bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigation of gut microbiome association with inflammatory bowel disease and depression: a machine learning approach
Authors: Morell Miranda Pedro , Bertolini Francesca , Kadarmideen Haja N. 
Published: April 2019

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic diseases related to inflammatory processes in the digestive tract generally associated with an immune response to an altered gut microbiome in genetically predisposed subjects. For years, both researchers and clinicians have been reporting increased rates of anxiety and depression disorders in IBD, and these disorders have also been linked to an altered microbiome. However, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of comorbidity are poorly understood at the gut microbiome level. Methods: Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data were retrieved from the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Multi-Omics Database. Samples from 70 individuals that had answered to a self-reported depression and anxiety questionnaire were selected and classified by their IBD diagnosis and their questionnaire results, creating six different groups. The cross-validation random forest algorithm was used in 90% of the individuals (training set) to retain the most important species involved in discriminating the samples without losing predictive power. The validation set that represented the remaining 10% of the samples equally distributed across the six groups was used to train a random forest using only the species selected in order to evaluate their predictive power. Results: A total of 24 species were identified as the most informative in discriminating the 6 groups. Several of these species were frequently described in dysbiosis cases, such as species from the genus Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Despite the different compositions among the groups, no common patterns were found between samples classified as depressed. However, distinct taxonomic profiles within patients of IBD depending on their depression status were detected. Conclusions: The machine learning approach is a promising approach for investigating the role of microbiome in IBD and depression. Abundance and functional changes in these species suggest that depression should be considered as a factor in future research on IBD.
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations from Patient Groups at High Risk for Deficiency
Authors: Wu Alan H B , Ghosh Rohit , Mei Ong Chui , French Deborah 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Background
Deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in serum is endemic in the general population, and testing for this hormone is useful in accessing a patient's overall health and well-being.

Methods
We obtained blood from 216 hospitalized patients and outpatients divided into 4 groups thought to be at high risk of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency: homeless, recreational drug abusers, psychiatric patients with limited access to the outdoors, and those infected with HIV. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations from these patients were determined with 2 different methodologies (immunoassay and mass spectrometry) and compared against 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in apparently healthy controls. We hypothesized that these groups may be at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency because of poor nutrition, inadequate housing, restricted access to outdoors, or the presence of chronic disease.

Results
For each of the patient groups including healthy controls, the median concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was below 30 ng/mL, indicating deficiency. Comparisons between the healthy controls and the other groups were not statistically significant with either methodology, except for the homeless patients in whom a higher number of individuals had 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations below 20 ng/mL. Results between the 2 testing platforms demonstrated that only 52% of the specimens analyzed by immunoassay agreed within ±10% of the LC-MS/MS results, with an overall correlation coefficient to 0.920. The degree of concordance for deficiency with 2 published cutoffs of 20 and 30 ng/mL was 91% and 91%, respectively.

Conclusions
Vitamin D deficiency is a common finding in all the populations studied. The Lumipulse® G vitamin D immunoassay is an alternative for detecting vitamin D deficiency.
Genre as a factor determining the viewpoint-marking quality of verb tenses
Authors: Stukker Ninke 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
Verb tenses play an important role in managing deictic relations between the narrator, the audience and the events happening in the story world. Across languages, the Simple Past is considered the conventional story-telling tense, reflecting the prototypical deictic configuration of stories in which the narrator is positioned at some distance from the events unfolding in the story. The Simple Present, on the other hand, is considered a marked option for narration, assumed to automatically result in a shift to a subjective perspective. This paper reports on an analysis of a corpus made up of Dutch fictional short stories, news reports and feature articles. The results suggest that conventions for use and interpretation of verb tenses in narrative contexts are in fact genre-dependent. In the news genres, the Simple Present tense dominated in narration. This did not automatically result in a subjective mode or narration, but was naturally used to express a default narration of story events that temporally overlap with the temporal deictic center of the communicative ground. These findings suggest that previous analyses of verb tenses in relation to narration reflect an over-generalization based on the situational characteristics of prototypical narrative genres such as literary fiction and personal anecdotes.
Competitive equilibrium cycles for small discounting in discrete-time two-sector optimal growth models
Authors: Venditti Alain 
Published: April 2019

Abstract
We study the existence of endogenous competitive equilibrium cycles under small discounting in a two-sector discrete-time optimal growth model. We provide precise concavity conditions on the indirect utility function leading to the existence of period-two cycles with a critical value for the discount factor that can be arbitrarily close to one. Contrary to the continuous-time case where the existence of periodic-cycles is obtained if the degree of concavity is close to zero, we show that in a discrete-time setting the driving condition does not require a close to zero degree of concavity but a symmetry of the indirect utility function’s concavity properties with respect to its two arguments.
Loan and Grant Support for Students in the Context of the Diversification of Funding Sources for Higher Education
Authors: Sokolovska Alla , Rainova Larysa , Zatonatska Tetiana 
Published: April 2019

[full article and abstract in English]
This paper considers the mechanism of direct state support for students in European countries using loans and grants: their functions, forms, schemes, and conditions for provision. The peculiarities of the state preferential educational loan in Ukraine and the reasons for its curtailment since 2011 are determined. Nowadays, it is established that the main form of state support for Ukrainian students who receive higher education in public procurement comes with academic and social scholarships, whereas students who receive higher education under a contract of preferential state lending yet after the curtailment of the program are deprived of any state support. The necessity of restoring the program of preferential state lending for students and the directions of its improvement, such as the establishment of an interest rate on a loan based on the level of inflation, the establishment of a minimum amount of annual payments on a loan as a percentage of the minimum salary, the distribution of the risk of non-repayment of a loan between the state, the borrower and his parent, are all substantiated. This is done taking into account the financial capabilities of the Ukrainian state and the high levels of hidden income. We consider the establishment of conditions needed for the development of a system of commercial educational loans, by providing for the provision of a state guarantee on it and partial state subsidy of interest rates. We consider the areas of improvement of scholarship support of students and substantiate the necessity of introducing education at least for orphans, children deprived of parental care, and disabled children.
Carbon Foams with Special Electromagnetic Loss Characteristics and Broad Absorbing Band
Authors: Fang Zhigang , Fang Chun 
Published: April 2019

AbstractCarbon foams with a reticulated macrostructure were prepared by a polymer sponge replication method. The electromagnetic parameters of carbon foams with variable electric conductivity were measured at a frequency of 2450MHz. Compared with the same composition pulverized powders, carbon foams have relatively lower dielectric constant but much larger dielectric loss, and more remarkably, carbon foams have magnetic loss. The microwave absorbing property measurement of carbon foams was also conducted. A relatively broad absorbing band performance has been got for carbon foams, and the absorbing values exceeds 7dB almost in the whole measured frequency range of 4-15GHz, while the frequencies range for absorbing values exceeding 8dB are about 7 GHz for the carbon foam with an electric conductivity of 0.46S/m. It is worthy that the broad absorbing band feature of the carbon foam is obtained without any impedance match design, which indicates carbon foams have a great possibility of being applied as RAMs. The special electromagnetic loss characteristics and prominent radar absorbing properties about carbon foams indicate macrostructure modification is possibly a new and effective way to modulate the electromagnetic properties of RAMs besides the traditional composition variation.
Influence of Annealing Treatment on the Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanorods
Authors: Kamaruddin Sharul Ashikin , Chan Kah-Yoong , Sahdan Mohd Zainizan , Knipp Dietmar , Rusop Mohamad , Saim Hashim 
Published: April 2019

AbstractZinc oxide (ZnO) is an emerging optoelectronic material in large area electronic applications due to its various functional behaviors. We report on the fabrication and the characterization of ZnO nanorods. The ZnO nanorods were synthesized using sol-gel hydrothermal technique on oxidized silicon substrates. Different annealing temperatures were explored in the sol-gel hydrothermal synthesis of the ZnO nanorods. In order to investigate the structural properties, the ZnO nanorods were measured using X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The optical properties were measured using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The influence of the annealing treatment on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO nanorods will be revealed and discussed in this paper.
Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (I) Chloride (CuCl) Nanocrystals in Conductive Polymer for UV Light Emitters
Authors: Alam M. M. , Lucas F. Olabanji , Cowley A. , Crowley Karl , Daniels S. , Rajani K.V. , McNally P. J. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractIntrinsic γ-Copper (I) Chloride is an ionic I-VII compound semiconductor material with relatively low conductivity. To fabricate an efficient electroluminescent device based on CuCl nanocrystals (NC) the conductivity of the CuCl NC film should be relatively high. In order to improve the conductivity of CuCl films, nanocrystals were embedded in a highly conductive polymer (Polyaniline) and deposited on glass substrates via the spin-coating method. The deposited films were heated at 140°C for durations between 1 and 12 hours in vacuo. The room temperature UV-Vis absorption spectra for all CuCl films showed both Z1,2 and Z3 excitonic absorption features and the absorption intensity increased as the anneal time increased. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements of the hybrid films reveal very intense Z3 excitonic emission. Room temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the preferential growth of CuCl nanocrystals whose average size is ≈40 nm in the <111> orientation. Resistivity measurements were carried out using a four-point probe system, which confirmed that the resistivity of the composite film was ≈500 Ω/cm. This is an improvement when compared to the vacuum evaporated CuCl thin films.
High-Efficiency Low-Cost Photovoltaic Modules Based on CIGS Thin Films from Solution Precursors
Authors: Eldada Louay , Hersh Peter , Sang Baosheng , Stanbery Billy J. , Curtis Calvin J. , Miedaner Alexander , Habas Susan , van Hest Maikel , Ginley David S. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWe describe the production of photovoltaic modules with high-quality large-grain copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin films obtained with the unique combination of low-cost ink-based precursors and a reactive transfer printing method. The proprietary metal-organic inks contain a variety of soluble Cu-, In- and Ga- multinary selenide materials; they are called metal-organic decomposition (MOD) precursors, as they are designed to decompose into the desired precursors. Reactive transfer is a two-stage process that produces CIGS through the chemical reaction between two separate precursor films, one deposited on the substrate and the other on a printing plate in the first stage. In the second stage, these precursors are rapidly reacted together under pressure in the presence of heat. The use of two independent thin films provides the benefits of independent composition and flexible deposition technique optimization, and eliminates pre-reaction prior to the synthesis of CIGS. In a few minutes, the process produces high quality CIGS films, with large grains on the order of several microns, and preferred crystallographic orientation, as confirmed by compositional and structural analysis by XRF, SIMS, SEM and XRD. Cell efficiencies of 14% and module efficiencies of 12% were achieved using this method. The atmospheric deposition processes include slot die extrusion coating, ultrasonic atomization spraying, pneumatic atomization spraying, inkjet printing, direct writing, and screen printing, and provide low capital equipment cost, low thermal budget, and high throughput.
Electrical Reliability of Solgel Barium Titanate Films on Copper Foils for Organic Package Integration
Authors: Kumar Manish , Xiang Shu , Raj P. Markondeya , Abothu Isaac Robin , Hwang Jin-Hyun , Yamamoto Hiroshi , Tummala Rao 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThere is an increasing need for integrating high dielectric constant ceramic thin film components in organic and 3D IC packages to lower the power-supply impedance at high frequencies and supply noise-free power to the ICs. Sol-gel approach is very attractive for high density capacitors because of its ability to precisely control the composition of the films and the ease of introducing dopants to engineer the dielectric properties such as breakdown voltages and DC leakage characteristics. Thin films on copper foils lend themselves to organic package integration with standard foil lamination techniques used in package build-up processes. However, fabrication of thin film barium titanate on copper foils is generally affected by process incompatibility during crystallization in reducing atmospheres, leading to poor crystallization, oxygen vacancies and copper diffusion through the film that degrades the electrical properties.This paper focuses on the dielectric properties and electrical reliability of thin films on copper foils. Thin film (300-400 nm) embedded capacitors with capacitance density of 2 μF/cm2, low leakage current and high breakdown voltage were fabricated via sol-gel technology and foil lamination. To lower the leakage current, the chemical composition was altered by incorporating – 1.) Excess barium 2.) Acceptor dopants such as Mn. Both approaches lowered the leakage current compared to that of pure barium titanate. SEM analysis showed enhanced densification and refined grain structure with chemistry modification. The films showed good stability in leakage currents at 150 C with an applied field strength of 100 kV/cm, demonstrating the electrical reliability of these films.
Direct writing of ZrO2 and TiO2 nanostructures by ArF lithography
Authors: Ridaoui Hassan , Dirani Ali , Wieder Fernand , Soppera Olivier 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWe achieved the preparation of nanostructures based on negative tone inorganic resists by DUV lithography (193 nm). This entails the preparation of a complex of a transition metal by reaction between the metal alkoxide and a suitable ligand. The reaction was carried out in a solvent. Then, a partial hydrolysis of the complex allowed forming metal-oxides inorganic chains by condensation with good film-forming and photopatterning properties. This step corresponds to the synthesis of multifunctional oligomers that can be crosslinked by DUV irradiation.We obtained well-defined patterns exhibiting low rugosity with width down to 75 nm. An achromatic interferometer based on an ArF excimer laser was used to write the nanostructures. The sensitivity of the resin at 193 nm is in the order of magnitude of organic photoresists used in the microelectronics industry.The photoinduced processes were studied with care in order to state the physico-chemical phenomena occurring upon DUV-irradiation. FTIR, XPS and XRD were used for characterizing the material structure after irradiation and thermal treatment. Nanostructures were studied by AFM.The main interest of this resist is that after irradiation, the material is mainly inorganic. It can even be totally mineralized through a subsequent pyrolysis procedure. The process is compatible with a wide range of chemicals (ZrO2, TiO2…). Using lithographic route, it is possible to obtain such nanostructures on relatively wide surfaces. With this new process, we are targeting applications in microelectronics, optics, photonics, photocatalysis, photovoltaic…
Performance modification in solution-processed SnZnO thin film transistor
Authors: Kim Dong Lim , Kim Doo Na , Rim You Seung , Kim Si Joon , Kim Hyun Jae 
Published: April 2019

AbstractTin zinc oxide (SnZnO) thin film transistors (TFTs) with different component fraction fabricated by solution process were reported. Sn chloride and Zn acetate were used as precursor and the maximum annealing temperature was 500°C. The electrical characteristics of TFTs were acutely affected by the molar ratio between Sn and Zn in the lattice, and showed the highest mobility and on-to-off ratio of about 17 cm2/Vs and 2×106, respectively. The origins of the high performance were traced through both structural and electrical aspects. Sn was generally considered to offer carrier path by superposition of s orbital, but it was found that the increase of Sn fraction only below specific value in lattice contributed to increase mobility, which could be explained by the structural distortion and the defect generation. Zn atoms introduced in the lattice were necessary to control both mobility and carrier concentration. From these results, the solution-processed SnZnO TFT with high performance was suggested.
Engineering and Characterization of Resonant Optical
Antennas
Authors: Wissert Matthias D. , Schell Andreas W. , Ilin Konstantin S. , Siegel M. , Lemmer U. , Eisler Hans-Juergen 
Published: April 2019

AbstractResonant optical dipole antennas, consisting either of two arms coupled by a
small gap or of a single, uncoupled arm only, are fabricated by the
application of electron beam lithography and gold evaporation. Using
dark-field microscopy, scattering spectra of structures with varied antenna
arm length and varied gap size are obtained. The results show not only a
spectral redshift for coupled structures compared to single arm structures,
but also that the far-field scattering intensity is significantly higher for
two arm structures with gap. In addition to the dipole structures, first
fabrication results on quadrupole antennas and split-ring antennas are
presented, offering novel pathways for an enhancement of the optical
response function.
Effective Parameters of Terahertz Metamaterials Fabricated with
Microfluidic-Jet Technique
Authors: Szabó Zsolt , Hor Yew Li , Li Er Ping , Hoefer Wolfgang J. R. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractA cost-effective fabrication method to engineer metamaterial structures with
micrometersize features and novel mechanical properties, which are suitable
for terahertz applications, is reported herein. The effective metamaterial
parameter extraction procedure is employed with the Kramers-Kronig relation
to analyze the effective parameters of single- and multilayer metamaterial
structures.
Optically Controlled Optical Modulator using a Self-Assembled 2D
Plasmonic Crystal
Authors: Lou Yi , Muth John F. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThe surface plasmon enhanced transmission of light though a plasmonic
crystal provides a novel approach for fabricating an optical modulator. The
extraordinary transmission passing though these patterned metallic films is
very sensitive to the surface dielectric environment. In this study,
hexagonal lattice plasmonic crystals were fabricated with a self-assembly
technique. Arrays of gold nano-holes or bumps with 500/600 nm periodicity
were used to test the sensitivity of plasmon resonance wavelength for
liquids and polymers with different dielectric constants. A nonlinear
optical polymer P3HT coated onto the plasmonic crystal and pumped with 475
nm laser was found to modulate the transmission of a normally incident red
light at 670 nm.
A Phase II Trial of Concurrent Temozolomide and Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Complex Brain Metastases
Authors: Bi Nan , Ma Yuchao , Xiao Jianping , Zhang Hongmei , Xu Yingjie , Tian Yuan , Li Junling , Zhang Ye , Liu Qingfeng , Wang Kai , Deng Lei , Wang Wenqing , Chen Xuesong , Liu Feng , Zhao Ruizhi , Yang Siran , Huang Xiaodong , Yi Junlin , Hu Chen , Li Yexiong 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Purpose
Complex brain metastases (BMs), such as large lesions, lesions within or close to eloquent locations, or multiple recurrent/progressive BMs, remain the most challenging forms of brain cancer because of decreased intracranial control rates and poor survival. In the present study, we report the results from a single institutional phase II trial of concurrent temozolomide (TMZ) with hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (HFSRT) in patients with complex brain metastases, including assessment of its feasibility and toxicity.

Patients and Methods
Fifty-four patients with histologically proven primary cancer and complex BMs were enrolled between 2010 and 2015. All the patients were treated with concurrent HFSRT and TMZ (administrated orally at a dosage of 75 mg/m2 per day for at least 20 days). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).

Results
The median follow-up time was 30.6 months. The local control rates at 1 and 2 years were 96% and 82%, respectively. The median OS was 17.4 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.6–22.2), and the OS rates at 1 and 2 years were 65% (95% CI, 52%–78%) and 33% (19%–47%). Only six patients (15.8%) died of intracranial disease. The median brain metastasis-specific survival was 46.9 months (95% CI, 35.5–58.4). Treatment-related grade 3–4 adverse events were rare and included one grade 3 hematological toxicity and two grade 3 liver dysfunctions.

Conclusion
Treatment using HFSRT concurrent with TMZ was well tolerated and could significantly extend OS compared with historical controls in complex BMs. Large randomized clinical trials are warranted. Trial registration ID: NCT02654106.

Implications for Practice
The treatment using hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy concurrent with temozolomide appeared to be safe and could significantly extend overall survival compared with historical control in complex brain metastases. Large randomized clinical trials are warranted to verify our results.