bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Syncopes and clinical outcome in heart failure: results from prospective clinical study data in Germany
Authors: Hashemi Djawid , Blum Moritz , Mende Meinhard , Störk Stefan , Angermann Christiane E. , Pankuweit Sabine , Tahirovic Elvis , Wachter Rolf , Pieske Burkert , Edelmann Frank , Düngen Hans‐Dirk ,   the German Competence Network for Heart Failure
Published: January 2020

Aims

Whereas syncopal episodes are a frequent complication of cardiovascular disorders, including heart failure (HF), little is known whether syncopes impact the prognosis of patients with HF. We aimed to assess the impact of a history of syncope (HoS) on overall and hospitalization‐free survival of these patients.

Methods and results

We pooled the data of prospective, nationwide, multicentre studies conducted within the framework of the German Competence Network for Heart Failure including 11 335 subjects. Excluding studies with follow‐up periods <10 years, we assessed 5318 subjects. We excluded a study focusing on cardiac changes in patients with an HIV infection because of possible confounding factors and 849 patients due to either missing key parameters or missing follow‐up data, resulting in 3594 eligible subjects, including 2130 patients with HF [1564 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), 314 patients with heart failure with mid‐range ejection fraction, and 252 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)] and 1464 subjects without HF considered as controls. HoS was more frequent in the overall cohort of patients with HF compared with controls (P < 0.001)—mainly driven by the HFpEF subgroup (HFpEF vs. controls: 25.0% vs. 12.8%, P < 0.001). Of all the subjects, 14.6% reported a HoS. Patients with HFrEF in our pooled cohort showed more often syncopes than subjects without HF (15.0% vs. 12.8%, P = 0.082). Subjects with HoS showed worse overall survival [42.4% vs. 37.9%, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.21, 99% confidence interval (0.99, 1.46), P = 0.04] and less days alive out of hospital [HR = 1.39, 99% confidence interval (1.18, 1.64), P < 0.001] compared with all subjects without HoS. Patients with HFrEF with HoS died earlier [30.3% vs. 41.6%, HR = 1.40, 99% confidence interval (1.12, 1.74), P < 0.001] and lived fewer days out of hospital than those without HoS. We could not find these changes in mortality and hospital‐free survival in the heart failure with mid‐range ejection fraction and HFpEF cohorts. HoS represented a clinically high‐risk profile within the HFrEF group—combining different risk factors. Further analyses showed that among patients with HFrEF with HoS, known cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. age, male sex, diabetes mellitus, and anaemia) were more prevalent. These constellations of the risk factors explained the effect of HoS in a multivariable Cox regression models.

Conclusions

In a large cohort of patients with HF, HoS was found to be a clinically and easily accessible predictor of both overall and hospitalization‐free survival in patients with HFrEF and should thus routinely be assessed.
Wnt signaling associated small molecules improve the viability of pPSCs in a PI3K/Akt pathway dependent way
Authors: Li Yan , Wu Shuang , Li Xuechun , Guo Shimeng , Cai Zhuang , Yin Zhi , Zhang Yu , Liu Zhonghua
Published: January 2020

Although we have obtained porcine pluripotent stem cell lines (pPSCs) from blastocysts, the cells exhibit flat clonal morphology and do not support single‐cell passage. There is massive cell death after cell dissociation, and the efficiency of single‐cell colony is generally ≤10%. In a recent study, we got a new pPSCs using two Wnt signaling pathway regulators CHIR99021 and XAV939. This cell had strong biological viability, small‐domed morphology, and its cloning efficiency after dissociation was 80–90%. The CH/XAV‐treated cells expressed elevated levels of pluripotent genes, and possessed differentiation abilities both in vitro and in vivo, proven by the formation of embryonic bodies and teratomas with three germ layers. Furthermore, we found that the combinative use of CHIR99021 and XAV939 resulted in β‐catenin‐maintained expression in the cytoplasm but not translocation to the nuclei for WNT/TCF activation. In the meanwhile, E‐cadherin located on the cell membrane, thereby activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to enhance the pluripotency of the cells. Our study obtained new pPSCs, which were even closer to the naïve state with only two small molecule inhibitors, and the improved pluripotency of pPSCs could facilitate transgenic manipulation and regenerative medicine research. Besides, our study casted a light on the understanding of pPSCs and the derivation of authentic porcine embryonic stem cells.
CircBACH1 (hsa_circ_0061395) promotes hepatocellular carcinoma growth by regulating p27 repression via HuR
Authors: Liu Bingqi , Yang Guangsheng , Wang Xin , Liu Jingfang , Lu Zhihua , Wang Qi , Xu Bing , Liu Zhiqian , Li Jie
Published: January 2020

In recent years, an increasing number of circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been discovered in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the functions of most circRNAs require further investigation. Here, we found that circBACH1 was significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and that high circBACH1 levels were closely associated with poor prognosis. In addition, circBACH1 could promote HCC growth by accelerating cell cycle progression in vitro and in vivo. We next investigated the cellular and molecular mechanisms and discovered that circBACH1 inhibited p27 translation, which influenced cell cycle progression. Moreover, we revealed that circBACH1 could combine directly with HuR using RNA immunoprecipitation assays, pull‐down assays, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The combination of these molecules facilitated HuR translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm according to the fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence results. Finally, silencing HuR abrogated circBACH1's inhibition of p27 translation and abolished the circBACH1‐induced effect on HCC proliferation. In sum, circBACH1 plays a significant role as an oncogene through the circBACH1/HuR/p27 axis in HCC development.
Influence of no‐till and a winter rye cover crop on nitrate losses from tile‐drained row‐crop agriculture in Iowa
Authors: Waring Emily R , Lagzdins Ainis , Pederson Carl , Helmers Matthew J.
Published: January 2020

Artificial subsurface drainage is necessary to maintain agricultural production in the soils and climate of north‐central Iowa. However, it can result in adverse environmental impacts, because it intercepts and diverts some water and soluble NO3–N directly to streams. We investigated the impact of no‐till and a winter rye cover crop (Secale cereale L.) on seasonal and annual NO3–N concentration and loading in leachate from a corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation. The eight treatments are chisel plow (CT), chisel plow with winter cereal rye (CTr), no‐till (NT), and no‐till with winter cereal rye (NTr), with “‐C” indicating corn and “‐S” indicating soybeans. Plots with artificial subsurface drainage were monitored for water quality from 2011 to 2015. The NT and CTr treatments consistently decreased NO3–N loss on the seasonal and annual scales compared with CT. Compared with NT, NTr did not reduce NO3–N loading nor concentration in leachate, probably because of low NO3 leaching potential from NT combined with low rye cover crop biomass throughout the study with NT. The 5‐yr average annual NO3–N concentrations were: 16.9 mg L−1 with CT‐S, 16.7 mg L−1 with CT‐C, 12.6 mg L−1 with NT‐S, 12.0 mg L−1 with CTr‐S, 11.8 mg L−1 with CTr‐C, 11.4 mg L−1 with NTr‐S and NTr‐C, and 11.1 mg L−1 with NT‐C. Overall, both no‐till and a cover crop showed potential for improving N management for water quality.
Editorial on “Head‐to‐Head Comparison of PI‐RADS Version 2 and 2.1 in Transition Zone Lesions for Detection of Prostate Cancer”
Authors: An Julie Y. , Fowler Kathryn J.
Published: January 2020

Level of Evidence

5

Technical Efficacy

Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;52:587–588.
Micro Raman spectroscopy for NETosis detection
Authors: Arzumanyan G.M. , Gur'ev A.S. , Kravtsunova D.E. , Mamatkulov K.Z. , Marchenko A.S. , Vereshchagin K.A. , Volkov A.Yu.
Published: January 2020

Over the past few years, Raman spectroscopy has become a powerful diagnostic tool in the life sciences. The present work is devoted to the application of Raman microspectroscopy for distinction of neutrophils transformed during NETosis and the quantitative determination of the level of their transformation based on the analysis of the neutrophil Raman spectra acquired from the samples of human blood at different levels of transformation. NETosis is a process of the programmed neutrophil cell death involved in the development of many diseases, including those associated with high mortality. Our goal was to search for possible spectral markers in neutrophil Raman spectra, caused precisely by NETotic transformation of neutrophils. The results of the work were (a) obtaining of neutrophil Raman spectra at different levels of cell transformation; (b) creation of spectral archetypes of neutrophils (as a “representative” Raman spectrum for spectra group) with a given level of cell transformation; (c) detection of statistically significant differences in the spectral archetypes of the neutrophil Raman spectra at different levels of transformation.
Impact of varying agrometeorological indices on peel color and composition of Kinnow fruit (Citrus nobilis Lour x Citrus deliciosa Tenora) grown at different ecological zones
Authors: Nawaz Rab , Abbasi Nadeem A , Hafiz Ishfaq A , Khalid Azeem
Published: January 2020

Background

Kinnow orchards were selected in different ecological zones in districts Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh (TTS) and Vehari of the Punjab province, Pakistan. Three biological replicates in block form were applied by using analysis of variance techniques to assess varying agrometeorological indices impact on fruit color‐development and peel composition.

Results

Fruit samples were randomly collected on each month's end starting from August up to February. Chromameter was used for measuring coloring parameters and its values a*, b*, C* and L* were increased from August till February with a rapid elevation started at color‐break stage, while hue angle (h*) rotated from 120° to 60° of portraying green to yellow shade. An increasing level of chlorophyll contents were noted in August till color‐break at the end of October and then diminished afterwards. Whereas, carotenoids increased rapidly upon yellow tinting peel of Kinnow fruits till fully attained deep orange color at the end of February. Ascorbic acid content and total phenolic content (TPC) showed a decreasing trend whereas anthocyanins and antioxidant activity were increased from August to February, with unchanged flavonoids and flavonols level. Fruit firmness was gradually reduced till color‐break with rapid reduction noted subsequently. Maturity index represented internal ripening directly increased with color‐development.

Conclusion

Color development has directly influenced on maturity index and both were increased rapidly after color‐break to afterwards. More color development with rapid reduction in chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and TPC level were seen in warm districts namely TTS and Vehari after color‐break stage due to accumulating more agrometeorological indices. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Enzymatic degradation of ginkgolic acid by laccase immobilized on novel electrospun nanofiber mat
Authors: Chen Hung‐Yueh , Cheng Kuan‐Chen , Hsu Ren‐Jun , Hsieh Chang‐Wei , Wang Hsueh‐Ting , Ting Yuwen
Published: January 2020

BACKGROUND

Ginkgo biloba leaf extract contains many active ingredients that are beneficial for health. However, ginkgolic acid, one of the major components found in G. biloba extract, may cause serious allergic and toxic side effects. The purpose of this study is to immobilize the laccase system on the electrospun nylon fiber mat (NFM) to hydrolyze the ginkgolic acid in G. biloba leaf extract efficiently.

RESULTS

Novel electrospinning technology successfully produced high‐quality nanoscopic fiber mats made of a mixture of multi‐walled carbon nanotube and nylon 6,6. Laccase that was immobilized onto the NFM exhibited much higher efficiency in the catalyzation of 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) than nylon 6,6 pellets. After being immobilized onto the NFM, the pH and temperature stability of laccase were significantly improved. The NFM‐immobilized laccase could maintain more than 50% of its original activity even after 40 days of storage or 10 operational cycles. The kinetic parameters, including rate constant (K), the time (τ50) in which 50% of ginkgolic acid hydrolysis was reached, the time (τcomplete) required to achieve complete ginkgolic acid hydrolysis, Km and Vmax were determined, and were 0.07 ± 0.01 min−1, 8.97 ± 0.55 min, 45.45 ± 2.79 min, 0.51 ± 0.09 mM and 0.49 ± 0.03 mM min−1 mg−1, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The result successfully demonstrated the strong potential of using novel electrospun nanofiber mats as enzyme immobilization platforms, which could significantly enhance enzyme activity and stability. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Exudate gums: chemistry, properties and food applications – a review
Authors: Barak Sheweta , Mudgil Deepak , Taneja Shelly
Published: January 2020

Gums are complex carbohydrate molecules which have the ability to bind water and form gels at low concentration. These carbohydrates are often associated with proteins and minerals in their structure. Gums are of various types such as seed gums, exudate gums, microbial gums, mucilage gums, seaweeds gums, etc. Exudate gums are plant gums which ooze out from bark as a result of a protection mechanism upon injury. Exudate gums have been used by humans since ancient times for various applications due to their easy availability. The main characteristics which make them fit for use in various applications are viscosity, adhesive property, stabilization effect, emulsification action and surface‐active property. Major applications of these gums are in food products, the paper, textile, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, oil‐well drilling, etc. In the present paper, the chemistry, properties, processing and applications of commercially available exudate gums such as acacia gum or gum arabic, karaya gum, ghatti gum and tragacanth gum are discussed. Recent literature reveals that apart from the above mentioned applications, these gums also have nutritional properties which are being explored. Other gums cannot replace them because of their certain unique characteristics. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Application of condensed molasses fermentation solubles and lactic acid bacteria in corn silage production
Authors: Chen Shiau‐Wei , Chang Yu‐Yi , Huang Hsin‐Yu , Kuo Shu‐Ming , Wang Han‐Tsung
Published: January 2020

Background

The aim of this study is to investigate the application of two lactic acid bacteria and dry condensed molasses fermentation solubles (CMS) in the making and preservation of corn silage. Forage corn materials are divided into eight treatment groups as follows: (i) control, (ii) B2 (Lactobacillus plantarum B2, 1 × 109 cfu kg−1), (iii) LAS (Lactobacillus buchneri 40788, 3 × 108 cfu kg−1), (iv) B2 + LAS, (v) CMS (35 g kg−1, fresh weight), (vi) B2 + CMS, (vii) LAS + CMS and (viii) B2 + LAS + CMS. The silage composition and aerobic stability are determined after ensiling for 90 days. Furthermore, the digestibility of the silage product and gas production are evaluated using a trotro digestion procedure.

Results

The assay results indicate that the CMS supplementation and B2 inoculation significantly increased lactic acid concentration (P < 0.01). However, they also reduced the content of acetic acid and silage pH at the initial fermentation stage. The CMS supplemented with B2 (B2 + CMS) showed an improvement in the quality of silage, but a significant decrease in aerobic stability (P < 0.01). The B2 + LAS + CMS treatment yielded an increase in acetic acid production during the late fermentation period and is able to extend the aerobic stability of corn silage. Furthermore, this study shows that CMS supplementation alone can significantly improve the digestibility of the in vitro dry matter (P < 0.01) and the microbial protein synthesis efficiency (P = 0.01). In addition, the CMS supplementation is beneficial for enhancing the aerobic stability of corn silage.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the combination of CMS supplementation and a suitable inoculation lactic acid bacterial strain can be highly promising for enhancing the higher quality and stability of corn silage. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Advocates to host Capitol Hill event with attention to MH, addiction policy
Authors: Canady Valerie A.
Published: January 2020

Prioritizing various initiatives and resources to address increases in drug overdoses and suicides, and developing an agenda calling for federal resources behind mental health and addiction policies and programs, will set the stage this week for bringing together policymakers, health care professionals and advocates to address this country's mental health crisis. The Kennedy Forum is hosting an event on Feb. 6 on Capitol Hill titled “Agenda for Change: Unite. Connect. Act.”
A Machine Learning Approach for Drug‐target Interaction Prediction using Wrapper Feature Selection and Class Balancing
Authors: Redkar Shweta , Mondal Sukanta , Joseph Alex , Hareesha K. S.
Published: January 2020

Drug‐Target interaction (DTI) plays a crucial role in drug discovery, drug repositioning and understanding the drug side effects which helps to identify new therapeutic profiles for various diseases. However, the exponential growth in the genomic and drugs data makes it difficult to identify the new associations between drugs and targets. Therefore, we use computational methods as it helps in accelerating the DTI identification process. Usually, available data driven sources consisting of known DTI is used to train the classifier to predict the new DTIs. Such datasets often face the problem of class imbalance. Therefore, in this study we address two challenges faced by such datasets,i. e., class imbalance and high dimensionality to develop a predictive model for DTI prediction. The study is carried out on four protein classes namely Enzyme, Ion Channel, G Protein‐Coupled Receptor (GPCR) and Nuclear Receptor. We encoded the target protein sequence using the dipeptide composition and drug with a molecular descriptor. A machine learning approach is employed to predict the DTI using wrapper feature selection and synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE). The ensemble approach achieved at the best an accuracy of 95.9 %, 93.4 %, 90.8 % and 90.6 % and 96.3 %, 92.8 %, 90.1 %, and 90.2 % of precision on Enzyme, Ion Channel, GPCR and Nuclear Receptor datasets, respectively, when evaluated excluding SMOTE samples with 10‐fold cross validation. Furthermore, our method could predict new drug‐target interactions not contained in training dataset. Selected features using wrapper feature selection may be important to understand the DTI for the protein categories under this study. Based on our evaluation, the proposed method can be used for understanding and identifying new drug‐target interactions. We provide the readers with a standalone package available at https://github.com/shwetagithub1/predDTI which will be able to provide the DTI predictions to user for new query DTI pairs.
In vivo MRS measurement of 2‐hydroxyglutarate in patient‐derived IDH‐mutant xenograft mouse models versus glioma patients
Authors: Tiwari Vivek , Mashimo Tomoyuki , An Zhongxu , Vemireddy Vamsidhara , Piccirillo Sara , Askari Pegah , Hulsey Keith M. , Zhang Shanrong , de Graaf Robin A. , Patel Toral R. , Pan Edward , Mickey Bruce E. , Maher Elizabeth A. , Bachoo Robert M. , Choi Changho
Published: January 2020

Purpose

To generate a preclinical model of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutant gliomas from glioma patients and design a MRS method to test the compatibility of 2‐hydroxyglutarate (2HG) production between the preclinical model and patients.

Methods

Five patient‐derived xenograft (PDX) mice were generated from two glioma patients with IDH1 R132H mutation. A PRESS sequence was tailored at 9.4 T, with computer simulation and phantom analyses, for improving 2HG detection in mice. 2HG and other metabolites in the PDX mice were measured using the optimized MRS at 9.4 T and compared with 3 T MRS measurements of the metabolites in the parental‐tumor patients. Spectral fitting was performed with LCModel using in‐house basis spectra. Metabolite levels were quantified with reference to water.

Results

The PRESS TE was optimized to be 96 ms, at which the 2HG 2.25 ppm signal was narrow and inverted, thereby leading to unequivocal separation of the 2HG resonance from adjacent signals from other metabolites. The optimized MRS provided precise detection of 2HG in mice compared to short‐TE MRS at 9.4 T. The 2HG estimates in PDX mice were in excellent agreement with the 2HG measurements in the patients.

Conclusion

The similarity of 2HG production between PDX models and parental‐tumor patients indicates that PDX tumors retain the parental IDH metabolic fingerprint and can serve as a preclinical model for improving our understanding of the IDH‐mutation associated metabolic reprogramming.
Fractional Chebyshev functional link neural network‐optimization method for solving delay fractional optimal control problems with Atangana‐Baleanu derivative
Authors: Kheyrinataj Farzaneh , Nazemi Alireza
Published: January 2020

In this article, we propose a higher order neural network, namely the functional link neural network (FLNN), for the model of linear and nonlinear delay fractional optimal control problems (DFOCPs) with mixed control‐state constraints. We consider DFOCPs using a new fractional derivative with nonlocal and nonsingular kernel that was recently proposed by Atangana and Baleanu. The derivative possesses more important characteristics that are very useful in modelling. In the proposed method, a fractional Chebyshev FLNN is developed. At the first step, the delay problem is transformed to a nondelay problem, using a Padé approximation. The necessary optimality condition is stated in a form of fractional two‐point boundary value problem. By applying the fractional integration by parts and by constructing an error function, we then define an unconstrained minimization problem. In the optimization problem, trial solutions for state, co‐state and control functions are utilized where these trial solutions are constructed by using single‐layer fractional Chebyshev neural network model. We then minimize the error function using an unconstrained optimization scheme based on the gradient descent algorithm for updating the network parameters (weights and bias) associated with all neurons. To show the effectiveness of the proposed neural network, some numerical results are provided.
Macrophage subsets in atherosclerosis as defined by single‐cell technologies
Authors: Willemsen Lisa , de Winther Menno PJ
Published: January 2020

Macrophages play a major role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Many studies have shone light on the different phenotypes and functions that macrophages can acquire upon exposure to local cues. The microenvironment of the atherosclerotic plaque contains a plethora of macrophage‐controlling factors, such as cytokines, oxidised low‐density lipoproteins and cell debris. Previous research has determined macrophage function within the plaque mainly by using immunohistochemistry and bulk analysis. The recent development and rapid progress of single‐cell technologies, such as cytometry by time of flight and single‐cell RNA sequencing, now enable comprehensive mapping of the wide range of cell types and their phenotypes present in atherosclerotic plaques. In this review we discuss recent advances applying these technologies in defining macrophage subsets residing in the atherosclerotic arterial wall of mice and men. Resulting from these studies, we describe three main macrophage subsets: resident‐like, pro‐inflammatory and anti‐inflammatory foamy TREM2hi macrophages, which are found in both mouse and human atherosclerotic plaques. Furthermore, we discuss macrophage subset‐specific markers and functions. More insights into the characteristics and phenotype of immune cells within the atherosclerotic plaque may guide future clinical approaches to treat disease. © 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Prenatal diagnosis and clinical significance of cephalocele—A single institution experience and literature review
Authors: Dąbkowska Sylwia , Kucińska‐Chahwan Anna , Beneturska Anna , Ilnicka Alicja , Nowakowska Beata , Panek Grzegorz , Roszkowski Tomasz , Bijok Julia
Published: January 2020

Objectives

To determine the frequency of genetic and additional structural abnormalities as well as pregnancy outcomes in fetuses with prenatally diagnosed cephalocele.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of data retrieved from ultrasound examinations and genetic testing in fetuses with cephalocele diagnosed between 2006 and 2018 in a tertiary referral hospital along with a systematic literature search in the PubMed database on fetuses with prenatally diagnosed cephalocele.

Results

Twenty‐one out of 36 fetuses were found to have additional structural anomalies (58.3%). In four fetuses, anomalies were consistent with limb‐body wall complex, in five with Meckel‐Gruber syndrome, and in one with amniotic band syndrome. Genetic abnormalities were present in 11.1% of fetuses (trisomy 6; microdeletion 22q11.21; microduplication 16p13.11; pathogenic variant in gene CC2D2A). Twenty‐eight pregnancies were terminated (77.8%; 28/36); two were miscarried (5.6%; 2/36). All six children from pregnancies that continued were liveborn but only two survived the surgery and developed neurological sequence. Overall survival rate was 25% (2/8) with 0% intact survival.

Conclusions

Additional structural anomalies are common in fetuses with cephalocele. A significant number of fetuses have genetic abnormalities, and a detailed genetic testing should be performed in all cases. The prognosis is poor with high mortality rate and 0% intact survival.
Finding 10% hidden electricity in crystalline Si solar cells using PDMS coating and three‐dimensional cell arrays
Authors: Yun Min Ju , Sim Yeon Hyang , Cha Seung I. , Lee Dong Yoon
Published: January 2020

Over the decades, solar cells have been developed to achieve higher energy conversion efficiency. However, the fabrication of modules has resulted in electricity production loss, but this has not attracted as much attention as the solar cells. As a result, the improved performance of solar cells has not been fully revealed at the panel scale. Furthermore, the standard testing conditions, such as 1 sun, AM1.5, which is very strong incident light, does not fully reflect the electricity production capabilities of solar panels because of performance degradation under oblique and weak illumination. Simple modification of the module fabrication process, including poly‐dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coatings and three‐dimensional (3‐D) structured modules by one‐directional angled arrays of each cell, has revealed 13.4% extra hidden electricity in solar panels with some types of crystalline silicon (Si)‐based solar cells through high transmission to short wavelength light, recapture of the light reflected from Si solar cell surface textures by the PDMS coating and enhanced power production under oblique incident light or scattered light through a 3‐D module. Further studies to find hidden electricity should be followed by the development of solar cell device structures to improve electricity production, rather than being restricted to optimizing energy conversion efficiency.
Metal–Drug–Protein Assemblies: Gd3+ Self‐Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging, High‐Sensitive Tumor‐Targeting Imaging and Efficient Chemo‐Phototherapy
Authors: Zhou Jia , Li Tianliang , Zhang Yiran , Xu Xiaoyu , Zhang Chunlei , Li Yuehua , Cui Daxiang , Cheng Yingsheng
Published: January 2020

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents are broadly employed for better clinical trials in MR imaging. Magnevist solution (Gd‐DTPA), a clinical MRI contrast agent, possesses inherent shortcomings like poor r1 relaxation, short half‐time, nephrotoxicity, etc. To overcome these problems, Gd‐DTPA‐grafted protein assemblies (Gd‐P‐ABs) loading with anticancer drug cisplatin and photosentizer IR‐780 are constructed via chelation of Gd3+. Gd‐P‐ABs exhibit dual MR/fluorescence (FL) imaging–guided chemo/photothermal therapy. Interestingly, Gd‐P‐ABs behave as aggregation‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging with an extremely high r1 value of 26.391 s−1 mm−1, which is about 5.5‐fold larger than Gd‐DTPA (≈4.8 s−1 mm−1). Consequently, better MRI performance is presented with the same concentration of Gd ions. When exposed to acidic tumor microenvironment and light irradiation, Gd‐P‐ABs show significant drug release capacity. Good cell killing ability in vitro is also determined due to effective folate‐targeting ability and high photo–heat conversion. In vivo MR/FL imaging results reveal that Gd‐P‐ABs possess high‐sensitivity tumor‐targeting imaging and long tumor retention, which are attributed to the folate‐targeting ability and small size effect. Combined chemo/photothermal therapy in vivo demonstrates that the tumor can be eventually ablated. Altogether, the Gd‐P‐ABs possess great potential for clinical imaging‐guided tumor therapy.
Picturing translocal youth: Self‐portraits of young Syrian refugees and young people of diverse African heritages in South‐East England
Authors: Evans Ruth
Published: January 2020

Young refugees and diasporic youth often have multiply located senses of self. Using a creative visual methodology, recently arrived young Syrian refugees and young people of diverse African heritages born in the United Kingdom (aged 16–20) produced digital self‐portraits to express their translocal subjectivities. Young Syrians represented themselves as “bilingual becomings”; learning English occupied their minds and was key to their imagined futures, but their hearts were often associated with the homeland they had lost. In contrast, speaking English was sometimes taken for granted in the art work produced by young people of African heritages, which portrayed hybrid, multilingual selves and translocal relationality. Both groups embraced signifiers of national, religious, and cultural identity but through their silences and omissions, dis‐identified with exclusionary notions of “Britishness,” nationhood, and citizenship. Their self‐representations provide hopeful counter‐narratives to hegemonic sociopolitical discourses that position “Black African” youth and Muslim young men as a “threat” and “illegitimate” citizens.
Sample size estimation for stratified individual and cluster randomized trials with binary outcomes
Authors: Kennedy‐Shaffer Lee , Hughes Michael D.
Published: January 2020

Individual randomized trials (IRTs) and cluster randomized trials (CRTs) with binary outcomes arise in a variety of settings and are often analyzed by logistic regression (fitted using generalized estimating equations for CRTs). The effect of stratification on the required sample size is less well understood for trials with binary outcomes than for continuous outcomes. We propose easy‐to‐use methods for sample size estimation for stratified IRTs and CRTs and demonstrate the use of these methods for a tuberculosis prevention CRT currently being planned. For both IRTs and CRTs, we also identify the ratio of the sample size for a stratified trial vs a comparably powered unstratified trial, allowing investigators to evaluate how stratification will affect the required sample size when planning a trial. For CRTs, these can be used when the investigator has estimates of the within‐stratum intracluster correlation coefficients (ICCs) or by assuming a common within‐stratum ICC. Using these methods, we describe scenarios where stratification may have a practically important impact on the required sample size. We find that in the two‐stratum case, for both IRTs and for CRTs with very small cluster sizes, there are unlikely to be plausible scenarios in which an important sample size reduction is achieved when the overall probability of a subject experiencing the event of interest is low. When the probability of events is not small, or when cluster sizes are large, however, there are scenarios where practically important reductions in sample size result from stratification.
Injectable Cardiac Cell Microdroplets for Tissue Regeneration
Authors: Gal Idan , Edri Reuven , Noor Nadav , Rotenberg Matan , Namestnikov Michael , Cabilly Itai , Shapira Assaf , Dvir Tal
Published: January 2020

One of the strategies for heart regeneration includes cell delivery to the defected heart. However, most of the injected cells do not form quick cell–cell or cell–matrix interactions, therefore, their ability to engraft at the desired site and improve heart function is poor. Here, the use of a microfluidic system is reported for generating personalized hydrogel‐based cellular microdroplets for cardiac cell delivery. To evaluate the system's limitations, a mathematical model of oxygen diffusion and consumption within the droplet is developed. Following, the microfluidic system's parameters are optimized and cardiac cells from neonatal rats or induced pluripotent stem cells are encapsulated. The morphology and cardiac specific markers are assessed and cell function within the droplets is analyzed. Finally, the cellular droplets are injected to mouse gastrocnemius muscle to validate cell retention, survival, and maturation within the host tissue. These results demonstrate the potential of this approach to generate personalized cellular microtissues, which can be injected to distinct regions in the body for treating damaged tissues.
Intelligent Nanocomposites with Intrinsic Blood–Brain‐Barrier Crossing Ability Designed for Highly Specific MR Imaging and Sonodynamic Therapy of Glioblastoma
Authors: Liang Kaicheng , Li Zhicong , Luo Yu , Zhang Qiuhong , Yin Fangfang , Xu Leijing , Chen Hangrong , Wang Han
Published: January 2020

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is the most important obstacle to improving the clinical outcomes of diagnosis and therapy of glioblastoma. Thus, the development of a novel nanoplatform that can efficiently traverse the BBB and achieve both precise diagnosis and therapy is of great importance. Herein, an intelligent nanoplatform based on holo‐transferrin (holo‐Tf) with in situ growth of MnO2 nanocrystals is constructed via a reformative mild biomineralization process. Furthermore, protoporphyrin (ppIX), acting as a sonosensitizer, is then conjugated into holo‐Tf to obtain MnO2@Tf‐ppIX nanoparticles (TMP). Because of the functional inheritance of holo‐Tf during fabrication, TMP can effectively traverse the BBB for highly specific magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of orthotopic glioblastoma. Clear suppression of tumor growth in a C6 tumor xenograft model is achieved via sonodynamic therapy. Importantly, the experiments also indicate that the TMP nanoplatform has satisfactory biocompatibility and biosafety, which favors potential clinical translation.
A hybrid DevOps process supporting software reuse: A pilot project
Authors: Ali Nazakat , Daneth Horn , Hong Jang‐Eui
Published: January 2020

Large software development organizations manage reusable software components through a reusable software repository in order to reduce development time and cost and to improve software quality and productivity. This paper presents a hybrid DevOps process with a systematic reuse‐based software development and management process to reduce the effort and cost required for the rework and to increase productivity. The proposed approach promotes the systematic reuse of software components based on both information retrieval and ontology‐based retrieval techniques. The reusable assets are presented in different styles to ease and support the reuse process with fine‐grained reusable artifacts. To evaluate our proposed process, a pilot project, aiming to monitor the health of a patient, was developed and monitored the reuse activities throughout the whole experiment. The results revealed that our proposed process got an average gain of 35.2% in terms of developed function points by reusing 30.63% of reusable artifacts available in the reuse repository.
Neuroanatomical and neurosensorial analysis of the Late Cretaceous basal eusuchian Agaresuchus fontisensis (Cuenca, Spain)
Authors: Serrano‐Martínez Alejandro , Knoll Fabien , Narváez Iván , Lautenschlager Stephan , Ortega Francisco
Published: January 2020

Agaresuchus fontisensis is an allodaposuchid crocodile from the Campanian–Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). Allodaposuchidae is a clade of European basal eusuchians, which is considered a part of the stem group of Crocodylia. The holotype and paratype skulls of Agaresuchus fontisensis were scanned on computed tomography and their internal cavities, including those of the brain, nerves and blood vessels, as well as the paratympanic sinus system and the paranasal sinuses, digitally reconstructed. The cranial endocast and pneumatic sinuses were then compared with those of other crocodyliforms. The neuroanatomy of Agaresuchus fontisensis resembles those of other mesoeucrocodylians, sharing some morphological traits with extant crocodiles. The neurosensorial and cognitive capabilities inferred from the inner skull cavity reconstructions of Agaresuchus fontisensis are similar to those of other eusuchians. The olfactory acuity of Agaresuchus fontisensis is low by crocodylian standards, closer to that of the alligatoroids rather than to that of the crocodyloids. Its visual acuity is similar to that of Lohuecosuchus megadontos, a sympatric allodaposuchid also found in the fossil site of Lo Hueco.
Global weak solutions to a Vlasov‐Fokker‐Planck/compressible non‐Newtonian fluid system of equations
Authors: Zhu Huan , Fang Li , Muhammad Jan , Guo Zhenhua
Published: January 2020

This article is devoted to a coupled microscopic/macroscopic model describing the evolution of particles dispersed in a fluid. The system consists in a Vlasov‐Fokker‐Planck equation to describe the microscopic motion of the particles coupled to the equations for a compressible non‐Newtonian fluid. An initial‐boundary value problem is studied in a bounded domain with the divergence of the velocity field keeping bounded. The existence of global weak solution is established through an approximation scheme, a fixed point argument, the lower semi‐continuity of monotone operators, energy estimates and the principle of compensated compactness.
Large elastic deflections of bars based on nonlocal elasticity
Authors: Güçlü Gökhan , Artan Reha
Published: January 2020

In this study, large elastic deflections of beams have been investigated using the theory of nonlocal elasticity. Fundamental equations have been derived for large elastic deflections and small strains in the frame of nonlocal elasticity and the solution has been made by the perturbation method. It has been observed that the difference between large elastic local and non‐local deflections and moments grows significantly as the ratio increases (γ is nonlocality parameter, L is length of beam).
Assessment of DNA damage by 53PB1 and pKu70 detection in peripheral blood lymphocytes by immunofluorescence and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy
Authors: Lorat Yvonne , Fleckenstein Jochen , Görlinger Patric , Rübe Christian , Rübe Claudia E.
Published: January 2020

Purpose

53BP1 foci detection in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) by immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM) is a sensitive and quantifiable DNA double-strand break (DSB) marker. In addition, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with immunogold labeling of 53BP1 and DSB-bound phosphorylated Ku70 (pKu70) can be used to determine the progression of the DNA repair process. To establish this TEM method in the PBLs of patients with cancer, we analyzed and characterized whether different modes of irradiation influence the formation of DSBs, and whether accompanying chemotherapy influences DSB formation.

Methods

We obtained 86 blood samples before and 0.1, 0.5, and 24 h after irradiation from patients (n = 9) with head and neck or rectal cancers receiving radiotherapy (RT;n = 4) or radiochemotherapy (RCT;n = 5). 53BP1 foci were quantified by IFM. In addition, TEM was used to quantify gold-labelled pKu70 dimers and 53BP1 clusters within euchromatin and heterochromatin of PBLs.

Results

IFM analyses showed that during radiation therapy, persistent 53BP1 foci in PBLs accumulated with increasing numbers of administered RT fractions. This 53BP1 foci accumulation was not influenced by the irradiation technique applied (3D conformal radiotherapy versus intensity-modulated radiotherapy), dose intensity per fraction, number of irradiation fields, or isodose volume. However, more 53BP1 foci were detected in PBLs of patients treated with accompanying chemotherapy. TEM analyses showed that DSBs, indicated by pKu70, were present for longer periods in PBLs of RCT patients than in PBLs of RT only patients. Moreover, not every residual 53BP1 focus was equivalent to a remaining DSB, since pKu70 was not present at every damage site. Persistent 53BP1 clusters, visualized by TEM, without colocalizing pKu70 likely indicate chromatin alterations after repair completion or, possibly, defective repair.

Conclusion

IFM 53BP1 foci analyses alone are not adequate to determine individual repair capacity after irradiation of PBLs, as a DSB may be indicated by a 53BP1 focus but not every 53BP1 focus represents a DSB.
Migration as climate adaptation? Exploring discourses amongst development actors in the Pacific Island region
Authors: Remling Elise
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates the perspectives of a set of actors devoted to development in the Pacific on climate change, migration, and adaptation. While much of the debate over climate and migration is centred around the Small Island Developing States in the Pacific, little is known about how the debate is articulated at that regional level. Drawing on poststructuralist discourse theory and using semi-structured interviews with a set of development actors working in the region, the paper discerns three distinctive discourses on climate and migration. These are (1) a main discourse that promotes international labour migration as an adaptation response and two alternative discourses that challenge the main discourse’s views, by suggesting (2) that migration is of marginal importance and engagement with socio-economic factors that influence Pacific Islands' vulnerability is more pressing, and (3) that out-migration is undesirable but that communities may have to be relocated within their countries. The paper further explores why the discourse on labour migration may have emerged and why it is being perpetuated by actors that originate outside the Pacific region. The paper concludes by suggesting that significant differentials in economic and political resources exist between the main discourse and the alternative discourses. In addition to these empirical insights, the paper adds new findings to the growing literature on the politics of climate migration discourses. Unlike earlier work that identifies a shift from an alarmist to an optimist framing, it illustrates that both alarmist and optimistic imaginaries operate simultaneously in the discourse on labour migration.
How Do Companies Respond to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy
Authors: Clementino Ester , Perkins Richard
Published: January 2020

While a growing number of firms are being evaluated on environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria by sustainability rating agencies (SRAs), comparatively little is known about companies’ responses. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with companies operating in Italy, the present paper seeks to narrow this gap in current understanding by examining how firms react to ESG ratings, and the factors influencing their response. Unique to the literature, we show that firms may react very differently to being rated, with our analysis yielding a fourfold typology of corporate responses. The typology captures conformity and resistance to ratings across two dimensions of firm behaviour. We furthermore show that corporate responses depend on managers’ beliefs regarding the material benefits of adjusting to and scoring well on ESG ratings and their alignment with corporate strategy. In doing so, we challenge the idea that organisational ratings homogenise organisations and draw attention to the agency underlying corporate responses. Our findings also contribute to debates about the impact of ESG ratings, calling into question claims about their positive influence on companies’ sustainability performance. We conclude by discussing the wider empirical, theoretical and ethical implications of our paper.
Dynamic adaptive mesh optimisation for immiscible viscous fingering
Authors: Kampitsis A. E. , Adam A. , Salinas P. , Pain C. C. , Muggeridge A. H. , Jackson M. D.
Published: January 2020

Immiscible fingering is challenging to model since it requires a very fine mesh for the numerical method to capture the interaction of the shock front with the capillary pressure. This can result in computationally intensive simulations if a fixed mesh is used. We apply a higher order conservative dynamic adaptive mesh optimisation (DAMO) technique, to model immiscible viscous fingering in porous media. We show that the approach accurately captures the development and growth of the interfacial instability. Convergence is demonstrated under grid refinement with capillary pressure for both a fixed unstructured mesh and with DAMO. Using DAMO leads to significantly reduced computational cost compared to the equivalent fixed mesh simulations. We also present the late-time response of viscous fingers through numerical examples in a 2D rectangular domain and in a 3D cylindrical geometry. Both problems are computationally challenging in the absence of DAMO. The dynamic adaptive problem requires up to 36 times fewer elements than the prohibitively expensive fixed mesh solution, with the computational cost reduced accordingly.
Dynamic models of axially moving systems: A review
Authors: Pham Phuong-Tung , Hong Keum-Shik
Published: January 2020

In this paper, a detailed review on the dynamics of axially moving systems is presented. Over the past 60 years, vibration control of axially moving systems has attracted considerable attention owing to the board applications including continuous material processing, roll-to-roll systems, flexible electronics, etc. Depending on the system’s flexibility and geometric parameters, axially moving systems can be categorized into four models: String, beam, belt, and plate models. We first derive a total of 33 partial differential equation (PDE) models for axially moving systems appearing in various fields. The methods to approximate the PDEs to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are discussed; then, approximated ODE models are summarized. Also, the techniques (analytical, numerical) to solve both the PDE and ODE models are presented. The dynamic analyses including the divergence and flutter instabilities, bifurcation, and chaos are outlined. Lastly, future research directions to enhance the technologies in this field are also proposed. Considering that a continuous manufacturing process of composite and layered materials is more demanding recently, this paper will provide a guideline to select a proper mathematical model and to analyze the dynamics of the process in advance.