bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Empirical antibiotics for acute cholecystitis—what generation of antibiotics is an appropriate choice? A prospective, randomized controlled study
Authors: Young Kim Eun , Ho Hong Tae 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundIn cases of acute cholecystitis (AC), empirical antibiotics are used to prevent infectious morbidities following cholecystectomy. However, there are still no exact guidelines on which antibiotics to use.MethodsWe enrolled 300 patients who had been admitted for cholecystectomy because of grade I or II AC. We randomly allocated them to one of two groups empirically: the first group was to be given first‐generation cephalosporins (group I, 150 patients) and the second group was to be given second‐generation cephalosporins (group II, 150 patients). We analyzed the clinical outcomes and the incidence of postoperative infectious morbidities.ResultsThe incidence rate of overall infectious morbidities (18 cases, 12% in group I; 17 cases, 11.3% in group II; P = .859) showed no difference between the two groups. The incidence rate of sepsis (only one case, 0.7% in group II, P = 1.000) or surgical site infection (nine cases, 6% in group I and eight cases, 5.3% in group II, P = 1.000) were also similar in both groups.ConclusionsThe empirical use of first‐generation cephalosporins for mild‐to‐moderate AC without gallbladder perforation was not inferior to using second‐generation cephalosporin for prophylaxis against postoperative infection. Our results could allow for a tailored treatment strategy of empirical antibiotics according to the severity of the cholecystitis.
Quantification of crustacean tropomyosin in foods using high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method
Authors: Wang Jianhua , Ge Minmin , Sun Lirui , Ahmed Ishfaq , Li Wenjie , Lin Hang , Lin Hong , Li Zhenxing 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBACKGROUNDAllergic reactions to crustacean products have been increasing owing to the rising consumption. Tropomyosin (TM) is the main crustacean allergen; it has a coiled‐coil structure, which shows stability to various food processing methods. Crustacean processed products have been used in several food products, thereby causing greater difficulties in detecting TM in these products. We aimed to develop an assay based on high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the accurate and reproducible quantification of crustacean TM in foods.RESULTSThe three peptides IQLLEEDLER, LAEASQAADESER, and IVELEEELR were selected as peptide markers, and the peptide IVELEEELR was selected as the quantitative marker. Extraction conditions and enzymatic digestion conditions were completely optimized. The extraction solution of Tris–hydrochloric acid buffer (50 mmol L−1, pH 7.4) containing 1 mol L−1 potassium chloride and the enzymatic treatment at 1:15 ratio (enzyme/protein, m/m) for 13 h showed excellent efficiency. The method exhibited a good linear relationship, with the qualified coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.9994) in the wide range of 1 to 1000 μg L−1. The accuracy was validated based on spiked recovery at three spiking levels (12.5, 25.0, and 50.0 μg kg−1, TM/matrix) in blank matrices that included chicken sausages, beef balls, and egg–milk biscuits. The recoveries ranged from 91% to 109% with qualified relative standard deviations <15% with the limit of quantification (of 1.6 mg kg−1, TM/matrix).CONCLUSIONThis new approach can be used for the qualitative and quantitative detection of crustacean TM in various food matrices. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Formulation and characterization of zein/chitosan complex particles stabilized Pickering emulsion with the encapsulation and delivery of vitamin D3
Authors: Shah B R , Xu W , Mráz J 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBACKGROUNDPickering emulsions (PEs) which are stabilized by solid particles instead of surfactants have recently attracted tremendous attentions due to their non‐toxic and long‐term stable nature. In the current study, we fabricated and characterized zein (ZN)/chitosan (CS) complex particles (ZNCSPs) stabilized PE for the encapsulation and delivery of vitamin D3.RESULTSThe ZNCSPs were synthesized with different ratios, i.e. 1:1, 1:1.5 and 1:2 to investigate the optimum ratio. Transmission electron microscopy observations showed the spherical nature with smooth surface of the obtained particles in the case of ZNCS ratio 1:1.5 and 1:2. Furthermore, ζ‐potential values for the these particles were 32.53 ± 1.3 and 52.86 ± 0.68 mV respectively, indicating particles with (1:2) being more stable than 1:1.5. Thereafter, using these particles, the PEs were successfully formulated with different oil (medium chain triglyceride) fractions (330, 500 and 660 g kg−1). The emulsions were evaluated for stability during storage and against different environmental factors including pH, temperature and ionic strength on the creaming indices (CIs) of these emulsions. The results demonstrated that the PEs with oil fractions 330 and 500 g kg−1 exhibited significant stability during storage, particularly the ones with 500 g kg−1 oil fractions which were stable against all the tested parameters. Finally, the prepared PEs were evaluated as efficient delivery system by encapsulating and delivering vitamin D3. In vitro drug release profile confirmed sustained and controlled release of the encapsulated vitamin D3.CONCLUSIONOverall, our findings suggest that ZNCSPs can be promising stabilizers for stable PEs that can be used as potential delivery systems in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Predicting Bald Eagle Collision at Wind Energy Facilities
Authors: Nasman Kristen , Bay Kimberly , Mattson Todd , Leckband Jesse , Becker Drew 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTBald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are currently protected in the United States under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Given these protections and the increasing development of wind energy throughout the United States, it is important for regulators and the wind industry to understand the risk of bald eagle collisions with wind turbines. Prior probability distributions for eagle exposure rates and collision rates have been developed for golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Given similar information has not been available for bald eagles, the current recommendation by the USFWS is to use the prior probability distributions developed using data collected on golden eagles to predict take for bald eagles. But some evidence suggests that bald and golden eagles may be at different risk for collision with wind turbines and the prior probability distributions developed for golden eagles may not be appropriate for bald eagles. We developed prior probability distributions using data collected at MidAmerican Energy Company's operating wind energy facilities in Iowa, USA, from December 2014 to March 2017 for bald eagle exposure rates and collision rates. The prior probability distribution for collision rate developed for bald eagles has a lower mean collision rate and less variability relative to that developed for golden eagles. We determined that the prior probability distributions specific to bald eagles from these operating facilities are a better starting point for predicting take for bald eagles at operating wind energy facilities in an agricultural landscape than those developed for golden eagles. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.
The metabolic signatures of cardiometabolic diseases: Does the shared metabotype offer new therapeutic targets?
Authors: Amin Arwa M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) are the most common, noncommunicable diseases that claim many lives every year. CMDs have great impact on public health, often driving the attention of healthcare resources to prevent and treat them. CMDs include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Deep understanding of the root causes and pathogenic factors of CMDs would help in their effective prevention and treatment. Metabolomic profiling of biosamples usually sheds light on the metabolic biomarkers and the involved pathways. Metabolomic analysis to identify CMDs metabotypes revealed that they share similar metabolic signatures and metabolic pathways. These metabolic pathways may indicate the presence of insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, low‐grade inflammation, and dysbiotic gut microbiota. This study is aimed to review the literature on the common metabolic biomarkers of CMDs as well as the shared pathways that can be targeted by dietary interventions and pharmacologic treatment.
Investigation of the Dual Polymerization of Rapid Curing Organophosphorous Modified Epoxy/Amine Resins and Subsequent Flame Retardancy
Authors: Seraji Seyed Mohsen , Gan Houlei , Issazadeh Salumeh , Varley Russell J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this work, two rapid curing, low viscosity phosphorous modified epoxy amine resin systems are simultaneously cured via chain growth and step growth mechanisms. Anionic chain growth polymerization is catalyzed by a Lewis base using 2‐ethyl‐4‐methylimidazole (2E4MI), while cationic chain growth polymerization is catalyzed using a Lewis acid boron trifluoride ethyl amine (BF3). The effects of these catalysts and increasing chemical incorporation of 9,10‐dihydro‐9‐oxy‐10‐phosphaphenanthrene‐10‐oxide (DOPO) on the cure reaction, chemorheology, and flame retardancy are investigated. The 2E4MI catalyst accelerates the onset of cure, but retards cure at higher DOPO concentrations. The addition of BF3 also accelerates the onset of reaction further, but does not significantly retard cure with increasing DOPO. Increasing DOPO reduces the glass transition temperature regardless of catalyst but the imidazole displays a larger reduction. These contrasting effects are discussed in terms of the increased concentration of hydroxyl groups from DOPO retarding anionic polymerization, while establishing a secondary propagating reaction mechanism in the case of cationic polymerization. Rheological studies show that these formulations remain ideal for liquid molding fabrication technologies, while the cured resins maintain a V0 fire rating according to the UL‐94 test and are promising candidates for the rapid manufacture of fire resistant composites.
Influence of the Mixing Ratio on the Dynamics of Polymer Segments in Polyelectrolyte Complexes
Authors: Lappan Uwe , Naas Carolin , Scheler Ulrich 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe rotational dynamics of the spin‐labeled polyacid poly(ethylene‐alt‐maleic acid) (P(E‐alt‐MA)) in polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) formed with the polycations poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) are studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy as a function of the mixing ratio of polycation and polyanion. At low mixing ratios a superposition of two spectral components is found. The fast‐motion component observed arises from chain segments of the polyacid in excess, which form a stabilizing shell around the PEC particles. The other one is a slow‐motion component, which is caused by the interaction of charged chain segments of the polyacid with the oppositely charged segments of the polycation in the core. At high mixing ratios, the spectra are dominated by the slow‐motion component, because the polyacid is exclusively located in the core. The study has shown that the outer extrema separation of the slow‐motion component decreases with increasing mixing ratio, i.e., the rotational mobility of the polyacid segments in the core increases when the excess of the polycation becomes larger. An increasing number of extrinsic polycation sites within the core of the PECs which reduces the density of intrinsic binding sites are assumed to be the reason.
A simulation study of cell size and volume fraction mapping for tissue with two underlying cell populations using diffusion‐weighted MRI
Authors: Xing Shu , Levesque Ives R. 
Published: March 2021

PurposeTo propose a method for voxel‐wise estimation of cell radii and volume fractions of two cell populations when they coexist in the same MR voxel using the combination of diffusion‐weighted MRI and microstructural modeling.MethodMicrostructure models were investigated using diffusion data simulated with the matrix method for a range of microstructures mimicking tumor tissue with two cell populations, using acquisition parameters available on preclinical scanners. The effect of noise was investigated for a subset of these microstructures. The accuracy and precision of the estimated radii and volume fractions for large and small cells were evaluated by comparing the estimates to their true values. The stability of model fitting was characterized by the percentage of accepted fits.ResultsThe estimation accuracy and precision, and thus the ability to robustly distinguish the two cell populations, depended on the microstructural properties and SNR. For a SNR of 50, a minimum difference of 3 μm between the radius of the large and small cell populations was required for differentiation. Proposed modifications to the two cell population microstructure model, including constrained fits, improved the stability of fits.ConclusionsThis proof‐of‐concept study proposed a diffusion MRI‐based method for voxel‐wise estimation of cell radii and volume fractions of two cell populations when they coexist in the same MR voxel. The ability to reliably characterize tissue with two cell populations opens exciting avenues of potential applications in both tumor diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Highly accelerated subtractive femoral non‐contrast‐enhanced MRA using compressed sensing with k‐space subtraction, phase and intensity correction
Authors: Li Hao , Graves Martin J. , Shaida Nadeem , Prashar Akash , Lomas David J. , Priest Andrew N. 
Published: March 2021

PurposeTo develop an improved reconstruction method, k‐space subtraction with phase and intensity correction (KSPIC), for highly accelerated, subtractive, non‐contrast‐enhanced MRA.MethodsThe KSPIC method is based on k‐space subtraction of complex raw data. It applies a phase‐correction procedure to restore the polarity of negative signals caused by subtraction and an intensity‐correction procedure to improve background suppression and thereby sparsity. Ten retrospectively undersampled data sets and 10 groups of prospectively undersampled data sets were acquired in 12 healthy volunteers. The performance of KSPIC was compared with another improved reconstruction based on combined magnitude subtraction, as well as with conventional k‐space subtraction reconstruction and magnitude subtraction reconstruction, both using quantitative metrics and using subjective quality scoring.ResultsIn the quantitative evaluation, KSPIC had the best performance in terms of peak SNR, structural similarity index measure, contrast‐to‐noise ratio of artery‐to‐background and sharpness, especially at high acceleration factors. The KSPIC method also had the highest subjective scores for all acceleration factors in terms of vessel delineation, image noise and artifact, and background contamination. The acquisition can be accelerated by a factor of 20 without significant decreases of subjective scores. The optimal size of the phase‐correction region was found to be 12‐20 pixels in this study.ConclusionCompared with combined magnitude subtraction and conventional reconstructions, KSPIC has the best performance in all of the quantitative and qualitative measurements, permitting good image quality to be maintained up to higher accelerations. The KSPIC method has the potential to further reduce the acquisition time of subtractive MRA for clinical examinations.
Konferenzen und Corona ‐ Routineaufgaben, digitale Kaffeepausen, Chatdiskussionen
Authors: Micheel Mathias , Hniopek Julian , Schwiedrzik Ludwig , Hofmeister Elisabeth , Müller Carolin , Putra Miftahussurur Hamidi , Wintergerst Pascal 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn der fortdauernden Covid‐19‐Pandemie versuchen junge Wissenschaftler und Wissenschaftlerinnen, den akademischen Austausch digital aufrechtzuerhalten. Open‐Source‐Programme bieten dabei oft eine schnelle und machbare Alternative , um sich zu vernetzen.
Coupling of non‐ordinary state‐based peridynamics and finite element method for fracture propagation in saturated porous media
Authors: Sun Wei , Fish Jacob 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn the present manuscript fracture propagation in a saturated porous medium is modeled based on the classical Biot theory, where solid skeleton and fluid flow are represented by separate two layers. The non‐ordinary state‐based peridynamics (NOSBPD) layer is employed to capture deformation including fracturing of the solid skeleton, while the fluid flow is controlled by the finite element method (FEM) layer. The interaction between the layers is realized by considering the effects of pore pressure from the FEM layer on the NOSBPD layer and, vice versa, the effect of the volumetric strain, porosity, and permeability variations from the NOSBPD layer on the FEM layer. The coupling terms retain their parent characteristics, that is, the interaction term in the momentum balance equation is approximated by the local FEM formulation whereas the interaction term in the mass balance equation is approximated by the nonlocal NOSBPD formulation. By doing so, the model retains the flexibility of coupling two independent discretizations. The coupled system is solved by a fully implicit solution scheme. The accuracy of the proposed method has been verified against available closed‐form solutions and published numerical approaches for the pressure‐ and fluid‐driven facture propagation problems.
Geometrically exact hybrid beam element based on nonlinear programming
Authors: Lyritsakis Charilaos M. , Andriotis Charalampos P. , Papakonstantinou Konstantinos G. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis work presents a hybrid shear‐flexible beam‐element, capable of capturing arbitrarily large inelastic displacements and rotations of planar frame structures with just one element per member. Following Reissner's geometrically exact theory, the finite element problem is herein formulated within nonlinear programming principles, where the total potential energy is treated as the objective function and the exact strain‐displacement relations are imposed as kinematic constraints. The approximation of integral expressions is conducted by an appropriate quadrature, and by introducing Lagrange multipliers, the Lagrangian of the minimization program is formed and solutions are sought based on the satisfaction of necessary optimality conditions. In addition to displacement degrees of freedom at the two element edge nodes, strain measures of the centroid act as unknown variables at the quadrature points, while only the curvature field is interpolated, to enforce compatibility throughout the element. Inelastic calculations are carried out by numerical integration of the material stress‐strain law at the cross‐section level. The locking‐free behavior of the element is presented and discussed, and its overall performance is demonstrated on a set of well‐known numerical examples. Results are compared with analytical solutions, where available, and outcomes based on flexibility‐based beam elements and quadrilateral elements, verifying the efficiency of the formulation.
Pivoting to online laboratories due to COVID‐19 using the Science of Agriculture digital tools: A case study
Authors: Brevik Eric C. , Ulery April , Muise Amy Smith 
Published: March 2021

AbstractOn 12 Mar. 2020 Dickinson State University moved all classes to distance delivery (DD) in response to COVID‐19. Faculty had only a brief opportunity to plan, as the turn‐around to DD was very rapid. Meaningful laboratory exercises were needed for SOIL 210–Introduction to Soil Science. The senior author learned about the Science of Agriculture (SoA) website on a discussion board created by the Soil Science Society of America, which provided links to distance education resources. Most of the resources from SoA addressed topics still to be covered in SOIL 210, and four of the semester's final six labs were developed using SoA: Understanding Data and Chemistry, Soil Chemistry, Dryland Soils, and Microbiology and Nitrogen. Materials available on the SoA website include video clips, interactive exercises, and virtual labs. Although the virtual labs, with the exception of Sorption!, are not soil science focused, they cover basic skills that soil scientists use. Each of the four labs utilized four to eight of the activities (video clips, interactive activities, and/or virtual labs) available on SoA, depending on the length of time each activity was expected to take and the number of activities available for the given topic. Students were asked to answer specific questions related to their lab experience with the digital activities. The SoA website provided useful tools to develop meaningful experiences for the SOIL 210 students in lieu of their traditional laboratory exercises.
Where the snags are: Looking into bird bones
Authors: Wertz Krzysztof , Tornberg Risto , Huhtala Kauko , Diakowski Marcin , Kotowski Jakub , Kot Małgorzata 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA study of bird remains from the Koziarnia Cave (Poland) revealed the presence of nearly a dozen bony shreds (snags) projecting from the natural canals in bones; the snags were made of a material that accumulated during the Late Pleistocene. This paper describes this phenomenon and determines the most probable agent responsible for its occurrence by utilizing observations of snag microstructure, taphonomic analysis of bird assemblages from Koziarnia Cave, and surveys of collected bird remains (modern and fossilized). The presence of snag may be a good qualitative indicator of an agent responsible for the accumulation of bird bones at archeological sites and could be useful in future taphonomic studies.