bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
25 years of European Union (EU) quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs across EU Member States
Authors: Albuquerque Tânia G , Oliveira M Beatriz PP , Costa Helena S 
Published: December 2017

AbstractConsumers are increasingly turning their attention to the quality and origin of products that they consume. European Union (EU) quality schemes are associated with a label, which was introduced to allow consumers to perform an informed choice and to protect producers from unfair practices. This present study provides an overview of the last 25 years of EU quality schemes [Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)] on agricultural products and foodstuffs across the 28 EU Member States. According to the results, it was possible to conclude that Southern European countries have the highest number of registered products. The most used EU quality scheme is PGI, followed by PDO. Concerning the analysis of the evolution in the last 25 years, the number of registered products among EU Member States has increased significantly. The fruit, vegetables and cereals (fresh or processed) category is the one that accounts for the highest percentage (26.8%) of registered products, followed by cheeses and meat products (cooked, salted, smoked) categories, with 17.2% and 13.5%, respectively. Further investigations should address consumer preferences, knowledge and attitudes, especially Northern European countries with a lower number of registered products. Moreover, the investigation and registration of products should be encouraged among all EU Member States to allow the maintenance of important elements of the history, culture and heritage of the local areas, regions and countries. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Advances on the impact of thermal processing on structure and antigenicity of chicken ovomucoid
Authors: Stănciuc Nicoleta , Creţu Alexandra Andreea , Banu Iuliana , Aprodu Iuliana 
Published: December 2017

AbstractBACKGROUNDOvomucoid (OVM) is the dominant allergen found in egg white. The heat‐induced changes on chicken OVM structure and antigenic properties were assessed at acidic, neutral and alkaline pH values.RESULTSThe fluorescence spectroscopy measurements indicated changes in the conformation of OVM caused by both pH and thermal treatment. The OVM molecule exhibited higher exposure of hydrophobic residues at 7.0, as indicated by the synchronous spectra, intrinsic fluorescence and quenching experiments. When heating the protein at pH 9.5, the molecular structure appeared more compact. The antigenic properties of OVM, estimated through the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, appeared not to be sensitive to heat at pH 7.0 and 4.5. Single molecule level investigations indicated that the secondary and tertiary structure of OVM was affected by the thermal treatment.CONCLUSIONSExperimental results indicated over 90% reduction of the antigenicity at pH 9.5 and temperature of 100 °C. Significant changes of the linear epitopes exposure and location of the conformational epitopes were highlighted after performing heating molecular dynamics simulations of OVM from 25 °C to 100 °C. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Preparation of silica microspheres with a broad pore size distribution and their use as the support for a coated cellulose derivative chiral stationary phase
Authors: Huang Mingxian , Ma Hongyan , Niu Mengna , Hu Fei , Wang Shige , Li Lulu , Lv Chunguang 
Published: December 2017

AbstractA templating strategy using crosslinked and functionalized polymeric beads to synthesize silica microspheres with a broad pore size distribution has been developed. The polymer/silica hybrid microspheres were prepared by utilizing the combination of a templating weak cation exchange resin, a structure‐directing agent N‐trimethoxysilylpropyl‐N,N,N‐trimethylammonium chloride, and a silica precursor tetraethyl orthosilicate. The silica microspheres were then obtained after calcinating the hybrid microspheres. The as‐prepared materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimeter, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The results showed that the starting templating beads were about 5 μm in diameter and the formed silica microspheres were less than 3 μm with a pore size range of 10–150 nm, some pores were even extended to beyond 250 nm. It was demonstrated that cellulose tris(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate) was readily coated onto the surface of the as‐synthesized silica microspheres without any additional surface pretreatment. The coated silica microspheres were uniformly dispersed even with high loading of the chiral stationary phase, which exhibited high resolution chiral separations in high‐performance liquid chromatography.
Quantification of noninvasive fat reduction: A systematic review
Authors: Auh Sogyong L. , Iyengar Sanjana , Weil Alexandra , Bolotin Diana , Cartee Todd V. , Dover Jeffrey S. , Maher Ian A. , Sobanko Joseph F. , Cohen Joel L. , Poon Emily , Alam Murad 
Published: December 2017

Background and ObjectiveNoninvasive fat reduction appears effective, but there are various methods for quantifying changes. The objective of this review is to assess comparative utility measures of subcutaneous fat.Study Design/Materials and MethodsArticles describing noninvasive fat reduction were searched using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus electronic databases on two dates (January 28, 2014 and February 16, 2016). Titles of studies and abstracts were screened for eligibility. Manual review was performed by two investigators to detect those that: (1) included original data; (2) were randomized controlled trials, or prospective or retrospective cohort studies; (3) quantified fat outcomes; and (4) enrolled at least 10 subjects.ResultsOf 1,057 retrieved articles, 36 met criteria. Most reported four or more measurement techniques. Circumference measurements were most commonly cited. Other objective techniques, like caliper thickness, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and three‐dimensional (3D) photography, were also used. Common subjective methods were evaluation of standardized photographs by blinded raters and patient satisfaction surveys.ConclusionsFor quantifying noninvasive fat reduction, all available methods had significant limitations: photographic comparisons were subjective; circumference or caliper measurements were confounded; ultrasound was operator dependent; MRI was expensive; computed models and simulations were in early development. As new technologies are developed, the need for reliable, accurate and practical measures of subcutaneous fat will increase. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:96–110, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
pH‐Responsive Polyacetal–Protein Conjugates Designed for Polymer Masked–Unmasked Protein Therapy (PUMPT)
Authors: Escalona Gabriela Rodríguez , Sanchis Joaquin , Vicent María J. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPolymer masked–unmasked protein therapy (PUMPT) employs polymer conjugation to protect therapeutic proteins during transit through the bloodstream and allow controlled release at a disease site via triggered degradation of the polymeric component. Most reported PUMPT systems are based on the specific enzymatic degradation of the polymeric component to release the protein and reinstate its activity. In these cases, therapeutic output is dependent on the presence of the required enzyme at the disease site at a sufficiently high concentration. The present study aims to overcome this design limitation by using pH as the protein release trigger. An acidic‐pH triggered PUMPT system is described herein employing biodegradable polyacetals (PAs) and trypsin as a model protein. While this system protects trypsin activity at the neutral pH of the bloodstream, acidic pH (characteristic of disease sites, tissue damage, or lysosomal compartments) contributes to PA degradation and the “unmasking” of protein activity.
Control of Pore Structure in Polymeric Monoliths Prepared from Colloidal Dispersions
Authors: Cingolani Alberto , Cuccato Danilo , Storti Giuseppe , Morbidelli Massimo 
Published: December 2017

AbstractReliable control of pore size distribution in porous materials is a key feature for addressing specific applications. The reactive gelation process represents a robust and efficient method to obtain mechanically stable monoliths with tunable pore size distribution. Primary polymer nanoparticles are destabilized and aggregated in a controlled way, forming a percolating gel. Afterward, this structure is hardened by a postpolymerization, carried out through heating. Different parameters play a major role in determining the final morphology of the monolith. In this work, the effect of primary particle architecture (i.e., core‐to‐shell ratio) and initial solid content of the latex is investigated, using two different sizes of nanoparticles. Actually, the first parameter affects the pores in the small range (0.01–1 µm) whereas the latter those in the larger one (1 µm to several micrometers), independently of the primary particle size. As a result, monoliths with very well‐defined pore size distributions are obtained.
Enhanced Fluorescence Properties of Stilbene‐Containing Alternating Copolymers
Authors: Huang Jing , Geng Xi , Peng Chong , Grove Tijana Z. , Turner S. Richard 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn recent years, nonconjugated, fluorophore‐free organic polymers have emerged as potentially useful light‐emitting materials. The fluorescence properties of a novel class of nonconjugated, tert‐butyl carboxylate functionalized stilbene‐containing alternating copolymers are investigated in this work. These sterically crowded, semi‐rigid copolymers exhibit very strong blue fluorescence in organic solvents upon irradiation. The origin of the fluorescent band with high quantum yield is attributed to the “through space” π–π interactions between the phenyl rings from the stilbene and CO groups from the anhydride groups. To the best of our knowledge, the di‐tert‐butyl group‐containing stilbene and maleic anhydride alternating copolymer showed one of the highest fluorescent intensities among all fluorophore‐free polymers. The excellent linearity of the luminescence property of this copolymer is an important attribute for future potential quantitative applications. The fluorescence is maintained when the tert‐butyl groups are removed and the resulting carboxylic acid‐functionalized copolymer is dissolved in water at neutral pH, which can render these copolymers as attractive candidates for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Understanding the Impact of Film Disorder and Local Surface Potential in Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy of PEDOT
Authors: Muñoz William A. , Crispin Xavier , Fahlman Mats , Zozoulenko Igor V. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe spectra of conducting polymers obtained using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) exhibit a typical broadening of the tail σUPS ≈ 1 eV, which by an order of magnitude exceeds a commonly accepted value of the broadening of the tail of the density of states σDOS ≈ 0.1 eV obtained using transport measurements. In this work, an origin of this anomalous broadening of the tail of the UPS spectra in a doped conducting polymer, PEDOT (poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)), is discussed. Based on the semiempirical approach and using a realistic morphological model, the density of valence states in PEDOT doped with molecular counterions is computed. It is shown that due to a disordered character of the material with randomly distributed counterions, the localized charge carriers in PEDOT crystallites experience spatially varying electrostatic potential. This leads to spatially varying local vacuum levels and binding energies. Taking this variation into account the UPS spectrum is obtained with the broadening of the tail comparable to the experimentally observed one. The results imply that the observed broadening of the tail of the UPS spectra in PEDOT provides information about a disordered spatially varying potential in the material rather than the broadening of the DOS itself.
Functional Polymer Opals and Porous Materials by Shear‐Induced Assembly of Tailor‐Made Particles
Authors: Gallei Markus 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPhotonic band‐gap materials attract enormous attention as potential candidates for a steadily increasing variety of applications. Based on the preparation of easily scalable monodisperse colloids, such optically attractive photonic materials can be prepared by an inexpensive and convenient bottom‐up process. Artificial polymer opals can be prepared by shear‐induced assembly of core/shell particles, yielding reversibly stretch‐tunable materials with intriguing structural colors. This feature article highlights recent developments of core/shell particle design and shear‐induced opal formation with focus on the combination of hard and soft materials as well as crosslinking strategies. Structure formation of opal materials relies on both the tailored core/shell architecture and the parameters for polymer processing. The emphasis of this feature article is on elucidating the particle design and incorporation of addressable moieties, i.e., stimuli‐responsive polymers as well as elaborated crosslinking strategies for the preparation of smart (inverse) opal films, inorganic/organic opals, and ceramic precursors by shear‐induced ordering.
Noise contamination from PET blood sampling pump: Effects on structural MRI image quality in simultaneous PET/MR studies
Authors: Bartlett Elizabeth , DeLorenzo Christine , Parsey Ramin , Huang Chuan 
Published: December 2017

PurposeTo fully quantify PET imaging outcome measures, a blood sampling pump is often used during the PET acquisition. With simultaneous PET/MR studies, a structural magnetization‐prepared rapid gradient‐echo (MP‐RAGE) may also be acquired while the pump is generating electromagnetic noise. This study investigated whether this noise contamination would be detrimental to the quantification of volume and cortical thickness measures obtained from automated segmentation of the MP‐RAGE image.MethodsMP‐RAGE T1w structural images were acquired for a phantom and 10 healthy volunteers (five female, 27.2 ± 5.1 y old) with the blood sampling pump and without. The white matter signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) was computed for all images. Region‐wise cortical thickness and volume were extracted with Freesurfer 5.3.0.ResultsThe phantom SNR and the white matter human subject SNR was degraded in the MP‐RAGE images acquired with the pump (P = 0.005; white matter SNR: 43.9 and 50.8 with the pump and without). Intrasession, region‐wise volume and cortical thickness estimates were significantly overestimated with the pump (percent difference: 1.14 ± 2.67% for volume (P = 0.0003) and 0.34 ± 1.59% (P = 0.02) for cortical thickness). Regions with percent differences greater than 5% between pump conditions were those close to tissue–air interfaces: entorhinal, frontal pole, parsorbitalis, temporal pole, and medial orbitofrontal. Synthetically adding Gaussian noise to the without pump MP‐RAGE images yielded similar, significant detriments to cortical morphometry compared to without the pump.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that the use of PET blood sampling pumps may generate unstructured, Gaussian‐distributed noise in MP‐RAGE images that significantly alters the accuracy of Freesurfer‐derived volume and cortical thickness estimates. While many cortical regions showed a percent difference of less than 1% with the pump, regions close to tissue–air interfaces, subject to larger susceptibility artifacts, were significantly affected. This potential for decreased accuracy should be considered in PET/MR research studies utilizing blood sampling pumps, as well as any MRI study utilizing radiofrequency noise producing devices such as functional MRI task equipment and physiologic monitoring devices.
Method and basis set dependence of the NICS indexes of aromaticity for benzene
Authors: Gajda Łukasz , Kupka Teobald , Broda Małgorzata A. , Leszczyńska Małgorzata , Ejsmont Krzysztof 
Published: December 2017

The role of theory level in prediction of benzene magnetic indexes of aromaticity is analysed and compared with calculated nuclear magnetic shieldings of 3He used as NMR probe. Three closely related nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS) based indexes were calculated for benzene at SCF‐HF, MP2, and DFT levels of theory and the impact of basis set on these quantities was studied. The changes of benzene NICS(0), NICS(1), and NICS(1)zz parameters calculated using SCF‐HF, MP2 and several density functionals were within 1 to 3 ppm. Similar deviations between magnetic indexes of aromaticity were observed for values calculated with selected basis sets. Only very small effect of polar solvent on benzene aromaticity was predicted. The 3He nuclear magnetic isotropic shielding (σ) and its zz‐components (σzz) of helium atom approaching the centre of benzene ring from above produced similar curves versus benzene‐He distance to NICS parameters calculated for similarly moving Bq ghost atom. We also propose an experimental verification of NICS calculations by designing the 3He NMR measurement for benzene saturated with helium gas or in low temperature matrices.
Local blood flow in peripheral nerves and their ganglia: Resurrecting key ideas around its measurement and significance
Authors: Zochodne Douglas W. 
Published: December 2017

ABSTRACTOver 3 decades ago, seminal work by Phillip Low and colleagues established exquisite physiology around the measurement of nerve blood flow (NBF). Although not widely explored recently, its connection to the clinic has awaited human methodology. While human studies have not achieved a convincing level of rigour, newer imaging technologies are offering early information. The peripheral nerve trunk has parallel blood flow compartments that include epineurial flow dominated by arteriovenous shunts and downstream endoneurial blood flow (EBF). NBF and EBF have lower values than central nervous system blood flow, lack autoregulation yet have sympathetic and peptidergic neurovascular control. Contrary to expectation, injury to nerves is often associated with rises in NBF rather than ischemia, a finding of biological interest corroborated by human studies. Despite its potential importance, quantitative human measurements of EBF and NBF are not yet available. However, with development, careful NBF analysis may present new insights into nerve disorders. Muscle Nerve 57: 884–895, 2018
A geometry projection method for the topology optimization of curved plate structures with placement bounds
Authors: Zhang Shanglong , Gain Arun L. , Norato Julián A. 
Published: December 2017

SummarySingle‐curvature plates are commonly encountered in mechanical and civil structures. In this paper, we introduce a topology optimization method for the stiffness‐based design of structures made of curved plates with fixed thickness. The geometry of each curved plate is analytically and explicitly represented by its location, orientation, dimension, and curvature radius, and therefore, our method renders designs that are distinctly made of curved plates. To perform the primal and sensitivity analyses, we use the geometry projection method, which smoothly maps the analytical geometry of the curved plates onto a continuous density field defined over a fixed uniform finite element grid. A size variable is ascribed to each plate and penalized in the spirit of solid isotropic material with penalization, which allows the optimizer to remove a plate from the design. We also introduce in our method a constraint that ensures that no portion of a plate lies outside the design envelope. This prevents designs that would otherwise require cuts to the plates that may be very difficult to manufacture. We present numerical examples to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed method.
Two‐scale topology optimization in computational material design: An integrated approach
Authors: Ferrer A. , Cante J.C. , Hernández J.A. , Oliver J. 
Published: December 2017

SummaryIn this work, a new strategy for solving multiscale topology optimization problems is presented. An alternate direction algorithm and a precomputed offline microstructure database (Computational Vademecum) are used to efficiently solve the problem. In addition, the influence of considering manufacturable constraints is examined. Then, the strategy is extended to solve the coupled problem of designing both the macroscopic and microscopic topologies. Full details of the algorithms and numerical examples to validate the methodology are provided.
The relationship of waist circumference and body mass index to grey matter volume in community dwelling adults with mild obesity
Authors: Hayakawa Y. K. , Sasaki H. , Takao H. , Yoshikawa T. , Hayashi N. , Mori H. , Kunimatsu A. , Aoki S. , Ohtomo K. 
Published: December 2017

SummaryObjectivePrevious work has shown that high body mass index (BMI) is associated with low grey matter volume. However, evidence on the relationship between waist circumference (WC) and brain volume is relatively scarce. Moreover, the influence of mild obesity (as indexed by WC and BMI) on brain volume remains unclear. This study explored the relationships between WC and BMI and grey matter volume in a large sample of Japanese adults.MethodsThe participants were 792 community‐dwelling adults (523 men and 269 women). Brain magnetic resonance images were collected, and the correlation between WC or BMI and global grey matter volume were analysed. The relationships between WC or BMI and regional grey matter volume were also investigated using voxel‐based morphometry.ResultsGlobal grey matter volume was not correlated with WC or BMI. Voxel‐based morphometry analysis revealed significant negative correlations between both WC and BMI and regional grey matter volume. The areas correlated with each index were more widespread in men than in women. In women, the total area of the regions significantly correlated with WC was slightly greater than that of the regions significantly correlated with BMI.ConclusionsResults show that both WC and BMI were inversely related to regional grey matter volume, even in Japanese adults with somewhat mild obesity. Especially in populations with less obesity, such as the female participants in current study, WC may be more sensitive than BMI as a marker of grey matter volume differences associated with obesity.
Single‐step solution polymerization of poly(alkylene terephthalate)s: synthesis parameters and polymer characterization
Authors: Giol Elena Diana , Van den Brande Niko , Van Mele Bruno , Van Vlierberghe Sandra , Dubruel Peter 
Published: December 2017

AbstractPoly(alkylene terephthalate)s represent one of the most frequently used polymer classes worldwide. Well‐known examples include poly(ethylene terephthalate) (n = 2) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (n = 4). The conventional synthesis method for these polymers is based on melt polycondensation, a two‐stage process performed under harsh conditions that includes the synthesis of an intermediate prepolymer and the presence of a catalyst, which may induce toxicity issues. The present work reports on a straightforward single‐step solution polycondensation method performed under mild conditions and in the absence of a catalyst. A homologous series of poly(alkylene terephthalate)s (n = 5 − 10) of molar masses up to 20 000 g mol−1 and dispersity <2.4 was synthesized and characterized thoroughly. Great attention was given to the thermal properties assessment by using state‐of‐the‐art techniques and a highly sensitive prototype technique called rapid heat − cool DSC. Similar to melt‐synthesized polyesters, a particular odd − even trend of the thermal properties versus the number of methylene groups within the monomer unit was revealed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report covering a single‐step solution‐based polycondensation performed in the absence of a catalyst that results in highly reproducible polyesters possessing unaltered thermal properties compared to polyesters synthesized through industrially applied conventional routes. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry