bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Room‐Temperature Solution‐Processed PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells
Authors: Xue Yubin , Liu Shun‐Chang , Liu Xinsheng , Yang Yusi , Zhang Yimin , Xue Ding‐Jiang , Hu Jin‐Song 
Published: January 2020

Summary of main observation and conclusionColloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are attractive absorber materials for high‐efficiency photovoltaics because of their facile solution processing, bandgap tunability due to quantum confinement effect, and multi‐exciton generation. To date, all published performance records for PbS CQDs solar cells have been based on the conventional hot‐injection synthesis method. This method usually requires relatively strict conditions such as high temperature and the utility of expensive source material (pyrophoric bis(trimethylsilyl) sulfide (TMS‐S)), limiting the potential for large‐scale and low‐cost synthesis of PbS CQDs. Here we report a facile room‐temperature synthetic method to produce high‐quality PbS CQDs through inexpensive ionic source materials including Pb(NO3)2 and Na2S in the presence of triethanolamine (TEA) as the stabilizing ligand. The PbS CQDs were successfully prepared with an average particle size of about 5 nm. Solar cells based on the as‐synthesized PbS CQDs show a preliminary power conversion efficiency of 1.82%. This room‐temperature and low‐cost synthesis of PbS CQDs will further benefit the development of solution‐processed CQD solar cells.
The state‐of‐the‐art in container technologies: Application, orchestration and security
Authors: Casalicchio Emiliano , Iannucci Stefano 
Published: January 2020

SummaryContainerization is a lightweight virtualization technology enabling the deployment and execution of distributed applications on cloud, edge/fog, and Internet‐of‐Things platforms. Container technologies are evolving at the speed of light, and there are many open research challenges. In this paper, an extensive literature review is presented that identifies the challenges related to the adoption of container technologies in High Performance Computing, Big Data analytics, and geo‐distributed (Edge, Fog, Internet‐of‐Things) applications. From our study, it emerges that performance, orchestration, and cyber‐security are the main issues. For each challenge, the state‐of‐the‐art solutions are then analyzed. Performance is related to the assessment of the performance footprint of containers and comparison with the footprint of virtual machines and bare metal deployments, the monitoring, the performance prediction, the I/O throughput improvement. Orchestration is related to the selection, the deployment, and the dynamic control of the configuration of multi‐container packaged applications on distributed platforms. The focus of this work is on run‐time adaptation. Cyber‐security is about container isolation, confidentiality of containerized data, and network security. From the analysis of 97 papers, it came out that the state‐of‐the‐art is more mature in the area of performance evaluation and run‐time adaptation rather than in security solutions. However, the main unsolved challenges are I/O throughput optimization, performance prediction, multilayer monitoring, isolation, and data confidentiality (at rest and in transit).
Rational Construction of MnCo2O4.5 Deposited TiO2 Nanotube Array Heterostructures with Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline
Authors: Bi Yajun , Li Jiadong , Dong Changchang , Mu Wei , Han Xiaojun 
Published: January 2020

AbstractA novel type of heterostructured photocatalyst, MnCo2O4.5 deposited TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs), was successfully synthesized via a two‐step anodization and chemical bath deposition method. The decoration of MnCo2O4.5 nanoparticles on anatase TNAs significantly enhances its photocatalytic degradation activity of tetracycline (TC). The optimized 140MnCo2O4.5/TiO2 nanotube arrays (140 M/TNA) catalyst exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation of TC with an efficiency of 93.1 % after 2 h illumination. Meanwhile, the material showed good stability after a 5 cycle test. The mechanism of increased activity is attributed to the MnCo2O4.5/TiO2 heterostructure, which extends the response range to visible light and promotes electron–hole separation. Further radical capture experiment reveals that .O2− is vital as an active species for degrading TC in this system. The photocatalyst obtained via this rational synthesis strategy can effectively remove organic pollutants from waste water under visible light irradiation.
Identification of waxy cassava genotypes using fourier‐transform near‐infrared spectroscopy
Authors: do Carmo Cátia Dias , Bandeira e Sousa Massaine , Santos Pereira Jocilene dos , Ceballos Hernán , de Oliveira Eder Jorge 
Published: January 2020

AbstractHigh‐throughput phenotyping tools that allow the early and accurate evaluation of important agronomic traits have gained space in current breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Fourier‐transform near‐infrared spectroscopy (FT‐NIRS) to identify cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) clones with waxy starch (i.e., amylose‐free) by screening leaves rather than roots, and to validate prediction models for classifying these phenotypes. We analyzed the spectra of 162 waxy and 180 nonwaxy genotypes from five different growing environments. The mean FT‐NIRS spectra and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to investigate the potential for grouping the data. For classification, five supervised pattern recognition techniques were tested: Bayesian generalized linear model (BGLM), high‐dimensional discriminant analysis (HDDA), partial least squares‐discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA), parallel random forest (PRANDF), and support vector machines with linear kernel (SVM). The mean spectra and the PCA did not allow discrimination of the genotypes based on starch classification. The SVM and BGLM showed the highest classification accuracy in cross‐validation (.86–.87), with higher concordance rates (.88–.83), sensitivity (.87–.85) and specificity (.88). The BGLM and SVM models also obtained better indices in the external validation, with high accuracy (.85) and correct classification of 93% of the waxy genotypes. Thus, performing early selection of root characteristics based on the indirect selection of variables extracted from leaf spectra is a good potential strategy for more efficient breeding of the waxy phenotype.
Catalyst–Electrolyte Interactions in Aqueous Reline Solutions for Highly Selective Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Authors: Garg Sahil , Li Mengran , Rufford Thomas E. , Ge Lei , Rudolph Victor , Knibbe Ruth , Konarova Muxina , Wang Geoff G. X. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractInvited for this month′s cover is the group of Tom Rufford at the University of Queensland. The image shows how choline chloride and urea in a reline solution interact with the surface of a silver cathode to enhance the selectivity of electrochemical CO2 reduction to CO. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.201902433.
Anodically Triggered Aldehyde Cation Autocatalysis for Alkylation of Heteroarenes
Authors: Liu Caiyan , Xiao Zihui , Wu Shuhua , Shen Yongli , Yuan Kedong , Ding Yi 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAlkylation of heteroarenes by using aldehydes is a direct approach to increase molecular complexity, which however often involves the use of stochiometric oxidant, strong acid, and high temperature. This study concerns an energy‐efficient electrochemical alkylation of heteroarenes by using aldehydes under mild conditions without mediators. Interestingly, the graphite anode can trigger aldehyde cationic species, which act as the effective autocatalysts to react with a range of heteroarenes to produce the corresponding products with excellent regioselectivity and in high yields. Compared to the traditional electro‐synthesis approaches, this electro‐triggered reaction provides an electricity‐saving and eco‐friendly route to high‐value chemicals.
A simple, robust, and affordable bioluminescent assay for drug discovery against infective African trypanosomes
Authors: Benítez Diego , Dibello Estefania , Bonilla Mariana , Comini Marcelo A. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAfrican trypanosomiasis is a major problem for human and animal health in endemic countries, where it threatens millions of people and affects economic development. New drugs are needed to overcome the toxicity, administration, low efficacy, and resistance issues of the current chemotherapy. Robust, simple, and economical high‐throughput, whole‐cell‐based assays are required to accelerate the identification of novel chemical entities. With this aim, we generated a bioluminescent cell line of the bloodstream stage of Trypanosoma brucei brucei and established a screening assay. Trypanosomes were stably transfected to constitutively express a thermostable red‐shifted luciferase. The growth phenotype and drug sensitivity of the reporter cell line were essentially identical to that of the parental cell line. The endogenous luciferase activity, measured by a simple bioluminescence assay, proved to be proportional to parasite number and metabolic status. The assay, optimized to detect highly potent compounds in a 96‐well‐plate format, was validated by screening a small compound library (inter‐assay values for Z' factor and coefficient variation were 0.77 and 5.8%, respectively). With a hit‐confirmation ratio of ~97%, the assay was potent enough to identify several hits with EC50 ≤ 10 μM. Preliminary tests indicated that the assay can be scaled up to a 384‐well‐plate format without compromising its robustness. In summary, we have generated reporter trypanosomes and a simple, robust, and affordable bioluminescence screening assay with great potential to speed up the early‐phase drug discovery against African trypanosomes.
Development and characterization of oxaceprol‐loaded poly‐lactide‐co‐glycolide nanoparticles for the treatment of osteoarthritis
Authors: Alarçin Emine , Demirbağ Çağlar , Karsli‐Ceppioglu Seher , Kerimoğlu Oya , Bal‐Ozturk Ayça 
Published: January 2020

AbstractOxaceprol is well‐defined therapeutic agent as an atypical inhibitor of inflammation in osteoarthritis. In the present study, we aimed to develop and characterize oxaceprol‐loaded poly‐lactide‐co‐glycolide (PLGA) nanoparticles for intra‐articular administration in osteoarthritis. PLGA nanoparticles were prepared by double‐emulsion solvent evaporation method. Meanwhile, a straightforward and generally applicable high performance liquid chromatography method was developed, and validated for the first time for the quantification of oxaceprol. To examine the drug carrying capacity of nanoparticles, varying amount of oxaceprol was entrapped into a constant amount of polymer matrix. Moreover, the efficacy of drug amount on nanoparticle characteristics such as particle size, zeta potential, morphology, drug entrapment, and in vitro drug release was investigated. Nanoparticle sizes were between 229 and 509 nm for different amount of oxaceprol with spherical smooth morphology. Encapsulation efficiency ranged between 39.73 and 63.83% by decreasing oxaceprol amount. The results of Fourier transform infrared and DSC showed absence of interaction between oxaceprol and PLGA. The in vitro drug release from these nanoparticles showed a sustained release of oxaceprol over 30 days. According to cell culture studies, oxaceprol‐loaded nanoparticles had no cytotoxicity with high biocompatibility. This study was the first step of developing an intra‐articular system in the treatment of osteoarthritis for the controlled release of oxaceprol. Our findings showed that these nanoparticles can be beneficial for an effective treatment of osteoarthritis avoiding side effects associated with oral administration.
Guidelines on diagnosis, prognosis, and management of peripheral artery disease in patients with foot ulcers and diabetes (IWGDF 2019 update)
Authors: Hinchliffe Robert J. , Forsythe Rachael O. , Apelqvist Jan , Boyko Edward J. , Fitridge Robert , Hong Joon Pio , Katsanos Konstantinos , Mills Joseph L. , Nikol Sigrid , Reekers Jim , Venermo Maarit , Zierler R. Eugene , Schaper Nicolaas C. ,   on behalf of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF)
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) has published evidence‐based guidelines on the prevention and management of diabetic foot disease since 1999. This guideline is on the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in patients with foot ulcers and diabetes and updates the previous IWGDF Guideline. Up to 50% of patients with diabetes and foot ulceration have concurrent PAD, which confers a significantly elevated risk of adverse limb events and cardiovascular disease. We know that the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of these patients are markedly different to patients with diabetes who do not have PAD and yet there are few good quality studies addressing this important subset of patients. We followed the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to devise clinical questions and critically important outcomes in the patient‐intervention‐comparison‐outcome (PICO) format, to conduct a systematic review of the medical‐scientific literature, and to write recommendations and their rationale. The recommendations are based on the quality of evidence found in the systematic review, expert opinion where evidence was not available, and a weighing of the benefits and harms, patient preferences, feasibility and applicability, and costs related to the intervention. We here present the updated 2019 guidelines on diagnosis, prognosis, and management of PAD in patients with a foot ulcer and diabetes, and we suggest some key future topics of particular research interest.
Spatial and temporal turnover of soil microbial communities is not linked to function in a primary tropical forest
Authors: Kivlin Stephanie N. , Hawkes Christine V. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe spatial and temporal linkages between turnover of soil microbial communities and their associated functions remain largely unexplored in terrestrial ecosystems. Yet defining these relationships and how they vary across ecosystems and microbial lineages is key to incorporating microbial communities into ecological forecasts and ecosystem models. To define linkages between turnover of soil bacterial and fungal communities and their function we sampled fungal and bacterial composition, abundance, and enzyme activities across a 3‐ha area of wet tropical primary forest over 2 yr. We show that fungal and bacterial communities both exhibited temporal turnover, but turnover of both groups was much lower than in temperate ecosystems. Turnover over time was driven by gain and loss of microbial taxa and not changes in abundance of individual species present in multiple samples. Only fungi varied over space with idiosyncratic variation that did not increase linearly with distance among sampling locations. Only phosphorus‐acquiring enzyme activities were linked to shifts in septate, decomposer fungal abundance; no enzymes were affected by composition or diversity of fungi or bacteria. Although temporal and spatial variation in composition was appreciable, because turnover of microbial communities did not alter the functional repertoire of decomposing enzymes, functional redundancy among taxa may be high in this ecosystem. Slow temporal turnover of tropical soil microbial communities and large functional redundancy suggests that shifts in abundance of particular functional groups may capture ecosystem function more accurately than composition in these heterogeneous ecosystems.
Haemodynamic and metabolic phenotyping of hypertensive patients with and without heart failure by combining cardiopulmonary and echocardiographic stress test
Authors: Pugliese Nicola R. , Mazzola Matteo , Fabiani Iacopo , Gargani Luna , De Biase Nicolò , Pedrinelli Roberto , Natali Andrea , Dini Frank L. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractAimWe combined cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) to identify early haemodynamic and metabolic alterations in patients with hypertension (HT) with and without heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).Methods and resultsFifty stable HFpEF‐HT outpatients (mean age 68 ± 14 years) on optimal medical therapy, 63 well‐controlled HT subjects (mean age 63 ± 11 years) and 32 age and sex‐matched healthy controls (mean age 59 ± 15 years) underwent a symptom‐limited graded ramp bicycle CPET‐ESE. The acquisition protocol included left ventricular cardiac output, global longitudinal strain, E/e′, peak oxygen consumption (VO2), non‐invasive arterial–venous oxygen content difference (AVO2diff) and lung ultrasound B‐lines. There was a decline in peak VO2 from controls (24.4 ± 3 mL/min/kg) to HFpEF‐HT (15.2 ± 2 mL/min/kg), passing through HT (18.7 ± 2 mL/min/kg; P < 0.0001). HFpEF‐HT displayed a lower peak cardiac output (9.8 ± 0.9 L/min) compared to HT (12.6 ± 1.0 L/min; P = 0.02) and controls (13.3 ± 1.0 L/min; P = 0.01). Peak AVO2diff was reduced in HFpEF‐HT and HT (13.3 ± 2 and 13.5 ± 2 mL/dL vs. controls: 16.9 ± 2 mL/dL; P < 0.0001). A different left ventricular contractility was observed among groups, expressed as low‐load global longitudinal strain (−16.8 ± 5% in HFpEF‐HT, −18.2 ± 3% in HT, and 20.9 ± 3% in controls; P < 0.0001), and distribution of E/e′ and B‐lines [HFpEF‐HT: 13.7 ± 3 and 16, interquartile range (IQR) 10–22; HT: 9.5 ± 2 and 8, IQR 4–10; controls: 6.2 ± 2 and 0, IQR 0–2; P < 0.0001].ConclusionsReduced peak VO2 values in HT with and without HFpEF may be the result of decreased AVO2diff. CPET‐ESE can also identify mild signs of left ventricular systo‐diastolic dysfunction and pulmonary congestion, promoting advances in personalized therapy.
Corynebacterium glutamicum, a natural overproducer of succinic acid?
Authors: Briki Amani , Kaboré Karim , Olmos Eric , Bosselaar Sabine , Blanchard Fabrice , Fick Michel , Guedon Emmanuel , Fournier Frantz , Delaunay Stéphane 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCorynebacterium glutamicum is well known as an important industrial amino acid producer. For a few years, its ability to produce organic acids, under micro‐aerobic or anaerobic conditions was demonstrated. This study is focused on the identification of the culture parameters influencing the organic acids production and, in particular, the succinate production, by this bacterium. Corynebacterium glutamicum 2262, used throughout this study, was a wild‐type strain, which was not genetically designed for the production of succinate. The oxygenation level and the residual glucose concentration appeared as two critical parameters for the organic acids production. The maximal succinate concentration (4.9 g L−1) corresponded to the lower kLa value of 5 h−1. Above 5 h−1, a transient accumulation of the succinate was observed. Interestingly, the stop in the succinate production was concomitant with a lower threshold glucose concentration of 9 g L−1. Taking into account this threshold, a fed‐batch culture was performed to optimize the succinate production with C. glutamicum 2262. The results showed that this wild‐type strain was able to produce 93.6 g L−1 of succinate, which is one of the highest concentration reported in the literature.
Nitrogen‐doped nanoarray‐modified 3D hierarchical graphene as a cofunction host for high‐performance flexible Li‐S battery
Authors: Lu Ruichao , Cheng Meng , Mao Lijuan , Zhang Miao , Yuan Hongxin , Amin Kamran , Yang Chen , Cheng Yueli , Meng Yuena , Wei Zhixiang 
Published: January 2020

AbstractLithium‐sulfur (Li‐S) batteries with high energy density are promising candidates for next‐generation energy storage systems. Practical application of Li‐S batteries is hindered by shuttle effect of polysulfides and Li dendrites growth. Herein, a self‐supporting cofunction host is constructed with 3D hierarchical graphene modified by N‐doped nanoarrays, for both Li anode and S cathode to improve their performances simultaneously. Attributed to high conductivity, strong affinity, and optimized Li‐ion transport pathway of N‐doped nanoarrays, cofunction host provide excellent Li and S load, which facilitates uniform Li deposition and enhanced S conversion. Particularly, an extra graphene barrier is specialized for S cathode to inhibit the shuttle effect. As a result, Li anode shows long cycle life with outstanding Li‐plating behavior, and S cathode shows high capacity and ultrahigh capacity retention with good immobilization of polysulfides. More importantly, the integrated Li‐S battery shows long cycle stability and good flexibility, which is important for future application.image
Grid integrated photovoltaic system with fuzzy based maximum power point tracking control along with harmonic elimination
Authors: Mehmood Faizan , Ashraf Nouman , Alvarez Lourdes , Malik Tahir Nadeem , Qureshi Hassaan Khaliq , Kamal Tariq 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTEfficient extraction and conversion of solar power is an important research area in the field of renewable energy integration. Although, literature is enriched with different power extraction, conversion, and harmonics elimination techniques but still there are problems of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) under partial shading conditions, photovoltaic (PV) mismatching, power fluctuation in steady‐state condition, and higher total harmonic distortion (THD) value. The article has two manifolds. First, it proposes a fuzzy embedded MPPT controller to extract the maximum available PV power under time‐varying environmental conditions. For that, it utilizes seven linguistic variables and fuzzy sets along with 49 rules base to have reduced power fluctuation and power losses in a steady‐state condition, and fast tracking under time‐varying temperature and solar irradiance condition. The performance of the proposed fuzzy‐logic control (FLC)‐49 rules base is compared with FLC‐25 rules and perturb & observe based MPPT controllers. Second, for fulfilling the load demands with lower switching losses and THD, particle swarm optimization (PSO) based selective harmonic elimination (SHE) technique is applied on a cascaded half‐bridge multilevel inverter. SHE technique utilizes switching angles, which are found by solving the nonlinear transcendental equations obtained by Fourier series expansion of stepped output voltage waveform. For that, the proposed research preferred meta‐heuristic techniques of PSO over the classical techniques because of their high convergence rate, short run time, less complexity, and ability to obtain lower THD.
Research on quality changes of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) during short‐term starvation
Authors: Yang Wenxian , Shi Wenzheng , Qu Yinghong , Qin Jiaying , Wang Zhihe 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis study was aimed at to investigate the quality changes of grass carp during short‐term starvation. The pH, lactic acid, free amino acid, and adenosine triphosphate‐related compounds of dorsal meat, belly meat and red meat in grass carp were measured during starvation for 6 days, and the quality of grass carp was evaluated by K value, equivalent umami concentration (EUC), taste activity value (TAV), and electronic tongue. The pH of three parts meat reached the maximum value on the fourth day, which was closely related to the lactic acid content. Concurrently, the contents of fresh sweet amino acids were higher on the fourth day in all parts. The K values in dorsal meat and belly meat were below 10% during starvation. Considering the overall results of electronic tongue, EUC, and TAV analysis, it is suggested that grass carp should be marketed and eaten with a starvation period of 2–4 days for best taste and quality.