bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fluorine substitutions engineering of benzotriazole‐based hole transport polymers toward high‐performance CsPbI2Br perovskite solar cells
Authors: Dai Zheng , Duan Chen , Guo Qiang , Wang Zhibin , Jiang Naizhong , Ding Yuanjia , Gao Lei , Zhou Erjun 
Published: February 2024

AbstractDeveloping suitable hole transport materials is of utmost importance in the quest to enhance the performance of CsPbI2Br perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Among the various undoped hole transport materials (HTMs), D‐π‐A type polymers incorporating benzodithiophene (BDT) as the D unit and benzotriazole (BTA) as the A unit have shown promising potential. To further optimize the energy level and enhance the hole transport ability of these HTMs, we employed a fluorine substitution strategy to synthesize P‐BTA‐2F and P‐BTA‐4F based on the polymer P‐BTA‐0F. Subsequently, we investigated the impact of varying degrees of fluorine substitution on the properties of the polymer materials and the performance of the devices. As the number of F substitutions increases, the polymer energy level of the HTM gradually shifts downward, the face‐on stacking of the HTM strengthens, the hole mobility of the HTM increases, and the rate of hole extraction and transport becomes faster. Ultimately, the CsPbI2Br PSCs based on the P‐BTA‐4F HTM achieve the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.68%. Those findings demonstrate that selecting an appropriate amount of fluorine substitution is crucial for regulating the performance of polymer HTMs and improving device efficiency.
Animation line art colorization based on the optical flow method
Authors: Yu Yifeng , Qian Jiangbo , Wang Chong , Dong Yihong , Liu Baisong 
Published: February 2024

AbstractColoring an animation sketch sequence is a challenging task in computer vision since the information contained in line sketches is too sparse, and the colors need to be uniform between continuous frames. Many the existing colorization algorithms can only be applied to one image and can be considered color filling algorithms. Such algorithms only provide a color result that fits within a reasonable range and can not be applied to the coloring of frame sequences. This paper proposes an end‐to‐end two‐stage optical flow colorization network to solve the animation frame sequence colorization problem. The first stage of the network finds the direction of the color pixel flow from the detail change between a given reference frame and the next frame of line artwork and then completes the initial coloring process. The second stage of the network performs color correction and clarifies the output of the first stage. Since our algorithm does not directly colorize the image but finds the path of the color change to colorize it, it ensures a consistent color space for the sequence frames after colorization. We conduct experiments on an animation dataset, and the results show that our algorithm is effective. The code is available athttps://github.com/silenye/Colorization.
Osthole Activates the Cholinergic Anti‐Inflammatory Pathway via α7nAChR Upregulation to Alleviate Inflammatory Responses
Authors: Li Shu‐Hang , Li Meng‐Ying , Yuan Tao‐Tao , Wang Guo‐Wei , Zeng Jian‐Bin , Shi Zhimian , Liu Jian‐Hang , Su Jun‐Cheng 
Published: February 2024

AbstractOsthole (also known as Osthol) is the main anti‐inflammatory coumarin found in Cnidium monnieri and severs as the exclusive quality‐controlled component according the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. However, its underlying anti‐inflammatory mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Osthole treatment significantly inhibited the generation of TNF‐α, but not IL‐6 in the classical LPS‐stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage model. In addition, LPS induced the activation of both MAPK and NF‐κB signalling pathways, of which the former was dose‐dependently restrained by Osthole via suppressing the phosphorylation of JNK and P38 proteins, while the phosphorylation of IκB and P65 proteins remained unaffected. Interestingly, Osthole dose‐dependently up‐regulated the expression of the key cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway regulator α7nAChR, and the TNF‐α inhibition effect of Osthole was also significantly alleviated by the treatment of α7nAChR antagonist methylbetaine. These results demonstrate that Osthole may regulate TNF‐α by promoting the expression of α7nAChR, thereby activate the vagus nerve‐dependent cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway.
Nickel and Commercially Available Nickel‐Containing Alloys as Electrodes for the Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution
Authors: Kubo Nikolas Mao , Ketter Fabian , Palkovits Stefan , Palkovits Regina 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWater electrolysis is a crucial technology for independency on fossil fuels. However, water splitting is limited by the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). While many studies report highly active, non‐precious metal‐based electrocatalysts for alkaline OER, applicability under industrial conditions is often omitted. Such conditions require catalysts being applied on nickel or nickel‐containing alloys in elevated electrolyte concentrations. In contrast to the rather inert substrates often used in scientific studies, such industrially applied substrates exhibit significant OER activity themselves and show dynamic behaviour. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the OER behaviour of such substrates. Here, nickel and seven commercially available nickel‐containing alloys are investigated as anodes in alkaline OER and their elemental compositions correlated to their corresponding activities. Repeated potential cycling across the Ni(II)/Ni(III)‐redox couple is established as activity‐enhancing procedure. Overall, the nickel‐base alloy Hastelloy® X exhibits the highest activity due to its Fe‐, Cr‐, Mo‐ and Co‐content. Though, the activity gain differs significantly for the various materials. Comparing Ni and Hastelloy® X as least and most active materials, the positive impact of activation on both activity and stability becomes evident. While untreated Ni suffers from poor OER stability, the activity‐enhancing procedure also significantly increases electrode stability in 24 h chronopotentiometry.
Hybrid HfC‐SiCN matrix for improved oxidation resistance of carbon fiber–reinforced mini‐composites
Authors: Mujib Shakir Bin , Rasheed Mohammed , Arunachalam Saravanan R , Singh Gurpreet 
Published: February 2024

AbstractHafnium carbide (HfC) is an ultrahigh‐temperature ceramic with high melting point, chemical stability, hardness, and wear resistance. However, its low fracture toughness and poor thermal shock resistance limit its structural applications in extreme environments. In this study, co‐curing of liquid precursors was carried out prior to complete pyrolysis of individual polymeric precursors. First, HfC preceramic polymer precursor was cured, followed by silicon carbonitride (SiCN) precursor curing on a 2D carbon fiber (CF) cloth using the drop‐coating process. The infiltrated CFs were pyrolyzed at 800°C to achieve CF/HfC‐SiCN ceramic mini‐composites. The cross‐linked precursor‐to‐ceramic yield was observed to be as high as 65% when the procedure was carried out in an inert environment. Although stable up to 1200°C, CF/HfC‐SiCN samples demonstrated susceptibility to oxidation at 1500°C in ambient air. The oxidation of HfC in the presence of SiC leads to the formation of a hafnium‐containing silicate (HfxSiyOz) along with hafnia (HfO2). This compound of silicate and hafnia limits oxygen diffusion better than SiO2 and HfO2 individually. The incorporation of SiCN in HfC ceramic led to improved phase stability compared to a neat HfC system. The results of this study also show that the use of liquid‐phase precursors for HfC and SiCN in the polymer‐infiltrated pyrolysis method is a promising approach to fabricating high‐temperature structural ceramic matrix composites with good oxidation resistance.
Periostin is associated with prognosis and immune cell infiltration in pancreatic adenocarcinoma based on integrated bioinformatics analysis
Authors: Chen Yijun , Zhang Fengyu , Zhang Bolin , Trojanowicz Bogusz , Hämmerle Monika , Kleeff Jörg , Sunami Yoshiaki 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackgroundPancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies. Previous research has shown that periostin (POSTN) promotes pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Further, POSTN is involved in tumor microenvironment remodeling during tumor progression. However, the relationship between POSTN expression, immune cell infiltration, and the efficacy of immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer is unclear.MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive evaluation of POSTN differential expression, examining mRNA and protein levels. To gather data, we utilized various databases including gene expression profiling interactive analysis 2 (GEPIA2), gene expression omnibus (GEO), and the human protein atlas (HPA). To investigate the correlation between POSTN expression and clinical characteristics, we analyzed data from the Kaplan–Meier plotter database and clinical data sourced from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). Furthermore, we performed gene ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Additionally, we explored the relationship between POSTN expression and immune cell infiltration, as well as the immunophenoscore (IPS), by leveraging the cancer immunome atlas (TCIA) database. Lastly, we examined the tumor mutational burden (TMB) in pancreatic cancer in relation to POSTN expression.ResultsWhen compared with healthy pancreatic tissues, pancreatic cancer tissues displayed significantly higher levels of POSTN, which was indicative of a worse prognosis. POSTN expression was closely associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, ECM‐receptor interaction, and focal adhesion by GO, KEGG pathway, and GSEA analyses. Higher expression of POSTN was associated with increased infiltration of M2 macrophages. Additionally, increased IPS was linked to lower POSTN expression. IPS scores for CTLA4, PD‐1/PDL1, and CTLA4/PD‐1/PDL1 immune checkpoint inhibitors were also higher in the POSTN‐low expression group, suggesting that lower expression of POSTN is associated with a better outcome with checkpoint inhibitor treatment.ConclusionPOSTN is related to pancreatic cancer prognosis, and may influence immune cell infiltration. High expression of POSTN is predicted to correlate with lower sensitivity to immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors in pancreatic cancer.
Assembly of Titanium‐oxo Clusters from Embonic Acid‐Modified {Ti2} Molecular Building Blocks with Efficient Sulfur‐Catalyzed Oxidation Activities
Authors: Gu Xiaoyan , Fu Yaomei , Zhao Liang , Zhang Yuanyuan , Wang Xinlong , Li Baoli 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTo design and synthesize high‐nucleated titanium‐oxo clusters rationally based on molecular building blocks with potential coordination ability is still a great challenge. In this work, a family of titanium‐oxo clusters, including Ti2, Ti6, Ti12, and Ti20 clusters, have been assembled from large‐size ligand embonic acid‐modified {Ti2} molecular building blocks under solvothermal conditions. By modulating auxiliary linkers and solvent types, the {Ti2} building blocks exhibit varying degrees of polymerization to form high‐nuclear titanium‐oxo clusters. Notably, Ti20 with high nucleation, as the decamer containing {Ti2} building blocks, can act as a stable and heterogeneous catalyst to efficiently catalyze the oxidation of sulfides to sulfones and sulfoxides when using H2O2 as the green oxidant. This study provides a new approach for the design and synthesis of highly nucleated and homometallic TOCs based on {Ti2} units.
Multi‐electron Oxidation of Ce(III) Complexes Facilitated by Redox‐Active Ligands
Authors: Rupasinghe D. M. Ramitha Y. P. , Lopez Lauren M. , Poore Andrew T. , Baxter Makayla R. , Lin Nathan J. , Mitchell Andrew W. , Zeller Matthias , Tian Shiliang , Bart Suzanne C. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractA family of cerium complexes featuring a redox‐active ligand in different oxidation states has been synthesized, including the the iminosemiquinone (isq)1− compound, Ce(dippisq)3 (1‐Ceisq), and the amidophenolate (ap)2− species CeIII(dippap)3K3 (2‐Ceap), [CeIII(dippap)3K][K(18‐c‐6)]2 (2‐Ceap 18c6), and [CeIII(dippap)3K][K(15‐c‐5)2]2 (2‐Ceap 15c5). Treating 2‐Ceap 15c5 with dioxogen furnishes the cerium(IV) derivative [CeIV(dippap)3][K(15‐c‐5)2]2 (3‐Ceap 15c5), and an analogous synthesis can be used to generate [CeIV(dippap)3][K(crypt)]2 (3‐Ceap crypt). Similarly, addition of hexamethyldisiloxane produces an interesting bis(amidophenolate) species, [(Me3SiO)2CeIV(dippap)2][K(15‐c‐5)2]2 (4‐CeOSiMe3). Full spectroscopic and structural characterization of each derivative was performed to establish the oxidation states of both the ligands and the cerium ions.
Effects of a combination of Poria Cocos, Ziziphus spinose, and gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) on sleep quality and skin health: A randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled clinical trial
Authors: Hao Yining , Song Weimin , Qu Liping 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSleep is crucial for preserving both physical and mental health, including skin health. Presently, there is a burgeoning interest in the use of herbal and natural ingredients to mitigate the adverse effects of sleep disorders. In this 4‐week, randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial, 70 subjects with sleep disorders were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a Poria cocos, Ziziphus spinose, and GABA (PZG) supplement (10 mL per day). Total sleep duration was detected by wrist actigraphy, and sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Skin conditions were evaluated based on assessments of skin hydration, glossiness elasticity, color, severity of wrinkles, and skin roughness. After 4 weeks, the total sleep duration significantly increased by 12.96% (p = .006) and the PSQI score notably decreased by 59.94% (p = .000) compared to the baseline. Notably, compared to the baseline conditions, skin hydration, radiance, elasticity, firmness, wrinkle severity, and roughness were significantly improved in the PZG group. In addition, the PZG group demonstrated significantly greater improvements than the placebo group in terms of changes from baseline in total sleep duration, PSQI score, skin hydration, wrinkle severity, and skin roughness. The present results demonstrated that the combined intake of herbs and GABA can improve sleep quality and enhance skin health without adverse effects.
Brain Pioneers and Moral Entanglement: An Argument for Post‐trial Responsibilities in Neural‐Device Trials
Authors: Goering Sara , Brown Andrew I. , Klein Eran 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWe argue that in implanted neurotechnology research, participants and researchers experience what Henry Richardson has called “moral entanglement.” Participants partially entrust researchers with access to their brains and thus to information that would otherwise be private, leading to created intimacies and special obligations of beneficence for researchers and research funding agencies. One of these obligations, we argue, is about continued access to beneficial technology once a trial ends. We make the case for moral entanglement in this context through exploration of participants’ vulnerability, uncompensated risks and burdens, depth of relationship with the research team, and dependence on researchers in implanted neurotechnology trials.
Medical Treatment of Idiopathic Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis: Should We Marinate or Slice the “Olive”?
Authors: Rudolph Colin D. 
Published: February 2024

SummarySome infants with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) have responded to oral atropine treatment. To achieve sufficient effect of atropine, it must be administered intravenously (i.v.). Therefore, with ultrasonography, we studied the changes in the pyloric muscle in HPS during and after intravenous administration of atropine. Twenty‐three infants were studied. Atropine sulfate was initially administered at a dose of 0.04 mg/kg day i.v., and the dose was increased by 0.01 mg/kg/day until vomiting ceased. When vomiting ceased after administration of intravenous atropine sulfate, the infants received oral atropine sulfate at twice the effective intravenous dose; this was continued for 2 weeks. Ultrasonography was repeated until pyloric muscles normalized. Twenty‐two infants were free from vomiting after 1‐8 days of intravenous atropine sulfate (dosages of 0.04‐0.11 mg/kg/day). In 21 infants, weight gain continued after atropine treatment even though no change in thickness of the pyloric muscles was demonstrated ultrasonographically. Only 2 infants required pyloromyotomy because of prolonged treatment or a mistake in underdosing of oral atropine. All of the 21 infants who recovered after intravenous atropine without surgery had normalization of pyloric muscle caliber, as shown by ultrasonography 4‐12 months after treatment. Atropine is an effective medicine for HPS. Regression of pyloric thickening after vomiting has been controlled implies that pyloric muscle hypertrophy could be worsened by the spasm that occurs in HPS.
Celiac Disease in Arabs
Authors: Rawashdeh M. O. , Khalil B. , Raweily E. 
Published: February 2024

SummaryA systematic study of celiac disease in a defined population of Arab children has not been previously reported. We therefore performed a prospective study to determine the incidence and clinical presentation of celiac disease in Jordanian children. A total of 34 (12 boys and 22 girls) cases were diagnosed over a period of 36 months. Nine cases were clustered in three families. The incidence was calculated to be 1:2,800 live births. The mean age at presentation was 4.6 years (range 0.3‐13), but it was 8.4 years at the time of diagnosis. Diarrhea was the main initial symptom in 15 (44%) patient. Other signs and symptoms included recurrent abdominal pain in five patients (14%), short stature in four (12%), abdominal distension in three (9%), constipation in three (9%), pallor and recurrent mouth ulcers in two patients each. At the time of diagnosis, 24 (71%) had hypochromic microcytic anemia, and nine (26%) had rickets. The relatively high incidence of celiac disease may be related to the large wheat consumption in this population (135 kg/head/year), and the late onset could be related to the widespread prevalence of prolonged breast‐feeding in Jordan (12 months) and late introduction of cereals (6.2 months) in children with late presentation. The delay in diagnosis might be due to the presence of other diseases clinically resembling celiac disease in our community.
Endosonographic Evaluation of the Rectum in Children with Extrahepatic Portal Venous Obstruction
Authors: Yachha S. K. , Dhiman R. K. , Gupta Rohit , Ghoshal U. C. 
Published: February 2024

SummaryRectal endoscopic ultrasonography (REUS) was performed using an Olympus EU‐M3 ultrasound fiberscope in 25 children with extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (median age of 8, range 3‐16 years) and in eight control subjects (median age of 8, range 6‐13). Rectal varices (tortuous or nodular distended veins seen beneath the mucosa) and portal hypertensive rectopathy were diagnosed endoscopically. At rectal endosonography, rectal varices were seen as rounded, oval, or longitudinal echo‐free structures in the submucosa. Perirectal veins outside the rectal wall were also seen in REUS. Portal hypertensive rectopathy was endoscopically observed in nine (36%) patients. Rectal varices were defected by endoscopy in nine (36%) and by endosonographic examination in 19 (76%) patients with extrahepatic portal venous obstruction. The number (2, range 0‐10) and size (3, range 0‐4.5 mm) of submucosal veins seen on endosonography in patients were greater than in controls (0, range 0‐1, and 0, range 0‐2 mm; p < 0.001 for both). The size of perirectal veins was greater in patients than in controls (3.5, range 3‐5 mm versus 2.5, range 2‐3 mm; p < 0.001). Communicating veins between the submucosal and perirectal veins were seen in nine (36%) patients. Rectal endoscopic ultrasonography was superior to endoscopy in detecting the presence of rectal varices (76% versus 35%, p < 0.005). Our study suggests that endosonography is useful in detecting changes in the rectal and perirectal vasculature in patients with extrahepatic portal venous obstruction.
Treatment of Cholestatic Children with Water‐soluble Vitamin E (α‐Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol Succinate): Effects on Serum Vitamin E, Lipid Peroxides, and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
Authors: Socha Piotr , Koletzko Berthold , Pawlowska Joanna , Proszynska Krystyna , Socha Jerzy 
Published: February 2024

Background:Treatment of vitamin E‐deficient cholestatic children with water‐soluble α‐tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) was previously shown to normalize vitamin E status and to improve neurological outcome.Methods:Because vitamin E plays an important role as a free‐radical scavenger, we studied the effects of long‐term TPGS supplementation on lipid peroxidation and polyunsaturated fatty acid status in 15 children ages 9 months‐3.4 years (median, 1.3 years) with chronic cholestasis with low serum vitamin E concentrations [1.95 (0.8‐3.7) mg/L; median (1st‐3rd quartile)]. The previous supplementation of α‐tocopherol was replaced by a 20% solution of TPGS in one daily dose of 20 IU/kg. Serum α‐tocopherol, plasma lipid peroxides expressed as thiobarbiturate reactive substance concentration (TBARS) and plasma phospholipid fatty acid profile were estimated at baseline and again after 1 month in all 15 patients, and after 1 year of TPGS therapy in 11 patients.Results:α‐Tocopherol was significantly increased after 1 month [6.9 (4.4‐8.4) mg/L; p = 0.008] and rose further after 1 year [9.7 (7.2‐14.9) mg/L]; similar results were obtained for the ratio vitamin E/total lipids. TBARS concentrations were significantly higher in cholestatic children at baseline [2.9 (1.5‐3.32) nmol/ml] than in a control group [1.2 (1.1‐1.3) nmol/ml; p = 0.0006], but were not changed significantly during TPGS therapy [after 1 year 2.34 (1.9‐3.0) nmol/ml]. Compared with controls, the contributions of polyunsaturated fatty acids to total phospholipid fatty acids were markedly decreased in cholestatic patients at baseline [27.7 (22.4‐31.5)% versus 36.9 (34.5‐39.0)%; p = 0.001] and did not show major changes after 1 year of TPGS supplementation.Conclusions:We conclude that oral TPGS supplementation of cholestatic children can quickly normalize serum vitamin E levels but does not improve the increased lipid peroxidation and poor polyunsaturated fatty acid status.