bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neonatal influenza-specific effector CTLs retain elevated CD31 levels at the site of infection and have decreased IFN-γ production
Authors: Fike Adam J , Kumova Ogan K , Tardif Virginie J , Carey Alison J
Published: December 2018

The underlying mechanisms that regulate neonatal immune suppression are poorly characterized. CD31 (PECAM1) is highly expressed on neonatal lymphocytes and is a known modulator of TCR signaling. To further characterize the role of CD31 in the neonatal CTL response, 3-d and 7-d-old murine neonates were infected with influenza virus and compared to adults. The majority of the pulmonary viral-specific CTLs in the 3-d-old murine neonate retain CD31 expression, whereas adult CTLs have decreased CD31 expression. In addition, CD31+ neonatal viral-specific CTLs demonstrate decreased IFN-γ production, decreased proliferative capacity, and increased likelihood of death. At the peak of infection, sorted neonatal effector CTLs continue to transcribe CD31, indicating a developmental regulation of expression. To explore potential mechanisms for this reduced function, we compared the expression of the transcription factors Eomesodermin (Eomes) and T-bet; there was a significant increase in Eomes paired with a reduction in T-bet in CD31+ neonatal effector CTLs in the lung. Furthermore, in vitro stimulated neonatal CTLs significantly reduce IFN-γ production upon CD31 signaling. Altogether, these data indicate that neonatal CTLs may retain elevated levels of CD31 to maintain peripheral T cell suppression during the bridge to ex utero life.
Hematopoietic cell-specific lyn substrate (HCLS1 or HS1): A versatile actin-binding protein in leukocytes
Authors: Castro-Ochoa Karla F , Guerrero-Fonseca Idaira M , Schnoor Michael
Published: December 2018

Leukocytes are constantly produced in the bone marrow and released into the circulation. Many different leukocyte subpopulations exist that exert distinct functions. Leukocytes are recruited to sites of inflammation and combat the cause of inflammation via many different effector functions. Virtually all of these processes depend on dynamic actin remodeling allowing leukocytes to adhere, migrate, phagocytose, and release granules. However, actin dynamics are not possible without actin-binding proteins (ABP) that orchestrate the balance between actin polymerization, branching, and depolymerization. The homologue of the ubiquitous ABP cortactin in hematopoietic cells is hematopoietic cell-specific lyn substrate-1, often called hematopoietic cell-specific protein-1 (HCLS1 or HS1). HS1 has been reported in different leukocytes to regulate Arp2/3-dependent migration. However, more evidence is emerging that HS1 functions go far beyond just being a direct actin modulator. For example, HS1 is important for the activation of GTPases and integrins, and mediates signaling downstream of many receptors including BCR, TCR, and CXCR4. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on HS1 functions and discuss them in a pathophysiologic context.
Virus genotyping by massive parallel amplicon sequencing: adenovirus and enterovirus in the Norwegian MIDIA study
Authors: Cinek Ondrej , Kramna Lenka , Mazankova Karla , Kunteová Kateřina , Chudá Kateřina , C. J. Claas Eric , Stene Lars C. , Tapia German
Published: December 2018

Objectives

Direct genotyping of adenovirus or enterovirus from clinical material using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Sanger sequencing is often difficult due to the presence of multiple virus types in a sample, or due to varying efficacy of PCR amplifying the capsid gene on the background of foreign nucleic acids. Here we present a simple protocol for virus genotyping using massive parallel amplicon sequencing.

Methods

The protocol utilized a set of 16 tailed degenerate primers flanking the seventh hypervariable region of the adenovirus hexon gene and 9 tailed degenerate primers targeted to the proximal portion of the enterovirus VP1 gene. Subsequent addition of dual indices enabled simultaneous sequencing of 384 different samples on an Illumina MiSeq instrument. Downstream bioinformatic analysis was based on remapping to a set of references representative of the presently known repertoire of virus types.

Results

After validation with known virus types, the sequencing method was applied on 301 adenovirus‐positive samples and 350 enterovirus‐positive samples from a longitudinally collected series of stools from 83 children aged 3 to 36 months. We detected 7 different adenovirus types and 27 different enterovirus types. There were 37 (6.2%) samples containing more than one genotype of the same viral genus. At least one dual infection was experienced by 23 of 83 (28%) of the children observed over the 3 years' observation period.

Conclusions

Amplicon sequencing with a multiplex set of degenerate primers seems to be a rapid and reliable technical solution for genotyping of large collections of samples where simultaneous infections with multiple strains can be expected.
Evaluation of enamel demineralization and fluorine uptake caused by gustatory stimulants of salivary secretion (GSSS) using Raman spectroscopy and proton induced gamma‐ray emission (PIGE)
Authors: Luís Gonçalo , Silva Hugo , Silveira João , Manteigas Vasco , Mata António , Marques Duarte , Jesus Adelaide , Fonseca Micaela , Pessanha Sofia
Published: December 2018

In this work, two gustatory stimulants of salivary secretion (GSSS) were studied using Raman microscopy to evaluate their potential demineralization effect in human enamel samples and proton induced gamma‐ray emission (PIGE) to quantify fluorine uptake. These pharmaceutical products are usually administrated to patients who have revealed xerostomia, namely, caused by radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or diseases such as Sjögren's Syndrome. Traditional GSSS are composed of citric or malic acids that can promote enamel erosion by decreasing salivary pH below the critical level of hydroxyapatite demineralization (pH = 5.5). Recently, new GSSS composed of malic acid, fluorine, and xylitol were developed, which are supposed to decrease erosion potential risk and uptake fluorine in dental enamel. In this, in vitro study, 16 specimens of human enamel were randomized in two different groups exposed to two different GSSS: S group—SST® (with citric and malic acids, without fluorine) and X group—Xeros™ (with malic acid, fluorine, and xylitol) and analysed before and after treatment. The treatment simulated administration of four tablets per day during eight consecutive days. Statistically, significant increase in fluorine concentration was found in samples treated by Xeros™, whereas no significant differences were found in fluorine concentration for the ones treated using SST® treatment. No demineralization was found in dental enamel samples treated with either Xeros™ or SST®.
Aptamer‐modified magnetic metal‐organic framework MIL‐101 for highly efficient and selective enrichment of ochratoxin A
Authors: Zhang Qianchun , Yang Yanqun , Zhi Yongzhi , Wang Xingyi , Wu Yun , Zheng Yuguo
Published: December 2018

A facile and efficient strategy is developed to modify aptamers on the surface of the magnetic metal‐organic framework MIL‐101 for the rapid magnetic solid‐phase extraction of ochratoxin A. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to create a robust aptamer‐modified magnetic MIL‐101 with covalent bonding for the magnetic separation and enrichment of ochratoxin A. The saturated adsorption of ochratoxin A by aptamer‐modified magnetic MIL‐101 was 7.9 times greater than that by magnetic metal‐organic framework MIL‐101 due to the former's high selective recognition as well as good stability. It could be used for extraction more than 12 times with no significant changes in the extraction efficiency. An aptamer‐modified magnetic MIL‐101‐based method of magnetic solid‐phase extraction combined with ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of trace ochratoxin A with limit of detection of 0.067 ng/L. Ochratoxin A of 4.53–13.7 ng/kg was determined in corn and peanut samples. The recoveries were in the range 82.8–108% with a relative standard deviation (n = 5) of 4.5–6.5%. These results show that aptamer‐modified magnetic MIL‐101 exhibits selective and effective enrichment performance and have excellent potential for the analysis of ultra‐trace targets from complex matrices.
Age hardening behaviour of semi‐solid squeeze cast A319 aluminium alloy
Authors: Wang Q.F. , Wang L.D. , Zhu D.Y. , Lin Z. , Chen X. , Sheng B.
Published: December 2018

The influence of age hardening treatment on the hardness and microstructure of semi‐solid squeeze cast A319 alloy is investigated. At 175 °C, the age‐hardening curve of the alloy shows two peaks between which there was an apparent valley. Analyses by transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and energy‐dispersive X‐ray detection suggest that the first peak is caused by formation of G.P.2 zones while the second peak can be related to formation of the metastable θ′‐ and Q′‐phases. Compared with gravity die cast A319 the semi‐solid squeeze cast A319 shows a larger increase and a higher peak in hardness during the age hardening process. Additionally, the latter requires another 32 h to reach the first hardness peak while it reaches the second hardness peak about 24 h earlier than the former.
Impact of Oxidative Metabolism on the Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Potential of Genistein in Human Colon Cancer Cells
Authors: Schroeter Anika , Aichinger Georg , Stornig Karin , Marko Doris
Published: December 2018

Scope

Genistein (GEN) is known to be genotoxic via targeting topoisomerase‐II (TOPII). Oxidative metabolism of GEN is shown to generate hydroxylated metabolites with catecholic structures. The present study focuses on the impact of oxidative metabolism of GEN, exemplified for 3′‐hydroxygenistein (3′‐OH‐GEN) and 6‐hydroxygenistein (6‐OH‐GEN), on topoisomerase interference and the resulting genotoxic potential in HT‐29 human colon carcinoma cells.

Methods and results

In a cell‐free decatenation assay, 3′‐OH‐GEN slightly exceeds the TOPII‐inhibiting potential of GEN. In HT‐29 cells, its inhibitory action on TOPII does not differ from GEN, but it has greater activity with respect to causing DNA damage (measured by the comet assay), p53 activation (Western blot), apoptosis induction (ELISA), and cytotoxicity (WST‐1 assay). This may to some extent be related to a stronger pro‐oxidative potential of 3′‐OH‐GEN in comparison to GEN, as observed for the highest concentrations (DCF assay).

6‐OH‐GEN exerts much weaker toxic effects than GEN in cell‐based assays, including TOPII poisoning, DNA strand‐breaking potential, and ROS generation. This might in part arise from decreased cellular uptake of the metabolite, as measured by HPLC–DAD.

Conclusion

Oxidative metabolism alters the toxicological potential of GEN. Depending on the site of oxidation, the toxicity of the parent compound is exceeded (3′‐OH‐GEN) or attenuated (6‐OH‐GEN).
Dosimetric features‐driven machine learning model for DVH prediction in VMAT treatment planning
Authors: Ma Ming , Kovalchuk Nataliya , Buyyounouski Mark K. , Xing Lei , Yang Yong
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Few features characterizing the dosimetric properties of the patients are included in currently available dose‐volume histogram (DVH) prediction models, making it intractable to build a correlative relationship between the input and output parameters. Here, we use planning target volume (PTV)‐only treatment plans of the patients (i.e., the achievable dose distribution in the absence of organs‐at‐risk (OAR) constraints) to estimate the potentially achievable quality of treatment plans and establish a machine learning‐based DVH prediction framework with the use of the dosimetric metric as model input parameters.

Methods

A support vector regression (SVR) approach was used as the backbone of our machine learning model. A database containing volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans of 63 prostate cancer patients were used. For each patient, the PTV‐only plan was generated first. A correlative relationship between the OAR DVH of the PTV‐only plan (model input) and the corresponding DVH of the clinical treatment plan (CTP) (model output) was then established with the 53 training cases. The prediction model was tested by the validation cohort of ten cases.

Results

For the training cohort, the checks of dosimetric endpoints (DEs) indicated that 52 of 53 plans (98%) were within the 10% error bound for bladder, and 45 of 53 plans (85%) were within the 10% error bound for rectum. In the validation tests, 92% and 96% of the DEs were within the 10% error bounds for bladder and rectum, respectively, and eight of ten validation plans (80%) were within the 10% error bound for both the bladder and rectum. The sum of absolute residuals (SAR) achieved a mean of 0.034 ± 0.028 and 0.046 ± 0.021 for the bladder and rectum, respectively.

Conclusions

A novel dosimetric features‐driven machine learning model with the use of PTV‐only plan has been established for DVH prediction. The framework is capable of efficiently generating best achievable DVHs for VMAT planning.
Association between obesity in 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children and eight types of crime: a hierarchical linear modelling approach
Authors: Benzies K. M. , Yates M. T. , Patel A. B. , Afzal A. R. , Kurilova J. , McNeil D. A.
Published: December 2018

Objective

Evidence of the association between childhood obesity and neighbourhood crime is inconclusive. Most previous studies have included children of all ages, and few have examined different types of crime. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between obesity and eight different types of crime (i.e. commercial robbery, street robbery, assault, other violence, commercial break and enter, residential break and enter, theft of vehicle and theft from vehicle) among 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children in a large western Canadian city.

Methods

Cross‐sectional, epidemiological study (N = 10,069) using spatial analysis and hierarchical generalized linear modelling. The outcome variable was normal weight or obesity. The exposure variable was the distance between the child's residential postal code and the closest occurrence of each type of crime.

Results

Controlling for distance to the closest park, frequency of each type of crime in the child's neighbourhood and neighbourhood factors (proportion of visible minorities, education and median family income), there was no association between any of the crime types and childhood obesity.

Conclusions

Crime did not contribute to obesity in this sample of 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children. Replication of this study in other jurisdictions would increase confidence in these results.
Doing despite Disliking: Self–Regulatory Strategies in Everyday Aversive Activities
Authors: Hennecke Marie , Czikmantori Thomas , Brandstätter Veronika
Published: December 2018

We investigated the self–regulatory strategies people spontaneously use in their everyday lives to regulate their persistence during aversive activities. In pilot studies (pooled N = 794), we identified self–regulatory strategies from self–reports and generated hypotheses about individual differences in trait self–control predicting their use. Next, deploying ambulatory assessment ( N = 264, 1940 reports of aversive/challenging activities), we investigated predictors of the strategies’ self–reported use and effectiveness (trait self–control and demand types). The popularity of strategies varied across demands. In addition, people higher in trait self–control were more likely to focus on the positive consequences of a given activity, set goals, and use emotion regulation. Focusing on positive consequences, focusing on negative consequences (of not performing the activity), thinking of the near finish, and emotion regulation increased perceived self–regulatory success across demands, whereas distracting oneself from the aversive activity decreased it. None of these strategies, however, accounted for the beneficial effects of trait self–control on perceived self–regulatory success. Hence, trait self–control and strategy use appear to represent separate routes to good self–regulation. By considering trait– and process–approaches these findings promote a more comprehensive understanding of self–regulatory success and failure during people's daily attempts to regulate their persistence. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology
Addressing Food Insecurity in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Role of Cash Transfers
Authors: Burchi Francesco , Scarlato Margherita , d'Agostino Giorgio
Published: December 2018

Food insecurity is one of the international community's priorities in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). This article investigates the role played by cash transfers (CTs), the social protection scheme with the largest coverage, in enhancing food security in this region. First, it offers an innovative conceptual framework for explaining the channels through which CT programs can affect food security. Second, based on this conceptual framework, it provides a comprehensive review of evidence of the effects of CTs on different components/indicators of food security in low‐income countries in SSA. The article shows that CTs offer great potential for reducing monetary poverty and enhancing households’ access to food, as long as they take full account of important aspects related to their design and implementation. On the other hand, CTs alone cannot influence nutrition knowledge and practice, and are proved to have limited or no effects on food security outcomes, such as diet diversification or child anthropometrics. In order to enhance all the different aspects of food security in the medium to long term, CTs should be integrated with other, social and economic, interventions.
Structures and activities of widely conserved small prokaryotic aminopeptidases‐P clarify classification of M24B peptidases
Authors: Are Venkata N. , Kumar Ashwani , Goyal Venuka Durani , Gotad Siddhant S. , Ghosh Biplab , Gadre Rekha , Jamdar Sahayog N. , Makde Ravindra D.
Published: December 2018

M24B peptidases cleaving Xaa‐Pro bond in dipeptides are prolidases whereas those cleaving this bond in longer peptides are aminopeptidases‐P. Bacteria have small aminopeptidases‐P (36‐39 kDa), which are diverged from canonical aminopeptidase‐P of Escherichia coli (50 kDa). Structure‐function studies of small aminopeptidases‐P are lacking. We report crystal structures of small aminopeptidases‐P from E. coli and Deinococcus radiodurans, and report substrate‐specificities of these proteins and their ortholog from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These are aminopeptidases‐P, structurally close to small prolidases except for absence of dipeptide‐selectivity loop. We noticed absence of this loop and conserved arginine in canonical archaeal prolidase (Maher et al., Biochemistry. 43, 2004, 2771‐2783) and questioned its classification. Our enzymatic assays show that this enzyme is an aminopeptidase‐P. Further, our mutagenesis studies illuminate importance of DXRY sequence motif in bacterial small aminopeptidases‐P and suggest common evolutionary origin with human XPNPEP1/XPNPEP2. Our analyses reveal sequence/structural features distinguishing small aminopeptidases‐P from other M24B peptidases.
Interaction Between Hydrogen and Vacancy Defects in Crystalline Silicon
Authors: Kolevatov Ilia L. , Weiser Philip M. , Monakhov Eduard V. , Svensson Bengt G.
Published: December 2018

Hydrogen is one of the most important impurities in silicon. It is a mobile and highly reactive species that can passivate dangling bonds at dislocations, surfaces, and interfaces, which has been widely used in the microelectronics and solar cell industry for improving device performance. Vacancy defects are elementary complexes containing dangling bonds, and the study of their interaction with hydrogen is of significant importance. In this work, the interactions of hydrogen with the vacancy‐oxygen complex (VO) and the divacancy (V2) are discussed, which are the most dominant and fundamental vacancy defects stable at room temperature. It is shown that VO and V2 can interact with both atomic and diatomic hydrogen species. This complicates the interpretation of experimental data and results in different reaction paths in differently prepared samples. Besides, some of important electronic properties, particularly electronic levels for V2Hn with n > 1, are not experimentally established.
Axial p–n Junctions in GaN Microrods
Authors: Tessarek Christian , Schechtel Florian , Heilmann Martin , Sarau George , Gust Arne , Klein Thorsten , Figge Stephan , Christiansen Silke
Published: December 2018

GaN microrods with an axial p–n junction are grown by metal‐organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Scanning electron microscopy in combination with cathodoluminescence measurements have been performed to visualize the microrod sections consisting of n‐ and p‐type GaN and the p–n junction. Current–voltage measurements are carried out between different microrod sections to prove the successful formation of a p–n junction. Photovoltaic and photodetecting properties have been determined by illumination of the p–n junction with a UV laser. The shorter p‐type sections in axial microrods and the presence of large diameter rods suggest a growth mode change from vertical to lateral growth during p‐type deposition.
Mass defect filtering for suspect screening of halogenated environmental chemicals: A case study of chlorinated organophosphate flame retardants
Authors: Dolios Georgia , Patel Dhavalkumar , Arora Manish , Andra Syam S.
Published: December 2018

Rationale

Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are a class of flame retardants widely found in environmental and biological matrices that have been extensively studied due to their adverse health effects in humans. OPFRs are loosely bound chemicals that can detach from treated products and be released into indoor and outdoor environments, where they have the potential to further undergo transformation and degradation processes, in particular the chlorinated OPFRs (Cl‐PFRs). Their detection remains a moving target for analysts, and traditional targeted mass spectrometry methods are suitable only for those compounds with authentic standards.

Methods

Mass defect filter (MDF) is a strategy to filter molecular features using thresholds applied to the mass defect value of a target ion or molecular feature of interest. We have developed an MDF strategy for the detection and tentative identification of twelve potential Cl‐PFR transformation products in a study mixture of six known Cl‐PFRs using MS/MS data acquired on a high‐resolution mass spectrometer. Most compounds in the Cl‐PFRs family share a ClO4P group as a core structure, of which modification results in a significant shift in the exact masses of the resulting compounds but show only a minimal shift in their mass defects. Subsequently, the MDF strategy was employed to tentatively identify Cl‐PFRs retrospectively in six human urine samples that had previously been analyzed.

Results

MDF in combination with product ion filtering for the characteristic [H2O3P]+ and [H4O4P]+ ions and neutral loss filtering for the characteristic CnH2n‐xClx group resulted in revealing suspects and homologues in the Cl‐PFRs family. Furthermore, the MDF of the product ions detected additional Cl‐PFR‐related compounds that differed significantly in the exact masses of both precursor and product ions but had minimal shift in the mass defects of product ions. The mass defect of one or more common product ions helped to detect a few Cl‐PFR analogs that had not been identified by MDF of the core structure precursor ion.

Conclusions

MDF helped to detect some Cl‐PFRs present in lower concentrations, which went undetected without data filters. MDF also helped to detect chromatographic peaks for Cl‐PFR homologues that are likely structural analogs that resulted from impurities and/or derivatives and transformation products. The methodology was applied to demonstrate and tentatively detect known and suspect Cl‐PFRs in human urine samples retrospectively.
Preparing for Disaster: Social Media Use for Household, Organizational, and Community Preparedness
Authors: Wukich Clayton
Published: December 2018

Social media applications provide conduits for government agencies to promote disaster preparedness. This article illustrates the messaging strategies used by state‐level emergency management agencies in the United States and addresses a range of social units (e.g., households, organizations, and communities). While agencies frequently disseminate guidance on how to prepare for emergencies, strategies generally align with traditional government‐to‐citizen, one‐to‐many communication modes characterized by little to no interaction with the public. This practice denies citizens deliberative conversation with government agencies and short circuits information from citizens and other organizations that might inform an agency's decision‐making. Some interactive tactics observed, however, provide a roadmap to facilitate future dialogue and collaboration.
The continuum random tree is the scaling limit of unlabeled unrooted trees
Authors: Stufler Benedikt
Published: December 2018

We show that the uniform unlabeled unrooted tree with n vertices and vertex degrees in a fixed set converges in the Gromov‐Hausdorff sense after a suitable rescaling to the Brownian continuum random tree. This confirms a conjecture by Aldous (1991). We also establish Benjamini‐Schramm convergence of this model of random trees and provide a general approximation result, that allows for a transfer of a wide range of asymptotic properties of extremal and additive graph parameters from Pólya trees to unrooted trees.
A comparison of satellite remote sensing data fusion methods to map peat swamp forest loss in Sumatra, Indonesia
Authors: Crowson Merry , Warren‐Thomas Eleanor , Hill Jane K. , Hariyadi Bambang , Agus Fahmuddin , Saad Asmadi , Hamer Keith C. , Hodgson Jenny A. , Kartika Winda D. , Lucey Jennifer , McClean Colin , Nurida Neneng Laela , Pratiwi Etty , Stringer Lindsay C. , Ward Caroline , Pettorelli Nathalie
Published: December 2018

The loss of huge areas of peat swamp forest in Southeast Asia and the resulting negative environmental effects, both local and global, have led to an increasing interest in peat restoration in the region. Satellite remote sensing offers the potential to provide up‐to‐date information on peat swamp forest loss across large areas, and support spatial explicit conservation and restoration planning. Fusion of optical and radar remote sensing data may be particularly valuable in this context, as most peat swamp forests are in areas with high cloud cover, which limits the use of optical data. Radar data can ‘see through’ cloud, but experience so far has shown that it doesn't discriminate well between certain types of land cover. Various approaches to fusion exist, but there is little information on how they compare. To assess this untapped potential, we compare three different classification methods with Sentinel‐1 and Sentinel‐2 images to map the remnant distribution of peat swamp forest in the area surrounding Sungai Buluh Protection Forest, Sumatra, Indonesia. Results show that data fusion increases overall accuracy in one of the three methods, compared to the use of optical data only. When data fusion was used with the pixel‐based classification using the original pixel values, overall accuracy increased by a small, but statistically significant amount. Data fusion was not beneficial in the case of object‐based classification or pixel‐based classification using principal components. This indicates optical data are still the main source of information for land cover mapping in the region. Based on our findings, we provide methodological recommendations to help those involved in peatland restoration capitalize on the potential of big data.
Biodegradable Thermogelling Polymers
Authors: Loh Xian Jun , Chee Pei Lin , Owh Cally
Published: December 2018

Thermogelling materials are envisioned as smart biomaterials with significant potential in the biomedical field. Their importance lies at the intersection between two highly medically relevant classes of materials: hydrogels and smart materials. They possess high water content and tunable properties of hydrogels and the ability to respond to external temperature variations with a simple, physical, and reversible sol‐to‐gel phase transition. Thermogels are proposed for many uses including drug delivery, gene delivery, and scaffolding for tissue engineering. Recent developments of biodegradable thermogelling polymers are reviewed, focusing on the properties of different thermogel systems and how those properties correlate with biomaterials behavior with the goal of providing safe and effective treatment for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma, and cancer.
Reactivity of an N,N‐Chelated Germylene Toward Substituted Alkynes, Alkenes, and Allenes
Authors: Böserle Jiří , Jambor Roman , Erben Milan , Horký Filip , Štěpnička Petr , Růžička Aleš , Dostál Libor
Published: December 2018

Treatment of N,N‐chelated germylene [(iPr)2NB(N‐2,6‐Me2C6H3)2]Ge (1) with ferrocenyl alkynes containing carbonyl functionalities, FcC≡CC(O)R, resulted in [2+2+2] cyclization and formation of the respective ferrocenylated 3‐Fc‐4‐C(O)R‐1,2‐digermacyclobut‐3‐enes 2–4 [R = Me (2), OEt (3) and NMe2 (4)] bearing intact carbonyl substituents. In contrast, the reaction between 1 and PhC(O)C≡CC(O)Ph led to activation of both C≡C and C=O bonds producing bicyclic compound containing two five‐membered 1‐germa‐2‐oxacyclopent‐3‐ene rings sharing one C–C bond, 4,8‐diphenyl‐3,7‐dioxa‐2,6‐digermabicyclo[3.3.0]octa‐4,8‐diene (5). With N‐methylmaleimide containing an analogous C(O)CH=CHC(O) fragment, germylene 1 reacted under [2+2+2] cyclization involving the C=C double bond, producing 1,2‐digermacyclobutane 6 with unchanged carbonyl moieties. Finally, 1 selectively added to the terminal double bond in allenes CH2=C=CRR′ giving rise to 3‐(=CRR′)‐1,2‐digermacyclobutanes [R/R′ = Me/Me (7), H/OMe (8)] bearing an exo‐C=C double bond. All compounds were characterized by 1H, 13C{1H} NMR, IR and Raman spectroscopy and the molecular structures of 3, 4, 5, and 8 were established by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The redox behavior of ferrocenylated derivatives 2–4 was studied by cyclic voltammetry.
Internal Coherence
Authors: Elleström Lars
Published: December 2018

This chapter offers a semiotically colored model for interrogating meaningfully interrelated events in narratives. Based on our minds’ inclination to perceive gestalts (i.e., intraconnected wholes), it is suggested that meaningful temporal interrelations among represented events be understood in terms of internal coherence. It is also put forward that the internal connections in narratives can be analyzed in terms of various sorts of contiguity, forming the basis for indices that bind together the numerous parts of narratives. Several theoretical perspectives and concepts, such as narrativization, are discussed. Finally, the results are demonstrated to be valid for the phenomenon of multimodal narration, which is central for understanding transmedial narration.
Decision level ensemble method for classifying multi-media data
Authors: Alyahyan Saleh , Wang Wenjia
Published: December 2018

In the digital era, the data, for a given analytical task, can be collected in different formats, such as text, images and audio etc. The data with multiple formats are called multimedia data. Integrating and fusing multimedia datasets has become a challenging task in machine learning and data mining.
In this paper, we present heterogeneous ensemble method that combines multi-media datasets at the decision level. Our method consists of several components, including extracting the features from multimedia datasets that are not represented by features, modelling independently on each of multimedia datasets, selecting models based on their accuracy and diversity and building the ensemble at the decision level. Hence our method is called decision level ensemble method (DLEM). The method is tested on multimedia data and compared with other heterogeneous ensemble based methods. The results show that the DLEM outperformed these methods significantly.
Interventions to improve healthcare workers’ hand hygiene compliance: A systematic review of systematic reviews
Authors: Price Lesley , MacDonald Jennifer , Gozdzielewska Lucyna , Howe Tracey , Flowers Paul , Shepherd Lesley , Watt Yvonne , Reilly Jacqui
Published: December 2018

Objective

To synthesize the existing evidence base of systematic reviews of interventions to improve healthcare worker (HCW) hand hygiene compliance (HHC).

Methods

PRISMA guidelines were followed, and 10 information sources were searched in September 2017, with no limits to language or date of publication, and papers were screened against inclusion criteria for relevance. Data were extracted and risk of bias was assessed.

Results

Overall, 19 systematic reviews (n=20 articles) were included. Only 1 article had a low risk of bias. Moreover, 15 systematic reviews showed positive effects of interventions on HCW HHC, whereas 3 reviews evaluating monitoring technology did not. Findings regarding whether multimodal rather than single interventions are preferable were inconclusive. Targeting social influence, attitude, self-efficacy, and intention were associated with greater effectiveness. No clear link emerged between how educational interventions were delivered and effectiveness.

Conclusions

This is the first systematic review of systematic reviews of interventions to improve HCW HHC. The evidence is sufficient to recommend the implementation of interventions to improve HCW HHC (except for monitoring technology), but it is insufficient to make specific recommendations regarding the content or how the content should be delivered. Future research should rigorously apply behavior change theory, and recommendations should be clearly described with respect to intervention content and how it is delivered. Such recommendations should be tested for longer terms using stronger study designs with clearly defined outcomes.
The effects of stable stratification on the decay of initially isotropic homogeneous turbulence
Authors: de Bruyn Kops Stephen M. , Riley James J.
Published: December 2018

We report on direct numerical simulations of the decay of initially isotropic, homogeneous turbulence subject to the application of stable density stratification. Flows were simulated for three different initial Reynolds numbers, but for the same initial Froude number. We find that the flows pass through three different dynamical regimes as they decay, depending on the local values of the Froude number and activity parameter. These regimes are analogous to those seen in the experimental study of Spedding (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 337, 1997, pp. 283–301) for the wake of a sphere. The flows initially decay with little influence of stratification, up to approximately one buoyancy period, when the local Froude number has dropped below 1. At this point the flows have adjusted to the density stratification, and, if the activity parameter is large enough, begin to decay at a slower rate and spread horizontally at a faster rate, consistent with the predictions of Davidson (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 663, 2010, pp. 268–292) and the scaling arguments of Billant & Chomaz (Phys. Fluids, vol. 13, 2001, pp. 1645–1651). We refer to this second regime as the stratified turbulence regime. As the flows continue to decay, ultimately the activity parameter drops below approximately 1 as viscous effects begin to dominate. In this regime, the flows have become quasi-horizontal, and approximately obey the scaling arguments of Godoy-Diana et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 504, 2004, pp. 229–238).
Flow-induced vibrations of a rotating cylinder in an arbitrary direction
Authors: Bourguet Rémi
Published: December 2018

The flow-induced vibrations of an elastically mounted circular cylinder, free to oscillate in an arbitrary direction and forced to rotate about its axis, are examined via two- and three-dimensional simulations, at a Reynolds number equal to 100, based on the body diameter and inflow velocity. The behaviour of the flow–structure system is investigated over the entire range of vibration directions, defined by the angle $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ between the direction of the current and the direction of motion, a wide range of values of the reduced velocity $U^{\star }$ (inverse of the oscillator natural frequency) and three values of the rotation rate (ratio between the cylinder surface and inflow velocities), $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}\in \{0,1,3\}$, in order to cover the reference non-rotating cylinder case, as well as typical slow and fast rotation cases. The oscillations of the non-rotating cylinder ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=0$) develop under wake-body synchronization or lock-in, and their amplitude exhibits a bell-shaped evolution, typical of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV), as a function of $U^{\star }$. When $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ is increased from $0^{\circ }$ to $90^{\circ }$ (or decreased from $180^{\circ }$ to $90^{\circ }$), the bell-shaped curve tends to monotonically increase in width and magnitude. For all angles, the flow past the non-rotating body is two-dimensional with formation of two counter-rotating spanwise vortices per cycle. The behaviour of the system remains globally the same for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=1$. The principal effects of the slow rotation are a slight amplification of the VIV-like responses and widening of the vibration windows, as well as a limited asymmetry of the responses and forces about the symmetrical configuration $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}=90^{\circ }$. The impact of the fast rotation ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=3$) is more pronounced: VIV-like responses persist over a range of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ but, outside this range, the system is found to undergo a transition towards galloping-like oscillations characterised by amplitudes growing unboundedly with $U^{\star }$. A quasi-steady modelling of fluid forcing predicts the emergence of galloping-like responses as $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ is varied, which suggests that they could be mainly driven by the mean flow. It, however, appears that flow unsteadiness and body motion remain synchronised in this vibration regime where a variety of multi-vortex wake patterns are uncovered. The interaction with flow dynamics results in deviations from the quasi-steady prediction. The successive steps in the evolution of the vibration amplitude versus $U^{\star }$, linked to wake pattern switch, are not captured by the quasi-steady approach. The flow past the rapidly-rotating, vibrating cylinder becomes three-dimensional over an interval of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}$ including the in-line oscillation configuration, with only a minor effect on the system behaviour.
Introduction
Authors: Stroja Jessica , Persian Jayne
Published: December 2018

Introduction
Better ways of seeing landscapes
Authors: Stell Marion , Mate Geraldine , Pocock Celmara
Published: December 2018

The Queensland Historical Atlas (2010) takes a fresh approach to the atlas form by interpreting Queensland landscapes as lived, embodied and practised. As a project conceived in partnership with Queensland Museum, the Atlas brings this approach directly into museum practice. This article outlines some of the challenges of the conventional atlas form, and examines how the Queensland Historical Atlas has embraced opportunities to reinvigorate the form, including the adoption of new technology and developing new affective interpretation frameworks. Significantly, the Atlas places material culture, including historical maps, at the centre of interpretation of Queensland landscapes. Although the Atlas is not an exhibition, it creates ready-made modules available for exhibition interpretation. Each of these reflects on how Queensland is shaped by its landscapes and how, in turn, museum collections can capture the diverse landscapes of Queensland and the people who create those landscapes. As an electronic resource, the Atlas becomes a way of reconnecting cultural history and landscapes with museum collections.
Croydon's historic machinery collection
Authors: Wegner Jan , Kahabka Jana
Published: December 2018

One response to the development of tourism in small inland Queensland towns has been to collect heritage machinery from the surrounding countryside and display it in town as an attraction for visitors. These sites range from open-air collections of miscellaneous items with no explanation of their use to both private and local government museums that are given varying levels of care and interpretation. The small north-western Queensland town of Croydon has a collection of heritage machinery in a number of sites, which range across this continuum. This article explores the potential of the collection to interpret the town’s history and the history of early gold mining, as a case study with application to other such collections.
Caryl Bosman, Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes and Andrew Leach (eds), 'Off the Plan: The Urbanisation of the Gold Coast' -- Tor Hundloe, Bridgette McDougall and Craig Page (eds) 'The Gold Coast Transformed: From Wilderness to Urban Ecosystem'
Authors: Spearitt Peter
Published: December 2018

Caryl Bosman, Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes and Andrew Leach (eds), Off the Plan: The Urbanisation of the Gold Coast, Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 2016, 190 pp., ISBN 9 7814 8630 1836, A$69.95

Tor Hundloe, Bridgette McDougall and Craig Page (eds) The Gold Coast Transformed: From Wilderness to Urban Ecosystem, Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 2015, 210 pp., ISBN 9 7814 8630 3298, A$59.95
Demand Effects in Survey Experiments: An Empirical Assessment
Authors: MUMMOLO JONATHAN , PETERSON ERIK
Published: December 2018

Survey experiments are ubiquitous in social science. A frequent critique is that positive results in these studies stem from experimenter demand effects (EDEs)—bias that occurs when participants infer the purpose of an experiment and respond so as to help confirm a researcher’s hypothesis. We argue that online survey experiments have several features that make them robust to EDEs, and test for their presence in studies that involve over 12,000 participants and replicate five experimental designs touching on all empirical political science subfields. We randomly assign participants information about experimenter intent and show that providing this information does not alter the treatment effects in these experiments. Even financial incentives to respond in line with researcher expectations fail to consistently induce demand effects. Research participants exhibit a limited ability to adjust their behavior to align with researcher expectations, a finding with important implications for the design and interpretation of survey experiments.
EXISTENCE AND BLOW-UP OF SOLUTIONS TO A PARABOLIC EQUATION WITH NONSTANDARD GROWTH CONDITIONS
Authors: LIU YANG
Published: December 2018

We study the initial boundary value problem for a fourth-order parabolic equation with nonstandard growth conditions. We establish the local existence of weak solutions and derive the finite time blow-up of solutions with nonpositive initial energy.
Component composition, in vitro gas and methane production profiles of fruit by-products and leaves of root crops
Authors: Melesse A. , Steingass H. , Schollenberger M. , Rodehutscord M.
Published: December 2018

The current study was conducted to evaluate the component composition, anti-nutritional factors, in vitro gas production (GP) and methane (CH4) production profiles of fruit by-products (pineapple pulp, mango seed kernels, banana and papaya peel, Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera seeds) and leaves of root crops (sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas], cassava [Manihot esculenta], yam [Dioscorea abyssinica], enset [Ensete ventricosum] and samma [Urtica simensis]). Root crop leaves had high crude protein (CP) ranging from 211 to 318 g/kg dry matter (DM) in yam and samma, respectively. M. stenopetala seeds contained the highest CP (450 g/kg DM). Samma leaves were rich in calcium (58.6 g/kg DM) and iron (1186 mg/kg DM). Leaves of root crops had similar concentrations of essential amino acids with appreciable values. Total phenols were highest in mango seed kernels (158 g/kg DM). The asymptotic GP at 96 h incubation of pineapple pulp, papaya and banana peel was 397, 358 and 279 ml/g DM, respectively, and differed significantly from each other. Sweet potato and yam leaves produced 238 and 225 ml/g DM GP, respectively, being significantly higher than those of other root crops. CH4 production was significantly lowest in Moringa seeds, mango seed kernels and sweet potato leaves. In conclusion, fruit by-products have the potential as energy sources and root crop leaves as protein supplements for ruminant and non-ruminant animals. Moringa seeds, mango seed kernels and sweet potato leaves were identified as potential candidates in mitigating CH4 emissions in tropical livestock with animal-based experiments recommended to validate the in vitro findings.
Kinetic ballooning modes in tokamaks and stellarators
Authors: Aleynikova K. , Zocco A. , Xanthopoulos P. , Helander P. , Nührenberg C.
Published: December 2018

Kinetic ballooning modes (KBMs) are investigated by means of linear electromagnetic gyrokinetic (GK) simulations in the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), for high-$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ plasmas, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ is the ratio of thermal to magnetic plasma pressure. The analysis shows suppression of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) and trapped particle modes (TEM) by finite-$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ effects and destabilization of KBMs at high $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$. The results are compared with a generic tokamak case. We show that, for large pressure gradients, the frequency of KBMs evaluated by the GENE code is in agreement with the analytical prediction of the diamagnetic modification of the ideal magnetohydrodynamic limit in W7-X general geometry. Thresholds for destabilization of the KBM are predicted for different W7-X equilibrium configurations. We discuss the relation of these thresholds to the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability properties of the corresponding equilibria.