bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Will innovation solve the global plastic contamination: how much innovation is needed for that?
Authors: Cordier Mateo , Uehara Takuro
Published: November 2018

Plastics have become increasingly dominant in the consumer marketplace since their commercial development in the 1930s and 1940s. Global plastic production reached 335 million tons in 2016, a 640% increase since 1975. In 1960, plastics made up less than 1% of municipal solid waste by mass in the United States. By 2000, this proportion increased by one order of magnitude. As a result, plastic contamination is found everywhere in the world’s oceans, coastal areas, freshwater bodies and terrestrial environments. Plastics in the marine environment are of increasing concern because of their persistence and effects on the oceans, wildlife, and, potentially, humans. A report by the MacArthur Foundation published in 2016 claimed that innovation can solve the plastic problem. However, it does not say how much innovation is needed and does not analyse if it is feasible. In this working paper, we propose to bring about answers to this question by developing an ecological-economic world model that simulates plastic waste emission by human activities, transport from land to the ocean and accumulation into the marine ecosystem. Innovations will be simulated in an economic sub-model integrated to the ecological-economic world model as one of its components. The model, in its current development stage, is capable of quantifying the impacts of innovations on the total amount of plastics accumulated in the ocean at the world scale. The ecological-economic world model is designed in Powersim following system dynamics programming. In a further work, the economic sub-model will be designed in Excel Following input-output matrix equations. Our preliminary results suggest that to reach a significant abatement of plastic in the global ocean, a panel of diverse types of solutions is required. One type of environmental measure alone will not succeed. Upstream and downstream solutions must be combined: (i) across the social-ecological system, that is, “at-the-source” but also “middle” and “end-of-pipe” solutions; (ii) as well as across the plastic contamination causal chain as well, that is, “preventive” but also “curative” solutions. Only combined solutions succeed to reduce the amount of plastic stock accumulated in the oceans since the 1950’s to the level of 2010. Our model suggests that solutions which would be able to go further and reduce plastic stocks to 50% of 2010’s level would require intense ocean cleanup. To achieve such an ambitious environmental target, 11.89% of total plastic wastes should be removed from the ocean every year between 2020 and 2030. The technical feasibility of such a solution is highly questionable knowing that current technologies remove only floating plastic at the surface of the water and that such floating plastic represent a very small percentage of all plastics accumulated in the global ocean at the surface of the water, in the water column and deposited on the seabed.
Ensuring a Healthy and Competitive Market for Open Access Publishing
Authors: Peters Paul
Published: November 2018

Watch the VIDEO.Alongside improving access to the outputs of scholarly research, helping to ensure a healthy and competitive market for scholarly publishing was one of the original objectives of the Open Access movement. Early OA advocates argued that a shift towards Open Access publishing models would level the playing field between small and large publishers, provide greater price transparency, and lower the overall costs of the scholarly publishing system. However, in recent years there has been a significant growth in centralized funding models for Open Access that are modelled on, and in some cases included within, the “Big Deal” subscription bundles that OA advocates had hoped to displace. This talk will discuss the current landscape of the Open Access publishing market and highlight important risks and opportunities for the health of this market in the coming years.
Delivering on open data: Current practices in data sharing, and challenges ahead!
Authors: Oefelein Timon
Published: November 2018

Watch the VIDEO.The case for sharing research data has been strongly made in many parts of the world, but noticeably so in Europe. Open access to research data delivers more value for every funding Euro by enabling data reuse and reducing unnecessary duplication of research. Further, open data can help speed the pace of discovery and allows for reproducibility studies. The European Commission has set out a clear vision for open data in their Horizon Europe proposal. Yet in 2018 only about half of research data are shared, according to surveys of researchers, and a much smaller proportion are shared openly or in ways that maximise discoverability and reuse. Whilst policy implementation remains critical to the uptake of data sharing, this must be joined by greater support and education for researchers, and faster, easier routes to sharing data optimally. We also need to make it worth a researcher’s time to share their data. Starting with the case for better data practice, this talk showcases the findings of one of the largest author surveys of its kind on current practices, attitudes and perceptions in data-sharing at the point of scholarly publication. The survey, carried out by Springer Nature in 2018, is based on over 7700 responses from academic researchers - at various levels of their career – in Europe, Asia, America, and Australasia. Responses are from across all subject areas. The resulting data provides a valuable insight into how, where, and why data is currently shared and what the main obstacles to sharing it are.The talk identifies the most “critical areas” – as borne out of the survey findings – that need to be tackled with top priority if we are to accelerate the speed and scope of data-sharing. In closing, we therefore ask – how can we better work together across research libraries, institutions, funders, governments, and publishers, to address and action these “critical areas”?  Indeed, it is only by working together that we can unlock the huge potential of research data, namely to improve our knowledge, to address the grand societal challenges, and to help solve some of the most pressing problems in science today.
The replication and reproducibility crises: origins and consequences for studies of ecology and evolution
Authors: Yoccoz Nigel Gilles
Published: November 2018

Watch the VIDEO.There is a widespread discussion around a scientific crisis, resulting from a lack of reproducibility of published scientific studies. This was exemplified by Ioannidis’ 2005 paper “Why most published research findings are false” or the 2015 Open Science Collaboration study assessing reproducibility of psychological science. An often-cited reason for this reproducibility crisis is a fundamental misunderstanding of what statistical methods, and in particular P-values, can achieve. In the context of studies of ecology and evolution, I will show how 1) the pressure for publishing “novel” results, 2) what Gelman has called the “garden of forking paths”, i.e. the fact that published analyses represent only one out of many possible analyses, and 3) the often fruitless dichotomy between a null and alternative hypotheses, has led to the present situation. While scientific progress is dependent of major breakthroughs, we also need to find a better balance between confirmatory research – understanding how known effects vary in size according to the context – and exploratory, non-incremental research – finding new effects.
Harnessing the Power of Green Open Access: Implementing the ‘Taverne’ law in the Dutch Academy
Authors: De Vries Mark Leon
Published: November 2018

Watch the VIDEO.In 2015 the Dutch parliament passed an amendment to the national copyright laws that – at least in theory – significantly expanded the scope for publishing in green open access. Known for its main sponsor, Joost Taverne, this amendment grants the author of any ‘short work of science’ that has been ‘funded by the Dutch government’ a legal right to make this work ‘freely available to the public’, following ‘a reasonable term’ after its original publication. Crucially, the author retains this right regardless of the terms and conditions of the original publisher. Although this amendment has been in force for over three years, it has not had much practical effect to date. On the one hand this is due to competing institutional priorities at that time and on the other hand because the amendment’s terms are too vague to be of much use to individual researchers.In order to harness the potential of the law, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and the National Platform Open Science have launched a project that aims to:Establish clear and concrete guidelines for interpreting the amendment;Make roughly 5% of all academic output in the Netherlands that falls within these guidelines freely available through university repositories;Test the response of publishers to the implementation of the amendment;Establish jurisprudence in case publishers decide to take legal action against either the universities or individual scholars; andUltimately accelerate a broader shift toward universal and affordable gold open access as the default standard in academic publishing.Ultimately this project thus seeks to use the power of green open access not for its own sake, but as a wedge to encourage publishers to make the transition to an efficient and affordable Gold Open Access model. Meanwhile it offers a workable alternative to researchers who encounter obstacles to publishing gold.This presentation will discuss the unique opportunities this amendment provides to radically change the publishing landscape, as well as the legal, technical and organizational challenges involved in practically implementing the amendment’s potential, based on the (ongoing) experience of the VU University’s local project team. Hopefully this will spark a discussion on the international implications and possible opportunities to develop similar initiatives in different national – and thus legal – contexts. At the same time international input and experiences can help further refine and improve the project.
Measuring article impact with another metric: Impact Order
Authors: Sahin Ismail
Published: November 2018

Various quantitative and qualitative metrics have been developed for assessing journals, individual researchers and articles, mainly based on the number of published items and their citations, such as Impact Factor, h-index, Eigenfactor, Cited Half-Life, etc. The reason of developing various assessment measures may be based on two grounds: scientific and commercial. Either one has its own merits to serve the scientific community in particular and the whole public in general. The search for refining the existing metrics and/or developing new ones will continue to better serve the needs.Scientific inquiry leads to the generation of scientific knowledge. The common way of sharing and dissemination of this outcome is to publish in scientific journals. The accumulation of scientific knowledge is accepted as a sign of scientific progress. This accumulation occurs in a chain relation through citing previously published associated papers in a newly published paper. This citation chain is a forward propagation of knowledge accumulation. The fusion of the knowledge is expected to lead the progress towards new questions and inquiries in this endless effort of scientific research.In this study a new metric named Impact Order (IO) is proposed. Citations play a major role to determine the Impact Order as in other assessing metrics. The Impact Order backtracks the papers through their citations from the current paper towards the seeding paper, which contains the original research question and investigation. The Impact Order of a paper in this citation chain is the number of papers citing the concerned paper without braking the chain. Hence, the Impact Order of a paper is a metric measuring the number of papers (scientific inquiries) that have been impacted (or led) by that paper. The Impact Order of a paper is an indicator to assess the quality of a paper by measuring the number of papers inspired by that paper and also by measuring the life-cycle of the concerned paper through its citation chain.
Open Arctic Research Index (Open ARI): A new horizon in archiving and collecting Arctic datasets
Authors: Abu-Alam Tamer S.
Published: November 2018

Open ARI is a planned service at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in order to collect, sort and archive all the openly available publications and datasets that were published in the Arctic region. This new service will be available as an open access database to the users through-out an interactive searchable front-end. The pilot project will investigate how such a service can support researchers in their research by making results from Arctic research more visible and better retrievable through a common search index based on a standardized, interdisciplinary metadata set. Moreover and for a better overview for the polar sciences, the new Arctic database will include, as well, examples from the Antarctic region. As a pilot project, we started by clarifying the need for a new technical solution by which the Open ARI will be able to collect all the published material using algorithms that allow the best way of filtering processes. Also we are now in a stage to define all the possible national and international collaborators who can support and feed the Open ARI with content from their internal databases. A group of scientists and researchers will be formed as a reference group who will show us the needs of the scientific community to be sure that our final product will meet the interest of the users. By the end of the pilot project, the team will analyze the success opportunities and the challenges in order to plan a full scale management model.
I won’t be #BulliedIntoBadScience
Authors: Logan Corina
Published: November 2018

Watch the VIDEO.The #BulliedIntoBadScience (BIBS) campaign consists of early career researchers leading individuals and institutions in adopting open practices to improve research rigor (from all fields, not only the sciences). I will share how BIBS started and discuss what we as researchers are doing to stop exploiting ourselves and the public when sharing our research with each other and the public. We are developing best practices for facilitating higher quality research and tackling biases in this rapidly changing world of scholarly publishing. I will share case studies at the individual level (e.g., how a PI can run an open and transparent lab), at the level of the academic community (e.g., changing editorial practices via efforts such as Editors4BetterResearch and Peer Community in Ecology), and at the level of institutions (e.g., serving as Data Champions and advising governments). We at BIBS aim to be a central resource for people to share and organize best practices, thus it is useful for researchers, librarians and research administrators.
Conceptualizing Professional Commitment-Based School Strategy
Authors: Paulsen Jan Merok
Published: November 2018

Core values inherent in the Finnish comprehensive education system can in many respects be interpreted to cluster and cohere around a Bildung discourse, which is paradoxically seen against the backdrop of the system’s stable high rank in PISA, the hallmark of an outcome discourse. Yet the point is that within the frames of a Bildung discourse, the themes in focus for curricula go beyond basic skills with a similarly strong focus on societal values and culture. At the process level, Finland is more deeply and strongly infused with a policy culture that is more compatible with the Bildung tradition than the Anglo-Saxon outcome discourse—with its core values of organizing and leading for relations and teaching. As noted by Finnish scholars, such cultural traits of the Finnish system are viable and can be interpreted as associated with institutional path dependency, anchored in longstanding agrarian and social-democratic values. The current paper interprets these cultural traits also as manifest at the local level around a school strategy model close to the one characterized as a professional commitment strategy in the early 1990s by the American scholars Susan Rosenholtz and Brian Rowan. The purpose of the paper, however, is to advance this theoretical understanding a step further towards a conceptual model of commitment-based school strategy. This paper is, thus, a pure conceptual piece. To elaborate the early insights from the 1990s further, a case drawn from Helsinki primary school is used as an empirical illustration.
CelloMOF: Nanocellulose Enabled 3D Printing of Metal–Organic Frameworks
Authors: Sultan Sahar , Abdelhamid Hani Nasser , Zou Xiaodong , Mathew Aji P.
Published: November 2018

3D printing is recognized as a powerful tool to develop complex geometries for a variety of materials including nanocellulose. Herein, a one‐pot synthesis of 3D printable hydrogel ink containing zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF‐8) anchored on anionic 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxylradical‐mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNF) is presented. The synthesis approach of ZIF‐8@TOCNF (CelloZIF8) hybrid inks is simple, fast (≈30 min), environmentally friendly, takes place at room temperature, and allows easy encapsulation of guest molecules such as curcumin. Shear thinning properties of the hybrid hydrogel inks facilitate the 3D printing of porous scaffolds with excellent shape fidelity. The scaffolds show pH controlled curcumin release. The synthesis route offers a general approach for metal–organic frameworks (MOF) processing and is successfully applied to other types of MOFs such as MIL‐100 (Fe) and other guest molecules as methylene blue. This study may open new venues for MOFs processing and its large‐scale applications.
Near‐Room‐Temperature Ethanol Gas Sensor Based on Mesoporous Ag/Zn–LaFeO3 Nanocomposite
Authors: Chen Mingpeng , Wang Huapeng , Hu Jicu , Zhang Yumin , Li Kejin , Zhang Dongming , Zhou Shiqiang , Zhang Jin , Zhu Zhongqi , Liu Qingju
Published: November 2018

The rational design of heterojunction between different metal oxides with mesoporous structures has attracted tremendous attention due to their special physicochemical properties and vital importance for practical applications. In this paper, mesoporous Ag/Zn–LaFeO3 nanocomposite is successfully synthesized through a facile nanocasting technique using KIT‐6 as a hard template in sol–gel route and used as sensing materials to achieve an exceptionally sensitive and selective detection of trace ppm‐level ethanol. The obtained composite possesses high surface area and exhibits excellent sensing response (64.2 for 100 ppm) to ethanol at near‐room with relatively fast response/recovery time. When tested with the concentrations as low as 5 ppm, it also shows a remarkably high selectivity to the ethanol, but only minor responses to other interfering gases. These enhanced gas‐sensing properties are attributed to the combination of mesoporous nanostructure and Ag/Zn–LaFeO3 heterogeneous composites.
Metal–Organic Framework‐Based Stimuli‐Responsive Systems for Drug Delivery
Authors: Cai Wen , Wang Junqing , Chu Chengchao , Chen Wei , Wu Chunsheng , Liu Gang
Published: November 2018

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, stimuli‐responsive nanomaterials have provided an alternative for designing controllable drug delivery systems due to their spatiotemporally controllable properties. As a new type of porous material, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely used in biomedical applications, especially drug delivery systems, owing to their tunable pore size, high surface area and pore volume, and easy surface modification. Here, recent progress in MOF‐based stimuli‐responsive systems is presented, including pH‐, magnetic‐, ion‐, temperature‐, pressure‐, light‐, humidity‐, redox‐, and multiple stimuli‐responsive systems for the delivery of anticancer drugs. The remaining challenges and suggestions for future directions for the rational design of MOF‐based nanomedicines are also discussed.
Radical C−H Bond Oxidation Initiated Intramolecular Cyclization of Glycine Esters: Construction of Dihydroquinoline Skeletons
Authors: Chen Qian , Zhang Shuwei , Zhang Ting , He Kaixuan , Yuan Yu , Jia Xiaodong
Published: November 2018

An efficient construction of dihydroquinoline derivatives was realized through radical cation salt‐initiated C−H bond oxidation of unsaturated glycine esters. In the presence of dioxygen, the sp3 C−H bond adjacent to nitrogen was oxidized, followed by cascade cyclization, affording the desired dihydroquinoline products. The mechanistic investigation revealed that a radical intermediate was involved in this reaction.
Silica Coated ZnFe2O4 Nanoparticles as Cathode Catalysts for Rechargeable Lithium‐Air Batteries
Authors: Yilmaz Melike Sevim , Coşkun Mustafa , Şener Tansel , Metin Önder
Published: November 2018

In this work, the preparation and structural characterization of a novel material consisting of silica‐coated zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles as cathode catalysts for nonaqueous lithium‐air batteries (LABs) are presented for the first time. ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by the normal micelles method, using oleic acid as the capping agent and then coating them with silica, via a reverse microemulsion method, with various thicknesses. The colloidal ZnFe2O4 NPs and silica‐coated ZnFe2O4 NPs were characterized by TEM and powder XRD. The particle size of bare ZnFe2O4 NPs was calculated to be 5.8 nm by both TEM image and XRD pattern. They were then coated by silica with layer thicknesses of 9, 11, and 13 nm. The performances of bare and silica‐coated ZnFe2O4 NPs were evaluated as cathode catalysts for LABs using 1 M lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate (TFMS) in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) as the electrolyte. The primary discharge/charge capacities of bare ZnFe2O4 NPs and ZnFe2O4 NPs with silica‐shell thicknesses of 9, 11, and 13 at 0.1 mA cm−2 were found to be 3300, 4300, 6200 and 5000 mAh g−1, respectively. The overpotential is almost 0.5 V, decreased by silica coating with a thickness of 11 nm, whereas there was no difference at other thicknesses. Cyclability with a discharge capacity of 1000 mAh g−1 was observed for at least 45 cycles for silica‐coated ZnFe2O4 NPs with a shell thickness of 11 nm.
Bioinformatics Methods to Select Prognostic Biomarker Genes from Large Scale Datasets: A Review
Authors: Jardillier Rémy , Chatelain Florent , Guyon Laurent
Published: November 2018

With the increased availability of survival datasets, that comprise both molecular information (e.g., gene expression), and clinical information (e.g., patient survival), numerous genes are proposed as prognostic biomarkers. Despite efforts and money invested, very few of these biomarkers have been clinically validated and are used routinely. A high false discovery rate is assumed to be largely responsible for this, in particular as the number of tested genes is extremely high relative to the number of patients followed. Here, after describing the historical methodologies on which recent developments have often been based, this review describes studies that have been performed in the last few years. The concepts will be illustrated for a renal cancer dataset, and the corresponding scripts are provided (Supporting Information). These new developments belong to three main fields of applications. First, variable selection concerns various improvements to lasso penalization. Second, accurate definition of p‐values and control of the false discovery rate have also been the subject of many studies. Third, the incorporation of biological knowledge, often through the form of networks or pathways, can be used as an a priori and/or to reduce dimensionality. These new and promising developments deserve benchmarking by independent groups not involved in their development, with various independent datasets. Further work on the methodologies is also still required.
Construction of Synthetic Promoters by Assembling the Sigma Factor Binding −35 and −10 Boxes
Authors: Wang Yang , Liu Qingtao , Weng Huanjiao , Shi Yanan , Chen Jian , Du Guocheng , Kang Zhen
Published: November 2018

Promoter is one of the key elements in regulating gene expression. Many natural or synthetic promoters have been modulated by their cis‐ or tans‐regulatory elements to confer instant gene expression change in responding to designated stimuli. In addition, bacterial cells also engage different sigma factors to control the gene expression network at different growth phases or in response to the changing environment and external stresses. In this study, a set of promoters that assimilate the endogenous regulation of different sigma factors σ70, σ38, σ32, and σ24 are synthesized. Promoters are designed to contain two or more kinds of interlocking sigma factor binding sites. The most competitive sigma factors will be automatically selected by the cell to take over the synthetic promoters during the cell growth course. Some of the synthetic promoters exhibit very strong strengths under different conditions, including stationary phase, low temperature, acidic pH, and high osmotic pressure. Comparing to the T7 promoter, synthetic promoter P21285 achieved higher yields of L‐asparaginase and acid urease in Escherichia coli. The research not only expands the synthetic biology toolbox but also provide another strategy to design and construct synthetic promoters in prokaryotes.
A Biomimetic Lipid Membrane Device Reveals the Interaction of Cancer Biomarkers with Human Serum Lipidic Moieties
Authors: Khalil‐Mgharbel Abir , Polena Helena , Dembélé Paul K. , Hasan Sohag Md. Mehadi , Alcaraz Jean‐Pierre , Martin Donald K. , Vilgrain Isabelle
Published: November 2018

A major problem for the detection of cancer biomarkers in plasma or serum is that common clinical practice does not require the patient to be in a fasting state. Considering that lipoproteins are the main population affected by food intake, the authors hypothesized that biomarkers could be embedded in lipid particles and thereby opens a new avenue for detection. Using the recently published biomarker, soluble VE‐cadherin (sVE), the authors tested our hypothesis using techniques of biophysics, biochemistry and the tools of nanobiotechnology on serum samples from kidney cancer patients (n = 106). Optical density as well as contact angle measurements of serum revealed heterogeneity in the particle content of the serum samples. Isolation of the lipidic moieties by ultracentrifugation showed that sVE was detected in this compartment. Further, isolation of lipoprotein subclasses by precipitation with sodium phosphotungstate and MgCl2, showed that HDL carried the majority of sVE. Immunoprecipitation of sVE confirmed that it was associated with Apolipoprotein A1, a major compound of HDL. Using a biomimetic lipid bilayer membrane coupled with impedance spectroscopy the authors quantified, in real‐time, that the sVE adsorbed to the lipid bilayer membrane without altering its structure. Taken together, these results show for the first time a direct interaction of a cancer biomarker with lipids. The authors anticipate these results to prompt fasting for future blood tests for large‐scale studies in the biomarkers research field.
Pharmacokinetics of TAK‐875 and its toxic metabolite TAK‐875‐ acylglucuronide in rat plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Qiang Yongzai , Zhang Xiaohui
Published: November 2018

TAK‐875 is a selective partial agonist of human GPR40 receptor, which was unexpectedly terminated at phase III clinical trials owing to its severe hepatotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of TAK‐875 and its toxic metabolite TAK‐875‐acylglucuronide in rat plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Plasma samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and chromatographic separations were achieved on a C18 column with water and acetonitrile containing 0.05% ammonium hydroxide as mobile phase. The sample was detected in selected reaction monitoring mode with precursor‐to‐product ion transitions being m/z 523.2 → 148.1, m/z 699.3 → 113.1 and m/z 425.2 → 113.1 for TAK‐875, TAK‐875‐acylglucuronide and IS, respectively. The assay showed good linearity over the tested concentration ranges (r > 0.9993), with the LLOQ being 0.5 ng/mL for both analytes. The extraction recovery was >78.45% and no obvious matrix effect was detected. The highly sensitive LC–MS/MS method has been further applied for the pharmacokinetic study of TAK‐875 and its toxic metabolite TAK‐875‐acylglucuronide in rat plasma. Pharmacokinetics results revealed that oral bioavailability of TAK‐875 was 86.85%. The in vivo exposures of TAK‐875‐acylglucuronide in terms of AUC0–t were 17.54 and 22.29% of that of TAK‐875 after intravenous and oral administration, respectively.
Intracranial artery stenosis magnetic resonance imaging aetiology and progression study: Rationale and design
Authors: Han Yongjun , Qiao Huiyu , Chen Shuo , Jing Jing , Pan Yuesong , Li Dongye , Liu Yang , Meng Xia , Wang Yilong , Zhao Xihai ,   ICASMAP investigators
Published: November 2018

Background

It has been shown that intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) plays a key role in Chinese ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. Many vascular diseases can lead to ICAS, such as atherosclerosis, dissection, vasculitis, moyamoya disease, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS). In addition, progression of intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) will increase the risk of ischemic cerebrovascular events. The ICASMAP study primarily aims to determine the etiology and disease distribution of ICAS using noninvasive magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and evaluate the rate for progression of ICAD in symptomatic population.

Methods

The ICASMAP study is a prospective, observational, and multicenter study by recruiting 300 subjects (18–80 years old) with recent stroke or TIA (within 2 weeks after onset of symptoms) in China. All the subjects will undergo MR imaging examination including brain and intracranial artery MR imaging at baseline. In addition, the clinical risk factors will be collected and blood biomarkers will be tested. A subgroup of more than 200 subjects who were diagnosed with ICAD according to baseline MR imaging will be followed up for 2 years. During the follow‐up study, MR imaging examination will be performed at 12 and 24 months. The primary end point is presence of progression of intracranial artery atherosclerotic plaques.

Conclusions

The ICASMAP study investigates the etiology of ICAS and progression of ICAD in Chinese stroke patients and may help to improve the precise diagnosis and intervention of ICAS and stroke prevention.
Three‐dimensional cancer cell culture in high‐yield multiscale scaffolds by shear spinning
Authors: Ahmed Ahmed A. , Luo CJ , Perez‐Garrido Sandra , Browse Connor R. , Thrasivoulou Christopher , Stoyanov Simeon D. , Smoukov Stoyan K. , Gout Ivan
Published: November 2018

Polymeric scaffolds comprising two size scales of microfibers and submicron fibers can better support three‐dimensional (3D) cell growth in tissue engineering, making them an important class of healthcare material. However, a major manufacturing barrier hampers their translation into wider practical use: scalability. Traditional production of two‐scale scaffolds by electrospinning is slow and costly. For day‐to‐day cell cultures, the scaffolds need to be affordable, made in high yield to drive down cost. Combining expertise from academia and industry from the United Kingdom and United States, this study uses a new series of high‐yield, low‐cost scaffolds made by shear spinning for tissue engineering. The scaffolds comprise interwoven submicron fibers and microfibers throughout as observed under scanning electron microscopy and demonstrate good capability to support cell culturing for tumor modeling. Three model human cancer cell lines (HEK293, A549 and MCF‐7) with stable expression of GFP were cultured in the scaffolds and found to exhibit efficient cell attachment and sustained 3D growth and proliferation for 30 days. Cryosection and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy confirmed the formation of compact 3D cell clusters throughout the scaffolds. In addition, comparative growth curves of 2D and 3D cultures show significant cell‐type‐dependent differences. This work applies high‐yield shear‐spun scaffolds in mammalian tissue engineering and brings practical, affordable applications of multiscale scaffolds closer to reality. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2750, 2019.
Mathematical modeling of oxygen release from hyperbarically loaded polymers
Authors: Farris Ashley L. , Cook Colin A. , Grayson Warren L.
Published: November 2018

Polymer‐based scaffolds are used extensively in the field of regenerative medicine. These biomaterials may induce therapeutic responses through modulating a wound microenvironment with or without the addition of cells. It has long been known that oxygen is a crucial component of the microenvironment that influences cellular and physiological processes such as metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, matrix deposition, phagocytic killing, and wound healing. Consequently, several studies have investigated the potential for using oxygen‐eluting biomaterials to regulate the oxygen tension within a wound microenvironment and to tune the regenerative response. We recently demonstrated that hyperbarically loaded polymers could be used as oxygen delivery devices for biomedical uses. To further develop this strategy, it is important to quantitatively characterize the spatiotemporal oxygen diffusion profile from scaffolds. Here, we use analytical and numerical solutions to describe the profiles of oxygen diffusion from hyperbarically loaded polymers as a function of different scaffold geometries, material compositions, and ambient temperatures. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2018 © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2751, 2019.
An inverse design tool for two‐dimensional blade generation in aerospace engineering education
Authors: Zhu Chengxiang , Li Mingfeng , Shi Chongguang , You Yancheng
Published: November 2018

An inverse design tool based on the theory of characteristic lines and coordinate system transformation, showing the capability of generating two‐dimensional blades with a given pressure distribution along the surface, has been coded with MATLAB and developed in the present work for undergraduate students in aerospace engineering. Validations of the inverse design tool have been evaluated for both single blade surface and plane cascade which show good agreements as comparing to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. This tool provides an intuitive impression on blade generation and a clear picture for the underlying principles of blade design for undergraduate students in the major of aerospace engineering, which also serves sufficient freedom for students to derive their own blade geometry by merely prescribing a surface pressure distribution.
Development of a Surface‐Active Coating for Promoted Gas Hydrate Formation
Authors: Filarsky Florian , Schmuck Carsten , Schultz Heyko Jürgen
Published: November 2018

This work deals with the influences of surface‐active coatings made by silanization with an increasing hydrophobicity on methane hydrate formation in view of induction times, gas uptake, and rate of gas consumption. Hydrate formation was performed in a stirred pressure autoclave under stationary and transient conditions in presence of different coatings made from diverse silanes. With increasing carbon chain length of the silanes, promoting effects were observed while using stationary formation conditions.
Confidence bands for quantiles as a function of covariates in recurrent event models
Authors: Adekpedjou Akim , Olbricht Gayla R. , Zamba Gideon K. D.
Published: November 2018

We investigate the construction of various confidence bands for quantiles of the time between event recurrences when covariates and interventions performed after a recurrence are accounted for via a general Cox‐type model for recurrent events. We propose three types of bands: those based on the asymptotic properties of the properly standardized quantile; those based on a Khmaladze transformation of the original limiting distribution; and those based on bootstrap techniques. Asymptotic properties of the three types of bands are presented and their small and large sample performances and coverage probabilities are assessed via simulation study.The Canadian Journal of Statistics46: 610–634; 2018 © 2018 Société statistique du Canada
Transformation of Single Ag Nanowires into Super‐Large AgAu Elliptic Rings via a Water/Oil Interface‐Oriented Asymmetrical Etching
Authors: Geng Wen‐Chao , Shen Wen‐Jin , Xue Huan‐Huan , Sang Ji‐Long , Zhou Lin‐Nan , Yin Xia , Li Yong‐Jun
Published: November 2018

Nanoring as one of fascinating geometries exhibits unique size‐dependent physical and chemical properties endowed by its circular feature. However, to the best of our knowledge, super‐large elliptical nanorings cannot be fabricated by the existing techniques. Herein, we successfully fabricated super‐large elliptical AgAu nanorings creatively by splitting single Ag nanowires along their longitudinal axes involving oil/water interfacial self‐assembly of Ag nanowires and the galvanic replacement between interfacial Ag nanowires and AuCl4− located in the water phase. The formation of AgAu nanoring is mainly attributed to the local nanomasking of Au atoms and asymmetrical etching on interfacial Ag nanowire. Additionally, as‐prepared super‐large elliptical AgAu nanorings with rough surfaces exhibit enhanced catalytic performance towards the reduction of p‐nitrophenol due to the combination of the compositional and structural effects. This strategy, without doubt, provides a convenient way for precisely carving nanoparticles, and has the potential for processing other metallic or non‐metallic nanoparticles.
Towards More Effective, Reversible pH Control by Visible Light Alone: A Thioindigo Photoswitch Undergoing a Strong pKaModulation by Isomer‐Specific Hydrogen Bonding
Authors: Koeppe Benjamin , Rühl Steffen , Römpp Florian
Published: November 2018

We have synthesized and characterized a thioindigo photoswitch featuring phenolic residues forming an intramolecular hydrogen bond exclusively in thecis isomer. In acetone–water mixtures, wavelength‐dependent photostationary states reached their maximum and minimum values of up to 95 % and down to 11 %cisisomers at circaλ=580 and 480 nm, respectively. Within a few hours, room‐temperature thermal isomerization is negligible in neutral and mildly acidic solutions. Protic media decreasetrans→cisbut increasecis→transquantum yields. In CD3OD solution, in which light of any wavelength absorbed triggers the latter process almost exclusively, a19F NMR titration is used to calculate pKavalues of 7.2 (trans) and 5.0 (cis; both rescaled to water) corresponding to a change in dissociation constant of 2.2 orders of magnitude. Future derivatives featuring solubility and reversible photochromism in water may provide pH modulation of similar amplitude in a range adjustable by the choice of phenolic substituents.
Onosma moussavi sp. nov (Boraginaceae) from Zagros Mountain (s), Iran
Authors: Mehrabian Ahmadreza , Amini Rad Mohammad
Published: November 2018

During field excursions in Western districts of Iran, an unknown species of Onosma was collected in eroded slopes in steppe formations near the border of Iran and Turkey. A detailed assessment on the basis the most important diagnostic characters as well as literature review led to introduce a new species of Onosma L.. The new species Onosma moussavi Mehrabian & Amini Rad is described and illustrated based on comprehensive literature review as well the study of type specimens of several other taxa in Iranian and European herbaria. The reason for this innovation is the author's evaluation on the basis of obvious differences in the most important diagnostic characters compared to their nearest taxa.
Potential inhibition of major human cytochrome P450 isoenzymes by selected tropical medicinal herbs—Implication for herb–drug interactions
Authors: Showande Segun Johnson , Fakeye Titilayo Oyelola , Kajula Marena , Hokkanen Juho , Tolonen Ari
Published: November 2018

Background

Increasing use of medicinal herbs as nutritional supplements and traditional medicines for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and malaria fever with conventional drugs poses possibilities of herb–drug interactions (HDIs). The potential of nine selected widely used tropical medicinal herbs in inhibiting human cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes was investigated.

Materials and methods

In vitro inhibition of eight major CYP isoenzymes by aqueous extracts of Allium sativum, Gongronema latifolium, Moringa oleifera, Musa sapientum, Mangifera indica, Tetracarpidium conophorum, Alstonia boonei, Bauhinia monandra, and Picralima nitida was estimated in human liver microsomes by monitoring twelve probe metabolites of nine probe substrates with UPLC/MS‐MS using validated N‐in‐one assay method.

Results

Mangifera indica moderately inhibited CYP2C8, CYP2B6, CYP2D6, CYP1A2, and CYP2C9 with IC50 values of 37.93, 57.83, 67.39, 54.83, and 107.48 μg/ml, respectively, and Alstonia boonei inhibited CYP2D6 (IC50 = 77.19 μg/ml). Picralima nitida inhibited CYP3A4 (IC50 = 45.58 μg/ml) and CYP2C19 (IC50 = 73.06 μg/ml) moderately but strongly inhibited CYP2D6 (IC50 = 1.19 μg/ml). Other aqueous extracts of Gongronema latifolium, Bauhinia monandra, and Moringa oleifera showed weak inhibitory activities against CYP1A2. Musa sapientum, Allium sativum, and Tetracarpidium conophorum did not inhibit the CYP isoenzymes investigated.

Conclusion

Potential for clinically important CYP‐metabolism‐mediated HDIs is possible for Alstonia boonei, Mangifera indica, and Picralima nitida with drugs metabolized by CYP 2C8, 2B6, 2D6, 1A2, 2C9, 2C19, and 3A4. Inhibition of CYP2D6 by Picralima nitida is of particular concern and needs immediate in vivo investigations.
Evaluation of the phytochemical content, in vitro antioxidant capacity, biochemical and histological effects of Dennettia tripetala fruits in healthy rats
Authors: Omage Sylvia O. , Orhue Noghayin E. J. , Omage Kingsley
Published: November 2018

We estimated the content of specific phytochemicals and in vitro antioxidant properties of the powder, aqueous, and ethanolic extracts of ripe Dennettia tripetala fruits. We also tested the biochemical and histological effects of these fruit extracts on healthy rats. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts were prepared from the powder of ripe D. tripetala fruits, and standard phytochemical methods were used to evaluate its phytochemical content and antioxidant properties. Eighteen rats were randomized into three groups, one of which served as control, while the second and third groups received the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of D. tripetala fruits, respectively, at a dose of 1,000 mg/kg bw daily for 28 days. Our results show that the powder as well as the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of ripe D. tripetala fruits contains phenols, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and alkaloids. The plant powder as well as both extracts scavenged DPPH and hydrogen peroxide as well as reduced ferric ions. The extracts of D. tripetala fruits did not alter liver marker enzymes or serum protein profile of the rats. The extracts also did not alter the serum concentration of urea and creatinine and the antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation levels in the liver but altered that of the kidney. The extracts altered the serum and liver lipid profile but not to any significant extents. Also, the extracts caused minimal congestion to the centrioles of the liver but were not in any other way toxic to the liver, kidney, or heart of the rats. Our results point to the fact that the fruits of D. tripetala possess phytochemicals with medicinal properties and are well tolerated by rats.
Dynamic effects of fermentation on phytochemical composition and antioxidant properties of wampee (Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeel) leaves
Authors: Li Quan , Chang Xiaoxiao , Guo Ruixue , Wang Qijun , Guo Xinbo
Published: November 2018

Variations in the phytochemical composition and antioxidant properties were studied in the wine of wampee leaves obtained at different stages of fermentation process. The highest concentrations of total phenolic and flavonoid contents were attained at Day 12 and Day 21 of fermentation, respectively. In addition, five phytochemical compounds including vanillic acid, p‐coumaric acid, rutin, ferulic acid, and 7‐hydroxycoumarin were identified and quantified by HPLC in fermented wampee products. The strongest antioxidant activity in wine was monitored on Day 12. Furthermore, total antioxidant activity was significantly correlated with vanillic acid, p‐coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and 7‐hydroxycoumarin compared with rutin. The obtained results suggested that 12‐day fermentation could be an optimal process for excavation of applying wampee leaves into food and wine industries.
Nutritional content of selected species of tropical eggplant fruit (Solanum spp) diet Attenuates hepatic inflammation in high‐fat fed male Wistar rats induced with streptozotocin
Authors: Nwanna Esther Emem , Ibukun Emmanuel O. , Oboh Ganiyu
Published: November 2018

Tropical Solanum species contains a high level of phenolic acids and flavonoids, which were found to inhibit some key enzymes associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes in in vitro and in vivo models based on earlier studies. This study was further designed to compare the nutritional properties, glycemic index, and hypolipidemic and the antioxidant effects of three species of tropical eggplant fruit (Solanum kumba, Solanum aethiopicum, and Solanum gilo) diet on streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced nephrotoxicity in male Wistar rats. The animal model was subjected to high‐fat diet prior to interperitional administration of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg wt); thereafter, the rats were given supplemented eggplant fruit diet, which lasted for 14 days. Determination of lipid content [triglycerides (TG), low‐density lipoproteins (LDLs), high‐density lipoproteins (HDLs), and total cholesterol (TC)], was assessed, while the liver biomarker enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), also endogenous enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), were determined. Histopathological assessment of inflammation was carried out on kidney while the blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, and creatinine level on the kidney function were determined. The results showed that the groups with supplemented eggplant diet had significant (p < 0.05) reduction in lipid profile, decreased leakages of the liver, and kidney function enzymes while there was restoration of depleted endogenous antioxidant enzymes. The inflammatory cells and fat deposit from the histopathological view were reduced. However, S. kumba had the best nutritional output.