bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Superwettable antibacterial textiles for versatile oil/water separation
Authors: Vaidulych Mykhailo , Shelemin Artem , Hanuš Jan , Khalakhan Ivan , Krakovsky Ivan , Kočová Pavlína , Mašková Hana , Kratochvíl Jiří , Pleskunov Pavel , Štěrba Jan , Kylián Ondrej , Choukourov Andrei , Biederman Hynek 
Published: March 2019

AbstractA gas‐phase deposition process based on the combination of nanoparticles (NPs) and thin films is developed to obtain either superhydrophobic or superamphiphilic nanocomposite coatings on filtration membranes. Superhydrophobic membranes are produced on nonwoven viscose fabric and they demonstrate selective absorption of nonpolar organic solvents from oil/water mixtures. Superamphiphilic membranes are produced on carbon cloth and found suitable for smart separation of light oil or heavy oil from water, with the efficiency above 99.97%. Incorporation of Cu NPs endow both types of the membranes with antibacterial properties. A twofold reduction in the metabolic activity of
Escherichia coli is achieved after 24 hr of the incubation, which proves this environmentally friendly approach to be perspective for the development of multifunctional porous substrates.
The vexing complexity of the amyloidogenic pathway
Authors: Castro Manuel A. , Hadziselimovic Arina , Sanders Charles R. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe role of the amyloidogenic pathway in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), particularly the common sporadic late onset forms of the disease, is controversial. To some degree, this is a consequence of the failure of drug and therapeutic antibody trials based either on targeting the proteases in this pathway or its amyloid end products. Here, we explore the formidable complexity of the biochemistry and cell biology associated with this pathway. For example, we review evidence that the immediate precursor of amyloid‐β, the C99 domain of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), may itself be toxic. We also review important new results that appear to finally establish a direct genetic link between mutations in APP and the sporadic forms of AD. Based on the complexity of amyloidogenesis, it seems possible that a major contributor to the failure of related drug trials is that we have an incomplete understanding of this pathway and how it is linked to Alzheimer's pathogenesis. If so, this highlights a need for further characterization of this pathway, not its abandonment.
Fault estimation observer design for a class of nonlinear multiagent systems in finite‐frequency domain
Authors: Chen Jianliang , Chu Hongjun , Fan Qian , Cao Yong‐Yan 
Published: March 2019

SummaryThis paper focuses on the fault estimation observer design problem in the finite‐frequency domain for a class of Lipschitz nonlinear multiagent systems subject to system components or actuator fault. First, the relative output estimation error is defined based on the directed communication topology of multiagent systems, and an observer error system is obtained by connecting adaptive fault estimation observer and the state equation of the original system. Then, sufficient conditions for the existence of the fault estimation observer are obtained by using a generalized Kalman‐Yakubovich‐Popov lemma and properties of the matrix trace, which guarantee that the observer error system satisfies robustness performance in the finite‐frequency domain. Meanwhile, the pole assignment method is used to configure the poles of the observer error system in a certain area. Finally, the simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Dynamic average consensus with topology balancing under a directed graph
Authors: Li Chaoyong , Xin Huanhai , Wang Jianan , Yu Miao , Gao Xing 
Published: March 2019

SummaryIn this paper, the distributed average tracking problem is studied on the premise of a strongly connected directed graph. To this end, we propose a weight balance strategy that could potentially make the adjacency matrix doubly stochastic for any strongly connected directed graph. The proposed scheme is fully distributive with finite time convergence and we again prove that network connectivity (described by the first left eigenvector) is instrumental in networked control systems. Then, a discrete‐time average tracking observer is introduced to ensure that all networked systems can track the average of the reference signals with bounded error. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Incorporating single‐arm evidence into a network meta‐analysis using aggregate level matching: Assessing the impact
Authors: Leahy Joy , Thom Howard , Jansen Jeroen P. , Gray Emma , O'Leary Aisling , White Arthur , Walsh Cathal 
Published: March 2019

Increasingly, single‐armed evidence is included in health technology assessment submissions when companies are seeking reimbursement for new drugs. While it is recognized that randomized controlled trials provide a higher standard of evidence, these are not available for many new agents that have been granted licenses in recent years. Therefore, it is important to examine whether alternative strategies for assessing this evidence may be used.In this work, we examine approaches to incorporating single‐armed evidence formally in the evaluation process. We consider matching aggregate level covariates to comparator arms or trials and including this evidence in a network meta‐analysis. We consider two methods of matching: (i) we include the chosen matched arm in the data set itself as a comparator for the single‐arm trial; (ii) we use the baseline odds of an event in a chosen matched trial to use as a plug‐in estimator for the single‐arm trial.We illustrate that the synthesis of evidence resulting from such a setup is sensitive to the between‐study variability, formulation of the prior for the between‐design effect, weight given to the single‐arm evidence, and extent of the bias in single‐armed evidence. We provide a flowchart for the process involved in such a synthesis and highlight additional sensitivity analyses that should be carried out. This work was motivated by a hepatitis C data set, where many agents have only been examined in single‐arm studies. We present the results of our methods applied to this data set.
Launch vehicle systems engineering life‐cycle evolution and comparison
Authors: Gibson Denton 
Published: March 2019

AbstractHistorically, through extensive government involvement, most orbital rocket companies have adopted the government's systems engineering approach. However, over the past decade, the Federal government has been less involved in the development of new launch vehicles. The diminishing involvement by the Federal government has given way to the rise of nontraditional systems engineering life‐cycle approaches for launch vehicle development. This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of the different system engineering life‐cycle approaches in the launch vehicle industry.
Splicing and neurodegeneration: Insights and mechanisms
Authors: Nik Sara , Bowman Teresa V. 
Published: March 2019

Splicing is the global cellular process whereby intervening sequences (introns) in precursor messenger RNA (pre‐mRNA) are removed and expressed regions (exons) are ligated together, resulting in a mature mRNA transcript that is exported and translated in the cytoplasm. The tightly regulated splicing cycle is also flexible allowing for the inclusion or exclusion of some sequences depending on the specific cellular context. Alternative splicing allows for the generation of many transcripts from a single gene, thereby expanding the proteome. Although all cells require the function of the spliceosome, neurons are highly sensitive to splicing perturbations with numerous neurological diseases linked to splicing defects. The sensitivity of neurons to splicing alterations is largely due to the complex neuronal cell types and functions in the nervous system that require specific splice isoforms to maintain cellular homeostasis. In the past several years, the relationship between RNA splicing and the nervous system has been the source of significant investigation. Here, we review the current knowledge on RNA splicing in neurobiology and discuss its potential role and impact in neurodegenerative diseases. We will examine the impact of alternative splicing and the role of splicing regulatory proteins on neurodegeneration, highlighting novel animal models including mouse and zebrafish. We will also examine emerging technologies and therapeutic interventions that aim to “drug” the spliceosome.This article is categorized under:
RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease
RNA Processing > Splicing Regulation/Alternative Splicing
RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Development
The field and landscape of affordances: Koffka’s two environments revisited
Authors: Kiverstein Julian , van Dijk Ludger , Rietveld Erik 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe smooth integration of the natural sciences with everyday lived experience is an important ambition of radical embodied cognitive science. In this paper we start from Koffka’s recommendation in his Principles of Gestalt Psychology that to realize this ambition psychology should be a “science of molar behaviour”. Molar behavior refers to the purposeful behaviour of the whole organism directed at an environment that is meaningfully structured for the animal. Koffka made a sharp distinction between the “behavioural environment” and the “geographical environment”. We show how this distinction picks out the difference between the environment as perceived by an individual organism, and the shared publicly available environment. The ecological psychologist James Gibson was later critical of Koffka for inserting a private phenomenal reality in between animals and the shared environment. Gibson tried to make do with just the concept of affordances in his explanation of molar behaviour. We argue however that psychology as a science of molar behaviour will need to make appeal both to the concepts of shared publicly available affordances, and of the multiplicity of relevant affordances that invite an individual to act. A version of Koffka’s distinction between the two environments remains alive today in a distinction we have made between the field and landscape of affordances. Having distinguished the two environments, we go on to provide an account of how the two environments are related. Koffka suggested that the behavioural environment forms out of the causal interaction of the individual with a pre-existing, ready-made geographical environment. We argue that such an account of the relation between the two environments fails to do justice to the complex entanglement of the social with the material aspects of the geographical environment. To better account for this sociomaterial reality of the geographical environment, we propose a process-perspective on our distinction between the landscape and field of affordances. While the two environments can be conceptually distinguished, we argue they should also be viewed as standing in a relation of reciprocal and mutual dependence.
Exact and statistical computations of radiated flow of nano and Casson fluids under heat and mass flux conditions
Authors: Mackolil Joby , Mahanthesh Basavarajappa 
Published: March 2019

Abstract
The statistical and exact analysis of the unsteady radiative flow of Nano and Casson fluids past a vertical plate with Dufour effect is carried out. The heat transport phenomenon is studied under uniform heat flux (UHF) and uniform wall temperature (UWT) conditions. The exact solution to the problem is found using the Laplace transform method (LTM). The effects of various parameters on velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are examined via graphs. The heat transfer rate and skin friction are analyzed through statistical tools like probable error and regression. The Dufour effect enhances the velocity and temperature profiles. It is also observed that the velocity profile is slightly greater in the case of UWT than the UHF case for both nanofluid and Casson fluid. From the regression analysis, it is established that the Dufour number and nanoparticle volume fraction have a negative impact whereas the radiative heat parameter has a positive impact on the rate of heat transfer.
Highlights The statistical analysis of the unsteady radiated flow on a vertical plate with Dufour effect is performed. The uniform heat flux (UHF) and uniform wall temperature (UWT) conditions are accounted. The Nusselt number and friction factor are analysed through statistical tools. The velocity profile is greater for UWT case than the UHF case.
The transient force profile of low-speed droplet impact: measurements and model
Authors: Mitchell Benjamin R. , Klewicki Joseph C. , Korkolis Yannis P. , Kinsey Brad L. 
Published: March 2019

The transient force exerted by a low-speed liquid droplet impinging onto a flat rigid surface is investigated experimentally. The measurements employ a high-sensitivity piezo-electric sensor, along with a high-speed camera, and cover four decades in droplet Reynolds number and greater than two decades in Weber number. Across these ranges, the peak of individual force profiles span from 3 mN to over 1300 mN. Once normalised, the force–time profiles support the existence of an inertially dominated self-similar regime. Within this regime, previous numerical and theoretical studies predict a$\sqrt{t}$dependence of impact normal force during the initial pre-peak rise. While our measurements confirm this finding, they also indicate that, after the peak force the profiles exhibit an exponential decay. This long-time decay law suggests treatment of the momentum transport from the droplet using a lumped model. An observed linear dependence between the force and force decay rate supports this approach. The reason for the efficacy of treating this system via a lumped model apparently connects to the physics right at the surface that limit the rate of momentum transport from the droplet to the surface. This is explored by estimating the momentum transfer by solely using the deforming droplet shape, but under the condition of negligible momentum gradients within the droplet. The short- and long-time solutions are combined and the resulting model equation is shown to accurately cover the entire force–time profile.
VANISHING COEFFICIENTS IN FOUR QUOTIENTS OF INFINITE PRODUCT EXPANSIONS
Authors: TANG DAZHAO 
Published: March 2019

Motivated by Ramanujan’s continued fraction and the work of Richmond and Szekeres [‘The Taylor coefficients of certain infinite products’, Acta Sci. Math. (Szeged)40(3–4) (1978), 347–369], we investigate vanishing coefficients along arithmetic progressions in four quotients of infinite product expansions and obtain similar results. For example, $a_{1}(5n+4)=0$, where $a_{1}(n)$ is defined by $$\begin{eqnarray}\displaystyle {\displaystyle \frac{(q,q^{4};q^{5})_{\infty }^{3}}{(q^{2},q^{3};q^{5})_{\infty }^{2}}}=\mathop{\sum }_{n=0}^{\infty }a_{1}(n)q^{n}. & & \displaystyle \nonumber\end{eqnarray}$$
Regional difference of grain production potential change and its influencing factors: a case-study of Shaanxi Province, China
Authors: Fei Li , Ya Li , Shuang Ma 
Published: March 2019

AbstractGrain production potential (GrPP) is the maximum production in 1 year that can be achieved by land use under the limitations of climate conditions and in the absence of pests and diseases and other factors. Regional GrPP can change over time and there is an urgent need to identify the main factors affecting regional differences in such changes. Therefore, changes in GrPP were studied for six geographical units in Shaanxi Province, with summer maize and winter wheat as the main grain crops. Changes of GrPP during 2000–2015 were simulated by the global aro-ecological zone model. Analysis of modelled GrPP driven by observed changes in climate and land use suggest that over this period GrPP increased to the north but declined to the south of the Qinling Mountains. This is driven mainly by past changes in climate, with modelled GrPP more sensitive to changes in precipitation than temperature in all geographical units except one. Climate change was the main factor affecting GrPP in all geographical units except one; however, model prediction suggests that land use changes had a clear yield-reducing effect in three of the units. It is the conversion from cultivated land to construction land, grassland and woodland that led to the greatest declines in GrPP in these three geographical units. In order to ensure the stable development of regional agriculture and food security, Shaanxi Province should focus on tapping GrPP north of the Qinling Mountains and increasing the conversion rate of GrPP to actual production.
Life-threating complication of parapharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis in a 10-year-old otherwise healthy girl following elective tonsillectomy – first reported paediatric case
Authors: Holm-Hansen C C , Thisted E , Kaltoft M 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundParapharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis are rare but very severe post-operative complications following an elective tonsillectomy. Parapharyngeal abscess as a complication to tonsilectomy is very seldom described in the literature and no cases in the paediatric population have been described.Case reportThis paper presents, to our knowledge, the first case of life-threatening parapharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis following elective adenotonsillectomy in an otherwise healthy, fully vaccinated 10-year-old girl.ConclusionDiagnosing parapharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis can be challenging, but should be suspected and ruled out in cases of post-operative odynophagia, fever, and/or neck swelling and thoracic pain. Diagnosis is made based on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography findings. Prompt broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotic treatment and surgical drainage should be initiated. Other severe complications such as meningitis should also be considered.
Pneumocephalus and orbital emphysema associated with the use of an autoinflation device: a unique case report and review of the literature
Authors: Millington A J , Perkins V , Salam M A 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundAutoinflation devices are commonly used for otitis media with effusion and Eustachian tube dysfunction. Generally, these are very safe devices, with few or no complications.Case reportThis paper presents a case study of pneumocephalus and orbital emphysema, associated with the use of an autoinflation device, in a 73-year-old woman with Eustachian tube dysfunction and otitis media with effusion, and a history of extensive endoscopic sinus surgery 13 years previously.ConclusionA literature review showed autoinflation-related pneumocephalus in patients with skull base defects relating to cranial surgery or tumours; however, this has not been described previously with the Otovent system or its use in relation to functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Given the theoretical risk of undetected bony abnormalities in post-operative functional endoscopic sinus surgery patients, it is suggested that autoinflation devices are used cautiously in patients with a history of sinus surgery.
Improving cellular migration in tissue-engineered laryngeal scaffolds
Authors: Wismayer K , Mehrban N , Bowen J , Birchall M 
Published: March 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo modify the non-porous surface membrane of a tissue-engineered laryngeal scaffold to allow effective cell entry.MethodsThe mechanical properties, surface topography and chemistry of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane poly(carbonate-urea) urethane were characterised. A laser technique introduced surface perforations. Micro computed tomography generated porosity data. Scaffolds were seeded with cells, investigated histologically and proliferation studied. Incubation and time effects were assessed.ResultsLaser cutting perforated the polymer, connecting the substructure with the ex-scaffold environment and increasing porosity (porous, non-perforated = 87.9 per cent; porous, laser-perforated at intensities 3 = 96.4 per cent and 6 = 89.5 per cent). Cellular studies confirmed improved cell viability. Histology showed cells adherent to the scaffold surface and cells within perforations, and indicated that cells migrated into the scaffolds. After 15 days of incubation, scanning electron microscopy revealed an 11 per cent reduction in pore diameter, correlating with a decrease in Young's modulus.ConclusionIntroducing surface perforations presents a viable method of improving polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane poly(carbonate-urea) urethane as a tissue-engineered scaffold.
Institutional sources of legitimacy for international organisations: Beyond procedure versus performance
Authors: Dellmuth Lisa Maria , Scholte Jan Aart , Tallberg Jonas 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThis article addresses a significant gap in the literature on legitimacy in global governance, exploring whether, in what ways, and to what extent institutional qualities of international organisations (IOs) matter for popular legitimacy beliefs towards these bodies. The study assesses the causal significance of procedure and performance as sources of legitimacy, unpacks these dimensions into specific institutional qualities, and offers a comparative analysis across IOs in three issue areas of global governance. Theoretically, the article disaggregates institutional sources of legitimacy to consider democratic, technocratic, and fair qualities of procedure and performance. Empirically, it examines the effects of these institutional qualities through a population-based survey experiment in four countries in different world regions with respect to IOs in economic, security, and climate governance. The findings demonstrate that both procedure- and performance-related aspects of IO policymaking matter for popular legitimacy beliefs. This result holds across democratic, technocratic, and fair qualities of IO procedure and performance. Disaggregating the results by issue area indicates that a broader scope of institutional qualities are important for legitimacy beliefs in economic governance compared to security governance and, especially, climate governance. These findings suggest that propositions to reduce the institutional sources of IO legitimacy to single specific qualities would be misguided.
Does the presence of elephant dung create hotspots of growth for existing seedlings?
Authors: Kalbitzer Urs , McInnis Victoria , Omeja Patrick A. , Bortolamiol Sarah , Chapman Colin A. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractMegaherbivores play a central role in the evolution and functioning of ecosystems. In tropical forests elephant species are some of the few remaining megaherbivores. Through elephant foraging, nutrients that would be locked in leaves and stems, taking months or years to decay, are quickly liberated for use. In 10 experimental sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda, we set up 10 pairs of plots (4 × 4 m), each pair involved one treatment, elephant dung addition, and one control. After 1 y, we quantified growth (height and leaf number) and survival of young light-demanding (12) and shade-tolerant (19) plant species (439 stems in total). In general, the addition of elephant dung did not increase seedling growth, and it only increased the number of leaves in shade-tolerant plants with a large initial number of leaves. Researchers have speculated that the loss of elephants would shift the composition of African forests to slow-growing tree species. However, this is not supported by our finding that shows some slow-growing shade-tolerant plants grew more new leaves with additional nutrient input from elephant dung, a condition that would occur if elephant numbers increase.