bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent Development in Topological Polymer Electrolytes for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries
Authors: Liu Yu , Zeng Qinghui , Li Zhenfeng , Chen Anqi , Guan Jiazhu , Wang Honghao , Wang Shi , Zhang Liaoyun
Published: March 2023

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are still being considered as a candidate to replace liquid electrolytes for high‐safety and flexible lithium batteries due to their superiorities including light‐weight, good flexibility, and shape versatility. However, inefficient ion transportation of linear polymer electrolytes is still the biggest challenge. To improve ion transport capacity, developing novel polymer electrolytes are supposed to be an effective strategy. Nonlinear topological structures such as hyperbranched, star‐shaped, comb‐like, and brush‐like types have highly branched features. Compared with linear polymer electrolytes, topological polymer electrolytes possess more functional groups, lower crystallization, glass transition temperature, and better solubility. Especially, a large number of functional groups are beneficial to dissociation of lithium salt for improving the ion conductivity. Furthermore, topological polymers have strong design ability to meet the requirements of comprehensive performances of SPEs. In this review, the recent development in topological polymer electrolytes is summarized and their design thought is analyzed. Outlooks are also provided for the development of future SPEs. It is expected that this review can raise a strong interest in the structural design of advanced polymer electrolyte, which can give inspirations for future research on novel SPEs and promote the development of next‐generation high‐safety flexible energy storage devices.
The resident experience with psychological safety during interprofessional critical event debriefings
Authors: Hitchner Lily , Yore Mackensie , Burk Charney , Mason Jessica , Sawtelle Vohra Stacy
Published: April 2023

Objectives

Interprofessional feedback and teamwork skills training are important in graduate medical education. Critical event debriefing is a unique interprofessional team training opportunity in the emergency department. While potentially educational, these varied, high‐stakes events can threaten psychological safety for learners. This is a qualitative study of emergency medicine resident physicians’ experience of interprofessional feedback during critical event debriefing to characterize factors that impact their psychological safety.

Methods

The authors conduced semistructured interviews with resident physicians who were the physician team leader during a critical event debriefing. Interviews were coded and themes were generated using a general inductive approach and concepts from social ecological theory.

Results

Eight residents were interviewed. The findings suggest that cultivating a safe learning environment for residents during debriefings involves the following: (1) allowing space for validating statements, (2) supporting strong interprofessional relationships, (3) providing structured opportunities for interprofessional learning, (4) encouraging attendings to model vulnerability, (5) standardizing the process of debriefing, (6) rejecting unprofessional behavior, and (7) creating the time and space for the process in the workplace.

Conclusions

Given the numerous intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional factors at play, educators should be sensitive to times when a resident cannot engage due to unaddressed threats to their psychological safety. Educators can address these threats in real time and over the course of a resident's training to enhance psychological safety and the potential educational impact of critical event debriefing.
The association between dietary patterns, plasma lipid profiles, and inflammatory potential in a vascular dementia cohort
Authors: Dai Jun , Chan Daniel Kam Yin , Chan Richard O. , Hirani Vasant , Xu Ying Hua , Braidy Nady
Published: April 2023

Background

Inflammation and altered lipid dyshomeostasis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Objective

To determine if there are any associations between dietary patterns, plasma lipid profiles, and inflammatory potential in a vascular dementia cohort.

Methods

One hundred fifty participants (36 subjects with Vascular Dementia and 114 healthy controls) from two Australian teaching hospitals completed a cross‐sectional survey examining their dietary and lifestyle patterns. Each participant's diet was further evaluated using the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index. Some participants also donated blood samples for lipidomic analysis.

Results

After adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status, participants with vascular dementia tend to have higher lipid profiles, do less exercise, and engage less frequently in social interaction, educational, or reading activities. They also tend to consume more deep‐fried food and full‐fat dairy compared to control subjects. However, there was no difference in Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index between the two groups after adjusting for age, education, and socioeconomic status.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest a graded inverse association between healthy lifestyle factors and vascular dementia.
Use of the Arctic Sun™ 5000 targeted temperature management system to achieve rewarming during a prolonged hypothermic cardiorespiratory arrest
Authors: Grewal A. , Thomas R.
Published: March 2023

Cardiorespiratory arrest due to severe hypothermia may require prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation whilst the patient is rewarmed. There are reported cases of successful resuscitation with good neurological outcomes after prolonged arrests and resuscitation up to 9 h. However, in the majority of these cases, extracorporeal life support was used to maintain perfusion and rewarm the patient. Here, we report a case of successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation lasting 6.5 h, following cardiac arrest secondary to severe hypothermia, with rewarming using an Arctic Sun™ 5000. The Arctic Sun 5000 is a targeted temperature management device which is conventionally used to prevent hyperthermia post‐cardiac arrest. In this report, we discuss the reasons why the device was used in this case and the effects of severe hypothermia on cardiac arrest management. We believe that this is the longest reported successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a severely hypothermic patient without the use of extracorporeal life support.
NQO1 regulates expression and alternative splicing of apoptotic genes associated with Alzheimer's disease in PC12 cells
Authors: Du Yingshi , Liu Gejing , Chen Dong , Yang Jinggang , Wang Jing , Sun Yue , Zhang Qian , Liu Yongming
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive dysfunction. Quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is an antioxidant enzyme that plays an important role in controlling cellular redox state, whose expression is altered in the brain tissues of AD patients. In addition to its traditional antioxidant effects, NQO1 also acts as a multifunctional RNA‐binding protein involved in posttranscriptional regulation. Whether the RNA‐binding activity of NQO1 influences AD pathology has not been investigated yet.

Methods

The RNA‐binding functions of NQO1 in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells were investigated using siRNA knockdown followed by total RNA sequencing. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to explore the impact of NQO1 on the transcription and alternative splicing of apoptotic genes.

Results

NQO1 knockdown led to a significant increase in cellular apoptosis. Genes involved in certain apoptosis pathways, such as positive regulation of apoptotic processes and mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling, were under global transcriptional and alternative splicing regulation. NQO1 regulated the transcription of apoptotic genes Cryab, Lgmn, Ngf, Apoe, Brd7, and Stat3, as well as the alternative splicing of apoptotic genes BIN1, Picalm, and Fyn.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that NQO1 participates in the pathology of AD by regulating the expression and alternative splicing of the genes involved in apoptosis. These results extend our understanding of NQO1 in apoptotic pathways at the posttranscriptional level in AD.
Prevalence of cancer therapy cardiotoxicity as assessed by imaging procedures: A scoping review
Authors: Cantoni Valeria , Green Roberta , Assante Roberta , D'Antonio Adriana , Maio Francesca , Criscuolo Emanuele , Bologna Roberto , Petretta Mario , Cuocolo Alberto , Acampa Wanda
Published: March 2023

Background

Advances in treatment and optimization of chemotherapy protocols have greatly improved survival in cancer patients. Unfortunately, treatment can cause a reduction in left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) leading to cancer therapy‐related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). We conducted a scoping review of published literature in order to identify and summarize the reported prevalence of cardiotoxicity evaluated by noninvasive imaging procedures in a wide‐ranging of patients referred to cancer treatment as chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

Methods

Different databases were checked (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) to identify studies published from January 2000 to June 2021. Articles were included if they reported data on LVEF evaluation in oncological patients treated with chemotherapeutic agents and/or radiotherapy, measured by echocardiography and/or nuclear or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging test, providing criteria of CTRCD evaluation such as the specific threshold for LVEF decrease.

Results

From 963 citations identified, 46 articles, comprising 6841 patients, met the criteria for the inclusion in the scoping review. The summary prevalence of CTRCD as assessed by imaging procedures in the studies reviewed was 17% (95% confidence interval, 14–20).

Conclusions

The results of our scoping review endorse the recommendations regarding imaging modalities to ensure identification of cardiotoxicity in patients undergoing cancer therapies. However, to improve patient management, more homogeneous CTRCD evaluation studies are required, reporting a detailed clinical assessment of the patient before, during and after treatment.
Cancer incidence after asthma diagnosis: Evidence from a large clinical research network in the United States
Authors: Guo Yi , Bian Jiang , Chen Zhaoyi , Fishe Jennifer N. , Zhang Dongyu , Braithwaite Dejana , George Thomas J. , Shenkman Elizabeth A. , Licht Jonathan D.
Published: March 2023

Background

Prior studies on the association between asthma and cancer show inconsistent results. This study aimed to generate additional evidence on the association between asthma and cancer, both overall, and by cancer type, in the United States.

Method

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using 2012–2020 electronic health records and claims data in the OneFlorida+ clinical research network. Our study population included a cohort of adult patients with asthma (n = 90,021) and a matching cohort of adult patients without asthma (n = 270,063). We built Cox proportional hazards models to examine the association between asthma diagnosis and subsequent cancer risk.

Results

Our results showed that asthma patients were more likely to develop cancer compared to patients without asthma in multivariable analysis (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.36, 99% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29–1.44). Elevated cancer risk was observed in asthma patients without (HR = 1.60; 99% CI: 1.50–1.71) or with (HR = 1.11; 99% CI: 1.03–1.21) inhaled steroid use. However, in analyses of specific cancer types, cancer risk was elevated for nine of 13 cancers in asthma patients without inhaled steroid use but only for two of 13 cancers in asthma patients with inhaled steroid use, suggesting a protective effect of inhaled steroid use on cancer.

Conclusion

This is the first study to report a positive association between asthma and overall cancer risk in the US population. More in‐depth studies using real‐word data are needed to further explore the causal mechanisms of asthma on cancer risk.
Transcatheter versus surgical treatment for isolated superior sinus venosus atrial septal defect
Authors: Brancato Federica , Stephenson Natasha , Rosenthal Eric , Hansen Jan H. , Jones Matthew I. , Qureshi Shakeel , Austin Conal , Speggiorin Simone , Caner Salih , Butera Gianfranco
Published: April 2023

Background

The superior sinus venosus atrial septal defect is a congenital communication between the left and right atria. Open surgical approach by patch closure has historically been the only treatment option. Recently, a transcatheter approach has been developed. This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of surgical and transcatheter approach in treatment of sinus venosus atrial septal defect.

Methods

Between March 2010 and December 2020, 58 patients (median age: 45.4, range 14.8−73.8) underwent either surgical or transcatheter correction of superior sinus venosus atrial septal defect with partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage.

Results

Twenty‐four patients (median age: 35.4, range 14.8−66.8) underwent surgery while 34 patients (median age: 46.8, range 15.5−73.8) had a transcatheter treatment. During the catheterization era, 41 patients was considered suitable for a transcatheter closure. In 5 patients, surgery was the patient's or referring physician's choice. In 2 cases, the procedure was unsuccessful; the remaining 34 were successfully closed (94.4% of cases). Intensive care unit stay (median of 1 day, range 0.5−4, vs. 0, range 0−2, p < 0.0001) and hospital stay (median 7 days, range 2−15 vs. 2 days, range 1−12, p < 0.0001), were significantly longer in the surgery group. Total early complication rate, consisted on procedural and in‐hospital complication, were higher in the surgical group (62.5% vs. 23.5%; p = 0.005). However, complications in both groups were clinically mild. At follow‐up, a small residual shunt was present in 6 patients (surgery group: 2 pts; catheterization group: 4 pts; p: NS). Imaging studies showed significant improvement of right ventricular size and unobstructed pulmonary venous return in all patients. No late complications occurred at follow‐up.

Conclusions

Transcatheter correction of sinus venosus atrial septal defect is effective and safe in selected patients and may be considered as a valid alternative to surgery.
Reactivated herpetic gingivostomatitis with secondary herpes‐associated erythema multiforme and oral candidiasis post‐COVID infection: A case report
Authors: Lee Haeseong , Davoudi Jouliana , Vistoso Anette , Khalifeh Mohammad , Sedghizadeh Parish
Published: March 2023

The presence and reactivation of oral lesions such as herpetic gingivostomatitis, erythema multiforme, and candidiasis in a COVID‐19 recovered patient could be related to COVID‐19s profound role in immune dysregulation or related therapies.
Evaluation of spectral collection strategies for identification of Dalbergia spp. using handheld laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy
Authors: Celani Caelin P. , McCormick Rachel A. , Speed Amelia M. , Johnston William , Jordan James A. , Coplen Tyler B. , Booksh Karl S.
Published: March 2023

The illegal timber trade has significant impact on the survival of endangered tropical hardwood species like Dalbergia spp. (rosewood), a world‐wide protected genus from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Due to increased threat to Dalbergia spp., and lack of action to reduce threats, port of entry analysis methods are required to identify Dalbergia spp. Handheld laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been shown to be capable of identifying species and establishing provenance of Dalbergia spp. and other tropical hardwoods, but analysis methods for this work have yet to be investigated in detail. The present work investigates five well‐known algorithms—partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA), classification and regression trees (CART), k‐nearest neighbor (k‐NN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM)—two training/test set sampling regimes, and data collection at two signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratios to assess the potential for handheld LIBS analyses. Additionally, imbalanced classes are addressed. For this application, SVM and RF yield near identical results (though RF takes nearly 100 longer to compute), while the S/N ratio has a significant effect on model success assuming all else is equal. It was found that forming a training set with replicate low S/N analyses can perform as well as higher precision training sets for true prediction, even if the predicted samples have low signal to noise! This work confirms handheld LIBS analyzers can provide a viable method for classification of hardwood species, even within the same genus.
Early generation seed starter materials and approaches to seed production: Challenge for improving the potato seed system in Uganda
Authors: Namugga Prossy , Aijuka Son , Arinda Osbert , Mateeka Benon , Barekye Alex
Published: April 2023

Quality seed is one of the key inputs for increasing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) productivity; however, its limited availability is widely recognized as a major constraint to potato production. In Uganda, certified seed production meets approximately 1.5% of effective demand implying most farmers use home‐saved seed. This practice encourages the buildup of degenerative seed‐borne diseases which ultimately affect productivity. Consequently, a study was conducted to determine the productivity of different seed potato production starting stock: tissue culture plantlets (TC) and rooted apical cuttings. Fifty plants of two potato varieties, NAROPOT1 and NAROPOT4, and for each starter material were evaluated both in the field and screen house for two seasons at Kachwekano and Karengyere research stations. Data were collected on the number of tubers per plant and tuber weight. Highly significant differences were observed for the type of starter materials and varieties for the number of tubers per plant (p ≤ 0.001) from both the screen house and field environments. More tubers per plant were obtained from TC for both varieties and the highest recorded was (24.5) for NAROPOT4 and (15.5) for NAROPOT1 in the screen house. Tuber weight was higher from rooted apical cuttings for both varieties NAROPOT1 (153.3 g) and NAROPOT4 (167.7 g). The correlation between the number of tubers per plant and weight was highly significant at p ≤ 0.001. Tissue culture raised plants were more productive in terms of tuber, and numbers are more important in seed production than weight and mini‐tuber production can be done by farmers under affordable conditions.
Sustainable institutional investors, corporate sustainability performance, and corporate tax avoidance: Empirical evidence for the European capital market
Authors: Velte Patrick
Published: March 2023

This study addresses the influence of sustainable institutional investors (SII), based on the signatory status of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), on corporate tax avoidance. Moreover, the moderating influence of corporate sustainability performance (CSP) is analyzed. The analyses concentrate on a European sample consisting of 1689 firm‐year observations between 2014 and 2020 (EUROSTOXX 600) embedded in a stakeholder agency theoretical framework. Correlation, regression, and robustness analyses are conducted. The results are in line with prior studies on equity ownership and tax avoidance and indicate that SII have a negative impact on tax avoidance and that CSP strengthens this negative effect. These results are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses. SII represent a major monitoring mechanism in promoting responsible tax behavior, which is in line with other stakeholders' interests. Tax avoidance should be integrated into overall sustainability management to realize an increased firm reputation. As the European Commission initiated several regulations on sustainable finance, sustainability reporting, and tax disclosure, the empirical results stress the interdependencies between ownership structure, CSP, and tax avoidance. The study makes a major contribution to prior analyses, as this study is the first to assess the link between SII and tax avoidance and the moderating impact of CSP to urge top management to increase sustainability efforts.
The power of culture: Does Confucian culture contribute to corporate environmental information disclosure?
Authors: Chao Shujun , Wang Shanyong , Li Haidong , Yang Shu
Published: April 2023

With the intensification of global environmental issues, corporate environmental information disclosure has received increasing attention. Different cultural and policy backgrounds have led to very different styles of corporate environmental information disclosure behavior. Whether Confucianism, the dominant culture that has influenced China for thousands of years, contributes to corporate environmental information disclosure deserves to be studied. Based on data from 3180 Chinese listed firms, this study confirms the positive effect of Confucian culture on environmental information disclosure. Meanwhile, Taoist culture and environmental regulation can positively moderate this effect. In addition, heterogeneity analysis unveils that Confucian culture plays a greater role in corporate environmental information disclosure for state‐owned firms and firms in highly polluting industries, while this role is weakened for firms with a high proportion of female executives and executives with foreign experience. This study links culture and environmental information disclosure, which helps to arouse the attention of whole society to utilize excellent traditional culture and helps the government to formulate effective environmental regulation policies.
Alluvial fan response to Alpine Fault earthquakes on the Westland piedmont, Whataroa, Aotearoa‐New Zealand
Authors: Almond Peter C. , Berryman Kelvin , Villamor Pilar , Read Stuart , Alloway Brent V. , Tonkin Philip
Published: March 2023

We examined the stratigraphy of alluvial fans formed at the steep range front of the Southern Alps at Te Taho, on the north bank of the Whataroa River in central West Coast, South Island, New Zealand. The range front coincides with the Alpine Fault, an Australian‐Pacific plate boundary fault, which produces regular earthquakes. Our study of range front fans revealed aggradation at 100‐ to 300‐year intervals. Radiocarbon ages and soil residence times (SRTs) estimated by a quantitative profile development index allowed us to elucidate the characteristics of four episodes of aggradation since 1000 CE. We postulate a repeating mode of fan behaviour (fan response cycle [FRC]) linked to earthquake cycles via earthquake‐triggered landslides. FRCs are characterised by short response time (aggradation followed by incision) and a long phase when channels are entrenched and fan surfaces are stable (persistence time). Currently, the Te Taho and Whataroa River fans are in the latter phase. The four episodes of fan building we determined from an OxCal sequence model correlate to Alpine Fault earthquakes (or other subsidiary events) and support prior landscape evolution studies indicating ≥M7.5 earthquakes as the main driver of episodic sedimentation. Our findings are consistent with other historic non‐earthquake events on the West Coast but indicate faster responses than other earthquake sites in New Zealand and elsewhere where rainfall and stream gradients (the basis for stream power) are lower. Judging from the thickness of fan deposits and the short response times, we conclude that pastoral farming (current land‐use) on the fans and probably across much of the Whataroa River fan would be impossible for several decades after a major earthquake. The sustainability of regional tourism and agriculture is at risk, more so because of the vulnerability of the single through road in the region (State Highway 6).
Post‐wildfire coastal dunefield response using photogrammetry and satellite indices
Authors: DaSilva Marcio D. , Bruce David , Hesp Patrick A. , da Silva Graziela Miot , Downes Joram
Published: March 2023

Fire has been suggested to be an initiation mechanism of landscape instability and coastal dune transgression, but modern evidence showing a shift to a transgressive dune phase is lacking. Following the largest wildfire in historical records on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, bimonthly uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys were conducted on three coastal dune sites to study their post‐fire responses. The three sites studied here represent the landscape diversity of the temperate dunes of Kangaroo Island with both active coastal and inland relict stabilised dune fields studied. UAV surveys were used to reconstruct landscapes with structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry and compared over time to illustrate significant changes in the landscape. The geomorphic and vegetation changes are compared in net and intra‐survey comparisons to illustrate the post‐fire dunefield response and trends towards stabilisation. Because of a lack of reliable baseline pre‐fire data, satellite geomedians are used to compute spectral indices to show the trajectory of ground cover in the study sites in the years preceding and following the fire. Satellite indices are used to separate 3D changes according to ground cover types and show their differing post‐fire responses. Local and regional wind, temperature and rainfall records are presented to provide weather patterns of the years preceding and following the fire, illustrating the wet and mild post‐fire weather. The overall results indicate no significant landscape instability across the studied sites and that the ground cover of vegetation is nearing pre‐fire baselines, showing that a severe fire has not caused a transgressive dunefield to develop.
Coastal sedimentation and topographic changes in the Mataram Plain, Lombok (Indonesia) following the 1257 CE eruption of Samalas volcano
Authors: Malawani Mukhamad Ngainul , Lavigne Franck , Hadmoko Danang Sri , Syamsuddin Syamsuddin , Handayani Lina , Sudrajat Yayat , Virmoux Clément , Saulnier Copard Ségolène , Kusnadi Kusnadi
Published: April 2023

The 1257 CE eruption of Samalas volcano, Indonesia, buried the entire island of Lombok beneath various thicknesses of pyroclastic material during this Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7 event. This study aims to reconstruct the paleo‐topography of western Lombok before the Samalas eruption in 1257 CE and analyse the sedimentation processes that led to its landscape evolution over the last 700 years. Stratigraphic data were collected from various surveys, such as outcrops, coring, drilling, hand auger and wells observation. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were performed to complement the stratigraphic data. A combination of stratigraphy, ERT and topographic data from various sources (topographic map, Digital Elevation Model Nasional [DEMNAS] and Real Time Kinematic [RTK] measurement) is employed to determine the depth of the paleo‐surface. Topographic modelling was performed by subtracting the delta‐DEM (DDEM) from the current‐DEM (CDEM). The result of this operation is a paleo‐DEM, which is used to reconstruct the paleo‐hydrographic features such as shoreline positions and river channels. Modelling results demonstrate that the relief has not been significantly modified, except in lowland areas, which is the sediment accumulation zone. River channels have experienced minor changes, except for the location of the river mouth and the degree of meandering. Significant changes occurred at the shoreline that has prograded by approximately 1.6 km during the last 700 years. A schematic model is built to illustrate the evolution processes of the study area, consisting of the pre‐eruption condition, the immediate post‐eruption condition and development of the current condition. This model further develops the previously proposed model with a higher resolution and simultaneously revises the estimated boundary of the pyroclastic density current (PDC) deposit from previous work.
Lessons learned in severe axillary gestational gigantomastia
Authors: Peshel Emanuela C. , Blaisdell Rachel B. , Lehrberg Anna V. , Kiran Sayee
Published: April 2023

Synopsis

Gestational gigantomastia involving axillary breast tissue can be safely resected during pregnancy; early management is paramount in preventing progression and limiting impact on pregnancy.
Geometric constraints within tripeptides and the existence of tripeptide reconstructions
Authors: O'Donnell Timothée , Agashe Viraj , Cazals Frédéric
Published: March 2023

Designing movesets providing high quality protein conformations remains a hard problem, especially when it comes to deform a long protein backbone segment, and a key building block to do so is the so‐called tripeptide loop closure (TLC). Consider a tripeptide whose first and last bonds ( and ) are fixed, and so are all internal coordinates except the six dihedral angles associated to the three carbons. Under these conditions, the TLC algorithm provides all possible values for these six dihedral angles–there exists at most 16 solutions. TLC moves atoms up to in one step and retains low energy conformations, whence its pivotal role to design move sets sampling protein loop conformations. In this work, we relax the previous constraints, allowing the last bond () to freely move in 3D space–or equivalently in a 5D configuration space. We exhibit necessary geometric constraints in this 5D space for TLC to admit solutions. Our analysis provides key insights on the geometry of solutions for TLC. Most importantly, when using TLC to sample loop conformations based on consecutive tripeptides along a protein backbone, we obtain an exponential gain in the volume of the ‐dimensional configuration space to be explored.
All‐atom simulations of the trimeric spike protein of SARS‐CoV‐2 in aqueous medium: Nature of interactions, conformational stability and free energy diagrams for conformational transition of the protein
Authors: Panthi Bhavana , Dutta Saheb , Chandra Amalendu
Published: March 2023

The spike protein of SARS‐CoV‐2 exists in two major conformational states, namely the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ states which are also known as the ‘up’ and ‘down’ states, respectively. In its open state, the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the protein is exposed for binding with ACE2, whereas the spike RBD is inaccessible to ACE2 in the closed state of the protein. In the current work, we have performed all‐atom microsecond simulations of the full‐length trimeric spike protein solvated in explicit aqueous medium with an average system size of ~0.7 million atoms to understand the molecular nature of intra‐ and inter‐chain interactions, water‐bridged interactions between different residues that contribute to the stability of the open and closed states of the protein, and also the free energy landscape for transition between the open and closed states of the protein. We have also examined the changes of such interactions that are associated with switching from one state to the other through both unbiased and biased simulations at all‐atom level with total run length of 4 μs. Interestingly, after about 0.8 μs of unbiased molecular dynamics run of the spike system in the open state, we observed a gradual transition of the monomeric chain (B) from open to its partially closed or down state. Initially the residues at the interface of chain B RBD in the open state spike protein were at non‐hydrogen‐bonding distances from the residues of chain C RBD. However, the two RBDs gradually came closer and finally the residue S459 of the RBD of chain B made a hydrogen bond with F374 of chain C in the last 200 ns of the simulation along with formation of a few more hydrogen bonds involving other residues. Since no transition from closed to the open state of the protein is observed in the present 1 μs unbiased simulation of the closed state protein, the current study seems to suggest that the closed conformational state is preferred for the spike protein of SARS‐CoV‐2 in aqueous medium. Furthermore, calculations of the free energy surface of the conformational transition from open (up) to the closed (down) state using a biased simulation method reveal a free energy barrier of ~3.20 kcal/mol for the transition of RBD from open to the closed state, whereas the barrier for the reverse process is found to be significantly higher.
Comparative evaluation of weighted mean and composite score for combining assessments
Authors: Nassar Hani M. , Tekian Ara , Linjawi Amal I. , Park Yoon Soo
Published: March 2023

Objectives

Approaches for combining scores have been based on weighted mean (WM) without consideration for psychometric characteristics of each individual assessments. This study evaluates consequences of WM and composite score (CS) approach.

Methods

Data from two longitudinal cohorts (n = 219) were utilized for performance in three Operative Dentistry courses as basis to compare the two score‐combining methods. Four assessments (two written and two practical exams) from each course were combined using WM and CS approaches. WM scores were calculated by multiplying the score by its weight and summing across assessments. The CS approach follow a modification of the Kane and Case method, by standardizing scores, taking into account the reliability and associations between each assessment score. t‐Tests and Pearson's correlation were used to evaluate the consequences of the WM and CS approaches. In addition, changes in each student's rank across WM and CS were determined.

Results

Combining scores using CS method produced lower scores and higher percentage failure in all courses compared to WM. Students ranks were changed significantly when CS was used with only 15% of the cohorts retained their ranks.

Conclusions

CS produced a composite that is correlated with WM but still being substantively different providing meaningful and psychometrically rigorous information.
Overuse of corticosteroids in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) between 2011 and 2017 in the United States
Authors: Cuker Adam , Tkacz Joseph , Manjelievskaia Janna , Haenig Jens , Maier Joan , Bussel James B
Published: April 2023

Corticosteroids (CSs) are standard first‐line therapy for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Prolonged exposure is associated with substantial toxicity; thus guidelines recommend avoidance of prolonged CS treatment and early use of second‐line therapies. However, real‐world evidence on ITP treatment patterns remains limited. We aimed to assess real‐world treatment patterns in patients with newly‐diagnosed ITP, using two large US healthcare databases (Explorys and MarketScan) between January 1, 2011 and July 31, 2017. Adults with ITP, ≥12 months of database registration prior to diagnosis, ≥1 ITP treatment, and ≥1 month enrollment following initiation of first ITP treatment were included (n = 4066 Explorys; n = 7837 MarketScan). Information on lines of treatment (LoTs) was collected. As expected, CSs were the most common first‐line treatment (Explorys, 87.9%; MarketScan, 84.5%). However, CSs remained by far the most common treatment (Explorys ≥77%; MarketScan ≥85%) across all subsequent LoTs. Second‐line treatments such as rituximab (12.0% Explorys; 24.5% MarketScan), thrombopoietin receptor agonists (11.3% Explorys; 15.6% MarketScan), and splenectomy (2.5% Explorys; 8.1% MarketScan) were used much less frequently. CS use is widespread in the US in patients with ITP across all LoTs. Quality improvement initiatives are needed to reduce CS exposure and bolster use of second‐line treatments.
Peptides for trans‐blood–brain barrier delivery
Authors: Blades Reuben , Ittner Lars M. , Tietz Ole
Published: April 2023

Trans‐blood–brain barrier (BBB) delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents is a major challenge in the development of central nervous system (CNS) targeted radiopharmaceuticals. This review is an introduction to the use of peptides as delivery agents to transport cargos into the CNS. The most widely used BBB‐penetrating peptides are reviewed here, with a particular emphasis on the broad range of cargos delivered into the CNS using these. Cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been deployed as trans‐BBB delivery agents for some time; new developments in the CPP field offer exciting opportunities for the design of next generation trans‐BBB complexes. Many of the peptides highlighted here are ready to be combined with diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals to develop highly effective CNS‐targeted agents.
Comparison and validation of metadta for meta‐analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies
Authors: Nyaga Victoria N. , Arbyn Marc
Published: March 2023

We developed metadta, a flexible, robust, and user‐friendly statistical procedure that fuses established and innovative statistical methods for meta‐analysis, meta‐regression, and network meta‐analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies in Stata. Using data from published meta‐analyses, we validate metadta by comparing and contrasting its features and output to popular procedures dedicated to the meta‐analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies; (midas [Stata], metandi [Stata], metaDTA [web application], mada [R], and MetaDAS [SAS]). We also demonstrate how to perform network meta‐analysis with metadta, for which no alternative procedure is dedicated to network meta‐analysis of diagnostic test accuracy data in the frequentist framework. metadta generated consistent estimates in simple and complex diagnostic test accuracy data sets. We expect its availability to stimulate better statistical practice in the evidence synthesis of diagnostic test accuracy studies.
Determination of 3‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol in biological samples by quick‐easy‐cheap‐effective‐rugged‐and‐safe extraction coupled with gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry and its biodistribution in rats
Authors: Lv Lei , Su Hang , Chen Shanbin , He Jinxing , Yang Yuhong , Liu Yuan , Xing Hanzhu
Published: April 2023

3‐Chloro‐1,2‐propanediol is a common food contaminant, but reports on its determination in biological tissues are lacking. In the present study, a method was developed to detect 3‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol contents in rat tissues by quick‐easy‐cheap‐effective‐rugged‐and‐safe extraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry analysis. Biological samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and purified with adsorbents. The optimized adsorbent for each sample was selected from 4–5 combinations of N‐propylethylenediamine, octadecylsilane, graphitized carbon black, strong anion exchange, and florisil. Extracted 3‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol was derivatized with heptafluorobutyric anhydride and subjected to gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. This method had good linearity (correlation coefficients >0.99) in the range of 2–2000 ng/g for blood, kidney, liver, testis, and brain samples. The limits of detection were under 0.8 ng/g; the limits of quantification were 2 ng/g; the recovery rates were 85%–102%; and the matrix effects were 1.98%–7.67%. This method also had good precision. The dynamic changes in 3‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol in rats gavaged with 20 mg/kg b.w. for 24 h were detected using this method. The 3‐chloro‐1,2‐propanediol content in each tissue sharply increased to a peak, rapidly decreased within 2 h, and stabilized at 12 h. 3‐Chloro‐1,2‐propanediol persisted in the kidney, testis, and liver 24 h after gavage.
Combined addition of plant litter altered remediating effects on petroleum‐contaminated soil in Northern Shaanxi, China
Authors: Zhang Xiaoxi , Hu Jiawei , Tian Shuang , Zhou Wenxing , Liu Kaixuan , Wang Yiren , Zhang Man , Huang Yanying
Published: March 2023

In the present study, we assessed whether the nonadditive effects of mixed litter decomposition on soil biological and chemical properties, which was usually recognized in clean soils, could be used to enhance the efficiency of petroleum‐contaminated soil necrophytoremediation. In particular, six common plant species from the petroleum production region of Northern Shaanxi, China were collected, forming nine mixture types. The single and mixed litters were used to treat petroleum‐contaminated soil with a proportion of 45 g kg−1 at 25°C and a constant humidity for 150 days. The possible nonadditive effects on the efficiency of removing contaminants and recovering the damaged soil traits caused by the mixed litter addition were then investigated. The results indicate that monospecific litter treatments significantly increased the degradation rates of petroleum contaminants, the available N and P contents, and the catalase and dehydrogenase activities by 36%–74%, 28%–455%, and 8%–102%, respectively (p < 0.05). The mixed addition of the litters from Lespedeza davurica and Artemisia scoparia or those from Agropyron cristatum and Bromus inermis caused significant synergistic effects, enhancing the overall petroleum component removal, replenishing nutrients (particularly nitrogen) or stimulating enzymatic activities (especially for sucrase, phosphatase, catalase, and urease). The observed values of the corresponding indicators following mixed litter treatment were observed to significantly increase by 12%–18%, 23%–58%, and 9%–24% (p < 0.05), relative to their predicted values, which were calculated based on the observed values from the monospecific litter treatments and the proportion of the litter in the mixture. However, other litter combinations may weaken the remediation effects of the litter addition. In general, a high content of nutrients, primary metabolites (e.g., soluble sugars and amino acids), and the potential bio‐surfactants and co‐metabolized substrates (including terpenoids and flavonoids) of mixed litters enhanced the remediation efficiency of mixed litters. Notably, an increase in the chemical diversity of mixed litter may weaken its synergistic effects on the degradation of petroleum components and the simulation of soil polyphenol oxidase activity. Our results demonstrate that appropriate litter mixing combinations can effectively enhance the efficiency of necrophytoremediation, thus providing new approaches for the more convenient and economical remediation of petroleum‐contaminated soil.
The Initial Molecular Interactions in the Course of Enthalpy Relaxation and Nucleation in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as Monitored by Combined Nanocalorimetry and FTIR Spectroscopy
Authors: Kipnusu Wycliffe Kiprop , Zhuravlev Evgeny , Schick Christoph , Kremer Friedrich
Published: April 2023

Fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy are combined to trace  the evolution of the calorimetric properties and of the molecular interactions in a strongly crystallizing polymer, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The minute sample amount (≈5 ng) required for FSC allows for the realization of cooling rates up to 50 000 K s−1 and to quench the sample into the amorphous state. By subsequent annealing at varying temperatures Ta and times ta enthalpy relaxation, (homogeneous) nucleation and crystallization can be monitored with high precision. Determining the difference IR spectra between a quenched and an annealed sample unravels the development of the intra‐ and inter‐molecular interactions in detail; i) as first response taking place during enthalpy relaxation, the far reaching Coulomb interactions between the polar carbonyl (C ═ O) moieties are active; ii) in contrast, the methylene unit (CH2) and the aromatic ring show a response only, if homogeneous nucleation sets in, while the ester (COC) moiety remains uninfluenced; iii) a hierarchy is observed in of the response of the different molecular moieties; iv) if crystallization comes to play, all molecular units are involved. The results are compared with recently published findings for polyamide 66 demonstrating the high molecular specificity of homogeneous nucleation and crystallization.
Collagen‐Based Flexible Electronic Devices for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Sensing
Authors: Zhang Xinyuan , Liu Jie , Li Lu , Zheng Xuejing , Tang Keyong , Pei Ying
Published: April 2023

The development of high‐performance and low‐cost, flexible electronic devices is a crucial prerequisite for emerging applications of energy storage, conversion, and sensing system. Collagen as the most abundant structural protein in mammals, owing to the unique amino acid composition and hierarchical structure, the conversion of collagen into collagen‐derived carbon materials with different nanostructures and abundant ideal heteroatom doping through the carbonization method is expected to be a promising candidate material for electrodes of energy storage devices. The excellent mechanical flexibility of collagen and the abundant functional groups on its molecular chain that are easy to modify provide the possibility to be used as a separator material. On this basis, the ideal biocompatibility and degradability provide unique conditions for it to match the flexible substrate material of the human body for wearable electronic skin. In this review, the unique characteristics and advantages of collagen for electronic devices are first summarized. Recent progress in designing and constructing collagen‐based electronic devices for future applications of electrochemical energy storage and sensing are reviewed. Finally, the challenges and prospects for collagen‐based flexible electronic devices are discussed.
Virginia advocates call for MH reform following patient death
Authors: Canady Valerie A.
Published: March 2023

Virginia mental health advocates are calling for mental health reform following the death of a 28‐year‐old man experiencing a mental health crisis at a state hospital while still in the custody of the sheriff's deputies. Advocates said it is not the first time they have pushed for reform following the tragic death of an individual in crisis.
A novel data streaming method for detecting abnormal flows in distributed monitoring systems
Authors: Zhou Aiping , Zhu Ye
Published: April 2023

This paper concentrates on the issue of detecting abnormal flows in distributed monitoring systems, which has many network management applications such as anomaly detection and traffic engineering. Collecting massive network traffic in real‐time remains a large challenge due to the limited system resource. Most existing approaches perform abnormal flow detection at one measurement point, while they cause large computation and memory overhead for recovering abnormal flows. In this paper, we propose a novel data streaming method that supports accurate abnormal flow detection with a low memory requirement. The key idea of our method is that each monitor compresses flow information to summary data structure, sends the generated data structure to the controller; then the controller aggregates the received data structures, recovers candidates of abnormal flows and estimates their size and change to find abnormal flows on the basis of the aggregated data structure. The experimental results based on real network traffic show that the proposed approach can detect up to 97% of abnormal flows with low memory and update requirements in comparison with related approaches.
On the numerical approximation of Boussinesq/Boussinesq systems for internal waves
Authors: Dougalis Vassilios A. , Duran Angel , Saridaki Leetha
Published: March 2023

The present paper is concerned with the numerical approximation of a three‐parameter family of Boussinesq systems. The systems have been proposed as models of the propagation of long internal waves along the interface of a two‐layer system of fluids with rigid‐lid condition for the upper layer and under a Boussinesq regime for the flow in both layers. We first present some theoretical properties of the systems on well‐posedness, conservation laws, Hamiltonian structure, and solitary‐wave solutions, using the results for analogous models for surface wave propagation. Then the corresponding periodic initial‐value problem is discretized in space by the spectral Fourier Galerkin method and for each system, error estimates for the semidiscrete approximation are proved. The spectral semidiscretizations are numerically integrated in time by a fourth‐order Runge–Kutta‐composition method based on the implicit midpoint rule. Numerical experiments illustrate the accuracy of the fully discrete scheme, in particular its ability to simulate accurately solitary‐wave solutions of the systems.