bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intermolecular Photoredox Coupling: Alternative to Norrish Type II Reaction and Yang Cyclization in Ketones with γ‐C−H Bonds
Authors: Hoffmann Heiko , Tausch Michael W. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractA new reaction pathway for the photoconversion of butyrophenone in acetonitrile was investigated. In addition to the classic intramolecular photoreactivity of ketones with γ‐C−H bonds (Norrish type II fragmentation and Yang cyclization), intermolecular generated species were isolated and characterized: 1,2‐Dibenzoylethane, 2‐phenacylacetonitrile (oxidized species) and pinacols (reduced species). They account for approx. 20 % of the converted starting material, similar to the Yang product. The acetophenone enol intermediate, formed in situ via the Norrish type II reaction, has been identified as an H‐atom donor for the main intermolecular reaction steps, and has been distinguished from other conceivable mechanistic possibilities. Experimental results with analogue compounds suggest that the intermolecular product formation pathway may be of general relevance.
Effects of relay and side information at one encoder on the coverage regions in Gaussian multiple‐access channel
Authors: Etminan Jalil , Mohanna Farahnaz , Abed Hodtani Ghosheh 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe two‐user multiple‐access relay channel (MARC) is investigated in the presence of side information (SI) available only at the informed transmitter in the present article. First, for the discrete alphabet and memoryless MARC with common and private messages, partial decode and forward strategy at the relay and fixed locations of the nodes, a general achievable rate region is obtained. The SI effect is seen and can be analyzed. Second, we extend the discrete result to a practical communications model: Gaussian multiple‐access relay channel (GMARC), showing previous works as its special cases. Third, the effect of (perfect and nonperfect) SI on the maximum coverage region of GMARC for a fixed rate of the transmitters and a fixed distance between relay and destination is analyzed. It is shown that the SI increases the coverage region of encoders, and consequently, it can improve communication energy efficiency. Finally, mathematical findings are validated numerically by using Matlab.
Pea protein isolate characteristics modulate functional properties of pea protein–cranberry polyphenol particles
Authors: Strauch Renee Cilliers , Lila Mary Ann 
Published: May 2021

AbstractPlant polyphenols have a natural binding affinity for proteins, and their interaction can be exploited to form diverse aggregate particles. Protein–polyphenol particles utilized as food ingredients allow consumers to incorporate more health‐benefiting plant bioactives into their diets. The functional properties of the protein–polyphenol particles can be influenced by many factors, including complexation conditions and starting material properties. Here, cranberry polyphenols extracted from pomace were complexed with nine pea protein isolate starting materials with different physical (particle size and protein content) and chemical (hydrolyzed and oxidized) properties to investigate the impact of protein characteristics on particle functionality. Chemical differences between proteins affected polyphenol binding; oxidized protein isolate (specifically, VegOtein N) bound 12%–27% more polyphenols than other isolates. Polyphenol binding to proteins decreased digestion rates in vitro, averaging 25% slower gastric (pepsin) digestion and a 35% slower intestinal (pancreatin) digestion. Physical differences in protein starting materials affected digestibility; isolate with the largest particle size (specifically, Nutralys F85G) produced particles with the lowest digestion rate. Solubility was impacted by both the process of forming particles and by polyphenol binding; control particles were 56% less soluble, and protein–polyphenol particles up to 75% less soluble, than unmodified proteins. The solubility of unmodified protein isolate starting materials varied widely according to the manufacturing process, but, after complexation, protein–polyphenol particles produced from all protein sources exhibited a similar depressed level of solubility. The desired functional properties of the protein–polyphenol particle food ingredients will be considerably influenced by the properties of the protein isolate starting material.
The influence of a standardized experimental environment on early diagenetic changes to animal bone
Authors: Lacel Adrianna , Wojtków Magdalena , Tomanik Magdalena , Spiak Zofia , Graczyk Stanisław , Pezowicz Celina 
Published: May 2021

AbstractWe evaluated the dynamics of the diagenetic changes to pig bones incubated for 4, 10, and 31 months in a controlled environment (soil type, moisture and pH, air humidity, and temperature). The criteria for the assessment were as follows: physical parameters (bone weight), biomechanical parameters (compressive strength), bone microstructure (using micro‐computed tomography), and phosphorus and calcium content in the surrounding soil. It was shown that the bone weight decreased the most after 4 months of incubation, whereas the biggest change in the compressive strength was not observed until after 31 months of incubation. Also, the main changes to the bone microstructure were observed in the initial period of degeneration. After 4 months of the experiment, a major drop in the percentage of the thinnest bone trabeculae was noted, whereas a reverse trend was observed for the thickest trabeculae. Moreover, the most significant decrease in the Ca/P ratio in the surrounding soil was observed after the experiment's first 4 months. We conclude that the bioerosion of collagen observed after the initial experimental period was followed by hydroxyapatite chemical decomposition. These results indicate the usefulness of the applied analyses and the feasibility of ensuring a standardized environment for diagenetic research.
Appropriateness of lung ultrasound for the diagnosis of COVID‐19 pneumonia
Authors: Bitar Zouheir Ibrahim , Shamsah Mohammed , Maadarani Ossama Sajeh , Bamasood Omar Mohammed , Al‐foudari Huda 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundChest radiography (CXR) and computerized tomography (CT) are the standard methods for lung imaging in diagnosing COVID‐19 pneumonia in the intensive care unit (ICU), despite their limitations. This study aimed to assess the performance of bedside lung ultrasound examination by a critical care physician for the diagnosis of COVID‐19 pneumonia during acute admission to the ICU.MethodThis was an observational, prospective, single‐center study conducted in the intensive care unit of Adan General Hospital from April 10, 2020, to May 26, 2020. The study included adults with suspicion of COVID‐19 Infection who were transferred to the ICU. Patients were admitted to the ICU directly from the ED after reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) swabs were sent to the central virology laboratory in Kuwait, and the results were released 16 to 24 hours after the time of admission. A certified intensivist in critical care ultrasound performed the lung ultrasound within 12 hours of the patient's admission to the ICU.The treating physician confirmed the diagnosis of COVID‐19 pneumonia based on a set of clinical features, inflammatory markers, biochemical profile studies, RT‐PCR test results, and CXR.ResultsOf 77 patients with suspected COVID‐19 pneumonia, 65 (84.4%) were confirmed. The median age of the patients was 48 (31‐68) years, and 51 (71%) were men.In the group of patients with confirmed COVID‐19 pneumonia, LUS revealed four signs suggestive of COVID‐19 pneumonia in 63 patients (96.9%) (sensitivity 96.9%, CI 85%‐99.5%). Two patients presented with unilateral lobar pneumonia without other ultrasonic signs of COVID‐19 pneumonia but with positive RT‐PCR results. Among patients in the group without COVID‐19 pneumonia who had negative RT‐PCR results, 11 (91.7%) were LUS negative for COVID‐19 pneumonia (specificity 91.7%, 95% CI 58.72%‐99.77%).ConclusionsDuring the COVID‐19 outbreak, LUS allows the identification of early signs of interstitial pneumonia. LUS patterns that show a combination of the four major signs offer high sensitivity and specificity compared to nasopharyngeal RT‐PCR.
Development of a specialty intensity score to estimate a patient's need for care coordination across physician specialties
Authors: Hodgson Ashley , Bernardin Thomas , Westermeyer Benjamin , Hagopian Ella , Radtke Tyler , Noman Ahmed 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgrounds and aimsThis article develops a Specialty Intensity Score, which uses patient diagnosis codes to estimate the number of specialist physicians a patient will need to access. Conceptually, the score can serve as a proxy for a patient's need for care coordination across doctors. Such a measure may be valuable to researchers studying care coordination practices for complex patients. In contrast with previous comorbidity scores, which focus primarily on mortality and utilization, this comorbidity score approximates the complexity of a patient's the interaction with the health care system.MethodsWe use 2015 inpatient claims data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to model the relationship between a patient's diagnoses and physician specialty usage. We estimate usage of specialist doctors by using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Poisson model. The Specialty Intensity Score is then constructed using this predicted specialty usage. To validate our score, we test its power to predict the occurrence of patient safety incidents and compare that with the predictive power of the Charlson comorbidity index.ResultsOur model uses 127 of the 279 International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD‐10‐CM) diagnosis subchapters to predict specialty usage, thus creating the Specialty Intensity Score. This score has significantly greater power in predicting patient safety complications than the widely used Charlson comorbidity index.ConclusionThe Specialty Intensity Score developed in this article can be used by health services researchers and administrators to approximate a patient's need for care coordination across multiple specialist doctors. It, therefore, can help with evaluation of care coordination practices by allowing researchers to restrict their analysis of outcomes to the patients most impacted by those practices.
Exploring the operational impacts of climate change and glacier loss in the upper Columbia River Basin, Canada
Authors: Tsuruta Kai , Schnorbus Markus A. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe mountainous watersheds of western Canada are generally thought to be in a state of transition from snow‐dominated to hybrid regimes. In stream networks that are regulated, the effects of this transition on streamflow can have compelling operational consequences. Seasonal magnitude changes may impact spill‐risk management, while changes in the composition of summer runoff may increase its variability and reduce the forecasting capabilities of state variables like peak snow water equivalent. Though glacier loss can have a considerable impact on summer runoff, few studies explicitly model the ongoing glacier recession in conjunction with other primary hydrological processes. In this study, we incorporate glacier dynamics from a previous run of the Regional Glaciation Model into the University of British Columbia Watershed Model via the Raven modelling framework. We use this modelling system to explore potential changes under Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 to the hydrology of the Mica Basin, a regulated watershed containing the headwaters of the Columbia River. Our results project statistically significant increases in spring flow in future eras, which may force lower reservoir drafting in late winter, creating potential for energy shortfalls in early spring. We project the coefficient of variation of summer runoff generally goes unchanged in future eras as does the summer runoff forecasting capability of April 1st SWE. Hence, despite modelled glacier loss and reduced snowmelt contribution, our study does not reject the null hypothesis that the predictability of the Mica Basin's summer runoff is unchanged in future eras. We explore these results in detail because they superficially appear to contrast the conventional conceptualization that reduced snowmelt negatively affects the predictive powers of snowpack and glacier loss increases the variability of runoff. We argue that our results' apparent discordance from convention displays the complexities inherent in isolating the effects of changes to a single water balance component when other components are also non‐stationary and highlights the benefits of using modelling to more explicitly explore such implications.
On flag‐transitive imprimitive 2‐designs
Authors: Devillers Alice , Praeger Cheryl E. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIn 1987, Huw Davies proved that, for a flag‐transitive point‐imprimitive 2‐ design, both the block‐size and the number of points are bounded by functions of , but he did not make these bounds explicit. In this paper we derive explicit polynomial functions of bounding and . For we obtain a list of “numerically feasible” parameter sets together with the number of parts and part‐size of an invariant point‐partition and the size of a nontrivial block‐part intersection. Moreover from these parameter sets we determine all examples with fewer than 100 points. There are exactly 11 such examples, and for one of these designs, a flag‐regular, point‐imprimitive design with automorphism group , there seems to be no construction previously available in the literature.
Evaluation of hematological parameters as an indicator of disease severity in Covid‐19 patients: Pakistan's experience
Authors: Waris Abdul , Din Misbahud , Khalid Atiqa , Abbas Lail Raees , Shaheen Asmat , Khan Nida , Nawaz Mehboob , Baset Abdul , Ahmad Imtiaz , Ali Muhammad 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe severity of COVID‐19 could be evaluated by examining several blood parameters mainly white blood cell (WBC) count, granulocytes, platelet, and novel hemocytometric markers neutrophils to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet‐to‐lymphocyte (PLR), and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR). The current study was conducted to investigate alteration in blood parameters and their association with the severity and mortality of COVID‐19 patients.MethodologyAn observational cross‐sectional study was conducted retrospectively, a total of 101 COVID‐19 positive patients were examined: 52 were mild, 24 were moderate, 09 were severe, and 16 were critically diseased patients. We also recorded 16 deaths associated with the critical group. The overall mean age observed in our study was 48.94 years, where the mean age for critical individuals was 62.12 ± 14.35 years.ResultsA significant association between the disease severity and elevation in blood parameters were observed. The WBC's and granulocyte count were significantly increased (p value <0.001) while the mean platelet count (165.0 × 109/L) and red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) were decreased in the critical group (57.86%) compared to mild group's patients (177.3%) (p = 0.83). The lymphocytes count was decreased in critical patients (1.40 × 109/L) compared to mild patients (1.92 × 109/L) (p = 0.28). A significant association was observed in platelet‐lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.001), Neutrophil‐Lymphocyte ratio (p = <0.001), and Lymphocyte‐Monocyte ratio (0.011).ConclusionThese blood parameters could be used as a suitable biomarker for the prognosis and severity of COVID‐19. Evaluating novel hemograms NLR, PLR, and LMR can aid clinicians to identify potentially severe cases at early stages, initiate effective management in time, and conduct early triage which may reduce the overall mortality of COVID‐19 patients.
Andrásfai and Vega graphs in Ramsey–Turán theory
Authors: Łuczak Tomasz , Polcyn Joanna , Reiher Christian 
Published: May 2021

AbstractGiven positive integers , we let denote the maximum number of edges in a triangle‐free graph on vertices with . In the early 1960s, Andrásfai conjectured that for the function is piecewise quadratic with critical values at for . We confirm that this is indeed the case whenever is slightly larger than a critical value, thus determining for all and such that , where .
Recognizing graphs close to bipartite graphs with an application to colouring reconfiguration
Authors: Bonamy Marthe , Dabrowski Konrad K. , Feghali Carl , Johnson Matthew , Paulusma Daniël 
Published: May 2021

AbstractWe continue research into a well‐studied family of problems that ask whether the vertices of a given graph can be partitioned into sets and , where is an independent set and induces a graph from some specified graph class . We consider the case where is the class of ‐degenerate graphs. This problem is known to be polynomial‐time solvable if (recognition of bipartite graphs), but ‐complete if (near‐bipartite graphs) even for graphs of maximum degree 4. Yang and Yuan showed that the case is polynomial‐time solvable for graphs of maximum degree 3. This also follows from a result of Catlin and Lai. We study the general case for ‐vertex graphs of maximum degree . We show how to find and in time for , and in time for . Together, these results provide an algorithmic version of a result of Catlin and also provide an algorithmic version of a generalization of Brook's Theorem, proved by Borodin et al. and Matamala. The results also enable us to solve an open problem of Feghali et al. For a given graph and positive integer , the vertex colouring reconfiguration graph of has as its vertex set the set of ‐colourings of and contains an edge between each pair of colourings that differ on exactly on vertex. We complete the complexity classification of the problem of finding a path in the reconfiguration graph between two given ‐colourings of a given graph of maximum degree .
Why people engage in supplemental work: The role of technology, response expectations, and communication persistence
Authors: van Zoonen Ward , Sivunen Anu , Treem Jeffrey W. 
Published: May 2021

SummarySupported by various collaboration technologies that allow communication from any place or time, employees increasingly engage in technology‐assisted supplemental work (TASW). Challenges associated with managing work and nonwork time have been further complicated by a global pandemic that has altered traditional work patterns and locations. To date, studies applying a TASW framework have focused mainly on individual uses of technology or connectivity behaviors and not considered the potential team and social pressures underlying these processes. This study provides clarity on the differences between technology use and TASW and sheds light on the drivers of TASW in a work environment characterized by high connectivity and diverse team structures. Specifically, we demonstrate how individual, social, and material pressures concomitantly impact individual work practices in a team context. Drawing on multisource and multilevel data provided by 443 employees nested in 122 teams, this study shows that individual collaboration technology use and team‐level response expectations are independently contributing to TASW. Though the persistence of communication afforded by collaboration technologies mitigates the impact of collaboration technology use on TASW, this persistence is not found to impact the relationship between team‐level response expectations and TASW. We discuss how these findings inform our understanding of TASW.
Improved intraseasonal variability in the initialization of SINTEX‐F2 using a spectral cumulus parameterization
Authors: Baba Yuya 
Published: May 2021

AbstractA newly developed spectral cumulus parameterization (spectral scheme) was implemented in the Scale Interaction Experiment‐Frontier version 2 (SINTEX‐F2) seasonal prediction system to improve intraseasonal variability in the system initialization. A simple sea surface temperature (SST) nudging scheme using different SST data and restoring times was used to initialize the system, and the initialized atmosphere obtained from both the original convection scheme (Tiedtke scheme) and the new spectral scheme was evaluated against observational data. It was found that that climatology and variability simulated by the spectral scheme were comparable to those simulated by the original scheme. In addition, the intraseasonal variability represented by the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) was better simulated by the spectral scheme than the original scheme. An analysis of the structure of the organized convection revealed the successful simulation of low‐level shallow convection before the peak of the organized convection by the spectral scheme when compared with the observation, a result lacking in the original scheme simulation. In addition to the positive qualitative results, a statistical and quantitative analysis showed that the spectral scheme captured the MJO‐related variability better than the original scheme. In conclusion, the prediction system using the spectral scheme is expected to improve seasonal predictions for seasonal variability whose evolution is affected by intraseasonal variations.
Impact of systemic probiotics as adjuncts to subgingival instrumentation on the oral‐gut microbiota associated with periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: de Oliveira Adriana Miranda , Lourenço Talita Gomes Baêta , Colombo Ana Paula Vieira 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe oral‐gut axis may be a route linking periodontal and systemic diseases. Probiotics could be an alternative for the treatment of microbial dysbiotic conditions, including periodontitis. This randomized placebo‐controlled clinical trial evaluated the short‐term efficacy of systemic probiotics adjunctive to subgingival instrumentation (SI) in promoting a better restoration of the oral‐gut microbiotas and greater periodontal clinical outcome.MethodsSystemically healthy adults with untreated periodontitis were recruited from a Dental School setting and allocated to receive SI plus placebo (n = 24) or probiotics (n = 24), one capsule/day for 30 days. Subgingival biofilm and stool were obtained at baseline and 2‐months post‐therapy for microbiological analyses by checkerboard and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Differences in all parameters between placebo (n = 23) and probiotics (n = 19) groups were assessed by non‐parametric tests.ResultsMost subgingival species and α‐diversity decreased after therapies (P <0.05), whereas gut composition/diversity were slightly or not affected by treatments. In parallel, significant clinical improvement (P <0.05) was similar between groups, although a trend for a higher proportion of poor responders in the placebo (60.8%) than the probiotic group (31.5%) was observed (P = 0.07). Strong correlations between oral and fecal species were found (P <0.01), and distinct species related to poor response for different therapies (P <0.05). Patients were classified into five periodontitis oral‐gut microbial clusters, which correlated differently with attachment loss after therapies (P <0.05).ConclusionSystemic probiotics combined with SI did not provide short‐term additional clinical or microbiological benefits in the treatment of periodontitis; however, response to therapies seemed to correlate with distinct oral‐gut microbial profiles.