bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sterically Demanding AgI and CuI N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis, Structures, Steric Parameters, and Catalytic Activity
Authors: Cervantes‐Reyes Alejandro , Rominger Frank , Hashmi A. Stephen K. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe synthesis and full characterization of new air‐stable AgI and CuI complexes bearing structurally bulky expanded‐ring N‐heterocyclic carbene (erNHC) ligands is presented. The condensation of protonated NHC salts with Ag2O afforded a collection of AgI complexes, and their first use as ligand transfer reagents led to novel isostructural CuI or AuI complexes. In situ deprotonation of the NHC salts in the presence of a copper(I) source, provides a library of new CuI complexes. The solid‐state structures feature large N‐CNHC‐N angles (118–128°) and almost identical angles between the aryl groups on the nitrogen atoms and the plane of the N‐C‐N unit of the carbene (i.e. torsion angles close to 0°). Among the steric parameters, the percent buried volume (%Vbur) values span easily in the 50–57 % range, and that one of (9‐Dipp)CuBr complex (%Vbur=57.5) overcomes to other known erNHC–metal complexes reported to date. Preliminary catalytic experiments in the copper‐catalyzed coupling between N‐tosylhydrazone and phenylacetylene, afforded 76–93 % product at the 0.5–2.5 mol % catalyst loading, proving the stability of CuI erNHC complexes at elevated temperatures (100 °C).
Stereochemical facets of clinical β‐blockers: An overview
Authors: Vashistha Vinod Kumar , Kumar Anuj 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe modern β‐adrenergic agonists (β‐blockers) possess one or more than one chiral center in their structure. Two enantiomers exhibit distinct pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic behaviors. Current progress in drug designing has resulted in the ability to understand the role of chirality in modern therapeutics. Furthermore, with a greater understanding of the molecular structure of precise drug targets, development of new drugs is directed towards the pure enantiomers instead of its racemates. The present review deals with a discussion on the stereochemical facets of chiral clinical β‐blockers. This review provides details of stereo‐selectivity in the pharmacological behavior of some of β‐blockers and their metabolites. An effort has been made on highlighting the distinction between the therapeutic behavior of the racemic mixtures and pure enantiomers.
Improving the novelty of retail commodity recommendations using multiarmed bandit and gradient boosting decision tree
Authors: Wen Yiping , Wang Feiran , Wu Rui , Liu Jianxun , Cao Buqing 
Published: February 2020

SummaryRecommender systems are becoming increasingly critical to the success of commerce sales. In spite of their benefits, they suffer from some major challenges including recommendation quality such as the accuracy, diversity, and novelty of recommendations. In the context of retail business, the novelty of recommendations is of especial importance because it can directly affect customers' probabilities of buying commodity and whether to visit stores again. However, tradition algorithms for retail commodity recommendation never consider the problem of improving the novelty of recommendations. To address this, a novel multiarmed bandit and gradient boosting decision tree‐based retail commodity recommendation approach is proposed in this article, which is named MGRCR. It can increase recommendations' novelty while maintaining comparable levels of in the context of retailing. The effectiveness of our proposed approach has been proved by comprehensive experiments with real‐world commerce datasets and different state‐of‐the‐art recommendation techniques.
Pivotal cytokines and their transcription factors are the targets of guluronic acid (G2013) for inhibiting the immunopathogenesis process of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Hossein‐khannazer Nikoo , Shabani Samira , Farokhfar Mohadeseh , Azizi Gholamreza , Asarzadegan Farhad , Safarpour Lima Behnam , Mirshafeiey Abbas 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe α‐L‐guluronic acid (G2013), is a novel immunosuppressive drug (PCT/EP2017/067920). One of the most popular ideas in designing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) is to restrict the main inflammation‐related lymphocytes and cytokines. The foremost problems with conventional drugs are their side effects and low efficacy. In order to rectify these problems, we examined the effect of two doses of G2013 on the gene expression of IFN‐γ, IL‐17, IL‐22, T‐bet, RORC, and AHR, in MS patients PBMCs. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of 12 relapsing–remitting MS patients and 12 healthy volunteers and the effect of two doses of G2013 on the gene expression of IFN‐γ, IL‐17, IL‐22, T‐bet, RORC, and AHR, were assessed by real‐time PCR. Overall, the results show that G2013 is able to significantly reduce the gene expression of IL‐22, AHR, RORC, and T‐bet. Collectively, G2013 might be considered and studied as a new drug of possible use to MS patients due to its immunosuppressive property on some of the main inflammatory cytokine and transcription factors.
Effects of seed morphology and elaiosome chemical composition on attractiveness of five Trillium species to seed‐dispersing ants
Authors: Miller Chelsea N. , Whitehead Susan R. , Kwit Charles 
Published: February 2020

AbstractMorphological and chemical attributes of diaspores in myrmecochorous plants have been shown to affect seed dispersal by ants, but the relative importance of these attributes in determining seed attractiveness and dispersal success is poorly understood. We explored whether differences in diaspore morphology, elaiosome fatty acids, or elaiosome phytochemical profiles explain the differential attractiveness of five species in the genus Trillium to eastern North American forest ants. Species were ranked from least to most attractive based on empirically‐derived seed dispersal probabilities in our study system, and we compared diaspore traits to test our hypotheses that more attractive species will have larger diaspores, greater concentrations of elaiosome fatty acids, and distinct elaiosome phytochemistry compared to the less attractive species. Diaspore length, width, mass, and elaiosome length were significantly greater in the more attractive species. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we found significantly higher concentrations of oleic, linoleic, hexadecenoic, stearic, palmitoleic, and total fatty acids in elaiosomes of the more attractive species. Multivariate assessments revealed that elaiosome phytochemical profiles, identified through liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, were more homogeneous for the more attractive species. Random forest classification models (RFCM) identified several elaiosome phytochemicals that differed significantly among species. Random forest regression models revealed that some of the compounds identified by RFCM, including methylhistidine (α‐amino acid) and d‐glucarate (carbohydrate), were positively related to seed dispersal probabilities, while others, including salicylate (salicylic acid) and citrulline (L‐α‐amino acid), were negatively related. These results supported our hypotheses that the more attractive species of Trillium—which are geographically widespread compared to their less attractive, endemic congeners—are characterized by larger diaspores, greater concentrations of fatty acids, and distinct elaiosome phytochemistry. Further advances in our understanding of seed dispersal effectiveness in myrmecochorous systems will benefit from a portrayal of dispersal unit chemical and physical traits, and their combined responses to selection pressures.
Performance assessment of a novel design concentrated photovoltaic system coupled with self‐cleaning and cooling processes
Authors: Acar Bahadır , Gürel Ali Etem , Ergün Alper , Ceylan İlhan , Ağbulut Ümit , Can Ali 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe generation of electrical energy with photovoltaic modules is a highly useful and environmentally friendly method. For this reason, studies to increase the electrical energy production from photovoltaic (PV) modules have gained great importance. Concentrated PV systems constitute a significant part of these studies. The major problems with the concentrated PV systems are the risks of lowering the efficiency of the cells (i.e., concentration process increases PV cell temperature) and the thermal damage that can occur with sudden temperature increases. In order to avoid these risks, various applications are used to cool concentrated PV modules. In this study, an active system, which was developed for cleaning and cooling PV modules, was tested. The aim of the present study was to ensure that the surfaces were clean and free of external, contaminating factors such as dust and dirt, and that the PV cells were cooled. During the experiments, two different systems were compared: the system with the cleaning‐cooling processes and the one without these processes. Prior to starting experiments, a hydrophobic liquid onto the surfaces of the PV modules was applied to facilitate the cleaning process. The results of the experiments revealed that the temperature of the PV module was 50°C in the cleaning‐cooling process and 67°C in the system without the cleaning‐cooling process. On the other hand, it was observed that the proposed design increased the power output of PV module up to 40%.
Numerical homogenization‐based seismic assessment of an English‐bond masonry prototype: Structural level application
Authors: Silva Luís C. , Lourenço Paulo B. , Milani Gabriele 
Published: February 2020

SummaryA multiscale strategy is evaluated at a structural level for the analysis of unreinforced masonry structures. The mechanical characterization of the masonry is deduced from homogenization‐based micro‐scale finite element (FE) models. The derived data are here employed at a structural level via a discrete FE model. The discrete FE model is composed of quadrilateral rigid plates interconnected through vertical and horizontal interfaces. On the interfaces, between adjoining discrete elements, a model that accounts for the in‐ and out‐of‐plane behavior of masonry, with damage and plasticity, is adopted. Such interfaces represent the material pre‐ and post‐peak regimes, its orthotropy, and, depending on the micro‐model assumed, account by three‐dimensional shear effects that are especially important for multi‐leaf walls and complex regular textures. The discrete model has been implemented in an advanced structural analysis software where powerful built‐in features as the arc‐length method, line‐search algorithm, and implicit or explicit solver schemes are available.The multi‐scale model is applied for the dynamic study of a small English‐bond masonry house prototype subjected to a series of consecutive earthquake records. Detailed comparisons between the experimental and numerical data are presented, including the results obtained through a continuous total strain rotating crack model. Quasi‐static and dynamic analyses are conducted. Results demonstrate that when enough experimental information is available on the masonry components under tension, shear, and compression regimes, the approach predicts well the seismic structural response in terms of time‐history displacements, seismic capacity, and damage patterns. The required computational cost (CPU time) is very attractive.
Water Quality Impairments Due to Aquatic Life Pesticide Toxicity: Prevention and Mitigation in California, USA
Authors: Moran Kelly , Anderson Brian , Phillips Bryn , Luo Yuzhou , Singhasemanon Nan , Breuer Richard , Tadesse Dawit 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
The management of pesticides to protect water quality remains a significant global challenge. Historically, despite regulatory frameworks intended to prevent, minimize, and manage off-site movement of pesticides, multiple generations of pesticide active ingredients have created a seemingly unending cycle of pesticide water pollution in both agricultural and urban watersheds. In California, the most populous and most agricultural US state, pesticide and water quality regulators realized in the 1990s that working independently of each other was not an effective approach to address pesticide water pollution. Over the years, these California agencies have developed a joint vision and have continued to develop a unified approach that has the potential to minimize pesticide risks to aquatic life through a combination of prevention, monitoring, and management actions, while maintaining pesticide availability for effective pest control. Key elements of the current California pesticide/water quality effort include: 1) pesticide and toxicity monitoring, coupled with watershed modeling, to maximize information obtained from monitoring; 2) predictive fate and exposure modeling to identify potential risks to aquatic life for new pesticide products when used as allowed by the label or to identify effective mitigation measures; and 3) management approaches tailored to the different pesticide uses, discharge sources, physical environments, and regulatory environments that exist for agricultural runoff, urban runoff, and municipal wastewater. Lessons from this effort may inform pesticide management elsewhere in the world as well as other chemical regulatory programs, such as the recently reformed US Toxic Substances Control Act and California's Safer Consumer Products regulatory program. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:953–966. © 2020 SETAC
Performance comparison of programming languages for Internet of Things middleware
Authors: Abbade Lucas R. , da Cruz Mauro A. A. , Rodrigues Joel J. P. C. , Lorenz Pascal , Rabelo Ricardo A. L. , Al‐Muhtadi Jalal 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe rapid spread of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in recent years has driven the creation of a number of IoT middleware for enabling communication between devices using different standards and technologies. Such middleware facilitates the development of IoT solutions, allowing the developer to handle data and devices through middleware without the need to understand and communicate with each device individually. Although some studies present the performance of middleware solutions, they do not consider the effect of the underlying programming language in the overall performance of the solution. This paper replicates a common middleware use case in three different programming languages, evaluates their comparative performance, and discusses the results found. In the studied use case, Javascript presents better performance for small to medium applications, while, globally, Java demonstrates to be the most robust choice for IoT middleware.
Vitamin A prevents lipopolysaccharide‐induced injury on tight junctions in mice
Authors: He Caimei , Hu Xin , Xiao Di , Wu Jingtao , Zhou Sichun , Deng Jun , Xu Simeng , Huang Yanjun , Peng Mei , Yang Xiaoping 
Published: February 2020

AbstractVitamin A (VA) is one of the most widely used food supplements, but its molecular mechanisms largely remain elusive. Previously, we have demonstrated that VA inhibits the action of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on intestinal epithelial barrier function and tight junction proteins using IPEC‐J2 cells, one of representative intestinal cell lines as a cellular model. These exciting findings stimulated us continue to determine the effects of VA on LPS‐induced damage of intestinal integrity in mice. Our results demonstrated that LPS treatment caused reductions of the mRNA levels of tight junction proteins including Zo‐1, Occludin, and Claudin‐1, well‐known biomarkers of intestinal integrity, and these reductions were reversed by VA pretreatment. Intestinal immunofluorescent results of Claudin‐1 revealed that LPS disrupted the structure of tight junction and reduced the expression of Claudin‐1 at protein level, which was reversed by VA pretreatment. These results suggest that VA may exert a profound role on preventing intestinal inflammation in vivo.
Effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation on resting state brain activity in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy
Authors: Helmchen Christoph , Machner Björn , Rother Matthias , Spliethoff Peer , Göttlich Martin , Sprenger Andreas 
Published: February 2020

AbstractWe examined the effect of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) on resting state brain activity using fMRI (rs‐fMRI) in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy. Based on our previous findings, we hypothesized that GVS, which excites the vestibular nerve fibers, (a) increases functional connectivity in temporoparietal regions processing vestibular signals, and (b) alleviates abnormal visual–vestibular interaction. Rs‐fMRI of 26 patients and 26 age‐matched healthy control subjects was compared before and after GVS. The stimulation elicited a motion percept in all participants. Using different analyses (degree centrality, DC; fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations [fALFF] and seed‐based functional connectivity, FC), group comparisons revealed smaller rs‐fMRI in the right Rolandic operculum of patients. After GVS, rs‐fMRI increased in the right Rolandic operculum in both groups and in the patients' cerebellar Crus 1 which was related to vestibular hypofunction. GVS elicited a fALFF increase in the visual cortex of patients that was inversely correlated with the patients' rating of perceived dizziness. After GVS, FC between parietoinsular cortex and higher visual areas increased in healthy controls but not in patients. In conclusion, short‐term GVS is able to modulate rs‐fMRI in healthy controls and BV patients. GVS elicits an increase of the reduced rs‐fMRI in the patients' right Rolandic operculum, which may be an important contribution to restore the disturbed visual–vestibular interaction. The GVS‐induced changes in the cerebellum and the visual cortex were associated with lower dizziness‐related handicaps in patients, possibly reflecting beneficial neural plasticity that might subserve visual–vestibular compensation of deficient self‐motion perception.
ASSESSMENT OF SOCIO‐ECONOMIC FACTORS IMPACTING ON THE CROPPING INTENSITY OF AN IRRIGATION SCHEME IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Authors: Kaini Santosh , Gardner Ted , Sharma Ashok K. 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTAn increase of cropping intensity of irrigation schemes is required to address the challenge of global food security. Socio‐economic factors also have a significant impact on the cropping intensity within an irrigated area. This research is focused on understanding the impact of socio‐economic factors on cropping intensity in an irrigation scheme. To assess the socio‐economic factors and cropping intensity, a framework was developed, which we believe can be adopted in other irrigation schemes in developing countries. The framework was applied to an irrigation area in Nepal. An interview checklist and observation techniques were used as the primary data‐gathering method, which followed the concepts articulated in the developed framework. A census survey was also conducted in 72 farmer households. The results showed that farmers' socio‐economic status and their socio‐cultural practices affected cropping intensity. The research also highlighted that mechanization in agricultural practices, coordination between irrigation and agricultural district offices with farmers, market facilities for agricultural inputs and agricultural products, and land tenancy agreements all significantly influenced agricultural intensification. Based on the findings of this research, an approach to intensify cropping intensity by farm owners and farming tenants has been developed, which can be applied in irrigated areas in the developing world. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Omega‐3 PUFA and aspirin as adjuncts to periodontal debridement in patients with periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Randomized clinical trial
Authors: Castro dos Santos Nidia C. , Andere Naira M. R. B. , Araujo Cássia F. , de Marco Andrea C. , Kantarci Alpdogan , Van Dyke Thomas E. , Santamaria Mauro P. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundSupplementation with omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω‐3 PUFA) and low‐dose aspirin (ASA) have been proposed as a host modulation regimen to control chronic inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and immunological impact of orally administered ω‐3 PUFA and ASA as adjuncts to periodontal debridement for the treatment of periodontitis in patients type 2 diabetes.MethodsSeventy‐five patients (n = 25/group) were randomly assigned to receive placebo and periodontal debridement (CG), ω‐3 PUFA + ASA (3 g of fish oil/d + 100 mg ASA/d for 2 months) after periodontal debridement (test group [TG]1), or ω‐3 PUFA + ASA (3 g of fish oil/d + 100 mg ASA/d for 2 months) before periodontal debridement (TG2). Periodontal parameters and GCF were collected at baseline (t0), 3 months after periodontal debridement and ω‐3 PUFA + ASA or placebo for TG1 and CG (t1), after ω‐3 PUFA + ASA (before periodontal debridement) for TG2 (t1), and 6 months after periodontal debridement (all groups) (t2). GCF was analyzed for cytokine levels by multiplex ELISA.ResultsTen patients (40%) in TG1 and nine patients (36%) in TG2 achieved the clinical endpoint for treatment (less than or equal to four sites with probing depth ≥ 5 mm), as opposed to four (16%) in CG. There was clinical attachment gain in moderate and deep pockets for TG1. IFN‐γ and interleukin (IL)‐8 levels decreased over time for both test groups. IL‐6 levels were lower for TG1. HbA1c levels reduced for TG1.ConclusionAdjunctive ω‐3 and ASA after periodontal debridement provides clinical and immunological benefits to the treatment of periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes.
An Examination of Idiographic Networks of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Authors: Reeves Jonathan W. , Fisher Aaron J. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAlthough the application of network theory to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has yielded promising insights, the lack of equivalence between inter‐ and intraindividual variation limits the generalizability of these findings to any one individual with PTSD. Instead, a better understanding of how PTSD symptoms occur and vary over time within an individual requires exploring the idiographic network structure of PTSD. To do so, the present study used an intensive repeated‐measures design to estimate intraindividual networks of PTSD symptoms on a person‐by‐person basis. Participants were 20 individuals who met criteria for PTSD and completed daily surveys assessing PTSD symptoms; surveys were completed four times per day for approximately 30 days. Employing a recently validated method provided by Fisher, Reeves, Lawyer, Medaglia, and Rubel (2017), we used these data to estimate a contemporaneous and temporal network of PTSD symptoms for individuals on a person‐by‐person basis. We then calculated centrality metrics to determine the relative importance of each symptom in each idiographic network. Across all contemporaneous networks, negative trauma‐related cognitions and emotions were most commonly the most central symptoms. Further, across all temporal networks, (a) negative trauma‐related emotions were the most common driver of variation in other symptoms over time and (b) distressing trauma‐related dreams and sleep disturbance were the most common downstream consequences of variation in other PTSD symptoms over time. We also reviewed data from two randomly selected participants to illustrate how this approach could be used to identify maintenance factors of PTSD for each individual and guide individual treatment planning.