bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices among Community Pharmacists in Lahore Regarding Prescription Patterns in Children: A Cross Sectional Study
Authors: Rafique Sumbal , Islam Muskan , Sheraz Muhammad , Ghauri Hamza , Noor-Ul-Ain  , Irshad Irsa , Khan Shuja Ur Rehman , Shahzad Muhammad Obaidullah , Sameer Muhammad , Sarfaraz Ahmad , Iqbal Muhammad Zahid
Published: October 2024

Background: Community pharmacists play a vital role in ensuring that pediatric patients utilize drugs safely and effectively. Pediatric patients require special attention. To identify possible gaps in their knowledge of proper dosage, formulation selection, pharmacists' knowledge, and practices of pediatric prescriptions must be evaluated. These assessments help pharmacists become more competent in handling of pediatric prescriptions, and accurately counselling caretakers. Targeted evaluation can be assessed to ensure pediatric care with lower medication errors in pediatric prescriptions.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of retail pharmacists (KAPs) in Lahore's community pharmacies regarding the prescription patterns of pediatric patients.
Methods: The cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in different community Pharmacies in Lahore, Pakistan. Data was collected on validated questionnaire after getting consent from 133 Pharmacists. 24th Edition of SPSS was used for statistical analysis of the collected data. Pharmacists who refuse to fill the form were excluded from the study.
Results: A total of 133 Pharmacists participated in the current study. A statistically significant association was observed between the pharmacists gender and their level of knowledge regarding prescription pattern in pediatrics with a p-value of <0.001. However, a statistically non-significant association was found between Pharmacists having higher education (MPhil, Ph.D., Graduate) and knowledge about prescription pattern in pediatrics with a p-value of 0.879.
Conclusion: Pharmacist can offer pediatric medication counselling to parents and children who are comfortable with it, even though Childrens are rarely present at pharmacies when prescriptions are taken up. For the purpose of facilitating counselling and educating children about the safe and effective use of medications, pharmacists must create and employ interactive and instructional technologies.
Comparative Study of Irrigation and Nitrogen Management on Summer Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)
Authors: Suresh Ankitha , Bairagya Monotosh Das , Mishra Apurba
Published: October 2024

Aim: The aim of the experiment is to know the effect of irrigation and nitrogen management on growth, yield attributes, yield, economics and WUE of summer sesame.
Study Design: The experiment was laid out in split-plot design.
Place and Duration of Study: Research Farm of Agricultural Research Station, Brinjhagiri, Chhatabar of Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Siksha O Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), during summer season of 2024.
Methodology: Three levels of irrigation (I1 -3 irrigations at branching, flowering and capsule development stage, I2 -2 irrigations at branching and flowering stage and I3 -2 irrigations at branching and capsule development stage) as main-plot treatments and four nutrient management levels (N1 -STBR- 100% N through inorganic, N2 -75% N through inorganic + 25% N through FYM, N3 -75% N through inorganic + 25% N through vermicompost and N4 -50% N through inorganic + 25% N through FYM+ 25% N through vermicompost) as sub-plot treatments replicated thrice. The net plot size was 4m × 3m.
Results: I1 resulted the highest seed yield (795.1 kg ha-1) and stover yield (2057.1 kg ha-1). N1 produced highest seed yield (818.9 kg ha-1) and stover yield (2101.4 kg ha-1). Highest net return (₹35894.00) and return per rupee investment (1.83) was obtained in I1N1. The highest WUE (4.14 kg ha-1 mm-1) was calculated in I2N1.
Conclusion: Three irrigations at branching, flowering and capsule development stage and 50% N through inorganic + 25% N through FYM + 25% N through vermicompost can be recommended to achieve higher seed yield, higher oil content and oil yield.
Aeroclube Plaza Show: uma reflexão sobre a cultura do consumo nos espaços públicos
Authors: Faperdue Rosângela de Campos
Published: October 2024

Este artigo é fruto de uma pesquisa que analisa o processo de implantação do centro de entretenimento Aeroclube Plaza Show numa área pública da orla marítima da cidade de Salvador e os motivos do grande sucesso desse empreendimento junto ao público. Esta análise visa levantar argumentos que levem à compreensão dos processos urbanísticos desenvolvidos nessa cidade na atualidade, assim como a forma de vida urbana que nela se realiza. Para tanto, buscou-se inicialmente levantar as intenções políticas e econômicas associadas ao empreendimento. Aqui se discute como o Aeroclube Plaza Show se tornou um novo ponto de encontros sociais na cidade, e os motivos que o levaram a se promover como um novo tipo de espaço público. Em seguida, é feita uma análise do Plaza Show, segundo sua característica de espaço global, ou melhor, de território do capital multinacional, revendo-se a possibilidade da promoção de uma cultura global em detrimento da cultura local. Por fim, é feito um enfoque que considera o Plaza Show como indústria do entretenimento e como veículo expositor de mercadorias e sensações desconhecidas e exóticas, verificando-se como ele responde às novas formas de lazer da sociedade contemporânea e qual a sua participação na promoção dos valores da cultura do consumo.
Exploitation of the Large‐Area Basal Plane of MoS2 and Preparation of Bifunctional Catalysts through On‐Surface Self‐Assembly
Authors: Zhao Yinghe , Li Qiang , Shi Li , Wang Jinlan
Published: September 2017

The development of nonprecious electrochemical catalysts for water splitting is a key step to achieve a sustainable energy supply for the future. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been extensively studied as a promising low‐cost catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), whereas HER is only catalyzed at the edge for pristine MoS2, leaving a large area of basal plane useless. Herein, on‐surface self‐assembly is demonstrated to be an effective, facile, and damage‐free method to take full advantage of the large ratio surface of MoS2 for HER by using multiscale simulations. It is found that as supplement of edge sites of MoS2, on‐MoS2 M(abt)2 (M = Ni, Co; abt = 2‐aminobenzenethiolate) owns high HER activity, and the self‐assembled M(abt)2 monolayers on MoS2 can be obtained through a simple liquid‐deposition method. More importantly, on‐surface self‐assembly provides potential application for overall water splitting once the self‐assembled systems prove to be of both HER and oxygen evolution reaction activities, for example, on‐MoS2 Co(abt)2. This work opens up a new and promising avenue (on‐surface self‐assembly) toward the full exploitation of the basal plane of MoS2 for HER and the preparation of bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting.
Substitutional Growth of Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskites in Alcohols
Authors: Acik Muge , Alam Todd M. , Guo Fangmin , Ren Yang , Lee Byeongdu , Rosenberg Richard A. , Mitchell John F. , Park In Kee , Lee Geunsik , Darling Seth B.
Published: September 2017

Methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskites are organic–inorganic semiconductors with long carrier diffusion lengths serving as the light‐harvesting component in optoelectronics. Through a substitutional growth of MAPbI3 catalyzed by polar protic alcohols, evidence is shown for their substrate‐ and annealing‐free production and use of toxic solvents and high temperature is prevented. The resulting variable‐sized crystals (≈100 nm–10 µm) are found to be tetragonally single‐phased in alcohols and precipitated as powders that are metallic‐lead‐free. A comparatively low MAPbI3 yield in toluene supports the role of alcohol polarity and the type of solvent (protic vs aprotic). The theoretical calculations suggest that overall Gibbs free energy in alcohols is lowered due to their catalytic impact. Based on this alcohol‐catalyzed approach, MAPbI3 is obtained, which is chemically stable in air up to ≈1.5 months and thermally stable (≤300 °C). This method is amendable to large‐scale manufacturing and ultimately can lead to energy‐efficient, low‐cost, and stable devices.
Understanding interfacial behaviors of isobutane alkylation with C4 olefin catalyzed by sulfuric acid or ionic liquids
Authors: Zheng Weizhong , Wang Huanying , Xie Wenxiu , Zhao Ling , Sun Weizhen
Published: September 2017

The interfacial properties between the hydrocarbon phase including isobutane and 2‐butene and the catalyst phase including H2SO4 or ionic liquids (ILs) with various alkyl chain length on their imidazolium cations have been investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Compared to H2SO4, ILs can obviously improve the interfacial width, solubility and diffusion of reactants at the interface. The ILs with longer chains on cations exhibit a significant density enrichment of alkyl chains at the interface and tend to orient themselves with alkyl chains perpendicular to the interface and protruding into the reactant phase, which is in good agreement with the van der Waals energy between the reactants and cations of the ILs. The ILs with longer chains can improve the interfacial width and facilitate the dissolution of isobutane in catalyst phase, and thus exhibit a better catalytic performance, which agrees well with alkylation experiments in this work. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 950–960, 2018
Adaptive Output‐Feedback Control of Nonlinear Systems with Multiple Uncertainties
Authors: Huang Yaxin , Liu Yungang
Published: September 2017

This paper addresses the global stabilization via adaptive output‐feedback for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems. Remarkably, the systems under investigation are with multiple uncertainties: unknown control directions, unknown growth rates and unknown input bias, and can be used to describe more physical plants. Multiple uncertainties, which usually cannot be compensated by a sole compensation technique, may give rise to big technical difficulty for controller design. To overcome such difficulty and to achieve the global stabilization, a new adaptive output‐feedback scheme is proposed in this paper, by flexibly combining Nussbaum‐type function, tuning function technique and extended state observer. It is shown that, under the designed controller, the system states globally converge to zero. A simulation example on non‐zero set‐point regulation is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
Exponential Stabilization of Switched Discrete‐Time Systems with All Unstable Modes
Authors: Li Jiao , Ma Zixiao , Fu Jun
Published: September 2017

This paper studies the exponential stabilization of switched discrete‐time systems whose subsystems are unstable. A new sufficient condition for the exponential stability of the class of systems is proposed. The result obtained is based on the determination of a lower bound of the maximum dwell time by virtue of the multiple Lyapunov functions method. The key feature is that the given stability condition does not need the value of the Lyapunov function to uniformly decrease at every switching instant. An example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed result.
Effects of Hint1 deficiency on emotional‐like behaviors in mice under chronic immobilization stress
Authors: Sun Liankang , Liu Peng , Liu Fei , Zhou Yuan , Chu Zheng , Li Yuqi , Chu Guang , Zhang Ying , Wang Jiabei , Dang Yong‐hui
Published: September 2017

Background

Histidine triad nucleotide‐binding protein 1 (HINT1) is regarded as a haplo‐insufficient tumor suppressor and is closely associated with diverse neuropsychiatric diseases. Moreover, HINT1 is related to gender‐specific acute behavior changes in schizophrenia and in response to nicotine. Stress has a range of molecular effects in emotional disorders, which can cause a reduction in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the hippocampus, resulting in hippocampal atrophy and neuronal cell loss.

Methods

This study examined the role of HINT1 deficiency in anxiety‐related and depression‐like behaviors and BDNF expression in the hippocampus under chronic immobilization stress, and investigated whether the sex‐specific and haplo‐insufficient effects exist in emotional‐like behaviors under the same condition.

Results

In a battery of behavior tests, the results of the control group, not exposed to stress, showed that knockout (KO) and heterozygosity (HT) of Hint1 had anxiolytic‐like and antidepression‐like effects on the male and female mice. However, both male and female Hint1‐KO mice showed elevated anxiety‐related and antidepression‐like behavior under chronic immobilization stress; moreover, both male and female Hint1‐HT mice displayed elevated anxiety‐related behavior and increased depression‐like behavior under chronic immobilization stress. There were no significant differences in general locomotor activity between Hint1‐KO and ‐HT mice and their wild‐type (WT) littermates. Hint1‐KO mice under basal and chronic immobilization stress conditions expressed more BDNF in the hippocampus than did Hint1‐HT and WT mice; overall, there were no significant sex differences in emotional‐like behaviors of Hint1‐KO and ‐HT mice. Additionally, Hint1‐HT mice showed haplo‐insufficient effects on emotional‐like behaviors under basic conditions, rather than under chronic immobilization stress.

Conclusions

Both male and female HINT 1 KO and HT mice had a trend of anxiolytic‐like behavior and antidepression‐like behavior at control group. However, both male and female HINT1 KO mice showed elevated anxiety‐related and antidepression‐like behavior under chronic immobilization stress; moreover, both male and female HINT1 HT mice displayed elevated anxiety‐related behavior and increased depression‐like behavior under chronic immobilization stress.
Percutaneous mitral valve repair with the MitraClip NT™ system in a patient presenting with prolonged cardiogenic shock
Authors: Buckert Dominik , Markovic Sinisa , Kunze Markus , Wöhrle Jochen , Rottbauer Wolfgang , Walcher Daniel
Published: September 2017

Key Clinical Message

The MitraClip NT™ system for the treatment of severe mitral valve regurgitation is effective and safe – even for patients suffering from cardiogenic shock. The use of an intra‐aortic balloon pump expands the range of possible applications to this particular group of challenging patients.
The effect of temperature on male mating signals and female choice in the red mason bee, Osmia bicornis (L.)
Authors: Conrad Taina , Stöcker Carina , Ayasse Manfred
Published: September 2017

Climate change and the resulting changes in air temperature are known to have a major influence on most animals, especially poikilothermic insects, because they depend on the high enough temperatures to function. Previous studies have shown that various signals can be affected by changes in temperature. However, research into the effect of temperature on mating signals and subsequently communication between mates and on female choice is still rare. In the red mason bee, Osmia bicornis, which emerges early in spring and is therefore subject to extensive temperature changes, females choose suitable males based on, among other criteria, their thorax vibrations and odor. So far there has been no research into the effect of temperature changes on these signals. We therefore investigated whether the environmental temperature has an influence on the male's mating signals by measuring vibrations using a laser vibrometer and collecting male and female odor at different temperatures. Furthermore, we performed behavioral experiments in order to show whether there is an effect of temperature‐induced changes and female choice. Our results showed that rejected males differed in their vibrations between the two temperature settings but accepted ones did not. Temperature changes therefore seem to have a stronger effect on those males that are rejected by the females, whereas the accepted males are the ones that can produce desirable signals despite temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, we found that the differences in odor profiles were greater between temperature settings than between the sexes and that females change their preference for odor with temperature. We conclude that temperature strongly influences the male mating signals and therefore may have a major impact on sexual selection in this species. This is an important aspect to consider, not only in future studies on mating behavior, but also in view of our ever raising temperatures.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Some Novel Heterocyclic Compounds from 5‐Bromosalicylaldehyde
Authors: Abdel‐Aziem Anhar , Baaiu Basma S. , Abdelhamid Abdou O.
Published: September 2017

A novel series of coumarins, thiadiazoles, thiazoles, and pyridines were synthesized via reaction of 5‐bromosalicylaldehyde with different reagents. Thus, 5‐bromosalicylaldehyde 1 was reacted with compounds 2a–d affording iminocoumarins 3a–d, which on hydrolysis with 10% hydrochloric acid, afforded coumarins 4a–d, respectively. On the other hand, reaction of 1 with benzylhydrazinecarbodithioate 5 afforded derivative 6, which reacted with hydrazonoyl halides 7a–f, afforded 1,3,4‐thiadiazoles 11a–f, respectively. Moreover, thiazoles 15 and 16 were obtained via reaction of 1 with thiocarbohydrazide 13 and hydrazonoyl halides. However, condensation of 2‐acetyl‐5‐bromobenzofuran 17 with benzaldehyde afforded chalcone 18, which reacted with pyridiniumbromides 19a–c, afforded pyridines 20a–c, respectively. Furthermore, pyridines 21–24 were synthesized from the reaction of chalcone 18 with different active methylene compounds. Reaction of 24 with ethylchloroacetate, chloroacetone, and chloroacetonitrile afforded thienopyridines 26a–c, respectively. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established based on their spectral data and elemental analyses. Also, selected newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity against various microorganisms by disk diffusion method.
Compensation of solar radiation and ventilation effects on the temperature measurement of radiosondes using dual thermistors
Authors: Lee Sang‐Wook , Park Eun Uk , Choi Byung Il , Kim Jong Chul , Woo Sang‐Bong , Kang Woong , Park Seongchong , Yang Seung Gu , Kim Yong‐Gyoo
Published: September 2017

The temperature measurement in the upper air by radiosondes is affected by various environmental factors such as solar irradiation, ventilation and air pressure. Among them, solar irradiation induces radiative heating of sensors whereas ventilation causes convective cooling. Here, the effect of these opposite factors on air temperature measurement is studied to obtain a correction formula using an experimental set‐up consisting of a wind tunnel, a solar simulator and dual thermistors with different emissivities. The relationship between the temperature difference between the dual thermistors, irradiance and ventilation speed is first established in order to calculate irradiance in‐situ by solely using the temperature difference. The temperature difference between dual thermistors is linearly proportional to the irradiance up to 1500 W m−2 and the slope of the linear function is decreased as the wind speed is increased up to 10 m s−1 at a fixed pressure level (about 1000 hPa). The uncertainty of the calculated irradiance using dual thermistors is 12.2% at the coverage factor k = 2. The calculated irradiance is then used for the correction of temperature of thermistors relative to the reference temperature in the shade inside the wind tunnel. The combined uncertainty of corrected temperature including uncertainty factors due to the compensation of wind and irradiance as well as the reference temperature is 0.19 K (k = 2). The dual thermistor‐based technique can provide the traceability of the temperature measurement in upper air through in‐situ compensation of the solar radiation effect.
Behavioral and Psychological Phenotyping of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Implications for Weight Management
Authors: Bryan Angela D. , Jakicic John M. , Hunter Christine M. , Evans Mary E. , Yanovski Susan Z. , Epstein Leonard H.
Published: September 2017

Objective

Risk for obesity is determined by a complex mix of genetics and lifetime exposures at multiple levels, from the metabolic milieu to psychosocial and environmental influences. These phenotypic differences underlie the variability in risk for obesity and response to weight management interventions, including differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior.

Methods

As part of a broader effort focused on behavioral and psychological phenotyping in obesity research, the National Institutes of Health convened a multidisciplinary workshop to explore the state of the science in behavioral and psychological phenotyping in humans to explain individual differences in physical activity, both as a risk factor for obesity development and in response to activity‐enhancing interventions.

Results

Understanding the behavioral and psychological phenotypes that contribute to differences in physical activity and sedentary behavior could allow for improved treatment matching and inform new targets for tailored, innovative, and effective weight management interventions.

Conclusions

This summary provides the rationale for identifying psychological and behavioral phenotypes relevant to physical activity and identifies opportunities for future research to better understand, define, measure, and validate putative phenotypic factors and characterize emerging phenotypes that are empirically associated with initiation of physical activity, response to intervention, and sustained changes in physical activity.
The Additional Costs and Health Effects of a Patient Having Overweight or Obesity: A Computational Model
Authors: Fallah‐Fini Saeideh , Adam Atif , Cheskin Lawrence J. , Bartsch Sarah M. , Lee Bruce Y.
Published: September 2017

Objective

This paper estimates specific additional disease outcomes and costs that could be prevented by helping a patient go from an obesity or overweight category to a normal weight category at different ages. This information could help physicians, other health care workers, patients, and third‐party payers determine how to prioritize weight reduction.

Methods

A computational Markov model was developed that represented the BMI status, chronic health states, health outcomes, and associated costs (from various perspectives) for an adult at different age points throughout his or her lifetime.

Results

Incremental costs were calculated for adult patients with obesity or overweight (vs. normal weight) at different starting ages. For example, for a metabolically healthy 20‐year‐old, having obesity (vs. normal weight) added lifetime third‐party payer costs averaging $14,059 (95% range: $13,956‐$14,163), productivity losses of $14,141 ($13,969‐$14,312), and total societal costs of $28,020 ($27,751‐$28,289); having overweight vs. normal weight added $5,055 ($4,967‐$5,144), $5,358 ($5,199‐$5,518), and $10,365 ($10,140‐$10,590). For a metabolically healthy 50‐year‐old, having obesity added $15,925 ($15,831‐$16,020), $20,120 ($19,887‐$20,352), and $36,278 ($35,977‐$36,579); having overweight added $5,866 ($5,779‐$5,953), $10,205 ($9,980‐$10,429), and $16,169 ($15,899‐$16,438).

Conclusions

Incremental lifetime costs of a patient with obesity or overweight (vs. normal weight) increased with the patient's age, peaked at age 50, and decreased with older ages. However, weight reduction even in older adults still yielded incremental cost savings.
High‐throughput droplet microfluidics screening platform for selecting fast‐growing and high lipid‐producing microalgae from a mutant library
Authors: Kim Hyun Soo , Hsu Shih‐Chi , Han Song‐I , Thapa Hem R. , Guzman Adrian R. , Browne Daniel R. , Tatli Mehmet , Devarenne Timothy P. , Stern David B. , Han Arum
Published: September 2017

Biofuels derived from microalgal lipids have demonstrated a promising potential as future renewable bioenergy. However, the production costs for microalgae‐based biofuels are not economically competitive, and one strategy to overcome this limitation is to develop better‐performing microalgal strains that have faster growth and higher lipid content through genetic screening and metabolic engineering. In this work, we present a high‐throughput droplet microfluidics‐based screening platform capable of analyzing growth and lipid content in populations derived from single cells of a randomly mutated microalgal library to identify and sort variants that exhibit the desired traits such as higher growth rate and increased lipid content. By encapsulating single cells into water‐in‐oil emulsion droplets, each variant was separately cultured inside an individual droplet that functioned as an independent bioreactor. In conjunction with an on‐chip fluorescent lipid staining process within droplets, microalgal growth and lipid content were characterized by measuring chlorophyll and BODIPY fluorescence intensities through an integrated optical detection system in a flow‐through manner. Droplets containing cells with higher growth and lipid content were selectively retrieved and further analyzed off‐chip. The growth and lipid content screening capabilities of the developed platform were successfully demonstrated by first carrying out proof‐of‐concept screening using known Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutants. The platform was then utilized to screen an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)‐mutated C. reinhardtii population, where eight potential mutants showing faster growth and higher lipid content were selected from 200,000 examined samples, demonstrating the capability of the platform as a high‐throughput screening tool for microalgal biofuel development.
High Performance Metal Halide Perovskite Light‐Emitting Diode: From Material Design to Device Optimization
Authors: Shan Qingsong , Song Jizhong , Zou Yousheng , Li Jianhai , Xu Leimeng , Xue Jie , Dong Yuhui , Han Boning , Chen Jiawei , Zeng Haibo
Published: September 2017

Metal halide perovskites have drawn significant interest in the past decade. Superior optoelectronic properties, such as a narrow bandwidth, precise and facile tunable luminance over the entire visible spectrum, and high photoluminescence quantum yield of up to ≈100%, render metal halide perovskites suitable for next‐generation high‐definition displays and healthy lighting systems. The external quantum efficiency of perovskite light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) increases from 0.1 to 11.7% in three years; however, the energy conversion efficiency and the long‐term stability of perovskite LEDs are inadequate for practical application. Strategies to optimize the emitting layer and the device structure, with respect to material design, synthesis, surface passivation, and device optimization, are reviewed and highlighted. The long‐term stability of perovskite LEDs is evaluated as well. Meanwhile, several challenges and prospects for future development of perovskite materials and LEDs are identified.
Energy Device Applications of Synthesized 1D Polymer Nanomaterials
Authors: Huang Long‐Biao , Xu Wei , Hao Jianhua
Published: September 2017

1D polymer nanomaterials as emerging materials, such as nanowires, nanotubes, and nanopillars, have attracted extensive attention in academia and industry. The distinctive, various, and tunable structures in the nanoscale of 1D polymer nanomaterials present nanointerfaces, high surface‐to‐volume ratio, and large surface area, which can improve the performance of energy devices. In this review, representative fabrication techniques of 1D polymer nanomaterials are summarized, including electrospinning, template‐assisted, template‐free, and inductively coupled plasma methods. The recent advancements of 1D polymer nanomaterials in energy device applications are demonstrated. Lastly, existing challenges and prospects of 1D polymer nanomaterials for energy device applications are presented.
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Brackish Wetland Seedbanks: Implications for Wetland Restoration Following Phragmites Control
Authors: Hazelton Eric L. G. , Downard Rebekah , Kettenring Karin M. , McCormick Melissa K. , Whigham Dennis F.
Published: September 2017

Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands are experiencing a broad-scale, aggressive invasion by the non-native, clonal grass Phragmites australis. The grass is often managed with herbicides in efforts to restore native plant communities and wildlife habitat. Management efforts, however, can act as a disturbance, resulting in increased light availability, potentially fostering reinvasion from soil seedbanks. If native vegetation establishes quickly from seedbanks, the site should have greater resiliency against invasion, while disturbed sites where native plants do not rapidly establish may be rapidly colonized by P. australis. We surveyed the soil seedbank of three vegetation cover types in five Chesapeake Bay subestuaries: areas where P. australis had been removed, where P. australis was left intact, and with native, reference vegetation. We determined the total germination, the proportion of the seedbank that was attributable to invasive species, the richness, the functional diversity, and the overall composition of the seedbanks in each of the cover types (i.e., plots). After 2 years of herbicide treatment in the P. australis removal plots, vegetation cover type impacted the total germination or the proportion of invasive species in the seedbank. In contrast, we also found that seedbank functional composition in tidal brackish wetlands was not influenced by vegetation cover type in most cases. Instead, plots within a subestuary had similar seedbank functional composition across the years and were composed of diverse functional groups. Based on these findings, we conclude that plant community recovery following P. australis removal is not seed-limited, and any lack of native vegetation recruitment is likely the result of yet-to-be-determined abiotic factors. These diverse seedbanks could lead to resilient wetland communities that could resist invasions. However, due to the prevalence of undesirable species in the seedbank, passive revegetation following invasive plant removal may speed up their re-establishment. The need for active revegetation will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure restoration goals are achieved.
Progress in particle-beam-driven inertial fusion research: Activities in Japan
Authors: Horioka Kazuhiko
Published: September 2017

Research activities in Japan relevant to particle beam inertial fusion are briefly reviewed. These activities can be ascended to the 1980s. During the past three decades, significant progress in particle beam fusion, pulsed power systems, accelerator schemes for intense beams, target physics, and high-energy-density physics research has been made by a number of research groups at universities and accelerator facilities in Japan. High-flux ions have been extracted from laser ablation plasmas. Controllability of the ion velocity distribution in the plasma by an axial magnetic and/or electric field has realized a stable high-flux low-emittance beam injector. Beam dynamics have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The efforts have been concentrated on the beam behavior during the final compression stage of intense beam accelerators. A novel accelerator scheme based on a repetitive induction modulator has been proposed as a cost-effective particle-beam driver scheme. Beam-plasma interaction and pulse-powered plasma experiments have been investigated as relevant studies of particle beam inertial fusion. An irradiation method to mitigate the instability in imploding target has been proposed using oscillating heavy-ion beams. The new irradiation method has reopened the exploration of direct drive scheme of particle beam fusion.
Strengthening Electoral Integrity
Authors: Norris Pippa
Published: September 2017

Today a general mood of pessimism surrounds Western efforts to strengthen elections and democracy abroad. If elections are often deeply flawed or even broken in many countries around the world, can anything be done to fix them? To counter the prevailing ethos, Pippa Norris presents new evidence for why programs of international electoral assistance work. She evaluates the effectiveness of several practical remedies, including efforts designed to reform electoral laws, strengthen women's representation, build effective electoral management bodies, promote balanced campaign communications, regulate political money, and improve voter registration. Pippa Norris argues that it would be a tragedy to undermine progress by withdrawing from international engagement. Instead, the international community needs to learn the lessons of what works best to strengthen electoral integrity, to focus activities and resources upon the most effective programs, and to innovate after a quarter century of efforts to strengthen electoral integrity.
Dimensions of an overlapping generalization of Barański carpets
Authors: PARDO-SIMÓN LETICIA
Published: September 2017

We determine the Hausdorff, the packing and the box-counting dimensions of a family of self-affine sets generalizing Barański carpets. More specifically, we fix a Barański system and allow both vertical and horizontal random translations, while preserving the structure of the rows and columns. The alignment kept in the construction allows us to give expressions for these fractal dimensions outside of a small set of exceptional translations. Such formulae will coincide with those for the non-overlapping case, and thus provide examples where the box-counting and the Hausdorff dimension do not necessarily agree. These results rely on Hochman’s recent work on the dimensions of self-similar sets and measures, and can be seen as an extension of Fraser and Shmerkin [On the dimensions of a family of overlapping self-affine carpets. Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys.doi: 10.1017/etds.2015.21. Published online: 21 July 2015] results for Bedford–McMullen carpets with columns overlapping.
Can we improve the nutritional quality of meat?
Authors: Scollan Nigel D. , Price Eleri M. , Morgan Sarah A. , Huws Sharon A. , Shingfield Kevin J.
Published: September 2017

The nutritional value of meat is an increasingly important factor influencing consumer preferences for poultry, red meat and processed meat products. Intramuscular fat content and composition, in addition to high quality protein, trace minerals and vitamins are important determinants of nutritional value. Fat content of meat at retail has decreased substantially over the past 40 years through advances in animal genetics, nutrition and management and changes in processing techniques. Evidence of the association between diet and the incidence of human non-communicable diseases has driven an interest in developing production systems for lowering total SFA andtransfatty acid (TFA) content and enrichment ofn-3 PUFA concentrations in meat and meat products. Typically, poultry and pork has a lower fat content, containing higher PUFA and lower TFA concentrations than lamb or beef. Animal genetics, nutrition and maturity, coupled with their rumen microbiome, are the main factors influencing tissue lipid content and relative proportions of SFA, MUFA and PUFA. Altering the fatty acid (FA) profile of lamb and beef is determined to a large extent by extensive plant and microbial lipolysis and subsequent microbial biohydrogenation of dietary lipid in the rumen, and one of the major reasons explaining the differences in lipid composition of meat from monogastrics and ruminants. Nutritional strategies can be used to align the fat content and FA composition of poultry, pork, lamb and beef with Public Health Guidelines for lowering the social and economic burden of chronic disease.
Adaptation and evaluation of an ELISA for Trypanosoma evansi infection (surra) in elephants and its application to a serological survey in Thailand
Authors: CAMOIN MARGOT , KOCHER ARTHUR , CHALERMWONG PIANGJAI , YANGTARRA SARAWUT , THONGTIP NIKORN , JITTAPALAPONG SATHAPORN , DESQUESNES MARC
Published: September 2017

Trypanosoma evansi, the causative agent of surra, is widespread in domestic livestock and wildlife in South East Asia. Surra can affect cattle, buffaloes, horses and also Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Despite the ‘threatened to extinction’ CITES status of elephant, surra's impact has not been thoroughly assessed yet in this species. This work offers to adapt an antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocol, to detect Trypanosoma evansi antibodies in elephant serum. The test was validated with 365 negative-reference samples, which allowed the determination of a 16% positive threshold. The test was applied to a serological survey including 375 individuals. The estimated global seroprevalence was 2·1% (95% CI 1·1–4·2%). Therefore, surra does not appear to be endemic in Thai domestic elephants, but occasional outbreaks were reported to our laboratory during the survey period. These outbreaks seemed to be linked to close proximity to cattle or buffaloes, and led to severe clinical signs in elephants. Frequent relapses were observed after treatment with diminazene aceturate, the only trypanocide drug currently available in Thailand. Therefore, care should be taken to keep elephants away from bovine reservoirs, and to monitor the disease in this endangered species. ELISA proved to be reliable for screening purposes as well as for post-treatment monitoring.
MACROECONOMIC DYNAMICS SURVEY: ENDOGENOUS GROWTH THEORY AND MODELS: THE “FIRST WAVE,” 1952–1973
Authors: Spear Stephen E. , Young Warren
Published: September 2017

This paper surveys the first stage in the development of models of endogenous growth over the two decades between 1952 and 1973, including seminal works by Arrow, Frankel, Phelps, Uzawa, and others as faculty and graduate students who interacted in the Stanford–Chicago–MIT–Yale Nexus. The paper also deals with American Economic Association (AEA) and Econometric Society (ES) conference sessions over the period 1964–1968 on growth, technical progress, and innovations and with the contributions in the 1967 Shell volume, in addition to dissertations, working papers, and book chapters by those involved in the “first wave” over the period 1965–1973. Finally, the paper considers the initial efforts at building more sophisticated models based on technical progress, human capital, increasing returns and imperfect competition, and the incompatibility between increasing returns with competitive equilibrium.
ENDOGENOUS GROWTH AND HOUSEHOLD LEVERAGE
Authors: Marshall Emily C. , Nguyen Hoang , Shea Paul
Published: September 2017

We add households with heterogeneous discount factors and constrained credit to a research and development (R&D)-based endogenous growth model. Borrowers' access to credit has profound implications for growth. The direction and magnitude of this effect depend on preferences over labor supply. If labor supply is highly elastic and households do not smooth their labor supply between labor that produces output and R&D, annual growth decreases from 11.6% to approximately zero as the debt-to-capital ratio rises from 0 to 1.38. If households instead have a strong preference for smoothing their labor supply, then growth increases from 2.91% to 3.83% as the debt-to-capital ratio rises from 0 to 1.55. In both cases, less elastic labor supply weakens these effects. The results are similar if existing ideas do not affect the creation of new ideas. Now, when households do not smooth their labor supply, less debt results in faster growth, and productivity and output converge to much higher values.
A miniaturized directional antenna for microwave breast imaging applications
Authors: Mahmud Md Zulfiker , Islam Mohammad Tariqul , Rahman Md Naimur , Alam Touhidul , Samsuzzaman Md
Published: September 2017

A novel compact directional antenna with improved gain is proposed for microwave breast imaging (MBI) applications. The radiating fins are modified by etching several slots to make the antenna compact and enhance antenna performance in terms of bandwidth, gain, efficiency, and directivity. Several parameters are studied and optimized to frequency from 3.1 to 6.5 GHz, which is typically used in the breast imaging system. The electrical length of the antenna is 0.39λ × 0.46λ × 0.01λ at the lower frequency band. The result shows that the antenna exhibits −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 4.3 GHz (2.7–7 GHz) with directional radiation pattern. The peak gain of the proposed prototype is 7.8 dBi and fractional bandwidth is 92%. The time domain results show that the fidelity factor for face to face is 0.92 and for side by side is 0.62, which prove the directivity and lower distortion of the signal. The proposed prototype is successfully simulated, fabricated, and measured.
Controlling G-quadruplex formation via lipid modification of oligonucleotide sequences
Authors: Vialet Brune , Gissot Arnaud , Delzor Romain , Barthélémy Philippe
Published: September 2017

G-quadruplexes (G4) represent attractive supramolecular scaffolds.
CuOTf-mediated intramolecular diborene hydroarylation
Authors: Rixin Wang Sunewang , Arrowsmith Merle , Braunschweig Holger , Dewhurst Rian D. , Paprocki Valerie , Winner Lena
Published: September 2017

CuOTf-mediated intramolecular diborene hydroarylation, followed by a σ-bond metathesis between the resulting B–H bond and CuOTf, gives a cyclic sp2–sp3 boryl-substituted boronium triflate.
Engineering growth defects: a new route towards hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite with high-density intracrystalline mesopores
Authors: Peng Baoliang , Zou Houbing , He Lipeng , Wang Pingmei , Shi Zhiqiang , Zhu Liangkui , Wang Runwei , Zhang Zongtao
Published: September 2017

Engineering growth defects is applied as a novel strategy to prepare hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites with high-density intracrystalline mesopores and excellent catalytic activities in conversions of bulky molecules.
V2O5 nanobelt arrays with controllable morphologies for enhanced performance supercapacitors
Authors: Xu Jiahe , Zheng Feng , Gong Hanqin , Chen Lai , Xie Jiaheng , Hu Pengfei , Li Yang , Gong Yu , Zhen Qiang
Published: September 2017

Controllable preparation of V2O5 nanobelt arrays as binder-free supercapacitive electrode materials and their charge–discharge mechanism.
Greener synthesis of nanofibrillated cellulose using magnetically separable TEMPO nanocatalyst
Authors: Patankar Saurabh. C. , Renneckar Scott
Published: September 2017

Nanofibrillated cellulose was synthesized by magnetically separable 4-oxo-2,2,6,6 tetramethylpiperidine-1 oxyl (TEMPO) mediated oxidation and mechanical disintegration of wood pulp.
Behaviour of the extractant Me-TODGA upon gamma irradiation: quantification of degradation compounds and individual influences on complexation and extraction
Authors: Hubscher-Bruder V. , Mogilireddy V. , Michel S. , Leoncini A. , Huskens J. , Verboom W. , Galán H. , Núñez A. , Cobos J. , Modolo G. , Wilden A. , Schmidt H. , Charbonnel M.-C. , Guilbaud P. , Boubals N.
Published: September 2017

Understanding of ligand–metal interactions is crucial to develop new processes for nuclear waste treatment.
Effect of size and curvature on the enzyme activity of bionanoconjugates
Authors: Tadepalli Sirimuvva , Wang Zheyu , Slocik Joseph , Naik Rajesh R. , Singamaneni Srikanth
Published: September 2017

Gold nanoparticles with the same hydrodynamic diameter but different surface curvatures are employed to deconvolute the effects of size and curvature on enzyme kinetics.
Multifaceted peptide assisted one-pot synthesis of gold nanoparticles for plectin-1 targeted gemcitabine delivery in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Pal Krishnendu , Al-suraih Farah , Gonzalez-Rodriguez Roberto , Dutta Shamit Kumar , Wang Enfeng , Kwak H. Shaun , Caulfield Thomas R. , Coffer Jeffery L. , Bhattacharya Santanu
Published: September 2017

Tumor-selective uptake of plectin-1 targeting peptide-modified gold nanoparticles ameliorates targeted delivery of gemcitabine in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Robust optimal filtering for linear time‐varying systems with stochastic uncertainties
Authors: Zhang Junfeng , He Xiao , Zhou Donghua
Published: September 2017

In this study, the robust optimal filtering problem is investigated for a class of linear time‐varying systems with stochastic uncertainties. A new model is presented that accounts for both stochastic parameter uncertainties and noise. On the basis of the new model, a robust optimal filter is proposed. It takes stochastic uncertainties into full consideration, but does not depend on any specific structure of uncertainties. By resorting to linear system theory and utilising stochastic analysis methods, the filter gain is designed such that the estimation error covariance is minimised at each time step. The authors' developed filtering algorithm is recursive, and therefore suitable for real‐time online applications. In the end, two simulation studies are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of their proposed strategy.
Observer‐based event‐triggered control for consensus of general linear MASs
Authors: Wang Jinhuan , Zhang Pengxiao , Ni Wei
Published: September 2017

This study investigates the consensus problem for general linear multi‐agent systems (MAS) via observer‐based dynamic output feedback event‐triggered control. Assume that the relative state information is unknown for each agent and only the relative output feedback between neighbouring agents can be measured. To solve the consensus problem, the authors develop a novel observer‐based event‐triggered approach to design a dynamic relative output feedback control. Two event‐triggering time sequences are constructed. One is the relative output to the observer and another is the observer error to the controller. One can prove that under the proposed control strategies, the consensus problem can be solved via linear matrix inequalities as well as Riccati inequality if the communication graph of the MAS is connected. Furthermore, the Zeno‐behaviour of triggering time sequences can be avoided. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed strategies is illustrated by a numerical example.
Prospective evaluation of uterine receptivity in mice
Authors: Nakamura Hitomi , Hosono Takayoshi , Kumasawa Keiichi , Kimura Tadashi
Published: September 2017

In current infertility treatments it is necessary to evaluate uterine receptivity in each menstrual cycle. During the implantation period, the uterus goes through many complex orchestrated changes, including changes to the glycocalyx. The changes to the glycocalyx are due to sialylation, sulfation and fucosylation. Can the measurement of in-vivo uterine pH and/or oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) determine the alterations of uterine endometrium for implantation and evaluate prospective uterine receptivity? In the present study we assessed in vivo uterine pH and ORP during the early stages of pregnancy in naïve mice, as well as in a murine model of implantation failure created by local and transient suppression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. There was no change in the in vivo uterine pH between post-coitus Days 2 and 6. In vivo uterine ORP was significantly higher compared to the day before. One day before implantation began, uterine ORP was significantly decreased in the implantation failure group compared with the naïve and control groups. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of uterine ORP as a predictor of non-conception showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.92–1.00). Thus, in vivo uterine ORP could be a parameter to prospectively evaluate uterine receptivity.