bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Open Knowledge Institutions
Authors: Montgomery Lucy , Hartley John , Neylon Cameron , Gillies Malcolm , Gray Eve , Herrmann-Pillath Carsten , Huang Chun-Kai (Karl) , Leach Joan , Potts Jason , Ren Xiang , Skinner Katherine , Sugimoto Cassidy R. , Wilson Katie
Published: August 2021

The future of the university as an open knowledge institution that institutionalizes diversity and contributes to a common resource of knowledge: a manifesto.

In this book, a diverse group of authors—including open access pioneers, science communicators, scholars, researchers, and university administrators—offer a bold proposition: universities should become open knowledge institutions, acting with principles of openness at their center and working across boundaries and with broad communities to generate shared knowledge resources for the benefit of humanity. Calling on universities to adopt transparent protocols for the creation, use, and governance of these resources, the authors draw on cutting-edge theoretical work, offer real-world case studies, and outline ways to assess universities' attempts to achieve openness.

Digital technologies have already brought about dramatic changes in knowledge format and accessibility. The book describes further shifts that open knowledge institutions must make as they move away from closed processes for verifying expert knowledge and toward careful, mediated approaches to sharing it with wider publics. It examines these changes in terms of diversity, coordination, and communication; discusses policy principles that lay out paths for universities to become fully fledged open knowledge institutions; and suggests ways that openness can be introduced into existing rankings and metrics. Case studies—including Wikipedia, the Library Publishing Coalition, Creative Commons, and Open and Library Access—illustrate key processes.

The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from the MIT Libraries.
NICEdrug.ch, a workflow for rational drug design and systems-level analysis of drug metabolism
Authors: MohammadiPeyhani Homa , Chiappino-Pepe Anush , Haddadi Kiandokht , Hafner Jasmin , Hadadi Noushin , Hatzimanikatis Vassily
Published: August 2021

The discovery of a drug requires over a decade of intensive research and financial investments – and still has a high risk of failure. To reduce this burden, we developed the NICEdrug.ch resource, which incorporates 250,000 bioactive molecules, and studied their enzymatic metabolic targets, fate, and toxicity. NICEdrug.ch includes a unique fingerprint that identifies reactive similarities between drug–drug and drug–metabolite pairs. We validated the application, scope, and performance of NICEdrug.ch over similar methods in the field on golden standard datasets describing drugs and metabolites sharing reactivity, drug toxicities, and drug targets. We use NICEdrug.ch to evaluate inhibition and toxicity by the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil, and suggest avenues to alleviate its side effects. We propose shikimate 3-phosphate for targeting liver-stage malaria with minimal impact on the human host cell. Finally, NICEdrug.ch suggests over 1300 candidate drugs and food molecules to target COVID-19 and explains their inhibitory mechanism for further experimental screening. The NICEdrug.ch database is accessible online to systematically identify the reactivity of small molecules and druggable enzymes with practical applications in lead discovery and drug repurposing.
A quadratic model captures the human V1 response to variations in chromatic direction and contrast
Authors: Barnett Michael A , Aguirre Geoffrey K , Brainard David
Published: August 2021

An important goal for vision science is to develop quantitative models of the representation of visual signals at post-receptoral sites. To this end, we develop the quadratic color model (QCM) and examine its ability to account for the BOLD fMRI response in human V1 to spatially uniform, temporal chromatic modulations that systematically vary in chromatic direction and contrast. We find that the QCM explains the same, cross-validated variance as a conventional general linear model, with far fewer free parameters. The QCM generalizes to allow prediction of V1 responses to a large range of modulations. We replicate the results for each subject and find good agreement across both replications and subjects. We find that within the LM cone contrast plane, V1 is most sensitive to L-M contrast modulations and least sensitive to L+M contrast modulations. Within V1, we observe little to no change in chromatic sensitivity as a function of eccentricity.
Pharmacological rescue of impaired mitophagy in Parkinson’s disease-related LRRK2 G2019S knock-in mice
Authors: Singh Francois , Prescott Alan R , Rosewell Philippa , Ball Graeme , Reith Alastair D , Ganley Ian G
Published: August 2021

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a major and progressive neurodegenerative disorder, yet the biological mechanisms involved in its aetiology are poorly understood. Evidence links this disorder with mitochondrial dysfunction and/or impaired lysosomal degradation – key features of the autophagy of mitochondria, known as mitophagy. Here, we investigated the role of LRRK2, a protein kinase frequently mutated in PD, in this process in vivo. Using mitophagy and autophagy reporter mice, bearing either knockout of LRRK2 or expressing the pathogenic kinase-activating G2019S LRRK2 mutation, we found that basal mitophagy was specifically altered in clinically relevant cells and tissues. Our data show that basal mitophagy inversely correlates with LRRK2 kinase activity in vivo. In support of this, use of distinct LRRK2 kinase inhibitors in cells increased basal mitophagy, and a CNS penetrant LRRK2 kinase inhibitor, GSK3357679A, rescued the mitophagy defects observed in LRRK2 G2019S mice. This study provides the first in vivo evidence that pathogenic LRRK2 directly impairs basal mitophagy, a process with strong links to idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, and demonstrates that pharmacological inhibition of LRRK2 is a rational mitophagy-rescue approach and potential PD therapy.
CLAMP and Zelda function together to promote Drosophila zygotic genome activation
Authors: Duan Jingyue , Rieder Leila , Colonnetta Megan M , Huang Annie , Mckenney Mary , Watters Scott , Deshpande Girish , Jordan William , Fawzi Nicolas , Larschan Erica
Published: August 2021

During the essential and conserved process of zygotic genome activation (ZGA), chromatin accessibility must increase to promote transcription. Drosophila is a well-established model for defining mechanisms that drive ZGA. Zelda (ZLD) is a key pioneer transcription factor (TF) that promotes ZGA in the Drosophila embryo. However, many genomic loci that contain GA-rich motifs become accessible during ZGA independent of ZLD. Therefore, we hypothesized that other early TFs that function with ZLD have not yet been identified, especially those that are capable of binding to GA-rich motifs such as chromatin-linked adaptor for male-specific lethal (MSL) proteins (CLAMP). Here, we demonstrate that Drosophila embryonic development requires maternal CLAMP to (1) activate zygotic transcription; (2) increase chromatin accessibility at promoters of specific genes that often encode other essential TFs; and (3) enhance chromatin accessibility and facilitate ZLD occupancy at a subset of key embryonic promoters. Thus, CLAMP functions as a pioneer factor that plays a targeted yet essential role in ZGA.
C. elegans does a spit take
Authors: Hendricks Michael
Published: August 2021

Eating can turn into spitting because individual parts of a muscle cell are able to contract in different ways.
Aberrant expression of PROS1 correlates with human papillary thyroid cancer progression
Authors: Wang Jing , Lei Minxiang , Xu Zhijie
Published: August 2021

Background

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer (TC). Considering the important association between cellular immunity and PTC progression, it is worth exploring the biological significance of immune-related signaling in PTC.

Methods

Several bioinformatics tools, such as R software, WEB-based Gene SeT AnaLysis Toolkit (WebGestalt), Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) and Cytoscape were used to identify the immune-related hub genes in PTC. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were adopted to identify the proliferation and migration ability of PROS1 knockdown groups and control groups in PTC cells.

Results

The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of five datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) contained 154 upregulated genes and 193 downregulated genes, with Protein S (PROS1) being the only immune-related hub gene. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) have been conducted to prove the high expression of PROS1 in PTC. Moreover, PROS1 expression was significantly correlated with lymph nodes classification. Furthermore, knockdown of PROS1 by shRNAs inhibited the cell proliferation and cell migration in PTC cells.

Conclusions

The findings unveiled the clinical relevance and significance of PROS1 in PTC and provided potential immune-related biomarkers for PTC development and prognosis.
DLFF-ACP: prediction of ACPs based on deep learning and multi-view features fusion
Authors: Cao Ruifen , Wang Meng , Bin Yannan , Zheng Chunhou
Published: August 2021

An emerging type of therapeutic agent, anticancer peptides (ACPs), has attracted attention because of its lower risk of toxic side effects. However process of identifying ACPs using experimental methods is both time-consuming and laborious. In this study, we developed a new and efficient algorithm that predicts ACPs by fusing multi-view features based on dual-channel deep neural network ensemble model. In the model, one channel used the convolutional neural network CNN to automatically extract the potential spatial features of a sequence. Another channel was used to process and extract more effective features from handcrafted features. Additionally, an effective feature fusion method was explored for the mutual fusion of different features. Finally, we adopted the neural network to predict ACPs based on the fusion features. The performance comparisons across the single and fusion features showed that the fusion of multi-view features could effectively improve the model’s predictive ability. Among these, the fusion of the features extracted by the CNN and composition of k-spaced amino acid group pairs achieved the best performance. To further validate the performance of our model, we compared it with other existing methods using two independent test sets. The results showed that our model’s area under curve was 0.90, which was higher than that of the other existing methods on the first test set and higher than most of the other existing methods on the second test set. The source code and datasets are available at https://github.com/wame-ng/DLFF-ACP.
Impact of the the COVID-19 pandemic on a queen conch (Aliger gigas) fishery in The Bahamas
Authors: Higgs Nicholas D.
Published: August 2021

The onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020 led to a dramatic rise in unemployment and fears about food-security throughout the Caribbean region. Subsistence fisheries were one of the few activities permitted during emergency lockdown in The Bahamas, leading many to turn to the sea for food. Detailed monitoring of a small-scale subsistence fishery for queen conch was undertaken during the implementation of coronavirus emergency control measures over a period of twelve weeks. Weekly landings data showed a surge in fishing during the first three weeks where landings were 3.4 times higher than subsequent weeks. Overall 90% of the catch was below the minimum legal-size threshold and individual yield declined by 22% during the lockdown period. This study highlights the role of small-scale fisheries as a ‘natural insurance’ against socio-economic shocks and a source of resilience for small island communities at times of crisis. It also underscores the risks to food security and long-term sustainability of fishery stocks posed by overexploitation of natural resources.
Sub-fractions from Carica Papaya Seed Extracts Can Prevent Potassium Bromate- induced Changes in Activities of Renal Brush Border Membrane Enzymes and Some Enzymes of Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Kidney of Rats
Authors: Kanadi M. A. , Alhassan A. J. , Yaradua A. I. , Nasir A. , Wudil A. M.
Published: August 2021

Aim: To investigate the effect of the chromatographic fractions of Carica papaya seed on KBrO3 –induced reduction in the activities of renal brush border membrane (BBM) marker enzymes and the changes in activities of some enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in the kidney of rats.

Study Design: twenty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups, five rats per group; normal control, KBrO3 control, papaya fraction control and KBrO3 group administered with 126mg/kg body weight of the most active fraction of partially purified methanol extract of C. papaya for 48 hours.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria.

Methodology: The activities of renal BBM marker enzymes: γ-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, maltase and leucine aminopeptidase were assayed in homogenates of renal cortex and medulla, and in brush border membrane vesicle (BBMV) isolated from cortex using standard methods. Furthermore, activities of the following enzymes representing different pathways of carbohydrate metabolism were determined in renal homogenates: hexokinase (HK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), glucose 6-phosphatase (G6P), fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBP), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and malic enzyme (ME).

Results: KBrO3 administration significantly (P<0.05) decreases the activities of all the BBM marker enzymes in renal homogenates and BBMV. It also decreases the activities of MDH, G6P, FBP and G6PD, and significantly increases (P<0.05) that of HK, LDH and ME in renal homogenates however co-administration of most active fraction of C. papaya  seed prevented all the KBrO3 -induced changes in these biochemical parameters.

Conclusion: Chromatographic fractions of C. papaya seed extract possesses potent phytochemicals that could prevent KBrO3 –induced reduction in activities of renal BBM marker enzymes and the changes in enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism studied and therefore could be analyzed further to isolate the bioactive compounds.
Examining the General Perceptions of the Parents on the Concept and Implementation of Central Schools in Bhutan
Authors: Dukpa Norbu
Published: August 2021

This paper attempts to examine the general perceptions of the Parents on the Concept and Implementation of Central Schools in Bhutan. These days we have mixed feelings on the implementation of central schools in Bhutan. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the level of perceptions of the parents on the implementation of Central Schools in Bhutan.

The first section is the statement of the problem on the introduction of central schools in Bhutan. This is followed by the general-purpose and specific objectives of carrying out this study. In the next section, this paper presents the significances of carrying out the study and finally concludes with the main guiding question and sub-questions.

The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. The sample consisted of more than 100 parents from three Gewogs of Samdrupjongkhar. The finding of the study revealed that with the coming of the Central schools, the other small schools are deprived of the facilities. Therefore, it is recommended that the facility has to be equally distributed and the current system of the detachment of lower campus from upper campus has to be continued.
Mathematical Modelling for Semiconductor and Piezoelectric Media
Authors: Kumar Ashwani
Published: August 2021

In this analysis the importance of mathematical modelling of the physical systems has been outlined. The constitutive relations and basic governing equations of motion for homogeneous isotropic elastic semiconductor (n-type) and homogeneous transversely isotropic ( class) piezoelectric elastic media, in the absence of body forces and electric sources are made non-dimensional in order to reduce the mathematical complexity. All the obtained equations are rewritten in matrix form. Then considering the harmonic wave solution the eigen values and eigen vectors are calculated to obtained the formal solution of the problem.
Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Carnation SHD-27531-4
Authors: Andreassen Åshild , Sipinen Ville Erling , Finne Merethe Aasmo , Brandtzaeg Per , Dahl Knut Helkås , Dalen Knut Tomas , Junttila Olavi , Meadow Richard , Måren Inger Elisabeth , Nielsen Kåre M. , Sanden Monica , Vikse Rose , Opsahl-Sorteberg Hilde-Gunn
Published: August 2021

Carnation SHD-27531-4 is a genetically modified variety of Dianthus caryophyllus L. used as a decorative plant species. The red-purple colour of the flowers results from expression of the two newly introduced genes dfr and f 3’5’h, encoding the enzymes dihydroflavonol 4reductase (DFR) and flavonoid 3’,5’-hydroxylase (F3’5’H). The two enzymes enable the production of the pigments delphinidin and cyanidin (anthocyanidins) in the flower petals. Anthocyanidins and their sugar derivatives, anthocyanins, make up a large group of natural colours and are accepted food additives (E 163). The colours of most flowers, berries and fruits consist of a combination of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins. 

Carnation line SHD-27531-4 also contains a mutated herbicide tolerance gene from Nicotiana tabacum , coding for an acetolactate synthase (ALS) variant protein, used to facilitate the selection of GM plantlets during the genetic transformation process. Southern blot analysis and sequencing indicate only a single copy of the intended T-DNA insert in the SHD-27531-4 genome. Flanking sequences show no disruption of endogenous genes. In silico analyses show no significant homologies between the DFR, F3’5’H an ALS proteins and known toxins and IgE-bound allergens. No observed changes in the introduced trait, i.e. the particular flower colour, indicative of instability, have been reported during several generations of vegetatively propagated plants. 

 

Considering that carnation SHD-27531-4 is not intended for cultivation or use as food or feed, the VKM GMO Panel considers the comparative analysis of the anthocyanidins delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin and pelargonidin in the flower petals sufficient for the risk assessment. The reported morphological differences between SHD-27531-4 and the parent cultivar do not raise safety concerns. 

 

Based on current knowledge and the scope of the application, the VKM GMO Panel concludes that the DFR, F3’5’H and ALS proteins and anthocyanidin pigments are unlikely to increase a potential health risk related to an accidental intake or other exposure routes to carnation SHD-27531-4 compared to the conventional counterpart or other non-GM carnations. 

 

Likewise, the VKM GMO Panel concludes that carnation SHD-27531-4, based on current knowledge and the intended use as cut ornamental flowers, does not represent an environmental risk in Norway.
On the Analysis of Damped Gyroscopic Systems Using Lyapunov Direct Method
Authors: Akpan Ubong D.
Published: August 2021

In this work, the stability properties of damped gyroscopic systems have been studied using Lyapunov direct method. These systems are generally stable because of the presence of gyroscopic effect. Conditions for determining the stability of the damped gyroscopic systems have been developed. Solution bounds of amplitude and velocity have been obtained for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous cases. An example is given to show how the stability conditions are applied to systems to determine its stability status.
Study of Clinical Profile of Carcinoma Breast and Prognostic Significance of Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase as Tumor Marker in Carcinoma Breast
Authors: Malhotra Geetika , Wagh D. D. , Yeola Meenakshi
Published: August 2021

Background: Breast cancer is the highly prevalent malignancy and is a major killer in women around world. In India, there is substantial statistically significant increase in breast cancer incidence patterns. Women from under developed areas(883000 cases) have a significantly higher no. of cases than those from developed areas (794,000) [1]. There are various risk factors associated with breast malignancy. A variety of bio-chemical markers have been tested to determine the malignancy, for the early detection of carcinoma of different origin. LDH is the easiest and cheapest to calculate of all of these indicators.

Objectives:

To study the clinical profile of patient with breast

To study the prognostic significance of LDH as tumor marker in breast

To compare post-operative LDH level in patient undergoing surgery for carcinoma breast v/s patient undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Compare variation in preoperative baselines LDH levels and post-operative LDH levels.

Methodology: It is a prospective observational study done on patients with breast cancer. It will be conducted at Dept. of General Surgery , J.N.M.C and AVBRH, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha. The study will be conducted on patients with Carcinoma Breast.

Results: To be assessed after the study.

Conclusion: Serum LDH is a good prognostic marker of breast cancer.
Immediate Dentin Sealing For Indirect Esthetic Restorations: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alghulikah Khaled , Kahtani Reem Mohammed Al , Rasayn Sara Abdullah Al , Alawad Sara Khalid
Published: August 2021

Background: The progress in the field of dental adhesion has shown great implications for restorative dentistry. Immediate dentin sealing is a technique that was introduced to improve the bonding of indirect restorations. The improvement of bonding techniques to both enamel and dentin promotes the practice of conservative dental treatment.Hencethe purpose of the current study was to search for the best available evidence concerning the clinical outcomes of immediate dentin sealing.

Methodology: An extensive search was performed using different online databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane library). These search engines were searched for relevant articles by developing relevant search strategies. Three independent authors reviewed studies, collected data, and assessed risk of bias.

Results: After reviewing 221 studies, duplicates were removed and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Finally, three clinical studies were accepted in this review.

Conclusions: Previous in vitro studies have shown improved outcomes, although there was no strong evidence in clinical studies to prove superiority of this clinical approach.
Analysis of Indian Food Based on Machine learning Classification Models
Authors: Nayak Sasmita Kumari , Beura Mamata , Siddique Mohammed , Mishra Siba Prasad
Published: August 2021

For human life, Food is highly necessary and essential for human to live the life. The objective of the current study is to characterise, classify and compare the food consumption patterns of many Indian food diets such as non-vegetarian and vegetarian. Given data about different Indian dishes, we try to predict here the dish is vegetarian or not. To get the best predictive model, this study is conducted with the comparison of Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest algorithms. In this study, the concept and implementation of all these four models be made for prediction of Indian food. For training and testing the models, Indian food dataset is used that contains, in total 255 records to fit with all these four models. In short, the classification and prediction of Decision tree and KNN model provides less performance than the other models used here. However, the Random Forest model was generally more accurate than SVM, KNN and Decision Tree model, which have got from the simulation.
Lipocalin 2 promotes inflammatory breast cancer tumorigenesis and skin invasion
Authors: Villodre Emilly S. , Hu Xiaoding , Larson Richard , Finetti Pascal , Gomez Kristen , Balema Wintana , Stecklein Shane R. , Santiago‐Sanchez Ginette , Krishnamurthy Savitri , Song Juhee , Su Xiaoping , Ueno Naoto T. , Tripathy Debu , Van Laere Steven , Bertucci François , Vivas‐Mejía Pablo , Woodward Wendy A. , Debeb Bisrat G.
Published: August 2021

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive form of primary breast cancer characterized by rapid onset and high risk of metastasis and poor clinical outcomes. The biological basis for the aggressiveness of IBC is still not well understood and no IBC‐specific targeted therapies exist. In this study, we report that lipocalin 2 (LCN2), a small secreted glycoprotein belonging to the lipocalin superfamily, is expressed at significantly higher levels in IBC vs non‐IBC tumors, independently of molecular subtype. LCN2 levels were also significantly higher in IBC cell lines and in their culture media than in non‐IBC cell lines. High expression was associated with poor‐prognosis features and shorter overall survival in IBC patients. Depletion of LCN2 in IBC cell lines reduced colony formation, migration, and cancer stem cell populations in vitro and inhibited tumor growth, skin invasion, and brain metastasis in mouse models of IBC. Analysis of our proteomics data showed reduced expression of proteins involved in cell cycle and DNA repair in LCN2‐silenced IBC cells. Our findings support that LCN2 promotes IBC tumor aggressiveness and offer a new potential therapeutic target for IBC.
Medical Physics Practice Guideline (MPPG) 11.a: Plan and chart review in external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy
Authors: Xia Ping , Sintay Benjamin J. , Colussi Valdir C. , Chuang Cynthia , Lo Yeh‐Chi , Schofield Deborah , Wells Michelle , Zhou Sumin
Published: August 2021

A therapeutic medical physicist is responsible for reviewing radiation therapy treatment plans and patient charts, including initial treatment plans and new chart review, on treatment chart (weekly) review, and end of treatment chart review for both external beam radiation and brachytherapy. Task group report TG 275 examined this topic using a risk‐based approach to provide a thorough analysis and guidance for best practice. Considering differences in resources and workflows of various clinical practice settings, the Professional Council of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine assembled this task group to develop a practice guideline on the same topic to provide a minimum standard that balances an appropriate level of safety and resource utilization. This medical physics practice guidelines (MPPG) thus provides a concise set of recommendations for medical physicists and other clinical staff regarding the review of treatment plans and patient charts while providing specific recommendations about who to be involved, and when/what to check in the chart review process. The recommendations, particularly those related to the initial plan review process, are critical for preventing errors and ensuring smooth clinical workflow. We believe that an effective review process for high‐risk items should include multiple layers with collective efforts across the department. Therefore, in this report, we make specific recommendations for various roles beyond medical physicists. The recommendations of this MPPG have been reviewed and endorsed by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists and the American Association of Medical Dosimetrists.
Applications of machine and deep learning to patient‐specific IMRT/VMAT quality assurance
Authors: Osman Alexander F. I. , Maalej Nabil M.
Published: August 2021

In order to deliver accurate and safe treatment to cancer patients in radiation therapy using advanced techniques such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric‐arc radiation therapy (VMAT), patient specific quality assurance (QA) should be performed before treatment. IMRT/VMAT dose measurements in a phantom using various devices have been clinically adopted as standard method for QA. This approach allows the verification of the accuracy of the dose calculation, data transfer, and the delivery system. However, patient‐specific QA procedures are expensive and require significant time and effort by the physicists. Over the past 5 years, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms for predictions of IMRT/VMAT QA outcome have been investigated. Various ML and DL models have shown promising prediction accuracy and a high potential as time‐efficient virtual QA tool. In this paper, we review the ML and DL based models that were developed for patient specific IMRT and VMAT QA outcome predictions from algorithmic and clinical applicability perspectives. We focus on comparing the algorithms, the dataset sizes, the input parameters and features, the QA outcome prediction approaches, the validation, the performance, the clinical applicability, and the potential clinical impact. In addition, we discuss the present challenges as well as the future directions in the implementation of these models. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review on the application of ML and DL based models in IMRT/VMAT QA predictions.
Combining structural and metabolic markers in a quantitative MRI study of motor neuron diseases
Authors: Canna Antonietta , Trojsi Francesca , Di Nardo Federica , Caiazzo Giuseppina , Tedeschi Gioacchino , Cirillo Mario , Esposito Fabrizio
Published: August 2021

Objective

To assess the performance of a combination of three quantitative MRI markers (iron deposition, basal neuronal metabolism, and regional atrophy) for differential diagnosis between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS).

Methods

In total, 33 ALS, 12 PLS, and 28 healthy control (HC) subjects underwent a 3T MRI study including single‐ and multi‐echo sequences for gray matter (GM) volumetry and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and a pseudo‐continuous arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequence for cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurement. Mean values of QSM, CBF, and GM volumes were extracted in the motor cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. A generalized linear model was applied to the three measures to binary discriminate between groups. The diagnostic performances were evaluated via receiver operating characteristic analyses.

Results

A significant discrimination was obtained: between ALS and HCs in the left and right motor cortex, where QSM increases were respectively associated with disability scores and disease duration; between PLS and ALS in the left motor cortex, where PLS patients resulted significantly more atrophic; between ALS and HC in the right motor cortex, where GM volumes were associated with upper motor neuron scores. Significant discrimination between ALS and HC was achieved in subcortical structures only combining all three parameters.

Interpretation

While increased QSM values in the motor cortex of ALS patients is a consolidated finding, combining QSM, CBF, and GM volumetry shows higher diagnostic potential for differentiating ALS patients from HC subjects and, in the motor cortex, between ALS and PLS.
Adaptive robust output feedback control for attitude tracking of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles
Authors: Yang Zi‐Jiang
Published: August 2021

This work proposes a new adaptive robust output feedback control method for attitude reference tracking of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle without using the angular velocity measurements. By using the K‐filters well known in the adaptive control community, the necessity of velocity measurements or estimating is avoided. The attitude system model is transformed into a second‐order model where the angular velocity measurements are not involved. However, the model includes mismatched uncertainties which should be estimated and compensated by the disturbance observers (DOBs). The controller is designed in a backstepping manner, and the dynamic surface technique is adopted to avoid the explosion of the controller complexity. For each Euler angle axis, the prescribed performance control technique is adopted to ensure a prescribed performance, the lumped disturbance is compensated by a DOB, and furthermore an adaptive law is introduced to adaptively update the corresponding uncertain inertia parameter which affects the control performance significantly. The control performance of the overall control system is analyzed rigorously from the viewpoint of input‐to‐state practical stability. In addition, it is shown how the adaptive laws contribute to improving the control performance. And simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
Fabrication of Nanocrystalline High‐Strength Magnesium−Lithium Alloy by Rotary Swaging
Authors: Chen Xin , Liu Chuming , Jiang Shunong , Chen Zhiyong , Wan Yingchun
Published: August 2021

A high‐strength magnesium‐lithium alloy is successfully fabricated via cold rotary swaging herein. The microstructure evolution in the central and edge regions of the alloy bar during the swaging process is explored using transmission electron microscopy. The results show that nanograins with high‐angle grain boundaries are formed in the central region of the alloy bar after five‐pass swaging, resulting in higher microhardness and strength obtained in the central region than in the edge region. The sample in the central region of the five‐pass swaged alloy bar exhibits a specific strength of 313 kN m kg−1 and a yield strength of 463 MPa. The nanocrystallization process of initial coarse grains in the central region of the alloy bar contains massive twinning first and subsequent refinement of twin/matrix lamellae through the formation of many dislocation arrays. However, it is not possible to form nanograins in the edge region of the alloy bar after five‐pass swaging because of the lower twinning activity and the difficulty of forming dislocation arrays compared with the central region.
Surface Engineering of Carbon via Coupled Porosity Tuning and Heteroatom‐Doping for High‐Performance Flexible Fibrous Supercapacitors
Authors: Lee Young‐Geun , Lee Jaeyeon , An Geon‐Hyoung
Published: August 2021

Flexible fibrous supercapacitors (FFS) are considered the next‐generation wearable energy storage devices because they provide reliable safety, eco‐friendliness, and high power density. In particular, the FFS is desirable for application to wearable electronics because it can overcome disadvantages of the lithium‐ion battery (LIB), such as the hazard of explosion and the complex manufacturing process. Nevertheless, the practical application of the FFS continues to be inhibited by the poor energy storage performance due to the limited specific surface area, poor electrical properties, and low wettability of the carbon fiber electrode. Herein, for the first time, the surface engineering of an FFS using nitrogen and fluorine codoped mesoporous carbon fibers (FFS‐NFMCF) is described, and the synergistic effect of porosity tuning and heteroatom codoping upon the electrochemical performance is demonstrated. The resultant supercapacitor shows a high specific capacitance of 243.9 mF cm−2 at a current density of 10.0 µA cm−2 and good ultrafast cycling stability with capacitance retention of 91.3% for up to 10 000 cycles at a current density of 250.0 µA cm−2. More interestingly, the FFS‐NFMCF exhibits good mechanical properties and remarkable safety in practical application, thus demonstrating its feasibility for use in wearable electronic textiles.
Enhancement of Reverse Intersystem Crossing in Charge‐Transfer Molecule through Internal Heavy Atom Effect
Authors: Kim Hyung Suk , Lee Ja Yeon , Shin Seongjun , Jeong Wonkyo , Lee Sang Hoon , Kim Seonghyeon , Lee Jihoon , Suh Min Chul , Yoo Seunghyup
Published: August 2021

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) is beneficial for improving the efficiency of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) by providing pathways to convert non‐emissive triplet excitons into singlet excitons. To ensure TADF is efficient, it is critical to enhance the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) rate. To this end, most approaches propose thus far have focused on reducing the energy difference between S1 and T1 states. The present study explores how incorporating the internal heavy atom (IHA) effect can impact the RISC and device performance. By introducing a series of halogen atoms to charge‐transfer molecules, TADF molecules exhibiting RISC over 7 × 107 s−1 are realized. These molecules are then applied to OLEDs, and the effect of incorporating these moieties is investigated. The results show that efficiency roll‐off is still significant even with RISC‐enhanced TADF emitters. Spectroscopic and theoretical results indicate that a fast RISC may not be the sole factor important for reducing efficiency roll‐off and that the spin‐flip cycles considering both T1→S1 and S1→T1 should be carefully taken into account to derive a complete picture of the IHA effect on efficiency roll‐off behavior.
Efficient Blue Light Emitting Diodes Based On Europium Halide Perovskites
Authors: Luo Jiajun , Yang Longbo , Tan Zhifang , Xie Weiwei , Sun Qi , Li Jinghui , Du Peipei , Xiao Qi , Wang Liang , Zhao Xue , Niu Guangda , Gao Liang , Jin Shengye , Tang Jiang
Published: August 2021

Flat panel displays enjoy 100 billion‐dollar markets with significant penetration in daily life, which require efficient, color‐saturated blue, green, and red light‐emitting diodes (LEDs). The recently emerged halide perovskites have demonstrated low‐cost and outstanding performance for potential LED applications. However, the performance of blue perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) lags far behind red and green cousins, particularly for color coordinates approaching (0.131, 0.046) that fulfill the Rec. 2020 specification for blue emitters. Here, a high‐efficiency, lead‐free perovskite, CsEuBr3, is reported that exhibits bright blue exciton emission centered at 448 nm with a color coordinates of (0.15, 0.04), contributed from Eu‐5d→Eu‐4f/Br‐4p transition with an optical band gap of 2.85 eV. Further optical characterizations reveal its short excited‐state lifetime of 151 ns, excellent exciton diffusion diffusivity of 0.0227 cm2 s−1, and high quantum yield of ≈69%. Inspired by these findings, deep‐blue PeLEDs based on all‐vacuum processing methods, which have been demonstrated as the most successful approach for the organic LED industry, are constructed. The devices show a maximum external quantum efficiency of 6.5% with an operating half‐lifetime of 50 mins at an initial brightness of 15.9 cd m−2. It is anticipated that this work will inspire further research on lanthanide‐based perovskites for next‐generation LED applications.
Electrolyte Design Enabling a High‐Safety and High‐Performance Si Anode with a Tailored Electrode–Electrolyte Interphase
Authors: Cao Zhang , Zheng Xueying , Qu Qunting , Huang Yunhui , Zheng Honghe
Published: August 2021

Silicon (Si) anodes are advantageous for application in lithium‐ion batteries in terms of their high theoretical capacity (4200 mAh g−1), appropriate operating voltage (<0.4 V vs Li/Li+), and earth‐abundancy. Nevertheless, a large volume change of Si particles emerges with cycling, triggering unceasing breakage/re‐formation of the solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) and thereby the fast capacity degradation in traditional carbonate‐based electrolytes. Herein, it is demonstrated that superior cyclability of Si anode is achievable using a nonflammable ether‐based electrolyte with fluoroethylene carbonate and lithium oxalyldifluoroborate dual additives. By forming a high‐modulus SEI rich in fluoride (F) and boron (B) species, a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 90.2% is attained in Si/Li cells, accompanied with a low capacity‐fading rate of only 0.0615% per cycle (discharge capacity of 2041.9 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles). Full cells pairing the unmodified Si anode with commercial LiFePO4 (≈13.92 mg cm−2) and LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 (≈17.9 mg cm−2) cathodes further show extended service life to 150 and 60 cycles, respectively, demonstrating the superior cathode‐compatibility realized with a thin and F, B‐rich cathode electrolyte interface. This work offers an easily scalable approach in developing high‐performance Si‐based batteries through Si/electrolyte interphase regulation.
Synthesis of Wet‐Chemically Prepared Porous‐Graphene Single Layers on Si/SiO2 Substrate Increasing the Photoluminescence of MoS2 in Heterostructures
Authors: Wang Yiqing , Neumann Christof , Hußmann Marleen , Cao Qing , Hu Yalei , Garrity Oisín , Kusch Patryk , Turchanin Andrey , Eigler Siegfried
Published: August 2021

Wet‐chemical generation of pores in graphene is a challenging synthetic task. Although graphene oxide is available in large quantities and chemically diverse, extended lattice defects already present from synthesis hamper the controlled growth of pores. However, membrane, energy, or nanoelectronic applications essentially require uniform pores in applications. Here, oxo‐functionalized graphene (oxoG), a type of graphene oxide with a controlled density of vacancy defects, is used as starting material. Pores in graphene are generated from potassium permanganate treated oxoG and heating from room temperature to 400 °C. With etching time, the size of pores increases and pore‐diameters of, for example, 100–200 nm in majority become accessible. The experiments are conducted on the single‐layer level on Si/SiO2 wafers. Flakes remain stable on the µm scale and do not fold. The process leads to rims of pores, which are functionalized by carbonyl groups in addition to hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. In addition, it is found that heterostructures with intrinsically n‐doped MoS2 can be fabricated and photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal a 10‐fold increased PL. Thus, graphene with pores is a novel highly temperature‐stable electron‐accepting 2D material to be integrated into van der Waals heterostructures.
A Self‐Powered Gas Sensor Based on Coupling Triboelectric Screening and Impedance Matching Effects
Authors: Liu Sainan , Yuan Guotao , Zhang Yi , Xie Lingjie , Shen Qingqing , Lei Hao , Wen Zhen , Sun Xuhui
Published: August 2021

Triboelectric gas sensors enable the detection of the target gas through measuring the variation of triboelectric output signal without an external power supply. The output depends greatly on triboelectric surface alteration of certain chemisorption of gas species. However, the impact of the variation in impedance of sensor electrodes altered by external stimuli is usually neglected, which can significantly affect the output signal of the sensor. In this work, a coupling triboelectric screening and impedance matching effects‐based high‐performance self‐powered triboelectric gas sensor has been proposed. Polyaniline (PANI) film is employed as both electrodes and positive triboelectric layer, as well as sliced polytetrafluoroethylene spaced on PANI as negative triboelectric layer. When exposed to ammonia, the output voltage decreases with the increasing concentration, and the response in low ammonia concentrations exhibits a steep slope, on account of limited active adsorption sites on triboelectric layers. The surface potential distributions of PANI film in three different gaseous ambient measured by in situ Kelvin probe force microscopy and experimental analysis systematically elaborate the triboelectric screening effect. Finally, a sensing‐electrode theoretical model has been demonstrated to verify the impedance matching effect of PANI electrode, opening up an effective strategy for the new generation of triboelectric sensors.
Engineering Plasmonic Colloidal Meta‐Molecules for Tunable Photonic Supercrystals
Authors: Molet Pau , Passarelli Nicolás , Pérez Luis A. , Scarabelli Leonardo , Mihi Agustín
Published: August 2021

Ordered arrays of metal nanoparticles offer new opportunities to engineer light–matter interactions through the hybridization of Rayleigh anomalies and localized surface plasmons. The generated surface lattice resonances exhibit much higher quality factors compared to those observed in isolated metal nanostructures. Template‐induced colloidal self‐assembly has already shown a great potential for the scalable fabrication of 2D plasmonic meta‐molecule arrays, but the experimental challenge of controlling optical losses within the repeating units has so far prevented this approach to compete with more standard fabrication methods in the production of high‐quality factor resonances. In this manuscript, the optical properties of plasmonic arrays are investigated by varying the lattice parameter (between 200 and 600 nm) as well as the diameter of the gold colloidal building‐blocks (between 11 ± 1 and 98 ± 6 nm). It is systematically studied how the internal architecture of the repeating gold‐nanoparticle meta‐molecules influences the optical response of the plasmonic supercrystals. Combining both experimental measurements and simulations, it is demonstrated how, reducing the size of the gold nanoparticles it is possible to switch from strong near‐field plasmonic architectures to high‐quality factors (>60) for lattice plasmon resonances located in the visible spectral range.
Emission Manipulation by DNA Origami‐Assisted Plasmonic Nanoantennas
Authors: Yeşilyurt Ayşe Tuğça Mina , Huang Jer‐Shing
Published: August 2021

Plasmonic nanoantennas mediate far and near optical fields and confine the light to subwavelength dimensions. The spatial organization of nanoantenna elements is critical as it affects the interelement coupling and determines the resultant antenna mode. To couple quantum emitters to optical antennas, high precision on the order of a few nm with respect to the antenna is necessary. As an emerging nanofabrication technique, DNA origami has proven itself to be a robust nanobreadboard to obtain sub‐5 nm positioning precision for a diverse range of materials. Eliminating the need for expensive state‐of‐the‐art top‐down fabrication facilities, DNA origami enables cost‐efficient implementation of nanoscale architectures, including novel nanoantennas. The ability of DNA origami to deterministically position single quantum emitters into nanoscale hotspots further boosts the efficiency of light–matter interaction controlled via optical antennas. This review recapitulates the recent progress in plasmonic nanoantennas assisted by DNA origami and focuses on their various configurations. How those nanoantennas act on the emission and absorption properties of quantum emitters positioned in the hotspots is explicitly discussed. In the end, open challenges are outlined and future possibilities lying ahead are pointed out for this powerful triad of biotechnology, nanooptics, and photophysics.