bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Numerical Modelling of Reinforced Concrete Slender Walls Subjected to Coupled Axial Tension–Flexure
Authors: Cheng Xiaowei , Zhang Haoyou 
Published: July 2021

AbstractUnder strong earthquakes, reinforced concrete (RC) walls in high-rise buildings, particularly in wall piers that form part of a coupled or core wall system, may experience coupled axial tension–flexure loading. In this study, a detailed finite element model was developed in VecTor2 to provide an effective tool for the further investigation of the seismic behaviour of RC walls subjected to axial tension and cyclic lateral loading. The model was verified using experimental data from recent RC wall tests under axial tension and cyclic lateral loading, and results showed that the model can accurately capture the overall response of RC walls. Additional analyses were conducted using the developed model to investigate the effect of key design parameters on the peak strength, ultimate deformation capacity and plastic hinge length of RC walls under axial tension and cyclic lateral loading. On the basis of the analysis results, useful information were provided when designing or assessing the seismic behaviour of RC slender walls under coupled axial tension–flexure loading.
Migration diffusivity as a controlling factor in the duration of earthquake swarms
Authors: Amezawa Yuta , Maeda Takuto , Kosuga Masahiro 
Published: July 2021

AbstractEarthquake swarms exhibit highly uncertain temporal behavior. We investigated the relationship between the swarm duration and the diffusivity of hypocenter migration for triggered earthquake swarms in northeastern Japan. These parameters were systematically estimated by applying a diffusion model and using a unified definition of time windows for the initial and final stages of swarm activity. This approach detected a clear negative correlation between the diffusivity and swarm durations. The relation follows a power-law with an exponent of $$-\,0.5$$

-

0.5

to $$-\,1.0$$

-

1.0

. Examination of published data confirmed that this relationship globally holds under various localities and tectonic environments. These results suggest that diffusivity, and by extension, crustal permeability and fluid viscosity play a key role in controlling the duration of the fluid-driven swarms.
A two-parameter hazard function to describe age patterns of mortality in ancient Northwestern Europe
Authors: La Poutré Hugo J. P. , Janssen Fanny 
Published: July 2021

AbstractWhen seeking to describe the age patterns of mortality for ancient populations, researchers are often confronted with small sample sizes or with missing data for several age groups. The traditional approach to dealing with these challenges is to smooth or complement such patterns by matching them to a model life table, either directly or through the Brass logit transformation. This procedure requires an appropriate model life table, which may not be available. We propose a hazard model that is both flexible enough to accurately describe an age pattern of mortality in ancient Northwestern Europe and restrictive enough to complement incomplete data. This paper presents a hazard function that contains four free-to-choose parameters. Tested against a large collection of life tables for northwestern European countries from the 17th to the 21st century, the number of free-to-choose parameters is stepwise reduced from four to only two. Compared with the Brass logit transformation with the Princeton Model West as its reference, the presented two-parameter hazard model is shown to fit the abovementioned dataset much better. The mean fitting error is found to be half the size. Moreover, this model is shown to fit a 13th-century mortality age pattern much better. The proposed two-parameter hazard model is capable of fitting a wide range of age patterns of mortality more closely than the traditional approach can. We therefore conclude that the proposed model facilitates the smoothing and the completion of age patterns of mortality in ancient Northwestern Europe even if they deviate substantially from well-documented patterns.
A comparison of cognitive performances between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and multiple sclerosis patients in Indian context
Authors: Kumar Swati , Gangopadhyay Goutam , Biswas Atanu , Dubey Souvik , Pandit Alak , Das Shambaditya , Ray Biman Kanti 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background
To compare the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Results
Twenty NMOSD and forty MS patients were included. Clinical and detailed neuropsychological assessment was done using frontal assessment battery and Kolkata cognitive battery supplemented with additional standard tests for different domains of cognitive functions. Domain wise tests were performed and compared. 15/20 (75%) NMOSD and 32/40 (80%) MS patients had cognitive impairment (p = 0.65). Executive function, verbal fluency, information processing speed, visuo-constructional ability, attention, complex calculation, and memory were more commonly involved in NMOSD in decreasing order. Compared to MS, the pattern was similar except that verbal fluency was more impaired in NMOSD. Expanded Disability Status scale (EDSS) correlated with cognitive involvement in NMOSD (p = 0.02) as against MS.

Conclusions
Executive function, verbal fluencies, and information processing speed were more affected compared to visual and verbal memory in NMOSD patients. The pattern of cognitive performance was similar in the MS group, even though clinical and radiological characteristics and pathophysiology is different, suggesting similar brain involvement.
Design expert as a statistical tool for optimization of 5-ASA-loaded biopolymer-based nanoparticles using Box Behnken factorial design
Authors: Akram Wasim , Garud Navneet 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background
The overall objective was to prepare a highly accurate nanocarrier system of mesalamine for the treatment of ulcerative colitis with increased therapeutic efficacy and targeting. In the formulation of nanocarrier systems, optimization is a critical process for understanding nanoformulation variables and quality aspects. The goal of the present work was to determine the effect of independent variables, i.e., the concentrations of chitosan, carboxymethyl inulin (CMI), and the drug on the response variables, i.e., particle size and percent entrapment efficiency of the mesalamine-loaded nanoparticle using the Box Behnken design (BBD). The correlation between the independent and dependent variables was investigated using the Design Expert generated mathematical equations, contour, and response surface designs.

Result
An optimized batch was developed using the ionotropic gel method with selected independent variables (A: + 1 level, B: 0 level, C: − 1 level) and the developed nanoparticles had a particle size of 184.18 nm, zeta potential 26.54 mV, and entrapment efficiency 88.58%. The observed responses were remarkably similar to the predicted values. The morphological studies revealed that the formulated nanoparticles were spherical, and the results of the FTIR and DSC studies indicated the drug-polymer compatibility. The nanoparticle showed less than 5% release in the pH 1.2. In the colonic region (pH 7.4), more than 80 % of the medication was released after 24 h. The kinetics study showed that the Higuchi and Korsemeyer-Peppas models had R2 values of 0.9426 and 0.9784 respectively, for the developed formulation indicating linearity, as revealed by the plots. This result justified the sustained release behavior of the formulation.

Conclusion
The mesalamine-loaded chitosan-CMI nanoparticle has been successfully developed using the ionotropic gelation method. The nanoparticles developed in this study were proposed to deliver the drug to its desired site. The developed nanoparticles were likely to have a small particle size with positive zeta potential and high percent drug entrapment. It could be stated from the results that BBD can be an active way for optimizing the formulation and that nanoparticles can be a potential carrier for delivering therapeutics to the colon.
Sequestration to lipid droplets promotes histone availability by preventing turnover of excess histones
Authors: Stephenson Roxan A. , Thomalla Jonathon M. , Chen Lili , Kolkhof Petra , White Roger P. , Beller Mathias , Welte Michael A. 
Published: July 2021

ABSTRACT
Because both dearth and overabundance of histones result in cellular defects, histone synthesis and demand are typically tightly coupled. In Drosophila embryos, histones H2B, H2A and H2Av accumulate on lipid droplets (LDs), which are cytoplasmic fat storage organelles. Without LD binding, maternally provided H2B, H2A and H2Av are absent; however, how LDs ensure histone storage is unclear. Using quantitative imaging, we uncover when during oogenesis these histones accumulate, and which step of accumulation is LD dependent. LDs originate in nurse cells (NCs) and are transported to the oocyte. Although H2Av accumulates on LDs in NCs, the majority of the final H2Av pool is synthesized in oocytes. LDs promote intercellular transport of the histone anchor Jabba and thus its presence in the ooplasm. Ooplasmic Jabba then prevents H2Av degradation, safeguarding the H2Av stockpile. Our findings provide insight into the mechanism for establishing histone stores during Drosophila oogenesis and shed light on the function of LDs as protein-sequestration sites.
Administration of ascorbic acid in the treatment of septic shock
Authors: Stamouli Angeliki , Marvaki Christina , Vasilopoulos George , Kapadochos Theodoros 
Published: July 2021

Introduction: Septic shock is a common condition encountered in the intensive care unit. Sepsis is the leading cause of death with mortality ranging from 35-50%. Several factors are involved in the increasing incidence of sepsis including age, immunosuppression and antibiotic resistance. Gram+ or Gram- infections are considered leading causes of sepsis. Septic shock prognosis is significantly affected by early treatment. The hospitalization of the patient in the intensive care unit is particularly important as it is essential to support vital functions due to the complications of the shock.Aim: To investigate the action of ascorbic acid in the treatment of septic shock and the benefits of its administration. Method-Material: Randomized trials were searched in CENTRAL, EMBASE and PubMed databases. The total number of studies included was 6. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool Review Manager Revman 5.3 was used to control the studies. Τhe criteria for the inclusion of patients were: age more specifically over 18 years old, patients accepted to intensive care unit with septic shock, patients with septic shock who received ascorbic acid randomized studies and cohort studies and articles in English with a time limit from 2008 to the first semester of 2020.Results: The results of the studies showed that patients with septicemia and septic shock have shown beneficial effects of ascorbic acid alone or in combination with corticosteroids and thiamine in the prevention of progressive organ dysfunction and in the reduction in mortality and severity of severe sepsis. Also, there was a reduced inflammatory response observed in septic shock and attenuated levels of circulatory injury biomarker.Conclusions: Ascorbic acid has beneficial properties in septic shock and various studies have highlighted the importance of the combination of ascorbic acid and other vitamins and trace elements.
Can Trauma be Told? Juridical Discourse and Affect in Vanessa Place’s Statement of Facts
Authors: Haselden Francis 
Published: July 2021

A poet and an appellate criminal defence attorney specialising in sex crimes, Vanessa Place reproduces the evidence of rape crimes presented during trials in Statement of Facts (2010). At the heart of these trials lies a trauma that legal language seeks to convey. Drawing on Jean-François Lyotard’s concepts of the differend (différend) and litigation, I ask if the documentary poem represents the traumatic event or if it simply reproduces legal language. I propose that the discourse of the law fails to account for trauma because of a mismatch between the forms of language required to establish facts in a court of law and the traumatic event itself. Yet, the transformation of this language into a poem makes it possible to indicate this mismatch while at the same time bringing the unspeakable violence of the traumatic experience to the surface of the text as read by the poet.
Out of Bounds: Confronting War Crimes and the Breakdown of Justice with Contemporary Art
Authors: Bernard Catherine 
Published: July 2021

Recent art has turned to judiciary and extra-judiciary practices, specifically in the context of international conflicts, in order to assert art’s political accountability and relevance to our capacity to historicise the present. The war in Iraq inspired works that directly address issues of representation and remediation, such as Marc Quinn’s Mirage (2008), in which the aesthetic experience opens onto an ambiguous experience of the breakdown of justice. Other works have chosen to turn carceral space itself into the site of a collective remembering that harnesses affect to a critical reflection on the administration of justice, on assent and dissent. This article will turn to key works by Marc Quinn and Trevor Paglen that confront extra-judiciary malpractices, but also to recent collective art projects involving an interdisciplinary take on the experience of imprisonment, such as Inside. Artists and Writers in Reading Prison (2016), in which artists of all backgrounds responded to Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis on the very premises of Wilde’s incarceration, as well as the work of 2019 Turner Prize co-recipient: Jordanian sound artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan whose recent works rely on testimonies from Syrian detainees and probe the political pragmatics of aural art. All these works have turned to the document—literary, visual, aural—to reflect on the process of experiential mediation. How does the experience of imprisonment, or extra-judiciary malpractices, come to the spectator? How are they read, heard, interpreted, remediated? The article ponders the remediation and displacement of aesthetic experience itself and the “response-ability”—following Donna Haraway’s coinage—of such a repoliticised embodied experience. It will assess the way by which such interdisciplinary works rethink the poetics of the documentary for an embodied intellection of justice—and injustice—in the present.
Modeling individual development plans, mentoring support, and career preparedness relationships among Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) trainees in the life sciences
Authors: Chang Chi-Ning , Patterson Clinton A. , Vanderford Nathan L. , Evans Teresa M. 
Published: July 2021

Background: As greater career development support for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers has been emphasized, the individual development plan (IDP) has become a recommended mentoring tool. However, little is known about the effect of IDPs on mentoring and career development. This study proposed two conceptual models to examine the interrelationships among the use of IDPs, mentoring support, and career preparedness with a diverse sample of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences. Methods: The data leveraged for this study was collected over a three-month period, March 2016 to June 2016, as part of a cross-sectional, online survey. The survey was distributed through social media and direct email to participants enrolled in life/biological/medical or physical/applied doctoral programs at U.S. institutions. To test the proposed conceptual models, this study employed the design-based multilevel structural equation modeling. Results: The analytic sample comprised 660 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences from 91 institutions. The results suggested that 1) using the IDP could enhance mentoring support and career preparedness of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers; 2) greater mentoring support and career preparedness would motivate mentees to continue utilizing the IDP with their principal investigator (PI) or advisor; and 3) females, postdoctoral researchers, and international scholars might need more support throughout the mentoring and career development process. Conclusions: This research demonstrated the empirical evidence an IDP has within mentorship and career preparedness, and that an IDP is an important career development tool that enhances trainees’ overall career preparation.
Vaping liquid flavour preferences, oral nicotine pouch and cannabis use: A survey of participants in the 2019 Oceania Vape Expo
Authors: Glover Marewa , Phillips Carl V. , Selket Kyro , Jeffares Yolande 
Published: July 2021

Background: New Zealand and other countries have introduced or are considering various restrictions on the sale and use of vaping devices and liquids used in vaping and smokeless tobacco products. This research aimed to assess the likely reactions of individuals who vape to proposed restrictions in New Zealand. Methods: A vape expo, a social and commercial weekend convention, provides convenient access to individuals with a strong interest in and or experience in vaping. A street intercept approach was used to survey attendees at a vape expo for adults aged 18 and over in Auckland, New Zealand in December 2019. Results: This research suggests restricting the sale of liquid flavours may have negative unintended consequences. 57% of respondents indicated they would circumvent a ban on popular liquid flavours by mixing their own and/or buying liquids from overseas or the black market. Over a third (36%) would likely be restricted in their choice of a low-risk substitute for tobacco smoking if products such as snus and oral nicotine pouches were banned. A further 36% had heard of these options but were currently not using them. Other results are in the areas of smoking behaviour, cannabis use, and responses to cannabis legalisation. Conclusions: Various legislative or policy initiatives proposed to regulate vaping may have unanticipated negative consequences for public health. The negative impacts are likely to be disproportional for groups with higher smoking prevalence such as Indigenous peoples, rural communities, and lower socioeconomic groups.
Evaluation of clinical, histology, TNF-α, and collagen expressions on oral ulcer in rats after treatment with areca nut and chrysanthemum oral gel
Authors: Meutia Sari Liza , Mubarak Zaki , Keumala Sari Dina 
Published: July 2021

Background: Areca nut (Areca catechu Linn.) is the seed of the fruit of the oriental palm that is commonly used among Southeast Asian communities. Chrysanthemum (Dendrathema grandiflora) is a flowering plant originating from East Asia and dominantly grows in China. Both of these plants have strong antioxidant activities. To investigate the mechanism of their wound healing activities, we prepared areca nut and chrysanthemum polyethylene oral gel and performed several in vivo assays using Sprague–Dawley rats. Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into five groups: Negative control group (rats with base gel treatment), positive control group (rats treated with triamcinolone acetonide), F1 (treatment with 20% areca nut:80% chrysanthemum), F2 (treatment with 50% areca nut:50% chrysanthemum), and F3 (treatment with 80% areca nut:20% chrysanthemum). Traumatic ulcers were performed on the buccal mucosa of all experimental animals that received topical oral gel and triamcinolone acetonide twice a day for seven days. The clinical and histological characteristics were analyzed and scored. Results: During the six days, the ulcerated area receded linearly over time and was completely cicatrized in F2 and positive control group (Dependent t-test, p<0.05). There were significant increases in body weight in F2 and positive control groups. There were no significant differences between groups in histology examination (Kruskal Wallis test, p<0.05). The moderate score of TNF-α levels was seen in F2 and positive control groups (ANOVA/Tukey test). Similar results were seen in the collagenases assay. Conclusions: A balanced combination of areca nut and chrysanthemum extract in the oral gel can optimize the healing of traumatic oral ulcers in rats through the increase of TNF-α and collagen deposition.
‘Pinholes in my arms’: the vicious cycle of vascular access
Authors: Kelly Linda J , Snowden Austyn 
Published: July 2021

Background: Vascular access devices (VADs) are essential for delivery of intravenous therapies. There are notable gaps in the literature regarding a focus on patient experience and meaning-making related to living with a VAD, specifically a central venous access device (CVAD). Aims: To explore how patients make sense of living with a CVAD. Methods: This study followed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Purposive sampling was used to identify 11 cancer patients who had a CVAD in situ. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were performed. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed by the lead author. Findings: Four superordinate themes were identified: the self under attack; being rescued/being robbed; protection of others/protection of self; bewilderment and dismay at lack of staff competence. Conclusion: Having a CVAD affects the psychological, social, and personal self and impacts on self-esteem and self-image. Despite this, CVADs are accepted by patients and are eventually ‘embodied’ by them.
Microsphere-coupled optical tweezers
Authors: Khosravi Mohammad Hossein , Shahabadi Vahid , Hajizadeh Faegheh 
Published: July 2021

In this Letter, we study the optical trapping of particles in a focal spot engineered by a combination of a dielectric microsphere and the conventional optical tweezers setup. The dielectric microsphere is placed in the laser path before the focal spot, and its impact on the trapping stiffness is theoretically and experimentally studied in detail. The suggested method for considering the geometric phase shift, due to the presence of the microsphere, into the Debye diffraction integral shows a good agreement with the experiment. We stably trap particles as small as 350 nm in the microsphere-coupled optical trap using a low numerical aperture objective (

N
A

=

0.7

), while in a conventional optical tweezers setup, it requires at least an

N
A

=

1.1

. Moreover, the results show that choosing an appropriate microsphere and depth of trapping can enhance the trapping efficiency in the axial direction by a factor of

∼

3.8

.
Optoelectronic chromatic dispersion in germanium PN photodiodes: wavelength monitoring and FBG interrogation
Authors: Liokumovitch Egor , Glasser Ziv , Singh Leeju , Abramov Rita , Sternklar Shmuel 
Published: July 2021

Optoelectronic chromatic dispersion (OED) has recently been shown to be a significant source of chromatic dispersion in photodiodes. We characterize the OED in a commercial germanium PN-type photodiode and determine the optimum conditions for maximum OED sensitivity and wavelength monitoring. A peak OED sensitivity of 1 deg/nm is measured in a spectral range of 1550–1558 nm with 4 MHz modulation. We also demonstrate an application of OED in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogation. Quasi-static and vibration strains are monitored, with a spectral and strain sensitivity of

1

.25

p
m

/

H
z

and

1

.08

µ
ε

/

H
z

, respectively. Photodiode OED can form the basis of inexpensive chip-scale grating-less spectral analysis.