bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Scaffolds obtained from decellularized human extrahepatic bile ducts support organoids to establish functional biliary tissue in a dish
Authors: Willemse Jorke , Roos Floris J. M. , Voogt Iris J. , Schurink Ivo J. , Bijvelds Marcel , de Jonge Hugo R. , van der Laan Luc J. W. , de Jonge Jeroen , Verstegen Monique M. A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBiliary disorders can lead to life‐threatening disease and are also a challenging complication of liver transplantation. As there are limited treatment options, tissue engineered bile ducts could be employed to replace or repair damaged bile ducts. We explored how these constructs can be created by seeding hepatobiliary LGR5+ organoids onto tissue‐specific scaffold. For this, we decellularized discarded human extrahepatic bile ducts (EBD) that we recellularized with organoids of different origin, that is, liver biopsies, extrahepatic bile duct biopsies, and bile samples. Here, we demonstrate efficient decellularization of EBD tissue. Recellularization of the EBD extracellular matrix (ECM) with the organoids of extrahepatic origin (EBD tissue and bile derived organoids) showed more profound repopulation of the ductal ECM when compared with liver tissue (intrahepatic bile duct) derived organoids. The bile duct constructs that were repopulated with extrahepatic organoids expressed mature cholangiocyte‐markers and had increased electrical resistance, indicating restoration of the barrier function. Therefore, the organoids of extrahepatic sources are identified to be the optimal candidate for the development of personalized tissue engineered EBD constructs.
Green and grey: Nutritional lifestyle and healthful ageing in rural and urban areas of three sub‐Saharan African countries
Authors: Kyomuhendo Clare , Adeola Romola 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIncreased lifespan has resulted in a growing ageing population with non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, among others that are chronic in nature. Thus, causing dependency, disability, poor quality of life, and increased medical costs. This paper uses South Africa, Ghana, and Uganda to understand how improved medical interventions and social‐economic conditions have increased life expectancy while changing dietary and disease patterns. The countries are chosen due to their variations in urbanization and ageing levels. South Africa is more urbanized (66%) with an 8% aged population, followed by Ghana (56.06%) with a 5.3% aged population and Uganda (23.77%) with a 4.5% aged population. Lately, healthy dietary patterns are encouraged to promote healthy ageing and prevent, slow and reverse NCDs, through consumption of organic foods (higher in wholegrain foods, vegetables, fruits, with low meat consumption). Organic products are considered healthier, nutritious, fresher, and environmentally friendly because their production excludes pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and chemical food additives. Through literature reviews, we identified how older persons' nutritional patterns in South Africa, Ghana, and Uganda have evolved and their impacts on ageing. Findings indicated rising incomes and urbanization leading to nutrition transition, with traditional foods being substituted with foods high in meat, fats, refined sugars, and oils. Consequently, a double burden of diseases that are communicable and non‐communicable is emerging. Changes in diets of older persons have promoted overweight/obesity and under nutrition/underweight. It is, therefore, necessary to use strategies that improve levels of organic food intake through educational programs to the aged and their families on how to control diets and lifestyles. Also, household organic food production can be promoted by encouraging growing vegetables and fruits. This will help boost older persons' nutritional wellbeing, as well as promote the production of local organic foods that are environmental friendly and socially sustainable.
Biophysical analysis of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission and theranostic development via N protein computational characterization
Authors: Sabbih Godfred O. , Korsah Maame A. , Jeevanandam Jaison , Danquah Michael K. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractRecently, SARS‐CoV‐2 has been identified as the causative factor of viral infection called COVID‐19 that belongs to the zoonotic beta coronavirus family known to cause respiratory disorders or viral pneumonia, followed by an extensive attack on organs that express angiotensin‐converting enzyme II (ACE2). Human transmission of this virus occurs via respiratory droplets from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, which are released into the environment after sneezing or coughing. These droplets are capable of staying in the air as aerosols or surfaces and can be transmitted to persons through inhalation or contact with contaminated surfaces. Thus, there is an urgent need for advanced theranostic solutions to control the spread of COVID‐19 infection. The development of such fit‐for‐purpose technologies hinges on a proper understanding of the transmission, incubation, and structural characteristics of the virus in the external environment and within the host. Hence, this article describes the development of an intrinsic model to describe the incubation characteristics of the virus under varying environmental factors. It also discusses on the evaluation of SARS‐CoV‐2 structural nucleocapsid protein properties via computational approaches to generate high‐affinity binding probes for effective diagnosis and targeted treatment applications by specific targeting of viruses. In addition, this article provides useful insights on the transmission behavior of the virus and creates new opportunities for theranostics development.
Multiscale Investigation into the Co‐Doping Strategy on the Electrochemical Properties of Li2RuO3 Cathodes for Li‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Moradi Zahra , Lanjan Amirmasoud , Srinivasan Seshasai 
Published: October 2020

AbstractHerein, a co‐doping strategy is proposed for a Li‐rich layered Ru‐based cathode, Li2RuO3 (LRO), as promising next‐generation cathode materials. Using quantum mechanics, molecular dynamics, and macroscale mathematical modeling, the electrochemical properties such as voltage, electronic structure, thermodynamic structural stability, O2 stability, electrical conductivity coefficient, the energy barrier, theoretical capacity, Li‐ion diffusion coefficient, proportion of the electrode materials in the internal resistance of LIBs, and the percentage of waste energy in charge‐discharge cycles of all samples are calculated and compared. The results show that the cathode with Ti and Zr has the highest maximum voltage and the lowest voltage reduction during the discharge process. Also, it has 25 % lower waste energy in comparison to the undoped cathodes which indicates significant improvements in its efficiency. On the other hand, Li2Ru0.75Ti0.125Cr0.125O3 (LRTCO) has the highest electrical conductivity coefficient, thermodynamic, structural and oxygen stability as well as theoretical capacity, which indicates the highest durability and safety improvement for LRO cathode materials. Moreover, it is shown in this study that the ohmic potential drop for the studied cathodes is negligible and is not worth the investment for reducing the internal resistance. This study can provide a brighter insight into the co‐doping strategy for materials in future investigations.
Improving Harris hawks optimization algorithm for hyperparameters estimation and feature selection in v‐support vector regression based on opposition‐based learning
Authors: Ismael Omar Mohammed , Qasim Omar Saber , Algamal Zakariya Yahya 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMany real problems have been solved by support vector regression, especially v‐support vector regression (v‐SVR), but there are hyperparameters that usually needed to tune. In addition, v‐SVR cannot perform feature selection. Nature‐inspired algorithms have been used as a feature selection and as hyperparameters estimation procedure. In this paper, the opposition‐based learning Harris hawks optimization algorithm (HHOA‐OBL) is proposed to optimize the hyperparameters of the v‐SVR with embedding the feature selection simultaneously. The experimental results over four datasets show that the HHOA‐OBL outperforms the standard Harris hawks optimization algorithm, grid search, and cross‐validation methods, in terms of prediction, number of selected features, and running time. Besides, the experimental results of the HHOA‐OBL confirm the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in improving the prediction performance and computational time compared with other nature‐inspired algorithms, which proves the ability of HHOA‐OBL in searching for the best hyperparameters values and selecting the most informative features for prediction tasks. Thus, the experiments and comparisons support the performance of the proposed approach in making predictions in other real applications.
An Active Hybrid Electrocatalyst with Synergized Pyridinic Nitrogen‐Cobalt and Oxygen Vacancies for Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution
Authors: Zhong Wen‐Xin , Zhao Xue‐Ru , Qin Jia‐Yi , Yang Jing 
Published: October 2020

Main observation and conclusionA hybrid bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) NiCo2O4–x/NLG with rich pyridinic‐nitrogen‐ cobalt coordination and oxygen vacancies was synthesized via a combination of the hydrothermal method and pulsed laser irradiation. NiCo2O4–x/NLG exhibits an excellent catalytic activity with a low overpotential of 290 mV at 10 mA·cm–2 for OER and a high half‐wave potential of 0.85 V for ORR. As a result, the overall ORR/OER overpotential of NiCo2O4–x/NLG is only 0.67 V in 1.0 mol/L KOH electrolyte, which is superior to commercial noble‐metal‐based catalysts (Pt/C+RuO2). It is evidenced that the enhanced intrinsic OER and ORR activities of NiCo2O4–x/NLG are attributed to a synergistic effect between the pyridinic‐N‐Co coordination and the oxygen vacancies. This work provides a new design strategy for enhancing the intrinsic activity of bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts.
Role of implicit bias in pediatric cancer clinical trials and enrollment recommendations among pediatric oncology providers
Authors: Graetz Dylan E. , Madni Arshia , Gossett Jeffrey , Kang Guolian , Sabin Janice A. , Santana Victor M. , Russo Carolyn L. 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundProvider implicit bias can negatively affect clinician‐patient communication. In the current study, the authors measured implicit bias training among pediatric oncology providers and exposure to implicit association tests (IATs). They then assessed associations between IATs for race and socioeconomic status (SES) and recommendations for clinical trial enrollment.MethodsA prospective multisite study was performed to measure implicit bias among oncology providers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and affiliate clinics. An IAT was used to assess bias in the domains of race and SES. Case vignettes were used to determine an association between bias and provider recommendation for trial enrollment. Data were analyzed using Studentttests or Wilcoxon tests for comparisons and Jonckheere‐Terpstra tests were used for association.ResultsOf the 105 total participants, 95 (90%) had not taken an IAT and 97 (92%) had no prior implicit bias training. A large effect was found for (bias toward) high SES (Cohend, 1.93) and European American race (Cohend, 0.96). The majority of participants (90%) had a vignette score of 3 or 4, indicating recommendation for trial enrollment for most or all vignettes. IAT and vignette scores did not significantly differ between providers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or affiliate clinics. No association was found between IAT and vignette scores for race (P= .58) or SES (P= .82).ConclusionsThe authors noted a paucity of prior exposure to implicit bias self‐assessments and training. Although these providers demonstrated preferences for high SES and European American race, this did not appear to affect recommendations for clinical trial enrollment as assessed by vignettes.
On the Convex Geometry of Blind Deconvolution and Matrix Completion
Authors: Krahmer Felix , Stöger Dominik 
Published: October 2020

AbstractLow‐rank matrix recovery from structured measurements has been a topic of intense study in the last decade and many important problems like matrix completion and blind deconvolution have been formulated in this framework. An important benchmark method to solve these problems is to minimize the nuclear norm, a convex proxy for the rank. A common approach to establish recovery guarantees for this convex program relies on the construction of a so‐called approximate dual certificate. However, this approach provides only limited insight into various respects. Most prominently, the noise bounds exhibit seemingly suboptimal dimension factors. In this paper we take a novel, more geometric viewpoint to analyze both the matrix completion and the blind deconvolution scenario. We find that for both these applications the dimension factors in the noise bounds are not an artifact of the proof, but the problems are intrinsically badly conditioned. We show, however, that bad conditioning only arises for very small noise levels: Under mild assumptions that include many realistic noise levels we derive near‐optimal error estimates for blind deconvolution under adversarial noise. © 2020 The Authors. Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
Impulsiveness in borderline personality disorder predicts the long‐term outcome of a psychodynamic treatment programme
Authors: Wrege Johannes S. , Busmann Mareike , Meyer Andrea H. , Euler Sebastian , Lang Undine E. , Walter Marc 
Published: October 2020

Despite the preponderance of treatment outcome predictors in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), the predictive value of measures of impulsiveness is inconclusive. This naturalistic study consecutively included hospitalized patients with BPD (N = 99) who underwent a standardized and structured 12‐week inpatient treatment programme, which integrated cognitive‐behavioural and psychodynamic elements. The Brief Symptom Checklist (BSCL) was applied as outcome measure over four time points: pretreatment, posttreatment, first follow‐up at 6 to 8 weeks and second follow‐up at 1 year after discharge. Impulsiveness was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) at the pretreatment time point. The BSCL significantly decreased between pretreatment and posttreatment, followed by an increase after posttreatment without reaching pretreatment extent. The temporal course of the BSCL significantly varied with pretreatment BIS in that patients with higher impulsiveness revealed a stronger re‐increase of symptom severity from posttreatment to end of follow‐up than those with lower impulsiveness. The least impulsive patients thereby showed no rebound effect. The robustness of the results was examined by cross‐validation. The results indicate that irrespective of the level of impulsiveness, patients with BPD profit from a structured inpatient treatment. However, long‐term treatment success was impaired in patients with high level of impulsiveness at pretreatment. Thus, self‐ratings of impulsiveness in BPD patients can be utilized for treatment planning. After discontinuation of interventions, relapse prevention should be implemented early in high impulsive patients as symptoms recrudesce in the course after discharge.
Seeing is believing? The impact of air pollution on corporate social responsibility
Authors: Tan Zhidong , Tan Jianhua , Chan Kam C. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWe study the impact of air pollution in the city in which a firm is located on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Our hypothesis suggests that when managers are personally exposed to bad air pollution, they feel the pain and push their firms to engage in more CSR activities. Leveraging recent announcements regarding air pollution in Chinese cities, we find evidence consistent with our “seeing is believing” hypothesis. The findings are robust to alternative metrics of CSR and air pollution and after accounting for endogeneity. Additional analysis suggests that the impact of air pollution on CSR is more salient for firms with disproportionately older, female, and highly educated managers as well as when the local city government has more stable resources or when media coverage of air pollution increases.
Glucose‐lowering pharmacotherapies in Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease. An expert consensus reported by the Chinese Diabetes Society and the Chinese Society of Endocrinology
Authors: Hong Tianpei , Su Qing , Li Xiaoying , Shan Zhongyan , Chen Li , Peng Yongde , Chen Liming , Yan Li , Bao Yuqian , Lyu Zhaohui , Shi Lixin , Wang Weiqing , Guo Lixin , Ning Guang , Mu Yiming , Zhu Dalong 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), which are important causes of disabling and death in patients with T2DM. For the prevention and management of ASCVD or CKD, cardiovascular risk factors should be systematically evaluated, and ASCVD and CKD should be screened in patients with T2DM. In this consensus, we recommended that metformin should be used as the first‐line therapy for patients with T2DM and ASCVD or very high cardiovascular risk, heart failure (HF) or CKD, and should be retained in the treatment regimen unless contraindicated or not tolerated. In patients with T2DM and established ASCVD or very high cardiovascular risk, addition of a glucagon‐like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1RA) or sodium–glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor with proven cardiovascular benefits should be considered independent of individualised glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) targets. In patients with T2DM and HF, an SGLT2 inhibitor should be preferably added regardless of HbA1C levels. In patients with T2DM and CKD, SGLT2 inhibitors should be preferred for the combination therapy independent of individualised HbA1C targets, and GLP‐1RAs with proven renal benefits would be alternative if SGLT2 inhibitors are contraindicated. Moreover, the prevention of hypoglycaemia and management of multiple risk factors by comprehensive regimen, including lifestyle intervention, antihypertensive therapies, lipid‐lowering treatment and antiplatelet therapies, should be kept in mind in treating patients with T2DM and ASCVD, HF or CKD.
Biosafety Level 2 cabinet UV‐C light exposure of sports antidoping human urine samples does not affect the stability of selected prohibited substances
Authors: Voss Sven , Abushreeda Wadha , Vonaparti Ariadni , Al‐Wahaibi Aisha , Al‐Sowaidi Noora , Al‐Mohannadi Ibrahim , Mahieddine Souhila , Khelifi Safa , Salama Sofia , Saleh Amal , Al‐Mohannadi Maryam , El‐Saftawy Wesal , Al‐Hamad Khalifa , Nofal Ahmad , Dbes Najib , Aguilera Rodrigo , Al Maadheed Mohammed , Georgakopoulos Costas 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe current study examined the stability of several antidoping prohibited substances analytes in urine after 15‐min exposure to UV‐C light in a Biosafety Level 2 cabinet. The urine matrices were exposed within the original antidoping bottles with the aim to destroy DNA/RNA and possible SARS CoV‐2. The analytes small molecules Phase I and Phase II metabolites and peptides, in total 444, endogenous, internal standards, and prohibited substances, pH, and specific gravity in urine were studied. The accredited analytical methods were used by Anti‐Doping Laboratory Qatar for the comparison of data of the same urine samples analyzed with and without UV‐C exposure. In the study conditions, no problems of stability were detected in the substances spiked in the urine samples exposed in the UV‐C irradiation.
The analytical approach for detection of carbamylated erythropoietin for doping control purposes
Authors: Kaliszewski Paweł , Siek Paulina , Zalewska Zofia , Michalak Dorota , Kwiatkowska Dorota 
Published: October 2020

AbstractErythropoietin (EPO) has protective effects in several tissues and could be used for therapeutic purposes, but the doses of EPO that can be beneficial in case of hypoxic–ischemic conditions due to overinduced erythropoiesis could be detrimental in treated patients. Carbamylation of erythropoietin maintains the tissue‐protective effects of EPO but without erythropoietic effects. Carbamylated EPO (CEPO) is listed in WADA Prohibited List in class S2 as “Innate repair receptor agonists.” The CEPO was synthesized using the method described previously. Digestion with endoproteinase Lys‐C was used to distinguish rhEPO from CEPO. The digested samples containing recombinant EPO, urinary EPO (uEPO), or CEPO were analyzed by the SAR‐PAGE method (sarcosyl polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis‐PAGE). Endoproteinase Lys‐C breaks the peptide chains of lysine. Lysine residues, converted to homocitrulline by carbamylation, cannot be cleaved by endoproteinase Lys‐C. Therefore, the CEPO protein chain remained unchanged in contrast to rhEPO and uEPO, which allows for easily differentiation of them.
Potential habitat distribution of Himalayan red panda and their connectivity in Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan
Authors: Tobgay Sonam , Mahavik Nattapon 
Published: October 2020

AbstractSurvival of endangered Himalayan red panda is threatened by ever‐growing anthropogenic activities leading to an unprecedented rate of habitat degradation and loss. However, limited studies have been conducted in the context of the spatial distribution of habitats and habitat connectivity for the species in the landscape of Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS). Lack of such information remains a challenge while implementing effective and holistic conservation initiatives. Therefore, this study identifies the distribution of potential habitats and their connectivity using maxent and linkage mapper, respectively. Precipitation‐related predictor variables exhibited a significant influence on the prediction of habitat distribution. The model predicted 27.7% of the SWS as a potential habitat (fundamental niche). More than 75% of the predicted habitats fall outside the existing core zones where anthropogenic disturbance is relatively high, indicating the need to reassess existing management options. In SWS, 15 core habitats (CH) are predicted which are connected by a least‐cost corridor (length µ = 2.91 km) with several pinch points in it. Centrally located CH5 and CH11 are identified as the most important habitat in maintaining overall connectivity within SWS. However, CH located in the peripheries could be equally important in facilitating the transboundary movement of the species. Overall, SWS can play a critical role as a connecting link between the larger landscape of Bhutan and the adjacent Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the conservation of Himalayan red panda that exhibits narrow dispersal with special habitat needs. Based on our findings, we recommend initiating GPS/satellite telemetry of the species to enable SWS to understand the precise interaction of Himalayan red panda to widespread herder communities, livestock, and free‐roaming dogs dwelling in the same landscape. It will also help to evaluate the functionality of the predicted habitats, linkages, and feasibility of transboundary conservation initiatives.