bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CTCF confers local nucleosome resiliency after DNA replication and during mitosis
Authors: Owens Nick , Papadopoulou Thaleia , Festuccia Nicola , Tachtsidi Alexandra , Gonzalez Inma , Dubois Agnes , Vandormael-Pournin Sandrine , Nora Elphège P , Bruneau Benoit G , Cohen-Tannoudji Michel , Navarro Pablo
Published: October 2019

The access of Transcription Factors (TFs) to their cognate DNA binding motifs requires a precise control over nucleosome positioning. This is especially important following DNA replication and during mitosis, both resulting in profound changes in nucleosome organization over TF binding regions. Using mouse Embryonic Stem (ES) cells, we show that the TF CTCF displaces nucleosomes from its binding site and locally organizes large and phased nucleosomal arrays, not only in interphase steady-state but also immediately after replication and during mitosis. Correlative analyses suggest this is associated with fast gene reactivation following replication and mitosis. While regions bound by other TFs (Oct4/Sox2), display major rearrangement, the post-replication and mitotic nucleosome positioning activity of CTCF is not unique: Esrrb binding regions are also characterized by persistent nucleosome positioning. Therefore, selected TFs such as CTCF and Esrrb act as resilient TFs governing the inheritance of nucleosome positioning at regulatory regions throughout the cell-cycle.
AVALIAÇÃO ECOTOXICOLÓGICA DO EXTRATO SOLUBILIZADO DE BAGAÇO DE CANA-DE-AÇÚCAR RESIDUAL VIA GERMINAÇÃO DE SEMENTES DE ALFACE (LACTUCA SATIVA L.)
Authors: Thode Filho Sérgio , Paixão Cintia Patricia Santos da , Maranhão Fabiola Da Silveira , Franco Heider Alves
Published: October 2019

Processar uma tonelada de cana-de-açúcar produz em média 250 kg de bagaço como subproduto. Nos centros urbanos o consumo está atrelado ao descarte inadequado, não sendo possível, estimar, o volume de subproduto gerado. Sendo assim, objetivou-se estimar o nível de fitotoxicidade do extrato solubilizado do bagaço da cana residual (BCR) sobre a germinação de sementes de alface (Lactuca sativa L.). Adotou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado com seis tratamentos no grupo teste (BCR + água destilada = 4,0ml): T1 (0,1 mL BCR + 3,99 mL), T2 (0,4 mL BCR + 3,6 mL), T3 (0,7 mL BCR + 3,3 mL), T4 (1,0 mL BCR + 3,0 mL), T5 (2,0 mL BCR + 2,0 mL), T6 (3,0 mL BCR + 1,0 mL de água destilada) e um grupo controle (água destilada), todos  em triplicata. Pequenas doses do BCR apresentaram efeito fitotóxico sobre a alface. A CL50 calculada para a alface (Lactuca sativa L.) foi de 1,78 mL. Haja vista que a espécie em estudo é um organismo-teste padrão, é possível estimar que o BCR apresenta potencial de contaminação sobre outras espécies vegetais, logo, a fim de mitigar esse efeito, deve-se dar atenção especial ao descarte desse resíduo.
Effect of Different Mutagens on Some Mineral, Phytochemical and Proximate Composition of Two Red Pepper Varieties
Authors: Abu N. E. , Omeke J. O. , Ojua E. O.
Published: October 2019

Aim: This research was designed to evaluate the effects of different levels of three mutagens on two pepper varieties with a vision of choosing mutants with high values in biochemical contents that may possibly be valuable in breeding improved varieties of the plant.

Methods: Seeds of pepper were exposed to varying doses of gamma rays 60Co (50, 100, 150, and 200Gy), X-ray doses (40, 60, 80, and 100KV) and sodium azide (0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04%). The treated seeds and the controls were grown in the Botanic Garden of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka using a Completely Randomized Design.

Results: The result showed that vitamin C and β-carotene ranged from 5.89 – 26.88 and 2.62 – 11.35 mg/100 g, Fe and Ca (14.70 and 13.78 mg/100 g) were highest in Shombo at 100Gy. Values ranging from 0.36-2.00 and 3.96 – 18.82 mg/100 g were recorded for flavonoid and alkaloid content across all treatment combinations. The result also revealed that at 100Kv and 150Gy, ash content increased in both varieties. The highest protein concentration of 9.57% was recorded at 100Kv of X-ray in Shombo and 6.96% at 150Gy of gamma irradiation in Tatase variety. Principal component analysis explained extracted five principal axis which accounted for the variability of 72.54%.

Conclusion: This study reveals that biochemical content in pepper could be improved with exposure to mutagens especially gamma irradiation.
Clinical implementation, logistics and workflow guide for MRI image based interstitial HDR brachytherapy for gynecological cancers
Authors: Zhang Hualin , Donnelly Eric D. , Strauss Jonathan B. , Kang Zhuang , Gopalakrishnan Mahesh , Lee Plato C. , Khelashvili Gocha , Nair Chithra K. , Lee Brian H. , Sathiaseelan Vythialingam
Published: October 2019

Interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) is often utilized to treat women with bulky endometrial or cervical cancers not amendable to intracavitary treatments. A modern trend in IBT is the utilization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a high dose rate (HDR) afterloader for conformal 3D image‐based treatments. The challenging part of this procedure is to properly complete many sequenced and co‐related physics preparations. We presented the physics preparations and clinical workflow required for implementing MRI‐based HDR IBT (MRI‐HDR‐IBT) of gynecologic cancer patients in a high‐volume brachytherapy center. The present document is designed to focus on the clinical steps required from a physicist’s standpoint. Those steps include: (a) testing IBT equipment with MRI scanner, (b) preparation of templates and catheters, (c) preparation of MRI line markers, (d) acquisition, importation and registration of MRI images, (e) development of treatment plans and (f) treatment evaluation and documentation. The checklists of imaging acquisition, registration and plan development are also presented. Based on the TG‐100 recommendations, a workflow chart, a fault tree analysis and an error‐solution table listing the speculated errors and solutions of each step are provided. Our workflow and practice indicated the MRI‐HDR‐IBT is achievable in most radiation oncology clinics if the following equipment is available: MRI scanner, CT (computed tomography) scanner, MRI/CT compatible templates and applicators, MRI line markers, HDR afterloader and a brachytherapy treatment planning system capable of utilizing MRI images. The OR/procedure room availability and anesthesiology support are also important. The techniques and approaches adopted from the GEC‐ESTRO (Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie ‐ European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology) recommendations and other publications are proven to be feasible. The MRI‐HDR‐IBT program can be developed over time and progressively validated through clinical experience, this document is expected to serve as a reference workflow guideline for implementing and performing the procedure.
Short‐Term Recovery Trajectories of Acute Flares in Knee Pain: A UK‐Netherlands Multicenter Prospective Cohort Analysis
Authors: Thomas Martin J. , Yu Dahai , Nicholls Elaine , Bierma‐Zeinstra Sita , Conaghan Philip G. , Stoner Karen J. , Neogi Tuhina , Parry Emma L. , Peat George
Published: October 2019

Objective

To identify distinct recovery trajectories of acute flares of knee pain and associated participant characteristics.

Methods

Data were from the FLARE randomized controlled trial, a multicenter trial in 27 primary care centers in the UK and Netherlands of 3 regimes of oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory therapy for acute flares of knee pain. Individuals with a history of inflammatory/crystal arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain syndrome were excluded. Latent class growth analysis was applied to measures of pain intensity repeated over 5 days to identify distinct recovery trajectories. The concurrent courses of interference with activity, stiffness, and swelling for each trajectory group were modelled using generalized estimating equations. Participant age, sex, obesity, and osteoarthritis diagnosis were described for each trajectory group.

Results

A total of 449 participants were included (median age 55 years, 41% female, 35% obese, and 42% diagnosed with osteoarthritis). A 6‐group cubic model was deemed optimal, with trajectories distinguished by rate of pain reduction and absolute level at final measurement. At the extremes were rapid and near‐complete resolution (n = 41, 9%) and persistent, high pain (n = 25, 6%), but most participants showed a reduction and plateau in pain severity within 3–5 days. Within each pain trajectory group, interference with activity, stiffness, and swelling followed the same course as pain. Baseline characteristics did not differ substantially between trajectory groups.

Conclusion

Even under a well‐adhered to regime of oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medication, recovery following acute flares of knee pain is heterogeneous. Our observations that favorable trajectories are apparent within 3–5 days can help to inform treatment decision‐making in the patient–health care professional consultation.
Long‐term effects of an oral elemental nutritional supplement on post‐gastrectomy body weight loss in gastric cancer patients (KSES002)
Authors: Kimura Yutaka , Nishikawa Kazuhiro , Kishi Kentaro , Inoue Kentaro , Matsuyama Jin , Akamaru Yusuke , Tamura Shigeyuki , Kawada Junji , Kawase Tomono , Kawabata Ryohei , Fujiwara Yoshiyuki , Kanno Hitoshi , Yamada Takeshi , Shimokawa Toshio , Imamura Hiroshi
Published: October 2019

Aim

The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of short‐term nutritional intervention with an oral elemental diet (ED; Elental; EA Pharma Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) at 300 kcal/day for 6‐8 weeks in the early post‐gastrectomy period on postoperative long‐term body weight loss (BWL).

Methods

We analyzed consecutive patients who were randomly divided to receive the regular diet with or without ED. The control group received regular diet alone post‐gastrectomy, whereas the ED group received 300 kcal ED plus regular diet for 6‐8 weeks. Primary endpoint was percentage (%) BWL (body weight loss; body weight before surgery minus that at postoperative 1 year) by surgical type. Secondary endpoints included changes in nutrition‐related blood parameters.

Results

Of the patients in the original trial, 106 were eligible for efficacy analyses. %BWL at postoperative 1 year was significantly lower in the ED group than in the control group among patients who underwent total gastrectomy (TG) (n = 19 and n = 17, respectively; 9.66 ± 5.98% [95% confidence interval, CI: 6.77‐12.54] vs 15.11 ± 6.78% [95% CI: 11.63‐18.60], P = .015), but not in patients who underwent distal gastrectomy (n = 38 and n = 32, respectively; 5.81 ± 7.91% [95% CI: 3.21‐8.41] vs 5.96 ± 6.20% [95% CI: 3.72‐8.19], P = .933). In multivariate analysis, ED was the only factor affecting %BWL at postoperative 1 year among patients who underwent TG.

Conclusions

Daily nutritional intervention (300 kcal/day ED) for 6‐8 weeks reduced %BWL not only at postoperative 6‐8 weeks but also at 1 year in patients who underwent TG.
Expression and purification of soluble and functional fusion protein DAB389IL‐2 into the E. coli strain Rosetta‐gami (DE3)
Authors: Zarkar Nasrin , Nasiri Khalili Mohammad Ali , Khodadadi Sirus , Zeinoddini Mehdi , Ahmadpour Fathollah
Published: October 2019

DAB389IL‐2 (Denileukin diftitox) is considered an immunotoxin, and it is the first immunotoxin approved by Food and Drug Administration. It is used for the treatment of a cutaneous form of T‐cell lymphoma. This fusion protein has two disulfide bonds in its structure that play an essential role in toxicity and functionality of the immunotoxin. Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain BL21 (DE3) is not capable of making disulfide bonds in its reductive cytoplasm, but the E. coli strain Rosetta‐gami (DE3) is a proper strain for the correct expression of the protein due to mutations in glutaredoxin reductase and thioredoxin reductase. In this study, a pET21a vector with the His6‐tag fused at the N‐terminus of DAB389IL‐2 was used to express the soluble immunotoxin in E. coli Rosetta‐gami (DE3). After the purification of the soluble protein by two‐step column chromatographies, the structure of DAB389IL‐2 was analyzed using the Native‐PAGE and circular dichroism methods. In the following, the nuclease activity of soluble DAB389IL‐2 and its cytotoxicity activity were determined. It is concluded that the soluble recombinant protein expressed in the E. coli Rosetta‐gami (DE3) has an intact structure and also functional; hence, this form of immunotoxin could be competitive with its commercial counterparts.
A novel variant in LPL gene is associated with familial combined hyperlipidemia
Authors: Taghizadeh Eskandar , Ghayour‐Mobarhan Majid , Ferns Gordon A. , Pasdar Alireza
Published: October 2019

Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) is a common genetic disorder characterized by increased fasted serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B‐100. Molecular genetic techniques such as next generation sequencing have been very successful methods for rare variants finding with a moderate‐to large effect. In this study, we characterized a large pedigree from MASHAD study in northeast Iran with coinheritance of FCHL and early‐onset coronary heart disease. In this family, we used whole‐exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing to determine the disease‐associated gene. We identified a novel variant in the LPL gene, leading to a substitution of an asparagine for aspartic acid at position 151. The D151N substitution cosegregated with these characters in all affected family members in the pedigree but it was absent in all unaffected members in this family. We speculated that the mutation D151N in LPL gene might be associated with FCHL and early‐onset coronary heart disease in this family. However, the substantial mechanism requires further investigation.
Atomic Ni Species Anchored N‐Doped Carbon Hollow Spheres as Nanoreactors for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Authors: Ma Shuangshuang , Su Panpan , Huang Wenjuan , Jiang San Ping , Bai Shiyang , Liu Jian
Published: October 2019

Electrochemical CO2 reduction to value‐added chemicals is a critical and challenging process for research of sustainable energy. Herein, we synthesize new nickel single atom catalysts embedded in nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres (Ni−N/C‐x) via thermal treatment of Ni salts and nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres (N/C‐x). The state of Ni species on Ni−N/C‐x can be tuned by the nitrogen species of N/C‐x and pyrrolic‐N favors the formation of atomic Ni species. Two catalysts, namely, Ni−N/C‐1/4 contains more pyrrolic‐N and more amount of atomic Ni species than that on Ni−N/C‐3/2 have been prepared. During all the measurement potential range, Ni−N/C‐1/4 displays a much higher catalytic activity for CO2 reduction to CO than Ni−N/C‐3/2. Within the potential range of −0.63 V to −0.98 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), the faradaic efficiencies of CO on Ni−N/C‐1/4 exceed 70 %. Furthermore, Ni−N/C‐1/4 exhibits high selectivity for CO and excellent stability during 4.5 h of CO2 reduction electrolysis at the potential of −0.78 V versus RHE.
Fast microwave‐assisted hydrothermal synthesis of TiNb2O7 nanoparticles
Authors: Falk Gilberto S. , Rodrigues Neto João B. , Borlaf Mario , Gómez Sergio Y. , Novaes de Oliveira Antonio P. , Hotza Dachamir
Published: October 2019

In this work, a fast method for synthesizing TiNb2O7 nanoparticles was developed by combining colloidal sol‐gel and microwave‐assisted hydrothermal synthesis. The synthesis conditions and the subsequent thermal treatments were evaluated analyzing their effect on morphological, structural, and photocatalytic properties of the synthesized nanoparticles. The results indicated that the hybrid synthesis requires heating at temperature as low as 180°C for only 10 minutes. Therefore, this process is a feasible alternative method for obtaining nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm. Subsequent thermal treatments led to the direct crystallization of the TiNb2O7 in the monoclinic phase, observing a direct correlation between the crystallinity and the photocatalytic activity: the higher the better.
Fos‐CreER‐based genetic mapping of forebrain regions activated by acupuncture
Authors: Guo Zhiling , Lin Xiaoxiao , Samaniego Tracy , Isreb Alexander , Cao Stacey , Malik Shaista , Holmes Todd C. , Xu Xiangmin
Published: October 2019

Acupuncture increasingly is accepted as a potential therapy for many diseases in the Western world. However, the mechanism of acupuncture is not well understood mechanistically. We have established that manual acupuncture (MA) at the Neiguan (P6) acupoint inhibits excitatory cardiovascular reflex responses through modulation of the autonomic nervous system in the brainstem. It is unclear whether P6 MA activates neurons in the brain regions beyond the brainstem. Thus, we mapped P6 specific neural activation by MA in the forebrain using the Fos‐CreER; Ai9 mice model, which allows for enhanced sensitivity and efficiency compared to conventional immunohistochemical staining. Compared to sham‐MA control without manual stimulation, we find that MA at P6 markedly increases c‐Fos positive neurons in a number of the forebrain regions (n = 5 in each group). These activated regions include accumbens nucleus, caudate putamen, claustrum, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, amygdaloid nucleus, ventral posterior division of the thalamic nucleus, paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, arcuate hypothalamic nucleus, primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, ectorhinal cortex, and dorsolateral entorhinal cortex. As MA at P6 activates neurons in relatively broad brain networks beyond the brainstem, our data suggest that acupuncture at this acupoint has the potential to influence physiological functions associated with autonomic and non‐autonomic nervous systems through its effects on multiple brain regions.
Disturbance regulates the density–body‐mass relationship of soil fauna
Authors: van Langevelde Frank , Comor Vincent , de Bie Steven , Prins Herbert H. T. , Thakur Madhav P.
Published: October 2019

Theory on the density–body‐mass (DBM) relationship predicts that the density of animal species decreases by the power of −0.75 per unit increase in their body mass, or by the power of −1 when taxa across trophic levels are studied. This relationship is, however, largely debated, as the slope often deviates from the theoretical predictions. Here, we tested the ability of the DBM relationship to reflect changes in the structure of communities subjected to an anthropogenic disturbance. The slope would become less steep if smaller animals were more impacted by the disturbance than the larger ones, whereas the slope would become steeper if larger animals were more affected than the smaller ones. We tested the changes in the DBM relationship by sampling soil fauna, i.e., nematodes, Collembola, and larger arthropods, from a semiarid grassland before and after spraying diesel fuel as disturbance. We applied three different treatments: a control, a light disturbance, and an intense disturbance. We found that the slopes of the DBM relationships before the disturbance were around −1 as predicted by theory. The slope became more positive (i.e., less steep) just after the disturbance, especially after the intense disturbance as smaller fauna suffered the most and early colonizers had larger body mass. Interestingly, we observed that the slopes converged back to −1 by 2 months post‐disturbance. Our findings show that the response of soil fauna communities to anthropogenic disturbances could explain the large variation in observed slopes of the DBM relationships. We experimentally demonstrate that an animal community, when disturbed, shows a temporal pattern of DBM relationships ranging from deviations from the predicted slope to convergence to the predicted slope with time. We recommend that deviations in the DBM relationships after disturbances can provide insights in the trajectory of community recovery, and hence could be used for biomonitoring.
A distance map regularized CNN for cardiac cine MR image segmentation
Authors: Dangi Shusil , Linte Cristian A. , Yaniv Ziv
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Cardiac image segmentation is a critical process for generating personalized models of the heart and for quantifying cardiac performance parameters. Fully automatic segmentation of the left ventricle (LV), the right ventricle (RV), and the myocardium from cardiac cine MR images is challenging due to variability of the normal and abnormal anatomy, as well as the imaging protocols. This study proposes a multi‐task learning (MTL)‐based regularization of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to obtain accurate segmenation of the cardiac structures from cine MR images.

Methods

We train a CNN network to perform the main task of semantic segmentation, along with the simultaneous, auxiliary task of pixel‐wise distance map regression. The network also predicts uncertainties associated with both tasks, such that their losses are weighted by the inverse of their corresponding uncertainties. As a result, during training, the task featuring a higher uncertainty is weighted less and vice versa. The proposed distance map regularizer is a decoder network added to the bottleneck layer of an existing CNN architecture, facilitating the network to learn robust global features. The regularizer block is removed after training, so that the original number of network parameters does not change. The trained network outputs per‐pixel segmentation when a new patient cine MR image is provided as an input.

Results

We show that the proposed regularization method improves both binary and multi‐class segmentation performance over the corresponding state‐of‐the‐art CNN architectures. The evaluation was conducted on two publicly available cardiac cine MRI datasets, yielding average Dice coefficients of 0.84 ± 0.03 and 0.91 ± 0.04. We also demonstrate improved generalization performance of the distance map regularized network on cross‐dataset segmentation, showing as much as 42% improvement in myocardium Dice coefficient from 0.56 ± 0.28 to 0.80 ± 0.14.

Conclusions

We have presented a method for accurate segmentation of cardiac structures from cine MR images. Our experiments verify that the proposed method exceeds the segmentation performance of three existing state‐of‐the‐art methods. Furthermore, several cardiac indices that often serve as diagnostic biomarkers, specifically blood pool volume, myocardial mass, and ejection fraction, computed using our method are better correlated with the indices computed from the reference, ground truth segmentation. Hence, the proposed method has the potential to become a non‐invasive screening and diagnostic tool for the clinical assessment of various cardiac conditions, as well as a reliable aid for generating patient specific models of the cardiac anatomy for therapy planning, simulation, and guidance.
Postoperative imaging following fetal open myelomeningocele repair: The clinical utility of magnetic resonance imaging and sonographic amniotic fluid volumes in detecting suspected hysterotomy scar dehiscence
Authors: Seaman Rachel D. , Cassady Christopher I. , Yepez Donado Mayel C. , Espinoza Jimmy , Shamshirsaz Alireza A. , Nassr Ahmed A. , Whitehead William E. , Belfort Michael A. , Sanz Cortes Magdalena
Published: October 2019

Objectives

Hysterotomy scar disruption, ranging from myometrial thinning to complete dehiscence, is a well‐established complication of open‐hysterotomy fetal myelomeningocele (MMC) repair. This study sought to (a) determine the feasibility of postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting signs of hysterotomy scar disruption and (b) identify the sonographic and clinical signs suggestive of subacute scar dehiscence, including decreasing amniotic fluid index (AFI) and uterine contractions, respectively.

Methos

A unique index case of suspected hysterotomy dehiscence following MMC repair prompted a retrospective review of 31 total open‐hysterotomy fetal MMC repairs performed at our center, including 21 cases found to have intact hysterotomy scarring and 10 cases of non intact scarring detected at subsequent cesarean delivery. In each case, routine post operative MRI, performed 6 weeks after the MMC repair, was reviewed to evaluate the thickness of the hysterotomy site. Cases were also reviewed for sonographic and clinical patterns preceding delivery, including changes in AFI and the presence or absence of uterine contractions.

Results

Of the 31 total reviewed cases, 21 cases were found to have intact hysterotomy scar sites at the time of cesarean delivery. Among the intact cases, the net change in AFI from the time of MRI to delivery ranged from −45% to 47%, with a mean increase in fluid levels of 8% over an average of 5.6 weeks. The other 11 cases, including the index case, were found to have signs of scar disruption at delivery, including seven with thinned scar sites and four with grossly dehiscent sites. Amongst non‐intact cases, AFI predominately decreased, with a net change ranging from −56% to 9% for a mean change of −24% over an average of 5.4 weeks. Regular uterine contractions close to the time of delivery occurred in 82% of the non intact cases.

Conclusion

Hysterotomy scar disruption can rarely be detected by MRI following MMC repair. Decreasing AFI and contractions may serve as early warning signs of scar dehiscence and should be taken into consideration for obstetric management.
A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial for Aerobic and Strengthening Exercises on Physical Function and Pain for Hip Osteoarthritis
Authors: Thompson Austin R. , Christopherson Zach , Marshall Lynn M. , Carlson Hans L. , Carlson Nels L.
Published: October 2019

Background

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) limits lower extremity physical function. Exercise therapy may improve physical function and reduce pain in patients with hip OA.

Objective

To evaluate the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to measure the effect of a structured hip‐specific resistance and aerobic exercise program on physical function and self‐reported pain in adults with hip OA.

Design

Pilot RCT.

Setting

Academic medical center.

Participants

Thirty one adults with radiographic hip OA.

Interventions

Participants were randomly allocated in a 2:1 ratio to a 3‐month structured exercise intervention (n = 21) or a 3‐month waitlist control (n = 10).

Main Outcome Measures

The 6‐minute walk test was the primary outcome measure. Self‐reported physical function was assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) physical function subscale and pain visual analog scale (VAS). Measures of feasibility were assessed as secondary outcomes.

Results

From baseline to 3 months, the median change from baseline in distance covered during the 6‐minute walk test in the intervention group (49 m) was double that of the control group (22 m), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = .13). Likewise, the WOMAC physical function subscale score median changes in the intervention group (5 points) were double that of the controls (2 points), although the difference was not statistically significant (P = .06). Median change in pain scores was slightly reduced in each group but not significantly different between groups (P = .53).

Conclusion

Although no statistically significant between‐group differences were found in this pilot RCT, improvements were seen in measures of physical function compared to controls. A larger RCT of this structured exercise program may be warranted.
Zwitterionic Nanohydrogels–Decorated Microporous Membrane with Ultrasensitive Salt Responsiveness for Controlled Water Transport
Authors: Wang Aqiang , Fang Wangxi , Zhang Jingya , Gao Shoujian , Zhu Yuzhang , Jin Jian
Published: October 2019

Highly sensitive responsiveness is vital for stimuli‐responsive membranes. However, it is a great challenge to fabricate stimuli‐responsive membranes with ultrahigh gating ratio (the ratio of the salt solution permeating flux to the pure water permeating flux) and high response speed simultaneously. In this work, a salt‐responsive membrane with an ultrahigh gating ratio is fabricated via a facile strategy by grafting zwitterionic nanohydrogels onto a poly(acrylic acid)‐grafting‐poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PAA‐g‐PVDF) microporous membrane. Due to the synergistic effect of two functional materials, PAA chains and zwitterionic nanohydrogels tethered on PAA chains, this stimuli‐responsive membrane exhibits an ultrasensitive salt responsiveness with a gating ratio of up to 8.76 times for Na+ ions, 89.6 times for Mg2+ ions, and 89.3 times for Ca2+ ions. In addition, such zwitterionic nanohydrogels–grafted PAA‐g‐PVDF (ZNG‐g‐PVDF) membranes exhibit very rapid responses to stimuli. The permeating flux changes swiftly while altering the feed solution in a continuous filtration process. The excellent salt‐responsive characteristics endow such a ZNG‐g‐PVDF membrane with great potential for applications like drug delivery, water treatment, and sensors.
Kupferlegierungen: Einsatz einer klassischen Werkstoffgruppe bei Sonderkonstruktionen
Authors: Schmid Fabian , Teich Martien
Published: October 2019

Bronze und Messing erfreuen sich in den vergangenen Jahren bei einer zunehmenden Zahl an Architekten, insbesondere in Nordamerika und Großbritannien, wieder einer Renaissance. Dabei ist die Verwendung von Kupferlegierungen schon lange Tradition im Bauwesen. Trotzdem gibt es gerade durch neue Fertigungsmethoden, wie der additiven Fertigung oder durch die Kombination aus Nachbearbeitung und Patinierung, vielfältige Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten, die zu aufwendigen oder teilweise missverständlichen Diskussionen führen. Dieser Artikel fasst die Grundlagen zur Werkstoffgruppe, zu Normen und Verarbeitung zusammen, gibt mit ausgewählten Muster‐ und Projektbeispielen Einblick in aktuelle Anwendungsmöglichkeiten und schließt mit Erfahrungen ab, die bei der Auseinandersetzung mit der Werkstoffgruppe bei der Fassadenplanung gemacht wurden.
Auswertung von Ermüdungsversuchsdaten zur Überprüfung von Kerbfallklassen nach EC3‐1‐9
Authors: Feldmann Markus , Bartsch Helen , Kuhlmann Ulrike , Drebenstedt Karl , Ummenhofer Thomas , Seyfried Benjamin
Published: October 2019

Der Beitrag befasst sich mit der Neuauswertung des Kerbfallkatalogs nach EC3‐1‐9. Zur konsistenten Kerbfallklassifizierung wurde zunächst eine geeignete statistische Methodik festgelegt. Als Grundlage für die Kerbfallauswertung dient eine strukturierte SQL‐gestützte Datenbank, die neben neueren und eigenen Versuchsdaten zunächst vor allem jene Ermüdungsversuchsdaten umfasst, die im Hintergrunddokument zum EC3‐1‐9 dokumentiert sind. Nach Selektion der aussagekräftigsten Versuchsdaten wurden wichtige Kerbdetails, wie bspw. verschiedene Ausführungsvarianten von Längsschweißnähten, neu ausgewertet. Außerdem wurden eigene Ermüdungsversuche in Verbindung mit numerischen Simulationen durchgeführt, um die Ermüdungsfestigkeit bestimmter Kerbdetails zukünftig zutreffender bewerten zu können. Die bisherigen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die analysierten Details häufig höhere Ermüdungswiderstände aufweisen, als derzeit im EC3‐1‐9 dokumentiert ist.
Contemplation on Some Prismatic Polynitrogen Structures – A DFT Treatment
Authors: Türker Lemi
Published: October 2019

Polynitrogen compounds, are rare molecules having only nitrogen atoms. In recent years, they have been considered as promising candidates of clean (green) high energy density materials. They possess high energy content and their sole decomposition product is N2. Presently some prismatic polynitrogen structures (N6 – N14) are considered within the limitations of density functional theory at the levels of B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p) and B3LYP/cc‐PVTZ. The calculations reveal that they are all highly endothermic but stable. Certain quantum chemical properties, IR and UV/Vis spectra are reported. Homolytic bond cleavage of top rings are considered. Then, the transition state and activation energies, and also homolytic bond dissociation energies for the top rings have been calculated at the level of UB3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p). Also NICS(0) values have been calculated at the level of B3LYP/6‐311++G(d,p). The results indicate that N6 and N10 have aromatic and nonaromatic top (and also base) rings, respectively. All the rest of the structures have antiaromatic rings (all the structures have antiaromatic N4 rings).
Structural change, institutions and the dynamics of labor productivity in Europe
Authors: Pariboni Riccardo , Tridico Pasquale
Published: October 2019

The objective of this paper is to explain the reasons behind the dynamics of labor productivity (LP) growth during a process of institutional and structural change. We show - by means of a theoretical discussion and an empirical analysis, conducted on a sample of 25 European countries for the period 1995–2016 - that four main channels contribute to explaining the evolution of LP. First, the speed of investment, which incorporates innovation and favors an increase of LP growth; second, the speed of Research and Development (R&D), which allows for the creation of new ideas and shows the “dynamism of a society”, having positive effects on LP; third, the deregulation of labor markets and the increase of temporary employment, both of which encourage labor-intensive strategies by firms, with low value-added and low productivity gains; fourth, the direction of structural change, which can take place toward services industries affected by “Baumol’s disease”.
Hydrophobization of cotton fabric with silanes with different substituents
Authors: Makowski T.
Published: October 2019

In this paper hydrophobization of cotton fabric with a range of silanes, differing in number of chlorine atoms and in other substituents, was explored. The fabric modification was carried out in silane solutions in anhydrous toluene and in n-hexane. Water contact angles were measured to characterize hydrophili/phobicity of the modified fabrics. Surfaces of the fibers were analyzed using SEM, EDS and ATR-FTIR. Treatment with dichlorodimethylsilane, dichloro(methyl)phenylsilane, 3-chloropropylmethyldichlorosilane and (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)dichloromethylsilane resulted in hydrophobization, whereas trimethylchlorosilane and 3-aminopropyl(diethoxy)methylsilane were inefficient. Mechanisms of coating with the silanes were proposed. Dielectric spectroscopy of the modified fabric demonstrated that resistance was sensitive to efficiency of reactions removing water from the cotton fibers.

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Science Parks, talent attraction and stakeholder involvement: an international study
Authors: Cadorin Eduardo , Klofsten Magnus , Löfsten Hans
Published: October 2019

One aspect of Science Parks development that has come into focus is the attraction of talent, which could include attracting specific expertise, making it easier for firms to be established and reach skilled workers. In order to encompass different contexts, both economic and cultural, a questionnaire was sent to 120 Science Parks, of which 59 (49%) replied. The study included 22 variables, including eleven independent variables according to Science Park stakeholders and characteristics when selecting talent for tenant firms, five control variables, and six variables of Science Park success dimensions. The results show that the characteristics of talent contribute to the park’s success. Universities are the primary source of talent, and the government has a critical role in promoting collaboration between firms and universities. Therefore, park managers should promote links with local universities and the student community as well as strengthen their relationship with government representatives at all levels to receive the necessary support for park development.
Veritism refuted? Understanding, idealization, and the facts
Authors: Nawar Tamer
Published: October 2019

Elgin offers an influential and far-reaching challenge to veritism. She takes scientific understanding to be non-factive and maintains that there are epistemically useful falsehoods that figure ineliminably in scientific understanding and whose falsehood is no epistemic defect. Veritism, she argues, cannot account for these facts. This paper argues that while Elgin rightly draws attention to several features of epistemic practices frequently neglected by veritists, veritists have numerous plausible ways of responding to her arguments. In particular, it is not clear that false propositional commitments figure ineliminably in understanding in the manner supposed by Elgin. Moreover, even if scientific understanding were non-factive and false propositional commitments did figure ineliminably in understanding, the veritist can account for this in several ways without thereby abandoning veritism.
A predictive processing theory of motivation
Authors: Miller Tate Alex James
Published: October 2019

In this paper I propose minimal criteria for a successful theory of the mechanisms of motivation (i.e. how motivational mental states perform their characteristic function), and argue that extant philosophical accounts fail to meet them. Further, I argue that a predictive processing (PP) framework gives us the theoretical power to meet these criteria, and thus ought to be preferred over existing theories. The argument proceeds as follows—motivational mental states are generally understood as mental states with the power to initiate, guide, and control action, though few existing theories of motivation explicitly detail how they are meant to explain these functions. I survey two contemporary theories of motivational mental states, due to Wayne Wu and Bence Nanay, and argue that they fail to satisfactorily explain one or more of these functions. Nevertheless, I argue that together, they are capable of giving a strong account of the control function, which competing theories ought to preserve (all else being equal). I then go on to argue that what I call the ‘predictive theory’ of motivational mental states, which makes use of the notion of active inference, is able to explain all three of the key functions and preserves the central insights of Wu and Nanay on control. It thus represents a significant step forward in the contemporary debate.
The vaginal microbial communities of healthy expectant Brazilian mothers and its correlation with the newborn’s gut colonization
Authors: Dobbler Priscila , Mai Volker , Procianoy Renato S. , Silveira Rita C. , Corso Andréa L. , Roesch Luiz Fernando Wurdig
Published: October 2019

The female lower genital tract harbors a complex microbial community essential for homeostasis and health. During pregnancy, the female body undergoes unique hormonal changes that contribute to weight gain as well as modulations in immune function that can affect microbiota composition. Several studies have described the vaginal microbiota of pregnant women from the USA, Europe and Mexico. Here we expand our knowledge about the vaginal microbial communities during the third trimester to healthy expectant Brazilian mothers. Vaginal samples were collected from patients delivering at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil. Microbial DNA was isolated from samples and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the PGM Ion Torrent. Brazilian pregnant women presented three distinct types of microbial community at the time of labor. Two microbial communities, Cluster 1 and Cluster 3, presented an overall dominance ofLactobacilluswhile Cluster 2 tended to present higher diversity and richness, with the presence ofPseudomonas,Prevotellaand other vaginosis related bacteria. About half of the Brazilian mothers sampled here had dominance ofL. iners. The proportion of mothers without dominance of anyLactobacilluswas higher in Brazil (22%) compared to UK (2.4%) and USA, where this community type was not detected. The vaginal microbiota showed significant correlation with the composition of the babies’ gut microbiota (p-value = 0.002 with a R2of 15.8%). Mothers presenting different vaginal microbiota shared different microorganisms with their newborns, which would reflect on initial colonizers of the developing newborns’ gut.
Effect of the NH4NO3 Addition on the Low-T NH3-SCR Performances of Individual and Combined Fe- and Cu-Zeolite Catalysts
Authors: Villamaina R. , Nova I. , Tronconi E. , Maunula T. , Keenan M.
Published: October 2019

We have measured NOx conversions and N2O productions over Fe-BEA and Cu-SAPO catalysts and over their sequential arrangements under Enhanced SCR conditions, resulting from the addition of an aqueous solution of ammonium nitrate (AN) to the typical Standard SCR feed stream, and we have compared them to those observed under Standard and Fast SCR conditions. The expected strong enhancement of the poor low temperature activity of the Fe-BEA catalyst was confirmed: both NH3 and NOx conversions and N2O formations similar to those of the Fast SCR reaction were achieved when cofeeding ammonium nitrate. On the other hand, the Cu-SAPO efficiency was drastically decreased by the addition of AN at low temperatures, possibly due to trapping of the ammonium nitrate salt within the SAPO zeolite, characterized by smaller pores than those of the BEA zeolite. The Cu-SAPO performances were recovered only at T > 250 °C with a huge release of N2O due to the thermal decomposition of AN. The combined system with the Fe-zeolite sample placed upstream of the Cu-zeolite also exhibited outstanding low temperature deNOx performances, with even lower N2O production than over the Fe-zeolite only at the same Enhanced SCR (E-SCR) conditions.
The effects of granulocyte colonystimulating factors (G-CSFs) in leucocytes
Authors: Pinto Marco P. Barros , Marques Guilhermina
Published: October 2019

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors may be responsible for a set of laboratory findings in the peripheral blood film that may be confused with those associated with important diseases like myeloproliferative neoplasms, infection, or megaloblastic anaemia. We present a case report of a 29-year-old woman where these laboratory findings are described.
Les ghettos juifs d’Italie à travers lejus chazakah: Un espace contraint mais négocié
Authors: Gasperoni Michaël
Published: October 2019

Résumés

La ségrégation des juifs dans des ghettos, qui s’imposa comme une véritable technique de gouvernement dans certains États de la péninsule italienne à partir duxvie siècle, avait, pour les acteurs juifs et chrétiens, de nombreuses implications souvent imbriquées : politiques et idéologiques, économiques et sociales, spatiales, institutionnelles et juridiques. Discriminés et assignés à résidence dans des quartiers séparés et circonscrits, les juifs étaient notamment condamnés à devenir d’éternels locataires de leurs habitations. En effet, la ghettoïsation allait presque partout de pair avec un certain nombre de discriminations, comme l’interdiction de posséder les immeubles. De cette situation particulière émergea un droit particulier, lejus chazakah. Cette forme de propriété dissociée, que cet article se propose d’appréhender à travers une approche comparative où Rome et les États de l’Église occupent une place centrale, constitue un véritable laboratoire pour étudier aussi bien l’histoire d’une minorité que son rapport au groupe majoritaire et, plus largement, la complexité même des sociétés d’Ancien Régime. Le ghetto était un espace certes contraint et contraignant, mais toujours négocié par des minorités juives capables de mobiliser les différentes ressources économiques et juridiques à leur disposition pour négocier leurs droits, et ce même dans un contexte de plus en plus hostile.
Richard Wagner et la portée de son antisémitisme (note critique)
Authors: Menger Pierre-Michel
Published: October 2019

Résumés

Dans l’immense bibliothèque des travaux sur Richard Wagner, les recherches consacrées à la judéophobie et à l’antisémitisme du compositeur ont progressé en plusieurs vagues, à partir de la fin des années 1960. Les controverses ont été et demeurent vives pour qualifier l’idéologie wagnérienne, pour cerner ses liens avec son œuvre musicale et pour tirer les leçons de l’amplification nationaliste et antisémite du culte wagnérien par le régime nazi. L’ouvrage du musicologue Jean-Jacques Nattiez, Wagner antisémite, offre un vaste bilan et comble une lacune majeure de la bibliographie des écrits wagnériens de langue française. Après avoir rappelé comment a émergé le traitement historiographique et musicologique de l’antisémitisme wagnérien, dont cet ouvrage fait un inventaire critique, sont examinés dans cet article quatre problèmes centraux auxquels conduit la lecture de Nattiez : les ressorts de la contextualisation de l’idéologie wagnérienne dans l’Allemagne et l’Europe du xixe siècle ; les services rendus à l’hubris créatrice de Wagner par son engagement antisémite et nationaliste ; le rôle joué par les descendants dépositaires du patrimoine artistique et institutionnel de Wagner dans la propulsion de l’antisémitisme jusque sous l’ère nazie, puis, après 1945, dans l’inversion progressive et, aujourd’hui, radicalement critique des positions ; la porosité entre les écrits antisémites de Wagner et sa production lyrique, qui appelle une réinterprétation de la question de l’autonomie de l’art.
Exploiter des techniques cinélégales pour mieux ressentir les effets qu’a la réglementation sur les personnes en situation d’itinérance
Authors: Bouclin Suzanne
Published: October 2019

Dans cet article, nous empruntons le vocabulaire des études cinématographiques pour visualiser le droit tel qu’il est utilisé, interprété et construit du point de vue des personnes en situation d’itinérance. Nous avançons que les modalités du droit s’expriment différemment dans les lois élaborées pour règlementer les personnes en situation d’itinérance. Les techniques cinélégales que nous proposons sont au fond des métaphores qui permettent de mieux nuancer les représentations sceptiques et instrumentalistes du droit. Ces façons d’éprouver la réglementation des personnes itinérantes peuvent également favoriser l’incarnation de la perception des interactions urbaines entre les personnes en situation d’itinérance et leurs interlocuteurs.
The indistinguishables: determining appropriate environments for justice involved individuals
Authors: Evans Sean E. , Bader Shannon M.
Published: October 2019

Criminalizing those with mental illness is a controversial topic with a long and complex history in the United States. The problem has traditionally been dichotomized between criminals (i.e., “bad”) in need of placement in jails and prisons and the mentally ill (i.e., “mad”) who are need of treatment in psychiatric facilities. Recent trends demonstrate significant increases in the rates of mental illness in jails and prisons, as well as increased rates of violence within psychiatric hospitals. This would suggest that there are a group of justice involved individuals who are “indistinguishable” within the traditional dichotomous categories of dangerousness and mental illness. The authors argue for a more nuanced model that dimensionally conceptualizes dangerousness and mental illness; increased attention to situational factors that create facilities appropriate for those who are dangerous and mentally ill and more diversion programs for those inappropriate for incarceration or hospitalization.