bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Green synthesis of p-Co3O4/n-ZnO composite catalyst with Eichhornia Crassipes plant extract mediated for methylene blue degradation under visible light irradiation
Authors: Aragaw Setegn Geta , Sabir Fedlu Kedir , Andoshe Dinsefa Mensur , Zelekew Osman Ahmed
Published: September 2020

The water pollution due to industrial effluents causes a great health problem. Hence, it is important to treat wastewater before discharging to the environment. In this work, water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) plant extract mediated ZnO, CO3O4, and p-CO3O4/n-ZnO composite catalysts were synthesized by green co-precipitation routes. The resulting samples were characterized by x-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fortier transform infrared (FT-IR), and with other instruments. The catalytic activities of ZnO, Co3O4, and Co3O4/ZnO were tested for MB dye degradation under visible light irradiation. The catalytic degradation of MB with p-CO3O4/n-ZnO composite catalyst was 95.5%; while 72% and 79% of MB dye was degraded by ZnO and Co3O4 catalysts, respectively. The kinetic rate constants (k) in the degradation of MB dye with ZnO, Co3O4, and p-CO3O4/n-ZnO composite catalysts were also 0.014 min−1, 0.018 min−1, and 0.028 min−1, respectively. The results showed that the presence of plant extract during the synthesis of the catalysts makes the catalyst more active and enhances the catalytic performances. Moreover, the formation of p-n junction in the p-CO3O4/n-ZnO catalyst also facilitates the photogenerated electron–hole separation and further enhances the catalytic efficiency. Hence, the formation of p-n junction is the key factor for enhancing the photodegradation of MB dye under visible light irradiation and the plant extract mediated catalyst synthesis also further improves its performance.
The uncertainty of thyroid dose estimate in chest CT
Authors: Al-Senan R , Brown K , Erdman M , King S
Published: September 2020

Dose to the thyroid from helical chest CT can vary significantly due to the random tube start point, pitch factor, thyroid position relative to the isocenter, and beam width. We used optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) and an adult anthropomorphic phantom to investigate the uncertainty of thyroid dose estimate. Maximum gap or overlap in the helical beam was estimated using the above factors. Using the maximum gap/overlap over the thyroid, different possible scenarios were simulated and the degree of missed thyroid tissue by the primary beam was estimated. Results showed a variation of >30% in the average thyroid dose, and >50% if a single dosimeter was used to determine dose to the thyroid. Furthermore, measured doses were compared to those calculated by Monte Carlo simulation software, which automatically matches the anatomy of the localizer radiograph with the stylized computational phantom used for dose calculation. The difference was significant: the dose given by the Monte Carlo software was ∼50% lower than the average dose measured with the phantom in all three chest protocols. In addition, the software does not take the effect of the random tube start angle into account.
Laser induced graphene on phenolic resin and alcohol composite sheet for flexible electronics applications
Authors: Kothuru Avinash , Goel Sanket
Published: September 2020

Harnessing Laser-induced graphene (LIG) on various substrates, its optimization and application for various electronic devices has increased in the recent years. LIG has been reported as an alternative process for the realization of graphene for flexible electronics with excellent strength, conductivity and mechanical robustness. However, in a single-step manufacturing process, the development of a cost-effective, scalable electronic system using LIG is very challenging. In this work, a novel, simple, low-cost, and solid-state approach has been introduced to print and develop LIG-based conductivity traces and patterns. Here, the LIG conductive zones have been formed on various platforms by using phenolic resin (PR). The LIG regions were effectively developed from direct CO2 laser ablation on the PR and polyvinyl alcohol (PR-PVA) composite sheets. This technique makes it possible to easily create highly conductive arrays on various substrates for realizing the components and devices for flexible electronics. By utilizing the augmented power and the speed of CO2 laser, and the ratio of PR-PVA, the optimal conductivity of the formed LIG on PR-PVA sheet has been observed. Unique characteristics of LIG on PR-PVA include simple synthesis process, flexibility, ability to form a thin film with desired conductivity, and cost-effectiveness. The feasibility and viability of the successful LIG on PR-PVA sheet was demonstrated for applications like the capacitive touch sensor and the pressure sensor matrix.
Positional, isotopic mass and force constant disorder in molybdate glasses and their parent metal oxides as observed by neutron diffraction and Compton scattering
Authors: Krzystyniak Matthew , Drużbicki Kacper , Rudić Svemir , Fabian Margit
Published: September 2020

Neutron Compton scattering and neutron diffraction, augmented by ab initio modelling, have been applied for the characterisation of disorder in molybdate glasses, 20MoO3 + 30Nd2O3 + 50B2O3, 40MoO3 + 30Nd2O3 + 30B2O3, and 50MoO3 + 25Nd2O3 + 25B2O3, along with their parent metal oxides, B2O3, MoO3 and Nd2O3. Softening of the atom-projected vibrational densities of states (apVDOSes) was observed for all constituent nuclei in the metal oxide systems, with respect to the ab initio harmonic lattice dynamics predictions. For the oxygen, the mode softening was attributed to force-constant disorder, and for the boron to the isotopic mass disorder. A universal scale of disorder in oxide glasses has been proposed. The scale relies on the assumption that the amount of disorder-induced phonon softening can be bracketed by two extreme situations: (i) a completely disordered system with no confining potential whose momentum distribution is described by the Maxwell-Boltzmann momentum, and (ii) the compositional average of harmonic lattice dynamics predictions for individual metal oxide systems. The highest degree of disorder on this scale was observed for the boron in the molybdate glasses with the highest amount of B2O3. The distributions of total (summed over all nuclei) effective force constants were found to be at least an order of magnitude wider than their counterparts calculated for the parent metal oxide systems, indicating a much greater degree of positional disorder-induced force constant disorder in the molybdate glasses. The sum of all mean effective forces acting on all constituent nuclei in the molybdates was found to be decreasing with the increasing amount of the glass-former B2O3, clearly showing a systematic softening of the structure of the glasses. The biggest contributions to the total average effective mean force in all three molybdates were found for the molybdenum and neodymium.
Glovebox-integrated XES and XAS station for in situ studies in tender x-ray region
Authors: Shakouri Mohsen , Holden William M , Hu Yongfeng , Xiao Qunfeng , Igarashi Ru , Schreiner Bryan , Bree Michael , Li Minsi , Li Weihan , Sun Xueliang , Sham Tsun-Kong
Published: September 2020

X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), as a complementary technique to x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), is powerful in the analysis of the electronic structure of the materials by probing the occupied density of states with high energy resolution. Recently, an XES spectrometer optimized for the tender x-ray region (2–5 keV) was successfully installed into an inert atmosphere glovebox, and the entire system was successfully integrated into the SXRMB (soft x-ray microcharacterization beamline) at the Canadian Light Source. Here, the technical design and the performance of the SXRMB XES-integrated glovebox station is presented. High energy resolution of ∼1 eV or better has been achieved for the spectrometer in the tender energy x-ray ranges. Capability of the station for in-situ XES and XAS measurements is demonstrated using an example of phosphorus phase transformation in phosphorus anodes for lithium-ion battery research.
Comparative electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study in chloride environment of nano-structured bainitic steels prepared by austempering at varied temperatures
Authors: Singh Kritika , Singh Aparna
Published: September 2020

Carbide free nano-bainitic (NSB) steels have a dual phase structure comprising of retained austenite (RA) and bainitic ferrite (BF). The content and morphology RA and BF in NSB steels can be easily modulated by changing the austempering temperature. This results in significant changes in the strength and is expected to influence the corrosion resistance as well. The corrosion behavior of three NSB steel blocks austempered at 250, 300 and 350 °C has been studied in aqueous chloride (3.5 wt% NaCl) environment. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization have been used to investigate the role of austempering temperature on the corrosion response. It is found that the corrosion current density and hence the corrosion rate decreases with a reduction in austempering temperature. Moreover, a reduction in the austempering temperature shifts the corrosion potential towards the nobler side. The EIS studies have shown that the charge transfer resistance gets enhanced for specimens austempered at lower temperatures. This comes with a concomitant lowering in the capacitance of the electrical double layer formed between the steel specimen and electrolyte. Thus, it is possible to achieve a combination of high hardness and corrosion resistance by fabricating the NSB steels at low austempering temperatures.
State of the art: synthesis and characterization of functionalized graphene nanomaterials
Authors: Fraga Tiago José Marques , da Motta Sobrinho Maurício Alves , Carvalho Marilda Nascimento , Ghislandi Marcos Gomes
Published: September 2020

Nanomaterials play nowadays a preponderant role in the field of materials science due to the wide range of applications and synergy with other fields of knowledge. Recently, carbonaceous nanomaterials, most notably bi-dimensional graphene (2D graphene), have been highlighted by their application in several areas: electronics, chemistry, medicine, energy and the environment. The search for new materials has led many researchers to develop new routes of synthesis and the expansion of the current means of production, by the anchoring of other nanomaterials on graphene surface, or by modifications of its hexagon sp2 structure, through the doping of heteroatoms. By adding functional groups to the graphene surface, it is possible to increase its affinity with other materials, such as polymers, magnetic nanoparticles and clays, leading to the formation of new nanocomposites. Several covalent and non-covalent functionalization processes, their advantages and disadvantages with respect to their interactions with other chemical species, are discussed in this review. The characterization of these materials is a sensitive topic, since the insertion of functional groups over the graphene basal plane causes changes in its morphology and the so-called chemistry of surface. In this sense, beyond the classical techniques, such as x-ray Diffraction (XRD), Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), modern characterization techniques of graphene-based nanomaterials are discussed, focusing on those more indicated according to the proposed modifications. A significant attention was driven to environmental applications of functionalized graphenes, specifically in the removal of pollutants from wastewaters.
Robust H-infinity control of two novel MEMS force sensors
Authors: Obilikpa S C
Published: September 2020

This paper presents the design and implementation of a robust H-infinity controller on two novel MEMS force sensors. The novel microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors incorporated a mechanism that permits tuning of the device’s mechanical stiffness and has been used for the characterization of micro-cantilever and biological tissues. To ensure stability and guaranteed performances, certain specifications such as error tracking, command moderation, disturbance rejection, and robustness in presence of uncertainties, were made and the H-infinity control technique was employed to synthesize robust controllers for the two force sensors. Finally, this robust controller, integral, and PID controllers were implemented on the real systems and their performance in closed-loop were compared.
Direct and indirect facilitation affect community productivity through changes in functional diversity in an alpine system
Authors: Wang Xiangtai , Michalet Richard , Meng Lihua , Zhou Xianhui , Chen Shuyan , Du Guozhen , Xiao Sa
Published: September 2020

Background and Aims

Facilitation is an important ecological process for plant community structure and functional composition. Although direct facilitation has accrued most of the evidence so far, indirect facilitation is ubiquitous in nature and it has an enormous potential to explain community structuring. In this study, we assess the effect of direct and indirect facilitation on community productivity via taxonomic and functional diversity.

Methods

In an alpine community on the Tibetan Plateau, we manipulated the presence of the shrub Dasiphora fruticosa and graminoids in a fenced meadow and a grazed meadow to quantify the effects of direct and indirect facilitation. We measured four plant traits: height, lateral spread, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) of forbs; calculated two metrics of functional diversity [range of trait and community-weighted mean (CWM) of trait]; and assessed the responses of functional diversity to shrub facilitation. We used structural equation modelling to explore how shrubs directly and indirectly drove community productivity via taxonomic diversity and functional diversity.

Key Results

We found stronger effects from herbivore-mediated indirect facilitation than direct facilitation on productivity and taxonomic diversity, regardless of the presence of graminoids. For functional diversity, the range and CWM of height and SLA, rather than lateral spread and LDMC, generally increased due to direct and indirect facilitation. Moreover, we found that the range of traits played a primary role over taxonomic diversity and CWM of traits in terms of shrub effects on community productivity.

Conclusions

Our study reveals that the mechanism of shrub direct and indirect facilitation of community productivity in this alpine community is expanding the realized niche (i.e. expanding range of traits). Our findings indicate that facilitators might increase trait dispersion in the local community, which could alleviate the effect of environmental filters on trait values in harsh environments, thereby contributing to ecosystem functioning.
Known-Groups and Convergent Validity of the Telephone Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test total Learning Scores for Distinguishing Between Older Adults With Amnestic Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Cognitive Decline
Authors: Jagtap Shreya , Dawson Deirdre R , Vandermorris Susan , Anderson Nicole D , Davids-Brumer Naomi , Dar Mishal , Bernick Alana , Rotenberg Shlomit
Published: September 2020

Objective

To examine known-groups validity of a telephone administration of the total learning scores of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) in discriminating between people with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and convergent validity of the telephone-RAVLT.

Method

In total, 83 older adults (age = 71.4 ± 7.0) with SCD or aMCI completed the RAVLT learning trials over the telephone and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT) in-person.

Results

Telephone-RAVLT total recall significantly correlated with HVLT total recall (r = .49, p < .001). Significant between group differences were found (effect size = 0.94).

Conclusions

This study provides support for known-groups and convergent validity of the telephone-RAVLT.
Nearby Neighbourhood Influences on Adolescent Offending
Authors: Vogel Matt , Hoeben Evelien M , Bernasco Wim
Published: September 2020

This study extends recent research on the spatial dynamics of neighbourhood disadvantage and youth offending. Data include self-reported offences from 794 Dutch adolescents and the socio-economic status in their residential neighbourhood and the surrounding community. The findings reveal that youth engage in the highest levels of offending when they reside in disadvantaged neighbourhoods surrounded by neighbourhoods characterized by relative affluence. This spatial pattern is attributable to greater temptations to offend, reduced parental monitoring, and more frequent involvement in unstructured activities among youths who live in close proximity to neighbourhoods more affluent than their own. This study highlights the importance of criminogenic opportunities and parental monitoring for understanding the spatial dynamics of neighbourhood disadvantage on offending.
Impaired Fertility in Women With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A National Cohort Study From Sweden
Authors: Druvefors Emma , Landerholm Kalle , Hammar Ulf , Myrelid Pär , Andersson Roland E
Published: September 2020

Background and Aims

Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] has been associated with reduced female fertility. We analyse fertility in a national cohort of women with IBD.

Methods

Fertility was assessed in women with IBD aged 15–44 years in 1964–2014, identified from the Swedish National Patient Register and a matched cohort [ratio 1:5]. Patients with indeterminate colitis or inconsistent IBD coding were classified as IBD-unclassified [IBD-U].

Results

The cohorts included 27 331 women with IBD and 131 892 matched individuals. The fertility rate in IBD was 1.52 (standard deviation [SD] 1.22) births per 1000 person-years and 1.62 [SD 1.28] [p <0.001] in matched individuals. Fertility was impaired in all IBD subtypes compared with the matched cohort (hazard ratio Crohn’s disease [CD] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85–0.91; IBD-U 0.86, 95% CI 0.83–0.89; and ulcerative colitis [UC] 0.96, 95% CI 0.93–0.98). Fertility improved during the study period for the IBD cohort except for CD. Parity progression ratio, the proportion of IBD women progressing from one parity to the next compared with the matched cohort, was decreased at all parity levels for CD and IBD-U, but only for multiparous women in UC. Contraceptive usage was higher in IBD, both before and after the diagnosis. Disease severity, bowel resections, and perianal disease in CD affected fertility negatively.

Conclusions

Fertility was impaired mainly in women with CD and IBD-U, and less so in UC. During the study period, fertility improved in women with UC or IBD-U. Some results suggest a role of voluntarily reduced fertility.
A New League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? The Professionalization of International Law Scholarship in the Netherlands, 1919–1940
Authors: de Waele Henri
Published: September 2020

Despite the historical turn in the study of public international law and the advance of comparative approaches, still too little attention is paid nowadays to specific national traditions. This holds, inter alia, for the scholarly views and practices in the Netherlands during the first half of the 20th century. This article seeks to shed light on the experiences here at the advent of the League of Nations and its tentative ‘new world order’. Offering a meso-level analysis, it portrays the leading protagonists during the 1920s and 1930s, aiming to provide a snapshot of how their discipline and activities underwent an unexpectedly swift professionalization. This process is perceived to have run along three distinct vectors – academic, societal and diplomatic/bureaucratic – which are each examined in turn. Novel opportunities stemming from the rise of the international judiciary, especially the two Permanent Courts established on Dutch soil, are looked at separately. The research delivers a greater insight into the inter-war era and the challenges faced by (academics from) smaller nations, enabling us to situate underexplored local experiences within a global frame, and offering useful lessons for (the writing of) international law history more generally.
Microbial adaptation in vertical soil profiles contaminated by an antimony smelting plant
Authors: Xu Rui , Sun Xiaoxu , Lin Hanzhi , Han Feng , Xiao Enzong , Li Baoqin , Qiu Lang , Song Benru , Yang Zhaohui , Sun Weimin
Published: September 2020

Antimony mining has resulted in considerable pollution to the soil environment. Although studies on antinomy contamination have been conducted, its effects on vertical soil profiles and depth-resolved microbial communities remain unknown. The current study selected three vertical soil profiles (0–2 m) from the world's largest antimony mining area to characterize the depth-resolved soil microbiota and investigate the effects of mining contamination on microbial adaptation. Results demonstrated that contaminated soil profiles showed distinct depth-resolved effects when compared to uncontaminated soil profiles. As soil depth increased, the concentrations of antimony and arsenic gradually declined in the contaminated soil profiles. Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Thaumarchaeota were the most variable phyla from surface to deep soil. The co-occurrence networks were loosely connected in surface soil, but obviously recovered and were well-connected in deep soil. The metagenomic results indicated that microbial metabolic potential also changed with soil depth. Genes encoding C metabolism pathways were negatively correlated with antimony and arsenic concentrations. Abundances of arsenic-related genes were enriched by severe contamination, but reduced with soil depth. Overall, soil depth-resolved characteristics are often many meters deep and such effects affected the indigenous microbial communities, as well as their metabolic potential due to different contaminants along vertical depths.
Tea polyphenol EGCG inhibited colorectal-cancer-cell proliferation and migration via downregulation of STAT3
Authors: Luo Ke-Wang , Xia Jun , Cheng Bao-Hui , Gao Han-Chao , Fu Li-Wu , Luo Xin-Le
Published: September 2020

Background

Green tea is a popular beverage worldwide and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most bioactive polyphenol in green tea. Our study aims to investigate the anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of EGCG against colorectal-cancer SW480, SW620, and LS411N cells, and elucidate the underlying mechanism.

Methods

The in vitro anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of EGCG against colon-cancer cells were evaluated using MTT, scratch-wound-healing, and transwell-migration assays. The effects of EGCG on apoptosis were assessed by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining and JC-1 staining. Besides, Western blotting was employed to detect the protein-expression level and elucidate the underlying pathways. Real-time qPCR and dual-luciferase reporter assay were adopted to determine the mRNA level and promoter activity.

Results

Our results demonstrated that treatment with EGCG resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation by the induction of apoptosis. EGCG also inhibited SW480 cell migration in a dose-dependent manner as assessed by wound-healing and transwell-migration assays. Western blot confirmed that EGCG induced apoptosis by the activation of Caspase-3 and PARP. In addition, both STAT3 and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) were downregulated significantly by EGCG in three selected colorectal-cancer cell lines. EGCG treatment also resulted in a significant decrease in Bcl-2, MCL-1, and Vimentin, and an increase in E-cadherin. When STAT3 was inhibited, EGCG showed no obvious effect on cell proliferation and migration. Further investigation by luciferase-reporter-activity assay showed that EGCG suppressed the promoter activity of STAT3 and downregulated the transcription of STAT3.

Conclusion

Our study presents evidence on the anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of EGCG against colorectal-cancer SW480, SW620, and LS411N cells by downregulating the expression of STAT3 and suggests that EGCG could be an effective and natural supplement for colon-cancer treatment.
Comprehensive Transcriptome of the Maize Stalk Borer,Busseola fusca, from Multiple Tissue Types, Developmental Stages, and Parasitoid Wasp Exposures
Authors:   The Busseola fusca Genome Consortium
Published: September 2020

Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the maize stalk borer, is a widespread crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa that has been the focus of biological research and intensive management strategies. Here, we present a comprehensive annotated transcriptome of B. fusca (originally collected in the Western Province of Kenya) based on ten pooled libraries including a wide array of developmental stages, tissue types, and exposures to parasitoid wasps. Parasitoid wasps have been used as a form of biocontrol to try and reduce crop losses with variable success, in part due to differential infectivities and immune responses among wasps and hosts. We identified a number of loci of interest for pest management, including genes potentially involved in chemoreception, immunity, and response to insecticides. The comprehensive sampling design used expands our current understanding of the transcriptome of this species and deepens the list of potential target genes for future crop loss mitigation, in addition to highlighting candidate loci for differential expression and functional genetic analyses in this important pest species.
How Many Human Papillomavirus Types Do We Need to Screen For?
Authors: Sundström Karin , Dillner Joakim
Published: September 2020

In population-based cervical screening, human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, and 52 are associated with >85% of HPV-associated cervical cancers. For 8 other types currently screened for, together found in <2% of these cancers, screening may be debatable.
No SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization by Intravenous Immunoglobulins Produced From Plasma Collected Before the 2020 Pandemic
Authors: Schwaiger Julia , Karbiener Michael , Aberham Claudia , Farcet Maria R , Kreil Thomas R
Published: September 2020

The 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is caused by a zoonotic coronavirus transmitted to humans, similar to earlier events. Whether the other, seasonally circulating coronaviruses induce cross-reactive, potentially even cross-neutralizing, antibodies to the new species in humans is unclear. The question is particularly relevant for people with immune deficiencies, as their health depends on treatment with immunoglobulin preparations that need to contain neutralizing antibodies against the pathogens in their environment. Testing 54 intravenous immunoglobulin preparations, produced from plasma collected in Europe and the United States, confirmed highly potent neutralization of a seasonal coronavirus; however, no cross-neutralization of the new SARS-CoV-2 was seen.
Comparison of in situ techniques to evaluate the recovery of indigestible components and the accuracy of digestibility estimates
Authors: Adams Jordan M , Norris Aaron B , Dias Batista Luiz F , Rivera Madeline E , Tedeschi Luis O
Published: September 2020

Indigestible components, including indigestible dry matter (iDM) and indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF), play an integral role as internal markers for determining ruminal kinetics and digestibility estimations. However, the accuracy of internal markers is dependent upon the incubation technique utilized as bag type (BT) and incubation length (IL) can be significant sources of error. Previous studies have primarily focused on iDM and iNDF as digestibility markers, but few studies have compared digestibility estimates to those of acid detergent insoluble ash (ADIA). Therefore, our objective was to investigate the effect of BT (F57, F58, and Dacron) and IL (288 and 576 h) on iDM and iNDF residues, DM and NDF digestibilities, and fecal recoveries when using in situ incubations. Additionally, we evaluated the accuracy of digestibility estimates when using iDM, iNDF, and ADIA. For iDM and iNDF, feed residues demonstrated a BT × IL interaction (P < 0.01). However, fecal residues were only influenced by the main effects of BT and IL (P < 0.01), with the F58 BT and 288-h IL having the greatest residues for both iDM and iNDF. The variation in residues was greatly reduced when using iNDF compared with iDM. Fecal recovery estimates most closely approximated 100% recovery when utilizing ADIA and iDM using the F57 × 576 h incubation method (P < 0.01), although recovery was overestimated for all incubation combinations. Fecal NDF recovery estimates better represented the excretion profiles when the F57 × 576 h combination was used with iDM as the internal marker (P < 0.01). Estimates of DM and NDF digestibility were the most accurate when utilizing ADIA (P < 0.01) relative to all other treatments. Our results indicate that the proper methodological application is specific to the purpose of the inferences. When evaluating fecal recoveries and digestibility, ADIA or iDM with F57 at 576-h in situ incubation provides the greatest accuracy.
Comparative Mitochondrial Analysis of Cnaphalocrocis exigua (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Its Close Relative C. medinalis
Authors: Zhang Kai-Jun , Rong Xia , Lv Zhao-Peng , Liu Lei , Li Guo-Yang , Liu Huai
Published: September 2020

Rice leaffolders are important pests on rice in Asia, Oceania, and Africa, causing serious loss to rice production. There are two main rice leaffolders in China, namely Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) and C. exigua (Butler) with the former having the ability of long-distance migration. To reveal the differences in the mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome) between them, we compared the completed mitogenome of C. exigua with three C. medinalis individuals. Although phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomic data strongly supported the close relationship between these two species, many differences were still being revealed. The results showed that the mitogenome of C. exigua was shorter in length (15,262 bp) and slight lower in AT content than that of C. medinalis. Except for the different start codons of nad3 and nad6 gene, we also found the cox1 gene had a typical start codon ‘ATG’ which suggested that the starting position of this gene must be reconsidered in the entire superfamily Pyraloidea. All tRNAs have a typical clover-leaf structure, except for the dihydrouridine (DHU) stem losing of trnS1, which has the atypical anticondon ‘TCT’ instead of ‘GCT’ in C. medinalis and most Pyraloidea species. Two intergenic regions (between trnY and cox1, nad3 and trnA) featured by AT repeats were only found in C. medinalis and even rarely appeared in reported Pyraloidea species. Furthermore, regardless of interspecific comparison or intraspecific comparison of these two species, protein coding genes, especially the atp8 genes, had quite different evolutionary rates.
The Granulate Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Biological Parameters Under Controlled Conditions, Host Plants, and Distribution in the Americas
Authors: Specht Alexandre , Dias Fernando M S , San Blas Germán , Roque-Specht Vânia F , Casagrande Mirna M , Mielke Olaf H H , Montezano Débora G , Santos Izailda Barbosa , Paula-Moraes Silvana V , Hunt Thomas E , Malaquias Juaci V , Bonfin Felipe A D , Vieira Paulo V M
Published: September 2020

Feltia subterranea (Fabricius), commonly known as the granulate cutworm, is a common species of owlet moths (Noctuidae) of major agricultural importance, widely distributed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions. This study was conducted to determine the species biological parameters, gather information about its larval host plants, and assess the agricultural significance of this species in the Americas. The viability of the egg, larval, pupal stages, and prepupal period was 98, 98, and 100%, respectively, under laboratory conditions. The average duration of the egg, larval, pupal stages, and prepupal period was 3, 17, 4, and 13 d, respectively. All laboratory-reared larvae developed through five instars. The growth ratio was 1.93 for females and 1.85 for males. The duration of the larval stage was significantly longer in females than in males from the fourth instar. The duration of the pupal stage was significantly shorter in females than in males. When larval and pupal stage durations were combined, there were no significant differences in total development time as a function of sex. In total, 159 botanical taxa belonging to 41 families were recorded as host species for F. subterranea. The families with the greatest number of host species were Fabaceae (22), Poaceae (19), Asteraceae (16), Brassicaceae (13), Solanaceae (12), Amaranthaceae (7), Cucurbitaceae (7), and Malvaceae (5). It is noteworthy that the large number of native weeds used by F. subterranea as host plants could represent a significant source of infestation of crops in the agricultural landscape.
Denoising of series electron holograms using tensor decomposition
Authors: Nomura Yuki , Yamamoto Kazuo , Anada Satoshi , Hirayama Tsukasa , Igaki Emiko , Saitoh Koh
Published: September 2020

In this study, a noise-reduction technique for series low-dose electron holograms using tensor decomposition is demonstrated through simulation. We treated an entire dataset of the series holograms with Poisson noise as a third-order tensor, which is a stack of 2D holograms. The third-order tensor, which is decomposed into a core tensor and three factor matrices, is approximated as a lower-rank tensor using only noise-free principal components. This technique is applied to simulated holograms by assuming a p-n junction in a semiconductor sample. The peak signal-to-noise ratios of the holograms and the reconstructed phase maps have been improved significantly using tensor decomposition. Moreover, the proposed method was applied to a more practical situation of time-resolved in situ electron holography by considering a nonuniform fringe contrast and fringe drift relative to the sample. The accuracy and precision of the reconstructed phase maps were quantitatively evaluated to demonstrate its effectiveness for in situ experiments and low-dose experiments on beam-sensitive materials.
Defibrotide for the Treatment of Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally Associated With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection in 2 Pediatric Patients
Authors: Lang Peter , Eichholz Thomas , Bakchoul Tamam , Streiter Monika , Petrasch Maurice , Bösmüller Hans , Klein Reinhild , Rabsteyn Armin , Lang Anne-Marie , Adams Constantin , Klingel Karin , Gessner Michaela , Rosenberger Peter , Ruef Peter , Handgretinger Rupert
Published: September 2020

The pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is a severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019. Since impaired coagulation and thrombosis/endotheliitis are suspected pathomechanisms, we treated 2 patients with defibrotide, a profibrinolytic, antithrombotic, antiinflammatory oligonucleotide. Symptoms resolved during treatment. Moreover, coagulation parameters indicating hypofibrinolysis and complement activation normalized.

The pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is a severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019. Since impaired coagulation and thrombosis/endotheliitis are suspected pathomechanisms, 2 patients received defibrotide, a profibrinolytic, antithrombotic, antiinflammatory oligonucleotide. Symptoms resolved and hypofibrinolysis/complement activation normalized during treatment.
Job Retention Among Resettled Refugees in The US:The Importance of Context
Authors: Crea Thomas M , Tobin Emma , Young Ann-Elizabeth , Ko Christian , Weber Alexandra
Published: September 2020

The primary objective of the US refugee resettlement program is for beneficiaries to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Yet, little research has examined the extent to which this objective has been achieved, nor the programmatic and contextual variables that influence this outcome. This study examines how beneficiaries’ individual and job characteristics are associated with the likelihood of job retention after 90 days of employment. Data were obtained on 1787 refugees served by the International Institute of New England from March 2015 to January 2019. Logistic regression models were used to examine the predictors of retention in four cities (Boston, MA; Lowell, MA; Manchester, NH; and Nashua, NH). Different patterns emerged across cities, related to factors such as pay, educational level, legal immigration status, job permanency, and gender. The concept of self-sufficiency is closely linked to the context of resettlement and thus requires more careful articulation as a goal of the refugee resettlement program.
Addressing the Educational Needs of Street Children in Lebanon: A Hotchpotch of Policy and Practice
Authors: Al-Hroub Anies , Saab Cyrine , Vlaardingerbroek Barend
Published: September 2020

The presence of school-age children engaged in various subsistence activities on the street when they should be at school is a common and growing phenomenon worldwide. It has become a major social issue in Lebanon over the past decade fuelled by a massive increase in the refugee population. Robust statistical data on street children at the national level are, however, missing. Government ministries and NGOs have responded to varying degrees to address the needs of these children, but the overall picture is one of the piecemeal efforts with a poor level of inter-sectoral coordination. What is badly needed is an integrated approach to the problem that takes into account the unique Lebanese context.
Anal high-grade and late-stage cancer management in low-income setting: a case report
Authors: Colangelo Anna Claudia , Pizzol Damiano , Antunes Mario
Published: September 2020

The burden of cancer is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa due to ageing, common risk factors and population growth. Anal cancer is a human papillomavirus-related rare disease with an incidence rate of 1.8 per 100 000 persons overall with an increasing incidence of by 2% per year in the last three decades. Despite that gold standard management is well described, in low-income countries, there is no possibility for a proper management. We presented a late-stage anal cancer case that reflects the urgent necessity to create the adequate condition for the development of effective oncologic approach including prevention, diagnosis and management.
Tracing Lost Editions of Parisian Printers in the Sixteenth Century: The Case of Jean Bonfons and his Widow Catherine Sergent
Authors: Adam Renaud
Published: September 2020

This article examines the lost production of a sixteenth-century Parisian family of printers, the Bonfons. This family, who specialized mainly in medieval vernacular romances, was chosen because the survival rate of their publications is relatively low and the number of lost editions high. Such study goes beyond the strict framework of bibliometry to raise two questions: do bibliographies really reflect what was published at that time? And, as a corollary, do survival rates distort our perception of early-modern book production? Previous research on the Bonfons’s production is complemented by an outstanding source that has never been investigated in this context: the archives of the Commission of the Index of Prohibited Books of Antwerp (printed in 1570). In this light, the number of books printed for or by Jean Bonfons and his widow should be revised to almost 200 editions, with an average loss rate of around 40 per cent.
Epistemic predicates in the arithmetical context
Authors: Peluce V Alexis
Published: September 2020

In this paper, we investigate epistemic predicates in extensions of arithmetic. We use as our case study Kurt Gödel’s 1951 thesis that either the power of the human mind surpasses that of any finite machine or there are absolutely unsolvable problems. Because Gödel also claimed that his disjunction was a mathematically established fact, we must ask the following: what sort of syntactical object should formalize human reason? In this paper, we lay the foundations for a predicate treatment of this epistemic feature. We begin with a very general examination of the Gödel sentence in the arithmetical context. We then discuss two systems of modal predicates over arithmetic. The first, called coreflective arithmetic or ${\textsf{CoPA}}$, extends ${\textsf{PA}}$ with a coreflective modal predicate but does not contain a consistency statement. The second, called doxastic arithmetic or ${\textsf{DA}}$, has as its characteristic feature the consistency statement but does not contain coreflection or its instance, the ${\textsf{4}}$ axiom. We examine the logical properties of, motivations for and criticisms of both systems. We close with a brief comparison of the systems in the context of Gödel’s disjunction.
Trans Parenthood and the Meaning of ‘Mother’, ‘Father’ and ‘Parent’—R (McConnell and YY) v Registrar General for England and Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 559
Authors: Brown Alan
Published: September 2020

In R (McConnell and YY) v Registrar General for England and Wales [2020] EWCA Civ 559, the Court of Appeal held the Registrar General was correct to register a trans man, who had given birth after the issuing of his gender recognition certificate, as ‘mother’ on his son’s birth certificate. In their judgement, the court rejected the appellants’ contention that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 should be construed to allow registration as either ‘father’ or ‘parent’. The court further held that the interference with the appellants’ Article 8 rights which resulted from the registration as ‘mother’ was proportionate and justified.
Constraining protoplanetary discs with exoplanetary dynamics: Kepler-419 as an example
Authors: Ali-Dib Mohamad , Petrovich Cristobal
Published: September 2020

We investigate the origins of Kepler-419, a peculiar system hosting two nearly coplanar and highly eccentric gas giants with apsidal orientations liberating around anti-alignment, and use this system to place constraints on the properties of their birth protoplanetary disc. We follow the proposal by Petrovich, Wu, & Ali-Dib that these planets have been placed on these orbits as a natural result of the precessional effects of a dissipating massive disc and extend it by using direct N-body simulations and models for the evolution of the gas discs, including photoevaporation. Based on a parameter space exploration, we find that in order to reproduce the system the initial disc mass had to be at least 95 MJup and dissipate on a time-scale of at least 104 yr. This mass is consistent with the upper end of the observed disc masses distribution, and the dissipation time-scale is consistent with photoevaporation models. We study the properties of such discs using simplified 1D thin-disc models and show that they are gravitationally stable, indicating that the two planets must have formed via core accretion and thus prone to disc migration. We hence finally investigate the sensitivity of this mechanism to the outer planet’s semimajor axis, and find that the nearby 7:1, 8:1, and 9:1 mean-motion resonances can completely quench this mechanism, while even higher order resonances can also significantly affect the system. Assuming the two planets avoid these high-order resonances and close encounters, the dynamics seems to be rather insensitive to planet c semimajor axis, and thus orbital migration driven by the disc.
Simulating TeV gamma-ray morphologies of shell-type supernova remnants
Authors: Pais Matteo , Pfrommer Christoph
Published: September 2020

Supernova remnant (SNR) shocks provide favourable sites of cosmic ray (CR) proton acceleration if the local magnetic field direction is quasi-parallel to the shock normal. Using the moving-mesh magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) code arepo we present a suite of SNR simulations with CR acceleration in the Sedov–Taylor phase that combine different magnetic field topologies, density distributions with gradients and large-scale fluctuations, and – for our core-collapse SNRs – a multiphase interstellar medium with dense clumps with a contrast of 104. Assuming the hadronic gamma-ray emission model for the TeV gamma-ray emission, we find that large-amplitude density fluctuations of δρ/ρ0 ≳ 75 per cent are required to strongly modulate the gamma-ray emissivity in a straw man’s model in which the acceleration efficiency is independent of magnetic obliquity. However, this causes strong corrugations of the shock surface that are ruled out by gamma-ray observations. By contrast, magnetic obliquity-dependent acceleration can easily explain the observed variance in gamma-ray morphologies ranging from SN1006 (with a homogeneous magnetic field) to Vela Junior and RX J1713 (with a turbulent field) in a single model that derives from plasma particle-in-cell simulations. Our best-fitting model for SN1006 has a large-scale density gradient of ∇n ≃ 0.0034 cm−3 pc−1 pointing from south-west to north-east and a magnetic inclination with the plane of the sky of ≲10°. Our best-fitting model for Vela Junior and RX J1713 adopts a combination of turbulent magnetic field and dense clumps to explain their TeV gamma-ray morphologies and moderate shock corrugations.
Impact of anesthesia and analgesia techniques on glioblastoma progression. A narrative review
Authors: Privorotskiy Ann , Bhavsar Shreyas P , Lang Frederick F , Hu Jian , Cata Juan P
Published: September 2020

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive malignant CNS tumor with a median survival of 15 months after diagnosis. Standard therapy for GBM includes surgical resection, radiation, and temozolomide. Recently, anesthetics and analgesics have received attention for their potential involvement in mediating tumor growth. This narrative review investigated whether various members of the 2 aforementioned classes of drugs have a definitive impact on GBM progression by summarizing pertinent in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. Recent publications regarding general anesthetics have been inconsistent, showing that they can be pro-tumoral or antitumoral depending on the experimental context. The local anesthetic lidocaine has shown consistent antitumoral effects in vitro. Clinical studies looking at anesthetics have not concluded that their use improves patient outcomes. In vitro and in vivo studies looking at opioid involvement in GBM have demonstrated inconsistent findings regarding whether these drugs are pro-tumoral or antitumoral. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and specifically COX-2 inhibitors, have shown inconsistent findings across multiple studies looking at whether they are beneficial in halting GBM progression. Until multiple repeatable studies show that anesthetics and analgesics can suppress GBM growth, there is no strong evidence to recommend changes in the anesthetic care of these patients.