bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interaction of Potential Sources in Infinite 2D Arrays: Diffusion through Composite Membranes, Micro‐Electrochemistry, Entrance Resistance, and Other Examples
Authors: Yaroshchuk Andriy , Bondarenko M. P. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractRegular 2D arrays of potential sources on impervious “screens” are a mathematical idealization for the description of a number of natural and/or technological processes. At steady state, they are described by Laplace equation with suitable boundary conditions. This study explains the evolution of boundary conditions from a given potential to a given potential gradient at infinity with increasing size of arrays and provides a criterion for micro‐ and macro‐arrays in terms of distance to potential‐defining surfaces. For regular macro‐arrays, the problem is formulated and solved numerically by using cell models. The use of rigorous cell models requires 3D numerical simulations, but a simplified (cylindrical, 2D) cell model is shown to have an excellent accuracy. Numerical as well as theoretical analyses reveal a simple far‐field behavior described by an asymptotic expression for an additional potential drop (applicable for sources whose size does not exceed about 40% of the intersource distance) dependent on just one numerical constant. This expression is used for the derivation of useful approximate formulae for several applications (diffusion resistance of composite membranes, limiting current in arrays of microelectrodes, entrance diffusion resistance in arrays of scarce and short nanopores) and compared with relevant interpolation formulae available in the literature.
Metal‐Decorated Crown Ether‐Embedded Graphene Nanomeshes for Enhanced Molecular Adsorption
Authors: Krishnakumar Rohini , James Anto , Swathi Rotti Srinivasamurthy 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSuccess in single molecule detection using graphene and graphene oxide has opened up numerous opportunities for other 2D carbon‐based substrates to be used for applications in sensing and storage. Graphene nanomeshes, in particular, offer excellent platforms as filtration membranes. Molecular adsorption on pristine graphene is governed by weak van der Waals interactions, while considerable binding strengths can be achieved on defective, metal‐doped and metal‐decorated graphene. Hypothesizing that crown ether‐embedded graphene nanopores can bring in a strong electrostatic component toward molecular binding, electronic structure calculations on the binding of NH3, H2O, and HF on pristine and metal‐decorated graphene crown ethers (GCEs), latest addition to the family of graphene nanomeshes are reported. Li+ and Ca2+ decoration on crown‐4 and crown‐6 GCEs is shown to yield enhanced molecular binding strengths when compared to pristine GCEs and pristine graphene. The per molecular adsorption strengths are found to exhibit a gradual decrease upon addition of molecules. However, the propensity of the molecules to form strong hydrogen‐bonded clusters as well as exhibit favorable interactions with the GCEs contributes to a negligible decrease in the per molecular adsorption strengths in some cases. The findings indicate that metal‐decorated O‐based GCEs are potential substrates for molecular adsorption.
Direct Charge Trapping Multilevel Memory with Graphdiyne/MoS2 Van der Waals Heterostructure
Authors: Wen Jialing , Tang Wenhui , Kang Zhuo , Liao Qingliang , Hong Mengyu , Du Junli , Zhang Xiankun , Yu Huihui , Si Haonan , Zhang Zheng , Zhang Yue 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDirect charge trapping memory, a new concept memory without any dielectric, has begun to attract attention. However, such memory is still at the incipient stage, of which the charge‐trapping capability depends on localized electronic states that originated from the limited surface functional groups. To further advance such memory, a material with rich hybrid states is highly desired. Here, a van der Waals heterostructure design is proposed utilizing the 2D graphdiyne (GDY) which possesses abundant hybrid states with different chemical groups. In order to form the desirable van der Waals coupling, the plasma etching method is used to rapidly achieve the ultrathin 2D GDY with smooth surface for the first time. With the plasma‐treated 2D GDY as charge‐trapping layer, a direct charge‐trapping memory based on GDY/MoS2 is constructed. This bilayer memory is featured with large memory window (90 V) and high degree of modulation (on/off ratio around 8 × 107). Two operating mode can be achieved and data storage capability of 9 and 10 current levels can be obtained, respectively, in electronic and opto‐electronic mode. This GDY/MoS2 memory introduces a novel application of GDY as rich states charge‐trapping center and offers a new strategy of realizing high performance dielectric‐free electronics, such as optical memories and artificial synaptic.
Effects of creating a jejunal pouch on postoperative quality of life after total gastrectomy: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Tsuji Toshikatsu , Isobe Taro , Seto Yasuyuki , Tanaka Chie , Kojima Kazuyuki , Motoori Masaaki , Ikeda Masami , Nitta Toshikatsu , Oshio Atsushi , Nakada Koji 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAimTotal gastrectomy results in the complete loss of gastric function and the development of severe postgastrectomy syndrome. During the jejunal pouch procedure following total gastrectomies, a substitute stomach is created to alleviate the effects of postgastrectomy syndrome. However, the procedure's effectiveness remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the effect of jejunal pouch creation after total gastrectomy on postoperative quality of life.MethodsA nationwide multi‐institutional cross‐sectional study, the Postgastrectomy Syndrome Assessment study NEXT, used the Postgastrectomy Syndrome Assessment Scale‐45 questionnaire to explore the optimal gastrectomy procedure for cancer located in the upper third of the stomach or around the esophagogastric junction. The questionnaire consists of 45 items consolidated into 19 main outcome measures relating to postgastrectomy symptoms, amount of food ingested, quality of ingestion, ability for working, level of satisfaction for daily life, and the physical and mental component summary of the 8‐Item Short Form Health Survey. Eligible completed questionnaires were retrieved from 1909 patients. Of these, the data were analyzed for 1020 patients who underwent total gastrectomy and 93 patients who underwent jejunal pouch creation after total gastrectomy.ResultsPostoperative quality of life was compared between patients with and without pouches. The analysis revealed that patients with pouches, particularly oral pouches, experienced substantially improved postoperative quality of life than those without, even after adjusting for several clinical factors using multiple regression analyses.ConclusionThe results suggest that total gastrectomy with jejunal pouch creation, particularly oral pouches, may significantly improve postoperative quality of life.
A comparative study of catalytic activity on iron‐based carbon nanostructured catalysts with Pd loading: Using the Box–Behnken design (BBD) method in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling
Authors: Moniriyan Faezeh , Sabounchei Seyyed Javad 
Published: September 2021

AbstractHighly dispersed palladium nanoparticles immobilized on surface‐modified Fe3O4 NPs and magnetic carbon nanostructures (CNSs; carbon nanotubes/graphene oxide) were synthesized and applied as a recyclable and reusable nanocatalyst to achieve palladium (II)‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of arylboronic acid with aryl bromides. Carbon nanostructures with immobilized hydantoin (PH)‐Pd complex display excellent stability, including a high performance at low catalyst loading. Magnetic separation prevents catalyst centrifuge or filtration and also contributes to practical techniques for recovery. Next, a response surface method based on a three‐level Box–Behnken design was used, which involved three factors: catalyst loading, reaction time, and solvent. The Box–Behnken method was advantageous to parameters optimization for obtaining a yield, with high efficiency and accuracy. As a result of catalytic tests, the TONs and TOFs were calculated from all coupling reactions. The prepared nano‐magnetic catalysts, after the catalysis reaction, can be easily recovered through the magnetic field. Evaluated catalytic performance indicates that these types of catalysts can function as effective recyclable catalysts at least five times without losing the initial level of catalytic activity.
Injection molding versus extrusion in the manufacturing of soy protein‐based bioplastics with zinc incorporated
Authors: Jiménez‐Rosado Mercedes , Maigret Jean‐Eudes , Lourdin Denis , Guerrero Antonio , Romero Alberto 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBioplastics are mostly processed by injection molding. However, more continuous techniques are still being tested, such as extrusion, which allow them to be produced at a lower cost. In this way, the principal objective of this work was to develop soy protein‐based bioplastics with zinc sulphate (fertilizer) incorporated by extrusion, using different plasticizers (glycerol and water) and temperatures (95, 115, and 135°C). In addition, the same parameters were used to produce bioplastics by injection molding in order to compare both processing techniques. Thus, the main novelty of this work was the evaluation of extrusion as a substitute for injection molding in the production of these bioplastics, trying to improve their scalability to the industrial sector. For this, the bioplastics were evaluated through their physico‐chemical and mechanical properties, as well as functional properties for horticulture and microstructure. Results showed that glycerol allows obtaining better mechanical resistance but quickly zinc release. Nevertheless, these properties can be modified by the processing parameters, getting better mechanical resistance and slower zinc release at higher temperatures. In addition, results highlight the high potential of extrusion for the development of bioplastics, which can lead to a reduction in operating costs during industrial processing.
The efficacy of acupuncture on the sleep structure of patients with insomnia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Fang Qin‐Qin , Wang Xiao‐Qiu , Liu Cheng‐Yong , Xi Han‐Qing , Wan Qing‐Yun , Qin Shan , Xu Liang , Tian Qian‐Mo , Pan Rui , Wu Wen‐Zhong 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThis study aims to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture on the sleep structure of patients with insomnia, so as to provide a valuable basis for the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of insomnia. We conducted searches based on MeSH terms and free words in Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of science, CKNI (China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database), WanFang Database, and Chongqing VIP Information from the inception of these database until 10 July 2020 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated acupuncture treatment in patients with insomnia, and pertinent details of the results were saved. Comprehensive analysis showed that: (1) compared with the Western medicine groups, the acupuncture groups showed significant advantages in reducing the percentage of N1 sleep stage and N2 sleep stage, as well as increasing that of N3 sleep stage and REM sleep stage. However, no significant difference was found in increasing the effective rate, reducing total PSQI score, improving the total sleep time, reducing sleep latency, and improving sleep efficiency between the Western medicine groups and the acupuncture groups. (2) Compared with the sham acupuncture groups, the acupuncture treatment showed advantages in increasing the effective rate, reducing Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score, increasing the total sleep time, and improving sleep efficiency. However, no significant difference was observed between the sham acupuncture groups and the acupuncture groups with regard to reducing sleep latency, the percentage of N1 sleep stage and N2 sleep stage, as well as increasing that of N3 sleep stage and REM sleep stage.
Anatomical societies find new ways to come together in a post‐Covid world
Authors: Boscolo‐Berto Rafael , Porzionato Andrea , Stecco Carla , Macchi Veronica , De Caro Raffaele 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe world has been turned upside down by a global health emergency caused by the Covid‐19. Given the high contagiousness of the virus and the need to contain its spread, social distancing rules, self‐isolation policies, and geographical lockdowns have been enforced globally. Over the pandemic emergency the majority of the planned in‐person meetings and congresses of national and international anatomical societies have been postponed or canceled. It is unclear what the future holds, but times of crisis often present possibilities for re‐thinking old ways to achieve a more critical approach. It has become increasingly clear that traditional in‐person congress formats of scientific societies need to be reevaluated. Over the past year and a half, two types of congressional modalities have been trialed to address the challenge of the pandemic as far as scientific meetings are concerned: the fully virtual congress, in which case the conference program is live streamed to all of the attendees, and the hybrid congress, in which case some of the attendees physically participate at the congress's venue while others interact via a virtual platform. The current study set out to investigate the technical difficulties, social challenges, costs and sustainability, logistics and management issues linked to holding various types of congresses in the post‐Covid world. Anatomical societies throughout the world are actively striving to reshape their response to the current global emergency and to uncover new types of conference modalities in the effort to keep scientific exchange alive and flourishing in the post‐Covid era.
Computational Exploration of Mechanistic Avenues in Metal‐Free CO2 Reduction to CO by Disilyne Bisphosphine Adduct and Phosphonium Silaylide
Authors: Dutta Sayan , Singh Kalyan , Koley Debasis 
Published: September 2021

AbstractRecent years have seen a growing interest in metal‐free CO2 activation by silylenes, silylones, and silanones. However, compared to mononuclear silicon species, CO2 reduction mediated by dinuclear silicon compounds, especially disilynes, has been less explored. We have carried out extensive computational investigations to explore the mechanistic avenues in CO2 reduction to CO by donor‐stabilized disilyne bisphosphine adduct (R1M) and phosphonium silaylide (R2) using density functional theory calculations. Theoretical calculations suggest that R1M exhibits donor‐stabilized bis(silylene) bonding features with unusual Si−Si multiple bonding. Various modes of CO2 coordination to R1M have been investigated and the coordination of CO2 by the carbon center to R1M is found to be kinetically more facile than that by oxygen involving only one or both the silicon centers. Both the theoretically predicted reaction mechanisms of R1M and R2‐mediated CO2 reduction reveal the crucial role of silicon‐centered lone pairs in CO2 activations and generation of key intermediates possessing enormous strain in the Si−C−O ring, which plays the pivotal role in CO extrusion.
Self‐Assembly of Surface‐Functionalized Ag1.8Mn8O16 Nanorods with Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets as an Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Zinc‐Air Batteries
Authors: Du Guojun , Zong Yun , Liu Xiaogang , Liu Zhaolin 
Published: September 2021

AbstractBifunctional electrocatalysts play a key role in the performance of rechargeable metal‐air batteries. Herein, we report a hybrid catalyst, Ag1.8Mn8O16/rGO, self‐assembled by Ag1.8Mn8O16 nanorods and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets through electrostatic attraction. The hybrid catalyst exhibits a better oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity than commercial Pt/C in alkaline medium. When employed as an air‐cathode catalyst in Zn‐air cells, the hybrids enabled higher and more stable output voltage and better durability of the cells, benefitting from the improved electrode conductivity, larger surface area, and synergetic coupling as a result of its high structural integrity.
Selective Transformation of Norbornadiene into Functionalized Azaheterocycles and β‐Amino Esters with Stereo‐ and Regiocontrol
Authors: Semghouli Anas , Benke Zsanett , Remete Attila M. , Novák Tamás T. , Fustero Santos , Kiss Loránd 
Published: September 2021

AbstractNovel functionalized azaheterocycles with multiple chiral centers have been accessed from readily available norbornene β‐amino acids or β‐lactams across a stereocontrolled synthetic route, based on ring‐opening metathesis (ROM) of the staring unsaturated bicyclic amino esters, followed by selective cyclization through ring‐closing metathesis (RCM). The RCM transformations have been studied under various experimental conditions to assess the scope of conversion, catalyst, yield, and substrate influence. The structure of the starting norbornene β‐amino acids predetermined the structure of the new azaheterocycles, and the developed synthetic route took place with the conservation of the configuration of the chiral centers.
Simultaneous confidence intervals for contrasts of quantiles
Authors: Segbehoe Lawrence S. , Schaarschmidt Frank , Djira Gemechis D. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSkewed distributions and inferences concerning quantiles are common in the health and social science researches. And most standard simultaneous inference procedures require the normality assumption. For example, few methods exist for comparing the medians of independent samples or quantiles of several distributions in general. To our knowledge, there is no easy‐to‐use method for constructing simultaneous confidence intervals for multiple contrasts of quantiles in a one‐way layout. In this paper, we develop an asymptotic method for constructing such intervals both for differences and ratios of quantiles and extend the idea to that of right‐censored time‐to‐event data in survival analysis. Small‐sample performance of the proposed method and a bootstrap method were assessed in terms of coverage probabilities and average widths of the simultaneous confidence intervals. Good coverage probabilities were observed for most of the distributions considered in our simulations. The proposed methods have been implemented in an R package and are used to analyze two motivating datasets.
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/graphene oxide composite as drug carrier system for 5‐fluorouracil
Authors: Hasanin Mohamed S. , El‐Sakhawy Mohamed , Ahmed Hanaa. Y. , Kamel Samir 
Published: September 2021

AbstractAimThis study aims to prepare a nanocomposite (HPMC/5‐FL@GO) from hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and graphene oxide (GO) as biocompatible materials. The nanocomposite enhances the drug activity of immobilized 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU), decreasing the side effect of long‐run treatment protocols with highly efficient drug‐drug activity.Method and resultsDifferent samples were characterized by ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic light scattering along with cytotoxicity and anticancer study. A homogenous and compatible nanocomposite structure with a homogenous drug distribution was confirmed. Furthermore, the prepared nanocomposite has a low cytotoxicity effect against normal Vero cell lines compared with 5‐FU. The antitumor activities of the same nanocomposite (20.4 and 74.3 μg mL−1 on A549 and HepG‐2) were lower than that of 5‐FU (54.1 and 103 μg mL−1 on A549 and HepG‐2).Conclusion and implicationsAccording to the attained results, the HPMC/5‐FL@GO can apply in a biomedical application such as cancer therapy with the unique biocompatible to human cells.
A sequence‐based method for predicting extant fold switchers that undergo α‐helix ↔ β‐strand transitions
Authors: Mishra Soumya , Looger Loren L. , Porter Lauren L. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractExtant fold‐switching proteins remodel their secondary structures and change their functions in response to cellular stimuli, regulating biological processes and affecting human health. Despite their biological importance, these proteins remain understudied. Predictive methods are needed to expedite the process of discovering and characterizing more of these shapeshifting proteins. Most previous approaches require a solved structure or all‐atom simulations, greatly constraining their use. Here, we propose a high‐throughput sequence‐based method for predicting extant fold switchers that transition from α‐helix in one conformation to β‐strand in the other. This method leverages two previous observations: (a) α‐helix ↔ β‐strand prediction discrepancies from JPred4 are a robust predictor of fold switching, and (b) the fold‐switching regions (FSRs) of some extant fold switchers have different secondary structure propensities when expressed by themselves (isolated FSRs) than when expressed within the context of their parent protein (contextualized FSRs). Combining these two observations, we ran JPred4 on 99‐fold‐switching proteins and found strong correspondence between predicted and experimentally observed α‐helix ↔ β‐strand discrepancies. To test the overall robustness of this finding, we randomly selected regions of proteins not expected to switch folds (single‐fold proteins) and found significantly fewer predicted α‐helix ↔ β‐strand discrepancies. Combining these discrepancies with the overall percentage of predicted secondary structure, we developed a classifier to identify extant fold switchers (Matthews correlation coefficient of .71). Although this classifier had a high false‐negative rate (7/17), its false‐positive rate was very low (2/136), suggesting that it can be used to predict a subset of extant fold switchers from a multitude of available genomic sequences.
Developments of biobased plasticizers for compostable polymers in the green packaging applications: A review
Authors: Alhanish Atika , Abu Ghalia Mustafa 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe demand for biobased materials for various end‐uses in the bioplastic industry is substantially growing due to increasing awareness of health and environmental concerns, along with the toxicity of synthetic plasticizers such as phthalates. This fact has stimulated new regulations requiring the replacement of synthetic conventional plasticizers, particularly for packaging applications. Biobased plasticizers have recently been considered as essential additives, which may be used during the processing of compostable polymers to enormously boost biobased packaging applications. The development and utilization of biobased plasticizers derived from epoxidized soybean oil, castor oil, cardanol, citrate, and isosorbide have been broadly investigated. The synthesis of biobased plasticizers derived from renewable feedstocks and their impact on packaging material performance have been emphasized. Moreover, the effect of biobased plasticizer concentration, interaction, and compatibility on the polymer properties has been examined. Recent developments have resulted in the replacement of synthetic plasticizers by biobased counterparts. Particularly, this has been the case for some biodegradable thermoplastics‐based packaging applications.