bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of sliced nerves of different thickness in a biodegradable nerve conduit to promote Schwann cell migration and axonal growth: An experimental study in the rat model
Authors: Sueyoshi Yu , Isogai Noritaka , Nagumo Yoshiaki , Onodera Yuta , Teramura Takeshi , Asamura Shinichi , Kusuhara Hirohisa 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundUsing the rat sciatic nerve model, sliced nerves of different thickness was combined to a biodegradable nerve conduit and the amount of nerve fragment necessary to promote nerve regeneration was investigated.Materials and MethodsHarvested sciatic nerve (n = 6) was processed in sliced nerve of the different width; 2, 1, 0.5 mm, respectively. Western blot analysis was carried out to determine protein expression of Erk1/2. Subsequently, a total of 246 rats were used to create a 10 mm gap in the sciatic nerve. A polyglycolic acid‐based nerve conduit was used to bridge the gap, with one sliced (width; 2, 1, 0.5 mm) or two (width; 1 mm × 2) incorporated within the conduit (n = 6 at each point in each group). At 2, 4, 8, and 20 weeks after surgery, samples were resected and subjected to immune‐histological, transmission electron microscopic, and motor functional evaluation for nerve regeneration.ResultsWestern blot analysis demonstrated Erk1/2 expressions were significantly increased in the groups of 2‐mm and 1‐mm width and attenuated in the 0.5‐mm width group (p < .05). The immune‐histological study showed the migration of Schwann cells and axon elongation were significantly extended in the groups of 2‐mm, 1‐mm, and 1 mm × 2 width at 4 weeks (p < .01), in which nerve conduction velocity was marked at 20 weeks (p < .01) after implantation.ConclusionWhen nerve tissue was inserted in the biodegradable nerve conduit as a sliced nerve, the method of inserting two sheets with a slice width of 1 mm most strongly accelerated motor function.
Research on high luminous efficiency, high color rendering index chips on board light emitting diode and excitation and excitation saturation effect of phosphor
Authors: Wen Zuojie , Zhang Rongrong , Li Bingqian , Liang Shenghua , Yang Mingde , Xia Zhenghao 
Published: May 2021

AbstractA kind of chips on board (COB) package of light emitting diode (LED) light source is designed and produced. By reducing the current density and using the mirror aluminum substrate with high reflectivity to improve the luminous efficiency. Meanwhile, three kinds of red phosphors with peak wavelength of 630 nm, 631 nm and 639 nm are added on the basis of yellow‐green phosphors, which increase within the range of red light LED spectrum composition, improve the LED color rendering index. The measurement results show that under 500 mA forward current, the luminous flux density of LED on the luminous surface with an area of 227 mm2 reaches 14.4 lm/mm2, the luminous efficiency reaches 175.5 lm/W, and the color rendering index reaches 89.3. It is found in the process of measuring the LED color temperature changes slightly with the current change, and by calculating that the proportion of blue photons in the LED spectrum is increasing gradually, the cause of this phenomenon is the phosphor excitation efficiency is saturation when the optical power density is high, which is influenced in two aspects: the proportion of photons absorbed by phosphor or the phosphor excitation efficiency decreases, the two factors together or separately cause the phosphor excitation saturation effect.
The use of eculizumab in ventilator‐dependent myasthenia gravis patients
Authors: Usman Uzma , Chrisman Christina , Houston Drew , Haws Clara Chow , Wang Alan , Muley Suraj 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIntroduction/AimsEculizumab has been shown to be efficacious in acetylcholine receptor antibody–positive (AChR+) Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) class II, III, and IV generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) patients. However, it has not been studied in MGFA class V gMG patients.MethodsWe report three AChR+, refractory, MGFA class V gMG patients treated with eculizumab. MGFA class, MG‐Composite (MGC) score and MG Activities of Daily Living (MG‐ADL) score were assessed before and after eculizumab.ResultsTwo of three gMG patients, refractory to intravenous immunoglobulin, plasmapheresis, prednisone, and (in one case) rituximab, showed a robust response to eculizumab with marked improvement in MGFA, MG‐ADL, and MGC measures. The third patient showed a partial response to eculizumab but remained on noninvasive ventilation and gastrostomy intubation. Patients 1 and 2 achieved minimal manifestation status at week 4 and week 6, respectively, and showed continued improvement on MG‐ADL and MGC scores through weeks 55 and 43, respectively, with eculizumab. The third patient showed a partial response at week 10, followed by a slight decline in his MG‐ADL score, but noted a slow but an incomplete improvement afterward on MG‐ADL and MGC scores, possibly due to delayed eculizumab infusion.DiscussionEculizumab may play a role in the treatment of patients with MGFA class V, refractory gMG. Larger studies are required to provide further evidence.
Two‐dimensional photonic metasurfaces for slow light‐controlled photocatalysis
Authors: Capitolis Jérôme , Hamandi Marwa , Hochedel Marion , El‐Jallal Said , Drouard Emmanuel , Chevalier Céline , Leclercq Jean‐Louis , Penuelas José , Dursap Thomas , Brottet Solène , Devif Brice , Nguyen Hai Son , Berhault Gilles , Chovelon Jean‐Marc , Ferronato Corinne , Guillard Chantal , Puzenat Eric , Crespo‐Monteiro Nicolas , Reynaud Stephanie , Jourlin Yves , Bugnet Matthieu , Seassal Christian 
Published: May 2021

AbstractPhotocatalysis using semiconductor materials like titania (TiO2) is a key method for environmental purification or solar fuel generation. Nanostructures that maximize incident light absorption are highly desired to enhance depollution rate or solar‐to‐fuel conversion efficiency in limited volumes of catalysts. Here, we report on structural and optical properties of metasurfaces based on a 20 nm thick anatase layer conformally deposited onto a wavelength‐scale two‐dimensional periodic photonic lattice. We investigate the NO degradation using such metasurfaces, and evaluate the impact of the patterning on photocatalytic activities between 340 and 400 nm. In the 380–385 nm range, the mean photochemical efficiency is increased by a factor up to 5.7 compared to flat references, with an overall three‐fold enhancement within the whole spectral range of interest. This approach can be applied to numerous types of systems by varying active materials, leading to substantial improvements in air/water depollution, water splitting or artificial photosynthesis processes.
Investigation on microcapsule self‐healing mechanism of polymer matrix composites based on numerical simulation
Authors: Gao Chongyang , Ruan Huanren , Yang Chenlong , Wang Fang 
Published: May 2021

AbstractSince delamination always occurs in the laminate structures of fiber reinforced polymer composites in engineering applications, developing self‐healing composites has become more and more important nowadays, especially for large‐scale composite equipment, which is difficult to maintain when in service. In this paper, the micromechanical finite element (FE) models are developed for the polymer matrix composites containing self‐healing microcapsules. Based on mesoscale FE simulation and cross reference to related experimental results, we firstly reveal the rupture mechanism of microcapsules, in which the interaction between the microcapsules and microcracks propagated in the resin matrix is investigated by using the extended finite element method in ABAQUS. The mesoscale characteristics of the self‐healing agent, dicyclopentadiene, during the healing process, are revealed with the help of the fluid–solid coupling FE module. Especially, the dynamic filling mechanism of the self‐healing agent within the microcrack planes is physically interpreted by the use of the capillary effect and contact angle principle. Finally, the healing efficiencies of self‐healing composites with different microcapsule sizes and volume fractions are quantitatively evaluated via the virtual mechanical tests of fracture toughness. To be emphasized is that most of the simulation results obtained in this work have exhibited good agreements with the corresponding experimental data, showing a robust reliability of our FE models.
Using digital image correlation for in situ strain and damage monitoring in hybrid fiber laminates under in‐plane shear loading
Authors: Emami Tabrizi Isa , Alkhateab Baidaa , Seyyed Monfared Zanjani Jamal , Yildiz Mehmet 
Published: May 2021

AbstractUtilizing resistive strain gauges for V‐notch shear tests in fiber reinforced laminates is usually limited to low strain values due to technical uncertainties imposed by the measurement technique and also the progressive damage development in the notched region of the composite. Therefore, this study investigates an alternative approach by using digital image correlation system and further comparison with resistive strain gauge to identify the effect of heterogenous nature of damage development on measurement results. Moreover, glass/carbon fiber hybrid and non‐hybrid laminates are tested in two major directions through the same approach to determine the effect of stacking sequence in spatial microdamage accumulation. It is shown that tailoring appropriate region of interest for full field strain measurement at various stages of loading enables proper monitoring of microdamage accumulation and thereby delivers a precise stress–strain behavior for hybrid and non‐hybrid laminates. Comparison of the strain maps for hybrid laminates tested in 0° direction, shows that the presence of carbon plies at the surface results in uniform strain distribution between the notches of the test sample. In contrast, a non‐homogeneous strain map with separate regions of high strain gradient are observed for hybrid specimens with glass plies at surface, which can cause underestimation of average shear strain by resistive strain gauges. On the other hand, it is shown that strain maps for hybrid samples tested at 90° configuration is analogous regardless of the stacking sequence, and damage accumulation in these samples is most likely related to relative volume fraction of various fibers in hybrid laminate.
Selective contacts and fill factor limitations in heterojunction solar cells
Authors: Serenelli Luca , Martini Luca , Menchini Francesca , Izzi Massimo , de Cesare Giampiero , Condorelli Giuseppe , Gerardi Cosimo , Muñoz Delfina , Tucci Mario 
Published: May 2021

AbstractCrystalline silicon‐based heterojunction (HJ) solar cells are becoming the best choice for manufacturing companies, because of the low temperature processes useful for very thin silicon wafers and the possibility to easily achieve cells efficiencies higher than 22% on n‐type silicon wafers. However, the maximum cell efficiency is still limited by the typical Fill Factor (FF) value of 82%. This issue is due to several factors, some of which are sometimes underestimated, like the base contact. Indeed, a potential mismatch between the work functions of the transparent conductive oxide and the base doped layer can give rise to a small barrier against electrons collection, which is not easy to recognize when the cell FF overcomes 80%. Also a low doping efficiency of the p‐type amorphous layer at the emitter side can negatively affect the FF. In this case, even if high efficiency cells are produced, their full potential is still unexploited. Thus, both selective contacts of the cell, even if apparently optimized to achieve very good results, can hide problems that limit the final cell FF and efficiency. In a previous work, an experimental method and a model to individuate hidden barriers at the base contact on n‐type crystalline silicon‐based HJs have been provided. In this paper, that model is applied to experimental data obtained from the characterization of both commercial and laboratory level HJ solar cells. Moreover, an easy method to recognize the presence of a barrier to the charge transport at the emitter side of the cell is illustrated.
Drivers of Hsp104 potentiation revealed by scanning mutagenesis of the middle domain
Authors: Ryan Jeremy J. , Bao Aaron , Bell Braxton , Ling Cendi , Jackrel Meredith E. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractHsp104, a yeast protein disaggregase, can be potentiated via numerous missense mutations at disparate locations throughout the coiled‐coil middle domain (MD). Potentiated Hsp104 variants can counter the toxicity and misfolding of TDP‐43, FUS, and α‐synuclein, proteins which are implicated in neurodegenerative disorders. However, potentiated MD variants typically exhibit off‐target toxicity. Further, it has remained confounding how numerous degenerate mutations confer potentiation, hampering engineering of therapeutic Hsp104 variants. Here, we sought to comprehensively define the key drivers of Hsp104 potentiation. Using scanning mutagenesis, we iteratively studied the effects of modulation at each position in the Hsp104 MD. Screening this library to identify enhanced variants reveals that missense mutations at 26% of positions in the MD yield variants that counter FUS toxicity. Modulation of the helix 2–helix 3/4 MD interface potentiates Hsp104, whereas mutations in the analogous helix 1–2 interface do not. Surprisingly, we find that there is a higher likelihood of enhancing Hsp104 activity against human disease substrates than impairing Hsp104 native function. We find that single mutations can broadly destabilize the MD structure and lead to functional potentiation, suggesting this may be a common mechanism conferring Hsp104 potentiation. Using this approach, we have demonstrated that modulation of the MD can yield engineered variants with decreased off‐target effects.
Activator protein‐1 mediated CYP6ER1 overexpression in the clothianidin resistance of Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)
Authors: Jin Ruoheng , Wang Yue , He Biyan , Zhang Yunhua , Cai Tingwei , Wan Hu , Jin Byung Rae , Li Jianhong 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBACKGROUNDNilaparvata lugens, a destructive rice pest in Asia, has developed resistance to many insecticides, including the neonicotinoid clothianidin. CYP6ER1 plays an important role in N. lugens resistant to clothianidin, but only limited information on the transcriptional regulation of CYP6ER1 overexpression in clothianidin resistance is available.RESULTSIn this study, the transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP‐1) was found to be overexpressed in a clothianidin‐resistant strain of N. lugens and several field resistant populations. RNA interference‐mediated silencing of NlAP‐1 significantly decreased CYP6ER1 expression and increased the susceptibility of N. lugens to clothianidin. Additionally, NlAP‐1 was highly expressed in egg and adult stages, and in midguts, and NlAP‐1 was upregulated and induced to a greater extent in the clothianidin‐resistant strain after exposure to clothianidin. Finally, dual‐luciferase reporter assays confirmed the interaction between NlAP‐1 and the two predicted binding sites in the CYP6ER1 promoter.CONCLUSIONNlAP‐1 bound the −1388 to −1208‐bp region of the CYP6ER1 promoter, enhancing its activity and then regulate the expression of CYP6ER1. These findings enhance our knowledge of the transcriptional regulation of the P450 genes that mediate insecticide resistance in insect pests. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
The use of local and nonlocal priors in Bayesian test‐based monitoring for single‐arm phase II clinical trials
Authors: Zhou Yanhong , Lin Ruitao , Lee J. Jack 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBayesian sequential monitoring is widely used in adaptive phase II studies where the objective is to examine whether an experimental drug is efficacious. Common approaches for Bayesian sequential monitoring are based on posterior or predictive probabilities and Bayesian hypothesis testing procedures using Bayes factors. In the first part of the paper, we briefly show the connections between test‐based (TB) and posterior probability‐based (PB) sequential monitoring approaches. Next, we extensively investigate the choice of local and nonlocal priors for the TB monitoring procedure. We describe the pros and cons of different priors in terms of operating characteristics. We also develop a user‐friendly Shiny application to implement the TB design.
Do Patient Characteristics Matter When Calculating Sample Size for Eczema Clinical Trials?
Authors: Howells L. , Gran S. , Chalmers J. R. , Stuart B. , Santer M. , Bradshaw L. , Gaunt D. M. , Ridd M. J. , Gerbens L. A. A. , Spuls P. I. , Huang C. , Francis N. A. , Thomas K. S. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
The Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) is the core outcome instrument recommended for measuring patient-reported atopic eczema symptoms in clinical trials. To ensure that the statistical significance of clinical trial results is meaningful, trials are often designed by specifying the target difference in the primary outcome as part of the sample size calculation. One method used to specify the target difference is a score that corresponds to a standardized effect size.

Objectives
to assess how the standardized effect size of POEM scores vary across age, gender, ethnicity and disease severity.

Methods
This study combined data from five UK-based randomized clinical trials of eczema treatments in order to assess differences in self-reported eczema symptoms (POEM) corresponding to a standardized effect size (0.5 SD of baseline POEM scores) across age, gender, ethnicity and disease severity.

Results
POEM scores corresponding to 0.5 SD(baseline) were remarkably consistent across participants of varying ages, gender, ethnicity and disease severity from datasets of five UK trials in children (range 2.99–3.45).

Conclusions
This study provides information that can support those designing clinical trials to determine their sample size and can aid individuals interpreting trial results. Further exploration of differences in populations beyond the United Kingdom is needed.
Noncontact Multiphysics Probe for Spatiotemporal Resolved Single‐Cell Manipulation and Analyses
Authors: Brimmo Ayoola T. , Menachery Anoop , Sukumar Pavithra , Qasaimeh Mohammad A. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractHeterogeneity and spatial arrangement of individual cells within tissues are critical to the identity of the host multicellular organism. While current single‐cell techniques are capable of resolving heterogeneity, they mostly rely on extracting target cells from their physiological environment and hence lose the spatiotemporal resolution required for understanding cellular networks. Here, a multifunctional noncontact scanning probe that can precisely perform multiple manipulation procedures on living single‐cells, while within their physiological tissue environment, is demonstrated. The noncontact multiphysics probe (NMP) consists of fluidic apertures and “hump” shaped electrodes that simultaneously confine reagents and electric signals with a single‐cell resolution. The NMP's unique electropermealization‐based approach in transferring macromolecules through the cell membrane is presented. The technology's adjustable spatial ability is demonstrated by transfecting adjacent single‐cells with different DNA plasmid vectors. The NMP technology also opens the door for controllable cytoplasm extraction from living single‐cells. This powerful application is demonstrated by executing multiple time point biopsies on adherent cells without affecting the integrity of the extracted macromolecules or the viability of cells. Furthermore, the NMP's function as an electro‐thermal based microfluidic whole‐cell tweezer is reported. This work offers a multifunctional tool with unprecedented probing features for spatiotemporal single‐cell analysis within tissue samples.
Unoccupied aerial systems discovered overlooked loci capturing the variation of entire growing period in maize
Authors: Adak Alper , Murray Seth C. , Anderson Steven L. , Popescu Sorin C. , Malambo Lonesome , Romay M. Cinta , de Leon Natalia 
Published: May 2021

AbstractTraditional phenotyping methods, coupled with genetic mapping in segregating populations, have identified loci governing complex traits in many crops. Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS)‐based phenotyping has helped to reveal a more novel and dynamic relationship between time‐specific associated loci with complex traits previously unable to be evaluated. Over 1,500 maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid row plots containing 280 different replicated maize hybrids from the Genomes to Fields (G2F) project were evaluated agronomically and using UAS in 2017. Weekly UAS flights captured variation in plant heights during the growing season under three different management conditions each year: optimal planting with irrigation (G2FI), optimal dryland planting without irrigation (G2FD), and a stressed late planting (G2LA). Plant height of different flights were ranked based on importance for yield using a random forest (RF) algorithm. Plant heights captured by early flights in G2FI trials had higher importance (based on Gini scores) for predicting maize grain yield (GY) but also higher accuracies in genomic predictions which fluctuated for G2FD (−0.06∼0.73), G2FI (0.33∼0.76), and G2LA (0.26∼0.78) trials. A genome‐wide association analysis discovered 52 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), seven were found consistently in more than one flights or trial; 45 were flight or trial specific. Total cumulative marker effects for each chromosome's contributions to plant height also changed depending on flight. Using UAS phenotyping, this study showed that many candidate genes putatively play a role in the regulation of plant architecture even in relatively early stages of maize growth and development.
Emerging theranostic applications of carbon dots and its variants
Authors: Ray Priyanka , Moitra Parikshit , Pan Dipanjan 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIn recent years, carbon dots (CDs), that is, carbon nanoparticles less than 10 nm in size with unique molecular properties including photoluminescence, biocompatibility, and water dispersibility, have been widely used in various fields of nanobiotechnology. This review article aims to describe the recent progress on CD research with a focus on their chemical composition and varieties as well as a comparative section on graphene quantum dots. The following sections shed light on the synthetic routes towards the fabrication of CDs followed by an elaborate description of their emerging applications in theranostics. Finally, a perspective is provided to indicate the major roadblocks for the translation of CDs from research laboratories to the clinics. This article thus aims to update the latest results in this rapidly developing field and offers crucial insights to inspire novel and exciting research in this domain.
Distinguishing Active Versus Passive DNA Demethylation Using Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip Microarrays
Authors: Tiedemann Rochelle L. , Eden Hope E. , Huang Zhijun , Robertson Keith D. , Rothbart Scott B. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe 5-carbon positions on cytosine nucleotides preceding guanines in genomic DNA (CpG) are common targets for DNA methylation (5mC). DNA methylation removal can occur through both active and passive mechanisms. Ten-eleven translocation enzymes (TETs) oxidize 5mC in a stepwise manner to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). 5mC can also be removed passively through sequential cell divisions in the absence of DNA methylation maintenance. In this chapter, we describe approaches that couple TET-assisted bisulfite (TAB) and oxidative bisulfite (OxBS) conversion to the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChIP (EPIC array) and show how these technologies can be used to distinguish active versus passive DNA demethylation. We also describe integrative bioinformatics pipelines to facilitate this analysis.