bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improvement of environmental stress cracking performance, load‐carrying capacity, and UV light barrier property of polyethylene terephthalate packaging material
Authors: Inaner Nihat Burhan , Demirel Bilal , Yaras Ali , Akkurt Fatih , Daver Fugen
Published: April 2022

This study deals with the improvement of light barrier properties and stress cracking strength of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging materials by incorporating calcium metaborate (CaB2O4). CaB2O4 powders were synthesized by the sol–gel method. After the extrusion process produced PET/ CaB2O4 granules, the preform and bottle production was carried out by injection molding and blow molding. Compared to pure PET, UV transmittance is reduced (~88%), and it is more effective at lower wavelengths (<800 nm). Similarly, the presence of CaB2O4 improved the environmental stress cracking performance of PET packaging materials. While the burst strength increased in the range of 0.05%–0.2% CaB2O4 concentration, it decreased at higher concentrations. The load‐carrying capacity is approximately 109% higher than pure PET. Acetic acid (COOH) degradation increased with the incorporation of CaB2O4 particles, while isophthalic acid and diethylene glycol degradations did not change. The experimental data indicate that the photocatalytic degradation of the PET bottle is prevented significantly, and its mechanical performance is also improved with the incorporation of CaB2O4. Thanks to this novel product, the quality of food and beverages in PET packaging materials can be protected from the harmful effects of light, and the deformation of PET packaging materials can be prevented for various reasons.
Predictive factors for recurrent suicide attempts: Evidence from the ACTION‐J study
Authors: Tachikawa Hirokazu , Takahashi Sho , Nemoto Kiyotaka , Yonemoto Naohiro , Oda Hiroyuki , Miyake Yasufumi , Hirayasu Yoshio , Arai Tetsuaki , Kawanishi Chiaki
Published: April 2022

Aim

Risk factors for attempted suicide have been widely studied. However, there is limited evidence on predictive factors for suicide reattempts. We aimed to identify these in suicide attempters admitted to emergency departments.

Methods

This is the second analysis from a randomized controlled multicenter trial, ACTION‐J. Patient characteristics were extracted from baseline demographic data and clinical data of participants. Predictive factors for a recurrent suicide attempt in each gender were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Dependent variables were months from trial entry to the first reattempt. Independent variables were characteristics regarded as potential predictive factors.

Results

The study included 914 adults (400 men and 514 women). A visit to a psychiatrist within a month of the suicide attempt was significantly associated with reattempts in men (hazard ratio [HR] 2.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21–5.25). Substance‐related disorders (HR 3.65, 95% CI 1.16–7.9.60), drinking alcohol less than once per month (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.17–0.88), previous suicide attempts (HR 2.28, 95% CI 1.40–3.87), and taking a drug overdose for the first suicide attempt (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.14–3.01) were significantly associated with reattempts in women.

Conclusion

Our data highlight the importance of visits to a psychiatrist a short time before the first suicide attempt in men and substance‐related disorder, previous suicide attempts, and drug overdose in the first suicide attempt in women as predictive factors for future suicide reattempts.
Impacts of ecological succession and climate warming on permafrost aggradation in drained lake basins of the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Northwest Territories, Canada
Authors: Lantz Trevor C. , Zhang Yu , Kokelj Steven V.
Published: April 2022

Rapidly increasing air temperatures will alter permafrost conditions across the Arctic, but variation in soils, vegetation, snow conditions, and their effects on ground thermal regime complicate prediction across spatial and temporal scales. Processes that result in the emergence of new surfaces (lake drainage, channel migration, isostatic uplift, etc.) provide an opportunity to assess the factors influencing permafrost aggradation and terrain evolution under a warming climate. In this study we describe ground temperatures, vegetation, and snow and soil conditions at six drained lake basins (DLBs) that have exposed new terrain in the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands in the last 20–100 years. We also use one‐dimensional thermal modeling to assess the impact of ecological succession and future climate scenarios on permafrost conditions in historical and future DLBs. Our field observations show that deep snow pack and shallow organic layers at shrub‐dominated DLBs promote increased thaw depth and ground temperatures compared to a sedge‐dominated DLB and two ancient DLB reference sites. Modeling of past and future drainages shows that climate warming projected under RCP 8.5 will reduce rates of permafrost aggradation and thickness, and drive top‐down thaw that could degrade permafrost in shrub‐dominated DLBs by the end of the century. Permafrost at sedge‐dominated sites was more resilient to warming under RCP 8.5, with the onset of top‐down thaw delayed until about 2080. Together, this indicates that the effects of ecological succession on organic soil development and snow drifting will strongly influence the aggradation and resilience of permafrost in DLBs. Our analysis suggests that DLBs and other emergent landscapes will be the first permafrost‐free environments to develop under a warming climate in the continuous permafrost zone.
Inhibition of epigenetic reader proteins by apabetalone counters inflammation in activated innate immune cells from Fabry disease patients receiving enzyme replacement therapy
Authors: Fu Li , Wasiak Sylwia , Tsujikawa Laura M. , Rakai Brooke D. , Stotz Stephanie C. , Wong Norman C. W. , Johansson Jan O. , Sweeney Michael , Mohan Connie M. , Khan Aneal , Kulikowski Ewelina
Published: April 2022

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X‐linked disorder of lipid metabolism, characterized by the accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) due to defective the lysosomal enzyme, α‐galactosidase. Gb3 deposits activate immune‐mediated systemic inflammation, ultimately leading to life‐threatening consequences in multiple organs such as the heart and kidneys. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), the standard of care, is less effective with advanced tissue injury and inflammation in patients with FD. Here, we showed that MCP‐1 and TNF‐α cytokine levels were almost doubled in plasma from ERT‐treated FD patients. Chemokine receptor CCR2 surface expression was increased by twofold on monocytes from patients with low eGFR. We also observed an increase in IL12B transcripts in unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) over a 2‐year period of continuous ERT. Apabetalone is a clinical‐stage oral bromodomain and extra terminal protein inhibitor (BETi), which has beneficial effects on cardiovascular and kidney disease related pathways including inflammation. Here, we demonstrate that apabetalone, a BD2‐selective BETi, dose dependently reduced the production of MCP‐1 and IL‐12 in stimulated PBMCs through transcriptional regulation of their encoding genes. Reactive oxygen species production was diminished by up to 80% in stimulated neutrophils following apabetalone treatment, corresponding with inhibition of NOX2 transcription. This study elucidates that inhibition of BET proteins by BD2‐selective apabetalone alleviates inflammatory processes and oxidative stress in innate immune cells in general and in FD. These results suggest potential benefit of BD2‐selective apabetalone in controlling inflammation and oxidative stress in FD, which will be further investigated in clinical trials.
Effectiveness of autocidal gravid trapping and chemical control in altering abundance and age structure of Aedes albopictus
Authors: Figurskey Anastasia C. , Hollingsworth Brandon , Doyle Michael S. , Reiskind Michael H.
Published: April 2022

Background

Aedes albopictus is a nuisance pest mosquito of public health importance commonly managed with adulticides and larvicides. We investigated whether adding Gravid Aedes Traps (GATs), Autocidal Gravid Ovitraps (AGOs) or In2Care traps would extend the effectiveness of chemical control methods in Wake County, North Carolina, USA, by combining barrier sprays and larval habitat management (LHM) with each trap type at suburban households. We compared these three treatment groups to untreated controls and to backyards treated only with barrier sprays and LHM. Once a week, for ten weeks, we collected adult mosquitoes at each house using lure‐baited surveillance traps and dissected a portion of Ae. albopictus females to determine parity.

Results

Barrier sprays and LHM alone or combined with any supplemental autocidal ovitrap significantly reduced female Ae. albopictus through Week 3 post‐treatment. GATs significantly extended chemical control effectiveness for the duration of the study. Compared to the untreated control, the AGO and GAT treatment groups had significant overall female Ae. albopictus reductions of 74% and 80.4%, respectively, with populations aging significantly slower at houses treated with AGOs.

Conclusion

This household‐level study, though limited in size, observed significant reductions in nuisance Ae. albopictus when combining AGOs and GATs with chemical controls for an eight‐week period. Delayed population aging in AGO‐treated yards suggests that traps also could mitigate disease transmission risk. Future studies should test these control methods at the neighborhood level to evaluate large‐scale effectiveness as well as assess the effect of autocidal ovitraps without chemical intervention. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Stability and change in China's geography of intercity migration: A network analysis
Authors: Wu Shuang , Liu Tao
Published: April 2022

China's migration boom has reshaped its domestic economic pattern and social structure, resulting in a typical urbanization model dominated by massive internal migration. By using the 1% National Population Sample Survey data in 2005 and 2015, this study depicts and analyses the spatial pattern of intercity migration in China and its changes using the Gini index, network analysis approach, and gravity model. Individual‐level data enable us to reveal that the distribution of migrants among destinations and origins has become considerably balanced over the decade, although destinations are markedly more concentrated than origins. The migration network is stable but also becomes significantly disperse owing to the increasing short‐distance and intra‐provincial migration. Even with a burgeoning railway system, migration distance generally matters more than before, particularly for migration from Central and Western China. The results provide new insights to universal migration theories and implications to regional development and population redistribution.
Hidden Single‐Qubit Topological Phase Transition without Gap Closing in Anisotropic Light‐Matter Interactions
Authors: Ying Zu‐Jian
Published: April 2022

Conventionally the occurrence of topological phase transitions (TPTs) requires gap closing, whereas there are also unconventional cases without need of gap closing. Although traditionally TPTs lie in many‐body systems in condensed matter, both cases of TPTs may find analogs in few‐body systems. Indeed, the ground‐state node number provides a topological classification for single‐qubit systems. While the no‐node theorem of spinless systems is shown to restrict the fundamental quantum Rabi model in light‐matter interactions, it is demonstrated that the limitation of the no‐node theorem can be broken not only in small counter‐rotating terms (CRTs) but also in the large‐CRT regime, which striates a rich phase diagram with different TPTs. While these transitions are mostly accompanied with gap closing and parity reversal, a hidden node‐phase transition is revealed that has neither gap closing nor parity change, which turns out to be an analog of the unconventional TPT in condensed matter. A hysteresis sign for the unconventional TPT is unveiled via the transition from phase squeezing to amplitude squeezing in the gapped phase. The imprints in the Wigner function are also addressed. The clarified mechanisms provide some special insights for the subtle role of the CRTs.
Development of antibody resistance in emerging mutant strains of SARS CoV‐2: Impediment for COVID‐19 vaccines
Authors: Beeraka Narasimha M. , Sukocheva Olga A. , Lukina Elena , Liu Junqi , Fan Ruitai
Published: April 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), a highly infectious agent associated with unprecedented morbidity and mortality. A failure to stop growth of COVID‐19‐linked morbidity rates is caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 mutations and the emergence of new highly virulent SARS‐CoV‐2 strains. Several acquired SARS‐CoV‐2 mutations reflect viral adaptations to host immune defence. Mutations in the virus Spike‐protein were associated with the lowered effectiveness of current preventive therapies, including vaccines. Recent in vitro studies detected diminished neutralisation capacity of vaccine‐induced antibodies, which are targeted to bind Spike receptor‐binding and N‐terminal domains in the emerging strains. Lower than expected inhibitory activity of antibodies was reported against viruses with E484K Spike mutation, including B.1.1.7 (UK), P.1 (Brazil), B.1.351 (South African), and new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) with E484A mutation. The vaccine effectiveness is yet to be examined against new mutant strains of SARS‐CoV‐2 originating in Europe, Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa, and India. To prevent the loss of anti‐viral protection in vivo, often defined as antibody resistance, it is required to target highly conserved viral sequences (including Spike protein) and enhance the potency of antibody cocktails. In this review, we assess the reported mutation‐acquiring potential of coronaviruses and compare efficacies of current COVID‐19 vaccines against ‘parent’ and ‘mutant’ strains of SARS‐CoV‐2 (Kappa (B.1.617.1), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529)).
Baseline physical activity is associated with reduced mortality and disease outcomes in COVID‐19: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Rahmati Masoud , Shamsi Mahdieh Molanouri , Khoramipour Kayvan , Malakoutinia Fatemeh , Woo Wongi , Park Seoyeon , Yon Dong Keon , Lee Seung Won , Shin Jae Il , Smith Lee
Published: April 2022

Among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients, physically active individuals may be at lower risk of fatal outcomes. However, to date, no meta‐analysis has been carried out to investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) and fatal outcomes in patients with COVID‐19. Therefore, this meta‐analysis aims to explore the hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality rates of COVID‐19 patients with a history of PA participation before the onset of the pandemic, and to evaluate the reliability of the evidence. A systematic search of MEDLINE/PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, and medRxiv was conducted for articles published up to January 2022. A random‐effects meta‐analysis was performed to compare disease severity and mortality rates of COVID‐19 patients in physically active and inactive cases. Twelve studies involving 1,256,609 patients (991,268 physically active and 265,341 inactive cases) with COVID‐19, were included in the pooled analysis. The overall meta‐analysis compared with inactive controls showed significant associations between PA with reduction in COVID‐19 hospitalisation (risk ratio (RR) = 0.58, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.46–0.73, P = 0.001), ICU admissions (RR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.52–0.81, P = 0.001) and mortality (RR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.38–0.59, P = 0.001). The protective effect of PA on COVID‐19 hospitalisation and mortality could be attributable to the types of exercise such as resistance exercise (RR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.15–0.49, P = 0.001) and endurance exercise (RR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.23–0.74, P = 0.003), respectively. Physical activity is associated with decreased hospitalisation, ICU admissions, and mortality rates of patients with COVID‐19. Moreover, COVID‐19 patients with a history of resistance and endurance exercises experience a lower rate of hospitalisation and mortality, respectively. Further studies are warranted to determine the biological mechanisms underlying these findings.
Event‐triggered switching‐dependent integral sliding mode control for networked switched linear systems with unknown nonlinear disturbance
Authors: Wang Yuzhong , Wu Caiyun , Li Jinna , Ren Junchao
Published: April 2022

This article investigates the event‐triggered sliding mode control problem for uncertain networked switched systems with the external nonlinear disturbance. First, to reduce the utilization of the network bandwidth, a novel mode‐dependent continuous‐time event‐triggering scheme (ETS) including the state triggering error is proposed. A switching‐dependent auxiliary function called the triggering sliding mode function is constructed, which prevents the controller from using the extra information (the continuous state). Then, a novel switching‐dependent integral‐type switching function that depends on the states of the switching instants and includes an exponential term is proposed. Obtaining the boundary of the sliding mode region benefits from the exponential term for continuous‐time systems. Then, an event‐triggered sliding mode controller is designed, which makes the networked switched systems practical stability, and attains the sliding region around the specified sliding surface. When the constant threshold of the triggering scheme is zero, the system state can converge to zero as time goes to infinity. Moreover, it is proved that the Zeno behavior can be avoided under the proposed continuous‐time ETS. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by a switched Chua's circuit system.
Robust decoupling of uncertain subsystems
Authors: Baár Tamás , Luspay Tamás
Published: April 2022

The article presents a robust subsystem decoupling framework for uncertain linear systems with linear fractional representation, where the uncertainties are described by Integral Quadratic Constraints. The proposed method relies on the synthesis of input‐ and output transformations, which maximize the robust excitation of a selected subsystem, while minimize this effect on the other parts of the dynamics. More precisely, the notion of minimum gain is defined (and discussed) for uncertain systems, which is then maximized for the targeted subsystem. In order to achieve decoupling, the maximum sensitivity of the undesired dynamical part is minimized simultaneously. These criteria lead to an optimization problem subject to linear matrix inequality constraints, hence can be effectively solved. Numerical examples are used for demonstrating the developed method and its possible applications.
Beginning school–university partnerships for transformative social change in science education: Narratives from the field
Authors: Kang Hosun , González‐Howard María
Published: April 2022

These narratives explore what it might entail to begin school–university partnerships towards the goal of transformative social changes through the voices of two women scholars of color. Using two school–university partnerships as focal cases, we unpack the complexity, tensions, and possibilities that arise through collaborations driven by the objective to promote new and more just forms of science learning within public schools. In this article, we use three key dimensions of participatory design research (namely, critical historicity, power, and relationality) as analytical lenses through which to reflect upon school–university partnerships that we are in the beginning stages of forming. Through this methodology, we shed light on: (a) the historical genealogies of equity‐oriented work and (b) the tensions that we encountered as we strived for beginning partnerships with K‐12 schools. These narratives unveil the dynamic and contentious nature of forming school–university partnerships that always occurs within a sociopolitical landscape impacted by intersecting and powered identity markers, including those around race, gender, language, culture, and status. We provide specific recommendations for supporting education researchers who aspire to transform the learning of sciences at schools through a collaborative and sustainable partnership. These recommendations include ideas around how to collectively generate goals with schools centered on transformative science learning; attention to the role of language and race in shaping partnership role‐remediation; and creating infrastructure for developing school–university partnerships toward transformative social changes, including financial, human and relational resources, as well as new forms of recognition systems.
Jointly modeling of sleep variables that are objectively measured by wrist actigraphy
Authors: Xue Xiaonan , Hua Simin , Weber Kathleen , Qi Qibin , Kaplan Robert , Gustafson Deborah R. , Sharma Anjali , French Audrey , Burgess Helen J.
Published: April 2022

Recently developed actigraphy devices have made it possible for continuous and objective monitoring of sleep over multiple nights. Sleep variables captured by wrist actigraphy devices include sleep onset, sleep end, total sleep time, wake time after sleep onset, number of awakenings, etc. Currently available statistical methods to analyze such actigraphy data have limitations. First, averages over multiple nights are used to summarize sleep activities, ignoring variability over multiple nights from the same subject. Second, sleep variables are often analyzed independently. However, sleep variables tend to be correlated with each other. For example, how long a subject sleeps at night can be correlated with how long and how frequent he/she wakes up during that night. It is important to understand these inter‐relationships. We therefore propose a joint mixed effect model on total sleep time, number of awakenings, and wake time. We develop an estimating procedure based upon a sequence of generalized linear mixed effects models, which can be implemented using existing software. The use of these models not only avoids computational intensity and instability that may occur by directly applying a numerical algorithm on a complicated joint likelihood function, but also provides additional insights on sleep activities. We demonstrated in simulation studies that the proposed estimating procedure performed well in estimating both fixed and random effects' parameters. We applied the proposed model to data from the Women's Interagency HIV Sleep Study to examine the association of employment status and age with overall sleep quality assessed by several actigraphy measured sleep variables.
An Unprecedented Dodecanuclear Copper(II) Complex Derived from an Unsymmetrical Schiff‐Base Ligand
Authors: Bhunia Pradip , Mayans Júlia , Escuer Albert , Ghosh Ashutosh
Published: April 2022

A novel discrete dodecanuclear Cu(II) complex, [Cu12L26(OH)6]⋅2CH3CN (1) has been synthesised using an N2O3 donor unsymmetrical Schiff base ligand derived from the condensation of 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propanol with salicylaldehyde and o‐hydroxyacetophenone. Single crystal X‐ray diffraction study indicates that each deprotonated ligand chelates two Cu(II) centres which are also bridged by alkoxo oxygen; six such dinuclear units are joined by alkoxo and phenoxo groups of the ligand as well as hydroxo bridges to form the dodecanuclear structure. Magnetic studies indicate predominating antiferromagnetic coupling interactions between the paramagnetic Cu(II) centres.
An Aggregation‐Suppressed Polymer Blending Strategy Enables High‐Performance Organic and Quantum Dot Hybrid Solar Cells
Authors: Liu Junwei , Qiao Jiawei , Zhou Kangkang , Wang Jingjing , Gui Ruohua , Xian Kaihu , Gao Mengyuan , Yin Hang , Hao Xiaotao , Zhou Zhihua , Ye Long
Published: April 2022

Solution‐processing hybrid solar cells with organics and colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have drawn substantial attention in the past decade. Nevertheless, hybrid solar cells based on the recently developed directly synthesized CQD inks are still unexplored. Herein, a facile polymer blending strategy is put forward to enable directly synthesized CQD/polymer hybrid solar cells with a champion efficiency of 13%, taking advantage of the conjugated polymer blends with finely optimized aggregation behaviors. The spectroscopic and electrical investigations on carrier transport and recombination indicate that polymer blends can endow fast carrier transport and less recombination over the single counterparts. Moreover, the blending strategy offers a “dilution effect” for top‐notch photovoltaic polymers with excessively strong aggregation tendency, resulting in moderate feature domain size and surface roughness, which afford fast hole transport and therefore high photovoltaic performance. The effectiveness of this strategy is successfully validated using two pairs of photovoltaic polymers. Accordingly, the relationships between polymer morphology, carrier transport, and photovoltaic performance are established to advance the progress of CQD/polymer hybrid solar cells. Such progress stresses that the utilization of aggregation‐suppressed polymer blends is a facile approach toward the fabrication of high‐efficiency organic–inorganic hybrid solar cells.
Building Bulk Heterojunction to Enhance Hole Extraction for High‐Performance Printable Carbon‐Based Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Liu Tongfa , Li Yu , Xu Rongguo , Lou Lingyun , Gao Jinqiang , Zhang Kai , Su Mingzhu , Qian Wei , Wang Gaopeng , Xiao Shuang , Yang Shihe
Published: April 2022

An efficient perovskite junction is critical for the functioning of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, carbon‐based perovskite solar cells (C‐PSCs) have been plagued by the paucity of ways to construct an efficient junction between perovskite and carbon, staggering around an efficiency much lower than other state‐of‐the‐art PSCs. Herein, a perovskite/carbon bulk heterojunction (BHJ) for C‐PSCs is innovated and systematically studied. First, a two‐step orthogonal solvent method is developed to deposit a series of high‐quality perovskite films directly on the preformed perovskite film, allowing to manipulate compositions, band alignment, and charge transfer of the perovskite junction in a low‐cost and straightforward fashion. Second, by adopting this method to a porous carbon electrode as originally motivated, fabrication of perovskite/carbon BHJ with perovskite crystals by seamlessly filling in the porous carbon film is successfully done, thus providing a high contact area of perovskite/carbon heterojunction. Such a BHJ accelerates hole collection of the carbon electrode from the perovskite layer, thus significantly boosting the performance of C‐PSCs with MAPbI3 as the active layer from 12% to over 16% with certification. The device is shown to be stable with no obvious degradation after 1700 h of continuous light soaking near the maximum power point.
Erdbebensichere Bauten mit dissipativen Elementen aus hochfestem Stahl
Authors: Avgerinou Stella , Thanopoulos Pavlos , Hoffmeister Benno , Vayas Ioannis
Published: April 2022

Im vorliegenden Aufsatz wird die Anwendung des hochfesten Stahls S700MC für dissipative Elemente in erdbebensicheren Stahlkonstruktionen vorgestellt. Das Verhalten unter zyklischen Lasten wurde experimentell an vollmaßstäblichen Konstruktionen untersucht – hierbei wurde ein hohes Duktilitätsmaß festgestellt, wenn auch geringer als bei den üblichen S235‐Stählen. Anschließend wurde die Anwendbarkeit hochfester Stähle beispielhaft für zwei mehrgeschossige Gebäude numerisch erprobt. Die Berechnungen umfassten lineare und nichtlineare statische und dynamische Berechnungen. Damit wurden sowohl die praxisnahe Anwendung als auch die Leistungsfähigkeit und die erwarteten Grenzzustände untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass dissipative Elemente aus hochfesten Stählen insbesondere in verformungsarmen Aussteifungssystemen sinnvoll sind, bei denen nicht die Gebrauchstauglichkeit maßgebend, sondern Dissipation bereits bei geringen Verformungen erwünscht ist.
A multiple alignment workflow shows the effect of repeat masking and parameter tuning on alignment in plants
Authors: Wu Yaoyao , Johnson Lynn , Song Baoxing , Romay Cinta , Stitzer Michelle , Siepel Adam , Buckler Edward , Scheben Armin
Published: April 2022

Alignments of multiple genomes are a cornerstone of comparative genomics, but generating these alignments remains technically challenging and often impractical. We developed the msa_pipeline workflow (https://bitbucket.org/bucklerlab/msa_pipeline) to allow practical and sensitive multiple alignment of diverged plant genomes and calculation of conservation scores with minimal user inputs. As high repeat content and genomic divergence are substantial challenges in plant genome alignment, we also explored the effect of different masking approaches and parameters of the LAST aligner using genome assemblies of 33 grass species. Compared with conventional masking with RepeatMasker, a masking approach based on k‐mers (nucleotide sequences of k length) increased the alignment rate of coding sequence and noncoding functional regions by 25 and 14%, respectively. We further found that default alignment parameters generally perform well, but parameter tuning can increase the alignment rate for noncoding functional regions by over 52% compared with default LAST settings. Finally, by increasing alignment sensitivity from the default baseline, parameter tuning can increase the number of noncoding sites that can be scored for conservation by over 76%. Overall, tuning of masking and alignment parameters can generate optimized multiple alignments to drive biological discovery in plants.
Association between anticholinergic burden and dementia in UK Biobank
Authors: Mur Jure , Russ Tom C. , Cox Simon R. , Marioni Riccardo E. , Muniz‐Terrera Graciela
Published: April 2022

Background

Previous studies on the relationship between anticholinergic drugs and dementia have reported heterogeneous results. This variability could be due to different anticholinergic scales and differential effects of distinct classes of drugs.

Methods

Using Cox proportional hazards models, we computed the association between annual anticholinergic burden (AChB) and the risk of dementia in UK Biobank with linked general practitioner prescription records between the years 2000 and 2015 (n = 171,775).

Results

AChB according to most anticholinergic scales (standardized odds ratio range: 1.027–1.125) and the slope of the AChB trajectory (hazard ratio = 1.094; 95% confidence interval: 1.068–1.119) were predictive of dementia. However, the association between AChB and dementia held only for some classes of drugs, especially antidepressants, antiepileptics, and antidiuretics.

Discussion

The heterogeneity in previous findings may partially be due to different effects for different classes of drugs. Future studies should establish differences in more detail and further examine the practicality of a general measure of AChB relating to the risk of dementia.
Synergistic effect of graphitic carbon nitride and ammonium polyphosphate on the enhanced flame retardant and smoke suppression properties of biobased polyamide 56
Authors: Zhang Yuhui , Zhao Yu , Wang Zihao , Jiang Xuegang , Liu Xiucai , Guo Weihong
Published: April 2022

Seeking a facile strategy to synthesize efficient and inexpensive flame retardant which endows biobased polyamide 56 (PA56) with desirable flame retardancy is an urgent need. Here, ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was modified with graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) to synthesize a nitrogen‐phosphorus flame retardant (CN@APP) and then applied in biobased PA56. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectra demonstrated that APP was successfully microencapsulated with g‐C3N4. The micromorphology structure was further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PA56/CN@APP attained a UL 94 V‐0 rating and limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 31.7%. A sharp reduction of 35.3% in peak heat release rate (pHRR) and 24.0% in total heat release (THR) and an 874% increase in char yield were noticed for PA56/CN@APP2 compared with pure PA56. Additionally, the peak smoke production rate (pSPR) and total smoke production (TSP) of PA56/CN@APP2 were 33.0% and 21.8% lower than those of pure PA56. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy were employed to analyze the condensed phase residues from the cone calorimeter test (CCT). The results indicated that CN@APP was beneficial for forming a more stable and compact carbon layer during combustion, thereby insulating the heat transfer and improving the flame retardancy and smoke suppression of PA56.
Interaction among offset parallel cracks in an orthotropic plane under thermo‐mechanical loading
Authors: Tanwar Anshika , Singh Ritika , Das Subir , Altenbach Holm
Published: April 2022

The article deals with the problem of three thermally insulated cracks embedded in a fibrous composite material subjected to thermo‐mechanical loading. Orthotropy is ensured by the unidirectional reinforcement of fiber. The considered infinite orthotropic plane is divided mathematically into three parts. The present mathematical model comprises of a central crack parallel to two symmetric collinear cracks at an offset distance to it. All the cracks under consideration are thermally insulated and aligned in the fiber direction. Using the Fourier integral transformed technique, the governing equations are reduced into a pair of singular integral equations. The Chebyshev polynomials are used to solve the integral equations of first kind with Cauchy kernel functions. Numerical values of the mode I stress intensity factors (SIFs) at the tips of the cracks are found for different lengths and distance between those. The effect of cracks' interaction on the SIFs is depicted graphically for the fiber‐reinforced composite (FRC) material constituted by carbon‐based fiber—Graphite and matrix—Epoxy.
Neoadjuvant versus definitive radiochemotherapy of locoregionally advanced oesophageal cancer—who benefits?
Authors: Schiffner Christoph , Christiansen Hans , Brandes Iris , Grannas Gerrit , Wichmann Jörn , Merten Roland
Published: April 2022

Purpose

For years, there have been discussions on whether neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy followed by surgery (nRCT-S) is superior to definitive radiochemotherapy (dRCT) as the standard of care for locoregionally advanced oesophageal cancer (OC). This retrospective study aimed to evaluate our patient cohort regarding differences in survival and recurrence between nRCT‑S and dRCT.

Methods

Data from 68 patients with dRCT and 33 patients with nRCT‑S treated from 2010 to 2018 were analysed. Comorbidities were recorded using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Recurrence patterns were recorded as in-field or out-field. Kaplan–Meier analyses were used to compare survival data (overall survival [OS], progression-free survival [PFS], and locoregional control [LRC]).

Results

Patients with nRCT‑S showed significantly lower CCI values than those with dRCT (p = 0.001). The median follow-up was 47 months. The median OS times were 31 months for nRCT‑S and 12 months for dRCT (p = 0.009), the median PFS times were 11 and 9 months, respectively (p = 0.057), and the median LRC times were not reached and 23 months, respectively (p = 0.037). The only further factor with a significant impact on OS was the CCI (p = 0.016). In subgroup analyses for comorbidities regarding differences in OS, the superiority of the nRCT‑S remained almost significant for CCI values 2–6 (p = 0.061).

Conclusion

Our study showed significantly longer OS and LRC for patients with nRCT‑S than for those with dRCT. Due to different comorbidities in the groups, it can be deduced from the subgroup analysis that patients with few comorbidities seem to especially profit from nRCT‑S.
Pigmentierte villonoduläre Synovitis
Authors: Neugebauer J. , Dammerer D. , Hackl W.
Published: April 2022

Ziel

In diesem Beitrag wird evaluiert, ob die radiologischen Diagnosekriterien ausreichen, um die Diagnose einer pigmentierten villonodulären Synovitis (PVNS) anhand eines Magnetresonanztomographie(MRT)-Befunds sicher stellen zu können und daraus eine Operationsindikation abzuleiten. Hierzu wurde überprüft, inwieweit die radiologische Diagnose mit dem histopathologischen Befund übereinstimmte.

Methoden

In einer retrospektiven Datenanalyse wurden 52 Patienten mit PVNS (22 männlich, 30 weiblich, mittleres Alter: 38 Jahre), die sich zwischen 1991 und 2019 einem operativen Eingriff unterzogen hatten, analysiert. Einschlusskriterien waren ein positiver MRT-Befund mit Hinweis auf Hämosiderin und anschließende Synovektomie sowie eine entsprechend dokumentierte histopathologische Aufarbeitung.

Ergebnisse

In 71 % der Fälle stimmten der MRT-Befund und das histologische Ergebnis überein, was jedoch darauf hindeutet, dass nach der radikalen Synovektomie in etwa 29 % der Fälle histologisch keine PVNS nachgewiesen werden konnte. Das Kniegelenk stellte sich als das am häufigsten betroffene Gelenk dar, gefolgt von Hüft- und Sprunggelenk.

Diskussion

Die PVNS tritt meist bei jungen Erwachsen auf. Frauen waren im eigenen Kollektiv etwas häufiger betroffen als Männer. In der aktuellen Literatur findet man keinen etablierten Algorithmus zur Behandlung einer PVNS. Im Zweifelsfall sollte unbedingt eine histologische Diagnosesicherung mittels arthroskopischer oder offener Biopsiegewinnung der radikalen Synovektomie vorgeschaltet werden.

Schlussfolgerung

Aufgrund der Invasivität der radikalen Synovektomie ist die präoperative Biopsie eine weitere Möglichkeit zur Diagnosesicherung und sollte im Zweifelsfall unbedingt eingesetzt werden. Eine enge interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit von Radiologen und Tumorradiologen ist hierbei essenziell.
The pro-radical hydrogen peroxide as a stable hydroxyl radical distributor: lessons from pancreatic beta cells
Authors: Lenzen Sigurd , Lushchak Volodymyr I. , Scholz Fritz
Published: April 2022

The toxic potential of H2O2 is limited, even if intracellular concentrations of H2O2 under conditions of oxidative stress increase to the micromolar concentration range. Its toxicity is mostly restricted to the oxidation of highly reactive thiol groups, some of which are functionally very important. Subsequently, the HO· radical is generated spontaneously from H2O2 in the Fenton reaction. The HO· radical is extremely toxic and destroys any biological structure. Due to the high reactivity, its action is limited to a locally restricted site of its generation. On the other hand, H2O2 with its stability and long half-life can reach virtually any site and distribute its toxic effect all over the cell. Thereby HO·, in spite of its ultra-short half-life (10–9 s), can execute its extraordinary toxic action at any target of the cell. In this oxidative stress scenario, H2O2 is the pro-radical, that spreads the toxic action of the HO· radical. It is the longevity of the H2O2 molecule allowing it to distribute its toxic action from the site of origin all over the cell and may even mediate intercellular communication. Thus, H2O2 acts as a spreader by transporting it to sites where the extremely short-lived toxic HO· radical can arise in the presence of “free iron”. H2O2 and HO· act in concert due to their different complementary chemical properties. They are dependent upon each other while executing the toxic effects in oxidative stress under diabetic metabolic conditions in particular in the highly vulnerable pancreatic beta cell, which in contrast to many other cell types is so badly protected against oxidative stress due to its extremely low H2O2 inactivating enzyme capacity.
Orlicz Space Regularization of Continuous Optimal Transport Problems
Authors: Lorenz Dirk , Mahler Hinrich
Published: April 2022

In this work we analyze regularized optimal transport problems in the so-called Kantorovich form, i.e. given two Radon measures on two compact sets, the aim is to find a transport plan, which is another Radon measure on the product of the sets, that has these two measures as marginals and minimizes the sum of a certain linear cost function and a regularization term. We focus on regularization terms where a Young’s function applied to the (density of the) transport plan is integrated against a product measure. This forces the transport plan to belong to a certain Orlicz space. The predual problem is derived and proofs for strong duality and existence of primal solutions of the regularized problem are presented. Existence of (pre-)dual solutions is shown for the special case of $$L^p$$

L
p

-regularization for $$p\ge 2$$

p
≥
2

. Moreover, two results regarding $$\varGamma $$
Γ
-convergence are stated: The first is concerned with marginals that do not lie in the appropriate Orlicz space and guarantees $$\varGamma $$
Γ
-convergence to the original Kantorovich problem, when smoothing the marginals. The second result gives convergence of a regularized and discretized problem to the unregularized, continuous problem.
Mean-Field Selective Optimal Control via Transient Leadership
Authors: Albi Giacomo , Almi Stefano , Morandotti Marco , Solombrino Francesco
Published: April 2022

A mean-field selective optimal control problem of multipopulation dynamics via transient leadership is considered. The agents in the system are described by their spatial position and their probability of belonging to a certain population. The dynamics in the control problem is characterized by the presence of an activation function which tunes the control on each agent according to the membership to a population, which, in turn, evolves according to a Markov-type jump process. In this way, a hypothetical policy maker can select a restricted pool of agents to act upon based, for instance, on their time-dependent influence on the rest of the population. A finite-particle control problem is studied and its mean-field limit is identified via $$\varGamma $$
Γ
-convergence, ensuring convergence of optimal controls. The dynamics of the mean-field optimal control is governed by a continuity-type equation without diffusion. Specific applications in the context of opinion dynamics are discussed with some numerical experiments.
Continuous Differentiability of the Value Function of Semilinear Parabolic Infinite Time Horizon Optimal Control Problems on $$L^2(\Omega )$$ Under Control Constraints
Authors: Kunisch Karl , Priyasad Buddhika
Published: April 2022

An abstract framework guaranteeing the local continuous differentiability of the value function associated with optimal stabilization problems subject to abstract semilinear parabolic equations subject to a norm constraint on the controls is established. It guarantees that the value function satisfies the associated Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation in the classical sense. The applicability of the developed framework is demonstrated for specific semilinear parabolic equations.
Finite Element Methods for Isotropic Isaacs Equations with Viscosity and Strong Dirichlet Boundary Conditions
Authors: Jaroszkowski Bartosz , Jensen Max
Published: April 2022

We study monotone P1 finite element methods on unstructured meshes for fully non-linear, degenerately parabolic Isaacs equations with isotropic diffusions arising from stochastic game theory and optimal control and show uniform convergence to the viscosity solution. Elliptic projections are used to manage singular behaviour at the boundary and to treat a violation of the consistency conditions from the framework by Barles and Souganidis by the numerical operators. Boundary conditions may be imposed in the viscosity or in the strong sense, or in a combination thereof. The presented monotone numerical method has well-posed finite dimensional systems, which can be solved efficiently with Howard’s method.
An effective AKT inhibitor-PARP inhibitor combination therapy for recurrent ovarian cancer
Authors: Xu Jing , Gao Yi , Luan Xiaotian , Li Ke , Wang Jing , Dai Yilin , Kang Mingyi , Lu Chong , Zhang Minhua , Lu Chris X. , Kang Yu , Xu Congjian
Published: April 2022

Background

Although the use of PARP inhibitor has received considerable amount of attention in ovarian cancer, PARP inhibitor resistance still emerges with disease progression. PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors have been proposed to synergize with PARP inhibition to slow tumor growth, but the exact molecular mechanisms are still elusive.

Methods

Utilizing tumor samples from recurrent EOC patients with platinum resistance and prior PARP inhibitor use, Mini PDX and PDX models were established to study the anti-tumor effect of AKT inhibitor (LAE003) and LAE003/PARP inhibitor (Olaparib) in combination. Five ovarian cancer cell lines were treated with Olaparib or LAE003 or in combination in vitro. Cell viability and apoptosis rate were measured after the treatments. Combination index by the Chou–Talalay was used to evaluate in vitro combination effect of Olaparib and LAE003. The protein expression level of PARP1 and PAR was measured by Western blot in cell lines and by immunohistochemistry in PDX tumor tissues.

Results

Tumor cells from two out of five platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients previously treated with PARP inhibitor were sensitive to AKT inhibition in Mini-PDX study. Inhibition of AKT further increased the response of tumor cells to Olaparib in a PDX model derived from a recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patient. Additive anti-proliferation effect of LAE003 and Olaparib was also observed in three ovarian cancer cell lines with high PARP1 protein level. Interestingly, mechanism study revealed that AKT inhibition decreased PARP enzyme activity as measured by PAR level and/or reduced PARP1 protein level in the tumor cell lines and PDX tumor tissues, which may explain the observed combined anti-tumor effect of LAE003 and Olaparib.

Conclusion

Collectively, our results suggest that the combination of AKT inhibitor and PARP inhibitor could be a viable approach for clinical testing in recurrent ovarian cancer patients.
Characterization and Genomic Analysis of Bacteriophage vB_KpnM_IME346 Targeting Clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae Strain of the K63 Capsular Type
Authors: Gao Mingming , Yi Lingxian , Wang Yuan , Gao Jie , Liu Huiying , Zhang Xianglilan , Pei Guangqian , Tong Yigang , Bai Changqing
Published: April 2022

A Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteriophage (vB_KpnM_IME346) was isolated from a hospital sewage sample. This bacteriophage specifically infects a clinical K. pneumoniae strain with a K63 capsular polysaccharide structure. The phage genome was evaluated by next-generation sequencing, which revealed a linear double-stranded DNA genome consisting of 49,482 base pairs with a G+C content of 49.1%. The latent period of vB_KpnM_IME346 was shown to be 20 min, and the burst size was 25–30 pfu (plaque-forming units)/infected cell. Transmission electron microscopy and phylogenetic analysis showed that the JD001-like phage belongs to the genus Jedunavirus of the family Myoviridae. The newly isolated vB_KpnM_IME346 shows infectivity in the clinical host K. pneumoniae KP576 strain, indicating that it is a promising alternative to antibacterial agents for removing K. pneumoniae from patients.