bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethical and Legal Issues in Technology: Xenotransplantation
Authors: Bach Fritz H. , Ivinson Adrian J. , Weeramantry H.E. Christopher
Published: February 2021

The development and application of technologies will arguably be the major driving force for the evolution of world society in the first part of our new century. In medicine, agriculture, material science, communications and a host of other areas, new technologies promise unimaginable changes in our lives. And yet, in the midst of the euphoria surrounding this rush of invention, there is concern. When asked, people often say they are scared of what they do not know and scared of today's pace and power of invention. Putting aside the voice of the modern Luddite, it appears that while few want to stop the rush toward more and better technology, there is apprehension about the potential risks of the new technologies—risks that have not been sufficiently considered.
Genetics and Privacy
Authors: Hustead Joanne L. , Goldman Janlori
Published: February 2021

The science of genetics holds great promise. Ideally, the more scientists learn about the human genome and the functions of specific genes, the better they will understand what causes disease, what can prevent disease and what can cure it. But the hoped for advances in medicine that genetics may bring about will never happen if people are afraid to provide their DNA and work with scientists and doctors on the necessary research. From a privacy perspective, two things are clear: 1) people are afraid of genetic testing and 2) genetic information has been used to hurt people, rather than to help them.
Use and Disclosure of Health Information in Genetic Research: Weighing the Impact of the New Federal Medical Privacy Rule
Authors: Kulynych Jennifer , Korn David
Published: February 2021

Perceived threats to medical privacy arouse intense emotion, even among those who might otherwise approach complex health policy issues with academic dispassion. The author of an August 2001 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine describes medical records as “sacred secrets,” and decries the use of medical information for purposes unrelated to patient care as “an abridgement of individual rights” and “an unfolding American tragedy.
Informed Consent in the Military: Fighting a Losing Battle Against the Anthrax Vaccine
Authors: Miller Ruth K.
Published: February 2021

In civilian life, an individual has the right to refuse medical treatment in almost any circumstance. While a patient who refuses treatment may face adverse consequences such as prolonged illness, our society recognizes the importance of individual choice in health matters. Members of the military, however, enjoy no such right. Service members are required to submit to certain medical treatments as a part of their employment contract. Refusing such treatments is disobeying an order, and the service member then faces the prospect of a dishonorable or “other than honorable” discharge, and even imprisonment. Disobeying an order to receive treatment can thus result in the equivalent of a felony conviction on the individual's employment history forever.
Regulation of “Downstream” and Direct Risk Contracting by Health Care Providers: The Quest for Consumer Protection and a Level Playing Field
Authors: Witten Douglas J.
Published: February 2021

As the delivery of health care continues to be driven by the search for an effective means of reducing costs and delivering quality care to the greatest number of people, the industry’s most beloved buzzword, perhaps ironically, has a root suggestive of a focus on the individual: capitation. Capitation is widely regarded as a method of realigning economic incentives to produce fair prices, real value, reasonable profits and predictable growth in costs. Beyond being a mere payment mechanism, though, capitation represents a philosophical shift to an accountability approach for health care delivery, whereby focus is increasingly directed on prepayment of capitated amounts to risk-bearing delivery systems. Theoretically, the premise makes a great deal of sense: to achieve optimal levels of care delivered and costs expended, incentivize persons or entities with the capacity to affect such levels so that economic reward follows effective management of resources.

Placing, for the moment, faith in the innovative capacities of the marketplace to seek out new and improved ways of delivering health care, the evolution of the capitated arrangement indicates that what makes sense in theory may also make sense in practice.
HMO and Insurance Insolvency: The Benefits and Detriments of a Federal System
Authors: Druehl Craig P.
Published: February 2021

Accompanying its expansive growth over the last fifteen years, the health maintenance organization (HMO) industry transformed from collections of HMOs in local markets into an increasingly national system under the control of centralized corporations. During that time, HMOs established national chains in an effort to capture market share. The move toward nationalization of the HMO industry suggests the need for a critical analysis of the current HMO regulatory structure to determine whether it effectively safeguards the proper functioning of HMOs. As national and regional HMOs compete among themselves and with local HMOs, the need for unified, consistent financial protections with respect to HMOs and similar entities becomes acute. Competition from national HMOs creates increased financial risk for the smaller HMOs whose regional markets were previously insulated from broad-based competition. The need for preventative rules to offset this added risk, as well as a means by which to adjudicate consistently cases of HMO and insurance insolvency, became sufficiently acute that in March 1993 the U.S. House of Representatives sought to regulate federally the solvency of insurance companies by proposing a Federal Insurance Solvency Commission. In addition, to deal effectively with these problems, various industry participants and regulatory entities currently seek other remedies and attempt action of varying degrees.
Conclusion: The Future of Abortion as a “Private Choice”
Authors: Grant Edward R.
Published: February 2021

The immediate impact of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services on the majority of abortions performed in the United States will be marginal. Even if most states enact provisions similar to those approved in Webster, no abortions would be outlawed, and only abortions performed after viability or performed in public hospitals would be directly affected. At one point, Webster had the potential for breaking new constitutional ground on the extent to which states may restrict counseling for abortion in state facilities, and by state employees. However, due to Missouri's failure to appeal the invalidation of some of these provisions, and to the limiting construction given to the provisions that were appealed, these issues were not fully joined before the Supreme Court. Their resolution is postponed to another day.
Risk factors associated with post-transplant superior caval vein stenosis in paediatric heart transplantation
Authors: Tadros Hanna J. , Whelihan Joseph T. , Lopez-Colon Dalia , Fudge James C. , Vyas Himesh V. , Fricker Fredrick J. , Pietra Biagio A. , Bleiweis Mark S. , Gupta Dipankar
Published: February 2021

Superior caval vein stenosis is a known complication following paediatric heart transplantation. Herein, we sought to assess the incidence of superior caval vein stenosis and need for intervention in a single centre paediatric heart transplantation programme. A retrospective review was performed to identify variables associated with superior caval vein stenosis and need for intervention. Patients were identified based on angiographic and echocardiographic signs of superior caval vein stenosis. Of 204 paediatric heart transplantation recipients, 49 (24.0%) had evidence of superior caval vein stenosis with no need for catheter intervention and 12 (5.9%) had superior caval vein stenosis requiring catheter intervention. Overall, patients with superior caval vein stenosis with and without intervention had more cavopulmonary anastomosis (41.7%; 20.4%), pre-transplant superior caval vein procedures (41.7%; 28.6%), and bicaval approach (100.0%; 98.0%), compared to the group with no stenosis (11.9% and p = 0.015, 12.6% and p = 0.004, 73.4% and p < 0.001, respectively). Smaller recipients and donors were more likely to need intervention. Intervention was also seen more frequently in recipients who were younger at diagnosis (4.7 years) compared to non-intervention (13.3 years; p = 0.040). Re-intervention was required in 16.7% patients (n = 2) and was not associated with any complications.
Publishing patterns and citation performance of manuscripts relating to paediatric cardiology and congenital heart disease: comparison of paediatric and adult cardiology journals
Authors: Loomba Rohit S. , Sheikholeslami Danielle , Dyson Aaron , Flores Saul , Villarreal Enrique , Torres Juan , Jacobs Jeffrey P. , Anderson Robert H.
Published: February 2021

Background:

Manuscripts pertaining to paediatric cardiology and CHD have been published in a variety of different journals. Some of these journals are journals dedicated to paediatric cardiology, while others are focused on adult cardiology. Historically, it has been considered that manuscripts published in journals devoted to adult cardiology have greater citation potential. Our objective was to compare citation performance between manuscripts related to paediatric cardiology and CHD published in paediatric as opposed to adult cardiology journals.

Methods:

We identified manuscripts related to paediatric cardiology and CHD published in five journals of interest during 2014. Of these journals, two were primarily concerned with adult cardiology, while the other three focused on paediatric cardiology. The number of citations for these identified manuscripts was gathered from Google Scholar. We compared the number of citations (median, mean, and 25th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles), the potential for citation, and the h-index for the identified manuscripts.

Results:

We identified a total of 828 manuscripts related to paediatric cardiology and congenital heart as published in the 5 journals during 2014. Of these, 783 (95%) were published in journals focused on paediatric cardiology, and the remaining 45 (5%) were published in journals focused on adult cardiology. The median number of citations was 41 in the manuscripts published in the journals focused on adult cardiology, as opposed to 7 in journals focused on paediatric cardiology (p < 0.001). The h-index, however, was greater for the journals dedicated to paediatric cardiology (36 versus 27).

Conclusion:

Approximately one-twentieth of the work relating to paediatric cardiology and CHD is published in journals that focus predominantly on adult cardiology. The median number of citations is greater when manuscripts concerning paediatric cardiology and CHD are published in these journals focused on adult cardiology. The h-index, however, is higher when the manuscripts are published in journals dedicated to paediatric cardiology. While such publications in journals that focus on adult cardiology tend to generate a greater number of citations than those achieved for works published in specialised paediatric cardiology journals, the potential for citation is no different between the journals. Due to the drastically lower number of manuscripts published in journals dedicated to adult cardiology, however, median performance is different.
An assessment of the water use associated with Australian diets using a planetary boundary framework
Authors: Ridoutt Bradley G , Baird Danielle , Anastasiou Kim , Hendrie Gilly A
Published: February 2021

Objective:

Agriculture accounts for around 70 % of global freshwater withdrawals. As such, the food system has been identified as a critical intervention point to address water scarcity. Various studies have identified dietary patterns that contribute less to water scarcity. However, it is unclear what level of reduction is necessary to be considered sustainable. The pursuit of unnecessarily aggressive reductions could limit dietary diversity. Our objective was to assess the sustainability of water use supporting Australian dietary habits and the adequacy of current dietary guidelines.

Design:

Dietary intake data were obtained from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity component of the Australian Health Survey. For each individual daily diet, the water scarcity footprint was quantified, following ISO14046:2014, as well as a diet quality score. Water scarcity footprint results were compared with the planetary boundary for freshwater use downscaled to the level of an individual diet.

Setting:

Australia.

Participants:

9341 adults participating in the Australian Health Survey.

Results:

Dietary water scarcity footprints averaged 432·6 L-eq (95 % CI 432·5, 432·8), less than the 695 litres/person per d available to support the current global population of 7·8 billion, and the 603 litres/person per d available for a future population of 9 billion. Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines required 521 L-eq/d, or 379 L-eq/d with lower water scarcity footprint food choices.

Conclusions:

Diets based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines were found to be within the freshwater planetary boundary. What is needed in Australia is greater compliance with dietary guidelines.
Kant’s Ideal of Systematicity in Historical Context
Authors: van den Berg Hein
Published: February 2021

This article explains Kant’s claim that sciences must take, at least as their ideal, the form of a ‘system’. I argue that Kant’s notion of systematicity can be understood against the background of de Jong and Betti’s Classical Model of Science (2010) and the writings of Georg Friedrich Meier and Johann Heinrich Lambert. According to my interpretation, Meier, Lambert and Kant accepted an axiomatic idea of science, articulated by the Classical Model, which elucidates their conceptions of systematicity. I show that Kant’s critique of the mathematical method is compatible with his adherence to this axiomatic conception of science. I further show that systematicity advances traditionally accepted logical ideals of scientific knowledge, which explains why Meier and Kant think that sciences must be ‘systematic’.
Dynamics of CO2 Density‐Driven Flow in Carbonate Aquifers: Effects of Dispersion and Geochemistry
Authors: Erfani Hamidreza , Babaei Masoud , Niasar Vahid
Published: February 2021

The dissolution of carbon‐dioxide (CO2) in deep saline aquifers is an important trapping mechanism in carbon storage. This process is triggered by unstable high‐density CO2 front, which later promotes density‐driven mixing, hydrodynamic dispersion of CO2, and favors the long‐term sequestration. In many former studies, effects of hydrodynamic dispersion and multispecies geochemical reactions have been ignored. This work elaborates the impacts of these simplifications on the dynamics of convective mixing by numerical simulations. Geochemical effects were studied by the implementation of rock‐fluid and fluid‐fluid interactions for a typical carbonate aquifer. Results show that accounting for the hydrodynamic dispersion decreases the convection onset time and increases the CO2 dissolution flux, which is more significant in larger dispersivities and Rayleigh numbers. Results indicate that carbonate geochemical reactions intense the long‐term overall efficiency of the process, while decrease the total amount of sequestered carbon in the diffusion‐dominated period. Results also reinforce the importance of realistic geochemical representation and importance of spatial and temporal dependence of the reactions pathway, subsequent to the finger development for more detailed simulation of the CO2 storage process.
Exosomes derived from miR-126-3p-overexpressing synovial fibroblasts suppress chondrocyte inflammation and cartilage degradation in a rat model of osteoarthritis
Authors: Zhou Yan , Ming Jianghua , Li Yaming , Li Bochun , Deng Ming , Ma Yonggang , Chen Zhonghui , Zhang Yubiao , Li Jia , Liu Shiqing
Published: February 2021

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) encapsulated within exosomes can serve as essential regulators of intercellular communication and represent promising biomarkers of several aging-associated disorders. However, the relationship between exosomal miRNAs and osteoarthritis (OA)-related chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts (SFCs) remain to be clarified. Herein, we profiled synovial fluid-derived exosomal miRNAs and explored the effects of exosomal miRNAs derived from SFCs on chondrocyte inflammation, proliferation, and survival, and further assessed their impact on cartilage degeneration in a surgically-induced rat OA model. We identified 19 miRNAs within synovial fluid-derived exosomes that were differentially expressed when comparing OA and control patients. We then employed a microarray-based approach to confirm that exosomal miRNA-126-3p expression was significantly reduced in OA patient-derived synovial fluid exosomes. At a functional level, miRNA-126-3p mimic treatment was sufficient to promote rat chondrocyte migration and proliferation while also suppressing apoptosis and IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expression. SFC-miRNA-126-3p-Exos were able to suppress apoptotic cell death and associated inflammation in chondrocytes. Our in vivo results revealed that rat SFC-derived exosomal miRNA-126-3p was sufficient to suppress the formation of osteophytes, prevent cartilage degeneration, and exert anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects on articular cartilage. Overall, our findings indicate that SFC exosome‐delivered miRNA-126-3p can constrain chondrocyte inflammation and cartilage degeneration. As such, SFC-miRNA-126-3p-Exos may be of therapeutic value for the treatment of patients suffering from OA.
Post-traumatic endophthalmitis caused by streptococcus species in preschool children: clinical features, antibiotic susceptibilities and outcomes
Authors: Yang Yao , Sui Wenjun , Duan Fang , Li Yujie , Zeng Jieting , Jiang Zhaoxin , Liu Manli , Yuan Zhaohui , Lin Xiaofeng
Published: February 2021

Background/Objectives

Streptococcus is a common cause of post-traumatic endophthalmitis in children. This study aimed to analyse the clinical features, antibiotic susceptibilities and outcomes of traumatic endophthalmitis caused by streptococcus in preschool children.

Subjects/Methods

Patients aged ≤6 years with traumatic streptococcal endophthalmitis seen at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center between January 2013 and December 2018 were included in this retrospective study.

Results

In total, 21 patients (21 eyes) were included. The mean age of the patients was 3.3 ± 1.7 years, where 57.1% were males. Scissors (28.6%, n = 6) were the most common cause of injury; 86.7% of patients were injured at home. Zone I (80.9%) was the most common wound site; 90.5% of patients presented with a traumatic cataract. In general, Streptococcus pneumoniae (47.6%) was the most common isolate. Viridans group streptococci accounted for 58.3% of cases in children aged 0–3 years, while S. pneumoniae accounted for 66.7% of cases in children aged 4–6 years. The susceptibility rates of streptococcus to cefuroxime, levofloxacin and ofloxacin were 100%, 95.0% and 90.5%, respectively. Although all the patients underwent vitrectomy combined with silicone oil tamponade, the final visual outcomes were no better than counting fingers.

Conclusions

Although S. pneumoniae was the most prevalent organism in general, the dominant species varied between different age groups. The commonly used antibiotics, cefuroxime and fluoroquinolone, showed higher antibiotic susceptibility. Despite prompt treatment, the visual outcomes of paediatric post-traumatic endophthalmitis in preschool children were poor.
Resonant subwavelength control of the phase of spin waves reflected from a Gires–Tournois interferometer
Authors: Sobucki Krzysztof , Śmigaj Wojciech , Rychły Justyna , Krawczyk Maciej , Gruszecki Paweł
Published: February 2021

Subwavelength resonant elements are essential building blocks of metamaterials and metasurfaces, which have revolutionized photonics. Despite similarities between different wave phenomena, other types of interactions can make subwavelength coupling significantly distinct; its investigation in their context is therefore of interest both from the physics and applications perspective. In this work, we demonstrate a fully magnonic Gires–Tournois interferometer based on a subwavelength resonator made of a narrow ferromagnetic stripe lying above the edge of a ferromagnetic film. The bilayer formed by the stripe and the film underneath supports two propagative spin-wave modes, one strongly coupled with spin waves propagating in the rest of the film and another almost completely reflected at the ends of the bilayer. When the Fabry–Perot resonance conditions for this mode are satisfied, the weak coupling between both modes is sufficient to achieve high sensitivity of the phase of waves reflected from the resonator to the stripe width and, more interestingly, also to the stripe-film separation. Such spin-wave phase manipulation capabilities are a prerequisite for the design of spin-wave metasurfaces and may stimulate development of magnonic logic devices and sensors detecting magnetic nanoparticles.
Poly(p-phenylenevinylene) nanoparticles modified with antiEGFRvIII for specific glioblastoma therapy
Authors: Liang Yuchao , Li Zelin , Yuan Huanxiang , Wang Lei , Gao Li-Hua
Published: February 2021

Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain cancer and it is nearly impossible to remove the entire tumor with surgery or a single drug. EGFRvIII is the most frequent genetic change associated with glioblastoma, so EGFRvIII-based targeting therapies provide promise for treating glioblastoma. Herein, poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene] (PPV) was used as the core to prepare a conjugated polymer nanoparticle (PPVN) modified with anti-EGFRvIII (PPVN-A) that exhibited high ROS generation ability under white light irradiation. PPVN-A could target EGFRvIII-overexpressed tumor cells and damaged more than 90% of tumor cells with the light illumination while PPVN without modification exhibited no obvious cytotoxicity toward these cells under the same condition. Thus, the photodynamic treatment of glioblastoma cells using PPVN-A could be achieved, indicating the potential of anti-EGFRvIII-modified nanoparticles as a therapeutic material for treating glioblastoma in clinic.
Magnetic nanofluid behavior including an immersed rotating conductive cylinder: finite element analysis
Authors: Hamzah Hameed K. , Ali Farooq H. , Hatami M. , Jing D. , Jabbar Mohammed Y.
Published: February 2021

In this paper, numerical Galerkin Finite Element Method (GFEM) is applied for conjugate heat-transfer of a rotating cylinder immersed in Fe3O4-water nanofluid under the heat-flux and magnetic field. The outer boundaries of the cavity were maintained at low temperatures while beside the cylinder were insulated. It is assumed that the cylinder rotates in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. The dimensionless governing equations such as velocity, pressure, and temperature formulation were analyzed by the GFEM. The results were evaluated using the governing parameters such as nanoparticles (NPs) volume fraction, Hartmann and Rayleigh numbers, magnetic field angle and NPs shapes. As a main result, the average Nusselt number increases by increasing the NPs volume fraction, inclination angle and thermal conductivity ratios, while increasing the Hartmann number decreased the Nusselt number. Furthermore, platelet NPs had the maximum average Nusselt number and spherical NPs made the minimum values of Nusselt numbers among examined NPs shapes.
Discovering microbe-disease associations from the literature using a hierarchical long short-term memory network and an ensemble parser model
Authors: Park Yesol , Lee Joohong , Moon Heesang , Choi Yong Suk , Rho Mina
Published: February 2021

With recent advances in biotechnology and sequencing technology, the microbial community has been intensively studied and discovered to be associated with many chronic as well as acute diseases. Even though a tremendous number of studies describing the association between microbes and diseases have been published, text mining methods that focus on such associations have been rarely studied. We propose a framework that combines machine learning and natural language processing methods to analyze the association between microbes and diseases. A hierarchical long short-term memory network was used to detect sentences that describe the association. For the sentences determined, two different parse tree-based search methods were combined to find the relation-describing word. The ensemble model of constituency parsing for structural pattern matching and dependency-based relation extraction improved the prediction accuracy. By combining deep learning and parse tree-based extractions, our proposed framework could extract the microbe-disease association with higher accuracy. The evaluation results showed that our system achieved an F-score of 0.8764 and 0.8524 in binary decisions and extracting relation words, respectively. As a case study, we performed a large-scale analysis of the association between microbes and diseases. Additionally, a set of common microbes shared by multiple diseases were also identified in this study. This study could provide valuable information for the major microbes that were studied for a specific disease. The code and data are available athttps://github.com/DMnBI/mdi_predictor.
Relationship between metamorphopsia and inner retinal microstructure following intravitreal ranibizumab injection for branch retinal vein occlusion
Authors: Sugiura Yoshimi , Okamoto Fumiki , Murakami Tomoya , Morikawa Shohei , Hiraoka Takahiro , Hussnain Syed Amal , Oshika Tetsuro
Published: February 2021

To evaluate the effects of intravitreal ranibizumab injection (IVR) on metamorphopsia in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), and to assess the relationship between metamorphopsia and inner retinal microstructure and other factors. Thirty-three treatment-naïve eyes of 33 patients with macular edema caused by BRVO with at least 12 months of follow-up were included. The degree of metamorphopsia was quantified using the M-CHARTS. Retinal microstructure was assessed with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) at the first month after resolution of the macular edema (early DRIL) and at 12 months after treatment (after DRIL) was studied. Central retinal thickness (CRT), and status of the external limiting membrane as well as ellipsoid zone were also evaluated. IVR treatment significantly improved best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and CRT, but the mean metamorphopsia score did not improve even after 12 months. Post-treatment metamorphopsia scores showed a significant correlation with pre-treatment metamorphopsia scores (P < 0.005), the extent of early DRIL (P < 0.05) and after DRIL (P < 0.05), and the number of injections (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that the post-treatment mean metamorphopsia score was significantly correlated with the pre-treatment mean metamorphopsia score (P < 0.05). IVR treatment significantly improved BCVA and CRT, but not metamorphopsia. Post-treatment metamorphopsia scores were significantly associated with pre-treatment metamorphopsia scores, the extent of DRIL, and the number of injections. Prognostic factor of metamorphopsia was the degree of pre-treatment metamorphopsia.
A novel risk classification score for malignant ureteral obstruction: a multicenter prospective validation study
Authors: Izumi Kouji , Shima Takashi , Shigehara Kazuyoshi , Sawada Kiyoshi , Naito Renato , Kato Yuki , Ofude Mitsuo , Kano Hiroshi , Iwamoto Hiroaki , Yaegashi Hiroshi , Nakashima Kazufumi , Iijima Masashi , Kawaguchi Shohei , Nohara Takahiro , Kadono Yoshifumi , Mizokami Atsushi
Published: February 2021

Emergence of malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) has been reported as a sign of poor prognosis; however, the distribution of survival time in patients with MUO is considerably wide, and no risk classification score has been constructed. To evaluate whether a novel risk classification score for overall survival that we previously developed, is effective in a large cohort. Investigator-initiated, prospective, multicenter diagnostic/prognostic study was conducted. Patients with MUO were divided into three risk groups based on the score calculated using four prognostic factors (PLaCT: Primary site, Laterality, serum Creatinine level, and Treatment for primary site) at the first visit, and prospective follow-up was performed. Overall survival and ureteral stent failure-free survival of each risk group were compared. In total, 300 patients with 21 different primary sites were enrolled. The numbers of patients in good, intermediate, and poor risk groups were 105, 106, and 89, respectively. Median survival times of patients in good, intermediate, and poor risk groups were 406, 221, and 77 days, respectively (P < 0.0001). In 217 patients with ureteral stenting, median ureteral stent failure-free survival times of good, intermediate, and poor risk groups were 385, 183, and 57 days, respectively (P < 0.0001). Limitations include the limited ethnicity and the extended duration of study enrollment. The novel PLaCT risk classification score could divide MUO patients into three risk groups with distinct survival times and ureteral stent patencies. This score will aid in establishing prognosis and treatment strategy for all physicians engaged in cancer treatment.
Effects of 2% sodium fluoride solution on the prevention of streptococcal adhesion to titanium and zirconia surfaces
Authors: Oda Yukari , Miura Tadashi , Hirano Tomoki , Furuya Yoshitaka , Ito Taichi , Yoshinari Masao , Yajima Yasutomo
Published: February 2021

Streptococci are associated with dental plaque formation as the early-colonizing bacteria that adhere to titanium (CpTi) and zirconia (TZP) implant abutment surfaces. Effective prevention of peri-implantitis may be possible by removing streptococci as target. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 2% NaF on the prevention of streptococcal adhesion to CpTi and TZP. After immersion in 2% NaF for 90 min, surface characterization of mirror-polished CpTi and TZP disks were assesed using XPS, EPMA, and SEM. S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were used as the streptococcal bacterial strains. After 24 h culture, bacterial adhesion was evaluated using an ATP-bioluminescent assay and SEM. In XPS, EPMA, and SEM analyses, fluoride was detected on the CpTi and TZP surfaces after 2% NaF immersion with no signs of localization, and no corrosion on the CpTi disks. Based on the adhesion assay, the adherences of S. sanguinis, S. gordonii, and S. oralis were significantly lower with NaF than without NaF in CpTi (p = 0.005, 0.001, and 0.001, respectively) and TZP (p = 0.003, 0.002, and 0.001). This was also confirmed by SEM. In conclusion, 2% NaF reduced the adhesion of streptococci to the CpTi and TZP surfaces.
Maternal use of sedative drugs and its effects on pregnancy outcomes: a Finnish birth cohort study
Authors: Björkstedt Satu-Maarit , Kautiainen Hannu , Tuomi Ulla , Gissler Mika , Pennanen Pirjo , Eriksson Johan G. , Laine Merja K.
Published: February 2021

Our aim was to evaluate maternal use of sedative drugs before, during, and after pregnancy and to assess the influence of use of these drugs on pregnancy outcomes. The study cohort (N = 6231) consists of all primiparous women, who lived in the city of Vantaa, Finland, and who delivered a singleton between 2009 and 2015. Data were obtained from Finnish national health registers. Of the women, 3.2% (n = 202) purchased at least once sedative drugs within 90 days before conception, during pregnancy and/or within 90 days after delivery. Sedative drug users were older, less likely to cohabitate, more often smokers, had lower educational attainment and had more mental diseases (for all p < 0.001) compared with non-users. Sedative drug users purchased more often antidepressants and drugs for the alimentary tract, musculoskeletal and nervous system than non-users (for all p < 0.001). No adverse birth or pregnancy outcomes were found in the group using sedative drugs compared with the non-users. Studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm our study findings.
High-throughput bandstructure simulations of van der Waals hetero-bilayers formed by 1T and 2H monolayers
Authors: Dong Rui , Jacob Alain , Bourdais Stéphane , Sanvito Stefano
Published: February 2021

Vertically stacked van der Waals heterostructures made of two-dimensional compounds are almost an infinite playground for the fabrication of nano-engineered materials for the most diverse applications. Unfortunately, high-throughput electronic structure theory, which often serves as a guidance for material design, is not practical in this case. In fact, the compositional and structural complexity of van der Waals heterostructures make the number of prototypes to calculate combinatorially large. In this work a method is developed to compute the bandstructure of van der Waals heterostructures with an arbitrary composition and geometry using minimal computational resources. Such scheme is applied to the systematic study of a library of two-dimensional hexagonal XY2 compounds. The method is based on the density functional theory and on the assumption that the inter-layer electronic interaction is limited to classical electrostatic screening. Our analysis enables us to identify and categorize a large range of van der Waals bilayer heterostructures with electronic band gaps of different nature ranging from 0.1 to 5.5 eV and various types of band line-up.
Transient morphology of lithium anodes in batteries monitored by in operando pulse electron paramagnetic resonance
Authors: Szczuka Conrad , Ackermann Jörg , Schleker P. Philipp M. , Jakes Peter , Eichel Rüdiger-A. , Granwehr Josef
Published: February 2021

Enhancing lithium-ion battery technology in terms of specific capacity and charging time is key for the advancement of the electrification of transportation. Particularly for fast charging, inhomogeneous deposition of metallic lithium, for example on commercial graphite or metallic lithium anodes, leads to cell degradation and safety issues. To understand the underlying mechanisms and develop counter-measures, non-invasive online detection techniques providing satisfactory time resolution are crucial. Here, we demonstrate in operando pulse electron paramagnetic resonance to observe transient processes during pulsed fast charging in cells with metallic lithium anodes. Sampling timescales of 100 ms enable real-time monitoring of the formation and evolution of porous lithium during and after charging pulses. It was observed that the generated morphology continued to evolve after the end of a charging pulse, whereby surface features were fusing with a time constant that was slower than their formation.
Double-diffusive mixing makes a small contribution to the global ocean circulation
Authors: van der Boog Carine G. , Dijkstra Henk A. , Pietrzak Julie D. , Katsman Caroline A.
Published: February 2021

Double-diffusive processes enhance diapycnal mixing of heat and salt in the open ocean. However, observationally based evidence of the effects of double-diffusive mixing on the global ocean circulation is lacking. Here we analyze the occurrence of double-diffusive thermohaline staircases in a dataset containing over 480,000 temperature and salinity profiles from Argo floats and Ice-Tethered Profilers. We show that about 14% of all profiles contains thermohaline staircases that appear clustered in specific regions, with one hitherto unknown cluster overlying the westward flowing waters of the Tasman Leakage. We estimate the combined contribution of double-diffusive fluxes in all thermohaline staircases to the global ocean’s mechanical energy budget as 7.5 GW [0.1 GW; 32.8 GW]. This is small compared to the estimated energy required to maintain the observed ocean stratification of roughly 2 TW. Nevertheless, we suggest that the regional effects, for example near Australia, could be pronounced.
Impact of temperature and in situ FeCo catalysis on the architecture and Young's modulus of model wood-based biocarbon
Authors: Codou Amandine , Pin Jean-Mathieu , Misra Manjusri , Mohanty Amar K.
Published: February 2021

Effect of the pyrolysis protocol into the structure, porosity and surface Young's modulus of Pine and Maple based biocarbon.
An off-the-shelf microfluidic device for the controllable fabrication of multiple-holed hollow particles and their cell culture applications
Authors: Sun Lili , Li Tianbao , Zhang Baojin , Zhang Meng , Xu Juan , Wang Jinyi
Published: February 2021

An off-the-shelf microfluidic device is developed for the controllable fabrication of multiple-holed hollow particles with exceptionally diverse structures and properties.
Fluorination and fluoroalkylation of alkenes/alkynes to construct fluoro-containing heterocycles
Authors: Wang Xin , Lei Jia , Liu Yingjie , Ye Yong , Li Jiazhu , Sun Kai
Published: February 2021

This review summarize the established strategies through fluorination and fluoroalkylation of alkenes/alkynes for constructing fluoro-containing heterocycles. Reaction scopes, mechanisms and some shortcomings are also discussed.
A colorimetric aptasensor for the simple and rapid detection of human papillomavirus type 16 L1 proteins
Authors: Zhu Li , Zhao Yu , Yao Shangchen , Xu Mingzhe , Yin Lihui , Zhai Xihai , Teng Xu
Published: February 2021

A colorimetric aptasensor for human papillomavirus type 16 L1 protein detection has been developed based on conjugated aptamer-gold nanoparticles.
Precise selection of aptamers targeting PD-L1 positive small extracellular vesicles on magnetic chips
Authors: Dong Hao-Yu , Xie Qi-Hui , Pang Dai-Wen , Chen Gang , Zhang Zhi-Ling
Published: February 2021

High affinity aptamers that target small extracellular vesicles displaying PD-L1 in its natural conformation were successfully selected.
The simplest alkynyl thiocyanate HCCSCN and its isomers
Authors: Lu Bo , Wu Zhuang , Wang Lina , Zhu Bifeng , Rauhut Guntram , Zeng Xiaoqing
Published: February 2021

Four novel isomers of HC3NS including ethynyl thiocyanate HCCSCN, ethynyl isothiocyanate HCCNCS, sulfenyl isocyanide HCCSNC, and cyanothioketene NCC(H)CS have been prepared and characterized.
A screen-printed three-electrode-type sticker device with an accurate liquid junction-type reference electrode
Authors: Shitanda Isao , Miyazaki Kaishi , Loew Noya , Esaka Ryosuke , Hoshi Yoshinao , Itagaki Masayuki
Published: February 2021

An novel sticker device involving a three-electrode system that enables accurate measurement by sticking the device on a test material.
A new fluorescent probe for ultrasensitive detection of phosgene in solution and the gas phase
Authors: Zeng Fenfen , Bao Guangbo , Zhou Baocheng , Han Yifeng
Published: February 2021

A new fluorescent probe has been developed for sensitive and selective detection of phosgene in solution and vapor.
Rapid iodine adsorption from vapor phase and solution by a nitrogen-rich covalent piperazine–triazine-based polymer
Authors: Huang Yalin , Li Wei , Xu Yuwei , Ding Mu , Ding Jie , Zhang Yun , Wang Yuanhua , Chen Shanyong , Jin Yongdong , Xia Chuanqin
Published: February 2021

The excellent pore performance and high nitrogen content of n-CTP result in increased diffusion and adsorption of I2, which subsequently decreases the equilibrium time.
Correction: One-pot three-component synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl naphthols and polyhydroquinolines using a deep eutectic solvent: a green method and mechanistic insight
Authors: Nguyen Vu Thanh , Nguyen Hai Truong , Tran Phuong Hoang
Published: February 2021

Correction for ‘One-pot three-component synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl naphthols and polyhydroquinolines using a deep eutectic solvent: a green method and mechanistic insight’ by Vu Thanh Nguyen et al., New J. Chem., 2021, 45, 2053–2059, DOI: 10.1039/d0nj05687a.
A photoinduced arene–alkyne [3 + 2] cycloaddition cascade of 1-alkynylnaphthalen-2-ols for tunable synthesis of skeletally diverse bridged hexacycles
Authors: Zhu Chi-Fan , Zhang Jie , Zhu Yi-Long , Hao Wen-Juan , Tu Shu-Jiang , Wang De-Cai , Jiang Bo
Published: February 2021

Photoinduced solvent-dependent cyclodimerizations of 1-alkynylnaphthalen-2-ols were developed for the first time, producing skeletally diverse bridged hexacyclic architectures with good yields and high stereoselectivities.
H∞ tracking control via variable gain gradient descent‐based integral reinforcement learning for unknown continuous time non‐linear system
Authors: Mishra Amardeep , Ghosh Satadal
Published: February 2021

Optimal tracking of continuous‐time non‐linear systems has been extensively studied in literature. However, in several applications, absence of knowledge about system dynamics poses a severe challenge in solving the optimal tracking problem. This has found growing attention among researchers recently, and integral reinforcement learning based method augmented with actor neural network (NN) have been deployed to this end. However, very few studies have been directed to model‐free optimal tracking control that helps in attenuating the effect of disturbances on the system performance without any prior knowledge about system dynamics. To this end, a recursive least square‐based parameter update was recently proposed. However, gradient descent‐based parameter update scheme is more sensitive to real‐time variation in plant dynamics. Experience replay (ER) technique has been shown to improve the convergence of NN weights by utilising past observations iteratively. Motivated by these, this study presents a novel parameter update law based on variable gain gradient descent and ER technique for tuning the weights of critic, actor and disturbance NNs. The presented update law leads to improved model‐free tracking performance under ‐bounded disturbance. Simulation results are presented to validate the presented update law.
Efficient image segmentation method based on an adaptive selection of Gabor filters
Authors: Sardar Alireza , Mehrshad Nasser , Mohammad Razavi Seyyed
Published: February 2021

Image segmentation is one of the most important aspects of image processing that has many applications in image analysis, computer vision, and machine vision. So far, researchers have proposed many image segmentation algorithms that provide a relatively appropriate response for a particular application and over a specific type of input images. At the same time, they have not yet suggested a simple, fast, and efficient segmentation method that can apply to a wide range of natural and texture images. In this study, the authors present a new adaptive method for selecting Gabor filters using the image frequency content. Adaptive spectral features of the image are then extracted using only these selected filters from a Gabor filter bank. A pre‐setting parameter Gabor filter is used to extract the gradient of each feature in x and y directions. Combining these features gradient, the texture gradient image is calculated, and then by selected markers for different texture regions and applying the marker‐based watershed transform on texture gradient image, the authors present a new image segmentation method that has a less computational cost and yields better results compared to using all other filter banks.
Design of optimal blind watermarking technique based on MOEA/D
Authors: Mun Kwanghyok , Son Cholmin
Published: February 2021

In image watermarking, the quality of the watermarked image and the watermark's robustness are the main indicators for evaluating the performance of the watermarking scheme, but they contradict each other, making it difficult to design a rational watermarking method. In this study, the multi‐objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEA/D) is employed to solve the multi‐objective optimisation problem to ensure the balance between contradictory objectives. The watermark is embedded by selecting the regions with the lowest human visual characteristics in the host image and modifying the frequency coefficients of the discrete cosine transform. At this time, the determination of the positions of embedding coefficients and parameters related to the modifications results in the multi‐objective optimisation problem on the robustness and imperceptibility, and the optimal solution is determined by finding the approximate Pareto set. Simulation results for various attacks on watermarked images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed watermarking technique.
Inter‐frame forgery detection and localisation in videos using earth mover's distance metric
Authors: Selvaraj Priyadharsini , Karuppiah Muneeswaran
Published: February 2021

Video forensics is one of the hot topics in multimedia forensics. Nowadays, spreading fake videos across the internet is becoming a profession mainly in politics and entertainment. In this study, a novel two‐stage inter‐frame video forgery detection technique is proposed. The first stage analyses spatio‐temporal feature flow consistency to detect suspicious tamper points. Identifying the type of forgery and validating the recovered video are done in the second stage. Earth mover's distance is used as a similarity metric in both stages. The authors concentrate on a robust inter‐frame forgery detection approach which can be applied for any challenging video. Compression at a higher rate, noise addition, and filtering are the anti‐forensic tricks used by forgers to fool forensic techniques. However, most of the literature in video forgery detection has handled these issues as post‐processing attacks and reported lesser accuracies for it. Hence the authors propose a robust and efficient forgery detection technique capable of identifying all kinds of inter‐frame forgeries in videos. Experimental evaluation of the public video data set shows that the proposed approach outperforms existing approaches with an improved rate of robustness.
MaskHunter: real‐time object detection of face masks during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Cao Zhihao , Shao Mingfeng , Xu Li , Mu Shaomin , Qu Hongchun
Published: February 2021

Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic at present, it is necessary to detect whether pedestrians in public places wear face masks or not for preventing the spread of novel coronavirus. The pedestrian flow in public places is large, and it puts forward higher requirements for the accuracy and speed of real‐time mask detection. Improving the face mask detection effect especially in the night environment is a challenging problem. A novel object detector namely MaskHunter is proposed in this study for the real‐time mask detection. Specifically, the authors propose novel effective structures of backbone, neck and prediction head based on YOLOv4 series, which achieves the state‐of‐the‐art performance and a novel improved Mosaic data augmentation method. Moreover, they propose a novel mask‐guided module to enhance the discrimination ability of face mask especially in the night environment. As a consequent, experiments show that MaskHunter achieves better detection performance for real‐time mask detection compared with other obtained models in this scenario.
Troposcatter transmission loss prediction based on particle swarm optimisation
Authors: Yuan Dizhe , Chen Xihong
Published: February 2021

Tropospheric scatter is a promising method for over‐the‐horizon propagation. Transmission loss caused by the three mainstream troposcatter mechanisms is analysed, namely turbulent incoherent scattering theory, coherent reflection by stable layers theory, and incoherent reflection by irregular layers theory. Then an experiment is conducted to explore the relationships among the three mechanisms. Based on this experiment, the troposcatter transmission loss prediction model is established in different climate zones by a particle swarm optimisation algorithm and experimental data from the global troposcatter databank. The simulation shows that this model is more effective than the existing International Telecommunication Union‐Radiocommunication Sector (ITU‐R) P.617, P.452, and P.2001. Furthermore, by analysing the training parameters' proportion of the new model in different climate zones, the specific composition of three troposcatter mechanisms can be obtained.