bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A method for quick capital cost estimation of biorefineries beyond the state of the art
Authors: Tsagkari Mirela , Kokossis Antonis , Dubois Jean‐Luc 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThis paper presents the ‘process blocks build‐up estimating’ method for the capital cost estimation of biorefineries at Technology Readiness Levels 2 to 3 with a −50% to +100% accuracy, corresponding to a Class 5 estimate. Through systematic cost modeling, the method introduces a modular approach to cost estimation by breaking down a biorefinery into its major process blocks and using separate cost power functions. Suitable cost parameters (exponents and reference capital costs) for 11 biochemical, chemical and thermochemical biorefinery types are developed, as well as reference block efficiencies for estimating the costs of biorefineries within and beyond the state of the art. A framework for uncertainty modeling is also proposed to decide on contingencies for a biorefinery investment. The cost models are addressed to the biorefinery community, from experimental chemists to process engineers and decision makers, to assist them in selecting optimal pathways and budgeting new projects. The modular estimation approach is illustrated with a simple example on a biodiesel plant and a first‐of‐a‐kind polyhydroxybuturate (PHB) plant. © 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Doug Altman: Driving critical appraisal and improvements in the quality of methodological and medical research
Authors: Sauerbrei Willi , Bland Martin , Evans Stephen J. W. , Riley Richard D. , Royston Patrick , Schumacher Martin , Collins Gary S. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDoug Altman was a visionary leader and one of the most influential medical statisticians of the last 40 years. Based on a presentation in the “Invited session in memory of Doug Altman” at the 40th Annual Conference of the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB) in Leuven, Belgium and our long‐standing collaborations with Doug, we discuss his contributions to regression modeling, reporting, prognosis research, as well as some more general issues while acknowledging that we cannot cover the whole spectrum of Doug's considerable methodological output. His statement “To maximize the benefit to society, you need to not just do research but do it well” should be a driver for all researchers. To improve current and future research, we aim to summarize Doug's messages for these three topics.
Molecular interaction studies of zinc sulphide nanoparticles with DNA and its consequence: a multitechnique approach
Authors: Mahanthappa Mallappa , Savanur Mohammed Azharuddin , Yellappa Shivaraj 
Published: July 2020

AbstractMolecular interaction studies between nanoparticles (NPs) and biomolecules are of great importance in the field of nanomedicine as they affect many physiological processes. Therefore, the interaction of zinc sulphide nanoparticles (ZnS NPs) with calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (CT DNA) and its significance was analyzed using ultraviolet (UV)–visible light, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), zeta potential, viscometry, electrochemical, and polymerase chain reaction methods. Fluorescence quenching analysis revealed that the fluorescence of ZnS NPs was quenched using CT DNA through a static quenching mechanism. The negative values of thermodynamic parameters (ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS) showed that the binding process was spontaneous, exothermic, and van der Waals or hydrogen bonding plays an important role in the interaction of ZnS NPs with CT DNA. Thermal melting (Tm) studies indicated a decrease in the Tm of CT DNA, suggesting the destabilization of CT DNA upon interaction with ZnS NPs. In addition, the results obtained from competitive binding, zeta potential, CD, and viscometry measurements showed that the interaction of ZnS NPs with CT DNA is through groove binding. Electrochemical analysis further confirmed the observed results from various spectroscopic and other related studies, in which decrease in the redox peak current along with changes in peak potential (CV) and increase in the electrical resistance (EIS) indicated the interaction between ZnS NPs and CT DNA. Furthermore, PCR analysis using DNA polymerase revealed the potential of ZnS NPs to inhibit DNA replication in vitro. ZnS NP–CT DNA interaction studies can be explored to define new horizons in biomedical applications of ZnS NPs.
Evaluation of the recovery outcome of poststroke cognitive impairment after cluster needling of scalp acupuncture therapy based on functional near‐infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Chen Jing , Li Hui , Zeng Chao , Li Jingge , Zhao Bin 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBackgroundCognitive impairment often arises in patients suffered from stroke. Acupuncture is a recommended treatment option for stroke by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been shown to improve the cognitive function of patients with poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI).MethodsIn the present study, we assessed the efficacy of scalp acupuncture with cluster needling on PSCI patients. Fifty six PSCI patients were randomly separated into the reference group who received drug treatment only and the treatment group who received cluster needling of scalp acupuncture on top of drug treatment. Cognitive function was compared between the two groups before and after treatment. We also took the advantage of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy to assess the cerebral hemoglobin levels.ResultsWe reveal that applying cluster needling of scalp acupuncture on top of drug treatment can significantly improve the cognitive function and elevate the cerebral hemoglobin levels compared to patients treated with drug only.ConclusionsOur results suggest that cluster needling of scalp acupuncture is an effective treatment against PSCI and shed light on its application on other neurological disorders.
Testing the institutional difference hypothesis: A study about environmental, social, governance, and financial performance
Authors: Garcia Alexandre Sanches , Orsato Renato J. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractConsidering the institutional, cultural, and regulatory differences across countries, this research investigates the association between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and financial performance of companies from emerging and developed countries. The institutional difference hypothesis (IDH) suggests that institutional weaknesses in emerging markets affect the relationship between financial performance and corporate social performance (CSP) of companies. This can occur because, under such circumstances, firms are more likely to prioritize the capital accumulation and not recognize the potential strategic benefit of socially responsible investments. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed a regression analysis of panel data study comprising 2,165 companies from developed and emerging countries, covering the period between 2007 and 2014. Our results suggest that there is a prevalence of the institutional environment in relation to the financial and ESG performances of companies. These results are in line with the logic of the IDH.
An investigation of key performance indicators for operational excellence towards sustainability in the leather products industry
Authors: Moktadir Md. Abdul , Dwivedi Ashish , Rahman Akib , Chiappetta Jabbour Charbel Jose , Paul Sanjoy Kumar , Sultana Razia , Madaan Jitender 
Published: July 2020

AbstractOperational excellence refers to a mixed management structure that enhances the productivity of an industry by exercising the best practices and efforts for continuous improvement. In order to achieve sustainability, operational excellence initiatives are practiced by different organizations. The intent is to investigate how to perform the practices of operational excellence towards sustainability in industries. In the existing literature, some studies investigated key performance indicators (KPIs) for other domains that are not readily applicable in the background of an emerging economy, principally for the leather products industry. To fulfill these research gaps, this study contributes to the operational excellence literature by recognizing the KPIs of operational excellence towards sustainability by examining the peer‐reviewed scientific articles and through expert's suggestions. The identified KPIs are segregated into six dominant categories and 27 sub‐KPIs in the field of leather products industry. Further, the prioritization of the KPIs is established by adopting the best‐worst method (BWM), which involves simple pairwise comparison matrices compared with other multicriteria decision making techniques. The findings indicate that the KPIs under the “Management” category are at the highest priority. It is anticipated that the results originated from the study will support the expert's to appropriately recognize the significant KPIs and drop insignificant KPIs for successful operational excellence towards sustainability practices in the supply chain of the emerging economy.
Water Soluble Coumarin Quaternary Ammonium Chlorides: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation
Authors: Karataş Mert O. , Noma Samir A. A. , Gürses Canbolat , Balcıoğlu Sevgi , Ateş Burhan , Alıcı Bülent , Çakır Ümit 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn the present study, coumarin‐bearing three pyridinium and three tetra‐alkyl ammonium salts were synthesized. The compounds were fully characterized by 1H‐ and 13C‐NMR, LC/MS and IR spectroscopic methods and elemental analyses. The cytotoxic properties of all compounds were tested against human liver cancer (HepG2), human colorectal cancer (Caco‐2) and non‐cancer mouse fibroblast (L‐929) cell lines. Some compounds performed comparable cytotoxicity with standard drug cisplatin. Antibacterial properties of the compounds were tested against Gram‐negative Escherichia coli and Gram‐positive Bacillus subtilis bacteria, but the compounds did not have any antibacterial effect against both bacteria. Enzyme inhibitory properties of all compounds were tested on the activities of human carbonic anhydrase I and II, and xanthine oxidase. All compounds inhibited both enzymes more effectively than standard drugs, acetazolamide and allopurinol, respectively. The biological evaluation results showed that ionic and water soluble coumarin derivatives are promising structures for further investigations especially on enzyme inhibition field.
Cancer Cell Metabolites: Updates on Current Tracing Methods
Authors: Maniam Subashani , Maniam Sandra 
Published: July 2020

AbstractCancer is the second leading cause of death‐1 in 6 deaths globally is due to cancer. Cancer metabolism is a complex and one of the most actively researched area in cancer biology. Metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells entails activities that involve several enzymes and metabolites to convert nutrient into building blocks that alter energy metabolism to fuel rapid cell division. Metabolic dependencies in cancer generate signature metabolites that have key regulatory roles in tumorigenesis. In this minireview, we highlight recent advances in the popular methods ingrained in biochemistry research such as stable and flux isotope analysis, as well as radioisotope labeling, which are valuable in elucidating cancer metabolites. These methods together with analytical tools such as chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry have helped to bring about exploratory work in understanding the role of important as well as obscure metabolites in cancer cells. Information obtained from these analyses significantly contribute in the diagnosis and prognosis of tumors leading to potential therapeutic targets for cancer therapy.
Re‐Evaluation of a Fulvene‐Based Self‐Replicating Diels–Alder Reaction System
Authors: Sevim İlhan , Pankau Wolf Matthias , von Kiedrowski Günter 
Published: July 2020

AbstractWe re‐evaluate our claim of a high diastereoselectivity in the self‐relicating Diels–Alder reaction between maleimide 1 and fulvene 3. It was shown that the system has a diastereoselectivity of 1.8:1 for NN‐4:NX‐4, which is contrary to the 16:1 ratio claimed by Dieckmann et al. The analysis of 1H NMR monitoring of the reaction revealed that both replicators show sigmoidal growth which is typical for auto‐catalytic systems.
Applied techniques for residual oil recovery from source rocks: A review of current challenges and possible developments
Authors: Abdulkareem Firas A. , Padmanabhan Eswaran 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDepleted fossil fuel resources have led to an investigation of other promising alternatives such as renewable and unconventional energy sources. Shale formations have limited permeability. Therefore, several extraction techniques have been applied to improve residual oil recovery and production. In this work, the techniques applied above ground to extract the organic fractions from oil/gas shale are discussed. Studies related to compositional fractionation, ultrasonic‐assisted, microwave‐assisted, supercritical fluids, and surface retorting techniques have been conducted systematically in approximately 150 scholarly articles over the past 10 years. The impacts of each technique as well as the drawbacks and challenges are highlighted in this paper. The fractionation techniques are sufficient in general; however, they are time consuming as they include several stages and use a considerable amount of solvents. Ultrasonic and microwave techniques are highly reliant on formation transparency linked to the organic fraction heterogeneous distribution. The surface retorting method, which is highly efficient with up to 90% recovery, for example, the Galoter and Paraho methods, is still dependent on shale particulate size, generates a massive amount of spent shale as waste, and is prominently emissive. Therefore, assessments that can be used to overcome existing drawbacks are considered. This can provide practical insight about these techniques to overcome limitations and concerns in terms of efficiency, cost, environmental issues, and reliability features. The work highlights the dominant extraction techniques for further development.
Calorimetry is Now Faster, Easier and More Transparent Than Ever
Authors: Wagner Tom 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDie Energiewende ist eine kulturelle Aufgabe. Sie ist gerade deshalb so schwierig, weil der Öffentlichkeit häufig nicht bewusst ist, dass die Chemie im Energiesektor große Bedeutung hat. Das kann der Chemieunterricht, im Speziellen das Themengebiet der Kalorimetrie, ändern: Vorgestellt wird daher ein Kalorimeter, das auf einem doppelwandigen Trinkbecher basiert, wodurch kalorimetrische Experimente schneller, einfacher und transparenter werden.
Modeling human‐specific interlaminar astrocytes in the mouse cerebral cortex
Authors: Padmashri Ragunathan , Ren Baiyan , Oldham Braden , Jung Yoosun , Gough Ryan , Dunaevsky Anna 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAstrocytes, a highly heterogeneous population of glial cells, serve as essential regulators of brain development and homeostasis. The heterogeneity of astrocyte populations underlies the diversity in their functions. In addition to the typical mammalian astrocyte architecture, the cerebral cortex of humans exhibits a radial distribution of interlaminar astrocytes in the supragranular layers. These primate‐specific interlaminar astrocytes are located in the superficial layer and project long processes traversing multiple layers of the cerebral cortex. However, due to the lack of accessible experimental models, their functional properties and their role in regulating neuronal circuits remain unclear. Here we modeled human interlaminar astrocytes in humanized glial chimeric mice by engrafting astrocytes differentiated from human‐induced pluripotent stem cells into the mouse cortex. This model provides a novel platform for understanding neuron‐glial interaction and its alterations in neurological diseases.
Multilayer thermal object identification in frequency domain using IR thermography and vector fitting
Authors: Strakowska Maria , Chatzipanagiotou Panagiotis , De Mey Gilbert , Chatziathanasiou Vasilis , Więcek Bogusław 
Published: July 2020

SummaryThis paper deals with the identification of the thermal parameters of multilayer objects using the concept of thermal impedance. In order to perform such identification, temperature evolution in time is obtained by an infrared camera after power excitation is applied in the investigated structure. Infrared thermography offers the advantage of being a noncontact temperature detection and measurement method. In many practical cases, it is impossible to use contact temperature measurements. Typically, the power in the form of a step function is applied. In order to calculate the thermal impedance of an object, temperature and power are converted into the frequency domain using the Laplace transform for s = jω. Then, the poles of the thermal impedance are identified using vector fitting, which allows calculating the thermal impedance as a sum of partial fractions. This corresponds directly to the Foster network of a thermal object. In addition, the vector fitting method offers much better convergence in comparison with other methods using the polynomial rational approximation of thermal impedance. A considerable improvement of the numerical Laplace transform in high frequency range is proposed. In this approach, the variable s = jω is replaced by
, and then, the integration result is corrected by the Taylor series. It leads to a kind of filtering of the temperature signal.
Rapid and robust on‐scene detection of cocaine in street samples using a handheld near‐infrared spectrometer and machine learning algorithms
Authors: Kranenburg Ruben F. , Verduin Joshka , Weesepoel Yannick , Alewijn Martin , Heerschop Marcel , Koomen Ger , Keizers Peter , Bakker Frank , Wallace Fionn , van Esch Annette , Hulsbergen Annemieke , van Asten Arian C. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractOn‐scene drug detection is an increasingly significant challenge due to the fast‐changing drug market as well as the risk of exposure to potent drug substances. Conventional colorimetric cocaine tests involve handling of the unknown material and are prone to false‐positive reactions on common pharmaceuticals used as cutting agents. This study demonstrates the novel application of 740–1070 nm small‐wavelength‐range near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to confidently detect cocaine in case samples. Multistage machine learning algorithms are used to exploit the limited spectral features and predict not only the presence of cocaine but also the concentration and sample composition. A model based on more than 10,000 spectra from case samples yielded 97% true‐positive and 98% true‐negative results. The practical applicability is shown in more than 100 case samples not included in the model design. One of the most exciting aspects of this on‐scene approach is that the model can almost instantly adapt to changes in the illicit‐drug market by updating metadata with results from subsequent confirmatory laboratory analyses. These results demonstrate that advanced machine learning strategies applied on limited‐range NIR spectra from economic handheld sensors can be a valuable procedure for rapid on‐site detection of illicit substances by investigating officers. In addition to forensics, this interesting approach could be beneficial for screening and classification applications in the pharmaceutical, food‐safety, and environmental domains.
Pelagic–benthic resource polymorphism in Schizopygopsis thermalis Herzenstein 1891 (Pisces, Cyprinidae) in a headwater lake in the Salween River system on the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Qiao Jialing , Hu Jiaxin , Xia Qin , Zhu Ren , Chen Kang , Zhao Jie , Yan Yunzhi , Chu Ling , He Dekui 
Published: July 2020

AbstractResource polymorphism is a ubiquitous phenomenon in vertebrates and may represent a critical intermediate stage in speciation. Freshwater lakes in high‐altitude areas represent a natural system for understanding resource polymorphism in fishes benefiting from diverse lacustrine environments and species‐poor fish assemblages. We report resource polymorphism in a cyprinid fish, Schizopygopsis thermalis, in Lake Amdo Tsonak Co, a headwater lake in the upper Salween River system. Two discrete intraspecific morphs, planktivorous and benthivorous, were identified according to geometric morphometrics and traditional univariate linear measures. The planktivorous morph exhibits a longer head, longer upper and lower jaw, larger asymptotic standard length (L∞), lower growth rate (k), and higher growth performance index (φ) than the benthivorous morph. With respect to descriptive traits, the planktivorous morph possesses a large, terminal mouth and obvious mucus pores on the cheek and chin, while the benthivorous morph is characterized by a more inferior mouth with a sharpen horny edge on the lower jaw and unconspicuous mucus pores. The discrete pelagic–benthic resources and low interspecific competition in the lake system might drive the initial differentiation of the two morphs, and partial spatial reproductive isolation in breeding further maintains and reinforces the differences between them.
Fine‐scale fire patterns mediate forest structure in frequent‐fire ecosystems
Authors: Ritter Scott M. , Hoffman Chad M. , Battaglia Mike A. , Stevens‐Rumann Camille S. , Mell William E. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn frequent‐fire forests, wildland fire acts as a self‐regulating process creating forest structures that consist of a fine‐grained mosaic of isolated trees, tree groups of various sizes, and non‐treed openings. Though the self‐regulation of forest structure through repeated fires is acknowledged, few studies have investigated the role that fine‐scale pattern‐process linkages play in determining fire behavior and effects. To better understand the physical mechanisms driving these pattern‐process linkages, we used a three‐dimensional, physics‐based fire behavior model to investigate how the local arrangement of canopy fuels influences heat transfer from a surface fire to tree crowns and subsequent crown ignition and consumption. In particular, we were interested in the impacts of tree group size and crown separation distance on heat transfer. We found increased convective cooling for isolated individual trees and 3‐tree groups as compared to larger 7‐ and 19‐tree groups which resulted in a reduction of the net energy transferred from the surface fire to the tree crowns. Because isolated individuals and 3‐tree groups are exposed to less thermal energy, they require a greater surface fireline intensity to initiate torching and have less crown consumption than trees within larger groups. Similarly, we found that increased crown separation distance also reduced heat transfer and crown ignition. However, differences in crown ignition and consumption among various sized groups and separation distances depended upon the surface fireline intensity, suggesting that any change in crown consumption or tree mortality due to pattern‐process linkages may be best viewed as a conditional in nature. These findings identify the potential physical mechanisms responsible for supporting the complex forest structures typical of high‐frequency fire regimes, and the results may be useful for managers designing fuel hazard reduction and ecological restoration treatments.