bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Molecular functions of nitric oxide and its potential applications in horticultural crops
Authors: Sun Chengliang , Zhang Yuxue , Liu Lijuan , Liu Xiaoxia , Li Baohai , Jin Chongwei , Lin Xianyong
Published: March 2021

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates plant growth, enhances nutrient uptake, and activates disease and stress tolerance mechanisms in most plants, making NO a potential tool for use in improving the yield and quality of horticultural crop species. Although the use of NO in horticulture is still in its infancy, research on NO in model plant species has provided an abundance of valuable information on horticultural crop species. Emerging evidence implies that the bioactivity of NO can occur through many potential mechanisms but occurs mainly throughS-nitrosation, the covalent and reversible attachment of NO to cysteine thiol. In this context, NO signaling specifically affects crop development, immunity, and environmental interactions. Moreover, NO can act as a fumigant against a wide range of postharvest diseases and pests. However, for effective use of NO in horticulture, both understanding and exploring the biological significance and potential mechanisms of NO in horticultural crop species are critical. This review provides a picture of our current understanding of how NO is synthesized and transduced in plants, and particular attention is given to the significance of NO in breaking seed dormancy, balancing root growth and development, enhancing nutrient acquisition, mediating stress responses, and guaranteeing food safety for horticultural production.
Simultaneous readout of multiple FRET pairs using photochromism
Authors: Roebroek Thijs , Vandenberg Wim , Sipieter François , Hugelier Siewert , Stove Christophe , Zhang Jin , Dedecker Peter
Published: March 2021

Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) is a powerful mechanism to probe associations in situ. Simultaneously performing more than one FRET measurement can be challenging due to the spectral bandwidth required for the donor and acceptor fluorophores. We present an approach to distinguish overlapping FRET pairs based on the photochromism of the donor fluorophores, even if the involved fluorophores display essentially identical absorption and emission spectra. We develop the theory underlying this method and validate our approach using numerical simulations. To apply our system, we develop rsAKARev, a photochromic biosensor for cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), and combine it with the spectrally-identical biosensor EKARev, a reporter for extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity, to deliver simultaneous readout of both activities in the same cell. We further perform multiplexed PKA, ERK, and calcium measurements by including a third, spectrally-shifted biosensor. Our work demonstrates that exploiting donor photochromism in FRET can be a powerful approach to simultaneously read out multiple associations within living cells.
Harnessing machine learning to guide phylogenetic-tree search algorithms
Authors: Azouri Dana , Abadi Shiran , Mansour Yishay , Mayrose Itay , Pupko Tal
Published: March 2021

Inferring a phylogenetic tree is a fundamental challenge in evolutionary studies. Current paradigms for phylogenetic tree reconstruction rely on performing costly likelihood optimizations. With the aim of making tree inference feasible for problems involving more than a handful of sequences, inference under the maximum-likelihood paradigm integrates heuristic approaches to evaluate only a subset of all potential trees. Consequently, existing methods suffer from the known tradeoff between accuracy and running time. In this proof-of-concept study, we train a machine-learning algorithm over an extensive cohort of empirical data to predict the neighboring trees that increase the likelihood, without actually computing their likelihood. This provides means to safely discard a large set of the search space, thus potentially accelerating heuristic tree searches without losing accuracy. Our analyses suggest that machine learning can guide tree-search methodologies towards the most promising candidate trees.
Sub-diffractional cavity modes of terahertz hyperbolic phonon polaritons in tin oxide
Authors: Feres Flávio H. , Mayer Rafael A. , Wehmeier Lukas , Maia Francisco C. B. , Viana E. R. , Malachias Angelo , Bechtel Hans A. , Klopf J. Michael , Eng Lukas M. , Kehr Susanne C. , González J. C. , Freitas Raul O. , Barcelos Ingrid D.
Published: March 2021

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons have recently attracted considerable attention in nanophotonics mostly due to their intrinsic strong electromagnetic field confinement, ultraslow polariton group velocities, and long lifetimes. Here we introduce tin oxide (SnO2) nanobelts as a photonic platform for the transport of surface and volume phonon polaritons in the mid- to far-infrared frequency range. This report brings a comprehensive description of the polaritonic properties of SnO2 as a nanometer-sized dielectric and also as an engineered material in the form of a waveguide. By combining accelerator-based IR-THz sources (synchrotron and free-electron laser) with s-SNOM, we employed nanoscale far-infrared hyper-spectral-imaging to uncover a Fabry–Perot cavity mechanism in SnO2 nanobelts via direct detection of phonon-polariton standing waves. Our experimental findings are accurately supported by notable convergence between theory and numerical simulations. Thus, the SnO2 is confirmed as a natural hyperbolic material with unique photonic properties essential for future applications involving subdiffractional light traffic and detection in the far-infrared range.
Author Correction: Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products
Authors: Pieper Maximilian , Michalke Amelie , Gaugler Tobias
Published: March 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22237-6
Green synthesis of olefin-linked covalent organic frameworks for hydrogen fuel cell applications
Authors: Wang Zhifang , Yang Yi , Zhao Zhengfeng , Zhang Penghui , Zhang Yushu , Liu Jinjin , Ma Shengqian , Cheng Peng , Chen Yao , Zhang Zhenjie
Published: March 2021

Green synthesis of crystalline porous materials for energy-related applications is of great significance but very challenging. Here, we create a green strategy to fabricate a highly crystalline olefin-linked pyrazine-based covalent organic framework (COF) with high robustness and porosity under solvent-free conditions. The abundant nitrogen sites, high hydrophilicity, and well-defined one-dimensional nanochannels make the resulting COF an ideal platform to confine and stabilize the H3PO4 network in the pores through hydrogen-bonding interactions. The resulting material exhibits low activation energy (Ea) of 0.06 eV, and ultrahigh proton conductivity across a wide relative humidity (10–90 %) and temperature range (25–80 °C). A realistic proton exchange membrane fuel cell using the olefin-linked COF as the solid electrolyte achieve a maximum power of 135 mW cm−2 and a current density of 676 mA cm−2, which exceeds all reported COF materials.
Intratumoral immunotherapy using platelet-cloaked nanoparticles enhances antitumor immunity in solid tumors
Authors: Bahmani Baharak , Gong Hua , Luk Brian T. , Haushalter Kristofer J. , DeTeresa Ethel , Previti Mark , Zhou Jiarong , Gao Weiwei , Bui Jack D. , Zhang Liangfang , Fang Ronnie H. , Zhang Jie
Published: March 2021

Intratumoral immunotherapy is an emerging modality for the treatment of solid tumors. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists have shown promise for eliciting immune responses, but systemic administration often results in the development of adverse side effects. Herein, we investigate whether localized delivery of the TLR agonist, resiquimod (R848), via platelet membrane-coated nanoparticles (PNP-R848) elicits antitumor responses. The membrane coating provides a means of enhancing interactions with the tumor microenvironment, thereby maximizing the activity of R848. Intratumoral administration of PNP-R848 strongly enhances local immune activation and leads to complete tumor regression in a colorectal tumor model, while providing protection against repeated tumor re-challenges. Moreover, treatment of an aggressive breast cancer model with intratumoral PNP-R848 delays tumor growth and inhibits lung metastasis. Our findings highlight the promise of locally delivering immunostimulatory payloads using biomimetic nanocarriers, which possess advantages such as enhanced biocompatibility and natural targeting affinities.
Genome-wide data implicate terminal fusion automixis in king cobra facultative parthenogenesis
Authors: Card Daren C. , Vonk Freek J. , Smalbrugge Sterrin , Casewell Nicholas R. , Wüster Wolfgang , Castoe Todd A. , Schuett Gordon W. , Booth Warren
Published: March 2021

Facultative parthenogenesis (FP) is widespread in the animal kingdom. In vertebrates it was first described in poultry nearly 70 years ago, and since then reports involving other taxa have increased considerably. In the last two decades, numerous reports of FP have emerged in elasmobranch fishes and squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes), including documentation in wild populations of both clades. When considered in concert with recent evidence of reproductive competence, the accumulating data suggest that the significance of FP in vertebrate evolution has been largely underestimated. Several fundamental questions regarding developmental mechanisms, nonetheless, remain unanswered. Specifically, what is the type of automixis that underlies the production of progeny and how does this impact the genomic diversity of the resulting parthenogens? Here, we addressed these questions through the application of next-generation sequencing to investigate a suspected case of parthenogenesis in a king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah). Our results provide the first evidence of FP in this species, and provide novel evidence that rejects gametic duplication and supports terminal fusion as a mechanism underlying parthenogenesis in snakes. Moreover, we precisely estimated heterozygosity in parthenogenetic offspring and found appreciable retained genetic diversity that suggests that FP in vertebrates has underappreciated evolutionary significance.
Identification of the haemodynamic environment permissive for plaque erosion
Authors: McElroy Michael , Kim Yongcheol , Niccoli Giampaolo , Vergallo Rocco , Langford-Smith Alexander , Crea Filippo , Gijsen Frank , Johnson Thomas , Keshmiri Amir , White Stephen J.
Published: March 2021

Endothelial erosion of atherosclerotic plaques is the underlying cause of approximately 30% of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). As the vascular endothelium is profoundly affected by the haemodynamic environment to which it is exposed, we employed computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis of the luminal geometry from 17 patients with optical coherence tomography (OCT)-defined plaque erosion, to determine the flow environment permissive for plaque erosion. Our results demonstrate that 15 of the 17 cases analysed occurred on stenotic plaques with median 31% diameter stenosis (interquartile range 28–52%), where all but one of the adherent thrombi located proximal to, or within the region of maximum stenosis. Consequently, all flow metrics related to elevated flow were significantly increased (time averaged wall shear stress, maximum wall shear stress, time averaged wall shear stress gradient) with a reduction in relative residence time, compared to a non-diseased reference segment. We also identified two cases that did not exhibit an elevation of flow, but occurred in a region exposed to elevated oscillatory flow. Our study demonstrates that the majority of OCT-defined erosions occur where the endothelium is exposed to elevated flow, a haemodynamic environment known to evoke a distinctive phenotypic response in endothelial cells.
Using sentiment analysis to predict opinion inversion in Tweets of political communication
Authors: Matalon Yogev , Magdaci Ofir , Almozlino Adam , Yamin Dan
Published: March 2021

Social media networks have become an essential tool for sharing information in political discourse. Recent studies examining opinion diffusion have highlighted that some users may invert a message's content before disseminating it, propagating a contrasting view relative to that of the original author. Using politically-oriented discourse related to Israel with focus on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, we explored this Opinion Inversion (O.I.) phenomenon. From a corpus of approximately 716,000 relevant Tweets, we identified 7147 Source–Quote pairs. These Source–Quote pairs accounted for 69% of the total volume of the corpus. Using a Random Forest model based on the Natural Language Processing features of the Source text and user attributes, we could predict whether a Source will undergo O.I. upon retweet with an ROC-AUC of 0.83. We found that roughly 80% of the factors that explain O.I. are associated with the original message's sentiment towards the conflict. In addition, we identified pairs comprised of Quotes related to the domain while their Sources were unrelated to the domain. These Quotes, which accounted for 14% of the Source–Quote pairs, maintained similar sentiment levels as the Source. Our case study underscores that O.I. plays an important role in political communication on social media. Nevertheless, O.I. can be predicted in advance using simple artificial intelligence tools and that prediction might be used to optimize content propagation.
Individual differences in working memory capacity are unrelated to the magnitudes of retrocue benefits
Authors: Ye Chaoxiong , Xu Qianru , Liu Xinyang , Astikainen Piia , Zhu Yongjie , Hu Zhonghua , Liu Qiang
Published: March 2021

Previous studies have associated visual working memory (VWM) capacity with the use of internal attention. Retrocues, which direct internal attention to a particular object or feature dimension, can improve VWM performance (i.e., retrocue benefit, RCB). However, so far, no study has investigated the relationship between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of RCBs obtained from object-based and dimension-based retrocues. The present study explored individual differences in the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCBs and their relationships with VWM capacity. Participants completed a VWM capacity measurement, an object-based cue task, and a dimension-based cue task. We confirmed that both object- and dimension-based retrocues could improve VWM performance. We also found a significant positive correlation between the magnitudes of object- and dimension-based RCB indexes, suggesting a partly overlapping mechanism between the use of object- and dimension-based retrocues. However, our results provided no evidence for a correlation between VWM capacity and the magnitudes of the object- or dimension-based RCBs. Although inadequate attention control is usually assumed to be associated with VWM capacity, the results suggest that the internal attention mechanism for using retrocues in VWM retention is independent of VWM capacity.
Exercise rapidly alters proteomes in mice following spinal cord demyelination
Authors: Lozinski Brian Mark , de Almeida Luiz Gustavo Nogueira , Silva Claudia , Dong Yifei , Brown Dennis , Chopra Sameeksha , Yong V. Wee , Dufour Antoine
Published: March 2021

Exercise affords broad benefits for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) including less fatigue, depression, and improved cognition. In animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS), exercise has been shown to improve remyelination, decrease blood–brain barrier permeability and reduce leukocyte infiltration. Despite these benefits many PwMS refrain from engaging in physical activity. This barrier to participation in exercise may be overcome by uncovering and describing the mechanisms by which exercise promotes beneficial changes in the central nervous system (CNS). Here, we show that acute bouts of exercise in mice profoundly alters the proteome in demyelinating lesions. Following lysolecithin induced demyelination of the ventral spinal cord, mice were given immediate access to a running wheel for 4 days. Lesioned spinal cords and peripheral blood serum were then subjected to tandem mass tag labeling shotgun proteomics workflow to identify alteration in protein levels. We identified 86 significantly upregulated and 85 downregulated proteins in the lesioned spinal cord as well as 14 significantly upregulated and 11 downregulated proteins in the serum following acute exercise. Altered pathways following exercise in demyelinated mice include oxidative stress response, metabolism and transmission across chemical synapses. Similar acute bout of exercise in naïve mice also changed several proteins in the serum and spinal cord, including those for metabolism and anti-oxidant responses. Improving our understanding of the mechanisms and duration of activity required to influence the injured CNS should motivate PwMS and other conditions to embrace exercise as part of their therapy to manage CNS disability.
Evaluation of the repeatability and reliability of the cross-training specific Fight Gone Bad workout and its relation to aerobic fitness
Authors: Durkalec-Michalski Krzysztof , Zawieja Emilia E. , Zawieja Bogna E. , Podgórski Tomasz
Published: March 2021

Cross-training is a high-intensity functional training (HIFT) with multiple workout modalities. Despite the increasing number of studies in HIFT, there is still no validated test to measure its specific performance. It would also be advisable to determine whether selected cross-training workouts can implement a stimulus corresponding to maximize aerobic work. For these reasons, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the repeatability and reliability of Fight Gone Bad (FGB) workout and to assess its relationship with aerobic fitness. Twenty-one cross-training participants (9 females) finished the study protocol which included three two-day measurement sessions separated by 10 days. During each session, participants had their body composition measured, and they performed two exercise tests. The first test was an incremental cycling test to measure aerobic fitness, and the second was a cross-training specific FGB workout performed the next day. Reliability and repeatability were calculated from the three measurements. The total FGB Score (FGBTOTAL) showed excellent reliability (ICC 0.9, SEM 6%). Moreover, FGBTOTAL was strongly correlated with aerobic fitness (i.e., time to exhaustion (Texh, R2 = 0.72), maximal workload (Wmax, R2 = 0.69), time to gas exchange threshold (TGET, R2 = 0.68), and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak, R2 = 0.59). We also found that agreement between standardized FGB and standardized aerobic performance indices such as Texh, VO2peak, Wmax, maximum heart rate, TGET, and workload at gas exchange threshold was high by the Bland–Altman method. In conclusion, FGB is a reliable test that can be used in order to measure changes in cross-training performance caused by an intervention. Moreover, FGB is strongly correlated to aerobic fitness.
CRISPR/Cas9 generated knockout mice lacking phenylalanine hydroxylase protein as a novel preclinical model for human phenylketonuria
Authors: Singh Kuldeep , Cornell Cathleen S. , Jackson Robert , Kabiri Mostafa , Phipps Michael , Desai Mitul , Fogle Robert , Ying Xiaoyou , Anarat-Cappillino Gulbenk , Geller Sarah , Johnson Jennifer , Roberts Errin , Malley Katie , Devlin Tim , DeRiso Matthew , Berthelette Patricia , Zhang Yao V. , Ryan Susan , Rao Srinivas , Thurberg Beth L. , Bangari Dinesh S. , Kyostio-Moore Sirkka
Published: March 2021

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of l-phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism. It is caused by a partial or complete deficiency of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), which is necessary for conversion of Phe to tyrosine (Tyr). This metabolic error results in buildup of Phe and reduction of Tyr concentration in blood and in the brain, leading to neurological disease and intellectual deficits. Patients exhibit retarded body growth, hypopigmentation, hypocholesterolemia and low levels of neurotransmitters. Here we report first attempt at creating a homozygous Pah knock-out (KO) (Hom) mouse model, which was developed in the C57BL/6 J strain using CRISPR/Cas9 where codon 7 (GAG) in Pah gene was changed to a stop codon TAG. We investigated 2 to 6-month-old, male, Hom mice using comprehensive behavioral and biochemical assays, MRI and histopathology. Age and sex-matched heterozygous Pah-KO (Het) mice were used as control mice, as they exhibit enough PAH enzyme activity to provide Phe and Tyr levels comparable to the wild-type mice. Overall, our findings demonstrate that 6-month-old, male Hom mice completely lack PAH enzyme, exhibit significantly higher blood and brain Phe levels, lower levels of brain Tyr and neurotransmitters along with lower myelin content and have significant behavioral deficit. These mice exhibit phenotypes that closely resemble PKU patients such as retarded body growth, cutaneous hypopigmentation, and hypocholesterolemia when compared to the age- and sex-matched Het mice. Altogether, biochemical, behavioral, and pathologic features of this novel mouse model suggest that it can be used as a reliable translational tool for PKU preclinical research and drug development.
c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) modulates oligodendrocyte progenitor cell architecture, proliferation and myelination
Authors: Lorenzati Martina , Boda Enrica , Parolisi Roberta , Bonato Martino , Borsello Tiziana , Herdegen Thomas , Buffo Annalisa , Vercelli Alessandro
Published: March 2021

During Central Nervous System ontogenesis, myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs) arise from highly ramified and proliferative precursors called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). OPC architecture, proliferation and oligodendro-/myelino-genesis are finely regulated by the interplay of cell-intrinsic and extrinsic factors. A variety of extrinsic cues converge on the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) pathway. Here we found that the germinal ablation of the MAPK c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase isoform 1 (JNK1) results in a significant reduction of myelin in the cerebral cortex and corpus callosum at both postnatal and adult stages. Myelin alterations are accompanied by higher OPC density and proliferation during the first weeks of life, consistent with a transient alteration of mechanisms regulating OPC self-renewal and differentiation. JNK1 KO OPCs also show smaller occupancy territories and a less complex branching architecture in vivo. Notably, these latter phenotypes are recapitulated in pure cultures of JNK1 KO OPCs and of WT OPCs treated with the JNK inhibitor D-JNKI-1. Moreover, JNK1 KO and WT D-JNKI-1 treated OLs, while not showing overt alterations of differentiation in vitro, display a reduced surface compared to controls. Our results unveil a novel player in the complex regulation of OPC biology, on the one hand showing that JNK1 ablation cell-autonomously determines alterations of OPC proliferation and branching architecture and, on the other hand, suggesting that JNK1 signaling in OLs participates in myelination in vivo.
Using persistent homology as preprocessing of early warning signals for critical transition in flood
Authors: Syed Musa Syed Mohamad Sadiq , Md Noorani Mohd Salmi , Abdul Razak Fatimah , Ismail Munira , Alias Mohd Almie , Hussain Saiful Izzuan
Published: March 2021

Flood early warning systems (FLEWSs) contribute remarkably to reducing economic and life losses during a flood. The theory of critical slowing down (CSD) has been successfully used as a generic indicator of early warning signals in various fields. A new tool called persistent homology (PH) was recently introduced for data analysis. PH employs a qualitative approach to assess a data set and provide new information on the topological features of the data set. In the present paper, we propose the use of PH as a preprocessing step to achieve a FLEWS through CSD. We test our proposal on water level data of the Kelantan River, which tends to flood nearly every year. The results suggest that the new information obtained by PH exhibits CSD and, therefore, can be used as a signal for a FLEWS. Further analysis of the signal, we manage to establish an early warning signal for ten of the twelve flood events recorded in the river; the two other events are detected on the first day of the flood. Finally, we compare our results with those of a FLEWS constructed directly from water level data and find that FLEWS via PH creates fewer false alarms than the conventional technique.
Hypergravity-induced changes in actin response of breast cancer cells to natural killer cells
Authors: Lee Minseon , Kim Dongjoo , Kwon Soonjo
Published: March 2021

Although immunotherapy holds promising cytotoxic activity against lymphoma or leukemia, the immunosuppressive mechanisms of solid tumors remain challenging. In this study, we developed and applied a hypergravity exposure system as a novel strategy to improve the responsiveness of breast cancer cells to natural killer (NK) cells for efficient immunotherapy. Following exposure to hypergravity, either in the presence or absence of NK cells, we investigated for changes in the cell cytoskeletal structure, which is related to the F-actin mediated immune evasion mechanism (referred to as “actin response”) of cancer cells. Breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 cells were exposed thrice to a 20 min hypergravitational condition (10 × g), with a 20 min rest period between each exposure. The applied hypergravity induces changes in the intracellular cytoskeleton structure without decreasing the cell viability but increasing the cytotoxicity of MDA-MB-231 from 4 to 18% (4.5-fold) at a 3:1 ratio (NK-to-target). Analyses related to F-actin further demonstrate that the applied hypergravity results in rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, leading to inhibition of the actin response of MDA-MB-231. Taken together, our results suggest that the mechanical load increases through application of hypergravity, which potentially improves efficiency of cell-based immunotherapies by sensitizing tumors to immune cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
Risk factors on admission associated with hospital length of stay in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Guo Anping , Lu Jin , Tan Haizhu , Kuang Zejian , Luo Ying , Yang Tian , Xu Junlan , Yu Jishuang , Wen Canhong , Shen Aizong
Published: March 2021

Treating patients with COVID-19 is expensive, thus it is essential to identify factors on admission associated with hospital length of stay (LOS) and provide a risk assessment for clinical treatment. To address this, we conduct a retrospective study, which involved patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in Hefei, China and being discharged between January 20 2020 and March 16 2020. Demographic information, clinical treatment, and laboratory data for the participants were extracted from medical records. A prolonged LOS was defined as equal to or greater than the median length of hospitable stay. The median LOS for the 75 patients was 17 days (IQR 13–22). We used univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to explore the risk factors associated with a prolonged hospital LOS. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. The median age of the 75 patients was 47 years. Approximately 75% of the patients had mild or general disease. The univariate logistic regression model showed that female sex and having a fever on admission were significantly associated with longer duration of hospitalization. The multivariate logistic regression model enhances these associations. Odds of a prolonged LOS were associated with male sex (aOR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05–0.63, p = 0.01), having fever on admission (aOR 8.27, 95% CI 1.47–72.16, p = 0.028) and pre-existing chronic kidney or liver disease (aOR 13.73 95% CI 1.95–145.4, p = 0.015) as well as each 1-unit increase in creatinine level (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.9–0.98, p = 0.007). We also found that a prolonged LOS was associated with increased creatinine levels in patients with chronic kidney or liver disease (p < 0.001). In conclusion, female sex, fever, chronic kidney or liver disease before admission and increasing creatinine levels were associated with prolonged LOS in patients with COVID-19.
ROS-generating rare-earth coordination networks for photodynamic inactivation of Candida albicans
Authors: Godoy Agustín A. , Bernini María C. , Funes Matías D. , Sortino Maximiliano , Collins Sebastián E. , Narda Griselda E.
Published: March 2021

Photodynamic inactivation of C. albicans was studied evaluating Nano-sized 2D coordination network particles as photosensitizers through the generation of ROS under UV radiation. Promising results confirm the antifungal activity against C. albicans.
An electrochemically exfoliated graphene/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor for the detection of nicotine
Authors: Rajendran Jerome , Reshetilov Anatoly N. , Sundramoorthy Ashok K.
Published: March 2021

Electro-polymerized PEDOT film on a graphene-modified electrode is demonstrated as a selective electrochemical nicotine sensor. Nicotine was detected with high selectivity and a real sample analysis was carried out.
3D-visualization of amyloid-β oligomer interactions with lipid membranes by cryo-electron tomography
Authors: Tian Yao , Liang Ruina , Kumar Amit , Szwedziak Piotr , Viles John H.
Published: March 2021

Cryo-electron tomography 3D imaging of amyloid-β oligomers carpeting the surface of lipid bilayers in near native conditions.
Stalling chromophore synthesis of the fluorescent protein Venus reveals the molecular basis of the final oxidation step
Authors: Auhim Husam Sabah , Grigorenko Bella L. , Harris Tessa K. , Aksakal Ozan E. , Polyakov Igor V. , Berry Colin , Gomes Gabriel dos Passos , Alabugin Igor V. , Rizkallah Pierre J. , Nemukhin Alexander V. , Jones D. Dafydd
Published: March 2021

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) have revolutionised the life sciences, but the chromophore maturation mechanism is still not fully understood. Here we photochemically trap maturation at a crucial stage and structurally characterise the intermediate.
Advances in epitope molecularly imprinted polymers for protein detection: a review
Authors: Wang Xindi , Chen Gang , Zhang Pan , Jia Qiong
Published: March 2021

Epitope molecularly imprinted polymers (EMIPs) are novel imprinted materials using short characteristic peptides as templates rather than entire proteins.
Fluorescent proteins of the EosFP clade: intriguing marker tools with multiple photoactivation modes for advanced microscopy
Authors: Nienhaus Karin , Nienhaus Gerd Ulrich
Published: March 2021

In this review, we discuss structural and photophysical properties of photoactivatable EosFP and its engineered descendants and present a variety of applications in conventional and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy.
Heterogeneous assembly of Ni–Co layered double hydroxide/sulfonated graphene nanosheet composites as battery-type materials for hybrid supercapacitors
Authors: Tian Hua , Zhu Kaixin , Jiang Yang , Wang Lin , Li Wang , Yu Zhifeng , Wu Cunqi
Published: March 2021

Hybrid composites with electrostatic dipoles were fabricated via a heterogeneous assembly strategy towards improving the electrochemical performance of hybrid supercapacitors.
Nickel catalysts in Sonogashira coupling reactions
Authors: Nair Pravya P. , Philip Rose Mary , Anilkumar Gopinathan
Published: March 2021

This review illustrates the current strategies and potential of Ni-catalysed Sonogashira coupling reactions in both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems.
Efficient synthesis of discrete oligo(fluorenediacetylene)s toward chain-length-dependent optical and structural properties
Authors: Shi Xianheng , Liu Min , Li Lishan , Zhang Jiandong , Li Haiyan , Huang Zhihao , Zhang Wei , Zhang Zhengbiao , Zhou Nianchen , Zhu Xiulin
Published: March 2021

A series of discrete oligo(fluorenediacetylene)s with a degree of polymerization up to 10 were obtained by automated flash column chromatography, which indicated the chain-length dependent photophysical properties and crystalline behavior.
Stimuli-responsive attachment for enabling the targeted release of carriers
Authors: Liu Changhui , Fang Yan , Zhang Xuan , Neupane Yub Raj , Jiang Zicheng , Pastorin Giorgia , Soh Siowling
Published: March 2021

A general class of “stimuli-responsive attachments” is introduced for effectively transforming a general type of non-responsive soft carrier into stimuli-responsive carrier.
Investigating size effects in graphene–BN hybrid monolayers: a combined density functional theory-molecular dynamics study
Authors: Oliveira I. S. , Lima J. S. , Freitas A. , Bezerra C. G. , Azevedo S. , Machado L. D.
Published: March 2021

We combine Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics to study graphene–BN monolayers ranging from 2 nm to 100 nm. We find that the mechanical properties are independent of scale when we increase graphene and the BN domain proportionately.
The homogeneous gas-phase formation mechanisms of PCPTs/PCDTs/PCDFs from the radical/radical cross-condensation of 2-CPR and 2-CTPR: a theoretical, mechanistic and kinetics study
Authors: Li Ying , Han Yanan , Teng Zhuochao , Zhao Xianwei , Sun Yanhui , Xu Fei , Zhang Qingzhu , Wang Wenxing
Published: March 2021

Homogeneous gas-phase formation mechanisms of PCPT/DT/DFs from the radical/radical cross-condensation of 2-CPR and 2-CTPR are proposed.
An asymmetric Salamo-based Zn complex supported on Fe3O4 MNPs: a novel heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the silyl protection and deprotection of alcohols under mild conditions
Authors: Yao Hongyan , Wang Yongsheng , Razi Maryam Kargar
Published: March 2021

The synthesis and characterization of a novel nanomagnetic Zn complex are shown. The obtained Zn complex applied in the silyl protection and deprotection of alcohols under green conditions.
Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of gas-phase UDMH under simulated sunlight by AgBr/TiO2/rGA
Authors: Ruomeng Hou , Ying Jia , Xiaomeng Lv , Yuanzheng Huang , Keke Shen
Published: March 2021

An AgBr/TiO2/rGA composite was prepared to degrade gas-phase UDMH under simulated sunlight by the synergistic effects of absorption and photocatalysis.
Hydrothermal synthesis of high surface area CuCrO2 for H2 production by methanol steam reforming
Authors: Huang Rong-Jun , Sakthinathan Subramanian , Chiu Te-Wei , Dong Chaofang
Published: March 2021

Hydrothermal synthesis of CuCrO2 nanopowder for H2 production by methanol steam reforming.
Stepwise nitrosylation of the nonheme iron site in an engineered azurin and a molecular basis for nitric oxide signaling mediated by nonheme iron proteins
Authors: Tian Shiliang , Fan Ruixi , Albert Therese , Khade Rahul L. , Dai Huiguang , Harnden Kevin A. , Hosseinzadeh Parisa , Liu Jing , Nilges Mark J. , Zhang Yong , Moënne-Loccoz Pierre , Guo Yisong , Lu Yi
Published: March 2021

Stepwise nitrosylation from Fe(ii) to {FeNO}7, {FeNO}8and then to {Fe(NO)2}9is reported for the first time in the same protein scaffold, providing deeper understanding of the detailed mechanism of dinitrosyl iron complex formation.
Hybrid gels via bulk interfacial complexation of supramolecular polymers and polyelectrolytes
Authors: Cotey Thomas J. , Sai Hiroaki , Perez Cynthia , Palmer Liam C. , Stupp Samuel I.
Published: March 2021

We report on the formation of bulk gels by mixing oppositely charged supramolecular and covalent polymers. Complexation at the interface of the solutions creates a diffusion barrier that can encapsulate proteins.
A Systematic Review of Augmented Input Interventions and Exploratory Analysis of Moderators
Authors: Chazin Kate T. , Ledford Jennifer R. , Pak Natalie S.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Augmented input is the act of concurrently modeling language verbally and on a communication device, and is one strategy for teaching individuals to effectively use aided modes of communication. The purpose of this literature review is to assess the efficacy of augmented input for increasing communication and to identify intervention components, participant characteristics, and instructional contexts related to therapeutic outcomes.

Method

We double screened all potential sources and double coded all included sources. Database, forward, and backward searches yielded 99 single case designs in 26 sources. We coded characteristics of participants, instructional contexts, independent variables, and dependent variables. We also coded quality/rigor and primary outcomes for each design or comparison.

Results

Across high-quality studies, two thirds of designs indicated that augmented input was effective compared to baseline conditions and alternative interventions, and exploratory analyses indicated that receptive language skills, age, and diagnoses may moderate intervention efficacy. Most augmented input interventions included additional components that may serve as “active ingredients” (e.g., systematic prompting, contextual reinforcement). Most studies also did not report participant characteristics hypothesized to moderate intervention efficacy (e.g., joint attention skills, imitation repertoire). Results also indicated high risk of publication bias, with peer-reviewed sources twice as likely to include positive effects than dissertations and theses.

Conclusions

Across high-quality studies, augmented input was inconsistently effective as a stand-alone intervention. Packaged interventions that included augmented input were typically more effective than augmented input in isolation, particularly for individuals who were young, had strong receptive language skills, or had no comorbid diagnoses.
Aging Effects on Categorical Perception of Mandarin Lexical Tones in Noise
Authors: Wang Yuxia , Yang Xiaohu , Ding Hongwei , Xu Can , Liu Chang
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the aging effects on the categorical perception (CP) of Mandarin lexical Tones 1–4 and Tones 1–2 in noise. It also investigated whether listeners' categorical tone perception in noise correlated with their general tone identification of 20 natural vowel-plus-tone signals in noise.

Method

Twelve younger and 12 older listeners with normal hearing were recruited in both tone identification and discrimination tasks in a CP paradigm where fundamental frequency contours of target stimuli varied systematically from the flat tone (Tone 1) to the rising/falling tones (Tones 2/4). Both tasks were conducted in quiet and noise with signal-to-noise ratios set at −5 and −10 dB, respectively, and general tone identification of natural speech signals was also tested in noise conditions.

Results

Compared with younger listeners, older listeners had shallower identification slopes and smaller discrimination peakedness in Tones 1–2/4 perception in all listening conditions, except for Tones 1–4 perception in quiet where no group differences were found. Meanwhile, noise affected Tones 1–2/4 perception: The signal-to-noise ratio condition at −10 dB brought shallower slope in Tones 1–2/4 identification and less peakedness in Tones 1–4 discrimination for both listener groups. Older listeners' CP in noise, the identification slopes in particular, positively correlated with their general tone identification in noise, but such correlations were partially missing for younger listeners.

Conclusions

Both aging and the presence of speech-shaped noise significantly reduced the CP of Mandarin Tones 1–2/4. Listeners' Mandarin tone recognition may be related to their CP of Mandarin tones.
Coaching Childcare Providers to Support Toddlers' Gesture Use With Children Experiencing Early Childhood Poverty
Authors: Romano Mollie , Eugenio Johanna , Kiratzis Edie
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of an intervention in which childcare providers (CCPs) are coached to support toddlers' gesture use during every day classroom routines.

Method

This study uses a multiple-baseline across strategies single-case experimental design to examine the impact of a coaching intervention on three CCPs' use of communication strategies with toddlers experiencing early childhood poverty. The CCPs were coached with a systematic framework called Setting the Stage, Observation and Opportunities to Embed, Problem-solving and Planning, Reflection and Review as they learned to implement three strategies to support toddlers' gesture use—
modeling gestures with a short phrase, opportunities to gesture,
and
responding/expanding child gestures
. CCPs were coached during book sharing and another classroom routine of their choice. Social validity data on the coaching approach and on the intervention strategies were gathered from postintervention interviews.

Results

The visual analysis and nonoverlap of all pairs' effect size indicates that the coaching intervention had a functional relation with CCPs' use of
modeling gestures
and
responding/expanding gestures
during book sharing, play, and circle time. Social validity data indicate that CCPs found the coaching framework supportive of their learning and feelings of self-efficacy, and that the intervention strategies supported their toddlers' communication.

Conclusions

The coaching framework was used to increase CCP strategy use during everyday classroom routines with toddlers. CCPs endorsed the coaching approach and the intervention strategies. This study adds to the literature supporting efforts to enhance children's earliest language learning environments.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14044055
Performance assessment of orthogonal space‐time block codes in Nakagami‐m/inverse Gaussian fading MIMO channels
Authors: Pradhan Bibhuti Bhusan , Roy Lakshi Prosad , Mahapatra Dheeren Ku
Published: March 2021

This paper evaluates the performance of multiple‐input multiple‐output systems with orthogonal space‐time block code transmit diversity technique experiencing over composite fading channels. Particularly, closed form expressions for ergodic capacity, average symbol error rate and outage probability are presented in high SNR regime. The ergodic capacity of multiple‐input multiple‐output systems with orthogonal space‐time block code is also measured in low signal‐to noise ratio regime. Other essential statistical properties such as variance and probability density function of capacity are also explored for comprehensive analysis. Compared to the exact expressions, the derived analytical formulations are found to be involved with considerably less mathematical exercise and provide additional insights into the implications of model parameters on system performance. The accuracy of distribution in approximating Nakagami‐lognormal over several realistic scenario are examined and simultaneously the efficiency of distribution is compared with that of Nakagami‐Gamma distribution. The obtained analytical expressions are corroborated using Monte‐Carlo simulations where it is observed that the approximated results remain notably tight in asymptotically high signal‐to noise ratio regime.
Hybrid optimization algorithm for security aware cluster head selection process to aid hierarchical routing in wireless sensor network
Authors: Reddy Dontham Laxma , Puttamadappa Chaluve Gowda , Suresh Hosahally Narayana Gowda
Published: March 2021

In wireless sensor networks, clustering is said to be the most noteworthy technique for increasing the lifetime of network that directly leads a better routing mechanism. This approach involves grouping of sensor nodes to clusters and choosing the appropriate cluster heads for each cluster. In fact, cluster heads gathers data from corresponding nodes in cluster and transmits those aggregated data to base station. However, the major issue in this is the selection of the appropriate cluster head. Till now, many research works have been carried out for solving this issue by considering different constraints. This paper introduces a new cluster‐based routing model by selecting the optimal cluster head. Moreover, a novel algorithm known as grey wolf updated whale optimization algorithm is introduced. Here, a new multi‐objective function is defined with respect to different constraints like distance, delay, security and energy, respectively. Finally, the performance of security aware clustering with grey wolf updated whale optimization algorithm is evaluated and validated over other conventional works with respect to alive node analysis, throughput and normalized network energy, respectively.
Stabilizing non‐linear model predictive control using linear parameter‐varying embeddings and tubes
Authors: Hanema Jurre , Tóth Roland , Lazar Mircea
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes a model predictive control (MPC) approach for non‐linear systems where the non‐linear dynamics are embedded inside a linear parameter‐varying (LPV) representation. The non‐linear MPC problem is therefore replaced by an LPV MPC problem, without using linearization. Compared to general non‐linear MPC, advantages of this approach are that it allows for the tractable construction of a terminal set and cost, and that only a single convex program must be solved online. The key idea that enables proving recursive feasibility and stability, is to restrict the state evolution of the non‐linear system to a time‐varying sequence of state constraint sets. Because in LPV embeddings, there exists a relationship between the scheduling and state variables, these state constraints are used to construct a corresponding future scheduling tube. Compared to non‐time‐varying state constraints, tighter bounds on the future scheduling trajectories are obtained. Computing a scheduling tube in this setting requires applying a non‐linear function to the sequence of constraint sets. Outer approximations of this non‐linear projection‐based scheduling tube can be found, e.g., via interval analysis. The computational properties of the approach are demonstrated on numerical examples.
Video captioning via a symmetric bidirectional decoder
Authors: Qi Shanshan , Yang Luxi
Published: March 2021

The dominant video captioning methods employ the attentional encoder–decoder architecture, where the decoder is an autoregressive structure that generates sentences from left‐to‐right. However, these methods generally suffer from the exposure bias issue and neglect the guidance of future output contexts obtained from the right‐to‐left decoding. Here, the authors propose a new symmetric bidirectional decoder for video captioning. The authors first integrate the self‐attentive multi‐head attention and bidirectional gated recurrent unit for capturing the long‐term semantic dependencies in videos. The authors then apply one single decoder to generate accurate descriptions from left‐to‐right and right‐to‐left simultaneously. The decoder in each decoding direction performs two cross‐attentive multi‐head attention modules to consider both the past hidden states from the same decoding direction and the future hidden states from the reverse decoding direction at each time step. A symmetric semantic‐guided gated attention module is specially devised to adaptively suppress the irrelevant or misleading contents in the past or future output contexts and retain the useful ones for avoiding under‐description. Experimental evaluations on two widely applied benchmark datasets: Microsoft research video to text and Microsoft video description corpus, demonstrate that the authors' proposed method obtains substantially state‐of‐the‐art performance, which validates the superiority of the bidirectional decoder.