bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chiral Fe‐Dendrimer‐Catalyzed Domino Michael and Aldol Reactions of Chalcones with 1,4‐Dithiane‐2,5‐diol
Authors: Kannan Masanam , De Pinaki Bhusan , Pradhan Sourav , Punniyamurthy Tharmalingam 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe synthesis and application of chiral dendrimer for the Fe‐catalyzed domino asymmetric sulfa‐Michael and aldol reactions of chalcones with 1,4‐dithiane‐2,5‐diol is described. Recyclable iron‐catalysis, selectivity and the simplified product isolation are the important features.
A Novel CoO1.6C0.7 Nanocomposite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity and Stability for Hydrogen Evolution Achieved by Carbon Dots
Authors: Zhao Juan , Liu Chang'an , Wang Huibo , Huang Hui , Liu Yang , Kang Zhenhui 
Published: January 2018

AbstractUtilizing semiconductor photocatalysts and solar energy for hydrogen evolution is an ideal way to solve the energy shortage and environmental pollution problem in the future. The CoO as photocatalyst with high solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency has attracted wide attention, but its stability is low. Herein, we designed a disordered CoO1.6C0.7 nanocomposite as photocatalyst, which exhibits improved photocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution without sacrificial reagent compared with that of CoO1.2. By adding carbon dots (CDs) during the synthesis process, the obtained CoO1.6C0.7 nanocomposite as photocatalyst could acquire the H2 evolution rate about 2.6 μmol h−1 under visible light (λ> 420 nm), while the H2 evolution rate increased to 18.0 μmol h−1 when used triethanolamine (TEOA) as sacrificial reagent. Moreover, the disordered CoO1.6C0.7 photocatalyst displays excellent stability with more than 10 cycles. The improved photocatalytic activity and favorable stability of the disordered CoO1.6C0.7 can be attributed to the addition of CDs, which enhanced the light absorption and accelerated electron transfer.
How to Explain the High Prices in Switzerland?
Authors: Sax Christoph , Weder Rolf 
Published: January 2018

Summary
This article challenges the view that a lack of competition and a high level of regulations are the main causes of Switzerland’s high prices. First, we point out a number of stylized facts which are inconsistent with this popular view. Second, we econometrically asses the “competition-regulation hypothesis” together with the well-established determinants from the real exchange rate literature in a panel of 22 OECD countries from 1970 to 2004. We find that changes in the terms of trade and the degree of openness, and to a minor extent in government expenditures and the current account, explain the movements in the Swiss real exchange rate reasonably well over the last 35 years. Changes in regulations and competition as well as in relative productivities perform poorly as explanatory variables.
The evolution of top incomes in Switzerland over the 20th century
Authors: Schaltegger Christoph A. , Gorgas Christoph 
Published: January 2018

SummaryWe study the income concentration in the Swiss federation over the course of the 20thcentury using federal income tax statistics. The results suggest that top incomes in Switzerland evolved over time rather remaining constant across different income shares. Income concentration peaked during the 1940s, with a slight downward trend until the 1990s. Over the last 15 years, top incomes have recovered. In contrast, the evolution of income concentration is much more heterogeneous on the sub-federal level for the 26 cantons because of the federalist constitution, which has a decentralized taxing power. Consequently, top incomes in some cantons have a downward trend; others show a fall and rise of top incomes over the century, as exemplified by the Kuznets’ hypothesis; some develop rather constantly; and some cantons even produce a striking upward trend.
Undiagnosed Primary Hyperparathyroidism and Recurrent Miscarriage: The First Prospective Pilot Study
Authors: DiMarco Aimee , Christakis Ioannis , Constantinides Vasilis , Regan Lesley , Palazzo F. Fausto 
Published: January 2018

AbstractBackgroundPrimary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) in pregnancy is reported to be associated with significant maternal and foetal complications and an up to threefold increase in the risk of miscarriage. However, the true incidence of pHPT in pregnancy, complete and miscarried, is unknown and there are no data on the prevalence of undiagnosed pHPT in recurrent miscarriage (RM) (≥3 consecutive miscarriages under 24‐week gestation). This is the first prospective study aiming to establish the prevalence of undiagnosed pHPT in RM.MethodsFollowing UK National ethics committee approval, women who had experienced 3 or more consecutive miscarriages were recruited from a nationwide RM clinic. Serum corrected calcium, phosphate, PTH and vitamin D were evaluated. Patients with raised serum calcium and/or PTH were recalled for confirmatory tests. Power calculations suggested that a minimum of 272 patients were required to demonstrate a clinically significant incidence of pHPT.ResultsThree hundred women were recruited, median age 35 years (range 19–42). Eleven patients had incomplete data, leaving 289 patients suitable for analysis; 50/289 patients (17%) with abnormal tests were recalled. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<25 nmol/l) and insufficiency (25–75 nmol/l) was 8.7 and 67.8%, respectively. One patient was diagnosed with pHPT (0.34%) and underwent successful parathyroidectomy.ConclusionsThe prevalence of undiagnosed pHPT (0.34%) in RM in this study appears to be many times greater than the 0.05% expected in this age group. The findings of this pilot study merit follow‐up with a larger‐scale study. Routine serum calcium estimation is not currently undertaken in RM and should be considered.
Heterozygosity–behavior and heterozygosity–fitness correlations in a salamander with limited dispersal
Authors: Liebgold Eric B. , Kramer Christian F. , Roomian Tamar C. , Dolezar Gina M. , Cabe Paul R. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractInbreeding and genetic drift can decrease genetic heterozygosity, and this low heterozygosity can depress fitness, resulting in heterozygosity–fitness correlations (HFCs). HFCs are typically small in magnitude, a result often attributed to power of the analyses. Animal behaviors often affect fitness and are often heritable to some degree. We hypothesized that heterozygosity influences behavior, which, in turn, potentially influences fitness. Specifically, in red‐backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, which have limited dispersal and the potential for inbreeding, we tested whether heterozygosity, as estimated from six microsatellite loci, affected home range size, juvenile growth, and survival. We found that salamanders with higher heterozygosity had larger home ranges and grew faster, which is indicative of reproductive success. However, we found no effects of heterozygosity on survival. We conclude that, because activity in P. cinereus is tightly linked to food uptake and mass gain, heterozygosity influences growth via effects on foraging behavior. Future research should investigate how the relationship between heterozygosity, behavior, and fitness may be affected or mediated by endocrine or immune systems.
Ductile Fracture Behaviour of Hot Isostatically Pressed Inconel 690 Superalloy
Authors: Cooper A. J. , Brayshaw W. J. , Sherry A. H. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Herein we assess the differences in Charpy impact behavior between Hot Isostatically Pressed and forged Inconel 690 alloy over the temperature range of 300 °C to − 196 °C. The impact toughness of forged 690 exhibited a relatively small temperature dependence, with a maximum difference of ca. 40 J measured between 300 °C and − 196 °C, whereas the HIP’d alloy exhibited a difference of approximately double that of the forged alloy over the same temperature range. We have conducted Charpy impact testing, tensile testing, and metallographic analyses on the as-received materials as well as fractography of the failed Charpy specimens in order to understand the mechanisms that cause the observed differences in material fracture properties. The work supports a recent series of studies which assess differences in fundamental fracture behavior between Hot Isostatically Pressed and forged austenitic stainless steel materials of equivalent grades, and the results obtained in this study are compared to those of the previous stainless steel investigations to paint a more general picture of the comparisons between HIP vs forged material fracture behavior. Inconel 690 was selected in this study since previous studies were unable to completely omit the effects of strain-induced martensitic transformation at the tip of the Chary V-notch from the fracture mechanism; Inconel 690 is unable to undergo strain-induced martensitic transformation due to the alloy’s high nickel content, thereby providing a sister study with the omission of any martensitic transformation effects on ductile fracture behavior.
Two-year results after coronary stenting of small vessels in Japanese population using 2.25-mm diameter sirolimus-eluting stent with bioresorbable polymer: primary and long-term outcomes of CENTURY JSV study
Authors: Saito Shigeru , Ando Kenji , Ito Yoshiaki , Tobaru Tetsuya , Yajima Junji , Kimura Takeshi , Kadota Kazushige 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in coronary artery disease (CAD) with very small vessels remains challenging. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the 2.25-mm diameter Ultimaster sirolimus-eluting stent in the treatment of Japanese patients with CAD due to lesions in very small vessels. The CENTURY JSV study is a prospective, multicentre, single-arm study. Seventy patients with lesions deemed suitable for implantation of a 2.25-mm diameter stent were enrolled at seven hospitals in Japan. Patients underwent clinical follow-up at 1-, 9-month, 1-, and 2-year after the PCI procedure. The primary endpoint was the major adverse cardiac event (MACE), a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction (MI), and clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) free rate at 9-month following the procedure. The MACE-free rate was 97.1%, and the lower limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) was 90.1%, which exceeded the threshold of 80% set as the performance goal. Angiographic in-stent and in-segment late loss at 9-month were 0.22 ± 0.31 and − 0.02 ± 0.34 mm, respectively. Between 9 months and 2 years, two additional TLRs occurred. Stent thrombosis, bleeding and vascular complication did not occur throughout 2 years. The 2.25-mm diameter Ultimaster® bioresorbable-polymer sirolimus-eluting stent is safe and effective for treating lesions in very small coronary arteries throughout 2 years after stent implantation.Clinical trial registration: UMIN000012928.
Friction and wear of sand-contaminated lubricated sliding
Authors: Ramadan Mohamed Ahmed 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
This paper reports a test investigation of friction and wear responses from sand contaminated lubricated sliding. The influence of sand contaminants on wear and friction is characterized. Analyses are completed utilizing segments of piston ring sliding against the cylinder liner. Paraffin oil, with and without sand contaminants, is utilized. The effects of the concentration and particle size of sand are examined.
Based on the observations in the present work, we found that friction and wear increase with sand concentration in the lube. Solid proposals ought to be considered, in order to enlighten the general population on the importance of changing a car engine’s oil filter regularly.
Rationality of dynamical canonical height
Authors: DE MARCO LAURA , GHIOCA DRAGOS 
Published: January 2018

We present a dynamical proof of the well-known fact that the Néron–Tate canonical height (and its local counterpart) takes rational values at points of an elliptic curve over a function field $k=\mathbb{C}(X)$, where $X$ is a curve. More generally, we investigate the mechanism by which the local canonical height for a map $f:\mathbb{P}^{1}\rightarrow \mathbb{P}^{1}$ defined over a function field $k$ can take irrational values (at points in a local completion of $k$), providing examples in all degrees $\deg f\geq 2$. Building on Kiwi’s classification of non-archimedean Julia sets for quadratic maps [Puiseux series dynamics of quadratic rational maps. Israel J. Math.201 (2014), 631–700], we give a complete answer in degree 2 characterizing the existence of points with irrational local canonical heights. As an application we prove that if the heights $\widehat{h}_{f}(a),\widehat{h}_{g}(b)$ are rational and positive, for maps $f$ and $g$ of multiplicatively independent degrees and points $a,b\in \mathbb{P}^{1}(\bar{k})$, then the orbits $\{f^{n}(a)\}_{n\geq 0}$ and $\{g^{m}(b)\}_{m\geq 0}$ intersect in at most finitely many points, complementing the results of Ghioca et al [Intersections of polynomials orbits, and a dynamical Mordell–Lang conjecture. Invent. Math.171 (2) (2008), 463–483].
Statistical analysis of human microarray data shows that dietary intervention withn-3 fatty acids, flavonoids and resveratrol enriches for immune response and disease pathways
Authors: Warburton Alix , Vasieva Olga , Quinn Peter , Stewart James P. , Quinn John P. 
Published: January 2018

Abstractn-3 Fatty acids, flavonoids and resveratrol are well publicised for their beneficial effects on human health and wellbeing. Identifying common, underlying biological mechanisms targeted by these functional foods would therefore be informative for the public health sector for advising on nutritional health and disease, food and drug product development and consumer interest. The aim of this study was to explore the potential effects of gene expression changes associated withn-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, flavonoids and resveratrol on modifying biological systems and disease pathways. To test this, publicly available human microarray data for significant gene expression changes associated with dietary intervention with EPA/DHA, flavonoids and resveratrol was subjected to pathway analysis and significance testing for overlap with signals from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for common non-communicable diseases and biological functions. There was an enrichment of genes implicated in immune responses and disease pathways which was common to all of the treatment conditions tested. Analysis of biological functions and disease pathways indicated anti-tumorigenic properties for EPA/DHA. In line with this, significance testing of the intersection of genes associated with these functional foods and GWAS hits for common biological functions (ageing and cognition) and non-communicable diseases (breast cancer, CVD, diabesity, neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders) identified significant overlap between the EPA/DHA and breast cancer gene sets. Dietary intervention with EPA/DHA, flavonoids and resveratrol can target important biological and disease pathways suggesting a potentially important role for these bioactive compounds in the prevention and treatment of dietary-related diseases.
Dietary patterns and their association with adiponectin and leptin concentrations throughout pregnancy: a prospective cohort
Authors: Alves-Santos Nadya H. , Cocate Paula G. , Eshriqui Ilana , Benaim Camila , Barros Érica G. , Emmett Pauline M. , Kac Gilberto 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association of dietary patterns (DP) with maternal adiposity indicators, leptin, adiponectin and insulin concentrations during pregnancy. A prospective cohort of pregnant women followed up at the 5th–13th, 20th –26th and 30th–36th gestational weeks and 30–40 d postpartum was conducted in Rio de Janeiro. A FFQ was administered in the third trimester (30th–36th gestational weeks). The reduced rank regression procedure was used to identify DP that explain response variables (dietary fibre and total fat) related to indicators of maternal adiposity (postpartum weight retention and gestational weight gain (GWG) adequacy), and plasma leptin, adiponectin and insulin concentrations. The associations between tertiles of DP and the outcomes were determined using logistic regression or longitudinal linear mixed-effect regression models. The mean daily energy intake during pregnancy was 10 104 (sd3234) kJ (2415 (sd773) kcal), and GWG was 11·9 (sd4·2) kg. In all, 40 % of women presented pre-gestational overweight/obesity. Excessive GWG occurred in 34·7 % of pregnant women and 56·6 % were overweight/obese at postpartum. The ‘common-Brazilian’ DP (characterised by higher intake of beans, rice and lower intake of fast food/snacks, candies/table sugar and processed meats/bacon) was positively associated with adiponectin (β=1·07; 95 % CI 0·17, 1·98). The ‘Western’ DP (characterised by higher intake of fast food/snacks and processed meat/bacon and lower intake of noodles/pasta/roots/tubers and sodas) was negatively associated with adiponectin (β=−1·11; 95 % CI −2·00, −0·22) and positively associated with leptin concentrations (β=64·9; 95 % CI 22·8, 107·0) throughout pregnancy. It may be suggested that the ‘common-Brazilian’ is a healthy DP and beneficial for serum concentrations of adiponectin and leptin.
INFORMED CHOICE AND FEMALE STERILIZATION IN SOUTH ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA
Authors: Jadhav Apoorva , Vala-Haynes Emily 
Published: January 2018

SummaryGlobally, female sterilization is one of the most popular contraceptive methods despite concerns about quality of care for women who report being sterilized. In this study, informed choice among sterilized women was quantified using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 2000 to 2012 for countries in South Asia and Latin America. Three responses measured informed choice and knowledge about whether women were informed by a health worker or provider: that sterilization is permanent, the potential side-effects of sterilization and other methods of contraception. An ascending composite Method Information Index with scores ranging from 0 (women received no information) to 3 (women received information across all three indicators) was used. Using ordinal logistic regression analysis, the results indicated that women younger than 25 and older than 35 at the time of sterilization, and those at high parities, had lower odds of a high score on the index, while the opposite was true for women sterilized in the private sector in Latin America. Educated women in India had higher odds of a high score on the index, while the same was true for educated and wealthy women in Colombia. These findings indicate that not enough health care providers spend time informing women in South Asia and Latin America about different aspects of sterilization, and that there are specific groups of women that are more affected. There is an urgent need to improve quality of care within health systems providing sterilization for this very important and effective type of contraception.
Relationship between Eustachian tube dysfunction and otitis media with effusion in radiotherapy patients
Authors: Akazawa K , Doi H , Ohta S , Terada T , Fujiwara M , Uwa N , Tanooka M , Sakagami M 
Published: January 2018

AbstractObjective:This study evaluated the relationship between radiation and Eustachian tube dysfunction, and examined the radiation dose required to induce otitis media with effusion.Methods:The function of 36 Eustachian tubes in 18 patients with head and neck cancer were examined sonotubometrically before, during, and 1, 2 and 3 months after, intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Patients with an increase of 5 dB or less in sound pressure level (dB) during swallowing were categorised as being in the dysfunction group. Additionally, radiation dose distributions were assessed in all Eustachian tubes using three dose–volume histogram parameters.Results:Twenty-two of 25 normally functioning Eustachian tubes before radiotherapy (88.0 per cent) shifted to the dysfunction group after therapy. All ears that developed otitis media with effusion belonged to the dysfunction group. The radiation dose threshold evaluation revealed that ears with otitis media with effusion received significantly higher doses to the Eustachian tubes.Conclusion:The results indicate a relationship between radiation dose and Eustachian tube dysfunction and otitis media with effusion.
Nasal changes associated with exercise in athletes: systematic review
Authors: Surda P , Walker A , Limpens J , Fokkens W , Putala M 
Published: January 2018

AbstractBackground:The prevalence of rhinitis in athletes has frequently been studied in combination with asthma, but the impact of exercise on the paracrine and secretory functions of nasal mucosa is less well established. This systematic review aimed to examine the effect of exercise on nasal mucosa in elite athletes.Method:A systematic search of Medline, Embase and the non-Medline subset of PubMed, from inception to 8th March 2016, was performed to identify studies on rhinitis in athletes.Results:Of the 373 identified unique articles, a total of 8 studies satisfied the criteria for this review.Conclusion:There is no evidence in the existing literature that indicates a reduction in nasal airway induced by exercise. Olfaction and mucociliary transport time are affected in swimmers, which can likely be attributed to chlorine irritation and which resolves with training cessation. Short-term strenuous exercise may trigger changes in cytology and prolonged mucociliary transport time, which also resolve quickly with rest.
Lawmaking in American Legislatures: an empirical investigation
Authors: Clinton Joshua D. , Richardson Mark D. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractGiven pervasive gridlock at the national level, state legislatures are increasingly the place where notable policy change occurs. Investigating such change is difficult because it is often hard to characterise policy change and use observable data to evaluate theoretical predictions; it is subsequently unclear whether law-making explanations focusing on the US Congress also apply to state legislatures. We use several measures of state policy outcomes to examine lawmaking in state legislatures across nearly two decades, and we argue for using simulation studies to connect theoretical predictions to empirical specifications and help interpret the theoretical relevance of estimated correlations. Doing so reveals that the observed law-making outcomes we study are most consistent with law-making models emphasising the importance of the chamber median and the powers of the governor rather than those that focus on the preferences of the majority party.