bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Urine: Waste product or biologically active tissue?
Authors:   Urinology Think Tank Writing Group
Published: February 2018

AimsHistorically, urine has been viewed primarily as a waste product with little biological role in the overall health of an individual. Increasingly, data suggest that urine plays a role in human health beyond waste excretion. For example, urine might act as an irritant and contribute to symptoms through interaction with—and potential compromise of—the urothelium.MethodsTo explore the concept that urine may be a vehicle for agents with potential or occult bioactivity and to discuss existing evidence and novel research questions that may yield insight into such a role, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease invited experts in the fields of comparative evolutionary physiology, basic science, nephrology, urology, pediatrics, metabolomics, and proteomics (among others) to a Urinology Think Tank meeting on February 9, 2015.ResultsThis report reflects ideas that evolved from this meeting and current literature, including the concept of urine quality, the biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of urine, including the microbiota, cells, exosomes, pH, metabolites, proteins, and specific gravity (among others). Additionally, the manuscript presents speculative, and hopefully testable, ideas about the functional roles of urine constituents in health and disease.ConclusionMoving forward, there are several questions that need further understanding and pursuit. There were suggestions to consider actively using various animal models and their biological specimens to elaborate on basic mechanistic information regarding human bladder dysfunction.
The female continence mechanism measured by high resolution manometry: Urethral bulking versus midurethral sling
Authors: Wasenda Erika J. , Kirby Anna C. , Lukacz Emily S. , Nager Charles W. 
Published: February 2018

AimsTraditional technology to characterize urethral pressure changes during dynamic conditions is limited by slow response times or artifact‐inducing withdrawal maneuvers. The 8F high‐resolution manometry (HRM) catheter (ManoScan™ ESO, Covidien) has advantages of fast response times and the ability to measure urethral pressures along the urethral length without withdrawal. Our objective was to determine static and dynamic maximum urethral closure pressures (MUCPs) and resting functional urethral length (FUL) in women using HRM before and after transurethral bulking and compare results to other women who underwent midurethral sling (MUS).MethodsWe recorded rest, cough, and strain MUCPs and FUL in 24 women before and after transurethral bulking with polydimethylsiloxane (Macroplastique®) using the HRM catheter and compared these changes to HRM values from 26 women who had the same measures before and after MUS.ResultsAt rest, MUCPs increased minimally after both urethral bulking and MUS (3 vs 0.4 cm H2O respectively, P = 0.4). Under dynamic conditions there were statistically insignificant small increases in MUCP and these increases were markedly less than after MUS (cough: 1.5 vs 63.8 cm H2O, P < 0.001 and strain: 11.5 vs 57.7 cm H2O, P < 0.001). FUL increased by 0.5 cm after transurethral bulking (P = 0.003), and decreased by 0.25 cm after MUS placement (P = 0.012).ConclusionsThe mechanism of continence after urethral bulking differs from MUS. While MUS increases dynamic MUCP, bulking may rely on increasing the length of the continence zone.
Numerical convergence of nonlinear nonlocal continuum models to local elastodynamics
Authors: Jha Prashant K. , Lipton Robert 
Published: February 2018

SummaryWe quantify the numerical error and modeling error associated with replacing a nonlinear nonlocal bond‐based peridynamic model with a local elasticity model or a linearized peridynamic model away from the fracture set. The nonlocal model treated here is characterized by a double‐well potential and is a smooth version of the peridynamic model introduced in the work of Silling. The nonlinear peridynamic evolutions are shown to converge to the solution of linear elastodynamics at a rate linear with respect to the length scale ε of nonlocal interaction. This rate also holds for the convergence of solutions of the linearized peridynamic model to the solution of the local elastodynamic model. For local linear Lagrange interpolation, the consistency error for the numerical approximation is found to depend on the ratio between mesh size h and ε. More generally, for local Lagrange interpolation of order p≥1, the consistency error is of order hp/ε. A new stability theory for the time discretization is provided and an explicit generalization of the CFL condition on the time step and its relation to mesh size h is given. Numerical simulations are provided illustrating the consistency error associated with the convergence of nonlinear and linearized peridynamics to linear elastodynamics.
A monolithic, mortar‐based interface coupling and solution scheme for finite element simulations of lithium‐ion cells
Authors: Fang Rui , Farah Philipp , Popp Alexander , Wall Wolfgang A. 
Published: February 2018

SummaryThis work introduces a novel, mortar‐based coupling scheme for electrode‐electrolyte interfaces in 3‐dimensional finite element models for lithium‐ion cells and similar electrochemical systems. The coupling scheme incorporates the widely applied Butler‐Volmer charge transfer kinetics, but conceptually also works for other interface equations. Unlike conventional approaches, the coupling scheme allows flexible mesh generation for the electrode and electrolyte phases with nonmatching meshes at electrode‐electrolyte interfaces. As a result, the desired spatial mesh resolution in each phase and the resulting computational effort can be easily controlled, leading to improved efficiency. All governing equations are solved in a monolithic fashion as a holistic, unified system of linear equations for computational robustness and performance reasons. Consistency and optimal convergence behavior of the coupling scheme are demonstrated in elementary numerical tests, and the discharge of two different realistic lithium‐ion cells, each consisting of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte, is also simulated. One of the two cells involves about 1.35 million degrees of freedom and very complex microstructural geometries obtained from X‐ray tomography data. For validation purposes, characteristic numerical results from the literature are reproduced, and the coupling scheme is shown to require considerably fewer degrees of freedom than a standard discretization with matching interface meshes to achieve a similar level of accuracy.
African carnivores as taphonomic agents: Contribution of modern coprogenic sample analysis to their identification
Authors: Campmas E. , Stoetzel E. , Denys C. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractIn archaeological sites, large, medium, and small vertebrate remains may have been accumulated by humans, by nonhuman predators, or both. It is now assumed that neotaphonomic referentials are essential to contribute to characterising the accumulators of fossil assemblages. However, such reference data are lacking for many areas (such as North Africa) and for several predators. In addition, most of the existing studies focus on skeleton representation, bone fragmentation, and tooth marks on noningested remains. Faeces‐containing ingested remains are still rarely considered, especially for viverrids, small or medium canids, or large felids. This paper provides new taphonomic data concerning the ingested remains of diversified prey (herbivores, lagomorphs, rodents, amphibians, fish, squamates, birds, and insects) from coprogenic samples accumulated by these predators. As expected, small or medium‐small carnivores consumed more small vertebrates than did medium‐large and large carnivores. Among the small vertebrate remains from small and medium‐small carnivore scats, limb extremities are less represented than other parts of the skeleton, whereas in meso‐macromammal remains from medium‐large and large carnivore scats, small bones (from limb extremities) are abundant. Digestion attack seems to be more developed on small vertebrate remains from small and medium‐small carnivore scats than in mesofaunal prey remains from medium‐large and large carnivore scats. Among small and medium‐small carnivores, prey from cf. fox scats (mainly microvertebrates) are more diversified, more fragmented, and more digested than in small carnivore (cf. genet) samples. Among medium‐large and large carnivores, fragmentation and digestion attack on mesofaunal remains are more intense in large carnivore (cf. leopard) scats than in medium‐large (cf. jackal/wolf) scats. Finally, in order to improve characterisation of the predator responsible for fossil faunal accumulations, we highlight here the importance of considering all the small bone fragments from sieve residues in archaeological contexts (and not only whole bones and identified bone fragments).
A case of a death in the fortress Hisn al‐Bab, on the first cataract of the Nile
Authors: Scheelen‐Nováček K. , Nováček J. , Rose P. J. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractA skeleton was discovered during the excavation of fortifications at Hisn al‐Bab in southern Egypt. It was not found in a grave but was lying on its back in an outspread position at the foot of the collapsed northern wall of the fort, covered by wall debris. The individual was probably male and about 25 to 30 years old. The osteological evidence strongly suggests that the man met his death through interpersonal violence. A deep kerf was identified on the medial shaft of his left femur, caused perimortem by a large, bladed weapon. In addition, fractures of the facial bones, the skull base, and the right ribs occurred around the time of his death. These traumas, as well as the archaeological evidence of a contemporary destruction horizon of the fort, suggest some sort of conflict. The taphonomic changes to the bones indicate that the body was partly covered by wall debris soon after death, whereas some parts remained exposed. Distinct marks on the facial bones may suggest the presence of larger, scavenging birds, such as vultures. The analysis and interpretation of the traumas, and the taphonomic changes in relation to the archaeological context, give an insight into the last moments of one phase of occupation at Hisn al‐Bab. They illustrate an ancient case of violent death on the border between Egypt and Nubia.
Satellite image analysis and frozen cylinder experiments on thermal erosion of periglacial fluvial islands
Authors: Dupeyrat Laure , Hurault Benoît , Costard François , Marmo Chiara , Gautier Emmanuele 
Published: February 2018

AbstractFrozen islands in the Lena River, Siberia, experience rates of fluvial thermal erosion exceeding 10m/year. The islands erode differentially, with rates of frontal retreat exceeding those on island sides. We define the erosion ratio (ER) between the front and sides to estimate this differential erosion. A GIS‐based study of 19 islands from 1967 to 2010 indicated average erosion rates of 19.7 and 3.7 m/year for the island heads and sides, respectively. The average ER over the period was 4.7. An analytical model of local thermal erosion for a frozen cylinder of sand in a turbulent water flow is proposed, assuming an ablation process. Thermal erosion of 19 frozen cylinders was measured for water flows of different temperature and velocity in a cold chamber. As observed in the field, frontal erosion always exceeded lateral erosion, with an average ER of 1.6. The ER decreased with increasing temperature from 5 to 15°C. The higher value of ER in the field may be due to interactions with neighboring islands and banks. An empirical law including phase change and the process of erosion is proposed, and validates our model compared with previous laws that do not account for erosion. The erosion process enhances heat transfer.
Identification of SCARA5 as a Potential Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma using MALDI–TOF–MS Analysis
Authors: Liu Ying , Tan Yi‐ran , Sun Wen‐wen , Ju Wu‐tong , Fu Yong , Wang Li‐zhen , Li Jiang , Zhang Chen‐ping , Zhang Zhi‐yuan , Zhong Lai‐ping 
Published: February 2018

PurposeTo find the potential biomarkers in the diagnostic model of oral and squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and to further validate the biomarker.Experimental designWith the MALDI–TOF–MS analysis between tissues from oral cancer patients and normal oral mucosa from healthy controls, scavenger receptor class A member 5 (scara5) is found to be potentially significant after searching the protein database. In addition, Immunohistochemical staining, PCR, ELISA, and Western blot technique are used to detect scara5 expression in clinical samples and cell lines.ResultsIn this study, the results indicate that scara5 expression is decreased in tumor group in the MALDI–TOF–MS analysis. Furthermore, down‐regulation of scara5 expression is related with cell proliferation and invasion. Serum scara5 detection can discriminate OSCC samples from normal samples with high sensitivity.Conclusions and clinical relevanceScara5 has the potential to be considered as a serum biomarker in the early diagnosis of OSCC. The clinical relevance of the study lies in finding the biomarker by proteomics and subsequently validating it with clinical samples and cell lines.
Thermal Behavior, Specific Heat Capacity and Detonation Characterization of 3,3‐Dinitroazetidinium 3,5‐Dinitrobenzoate
Authors: Yan Biao , Li Hongya , Guan Yulei , Ma Haixia , Song Jirong , Zhao Fengqi , Zhang Ya 
Published: February 2018

Abstract3,3‐Dinitroazetidinium 3,5‐dinitrobenzoate (DNAZ ⋅  DNB) was synthesized, its thermal behavior was studied under a non–isothermal condition by DSC and TG/DTG methods. The intense exothermic decomposition process of DSC curves were analyzed to obtain its kinetic parameters. The specific molar heat capacity (Cp,m) of DNAZ ⋅ DNB was determined by a continuous Cp mode of micro−calorimeter, and the value was 416.81 JK−1 mol−1at 298.15 K. Its detonation velocity (D) and detonation pressure (P) were estimated using the nitrogen equivalent equation according to the experimental density. The above results of DNAZ ⋅ DNB were compared with those of 3,3‐dinitroazetidinium 3,5‐dinitrosalicylate (DNAZ ⋅ DNS) and 3,3‐dinitroazetidinium picrate (DNAZ ⋅ PA), and the effect of phenolic hydroxyl, carboxyl, and nitro group on them were discussed.
Effect of Boron‐Containing Hydrogen‐Storage‐Alloy (Mg(BHx)y) on Thermal Decomposition Behavior and Thermal Hazards of Nitrate Explosives
Authors: Ji Dandan , Wei Xiaoan , Du Ping , Zhang Guanyong , Wang Zeshan 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThermal decomposition properties and hazards of nitrate explosives containing Mg(BHx)y were investigated by thermogravimetry‐differential scanning calorimetry (TG‐DSC), accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) and characteristic drop height impact sensitivity tests. Results show that the addition of Mg(BHx)y to nitrate explosives led to increase in the volatilization temperature of nitroglycerine in the nitrate explosive. It was not the thermolysis product of Mg(BHx)y, but Mg(BHx)y itself acted on the nitrate explosive in the TG‐DSC tests. Kinetic parameters and thermal hazard assessment parameters were calculated based on ARC data. Results show that a mixture of the nitrate explosive with Mg(BHx)y had higher apparent activation energy and lower thermal hazard. Experiments of characteristic drop height showed that Mg(BHx)y reduced the impact sensitivity of nitrate explosives.
Imaging of Al/Fe ratios in synthetic Al‐goethite revealed by nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry
Authors: Pohl Lydia , Kölbl Angelika , Werner Florian , Mueller Carsten W. , Höschen Carmen , Häusler Werner , Kögel‐Knabner Ingrid 
Published: February 2018

RationaleAluminium (Al)‐substituted goethite is ubiquitous in soils and sediments. The extent of Al‐substitution affects the physicochemical properties of the mineral and influences its macroscale properties. Bulk analysis only provides total Al/Fe ratios without providing information with respect to the Al‐substitution of single minerals. Here, we demonstrate that nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) enables the precise determination of Al‐content in single minerals, while simultaneously visualising the variation of the Al/Fe ratio.MethodsAl‐substituted goethite samples were synthesized with increasing Al concentrations of 0.1, 3, and 7 % and analysed by NanoSIMS in combination with established bulk spectroscopic methods (XRD, FTIR, Mössbauer spectroscopy). The high spatial resolution (50–150 nm) of NanoSIMS is accompanied by a high number of single‐point measurements. We statistically evaluated the Al/Fe ratios derived from NanoSIMS, while maintaining the spatial information and reassigning it to its original localization.ResultsXRD analyses confirmed increasing concentration of incorporated Al within the goethite structure. Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed 11 % of the goethite samples generated at high Al concentrations consisted of hematite. The NanoSIMS data show that the Al/Fe ratios are in agreement with bulk data derived from total digestion and demonstrated small spatial variability between single‐point measurements. More advantageously, statistical analysis and reassignment of single‐point measurements allowed us to identify distinct spots with significantly higher or lower Al/Fe ratios.ConclusionsNanoSIMS measurements confirmed the capacity to produce images, which indicated the uniform increase in Al‐concentrations in goethite. Using a combination of statistical analysis with information from complementary spectroscopic techniques (XRD, FTIR and Mössbauer spectroscopy) we were further able to reveal spots with lower Al/Fe ratios as hematite.
Liver involvement in dengue viral infections
Authors: Dissanayake Harsha A. , Seneviratne Suranjith L. 
Published: February 2018

SummaryDengue fever is the commonest viral haemorrhagic fever worldwide and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the tropics. Dengue viral infections are frequently associated with varying degrees of liver injury. Liver injury is more severe in dengue haemorrhagic fever or severe dengue. We review the current knowledge on liver involvement following dengue viral infections and explore the links between clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, and their impact on management
Automation of application‐level caching in a seamless way
Authors: Mertz Jhonny , Nunes Ingrid 
Published: February 2018

SummaryMeeting performance and scalability requirements while delivering services is a critical issue in web applications. Recently, latency and cost of Internet‐based services are encouraging the use of application‐level caching to continue satisfying users' demands and improve the scalability and availability of origin servers. Application‐level caching, in which developers manually control cached content, has been adopted when traditional forms of caching are insufficient to meet such requirements. Despite its popularity, this level of caching is typically addressed in an ad hoc way, given that it depends on specific details of the application. Furthermore, it forces application developers to reason about a crosscutting concern, which is unrelated to the application business logic. As a result, application‐level caching is a time‐consuming and error‐prone task, becoming a common source of bugs. Among all the issues involved with application‐level caching, the decision of what should be cached must frequently be adjusted to cope with the application evolution and usage, making it a challenging task. In this paper, we introduce an automated caching approach to automatically identify application‐level cache content at runtime by monitoring system execution and adaptively managing caching decisions. Our approach is implemented as a framework that can be seamlessly integrated into new and existing web applications. In addition to the reduction of the effort required from developers to develop a caching solution, an empirical evaluation showed that our approach significantly speeds up and improves hit ratios with improvements ranging from 2.78% to 17.18%.
A standard‐based architecture to support learning interoperability: A practical experience in gamification
Authors: Pérez‐Berenguer Daniel , García‐Molina Jesús 
Published: February 2018

SummaryCreating quality online content requires a great deal of effort from teachers. In addition to issues specific to the design and creation of the elements of a course, teachers must face technical hurdles so as to perform common tasks, such as deploying the same content on different e‐learning platforms and integrating content into external tools, or acquiring the ability to analyze tracking data generated during learner interactions. These problems principally arise owing to the very limited level of interoperability provided by content creation tools. In order to facilitate the creation of interoperable contents, the Digital Content Production Center at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Spain) has developed the UPCTforma tool, whose main architectural driver has been interoperability. More specifically, the tool takes advantage of the Learning Tools Interoperability and Caliper interoperability specifications to provide several types of quality regarding three key aspects of content production: tool interoperability, learning analytics, and motivation. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the component‐based architecture proposed and present a validation of the requirements elicited through the use of a UPCTforma gamification activity created for a real project involving approximately 4000 students. One of the novel aspects of this architecture is the transformation of tracking data into “learning analysis models” that represent the information in the tracked learning activities at a higher level of abstraction. These models are used to provide activity‐specific learning analytics and motivation. Platform independency with respect to data analytics technologies, messaging systems, and communication protocols is achieved by using adapters.
Reduced graphene oxide aerogel with packaged TiO2 nanoparticles as a promising adsorbent for the separation of DNA from human whole blood
Authors: Chen Lei , Wang Lei , Song Dan , Xu Zhangrun 
Published: February 2018

AbstractA three‐dimensional reduced graphene oxide porous aerogel with packaged TiO2 nanoparticles was prepared by a simple one‐step self‐assembly in a water bath at a mild temperature. Herein, we overcame the aggregation of graphene layers by forming three‐dimensional architecture, and utilized TiO2 aggregates as blocks to make the composite surface uneven. The extended aromatic areas contribute to DNA adsorption by aromatic stacking and hydrophobic interaction. The obtained composite exhibited porous structure and was positively charged at a low pH. The composite exhibited a high capacity of 890.1 mg g−1 and an adsorption efficiency of 98.4% to DNA at pH 3, however, bovine serum albumin at the same concentration level was hardly adsorbed. The composite showed favorable selectivity to DNA against protein even designed in such a simple manner. The retained DNA could be stripped by using a 0.04 mol L−1 Britton–Robinson buffer at pH 10, giving rise to a recovery of 96.3%. The DNA was isolated from human whole blood to be used as templates for PCR amplification successfully. This illustrates that DNA with high purity and quality was obtained.