bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Drinking Oxygenated Water Assessed by in vivo MRI Relaxometry
Authors: Vatnehol Svein Are Sirirud , Hol Per Kristian , Bjørnerud Atle , Amiry‐Moghaddam Mahmood , Haglerød Camilla , Storås Tryggve Holck 
Published: February 2020

Grant SupportThis project was funded by the Research Council of Norway.BackgroundOxygen uptake through the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration of oxygenated water in humans is not well studied and is debated in the literature. Due to the paramagnetic properties of oxygen and deoxyhemoglobin, MRI as a technique might be able to detect changes in relaxometry values caused by increased oxygen levels in the blood.PurposeTo assess whether oxygen dissolved in water is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and transported into the bloodstream after oral administration.Study TypeA randomized, double‐blinded, placebo‐controlled crossover trial.Population/SubjectsThirty healthy male volunteers age 20–35.Field Strength/Sequence3T/Modified Look–Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) T1‐mapping and multi fast field echo (mFFE) T2*‐mapping.AssessmentEach volunteer was scanned in two separate sessions. T1 and T2* maps were acquired repeatedly covering the hepatic portal vein (HPV) and vena cava inferior (VCI, control vein) before and after intake of oxygenated or control water. Assessments were done by placing a region of interest in the HPV and VCI.Statistical TestA mixed linear model was performed to the compare control vs. oxygen group.ResultsDrinking caused a mean 1.6% 95% CI (1.1–2.0% P < 0.001) increase in T1 of HPV blood and water oxygenation attributed another 0.70% 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.07–1.3% P = 0.028) increase. Oxygenation did not change T1 in VCI blood. Mean T2* increased 9.6% 95% CI (1.7–17.5% P = 0.017) after ingestion of oxygenated water and 1.2% 95% CI (−4.3–6.8% P = 0.661) after ingestion of control water. The corresponding changes in VCI blood were not significant.Data ConclusionIngestion of water caused changes in T1 and T2* of HPV blood compatible with dilution due to water absorption. The effects were enhanced by oxygen. Assessment of oxygen enrichment of HPV blood was not possible due to the dilution effect.Level of Evidence2Technical Efficacy Stage2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;52:720–728.
Evaluation of coronavirus in tears and conjunctival secretions of patients with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection
Authors: Xia Jianhua , Tong Jianping , Liu Mengyun , Shen Ye , Guo Dongyu 
Published: February 2020

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the presence of novel coronavirus in tears and conjunctival secretions of SARS–CoV‐2‐infected patients.MethodsA prospective interventional case series study was performed, and 30 confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) patients were selected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University from 26 January 2020 to 9 February 2020. At an interval of 2 to 3 days, tear and conjunctival secretions were collected twice with disposable sampling swabs for reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) assay.ResultsTwenty‐one common‐type and nine severe‐type NCP patients were enrolled. Two samples of tear and conjunctival secretions were obtained from the only one patient with conjunctivitis yielded positive RT‐PCR results. Fifty‐eight samples from other patents were all negative.ConclusionWe speculate that SARS‐CoV‐2 may be detected in the tears and conjunctival secretions in NCP patients with conjunctivitis.
Central North Pacific SST anomalies linked late winter haze to Arctic sea ice
Authors: Yang Quan , Yuan Dongmin 
Published: February 2020

AbstractHaze pollution in the North China Plain is becoming more serious and consequently causes inconvenience in daily life and harms health. The inter‐annual variation of haze days in the North China Plain in late winter (February and March) is closely related to the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea ice in October, and the Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) plays a key role in delivering the effects of the sea ice on the haze. When the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea ice increases in October, the October and November SST in the region over Minami‐Tori Shima and Midway Atoll decreases. This reduced SST then lowers the January and February SST around the northwestern side of the Hawaiian Islands. The lower SST around the northwestern side of the Hawaiian Islands modulates the atmospheric circulation and makes the diffusion conditions and water vapour conditions in the North China Plain more conducive to the accumulation and growth of pollutants. Large ensemble simulations from the Community Earth System Model validate the process whereby the East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea ice affects the SST in the aforementioned regions. The effect of changes in the SST around the northwestern side of the Hawaiian Islands on the meteorological conditions over the North China Plain was verified by numerical experiments using version 4 of the Community Atmosphere Model.
Improved bone regeneration using bone anabolic drug conjugates (C3 and C6) with deproteinized bovine bone mineral as a carrier in rat mandibular defects
Authors: Sheikh Zeeshan , Abdallah Mohamed‐Nur , Al‐Jaf Faik , Chen Gang , Hamdan Nader , Young Robert N. , Grynpas Marc D. , Glogauer Michael 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundDeproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) has been extensively studied and used for bone regeneration in oral and maxillofacial surgery. However, it lacks an osteoinductive ability. We developed two novel bone anabolic conjugated drugs, known as C3 and C6, of an inactive bisphosphonate and a bone activating synthetic prostaglandin agonist. The aim was to investigate whether these drugs prebound to DBBM granules have the potential to achieve rapid and enhanced bone regeneration.MethodsBilateral defects (4.3 mm diameter circular through and through) were created in mandibular angles of 24 Sprague‐Dawley rats were filled with DBBM Control, DBBM with C3 or DBBM with C6 (n = 8 defects per group/ each timepoint). After 2 and 4 weeks, postmortem samples were analyzed by microcomputed tomography followed by backscattering electron microscopy and histology.ResultsDBBM grafts containing the C3 and C6 conjugated drugs showed significantly more bone formation than DBBM control at 2 and 4 weeks. The C6 containing DBBM demonstrated the highest percentage of new bone formation at 4 weeks. There was no significant difference in the percentage of the remaining graft between the different groups at 2 or 4 weeks.ConclusionsDBBM granules containing conjugated drugs C3 and C6 induced greater new bone volume generated and increased the bone formation rate more than the DBBM controls. This is expected to allow the development of clinical treatments that provide more predictable and improved bone regeneration for bone defect repair in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
Online analysis of minerals from sulfide ore using near‐infrared Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Uusitalo Sanna , Soudunsaari Tuomas , Sumen Juha , Haavisto Olli , Kaartinen Jani , Huuskonen Jarmo , Tuikka Aki , Rahkamaa‐Tolonen Katariina , Paaso Janne 
Published: February 2020

AbstractEfficient recovery of minerals from bedrock ore requires precise knowledge of the mineral levels during enrichment processes. Froth flotation is a commonly used method for efficient separation of different minerals from finely grinded sulfide ore. The mineral level information is an important tool for the optimization of flotation process parameters as it is uneconomical to make mineral products with unacceptably low concentrations and to lose a share of the valuable minerals of the ore to the tailings. Online mineral control is commonly executed with X‐ray fluorescence detection or laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy, which detect the elements of the minerals during flotation. Unfortunately, in case of sulfide ores, the method suffers from inadequate detection of lightweight materials such as sulfur and the common nature of iron, as iron is constantly present in several different minerals found in sulfide ores. Raman spectroscopy can be used to detect the minerals instead of mere elements of ore. This paper presents the study of Raman spectroscopy for online detection of enriched sulfide ore minerals from froth flotation. The Raman instrument with a custom‐made probe connector allowed for the recording of good quality Raman spectra during froth flotation and for the identification and analysis of the valuable minerals levels. The comparison of Raman analysis to online X‐ray fluorescence and offline mineral liberation analysis show that Raman spectroscopy is a suitable method for the online analysis of sulfide ores.
Can degraded soils be improved by ripping through the hardpan and liming? A field experiment in the humid Ethiopian Highlands
Authors: Tebebu Tigist Y. , Bayabil Haimanote K. , Steenhuis Tammo S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractLand degradation in developing countries is exacerbating hardpan development that causes the formation of perched watertable, which in turn results in increased runoff and erosion. To reduce overland flow and erosion, percolation through the hardpan needs to be improved. One successful way to achieve this is ripping off the hardpan and plausibly liming. However, in the highlands of Ethiopia, there is little information available on these two techniques. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to determine the effects of ripping off degraded soils on runoff and erosion rates and whether liming would improve the effectiveness of ripping. A field study was conducted in the Anjeni watershed. Thirty‐two experimental runoff plots were installed across the watershed. Conventional tillage at 15 cm depth and ripping to 30, 45, and 60 cm depths were applied with and without lime amendments. Results showed that ripping to 60 cm depth resulted in a significant reduction of runoff. However, liming increased runoff response, on average by 10%. In contrast to the reduction in runoff amounts, an increase in ripping depth increased the amount of soil loss especially during the first storms at the beginning of the monsoon rainy season. Liming significantly decreased soil loss by up to 35%. Although plots with deep ripping plus liming had greater runoff production than other plots, soil loss was less. Overall, the findings suggest that deep ripping has promise but more research is needed before widely implemented.
Stochastic dynamics of Cyanobacteria in long‐term high‐frequency observations of a eutrophic lake
Authors: Carpenter Stephen R. , Arani Babak M. S. , Hanson Paul C. , Scheffer Marten , Stanley Emily H. , Van Nes Egbert 
Published: February 2020

AbstractConcentrations of phycocyanin, a pigment of Cyanobacteria, were measured at 1‐min intervals during the ice‐free seasons of 2008–2018 by automated sensors suspended from a buoy at a central station in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, U.S.A. In each year, stochastic‐dynamic models fitted to time series of log‐transformed phycocyanin concentration revealed two alternative stable states and random factors that were much larger than the difference between the alternate stable states. Transitions between low and high states were abrupt and apparently driven by stochasticity. Variation in annual magnitudes of the alternate states and the stochastic factors were not correlated with annual phosphorus input to the lake. At daily time scales, however, phycocyanin concentration was correlated with phosphorus input, precipitation, and wind velocity for time lags of 1–15 d. Multiple years of high‐frequency data were needed to discern these patterns in the noise‐dominated dynamics of Cyanobacteria.
THE LEADER’S CHS ROLE: CHIEF HELP SEEKER
Authors: Baker Wayne 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis article explains the importance of leaders asking for help, which can be difficult for leaders. Various research is cited, including from the author's book All You Have to Do Is Ask, and from related academic studies. Four reasons in particular are examined in detail for why it can be difficult to ask for help: The Sage Syndrome, Fear of Looking Foolish, No One Can Help, and Not Knowing How to Make an Effective Request. Within the latter, Effective requests follow SMART criteria, though my definition of key elements are different from the conventional definition of SMART. In particular, S is for specific. M is for meaningful. A is action‐oriented. R means realistic. T means time bound. In addition, five ways to be the Chief Help Seeker are outlined: 1. Be a Giver‐Requester. 2. Start at the Top. 3. Build Your Brain Trust. 4. Tap Your Dormant Ties. 5. Use Your Technology Megaphone. Many technologies can be tapped to generate a culture of asking for, giving, and receiving help; such as videoconferencing, messaging apps like Yammer or Chatter, and customized collaboration technology platforms such as Givitas, one that I helped to develop based on the principles in the book.
Smart Designing of Tragacanth Gum by Graft Functionalization for Advanced Materials
Authors: Verma Chetna , Pathania Deepak , Anjum Sadiya , Gupta Bhuvanesh 
Published: February 2020

AbstractTragacanth gum is a novel polysaccharide which offers interesting features in terms of high hydrophilicity, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The engineering of hydrogels requires careful designing of their macromolecular structures so that desirable features may be incorporated into the material. Graft polymerization has come up as an interesting approach to develop molecules for drug delivery, wound care systems, and infection‐resistant materials. The most important aspect of graft functionalization is the proper control over physico‐chemical properties of the grafted matrix. The extent of functionalization may be governed by the grafting parameters and may lead to the chemical designing of the molecule in a controlled manner. This opens up enormous possibilities of developing materials for a wide range of applications as advanced materials.
On the evolution equation of compressible vortex sheets
Authors: Morando A. , Secchi P. , Trebeschi P. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractWe are concerned with supersonic vortex sheets for the Euler equations of compressible inviscid fluids in two space dimensions. For the problem with constant coefficients we derive an evolution equation for the discontinuity front of the vortex sheet. This is a pseudo‐differential equation of order two. In agreement with the classical stability analysis, if the Mach number satisfies , the symbol is elliptic and the problem is ill‐posed. On the contrary, if then the problem is weakly stable, and we are able to derive a wave‐type a priori energy estimate for the solution, with no loss of regularity with respect to the data. Then we prove the well‐posedness of the problem, by showing the existence of the solution in weighted Sobolev spaces.
Differential gene regulation in selected lines for high and low sperm production in male guppies
Authors: Cattelan Silvia , Vidotto Michele , Devigili Alessandro , Pilastro Andrea , Grapputo Alessandro 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn species where females mate with more than one male during the same reproductive event, males typically increase the number of sperm produced to boost their fertilization share. Sperm is not limitless, however, and theory predicts that their production will come at the cost of other fitness‐related traits, such as body growth or immunocompetence, although these evolutionary trade‐offs are notoriously difficult to highlight. To this end, we combined artificial selection for sperm production with a transcriptome analysis using Poecilia reticulata, a fish characterized by intense sperm competition in which the number of sperm transferred during mating is the most important predictor of fertilization success, yet sperm production is highly variable among males. We compared the brain and testes transcriptome in male guppies of lines artificially selected for high and low sperm production by identifying pivotal differentially expressed gene sets that may regulate spermatogenesis and immune function in this species. Despite the small differences in single genes' expression, gene set enrichment analysis showed coordinated gene expression differences associated with several pathways differentially regulated in the two selection lines. High sperm production males showed an upregulation of pathways related to immunosuppression and development of spermatozoa indicating a possible immunological cost of sperm production.
Community oriented in‐network caching and edge caching for over‐the‐top services in adaptive network conditions to improve performance
Authors: Pandey Suman , Park Soyoung , Choi Mi Jung 
Published: February 2020

SummaryOver‐the‐top (OTT) services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube generate the most dominant form of traffic on the Internet today. There is increasingly high demand for resource intensive 3D contents, interactive media, 360 media, and user‐generated contents. As the amount of contents keep increasing in multiple folds, it is important to cache contents intelligently. Caching algorithm needs to exploit in‐network caching, community‐based pre‐caching, and a combined approach. Hence, we survey CDN‐based edge caching infrastructures including OpenConnect (Netflix) and Google Edge, followed by CCN based in‐network caching. We implement and compare four different approaches for caching contents including (1) in‐network caching, (2) edge caching, (3) community‐based in‐network caching, and (4) community‐based edge caching. We run our algorithms on adaptive network conditions with different topologies, cache size, content popularity, and request arrivals in and compared the delay for all these four approaches. We verify our model by calculating important performance parameters including hop count, redundancy, and hop count variances. Hopcount is an important performance parameter as it influences the processing, queuing, and transmission delays. We focus on determining if an in‐network caching approach is any better than edge caching. We reach several conclusions. First, in most of the scenarios, community‐based in‐network caching performs the best. Second, if the cache size is lesser than 30% of the total content size then community‐based edge caching is better for less popular contents. Finally, our statistical analysis also reveals that a community‐based edge caching mechanism is least affected by varying cache sizes and dynamic user behavior, which makes it a better choice for providing Service Level Agreement.
Flexible electrospun PET/TiO2 nanofibrous structures: Morphology, thermal and mechanical properties
Authors: Gallah Hajer , Mighri Frej , Ajji Abdellah , Bandyopadhyay Jayita 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn this study, a solvothermal method was used to synthesize anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles in the presence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OM) as morphology‐directing agents. Functional nanocomposite fibers of poly(ethylene terephtalate) (PET) containing surfactants‐capped TiO2 nanoparticles were developed by electrospinning technique. The morphology, thermal stability and mechanical properties of PET/TiO2 nanocomposite mats were investigated as a function of TiO2 concentration. Morphology investigation showed interesting results in terms of the level of TiO2 dispersion inside the fibers and the improvement of the quality (smoothness) of the fibers' surface when the synthesized nanorhombic TiO2 nanoparticles were used compared to a commercial P25 TiO2 (AEROXIDE P25). The presence of OA and OM on the surface of the nanorhombic synthesized TiO2 led to a significant improvement of TiO2 dispersion inside the PET matrix. Furthermore, the physical interaction between the PET matrix and TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in an enhanced thermal stability, and an increase of the Young's modulus and tensile strength for TiO2 concentration up to 10 wt%.
Differential activation of G protein‐mediated signaling by synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists
Authors: Sachdev Shivani , Banister Samuel D. , Santiago Marina , Bladen Chris , Kassiou Michael , Connor Mark 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSynthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are new psychoactive substances associated with acute intoxication and even death. However, the molecular mechanisms through which SCRAs may exert their toxic effects remain unclear—including the potential differential activation of G protein subtypes by cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), a major target of SCRA. We measured CB1‐mediated activation of Gαs and Gαi/o proteins by SCRAs by examining stimulation (pertussis toxin, PTX treated) as well as inhibition (non‐PTX treated) of forskolin (FSK)‐induced cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation in human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells stably expressing CB1. Real‐time measurements of stimulation and inhibition of cAMP levels were made using a BRET biosensor. We found that the maximum concentration of SCRAs tested (10 µmol L−1), increased cAMP levels 12%‐45% above that produced by FSK alone, while the phytocannabinoid THC did not significantly alter cAMP levels in PTX‐treated HEK‐CB1 cells. All SCRAs had greater potency to inhibit FSK‐induced cAMP levels than to stimulate cAMP levels. The rank order of potencies for SCRA stimulation of cAMP (Gαs) was PB‐22 > 5F‐MDMB‐PICA > JWH‐018 ≈ AB‐FUBINACA > XLR‐11. By contrast, the potency of SCRAs for inhibition of cAMP (Gαi/o) was 5F‐MDMB‐PICA > AB‐FUBINACA > PB‐22 > JWH‐018 > XLR‐11. The different rank order of potency and EMax of the SCRAs to stimulate Gαs‐like signaling compared to Gαi/o signaling suggests differences in G protein preference between SCRAs. Understanding the apparent differences among these drugs may contribute to unravelling their complex effects in humans.
Autonomous aerial robot using dual‐fisheye cameras
Authors: Gao Wenliang , Wang Kaixuan , Ding Wenchao , Gao Fei , Qin Tong , Shen Shaojie 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSafety is undoubtedly the most fundamental requirement for any aerial robotic application. It is essential to equip aerial robots with omnidirectional perception coverage to ensure safe navigation in complex environments. In this paper, we present a light‐weight and low‐cost omnidirectional perception system, which consists of two ultrawide field‐of‐view (FOV) fisheye cameras and a low‐cost inertial measurement unit (IMU). The goal of the system is to achieve spherical omnidirectional sensing coverage with the minimum sensor suite. The two fisheye cameras are mounted rigidly facing upward and downward directions and provide omnidirectional perception coverage: 360° FOV horizontally, 50° FOV vertically for stereo, and whole spherical for monocular. We present a novel optimization‐based dual‐fisheye visual‐inertial state estimator to provide highly accurate state‐estimation. Real‐time omnidirectional three‐dimensional (3D) mapping is combined with stereo‐based depth perception for the horizontal direction and monocular depth perception for upward and downward directions. The omnidirectional perception system is integrated with online trajectory planners to achieve closed‐loop, fully autonomous navigation. All computations are done onboard on a heterogeneous computing suite. Extensive experimental results are presented to validate individual modules as well as the overall system in both indoor and outdoor environments.