bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Review of Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinical Trials: Past Trends and Future Opportunities
Authors: Shetty Kunal R. , Komshian Sevan R. , Devaiah Anand , Levi Jessica R. 
Published: January 2020

Objectives/HypothesisPediatric otolaryngologic conditions are highly prevalent in the United States. Although data gathered from clinical trials drive therapeutic strategies, the trends of research in pediatric otolaryngology remain unclear. The objective of this study was to characterize recent trials in pediatric otolaryngology to better understand current directions of study and to identify opportunities for future research.Study DesignRetrospective analysis.MethodsA retrospective analysis of United States pediatric clinical trials in otolaryngology between 2001 and 2017 was conducted on ClinicalTrials.gov. Criteria for inclusion included otolaryngologic trials with at least one trial arm of participants <18 years of age, interventional design that was closed, and conducted in the United States. We assessed the information available to us on ClinicalTrials.gov to identify recent trends in pediatric otolaryngology interventional research. We used PubMed to examine publication rates and National Institutes of Health RePORTER to characterize funding patterns for these trials.ResultsOf the 122 trials analyzed, 25% investigated treatments for rhinitis, 25% for acute otitis media, and 50% for all other conditions. Drug studies comprised 72% of all trials. Overall, 65% had their results published in a peer‐reviewed journal. Industry funding accounted for 73% of financial support.ConclusionsContinued focus on the development of pediatric otolaryngologic clinical trials allows an opportunity to better represent the wide spectrum of disease and therapy in the specialty. Increasing the rates of results publication and federal funding may spearhead a more balanced landscape of clinical trials and further advance the care of children with otolaryngologic disease.Level of EvidenceNA Laryngoscope, 130:2719–2724, 2020
Design Principle of Reactive Components for Dimethacrylate‐Terminated Quantum Dots: Preserved Photoluminescent Quantum Yield, Excellent Pattern Uniformity, and Suppression of Aggregation in the Matrix
Authors: Lee Seonwoo 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWith the advent of various quantum dot (QD)‐based application technologies, the demand for low‐cost, eco‐friendly, high‐performance nanocomposites (e.g., QD photoresist) is rapidly increasing. However, the aggregation phenomenon due to incompatibility between QDs and components is still a limitation in industrial use. Herein, the principle of selecting reactive components that inhibit aggregation and preserve photoluminescent properties is presented. For model QDs (bis[2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] phosphate/1‐dodecanethiol [BMEP/DDT] capped QDs), BMEP allows copolymerization and coadded DDT minimizes the loss of absolute quantum yield during ligand exchange. Besides, bisphenol A ethoxylate dimethacrylate (Mn: ≈1700, polyethylene oxide) suppresses aggregation in the matrix and provide high solubility in alkaline solution. More specifically, the coated thin film (1.0 µm thick) containing up to 20.0 wt% QDs exhibits not only transmittance of more than 85% at 550 nm, but also excellent pattern uniformity at high resolution.
Physical Therapy for Freezing of Gait and Gait Impairments in Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Rutz Dionys G. , Benninger David H. 
Published: January 2020

IntroductionFreezing of gait (FOG) is a major cause of falls and disability in Parkinson disease (PD). As FOG only partially improves in response to dopaminergic medication, physical therapy is an important element of its management.ObjectiveTo assess the evidence for the physical interventions for FOG and gait impairments and to establish recommendations for clinical practice.Literature SurveyThis review follows the guidelines for systematic reviews: the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA). Systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Physiotherapy Evidence Databases, and CINAHL for randomized controlled trials of PT interventions for FOG in PD patients until April 2018.SynthesisTwenty randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were reviewed. In 12 RCTs, PT for FOG was assessed, which was the primary outcome measure in nine of these RCTs. In eight RCTs, PT for gait impairment (not targeting specifically FOG) in PD was assessed. The following PT interventions reduce FOG with a good category A recommendation: cueing strategies (P < .05) (visual and auditory); treadmill walking (P < .05); aquatic obstacle training (P < .01); supervised slackline training (P < .05). These interventions can be combined and maintain their efficacy when being applied concurrently: though there is a lack of long‐term follow‐up studies. The following PT interventions show possible benefit and need further investigations: balance and coordination training; aquatic gait training; sensory (tactile) cues. The treadmill training and auditory and visual cues are effective also for other gait disturbances in PD and improve gait kinematics.ConclusionsVisual and auditory cueing and the treadmill training are effective interventions for FOG and gait impairments in PD patients (evidence level A‐ according to the European Federation of Neurological Societies). Tactile cues and other specific therapies targeting FOG are probably effective but need further studies.
Investigation of mixed micellization study of sodium dodecyl sulfate and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide mixtures at different compositions: Effect of electrolytes and temperatures
Authors: Hasan Md. Zahid , Mahbub Shamim , Hoque Md. Anamul , Rub Malik Abdul , Kumar Dileep 
Published: January 2020

AbstractHerein, we employed the conductometric measurement technique for the estimation of the interaction between two oppositely charged surfactants (anionic, sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS] and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide [TTAB]) in two chloride (NaCl/NH4Cl) salts in the range of temperatures from 298.15 to 318.15 K. The deviation of experimental critical micelle concentration (cmc) from the corresponding ideal values of cmc (cmcid), the values of interaction parameters (β), and activity coefficients (f1 and f2) of the components reveal the existence of the interaction amongst the investigated components. The attained cmc values for SDS/SDS + TTAB decline with the rise of temperature in H2O/electrolytes medium. The reduction of cmc in the presence of electrolytes reveals the facilitated micellization in the electrolyte medium. The assessed values of the micellar mole fraction of TTAB (X1) obtained from theoretical models signify the significant contribution of TTAB in SDS + TTAB mixed micellization. The estimated negative values of free energy (
) and excess free energy (ΔGex) of micellization reveal that micellization is spontaneous and mixed micelles are extra stable than distinct micelle, respectively. The enthalpy (
) and entropy (
) in addition transfer energies of micellization were also evaluated and explained thoroughly.
Hexamethylphosphanetriamine‐mediated aziridination of imines with alpha‐ketoesters: A molecular electron density theory study
Authors: Amiri Arash , Emamian Saeedreza , Hosseini Seyed Javad , Ali‐Asgari Safa 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe highly trans‐stereoselective reaction of oxyphosphonium enolate (OPE) with N‐benzylidene‐4‐methoxybenzenesulfonamide (N‐BMS) in toluene, at room temperature leading to trans‐aziridine‐2‐carboxylate (trans‐Az 3), was theoretically studied using molecular electron density theory (MEDT) at the B3LYP/6‐31G(d) computational level to shed light on the energy transformation, selectivities, and mechanistic aspects. This domino process is initialized by adding of N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″‐hexamethylphosphanetriamine (HMPT) to methyl benzoylformate to generate OPE. Subsequently, nucleophilic addition of OPE to the C–N double bond in N‐BMS leads to the intermediate IN‐Ta. Finally, trans‐Az 3 is formed through a 3‐exo‐tet ring closure step as a result of the nucleophilic attack of the negatively charged nitrogen atom on the carbon atom bearing –OP (NMe2)3 in IN‐Ta. Analysis of the relative Gibbs free energies shows that the ring closure step is the rate‐determining step. By an investigation of the conceptual density functional theory reactivity indices, OPE and N‐BMS are classified as a strong nucleophilic and as a strong electrophilic species, respectively, which indicates that the additional step of OPE to N‐BMS should display a high‐polar character. An analysis of the calculated electrophilic and nucleophilic Parr functions at the reactive sites of reagents clarifies the regioselectivity observed experimentally along the C1–C2 bond formation process.
Direct construction of globally D‐optimal designs for factors at two levels and main effects models
Authors: King Caleb , Jones Bradley , Morgan Joseph , Lekivetz Ryan 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn developing screening experiments for two‐level factors, practitioners typically are familiar with regular fractional factorial designs, which are orthogonal, globally D‐optimal (ie, 100% D‐efficient), and exist if
is a power of two. In addition, nonregular D‐optimal orthogonal designs can be generated for almost any
a multiple of four, the most notable being the family of Plackett and Burman1 designs. If resource constraints dictate that
is not a multiple of four, while an orthogonal design for two‐level factors does not exist, one can still consider a D‐optimal design. Exchange algorithms are available in commercial computer software for creating highly D‐efficient designs. However, as the number of factors increases, computer searches eventually fail to find the globally optimal design for any
or require impractical search times. In this article, we compile state‐of‐the‐art direct construction methods from the literature for producing globally D‐optimal designs for virtually any number of two‐level factors as well as any
greater than the number of factors. We summarize the known methods as well as areas for continued research, with the intention of catalyzing research in extending these construction methods.
Confidence limits for compliance testing using mixed acceptance criteria
Authors: Edirisinghe Pasan M. , Mathew Thomas , Peiris T. S. G. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractFor manufactured items sold by weight or volume, this article considers mixed acceptance criteria that put limits on the sample mean or on an upper confidence limit based on the sample mean and on the number of individual sample units that are nonconforming. For a normally distributed quality characteristic of interest, this article develops lower confidence limits for the mixed acceptance criteria applying the concept of a generalized pivotal quantity and applying a bias‐corrected and accelerated parametric bootstrap. The accuracy of the confidence limits is assessed using estimated coverage probabilities, and the results are illustrated with an example.
Comparative evaluation of the liquid chromatographic methods for simultaneous analysis of quercetin and salicin in an anti‐psoriasis polyherbal formulation
Authors: Qadir Abdul , Aqil Mohd , Ali Athar , Ahmad Farhan J. , Ahmad Sayeed , Beg Sarwar , Khan Nausheen 
Published: January 2020

AbstractSmilax china L. and Salix alba are the medicinal plants of interest due to the presence of various therapeutic activities of these plants such as anti‐inflammatory, anti‐diabetic, anti‐psoriatic and digestive properties. Smilax china and Salix alba consists of bioactive marker Quercetin and Salicin, respectively. In the present study, a simple, rapid, reliable and accessible high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography method has been established for simultaneous quantification of quercetin and salicin. High‐performance thin‐layer chromatography fingerprinting was carried out on pre‐coated Silica G60 F254 plates with toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid (3.5:6.0:1.0 v/v/v) as mobile phase. The developed plates were scanned and quantified at two different λmax 380 and 275 nm. The drug samples were satisfactorily resolved with Rf 0.61 ± 0.02 for quercetin and 0.07 ± 0.03 for salicin. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, and specificity. The limits of detection and quantification for quercetin and salicin were 2.0 and 6.00 µg per band and 6.00 and 30.0 µg per band respectively. The developed high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography method can be implemented for the concurrent estimation of quercetin and salicin for routine quality control of herbal drugs containing these phytoconstituents.
Performance mutation testing
Authors: Delgado‐Pérez Pedro , Sánchez Ana Belén , Segura Sergio , Medina‐Bulo Inmaculada 
Published: January 2020

SummaryPerformance bugs are known to be a major threat to the success of software products. Performance tests aim to detect performance bugs by executing the program through test cases and checking whether it exhibits a noticeable performance degradation. The principles of mutation testing, a well‐established testing technique for the assessment of test suites through the injection of artificial faults, could be exploited to evaluate and improve the detection power of performance tests. However, the application of mutation testing to assess performance tests, henceforth called performance mutation testing (PMT), is a novel research topic with numerous open challenges. In previous papers, we identified some key challenges related to PMT. In this work, we go a step further and explore the feasibility of applying PMT at the source‐code level in general‐purpose languages. To do so, we revisit concepts associated with classical mutation testing and design seven novel mutation operators to model known bug‐inducing patterns. As a proof of concept, we applied traditional mutation operators as well as performance mutation operators to open‐source C++ programs. The results reveal the potential of the new performance‐mutants to help assess and enhance performance tests when compared with traditional mutants. A review of live mutants in these programs suggests that they can induce the design of special test inputs. In addition to these promising results, our work brings a whole new set of challenges related to PMT, which will hopefully serve as a starting point for new contributions in the area.
Triple La Sota re‐vaccinations can protect laying chickens for 3 months against drop in egg production caused by velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease virus infection
Authors: Okechukwu Harriet N. , Chukwuedo Anthony A. , Eze Didacus C. , Igwe Amarachukwu O. , Ihedioha John I. , Okoye John O. A. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractOne hundred and ten Isa Brown layers were vaccinated with La Sota, once at point of lay at 18 weeks and three times at peak of lay which occurred at 27–29 weeks of age. Thereafter, they were weekly monitored for haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody decline. The first batch A of the layers were challenged with velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease (vvND) virus (vvNDV) on day 24 post‐vaccination (PV), when the geometric mean titre (GMT) was 84.4, batch B were challenged on day 48 PV at GMT of 42.2, while batch C were challenged on day 97 PV at GMT of 21.1. The individual chicken HI antibody titres of the 10 layers in batch C at the day of challenge were: 7 layers had HI titres of 16, 2 layers had HI titres of 32 and 1 layer had HI titres of 64. Each challenge in the three batches produced no clinical signs including drop in egg production. But there was initial swelling of the spleen followed by atrophy with high antibody responses. The virus was recovered in all the cloacal swabs on days 3–9 post‐challenge (PC) at low titres. On days 145 PV and 48, post‐Batch C challenge the remaining hyperimmunized unchallenged layers demonstrated a drop in total % egg production (p < .05) and changes in egg quality. The HI GMT was 256. The virus was recovered in all the cloacal swabs on days 3–9 following appearance of clinical signs. There was no mortality in the experiment. Based on the above observations, it is concluded that triple La Sota re‐vaccination can protect layers against a drop in egg production in areas where vvNDV infection is enzootic.
Indeterminacy of Cournot–Walras equilibrium with incomplete markets
Authors: Zierhut Michael 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper studies a sole proprietorship economy with imperfect competition in a transferable utility setting. While consumers behave as price takers, producers issue real assets strategically to maximize their own utility. Even when complete markets are technologically feasible, equilibria with incomplete markets are robust, and they appear in large numbers: There is a continuum of equilibria with different asset spans that can be welfare-ranked. This real indeterminacy does not vanish as the number of producers goes to infinity. Therefore, the self-interest of producers restricts economic outcomes but does not determine them.
A category theoretical interpretation of discretization in Galerkin finite element method
Authors: Lahtinen Valtteri , Stenvall Antti 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe Galerkin finite element method (FEM) is used widely in finding approximative solutions to field problems in engineering and natural sciences. When utilizing FEM, the field problem is said to be discretized. In this paper, we interpret discretization in FEM through category theory, unifying the concept of discreteness in FEM with that of discreteness in other fields of mathematics, such as topology. This reveals structural properties encoded in this concept: we propose that discretization is a dagger mono with a discrete domain in the category of Hilbert spaces made concrete over the category of vector spaces. Moreover, we discuss parallel decomposability of discretization, and through examples, connect it to different FEM formulations and choices of basis functions.
Probing antibody surface density and analyte antigen incubation time as dominant parameters influencing the antibody-antigen recognition events of a non-faradaic and diffusion-restricted electrochemical immunosensor
Authors: Zorea Jonathan , Shukla Rajendra P. , Elkabets Moshe , Ben-Yoav Hadar 
Published: January 2020

AbstractElectrochemical sensors based on antibody-antigen recognition events are commonly used for the rapid, label-free, and sensitive detection of various analytes. However, various parameters at the bioelectronic interface, i.e., before and after the probe (such as an antibody) assembly onto the electrode, have a dominant influence on the underlying detection performance of analytes (such as an antigen). In this work, we thoroughly investigate the dependence of the bioelectronic interface characteristics on parameters that have not been investigated in depth: the antibody density on the electrode’s surface and the antigen incubation time. For this important aim, we utilized the sensitive non-faradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy method. We showed that as the incubation time of the antigen-containing drop solution increased, a decrease was observed in both the solution resistance and the diffusional resistance with reflecting boundary elements, as well as the capacitive magnitude of a constant phase element, which decreased at a rate of 160 ± 30 kΩ/min, 800 ± 100 mΩ/min, and 520 ± 80 pF × s(α-1)/min, respectively. Using atomic force microscopy, we also showed that high antibody density led to thicker electrode coating than low antibody density, with root-mean-square roughness values of 2.2 ± 0.2 nm versus 1.28 ± 0.04 nm, respectively. Furthermore, we showed that as the antigen accumulated onto the electrode, the solution resistance increased for high antibody density and decreased for low antibody density. Finally, the antigen detection performance test yielded a better limit of detection for low antibody density than for high antibody density (0.26 μM vs 2.2 μM). Overall, we show here the importance of these two factors and how changing one parameter can drastically affect the desired outcome.
Normalized Solutions of Nonautonomous Kirchhoff Equations: Sub- and Super-critical Cases
Authors: Chen Sitong , Rădulescu Vicenţiu D. , Tang Xianhua 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn this paper, we establish the existence of normalized solutions to the following Kirchhoff-type equation $$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} -\left( a+b\int _{{\mathbb {R}}^3}|\nabla u|^2{\mathrm {d}}x\right) \Delta u-\lambda u=K(x)f(u), &{} x\in {\mathbb {R}}^3; \\ u\in H^1({\mathbb {R}}^3), \end{array} \right. \end{aligned}$$

-

a
+
b

∫

R

3

|
∇
u
|

2

d
x

Δ
u
-
λ
u
=
K

(
x
)

f

(
u
)

,

x
∈

R

3

;

u
∈

H
1

(

R

3

)

,

where $$a, b> 0$$

a
,
b
>
0

, $$\lambda $$
λ
is unknown and appears as a Lagrange multiplier, $$K\in {\mathcal {C}}({\mathbb {R}}^3, {\mathbb {R}}^+)$$

K
∈
C
(

R

3

,

R

+

)

with $$0<\lim _{|y|\rightarrow \infty }K(y)\le \inf _{{\mathbb {R}}^3} K$$

0
<

lim

|
y
|
→
∞

K

(
y
)

≤

inf

R

3

K

, and $$f\in {\mathcal {C}}({\mathbb {R}},{\mathbb {R}})$$

f
∈
C
(
R
,
R
)

satisfies general $$L^2$$

L
2

-supercritical or $$L^2$$

L
2

-subcritical conditions. We introduce some new analytical techniques in order to exclude the vanishing and the dichotomy cases of minimizing sequences due to the presence of the potential K and the lack of the homogeneity of the nonlinearity f. This paper extends to the nonautonomous case previous results on prescribed $$L^2$$

L
2

-norm solutions of Kirchhoff problems.
Preoperative Antisepsis with Chlorhexidine Versus Povidone‐Iodine for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection: a Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis
Authors: Chen Shi , Chen Jun Wu , Guo Bin , Xu Chun Cheng 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackground and ObjectiveChlorhexidine (CH) and povidone‐iodine (PI) are the most commonly used preoperative skin antiseptics at present. However, the prevention of the surgical site infection (SSI) and the incidence of skin adverse events do not reach a consistent statement and conclusion. This meta‐analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy of chlorhexidine and povidone‐iodine in the prevention of postoperative surgical site infection and the incidence of corresponding skin adverse events.MethodSubstantial studies related to “skin antiseptic” and “surgical site infection” were consulted on PUBMED, Web of Science, EMBASE, and CNKI. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative SSI. The secondary outcome was associated with skin adverse events. All data were analyzed with Revman 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 30 studies were included, including 29,006 participants. This study revealed that chlorhexidine was superior to povidone‐iodine in the prevention of postoperative SSI (risk ratio [RR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.77; p < 0.00001, I2 = 57%). Further subgroup analysis showed that chlorhexidine was superior to povidone‐iodine in the prevention of postoperative SSI in clean surgery (risk ratio [RR], 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67–0.98; p = 0.03), I2 = 28%) and clean‐contaminated surgery (risk ratio [RR], 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47–0.73; p < 0.00001, I2 = 43%). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of skin adverse events between CH and PI groups.ConclusionChlorhexidine was superior to povidone‐iodine in preventing postoperative SSI, especially for the clean‐contaminated surgery. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of skin adverse events between CH and PI groups.