bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Carboxylic Acids Production via Electrochemical Depolymerization of Lignin
Authors: Di Marino Davide , Jestel Tim , Marks Caroline , Viell Jörn , Blindert Malte , Kriescher Stefanie M. A. , Spiess Antje C. , Wessling Matthias 
Published: December 2018

AbstractFacing the challenge of lignin valorization is one of the unsolved key steps for a sustainable and economically feasible biorefinery. Several processes were developed with the aim of producing value‐added compounds from lignin. Thermal, enzymatic, and catalytic processes represent common techniques for lignin valorization. However, expensive catalysts or enzymes and harsh conditions hampered the implementation of these methodologies on an industrial scale. Here, we propose the utilization of a simple “swiss‐roll” electrochemical reactor for the production of valuable carboxylic acids. We showcase that production of phenolic compounds, such as vanillin, is hindered by the electrochemical mechanism. Additionally, electrochemical stability experiments of possible products showed high reactivity of vanillin against the low reactivity of mono‐ and dicarboxylic acids. Simultaneously, the electrochemical process leads to stable carboxylic acids with high yields of 6.4, 26.8, and 4.2 % for oxalic, formic, and acetic acids, respectively, thus representing a competitive alternative to the catalytic and hydrothermal degradation process for the production of carboxylic acids.
Epigenetic analysis identifies factors driving racial disparity in prostate cancer
Authors: Rai Richa , Yadav Shalini S. , Pan Heng , Khan Irtaza , O'Connor James , Alshalalfa Mohammed , Davicioni Elai , Taioli Emanuela , Elemento Olivier , Tewari Ashutosh K. , Yadav Kamlesh K. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractBackgroundProstate cancer (PCa) is the second most leading cause of death in men worldwide. African‐American men (AA) represent more aggressive form of the disease compared to Caucasian (CA) counterparts. Several lines of evidences suggest that biological factors are responsible for the observed racial disparity.AimThis study was aimed at identifying the epigenetic variation among AA and CA PCa patients and whether DNA methylation differences have an association with clinical outcomes in the two races.Methods and resultsThe cancer genome atlas (TCGA) dataset (2015) was used to identify existing epigenetic variation in AA and CA PCa patients. Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) was performed to identify global DNA methylation changes in a small cohort of AA and CA PCa patients. The RRBS data were then used to identify survival and recurrence outcomes in AA and CA PCa patients using publicly available datasets. The TCGA data analysis revealed epigenetic heterogeneity, which could be categorized into four classes. AA associated primarily to methylation cluster 1 (p = 0.048), and CA associated to methylation cluster 3 (p = 0.000146). Enrichment of the Wnt signaling pathway was identified in both the races; however, they were differentially activated in terms of canonical and non‐canonical Wnt signaling. This was further validated using the Decipher Genomics Resource Information Database (GRID). The RRBS data also identified discrete methylation patterns in AA compared with CA and, in part, validated our TCGA findings. Survival analysis using the RRBS data suggested hypomethylated genes to be significantly associated with recurrence of PCa in CA (p = 6.07 × 10−6) as well as in AA (p = 0.0077).ConclusionOverall, we observed epigenetic‐based racial disparity in PCa which could affect survival and should be considered during prognosis and treatment.
Synthesis and Properties of 3‐Azido‐2,2‐bis(azidomethyl)propyl 2‐Azidoacetate: A Potential Azido Ester Plasticizer
Authors: Wang Yinglei , Liu Yajing , Lu Tingting , Gao Fulei , Zhao Baodong 
Published: December 2018

AbstractThis study reports the synthesis and characterization of a novel azido ester plasticizer, 3‐azido‐2,2‐bis(azidomethyl)propyl 2‐azidoacetate (ABAMPA), with good yield and high purity. The density, impact sensitivity, friction sensitivity, thermal decomposition temperature and glass transition temperature were determined to be 1.326 g ⋅ cm−3, 16 J, 324 N, 235.9 °C and −50.4 °C, respectively. The plasticizing effect of ABAMPA on glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) was calculated by molecular dynamics, the solubility parameter difference value was 1.7(J ⋅ cm−3)0.5, and the glass transition temperature of GAP was reduced from −35 °C to −43 °C when the weight ratio of ABAMPA and GAP was 50 : 50. The new azido ester exhibits high energy, remarkable thermostability and good compatibility with GAP, which indicates that it would have potential application in explosive and propellant formulations.
Outage probability bound of decode and forward two‐way full‐duplex relay employing spatial modulation over cascaded α − μ channels
Authors: Bhowal Anirban , Kshetrimayum Rakhesh Singh 
Published: December 2018

SummaryThe system performance of mobile‐to‐mobile (D2D) cooperative communication has been improved by utilizing spatial modulation (SM) in this paper. The proposed system employs decode and forward (DF) relaying technique along with physical layer network coding (PLNC); hence, it has been named as SM‐based decode and forward two‐way relay (DFTWR). It enables full‐duplex communication thereby enhancing the system efficiency. Information bits are exchanged between the two bidirectional nodes. For two bits of information exchange, the antenna index is conveyed by the least significant bit (LSB) of the data symbol while the most significant bit (MSB) carries the message. The system performance has been investigated by analyzing certain performance metrics like lower and upper bounds of outage probability and average data rate for N‐α‐μ cascaded fading channels. The change in the system performance by varying certain parameters like relative geometrical gain, fading coefficients, and number of cascaded components has also been put forth in this paper.
Secrecy Performance of CCRN with an EHAF Relay under Source and Destination Jamming
Authors: Sharma Shashibhushan , Dhar Roy Sanjay , Kundu Sumit 
Published: December 2018

SummaryIn this paper, we investigate the secrecy performance of a cooperative cognitive radio network (CCRN) considering a single energy harvesting (EH) half‐duplex amplify and forward (AF) relay and an eavesdropper (EAV). Power is allocated to each node under cognitive constraints. Because of the absence of a direct wireless link, secondary source (SS) communicates with secondary destination (SD) in two time slots. The SD and the SS broadcast jamming signal to confuse the EAV in the first and in the second time slots, respectively. The relay harvests energy in the first time slot and amplifies and forwards the signal to SD in the second time slot. The EAV employs maximal ratio combining scheme to extract the information. We evaluate the performance in terms of secrecy outage probability (SOP) of the proposed CCRN. The approximate expression of SOP is obtained in integration form. Improvement in SOP is expected for the proposed CCRN because of the use of jamming signals. The secrecy performance of CCRN improves with increase in primary transmit power, peak transmit power of secondary nodes, channel mean power, and energy conversion efficiency but degrades with increase in threshold outage rate of primary receiver and threshold secrecy rate. A MATLAB‐based simulation framework has been developed to validate the analytical work.
Tadalafil: 15 years' journey in male erectile dysfunction and beyond
Authors: Ahmed Nermin S. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractTadalafil, Cialis, Eli Lilly & Co./ICOS, (6R,12aR)‐6‐(1,3‐benzodioxol‐5‐yl)‐2‐methyl‐2,3,6,7,12,12a‐hexahydropyrazino[1′,2′:1,6] pyrido[3,4‐b]indole‐1,4‐dione, was first discovered in 2003. It was reported to have high diastereospecificity for phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitions. The cis‐(6R, 12aR) enantiomer is the most active enantiomer. Tadalafil showed PDE5 inhibition with IC50 = 5 nM. It possesses high selectivity for PDE5 versus PDE1‐4 and PDE6. Tadalafil is more selective to PDE5 against PDE6 whereas sildenafil, another commercially available PDE5 inhibitor shows similar potencies to inhibit PDE5 and PDE6. Tadalafil is used for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction (MED), prostatic benign hyperplasia (PBH) signs and symptoms, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Adcirca, another name for tadalafil, is used to treat PAH and improve exercise capacity. Recent clinical studies suggest the use of tadalafil for nonurological applications, including circulatory disorders (ischemia injury, myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and stroke), neurodegenerative disorders, and cognitive impairment conditions. This review discusses tadalafil and its analogues reported in the past 15 years. It discusses synthetic pathways, structural activity relationships, existing and future pharmacological indications of tadalafil and its analogues. This work can help medicinal chemists developing novel PDE5 inhibitors with wider therapeutic indications.
Resolving reading disability—Childhood predictors and adult‐age outcomes
Authors: Eloranta Anna‐Kaija , Närhi Vesa M. , Eklund Kenneth M. , Ahonen Timo P.S. , Aro Tuija I. 
Published: December 2018

We examined frequency of adult‐age reading disability (RD) and its childhood predictors among 48 adults (20 to 39 years) with documented childhood RD, and contrasted their cognitive skills, education, and employment with 37 matched controls. Among individuals with childhood RD, more than half had improved in their reading fluency to the level where the set criterion for adult‐age RD was not met anymore. More fluent rapid naming, less severe childhood RD, and multiple support providers in childhood together predicted improvement of reading fluency. More fluent naming differentiated the childhood RD participants whose reading fluency had improved by adult‐age from those participants whose RD persisted to adult‐age. All the individuals with childhood RD performed weaker than the controls in adult‐age working memory, processing speed, and verbal skills. Educational level among both RD groups was lower than that among the controls. Unemployment of individuals with persistent adult‐age RD (31.6%) was higher than that of individuals with improved adult‐age RD (13.8%) or that of the controls (8.1%). According to our findings, rapid naming is one evident factor differentiating individuals with persisted RD from those with ameliorated reading fluency. Also, better adult‐age reading fluency has significance for adult‐age employment among individuals with childhood RD.
Grasping the weight cut‐off for anorexia nervosa in children and adolescents
Authors: Andersen Susanne B. , Lindgreen Pil , Rokkedal Kristian , Clausen Loa 
Published: December 2018

AbstractObjectiveThe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 suggests the 5th age‐adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentile as the numeric cut‐off for anorexia nervosa (AN) in children and adolescents. We aimed to investigate the degree to which the 5th age‐adjusted percentile as the numeric cut‐off for AN in youths reflects the clinical population of patients accepted for treatment.MethodFrom a specialized eating disorder clinic, 305 patients with AN below 18 years of age were grouped according to age‐adjusted BMI percentiles [below the 5th (low), above the 10th (high), and between the 5th and the 10th (medium)]. The distribution of eating disorder diagnoses and severity measured by the Eating Disorder Examination was compared.ResultsFull‐syndrome anorexia nervosa (F.50.0) was found in 182 (59.5%) patients and atypical anorexia nervosa (F.50.1) in 123 patients (40.5%). The number of patients in the low, medium, and high BMI percentile groups was 189 (62.0%), 34 (11.1%), and 82 (26.9%), respectively. Patients in the low BMI group differed from patients in the medium BMI group by a lower frequency of vomiting. The high BMI group presented with more weight and shape concern than the lower BMI group. Age was not a confounder of these associations.DiscussionWe question the applicability of the 5th BMI percentile as a substantiated cut‐off for the weight criterion in anorexia nervosa in youths and argue that the cut‐off should not be ascribed great clinical importance as this may hinder early detection of illness and initiation of treatment.
Stable isotopes as tracers of trophic interactions in marine mutualistic symbioses
Authors: Ferrier‐Pagès Christine , Leal Miguel Costa 
Published: December 2018

AbstractMutualistic nutritional symbioses are widespread in marine ecosystems. They involve the association of a host organism (algae, protists, or marine invertebrates) with symbiotic microorganisms, such as bacteria, cyanobacteria, or dinoflagellates. Nutritional interactions between the partners are difficult to identify in symbioses because they only occur in intact associations. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) has proven to be a useful tool to highlight original nutrient sources and to trace nutrients acquired by and exchanged between the different partners of the association. However, although SIA has been extensively applied to study different marine symbiotic associations, there is no review taking into account of the different types of symbiotic associations, how they have been studied via SIA, methodological issues common among symbiotic associations, and solutions that can be transferred from one type of association with another. The present review aims to fill such gaps in the scientific literature by summarizing the current knowledge of how isotopes have been applied to key marine symbioses to unravel nutrient exchanges between partners, and by describing the difficulties in interpreting the isotopic signal. This review also focuses on the use of compound‐specific stable isotope analysis and on statistical advances to analyze stable isotope data. It also highlights the knowledge gaps that would benefit from future research.
Species and genetic diversity are not congruent in fragmented dry grasslands
Authors: Reisch Christoph , Schmid Christoph 
Published: December 2018

AbstractBiological diversity comprises both species diversity (SD) and genetic diversity (GD), and it has been postulated that both levels of diversity depend on similar mechanisms. Species‐genetic diversity correlations (SGDC) are therefore supposed to be generally positive. However, in contrast to theory, empirical data are contradictory. Furthermore, there is a pronounced lack of multispecies studies including also the ecological factors potentially driving species and genetic diversity. We analyzed the relationship between the species diversity of dry grasslands and the genetic diversity of several dry grassland plant species, therefore, in the context of habitat fragmentation and habitat conditions. Our study revealed a lack of correlation between species and genetic diversity. We demonstrated previously that SD mainly depends on habitat conditions (vegetation height and cover of litter), whereas GD is significantly affected by habitat fragmentation (distance to the nearest dry grassland in 1830 and connectivity in 2013). This seems to be the main reason why SD and GD are not congruent in fragmented grasslands. Our results support, hence, the observation that positive SGDCs can mainly be found in natural, island‐like study systems in equilibrium and at similar levels of heterogeneity. In fragmented dry grassland ecosystems, which differ in heterogeneity, this state of equilibrium may not have been reached mitigating the positive relationship between SD and GD. From our study, it can be concluded that in fragmented dry grasslands, the protection of SD does not necessarily ensure the conservation of GD.
Is being familiar with biodiversity related to reasoning about ecology?
Authors: Le Paul T. , Hartley Laurel M. , Doherty Jennifer H. , Harris Cornelia B. , Moore John C. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractMany science educators believe that student recognition of biodiversity is an important precursor to discovering patterns and understanding processes that define and shape ecological systems. We investigated (1) the total number, taxonomic categories, specificity, and diversity of backyard organisms that middle (MS) and high school (HS) students and teachers named, (2) how the number, specificity, and diversity of organisms that students and teachers named related to their overall performance on an ecology learning progression assessment, and (3) the types of information students used to sort and group organisms. Our sample population included 264 MS students, 374 HS students, and 108 teachers in five U.S. states (California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, and New York). We found that students were more likely to name vertebrates than plants or microorganisms, while teachers were more likely to name vertebrate and plants than microorganisms. Teachers named a higher total number (richness) and diversity of organisms and named more organisms in specific (e.g., bull snake) than general taxonomic categories (e.g., snake) than did students. Individual performance on the ecology learning progression assessment was positively correlated to the total number (richness), diversity, and specificity of organisms that students and teachers could name. The types of information students invoked to group organisms together varied by question context. Most students invoked information related to form/outward traits, habitat, function (e.g., decomposer), and taxa (e.g., fungi, plant, animal). Notably, some students invoked ideas about evolutionary relationships among organisms. This work corroborates previous findings about student familiarity with biodiversity and provides preliminary evidence that familiarity with local biodiversity is linked to reasoning about ecology.
Integrated internal standards: A sample prep‐free method for better precision in microchip CE
Authors: Bidulock Allison C.E. , Dubský Pavel , van den Berg Albert , Eijkel Jan C.T. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractPoint‐of‐care systems based on microchip capillary electrophoresis require single‐use, disposable microchips prefilled with all necessary solutions so an untrained operator only needs to apply the sample and perform the analysis. While microchip fabrication can be (and has been) standardized, some manufacturing differences between microchips are unavoidable. To improve analyte precision without increasing device costs or introducing additional error sources, we recently proposed the use of integrated internal standards (ISTDs): ions added to the BGE in small concentrations which form system peaks in the electropherogram that can be used as a measurement reference. Here, we further expand this initial proof‐of‐principle test to study a clinically‐relevant application of K ion concentrations in human blood; however, using a mock blood solution instead of real samples to avoid interference from other obstacles (e.g. cell lysis). Cs as an integrated ISTD improves repeatability of K ion migration times from 6.97% to 0.89% and the linear calibration correlation coefficient (R2) for K quantification from 0.851 to 0.967. Peak area repeatability improves from 11.6–13.3% to 4.75–5.04% at each K concentration above the LOQ. These results further validate the feasibility of using integrated ISTDs to improve imprecision in disposable microchip CE devices by demonstrating their application for physiological samples.
African food insecurity in a changing climate: The roles of science and policy
Authors: Onyutha Charles 
Published: December 2018

AbstractAfrican population is projected to double to 2.48 billion people by 2050. The population increase poses a serious challenge of increasing food supply to meet the future demand. This challenge is compounded by climate change impacts on agriculture. In this paper, how poverty contributes to household food insecurity is explored and measures suggested to help address this challenge. To plan adaptation measures, linkages among food insecurity, poverty, and illiteracy should be considered. For the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), adaptation (focused on poverty alleviation) should be prioritized and preferred to mitigation. Enhancement of adaptive capacity should not only be tailored toward empowerment of women but also made highly localized to household levels. Generally, efforts could be geared toward yield gap closure, addressing challenges regarding food distribution, promoting non‐farm income‐generating activities, and unification of government priorities in agriculture and food security. Government in each country of the SSA should ensure that governance strongly embraces transparency, accountability, and integrity otherwise as it is said a fish rots from the head down. Estimates of uncertainty in predicting future climate and their implications on expenditure related to adaptation should to always be made in an integrated way and reported to support actionable policies. To increase credibility in climate prediction especially at local scales, advances toward improving climate models (for instance by refining spatiotemporal scales, enhancing models’ capacity to reproduce observed natural variability in key climatological variables like rainfall) should be made, and this requires support from the investment in climate science. Science–policy interfacing is required in planning and implementation of measures for adapting to climate change impacts. In summary, food insecurity and persistent poverty especially in the SSA should be of direct relevance and concern at a global scale. Thus, global collaboration in science is key to achieve food security in the SSA.
Dissociation in awareness of memory and language decline in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Bregman Noa , Kavé Gitit , Shiner Tamara , Biran Iftah ,   for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2018

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine awareness of decline in memory and in language in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), by comparing participant and informant ratings, as well as these ratings and actual test performance.MethodsWe analyzed data from 149 individuals with AD enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) who filled the Everyday Cognition questionnaire and performed memory and language tasks.ResultsParticipants provided significantly lower assessments of decline than did informants for both memory and language. There was a negative association between informant ratings and memory test scores but no association between participant ratings and memory test scores. Both participant and informant ratings correlated negatively with performance on the language tests. Informant, but not participant, ratings contributed to the prediction of one memory variable beyond demographic factors. Participant ratings contributed to the prediction of language scores beyond demographic factors more than did informant ratings.ConclusionsThe findings reflect better awareness of decline in language than of decline in memory in individuals with AD.
AHNS series: Do you know your guidelines? Diagnosis and management of salivary gland tumors
Authors: Mantravadi Avinash V. , Moore Michael G. , Rassekh Christopher H. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractThis article is the next installment of the series “Do you know your guidelines” presented by the Education Committee of the American Head and Neck Society. Guidelines for the workup and management of tumors of the major and minor salivary glands are reviewed.