bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cathelicidin‐related antimicrobial peptide alleviates alcoholic liver disease through inhibiting inflammasome activation
Authors: Li Fengyuan , Zhao Cuiqing , Shao Tuo , Liu Yunhuan , Gu Zelin , Jiang Mengwei , Li Huimin , Zhang Lihua , Gillevet Patrick M , Puri Puneet , Deng Zhong‐Bin , Chen Shao‐Yu , Barve Shirish , Gobejishvili Leila , Vatsalya Vatsalya , McClain Craig J , Feng Wenke
Published: August 2020

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is associated with gut dysbiosis and hepatic inflammasome activation. While it is known that antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a critical role in the regulation of bacterial homeostasis in ALD, the functional role of AMPs in the alcohol‐induced inflammasome activation is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of cathelicidin‐related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) on inflammasome activation in ALD. CRAMP knockout (Camp−/−) and wild‐type (WT) mice were subjected to binge‐on‐chronic alcohol feeding and synthetic CRAMP peptide was administered. Serum/plasma and hepatic tissue samples from human subjects with alcohol use disorder and/or alcoholic hepatitis were analyzed. CRAMP deficiency exacerbated ALD with enhanced inflammasome activation as shown by elevated serum interleukin (IL)‐1β levels. Although Camp−/− mice had comparable serum endotoxin levels compared to WT mice after alcohol feeding, hepatic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding protein (LBP) and cluster of differentiation (CD) 14 were increased. Serum levels of uric acid (UA), a Signal 2 molecule in inflammasome activation, were positively correlated with serum levels of IL‐1β in alcohol use disorder patients with ALD and were increased in Camp−/− mice fed alcohol. In vitro studies showed that CRAMP peptide inhibited LPS binding to macrophages and inflammasome activation stimulated by a combination of LPS and UA. Synthetic CRAMP peptide administration decreased serum UA and IL‐1β concentrations and rescued the liver from alcohol‐induced damage in both WT and Camp−/− mice. In summary, CRAMP exhibited a protective role against binge‐on‐chronic alcohol‐induced liver damage via regulation of inflammasome activation by decreasing LPS binding and UA production. CRAMP administration may represent a novel strategy for treating ALD. © 2020 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quality of life in parents of childhood leukemia survivors. A French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia study
Authors: Vercasson Camille , Auquier Pascal , Michel Gérard , Bertrand Yves , Ansoborlo Sophie , Tabone Marie‐Dominique , Leverger Guy , Gandemer Virginie , Baruchel André , Contet Audrey , Dalle Jean‐Hugues , Paillard Catherine , Poirée Maryline , Thouvenin‐Doulet Sandrine , Sirvent Nicolas , Kanold Justyna , Freycon Claire , Hamidou Zeinab , Berbis Julie
Published: August 2020

Introduction

Our objectives were to assess the quality of life (QoL) of parents of childhood leukemia survivors compared with population norms and to identify the determinants of parents’ long‐term QoL.

Methods

Parents of minors who had survived childhood leukemia participating in the French LEA cohort (Leucémie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent—French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study for Leukemia) were asked to complete the French version of the WHOQOL‐BREF. Results were compared with age‐ and sex‐matched values from a French reference population. Parents’ and survivors’ characteristics likely to be associated with QoL, long after the child's leukemia diagnosis, were explored using multivariate analysis.

Results

We included 487 parents (mean age 42.9 ± 6.0 years, mean follow‐up time from diagnosis 7.3 ± 3.3 years). Compared with the reference population, scores for physical health and social relationships for parents of childhood leukemia survivors were significantly lower (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.24 and P < 0.001, effect size = 0.29, respectively) contrary to scores for psychological health which were significantly higher (P < 0.001, effect size = 0.29). Even if health‐ and cancer‐related characteristics were associated with parents’ QoL in some dimensions, the only factor associated with each of the three dimensions (social relationships, physical health, and psychological) in the multivariate analysis was the parent's financial situation.

Conclusions

Long after leukemia diagnosis, the parents reported lower scores in the physical health and social relationship domains. Despite the difficulties of actually influencing socioeconomic characteristics, it is important to consider the social situation of each family in the long‐term care of survivors and their families.
Very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets and diabetes
Authors: Dyson Pamela
Published: August 2020

Very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKD) have been widely promoted for the management of diabetes. There is confusion among people with diabetes and health professionals about the efficacy and safety of these diets and this review aimed to explore the role of VLCKD for people with diabetes.

An electronic search of English language articles was performed using MEDLINE (1980 to January 2020), EMBASE (1980 to January 2020) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1980 to January 2020). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) >12 weeks duration comparing VLCKD, defined as <50g carbohydrate/day, with higher carbohydrate intakes in people at risk of or with diagnosed diabetes were included. Primary outcomes included HbA1c and weight and secondary outcomes were lipid concentrations.

There were no RCTs examining the role of VLCKD for diabetes prevention. Two RCTs in diagnosed type 2 diabetes reported significant weight loss, but outcomes for glycaemic control and lipid concentrations were inconsistent. There were no RCTs in people with type 1 diabetes, although observational trials reported lower HbA1c, with a high prevalence of dyslipidaemia and hypoglycaemia.

A lack of high‐quality evidence limits the use of VLCKD in people with diabetes. Copyright © 2020 John Wiley & Sons.
Prebiotics and type 2 diabetes: targeting the gut microbiota for improved glycaemic control?
Authors: Robertson M Denise
Published: August 2020

Changes to the gut microbiota are reported in type 2 diabetes. The activity of the microbiota is integral in maintaining intestinal barrier function, disruption to which is proposed as a risk factor for the low‐grade inflammation associated with insulin resistance. Can we target the microbiota through diet, and more specifically with prebiotics to improve barrier function and ultimately glycaemic control? This narrative review will discuss the evidence for barrier dysfunction in human type 2 diabetes and outline the recent evidence from clinical trials investigating the efficacy of prebiotics in glucose management. Copyright © 2020 John Wiley & Sons.
Virtual consultations: are we missing anything?
Authors: Kilvert Anne , Wilmot Emma G , Davies Mark , Fox Charles
Published: August 2020

The COVID‐19 pandemic has resulted in a rapid transfer of most diabetes care from face to face clinics to virtual consultations, and in general the response from people with diabetes and health professionals is positive. Advantages include saving time, travel and time off work. Disadvantages relate mainly to technological barriers but include increased difficulty in recognising and addressing emotional distress if non‐verbal clues are lost.

People report that there is more focus on glucose levels and in this sense the consultations are more ‘efficient’. However, emotional issues may be more difficult to identify, particularly if the consultation is phone‐based. Diabetes distress and other diabetes‐related psychological issues are well recognised but people may be wary about discussing them remotely with a health care professional. To address this, the consultation should focus on the agenda of the person with diabetes, in particular life events or emotional difficulties that may be a barrier to good glucose control.

Virtual consultations are certain to become a mainstay of future diabetes care but will not be suitable for everyone. First meetings should be face to face wherever possible to establish rapport; continuity of care is essential to maintain this. Access to technology, safeguarding issues and personal preference all influence suitability for virtual follow up. Training should be offered to diabetes professionals to help them get the most out of a virtual consultation. Copyright © 2020 John Wiley & Sons.
COVID‐19 and children with diabetes: emerging knowledge
Authors: Ng SM
Published: August 2020

The global epidemiological and clinical patterns of COVID‐19 among children with diabetes are still very limited. In this report Associate Professor May Ng investigates the current outcome data for young people with diabetes and COVID‐19 and discusses the need for continued vigilance to ensure emergency paediatric conditions are dealt with urgently, as well as the essential health messages for young people with diabetes.
Chromosome duplication causing gene‐dosage‐based effects on the gene expression level in Gossypium hirsutum‐Gossypium australe addition lines
Authors: Feng Shouli , Xu Min , Guo Haiyue , Liu Fujie , Cui Changjiang , Zhao Ting , Zhou Baoliang
Published: August 2020

Polyploidization, or whole‐genome duplication, leads to gene expression changes that drive the evolution of many plants and some animals. However, the role of the dosage effect on gene expression changes following genome duplication remains unclear. Here, several Gossypium hirsutum‐Gossypium australe alien chromosome addition lines (ALs) were developed that contained a single (MA) or a pair (DA) of G. australe chromosomes on the G. hirsutum background, which can be regarded as a G. australe chromosome duplication, to mimic genome duplication and to elucidate the short‐term effects of chromosome duplication on gene expression changes. Therefore, the profile of G. australe gene expression was investigated in three pairs of MAs and DAs (2G, 3G, and 7G). Our results suggest that dosage‐dependent and ‐independent genes are enriched with genes of different functional categories. The dosage‐dependent genes were enriched in primary metabolic activities; whereas the dosage‐independent genes were enriched in stress responses, cell signaling, and the endomembrane system. Implication on possible differences in dosage‐dependent and independent genes in employing cis‐ and trans‐regulation are also discussed. These results will provide new insights into the mechanisms by which gene‐dosage affects expression changes induced by genome duplications.
Accelerating gene function discovery by rapid phenotyping of fatty acid composition and oil content of single transgenic T1 Arabidopsis and camelina seeds
Authors: Ma Shijie , Du Chang , Ohlrogge John , Zhang Meng
Published: August 2020

Arabidopsis is wildly used as a model plant and camelina is increasingly used for oilseed research and applications. Although the Arabidopsis genome has been sequenced for two decades, the functions of many lipid‐related genes and their regulators have not been well characterized. Improvements in the efficiency and accuracy of gene investigations are key to effective discovery of gene function and downstream bioengineering of plant oil quantity and quality. In this study, a visible marker was used to quickly identify transgenic T1 seeds and a method has been developed to phenotype fatty acid compositions and oil content of single T1 seeds. A whole seed direct transmethylation method was first optimized with multiple seeds and incubation at 85°C for 2 hours in a transmethylation solvent (5% H2SO4 in methanol with 30% toluene cosolvent) is recommended. Based on this method, a single Arabidopsis seed mini‐transmethylation (SAST) method has been established in a 1.5 ml GC sample vial with 200 μl transmethylation solvent. Characteristics of the method were evaluated and it was used to phenotype transgenic T1 seeds expressing AtFAD2 or RcWRI1. Our results indicate that fatty acid composition of T1 individual seeds are consistent with those of pools of multiple seeds from higher generations. However, oil content per individual seed varied substantially and therefore pooling five seeds is recommended for phenotyping oil content of T1 seeds. Additionally, a whole camelina single‐seed direct transmethylation was evaluated and results confirm its feasibility. The suitability of partial seed analysis of camelina was investigated but variation in composition of different seed tissues limits this approach.
Quantity not sufficient rates and delays in sweat testing in US infants with cystic fibrosis
Authors: McColley Susanna A. , Elbert Alexander , Wu Runyu , Ren Clement L. , Sontag Marci K. , LeGrys Vicky A.
Published: August 2020

Background

Diagnostic sweat testing is required for infants with positive newborn‐screening (NBS) tests for cystic fibrosis (CF). Infants have “quantity not sufficient” (QNS) sweat volumes more often than older children. A comprehensive study of QNS sweat volumes in infants has not previously been reported.

Methods

We surveyed US CF Centers to obtain QNS rates in all infants who had sweat testing at under 14 days and under 3 months of age. We then calculated QNS rates reported to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry (CFFPR) 2010‐2018 in 10‐day increments from 1 to 60 days of life. We compared QNS sweat test rates in preterm (<37‐weeks gestational age) vs term infants. We assessed age at sweat test and proportion of infants who did not have a sweat test reported by 60 days of age.

Results

Thirty‐nine of 144 (27%) of CF Centers reported a mean QNS rate of 10.5% (range, 0‐100) in infants 14‐days‐old or younger. CFFPR data showed the highest QNS rates in the youngest infants and in those born before 37 weeks of gestation. The median age at sweat testing decreased over time, but more than 22% of infants did not have a sweat test reported by 60 days.

Conclusion

Higher QNS rates are seen in the youngest infants with CF, but more than 80% of infants younger than 2 weeks of age have adequate sweat volumes. Sweat testing should not be delayed in infants with a positive CF NBS test.
Conserved tryptophan mutation disrupts structure and function of immunoglobulin domain revealing unusual tyrosine fluorescence
Authors: Vattepu Ravi , Klausmeyer Rachel A. , Ayella Allan , Yadav Rahul , Dille Joseph T. , Saiz Stan V. , Beck Moriah R.
Published: August 2020

Immunoglobulin (Ig) domains are the most prevalent protein domain structure and share a highly conserved folding pattern; however, this structural family of proteins is also the most diverse in terms of biological roles and tissue expression. Ig domains vary significantly in amino acid sequence but share a highly conserved tryptophan in the hydrophobic core of this beta‐stranded protein. Palladin is an actin binding and bundling protein that has five Ig domains and plays an important role in normal cell adhesion and motility. Mutation of the core tryptophan in one Ig domain of palladin has been identified in a pancreatic cancer cell line, suggesting a crucial role for this sole tryptophan in palladin Ig domain structure, stability, and function. We found that actin binding and bundling was not completely abolished with removal of this tryptophan despite a partially unfolded structure and significantly reduced stability of the mutant Ig domain as shown by circular dichroism investigations. In addition, this mutant palladin domain displays a tryptophan‐like fluorescence attributed to an anomalous tyrosine emission at 341 nm. Our results indicate that this emission originates from a tyrosinate that may be formed in the excited ground state by proton transfer to a nearby aspartic acid residue. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of tryptophan in protein structural stability and illustrates how tyrosinate emission contributions may be overlooked during the interpretation of the fluorescence properties of proteins.
Guidelines for integrating process safety into engineering projects
Authors: Broadribb Michael P.
Published: August 2020

This article describes a new guideline book that the Center for Chemical Process Safety has published on integrating process safety into engineering projects. Engineering projects in the process industry are temporary endeavors generally undertaken to create a new or modified facility and vary widely in scope and size ranging from large capital projects to small management of change works. The main focus of the guidelines is on proactively implementing process safety activities at the optimum timeframe, while also reactively conducting “cold eyes” reviews to provide assurance that nothing significant has been missed. This approach ensures that if the right process safety activities are conducted at the right time, project leadership will have the right (process safety) information in order to be able to make the right risk management decisions regarding safety. Process safety in engineering projects involves leadership, managers, engineers, operating and maintenance personnel, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and support staff. Therefore, these guidelines were prepared for a wide audience.
Exploring the potential and limitations of weak‐constraint 4D‐Var
Authors: Laloyaux P. , Bonavita M. , Chrust M. , Gürol S.
Published: August 2020

The standard formulation of 4D‐Var assumes random zero‐mean errors for all sources of information used in the analysis. This assumption is usually not well verified in real‐world applications. The performance of a weak‐constraint 4D‐Var formulation ("forcing" formulation) is studied in this paper in a simplified experimental setting using additive model errors of different length‐scales and observing systems of different coverage and accuracy. A set of twin experiments is carried out and results show that weak‐constraint 4D‐Var can accurately estimate the actual model errors and the initial state only when background and model errors have different spatial scales and when the observations are unbiased and spatially homogeneous. We also present preliminary results from a different weak‐constraint 4D‐Var formulation ("state" formulation) which could in principle overcome some of these limitations, but at the cost of a substantial increase of computational and memory requirements. These findings help identify the potential but also the intrinsic limitations of the weak‐constraint 4D‐Var approach. They also help to clarify the experimental results seen in the operational ECMWF analysis system where the analysis and first‐guess temperature bias is reduced by up to 50% in the stratosphere.
Representation of the Scandinavia–Greenland pattern and its relationship with the polar vortex in S2S forecast models
Authors: Lee Simon H. , Charlton‐Perez Andrew J. , Furtado Jason C. , Woolnough Steven J.
Published: August 2020

The strength of the stratospheric polar vortex is a key contributor to subseasonal prediction during boreal winter. Anomalously weak polar vortex events can be induced by enhanced vertically propagating Rossby waves from the troposphere, driven by blocking and wave breaking. Here, we analyse a tropospheric pattern—the Scandinavia–Greenland (S–G) pattern—associated with both processes. The S–G pattern is defined as the second empirical orthogonal function (EOF) of mean sea‐level pressure in the northeast Atlantic. The first EOF is a zonal pattern resembling the North Atlantic Oscillation. We show that the S–G pattern is associated with a transient amplification of planetary wavenumber 2 and meridional eddy heat flux, followed by the onset of a weakened polar vortex, which persists for the next two months. We then analyse 10 different models from the S2S database, finding that, while all models represent the structure of the S–G pattern well, some models have a zonal bias with more than the observed variability in their first EOF, and accordingly less in their second EOF. This bias is largest in the models with the lowest resolution. Skill in predicting the S–G pattern is not high beyond week 2 in any model, in contrast to the zonal pattern. We find that the relationship between the S–G pattern and enhanced eddy heat flux and a weakened polar vortex is initially well represented, but decays significantly with lead time in most S2S models. Our results motivate improved representation of the S–G pattern and its stratospheric response at longer lead times for improved subseasonal prediction of the stratospheric polar vortex.
Melioidosis—role of endobronchial ultrasound
Authors: Subramanian Santhakumar , Jaganathan Venugopal , Hari Deepak T. , Thangaraju Deepak
Published: August 2020

Melioidosis is a Gram‐negative bacterial disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. It has got an increasing prevalence in India, although it is not endemic in the country. Rarely, this disease may pose a diagnostic dilemma, because of its similarities with tuberculosis in clinical, radiological, and pathological features. Mediastinal lymphadenopathy as a presentation is rare in melioidosis. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) could be a useful technique in obtaining samples from necrotic mediastinal lesions. We report three cases of mediastinal melioidosis where EBUS‐guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) aided in early diagnosis.
Late‐lumping fuzzy boundary geometric control of nonlinear partial differential systems
Authors: Raab Sadia , Habbi Hacene , Maidi Ahmed
Published: August 2020

In this article, a fuzzy boundary geometric controller that stabilizes a class of nonlinear distributed parameter systems (DPSs) is proposed. The design procedure relies on the use of Takagi‐Sugeno (T‐S) type fuzzy partial differential equation (PDE) model, which approximates the dynamical behavior of the nonlinear DPS. The T‐S fuzzy PDE model is constructed through “fuzzy blending” of local linear PDE models of infinite characteristic indexes. This is a challenging task in the design procedure of fuzzy PDE model‐based boundary controller in the framework of the well‐established geometric control theory. To overcome this constraint, it is proposed in this article to resort to the concept of extended operator in order to transform the T‐S fuzzy PDE model with boundary control to an equivalent fuzzy PDE model with punctual control and finite characteristic index. Based on the developed fuzzy model, a fuzzy boundary geometric controller is derived and sufficient conditions of exponential stability of the resulting closed‐loop system are established by employing the Lyapunov direct method. The stabilizing performance of the proposed fuzzy PDE model‐based boundary geometric controller is evaluated on benchmark control problems and compared with other existing control methods via numerical simulations.
How management teams foster the transactive memory system–entrepreneurial orientation link: A domino effect model of positive team processes
Authors: Kollmann Tobias , Hensellek Simon , Stöckmann Christoph , Kensbock Julia M. , Peschl Anika
Published: August 2020

Research Summary

Specialized knowledge can be a facilitator of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), but little is known about how management teams transform their knowledge resources into entrepreneurial activity. Complementing the knowledge‐based view with social interdependence theory, we suggest that team processes mediate the impact of teams' transactive memory system (TMS) on EO. Our empirical analysis of data from interdisciplinary management teams shows that a strong TMS serves as a starting point to initiate a beneficial “domino effect” of positive team interaction patterns (enhanced team learning and participative decision‐making) and positive team psychological processes (enhanced team identification), which, in turn, foster the development of EO. We thereby contribute new insights to the largely unresolved questions about the “where” and “why” of EO genesis within organizations.

Managerial Summary

Enhancing entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is of major importance for established firms to stay competitive in the market. This study sheds light on the question how EO emerges within management teams of a firm's decentralized units and specifically gives insights about how team design and team processes can foster the EO of these units. We find that teams with specialized experts who share a common meta‐knowledge about who knows what in their team (i.e., teams with a strong transactive memory system) engage in more team learning and participative decision‐making and identify themselves more strongly with their team, which consequently spurs unit EO. Our results highlight that well‐designed and well‐functioning management teams below the executive level can play an important role in fostering entrepreneurship in multiunit organizations.
How does yoga reduce stress? A clinical trial testing psychological mechanisms
Authors: Park Crystal L. , Finkelstein‐Fox Lucy , Sacco Shane J. , Braun Tosca D. , Lazar Sara
Published: August 2020

Yoga interventions can reduce stress, but the mechanisms underlying that stress reduction remain largely unidentified. Understanding how yoga works is essential to optimizing interventions. The present study tested five potential psychosocial mechanisms (increased mindfulness, interoceptive awareness, spiritual well‐being, self‐compassion and self‐control) that have been proposed to explain yoga's impact on stress. Forty‐two participants (62% female; 64% White) in a yoga program for stress reduction completed surveys at baseline (T1), mid‐intervention (T2) and post‐intervention (12 weeks; T3). We measured two aspects of stress, perceived stress and stress reactivity. Changes were assessed with paired t‐tests; associations between changes in mechanisms were tested in residual change models. Only stress reactivity decreased, on average, from T1 to T3. Except for self‐compassion, all psychosocial mechanisms increased from T1 to T3, with minimal changes from T2 to T3. Except for self‐control, increases in each mechanism were strongly associated with decreases in both measures of stress between T1 and T2 and decreases in perceived stress from T1 to T3 (all p's < 0.05). Increased psychosocial resources are associated with stress reduction. Yoga interventions targeting these resources may show stronger stress reduction effects. Future research should test these linkages more rigorously using active comparison groups and larger samples.
Facile Synthesis of Ant‐Nest‐Like Porous Duplex Copper as Deeply Cycling Host for Lithium Metal Anodes
Authors: Lin Kui , Li Tong , Chiang Sum‐Wai , Liu Ming , Qin Xianying , Xu Xiaofu , Zhang Lihan , Kang Feiyu , Chen Guohua , Li Baohua
Published: August 2020

Suppressing the dendrite formation and managing the volume change of lithium (Li) metal anode have been global challenges in the lithium batteries community. Herein, a duplex copper (Cu) foil with an ant‐nest‐like network and a dense substrate is reported for an ultrastable Li metal anode. The duplex Cu is fabricated by sulfurization of thick Cu foil with a subsequent skeleton self‐welding procedure. Uniform Li deposition is achieved by the 3D interconnected architecture and lithiophilic surface of self‐welded Cu skeleton. The sufficient space in the porous layer enables a large areal capacity for Li and significantly improves the electrode–electrolyte interface. Simulations reveal that the structure allows proper electric field penetration into the connected tunnels. The assembled Li anodes exhibit high coulombic efficiency (97.3% over 300 cycles) and long lifespan (>880 h) at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 1 mAh cm−2. Stable and deep cycling can be maintained up to 50 times at a high capacity of 10 mAh cm−2.
Nanomanufacturing of RGO‐CNT Hybrid Film for Flexible Aqueous Al‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Liu Siliang , Wang Panpan , Liu Chang , Deng Yida , Dou Shuming , Liu Yingjun , Xu Jie , Wang Yilin , Liu Weidi , Hu Wenbin , Huang Yan , Chen Yanan
Published: August 2020

A highly electrically conductive film‐type current collector is an essential part of batteries. Apart from the metal‐based current collectors, lightweight and highly conductive carbon materials such as reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show great potential as current collectors. However, traditional RGO manufacturing usually requires a long time and high energy, which decreases the product yielding rate and manufacturing efficiency. Moreover, the performance of the manufactured RGO needs to be further improved. In this work, CNT and GO are evenly mixed into GO‐CNT, which can be directly reduced into RGO‐CNT by Joule heating at 2936 K within less than 1 min. The fabricated RGO‐CNT achieves a high electrical conductivity of 2750 S cm−1, and realizes a 106‐fold increase. The assembled flexible aqueous Al‐ion battery with RGO‐CNT as the current collector exhibits impressive electrochemical performance in terms of superior cycling stability and exceptional rate capability, and excellent mechanical ability regarding the tolerance to mechanical damage such as bending, folding, piercing, and cutting without detrimental consequences.
Effect of false set related anomalies on rheological properties of cement paste mixtures in the presence of high range water reducing admixture
Authors: Mardani‐Aghabaglou Ali , Felekoğlu Burak , Ramyar Kambiz
Published: August 2020

There are many studies related to the fresh state properties of the cementitious systems in the literature. However, there is no specific study about the effects of false set formation on fresh state properties of these systems. In this study, the effect of false set formation on fresh state and rheological properties of the cement paste mixtures containing high range water reducing (HRWR) admixture was investigated experimentally. For this aim, two different commercial CEMI 42.5 R. type cements produced by different companies were used. In order to investigate the effect of false set formation related anomalies on fresh state properties, paste mixtures were prepared with different mixing times. In the mixtures where false set related anomaly was the case, rheological properties were positively affected by prolonging the mixing time.
Random Analysis of Heavy‐Duty Vehicle Based on Rigid–Elastic Synthesis
Authors: Jie Li , Wencui Guo , Wenzhu Wang
Published: August 2020

Heavy‐duty vehicles have the advantages of heavy load, long transportation distance and so on, and ride comfort is an important feature of heavy‐duty vehicles. Flexibility of the heavy‐duty vehicle body is an essential factor in ride comfort, and a three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle is the main commercial vehicle in China. To comprehensively analyze flexibility of vehicle body, elastic natural characteristics of free‐free beam with equal cross sections are derived, and vibration energy of rigid–elastic synthesis of the beam is obtained. Because the vehicle body is regarded as a free‐free beam with equal cross section, a 10 degree‐of‐freedom rigid elastic synthesis mechanics model of the three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle is established, and a mathematics model of this heavy‐duty vehicle is derived based on the model energy. The frequency domain analysis method for the rigid–elastic synthesis model of a three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle is determined by Fourier transform. The formulas of vibration response for the three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle are derived, and the calculation method for statistical properties of vibration response is given. In order to analyze the effect of body flexibility on ride comfort, the ride comfort of a three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle is simulated according to both the rigid–elastic synthesis model and the rigid model of three‐axle heavy‐duty vehicle, and the simulation results are compared on a B‐grade road with a common speed of 70 km/h. The results show that rigid–elastic synthesis of the vehicle body has a greater effect on vertical accelerations of the vehicle body and a lesser effect on human vertical acceleration, working places of suspensions and relative dynamic loads of wheels under regular analysis. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Antiosteoarthritic effect of Punica granatum L. peel extract on collagenase induced osteoarthritis rat by modulation of COL‐2, MMP‐3, and COX‐2 expression
Authors: Shivnath Neelam , Rawat Vineeta , Siddiqui Sahabjada , Verma Sushma , Gupta Pragya , Rais Juhi , Khan Mohd Sajid , Arshad Md
Published: August 2020

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative and musculoskeletal disorder. The toxicity associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) limits its use in the management of OA. To ameliorate these toxicities, natural antioxidants can be used as substitutes for the management of OA. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate the prophylactic mechanisms of Punica granatum L. peel (PGP) in collagenase‐induced OA rat compared with indomethacin. OA was induced in female Sprague Dawley rats by intraarticular injection of collagenase type‐II and treated with PGP (250 and 500 mg/kg body wt) and a positive control (PC) indomethacin (3 mg/kg body wt). The results demonstrated that PGP reduced the collagenase induced OA as compared with indomethacin treated group through reducing blood ALP (P < .001) and significantly (P < .001) inhibited cartilage erosion as indicated in histological slides with retention of collagen and proteoglycan content. Quantitative real‐time PCR analysis revealed the considerable (P < .05) upregulation in the expression of COL‐2 gene and downregulation of MMP‐3 and COX‐2 genes in the PGP treated group. The high phenolic content (633 ± 1.16 mg/GAE) and flavonoid content (420.3 ± 2.14 mg/RE) contribute to the strong antioxidant activity with IC50 value (320 ± 2.2 μg/mL) of DPPH free radical scavenging activity. These results need further validation in clinical studies and thus, PGP could be developed as a preventive drug treatment for OA.
Cardioprotective role of phyllanthin against myocardial ischemia‐reperfusion injury by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation with increased adenosine triphosphate levels in the mice model
Authors: Zhao Cong , Yang Yufei , An Yi , Yang Bin , Li Peifeng
Published: August 2020

Background

Ischemic heart disease is an imperative cause of high morbidity and mortality globally. The cardiac ischemia/reperfusion damage occur in both reperfusion and ischemia.

Objective

In this exploration, we have planned to examine the cardio‐protective action of phyllanthin against the myocardial ischemic‐reperfusion injury in mice.

Materials and methods

The myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury (MI‐RI) stimulated via coronary artery occlusion, followed by the 10 mg/kg of phyllanthin treatment. The serum cardiac markers and pro‐inflammatory markers level was investigated by using the assay kits. The expressions of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers level were investigated by immunohistochemical analysis. Lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes, and ATPase levels level was examined by standard methods. The expression of oxidative stress markers were inspected by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique. The heart histology was investigated microscopically.

Results

The phyllanthin treatment increased the body weight, and heart weight also diminished the infarct size in the MI/RI mice. Cardiac markers status was diminished and the blood pressure markers were augmented by the phyllanthin. Histological analysis revealed the protective role of phyllanthin. Suppressed lipid peroxidation and enhanced antioxidant enzymes were noted in the phyllanthin treated mice MI‐RI mice. Phyllanthin appreciably suppressed the pro‐inflammatory regulators that is, NF‐αB p65, IL‐6, IL‐1β, and TNF‐α and enhanced the antioxidant marker expressions. ATPase levels were improved by the phyllanthin in the MI‐RI mice.

Conclusion

These novel findings were confirmed the therapeutic role of phyllanthin against the MI‐RI in mice. Hence, it can be a promising agent to treat the MI‐RI induced cardiac dysfunction.
Protein expression of angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2, a SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific receptor, in fetal and placental tissues throughout gestation: new insight for perinatal counseling
Authors: Faure‐Bardon V. , Isnard P. , Roux N. , Leruez‐Ville M. , Molina T. , Bessieres B. , Ville Y.
Published: August 2020

Objective

Pregnant women can be infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), yet the incidence of perinatal infection is low. We hypothesized that this could be related to low expression of the membrane receptor for SARS‐CoV‐2, angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), in the fetoplacental unit. We evaluated protein expression of ACE2 at various gestational ages in both placentae and fetal organs from pregnancies not infected with SARS‐CoV‐2.

Methods

In May 2020, using samples from a registered biobank, we performed immunohistochemical analysis for ACE2 in tissue samples from fetal organs and placentae from five cases of second‐ or third‐trimester medical termination of pregnancy in healthy women (performed between 15 and 38 weeks' gestation), as well as a further two placentae, one from a 7‐week spontaneous miscarriage in a non‐infected woman and one from a symptomatic pregnant woman positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 delivered by Cesarean section at 34 weeks. Samples were paraffin‐embedded and organ tissues included kidney, brain, lung, intestinal tract, heart and testis. Matching tissues (kidney, intestinal tract, lung and testis) from autopsies of four 8‐year‐old children were tested as controls. Tissue sections were incubated with rabbit monoclonal anti‐ACE2, and protein expression of ACE2 was detected by immunohistochemistry.

Results

ACE2 expression was detected in fetal kidney, rectum and ileum samples from 15 weeks onwards and in the pediatric controls. It was barely detectable in fetal lung samples at 15 + 5 weeks' gestation and not detectable thereafter, and, in the pediatric controls, ACE2 was detectable only in type‐2 pneumocytes. No ACE2 expression was found in the cerebral ependymal or parenchymal tissues or in cardiac tissues. ACE2 was expressed in placental syncytiotrophoblast and cytotrophoblast samples, but not in the amnion, from 7 weeks onwards. The intensity and distribution of ACE2 staining in the placenta from the symptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 woman was similar to that in the non‐infected placentae.

Conclusions

Marked placental expression of ACE2 provides a rationale for vertical transmission at the cellular level. Absence of ACE2 expression in the fetal brain and heart is reassuring regarding the risk of congenital malformation. Clinical follow‐up of infected pregnant women and their children is needed to validate these observations. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Controversies in the management of twin pregnancy
Authors: Khalil A. , Liu B.
Published: August 2020

Despite many advances in antenatal care, twin pregnancies still experience more adverse outcomes, in particular perinatal morbidity and mortality. They also pose a multitude of challenges and controversies, as outlined in this Review. Moreover, they are less likely to be included in clinical trials. Many issues on classification and management remain under debate. Efforts at standardizing diagnostic criteria, monitoring protocols, management and outcome reporting are likely to reduce their perinatal risks. The top 10 most important research uncertainties related to multiple pregnancies have been identified by both clinicians and patients. More robust research in the form of randomized trials and large well‐conducted prospective cohort studies is needed to address these controversies. © 2020 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
What to do when invaders are out of control?
Authors: Dunham Jason B. , Arismendi Ivan , Murphy Christina , Koeberle Alex , Olivos J. Andres , Pearson James , Pickens Francisco , Roon David , Stevenson John
Published: August 2020

Biological invasions threaten species and ecosystems worldwide. Impacts from invasions are especially prevalent in freshwaters, where managers have struggled to contain the problem. Conventional approaches to managing invaders focus on prevention and control. In practice, these measures have proven to be variably effective. Control or eradication of established invaders is particularly difficult and, even if ecologically feasible, it may not be socially desirable. Here we propose a new alternative to managing invasive species: managing impact modifiers (MIM). The MIM approach focuses on managing impacts, rather than controlling the invader directly. We reviewed the literature for the world's worst invasive fishes in freshwaters to show there is strong evidence to support the potential for MIM as an effective means of managing impacts of invasions. This included evidence pointing to characteristics of the environment or species themselves that modify impacts of invasions. Detail of three case studies reinforces the potential for MIM as a viable option. Although MIM appears promising, effective application could involve significant investment in an information gathering phase to identify impact modifiers and the means to manage them. Accordingly, MIM is best incorporated into management plans that include a strong learning or adaptive component. Ultimately, MIM may be one of the only viable alternatives for managing invasive species that are truly out of control.

This article is categorized under:

Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems

Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems

Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness
A Decision Support Tool to Guide the Use of Nest Exclosures for Piping Plover Conservation
Authors: Darrah Abigail J. , Cohen Jonathan B. , Castelli Paul M.
Published: August 2020

Wire cages (exclosures) that exclude nest predators are regularly used for management of federally threatened and endangered populations of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) and similar species. However, recent evidence that apparent nest abandonment related to exclosure use is indicative of adult mortality has led to concern about the technique. We developed a decision support tool named PiperEx that uses site‐specific nest‐fate data to inform a stochastic population projection model to predict population growth rate at the site level with and without exclosure use. Underlying PiperEx is a Bayesian logistic‐exposure multinomial nest fate model, with informative priors based on analysis of 1,312 piping plover nests monitored throughout the U.S. Atlantic Coast in 2015 and 2016. We used simulated nest fate data sets and real nest data from 3 management areas from 2013 to 2018 to test tool performance. Based on simulations, the probability of making the correct decision increased with sample size, exceeding 80% with 20 nests. Decisions recommended by the tool were robust to variation in demographic parameters. Using real data, the decision for a given year only matched the decision for the immediately previous year 16% to 67% of the time, whereas data pooled across years predicted the best decision for a particular year up to 100% of the time for a given area. We used a case study of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge to demonstrate that the optimal decision is sensitive to how a site was defined. We recommend that data for PiperEx be collected on an annual basis, and data for the previous 5 or 6 years be pooled for making a decision at the start of the season. Further development of the tool should focus on its use to make regional recommendations, and use of multiple years of data to improve the capability of the tool to make robust site‐specific recommendations. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.
An Efficient Index for Reachability Queries in Public Transport Networks
Authors: Tesfaye Bezaye , Augsten Nikolaus , Pawlik Mateusz , Böhlen Michael H. , Jensen Christian S.
Published: August 2020

Computing path queries such as the shortest path in public transport networks is challenging because the path costs between nodes change over time. A reachability query from a node at a given start time on such a network retrieves all points of interest (POIs) that are reachable within a given cost budget. Reachability queries are essential building blocks in many applications, for example, group recommendations, ranking spatial queries, or geomarketing. We propose an efficient solution for reachability queries in public transport networks. Currently, there are two options to solve reachability queries. (1) Execute a modified version of Dijkstra’s algorithm that supports time-dependent edge traversal costs; this solution is slow since it must expand edge by edge and does not use an index. (2) Issue a separate path query for each single POI, i.e., a single reachability query requires answering many path queries. None of these solutions scales to large networks with many POIs. We propose a novel and lightweight reachability index. The key idea is to partition the network into cells. Then, in contrast to other approaches, we expand the network cell by cell. Empirical evaluations on synthetic and real-world networks confirm the efficiency and the effectiveness of our index-based reachability query solution.
Extracellular vesicles and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: from misfolded protein vehicles to promising clinical biomarkers
Authors: Gagliardi Delia , Bresolin Nereo , Comi Giacomo Pietro , Corti Stefania
Published: August 2020

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small reservoirs of different molecules and important mediators of cell-to-cell communication. As putative vehicles of misfolded protein propagation between cells, they have drawn substantial attention in the field of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders. Moreover, exosome-mediated non-coding RNA delivery may play a crucial role in ALS, given the relevance of RNA homeostasis in disease pathogenesis. Since EVs can enter the systemic circulation and are easily detectable in patients’ biological fluids, they have generated broad interest both as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and as valuable tools in understanding disease pathogenesis. Here, after a brief introduction on biogenesis and functions of EVs, we aim to investigate their role in neurodegenerative disorders, especially ALS. Specifically, we focus on the main findings supporting EV-mediated protein and RNA transmission in ALS in vitro and in vivo models. Then, we provide an overview of clinical applications of EVs, summarizing the most relevant studies able to detect EVs in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of ALS patients, underlying their potential use in aiding diagnosis and prognosis. Finally, we explore the therapeutic applications of EVs in ALS, either as targets or as vehicles of proteins, nucleic acids and molecular drugs.