bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Domestic Imperialism
Authors: Harris J. Wolfe ,   Ball State University
Published: September 2020

Frantz Fanon’s works have been invaluable in the analysis of colonies and the colonized subject’s mentality therein, but an analysis of the colonial power itself has been largely left to the wayside. The aim of this paper is to explicate a key element of Fanon’s theoretical framework, the metropolis/periphery dichotomy, then, using the writings of Huey P. Newton and Stokely Carmichael, among others, show its reversal within the colonial power. I will analyze this reversal in three ways: first, the reversal of the relationship between, and the roles of, the metropolis and periphery; second, the role of police and the differences between the colonial police and the police within the colonial power; and third, the modified role of prisons within the colonial power.
A Fractal Universe and the Identity of Indescernibles
Authors: Casarosa Matteo ,   Ball State University
Published: September 2020

The principle of Identity of Indiscernibles has been challenged with various thought experiments involving symmetric universes. In this paper, I describe a fractal universe and argue that, while it is not a symmetric universe in the classical sense, under the assumption of a relational theory of space it nonetheless contains a set of objects indiscernible by pure properties alone. I then argue that the argument against the principle from this new thought experiment resists better than those from classical symmetric universes three main objections put forth against this kind of arguments.
Recommendation Engines
Authors: Schrage Michael
Published: September 2020

How companies like Amazon and Netflix know what “you might also like”: the history, technology, business, and social impact of online recommendation engines.

Increasingly, our technologies are giving us better, faster, smarter, and more personal advice than our own families and best friends. Amazon already knows what kind of books and household goods you like and is more than eager to recommend more; YouTube and TikTok always have another video lined up to show you; Netflix has crunched the numbers of your viewing habits to suggest whole genres that you would enjoy. In this volume in the MIT Press's Essential Knowledge series, innovation expert Michael Schrage explains the origins, technologies, business applications, and increasing societal impact of recommendation engines, the systems that allow companies worldwide to know what products, services, and experiences “you might also like.”

Schrage offers a history of recommendation that reaches back to antiquity's oracles and astrologers; recounts the academic origins and commercial evolution of recommendation engines; explains how these systems work, discussing key mathematical insights, including the impact of machine learning and deep learning algorithms; and highlights user experience design challenges. He offers brief but incisive case studies of the digital music service Spotify; ByteDance, the owner of TikTok; and the online personal stylist Stitch Fix. Finally, Schrage considers the future of technological recommenders: Will they leave us disappointed and dependent—or will they help us discover the world and ourselves in novel and serendipitous ways?
Factors that influence occupational physicians’ decision to issue an employer warning in Japan
Authors: Ito Naoto , Ogasawara Ayana , Kawasumi Mika , Mori Koji , Nagata Tomohisa , Fujino Yoshihisa
Published: September 2020

Objectives

To elucidate the factors that influence occupational physicians’ decision to issue an employer warning.

Methods

The interview was conducted with 10 Japan Society for Occupational Health certified occupational physicians (COPs) and certified senior occupational physicians (CSOPs) to create nine fictive scenarios in which an occupational physician may need to consider issuing a warning. Sixteen CSOPs assessed the seriousness of the problem in each of nine scenarios where they may need to consider issuing an employer warning. Next, using a survey questionnaire, 597 COPs and CSOPs were asked to rate how likely they were to issue a warning in each of the nine scenarios, and answer items on their characteristics and number of previously issued warnings. A multilevel logistic regression analysis nested for various scenarios was used to assess the odds ratio (OR) of being likely to issue a warning.

Results

Valid questionnaires were obtained from 117 participants (19.6%). The ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were as follows: mean score of seriousness of the problem, 5.90 (4.50-7.75); years of experience as occupational physician, 1.04 (1.02-1.06); women, 1.75 (1.20-2.54); being a part-time occupational physician without in-house experience, 2.08 (1.31-3.29); and having previously issued two or more times warnings, 1.99 (1.29-3.06), compared with those who had never issued a warning.

Conclusions

Occupational physicians’ likelihood to issue a warning was associated with the seriousness of the problem as assessed in various scenarios, years of experience as occupational physician, gender, employment type, experience as in-house occupational physician, and number of past warnings.
Heterogeneity in TEFL: A Focus on Teachers' Competencies for and in the Multilingual Classroom
Authors: Angelovska Tanja , Schaipp Katrin
Published: September 2020

Being multilingual is not an exceptional phenomenon in today's heterogeneous instructional settings where learners are quite likely to learn other foreign languages while simultaneously acquiring the institutional language of the community. English lessons need to represent a platform that helps to raise multilingual awareness whereby the remaining languages (home and foreign) of the English as a foreign language (EFL) learners are not neglected. Although there is a growing body of research on multilingualism, the practical application of theoretical findings has yet not found its way into regular classroom practices. Fostering multilingual language learning necessarily requires EFL teachers to be able to plan and teach based on existing evidence springing from studies with multilingual learners. Based on such evidence, we discuss teachers' competencies and associated factors for and in the multilingual classroom, as well as the potentials and risks as seen through teachers' lenses. Finally, we outline future recommendations for teaching practices in multilingual instructed settings.
Tuning Reactivity in Pd‐catalysed C(sp3)‐H Arylations via Directing Group Modifications and Solvent Selection
Authors: Coomber Charlotte E. , Porter Michael J. , Aliev Abil E. , Smith Peter D. , Sheppard Tom D.
Published: September 2020

The palladium‐catalysed sp3 C−H arylation of a selection of saturated amine scaffolds was investigated using substituted picolinamide directing groups. On the bornylamine scaffold, highly selective monoarylation takes place using unsubstituted picolinamide or 3‐methylpicolinamide, whereas a double C−H arylation occurs with other substituents present, becoming a significant product with 3‐trifluoromethylpicolinamide. DFT calculations were used to help rationalise the effect of directing groups on the C−H palladation steps which were found experimentally to be irreversible. The substituted picolinamide directing groups were also examined on acyclic amine scaffolds and in many cases increased yields and selectivity could be obtained using methylpicolinamides. For a selection of other amine scaffolds, the yield of C−H arylation could be improved significantly using 3‐methylpicolinamide as the directing group and/or 3‐methylpentan‐3‐ol as the solvent

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Recent Progress in Non‐Precious Metal Single Atomic Catalysts for Solar and Non‐Solar Driven Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Authors: Liu Jing , Wu Hongmei , Li Feng , Feng Xiaoqian , Zhang Peng , Gao Lian
Published: September 2020

It is of practical importance to develop efficient non‐precious metal hydrogen‐evolving catalysts for cost‐effective sustainable hydrogen production from water. In recent years, constructing single‐atomic catalysts (SACs) has been demonstrated to be an efficacious way to boost the catalytic activity of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts, although most of them are based on noble metals. Very recently, great advances have been achieved in noble metal‐free SACs by design of compatible material systems and implementation of novel synthetic strategies, which are determinative for the amount and pattern of metallic single atoms to be anchored on the supports and consequently the electronic states and coordination environment of the atoms. This progress report summarizes perspectives of compositions of the SACs with appropriate synthetic methods, and their relationships with the HER catalytic performance. In addition, some state‐of‐the‐art technologies, for example, in situ techniques, high throughput techniques, and machine learning, are suggested to help the design, preparation, and characterization of SACs.
POD analysis of oscillating grid turbulence in water and shear thinning polymer solution
Authors: Lacassagne Tom , Simoëns Serge , EL Hajem Mahmoud , Champagne Jean‐Yves
Published: September 2020

Oscillating grids are frequently used with water and Newtonian fluids to generate controlled turbulence and mixing. Yet, their use with shear thinning fluids still requires experimental characterization. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is applied to PIV measurements of the flow generated by an oscillating grid in water and a shear thinning dilute polymer solution (DPS) of xanthan gum. The aims are to investigate the ability of POD to isolate periodic flow structures, and to use it to describe the effects of the shear thinning property. A dominance of the low order POD modes is evidenced in DPS. The methods applied in blade stirred tanks to identify oscillatory motion fail here. However, a strong mode coupling in the grid swept region is observed, determined by the working fluid and by an underlying chaotic nature of the flow. Possibilities of reconstructing turbulence properties using high order modes are discussed.
Nanoscale visualization of extracellular DNA on cell surfaces
Authors: Olsen Anita , Ehrhardt Christopher J , Yadavalli Vamsi K
Published: September 2020

Nanoscale analysis of extracellular DNA (eDNA) that is present on the surface of cells in trace biological samples can provide insight into the understanding of DNA transfer through touch, and thereby, the role of eDNA is a biologically and forensically relevant phenomenon. While various bulk scale tools and DNA analysis can be used to quantitatively obtain this information, obtaining a three dimensional (3D) visualization of the eDNA can provide a unique look into the spatial and temporal dynamics at the cellular level. In this study, we show how atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be integrated with optical microscopy to visualize the distribution of surface associate eDNA at a single cell level. Using a nucleic acid fluorophore such as Diamond™ Dye, the surface eDNA can be observed and quantified using fluorescence microscopy. This informational channel can then be overlaid with surface topography and cellular elasticity to provide structural visualization. Finally, chemical force spectroscopy can be used to obtain the distribution of surface‐associated eDNA on the cell surface at the molecular level. Such integrated techniques can enhance understanding of the biological role of eDNA, and can also be potentially valuable for investigating challenging trace samples, containing very few cells for various analyses.
Efficient Planar Heterojunction Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells with Perovskite Materials Deposited Using an Aqueous Non‐Halide Lead Precursor
Authors: Irshad Zobia , Adnan Muhammad , Lee Jae Kwan
Published: September 2020

Efficient planar heterojunction inverted perovskite solar cells (PrSCs) were fabricated with MAPbI3 perovskite layers prepared by using an aqueous Pb(NO3)2 as a facile, cost‐effective, and an environmentally benign approach. Especially, the MAPbI3 perovskite film fabricated from aqueous Pb(NO3)2 on the MoO3/PEDOT:PSS hole transporting material bilayer exhibited better crystallinity, morphology, and performance.
Sustainabilty integration in product portfolio for sustainable development: Findings from the industry
Authors: Villamil Carolina , Hallstedt Sophie
Published: September 2020

Many companies decide which services, products, and technologies to include in their product portfolio using evaluation criteria, which often consider cost, quality, risk, revenue, time, and market position. Incorporating sustainability in the portfolio evaluation criteria could ensure the development of sustainable solutions from the early stages of the product development process, where there is more room for innovation. The aim of this paper is to understand how sustainability can be integrated in the company portfolio development. Semi‐structured interviews were performed with experts in the field and representatives from multinational manufacturing companies with operations in Sweden. Main findings from this study include a proposed definition of a sustainability product portfolio concept and suggested portfolio evaluation criteria from an industry perspective. Future research will develop a method to guide manufacturing companies in sustainability integration and implementation in product portfolios.
Pyonephrosis drained by double‐J catheter
Authors: Chang Che‐Wei , Huang Chun‐Nung
Published: September 2020

An infectious disease with obstructive hydronephrosis, pyonephrosis causes suppurative destruction of the renal parenchyma. In such cases, retrograde ureteric stenting is considered a good choice for the drainage of pyonephrosis, as an alternative to percutaneous nephrostomy and nephrectomy. The complication rate is minimal in retrograde ureteric stenting compared with about 4% in percutaneous nephrostomy.
Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome in a patient from India
Authors: Paul Chandramallika , Chakraborty Subhosmito , Chakraborty Sarit , Goswami Kalyan
Published: September 2020

This report highlights an extremely rare genetic condition constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) in an Indian pediatric patient with dual malignancies, who suffered from transient encephalopathy, a rare side effect of the drug Nivolumab and the associated challenge during CSF protein electrophoresis interpretation.
Predictive value of Prostate Specific Antigen variations in the last week of salvage radiotherapy for biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery: A practical approach
Authors: Vigna‐Taglianti Riccardo , Boriano Alberto , Gianello Luca , Melano Antonella , Bergesio Fabrizio , Merlotti Anna Maria , Reali Alessia , Petrucci Rachele , Russi Elvio G.
Published: September 2020

Background

About a third of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer (Pca) develop a biochemical failure (BF) within 10 years from surgery, and about a half of them receive salvage radiation therapy (SRT). Factors to predict risk to relapse after SRT are still lacking. Dynamic models, based on the assessment of changes in Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) postsurgery seem to show good reliability.

Aims

The goal of the study was to identify a simple analytical method for the postsalvage radiation therapy biochemical failure (post‐SRTBF) prediction before the end of the SRT, regardless of the PSA value at the beginning of the treatment (PSA start), measuring the PSA values at the start and 1 week before the end of SRT.

Methods

In a series of 83 patients treated with SRT for BF of Pca we measured PSA values at the first day and 1 week before the end of SRT. These values were used to define an analytical method for the post‐SRTBF prediction.

Results

PSA value in patients without post‐SRTBF show a significant difference in term of difference during the SRT with respect to patients with post‐SRTBF. Starting from this difference, we identified a simple and practical analytical method for the post‐SRTBF prediction before the end of the SRT. The data corresponds with the model and the analytical method is highly predictive (Sensitivity = 81%, Specificity = 85%, Accuracy = 83%).

Conclusion

This study offers a new tool to early predict Pca relapse overtime and to select patients who can benefit from an early additional systemic treatment.
The effect of desire thinking on facilitating beliefs in alcohol use disorder: An experimental investigation
Authors: Caselli Gabriele , Gemelli Antonella , Ferrari Cristina , Beltrami Daniela , Offredi Alessia , Ruggiero Giovanni M. , Sassaroli Sandra , Spada Marcantonio M.
Published: September 2020

Permissive beliefs relate to the acceptability of engaging in alcohol use in spite of obvious potential negative consequences. They are considered the most proximal and precipitating cognitive factor in the decision to use alcohol and/or the activation of strategies to obtain it. Recent research suggested that ‘desire thinking’ may be involved in the escalation of craving and addictive behaviours and can play a role in strengthening permissive beliefs. The current study tested whether the induction of desire thinking would have a stronger effect on rate of conviction in permissive beliefs compared to a control cognitive response in the form of neutral thinking and whether this effect would be specific for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Thirty AUD patients and 30 social drinkers (SD) were randomly allocated to two thinking manipulation tasks (desire thinking and neutral thinking). Current permissive beliefs were measured before and after manipulation and after a resting phase. Findings showed that desire thinking increased the level of current permissive beliefs after manipulation relative to the neutral thinking condition for the AUD group but not for the SD group. This effect was not purely dependent on the concurrent level of perceived craving. This study supports a causal relationship between the induction of desire thinking and rate of conviction in permissive beliefs and highlights the relevance of targeting desire thinking in the treatment for AUD patients.
Scale‐dependent effects of host patch traits on species composition in a stickleback parasite metacommunity
Authors: Bolnick Daniel I. , Resetarits Emlyn J. , Ballare Kimberly , Stuart Yoel E. , Stutz William E.
Published: September 2020

A core goal of ecology is to understand the abiotic and biotic variables that regulate species distributions and community composition. A major obstacle is that the rules governing species distributions can change with spatial scale. Here, we illustrate this point using data from a spatially nested metacommunity of parasites infecting a metapopulation of threespine stickleback fish from 34 lakes on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Like most parasite metacommunities, the composition of stickleback parasites differs among host individuals within each host population, and differs between host populations. The distribution of each parasite taxon depends, to varying degrees, on individual host traits (e.g., mass, diet) and on host‐population characteristics (e.g., lake size, mean host mass, mean diet). However, in most cases in this data set, a given parasite was regulated by different factors at the host‐individual and host‐population scales, leading to scale‐dependent patterns of parasite‐species co‐occurrence.
MDMH: An improved multi‐attribute decision‐making and highest response ratio next‐based computation offloading approach for wireless body area networks
Authors: Yuan Xiaoming , Zhao Zheyu , Wang Haiyang , Zhang Lin , Taherkordi Amir , Yu Hua
Published: September 2020

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) collect health‐related vital signs of human body and provide real‐time and continuous healthy and physical recreation services. Mobile edge computing (MEC) and blockchain technology can significantly improve the quality of service, security, and privacy protection in WBANs. In this paper, we propose an improved computation offloading approach integrating multi‐attribute decision‐making and the highest response ratio next (HRRN) algorithm (MDMH) to optimize network performance and resource allocation in MEC‐enabled WBANs. When tasks are waiting in a queue for execution, the developed HRRN algorithm is designed to solve the starvation problem of low‐priority tasks. Moreover, we employ both analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the multi‐attribute decision‐making method to select the proper MEC server to guarantee better network performance in mobile scenarios. Comparing with other computation offloading approaches, the simulation results show that the proposed MDMH approach can effectively and efficiently reduce the traffic delay with different user priorities, optimize the communication and computing resource usage in WBANs, and achieve various energy saving goals.
The living dead: acknowledging life after tree death to stop forest degradation
Authors: Thorn Simon , Seibold Sebastian , Leverkus Alexandro B , Michler Thomas , Müller Jörg , Noss Reed F , Stork Nigel , Vogel Sebastian , Lindenmayer David B
Published: September 2020

Global sustainability agendas focus primarily on halting deforestation, yet the biodiversity crisis resulting from the degradation of remaining forests is going largely unnoticed. Forest degradation occurs through the loss of key ecological structures, such as dying trees and deadwood, even in the absence of deforestation. One of the main drivers of forest degradation is limited awareness by policy makers and the public on the importance of these structures for supporting forest biodiversity and ecosystem function. Here, we outline management strategies to protect forest health and biodiversity by maintaining and promoting deadwood, and propose environmental education initiatives to improve the general awareness of the importance of deadwood. Finally, we call for major reforms to forest management to maintain and restore deadwood; large, old trees; and other key ecological structures.
Application of hyperspectral technology in detection of agricultural products and food: A Review
Authors: Zhu Min , Huang Dan , Hu Xin‐Jun , Tong Wen‐Hua , Han Bao‐Lin , Tian Jian‐Ping , Luo Hui‐Bo
Published: September 2020

Food is the foundation of human survival. With the development and progress of society, people increasingly focus on the problems of food quality and safety, which is closely related to human's health. Thus, the whole industrial chain from farmland to dining table need to be strictly controlled. Traditional detection methods are time‐consuming, laborious, and destructive. In recent years, hyperspectral technology has been more and more applied to food safety and quality detection, because the technology can achieve rapid and nondestructive detection of food, and the requirement to experimental condition is low; operability is strong. In this paper, hyperspectral imaging technology was briefly introduced, and its application in agricultural products and food detection in recent years was systematically summarized, and the key points in the research process were deeply discussed. This work lays a solid foundation for the peers to the following in‐depth research and application of this technology.
The effect of essential oils and their combinations on bacteria from the surface of fresh vegetables
Authors: György Éva , Laslo Éva , Kuzman Ildikó Hajnalka , Dezső András Csaba
Published: September 2020

During the study, we determined the antimicrobial activity of different selected essential oils (thyme, lemongrass, juniper, oregano, sage, fennel, rosemary, mint, rosehips, dill) on some pathogenic and spoilage bacteria isolated from the surface of various fresh vegetables. At the same time, in the case of some volatile oil combinations we followed the phenomena of synergism and antagonism. The identification of the isolated bacterial strains was made using 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. The most resistant isolates appeared to be Curtobacterium herbarum, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and Enterobacter ludwigii, while Pseudomonas hibiscicola was the most sensitive. Of the chosen plant essential oils, the most pronounced antimicrobial effect was detected in the case of oregano. The essential oils of thyme and mint also showed elevated antimicrobial activity. A synergistic effect was observed in case of five combinations of essential oil. Based on the results, we find that some individual essential oils and mixture compositions (due to synergic effect) could be good candidates for the preservation of fresh vegetables. These preliminary findings suggest that essential oils from locally grown spices could contribute to decreasing the health risk and also to the suppression of emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Fertility intentions among couples in Shanghai under COVID‐19: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Zhu Chenfeng , Wu Jiahao , Liang Yan , Yan Li , He Chuqing , Chen Luting , Zhang Jian
Published: September 2020

Objective

To evaluate fertility intensions among couples in Shanghai under the novel coronavirus infection (COVID‐19) pandemic against the backdrop of persistently low fertility.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was carried out using data from studies conducted before the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data were collected regarding sociodemographic characteristics, history of reproduction and gynecology, fertility intention before and after the COVID‐19 pandemic, female psychological state, and the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on daily life.

Results

Under the influence of COVID‐19, 296/447 (66.2%) participants did not change their original fertility intention to have children, while 151/447 (33.8%) of participants were affected by the outbreak. Participants who believed in government and hospital control policies were less likely to change their intention to become pregnant (P < 10–3, P < 10–3). In contrast, concerns about the impact of COVID‐19 on female and fetal health led participants to cancel their original pregnancy plans (P < 10−3).

Conclusion

Three in ten couples of childbearing age, who originally expressed their intention of becoming pregnant, canceled their pregnancy plans after the COVID‐19 outbreak. The COVID‐19 outbreak has brought new challenges to people’s physical and mental health. Effective policies and measures can help to improve people’s fertility intentions with respect to having children.
Prenatal diagnosis of double‐outlet right ventricle with tricuspid valve atresia, anomalous pulmonary vein connection, persistent left superior vena cava, and right atrial isomerism
Authors: Yilmaz Osman , Celik Ozge Yucel
Published: September 2020

Double‐outlet right ventricle is a conotruncal cardiac disease in which both the aorta and the pulmonary artery predominantly or completely originate from the right ventricle. Here, we report a complex variant double‐outlet right ventricle detected in utero and identified on the basis of a segmental approach.
Sensitivity of trends to estimation methods and quantification of subsampling effects in global radiosounding temperature and humidity time series
Authors: SY Souleymane , Madonna Fabio , Rosoldi Marco , Tramutola Emanuele , Gagliardi Simone , Proto Monica , Pappalardo Gelsomina
Published: September 2020

Climate trends estimated using historical radiosounding time series may be significantly affected by the choice of the regression method to use, as well as by a subsampling of the dataset often adopted in specific applications. These are contributions to the uncertainty of trend estimations, which have been quantified in literature, although on specific pairs of regression methods, and in the not very recent past characterized by smaller trends in temperature than those observed over the last two decades. This paper investigates the sensitivity of trend estimations to four linear regression methods (parametric and nonparametric) and to the artificial subsampling of the same dataset using historical radiosounding time series from 1978 onwards, available in the version 2 of the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA). Results show that long‐term decadal trends may have not negligible uncertainties related to the choice of the regression method, the percentage of data available, the amount of missing data and the number of stations selected in the dataset. The choice of the regression methods increases uncertainties in the decadal trends ranging from −0.10 to −0.01 K⋅da–1 for temperature in the lower stratosphere at 100 hPa and from 0.2 to 0.8% da–1 for relative humidity (RH) in the middle troposphere at 300 hPa. Differences can also increase up to 0.4 K⋅da–1 at 300 hPa when the amount of missing data exceeds 50% of the original dataset for temperature, while for RH, significant differences are observed in the lower troposphere at 925 hPa for almost all datasets. Finally, subsampling effects on trend estimation are quantified by artificially reducing the size of the IGRA dataset: Results show that subsampling effects on trend estimations when at least 60 stations, up to 76% of data available, are considered for temperature and at least 40 stations for RH.
The Effects of Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1 Scoring on the Otolaryngology Residency Application Process
Authors: Goshtasbi Khodayar , Abouzari Mehdi , Tjoa Tjoson , Malekzadeh Sonya , Bhandarkar Naveen D.
Published: September 2020

Objectives

To investigate how the decision to report United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 score as pass/fail will influence future otolaryngology residency application and match processes.

Study Design

Survey study.

Methods

An anonymous and voluntary survey approved by the Otolaryngology Program Directors Organization was administered to academic faculty members from April 24, 2020 through May 19, 2020.

Results

Two hundred fifty‐seven surveys were received from department chairs (17.5%), program directors (24.1%), associate program directors (12.5%), and department faculty (45.9%). USMLE Step 1 has been the most heavily weighted metric for offering interviews (44.0%), and it has correlated with residents' medical knowledge (77.0%) and in‐service performance (79.8%) but not with surgical skills (57.6%) or patient care (47.1%). In total, 68.1% disagreed with the decision to make USMLE Step 1 pass/fail. This change is anticipated to lead to an increase in significance of USMLE Step 2 CK (89.1%), core clerkship grades (80.9%), elective rotation at the respective institutions (65.7%), Alpha Omega Alpha and other awards (64.6%), and letters of recommendation (63.8%). The new scoring is also anticipated to especially benefit students from top‐ranked schools (70.8%), increase medical students' anxiety/uncertainty regarding obtaining interview invites (59.1%), and negatively affect international (51.4%), doctor of osteopathic medicine (45.9%), and underrepresented students (36.9%). Indication that USMLE Step 2 CK will significantly increase in weight varied according to department position (P = .049), geographic region (P = .047), years of practice (P < .001), and residency program size (P = .002).

Conclusion

Most academic otolaryngologists disagreed with changing USMLE Step 1 scoring to pass/fail and believe that it will increase other objective/subjective metrics' weight and put certain student populations at a disadvantage.

Level of Evidence: N/A. Laryngoscope, 131:E738–E743, 2021
A Phase 1 Randomized Trial of Specific Active α‐Synuclein Immunotherapies PD01A and PD03A in Multiple System Atrophy
Authors: Meissner Wassilios G. , Traon Anne Pavy‐Le , Foubert‐Samier Alexandra , Galabova Gergana , Galitzky Monique , Kutzelnigg Alexandra , Laurens Brice , Lührs Petra , Medori Rossella , Péran Patrice , Sabatini Umberto , Vergnet Sylvain , Volc Dieter , Poewe Werner , Schneeberger Achim , Staffler Günther , Rascol Olivier ,   the AFF009 Study Investigators
Published: September 2020

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease with limited symptomatic treatment options. Aggregation of α‐synuclein in oligodendrocytes is believed to be a central mechanism of the neurodegenerative process. PD01A and PD03A are 2 novel therapeutic vaccine candidates containing short peptides as antigenic moieties that are designed to induce a sustained antibody response, specifically targeting pathogenic assemblies of α‐synuclein. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate primarily the safety and tolerability of PD01A and PD03A in patients with early MSA. Thirty patients (11 women) were randomized to receive 5 subcutaneous injections of either PD01A (n = 12), PD03A (n = 12), or placebo (n = 6) in this patient‐ and examiner‐blinded, placebo‐controlled, 52‐week phase 1 clinical trial (ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT02270489). Immunogenicity and clinical scores were assessed as secondary objectives. Twenty‐nine patients reported a total of 595 treatment‐emergent adverse events (mild or moderate, n = 555; severe, n = 40). Treatment‐related adverse events included 190 injection‐site reactions typically observed in vaccination trials with similar per‐subject incidence in the treatment groups over time. Sustained IgG titers were observed in the PD01A‐treated group, and 89% of treated patients developed a PD01‐specific antibody response after receiving all injections. Induced antibodies displayed clear reactivity to the α‐synuclein target epitope. Titers and antibody responder rate (58%) were lower in the PD03A‐treated group. In conclusion, both PD01A and PD03A were safe and well tolerated. PD01A triggered a rapid and long‐lasting antibody response that specifically targeted the α‐synuclein epitope. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
A time domain approach for the exponential stability of a linearized compressible flow‐structure PDE system
Authors: Guven Geredeli Pelin
Published: September 2020

This work is motivated by a longstanding interest in the long time behavior of flow‐structure interaction (FSI) PDE dynamics. We consider a linearized compressible flow structure interaction (FSI) PDE model with a view of analyzing the stability properties of both the compressible flow and plate solution components. In our earlier work, we gave an answer in the affirmative to question of uniform stability for finite energy solutions of said compressible flow‐structure system, by means of a “frequency domain” approach. However, the frequency domain method of proof in that work is not “robust” (insofar as we can see), when one wishes to study longtime behavior of solutions of compressible flow‐structure PDE models, which track the appearance of the ambient state onto the boundary interface. Nor is a frequency domain approach in this earlier work availing when one wishes to consider the dynamics, in long time, of solutions to physically relevant nonlinear versions of the compressible flow‐structure PDE system under present consideration (e.g., the Navier–Stokes nonlinearity in the PDE flow component or a nonlinearity of Berger/Von Karman type in the plate equation). Accordingly, in the present work, we operate in the time domain by way of obtaining the necessary energy estimates, which culminate in an alternative proof for the uniform stability of finite energy compressible flow‐structure solutions. Since there is a need to avoid steady states in our stability analysis, as a prerequisite result, we also show here that zero is an eigenvalue for the generators of flow‐structure systems, whether the material derivative term be absent or present. Moreover, we provide a clean characterization of the (one dimensional) zero eigenspace, with or without material derivative, under an appropriate assumption on the underlying ambient vector field.
Analysis of the L1 scheme for a time fractional parabolic–elliptic problem involving weak singularity
Authors: Santra Sudarshan , Mohapatra Jugal
Published: September 2020

A time fractional initial boundary value problem of mixed parabolic–elliptic type is considered. The domain of such problem is divided into two subdomains. A reaction–diffusion parabolic problem is considered on the first domain, and on the second, a convection–diffusion elliptic type problem is considered. Such problem has a mild singularity at the initial time t = 0. The classical L1 scheme is introduced to approximate the temporal derivative, and a second order standard finite difference scheme is used to approximate the spatial derivatives. The domain is discretized with uniform mesh for both directions. It is shown that the order of convergence is more higher away from t = 0 than the order of convergence on the whole domain. To show the efficiency of the scheme, numerical results are provided.
Associations of Gestational Weight Gain Rate During Different Trimesters with Early‐Childhood Body Mass Index and Risk of Obesity
Authors: Xiong Xin , Xia Wei , Li Yuanyuan , Xu Shunqing , Zhang Yaqi
Published: September 2020

Objective

This study aimed to estimate the associations of gestational weight gain rate (GWGR) during different trimesters with offspring growth and overweight/obesity risk.

Methods

The study included 4,807 mother‐infant pairs enrolled in Wuhan, China. GWGR in each trimester was used as a continuous and a categorical variable to estimate the associations with offspring BMI z score (ZBMI) and overweight/obesity risk between 0 and 2 years.

Results

Greater GWGR (per 0.2 kg/wk) in the first, second, and third trimester was positively associated with offspring ZBMI across birth to 2 years old (β 0.06 [95% CI: 0.04‐0.09], β 0.13 [95% CI: 0.09‐0.16], and β 0.04 [95% CI: 0.02‐0.07], respectively). Excessive GWGR in the first trimester (≥ 0.30 kg/wk) was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.58 (95% CI: 1.18‐2.13) and 1.37 (95% CI: 1.11‐1.71) for macrosomia and 2‐year overweight/obesity, respectively. Excessive GWGR in the second trimester was associated with an OR of 2.09 (95% CI: 1.42‐3.08), 1.21 (95% CI: 1.02‐1.43), and 1.48 (95% CI: 1.15‐1.90) for macrosomia, 1‐year, and 2‐year overweight/obesity, respectively. Excessive GWGR in the third trimester was associated with an OR of 1.91 (95% CI: 1.27‐2.86) and 1.32 (95% CI: 1.02‐1.72) for macrosomia and 2‐year overweight/obesity, respectively.

Conclusions

Excessive GWGR in each trimester was positively associated with offspring ZBMI and early‐childhood overweight/obesity risk.
Exploration of CTNNB1 ctDNA as a putative biomarker for hepatoblastoma
Authors: Kahana‐Edwin Smadar , McCowage Geoffrey , Cain Lucy , Saletta Federica , Yuksel Aysen , Graf Nicole , Karpelowsky Jonathan
Published: September 2020

Driver mutations in the CTNNB1 gene (encoding β‐catenin) are a hallmark of sporadic hepatoblastoma (HBL). Our results show that CTNNB1 circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is readily detected in patients diagnosed with localised HBL, with serial sampling along the course of therapy and follow up providing a sensitive mechanism to monitor tumour dynamics and response to treatment. This exciting potential for CTNNB1 ctDNA to serve as a biomarker for treatment response in HBL holds clinical value, and requires assessment in a larger cohort of mixed tumour stages and recurrent disease.
Dirac and Weyl Semimetals in Sn1−xInxTe
Authors: Schmidt Tome M. , Srivastava Gyaneshwar P.
Published: September 2020

SnTe is a well‐characterized topological crystalline insulator material with an inverted bandgap at the L point in the fcc Brillouin zone, whereas Sn1–xInxTe is a superconductor. By utilizing first‐principles and topological invariant calculations, we find distinct topological phase transitions in Sn1–xInxTe as a function of In content and crystal symmetry. For low In content, the inverted bandgap is maintained and the nontrivial insulator phase is unaffected. For In content x ≥ 0.12, one of the bands is reverted, maintaining an odd number of inverted bands. The reverted band connects valence and conduction bands, forming a Dirac‐like crossing close to the Fermi level, protected by crystal symmetry. Breaking of the inversion symmetry splits the fourfold degenerate Dirac crossing into pairs of Weyl nodes with opposite chirality. It is shown that this symmetry breaking can be performed by a ferroelectric effect, or by a Jahn–Teller distortion leading to a Weyl scenario. A phase diagram is predicted as a function of In content and the crystal symmetry, with topological crystalline insulator, Dirac and Weyl semimetal phases. The findings show that topological insulators can be used to realize a rich variety of fermions, especially when doping can induce reversion of inverted bands.
Distributed event‐triggered nonfragile H∞ control for networked nonlinear systems with energy constraints and redundant channels: Observer‐based case
Authors: Arumugam Arunkumar , Liu Yurong , Rathinasamy Sakthivel , Venkatesh Nithya , Alsaadi Fuad E.
Published: September 2020

An event‐triggered nonfragile distributed H∞ control problem is considered in this article for a class of uncertain nonlinear networked control systems over sensor networks with random communication packet dropouts and redundant channels. Redundant channel transmission is utilized to model the communication measurement and to improve the reliability and quality of the communication data transmission services. In addition, measurement size reduction technique is applied to reduce the energy consumption. An event based transmission scheme is employed to reduce the network burden and energy consumption during the data communication from the sensor to the estimator. With known conditional probability distribution, the random packet losses are modeled as a Bernoulli distributed white sequences. A new set of sufficient conditions is established by using average dwell time approach to obtain the desired observer‐based distributed nonfragile controller with the H∞ performance requirements. Specifically, the explicit form of an observer‐based feedback parameters can be obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed observer‐based feedback approach, a numerical example is exploited.
TosMIC: A Powerful Synthon for Cyclization and Sulfonylation
Authors: Kumar Kapil
Published: September 2020

p‐tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC) which is also known as van Leusen's reagent hold the three functionalized groups including the isocyanide and sulfonyl group and an alpha carbon which is acidic by nature. Tosyl set of this fortunate reagent acts as a good leaving group and assist the alpha carbon to contribute in a range of cyclization strategies. Exceptionally, TosMIC was also proved as a good sulfonylating and sulfomethylating reagent. TosMIC has proved as a powerful and versatile synthon and betrothed in the synthesis of broad range of heterocycles having pharmacological interest. This review is focused on synthetic utility of TosMIC in diverse range of heterocycles like five membered heterocycles, fused heterocycles, linked or tethered heterocycles, spiro compounds etc. It is also utilized for regio, chemo and stereoselective synthesis and production of sulfones and sulfinates. It serves as an important building block in various synthetic methodologies like multi component reaction, cyclization, domino, cascade and cycloaddition and metal catalysed reactions. Various new catalyst and novel methodologies were explored due to enormous use of this wonderful reagent.
Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Anticancer Performance of Reduced Graphene Oxide Prepared via Green Tea Extract Assisted Biosynthesis
Authors: Vatandost Elham , Saraei Azade Ghorbani‐Hasan , Chekin Fereshteh , Raeisi Shahram Naghizadeh , Shahidi Seyed‐Ahmad
Published: September 2020

Green tea extract (GTE) contains polyphenols and can play as a bioreducing and stabilizing agent. This paper describes environmentally friendly approach for synthesis of reduced graphene oxide using GTE (GTE‐rGO). The results have confirmed that biomolecules present in green tea extract not only act as bioreductant but also functionalize the surface of rGO due to hydrogen binding and π‐π stacking interactions. The 100 ppm of rGTE‐rGO showed 0.68 ppm phenols and 0.24 ppm flavones. The rGTE‐rGO was found to have highest % of 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, 73.83 %) scavenging activity. Antibacterial activity of GTE‐rGO exhibited strong activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococus. A cytotoxicity evaluation of GO and GTE‐rGO was carried out on fibroblast, MCF7 breast cancer and PC3 prostat cancer cells. The 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) results showed high viability loss and toxicity of GTE‐rGO against cells especially for PC3 cells. Thus, GTE‐rGO because of biomolecules present could potentially act as antioxidant, anticancer and antibacterial agent.
Review And Prospect of Mn3O4‐Based Composite Materials For Supercapacitor Electrodes
Authors: Zhu Jiaye , Wu Qingsheng , Li Jiangfeng
Published: September 2020

As an energy storage device, supercapacitor plays an important role in energy strategy. Improving the energy storage characteristics of supercapacitors has been the focus of research. Mn3O4 has been specially studied because of its low cost, good environmental compatibility and large capacitance. In this review, the synthesis and electrochemical properties of Mn3O4‐based electrode materials are summarized and reviewed. In addition, the development and prospect of Mn3O4‐based electrode materials for supercapacitor is discussed.
Synthesis of New Chiral Derivatives of Xanthones with Enantioselective Effect on Tumor Cell Growth and DNA Crosslinking
Authors: Carraro Maria L. , Marques Sandra , Silva Ana Sofia , Freitas Bruno , Silva Patrícia M. A. , Pedrosa Joel , De Marco Paolo , Bousbaa Hassan , Fernandes Carla , Tiritan Maria Elizabeth , Silva Artur M. S. , Pinto Madalena M. M.
Published: September 2020

A new series of thirty‐two new enantiomerically pure derivatives of xanthones (3–34) were synthesized for antitumor evaluation. Two carboxyxanthones (1 and 2) were used as chemical substrates and coupled with selected chiral building blocks (43–62), achieving yields and enantiomeric excess (ee) values higher than 92 and 99 %, respectively. Carboxyxanthones 1 and 2 were synthesized, by a multi‐step synthetic pathway via diaryl ether intermediate (Ullman reaction), being compound 2 described here for the first time. The evaluation of the growth inhibitory activity allowed to find active chiral compounds for all the tested cells lines, and to establish structure‐activity relationship (SAR) considerations. In some cases, the growth inhibitory effects demonstrated to be dependent on the stereochemistry of the compounds. Interestingly, the most active compound (12) and its enantiomer (11) demonstrated high enantioselectivity for MCF‐7 breast adenocarcinoma cell line. In addition, in vitro DNA crosslinking ability was assessed and the results correlated with in vitro cytotoxicity.
Building Customizable Multisite‐Targeting c‐Myc shRNA Array into Branch‐PCR‐Constructed DNA Nanovectors for Enhanced Tumor Cell Suppression
Authors: Cheng Longhuai , Ma Dejun , Lu Liqing , Ouyang Di , Xi Zhen
Published: September 2020

RNA interference (RNAi) has been extensively used to downregulate abnormal excessive mRNA in treating intractable diseases like cancers. Albeit with the success of siRNA drugs, the development of shRNA (small hairpin RNA) as RNAi drugs still meets the great challenge in clinical treatments for lacking the suitable delivery vector to express numerous shRNAs in cells. Considering our previously established branch‐PCR (branched polymerase chain reaction) technology, we herein introduced a multisite‐targeting c‐Myc shRNA array into DNA nanovectors via branch‐PCR. The results indicated that this kind of DNA nanovector retained better serum stability than plasmids and linear DNA. The cell viability test further showed that the transcription of c‐Myc shRNA arrays greatly enhanced the anti‐cancer activity by eliminating approximately 98.2 % c‐Myc mRNA, which posed a technical advance in augmenting the gene silencing efficiency of vector‐expressed shRNAs in cells. Hence, it would be promising to use this customizable and stable shRNA array‐based DNA nanovectors to enhance the curable efficacy of shRNAs in cancer treatment.