bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prediction and numerical simulation of the face‐slab extrusion damage of Dashixia concrete faced rock‐fill dam
Authors: Zhu Sheng , Ning Zhiyuan , Wang Jing 
Published: December 2020

AbstractOne of the core issues affecting the safety of high concrete faced rock‐fill dams (CFRDs) is the extrusion damage of the concrete face slabs. In this paper, the causes of the face‐slab extrusion damage under long‐term operational conditions are studied. It is found that not only the creep behavior of the dam materials but also the circulating water load in the reservoir is responsible for the uneven deformation of the dam that induces the extrusion damage of the face slabs. The possibility of the potential extrusion damage of the face slab of the Dashixia dam, which is now under construction in Xinjiang, China, is further predicted by means of a three‐dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). In the FEA, a unified generalized plasticity model that can reflect the volumetric contraction property during the unloading phase of coarse‐grained materials is adopted to overcome the shortcomings of previous studies where the effects of the circulating water load are neglected because of model limitations. Then, combined with an incremental creep model, the long‐term operational characteristics of the Dashixia dam are predicted and thoroughly discussed. Moreover, a submodel of the face slab is developed and introduced in the analysis to simulate the compressive stress along the thickness of the face slab. According to the results, it can be concluded that extrusion damage of the face slab of the Dashixia dam may occur under the current design conditions, and it is recommended to take some engineering measures to strengthen the slab.
A coupled SPFEM/DEM approach for multiscale modeling of large‐deformation geomechanical problems
Authors: Guo Ning , Yang Zhongxuan , Yuan Weihai , Zhao Jidong 
Published: December 2020

AbstractComputational modeling in geotechnical engineering frequently needs sophisticated constitutive models to describe prismatic behavior of geomaterials subjected to complex loading conditions, and meanwhile faces challenges to tackle large deformation in many geotechnical problems. The study presents a multiscale approach to address both challenges based on a hierarchical coupling of the smoothed particle finite element method (SPFEM) and the discrete element method (DEM) (coined SPFEM/DEM). In the approach, SPFEM serves as a solver for the global boundary value problem, in which the material constitutive responses are derived from the DEM solution of representative volume elements (RVEs) attached to the SPFEM nodes to avoid phenomenological constitutive assumptions. The approach is capable of modeling large deformation because of use of SPFEM, which discretizes the domain with a set of Lagrangian nodes and employs Delaunay triangulation for efficient remeshing on the nodes. In addition, as the RVEs are associated with the nodes due to the nodal integration technique in SPFEM, the interpolation of RVEs from the old mesh to the new one is bypassed, which is otherwise infeasible. The smoothing operation in nodal integration further offers a remedy for regularizing mesh dependency in simulation of strain localization problems. Two examples, namely, general failure of a footing and flow of an unstable slope, are used to demonstrate the potential of the proposed method in solving large deformation and providing reliable predictions on collapse and failure of geotechnical problems.
Talabostat Alleviates Obesity and Associated Metabolic Dysfunction via Suppression of Macrophage‐Driven Adipose Inflammation
Authors: Wu Yunyun , Shi Tiancong , Wang Jiqiu , He Rui 
Published: December 2020

ObjectiveAdipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) play critical roles in obesity‐associated inflammation that contributes to metabolic dysfunction. Talabostat (TB) exerts some therapeutic effects on tumors and obesity. However, it remains unknown whether the metabolic benefits of TB on obesity is dependent on ATM‐mediated adipose inflammation.MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal chow diet (NCD) or a high‐fat diet for 12 weeks, and mice were orally administered TB daily at a low dose (0.5 mg/kg).ResultsAdministration of TB to mice fed a high‐fat diet significantly improved adiposity and obesity‐associated metabolic dysfunction, including glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis, which were accompanied by increased whole‐body energy expenditure. RNA sequencing analysis revealed extensive alterations in the transcriptome profiles associated with lipid metabolism and immune responses in adipose tissue of obese mice. Notably, TB treatment led to a significant reduction in ATM accumulation and a shift of the activation state of ATMs from the proinflammatory M1‐like to the anti‐inflammatory M2‐like phenotype. Moreover, depletion of ATMs significantly abolished the TB‐induced metabolic benefits.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that TB at a low dose could increase energy expenditure and control ATM‐mediated adipose inflammation in obese mice, thereby alleviating obesity and its associated metabolic dysfunction.image
A comparison of real‐time and delayed visual performance feedback on teacher praise
Authors: Lown Elizabeth L. , Radley Keith C. , Dart Evan H. , Dufrene Brad A. , Tingstrom Daniel H. , Hayes Lynda , Tannehill Jennifer 
Published: December 2020

AbstractA number of researchers have found behavior‐specific praise (BSP) to be an effective strategy for increasing student academic engagement. Performance feedback is often used to promote teacher BSP; however, variations in how performance feedback is provided have been proposed and it is unknown whether one strategy may be more effective than others. The current study compared two types of performance feedback, delayed performance feedback and real‐time visual performance feedback, on the use of BSP by Head Start teachers. The primary outcome of the study was teacher use of BSP, with student academic engagement behavior being evaluated as a secondary dependent variable. Results from the study indicated that both procedures resulted in increases in teacher use of BSP, with little differentiation between performance feedback strategies. Similarly, both strategies received high ratings of social validity from participating teachers.
Omics in Systems Biology: Current Progress and Future Outlook
Authors: Veenstra Timothy D. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBiological research has undergone tremendous changes over the past three decades. Research used to almost exclusively focus on a single aspect of a single molecule per experiment. Modern technologies have enabled thousands of molecules to be simultaneously analyzed and the way that these molecules influence each other to be discerned. The change is so dramatic that it has given rise to a whole new descriptive suffix (i.e., omics) to describe these fields of study. While genomics was arguably the initial driver of this new trend, it quickly spread to other biological entities resulting in the creation of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc. The development of these “big four omics” created a wave of other omic fields, such as epigenomics, glycomics, lipidomics, microbiomics, and even foodomics; all with the purpose of comprehensively studying all the molecular entities or processes within their respective domain. The large number of omic fields that are invented even led to the term “panomics” as a way to classify them all under one category. Ultimately, all of these omic fields are setting the foundation for developing systems biology; in which the focus will be on determining the complex interactions that occur within biological systems.
Flonicamid and knockdown of inward rectifier potassium channel gene CsKir2B adversely affect the feeding and development of Chilo suppressalis
Authors: Meng Xiangkun , Wu Zhaolu , Yang Xuemei , Qian Kun , Zhang Nan , Jiang Heng , Yin Xingcan , Guan Daojie , Zheng Yang , Wang Jianjun 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe selective insecticide flonicamid shows highly insecticidal activities against piercing‐sucking insects and has been widely used for the control of Hemipteran insect pests, whereas its effects on Lepidopteran insect pests remain largely unknown. Recently, inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channel has been verified to be a target of flonicamid, however, functional characterization of Lepidopteran Kir genes is still lacking.RESULTSFlonicamid shows no insecticidal toxicity against Chilo suppressalis larvae. However, the feeding and growth of larvae were reversibly inhibited by flonicamid (50–1200 mg L−1). Flonicamid treatment also remarkably reduced and delayed the pupation and eclosion of Chilo suppressalis. Additionally, five distinct Kir channel genes (CsKir1, CsKir2A, CsKir2B, CsKir3A and CsKir3B) were cloned from Chilo suppressalis. Expression profiles analysis revealed that CsKir2A was predominately expressed in the hindgut of larvae, whereas CsKir2B had high expressions in the Malpighian tubules and hindgut. RNA interference (RNAi)‐mediated knockdown of CsKir2B significantly reduced the growth and increased the mortalities of larvae, whereas silencing of CsKir2A had no obvious effects on Chilo suppressalis.CONCLUSIONFlonicamid exhibits adverse effects on the growth and development of Chilo suppressalis. CsKir2B might be involved in the feeding behavior of Chilo suppressalis. These results provide valuable information on the effects of flonicamid on non‐target insects as well as the function of insect Kir channels, and are helpful in developing new insecticide targeting insect Kir channels. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Functional analysis of a carboxylesterase gene involved in beta‐cypermethrin and phoxim resistance in Plutella xylostella (L.)
Authors: Li Ran , Zhu Bin , Shan Jinqiong , Li Linhong , Liang Pei , Gao Xiwu 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDCarboxylesterases (CarEs) are associated with detoxification of xenobiotics, including insecticides, in organism bodies. Overexpression of CarE genes is considered to have an important role in insecticide resistance in insects, however its involvement in multi‐insecticide resistance has rarely been reported. This study aimed to assess the function of a CarE gene (PxαE8) in resistance to five insecticides in Plutella xylostella.RESULTSRelative expression of PxαE8 in three multi‐insecticide‐resistant Plutella xylostella populations, GD‐2017, GD‐2019 and HN, was14.8‐, 19.5‐ and 28.0‐fold higher than that in the susceptible population. Exposure to lethal concentrations associated with 25% mortality (LC25) of beta‐cypermethrin, chlorantraniliprole, metaflumizone, phoxim and tebufenozide could induce the specific activity of CarEs and increase the relative expression of PxαE8. By contrast, knockdown of PxαE8 expression dramatically reduced the activity of CarEs and increased the resistance of P. xylostella (GD‐2019) larvae to beta‐cypermethrin and phoxim by 47.4% and 45.5%, respectively. Further, a transgenic line of Drosophila melanogaster overexpressing PxαE8 was constructed and the bioassay results showed that the tolerance of transgenic Drosophila to beta‐cypermethrin and phoxim was 3.93‐ and 3.98‐fold higher than that of the untransgenic line.CONCLUSIONThese results provide evidence that overexpression of PxαE8 is involved in resistance, at least to beta‐cypermethrin and phoxim, in multi‐insecticide‐resistant P. xylostella populations, which could help in further understanding the molecular mechanisms of multi‐insecticide resistance in this pest. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Amino Acid Specific Nonenzymatic Montmorillonite‐Promoted RNA Polymerization
Authors: Namani Trishool , Snyder Savannah , Eagan James M. , Bevilacqua Philip C. , Wesdemiotis Chrys , Sahai Nita 
Published: December 2020

AbstractUnderstanding prebiotic RNA synthesis is essential to both the RNA world and RNA‐protein co‐evolution theories of the origin of life. Nonenzymatic templated RNA synthesis occurs in solution or by montmorillonite clay heterogenous catalysis but the high magnesium concentrations required are deleterious to protocell membranes. Here, we explore a multicomponent environmental system consisting of amino acids, RNA mononucleotides and montmorillonite at various Mg2+ concentrations. We show that specific alpha amino acids, especially those that were prebiotically most relevant, act as prebiotic coenzymes and further enhance montmorillonite‐catalyzed polymerization in a cooperative mechanism to produce even longer RNA oligomers. Significantly, and different from template‐directed nonenzymatic RNA polymerization by primer extension, added Mg2+ is not required for montmorillonite‐catalyzed polymerization, especially as enhanced by specific amino acids. Thus amino acid specific montmorillonite‐catalyzed RNA polymerization is compatible with protocell membranes and could occur in a wider variety of geochemical environments of various Mg2+ concentrations.
Pregnant women with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection are at higher risk of death and pneumonia: propensity score matched analysis of a nationwide prospective cohort (COV19Mx)
Authors: Martinez‐Portilla R. J. , Sotiriadis A. , Chatzakis C. , Torres‐Torres J. , Espino y Sosa S. , Sandoval‐Mandujano K. , Castro‐Bernabe D. A. , Medina‐Jimenez V. , Monarrez‐Martin J. C. , Figueras F. , Poon L. C. 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACTObjectiveThere are limited, unmatched data reporting low complication rates in pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). The aim of this study was to compare COVID‐19‐related outcomes between pregnant and non‐pregnant women after adjusting for potential risk factors for severe outcomes.MethodsData were obtained from the COVID‐19 National Data Registry of Mexico, which is an ongoing prospective cohort of people of any age with clinically suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection and admitted to 475 monitoring hospitals. This study included pregnant and non‐pregnant women of reproductive age (15–45 years) with COVID‐19 confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. To adjust for underlying risk factors, propensity score matching was conducted for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, smoking, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic renal disease, immunosuppression, age, language, nationality and level of health insurance. The primary outcome was death. Secondary outcomes were pneumonia, intubation and intensive care unit (ICU) admission.ResultsThe cohort comprised 5183 pregnant and 175 905 non‐pregnant women with COVID‐19. The crude (unmatched) rates of death, pneumonia, intubation and ICU admission in pregnant compared with non‐pregnant women were 1.5% vs 1.5%, 9.9% vs 6.5%, 8.1% vs 9.9% and 13.0% vs 6.9%, respectively. After propensity score matching (5183 pregnant and 5183 non‐pregnant matched women), pregnant women had a higher odds of death (odds ratio (OR), 1.84; 95% CI, 1.26–2.69), pneumonia (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.60–2.16) and ICU admission (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.41–2.45) than non‐pregnant women, but similar odds of intubation (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.70–1.25).ConclusionAfter adjusting for background demographic and medical factors, pregnancy is a risk factor for death, pneumonia and ICU admission in SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected women of reproductive age. Copyright © 2020 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Supervised machine learning enables non-invasive lesion characterization in primary prostate cancer with [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MRI
Authors: Papp L. , Spielvogel C. P. , Grubmüller B. , Grahovac M. , Krajnc D. , Ecsedi B. , Sareshgi R. A.M. , Mohamad D. , Hamboeck M. , Rausch I. , Mitterhauser M. , Wadsak W. , Haug A. R. , Kenner L. , Mazal P. , Susani M. , Hartenbach S. , Baltzer P. , Helbich T. H. , Kramer G. , Shariat S.F. , Beyer T. , Hartenbach M. , Hacker M. 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Purpose
Risk classification of primary prostate cancer in clinical routine is mainly based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, Gleason scores from biopsy samples, and tumor-nodes-metastasis (TNM) staging. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in vivo models for predicting low-vs-high lesion risk (LH) as well as biochemical recurrence (BCR) and overall patient risk (OPR) with machine learning.

Methods
Fifty-two patients who underwent multi-parametric dual-tracer [18F]FMC and [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MRI as well as radical prostatectomy between 2014 and 2015 were included as part of a single-center pilot to a randomized prospective trial (NCT02659527). Radiomics in combination with ensemble machine learning was applied including the [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET, the apparent diffusion coefficient, and the transverse relaxation time-weighted MRI scans of each patient to establish a low-vs-high risk lesion prediction model (MLH). Furthermore, MBCR and MOPR predictive model schemes were built by combining MLH, PSA, and clinical stage values of patients. Performance evaluation of the established models was performed with 1000-fold Monte Carlo (MC) cross-validation. Results were additionally compared to conventional [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 standardized uptake value (SUV) analyses.

Results
The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of the MLH model (0.86) was higher than the AUC of the [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 SUVmax analysis (0.80). MC cross-validation revealed 89% and 91% accuracies with 0.90 and 0.94 AUCs for the MBCR and MOPR models respectively, while standard routine analysis based on PSA, biopsy Gleason score, and TNM staging resulted in 69% and 70% accuracies to predict BCR and OPR respectively.

Conclusion
Our results demonstrate the potential to enhance risk classification in primary prostate cancer patients built on PET/MRI radiomics and machine learning without biopsy sampling.
Made to Measure: The Ethics of Routine Measurement for Healthcare Improvement
Authors: Mitchell Polly , Cribb Alan , Entwistle Vikki 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThis paper analyses the ethics of routine measurement for healthcare improvement. Routine measurement is an increasingly central part of healthcare system design and is taken to be necessary for successful healthcare improvement efforts. It is widely recognised that the effectiveness of routine measurement in bringing about improvement is limited—it often produces only modest effects or fails to generate anticipated improvements at all. We seek to show that these concerns do not exhaust the ethics of routine measurement. Even if routine measurement does lead to healthcare improvements, it has associated ethical costs which are not necessarily justified by its benefits. We argue that the practice of routine measurement changes the function of the healthcare system, resulting in an unintended and ethically significant transformation of the sector. It is difficult to determine whether such changes are justified or offset by the benefits of routine measurement because there may be no shared understanding of what is ‘good’ in healthcare by which to compare the benefits of routine measurement with the goods that are precluded by it. We counsel that the practice of routine measurement should proceed with caution and should be recognised to be an ethically significant choice, rather than an inevitability.
Taxonomic revision of Phyllanthus (Phyllanthaceae) in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands IV: subgenus Anisonemoides section Pseudogomphidium and incertae sedis
Authors: Ralimanana Hélène , Cable Stuart 
Published: December 2020

SummaryThis paper is the fourth part of the taxonomic revision of the genus Phyllanthus in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Here we treat Pseudogomphidium Ralim. & Cable sect. nov. consisting of nine species that we misplaced in the subgenus Gomphidium (Baill.) G.L.Webster in our previous paper. Two species are new to science: Phyllanthus razakamalalae Ralim. & Cable, sp. nov. and P. ankirindrensis Ralim. & Cable, sp. nov. We also treat three unplaced species: P. analamerae Leandri, P. coluteoides Müll.Arg. and P. vergens Baill. An identification key, descriptions, distribution maps and IUCN Red List assessments are provided.
Characterization of SRM plumes with alumina particulate in subscale testing
Authors: Saile Dominik , Allofs Dirk , Kühl Viktor , Steffens Lars , Gülhan Ali , Beversdorff Manfred , Förster Wolfgang , Willert Chris , Carlotti Stefania , Maggi Filippo , Liljedahl Mattias , Wingborg Niklas , Langener Tobias , van den Eynde Jeroen 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe current paper provides an outline and first results of the ESA-EMAP project. This project pursues activities regarding the experimental modeling of alumina particulates in solid boosters (EMAP). The issue regards the particles residing in the atmosphere after the passage of a launch vehicle with solid rocket propulsion, which might contribute to local and overall ozone depletion. The question is to what extent since the particle size distribution left behind is essentially unclear. For this reason, the ESA-EMAP investigations focus on the characterization of the solid exhaust plume properties for well-defined combustion chamber conditions. Thus, details of the rocket motor assembly, of the developed solid propellant grains, and of first measurement results are provided. The paper presents technical findings concerning the rocket motors and reveals aspects to the feasibility of the applied measurement techniques.
Sorption of potential ionic pollutants on oil shale and its non-series composite sorbents
Authors: Molnár M. , Földényi R. , Horváth O. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractHuge amounts of anthropogenic environmental pollutants appearing in nature mean an emerging problem. Oil shale is a convenient candidate, wherewith these contaminations can be removed from our natural environment, taking into account its sorption ability and low price. However, oil shale has a crumbling nature, which restricts its facile usage. Hence, oil shale was transformed into more handleable forms, using binding materials. Two oil shale composite forms were prepared by applying sodium alginate and agar. A cationic and an anionic chemicals, benzyltriethylammonium chloride and sodium 2,3-diisopropylnaphthalene-1-sulfonate, respectively, were used as model pollutants, and their sorptions on these newly prepared composites were studied. Sorption properties of oil shale powder and oil shale composites were compared. In the composite materials, oil shale properly sorbed the model pollutants (the binding material did not cover the sorption sites); furthermore, oil shale composites had significantly higher removal efficiency compared to that of the oil shale powder: 208 ± 15.6 (oil shale–agar) and 171 ± 22.8 (oil shale–alginate) vs 140 ± 11.1 µmol/g for the cationic compound; 151 ± 1.6 (oil shale–agar) and 165 ± 7.6 (oil shale–alginate) vs 81.5 ± 2.6 µmol/g for the anionic compound. Results of diffusion models for the two composites show that the opposite charges of the solutes largely influence the rate of their diffusion, owing to the interaction between the solute and the composite material. These results indicate that oil shale and its composites are applicable candidates as sorbents, from which the most effective one can be chosen by considering the chemical properties of the actual pollutant to be removed.