bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Highly Selective Transformation of Biomass Derivatives to Valuable Chemicals by Single‐Atom Photocatalyst Ni/TiO2
Authors: Xiong Lunqiao , Qi Haifeng , Zhang Shengxin , Zhang Leilei , Liu Xiaoyan , Wang Aiqin , Tang Junwang
Published: February 2023

Selective CC cleavage of the biomass derivative glycerol under mild conditions is recognized as a promising yet challenging synthesis route to produce value‐added chemicals. Here, a highly selective catalyst for the transformation of glycerol to the high‐value product glycolaldehyde is presented, which is composed of nickel single atoms confined to the surface of titanium dioxide. Driven by light, the catalyst operates under ambient conditions using air as a green oxidant. The optimized catalyst shows a selectivity of over 60% to glycolaldehyde, resulting in 1058 µmol gCat−1 h−1 production rate, and ≈3 times higher turnover number than NiOx‐nanoparticle‐decorated TiO2 photocatalyst. Diverse operando and in situ spectroscopies unveil the unique function of the Ni single atom, which can significantly promote oxygen adsorption, work as an electron sink, and accelerate the production of superoxide radicals, thereby improving the selectivity toward glycolaldehyde over other by‐products.
Advances of Antimicrobial Peptide‐Based Biomaterials for the Treatment of Bacterial Infections
Authors: Li Guoyu , Lai Zhenheng , Shan Anshan
Published: February 2023

Owing to the increase in multidrug‐resistant bacterial isolates in hospitals globally and the lack of truly effective antimicrobial agents, antibiotic resistant bacterial infections have increased substantially. There is thus an urgent need to develop new antimicrobial drugs and their related formulations. In recent years, natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), AMP optimization, self‐assembled AMPs, AMP hydrogels, and biomaterial‐assisted delivery of AMPs have shown great potential in the treatment of bacterial infections. In this review, it is focused on the development prospects and shortcomings of various AMP‐based biomaterials for treating animal model infections, such as abdominal, skin, and eye infections. It is hoped that this review will inspire further innovations in the design of AMP‐based biomaterials for the treatment of bacterial infections and accelerate their commercialization.
Preemergence herbicide effects on St. Augustinegrass establishment
Authors: Wilber Amy L. , McCurdy James D. , Czarnecki Joby , Stewart Barry , Dong Hongxu
Published: February 2023

St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] is one of the most common turfgrass lawn species of warm‐season climates. Like many turfgrasses, it is produced as sod. Weed control during sod production is problematic, due in part to intolerance of St. Augustinegrass to a range of useful turfgrass herbicides, and because the open canopy and growth‐conducive conditions of sod production favor certain difficult‐to‐control weeds. Although those weeds are best preventatively controlled using preemergence herbicides, many preemergence herbicides also adversely affect vegetative propagation of turfgrasses. Field research was conducted at the Mississippi State University, near Starkville, Mississippi, USA, to evaluate the effects of dithiopyr, pendimethalin, prodiamine, liquid‐ and granular‐applied oxadiazon, atrazine, S‐metolachlor, atrazine + S‐metolachlor, and indaziflam on St. Augustinegrass establishment from plugs. Plots (2.25 m2) were planted with 10 plugs (225 cm2 apiece), and preemergence herbicides were applied at standard use rates 1 day after planting. Visual estimates of percentage cover were collected weekly, and aerial imagery was collected weekly to biweekly. Visual cover and vegetation index data were regressed to estimate days to reach 50% maximum nontreated response. Liquid‐applied oxadiazon and atrazine were the only treatments that did not increase days to reach 50% cover in both replication years. Dithiopyr, prodiamine, S‐metolachlor, and indaziflam increased days to reach 50% cover in both replication years. The normalized difference vegetation index, ratio vegetation index, and chlorophyll index‐red edge derived from an aerial sensor, detected similar, but fewer, treatment differences compared to estimated visual cover.
Consistency and reliability of automated language measures across expressive language samples in autism
Authors: MacFarlane Heather , Salem Alexandra C. , Bedrick Steven , Dolata Jill K. , Wiedrick Jack , Lawley Grace O. , Finestack Lizbeth H. , Kover Sara T. , Thurman Angela John , Abbeduto Leonard , Fombonne Eric
Published: February 2023

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with substantial clinical heterogeneity, especially in language and communication ability. There is a need for validated language outcome measures that show sensitivity to true change for this population. We used Natural Language Processing to analyze expressive language transcripts of 64 highly‐verbal children and young adults (age: 6–23 years, mean 12.8 years; 78.1% male) with ASD to examine the validity across language sampling context and test‐retest reliability of six previously validated Automated Language Measures (ALMs), including Mean Length of Utterance in Morphemes, Number of Distinct Word Roots, C‐units per minute, unintelligible proportion, um rate, and repetition proportion. Three expressive language samples were collected at baseline and again 4 weeks later. These samples comprised interview tasks from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS‐2) Modules 3 and 4, a conversation task, and a narration task. The influence of language sampling context on each ALM was estimated using either generalized linear mixed‐effects models or generalized linear models, adjusted for age, sex, and IQ. The 4 weeks test‐retest reliability was evaluated using Lin's Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC). The three different sampling contexts were associated with significantly (P < 0.001) different distributions for each ALM. With one exception (repetition proportion), ALMs also showed good test‐retest reliability (median CCC: 0.73–0.88) when measured within the same context. Taken in conjunction with our previous work establishing their construct validity, this study demonstrates further critical psychometric properties of ALMs and their promising potential as language outcome measures for ASD research.
Acetic acid‐assisted mild dealloying of fine CuPd nanoalloys achieving compressive strain toward high‐efficiency oxygen reduction and ethanol oxidation electrocatalysis
Authors: Liu Danye , Zhang Yu , Liu Hui , Rao Peng , Xu Lin , Chen Dong , Tian Xinlong , Yang Jun
Published: February 2023

Dealloying by which the transition metal is partially or completely leached from an alloy precursor is an effective way to optimize the fundamental effects for further enhancing the electrocatalysis of a catalyst. Herein, to address the deficiencies associated with the commonly used dealloying methods, for example, electrochemical and sulfuric acid/nitric acid treatment, we report an acetic acid‐assisted mild strategy to dealloy Cu atoms from the outer surface layers of CuPd alloy nanoparticles to achieve high‐efficiency electrocatalysis for oxygen reduction and ethanol oxidation in an alkaline electrolyte. The leaching of Cu atoms by acetic acid exerts an additional compressive strain effect on the surface layers and exposes more active Pd atoms, which is beneficial for boosting the catalytic performance of a dealloyed catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In particular, for ORR, the CuPd nanoparticles with a Pd/Cu molar ratio of 2:1 after acetic dealloying show a half‐wave potential of 0.912 V (vs. RHE) and a mass activity of 0.213 A mgPd−1 at 0.9 V, respectively, while for EOR, the same dealloyed sample has a mass activity and a specific activity of 8.4 A mg−1 and 8.23 mA cm−2, respectively, much better than their dealloyed counterparts at other temperatures and commercial Pd/C as well as a Pt/C catalyst.
The diagnostic accuracy of pleomorphic adenoma in fine needle aspiration: Features leading to false positive and false negative diagnoses and the utility of cell blocks
Authors: Tommola Erkka , Tommola Satu , Kholová Ivana
Published: February 2023

Objective

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a well‐established tool in preoperative diagnosis of salivary gland lesions with diagnostic accuracy of 90%. Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common salivary gland tumor comprising 45%–74% of all salivary gland tumors with FNA diagnostic accuracy of 89.5%–96.2%. The aim of the present study was to determine and analyze potential cytomorphological pitfalls and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy in FNA diagnosis of PA.

Methods

Salivary gland specimens with both cytological and histological diagnoses were searched over a 10‐year‐period (2009–2018) from a laboratory information system of Pathology Department, Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere and matched to determine concordant and discordant PA cases. Sufficient material in histological and cytological sample was found in 401 cases. In 218 cases (54.4%) diagnosis was true‐negative PA, in 169 cases (42.1%) diagnosis was true‐positive PA and there were 14 discordant cases: 4 false‐positive cases and 10 false‐negative cases. False‐negative cases were reclassified and subgrouped according to The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC).

Results

Cytomorphologically, cell type predominance was more often myoepithelial in true‐positive cases (65%) and epithelial both in false‐negative (70%, p = .007) and false‐positive cases (75%, p = .027). Well‐formed ducts were present in cytology in all true‐positive cases (p < .001). Only 10% of true‐positive cases did not show any matrix in cytology (p < .001). Nuclear changes were common in false‐negative cases (80%, p = .002) and false‐positive cases (75%, p = .003). Beneficial cell block (CB) was more common in true‐positive cases (85%) than in false‐negative cases (50%, p = .041) or in false‐positive cases (50%, p = .116) and a lack of beneficial CB led more often to a false diagnosis (70% false diagnosis without beneficial CB versus 29% false diagnosis with beneficial CB).

Conclusion

The present study showed diagnostic accuracy of 96.5% for FNA in PA diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 94.4%, 98.2%, 97.7%, and 95.6%, respectively. The benefit of CBs was more evident in true‐positive cases (85%).
Local recurrence of submucosal invasive colorectal cancer after endoscopic submucosal dissection revealed by copy number variation
Authors: Okazawa Yu , Sugimoto Kiichi , Ii Yuki , Irie Takahiro , Kawaguchi Megumi , Kobari Aya , Momose Hirotaka , Tsuchiya Yuki , Amemiya Kota , Motegi Shunsuke , Tsukamoto Ryoichi , Kure Kazumasa , Honjo Kumpei , Ro Hisashi , Takahashi Rina , Kawano Shingo , Kawai Masaya , Ishiyama Shun , Takahashi Makoto , Kojima Yutaka , Tomiki Yuichi , Arakawa Atsushi , Yao Takashi , Satomi Kaishi , Matsushita Yuko , Ichimura Koichi , Sakamoto Kazuhiro
Published: February 2023

We report a case in which analysis of copy number variation revealed local recurrence of submucosal invasive colorectal cancer after curative endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). An 86‐year‐old man with a history of abdominoperineal resection of the rectum for rectal cancer underwent resection with ESD for early‐stage sigmoid cancer 5 cm away from the stoma opening. At the same time, ileocecal resection was performed for advanced cecal cancer. Twelve months after ESD, advanced cancer occurred in the area of the ESD lesion. It was unclear if the cancer was a local recurrence after ESD, implantation of cecal cancer, or a new lesion. Copy number variation analysis performed for the three lesions revealed that the new lesion originated from residual tumor cells from ESD and was unlikely to be cecal cancer.
Circumventing pyroptosis via hyperactivation shapes superior immune responses of human type 2 dendritic cells compared to type 3 dendritic cells
Authors: Hatscher Lukas , Kaszubowski Tomasz , Amon Lukas , Dudziak Diana , Heger Lukas
Published: February 2023

Exploiting inflammasome activation in dendritic cells (DCs) is a promising approach to fight cancer and to augment adjuvant‐induced immune responses. As inflammasome formation is typically accompanied by pyroptosis, hyperactivation—defined as inflammasome activation in the absence of pyroptosis—represents a mechanism of circumventing cell death of DCs while simultaneously benefitting from inflammasome signaling. We previously demonstrated a unique specialization for inflammasome responses and hyperactivation of human cDC2 among all human DC subsets. As recent investigations revealed heterogeneity among the human cDC2 population, we aimed to analyze whether the two recently identified cDC2 subpopulations DC2 and DC3 harbor similar or different inflammasome characteristics. Here, we report that both DC2 and DC3 are inflammasome competent. We show that DC3 generally induce stronger inflammasome responses, which are associated with higher levels of cell death. Although DC2 release lower levels of inflammasome‐dependent IL‐1β, they induce stronger CD4+ T cell responses than DC3, which are predominantly skewed toward a TH1/TH17 phenotype. Thus, mainly DC2 seem to be able to enter a state of hyperactivation, resulting in enhanced T cell stimulatory capacity.
Antiseizure medication withdrawal risk estimation and recommendations: A survey of American Academy of Neurology and EpiCARE members
Authors: Terman Samuel W. , van Griethuysen Renate , Rheaume Carole E. , Slinger Geertruida , Haque Anisa S. , Smith Shawna N. , Kerr Wesley T. , van Asch Charlotte , Otte Willem M. , Ferreira‐Atuesta Carolina , Galovic Marian , Burke James F. , Braun Kees P. J.
Published: February 2023

Objective

Choosing candidates for antiseizure medication (ASM) withdrawal in well‐controlled epilepsy is challenging. We evaluated (a) the correlation between neurologists' seizure risk estimation (“clinician predictions”) vs calculated predictions, (b) how viewing calculated predictions influenced recommendations, and (c) barriers to using risk calculation.

Methods

We asked US and European neurologists to predict 2‐year seizure risk after ASM withdrawal for hypothetical vignettes. We compared ASM withdrawal recommendations before vs after viewing calculated predictions, using generalized linear models.

Results

Three‐hundred and forty‐six neurologists responded. There was moderate correlation between clinician and calculated predictions (Spearman coefficient 0.42). Clinician predictions varied widely, for example, predictions ranged 5%‐100% for a 2‐year seizure‐free adult without epileptiform abnormalities. Mean clinician predictions exceeded calculated predictions for vignettes with epileptiform abnormalities (eg, childhood absence epilepsy: clinician 65%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 57%‐74%; calculated 46%) and surgical vignettes (eg, focal cortical dysplasia 6‐month seizure‐free mean clinician 56%, 95% CI 52%‐60%; calculated 28%). Clinicians overestimated the influence of epileptiform EEG findings on withdrawal risk (26%, 95% CI 24%‐28%) compared with calculators (14%, 95% 13%‐14%). Viewing calculated predictions slightly reduced willingness to withdraw (−0.8/10 change, 95% CI −1.0 to −0.7), particularly for vignettes without epileptiform abnormalities. The greatest barrier to calculator use was doubting its accuracy (44%).

Significance

Clinicians overestimated the influence of abnormal EEGs particularly for low‐risk patients and overestimated risk and the influence of seizure‐free duration for surgical patients, compared with calculators. These data may question widespread ordering of EEGs or time‐based seizure‐free thresholds for surgical patients. Viewing calculated predictions reduced willingness to withdraw particularly without epileptiform abnormalities.
Effect of conductive carbon additives and negative/positive capacity ratio on graphite/LiFePO4 full‐cells performance
Authors: Nguyen Minh Thu , Pham Thanh Liem , Tuyen Huynh Thi Kim , Dai Hue Ngan , Le My Loan Phung
Published: February 2023

In this article, we study two factors (carbon additive, N/P ratio) affecting the performance of Li‐ion cells using LiFePO4 (LFP) synthesized via the hydrothermal method. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the synthesized LFP material is pure and within the single phase of the orthorhombic lattice. The electrochemical properties of synthesized LFP cathode (physically mixed with different carbon C65 and CNTs) were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatically cycling. The diffusion coefficients of LFP‐CNTs and LFP‐C65 were calculated using the Randles‐Sevcik equation and reached 8.350.10−10 cm2 s−1 and 1.620.10−10 cm2 s−1, respectively. In a rate capability tests, LFP‐CNTs based cell demonstrates an excellent cyclability with a discharge capacity (CapDis) of 147.9 mAh g−1 at 0.1C and 84.0 mAh g−1 at 5.0C, whereas LFP‐C65 completely lost capacity at 2.0C. In addition, the investigation of negative/positive capacity ratios (N/P ratios) at 1.18 and 1.23 reveals high specific capacity (Capspe), high‐capacity retention, and an excellent charge/discharge efficiency (EC/DC) at different C‐rates.
Tree crown economics
Authors: McNeil Brenden E , Fahey Robert T , King Christopher J , Erazo Dara A , Heimerl Ty Z , Elmore Andrew J
Published: February 2023

Trees respond to global change in myriad ways, many of which may be linked to adaptations relating to tree crown architecture. However, there is a paucity of theory capable of predicting the adaptive importance and dynamics of crown architecture, most likely because of the difficulties involved in measuring the three‐dimensional arrangement and orientation of tree leaves within individual crowns. Here, we describe a theory of tree crown economics, and use measurements from new lidar (light detection and ranging) instruments, UAVs (unoccupied aerial vehicles), and time‐lapse camera imagery to identify support for two predictions of the theory, that (1) a light competition versus water use economic trade‐off drives covariance among three tree crown functional traits (mean leaf angle, crown density, and crown rugosity), and (2) crown traits can drive spatial and temporal variability in near‐infrared spectral reflectance and related ecosystem functions. Tree crown economic theory can complement leaf economic theory in helping ecologists map and model forest ecosystem responses to global change.
Qualitative analysis of the perceptions of rural communities about the use of awareness‐raising videos in nutrition and health programs in Benin
Authors: Bodjrenou Fifali Sam Ulrich , Amoussa Hounkpatin Waliou , Bada Merveille , Vodouhe Simplice Davo , Termote Céline , Savy Mathilde
Published: February 2023

This cross‐sectional study aims at analyzing the perceptions of mothers, community leaders, and nutrition/health care workers (NHCWs) about using videos in nutrition and health programs compared to posters. In total, we recruited 42 mothers, 39 community leaders, and 30 NHCWs from villages and local organizations in two rural districts in South Benin, Bopa, and Houéyogbé. Learning sessions on Dietary diversity and Hygiene and deworming were organized using posters and videos. Participants' opinions on pros and cons of videos and posters were collected using individual semi‐structured interviews with NHCWs and focus group discussions with mothers and community leaders, then analyzed thematically. Results showed that videos were perceived as more adapted to rural communities than posters because they were in local languages, self‐explanatory, appealing, and captivating. Videos also enabled the dissemination of standardized messages. Globally, participants better‐understood messages from videos than from posters, especially when dealing with dynamic processes. However, the speed of video sequences allowed limited time for self‐reflection and assimilation of certain messages. The absence of electricity and lack of equipment to play videos in villages are also major constraints on the use of videos in such settings. While videos are innovant communication tools that should be promoted to improve motivation and compliance in learnings, they should be preferably used as complements to traditional posters for optimized assimilation of messages.
Effective data augmentation for brain tumor segmentation
Authors: Akram Muhammad Tahir , Asghar Sohail , Shahid Ahmad Raza
Published: February 2023

This research is to propose a training strategy for 2D U‐Net is proposed that uses selective data augmentation technique to overcome the class imbalance issue. This also helps in generating synthetic data for training which improves the generalization capabilities of the segmentation network. The training data are prepared with random sampling to further reduce the class imbalance. The post‐processing stage is used to decrease the outliers in the final output. The performance of the proposed solution is tested on the online leaderboard. The results achieved on the validation set of Brain Tumor Segmentation 2019 dataset were 0.79, 0.89, and 0.8 for enhancing tumor (ET), whole tumor (WT), and core tumor (CT) respectively. The part of the training set is also evaluated locally, and the results show the effectiveness of using selective data augmentation and random sampling. The multi‐view fusion improved the robustness and overall dice scores.
Ablation of porcine subcutaneous fat and porcine aorta tissues by a burst‐mode nanosecond‐pulsed laser at 355 nm
Authors: Sun Kexiong , He Hongzhang , Xia Xinyu , Wu Han , Tao Ling , Ma Xiuquan
Published: February 2023

High‐energy laser pulses used in laser angioplasty are challenging the laser cost, delivery system damage, efficiency, and laser catheter operating time. 355 nm nanosecond‐pulsed laser in burst mode has shown potentials in reducing the system complexity and selective ablation of tissues. In this paper, burst mode laser ablation of porcine subcutaneous fat and porcine aorta is investigated. A histopathological analysis demonstrates that porcine subcutaneous fat can be ablated at a rate of greater than 0.2 mm/s when the number of pulses per burst is 1500 (corresponding to a fluence of 0.12 mJ/mm2per pulse and 180 mJ/mm2per burst), and the temperature of tissue during lasing is lower than 45°C. The porcine aorta remains nearly unaffected at the same laser parameter, and the tissue temperature during lasing is lower than 35°C. It shows the feasibility of using a burst‐mode laser for selective ablation of tissue.
A remote sensing‐based approach for spatiotemporal refined assessment of freshwater wetland ecological risk in coastal zones: A case in Jiangsu's coastal zone
Authors: Xiong Junfeng , Li Juanjuan , Huang Jinyi , Bu Xinguo , Yang Xingdian , Lin Chen
Published: February 2023

Rapid, long‐term, and robust wetland ecological risk assessment is critical for managing coastal zones. In view of the characteristics of frequent human activities and broken plots in the coastal zone, the traditional assessment method is not fine enough. Satellite earth observation provides an unparalleled source of data for rapidly monitoring and assessing coastal wetland ecological risks through time and across a large spatial range. With the support of multi‐source remote sensing data such as precipitation, temperature, night light, land cover products, etc., a wetland ecological risk assessment method is established in this paper, and the wetland ecological risk is evaluated year by year by a grid. The evaluation results indicate that the ecological risk level of coastal wetlands in Jiangsu Province has shown an upward trend since 2015, with a high ecological risk in the north and a low ecological risk in the south, and the source area mainly appears in the northwest. Meanwhile, the year‐by‐year grid assessment can not only accurately describe the spatial and temporal distribution of wetland ecological risks but also clarify the spatial and temporal characteristics of risk source areas. Additionally, the results obtained by year‐on‐year assessment of consecutive years and clustering and zoning according to the time‐series can better represent the risk status of the time period and exclude the impact of accidental factors on the evaluation results. Although optimization for different types of wetlands can improve the accuracy of assessment, more wetland risk assessment with a longer term and a larger scale, combined with carbon emissions, will provide a basis for global wetland management.
PAX–FOXO1 fusion status in children and adolescents with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma: Impact on clinical, pathological, and survival features
Authors: Raze Thomas , Lapouble Eve , Lacour Brigitte , Guissou Sandra , Defachelles Anne‐Sophie , Gaspar Nathalie , Delattre Olivier , Pierron Gaelle , Desandes Emmanuel
Published: February 2023

Background

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) is an aggressive pediatric cancer and cases with fusion PAX3–FOXO1 and PAX7–FOXO1 seem to have a poor prognosis. The aim is to evaluate whether PAX–FOXO1 alterations influence clinical outcome in childhood and adolescence population with ARMS.

Procedure

A population‐based study was conducted between 2011 and 2016 in patients less than 17 years with a diagnosis of ARMS. Overall survival (OS) depending on fusion status with clinical factors was analyzed.

Results

Out of 111 ARMS patients recorded in the French National Childhood Cancer Registry during the 2011–2016 period, 61% expressed PAX3–FOXO1, 15% expressed PAX7–FOXO1, 13% were FOXO1 fusion‐positive without PAX specification, and 7% were PAX–FOXO1 negative (n = 4 missing data). Compared to patients with PAX7–FOXO1 positive ARMS, those with PAX3–FOXO1 positive tumor were significantly older (10–17 years: 57.4% vs. 29.4%), and had more often a metastatic disease (54.4% vs. 23.5%). Poorer 5‐year OS for patients with PAX3–FOXO1 and PAX not specified FOXO1‐positive tumor were observed (44.0% [32.0–55.4] and 35.7% [13.1–59.4], respectively). After adjustment for stage at diagnosis, patients with positive tumor for PAX3–FOXO1 were 3.6‐fold more likely to die than those with positive tumor for PAX7–FOXO1.

Conclusion

At the population level, PAX3–FOXO1 was associated with a significant higher risk of death compared to PAX7–FOXO1‐positive and PAX–FOXO1‐negative tumors, and could explain poorer 5‐year OS observed in adolescence population diagnosed with ARMS. A continuous risk score derived from the combination of clinical parameters with PAX3–FOXO1 fusion status represents a robust approach to improving current risk‐adapted therapy for ARMS.
Foaming behavior of polyamide 1212 elastomers/polyurethane composites with improved melt strength and interfacial compatibility via chain extension
Authors: Lai Jun , Huang Feng , Huang An , Liu Tong , Peng Xiangfang , Wu Jianming , Geng Lihong
Published: February 2023

Long carbon chain thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (TPAE) with PA1212 as hard segment and polytetrahydrofuran as soft segment was synthesized successfully. Subsequently, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) incorporated to compensate for the high cost of TPAE and improved the foaming performance, in which a chain extender (ADR) was applied to enhance melt strength and interfacial compatibility simultaneously. The effect of ADR content on the mechanical, thermal, rheological, and foaming properties of TPAE/TPU composites were investigated in detail. It was found that the composite foams showed a more perfect cell structure, high cell density, and increased expansion ratio because of the enhanced melt strength and interfacial compatibility, when ADR was incorporated. With the increase of ADR content, the cell size and expansion ratio of the composite foams with TPU content of 30% showed a trend of first increasing and the following decreasing. The cell size reached a maximum value when the content of ADR was 2%, which was 25.81 μm. Consequently, the obtained TPAE/TPU composite foams showed an outstanding compressive modulus and resilient performance to broaden its application in footwear industry.
Molecular structures reveal the origin of spectral variation in cryptophyte light harvesting antenna proteins
Authors: Michie Katharine A. , Harrop Stephen J. , Rathbone Harry W. , Wilk Krystyna E. , Teng Chang Ying , Hoef‐Emden Kerstin , Hiller Roger G. , Green Beverley R. , Curmi Paul M. G.
Published: February 2023

In addition to their membrane‐bound chlorophyll a/c light‐harvesting antenna, the cryptophyte algae have evolved a unique phycobiliprotein antenna system located in the thylakoid lumen. The basic unit of this antenna consists of two copies of an αβ protomer where the α and β subunits scaffold different combinations of a limited number of linear tetrapyrrole chromophores. While the β subunit is highly conserved, encoded by a single plastid gene, the nuclear‐encoded α subunits have evolved diversified multigene families. It is still unclear how this sequence diversity results in the spectral diversity of the mature proteins. By careful examination of three newly determined crystal structures in comparison with three previously obtained, we show how the α subunit amino acid sequences control chromophore conformations and hence spectral properties even when the chromophores are identical. Previously we have shown that α subunits control the quaternary structure of the mature αβ.αβ complex (either open or closed), however, each species appeared to only harbor a single quaternary form. Here we show that species of the Hemiselmis genus contain expressed α subunit genes that encode both distinct quaternary structures. Finally, we have discovered a common single‐copy gene (expressed into protein) consisting of tandem copies of a small α subunit that could potentially scaffold pairs of light harvesting units. Together, our results show how the diversity of the multigene α subunit family produces a range of mature cryptophyte antenna proteins with differing spectral properties, and the potential for minor forms that could contribute to acclimation to varying light regimes.
Effect of some agricultural treatments on the Egyptian alfalfa weevil, Hypera brunneipennis and their economic evaluation on yield and yield components in Egypt
Authors: Kandil Ragab Sebaita , Abdelrahem Fatma Mohamed Ahmed , Mansour Mohsena R. K.
Published: February 2023

BACKGROUND

The Egyptian alfalfa weevil, Hypera brunneipennis causes damage on different parts of alfalfa plants. Therefore, four agricultural treatments are carried out included calcium super phosphate addition (15.5% P2O5), potassium sulphate addition (50% K2O), microelements spraying and hand removing of weeds to reduce the population of the Egyptian alfalfa weevil and increase both the final yield and obtain a healthy plant.

RESULTS

The treatment of calcium super phosphate (15.5% P2O5), potassium sulphate (50% K2O), microelements spraying and hand removing of weeds gave less infestation of Egyptian alfalfa weevil [4.38 and 4.89 (larvae and adults/m2)] and the highest total fresh (70.08 and 74.52 ton/feddan), dry yield (19.37 and 19.70 ton/feddan) and plant height yield (60.00 and 61. 17 cm) in first and second seasons, respectively, with significant differences compared with the other treatments and the untreated check. Also, the same treatment gave the highest net benefit over untreated check 29.06 and 31.93 (thousand L.E./feddan) and net benefit/costs ratio/feddan (1.77 and 2.22) in first and second seasons, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Good agricultural treatments of calcium super phosphate addition (15.5% P2O5), potassium sulphate addition (50% K2O), microelements spraying and hand removing of weeds play an important role in obtaining a healthy plant, reducing Egyptian alfalfa weevil infestation, and increasing total fresh yield, total dry yield, and plant height of alfalfa. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
An Amino Acid‐Based Thixotropic Hydrogel: Tuning of Gel Recovery Time by Mechanical Shaking
Authors: Bassan Ruchika , Varshney Mayank , Roy Subhasish
Published: February 2023

Fmoc‐Trp‐OH (Fmoc: N‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl; Trp‐OH: L‐Tryptophan) undergone hydrogelation at 50 mM phosphate buffer saline of pH 7.4 with a minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of 0.25 % w/v after 12 to 15 hours. However, the hydrogel formation kinetics can be faster just by mechanical hand shaking of the hydrogelator solution during the hydrogel preparation procedure. The shake hydrogel is thermally and mechanically more stable than the non‐shake hydrogel. These hydrogels have been characterized thoroughly by Tgel estimations, UV‐Vis spectroscopy, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier Transform‐Infra Red (FT‐IR) Spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractions (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE‐SEM) and rheology. This amino acid‐based hydrogel is thixotropic in nature and interestingly without doping any foreign materials into the hydrogel, the gel reformation kinetics can be faster just by number of times breaking of the hydrogel by mechanical hand shaking followed by keeping the hydrogel glass vial at rest. This holds future promise to develop supramolecular mechanocatalyst for various functional group transformation reactions in water through green and sustainable chemistry pathways.
In vitro Analytical Techniques as Screening Tools to investigate the Metal chelate‐DNA interactions
Authors: Varghese Nikita , Jose Joyna Reba , Krishna P. Murali , Philip Darit , Joy Francis , Vinod T. P. , Prathapachandra Kurup M. R. , Nair Yamuna
Published: February 2023

Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) is found to be the most efficient pharmacological target of many synthetic molecules which are deemed as potential drugs with clinical applications. DNA binding agents are known to regulate several cell functions (gene expression and replication) by adopting various protocols which include the annihilation of the cell membrane, interruption in protein synthesis, and irreversible binding to cell receptors. Recently, several studies have explored fundamental aspects of drug‐DNA interactions, providing new insights into the driving forces that render the formation of the drug‐DNA complex. In order to study and understand these biologically important reaction mechanisms, several screening tools have been devised and the specificity of drug molecules binding to DNA were studied in detail. This review will discuss the utilization of various analytical tools which include UV‐vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, viscosity measurement, Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and DNA fragmentation assay used for studying drug binding mode and the mechanism involved.
Recent Progress on Pyridine N‐Oxide in Organic Transformations: A Review
Authors: Habib Imran , Singha Koustav , Hossain Mossaraf
Published: February 2023

Pyridine derivatives are one of the most important moieties in the synthesis of various biologically active compounds containing heterocyclic ring. But, due to the low reactivity of pyridine, pyridine N‐oxides were used as a reactant to develop some bio‐active pyridine derivatives in good amount of yields with high regioselectivity. For that reason, synthesis of various substituted pyridine N‐oxides grabbed the attention of many chemists due to their importance in the formation of various bioactive moieties and their application in various fields like it can be used as a catalyst, oxidant etc. This review is focused on various C−H activation reactions like arylation, acylation, alkylation, alkenylation, cross‐coupling reactions and halogenation reactions in both metal‐catalysed and metal‐free pathway along with their probable mechanism and reaction scopes. The main focus of this review is to discuss about versatile synthetic pathways of pyridine and pyridine N‐oxide derivatives using pyridine N‐oxides as a substrate as well as their mechanistic studies and the scope of the reactions. Besides all of that, this review also discussed about the application (e. g., catalyst) of pyridine N‐oxides in various organic transformation.
Development of 2‐Alkyl‐5‐((phenylsulfonyl)oxy)‐1H‐indole‐3‐carboxylate Derivatives as Potential Anti‐Biofilm Agents
Authors: Xuecheng Chen , Liang Hu , Yanpeng Xiong , Yurong Zhang , Yue Luo , Yalan Peng , Zhong Chen , Jie Zhang , Zhijian Yu , Shiqing Han
Published: February 2023

A series of novel 2‐alkyl‐5‐((phenylsulfonyl)oxy)‐1H‐indole‐3‐carboxylate derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicity, antibacterial and anti‐biofilm activities. Some of these compounds were able to inhibit biofilm formation of the tested strains with biofilm inhibitory concentration in the range of 12.5–50 μM. The results indicated N‐methylpiperazine moiety was the key factor affecting the compound‘s activity. Compounds 5 l and 5 m with F substituent at the phenyl ring at 5‐position of indole ring, presented the most potent biofilm inhibitory activity (more than 90 % inhibition percentage) against E. faecalis 16C51 at biofilm inhibitory concentration (12.5 μM). Furthermore, compounds 5 f and 5 h with Br/CH3 substituent at the phenyl ring at 1‐position of indole ring, showed the greatest biofilm inhibitory activity (more than 85 % inhibition percentage) against MRSA YUSA145 at biofilm inhibitory concentration (12.5 μM).
A Peach‐Kernel‐Derived Ultramicroporous Carbon with Extremely High CO2‐Capture Ability
Authors: Shui Lihong , Wang Lucai , Lin Yichao
Published: February 2023

Ultra‐microporous carbon materials with high CO2 capture ability are prepared by two‐step carbonization of peach kernels, including pre‐carbonization at a relatively lower temperature (400 °C) and KOH activation at a higher temperature (700–900 °C). Notably, the micropore proportion of the obtained carbon is up to 97.65 %, indicating almost all the pores are microporous. The optimized ultra‐microporous carbon material exhibits an extremely high CO2 adsorption capacity of up to 4.92 mmol g−1 at 1 bar, and 1.64 mmol g−1 at 0.15 bar and 25 °C, and good CO2/N2 selectivity, which makes it one of the best CO2 adsorption materials. The specific surface areas of the prepared materials are in the range of 700–1000 m2 g−1. Our results show that there is no direct relationship between the specific surface and CO2 adsorption capacity. It reveals that the pore structure and microporous porosity determine the interaction between CO2 molecules and the carbon materials in our work. In addition, the ultra‐microporous carbon is feasible for commercial‐scale application, which provides a new adsorbent for industrial CO2 capture.
Activating MoS2 Basal Plane via Non‐noble Metal Doping For Enhanced Hydrogen Production
Authors: Xie Zhongqi , Wu Yue , Zhao Ya , Wei Mengyuan , Jiang Qing‐Song , Yang Xiao , Xun Wei
Published: February 2023

MoS2 is a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, it is not conducive to the adsorption and dissociation of water, due to the inert basal plane. Herein, we determined a series of non‐noble metal doped MoS2 materials with high catalytic activity through first‐principles calculation. Under standard conditions, we found through Pourbaix diagram that the basal plane of the doped material would not be terminated by OH* or O*, and could maintain high stability in acidic or alkaline solutions. The formation of new electronic states in the doped material near the Fermi level and subsequent bonding with H atoms is energetically favorable, which activates the inert basal plane. With the increase of doping concentration, ΔGH will further approach 0 eV and produce a large exchange current density. We found that the ΔGH increases monotonically with the increase of the lowest occupied state E of the doped material, indicating the physical origin of the excellent hydrogen evolution activity caused by doping.
Electrodeposited MOFs Membrane with In Situ Incorporation of Charged Molecules for Osmotic Energy Harvesting
Authors: Yao Bing , Hussain Shabab , Ye Zhizhen , Peng Xinsheng
Published: February 2023

Ion‐selective membranes are considered as the promising candidates for osmotic energy harvesting. However, the fabrication of highly perm‐selective membrane is the major challenge. Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) with well‐defined nanochannels along functional charged groups show great importance to tackle this problem. Here, a series of dense sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) incorporated MOFs composite membranes (PSS@MOFs) on a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane via in situ anodic electrodeposition process are developed. Benefiting to the novel structural design of the confined Ag layer, PSS@MOFs dense composite membrane with less defects formed. The sulfonated nanochannels of the PSS@MOFs composite membrane provided rapid and selective transport of cations due to the enhanced electrostatic interaction between the permeating ions and MOFs. While osmotic energy conversion, 860 nm thick negatively charged PSS@MOFs composite membrane achieves an ultrahigh cation transfer number of 0.993 and energy conversion efficiency of 48.8% at a 100‐fold salinity gradient. Moreover, a large output power of 2.90 µW has been achieved with an ultra‐low internal resistance of 999 Ω, employing an effective area of 12.56 mm2. This work presents a promising strategy to construct a high‐performance MOFs‐based osmotic energy harvesting system for practical applications.
Normalizing Black Students/Youth and their Families' Digital andSTEAMLiteracies
Authors: Lewis Ellison Tisha
Published: February 2023

Due to the paucity of research that focuses on the digital and STEAM literacy practices of Black students and youth and their families in home and community spaces, this article acts as a call for awareness to understand the already‐existing digital practices that acknowledges and honors their racial, cultural, and social lives. Lewis Ellison addresses four primary questions that K‐12 teachers must be aware of concerning Black parents, students and youth in digital and STEM spaces: Why are Black Students’/ Youth and Families’ Digital Literacy Practices important? What can we learn from Black Parents’ Narratives about their Children's Digital and STEAM Literacies? What do Black Students/Youth Wish their Teachers Knew about Them? What Should Digital and STEM Literacy Practices Look Like for Black Students/Youth? These questions are important when thinking about Black students’ and youth's digital literacy learning and proficiencies because as the education and political world keeps changing, they need digital literacy skills for every area of their lives. Once we understand the roles we play in centering their lives and practices, then we can advance teacher education, and then we can begin a discussion to normalize Black students and their families’ digital and STEAM literacies and practices.
Microdebrider complications in sinus surgery: Analysis of the openFDA database
Authors: Saba Elias S. , Hoerter Jacob , Chang Jeremy , Chou David W. , Xiao Chris , Eide Jacob G. , Kshirsagar Rijul S. , Palmer James N. , Adappa Nithin D.
Published: February 2023

Objective

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is a commonly performed otolaryngologic procedure that often uses the microdebrider device for tissue removal. Given the ubiquitous nature of the instrument, we sought to better define the patterns of device failure using the postmarket surveillance openFDA database.

Methods

The openFDA database was queried for all microdebrider‐related adverse events from January 1, 2000 to November 1, 2020. Descriptive information on the nature of device failure and any associated patient injury was compiled. Reports not directly related to device failure were excluded from the analysis.

Results

A total of 641 events were included in the analysis. The most common device failure was overheating (n = 348, 54.3%), followed by material separation (n = 173, 27%), and inconsistent device activation (n = 52, 8.1%). Of the reported events, the vast majority did not result in patient harm (n = 579, 90.3%). On review of the remaining cases, only 24 events (3.7%) resulted in true harm to the patient, defined as a temporary or permanent injury or >30 min of additional anesthesia time. Of these cases, the need to reschedule surgical cases (n = 5, 0.8%), retained foreign body (n = 5, 0.8%), and thermal tissue injury (n = 3,0.5%) were the most common. Five patients suffered an injury due to surgeon error unrelated to device malfunction (n = 5, 0.8%).

Conclusions

Microdebrider device failures are extremely rare. When they do occur, less than 10% result in patient harm. In cases of patient harm related to microdebrider failure, preoperative testing of the device before use could prevent many of the reported malfunctions.
Intravenous Tranexamic Acid Given at Femoral Fragility Fracture Surgery Reduces Blood Transfusion Requirements Fourfold
Authors: Powell‐Bowns Matilda F. R. , Olley Rhys K. , McCann Conor , Balfour James R. , Brennan Caitlin M. , Peh Jasmine , Duckworth Andrew D. , Scott Chloe E. H.
Published: February 2023

Aims

This study aims to determine whether intraoperative intravenous (IV) tranexamic acid (TXA) affects blood loss following the surgical management of femoral fragility fractures (FFF).

Methods

This was a single centre (university teaching hospital) non‐randomised case–control study. There were 361 consecutive patients with FFF admitted over a 4‐month period were included (mean age 81.4yrs; mean BMI 23.5; 73.7% female). Patient demographics, comorbidities, preoperative anticoagulation use, surgical management, intravenous TXA use, perioperative haemoglobin (Hb) and haematocrit, and requirement for blood transfusion were recorded. The primary outcome was postoperative blood transfusion requirement. Secondary outcomes included postoperative day one calculated blood loss (CBL) (using the Nadler and Gross formulae) and fall in Hb (percentage) from preoperative levels; and the incidence of thrombotic events and mortality up to 30 days.

Results

Groups were well matched in terms of patient demographics, comorbidities, preoperative anticoagulation use, injury types and surgical management. Intravenous TXA 1 g given at the beginning of surgery at the discretion of the operating team: 178 (49%) received TXA and 183 (51%) did not. The requirement for postoperative blood transfusion was significantly less in the TXA group: 15/178 (8.4%) compared to 58/183 (31.7%) (p < 0.001; Chi square). TXA significantly reduced both the percentage fall in Hb (mean difference 4.3%, p < 0.001) and the CBL (mean difference −222 ml, p < 0.001). There was no difference in VTE (2 vs 1, p = 0.620) or other thrombotic events (2 vs 0, p = 0.244) between groups.

Conclusion

1 g of intraoperative intravenous TXA during the surgical management of FFF was associated with reduced rate of transfusion, CBL and the percentage drop in HB. The use of TXA in this study was not randomised, so there could be un‐quantifiable bias in the patient selection.