bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
E35 ablates acute leukemia stem and progenitor cells in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Chen Yingyu , Zheng Jing , Gan Donghui , Chen Yanxin , Zhang Na , Chen Yuwen , Lin Zhenxing , Wang Wenfeng , Chen Haijun , Lin Donghong , Hu Jianda
Published: January 2020

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) have critical functions in acute leukemia (AL) pathogenesis, participating in its initiation and relapse. Thus, identifying new molecules to eradicate LSCs represents a high priority for AL management. This work identified E35, a novel Emodin derivative, which strongly inhibited growth and enhanced apoptosis of AL stem cell lines, and primary stem and progenitor cells from AL cases, while sparing normal hematopoietic cells. Furthermore, functional assays in cultured cells and animals suggested that E35 preferentially ablated primitive leukemia cell populations without impairing their normal counterparts. Moreover, molecular studies showed that E35 remarkably downregulated drug‐resistant gene and dramatically inhibited the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. Notably, the in vivo anti‐LSC activity of E35 was further confirmed in murine xenotransplantation models. Collectively, these findings indicate E35 constitutes a novel therapeutic candidate for AL, potentially targeting leukemia stem and progenitor cells.
Determination of pH and acidity in green coffee using near‐infrared spectroscopy and multivariate regression
Authors: Araújo Cintia da Silva , Macedo Leandro Levate , Vimercati Wallaf Costa , Ferreira Adésio , Prezotti Luiz Carlos , Saraiva Sérgio Henriques
Published: January 2020

BACKGROUND

Coffee is a raw material of global interest. Due to its relevance, this work evaluated the performance of calibration models constructed from spectral data obtained using near‐infrared spectroscopy (FT‐NIR) to determine the pH values and acidity in coffee beans in a practical and non‐destructive way. Partial least squares regression was used during the calibration and the cross‐validation to optimize the number of latent variables. The predictive capacity of the spectral pre‐processing methods was also accessed.

RESULTS

The results obtained showed that the best methods of pre‐processing were the first derivative for the pH variable and the standard normal variate for the acidity, which produced models with correlations of 0.78 and 0.92, ratios of prediction to deviation of 2.061 and 2.966 and biases of −0.00011 and −0.152 to test set validation, respectively. The average errors between predicted and experimental values were lower than 7%.

CONCLUSIONS

FT‐NIR was successfully applied to predict properties related to the quality of coffee. The method was demonstrated to be a fast and non‐destructive tool which allows the rapid inline evaluation of samples facilitating industrial and commercial processing. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Discrimination of Chain Branching Models in Addition Diene Polymerizations
Authors: L. T. Brandão Amanda , L. Alberton André , C. Pinto José
Published: January 2020

The present work analyzes whether discrimination of chain branching models is possible in addition diene polymerizations, based solely on average molecular weights and monomer conversions monitored during the reaction course, as usually performed in most quality control labs of industrial plants. In addition, it is verified whether the analyzed models present enough flexibility to fit data generated with the other rival models. Three kinetic models are considered, and kinetic parameters are varied in order to represent average molecular weights and monomer conversions that are typically found in addition diene polymerizations. The results show that model discrimination is indeed feasible with few experiments, even when only average molecular weights measured through GPC analyses are available, which can be of significant practical importance at plant site for critical characterization of product properties and process performance.
A generalized super AKNS hierarchy associated with orthosymplectic Lie superalgebra OSP(2,2) and its super bi‐Hamiltonian structures
Authors: Yu Jing , Han Jingwei , Li Chuanzhong
Published: January 2020

For the orthosymplectic Lie superalgebra
, we choose a set of basis matrices. A linear combination of those basis matrices presents a spatial spectral matrix. The compatible condition of the spatial part and the corresponding temporal parts of the spectral problem leads to a generalized super AKNS (GSAKNS) hierarchy. By making use of the supertrace identity, the obtained GSAKNS hierarchy can be written as the super bi‐Hamiltonian structures.
Existence and regularity of inverse problem for the nonlinear fractional Rayleigh‐Stokes equations
Authors: Tran Bao Ngoc , Nguyen Hoang Luc , Vo Van Au , Nguyen Huy Tuan , Zhou Yong
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates an inverse problem for fractional Rayleigh‐Stokes equations with nonlinear source. The fractional derivative in time is taken in the sense of Riemann‐Liouville. The proposed problem has many applications in some non‐Newtonian fluids. We obtain some results on the existence and regularity of mild solutions.
Coupled transfer function model for the evaluation of implanted cables safety in MRI
Authors: Kabil Julie , Felblinger Jacques , Vuissoz Pierre‐André , Missoffe Alexia
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Multiple medical‐device leads implanted next to each other are often encountered in clinical practice. The aim of this work is to study a coupled transfer function model to evaluate the safety of these coupled leads submitted to the RF field of a 1.5T MRI scanner for a constant distance between both leads.

Methods

The effect of coupling on the heating of 2 cables with different termination conditions is evaluated experimentally. The coupled and single transfer functions are determined experimentally and used to predict the relative temperature increases of both cables alone and coupled. Two different coupled models, an additive model and a global model, are proposed. The coupled transfer functions are also simulated.

Results

The coupling between cables has a strong influence on the resulting heating at the electrodes. The coupled additive transfer function model is a relevant tool to evaluate the heating of coupled leads separated by a constant distance. The global model underestimates the heating in one of the coupled cases by about 30%. The measured coupled transfer functions coincide with the simulated models.

Conclusion

It is necessary to take into account the coupling effect between leads to evaluate the safety of implanted devices. This work shows that, in the case of 2 cables separated by a constant distance, that an experimentally determined coupled transfer function allows estimation of the heating of the 2 electrodes for a given incident field. Further work should take into account the in vivo varying distance between the 2 cables.
Characterization of urethral fibrosis in a rabbit model: Potential roles of Wnt‐β catenin pathway and epithelial to mesenchymal transition
Authors: Tai Jesse W. , Yu Hosong , Chilukuri Abinav T. , Bhargava Raag , Deshpande Rucha , Li Wei , Ongkeko Weg M. , Bhargava Valmik , Rajasekaran Mahadevan “Raj”
Published: January 2020

Aim

To elucidate the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie urethral fibrogenesis.

Methods

Endoluminal electrocautery injury (using Karl Storz 10 Fr. Pediatric urethroscope) was employed in male rabbits (n = 6) to create mucosal injury. Retrograde urethrogram (RUG) and endoluminal ultrasound techniques were used to assess severity and changes in luminal cross‐sectional area. Six control rabbits were subjected to sham injury, in which the electrocautery was inserted but not powered. Urethral tissues were harvested 30 days postinjury and subjected to RNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to determine changes in gene expression. Histological, immunostaining, and Western blot studies were used to determine changes in protein expression of known markers of fibrosis (eg, collagen, Integrinαv, GIV/Girdin, transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), and pSMAD1,2,3).

Results

Trichrome staining confirmed increased connective tissue in urethral scar tissues. Immunostaining revealed a potential role for epithelial to mesenchymal cell transition (EMT) and positive labeling for all fibrotic markers (eg, collagen‐1, Integrin αv, GIV/Girdin, transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), and SMAD1,2,3). Western blot analysis confirmed increased protein levels of these fibrotic markers.

Conclusion

Our RNA sequencing and qPCR studies, in conjunction with our protein data, suggest that urethral mucosal fibrogenesis may be mediated by novel fibrogenic signaling pathways involving Wnt‐β catenin, TGF‐β, GIV/Girdin, and EMT which lead to increased collagen deposition. Therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways may be beneficial in attenuating fibrogenesis and stricture progression.
Electrochemically triggered degradation of energetic material FOX‐7 (2,2‐dinitroethene‐1,1‐diamine) — Structural, redox, and spectrometric characterization in solution
Authors: Šimková Ludmila , Ludvík Jiří
Published: January 2020

This work represents systemati11c electrochemical and spectrometric characterization of 2,2‐dinitroethene‐1,1‐diamine, the energetic material (explosive) known as FOX‐7, in aqueous as well as various organic solvents. On the basis of results obtained from combination of electrochemistry with ultraviolet‐visible–near‐infrared (UV‐vis‐NIR), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), mass spectrometry (MS), gas chromatography (GC), and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, the actual structure of FOX‐7 in various media was revealed, its reducibility was described, and radical intermediates as well as most of the products were intercepted and identified. Instead of expected cathodic reduction of the dinitro derivative, electrochemically initiated spontaneous degradation accompanied by release of gaseous products in all media was found.
Monitoring real‐time curing of epoxies in situ using single‐sided NMR
Authors: Kelley Mackenzie , Abdol Nastaran , Soroushian Parviz , Keating Kristina , Balachandra Anagi M. , Meldrum Tyler
Published: January 2020

Adhesively bonded joints using epoxy are widely used in aircraft and aerospace structures. Quality control and defect detection during epoxy curing in such applications is critical. We used single‐sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to nondestructively probe and spatially resolve the change in the characteristic NMR relaxation time (T2) of epoxies during curing on a substrate. Time‐dependent T2 values were fit to a Weibull function to model temporal changes in the NMR measurables. Our results demonstrate that the reduction in molecular mobility of various epoxy/curing agent mixtures occurs more rapidly at the interface than in the bulk. Further use of single‐sided NMR to acquire spatially resolved T2 data will provide a route for elucidatory epoxy curing studies. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. 2020, 58, 616–623
Mucus plugging, air trapping, and bronchiectasis are important outcome measures in assessing progressive childhood cystic fibrosis lung disease
Authors: Robinson Terry E. , Goris Michael L. , Moss Richard B. , Tian Lu , Kan Peiyi , Yilma Mignote , McCoy Karen S. , Newman Beverley , de Jong Pim A. , Long Frederick R. , Brody Alan S. , Behrje Rhett , Yates Denise P. , Cornfield David N.
Published: January 2020

Objective

To determine which outcome measures could detect early progression of disease in school‐age children with mild cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease over a two‐year time interval utilizing chest computed tomography (CT) scores, quantitative CT air trapping (QAT), and spirometric measurements.

Methods

Thirty‐six school‐age children with mild CF lung disease (median [interquartile range] age 12 [3.7] years; percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (ppFEV1) 99 [12.5]) were evaluated by serial spirometer‐controlled chest CT scans and spirometry at baseline, 3‐month, 1‐ and 2‐years.

Results

No significant changes were noted at 3‐month for any variable except for decreased ppFEV1. Mucus plugging score (MPS) and QATA1 and A2 increased at 1‐ and 2‐years. The bronchiectasis score (BS), and total score (TS) were increased at 2‐year. All variables tested with the exception of bronchial wall thickness score, parenchymal score (PS), and ppFEV1, were consistent with longitudinal worsening of lung disease. Multivariate analysis revealed baseline PS, baseline TS, and 1‐year changes in BS and air trapping score were predictive of 2‐year changes in BS.

Conclusions

MPS and QATA1‐A2 were the most sensitive indicators of progressive childhood CF lung disease. The 1‐year change in the bronchiectasis score had the most positive predictive power for 2‐year change in bronchiectasis.
Parental knowledge and attitudes regarding asthma in their children: Impact of an educational intervention in an Indian population
Authors: Divecha Chhaya A. , Tullu Milind S. , Jadhav Devika U.
Published: January 2020

Introduction and Objectives

Research shows positive effects of asthma education in improving parental knowledge, self‐management skills, and reducing healthcare costs. Such studies are lacking in resource‐limited countries. We studied the effectiveness of educational intervention in improving the knowledge and attitudes of parents/caregivers of asthmatic children.

Methods

The study was conducted in the pediatric chest clinic of tertiary hospital (India) over 21 months after ethics committee approval. Recruited parents were randomized into the interventional group (A) receiving education module and control group (B). Parents' asthma knowledge and attitudes were assessed at baseline and 5 months postenrollment using 25‐item questionnaire. Detailed demographic data, clinical data, and exacerbations during study were noted.

Results

A total of 75 parents/guardians fulfilling inclusion criteria were analyzed (cases/group A: 37 and controls/group B: 38). 8.3 percent of parents/caregivers were illiterate. Around 36.9% of patients had a family history of allergy/asthma. Mean knowledge scores at follow‐up were 12.24 and 9.89 for groups A and B, respectively (P < .05). Parents did better on knowledge items related to chronicity, family history, chronic cough, home administration of steroids in acute severe asthma, and maintaining records of clinical/medications for good control. Intervention group (A) showed significant improvement in most attitude‐based questions postintervention as compared with the nonintervention group (B). There was no statistically significant difference in asthma severity and control between the two groups at follow‐up.

Conclusions

Small group education on asthma in parents/caregivers improves their knowledge and attitudes. Healthcare plans should invest in pediatric asthma education and identify key personnel/opportunities to impart the same in routine care.
Analysis of Wnt7B and BMP4 expression patterns in congenital pulmonary airway malformation
Authors: Zhu Hao , Liu Dan , Jia Huimin
Published: January 2020

Background

Congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) is a rare disorder characterized by aberrant overgrowth of terminal bronchioles. The objective of this study was to describe wingless‐type MMTV integration site family 7B (Wnt7B) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) expression patterns in human CPAM lesions and to explore the possible roles of Wnt7B and BMP4 in the pathogenesis of CPAM.

Methods

Fifteen tissue samples from patients with CPAM were obtained from the Pathology Department of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. Samples representing CPAM lesions and adjacent normal lung tissues were collected and Wnt7B and BMP4 expression was detected through immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), and Western blotting.

Results

IHC revealed that Wnt7B immunopositive cells were only detected in epithelial cells, whereas BMP4 immunopositive cells were detected in epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Expression of Wnt7B and BMP4 immunopositive cells was higher in CPAM lesions than that in adjacent normal lung tissue. qRT‐PCR and Western blotting showed that Wnt7B and BMP4 mRNA and protein expression were significantly higher in CPAM lesions than in adjacent normal lung tissue (P < .05). Overall, the level of BMP4 was higher than that of Wnt7B.

Conclusions

Increased expression of Wnt7B and BMP4 appear to be related to the pathogenesis of CPAM and abnormal pulmonary development. Upregulation of Wnt7B and BMP4 could play an important role in the development of the bronchial‐alveolar structures that characterize CPAM.
Modeling the Thermo‐Mechanical‐Chemical Behavior of Condensed Phase Reactive Materials
Authors: Stewart Donald Scott , Lee Kibaek
Published: January 2020

Energetic material condensed phase constituents come into contact, chemically react, and simultaneously undergo a phase change. Phase change in a given molecular material is often considered separately from the chemical reaction. We use a self‐consistent continuum, thermo‐mechanical model based on specified Gibbs potentials for all relevant component species that are present in a single material. A single stress tensor and a single temperature are assumed for the material.

Physically‐based mass fractions of the components are used to describe composition and phase and chemical change and replace order parameters used in older phase‐field variable theories. Our formulation is entirely analogous to non‐equilibrium theories used for gas‐phase combustion but generalized to include condensed phases. We describe the formulation and illustrate its use with three examples. Example 1. considers the quasi‐static heating of an oxide‐coated aluminum particle, that is slowly heated so that the temperature within the particle can be considered a constant. We compute the stress and displacement within the particle by using the derived multicomponent equation of state. Example 2. shows how to model the melting and vaporization in a rapidly heated, confined slab of initially solid aluminum. The model treats multi‐phase transitions and illustrates how the multicomponent equation of state is used. Example 3. describes the modeling of mechanical thermo‐chemical ignition processes in a nano‐slab of HMX and considers six components: Two solid (beta and delta HMX), one liquid HMX component, and two gas components for vapor HMX and reacted products. We describe some possible next steps for further study and model improvements and how to interact with modern reactive molecular dynamics.
A qualitative transcriptional signature for predicting the biochemical recurrence risk of prostate cancer patients after radical prostatectomy
Authors: Li Xiang , Huang Haiyan , Zhang Jiahui , Jiang Fengle , Guo Yating , Shi Yidan , Guo Zheng , Ao Lu
Published: January 2020

Background

The qualitative transcriptional characteristics, the within‐sample relative expression orderings (REOs) of genes, are highly robust against batch effects and sample quality variations. Hence, we develop a qualitative transcriptional signature based on REOs to predict the biochemical recurrence risk of prostate cancer (PCa) patients after radical prostatectomy.

Methods

Gene pairs with REOs significantly correlated with the biochemical recurrence‐free survival (BFS) were identified from 131 PCa samples in the training data set. From these gene pairs, we selected a qualitative transcriptional signature based on the within‐sample REOs of gene pairs which could predict the recurrence risk of PCa patients after radical prostatectomy.

Results

A signature consisting of 74 gene pairs, named 74‐GPS, was developed for predicting the recurrence risk of PCa patients after radical prostatectomy based on the majority voting rule that a sample was assigned as high risk when at least 37 gene pairs of the 74‐GPS voted for high risk; otherwise, low risk. The signature was validated in six independent datasets produced by different platforms. In each of the validation datasets, the Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis showed that the average BFS of the low‐risk group was significantly better than that of the high‐risk group. Analyses of multiomics data of PCa samples from TCGA suggested that both the epigenomic and genomic alternations could cause the reproducible transcriptional differences between the two different prognostic groups.

Conclusions

The proposed qualitative transcriptional signature can robustly stratify PCa patients after radical prostatectomy into two groups with different recurrence risk and distinct multiomics characteristics. Hence, 74‐GPS may serve as a helpful tool for guiding the management of PCa patients with radical prostatectomy at the individual level.
Bound Electron Pairs Formed by the Spin–Orbit Interaction in 2D Gated Structures
Authors: Gindikin Yasha , Vigdorchik Vitalina , Sablikov Vladimir A.
Published: January 2020

The bound electron pairs (BEPs) arising due to the pair spin–orbit interaction (PSOI) in 2D structures are explored with a gate that allows the BEPs to be manipulated. The gate breaks the in‐plane reflection symmetry of the pair Coulomb field and creates a one‐particle Rashba spin–orbit interaction. It is found that the normal component of the electric field substantially affects the BEPs but the key role in forming the BEPs belongs to the in‐plane component. The ground state of a BEP with zero total momentum, which is doubly degenerate in the absence of the gate, splits into two states. One of them is tunable by varying the gate voltage, whereas the other is on the contrary robust. The tunable BEP has a higher binding energy which grows as the gate voltage increases, with its orbital and spin structure changing continuously. At large negative voltage, the tunable BEP decays. The orbital and spin structure of the robust BEP does not depend on the gate voltage. Its energy level crosses the conduction band bottom at high gate voltage of any polarity, but the robust BEP remains bound and localized even when in continuum.
Hydrogen Evolution and Wastewater Treatment of Hydrangeal‐like Catalyst Decroatedby the NiS Nanosheet and PdNanoparticle
Authors: Shi Qingdan , Zhou Yan , Sun Wen , Wang Han , Li Shenghong , Zhang Xinyu , Wan Junmin
Published: January 2020

Multifunctional catalysts with photodegradation of organic contaminants and electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution are extremely urgent. In this work, a unique MoS2 hollow microsphere with a diameter of 1.5 μm was fabricated without adding any spherical template by an improved hydrothermal process. Interestingly, the MoS2 hollow microspheres with introduction of the NiS and Pd nanoparticles greatly restrain recombination rates of electron‐hole pairs, resulting in the outstanding photocatalytic activity. The RhB removal rates of the MoS2 hollow microsphere and the NPMS composites were 7 and 10 times higher than that of pure MoS2, respectively, for the high concentration of macrocyclic contaminants under visible‐light illumination. Furthermore, the optimal robust NPMS hybrids exhibite a lower overpotential of 100 mV (at 10 mV cm−2) and a smaller Tafel slope of 50 mV dec−1. The unique structure composite catalysts possess more exposed active sites and defects to enhance the catalytic activity for HER and removal of organic pollution.
Quinoline‐1,3‐Oxazole Hybrids: Syntheses, Anticancer Activity and Molecular Docking Studies
Authors: Shah Shailesh R. , Katariya Kanubhai D. , Reddy Dushyanth
Published: January 2020

In continuation of the synthesis of potent quinoline based anticancer agents, a series of novel quinoline‐1,3‐oxazole hybrids 15 a‐l were synthesized by the condensation reaction of 2‐aryl‐5‐methyl‐1,3‐oxazole‐4‐carbaldehydes 10 a‐f and 6‐bromo/6‐chloro‐2‐methyl‐quinolin‐4‐yl‐hydrazines 14 a/b in good yield. Out of twelve, ten of the synthesized compounds were selected by the National Cancer Institute, USA for anticancer activity screening against 60 different human cancer cell lines representing nine types of cancer. Nine compounds were displayed outstanding antiproliferative activity with GI50 values ranging from 0.26 to 25.6 μM and LC50 values ranging from 2.96 μM to >100 μM. The mean MG‐MID values of GI50, TGI, and LC50 were compared with the methotrexate and four compounds 15 b, 15 d, 15 e, 15 f emerged with important GI50 <2.0 μM. Among all compounds screened, 15 d displayed the highest potency as a cytotoxic molecule. Moreover, new hybrids were also studied for molecular docking into the active binding site of DNA topoisomerase I (htopoI) to understand the binding mode and favorable interactions of active compounds into binding sites of topoisomerase enzyme.
High Voltage, Flexible and Low Cost All‐Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries with a Wide Working Temperature Range
Authors: Zhang Yuchan , Fei Huifang , An Yongling , Wei Chuanliang , Feng Jinkui
Published: January 2020

In this work, a flexible 4 V all‐solid‐state lithium metal battery is reported. In this battery, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/Li6.40La3Zr1.40Ta0.60O12 (LLZTO) composite electrolyte is used as the electrolyte and low cost LiMn2O4 (LMO) is used as the cathode. It is found that this all‐solid‐state battery can work from room temperature to 80 °C. At 80 °C, a capacity retention of 78.8% is obtained after 50 cycles while battery with liquid electrolyte last only one cycle. Further researches discover that liquid electrolyte react continuously with LMO while the solid‐state electrolyte is stable with LMO at high temperature. These results may be useful for the developing of low cost, high energy and high safety batteries system.
On the Importance of Context in Sequential Search
Authors: Hsiao Yu‐Chin , Kemp Simon , Servátka Maroš
Published: January 2020

We experimentally investigate whether framing an individual‐choice decision in a market setting results in a different outcome than when the decision is described in a context‐free frame. We further explore whether the context effect is triggered solely by the frame or whether a richer descriptive content is required to establish familiarity with the decision‐making environment. Understanding what constitutes context is central to formulating practical recommendations aiming to improve the quality of individual decisions. Our results show that framing a sequential search problem as selling houses leads to better decisions than a context‐free frame. Manipulating whether or not the framed decision‐making scenario includes a description of the house, which would be naturally available in a real estate market, does not impact the length of search or the value of accepted offers.
Compact Fenwick trees for dynamic ranking and selection
Authors: Marchini Stefano , Vigna Sebastiano
Published: January 2020

The Fenwick tree is a classical implicit data structure that stores an array in such a way that modifying an element, accessing an element, computing a prefix sum and performing a predecessor search on prefix sums all take logarithmic time. We introduce a number of variants which improve the classical implementation of the tree: in particular, we can reduce its size when an upper bound on the array element is known, and we can perform much faster predecessor searches. Our aim is to use our variants to implement an efficient dynamic bit vector: our structure is able to perform updates, ranking and selection in logarithmic time, with a space overhead in the order of a few percents, outperforming existing data structures with the same purpose. Along the way, we highlight the pernicious interplay between the arithmetic behind the Fenwick tree and the structure of current CPU caches, suggesting simple solutions that improve performance significantly.
Functional interrelationships between carbohydrate and lipid storage, and mitochondrial activity during sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Liu Yanjie , Wood N. Ezgi , Marchand Ashley J. , Arguello‐Miranda Orlando , Doncic Andreas
Published: January 2020

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae under conditions of nutrient stress, meiosis precedes the formation of spores. Although the molecular mechanisms that regulate meiosis, such as meiotic recombination and nuclear divisions, have been extensively studied, the metabolic factors that determine the efficiency of sporulation are less understood. Here, we have directly assessed the relationship between metabolic stores and sporulation in S. cerevisiae by genetically disrupting the synthetic pathways for the carbohydrate stores, glycogen (gsy1/2Δ cells), trehalose (tps1Δ cells), or both (gsy1/2Δ and tps1Δ cells). We show that storage carbohydrate‐deficient strains are highly inefficient in sporulation. Although glycogen and trehalose stores can partially compensate for each other, they have differential effects on sporulation rate and spore number. Interestingly, deletion of the G1 cyclin, CLN3, which resulted in an increase in cell size, mitochondria and lipid stores, partially rescued meiosis progression and spore ascus formation but not spore number in storage carbohydrate‐deficient strains. Sporulation efficiency in the carbohydrate‐deficient strain exhibited a greater dependency on mitochondrial activity and lipid stores than wild‐type yeast. Taken together, our results provide new insights into the complex crosstalk between metabolic factors that support gametogenesis.
Ethische Fragen von Digital Public Health
Authors: Marckmann Georg
Published: January 2020

Digitale Technologien in Public Health bieten durch die effiziente Erfassung, Speicherung und Verarbeitung großer Mengen an Gesundheitsdaten ein Potenzial für eine verbesserte Gesundheitsförderung und Krankheitsprävention. Digital Public Health wirft – wie viele andere technologische Entwicklungen – aber auch verschiedene ethische Fragen auf, die im vorliegenden Beitrag vorgestellt werden.

Eine grundlegende Frage bei der ethischen Bewertung einer Digital-Public-Health-Intervention ist die nach ihrem eigentlichen Ziel. Primär sollte eine Intervention der öffentlichen Gesundheit dienen und nicht dem finanziellen Gewinn, um ein Nutzenpotenzial für die Gesundheit der Bevölkerung entwickeln zu können. Zudem sind insbesondere gerechtigkeitsethische Fragen relevant, da Digital Public Health einerseits gesundheitliche Ungleichheiten reduzieren, sie aber andererseits auch verstärken kann. Hinzu kommen Fragen des Schutzes der Privatsphäre und sensibler Gesundheitsdaten. Da sich Digital-Public-Health-Interventionen ganz erheblich unterscheiden, muss jede Anwendung für sich hinsichtlich ihrer ethischen Implikationen bewertet werden. Hierfür werden eine ethische Kriteriologie und ein methodisches Vorgehen vorgeschlagen. Durch die Formulierung ethisch begründeter Empfehlungen für die Entwicklung und Nutzung von digitalen Public-Health-Interventionen kann ein Beitrag zu einer ethisch gut begründeten Gestaltung von Digital Public Health geleistet werden.
Quantum Versus Classical Entanglement: Eliminating the Issue of Quantum Nonlocality
Authors: Khrennikov Andrei
Published: January 2020

We analyze the interrelation of quantum and classical entanglement. The latter notion is widely used in classical optic simulation of some quantum-like features of light. We criticize the common interpretation that “quantum nonlocality” is the basic factor differing quantum and classical realizations of entanglement. Instead, we point to the breakthrough Grangier et al. experiment on coincidence detection which was done in 1986 and played the crucial role in rejection of (semi-)classical field models in favor of quantum mechanics. Classical entanglement sources produce light beams with the coefficient of second order coherence$$g^{(2)}(0) \ge 1.$$g(2)(0)≥1.This feature of classical entanglement is obscured by using intensities of signals in different channels, instead of counting clicks of photo-detectors. The interplay between intensity and clicks counting is not just a technicality. We elevate this issue to the high foundational level.
Exploring Models for an International Legal Agreement on the Global Antimicrobial Commons: Lessons from Climate Agreements
Authors: Rogers Van Katwyk Susan , Giubilini Alberto , Kirchhelle Claas , Weldon Isaac , Harrison Mark , McLean Angela , Savulescu Julian , Hoffman Steven J.
Published: January 2020

An international legal agreement governing the global antimicrobial commons would represent the strongest commitment mechanism for achieving collective action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Since AMR has important similarities to climate change—both are common pool resource challenges that require massive, long-term political commitments—the first article in this special issue draws lessons from various climate agreements that could be applicable for developing a grand bargain on AMR. We consider the similarities and differences between the Paris Climate Agreement and current governance structures for AMR, and identify the merits and challenges associated with different international forums for developing a long-term international agreement on AMR. To be effective, fair, and feasible, an enduring legal agreement on AMR will require a combination of universal, differentiated, and individualized requirements, nationally determined contributions that are regularly reviewed and ratcheted up in level of ambition, a regular independent scientific stocktake to support evidence informed policymaking, and a concrete global goal to rally support.
Mapping the scattered field of research on higher education. A correlated topic model of 17,000 articles, 1991–2018
Authors: Daenekindt Stijn , Huisman Jeroen
Published: January 2020

Parallel to the increasing level of maturity of the field of research on higher education, an increasing number of scholarly works aims at synthesising and presenting overviews of the field. We identify three important pitfalls these previous studies struggle with, i.e. a limited scope, a lack of a content-related analysis, and/or a lack of an inductive approach. We take these limitations into account by analysing the abstracts of 16,928 articles on higher education between 1991 and 2018. To investigate this huge collection of texts, we apply topic models, which are a collection of automatic content analysis methods that allow to map the structure of large text data. After an in-depth discussion of the topics differentiated by our model, we study how these topics have evolved over time. In addition, we analyse which topics tend to co-occur in articles. This reveals remarkable gaps in the literature which provides interesting opportunities for future research. Furthermore, our analysis corroborates the claim that the field of research on higher education consists of isolated ‘islands’. Importantly, we find that these islands drift further apart because of a trend of specialisation. This is a bleak finding, suggesting the (further) disintegration of our field.
Electrodeposition of titanium–vanadium alloys from chloride-based molten salts: influence of electrolyte chemistry and deposition potential on composition, morphology and microstructure
Authors: Gussone Joachim , Vijay Chakradhar Reddy Yerragudi , Watermeyer Philipp , Milicevic Ksenija , Friedrich Bernd , Haubrich Jan
Published: January 2020

In the present study, we demonstrate co-deposition of titanium and vanadium from a eutectic LiCl–KCl electrolyte enriched with VCl3 and TiCl2 at 700 K. While the addition of metallic titanium to the electrolyte caused vanadium depletion by a displacement reaction, metallic vanadium addition created and stabilized divalent vanadium ions in the melt, which are supposed to positively affect the deposition process. Various electrochemical experiments were carried out with different electrolyte concentrations, and a relationship between applied potential, electrolyte concentration and composition of the deposit was established. The composition and the morphology of the obtained deposits were strongly affected by the electrolysis conditions. Electrodeposited vanadium-rich Ti–V alloys were found to grow as dendrites, whereas the titanium-rich alloys exhibited a dense cauliflower-like surface morphology. In contrast to deposits of the single elements, which are composed of comparably large faceted crystals, the Ti–V alloys obtained in this study were very fine grained, especially those with vanadium contents around 10–15 at%. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that, depending on the composition of the deposit, either a biphasic α + β microstructure in the case of low vanadium contents or β-(V,Ti) with small amounts of ω phase for high vanadium contents were found.

Graphic abstract
The Gambling Consumption Mediation Model (GCMM): A Multiple Mediation Approach to Estimate the Association of Particular Game Types with Problem Gambling
Authors: Brosowski Tim , Olason Daniel Thor , Turowski Tobias , Hayer Tobias
Published: January 2020

Bivariate associations of problem gambling with participation in particular game types often decrease when adjusting for demographics or consumption behavior (e.g., number of game types played). A summary of 14 peer-reviewed studies showed inconsistencies as well as conceptual and methodological challenges. The aim of this study was to expand previous research by a combination of (1) sophisticated feature-engineering, which disaggregates gambling intensity into facets within and beyond a game type of interest, and (2) the application of mediation models. Data comprised last year gamblers of three merged cross sectional Icelandic gambling surveys of 2007, 2011, and 2017 (N = 4422). For each of 15 game types (12-month time frame), a parallel multiple mediation model was applied to disaggregate bivariate associations of last year game type participation and problem gambling (Problem Gambling Severity Index) by six mediating mechanisms: (1) demographic problem gambling propensity, (2) number of game types played, (3) gambling frequency within the type, (4) maximum gambling frequency across all types beyond, (5) usual spending within the type, (6) maximum usual spending across all types beyond. Games showed two distinct profiles via which mediator they mostly impacted problem gambling: Electronic gaming machines offline, scratch cards offline, live betting online, and poker offline as well as online impacted problem gambling mostly via gambling frequency within, whereas all other types mostly impacted via the number of game types played. The applied mediation models answer the question by which mechanism game types impact problem gambling in a more exhaustive way than previous research.
A Parallel Newton Multigrid Framework for Monolithic Fluid-Structure Interactions
Authors: Failer L. , Richter T.
Published: January 2020

We present a monolithic parallel Newton-multigrid solver for nonlinear nonstationary three dimensional fluid-structure interactions in arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation. We start with a finite element discretization of the coupled problem, based on a remapping of the Navier–Stokes equations onto a fixed reference framework. The strongly coupled fluid-structure interaction problem is discretized with finite elements in space and finite differences in time. The resulting nonlinear and linear systems of equations are large and show a very high condition number. We present a novel Newton approach that is based on two essential ideas: First, a condensation of the solid deformation by exploiting the discretized velocity-deformation relation $$d_t \mathbf {u}= \mathbf {v}$$dtu=v, second, the Jacobian of the fluid-structure interaction system is simplified by neglecting all derivatives with respect to the ALE deformation, an approximation that has shown to have little impact. The resulting system of equations decouples into a joint momentum equation and into two separate equations for the deformation fields in solid and fluid. Besides a reduction of the problem sizes, the approximation has a positive effect on the conditioning of the systems such that multigrid solvers with simple smoothers like a parallel Vanka-iteration can be applied. We demonstrate the efficiency of the resulting solver infrastructure on a well-studied 2d test-case and we also introduce a challenging 3d problem.
Von Neumann–Gale dynamics and capital growth in financial markets with frictions
Authors: Babaei Esmaeil , Evstigneev Igor V. , Schenk-Hoppé Klaus Reiner , Zhitlukhin Mikhail
Published: January 2020

The aim of this work is to extend the classical theory of growth-optimal investments (Shannon, Kelly, Breiman, Algoet, Cover and others) to models of asset markets with frictions—transaction costs and portfolio constraints. As the modelling framework, we use discrete-time dynamical systems generated by convex homogeneous multivalued operators in spaces of random vectors—von Neumann–Gale dynamical systems. The main results are concerned with the construction and characterization of investment strategies possessing properties of asymptotic growth-optimality almost surely.
Analysis of adversary activities using cloud-based web services to enhance cyber threat intelligence
Authors: Al-Mohannadi Hamad , Awan Irfan , Al Hamar Jassim
Published: January 2020

The understanding of cyber threats to a network is challenging yet rewarding as it allows an organisation to prevent a potential attack. Numerous efforts have been made to predict cyber threat before they occur. To build a threat intelligence framework, an organisation must understand attack data collected from the network events and analyse them to identify the cyber attack artefacts such as IP address, domain name, tools and techniques, username and password, and geographic location of the attacker, which could be used to understand the nature of attack to a system or network. However, it is very difficult or dangerous to collect and analyse live data from a production system. Honeypot technology is well known for mimicking the real system while collecting actual data that can be in near real time in order to monitor the activities on the network. This paper proposes a threat intelligence approach analysing attack data collected using cloud-based web service in order to support the active threat intelligence.
Prognostic implications of resting distal coronary-to-aortic pressure ratio compared with fractional flow reserve: a 10-year follow-up study after deferral of revascularisation
Authors: Wijntjens G. W. M. , van de Hoef T. P. , Meuwissen M. , Echavarría-Pinto M. , Murai T. , Stegehuis V. E. , Koch K. T. , Chamuleau S. A. , Voskuil M. , de Winter R. J. , Tijssen J. G. P. , Piek J. J.
Published: January 2020

Introduction

The distal coronary-to-aortic pressure ratio (Pd/Pa) is a non-hyperaemic physiological index to assess the functional severity of coronary stenoses. Studies comparing Pd/Pa with fractional flow reserve (FFR) show superior diagnostic efficiency for myocardial ischaemia. Nevertheless, a direct comparison regarding long-term clinical outcomes is still not available. The present observational study compared the prognostic value of Pd/Pa and FFR for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during a 10-year follow-up period after deferral of revascularisation.

Methods

Between April 1997 and September 2006, we evaluated 154 coronary stenoses (154 patients) in which revascularisation was deferred with intracoronary pressure and flow measurements during the resting and hyperaemic state. Long-term follow-up (median: 11.8 years) was performed to document the occurrence of MACE, defined as a composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target vessel revascularisation.

Results

The study population comprised angiographically intermediate coronary stenoses, with a mean diameter stenosis of 53 ± 8%, and intermediate physiological severity with a median FFR of 0.82 (Q1, Q3: 0.76, 0.88). The association of Pd/Pa with long-term MACE was similar to that of FFR [FFR-standardised hazard ratio (sHR): 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.61–0.98; Pd/Pa-sHR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67–0.96]. In the presence of disagreement between Pd/Pa and FFR, normal Pd/Pa was generally associated with high coronary flow reserve (CFR) and a favourable clinical outcome, whereas abnormal Pd/Pa was generally associated with CFR around the ischaemic cut-point and an impaired clinical outcome, regardless of the accompanying FFR value.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that Pd/Pa provides at least equivalent prognostic value compared with FFR. When Pd/Pa disagreed with FFR, the baseline index conferred superior prognostic value in this study population.
Measuring the Quality of Explanations: The System Causability Scale (SCS)
Authors: Holzinger Andreas , Carrington André , Müller Heimo
Published: January 2020

Recent success in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) allow problem solving automatically without any human intervention. Autonomous approaches can be very convenient. However, in certain domains, e.g., in the medical domain, it is necessary to enable a domain expert to understand, why an algorithm came up with a certain result. Consequently, the field of Explainable AI (xAI) rapidly gained interest worldwide in various domains, particularly in medicine. Explainable AI studies transparency and traceability of opaque AI/ML and there are already a huge variety of methods. For example with layer-wise relevance propagation relevant parts of inputs to, and representations in, a neural network which caused a result, can be highlighted. This is a first important step to ensure that end users, e.g., medical professionals, assume responsibility for decision making with AI/ML and of interest to professionals and regulators. Interactive ML adds the component of human expertise to AI/ML processes by enabling them to re-enact and retrace AI/ML results, e.g. let them check it for plausibility. This requires new human–AI interfaces for explainable AI. In order to build effective and efficient interactive human–AI interfaces we have to deal with the question of how to evaluate the quality of explanations given by an explainable AI system. In this paper we introduce our System Causability Scale to measure the quality of explanations. It is based on our notion of Causability (Holzinger et al. in Wiley Interdiscip Rev Data Min Knowl Discov 9(4), 2019) combined with concepts adapted from a widely-accepted usability scale.
Surface-Engineered Li4Ti5O12 Nanostructures for High-Power Li-Ion Batteries
Authors: Gangaja Binitha , Nair Shantikumar , Santhanagopalan Dhamodaran
Published: January 2020

Materials with high-power charge–discharge capabilities are of interest to overcome the power limitations of conventional Li-ion batteries. In this study, a unique solvothermal synthesis of Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles is proposed by using an off-stoichiometric precursor ratio. A Li-deficient off-stoichiometry leads to the coexistence of phase-separated crystalline nanoparticles of Li4Ti5O12 and TiO2 exhibiting reasonable high-rate performances. However, after the solvothermal process, an extended aging of the hydrolyzed solution leads to the formation of a Li4Ti5O12 nanoplate-like structure with a self-assembled disordered surface layer without crystalline TiO2. The Li4Ti5O12 nanoplates with the disordered surface layer deliver ultrahigh-rate performances for both charging and discharging in the range of 50–300C and reversible capacities of 156 and 113 mAh g−1 at these two rates, respectively. Furthermore, the electrode exhibits an ultrahigh-charging-rate capability up to 1200C (60 mAh g−1; discharge limited to 100C). Unlike previously reported high-rate half cells, we demonstrate a high-power Li-ion battery by coupling Li4Ti5O12 with a high-rate LiMn2O4 cathode. The full cell exhibits ultrafast charging/discharging for 140 and 12 s while retaining 97 and 66% of the anode theoretical capacity, respectively. Room- (25 °C), low- (− 10 °C), and high- (55 °C) temperature cycling data show the wide temperature operation range of the cell at a high rate of 100C.