bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A compact dual‐band frequency‐dependent impedance transformer using two resizable shunt stubs
Authors: Wan Zipeng , Liu Qiang , Liu Wang , Cheng Dong , Du Guangxing , Li Guolin 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis paper presents a dual‐band impedance transformer for frequency‐dependent loads with two resizable shunt stubs. The proposed transformer is composed of a single‐band matching network and a dual‐band susceptance stub network (DSSN). The single‐band matching network only consists of a one‐section matching network when the load is within the derived circle areas. The design parameters of the DSSN can be adjusted freely. The bandwidths at the two bands can be enhanced, and the possibility of using transmission lines with extremely high or low impedance is reduced significantly. All the parameters are obtained by solving the analytical design formula. Two examples are presented for illustrating the design process, and a prototype is fabricated and measured for verification. Good agreement between the simulation and the measurement is obtained. Compared with the previous works, the transformer not only has the shortest electrical length but also obtains wide bandwidths. Therefore, the transformer is very applicable for dual‐band systems, especially the dual‐band active device circuits.
Methacrylate and Styrene Block Copolymer Synthesis by Cu‐Mediated Chain Extension of Acrylate Macroinitiator in a Semibatch Reactor
Authors: Cooze Morgan J. , Deacon Hayden M. , Phe Katrina , Hutchinson Robin A. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractA process for the well‐controlled growth of acrylates by Cu‐mediated polymerization has been developed, with macroinitiator synthesized continuously in a copper tubular reactor and subsequently chain‐extended in a semibatch reactor without additional copper. Extending this process to methacrylates and styrene, however, has proven difficult due to a significant reduction in reaction rate. This barrier has been overcome by chain‐extending the low molecular weight (Mn of 760 g mol–1) poly(methyl acrylate) macroinitiator with methacrylates and styrene using PMDETA (N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) as ligand. Methyl methacrylate conversions of >80% at 70 °C and diethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate conversions of >90% at room temperature are achieved in 4 h, with the same room temperature conditions successfully applied for controlled chain extensions with butyl methacrylate. Although styrene conversions are slightly lower (60–70%) over 4 h at 85 °C, the rates achieved are substantially higher than achieved in other studies. Hydrophobic–hydrophilic triblock structures are produced through sequential monomer feeds to the semibatch reactor, keeping total reaction time to less than 5 h. The ability to incorporate methacrylates and/or styrene into structured block polymers greatly extends the range of products that can be efficiently synthesized with low copper levels by this process.
A Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Group education intervention for people with inflammatory and degenerative arthritis: An observational study
Authors: Brownlee Jane , Sheridan Emer , Synnott Aoife , McCormack Aoife , Bell Mary , Fitzgerald Oliver 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundOccupational therapy self‐management groups aim to assist individuals to incorporate health‐promoting behaviours and management strategies into their daily routines to promote wellbeing. The Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Group (LMAG) is a 2‐h‐long, occupational therapy educational‐behavioural group intervention adapted from the evidence‐based Lifestyle Management for Arthritis Programme (Hammond & Rayner, 2013) and was delivered to inpatients with inflammatory and degenerative arthritis separately.AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in an inpatient Rheumatology Rehabilitation setting.MethodThis was an observational study with a pretest–posttest design using multiple methods. A knowledge of joint protection survey was gathered at three intervals. In‐depth semi‐structured phone interviews were undertaken 6 weeks post intervention. The quantitative data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 25, whilst thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews.ResultsThe results confirmed that the 36 participants who completed the study had increased joint protection knowledge immediately after LMAG and continued to retain that knowledge 6 weeks post intervention. The majority of participants evaluated the intervention as excellent whilst empowerment emerged as the core concept from the qualitative analysis.ConclusionThese study findings suggest that the LMAG intervention can have a beneficial effect inimproving the self‐management skills and confidence levels of patients with inflammatory and degenerative arthritis.
Deep multimodal autoencoder for crack criticality assessment
Authors: Launay Hugo , Ryckelynck David , Lacourt Laurent , Besson Jacques , Mondon Arnaud , Willot Francois 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn continuum mechanics, the prediction of defect harmfulness requires to solve approximately partial differential equations with given boundary conditions. In this contribution boundary conditions are learnt for tight local volumes (TLV) surrounding cracks in three‐dimensional volumes. A nonparametric data‐driven approach is used to define the space of defects, by considering defects observed via X‐Ray computed tomography. The dimension of the ambient space for the observed images of defects is huge. A nonlinear dimensionality reduction scheme is proposed in order to train a reduced latent space for both the morphology of defects and their local mechanical effects in the TLV. A multimodal autoencoder enables to mix morphological and mechanical data. It contains a single latent space, termed mechanical latent space. But this latent space is fed by two encoders. One is related to the images of defects and the other to mechanical fields in the TLV. The latent variables are input variables for a geometrical decoder and for a mechanical decoder. In this work, mechanical variables are displacement fields. The autoencoder on mechanical variables enables projection‐based model order reduction as proposed in the study of Lee and Carlberg. The main novelty of this paper is a submodeling approach assisted by artificial intelligence. Here, for defect images in the test set, Dirichlet boundary conditions are applied to TLV. These boundary conditions are forecasted by the mechanical decoder with a latent vector predicted by the morphological encoder. For that purpose, a mapping is trained to convert morphological latent variables into mechanical latent variables, denoted “direct mapping.” An “inverse mapping” is also trained for error estimation with respect to morphological predictions. Errors on mechanical predictions are close to 5% with simulation speed‐up ranging for 3 to 120. We show that latent variables forecasted by the images of defects are prone to a better understanding of the predictions.
A systematic review of maternal TORCH serology as a screen for suspected fetal infection
Authors: Fitzpatrick Danielle , Holmes Natasha E. , Hui Lisa 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe acronym ‘TORCH’ refers to well‐recognised causes of perinatal infections: toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV). A TORCH serology panel is often used to test for maternal primary infection following detection of ultrasound abnormalities in pregnancy.AimThis review aims to estimate the diagnostic yield of maternal TORCH serology in pregnancy following fetal ultrasound abnormalities.Materials and MethodsPrimary studies published since 2000 that assessed maternal TORCH serology for suspected fetal infection and included information on indications for testing, definition of positive TORCH serology results, and perinatal outcomes were included.ResultsEight studies with a total of 2538 pregnancies were included. The main indications for testing were polyhydramnios, fetal growth restriction and hyperechogenic bowel. There were 26 confirmed cases of congenital CMV, of which 15 had multiple ultrasound abnormalities. There were no cases of congenital toxoplasmosis, rubella or HSV confirmed in any of the eight studies.ConclusionsThe clinical utility of TORCH serology for non‐specific ultrasound abnormalities such as isolated fetal growth restriction or isolated polyhydramnios is low. It is time to retire the TORCH acronym and the reflex ordering of ‘TORCH’ panels, as their continued use obscures, rather than illuminates, appropriate investigation for fetal ultrasound abnormalities.
Leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) peptide modulators: Recent advances and future directions
Authors: Helton Leah G. , Rideout Hardy J. , Herberg Friedrich W. , Kennedy Eileen J. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractLeucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is the most common genetic contributor to Parkinson's disease (PD), a complex neurodegenerative disorder affecting nearly 10 million people worldwide. Pathogenic mutations within LRRK2 often induce increased kinase activity, an effect that can be abolished with many small molecule inhibitors; however, these small molecule inhibitors are currently limited by their toxicities. Given the large and complex nature of LRRK2, more recent efforts have focused on protein–protein interactions (PPIs) involving LRRK2 and how they can contribute to PD. Here, we review recently resolved structures of LRRK2 and highlight unique interfaces driving both catalytic and non‐catalytic activities. Combining new structural information with established in vitro and in vivo data clarifies the role of PPIs in driving LRRK2‐mediated disease pathogenesis. Since constrained peptides and peptidomimetics have the potential to engage with elongated, hydrophobic interfaces that were previously considered “undruggable,” they may provide a unique handle for LRRK2 targeting. Here, we discuss the use of constrained peptides and peptidomimetics to target LRRK2 as a strategy to downregulate its pathological activity.
Unambiguous characterization of PEGylation site on human amylin by two‐dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Authors: Lima Luís Maurício T. R. , de Araújo Talita Stelling , Almeida Marcius da Silva 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAmylin is a 37‐residue peptide hormone, which is co‐secreted with insulin and prevents postprandial spikes in blood glycemia by slowing gastric emptying and promoting satiety. Amylin is prone to aggregate into oligomers and amyloid fibrils, which is related to the onset of type 2 diabetes, and hampers its use as a biopharmaceutical. To overcome the instability and extend its in vivo half‐life it has been proposed the conjugation of amylin with polyethylene glycol (PEG) at the HNζ or the HNα amines of Lys1. Here we used two‐dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectra aiming the unambiguous identification of the site of covalent modification on amylin. The coupling of PEG causes both a substantial decrease in the chemical exchange of their HN and alterations in the chemical shifts at both the HN and the neighborhood hydrocarbon groups including CHα, CHδ and CHε of Lys1. Additional analysis of chemical shifts indicates alteration in the HNα solvent accessibility of residues Cys2, Asn3, Ala5, Cys7, and Gln10, and confirmed the presence of oxidized Cys2 and Cys7. We believe that the methodology described here is a reference for the characterization of chemical coupling of a number of biopharmaceuticals.
Production of highly aligned microfiber bundles from polymethyl methacrylate via stable jet electrospinning for organic solid‐state lasers
Authors: Christ Henrik‐Alexander , Ang Pen Yiao , Li Fuzhao , Johannes Hans‐Hermann , Kowalsky Wolfgang , Menzel Henning 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe fabrication of micron‐sized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer optical fibers doped with rhodamine B as an organic dye is demonstrated. Highly aligned and defect‐free fibers are fabricated by using the stable jet electrospinning (SJES) method and systematically varying critical parameters such as solvent type and polymer concentration. At optimal conditions, for example, a polymer concentration of 35 wt% of PMMA in butanone, ribbon‐shaped fibers with a smooth surface and diameter of about 20 μm could be spun using SJES mode and deposited on a rotating drum as target in a highly aligned manner. Photoluminescence spectra of the doped fibers excited longitudinally and transversely with a laser show an excitation peak with full‐width‐at‐half‐maximum of only 5.05 nm and a low lasing threshold at a pump energy of 0.55 μJ, indicating that SJES could become a new source of amplified optics components or organic solid‐state fiber lasers.
Crystallization‐driven self‐assembly of semicrystalline block copolymers and end‐functionalized polymers: A minireview
Authors: Xu Wenqing , Zheng Ying , Pan Pengju 
Published: December 2021

AbstractSelf‐assembly has been a powerful method to fabricate the polymer materials with well‐defined structures and morphologies. Such assembled materials have shown wide potential applications in many fields such as nanomaterial, nanomedicine, lithography, and microelectronic. Crystallization has been a general behavior of stereoregular polymers. Besides the various noncovalent interactions, crystallization of polymer blocks or end groups can be an efficient way to manipulate the self‐assembly pathway and assembled structures of polymers in both solid and solution. Crystallization‐driven self‐assembly has been widely implemented for the semicrystalline block copolymers (BCPs) and end‐functionalized polymers. This minireview briefly presents the recent progresses in the crystallization‐driven self‐assembly of BCPs and end‐functionalized polymers in both solid and solution states. Formation process, mechanism, and hierarchical structure of the crystallization‐induced assemblies for BCPs and end‐functionalized polymers are highlighted.
Weighing policymaking: A narrative review of school closures as COVID‐19 pandemic‐mitigation strategies
Authors: Nenna Raffaella , Zeric Hana , Petrarca Laura , Mancino Enrica , Midulla Fabio 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIntroductionIn the era of data‐driven decision‐making, unacceptable haziness, and inconsistency surrounds the yearlong scientific and public debate on the school closure policy in the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic mitigation efforts.AimThe present literature review stems out of the need for a clear scaffold collecting in one place all current evidence, as well as helping to organize incoming future evidence, concerning both the role of schools in driving the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) community spread and the cost‐effectiveness of school closure in containing such spread.MethodsReferences for this review were initially identified through searches of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library for articles published from March 2020 to March 2021 by the use of key terms “Schools,” “COVID‐19,” “pandemic,” “clusters,” “outbreak,” and “seroprevalence,” selecting all articles from 2020 to 2021 with full‐text availability. A further search was undertaken by screening citations of articles found in the original search and through Google Scholar and ResearchGate.ResultsOverall, evidence shows that opening schools and keeping them open in the context of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic is possible, although behaviorally challenging and unfeasible if educational facilities or testing services are inadequate. Contrary to other respiratory viruses, children are not chief targets of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, transmission, and disease. It also appears that the second wave of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus spread in the WHO European region has been unrelated to school re‐opening.ConclusionsA fact‐based understanding of what is currently known on such a consequential policy is required to provide a basis of evidence for advocacy of either school closure or school opening at times of high‐intensity community transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2.
Deep‐Red‐Emitting Colloidal Quantum Well Light‐Emitting Diodes Enabled through a Complex Design of Core/Crown/Double Shell Heterostructure
Authors: Shabani Farzan , Dehghanpour Baruj Hamed , Yurdakul Iklim , Delikanli Savas , Gheshlaghi Negar , Isik Furkan , Liu Baiquan , Altintas Yemliha , Canımkurbey Betül , Demir Hilmi Volkan 
Published: December 2021

AbstractExtending the emission peak wavelength of quasi‐2D colloidal quantum wells has been an important quest to fully exploit the potential of these materials, which has not been possible due to the complications arising from the partial dissolution and recrystallization during growth to date. Here, the synthetic pathway of (CdSe/CdS)@(1‐4 CdS/CdZnS) (core/crown)@(colloidal atomic layer deposition shell/hot injection shell) hetero‐nanoplatelets (NPLs) using multiple techniques, which together enable highly efficient emission beyond 700 nm in the deep‐red region, is proposed and demonstrated. Given the challenges of using conventional hot injection procedure, a method that allows to obtain sufficiently thick and passivated NPLs as the seeds is developed. Consequently, through the final hot injection shell coating, thick NPLs with superior optical properties including a high photoluminescence quantum yield of 88% are achieved. These NPLs emitting at 701 nm exhibit a full‐width‐at‐half‐maximum of 26 nm, enabled by the successfully maintained quasi‐2D shape and minimum defects of the resulting heterostructure. The deep‐red light‐emitting diode (LED) device fabricated with these NPLs has shown to yield a high external quantum efficiency of 6.8% at 701 nm, which is on par with other types of LEDs in this spectral range.
Galectin‐3 facilitates inflammation and apoptosis in chondrocytes through upregulation of the TLR‐4‐mediated oxidative stress pathway in TC28a2 human chondrocyte cells
Authors: Chou Wan‐Ching , Tsai Kun‐Ling , Hsieh Pei‐Ling , Wu Chin‐Hsien , Jou I‐Ming , Tu Yuan‐Kun , Ma Ching‐Hou 
Published: December 2021

AbstractOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease. The pathological changes of chondrocytes involve oxidative stress, the pro‐inflammatory response, and pro‐apoptotic events. Galectin‐3 (Gal‐3) is a 35 kDa protein with a special chimeric structure. Gal‐3 participates in the progression of many diseases, such as cancer metastasis and heart failure. A previous study demonstrated that Gal‐3 expression in human cartilage with OA is increased. However, the role of Gal‐3 in chondrocyte dysfunction in joints is still unclear. In this study, we applied Gal‐3 (5–20 μg/ml) to TC28a2 human chondrocyte cells for 24 h to induce chondrocyte dysfunction. We found that Gal‐3 upregulated TLR‐4 and MyD88 expression and NADPH oxidase, thereby increasing intracellular ROS in the chondrocytes. Gal‐3 increased phosphorylated MEK1/2 and ERK levels, and promoted NF‐κB activity. This activation of NF‐κB was reduced by silencing TLR‐4 and NOX‐2. In addition, Gal‐3 caused apoptosis of chondrocytes through the mitochondrial‐dependent pathway via the TLR‐4/NADPH oxidase/MAPK axis. Our study proves the pathogenic role of Gal‐3 in Gal‐3‐induced chondrocyte dysfunction and injuries.
Anticancer effects of picrasidine I on oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Yang Yuan‐Ting , Hsieh Ming‐Ju , Chuang Yi‐Ching , Lin Chia‐Chieh , Lo Yu‐Sheng , Ho Hsin‐Yu , Kumar V. Bharath , Ko Jiunn‐Liang 
Published: December 2021

AbstractPicrasidine I is a dimeric alkaloid derived from a Southern Asian plant Picrasma quassioides and demonstrated to possess pharmacological activities, such as anti‐inflammatory and anti‐osteoclastogenic effects. However, its potential anticancer effect remains unclear. In the present study, anticancer activity of picrasidine I was assessed by treating oral squamous cell carcinoma cells with different concentrations of picrasidine I (20, 30, and 40 μM) for 24, 48, and 72 h. The findings revealed that picrasidine I reduced the cell viability in a dose‐dependent manner. Picrasidine I exerted its cytotoxic effect through arresting cell cycle at G2/M phase by downregulating cyclin A, cyclin B, CDK4, and CDK6, and inducing apoptosis in oral cancer cells. The induction of apoptosis was evidenced by increasing expression of death receptors, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, increased activation of PARP and caspases 3, 8, and 9, enhanced expression of proapoptotic mediators (Bak and Bim L/S), and reduced expression of antiapoptotic mediators (Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐xL). Moreover, analysis of MAPK signaling pathway revealed that picrasidine I‐mediated proapoptotic activities by downregulating JNK phosphorylation. Taken together, the study identifies picrasidine I as a potent anticancer agent that can be used as a therapeutic intervention against oral squamous cell carcinoma.
β‐Amyrin ameliorates diabetic nephropathy in mice and regulates the miR‐181b‐5p/HMGB2 axis in high glucose‐stimulated HK‐2 cells
Authors: Xu Wenhua , Zhang Hongwu , Zhang Qinfeng , Xu Jialan 
Published: December 2021

AbstractDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is a diabetic complication that can cause renal failure. β‐amyrin has been identified to possess anti‐diabetic property. This study was designed to evaluate the potential role of β‐amyrin in DN and its underlying mechanism. Streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mice were used as the in vivo model, and high glucose (HG)‐stimulated human proximal tubular HK‐2 cells were utilized as the in vitro model. Renal histological changes in mice were assessed by hematoxylin–eosin and periodic acid‐Schiff staining. HK‐2 cell viability and apoptosis were detected by Cell Counting Kit‐8 assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. β‐amyrin was found to ameliorate kidney injury in DN mice and suppressed inflammatory response as well as apoptosis of HG‐stimulated HK‐2 cells. miR‐181‐5p expression in murine renal tissues and HK‐2 cells was detected by in situ hybridization (ISH) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). MiR‐181b‐5p, a previously identified target for diabetic kidney disease, was downregulated in renal tissues and HG stimulated HK‐2 cells, and β‐amyrin induced the upregulation of miR‐181b‐5p. Binding relationship between miR‐181b‐5p and high mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. MiR‐181b‐5p bound to 3′ untranslated region of HMGB2 to suppress its expression. As shown by immunohistochemical staining and immunofluorescence staining, HMGB2 was upregulated in the in vivo and in vitro models of DN, and β‐amyrin induced the downregulation of HMGB2. Moreover, HMGB2 overexpression neutralized the suppressive effects of miR‐181b‐5p elevation on the inflammatory response and apoptosis of HG‐treated HK‐2 cells. Overall, β‐amyrin ameliorates DN in mice and suppresses inflammatory response and apoptosis of HG‐stimulated HK‐2 cells via the miR‐181b‐5p/HMGB2 axis.