bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Normalized mutual information of fNIRS signals as a measure for accessing typical and atypical brain activity
Authors: Sun Huiwen , Lin Fang , Wu Xiaoyin , Zhang Tingzhen , Li Jun 
Published: February 2023

AbstractNormalized mutual information (NMI) can be used to detect statistical correlations between time series. We showed possibility of using NMI to quantify synchronicity of information transmission in different brain regions, thus to characterize functional connections, and ultimately analyze differences in physiological states of brain. Resting‐state brain signals were recorded from bilateral temporal lobes by functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in 19 young healthy (YH) adults, 25 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 22 children with typical development (TD). Using NMI of the fNIRS signals, common information volume was assessed for each of three groups. Results showed that mutual information of children with ASD was significantly smaller than that of TD children, while mutual information of YH adults was slightly larger than that of TD children. This study may suggest that NMI could be a measure for assessing brain activity with different development states.
How cation nature controls the bandgap and bulk Rashba splitting of halide perovskites
Authors: de Araujo Luis Octavio , Rêgo Celso R. C. , Wenzel W. , Silveira Danilo N. , Piotrowski Maurício J. , Sabino Fernando P. , Pramudya Yohanes , Guedes‐Sobrinho Diego 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBecause of instability issues presented by metal halide perovskites based on methylammonium (MA), its replacement to has emerged as an alternative to improve the materials' durability. However, the impact of this replacement on electronic properties, especially gap energy and bulk Rashba splitting remains unclear since electrostatic interactions from organic cations can play a crucial role. Through first‐principles calculations, we investigated how organic/inorganic cations impact the electronic properties of and perovskites. Although at high temperatures the organic cation can assume spherical‐like configurations due to its rotation into the cages, our results provide a complete electronic mechanism to show, from a chemical perspective based on ab initio calculations at , how the dipoles suppression can reduce the gap energy by promoting a degeneracy breaking in the electronic states from the framework, while the dipole moment reinforcement is crucial to align theory experiment, increasing the bulk Rashba splitting through higher off‐centering motifs. The lack of permanent dipole moment in results in polymorphs with a pronounced on‐centering‐like feature, which causes suppression in their respective bulk Rashba effect.
The effect of pre‐pyrolysis chemical treatment of waste tyre rubber crumbs: comparison between pre‐treated and conventional waste tyre‐derived oil
Authors: Tsipa Phuti Cedrick , Phiri Mapoloko Mpho , Iwarere Samuel Ayodele , Mkhize Ntandoyenkosi Malusi , Phiri Mohau Justice , Hlangothi Shanganyane Percy 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBACKGROUNDPyrolysis process is one of the most effective recycling methods due to its ability to recover products like gas, oil and char with oil being the major/important product. The shortcomings of waste tyre‐derived oil from the conventional pyrolysis process are that the oil contains high amounts of sulfur and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and has a pungent smell, which makes it difficult to utilize further. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of chemical pre‐treated waste tyre rubber crumb‐derived oil versus conventional waste tyre oil. The instrumentation utilized in this study was to solely investigate the shortcomings of waste tyre pyrolysis (high sulfur and PAH content and also high temperature required for waste tyre pyrolysis).RESULTSThe results showed a reduction in amounts of both sulfur and PAHs in treated waste tyre‐derived oil by about 83% and 77% respectively. Also, there was a reduction in initial pyrolysis temperature for the treated waste tyre crumb as compared to untreated waste tyre crumb: a temperature range of 96–115 °C for treated waste tyre crumbs as compared to 300–400 °C for untreated waste tyre crumbs.CONCLUSIONSThe success of this study means the production of quality oil at a low temperature with lower amounts of PAHs and sulfur and less odour, plus the possibilities of it being used as a petroleum fuel or for extraction of important compounds like benzene, toluene, xylene, limonene and C12–C20 acids. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).
Formation of a fringe: A look inside baleen morphology using a multimodal visual approach
Authors: Vandenberg Megan L. , Cohen Karly E. , Rubin Robert D. , Goldbogen Jeremy A. , Summers Adam P. , Paig‐Tran E. W. Misty , Kahane‐Rapport Shirel R. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractFilter‐feeding has been present for hundreds of millions of years, independently evolving in aquatic vertebrates' numerous times. Mysticete whales are a group of gigantic, marine filter‐feeders that are defined by their fringed baleen and are divided into two groups: balaenids and rorquals. Recent studies have shown that balaenids likely feed using a self‐cleaning, cross‐flow filtration mechanism where food particles are collected and then swept to the esophagus for swallowing. However, it is unclear how filtering is achieved in the rorquals (Balaenopteridae). Lunging rorqual whales engulf enormous masses of both prey and water; the prey is then separated from the water through baleen plates lining the length of their upper jaw and positioned perpendicular to flow. Rorqual baleen is composed of both major (larger) and minor (smaller) keratin plates containing embedded fringe that extends into the whale's mouth, forming a filtering fringe. We used a multimodal approach, including microcomputed tomography (µCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), to visualize and describe the variability in baleen anatomy across five species of rorqual whales, spanning two orders of magnitude in body length. For most morphological measurements, larger whales exhibited hypoallometry relative to body length. µCT and SEM revealed that the major and minor plates break away from the mineralized fringes at variable distances from the gums. We proposed a model for estimating the effective pore size to determine whether flow scales with body length or prey size across species. We found that pore size is likely not a proxy for prey size but instead, may reflect changes in resistance through the filter that affect fluid flow.
Changes in serum basic fibroblast growth factor concentration following intracordal injection
Authors: Hasegawa Tomohiro , Komazawa Daigo , Konomi Ujimoto , Hirosaki Mayu , Watanabe Yuusuke 
Published: February 2023

AbstractObjectiveAlthough many studies have reported improvements in voice outcomes with intracordal trafermin injection, there is a lack of data documenting its changes in serum basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) blood concentration. This study examined whether serum bFGF concentrations change after intracordal trafermin injection.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted at Tokyo Voice Center. We investigated serum bFGF concentrations before and after injection in 40 patients who underwent intracordal trafermin injection. There were 26 males and 14 females, with an age ranging from 13 to 88 years (average 53.25 years). They were diagnosed with paralysis (15 patients), atrophy (15 patients), sulcus (8 patients), and others (2 patients: scar and functional), presenting with severe hoarseness that interfered with daily life.ResultsThe mean pre‐ and post‐injective serum bFGF concentration of the 40 patients was 6.689 and 4.658 pg/mL, respectively. The difference in mean serum bFGF concentration between pre‐ and post‐injective was −2.031 pg/mL. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to evaluate the correlation between dosage of trafermin and post‐injective serum bFGF concentration, and a moderate correlation was found at r = 0.52. Generalized linear model regression analysis was performed for the purpose of adjusting for confounding among variables. The only variable that showed a statistically predominant association with post‐injective serum bFGF concentrations was the dosage of trafermin, with an estimated regression coefficient of 0.048.ConclusionIn this study, the dosage of trafermin we injected and post‐injective serum bFGF concentrations were dose‐dependent but the amount of changes in the serum bFGF concentration was negligible within the physiological range. Therefore, as with subcutaneous and wound administration, intracordal trafermin injections may be safe.Level of EvidenceLevel IV.
Early Stage UV‐B Induced Molecular Modifications of Human Eye Lens γD‐Crystallin
Authors: Weininger Susanne , Neudorf Malte , Gröger Stefan , Plato Eric , Broneske Robert , Saalwächter Kay , Weininger Ulrich , Balbach Jochen 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn the human eye lenses, the crystallin proteins facilitate transparency, light refraction, as well as UV light protection. A deregulated balanced interplay between α‐, β‐, and γ‐crystallin can cause cataract. γD‐crystallin (hγD) is involved in the energy dissipation of absorbed UV light by energy transfer between aromatic side chains. Early UV‐B induced damage of hγD with molecular resolution is studied by solution NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy. hγD modifications are restricted to Tyr 17 and Tyr 29 in the N‐terminal domain, where a local unfolding of the hydrophobic core is observed. None of the tryptophan residues assisting fluorescence energy transfer is modified and hγD is remained soluble over month. Investigating isotope‐labeled hγD surrounded by eye lens extracts from cataract patients reveals very week interactions of solvent‐exposed side chains in the C‐terminal hγD domain and some remaining photoprotective properties of the extracts. Hereditary E107A hγD found in the eye lens core of infants developing cataract shows under the here used conditions a thermodynamic stability comparable to the wild type but an increased sensitivity toward UV‐B irradiation.
Topology optimization design of antennas with complex radiation characteristics
Authors: Guo Haochen , Ding Xiao 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAntennas with complex radiation characteristics can enhance the adaptability of radiofrequency systems in complex electromagnetic environments. However, The realization of complex targets is extremely challenging for conventional antenna design methods. It is difficult to find a suitable initial topology of the antenna with complex radiation characteristics. Therefore, in this paper, topology optimization is used to explore the initial structure with complex radiation properties. A two‐dimensional lossy thin layer model based on the transitional boundary condition is constructed, and target field functions for complex radiation are proposed. To verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, a high gain antenna with 10.2 dBi is realized, which has the highest aperture efficiency compared with the literature in similar directions. Then, for more complex targets, the radiation patterns of arbitrary direction null, arbitrary direction beam, and equal‐amplitude dual beam are realized, respectively. The topology optimization algorithm provides a new approach for the design of complex multitarget antennas.
Synthesis of the 1,5‐Benzothiazepane Scaffold – Established Methods and New Developments
Authors: Ronse Ulrike , Magdalenić Katarina , Van Camp John , D'hooghe Matthias 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe 1,5‐benzothiazepane structure is an important heterocyclic moiety present in a variety of commercial drugs and pharmaceuticals. This privileged scaffold exhibits a diversity of biological activities, including antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti‐epileptic, anti‐HIV, antidepressant, antithrombotic and anticancer properties. Its important pharmacological potential renders research into the development of new and efficient synthetic methods of high relevance. In the first part of this review, an overview of different synthetic approaches toward 1,5‐benzothiazepane and its derivatives is provided, ranging from established protocols to recent (enantioselective) methods that promote sustainability. In the second part, several structural characteristics influencing biological activity are briefly explored, providing a few insights into the structure‐activity relationships of these compounds.
Comparison of toughening effects of several common toughening agents and polycarbonate‐polydimethylsiloxane block copolymer on polyvinyl chloride
Authors: Wang Xiaofei , Zhang Jun , Chen Hao 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIn this work, different toughening agents such as chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), acrylonitrile–styrene‐acrylate (ASA) terpolymer, acrylic modifier (ACR, the main component is poly(methyl methacrylate‐butyl acrylate)) and polycarbonate‐polydimethylsiloxane block copolymer (PC‐b‐PDMS) were used to toughen polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Different content toughening agents (10 and 20 phr) were added into PVC and their properties were tested. The results exhibited that ACR, ASA, and PC‐b‐PDMS‐40 (40% PDMS content) had high impact strength (more than 100 kJ m−2) at room temperature. With the decrease of temperature, the toughening effect of ACR and ASA dropped significantly (7.30 and 3.69 kJ m−2 at −30°C respectively), while PC‐b‐PDMS‐40 still had certain toughening effect (19.66 kJ m−2 at −30°C). The tensile and flexural strength of blends decreased with the addition of toughening agents, while due to strong interactions between PC and PVC, elongation at break of PVC/PC‐b‐PDMS also have obvious drop. Heat distortion temperature results showed that the heat resistance of PVC was not reduced by toughening agents except CPE. The DMTA curves of blends revealed the reason why PVC/PC‐b‐PDMS‐40 had good toughness at low temperature that the glass transition temperature of PDMS is very low (−123°C), which makes it flexible at low temperature.
Effect of silicon dioxide and organized montmorillonite on the crystalline morphology and dielectric properties of polypropylene‐based composites
Authors: Gao Junguo , Ju Huicheng , Yao Ziheng , Zhang Guangwei , Liu Yanli , Niu Jicheng 
Published: February 2023

AbstractPolypropylene (PP), a thermoplastic material that can be recycled by melting, is viewed as a potential alternative to cross‐linked polyethylene for insulation. In this work, PP‐based composites were fabricated with surface‐modified silicon dioxide (SiO2), organized montmorillonite (OMMT), and polyolefin elastomer (POE) as fillers via a two‐step melt blending method. The dispersion states of SiO2 nanoparticles, OMMT, and POE in PP and their effects on PP crystallization were investigated. Moreover, the elongation at break, yield stress, energy storage modulus, damping loss factor, broadband dielectric spectrum, bulk resistivity, and alternating current (AC) breakdown strength of the specimens were tested. POE significantly increased the composite toughness, whereas the AC breakdown field strength and volume resistivity of POE/PP were lower. The homogeneously dispersed SiO2 and OMMT in the matrix acted as heterogeneous nucleation sites and reduced the grain size. To varying degrees, they effectively improved the dielectric properties, volume resistivity, and breakdown field strength of the composites. Hence, the composites simultaneously had excellent mechanical and dielectric properties. The volume resistivity of SiO2‐OMMT‐POE/PP with higher crystallinity was 15.4 times higher than that of POE/PP, and the breakdown field strength increased by 16.4%.
Effects of proton pump inhibitor on gastroesophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis: A randomized controlled trial from China
Authors: Chen Xiaoning , Zhou Tao , Zhou Ting , Li Yueyue , Sun Xin , Cheng Baoquan , Zhong Ning , Lu Xuefeng , Gao Yanjing 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAimsProton pump inhibitors (PPI) are widely used for gastroesophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis after endoscopic therapy, although the effect of PPI on these patients remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of PPI on gastroesophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis after endoscopic therapy, including variceal bleeding and adverse events.MethodsCirrhotic patients with endoscopically confirmed gastroesophageal varices were enrolled in this study between May 2017 and June 2019. Eligible patients were randomized into two groups: one group received PPI for 14 days and the other group did not receive PPI treatment (n = 53 in each group). All patients were followed for 8 weeks.ResultsDuring the follow‐up period, three patients (5.66%) in the PPI group experienced variceal bleeding on days 9, 16, and 25 after endoscopic therapy, including two patients with acute bleeding and one with primary prophylaxis. In the non‐PPI group, three patients (5.66%) experienced variceal bleeding on days 7, 42, and 56 after endoscopic therapy, including one patient with acute bleeding and two with secondary prophylaxis (p = 0.990). The incidence of adverse events was similar between the two groups (37.74% vs. 28.30%, p = 0.30).ConclusionsPPI did not appear to reduce variceal bleeding and adverse events in patients with cirrhosis after endoscopic therapy.
Sustainable development through green innovation and resource allocation in cities: Evidence from machine learning
Authors: Mao Jun , Xie Jiahao , Hu Zunguo , Deng Lijie , Wu Haitao , Hao Yu 
Published: February 2023

AbstractChina has promoted innovation‐driven and green development to unprecedented strategic heights. However, compared to the large and rapid innovation investment, total factor productivity's (TFP) growth rate has shown a downward trend. Consequently, this study assesses the inefficiency caused by resource mismatch and discusses the impact of green innovation activities on green total factor productivity (GTFP). We use a causal forest‐based machine learning method to solve the endogenous problem. The empirically analyzes the observation samples of 272 prefecture‐level cities in China from 2008 to 2018 and obtains the asymptotic normality estimation on the average treatment effect (ATE). Simultaneously, clustering causal forest and ridge expressions, discusses the robustness of related problems. According to the results, (1) the effect of China's green innovation on GTFP is negative for a short time and positive for a long time; (2) the impact of green innovation activities on GTFP is subject to capital mismatch, while the statistical law of the impact of labor mismatch is not obvious but the adverse impact of resource mismatch is gradually improving; and (3), Green innovation has significantly improved China's GTFP, but it did not lead to ideal Growth rate of GTC.
Exciton recombination in few‐layer MoS2 nanosheets: Role of free carriers and defects
Authors: Taank Pravrati , Karmakar Riyanka , Adarsh K. V. 
Published: February 2023

A current obstacle to the development of extremely flexible and high‐performance optoelectronic devices using transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets is the incomplete understanding of the exciton and free carrier recombination in the presence of defects. Here, taking liquid‐phase exfoliated few‐layer MoS2 nanosheets as a model system, we demonstrate the exciton and free carrier recombination mechanism by employing pump energy and fluence‐dependent ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. We demonstrate that 3.10 eV pump excitation, much above the lowest energy A exciton of four to six layers of MoS2 nanosheets (~1.84 eV), generates excitons and free carriers. The excitons decay quickly within ~3 ps due to the defect capture via the Shockley–Read–Hall mechanism. In contrast, free carriers show slower recombination (~1000 ps), which is an order of magnitude larger than the exciton recombination time. We verified this idea by exciting the sample with 1.94–2.22 eV pump excitations that predominantly generate excitons decaying within ~3 ps. Our systematic studies in few‐layer MoS2 nanosheets reveal crucial information on the unexplored domain of excitons and free carriers recombination in the presence of defects for several optoelectronic applications.
Designing Low Tortuosity Electrodes through Pattern Optimization for Fast‐Charging
Authors: Wang Ying , Zhang Yuxuan , Cao Daxian , Ji Tongtai , Ren Haoze , Wang Guanyi , Wu Qingliu , Zhu Hongli 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe development of fast‐charging technologies is crucial for expediting the progress and promotion of electric vehicles. In addition to innovative material exploration, reduction in the tortuosity of electrodes is a favored strategy to enhance the fast‐charging capability of lithium‐ion batteries by optimizing the ion‐transfer kinetics. To realize the industrialization of low‐tortuosity electrodes, a facile, cost‐effective, highly controlled, and high‐output continuous additive manufacturing roll‐to‐roll screen printing technology is proposed to render customized vertical channels within electrodes. Extremely precise vertical channels are fabricated by applying the as‐developed inks, using LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 as the cathode material. Additionally, the relationship between the electrochemical properties and architecture of the channels, including the pattern, channel diameter, and edge distance between channels, is revealed. The optimized screen‐printed electrode exhibited a seven‐fold higher charge capacity (72 mAh g−1) at a current rate of 6 C and superior stability compared with that of the conventional bar‐coated electrode (10 mAh g−1, 6 C) at a mass loading of 10 mg cm−2. This roll‐to‐roll additive manufacturing can potentially be applied to various active materials printing to reduce electrode tortuosity and enable fast charging in battery manufacturing.
Drug stability in forensic toxicology
Authors: Nisbet Lorna A. , DiEmma Gabrielle E. , Scott Karen S. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractKnowledge of the stability of analytes in solvents and biological matrices is of high importance in the field of forensic toxicology. This is particularly true where quantitative analysis is undertaken; degradation of analytes will result in under‐estimation of concentrations, whereas the production of analytes/metabolites will lead to over‐estimation. Although stability is included as part of method validation, this typically focuses on processed sample stability, and the impact of freeze/thaw cycles upon analytes. Although beneficial for method evaluation, this does not assist laboratory analysts with the short‐ and long‐term storage of samples prior to this step and does not consider the impact the biological matrix may have on the degradation or production of the analyte in question. The timeframe for these studies is also relatively short (typically 72 h), which does not cover the time frame between sample receivership and analysis for many forensic cases. This review collects previously published work on long‐term stability studies, grouping compounds into their associated drug classes and matrices. Research shows that the majority of compounds are more stable at lower storage temperatures, and that analysis should be completed as quickly as possible. It is advised that analyte stability be considered prior to any interpretation of concentrations in a forensic setting.This article is categorized under:
Toxicology > Analytical
Toxicology > Drug Analysis
Toxicology > Drug Stability