bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Morphological and Interaction Characteristics of Surface‐Active Ionic Liquids and Palmitic Acid in Mixed Monolayers
Authors: Eftaiha A. F. , Qaroush Abdussalam K. , Kayed Ghada G. , Abdel Rahman Abdel Rahman K. , Assaf Khaleel I. , Paige Matthew F. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractA series of water soluble, surface‐active ionic liquids (SAILs), namely, 1‐alkyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium chlorides ([Cn‐mim]Cl) and their mixtures with palmitic acid (PA) are investigated in Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir–Blodgett films. It is inferred from the surface pressure‐area isotherms that C16‐mim‐IL mixes non‐ideally with PA and stabilizes the binary mixed films. In addition, the residence of mim‐IL at the water surface is enhanced as a function of the increasing alkyl side chain length. Generally, the compressional moduli values decrease upon increasing the content of the mim‐ILs over a wide range of compositions. Furthermore, film relaxation measurements indicate that the IL component is selectively excluded from the mixed films upon achieving a certain target pressure. Brewster angle microscope images demonstrate minimal changes on the PA domains in the presence of either C4‐ and C8‐mim‐ILs, whereas presence of the hexadecyl counterpart results in the formation of condensed sheets. Atomic force microscopy imaging of deposited films show the formation of propeller‐like aggregates when C8‐ or C16‐mim‐IL is present in the mixed films.
Gas Phase Formation of Methylgermylene (HGeCH3)
Authors: Yang Zhenghai , He Chao , Doddipatla Srinivas , Krasnoukhov Vladislav S. , Azyazov Valeriy N. , Mebel Alexander M. , Kaiser Ralf I. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe methylgermylene species (HGeCH3; X1A′) has been synthesized via the bimolecular gas phase reaction of ground state methylidyne radicals (CH) with germane (GeH4) under single collision conditions in crossed molecular beams experiments. Augmented by electronic structure calculations, this elementary reaction was found to proceed through barrierless insertion of the methylidyne radical in one of the four germanium‐hydrogen bonds on the doublet potential energy surface yielding the germylmethyl (CH2GeH3; X2A′) collision complex. This insertion is followed by a hydrogen shift from germanium to carbon and unimolecular decomposition of the methylgermyl (GeH2CH3; X2A′) intermediate by atomic hydrogen elimination leading to singlet methylgermylene (HGeCH3; X1A′). Our investigation provides a glimpse at the largely unknown reaction dynamics and isomerization processes of the carbon‐germanium system, which are quite distinct from those of the isovalent carbon system thus providing insights into the intriguing chemical bonding of organo germanium species on the most fundamental, microscopic level.
Selective Hydrogenation of Biomass‐Derived Furfural: Enhanced Catalytic Performance of Pd−Cu Alloy Nanoparticles in Porous Polymer
Authors: Salnikova Ksenia E. , Larichev Yurii V. , Sulman Esther M. , Bykov Alexey V. , Sidorov Alexander I. , Demidenko Galina N. , Sulman Mikhail G. , Bronstein Lyudmila M. , Matveeva Valentina G. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractHere, the development of a new catalyst is reported for the selective furfural (FF) hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol (FA) based on about 7 nm sized Pd−Cu alloy nanoparticles (NPs) formed in inexpensive, commercially available micro/mesoporous hypercrosslinked polystyrene (HPS). A comparison of the catalytic properties of as‐synthesized and reduced (denoted “r”) catalysts as well as Pd−Cu alloy and monometallic palladium NPs showed a considerable enhancement of the catalytic performance of Pd−Cu/HPS‐r compared to other catalysts studied, resulting in about 100 % FF conversion, 95.2 % selectivity for FA and a TOF of 1209 h−1. This was attributed to the enrichment of the NP surface with copper atoms, disrupting the furan ring adsorption, and to the presence of both zerovalent and cationic palladium and copper species, resulting in optimal hydrogen and FF adsorption. These factors along with exceptional stability of the catalyst in ten consecutive catalytic cycles make it highly promising in practical applications.
Enhancing the searchability, breeding utility, and efficient management of germplasm accessions in the USDA−ARS rice collection
Authors: McClung Anna M. , Edwards Jeremy D. , Jia Melissa H. , Huggins Trevis D. , Bockelman Harold E. , Ali M Liakat , Eizenga Georgia C. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractGenebanks conserve worldwide crop genetic diversity in systematically assembled and maintained ex situ collections for use by plant breeders and geneticists to improve the productivity, value, and sustainability of agriculture. Challenges faced in genebank management include providing sufficient and accurate trait information to facilitate searching the collection; controlling redundant accessions, seed mixtures, and mislabeled accessions; and identifying gaps in diversity. To help address these issues, a system that employs genotyping using 24 trait‐specific markers (TSMs), fingerprint markers (FPMs), or markers that are unique to subspecies was implemented for the USDA–ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), National Small Grains Collection (NSGC) for rice (Oryza sativa L.). Trait‐specific markers were used to validate phenotypic data for fragrance, pericarp color, apparent amylose content, starch pasting properties, gelatinization temperature, resistance to rice blast disease, plant pubescence, and plant height. Discrepancies between genotypic and phenotypic data are useful for quality control during curation or may present opportunities for identifying novel alleles, particularly for TSMs. Over 2,000 accessions were classified by species, O. sativa or O. glaberrima Steud.; subspecies, Indica or Japonica; and subpopulation, aromatic, indica, aus, temperate japonica, or tropical japonica using the subspecies marker and FPMs. This small panel of TSMs and FPMs was also adequate for differentiating important U.S. cultivars, which are primarily of tropical japonica background. As a result of this study, TSM and FPM descriptors will be added to the rice NSGC database, redundancies reduced, and mislabeled accessions corrected, thus increasing the value of the rice NSGC for breeding programs and providing new opportunities for gene discovery.
Dealloyed Nanoporous Materials for Rechargeable Post‐Lithium Batteries
Authors: Wu Xuan , He Guang , Ding Yi 
Published: June 2020

AbstractInvited for this month′s cover is the group of Yi Ding at the Tianjin University of Technology. The image highlights the fast electron/ion transport in a bicontinuous open network of dealloyed nanoporous materials and describes their applications in several emerging post‐lithium batteries, including Na, K, Mg, Zn, and Al batteries. The Minireview itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202001069.
Remarkable anoxia tolerance by stoneflies from a floodplain aquifer
Authors: Malison Rachel L. , Ellis Bonnie K. , DelVecchia Amanda G. , Jacobson Hailey , Hand Brian K. , Luikart Gordon , Woods H. Arthur , Gamboa Maribet , Watanabe Kozo , Stanford Jack A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAlluvial aquifers are key components of river floodplains and biodiversity worldwide, but they contain extreme environmental conditions and have limited sources of carbon for sustaining food webs. Despite this, they support abundant populations of aquifer stoneflies that have large proportions of their biomass carbon derived from methane. Methane is typically produced in freshwater ecosystems in anoxic conditions, while stoneflies (Order: Plecoptera) are thought to require highly oxygenated water. The potential importance of methane‐derived food resources raises the possibility that stonefly consumers have evolved anoxia‐resistant behaviors and physiologies. Here we tested the anoxic and hypoxic responses of 2,445 stonefly individuals in three aquifer species and nine benthic species. We conducted experimental trials in which we reduced oxygen levels, documented locomotor activity, and measured survival rates. Compared to surface‐dwelling benthic relatives, stoneflies from the alluvial aquifer on the Flathead River (Montana) performed better in hypoxic and anoxic conditions. Aquifer species sustained the ability to walk after 4–76 h of anoxia vs. 1 h for benthic species and survived on average three times longer than their benthic counterparts. Aquifer stoneflies also sustained aerobic respiration down to much lower levels of ambient oxygen. We show that aquifer taxa have gene sequences for hemocyanin, an oxygen transport respiratory protein, representing a possible mechanism for surviving low oxygen. This remarkable ability to perform well in low‐oxygen conditions is unique within the entire order of stoneflies (Plecoptera) and uncommon in other freshwater invertebrates. These results show that aquifer stoneflies can exploit rich carbon resources available in anoxic zones, which may explain their extraordinarily high abundance in gravel‐bed floodplain aquifers. These stoneflies are part of a novel food web contributing biodiversity to river floodplains.
Sequential nephron blockade with combined diuretics improves diastolic function in patients with resistant hypertension
Authors: Fouassier David , Blanchard Anne , Fayol Antoine , Bobrie Guillaume , Boutouyrie Pierre , Azizi Michel , Hulot Jean‐Sébastien 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAimsHypertension is a major contributor to cardiac diastolic dysfunction. Different therapeutics strategies have been proposed to control blood pressure (BP), but their independent impact on cardiac function remains undetermined. In patients with resistant hypertension, we compared the changes in cardiac parameters between two strategies based on sequential nephron blockade (NBD) with a combination of diuretics or sequential renin‐angiotensin system blockade (RASB).Methods and resultsAfter a 4‐week period where all patients received Irbesartan 300 mg/day + hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg/day + amlodipine 5 mg/day, 140 resistant hypertension patients (54.8 ± 11.1 years, 76% men, mean duration with hypertension: 13.1 ± 10.5 years, no previous history of heart failure or current symptoms of congestive heart failure) were randomized 1:1 to the NBD regimen or to the RASB regimen at week 0 (W0, baseline). Treatment intensity was increased at week 4, 8, or 10 if home BP was ≥135/85 mmHg, by sequentially adding 25 mg spironolactone, 20–40 mg furosemide, and 5 mg amiloride (NBD group) or 5–10 mg ramipril and 5–10 mg bisoprolol (RASB group). No other antihypertensive drug was allowed during the study. BP, BNP levels, and echocardiographic parameters were assessed at weeks 0 and 12.The baseline characteristics, laboratory parameters, and plasma hormones (BNP, renin, and aldosterone) and cardiac echocardiographic parameters did not significantly differ between the NBD and the RASB groups. Over 12 weeks, BNP levels significantly decreased in NBD but increased in RASB (mean [CI 95%] change in log‐transformed BNP levels: −43% [−67%; −23%] vs. +55% [46%; 62%] in NBD vs. RASB, respectively, P < 0.0001). Similarly, the proportion of patients presenting ≥2 echocardiographic criteria of diastolic dysfunction decreased between baseline and W12 from 31% to 3% in NBD but increased from 19% to 32% in RASB (P = 0.0048). As compared with RASB, NBD induced greater decrease in ambulatory systolic BP (P < 0.0001), pulse pressure (P < 0.0001), and systemic vascular resistance (P < 0.005). In multivariable linear regression analyses, NBD treatment was significantly associated with decreased BNP levels (adjusted ß: −46.41 ± 6.99, P < 0.0001) independent of age, gender, renal function, and changes in BPs or heart rate.ConclusionsIn patients with resistant hypertension, nephron blockade with a combination of diuretics significantly improves cardiac markers of diastolic dysfunction independently of BP lowering.
The Ethics of Everyday Life in the Midst of a Pandemic
Authors: Miller Franklin G. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractElderly individuals are at higher risk of serious illness and death if they become infected by the coronavirus. During the current pandemic, my wife and I, at ages seventy‐two and seventy‐one, respectively, have been paying a person laid off from a job to purchase groceries—a practice that exposes the shopper to risk of infection for our benefit. In this essay, I examine this practice with respect to the normative concepts of treating another person as a means, coercion, exploitation, and complicity.
Rethinking “Elective” Procedures for Women's Reproduction during Covid‐19
Authors: Gross Marielle S. , Harrington Bryna J. , Sufrin Carolyn B. , Faden Ruth R. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCommon hospital and surgical center responses to the Covid‐19 pandemic included curtailing “elective” procedures, which are typically determined based on implications for physical health and survival. However, in the focus solely on physical health and survival, procedures whose main benefits advance components of well‐being beyond health, including self‐determination, personal security, economic stability, equal respect, and creation of meaningful social relationships, have been disproportionately deprioritized. We describe how female reproduction‐related procedures, including abortion, surgical sterilization, reversible contraception devices and in vitro fertilization, have been broadly categorized as “elective,” a designation that fails to capture the value of these procedures or their impact on women's overall well‐being. We argue that corresponding restrictions and delays of these procedures are problematically reflective of underlying structural views that marginalize women's rights and interests and therefore threaten to propagate gender injustice during the pandemic and beyond. Finally, we propose a framework for triaging reproduction‐related procedures during Covid‐19 that is more individualized, accounts for their significance for comprehensive well‐being, and can be used to inform resumption of operations as well as subsequent restriction phases.
Digital Contact Tracing, Privacy, and Public Health
Authors: Martinez‐Martin Nicole , Wieten Sarah , Magnus David , Cho Mildred K. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractDigital contact tracing, in combination with widespread testing, has been a focal point for many plans to “reopen” economies while containing the spread of Covid‐19. Most digital contact tracing projects in the United States and Europe have prioritized privacy protections in the form of local storage of data on smartphones and the deidentification of information. However, in the prioritization of privacy in this narrow form, there is not sufficient attention given to weighing ethical trade‐offs within the context of a public health pandemic or to the need to evaluate safety and effectiveness of software‐based technology applied to public health.
Pandemics, Protocols, and the Plague of Athens: Insights from Thucydides
Authors: Fins Joseph J. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractWhen confronted by the novel ethical challenges posed by a pandemic, it is helpful to turn to history for guidance and direction. In this essay, the author revisits Thucydides's description of the Plague of Athens from The Peloponnesian War as he considers the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law's 2015 guidelines on ventilator allocation. Confronted by the exigencies of the Covid‐19 surge that struck New York, he questions the task force's decision not to give any degree of preference to health care workers who might become ill. He posits that they are due a compensatory ethic and some deference given the risks they have assumed, often with inadequate protective gear. Reflecting on his ambivalence, he asks if his change of heart reflects the impact of experiential learning or the erosion of nomos—or governing norms—described by Thucydides when the plague struck Athens.
Older Adults and Covid‐19: The Most Vulnerable, the Hardest Hit
Authors: Powell Tia , Bellin Eran , Ehrlich Amy R. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractOlder adults in the United States have been the age group hardest hit by the Covid pandemic. They have suffered a disproportionate number of deaths; Covid patients eighty years or older on ventilators had fatality rates higher than 90 percent. How could we have better protected older adults? Both the popular press and government entities blamed nursing homes, labeling them “snake pits” and imposing harsh fines and arduous new regulations. We argue that this approach is unlikely to improve protections for older adults. Rather than focusing exclusively on acute and critical resources, including ventilators, a plan that respected the best interests of older adults would have also supported nursing homes, a critical part of the health care system. Better access to protective equipment for staff members, early testing of staff members and patients, and enhanced means of communication with families were what was needed. These preventive measures would have offered greater benefit to the oldest members of our population than the exclusive focus on acute care.
A Strategy to Prevent and Control Zoonoses?
Authors: Lei Ruipeng , Qiu Renzong 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe authors argue that in preventing and controlling the pandemic of Covid‐19, we should have taken an offensive or proactive strategy rather than a defensive or reactionary one because the former type of approach can bring about more health benefits and fewer harms than can the latter. The offensive or proactive approach consists of two parts: The first part is to preemptively establish a barrier between a novel virus and humans in order to prevent the spillover of the virus into humans, and the second part is that, when a spillover fails to be prevented, we should take public interventions, such as contact tracing, social distancing, and quarantine and isolation, as early as when there are several dozens or one hundred or more cases that manifest symptoms with an unknown etiology in order to prevent an epidemic that is still limited to relatively small groups from developing into an outbreak.
Our Next Pandemic Ethics Challenge? Allocating “Normal” Health Care Services
Authors: Garrett Jeremy R. , McNolty Leslie Ann , Wolfe Ian D. , Lantos John D. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe pandemic creates unprecedented challenges to society and to health care systems around the world. Like all crises, these provide a unique opportunity to rethink the fundamental limiting assumptions and institutional inertia of our established systems. These inertial assumptions have obscured deeply rooted problems in health care and deflected attempts to address them. As hospitals begin to welcome all patients back, they should resist the temptation to go back to business as usual. Instead, they should retain the more deliberative, explicit, and transparent ways of thinking that have informed the development of crisis standards of care. The key lesson to be learned from those exercises in rational deliberation is that justice must be the ethical foundation of all standards of care. Justice demands that hospitals take a safety‐net approach to providing services that prioritizes the most vulnerable segments of society, continue to expand telemedicine in ways that improve access without exacerbating disparities, invest in community‐based care, and fully staff hospitals and clinics on nights and weekends.
Reading in the Postgenomic Age: On Contemporary Literature and the Good Bionarrative Citizen
Authors: Larkin Lesley 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe “postgenomic age,” whose start date roughly corresponds to the turn of the millennium, is characterized not only by the rapid development of genomic technologies and commercial products but also by the widespread publication of literary works focused on genomics and its cultural implications. Defining “postgenomic literature” as literature that is both of and about the postgenomic age, this essay explores how works by nonfiction writer Rebecca Skloot and novelist Richard Powers exemplify a significant trend within the genre: the thematic exploration of ethical questions in the field of literature itself. While both authors address questions of medical and scientific ethics prompted by genomic research, with special emphasis on the exploitation of vulnerable populations, these questions lead readers directly to questions of narrative responsibility: who can tell whose story to whom—and for whose benefit? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Generosity: An Enhancement, like other examples of postgenomic literature, invite readers to engage in critical reading practices that resist both textual and genetic determinism.
Does Solidarity Require “All of Us” to Participate in Genomics Research?
Authors: Neuhaus Carolyn P. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIn this paper, I interrogate an ethical obligation to participate in genomics research on the basis of solidarity. I explore two different ways in which solidarity is used to motivate participation in genomics research: as an appeal to participate in genomic research because it cultivates solidarity and as an appeal to participate in genomic research because it expresses solidarity. I critique those appeals and draw lessons from them for how we ought to understand solidarity. The working definition of solidarity that I defend is that solidarity involves recognizing another creature, person, or persons as, like ourselves, vulnerable to injustice and entails acting in ways that contribute to creating, reforming, and participating in institutions that are aimed at enhancing their flourishing. I argue that participating in genomics research is not an expression of solidarity. Participation in research may be praiseworthy, a “good thing to do,” but actually cultivating and expressing solidarity requires much more of us.
Why and How Bioethics Must Turn toward Justice: A Modest Proposal
Authors: Reardon Jenny 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIn this essay, I argue that to create a genomics that offers more gifts than weights, central attention must be paid to questions of justice. This will require expanding bioethical imaginations so that they grasp and can respond to questions of structural inequity. It will necessitate building novel coalitions and collaborations that turn the attention of bioethical governance away from narrow individual questions such as, “Do I consent?” and toward the broader collective question, is this just? What kind of lives and collectivities are made possible? What rights and principles should govern them? The essay ends with one example of this novel coalition building arising from the Science and Justice Research Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz. It draws lessons from this effort to build new alliances that bridge the social sciences and natural sciences, arts and engineering, to create new kinds of training and thinking that create a genomics that more adequately responds to fundamental questions of justice.