bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Community- based Active Tuberculosis Case Finding in Pastoralist Communities of North-Eastern Uganda
Authors: Isaac Guma , John Robert Emuron , Swabrah Namugambe , Gloria Nabirye , Okungura Philip Denis , Oboth Paul , Iramiot Jacob S. , Nekaka Rebecca 
Published: November 2019

Background: Given the global urgency to improve tuberculosis (TB) case detection, a renewed interest in active case finding (ACF) has risen. Missed TB cases pose a serious threat as they continue to fuel TB transmission in the community. We aimed to assess the feasibility of community based ACF for TB among people living in a pastoralist community in Uganda and determine its impact on case detection and treatment uptake.
Methods: Between April and May 2019, four third year medical and nursing students placed at Moroto Regional Referral for community orientation worked together with community health workers to conduct a door-to-door survey for TB in pastoralist communities of Nadunget Sub County, Moroto district. The community health workers and the Medical/Nursing students performed symptom screening, collected sputum and facilitated specimen transport to the laboratory. Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay was performed at the regional referral Hospital for all sputum samples. The community health workers were tasked to follow up on all those clients whose samples turned out to be positive so that they could start treatment as soon as possible. All presumptive cases with negative sputum results were referred to the TB clinic for further evaluation.
Results: In one month, we screened 385 individuals and identified 143 aged above 15 years with symptoms suggestive of TB. Among the presumptive cases, 132 (92%) reported a cough of more than two weeks and we were able to obtain sputum samples from 84(58.7%) participants. We diagnosed 11, including 8 bacteriologically confirmed TB cases using Gene Xpert and there was no multidrug resistant case identified. The median time from sputum collection to notification of the positive result was 3 days. All the positive cases were followed up and initiated on treatment.
Conclusion: The findings from our study suggest that in a pastoralist community, ACF for TB using a sensitive symptom screen followed by Gene Xpert contributed to improved case detection of TB, shortening the turnaround time hence timely initiation of patients on TB treatment.
Bioinspired Soft Robotic Caterpillar with Cardiomyocyte Drivers
Authors: Sun Lingyu , Chen Zhuoyue , Bian Feika , Zhao Yuanjin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBiological soft robots have attracted extensive attention and research because of their superiority in executing designed biomedical missions compared with conventional robots. Here, inspired by the crawling mechanism of snakes and caterpillars, a novel biological soft robot composed of asymmetric claws, a carbon nanotube (CNT)‐induced myocardial tissue layer, and a structural color indicator is presented. The asymmetric claws can assist the whole soft robot to accomplish directional movement during the cardiomyocytes' contraction process. The oriented conduct of the CNT layer can regulate the cardiomyocytes' arrangement and improve their beating capability and the contraction performance. However, the structural color indicator provides a visualized monitoring approach to dynamically and immediately reflect the motion status of the biological soft robots. With these three functional layers, the cardiomyocyte‐driven soft robot can greatly simulate the crawling behavior of a caterpillar. It is demonstrated that by integrating these soft robots in a microfluidic organ‐on‐a‐chip system with multitrack construction, they can run along the tracks and exhibit different running speed based on the stimulus concentrations in the tracks. These features indicate the potential values of the cardiomyocyte‐driven soft robots for providing an effective screening platform for clinical diseases.
Pastoralism and Emergent Complex Settlement in the Middle Bronze Age, Azerbaijan: isotopic analyses of mobility strategies in transformation
Authors: Nugent Selin E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectivesThis article explores the scale and seasonal patterns of mobility at the complex settlement site of Qızqala during the Middle Bronze Age (2400–1,500 BCE). By integrating human bone, teeth, and environmental samples this research tests the hypothesis of the persistent importance of community‐wide seasonal pastoral transhumance during the early formation of complex settlement systems of the South Caucasus.MethodsThis research applies stable oxygen and radiogenic strontium isotope analyses on incremental samples of human tooth enamel, bulk tooth enamel, and bone to resolve mobility patterns. Sequential and bulk sampling techniques elucidate seasonal and residential mobility behaviors. Extensive environmental isotope samples of plant and water were collected through regional survey and establish local and regional isotopic baselines, which are compared to human isotope analysis results.ResultsQızqala individuals exhibit low isotopic variability compared to regional contemporaries. 87Sr/86Sr ratios from human remains indicate seasonal and residential isotopic variability within the baseline ranges of local landscapes. δ18O values display erratic patterns, but correspond to seasonal variability with fluctuations between highland and lowland altitudinal zone baseline values.ConclusionsResults suggest that isotopic analysis of multiple elements and sequential enamel samples offers finer resolution on the complexities of human mobility strategies and elucidate the daily lives of often overlooked mobile populations. Higher resolution of individual mobility reveals shared routine behaviors that underscore the importance of diverse social collaborations in forming complex polities in the South Caucasus.
Controllable Si−C Bond Activation Enables Stereocontrol in the Palladium‐Catalyzed [4+2] Annulation of Cyclopropenes with Benzosilacyclobutanes
Authors: Wang Xing‐Ben , Zheng Zhan‐Jiang , Xie Jia‐Le , Gu Xing‐Wei , Mu Qiu‐Chao , Yin Guan‐Wu , Ye Fei , Xu Zheng , Xu Li‐Wen 
Published: November 2019

AbstractA novel and unusual palladium‐catalyzed [4+2] annulation of cyclopropenes with benzosilacyclobutanes is reported. This reaction occurred through chemoselective Si−C(sp2) bond activation in synergy with ring expansion/insertion of cyclopropenes to form new C(sp2)−C(sp3) and Si−C(sp3) bonds. An array of previously elusive bicyclic skeleton with high strain, silabicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes, were formed in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivity under mild conditions. An asymmetric version of the reaction with a chiral phosphoramidite ligand furnished a variety of chiral bicyclic silaheterocycle derivatives with good enantioselectivity (up to 95.5:4.5 er). Owing to the mild reaction conditions, the good stereoselectivity profile, and the ready availability of the functionalized precursors, this process constitutes a useful and straightforward strategy for the synthesis of densely functionalized silacycles.
High Tg and tough poly(butylene 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylate‐co‐1,4‐cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylate)s: Synthesis and characterization
Authors: Wang Guoqiang , Liang Yin , Jiang Min , Zhang Qiang , Wang Rui , Wang Honghua , Zhou Guangyuan 
Published: November 2019

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to enhance the glass‐transition temperature of poly(butylene 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylate) (PBTF). A series of poly(butylene‐co‐1,4‐cyclohexanedimethylene 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylate)s (PBCTFs) were synthesized from 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxylic acid, 1,4‐cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), and 1,4‐butanediol. CHDM can increase the chain rigidity and lead the β relaxation temperature shift to lower temperature. Consequently, PBCTFs showed not only the high glass‐transition temperature, but also high elongations at break. PBTF was a crystalline polyester. However, differential scanning calorimetry and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction results suggested PBCTFs were amorphous polyesters. Thermogravimetric analysis results indicated the thermal stability of copolyesters was gradually enhanced with increasing the CHDM content. When the CHDM content was 95 mol %, PBCTF95 exhibited high glass‐transition temperature (69.2 °C), tensile strength (44.4 MPa), and elongation at break (205%). © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48634.
Identification of Protein Functional Regions
Authors: Nerattini Francesca , Figliuzzi Matteo , Cardelli Chiara , Tubiana Luca , Bianco Valentino , Dellago Christoph , Coluzza Ivan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractProtein sequence stores the information relative to both functionality and stability, thus making it difficult to disentangle the two contributions. However, the identification of critical residues for function and stability has important implications for the mapping of the proteome interactions, as well as for many pharmaceutical applications, e. g. the identification of ligand binding regions for targeted pharmaceutical protein design. In this work, we propose a computational method to identify critical residues for protein functionality and stability and to further categorise them in strictly functional, structural and intermediate. We evaluate single site conservation and use Direct Coupling Analysis (DCA) to identify co‐evolved residues both in natural and artificial evolution processes. We reproduce artificial evolution using protein design and base our approach on the hypothesis that artificial evolution in the absence of any functional constraint would exclusively lead to site conservation and co‐evolution events of the structural type. Conversely, natural evolution intrinsically embeds both functional and structural information. By comparing the lists of conserved and co‐evolved residues, outcomes of the analysis on natural and artificial evolution, we identify the functional residues without the need of any a priori knowledge of the biological role of the analysed protein.
Morphological and functional characteristics of aging kidneys based on two‐photon microscopy in vivo
Authors: Wu Shulian , Guo Hengchang , Horng Hannah , Liu Yi , Li Hui , Daneshpajouhnejad Parnaz , Rosenberg Avi , Albanese Christopher , Ranjit Suman , Andrews Peter M. , Levi Moshe , Tang Qinggong , Chen Yu 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAge‐related kidney disease, which is chronic and naturally occurring, is a general term for a set of heterogeneous disorders affecting kidney structures and characterized by a decline in renal function. Age‐related renal insufficiency has important implications with regard to body homeostasis, drug toxicity and renal transplantation. In our study, two‐photon microscopy was used to image kidney morphological and functional characteristics in an age‐related rat model in vivo. The changes in morphology are analyzed based on autofluorescence and Hoechst 33342 labeling in rats with different ages. Structural parameters including renal tubular diameter, cell nuclei density, size and shape are studied and compared with Hematoxylin and Eosin histological analysis. Functional characteristics, such as blood flow, and glomerular filtration rate are studied with high‐molecular weight (MW) 500‐kDa dextran‐fluorescein and low‐MW 10‐kDa dextran‐rhodamine. Results indicate that morphology changes significantly and functional characteristics deteriorate with age. These parameters are potential indicators for evaluating age‐related renal morphology and function changes. Combined analyses of these parameters could provide a quantitative, novel method for monitoring kidney diseases and/or therapeutic effects of kidney drugs.
Pinene‐Functionalized Polysiloxane as an Excellent Self‐Healing Superhydrophobic Polymer
Authors: Zhao Zi‐Han , Wang Da‐Peng , Li Cheng‐Hui , Zuo Jing‐Lin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSuperhydrophobic surfaces have drawn worldwide attention because they can be used in diverse fields. However, many of them may not be able to be used in real life applications because of their poor durability and short life span. Self‐healing is a good strategy to increase the resilience and life span of a superhydrophobic surface. In this work, a facile and low‐cost method to fabricate the durable, environmental‐friendly, and self‐healing superhydrophobic material is proposed. Attributing to the low surface energy and superficial hierarchical nanostructure, this fluorine‐free polymer synthesized from commercial silicone oil and renewable beta‐pinene exhibits excellent water‐repellency (with contact angle of 170 ± 3° and sliding angle near 0°), which has potential application in oil–water separation. Furthermore, the as‐prepared superhydrophobic material also possesses great stretchability and simultaneously hydrophobic/mechanical self‐healing capability after withstanding repeatable scratches and abrasions. The new self‐healing superhydrophobic polymer is robust, environmentally benign, sustainable, and easy to fabricate, showing promising applications in various industries.
In vivosurface dosimetry with a scintillating fiber dosimeter in preclinical image‐guided radiotherapy
Authors: Le Deroff Coralie , Pérès Elodie A. , Ledoux Xavier , Toutain Jérôme , Frelin‐Labalme Anne‐Marie 
Published: November 2019

PurposeNew preclinical image‐guided irradiators and treatment planning systems represent a huge progress in radiobiology. Nevertheless, quality control of preclinical treatments is not as advanced as in clinical radiotherapy andin vivodosimetry is less developed. In this study, we evaluate the use of a scintillating fiber dosimeter called DosiRat to verify the agreement between the doses planned with SmART‐Plan and the measured doses during small animal irradiations.MethodsIn vivodosimetry was first evaluated with DosiRat through dose measurements performed at the surface of a 3 × 9 × 3 cm3phantom. Measured and planned doses were compared for different irradiation conditions (prescription point, anterior, and posterior beams, 5 mm and 10 mm irradiation fields). In a second phase, measured and planned doses were compared for rat brain irradiations performed with anterior beams, with DosiRat positioned at the beam entrance. Comparisons were performed for different tube currents (1.3 and 13 mA), collimations (5, 10 and 25 mm diameter), and planned doses (0.1, 0.5, 2, and 10 Gy).ResultsIn the case of the phantom irradiations, planned and measured doses showed discrepancies smaller than the 5% accuracy of the TPS, except in cases in which the dosimeter was not centered in the irradiation field. The differences were larger for animal irradiations (from −3.3% to 8.8%) because of variations of the beam energy spectrum and the nonequivalence between materials at medium and low energy.ConclusionsThis study highlighted the complexity to implement one‐dimensionin vivodosimetry in orthovoltage millimetric beams. Nevertheless, DosiRat is well adapted toin vivodosimetry because of its small volume and its direct reading and allowedin vivocontrol of planned doses for anterior beams down to 5 mm diameter.
Resting‐State Brain Connectivity Predicts Weight Loss and Cognitive Control of Eating Behavior After Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
Authors: Cerit Hilâl , Davidson Paul , Hye Taryn , Moondra Priyanka , Haimovici Florina , Sogg Stephanie , Shikora Scott , Goldstein Jill M. , Evins A. Eden , Whitfield‐Gabrieli Susan , Stoeckel Luke E. , Holsen Laura M. 
Published: November 2019

ObjectiveThe effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on functional connectivity (FC) and associations with weight loss and eating‐related cognitive control were investigated. MethodsIn a longitudinal study, 14 SG patients (13 female; 42.1 presurgery BMI) completed study visits 1 month pre surgery and 12 months post surgery. Patients completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire and resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning to measure FC. Data were analyzed using a seed‐to‐voxel approach in the CONN Toolbox to investigate pre‐/postsurgery changes (n = 12) and to conduct predictive analysis (n = 14).ResultsSeed‐to‐voxel analysis revealed changes in magnitude (decreases) and directionality (positively correlated to anticorrelated) of FC pre to post surgery within and between default mode network, salience network, and frontoparietal network nodes [Family‐Wise Error (FWE) corrected at P < 0.05]. Baseline FC of the nucleus accumbens (with insula) and hypothalamus (with precentral gyrus) predicted 12‐month post‐SG % total weight loss (FWE‐P < 0.05). Baseline FC of the hippocampus, frontoparietal network, and default mode network nodes predicted improvement in cognitive control of eating behavior 12 months after SG (FWE‐P < 0.05).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate changes in FC magnitude and directionality post versus pre surgery within and between resting‐state networks and frontal, paralimbic, and visual areas in SG patients. Baseline FC predicted weight loss and changes in cognitive control of food intake behavior at 12 months. These could serve as predictive biomarkers for bariatric surgery.
Children and Adolescents’ Anthropometrics Body Composition from 3‐D Optical Surface Scans
Authors: Wong Michael C. , Ng Bennett K. , Kennedy Samantha F. , Hwaung Phoenix , Liu En Y. , Kelly Nisa N. , Pagano Ian S. , Garber Andrea K. , Chow Dominic C. , Heymsfield Steven B. , Shepherd John A. 
Published: November 2019

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the accuracy and precision of three‐dimensional optical (3DO) whole‐body scanning for automated anthropometry and estimating total and regional body composition.MethodsHealthy children and adolescents (n = 181, ages 5‐17 years) were recruited for the Shape Up! Kids study. Each participant underwent whole‐body dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry and 3DO scans; multisite conventional tape measurements served as the anthropometric criterion measure. 3DO body shape was described using automated body circumference, length, and volume measures. 3DO estimates were compared with criterion measures using simple linear regression by the stepwise selection method.ResultsOf the 181 participants, 112 were used for the training set, 49 were used for the test set, and 20 were excluded for technical reasons. 3DO body composition estimates were strongly associated with dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry measures for percent body fat, fat mass, and fat‐free mass (R2: 0.83, 0.96, and 0.98, respectively). 3DO provided reliable measurements of fat mass (coefficient of variation, 3.30; root mean square error [RMSE], 0.53), fat‐free mass (coefficient of variation, 1.34; RMSE, 0.53 kg), and percent body fat (RMSE = 1.2%).Conclusions3DO surface scanning provides accurate and precise anthropometric and body composition estimates in children and adolescents with high precision. 3DO is a safe, accessible, and practical method for evaluating body shape and composition in research and clinical settings.
Synchrotron Based Measurement of the Temperature Dependent Thermal Expansion Coefficient of Ammonium Perchlorate
Authors: Kellogg Robert , Lapidus Saul , Hedman Trevor , Kalman Joseph 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAmmonium perchlorate is commonly used as an oxidizer in solid rocket propellant. Having a knowledge of its thermal expansion properties is essential for its application in different environments. Knowledge of thermal expansion properties is also useful for the prediction of propellant mechanical properties and response of propellant slow cook off applications. X‐ray diffraction analysis was performed on ammonium perchlorate at temperatures ranging from 260 K to 500 K. From there, Bragg peaks were indexed by fitting theoretical values of 2θ to the 2θ values of peaks obtained from the experiment. The Miller indices along with the 2θ values were then used to solve for the lattice parameters at each temperature. The lattice parameters, in nanometers, range from 0.9201 to 0.9373, 0.5805 to 0.5865, and 0.7439 to 0.7535 for a, b, and c, respectively. The measurement of the lattice parameter expansion leads to the determination of the temperature dependent thermal expansion coefficients within the temperature range. The lattice parameter values also lead to the determination of strain and stress on the ammonium perchlorate crystal. Direct measurement of the strain within the crystal lattice provides a more accurate measurement method over traditional optical‐based techniques.
N‐Arylation of Fluoroalkylamine and Trifluoroacetamide through Cu–Catalysis
Authors: Xin Jiaqi , Leng Faqiang 
Published: November 2019

AbstractCopper mediated coupling of fluoro‐alkylamines/trifluoroacetamide and aryl‐boronic acids have been developed. N‐arylation of di/trifluoroethylamine was achieved by a Cu(OAc)2/Py system with AgNO3 as an additive, while the N‐arylation of trifluoroacetamide was described with Cu(OAc)2/TEA system. These protocols could tolerate a variety of functional groups of hetero/aryl‐boronic acids, furnishing the corresponding products with moderate to good yields under mild and simple conditions.
Regionalanästhesie im klinischen Alltag: eine ökonomische Analyse anhand eines Versorgungsbeispiels
Authors: Marhofer P. , Kraus M. , Marhofer D. 
Published: November 2019

ZusammenfassungHintergrundEin wichtiger Aspekt jedes medizinischen Verfahrens ist dessen ökonomische Wirkungsweise. Mithilfe von Fallvignetten werden die ökonomischen Implikationen verschiedener anästhesiologischer Verfahren analysiert.MethodenBasierend auf 3 Fallvignetten (anästhesiologische Versorgung einer Unterarmfraktur in suffizienter Regionalanästhesie, Allgemeinnarkose und insuffizienter Regionalanästhesie) werden die anästhesiologisch relevanten Kostenfaktoren (Personalkosten, Kosten für Ge- und Verbrauchsgüter, Kosten für Anlagegüter, anästhesierelevante Gemeinkosten) errechnet.ErgebnisseDie ausschließliche Regionalanästhesie für den genannten chirurgischen Eingriff ist mit 324,26 € am kostengünstigsten, gefolgt von der Allgemeinnarkose mit 399,18 € (+23 % im Vergleich zur Regionalanästhesie). Am kostenungünstigsten ist die insuffiziente Regionalanästhesie, die eine zusätzliche Allgemeinnarkose erforderlich macht (482,55 €, + 49 %), im Vergleich zur suffizienten Regionalanästhesie.SchlussfolgerungenAuch unter Berücksichtigung der Tatsache, dass die Kostenanalyse an nur einer Institution durchgeführt wurde (Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien, Universitätskliniken), erscheint die suffiziente Regionalanästhesie im Vergleich zu anderen anästhesiologischen Verfahren als kostengünstig. Hauptkostentreiber in Bezug auf das anästhesiologische Management einer Unterarmfraktur sind Personalkosten.