bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Financing solutions for circular business models: Exploring the role of business ecosystems and artificial intelligence
Authors: Fallahi Sara , Mellquist Ann‐Charlotte , Mogren Olof , Listo Zec Edvin , Algurén Peter , Hallquist Lukas
Published: November 2022

The circular economy promotes a transition away from linear modes of production and consumption to systems with circular material flows that can significantly improve resource productivity. However, transforming linear business models to circular business models posits a number of financial consequences for product companies as they need to secure more capital in a stock of products that will be rented out over time and therefore will encounter a slower, more volatile cash flow in the short term compared to linear direct sales of products. This paper discusses the role of financial actors in circular business ecosystems and alternative financing solutions when moving from product‐dominant business models to Product‐as‐a‐Service (PaaS) or function‐based business models. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates a solution where state‐of‐the‐art artificial intelligence (AI) modeling can be incorporated for financial risk assessment. We provide an open implementation and a thorough empirical evaluation of an AI‐model, which learns to predict residual value of stocks of used items. Furthermore, the paper highlights solutions, managerial implications, and potentials for financing circular business models, argues the importance of different forms of data in future business ecosystems, and offers recommendations for how AI can help mitigate some of the challenges businesses face as they transition to circular business models.
Chemoradiotherapy with paclitaxel liposome plus cisplatin for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Yi Qiong , Liu Canyu , Cui Yingshan , Yang Yanguang , Li Yaqi , Fan Xingwen , Wu Kailiang
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This single‐center retrospective clinical study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of chemoradiotherapy with paclitaxel liposome plus cisplatin for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods

Patients with locally advanced ESCC treated with paclitaxel‐liposome‐based chemoradiotherapy between 2016 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis.

Results

Thirty‐nine patients with locally advanced ESCC were included in this study. The median follow‐up time was 31.5 months. The median OS time was 38.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 32.1–45.1) months, and the 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐year OS rates were 84.6%, 64.1%, and 56.2%, respectively. The median PFS time was 32.1 (95% CI: 25.4–39.0) months, and the 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐year PFS rates were 71.8%, 43.6%, and 43.6%, respectively. The most common Grade IV toxicity was neutropenia (30.8%) followed by lymphopenia (20.5%). There were no cases of Grade III/IV radiation pneumonia, and four patients (10.3%) had Grade III/IV esophagitis.

Conclusion

Chemoradiotherapy using paclitaxel liposome and cisplatin is a well‐tolerated and effective treatment regimen for locally advanced ESCC.
Untargeted 1H‐NMR Metabolome of Celery During Fusarium Wilt: Implications for Vegetable Quality
Authors: Pacheco‐Hernández Yesenia , Hidalgo‐Martínez Diego , Zepeda‐Vallejo Gerardo , Cruz‐Narváez Yair , Escobar‐García Rosa Lilia , Becerra‐Martínez Elvia , Villa‐Ruano Nemesio
Published: November 2022

Celery is a vegetable widely consumed as a condiment to prepare diverse dishes around the world. Nevertheless, this plant is susceptible to the attack of several phytopathogens including those of the Fusarium genus which is translated into devastating losses for the production chain. Herein we report on the metabolic changes produced during the celery wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum which was determined through untargeted 1H‐NMR metabolomics. The changes in the metabolite content of celery were measured at 16, 24, and 32 days post‐inoculation using viable conidia obtained from the native F. oxysporum strain FO3. Our results demonstrated that the parasitic activity of the fungus reduced the endogenous levels of free sugars (fructose, galactose, glucose isomers, mannose, Myo‐inositol, mannitol, and sucrose) amino acids (alanine, aspartate GABA, glutamate, glutamine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, proline, threonine, tyrosine, and valine), nucleosides (adenosine, cytidine, guanosine, and uridine) and organic acids (citric acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, and succinic acid). Interestingly, the levels of tyrosine and tryptophan were triggered as a consequence of F. oxysporum infection. This tendency was correlated with an increase in the levels of chlorogenic acid, apiin, and apigenin derivatives, suggesting their involvement in the chemical defense of celery against fungal colonization. According to principal component analysis (PCA) and Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS‐DA) methanol was the main differential metabolite and it was considered as a new chemical marker associated with F. oxysporum infection. Our results demonstrate that infected celery plants dramatically reduced their nutritional and nutraceutical contents during Fusarium wilt after 32 days post‐inoculation. However, these findings also suggest that the phenylpropanoid pathway is strongly related with the chemical defense of celery against F. oxysporum.
Gallium Nitride‐based Materials as Promising Catalysts for CO2 Reduction: A DFT Study on the Effect of CO2 Coverage and the Incorporation of Mg Doping or Substitutional In
Authors: Ritacco Ida , Farnesi Camellone Matteo , Caporaso Lucia , Detz Hermann , Butera Valeria
Published: November 2022

Catalytic CO2 conversion to fuels and chemicals is important for mitigating the climate change and reducing the dependence on fossil resources. In order to achieve this goal on a large industrial level, effective catalysts need to be developed. Among them, gallium nitride (GaN) and related Mg‐doped and In‐alloyed systems have been proven as efficient materials for the reduction of highly stable CO2 molecules. This work presents a density functional theory (DFT) investigation, performing periodic boundary condition (PBC) calculations which allow to employ a more extended surface for a detailed analysis of the CO2 coverage, and the effect of Mg doping and In alloying on the CO2 adsorption and its conversion to CO. The results show the great potential of GaN(100) surfaces to simultaneously bind and strongly activate multiple CO2 molecules, which is a crucial aspect for an efficient CO2 conversion process. Moreover, the presence of Mg‐dopant on the top layer is found to be more beneficial for the CO2 adsorption and activation with respect to both the pristine and In‐alloyed system, and this effect is further improved by the inclusion of a second impurity on the top layer. In line with the previous experimental findings, these calculations support the potential of pristine GaN(100) to catalyze the CO2‐to‐CO reduction. The results presented here offer crucial information for the development of more efficient and selective catalysts for the CO2 reduction.
Novel extensional device to efficiently form fine oil‐in‐water food emulsions
Authors: Song Daoyun , Agarwal Sushant , Casasnovas Johnny , Padmanabhan Mahesh , Gupta Rakesh K.
Published: November 2022

Two immiscible liquids are commonly mixed by mechanically dispersing one into the other to form emulsions. Surfactants or emulsifiers confer stability. Mechanical mixing, in practice, is an energy‐intensive shear flow that is ineffective when the ratio of the dispersed‐phase viscosity to the continuous‐phase viscosity exceeds about four. Extensional flows are not subject to this viscosity ratio limit. This superiority of extensional flow was exploited to fabricate a novel, continuous‐flow, cone‐shaped device with an extensional strain of eight to make fine soybean oil‐in‐water emulsions. A spherical insert having a wall clearance of 25 μm was an effective design factor. Starting with ‘coarse’ 50 wt.% oil emulsions, two stretching episodes were needed for size reduction. The temperature rise was negligible, and the results were independent of the emulsifier type employed. Increasing flow rate and stretching episodes, reducing wall clearance, enhancing emulsifier concentration, and multiple passes through the device gave progressively smaller drops; the volume‐averaged diameter became less than 2 μm, and the number‐averaged diameter reached 0.5 μm, narrowing the size distribution. The emulsions that formed had a high viscosity and were stable. The performance of a scaled‐up device was compared with other mixers. At equivalent energy density and 50 wt.% oil, drop sizes were similar for a valve homogenizer but larger for a rotor‐stator mixer. At 80 wt.% oil, the rotor stator‐mixer again required more energy for the same drop size, but emulsions prepared with the valve homogenizer broke. The findings of this study can help to design industrial‐scale energy‐efficient extensional‐flow dominant devices for the formation of food emulsions.
Progress and prospect on the recycling of spent lithium‐ion batteries: Ending is beginning
Authors: Yang Jia‐Lin , Zhao Xin‐Xin , Ma Ming‐Yang , Liu Yan , Zhang Jing‐Ping , Wu Xing‐Long
Published: November 2022

The new energy vehicle market has grown rapidly due to the promotion of electric vehicles. Considering the average effective lives and calendar lives of power batteries, the world is gradually ushering in the retirement peak of spent lithium‐ion batteries (SLIBs). Without proper disposal, such a large number of SLIBs can be grievous waste of resources and serious pollution for the environment. This review provides a systematic overview of current solutions for SLIBs recycling, ranging from battery failure assessment, disassembly, and component separation to derived material recovery and reuse. In this review, several pretreatment methods for SLIBs are introduced. Subsequently, novel recovery and reuse processes are discussed to develop sustainable and efficient recycling processes. Finally, different scientific approaches are investigated, aiming at promoting the transformation of the SLIBs recycling industry to a circular economy. Based on this review, it is possible to improve existing processes or develop sustainable environmentally friendly and efficient alternative processes for recycling end‐of‐life batteries.
Maternal obesity and resistance to breast cancer treatments among offspring: Link to gut dysbiosis
Authors: de Oliveira Andrade Fabia , Verma Vivek , Hilakivi‐Clarke Leena
Published: November 2022

Background

About 50 000 new cases of cancer in the United States are attributed to obesity. The adverse effects of obesity on breast cancer may be most profound when affecting the early development; that is, in the womb of a pregnant obese mother. Maternal obesity has several long‐lasting adverse health effects on the offspring, including increasing offspring's breast cancer risk and mortality. Gut microbiota is a player in obesity as well as may impact breast carcinogenesis. Gut microbiota is established early in life and the microbial composition of an infant's gut becomes permanently dysregulated because of maternal obesity. Metabolites from the microbiota, especially short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), play a critical role in mediating the effect of gut bacteria on multiple biological functions, such as immune system, including tumor immune responses.

Recent Findings

Maternal obesity can pre‐program daughter's breast cancer to be more aggressive, less responsive to treatments and consequently more likely to cause breast cancer related death. Maternal obesity may also induce poor response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICB) therapy through increased abundance of inflammation associated microbiome and decreased abundance of bacteria that are linked to production of SCFAs. Dietary interventions that increase the abundance of bacteria producing SCFAs potentially reverses offspring's resistance to breast cancer therapy.

Conclusion

Since immunotherapies have emerged as highly effective treatments for many cancers, albeit there is an urgent need to enlarge the patient population who will be responsive to these treatments. One of the factors which may cause ICB refractoriness could be maternal obesity, based on its effects on the microbiota markers of ICB therapy response among the offspring. Since about 40% of children are born to obese mothers in the Western societies, it is important to determine if maternal obesity impairs offspring's response to cancer immunotherapies.
Prognostic correlation of NOTCH1 and SF3B1 mutations with chromosomal abnormalities in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients
Authors: Sadria Reza , Motamed Nasrin , Saberi Anvar Mohammad , Mehrabani Yeganeh Hassan , Poopak Behzad
Published: November 2022

Background and Aim

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a monoclonal malignancy of B lymphocytes. Since common mutations in NOTCH1 and SF3B1, along with other possible chromosomal alterations, change disease severity and survival of patients with CLL, we aimed to evaluate the correlation of common mutations in NOTCH1 and SF3B1 as the poor prognostic markers with chromosomal abnormalities and clinical hematology.

Method

This retrospective study was performed on the peripheral blood of 51 patients diagnosed before chemotherapy with CLL. G‐banding karyotype and FISH were performed. For NOTCH1, exon 34 and for SF3B1, exons 14,15,16 were assessed using Sanger sequencing.

Results

The mutation frequency of NOTCH1 and SF3B1 with the pathogenic clinical status was 6:51 (11.76%), and variants obtained from both genes were 9:51 (17.64%). The frequency of SF3B1 mutation (K666E) was higher than in previous studies (p‐value <.05). There was a significant correlation between NOTCH1 mutations and del17p13 (p‐value = .068), also SF3B1 mutations with del11q22 (p‐value = .095) and del13q14 (p‐value = .066). Up to 90% of the specific stimuli used for the G‐banding karyotype successfully identified the malignant clone. There was a significant relationship between the cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38) expression level and NOTCH1 mutations (p‐value = .019) and a significant correlation between Binet classification and the SF3B1 (p‐value = .096).

Conclusion

The correlation of NOTCH1 and SF3B1 mutations with chromosomal abnormalities and CD38 expression may reveal the overall patient's survival rate. The mutations may be effective in the clonal expansion and progression of CLL, particularly in the diagnosis stage, as well as the control and management of the treatment.
Enhanced Elman spike neural network based intrusion attack detection in software defined Internet of Things network
Authors: Ravi Kiran Varma P. , R R Sathiya , Vanitha M.
Published: November 2022

In this article, enhanced Elman spike neural network based intrusion attack detection in software defined IoT network is proposed. Initially, the data's are taken from CICDDoS 2019 and CICIDS 2018 benchmark datasets. Software defined network (SDN) secure defense system is detected the intrusion and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on central controllers using multidimensional internet protocol (IP) flow analysis. Here, the enhanced Elman spike neural network (EESNN) classifies DDoS and intrusion attacks as normal and anomaly. The proposed EESNN‐IAD‐SDN method is executed in python language. The performance metrics, such as accuracy, specificity, F‐measure, sensitivity, precision, recall is examined. The proposed EESNN‐IAD‐SDN method provides 13.93%, 13.26%, 14.35, and 13.73% higher accuracy in CICDDoS 2019 dataset compared with the existing methods, like GRU‐IAD‐SDN, LSTM‐IAD‐SDN, and GAN‐IAD‐SDN, respectively.
A quintuple phase shift modulation scheme in multilevel dual active bridge converter for battery energy storage system
Authors: Bheemraj T. S. , Karthikeyan V. , Kumaravel S.
Published: November 2022

Generally, the dual active bridge (DAB) bidirectional DC‐DC converter suffers from harmonics in the high‐frequency link (HFL) conversion stage while operating under any modulation scheme. This paper proposes a quintuple phase shift (QPS) modulation scheme to suppress the harmonics under the whole operating range. A bidirectional auxiliary switch in the low voltage bridge produces a five‐level output, which alleviates harmonic components of HFL current. The total harmonic distortion (THD) analysis is done for various operating conditions and is compared with the conventional modulation scheme, such as single phase shift and dual phase shift. The THD can be reduced in the entire power transmission for the proposed modulation scheme by defining the suitable phase shift ratios. Also, the power flow analysis under QPS modulation is reported in this paper. To validate the proposed approach's theoretical performance, simulation results are obtained under different operating conditions and verified with experimental results. The QPS modulation is implemented using the Spartan 3AN FPGA processor.
Validation of Danish registry‐cases of type 1 diabetes in women giving live birth using a clinical cohort as gold standard
Authors: Gundersen Tina Wullum , Ebbehoj Andreas , Knorr Sine , Jensen Dorte Møller , Damm Peter , Løkkegaard Ellen Christine Leth , Mathiesen Elisabeth R. , Thomsen Reimar W. , Clausen Tine Dalsgaard
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The aim of this study was to validate type 1 diabetes in women giving live birth in the Danish national registries against a clinical cohort of confirmed cases (the Danish Diabetes Birth Registry [DDBR] cohort).

Methods

National registries including diagnosis codes, redeemed prescriptions and background data were combined. Three main algorithms were constructed to define type 1 diabetes in women giving live birth: (1) Any diabetes diagnosis registered before delivery and before age of 30, (2) a specific type 1 diabetes diagnosis registered before delivery regardless of maternal age and (3) a ‘preexisting type 1 diabetes in pregnancy’ diagnosis registered before delivery. In additional sub‐algorithms, we added information on anti‐diabetic medicine and gestational diabetes diagnosis. We calculated positive predictive value (PPV) and completeness using the DDBR cohort as gold standard. Since DDBR included between 75 and 93% of women with confirmed type 1 diabetes giving live birth, we used quantitative bias analysis to assess the potential impact of missing data on PPV and completeness.

Results

Main algorithm 2 had the highest PPV (77.4%) and shared the highest completeness (92.4%) with main algorithm 1. Information on anti‐diabetic medicine and gestational diabetes increased PPV, on expense of completeness. All algorithms varied with PPV between 65.7 and 87.6% and completeness between 73.6 and 92.4%. The quantitative bias analysis indicated that PPV was underestimated, and completeness overestimated for all algorithms. For algorithm 2, corrected PPV was between 82.1 and 94.6% and corrected completeness between 84.7 and 91.2%.

Conclusions

The Danish national registries can identify type 1 diabetes in women giving live birth with a reasonably high accuracy. The registries are a valuable source for future comparative outcome studies and may also be suitable for monitoring prevalence and incidence of type 1 diabetes in women giving live birth.
The presence of a chromosomal abnormality in cytopenia without dysplasia identifies a category of high‐risk clonal cytopenia of unknown significance
Authors: Brett Victor‐Emmanuel , Lechevalier Nicolas , Trimoreau Franck , Dussiau Charles , Dimicoli‐Salazar Sophie , Coster Lucie , Luquet Isabelle , Nadal Nathalie , Ribourtout Bénédicte , Chapiro Elise , Lefebvre Christine , Tondeur Sylvie , Balducci Estelle , Nguyen‐Khac Florence , Borie Claire , Radford‐Weiss Isabelle , Barin Carole , Eclache Virginie , Mansier Olivier , Bidet Audrey ,   the Groupe Francophone de Cytogénétique Hématologique (GFCH)
Published: November 2022

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are hematological malignancies classically defined by the presence of cytopenia(s) and dysmorphic myeloid cells. It is now known that MDS can be preceded by a pre‐malignant condition called clonal cytopenia of unknown significance (CCUS), which associates a clonality marker with cytopenia in the absence of criteria of dysplasia. However, to date, it is not clear whether chromosomal abnormalities should be considered in the definition of CCUS or if they carry a prognostic impact in CCUS patients. In this study, we analyzed the clinico‐biological features and outcomes of 34 patients who presented with one or more cytopenias, an absence of significant dysplasia, and a presence of a chromosomal abnormality (CA). We named this entity chromosomal abnormality with cytopenia of undetermined significance (CACtUS). We show that these patients are slightly older than MDS patients and that they more frequently presented with normocytic anemia. Most CACtUS patients exhibited only one unbalanced CA. The number and type of mutations were comparable between CACtUS patients and MDS patients. Regardless of the cytogenetic abnormality, the clinicobiological characteristics, overall survival, and risk of progression to high‐risk (HR) MDS were similar between CACtUS patients and low‐risk MDS patients. Thus, we suggest that CACtUS patients can be considered as HR‐CCUS and should receive the follow‐up regimen recommended for MDS patients.
Application of data‐driven techniques for landslide susceptibility prediction along an earthquake‐affected road section in Kashmir Himalaya
Authors: Gardezi Syed Ahsan Hussain , Usmani Nadeem Ahmad , Chen Xiao‐qing , Ikram Nawaz , Ahmad Sajjad , Wani Saad
Published: November 2022

The interaction of seismic events with geo‐environmental conditions and anthropogenic activities may exacerbate the risk of landslide hazard in a mountainous region. As an example of this, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered many shallow to deep slope failures, which were further intensified in the following years by human activities notably along road networks, posing a long‐term hazard. Hence, this study was planned to evaluate the effectiveness of landslide susceptibility prediction along an earthquake‐affected road section of Neelum Highway using six different data‐driven models. We applied analytical hierarchy process as a heuristic approach, weight of evidence and index of entropy as statistical models and multi‐layer perceptron, support vector machine and binary logistic regression (BLR) as machine learning models. Initially, 224 landslide locations were marked through field surveys to prepare a landslide inventory, which was further randomly divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) datasets. Then, 13 landslide causative factors (LCFs) were extracted from geospatial database and analysed by measuring collinearity among factors and assessing their contribution to landslide occurrence using different feature selection methods for inclusion in susceptibility modelling. Thereafter, six employed models were trained to produce landslide susceptibility maps of the investigated road section. Finally, the area under receiver operating characteristics (AU‐ROC) curve and various statistical measures were applied to validate and compare the performance of modelled landslide susceptibility. The results revealed that no collinearity issue exists among all 13 LCFs, and all six models exhibited satisfying performance in predicting landslide susceptibility of study area. However, BLR model has produced the most promising and optimum results as compared with other models with AU‐ROC (0.881), Matthew's correlation coefficient (0.609), Kappa coefficient (0.604), accuracy (0.797) and F‐score (0.787). The outcomes of this study can be used as pertinent guide for preventing and managing the landslide disaster risk along Neelum Highway and beyond.
Social networks and skilled health worker migration in Nigeria: An ego network analysis
Authors: Yakubu Kenneth , Blacklock Claire , Adebayo Kudus Oluwatoyin , Peiris David , Joshi Rohina , Mondal Shinjini
Published: November 2022

Background

Nigeria provides a good case study for researchers, activists, and governments seeking to understand how social networks can help mitigate the negative impact of skilled health worker (SHW) migration in low and middle‐income countries. This study aimed to map the social networks of SHWs and explore how they influence migration intentions.

Methods

We combined semi‐structured qualitative interviews with an ego‐network analysis of 22 SHWs living in Nigeria, used R‐Studio to display and visualise their networks, and NVivo for thematic analysis of transcribed interviews.

Results

The network size and frequency of interaction were smaller among SHWs seeking to remain in Nigeria, however when compared to SHWs seeking to migrate, they had ties with a diverse group of stakeholders interested in improving health services. The influence of social networks on SHW migration intentions was observed within the following themes: access to information on migration opportunities, modelling of migration behaviour, support for decision making, and opportunities for policy engagement.

Conclusion

The social networks of SHWs can aid the diffusion of norms that are relevant for improving SHW migration governance. Through their social networks, SHWs can improve awareness of the challenges associated with SHW migration among state actors and the public.
Current situation of shared decision making in osteoporosis: A comprehensive literature review of patient decision aids and decision drivers
Authors: Nogués Xavier , Carbonell María Cristina , Canals Laura , Lizán Luis , Palacios Santiago
Published: November 2022

Background and Aims

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microstructural deterioration of bone tissues, resulting in bone fragility and increased fracture risk. It is the most common bone‐related disease in the population. However, the proportion of patients who start treatment but discontinue it during the first year is very high (around 50%). Endeavors are made to promote patient participation in treatment by implementing patient decision aids (PDA), whose function is to help the patient make disease‐related decisions. We aim to summarize the characteristics of the currently available PDA for osteoporosis, as well as deciding factors.

Methods

Comprehensive review of the literature.

Results

Currently, eleven PDAs can be found for osteoporosis. These PDA have different characteristics or options such as information about treatments tailored to patient needs, graphic information of the results (to facilitate understanding), personal histories (learning), tests to check the knowledge acquired, provision of evidence, clinical practice guidelines or a final summary to share with their doctor. Only five of these PDAs can be considered complete since they provide relevant disease information and therapeutic options to the patient, promote patient's reflection and foment patient‐physician discussion.

Conclusions

This study provides an update on the current state of decision making on osteoporosis and available PDA, which can help engage the patient through shared decision‐making by considering, among other things, patient preferences. Physicians should consider PDA, as it may promote adherence and effectiveness of treatment.
Effect of BNT162b2 mRNA booster vaccination on VO2max in recreational athletes: A prospective cohort study
Authors: Miljoen Hielko , Bekhuis Youri , Roeykens Johan , Taha Karim , Frankinouille Rudi , Michielsen Matthijs , Van de Heyning Caroline M. , Cornelissen Véronique , Favere Kasper , Eens Sander , Gielen Jan , Goetschalckx Kaatje , Heidbuchel Hein , Claessen Guido ,   Covivax Study Group
Published: November 2022

Background and Aims

The goal of the present study was to systematically evaluate the effect of a booster vaccination with the BNT162b2 messenger RNA (mRNA; Pfizer‐BioNTech®) vaccine on maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max), potential signs of (peri)myocarditis, and sports participation.

Methods

Recreational athletes who were scheduled to undergo booster vaccination were evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography, serum measurements of high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein(hsCRP) and high‐sensitivity troponin I, and a bicycle cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) with serum lactate evaluation before the booster vaccine administration. Seven days postvaccination the test battery was repeated. Additionally, the subjects were asked to fill in a questionnaire on side effects and a subjective evaluation of their relative training volume and intensity as compared to the weeks before vaccination.

Results

A group of 42 analysed athletes showed a statistically significant 2.7% decrease in VO2max after vaccination (mean standard error of mean pre: 48.6 (1.4) ml/kg/min; post: 47.3 (1.4) ml/kg/min; p = 0.004). A potentially clinically relevant decrease of 8.6% or more occurred in 8 (19%) athletes. Other CPET parameters and lactate curves were comparable. We found no serological or echocardiographic evidence of (peri)myocarditis. A slight but significant increase in hsCRP was noted 1 week after vaccination. Side effects were mild and sports participation was generally unchanged or mildly decreased after vaccination.

Conclusion

In our population of recreational endurance athletes, booster vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine resulted in a statistically significant decrease in VO2max 7 days after vaccination. The clinical impact hereof needs to be further determined. No major adverse events were observed.
Perceived barriers to the implementation of social distancing in the COVID‐19 pandemic in Iran during 2020–2021: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Gilavand Abdolreza , Webster Craig S.
Published: November 2022

Background and Aims

This research has been on the effective role of social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID‐19 and the obstacles to its implementation. The results of this research can highlight the major barriers to distancing and suggest appropriate solutions to remove them.

Methods

We conducted this cross‐sectional study during 2020–2021 among 277 faculty members, students of medical universities and ordinary people of Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. We included them in this study by sampling at convenience. The data collection tool was a researcher‐constructed questionnaire that we distributed among the statistical sample through social networks (WhatsApp and Telegram).

Results

Mean ± SD = economic barriers 4.49 (0.65), cultural barriers 4.48 (0.70), social barriers 4.40 (0.61), political barriers 4.28 (0.64), educational barriers in universities and schools 4.27 (0.53) and Educational barriers at societal level 3.82 (1.08) were the self‐reported obstacles (perceived) to social distancing during the Covid‐19 pandemic. Comparison of occupational groups with faculty members showed that only scores of academic barriers have a significant difference between occupational groups (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The role of economic barriers, cultural barriers and social barriers in social distancing was very prominent. One of our remarkable results was that there is adequate training for people on the proper implementation of the principles of social distance in the prevention of the Covid‐19 pandemic. The responsibility of all members of society to observe social distancing as a moral and even legal duty can be the first step to protect the health of citizens against COVID‐19. We can, therefore, use some planned interventions. This must be within the framework of economic, cultural, social and political structures of society.
Chinese child unsociability, maternal maladaptive parenting, and peer exclusion among preschoolers: A cross‐lagged model
Authors: Xiao Bowen , Weng Wanjuan , Wang Longfei , Li Yan
Published: November 2022

Previous research has consistently found that unsociability is linked to adjustment difficulties in Chinese children. However, far less attention has been paid to how parents and peers react when confronted with unsociable children. In this study, we explored the longitudinal linkages among Chinese preschoolers' unsociability, maladaptive parenting, and peer exclusion. Participants were mothers and teachers of N = 391 (Mage = 4.4 years, SD = 0.91 years; 54.5% boys) preschoolers attending eight kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, followed over 8 months. Multi‐source assessments were employed. Mothers rated children's unsociability and their maladaptive (physical hostility, verbal hostility, punishment) parenting practices, and teachers rated children's peer exclusion at each time point. Our results indicated that child unsociability contributed to later increases in both maladaptive parenting and peer exclusion. However, maladaptive parenting and peer exclusion could not predict later increases in unsociability. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of unsociability among Chinese children.
Are declining auction prices a result of bidder behavior or auctioneer strategy? Evidence from cattle auctions
Authors: Dorfman Jeffrey H. , Li Wenying , Zhang Jingfang
Published: November 2022

We test the ability of three previously advanced mechanisms to generate the declining price anomaly frequently observed in sequential auctions by employing a Bayesian hierarchical model framework to simulate heterogeneous bidders in sequential cattle auctions. One hypothesis is that declining prices are due to convergence in the buyers' bidding functions as bidders learn from each other. The second posits that as bidders fulfill their demand by winning earlier lots, the decrease in aggregate demand causes prices to fall. The third is the auction designer's strategic arrangement of lots. Results show the most plausible mechanism to be a strategic ordering of the lots.
Pressure‐assisted decomposition of tricresyl phosphate on amorphous FeO using hybrid quantum‐classical simulations
Authors: Hayashi Sota , Uemura Naoki , Uranagase Masayuki , Ogata Shuji
Published: November 2022

The moving components of combustion engines are operated under harsh conditions of high pressures and temperatures. Extreme‐pressure anti‐wear additives, such as tricresyl phosphate (TCP), are mixed with base oil to prevent wear through the formation of a lubricant film on the substrate. We studied the effect of liquid pressure on the decomposition pathway of TCP in base oil molecules (2,5‐dimethylhexane) using hybrid quantum‐classical simulations with density functional theory for electrons. At a temperature of 300 K, we found that: (i) bond‐breaking barrier energies of both the OC and PO bonds of TCP decrease monotonically as the liquid pressure increases; (ii) the bond‐breaking barrier energy of PO is lower than that of OC at pressures of 0 and 2.0 GPa, but is higher at a pressure of 5.0 GPa; and (iii) the applied pressure significantly lowers the bond‐breaking barrier energies of both OC and PO when the PO bond of TCP is directed upward from the substrate. These findings are explained by the inhomogeneous distribution of base oil molecules around TCP and the steric repulsion of the PO bond of TCP. These results indicate that the internal structures of the lubricant films are pressure‐dependent.
A density fitting scheme for the fast evaluation of molecular electrostatic potential
Authors: Zhang Yingfeng , Zhao Jian
Published: November 2022

Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) is a significant and crucial physical quantity that can be applied to a large number of scenarios, such as the prediction of nucleophilic or electrophilic attacks, fitting atomic charges, σ‐hole, and so forth. The computational cost for the MEP has anO(N2) scaling with the increase of atoms, which is intractable and laborious for macromolecules. Herein, a density fitting molecular electrostatic potential (DF‐MEP) is used to reduce the computational costs for the macromolecular MEP. It is found that the accuracy of DF‐MEP is almost identical to the conventional molecular electrostatic potential (Conv‐MEP), while the computational costs can be reduced to anO(N) scaling, for example, the computational time of 699,200 grids for the Trp‐cage molecule (304 atoms) only takes 16.6 s at the B3LYP‐D3(BJ)/def2‐SVP level of theory with 16 CPU cores compared with 3060.2 s for the Conv‐MEP method.
Optical imaging technology realizes early tumor diagnosis by detecting angiogenesis
Authors: Lu Guanhua , Han Ziyu , Hu Min
Published: November 2022

The occurrence and development of blood vessels play a key role in different stages of tumor growth, while current imaging techniques are difficult to detect early tumor angiogenesis because of their low sensitivity. Therefore, this article introduces high‐sensitivity optical imaging technology to achieve early tumor diagnosis by detecting tumor angiogenesis. Liver and pancreatic tumor models in nude mice were respectively established to represent tumors with a rich or poor blood supply. The two optical imaging methods, in vivo confocal fluorescence imaging and photoacoustic imaging, were used to detect tumor angiogenesis at different stages. Finally, the changes in blood vessels were verified by immunostaining. Both autoluminescence imaging and pathological staining confirmed that these two tumor models were successfully established. In vivo confocal fluorescence imaging found that the early tumor blood vessel structure had obvious characteristics: disorder, tortuous deformation, thin diameter, which were significantly different from the normal tissues. Photoacoustic imaging could effectively identify blood vessels inside early tumors, which were small and disordered and might be used as one of the predictors of early tumor development. CD31 immunostaining was used to evaluate the vascular status of tumors at different stages and under different blood supply conditions. The vascular structures observed under the microscope in the two tumor models were consistent with the results observed by optical imaging methods. The optical imaging methods could monitor the characteristics of angiogenesis in the rich or poor blood supply tumors, especially the early diagnosis of tumors.
Copper induces nitrification by ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria and archaea in pastoral soils
Authors: Matse Dumsane Themba , Jeyakumar Paramsothy , Bishop Peter , Anderson Christopher W. N.
Published: November 2022

Copper (Cu) is the main co‐factor in the functioning of the ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) enzyme, which is responsible for the first step of ammonia oxidation. We report a greenhouse‐based pot experiment that examines the response of ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria and archaea (AOB and AOA) to different bioavailable Cu concentrations in three pastoral soils (Recent, Pallic, and Pumice soils) planted with ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Five treatments were used: control (no urine and Cu), urine only at 300 mg N kg−1 soil (Cu0), urine + 1 mg Cu kg−1 soil (Cu1), urine + 10 mg Cu kg−1 soil (Cu10), and urine + 100 mg Cu kg−1 soil (Cu100). Pots were destructively sampled at Day 0, 1, 7, 15, and 25 after urine application. The AOB/AOA amoA gene abundance was analyzed by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction at Days 1 and 15. The AOB amoA gene abundance increased 10.0‐ and 22.6‐fold in the Recent soil and 2.1‐ and 2.5‐fold in the Pallic soil for the Cu10 compared with Cu0 on Days 1 and 15, respectively. In contrast, the Cu100 was associated with a reduction in AOB amoA gene abundance in the Recent and Pallic soils but not in the Pumice soil. This may be due to the influence of soil cation exchange capacity differences on the bioavailable Cu. Bioavailable Cu in the Recent and Pallic soils influenced nitrification and AOB amoA gene abundance, as evidenced by the strong positive correlation between bioavailable Cu, nitrification, and AOB amoA. However, bioavailable Cu did not influence the nitrification and AOA amoA gene abundance increase.
A simple and easy non‐derivatization gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry method for simultaneous quantification of valproic acid, gabapentin, pregabalin, and vigabatrin in human plasma
Authors: Jin Peng , You Yu‐xin , Zhao Lin‐lin , Zhao Yan‐lin , Zheng Xiao‐xiao , Du Yan , Tang Dao‐quan
Published: November 2022

Immunoassays are currently not available in commercial kits for the quantification of valproic acid, vigabatrin, pregabalin, and gabapentin, which also cannot suffer the limitations of interferences of substances with similar structures. Chromatography is a good alternative to immunoassay. In this study, a simple and robust non‐derivatization gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of the above four drugs in human plasma was developed and validated for therapeutic drug monitoring purposes. This method employed benzoic acid as the internal standard with hydrochloric acid for plasma acidification and ACN for precipitate protein. The supernatant was directly injected into gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry for analysis. Good linearity was obtained with linear correlation coefficients of the four analytes of 0.9988–0.9996. Extraction recoveries of valproic acid, vigabatrin, pregabalin, and gabapentin were respectively in the ranges of 91.3%–94.5%, 90.0%–90.9%, 90.0%–92.1%, and 88.0%–92.2% with the relative standard deviation values less than 12.6%. Intra‐ and inter‐batch precision and accuracy, and stability assays were all acceptable. Taken together, the novel method developed in this study provided easy plasma pretreatment, good extraction yield, and high chromatographic resolution, which has been successfully validated through the quantification of valproic acid in the plasma of 46 patients with epilepsy.
A nomogram for predicting overall survival of patients with sinonasal melanoma: A population‐based study
Authors: Yang Jingyi , Song Xiaole , Lai Yuting , Liu Quan , Sun Xicai , Wang Dehui , Yu Hongmeng
Published: November 2022

Objective

Sinonasal melanoma (SMM) is a rare but aggressive malignancy with 5‐year overall survival (OS) rates below 40% in published studies. However, the clinicopathological predictors of the prognosis of SMM remain undefined. We aimed to establish a model to predict the survival outcomes of SMM.

Methods

We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for patients diagnosed with SMM between 1975 and 2016. Data on patient demographics, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes were retrieved. Risk factors for OS were evaluated by survival and Cox regression analyses. We also developed and validated a nomogram for OS, and compared its performance with that of conventional staging systems.

Results

Overall, 305 SMM patients were included in this population‐based study. Multivariate Cox regression showed that primary site, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, radiotherapy, and surgery were significant risk factors for survival. A nomogram was established using the regression model. The C‐indices, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis demonstrated reliable performance of the nomogram.

Conclusion

The nomogram predicting survival outcomes of SMM patients based on clinical information showed good discriminative ability and prognostic accuracy compared with conventional stage classifications. Our nomogram could be used to predict the survival probabilities for SMM patients at different timepoints.

Level of Evidence

2b.
Organocatalyzed Ring‐Opening Polymerization of (S)‐3‐Benzylmorpholine‐2,5‐Dione
Authors: Göppert Natalie E. , Dirauf Michael , Liebing Phil , Weber Christine , Schubert Ulrich S.
Published: November 2022

A 3‐benzylmorpholine‐2,5‐dione monomer is synthesized from the natural amino acid l‐phenylalanine and characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Subsequent to preliminary polymerization studies, a well‐defined poly(ester amide) homopolymer is synthesized via ring‐opening polymerization using a binary catalyst system comprising 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU) and a 1‐(3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)‐3‐cyclohexylthiourea (TU) cocatalyst with a feed ratio of M/I/DBU/TU = 100/1/1/10. Kinetic studies reveal high controllability of the dispersities and molar masses up to conversions of almost 80%. Analysis by mass spectrometry hints toward excellent end‐group fidelity at these conditions. In consequence, utilization of hydroxyl‐functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) as macroinitiators results in amphiphilic block copolymers. Bulk miscibility of the building blocks is indicated by differential scanning calorimetry investigations. As more and more promising new drugs are based on hydrophobic molecules featuring aromatic moieties, the novel polyesteramides seem highly promising materials to be used as potential drug delivery vehicles.
Emissive Substoichiometric Covalent Organic Frameworks for Water Sensing and Harvesting
Authors: Maiti Sayan , Sharma Jatan K. , Ling Jianheng , Tietje‐Mckinney Dylan , Heaney Matthew P. , Runčevski Tomče , Addicoat Matthew A. , D'Souza Francis , Milner Phillip J. , Das Anindita
Published: November 2022

Emissive covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have recently emerged as next‐generation porous materials with attractive properties such as tunable topology, porosity, and inherent photoluminescence. Among the different types of COFs, substoichiometric frameworks (so‐called Type III COFs) are especially attractive due to the possibility of not only generating unusual topology and complex pore architectures but also facilitating the introduction of well‐defined functional groups at precise locations for desired functions. Herein, the first example of a highly emissive (PLQY 6.8%) substoichiometric 2D‐COF (COF‐SMU‐1) featuring free uncondensed aldehyde groups is reported. In particular, COF‐SMU‐1 features a dual‐pore architecture with an overall bex net topology, tunable emission in various organic solvents, and distinct colorimetric changes in the presence of water. To gain further insights into its photoluminescence properties, the charge transfer, excimer emission, and excited state exciton dynamics of COF‐SMU‐1 are investigated using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in different organic solvents. Additionally, highly enhanced atmospheric water‐harvesting properties of COF‐SMU‐1 are revealed using FT‐IR and water sorption studies.The findings will not only lead to in‐depth understanding of structure–property relationships in emissive COFs but also open new opportunities for designing COFs for potential applications in solid‐state lighting and water harvesting.
Entropy‐based lamarckian quantum‐behaved particle swarm optimization for flexible ligand docking
Authors: You Qi , Li Chao , Sun Jun , Palade Vasile , Pan Feng
Published: November 2022

AutoDock is a widely used software for flexible ligand docking problems since it is open source and easy to be implemented. In this paper, a novel hybrid algorithm is proposed and applied in the docking environment of AutoDock version 4.2.6 in order to enhance the accuracy and the efficiency for dockings with flexible ligands. This search algorithm, called entropy‐based Lamarckian quantum‐behaved particle swarm optimization (ELQPSO), is a combination of the QPSO with an entropy‐based update strategy and the Solis and Wet local search (SWLS) method. By using the PDBbind core set v.2016, the ELQPSO is compared with the Lamarckian genetic algorithm (LGA), Lamarckian particle swarm optimization (LPSO) and Lamarckian QPSO (LQPSO). The experimental results reveal that the corresponding docking program of ELQPSO, named as EQDOCK in this paper, has a competitive performance in dealing with the protein‐ligand docking problems. Moreover, for the test cases with different number of torsions, the EQDOCK outperforms the other three docking programs in finding docking conformations with small root mean squared deviation (RMSD) values in most cases. In particular, it has an advantage of solving highly flexible ligand docking problems over the others.