bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genotyping blastoderms of avian eggs
Authors: Teltscher Kim , Kempenaers Bart 
Published: December 2023

AbstractUndeveloped eggs occur frequently in birds and are often considered infertile, and discarded. However, the majority of undeveloped eggs may in fact have been fertilised and embryos might have died at an early stage. Such eggs contain valuable information, for example about offspring sex and paternity, and level of inbreeding. Obtaining such information may also give insight into the patterns and causes of early embryo mortality. Here we describe a simple technique for removing embryo cells from the blastoderm to obtain DNA to genotype the offspring and unequivocally ascertain fertilisation status, while retaining the overlying perivitelline layer (PVL) for sperm counts over the entire membrane. We tested this method on freshly collected eggs (high‐quality material), as well as on eggs from abandoned clutches and unhatched eggs (potentially deteriorated material) of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). We sampled a total of 707 eggs from a wild population of blue tits, extracted DNA from the eggs' blastoderm using a Qiagen kit, and genotyped the samples with 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers, plus one sexing marker. Overall, we successfully genotyped 97% of all eggs. Our study is the most extensive dataset of genotyped undeveloped eggs to date and demonstrates that one can reliably genotype undeveloped fertile eggs as well as retain the PVL for observations of sperm and embryo cells.
When secrets come to mind: Preoccupation, suppression and engagement
Authors: Davis Christopher G. , Wright George P. , McMillan Cassandra 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWhen secrets come to mind, do people try to suppress them or do they engage with them? Whereas earlier research suggested that people try to suppress secrets, recent work suggests that people often engage with their secrets. Although thought suppression tends to be associated with greater distress, engagement may be ameliorative. In two longitudinal studies of 653 adults (55% women; Mage = 41.3, SD = 12.4) keeping a secret from their partner, we show that engagement with and suppression of secrets are highly positively related. Like suppression, the more people engage with secrets, the more negative affect and guilt they report feeling. Longitudinal analyses indicate that whereas changes over time in engagement and suppression both predicted reduced secret preoccupation, reductions in suppression (but not engagement) mediated reductions in guilt and negative affect. These results indicate that suppression and engagement are more intimately connected than previously thought. We found no evidence that engagement was ameliorative.
Food waste leachate valorization for sustainable biomass production from Arthrospira maxima
Authors: Gaytán Katty Shcarlen Hernández , García Gómez Celestino , Vázquez Santiago Iván Suárez , de Jesús Carballo Méndez Fernando , Reyes Julia Mariana Márquez , Santoscoy Rocio Alejandra Chávez 
Published: December 2023

AbstractArthrospira has the ability to tolerate effluents from domestic to farm wastewater. Food leachate coming from fruits and vegetables can be toxic in water discharge due to high dissolved oxygen and nutrient demands. Thus, pretreatment is required before passing through wastewater treatment plants, which generates higher costs and contamination in water bodies. In this work, leachate from fruits and vegetables was used in different percentages to produce Arthrospira maxima using airlift‐type bioreactors with continuous air flow, two photoperiods, and two inoculums. The treatment with 3% leachate (T1) reached 5.23 g/L after 16 days, while the control reached 3.81 g/L (T0). An optimization of the biomass production was carried out seeking to use the maximum percentage of the leachate, resulting in the best treatment of 9% of leachate (T8) achieving 4.88 g/L. After optimization, three cell disruption methods were applied to the obtained biomass, quantifying amino acids and hydrolysis grade (GH), being the ultrasonication treatment the most important reaching 80% GH and a concentration of 25 mg/g of amino acids, while the unbroken biomass contain 13 mg/g. The Arthrospira maxima species is an algae that can be widely used as a bioremediation method, since it managed to reduce the concentrations of COD and orthophosphates, in addition to containing some of the nutrients that plants require for their development, given that plants require amino acids. During its growth, it is proposed to apply the biomass generated from leachates as a plant biostimulant.
Discovering individual fingerprints in resting‐state functional connectivity using deep neural networks
Authors: Lee Juhyeon , Lee Jong‐Hwan 
Published: December 2023

AbstractNon‐negligible idiosyncrasy due to interindividual differences is an ongoing issue in resting‐state functional MRI (rfMRI) analysis. We show that a deep neural network (DNN) can be employed for individual identification by learning important features from the time‐varying functional connectivity (FC) of rfMRI in the Human Connectome Project. We employed the trained DNN to identify individuals from an independent dataset acquired at our institution. The results revealed that the DNN could successfully identify 300 individuals with an error rate of 2.9% using 15 s time‐window and 870 individuals with an error rate of 6.7%. A trained DNN with nonlinear hidden layers led to the proposal of the “fingerprint of FC” (fpFC) as representative edges of individual FC. The fpFCs for individuals exhibited commonly important and individual‐specific edges across time‐window lengths (from 5 min to 15 s). Furthermore, the utility of our model for another group of subjects was validated, supporting the feasibility of our technique in the context of transfer learning. In conclusion, our study offers an insight into the discovery of the intrinsic mode of the human brain using whole‐brain resting‐state FC and DNNs.
Remdesivir therapy for severe pediatric COVID‐19 in Singapore: A single‐center retrospective observational cohort study
Authors: Seah Valerie Xue Fen , Ong Rina Yue Ling , Kam Kai Qian , Thoon Koh Cheng , Tan Natalie Woon Hui , Li Jiahui , Nadua Karen Donceras , Chong Chia Yin , Yung Chee Fu 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackground and AimsThere is a paucity of information on remdesivir (RDV) use in severe pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). We aimed to explore the effectiveness of RDV as the cumulative proportion of pediatric COVID‐19 patients deescalated from Day 5 of high dependency or intensive care unit (HD/ICU).MethodsAll children ≤18 years admitted to Singapore's largest pediatric hospital from January 1, 2020 to March 18, 2022 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were included if they were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, required oxygen, and HD/ICU care. The characteristics and outcomes of those who received RDV or not (no‐RDV) were compared.ResultsWe reviewed 15 children with a median age of 2.5 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.8–11.0), of which 7 (46.7%) received RDV. There was no difference in cumulative proportion of children deescalated from Day 5 of HD/ICU care in the RDV versus the no‐RDV group (5/7, 70% vs. 7/8, 87.5%, p = 0.57). The RDV versus no‐RDV group had higher disease severity, that is, WHO Ordinal Scale scores (median 6, IQR: 5–7 vs. 5, IQR: 4–5, p = 0.03), higher procalcitonin levels (ug/L) (median 4.31, IQR: 0.8–24.2 vs. 0.12, IQR: 0.09–0.26, p = 0.02), and longer HD/ICU care days (median 5, IQR: 4–9, vs. 1, IQR: 1–4, p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in hospitalization days. There were no adverse events directly attributable to RDV. None died from COVID‐19 infection.ConclusionOur observational analysis was unable to detect any clear benefit of RDV in terms of reducing duration in HD/ICU. RDV was well‐tolerated in children with severe COVID‐19.
Testing standard basis sets for direct ionizations: H+ + H at ELab = 0.1–100 keV
Authors: Kim Hyunsik , Morales Jorge A. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWith the simplest‐level electron nuclear dynamics (SLEND) method, we test standard Slater‐type‐orbital/contracted‐Gaussian‐functions (STO/CGFs) basis sets for the simulation of direct ionizations (DIs), charge transfers (CTs), and target excitations (TEs) in H+ + H at ELab = 0.1–100 keV. SLEND is a time‐dependent, variational, on‐the‐fly, and nonadiabatic method that treats nuclei and electrons with classical dynamics and a Thouless single‐determinantal state, respectively. While previous tests for CTs and TEs exist, this is the first SLEND/STO/CGFs test for challenging DIs. Spin‐orbitals with negative/positive energies are treated as bound/unbound states for bound‐to‐bound (CT and TE) and bound‐to‐unbound (DI) transitions. SLEND/STO/CGFs simulations correctly reproduce all the features of DIs, CTs and TEs over all the considered impact parameters and energies. SLEND/STO/CGFs simulations correctly predict CT integrals cross‐sections (ICSs) over all the considered energies and predict satisfactory DI and TE ICSs within some energy ranges. Strategies to improve SLEND/STO/CGFs for DI predictions are discussed.
Exact values for some unbalanced Zarankiewicz numbers
Authors: Chen Guangzhou , Horsley Daniel , Mammoliti Adam 
Published: December 2023

AbstractFor positive integers , , and , the Zarankiewicz number is defined to be the maximum number of edges in a bipartite graph with parts of sizes and that has no complete bipartite subgraph containing vertices in the part of size and vertices in the part of size . A simple argument shows that, for each , when . Here, for large , we determine the exact value of in almost all of the remaining cases where . We establish a new family of upper bounds on which complement a family already obtained by Roman. We then prove that the floor of the best of these bounds is almost always achieved. We also show that there are cases in which this floor cannot be achieved and others in which determining whether it is achieved is likely a very hard problem. Our results are proved by viewing the problem through the lens of linear hypergraphs and our constructions make use of existing results on edge decompositions of dense graphs.
Ants in restoration ecology: Why, what's and the way forward
Authors: De Almeida Tania , Arnan Xavier , Capowiez Yvan , Hedde Mickaël , Mesléard François , Dutoit Thierry , Blight Olivier 
Published: December 2023

AbstractGlobal changes call for more nature‐based solutions, especially in nature conservation involving ecological restoration. Current methods essentially based on civil engineering are both expensive and costly in non‐renewable energy consumption and pollution terms. The non‐sustainability of these techniques is leading to the direct use of certain species to restore degraded ecosystems. Ants, because of their central role in ecosystem functioning and their occurrence on almost all terrestrial ecosystems, are promising candidates for environmental monitoring and such ecological restoration projects. We provide here a narrative review of the ecological functions performed by ants, and we take stock of how ants are currently considered in passive and active restoration. We then propose a trait‐based approach to facilitate their use by practitioners in future restoration projects. We list and discuss both life‐history traits relevant for environmental monitoring and functional traits known to affect abiotic (physical and chemical soil properties) and biotic (plant and fauna communities) components.
Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinyl pyridine) nanocomposites for column adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of para nitrophenol from water
Authors: Datta Barnali , Ray Samit Kumar 
Published: December 2023

AbstractStyrene (St), 1,4 vinyl pyridine (4VP) monomers and divinyl benzene (DVB) monomer‐cum‐crosslinker at different molar ratios were subjected to emulsion polymerization in the presence of FeCl2, 6H2O/FeCl3⋅4H2O followed by the treatment with an aqueous ammonia solution to produce several iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) impregnated crosslinked copolymer composites. The resulting polymer metal nanocomposites (PMNCs) were characterized by FTIR, proton and 13C NMR, UV–visible spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, DLS, magnetic properties, SEM and TEM. The PMNCs were used for batch and column adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of p‐nitrophenol (PNP) from water. The PMNC4 composite prepared with an styrene:4VP molar ratio of 5:1 (16.7 mol% 4VP), 4 wt.% DVB crosslinker and 0.025/0.05 molar ratios of Fe(II)/Fe(III) salts leads to an optimum batch equilibrium adsorption (qe, mg/g)/removal% of 496.36/99.3 PNP from aqueous PNP of concentration 100 mg/L. The same composite showed an equilibrium PNP adsorption (qe) of 114.2 mg/g polymer and a removal% of 26.8 for an inlet feed concentration (Ci, mg/L)/flow rate (Qt, mL/min)/bed height (h, mm) of 100/30/30 in a fixed bed. The PMNC4 polymer showed a photodegradation efficiency of 98% with a 1st order rate constant of 0.029 min−1 after 70 min of degradation of 100 mg/L PNP in solar light.Highlights
Copolymer network of styrene, 4 vinyl pyridine and DVB were synthesized.
Iron oxide nanoparticles were introduced into the network in‐situ during synthesis.
The metal polymer nanocomposites (PMNCs) were characterized.
Synthesis parameters were optimized with respect to batch adsorption of PNP.
PMNCs showed excellent fixed bed adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of PNP.
Die faszinierende Topologie rotierender Quanten
Authors: Karle Volker , Lemeshko Mikhail 
Published: December 2023

ZusammenfassungDie Quantenrotation ist ein spannendes Phänomen, das in vielen verschiedenen Systemen auftritt, von Molekülen und Atomen bis hin zu subatomaren Teilchen wie Neutronen und Protonen. Durch den Einsatz von starken Laserpulsen ist es möglich, die mathematisch anspruchsvolle Topologie der Rotation von Molekülen aufzudecken und topologisch geschützte Zustände zu erzeugen, die unerwartetes Verhalten zeigen. Diese Entdeckungen könnten Auswirkungen auf die Molekülphysik und physikalische Chemie haben und die Entwicklung neuer Technologien ermöglichen. Die Verbindung von Quantenrotation und Topologie stellt ein aufregendes, interdisziplinäres Forschungsfeld dar und bietet neue Wege zur Kontrolle und Nutzung von quantenmechanischen Phänomenen.
Well‐defined poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide) from a fast Cu(0)‐mediated reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization in water
Authors: Li Zishan , Lyu Jing , Qiu Bei , Johnson Melissa , Zhao Chunyu , Li Yinghao , Geng Qiang , Song Rijian , Yao Liang , Wang Wenxin 
Published: December 2023

AbstractCopper‐catalyzed reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) of N,N‐dimethylacrylamide (DMA) has been a significant challenge, particularly in aqueous environments, such as low yields, broad molecular weight distribution (MWD), and ill‐controlled molecular weights (MWs). In this work, we report the synthesis of well‐defined poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) via a facile Cu(0)‐mediated RDRP in water. The results show that, unlike other acrylamide monomers, for DMA with abundant tertiary amide groups, the sufficient deactivation—the key to realizing control in copper‐catalyzed RDRP—cannot be simply fulfilled by just increasing the amount of deactivator (i.e., CuII species). The enhanced deactivation must be appropriately determined by also considering and selecting other reaction parameters. It is demonstrated that the use of methyl 2‐chloropropionate (MCP) as initiator and copper(II) chloride (CuCl2) as the additional catalyst is an effective combination to simultaneously enhance the deactivation control and facilitate the chain growth in aqueous Cu(0)‐mediated RDRP of DMA. This strategy successfully achieved the fast and well‐controlled synthesis of PDMAs with high monomer conversion, narrow MWDs, and a range of predefined MWs, and the well‐controlled in situ chain extensions.
Application accuracy of Neuromate robot‐guided deep brain stimulation procedures using the non‐invasive frameless Neurolocate registration system
Authors: Fontaine Denys , Almairac Fabien , Chiapello Bruno , Leplus Aurélie 
Published: December 2023

AbstractObjectiveto measure the in vivo application accuracy of Neuromate robot‐assisted deep brain stimulation procedures (DBS) using the new, non‐invasive, frameless Neurolocate registration method.MethodsNeurolocate accuracy was measured in 17 patients undergoing DBS (32 leads). The registration was obtained by automatic recognition of the spatial location of the Neurolocate fiducials, fixed on the robot arm, on 3D intraoperative computerized tomography (CT) images relative to the patient's skull contours. Application accuracy was measured as the Euclidian distance between the points theoretically targeted on preoperative magnetic resonance imagingand the tip of the guiding tube visible on intraoperative CT images after merging images.ResultsMean robot inaccuracy was 0.72 mm (SD 0.40; range 0.2–1.7 mm). Inaccuracies ≥1.5 mm were observed in 2/32 cases.ConclusionOur study confirms in vivo that the accuracy of the Neurolocate registration is compatible with the accuracy required for DBS procedures.
Effects of Reaction Temperature and Cadmium Source on the Optical, Morphological and Cytotoxic Properties of CdSe/ZnSe Quantum Dots
Authors: Nkaule Anati N. , Kiprotich Sharon , Brandt Leandre B. , Gerber Thomas , Madiehe Abram M. , Botha Nandipha L. , Onani Martin O. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe colloidal synthesis of CdSe/ZnSe core/shell quantum dots (QDs) under nitrogen gas flow is presented in this study. The optical, morphology and structural properties of CdSe/ZnSe core/shell QDs are varied by changing the growth temperature and the cadmium source (Cd2+). The Fourier transform infra‐red studies validate that CdSe/ZnSe QDs capped with functional −COOH groups were formed. The morphological and composition studies conducted using high resolution transmission microscope, selected area electron diffraction andenergy dispersive spectroscope confirmed the formation of pure and mono‐disperse QDs while photoluminescence and ultra‐violet visible spectroscopy displayed their improved fluorescent properties. Caco‐2 cell line was cultured from colon cancer and cytotoxic studies were conducted to test for cell viability of various capped 3‐MPA CdSe/ZnSe QDs at various concentrations. The formed CdSe/ZnSe QDs prominently bear the zinc‐blende structure with their particle size lying well below the Bohr excitation radii. Their hydrophilic nature and the availability of functional groups on the CdSe/ZnSe QDs makes them excellent potential labeling and therapeutic agents for the colon cancer disease diagnosis.
Discovery of Hydrazone Scaffolds as Potent and Selective Multitarget‐Directed Ligands for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders
Authors: Younas Muhammad Tayyab , Zaib Sumera , Khan Imtiaz 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn the current work, new and diverse hydrazone derivatives were designed and synthesized through a facile and multistep synthetic approach. The chemical structures were elucidated by various spectroscopic techniques. In vitro bioactivity analysis demonstrated selective and potent inhibitory potential of hydrazone derivatives against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes. (E)‐3‐chloro‐N′‐(1‐phenylethylidene) benzohydrazide remarkably emerged as a lead candidate exhibiting potent and selective inhibition of AChE with an IC50 value of 0.63±0.01 μM whereas (E)‐3‐chloro‐N′‐(1‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)ethylidene)benzohydrazide delivered the strong potency and selective inhibition towards monoamine oxidase A with an IC50 value of 0.89±0.04 μM. Moreover, (E)‐3‐chloro‐N′‐(1‐(4‐methylthiophen‐2‐yl)ethylidene)benzohydrazide (IC50=2.06±0.01 μM) and (E)‐3‐chloro‐N′‐(1‐(5‐chlorothiophen‐2‐yl)ethylidene)benzohydrazide (IC50=2.06±0.05 μM) were identified as lead inhibitors of monoamine oxidase B. Molecular docking studies of potent and selective inhibitors exhibited various important interactions with amino acid residues in the active pocket of both enzymes, thus strengthening our in vitro results. The kinetics analysis of the most potent compound against AChE revealed non‐competitive mode of inhibition, whereas against monoamine oxidase (A & B), the corresponding lead inhibitors exhibited mixed type of inhibition. Molecular dynamics simulations were also performed to investigate the energetically stable complex formation ability of potent compounds with the target protein. Finally, the results of in silico pharmacokinetic properties showed that the potent compounds have promising pharmacological effects that follow all the parameters of drug‐likeness and could serve as effective drug candidates for future investigations.
“Click” Chemistry Assisted Synthesis of Magnetite‐CNT Nanohybrid Supported Gold Nanoparticles for Enhanced Catalytic Reduction of 4‐Nitrophenol
Authors: Mondal Imran , Samanta Dipanjan , Salam Shaik Md Abdus , Basu Rajarshi , Bhattacharya Angana , Shaw Manisha , Pathak Amita 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were strategically tethered over carbon nanotube (CNT) templates by using UV light‐induced thiol‐yne “click” chemistry approach which was followed by immobilization of chitosan stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) onto this surface through electrostatic interactions. Their application as a magnetically recyclable catalyst was explored through the study of the model catalytic reaction of reduction of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) in the presence of an excess of NaBH4. Kinetic studies on the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol revealed Au/Fe3O4−CNT ternary nanohybrids to serve as better catalytic systems compared to Au NPs. The catalytic reduction of 4‐NP was found to occur through the formation of active gold hydride (Au−H) species. The formation of Au−H species was facilitated by Au−Fe3O4 interaction through the transfer of hydride ions via dissociation of the B−H bond of the adsorbed borohydride ions [BH4]− and the heterolytic dissociation of molecular hydrogen (H2), produced on hydrolysis of NaBH4 on the surface of Au/Fe3O4. Moreover, the π–π interactions between the nitroaromatic ring of 4‐NP and the CNT surface are believed to facilitate their proximity. Further, on visible light irradiation, dissociation of H2 on the gold surfaces was enhanced by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)‐induced hot electrons.
Tuning of the Anion Affinity and Selectivity of Tripyrromethane‐Based Receptors by Simple Structural Modification
Authors: Heo Nam Jung , Yang Ju Ho , Roh Tae‐Ho , Cho Dong‐Gyu , Kim Sung Kuk 
Published: December 2023

AbstractTripyrromethane‐based tripodal compounds 1–3 were synthesized as anion receptors. It was revealed by 1H NMR spectroscopic analyses carried out in CDCl3 that tripyrromethane 1 with an ester group was capable of recognizing F−, Cl−, Br−, and H2PO4− with relatively high selectivity for F−. By contrast, receptor 2 having an additional hydrogen bond donor of an amide group binds F− and H2PO4− with much improved affinity relative to receptor 1. On the other hand, receptor 3 bearing formyl groups on its two pyrrole subunits showed markedly enhanced selectivity for F− presumably due to the increased acidity of the pyrrolic NHs and the resulting strengthened intermolecular hydrogen bonds. In addition, tripodal receptors 1–3 were found to bind H2PO4−, a tetrahedral oxyanion, more efficiently than 2‐dimensional macrocyclic calix[4]pyrrole 4.