bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of a hybrid pressure drop and liquid holdup phenomenological model for trickle bed reactors based on two‐phase volume averaged equations
Authors: Qi Binbin , Uribe Sebastián , Farid Omar , Al‐Dahhan Muthanna 
Published: October 2020

AbstractA model with a high predictive quality to estimate pressure drops and liquid holdups in trickle bed reactors (TBR) is yet necessary to assist in design, up scaling, and the implementation of new processes tasks. The currently available models to estimate pressure drops and liquid holdups on TBRs exhibit important deviations, which lead to uncertainties in their applicability. To overcome the limitations in prediction deviations in the currently available models, a new model is developed based on the volume averaged two‐phase transport equations in a porous media, as developed by Whitaker. In order to develop a model that could simultaneously predict pressure drops and liquid holdup with a high accuracy, the developed model was coupled with a modification of the extended slit model reported in the literature, leading to a new hybrid model with enhanced predictability. Experimentally determined pressure drops and liquid holdup in a column with a 0.14 m internal diameter and a height of 2 m, packed with different extrudate geometries, cylinders, trilobes, and quadlobes, were used to determine the model parameters and to verify the quality of the proposed hybrid model predictions. The developed model, when compared with the experimentally determined data of pressure drops showed mean squared errors (MSE) of 0.89%, 2.31%, and 1.22% for the cylinders, trilobes, and quadlobes particles, respectively, while the liquid holdups were predicted with MSEs of 0.03%, 0.16%, and 0.01% for the cylinders, trilobes, and quadlobes particles, respectively.
Large reduction in opioid prescribing by a multipronged behavioral intervention after major urologic surgery
Authors: Jacobs Bruce L. , Rogers Devin , Yabes Jonathan G. , Bandari Jathin , Ayyash Omar M. , Maganty Avinash , Armann Kody M. , Worku Hermoon A. , Pace Natalie M. , Shah Anup , Pekala Kelly R. , Yu Michelle , Chelly Jacques E. , Macleod Liam C. , Davies Benjamin J. 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundSurgeons play a pivotal role in combating the opioid crisis that currently grips the United States. Changing surgeon behavior is difficult, and the degree to which behavioral science can steer surgeons toward decreased opioid prescribing is unclear.MethodsThis was a single‐institution, single‐arm, pre‐ and postintervention study examining the prescribing of opioids by urologists for adult patients undergoing prostatectomy or nephrectomy. The primary outcome was the quantity of opioids prescribed in oral morphine equivalents (OMEs) after hospital discharge. The primary exposure was a multipronged behavioral intervention designed to decrease opioid prescribing. The intervention had 3 components: 1) formal education, 2) individual audit feedback, and 3) peer comparison performance feedback. There were 3 phases to the study: a pre‐intervention phase, an intervention phase, and a washout phase.ResultsThree hundred eighty‐two patients underwent prostatectomy, and 306 patients underwent nephrectomy. The median OMEs decreased from 195 to 19 in the prostatectomy patients and from 200 to 0 in the nephrectomy patients (P < .05 for both). The median OMEs prescribed did not increase during the washout phase. Prostatectomy patients discharged with opioids had higher levels of anxiety than patients discharged without opioids (P < .05). Otherwise, prostatectomy and nephrectomy patients discharged with and without opioids did not differ in their perception of postoperative pain management, activity levels, psychiatric symptoms, or somatic symptoms (P > .05 for all).ConclusionsImplementing a multipronged behavioral intervention significantly reduced opioid prescribing for patients undergoing prostatectomy or nephrectomy without compromising patient‐reported outcomes.
Comparison of Different Reweighting Approaches for the Calculation of Conformational Variability of Macromolecules from Molecular Simulations
Authors: Medeiros Selegato Denise , Bracco Cesare , Giannelli Carlotta , Parigi Giacomo , Luchinat Claudio , Sgheri Luca , Ravera Enrico 
Published: October 2020

AbstractConformational variability and heterogeneity are crucial determinants of the function of biological macromolecules. The possibility of accessing this information experimentally suffers from severe under‐determination of the problem, since there are a few experimental observables to be accounted for by a (potentially) infinite number of available conformational states. Several computational methods have been proposed over the years in order to circumvent this theoretically insurmountable obstacle. A large share of these strategies is based on reweighting an initial conformational ensemble which arises from, for example, molecular simulations of different qualities and levels of theory. In this work, we compare the outcome of three reweighting approaches based on radically different views of the conformational heterogeneity problem, namely Maximum Entropy, Maximum Parsimony and Maximum Occurrence, and we do so using the same experimental data. In this comparison we find both expected as well as unexpected similarities.
Structural Stability of the CO2@sI Hydrate: a Bottom‐Up Quantum Chemistry Approach on the Guest‐Cage and Inter‐Cage Interactions
Authors: Cabrera‐Ramírez Adriana , Arismendi‐Arrieta Daniel J. , Valdés Álvaro , Prosmiti Rita 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThrough reliable first‐principles computations, we have demonstrated the impact of CO2 molecules enclathration on the stability of sI clathrate hydrates. Given the delicate balance between the interaction energy components (van der Waals, hydrogen bonds) present on such systems, we follow a systematic bottom‐up approach starting from the individual 512 and 51262 sI cages, up to all existing combinations of two‐adjacent sI crystal cages to evaluate how such clathrate‐like models perform on the evaluation of the guest‐host and first‐neighbors inter‐cage effects, respectively. Interaction and binding energies of the CO2 occupation of the sI cages were computed using DF‐MP2 and different DFT/DFT−D electronic structure methodologies. The performance of selected DFT functionals, together with various semi‐classical dispersion corrections schemes, were validated by comparison with reference ab initio DF‐MP2 data, as well as experimental data from x‐ray and neutron diffraction studies available. Our investigation confirms that the inclusion of the CO2 in the cage/s is an energetically favorable process, with the CO2 molecule preferring to occupy the large 51262 sI cages compared to the 512 ones. Further, the present results conclude on the rigidity of the water cages arrangements, showing the importance of the inter‐cage couplings in the cluster models under study. In particular, the guest‐cage interaction is the key factor for the preferential orientation of the captured CO2 molecules in the sI cages, while the inter‐cage interactions seems to cause minor distortions with the CO2 guest neighbors interactions do not extending beyond the large 51262 sI cages. Such findings on these clathrate‐like model systems are in accord with experimental observations, drawing a direct relevance to the structural stability of CO2@sI clathrates.
Aqueous Co‐Solvent in Zwitterionic‐based Protic Ionic Liquids as Electrolytes in 2.0 V Supercapacitors
Authors: Lu Xuejun , Vicent‐Luna José Manuel , Calero Sofia , Roldán‐Ruiz María J. , Jiménez Ricardo , Ferrer M. Luisa , Gutiérrez María C. , del Monte Francisco 
Published: October 2020

AbstractHigh‐performance energy‐storage devices are receiving great interest in sustainable terms as a required complement to renewable energy sources to level out the imbalances between supply and demand. Besides electrode optimization, a primary objective is also the judicious design of high‐performance electrolytes combining novel ionic liquids (ILs) and mixtures of aqueous solvents capable of offering “à la carte” properties. Herein, it is described the stoichiometric addition of a zwitterion such as betaine (BET) to protic ILs (PILs) such as those formed between methane sulfonic acid (MSAH) or p‐toluenesulfonic acid (PTSAH) with ethanolamine (EOA). This addition resulted in the formation of zwitterionic‐based PILs (ZPILs) containing the original anion and cation as well as the zwitterion. The ZPILs prepared in this work ([EOAH]+[BET][MSA]− and [EOAH]+[BET][PTSA]−) were liquid at room temperature even though the original PILs ([EOAH]+[MSA]− and [EOAH]+[PTSA]−) were not. Moreover, ZPILs exhibited a wide electrochemical stability window, up to 3.7 V vs. Ag wire for [EOAH]+[BET][MSA]− and 4.0 V vs. Ag wire for [EOAH]+[BET][PTSA]− at room temperature, and a high miscibility with both water and aqueous co‐solvent (WcS) mixtures. In particular, “WcS‐in‐ZPIL” mixtures of [EOAH]+[BET][MSA]− in 2 H2O/ACN/DMSO provided specific capacitances of approximately 83 F g−1 at current densities of 1 A g−1, and capacity retentions of approximately 90 % after 6000 cycles when operating at a voltage of 2.0 V and a current density of 4 A g−1.
Diagnosis of hairy cell leukaemia by fine needle aspiration cytology of lymph node
Authors: Suneel Rachagiri , Rajasekaran Sangamitra , Kaur Harpreet , Mallik Nabhajit , Garg Deepak , Jain Arihant , Dey Pranab 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundHairy cell leukaemia (HCL) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder of B cell origin, and uncommonly it affects the lymph node. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of lymph node of HCL has rarely been described.Case description and diagnosisA 41‐year‐old man presented with pallor, fever, tachycardia, generalized lymphadenopathy, and massive splenomegaly. The FNAC of the cervical lymph node was done. The smears showed many atypical lymphocytes with a plasmacytoid appearance. There were many large cells with round to reniform shaped nuclei having with hair‐like cytoplasmic processes. Flow cytometry (FCM) revealed a clonal B cell population with light chain restriction and positive CD20, CD79b, CD22, CD11c, CD25, CD103, CD123, and CD200 markers.ConclusionThe characteristic cytological features such as atypical lymphoid cells, large cells with hairy projections along with FCM findings, are helpful in the diagnosis of HCL.
Evaluation of dried blood spots as an alternative sample matrix for equine antidoping analysis
Authors: Moeller Benjamin C. , Yang Zicheng 
Published: October 2020

AbstractControlling the abuse of prohibited substances such as anabolic steroids, selective androgen receptor modulators, β‐adrenoceptor agonists, and blood doping agents is of great interest to racing authorities. The use of dried blood spots (DBS) as an alternative sampling approach may be a feasible approach for controlling the use of these agents. To assess the feasibility of using DBS in equine blood, an 11‐min liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method was developed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer following extraction from Whatman 903 DBS cards. A total of 50 compounds across multiple compound classes were detectable with reproducible results. The stability was assessed with good results after almost 3 months of storage at ambient temperatures. These results suggest that the use of DBS may be a feasible alternative sampling approach in equine drug testing.
Salinity, not genetic incompatibilities, limits the establishment of the invasive hybrid cattail Typha × glauca in coastal wetlands
Authors: Tisshaw Kathryn , Freeland Joanna , Dorken Marcel 
Published: October 2020

AbstractHybrids of a single pair of parent species can be much more common in some geographical regions than in others. The reasons for this are not well understood, but could help explain processes such as species diversification or the range expansion of invasive hybrids. The widespread cattails Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia seldom hybridize in some parts of their range, but in other areas produce the dominant hybrid T. × glauca. We used a combination of field and greenhouse experiments to investigate why T. × glauca has invaded wetlands in the Laurentian Great Lakes region of southern Ontario, Canada, but is much less common in the coastal wetlands of Nova Scotia (NS) in eastern Canada. One potentially important environmental difference between these two regions is salinity. We therefore tested three hypotheses: (1) T. latifolia and T. angustifolia in NS are genetically incompatible; (2) the germination or growth of T. × glauca is reduced by salinity; and (3) T. latifolia, a main competitor of T. × glauca, is locally adapted to saline conditions in NS. Our experiments showed that NS T. latifolia and T. angustifolia are genetically compatible, and that saline conditions do not impede growth of hybrid plants. However, we also found that under conditions of high salinity, germination rates of hybrid seeds were substantially lower than those of NS T. latifolia. In addition, germination rates of NS T. latifolia were higher than those of Ontario T. latifolia, suggesting local adaptation to salinity in coastal wetlands. This study adds to the growing body of literature which identifies the important roles that local habitat and adaptation can play in the distributions and characteristics of hybrid zones.
Environmental gradients influence biogeographic patterns of nonconsumptive predator effects on oysters
Authors: Kimbro David L. , Scherer Avery E. , Byers James E. , Grabowski Jonathan H. , Hughes A. Randall , Piehler Michael F. , Smee Delbert L. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWhen prey alter behavioral or morphological traits to reduce predation risk, they often incur fitness costs through reduced growth and reproduction as well as increased mortality that are known as nonconsumptive effects (NCEs). Environmental context and trophic structure can individually alter the strength of NCEs, yet the interactive influence of these contexts in natural settings is less understood. At six sites across 1000 km of the Southeastern Atlantic Bight (SAB), we constructed oyster reefs with one, two, or three trophic levels and evaluated the traits of focal juvenile oysters exposed to predation risk cues. We monitored environmental variables (water flow velocity, microalgal resources, and oyster larval recruitment) that may have altered how oysters respond to risk, and we also assessed the cost of trait changes to oyster mortality and growth when they were protected from direct predatory loss. Regardless of trophic structure, we found that oyster shell strength and natural oyster recruitment peaked at the center of the region. This high recruitment negated the potential for NCEs by smothering and killing the focal oysters. Also independent of trophic structure, focal oysters grew the most at the northernmost site. In contrast to, and perhaps because of, these strong environmental effects, the oyster traits of condition index and larval recruitment were only suppressed by the trophic treatment with a full complement of risk cues from intermediate and top predators at just the southernmost site. But at this same site, statistically significant NCEs on oyster growth and mortality were not detected. More strikingly, our study demonstrated environmental gradients that differentially influence oysters throughout the SAB. In particular, the results of our trophic manipulation experiment across these gradients suggest that in the absence of predation, environmental differences among sites may overwhelm the influence of NCEs on prey traits and population dynamics.
Woody plant growth increases with precipitation intensity in a cold semiarid system
Authors: Holdrege Martin C. , Beard Karen H. , Kulmatiski Andrew 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAs the atmosphere warms, precipitation events become larger, but less frequent. Yet, there is fundamental disagreement about how increased precipitation intensity will affect vegetation. Walter's two‐layer hypothesis and experiments testing it have demonstrated that precipitation intensity can increase woody plant growth. Observational studies have found the opposite pattern. Not only are the patterns contradictory, but inference is largely limited to grasslands and savannas. We tested the effects of increased precipitation intensity in a shrub‐steppe ecosystem that receives >30% of its precipitation as snow. We used 11 (8 × 8 m) shelters to collect and redeposit rain and snow as larger, more intense events. Total annual precipitation was the same in all plots, but each plot received different precipitation event sizes ranging from 1 to 18 mm. Over three growing seasons, larger precipitation event sizes increased soil water availability, sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) stem radius, and canopy greenness, decreased new root growth in shallow soils, and had no effect on herbaceous plant cover. Thus, we found that increased precipitation intensity can increase soil water availability and woody plant growth in a cold semiarid system. Assuming that stem growth is positively correlated with shrub reproduction, establishment and spread, results suggest that increasing precipitation intensity may have contributed to the woody plant encroachment observed around the world in the past 50 yr. Further, continuing increases in precipitation intensity caused by atmospheric warming are likely to continue to contribute to shrub encroachment in the future.
Dietary Lipid Supplementation Could Significantly Affect the Growth, Fatty Acid Profiles, and Expression of PPARα, Leptin, and Adiponectin Genes in Juvenile Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia
Authors: Ding Zhaokun , Liu Yongqiang , Han Jinhua , Liu Xiaoli , Zheng Yimin , Li Weifeng , Xu Youqing 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the effect of different dietary lipid levels on the growth performance, fatty acids and their relative enzymes, and expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α (PPARα), leptin, and adiponectin genes in juvenile genetic improvement farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus). Six groups of the juveniles with 40 d of age in triplicate are fed for 90 d using six iso‐nitrogen (34 g/100 g dietary protein) diets with different lipid levels: 0.35 (control), 3.35, 6.35, 9.35, 12.35, and 15.35 g/100 g adjusted by adding fish oil. It is concluded that the greatest effect is found in the diet with 9.35 g/100 g of lipid, which is the optimal dietary lipid in the experiment and can be applied in developing the optimal diet for juvenile GIFT tilapia to promote the development of tilapia aquaculture industry.Practical Applications: It is found that the diets with lipid supplementation can significantly influence the expression of PPARα, leptin, and adiponectin genes of juvenile GIFT tilapia and recognized that dietary lipid supplementation can significantly affect their growth performance, fatty acids, and relative enzymes. The greatest effect is found in the diet with 9.35 g/100 g of lipid, which is the optimal dietary lipid in the experiment. The findings can be applied in developing the optimal diet for juvenile GIFT tilapia, which will promote considerably the development of tilapia aquaculture industry.
Preparation and characterization of an environmentally friendly compound chemical agent for road dust suppression in a copper mine
Authors: Huang Zhian , Zhao Wei , Yang Zhijun , Zhang Jun , Gao Yukun , Shao Zhenlu , Zhang Yinghua , Zhang Linghua , Wen Shiyi 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe dust on mine road surfaces endangers the health of workers, causing mechanical damage to equipment, and polluting the environment. Existing dust inhibitors have low dust suppression efficiency, weak persistence, are expensive. In this study, an environmentally friendly and efficient compound chemical dust suppressant for transportation road dust in a copper mine was developed. On the basis of testing the physical and chemical properties of the dust samples, the best ratio of dust inhibitor was determined using an orthogonal experiment with sodium polyacrylate, sodium carbonate, polyethylene glycol, and alkyl polyglycoside as raw materials, and using anti‐evaporation, hygroscopicity, permeability, pH, and viscosity as the evaluation indexes. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and dust removal simulation experiments were conducted. The results show that the optimum formulation of the dust suppressor is 0.08% sodium polyacrylate, 15% sodium carbonate, 2% polyethylene glycol, and 0.15% alkyl glycoside. The SEM experimental results show that the dust samples sprayed with dust suppressor form a network structure from a microcosmic perspective that is conducive to dust suppression. The dust removal efficiency of the whole dust in the laboratory was 96.89% and that of the respirable dust was 86.24%, which proves that the dust suppressor has a good dedusting effect.
Familial neonatal seizures caused by the Kv7.3 selectivity filter mutation T313I
Authors: Maghera Jasmine , Li Jingru , Lamothe Shawn M. , Braun Marvin , Appendino Juan P. , Au P. Y. Billie , Kurata Harley T. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectiveA spectrum of seizure disorders is linked to mutations in Kv7.2 and Kv7.3 channels. Linking functional effects of identified mutations to their clinical presentation requires ongoing characterization of newly identified variants. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized a previously unreported mutation in the selectivity filter of Kv7.3.MethodsNext‐generation sequencing was used to identify the Kv7.3[T313I] mutation in a family affected by neonatal seizures. Electrophysiological approaches were used to characterize the functional effects of this mutation on ion channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes.ResultsSubstitution of residue 313 from threonine to isoleucine (Kv7.3[T313I]) likely disrupts a critical intersubunit hydrogen bond. Characterization of the mutation in homomeric Kv7.3 channels demonstrated a total loss of channel function. Assembly in heteromeric channels (with Kv7.2) leads to modest suppression of total current when expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Using a Kv7 activator with distinct effects on homomeric Kv7.2 vs heteromeric Kv7.2/Kv7.3 channels, we demonstrated that assembly of Kv7.2 and Kv7.3[T313I] generates functional channels.SignificanceBiophysical and clinical effects of the T313I mutation are consistent with Kv7.3 mutations previously identified in cases of pharmacoresponsive self‐limiting neonatal epilepsy. These findings expand our description of functionally characterized Kv7 channel variants and report new methods to distinguish molecular mechanisms of channel mutations.