bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Infertility and same‐sex attraction in women
Authors: Kanazawa Satoshi , Larere Adrien 
Published: November 2021

AbstractA polygyny hypothesis of female sexual fluidity proposes that women may have been evolutionarily selected to be sexually fluid, in order to have occasional sex with their cowives in polygynous marriage to reduce tension and conflict inherent in such marriage, while at the same time reproducing children with their husbands. Among others, the hypothesis predicts that women who are biologically (but not surgically) infertile would experience greater same‐sex attraction. Biological infertility stems from natural, evolutionarily familiar causes such as menopause, whereas surgical infertility stems from artificial, evolutionarily novel causes such as tubal ligation or hysterectomy. Consistent with the prediction, the analyses of the National Survey of Family Growth data showed that biological infertility, but not surgical infertility, was significantly associated with same‐sex self‐identified labels, behavior and sexual attraction in women. Biological infertility nearly doubled the odds of women having engaged in same‐sex behavior and the number of same‐sex partners in the last 12 months and nearly tripled the number of same‐sex partners in life. In sharp contrast, biological infertility was not associated (and surgical infertility was significantly negatively associated) with same‐sex attraction in men.
Practical tips for anaesthesia of donkeys
Authors: Sefton Abigail , Thiemann Alex 
Published: November 2021

Background: Donkeys make up a small but important percentage of patients seen by equine and mixed practices, but, while similar to horses in many respects, they have different management needs. Many of these differences are evident in the anaesthesia setting, and differentiating the treatment of donkeys from ‘small horses’ can lead to better outcomes for patients, owners and practices.Aim of the article: This article highlights the differences between donkeys and horses with regards to induction and maintenance of anaesthesia and provides practical tips about performing safe anaesthesia of donkeys.
Autophagy‐lysosome dysfunction is involved in gastric ischemia‑reperfusion injury by promoting microglial activation in the paraventricular nucleus
Authors: Feng Aiqin , Gao Lin , Yue Peijian , Liu Yue , Zhou Qiaoyu , Ren Zhiping , Teng Junfang 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is a specific center in the brain that regulates gastric mucosal injury following gastric ischemia‑reperfusion (GI‐R) injury. This study aimed to investigate whether autophagy‐lysosome dysfunction in the PVN tissues of GI‐R rats is involved in the gastric injury, and the underlying molecular mechanisms. The rat model of GI‐R was established by clamping the celiac artery for 30 min and reperfusion for different hours (1, 3, and 6 h). The gastric injury was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining of the stomach and the gastric mucosal index. The autophagy–lysosome dysfunction in the PVN was evaluated by the protein levels of LC3 II and Beclin‐1 (markers for autophagosome activity) and the activity of acid phosphatase (a representative lysosomal enzyme). Immunohistochemical staining of ionized calcium‐binding adaptor molecule 1 in the PVN was performed to evaluate microglial activation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and phosphorylated γ‐aminobutyric acid B receptor (p‐GABABR) expression in the PVN were also examined. The results revealed that, in GI‐R rats, the shorter the reperfusion duration, the more severe the gastric mucosal damage. The autophagy–lysosome dysfunction exhibited by GI‐R rats further enhanced microglial activation, ROS production, p‐GABABR expression, and gastric injury. In addition, activating microglial cells increased ROS production, p‐GABABR expression, and gastric injury in GI‐R rats, while inhibiting microglial activation resulted in the opposite results. Taken together, autophagy–lysosome dysfunction induced by GI‐R aggravated the gastric injury by inducing microglia activation.
Ultrafast Photochromic Self‐Healing Polymer Gels with Tunable Fluorescence
Authors: Gao Jie , Zhang Wen‐Da , Wang Lin‐Lin , Chen Yu‐Xuan , Shi Ya‐Xiang , Ji Wei , Xu Zexiao , Yan Xiaodong , Gu Zhi‐Guo 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPhotoresponsive self‐healing polymer gels have great potential in the fields of optical information storage, artificial intelligence, and wearable flexible devices. Herein, a series of photoresponsive self‐healing gels based on dynamic imine bonds are synthesized in which the photoresponsive functions are achieved by the incorporation of the chromophore 1,2‐bis(5′‐formyl‐2′‐methylthien‐3′‐yl)perfluorocyclopentene (DEA) and the fluorophore 2,5‐dimethoxybenzene‐1,4‐diformaldehyde derivatives (DBD) through the Schiff base reactions between DEA/DBD and aminopropylmethylsiloxane‐dimethylsiloxane copolymers. The gels show ultrafast photoresponsive ability with the transition from yellow to blue within 10 s under 254 nm UV–Vis and subsequent color restoration within 20 s under visible light, derived from the fast ring‐closure and ‐opening transition of DEA. Interestingly, the molecular states of DEA have influence on the on–off intensity of the fluorescence. The gels with ring‐opened DEA show stronger blue fluorescence than the ones with ring‐closed DEA. In addition, the cross‐linked dynamic imine bond enables the gels to self‐heal quickly, and the wound disappears within 10 min without any external stimuli.
Role of membrane proteins in bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides
Authors: Vimberg Vladimir , Buriánková Karolína , Mazumdar Aninda , Branny Pavel , Novotná Gabriela B. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractSeveral natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including the novel semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide antibiotics telavancin, dalbavancin, and oritavancin, have been approved for clinical use to address the growing problem of multiple antibiotic‐resistant Gram‐positive bacterial infections. Nevertheless, the efficacy of these antibiotics has already been compromised. The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic led to the increased clinical use of all antibiotics, further promoting the development of bacterial resistance. Therefore, it is critical to gain a deeper understanding of the role of resistance mechanisms to minimize the consequential risks of long‐term antibiotic use and misuse. Here, we summarize for the first time the current knowledge of resistance mechanisms that have been shown to cause resistance to clinically used AMPs, with particular focus on membrane proteins that have been reported to interfere with the activity of AMPs by affecting the binding of AMPs to bacteria.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus Strain LRH05 Intervention Ameliorated Body Weight Gain and Adipose Inflammation via Modulating the Gut Microbiota in High‐Fat Diet‐Induced Obese Mice
Authors: Chen Yung‐Tsung , Chiou Shiou‐Yun , Hsu Ai‐Hua , Lin Yu‐Chun , Lin Jin‐Seng 
Published: November 2021

ScopeThis study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of a specific probiotic strain on suppression of adipogenesis and inflammatory response in white adipose tissue (WAT) of high‐fat diet (HFD)‐fed mice.Methods and ResultsEight strains are screened in vitro for candidates of potential probiotics. Lactobacillus rhamnosus LRH05 (LRH05) and Lactobacillus reuteri LR47 (LR47) are screened out with lower triglyceride expression in vitro. The mice are fed a control diet (CD), HFD, or HFD supplemented with a dose of LRH05 or LR47 at 109 CFU per mouse per day for 10 weeks (n = 8), respectively. The results demonstrate that LRH05, but not LR47, significantly reduce body weight gain and the weight of WAT, as well as improve hepatic steatosis and glucose intolerance. LRH05 regulates the Mogat1, Igf‐1, Mcp‐1, and F4/80 mRNA expression and decreases macrophage infiltration in WAT. LRH05 shows an increase in butyric and propionic acid‐producing bacteria, including Lachnoclostridium, Romboutsia, and Fusobacterium that is coincident with the increased fecal propionic acid and butyric acid levels.ConclusionLRH05 shows a strain‐specific effect on ameliorating the pro‐inflammatory process by reducing inflammatory macrophage infiltration and the expression of inflammation‐related genes in mice. Thus, LRH05 can be considered a potential probiotic strain to prevent obesity.
Theoretical Study on the Mechanism of the Initial Ammonolysis Reactions of the Main Raw Materials for the Formation of SiBCN Ceramics
Authors: Xie Ju , Shi Huizhong , Yang Yanwu , Xi Ziqing , Zhang Jie , Ni Lubin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractA detailed mechanism investigation of the formation of B−N, Si−N and C−N bonds is conducive to the design and synthesis of siliconboroncarbonitride (SiBCN) ceramics to meet application requirements under extreme conditions. Boron trichloride (BCl3), methyldichlorosilane (MDCS) and methylvinyldichlorosilane (MVCS) are the most commonly used raw materials, and they can react with amino compounds, such as ammonia (NH3), methyl ammonium (CH3NH2), and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDZ, (CH3)6Si2NH) in the synthesis of SiBCN precursors. In this paper, quantum chemical calculations were used to study the ammonolysis mechanism of three raw materials with three amino compounds at the M06‐2X/6‐311G(d,p) level of theory. The structural properties, reaction pathways, energy barriers, reaction rates, and other aspects were discussed in detail. The results show that compounds containing B−N, Si−N and C−N bonds can be formed through a synergistic reaction mechanism with the release of ammonium chloride or trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS). The ammonolysis processes of BCl3 have absolute advantages in both kinetics and thermodynamics. The reaction of MDCS has the lowest energy barrier. All ammonolysis reactions are thermodynamically exothermic processes. The calculated results agree well with the experimental observations and provide an explanation for the initiation process of precursor synthesis.
Effect of SnO Composition in SnO/SnO2 Nanocomposites on the Photocatalytic Degradation of Malachite Green under Visible Light
Authors: Phuong Pham Hoai , Hoa Huynh Tran My , Hung Nguyen Hoang , Thuy Thanh Giang Le , Tran Quang Trung , Tin Tran Trung , Dinh Duc Anh , Cuong Tran Viet 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThree types of SnO/SnO2 nanocomposites with different component ratios were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal process. Three samples, S1, S2, and S3, were produced by optimizing the occupied volume inside the Teflon flask, and are referred to as SnO2 rich, intermediate level, and SnO rich, respectively. In terms of degradation of malachite green under visible light, the photocatalytic activity of the S2 sample outperforms the other two samples and pure SnO by 30 %. It is attributed to the fact that the S2 sample has the most heterojunction between p‐type SnO and n‐type SnO2 of the three samples because the formation of p‐type SnO and n‐type SnO2 heterojunction in S2 prevents photogenerated electron‐hole recombination. By comparing S1 and S3 samples, we figured out that Sn2+ doped into the SnO2 lattice acts as an electron trap, slowing the recombination process and increasing photocatalytic activity.
Phenol Formaldehyde Resole/Nanosilver Colloid Immobilized Polyester Textile Composite for Antibacterial Applications
Authors: Pullichola Abdul H. , Varghese Lity A. , Unnikrishnan Gopalakrishna P. , Manaf Olongal , Das Kottotil M. , Jowhar Ameen 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThis work reports the fabrication of an antibacterial phenol formaldehyde (PF)/silver (Ag) nanocomposite coated polyester fabric material for industrial coating applications. Spherical Ag nanoparticles (NPs), with an average particle size of 20 nm were uniformly distributed in the PF resole resin. The polymer nanocomposites with different percentages of Ag NPs (0.2 %, 0.4 %, and 0.6 %) have been coated on polyester fabric by a hand layup procedure. The fabric samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDAX) and X‐ray diffraction analysis. The thermal properties of samples have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermo‐ gravimetric analysis. The effect of Ag NPs on the adhesion features of resole resin coated polyester fabric was evaluated by the peel strength measurement. The optimized composite showed excellent antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. All the resole PF/Ag nanocomposite coated polyester fabrics are biocompatible. It has been proposed for a variety of applications in the fields of apparel, architecture and construction, insulation, automotive and chemical processing.
Analysis and control of a Stewart platform as base motion compensators - Part I: Kinematics using moving frames
Authors: Ono Takeyuki , Eto Ryosuke , Yamakawa Junya , Murakami Hidenori 
Published: November 2021

AbstractKinematics and its control application are presented for a Stewart platform whose base plate is installed on a floor in a moving ship or a vehicle. With a manipulator or a sensitive equipment mounted on the top plate, a Stewart platform is utilized to mitigate the undesirable motion of its base plate by controlling actuated translational joints on six legs. To reveal closed loops, a directed graph is utilized to express the joint connections. Then, kinematics begins by attaching an orthonormal coordinate system to each body at its center of mass and to each joint to define moving coordinate frames. Using the moving frames, each body in the configuration space is represented by an inertial position vector of its center of mass in the three-dimensional vector space ℝ3, and a rotation matrix of the body-attached coordinate axes. The set of differentiable rotation matrices forms a Lie group: the special orthogonal group, SO(3). The connections of body-attached moving frames are mathematically expressed by using frame connection matrices, which belong to another Lie group: the special Euclidean group, SE(3). The employment of SO(3) and SE(3) facilitates effective matrix computations of velocities of body-attached coordinate frames. Loop closure constrains are expressed in matrix form and solved analytically for inverse kinematics. Finally, experimental results of an inverse kinematics control are presented for a scale model of a base-moving Stewart platform. Dynamics and a control application of inverse dynamics are presented in the part II-paper.
Redistribution of tax resources: a cooperative game theory approach
Authors: Calvo Emilio 
Published: November 2021

AbstractWe consider the problem of how to distribute public expenditure among the different regions of an economic entity after all taxes have been collected. Typical examples are: the regions that make up a country, the states of a federal country, or the countries of a confederation of countries. We model the problem as a cooperative game in coalitional form, called the tax game. This game estimates the fiscal resources collected in each region, or coalition of regions, by differentiating between what comes from economic activity within each region and what comes from trade with the other regions. This methodology provides a measure of the disagreement within a region, or coalitions of regions, with respect to the budget received. Similarly, the stability of a budget allocation can be inferred by its situation within the core of the corresponding tax game. We consider the Spanish case as an example and show that the current regional financial system has a moderate degree of instability. We introduce two budget allocation rules, both borrowed from the cooperative games literature: the balanced allocation, which coincides with the nucleolus and with the Shapley value of the tax game, and the weighted balanced allocation, which coincides with the weighted Shapley value. We compare both budget allocation rules with the current Spanish financial system.
Negotiating Authenticity in Technological Environments
Authors: Beerends Siri , Aydin Ciano 
Published: November 2021

AbstractEssentialists understand authenticity as an inherent quality of a person, object, artifact, or place, whereas constructionists consider authenticity as a social creation without any pre-given essence, factuality, or reality. In this paper, we move beyond the essentialist-constructionist dichotomy. Rather than focusing on the question whether authenticity can be found or needs to be constructed, we hook into the idea that authenticity is an interactive, culturally informed process of negotiation. In addition to essentialist and constructionist approaches, we discuss a third, less well-known approach that cannot be reduced to any of the two forms. This approach celebrates the authenticity of inauthenticity by amplifying the made. We argue that the value of (in)authenticity lies not in choosing for one of these approaches, but in the degree to which the process of negotiating authenticity enables a critical formation of selves and societies. Authenticity is often invoked as a method of social control or a mark of power relations: once something is defined as authentic, it is no longer questioned. Emerging technologies—especially data-driven technologies—have the capacity to conceal these power relations, propel a shift in power, and dominate authentication processes. This raises the question how processes of authentication can contribute to a critical formation of selves and societies, against the backdrop of emerging technologies. We argue in favor of an interactionist approach of authenticity and discuss the importance of creating space in authentication processes that are increasingly influenced by technology as an invisible actor.
Life cycle assessment of opencast lignite mining
Authors: Lelek Lukasz , Kulczycka Joanna 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe life cycle phase of fossil fuel extraction is mainly considered in the life cycle assessment (LCA) when evaluating the energy production processes. It is then only one of many unit processes, which contribute to the blurring of mining-relevant results. There are few items in the literature focusing exclusively on the lignite mining phase and analysing the specific mining conditions and associated environmental impacts. The article focuses on the LCA of lignite mining processes on the basis of data coming from a Polish mine. The technology for opencast lignite mining is noted for its high production efficiency, high level of recovery and lower risk as regards the safety of workers when compared with underground mining systems. However, the need to remove large amounts of overburden to uncover the deposit contributes to a much greater degradation of the landscape. Analysing the results obtained, several key (hot spot) elements of the lignite mining operations were distinguished for modelling the environmental impact, i.e.: calorific value, the amount of electricity consumption, the manner in which waste and overburden are managed. As a result there is a high sensitivity of the final indicator to changes in these impacts.
Community membership consistency applied to corporate board interlock networks
Authors: Kuppevelt Dafne E. van , Bakhshi Rena , Heemskerk Eelke M. , Takes Frank W. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractCommunity detection is a well-established method for studying the meso-scale structure of social networks. Applying a community detection algorithm results in a division of a network into communities that is often used to inspect and reason about community membership of specific nodes. This micro-level interpretation step of community structure is a crucial step in typical social science research. However, the methodological caveat in this step is that virtually all modern community detection methods are non-deterministic and based on randomization and approximated results. This needs to be explicitly taken into consideration when reasoning about community membership of individual nodes. To do so, we propose a metric of community membership consistency, that provides node-level insights in how reliable the placement of that node into a community really is. In addition, it enables us to distinguish the community core members of a community. The usefulness of the proposed metrics is demonstrated on corporate board interlock networks, in which weighted links represent shared senior level directors between firms. Results suggest that the community structure of global business groups is centered around persistent communities consisting of core countries tied by geographical and cultural proximity. In addition, we identify fringe countries that appear to associate with a number of different global business communities.
“What should be computed” for supporting post-pandemic recovery policymaking? A life-oriented perspective
Authors: Zhang Junyi , Feng Tao , Kang Jing , Li Shuangjin , Liu Rui , Ma Shuang , Zhai Baoxin , Zhang Runsen , Ding Hongxiang , Zhu Taoxing 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused various impacts on people’s lives, while changes in people’s lives have shown mixed effects on mitigating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Understanding how to capture such two-way interactions is crucial, not only to control the pandemic but also to support post-pandemic urban recovery policies. As suggested by the life-oriented approach, the above interactions exist with respect to a variety of life domains, which form a complex behavior system. Through a review of the literature, this paper first points out inconsistent evidence about behavioral factors affecting the spread of COVID-19, and then argues that existing studies on the impacts of COVID-19 on people’s lives have ignored behavioral co-changes in multiple life domains. Furthermore, selected uncertain trends of people’s lives for the post-pandemic recovery are described. Finally, this paper concludes with a summary about “what should be computed?” in Computational Urban Science with respect to how to catch up with delays in the SDGs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, how to address digital divides and dilemmas of e-society, how to capture behavioral co-changes during the post-pandemic recovery process, and how to better manage post-pandemic recovery policymaking processes.
Green anionic polymerization of vinyl acetate using Maghnite-Na+ (Algerian MMT): synthesis characterization and reactional mechanism
Authors: Cherifi Badia Imene , Belbachir Mohammed , Rahmouni Abdelkader 
Published: November 2021

AbstractIn this work, the green polymerization of vinyl acetate is carried out by a new method which consists in the use of clay called Maghnite-Na+ as an ecological catalyst, non-toxic, inexpensive and recyclable by simple filtration. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that Maghnite-Na+ is successfully obtained after cationic treatment (sodium) on raw Maghnite. It is an effective alternative to replace toxic catalysts such as benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) which are mostly used during the synthesis of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) making the polymerization reaction less problematic for the environment. The synthesis reaction is less energetic by the use of recycled polyurethane as container for the reaction mixture and which is considered as a renewable material and a good thermal insulator which maintains the temperature at 0 °C for 6 h. The reaction in bulk is also preferred to avoid the use of a solvent and therefore to stay in the context of green chemistry. In these conditions, the structure of obtained polymer is established by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is also used to confirm the structure of PVAc. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that it is thermally stable and it starts to degrade from 330 °C while Differential Scanning calorimetry (DSC) shows that this polymer has a glass transition temperature (Tg  = 50 °C). The composition in PVAc/Maghnite-Na+ (7 wt% of catalyst) is the most tensile resistant with a force of 182 N and a maximum stress of 73.16 MPa, the most flexible (E  = 955 MPa) and the most ductile (εr  = 768%).