bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physiotherapy according to the BeBo Concept as prophylaxis and treatment of urinary incontinence in women after natural childbirth
Authors: Śnieżek Aneta , Czechowska Dorota , Curyło Marta , Głodzik Jacek , Szymanowski Paweł , Rojek Anna , Marchewka Anna
Published: September 2021

Pelvic floor muscle dysfunctions can lead to urinary incontinence, a condition which often affects women both during pregnancy and after childbirth. As a result of this, certain exercises are recommended during and after pregnancy to prevent and treat this incontinence, and the BeBo Concept is one of these methods used to prevent pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a 6-week course of physical therapy according to the BeBo Concept on the improvement of perineal muscle strength and endurance as well as urinary continence in women after their first vaginal delivery. The study was conducted on a group of 56 women who were randomly assigned to the exercise (n = 30) or control (n = 26) group. The exercising group participated in a 6-week physical therapy program according to the BeBo Concept. Pelvic floor muscles were assessed using the perineometer and palpation Perfect Test. UDI6 and ICIQ-SF questionnaires were used to obtain information about the symptoms of urinary incontinence, evaluate the frequency, severity and impact of urine leakage on the quality of life. In all women after natural childbirth, regardless of treatment, it was observed that measured parameters improved, but the improvement was slightly more explicit in those who participated in the Bebo Concept exercise group (e.g. ICIQ-SF exercise groupp = 0.001, control groupp = 0.035). Due to its positive impact on the pelvic floor, this exercise program should be recommended to women after natural childbirth.
Structural equation model of the effect of biological maturation on metabolic syndrome risk and C-reactive protein: effect of trunk fat and sports participation
Authors: Werneck André O. , Ronque Enio R. V. , Fernandes Rômulo A.
Published: September 2021

Our aim was to analyze the association between somatic maturation and alterations in metabolic syndrome (METs) risk and C-reactive protein (CRP), focusing on the effect of changes in trunk fat and sports practice. This was a longitudinal study with a one-year follow-up. The sample was composed of 139 adolescents (46 without sports participation and 93 young athletes), aged 10–17 years. As outcomes, we adopted CRP and METs risk (triglycerides, HDL-c, fasting glucose, and mean blood pressure). Somatic maturation was estimated using Mirwald’s method. Structural equation models were used. Somatic maturation was not associated with sports practice, trunk fat, METs risk neither CRP. Sports practice was associated with a reduction in METs risk (β = −0.926; 95%CI:−1.773, −0.080) and reduction in trunk fat (−10.957; −19.630, −2.283), which was associated with increases in METs risk (0.020; 0.004, 0.036). In the CRP model, sports practice was associated with a reduction in trunk fat (−10.324; −18.637, −2.010), which in turn was associated with a reduction in CRP (0.007; 0.001, 0.013). Sports practice and lower trunk adiposity were associated with reductions in trunk fat, METs risk, and CRP through direct and indirect pathways. Our findings highlight the role of sports practice in attenuating the negative effect of trunk adiposity.
Obesity, not a high fat, high sucrose diet alone, induced glucose intolerance and cardiac dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum
Authors: Chung Eunhee , Gonzalez Kassandra , Ullevig Sarah L. , Zhang John , Umeda Masataka
Published: September 2021

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Nearly 60% of women of reproductive age are considered overweight or obese, cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality continue to be pervasive. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of an obesogenic diet on the cardiometabolic health of dams during pregnancy and postpartum. Female mice were fed either a high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HFHS) or a refined control diet (CON) for 8 weeks before initiation of pregnancy and throughout the study period. Mice in the HFHS showed two distinct phenotypes, obesity-prone (HFHS/OP) and obesity resistance (HFHS/OR). Pre-pregnancy obesity (HFHS/OP) induced glucose intolerance before pregnancy and during postpartum. Systolic function indicated by the percent fractional shortening (%FS) was significantly decreased in the HFHS/OP at late pregnancy (vs. HFHS/OR) and weaning (vs. CON), but no differences were found at 6 weeks of postpartum among groups. No induction of pathological cardiac hypertrophy markers was found during postpartum. Plasma adiponectin was decreased while total cholesterol was increased in the HFHS/OP. Our results suggested that obesity, not the diet alone, negatively affected cardiac adaptation during pregnancy and postpartum.
Compromised anti-tumor–immune features of myeloid cell components in chronic myeloid leukemia patients
Authors: Harada Ibuki , Sasaki Haruka , Murakami Koichi , Nishiyama Akira , Nakabayashi Jun , Ichino Motohide , Miyazaki Takuya , Kumagai Ken , Matsumoto Kenji , Hagihara Maki , Kawase Wataru , Tachibana Takayoshi , Tanaka Masatsugu , Saito Tomoyuki , Kanamori Heiwa , Fujita Hiroyuki , Fujisawa Shin , Nakajima Hideaki , Tamura Tomohiko
Published: September 2021

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a form of myeloproliferative neoplasm caused by the oncogenic tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL. Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors have dramatically improved the prognosis of patients with CML, several problems such as resistance and recurrence still exist. Immunological control may contribute to solving these problems, and it is important to understand why CML patients fail to spontaneously develop anti-tumor immunity. Here, we show that differentiation of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs), which are vital for anti-tumor immunity, is restricted from an early stage of hematopoiesis in CML. In addition, we found that monocytes and basophils, which are increased in CML patients, express high levels of PD-L1, an immune checkpoint molecule that inhibits T cell responses. Moreover, RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that basophils express genes related to poor prognosis in CML. Our data suggest that BCR-ABL not only disrupts the “accelerator” (i.e., cDCs) but also applies the “brake” (i.e., monocytes and basophils) of anti-tumor immunity, compromising the defense against CML cells.
mRNA analysis identifies deep intronic variants causing Alport syndrome and overcomes the problem of negative results of exome sequencing
Authors: Wang Xiaoyuan , Zhang Yanqin , Ding Jie , Wang Fang
Published: September 2021

Mutations in COL4A3, COL4A4 and COL4A5 genes lead to Alport syndrome (AS). However, pathogenic variants in some AS patients are not detected by exome sequencing. The aim of this study was to identify the underlying genetic causes of five unrelated AS probands with negative next-generation sequencing (NGS) test results. Urine COL4A3–5 mRNAs were analyzed in the probands with an uncertain inherited mode of AS, and COL4A5 mRNA of skin fibroblasts was analyzed in the probands with X-linked AS. RT-PCR and direct sequencing were performed to detect mRNA abnormalities. PCR and direct sequencing were used to analyze the exons with flanking intronic sequences corresponding to mRNA abnormalities. Six novel deep intronic splicing variants in COL4A4 and COL4A5 genes that cannot be captured by exome sequencing were identified in the four AS probands. Skipping of an exon was caused by an intronic variant, and retention of an intron fragment caused by five variants. In the remaining AS proband, COL4A5 variants c.2677 + 646 C > T and r.2678_r.2767del were detected at the DNA and RNA level, respectively, whereas it is unclear whether c.2677 + 646 C > T may not lead to r.2678_r.2767del. Our results reveal that mRNA analysis for AS genes from either urine or skin fibroblasts can resolve genetic diagnosis in AS patients with negative NGS results. We recommend analyzing COL4A3–5 mRNA from urine as the first choice for these patients because it is feasible and non-invasive.
A multi-scale gated multi-head attention depthwise separable CNN model for recognizing COVID-19
Authors: Hong Geng , Chen Xiaoyan , Chen Jianyong , Zhang Miao , Ren Yumeng , Zhang Xinyu
Published: September 2021

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a new acute respiratory disease that has spread rapidly throughout the world. In this paper, a lightweight convolutional neural network (CNN) model named multi-scale gated multi-head attention depthwise separable CNN (MGMADS-CNN) is proposed, which is based on attention mechanism and depthwise separable convolution. A multi-scale gated multi-head attention mechanism is designed to extract effective feature information from the COVID-19 X-ray and CT images for classification. Moreover, the depthwise separable convolution layers are adopted as MGMADS-CNN’s backbone to reduce the model size and parameters. The LeNet-5, AlexNet, GoogLeNet, ResNet, VGGNet-16, and three MGMADS-CNN models are trained, validated and tested with tenfold cross-validation on X-ray and CT images. The results show that MGMADS-CNN with three attention layers (MGMADS-3) has achieved accuracy of 96.75% on X-ray images and 98.25% on CT images. The specificity and sensitivity are 98.06% and 96.6% on X-ray images, and 98.17% and 98.05% on CT images. The size of MGMADS-3 model is only 43.6 M bytes. In addition, the detection speed of MGMADS-3 on X-ray images and CT images are 6.09 ms and 4.23 ms for per image, respectively. It is proved that the MGMADS-3 can detect and classify COVID-19 faster with higher accuracy and efficiency.
COVID-19 impact on global maritime mobility
Authors: Millefiori Leonardo M. , Braca Paolo , Zissis Dimitris , Spiliopoulos Giannis , Marano Stefano , Willett Peter K. , Carniel Sandro
Published: September 2021

To prevent the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many countries around the world went into lockdown and imposed unprecedented containment measures. These restrictions progressively produced changes to social behavior and global mobility patterns, evidently disrupting social and economic activities. Here, using maritime traffic data collected via a global network of Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers, we analyze the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures had on the shipping industry, which accounts alone for more than 80% of the world trade. We rely on multiple data-driven maritime mobility indexes to quantitatively assess ship mobility in a given unit of time. The mobility analysis here presented has a worldwide extent and is based on the computation of: Cumulative Navigated Miles (CNM) of all ships reporting their position and navigational status via AIS, number ofactiveandidleships, and fleet average speed. To highlight significant changes in shipping routes and operational patterns, we also compute and compare global and local vessel density maps. We compare 2020 mobility levels to those of previous years assuming that an unchanged growth rate would have been achieved, if not for COVID-19. Following the outbreak, we find an unprecedented drop in maritime mobility, across all categories of commercial shipping. With few exceptions, a generally reduced activity is observable from March to June 2020, when the most severe restrictions were in force. We quantify a variation of mobility between −5.62 and −13.77% for container ships, between +2.28 and −3.32% for dry bulk, between −0.22 and −9.27% for wet bulk, and between −19.57 and −42.77% for passenger traffic. The presented study is unprecedented for the uniqueness and completeness of the employed AIS dataset, which comprises a trillion AIS messages broadcast worldwide by 50,000 ships, a figure that closely parallels the documented size of the world merchant fleet.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Study the effect of static magnetic field intensity on drug delivery by magnetic nanoparticles
Authors: Moghanizadeh Abbas , Ashrafizadeh Fakhreddin , Varshosaz Jaleh , Ferreira Antoine
Published: September 2021

Employing the magnets in therapy has a long history of treating diseases, and currently new applications such as drug delivery by magnetic nanoparticles are gaining more attention. This research tried to study the effect of static magnetic field intensity on drug delivery by magnetic nanoparticles carrying thrombolytic agents. In this research, Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles carrying streptokinase were applied. The efficiency of thrombolysis and micro-CT-scan images are utilized to study the effect of different magnetic fields (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 T) on thrombolysis. The results confirm that increasing the static magnetic field intensity accelerated the thrombolysis. Increasing the intensity of the magnetic field from 0.1 to 0.3 T leads to an increase in clot dissolution rate from 55 to 89%, respectively. Moreover, micro-CT-scan images revealed that magnetic nanoparticles carrying a thrombolytic agent penetrated deeper into the mesh-like structure of clot as the magnetic field intensities increased, which could lead to further dissolution of the clot.
Macrophage-derived interleukin-6 is necessary and sufficient for choroidal angiogenesis
Authors: Droho Steven , Cuda Carla M. , Perlman Harris , Lavine Jeremy A.
Published: September 2021

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) commonly causes vision loss from aberrant angiogenesis, termed choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Interleukin-6 (IL6) is a pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic cytokine that is correlated with AMD progression and nAMD activity. We hypothesize that anti-IL6 therapy is a potential nAMD therapeutic. We found that IL6 levels were increased after laser injury and expressed by macrophages. Il6-deficiency decreased laser-induced CNV area and exogenous IL6 addition increased choroidal sprouting angiogenesis. Il6-null mice demonstrated equally increased macrophage numbers as wildtype mice. At steady state, IL6R expression was detected on peripheral blood and ocular monocytes. After laser injury, the number of IL6R+Ly6C+ monocytes in blood and IL6R+ macrophages in the eye were increased. In human choroid, macrophages expressed IL6, IL6R, and IL6ST. Furthermore, IL6R+ macrophages displayed a transcriptional profile consistent with STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) activation and angiogenesis. Our data show that IL6 is both necessary and sufficient for choroidal angiogenesis. Macrophage-derived IL6 may stimulate choroidal angiogenesis via classical activation of IL6R+ macrophages, which then stimulate angiogenesis. Targeting IL6 or the IL6R could be an effective adjunctive therapy for treatment-resistant nAMD patients.
Contribution of interaction force to the sense of hand ownership and the sense of hand agency
Authors: Akselrod Michel , Vigaru Bogdan , Duenas Julio , Martuzzi Roberto , Sulzer James , Serino Andrea , Blanke Olaf , Gassert Roger
Published: September 2021

When performing willed actions, we have the unified and coherent experience of owning and controlling our body. Body ownership is believed to emerge from the integration of coherent multisensory signals, while agency is believed to emerge from the coherence between predicted and perceived outcomes of actions. As a consequence, body ownership and agency can both be modulated by multisensory conflicts. The contribution of active movement generation to ownership and agency has not been parametrically explored. Here, we investigated the contribution of interaction force between the agent and the environment to the sense of hand ownership (SO) and the sense of hand agency (SA). By combining robotics and virtual reality, we manipulated the sensorimotor and visual information during immersive scenarios to induce and quantify altered states of SO and SA. First, we demonstrated that SO and SA could be successfully manipulated by our experimental paradigms. Second, we showed that interaction force strongly contributes to SA, but to a lesser extent to SO. Finally, we showed that SO and SA interact beyond their common multisensory basis. Our results, based on two independent studies, provide a direct link between sensorimotor interactions and subjective body experience and demonstrate a new dissociation between SO and SA.
Leukotoxin (LtxA/Leukothera) induces ATP expulsion via pannexin-1 channels and subsequent cell death in malignant lymphocytes
Authors: Prince Derek J. , Patel Deendayal , Kachlany Scott C.
Published: September 2021

Leukotoxin (LtxA) (Trade name, Leukothera) is a protein that is secreted from the oral bacterium Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, which targets and kills activated white blood cells (WBCs) by binding to lymphocyte function associated antigen-1 (LFA-1). Interaction between LtxA and Jurkat T-cells results in cell death and is characterized by increased intracellular Ca2+, activation of caspases, clustering of LtxA and LFA-1 within lipid rafts, and involvement of the Fas death receptor. Here, we show that LtxA can kill malignant lymphocytes via apoptotic and necrotic forms of cell death. We show that LtxA causes activation of caspases and PARP, cleavage of pannexin-1 (Panx1) channels, and expulsion of ATP, ultimately leading to cell death via apoptosis and necrosis. CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knockout (K/O) of Panx1 in Jurkat cells prevented ATP expulsion and resulted in resistance to LtxA for both apoptotic and necrotic forms of death. Resistance to necrosis could only be overcome when supplementing LtxA with endogenous ATP (bzATP). The combination of LtxA and bzATP promoted only necrosis, as no Panx1 K/O cells stained positive for phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure following the combined treatment. Inhibition of LtxA/bzATP-induced necrosis was possible when pretreating Jurkat cells with oATP, a P2X7R antagonist. Similarly, blockage of P2X7Rs with oATP prevented the intracellular mobilization of Ca2+, an important early step in LtxA induced cell death. We show that LtxA is able to kill malignant lymphocytes through an apoptotic death pathway which is potentially linked to a Panx1/P2X7R mediated necrotic form of death. Thus, inhibition of ATP release appears to significantly delay the onset of LtxA induced apoptosis while completely disabling the necrotic death pathway in T-lymphocytes, demonstrating the crucial role of ATP release in LtxA-mediated cell death.
A novel method for extraction, quantification, and identification of microplastics in CreamType of cosmetic products
Authors: Lee Soohyun , Lee Tai Gyu
Published: September 2021

The objective of this study was to develop an accessible and accurate analysis method for microplastics that have been unintentionally added to cream cosmetic products. An experiment was performed on three cleansing creams in rich and viscous formulations. A spiked sample was prepared by adding polyethylene (PE) microspheres to the cleansing creams. After removing cosmetic ingredients from the creams using chemical digestion, damage to the PE microspheres was identified using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images were obtained before and after digestion and used to characterize the morphology of the PE microspheres. The highest digestion efficiency was obtained using a chemical digestion method consisting of heating and stirring a sample in a 10 wt% KOH solution at 55 °C and 300 rpm for 5 days and did not damage the PE microspheres. The Nile red (9-diethylamino-5H-benzo[α]phenoxazine-5-one) staining method was effective in identifying small microplastics (< 106 μm). The optimal staining conditions are 5 μg/ml Nile red in n-hexane for green wavelengths.
Frequency and polarization emission properties of a photon-pair source based on a photonic crystal fiber
Authors: De la Torre-Robles Daniel , Dominguez-Serna Francisco , Osorio Gisell Lorena , U’Ren Alfred B. , Bermudez David , Garay-Palmett Karina
Published: September 2021

In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a photon-pair source with correlations in the frequency and polarization degrees of freedom. We base our source on the spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) process in a photonic crystal fiber. We show theoretically that the two-photon state is the coherent superposition of up to six distinct SFWM processes, each corresponding to a distinct combination of polarizations for the four waves involved and giving rise to an energy-conserving pair of peaks. Our experimental measurements, both in terms of single and coincidence counts, confirm the presence of these pairs of peaks, while we also present related numerical simulations with excellent experiment-theory agreement. We explicitly show how the pump frequency and polarization may be used to effectively control the signal-idler photon-pair properties, defining which of the six processes can participate in the overall two-photon state and at which optical frequencies. We analyze the signal-idler correlations in frequency and polarization, and in terms of fiber characterization, we input the SFWM-peak experimental data into a genetic algorithm which successfully predicts the values of the parameters that characterize the fiber cross section, as well as predict the particular SFWM process associated with a given pair of peaks. We believe our work will help advance the exploitation of photon-pair correlations in the frequency and polarization degrees of freedom.
Continued need for non-pharmaceutical interventions after COVID-19 vaccination in long-term-care facilities
Authors: Love Jay , Keegan Lindsay T. , Angulo Frederick J. , McLaughlin John M. , Shea Kimberly M. , Swerdlow David L. , Samore Matthew H. , Toth Damon J. A.
Published: September 2021

Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) bear disproportionate burden of COVID-19 and are prioritized for vaccine deployment. LTCF outbreaks could continue occurring during vaccine rollout due to incomplete population coverage, and the effect of vaccines on viral transmission are currently unknown. Declining adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) against within-facility transmission could therefore limit the effectiveness of vaccination. We built a stochastic model to simulate outbreaks in LTCF populations with differing vaccination coverage and NPI adherence to evaluate their interacting effects. Vaccination combined with strong NPI adherence produced the least morbidity and mortality. Healthcare worker vaccination improved outcomes in unvaccinated LTCF residents but was less impactful with declining NPI adherence. To prevent further illness and deaths, there is a continued need for NPIs in LTCFs during vaccine rollout.
Seedbank persistence and emergence pattern of Argemone mexicana, Rapistrum rugosum and Sonchus oleraceus in the eastern grain region of Australia
Authors: Manalil Sudheesh , Chauhan Bhagirath Singh
Published: September 2021

A thorough understanding of the emergence pattern and persistence of weed seeds is a prerequisite in framing appropriate weed management options for noxious weeds. In a study conducted at the University of Queensland, Australia, the emergence and seed persistence behavior of three major weeds Sonchus oleraceous, Rapistrum rugosum, and Argemone mexicana were explored with seeds collected from Gatton and St George, Queensland, Australia, with an average annual rainfall of 760 and 470 mm, respectively. Seed persistence was evaluated by placing seeds at the surface layer (0 cm) or buried at 2 and 10 cm depths enclosed in nylon mesh bags and examined their viability for 42 months. In another study, the emergence pattern of four populations, each from these two locations, was evaluated under a rainfed environment in trays. In the mesh-bag study, rapid depletion of seed viability of S. oleraceous from the surface layer (within 18 months) and lack of seed persistence beyond two years from 2 and 10 cm depths were observed. In trays, S. oleraceous germinated 3 months after seeding in response to summer rains and there was progressive germination throughout the winter season reaching cumulative germination ranging from 22 to 29% for all the populations. In the mesh-bag study, it took about 30 months for the viability of seeds of R. rugosum to deplete at the surface layer and a proportion of seeds (5 to 13%) remained viable at 2 and 10 cm depths even at 42 months. Although fresh seeds of R. rugosum exhibit dormancy imposed due to the hard seed coat, a proportion of seeds germinated during the summer months in response to summer rains. Rapid loss of seed viability was observed for A. mexicana from the surface layer; however, more than 30% of the seeds were persistent at 2 and 10 cm depths at 42 months. Notably, poor emergence was observed for A. mexicana in trays and that was mostly confined to the winter season.
Blunted cardiovascular reactivity may serve as an index of psychological task disengagement in the motivated performance situations
Authors: Behnke Maciej , Hase Adrian , Kaczmarek Lukasz D. , Freeman Paul
Published: September 2021

Challenge and threat models predict that once individuals become engaged with performance, their evaluations and cardiovascular response determine further outcomes. Although the role of challenge and threat in predicting performance has been extensively tested, few studies have focused on task engagement. We aimed to investigate task engagement in performance at the psychological and physiological levels. We accounted for physiological task engagement by examining blunted cardiovascular reactivity, the third possible cardiovascular response to performance, in addition to the challenge/threat responses. We expected that low psychological task engagement would be related to blunted cardiovascular reactivity during the performance. Gamers (N = 241) completed five matches of the soccer video game FIFA 19. We recorded psychological task engagement, heart rate reactivity, and the difference between goals scored and conceded. Lower psychological task engagement was related to blunted heart rate reactivity during the performance. Furthermore, poorer performance in the previous game was related to increased task engagement in the subsequent match. The findings extend existing literature by providing initial evidence that blunted cardiovascular reactivity may serve as the index of low task engagement.
Bivalent ligands promote endosomal trafficking of the dopamine D3 receptor-neurotensin receptor 1 heterodimer
Authors: Budzinski Julian , Maschauer Simone , Kobayashi Hiroyuki , Couvineau Pierre , Vogt Hannah , Gmeiner Peter , Roggenhofer Anna , Prante Olaf , Bouvier Michel , Weikert Dorothee
Published: September 2021

Bivalent ligands are composed of two pharmacophores connected by a spacer of variable size. These ligands are able to simultaneously recognize two binding sites, for example in a G protein-coupled receptor heterodimer, resulting in enhanced binding affinity. Taking advantage of previously described heterobivalent dopamine-neurotensin receptor ligands, we demonstrate specific interactions between dopamine D3 (D3R) and neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1), two receptors with expression in overlapping brain areas that are associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and addiction. Bivalent ligand binding to D3R-NTSR1 dimers results in picomolar binding affinity and high selectivity compared to the binding to monomeric receptors. Specificity of the ligands for the D3R-NTSR1 receptor pair over D2R-NTSR1 dimers can be achieved by a careful choice of the linker length. Bivalent ligands enhance and stabilize the receptor-receptor interaction leading to NTSR1-controlled internalization of D3R into endosomes via recruitment of β-arrestin, highlighting a potential mechanism for dimer-specific receptor trafficking and signalling.
Selective feeding in Southern Ocean key grazers—diet composition of krill and salps
Authors: Pauli Nora-Charlotte , Metfies Katja , Pakhomov Evgeny A. , Neuhaus Stefan , Graeve Martin , Wenta Philipp , Flintrop Clara M. , Badewien Thomas H. , Iversen Morten H. , Meyer Bettina
Published: September 2021

Over the past decades, two key grazers in the Southern Ocean (SO), krill and salps, have experienced drastic changes in their distribution and abundance, leading to increasing overlap of their habitats. Both species occupy different ecological niches and long-term shifts in their distributions are expected to have cascading effects on the SO ecosystem. However, studies directly comparing krill and salps are lacking. Here, we provide a direct comparison of the diet and fecal pellet composition of krill and salps using 18S metabarcoding and fatty acid markers. Neither species’ diet reflected the composition of the plankton community, suggesting that in contrast to the accepted paradigm, not only krill but also salps are selective feeders. Moreover, we found that krill and salps had broadly similar diets, potentially enhancing the competition between both species. This could be augmented by salps’ ability to rapidly reproduce in favorable conditions, posing further risks to krill populations.
Historical land use has long-term effects on microbial community assembly processes in forest soils
Authors: Osburn Ernest D , Aylward Frank O , Barrett J E
Published: September 2021

Land use change has long-term effects on the structure of soil microbial communities, but the specific community assembly processes underlying these effects have not been identified. To investigate effects of historical land use on microbial community assembly, we sampled soils from several currently forested watersheds representing different historical land management regimes (e.g., undisturbed reference, logged, converted to agriculture). We characterized bacterial and fungal communities using amplicon sequencing and used a null model approach to quantify the relative importance of selection, dispersal, and drift processes on bacterial and fungal community assembly. We found that bacterial communities were structured by both selection and neutral (i.e., dispersal and drift) processes, while fungal communities were structured primarily by neutral processes. For both bacterial and fungal communities, selection was more important in historically disturbed soils compared with adjacent undisturbed sites, while dispersal processes were more important in undisturbed soils. Variation partitioning identified the drivers of selection to be changes in vegetation communities and soil properties (i.e., soil N availability) that occur following forest disturbance. Overall, this study casts new light on the effects of historical land use on soil microbial communities by identifying specific environmental factors that drive changes in community assembly.
Carboxyboranylamino ethanol: unprecedented discovery of boron agents for neutron capture therapy in cancer treatment
Authors: Zhu Yinghuai , Cai Jianghong , Hosmane Narayan S. , Suzuki Minoru , Uno Kazuko , Zhang Yingjun , Takagaki Mao
Published: September 2021

Carboxyboranylamino ethanol is cell membrane permeable and has low cytotoxicity. It shows high molecular docking scores and improved antitumor efficacy in vitro.
Fragment evolution for GPCRs: the role of secondary binding sites in optimization
Authors: Chevillard Florent , Kelemen Ádám , Baker Jillian G. , Aranyodi Vivien A. , Balzer Frank , Kolb Peter , Keserű György M.
Published: September 2021

Our protocol evaluated 13 000 allosteric extensions for orthosteric β1 and β2 receptor binding fragments, identified the best bitopic ligands and confirmed the role of the secondary binding pocket to both potency and selectivity optimizations.
Enhanced blue photoluminescence and photostability of Cs3Bi2Br9 perovskite quantum dots via surface passivation with silver ions
Authors: Li Tianfeng , Ma Jicun , Qiao Mengdi , Kuang Yanmin , He Yulu , Ran Xia , Guo Lijun , Wang Xiaojuan
Published: September 2021

A facile and effective method is demonstrated to prepare highly stable Ag–Cs3Bi2Br9 QDs. The PLQY of Cs3Bi2Br9 QDs has been enhanced to 34.2% via passivation of Ag ions, and the PL intensity is still about 90% under 80 min UV irradiation.
Concluding remarks: current and next generation MOFs
Authors: Yao Ming-Shui , Otake Ken-ichi , Xue Zi-Qian , Kitagawa Susumu
Published: September 2021

The theme, “MOFs for energy and the environment”, reflects the ongoing evolution of MOFs from simply network chemistry to the chemistry of synergistic integration with heterogeneous materials involving other disciplines (the fourth generation type).
Sustainable advances in SLA/DLP 3D printing materials and processes
Authors: Maines Erin M. , Porwal Mayuri K. , Ellison Christopher J. , Reineke Theresa M.
Published: September 2021

The 3D printing market is booming in various sectors coupled with an alarming increase in 3D printed plastic waste. This review summarizes sustainable advances in SLA/DLP plastic 3D printing to date and offers a perspective for further developments.
Quantification of sulphur in copper and copper alloys by GDMS and LA-ICP-MS, demonstrating metrological traceability to the international system of units
Authors: Phukphatthanachai Pranee , Panne Ulrich , Traub Heike , Pfeifer Jens , Vogl Jochen
Published: September 2021

The quantification of the sulphur mass fraction in pure copper and copper alloys by GDMS and LA-ICP-MS revealed a lack of traceability mainly due to a lack of suitable certified reference materials for calibrating the instruments.
Design of non-transition-metal-doped nanoribbon catalysis to achieve efficient nitrogen fixation
Authors: Qu Jiale , Feng Xiang , Wang Tianshuai , Li Ziqi , Lin Chao , Liu Xiaopeng , Legut Dominik , Zhang Qianfan
Published: September 2021

The high percentage of N2 in the air can provide an abundant nitrogen source for the ammonia industry.
Adsorption of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as potential drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infection on BC3 nanosheets: a DFT study
Authors: Rahimi Rezvan , Solimannejad Mohammad , Farghadani Mohadeseh
Published: September 2021

The adsorption of HCQ on BC3 nanosheets is stronger than that of CQ. The hydrogenated BC3 nanosheet is a more prominent nanocarrier for the CQ and HCQ drugs than the bare BC3 monolayer.
Correction: The effect of terminal N-donor aromatic ligands on the sensitization and emission of lanthanide ions in Zn2Ln (Ln = Eu, Tb) complexes with 4-biphenylcarboxylate anions
Authors: Melnikov Stanislav N. , Evstifeev Igor S. , Nikolaevskii Stanislav A. , Ananyev Ivan V. , Varaksina Evgenia A. , Taydakov Ilya V. , Goloveshkin Alexander S. , Sidorov Aleksey A. , Kiskin Mikhail A. , Eremenko Igor L.
Published: September 2021

Correction for ‘The effect of terminal N-donor aromatic ligands on the sensitization and emission of lanthanide ions in Zn2Ln (Ln = Eu, Tb) complexes with 4-biphenylcarboxylate anions’ by Stanislav N. Melnikov et al., New J. Chem., 2021, 45, 13349–13359, DOI: 10.1039/D0NJ05994C.
Sulfur-doped wood-derived porous carbon for optimizing electromagnetic response performance
Authors: Hu Haihua , Li Yixing , Gao Tong , Yan Siyu , Wu Shiting , Bandaru Sateesh , Zheng Yun , Qin Gaowu , Zhang Xuefeng
Published: September 2021

Wood-derived porous carbon electromagnetic (EM) materials with sulfur doping exhibit high-efficiency absorption performance and water-modulated EM response properties.
Regiospecific and site-selective C–H allylation of phenols with vinyldiazo compounds catalyzed by In(iii)
Authors: Zhao Dan , Luo Jingyan , Liu Lu , Liu Yuanyuan
Published: September 2021

An In(OTf)3-catalyzed regiospecific, site-selective, and C–H chemoselective insertion reaction of phenols with vinyldiazoacetates was developed. The reactions of aryl or alkyl substituted vinyldiazoacetates exhibited different selective manners.
Exploring the performance of a functionalized CNT-based sensor array for breathomics through clustering and classification algorithms: from gas sensing of selective biomarkers to discrimination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Drera Giovanni , Freddi Sonia , Emelianov Aleksei V. , Bobrinetskiy Ivan I. , Chiesa Maria , Zanotti Michele , Pagliara Stefania , Fedorov Fedor S. , Nasibulin Albert G. , Montuschi Paolo , Sangaletti Luigi
Published: September 2021

Extensive application of clustering and classification algorithms shows the potential of a CNT-based sensor array in breathomics.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of PET tracers designed for imaging of calcium activated potassium channel 3.1 (KCa3.1) channels in vivo
Authors: Brömmel Kathrin , Konken Christian Paul , Börgel Frederik , Obeng-Darko Henry , Schelhaas Sonja , Bulk Etmar , Budde Thomas , Schwab Albrecht , Schäfers Michael , Wünsch Bernhard
Published: September 2021

Expression of the Ca2+ activated potassium channel 3.1 (KCa3.1) channel (also known as the Gàrdos channel) is dysregulated in many tumor entities and has predictive power with respect to patient survival.
In vivo study of a novel, safe, rapid, and targeted red carbon dot probe for recognition of tumors with high expression of folate enzyme
Authors: Zhong Zhuoling , Li Xingying , Liu Shuyao , Zhang Chuanwei , Xu Xiaoping , Liao Liyun
Published: September 2021

Carbon dots (CDS) have been proved to be a type of ideal biological imaging probe.
A facile template-assisted electrodeposition approach to porous Cu/Cu2O nanowires
Authors: Zhang Jin , Ma Jia Hao , Bai Jingyuan , Yang Dalong , Zhang Meilin , Yang Zhou , Fan Longyi , Chen Xiao Lin , Guan Ren Guo
Published: September 2021

A novel dual-template assisted electrodeposition method to fabricate Cu/Cu2O porous nanowires (PNs) using polymeric micelles as a soft template and polycarbonate membranes as a hard template is reported.
Cofactor-assisted three-way DNA junction-driven strand displacement
Authors: Jia Yufeng , Hu Yingxin
Published: September 2021

Cooperative regulation of strand displacement with diverse factors was achieved by a cofactor-assisted three-way DNA junction-driven strategy. Using this strategy nanodevices reacted to various inputs by incorporating a specific sequence into the three-way junction structure.
d-Penicillamine functionalized dendritic fibrous nanosilica (DFNS-DPA): synthesise and its application as an innovative advanced nanomaterial towards sensitive quantification of ractopamine
Authors: Behyar Milad Baghal , Shadjou Nasrin
Published: September 2021

During the twentieth century, ractopamine (RAC) as one of the important and frequently used feed additives and doping agents has attracted considerable attention in the animal breeding industry and sports competitions.
C–H oxidation in fluorenyl benzoates does not proceed through a stepwise pathway: revisiting asynchronous proton-coupled electron transfer
Authors: Coste Scott C. , Brezny Anna C. , Koronkiewicz Brian , Mayer James M.
Published: September 2021

2-Fluorenyl benzoates were recently shown to undergo C–H bond oxidation through intramolecular proton transfer coupled with electron transfer to an external oxidant.
A mini-review of advanced separator engineering in lithium metal batteries
Authors: Wu Huiping , Chen Libao , Chen Yuejiao
Published: September 2021

Recent separator engineering in lithium metal batteries is classified into four parts: optimizing the performance of polyolefin membranes; controlling the dendrite growth direction; developing a novel separator material; introducing a functional multilayer membrane.
Biological behavior of nanoparticles with Zr-89 for cancer targeting based on their distinct surface composition
Authors: Choi Pyeong Seok , Lee Jun Young , Yang Seung Dae , Park Jeong Hoon
Published: September 2021

Nano-sized materials with distinct surface composition showed different biological behavior. It influenced their internalization into target cells using passive targeting system. Zr-89 were utilized to track their pharmacokinetics.
In situ construction of Bi5O7I/Bi4Ti3O12 heterostructure composites with plentiful phase interfaces for the boosted selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols under visible light
Authors: Wang Jingchao , Li Siyi , Yang Kunlong , Zhang Tianyong , Jiang Shuang , Li Xianggao , Li Bin
Published: September 2021

The novel Z-scheme flower-like Bi5O7I/Bi4Ti3O12 composites were prepared via in-situ grown under hydrothermal-calcination method, which were exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance for selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols.
A fuzzy series‐parallel preprocessing (FSPP) based hybrid model for wind forecasting
Authors: Ahmadi Mehrnaz , Khashei Mehdi
Published: September 2021

Wind power is one of the most important renewable energy sources that is widely used in many developed and developing countries. However, it is generally stated in the literature that providing accurate forecasts for large‐scale planning purposes is not a simple task, especially by single models. It is the main reason for this fact that why researchers in recent years have sought to propose hybrid models for increasing the accuracy of predictions. In general, choosing the appropriate type and the number of components, as well as the proper type of hybridization methodology, are the most effective factors in the performance of the developed hybrid models. Although in the literature, numerous attempts have been made in order to answer these questions, there is no general consensus on this matter. For this reason, the main idea of this paper is to concurrently combine different hybrid methodologies as well as different single models in order to benefit from the advantages of these models and methodologies, simultaneously. In this way, three well‐known and widely used hybrid methodologies, including the preprocessing, the series, and the parallel methodologies, are combined together by incorporating the linear/nonlinear and certain/uncertain components. In addition, in the proposed model, a new process is proposed based on the complex/uncertain modelling to model the preprocessing phase residuals, which have been ignored in the modelling procedures. In this way, in the first stage of the proposed model, the data is preprocessed by the Kalman filter as a preprocessing approach in order to divide data into two groups of trend and residual patterns. The trend data provided in the previous step, with the original data, are simultaneously considered input data of an autoregressive integrated moving average as the certain linear model and a multilayer perceptron as the certain nonlinear model for certain linear and nonlinear modeling of patterns. This step is repeated for the residual data by the series hybridization of models in the previous stage by the fuzzy models for the uncertain linear and nonlinear modelIng of patterns. Finally, each component's weight is optimally calculated by the least square algorithm, and then the results are combined together in a parallel process. Empirical results of two benchmarks of wind domain indicate that the proposed method has averagely improved the performance of its component used separately, parallel‐based hybrid models, and series‐based hybrid models 46%, 22%, and 19%, respectively, for predicting wind power time series.
GNSS induced spoofing simulation based on path planning
Authors: Wang Wenyi , Wang Jinming
Published: September 2021

Global navigation satellite Systems (GNSS) are highly susceptible to various interferences because of their inherent vulnerability. In these interferences, induced spoofing is very difficult to be detected because it can gradually drag off the tracking points without unlocking the tracking loops of the attacked receiver and cause the victim to obtain a wrong position and/or time information. Furthermore, it is also very difficult to generate induced spoofing data, including simulation data and real data, to evaluate various induced spoofing detection and suppression algorithms. Existing generation algorithms need to precisely control and adjust many parameters of GNSS simulation software even for simulation data. To address this problem, this study proposes a GNSS‐induced spoofing simulation algorithm based on path planning. First, through given planned paths, the proposed algorithm independently generates the authentic and spoofing signals without changing the parameters of GNSS simulation software. After that, the induced spoofing simulation data are synthesised by only adjusting the powers of authentic and spoofing signals. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by the positioning solutions and the correlation function outputs of the code and carrier tracking loops.
A squid‐inspired swimming robot using folding of origami
Authors: Hu Junfeng , Li Hu , Chen Weilong
Published: September 2021

Origami enables the folding of objects into a variety of shapes. This paper presents a swimming robot using the folding and unfolding motion of a tabular origami. A squid‐inspired jet propulsion mechanism is used to design an origami swimming robot. The swimming robot utilizes a pulsed‐jet mechanism through the folding motion of the tubular origami structure, which could deform and undulate to provide propulsion for the swimming robot. The robot is incorporated in a stable body, while both swimming forward and steering are generated by the folding motion of the origami structure and undulating fins. An analytical model to investigate the jet propulsion mechanism to capture the relationship between the motor's speed and the generated thrust is developed. The prototype of the swimming robot is fabricated by 3D printing, and experiments verify the robot's components and assembly system. The results show that the swimming robot could achieve swimming forward by folding origami, which could provide unique advantages over other existing underwater propulsion technologies, including scalability and water treatment capabilities. The origami structure provides a novel and simple propulsion mechanism for the swimming robot here, and the mechanism promotes the development of a new class of independent swimming robots.
The reaction norm of Augustine and Moldova grape varieties in the agroecological conditions of the moderate continental climate of the south of Russia
Authors: Petrov Valeriy , Russo Dmitriy , Krasilnikov Aleksandr , Marmorshtein Anna
Published: September 2021

The grape plant reacts by modification variability of phenotypic traits to the variation of weather conditions. The reaction of the Augustine and Moldova grape varieties to the variability of natural conditions was ambiguous. In the Augustine, the lower limit of the modification variability of the cluster mass is 354 and the upper limit is 410 g, the grape yield is 8.1 and 11.5 kg/bush, the sugar content of the berry juice is 15.8 and 17.5 g/100 cm3, in the Moldova, respectively, 387 and 457 g, 9.6 and 13.2 kg/bush, 16.4 and 17.8 g/100 cm3. The reaction norm of the Augustine according to the phenotypic traits is following: the cluster mass is 56 g, the yield is 3.4 kg/bush and the sugar content is 1.7 g/100 cm3, of the Moldova, respectively, 70, 3.6 and 1.4. Against the background of the application of fertilizers, the lower and upper limits of variability have increased as well as the reaction norm by cluster mass and yield, however reaction norm by sugar content decreased.