bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A combined proof of concept and dose finding study with multiple endpoints: A Bayesian adaptive design in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome
Authors: Martina Reynaldo , Houbiers Jos , Melis Joost , van Till Olivier 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThere is a need for identifying effective drugs or terminating ineffective drugs as early as possible to optimize efficient and cost effective drug development. The aim of the proposed trial was to simultaneously establish Proof of Concept (PoC) and dose finding (DF) for a new drug with a novel mode of action in a new indication. We simulated and executed an adaptive allocation design to investigate the effects of a drug on male patients suffering from chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). This manuscript describes the clinical trial simulations and primary analysis results. A Bayesian adaptive allocation procedure was employed to allocate patients to treatment using a normal dynamic linear model. The study was to stop early for efficacy if the probability of a clinically significant difference between an experimental arm and placebo was at least 90%. The study was to stop for futility if the probability that the maximum effective dose was better than placebo by at least the futility difference was less than 20%. During the execution phase the study was stopped early, that is 32% less than planned maximum sample size, due to futility. The final results confirmed that the predefined stopping rules were met. In conclusion, the simulations showed that, if the drug was effective, this adaptive design could accomplish both the goals of PoC and DF. However, the study stopped early for futility in line with the simulation predictions for stopping. This resulted in the early stopping of a trial recruiting patients on ineffective treatment.
Enzyme Fusions in Biocatalysis: Coupling Reactions by Pairing Enzymes
Authors: Aalbers Friso S. , Fraaije Marco W. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractOne approach to bringing enzymes together for multienzyme biocatalysis is genetic fusion. This enables the production of multifunctional enzymes that can be used for whole‐cell biotransformations or for in vitro (cascade) reactions. In some cases and in some aspects, such as expression and conversions, the fused enzymes outperform a combination of the individual enzymes. In contrast, some enzyme fusions are greatly compromised in activity and/or expression. In this Minireview, we give an overview of studies on fusions between two or more enzymes that were used for biocatalytic applications, with a focus on oxidative enzymes. Typically, the enzymes are paired to facilitate cofactor recycling or cosubstrate supply. In addition, different linker designs are briefly discussed. Although enzyme fusion is a promising tool for some biocatalytic applications, future studies could benefit from integrating the findings of previous studies in order to improve reliability and effectiveness.
The Lipid A Structure from the Marine Sponge Symbiont Endozoicomonas sp. HEX 311
Authors: Pallach Mateusz , Di Lorenzo Flaviana , Duda Katarzyna A. , Le Pennec Gaël , Molinaro Antonio , Silipo Alba 
Published: September 2018

AbstractEndozoicomonas sp. HEX311 is a Gram‐negative bacterium known to establish a commensal interaction with the marine demosponge Suberites domuncula. The molecular bases of the sponge–microbe interaction events are still poorly defined. Nevertheless, it has been proved that S. domuncula possesses an innate immune system with similarities to the mammalian one and is able to recognize the main component of the Gram‐negative bacteria cell wall: the lipopolysaccharide. Whether this recognition occurs in a structure‐dependent manner, which is typical for mammalian immune system receptors, is still under investigation. Herein, we report the Endozoicomonas sp. HEX311 lipid A structure obtained by a combination of data attained from chemical, MALDI MS, and MS2 approaches. The lipid A is a complex family of species decorated by pyrophosphate and phosphate units and carrying (R)‐3‐hydroxydodecanoic acid, (R)‐3‐hydroxytetradecanonic acid, iso‐2‐hydroxyundecanoic acid, iso‐(R)‐3‐hydroxyundecanoic acid, and iso‐nonanoic acid as acyl chains.
Ultrasmall Ru Nanoclusters on Nitrogen‐Enriched Hierarchically Porous Carbon Support as Remarkably Active Catalysts for Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane
Authors: Zhang Lei , Wang Yingying , Li Jinglong , Ren Xueying , Lv Hao , Su Xingsong , Hu Yichen , Xu Dongdong , Liu Ben 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe development of the highly active nanocatalysts for effective hydrogen (H2) production is of great significance for its practical applications in fuel cells. Herein, we reported a facile and scale‐up synthetic methodology to grow in situ the remarkably active nanocatalysts of ultrasmall Ru nanoclusters on nitrogen (N)‐enriched hierarchically macroporous‐mesoporous carbon supports (Ru@hPCN). The resultant Ru@hPCN combines structural and chemical merits of well‐dispersed 0.7‐nm Ru nanoclusters, N‐enriched functional surface and 3D hierarchically porous framework, all of which synergistically boost the catalytic performance toward the hydrolysis of ammonia‐borane (AB). An unprecedented activity with a turnover frequency of 1850 min−1 was achieved for the Ru@hPCN, which was 6.0 folds over that of commercialized Ru/C catalyst. Mechanism studies showed that the remarkably enhanced activity can be ascribed to the easier dissociation of electropositive Hδ+ from H2O and the breakage of the B−N bonds as well as favorable mass transport in the Ru@hPCN during AB hydrolysis.
Efficient Concentration of an Amino Acid Using Reactive Extraction Coupled with Bipolar Electrodialysis
Authors: Buchbender Florian , Wiese Martin 
Published: September 2018

AbstractOne intention of the PRODIAS (processing diluted aqueous systems) project is to develop and establish a toolbox of innovative and tailored separation technologies applicable to design energy‐efficient water removal and product recovery techniques. Within this project, the recovery of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) was investigated. Using both synthetic as well as fermented solutions, reactive extraction of GABA with the solvent di‐(2‐ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid + isododecane was performed. For back extraction, different mineral acids were examined. Multistage countercurrent reactive extraction using pH adjustments along the stages to increase extraction efficiency as well as back extraction were then run on pilot‐plant scale with fermented GABA solutions. The resulting GABA salt from back extraction was finally split by means of bipolar electrodialysis.
A Multicriteria Decision Framework for the Selection of Biomass Separation Equipment
Authors: Hutahaean Junko , Cilliers Jan , Brito-Parada Pablo R. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractFor the first time, a two‐stage decision support framework for equipment selection, applied to biomass separation, is presented. In the first stage, the framework evaluates from a number of equipment based on the process requirements and outputs only those that offer a technically feasible separation. In the second stage, the analytic hierarchy process is applied for performing a multicriteria decision analysis to select amongst the feasible equipment based on separation performance and energy consumption criteria. This approach systematically considers the relative importance of those different alternatives and selection criteria by pairwise comparisons. The output of the framework is an overall ranking of equipment as well as a sensitivity analysis of the results for different weighting of the criteria. These results can be used to equip practitioners in the field of bioseparations with a tool for making more consistent and better‐informed equipment selection decisions.
Recent Advances in Nanowire‐Based, Flexible, Freestanding Electrodes for Energy Storage
Authors: Li Qi , Hu Zhiquan , Liu Ziang , Zhao Yunlong , Li Ming , Meng Jiashen , Tian Xiaocong , Xu Xiaoming , Mai Liqiang 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe rational design of flexible electrodes is essential for achieving high performance in flexible and wearable energy‐storage devices, which are highly desired with fast‐growing demands for flexible electronics. Owing to the one‐dimensional structure, nanowires with continuous electron conduction, ion diffusion channels, and good mechanical properties are particularly favorable for obtaining flexible freestanding electrodes that can realize high energy/power density, while retaining long‐term cycling stability under various mechanical deformations. This Minireview focuses on recent advances in the design, fabrication, and application of nanowire‐based flexible freestanding electrodes with diverse compositions, while highlighting the rational design of nanowire‐based materials for high‐performance flexible electrodes. Existing challenges and future opportunities towards a deeper fundamental understanding and practical applications are also presented.
Significant Enhancement of Absorption and Luminescence Dissymmetry Factors in the Far‐Red Region: A Zinc(II) Homoleptic Helicate Formed by a Pair of Achiral Dipyrromethene Ligands
Authors: Ito Hiroaki , Sakai Hayato , Okayasu Yoshinori , Yuasa Junpei , Mori Tadashi , Hasobe Taku 
Published: September 2018

AbstractA homoleptic zinc(II) helicate organized by a pair of achiral dipyrromethene ligands through zinc(II) coordination was synthesized to evaluate the chiroptical properties. This zinc complex showed strong exciton‐coupled chiroptical responses from the helical configuration with a large absorption dissymmetry factor |gabs| (up to 0.20). More importantly, intense polarized luminescence in the far‐red region (700–850 nm) with a fluorescence quantum yield ΦFL of 0.23 was observed for this helicate with a dissymmetry factor |glum| of 0.022, the largest value among rare‐earth‐ and precious‐metal‐free small molecules. These unprecedentedly large g values were supported by theoretical calculations.
Experimental Investigation of the Froth Height in Columns with Sandwich Packings
Authors: Sohr Johanna , Schubert Markus , Flechsig Steve , Kenig Eugeny Y. , Hampel Uwe 
Published: September 2018

AbstractSandwich packings, consisting of alternatingly stacked conventional structured packings with different geometric surface areas, are promising for increasing capacity and efficiency of separation columns. Film flow and froth flow evolve along a stack, which requires comprehensive fluid dynamic analysis. In particular, the froth height is an essential parameter to determine the spatial extent of the flow regimes. Ultrafast X‐ray tomography and a 3D‐printed pressure drop profile measurement module were applied to independently estimate this parameter. The results are compared with existing correlations.
Application of provenance in social computing: A case study
Authors: Riveni Mirela , Nguyen Tien‐Dung , Aktas Mehmet S. , Dustdar Schahram 
Published: September 2018

SummaryComplex systems such as Collective Adaptive Systems that include a variety of resources, are increasingly being designed to include people in task‐execution. Collectives, encapsulating human resources/services, represent one type of an application within which people with different type of skills can be engaged to solve one common problem or work on the same project. Mechanisms of managing social collectives are dependent on functional and non‐functional parameters of members of social collectives. In this work, we investigate the benefits provenance can offer to social computing and trade‐off implications. We show experimental results of how provenance data can help better visualize interaction and performance data during a collective's run‐time. We present novel metrics that can be derived from provenance, and lastly, we discuss privacy implications. If utilized ethically, provenance can help in developing more efficient provisioning and management mechanisms in social computing.
Formation of Nanofibers with High Water Adhesion by Electrodeposition of Films of Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxypyrrole) and Poly(3,4‐propylenedioxypyrrole) Substituted by Alkyl Chains
Authors: Sane Omar , Diouf Alioune , Dieng Samba Yandé , Guittard Frédéric , Darmanin Thierry 
Published: September 2018

AbstractInvited for this month's cover are the collaborating groups of Dr. Thierry Darmanin at Université Côte d'Azur, France, and Dr. Alioune Diouf at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal. The front cover shows nanofibrous surfaces prepared by the electropolymerization of 3,4‐ethylenedioxypyrrole (EDOP) and 3,4‐propylenedioxypyrrole (ProDOP) derivatives in which an alkyl chain is grafted to the 3,4‐alkylenedioxy bridge. Depending on whether an EDOP or a ProDOP monomer is used, and the length of the alkyl chain, the surface properties of the resulting polymer are very different. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/cplu.201800279.
Fire history influences large‐herbivore behavior at circadian, seasonal, and successional scales
Authors: Spitz Derek B. , Clark Darren A. , Wisdom Michael J. , Rowland Mary M. , Johnson Bruce K. , Long Ryan A. , Levi Taal 
Published: September 2018

AbstractRecurrent environmental changes often prompt animals to alter their behavior leading to predictable patterns across a range of temporal scales. The nested nature of circadian and seasonal behavior complicates tests for effects of rarer disturbance events like fire. Fire can dramatically alter plant community structure, with important knock‐on effects at higher trophic levels, but the strength and timing of fire's effects on herbivores remain unclear. We combined prescribed fire treatments with fine‐scale location data to quantify herbivore responses to fire across three temporal scales. Between 2001 and 2003, 26 stands of fir (Abies spp.) and Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) were thinned and burned; 27 similar stands were left untreated as experimental controls. Analyzing female elk (Cervus canadensis) locations across 21 yr (1996—2016), we found crepuscular, seasonal, and successional shifts in behavioral responses to fire. Elk displayed “commuting” behavior, avoiding burns during the day, but selecting them at night. Elk selection for burns was strongest in early summer and the relative probability of elk using burns peaked quickly (5 yr post burn) before gradually returning to pre‐treatment levels (15 yr post burn). Our results demonstrate that fire history has complex, persistent effects on herbivore behavior, and suggest that herbivores benefit from heterogeneous landscapes containing a range of successional stages.
Organic matter and nutrient inputs from large wildlife influence ecosystem function in the Mara River, Africa
Authors: Subalusky Amanda L. , Dutton Christopher L. , Njoroge Laban , Rosi Emma J. , Post David M. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAnimals can be important vectors for the movement of resources across ecosystem boundaries. Animals add resources to ecosystems primarily through egestion, excretion, and carcasses, and the stoichiometry and bioavailability of these inputs likely interact with characteristics of the recipient ecosystem to determine their effects on ecosystem function. We studied the influence of hippopotamus excretion/egestion and wildebeest carcasses, and their interactions with discharge, in the Mara River, Kenya. We measured nutrient dissolution and decomposition rates of wildlife inputs, the influence of inputs on nutrient concentrations and nutrient limitation in the river and the influence of inputs on biofilm growth and function in both experimental streams and along a gradient of inputs in the river. We found that hippopotamus excretion/egestion increases ammonium and coarse particulate organic matter in the river, and wildebeest carcasses increase ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus, and total phosphorus. Concentrations of dissolved carbon and nutrients in the water column increased along a gradient of wildlife inputs and during low discharge, although concentrations of particulate carbon decreased during low discharge due to deposition on the river bottom. Autotrophs were nitrogen limited and heterotrophs were carbon limited and nitrogen and phosphorus colimited upstream of animal inputs but there was no nutrient limitation downstream of inputs. In experimental streams, hippo and wildebeest inputs together increased biofilm gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R). These results differed in the river, where low concentrations of hippo inputs increased gross primary production (GPP) and respiration (R) of biofilms, but high concentrations of hippo inputs in conjunction with wildebeest inputs decreased GPP. Our research shows that inputs from large wildlife alleviate nutrient limitation and stimulate ecosystem metabolism in the Mara River and that the extent to which these inputs subsidize the ecosystem is mediated by the quantity and quality of inputs and discharge of the river ecosystem. Thus, animal inputs provide an important ecological subsidy to this river, and animal inputs were likely important in many other rivers prior to the widespread extirpation of large wildlife.
Plant root and rhizome strength: Are there differences between and within species and rivers?
Authors: Gurnell A.M. , Holloway J.V. , Liffen T. , Serlet A.J. , Zolezzi G. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe strength and architecture of roots and other below‐ground organs of riparian and aquatic plants affect plant resistance to uprooting and contribute to reinforcing river bank, bar and bed materials. Therefore, root properties are an important element in models for estimating river bank stability and such models may focus on the role of plants by using root strength–diameter relationships for the particular plant species that are present.Here we explore the degree to which there appear to be significant differences in strength–diameter relationships between and within species‐specific data sets obtained for two riparian tree/shrub (Populus nigra, Salix alba) and two emergent aquatic macrophyte (Sparganium erectum, Phalaris arundinacea) species in different European river environments.While the analysed data sets were not specifically collected to answer these research questions, the results are sufficiently compelling to make the case for the collection of a more comprehensive data set and its rigorous analysis. This would allow recommendations to be made on the degree to which (i) species‐specific or more general relationships between root/rhizome strength and diameter are appropriate, (ii) such relationships are applicable within and between rivers in different geographical regions and subject to different local environmental conditions, and (iii) further (minimalist) field observations are needed to calibrate such relationships for investigations of new locales or species. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Toward harmonizing ecotoxicity characterization in life cycle impact assessment
Authors: Fantke Peter , Aurisano Nicoló , Bare Jane , Backhaus Thomas , Bulle Cécile , Chapman Peter M. , De Zwart Dick , Dwyer Robert , Ernstoff Alexi , Golsteijn Laura , Holmquist Hanna , Jolliet Olivier , McKone Thomas E. , Owsianiak Mikołaj , Peijnenburg Willie , Posthuma Leo , Roos Sandra , Saouter Erwan , Schowanek Diederik , van Straalen Nico M. , Vijver Martina G. , Hauschild Michael 
Published: September 2018

Abstract

Ecosystem quality is an important area of protection in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). Chemical pollution has adverse impacts on ecosystems on a global scale. To improve methods for assessing ecosystem impacts, the Life Cycle Initiative hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme established a task force to evaluate the state-of-the-science in modeling chemical exposure of organisms and the resulting ecotoxicological effects for use in LCIA. The outcome of the task force work will be global guidance and harmonization by recommending changes to the existing practice of exposure and effect modeling in ecotoxicity characterization. These changes will reflect the current science and ensure the stability of recommended practice. Recommendations must work within the needs of LCIA in terms of 1) operating on information from any inventory reporting chemical emissions with limited spatiotemporal information, 2) applying best estimates rather than conservative assumptions to ensure unbiased comparison with results for other impact categories, and 3) yielding results that are additive across substances and life cycle stages and that will allow a quantitative expression of damage to the exposed ecosystem. We describe the current framework and discuss research questions identified in a roadmap. Primary research questions relate to the approach toward ecotoxicological effect assessment, the need to clarify the method's scope and interpretation of its results, the need to consider additional environmental compartments and impact pathways, and the relevance of effect metrics other than the currently applied geometric mean of toxicity effect data across species. Because they often dominate ecotoxicity results in LCIA, we give metals a special focus, including consideration of their possible essentiality and changes in environmental bioavailability. We conclude with a summary of key questions along with preliminary recommendations to address them as well as open questions that require additional research efforts. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2955–2971. © 2018 SETAC
Abstract
Refinements are proposed for the current ecotoxicological effect characterization in life cycle impact assessment.
Predicting opening spot prices using extended futures trading
Authors: Wang Janchung , Chen Sunwu Winfred , Wang Bo‐Ting 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPrevious studies found that extended futures trading contains useful information in explaining subsequent overnight spot returns. This study therefore compares the performance of using the extended trading of the TAIFEX (Taiwan Futures Exchange) index futures and single‐stock futures to predict their opening underlying spot prices. Furthermore, according to the efficient market hypothesis, the share price fully reflects all the information available and should adjust to new information instantaneously. However, several studies have demonstrated that short‐sales restrictions delay the speed of price adjustment to negative information. The relevant question is whether short‐selling restrictions also slow down the speed at which the opening spot price adjusts to the new information revealed through extended futures trading, and thus reducing the price prediction function of extended futures trading. The empirical results find that using the opening futures price and the prediction method proposed in this study can more accurately predict the opening spot price on the same day. Furthermore, the performance of using the extended trading of index futures to predict the opening spot index price is superior to that of using the extended trading of single‐stock futures to predict the opening stock price. Finally, as found in previous studies, short‐selling restrictions also slow down the speed of stock price adjustment to the new information revealed through extended futures trading. Thus both the up‐tick rule and the short‐selling bans (especially the latter) negatively affect the price forecasting performance of extended futures trading.