bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Validity and reliability of the DiCI for the measurement of shoulder flexion and abduction strength in asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects
Authors: González-Rosalén Javier , Cuerda-Del Pino Alba , Sánchez-Barbadora Mariana , Martín-San Agustín Rodrigo
Published: June 2021

Background

A higher risk of shoulder injury in the athletic and non-athletic population is frequently associated with strength deficits. Therefore, shoulder strength assessment can be clinically useful to identify and to quantify the magnitude of strength deficit. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a DiCI (a new hand-held dynamometer) for the measurement of shoulder flexion and abduction strength in asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects.

Methods

Forty-three recreational athletes (29 males and 14 females; age: 22.1 ± 0.47 years; body mass: 68.7 ± 13.1 kg; height = 173.3 ± 9.7 cm) and 40 symptomatic subjects (28 males and 12 females; age: 49.9 ± 8.1 years; body mass: 70.6 ± 14.3 kg; height = 171.7 ± 9.0 cm) completed shoulder flexion and abduction strength tests in two identical sessions one-week apart. Both types of movement were evaluated at 45º and 90º.

Results

Relative reliability analysis showed excellent intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for all evaluated movements (ICC range = 0.90 to 0.99). Absolute reliability analysis showed a standard error of measurement (SEM) ranging from 1.36% to 2.25%, and minimal detectable change (MDC) ranging from 3.93% to 6.25%. In conclusion, the DiCI is a valid and reliable device for assessing shoulder strength both in recreational athletes and in subjects with restricted mobility and loss of strength.
Iatrogenic Left Main Coronary Artery Dissection Treated with Bare Metal Stents: A Case with Twelve Years Angiographic Follow-up
Authors: Ray Shuvanan , Jain Sunil , Mitra Sabyasachi
Published: June 2021

Complications during the course of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) are common. One of the complications is iatrogenic Left Main Coronary Artery (LMCA) dissection, which is considered as lethal in nature and prevails in around 0.07% PCI cases. Timely diagnosis and immediate revascularisation is mandatory to manage LMCA dissection in order to avoid worsening of patient’s haemodynamic condition and to re-establish antegrade coronary blood flow. Here, the author report a case of catheter-induced iatrogenic LMCA dissection developed during stenting of a lesion in Left Anterior Descending (LAD) coronary artery of a 32-year-old male patient. The patient was managed by implantation of two Matrix (Sahajanand Medical Technologies, Pvt., Ltd., Surat, India) Bare Metal Stents (BMS) using double barrel technique to treat the dissection in left main coronary bifurcation. The patient was regularly followed-up and even after 12 years of the index procedure, the angiographic data revealed good patency of stents in LMCA without any major cardiac events.
Endobronchial Hamartoma with Postobstructive Pneumonia- A Case of Successful Treatment with Endobronchial Interventions
Authors: Augustine Jolsana , Venkitakrishnan Rajesh , Pattabhiraman VR , Srinivasan Arjun
Published: June 2021

Airway hamartomas are of mesenchymal tissue origin and have predominance of adipose tissue. Hamartoma refers to a tumour-like structure within an organ composed of an abnormal arrangement of tissue components normally found in that organ. The pulmonary parenchyma and airways are commonly described sites for this lesion, although endobronchial location is far less common than its parenchymal counterpart. When present within a major airway, the usual symptoms of an airway lesion like cough, wheezing, stridor, haemoptysis and postobstructive consolidation ensue. We describe the case of a 60-year-old gentleman who presented with cough of 9 months duration. On evaluation he was found to have an endobronchial lesion in the right main bronchus. The histopathology revealed features of endobronchial hamartoma which was then subjected to endobronchial intervention with electrocautery and cryoablation achieving complete removal and restoration of luminal patency. This case underscores the ability of endobronchial treatment modalities to successfully treat benign airway lesions like hamartoma when undertaken in experienced centres.
Reversal of Pulmonary Hypertension in a Patient with Chronic Mountain Sickness after Relocation to Low Altitude
Authors: Maripov Abdirashit , Uulu Kubatbek Muratali , Satybaldyev Samatbek , Kushubakova Nadira , Sarybaev Akpay
Published: June 2021

Long-term high altitude residence can be complicated by development of Chronic Mountain Sickness (CMS) characterised by excessive erythrocytosis and neurological symptoms. In some patients, CMS may be associated with various degrees of Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). There have been no reports on changes in the pulmonary circulation and Right Ventricular (RV) structure following translocation to low altitude of patients with CMS. Here the authors report a case of 56 years old female patient, resident of Sary Mogol (3,000 m, Kyrgyzstan), diagnosed of CMS on clinical and laboratory examination. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed slightly dilated Right ventricle and significantly enlarged Pulmonary Artery diameter was found. The patient undergone complete resolution of symptoms and alleviation of PH within three years of residence at low altitude. Thus, relocation to low altitude cures CMS and reverses PH.
COVID-19 Reinfection: A Case Series
Authors: Jaggi Surabhi , Saini Varinder , Aggarwal Deepak
Published: June 2021

Coronovirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifests with a varied spectrum of symptoms ranging from asymptomatic disease to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and death. Contrary to the expectation of the herd immunity in controlling the pandemic, reinfection with COVID-19 poses a new threat in the control of the pandemic. Authors hereby have described three cases who developed COVID-19 infection for the second time after complete recovery from the first infection. All three patients were less than 50 years of age with no co-morbidities. First case developed the second infection three weeks after having recovered from the first infection whereas second and third case developed repeat infection after two and four months of recovery respectively. The severity of the repeat infection along with the duration between the two infections has been discussed in this article.
Machine learning Algorithm of Intrusion Detection System
Authors: Abdullah Rozin Majeed , Abdulazeez Adnan Mohsin , Al-Zebari Adel
Published: June 2021

Web of thing (WoT) is a gifted answer for interface and access each gadget through the web. Consistently the gadget includes increments with huge variety fit as a fiddle, size, use and intricacy. In this paper Since WoT drives the world and changes individuals' lives with its wide scope of administrations and applications. In any case, WoT offers various types of assistance through applications, it faces serious security issues and powerless against assaults, for example, sinkhole assault, overhang dropping, forswearing of administration assaults. So on, the Interruption recognition framework is utilized to recognize such assaults when the organization's security is penetrated. Given a scale extension of Web of Things for a practical asset the executives in brilliant urban communities, a legitimate plan of an interruption recognition framework IDS is basic to protect the future organization framework from interlopers. With the development of associated things, the most broadly utilized brought together cloud-based IDS regularly suers from high inertness and organization overhead, subsequently coming about in lethargy to assaults and moderate recognition of pernicious clients.
Predicting Weather Forecasting State Based on Data Mining Classification Algorithms
Authors: Kareem Fairoz Q. , Abdulazeez Adnan Mohsin , Hasan Dathar A.
Published: June 2021

Weather forecasting is the process of predicting the status of the atmosphere for certain regions or locations by utilizing recent technology. Thousands of years ago, humans tried to foretell the weather state in some civilizations by studying the science of stars and astronomy. Realizing the weather conditions has a direct impact on many fields, such as commercial, agricultural, airlines, etc. With the recent development in technology, especially in the DM and machine learning techniques, many researchers proposed weather forecasting prediction systems based on data mining classification techniques. In this paper, we utilized neural networks, Naïve Bayes, random forest, and K-nearest neighbor algorithms to build weather forecasting prediction models. These models classify the unseen data instances to multiple class rain, fog, partly-cloudy day, clear-day and cloudy. These model performance for each algorithm has been trained and tested using synoptic data from the Kaggle website. This dataset contains (1796) instances and (8) attributes in our possession. Comparing with other algorithms, the Random forest algorithm achieved the best performance accuracy of 89%. These results indicate the ability of data mining classification algorithms to present optimal tools to predict weather forecasting.
Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Youths in Nigeria: The Counselors Intervention Strategy
Authors: Ubi Godwin Michael , Effiom Bassey Ekeng , Esuabana Stella
Published: June 2021

In late December, 2019, patients diagnosed with viral pneumonia due to an unidentified microbial agent were reported in Wuhan, China. A novel coronavirus was subsequently identified as the causative pathogen, provisionally named 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). As at November 10, 2020, confirmed cases had reached an alarming 50,994,215 with a global death toll of 1,264,077    from 2019-nCoV infections, most of which involved people living in or visiting countries with high rate of prevalence and thus increasing the human-to-human transmission. A random sampling of 150 inmates in a Psychiatric clinic revealed that the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria left many youths stressed up, depressed, traumatized with excited state of anxiety leading to mental health challenges and some of which  resort to committing suicide.The post COVID 19 era plunged many youths into joblessness. Many youths who were into artisans and gainfully employed with private outfits and organizations such as private schools lost their jobs (20.67%) due to the COVID 19 disease outbreak which shut down schools, businesses and government. The state of joblessness of the youths in the current post COVID 19 era has further affected the mental health of some of the youths in Nigeria. Absence of government palliatives (4.00%), ASUU Strike (3.33%), High level of poverty, isolation, Sicknesses (13.33%), High level of Despondency, Loss of accommodation (16.67%), Inflation (increased prices of food and other items), Increased transportation cost, Persistent lockdown, Social unrest, High level of insecurity (17.33%), Security personnel brutality and Increase crime rates. The counselor’s intervention strategy should focus on helping the youths with poor mental health due to COVID 19 to regain self- confidence, regain self –esteem, seek medical attention for them, canvass for free medication for affected ones, create awareness on job opportunity for them, engage governments on behalf of the youths for employment opportunities as well as giving them palliatives, reopening of schools/universities and linking them to credit facilities, social safety nets and other available opportunities.
Livelihood Patterns and Socio-economic Conditions of the Fishermen of Kharingcha Baor at Chaugachha Upazilla in Jashore District, Bangladesh
Authors: Uddin Md. Raihan , Rahman M. Aminur , Choudhury Moumita , Farid Md. Almamun , Biswas Anusree , Rahman M. Anisur
Published: June 2021

A field study was carried out to investigate the livelihood patterns the socio-economic conditions of the small-scale traditional fishermen of Kharingcha baor at Chaugachha upazilla in Jashore, Bangladesh. The survey was conducted on 100 peoples from 70 families of the fishermen in the study area. It was found from the study that 94% fishermen were comprising of males, while 6% were of females. Among them, the majority was Hindus (88%) and the minority was Muslims (12%). During the suvey, the proportion of semi paka houses were documented to be 88%, while kancha were 12%, and all the families had electricity facilities. It was found that 20% of fishermen had no education, 6% had passed SSC-HSC examinations, 14% had passed 6-10 classes and 24% had passed 1-5 classes. It revealed that 84% of fishermen were married and 16% were unmarried. Throughout the study, 33% of the fishermen were found to be dependent on village doctors, 40% on upazilla hospital and 27% on MBBS doctors. Several types of local boats and dingi nouka as well as nets such as tana jal (surrounding net), set bagnet, khapla jal (cast net), thela jal (push net) etc. were used for the harvesting of different fish species (Labeo rohita, Catla catla, Cyprinus carpio, Cirrhinus mrigala, Heteropneustes fossilis, Channa striatus, C. punctatus etc.). Averagely, 35-80 kg fish per day was caught by a group of fishermen using a boat. The majority of the fishers sold their harvested fishes upon the fulfillment of their demands. The monthly mean income of fishermen was around BDT. 5,000-15,000 in the baor area. Among the fishermen, 56% of them were observed to lend money from money lenders and 44% from the NGOs for their fishing-related activities and livelihoods. It revealed from the present findings that the traditional fishermen of Kharingcha baor require more technical, organizational and institutional helps for the improvement of their socioeconomic condition and sustainable livelihood.
Digital Terrain Characterization of Nilona Micro Watershed of Darwha Block of Maharastra
Authors: Rakesh R. , Souza Ashay D , Chattaraj Sudipta
Published: June 2021

Watershed characterization is the first step in the sustainable management of    watershed resources. Morphometric analysis of a watershed using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provides a quantitative description of the drainage system which is an important aspect   of the characterization of watersheds. The study was conducted in Nilona micro-watershed covering an area of 1297.35 ha in Darwha tehsil of Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. The terrain attributes and drainage configuration were derived from the Cartosat-1 data, 10m resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) using ArcGIS. Surface soil samples of 118 locations were collected from grid points located at regular interval of 325 m. The digital terrain analysis  showed that slope varies from 0 to 45.9 percent, with a mean value of 4.5%. Most of the area of Nilona micro-watershed was classified as gentle sloping. Profile curvature   varies from -5.1 to 4.6 m m-1, respectively indicating the coexistence of erosive as well  as depositional landforms. Overall, the study documents the utility of   site-specific modeling and geo-statistical interpolation based predictive mapping for watershed planning.
Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Evaluation of Conventional Antibiotics, Garlic and Ginger on Isolates from Fish Pond Water Samples in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Authors: Umeh O. R. , Chukwura E. I. , Okoye E. L. , Ibo E. M. , Egwuatu P. I. , Uba B. O.
Published: June 2021

Medicinal plants are used by almost 80% of the world’s population for their basic health care because of their low cost and ease in availability. In the last few decades, many bacteria have continued to show increasing resistance against current antibiotics.

Aim: In this study, phytochemical screening and antibacterial effects of conventional antibiotics, garlic and ginger on test isolates from fish pond water samples were evaluated between May-November, 2019.

Methods: Standard methods for phytochemical screening and antibacterial analysis were employed.

Results: The results showed that amongst the antibiotics used for susceptibility test, Amoxicilin (30 µg) was mostly resisted by all the bacterial isolates except Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella typhi while erythromycin (10 µg) was unable to inhibit Bacillus subtilis. Ciprofloxacin (10 µg) and pefloxacin (10 µg) inhibited the growth of all the isolates except Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The test isolates showed variable susceptibility to the garlic and ginger extracts (ethanol, methanol and hot water). The extracts inhibited the isolates in descending order; ginger ethanol > ginger methanol > garlic methanol > ginger hot water > garlic ethanol > garlic hot water. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Staphylococcus aureus showed little resistant to the extracts while these extracts showed better activity on Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis. Synergistic effect of garlic and ginger (500mg/ml) inhibited the growth of all the isolates with ethanol extracts having the highest zone diameter (29 mm) on Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis while hot water extracts had the least zone of inhibition (18 mm) on Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentration for ethanol, methanol and hot water extracts ranged from 31.25mg/ml to 62.5mg/ml and 62.5mg/ml to 125mg/ml respectively.

Conclusion: The outcomes of susceptibility experiment depicted that ethanol and methanol extracts of garlic and ginger (each alone and in combination) showed more inhibitory effect than aqueous extracts and also the combination of ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts resulted in inhibitory effect greater than each of the extracts when used singly. The use of ginger and garlic for control of fish pathogens appears to be justified.
Factors influencing the acute pentylenetetrazole‐induced seizure paradigm and a literature review
Authors: Yuskaitis Christopher J. , Rossitto Leigh‐Ana , Groff Karenna J. , Dhamne Sameer C. , Zhang Bo , Lalani Lahin K. , Singh Achint K. , Rotenberg Alexander , Sahin Mustafa
Published: June 2021

Objective

To confirm the critical factors affecting seizure susceptibility in acute pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) mouse epilepsy models and evaluate the prior literature for these factors.

Methods

Serial cohorts of wild‐type mice administered intraperitoneal (IP)‐PTZ were aggregated and analyzed by multivariate logistic regression for the effect of sex, age, background strain, dose, and physiologic stress (i.e., EEG implantation and/or single‐housing) on seizure response. We assessed the reporting of these factors in a comprehensive literature review over the last 10 years (2010–2020).

Results

We conducted aggregated analysis of pooled data of 307 mice (220 C57BL/6J mice and 87 mixed background mice; 202 males, 105 females) with median age of 10 weeks (range: 6–49 weeks) with acute PTZ injection (dose range 40–65 mg/kg). Significance in multivariate analysis was found between seizures and increased PTZ dose (odds ratio (OR) 1.149, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.102–1.205), older age (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.041–1.170), physiologic stress (OR 17.36, 95% CI 7.349–44.48), and mixed background strain (OR 0.4725, 95% CI 0.2315–0.9345). Literature review identified 97 papers using acute PTZ‐seizure models. Age, housing, sex, and background were omitted by 61% (59/97), 51% (49/97), 18% (17/97), and 8% (8/97) papers, respectively. Only 17% of publications specified all four factors (16/97).

Interpretation

Our analysis and literature review demonstrate a critical gap in standardization of acute PTZ‐induced seizure paradigm in mice. We recommend that future studies specify and control for age, background strain, sex, and housing conditions of experimental animals.
Finite‐time adaptive control for nonlinear systems with uncertain parameters based on the command filters
Authors: Ding Jiling , Zhang Weihai
Published: June 2021

The trajectory tracking control problem for a class of nonlinear systems with uncertain parameters is considered in this article. A new adaptive finite‐time tracking control is designed based on the adaptive backstepping method via the command filters. The command filter mechanism can avoid the calculation of partial derivatives and solve the “explosion of complexity” in the backstepping design. The compensation signals are introduced to eliminate errors produced by the command filters. The proposed adaptive backstepping control can guarantee the tracking error remains in a small neighborhood of the origin in finite time, while the practical finite‐time stability of the control systems with uncertain parameters is proven by the stability criterion. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified by some simulation results.
Emerging 2D Memory Devices for In‐Memory Computing
Authors: Yin Lei , Cheng Ruiqing , Wen Yao , Liu Chuansheng , He Jun
Published: June 2021

It is predicted that the conventional von Neumann computing architecture cannot meet the demands of future data‐intensive computing applications due to the bottleneck between the processing and memory units. To try to solve this problem, in‐memory computing technology, where calculations are carried out in situ within each nonvolatile memory unit, has been intensively studied. Among various candidate materials, 2D layered materials have recently demonstrated many new features that have been uniquely exploited to build next‐generation electronics. Here, the recent progress of 2D memory devices is reviewed for in‐memory computing. For each memory configuration, their operation mechanisms and memory characteristics are described, and their pros and cons are weighed. Subsequently, their versatile applications for in‐memory computing technology, including logic operations, electronic synapses, and random number generation are presented. Finally, the current challenges and potential strategies for future 2D in‐memory computing systems are also discussed at the material, device, circuit, and architecture levels. It is hoped that this manuscript could give a comprehensive review of 2D memory devices and their applications in in‐memory computing, and be helpful for this exciting research area.
In Situ TEM Imaging of Solution‐Phase Chemical Reactions Using 2D‐Heterostructure Mixing Cells
Authors: Kelly Daniel J. , Clark Nick , Zhou Mingwei , Gebauer Denis , Gorbachev Roman V. , Haigh Sarah J.
Published: June 2021

Liquid‐phase transmission electron microscopy is used to study a wide range of chemical processes, where its unique combination of spatial and temporal resolution provides countless insights into nanoscale reaction dynamics. However, achieving sub‐nanometer resolution has proved difficult due to limitations in the current liquid cell designs. Here, a novel experimental platform for in situ mixing using a specially developed 2D heterostructure‐based liquid cell is presented. The technique facilitates in situ atomic resolution imaging and elemental analysis, with mixing achieved within the immediate viewing area via controllable nanofracture of an atomically thin separation membrane. This novel technique is used to investigate the time evolution of calcium carbonate synthesis, from the earliest stages of nanodroplet precursors to crystalline calcite in a single experiment. The observations provide the first direct visual confirmation of the recently developed liquid‐liquid phase separation theory, while the technological advancements open an avenue for many other studies of early stage solution‐phase reactions of great interest for both the exploration of fundamental science and developing applications.
Dual‐Wavelength Responsive Broad Range Multicolor Upconversion Luminescence for High‐Capacity Photonic Barcodes
Authors: Ying Weitao , Nie Jingheng , Fan Xuemei , Xu Shiqing , Gu Jianmin , Liu Shimin
Published: June 2021

Realizing multicolor emissions of upconversion (UC) luminescence materials is of significant importance for information security and anticounterfeiting fields. Herein, a strategy is reported to achieve UC multicolor luminescence through manipulating the electronic transition process under dual‐wavelength excitation. The novel color can be produced via exploiting the synergistic effect of photons under dual‐wavelength excitation to control electron distribution, and can be further modulated by finely adjusting the excitation power. Furthermore, the range of color‐tunable emissions is expanded by adjusting Yb3+ ions concentrations due to the energy back transfer (EBT) process. Inspired by this, the materials with broad‐range UC multicolor emissions can be used to design high‐capacity photonic barcodes for anticounterfeiting applications, which provides a significant step for advanced anticounterfeiting of high level security.
Micromechanical Fabrication of Resonator Waveguides Integrated Four‐Port Photonic Circuit from Flexible Organic Single Crystals
Authors: Ravi Jada , Chandrasekar Rajadurai
Published: June 2021

By using a mechanophotonics approach, three flexible organic microcrystals of (E)‐1‐(4‐(dimethylamino)‐phenyl)iminomethyl‐2‐hydroxyl‐naphthalene (DPIN) are micromanipulated, and dual‐waveguides coupled ring resonator is fabricated. The flexibility of the DPIN crystal arises owing to its spring‐like expansion and contraction of π∙∙∙π stacked molecular chains along the (002) plane. The crystals also act as optical waveguides in straight and bent geometries with very low optical loss coefficients. The fluorescence (FL) spectra of the guided light also display Fabry‐Pérot modes. Precise mechanical manipulation of microcrystals with atomic force microscopy cantilever tip bent a straight crystal waveguide to 360° angle forming a ring‐shaped crystal resonator (diameter ≈58.6 µm). The positioning and integration of two straight parallelly oriented waveguiding crystals (bus and drop) along the opposite edge of the ring resonator forms the first of its kind all‐organic crystal‐based dual‐waveguides coupled ring resonator. The fabricated circuit with four ports selectively guides the produced input FL to through and drop ports via active, passive waveguiding and FL reabsorbance mechanisms.
Visible‐Light‐Mediated Aerobic Oxidative C(sp3)−C(sp3) Bond Cleavage of Morpholine Derivatives Using 4CzIPN as a Photocatalyst
Authors: Dong Chun‐Lin , Huang Lan‐Qian , Guan Zhi , Huang Chu‐Sheng , He Yan‐Hong
Published: June 2021

Herein, a metal‐free strategy for the aerobic oxidative cleavage of the inert C(sp3)−C(sp3) bond was developed. Deconstruction of morpholine derivatives was conducted using visible light as an energy source and O2 as an oxidant under mild conditions. This procedure demonstrated suitable selectivity and functional group tolerance. Moreover, a possible mechanism involving a radical process was proposed based on a series of mechanism exploration and control experiments.

magnified image
Perovskite Solar Cells with Front Surface Gradient
Authors: Guo Mingxuan , Bo Jun , Chen Xingtong , Wan Peng , Chen Mengyu , Li Qinyi , Luo Chengzhao , Chen Yu , Chen Song
Published: June 2021

The recombination flux in a solar cell is determined by not only recombination centers, but also the spatial distribution of minority carriers. For halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), although there has been a tremendous amount of work focusing on defect passivation, the issue of carrier distribution is not as well studied as for other types of solar cells. Here in this work, with the incorporation of perovskite quantum dots, the concept of the front surface gradient in PSCs using a solution process is successfully realized. Evidenced by multiple characterization techniques, the minority carriers are pushed away from the defect‐rich surface by the gradient of valence band maximum, which effectively reduces surface recombination without compromising photocurrent. As a result, the normal structured hybrid PSCs and MAPbI3 cells exhibit open‐circuit voltages exceeding 93% and 90% of their respective Shockley–Queisser limits, and the power conversion efficiencies reach 22.36% and 20.53%, respectively.
Low Temperature Processed Fully Printed Efficient Planar Structure Carbon Electrode Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules
Authors: Yang Fu , Dong Lirong , Jang Dongju , Saparov Begench , Tam Kai Cheong , Zhang Kaicheng , Li Ning , Brabec Christoph J. , Egelhaaf Hans‐Joachim
Published: June 2021

Scalable deposition processes at low temperature are urgently needed for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as they can decrease the energy payback time of PSCs technology. In this work, a processing protocol is presented for highly efficient and stable planar n–i–p structure PSCs with carbon as the top electrode (carbon‐PSCs) fully printed at fairly low temperature by using cheap materials under ambient conditions, thus meeting the requirements for scalable production on an industrial level. High‐quality perovskite layers are achieved by using a combinatorial engineering concept, including solvent engineering, additive engineering, and processing engineering. The optimized carbon‐PSCs with all layers including electron transport layer, perovskite, hole transport layer, and carbon electrode which are printed under ambient conditions show efficiencies exceeding 18% with enhanced stability, retaining 100% of their initial efficiency after 5000 h in a humid atmosphere. Finally, large‐area perovskite modules are successfully obtained and outstanding performance is shown with an efficiency of 15.3% by optimizing the femtosecond laser parameters for the P2 line patterning. These results represent important progress toward fully printed planar carbon electrode perovskite devices as a promising approach for the scaling up and worldwide application of PSCs.
Analysis of changes in topdressing application effect on rice by NDVI using hierarchical Bayesian model
Authors: Tanno Kazuyuki
Published: June 2021

Although many studies have investigated the relationship between rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), few have used it as a practical indicator to determine whether topdressing application is necessary. Therefore, in this study, to verify the usefulness of NDVI as a fertilizer application indicator, changes of topdressing effect on rice depending on the NDVI immediately before application were analyzed using hierarchical Bayesian model. When NDVI was low, topdressing application 45–50 d after transplantation greatly improved yield and quality. However, when NDVI was high, the effect of topdressing was scarce. Since the timing of topdressing application in this study is highly effective in increasing leaf area and number of panicles, which was a positive effect when NDVI was low and both sink and source capacity were insufficient, but when NDVI was high, topdressing application would exceed the optimum leaf area index and could not improve source capacity, so there would be little benefit from topdressing application. Sales of rice was simulated using the posterior distribution of parameters and it was considered worthwhile to apply topdressing when NDVI was <0.75. In addition, weather effects were extracted using the posterior distribution of random effects. As a result, the random effects reflected the effects of weather fairly accurately, suggesting that the effects of other factors could be eliminated. In this study, NDVI was found to be useful as an indicator to determine whether topdressing application is needed. In addition, these analytical methods are useful for getting more information from less data.
Utility of a shortened Hasegawa Dementia Scale Revised questionnaire to rapidly screen and diagnose Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Gong Qian , Ishii Masaki , Numata Ouka , Xie Wenke , Hirata Takeo
Published: June 2021

Aims

The aim of this study was to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of a shortened Hasegawa Dementia Scale Revised (shortened HDS‐R) questionnaire and explore its utility for the rapid screening and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Methods

We included 113 patients over the age of 60 years who visited our hospital from June 2018 to January 2021 including 70 subjects with AD and 43 healthy subjects. AD was diagnosed in accordance with the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, and the standard HDS‐R questionnaire was used as a neuropsychological examination. The shortened HDS‐R questionnaire was composed of the first seven subdomains (1 to 7) of the HDS‐R questionnaire and excluded subdomains 8 and 9. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to calculate the degree of atrophy of the whole brain, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus.

Results

The cumulative contribution ratio of subdomains 1 to 7 of the HDS‐R questionnaire was as high as 94%, indicating that the construct validity of the shortened HDS‐R was very good. The correlation coefficient of the total scores of the shortened HDS‐R and the HDS‐R was 0.96, indicating that the criterion‐related validity was also very good. Furthermore, the shortened HDS‐R was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of atrophy in the whole brain, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus, indicating that its concurrent validity was very good in relation to imaging parameters. Cronbach’s α coefficient of the shortened HDS‐R was 0.76, and the correlation coefficient of the item‐total correlation analysis was between 0.68 and 0.76, indicating that this questionnaire has high internal consistency and reliability. The total shortened HDS‐R score of the normal group (17.0 ± 1.9) was significantly higher than that of the AD group (8.6 ± 3.8), demonstrating that the total shortened HDS‐R score can be used to identify healthy individuals and patients with AD. When the cutoff score was 14 of 15, the sensitivity was 92.9% and the specificity was 88.4%. The diagnostic ability of the shortened HDS‐R was 91.2%, which indicates that it is similar to the full HDS‐R questionnaire as an AD screening tool.

Conclusion

As a neuropsychological examination questionnaire for the screening and diagnosis of AD, the shortened HDS‐R had very high validity and reliability. Its sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic ability were similar to those of the gold standard HDS‐R; therefore, it can be considered a concise and useful questionnaire for AD screening and diagnosis in the older population.
Reconstruction of large‐scale flow structures in a stirred tank from limited sensor data
Authors: Mikhaylov Kirill , Rigopoulos Stelios , Papadakis George
Published: June 2021

We combine reduced order modeling and system identification to reconstruct the temporal evolution of large‐scale vortical structures behind the blades of a Rushton impeller. We performed direct numerical simulations at Reynolds number 600 and employed proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to extract the dominant modes and their temporal coefficients. We then applied the identification algorithm, N4SID, to construct an estimator that captures the relation between the velocity signals at sensor points (input) and the POD coefficients (output). We show that the first pair of modes can be very well reconstructed using the velocity time signal from even a single sensor point. A larger number of points improves accuracy and robustness and also leads to better reconstruction for the second pair of POD modes. Application of the estimator derived at Re = 600 to the flows at Re = 500 and 700 shows that it is robust with respect to changes in operating conditions.
Cognitive Functions in Adult‐Onset Phenotypes of X‐Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy
Authors: Schäfer Lisa , Roicke Hannes , Fischer Martin , Sühnel Annett , Köhler Wolfgang
Published: June 2021

Objective

X‐linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X‐ALD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by progressive demyelination ranging from mild myelopathic forms (adrenomyeloneuropathy [AMN]) to severe cerebral variants (adult cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy [ACALD]). The aim of this study was to compare cognitive function in adult‐onset X‐ALD phenotypes.

Methods

Cognitive function in various domains (intelligence, attention, memory, executive function, and processing speed) was assessed in 172 adults (117 with AMN, 30 with arrested ACALD, and 25 with acute ACALD) using comprehensive neuropsychological batteries. Phenotype differences were examined by analyses of variance.

Results

X‐ALD phenotypes significantly differed in nonverbal intelligence, sustained attention, verbal encoding, nonverbal recognition, and processing speed (ps < 0.050). No group differences emerged regarding verbal intelligence, verbal retrieval and recognition, and executive function (ps > 0.050). Specifically, patients with acute ACALD showed severe cognitive deficits compared to AMN and normal data, with largest effects on processing speed. Contrary, cognition was overall intact in patients with AMN, independent of sex and corticospinal tract involvement, and those with arrested ACALD showed mild cognitive dysfunction, particularly in verbal encoding and processing speed.

Interpretation

Cerebral demyelination in patients with X‐ALD causes white matter dementia, mainly characterized by an extreme slowdown in processing speed associated with deficits in attention and learning. Most patients with AMN show intact cognitive function. Future prospective, longitudinal studies with more sensitive imaging techniques are required to clarify whether early mild cognitive dysfunction found in some patients with AMN may be associated with subtle myelin abnormalities that do not yet appear as white matter lesions on cerebral MRI (cMRI) but have the potential to serve as early predictors of later cerebral progression. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:266–273
A Light‐Controllable Chemical Modulation of m6A RNA Methylation
Authors: Lan Ling , Sun Ying‐Jie , Jin Xiao‐Yang , Xie Li‐Jun , Liu Li , Cheng Liang
Published: June 2021

Bioactive small molecules with photo‐removable protecting groups have provided spatial and temporal control of corresponding biological effects. We present the design, synthesis, computational and experimental evaluation of the first photo‐activatable small‐molecule methyltransferase agonist. By blocking the functional N‐H group on MPCH with a photo‐removable ortho‐nitrobenzyl moiety, we have developed a promising photo‐caged compound that had completely concealed its biological activity. Short UV light exposure of cells treated with that caged molecule in a few minutes resulted in a considerable hypermethylation of m6A modification in transcriptome RNAs, implicating a rapid release of the parent active compound. This study validates for the first time the photo‐activatable small organic molecular concept in the field of RNA epigenetic research, which represents a novel tool in spatiotemporal and cellular modulation approaches.
On the Biology of Werner's Complex
Authors: de Paiva Raphael E. F. , Peterson Erica J. , Malina Jaroslav , Zoepfl Mary , Hampton J. David , Johnson Wyatt E. , Graminha Angelica , Ourahmane Amine , McVoy Michael A. , Brabec Viktor , Berners‐Price Susan J. , Farrell Nicholas P.
Published: June 2021

Werner's Complex, as a cationic coordination complex (CCC), has hitherto unappreciated biological properties derived from its binding affinity to highly anionic biomolecules such as glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and nucleic acids. Competitive inhibitor and spectroscopic assays confirm the high affinity to GAGs heparin, heparan sulfate (HS), and its pentasaccharide mimetic Fondaparinux (FPX). Functional consequences of this affinity include inhibition of FPX cleavage by bacterial heparinase and mammalian heparanase enzymes with inhibition of cellular invasion and migration. Werner's Complex is a very efficient condensing agent for DNA and tRNA. In proof‐of‐principle for translational implications, it is demonstrated to display antiviral activity against human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) at micromolar concentrations with promising selectivity. Exploitation of non‐covalent hydrogen‐bonding and electrostatic interactions has motivated the unprecedented discovery of these properties, opening new avenues of research for this iconic compound.
Enhanced Band Convergence and Ultra‐Low Thermal Conductivity Lead to High Thermoelectric Performance in SnTe
Authors: Pathak Riddhimoy , Sarkar Debattam , Biswas Kanishka
Published: June 2021

SnTe, a structural analogue of champion thermoelectric (TE) material PbTe, has recently attracted wide attention for TE energy conversion. Herein, we demonstrate a co‐doping strategy to improve the TE performance of SnTe via simultaneous modulation of electronic structure and phonon transport. The electrical transport is optimized by 3 mol % Ag doping in self‐compensated SnTe (i.e., Sn1.03Te). Further, Mg doping in SnAg0.03Te resulted in highly converged valence bands, which enhanced the Seebeck coefficient markedly. The energy gap between two uppermost valence bands (ΔEv) decreases to 0.10 eV in Sn0.92Ag0.03Mg0.08Te compared to 0.35 eV in pristine SnTe. The optimized p‐type carrier concentration and highly converged valence bands gave a high power factor of ca. 27 μW cm−1 K−2 at 865 K in Sn0.92Ag0.03Mg0.08Te. The lattice thermal conductivity of Sn0.92Ag0.03Mg0.08Te reached to an ultra‐low value of ≈0.23 W m−1 K−1 at 865 K due to the formation of MgTe nanoprecipitates in SnTe matrix. These combined effects resulted in a high TE figure of merit, zT≈1.55 at 865 K in Sn0.92Ag0.03Mg0.08Te.
Aminocatalytic [8+2] Cycloaddition Reactions toward Chiral Cyclazines
Authors: Jessen Nicolaj Inunnguaq , Bura Maksimilian , Bertuzzi Giulio , Jørgensen Karl Anker
Published: June 2021

An efficient and exceptionally stereoselective synthesis of chiral cycl[3.2.2]azines has been realized by means of the rational design and utilization of novel (E)‐3‐benzylidene‐3H‐pyrrolizines in iminium‐ion‐catalyzed [8+2] cycloaddition reactions. The presented protocol allows for the incorporation of diverse enals, including cinnamaldehydes, enolizable aldehydes, and substrates of extended conjugation. The obtained products contain both an electron‐rich alkenyl pyrrole moiety and an electron‐deficient carbaldehyde substituent, and both moieties can undergo selective transformations with retention of the stereochemical information established in the [8+2] cycloaddition.
Intracellular Protein–Drug Interactions Probed by Direct Mass Spectrometry of Cell Lysates
Authors: Rogawski Rivkah , Rogel Adi , Bloch Itai , Gal Maayan , Horovitz Amnon , London Nir , Sharon Michal
Published: June 2021

Understanding protein–ligand interactions in a cellular context is an important goal in molecular biology and biochemistry, and particularly for drug development. Investigators must demonstrate that drugs penetrate cells and specifically bind their targets. Towards that end, we present a native mass spectrometry (MS)‐based method for analyzing drug uptake and target engagement in eukaryotic cells. This method is based on our previously introduced direct‐MS method for rapid analysis of proteins directly from crude samples. Here, direct‐MS enables label‐free studies of protein–drug binding in human cells and is used to determine binding affinities of lead compounds in crude samples. We anticipate that this method will enable the application of native MS to a range of problems where cellular context is important, including protein–protein interactions, drug uptake and binding, and characterization of therapeutic proteins.
Palladium/TY‐Phos‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Intermolecular α‐Arylation of Aldehydes with Aryl Bromides
Authors: Pan Zhangjin , Li Wenbo , Zhu Shuai , Liu Feng , Wu Hai‐Hong , Zhang Junliang
Published: June 2021

Despite much progress has been made in the asymmetric α‐arylation reactions of cyclic ketones, lactones and lactams, the enantioselective α‐arylation of acyclic carbonyl compounds lagged much behind due to the in situ generated Z/E‐enolate intermediates leading to opposite enantiomers. Especially, the asymmetric α‐arylation of acyclic aldehydes is a long‐standing challenge, because of the highest activity among carbonyl compounds leading to various competitive side reactions. Herein we reported an efficient Pd‐catalyzed asymmetric intermolecular α‐arylation reaction of α‐alkyl‐α‐aryl disubstituted aldehydes with aryl bromides, which provides a rapid access to chiral aldehydes bearing an α‐all‐carbon quaternary stereocenter in moderate to good yields with good er in most cases. In addition, a pair of enantiomers could be easily prepared with the use of the same ligand by exchanging the aryl groups of aldehyde and aryl bromide.
Study on the corrosion inhibition performance of imidazoline composite inhibitor
Authors: Chen Min , Xue Mian , Huang Changshan , Chen Yan , Wu Jinying , Xu Huiwu , Zhang Xiaoguang
Published: June 2021

Imidazoline quaternary‐ammonium‐salt corrosion inhibitor and thioureido‐imidazoline quaternary‐ammonium‐salt compound corrosion inhibitor were synthesized using oleic acid, diethylenetriamine, benzyl chloride, and thiourea as the raw materials. The resulting samples were characterized by static weight‐loss method, electrochemical polarization curve, X‐ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical characteristics of the inhibitors' inhibition towards carbon dioxide corrosion were investigated, the major constituents of the protective film formed on the surface of A3 carbon steel by thioureido‐imidazoline compound corrosion inhibitor were analyzed, and the corrosion inhibiting mechanism for thioureido‐imidazoline in hypersaline was explored. The results indicated that thioureido‐imidazoline compound corrosion inhibitor had better corrosion inhibiting effect than imidazoline and can efficiently inhibit the corrosion of A3 carbon steel by CO2‐saturated hypersaline water.
Preparation and electrochemical properties of nitrogen‐doped carbon electrode material
Authors: Zhang Dandan , Nasreen Saima
Published: June 2021

In order to improve the lithium storage capacity of lithium‐ion battery anode materials, three nitrogen‐doped and nitrogen‐doped hollow carbon materials (Cw‐GO), nitrogen‐doped carbon aerogels, and three‐dimensional nitrogen‐doped porous carbon materials (PCMs) were prepared, and their electrochemical properties were studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen adsorption desorption instrument were used to detect the morphology and structure of the samples. The electrochemical properties of the samples were tested by cyclic voltammetry (CV), impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic charge discharge (GCD). The results show that the introduction of graphene oxide (GO) can improve the specific capacitance and electrochemical activity of the composites; nitrogen‐doped carbon aerogel electrode material has better capacitance characteristics. PCM has a large specific surface area and a large capacitance response, which reaches 168.5 F g−1 at the current density of 1 A g−1. When the current density is 10 A g−1, 1000 cycles of constant current charge and discharge test is carried out. When the current density is 20 A g−1, the specific capacitance of PCM keeps 88.3% of the original capacitance and has good electrochemical performance.