bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term antibiofilm activity of carboxymethyl chitosan on mixed biofilm on silicone
Authors: Tan Yulong , Leonhard Matthias , Moser Doris , Ma Su , Schneider‐Stickler Berit 
Published: June 2016

Objectives/HypothesisSilicone voice prostheses are most frequently used in voice rehabilitation of laryngectomized patients. However, the functional device lifetimes are limited due to formation of mixed biofilms. Existing in vitro models simulating biofilm formation are restricted to only short‐term periods.Study DesignThe goal of this study was to determine the effect of carboxymethyl chitosan on mixed biofilm formation of fungi and bacteria on silicone over a long‐term period.MethodsMixed species biofilms of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Lactobacillus gasseri, Streptococcus salivarius, Rothia dentocariosa, and Staphylococcus epidermidis were cultivated on the surfaces of medical‐grade silicone with and without addition of carboxymethyl chitosan. Biofilm kinetics was monitored using specially designed image analysis software to calculate the percentual surface covering of each platelet. Biofilm architecture was investigated by scanning electron microscopy.ResultsA cover of living mixed biofilm could be generated over 22 days on silicone and the maximum of 22% biofilm surface covering at day 22. However, less than 4% surface coverage was observed on the carboxymethyl chitosan‐treated plates in the testing period. Scanning electron microscopy confirms that, on surfaces treated by carboxymethyl chitosan, the biofilm was less dense. In addition, there were fewer layers of cells and profuse cellular debris, together with degrading and morphologically altered yeast cells.ConclusionCarboxymethyl chitosan may serve as a possible antibiofilm agent to limit biofilm formation on voice prostheses.Level of EvidenceNA Laryngoscope, 126:E404–E408, 2016
IsoCaRB: A novel bioreactor system to characterize the lability and natural carbon isotopic (14C, 13C) signatures of microbially respired organic matter
Authors: Beaupré Steven R. , Mahmoudi Nagissa , Pearson Ann 
Published: June 2016

AbstractOrganic matter is the dominant pool of reduced carbon in marine and freshwater systems. Mineralization of organic matter is largely attributed to complex and diverse microbial communities that mediate degradation and ultimately yield the terminal respiratory product, carbon dioxide (CO2). The factors that constrain the lability and degradation of organic matter remain unclear, but they involve a complex interplay between structural and chemical properties of the compounds, physical properties of the matrices, and the functional potential of the microorganisms that are present. To investigate these relationships, we developed a novel bioreactor system—called Isotopic Carbon Respirometer‐Bioreactor (IsoCaRB)—that permits real‐time monitoring of microbial CO2 production rates and collects sequential samples of this CO2 for off‐line isotopic analyses (13C, 14C). Application of this system to organic‐rich sediments from Salt Pond, MA reveals that organic matter is oxidized both abiotically and microbially, and that the pattern of microbial respiration by the native sediment community is complex, accessing different carbon substrates over the course of incubation. Isotopic measurements show modern organic matter of progressively older ages (≤ ca. 50 yr) is consumed, and this material has variable origins (salt marsh grasses, terrestrial, and marine organic matter). Collectively, the IsoCaRB system provides coupled insights into the sources, ages, and inherent biological and abiotic reactivity of natural organic matter.
Biodegradable Multiblock Polymers Based on N‐(2‐Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide Designed as Drug Carriers for Tumor‐Targeted Delivery
Authors: Mužíková Gabriela , Pola Robert , Laga Richard , Pechar Michal 
Published: June 2016

Biodegradable multiblock (co)polymers based on N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) for drug delivery applications are prepared by azide–alkyne polycycloaddition of end‐functionalized precursors synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Copper‐catalyzed polyaddition of the heterotelechelic polymer precursors containing azide and alkyne groups provides (A)x‐type multiblock (co)polymers. For the first time, thermally degradable multiblock polymers of (AB)x‐type are prepared via polyaddition of homotelechelic polymer diazides with azo‐compounds containing two alkyne groups. A novel type of HPMA‐based multiblock (co)polymers undergoing the pH‐dependent hydrolysis is reported. The (co)polymers containing the Asp‐Pro‐Lys sequence are relatively stable in an aqueous buffer at physiological pH 7.4; however, they undergo rapid hydrolysis at pH 5.0 corresponding to the pH in lysosomes. The multiblock polymer containing the Gly‐Phe‐Leu‐Lys linkage is degraded in the presence of the lysosomal protease cathepsin B. Thermal degradation of the (AB)x‐type multiblock polymers proceeds even at 37 °C, yielding a mixture of polymer degradation products with molecular weights below the renal threshold.
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Formation of Well‐Defined Polymer Particles in the Sub‐100 nm Size Range by Using Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Surfactants and a Microemulsion Approach
Authors: Kampmann Anne‐Larissa , Luksin Michael , Pretzer Irene , Weberskirch Ralf 
Published: June 2016

Here, the formation of nanoparticles based on a microemulsion approach and the use of polymer surfactants are described. Therefore, two amphiphilic poly(2‐oxazoline) block copolymers P1 and P2 with alkyne groups in their hydrophobic block have been synthesized by ring‐opening, cationic polymerization. The polymers P1 and P2 are employed in a microemulsion process to stabilize the particle core by core cross‐linking of 1,6‐hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) using either AIBN as azo‐initiator or 2‐propanethiol as a photo‐initiator for the polymerization reaction. The results show that particle size can be controlled by sonication time, the hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance of the polymer surfactant, and the ratio of polymer surfactant versus HDDA giving access to water‐soluble nanoparticles in a size range of 10–70 nm.
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Amino‐Acid‐Based Polymerizable Surfactants for the Synthesis of Chiral Nanoparticles
Authors: Preiss Laura C. , Wagner Manfred , Mastai Yitzhak , Landfester Katharina , Muñoz‐Espí Rafael 
Published: June 2016

Amino‐acid‐based chiral surfactants with polymerizable moieties are synthesized, and a versatile approach to prepare particles thereof with a chiral surface functionality is presented. As an example of an application, the synthesized particles are tested for their ability as nucleating agents in the enantioselective crystallization of amino acid conglomerate systems, taking rac‐asparagine as a model system. Particles resulting from chiral surfactants with different tail groups are compared and the results demonstrate that only the chiral nanoparticles made of the polymerizable surfactant are able to act efficiently as nucleation agent in enantioselective crystallization.image
Stacked‐dielectric resonator antenna for TV white space application
Authors: Khan Rizwan , Kazim Jalil Ur Rehman , Ahmad Khan Aftab , Aqeel Sajid , Jamaluddin Mohd H. , Owais Owais , Khalid Usman 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTThis article presents the design and measurement of a stacked‐dielectric resonator antenna for TV White Spaces. The antenna covers the range from 698 MHz to 810 MHz with reference to |S11| < −10 dB. It is composed of two DRAs of different dielectric materials which are stacked together and is excited by a coaxial probe. The volume is reduced by introducing a conducting wall on one side of DRA. Ground plane ensures that most of the power radiates to upper hemisphere. The measured and simulated results show good agreement. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2075–2079, 2016
Characterization of novel open notched quasi‐square metallic ring FSS using WCIP method for multiband applications
Authors: Adoui Ibtissem , Titaouine Mohammed , Choutri Hassina , Djouimaa Awatef , De Sousa Thayuan Rolim , Neto Alfredo G. , Baudrand Henri 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTA novel notched quasi‐square open metallic ring frequency selective surfaces (FSS) with single layer for triband applications is proposed. By the use of the wave concept iterative process (WCIP), the resonant characteristics of the proposed FSS are determined. The presented FSS shows three resonant frequencies when the incident wave is x‐polarized and one resonant frequency when the source is polarized in the orthogonal direction. A variation in the notched quasi‐square metallic ring dimensions allows a fine tuning in the FSS resonant frequencies to give raise to a tuned and enhanced bandwidth. Four FSS structures are manufactured and characterized. A good agreement is obtained when the WCIP results are compared with the simulations of COMSOL Multiphysics software and experiment. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2071–2075, 2016
Synthesis of a miniaturized dual‐band 3‐DB hybrid coupler through a general three‐step optimization process
Authors: Gong Jian‐Qiang , Huang Qi‐Man , Gao Kai 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTSynthesis method for a novel dual‐band hybrid coupler (DBHC) is presented in this letter. The proposed DBHC is built up using a novel dual‐band impedance transformer (DBIT). The DBIT is made up of a single kernel circuit unit cell with uniform transmission lines attached to its two ends. A system of nonlinear equations dominating the DBIT performance is first established and then successfully solved with numerical method. Design charts are provided for determining the feasible DBIT parameters. With the DBIT theoretical solutions, a microstrip DBHC centered at 2.4/5.8 GHz is practically implemented, of which layout parameters are effectively resolved through a sequential three‐step optimization design process, and its compact size as well as good dual‐band operational performance has been demonstrated by fabrication and measurement, validating the proposed synthesis method. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2057–2062, 2016
Investigation on the performance of low‐profile insensitive antenna with improved radiation characteristics for the future 5G applications
Authors: Ojaroudiparchin N. , Shen M. , Pedersen G. F. 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTA new method to design an insensitive antenna with improved performance for fifth generation (5G) systems is proposed in this letter. In order to improve the antenna performance and also eliminate the effect of high‐loss FR‐4 substrate, the resonator of the conventional slot antenna has been converted to the air‐filled slot‐loop structure with a thickness of hsub. Since the main substrate of the resonator is the air, the antenna is insensitive for different values of permittivity, loss tangent characteristics of the substrate. So, for different kinds of substrates, the antenna has a same performance in terms of maximum gain, radiation and total efficiencies. The antenna is designed and fabricated on a low‐cost FR4 substrate and has more than 90% (−0.5 dB) radiation and total efficiencies at 22.25 GHz (center frequency). It has the reflection coefficient (S11) less than −10 dB in the frequency range of 21–23.5 GHz (more than11% fractional bandwidth) which is one of the candidate bands for future 5G communications. The antenna has a very compact size and could be used in mm‐wave phased arrays. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2148–2151, 2016
Characterization of high‐photocurrent and high‐speed INP‐based uni‐traveling‐carrier photodiodes at 1.55‐μm wavelength
Authors: Meng Qianqian , Wang Hong , Liu Chongyang , Gao Jianjun , Tian Yang , Siong Ang Kian , Guo Xin , Gao Bo 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTWe demonstrate a semi‐analytical parameter extraction method to characterize high‐speed and high‐photocurrent InP‐based uni‐traveling‐carrier photodiodes with dipole‐doped structure. The accuracy of proposed method has been validated with good agreements between the measured and simulated results of reflection coefficients and frequency responses in a wide frequency range up to 40 GHz. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2156–2162, 2016
Experimental validation of a wireless system for the irrigation management in smart farming applications
Authors: Viani Federico 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTThis work is aimed at presenting the water saving potentialities of a scalable smart irrigation system applied to precision agriculture. A fuzzy logic strategy is integrated in a distributed monitoring system based on the wireless sensor network technology. The optimal irrigation schedule is adaptively estimated according to the real‐time measurement of the soil status and the weather conditions. The objective of the system is to optimize the water content in the soil to (i) maximize the health status of the plants, (ii) improve the quality of the products, and (iii) reduce the waste of water. The proposed system has been prototyped and experimentally validated in an apple orchard, close to the city of Trento, in the north of Italy. The performances of the proposed system are compared with those of a standard irrigation scheduler to point out the amount of saved water as well as the improved stability of the soil moisture level. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2186–2189, 2016
Antenna miniaturization using pulp fibres as a substrate for dual band operation
Authors: Khan Asim Ali , Razaq Aamir , Ali Jawad , Arshad Faisal , Mumtaz Musaiyab , Khan Sajid 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTReduced size dual band patch antenna is designed on pulp fibers‐based substrate, obtained from a self‐growing plant, Typha angustifolia. The proposed design is low cost and has <10 dB return loss at 2.4 and 5.7 GHz, with 6.9 dBi antenna gain and also has potential for conformal designs. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2146–2148, 2016
A design of UWB reconfigurable pulse transmitter with pulse shape modulation
Authors: Valizade A. , Rezaei P. , Orouji A. A. 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTA new design of ultra‐wideband (UWB) reconfigurable pulse transmitter (PT) based on active integrated antenna (AIA) structure is introduced in this article. The presented reconfigurable AIA consists of a reconfigurable sub‐nanosecond pulse generator (PG) which is integrated with a monopole circular disk antenna. The proposed design utilizes only a single step‐recovery diode (SRD) and just a single positive‐intrinsic‐negative (PIN) diode in order to generate sub‐nanosecond switchable second/third order derivatives of Gaussian pulse. The performance of the designed PT system is investigated in both frequency domain and time domain. Low ringing level, high signal fidelity, and virtually steady group delay is achieved in the frequency band of operation. The simplicity, low cost, and good performance of the presented PT makes it a good candidate for UWB transmission with pulse shape modulation (PSM). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2221–2227, 2016
Miniaturized log periodic dipole array with complementary split‐ring resonators
Authors: Lu Xiuyuan , Yang Guo‐Min 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTThis letter presents a study on antenna miniaturization and bandwidth enhancement of the log‐periodic dipole array (LPDA) with a novel structure of complementary split‐ring resonator (CSRR). The bandwidth of LPDA can be enhanced without enlarging its size, and the performance characteristics can be maintained. Characteristics including S parameter, directivity and gain are compared, and the advantages and application methodology of CSRRs are proposed. This design enhanced the bandwidth from 0.6‐1.8 GHz (3:1) to 0.4‐1.8GHz (4.5:1), or achieved a size reduction of up to 26.7%. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2217–2221, 2016
Design and fabrication of rectangular ring monopole array with parasitic elements for UWB applications
Authors: Ali Wael A. , Zaki Amira I. , Abdou Mahmoud H. 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTIn this paper a low cost rectangular ring monopole antenna element and antenna array with parasitic patches are presented for ultra‐wideband applications. The proposed antenna element and antenna array are constructed with a modified partial ground plane on FR4 epoxy substrate with relative permittivity 4.4 and thickness 1.5 mm. A parametric study on the main parameters of the radiating elements and the distance between them as well as the partial ground has been investigated to optimize the design of the antenna array. The return loss is less than −10 dB in the frequency range 3.6–9.6 GHz which makes it suitable for UWB applications. Impedance and radiation characteristics of the proposed antenna are simulated using Ansoft HFSS 13 software. The simulated and measured results show good agreement and validate the proposed approach. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2268–2273, 2016
Investigation of surface wave propagation along a multi‐coil wireless power transfer system
Authors: Xu Bin , Li Yang 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTThe surface wave propagation along a multi‐coil wireless power transfer system is investigated with the motivation of extending power transfer range. First, the power transfer efficiencies of coil arrays with different numbers of repeaters are simulated and measured. Then the wave propagation along the array is investigated and its associated wave characteristics are extracted using a super resolution algorithm. A backward traveling surface wave is found to be the dominant propagation mechanism, and its decay constant decreases as the number of repeater increases. An empirical formula correlating the power transfer efficiency with the surface wave decay constant is proposed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2261–2265, 2016
Advantages and limitations of 3D printing a dual‐ridged horn antenna
Authors: Majumdar Budhaditya , Baer David , Chakraborty Sudipta , Esselle Karu P. , Heimlich Michael 
Published: June 2016

ABSTRACTConventional and additive manufacturing (three‐dimensional [3D] printing) techniques for a dual‐ridged horn antenna (DRHA) are presented. The different aspects of the conventional manufacturing of a DRHA and the limitations incurred during additive manufacturing are discussed in detail. The antenna design was further optimized for fused deposition modeling and was 3D printed using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The polymer‐based print was painted with nickel‐based aerosol spray. The coaxial transition is also included in the 3D printed prototype. The antenna was manufactured with the intention of improving the learning and education of electromagnetism and antennas of undergraduate students using a low‐cost personal desktop 3D printer. The painted DRHA has a 10 dB return‐loss bandwidth of 6621 MHz (1905–8526 MHz) with a peak gain of 11 dBi. The average cross‐polarization isolation achieved was more than 25 dB. Rapid prototyping was possible with additive manufacturing, and limitations were addressed with conventional machining processes whenever required. This prototype is the first known ABS‐based horn antenna with the coaxial transition embedded into it. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:2110–2117, 2016
Validation of the PTSD screening cartoon test “Darryl” in a Danish clinical sample of children and adolescents
Authors: Schandorph Løkkegaard Sille , Rønholt Stine , Karsberg Sidsel , Elklit Ask 
Published: June 2016

AbstractThe current study examined the reliability and validity of a Danish adaptation of “Darryl”, a cartoon‐based measure of DSM‐IV symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of Danish children and adolescents. Exposure to potentially traumatizing events, PTSD symptoms and diagnostic status were assessed in 65 children between the ages of 7 and 17 years old. Participants were recruited from a crisis centre for battered women and a school for children with emotional and behavioural problems. The study revealed that Darryl has good internal consistency for the overall scale and adequate reliability for each DSM‐IV symptom cluster. Scores from Darryl were significantly correlated with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS‐CA) scores and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that it could significantly predict the presence of a PTSD diagnosis according to the CAPS‐CA. In comparison to the CAPS‐CA, Darryl has comparable psychometric properties and assesses PTSD symptoms in a developmentally appropriate manner. Furthermore, Darryl is quick to administer and was easier for the children in this sample to comprehend than the more traditional measure of PTSD. Overall, Darryl is an effective instrument for screening children at risk of a PTSD diagnosis. The relatively high specificity suggests that screening positive for PTSD using Darryl merits further diagnostic assessment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Angiotensin II increases sperm phagocytosis by neutrophils in vitro: A possible physiological role in the bovine oviduct
Authors: Marey Mohamed Ali , Yousef Mohamed Samy , Liu Jinghui , Morita Kazuhiro , Sasaki Motoki , Hayakawa Hiroyuki , Shimizu Takashi , Miyamoto Akio 
Published: June 2016

SUMMARYThis study aimed to investigate the possible effects of the vasoactive peptide angiotensin II (ANG II), secreted by bovine oviduct epithelial cells, on the in vitro phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, specifically neutrophils, towards sperm. The measured concentrations of ANG II in oviduct flushes and conditioned medium from primary bovine oviduct epithelial culture ranged from 10−10 to 10−11 M. In our experiments, neutrophils were incubated for 2 hr with ANG II (0, 10−11, 10−10, 10−9, and 10−8 M). Phagocytosis and superoxide production were then assessed by co‐incubation of these neutrophils with sperm pretreated to induce capacitation, revealing a dose‐dependent increase in both metrics by ANG II. This stimulatory effect of ANG II was eliminated by losartan, an angiotensin receptor type 1 (AGTR1) antagonist. ANG II also suppressed neutrophil transcription of angiotensin converting enzyme‐1 (ACE) and AGTR1, but not AGTR2, suggesting the involvement of the AGTR1 receptor‐mediated pathway in the response to sperm. Scanning electron microscopy further revealed that incubation of neutrophils with ANG II stimulated the formation of DNA‐based extracellular traps for sperm entanglement. The addition of prostaglandin E2 at concentrations found in the oviduct suppressed the ANG II‐stimulated phagocytic activity of neutrophils towards sperm. Thus the physiological levels of ANG II stimulate neutrophil phagocytosis of sperm in vitro, and suggest that an angiotensin/prostaglandin E2 system may fine‐tune the local immune response that fosters sperm survival in the bovine oviduct. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 630–639, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.