bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A qualitative investigation of the health economic impacts of bariatric surgery for obesity and implications for improved practice in health economics
Authors: Campbell Julie A. , Ezzy Douglas , Neil Amanda , Hensher Martin , Venn Alison , Sharman Melanie J. , Palmer Andrew J. 
Published: June 2018

SummaryObesity is an economic problem. Bariatric surgery is cost‐effective for severe and resistant obesity. Most economic evaluations of bariatric surgery use administrative data and narrowly defined direct medical costs in their quantitative analyses. Demand far outstrips supply for bariatric surgery. Further allocation of health care resources to bariatric surgery (particularly public) could be stimulated by new health economic evidence that supports the provision of bariatric surgery. We postulated that qualitative research methods would elicit important health economic dimensions of bariatric surgery that would typically be omitted from the current economic evaluation framework, nor be reported and therefore not considered by policymakers with sufficient priority. We listened to patients: Focus group data were analysed thematically with software assistance. Key themes were identified inductively through a dialogue between the qualitative data and pre‐existing economic theory (perspective, externalities, and emotional capital). We identified the concept of emotional capital where participants described life‐changing desires to be productive and participate in their communities postoperatively. After self‐funding bariatric surgery, some participants experienced financial distress. We recommend a mixed‐methods approach to the economic evaluation of bariatric surgery. This could be operationalised in health economic model conceptualisation and construction, through to the separate reporting of qualitative results to supplement quantitative results.
Comparison between professional sampling and self‐sampling for HPV‐based cervical cancer screening among postmenopausal women
Authors: Bergengren Lovisa , Kaliff Malin , Larsson Gabriella L. , Karlsson Mats G. , Helenius Gisela 
Published: June 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate whether self‐sampling is as reliable as professional sampling for HPV testing and genotype detection among postmenopausal women.MethodsIn the present prospective cross‐sectional study, women in Örebro County, Sweden, who had high‐risk HPV (hrHPV) and normal cytology results in exit screening tests conducted in between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, were invited to follow‐up screenings between February 24, 2015 and May 15, 2015, that included professional sampling and self‐sampling. HPV genotypes were identified by a DNA‐based assay that could detect 35 HPV genotypes. Findings between the different sampling methods were compared.ResultsOf 143 women who participated, 119 returned a self‐sample. Completely concordant results were observed in 67 of these samples when both hrHPV and low‐risk HPV genotypes were analyzed. Overall, 99 (83.2%) women had the same clinically relevant finding from both sampling methods. Twenty women had discordant hrHPV results (hrHPV detected in 10 self‐samples vs 10 professionally collected samples; Cohen κ 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.53–0.80). There was no significant difference between the two sampling methods for clinically significant infections (P>0.99) or extended genotyping (P=0.827).ConclusionPostmenopausal women could be offered self‐sampling devices to increase screening‐program coverage while maintaining test quality.
Convallatoxin, the active cardiac glycoside of lily of the valley, minimally affects the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay
Authors: Dasgupta Amitava , Bourgeois Laverne 
Published: June 2018

ObjectiveLily of the valley is a poisonous plant due to the presence of the cardiac glycoside convallatoxin which is known to interfere with serum digoxin measurement using the LOCI digoxin assay and other digoxin assays. We evaluated potential interference of convallatoxin as well as extract of lily of the valley with the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay by comparing results obtained using the LOCI digoxin assay.Materials and MethodsAliquots of a drug‐free serum pool and a digoxin serum pool were supplemented with nanograms to 1 μg quantities of convallatoxin or 1.0 and 2.5 μL of lily of the valley extract per milliliter of serum followed by measurement of digoxin concentrations using the LOCI and ADVIA Centaur digoxin assays.ResultsApparent digoxin concentrations were minimal using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay when aliquots of drug‐free serum were supplemented with convallatoxin or extract of lily of the valley but apparent digoxin levels were very high using the LOCI digoxin assay. Moreover, minimal interference in serum digoxin measurement using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay was observed when aliquots of serum digoxin pool were further supplemented with lily of the valley extract. As expected, the LOCI digoxin assay showed significant interference of convallatoxin in serum digoxin measurement.ConclusionsSignificant interference of convallatoxin in serum digoxin measurement using the LOCI digoxin assay could be minimized using the ADVIA Centaur digoxin assay.
Salmiakgeist und Milchzucker
Authors: Ruppersberg Klaus 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFür den Chemieunterricht ist die Wöhlk‐Probe auf Laktose noch immer ein interessantes Nachweisverfahren, auch wenn sie in Kliniklaboren heute überholt ist. Vor 150 Jahren kam ihr Erfinder auf die Welt.
Vom Allgemeinen zum Einzelfall – Konzepte auf dem Prüfstand
Authors: Langhals Heinz 
Published: June 2018

AbstractElementare physikalische Konzepte wurden auf komplexe Substanzen mit speziellen Funktionen angewandt – in vier Fällen gab es Unstimmigkeiten. Sie machen es erforderlich, die Theorie zu erweitern und neu zu formulieren.
Kein eindeutiges Alter
Authors: Schulze Markus 
Published: June 2018

AbstractDie Radiokarbonmethode ist die Standardmethode, um das Alter geologischer und archäologischer Funde zu bestimmen. Sie wird aber immer ungenauer. Die Ursache dafür ist die Zunahme von Kohlenstoff fossiler Herkunft in der Atmosphäre.
Molecular Modelling in Erlangen
Authors: Horn Anselm 
Published: June 2018

AbstractMitte März trafen sich auf Einladung der Deutschsprachigen Sektion der Molecular Graphics and Modelling Society rund 100 Wissenschaftler aus Computerchemie und angrenzenden Bereichen, um an drei Tagen über ihre Forschung zu berichten und sich miteinander auszutauschen. Bereits zum 16. Mal fand der Molecular Modelling Workshop an der Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg statt, in den 16 Jahren davor war die TU Darmstadt Ort der Veranstaltung.
Identification of different hemagglutinin isoforms of influenza A virus H1N1
Authors: Wu Hanzhi , Sun Ningning , Song Wenjun , Zhu Lin , Chen Honglin , Cai Zongwei 
Published: June 2018

RationaleInfluenza A viruses (IAVs) are still a threat to human health and life. The process of virus infection involves a series of biological regulations, such as signal transduction, that may be closely linked with the function of glycoproteins. However, the number and level of glycoproteins is low compared with other proteins in the whole protein pool.MethodsViruses obtained from chicken embryos were purified by sucrose gradient centrifugation. PNGase F enzyme was then used to remove the glycan modification, followed by two‐dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) to separate the hemagglutinin1 (HA1) glycoprotein. In‐gel digestion was used to obtain peptides that were detected by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS).ResultsRemarkably, we found five isoforms of HA1 with the same molecular weight but different isoelectric points. Furthermore, HA1 treatment with PNGase F enzyme changed all but one protein spot from 2DE, indicating that the different HA1 isoforms in 2DE were a result of different glycosylation modifications.ConclusionsThe difference in isoelectric points of these HA1 isoforms was caused by glycan modification. This method provides a new approach for the study of glycosylation of the proteome for viruses or any other organisms.
Mesh adaptation in direct collocated nonlinear model predictive control
Authors: Lee K. , Moase W. H. , Manzie C. 
Published: June 2018

SummaryDirect methods are often deployed to solve nonlinear model predictive control problems where the optimal control problem is first transcribed into a nonlinear program and then solved to obtain the control input. This makes the computational cost of direct methods nontrivial; however, efficiencies can be gained by utilizing adaptation methods during transcription. Goal‐oriented a priori error estimation is used as an adaptation strategy. Unlike other strategies, the refinement is directly related to the cost function. Therefore, refinement only occurs where it is needed with respect to the cost function. Two examples are presented and an improvement of up to 50% in the computational time is observed with no degradation in the closed‐loop performance.
Investigating the role of refuges and drift on the resilience of macroinvertebrate communities to drying conditions: An experiment in artificial streams
Authors: Doretto A. , Piano E. , Falasco E. , Fenoglio S. , Bruno M.C. , Bona F. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFlow intermittence occurs in an increasing number of streams, due to climate change, local land‐use alteration and water abstraction. In particular, droughts represent a new element in Alpine river regimes, and their ecological consequences are poorly explored. We here used artificial streams to investigate the resilience of macroinvertebrates to drought in Alpine streams based on the presence of pools (i.e., refuges) and drift (i.e., recolonization). Three flumes were selected: 1 with permanent flowing water (Control), whereas the other 2 (Drift+Pools, Only Drift) were subjected to 2 consecutive drought‐rewetting phases. Moreover, to better monitor the recolonization pattern by drift, quantitative samples of drifting taxa were collected using an additional flume (Incoming Drift). The effects of droughts on benthic invertebrate communities and their recovery were assessed in terms of composition, structure, diversity, and stability. Droughts dramatically reduced the taxa richness, especially with regard to the most sensitive and specialized macroinvertebrates, such as Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera taxa. Macroinvertebrate assemblages of the flumes that experienced drying phases were dominated by few generalist taxa and showed a higher degree of dissimilarity. Overall, no significant differences were observed in relation to the presence of pools, suggesting a limited role of this habitat in the recovery process. This finding suggests that in shallow and fast‐flowing Alpine lotic ecosystems the drift rather than pool availability represents the main driver of the macroinvertebrate resilience to droughts and provides insights into factors that can facilitate the recovery of aquatic communities after droughts.
Point estimation following two‐stage adaptive threshold enrichment clinical trials
Authors: Kimani Peter K. , Todd Susan , Renfro Lindsay A. , Stallard Nigel 
Published: June 2018

Recently, several study designs incorporating treatment effect assessment in biomarker‐based subpopulations have been proposed. Most statistical methodologies for such designs focus on the control of type I error rate and power. In this paper, we have developed point estimators for clinical trials that use the two‐stage adaptive enrichment threshold design. The design consists of two stages, where in stage 1, patients are recruited in the full population. Stage 1 outcome data are then used to perform interim analysis to decide whether the trial continues to stage 2 with the full population or a subpopulation. The subpopulation is defined based on one of the candidate threshold values of a numerical predictive biomarker. To estimate treatment effect in the selected subpopulation, we have derived unbiased estimators, shrinkage estimators, and estimators that estimate bias and subtract it from the naive estimate. We have recommended one of the unbiased estimators. However, since none of the estimators dominated in all simulation scenarios based on both bias and mean squared error, an alternative strategy would be to use a hybrid estimator where the estimator used depends on the subpopulation selected. This would require a simulation study of plausible scenarios before the trial.
Imidazolium Zwitterionic Molten Salt: An Efficient Organocatalyst under Neat Conditions at Room Temperature for the Synthesis of Dipyrromethanes as well as Bis(indolyl)methanes
Authors: Chatterjee Rana , Mahato Sachinta , Santra Sougata , Zyryanov Grigory V. , Hajra Alakananda , Majee Adinath 
Published: June 2018

AbstractAn imidazole‐based zwitterionic‐salt, 4‐(3‐methylimidazolium)butane sulfonate (MBS), has been found to be an efficient organocatalyst for the synthesis of dipyrromethanes as well as bis(indolyl)methanes at room temperature under solvent‐free conditions (neat) in high yields. The reaction procedure is very simple and a large variety of aldehydes have been examined under similar conditions for indoles and pyrroles. The catalytic reaction proceeded very smoothly and showed high chemoselectivity. Clean reaction, ease of product isolation/purification, easily accessible reactants, metal and solvent‐free and environmentally friendly reaction conditions are the notable advantages of the present methodology.
Synthesis and Luminescence Properties of a Novel Eu3+‐Containing Polysiloxane Copolymer
Authors: Li Dongxin , Jia Jing , Wang Bin , Jia Husheng , Zhang Aiqin , Liu Xuguang , Shen Qianqian , Xu Bingshe 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThrough pre‐coordination and subsequent polymerization from vinyl‐functionalized complex monomer with polysiloxane prepolymer (synthesized by vinyltrimethoxysilane and diphenylsilanediol), a novel anti‐ultraviolet Eu3+‐containing polysiloxane copolymer was obtained. FT‐IR spectra and UV/Visible absorption spectra prove the structure of the copolymer. TG‐DTG analyses indicate the copolymer keeps stable up to 321°C. When excited at 365 nm, the copolymer exhibits a stronger red emission at 612 nm. And the CIE coordinates (x=0.648, y=0.336) are very close to the National Television Standard Committee standard. Further, the red LEDs fabricated with the copolymer on 365 nm‐emitting chips display superior luminance (52110 cd/m2). Finally, 30‐day UV aging test only shows luminance loss of 6% and power efficiency loss of 7.3%, so the UV‐aging resistance of the copolymer is realized. All the results indicate that the Eu3+‐containing organosilicon copolymer is a promising anti‐ultraviolet red candidate.
Structural and Electronic Investigation of Tetrachalcogenidomolybdate Dianions
Authors: Chang Alison S. , Pintauer Tomislav , Basu Partha , Eckenhoff William T. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFour compounds with tetrachalcogenidomolybdate dianions were examined under identical conditions by single crystal X‐ray diffraction and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Structural comparisons of bond lengths and angles were made looking at effects of counter‐cations and type of chalcogenide (S or O). Ultimately, bond lengths and angles were found to be fairly regular for each anion and in good agreement with computational results, with exceptions likely stemming from close contacts in the crystal packing. A trend of increasing bond lengths was observed with increasing cation size. The most notable structural deviation occurred in [MoO2S2]2−, where the theoretical structure has a smaller O−Mo‐O angle and a larger S−Mo‐S angle, which was opposite in the crystal structure. This is likely attributed to N−H—S and N−H—O interactions. Both experimental and computational results suggest that uniform charge delocalization in all four structures. The HOMO‐LUMO gap increases significantly with increasing number of oxygen atoms and electronic transitions were determined to be all ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT).
g‐C3N4/BiYO3 Composite for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Ma Rujun , Dong Lihui , Li Bin , Su Tongming , Luo Xuan , Qin Zuzeng , Ji Hongbing 
Published: June 2018

Abstractg‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites were prepared by an electrostatic self‐assembly of g‐C3N4 and BiYO3 and were used as photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The UV‐vis DRS revealed that the band gaps of BiYO3 and g‐C3N4 were 2.58 eV and 2.96 eV, respectively, and the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites showed stronger visible light absorption than that of g‐C3N4 because the composite with BiYO3 served as a narrow bandgap catalyst. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) proved that the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites exhibited a better electronic transmission capacity and a larger photocurrent than that of g‐C3N4 or BiYO3 because the BiYO3 acted as an electron acceptor in the composites. The PL spectra showed that g‐C3N4 combined with BiYO3 inhibited the recombination of photo‐generated electron holes in g‐C3N4 and enhanced the photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activities for hydrogen evolution with the g‐C3N4/BiYO3 composites were higher than those of the individual g‐C3N4 or BiYO3 alone due to the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the conduction band of g‐C3N4 to the conduction band of BiYO3 and the transfer of photogenerated holes from the valence band of BiYO3 to the valence band of g‐C3N4. The composite with a g‐C3N4/BiYO3 mass ratio of 2 showed an optimal hydrogen evolution rate of 37.6 μmol⋅h–1⋅gcat–1, which was 8.4‐ and 6.4‐fold higher than that of g‐C3N4 and BiYO3, respectively.
Electrochemical Charge Transfer Through the Supramolecular Discogen‐DNA Hybrid Multi‐layered Assembly
Authors: Pandey Rakesh K. , Pandey Himani , Nayak Alpana 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIn the present work, charge transfer phenomenon through the films of an ionic discotic liquid crystal (discogen) that is pyridinium tethered with hexaalkoxytriphenylene (PyTp) and its complex with DNA (PyTp‐DNA) was studied by using electrochemical methods. The PyTp and PyTp‐DNA hybrid films were first formed at the air‐water interface and then transferred onto the gold substrates by Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) technique. Electrochemical measurements carried out on these films in three different redox systems, namely, ferrocene, hexaammineruthenium (III), and ferrocyanide, revealed that the ferrocene and the hexaammineruthenium (III) systems allow the electron transfer reaction between redox probes and metal, whereas the ferrocyanide system completely blocks it. The electrochemical response of the films, in the former two systems, has been attributed to the bridge mediated electron transfer process, whereas, in the ferrocyanide system, the impermeability of redox ions through these LB films is responsible for the complete blocking of electron transfer. Based on the observed results, this work highlights the possibility of novel charge transfer properties of discogen‐DNA type hybrid films for applications in molecular electronics.
Gas Phase OH Radical Reaction with 2‐Chloroethyl Vinyl Ether in the 256–333 K Temperature Range: A Combined LP‐LIF and Computational Study
Authors: Kawade Monali N. , Srinivas Doddipatla , Upadhyaya Hari P. 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThe absolute rate coefficient for the gas phase reaction of OH radical with 2‐chloroethyl vinyl ether (H2C=CH–O–CH2CH2Cl, 2ClEVE) has been measured using the laser photolysis (LP) – laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique. The kinetics measurements were done over the temperature range of 256–333 K. The bimolecular rate coefficients obtained, k(T), showed Arrhenius type behaviour which were fitted to the expression k(T)=(4.18±0.55)×10−12 exp[(700±70)/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1. The room temperature rate coefficient shows pressure independent behaviour in the range of 10–40 Torr. The reaction shows weak negative temperature dependence. A detail computational studies involving the energies and structures of the reactants, transition states and products were performed using Complete Basis Set (CBS) and Quadratic Configuration Interaction with Single and Double substitutions with a Triples contribution to the energy, QCISD(T), method to elucidate the reaction mechanism. The results suggest that the major pathways for the reaction proceeds through addition of OH radical to the C=C double bond and the H atom abstraction from the –O–CH2– group and they are competitive in nature. The tropospheric lifetime, radiative efficiency (RE) and the global warming potential (GWP) for 2‐chloroethyl vinyl ether (2ClEVE) have been also determined.
Active vertical vane control for stabilizing platform roll motion of floating offshore turbines
Authors: Yang Zhongzhou , Li Yaoyu 
Published: June 2018

AbstractFor floating offshore wind turbines, control of the platform roll motion is important for performance, load, and structural stability. This paper proposes an active control strategy for stabilizing the platform roll motion of downwind wind turbine via a vertical vane installed underneath the nacelle bedplate. The aerodynamic lift induced by the vertical vane from the incoming wind renders a lateral force imposed on the tower top, which leads to a significant stabilizing torque on the platform via the tower height as moment arm. Such control authority can be manipulated by the vane pitch angle. The proposed idea is evaluated with a 5 MW turbine model combined with the Hywind platform, using the Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence software. The vane models are implemented based on slight modification of the tail furling module in Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence. Simulation study is performed under different feedback measurements, vane areas, airfoil designs, wind speeds, wave heights, wind directions, and wave directions. The feedback of tower‐top velocity feedback is shown to be more effective than the acceleration feedback. For all cases, the variance of platform roll angle shows reduction of approximately 73% to 95%, the damage equivalent load for the tower‐base side‐to‐side bending moment can be reduced by 20% to 61%, and the power consumption of vane actuator is up to 0.075% of the turbine power generated during the simulated periods. The proposed actuation scheme promises a low‐power and high‐bandwidth solution to floating offshore wind turbines roll motion stabilization, more advantageous especially for higher winds when the structural stability is of greater concern.
Mating, births, and transitions: a flexible two‐sex matrix model for evolutionary demography
Authors: Shyu Esther , Caswell Hal 
Published: June 2018

AbstractModels of sexually‐reproducing populations that consider only a single sex cannot capture the effects of sex‐specific demographic differences and mate availability. We present a new framework for two‐sex demographic models that implements and extends the birth‐matrix mating‐rule approach of Pollak. The model is a continuous‐time matrix model that explicitly includes the processes of mating (which is nonlinear but homogeneous), offspring production, and demographic transitions and survival. The resulting nonlinear model converges to exponential growth with an equilibrium population composition. The model can incorporate age‐ or stage‐structured life histories and flexible mating functions. As an example, we apply the model to analyze the effects of mating strategies (polygamy or monogamy, and mated unions composed of males and females, of variable duration) on the response to sex‐biased harvesting. The combination of demographic complexity with the interaction of the sexes can have major population dynamic effects and can change the outcome of evolution on sex‐related characters.