bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring children’s participation in commercial swimming lessons through the social determinants of health
Authors: Willcox‐Pidgeon Stacey M. , Peden Amy E. , Scarr Justin
Published: March 2020

Issue addressed

Drowning is a public health challenge, disproportionately impacting children. Social determinants of health (SDH) such as socio‐economic disadvantage and geographic isolation increase drowning risk. Swimming and water safety lessons, in part, have reduced drowning in children, while also enabling healthy aquatic participation. Research suggests that some Australian children receive insufficient swimming and water safety education and are not achieving essential skills.

Methods

A cross‐sectional retrospective analysis of swimming and water safety skills achieved by a cohort of children (5‐12 years) attending commercial swimming lessons in three Australian states was undertaken. Variables included participant demographics (age, gender, and the SDH of socio‐economic status [SES], and geographical remoteness) and skills being taught and achieved. Skills achieved were analysed against the National Swimming & Water Safety Framework and the National Benchmark.

Results

Swim schools were more likely to teach freestyle (87%) and backstroke (83%); and less likely to teach water safety skills like treading water (53%), and survival backstroke (46%). Overall, 40% of 12‐year‐old children failed to achieve the National Benchmark of 50 metres freestyle, fewer were achieving minimum water safety skills. Children from low socio‐economic areas and regional locations were less likely to be achieving 50 metres freestyle. Children in this study were commonly from major cities (94%) and of high socio‐economic areas (53%).

Conclusions

Swimming lessons must incorporate a broad range of swimming and water safety competencies to ensure children have the skills required to reduce drowning, especially for those deemed at increased risk.

So what

Stakeholders must prioritise holistic drowning prevention education strategies, ensuring all children can access swimming and water safety programs regardless of their socio‐economic status or geographical location.
Parents' use of information accessed through social media to make immunisation decisions for their young children
Authors: Thorpe Madelaine , Taylor Jane , Cole Rachel
Published: March 2020

Issue addressed

Social media, while available to parents to inform decisions about their child's health, including immunisation, is a new area of exploration in public health. To effectively source, interpret and use such information, parents need to be health literate. This pilot study explored how parents of young children under 7 years of age obtained, understood and used immunisation information available through social media to inform immunisation decisions for their children.

Methods

Purposive sampling followed by a snowball technique was used to recruit parents with one or more children under 7 years of age living in the Brisbane North and Sunshine Coast regions, Australia. Face‐to‐face interviews collected qualitative data in relation to how parents obtained, understood and used information sourced via social media to make immunisation decisions for their children.

Results

All participants were passively exposed to immunisation information on social media through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter, but did not report proactively searching for information. The majority understood the immunisation information obtained, however, did not perceive it as credible and used other sources to clarify credibility, including their health care professional. Some participants interacted with the information, but none used it to make immunisation decisions for their children.

Conclusions

Whilst parents of children under 7 years of age are exposed to immunisation information on social media, they do not use this information to make immunisation decisions for their children, and rely on health care professionals for credible information.

So what?

Given health care providers are perceived by parents of young children as credible sources of immunisation information and parents are regularly exposed to immunisation information via social media, further exploration of the potential role of health care professionals in the dissemination of credible immunisation information via social media platforms is warranted.
Linear stability analysis of mixed convection flow in a horizontal channel filled with nanofluids
Authors: Bammou Lahcen , Souhar Khalid , Alami Samy , Feddaoui M'Barek , Le Guer Yves
Published: March 2020

The convective instability driven by buoyancy in the Poiseuille–Rayleigh–Bénard flow through two infinite parallel horizontal plates filled with nanofluids is investigated using linear stability analysis. We considered water‐based nanofluids with different volume fractions of aluminum () and silver () nanoparticles. A spectral collocation method founded on Chebyshev polynomials is implemented and the obtained algebraic eigenvalue problem is solved. In this study, we have numerically determined the critical Rayleigh number of the onset of longitudinal and transversal rolls and the results are represented in the form of marginal stability curves. Critical wave numbers that describe the size of convective cells in the flow are also presented, analyzed, and compared with those of the Poiseuille–Rayleigh–Bénard flow without nanoparticles. The effects of the type and nanoparticle volume fractions on the onset of both longitudinal and transversal rolls are investigated.
Micropolar fluid flow with temperature‐dependent transport properties
Authors: Khan Muhammad Naveed , Nadeem Sohail , Muhammad Noor
Published: March 2020

In the present article, the heat transfer rate and the fluid flow of a micropolar fluid along with temperature‐dependent transport properties are scrutinized in the presence of heat generation. The variability in transport properties leads to a rise in the heat transfer and decreases the skin friction. Furthermore, Fourier's heat flux model is implemented in the analysis of heat transfer, employing a suitable transformation to convert the flow model into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions are obtained by using the shooting method/bvp4c technique. Physical quantities of interest, such as local skin friction and Nusselt number, are discussed and computed. Skin friction decreases with the micropolar parameter but the Nusselt number shows the opposite behavior for the micropolar parameter.
BippyPhos: A Highly Versatile Ligand for Pd‐Catalyzed C−N, C−O and C−C Couplings
Authors: Singer Robert A.
Published: March 2020

Numerous ligands have been designed for the Buchwald‐Hartwig Amination (BHA). Among the ligands developed is BippyPhos. This ligand was originally designed to enable a coupling of primary amines with aryl halides. Further studies showed that the ligand has fairly broad utility for Pd‐catalyzed C−N, C−O and C−C couplings. This review describes the various Pd‐catalyzed applications involving BippyPhos as a supporting ligand. While BippyPhos may not often be the most optimal ligand for various Pd‐catalyzed couplings, it typically will provide adequate results as a starting point prior to screening for optimization.
A predictive system integrating intrinsic mode functions, artificial neural networks, and genetic algorithms for forecasting S&P500 intra‐day data
Authors: Lahmiri Salim
Published: March 2020

There is an abundant literature on the design of intelligent systems to forecast stock market indices. In general, the existing stock market price forecasting approaches can achieve good results. The goal of our study is to develop an effective intelligent predictive system to improve the forecasting accuracy. Therefore, our proposed predictive system integrates adaptive filtering, artificial neural networks (ANNs), and evolutionary optimization. Specifically, it is based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), which is a useful adaptive signal‐processing technique, and ANNs, which are powerful adaptive intelligent systems suitable for noisy data learning and prediction, such as stock market intra‐day data. Our system hybridizes intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) obtained from EMD and ANNs optimized by genetic algorithms (GAs) for the analysis and forecasting of S&P500 intra‐day price data. For comparison purposes, the performance of the EMD‐GA‐ANN presented is compared with that of a GA‐ANN trained with a wavelet transform's (WT's) resulting approximation and details coefficients, and a GA‐general regression neural network (GRNN) trained with price historical data. The mean absolute deviation, mean absolute error, and root‐mean‐squared errors show evidence of the superiority of EMD‐GA‐ANN over WT‐GA‐ANN and GA‐GRNN. In addition, it outperformed existing predictive systems tested on the same data set. Furthermore, our hybrid predictive system is relatively easy to implement and not highly time‐consuming to run. Furthermore, it was found that the Daubechies wavelet showed quite a higher prediction accuracy than the Haar wavelet. Moreover, prediction errors decrease with the level of decomposition.
Gastric Bypass But Not Sleeve Gastrectomy Increases Risk of Major Osteoporotic Fracture: French Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Paccou Julien , Martignène Niels , Lespessailles Eric , Babykina Evgéniya , Pattou François , Cortet Bernard , Ficheur Grégoire
Published: March 2020

The objective of this work was to investigate the risk of major osteoporotic fracture (MOF; hip, proximal humerus, wrist and distal forearm, and clinical spine) in bariatric surgery patients versus matched controls. Bariatric surgery is associated with an increase in fracture risk. However, it remains unclear whether the same degree of fracture risk is associated with sleeve gastrectomy, which has recently surpassed gastric bypass. Records from the French National Inpatient database were used from 2008 to 2018. Bariatric surgery patients, aged 40 to 65 years, with BMI ≥40 kg/m2, hospitalized between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014, were matched to one control (1:1) by age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, year of inclusion, and class of obesity (40 to 49.9 kg/m2 versus ≥50 kg/m2). We performed a Cox regression analysis to assess the association between the risk of any MOF and, respectively, (i) bariatric surgery (yes/no) and (ii) type of surgical procedure (gastric bypass, gastric banding, vertical banded gastroplasty, and sleeve gastrectomy) versus no surgery. A total of 81,984 patients were included in the study (40,992 in the bariatric surgery group, and 40,992 matched controls). There were 585 MOFs in the surgical group (2.30 cases per 1000 patient-year [PY]) and 416 MOFs in the matched controls (1.93 cases per 1000 PY). The risk of MOF was significantly higher in the surgical group (hazard ratio [HR] 1.22; 95% CI, 1.08–1.39). We observed an increase in risk of MOF for gastric bypass only (HR 1.70; 95% CI, 1.46–1.98) compared with the matched controls. In patients aged 40 to 65 years, gastric bypass but not sleeve gastrectomy or the other procedures increased risk of major osteoporotic fractures. © 2020 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Long noncoding RNA NEAT1/microRNA‐125a axis predicts increased major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event risk independently in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease underwent coronary artery bypass grafting
Authors: Liu Haining , Yan Xiulian , Yu Jingbin
Published: March 2020

Background

The study aimed to investigate the long noncoding RNA nuclear‐enriched abundant transcript 1 (lnc‐NEAT1) and microRNA‐125a (miR‐125a) expressions, and further explore the role of lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis in predicting major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) risk in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery disease (ULMCAD) underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods

A total of 280 patients with ULMCAD underwent CABG were consecutively enrolled in our prospective study, and their plasma samples were collected before CABG for the detection of lnc‐NEAT1 and miR‐125a expressions by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis was calculated via dividing lnc‐NEAT1 by miR‐125a. After CABG, regular follow‐up was continued until MACCE occurrence or 36 months.

Results

Lnc‐NEAT1 expression, miR‐125a expression, and lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis were 0.998 (IQR: 0.440‐1.720, range: 0.116‐5.771), 0.997 (IQR: 0.461‐1.650, range: 0.055‐3.621), and 1.018 (IQR: 0.384‐2.782, range: 0.041‐52.832), respectively. And lnc‐NEAT1 was negatively associated with miR‐125a. The 1‐, 2‐, and 3‐year MACCE occurrence was 19 (6.8%), 29 (10.4%), and 38 (13.6%), respectively. Lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis (χ2 = 11.207, P = .001) and lnc‐NEAT1 expression (χ2 = 5.345, P = .021) positively associated with accumulating MACCE occurrence, while miR‐125a expression (χ2 = 5.869, P = .015) negatively correlated with accumulating MACCE occurrence. Notably, lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis presented numerically better predictive value compared with lnc‐NEAT1 or miR‐125a alone for MACCE risk. Furthermore, lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis high, elderly age, increased BMI, diabetes, previous stroke, LVEF, and higher disease extent (all P < .05) were independent predictive factors for increased accumulating MACCE occurrence.

Conclusion

Lnc‐NEAT1/miR‐125a axis, as a combined index, presents potential value to be a prognostic biomarker for MACCE risk in ULMCAD management.
Hsa_circ_0012563 promotes migration and invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by regulating XRCC1/EMT pathway
Authors: Zhang Zhuo , Li Xueman , Xiong Fei , Ren Zhangtao , Han Yongming
Published: March 2020

Background

Recent reports have indicated that circular RNA (circRNA) may regulate tumorigenesis development. However, the function of circRNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is unclear.

Material and method

The RT‐qPCR assay was performed to detect hsa_circ_0012563 expression in ESCC tissues and cell lines. Then, the MTT assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometric assay, and cell migration and invasion assay were performed to examine the function of hsa_circ_0012563. In addition, the RT‐PCR and Western blot were used to detect XRCC1 and epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) related gene expression.

Results

The RT‐qPCR revealed that the hsa_circ_0012563 expression was remarkably upregulated in ESCC tissue and ESCC cell lines. Functionally, downregulation of hsa_circ_0012563 suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and promoted cell apoptosis. Mechanically, the knockdown of hsa_circ_0012563 inhibited XRCC1‐mediated EMT pathway to suppress cell migration and invasion.

Conclusions

Therefore, these results reveal hsa_circ_0012563 is a critical oncogene and may be a novel biomarker in ESCC.
Risk factors for homelessness: A structural equation approach
Authors: Czaderny Krzysztof
Published: March 2020

This study aims to assess the pathway relationships between adolescent adversities, adult addictive behaviours, divorce, conviction, long‐standing unemployment, disability, and homelessness. A structural equation model was estimated using data on n1 = 677 homeless men and n2 = 651 housed men of the same age and educational distribution, living in Warsaw, Poland. Retrospective adolescent adversities were found to be significantly related to the occurrence of adult homelessness (p ≤ .01). This relationship was mainly indirect and largely mediated by addictive behaviours, divorce, conviction, and unemployment. Addiction, divorce, and conviction were the three most frequent events preceding homelessness and were likely to coincide. The first job experience did not differentiate the two groups from each other. However, homeless individuals were more likely to currently prefer self‐employment over wage employment. Low perceived importance of family life and preference for self‐employment over wage employment were hypothesised to be related to the severity of homelessness.
TIMD4 exhibits regulatory capability on the proliferation and apoptosis of diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma cells via the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway
Authors: Li Yi , Zhang Pei‐Yi , Yang Zhao‐Wen , Ma Fang , Li Fa‐Xin
Published: March 2020

Background

Prior studies have noted the importance of T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain containing 4 (TIMD4) in various diseases and its functions on cell malignant behaviors. However, the biological function of TIMD4 in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is unknown.

Methods

Relative expression of TIMD4 was analyzed based on the GSE56315 array including 88 cases of human tissues. TIMD4 expression in cells was detected using a quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and western blot experiments. Cell proliferation was measured using the cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay and apoptotic properties were assessed through the detection of related proteins by western blotting. The underlying molecular mechanism of TIMD4 in DLBCL was predicted and confirmed using KEGG enrichment analysis and western blotting.

Results

The results indicate that TIMD4 is overexpressed in DLBCL tissues and the poor prognosis of DLBCL patients is significantly linked with the higher TIMD4 expression. The loss‐of‐TIMD4 experiment in CYP6D reveals that knockdown of TIMD4 blocks cell growth and accelerates cell apoptosis, whereas the gain‐of‐TIMD4 experiment in Raji cells suggests that up‐regulation of TIMD4 promotes cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis. The activity of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway is mediated by the TIMD4 expression in DLBCL cells.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate that TIMD4 is up‐regulated in patients with DLBCL and the regulatory effects of TIMD4 on cell proliferation and apoptosis are associated with the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway, posing a novel target for DLBCL therapy.
Distance restricted matching extension missing vertices and edges in 5‐connected triangulations of the plane
Authors: Aldred R. E. L. , Plummer Michael D. , Ruksasakchai Watcharintorn
Published: March 2020

In [4] it was shown that in a 5‐connected even planar triangulation G, every matching M of size can be extended to a perfect matching of G, as long as the edges of M lie at distance at least 5 from each other. Somewhat later in [7], the following result was proved. Let be a 5‐connected triangulation of a surface different from the sphere. Let be the Euler characteristic of . Suppose with even and and are two matchings in such that . Further suppose that the pairwise distance between two elements of is at least 5 and the face‐width of the embedding of in is at least . Then there is a perfect matching in which contains such that . In the present paper, we present some results which, in a sense, lie in the gap between the two above theorems, in that they deal with restricted matching extension in a planar triangulation when a set of vertices which lie pairwise at sufficient distance from one another has been deleted. In particular, we prove a planar analogue of the result in [7] stated above.
Forty‐Third ASPEN Presidential Address: “Our Time Is Now—Challenges and Strategies for the Field of Nutrition”
Authors: Mehta Nilesh M.
Published: March 2020

I am grateful for this opportunity to address the ASPEN community and the international colleagues gathered at the ASPEN 2019 Nutrition Science and Practice Meeting. I have used this platform to revisit some of the historical beginnings of our field and our organization, and illustrate some of the lessons learned. I have outlined 5 challenges facing the field of nutrition during our times and discussed strategies that might help navigate them. These challenges are, healthcare finance, biotechnology disruption, safety, research, and knowledge transfer. These challenges will require nutrition providers to adapt to changing times. We must be prepared to show the “value” of the care provided. The impact of nutrition therapies must be unequivocally demonstrated on meaningful patient outcomes, thereby emphasizing the relevance and value of the services we provide. As clinical nutrition professionals, we must embrace the rapid pace of biotechnology advance and harness its power to assist us and our patients. The provision of safe nutrition care to our patients is the fundamental aspect of the ASPEN vision. I remain confident in our collective strengths, our sense of purpose, and our ability to rise above the challenges we face. Together with our global partners we will deliver on the promise of safe, efficacious, low‐cost, and high‐quality nutrition that will improve patient outcomes and population
health.
Separation of influenza virus‐like particles from baculovirus by polymer‐grafted anion exchanger
Authors: Reiter Katrin , Pereira Aguilar Patricia , Grammelhofer Dominik , Joseph Judith , Steppert Petra , Jungbauer Alois
Published: March 2020

The baculovirus expression vector system is a very powerful tool to produce virus‐like particles and gene‐therapy vectors, but the removal of coexpressed baculovirus has been a major barrier for wider industrial use. We used chimeric human immunodeficiency virus‐1 (HIV‐1) gag influenza‐hemagglutin virus‐like particles produced in Tnms42 insect cells using the baculovirus insect cell expression vector system as model virus‐like particles. A fast and simple purification method for these virus‐like particles with direct capture and purification within one chromatography step was developed. The insect cell culture supernatant was treated with endonuclease and filtered, before it was directly loaded onto a polymer‐grafted anion exchanger and eluted by a linear salt gradient. A 4.3 log clearance of baculovirus from virus‐like particles was achieved. The absence of the baculovirus capsid protein (vp39) in the product fraction was additionally shown by high performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry. When considering a vaccination dose of 109 particles, 4200 doses can be purified per L pretreated supernatant, meeting the requirements for vaccines with <10 ng double‐stranded DNA per dose and 3.4 µg protein per dose in a single step. The process is simple with a very low number of handling steps and has the characteristics to become a platform for purification of these types of virus‐like particles.
Political transitions and transition events in a tourism destination
Authors: Seyfi Siamak , Hall C. Michael
Published: March 2020

Despite the growing body of research on the interconnectedness between tourism and politics, significant research gaps remain. One such area is the relationship between political transitions and changes in tourism destinations. This article examines Iran as a case study of the interrelations. Drawing on semistructured interviews with key informants, this paper highlights the significant impacts that political transitions have had on Iranian tourism in general and inbound tourism in particular over time. The findings reveal that the divergent perceptions of key actors in Iran's political arena have affected the tendency and outcomes of tourism development in the country and make it aligned with the domestic political agendas and foreign policies of different factions in the country. Tourism has become a matter for political debate in the country's conservative‐dominated political institutions and is harnessed to the pursuit of policies that are linked to the dominant ideological orientation and religious doctrine. Overall, the study deepens and extends existing knowledge surrounding politics, power, and tourism by providing new insights into the process of political transition in a non‐Western country and its ramifications for tourism destination development.
Bioactive fractions from Securidaca inappendiculata alleviated collagen‐induced arthritis in rats by regulating metabolism‐related signaling
Authors: Zuo Jian , Ji Cong‐Lan , Olatunji Opeyemi Joshua , Yang Zhe , Xu Hui‐Fang , Han Jun , Dong Jiyang
Published: March 2020

Securidaca inappendiculata is a xanthone rich medicinal plant that has been used in the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for centuries; however, the material base and mechanism of action responsible for its anti‐arthritis effect still remains elusive. The objective of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic effects of xanthone‐enriched extract of the plant against collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA) in rats and explore the underlying mechanisms. The xanthone‐deprived fraction (XDF) and xanthone‐rich fraction (XRF) were obtained by using a resin adsorption coupled with acid‐base treatment method, and their chemical composition difference was characterized by UPLC‐MS/MS analysis. Effects of the two on CIA were analyzed using radiographic, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. The results indicated that XRF alleviated joint structures destructions with the higher efficacy than XDF, and decreased levels of TNF‐α, IL‐6, and anti‐cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody in CIA rats significantly. Furthermore, XRF inhibited nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) mediated fat biosynthesis and utilization indicated by clinical evidences and metabonomics analysis, which thereby disrupted energy‐metabolism feedback. In addition, Toll‐like Receptor 4 and High Mobility Group Protein 1 expressions were downregulated in XRF‐treated CIA rats. Collective evidences suggest NAMPT could be an ideal target for RA treatments and reveal a novel antirheumatic mechanism of S. inappendiculata by regulating NAMPT controlled fat metabolism.
Synthesis of Thermoresponsive Copolymers with Tunable UCST‐Type Phase Transition Using Aqueous Photo‐RAFT Polymerization
Authors: Lertturongchai Pattida , Ibrahim Mohamed I. A. , Durand Alain , Sunintaboon Panya , Ferji Khalid
Published: March 2020

Currently, the phase transition of aqueous binary systems containing thermoresponsive (co)polymers, and exhibiting upper critical solution temperature (UCST), is exclusively investigated in dilute solutions, which can limit the knowledge of their UCST‐type phase transition. Herein, a photo‐RAFT polymerization approach, using acrylamide (AAm) and acrylonitrile (AN) as monomer models, is used to prepare well‐controlled poly(AAm‐co‐AN) copolymers “in situ” in highly concentrated dispersions (60 wt%). The impact of the copolymer concentration and the chemical composition (as a variation of AN fraction in the copolymers) on the cloud point temperature (TCP) are investigated using turbidity measurements. Importantly, the results show that upon increasing the polymer concentration, a sharp increase of TCP up to a maximum point is observed, representing the UCST, before the decrease of TCP at higher polymer concentrations. Finally, a model equation is developed to fit the UCST values of poly(AAm‐co‐AN), which can be useful to design new poly(AAm‐co‐AN) copolymers with a desired UCST for a specific application.
Boundedness, periodicity, and conditional stability of noninstantaneous impulsive evolution equations
Authors: Yang Peng , Wang JinRong , Fečkan Michal
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we mainly study the existence, uniqueness, and conditional stability of bounded and periodic solutions for a class of noninstantaneous impulsive linear and semilinear equations with evolution family and exponential dichotomy. We utilize the weak
convergence analysis in the conjugate space and the Banach‐Alaoglu theorem to derive the existence result, and then we use the principle of compressed image to prove the uniqueness. In addition, we study the conditional stability of periodic solution with the help of the Grownwall‐Coppel inequality. Finally, we present an example of a noninstantaneous impulsive partial differential equation, which is transferred into an abstract impulsive evolution equation.
Local thermal nonequilibrium conjugate natural convection of nano‐encapsulated phase change particles in a partially porous enclosure
Authors: Mehryan S. A. M. , Ismael Muneer , Ghalambaz Mohammad
Published: March 2020

This paper analyzes the heat transfer process of nano‐encapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) particles suspended in a base fluid. NEPCMs are polyurethane‐nonadecane, and the base fluid is water. The formed suspension fills a system of two different layers: a porous layer and a clear layer. A thermally conductive solid wall transmits heat to the porous layer. These three partitions are confined in a square cavity. The cavity is heated from the left side of the solid wall and cooled from the right side of the clear layer. The solid matrix of the porous layer and the suspension are in local thermal nonequilibrium. A Galerkin‐weighted residual finite element method is adopted for numerical computations. The impacts of Stefan number, fusion temperature, and the nanoparticles volume fraction are inspected, graphically. Results show that the maximum heat transfer can be attained with lower Stefan number, higher nanoparticles volume fraction, and a fusion temperature range between 0.2 and 0.6. For a certain circumstance, it is found that enhancement of about 29% in heat transfer can be gained when the volume fraction of the NEPCM particles is raised from 0 to 0.05.
Bilateral Multiband 4D Flow MRI of the Carotid Arteries at 7T
Authors: Schmitter Sebastian , Adriany Gregor , Waks Matt , Moeller Steen , Aristova Maria , Vali Alireza , Auerbach Edward J. , Van de Moortele Pierre‐François , Ugurbil Kamil , Schnell Susanne
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Simultaneous multislab (SMSb) 4D flow MRI was developed and implemented at 7T for accelerated acquisition of the 3D blood velocity vector field in both carotid bifurcations.

Methods

SMSb was applied to 4D flow to acquire blood velocities in both carotid bifurcations in sagittal orientation using a local transmit/receive coil at 7T. transmit efficiency was optimized by shimming. SMSb 4D flow was obtained in 8 healthy subjects in single‐band (SB) and multiband (MB) fashion. Additionally, MB data were retrospectively undersampled to simulate GRAPPA R = 2 (MB2_GRAPPA2), and both SB datasets were added to form an artificial MB dataset (SumSB). The band separation performance was quantified by signal leakage. Peak velocity and total flow values were calculated and compared to SB via intraclass correlation analysis (ICC).

Results

Clean slab separation was achieved yielding a mean signal leakage of 13% above the mean SB noise level. Mean total flow for MB2, SumSB, and MB_GRAPPA2 deviated less than 9% from the SB values. Peak velocities averaged over all vessels and subjects were 0.48 ± 0.11 m/s for SB, 0.47 ± 0.12 m/s for SumSB, 0.50 ± 0.13 m/s for MB2, and 0.53 ± 0.13 m/s for MB2_GRAPPA2. ICC revealed excellent absolute agreement and consistency of total flow for all methods compared to SB2. Peak velocity showed good to excellent agreement and consistency for SumSB and MB2 and MB2_GRAPPA2 method showed poor to excellent agreement and good to excellent consistency.

Conclusion

Simultaneous multislab 4D Flow MRI allows accurate quantification of total flow and peak velocity while reducing scan times.
GPBi‐CGstab(L): A Lanczos‐type product method unifying Bi‐CGstab(L) and GPBi‐CG
Authors: Aihara Kensuke
Published: March 2020

Lanczos‐type product methods (LTPMs), in which the residuals are defined by the product of stabilizing polynomials and the Bi‐CG residuals, are effective iterative solvers for large sparse nonsymmetric linear systems. Bi‐CGstab(L) and GPBi‐CG are popular LTPMs and can be viewed as two different generalizations of other typical methods, such as CGS, Bi‐CGSTAB, and Bi‐CGStab2. Bi‐CGstab(L) uses stabilizing polynomials of degree L, while GPBi‐CG uses polynomials given by a three‐term recurrence (or equivalently, a coupled two‐term recurrence) modeled after the Lanczos residual polynomials. Therefore, Bi‐CGstab(L) and GPBi‐CG have different aspects of generalization as a framework of LTPMs. In the present paper, we propose novel stabilizing polynomials, which combine the above two types of polynomials. The resulting method is referred to as GPBi‐CGstab(L). Numerical experiments demonstrate that our presented method is more effective than conventional LTPMs.
Impact of NDI‐Core Substitution on the pH‐Responsive Nature of Peptide‐Tethered Luminescent Supramolecular Polymers
Authors: Sarkar Aritra , Kölsch Jonas C. , Berač Christian M. , Venugopal Akhil , Sasmal Ranjan , Otter Ronja , Besenius Pol , George Subi J.
Published: March 2020

The pH‐responsive nature of two self‐assembled NDI‐peptide amphiphile conjugates is reported. The diethoxy substituted NDI showed a pH‐dependent assembly behaviour, as expected. In contrast, the isopropylamino‐ and ethoxy‐substituted NDI based supramolecular polymer was stable at acidic and basic aqueous conditions. This finding highlights how subtle changes in the molecular design of π‐stacked chromophore‐peptide conjugates have a drastic impact on their equilibrium structure and ultimately functional properties.
Encapsulation of doxorubicin in magnetic‐polymer hybrid colloidal particles of Eudragit E100 and their hyperthermia and drug release studies
Authors: Khizar Sumera , Ahmad Nasir M. , Ahmed Naveed , Manzoor Sadia , Elaissari Abdelhamid
Published: March 2020

Water‐soluble magnetite Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by coprecipitation that exhibit spherical morphology and superparamagnetic behavior with a saturation magnetization of 46 emu/g. These nanoparticles were coated with amino methacrylate copolymer (Eudragit E100) along with encapsulation of Doxorubicin drug under the action of sonication via a double emulsion solvent evaporation method. The prepared magnetic colloids were evaluated for particle size, surface morphology, surface charge, drug loading capacity, and entrapment efficiency. The drug release studies indicated the sustained release of drug of 92% in 24 hours at physiological pH of 7.4 and drug release kinetics followed first order. The prepared nanoparticles and their colloids were also investigated for magnetic hyperthermia and specific absorption rate values were found to be 2.41, 2.71, and 4.28 W/g at 259, 327, and 518 kHz, respectively. The developed magnetic colloids have the potential to perform controlled hyperthermia and drug release to the target sites.
Early‐stage identification of encapsulants photobleaching and discoloration in crystalline silicon photovoltaic module laminates
Authors: Adothu Baloji , Chattopadhyay Shashwata , Bhatt Parth , Hui Pramiti , Costa Francis Reny , Mallick Sudhanshu
Published: March 2020

Commercially different variants of ethylene‐vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulants are available in the photovoltaic (PV) market. Photobleaching and discoloration are the two most commonly observed phenomena, and their initiation may be different for different encapsulants. To investigate the EVA encapsulant photobleaching and discoloration, solar cell laminates having different EVA films (UV‐transparent [T], UV‐cut [C], and combination of the two [TC]) were tested in Xenon test chamber. High temperatures are created in the laminates during the aging tests by using a thick insulation layer behind the backsheet. The UV fluorescence images and grayscale profile show clear signs of photobleaching and discoloration. It is found that the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the T sample is four and nine times slower than the TC and C samples, respectively, in the photobleached region. Fluorescence imaging and spectra and Raman spectra were taken before and after the accelerated test and indicate that discoloration causing fluorophores generation is higher after the photobleached region for transparent and combined EVAs, whereas higher at the center for UV‐cut EVA laminates. A colorimeter was used to measure the Yellowness Index of the samples before and after the accelerated aging test. This work will help in the early detection of photobleaching and discoloration of any encapsulant used in the PV modules. This method will also help to study the behavior of encapsulants in different climatic conditions like hot, cold, dry, humid, and their combinations by simulating the same in an accelerated weathering chamber by using the different insulation thickness.
Registration of six partial waxy near‐isogenic hexaploid wheat genetic stock lines lacking one or two granule bound starch synthase I genes
Authors: Morris C. F. , Kiszonas A. M. , Beecher B. S. , Peden G. L.
Published: March 2020

Starch is the leading component of wheat (Triticum spp.) grain and flour. Six hexaploid wheat (T. aestivum L.) near‐isogenic lines (NILs), WQL19WX7A (Reg. no. GS‐192, PI 691847), WQL19WX4A (Reg. no. GS‐193, PI 691848), WQL19WX7D (Reg. no. GS‐194, PI 691849), WQL19WX7A.A4 (Reg. no. GS‐195, PI 691850), WQL19WX7A.7D (Reg. no. GS‐196, PI 691851), and WQL19WX4A.7D (Reg. no. GS‐197, PI 691852), were developed to facilitate studies examining the role of starch amylose and amylopectin on wheat processing and end‐product quality and as parents to develop reduced amylose germplasm. Each NIL lacks a functional copy of one or two of the Waxy granule bound starch synthase I (GBSSI) genes and conversely possesses one or two functional genes. These genetic stocks were produced in ‘Alpowa’ soft spring wheat. The NILs are BC7 sibs, selected among segregating BC7 progeny using allele‐specific primers. The GBSSI null alleles were derived from the waxy cultivar Waxy‐Pen (PI 637779). These NILs are complemented by wild‐type Alpowa and a full waxy (zero amylose) line approved for release, ‘USDA Lori’. These lines were developed at the USDA Western Wheat Quality Laboratory.
Exploration of trans‐2‐(azaarylsulfanyl)‐cyclohexanols as potential pH‐triggered conformational switches
Authors: Ruyonga Mulinde R. , Mendoza Oscar , Browne Michael , Samoshin Vyacheslav V.
Published: March 2020

A series of trans‐2‐(azaarylsulfanyl)‐cyclohexanols, structurally similar to previously studied trans‐2‐aminocylohexanols, have been synthesized and explored as conformational pH triggers. 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to estimate the position of the chair‐chair conformational equilibrium and its acid‐induced shift towards the conformer with the azaarylsulfanyl and hydroxy groups in equatorial positions due to an intramolecular hydrogen bond and electrostatic interactions. Such acid‐induced transition may be used to control the geometry‐dependent molecular properties. The 1H NMR titration curves were used for estimation of the pKa values of protonated compounds that varied from 2.8 to 4.3 (in d4‐methanol) depending on the structure of the azaarylsulfanyl group.
Insight into COVID‐2019 for pediatricians
Authors: Li Yuanzhe , Guo FeiFei , Cao Yang , Li LiFeng , Guo YanJun
Published: March 2020

Since December 2019, patients with unexplained pneumonia have been found in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The pathogen in these cases is a new type of coronavirus. The World Health Organization confirmed this diagnosis and named the pathogen SARSCoV‐2. The disease caused by SARSCoV‐2 is called Corona Virus Disease (COVID‐2019). The virus is highly infectious and pathogenic, causing human‐to‐human transmission. At present, SARSCoV‐2 is still rampant in the world. Zhengzhou City in Henan Province serves as an example, 102 people have been confirmed to be infected with SARSCoV‐2 (at 24:00 on February 5th, 2020), including three children, the youngest is 4 years old. From the perspective of clinical pediatricians as the first line fighting the epidemic, this paper will discuss the clinical characteristics, prevention and control measures, outcomes, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric cases.
Assessment of sidestream end‐tidal capnography in ventilated infants on the neonatal unit
Authors: Williams Emma , Dassios Theodore , Greenough Anne
Published: March 2020

Objectives

Continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can be achieved by capnography. Our aims were to compare the performance of a sidestream capnograph with a low dead space and sampling rate to a mainstream device and evaluate whether its results correlated with arterial/capillary CO2 levels in infants with different respiratory disease severities.

Working Hypotheses

End‐tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) results by sidestream and mainstream capnography would correlate, but the divergence of EtCO2 and CO2 results would occur in more severe lung disease.

Study Design

Prospective cohort study.

Patient‐subject Selection

Fifty infants with a median (interquartile range) gestational age of 31.1 (27.1‐37.4) weeks and birth weight of 1.37 (0.76‐2.95) kg.

Methodology

Concurrent measurements of EtCO2 in ventilated infants were made using a new Microstream sidestream device and a mainstream capnograph (gold standard). Results from both devices were compared with arterial or capillary CO2 levels. The ratio of dead space to tidal volume (Vd/Vt) was calculated to assess respiratory disease severity.

Results

The mean difference between the concurrent measurements of EtCO2 was −0.54 ± 0.67 kPa (95% agreement levels − 1.86 to 0.77 kPa), the correlation between the two was r = .85 (P < .001). Sidestream capnography results correlated better with partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2) levels in infants with less (Vd/Vt < 0.35; r2 = .66, P < .001) rather than more severe (Vd/Vt > 0.35; r2 = .33, P = .01) lung disease.

Conclusions

The sidestream capnography performed similarly to the mainstream capnography. The poorer correlation of EtCO2 to PCO2 levels in infants with severe respiratory disease should highlight to clinicians increased ventilation‐perfusion mismatch.
Optimization of the Process Parameters for the Synthesis of High Purity 4,6‐Dinitrobenzofuroxan (4,6‐DNBF)
Authors: Li Jin‐Shuh , Chen Fu‐Jen , Yang Hsiu‐Wen , Lu Kai‐Tai
Published: March 2020

4,6‐Dinitrobenzofuroxan (4,6‐DNBF) is explosive and can also be used as an important intermediate in the synthesis of other explosives. It can be prepared by nitrating benzofuroxan (BF) with mixed nitric/sulfuric acid. However, little is known about its optimal synthesis parameters in the preparation process. In this study, Taguchi's experimental design method was used to improve the yield of 4,6‐DNBF. A L9 (34) orthogonal array with four control factors and three levels of each control factor was used to design nine experimental conditions. The experimental data were transformed into a signal‐to‐noise (S/N) ratio to analyze and evaluate the experimental conditions of the optimal parameter combination for the maximum yield of 4,6‐DNBF. The verification results indicated that the optimal synthesis parameters were as follows: nitration temperature was 40 °C, mass ratio of BF to H2SO4, was 1 : 15, volume ratio of HNO3 to H2SO4 was 1 : 2.0 and reaction time was 4 hours, and then the maximum crude yield and the maximum yield after purification could reach 73.2 % and 49.0 %, respectively. Furthermore, the synthesized 4,6‐DNBF was identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), elemental analyzer (EA), ultraviolet‐visible spectrometer (UV‐Vis) and thermogravimetry‐differential scanning calorimetry (TG‐DSC), and its sensitivity was determined using BAM fallhammer, BAM friction tester, and electrostatic spark sensitivity tester.
Significant transcriptional changes in mature daughter Varroa destructor mites during infestation of different developmental stages of honeybees
Authors: Wu Jiangli , Elsheikha Hany M , Tu Yangyang , Getachew Awraris , Zhou Huaiyu , Zhou Chunxue , Xu Shufa
Published: March 2020

Background

Varroa destructor is considered a major cause of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony losses worldwide. Although V. destructor mites exhibit preference behavior for certain honeybee lifecycle stages, the mechanism underlying host finding and preference remains largely unknown.

Results

By using a de novo transcriptome assembly strategy, we sequenced the mature daughter V. destructor mite transcriptome during infestation of different stages of honeybees (brood cells, newly emerged bees and adult bees). A total of 132 779 unigenes were obtained with an average length of 2745 bp and N50 of 5706 bp. About 63.1% of the transcriptome could be annotated based on sequence homology to the predatory mite Metaseiulus occidentalis proteins. Expression analysis revealed that mature daughter mites had distinct transcriptome profiles after infestation of different honeybee stages, and that the majority of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of mite infesting adult honeybees were down‐regulated compared to that infesting the sealed brood cells. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses showed that a large number of DEGs were involved in cellular process and metabolic process, suggesting that Varroa mites undergo metabolic adjustment to accommodate the cellular, molecular and/or immune response of the honeybees. Interestingly, in adult honeybees, some mite DEGs involved in neurotransmitter biosynthesis and transport were identified and their levels of expression were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Conclusion

These results provide evidence for transcriptional reprogramming in mature daughter Varroa mites during infestation of honeybees, which may be relevant to understanding the mechanism underpinning adaptation and preference behavior of these mites for honeybees. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Novel piperazine‐tailored ursolic acid hybrids as significant antibacterial agents targeting phytopathogens Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and X. axonopodis pv. citri probably directed by activation of apoptosis
Authors: Wang Pei‐Yi , Xiang Meng , Luo Min , Liu Hong‐Wu , Zhou Xiang , Wu Zhi‐Bing , Liu Li‐Wei , Li Zhong , Yang Song
Published: March 2020

BACKGROUND

Induced apoptosis is an effective technique that can reprogram cellular physiological and pathological processes to eradicate undesirable cells using their innate systems. Inspired by this, numerous apoptosis inducers have been developed to treat animal diseases, especially in the anticancer field. However, few studies have reported on the development of inductive agents that attack plant pathogens by activation of apoptosis. With the aim of exploring and discovering apoptosis inducers that target phytopathogens, a cluster of piperazine‐tailored ursolic acid (UA) hybrids was systematically fabricated.

RESULTS

In vitro testing showed that the title molecules could inhibit the growth of two intractable bacterial strains, defined as Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and X. axonopodis pv. citri. The corresponding lowest EC50 values were 0.37 and 1.08 μg mL−1, which exceed those of UA (>400 μg mL−1) and positive controls. Moreover, compounds 5u and 5v could manage bacterial blight in vivo using pot experiments. Flow cytometer analysis indicted that the title compounds could induce distinct apoptotic behaviors on tested bacteria. In‐depth study revealed that the introduction of designed compounds could reduce the enzyme activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase, subsequently leading to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species.

CONCLUSION

This study promoted the development of apoptosis initiators for managing bacterial infections in agriculture by an innovative mode of action. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry