bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Post-traumatic epilepsy in adults: a nationwide register-based study
Authors: Karlander Markus , Ljungqvist Johan , Zelano Johan
Published: March 2021

Objective

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of epilepsy. Our aim was to characterise the risk of epilepsy in adults after hospitalisation for TBI.

Methods

Register-based cohort study. All individuals aged 18–100 with a first hospitalisation for TBI in the comprehensive national patient register in Sweden between 2000 and 2010 (n=111 947) and three controls per exposed (n=325 881), matched on age and sex were included. Exposed individuals were categorised according to TBI severity. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the risk of epilepsy and Cox regression to estimate the hazard in univariate or multivariate regression.

Results

The 10-year risk of epilepsy was 12.9% (95% CI 11.7% to 14.1%) for focal cerebral injuries, 8.1% (95% CI 7.5% to 8.7%) for diffuse cerebral injuries, 7.3% (95% CI 6.9% to 7.7%) for extracerebral injuries, 2.8% (95% CI 2.4% to 3.2%) for skull fractures and 2.6% (95% CI 2.4% to 2.8%) for mild TBI. The risk of epilepsy after any TBI was 4.0% (95% CI 3.8% to 4.2%). The corresponding 10-year risk for controls was 0.9% (95% CI 0.9% to 0.9%). The HR increased with a more severe injury, from 3.0 (95% CI 2.8 to 3.2) for mild injury to 16.0 (95% CI 14.5 to 17.5) for focal cerebral injury. Multivariable analyses identified central nervous system (CNS) comorbidities as risk factors, but TBI remained significant also after adjustment for these. Other identified risk factors were male sex, age, mechanical ventilation and seizure during index hospitalisation.

Conclusion

The risk of post-traumatic epilepsy is considerable, also with adjustments for CNS comorbidities.
Value assessment frameworks: who is valuing the care in healthcare?
Authors: Michaels Jonathan Anthony
Published: March 2021

Many healthcare agencies are producing evidence-based guidance and policy that may determine the availability of particular healthcare products and procedures, effectively rationing aspects of healthcare. They claim legitimacy for their decisions through reference to evidence-based scientific method and the implementation of just decision-making procedures, often citing the criteria of ‘accountability for reasonableness’; publicity, relevance, challenge and revision, and regulation. Central to most decision methods are estimates of gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), a measure that combines the length and quality of survival. However, all agree that the QALY alone is not a sufficient measure of all relevant aspects of potential healthcare benefits, and a number of value assessment frameworks have been suggested. I argue that the practical implementation of these procedures has the potential to lead to a distorted assessment of value. Undue weight may be ascribed to certain attributes, particularly those that favour commercial or political interests, while other attributes that are highly valued by society, particularly those related to care processes, may be omitted or undervalued. This may be compounded by a lack of transparency to relevant stakeholders, resulting in an inability for them to participate in, or challenge, the decisions. The makes it likely that costly new technologies, for which inflated prices can be justified by the current value frameworks, are displacing aspects of healthcare that are highly valued by society.
Vaccine confidence, public understanding and probity: time for a shift in focus?
Authors: Wheelock Ana , Ives Jonathan
Published: March 2021

Lack of vaccine confidence can contribute to drops in vaccination coverage and subsequent outbreaks of diseases like measles and polio. Low trust in vaccines is attributed to a combination of factors, including lack of understanding, vaccine scares, flawed policies, social media and mistrust of vaccine manufacturers, scientists and decision-makers. The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare societies’ vulnerability to new pathogens and the critical role of vaccines (and their acceptability) in containing this and future pandemics. It has also put science at the forefront of the response, with several governments relying on academics to help shape policy and communicate with the public. Against this backdrop, protecting public trust in scientists and scientific output is arguably more important than ever. Yet, conflicts of interest (CoI) in biomedical research remain ubiquitous and harmful, and measures to curb them have had limited success. There is also evidence of bias in industry-sponsored vaccine studies and academics are voicing concerns about the risks of working in a CoI prevalent research area. Here, we set out to challenge established thinking with regard to vaccine confidence, by shifting the gaze from a deficit in public understanding towards probity in research relationships and suggesting an alternative and perhaps complementary strategy for addressing vaccine mistrust. We argue that a concerted effort needs to be made to revisit the norms that undergird contemporary vaccine research, coupled with a willingness of all stakeholders to reimagine those relationships with an emphasis on demonstrating trustworthiness and probity.
Strengthened impairment argument does not restate Marquis
Authors: Blackshaw Bruce Philip
Published: March 2021

With Perry Hendricks, I recently outlined a strengthened version of the impairment argument (SIA) for the immorality of abortion. Alex Gillham has argued that our use of Don Marquis’ deprivation of a ‘future-like ours’ account entails we were merely restating Marquis’ argument for the immorality of abortion. Here, I explain why SIA is more than just a reframing of Marquis.
How junior doctors perceive personalised yoga and group exercise in the management of occupational and traumatic stressors
Authors: Taylor Jennifer , Stratton Elizabeth , McLean Loyola , Richards Bethan , Glozier Nicholas
Published: March 2021

Objectives

Junior doctors are exposed to occupational and traumatic stressors, some of which are inherent to medicine. This can result in burnout, mental ill-health and suicide. Within a crossover pilot study comparing personalised, trauma-informed yoga to group-format exercise, qualitative interviews were conducted to understand the experience of junior doctors and whether such interventions were perceived to help manage these stressors.

Methods

Twenty-one doctors, 76% female, were order-randomised to consecutive 8-week yoga and exercise programmes. Fifty-two interviews were recorded before and after each programme.

Results

Many participants reported being time poor, sleep-affected, frequently stressed and occasionally in physical pain/distress. Major stressor themes were workplace incivility, death/human suffering and shift work with minimal support. Both interventions were acceptable for different reasons. Personalised yoga offered a therapeutic alliance, time to check-in and reduced anxiety/rumination. Group exercise provided energy and social connection. One participant found yoga beneficial following an acute workplace trauma: ‘It was really eye opening how much I felt my body just needed to detox … I wouldn't have gone to a group fitness the next day … I just wanted to relax and breathe …We still had a big debrief which was great … (but) I almost felt like … I dealt with it physically and emotionally before going into it (P20).’

Conclusion

Junior doctors found both interventions useful for stress management adjunctive to other organisational programmes though for different and complementary reasons, possibly related to delivery mode. Personalised, trauma-informed yoga provided a confidential therapeutic alliance whereas group exercise offered social connection.
Radiation safety and knowledge: an international survey of 708 interventional pain physicians
Authors: Provenzano David Anthony , Florentino Samuel Ambrose , Kilgore Jason S , De Andres Jose , Sitzman B Todd , Brancolini Scott , Lamer Tim J , Buvanendran Asokumar , Carrino John A , Deer Timothy R , Narouze Samer
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Interventional pain procedures have increased in complexity, often requiring longer radiation exposure times and subsequently higher doses. The practicing physician requires an in-depth knowledge and evidence-based knowledge of radiation safety to limit the health risks to themselves, patients and healthcare staff. The objective of this study was to examine current radiation safety practices and knowledge among interventional pain physicians and compare them to evidence-based recommendations.

Materials and methods

A 49-question survey was developed based on an extensive review of national and international guidelines on radiation safety. The survey was web-based and distributed through the following professional organizations: Association of Pain Program Directors, American Academy of Pain Medicine, American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, European Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy, International Neuromodulation Society, and North American Neuromodulation Society. Responses to radiation safety practices and knowledge questions were evaluated and compared with evidence-based recommendations. An exploratory data analysis examined associations with radiation safety training/education, geographical location, practice type, self-perceived understanding, and fellowship experience.

Results

Of 708 responding physicians, 93% reported concern over the health effects of radiation, while only 63% had ever received radiation safety training/education. Overall, ≥80% physician compliance with evidence-based radiation safety practice recommendations was demonstrated for only 2/15 survey questions. Physician knowledge of radiation safety principles was low, with 0/10 survey questions having correct response rates ≥80%.

Conclusion

We have identified deficiencies in the implementation of evidence-based practices and knowledge gaps in radiation safety. Further education and training are warranted for both fellowship training and postgraduate medical practice. The substantial gaps identified should be addressed to better protect physicians, staff and patients from unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation during interventional pain procedures.
Estimation of treatment and prognostic factors of pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with connective tissue diseases
Authors: Ishikawa Yuichi , Nakano Kazuhisa , Tokutsu Kei , Miyata Hiroko , Fujino Yoshihisa , Matsuda Shinya , Tanaka Yoshiya
Published: March 2021

Objectives

To investigate short-term prognosis and prognostic factors for connective tissue disease-associated pneumocystis pneumonia (CTD-PCP) using the Japanese nationwide diagnosis procedure combination (DPC) inpatient database.

Methods

The present retrospective cohort study from April 2014 to March 2016 included data of patients with CTD-PCP extracted from the DPC database using the 10threvision of International Classification of Diseases and Injuries codes.

Results

In 15 901 766 cases registered from 1329 hospitals, 333 of 67 890 patients who were admitted with PCP were diagnosed with CTD-PCP and included in the study. The median age was 71.0 years, and 214 (64.3%), 80 (24.0%), and 29 (8.7%) patients received sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (ST) monotherapy and pentamidine-containing and atovaquone-containing therapy, respectively. There were 114 (34.2%) in-hospital deaths, and the 30-day and 60-day in-hospital survival rates after PCP treatment initiation were 66.0% and 53.7%, respectively. Older age (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.08) and concomitant interstitial lung disease (ILD) (HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.42) were poor prognostic factors. Patients who completed PCP treatment with ST monotherapy had a significantly higher survival rate than those treated with those not treated with ST monotherapy (p=0.015; log-rank test). Pentamidine versus atovaquone as second-line therapy was significantly higher with atovaquone (p=0.012; log-rank test).

Conclusion

Older age and concomitant ILD were poor prognostic factors for CTD-PCP. ST was a reasonable first-line therapy in patients with CTD-PCP, and patients with inadequate response to ST treated with atovaquone tended to have a better prognosis than those treated with pentamidine.
'Menthol-Plus’: a major category of cigarette found among ‘concept’ descriptor cigarettes from Mexico
Authors: Pankow James F , Luo Wentai , McWhirter Kevin J , Gillette Samantha , Cohen Joanna E
Published: March 2021

Background

Tobacco companies are offering cigarettes with ‘concept’ descriptor names that suggest sensation and/or flavour properties (eg, Marlboro ‘Velvet Fusion’). Little has been known about the identities and levels of flavour chemicals in such cigarettes.

Methods

Thirty-three filter cigarette variants from 27 packs (including two sampler packs with four variations each) from Canada and Mexico were analysed (rod + filter) for 177 flavour chemicals plus triacetin, a filter plasticiser and possible flavourant. Five brands of US mentholated filter cigarettes were also analysed.

Results

Twenty-seven of the 33 cigarettes (all were Mexican variants) were categorised as ‘menthol-plus’: significant menthol (3.0–11.9 mg/cigarette), plus varying amounts (0.32–3.4 mg/cigarette) of total other flavour chemicals (TOFCs) (excludes triacetin). For 10 of the 27, TOFCs >1.0 mg/cigarette. For 7 of the 27, the TOFCs profile was categorised as containing total fruit flavour compounds (TFFCs) >1.0 mg/cigarette. One Mexican variant was categorised as ‘menthol-only’ (TOFCs ≤0.15 mg/cigarette). All menthol-plus and menthol-only cigarettes contained one or two optional-crush capsules in their filters (crushed prior to analysis). All five Canadian brand variants were ‘non-flavoured’. All five US brand variants were ‘menthol-only’.

Conclusions

All but one of the ‘concept’ descriptor cigarettes from Mexico were ‘menthol-plus’. While the Canadian cigarettes complied with Canada’s flavour chemical ban, concept descriptors on the packs may increase appeal. Given the scale of the problem posed by menthol alone, health officials seeking to decrease the appeal of smoked tobacco should examine the extent to which ‘concept descriptor’ cigarettes using ‘menthol-plus’ flavour profiling together with artful descriptors are furthering the problem of smoked tobacco.
Light and darkness: consistently coupling dark matter to photons via effective operators
Authors: Arina Chiara , Cheek Andrew , Mimasu Ken , Pagani Luca
Published: March 2021

We consider the treatment of fermionic dark matter interacting with photons via dimension-5 and -6 effective operators, arguing that one should always use hypercharge gauge field form factors, instead of those of the photon. Beyond the simple observation that the electromagnetic form factor description breaks down at the electroweak scale, we show how the additional couplings to the Z boson predicted by the hypercharge form factors modify the relic density calculation and indirect detection limits for dark matter masses of a few tens of GeV and above. Furthermore, constraints from the invisible Z decay width can be competitive for masses below 10 GeV. We review the phenomenology of hypercharge form factors at the LHC as well as for direct and indirect detection experiments. We highlight where the electromagnetic and hypercharge descriptions lead to wildly different conclusions about the viable parameter space and the relative sensitivity of various probes, namely vector boson fusion versus mono-jet constraints from the LHC, and indirect versus direct searches, for larger dark matter masses. We find that the dimension-5 operators are strongly constrained by direct detection bounds, while for dimension-6 operators LHC mono-jet searches are competitive or better than the other probes we consider.
An Adaptive Location-Aware Swarm Intelligence Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Jiang Shenghao , Mashdoor Saeed , Parvin Hamid , Tuan Bui Anh , Pho Kim-Hung
Published: March 2021

Optimization is an important and decisive task in science. Many optimization problems in science are naturally too complicated and difficult to be modeled and solved by the conventional optimization methods such as mathematical programming problem solvers. Meta-heuristic algorithms that are inspired by nature have started a new era in computing theory to solve the optimization problems. The paper seeks to find an optimization algorithm that learns the expected quality of different places gradually and adapts its exploration-exploitation dilemma to the location of an individual. Using birds’ classical conditioning learning behavior, in this paper, a new particle swarm optimization algorithm has been introduced where particles can learn to perform a natural conditioning behavior towards an unconditioned stimulus. Particles are divided into multiple categories in the problem space and if any of them finds the diversity of its category to be low, it will try to go towards its best personal experience. But if the diversity among the particles of its category is high, it will try to be inclined to the global optimum of its category. We have also used the idea of birds’ sensitivity to the space in which they fly and we have tried to move the particles more quickly in improper spaces so that they would depart these spaces as fast as possible. On the contrary, we reduced the particles’ speed in valuable spaces in order to let them explore those places more. In the initial population, the algorithm has used the instinctive behavior of birds to provide a population based on the particles’ merits. The proposed method has been implemented in MATLAB and the results have been divided into several subpopulations or parts. The proposed method has been compared to the state-of-the-art methods. It has been shown that the proposed method is a consistent algorithm for solving the static optimization problems.
Distributed Decision Making with S-approximation Spaces
Authors: Shakiba Ali
Published: March 2021

The combination of identical S-approximation spaces, except with different decider mappings, is studied in this paper by considering the construction of more complex S-approximation spaces from simpler ones that use different decision criteria, e.g., due to levels of expertise. It can be used to model group decision making problems where each decider makes an independent decision based on a shared knowledge map, e.g., several doctors with the same knowledge and different, independent decision criteria decide on a possible disease(s) for a patient, based on the same set of observations. These results can formalize the management of distributed uncertainty and can be used to invent novel distributed uncertain data processing algorithms. Also, we introduce the decider significance concept to minimize the number of combinations to obtain the same effect as the original combination. We show that finding a minimum set of significant deciders is NP-hard. and give an illustrative example in a medical expert system.
Convergence Theorems in the Sense of Vitali and Lusin for the Itô–Henstock Integral
Authors: Labendia Mhelmar A. , Arcede Jayrold P.
Published: March 2021

In this paper, we formulate a version of convergence theorem using double Lusin condition and a version of Vitali convergence theorem for the Itô–Henstock integral of an operator-valued stochastic process with respect to a [Formula: see text]-Wiener process.
Multimodal News Feed Evaluation System with Deep Reinforcement Learning Approaches
Authors: Rakesh Kumar S. , Muthuramalingam S. , Al-Turjman Fadi
Published: March 2021

Multilingual and multimodal data analysis is the emerging news feed evaluation system. News feed analysis and evaluations are interrelated processes, which are useful in understanding the news factors. The news feed evaluation system can be implemented for single or multilingual language models. Classification techniques used on multilingual news analysis require deep layered learning techniques rather than conventional approaches. In this proposed work, a hierarchical structure of deep learning algorithms is implemented for making an effective complex news evaluation system. Deep learning techniques such as the Deep Cooperative Multilingual Reinforcement Learning Model, the Multidimensional Genetic Algorithm, and the Multilingual Generative Adversarial Network are developed to evaluate a vast number of news feeds. The proposed tech-niques collaborate in a pipeline order to build a deep news feed evaluation system. The implementation details project that the newly proposed system performs 5% to 12% better than the other news evaluation systems.
TransBERT
Authors: Li Zhongyang , Ding Xiao , Liu Ting
Published: March 2021

Recent advances, such as GPT, BERT, and RoBERTa, have shown success in incorporating a pre-trained transformer language model and fine-tuning operations to improve downstream NLP systems. However, this framework still has some fundamental problems in effectively incorporating supervised knowledge from other related tasks. In this study, we investigate a transferable BERT (TransBERT) training framework, which can transfer not only general language knowledge from large-scale unlabeled data but also specific kinds of knowledge from various semantically related supervised tasks, for a target task. Particularly, we propose utilizing three kinds of transfer tasks, including natural language inference, sentiment classification, and next action prediction, to further train BERT based on a pre-trained model. This enables the model to get a better initialization for the target task. We take story-ending prediction as the target task to conduct experiments. The final results of 96.0% and 95.0% accuracy on two versions of Story Cloze Test datasets dramatically outperform previous state-of-the-art baseline methods. Several comparative experiments give some helpful suggestions on how to select transfer tasks to improve BERT. Furthermore, experiments on six English and three Chinese datasets show that TransBERT generalizes well to other tasks, languages, and pre-trained models.
Hybridization between Neural Computing and Nature-Inspired Algorithms for a Sentence Similarity Model Based on the Attention Mechanism
Authors: Zhang Peiying , Huang Xingzhe , Li Maozhen , Xue Yu
Published: March 2021

Sentence similarity analysis has been applied in many fields, such as machine translation, the question answering system, and voice customer service. As a basic task of natural language processing, sentence similarity analysis plays an important role in many fields. The task of sentence similarity analysis is to establish a sentence similarity scoring model through multi-features. In previous work, researchers proposed a variety of models to deal with the calculation of sentence similarity. But these models do not consider the association information of sentence pairs, but only input sentence pairs into the model. In this article, we propose a sentence feature extraction model based on multi-feature attention. In addition, with the development of deep learning and the application of nature-inspired algorithms, researchers have proposed various hybrid algorithms that combine nature-inspired algorithms with neural networks. The hybrid algorithms not only solve the problem of decision-making based on multiple features but also improve the performance of the model. In the model, we use the attention mechanism to extract sentence features and assign weight. Then, the convolutional neural network is used to reduce the dimension of the matrix. In the training process, we integrate the firefly algorithm in the neural networks. The experimental results show that the accuracy of our model is 74.21%.
Regulation of the Plant Cell Cycle in Response to Hormones and the Environment
Authors: Shimotohno Akie , Aki Shiori S. , Takahashi Naoki , Umeda Masaaki
Published: March 2021

Developmental and environmental signals converge on cell cycle machinery to achieve proper and flexible organogenesis under changing environments. Studies on the plant cell cycle began 30 years ago, and accumulated research has revealed many links between internal and external factors and the cell cycle. In this review, we focus on how phytohormones and environmental signals regulate the cell cycle to enable plants to cope with a fluctuating environment. After introducing key cell cycle regulators, we first discuss how phytohormones and their synergy are important for regulating cell cycle progression and how environmental factors positively and negatively affect cell division. We then focus on the well-studied example of stress-induced G2 arrest and view the current model from an evolutionary perspective. Finally, we discuss the mechanisms controlling the transition from the mitotic cycle to the endocycle, which greatly contributes to cell enlargement and resultant organ growth in plants.
Updating the Notion that Poor Cathode Performance Typically Dominates Overall Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Response
Authors: Zhang Yubo , Nicholas Jason D.
Published: March 2021

Here, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) utilizing high performance La0.6Sr0.4Co0.8Fe0.2O3−x (LSCF)—Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95−x (GDC) nano-composite cathodes (NCCs) on commercially-available [GDC diffusion barrier ∣ (Y2O3)0.08(ZrO2)0.92 (YSZ) electrolyte ∣ Ni-YSZ anode functional layer ∣ Ni-YSZ gas transport layer] supports had the same 550 °C–650 °C current-voltage behavior as identical SOFCs utilizing commercial La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 (LSC) cathodes, despite differences in open-circuit cathode polarization resistance (R

P
). Nickel anode infiltration also produced a ∼25% SOFC peak power density improvement in these cells. These results, combined with literature data showing that either the cathode R

P
, anode R

P
, or ohmic losses within the cell can limit state-of-the-art SOFC performance (depending on the exact compositions, microstructures, testing conditions etc.), suggest that it is time to retire the old adage that poor cathode performance typically limits overall SOFC performance.
From the Editor: Translocation of Terminology Across Boundaries
Authors: Rajeshwar Krishnan
Published: March 2021

Have you ever wondered how terms and phrases that we use in one context of our everyday living (e.g., science and technology) wind up in another (say, business)?
The Chalkboard - Carbon Nanotubes: Next Generation of Electronic Materials
Authors: Seetharamappa Jaldappagari , Yellappa Shivaraj , D’Souza Francis
Published: March 2021

The current interest in carbon nanotubes is a direct consequence of the synthesis of buckminsterfullerene, C60, in 1985 and its derivatives thereafter. The discovery that carbon could form stable, ordered structures other than graphite and diamond simulated many researchers in the world to search for other allotropes of carbon.
Samuel Ruben: Inventor, Scholar, and Benefactor
Authors: Bullock Kathryn
Published: March 2021

Electrochemistry and solid-state technologies have both been greatly enriched by the creative work of Samuel Ruben (1900-1988), Acheson Medalist (1970), and Honorary Member of ECS (1983).
Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanostructures: Carbon Buckyballs to Nanotubes
Authors: D’Souza Frank
Published: March 2021

The feature articles in this issue of Interface focus on the research and development of carbon-based fullerene and carbon nanostructures. Carbon is a versatile element and can form various allotropes, including graphite, diamond, and fullerene-like structures.
Education: Electrochemical and Solid-State Science and Technology
Authors: Adler Stuart B. , Schwartz Daniel T.
Published: March 2021

In assembling this special issue on education, we sought input from many constituencies. However, it quickly became clear that everyone views education from different angles, and it would be nearly impossible to fully cover all aspects of this multi-faceted subject. Instead, we took the opportunity to provoke questions that we think are important for members of ECS to think about, while also highlighting what some members of our Society are doing in the area of electrochemical education.
Quantum Dots in Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices
Authors: Stokes Edward , Stiff-Roberts Adrienne D. , Dameron Charles T.
Published: March 2021

Nanoscale materials such as semiconductor quantum dots (SQDs) have electronic and optical properties between those of much larger macro and microscale bulk semiconductor crystals, and much smaller atoms and molecules.
Advances in Molecular and Supramolecular Fullerene Chemistry
Authors: Martin Nazario , Solladie Nathalie , Nierengarten Jean-Francois
Published: March 2021

In 1996 Sir Harold W. Kroto, Robert F. Curl, and the late Richard E. Smalley received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the fullerenes. After a decade, these round-shaped carbon allotropes still are a major hot topic in chemical research and additional findings are continuously being reported for applying these three-dimensional molecules for practical purposes.
Education Initiatives of The Electrochemical Society
Authors: Adler Stuart B.
Published: March 2021

One great strength of The Electrochemical Society (ECS) has been its diversity - a single society where scientists and engineers from numerous disciplines can meet and create new ideas. This inclusiveness has allowed ECS to continually renew and redefine itself, and thus remain at the forefront of exciting developments in science and technology.
450 mm Silicon: An Opportunity and Wafer Scaling
Authors: Watanabe Masaharu , Kramer Scott
Published: March 2021

Today, we take our favorite music and movies anywhere. It is a result of the never-ending reduction in bit cost brought about by the accelerating development of semiconductor devices and their production technology.
Nanostructured Solid-State Electrochemical Systems (Applications and Challenges)
Authors: Kim Sangtae
Published: March 2021

Nanoionics is a research area where chemistry, physics, materials science, and chemical engineering meet. This necessitates multidisciplinary research activities because it is not possible to do such research based on a single discipline.
Dielectric Science and Technology
Authors: Brown Bill , Hess Dennis , Desai Vimal , Deen M. Jamal
Published: March 2021

The Dielectric Science and Technology (DS&T) Division celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2005 as a division within The Electrochemical Society (ECS). As with other Divisions, DS&T provides a forum for its members to exchange scientific ideas through sponsored and co-sponsored symposia, publication of papers, and other activities.
Charge Transport in ZnO Nanorod Array Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Authors: Martinson Alex
Published: March 2021

The 2006 Colin G. Fink Summer Research Fellowship Summary Report
Novel Redox-Responsive Surfactant
Authors: Yang Yuming
Published: March 2021

The 2006 F. M. Becket Summer Research Fellowship Summary Report
Electrodeposition and Nanobiosystems
Authors: Schwartz Daniel T.
Published: March 2021

As seen elsewhere in this section on electrodeposition, electrodeposition is a key method for making the materials used in computer chips and magnetic data storage systems; every day it helps lower the cost and improve the performance of our information society.
Luminescence Science and Display Materials
Authors: Ronda Cees , Srivastava Alok M.
Published: March 2021

Luminescence is defined broadly as the generation of light in excess of that radiated thermally. Man’s fascination with luminescence stems from when an otherwise invisible power is converted into visible light.
Electro-organic Reactions and Redox Active Biomolecules: A Student Diary
Authors: Rusling James F. , Fry Albert J.
Published: March 2021

It is early December, and I have been in chemistry grad school for about 3 months. It is a big transition, and a bit tougher that I expected. The courses are not too hard, but the focus here is very much on research.
ABCA1‐Labeled Exosomes in Serum Contain Higher MicroRNA‐193b Levels in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Liu Chen-Geng , Zhao Yue , Lu Yao , Wang Pei-Chang
Published: March 2021

Objective. We aimed to establish a method to determine whether microRNA‐193b (miR‐193b) levels in ABCA1‐labeled serum exosomes might serve as a marker for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Methods. We used immunocapture methods to determine the levels of ABCA1‐labeled exosomal miR‐193b in cultures of white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), mouse hippocampal neuron HT‐22 cells, and primary mouse neuronal cells. ABCA1‐labeled exosomal miR‐193b levels were also evaluated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of APP/PS1 double‐transgenic mice, as well as control subjects (n = 60) and study participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 89), stage and mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 92), and dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT, n = 92). Results. ABCA1 levels of exosomes harvested from the medium of HT‐22 cells and neurons were significantly higher than those of RBCs and WBCs (P < 0.05). Exosomal ABCA1 from the CSF of APP/PS1 mice were transmitted to the serum of wild‐type mice after injection, and high miR‐193b levels were observed in both the serum and CSF after injection. The ABCA1‐labeled exosomal miR‐193b levels were higher in the CSF of MCI and DAT patients compared with the CSF of the control group (P < 0.05). The ABCA1‐labeled exosomal miR‐193b were also slightly higher (P > 0.05) in the serum of SCD patients and significantly higher in the serum of MCI and DAT patients compared with the serum of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion. This study provides a method to capture specific exosomes. Detection of serum exosomes labeled with ABCA1 may facilitate the early diagnosis of AD.
Surgical Oncology in Romania: An Analysis of Research and Impact Based on Literature Search in PubMed and Web of Science
Authors: Ionescu Sînziana , Madge Octavia-Luciana , Robu Ioana , Brătucu Eugen , Daha Claudiu
Published: March 2021

Background. With a long tradition and outstanding contributions over time, medical scientific research in Romania has experienced major changes in the last two decades, marked by an increase in scientific publications, originating especially from university centers and fostered by national regulations on publication standards required for professional promotion. This study is aimed at assessing the literature on surgical oncology in Romania, published by Romanian authors in journals indexed in international databases. Materials and Methods. A literature search was performed, focused on surgical oncology performed in Romania. Two databases, PubMed and Web of Science (WoS), were finally selected and included in the study, which included bibliometric parameters and subject analysis. Results. The PubMed search retrieved 464,295 articles being published in only 3 Romanian journals, Chirurgia, The Medical-Surgical Journal (Iasi), and Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology. The search of the Web of Science retrieved 494 records on the subject of surgical oncology in Romania, 449 of which were published after 1989. The 494 articles received 2,102 citations, 4.26 per year, and an overall Hirsch index of 21. Most articles were published in the same 3 Romanian journals as in PubMed. Neoplasms of the digestive system prevailed, followed by articles on general surgical oncology issues, cancer research, and therapy. Bucharest has the highest number of authors, followed by Cluj‐Napoca and Iasi. Conclusion. Research originating from Romania in the field of surgical oncology is present and visible at an international level mainly through Romanian journals. Sustained effort is required from surgical oncology authors to be published in international journals on this subject, as it is the only way to increase global visibility and impact.
Characterizing Repeats in Two Whole-Genome Amplification Methods in the Reniform Nematode Genome
Authors: Nyaku S. T. , Sripathi V. R. , Lawrence K. , Sharma G.
Published: March 2021

One of the major problems in the U.S. and global cotton production is the damage caused by the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis. Amplification of DNA from single nematodes for further molecular analysis can be challenging sometimes. In this research, two whole-genome amplification (WGA) methods were evaluated for their efficiencies in DNA amplification from a single reniform nematode. The WGA was carried out using both REPLI-g Mini and Midi kits, and the GenomePlex single cell whole-genome amplification kit. Sequence analysis produced 4 Mb and 12 Mb of genomic sequences for the reniform nematode using REPLI-g and SIGMA libraries. These sequences were assembled into 28,784 and 24,508 contigs, respectively, for REPLI-g and SIGMA libraries. The highest repeats in both libraries were of low complexity, and the lowest for the REPLI-g library were for satellites and for the SIGMA library, RTE/BOV-B. The same kind of repeats were observed for both libraries; however, the SIGMA library had four other repeat elements (Penelope (long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE)), RTE/BOV-B (LINE), PiggyBac, and Mirage/P-element/Transib), which were not seen in the REPLI-g library. DNA transposons were also found in both libraries. Both reniform nematode 18S rRNA variants (RN_VAR1 and RN_VAR2) could easily be identified in both libraries. This research has therefore demonstrated the ability of using both WGA methods, in amplification of gDNA isolated from single reniform nematodes.
Investigation of Hypoglycemic Peptides Derived from Conserved Regions of adMc1 to Reveal Their Antidiabetic Activities
Authors: Mahrosh Hafiza Salaha , Mehmood Rizwan , Bukhari Shazia Anwer , Afzal Gulnaz , Arif Rawaba
Published: March 2021

Diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic disorder and leading cause of renal, neurological, and gastrointestinal manifestations in developed and developing countries. Despite of many drugs and combinational therapies, the complications of diabetes are still listed due to severe consequences of those drugs. In past few years, plant‐derived drugs draw special attention due to their higher efficacy and fewer side‐effects. Momordica charantia also known as bitter melon is referred as an antidiabetic and hypoglycemic plant in native populations of Asia and East Africa. In current study, an in silico approach was used to evaluate the interactions and binding patterns of plant‐derived peptides devised from a hypoglycemic protein adMc1 of M. charantia as potential inhibitor of DPP‐IV, SGLT1, and GLUT2 receptor proteins. The study has described a novel approach to investigate hypoglycemic peptides to cure diabetes. A total of eighty tetra‐, penta‐, and hexapeptides were devised from conserved regions of adMc1 homologs. The molecular docking approach using MOE software was employed to reveal inhibiting potentials of devised peptides against three selected proteins. Out of 30 shortlisted ligands six peptides (i.e. SMCG, DECC, TTIT, RTTI, ARNL and TVEV) accomplished the criteria of being good drug candidates against selected receptor proteins following the drugability assessment test. The overall results are acceptable on the basis of ADMET profiling for being good drug candidates against selected proteins.
Therapeutic Potential of RTA 404 in Human Brain Malignant Glioma Cell Lines via Cell Cycle Arrest via p21/AKT Signaling
Authors: Tsai Tai-Hsin , Lieu Ann-Shung , Wang Yi-Wen , Yang Sheau-Fang , Hsu Yi-Chiang , Lin Chih-Lung
Published: March 2021

Background. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in the world. Despite advances in surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, GBM continues to have a poor overall survival. CDDO (2‐cyano‐3,12‐dioxoolean‐1,9‐dien‐28‐oic acid), a synthetic triterpenoid, is an Nrf2 activator used to inhibit proliferation and induce differentiation and apoptosis in various cancer cells. One new trifluoroethylamide derivative of CDDO, RTA 404, has been found to have increased ability to cross the blood‐brain barrier. However, it is not clear what effect it may have on tumorigenesis in GBM. Methods. This in vitro study evaluated the effects of RTA 404 on GBM cells. To do this, we treated GBM840 and U87 MG cell lines with RTA 404 and assessed apoptosis, cell cycle, cell locomotion, and senescence. DNA content and induction of apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry and protein expression by Western blot analysis. Results. RTA 404 significantly inhibited the proliferation of tumor cells at concentrations higher than 100 nM (p < 0.05) and reduced their locomotion ability. In addition, treatment with RTA 404 led to an accumulation of RTA 404‐treated G2/M phase cells and apoptosis. An analysis of the p21/AKT expression suggested that RTA 404 may not only help prevent brain cancer but it may also exert antitumor activities in established GBM cells. Conclusion. RTA404 can inhibit proliferation, cell locomotion, cell cycle progression, and induce apoptosis in GBM cells in vitro, possibly through its inhibition of N‐cadherin and E‐cadherin expression via its inhibition of the AKT pathway.
An Improved Integrated Scheduling Algorithm with Process Sequence Time‐Selective Strategy
Authors: Wang Zhen , Zhang Xiaohuan , Peng Gang
Published: March 2021

The integrated scheduling algorithm of process sequence time‐selective strategy (ISAOPSTSS) is an advanced algorithm in the field of integrated scheduling. The proposed algorithm points out the shortcomings of the process sequence time‐selective strategy. Generally, there are too many “trial scheduling” times. The authors propose that there is no need to make “trial scheduling” at every “quasi‐scheduling time point.” In fact, the process scheduling scheme can be obtained by trial scheduling on some “quasi‐scheduling time points.” The scheduling result is the same as that of the sequence timing strategy. The proposed algorithm reduces the runtime of scheduling algorithm and improves the performance of the algorithm without reducing the optimization effect.
Surgical Site Infections and Perioperative Optimization of Host Immunity by Selection of Anesthetics
Authors: Yuki Koichi , Shibamura-Fujiogi Miho
Published: March 2021

Surgical site infections are significant health care issues, and efforts to mitigate their occurrence have been ongoing worldwide, mainly focusing to reduce the spillage of microbes to the otherwise sterile tissues. Optimization of host immunity has been also recognized including temperature regulation (normothermia), adequate oxygenation, and glucose management. A number of papers have described the role of anesthetics in host immunity. The role of anesthetics in postoperative outcomes including surgical site infections has been also studied. We will review the current literature and propose the importance of anesthetic selection to potentially mitigate surgical site infections.
EPPDA: An Efficient and Privacy‐Preserving Data Aggregation Scheme with Authentication and Authorization for IoT‐Based Healthcare Applications
Authors: Almalki Faris A. , Soufiene Ben Othman
Published: March 2021

Nowadays, IoT technology is used in various application domains, including the healthcare, where sensors and IoT enabled medical devices exchange data without human interaction to securely transmit collected sensitive healthcare data towards healthcare professionals to be reviewed and take proper actions if needed. The IoT devices are usually resource‐constrained in terms of energy consumption, storage capacity, computational capability, and communication range. In healthcare applications, many miniaturized devices are exploited for healthcare data collection and transmission. Thus, there is a need for secure data aggregation while preserving the data integrity and privacy of the patient. For that, the security, privacy, and aggregation of health data are very important aspects to be considered. This paper proposes a novel secure data aggregation scheme called “An Efficient and Privacy‐Preserving Data Aggregation Scheme with authentication for IoT‐Based Healthcare applications” (EPPDA). EPPDA is based to verification and authorization phase to verify the legitimacy of the nodes that need to join the process of aggregation. EPPDA, also, uses additive homomorphic encryption to protect data privacy and combines it with homomorphic MAC to check the data integrity. The major advantage of homomorphic encryption is allowing complex mathematical operations to be performed on encrypted data without knowing the contents of the original plain data. The proposed system is developed using MySignals HW V2 platform. Security analysis and experimental results show that our proposed scheme guarantees data privacy, messages authenticity, and integrity, with lightweight communication overhead and computation.
Improved Huff Model for Estimating Urban Rail Transit Station Catchment Areas considering Station Choices
Authors: Zhu Zhenjun , He Yudong , Guo Xiucheng , Zhang Yibang , Chen Junlan
Published: March 2021

Estimating urban rail transit station catchment areas is of great significance to deepening our understanding of Transit-Oriented Development in Chinese megacities. This study investigated station choices of residents and considered that residents may not only pay attention to the proximity to stations when the URT system develops into a relatively mature network. An improved Huff model was proposed to calculate the probability of residents’ station choice, which considered the station attractiveness. The station attractiveness is measured by three variables: walk score, public transport accessibility level, and service and facility index. The additive form based on multicriteria decision is adopted to incorporate experts’ opinions on the importance of three variables. In this study, extended catchment areas that can be accessed by cycling and feeder bus services are adopted to replace the conventional pedestrian-oriented catchment areas. A case study of Xi’an, China, was used to validate the applicability of the proposed methodology. The results revealed that the methodology effectively solved the problem. The findings could be used as a reference and provide technical support to policymakers and city planners with regard to the transport facilities configuration for URT station catchment areas, which contributes to facilitating transit-oriented development.
D‐Shaped Concrete‐Filled Steel Tube Structure in Bridge Engineering
Authors: Liu Yuan , Wang Wei , Wang Changqing , Bi Shuosong , Zhu Jianming
Published: March 2021

With the continuous progress of the construction industry, the requirements for concrete in the bridge engineering are getting higher and higher. This research mainly discusses the detection of D‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tube structure in bridge engineering. In this study, the D‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tube member was used as the research object, and the load‐displacement curve of the D‐shaped concrete‐filled steel tube compression‐bending member was analyzed by the fiber model program. In the determination of the bonding state of the concrete‐filled steel tube interface, in order to avoid the impact of mechanical and manual vibrating and the difference in concrete pouring methods on the test, the study uses C60 self‐compacting microexpansion concrete. While pouring the specimens, three sets of cube specimens with a side length of 100 mm are reserved to determine the mechanical properties of the concrete simultaneously. In the temperature shock measurement of the concrete‐filled steel tube specimen, the concrete‐filled steel tube specimen was placed in a resistance heater during the simulated heating stage and heated to 20°C, 40°C, 60°C, and 80°C at room temperature. When measuring the mechanical properties of the specimen under the axial load, the specimen is heated from room temperature to the temperature of the entire section to reach 20°C, 40°C, 60°C, and 80°C. After preloading, the load of each level is 10t for continuous operation. Load and record the strain of the steel pipe and concrete under each load. If only the radial effect of the steel tube on concrete is considered, the temperature of 11°C, 20°C, and 80°C is the best ambient temperature. The results show that the D‐shaped steel tube concrete interface state can provide a certain theoretical and experimental reference for the optimization of the steel tube concrete interface, ensuring the long‐term working performance of the steel tube concrete under the harsh environment.