bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regioselective Baeyer–Villiger Oxidation of Steroidal Ketones to Lactones Using BF3/H2O2
Authors: Ilovaisky Alexey I. , Merkulova Valentina M. , Vil' Vera A. , Chernoburova Elena I. , Shchetinina Marina A. , Loguzov Sergey D. , Dmitrenok Andrey S. , Zavarzin Igor V. , Terent'ev Alexander O.
Published: December 2019

A regioselective Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of estrone and androstane derivatives into 17a‐oxa‐D‐homosteroids was developed. An important feature of this reaction lies in the selective formation of oxidation products in moderate to high yields using BF3·Et2O/ H2O2 system traditionally applied for peroxide synthesis.
A Sodium Polysulfide Battery with Liquid/Solid Electrolyte: Improving Sulfur Utilization Using P2S5 as Additive and Tetramethylurea as Catholyte Solvent
Authors: Medenbach Lukas , Hartmann Pascal , Janek Juergen , Stettner Timo , Balducci Andrea , Dirksen Cornelius , Schulz Matthias , Stelter Michael , Adelhelm Philipp
Published: December 2019

Herein, the proof of concept of a sodium polysulfide battery consisting of two electrode chambers being separated by a solid electrolyte is described. The concept is suited for dissolved polysulfide cathodes and has the advantage that both half reactions can be optimized separately. The formation of solid sulfide discharge products is identified as the major limiting factor for cell cycling. This issue can be alleviated by adding solid P2S5. Further improvement can be achieved by replacing diglyme (2G) as the cathode compartment solvent with tetramethylurea (TMU). Using TMU, the cell cycles with Coulombic efficiencies >99% and capacities of 800 mAh g−1 are maintained for at least 30 cycles. Viscosity, density, conductivity, and the electrochemical stability window values of the 2G‐ and TMU‐based electrolytes are compared. The latter shows higher viscosity (2.806 vs 1.603 mPa s), higher density (1.016 vs 0.996 g cc−1), and higher conductivity (4.27 vs 1.45 mS cm−1). The oxidative stability limit of the TMU electrolyte is 3.2 V versus Na+/Na, which is sufficient for polysulfide redox reactions. Vis spectroscopy is used to follow the electrode reaction. In case of TMU, the reaction is based on the redox activity of S3−• radicals (blue coloration of the catholyte solution).
Novel Sepiolite‐Based Materials for Lithium‐ and Sodium‐Ion Storage
Authors: Jiang Wenwu , Jiang Yunhong , Zhao Shijun , Peng Jinfeng , Qin Wei , Ouyang Donghong , Ding Yanhuai
Published: December 2019

Natural sepiolite is widely used as an inorganic template to prepare functional nanomaterials. Herein, raw sepiolite and ultrafine TiO2 nanocrystals–decorated sepiolite nanofibers are fabricated by a hydrothermal reaction followed by an annealing process. For Li‐storage, the TiO2/sepiolite composites exhibit higher specific capacity and a longer lifespan than raw sepiolite. At a current density of 0.3 A g−1, the optimized TiO2/sepiolite composites deliver a discharge capacity of 1811 and 618 mAh g−1 at 1st and 300th cycle, respectively. In addition, the composites show a very stable specific capacity of 100 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 for Na‐storage up to 100 cycles.
Building a Culturally Responsive Independent Consulting Practice
Authors: Clark Nicole
Published: December 2019

Cultural responsiveness is an introspective, lifelong commitment to understanding unique cultural strengths, challenges, and their impact on community engagement. Moving beyond cultural competence (in which there is an expectation to possess a certain level of knowledge and skills in another culture), cultural responsiveness challenges professionals to recognize their own personal and professional biases and potential power dynamics, while working collaboratively to develop a dialogue‐based approach that responds to community needs. While this process is often detailed in how evaluators engage with clients and communities, as independent evaluators we can apply cultural responsiveness to how we develop our business structures and identify clients with whom to work. This chapter describes some of the influences on the author's personal commitment to a culturally responsive evaluation practice. Reaching beyond identity awareness, the author discusses how cultural responsiveness is demonstrated in practice. The chapter includes a set of questions related to business, client, project, and community engagement for evaluation consultants to answer and examine how their own work can be a culturally responsive practice to foster inclusion and support equity.
Partnering for Social Change: Collaborating With Clients and Communities
Authors: Wolfe Susan M. , Price Ann Webb
Published: December 2019

This chapter provides insight into the challenges faced by independent evaluators working in community settings. Communities are complex, requiring the independent evaluator, who chooses to work in them, to possess a unique set of personal qualities and professional competencies. Social problems are complex and community members and organizations must be engaged for interventions and evaluations to be effective. The authors delve into the evaluators’ professional competencies applicable to working with communities and the perspectives required to help communities evaluate their social change strategies. The authors discuss the necessity to demonstrate cultural humility and cross‐cultural competence, a commitment to justice and equity, an ecological perspective, empowerment, community inclusion, and knowledge of program development and implementation strategies typical in community‐oriented work. This chapter suggests guidelines and resources to assist the evaluator working in communities. It concludes with examples of results from the authors’ work as independent evaluation consultants working with community coalitions.
Forecasting interest rates through Vasicek and CIR models: A partitioning approach
Authors: Orlando Giuseppe , Mininni Rosa Maria , Bufalo Michele
Published: December 2019

The aim of this paper is to propose a new methodology that allows forecasting, through Vasicek and CIR models, of future expected interest rates based on rolling windows from observed financial market data. The novelty, apart from the use of those models not for pricing but for forecasting the expected rates at a given maturity, consists in an appropriate partitioning of the data sample. This allows capturing all the statistically significant time changes in volatility of interest rates, thus giving an account of jumps in market dynamics. The new approach is applied to different term structures and is tested for both models. It is shown how the proposed methodology overcomes both the usual challenges (e.g., simulating regime switching, volatility clustering, skewed tails) as well as the new ones added by the current market environment characterized by low to negative interest rates.
An adaptive test for meta‐analysis of rare variant association studies
Authors: Yang Tianzhong , Kim Junghi , Wu Chong , Ma Yiding , Wei Peng , Pan Wei
Published: December 2019

Single genome‐wide studies may be underpowered to detect trait‐associated rare variants with moderate or weak effect sizes. As a viable alternative, meta‐analysis is widely used to increase power by combining different studies. The power of meta‐analysis critically depends on the underlying association patterns and heterogeneity levels, which are unknown and vary from locus to locus. However, existing methods mainly focus on one or only a few combinations of the association pattern and heterogeneity level, thus may lose power in many situations. To address this issue, we propose a general and unified framework by combining a class of tests including and beyond some existing ones, leading to high power across a wide range of scenarios. We demonstrate that the proposed test is more powerful than some existing methods in simulation studies, then show their performance with the NHLBI Exome‐Sequencing Project (ESP) data. One gene (B4GALNT2) was found by our proposed test, but not by others, to be statistically significantly associated with plasma triglyceride. The signal was driven by African‐ancestry subjects but it was previously reported to be associated with coronary artery disease among European‐ancestry subjects. We implemented our method in an R package aSPUmeta, publicly available at https://github.com/ytzhong/metaRV and will be on CRAN soon.
Conditional cash transfers, spillovers, and informal health care: Evidence from Peru
Authors: Guerrero Natalia , Molina Oswaldo , Winkelried Diego
Published: December 2019

Conditional cash transfer programs have become instrumental in encouraging the use of formal health services in developing countries, but little is known about their effect on the use of low‐quality informal care. Using a large survey of Peruvian rural households and a regression discontinuity design, we find a sizeable reduction in the use of informal health care providers not only by targeted but also by nontargeted members of households that qualify for the program. This indicates the existence of spillover effects within the household. We also provide evidence that beyond the direct increase in income, the availability of better information about institutional services is a potential mechanism that drives these effects.
On multilateral incomplete information decision models
Authors: Szajowski Krzysztof , Skarupski Marek
Published: December 2019

This paper treats the decision problem related to theobservation of a Markov process by decision makers. The informationdelivered to the players is based on the aggregation of thehigh‐frequency data by some functions. Admissible strategies arestopping moments related to the available information. The paymentsare defined by the state at the time of stopping. The players' decision to stop has various effects which depend on the decisionmakers' type. The type β player's stopping decision assignsthe state of the process with chance β, and it offers thisstate to the opponent with probability . The knowledgeabout the type of the players is not public and in this way, thepayers have also different information. The details of thedescription allow to formulate the problem as a Bayesian game withsets of strategies based on the stopping times. It is an extensionof Dynkin's game related to the observation of a Markov process withthe random assignment mechanism of states to the players. Some examples related to the best choice problem (BCP) are analyzed. MSC (2000) Primary: 90D15; Secondary: 93C30.
Mutual influences of a chemical reaction and thermal radiation on a peristaltic pump of synovial nanofluids in a 3D tapered asymmetric channel
Authors: Hasona Wahed
Published: December 2019

This investigation discusses the influences of a chemical reaction and concentration‐dependent viscosity on a magnetohydrodynamics peristaltic pump of synovial nanofluid in a tapered channel. Chemical reaction and Hall current effects are considered in the proposed investigation. The current study is solved for two suggestion models. In Model‐(I), the concentration is considered as a function in viscosity. In Model‐(II), concentration is considered as a function of the shear‐thinning index. The related study is rearranged under the models of low Reynolds number and long wavelength. The system study of highly nonlinear partial differential equations is explained mathematically with the aid of ParametricNDSolve by using Mathematica 11. Both models have been compared numerically and a huge difference is found between them. Results for velocity profile, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration distributions are obtained graphically for similar values of various physical parameters in three‐dimensional forms. Furthermore, a trapping bolus sketch is proposed in the terminus. The results confirm that the AJ patients can be cured by using the magnetic field in the presence of an electrically inducing influence, as a result of the effort of the ions inside the cell, which accelerates the metabolism of fluids. In addition, maximum values of velocity can control the friction between the joints and thus reduce arthritis.
Infants' looking times in a 2‐D mental rotation task
Authors: Kaaz Tatjana , Heil Martin
Published: December 2019

In adults, substantial and consistent sex differences during mental rotation favouring men are obtained as long as certain methodological boundary conditions are met. In recent years, a number of studies using different stimuli and experimental approaches investigated sex differences in mental rotation in infants with inconclusive results. The goal of the present study was to examine on the basis of a sufficient statistical power (a) whether infants aged 6 month are able to use mental rotation in a preferential looking task after familiarization with simple 2‐D stimuli; (b) whether there were sex differences present, and (c) whether the results depend on inducing an expectation about the orientation of the upcoming stimulus.

Our data suggest that the familiarization paradigm is well suited to reveal sex differences in mental rotation favouring boys only when it induces an expectation about the orientation of the upcoming stimulus. If no such expectation is induced, neither boys nor girls reveal evidence for mental rotation. More studies are needed to evaluate sex differences in infancy and, more importantly, whether infant's sex differences are restricted to experimental paradigms that induce the extrapolation of an induced rotary movement.

Highlights

We investigated the reliability of recent findings suggesting that male but not female infants show evidence for mental rotation although no expectation about the orientation of the upcoming stimulus was possible.

By measuring the novelty preference in looking times, we found no evidence for mental rotation and no evidence for a sex difference as long as no expectation about stimulus orientation was possible.

Since the sex effect was only present when an expectation of stimulus orientation was induced, the ability of rotary extrapolation might be the reason for sex effects sometimes present in infant research on mental rotation.
Spillovers and financial integration in emerging markets: Analysis of BRICS economies within a VAR‐BEKK framework
Authors: Patra Saswat , Panda Pradiptarathi
Published: December 2019

This study estimates the return and volatility spillovers among the BRICS countries (internal) and between BRICS, gold, oil and US stock markets (external). We find that internal return and volatility spillovers are higher than their external spillover counterparts. Thus, investors would be better off diversifying their investments in gold, oil and US stock markets along with the emerging economies. Interestingly, we also find that the return spillovers are higher than their volatility spillover counterparts, thus presenting investors with an opportunity to diversify their portfolio risk. With respect to portfolio constitution, South Africa emerges as the top choice for investment within the BRICS, whereas gold is the preferred choice for investors outside the BRICS economies.
Left ileal conduit: A case report
Authors: Nakamura Kazuyoshi , Matsui Kenichiro , Wakai Ken , Sazuka Tomokazu , Imamura Yusuke , Sakamoto Shinichi , Sekita Nobuyuki , Ichikawa Tomohiko
Published: December 2019

Introduction

When ileal conduit construction is performed for urinary tract drainage during radical cystectomy, the conduit is usually constructed in the right lower abdomen. However, no reports have described ileal conduit construction in the left lower abdomen when it cannot be performed on the right side. In addition, some ingenuity is necessary for construction on the left.

Case presentation

A 75‐year‐old woman visited our hospital with chief complaint of gross hematuria. Computed tomography and cystoscopy showed a huge bladder tumor, and blood analysis showed anemia. The patient was treated by radical cystectomy with ileal conduit construction. An ileal conduit was constructed in the left lower abdomen; it was impossible to construct in the right lower abdomen because of the abdominal wall scar hernia due to the past open surgery.

Conclusion

We herein reported a patient who underwent ileal conduit for urinary diversion on the left side of low abdominal wall.
Evaluation for Irrigation Water Purposes of Groundwater Quality in the Vicinity of Sivas City Centre (Turkey) by Using Gis and an Irrigation Water Quality Index
Authors: Karakuş Can Bülent , Yıldız Sayiter
Published: December 2019

In this study, the physical and chemical characteristics of wet and dry season groundwater quality parameters of 35 wells within the provincial boundaries of Sivas were used for calculations such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kelly's ratio (KR), sodium percentage (Na%), permeability index (PI), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and magnesium hazard (MH), which are used in irrigation water quality ratings. Also, the irrigation water quality index (IWQI) was calculated for all groundwater sources within the study area. Groundwater quality parameters and the spatial distribution of the parameters calculated throughout the study were mapped using GIS, and irrigation water quality evaluation was performed in accordance with USA Salinity Laboratory diagram and irrigation water quality standards. The correlations between the irrigation water quality parameters were determined using Pearson correlation analysis. IWQI values showed that the majority of groundwater samples (45.7%) are in the ‘weak' (MR: medium rating) category for the dry season, whereas 42.9% of groundwater samples fall within the ‘very weak' (HR: high restriction) category for the wet season. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pre‐chemotherapy white blood cell depletion by therapeutic leukocytapheresis in leukemia patients: A single‐institution experience
Authors: Nguyen Thanh H. , Bach Khanh Q. , Vu Hung Q. , Nguyen Nhat Q. , Duong Thien D. , De Reys Stef , Wheeler Jennifer
Published: December 2019

Background

Hyperleukocytosis is commonly seen in acute and chronic leukemias. Therapeutic leukocytapheresis using an automatic cell separator can help to achieve prompt leukoreduction to reduce the rate of thrombotic events and early mortality as well as to prevent tumor lysis syndrome.

Aim

In this study, we report a single center's experience in managing leukemia patients with therapeutic leukocytapheresis prior to chemotherapy.

Materials and Methods

Leukocytapheresis procedures were performed in 192 leukemia patients (including acute myeloid leukemia [AML], acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], and chronic myeloid leukemia [CML]) with hyperleukocytosis between January and December 2016.

Results

Median % reduction of white blood cell (WBC) count was 30.5% and median % removal efficiency was 46.7% for 75 procedures where the waste bag was sampled. WBC removal efficiency strongly depended on diagnosis (and was 71%, 66%, and 39% for ALL, AML, and CML, respectively). Procedures were generally well tolerated with only 9 out of 192 patients having mild adverse effects.

Discussion and Conclusion

In the absence of specific guidelines for the management of hyperleukocytosis, leukocytapheresis in association with chemotherapy should be considered early in clinical practice.
A highly sensitive naphthalimide‐based fluorescent probe for detection of Cu2+ via selective hydrolysis reaction and its application in practical samples
Authors: Li Xueyun , Guo Yifan , Xu Tingting , Fang Min , Xu Qianwen , Zhang Fan , Wu Zhenyu , Li Cun , Zhu Weiju
Published: December 2019

A novel fluorescent probe CN3, containing 1,8‐naphthalimide and picolinate units, was synthesized, and its structure was characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H NMR), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (C NMR), and mass spectroscopy techniques. The detection property of CN3 toward copper ions (Cu2+) has been investigated in ethanol–HEPES buffer (v/v = 1/1, pH = 7.40) solution by UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra. The results showed that CN3 had a highly selective and sensitive fluorescence quenching response to Cu2+, which was attributed to the generation of weak fluorescent N‐ethyl‐4‐hydroxyphenyl‐1,8‐ naphthalimide (compound 2) in polar ethanol–HEPES buffer (v/v = 1/1, pH = 7.40) via selective hydrolysis reaction. The detection of CN3 for Cu2+ was not influenced in the presence of other competing metal ions, and the limit of detection was as low as 50.0 nM. Therefore, the color of CN3 changed from colorless to yellowish when the Cu2+ was added. Furthermore, the fluorescent probe CN3 was utilized to detect Cu2+ in real water samples with fine performance.
Retrospective evaluation of the Dutch pre‐newborn screening cohort for propionic acidemia and isolated methylmalonic acidemia: What to aim, expect, and evaluate from newborn screening?
Authors: Haijes Hanneke A. , Molema Femke , Langeveld Mirjam , Janssen Mirian C. , Bosch Annet M. , van Spronsen Francjan , Mulder Margot F. , Verhoeven‐Duif Nanda M. , Jans Judith J.M. , van der Ploeg Ans T. , Wagenmakers Margreet A. , Rubio‐Gozalbo M. Estela , Brouwers Martijn C. G. J. , de Vries Maaike C. , Langendonk Janneke G. , Williams Monique , van Hasselt Peter M.
Published: December 2019

Evidence for effectiveness of newborn screening (NBS) for propionic acidemia (PA) and isolated methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is scarce. Prior to implementation in the Netherlands, we aim to estimate the expected health gain of NBS for PA and MMA. In this national retrospective cohort study, the clinical course of 76/83 Dutch PA and MMA patients, diagnosed between January 1979 and July 2019, was evaluated. Five clinical outcome parameters were defined: adverse outcome of the first symptomatic phase, frequency of acute metabolic decompensations (AMD), cognitive function, mitochondrial complications, and treatment‐related complications. Outcomes of patients identified by family testing were compared with the outcomes of their index siblings. An adverse outcome due to the first symptomatic phase was recorded in 46% of the clinically diagnosed patients. Outcome of the first symptomatic phase was similar in 5/9 sibling pairs and better in 4/9 pairs. Based on the day of diagnosis of the clinically diagnosed patients and sibling pair analysis, a preliminary estimated reduction of adverse outcome due to the first symptomatic phase from 46% to 36%‐38% was calculated. Among the sibling pairs, AMD frequency, cognitive function, mitochondrial, and treatment‐related complications were comparable. These results suggest that the health gain of NBS for PA and MMA in overall outcome may be limited, as only a modest decrease of adverse outcomes due to the first symptomatic phase is expected. With current clinical practice, no reduced AMD frequency, improved cognitive function, or reduced frequency of mitochondrial or treatment‐related complications can be expected.
A preliminary survey of Zika virus infection by nucleic acid test in the volunteer blood donor samples in Shenzhen China
Authors: Zheng Xin , Zeng Jingfeng , Xu Xiaoxuan , Liu Yizhong , Heng Liu , Wen Xiong , Li Shilin , Xu Min , Wu Shaobo , Chen Yongjun , Chen Limin
Published: December 2019

Although Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is mainly transmitted through mosquito bite, it can also be transmitted through blood transfusion. More than 500 000 cases of ZIKV infection were reported in the Americas from 2015 to 2016. Up till now, over 10 cases of imported ZIKV infection have been reported due to frequent international exchanges in the Shenzhen city of Guangdong Province, China. Unfortunately, there were no data on ZIKV infection in Chinese blood donors because it has not been included in routine screening for volunteer blood donors. As such, we performed a preliminary survey of the prevalence of ZIKV infection among volunteer blood donors in Shenzhen, China, to assess the potential risk of ZIKV infection through transfusion. A total of 9626 blood donor samples were collected and ZIKA RNA was detected by transcription‐mediated amplification (TMA) nucleic acid amplification method with the Panther nucleic acid automatic analysis system of Grifols, Spain, including Procleix ZIKV Assay reagent. All the experiments in this study were conducted in accordance with the standard operating procedure of the blood center. Of the 9626 donor blood samples tested, none of these samples was Zika RNA reactive. There was no positive case from ZIKV RNA screening in this preliminary survey. There was no ZIKV presence in blood donors in Shenzhen, China, from this preliminary survey. The potential risk of ZIKV infection by transfusion is low in Shenzhen at this moment. Therefore, there is no need to add ZIKV nucleic acid test as a routine screening for blood donors.
Strain engineering of the lattice vibration modes in monolayer black phosphorus
Authors: Zhang Liang , Li Hai , Sun Changqing , Ouyang Gang
Published: December 2019

Strain engineering can be served as an efficient tool for tuning physical properties of two‐dimentional (2D) materials. However, the quantifying strain and characterizing its spatially inhomogeneous distribution are always challenging. Here, we report the strain‐induced lattice vibration mode variations in monolayer black phosphorus (BP) and clarify the underlying mechanism resorting to the bond relaxation theory based on the combination of mass‐spring model and Lagrangian dynamics. We reveal that the
and B2g modes exhibit blue (red) shifts while the
mode shows a red (blue) shift through applying an armchair (zigzag) strain, which can be ascribed to the orientation‐dependent lattice vibration mode variations resulting from the different responses of force constants. Moreover, it is found that a negative Poisson's ratio along the out‐of‐plane direction emerges when the strain is applied in the zigzag direction. Our results offer intriguing insights into the underlying physics of vibration mode variations in strained BP‐like 2D layered materials.
Direct repair of iatrogenic thoracic duct injury through lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA): A case report
Authors: Rodi Timo , Tung Nguyen Ba , Fritsche Elmar , Rajan Gunesh , Scaglioni Mario F.
Published: December 2019

This is a case report of a 64‐year‐old male with cancer with an unknown primary and bilateral cervical lymph node metastases. Twelve months after chemo‐, radio‐, immunotherapy, and radical neck dissection, he presented with recurrent cervical metastases. The patient underwent radical revision neck dissection including the deep neck muscles of the cervical plexus and reconstruction with a free anterolateral thigh flap. During tumor resection, parts of the thoracic duct were removed which resulted in a large lymph leak. This was addressed by creating a lymphovenous anastomosis to a branch of the subclavian vein. The flow of lymph was reinstated, and no leak has been observed up to a recent 6‐month follow‐up.
Using Distance Sampling‐Based Integrated Population Models to Identify Key Demographic Parameters
Authors: Schmidt Joshua H. , Robison Hillary L.
Published: December 2019

Effective wildlife management relies on rigorous estimates of population parameters, although data for small populations are often sparse, limiting inference. Integrated population models (IPMs) offer a potential solution by formally combining data sets in a unified analysis, thereby improving precision and allowing the estimation of latent parameters. We expected that incorporating open‐population distance sampling models into an IPM framework would provide further advantages for assessing population dynamics, particularly for rare species. We present an open‐distance IPM combining separate sources of abundance, composition, survival, and harvest data to better understand the dynamics of a small (~200 individuals) muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population in northwestern Alaska, USA. There was a 75% chance the muskox population in our study area was declining (λ < 1.0), primarily because of a −4.3%/year decline in adult females, and estimated survival probabilities were 0.70, 0.87, and 0.89 for yearlings, adult females, and adult males (harvest excluded), respectively. Insufficient numbers of recruits drove the decline in adult females, and harvest likely limited the adult male component of the population, accounting for up to 50% of mortalities. Together, these results suggest more conservative harvest management might be appropriate moving forward. In contrast, the results from a more conventional analysis were largely ambiguous, which would inevitably lead to delays in the application of appropriate management actions. Our work furthers the development of open‐population distance sampling models and IPMs and demonstrates an efficient approach for managing small populations when extensive marking of individuals is not possible. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Photo‐Crosslinking Strategy Constructs Adhesive, Superabsorbent, and Tough PVA‐Based Hydrogel through Controlling the Balance of Cohesion and Adhesion
Authors: Li Zhangkang , Wang Dawei , Bai Huiyu , Zhang Shengwen , Ma Piming , Dong Weifu
Published: December 2019

An ideal hydrogel with excellent adhesive performance has drawn much attention in research and applications. In this paper, a photo‐crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol bearing styrylpyridinium group/cellulose nanocrystals (PVA‐SbQ/CNC) composite hydrogel is designed through photo‐crosslinking technology for preventing the physical crosslinking of polyvinyl alcohol to maintain enough hydroxy groups in the hydrogel. Thus, the hydrogel exhibits excellent adhesive behavior not only for various solid substrates (plastics, rubbers, glasses, metals, and woods) but also muscle and fat. In addition, the formation mechanism, the swelling behavior, and mechanical strength are also investigated. Also, these results show that photo‐crosslinked PVA‐SbQ/CNC hydrogel possesses high swelling rate, super stretchability, and high toughness. Moreover, adhesive, mechanical, and swelling properties of PVA‐SbQ/CNC hydrogels can be changed with the increase of total incident light intensity. It is anticipated that the photo‐crosslinked PVA‐SbQ/CNC hydrogel would play a significant role in the applications of wound dressing, medical electrodes, tissue adhesives, portable equipment, and super absorbent materials. In this sense, the simple photo‐crosslinking strategy would provide new ideas for designing soft and adhesive materials through controlling the balance of cohesion and adhesion.
UWB bandpass filter with compact size and wide upper stopband
Authors: Zeng Junjie , Li Xiuping , Qi Zihang
Published: December 2019

A novel ultra‐wideband (UWB) bandpass filter (BPF) with a very compact size and improved out‐of‐band performance is proposed in this letter. The main circuit structure is a composite right‐/left‐handed transmission line unit cell, which has UWB bandpass characteristic as well as compact size. Moreover, two anticoupled line structures added at both ends of the unit cell can produce a new resonant mode and three transmission zeros, so the passband response and upper stopband performance can be improved. The proposed filter is implemented and measured, which shows its 3 dB passband ranges from 3.3 to 10.9 GHz with a fractional bandwidth of 110.9%. Its insertion loss is about 0.6 dB at the centre frequency, while the return loss is better than 13 dB. In addition, the measured results also show the proposed filter has a wide stopband from 11.4 to 30 GHz, whose rejection level is greater than 18 dB. The size of the filter is only 7.4 × 6.4 mm, equal to 0.22 × 0.20 λg. Both the simulated and measured results are in good agreement.
Peptidomic analysis of blastocyst culture medium and the effect of peptide derived from blastocyst culture medium on blastocyst formation and viability
Authors: Ji Hui , Shi Xiaodan , Wang Jiayi , Cao Shanren , Ling Xiufeng , Zhang Junqiang , Shen Rong , Zhao Chun
Published: December 2019

High‐quality in vitro human embryo culture medium can improve the blastocyst formation rate and blastocyst quality and be beneficial for the clinical application of single blastocyst transfer. Mammalian embryos can secrete protein products into the surrounding medium. As a group of bioactive molecules and degraded proteins, peptides have been shown to participate in various biological processes. Using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry, we performed comparative peptidomic analysis of human culture medium in blastocyst formation and nonblastocyst‐formation groups. A total of 201 differentially expressed peptides originating from 157 precursor proteins were identified. Among these, a peptide derived from HERC2 (peptide derived from blastocyst culture medium [PDBCM]) passed through the zona pellucida, was distributed on the perivitelline space, was absent in arrest embryos and highly expressed in high‐quality blastocysts compared with low‐quality blastocysts, and significantly promoted blastocyst formation in a concentration‐dependent manner. These results indicate that PDBCM may be a novel biomarker for predicting blastocyst formation and viability. The mechanism remains unclear and needs to be explored in the future.
p53 immunohistochemistry is an accurate surrogate for TP53 mutational analysis in endometrial carcinoma biopsies
Authors: Singh Naveena , Piskorz Anna M , Bosse Tjalling , Jimenez‐Linan Mercedes , Rous Brian , Brenton James D , Gilks C Blake , Köbel Martin
Published: December 2019

TP53 mutations are considered a surrogate biomarker of the serous‐like ‘copy number high’ molecular subtype of endometrial carcinoma (EC). In ovarian carcinoma, p53 immunohistochemistry (IHC) accurately reflects mutational status with almost 100% specificity but its performance in EC has not been established. This study tested whether p53 IHC reliably predicts TP53 mutations identified by next‐generation sequencing (NGS) in EC biopsy samples for all ECs and as part of a molecular classification algorithm after exclusion of cases harbouring mismatch repair defects (MMRd) or pathogenic DNA polymerase epsilon exonuclease domain mutations (POLEmut). A secondary aim assessed inter‐laboratory variability in p53 IHC. From a total of 207 cases from five centres (37–49 cases per centre), p53 IHC carried out at a central reference laboratory was compared with local IHC (n = 164) and curated tagged‐amplicon NGS TP53 sequencing results (n = 177). Following consensus review, local and central p53 IHC results were concordant in 156/164 (95.1%) tumours. Discordant results were attributable to both interpretive and technical differences in staining between the local and central laboratories. When results were considered as any mutant pattern versus wild‐type pattern staining, however, there was disagreement between local and central review in only one case. The concordance between p53 IHC and TP53 mutation was 155/168 (92.3%) overall, and 117/123 (95.1%) after excluding MMRd and POLEmut EC. Three (3/6) discordant results were in serous carcinomas with complete absence of p53 staining but no detectable TP53 mutation. Subclonal mutant p53 IHC expression was observed in 9/177 (5.1%) cases, of which four were either MMRd or POLEmut. Mutant pattern p53 IHC was observed in 63/63 (100%) serous carcinomas that were MMR‐proficient/POLE exonuclease domain wild‐type. Optimised p53 IHC performs well as a surrogate test for TP53 mutation in EC biopsies, demonstrates excellent inter‐laboratory reproducibility, and has high clinical utility for molecular classification algorithms in EC. © 2019 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the ensemble‐based linearization of numerical models
Authors: Yaremchuk Max , Nechaev Dmitri , Frolov Sergey
Published: December 2019

Current parallelization trends in computer technology facilitates development of the algorithms that retrieve linear approximations of the model operators and their adjoints from ensembles of model simulations. In this study we address the problem of obtaining exact linearizations in the presence of semi‐implicit numerics of the parent model under realistic constraints on the ensemble size. The method is based on factorization of the model into a sequence of local and non‐local linear operators and employs prior information on the structure of the respective sparse matrices. The performance of the method is tested using 28 perturbed solutions of the shallow‐water equations with a moderate size () state vector. Numerical experiments have shown feasibility of the approach under relatively general constraints on the structure of the parent model. Because of the substantial expense of the ensemble‐based linearization, special focus is made on the assessment of the optimal frequency of such computations within the time intervals between data injections in typical operational systems.
An interval observer for uncertain continuous‐time linear systems
Authors: Meslem Nacim , Martinez John , Ramdani Nacim , Besançon Gildas
Published: December 2019

To design robust interval observers for uncertain continuous‐time linear systems, a new set‐integration approach is proposed to compute trajectory tubes for the estimation error. Because this approach, the order‐preserving condition on the dynamics of the estimation error is no longer required. Therefore,
synthesis methods can be used to compute observer gains that reduce the impact of the system uncertainties on the accuracy of the estimated state enclosures. The performance of the proposed approach is showcased through illustrative numerical examples.
Moving toward sustainable development: The relationship between water productivity, natural resource rent, international trade, and carbon dioxide emissions
Authors: Danish
Published: December 2019

This empirical work examines the relationships among energy consumption, real income, and carbon emissions considering the role of water productivity, natural resource rent, and international trade in the global economy from 1990 to 2013. Bayer–Hanck's combined cointegration test confirms the cointegration among variables under consideration in this study. The study also uses auto‐regressive distributive lag approach for long‐term and short‐term estimation. Empirical findings summarize that water productivity, natural resources, and international trade increase carbon emissions level. Two‐way causality is found between water productivity and carbon emissions and between energy consumption and water productivity. These results show that more efficient use of energy and water resources would be an effective strategy to combat global warming.
Understanding the In Situ Mechanistic Control of Plant‐Derived Carbon Quantum Dots on the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles
Authors: Shukla Devyani , Bose Subhaya , Choudhury Smarajit P. , K. Sharma Vinay , Das Megha , Sabbarwal Shivesh , Yadav Sanjeev K. , Kumar Manoj , Parmar Avanish S.
Published: December 2019

Arjuna terminalia‐ derived Carbon Quantum Dots synthesized by hydrothermal method are utilized to investigate the effect of their reaction parameters on the synthesis and growth of gold nanoparticles. In this study, carbon dots are synthesized at two temperatures (160 °C and 200 °C) and two solvents (water and ethanol) to investigate the effect of four variants on the formation of non‐cytotoxic gold nanoparticles. They are extensively characterized to understand their different physical and chemical properties. Gold nanoparticles synthesized using ethanol based carbon dots show greater stability. Addition of Type‐I collagen stabilizes the gold nanoparticles to form gold nanoparticle‐coated collagen fibrils. Further, β‐mercaptoethanol initiates a spontaneous precipitation and sedimentation of visible gold micelles similar to “snowing”. This work may help in future to understand the reduction of chloroauric acid using bio‐derived plant extracts, microbial consortium and very recently, carbon quantum dots, for specific tailoring of gold nanoparticles for biomedical, surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy and theranostics applications.
Improved Removal of Cr(VI) using Fe3O4/C Magnetic Nanocomposites Derived from Potassium Fulvic Acid
Authors: Su Qiaohong , Lin Zhang , Tian Chen , Su Xintai , Xue Xiaogang , Su Zhi
Published: December 2019

The development of high performance magnetic nanomaterials has a good application prospect in wastewater treatment. Herein, Fe3O4/C nanocomposites was synthesized by eco‐friendly hydrolysis‐calcination method using potassium fulvic acid (FA−K) and FeCl3⋅6H2O as raw materials. The morphology of Fe3O4/C nanocomposites exhibited a loose pore structure with uniform size (a diameter ∼ 27 nm). The prepared Fe3O4/C nanocomposites possessed excellent dispersibility and magnetic properties in aqueous solution. The removal efficiency and maximum adsorption capacity of Fe3O4/C nanocomposites were 98% and 64.0 mg g−1, respectively. Moreover, it was confirmed that the adsorption mechanism of Cr(VI) contains electrostatic attraction and redox reaction. In this work, we provide a convenient means for manufacturing Fe3O4/C nanocomposites, and prove that FA−K is a cheap carbon source for manufacturing Fe3O4/C nanocomposites, which makes Fe3O4/C nanocomposites have potential application value in the effective adsorption of Cr(VI).
Synthesis of Copolymerized Carbon Nitride Nanosheets from Urea and 2‐Aminobenzonitrile for Enhanced Visible Light CO2 Reduction with a Ruthenium(II) Complex Catalyst
Authors: Shibata Kengo , Kato Kosaku , Tsounis Constantine , Kanazawa Tomoki , Lu Daling , Nozawa Shunsuke , Yamakata Akira , Ishitani Osamu , Maeda Kazuhiko
Published: December 2019

Copolymerized carbon nitride nanosheets (NS‐C3N4) are synthesized by heating a mixture of urea and 2‐aminobenzonitrile (ABN) at 823 K for 2 h in air. The visible light‐absorption capability of the copolymerized NS‐C3N4 can be improved with an increase in the ABN content in the starting material, while maintaining the rather negative conduction band potential of NS‐C3N4. With the aid of a ruthenium(II) complex catalyst, the copolymerized NS‐C3N4 becomes active for CO2 reduction into formate (>90% selectivity) under visible light (λ > 400 nm) in the presence of triethanolamine as an electron donor. The activity is enhanced with increasing the starting ABN content to reach a maximum at a certain amount, beyond which it declines. The optimized material, modified with a silver promoter and a phosphonate‐functionalized ruthenium(II) catalyst, gives a high turnover number of 6000 (vs Ru catalyst) for formate production. Physicochemical analyses indicate that increasing the starting ABN concentration improves the visible light‐absorption capability of the copolymerized NS‐C3N4, but increases the number of trap states, which can work as recombination centers of photogenerated electrons and holes. Therefore, an appropriate adjustment of the ABN comonomer amount is essential to obtain copolymerized NS‐C3N4, which shows high photocatalytic activity.
Difluorinated Oligothiophenes for High‐Efficiency All‐Small‐Molecule Organic Solar Cells: Positional Isomeric Effect of Fluorine Substitution on Performance Variations
Authors: Duan Tainan , Gao Jie , Babics Maxime , Kan Zhipeng , Zhong Cheng , Singh Ranbir , Yu Donghong , Lee Jaewon , Xiao Zeyun , Lu Shirong
Published: December 2019

Three symmetrically difluorinated organic semiconductors (namely D5T2F‐P, D5T2F‐S, and D5T2F‐T) containing rhodanine‐flanked pentathiophene structures are synthesized and used as donors in all‐small‐molecule organic solar cells (ASM‐OSCs) prepared with the small‐molecule acceptor 2,2′‐((2Z,2′Z)‐((4,4,9,9‐tetrahexyl‐4,9‐dihydro‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene‐2,7‐diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6‐difluoro‐3‐oxo‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indene‐2,1‐diylidene))dimalononitrile (IDIC‐4F). The different substitutional positions of fluorine atoms (–F) in the conjugated backbone of the donor molecule lead to various material and photovoltaic properties being exhibited. Among the three isomers, the centrally fluorinated D5T2F‐P exhibits a redshifted absorption spectrum, downshifted highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level, and improved miscibility with IDIC‐4F in the blend films, all of which result in superior device performance. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the ASM‐OSCs based on D5T2F‐P:IDIC‐4F reaches an impressive value of 9.36% with an open‐circuit voltage (VOC) value of 0.86 V and a short‐circuit current density (JSC) value of 16.94 mA cm−2, whereas those of D5T2F‐S (6.11%) and D5T2F‐T (5.42%) are much lower. In comparison, an ASM‐OSC based on the nonfluorinated analogue DRCN5T fabricated under the same conditions exhibits poorer performance (8.03% with IDIC‐4F), revealing 16% enhancement in the PCE achieved through backbone fluorination. The PCE of 9.36% may be one of the highest efficiencies of oligothiophene‐based ASM‐OSCs reported in the literature to date.
Theory of cell fate
Authors: Casey Michael J. , Stumpf Patrick S. , MacArthur Ben D.
Published: December 2019

Cell fate decisions are controlled by complex intracellular molecular regulatory networks. Studies increasingly reveal the scale of this complexity: not only do cell fate regulatory networks contain numerous positive and negative feedback loops, they also involve a range of different kinds of nonlinear protein–protein and protein–DNA interactions. This inherent complexity and nonlinearity makes cell fate decisions hard to understand using experiment and intuition alone. In this primer, we will outline how tools from mathematics can be used to understand cell fate dynamics. We will briefly introduce some notions from dynamical systems theory, and discuss how they offer a framework within which to build a rigorous understanding of what we mean by a cell “fate”, and how cells change fate. We will also outline how modern experiments, particularly high‐throughput single‐cell experiments, are enabling us to test and explore the limits of these ideas, and build a better understanding of cellular identities.

This article is categorized under:

Models of Systems Properties and Processes > Mechanistic Models

Biological Mechanisms > Cell Fates

Models of Systems Properties and Processes > Cellular Models
A nonunitary interpretation for a single vector leptoquark combined explanation to the B-decay anomalies
Authors: Hati C. , Kriewald J. , Orloff J. , Teixeira A.M.
Published: December 2019

Abstract

In order to simultaneously account for both R

D(∗) and R

K (∗) anomalies in B-decays, we consider an extension of the Standard Model by a single vector leptoquark field, and study how one can achieve the required lepton flavour non-universality, starting from a priori universal gauge couplings. While the unitary quark-lepton mixing induced by SU(2)
L
breaking is insufficient, we find that effectively nonunitary mixings hold the key to simultaneously address the R

K (∗) and R

D
(∗) anomalies. As an intermediate step towards various UV-complete models, we show that the mixings of charged leptons with additional vector-like heavy leptons successfully provide a nonunitary framework to explain R

K (∗) and R

D(∗) . These realisations have a strong impact for electroweak precision observables and for flavour violating ones: isosinglet heavy lepton realisations are already excluded due to excessive contributions to lepton flavour violating Z -decays. Furthermore, in the near future, the expected progress in the sensitivity of charged lepton flavour violation experiments should allow to fully probe this class of vector leptoquark models.