bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficient photothermal conversion of Fe2O3–RGO guided from ultrafast quenching effect of photoexcited state
Authors: Zhang Yuang , Gurzadyan Gagik G. , Lu Rongwen , Zhang Shufen , Jin Xin , Tang Bingtao
Published: March 2020

In solar thermal utilization, effective photo capture and photothermal conversion are crucial. Improving the nonradiative transition rate of photoexcited electrons is important to enhance the photothermal conversion efficiency and develop efficient solar thermal utilization. Herein, we designed a new kind of light absorption‐enhanced and efficient photothermal conversion material, namely, Fe2O3‐functionalized reduced graphene oxide (Fe2O3–RGO). On the basis of the selective absorption (350–560 nm) of Fe2O3 and the synergistic effect of RGO on the quenching energy transfer of the excited state of Fe2O3 and ultrafast nonradiative thermal decay of RGO, the optical absorption capacity, and photothermal conversion efficiency of the composites were effectively improved. Fe2O3–RGO can be successfully applied to photothermal conversion phase change materials and seawater solar desalination, showing excellent photothermal conversion ability and application prospect.
Driving Smart Molecular Systems by Artificial Molecular Machines
Authors: Shi Zhao-Tao , Zhang Qi , Tian He , Qu Da-Hui
Published: March 2020

Biomolecular machines are widely present in nature, especially in complex living organisms, and are involved in important biological processes. Inspired by nature and increasingly mature synthetic technologies, a series of artificial molecular machines (AMMs) that exhibit similar processes and functions as biomolecular counterparts have been developed, and to date, some dramatic achievements have been obtained. Herein, the use of AMMs in smart systems and materials with controllable regulations and interesting functions are summarized, presenting the specific micro‐ to macroscale applications in solid surface modification, transmembrane transport, smart catalysts, liquid crystals, artificial molecular muscles, and stimuli‐responsive polymers. The challenges of developing novel complex AMMs with intelligent functions are discussed, and some potential solutions are proposed.
Regio‐ and Enantioselective Synthesis of Trifluoromethyl‐Substituted Homoallylic α‐Tertiary NH2‐Amines by Reactions Facilitated by a Threonine‐Based Boron‐Containing Catalyst
Authors: Fager Diana C. , Morrison Ryan J. , Hoveyda Amir H.
Published: March 2020

A method for catalytic regio‐ and enantioselective synthesis of trifluoromethyl‐substituted and aryl‐, heteroaryl‐, alkenyl‐, and alkynyl‐substituted homoallylic α‐tertiary NH2‐amines is introduced. Easy‐to‐synthesize and robust N‐silyl ketimines are converted to NH‐ketimines in situ, which then react with a Z‐allyl boronate. Transformations are promoted by a readily accessible l‐threonine‐derived aminophenol‐based boryl catalyst, affording the desired products in up to 91 % yield, >98:2 α:γ selectivity, >98:2 Z:E selectivity, and >99:1 enantiomeric ratio. A commercially available aminophenol may be used, and allyl boronates, which may contain an alkyl‐, a chloro‐, or a bromo‐substituted Z‐alkene, can either be purchased or prepared by catalytic stereoretentive cross‐metathesis. What is more, Z‐trisubstituted allyl boronates may be used. Various chemo‐, regio‐, and diastereoselective transformations of the α‐tertiary homoallylic NH2‐amine products highlight the utility of the approach; this includes diastereo‐ and regioselective epoxide formation/trichloroacetic acid cleavage to generate differentiated diol derivatives.
A Reduced‐Symmetry Heterobimetallic [PdPtL4]4+ Cage: Assembly, Guest Binding, and Stimulus‐Induced Switching
Authors: Lisboa Lynn S. , Findlay James A. , Wright L. James , Hartinger Christian G. , Crowley James D.
Published: March 2020

A strategy is presented that enables the quantitative assembly of a heterobimetallic [PdPtL4]4+ cage. The presence of two different metal ions (PdII and PtII) with differing labilities enables the cage to be opened and closed selectively at one end upon treatment with suitable stimuli. Combining an inert PtII tetrapyridylaldehyde complex with a suitably substituted pyridylamine and PdII ions led to the assembly of the cage. 1H and DOSY NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry data were consistent with the quantitative formation of the cage, and the heterobimetallic structure was confirmed using single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography. The structure of the host–guest adduct with a 2,6‐diaminoanthraquinone guest molecule was determined. Addition of N,N′‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) resulted in the formation of the open‐cage [PtL4]2+ compound and [Pd(DMAP)4]2+ complex. This process could then be reversed, with the reformation of the cage, upon addition of p‐toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH).
Multiple Catalytic C−H Bond Functionalization for Natural Product Synthesis
Authors: Baudoin Olivier
Published: March 2020

In the past decade, multiple catalytic C−H bond functionalization has been successfully applied in natural product synthesis as a strategy to reduce the number of steps, increase overall yield and employ more easily available starting materials. This minireview presents selected examples making use of multiple C−H bond functionalization in conceptually different ways. First, linear syntheses are discussed, wherein multiple C−H functionalization is employed either from simple (hetero)cyclic cores, at a late stage, or to build polycyclic systems. Second, the use of multiple C−H functionalization as a strategic tool in convergent synthesis to access and couple complex fragments is discussed. Information on the scalability of the employed methods is provided when available. The presented cases indicate that multiple C−H functionalization strategies should play a great role to shape the future synthesis of functional complex molecules with improved sustainability.
Ultrafast, Low‐Cost, and Mass Production of High‐Quality Graphene
Authors: Sun Zhuxing , Hu Yun Hang
Published: March 2020

Fast, mass, and low‐cost production of high‐quality graphene, which is alluring, remains a great challenge, even though some approaches have shown potential for mass synthesis of graphene. Very recently a great breakthrough was made by Tour and co‐workers (Nature 2020, 577, 647–651): in just a second, easily exfoliated and highly crystalline graphene was produced from abundant carbon‐containing species by cost‐effective flash Joule heating with a low energy input of 7.2 kJ per gram graphene. Such an ultrafast, economic, and scalable process for high‐quality graphene production can be considered as a milestone in the graphene field and is highlighted in this article.
Multi‐Electron Reactions Enabled by Anion‐Based Redox Chemistry for High‐Energy Multivalent Rechargeable Batteries
Authors: Li Zhenyou , Vinayan Bhaghavathi P. , Jankowski Piotr , Njel Christian , Roy Ananyo , Vegge Tejs , Maibach Julia , Lastra Juan Maria García , Fichtner Maximilian , Zhao‐Karger Zhirong
Published: March 2020

The development of multivalent metal (such as Mg and Ca) based battery systems is hindered by lack of suitable cathode chemistry that shows reversible multi‐electron redox reactions. Cationic redox centres in the classical cathodes can only afford stepwise single‐electron transfer, which are not ideal for multivalent‐ion storage. The charge imbalance during multivalent ion insertion might lead to an additional kinetic barrier for ion mobility. Therefore, multivalent battery cathodes only exhibit slope‐like voltage profiles with insertion/extraction redox of less than one electron. Taking VS4 as a model material, reversible two‐electron redox with cationic–anionic contributions is verified in both rechargeable Mg batteries (RMBs) and rechargeable Ca batteries (RCBs). The corresponding cells exhibit high capacities of >300 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 in both RMBs and RCBs, resulting in a high energy density of >300 Wh kg−1 for RMBs and >500 Wh kg−1 for RCBs. Mechanistic studies reveal a unique redox activity mainly at anionic sulfides moieties and fast Mg2+ ion diffusion kinetics enabled by the soft structure and flexible electron configuration of VS4.
Adaptive backstepping control for autonomous shipboard landing of a quadrotor with input saturation
Authors: Huang Yanting , Zhu Ming , Sun Liang , Zheng Zewei , Jin Cheng
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a novel autonomous shipboard landing control algorithm of a quadrotor subject to external disturbances and input saturation. A coupled six‐degrees‐of‐freedom (6‐DOF) nonlinear relative motion model is derived to facilitate the controller design. To overcome the under‐actuated property of the quadrotor and avoid collision, the shipboard landing process is cooperatively completed by a relative position controller (RPC) and a relative attitude‐altitude controller (RAC). The RPC is proposed for use when the quadrotor is far away from the ship, aiming to drive the quadrotor to the vicinity of the ship. The RAC is used for the situation when the quadrotor is close enough to the ship to land the quadrotor on the ship steadily. An adaptive backstepping technique is proposed for both RPC and RAC, where unknown bounds of the lump disturbances are estimated online by the adaptive laws. To satisfy the input constraint requirement, a smooth model is employed to describe the control input saturation. Stability analysis proves that all states of the closed‐loop systems are uniformly ultimately bounded. A numerical example verifies the performance of the control approach.
Diurnal variation of the duration and environment for heavy rainfall during the warm season in South China
Authors: Zhong Shui‐xin
Published: March 2020

This article aims to examine the diurnal variation of heavy rainfall (HR) for various intensities and investigate duration and environment of HR during the warm season over South China. Results show that the HR mainly occurred in the late afternoon over most regions of Guangdong Province (GD) and east of Guangxi Province (GX), as well as the nocturnal‐to‐morning rainfall over the mountainous regions of northwestern GX and contiguous regions among GD. It exhibited two diurnal peaks in the early morning and in the late afternoon. HR which mostly occurred during the late afternoon by 1,700–1,900 LST exhibited longer durations (3–4 hr). The enhanced southerly wind and northerly wind over the mountainous, as well as the enhancement associated with strong horizontal surface‐temperature gradient due to surface heating and stronger vertical wind shear in the lower troposphere, contributed to the high‐frequency occurrences of the rainfall in the late afternoon.
Abiraterone acetate plus Prednisone/Prednisolone compared with Enzalutamide in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer before or after chemotherapy: A retrospective study of real‐world data (ACES)
Authors: Das Prantik , Taylor Sarah , Price James , Jones Michael , Martin‐Fernandez Cristina , Ali Akram , Mugunthan Thangrarajh , Mallik Chandrani , Ward Colin
Published: March 2020

Background

Abiraterone acetate combined with Prednisone/Prednisolone (AA+P) and Enzalutamide (ENZ) have proven survival benefit in men with metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in chemotherapy‐naïve and prior chemotherapy patients. There have been no studies directly comparing the effectiveness of ENZ to AA+P in mCRPC patients.

Methods

A retrospective, survival analysis study of 143 real‐world mCRPC patients (90 in AA+P and 53 in ENZ group) was conducted. Patients who started their treatment between February 2012 and May 2016 were included. The primary end point was biochemical progression‐free survival (bPFS). Secondary end points were radiological progression‐free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS). Toxicity data were also collected. Data were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards (PH) models, adjusting for covariates: prior radical treatment; Gleason score; prostate‐specific antigen; age; and chemotherapy naïve or not.

Results

After median follow‐up of 15 months (interquartile range 7 to 23), 112 events of biochemical progression were observed (71 in AA+P and 41 in ENZ). About 41% in AA+P group and 30% patients in ENZ group received prior chemotherapy. The chance of biochemical progression was significantly lower among ENZ patients than AA+P patients, when adjusting for all covariates in the Cox PH model (hazard ratio [HR] 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.35 to 0.82, P = .004). There was a trend implying the chance of rPFS could be higher among ENZ patients than AA+P patients (HR 1.24, 95% CI 0.76 to 2.02, P = .4). There is no difference in OS between ENZ and AA+P patients, when adjusting for all covariates in the Cox PH model (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.41, P = .7). About 38% of ENZ patients reported fatigue compared to 16% of AA+P patients, while hypertension was reported slightly more in AA+P patients.

Conclusions

This study showed a statistically significant difference in bPFS, favoring ENZ, but no significant difference in rPFS or OS.
A mass spectrometry‐based high‐throughput screening method for engineering fatty acid synthases with improved production of medium‐chain fatty acids
Authors: Xue Pu , Si Tong , Mishra Shekhar , Zhang Linzixuan , Choe Kisurb , Sweedler Jonathan V. , Zhao Huimin
Published: March 2020

Microbial cell factories have been extensively engineered to produce free fatty acids (FFAs) as key components of crucial nutrients, soaps, industrial chemicals, and fuels. However, our ability to control the composition of microbially synthesized FFAs is still limited, particularly, for producing medium‐chain fatty acids (MCFAs). This is mainly due to the lack of high‐throughput approaches for FFA analysis to engineer enzymes with desirable product specificity. Here we report a mass spectrometry (MS)‐based method for rapid profiling of MCFAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by using membrane lipids as a proxy. In particular, matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐ToF) MS was used to detect shorter acyl chain phosphatidylcholines from membrane lipids and a higher m/z peak ratio at 730 and 758 was used as an indication for improved MCFA production. This colony‐based method can be performed at a rate of ~2 s per sample, representing a substantial improvement over gas chromatography‐MS (typically >30 min per sample) as the gold standard method for FFA detection. To demonstrate the power of this method, we performed site‐saturation mutagenesis of the yeast fatty acid synthase and identified nine missense mutations that resulted in improved MCFA production relative to the wild‐type strain. Colony‐based MALDI‐ToF MS screening provides an effective approach for engineering microbial fatty acid compositions in a high‐throughput manner.
eNOS rs2070744 polymorphism might influence predisposition to hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases in East Asians: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Wang Qiuling , Sun Hongri , Qi Xiaoguang , Zhou Minfeng
Published: March 2020

Introduction

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms might influence predisposition to hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases, but the results of already published studies regarding relationship between eNOS polymorphisms and hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases were still controversial.

Methods

The authors performed this meta‐analysis to estimate relationship between eNOS polymorphisms and hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases in a larger pooled population by combing the results of already published related studies. The authors searched Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI for already published studies.

Results

Eighteen already published studies were pooled analyzed in this meta‐analysis. The pooled meta‐analyses results showed that eNOS rs2070744 polymorphism was significantly associated with predisposition to hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases in East Asians (dominant comparison: OR = 0.77, p = .01; overdominant comparison: OR = 1.24, p = .04; allele comparison: OR = 0.78, p = .006) Nevertheless, the pooled meta‐analyses did not reveal any positive results for eNOS rs1799983 and rs869109213 polymorphisms.

Conclusions

This meta‐analysis suggested that eNOS rs2070744 polymorphism, but not rs1799983 and rs869109213 polymorphisms, might influence predisposition to hemorrhagic cerebral vascular diseases in East Asians.
Is person‐centred counselling effective when assisting young people who have experienced bullying in schools?
Authors: Jones Callum
Published: March 2020

Background

The effects of bullying on children have profoundly been researched; however, there is a gap in research on how therapy can assist children who are bullied. The aim of this research was to understand how person‐centred therapy may assist individuals who are being bullied within the school environment.

Methodology

Person‐centred therapy was chosen as it is the author's profession. When pursuing his master's degree and the allied research programme, the author conducted the therapy. This research was performed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The researcher worked with four research participants, and the contributors were individuals who had left school due to childhood bullying. The participants also underwent person‐centred therapy to work through the issues that bullying had caused them. A series of interviews were conducted with the participants using pre‐decided questions. These interviews were then transcribed, and key themes were found within the text.

The themes, and the subordinate themes, include the following:

Childhood bullying in the context of the experience of support, and the absence of support leading to trauma.

Bullying as a multifaceted experience, and bullying as an emotional communication.

Childhood bullying and its association to adult mental health and adult experiences of anxiety.

How person‐centred counselling helped participants, and gaining support in schools.

Conclusions

The article found that in the school environment a lack of emotional support added to the trauma that the victims experienced from bullying. Bullying was experienced individually, but each participant reported it being an emotional way of communicating. The bullying the participants experienced during school lead to mental health problems in adulthood, the most reported mental health condition was anxiety. Finally, the article explored how the person‐centred approach assisted participants, whilst most participants found the approach to be very useful. A few participants believed that the limitations of the person‐centred approach lead to less exploration, many wished for techniques to help them cope with their bullying experiences something that CBT might be more adequate for.
The Child Protection in Sport Unit – Supporting National Governing Bodies in Hearing the Voices of Children: An Evaluation of Current Practice
Authors: Everley Suzanne
Published: March 2020

Sporting environments provide contexts in which a range of abuses of children has occurred. While there is an increasing awareness of the need to improve child protection in sport, the extent to which listening to children's voices can support this has yet to be explored. This paper reports on research commissioned by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's Child Protection in Sport Unit to understand the way in which the expression of children's voices is facilitated in sport. Thirty‐four national governing bodies of sport in the UK responded to an electronic questionnaire exploring expression of children's voices in their organisations. Findings indicate that challenges concern: children's perceived lack of interest; confidence in self‐expression; time, resources and logistics; organisational culture and attitudinal change. ‘Good practice’ was identified in: formal structural communications; tailoring contributions to interests and strengths; use of primary research; and sharing ideas remotely. The projected value of listening to children's voices includes understanding children's perspectives and identification of potential concerns. The expression of children's voices is of value to national governing bodies in sport and there is potential for this to prevent elements of abuse in sport.

Key Practitioner Messages

National governing bodies of sport believe that the expression of children's voices in sport can positively inform child protection practice.

Material and cultural limitations can prevent the expression of children's voices.

There is potential for an embedded expression of children's voices that could support intervention prior to abuse occurring.
Physicochemical and functional properties of medium‐sized broken rice kernels and their potential in instant rice production
Authors: Bruce Rebecca M. , Atungulu Griffiths G. , Sadaka Sammy
Published: March 2020

Background and objectives

Medium‐sized broken rice (brokens) is the most abundant fraction of brokens from the rice milling process. This research seeks to determine the physicochemical and functional properties of medium‐sized broken rice, their potential in instant rice production, and effects of aging on the properties. Medium‐sized brokens from rough rice (XL753) dried at three different drying temperatures (25, 45, and 60°C) were stored for 6 months at 0 and 25°C representing nonaged and aged samples, respectively. Instant rice was produced by cooking and drying the brokens after storage. The physicochemical and functional properties of raw (noninstantized) and instantized rice from the brokens were determined.

Findings

Rice aging had significant impacts on pasting properties of raw medium‐sized brokens. Aged samples had consistently higher trough viscosity, final viscosity, setback viscosity, and pasting temperature than nonaged samples across all drying temperatures. Aging status had a significant impact on whiteness index and oil absorption capacity of brokens. There was no significant effect of aging on protein content, bulk density, water absorption capacity, and emulsification capacity of raw brokens. Rehydrated instant nonaged medium‐sized brokens were harder, more adhesive, cohesive, gummy, chewy, and resilient than rehydrated instant aged samples. The textural profile of rehydrated instant aged broken rice is consistent with the textural properties of cooked rice reported in the literature by other researchers, indicating the feasibility of instant rice production from brokens.

Conclusions

The use of brokens for the production of instant rice is feasible and can reduce the cost of raw materials and improve upon cooked rice sensory characteristic. It is recommended that consumer sensory studies be conducted to determine product acceptability.

Significance and novelty

The study provides information on the enhancement of the value of broken rice as a commodity by accessing novel applications. It also provides science‐based information on the characteristics of medium‐sized broken rice, which is useful in new product development.
Controlled Inline Fluid Separation Based on Smart Process Tomography Sensors
Authors: Sahovic Benjamin , Atmani Hanane , Sattar Muhammad Awais , Garcia Matheus Martinez , Schleicher Eckhart , Legendre Dominique , Climent Eric , Zamansky Remi , Pedrono Annaig , Babout Laurent , Banasiak Robert , Portela Luis M. , Hampel Uwe
Published: March 2020

Today's mechanical fluid separators in industry are mostly operated without any control to maintain efficient separation for varying inlet conditions. Controlling inline fluid separators, on the other hand, is challenging since the process is very fast and measurements in the multiphase stream are difficult as conventional sensors typically fail here. With recent improvement of process tomography sensors and increased processing power of smart computers, such sensors can now be potentially used in inline fluid separation. Concepts for tomography‐controlled inline fluid separation were developed, comprising electrical tomography and wire‐mesh sensors, fast and massive data processing and appropriate process control strategy. Solutions and ideas presented in this paper base on process models derived from theoretical investigation, numerical simulations and analysis of experimental data.
Ullmann‐Ma Reaction: Development, Scope and Applications in Organic Synthesis†
Authors: Cai Qian , Zhou Wei
Published: March 2020

Copper‐catalyzed cross‐couplings of aryl halides and nucleophiles, traditionally called Ullmann‐type coupling reactions, were initially reported by Ullmann et al. from 1901—1929. A seminal report in 1998 by Ma et al. from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed an accelerating effect caused by amino acids, which brought Ullmann‐type coupling reactions into a ligand‐accelerating era. From 1999 to the first 10 years of 2000s, the first‐generation ligands were developed by many researchers and promoted Ullmann‐type coupling reactions of aryl iodides and bromides under relatively mild conditions. Amino acid ligands, developed by Ma and coworkers, are one class of the most important first‐generation ligands. In the second 10 years of 2000s, Ma et al. led the discovery of second‐generation ligands for copper‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions. Two great breakthroughs have been realized by using second‐generation oxalic diamide and related amide ligands, with aryl chlorides as general coupling partner and with low catalyst loadings. Now copper‐catalyzed cross coupling reactions of aryl halides and nucleophiles with amino acids or oxalic diamides and related amides as ligands are recognized as Ullmann‐Ma reactions and have found extensive applications in organic synthesis.
Immunohistochemical distribution of 10 GABAA receptor subunits in the forebrain of the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta
Authors: Sperk Günther , Kirchmair Elke , Bakker Jaco , Sieghart Werner , Drexel Meinrad , Kondova Ivanela
Published: March 2020

GABAA receptors are composed of five subunits arranged around a central chloride channel. Their subunits originate from different genes or gene families. The majority of GABAA receptors in the mammalian brain consist of two α‐, two β‐ and one γ‐ or δ‐subunit. This subunit organization crucially determines the physiological and pharmacological properties of the GABAA receptors. Using immunohistochemistry, we investigated the distribution of 10 GABAA receptor subunits (α1, α2, α3, α4, α5, β1, β2, β3, γ2, and δ) in the fore brain of three female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Within the cerebral cortex, subunits α1, α5, β2, β3, and γ2 were found in all layers, α2, α3, and β1 were more concentrated in the inner and outer layers. The caudate/putamen was rich in α1, α2, α5, all three β‐subunits, γ2, and δ. Subunits α3 and α5 were more concentrated in the caudate than in the putamen. In contrast, α1, α2, β1, β2, γ2, and δ were highest in the pallidum. Most dorsal thalamic nuclei contained subunits α1, α2, α4, β2, β3, and γ2, whereas α1, α3, β1, and γ2 were most abundant in the reticular nucleus. Within the amygdala, subunits α1, α2, α5, β1, β3, γ2, and δ were concentrated in the cortical nucleus, whereas in the lateral and basolateral amygdala α1, α2, α5, β1, β3, and δ, and in the central amygdala α1, α2, β3, and γ2 were most abundant. Interestingly, subunit α3‐IR outlined the intercalated nuclei of the amygdala. In the hippocampus, subunits α1, α2, α5, β2, β3, γ2, and δ were highly expressed in the dentate molecular layer, whereas α1, α2, α3, α5, β1, β2, β3, and γ2 were concentrated in sector CA1 and the subiculum. The distribution of GABAA receptor subunits in the rhesus monkey was highly heterogeneous indicating a high number of differently assembled receptors. In most areas investigated, notably in the striatum/pallidum, amygdaloid nuclei and in the hippocampus it was more diverse than in the rat and mouse indicating a more heterogeneous and less defined receptor assembly in the monkey than in rodent brain.
Rateless coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing system design based on intercarrier interference self‐cancelation
Authors: Zhang Yu , Yang Ke , Hua Jingyu , Peng Hong , Lu Weidang
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we consider a rateless coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system under a quasistatic fading channel. During each transmission round, transmitter keeps transmitting to the receiver using Raptor code until the receiver feeds back an acknowledgement (ACK). On the other hand, frequency offset between the transmitter and receiver ruins the orthogonality of OFDM subcarriers and cause intercarrier interference (ICI). We resort to ICI self‐cancelation precoding to combat ICI, wherein the data symbol vectors are multiplied with some precoding matrix before transmission. To improve the system robustness, we jointly optimize the precoding matrix and the degree profile of Raptor code, with only statistical channel state information (CSI) being assumed at the transmitter. The optimization problem is formulated based on the extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) analysis of the decoding process at the receiver. The advantage of the proposed design is that the instant CSI is not required at the transmitter, which reduces the system overhead. Simulation results verify that the proposed scheme with the optimized precoding matrix and degree profile can effectively combat ICI and achieve good performance both in bit error ratio (BER) and average transmission rate.
Pyrodiversity promotes interaction complementarity and population resistance
Authors: Ponisio Lauren C.
Published: March 2020

Theory predicts that network characteristics may help anticipate how populations and communities respond to extreme climatic events, but local environmental context may also influence responses to extreme events. For example, altered fire regimes in many ecosystems may significantly affect the context for how species and communities respond to changing climate. In this study, I tested whether the responses of a pollinator community to extreme drought were influenced by the surrounding diversity of fire histories (pyrodiversity) which can influence their interaction networks via changing partner availability. I found that at the community level, pyrodiverse landscapes promote functional complementarity and generalization, but did not consistently enhance functional redundancy or resistance to simulated co‐extinction cascades. Pyrodiversity instead supported flexible behaviors that enable populations to resist perturbations. Specifically, pollinators that can shift partners and network niches are better able to take advantage of the heterogeneity generated by pyrodiversity, thereby buffering pollinator populations against changes in plant abundances. These findings suggest that pyrodiversity is unlikely to improve community‐level resistance to droughts, but instead promotes population resistance and community functionality. This study provides unique evidence that resistance to extreme climatic events depends on both network properties and historical environmental context.
Sex‐related differences in contemporary biomarkers for heart failure: a review
Authors: Suthahar Navin , Meems Laura M.G. , Ho Jennifer E. , de Boer Rudolf A.
Published: March 2020

The use of circulating biomarkers for heart failure (HF) is engrained in contemporary cardiovascular practice and provides objective information about various pathophysiological pathways associated with HF syndrome. However, biomarker profiles differ considerably among women and men. For instance, in the general population, markers of cardiac stretch (natriuretic peptides) and fibrosis (galectin‐3) are higher in women, whereas markers of cardiac injury (cardiac troponins) and inflammation (sST2) are higher in men. Such differences may reflect sex‐specific pathogenic processes associated with HF risk, but may also arise as a result of differences in sex hormone profiles and fat distribution. From a clinical perspective, sex‐related differences in biomarker levels may affect the objectivity of biomarkers in HF management because what is considered to be ‘normal’ in one sex may not be so in the other. The objectives of this review are, therefore: (i) to examine the sex‐specific dynamics of clinically relevant HF biomarkers in the general population, as well as in HF patients; (ii) to discuss the overlap between sex‐related and obesity‐related effects, and (iii) to identify knowledge gaps to stimulate research on sex‐related differences in
HF.
Regio‐ and Diastereoselective KMnO4/RCO2H Mediated Acyloxyarylation of Chalcones – An Indirect α‐Arylation of Chalcones
Authors: Adib Mehdi , Rajai‐Daryasarei Saideh , Pashazadeh Rahim , Mahdavi Mohammad , Madadi Mozhdeh , Jahani Mehdi
Published: March 2020

A MnVII‐mediated regio‐ and diastereoselective acyloxyarylation of chalcones is unveiled. Heating a solution of a chalcone and an arylboronic acid in an aliphatic carboxylic acid at 80 °C for 1 h afforded the corresponding 1‐acyloxy‐3‐oxo‐1,2,3‐triarylpropanes in high yields. The β‐acyloxy‐α‐arylation/elimination sequence can be regarded as an indirect α‐arylation of chalcones.
Lack of relationship between epidermal denervation by capsaicin and incisional pain behaviours: A laser scanning confocal microscopy study in rats
Authors: Uhelski Megan L. , McAdams Brian , Johns Malcolm E. , Kabadi Rajiv A. , Simone Donald A. , Banik Ratan K.
Published: March 2020

Background

Spontaneous pain after surgical incision is a significant problem for most post‐operative patients. Pain management that relies on opioids is hindered by numerous side effects, fuelling interest in non‐opioid alternatives and multimodal approaches. Subcutaneous capsaicin infiltration has shown potential for reducing post‐operative pain, but there are unanswered questions about safety and possible side effects. In adult rats, we characterized the analgesic effects of pre‐operative capsaicin infiltration into the skin prior to plantar incision and assessed wound healing and epidermal innervation.

Methods

The surgical site on the plantar surface of the rat hind paw was infiltrated with 1% capsaicin or vehicle 30 min or 1 week prior to surgical incision. Spontaneous and evoked pain behaviours were assessed. Digital images of incised hind paws were used to quantify the surface area of the wound after suture removal. Epidermal nerve fibre quantification was performed on peri‐incisional tissue biopsies.

Results

Intraplantar administration of capsaicin 30 min before surgical incision attenuated spontaneous pain behaviours, heat hyperalgesia, epidermal innervation, but it did not alter the rate of wound healing. Incisional pain hypersensitivity returned to baseline 2 weeks post‐incision, at a time when no recovery of epidermal innervation is observed.

Conclusions

Subcutaneous infiltration of capsaicin prior to surgical incision attenuated incision‐induced pain behaviours and reduced epidermal innervation around the incision site. The long‐lasting epidermal denervation by capsaicin had no impact in the rate of wound healing and recovery from pain behaviours.

Significance

Pre‐operative capsaicin infiltration attenuated spontaneous pain‐like behaviour and prevented the development of heat hyperalgesia following plantar skin incision. While capsaicin caused long‐lasting and widespread loss of epidermal and dermal nerve fibres, there was no measurable impact on the rate of wound healing. Pre‐ or intra‐operative infiltration of capsaicin into surgical sites could act as a safe prophylactic for post‐operative pain and reduce the need for opioids during recovery.
A secure Internet of Things medical information sharing and emergency notification system based on nonrepudiation mechanism
Authors: Chen Chin‐Ling , Yang Tsai‐Tung , Deng Yong‐Yuan , Chen Chi‐Hua
Published: March 2020

As the network technologies have rapidly developed in recent years, many Internet of Things (IoT) based services and applications have walked into our daily lives; one of these is the medical information system. In the early days, medical information was recorded and stored in article form. It contains a patient identity background, past medical history, and records of medical payment. With the development of medical technology, medical information is now stored and transmitted electronically. Medical information may be a person's most private information, but due to network operation errors or hacking attacks, there has been a crisis of large‐scale leakage of these personal privacy data in the past. In any cases, how to protect this medical information and ensure the privacy of patients has become a topic worthy of research. Therefore, many kinds of literature discussed how to improve medical information systems. In addition, how to effectively treat patients when accidents happen is also a topic worthy of research. Therefore, combined with IoT technologies and medical devices, it has been opened a whole new future for medical information system. This study focuses on security and privacy issues to design a security scheme for healthcare environments when a person encountered physical emergency. Mobile devices and cloud computing are combined into the proposed platform. The proposed scheme can defend against impersonation attack, man‐in‐middle attack, and replay attack. The modal logic is used to verify the proposed scheme. By using digital signature and SVO logic mechanism, the proposed scheme is proven with nonrepudiation.
The algal polysaccharide ulvan suppresses growth of hepatoma cells
Authors: Zhao Chao , Lin Guopeng , Wu Desheng , Liu Dan , You Lijun , Högger Petra , Simal‐Gandara Jesus , Wang Mingfu , da Costa José Galberto Martins , Marunaka Yoshinori , Daglia Maria , Khan Haroon , Filosa Rosanna , Wang Shaoyun , Xiao Jianbo
Published: March 2020

Treatment for tumors depends on host immune system. The antitumor and immunoregulatory activities of Ulva lactuca polysaccharide (ULP) were evaluated in H22 tumor‐bearing mice and cyclophosphamide‐induced immunosuppressed mice, respectively. The structural properties of ULP were identified through multi‐angle laser light scattering, high‐performance liquid chromatography, Fourier‐transformed infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance. It was composed of α‐D‐Manp‐(1→, →2,4)‐β‐L‐Rhap‐(1→, β‐D‐GlcpA‐(1→, β‐GalpA‐(1→, →2,4)‐α‐D‐Glcp‐(1→, and →6)‐β‐D‐Galp‐(1→ with the molecular weight of 1.46 × 105 Da. Its antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antitumor effects were determined. Liver and tumor tissues were collected for histopathological, immunohistochemical, and western blotting analysis. ULP showed the great tumor growth inhibition of 74.41% compared with cyclophosphamide, which has side effects on immune system. ULP enhanced the expression of p53 to inhibit tumorigenesis, promoted the activation of IKKα, and inhibited the activation of p65 within the NF‐κB pathway. ULP inhibited the tumor growth through downregulating the expressions of PI3K/Akt and mTOR, and promoting BAX/Bcl‐2 ratio. The inhibition of TRAF2/TNF‐α and CD31/VEGF achieved a direct killing effect on tumor cells and inhibited tumor proliferation by inhibiting angiogenesis, respectively. Moreover, ULP increased the levels of immunoglobulin M and total superoxide dismutase, decreased the level of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde, and inhibited the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6k pathways. The results showed that ULP exhibited pronounced antitumor activity and immunoregulatory effect.
Stock index prediction based on wavelet transform and FCD‐MLGRU
Authors: Li Xiaojun , Tang Pan
Published: March 2020

With the development of artificial intelligence, deep learning is widely used in the field of nonlinear time series forecasting. It is proved in practice that deep learning models have higher forecasting accuracy compared with traditional linear econometric models and machine learning models. With the purpose of further improving forecasting accuracy of financial time series, we propose the WT‐FCD‐MLGRU model, which is the combination of wavelet transform, filter cycle decomposition and multilag neural networks. Four major stock indices are chosen to test the forecasting performance among traditional econometric model, machine learning model and deep learning models. According to the result of empirical analysis, deep learning models perform better than traditional econometric model such as autoregressive integrated moving average and improved machine learning model SVR. Besides, our proposed model has the minimum forecasting error in stock index prediction.
Defining and Describing Mid‐Level Administrators in Intercollegiate Athletics
Authors: Ott Molly , Beaumont Joshua
Published: March 2020

Intercollegiate athletics occupies a unique place in higher education, but little is known about administrators working in this area. This chapter proposes a functional definition of “mid‐level” in the context of college sports, describes the prevalence of these jobs nationally, and summarizes key factors associated with mid‐level employment in intercollegiate athletics departments.
Molecular characterization and expression of arginine vasotocin V1a2 receptor in Atlantic croaker brain: Potential mechanisms of its downregulation by PCB77
Authors: Rahman Md Saydur , Kline Richard J. , Vázquez Omar A. , Khan Izhar A. , Thomas Peter
Published: March 2020

The arginine vasotocin (AVT)‐V1a receptor mediates critical reproductive behaviors of the nonapeptide vasotocin in the teleost brain. In this study, we report the molecular characterization of the AVT‐V1a2 receptor and its messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions in the Atlantic croaker brain after exposure to the planar polychlorinated biphenyl congener 3,3′,4,4′‐tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77). The full‐length sequence of croaker AVT‐V1a2 receptor complementary DNA (cDNA) is highly homologous to other teleost AVT‐V1a2 receptor cDNAs. Double‐labeled immunohistochemistry showed coexpression of AVT‐V1a2 receptor and gonadotropin‐releasing hormone‐I (GnRH‐I, a neuropeptide that regulates gonadotropin secretion) in hypothalamic neurons, thereby providing the anatomical basis for possible AVT modulation of croaker reproduction through alterations in GnRH‐I secretion. AVT‐V1a2 receptor mRNA and protein levels as well as GnRH‐I mRNA levels were markedly decreased in hypothalamic tissues of croaker exposed to PCB77 (dose: 2 and 8 µg/g body weight for 4 weeks) compared with levels in untreated (control) fish. In contrast, hypothalamic cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A, a monooxygenase enzyme) and interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β, a cytokine indicator of inflammation and response to neuronal damage) mRNA levels, and plasma protein carbonyl (PC, an indicator of reactive oxygen species) contents, important biomarkers of neural stress, were increased in PCB77‐exposed fish compared with controls. Collectively, these results suggest that the downregulation of hypothalamic AVT‐V1a2 receptor and GnRH‐I transcripts due to PCB77 exposure is associated with induction of CYP1A, cellular inflammation and oxidative stress in Atlantic croaker, a marine teleost that inhabits estuaries along the US Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico that are often contaminated with persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs.
Spin‐flip approach within time‐dependent density functional tight‐binding method: Theory and applications
Authors: Inamori Mayu , Yoshikawa Takeshi , Ikabata Yasuhiro , Nishimura Yoshifumi , Nakai Hiromi
Published: March 2020

A spin‐flip time‐dependent density functional tight‐binding (SF‐TDDFTB) method is developed that describes target states as spin‐flipping excitation from a high‐spin reference state obtained by the spin‐restricted open shell treatment. Furthermore, the SF‐TDDFTB formulation is extended to long‐range correction (LC), denoted as SF‐TDLCDFTB. The LC technique corrects the overdelocalization of electron density in systems such as charge‐transfer systems, which is typically found in conventional DFTB calculations as well as density functional theory calculations using pure functionals. The numerical assessment of the SF‐TDDFTB method shows smooth potential curves for the bond dissociation of hydrogen fluoride and the double‐bond rotation of ethylene and the double‐cone shape of H3 as the simplest degenerate systems. In addition, numerical assessments of SF‐TDDFTB and SF‐TDLCDFTB for 39 S0/S1 minimum energy conical intersection (MECI) structures are performed. The SF‐TDDFTB and SF‐TDLCDFTB methods drastically reduce the computational cost with accuracy for MECI structures compared with SF‐TDDFT.
Comparison between genetic algorithm‐multiple linear regression and back‐propagation‐artificial neural network methods for predicting the LD50 of organo (phosphate and thiophosphate) compounds
Authors: Kianpour Mina , Mohammadinasab Esmat , Isfahani Tahereh Momeni
Published: March 2020

The DFT‐B3LYP functional method on the 6‐31G* basis set was employed to optimize and calculate molecular descriptors of 76 organo (phosphates and thiophosphate) derivatives. The molecular descriptors were used to establish the quantitative structure‐toxicity relationship (QSTR) for the acute oral toxicity of studied compounds by multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods. The best results were obtained with an ANN model trained with the back‐propagation (BP‐ANN) algorithm. The prediction accuracy for the external test set was estimated by the root mean square (RMS) error, square correlation coefficient (R2), and absolute average deviation (AAD) which were equal to 0.0248797, 0.9091, and 15.12187, respectively. It was specified that 90.91% of external test set was correctly predicted and the present model proved to be superior to the MLR model. Accordingly, the model developed in this study can be used to predict the oral acute toxicity of organo (phosphates and thiophosphate) derivatives, particularly for those that have not been experienced as well as new compounds. The analysis of the statistical parameters of models published in the literature showed that our model was more efficient.
Creation and utility of ‘Boston Minority Genetic Counselors’
Authors: Berro Tala , Amir Fatima , Chan‐Smutko Gayun , Lawrence Janette , Channaoui Nadine
Published: March 2020

The genetic counseling profession began shortly after the Civil Rights Movement, before effective strategies for inclusion of racial minorities had emerged. Given the historical context of the field and the continued lack of diversity in the professional body, inclusion among genetic counselors of social minority backgrounds is important to examine and address. A group of genetic counselors in the Boston area with social minority backgrounds initiated the Boston Minority Genetic Counselors (BMGC) group to bolster interconnection and support for themselves and their local genetic counselors and trainees of social minority backgrounds. In this paper, we describe the formation of the BMGC and its ongoing work. Future directions include using the BMGC model and/or that of similar organizations, such as the Minority Genetic Professionals Network, as a template to create similar genetic counseling groups that provide support around topics of social minority identities and promote sentiments of inclusion across the profession.