bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal laser ablation with tunable lesion size reveals multiple origins of seizure-like convulsions in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Fouad Anthony D. , Liu Alice , Du Angelica , Bhirgoo Priya D. , Fang-Yen Christopher
Published: March 2021

Laser microsurgery has long been an important means of assessing the functions of specific cells and tissues. Most laser ablation systems use short, highly focused laser pulses to create plasma-mediated lesions with dimensions on the order of the wavelength of light. While the small size of the lesion enables ablation with high spatial resolution, it also makes it difficult to ablate larger structures. We developed an infrared laser ablation system capable of thermally lesioning tissues with spot sizes tunable by the duration and amplitude of laser pulses. We used our laser system in the roundworm C. elegans to kill single neurons and to sever the dorsal and ventral nerve cords, structures that are difficult to lesion using a plasma-based ablation system. We used these ablations to investigate the source of convulsions in a gain-of-function mutant for the acetylcholine receptor ACR-2. Severing the ventral nerve cord caused convulsions to occur independently anterior and posterior to the lesion, suggesting that convulsions can arise independently from distinct subsets of the motor circuit.
Soil moisture signature in global weather balloon soundings
Authors: Denissen Jasper M. C. , Orth René , Wouters Hendrik , Miralles Diego G. , van Heerwaarden Chiel C. , de Arellano Jordi Vilà-Guerau , Teuling Adriaan J.
Published: March 2021

The land surface influences the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) through its impacts on the partitioning of available energy into evaporation and warming. Previous research on understanding this complex link focused mainly on site-scale flux observations, gridded satellite observations, climate modeling, and machine-learning experiments. Observational evidence of land surface conditions, among which soil moisture, impacting ABL properties at intermediate landscape scales is lacking. Here, we use a combination of global weather balloon soundings, satellite-observed soil moisture, and a coupled land-atmosphere model to infer the soil moisture impact on the ABL. The inferred relationship between soil moisture and surface flux partitioning reflects distinctive energy- and water-limited regimes, even at the landscape scale. We find significantly different behavior between those two regimes, associating dry conditions with on average warmer (≈3 K), higher (≈400 m) and drier (≈1 kPa) afternoon ABLs than wet conditions. This evidence of land–atmosphere coupling from globally distributed atmospheric measurements highlights the need for an accurate representation of land–atmosphere coupling into climate models and their climate change projections.
Solvent engineered synthesis of layered SnO for high-performance anodes
Authors: Jaśkaniec Sonia , Kavanagh Seán R. , Coelho João , Ryan Seán , Hobbs Christopher , Walsh Aron , Scanlon David O. , Nicolosi Valeria
Published: March 2021

Batteries are the most abundant form of electrochemical energy storage. Lithium and sodium ion batteries account for a significant portion of the battery market, but high-performance electrochemically active materials still need to be discovered and optimized for these technologies. Recently, tin(II) oxide (SnO) has emerged as a highly promising battery electrode. In this work, we present a facile synthesis method to produce SnO microparticles whose size and shape can be tailored by changing the solvent nature. We study the complex relationship between wet-chemistry synthesis conditions and resulting layered nanoparticle morphology. Furthermore, high-level electronic structure theory, including dispersion corrections to account for van der Waals forces, is employed to enhance our understanding of the underlying chemical mechanisms. The electronic vacuum alignment and surface energies are determined, allowing the prediction of the thermodynamically favoured crystal shape (Wulff construction) and surface-weighted work function. Finally, the synthesized nanomaterials were tested as Li-ion battery anodes, demonstrating significantly enhanced electrochemical performance for morphologies obtained from specific synthesis conditions.
Development of digital measures for nighttime scratch and sleep using wrist-worn wearable devices
Authors: Mahadevan Nikhil , Christakis Yiorgos , Di Junrui , Bruno Jonathan , Zhang Yao , Dorsey E. Ray , Pigeon Wilfred R. , Beck Lisa A. , Thomas Kevin , Liu Yaqi , Wicker Madisen , Brooks Chris , Kabiri Nina Shaafi , Bhangu Jaspreet , Northcott Carrie , Patel Shyamal
Published: March 2021

Patients with atopic dermatitis experience increased nocturnal pruritus which leads to scratching and sleep disturbances that significantly contribute to poor quality of life. Objective measurements of nighttime scratching and sleep quantity can help assess the efficacy of an intervention. Wearable sensors can provide novel, objective measures of nighttime scratching and sleep; however, many current approaches were not designed for passive, unsupervised monitoring during daily life. In this work, we present the development and analytical validation of a method that sequentially processes epochs of sample-level accelerometer data from a wrist-worn device to provide continuous digital measures of nighttime scratching and sleep quantity. This approach uses heuristic and machine learning algorithms in a hierarchical paradigm by first determining when the patient intends to sleep, then detecting sleep–wake states along with scratching episodes, and lastly deriving objective measures of both sleep and scratch. Leveraging reference data collected in a sleep laboratory (NCT ID: NCT03490877), results show that sensor-derived measures of total sleep opportunity (TSO; time when patient intends to sleep) and total sleep time (TST) correlate well with reference polysomnography data (TSO:r = 0.72,p < 0.001; TST:r = 0.76,p < 0.001;N = 32). Log transformed sensor derived measures of total scratching duration achieve strong agreement with reference annotated video recordings (r = 0.82,p < 0.001;N = 25). These results support the use of wearable sensors for objective, continuous measurement of nighttime scratching and sleep during daily life.
Digital public health surveillance: a systematic scoping review
Authors: Shakeri Hossein Abad Zahra , Kline Adrienne , Sultana Madeena , Noaeen Mohammad , Nurmambetova Elvira , Lucini Filipe , Al-Jefri Majed , Lee Joon
Published: March 2021

The ubiquitous and openly accessible information produced by the public on the Internet has sparked an increasing interest in developing digital public health surveillance (DPHS) systems. We conducted a systematic scoping review in accordance with the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to consolidate and characterize the existing research on DPHS and identify areas for further research. We used Natural Language Processing and content analysis to define the search strings and searched Global Health, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar from 2005 to January 2020 for peer-reviewed articles on DPHS, with extensive hand searching. Seven hundred fifty-five articles were included in this review. The studies were from 54 countries and utilized 26 digital platforms to study 208 sub-categories of 49 categories associated with 16 public health surveillance (PHS) themes. Most studies were conducted by researchers from the United States (56%, 426) and dominated by communicable diseases-related topics (25%, 187), followed by behavioural risk factors (17%, 131). While this review discusses the potentials of using Internet-based data as an affordable and instantaneous resource for DPHS, it highlights the paucity of longitudinal studies and the methodological and inherent practical limitations underpinning the successful implementation of a DPHS system. Little work studied Internet users’ demographics when developing DPHS systems, and 39% (291) of studies did not stratify their results by geographic region. A clear methodology by which the results of DPHS can be linked to public health action has yet to be established, as only six (0.8%) studies deployed their system into a PHS context.
Impurity induced scale-free localization
Authors: Li Linhu , Lee Ching Hua , Gong Jiangbin
Published: March 2021

Non-Hermitian systems have been shown to have a dramatic sensitivity to their boundary conditions. In particular, the non-Hermitian skin effect induces collective boundary localization upon turning off boundary coupling, a feature very distinct from that under periodic boundary conditions. Here we develop a full framework for non-Hermitian impurity physics in a non-reciprocal lattice, with periodic/open boundary conditions and even their interpolations being special cases across a whole range of boundary impurity strengths. We uncover steady states with scale-free localization along or even against the direction of non-reciprocity in various impurity strength regimes. Also present are Bloch-like states that survive albeit broken translational invariance. We further explore the co-existence of non-Hermitian skin effect and scale-free localization, where even qualitative aspects of the system’s spectrum can be extremely sensitive to impurity strength. Specific circuit setups are also proposed for experimentally detecting the scale-free accumulation, with simulation results confirming our main findings.
The effect of carbonyl on the isomerization of a galanthan ring system and total synthesis of (±)-β-lycorane
Authors: Liang Leilei , Li Ji , Shen Baochun , Zhang Yili , Liu Jianping , Chen Jingbo , Liu Dandan
Published: March 2021

Lycorine-type alkaloids are privileged structures in drug development due to their attractive biological activities.
Chiral self-sorting of active semiflexible filaments with intrinsic curvature
Authors: Moore Jeffrey M. , Glaser Matthew A. , Betterton Meredith D.
Published: March 2021

Many-body interactions in systems of active matter can cause particles to move collectively and self-organize into dynamic structures with long-range order.
Complex coacervation and metal–ligand bonding as synergistic design elements for aqueous viscoelastic materials
Authors: Filippov Alexei D. , Sprakel Joris , Kamperman Marleen
Published: March 2021

Metal-ligand bonds work together with a pair of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes to extend the viscoelastic repertoire of complex coacervates.
Competition between activation energy and migration entropy in lithium ion conduction in superionic NASICON-type Li1−3xGaxZr2(PO4)3
Authors: Duan Shanshan , Huang Can , Liu Min , Cao Zhiwen , Tian Xiaocong , Hou Shuen , Li Jiangyu , Huang Boyuan , Jin Hongyun
Published: March 2021

Enhanced prefactor is responsible for the enhanced ionic conductivities in solid state electrolytes, while Ga doping is effective in increasing the migration entropy.
Highly efficient room-temperature organic afterglow achieved by collaboration of luminescent dimeric TADF dopants and rigid matrices
Authors: Zhou Bei , Wang Guangming , Wang Xuepu , Guo Wang , Li Junbo , Zhang Kaka
Published: March 2021

Dopant–matrix systems of difluoroboron β-diketonate TADF emitters and rigid crystalline tetralone matrices display greenish yellow afterglow emission that can last for 4 s and possess an afterglow quantum yield up to 26% under ambient conditions.
Catalysis-induced performance enhancement of an electrochemical microcystin-LR aptasensor based on cobalt-based oxide on a B, N co-doped graphene hydrogel
Authors: Yuan Ruishuang , Wen Zuorui , You Fuheng , Jiang Ding , Wang Kun
Published: March 2021

An electrochemical sensor based on a 3D cobalt-based oxide modified boron and nitrogen co-doped graphene hydrogel exhibited excellent sensitivity and catalytic induction properties.
Precise regulation of the properties of hydrophobic carbon dots by manipulating the structural features of precursor ionic liquids
Authors: Guo Tingting , Wang Xiaojuan , Zhao Chenxi , Shu Yang , Wang Jianhua
Published: March 2021

An increase in the alkyl chain length in 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide led to remarkable variation of the physicochemical and biological properties and imaging performance of the resultant hydrophobic carbon dots.
Phenylboronic acid-functionalized polyaminoglycoside as an effective CRISPR/Cas9 delivery system
Authors: Shao Meiyu , Qi Yu , Sui Dandan , Xu Fu-Jian
Published: March 2021

One tumor-targeting, phenylboronic acid-functionalized polyaminoglycoside (SS-HPT-P) was proposed as a safe and effective CRISPR/Cas9 delivery system for the treatment of carcinoma.
In situ sulfidation of porous sponge-like CuO/SiW11Co into Cu2S/SiW11Co as stabilized and efficient counter electrode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Zhang Qiu , Jin Lu , Zhang Yuekun , Zhang Tingting , Li Fengyan , Xu Lin
Published: March 2021

The assembled CdS/CdSe/ZnS QDSSC with Cu2S/2%-SiW11Co CE prepared by in situ sulfidation shows enhanced stability and efficiency (5.94%) compared with QDSSC equipped with conventional Cu2S/brass CE (4.96%).
Field-induced slow magnetic relaxation and magnetocaloric effects in an oxalato-bridged gadolinium(iii)-based 2D MOF
Authors: Orts-Arroyo Marta , Rabelo Renato , Carrasco-Berlanga Ainoa , Moliner Nicolás , Cano Joan , Julve Miguel , Lloret Francesc , De Munno Giovanni , Ruiz-García Rafael , Mayans Júlia , Martínez-Lillo José , Castro Isabel
Published: March 2021

Field-induced SIM behaviour and remarkable cryomagnetic properties coexist in a well-known oxalato-bridged gadolinium(iii)-based 2D MOF.
Reversible photochromic properties of 4,5,6-triaryl-4H-pyran derivatives in a solid state
Authors: Xie Yufeng , Wang Zhiqiang , Wang Dan , Zhou Yunbing , Lei Yunxiang , Gao Wenxia , Liu Miaochang , Huang Xiaobo , Wu Huayue
Published: March 2021

4,5,6-Triaryl-4H-pyran derivatives were reported to exhibit reversible solid-state photochromic phenomena with high-contrast, short response time, and excellent fatigue resistance upon UV-light and white-light irradiations.
Supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) as enhancers of antimicrobial agents towards Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Authors: Boles Jessica E. , Ellaby Rebecca J. , Shepherd Helena J. , Hiscock Jennifer R.
Published: March 2021

Using supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) and antimicrobial/therapeutic agents as combination therapies that lead to increased efficacy against Escherichia coli.
Clinical Experiences of School-Based Clinicians With Stuttering: A Mixed Methods Survey
Authors: Panico James , Daniels Derek E. , Yarzebinski Charity , Hughes Charles D.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical experiences of school-based speech-language pathologists related to stuttering by exploring common clinical situations and challenges speech-language pathologists face when working with individuals who stutter and their families.

Method

This study utilized a mixed method survey design. A total of 200 participants completed an anonymous survey consisting of closed- and open-ended questions regarding knowledge for different age groups (preschool, school-age, adolescent), and confidence in assessment and treatment skills with stuttering.

Results

Findings revealed that participants generally were least comfortable assessing and treating preschoolers who stutter. Furthermore, qualitative analysis revealed a variety of common and challenging clinical scenarios across all three age levels.

Conclusions

Overall, it is important to recognize that school-based clinicians have varying experiences and perspectives when working with children who stutter. Several factors may contribute to this including academic and clinical training in stuttering. Future research is also discussed.
Adaptive decentralised control for large‐scale non‐linear non‐strict‐feedback interconnected systems with time‐varying asymmetric output constraints and dead‐zone inputs
Authors: Wang Xiao‐Mei , Feng Zhi‐Guang , Zhang Guang‐Ju , Niu Ben , Yang Dong , Hayat Tasawar , Alsaadi Fuad E.
Published: March 2021

This study investigatesthe neural‐network (NN)‐based adaptive decentralised controller design issue for a class of large‐scale non‐linear non‐strict‐feedback interconnected systems with time‐varying asymmetric output constraints and dead‐zone inputs. The existences of the non‐strict‐feedback structure, time‐varying asymmetric output constraints, and dead‐zone inputs lead to the construction of the controller of each subsystem is very difficult. By applying the inherent property of Gaussian functions employed in radical basis function NNs, the non‐strict‐feedback structure is skillfully handled, and the adaptive backstepping method is used to construct the desired controllers of all subsystems. Furthermore, Lyapunov stability analysis shows that all the signals of the closed‐loop system are ultimately bounded, and each subsystem output can converge to an arbitrarily small and predefined time‐varying range with the corresponding constraint is always satisfied by employing a barrier Lyapunov function. Finally, simulation results based on a practical example prove the effectiveness of the proposed design strategy.
H∞ leader‐based consensus of non‐linear multi‐agents over switching graphs and disturbances using multiple Lyapunov functions
Authors: Ahsan Razaq Muhammad , Rehan Muhammad , Tahir Fatima , Chadli Mohammed
Published: March 2021

This study deals with the multiple Lyapunov functions approach for the robust leader‐following consensus of one‐sided Lipschitz (OSL) multiagents, connected via switching topologies under external disturbances. Disturbances have been accounted for followers, connected via a directed graph with a spanning tree from the leader root. The authors stipulate two consensus protocols, based on the absence or existence of norm‐bounded reference input to the leader, and provide matrix inequalities for designing the parameters of consensus controllers. In the presence of bounded disturbances, the proposed protocol ensures consensus criterion for minimisation of the effect of disturbances to the consensus error between the leader and followers. A remedy for striking robustness against external perturbations has been provided in the present work in contrast to the conventional consensus schemes on OSL agents. Switching OSL mobile agents and aircraft carriers consisting of a leader and five followers have been simulated in the existence of reference input and disturbances to demonstrate the empirical proficiency of the consensus protocol schemes.
Space‐vector state dynamic model of SynRM considering self‐ and cross‐saturation and related parameter identification
Authors: Accetta Angelo , Cirrincione Maurizio , Pucci Marcello , Sferlazza Antonino
Published: March 2021

This study proposes a state formulation of the space‐vector dynamic model of the Synchronous Reluctance Motor (SynRM) considering both saturation and cross‐saturation effects. The proposed model adopts the stator currents as state variables and has been theoretically developed in both the rotor and stator reference frames. The proposed magnetic model is based on a flux versus current approach and relies on the knowledge of 11 parameters. Starting from the definition of a suitable co‐energy variation function, new flux versus current functions have been initially developed, based on the hyperbolic functions and, consequently, the static and dynamic inductance versus current functions have been deduced. The dynamic inductance functions have been derived so to fulfill the reciprocity conditions. This study presents also a technique for the estimation of the parameters of the proposed magnetic model, which is based on stand‐still tests without the need to lock the rotor. The identification process has been performed based on the minimization of a suitably defined error function including the difference between the measured and estimated stator fluxes. The proposed parameter estimation technique has been tested in both numerical simulation and experimentally on a suitably developed test set‐up, permitting the experimental validation of the proposed model.
ELT-scale elongated LGS wavefront sensing: on-sky results
Authors: Bardou Lisa , Gendron Éric , Rousset Gérard , Gratadour Damien , Basden Alastair , Bonaccini Calia Domenico , Buey Tristant , Centrone Mauro , Chemla Fanny , Gach Jean-Luc , Geng Deli , Hubert Zoltán , Laidlaw Douglas J. , Morris Timothy J. , Myers Richard M. , Osborn James , Reeves Andrew P. , Townson Matthew J. , Vidal Fabrice
Published: March 2021

Context. Laser guide stars (LGS) allow adaptive optics (AO) systems to reach greater sky coverage, especially for AO systems correcting the atmospheric turbulence on large fields of view. However LGS suffer from limitations, among which is their apparent elongation which can reach 20 arcsec when observed with large aperture telescopes such as the European Southern Observatory 39 m telescope. The consequences of this extreme elongation have been studied in simulations and laboratory experiments, although never on-sky, yet understanding and mitigating those effects is key to taking full advantage of the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) six LGS.

Aims. In this paper we study the impact of wavefront sensing with an ELT-scale elongated LGS using on-sky data obtained with the AO demonstrator CANARY on the William Herschel telescope (WHT) and the ESO Wendelstein LGS unit. CANARY simultaneously observed a natural guide star and a superimposed LGS launched from a telescope placed 40 m away from the WHT pupil.

Methods. Comparison of the wavefronts measured with each guide star allows the determination of an error breakdown of the elongated LGS wavefront sensing. With this error breakdown, we isolate the contribution of the LGS elongation and study its impact. We also investigate the effects of truncation or undersampling of the LGS spots.

Results. We successfully used the elongated LGS wavefront sensor (WFS) to drive the AO loop during on-sky operations, but it necessitated regular calibrations of the non-common path aberrations on the LGS WFS arm. In the off-line processing of the data collected on-sky we separate the error term encapsulating the impact of LGS elongation in a dynamic and quasi-static component. We measure errors varying from 0 nm to 160 nm rms for the dynamic error and we are able to link it to turbulence strength and spot elongation. The quasi-static errors are significant and vary between 20 nm and 200 nm rms depending on the conditions. They also increase by as much as 70 nm over the course of 10 m. We do not observe any impact when undersampling the spots with pixel scales as large as 1.95″, while the LGS spot full width half maximum varies from 1.7″ to 2.2″; however, significant errors appear when truncating the spots. These errors appear for fields of view smaller than 10.4″ to 15.6″, depending on the spots’ elongations. Translated to the ELT observing at zenith, elongations as long as 23.5″ must be accommodated, corresponding to a field of view of 16.3″ if the most elongated spots are put across the diagonal of the subaperture.
Open Capacitated ARC routing problem by Hybridized Ant Colony Algorithm
Authors: Kanso Bilal , Kansou Ali , Yassine Adnan
Published: March 2021

The Open Capacitated Arc Routing Problem OCARP is a well-known NP-hard real-world combinatorial optimization problem. It consists of determining optimal routes for vehicles in a given service area at a minimal cost distance. The main real application for OCARP is the Meter Reader Routing Problem (MRRP). In MRRP problem, each worker in the electric (or gas) company must visit and read the electric (or gas) meters to a set of customers by starting his route from the first customer on his visit list and finishing with the last one. The worker leaves where he wants once all the associated customers have been visited. In this paper, a metaheuristic called an Hybridized Ant Colony Algorithm (HACA) is developed and hybridized with a local search algorithm that involves the 2-opt, Swap, Relocate and Cross-exchange moves to solve OCARP problem. Computational results conducted on five different sets of OCARP-instances showed that our proposed algorithm HACA has reached good and competitive results on benchmark instances for the problem.
Antimalarial Activity of Bidens pilosa Root Extract Co-spray Dried in the Presence of β-Cyclodextrin or Aerosil:Microcrystalline Cellulose Blend
Authors: Cortés-Rojas Diego F. , Lira de Medeiros Thales , Oliveira Claudio Bruno Silva de , Rodrigues Meurer Ywlliane da Silva , Andrade-Neto Valter Ferreira de , Oliveira Wanderley P.
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this work was to evaluate if the antimalarial activity of Bidens pilosa L. root extract could be enhanced by co-spray drying with the pharmaceutical excipients blend of colloidal silicon dioxide:microcrystalline cellulose and β-cyclodextrin. The in vivo antimalarial activity of the products was evaluated in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. Acute in vivo and in vitro toxicity in S5 HeLa cells were also carried out. B. pilosa L. root extract was lyophilized and used as a control. The spray-dried preparations enhanced the survival of the infected mice compared to the lyophilized crude root extract. The Bidens extract formulations were able to inhibit up to 71% of the growth of the parasite in the lowest tested dose, being about five times more active than the crude extract, thus showing significant partial antiplasmodial activity. The dried preparations did not show signals of toxicity in both the in vitro and in vivo assays. The results showed strong evidence that the co-spray drying of B. pilosa root extract with the selected pharmaceutical excipients might stabilize the bioactive compounds and enhance its antimalarial activity compared with the lyophilized crude extract.
Extended Frontobasal Approach for Skull Base Lesions
Authors: Faheem Mohd , Kumar Raj , Prajapati Hanuman Prasad
Published: March 2021

Background Lesions involving the skull base can be approached by a variety of surgical corridors and extended frontobasal approach is one of them. It provides quite a wide exposure to lesions in the midline of anterior skull base, paranasal sinuses, and sphenoclival region.

Objective To share our experience, and list the merits and demerits, of this approach for anterior skull base lesions.

Methods A total of six cases were operated using extended frontobasal approach. Four of them were skull base tumors with extensive involvement of paranansal sinuses and extension into sellar, parasellar, and clival region. Fronto-orbital and sphenoethmoidal osteotomy provided adequate surgical access, thereby facilitating their excision. Two cases of frontonaso-orbital encephalocele with large bone defect at anterior skull base were also operated upon. Skull base repair was performed using autologous bone graft, pericranium, and fibrin glue.

Results  Gross total excision was achieved in four cases of skull base tumors with good cosmesis as transfacial access was obviated. Excision, repair, and reconstruction of two patients with frontonaso-orbital encephalocele were also done with acceptable cosmesis.

Conclusion The extended frontobasal approach is an excellent alternative for extensive anterior skull base tumors (up to posterior skull base), and also for the repair of large malformative lesions of the anterior skull base.
Glutathione Deficiency in HIV-1-Infected Children with Short Stature
Authors: Du Ping , Arpadi Stephen M. , Muscat Joshua , Richie John P.
Published: March 2021

Objective This study was aimed to determine if glutathione (GSH) deficiency occurs in children with HIV infection and whether GSH deficiency is associated with HIV-related short stature.

Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study with two age-matched comparison groups in an inner city hospital-based pediatric AIDS/HIV outpatient clinic. Ten perinatally HIV-infected children aged 6 to 49 months with short stature (height–age percentile ≤5) were studied together with age-matched 10 HIV-infected children with normal height and 10 HIV-seronegative children with normal height. Total erythrocyte GSH (GSH and GSH disulfide) levels were determined by a modification of the 5,5′-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid glutathione disulfide reductase method. Other measures included complete blood counts, lymphocyte subset analysis, plasma albumin, cholesterol, vitamins A and E, and determination of HIV disease stage.

Discussion Erythrocyte GSH levels were lower in HIV-infected children with short stature (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: 0.639 µmol/mL ± 0.189) compared with HIV-infected children with normal height (mean ± SD: 0.860 µmol/mL ± 0.358; p < 0.05) and HIV-negative controls (mean ± SD: 0.990 µmol/mL ± 0.343; p < 0.05). Plasma levels of cholesterol, albumin, and vitamins A and E did not differ between the short-stature group and either the HIV-infected normal-height group or HIV-negative controls.

Conclusion These results demonstrate a GSH deficiency in HIV-infected children with short stature and support the hypothesis that GSH balance is important in growth among HIV-infected children.
Two-community noisy Kuramoto model with general interaction strengths. II
Authors: Achterhof S. , Meylahn J. M.
Published: March 2021

We generalize the study of the noisy Kuramoto model, considered on a network of two interacting communities, to the case where the interaction strengths within and across communities are taken to be different in general. Using a geometric interpretation of the self-consistency equations developed in Paper I of this series as well as perturbation arguments, we are able to identify all solution boundaries in the phase diagram. This allows us to completely classify the phase diagram in the four-dimensional parameter space and identify all possible bifurcation points. Furthermore, we analyze the asymptotic behavior of the solution boundaries. To illustrate these results and the rich behavior of the model, we present phase diagrams for selected regions of the parameter space.
Recurrence network analysis exploring the routes to thermoacoustic instability in a Rijke tube with inverse diffusion flame
Authors: Bhattacharya Arijit , De Somnath , Mondal Sirshendu , Mukhopadhyay Achintya , Sen Swarnendu
Published: March 2021

Inverse diffusion flame (IDF) is a reliable low NOx technology that is suitable for various industrial applications including gas turbines. However, a confined IDF may exhibit thermoacoustic instability, a kind of dynamic instability, which is characterized by catastrophically large amplitude pressure oscillations. Transition to such instability for an inverse diffusion flame is less explored compared to other types of flame. In the present study, thermoacoustic instability in a Rijke tube with IDF is achieved by varying air flow rate and input power independently, and the onset of thermoacoustic instability is examined using the framework of recurrence network (RN). During the transition to thermoacoustic instability, we find new routes and two new intermediate states, here referred to as “amplitude varying aperiodic oscillations” and “low amplitude limit cycle-like oscillations.” Furthermore, we show that recurrence network analysis can be used to identify the dynamical states during the transition to thermoacoustic instability. We observe an absence of a single characteristic scale, resulting in a non-regular network even during thermoacoustic instability. Furthermore, the degree distributions of RN during combustion noise do not obey a single power law. Thus, scale-free nature is not exhibited during combustion noise. In short, recurrence network analysis shows significant differences in the topological information during combustion noise and thermoacoustic instability for IDF with those for premixed flames, reported earlier.
Seed source for plasma compression in the long wavelength infrared
Authors: Gordon D. F. , Grugan P. , Kupfer R. , Chen Y.-H. , Ting A. , Mamonau A. , Johnson L. A. , Babzien M.
Published: March 2021

Two color laser pulses are used to form an air plasma and generate broadband infrared radiation suitable as a seed for backward Raman amplification of CO2 laser pulses. Broadband radiation in the atmospheric window from 8 to 14 μm is observed. The infrared radiation is characterized using a long wavelength grating spectrometer specially designed to accept an ionizing laser filament at its input plane. The long wavelength infrared yield is greatly enhanced by chirping the drive pulse, but this affects the spectrum as well. Unidirectional pulse propagation simulations suggest that this is due in part to the dependence of the nonlinear refractive index on the pulse duration.
A supersonic laser ablation beam source with narrow velocity spreads
Authors: Aggarwal P. , Bethlem H. L. , Boeschoten A. , Borschevsky A. , Esajas K. , Hao Y. , Hoekstra S. , Jungmann K. , Marshall V. R. , Meijknecht T. B. , Mooij M. C. , Timmermans R. G. E. , Touwen A. , Ubachs W. , Willmann L. , Yin Y. , Zapara A.
Published: March 2021

A supersonic beam source for SrF and BaF molecules is constructed by combining the expansion of carrier gas (a mixture of 2% SF6 and 98% argon) from an Even–Lavie valve with laser ablation of a barium/strontium metal target at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Molecular beams with a narrow translational velocity spread are produced at relative values of Δv/v = 0.053(11) and 0.054(9) for SrF and BaF, respectively. The relative velocity spread of the beams produced in our source is lower in comparison with the results from other metal fluoride beams produced in supersonic laser ablation sources. The rotational temperature of BaF is measured to be 3.5 K. The source produces 6 × 108 and 107 molecules per steradian per pulse in the X2Σ+ (ν = 0, N = 1) state of BaF and SrF molecules, respectively, a state amenable to Stark deceleration and laser cooling.
Study of formation mechanism of double metal plasma jets in a low-current pulsed vacuum arc discharge
Authors: Tian Jia , Liu Wenzheng , Zhang Wenjun , Jiang Xitao
Published: March 2021

Plasma jet formation was studied in a vacuum arc configured with a conical cathode located inside a hollow cylindrical anode. The outside of this anode was insulated, except at a 0.4 mm diameter micropore. The grounded vacuum chamber also served as an anode. The hollow cylindrical anode was connected to the grounded chamber anode through a resistor R. 170 A 14 μs arcs were excited by a pulse generator comprised of a series connection of a 0.1 F capacitor bank charged to 12 kV, a 200 μH inductor, and a 30 Ω resistor. Two plasma jets formed during the arc discharge, one originating from the cathode tip and the other through the micropore. It was found that when R was increased from 0 Ω to 1 MΩ, (1) the plasma jet originating at the micropore weakened, (2) the peak current to the hollow cylindrical anode decreased from 73 A to 0, and (3) the peak arc current decreased from 176 A to 150 A. Plasma jet velocities for R = 0 were inferred from the difference between electron current peak times at two probes, to be 9 km/s for the plasma jet from the cathode and 27 km/s for the plasma jet at the micropore.
Effect of resistive wall on thermal quench in JET disruptions
Authors: Strauss H. ,   JET Contributors
Published: March 2021

Experimental data, simulations, and theory are presented for a JET tokamak thermal quench. The emphasis is on the timescale of the bulk plasma thermal energy loss. The simulations suggest that the thermal energy loss is caused by a resistive wall tearing mode, and experimental data are consistent with this conclusion. The timescale of the thermal quench is the inverse of the mode growth rate.
Perturbatively conserved higher nonlocal integral invariants of free-surface deep-water gravity waves
Authors: Neveu André
Published: March 2021

We exhibit a set of six explicit higher nonlocal integral invariants of free-surface deep-water gravity waves conserved in lowest nontrivial orders of perturbation in the amplitude of the surface displacement.
Effects of velocity skewness on the linear stability of the oscillatory Stokes layer
Authors: Thomas C.
Published: March 2021

The effects of velocity skewness on the oscillating Stokes layer are investigated. Linear stability characteristics for the family of velocity-skewed time-periodic flows are determined using Floquet theory. Neutral stability curves and critical parameter settings for instability and the structure of the eigenfunctions are presented. Velocity skewness establishes a stabilizing effect and increases the critical Reynolds number for the onset of linear instability to larger values than that found in the non-skewed Stokes layer. Solutions indicate that disturbances develop in the direction that the wall velocity achieves a maximum absolute value.
Population-based analysis of sociodemographic predictors, health-related quality of life and health service use associated with obstructive sleep apnoea and insomnia in Australia
Authors: Hoon E. , González-Chica D. A. , Vakulin A. , McEvoy D. , Zwar N. , Grunstein R. , Chai-Coetzer C. , Lack L. , Adams R. , Hay P. , Touyz S. , Stocks N.
Published: March 2021

Although there is growing recognition of the effects of living with sleep disorders and the important role of primary care in their identification and management, studies indicate that the detection of sleep apnoea (OSA) and insomnia may still be low. This large representative community-based study (n = 2977 adults) used logistic regression models to examine predictors of self-reported OSA and current insomnia and linear regression models to examine the association of these sleep conditions with both mental and physical components of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health service use. Overall, 5.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6–6.7) and 6.8% (95% CI 5.7–7.9) of subjects self-reported OSA (using a single-item question) and current insomnia (using two single-item questions) respectively. Many sociodemographic and lifestyle predictors for OSA and insomnia acted in different directions or showed different magnitudes of association. Both disorders had a similar adverse relationship with physical HRQoL, whereas mental HRQoL was more impaired among those with insomnia. Frequent consultations with a doctor were associated with a lower physical HRQoL across these sleep conditions; however, lower mental HRQoL among those frequently visiting a doctor was observed only among individuals with insomnia. The adverse relationship between sleep disorders and physical and mental HRQoL was substantial and should not be underestimated.
Serum myokine levels after linear and flexible non‐linear periodized resistance training in overweight sedentary women
Authors: Mahmoud Nikseresht , Mohammadreza Hafezi Ahmadi , Abdolhosein Taheri Kalani , Mehdi Nikseresht , Arent Shawn M.
Published: March 2021

This study compared the capacity of linear‐(LP) and non‐linear periodized (NLP) resistance training to improve select myokines and metabolic parameters in overweight sedentary women. An additional purpose was to compare these variables between the overweight and lean women. Fitness‐ and age‐matched overweight women between 28 and 43 years old were randomly allocated to LP (body fat [BF]% = 38.7 ± 2.6, n = 10), NLP (BF% = 39.3 ± 2.4, n = 9) and control (BF% = 39.8 ± 2.6, n = 9) groups. Lean women (BF% = 29.1 ± 2.3, n = 16) matched for age and fitness were also included for baseline comparison. Resistance training programmes (12 weeks, 3 d.wk−1, 9 exercises, 60–90% of 1‐repetition maximum [1RM]) were performed with different periodization schemes. Glucose, insulin, interleukin (IL)−7, IL‐15, and insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)−1 levels were measured at baseline and after training. Overweight subjects had significantly lower IL‐15, IGF‐1 and higher insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment, HOMA‐IR) than lean subjects at baseline (all, P < .05). IL‐15 and VO2max increased significantly after NLP compared with CON, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in HOMA‐IR (all, P < .03). Muscular endurance improved significantly in both models after training compared to CON (all, P < .01), but it increased more in NLP than in LP (P = .01). Both training protocols were equally effective at reducing BF% and increasing IGF‐1, IL‐7, muscle mass and bench press 1RM (P < .01). It appears that LP and NLP are both effective strategies for improving health markers in overweight women, but LP is not as effective as NLP to improve IL‐15, HOMA‐IR and aerobic capacity.

Highlights

Overweight women had a significantly lower IL‐15 and IGF‐1 compared to lean encounters, but no significant difference was noted for maximal strength, aerobic capacity, muscle mass, IL‐7 and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio.

Twelve weeks of either linear or flexible non‐linear periodized resistance training resulted in reduction in BF% and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, and increased IGF‐1, IL‐7, muscle mass and bench press 1RM, with no difference between the two training protocols.

Linear protocol is not as effective as non‐linear protocol to improve IL‐15, HOMA‐IR and aerobic capacity.
Vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy is driven by canonical NLRP3 activation and IL-1β release
Authors: Starobova Hana , Monteleone Mercedes , Adolphe Christelle , Batoon Lena , Sandrock Cheyenne J. , Tay Bryan , Deuis Jennifer R. , Smith Alexandra V. , Mueller Alexander , Nadar Evelyn Israel , Lawrence Grace Pamo , Mayor Amanda , Tolson Elissa , Levesque Jean-Pierre , Pettit Allison R. , Wainwright Brandon J. , Schroder Kate , Vetter Irina
Published: March 2021

Vincristine is an important component of many regimens used for pediatric and adult malignancies, but it causes a dose-limiting sensorimotor neuropathy for which there is no effective treatment. This study aimed to delineate the neuro-inflammatory mechanisms contributing to the development of mechanical allodynia and gait disturbances in a murine model of vincristine-induced neuropathy, as well as to identify novel treatment approaches. Here, we show that vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy is driven by activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and subsequent release of interleukin-1β from macrophages, with mechanical allodynia and gait disturbances significantly reduced in knockout mice lacking NLRP3 signaling pathway components, or after treatment with the NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950. Moreover, treatment with the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra prevented the development of vincristine-induced neuropathy without adversely affecting chemotherapy efficacy or tumor progression in patient-derived medulloblastoma xenograph models. These results detail the neuro-inflammatory mechanisms leading to vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy and suggest that repurposing anakinra may be an effective co-treatment strategy to prevent vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy.
An analysis of scatter characteristics in x-ray CT spectral correction
Authors: Zhang Tao , Chen Zhiqiang , Zhou Hao , Bennett N Robert , Wang Adam S , Gao Hewei
Published: March 2021

X-ray scatter remains a major physics challenge in volumetric computed tomography (CT), whose physical and statistical behaviors have been commonly leveraged in order to eliminate its impact on CT image quality. In this work, we conduct an in-depth derivation of how the scatter distribution and scatter to primary ratio (SPR) will change during the spectral correction, leading to an interesting finding on the property of scatter. Such a characterization of scatter’s behavior provides an analytic approach of compensating for the SPR as well as approximating the change of scatter distribution after spectral correction, even though both of them might be significantly distorted as the linearization mapping function in spectral correction could vary a lot from one detector pixel to another. We conduct an evaluation of SPR compensations (SPRCs) on a Catphan phantom and an anthropomorphic chest phantom to validate the characteristics of scatter. In addition, this scatter property is also directly adopted into CT imaging using a spectral modulator with flying focal spot technology (SMFFS) as an example to demonstrate its potential in practical applications. For cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans at both 80 and 120 kVp, CT images with accurate CT numbers can be achieved after spectral correction followed by the appropriate SPRC based on our presented scatter property. In the case of the SMFFS based CBCT scan of the Catphan phantom at 120 kVp, after a scatter correction using an analytic algorithm derived from the scatter property, CT image quality was significantly improved, with the averaged root mean square error reduced from 297.9 to 6.5 Hounsfield units.
Linear superposition of Wronskian rational solutions to the KdV equation
Authors: Ma Wen-Xiu
Published: March 2021

A linear superposition is studied for Wronskian rational solutions to the KdV equation, which include rogue wave solutions. It is proved that it is equivalent to a polynomial identity that an arbitrary linear combination of two Wronskian polynomial solutions with a difference two between the Wronskian orders is again a solution to the bilinear KdV equation. It is also conjectured that there is no other rational solutions among general linear superpositions of Wronskian rational solutions.
Statistical Analysis of COVID cases in India
Authors: Das Subhranil , Kumari Rashmi
Published: March 2021

The novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2(COVID 19) has been considered as pandemic in the month of February as declared by World Health Organization. The cause of Coronavirus is due to group of RNA Viruses that mainly causes diseases in animals where this disease can be transferred to humans by droplets which ultimately results to death if it is not cured at early stages. But, in India, COVID cases has begun towards the end of February as the cases has been spiked in the month of March. In this paper, a complete analysis of Statistics for COVID cases has been demonstrated till the month of August. Using Statistical Measures, inferences are being drawn on the basis of COVID data on confirmed, recovered, active as well as death cases.
An Intelligent System for Prediction of COVID-19 Case using Machine Learning Framework-Logistic Regression
Authors: Majumder Annwesha Banerjee , Gupta Somsubhra , Singh Dharmpal , Majumder Sourav
Published: March 2021

World is now at a critical condition. Covid-19 is the disease caused by corona virus newly identified [1], the pandemic affecting the human being a lot. As on date the total active cases in India are 3.23 M illion and death cases are 59,449. Many scientists and medical practitioners are working hard to fight against this, in search of proper medicine and vaccine. Research is also going on in the field of machine learning and AI to predict the spread of disease and also in identification of the presence of the virus in human body, which will help the field of medical science. In this paper we have proposed a method to identify whether a patient has risk of COVID-19 using Logistic Regression model, considering multiple symptoms.
Data Visualization to solve COVID-19
Authors: Roy Pronoy , Das Ankit , Mondal Indranil , Maity Dr. Saikat
Published: March 2021

This electronic document describes how data visualization can be used to solve problems related to Coronavirus using graphical representation of information and data. This article mentions several well-known methods to contain the coronavirus pandemic and discusses how these methods can be effectively implemented across the country. The focus has been given more to the implementation in local level than a country wide implementation. The article describes a comprehensive way to predict the next hotspot in a district wise level using projection graphs. The article also describes The Delhi model using data projection and analysis. The conclusions derived from theses analyses can be implemented effectively in district wise level to flatten the Coronavirus curve and develop herd immunity in category wise zones.