bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary dynamics of SARS‐CoV‐2 nucleocapsid protein and its consequences
Authors: Rahman M. Shaminur , Islam M. Rafiul , Alam A. S. M. Rubayet Ul , Islam Israt , Hoque M. Nazmul , Akter Salma , Rahaman Md. Mizanur , Sultana Munawar , Hossain M. Anwar
Published: October 2020

The emerged novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has created a global health crisis that warrants an accurate and detailed characterization of the rapidly evolving viral genome for understanding its epidemiology, pathogenesis, and containment. Here, we explored 61,485 sequences of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, a potent diagnostic and prophylactic target, for identifying the mutations to review their roles in real‐time polymerase chain reaction based diagnosis and observe consequent impacts. Compared to the Wuhan reference strain, a total of 1034 unique nucleotide mutations were identified in the mutant strains (49.15%, n = 30,221) globally. Of these mutations, 367 occupy primer binding sites including the 3′‐end mismatch to the primer‐pair of 11 well‐characterized primer sets. Noteworthily, CDC (USA) recommended the N2 primer set contained a lower mismatch than the other primer sets. Moreover, 684 amino acid (aa) substitutions were located across 317 (75.66% of total aa) unique positions including 82, 21, and 83 of those in the RNA binding N‐terminal domain (NTD), SR‐rich region, and C‐terminal dimerization domain, respectively. Moreover, 11 in‐frame deletions, mostly (n = 10) within the highly flexible linker region, were revealed, and the rest was within the NTD region. Furthermore, we predicted the possible consequence of high‐frequency mutations (≥20) and deletions on the tertiary structure of the N protein. Remarkably, we observed that a high frequency (67.94% of mutated sequences) co‐occuring mutations (R203K and G204R) destabilized and decreased overall structural flexibility. The N protein of SARS‐CoV‐2 comprises an average of 1.2 mutations per strain compared to 4.4 and 0.4 in Middle East respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus and SARS‐CoV, respectively. Despite being proposed as the alternative target to spike protein for vaccine and therapeutics, the ongoing evolution of the N protein may challenge these endeavors, thus needing further immunoinformatics analyses. Therefore, continuous monitoring is required for tracing the ongoing evolution of the SARS‐CoV‐2 N protein in prophylactic and diagnostic interventions.
Prevalence of Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: A Meta‐analysis
Authors: Strum David , Kapoor Elina , Shim Timothy , Kim Sunny , Sabetrasekh Parisa , Monfared Ashkan
Published: October 2020

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) attributable to Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) in the global pediatric population and to identify factors contributing to its severity.

Study Design

Meta‐analysis.

Methods

We performed a comprehensive literature search for scientific articles in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library that reported the incidence of hearing loss in populations under 18 years of age with excluding studies analyzing patients on iron chelation therapy, adults, or those without objective audiological analysis.

Results

We identified 138 initial studies with 17 selected for analysis after applying the exclusion criteria. A total of 1,282 SCD patients and 553 controls were included in the meta‐analysis. There was a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of SNHL in children with SCD compared to the general population with a cumulative risk ratio of 3.33.

Conclusion

This is the first systematic investigation of the relationship between SCD and SNHL in pediatric patients across the globe. The increased prevalence of SNHL in the pediatric SCD population warrants future research into the predictors of SNHL severity and merits routine audiometric monitoring of SCD patients to reduce the social and developmental morbidity of hearing loss at a young age.

PROSPERO Registration #: CRD42019132601. Laryngoscope, 131:1147–1156, 2021
Early spring prescribed burning in mixedPinus halepensisMill. andPinus pinasterAit. stands reduced biological soil functionality in the short term
Authors: Plaza‐Álvarez Pedro Antonio , Moya Daniel , Lucas‐Borja Manuel Esteban , García‐Orenes Fuensanta , González‐Romero Javier , Rossa Carlos , Peña Esther , De las Heras Jorge
Published: October 2020

This study evaluates the effects of prescribed burnings on soil physico‐chemical and biological properties in the short term. This practice is still in the process of evaluation and its effect on Mediterranean pine forests is not understood completely. Prescribed burning was carried out in three plots of mixedPinus halepensisandPinus pinasterstands in Castilla‐La Mancha (Spain) while monitoring soil temperature. Vegetation coverage was measured and soil samples were taken before, immediately after and 1 year after burning. Texture, pH, soil electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, potassium, basal soil respiration, microbial biomass carbon content and enzymatic activities of urease, dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and β‐glucosidase were evaluated by generalized linear models, and a principal component analysis was used to reveal the relations between variables. The vegetation cover was reduced by 85% after fire. Soil organic carbon increased immediately after burning to return to the previous values one year later. Phosphorous and cationic exchange capacity increased immediately after burning and remained high one year later, while electrical conductivity and sodium were significantly lower after a year. Basal soil respiration and glucosidase were not affected by prescribed burning. Microbial biomass carbon, urease, phosphatase, and dehydrogenase had significantly lowered one year after burning. Our results show that prescribed burning managed to decrease the vegetation cover of the understory while it also reduced soil biological functions in areas with poorly developed soil and a dry climate, where recovery periods can be longer than expected.
Artificial boundary conditions for linearized stationary incompressible viscous flow around rotating and translating body
Authors: Deuring P. , Kračmar S. , Nečasová Š.
Published: October 2020

We consider the linearized and nonlinear stationary incompressible flow around rotating and translating body in the exterior domain , where is open and bounded, with Lipschitz boundary. We derive the pointwise estimates for the pressure in both cases. Moreover, we consider the linearized problem in a truncation domain of the exterior domain under certain artificial boundary conditions on the truncating boundary , and then compare this solution with the solution in the exterior domain to get the truncation error estimate.
New classes of hyperbolic‐cotangent–type systems of difference equations solvable in closed form
Authors: Stević Stevo
Published: October 2020

In the case of homogeneous linear difference equations with constant coefficients, only a relatively small part of the equations is practically solvable. This is connected to impossibility to solve all polynomial equations of degree bigger than four. In the case of nonlinear difference equations and systems the situation is even worse. So it is of interest to find new classes of practically solvable difference equations and systems. Recently, there have been presented several classes of practically solvable hyperbolic‐cotangent–type systems of difference equations. Here, we present a new class of solvable systems of this type. It is a bit surprising that all the systems in the class are practically solvable, especially since several special cases are connected to some polynomials of degree eight.
A New Estimator to Correct for Bias from Tag Rate Expansion on Natural-Origin Fish Attributes in Mixed-Stock Analysis Using Parentage-Based Tagging
Authors: Delomas Thomas A. , Hess Jon E.
Published: October 2020

In fisheries where hatchery- and natural-origin conspecifics occur as mixed stocks, it is often important to estimate both the natural-origin proportion of the mixture and the composition of attributes within the natural-origin portion (e.g., genetic stock, sex, and age-class). These estimates are facilitated by parentage-based tagging, which allows large numbers of hatchery fish to be efficiently tagged and later identified. When tag rates are less than 100%, the untagged fish in the mixture include both untagged hatchery fish and natural-origin fish. Unbiased estimation of the abundance and attribute composition of the natural-origin portion requires an estimator that accounts for tag rates. Two estimators are described: one “accounting-style” estimator similar to previously described approaches and one maximum likelihood method. These estimators were evaluated and compared using simulations mimicking estimation of the composition of fish migrating past a dam. The two estimators performed similarly at reducing bias when tag rates were high, but the maximum likelihood method had smaller mean square error when tag rates were low. We provide an R package to allow usage of this estimator in a wide variety of fisheries applications.
Let students pay for their higher education: Debate concerning free and subsidized education based on sunk cost theory
Authors: Bhayani Ali
Published: October 2020

Governments across the world are grappling with the question about the funding of subsidized higher education (HE). Critics of free or subsidized HE have argued that higher rate of return of graduates serves as enough extrinsic motivation, adding, to the argument that the free or subsidized HE results in lack of intrinsic motivation. Further, critics support their assertion by citing lagging academic performance in countries where HE is free or heavily subsidized. Proponents of the state funding have cited the role of externalities and equal opportunities as the reason for subsidized HE. This study has used sunk cost theory to understand whether making students pay for their own education would impact on their performance and retention by enhancing intrinsic motivation in addition to analyzing the role of parents and the culture. Results indicate that students are impacted by sunk cost fallacy, as opposed to the earlier findings by Ketel et al. (2016), and that making them shoulder part of the tuition fees in form of contribution or student loans would result in “selection effects” where some sort of positive fee (after scholarships and grants) is paid by the students.
A qualitative analysis of social scientists' opinions on socioeconomic and demographic implications of the lockdown during COVID‐19 in India
Authors: Gupta Priya , Sengupta Angan
Published: October 2020

The unpredictable dynamics of COVID‐19 and policies surrounding its management has triggered severe debates and discussions among every section of society. There have been similarities as well as differences in opinions regarding spread of the disease, the lockdown, its implementations and impacts. This qualitative study attempts to identify and understand the emerging pattern within the opinions of 16 social scientists from eminent institutes with rich socioeconomic and demographic research experience. Several key themes emerged from this study. While it is opined that the lockdown initially slowed down the spread of virus among Indian population, it continues to surge exponentially. Economy faced extreme hardship because of this extensive and abrupt national lockdown. State‐wise variation in the COVID‐19 scenario is noticed and the reason is attributed to the strictness of implementation of the lockdown by the respective state governments. However, a lockdown in phases is suggested that could have averted the economic crisis. Small businesses were the hardest hit. Migrant workers were not given deserved attention and support in terms of their travel to their natives, health or financial sustenance during the lockdown. The bailout has not been timely and enough thereby creating a group of new poor. From the opinions it emerges that the policy measures intended to revive back the micro, small and medium scale enterprises may not bring short‐term solution pertaining to the labor crisis. Relaxation of lockdown also calls for stringent awareness generation among general population about health and hygiene maintenance to avoid further spread of COVID‐19.
Ecosystem services enhanced through soundscape management link people and wildlife
Authors: Levenhagen Mitchell J. , Miller Zachary D. , Petrelli Alissa R. , Ferguson Lauren A. , Shr Yau‐Huo (Jimmy) , Gomes Dylan G. E. , Taff Brendan D. , White Crow , Fristrup Kurt , Monz Christopher , McClure Christopher J. W. , Newman Peter , Francis Clinton D. , Barber Jesse R.
Published: October 2020

Burgeoning urbanization, development and human activities have led to reduced opportunities for nature experience in quiet acoustic environments. Increasing noise affects both humans and wildlife alike.

We experimentally altered human‐caused sound levels in a paired study using informational signs that encouraged quiet behaviours in week‐on, week‐off blocks on the trail system of Muir Woods National Monument, California, USA to test if the soundscape influences both wildlife and human experiences.

Using continuous measurements from acoustic recording units (n = 13) spatially distributed within the park, we found signs significantly lowered sound levels by approximately 1.2 decibels (A‐weighted), thereby increasing listening area by 24% and bird availability by approximately 5.8% for every 1 decibel decrease.

Visitor‐intercept surveys (n = 537) revealed that our mitigation increased the number of birds perceived by visitors, rankings of soundscape pleasantness, and importantly, preferences for soundscape management.

By lowering human‐caused sound levels, we created an acoustic environment equivalent to a ~21% reduction in visitors. The positive feedback cycle we describe may lead to increased conservation support in a time when the extinction of nature experience looms.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Printing perfusable and permeable vascular structure by controlled cross‐linking
Authors: Deng Quanfeng , Luo Yong , Zhang Xiuli
Published: October 2020

Vascular structure is indispensable for nutrition supply of 3D bioprinted organs. Coaxial extrusion is a routine way to generate vascular structure, however, the tubular size is fixed in this case. This study presented a simple and flexible method to develop perfusable and permeable vascular structure with controllable tubular diameter and wall thickness. A 3D bioprinter was used to extrude a gelatin/sodium alginate rod into the CaCl2 solution. The polymerization occurred from outside to inside of the rod extruded. Then, the rod extruded was pulled out from the CaCl2 solution and ceased polymerization. After washed away the inner uncross‐linked part, a tube was obtained. The tubular diameter and wall thickness can be controlled by adjusting polymerization time. Finally, a layer of endothelial cells (HUVECs) was attached on the surface of the inner wall of the extruded tube using a novel sacrificial method.
Tolerability and efficacy of two doses of aerosolized albuterol in ventilated infants with BPD: A randomized controlled crossover trial
Authors: Napolitano Natalie , Dysart Kevin , Soorikian Leane , Zhang Huayan , Panitch Howard , Jensen Erik
Published: October 2020

Rationale

Aerosolized albuterol is widely used, but its tolerability and efficacy in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (sBPD) is not well established.

Objectives

To compare the tolerability and efficacy of two dose levels of aerosolized albuterol to saline placebo in infants with sBPD.

Methods

Single‐center, multiple‐crossover trial in 24 ventilated very preterm infants with sBPD. Albuterol (1.25 mg, 2.5 mg) and 3 ml of normal saline were administered every 4 h during separate 24‐h treatment periods assigned in random order with a 6‐h washout phase between periods. The primary outcome was the absolute change (post and pretherapy) in expiratory flow at 75% of exhalation (EF75). Secondary endpoints were changes in ventilator parameters, vital signs, and heart arrhythmia.

Results

Average within subject EF75 values improved with each therapy: saline placebo ( + 0.45 L/min ± 2.5, p = .04), 1.25 mg of albuterol ( + 0.70 L/min ± 2.4, p < .001), and 2.5 mg of albuterol ( + 0.38 L/min ± 2.4, p = .06). However, 1.25 mg of albuterol (0.26 L/min; 95% CI −0.19, 0.72) and 2.5 mg (−0.10 L/min; 95% CI −0.77, 0.57) produced similar changes in EF75 when compared to saline. All secondary outcomes were similar between saline and 1.25 mg of albuterol. Peak inspiratory pressure needed to deliver goal tidal volumes (7.5% relative decrease, 95% CI 2.6, 12.3) and heart rate (6.5% increase, 95% CI 2.2, 10.8) differed significantly between albuterol 2.5 mg and saline.

Conclusion

Albuterol at 1.25 mg and 2.5 mg, compared to aerosolized saline, did not affect EF75 in infants with sBPD receiving invasive ventilation. Greater improvement in peak inspiratory pressures with albuterol 2.5 mg suggests benefit, but close heart monitoring may be indicated.
Librarian perspectives on the role of virtual reality in public libraries
Authors: Lee Kung Jin , King W. E. , Dahya Negin , Lee Jin Ha
Published: October 2020

This paper explores librarians’ perception of virtual reality as well as opportunities and challenges associated with implementing VR in public libraries. We interviewed 36 librarians who developed and offered VR programs as part of the research project, before and after the programming. The findings show how VR may be used in the public library as a learning tool and technology that encourages social interactions. Librarians discuss how the unique qualities of VR such as immersion and interactivity of VR makes it different from other digital media and present a different set of potential challenges when offered in the library. Librarians observed that while VR has a lot of potential as a technology for learning and social engagement, the success also largely depends on the VR content as well as the librarian's strategy for recruitment and promotion. In addition, we found that librarians had different understandings of what constitutes learning as well as how marginalized communities might benefit from this technology. The librarians we interviewed faced many challenges, however, our analysis of their experiences offers insight into designing successful VR programming in public libraries.
Response tonon‐response: How people react when their smartphone messages and calls are ignored
Authors: Agarwal Naresh Kumar , Lu Wenqing
Published: October 2020

Smartphone‐mediated communication has become the norm for a lot of people over the last two decades. It's common to see people spend a large part of their days glued to their smartphones, maintaining constant connectivity through sending and receiving messages and calls. However, people, almost daily, experience their closed ones or professional contacts not responding to certain messages and phone calls from them. The objective of this project is to investigate the non‐response behavior and the anxiety that people experience when their messages or calls are not responded to, and the resulting adverse effect on communication. Through interviews of 24 smartphone users, we found that the majority of the participants, especially those very active on social media, were highly affected by non‐response. By better understanding individual reactions to non‐response, the study recommends solutions and a framework for effective communication using smartphones. The study demonstrates how relationships play out in smartphone‐based communication, and what we could do to make them better. The study will inform the youth, parents, teachers, employers, and the society as a whole, as we embrace changes brought about by smartphone‐mediated communication.
Good systems, bad data?: Interpretations of AI hype and failures
Authors: Slota Stephen C. , Fleischmann Kenneth R. , Greenberg Sherri , Verma Nitin , Cummings Brenna , Li Lan , Shenefiel Chris
Published: October 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML), is widely viewed as having substantial transformative potential across society, and novel implementations of these technologies promise new modes of living, working, and community engagement. Data and the algorithms that operate upon it thus operate under an expansive ethical valence, bearing consequence to both the development of these potentially transformative technologies and our understanding of how best to manage and support its impact. This paper reports upon an interview‐driven study of stakeholders engaged with technology development, policy, and law relating to AI. Among our participating stakeholders, unexpected outcomes and flawed implementations of AI, especially those leading to negative social consequences, are often attributed to ill‐structured, incomplete, or biased data, and the algorithms and interpretations that might produce negative social consequence are seen as neutrally representing the data, or otherwise blameless in that consequence. We propose a more complex infrastructural view of the tools, data, and operation of AI systems as necessary to the production of social good, and explore how representations of the successes and failures of these systems, even among experts, tend to valorize algorithmic analysis and locate fault at the quality of the data rather than the implementation of systems.
The use of ICT during COVID‐19
Authors: Yang Shengnan , Fichman Pnina , Zhu Xiaohua , Sanfilippo Madelyn , Li Shijuan , Fleischmann Kenneth R.
Published: October 2020

ICTs are pivotal in the existing social order and especially during the COVID‐19 global pandemic. This panel focuses on the use of ICTs by different actors, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and governments around the globe in responding to this COVID crisis. We tackle three essential questions about ICTs and the global crisis. First, what role do ICTs play in a global crisis? Second, how do ICTs affect social order when tensions between control, autonomy, and power shift? Third, what are the theoretical and practical implications of ICT use during a global health crisis? Each of the panelists will discuss their ongoing research in social informatics or health informatics as relates to the panel theme and central questions in order to provide a holistic view of the role of ICTs during this global pandemic.
Using text classification to improve annotation quality by improving annotator consistency
Authors: Ishita Emi , Fukuda Satoshi , Tomiura Yoichi , Oard Douglas W.
Published: October 2020

This paper presents results of experiments in which annotators were asked to selectively reexamine their decisions when those decisions seemed inconsistent. The annotation task was binary topic classification. To operationalize the concept of annotation consistency, a text classifier was trained on all manual annotations made during a complete first pass and then used to automatically recode every document. Annotators were then asked to perform a second manual pass, limiting their attention to cases in which their first annotation disagreed with the text classifier. On average across three annotators, each working independently, 11% of first pass annotations were reconsidered, 46% of reconsidered annotations were changed in the second pass, and 71% of changed annotations agreed with decisions made independently by an experienced fourth annotator. The net result was that for an 11% average increase in annotation cost it was possible to increase overall chance corrected agreement with the annotation decisions of an experienced annotator (as measured by kappa) from 0.70 to 0.75.
A review oftruth‐defaulttheory: Implications for information behavior research
Authors: Zimmerman T. , Njeri M. , Khader M. , Allen J. , Rosellini A. , Eaves T.
Published: October 2020

Determining truth and accuracy of information is a key challenge in today's fast‐paced, global information economy dominated by social media. The field of Information Science, while publishing extensively on information seeking and use, has not done sufficient research into how individuals detect falsehood or deception in information they encounter. This paper describes Levine's Truth‐Default Theory (TDT) and links information behavior (IB) research to three vital aspects of the theory. Furthermore, this work demonstrates how TDT can be merged with T.D. Wilson's General Theory of Information Behavior, applying decades of research on deception detection to foundational IB theory. Implications of marrying these two ideas are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.
Biomedical knowledge discovery based on Sentence‐BERT
Authors: Shen Si , Liu Xiao , Sun Hao , Wang Dongbbo
Published: October 2020

In the advent of the big data era, the volume of biomedical information grows exponentially, which means that the researchers have to spend a large amount of time in biomedical information mining. Effective mining of biomedical information and building the knowledge graph in the biomedical field are of high importance for biomedical knowledge discovery. In this study, datasets were constructed by using the text similarity corpus of CDD. The average Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated by using the Sentence‐BERT model with sentence embeddings. Then a comparison was performed among the wordnet‐based similarity method (WBSM), UMLS‐based similarity method (UBSM), and the combination of these two methods. The results showed that the average Pearson correlation r calculated by the Sentence‐BERT model was the highest, the value of which is 74.37%. Triplets consisting of diseases, genes and proteins were extracted by using the Sentence‐BERT model. On this basis, the biomedical knowledge graph was constructed. It was found that this knowledge graph had a good effect on the testing dataset.
Quality of benzathine penicillin G: A multinational cross‐sectional study
Authors: Hand Robert M. , Senarathna S. M. D. K. Ganga , Page‐Sharp Madhu , Gray Katherine , Sika‐Paotonu Dianne , Sheel Meru , Chuang Victor T. G. , Martinez Jorge , Luna Giuseppe , Manning Laurens , Wyber Rosemary , Carapetis Jonathan R. , Batty Kevin T.
Published: October 2020

Benzathine penicillin G (BPG) is used as first‐line treatment for most forms of syphilis and as secondary prophylaxis against rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Perceptions that poor quality of BPG is linked to reported adverse effects and therapeutic failure may impact syphilis and RHD control programs. Clinical networks and web‐based advertising were used to obtain vials of BPG from a wide range of countries. The quality of BPG was assessed using a high performance liquid chromatography assay capable of detecting relevant impurities and degradation products. Tests for water content, presence of heavy metals and physical characteristics of BPG, including particle size analysis and optical microscopy, also were conducted. Thirty‐five batches of BPG were sourced from 16 countries across 4 WHO regions. All batches passed the US Pharmacopeia requirements for BPG injection (content), with no evidence of breakdown products or other detected contaminants. Water content and heavy metal analysis (n = 11) indicated adherence to regulatory standards and Good Manufacturing Practice. Particle size analysis (n = 20) found two batches with aggregated particles (>400 µm) that were dispersed following sonication. Current batches of BPG were of satisfactory pharmaceutical quality but aggregated particles were found in a modest proportion of samples. Future studies should focus on the physical characteristics of BPG which may contribute to variations in plasma penicillin concentrations an observed needle blockages in clinical practice. Pharmacopeial monographs could be revised to include standards on particle size and crystal morphology of BPG.
Correlation Between Structure and Mechanical Properties of Amorphous Cu–Ag Alloys
Authors: Belouarda Kaoutar , Kbirou Meryem , Saadouni Khalid , Badawi Michael , Mazroui M'hammed
Published: October 2020

Using a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and an embedded atom method (EAM), this article aims to study the structural properties of five Cu‐ and Ag‐based metallic glasses (MGs) with different compositions (Cu75Ag25, Cu50Ag50, Ag75Cu25, Cu‐monatomic, and Ag‐monatomic MGs) to shed light on the effect of composition on MGs’ properties. According to the radial distribution function (RDF) analysis, it is revealed that Ag atoms promote the glass forming ability (GFA) of the samples. Furthermore, increasing Ag content is found to favor the formation of face‐centered cubic (fcc) clusters and reduce the atomic fraction of icosahedral clusters, and this seems normal, because the distorted icosahedra are just an intermediate state between the icosahedra structure and the fcc structure as mentioned in the literature. Moreover, it is shown that Ag atoms tend to be at the center space of clusters with higher coordination numbers. It is also found that the obtained microstructure of the MGs, especially the full icosahedra, influences their mechanical response toward uniaxial tensile loading, as it enhances their strength by resisting to shear strain and reducing their plasticity, which encourages the accumulation of shear strain in shear bands.
Control of Optical Absorption and Emission of Sputtered Copper Iodide Thin Films
Authors: Yu Wenlei , Benndorf Gabriele , Jiang Yunfeng , Jiang Kai , Yang Chang , Lorenz Michael , Grundmann Marius
Published: October 2020

Optical absorption and emission spectra are the important quantifiable properties for CuI as a promising optoelectronic material. Previous research on the sputter deposition of CuI focuses on room‐temperature growth. Herein, the effect of growth temperature on the selected optical features of sputtered CuI thin films is investigated. An enhanced visible light transparency and a steeper absorption edge are achieved for CuI thin films by optimizing the growth temperature. The PL intensity ratio of free exciton to defect‐related emission increases with increasing substrate temperature. These results suggest a strategy of growth temperature optimization for the enhanced absorption and emission of CuI for advanced optoelectronic applications.
Interaction of 5‐fluorouracil with β‐cyclodextrin: A density functional theory study with dispersion correction
Authors: Buczek Aneta , Staś Monika , Hebenstreit Christian , Maller Corina , Broda Małgorzata A. , Kupka Teobald , Kelterer Anne‐Marie
Published: October 2020

Detailed studies on the stability, interaction, and microstructure of host‐guest complexes in the vacuum of 5‐fluorouracil (5FU) with β‐cyclodextrin (βCD) were performed using B3LYP with the inclusion of Grimme's dispersion correction GD3 term and 6‐31+G(d,p) basis set. Among several studied 1:1 5FU‐βCD complexes, the one placing the keto tautomer of 5FU vertically in the host cavity and forming N‐H···OCD and CO···HOCD hydrogen bonds with hydroxyl groups of the smaller rim of βCD has the highest stability (Eint = −195 kJ/mol). Interestingly, there are no interactions with the inner hydrophobic part of the βCD host cavity. The strength of the intermolecular H‐bonds to the smaller rim of βCD is comparable to those in 5FU‐water and 5FU‐methanol clusters, used as model systems characterizing the noncovalent interactions. Of several studied host‐guest complexes, the inner ones are more stable than the outer systems. Our results reveal that taking dispersion interaction in DFT into account is essential for reliable modeling of the structure, interaction, and stability of 5FU‐βCD complexes. This study is crucial for understanding the interaction of 5FU with βCD in the solid state and additionally suggests the presence of equilibrium between 5FU‐βCD complex and solvated 5FU.
The J–V Hysteresis Behavior and Solutions in Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Wang Meng , Lei Yutian , Xu Youkui , Han Lili , Ci Zhipeng , Jin Zhiwen
Published: October 2020

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has exceeded 25%, showing great potential in the photovoltaic field. However, PSCs often show anomalous current density–voltage (J–V) hysteresis behavior in the forward and reverse scanning directions, which makes it impossible to accurately evaluate the performance of PSCs. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand the mechanism of hysteresis and suppress the hysteresis. Herein, the J–V hysteresis behavior in PSCs and strategies to suppress hysteresis is focused: first, the various factors that affect J–V hysteresis in PSCs are summarized. And the mechanism behind the various possible origins of hysteresis and the challenges encountered are explored. Then, the strategies to suppress or eliminate the hysteresis are summarized, including optimizing the perovskite light‐absorbing layer, improving the performance of the carrier transport layer and interface engineering. Finally, insights on the future development of the hysteresis are also provided.
Regularity of Extremal Solutions to Nonlinear Elliptic Equations with Quadratic Convection and General Reaction
Authors: Aghajani Asadollah , Mottaghi Fatemeh , Rădulescu Vicenţiu D.
Published: October 2020

We consider the nonlinear elliptic equation with quadratic convection $$ -\Delta u + g(u) |\nabla u|^2=\lambda f(u) $$

-
Δ
u
+

g

(
u
)

|
∇
u
|

2

=
λ
f

(
u
)

in a smooth bounded domain $$ \Omega \subset {\mathbb {R}}^N $$

Ω
⊂

R

N

($$ N \ge 3$$

N
≥
3

) with zero Dirichlet boundary condition. Here, $$ \lambda $$
λ
is a positive parameter, $$ f:[0, \infty ):(0\infty ) $$

f
:
[
0
,
∞
)
:
(
0
∞
)

is a strictly increasing function of class $$C^1$$

C
1

, and g is a continuous positive decreasing function in $$ (0, \infty ) $$

(
0
,
∞
)

and integrable in a neighborhood of zero. Under natural hypotheses on the nonlinearities f and g, we provide some new regularity results for the extremal solution $$u^*$$

u
∗

. A feature of this paper is that our main contributions require neither the convexity (even at infinity) of the function $$ h(t)=f(t)e^{-\int _0^t g(s)ds}$$

h

(
t
)

=
f

(
t
)

e

-

∫
0
t

g

(
s
)

d
s

, nor that the functions $$ gh/h'$$

g
h
/

h
′

or $$ h'' h/h'^2$$

h

′
′

h
/

h

′
2

admit a limit at infinity.
Nuclear Embeddings in Weighted Function Spaces
Authors: Haroske Dorothee D. , Skrzypczak Leszek
Published: October 2020

We study nuclear embeddings for weighted spaces of Besov and Triebel–Lizorkin type where the weight belongs to some Muckenhoupt class and is essentially of polynomial type. Here we can extend our previous results concerning the compactness of corresponding embeddings. The concept of nuclearity was introduced by A. Grothendieck in 1955. Recently there is a refreshed interest to study such questions. This led us to the investigation in the weighted setting. We obtain complete characterisations for the nuclearity of the corresponding embedding. Essential tools are a discretisation in terms of wavelet bases, operator ideal techniques, as well as a very useful result of Tong about the nuclearity of diagonal operators acting in$$\ell _p$$ℓpspaces. In that way we can further contribute to the characterisation of nuclear embeddings of function spaces on domains.
Decoding COVID-19 pneumonia: comparison of deep learning and radiomics CT image signatures
Authors: Wang Hongmei , Wang Lu , Lee Edward H. , Zheng Jimmy , Zhang Wei , Halabi Safwan , Liu Chunlei , Deng Kexue , Song Jiangdian , Yeom Kristen W.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

High-dimensional image features that underlie COVID-19 pneumonia remain opaque. We aim to compare feature engineering and deep learning methods to gain insights into the image features that drive CT-based for COVID-19 pneumonia prediction, and uncover CT image features significant for COVID-19 pneumonia from deep learning and radiomics framework.

Methods

A total of 266 patients with COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia with clinical symptoms and CT signs similar to that of COVID-19 during the outbreak were retrospectively collected from three hospitals in China and the USA. All the pneumonia lesions on CT images were manually delineated by four radiologists. One hundred eighty-four patients (n = 93 COVID-19 positive; n = 91 COVID-19 negative; 24,216 pneumonia lesions from 12,001 CT image slices) from two hospitals from China served as discovery cohort for model development. Thirty-two patients (17 COVID-19 positive, 15 COVID-19 negative; 7883 pneumonia lesions from 3799 CT image slices) from a US hospital served as external validation cohort. A bi-directional adversarial network-based framework and PyRadiomics package were used to extract deep learning and radiomics features, respectively. Linear and Lasso classifiers were used to develop models predictive of COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia.

Results

120-dimensional deep learning image features and 120-dimensional radiomics features were extracted. Linear and Lasso classifiers identified 32 high-dimensional deep learning image features and 4 radiomics features associated with COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosis (P < 0.0001). Both models achieved sensitivity > 73% and specificity > 75% on external validation cohort with slight superior performance for radiomics Lasso classifier. Human expert diagnostic performance improved (increase by 16.5% and 11.6% in sensitivity and specificity, respectively) when using a combined deep learning-radiomics model.

Conclusions

We uncover specific deep learning and radiomics features to add insight into interpretability of machine learning algorithms and compare deep learning and radiomics models for COVID-19 pneumonia that might serve to augment human diagnostic performance.
COVID-19 and financial toxicity in patients with renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Staehler Michael D. , Battle Dena J. , Bergerot Cristiane D. , Pal Sumanta Kumar , Penson David F.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

To ascertain renal cell carcinoma (RCC) financial toxicity on COVID-19 during the COVID-19 crisis as patients are struggling with therapeutic and financial implications.

Methods

An online survey was conducted from March 22 to March 25, 2020. It included baseline demographic, clinicopathologic, treatment-related information, anxiety levels related to COVID-19, questions related to financial concerns about COVID-19 as well as the validated 11-item COST measure.

Results

Five-hundred-and-thirty-nine patients (39%:58% male:female) from 14 countries responded. 23% of the patients did not feel in control of their financial situation but 8% reported being very satisfied with their finances. The median COST score was 21.5 (range 1–44). Metastatic patients who have not started systemic therapy had a COST score (19.8 range 2–41) versus patients on oral systemic therapy had a COST score (23.9 range 4–44). Patients in follow-up after surgery had a median COST score at 20.8 (range 1–40). A low COST scores correlated (p < 0.001) were female gender (r = 0.108), younger age (r = 0.210), urban living situation (r = 0.68), a lower educational level (r = 0.155), lower income (r = 0.165), higher anxiety about acquiring COVID-19 (r = 0.198), having metastatic disease (r = 0.073) and a higher distress score about cancer progression (r = 0.224).

Conclusion

Our data highlight severe financial impact of COVID-19. Acknowledging financial hardship and thorough counseling of cancer patients should be part of the conversation during the pandemic. Treatment and surveillance of RCC patients might have to be adjusted to contemplate financial and medical needs.
Youth in the study of comparative physiology: insights from demography in the wild
Authors: Hill Richard W. , Sleboda David A. , Millar Justin J.
Published: October 2020

Of all the properties of individual animals of interest to comparative physiologists, age and stage of development are among the most consequential. In a natural population of any species, the survivorship curve is an important determinant of the relative abundances of ages and stages of development. Demography, thus, has significant implications for the study of comparative physiology. When Edward Deevey published his influential summary of survivorship in animal populations in the wild seven decades ago, he emphasized “serious deficiencies” because survivorship curves for natural populations at the time did not include data on the earliest life stages. Such data have accumulated over intervening years. We survey, for the first time, empirical knowledge of early-age survivorship in populations of most major animal groups in a state of nature. Despite wide variation, it is almost universally true that > 50% of newly born or hatched individuals die before the onset of sexual maturity, even in species commonly assumed to exhibit high early-age survivorship. These demographic facts are important considerations for studies in comparative and environmental physiology whether physiologists (i) aim to elucidate function throughout the life cycle, including both early stages and adults, or (ii) focus on adults (in which case early-age survivorship can potentially affect adult characteristics through selection or epigenesis). We establish that Deevey’s Type I curve (which applies to species with relatively limited early mortality) has few or no actual analogs in the real, natural world.
Prevalence of adenomyosis in endometrial cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Raffone Antonio , Seracchioli Renato , Raimondo Diego , Maletta Manuela , Travaglino Antonio , Raimondo Ivano , Giaquinto Ilaria , Orsini Benedetta , Insabato Luigi , Pellicano Massimiliano , Zullo Fulvio
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Several studies have assessed the histological co-existence of endometrial carcinoma (EC) and adenomyosis. However, the significance of this association is still unclear.

Objective

To assess the prevalence of adenomyosis in women with EC for a better understanding of the association between the two diseases.

Materials and methods

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed by searching electronics databases from their inception to March 2020, for all studies that allowed extraction of data about prevalence of adenomyosis in EC patients. Adenomyosis prevalence was calculated for each included study and as pooled estimate, with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

Eight retrospective cohort studies assessing 5573 EC patients were included in our analysis. Of total, 1322 were patients with adenomyosis, and 4251 were patients without adenomyosis. Pooled prevalence of adenomyosis in EC patients was 22.6% (95% CI 12.7–37.1%).

Conclusion

Adenomyosis prevalence in EC patients was not different from that reported for other gynecological conditions. The supposed association between the two diseases appears unsupported.
Effects in North Africa of the 934–940 CE Eldgjá and 1783–1784 CE Laki eruptions (Iceland) revealed by previously unrecognized written sources
Authors: Brugnatelli Vermondo , Tibaldi Alessandro
Published: October 2020

In historic times, two catastrophic fissure eruptions originated in the Eastern Volcanic Zone of Iceland, known as Eldgjá eruption (934–940 CE) and Laki eruption (1783–1784 CE). Eldgjá produced 19.7 km3of lava flows and 1.3 km3of tephra; Laki emitted 14.7 km3of lavas and 0.4 km3of tephra. They released 232 and 122 megatons of SO2into the atmosphere, respectively. Abundant historic descriptions of the effects of the Laki eruption indicate that the SO2release produced a sulphuric aerosol that spread across the northern hemisphere with devastating impacts on the population and the environment, especially in Europe. In this study, we present two new written sources that enable the effects of the Eldgjá and Laki eruptions to be fixed to an exact date and place of occurrence in North Africa. These are a medieval North African chronicle known asRawḍ al-Qirṭās, written in 1326 CE and describing events in Morocco, and a chronicle of events in the island of Djerba (southern Tunisia), written by Muhammad b. Yusef al-Musabi in 1792–1793 CE. These previously unrecognized sources describe in detail the fading of sunlight coupled with the persistent presence of a thick fog made up of fine particles carried over from long distances. The chronicles report events in Morocco in the time period October 938–October 939 CE, and in Tunisia in the year 1783 CE. These data can be interpreted as the first detailed evidence of the consequences of the Eldgjá and Laki eruptions in North Africa. They also can be helpful in dating and determining the area of influence of the eruptions; this may be useful for several applications, such as the numerical simulation of these events, or hazard planning in case of possible future similar eruptions from the same Icelandic area.
Does balneotherapy provide additive effects to physical therapy in patients with subacute supraspinatus tendinopathy? A randomized, controlled, single-blind study
Authors: Koç Cihan , Kurt Emine Eda , Koçak Fatmanur Aybala , Erdem Hatice Rana , Konar Naime Meriç
Published: October 2020

This study assessed the additional contribution of balneotherapy on physical therapy in subacute supraspinatus tendinopathy. Ninety patients with subacute supraspinatus tendinopathy were included. They were randomized into two equal groups. In group 1 (n = 45), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), hot pack, ultrasound treatments, and Codman’s and range of motion (ROM) exercises were performed. In group 2 (n = 45), balneotherapy was added to the treatment program. In both groups, shoulder active ROM and handgrip strength were measured. Pain was evaluated using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (rest, sleep, movement); functional assessment and quality of life were measured respectively with the Shortened Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (QuickDASH), and the Short Form-36 health survey (SF 36) form. All measurements were repeated before and after 15 treatment sessions. There were statistically significant differences between the before and after assessment parameters in group 1 (all p < 0.05), but not for SF-36 General Health Perceptions, SF-36 Mental Health sub-parameters, and handgrip strengths. However, there were statistically significant differences between all the evaluation before and after the treatment in group 2 (all p < 0.05). When the two groups were compared in terms of alpha gains, statistically significant differences were observed in favor of group 2 in all measurements (all p < 0.05) except for SF-36 Emotional Role Difficulty and SF-36 Mental Health sub-parameters. This study shows that the addition of balneotherapy to physical therapy for subacute supraspinatus tendinopathy can make additional contributions to shoulder ROM, pain, handgrip strength, functional status, and quality of life.