bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Serum heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate concentrations in patients with newly diagnosed exfoliative glaucoma
Authors: Maric Vesna D. , Bozic Marija M. , Cirkovic Andja M. , Stankovic Sanja Dj , Marjanovic Ivan S. , Grgurevic Anita D. 
Published: May 2019

Background
Exfoliative glaucoma (XFG) is typically classified as a high-pressure type of secondary open-angle glaucoma that develops as a consequence of exfoliation syndrome (XFS). Exfoliation syndrome is an age-related, generalized disorder of the extracellular matrix characterized by production and progressive accumulation of a fibrillar exfoliation material (XFM) in intra- and extraocular tissues. Exfoliation material represents complex glycoprotein/proteoglycan structure composed of a protein core surrounded by glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate (HS) and chondroitin sulfate (CS). The purpose of the present study was to investigate HS and CS concentrations in serum samples of patients with newly diagnosed XFG and compare the obtained values with those pertaining to newly diagnosed primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), normal controls (NC) and subjects with XFS.

Methods
This case–control study involved 165 subjects, including patients with newly diagnosed XFG, patients with newly diagnosed POAG, subjects with XFS and age- and sex-matched NC. The study was conducted at the Glaucoma Department of Clinic for Eye Diseases, Clinical Centre of Serbia, as the referral center for glaucoma in Serbia.

Results
The mean age in the XFG, POAG, XFS and NC groups was 73.3 ± 9.0, 66.3 ± 7.8, 75.5 ± 7.0 and 73.5 ± 9.5 years, respectively, XFG vs. POAG, p < 0.001. Mean serum HS concentrations in the XFG, POAG, NC and XFS groups were 3,189.0 ± 1,473.8 ng/mL, 2,091.5 ± 940.9 ng/mL, 2,543.1 ± 1,397.3 ng/mL and 2,658.2 ± 1,426.8 ng/mL respectively, XFG vs. POAG, p = 0.001 and XFG vs. NC, p = 0.032. Mean serum CS concentrations in the XFG, POAG, NC and XFS group were 43.9 ± 20.7 ng/mL, 38.5 ± 22.0 ng/mL, 35.8 ± 16.4 ng/mL and 43.3 ± 21.8 ng/mL, respectively, XFG vs. NC, p = 0.041.

Conclusions
Our findings revealed greater HS and CS concentrations in XFG patients and XFS subjects compared to those without XFM. Implications of HS and CS in the pathophysiology of XFS and glaucoma should be studied further. Serum is easily accessible and should thus be explored as rich sources of potential biomarkers. Further research should aim to identify XFG biomarkers that could be utilized in routine blood analysis tests, aiding in timely disease diagnosis.
S
pengler,
O
swald (1880–1936)
Authors: Rojek Chris 
Published: May 2019

Abstract

Spengler's
The Decline of the West
was a cause célèbre when it was published after World War I. The study purported to offer a scientific explanation of the rise and fall of all civilizations. During the belle époque the west fashioned a self‐image of itself as eternal and invincible. World War I exposed this image as complacent. Using resources from history, psychology, economics, politics, and many other disciplines, Spengler presented a rationale for western decline which left no room for human intervention. It was indeed, a
fateful
theory. Despite the survival of the west, the theory has an uncanny habit of returning to the fore during moments of cultural division and conflict. The theory is best understood as the counterimage of the Enlightenment faith in inevitable progress.
Gender Trouble
Authors: Feldman Shelley 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThis entry engages Judith Butler's contribution to troubling gender for what it portends for feminist sociological inquiry. Drawing on her exploration of the social construction of sex and gender, it suggests that despite feminist sociological contributions to understanding gender relations and acknowledging the specificity of women's experience, the field has paid scant attention to Butler's epistemic critique of binary logic. The entry suggests that sociology's embrace of poststructural and postcolonial analyses, cornerstones of Butler's creative insights, might help to inspire critical thinking in the discipline.
M
ontesquieu (1689–1755)
Authors: Hulliung Mark 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Montesquieu was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, admired not only in France but in Scotland, the United States, and other nations. He aimed to reform the criminal laws, and to repudiate the Spanish Inquisition and the Spanish conquests in the Americas. Applying an analytical method that would now be termed political sociology and comparative analysis, he held that Protestant, commercial, and constitutionalist England represented all the best European possibilities. Catholic, economically regressive, and politically absolutist Spain represented all the worst.
Feminist Ethics
Authors: Haker Hille 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Feminist ethics has emerged as an approach that contributes to all fields of ethical theory. It offers an epistemology that is sensitive to the categories of sex and gender, elucidating the manifold ethical ramifications for feminist and ethical theory alike. Feminist ethics addresses questions of the moral self, moral emotions, and relations of care, integrating the emotional, affective, and cognitive dimension of human agency; it spells out women's rights as human rights in multiple contexts; it analyzes social values and gender norms that result in practices which morally harm women and discriminate against gender‐nonconforming persons and groups and prevent them from participating as equals in the social life; furthermore, feminist ethics engages in theories of political justice, increasingly addressing matters of global justice.
Geopolitics
Authors: Bachmann Veit 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Geopolitics is considered both as scholarly and political practice. Both forms look back to a problematic history in the first half of the twentieth century. Strongly framed in geodeterminist and social Darwinist logics, the scholarly practice delivered scientific legitimation for political practices of imperial, colonial, and fascist expansion. Subsequently, geopolitical reasoning attributing state power (projection) to forces of nature and technology has also played a key role in determining Cold War politics. Breaking with these traditions, geopolitics as scholarly practice was heavily influenced by poststructural debates in the 1980s, leading to the emergence of the school of thought of critical geopolitics. In this vein, geopolitics should focus on the deconstruction of systems of knowledge production, hegemonic discourses, and the power relations inscribed within. Geopolitical analysis should inquire how geopolitics as social construction is historically and spatially conditioned, how it is politically and economically framed, how it is locally and internationally embedded, and how it is both materially and representationally constituted. In future, (critical) geopolitical scholarship could benefit from bringing together its critical, reflexive, deconstructive orientation with the ambition to contribute to the resolution of concrete problems, the mitigation of unequal power relations, and the overcoming of systems of exclusion.
Anthrozoology
Authors: York Richard 
Published: May 2019

Abstract
Anthrozoology is an interdisciplinary field that examines all aspects of human interaction with nonhuman animals. A prominent concern in the field is with ethical questions about how humans treat other animals, and how and why ethics vary across societies and change over time. A number of anthrozoologists are interested in the biological and ecological nature of nonhuman animals, how macrostructural human–animal relationships affect socioecological evolution, and in individual‐level interactions between human and other animals. Other scholars focus on how the symbolic meanings of animals are socially constructed and how those meanings are used in discourses about humans, such as around inequalities of race and class.
Sustainable Separators for High‐Performance Lithium Ion Batteries Enabled by Chemical Modifications
Authors: Zhang Tian‐Wen , Chen Jia‐Lu , Tian Te , Shen Bao , Peng Yan‐De , Song Yong‐Hui , Jiang Bin , Lu Lei‐Lei , Yao Hong‐Bin , Yu Shu‐Hong 
Published: May 2019

AbstractNatural polymer nanofibers are attractive sustainable raw materials to fabricate separators for high‐performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Unfortunately, complicated pore‐forming processes, low ionic conductivity, and relatively low mechanical strength of previously reported natural polymer nanofiber‐based separators severely limit their performances and applications. Here, a chemical modification strategy to endow high performance to natural polymer nanofiber‐based separators is demonstrated by grafting cyanoethyl groups on the surface of chitin nanofibers. The fabricated cyanoethyl‐chitin nanofiber (CCN) separators not only exhibit much higher ionic conductivity but also retain excellent mechanical strength in comparison to unmodified chitin nanofiber separators. Through density function theory calculations, the mechanism of high Li+ ion transport in the CCN separator is unraveled as weakening of the binding of Li+ ions over that of PF6− ions with chitin, via the cyanoethyl modification. The LiFePO4/Li4Ti5O12 full cells using CCN separators show much better rate capability and enhanced capacity retention compared to the cell using commercial polypropylene (PP) separators. Beyond this, the CCN separator can work very well even at an elevated temperature of 120 °C in the LiFePO4/Li cell. The proposed strategy chemical modification of natural polymer nanofibers will open a new avenue to fabricate sustainable separators for LIBs with superior performance.
Graphdiyne and its Assembly Architectures: Synthesis, Functionalization, and Applications
Authors: Yu Huidi , Xue Yurui , Li Yuliang 
Published: May 2019

AbstractGraphdiyne (GDY), a novel one‐atom‐thick carbon allotrope that features assembled layers of sp‐ and sp2‐hybridized carbon atoms, has attracted great interest from both science and industry due to its unique and fascinating structural, physical, and chemical properties. GDY‐based materials with different morphologies, such as nanowires, nanotube arrays, nanosheets, and ordered stripe arrays, have been applied in various areas such as catalysis, solar cells, energy storage, and optoelectronic devices. After an introduction to the fundamental properties of GDY, recent advances in the fabrication of GDY‐based nanostructures and their applications, and corresponding mechanisms, are covered, and future critical perspectives are also discussed.
Microscale Spectroscopic Mapping of 2D Optical Materials
Authors: Dong Xingchen , Yetisen Ali K. , Köhler Michael H. , Dong Jie , Wang Shengjia , Jakobi Martin , Zhang Xiaoxing , Koch Alexander W. 
Published: May 2019

Abstract2D materials have unique optical properties due to their ultrathin layered structures, and are emerging as promising materials for optoelectronic devices. To characterize and evaluate these properties, diffraction‐limited spectroscopic mapping, also known as microscale spectroscopic imaging, has been developed to provide abundant spatial and spectral information. The usefulness of microscale spectroscopic mapping for unique property study of 2D optical materials is addressed. Advances in both mature and growing microscale spectroscopic mapping setups and methods covering broad ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum are introduced. Different forms of graphene, molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), and black phosphorus, including intrinsic and engineered structures made by different methods, are selected as varied representatives of 2D optical materials from the perspective of bandgap and anisotropy. A detailed discussion of microscale spectroscopic images and their unique optical property findings, including spatial adsorption and emission, excitonic behavior, light sensitivity, and plasmonic effects, is then given to demonstrate the advantages of spectral mapping over conventional point spectroscopy. The analysis also provides a generic view of microscale spectroscopic mapping selection in 2D‐materials imaging. Furthermore, the challenges inherent in large‐scale spectral data processing are explored, and the utilization of deep learning is suggested for possible application in academica and industry.
Essential updates to the surgical treatment of biliary tract cancer
Authors: Matsukuma Satoshi , Tokumitsu Yukio , Shindo Yoshitaro , Matsui Hiroto , Nagano Hiroaki 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBiliary tract cancer, which includes intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, extrahepatic bile duct cancer, gallbladder cancer, and ampullary cancer, is an intractable disease with a dismal prognosis. Prognosis is particularly poor in cases involving vessels or lymph nodes. Hepatobiliary pancreatic surgeons worldwide have consistently focused on improving surgical treatment, perioperative management, and chemotherapy to improve the outcomes of these diseases. There has been significant progress even in the last 2 years (2017 and 2018), such as promising findings reported by studies on the optimal extent of surgical treatment and multi‐institutional randomized controlled trials on adjuvant chemotherapy. We overview the current trends and advancements made in surgical treatment in 2017 and 2018.
Natural and anthropogenic drivers of foraging behaviour in bottlenose dolphins: Influence of shellfish aquaculture
Authors: Methion Séverine , Díaz López Bruno 
Published: May 2019

Abstract

In the coastal environment, marine mammals are exposed to one of the fastest growing food production sectors; namely, the shellfish farming industry. Identification of critical habitats, such as foraging grounds in highly human‐impacted areas, is essential to species conservation. Therefore, understanding the variables that influence a species' foraging behaviour is important for their conservation, especially for long‐lived mammals such as cetaceans.
The aims of this study were (a) to identify and quantify the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of wild bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) foraging behaviour, and (b) to investigate whether the shellfish farming industry influences the behaviour of this species.
Behavioural observations were conducted along the north‐western coast of Spain, an area affected by intensive human activities, particularly the shellfish aquaculture industry.
A multi‐modelling approach highlighted the importance of shellfish farm areas as a foraging ground for bottlenose dolphins. Dolphins were predicted to be more likely found foraging inside shellfish farm areas than outside (57% vs. 43%).
Variability in bottlenose dolphin behaviour is likely a result of the interactions of environmental and anthropogenic drivers with prey availability and the physiological needs of the dolphins. Although shellfish farm areas provide high prey density for dolphins, they can also pose threats in a number of ways (i.e. collisions with vessels, entanglement with ropes, habitat loss, noise and water pollution).
From a conservation perspective, aquaculture management should consider the presence of dolphins foraging and minimize the associated risks that this industry may pose to these coastal cetaceans.
Density Functional Theory Calculations Revealing Metal‐like Band Structures and Work Function Variation for Ultrathin Gallium Arsenide (111) Surface Layers
Authors: Tan Chih‐Shan , Huang Michael H. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractDensity functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed on tunable numbers of gallium arsenide (100), (110), and (111) planes for their electron density of states (DOS) plots and the corresponding band diagrams. The GaAs (100) and (110) planes show the same semiconducting band structure with tunable plane layers and a band gap of 1.35 eV around the Fermi level. In contrast, metal‐like band structures are obtained with a continuous band structure around the Fermi level for 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 layers of GaAs (111) planes. For 3, 6, and 9 GaAs (111) planes, the same semiconducting band structure as seen in the (100) and (110) planes returns. The results suggest the GaAs {111} face should be more electrically conductive than its {100} and {110} faces, due to the merged conduction band and valence band. GaAs (100) and (110) planes give a fixed work function, but the (111) planes have variable work function values that are smaller than that obtained for the (100) and (110) planes. Furthermore, bond length, bond geometry, and frontier orbital electron number and energy distribution show notable differences between the metal‐like and semiconducting plane cases, so the emergence of plane‐dependent electronic properties have quantum mechanical origin at the orbital level. GaAs should possess similar facet‐dependent electronic properties to those of Si and Ge.
Improved robust stability criteria for uncertain linear neutral‐type systems via novel Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional
Authors: Duan Xiaohui , Tang Fangping , Duan Wenyong 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe stability problem for the uncertain time‐varying delayed neutral‐type system is concerned in this paper. By introducing a novel Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional (LKF) related to a delay‐product‐type function and two delay‐dependent matrices, some new delay‐dependent robust stability sufficient conditions are derived, which are based on convex linear matrix inequality (LMI) framework. The sufficient conditions in this paper can reduce the conservativeness of some recent previous ones. In the end, some numerical examples, including a linear neutral‐type system, the partial element equivalent circuit and a general linear system, show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
miR‐885‐5p plays an accomplice role in liver cancer by instigating TIGAR expression via targeting its promoter
Authors: Zou Shubiao , Rao Yao , Chen Weicai 
Published: May 2019

AbstractTIGAR (TP53‐induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator) is a p53‐inducible gene and its expression resulted in controlling metabolism and protection from apoptosis. Furthermore, TIGAR participated in promoting the pentose phosphate pathway and help in lowering intracellular reactive oxygen species. miR‐885‐5p has also been reported to be involved in liver tumorigenesis, but whether miR‐885‐5p has a regulatory effect on TIGAR expression is unknown. In this study, we found that their levels were correlated to each other and positively related to cell malignancy. Exogenous miR‐885‐5p induced TIGAR expression through a p53‐independent pathway. The promoter region of TIGAR harbors two tandem putative miR‐885‐5p target sites. Cotransfection of synthetic miR‐885 with TIGAR promoter reporter constructs significantly enhanced TIGAR promoter activity via binding with target sites. Furthermore, miR‐885‐5p and its precursor pre‐miR‐885 had the same stimulatory impact on TIGAR expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis further verified that increased miR‐885‐5p potentiated the accessibility of TIGAR promoter chromatin to transcriptional factors and facilitated TIGAR expression. miR‐885‐5p and its precursor both can interact mechanically with TIGAR promoter binding site and alter local chromatin structure, and subsequently upregulate TIGAR expression and participate in liver tumorigenesis.
Potential biomarker of fibroblast growth factor 21 in valproic acid‐treated livers
Authors: Xu Xiaoxiao , Guo Chao , Liang Xiaoliu , Li Rong , Chen Jian 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBackgroundValproic acid (VPA) is a clinical medicine primarily prescribed to control epileptic symptoms. VPA has potential side‐effects, such as hepatotoxicity. Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a functional cytokine for metabolic regulation. In this article, we aimed to evaluate the possible clinical application of FGF21 in VPA‐treated livers in early undetected liver injury (EULI).MethodsMethodologically, plasma samples of VPA‐treated epileptic patients were isolated for biochemical and high‐performance liquid chromatography tests. In addition, VPA‐dosed mice were subjected to determinations of serological parameters, key regulatory effectors and FGF21 expressions through biochemical analyses, enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemistry stain, immunofluorescence stain, and reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) test, respectively.ResultsThe serological data suggested that VPA‐treated epileptic patients showed visibly elevated FGF21 contents in plasma samples. However, other diagnostic parameters showed inconspicuous changes. As revealed in animal study, VPA‐dosed mice exhibited undetected morphological alterations and hormonal changes in the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Furthermore, serological parameters and key regulatory proteins in VPA‐dosed livers and controls showed inconspicuous changes. Interestingly, endogenous FGF21 expressions in VPA‐dosed mice were increased in sera. In further experiments, the findings showed that intracellular expressions of FGF21 mRNA and protein were upregulated in VPA‐dosed livers as revealed in RT‐PCR and immunoassay.ConclusionsTaken together, these preliminary data reveal that functional FGF21 cytokine may serve as a potent predictor in VPA‐related EULI.
Using expert data to inform the use of research methods and representations to enhance biochemistry instruction and textbook design
Authors: Jeffery Kathleen A. , Pelaez Nancy J. , Anderson Trevor R. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBiochemistry textbooks often provide a disconnected, highly mathematical, and decontextualized treatment of thermodynamic and kinetic principles, which renders topics like protein folding difficult to teach. This is concerning given that graduates entering careers, like the pharmaceutical industry, must be able to apply such knowledge and related research methods to solve biochemistry research problems. Thus, it is essential that instructors have strategies to incorporate research methods and representations to help students understand the source of such scientific knowledge. Therefore, the goal of our work is to examine expert practice and use the findings to identify instructional strategies to incorporate more cutting‐edge research and authentic ways of knowing into science classrooms and textbooks. Toward this goal, we examined how four scientists explain protein folding and dynamics research, focusing on the interaction of spoken language and representations, including gesture. Our analysis indicates that experts employ multiple representations and research methods to communicate how evidence can be used to understand phenomena. In contrast, textbooks explain what is known but seldom use representations to explain how it is known. Based on our findings, we suggest implications for instruction, including the design of textbooks, as well as potential instructional strategies to incorporate discussion of experimental methods and interpretation of representations during classroom activities. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(5):513–531, 2019.
Organic Electrosynthesis: Applications in Complex Molecule Synthesis
Authors: Shatskiy Andrey , Lundberg Helena , Kärkäs Markus D. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractOrganic electrosynthesis is an enabling and sustainable technology, which constitutes a rapidly expanding field of research. Electrochemical approaches serve as convenient and green alternatives to stoichiometric and toxic chemical redox agents. Electrosynthesis constitutes a promising platform for harnessing the unique reactivity profiles of radical intermediates, expediting the development of new reaction manifolds. This Review highlights both anodic and cathodic methods for the construction of various kinds of complex molecules.