bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stabilizing resistive random access memory by constructing an oxygen reservoir with analyzed state distribution
Authors: Lin Chih-Yang , Zhou Kuan-Ju , Chang Ting-Chang , Sun Li-Chuan , Tan Yung-Fang , Wu Chung-Wei , Yeh Yu-Hsuan , Chen Wen-Chung , Lin Chun-Chu , Huang Wei-Chen , Wu Cheng-Hsien , Lin Shih-Kai , Lin Tzu-Heng , Huang Jen-Wei , Sze Simon M.
Published: October 2020

In this paper, the instability mechanism of resistive random access memory was investigated, and a technique was developed to stabilize the distribution of high resistance states and better concentrate the set voltage.
Targeted ferritin nanoparticle encapsulating CpG oligodeoxynucleotides induces tumor-associated macrophage M2 phenotype polarization into M1 phenotype and inhibits tumor growth
Authors: Shan Hui , Dou Wenlong , Zhang Yu , Qi Mi
Published: October 2020

Novel M2pep-rHF-CpG nanoparticles repolarize the M2-type TAMs to M1-type and inhibit tumor growth after intravenous injection.
Synthesis and derivatization of hetera-buckybowls
Authors: Wang Wenbo , Shao Xiangfeng
Published: October 2020

Hetera-buckybowls have attracted growing interest because of their unique physicochemical properties originating from their curved π-surface and the inherent nature of heteroatoms.
Recent development of Sn–Fe-based materials as a substitute for Sn–Co–C anodes in Li-ion batteries: a review
Authors: Lin Zuopeng , Lan Xuexia , Xiong Xingyu , Hu Renzong
Published: October 2020

Sn–Fe based materials have been widely studied as a substitute for Sn–Co–C anodes in Li-ion batteries and their electrochemical performance can be significantly enhanced by rational design of composition, microstructure, and preparation methods.
Metal–ligand–Lewis acid multi-cooperative catalysis: a step forward in the Conia-ene reaction
Authors: Clerc Arnaud , Marelli Enrico , Adet Nicolas , Monot Julien , Martín-Vaca Blanca , Bourissou Didier
Published: October 2020

An original multi-cooperative catalytic approach was developed by combining metal–ligand cooperation and Lewis acid activation.
Clogged water bridges for fog harvesting
Authors: Park Jihye , Lee Changje , Lee Sangyoup , Cho Hyesung , Moon Myoung-Woon , Kim Seong Jin
Published: October 2020

Unless the fog particles are incident to the mesh-type fog harvesters with high inertia instead of circumventing the mesh domain, the clogged water bridges' effect on the fog-harvesting performance is not entirely negative.
New horizons in photocatalysis: the importance of mesopores for cerium oxide
Authors: Thill Alisson S. , Figueiredo Wallace T. , Lobato Francielli O. , Vaz Mauricio O. , Fernandes Willians P. , Carvalho Vágner E. , Soares Edmar A. , Poletto Fernanda , Teixeira Sérgio R. , Bernardi Fabiano
Published: October 2020

The presence of mesopores matters when choosing the optimal surface oxygen vacancy population for improved photocatalysis of cerium oxide nanoparticles.
Complex alloy nanostructures as advanced catalysts for oxygen electrocatalysis: from materials design to applications
Authors: Liu Jinlong , Zhang Tierui , Waterhouse Geoffrey I. N.
Published: October 2020

This review highlights recent design strategies used to fabricate high performance complex alloy catalysts for ORR and OER, including composition regulation, size optimization, morphology control, structure engineering, and interface engineering.
Robust real‐time kinematic positioning method based on NLOS detection and multipath elimination in GNSS challenged environments
Authors: Ye Xiaozhou , Ma Chunjiang , Liu Wenxiang , Wang Feixue
Published: October 2020

Owing to the existence of non‐line‐of‐sight (NLOS) signals in global navigation satellite system (GNSS) challenged environment, the real‐time kinematic (RTK) position precision is seriously damaged. In order to improve the position accuracy, the authors propose a robust positioning method which tackles this problem by detecting the NLOS through a decision tree and estimating the double‐differenced multipath errors in real time. The NLOS detection performance of the proposed method is 95.64%. The field experiment shows that the ambiguity fixing rate has improved by 43% in the instantaneous mode, and the 3D position accuracy is about 81.77% higher better than that of normal RTK method which is implemented by using RTKLIB software.
Low‐local‐oscillator‐power sub‐harmonic mixing in 300‐GHz band by Fermi‐level managed barrier diode
Authors: Ito H. , Ishibashi T.
Published: October 2020

An anti‐parallel (AP) diode pair based on a Fermi‐level managed barrier (FMB) diode was developed for the sub‐harmonic mixing of terahertz waves. A quasi‐optical module integrating an AP–FMB diode pair and a trans‐impedance amplifier exhibited a very low noise‐equivalent‐power of 9 × 10−19 W/Hz at an input signal frequency of 304 GHz with a very low local oscillator power of 30 μW.
Low‐complexity framework for GNSS jamming and spoofing detection on moving platforms
Authors: Sharifi‐Tehrani Omid , Sabahi Mohamad Farzan , Danaee Meysam Raees
Published: October 2020

Performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) mounted on aerial platforms could be degraded by the presence of jamming or spoofing threats. Detection of jamming and spoofing is essential considering practical applications of satellite navigation in passenger aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters and fighters. Different algorithms and methods have been proposed for detection of these threats; however, their usage has many limitations because of their demanding weight, size and computational complexity, when embedded on aerial systems. In this study, the authors develop a theoretical framework to detect the presence of the threat of UAVs. The idea is based on the fact that, due to the UAV motion, the samples of received signal power from a fixed threat and from a GNSS satellite have different empirical probability density functions. Moreover, by using two antennas (an omnidirectional and a down‐tilted‐directional), they introduce a new method to distinguish between aerial and ground‐based threats. The proposed algorithms have a low‐computational burden and can consider the fading loss as well. Simulation results show the superior performance of the proposed methods, in terms of detection and false alarm probability, compared to the existing methods.
Simple halo model formalism for the cosmic infrared background and its correlation with the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect
Authors: Maniyar A. , Béthermin M. , Lagache G.
Published: October 2020

Modelling the anisotropies in the cosmic infrared background (CIB) on all the scales is a challenging task because the nature of the galaxy evolution is complex and too many parameters are therefore often required to fit the observational data. We present a new halo model for the anisotropies of the CIB using only four parameters. Our model connects the mass accretion on the dark matter haloes to the star formation rate. Despite its relative simplicity, it is able to fit both the Planck and Herschel CIB power spectra and is consistent with the external constraints for the obscured star formation history derived from infrared deep surveys used as priors for the fit. Using this model, we find that the halo mass with the maximum efficiency for converting the accreted baryons into stars is log10Mmax = 12.94-0.02+0.02 M⊙, consistent with other studies. Accounting for the mass loss through stellar evolution, we find for an intermediate-age galaxy that the star formation efficiency defined as M⋆(z)/Mb(z) is equal to 0.19 and 0.21 at redshift 0.1 and 2, respectively, which agrees well with the values obtained by previous studies. A CIB model is used for the first time to simultaneously fit Planck and Herschel CIB power spectra. The high angular resolution of Herschel allows us to reach very small scales, making it possible to constrain the shot noise and the one-halo term separately, which is difficult to do using the Planck data alone. However, we find that large angular scale Planck and Herschel data are not fully compatible with the small-scale Herschel data (for ℓ >  3000). The CIB is expected to be correlated with the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (tSZ) signal of galaxy clusters. Using this halo model for the CIB and a halo model for the tSZ with a single parameter, we also provide a consistent framework for calculating the CIB × tSZ cross correlation, which requires no additional parameter. To a certain extent, the CIB at high frequencies traces galaxies at low redshifts that reside in the clusters contributing to the tSZ, giving rise to the one-halo term of this correlation, while the two-halo term comes from the overlap in the redshift distribution of the tSZ clusters and CIB galaxies. The CIB × tSZ correlation is thus found to be higher when inferred with a combination of two widely spaced frequency channels (e.g. 143 × 857 GHz). We also find that even at ℓ ∼ 2000, the two-halo term of this correlation is still comparable to the one-halo term and has to be accounted for in the total cross-correlation. The CIB, tSZ, and CIB × tSZ act as foregrounds when the kinematic SZ (kSZ) power spectrum is measured from the cosmic microwave background power spectrum and need to be removed. Because of its simplistic nature and the low number of parameters, the halo model formalism presented here for these foregrounds is quite useful for such an analysis to measure the kSZ power spectrum accurately.
An observational correlation between magnetic field, angular momentum and fragmentation in the envelopes of Class 0 protostars?
Authors: Galametz Maud , Maury Anaëlle , Girart Josep M. , Rao Ramprasad , Zhang Qizhou , Gaudel Mathilde , Valdivia Valeska , Hennebelle Patrick , Cabedo-Soto Victoria , Keto Eric , Lai Shih-Ping
Published: October 2020

Aims. The main goal of the following analysis is to assess the potential role of magnetic fields in regulating the envelope rotation, the formation of disks and the fragmentation of Class 0 protostars in multiple systems.

Methods. We use the Submillimeter Array to carry out observations of the dust polarized emission at 0.87 mm, in the envelopes of a large sample of 20 Class 0 protostars. We estimate the mean magnetic field orientation over the central 1000 au envelope scales to characterize the orientation of the main component of the organized magnetic field at the envelope scales in these embedded protostars. This direction is compared to that of the protostellar outflow in order to study the relation between their misalignment and the kinematics of the circumstellar gas. The latter is traced via velocity gradient observed in the molecular line emission (mainly N2H+) of the gas at intermediate envelope scales.

Results. We discover a strong relationship between the misalignment of the magnetic field orientation with the outflow and the amount of angular momentum observed at similar scales in the protostellar envelope, revealing a potential link between the kinetic and the magnetic energy at envelope scales. The relation could be driven by favored B-misalignments in more dynamical envelopes or a dependence of the envelope dynamics with the large-scale B initial configuration. Comparing the trend with the presence of fragmentation, we observe that single sources are mostly associated with conditions of low angular momentum in the inner envelope and good alignment of the magnetic field with protostellar outflows, at intermediate scales. Our results suggest that the properties of the magnetic field in protostellar envelopes bear a tight relationship with the rotating-infalling gas directly involved in the star and disk formation: we find that it may not only influence the fragmentation of protostellar cores into multiple stellar systems, but also set the conditions establishing the pristine properties of planet-forming disks.
Creative economy as a tool of competitiveness
Authors: Centárová Jana
Published: October 2020

Creativity is a fundamental manifestation of human existence and is present in every human being in different forms. The creative economy is a natural environment for innovative ideas, development and exploitation of creative potential. Over the last two decades, it has been observed that creativity is gradually becoming a driving force for economies, and as a result the importance of creative industries is also increasing. The creative industry is increasingly becoming part of EU documents and policies. The governments of the creative countries gradually introduced the concept of the creative industry, the creative class and the creative city and their importance. The creative industry refers to those parts of the economy that create economic value on the basis of individual creative input or artistic talent. It is a sector based on the exploitation of intellectual property. The aim of this work is to briefly map the concept of creative economy and its measurement in the work of foreign and Slovak authors and describe the possible potential of this industry.
Control, controlling and its objectives in the organization
Authors: Dědečková Nina
Published: October 2020

The aim of the paper is to define and compare definitions and objectives of the managerial control and controlling based on research of scientific and professional literature through the opinions of domestic and foreign authors. By studying several domestic and foreign sources, through analogy, analysis, synthesis and comparison, we were able to create an overview of the research areas and defined the basic areas of managerial function of control and controlling. Our finding is that managerial control and controlling is still an actual topic. It is the subject of research by many theorists who focus on defining of these terms. Control is often perceived only as a comparison of two states, ie as the difference between the plan and the reality, while controlling in addition to comparisons also understands controlling as the implementation of corrective actions, thus supporting planning and decision-making. In this paper we identify the opinions of various authors and emphasize the importance of these terms.
The process model of subjective quality assessment of videoconferencing in enterprise
Authors: Filanová Jana
Published: October 2020

Videoconferencing is one of the most appropriate ways to transmit information online to participants not only during quarantine. This paper describes a novel process of evaluating the quality of videoconference. Time-consuming subjective measurements were supported by models and programs that simplified the preparation, testing, and processing of results. The process of quality assessment can help IT management to decide on the use of videoconferencing as a means of communication in business. This is especially important in times of pandemics and quarantine.
Evaluation of Slovak Automotive Industry Competitiveness Based On Market Concentration Indicators
Authors: Hojdik Vladimír
Published: October 2020

This paper evaluates the concentration of Slovak automotive industry, and its potential impacts on competitiveness and innovation activities of businesses operating within the industry. It analyses the concentration of automotive industry by using relevant metrics as market share, concentration ratio CR3, CR5, CR10 and Herfindahl index. The aim of this paper is to analyze financial results of Slovak automotive businesses, then measure the degree of concentration of whole industry in order to explain industry competitiveness in context of Slovak economy. Finally, the paper should inspire a reader in order to make him consider, what is the impact of strongest automotive companies on whole business environment in Slovak Republic.
Corporate relations and strategic subcontracting
Authors: Inhaddou Abdelkrim , Markovič Peter
Published: October 2020

Technological progress, such as that associated with robotics and computer-aided manufacturing, is increasingly delivering machines that operate at lower variable costs, but often with a different optimum degree of utilization. If we restrict our analysis to companies that use two different types of machines to manufacture a product, a change in the optimal degree of utilization of machines of one type resulting from technological developments may make it necessary to adapt the entire manufacturing process in order to fully exploit the cost advantage. If the cost advantages cannot be fully achieved by reconciling internal company structures, this may be achieved by adjusting inter-company structures. Such an adjustment can take various forms, depending on whether the enterprise in question offers unneeded capacity to other enterprises or complements insufficient internal production resources with available capacity from another enterprise. The aim of the article is to analyse important trends in the context of subcontracting. In order to keep the subject of the study easily comprehensible, the important empirical methods are used, which can discover new insights in the scientific sources. The resulting generalization is intended to show when the question of possible outsourcing should be placed on the negotiating table.
Analysis of market concentration in creative industry
Authors: Kozáková Mária , Kmety Barteková Mária
Published: October 2020

For the companies the situation in the industry is important in terms of identification opportunities and threats that occur in the industry. Given the increasing competition should be monitored as concentration develops in the industry in which it operates. This article examines the use of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index and Concentration ratio in selected sectors of the creative industry. The development and degree of concentration in the sector is an essential factor characterizing the level of the competitive environment and its exact definition is based on the system of quantitative characteristics that are part of the analytical materials of the institutions dealing with the enforcement of competition rules in most developed economies.
The Economic and Social Consequences of Tax Havens in the World
Authors: Lénártová Gizela
Published: October 2020

The tax havens in the world have become the global phenomenon related tax avoidance, tax fraud and evasion and money laundering. The aim of the paper is to analyze their scope and to assess economic and social consequences of their existence in the world society, world economy, international and national tax systems. Many analyzes of the current situation and reported cases show that tax havens are threatening the stable development of the world economy, causing negative consequences of the economic, social, security and humanitarian nature of the global scale. Combating tax avoidance, tax fraud and evasion through tax havens must be stronger and more effective all around the world.
Knowledge Management – situation in Poland and Slovakia
Authors: Machová Renáta , Šeben Zoltán , Zsigmond Tibor , Bakulár Annamária
Published: October 2020

The aim of the study is to present the situation of knowledge management at Polish and Slovak companies. The first part contains the introduction. We describe the importance of human knowledge which is one of the main resources in companies’ life. In the theoretical part define the meaning of the knowledge and describe knowledge management. In the next part we describe the objectives of this study and the methods used in our research. Our study is based on secondary data. In the practical part we present the state of Polish and Slovak companies in terms of KM. The last part contains the conclusions. Some similarities can be found between the two countries. Large companies are more engaged in knowledge at some level. The biggest obstacles to KM is that the management and the employees have less time and information about the KM processes. In order to improve in the future, it is worth raising the awareness of companies about the usefulness of KM.
Creation of Personal Career Path: Basis for the Development of Educational Products of Further Education
Authors: Matulčíková Marta , Breveníková Daniela
Published: October 2020

The aim of the paper is, based on theoretical starting-points and empirical research, to describe types of career paths. Diversity of educational needs is reflected in that of career paths. Calculations of the correlation of job position and completed education of the respondent, respondent’s mother and father and the correlation dependence of career path and completed respondent’s education are presented in tables. Collected information was statistically processed with manual and automated programs: acquired statistics were collected and processed in MS Excel program and GNU PSPP. Based on empirical surveys, it can be concluded that there is a significant correlation between the employment status of both parents. Jobs of both mother and father are dependent on education. It can be stated that education is not such an important factor for the job as it used to be; other factors, such as material resources of the family, prospects of developing their own business, where the respondent can act either in the employer position or in that of self-employed, are important.
Startups and reasons for their failure
Authors: Mikle Lenka
Published: October 2020

The world is one big agreement. When we are going to school, when we are going to work or shopping. We can meet some type of agreement totally everywhere. In shop, we cannot take a thing without remittance. In school, we cannot take the best grades without knowledge and in work, we cannot take a financial reward without any added services. Business environment is very complicated, especially in these days. All trade activities are affected by a lot of factors, which are unpredictable. For customer is the most important right solution for their needs and for company is the most important find to way how to satisfy customer’s need. The main purpose of this article is offering a view on small, beginning enterprise trying to provide customers something special through innovative product or used revolutionary technologies – the startup. On the other hand, as we know, minimum amount of startups can survive the first four years. Why is it so?
Promoting process approach to management
Authors: Papulova Emília
Published: October 2020

Increasing environmental dynamics and deepening competition are forcing businesses to seek effective responses and, within them, appropriate management approaches to be competitive and succeed in the market. The process approach, which in recent years has become an integral part of managerial practice in the company, emphasizes the business processes. Focusing on processes and improving them in companies is an effort to better respond to changing customer requirements. This paper deals with the possibilities of applying and using methods and techniques to support the business process management in companies and deals with the essence and benefits of individual methods to support the performance and competitiveness of a company.
Country branding comparison between Slovak Republic and United Kingdom in Future Brand Country Index
Authors: Kufelová Iveta , Raková Monika
Published: October 2020

Nowadays are known many indexes, which are rating specific countries by their performance in chosen areas. This work will be concentrated on the brands of countries valuated by brand indexes. For purposes of job we have chosen the Future Brand Country Index in order to achieve the most objective result of comparison between Slovak Republic and Great Britain. Although they are known certain number of indexes, factors used in Future Brand Country Index are considered by us as the best suitable for this work. This index valuates strength of perception of the country brand across certain dimensions, which are Value System, Quality of Life, Business Potential, Heritage and Culture, Tourism and Made in. These dimensions consist of numerous associations with specific country which will be specified later. Purpose of our work is to analyse results of Slovak republic and Great Britain, their position in Future Brand Index in 2014 and in 2019 and find reasons of their improvement or deterioration. Since Future Brand Index does not publish data and analyses of these countries, our work will be concentrated on analysing key dimensions of index which could affect position of chosen countries in Future Brand index.
Modern logistics technologies in the conditions of Slovak enterprises
Authors: Richnák Patrik
Published: October 2020

We are living in a time of technological progress, the development of new technologies and the digital transformation of industry. Customers continue to focus on product quality and enterprises are looking for solutions to reduce production costs, speed up and simplify the manufacturing process. One effective way to do this is to use modern logistics technology. The main aim of the paper was to examine logistics technologies used in Slovak enterprises. The intention of this paper was to analyse the issue under consideration the literary research and the survey, which was conducted in enterprises in Slovakia. To provide a comprehensive view, it was necessary to define terms and concepts in the first part of the paper - technology, logistics technology and types of logistics technologies. Subsequently, in the theoretical part of the paper we focused on the analysis of selected modern logistics technologies. From these we chose Efficient Consumer Response, Radio Frequency Identification and Quick Response. To provide a comprehensive view, we have selected modern logistics technologies under the conditions of Slovakia.
Factors influencing local competition intensity
Authors: Zagorsek Branislav
Published: October 2020

This paper investigates the factors influencing the intensity of local competition. The research results may be of interest to companies if deciding whether to enter a market or by defining a new market. Understanding which factors impact the competition the most also helps to address these factors when dealing with competitors and other subjects. The studied factors were selected based on Porter's model of five competitive forces. The data were obtained from the World Economic Forum database. To analyze the data, the statistics software PSPP and the programming language Python with statistical package Statsmodels were used. The results were considered to be statistically significant if they were on significance level p ≤ 0.05. The finding is that higher competition intensity is positively influenced by the number of local suppliers, foreign competition, intellectual property protection, and negatively by spending on research and development. This research may serve as a guideline for companies. If a company is entering a new market, the results presented in this paper may help to assess the intensity level of local competition by identifying the most influential factors.
Is obesity a contraindication for simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty? A prospective case–control study
Authors: Agarwala Sanjay , Wagh Yash Santosh , Vijayvargiya Mayank
Published: October 2020

Aim: Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) for decades has been an effective treatment modality for chronic arthritis of the knee. However, there is scarcity of literature comparing the functional outcomes of simultaneous bilateral TKA in obese patients with non-obese Indian population. We conducted this study to evaluate the functional outcomes and complication rates of simultaneous bilateral TKA in obese patients matched control with non-obese patients. Materials and methods: We divided the patients into two study groups based on their body mass index (BMI). Patients with a BMI of less than 30 were classified as non-obese and those with a BMI of more than 30 were classified as obese. All the patients underwent simultaneous bilateral TKA by a single surgeon using the same implant and technique. Patients were followed up regularly and functional outcomes in terms of Oxford knee score were noted at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year. Post-operative complications and time to recovery was also compared. Results: Mean follow-up in obese group was 18 months (12–25 months) and in non-obese group was 17 months (12–24 months). Both the groups were matched with control in terms of pre-operative parameters. Post-operative hemoglobin drop, ICU requirement, length of hospital stay, mean walking time, and mean time to climbing stairs were similar in both the groups. Oxford knee score was significantly better in non-obese group at 6 weeks, but was similar in both the groups at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and last follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference seen in the complication rate in both the groups. There was no implant loosening or radiolucency seen. Conclusion: We conclude in our study that simultaneous bilateral TKA gives comparable mid-term results in obese patients in comparison to the non-obese patients.
Salivary gland function in women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis without xerostomia and the correlation with auto-thyroid antibodies
Authors: Pang Xiao-an , Wei Zhi-xiao , Li Jun-hong , Pang Xiao-qi
Published: October 2020

Background Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) may cause salivary dysfunction in patients resulting in xerostomia, but little is known about changes in salivary function in patients with no obvious dry mouth symptoms. In this study we assessed salivary function in women with HT, who had not experienced xerostomia and, for the first time, evaluated the effects of thyroid auto-antibodies on this function.

Methods Sixty consecutive subjects were included, comprising 32 women (mean age, 36 ± 12 years) diagnosed with HT accompanied by differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in the study group (HT group), along with a control group (DTC group) of 28 women (mean age, 40 ± 12 years) diagnosed with DTC only. Salivary gland scintigraphy was used to assess salivary function with the semi-quantitative parameters of maximum absorption ratio and maximum secretion ratio, the decrease of which indicate impaired salivary function. Moreover, the HT and DTC groups were divided into four subgroups (Anti– HT, Anti+ HT, Anti– DTC, and Anti+ DTC), based on the presence of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb). Finally, salivary gland semi-quantitative parameters were correlated with levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), TGAb, and TPOAb in the HT and DTC groups.

Results None of the semi-quantitative parameters examined in parotid or submandibular glands differed significantly between the HT and DTC groups. However, the maximum secretion ratio for the parotid and submandibular glands were significantly different in the subgroup comparison (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the TgAb, TPOAb, and TSH values correlated significantly with salivary excretive function (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion Women with HT without xerostomia may not have salivary functional impairment during hypothyroidism. Serum thyroid autoantibody and TSH levels may mainly influence salivary excretive function but not uptake function.
Metabolomics Study of Whole-body Vibration on Lipid Metabolism of Skeletal Muscle in Aging Mice
Authors: Jiang Dingwen , Liu Chang , Chen Ye , Xing Xuejiao , Zheng Danmeng , Guo Zhanpeng , Lin Sen
Published: October 2020

Ageing increases the occurrence and development of many diseases. Exercise is believed to be an effective way to improve ageing and skeletal muscle atrophy. However, many elderly people are unable to engage in active exercise. Whole-body vibration is a passive way of moving that is especially suitable for the elderly and people who find it inconvenient to exercise. Metabolomics is the systematic study of metabolic changes in small molecules. In this study, metabolomics studies were performed to investigate the regulatory effect of whole-body vibration on the skeletal muscles of ageing mice. After 12 weeks, we found that whole-body vibration had the most obvious effect on lipid metabolism pathways (such as linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism pathways) in skeletal muscle of ageing mice. Through further research we found that whole-body vibration decreased the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein in blood; decreased the lipid deposition in skeletal muscle; decreased the protein expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-6; improved the protein levels of phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate-1, phosphate phosphoinositide 3-kinase and p-AKT; improved the protein levels of klotho; and decreased the protein expression of p53. These findings reveal that whole-body vibration might postpone senility by attenuating lipid deposition and reducing chronic inflammation and the insulin resistance of skeletal muscle.
Tratamento de lesões condrais no joelho com condrócitos autólogos embebidos em arcabouço de fibrina. Avaliação clínica e funcional
Authors: Alvarez-Lozano Eduardo , Martinez-Rodriguez Herminia , Forriol Francisco
Published: October 2020

Objetivo O objetivo do nosso estudo é analisar os resultados clínicos e funcionais do tratamento de lesões nas articulações do joelho com condrócitos autólogos embebidos em arcabouço de fibrina.

Métodos O estudo foi realizado com 56 pacientes (36 homens e 20 mulheres) com idade média de 36 anos; 6 indivíduos eram atletas profissionais. Os pacientes apresentavam lesões únicas, condrais ou osteocondrais (43 condrais, nove osteocondrais, 2 casos de osteocondrite dissecante e duas fraturas osteocondrais) no joelho, com 2 a 10 cm2 de tamanho e ≤ 10 mm de profundidade, sem sinais de osteoartrite. As lesões estavam localizadas na patela (8), no côndilo femoral medial (40), no côndilo femoral lateral (7) e na tróclea (1). O período médio de acompanhamento foi de 3 anos (faixa de 1–6 anos). A evolução clínica foi avaliada pelos escores de Cincinnati e Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome (KOOS), 6 e 12 meses após a cirurgia. O teste t de Student pareado foi utilizado para comparação dos achados pré e pós-operatórios.

Resultados Os pacientes retomaram suas atividades diárias 6 meses após o implante. Os escores avaliados demonstraram a melhora em comparação ao estado pré-cirúrgico (p < 0,05). Além disso, os pacientes conseguiram realizar suas atividades esportivas com mais facilidade do que antes da cirurgia (p < 0,05).

Conclusão A cultura de condrócitos em fibrina pode proporcionar um microambiente favorável para a síntese de matriz extracelular e melhorar a condição clínica e a atividade dos pacientes 1 ano após a cirurgia
The Use of Recombinant Activated Factor VII in Patients with Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia
Authors: Poon Man-Chiu
Published: October 2020

Platelet transfusion is the standard treatment to control or prevent bleeding in patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT), but platelets are often unavailable. Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) is an effective alternative to platelets in patients with GT with past/present refractoriness to platelet transfusions and antibodies to platelets. However, there is an unmet need for an alternative to platelets in patients without antibodies. This report summarizes evidence of efficacy and safety of rFVIIa in patients with GT without refractoriness or antibodies to platelets from three different sources: the Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Registry (GTR), published literature (January 01, 1999 to December 01, 2017), and the Novo Nordisk safety surveillance database. In the GTR, 133 patients received rFVIIa for the treatment of 333 bleeding episodes and prevention of bleeding in 157 surgical procedures. Overall efficacy rates were 79 and 88%, respectively, in patients treated for bleeding episodes or for the prevention of bleeding during surgery; effectiveness was generally similar across refractoriness/antibody status categories. Median dose per infusion of rFVIIa was close to that recommended for patients with GT (90 µg/kg). Data from 14 published case reports also demonstrated that rFVIIa is effective with an acceptable safety profile in patients with GT without antibodies to platelets. Analysis of adverse events reported in GTR and in Novo Nordisk safety surveillance database did not raise any new safety concerns. These data supported the label extension of rFVIIa to include cases where platelets are not readily available, which was approved by the European Medicines Agency in December 2018.
Evaluation of Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy in Critically Ill Pediatric Patients with Septic Shock
Authors: Jhang Won Kyoung , Park Seong Jong
Published: October 2020

Background Coagulopathy is a common serious complication of sepsis and septic shock; thus, its early detection and prompt management are important. For this purpose, recently the sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) score was proposed.

Methods We modified the SIC score for critically ill children with septic shock and evaluated its performance in comparison to several coagulopathy diagnostic scoring systems.

Results Among 135 included patients, a significant number of patients were diagnosed with coagulopathy using different coagulopathy diagnostic criteria (up to 84.4% using the SIC score). The modified SIC score, comprising the pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) score, prothrombin time, and D-dimer, was used to diagnose SIC in 68 (50.4%) patients. It was well correlated with the pSOFA score and the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) score, as well as the SIC score (p < 0.001). The overall 28-day mortality rate was 18.7%. Patients with coagulopathy had worse clinical outcomes compared to those without coagulopathy. The modified SIC score was identified as an independent prognostic factor for 28-day mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for performance of the modified SIC score to predict 28-day mortality evaluated was 0.771 (95% confidence interval: 0.658–0.883), better than those of the SIC and ISTH DIC scores (p < 0.05).

Conclusion Critically ill pediatric patients with septic shock frequently had concomitant coagulopathy. The modified SIC score showed good ability to predict 28-day mortality, suggesting its potential as a prognostic factor in these critically ill pediatric patients.
Trap states in lead chalcogenide colloidal quantum dots—origin, impact, and remedies
Authors: Kahmann Simon , Loi Maria A.
Published: October 2020

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) based on lead chalcogenides (PbX), i.e., lead sulfide, selenide, or telluride, constitute a class of materials with many intriguing properties and potential applications in (opto-)electronics. These nanosized crystals are employed successfully in a broad variety of devices including field-effect transistors, solar cells, and light emitting diodes, and their performance has increased significantly over the last 20 years. Often, such improvements have been associated with the suppression of detrimental recombination of charge carriers via trap states. Historically, traps have been attributed to dangling bonds on the surface of CQDs that needed to be passivated for proper electronic behavior. More recent understanding goes beyond such simplified views. Surfaces can be bare without necessarily evoking traps. On the other hand, imperfect separation of CQDs and their subsequent agglomeration can generate trapping sites without the need of chemical defects. Experimental and computational approaches that have led to a more accurate understanding are here discussed, and rivaling concepts and ideas are highlighted. Although the community established a much improved understanding of carrier trapping, there is still room to further the knowledge about the precise mechanisms, especially with respect to impacts from the environment. With these limitations notwithstanding, PbX CQDs exhibit large potential that we expect to be unlocked through future improvements in control of the surface chemistry and strategies of thin film assembly.
Promising valleytronic materials with strong spin-valley coupling in two-dimensional MN2X2 (M = Mo, W; X = F, H)
Authors: Dou Kaiying , Ma Yandong , Peng Rui , Du Wenhui , Huang Baibiao , Dai Ying
Published: October 2020

The valley degree of freedom of electrons in two-dimensional systems enables the unprecedented exploration of some physical properties as well as promising device applications. However, suitable two-dimensional valleytronic materials, especially with strong spin-valley coupling, are rare. In this work, based on first-principles calculations, we demonstrate a class of promising two-dimensional valleytronic materials in monolayer MN2X2 (M = Mo, W; X = F, H). Monolayer MN2X2 exhibits a semiconducting nature with the valence band maximum located at the K/K′ points, forming a pair of degenerate valleys. Importantly, upon including spin-orbital coupling, the valleys in these systems experience a significant spin splitting (601 meV), which gives rise to the long-sought strong spin-valley coupling. Such significant spin splitting is attributed to the strong spin–orbit coupling strength within the W-dx2−y2/dxy orbitals as well as the inversion asymmetry. Moreover, under hole doping and optical illumination, the valley Hall effect can be achieved in these systems.
Human Argonaute2 and Argonaute3 are catalytically activated by different lengths of guide RNA
Authors: Park Mi Seul , Sim GeunYoung , Kehling Audrey C. , Nakanishi Kotaro
Published: October 2020

RNA interfering is a eukaryote-specific gene silencing by 20∼23-nucleotide (nt) microRNAs and small interfering RNAs that recruit Argonaute proteins to complementary RNAs for degradation. In humans, Argonaute2 (AGO2) has been known as the only slicer while Argonaute3 (AGO3) barely cleaves RNAs. Therefore, the intrinsic slicing activity of AGO3 remains controversial and a long-standing question. Here, we report 14-nt 3′ end-shortened variants of let-7a, miR-27a, and specific miR-17–92 families that make AGO3 an extremely competent slicer, increasing target cleavage up to ∼82-fold in some instances. These RNAs, named cleavage-inducing tiny guide RNAs (cityRNAs), conversely lower the activity of AGO2, demonstrating that AGO2 and AGO3 have different optimum guide lengths for target cleavage. Our study sheds light on the role of tiny guide RNAs.
Imagining the nation in British politics
Authors: Breeze Ruth
Published: October 2020

In European politics today, the issues of
nationalism and populism are attracting considerable research
attention. However, most discourse studies have either focused
exclusively on far-right politics, or have looked at populism at
both extremes of the political spectrum. In this chapter, I approach
the discursive representation of the nation and the people from an
exploratory, comparative perspective informed by corpus assisted
discourse studies, drawing on mixed methodology, and focusing on the
politics of Great Britain. My corpus contains six 2017 election
manifestos: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, Scottish
National Party, and Plaid Cymru. Principled searches are conducted
for references to nations, national groups and people/citizens,
which are then analysed qualitatively in a contrastive
perspective.
Politics beyond death?
Authors: Heynderickx Priscilla , Dieltjens Sylvain
Published: October 2020

Obituaries constitute interesting research
material. Amongst other functions, they indicate how a society copes
with death and the fear of dying. Obituaries reflect which personal
and professional qualities the members of a particular culture or
group in society consider important or relevant enough to be
remembered in texts celebrating a deceased person. In this paper, we
present the results of a bottom-up discourse analysis of the
obituaries of one hundred Belgian politicians. The material
comprises both obituaries published in the media and obituaries
issued by the political party the deceased politician represented.
On a content level, we focus on two aspects: the qualities mentioned
and the presence of political orientation in the description of the
deceased. On a linguistic level, we determine whether the metaphors
used are politically inspired. The analysis carried out demonstrates
that the obituaries of political figures – in which the political
discourse and the discourse about the personal qualities of the
deceased coexist – often turn into political propaganda.
Cyberbullying and gender
Authors: García-Gómez Antonio
Published: October 2020

Over the last two decades, there is a growing
body of feminist studies that discusses both the psychological and
social benefits and the negative effects of social media use among
teenagers. Using threads taken from Twitter, understood as a blend
of social media, blogging, and texting, the present study aims to
explore, from a gender-based approach, the discursive strategies and
self-presentation strategies both male and female teenagers deploy
and the impressions that they exhibit when they verbally abuse and
victimise others in their own threads or somebody else’s. The study
of male and female interpersonal socially deviant practices on
Twitter not only provides a number of preliminary answers to why
gender matters in the study of cyberbullying, but also casts light
on a gender-sensitive construction of the used gendered strategies
in verbal cyberbullying. Furthermore, the study makes it possible to
address essential linkages between the micro-level (i.e., the
individual) and the macro-level (i.e., the social action in this
public sphere).
Let’s talk about sex in high school
Authors: Sánchez Ruiz Raquel
Published: October 2020

Although sex has always been a controversial
topic, in the last years the taboo surrounding sex and sexuality has
progressively relaxed, which has led to the appearance of TV series
in which sex plays a fundamental role. A good case in point is
Sex Education, a comedy-drama series about
teenagers’ sexual issues in the setting of sex-therapy sessions.
This chapter’s main aim is to analyse how high school students talk
about and conceptualise sexual topics in eight episodes of the
series, considered here an instance of telecinematic discourse. The
results reveal that the X-phemistic (i.e., euphemistic and
dysphemistic) units teenagers use to talk about sex provide good
evidence of their beliefs and value judgements related to
sexuality.
Phonological development in Spanish immersion
Authors: Menke Mandy R.
Published: October 2020

Studies of lexical and syntactic development in immersion programs are numerous, yet phonological development has received much less attention. This study compares the pronunciation of English home language students in one-way and two-way Spanish immersion programs across three sound classes: voiceless stops, rhotics, and vowels. Learner productions were analyzed acoustically and compared to those of Spanish-English bilingual peers. Findings suggest that the two-way immersion context may facilitate more nativelike articulation. Amount of exposure to native speaker input, emerging adolescent identity, and decreases in instructional use of the minority language are explored as contributing factors to the greater outcomes of two-way students.
Microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel-625 slab component fabricated by wire arc additive manufacturing
Authors: Ravi G. , Murugan N. , Arulmani R.
Published: October 2020

Wire arc additive manufacturing is a promising reliable free-form fabrication technique suitable for producing large-scale components that feature a very low buy-to-fly ratio. This research work is aimed to fabricate a rectangular prototype Inconel-625 alloy slab using a robotic metal inert gas welding system. The microstructure and mechanical properties of as-deposited and solution-annealed (SA) alloys were investigated. It was found that the as-deposited alloy exhibited a columnar dendritic structure and the presence of intermetallic phases such as the Laves phase, NbC and carbides were observed in the gamma-nickel matrix. In SA deposit, the intermetallic phases were dissolved in the NiCr-matrix and the secondary carbides M23C6, M6C were also observed in the microstructure. It was found that the ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of the as-deposited alloy were higher than that of SA deposit.