bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Electric‐Field‐Driven and Pressure‐Driven Fiber Generation Methods for Drug Delivery
Authors: Ahmed Jubair , Matharu Rupy Kaur , Shams Talayeh , Illangakoon Upulitha Eranka , Edirisinghe Mohan 
Published: January 2018

AbstractPolymeric fibers are prepared by using electric field driven fiber production technology—electrospinning and pressure driven fiber production technology—pressurized gyration. Fibers of four different polymers: polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA), poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide), and polyvinylpyridine (PVP), are spun by both techniques and differences are analyzed for their suitability as drug carriers. The diameters of electrospun fibers are larger in some cases (PVDF and PMMA), producing fibers with lower surface area. Pressurized gyration allows for a higher rate of fiber production. Additionally, drug‐loaded PVP fibers are prepared by using two poorly water‐soluble drugs (Amphotericin B and Itraconazole). In vitro dissolution studies show differences in release rate between the two types of fibers. Drug‐loaded gyrospun fibers release the drugs faster within 15 min compared to the drug‐loaded electrospun fibers. The findings suggest pressurized gyration is a promising and scalable approach to rapid fiber production for drug delivery when compared to electrospinning.
Coupling nonlinear beams and continua: Variational principles and finite element approximations
Authors: Romero Ignacio 
Published: January 2018

SummaryTwo variational principles are proposed that describe equilibrium problems with connected nonlinear beams and solids. The principles extend the classical principle of minimum potential energy for beams and deformable bodies incorporating constraints that weakly enforce the beam kinematics at the common interface using either Lagrange multipliers or penalty terms. In contrast with existing alternatives, in the new approach, the surfaces of bodies connected to beams can deform in an energetically optimal way while globally behaving as beam cross sections. This allows, eg, warping and Poisson effects in beam/solid interfaces. Finite element implementations of the new principles are described in detail and application examples are provided that illustrate their use.
Regiochemical Control in Triptycene Formation—An Exercise in Subtle Balancing Multiple Factors
Authors: Lamm Jan‐Hendrik , Vishnevskiy Yury V. , Ziemann Eric , Neumann Beate , Stammler Hans‐Georg , Mitzel Norbert W. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractReactions between 1,8‐dichloroanthracenes with substituents in position 10 andortho‐chloroaryne afford mixtures of 1,8,13‐ (syn) and 1,8,16‐trichlorotriptycenes (anti). Thesyn/antiratio is dependent on these substituents. Electropositive substituents like SiMe3and GeMe3lead to preferred formation of thesyn‐isomer, whereas CMe3groups exclusively afford theanti‐isomer. Different quantum chemical calculations including location of transition states give conflicting results, but indicate the importance of dispersion forces for an at least qualitative prediction of results. Thesyn‐trichlorotriptycenes with SiMe3and GeMe3substituents were characterized by using NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X‐ray diffraction experiments.
Development of the “Day 100 Talk”: Addressing existing communication gaps during the early cancer treatment period in childhood cancer
Authors: Feraco Angela M. , Brand Sarah R. , Gagne Joshua , Sullivan Amy , Block Susan D. , Wolfe Joanne 
Published: January 2018

AbstractBackgroundFamilies’ communication needs during the early cancer treatment period (ECTP) may not be optimally met by current practices. We sought to identify potential communication gaps and to ameliorate these by developing a novel in‐depth conversation between families and their pediatric oncologists, the “Day 100 Talk” (D100), during the ECTP.ProcedureWe conducted semistructured interviews with parents and patients undergoing childhood cancer treatment for < 7 months. Interviews sought to elicit perceived communication gaps regarding cancer care and inform D100 development. Following qualitative analysis of interview responses, we developed a three‐part D100 conversation tool consisting of a preparatory family worksheet, a conversation guide, and a family summary sheet. We presented the tool during interviews and a focus group with pediatric oncology providers and revised it to incorporate provider input.ResultsTwenty‐two stakeholders (six parents, five adolescents, and 11 providers) participated in interviews or a focus group. Parents and patients perceived insufficient anticipatory guidance as the most important communication gap. They also reported sometimes withholding worries and cancer‐related beliefs. Meanwhile, oncology providers worried about “opening Pandora's Box” and limited clinical time. Additionally, providers reported employing indirect methods such as surmising to determine families’ needs and relying on psychosocial clinicians to engage families around potentially “taboo” issues of emotional coping and spirituality.ConclusionCreating a communication occasion (D100), ensuring complementary disciplinary expertise through joint participation by oncologists and psychosocial clinicians, and providing a conversation tool to prompt disclosure by families and facilitate anticipatory guidance may ameliorate existing communication gaps during the ECTP.
Structural and optical properties of soluble melanin analogues with enhanced photoluminescence quantum efficiency
Authors: Paulin João Vitor , Veiga Amanda Garcez , Garcia‐Basabe Yunier , Rocco Maria Luiza Miranda , Graeff Carlos FO 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMelanin is a functional material of growing interest for bioelectronics. Several melanin analogues have been employed in order to fully explore its potential; in this work melanin was synthesized using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and O2 under pressure as oxidizing agent. It is shown that the products have similar functional groups and solubility; however, O2 pressure produces more carboxylated structures and improves the synthesis reaction rate. The photoluminescence of all sulfonated melanin analogues was studied. It is shown that the material synthesized in DMSO has photoluminescence in the visible region (487 nm) with a quantum yield of (2.12 ± 0.02)%. This good quantum yield compared to natural and synthetic melanin may open new perspectives for its use in optoelectronics applications. The origin of this effect is discussed in terms of the polymer structure. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry
Antimetastatic potentials of salvianolic acid A on oral squamous cell carcinoma by targeting MMP‐2 and the c‐Raf/MEK/ERK pathway
Authors: Fang Chih‐Yuan , Wu Ching‐Zong , Chen Pei‐Ni , Chang Yu‐Chao , Chuang Chun‐Yi , Lai Chih‐Ting , Yang Shun‐Fa , Tsai Lo‐Lin 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most important causes of cancer‐related deaths. Thus, various therapeutic strategies have been developed to prevent the metastasis of OSCC. Salvianolic acid A (SAA), a traditional Chinese medicine, has antithrombosis, antiplatelet, anti‐inflammation, and antitumor activities. Here, we provide molecular evidence indicating that SAA exerts its antimetastatic effects by markedly inhibiting the invasion and migration of oral squamous SCC‐9 and SCC‐25 cells. SCC‐9 and SCC‐25 cells were treated with various concentrations of SAA to further investigate the precise involvement of SAA in cancer metastasis. The results of zymography, and Western blotting indicated that SAA treatment may decrease matrix metallopoteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) expression. SAA also inhibited p‐c‐Raf, p‐MEK1/2, and p‐ERK1/2 protein expression. In addition, treating SCC‐9 cells with U0126, a MEK‐specific inhibitor, decreased MMP‐2 expression and concomitantly inhibited cell migration. Our findings suggested that SAA inhibits the invasion and migration of OSCC by inhibiting the c‐Raf/MEK/ERK pathways that control MMP‐2 expression. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the antimetastatic effect of SAA and are thus valuable for the development of treatment strategies for metastatic OSCC.
Inverse problems: From regularization to Bayesian inference
Authors: Calvetti D. , Somersalo E. 
Published: January 2018

Inverse problems deal with the quest for unknown causes of observed consequences, based on predictive models, known as the forward models, that associate the former quantities to the latter in the causal order. Forward models are usually well‐posed, as causes determine consequences in a unique and stable way. Inverse problems, on the other hand, are usually ill‐posed: the data may be insufficient to identify the cause unambiguously, an exact solution may not exist, and, like in a mystery story, discovering the cause without extra information tends to be highly sensitive to measurement noise and modeling errors. The Bayesian methodology provides a versatile and natural way of incorporating extra information to supplement the noisy data by modeling the unknown as a random variable to highlight the uncertainty about its value. Presenting the solution in the form of a posterior distribution provides a wide range of possibilities to compute useful estimates. Inverse problems are traditionally approached from the point of view of regularization, a process whereby the ill‐posed problem is replaced by a nearby well‐posed one. While many of the regularization techniques can be reinterpreted in the Bayesian framework through prior design, the Bayesian formalism provides new techniques to enrich the paradigm of traditional inverse problems. In particular, inaccuracies and inadequacies of the forward model are naturally handled in the statistical framework. Similarly, qualitative information about the solution may be reformulated in the form of priors with unknown parameters that can be successfully handled in the hierarchical Bayesian context.This article is categorized under:

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Bayesian Methods and Theory
Algorithms and Computational Methods > Numerical Methods
Applications of Computational Statistics > Computational Mathematics
Therapeutic applications of group I intron‐based trans‐splicing ribozymes
Authors: Lee Chang Ho , Han Seung Ryul , Lee Seong‐Wook 
Published: January 2018

Since the breakthrough discovery of catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) in the early 1980s, valuable ribozyme‐based gene therapies have been developed for incurable diseases ranging from genetic disorders to viral infections and cancers. Ribozymes can be engineered and used to downregulate or repair pathogenic genes via RNA cleavage mediated by trans‐cleaving ribozymes or repair and reprograming mediated by trans‐splicing ribozymes, respectively. Uniquely, trans‐splicing ribozymes can edit target RNAs via simultaneous destruction and repair (and/or reprograming) to yield the desired therapeutic RNAs, thus selectively inducing therapeutic gene activity in cells expressing the target RNAs. In contrast to traditional gene therapy approaches, such as simple addition of therapeutic transgenes or inhibition of disease‐causing genes, the selective repair and/or reprograming abilities of trans‐splicing ribozymes in target RNA‐expressing cells facilitates the maintenance of endogenous spatial and temporal gene regulation and reduction of disease‐associated transcript expression. In molecular imaging technologies, trans‐splicing ribozymes can be used to reprogram specific RNAs in living cells and organisms by the 3′‐tagging of reporter RNAs. The past two decades have seen progressive improvements in trans‐splicing ribozymes and the successful application of these elements in gene therapy and molecular imaging approaches for various pathogenic conditions, such as genetic, infectious, and malignant disease. This review provides an overview of the current status of trans‐splicing ribozyme therapeutics, focusing on Tetrahymena group I intron‐based ribozymes, and their future prospects.This article is categorized under:

RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease
EDXRF analysis of suspended particulate matter (SPM) from residential and industrial areas in Cairo, Egypt
Authors: Shaltout Abdallah A. , Hassan Salwa K. , Karydas Andreas G. , Harfouche Messaoud , Abd‐Elkader Omar H. , Kregsamer Peter , Wobrauschek Peter , Streli Christina 
Published: January 2018

Due to the remarkable increasing of the mass concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) as an air pollution indicator in Greater Cairo‐Egypt, regular sampling during autumn 2014 and winter 2014/2015 seasons has been performed from industrial and residential areas. It was found that the average mass concentrations of the SPM collected from residential and industrial areas are equal to 531 ± 198 and 912 ± 230 μg/m3, respectively. These quantities are much higher than the maximum allowance level, especially for the industrial area. By utilizing three secondary targets, energy dispersive x‐ray fluorescence working under vacuum environment was used for elemental analysis of 19 elements namely; Na, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Se, Br, Rb, and Sr. The present optimized selective excitation energy dispersive x‐ray fluorescence analysis has considerably enhanced the analytical range with respect to our previous similar studies, including low Z elements such as Na, Al, S, and Cl and attaining lower detection limits in the range of ng/m3. Remarkable high elemental concentrations were determined for most of the detected elements from the industrial area samples, strongly indicating the influence of the industrial and anthropogenic activities. The average percentages of the mass concentration of the detected inorganic elements account only for 3.2% and 10.5% of the total mass concentration collected from the residential and industrial areas, respectively, thus directly indicating that the content of organic pollutants in SPM is the dominant contribution.
Effective transient behaviour of inclusions in diffusion problems
Authors: Brassart Laurence , Stainier Laurent 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis paper is concerned with the effective transport properties of heterogeneous media in which there is a high contrast between the phase diffusivities. In this case the transient response of the slow phase induces a memory effect at the macroscopic scale, which needs to be included in a macroscopic continuum description. This paper focuses on the slow phase, which we take as a dispersion of inclusions of arbitrary shape. We revisit the linear diffusion problem in such inclusions in order to identify the structure of the effective (average) inclusion response to a chemical load applied on the inclusion boundary. We identify a chemical creep function (similar to the creep function of viscoelasticity), from which we construct estimates with a reduced number of relaxation modes. The proposed estimates admit an equivalent representation based on a finite number of internal variables. These estimates allow us to predict the average inclusion response under arbitrary time‐varying boundary conditions at very low computational cost. A heuristic generalisation to concentration‐dependent diffusion coefficient is also presented. The proposed estimates for the effective transient response of an inclusion can serve as a building block for the formulation of multi‐inclusion homogenisation schemes.
Non‐destructive measurement of soil respiration in a grassland ecosystem using the multiple‐microchambers method
Authors: Suminokura Nobuhiko , Suzuki Mayuko , Tanami Kenta , Tomotsune Mitsutoshi , Yoshitake Shinpei , Koizumi Hiroshi 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe chamber method with plant clipping has been widely used for measuring soil respiration (SR) in grassland ecosystems. However, plant clipping may cause overestimation of SR by changing the environmental factors and injuring the plants. To solve these problems, we developed a new non‐destructive method using multiple‐microchambers (3 cm diameter, 8 cm height), which enables measurement of SR without plant clipping by installing chambers into gaps among the grasses. The new method was compared with the conventional method at various flow rates in vitro to assess the accuracy of SR measurement. The new method overestimated the SR rate; however, the ratio of overestimation to the conventional method was constant for each flow rate. These ratios fitted the logarithmic curve, indicating the potential for correction of the SR rate measured by the new method using the logarithmic equation. The corrected SR rate obtained by the new method was equal to the rate by the conventional method. This suggests that accurate measurement of SR in grassland ecosystems is possible using the multiple‐microchambers method. We then compared the non‐destructive method and the destructive method in situ on summer season and found that the destructive method overestimated SR rate in the grassland ecosystem by about 276% on average. There were two possible reasons for this overestimation; first, the clipping treatment may change environmental conditions such as soil temperature and soil water content, and second, it may directly increase plant respiration.
Highly toxic seeds of the Japanese star anise Illicium anisatum are dispersed by a seed‐caching bird and a rodent
Authors: Yoshikawa Tetsuro , Masaki Takashi , Motooka Makoto , Hino Daichi , Ueda Keisuke 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMany field studies on plant seed dispersal teach us that we cannot judge the effective dispersal mode of plants by examining only the morphologies of the fruits and seeds. In the present study, we explored the seed dispersal process of an evergreen tree, the Japanese star anise Illicium anisatum, which is highly toxic, containing neurotoxins in both the fruits and seeds. The fruits exhibit ballochory, a mode of seed dispersal characterized by explosive fruit dehiscence, and the extreme toxicity apparently seems to deter fruit and seed consumption by animals. However, we found that the dispersal distance afforded by this mode was very short (≤ 6 m). In the field, we confirmed that a passerine species, the varied tit Poecile varius, was the only consumer of the seed in foliage, and the bird actively transported seeds or fruits to either cache or consume them. Seeds setting on the forest understory were removed by the small Japanese field mouse Apodemus argenteus, and were also dispersed by this animal. Analysis of seedling spatial distribution revealed that seedlings were highly aggregated near standing trees or fallen logs, suggesting that caching facilitated seed dispersal. This study warns that plant toxicity and the ecological function thereof should not be evaluated based only on limited knowledge of the effects on humans and mammals. Our results pose further questions on the evolution of toxin tolerance in seed‐caching animals and on the mutualism between toxic plants and animals.
Cloud first – tackling the security challenges
Authors: Nicholson Dave 
Published: January 2018

Organisations of all shapes and sizes and in every sector of our economy are increasingly drawn to the idea of moving their data and applications to the cloud. When one looks at the huge array of practical benefits that can be achieved by doing so, this growing interest and escalating uptake is hardly surprising. After all, by migrating their resources to the cloud, organisations can achieve enhanced scalability, a significant reduction in operating costs, greater collaboration and document control and provide ubiquitous access to their applications. Organisations are increasingly drawn to the benefits of the cloud. And we are seeing many of them adopting a ‘cloud first’ strategy. This does not mean, however, that organisations no longer have security issues to confront or data management concerns to address. This new cloud-focused IT landscape brings with it threats from both external and internal sources, adding to the pressure placed on the organisation's security and networking teams, explains Dave Nicholson of Axial Systems.
Comparative Antimicrobial Efficacy of Two Hand Sanitizers in Intensive Care Units Common Areas: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Authors: Deshpande Abhishek , Fox Jacqueline , Wong Ken Koon , Cadnum Jennifer L. , Sankar Thriveen , Jencson Annette , Schramm Sarah , Fraser Thomas G. , Donskey Curtis J. , Gordon Steven 
Published: January 2018

OBJECTIVEContaminated hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) are an important source of transmission of healthcare-associated infections. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers, while effective, do not provide sustained antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to compare the immediate and persistent activity of 2 hand hygiene products (ethanol [61% w/v] plus chlorhexidine gluconate [CHG; 1.0% solution] and ethanol only [70% v/v]) when used in an intensive care unit (ICU).DESIGNProspective, randomized, double-blinded, crossover studySETTINGThree ICUs at a large teaching hospitalPARTICIPANTSIn total, 51 HCWs involved in direct patient care were enrolled in and completed the study.METHODSAll HCWs were randomized 1:1 to either product. Hand prints were obtained immediately after the product was applied and again after spending 4–7 minutes in the ICU common areas prior to entering a patient room or leaving the area. The numbers of aerobic colony-forming units (CFU) were compared for the 2 groups after log transformation. Each participant tested the alternative product after a 3-day washout period.RESULTSOn bare hands, use of ethanol plus CHG was associated with significantly lower recovery of aerobic CFU, both immediately after use (0.27 ± 0.05 and 0.88 ± 0.08 log10 CFU; P = .035) and after spending time in ICU common areas (1.81 ± 0.07 and 2.17 ± 0.05 log10 CFU; P<.0001). Both the antiseptics were well tolerated by HCWs.CONCLUSIONSIn comparison to the ethanol-only product, the ethanol plus CHG sanitizer was associated with significantly lower aerobic bacterial counts on hands of HCWs, both immediately after use and after spending time in ICU common areas.CLINICAL TRIAL IDENTIFIERClinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02258412Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:267–271
Palaeomagnetic, rock-magnetic and mineralogical investigations of the Lower Triassic Vardebukta Formation from the southern part of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt
Authors: DUDZISZ KATARZYNA , MICHALSKI KRZYSZTOF , SZANIAWSKI RAFAŁ , NEJBERT KRZYSZTOF , MANBY GEOFFREY 
Published: January 2018

AbstractMagnetic, petrological and mineralogical data from 13 sites (99 independently oriented samples) of the Lower Triassic rocks located in the SW segment of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt (WSFTB) are presented in order to identify the ferrimagnetic carriers and establish the origin of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM). Volcanic lithoclasts and other detrital resistive grains in which the primary magnetization might endure are present in some samples. On the other hand, petrological studies indicate that sulphide remineralization could have had an important influence on the remagnetization of these rocks. The dominant ferrimagnetic carriers are titanomagnetite and magnetite. While the titanomagnetite may preserve the primary magnetization, the magnetite is a more likely potential carrier of secondary overprints. The complex NRM patterns found in most of the samples may be explained by the coexistence and partial overlapping of components representing different stages of magnetization. Components of both polarities were identified in the investigated material. The reversal test performed on the most stable components that demagnetized above 300°C proved to be negative at the 95% confidence level at any stage of unfolding. They are better grouped, however, after 100% tectonic corrections and the most stable components are clustered in high inclinations (c. 70–80°). This suggests that at least part of the measured palaeomagnetic vectors represent a secondary prefolding magnetic overprint that originated in post-Jurassic time before the WSFTB event. Vitrinite reflectance studies show these rocks have not been subjected to any strong heating (<200°C).