bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cryogenic wedges and cryoturbations on the Ordos Plateau in North China since 50 ka BP and their paleoenvironmental implications
Authors: He Ruixia , Jin Huijun , French Hugh M. , Vandenberghe Jef , Li Xiaoying , Li Fang , Jiang Guanli , Zhang Ze , Chen Xuemei , Serban Raul D. , Wang Shaoling , Guo Dongxin 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDuring the last 50 ka, cryogenic wedges on the Ordos Plateau formed during three major periods: (i) early local Last Glaciation, ca. 50 ka BP; (iii) local Last Permafrost Maximum(local LPM), 25–19 ka BP; and (v) post‐local LPM, 16–9 ka BP. Cryoturbations mainly formed in the following periods: (ii) pre‐local LPM, 45–30 ka BP and (iv) ~ 20 ka BP. The coldest periods with well‐developed permafrost (i and iii) were most conducive for forming cryogenic wedges. The following periods of warming climate and degrading permafrost favored the formation of cryoturbations. During the local LPM, sand wedges and polygons were well developed and widely distributed on the Ordos Plateau when mean annual air temperatures (MAATs) were approximately 12°C lower than that at present. At ~30 ka BP, MAAT was 6–7°C lower than that at present. Paleoclimate conditions on the Ordos Plateau were reconstructed since 50 ka BP as follows: cold (ca. 50 ka BP) → cool (45–30 ka BP) → very cold (25–19 ka BP) → cool (19–9 ka BP) → intermittent warming until the present day. The amount of precipitation fluctuated, but with a general trend of drying since 50 ka BP. Under the next generally warming climate (after 9 ka BP), permafrost gradually degraded and eventually disappeared from the Ordos Plateau.
Impact of pharmacy technicians as part of an integrated health‐system pharmacy team on improvement of medication access in the care of cystic fibrosis patients
Authors: Zobell Jeffery T. , Moss Justin , Heuser Stephanie M. , Asfour Fadi 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundCystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease requiring patients to take multiple medications per day. Multiple barriers exist affecting access and adherence. Studies have demonstrated the positive outcomes of pharmacist involvement in CF care. The purpose of this study is to characterize the impact of pharmacy technicians on medication access in the care of CF patients.MethodsA retrospective review and analysis of patient medication profiles for patients followed by the integrated pharmacy care process model was performed. Two electronic prescription pathways with pharmacy technician involvement were analyzed. One pathway using a specialty pharmacy CF pharmacy technician (SP technician) examined CF specialty medication delivery times. The other pathway examined the impact of the clinic‐based CF pharmacy technician (CB technician) on the number of filling pharmacies for patients.ResultsOne‐hundred and fifty‐three patients met inclusion criteria in the CF specialty medication delivery analysis, and 56 patients met inclusion criteria filling pharmacy analysis. The median delivery time for dornase alfa decreased from 8 days to 3 days, p < .00001. The number of patients utilizing one filling pharmacy increased from 8 (14%) to 21 (38%) (p = .005); and utilizing three filling pharmacies decreased from 14 (25%) to 1 (2%) (p = .003).ConclusionThe study demonstrated that pharmacy technicians as part of an integrated health‐system pharmacy care process model improve medication access in the care of CF patients.
High resolution electron tomography and segmentation‐by‐modeling interpretation in Bsoft
Authors: Heymann J. Bernard 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBsoft offers many tools for the processing of tomographic tilt series and the interpretation of tomograms. Since I introduced tomography into Bsoft almost two decades ago, the field has advanced significantly, requiring refinement of old algorithms and development of new ones. The current direct detectors allow us to collect data more efficiently and with better quality, progressing towards automation. The goal is then to also automate alignment of tilt series and reconstruction. I added an estimation of the specimen thickness as well as fiducialless alignment, to augment the existing fiducial‐based alignment. High‐resolution work requires correction for the contrast transfer function, in tomography complicated by the tilted specimen. For this, I developed a method to generate a power spectrum using the whole micrograph, compensating for tilting. This is followed by routine determination of the contrast transfer function, and correction for it during reconstruction. The next steps involve interpretation of the tomogram, either by subtomogram averaging where possible, or by segmentation and modeling otherwise. Such interpretation actually constitutes the main time‐consuming part of tomography and is less amenable to automation compared to the initial reconstruction.
Inflammatory infiltration is associated with AR expression and poor prognosis in hormone naïve prostate cancer
Authors: McAllister Milly , Constâncio Vera , Patek Samantha , Gan Hao W.G. , Bailey Peter , Wheadon Helen , Underwood Mark , Leung Hing , Edwards Joanne 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundTumor microenvironment inflammatory infiltration is proposed as a protumorigenic mechanism for prostate cancer with proinflammatory cytokines stimulating androgen receptor (AR) activity. However, association with patient prognosis remains unclear. This study derives an inflammatory gene signature associated with AR expression and investigates CD3+ and CD8+ T‐lymphocyte infiltration association with AR and prognosis.MethodsGene profiling of inflammatory related genes was performed on 71 prostate biopsies. Immunohistochemistry on 243 hormone‐naïve prostate cancers was performed for CD3, CD8, AR, and phosphorylated AR tumor expression.ResultsMultiple proinflammatory genes were differentially expressed in association with high AR expression compared with low AR expression including PI3KCA and MAKP8 (adjusted P < .05). High CD3+ and high CD8+ infiltration associated with reduced cancer‐specific survival (P = .018 and P = .020, respectively). High CD3+ infiltration correlated with high tumor cytoplasmic AR expression and if assessed together, they associated with reduced cancer‐specific and 5‐year survival from 90% to 56% (P = .000179). High CD8+ cytotoxic infiltration associated with high androgen‐independent tumor nuclear AR serine 213 phosphorylation (correlation coefficient = 0.227; P = .003) and when assessed together associated with poor clinico‐pathological features including perineural invasion (P = .001). Multiple genes involved in proinflammatory signaling pathways are upregulated in high AR expressing prostate samples.ConclusionT‐lymphocyte infiltration in hormone‐naïve disease associates with androgen‐independent driven disease and provides possible therapeutic targets to reduce transformation from hormone‐naïve to castrate‐resistant disease.
Normal internal coordinates, force fields, and vibrational study of species derived from antiviral adamantadine
Authors: Brandán Silvia Antonia 
Published: September 2020

AbstractComplete vibrational assignments have been performed for free base, cationic, and hydrochloride species derived from antiviral adamantadine by a combination of hybrid B3LYP with the 6‐31G* and 6‐311++G** basis sets and the scaled quantum force field methodology. Normal internal coordinates and scaling factors were used to obtain the harmonic force fields and scaled force constants of three species in gas phase and in aqueous solution. Bond lengths and angles of cationic and hydrochloride species show very good concordances with experimental amantadinium azide. The cationic species reveals a higher solvation energy value compared with antiviral agents; however, brincidofovir, the antiviral used for Ebola disease, presents a higher reactivity in contrast to adamantadine. A positive value of Mulliken charge on N1 of hydrochloride species in solution could justify the ionic character of the H29···Cl30 bond as it is possible to observe by bond order and atoms in molecules calculations. The hydrochloride species is the most reactive in both media, while the cationic species is the least reactive. High electrophilicity and nucleophilicity indices of cationic species in both media justify its higher hydration. Good concordances were observed between experimental and predicted1H and13C NMR and electronic spectra. In solution, the three species are present as demonstrated by the experimental ultraviolet‐visible spectrum of hydrochloride amantadine.
Human prorenin determination by hybrid immunocapture liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry: A mixed‐solvent‐triggered digestion utilizing D‐optimal design
Authors: Burdman Ilja , Burckhardt Bjoern B. 
Published: September 2020

RationaleHuman prorenin, representing the precursor of mature renin, has been discussed as a potential biomarker, e.g. in diagnosing primary hyperaldosteronism or diabetes‐induced nephropathy. Currently, only immunoassays are available for prorenin quantification. As the similarity of prorenin to active renin impedes its accurate determination by immunoassay, mass spectrometry appears as an accurate alternative for differentiation of that protein.MethodsImmunoaffinity purification plus a mixed‐solvent‐triggered digestion was combined with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to enable a fast, sensitive, and less laboratory‐intensive approach to the quantification of prorenin. Statistical experimental planning, which is known as Design of Experiments (DOE), was used to identify the optimal conditions for the generation of the signature peptides within a manageable number of experiments. The efficiency of the mixed‐solvent‐triggered digestion by trypsin was investigated using four different organic solvents: acetonitrile, acetone, tetrahydrofuran and methanol.ResultsBy utilizing a D‐optimal design, we found that the optimal mixed‐solvent type for the generation of both signature peptides was acetonitrile at a concentration of 84% and an incubation temperature of 16°C. Using the mixed‐solvent‐triggered digestion, the procedure time allowed a fast analysis of active renin and prorenin with a short digestion time of 98 min. This optimized mixed‐solvent‐triggered digestion procedure was applied to detect renin and prorenin successfully in human plasma by the newly developed hybrid approach.ConclusionsThe identification of unique surrogates for human prorenin enabled the mass spectrometric differentiation between the two similar proteins. The novel hybrid approach successfully proved its ability to purify, detect and distinguish between prorenin and active renin in human plasma.
The influence of different types of reactant ions on the ionization behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry
Authors: Son Chae Eun , Choi Sung‐Seen 
Published: September 2020

RationaleSome polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered to be cancer‐causing chemicals, and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is used for on‐site detection of such hazardous chemicals. In IMS, the ionization behavior of analytes is affected by the types of reactant ions (RIs). In the present work, the influence of different types of RIs on the ionization behaviors of PAHs in an ion mobility spectrometer equipped with a corona discharge ionization source was investigated using various RIs.MethodsSelected PAHs were dissolved in anisole, fluorobenzene, chlorobenzene, or bromobenzene. The IMS analysis procedure was performed as follows: (a) the PAH solution was dropped onto the smear matrix; (b) the smear matrix was immediately inserted into the sample inlet to minimize evaporation of the solvent; and (c) the IMS analysis was performed. The lowest amount studied was 10 ng. Variations in the IMS spectra with time were investigated.ResultsPAHs were not ionized by RIs of protonated molecules ([M + H]+) such as air/moisture and acetone, but they were ionized by charge transfer reactions with RIs of molecular ions (M•+) of solvents such as anisole, fluorobenzene, chlorobenzene, and bromobenzene. The PAH ions were detected following a time delay of ~1–5 s after the sample introduction, and the times at which the maximum intensities for the PAHs were observed were different. The detection limits of PAHs in chlorobenzene were on the whole better than those in other solvents, whereas those in fluorobenzene were worse. The detection limits of pyrene and benzo[a]anthracene were better than those of the other PAHs irrespective of the solvent used.ConclusionsPAH molecules were ionized by charge transfer reactions with RIs of the solvents, and their ions were detected ~1–5 s after sample introduction. The order of the ionization efficiency was chlorobenzene > anisole > bromobenzene > fluorobenzene.
In‐depth gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry fragmentation analysis of formestane and evaluation of mass spectral discrimination of isomeric 3‐keto‐4‐ene hydroxy steroids
Authors: Kollmeier Annette Sophie , de la Torre Xavier , Müller Christian , Botrè Francesco , Parr Maria Kristina 
Published: September 2020

RationaleThe aromatase inhibitor formestane (4‐hydroxyandrost‐4‐ene‐3,17‐dione) is included in the World Anti‐Doping Agency's List of Prohibited Substances in Sport. However, it also occurs endogenously as do its 2‐, 6‐ and 11‐hydroxy isomers. The aim of this study is to distinguish the different isomers using gas chromatography/electron ionization mass spectrometry (GC/EI‐MS) for enhanced confidence in detection and selectivity for determination.MethodsEstablished derivatization protocols to introduce [2H9]TMS were followed to generate perdeuterotrimethylsilylated and mixed deuterated derivatives for nine different hydroxy steroids, all with 3‐keto‐4‐ene structure. Formestane was additionally labelled with H218O to obtain derivatives doubly labelled with [2H9]TMS and 18O. GC/EI‐MS spectra of labelled and unlabelled TMS derivatives were compared. Proposals for the generation of fragment ions were substantiated by high‐resolution MS (GC/QTOFMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments.ResultsSubclass‐specific fragment ions include m/z 319 for the 6‐hydroxy and m/z 219 for the 11‐hydroxy compounds. Ions at m/z 415, 356, 341, 313, 269 and 267 were indicative for the 2‐ and 4‐hydroxy compounds. For their discrimination the transition m/z 503 → 269 was selective for formestane. In 2‐, 4‐ and 6‐hydroxy steroids loss of a TMSO radical takes place as cleavage of a TMS‐derived methyl radical and a neutral loss of (CH3)2SiO. Further common fragments were also elucidated.ConclusionsWith the help of stable isotope labelling, the structures of postulated diagnostic fragment ions for the different steroidal subclasses were elucidated. 18O‐labelling of the other compounds will be addressed in future studies to substantiate the obtained findings. To increase method sensitivity MS3 may be suitable in future bioanalytical applications requiring discrimination of the 2‐ and 4‐hydroxy compounds.
Reachable set estimation and decentralized control synthesis of large‐scale switched systems under mixed switching
Authors: Wang Tao , Wang Xuehai , Xiang Weiming 
Published: September 2020

SummaryThe article studies the reachable set estimation problem for large‐scale switched systems with multimodes that have mixed switching signals consisting of both dwell time switching and arbitrary switching. First, based on a novel decentralized time‐scheduled Lyapunov function method, the method of the reachable set estimation of large‐scale switched systems is developed. By means of the novel Lyapunov function especially constructed for large‐scale switched systems, a sufficient condition is derived to ensure that the systems state is constrained in the prescribed set under the mixed dwell time switching and arbitrary switching. The concept of a decentralized control synthesis is then introduced and a time‐varying decentralized state feedback controller is developed to ensure the state trajectories of closed‐loop large systems are confined in a prescribed set. Finally, some examples are provided to illustrate our results.
Dwell‐time‐based event‐triggered adaptive control for switched strict‐feedback nonlinear systems
Authors: Wang Fenglan , Long Lijun 
Published: September 2020

SummaryThis article presents a novel event‐triggered adaptive control approach to solve the stabilization problem of a class of switched strict‐feedback nonlinear systems with parameter uncertainties. The proposed approach achieves that subsystem controllers and switched update laws of subsystems are both event‐triggered under a dwell‐time. Also, the proposed approach effectively handles the asynchronous switching between the candidate controllers of subsystems and subsystems when the switching occurs in consecutive triggering interval. By exploiting the backstepping technique and the common Lyapunov function method, the subsystem controllers and the switched update laws of subsystems and their event‐triggered mechanism are designed to guarantee asymptotic stability of the switched closed‐loop systems. Also, compared with the existing literature on event‐triggered control of switched systems, the ISS assumption with respect to the measurement error is removed in this article. The existence of strict positive lower bound on inter‐event time is proved to exclude Zeno phenomenon of sampling, which is an undesirable behavior in practical systems. Finally, a numerical example and a mass‐spring‐damper system are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Nonadditive Transport in Multi‐Channel Single‐Molecule Circuits
Authors: Chen Li‐Chuan , Zheng Jueting , Liu Junyang , Gong Xiao‐Ting , Chen Zi‐Zhen , Guo Rui‐Xue , Huang Xiaoyan , Zhang Yu‐Peng , Zhang Lei , Li Ruihao , Shao Xiangfeng , Hong Wenjing , Zhang Hao‐Li 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAs stated in the classic Kirchhoff's circuit laws, the total conductance of two parallel channels in an electronic circuit is the sum of the individual conductance. However, in molecular circuits, the quantum interference (QI) between the individual channels may lead to apparent invalidity of Kirchhoff's laws. Such an effect can be very significant in single‐molecule circuits consisting of partially overlapped multiple transport channels. Herein, an investigation on how the molecular circuit conductance correlates to the individual channels is conducted in the presence of QI. It is found that the conductance of multi‐channel circuit consisting of both constructive and destructive QI is significantly smaller than the addition of individual ones due to the interference between channels. In contrast, the circuit consisting of destructive QI channels exhibits an additive transport. These investigations provide a new cognition of transport mechanism and manipulation of transport in multi‐channel molecular circuits.
Bromide Ions Triggered Synthesis of Noble Metal–Based Intermetallic Nanocrystals
Authors: Wang An‐Liang , Zhu Lijie , Yun Qinbai , Han Sumei , Zeng Li , Cao Wenbin , Meng Xiangmin , Xia Jing , Lu Qipeng 
Published: September 2020

AbstractOrdered intermetallic nanomaterials with a well‐defined crystal structure and fixed stoichiometry facilitate the predictable control of their electronic structure and catalytic performance. To obtain the thermodynamically stable intermetallic structures, the conventional approaches with high‐temperature annealing are still far from satisfactory, because of annealing‐induced aggregation and sintering of nanomaterials. Herein, a general wet‐chemical method is developed to synthesize a series of noble metal–based intermetallic nanocrystals, including hexagonal close‐packed (hcp) PtBi nanoplates, face‐centered cubic (fcc) Pd3Pb nanocubes, and hcp Pd2.5Bi1.5 nanoparticles. During the synthetic process, Br− ions play two important roles for the formation of ordered intermetallic structures: i) Br− ions can coordinate with the metal ions to decrease their reduction potentials thus slowing down the reduction kinetics. ii) Br− ions can combine with molecular oxygen to generate an oxidative etching effect, hence reconstructing the atom arrangement, which is beneficial for the formation of the intermetallic structure. As a proof‐of‐concept application, Pd3Pb nanocubes are used as electrocatalysts for ethanol and methanol oxidation reactions, which exhibit significantly improved electrochemical performance compared with the commercial Pd black catalyst.
Multi‐Responsive Bottlebrush‐Like Unimolecules Self‐Assembled Nano‐Riceball for Synergistic Sono‐Chemotherapy
Authors: Shi Xiaoxiao , Zhang Yang , Tian Ye , Xu Shuyu , Ren En , Bai Shuang , Chen Xiaoyuan , Chu Chengchao , Xu Zhigang , Liu Gang 
Published: September 2020

AbstractImproved drug loading content, bioavailability, and controlled release in targeted tissue have been major bottlenecks in the design of precision nanomedicine. Herein, a tumor‐specific and multiple‐stimuli responsive nano‐riceball is proposed and validated for enhanced sono‐chemotherapy. The nano‐riceball (NGR@DDP) possesses a well‐designed core‐shell structure, formed by an inner core assembly that contains ultrasound/H2O2 responsive bottlebrush‐like unimolecular dextran‐POEGMA9‐b‐PMTEMA22 (DOS) with co‐loaded doxorubicin and Purpurin 18. This inner core of NGR@DDP is further buried by a “striffen” of NGR (Asn‐Gly‐Arg)‐modified RBC‐membrane derived from CRISPR‐engineered mice. As a result, nano‐riceball NGR@DDP is featured with high drug stuffing content (30.3 wt%), low critical micelle concentration (5.93 µg mL−1), and intelligent exogenous ultrasound/endogenous H2O2 stimuli‐triggered precise drug release at tumor site. Under fluorescence/photoacoustic imaging guidance, combined sonodynamic therapy and chemotherapy exhibit excellent synergistic effect, and dramatically inhibit the growth of orthotopic HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma with negligible side effects. This nano‐riceball strategy provides a facile way to achieve function hybridization for personalized nanomedicine.
Stabilizing P3‐Type Oxides as Cathodes for High‐Rate and Long‐Life Sodium Ion Batteries by Disordered Distribution of Transition Metals
Authors: Zhang Li , Wang Jun , Schuck Götz , Xi Fanxing , Du Leilei , Winter Martin , Schumacher Gerhard , Li Jie 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAs potential cathodes for sodium ion batteries, layered NaxTMO2 (0.44 ≤ x ≤ 1, TM = transition metal) materials show high specific capacities but poor cycling and rate performance. In layered NaxTMO2, the distribution of TM at crystal sites determines the electrostatic interaction between TM and the coordinated atoms and affects the electrochemical behavior. Herein, the cycling performance of P3‐type Na0.67Mn0.67Ni0.33O2 materials with ordered and disordered arrangement of TMs is investigated at different rates. Unlike the TM‐ordered material, the disordered one can be cycled at 2000 mA g−1 for 1500 cycles with 89% capacity retention. X‐ray absorption spectroscopy is performed to elucidate the reason for long cycle life of the TM‐disordered P3‐type Na0.67Mn0.67Ni0.33O2 from the sight of local structural changes around Mn and Ni. The experimental results show that the structural stability of NiO6 units in the TM‐disordered material is responsible for its better cycling performance in comparison with that of the TM‐ordered material.