bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystal Origami: Preparation of β‐Ag2MoO4 Concave and Convex Crystals with High‐Index Facets
Authors: Ng Choon Hwee Bernard , Fan Wai Yip
Published: January 2017

By tuning the supersaturation during crystal growth, β‐Ag2MoO4 concave and convex crystals have been prepared with high‐index facets and a variety of morphologies, including {100}‐faceted cubes, {310}‐faceted concave cubes, {110}‐faceted octopods, {311}‐faceted trapezohedrons (TPH) and {331}‐faceted trisoctahedrons (TOH). The resulting suite of uniform crystals with well‐defined shapes enabled photocatalytic studies on Ag2MoO4.
Analysis of multipoint transmission at higher frequencies using 3‐D ray tracing
Authors: Sheikh Muhammad Usman , Lempiäinen Jukka
Published: January 2017

The target of this article is to analyze the impact of multipoint transmission e.g. joint transmission (JT) in an outdoor microcellular environment at 15 and 28 GHz frequency through simulations. The impact of the JT threshold i.e. the threshold for switching between the single and multipoint transmission mode is also analyzed in this article. For this research activity, a “sAGA” MATLAB based 3‐D ray tracing tool is used for the simulation purpose. The received signal power and throughput are used as a performance metrics for the analysis. The simulation results show that the JT from two transmission ports provides up to 12.46% and 17.78% of relative throughput gain with respect to the transmission from single port at 15 and 28 GHz, respectively. The multipoint transmission with certain decibels (dBs) of JT threshold is found to be more efficient compared with the undefined JT threshold. In the light of simulation results, the JT is found as a promising technique for compensating the propagation loss at higher frequencies, and especially in a critical handover region the multipoint transmission helps in making a smooth handover.
Plastic response by a small cervid to supplemental feeding in winter across a wide environmental gradient
Authors: Ossi Federico , Gaillard Jean‐Michel , Hebblewhite Mark , Morellet Nicolas , Ranc Nathan , Sandfort Robin , Kroeschel Max , Kjellander Petter , Mysterud Atle , Linnell John D. C. , Heurich Marco , Soennichsen Leif , Sustr Pavel , Berger Anne , Rocca Michele , Urbano Ferdinando , Cagnacci Francesca
Published: January 2017

Supplemental feeding for ungulates is a widespread practice in many human‐dominated landscapes across Europe and North America, mainly intended to seasonally support populations. Surprisingly, little consideration was given so far to the effect of supplemental feeding on ungulate spatial ecology at a large scale, in management and conservation studies. Analyses of the main ecological drivers influencing the use of supplemental feeding sites by ungulates across a gradient of abiotic and biotic factors are currently lacking. We conducted a large‐scale assessment of ecological and management drivers of use of feeding station sites in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), a small cervid widely distributed across Europe that is particularly sensitive to winter severity. We tested four competing hypotheses by comparing the time spent at feeding station sites by 180 individual Global Positioning System‐collared roe deer from nine populations spanning a wide latitudinal and altitudinal gradient. We found that roe deer used feeding station sites highly opportunistically in response to winter severity across its range. The harshest weather conditions at the northern range limit or the highest elevations provoked an intense use of feeding station sites, which typically peaked at the end of winter, in accordance with the adverse weather and nutritional condition hypotheses. Consistently, milder winters corresponded to a reduced and/or more homogeneous use of supplemental feeding. In general, intensively used feeding station sites heavily conditioned spatial behavior of roe deer. Importantly, biotic factors such as the presence of competitors decreased roe deer use of supplemental feeding station sites. Our results emphasize the importance of this human‐induced alteration to resource distribution, especially in the context of the rapidly occurring climate change that is modifying resource availability for ungulate populations.
Effect of Double Branching in α,ω‐Substituted Oligothiophenes on Thermal Solid‐State Properties
Authors: Gülcher Jochen , Vill Roman , Braumüller Markus , Rahimi Khosrow , de Jeu Wim H. , Mourran Ahmed , Ziener Ulrich
Published: January 2017

A systematic series of septi‐, noni‐ and undecithiophenes and the corresponding pre‐oligomers with five different dendrimer‐like branched end‐groups have been synthesized and their thermal solid‐state properties investigated. The substituents vary in terms of the lengths of the linkers between the silicon branching points. Comparison of the compounds in the series reveals that the linker connecting the oligomeric core with the first branching point has the strongest effect on the thermal properties. Furthermore, the relatively large volume of the substituents causes surprisingly low overall transition enthalpies and entropies for the oligomers of 10–20 kJ mol–1 and 15–40 J mol–1 K–1, respectively, whereas the pre‐oligomers with interrupted conjugation display values in the range of 15–40 kJ mol–1 and 40–100 J mol–1 K–1, respectively. Polarizing optical microscopy (POM) revealed textures pointing to smectic and columnar liquid‐crystalline phases but X‐ray and AFM data of a representative example are typical of cubic phases.
Capillary electrophoresis analysis of N‐glycosylation changes of serum paraproteins in multiple myeloma
Authors: Kovacs Zsuzsanna , Simon Adam , Szabo Zoltan , Nagy Zsolt , Varoczy Laszlo , Pal Ildiko , Csanky Eszter , Guttman Andras
Published: January 2017

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an immedicable malignancy of the human plasma cells producing abnormal antibodies (also referred to as paraproteins) leading to kidney problems and hyperviscosity syndrome. In this paper, we report on the N‐glycosylation analysis of paraproteins from total human serum as well as the fragment crystallizable region (Fc) and fragment antigen binding (Fab) κ/λ light chain fractions of papain digested immunoglobulins from multiple myeloma patients. CE‐LIF detection was used for the analysis of the N‐glycans after endoglycosidase (PNGase F) mediated sugar release and fluorophore labeling (APTS). While characteristic N‐glycosylation pattern differences were found between normal control and untreated, treated and remission stage multiple myeloma patient samples at the global serum level, less distinctive changes were observed at the immunoglobulin level. Principal component analysis adequately differentiated the four groups (control and three patient groups) on the basis of total serum N‐glycosylation analysis. 12 N‐glycan features showed statistically significant differences (p <0.05) among various stages of the disease in comparison to the control at the serum level, while only six features were identified with similar significance at the immunoglobulin level, including the analysis of the partitioned Fc fragment as well as the Fabκ and Fabλ chains.
Effects of sand content on initial gravel motion in gravel‐bed rivers
Authors: Miwa Hiroshi , Parker Gary
Published: January 2017

When fine sediments are present in gravel streambeds (gravel‐framework beds), the gravel can be more easily removed from its original position, compared with gravel in a streambed without fine sediment but otherwise under the same hydraulic conditions. In this study, the effect of the presence of sand on the initiation of gravel motion in gravel riverbeds was investigated using flume experiments. The relationship between the critical Shields stress for gravel motion initiation and the fraction of sand in the bed was determined experimentally. The results can be summarized as follows. (1) When the fraction of sand in the bed is smaller than about 0.4, the critical Shields stress for the initiation of gravel motion decreases with increasing fraction of sand. The critical Shields stress increases, however, with increasing fraction of sand when it is larger than about 0.4. (2) The difference between the value of the critical Shields stress predicted by the Egiazaroff equation and the value obtained from the experimental data becomes maximum at about 0.4 of the fraction of sand. Here an empirical relation between the critical Shields stress and the fraction of sand is proposed so as to consider the effects of the ratio of the characteristic gravel size to the mean size of the bed material on the critical Shields stress. (3) Gravel in armored beds can be more easily mobilized by supplying sand as part of a sediment augmentation scheme. The sand fraction in the subsurface layer of the bed appears to reduce the friction angle of exposed particles. Sediment augmentation using sand has been recently demonstrated to be a viable alternative for mobilizing gravel for the restoration of gravel‐bed rivers downstream of dams. The quantitative evaluation obtained through the experiments reported here may be useful for the design of augmentation schemes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Investors’ Heterogeneity in Beliefs, the VIX Futures Basis, and S&P 500 Index Futures Returns
Authors: Lee Hsiu‐Chuan , Liao Tzu‐Hsiang , Tung Pao‐Ying
Published: January 2017

This study analyzes the impact of the VIX futures basis on subsequent S&P 500 index futures returns using quantile regression. The results show that the impact varies with return distributions and that the effect is stronger under bad market conditions than under good market conditions. The evidence also shows that the VIX futures basis provides incremental information for the purpose of risk management. Overall, our evidence supports the conclusion that the VIX futures basis and investors’ heterogeneity in beliefs are important factors that affect S&P 500 index futures returns. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 37:939–960, 2017
Multimodal investigation of triple network connectivity in patients with 22q11DS and association with executive functions
Authors: Padula Maria C. , Schaer Marie , Scariati Elisa , Maeder Johanna , Schneider Maude , Eliez Stephan
Published: January 2017

Large‐scale brain networks play a prominent role in cognitive abilities and their activity is impaired in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) are at high risk of developing schizophrenia and present similar cognitive impairments, including executive functions deficits. Thus, 22q11DS represents a model for the study of neural biomarkers associated with schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated structural and functional connectivity within and between the Default Mode (DMN), the Central Executive (CEN), and the Saliency network (SN) in 22q11DS using resting‐state fMRI and DTI. Furthermore, we investigated if triple network impairments were related to executive dysfunctions or the presence of psychotic symptoms. Sixty‐three patients with 22q11DS and sixty‐eighty controls (age 6–33 years) were included in the study. Structural connectivity between main nodes of DMN, CEN, and SN was computed using probabilistic tractography. Functional connectivity was computed as the partial correlation between the time courses extracted from each node. Structural and functional connectivity measures were then correlated to executive functions and psychotic symptom scores. Our results showed mainly reduced structural connectivity within the CEN, DMN, and SN, in patients with 22q11DS compared with controls as well as reduced between‐network connectivity. Functional connectivity appeared to be more preserved, with impairments being evident only within the DMN. Structural connectivity impairments were also related to executive dysfunctions. These findings show an association between triple network structural alterations and executive deficits in patients with the microdeletion, suggesting that 22q11DS and schizophrenia share common psychopathological mechanisms. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2177–2189, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Stroke effect on legibility of Japanese characters
Authors: Cai Dengchuan
Published: January 2017

This study applied a computer program to analyze the descriptors of Japanese characters, including 56 Hiragana, 56 Katakana, and 98 Kanji characters. An experiment was designed to test the legibility of these characters by 40 Japanese students studying in university. Subjects were asked to identify characters displayed in the screen center, shown initially at an illegible size and gradually enlarged until the subject recognized them. The results illustrated that the Hiragana characters were more legible than the Katakana, and the Katakana characters were more legible than the Kanji. Although the legibility thresholds were increased with the number of strokes in these three kinds of Japanese characters, the effects of the number of strokes on legibility among them were different. Increasing one stroke in a Kanji character would necessitate a 0.4‐arcminute enlargement to maintain legibility, whereas no linear stroke effect was found in Hiragana and Katakana characters. This may because of the features of stroke of Hiragana and Katakana are quite different from that of Kanji. Furthermore, for Hiragana and Katakana, adding a semivoiced consonant sign ‘o’ to a common character would necessitate a 7‐arcminute enlargement to maintain legibility and adding a voiced consonant sign ‘ ” ’ to a common character would necessitate a 10.3‐arcminute enlargement to maintain legibility. The results can be used as reference for information and interface design.
Downregulation of lncRNA ANRIL represses tumorigenicity and enhances cisplatin‐induced cytotoxicity via regulating microRNA let‐7a in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Wang Yandan , Cheng Nan , Luo Junpeng
Published: January 2017

Many studies have demonstrated that upregulation of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) antisense non‐coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) plays an oncogenic role in various tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The aim of this study is to explore the effect of ANRIL in NPC progression and cisplatin (DDP)‐induced cytotoxicity. The results showed that ANRIL was highly expressed and let‐7a was downregulated in NPC tissues and cells. Luciferase assay revealed that ANRIL could negatively regulate miR‐let‐7a expression. ANRIL knockdown inhibited NPC cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, while anti‐let‐7a reversed these effects. Combination treatment of si‐ANRIL and DDP led to a lower viability, a more DNA strand breaks damage and a higher comet tail length compared with any single treatment, whereas let‐7a inhibitor abolished these effects. Furthermore, depletion of ANRIL exacerbated DDP‐induced cytotoxicity in NPC cells in vivo. Taken together, these data indicated that knockdown of ANRIL represses tumorigenicity and enhances DDP‐induced cytotoxicity via regulating microRNA let‐7a in NPC cells, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for NPC patients.
Alanine aminotransferase is more sensitive to the decrease in hepatitis B virus‐DNA load than other liver markers in chronic hepatitis B patients
Authors: Wang Hua‐Bin , Wang Qiong‐Yu , Yuan Qing , Shan Xiao‐Yun , Fu Guan‐Hua
Published: January 2017

Background

A direct correlation between hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV‐DNA) and liver markers has not been identified in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. However, the effect of HBV‐DNA changes on liver markers remains unclear. We explored the association between decreased HBV‐DNA and liver makers in CHB patients.

Methods

Chronic hepatitis B patients who visited Jinhua Central Hospital twice were selected for analysis. Finally, 171 participants with a 1‐log reduction in HBV‐DNA between the two visits were enrolled as the case group, and 158 participants with no significant changes in HBV‐DNA were enrolled as the control group.

Results

There was no significant correlation between HBV‐DNA and liver markers (P>.05). However, in longitudinal analysis, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were significantly different between the two tests (P<.05) in the case group. Conversely, there was no significant difference in the control group. When HBV‐DNA decreased >26 times, ALT was reduced by half or more. A similar trend was observed with a decrease of >63 times for AST and a decrease of >76 times for GGT.

Conclusions

A large change in HBV‐DNA can lead to a significant variation in liver markers. In particular, ALT was more sensitive than other liver markers to a reduction in HBV‐DNA.
Diffusion tensor tractography of pyramidal tracts in patients with brainstem and intramedullary spinal cord tumors: Relationship with motor deficits and intraoperative MEP changes
Authors: Czernicki Tomasz , Maj Edyta , Podgórska Anna , Kunert Przemysław , Prokopienko Marek , Nowak Arkadiusz , Cieszanowski Andrzej , Marchel Andrzej
Published: January 2017

Purpose

To evaluate whether pyramidal tracts course alterations observed in diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) in cases of brainstem and intramedullary spinal cord tumors reflect patient clinical status and prognosis.

Materials and Methods

For this purpose, we assessed in 17 patients relationships between pyramidal tracts course alterations observed in DTT (classified into four categories: unaffected; displaced or interspaced; partially disintegrated and completely disintegrated) performed on a 1.5 Tesla scanner and the presence of preoperative motor deficits, changes observed in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) records at the beginning of the operation, deterioration of the MEPs records during the operation, and perioperative deterioration of muscle strength.

Results

We found that, if the picture of pyramidal tracts in DTT was worse, motor deficit was more common (P = 0.062). This observation was even more evident (P = 0.027), when cases with at least partially destroyed pyramidal tracts were compared with cases with normal or at most displaced or interspaced by tumor but still preserved pyramidal tracts. Significant relationships were also found between changes in DTT and abnormal MEP records at the beginning of the operation (P = 0.032) and perioperative deterioration of muscle strength (P = 0.0058).

Conclusion

A close relationship was found between pyramidal tracts course alterations in DTT imaging and preoperative motor status and especially with changes in the MEP records at the beginning of the operation. DTT may be a method that allows the better planning of brainstem and intramedullary spinal cord tumors operations and may help in the risk assessment of postoperative motor deficits.

Level of Evidence: 3

Technical Efficacy: Stage 4

J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:715–723
Quantitative assessment of lung stiffness in patients with interstitial lung disease using MR elastography
Authors: Marinelli John P. , Levin David L. , Vassallo Robert , Carter Rickey E. , Hubmayr Rolf D. , Ehman Richard L. , McGee Kiaran P.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

To investigate the use of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in the quantitative assessment of pulmonary fibrosis by comparing quantitative shear stiffness measurements of lung parenchyma in patients diagnosed with fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) and healthy controls.

Materials and Methods

A 1.5T spin‐echo, echo planar imaging MRE (SE‐EPI MRE) pulse sequence was utilized to assess absolute lung shear stiffness in 15 patients with diagnosed ILD and in 11 healthy controls. Data were collected at residual volume (RV) and total lung capacity (TLC). Spirometry data were obtained immediately prior to scanning. To test for statistical significance between RV and TLC shear stiffness estimates a two‐sample t‐test was performed. To assess variability within individual subject shear stiffness estimates, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Krippendorff's alpha were calculated.

Results

Patients with ILD exhibited an average (±1 standard deviation) shear stiffness of 2.74 (±0.896) kPa at TLC and 1.32 (±0.300) kPa at RV. The corresponding values for healthy individuals were 1.33 (±0.195) kPa and 0.849 (±0.250) kPa, respectively. The difference in shear stiffness between RV and TLC was statistically significant (P < 0.001). At TLC, the ICC and alpha values were 0.909 and 0.887, respectively. At RV, the ICC and alpha values were 0.852 and 0.862, respectively.

Conclusion

In subjects with known fibrotic interstitial lung disease, parenchymal shear stiffness is increased when compared to normal controls at both RV and TLC, with TLC demonstrating the most significant difference. MRE‐derived parenchymal shear stiffness is a promising new noninvasive imaging‐based biomarker of interstitial lung disease.

Level of Evidence: 1

Technical Efficacy: Stage 2

J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:365–374
Best practice recommendations for scale construction in organizational research: The development and initial validation of the Character Strength Inventory (CSI)
Authors: Wright Thomas A. , Quick James Campbell , Hannah Sean T. , Blake Hargrove M.
Published: January 2017

Proper scale development and validation provide the necessary foundation to facilitate future quantitative research in the organizational sciences. Using the framework provided by the Researcher's Notebook, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, we present a modern summary of best practice procedures for scale development, reliability analysis, and validity analysis. Second, we explain and illustrate these best practice procedures by describing each procedure in the context of developing and psychometrically analyzing a new Character Strength Inventory (CSI). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Removing the relocation bias from the 155‐year Haparanda temperature record in Northern Europe
Authors: Dienst Manuel , Lindén Jenny , Engström Erik , Esper Jan
Published: January 2017

The village Haparanda in northern Sweden hosts one of the longest meteorological station records in Europe depicting climate conditions in the subarctic. Since the station was relocated several times, moving gradually from urbanized to more rural areas, the record is likely biased by anthropogenic influences. We here assess these influences and demonstrate that even in villages urban heat island biases might affect the temperature readings. We detail a method to quantify this bias and remove it from the long Haparanda station record running since 1859. The correction is based on parallel temperature measurements at previous station locations in Haparanda. These measurements revealed a distinct urban warming pattern, largest in minimum temperatures during summer, since urban geometry and its heat capacity amplify additional warming and night‐time heat release, especially during a period of high insolation and calm conditions. Due to the station movement from the village centre to the outskirts, the net correction results in an additional warming trend over the past 155 years. The trend increase is most substantial for minimum temperatures (+0.03 °C 10 years−1). Maximum and mean temperatures are less affected (+0.01 °C 10 years−1). An increase in trend is even more severe if the 20th century is regarded exclusively, displaying a rise in annual mean temperature trend by +0.03 °C 10 years−1 and +0.07 °C 10 years−1 in annual minimum temperatures, respectively. Our approach of using actual temperature differences between historical station locations did not take into account other factors that might have influenced the data such as changes in instruments or observers. The presented adjustment for temperature residuals caused by a change in historical station locations might be considered as a minimum approach to improve long‐term temperature readings. The adjustment of the Haparanda station record results in an increased warming trend, thereby adding critical information to the evaluation and explanation of 20th century anthropogenic warming.
Tropical cyclogenesis associated with four types of summer monsoon circulation over the South China Sea
Authors: Wang Lei
Published: January 2017

During the summer monsoon period from 1958 to 2013, 80% of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis over the South China Sea (SCS) occurs in four types of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation which are named the monsoon trough (MT), the monsoon gyre (MG), the southwesterly (SW), and the monsoon shear (MS), respectively. The first three types account for about 90% of TC geneses. These circulation types provide favorable environmental fields for TC genesis. In the northern‐central SCS, lower‐level positive relative vorticity anomalies are accompanied by mid‐troposphere ascent and upper‐level positive divergence anomalies, which match with positive relative humidity anomalies in the mid‐low troposphere. Corresponding to these environmental fields, the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) growth from the barotropic energy conversion in four circulation types is obvious, which can help evolve incipient disturbances to tropical cyclones. In the transformation from the mean kinetic energy (MKE) to the EKE, the zonal wind shear and the meridional wind convergence make a crucial contribution to the EKE growth.
Characterizing present and future drought changes over eastern China
Authors: Chen Huopo , Sun Jianqi
Published: January 2017

This study aimed to characterize present and future drought changes over eastern China using observations and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulations. We used the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to characterize droughts at the timescales of 3‐ and 12‐month. We distinguished the spatial patterns of drought regimes (DRs) using the rotated empirical orthogonal function (EOF) on the SPEI. Our results identified three DRs centered in northern China (DR1), northeastern China (DR2), and southern China (DR3). Droughts in these regimes have increased in recent decades. Most CMIP5 models reproduce at least two of the DRs. The rotated EOF results indicate that the three DRs can jointly explain 46–68% of the SPEI variance (compared with approximately 60% in the observations). Among the 33 CMIP5 models analysed in this study, 13 simulated all three DRs well and showed a strong correlation pattern (>0.5). Further analysis indicated that both the external natural and greenhouse gas forcing experiments in CMIP5 reproduced the DRs, implying that natural variability and anthropogenic activity play important roles in the formation of these DRs. With continued climate warming, the three DRs over eastern China will persist. Despite the uncertainties in drought changes that mainly depend on the potential evapotranspiration methods, climate model results suggest that droughts would be aggravated under warming scenarios. The probability of severe droughts increase by the end of the century: 33% in DR1, 25% in DR2, 34% in DR3 in RCP4.5 and almost double in RCP8.5 scenario in Thornthwaite method based SPEI estimates.
Evolution of Mobile Banking Regulations: A Case Study on Legislator's Behavior
Authors: Ashta Arvind
Published: January 2017

Legislators in developed countries are loss‐averse and hesitant to make regulatory changes to accommodate new technologies, fearing destruction of a system that works.
Economic Transformations of Regions: The Role of Banks
Authors: Gjelsvik Martin
Published: January 2017

In their role to transform the economic development of regions, banks primarily support firms and projects that extend, modernize, or upgrade the existing development paths of regions and, to a lesser degree, a diversification of those paths.
Technical Efficiency for Strategic Change and Global Competitiveness
Authors: Onsarigo Miencha Isaiah , Paul Justin , Selvam M.
Published: January 2017

Technical efficiency helps the banks in developing countries to be competitive in this era of globalization.
Early use of CO2 lasers and silicone gel on surgical scars: Prospective study
Authors: Alberti Luiz Ronaldo , Vicari Eduardo Faria , De Souza Jardim Vicari Roselaine , Petroianu Andy
Published: January 2017

Introduction

Some publications have shown good aesthetic results for scars through the early application of fractional CO2 lasers on elective surgery scars. The aim of this randomized, double‐blinded clinical trial was to compare the aesthetic quality of the scar from a group of patients submitted to super‐pulsed fractional CO2 laser applications (10,600 nm fractional CO2, set at a density of 20% and an energy of 10 mJ, a scanner of 03 × 03 mm, and a pulse repetition time of 0.3 seconds) in contrast with the other group that used only the silicone gel on the scar after plastic surgery.

Method

A prospective study was conducted by analyzing 42 patients with recent scars of up to three weeks in patients with a I–IV Fitz‐Patrick skin phototype. The scars were evaluated aesthetically in the second and sixth months by applying the Vancouver scale.

Results

At 2 months of treatment, the statistical data showed a discrete superiority in the LASER group's treatment, as compared to that of the SILICONE group, in both percentage and significance concerning flexibility (P = 0.05) and pigmentation (P = 0.01). Laser group presented better results in the sixth month (P = 0,03).

Conclusion

The early use of the fractional CO2 laser contributed to improving the aesthetic quality of scars from elective surgeries in the second and in the 6th months. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:570–576, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimization of Injectable Thermosensitive Scaffolds with Enhanced Mechanical Properties for Cell Therapy
Authors: Ceccaldi Caroline , Assaad Elias , Hui Eve , Buccionyte Medeine , Adoungotchodo Atma , Lerouge Sophie
Published: January 2017

Strong injectable chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels can be created, without chemical modification, by combining sodium hydrogen carbonate with another weak base, namely, beta‐glycerophosphate (BGP) or phosphate buffer (PB). Here the influence of gelling agent concentration on the mechanical properties, gelation kinetics, osmolality, swelling, and compatibility for cell encapsulation, is studied in order to find the most optimal formulations and demonstrate their potential for cell therapy and tissue engineering. The new formulations present up to a 50‐fold increase of the Young's modulus after gelation compared with conventional chitosan‐BGP hydrogels, while reducing the ionic strength to the level of iso‐osmolality. Increasing PB concentration accelerates gelation but reduces the mechanical properties. Increasing BGP also has this effect, but to a lesser extent. Cells can be easily encapsulated by mixing the cell suspension within the hydrogel solution at room temperature, prior to rapid gelation at body temperature. After encapsulation, L929 mouse fibroblasts are homogeneously distributed within scaffolds and present a strongly increased viability and growth, when compared with conventional chitosan‐BGP hydrogels. Two particularly promising formulations are evaluated with human mesenchymal stem cells. Their viability and metabolic activity are maintained over 7 d in vitro.

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Precise Synthesis of Functional Block Copolymers by Living Anionic Polymerization of Vinyl Monomers Bearing Nitrogen Atoms in the Side Chain
Authors: Kim Myung‐Jin , Yu Yong‐Guen , Kang Nam‐Goo , Kang Beom‐Goo , Lee Jae‐Suk
Published: January 2017

Precise synthetic methods to prepare functional block copolymers with heteroatoms (nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorous, halogen, etc.) have received much attention for the fabrication of practical nanomaterials. Specifically, well‐defined materials containing nitrogen‐based functional groups show unique electrical, optical, and amphiphilic properties. To synthesize these products, living anionic polymerization is the most powerful method. However, the disruption of undesirable reactions is considered to be a great challenge in the anionic polymerization of functional monomers with heteroatoms. To overcome these problems, facile methods such as polymerization at low temperature, careful choice of additives and initiators, and the introduction of protective groups can be used. In this review, recent advances in the anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers with triphenylamine, carbazole, and pyridine moieties in the side chains will be discussed. Also covered is the morphological control of these polymers to obtain well‐defined block copolymers for practical applications such as organic memory devices and light emitting diodes.

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Tuning Block Polymer Structure, Properties, and Processability for the Design of Efficient Nanostructured Materials Systems
Authors: Morris Melody A. , Gartner Thomas E. , Epps Thomas H.
Published: January 2017

Block polymers (BPs) are ideal building blocks for nanoporous membranes, microelectronics templates, energy storage devices, and other technologies. For these systems, precise control over morphology, properties, and processability are essential to optimize performance. The Epps group has used a multidisciplinary approach to control BP nanostructure ordering and orientations, order‐disorder and glass transition temperatures, and mechanical and transport properties through the informed manipulation of BP effective segregation strengths and interfacial energetics. For example, alterations in macromolecular interactions between BP chains were achieved through the introduction of composition gradients between copolymer blocks or by adding dopants. In thin films, high‐throughput approaches were designed to modify and characterize substrate‐polymer interactions, and solvent annealing techniques were developed to facilitate nanoscale alignment and ordering. By manipulating BP interfacial energetics to gain exquisite tunability of nanostructures and materials' properties, the group is accelerating the development of next‐generation BPs that will be harnessed to fabricate inexpensive, efficient, and high‐performance devices.

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Nanoporous Films with Sub‐10 nm in Pore Size from Acid‐Cleavable Block Copolymers
Authors: Li Yayuan , Xu Yawei , Cao Shubo , Zhao Yongbin , Qu Ting , Iyoda Tomokazu , Chen Aihua
Published: January 2017

Nanoporous thin films with pore size of sub‐10 nm are fabricated using an acid‐cleavable block copolymer (BCP), a benzoic imine junction between poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methacrylate) (PMAAz) bearing an azobenzene side chain (denoted as PEO‐bei‐PMAAz) as the precursor. After a thermal annealing, the block copolymers are self‐assembled to form highly ordered PEO cylinders within a PMAAz matrix normal to the film, even in the case of low BCP molecular weight due to the existing of the liquid crystalline (LC) azobenzene rigid segment. Thus, PMAAz thin films with pore size of ≈7 nm and density of ≈1012 cm−2 are obtained after removal of the PEO minor phase by breaking the benzoic imine junction under mild acidic conditions. This work enriches the nanoporous polymer films from BCP precursors and introduces the LC property as a functionality which can further enhance the mechanical properties of the films and broaden their applications.

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Hydrothermal Conditioning of Physical Hydrogels Prepared from a Midblock‐Sulfonated Multiblock Copolymer
Authors: Mineart Kenneth P. , Dickerson Joshua D. , Love Dillon M. , Lee Byeongdu , Zuo Xiaobing , Spontak Richard J.
Published: January 2017

Since nanostructured amphiphilic macromolecules capable of affording high ion and water transport are becoming increasingly important in a wide range of contemporary energy and environmental technologies, the swelling kinetics and temperature dependence of water uptake are investigated in a series of midblock‐sulfonated thermoplastic elastomers. Upon self‐assembly, these materials maintain a stable hydrogel network in the presence of a polar liquid. In this study, real‐time water‐sorption kinetics in copolymer films prepared by different casting solvents are elucidated by synchrotron small‐angle X‐ray scattering and gravimetric measurements, which directly correlate nanostructural changes with macroscopic swelling to establish fundamental structure–property behavior. By monitoring the equilibrium swelling capacity of these materials over a range of temperatures, an unexpected transition in the vicinity of 50 °C has been discovered. Depending on copolymer morphology and degree of sulfonation, hydrothermal conditioning of specimens to temperatures above this transition permits retention of superabsorbent swelling at ambient temperature.

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Carbon Dioxide‐Controlled Assembly of Water‐Soluble Conjugated Polymers Catalyzed by Carbonic Anhydrase
Authors: Yuan Hongbo , Xing Chengfen , Fan Yibing , Chai Ran , Niu Ruimin , Zhan Yong , Peng Fei , Qi Junjie
Published: January 2017

The CO2‐responsive and biocatalytic assembly based on conjugated polymers has been demonstrated by combining the signal amplification property of the polythiophene derivative (PTP) and the catalytic actions of carbonic anhydrase (CA). CO2 is applied as a new trigger mode to construct the smart assembly by controlling the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the PTP molecules in aqueous solution, leading to the visible fluorescence changes. Importantly, the assembly transformation of PTP can be specifically and highly accelerated by CA based on the efficient catalytic activity of CA for the inter‐conversion between CO2 and HCO3−, mimicking the CO2‐associated biological processes that occurred naturally in living organisms. Moreover, the PTP‐based assembly can be applied for biomimetic CO2 sequestration with fluorescence monitoring in the presence of CA and calcium.

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Long‐term dietary supplementation with low‐dose nobiletin ameliorates hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, and inflammation without altering fat mass in diet‐induced obesity
Authors: Kim Young‐Je , Choi Myung‐Sook , Woo Je Tae , Jeong Mi Ji , Kim Sang Ryong , Jung Un Ju
Published: January 2017

Scope

We evaluated the long‐term effect of low‐dose nobiletin (NOB), a polymethoxylated flavone, on diet‐induced obesity and related metabolic disturbances.

Methods and results

C57BL/6J mice were fed a high‐fat diet (HFD, 45 kcal% fat) with or without NOB (0.02%, w/w) for 16 weeks. NOB did not alter food intake or body weight. Despite increases in fatty acid oxidation‐related genes expression and enzymes activity in adipose tissue, NOB did not affect adipose tissue weight due to simultaneous increases in lipogenic genes expression and fatty acid synthase activity. However, NOB significantly decreased not only pro‐inflammatory genes expression in adipose tissue but also proinflammatory cytokine levels in plasma. NOB‐supplemented mice also showed improved glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, along with decreased levels of plasma insulin, free fatty acids, total cholesterol, non‐HDL‐cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B. In addition, NOB caused significant decreases in hepatic lipid droplet accumulation and triglyceride content by activating hepatic fatty acid oxidation‐related enzymes. Hepatic proinflammatory TNF‐α mRNA expression, collagen accumulation, and plasma levels of aminotransferases, liver damage indicators, were also significantly lower in NOB‐supplemented mice.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that long‐term supplementation with low‐dose NOB can protect against HFD‐induced inflammation, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, without ameliorating adiposity.
Brown adipose tissue does not seem to mediate metabolic adaptation to overfeeding in men
Authors: Peterson Courtney M. , Orooji Mahdi , Johnson Deanna N. , Naraghi‐Pour Mort , Ravussin Eric
Published: January 2017

Objective

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) generates heat in response to cold, and low BAT activity has been linked to obesity. However, recent studies were inconclusive as to whether BAT is involved in diet‐induced thermogenesis and mitigates weight gain from prolonged overeating. Therefore, this study investigated whether BAT activity is related to metabolic adaptation arising from 8 weeks of overfeeding in humans.

Methods

Fourteen men (aged 24 ± 3 years, BMI 24.5 ± 1.6 kg/m2) were overfed by 40% for 8 weeks. Before and after, energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation were measured by whole‐room respiratory calorimetry. A marker of BAT activity was measured using infrared imaging of the supraclavicular BAT depot.

Results

At the end of 8 weeks of overfeeding, metabolic adaptation—defined as the percent increase in sleeping energy expenditure beyond that expected from weight gain—rose from −0.9 ± 3.9% to 4.7 ± 5.6% (P = 0.001). However, BAT thermal activity was unchanged (P = 0.81). Moreover, BAT thermal activity did not correlate with the degree of metabolic adaptation (P = 0.32) or with the change in body weight (P = 0.51).

Conclusions

BAT thermal activity does not change in response to overfeeding, nor does it correlate with adaptive thermogenesis. Our data suggest that BAT does not mediate metabolic adaptation to overeating in humans.
Improved surfaceome coverage with a label‐free nonaffinity‐purified workflow
Authors: Glisovic‐Aplenc Tina , Gill Saar , Spruce Lynn A. , Smith Ian R. , Fazelinia Hossein , Shestova Olga , Ding Hua , Tasian Sarah K. , Aplenc Richard , Seeholzer Steven H.
Published: January 2017

The proteins of the cellular plasma membrane (PM) perform important functions relating to homeostasis and intercellular communication. Due to its overall low cellular abundance, amphipathic character, and low membrane‐to‐cytoplasm ratio, the PM proteome has been challenging to isolate and characterize, and is poorly represented in standard LC‐MS/MS analyses. In this study, we employ sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation for the enrichment of the PM proteome, without chemical labeling and affinity purification, together with GeLCMS and use subsequent bioinformatics tools to select proteins associated with the PM/cell surface, herein referred to as the surfaceome. Using this methodology, we identify over 1900 cell surface associated proteins in a human acute myeloid leukemia cell line. These surface proteins comprise almost 50% of all detected cellular proteins, a number that substantially exceeds the depth of coverage in previously published studies describing the leukemia surfaceome.
Activity and stability spontaneously enhanced toward ethylene polymerization by employing 2‐(1‐(2,4‐dibenzhydrylnaphthylimino)ethyl)‐6‐(1‐(arylimino)ethyl) pyridyliron(II) dichlorides
Authors: Zhao Weizhen , Yue Erlin , Wang Xinxin , Yang Wenhong , Chen Yan , Hao Xiang , Cao Xiaoping , Sun Wen‐Hua
Published: January 2017

A series of 2‐(1‐(2,4‐dibenzhydrylnaphthylimino)ethyl)‐6‐(1‐(arylimino)ethyl)pyridyliron(II) complexes (Fe1−Fe5) was synthesized and characterized. The molecular structure of the representative Fe2 was determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, revealing a distorted pseudo‐square‐pyramidal geometry around the iron center. On activation with either methylaluminoxane (MAO) or modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO), all these iron complex precatalysts performed with high activities (up to 1.58 × 107 g (PE) mol−1 (Fe) h−1) toward ethylene polymerization, producing highly linear polyethylenes with high molecular weight and bimodal distribution, which was in accordance with high temperature 13C NMR, high Tm values (Tm ∼130 °C) and the GPC curves of the obtained polyethylenes. Meanwhile, DFT calculation results also showed the good correlation between net charges on iron and experimental activities. Compared with previous bis(imino)pyridyliron analogues, the current iron complexes containing the benzhydrylnaphthyl groups exhibited relatively higher activities and better thermal‐stability at elevated temperatures, especially at 80 °C as the industrial operating temperature, and still showed high activities toward ethylene polymerization up to 8.57 × 106 g (PE) mol−1 (Fe) h−1 in the presence of co‐catalyst MMAO. In addition, these iron complex precatalysts all exhibited long lifetimes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 988–996
Cover Picture: Optically anisotropic media: New approaches to the dielectric function, singular axes, microcavity modes and Raman scattering intensities (Phys. Status Solidi RRL 1/2017)
Authors: Grundmann Marius , Sturm Chris , Kranert Christian , Richter Steffen , Schmidt‐Grund Rüdiger , Deparis Christianne , Zúñiga‐Pérez Jesús
Published: January 2017

No abstract is available for this article.
Shortage or surplus? A long‐term perspective on the supply of scientists and engineers in the USA and the UK
Authors: Smith Emma
Published: January 2017

A ‘crisis account’ of shortages of well‐qualified scientists, engineers, mathematicians and technologists has shaped education policy in the UK and the USA for decades. The apparent poor quality of school science education along with insufficient numbers of well‐qualified teachers have been linked to skills shortages by government and other agencies since at least the time of the Second World War. There is, however, an alternative account that challenges the received view of a skills deficit and questions the evidence for sustained and long‐term shortages across the sector. This paper provides an historical account of some of the main events that have characterised debates over the supply and demand of science and engineering professionals in the UK and the USA and the implications that this has had for science education policy. Starting from the end of the Second World War, the paper looks at the key challenges to the evidence that underpins the shortage debate and considers the consequences that more than seven decades of crisis accounts have had on the recruitment and retention of highly skilled scientists and engineers. The paper shows that while the shortage debate has a long history, it is one that is characterised by poor quality data as well as methodological and conceptual challenges. It argues that there is no consensus view about the existence of a skills deficit and that while there may have been short‐lived shortfalls in specialist areas, there is little evidence in support of widespread and far reaching shortages as the rhetoric often claims.
Distributed consensus and tracking control of second‐order time‐varying nonlinear multi‐agent systems
Authors: Li Zhenxing , Ji HaiBo
Published: January 2017

In this paper, the distributed consensus and tracking protocols are developed for the second‐order time‐varying nonlinear multi‐agent systems under general directed graph. Firstly, the consensus and tracking problems can be converted into a conventional stabilization control problem. Then a state transformation is employed to deal with the time‐varying nonlinearities. By choosing an appropriate time‐varying parameter and coupling strengths, exponential consensus and tracking of second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems can be achieved. Finally, a simulation is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed consensus and tracking protocols. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Polynomials‐based summation inequalities and their applications to discrete‐time systems with time‐varying delays
Authors: Lee Seok Young , Lee Won Il , Park PooGyeon
Published: January 2017

This paper proposes a novel summation inequality, say a polynomials‐based summation inequality, which contains well‐known summation inequalities as special cases. By specially choosing slack matrices, polynomial functions, and an arbitrary vector, it reduces to Moon's inequality, a discrete‐time counterpart of Wirtinger‐based integral inequality, auxiliary function‐based summation inequalities employing the same‐order orthogonal polynomial functions. Thus, the proposed summation inequality is more general than other summation inequalities. Additionally, this paper derives the polynomials‐based summation inequality employing first‐order and second‐order orthogonal polynomial functions, which contributes to obtaining improved stability criteria for discrete‐time systems with time‐varying delays. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.