bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effective Tube Weaning and Predictive Clinical Characteristics of NICU Patients With Feeding Dysfunction
Authors: Ermarth Anna , Thomas Debbie , Ling Con Yee , Cardullo Adam , White Ben R.
Published: October 2019

Background

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary earlier discharge model for neonates receiving home enteral nutrition (HEN).

Methods

A retrospective data review and analysis was performed on 183 patients discharged out of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) receiving partial oral feeds (PO) and partial HEN from September 2016 to March 2018. These patients were followed in a multidisciplinary clinic led by a pediatric gastroenterologist, a neonatal feeding therapist, and a pediatric dietitian. Demographics and data were recorded for patients at discharge, and then chart reviews were performed for additional data.

Results

Of 182 patients, 121 (67%) weaned off HEN with a median time to full PO at 79 days (interquartile range [IQR] 15, 247) and had median PO intake of 20% (0, 43) at time of discharge. When comparing patients who gained 100% PO vs patients who did not wean off HEN, the weaned group consisted of 88% nasogastric tubes, with median time off feeds at 27 days (IQR 8, 79) and median PO intake of 29% (11, 50) at discharge. Only 13% of the cohort had an emergency room or hospital admission, which corresponds to 1.6 and 0.8 events, respectively, per 500 tube days specifically due to HEN complications.

Conclusions

Our study supports that NICU patients with feeding dysfunction can effectively and safely discharge home earlier while receiving HEN. Our data suggest that a dedicated outpatient clinic can facilitate effective tube weaning in a majority of neonates with complex medical diseases with low rates of adverse events.
Effect of in ovo feeding of β‐hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate on hatchability, muscle growth and performance in prenatal and posthatch broilers
Authors: Ma You‐biao , Zhang Feng‐dong , Wang Jing , Wu Shu‐geng , Qi Guang‐hai , Zhang Hai‐jun
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

β‐Hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate (HMB) is the metabolite of leucine that plays an important role in muscle protein metabolism. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of HMB at 7 days of incubation (DOI) via air cell or 18 DOI via amnion on hatchability, muscle growth and performance in prenatal and posthatch broilers.

RESULTS

IOF of HMB via air cell at 7 DOI increased hatchability by 4.34% compared with the control (89.67% versus 85.33%). Birds in IOF groups exhibited higher body weight, average daily body weight gain and pectoral muscle percentage. Furthermore, IOF of HMB significantly increased the level of plasma growth hormone, insulin and insulin‐like growth factor‐1. Chicks hatched from IOF treatment had larger diameters of muscle fiber and higher mitotic activity of satellite cells at early posthatch age. IOF of HMB activated satellite cells by upregulation of mRNA expression of myogenic transcription factors, myogenic differentiation one (MyoD) and myogenin. Chicks hatched from air cell injection group had higher pectoral muscle percentage at 5 d posthatch and greater satellite cell mitotic activity at 7 d posthatch than counterparts from amnion injection group.

CONCLUSIONS

IOF of HMB via amnion at 18 DOI or especially via air cell at 7 DOI could be used as an effective approach to enhance hatchability, productive performance and breast muscle yield in broilers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Evolution of phenolic and volatile compounds during bottle storage of a white wine without added sulfite
Authors: Pati Sandra , Crupi Pasquale , Savastano Maria L , Benucci Ilaria , Esti Marco
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

Bottle storage can affect color, aroma and phenolic composition of white wine. Very little information is reported about the bottle evolution during storage of white wines without added sulfites and/or using other antioxidants. This work is aimed at studying the evolution of the main enological parameters, phenolic and volatile profiles of a white wine without added sulfites, during 15 months of storage in bottle at different light and temperature conditions, compared with a control stored with sulfur dioxide. Dark storage at 12 °C (D12‐S, D12‐NS) and 30 °C (D30‐S, D30‐NS) were compared to investigate the temperature effect, meanwhile uncontrolled temperature and light condition (UTL‐S, UTL‐NS) simulated improper storage conditions.

RESULTS

Volatile acidity, absorbance at 420 nm and total phenols were higher in UTL‐NS and D30‐NS wines. The trans forms of hydroxycinnamic esters decreased, whereas, the cis forms, as well as caffeic acid derivatives, significantly increased in samples without added sulfites. The storage without sulfites also accelerated the hydrolysis of acetate esters. However, it did not affect most of the ethyl esters whose content remained almost the same between sulfite added (S) and no sulfite added (NS) wines.

CONCLUSION

The presence of sulfites in the bottle helped to preserve the volatile compounds of young wines; however, even more important seemed to be the optimal storage (dark and low temperature), as unsuitable conditions favored aroma degradation of bottled wine, regardless of sulfite protective action. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
MiR‐182‐5p enhances in vitro neutrophil infiltration in Kawasaki disease
Authors: Li Sung‐Chou , Huang Lien‐Hung , Chien Kuang‐Jen , Pan Chao‐Yu , Lin Pei‐Hsien , Lin Yuyu , Weng Ken‐Pen , Tsai Kuo‐Wang
Published: October 2019

Background

Kawasaki disease (KD) patients could develop coronary artery lesion (CAL) which threatens children's life. A previous study identified KD biomarker miRNAs that could discriminate KD patients from febrile non‐KD patients. We wonder whether these KD prediction biomarkers could be further applied to predict CAL formation in KD patients.

Methods

To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a meta‐analysis, miRNA mimic transfection, in vitro cell model and microarray assays.

Results

We first showed that miR‐182‐5p and miR‐183‐5p kept higher levels in the KD patients with CAL than those without CAL (p < .05). Further machine learning alignment confirmed that CAL formation could be predicted, with an auROC value of 0.86. We further treated neutrophil cells with miR‐182‐5p mimic, followed by in vitro transendotherial migration assay. As a result, miR‐182‐5p overexpression significantly (p < .05) enhanced neutrophil cells to infiltrate the endothelial layer composed of human coronary artery endothelium cells. Further microarray assay and pathway enrichment analysis showed that the genes activated with miR‐182‐5p overexpression were significantly enriched in the leukocyte transendothelial migration pathway (kegg_pathway_194, p < .05).

Conclusion

Therefore, our study suggested that miR‐182‐5p enhanced in vitro leukocyte infiltration by activating the leukocyte transendothelial migration pathway in CAL formation in KD.
Novel acoustic coupling bath using magnetite nanoparticles for MR‐guided transcranial focused ultrasound surgery
Authors: Allen Steven P. , Steeves Tom , Fergusson Austin , Moore Dave , Davis Richey M , Vlaisialjevich Eli , Meyer Craig H.
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Acoustic coupling baths, nominally composed of degassed water, play important roles during transcranial focused ultrasound surgery. However, this large water bolus also degrades the quality of intraoperative magnetic resonance (MR) guidance imaging. In this study, we test the feasibility of using dilute, aqueous magnetite nanoparticle suspensions to suppress these image degradations while preserving acoustic compatibility. We examine the effects of these suspensions on metrics of image quality and acoustic compatibility for two types of transcranial focused ultrasound insonation regimes: low‐duty cycle histotripsy procedures and high‐duty cycle thermal ablation procedures.

Methods

Magnetic resonance guidance imaging was used to monitor thermal ablations of in vitro gel targets using a coupling bath composed of various concentrations of aqueous, suspended, magnetite nanoparticles in a clinical transcranial transducer under stationary and flowing conditions. Thermal deposition was monitored using MR thermometry simultaneous to insonation. Then, using normal degassed water as a coupling bath, various concentrations of aqueous, suspended, magnetite nanoparticles were placed at the center of this same transducer and insonated using high‐duty cycle pulsing parameters. Passive cavitation detectors recorded cavitation emissions, which were then used to estimate the relative number of cavitation events per insonation (cavitation duty cycle) and the cavitation dose estimates of each nanoparticle concentration. Finally, the nanoparticle mixtures were exposed to low‐duty cycle, histotripsy pulses. Passive cavitation detectors monitored cavitation emissions, which were used to estimate cavitation threshold pressures.

Results

The nanoparticles reduced the MR signal of the coupling bath by 90% in T2‐ and T2*‐weighted images and also removed almost all imaging artifacts caused by coupling bath motion. The coupling baths caused <5% changes in peak temperature change achieved during sonication, as observed via MR thermometry. At low duty cycle insonations, the nanoparticles decreased the cavitation threshold pressure by about 15 ± 7% in a manner uncorrelated with nanoparticle concentration. At high duty cycle insonations, the 0.5 cavitation duty cycle acoustic power threshold varied linearly with nanoparticle concentration.

Conclusions

Dilute aqueous magnetite nanoparticle suspensions effectively reduced MR imaging artifacts caused by the acoustic coupling bath. They also attenuated acoustic power deposition by <5%. For low duty cycle insonation regimes, the nanoparticles decreased the cavitation threshold by 15 ± 7%. However, for high‐duty cycle regimes, the nanoparticles decreased the threshold for cavitation in proportion to nanoparticle concentration.
Calibration of arterial spin labeling data—potential pitfalls in post‐processing
Authors: Pinto Joana , Chappell Michael A. , Okell Thomas W. , Mezue Melvin , Segerdahl Andrew R. , Tracey Irene , Vilela Pedro , Figueiredo Patrícia
Published: October 2019

Purpose

To assess the impact of the different post‐processing options in the calibration of arterial spin labeling (ASL) data on perfusion quantification and its reproducibility.

Theory and Methods

Absolute quantification of perfusion measurements is one of the promises of ASL techniques. However, it is highly dependent on a calibration procedure that involves a complex processing pipeline for which no standardized procedure has been fully established. In this work, we systematically compare the main ASL calibration methods as well as various post‐processing calibration options, using 2 data sets acquired with the most common sequences, pulsed ASL and pseudo‐continuous ASL.

Results

Significant and sometimes large discrepancies in ASL perfusion quantification were obtained when using different post‐processing calibration options. Nevertheless, when using a set of theoretically based and carefully chosen options, only small differences were observed for both reference tissue and voxelwise methods. The voxelwise and white matter reference tissue methods were less sensitive to post‐processing options than the cerebrospinal fluid reference tissue method. However, white matter reference tissue calibration also produced poorer reproducibility results. Moreover, it may also not be an appropriate reference in case of white matter pathology.

Conclusion

Poor post‐processing calibration options can lead to large errors in perfusion quantification, and a complete description of the calibration procedure should therefore be reported in ASL studies. Overall, our results further support the voxelwise calibration method proposed by the ASL white paper, particularly given the advantage of being relatively simple to implement and intrinsically correcting for the coil sensitivity profile.
Referenceless multi‐channel signal combination: A demonstration in chemical‐shift‐encoded water‐fat imaging
Authors: Liu Simin , Wu Peng , Liu Haining , Hu Zhangxuan , Guo Hua
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Without explicit coil sensitivity information acquired by means of a reference body coil, multi‐channel signal combination for water‐fat separation (WFS) can be challenging due to channel‐dependent phase offsets and chemical‐shift dependent phase shifts. This study aims to develop a referenceless, robust, accurate, and fast channel combination method for WFS.

Theory and Methods

A dual‐step multi‐channel combination method is proposed. In the first step, channel‐dependent phase offsets are estimated with a preliminary WFS estimation. In the second step, the multi‐channel data are combined after removing phase offsets. Thereafter, WFS is performed to obtain final results. Numerical simulations (4–64 coils) and in vivo experiments (8, 16, 28 coils) at 3T field strength are conducted to compare the proposed method to previous methods. Channel combination with a body‐coil scan serves as the reference for in vivo experiments.

Results

The proposed method estimates channel‐dependent phase offsets accurately. It shows improved robustness to phase singularities than weighted mean and adaptive reconstruction. It is faster than adaptive reconstruction (e.g., 25.45 versus 46.34 s with 28 coils) and the channel‐by‐channel WFS method (e.g., 21.77 versus 50.04 s with 8 coils). It provides comparable fat quantification accuracy to the reference under various reasonable signal‐to‐noise ratio conditions (e.g., Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.981 with P < 0.01, for in vivo fat fractions using flip angle = 10°).

Conclusion

The proposed referenceless channel combination method may be beneficial to both qualitative and quantitative water‐fat imaging.
Molstack: A platform for interactive presentations of electron density and cryo‐EM maps and their interpretations
Authors: Porebski Przemyslaw J. , Bokota Grzegorz , Venkataramany Barat S. , Minor Wladek
Published: October 2019

In the Special Issue on Tools for Protein Science in 2018, we presented Molstack: a concept of a cloud‐based platform for sharing electron density maps and their interpretations. Molstack is a web platform that allows the interactive visualization of density maps through the simultaneous presentation of multiple datasets and models in a way that allows for easy pairwise comparison. We anticipated that the users of this conceptually simple platform would find many different uses for their projects, and we were not mistaken. We have observed researchers use Molstack to present experimental evidence for their models in the form of electron density maps, omit maps, and anomalous difference density maps. Users also employed Molstack to present alternative interpretations of densities, including rerefinements and speculative interpretations. While we anticipated these types of projects to be the main use cases, we were pleased to see Molstack used to display superpositions of different models, as a tool for story‐driven presentations, and for collaboration as well. Here, we present developments in the platform that were driven by user feedback, highlight several cases that used Molstack to enhance the publication, and discuss possible directions for the platform.
Characterization of difenoconazole resistance in Lasiodiplodia theobromae from papaya in Brazil
Authors: Li Yuan , Tsuji Susan Satie , Hu Mengjun , Câmara Marcos Paz Saraiva , Michereff Sami Jorge , Schnabel Guido , Chen Fengping
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND

Stem‐end rot caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is one of the most important diseases of papaya in northeastern Brazil. It can be controlled effectively by demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides, but the occurrence of DMI resistance may decrease fungicide efficacy.

RESULTS

Detached fruit studies revealed that isolates with EC50 values of 6.07 and 6.28 μg mL−1 were not controlled effectively, but reduced virulence and ability to grow at temperatures ranging from 12 to 32 °C suggesting fitness penalties were observed. Cross‐resistance was observed only between difenoconazole and propiconazole. The entire cytochrome P450 sterol 14α‐demethylase (LtCYP51) gene and its flanking regions were cloned. The gene was 1746 bp in length and contained three introns. The predicted protein contained 525 amino acids. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the LtCYP51 belongs to the CYP51B clade. No amino acid variation was found between sensitive and resistant isolates; however, the gene was constitutively more highly expressed in resistant isolates.

CONCLUSION

Resistance to DMI fungicides in L. theobromae is based on LtCYP51 gene overexpression and fitness penalties may be present in difenoconazole‐resistant isolates. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
The association of cervical sagittal alignment with adjacent segment degeneration
Authors: Yang Xiaoyu , Bartels Ronald H. M. A. , Donk Roland , Arts Mark P. , Goedmakers Caroline M. W. , Vleggeert-Lankamp Carmen L. A.
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Cervical spine surgery may affect sagittal alignment parameters and induce accelerated degeneration of the cervical spine. Cervical sagittal alignment parameters of surgical patients will be correlated with radiological adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) and with clinical outcome parameters.

Methods

Patients were analysed from two randomized, double-blinded trials comparing anterior cervical discectomy with arthroplasty (ACDA), with intervertebral cage (ACDF) and without intervertebral cage (ACD). C2–C7 lordosis, T1 slope, C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA) and the occipito-cervical angle (OCI) were determined as cervical sagittal alignment parameters. Radiological ASD was scored by the combination of decrease in disc height and anterior osteophyte formation. Neck disability index (NDI), SF-36 PCS and MCS were evaluated as clinical outcomes.

Results

The cervical sagittal alignment parameters were comparable between the three treatment groups, both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Irrespective of surgical method, C2–C7 lordosis was found to increase from 11° to 13°, but the other parameters remained stable during follow-up. Only the OCI was demonstrated to be associated with the presence and positive progression of radiological ASD, both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. NDI, SF-36 PCS and MCS were demonstrated not to be correlated with cervical sagittal alignment. Likewise, a correlation with the value or change of the OCI was absent.

Conclusion

OCI, an important factor to maintain horizontal gaze, was demonstrated to be associated with radiological ASD, suggesting that the occipito-cervical angle influences accelerated cervical degeneration. Since OCI did not change after surgery, degeneration of the cervical spine may be predicted by the value of OCI.

NECK trial

Dutch Trial Register Number NTR1289.

PROCON trial

Trial Register Number ISRCTN41681847.

Graphic abstract

These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
A complete direct approach to nonlinear modeling of dielectric elastomer plates
Authors: Hansy-Staudigl Elisabeth , Krommer Michael , Humer Alexander
Published: October 2019

In this paper, we present a complete direct approach to nonlinear modeling of thin plates, which are made of incompressible dielectric elastomers. In particular, the dielectric elastomers are assumed to exhibit a neo-Hookean elastic behavior, and the effect of electrostatic forces is incorporated by the purely electrical contribution to the augmented Helmholtz free energy. Our approach does not involve any extraction-type procedure from the three-dimensional energy to derive the plate augmented free energy, but directly postulates the form of this energy for the structural plate problem treated in this paper. Results computed within the framework of this novel approach are compared to results available in the literature as well as to our own three-dimensional finite element solutions. A very good agreement is found.
A Crystal Plasticity Model with Irradiation Effect for the Mechanical Behavior of FCC Metals
Authors: Nie Junfeng , Liu Yunpeng , Lin Pandong , Xie Qihao , Liu Zhanli
Published: October 2019

In this paper, a crystal plasticity model considering the irradiation effect based on the thermal activation theory is established. The evolutions of screw dislocations, edge dislocations, and stacking fault tetrahedrals (SFTs) (induced by irradiation) are included into the model. The interactions between dislocations and irradiation-induced SFTs are also considered. The constitutive model is numerically implemented on the ABAQUS platform through UMAT subroutine and applied to study the irradiation effect on the mechanical behavior of pure copper. The mechanical properties of single and polycrystalline copper are studied, and the simulation results show that the constitutive model can properly predict the mechanical behavior of irradiated pure copper. Especially for polycrystalline copper, the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data.
The future of social media in marketing
Authors: Appel Gil , Grewal Lauren , Hadi Rhonda , Stephen Andrew T.
Published: October 2019

Social media allows people to freely interact with others and offers multiple ways for marketers to reach and engage with consumers. Considering the numerous ways social media affects individuals and businesses alike, in this article, the authors focus on where they believe the future of social media lies when considering marketing-related topics and issues. Drawing on academic research, discussions with industry leaders, and popular discourse, the authors identify nine themes, organized by predicted imminence (i.e., the immediate, near, and far futures), that they believe will meaningfully shape the future of social media through three lenses: consumer, industry, and public policy. Within each theme, the authors describe the digital landscape, present and discuss their predictions, and identify relevant future research directions for academics and practitioners.
Neural attention with character embeddings for hay fever detection from twitter
Authors: Du Jiahua , Michalska Sandra , Subramani Sudha , Wang Hua , Zhang Yanchun
Published: October 2019

The paper aims to leverage the highly unstructured user-generated content in the context of pollen allergy surveillance using neural networks with character embeddings and the attention mechanism. Currently, there is no accurate representation of hay fever prevalence, particularly in real-time scenarios. Social media serves as an alternative to extract knowledge about the condition, which is valuable for allergy sufferers, general practitioners, and policy makers. Despite tremendous potential offered, conventional natural language processing methods prove limited when exposed to the challenging nature of user-generated content. As a result, the detection ofactualhay fever instances among the number of false positives, as well as the correct identification of non-technical expressions as pollen allergy symptoms poses a major problem. We propose a deep architecture enhanced with character embeddings and neural attention to improve the performance of hay fever-related content classification from Twitter data. Improvement in prediction is achieved due to the character-level semantics introduced, which effectively addresses the out-of-vocabulary problem in our dataset where the rate is approximately 9%. Overall, the study is a step forward towards improved real-time pollen allergy surveillance from social media with state-of-art technology.
Trends in Women’s Employment and Poverty Rates in OECD Countries: A Kitagawa–Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition
Authors: Nieuwenhuis Rense , Van Lancker Wim , Collado Diego , Cantillon Bea
Published: October 2019

Although employment growth is propagated as being crucial to reduce poverty across EU and OECD countries, the actual impact of employment growth on poverty rates is still unclear. This study presents novel estimates of the association between macro-level trends in women’s employment and trends in poverty, across 15 OECD countries from 1971 to 2013. It does so based on over 2 million household-level observations from the LIS Database, using Kitagawa–Blinder–Oaxaca (KBO) decompositions. The results indicate that an increase of 10% points in women’s employment rate was associated with a reduction of about 1% point of poverty across these countries. In part, this reduction compensated for developments in men’s employment that were associated with higher poverty. However, in the Nordic countries no such poverty association was found, as in these countries women’s employment rates were very high and stable throughout the observation period. In countries that initially showed marked increases in women’s employment, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Canada, and the United States, the initial increases in women’s employment rates were typically followed by a period in which these trends levelled off. Hence, our findings first and foremost suggest that improving gender equality in employment is associated with lower poverty risks. Yet, the results also suggest that the potential of following an employment strategy to (further) reduce poverty in OECD countries has, to a large extent, been depleted.
Joint method using Akamatsu and discrete wavelet transform for image restoration
Authors: Maulana Akbar Jihad , Ignatius Moses Setiadi De Rosal
Published: October 2019

Current technology makes it easy for humans to take an image and convert it to digital content, but sometimes there is additional noise in the image so it looks damaged. The damage that often occurs, like blurring and excessive noise in digital images, can certainly affect the meaning and quality of the image. Image restoration is a process used to restore the image to its original state before the image damage occurs. In this research, we proposed an image restoration method by combining Wavelet transformation and Akamatsu transformation. Based on previous research Akamatsu's transformation only works well on blurred images. In order not to focus solely on blurry images, Akamatsu's transformation will be applied based on Wavelet transformations on high-low (HL), low-high (LH), and high-high (HH) subunits. The result of the proposed method will be comparable with the previous methods. PSNR is used as a measure of image quality restoration. Based on the results the proposed method can improve the quality of the restoration on image noise, such as Gaussian, salt and pepper, and also works well on blurred images. The average increase is around 2 dB based on the PSNR calculation.
A Critical Evaluation of Deep Blue Algorithm Derived AVHRR Aerosol Product Over China
Authors: Mei Linlu , Zhao Chuanxu , de Leeuw Gerrit , Burrows John P. , Rozanov Vladimir , Che HuiZheng , Vountas Marco , Ladstätter‐Weißenmayer Annette , Zhang Xiaoye
Published: October 2019

The Deep Blue (DB) aerosol retrieval algorithm has recently been applied to Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data to produce a first version (V001) of a global aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data set. In this paper, we critically evaluate these AVHRR AOT data over China by comparison with ground‐based reference data from China Aerosol Remote Sensing Network for the period 2006–2011. The evaluation considers the impact of the surface (type and reflectance) and the aerosol properties (aerosol loading, aerosol absorption) on the quality of the retrieved AOT. We also compare the AVHRR‐retrieved AOT with that from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer over major aerosol source regions in China. We further consider seasonal variations and find, in general, a good agreement between AVHRR AOT and the reference data sets. The AVHRR retrieval algorithm performs well over dark vegetated surfaces, but over bright surfaces (e.g., desert regions) the results are less good. The AVHRR algorithm underestimates the AOT, with 32.1% of the values lower than the estimated error envelope of ±0.05 ± 0.25τ. In particular over the desert, the AVHRR‐retrieved AOT is frequently underestimated and for AOT ≤ 0.6 the values are on average 0.05 too low due to the pixel filtering, and dust storms are missed. The comparison of the AVHRR AOT with MODIS collection 6 and CARSNET data indicates that improvements are needed for, for example, AVHRR calibration and cloud/aerosol flagging. The analysis presented in this paper contributes to a better understanding of the AVHRR AOT product over China.
Mass Balance Assessment of the Amery Ice Shelf Basin, East Antarctica
Authors: Zhou Chunxia , Liang Qi , Chen Yiming , Lei Haobo , Fu Zheng , Zheng Lei , Liu Ruixi
Published: October 2019

The Lambert Glacier‐Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) System is the largest glacial system in East Antarctica. Accurate estimation of its mass balance is imperative for reducing the uncertainty in evaluating the sea‐level contribution from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation of the mass balance of the AIS basin. We measured the ice velocity with Sentinel‐1 synthetic‐aperture radar data acquired in 2016. The ice thickness data from the radio echo‐sounding measurements were combined with the surface mass balance data from the new Regional Atmospheric Climate Model, from which the mass balance of the AIS basin was estimated. Our estimates suggest a slight positive mass balance of 3.1 ± 9.4 Gt/year in 2016. We found that the short‐term fluctuations in the surface mass balance dramatically affect the AIS mass balance. A comparison with previous estimates confirms the long‐term positive mass balance trend.
On the Linear Polarization of TGFs and X‐Rays From Natural and Rocket‐Triggered Lightning and Its Association With Source Geometry
Authors: Bagheri Mahdi , Dwyer Joseph R. , McConnell Mark L.
Published: October 2019

Terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) are bright bursts of gamma rays produced by thunderstorms, typically observed by spacecraft in the low‐Earth orbit. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to disentangle the source altitude and the width and direction of the gamma‐ray beam using single point spacecraft measurements, which has hampered attempts to constrain TGF models. Polarimetry of astrophysical sources has been of interest for many decades, which raises the question: Do TGFs and X‐rays from lightning have observable polarization, and if so, what would this polarization tell us about their source? REAM Monte Carlo code has been modified to record the linear polarization of X‐rays and gamma rays as a function of source altitude and beam geometry. It is found that polarization degree of a 20‐km narrow beam of TGF is substantially different from a 15‐km‐wide beam, which could be used to constrain the source geometry of TGFs. However, due to the low fluence of these events in space, detecting this level of polarization would be challenging. It is also found that low‐altitude TGFs (source at 3.5 km) produce polarizations up to about 8%; however, detectors need to be very close to the source region. Furthermore, very low altitude ground‐level TGFs and X‐rays showed a maximum polarization of 13% on the ground, of which the TGF's fluence was large enough for polarimetry. In addition, polarization reached its maximum further away from the z axis as the TGF's beam broadened. The dominant mechanism of the polarization was found to be Compton scattering.
Characteristics of Ice Nucleating Particles in and Around California Winter Storms
Authors: Levin Ezra J.T. , DeMott Paul J. , Suski Kaitlyn J. , Boose Yvonne , Hill Thomas C.J. , McCluskey Christina S. , Schill Gregory P. , Rocci Katherine , Al‐Mashat Hashim , Kristensen Louise J. , Cornwell Gavin , Prather Kimberly , Tomlinson Jason , Mei Fan , Hubbe John , Pekour Mikhail , Sullivan Ryan , Leung L. Ruby , Kreidenweis Sonia M.
Published: October 2019

A major component of California's yearly precipitation comes from wintertime atmospheric river events which bring large amounts of moisture from the tropics up to the midlatitudes. Understanding these systems, specifically the effects of aerosol particles on precipitation associated with these storms, was a major focus of the 2015 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment, which was part of the wintertime California Water 2015 campaign. The measurement campaign provided sampling platforms on four aircraft, including the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Aerial Facility G‐1, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ronald H. Brown research vessel and at a ground station in Bodega Bay, CA. Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) were made with the Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber aboard the G‐1, and aerosol filters were collected on the G‐1, at the Bodega Bay site and on the Ronald H. Brown for postprocessing via immersion freezing in the Colorado State University Ice Spectrometer. Aerosol composition was measured aboard the G‐1 with the Aerosol Time‐of‐Flight Mass Spectrometer. Here we present INP concentrations and aerosol chemical compositions during the course of the aircraft campaign. During the atmospheric river event, we found that marine aerosol was the main aerosol type and that marine INPs were dominant at cloud activation temperatures, which is in stark contrast to the dominance of dust INPs during the atmospheric river events in the California Water 2011 campaign.
Soil Moisture Memory and Its Effect on the Surface Water and Heat Fluxes on Seasonal and Interannual Time Scales
Authors: Song Y. M. , Wang Z. F. , Qi L. L. , Huang A. N.
Published: October 2019

The persistence of soil moisture anomalies has an important effect on the weather and climate forecasts. Numerous observational and modeling studies have addressed the memory of soil moisture anomalies and its effects at the seasonal scale, and few studies have focused on the interannual scale. This study investigates the soil moisture memory and its effect on the surface heat and water fluxes under different atmospheric conditions on seasonal and interannual scales using the Community Land Model Version 4.5 driven by the observations at the Tongyu site. The results indicate that the soil moisture anomalies can persist for more than 1 year. It was found that the decay rate of soil moisture anomalies depends mainly on initial soil moisture anomalies, followed by atmospheric condition in this study. Under the same atmospheric condition, the wet anomalies of soil moisture decay faster than dry anomalies of soil moisture. With the same initial soil moisture anomalies, soil moisture memory is usually shorter under the wet atmospheric condition. Moreover, the soil moisture anomalies have an obvious exponential decrease over the years. The anomalies of the surface heat fluxes have significant interannual attenuation trend and seasonal variations, and they are closely related to the anomalies of surface temperature, which are mainly affected by the anomalies of soil specific heat capacity. This study provides a scientific support for understanding the persistence of soil moisture anomalies, and it may be useful for the research on the seasonal and interannual variability of climate.
Synthesis of 1-naphthols via Cp*Co(iii)-catalyzed C–H activation and cyclization of sulfoxonium ylides with alkynes
Authors: Yu Yongqi , Wu Qianlong , Liu Da , Yu Lin , Tan Ze , Zhu Gangguo
Published: October 2019

A highly practical synthesis of 1-naphthols was developed via Cp*Co(iii)-catalyzed C–H activation and cyclization between sulfoxonium ylides and alkynes.
G-quadruplex DNA regulates invertible circularly polarized luminescence
Authors: Chen Jingqi , Chen Yingying , Zhao Lijuan , Feng Lingyan , Xing Feifei , Zhao Chuanqi , Hu Lianzhe , Ren Jinsong , Qu Xiaogang
Published: October 2019

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) was performed for the first time in G4 research in which chirality transfer from G4 to the achiral dye. Opposite CPL signals are obtained on mirror d-/l-enantiomers and parallel/antiparallel G4 changes.
Deep learning approach for automatic out‐of‐plane needle localisation for semi‐automatic ultrasound probe calibration
Authors: Groves Leah A. , VanBerlo Blake , Peters Terry M. , Chen Elvis C.S.
Published: October 2019

The authors present a deep learning algorithm for the automatic centroid localisation of out‐of‐plane US needle reflections to produce a semi‐automatic ultrasound (US) probe calibration algorithm. A convolutional neural network was trained on a dataset of 3825 images at a 6 cm imaging depth to predict the position of the centroid of a needle reflection. Applying the automatic centroid localisation algorithm to a test set of 614 annotated images produced a root mean squared error of 0.62 and 0.74 mm (6.08 and 7.62 pixels) in the axial and lateral directions, respectively. The mean absolute errors associated with the test set were 0.50 ± 0.40 mm and 0.51 ± 0.54 mm (4.9 ± 3.96 pixels and 5.24 ± 5.52 pixels) for the axial and lateral directions, respectively. The trained model was able to produce visually validated US probe calibrations at imaging depths on the range of 4–8 cm, despite being solely trained at 6 cm. This work has automated the pixel localisation required for the guided‐US calibration algorithm producing a semi‐automatic implementation available open‐source through 3D Slicer. The automatic needle centroid localisation improves the usability of the algorithm and has the potential to decrease the fiducial localisation and target registration errors associated with the guided‐US calibration method.
Model adaptive torque control and distribution with error reconstruction strategy for RWID EVs
Authors: Zhang Ying , Zeng Tingyu , Zhang Yingjie , Ai Zhaoyang , Feng Yun
Published: October 2019

The performance of the torque control and distribution is a critical problem that can affect the stability, safety and energy efficiency of a rear‐wheel independent drive (RWID) electric vehicle (EV). This study proposes a model adaptive torque control and distribution method for RWID EVs. First, the torque control and distribution problem is analysed in detail. Then an RWID EVs’ longitudinal model is built and a torque control and distribution scheme is proposed. To avoid the over‐actuation and the under‐actuation of the powertrain system, a controller is designed based on the longitudinal model to adaptively control the driving torque. To comprehensively consider the stability and safety, an error reconstruction strategy based on the fuzzy logic theory is proposed to evaluate the errors in the side slip angle and in the yaw rate. In order to accurately distribute the driving torque to the rear wheels, a torque distribution controller is designed. Finally, the proposed method is validated on a co‐simulation platform, and the simulation results demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed method for RWID EVs’ torque control and distribution compared with the counterparts of fuzzy logic direct yaw‐moment control and two‐loop torque distribution and control.
Preparation and effects on neuronal nutrition of plasmenylethonoamine and plasmanylcholine from the mussel Mytilus edulis
Authors: Ding Yi , Wang Rui , Wang Xiaoxu , Cong Peixu , Liu Yanjun , Li Zhaojie , Xu Jie , Xue Changhu
Published: October 2019

Plasmenylethonoamine (pPE) and plasmanylcholine (aPC) are important phospholipid subclasses. Herein we explored optimum conditions for enzymatic purification and preparation of pPE and aPC from the mussel Mytilus edulis and bovine brain. Among them, pPE in Mytilus edulis PE was mainly p18:0–20:5 and p18:0–22:6, and its purity was 92.7%; aPC in PC was primarily a16:0–22:6 and a16:0–20:5, and aPC accounted for 90.2% of PC. We thereafter evaluated neurotrophic effects of Mytilus edulis pPE, aPC, and bovine brain pPE in a NGF-induced PC12 cell model. Morphologically, pPE and aPC could both promote differentiation, manifested in a significant increase in neurite length and number, due to increased expression of synaptophysin and growth protein GAP-43 in a dose-independent and structure-selective manner. Importantly, the effect on neuronal nutrition of pPE was better than aPC, and marine pPE was better than terrestrial pPE, which might be ascribed to vinyl-ether bond and differences in fatty acid composition.

Abbreviations: AA: arachidonic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; EIC: extracted ion chromatogram; EPA: eicosapentanoic acid; GAP: growth-associated protein; HPLC: high-performance liquid chromatography; LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; LPC: lyso-PC; LPE: lyso-PE; MS: mass spectrometry; NGF: nerve growth factor; PC: phosphatidylcholine; aPC: plasmanylcholine; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; pPE: plasmenylethonoamine; PG: phosphoglycerols; PLs: phospholipids; PS: phosphoserines; TIC: total ion chromatogram.
Associations of Liver Disease with Alcohol Use among People Living with HIV and the Role of Hepatitis C: The New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV Study
Authors: Ferguson Tekeda F , Rosen Erika , Carr Rotonya , Brashear Meghan , Simon Liz , Theall Katherine P , Ronis Martin J , Welsh David A , Molina Patricia E
Published: October 2019

Aim

This cross-sectional analysis of the New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV (NOAH) study assesses whether current and lifetime alcohol use in people living with HIV (PLWH) are associated with greater liver disease and how hepatitis C-viral (HCV) co-infection (HIV/HCV+) modifies the association.

Methods

Alcohol use was measured by Lifetime Drinking History (LDH), a 30-day Timeline Followback calendar, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and phosphatidylethanol. Liver disease was estimated by alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), AST platelet ratio-index (APRI), fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-fibrosis score. Associations between alcohol consumption and liver disease were estimated with multivariable logistic regression. Models were adjusted for age, sex, body-mass index, hepatitis B and HIV viral load.

Results

Participants (N = 353) were majority male (69%) and black (84%) with a mean age of 48.3 ± 10 years. LDH was significantly associated with advanced liver fibrosis (FIB-4 aOR = 22.22 [1.22–403.72]) only among HIV/HCV+ participants with an LDH of 100–600 kg. HIV/HCV+ participants had a higher prevalence of intermediate and advanced liver disease markers than HIV/HCV− (P < 0.0001). Advanced markers of liver disease were most strongly associated with hazardous drinking (≥40(women)/60(men) grams/day) (APRI aOR = 15.87 (3.22–78.12); FIB-4 aOR = 6.76 (1.81–7.16)) and PEth ≥400 ng/ml (APRI aOR = 17.52 (2.55–120.54); FIB-4 aOR = 17.75 (3.30–95.630).

Conclusion

Results indicate a greater association of current alcohol use with liver disease than lifetime alcohol use, which varied by HCV status. These findings stress the importance of reducing alcohol use in PLWH to decrease risk of liver disease and fibrosis.
Rearing Gendered Souls: Childhood and the Making of Muslim Manhood in Pre-Modern Islamic Ethics
Authors: Ayubi Zahra
Published: October 2019

Most studies of religious beliefs and praxis, including those in Islamic Studies, assume the subjects of investigation to be adults. In childhood studies of religion, however, we find a lens for exploring how foundational pre-modern Islamic ethics discourses, such as those of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and Nasir ad-Din Tusi, taught how children were supposed to be reared and educated, which uncovers important insights about the gendered nature of ethics itself. Specifically, classical Islamic ethics is so deeply entangled with gender roles that the Islamic ethicists’ instructions for rearing children are in essence instructions for inculcating gender roles from birth. Ethical cultivation was the purview of elite men, whereas women were marginalized from ethics instruction. The childhood-studies-of-religion lens enables us to see the synonymity between Islamic ethics and the creation of the man or the man-as-process.
Projecting the Spatial Distribution of Possible Planted Forest Expansion in the United States
Authors: Wade Christopher M , Baker Justin S , Latta Gregory , Ohrel Sara B , Allpress Justine
Published: October 2019

As the demand for forest products and carbon storage in standing timbers increases, intensive planting of forest resources is expected to increase. With the increased use of plantation practices, it is important to understand the influence that forest plot characteristics have on the likelihood of where these practices are occurring. Depending on the goals of a policy or program, increasing forest planting could be a desirable outcome or something to avoid. This study estimates a spatially explicit logistical regression function to assess the likelihood that forest plots will be planted based on physical, climate, and economic factors. The empirical results are used to project the potential spatial distribution of forest planting, at the intensive and extensive land-use margins, across illustrative future scenarios. Results from this analysis offer insight into the factors that have driven forest planting in the United States historically and the potential distribution of new forest planting in the coming decades under policy or market scenarios that incentivize improved forest productivity or certain ecosystem services provided by intensively managed systems (e.g., carbon sequestration).
Therapeutic target database 2020: enriched resource for facilitating research and early development of targeted therapeutics
Authors: Wang Yunxia , Zhang Song , Li Fengcheng , Zhou Ying , Zhang Ying , Wang Zhengwen , Zhang Runyuan , Zhu Jiang , Ren Yuxiang , Tan Ying , Qin Chu , Li Yinghong , Li Xiaoxu , Chen Yuzong , Zhu Feng
Published: October 2019

Knowledge of therapeutic targets and early drug candidates is useful for improved drug discovery. In particular, information about target regulators and the patented therapeutic agents facilitates research regarding druggability, systems pharmacology, new trends, molecular landscapes, and the development of drug discovery tools. To complement other databases, we constructed the Therapeutic Target Database (TTD) with expanded information about (i) target-regulating microRNAs and transcription factors, (ii) target-interacting proteins, and (iii) patented agents and their targets (structures and experimental activity values if available), which can be conveniently retrieved and is further enriched with regulatory mechanisms or biochemical classes. We also updated the TTD with the recently released International Classification of Diseases ICD-11 codes and additional sets of successful, clinical trial, and literature-reported targets that emerged since the last update. TTD is accessible at http://bidd.nus.edu.sg/group/ttd/ttd.asp. In case of possible web connectivity issues, two mirror sites of TTD are also constructed (http://db.idrblab.org/ttd/ and http://db.idrblab.net/ttd/).