bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of cellulose nano/microfibril reinforced polypropylene composites processed via solid‐state shear pulverization
Authors: Oliveira Gean Henrique M. , Maia Thiago H. S. , Talabi Segun I. , Canto Leonardo B. , Lucas Alessandra A. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractPolypropylene (PP) composites with cellulose nanofibril (CNF), lignocellulose nanofibril (LCNF) or bleached kraft wood pulp (BWKP) cellulose microfibril compatibilized by maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene were produced by different approaches. Samples containing 10–30 wt% filler were prepared by mixing cellulose aqueous suspensions and PP through solid‐state shear pulverization. The flakes obtained were compounded by twin‐screw melt extrusion (MSE) followed by injection molding (IM) into standard specimens. Reference samples with 30 wt% CNF or LCNF were prepared through a standard procedure, which involved freeze‐drying of nanofibrils aqueous suspensions before MSE and IM, whereas a sample with 30 wt% BWKP was prepared directly by MSE and IM. Injection‐molded specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and tensile and notched impact tests. The thermal behavior of the PP matrix in the composites was not significantly affected by the filler type and content and processing route as well. CNF and LCNF reinforced PP composites showed inferior mechanical properties, due to the formation of nanofibrils agglomerates in the PP matrix, regardless of the processing route adopted. Highly filled (30 wt%) BWKP composites presented superior mechanical properties with significant increase in the modulus, tensile strength, and impact strength due to the formation of well‐dispersed microfibrils bundles in the PP matrix. A comparative analysis showed that the composites developed in this study present similar or even superior mechanical performance for given filler content to other natural fiber reinforced PP composites reported in the literature.
Haematological and Biochemical Parameters of Captive Siberian Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) from the Heilongjiang Province, China
Authors: Liu Enqi , Ma Liying , You Dan , Yang Cen , Hu Yawen , Xu Haitao , Liu Dan , Wang Yajun 
Published: December 2020

AbstractHaematological and biochemical parameters play important roles in safeguarding animal health and preventing disease, but the blood reference values of many wild animals are still unknown. Recently, few descriptions of the blood parameters of Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) have been reported because these tigers comprise an endangered species; however, it is extremely difficult to obtain blood samples necessary for these analyses. This study presents 14 haematological and 16 biochemical parameters of 133 Siberian tigers, of which 112 and 21 were from Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park (HB) and Hailin Siberian Tiger Park (HD), China, respectively. Our study is the first to determine the following parameters in Siberian tigers: red blood cell volume distribution width, platelet count, mean platelet volume, amylase (AMY), sodium/potassium, globulin and albumin/globulin levels. As the data for total bilirubin and AMY were not statistically significant, no statistical analysis was conducted for these parameters. Few parameters were significantly different according to sex and region (p < 0.05). The concentration of alkaline phosphatase decreased with age, whereas the creatinine (CREA) increased with age. The CREA concentration of tigers raised in HB was much lower than that of tigers raised in HD. The data obtained in this study provide a reference for monitoring the health of wild and captive Siberian tigers and will add important information to the standards for haematological and biochemical parameters of wild felines.
Low-rank parity-check codes over Galois rings
Authors: Renner Julian , Neri Alessandro , Puchinger Sven 
Published: December 2020

AbstractLow-rank parity-check (LRPC) codes are rank-metric codes over finite fields, which have been proposed by Gaborit et al. (Proceedings of the workshop on coding and cryptography WCC, vol 2013, 2013) for cryptographic applications. Inspired by a recent adaption of Gabidulin codes to certain finite rings by Kamche et al. (IEEE Trans Inf Theory 65(12):7718–7735, 2019), we define and study LRPC codes over Galois rings—a wide class of finite commutative rings. We give a decoding algorithm similar to Gaborit et al.’s decoder, based on simple linear-algebraic operations. We derive an upper bound on the failure probability of the decoder, which is significantly more involved than in the case of finite fields. The bound depends only on the rank of an error, i.e., is independent of its free rank. Further, we analyze the complexity of the decoder. We obtain that there is a class of LRPC codes over a Galois ring that can decode roughly the same number of errors as a Gabidulin code with the same code parameters, but faster than the currently best decoder for Gabidulin codes. However, the price that one needs to pay is a small failure probability, which we can bound from above.
Surveillance of Sentinel Node-Positive Melanoma Patients with Reasons for Exclusion from MSLT-II: Multi-Institutional Propensity Score Matched Analysis
Authors: Broman Kristy K. , Hughes Tasha M. , Dossett Lesly A. , Sun James , Carr Michael J. , Kirichenko Dennis A. , Sharma Avinash , Bartlett Edmund K. , Nijhuis Amanda AG. , Thompson John F. , Hieken Tina J. , Kottschade Lisa , Downs Jennifer , Gyorki David E. , Stahlie Emma , van Akkooi Alexander , Ollila David W. , Frank Jill , Song Yun , Karakousis Giorgos , Moncrieff Marc , Nobes Jenny , Vetto John , Han Dale , Farma Jeffrey , Deneve Jeremiah L. , Fleming Martin D. , Perez Matthew , Baecher Kirsten , Lowe Michael , Bagge Roger Olofsson , Mattsson Jan , Lee Ann Y. , Berman Russell S. , Chai Harvey , Kroon Hidde M. , Teras Roland M. , Teras Juri , Farrow Norma E. , Beasley Georgia M. , Hui Jane YC. , Been Lukas , Kruijff Schelto , Boulware David , Sarnaik Amod A. , Sondak Vernon K. , Zager Jonathan S. 
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND:
In sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive melanoma, two randomized trials demonstrated equivalent melanoma-specific survival with nodal surveillance vs completion lymph node dissection (CLND). Patients with microsatellites, extranodal extension (ENE) in the SLN, or >3 positive SLNs constitute a high-risk group largely excluded from the randomized trials, for whom appropriate management remains unknown.

STUDY DESIGN:
SLN-positive patients with any of the three high-risk features were identified from an international cohort. CLND patients were matched 1:1 with surveillance patients using propensity scores. Risk of any-site recurrence, SLN-basin–only recurrence, and melanoma-specific mortality were compared.

RESULTS:
Among 1,154 SLN-positive patients, 166 had ENE, microsatellites, and/or >3 positive SLN. At 18.5 months median follow-up, 49% had recurrence (vs 26% in patients without high-risk features, p < 0.01). Among high-risk patients, 52 (31%) underwent CLND and 114 (69%) received surveillance. Fifty-one CLND patients were matched to 51 surveillance patients. The matched cohort was balanced on tumor, nodal, and adjuvant treatment factors. There were no significant differences in any-site recurrence (CLND 49%, surveillance 45%, p = 0.99), SLN-basin–only recurrence (CLND 6%, surveillance 14%, p = 0.20), or melanoma-specific mortality (CLND 14%, surveillance 12%, p = 0.86).

CONCLUSIONS:
SLN-positive patients with microsatellites, ENE, or >3 positive SLN constitute a high-risk group with a 2-fold greater recurrence risk. For those managed with nodal surveillance, SLN-basin recurrences were more frequent, but all-site recurrence and melanoma-specific mortality were comparable to patients treated with CLND. Most recurrences were outside the SLN-basin, supporting use of nodal surveillance for SLN-positive patients with microsatellites, ENE, and/or >3 positive SLN.
Stage IIIa Melanoma and Impact of Multiple Positive Lymph Nodes on Survival
Authors: Woeste Matthew R. , McMasters Kelly M. , Egger Michael E. 
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND:
For patients with cutaneous melanoma, having >1 positive lymph node (LN) is associated with worse survival. We hypothesized that for stage IIIA patients, N2a disease (2 to 3 positive LN) would be associated with a worse prognosis compared to those with N1a disease (1 positive LN).

STUDY DESIGN:
Stage IIIA melanoma patients in the NCDB Participant User File from 2010 to 2016 were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) between N1a and N2a patients was compared. Subgroup analyses were made between patients undergoing sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy alone and those undergoing subsequent completion lymph node dissection (CLND). A separate post hoc analysis of T2a patients undergoing SLN biopsy and CLND from a prospective multicenter randomized clinical trial was performed to validate the findings.

RESULTS:
Records of 2,305 IIIA patients were evaluated. In an adjusted survival model, N2a disease was an independent risk factor for worse OS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.56, p = 0.0052). In the subgroup analysis, there was no difference in OS between N1a and N2a disease for patients who underwent SLN biopsy without CLND (p = 0.59), but there was a significant difference in OS for patients who underwent SLN biopsy plus CLND (p = 0.0009). The separate clinical trial database confirmed that for patients with SLN-only disease, there was no difference in OS between N1a and N2a disease.

CONCLUSIONS:
For stage IIIA melanoma patients, the distribution of micrometastatic lymph node disease (SLN or non-SLN), rather than the absolute number of SLNs, should be considered when individualizing adjuvant therapy recommendations.
Impact of Preoperative Occult-Bacterial Translocation on Surgical Site Infection in Patients Undergoing Pancreatoduodenectomy
Authors: Suenaga Masaya , Yokoyama Yukihiro , Fujii Tsutomu , Yamada Suguru , Yamaguchi Junpei , Hayashi Masamichi , Asahara Takashi , Nagino Masato , Kodera Yasuhiro 
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND:
Occult-bacterial translocation (O-BT) has been reported as the condition in which microorganisms are detected in blood or lymph nodes by a highly sensitive method. However, the clinical impact of preoperative O-BT on postoperative complication is unclear.

STUDY DESIGN:
A prospective observational study with patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy for periampullary diseases was conducted. Blood samples were collected immediately after induction of anesthesia. The status of O-BT was investigated using bacterium-specific ribosomal RNA-targeted reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The impact of O-BT on surgical site infection (SSI) was analyzed.

RESULTS:
A total of 155 patients were included. The positive rate in preoperative blood samples detected by RT-qPCR was significantly higher than that obtained by the culture method (32 of 155 vs 4 of 155, p < 0.001). Preoperative blood samples were contaminated with 1.0 to 19.2 bacterial cells/mL in positive patients, and 30 of the 41 detected microorganisms were obligate anaerobes. No differences in preoperative factors were observed between patients with positive and negative RT-qPCR results. The incidence of any SSI was significantly higher in patients with contaminated preoperative blood (≥1.2 bacterial cells/mL) than in other patients (14 of 27 vs 35 of 128, p = 0.013). Multivariable analysis indicated that contaminated preoperative blood was identified as one of the independent risk factors for SSI (odds ratio 2.71, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.24, p = 0.041).

CONCLUSIONS:
O-BT, predominantly with obligate anaerobes, was commonly observed in preoperative blood samples. In addition to the previously known risk factors, O-BT may be one of the risk factors for SSI after pancreatoduodenectomy.
Persistent, Depth‐Intensified Mixing During The Western Mediterranean Transition's Initial Stages
Authors: Piñeiro S. , González‐Pola C. , Fernández‐Díaz J. M. , Naveira‐Garabato A. C. , Sánchez‐Leal R. , Puig P. , Salat J. , Balbin R. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMajor deep‐convection activity in the northwestern Mediterranean during winter 2005 triggered the formation of a complex anomalous deep‐water structure that substantially modified the properties of the Western Mediterranean deep layers. Since then, evolution of this thermohaline structure, the so‐called Western Mediterranean Transition (WMT), has been traced through a regularly sampled hydrographic deep station located on the outer continental slope of Minorca Island. A rapid erosion of the WMT's near‐bottom thermohaline signal was observed during 2005–2007. The plausible interpretation of this as local bottom‐intensified mixing motivates this study. Here, the evolution of the WMT structure through 2005–2007 is reproduced by means of a one‐dimensional diffusion model including double‐diffusive mixing that allows vertical variation of the background mixing coefficient and includes a source term to represent the lateral advection of deep‐water injections from the convection area. Using an optimization algorithm, a best guess for the depth‐dependent background mixing coefficient is obtained for the study period. WMT evolution during its initial stages is satisfactorily reproduced using this simple conceptual model, indicating that strong depth‐intensified mixing (K

∞
(z) ≈ 22 × 10−4 m2 s−1; z ⪆ 1,400 dbar) is a valid explanation for the observations. Extensive hydrographic and current observations gathered over the continental slope of Minorca during winter 2018, the first deep‐convective winter intensively sampled in the region, provide evidence of topographically localized enhanced mixing concurrent with newly formed dense waters flowing along‐slope toward the Algerian sub‐basin. This transport‐related boundary mixing mechanism is suggested to be a plausible source of the water‐mass transformations observed during the initial stages of the WMT off Minorca.
Lightning and Secondary Convection in the Anvil of the May 29, 2012 Oklahoma Supercell Storm Observed by DC3
Authors: DiGangi E. A. , Ziegler C. L. , MacGorman D. R. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractA supercell thunderstorm formed as part of a cluster of severe storms near Kingfisher, Oklahoma on May 29, 2012 during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry field experiment. This storm produced 5 hail, an EF‐1 tornado, and copious lightning over the course of a few hours within range of the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array and the KTLX WSR‐88D radar. This study focuses on a ∼1‐h interval during which a line of secondary convection formed and intensified within the anvil of the Kingfisher supercell. An analysis of radar reflectivity, radial velocity, and low‐level divergence shows that the formation of the secondary convection was consistent with a previously proposed mechanism; the instability leading to the convection was initiated by diabatic cooling in dry air below the anvil from sublimation, melting and evaporation of virga falling from the anvil, coincident with weak rising motion above a surface outflow boundary adjacent to the sub‐anvil downdraft. Prior to the formation of the secondary convection, flashes extended up to 60 km from the deep convection into the anvil. After the line of secondary convection formed, it initiated long lightning flashes that propagated along the line, and it continued to produce lightning as it moved eastward out from under the anvil. The charge structure inferred from flashes in the parent storm and in the downstream anvil suggests that charge was separated locally in the anvil following the development of an outflow boundary by the Kingfisher storm, which also contributed to the initiation of the secondary convection.
Event‐Based Evaluation of the GPM Multisatellite Merged Precipitation Product From 2014 to 2018 Over China: Methods and Results
Authors: Li Runze , Wang Kaicun , Qi Dan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractEvaluations of satellite precipitation products have been routinely conducted, often by calculating statistical indicators on fixed time intervals (e.g., hourly and daily). However, precipitation is actually a discontinuous variable in the form of events. Event‐based evaluations could provide additional information to those based on fixed‐interval statistics but have rarely been done. To address this issue, the Integrated MultisatellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) (IMERG) V06B product is evaluated with hourly rain gauge data from approximately 50,000 stations in China. We first assess the feasibility of using a satellite product to delineate precipitation event properties and then track satellite errors with the evolution of precipitation processes. Our results show a strong positive relationship between event duration and mean intensity in IMERG, which is not obvious in the gauge data. IMERG presents weaker peak‐to‐mean intensity ratio and later peak occurrence time than compared to the gauge data. Higher false alarm and lower miss proportions exist near the beginning of an event in IMERG, and this pattern reverses near the end of the event. IMERG underestimates the precipitation rate at the beginning of an event but overestimates later. The IMERG bias in event properties revealed here has important implication on its applications like flood forecasting and storm identification, and the life cycle‐dependent performance of IMERG we found indicates the need of event dynamics and stage information in satellite precipitation retrieval processes, which is not in current algorithms. The event‐based evaluation carried out here can be applied to other satellite precipitation products as well.
Experimental Investigation of Apollo 16 “Rusty Rock” Alteration by a Lunar Fumarolic Gas
Authors: Renggli C. J. , Klemme S. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe Apollo 16 sample 66095, named “Rusty Rock”, is enriched in volatile and moderately volatile elements. The impact melt breccia is characterized by abundant Fe‐rich sulfide and chloride alteration phases, including FeS, ZnS, and FeCl2. These phases have previously been interpreted to be the result of fumarolic alteration of the breccia. Here we present the results of two different experimental approaches, which aim to constrain the temperature conditions and the process under which the “Rusty Rock” alteration formed. The first experimental set‐up assumes that the metals Zn, Cu, and Fe were introduced into the rock by a C‐O‐S‐Cl gas phase, and that the Fe‐rich sulfides and chlorides were deposited from this gas phase. This “gas deposition” experiment suggests that the alteration assemblage formed over the temperature range of 538–638 ± 5°C. The second experimental set‐up simulates a scenario, where Fe metal particles in the lunar rock react with a Zn‐C‐O‐S‐Cl gas phase at six different temperatures between 396 ± 5°C and 1,005 ± 5°C. This latter “metal reaction” experiment resulted in the formation of sulfide and chloride coatings on the Fe metal chips. The “Rusty Rock” alteration phases FeCl2 and (Zn,Fe)S were abundantly present in the coating of the Fe metal chip reacted at 580 ± 10°C. Both experiments lead to results which are in agreement, providing a temperature of 580 ± 50°C for the fumarolic alteration on the Moon, as observed in the Apollo 16 “Rusty Rock”.
Addressing Gaps in Space Weather Operations and Understanding With Small Satellites
Authors: Verkhoglyadova O. P. , Bussy‐Virat C. D. , Caspi A. , Jackson D. R. , Kalegaev V. , Klenzing J. , Nieves‐Chinchilla J. , Vourlidas A. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractGaps in space weather observations that can be addressed with small satellites are identified. Potential improvements in solar inputs to space weather models, space radiation control, estimations of energy budget of the upper Earth's atmosphere, and satellite drag modeling are briefly discussed. Key observables, instruments, and observation strategies by small satellites are recommended. Tracking optimization for small satellites is proposed.
Characterizing the second wave of fish and invertebrate colonization of an offshore petroleum platform
Authors: Todd Victoria L G , Susini Irene , Williamson Laura D , Todd Ian B , McLean Dianne L , Macreadie Peter I 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Offshore Oil and Gas (O&G) infrastructure affords structurally complex hard substrata in otherwise featurless areas of the seafloor. Opportunistically collected industrial ROV imagery was used to investigate the colonization of a petroleum platform in the North Sea 1–2 years following installation. Compared to pre-construction communities and pioneering colonizers, we documented 48 additional taxa, including a rare sighting of a pompano (Trachinotus ovatus). The second wave of motile colonizers presented greater diversity than the pioneering community. Occurrence of species became more even over the 2 years following installation, with species occurring in more comparable abundances. No on-jacket sessile taxa were recorded during first-wave investigations; however, 17 sessile species were detected after 1 year (decreasing to 16 after 2). Motile species were found to favour structurally complex sections of the jacket (e.g. mudmat), while sessile organisms favoured exposed elements. Evidence of on-jacket reproduction was found for two commercially important invertebrate species - common whelk (Buccinum undatum) and European squid (Loligo vulgaris). Moreover, abundance of larvae-producing species experience an 8.5-fold increase over a 2-year period compared to baseline communities. These findings may have implications for decommissioning and resource-management strategies, suggesting that a case-by-case reviewing approach should be favoured over the most common “one size fits all”.
Inhomogeneous Diophantine Approximation onM0-Sets with Restricted Denominators
Authors: Pollington Andrew D , Velani Sanju , Zafeiropoulos Agamemnon , Zorin Evgeniy 
Published: December 2020

AbstractLet $F \subseteq [0,1]$ be a set that supports a probability measure $\mu $ with the property that $ |\widehat{\mu }(t)| \ll (\log |t|)^{-A}$ for some constant $ A&gt; 0 $. Let $\mathcal{A}= (q_n)_{n\in{\mathbb{N}}} $ be a sequence of natural numbers. If $\mathcal{A}$ is lacunary and $A&gt;2$, we establish a quantitative inhomogeneous Khintchine-type theorem in which (1) the points of interest are restricted to $F$ and (2) the denominators of the “shifted” rationals are restricted to $\mathcal{A}$. The theorem can be viewed as a natural strengthening of the fact that the sequence $(q_nx \textrm{mod} 1)_{n\in{\mathbb{N}}} $ is uniformly distributed for $\mu $ almost all $x \in F$. Beyond lacunary, our main theorem implies the analogous quantitative result for sequences $\mathcal{A}$ for which the prime divisors are restricted to a finite set of $k$ primes and $A&gt; 2k$. Loosely speaking, for such sequences, our result can be viewed as a quantitative refinement of the fundamental theorem of Davenport, Erdös, and LeVeque (1963) in the theory of uniform distribution.