bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mental Distress after 1st Wave of COVID-19 among Medical Students
Authors: Khurram Rabia , Razzak Daniyal Abdul , Ahmad Waqas , Qamar Ambreen , Mumtaz Tayyaba , Sameed Qurat Ul Ain 
Published: February 2021

Aim: The aim of the current study is to evaluate the mental distress facing by the MBBSs students during the first wave of COVID-19.
Study Design: Cross-sectional.
Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted at Quaid-e Azam medical college Bahawalpur during the period of May 2020 to July 2020.
Methodology: MBBS undergraduate students were included in the study. For assessing mental stress, the questionnaire used was the modified form of Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R). The proforma was prepared by using Google Docs and disseminated through the student’s WhatsApp groups. Data was analyzed by using Special Package for Social Science version-20. Frequency and percentages were calculated for the qualitative variables while association was analyzed by using Chi-square test. p-value ≤0.05 was considered as significant.
Results: About half of the participants were female students i.e. 55.2%. The frequency distribution of stress level among students showed that the majority of participants were facing mild level of stress i.e. 130 participants out of total 310 participants (41.9%), 112 participants were having moderate stress level (36.2%), followed by 53 participants with severe level of stress (17.1%) while 15 participants (4.8%) were having extremely severe intensity of stress. It was also found out that the gender and socioeconomic status have a significant association with the mental stress but the year of study has no any association with the mental stress as reported statistically non-significant p-value.
Conclusion: The current study concluded that the mental distress experienced by medical undergraduate during COVID-19 is more severe than that of the general population and the female students are more prone to develop depressive symptoms. So there is a need of counselling session to improve the mental health of our medical under graduates as they are the future handlers of medical profession.
Comparative Antimicrobiotic Efficacy Test of Triple Antibiotic Paste, Double Antibiotic Paste with Fungicide and Calcium Hydroxide with Chitosan as Vehicle against Enterococcus faecalis: An In vitro Study
Authors: Naidu Sudhakar , Nadimpalli Mahendravarma , Dondapati Gowtam Dev , Sowjanya Thangi , Podili Srivalli , Babu Mattapudi Basavaiah 
Published: February 2021

Introduction: This present research aimed to assess the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of triple antibiotic paste and calcium hydroxide with two different vehicles against Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis).
Materials and Methodology: An agar well diffusion assay was used to determine the experimental medicaments' efficacy against E. faecalis. Medicaments were divided into six groups, which includes Triple antibiotic powder (TAP) with saline or chitosan, Double antibiotic powder with fungicide (DAP 1) with saline or Chitosan, and calcium hydroxide with saline or Chitosan. These medicines were tested in an agar well diffusion test for three days, i.e., 1,4,7 days. The diameters of growth inhibition zones were recorded and compared for each group were tested in an agar well diffusion test for three days, i.e., 1,4,7 days. The diameters of growth inhibition zones were recorded and compared for each group. These medicaments were evaluated for three days an agar well diffusion test, i.e., on 1,4,7 days. The inhibition zones diameters for each group were recorded and compared — the differences between groups analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results: The largest inhibition zones were observed for the triple antibiotic powder with chitosan and the smallest for Ca(OH)2 with saline. As days progress, they produced lesser antibacterial effects in all groups.
Conclusion: Triple antibiotic paste and Chitosan were more effective in eliminating microorganisms than calcium hydroxide and DAP 1.
Synthesis of Novel 2(3H)-Benzoxazolone Mannich Bases as Potential Agents for Future Studies of Cancer Treatment
Authors: Erdag Emine 
Published: February 2021

Aims: In this study, a series of new Mannich bases of 2(3H)-benzoxazolone derivatives containing substituted cyclic amine moieties with a potential to show cytotoxic activity have been prepared. In order to develop effective anticancer agents against various cancer cell lines, it is essential to study the structure activity relationship and the effect of different substituents on the activity of heterocyclic scaffolds which were known to have cytotoxic activities.
Study Design: In silico and experimental design.
Place and Duration of Study: Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus, between January 2019- September 2020.
Methodology: In this work, 2(3H)-benzoxazolone derivatives were prepared by Mannich reaction. The synthesis and structural characterization of the compounds were performed experimentally by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectra and elemental analysis. In silico prediction of cell line cytotoxicity with PASS based CLC-Pred tool was performed to predict cytotoxicity of the compounds against different tumor cell lines.
Results: In silico prediction results for the compounds showed that all benzoxazolone derivatives have cytotoxic activity against different cell lines and tumor types. It was clearly understood that the cytotoxicity of the compounds was affected by the substituents on their piperazine moieties and by the substituents on benzoxazolone core structure.
Conclusion: In conclusion, newly synthesized Mannich bases of benzoxazolone derivatives were reported for the first time which may have a potential to show anticancer activities at different cancer cell lines. The efficiency of new compounds against cancer could be found via PASS based CLC-Pred database and could be further investigated by in vivo experimental cytotoxicity studies in the future to design new anticancer drug candidates.
Association between Maternal Thyroid Hormone Level and Fetal Weight
Authors: Mueed Zeba , Rai Pankaj Kumar , Jain Arun Kumar , Deval Ravi 
Published: February 2021

Aims: Present study is aimed to find out the association between maternal thyroid hormone at delivery and weight of delivered fetus.
Study Design: This is a case-control study in which low birth weight was cases and appropriate for gestational age were considered as control.
Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted at National Institute of Pathology (ICMR), New Delhi and Department of Biotechnology, Invertis University, Bareilly from July 2018 to July 2020.
Subjects and Methods: A total of 193 maternal blood samples were collected and fetal parameters were recorded as per inclusion criteria. Quantitative estimation of Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4), and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) was done in the separated serum samples by pre-coated ELISA kits and data analysis was performed using SigmaStat. Cases include women having full-term deliveries with birth weight < 2.5Kg i.e. Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Controls includes women having Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) delivery with birth weight > 2.5Kg.
Results: No significant difference was observed in maternal age as well as age at marriage and other demographic parameters, while maternal weight and BMI is significantly less in LBW as compared to AGA i.e. 49.62±5.34 & 53.96±6.92 and 21.32±4.01 and 22.66±1.57 respectively having P<0.001. Pearson correlation coefficient also revealed a significant negative correlation of T4 with both fetal weight and fetal length and a positive correlation of T3 with fetal weight, fetal length, and fetal head circumference, whereas TSH did not show any significant association with fetal parameters.
Conclusion: It was concluded that maternal T3 and T4 affects the fetal development during gestational period, TSH did not show any significant association with fetal parameters.
Heat Exchanger Performance and Stability Improvement Using H2 Synthesis Control Design Technique
Authors: Udeani Henrietta U. , Inyiama Hyacinth C. , Akpado Kenneth A. , Agbaraji Chukwudi E. 
Published: February 2021

The heat exchanger is a device that helps to circulate calculated amount of heat in a system. It can be applied in order to reduce the number of heat sources while maintaining a precise level of heat. Heat exchanger is expected to be part of the solution to CO2 emission and climate issues since its application reduces the sources of heat and cost of production such as in electrical power plant. Due to the critical need for the solution to the enormous emission of CO2 and the need to reduce cost of running power plants, the study and improvement of the heat exchanger has become very important. The heat exchanger suffers from disturbances due to its harsh environment. In order to maintain desired performance the heat exchanger requires an adequate control measure. Many types of controllers have been designed, however from the review it was observed that most of the controllers produced marginal stability which will not maintain good performance of the system in the presence of significant disturbance. The major objectives of this work are to reduce the tracking error for performance improvement, to reduce the peak sensitivity for better disturbance rejection and to improve the stability margins for stability robustness. In this work, an optimal robust control was developed for the heat exchanger using H2 synthesis technique. From the results, the controlled system trajectory tracking error and overshoot were reduced to zero and the peak sensitivity to disturbance was reduced to 0.189 dB. Gain and phase margins satisfied the robust stability characteristics; gain margin was greater than 20 dB and phase margin was greater 60 dB. This means that the designed optimal controller will guarantee robust performance and stability of the system even in the presence of large disturbance.
The Impact of Training and Development on Employee Performance and Productivity: An Empirical Study on Private Bank of Noakhali Region in Bangladesh
Authors: Jeni Fatema Akter , Momotaj . , Al-Amin Md. 
Published: February 2021

Human Resources Management literature regards training as the bloodstream of any organization because the success of an organization to achieve its objectives and goals highly depends on its workforce. For this reason, organizations should invest in employees’ training to enhance their performance and that of an organization. Nonetheless, some organizations regard training as an unnecessary expenditure and always cut training budgets to improve their financial standing to the detriment of their employees’ welfare because that action incapacitates staff to adapt to the ever-changing working environment and uncertain conditions on account of, inter alia, rapid technological innovation and organizational change. This study employed stratified sampling technique to draw a sample of 60 employees from a population of 70 employees through self-administered questionnaire to examine the impact of training on employees’ performance, employee’s motivation and job satisfaction in the banking sector in Private bank of Noakhali region in Bangladesh. This results show that the mean for on the job training and development located from 3.23 to 4.4 and for off the job training and development from 2.36 to 4.05. The overall impact of training and development from the perspective of employees of private banking sector in Noakhali region has mean and standard deviation respectively 3.54 and 0.95 in total. This result indicates that training and development has a high impact on the employee’s performance and productivity in the perspective of employees of private bank in Noakhali region. The findings of the study generally revealed that training not only increases employees’ performance but also positively affects employees’ motivation and job satisfaction within the Private banking sector in Bangladesh Therefore, the banking sector in Bangladesh should regularly allocate resources for employees’ training based on identified skill gaps to sharpen employees’ skills, knowledge and abilities to capacitate them to cope with the ever-changing working environment and uncertain conditions and to improve their motivation and job satisfaction.
Chemically Stable, Strongly Adhesive Sealant Patch for Intestinal Anastomotic Leakage Prevention
Authors: Anthis Alexandre H. C. , Hu Xueqian , Matter Martin T. , Neuer Anna L. , Wei Kongchang , Schlegel Andrea A. , Starsich Fabian H.L. , Herrmann Inge K. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIntestinal anastomotic leaking, which involves the discharge of chemically aggressive, non‐sterile fluids into the abdomen, remains one of the most dreaded postoperative complications of abdominal surgery. Depending on the site and the patient condition, incidence ranging between 4% and 21% and mortality rates up to 27% are reported. Currently available surgical sealants only poorly address the issue, especially since most commonly used fibrin glues fail due to insufficient adhesion and chemical instability. Here, a chemically highly resistive, leak‐tight, and mucoadhesive hydrogel sealant, which is grafted on the surface of the intestinal wall using a mutually interpenetrating network that traverses hydrogel and tissue is presented. In contrast to clinically used fibrin‐based sealants (including Tachosil), the developed adhesive poly(acrylamide‐methyl acrylate‐acrylic acid) patch does not degrade and exhibits strong tissue adhesion even when exposed to intestinal fluid. The biocompatible hydrogel patch effectively seals anastomotic leaks in ex vivo intestinal models, greatly surpassing commercial sealants (time to patch‐failure >24 h compared to 5 min for commonly used Tachosil). Importantly, the developed adhesive patch paves the way for the application of both mechanically and chemically robust sealants suitable for the treatment and prevention of intestinal leaks.
Nanowire‐Based Soft Wearable Human–Machine Interfaces for Future Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications
Authors: Wang Kaixuan , Yap Lim Wei , Gong Shu , Wang Ren , Wang Stephen Jia , Cheng Wenlong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA virtual world has now become a reality as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology become commercially available. Similar to how humans interact with the physical world, AR and VR systems rely on human–machine interface (HMI) sensors to interact with the virtual world. Currently, this is achieved via state of‐the‐art wearable visual and auditory tools that are rigid, bulky, and burdensome, thereby causing discomfort during practical application. To this end, a skin sensory interface has the potential to serve as the next‐generation AR/VR technology because skin‐like wearable sensors have advantages in that they can be ultrathin, ultra‐soft, conformal, and imperceptible, which provides the ultimate comfort and immersive experience for users. In this progress report, nanowire‐based soft wearable HMI sensors including acoustic, strain, pressure sensors, and physiological sensors are reviewed that may be adopted as skin sensory inputs in future AR/VR systems. Further, nanowire‐based soft contact lenses, haptic force, and thermal and vibration actuators are covered as potential means of feedback for future AR/VR systems. Considering the possible effects of the virtual world on human health, skin‐like wearable artery pulses, glucose, and lactate sensors are also described, which may enable imperceptible health monitoring during future AR/VR practices.
Green Tea Derivative Driven Smart Hydrogels with Desired Functions for Chronic Diabetic Wound Treatment
Authors: Zhao Xiaodan , Pei Dandan , Yang Yuxuan , Xu Kai , Yu Jing , Zhang Yuchen , Zhang Qiang , He Gang , Zhang Yanfeng , Li Ang , Cheng Yilong , Chen Xuesi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCurrent treatments for chronic diabetic wounds remain unsatisfactory due to the lack of ideal wound dressings that can integrate matching mechanical strength, fast self‐healability, facile dressing change, and multiple therapeutic effects into one system. In this work, benefiting from the catechol groups and therapeutic effect of epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG, green tea derivative), a smart hydrogel dressing can be conveniently obtained through copolymerization of the complex formed by EGCG and 3‐acrylamido phenylboronic acid (APBA) (the formation of boronate ester bond) and acrylamide. The resulting hydrogel features adequate mechanical properties, self‐healing capability, and tissue adhesiveness. Otherwise, the substantial release of EGCG can not only realize anti‐oxidation, antibacterial, anti‐inflammatory and proangiogenic effect, and modulation of macrophage polarization to accelerate wound healing, but also facilitate easy dressing change. This advanced hydrogel provides a facile and effective way for diabetic chronic wound management and may be extended for the therapy of other complicated wound healings.
Multitasking MXene Inks Enable High‐Performance Printable Microelectrochemical Energy Storage Devices for All‐Flexible Self‐Powered Integrated Systems
Authors: Zheng Shuanghao , Wang Hui , Das Pratteek , Zhang Ying , Cao Yuexian , Ma Jiaxin , Liu Shengzhong (Frank) , Wu Zhong‐Shuai 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe future of mankind holds great promise for things like the Internet of Things, personal health monitoring systems, and smart cities. To achieve this ambitious goal, it is imperative for electronics to be wearable, environmentally sustainable, and safe. However, large‐scale manufacture of self‐sufficient electronic systems by exploiting multifunctional materials still faces significant hurdles. Herein, multitasking aqueous printable MXene inks are reported as an additive‐free high‐capacitance electrode, sensitive pressure‐sensing material, highly conducting current collector, metal‐free interconnector, and conductive binder. By directly screen printing MXene inks, MXene‐based micro‐supercapacitors (MSCs) and lithium‐ion microbatteries (LIMBs) are delicately fabricated on various substrates. The as‐prepared MSCs exhibit ultrahigh areal capacitance of 1.1 F cm−2 and the serially connected MSCs offer a record voltage of 60 V. The quasi‐solid‐state LIMBs deliver a robust areal energy density of 154 μWh cm−2. Furthermore, an all‐flexible self‐powered integrated system on a single substrate based on the multitasking MXene inks is demonstrated through seamless integration of a tandem solar cell, the LIMB, and an MXene hydrogel pressure sensor. Notably, this integrated system is exceptionally sensitive to body movements with a fast response time of 35 ms. Therefore, this multipurpose MXene ink opens a new avenue for powering future smart appliances.
3D‐Printed Biomimetic Systems with Synergetic Color and Shape Responses Based on Oblate Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Droplets
Authors: Yang Chenjing , Wu Baiheng , Ruan Jian , Zhao Peng , Chen Li , Chen Dong , Ye Fangfu 
Published: February 2021

AbstractLiving organisms in nature have amazing control over their color, shape, and morphology in response to environmental stimuli for camouflage, communication, or reproduction. Inspired by the camouflage of the octopus via the elongation or contraction of its pigment cells, oblate cholesteric liquid crystal droplets are dispersed in a polymer matrix, serving as the role of pigment cells and showing structural color due to selective Bragg reflection by their periodic helical structure. The color of 3D‐printed biomimetic systems can be tuned by changing the helical pitch via the chiral dopant concentration or temperature. When the oblate liquid crystal droplets are heated up to isotropic, the opaque and colored biomimetic systems become transparent and colorless. Meanwhile, the isotropic liquid crystal droplets tend to become spherical, causing volume contraction along the film plane and volume dilation in the perpendicular direction. The internal strain combined with the gradient distribution of the oblate isotropic liquid crystal droplets result in corresponding shape transformations. The camouflage of a biomimetic octopus and the blossom of a biomimetic flower, both of which show synergetic color and shape responses, are demonstrated to inspire the design of functional materials and intelligent devices.
General Programmable Growth of Hybrid Core–Shell Nanostructures with Liquid Metal Nanodroplets
Authors: Ren Long , Cheng Ningyan , Man Xingkun , Qi Dongchen , Liu Yundan , Xu Guobao , Cui Dandan , Liu Nana , Zhong Jianxin , Peleckis Germanas , Xu Xun , Dou Shi Xue , Du Yi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCore–shell and hollow nanostructures have been receiving significant interest due to their potential in wide scientific and technological fields. Given such large scope, however, they still lag far behind in terms of the ambition toward controllably, or even programmatically, synthesizing libraries of core–shell structures on a large scale. Here, a general route for the programmable preparation of complex core–shell nanostructures by using liquid metal (LM) droplets as reformable templates is presented, and the triggering of a localized galvanic replacement reaction in one ultrasonication system is demonstrated. Benefiting from the activity and mobility of the metal components in LM templates, high‐level compositional diversity control and quantitative regulation of both the core and the shell layers of the heterogeneous products are achieved, which cannot be realized with a solid‐template synthetic route.
Assessing the Influence of Temperature‐Memory Creation on the Degradation of Copolyesterurethanes in Ultrathin Films
Authors: Machatschek Rainhard , Saretia Shivam , Lendlein Andreas 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCopolyesterurethanes (PDLCLs) based on oligo(ε‐caprolactone) (OCL) and oligo(ω‐pentadecalactone) (OPDL) segments are biodegradable thermoplastic temperature‐memory polymers. The temperature‐memory capability in these polymers with crystallizable control units is implemented by a thermomechanical programming process causing alterations in the crystallite arrangement and chain organization. These morphological changes can potentially affect degradation. Initial observations on the macroscopic level inspire the hypothesis that switching of the controlling units causes an accelerated degradation of the material, resulting in programmable degradation by sequential coupling of functions. Hence, detailed degradation studies on Langmuir films of a PDLCL with 40 wt% OPDL content are carried out under enzymatic catalysis. The temperature‐memory creation procedure is mimicked by compression at different temperatures. The evolution of the chain organization and mechanical properties during the degradation process is investigated by means of polarization‐modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, interfacial rheology and to some extend by X‐ray reflectivity. The experiments on PDLCL Langmuir films imply that degradability is not enhanced by thermal switching, as the former depends on the temperature during cold programming. Nevertheless, the thin film experiments show that the leaching of OCL segments does not induce further crystallization of the OPDL segments, which is beneficial for a controlled and predictable degradation.