bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Monoclonal antibody therapy efficacy can be boosted by combinations with other treatments: Predictions using an integrated Alzheimer’s Disease Platform
Authors: Karelina Tatiana , Lerner Stepan , Stepanov Alexandr , Meerson Mark , Demin Oleg 
Published: April 2021

AbstractFor many years, clinical research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has focused on attempts to identify the most explicit biomarker, namely amyloid beta. Unfortunately, the numerous therapies that have been developed have failed in clinical practice. AD arises as a consequence of multiple factors, and as such it requires a more mechanistic analytical approach than statistical modeling. Quantitative systems pharmacology modeling is a valuable tool for drug development. It utilizes in vitro data for the calibration of parameters, embeds them into physiologically based structures, and explores translation between animals and humans. Such an approach allows for a quantitative study of the dynamics of the interactions between multiple factors or variables. Here, we present an overview of the quantitative translational model in AD, which embraces current preclinical and clinical data. The previously published description of amyloid physiology has been updated and joined with a model for tau pathology and multiple intraneuronal processes responsible for cellular transport, metabolism, or proteostasis. In addition, several hypotheses regarding the best correlates of cognitive deterioration have been validated using clinical data. Here, the amyloid hypothesis was unable to predict the aducanumab clinical trial data, whereas simulations of cognitive impairment coupled with tau seeding or neuronal breakdown (expressed as caspase activity) matched the data. A satisfactory validation of the data from multiple preclinical and clinical studies was followed by an attempt to predict the results of combinatorial treatment with targeted immunotherapy and activation of autophagy using rapamycin. The combination is predicted to yield better efficacy than immunotherapy alone.
Recruitment strategies for sarcopenia trials: lessons from the LACE randomized controlled trial
Authors: Witham Miles D. , Achison Marcus , Aspray Terry J. , Avenell Alison , Band Margaret M. , Donnan Peter T. , George Jacob , Hapca Adrian , Hume Cheryl , Kemp Paul , Pilvinyte Kristina , Sayer Avan A. , Smith Karen T. , Struthers Allan D. , Sumukadas Deepa 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundSarcopenia is rarely diagnosed and is not recorded electronically in routine clinical care, posing challenges to trial recruitment. We describe the performance of four components of a strategy to efficiently recruit participants with sarcopenia to a trial of perindopril and/or leucine for sarcopenia: primary care vs. hospital recruitment, a comparison of central vs. local telephone pre‐screening, performance of a questionnaire on physical function conducted as part of the pre‐screening telephone call, and performance of bioimpedance measurement to identify low muscle mass.MethodsHospital‐based recruitment took place through inpatient and outpatient geriatric medicine services. Local research nurses reviewed medical notes and approached potentially eligible patients. Primary care recruitment reviewed primary care lists from collaborating practices, sending mailshots to patients aged 70 and over who were not taking angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors. Telephone pre‐screening was conducted either by research nurses at each site or centrally by Tayside Clinical Trials Unit. The 10‐point SARC‐F questionnaire was used for pre‐screening. De‐identified recruitment information was held on a central electronic tracking system and analysed using SPSS. Bioimpedance was measured using the Akern BIA 101 system, with the Sergi equation used to estimate lean mass.ResultsFourteen UK sites recruited to the trial. The 1202 sets of notes in hospital‐based care were reviewed at these sites; 7 participants (0.6% of total notes screened) were randomized. From primary care, 13 808 invitations were sent; 138 (1.0% of total invited) were randomized. 633/2987 primary care respondents were pre‐screened centrally; the mean number of calls per respondent was 2.3. For 10 sites where central and local pre‐screening could be compared, the conversion rate from pre‐screening to randomization was 18/588 (3.1%) for centralized calls, compared with 73/1814 (4.0%) for local pre‐screening calls (P = 0.29). A weak relationship was seen between higher (worse) SARC‐F score at screening and lower likelihood of progression to randomization (r = −0.08, P = 0.03). Muscle mass estimates generated using the Sergi equation were systematically biased, and a recalibrated equation for bioimpedance‐estimated muscle mass was derived.ConclusionsPrimary care recruitment led to higher response rates and overall numbers randomized than hospital‐based recruitment. Centralized pre‐screening saved local research nurses' time but did not improve conversion to randomization. SARC‐F did not help to target screening activity in this sarcopenia trial, and a recalibration of the equation for estimating muscle mass from bioimpedance measures may improve accuracy of the screening process.
Discrete‐time design and applications of uncertainty and disturbance estimator
Authors: Padmanabhan Ram , Shetty Maithili , Chandar T. S. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThis article proposes a discrete‐time design for the robust control technique of uncertainty and disturbance estimator (UDE), with studies on applications to real‐world systems. Despite the ease of implementation of discrete‐time strategies, almost all prior work on UDE is for designing continuous‐time control laws, with no general, complete research for discrete‐time design. To design an appropriate discrete‐time control law, a novel digital filter similar to the original analog filter for disturbance estimation is designed, a discrete‐time error‐based control law is derived, and a detailed stability analysis is provided. However, most real‐world, physical systems are nonlinear and continuous‐time in nature. Thus, the techniques of sampling and digital‐analog (D/A) conversion are used, enabling the control of linear, time‐invariant as well as a class of nonlinear, continuous‐time systems using discrete‐time UDE. The considered nonlinear system is for the phenomenon of wing‐rock motion. Simulations are performed for the proposed techniques, and results indicate highly accurate stabilization and tracking performance, with excellent disturbance rejection. In particular, it is seen that the proposed control law is less sensitive to initial values of the error when compared to the original continuous‐time UDE law.
Observer‐based predictor for a susceptible‐infectious‐recovered model with delays: An optimal‐control case study
Authors: Castaños Fernando , Mondié Sabine 
Published: April 2021

AbstractWe propose an observer for a susceptible‐infectious‐recovered epidemic model. The observer is then uplifted into a predictor to compensate for time delays in the input and the output. Tuning criteria are given for tuning gains of the predictor, while the estimation‐error stability is ensured using Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functionals. The predictor's performance is first evaluated in combination with a time‐optimal control. It is shown that the predictor nearly recovers the performance level of the delay‐free system. Finally, the predictor is evaluated using real data from a covid epidemic.
Upper tail for homomorphism counts in constrained sparse random graphs
Authors: Bhattacharya Sohom , Dembo Amir 
Published: April 2021

AbstractConsider the upper tail probability that the homomorphism count of a fixed graph H within a large sparse random graph Gn exceeds its expected value by a fixed factor . Going beyond the Erdős–Rényi model, we establish here explicit, sharp upper tail decay rates for sparse random dn‐regular graphs (provided H has a regular 2‐core), and for sparse uniform random graphs. We further deal with joint upper tail probabilities for homomorphism counts of multiple graphs (extending the known results for ), and for inhomogeneous graph ensembles (such as the stochastic block model), we bound the upper tail probability by a variational problem analogous to the one that determines its decay rate in the case of sparse Erdős–Rényi graphs.
Identification of phosphorus index improvements through model comparisons across topographic regions in a small agricultural watershed in Vermont (USA)
Authors: Twombly Cameron R. , Faulkner Joshua W. , Collick Amy S. , Easton Zachary M. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractMany U.S. states require farmers to evaluate the risk of P loss from farm fields using P site assessment tools, such as the Phosphorus Index (P‐Index). The simplicity of the P‐Index allows for users with various backgrounds to utilize the tool; however, the P‐Index may be limited in its ability to reliably predict P losses across variable farm terrain, for instance where saturation‐excess runoff generation dominates. The objective of this study was to identify potential improvements that could be made to the Vermont P‐Index (VT P‐Index) by comparing VT P‐Index predictions of P loss with those of a model that considers topographic controls on P transport. Scenarios with varying P management strategies were developed and modeled for corn (Zea mays L.) silage production fields in a small agricultural watershed (360 ha) located in Vermont using both the VT P‐Index and a modified version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Modeled outputs from both the VT P‐Index and SWAT were aggregated based on topographic index (TI) class and compared for the directional agreement of P risk assessments and relative annual average dissolved and particulate P losses. The P‐Index nutrient management recommendations gave higher P loss risk ratings than SWAT for 94% of the 120 unique scenario combinations simulated. Results from this study suggest that the VT P‐Index could improve its ability to support farm nutrient management planning by incorporating topographic controls on runoff production into its estimation of P transport.
Suspended MoS2 Photodetector Using Patterned Sapphire Substrate
Authors: Liu Xinke , Hu Shengqun , Luo Jiangliu , Li Xiaohua , Wu Jing , Chi Dongzhi , Ang Kah‐Wee , Yu Wenjie , Cai Yongqing 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe introduction of patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) has been regarded as an effective method to improve the photoelectric performance of 2D layered materials in recent years. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), an intriguing transition metal 2D materials with splendid photoresponse owing to a direct‐indirect bandgap transition at monolayer, shows promising optoelectronics applications. Here, a large‐scale, continuous multilayer MoS2 film is prepared on a SiO2/Si substrate and transferred to flat sapphire substrate and PSS, respectively. An enhanced dynamic distribution of local electric field and concentrated photon excitons across the interface between MoS2 and patterned sapphire substrates are revealed by the finite‐difference time‐domain simulation. The photoelectric performance of the MoS2/PSS photodetector is improved under the three lasers of 365, 460, and 660 nm. Under the 365 nm laser, the photocurrent increased by 3 times, noise equivalent power (NEP) decreases to 1.77 × 10−14 W/Hz1/2 and specific detectivity (D*) increases to 1.2 × 1010 Jones. Meanwhile, the responsivity is increased by 7 times at 460 nm, and the response time of the MoS2/PSS photodetector is also shortened under three wavelengths. The work demonstrates an effective method for enhancing the optical properties of photodetectors and enabling simultaneous detection of broad‐spectrum emissions.
Phase Tailoring of Ruddlesden–Popper Perovskite at Fixed Large Spacer Cation Ratio
Authors: Guo Jia , Shi Zejiao , Xia Junmin , Wang Kaiyang , Wei Qi , Liang Chao , Zhao Dandan , Zhang Zhipeng , Chen Shula , Liu Tanghao , Mei Shiliang , Hui Wei , Hong Guo , Chen Yonghua , Xing Guichuan 
Published: April 2021

AbstractRuddlesden–Popper (RP) metal halide perovskites are considered as promising optoelectronic materials due to their good environmental stability and desirable optoelectronic properties. However, the phase composition and ordering in the deposited film, with a fixed ratio of large organic spacer cation in the precursor solution, are hard to be further tailored for specific optoelectronic applications. Herein, it is shown that even with a fixed spacer cation ratio, the phase composition and ordering can still be largely regulated by utilizing different crystallization kinetics of various cations with the inorganic octahedral lead halide. By using two different short cations to compete with the large spacer cation, the phase composition can be continuously tailored from thin multiple quantum wells (MQWs) dominated to 3D perovskite dominated. The phase ordering can be reversed from small n phases’ prior to large n phases’ prior near the substrate. Finally, with the same amount of large spacer cation protection, the perovskite can be tailored for both high‐performance electroluminescence and photovoltaics with favorable energetic landscape for the corresponding desired first‐order excitonic recombination and second‐order free electron–hole recombination, respectively. This exploration substantially contributes to the understanding of precise phase engineering in RP perovskite and may provide a new insight into the design of multiple functional devices.
Efficient Electron Transfer from Electron‐Sponge Polyoxometalate to Single‐Metal Site Metal–Organic Frameworks for Highly Selective Electroreduction of Carbon Dioxide
Authors: Sun Ming‐Liang , Wang Yi‐Rong , He Wen‐Wen , Zhong Rong‐Lin , Liu Qing‐Zhi , Xu Shiyou , Xu Jing‐Mei , Han Xiao‐Long , Ge Xueying , Li Shun‐Li , Lan Ya‐Qian , Al‐Enizi Abdullah M. , Nafady Ayman , Ma Shengqian 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn this work, by combining the superiority of polyoxometalates (POMs) and catalytic single‐metal site Co of metalloporphyrin, a series of mixed‐valence POM‐based metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) composites is synthesized by a post‐modification method. The electron‐transfer property of POM@PCN‐222(Co) composite is significantly enhanced owing to the directional electron‐transfer from POM to single‐metal site Co in PCN‐222(Co). In particular, H‐POM@PCN‐222(Co) gives a high Faradaic efficiency of 96.2% for electroreduction of CO2 into CO and good stability over 10 h. DFT calculations confirm that the directional electron transfer, which accelerates the multi‐electron transfer from the electrode to active single‐metal site Co, enriches the electron density of the Co center, and ultimately reduces the energy of the rate‐determining step, thus increasing the catalytic activity of CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). This work therefore suggests some new insight for the design of efficient electrocatalysts for CO2RR.
ARTful: A model for user‐defined schedulers targeting multiple high‐performance computing runtime systems
Authors: Santana Alexandre , Freitas Vinicius , Castro Márcio , Pilla Laércio L. , Méhaut Jean‐François 
Published: April 2021

AbstractGlobal schedulers are components in parallel runtime libraries that distribute the application's workload across physical resources. More often than not, applications showcase dynamic load imbalance and require customized scheduling solutions to avoid wasting resources. Some libraries lack support for user‐defined schedulers and developers resort to unofficial extensions that are harder to reuse and maintain. We propose a global scheduler software design, entitled ARTful model, to create user‐defined solutions with minimal alterations in the runtime library. Our model uses a component‐based design to separate components from the runtime library and the scheduling policy implementation. The ARTful modeldescribes the interface of a portable scheduler library, allowing policies to operate on different runtime libraries. We study the overhead induced by our design through our ARTful library implementation metaprogramming‐oriented global scheduling library using workload‐aware scheduling policies. We experiment with two different policies from OpenMP and Charm++ runtime systems, also presenting evaluations of the policies outside of their original library context. We observe that our portable schedulers can sometimes perform decisions faster than their native counterparts with negligible overhead in the execution times of synthetic applications and molecular dynamics kernels.
A genomics resource for genetics, physiology, and breeding of West African sorghum
Authors: Faye Jacques M. , Maina Fanna , Akata Eyanawa A. , Sine Bassirou , Diatta Cyril , Mamadou Aissata , Marla Sandeep , Bouchet Sophie , Teme Niaba , Rami Jean‐Francois , Fonceka Daniel , Cisse Ndiaga , Morris Geoffrey P. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractLocal landrace and breeding germplasm is a useful source of genetic diversity for regional and global crop improvement initiatives. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in western Africa (WA) has diversified across a mosaic of cultures and end uses and along steep precipitation and photoperiod gradients. To facilitate germplasm utilization, a West African sorghum association panel (WASAP) of 756 accessions from national breeding programs of Niger, Mali, Senegal, and Togo was assembled and characterized. Genotyping‐by‐sequencing (GBS) was used to generate 159,101 high‐quality biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), with 43% in intergenic regions and 13% in genic regions. High genetic diversity was observed within the WASAP (π = .00045), only slightly less than in a global diversity panel (GDP) (π = .00055). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) decayed to background level (r2 < .1) by ∼50 kb in the WASAP. Genome‐wide diversity was structured both by botanical type and by populations within botanical type with eight ancestral populations identified. Most populations were distributed across multiple countries, suggesting several potential common gene pools across the national programs. Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of days to flowering (DFLo) and plant height (PH) revealed eight and three significant quantitative trait loci (QTL), respectively, with major height QTL at canonical height loci Dw3 and SbHT7.1. Colocalization of two of eight major flowering time QTL with flowering genes previously described in U.S. germplasm (Ma6 and SbCN8) suggests that photoperiodic flowering in West African sorghum is conditioned by both known and novel genes. This genomic resource provides a foundation for genomics‐enabled breeding of climate‐resilient varieties in WA.
Mapping of seed quality traits in the C genome of Brassica napus by using a population carrying genome content of B. oleracea and their effect on other traits
Authors: Rahman Habibur , Kebede Berisso 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIncreasing seed oil and protein contents and reducing the content of seed glucosinolates (GSLs) in Brassica oilseed crops are important objectives in breeding. By using an oilseed rape (B. napus L.) doubled‐haploid (DH) population carrying genome content introgressed from Chinese kale (B. oleracea L.), we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for these seed quality traits and investigated their effect on other traits including seed yield. A stable QTL for seed oil content was identified on chromosome C5 at 40–42 Mb position and a QTL for seed GSL content was identified on C9 at 7–8 Mb position. The C5 and C9 QTL alleles for high oil and GSL contents were derived from Chinese kale, demonstrating that high‐oil QTL allele can be found in the parental species of oilseed rape. The low‐GSL QTL allele of C9 exerted a significant positive effect on seed protein content, demonstrating that selection for this QTL allele contributed to higher protein content in canola seed. These two QTL were not affected by field environmental conditions and did not exert a significant effect on days to flowering and seed yield. Thus, the genomic regions and the molecular markers identified in this study should be useful in molecular breeding of the seed quality traits in oilseed rape.
Structural MRI of the basal forebrain as predictor of cognitive response to galantamine in healthy older adults—A randomized controlled double‐blinded crossover study
Authors: Müller Patrick , Vellage Anne‐Katrin , Schmicker Marlen , Menze Inga , Grothe Michel J. , Teipel Stefan J. , Müller Notger G. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIntroductionCholinesterase inhibitors can enhance cognitive functions in healthy elderly and delay cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer`s disease (AD). However, not everyone benefits from this treatment (non‐responders). Current studies show clinical meaningful improvements only in one third of AD patients treated with cholinesterase inhibitors.MethodsHere we investigate structural magnetic resonance imaging of the basal forebrain cholinergic system volume (BFvol) as a potential predictor of cognitive response to a single dose of galantamine in healthy adults (n = 18; 59 to 75 years).ResultsWe observed that the cognitive response to galantamine, more specifically the attention‐dependent filtering performance in a delayed match‐to‐sample working memory task, correlated with BFvol: Only participants with high BFvol showed a significant positive effect of galantamine on the ability to filter out distracting information during the working memory encoding process.DiscussionFuture studies need to assess whether BFvol may serve as a predictor of the galantamine response in AD patients, too.
Establishing levels of retained radioactivity in cats receiving radioactive iodine treatment
Authors: Alonzi Consuelo , Peak Kerry , Gower Lou , Walker David John , Johnson Ben 
Published: April 2021

Background: Radioactive iodine (RAI) is considered the gold standard treatment for feline hyperthyroidism. Currently exposure limits to radiation are regulated by national legislation, therefore the length of the isolation period in hospital for cats receiving radioactive treatment varies according to the place where the radioactive facility is located. The aim of this study was to establish when retained radioactivity decreases in cats receiving subcutaneous I‐131 to a level that would allow discharge of cats from the hospital while being compliant with current United Kingdom legislation.Methods: Clinical records of cats treated with subcutaneous I‐131 were retrospectively reviewed. Radioactive emission rates were measured using an external probe. Retained radioactivity below 11 MBq at the point of discharge was required by the initial risk assessment to ensure that a 0.3 mSv dose constraint was maintained for owners following standard cat‐owner contact restrictions. Average retained activity for each treatment regimen at the time of discharge was calculated. The biological half‐life for iodine retention was also calculated.Results: Overall, an end activity below 11 MBq was reached at day 11 in 49% of cats, and at day 13 in 91% of cats. These cats were allowed to be discharged according to UK legislation, as long as contact restrictions were applied at home for 2 weeks.Conclusion: Based on our study, an isolation period of 13 days before allowing discharge of cats treated with subcutaneous RAI (I‐131) is compliant with current UK legislation.