model to forecast the value at risk (VaR). Empirical results show that the LSTM‐HIT model provides the most accurate volatility forecast among the various considered models and that the LSTM‐HIT‐EVT model yields forecasts more accurate than other VaR models.
Incorporating media news to predict financial distress: Case study on Chinese listed companies
Authors: Zhang Lifang , Abedin Mohammad Zoynul , Liu Zhenkun
Published: February 2024

Financial distress prediction has been a prominent research field for several decades. Accurate prediction of financial distress not only helps to safeguard the interests of investors but also improves the ability of managers to manage financial risks. Prior studies predominantly rely on accounting metrics derived from financial statements to predict financial distress. Our research takes a step further by incorporating media news to enhance the accuracy of financial distress prediction. Based on the data from Chinese listed companies, seven classifiers are established to verify the additional value of media news in improving the financial distress prediction performance of models. Experimental results demonstrate that the inclusion of media news in predictive models is effective as it contributes to better performance compared with models that solely rely on accounting features. Moreover, random forest model is a reliable tool in financial distress prediction due to its superior ability to capture complex feature relationships. Evaluation indicators, statistical tests, and Bayesian A/B tests further confirm that the inclusion of media news can significantly improve the identification of financially distressed companies.
Risky times: Seasonality and event risk of commodities
Authors: Boos Dominik
Published: February 2024

The seasonal risk of wheat, corn, and soybean is modeled by a novel seasonality filter based on a generalized ridge regression. Then, using a component GARCH model, seasonal risk is combined with event risk and a short‐term risk dynamics. The resulting model is robust, generates seasonal patterns related to the crop cycle, and significantly outperforms the standard GARCH(1,1) in terms of out‐of‐sample risk prediction. Results are relevant for risk management and portfolio construction.
Emergency responses for a health workforce under pressure: Lessons learned from system responses to the first wave of the pandemic in Canada
Authors: Coates Alison , Mihailescu Mara , Bourgeault Ivy Lynn
Published: February 2024

The global health workforce crisis, simmering for decades, was brought to a rolling boil by the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020. With scarce literature, evidence, or best practices to draw from, countries around the world moved to flex their workforces to meet acute challenges of the pandemic, facing demands related to patient volume, patient acuity, and worker vulnerability and absenteeism. One early hypothesis suggested that the acute, short‐term pandemic phase would be followed by several waves of resource demands extending over the longer term. However, as the acute phase of the pandemic abated, temporary workforce policies expired and others were repealed with a view of returning to ‘normal’. The workforce needs of subsequent phases of pandemic effects were largely ignored despite our new equilibrium resting nowhere near our pre‐COVID baseline. In this paper, we describe Canada's early pandemic workforce response. We report the results of an environmental scan of the early workforce strategies adopted in Canada during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Within an expanded three‐part conceptual framework for supporting a sustainable health workforce, we describe 470 strategies and policies that aimed to increase the numbers and flexibility of health workers in Canada, and to maximise their continued availability to work. These strategies targeted all types of health workers and roles, enabling changes to the places health work is done, the way in which care is delivered, and the mechanisms by which it is regulated. Telehealth strategies and virtual care were the most prevalent, followed by role expansion, licensure flexibility, mental health supports for workers, and return to practice of retirees. We explore the degree to which these short‐term, acute response strategies might be adapted or extended to support the evolving workforce's long‐term needs.
Hall current and Dufour effect on the flow of a viscous fluid in the presence of suction, chemical reaction, and heat source: Laplace transform procedure
Authors: Rath Chinmoy , Nayak Anita
Published: February 2024

The present investigation explores the transient magnetohydrodynamics gravity‐driven flow of a viscous, incompressible, electrically conducting fluid past a permeable exponentially accelerated vertical plate in the presence of thermal radiation and suction. Due to several applications in different areas, the influence of Hall current, Dufour number, heat source parameter, and chemically reactive species diffusion are vital and are incorporated in the study, which is the novelty of the present work. The model equations are derived and resolved by utilizing an analytical technique called the Laplace transform procedure. Various properties of the flow due to the influence of different vital parameters have been depicted with the help of graphs. The computed gradients of velocity, temperature and concentration are presented in tabular form. The Hall parameter is observed to strengthen the secondary flow while diminishing the primary flow. Dufour number and heat source parameter enhance the fluid temperature and velocity profiles while the heat sink declines them. Enhancement of the acceleration parameter significantly amplifies the primary skin friction coefficient. Suction boosts the heat transport as well as the mass transport rates at the surface of the plate, whereas injection declines them. Further, the Dufour number causes a significant reduction in the Nusselt number and magnitude of the secondary skin friction coefficient. The practical applications of the current research are the design of aircraft, cooling of microchips, Hall accelerators, separation of isotopes and many more.
Radiant energy exchange through participating media composed of arbitrary concentrations of H2O, CO2, and CO
Authors: Camaraza‐Medina Yanan , Hernandez‐Guerrero Abel , Luviano‐Ortiz José L.
Published: February 2024

In this work, an approximate analytical solution (AS) is presented to evaluate the radiative thermal exchange through a gaseous participating medium composed of H2O, CO2, and CO, which is valid for the product values of pressure path‐length (PL) from 0.06 to 20 atm m and temperatures (T) from 300 K to 2100 K. The Spence root weighting method is used to approximate the exact solutions. For each set of , the value of exact spectral emissivity and absorptivity and for the gas mixture is calculated using the AS, the Hottel graphical method (HGM) and the proposed approximate solution. The weaker adjustment was achieved in the modeling of the HGM, with a mean deviation obtained of ±15% and ±20% for 43.8% and 56.3% of the data evaluated, respectively, while the best indices were obtained in the estimation of the proposed method, with a mean deviation obtained of ±10% and ±15% for 81.3% and 98.1% of the available data, respectively. In all cases, the agreement of the proposed model with the available experimental data is good enough to be considered satisfactory for practical design.
Ion acoustic solitary waves in multicomponent plasmas: Influence of ion drift velocity and nonthermal electrons
Authors: Das Mridusmita , Madhukalya Bhargab , Das Ranjan
Published: February 2024

Ion acoustic solitary waves with arbitrary amplitude have been investigated using the Sagdeev potential (SP) method in a collisionless plasma consisting of non‐isothermal electrons, positrons, and positive ions. The SP has been obtained and the dependence of large amplitude solitary structures on various plasma parameters such as ion drift velocity , non‐thermal parameter , electron to positron temperature ratio , positron density , and Mach number have been studied. It is shown that, for the same values of plasma parameters, accounting for ion drift velocity greatly corrects the solitary wave profile.
Ecology versus economic development: Effects of China's Yangtze River Economic Belt strategy
Authors: Gong Guan , Zhao Yu
Published: February 2024

This study employs China's Yangtze River Economic Belt strategy as a quasi‐natural experiment to investigate the impact of prioritizing green development on economic growth. Our empirical findings show that the strategy significantly reduces urban industrial wastewater discharge. It helps transition the region's industries towards technology‐driven service sectors while maintaining a steady economic growth rate. On average, cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt see a 21.9% decrease in annual industrial wastewater discharge, a 1.9% increase in economic growth rate, a 4.9% rise in the proportion of service industries' contribution to GDP, and a 2.4% increase in the number of employees in productive service industries. Moreover, our empirical results highlight the heterogeneity in the effects of the strategy across different regions, which can be attributed to factors such as population density, infrastructure, levels of human capital, and government governance. The implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt strategy offers valuable insights for developing countries on how to balance between economic development and environmental protection.
Identification of putative antiviral bioactive compounds derived from family Asteraceae: An in silico approach
Authors: Srivastava Swati , Khan Mohd Shahnawaz , Ahmad Saheem , Dubey Amit , Saxena Vijay Laxmi , Haneef Mohammad
Published: February 2024

This computational study investigates 21 bioactive compounds from the Asteraceae family as potential inhibitors targeting the Spike protein (S protein) of SARS‐CoV‐2. Employing in silico methods and simulations, particularly CDOCKER and MM‐GBSA, the study identifies two standout compounds, pterodontic acid and cichoric acid, demonstrating robust binding affinities (−46.1973 and −39.4265 kcal/mol) against the S protein. Comparative analysis with Favipiravir underscores their potential as promising inhibitors. Remarkably, these bioactives exhibit favorable ADMET properties, suggesting safety and efficacy. Molecular dynamics simulations validate their stability and interactions, signifying their potential as effective SARS‐CoV‐2 inhibitors.
Metabolic adjustments to winter severity in two geographically separated great tit (Parus major) populations
Authors: Pacioni Cesare , Bushuev Andrey , Sentís Marina , Kerimov Anvar , Ivankina Elena , Lens Luc , Strubbe Diederik
Published: February 2024

Understanding the potential limits placed on organisms by their ecophysiology is crucial for predicting their responses to varying environmental conditions. A main hypothesis for explaining avian thermoregulatory mechanisms is the aerobic capacity model, which posits a positive correlation between basal (basal metabolic rate [BMR]) and summit (Msum) metabolism. Most evidence for this hypothesis, however, comes from interspecific comparisons, and the ecophysiological underpinnings of avian thermoregulatory capacities hence remain controversial. Indeed, studies have traditionally relied on between‐species comparisons, although, recently, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of intraspecific variation in ecophysiological responses. Therefore, here, we focused on great tits (Parus major), measuring BMR and Msum during winter in two populations from two different climates: maritime‐temperate (Gontrode, Belgium) and continental (Zvenigorod, Russia). We tested for the presence of intraspecific geographical variation in metabolic rates and assessed the predictions following the aerobic capacity model. We found that birds from the maritime‐temperate climate (Gontrode) showed higher BMR, whereas conversely, great tits from Zvenigorod showed higher levels of Msum. Within each population, our data did not fully support the aerobic capacity model's predictions. We argued that the decoupling of BMR and Msum observed may be caused by different selective forces acting on these metabolic rates, with birds from the continental‐climate Zvenigorod population facing the need to conserve energy for surviving long winter nights (by keeping their BMR at low levels) while simultaneously being able to generate more heat (i.e., a high Msum) to withstand cold spells.
Simultaneous identification of DNA and RNA pathogens using metagenomic sequencing in cases of severe acute respiratory infection
Authors: Xie Nana , Lin Yanfeng , Li Peihan , Zhao Jiachen , Li Jinhui , Wang Kaiying , Yang Lang , Jia Leili , Wang Quanyi , Li Peng , Song Hongbin
Published: February 2024

Metagenomic next‐generation sequencing (mNGS) is a valuable technique for identifying pathogens. However, conventional mNGS requires the separate processing of DNA and RNA genomes, which can be resource‐ and time‐intensive. To mitigate these impediments, we propose a novel method called DNA/RNA cosequencing that aims to enhance the efficiency of pathogen detection. DNA/RNA cosequencing uses reverse transcription of total nucleic acids extracted from samples by using random primers, without removing DNA, and then employs mNGS. We applied this method to 85 cases of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). Influenza virus was identified in 13 cases (H1N1: seven cases, H3N2: three cases, unclassified influenza type: three cases) and was not detected in the remaining 72 samples. Bacteria were present in all samples. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii were detected in four influenza‐positive samples, suggesting coinfections. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting influenza A virus were 73.33% and 95.92%, respectively. A κ value of 0.726 indicated a high level of concordance between the results of DNA/RNA cosequencing and SARI influenza virus monitoring. DNA/RNA cosequencing enhanced the efficiency of pathogen detection, providing a novel capability to strengthen surveillance and thereby prevent and control infectious disease outbreaks.
Sex does not influence the long‐term outcome of matrix‐assisted autologous chondrocyte transplantation
Authors: Salerno Manuela , Andriolo Luca , Angelelli Lucia , Buda Roberto , Faldini Cesare , Ferruzzi Alberto , Vannini Francesca , Zaffagnini Stefano , Filardo Giuseppe
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Regenerative techniques for articular cartilage lesions demonstrated heterogeneous clinical results. Several factors may influence the outcome, with sex being one of the most debated. This study aimed at quantifying the long‐term influence of sex on the clinical outcome obtained with a regenerative procedure for knee chondral lesions.

Methods

Matrix‐assisted autologous chondrocyte transplantation (MACT) was used to treat 235 knees which were prospectively evaluated with the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), EuroQol visual analogue scale, and Tegner scores at 14‐year mean follow‐up. A multilevel analysis was performed with the IKDC subjective scores standardised according to the age/sex category of each patient and/or the selection of a match‐paired subgroup to compare homogeneous men and women patients.

Results

At 14 years, men and women showed a failure rate of 10.7% and 28.8%, respectively (p < 0.0005). An overall improvement was observed in both sexes. Women had more patellar lesions and men more condylar lesions (p = 0.001), and the latter also presented a higher preinjury activity level (p < 0.0005). Men had significantly higher IKDC subjective scores at all follow‐ups (at 14 years: 77.2 ± 18.9 vs. 62.8 ± 23.1; p < 0.0005). However, the analysis of homogeneous match‐paired populations of men and women, with standardised IKDC subjective scores, showed no differences between men and women (at 14 years: −1.6 ± 1.7 vs. −1.9 ± 1.6).

Conclusion

Men and women treated with MACT for knee chondral lesions presented a significant improvement and stable long‐term results. When both sexes are compared with homogeneous match‐paired groups, they have similar results over time. However, women present more often unfavourable lesion patterns, which proved more challenging in terms of long‐term outcome after MACT.

Level of Evidence

Level II.
Tissue‐of‐origin for cancers determines HIF‐1 activation induced phenotypic heterogeneity
Authors: Liu Shaofei , Liu Yamin , Qiu Xihua , Suhail Yasir , Kshitiz
Published: February 2024

Hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 (HIF‐1) is the master regulator of cellular response to hypoxia, and is activated in many cancers contributing to many steps in the metastatic cascade by acting as a key transcription co‐regulator for a large number of downstream genes. Presence of hypoxia within a tumor is spatially nonuniform, and can also by dynamic. Further, although HIF‐1 is primarily stabilized and activated by lack of molecular O2, its stability is also affected by other factors present in the tumor microenvironment. HIF‐1 also crosstalks with other transcription factors in co‐regulating gene expression. Consequently, it is nontrivial to predict the gene expression patterns in cells in response to hypoxia, or HIF‐1 activation. Additionally, cancers originating from tissue origins with different basal level of partial oxygen tension may activate HIF‐1 at different threshold of hypoxia. We analyzed large published single cell RNAseq data for colorectal, lung, and pancreatic cancers to investigate the phenotypic outcome of HIF‐1 activation in cancer cells. We found that cancers from tissues with different partial O2 tension levels exhibit HIF‐1 activation at different stages of metastasis, and phenotypically respond differently to HIF‐1 activation, likely by contextual co‐option of different transcription factors. We experimentally confirmed these predictions by using cell lines representative of colorectal, lung, and pancreatic cancers, finding that while hypoxia enhances growth of colorectal cancer, it induces increased invasion of lung, and pancreatic cancers. Our analysis suggest that HIF‐1 activation may act as a rheostat regulating downstream gene expression towards phenotypic outcomes differently in various cancers.
mRNA PROTACs: engineering PROTACs for high‐efficiency targeted protein degradation
Authors: Xue Xiaoqi , Zhang Chen , Li Xiaolin , Wang Junqiao , Zhang Haowei , Feng Ying , Xu Naihan , Li Hongyan , Tan Chunyan , Jiang Yuyang , Tan Ying
Published: February 2024

Proteolysis‐targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are essential bifunctional molecules that target proteins of interest (POIs) for degradation by cellular ubiquitination machinery. Despite significant progress made in understanding PROTACs' functions, their therapeutic potential remains largely untapped. As a result of the success of highly flexible, scalable, and low‐cost mRNA therapies, as well as the advantages of the first generation of peptide PROTACs (p‐PROTACs), we present for the first time an engineering mRNA PROTACs (m‐PROTACs) strategy. This design combines von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) recruiting peptide encoding mRNA and POI‐binding peptide encoding mRNA to form m‐PROTAC and promote cellular POI degradation. We then performed proof‐of‐concept experiments using two m‐PROTACs targeting two cancer‐related proteins, estrogen receptor alpha and B‐cell lymphoma‐extra large protein. Our results demonstrated that m‐PROTACs could successfully degrade the POIs in different cell lines and more effectively inhibit cell proliferation than the traditional p‐PROTACs. Moreover, the in vivo experiment demonstrated that m‐PROTAC led to significant tumor regression in the 4T1 mouse xenograft model. This finding highlights the enormous potential of m‐PROTAC as a promising approach for targeted protein degradation therapy.
Mass Transfer in Emulsion Polymerization: High Solids Content Latex and Mixing Effects
Authors: TORRES ALADRO Mariana Guadalupe , Gelinski Estela Kamile , Sheibat‐Othman Nida , McKenna Timothy F. L.
Published: February 2024

The impact of different agitator configurations used during the emulsion polymerization of vinylidene fluoride (VDF) is studied with the goal of achieving a solids content of 55 wt% while minimizing particle coagulation and maintaining low levels of surfactant. The design and number of impellers, their spacing and the agitation speed are shown to have a strong influence on the transfer of gaseous monomer to the aqueous phase, and thus the rate of polymerization. Increasing the number of impellers on the central shaft, and decreasing the spacing of the impellers close to the latex surface has a strong influence on the ability to incorporate gaseous monomer, so the solids content and the latex level in the reactor increased. Furthermore, it is found that changes in the agitation rate during the reaction is necessary at high solids content to avoid destabilizing the particles in view of the low surfactant concentrations used.
Performance of a deep learning system for simultaneously diagnosing radiolucent and radiopaque lesions in the anterior maxilla on panoramic radiographs
Authors: Ebata Kaori , Kise Yoshitaka , Morotomi Takahiko , Ariji Eiichiro
Published: February 2024

Aim

To validate the performance of a deep learning system with detection and classification functions for a mix of radiolucent and radiopaque lesions in the anterior maxilla on panoramic radiographs.

Methods

Patients with radiolucent or radiopaque lesions in the anterior maxilla on panoramic radiographs were selected retroactively from May 2022 until Feb 2002 to obtain 100 preoperative radiographs each for nasopalatine duct cysts (NDCs), radicular cysts (RCs), and impacted supernumerary teeth (ISTs). An additional 100 patients with no lesions in the anterior maxilla were selected. Two deep learning systems (Systems 1 and 2) were created and tested. For System 1, the models were created and tested using datasets of radiolucent lesions (NDCs and RCs) and No lesions. For developing System 2, the data of radiopaque lesions (ISTs) were added to those used in System 1. The neural network used was You Only Look Once ver. 7 (YOLOv7). The recall, precision, F1 score, and accuracy calculated from the confusion matrix were used to evaluate diagnostic performance.

Results

The performance of System 2, which included the IST data, was worse than that of System 1. Even when NDCs and RCs were addressed as a joint category of radiolucent lesions, the addition of IST data resulted in a worse performance than that of System 1.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that combined use of radiopaque lesions (ISTs) with radiolucent lesions (NDCs and RCs) reduces the deep learning performance for radiolucent lesions with the volume of data used in the present study.
Piezoelectric PVDF‐TrFE nanocomposite mats filled with BaTiO3 nanofibers: The effect of poling conditions
Authors: Stojchevska Ema , Makreski Petre , Zanoni Michele , Gasperini Leonardo , Selleri Giacomo , Fabiani Davide , Gualandi Chiara , Bužarovska Aleksandra
Published: February 2024

BaTiO3 nanofibers (BT NFs), prepared by electrospinning, were used as a filler for electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (PVDF‐TrFE) nanocomposite mats. The phase structure and the effect of poling conditions on the piezoelectric properties of PVDF‐TrFE/BT nanocomposites were investigated. The results showed an improved degree of crystallinity (78.6%) and a high β‐crystal phase (up to 98.3%) in all electrospun samples, independent of the nanofiber content. The two‐step poling method, applying electric fields of opposite polarity, led to significantly improved piezoelectric constants d33 (−31.7 pC N−1), strongly dependent on the added BaTiO3 nanofibers. The inclusion of piezoelectric ceramic nanofibers into a polymer matrix, easily carried out by means of electrospinning, followed by an ad hoc optimized poling treatment, allowed to develop flexible materials with enhanced piezoelectric properties, potentially exploitable in innovative conversion systems used in wearable and sensing devices.
Copolymerization of ethylene with polar styrene monomers catalyzed by phosphino‐dihydronaphtholate neutral nickel catalysts
Authors: Wang Fei , Wang Xu‐ling , Pan Li , Mao Xiao‐hui , Wu Hao‐yang , Li Yue‐sheng
Published: February 2024

The physical properties of traditional polyolefin materials can be significantly improved by introducing polar groups, especially polar aromatic groups. However, it remains a major challenge to realize the highly effective copolymerization of ethylene with styrene derivatives. In this study, the direct copolymerization of ethylene with various polar styrene monomers bearing functional groups (o‐OMe, m‐OMe, p‐OMe, o‐Cl, m‐Cl, p‐ClSt, o‐F, o‐Br, p‐Me, p‐Ph, p‐Vinyl, p‐COOH, and C6F5) was achieved using phosphino‐dihydronaphtholate neutral nickel catalysts Ni1‐Ni3. Additionally, the catalytic behavior and the applicability of the polar monomer were evaluated in detail by copolymerization results. Catalysts Ni1‐Ni3 demonstrated inactivity towards the polymerization of polar styrene monomers but exhibited moderate catalytic activities in the copolymerization of ethylene with polar styrene monomers, yielding moderate‐molecular‐weight (Mw > 10 kDa) copolymers with the polar monomer contents ranging from 1.32 to 4.16 mol%. The steric and electronic effects of the substituent depending on the types and position in the phenyl ring considerably influenced the copolymerization behavior. Furthermore, comprehensive NMR analyses of the produced copolymers revealed that the polar monomers formed in‐chain insertions, saturated chain ends, and unsaturated chain ends after incorporation.
Improved tracheostomy‐dependent patient outcomes after implementation of the Pediatric Resident Education in Pulmonary (PREP) Boot Camp
Authors: Khan Erin K. , Lockspeiser Tai M. , Meier Maxene , Liptzin Deborah R. , Baker Christopher D.
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Children with tracheostomies are high risk for morbidity and mortality. Pediatric resident physicians are not routinely taught skills to care for this vulnerable patient population. Few reports link educational interventions to improved patient outcomes. This study evaluates the impact of an intensive educational training program on pediatric residents' observed skills and tracheostomy‐dependent patient outcomes.

Methods

Pediatric post‐graduate year 2 (PGY2) resident physicians rotating through the inpatient pediatric pulmonology month at Children's Hospital Colorado July 2018–2019 participated in the Pediatric Resident Education in Pulmonary (PREP) Boot Camp, an intensive educational program with an interactive lecture and simulation experience on patients with tracheostomy‐dependence. PGY2s who partook in PREP and PGY3s who rotated before PREP initiation were invited to be studied. Primary outcomes included: (1) resident skills assessed by direct observation during simulation encounters and (2) rates of intensive care unit (ICU) transfers in tracheostomy‐dependent patients following acute events before and after introduction of PREP. We hypothesized that increased education would enhance resident skills and improve patient outcomes by decreasing the rate of ICU transfers.

Results

PGY2 residents retained skills learned during PREP up to 11 months following initial participation, and significantly outperformed their PGY3 counterparts. There was a significant decrease in ICU transfer rate in patients with tracheostomies admitted to the pulmonary team during the 19 months following initiation of PREP.

Conclusions

Enhanced early education may improve resident physicians' ability to care for complex patients with tracheostomies and could improve outcomes in this high‐risk population.
Diatomaceous earth as insecticide: physiological and morphological evidence of its underlying mechanism
Authors: Romei Francisco , Schilman Pablo E
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND

Wheat grain containers or silos can be perfect habitats for insects, which generate large economic losses to grain production. Natural alternatives to synthetic insecticides have grown in popularity because of health, economic and ecological issues. Diatomaceous earth is a natural compound that has an insecticide effect by enhancing an insect's dehydration with no toxicity on mammals including humans. The aim of this study is to confirm the effect of diatomaceous earth as an insecticide for the wheat grain pest, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and demonstrate its underlying mechanisms as an insecticide by open‐flow respirometry and scanning electron microscopy.

RESULTS

Survival bioassays of T. castaneum revealed a dose‐dependent insecticide effect of diatomaceous earth. Gravimetric measurements showed that 2 days exposure to diatomaceous earth produces a significant increase of mass loss. Open‐flow respirometry measurements showed an increase of total water emission rate on insects due to an increase of both, respiratory and cuticular water loss. Our study revealed that diatomaceous earth produces an increase of insect's cuticle permeability, which is responsible for elevated cuticular water loss. Scanning electron microscopy images provided visual evidence of the lipid absorbent properties of diatomaceous earth particles, and showed a tendency for higher, although not significant, damaged area of the cuticle's surface from diatomaceous earth treated insects compared to control ones.

CONCLUSION

With state‐of‐the art techniques like open‐flow respirometry and scanning electron microscopy, we demonstrated the underlying mechanism of diatomaceous earth as an insecticide and provided new cues for understanding the properties of the cuticle and its ecological importance. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Introducing large‐scale analysis constraints in regional hybrid EnVar data assimilation for the prediction of triple typhoons
Authors: Wang Yuanbing , Qian Xinyao , Chen Yaodeng , Min Jinzhong
Published: February 2024

Large‐scale environment fields play an important role in the accurate prediction of typhoons. However, regional predictions for typhoons often suffer from inadequate representation of large‐scale flow pattern such as those from global models due to limited domain size and observations employed in regional models, especially when multiple typhoons that interact concurrently occur in a regional domain. This study merges the large‐scale information from global model forecasts with the mesoscale information from regional model forecasts in the hybrid ensemble‐variational (EnVar) data assimilation by adding an analysis constraint in the EnVar cost function, which is defined by the departure of the regional model EnVar analysis from the global model fields and takes advantage of flow‐dependent ensemble background error covariance for the introduction of large scales using data assimilation. The EnVar assimilation impacts of the large‐scale fields on predictions of triple typhoons are assessed by conducting cycling assimilation and forecast experiments for a 13‐day‐long period in July 2015 when three typhoons concurrently occurred. Results show that the large‐scale constraint for EnVar can clearly improve the triple‐typhoons' track and intensity forecasts of the regional model. The large‐scale information introduced by the proposed method is also shown to reduce forecast errors of wind, temperature and humidity, respectively. Predictions of the rainfall caused by typhoons are also ameliorated. Besides, the analysis‐constrained regional predictions provide better model dynamic fields in terms of sea surface pressure, geopotential height, and water vapor transport, as well as developed typhoon structures. In addition, the adaptive bias correction for radiance assimilation presents a stable performance under the influence of introducing extra background large‐scale fields. The results indicate that the large‐scale analysis constraint introduced in the hybrid EnVar takes advantages of the multiscale information from the global model and the regional model respectively, thus improving the final results of the predictions of multiple typhoons.
Misalignment between the propagation direction of the bora wind and its pulsations
Authors: Golem Petar , Večenaj Željko , Kozmar Hrvoje , Grisogono Branko
Published: February 2024

The bora is a well‐known downslope windstorm that blows at the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea from inland towards the sea, mainly from the northeasterly direction. One of the notable bora characteristics is the quasi‐periodic gust pulsations. We address their characteristics during strong to severe bora events by applying rotational spectral analysis on 9 months of continuous high‐frequency sonic anemometer measurements in the town of Senj, Croatia. The analysis shows that the orientation of the pulsations' plane of oscillation does not correspond to the measured near‐ground wind direction. In particular, these two directions seem to be negatively correlated. Although the structure of the pulsations is mostly rectilinear, the positive rotational component was larger than the negative one in all except one bora event. The coincidence of the wind shear direction within the lee‐side jet with the orientation of the plane of oscillation leads to a tentative conclusion that its orientation was governed by the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, at least in the cases presented.
Promoting public health equity through strategic information campaigns on social media during the COVID‐19 pandemic: An analysis of pandemic health information campaigns on Twitter in Houston, Texas
Authors: Page‐Tan Courtney , Hope Sara
Published: February 2024

Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, reports have indicated vulnerable communities have suffered disproportionately from chronic illness, higher death rates, and unequal access to healthcare. This calls into question the equity of the nationwide vaccination program launched in the United States in 2021, a program with the potential to mitigate the disproportionate burden of the pandemic in these communities. This study investigates the extent to which local government agencies, elected officials, and community‐based organizations (CBOs) engaged in equitable information campaigns during the COVID‐19 pandemic to address health barriers common in vulnerable communities, including issues of access, fear, and language barriers. Using a sui generis data set of COVID‐19 testing and vaccine‐related Twitter posts from local government agencies, elected officials, and CBOs from Houston, Texas, we find that local government agencies were more likely than elected officials and CBOs to engage in equitable information campaigns and that among elected officials, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to engage in equitable messaging. These findings have important implications for communication strategies such as targeted and culturally sensitive messaging. These findings also signal an opportunity for elected officials and CBOs to engage further with their constituents and social networks to share public health information on their public communication platforms.
Tree species diversity mapping from spaceborne optical images: The effects of spectral and spatial resolution
Authors: Liu Xiang , Frey Julian , Munteanu Catalina , Denter Martin , Koch Barbara
Published: February 2024

Increasingly available spaceborne sensors provide unprecedented opportunities for large‐scale, timely and continuous tree species diversity (TSD) monitoring. However, given differences in spectral and spatial resolutions, the choice of sensor is not always straightforward. In this work, we investigated the effects of spatial and spectral resolutions for four spaceborne sensors (RapidEye, Landsat‐8, Sentinel‐2 and PlanetScope) on TSD mapping in an area of approximately 4000 km2 within the Black Forest, Germany. We employed a random forest (RF) regression model to predict Shannon–Wiener diversity based on seven types of spectral heterogeneity metrics (texture, coefficient of variation, Rao's Q, convex hull volume, spectral angle mapper, convex hull area and spectral species diversity) and a full survey dataset from 135 one‐ha sample plots. We compared the RF model's performance across sensors and spatial resolutions. Our results demonstrated that the Sentinel‐2‐based TSD model achieved the highest accuracy (mean R2: 0.477, mean root‐mean‐square error (RMSE): 0.274). The RapidEye‐based TSD model produced lower accuracy (mean R2: 0.346, mean RMSE: 0.303), but it was better than the PlanetScope‐ and Landsat‐based TSD models. The 10 m (for Sentinel‐2 and RapidEye) and 15 m (for PlanetScope) were the best spatial resolutions for predicting TSD. The NIR band was the most favourable spectral band for predicting TSD. Texture metrics and Rao's Q outperformed the other spectral heterogeneity metrics. Our results highlighted that spaceborne optical imagery (especially Sentinel‐2) can be successfully used for large‐scale TSD mapping but that the choice of sensors can significantly affect the resulting mapping accuracy in temperate montane forests.
Farm‐level variability in soil biological health indicators in Michigan is dependent on management and soil properties
Authors: Agyei Benjamin , Sprunger Christine D. , Anderson Eric , Curell Christina , Singh Maninder Pal
Published: February 2024

Soil biology is vital for maintaining productivity, enhancing soil health, and creating resilient agroecosystems. However, many questions remain on how microbial communities are impacted by different soil properties and management practices, especially on grower‐managed fields. This study examined soil biological health properties (0–15 cm) and field history data from 310 grower‐managed fields within Michigan between Fall 2019 and Spring 2021. The objectives were to evaluate the impact of soil texture, tillage, and crop diversity on microbial populations and examine the relationship between soil health indicators and microbial community. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis was used to estimate total microbial abundance and composition of broad taxonomic groups like bacteria, fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, actinomycetes, and eukaryotes. Other soil health indicators measured were organic carbon, permanganate oxidizable carbon, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and water‐stable aggregation. Soil texture did not significantly influence microbial community except for actinomycetes, which were significantly higher in fine‐textured soils. Tillage had the largest influence on microbial communities, with significantly lower values for all microbes in tilled compared to no‐till fields. Crop diversity had a minimal impact, affecting only arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and eukaryote populations. All measured soil health indicators were positively associated with microbial populations except for phosphorous, which had a negative correlation (r = −0.56 to −0.66). Overall, we conclude that tillage is the dominant driver of soil biological health on grower‐managed fields across Michigan. Consequently, adoption of no‐till management practices where possible can help restore soil health and long‐term sustainability in agroecosystems.
Color‐Tunable Perovskite Nanomaterials with Intense Circularly Polarized Luminescence and Tailorable Compositions
Authors: Lu Rong , Wen Zhuangchuan , Zhang Pengfei , Chen Yang , Wang Huihui , Jin Huile , Zhang Lijie , Chen Yihuang , Wang Shun , Pan Shuang
Published: February 2024

The ability to design halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) with circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) offers exceptional potential in photonic technologies. Despite recent inspiring advances, the creation of PNCs with full‐color tailorablity, outstanding CPL, and long‐term stability remains a substantial challenge. Herein, a robust strategy to craft CPL‐active PNCs is reported, exhibiting appealing full‐color tunable wavelengths, enhanced CPL, and prolonged stability. In contrast to conventional methodologies, this strategy utilizes chiral nematic mesoporous silica (CNMS) as host to render in situ confined growth of diverse achiral PNCs. By strategically engineering photonic bandgap, adjusting loading amount of PNCs, and manipulating cations/anion compositions of PNCs, robust CPL responses with tunable wavelength and intensity are successfully obtained. The resulting PNCs‐CNMS achieves stable CPL emissions with full‐color tunability and impressive luminescent dissymmetric factors up to −0.17. Remarkably, silica‐based hosts as a protective barrier confer exceptional resistance to humidity, photodegradation, and thermal stability, even up to 95 °C. Furthermore, the ability to achieve reversible CPL switching within PNCs‐CNMS is attainable by leveraging the responsiveness of CNMS matrix or dynamic behavior of impregnated PNCs. Additionally, circularly polarized light‐emitting diode devices based on PNCs‐CNMS can be conveniently fabricated. This research affords a powerful platform for designing functional chiroptical materials.
Ultralight and Robust Covalent Organic Framework Fiber Aerogels
Authors: Xiao Chengming , Yao Yiyuan , Guo Xin , Qi Junwen , Zhu Zhigao , Zhou Yujun , Yang Yue , Li Jiansheng
Published: February 2024

Shaping covalent organic frameworks (COFs) into macroscopic objects with robust mechanical properties and hierarchically porous structure is of great significance for practical applications but remains formidable and challenging. Herein, a general and scalable protocol is reported to prepare ultralight and robust pure COF fiber aerogels (FAGs), based on the epitaxial growth synergistic assembly (EGSA) strategy. Specifically, intertwined COF nanofibers (100–200 nm) are grown in situ on electrospinning polyacrylonitrile (PAN) microfibers (≈1.7 µm) containing urea‐based linkers, followed by PAN removal via solvent extraction to obtain the hollow COF microfibers. The resultant COF FAGs possess ultralow density (14.1–15.5 mg cm−3) and hierarchical porosity that features both micro‐, meso‐, and macropores. Significantly, the unique interconnected structure composed of nanofibers and hollow microfibers endows the COF FAGs with unprecedented mechanical properties, which can fully recover at 50% strain and be compressed for 20 cycles with less than 5% stress degradation. Moreover, the aerogels exhibit excellent capacity for organic solvent absorption (e.g., chloroform uptake of >90 g g−1). This study opens new avenues for the design and fabrication of macroscopic COFs with excellent properties.
Determination of a novel anti‐influenza pinanamine‐based analog in rat plasma by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry and its application in pharmacokinetic evaluations
Authors: Lin Xiaoying , Zhao Xin , Yang Bin , Huang Yinxuan , Zhang Ruiwen , Li Manna , Xiao Mengjie , Xie Hui
Published: February 2024

A pinanamine‐based analog, (1R,2R,3R,5S)‐N‐((3‐cyclopropylthiophen‐2‐yl)methyl)‐2,6,6‐trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]heptan‐3‐amine (M090) was synthesized and demonstrated with anti‐influenza activity to overcome the multi‐drug resistance. Herein, a rapid and robust liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to quantify M090 in rat plasma. With simple protein precipitation by methanol, the separation of M090 was performed on a Waters BEH‐C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) by gradient elution at 0.4 mL/min with mobile phases consisting of water containing 0.1 % formic acid (phase A) and methanol (phase B). M090 and clenbuterol (internal standard) were detected using multiple reaction monitoring in positive electrospray ionization mode with transitions of m/z 290.3→137.0 and m/z 277.0→203.0, respectively. The method was validated over a linear range of 1.0–2400 ng/mL with a regression coefficient of 0.9974 and no endogenous interference. The intra‐ and inter‐batch precisions were within 8.29% and accuracy ranged from 100.3% to 108.1% for M090. The validated method was utilized to evaluate the in vitro metabolic stability and in vivo pharmacokinetics of M090 in rats.