bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Technical Note: Vendor miscalibration of preclinical orthovoltage irradiator identified through independent output check
Authors: Chen Quan , Carlton Drew , Howard Thaddeus J , Izumi Tadahide , Rong Yi 
Published: December 2020

PurposeAccurate radiation dosimetry in radiobiological experiments is crucial for preclinical research in advancement of cancer treatment. Vendors of cell irradiators often perform calibration for end‐users. However, calibration accuracy remains unclear due to missing detailed information on calibration equipment and procedures. In this study, we report our findings of a vender miscalibration of the radiation output and our investigation on the root cause of the discrepancy.MethodsIndependent calibration verification for a commercial preclinical orthovoltage irradiator was conducted. Initially, in the absence of ionization chambers calibrated at kV energy, radiochromic films (EBT3) was first calibrated at MV energy. Energy correction factors from literature were used to create an in‐house kV dosimetry system. The miscalibration identified with the in‐house kV EBT3 dosimetry was later confirmed by ADCL calibrated ionization chambers (Exradin A1SL and PTW 30013) at kV energy. Ionization chambers were suspended in‐air following TG‐61 recommendation for output calibration. To investigate the root cause of the miscalibration, additional measurements were performed with ionization chambers placed on the shelf. A validated Monte Carlo simulation code was also used to investigate the impact of placing the ionization chamber on the shelf instead of suspending it in air during the vendor‐performed calibration process.ResultsUp to a 6% dosimetry error was observed when comparing the vendor calibrated output of the preclinical irradiator with our independent calibration check. Further investigation showed incorrect setups in the vendor’s calibration procedure which may result in dose errors up to 11% from the backscatter of the shelf board during calibration, and up to 5% from omitting temperature and pressure corrections to ionization chamber readings.ConclusionOur study revealed large dose calibration errors caused by incorrect setup and the omission of temperature/pressure correction in the vendor’s calibration procedure. The findings also highlighted the importance of performing an independent check of the dose calibration for preclinical kV irradiators. More absolute dosimetry training is needed for both vendors and end users for establishing accurate absolute dosimetry.
Improved detection of focal cortical dysplasia in normal‐appearing FLAIR images using a Bayesian classifier
Authors: Feng Cuixia , Zhao Hulin , Li Yueer , Cheng Zhibiao , Wen Junhai 
Published: December 2020

PurposeFocal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a malformation of cortical development that often causes pharmacologically intractable epilepsy. However, FCD lesions are frequently characterized by minor structural abnormalities that can easily go unrecognized, making diagnosis difficult. Therefore, many epileptic patients have had pathologically confirmed FCD lesions that appeared normal in pre‐surgical fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance (MR) studies. Such lesions are called “FLAIR‐negative.” This study aimed to improve the detection of histopathologically verified FCD in a sample of patients without visually appreciable lesions.MethodsThe technique first extracts a series of features from a FLAIR image. Then, three naive Bayesian classifiers with probability (NBCP) are trained based on different numbers of feature maps to classify voxels as lesional or healthy voxels and assign the lesions a probability of correct classification. This method classifies the three‐dimensional (3D) images of all patients using leave‐one‐out cross‐validation (LOOCV). Finally, the 3D lesion probability map, including epileptogenic lesions, is obtained by removing false‐positive voxel outliers using the morphological method. The performance of the NBCP was assessed for quantitative analysis by specificity, accuracy, recall, precision, and Dice coefficient in subject‐wise, lesion‐wise, and voxel‐wise manners.ResultsThe best detection results were obtained by using four features: cortical thickness, symmetry, K‐means, and modified texture energy. There were eight lesions in seven patients. The subject‐wise sensitivity of the proposed method was 85.71% (6/7). Seven out of eight lesions were detected, so the lesion‐wise sensitivity was 87.50% (7/8). No significant differences in effectiveness were found between automated lesion detection using four features and lesion detection using manual segmentation, as voxels were quantitatively analyzed in terms of specificity (mean ± SD = 99.64 ± 0.13), accuracy (mean ± SD = 99.62 ± 0.14), recall (mean ± SD = 73.27 ± 26.11), precision (mean ± SD = 11.93 ± 8.16), and Dice coefficient (mean ± SD = 22.82 ± 15.57).ConclusionWe developed a novel automatic voxel‐based method to improve the detection of FCD FLAIR‐negative lesions. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to detect FCD lesions that appear normal in pre‐surgical 3D high‐resolution FLAIR images alone with a limited number of radiomics features. We optimized the algorithm and selected the best prior probability to improve the detection. For non‐temporal lobe epilepsy (non‐TLE) patients, lesions could be accurately located, although there were still false‐positive areas.
Donations in social context
Authors: Ressler Robert W. , Paxton Pamela , Velasco Kristopher 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMany nonprofit organizations rely on donations to fund their programs, and a robust literature predicts donations in large‐scale quantitative studies. The focus, however, is almost exclusively on the financial characteristics of the organizations, leaving the social context underexplored. In this article, we theorize how ecological context, organizational identity, and social network ties can shape donations. We use the new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) release of e‐filed nonprofit reporting forms to consider 95,518 501(c)3 nonprofits around 2015. Using lagged regression models, we find that organizations within a more favorable ecological context, those that use appeals to religion, and organizations with more volunteers report more donations. Furthermore, stressing affiliation with a geographic location is associated with more donations only under certain ecological conditions. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for nonprofit organizations and social theories regarding what influences donations to organizations.
Serum levels of ACE2 are higher in patients with obesity and diabetes
Authors: Emilsson Valur , Gudmundsson Elias F. , Aspelund Thor , Jonsson Brynjolfur G. , Gudjonsson Alexander , Launer Lenore J. , Lamb John R. , Gudmundsdottir Valborg , Jennings Lori L. , Gudnason Vilmundur 
Published: December 2020

AbstractObjectiveAs severity of outcome in COVID‐19 is disproportionately higher among individuals with obesity, smokers, patients with hypertension, kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease (CHD), and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D), serum levels of ACE2, the cellular entry point for the coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, were examined in these high‐risk groups.MethodsAssociations of ACE2 levels to smokers and patients with hypertension, T2D, obesity, CHD, or COPD were investigated in a single center population‐based study of 5457 Icelanders from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Reykjavík Study (AGES‐RS) of the elderly (mean age 75 ± 6 years), using multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsSerum levels of ACE2 were higher in smokers and individuals with T2D and/or obesity while they were unaffected in the other patient groups.ConclusionACE2 levels are higher in some patient groups with comorbidities linked to COVID‐19 including obesity and T2D and as such may have an emerging role as a circulating biomarker for severity of outcome in the disease.
The effect of grafting monomer charge on the antifouling performance of poly(ether ether ketone) hollow fiber membrane by ultraviolet irradiation polymerization
Authors: Jiang Chunhui , Huang Tingjian , Chen Yuan , Su Zexi , Yan Xiang , Xu Qibin , Jiang Mengjin , Liu Pengqing 
Published: December 2020

AbstractTo improve the antifouling properties of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) membrane, negatively charged acrylic acid (AA), neutral ethyl hydroxyacrylate (HEA) and positively charged acryloxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride (DAC) as hydrophilic monomers were respectively grafted onto the PEEK hollow fiber membrane surface via ultraviolet irradiation polymerization. The effects of the grafted monomers on surface chemical structure, surface morphology, zeta potential, hydrophilic performance, permeability and the antifouling properties of the membrane were investigated in detail. The results show that the charge state of the membrane surface is closer to the monomer charge characteristic, which obviously affects the permeability and antifouling performance of the membrane. The pure water flux of the membrane grafted with neutral hydrophilic HEA monomer is increased and the antifouling properties to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium alginate (SA) are also enhanced, while the pure water flux of the membranes grafted with negatively charged AA monomer or positively charged DAC monomer is decreased, with different antifouling properties to BSA and SA. Furthermore, the antifouling experiment with BSA under different pH conditions revealed that membrane fouling depends on the pH value, and membrane fouling was the most serious at the isoelectric point of BSA. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Host deprivation effects on population performance and paralysis rates of Habrobracon hebetor (hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Authors: Ou Hou‐Ding , Atlihan Remzi , Wang Xiu‐Qin , Li Hao‐Xi , Yu Xiao‐Fei , Jin Xin , Yang Mao‐Fa 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDHabrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a gregarious ectoparasitoid that attacks the larvae of several species of pyralid and noctuid moths. The reproduction and population dynamics of parasitoids in general are affected by host deprivation. However, how host deprivation affects H. hebetor is unknown. The effect of host deprivation on the parental generation, life table parameters, and the paralysis rate of the F1 generation of H. hebetor were evaluated using the age‐stage, two‐sex life table under laboratory conditions.RESULTSThe results indicated that the greatest longevity and the least lifetime fecundity of the F0 generation occurred after 19 days of host deprivation (PW‐20 treatment). The life table parameters (intrinsic rate of increase, r; finite rate of increase, λ; and net reproductive rate, R0) and the paralysis rate parameters (net paralysis rate, C0; transformation rate, Qp; stable paralysis rate, ψ; and finite paralysis rate, ω) of F1 individuals after PW‐20 treatment were significantly higher than those of individuals subjected to the control treatment (no host deprivation). However, no difference was detected between the two host deprivation treatments: host deprivation after 1 day of host contact and immediate host deprivation (PW treatment).CONCLUSIONOur results demonstrated that the effectiveness of H. hebetor did not decrease even during host deprivation for 19 days. Meanwhile, it was observed that mass rearing of the parasitoid could be improved by providing 10 individuals of 5th instar larvae of Ephestia elutella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) with a 20% honey‐water solution. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
Prohexadione calcium is herbicidal to the sunflower root parasite Orobanche cumana
Authors: Lerner Franziska , Pfenning Matthias , Picard Laurent , Lerchl Jens , Hollenbach Eva 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe obligatory sunflower root parasite Orobanche cumana Wallr. deprives its host of essential nutrients, resulting in a dramatic reduction in yield and biomass. A post‐emergence application with an imidazolinone herbicide on an imidazolinone‐tolerant sunflower is highly effective against O. cumana. The herbicide inhibits the enzyme acetohydroxy acid synthase and consequently, growth of the parasite is inhibited, although the sunflower survives the treatment through mutations in the target enzyme. Interestingly, field studies have shown that a combined application of an imidazolinone herbicide with prohexadione resulted in reduced emergence of O. cumana compared with the sole application of the herbicide. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prohexadione is herbicidal to O. cumana.RESULTSProhexadione was rapidly distributed within the sunflower, reaching the roots, the site of O. cumana attack, as early as 6 h after application (HAA) on sunflower leaves. A direct impact of prohexadione on O. cumana germination was investigated and a half‐maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 84 μm prohexadione was found. In addition, the inhibition of germination by prohexadione was terminal, meaning that O. cumana seeds died after prohexadione contact as soon as they were primed for germination. Additionally, excretion studies showed that a small proportion of the applied prohexadione was excreted by sunflower roots.CONCLUSIONWe show that prohexadione is an inhibitor of O. cumana germination and that the growth regulator is found in sunflower roots shortly after application. We hypothesize that prohexadione is excreted in sufficient amounts from the sunflower roots, therefore having a direct impact on O. cumana germination. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry
A non‐parametric double homogeneously weighted moving average control chart under sign statistic
Authors: Riaz Muhammad , Abid Muhammad , Shabbir Aroosa , Nazir Hafiz Zafar , Abbas Zameer , Abbasi Saddam Akber 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn practical situations, the underlying process distribution sometimes deviates from normality and their distribution is partially or completely unknown. In that instance, rather than staying with/depending on the conventional parametric control charts, we consider non‐parametric control charts due to their exceptional performance. In this paper, a new non‐parametric double homogeneously weighted moving average sign control chart is proposed with the least assumptions. This chart is based on a sign test statistic for catching the smaller deviations in the process location. Run‐length (RL) properties of the proposed chart are studied with the help of Monte Carlo simulations. Both in‐control and out‐of‐control RL properties show that the proposed chart is a better contender as compared to some existing charts from the literature. A real‐life application for practical consideration of the proposed chart is also provided.
Promoting effect of PdZn alloy for selective hydrogenation of 5‐hydroxylmethylfurfural: An experimental and density functional theory study
Authors: Liu Chengwei , Shi Yun , Shang Yaning , Wang Xin , Liu Dan , Mamba Bhekie B. , Kuvarega Alex T. , Gui Jianzhou 
Published: December 2020

AbstractPd‐based catalysts supported on porous zinc oxide nanoparticles derived from nanoscale zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) are prepared and used for the selective hydrogenation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy results suggest that PdZn nanoalloy was formed during the calcination process of the catalyst precursor with the in situ reduction effect of carbon. The experiments and the density functional theory calculation results suggest that the exposed PdZn(111) and PdZn(200) faces on the prepared PdZn catalysts show lower activation energies and dissociative adsorption energies for H2 compared with Pd(111), which favors the migration of H atom and the hydrogenation reaction. Furthermore, PdZn(111) and PdZn(200) faces also display weaker adsorption ability for BHMF and the furan ring of HMF, which could efficiently inhibit the excessive hydrogenation of CC in furan ring and the hydrogenolysis of BHMF. Alloying Pd with Zn alters the reaction routes of HMF hydrogenation to BHMF. The first step of HMF hydrogenation more likely starts with the CH2O intermediate on the PdZn(111) and PdZn(200) faces, while the CHOH intermediate is preferentially formed on the Pd(111) face.
Anti‐Platelet Effect Induced by Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Correlation with Conformational Change in Fibrinogen
Authors: Kottana Regina Komal , Maurizi Lionel , Schnoor Brian , Morris Kenise , Webb Jessica Ann , Massiah Michael Anthony , Millot Nadine , Papa Anne‐Laure 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIron oxide nanoparticles are developed for various biomedical applications, however, there is limited understanding regarding their effects and toxicity on blood components. The particles traveling in circulation inevitably interact with blood cells and plasma proteins and may interfere with hemostasis. Specifically, this study focuses on the influence of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) coated with a biocompatible polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), on platelet function. Here, engineered SPIONs that are functionalized with various PVA coatings to provide these particles with different surface charges and polymer packing are described. These formulations are assessed for any interference with human platelet functions and coagulation, ex vivo. Positively charged SPIONs induce a significant change in platelet GPIIb‐IIIa conformation, indicative of platelet activation at the dose of 500 µg mL−1. Remarkably, engineered PVA(polyvinyl alcohol)‐SPIONs all display a robust dose‐dependent anti‐platelet effect on platelet aggregation, regardless of the PVA charge and molecular weight. After assessing hypotheses involving SPION‐induced steric hindrance in platelet–platelet bridging, as well as protein corona involvement in the antiplatelet effect, the study concludes that the presence of PVA‐SPIONs induces fibrinogen conformational change, which correlates with the observed dose‐dependent anti‐platelet effect.
Regulating Tumor N6‐Methyladenosine Methylation Landscape using Hypoxia‐Modulating OsSx Nanoparticles
Authors: Zheng Yue , Ling Yuyi , Zhang Dong‐Yang , Tan Cai‐Ping , Zhang Hang , Yang Gang‐Gang , Wang Hongsheng , Ji Liang‐Nian , Mao Zong‐Wan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe epigenetic dysregulation and hypoxia are two important factors that drive tumor malignancy, and N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) in mRNA is involved in the regulation of gene expression. Herein, a nanocatalyst OsSx‐PEG (PEG = poly(ethylene glycol)) nanoparticles (NPs) as O2 modulator is developed to improve tumor hypoxia. OsSx‐PEG NPs can significantly downregulate genes involved in hypoxia pathway. Interestingly, OsSx‐PEG NPs elevate RNA m6A methylation levels to cause the m6A‐dependent mRNA degradation of the hypoxia‐related genes. Moreover, OsSx‐PEG NPs can regulate the expression of RNA m6A methyltransferases and demethylases. Finally, DOX@OsSx‐PEG (DOX = doxorubicin; utilized as a model drug) NPs modulate tumor hypoxia and regulate mRNA m6A methylation of hypoxia‐related genes in vivo. As the first report about relationship between catalytic nanomaterials and RNA modifications, the research opens a new avenue for unveiling the underlying action mechanisms of hypoxia‐modulating nanomaterials and shows potential of regulating RNA modification to overcome chemoresistance.
Oxidation Etching‐Induced Post‐Crystallization of Palladium Nanosheets for Efficient Catalytic Hydrogenation
Authors: Huang Zhijun , Li Shanshan , Xu Bolong , Yan Fengwen , Yuan Guoqing , Liu Huiyu 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe performances of catalysts are highly dependent on their crystallinities. It is a significant challenge to successively manipulate the crystallinities of noble metal nanocatalysts due to the strong metallic bonds, especially under ambient conditions. Herein, a post‐crystallization approach is developed for successive control of the crystallinity of Pd nanosheets via selective oxidation etching of the amorphous domains. This strategy can be extended to crystallize other Pd and Ru nanomaterials. By carefully modulating the crystallinity of Pd nanosheets, the time for the complete conversion of 4‐nitrostyrene via hydrogenation is reduced by 20 times. Also, crystallization can turn the selectivity of the products and improve the stability of Pd nanosheets. These findings may advance the crystal engineering of metal nanomaterials for wide applications.
High‐throughput gas chromatographic analysis of soluble carbon content in tobacco‐related products enabled by phase‐conversion reaction
Authors: Xie Wei‐Qi , Gong Yi‐Xian , Huang Shi‐Wen 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThis study demonstrated a simple and efficient method for quantifying soluble carbon content in tobacco‐related products using a reaction chromatographic technique. This approach was based on the measurement of the carbon dioxide generated from the oxidation reaction of soluble carbons (i.e., five‐carbon and six‐carbon sugars) in tobacco‐related sample with potassium dichromate in the presence of sulfuric acid, in which soluble carbons were oxidized to carbon dioxide (at 95°C for 40 min). After that, the carbon dioxide was analyzed by gas chromatography. The data illustrated that the proposed approach was precise (RSD < 3.19%) and accurate (relative differences < 9.52%), and the recoveries ranged from 97.9 to 102.3%. The present technique is sensitive, efficient, and could be a potential alternative for the high‐throughput analysis of the soluble carbon content of tobacco‐related products in both laboratory and industrial applications.
Treatment of Immature Scars: Manual Massages
Authors: Frasson Docteur N. , Valange Marie , Almeras Isabelle , Izquierdo Mathieu , Ster Gwenola 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe rehabilitation of burns and scars depends on the maturation of the scar tissue. During the inflammation stage, all the risks of scar contracture and functional scar sequelae happen. The therapists must anticipate and prevent the possible consequences of an immature tissue. Besides the postures and the correct positioning with specific splints, manual massages are part of scar treatment. They have to be applied by specialized therapists around the scar at first and progressively on the scar or burn scar while respecting the fragility and inflammation of the tissue. The most important being in the choice of the technique is to respect the cutaneous inflammation.
Invasive Techniques in Scar Management: Skin Substitutes
Authors: Timmermans F. W. , Middelkoop E. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn the last decades, skin substitutes have emerged as an important innovation in improving scar quality. They can be applied during the initial wound management but also during scar reconstruction procedures. This chapter provides an overview on the development, current state, and future of cell-seeded and tissue-engineered skin substitutes. We will discuss some of the most important varieties of skin substitutes in the context of scar formation and wound healing.