bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Thermocapillary thin film flow upon a porous heated stretchable cylinder
Authors: Gogoi Partha Pratim , Maity Susanta 
Published: August 2023

AbstractEarlier research work related to the unsteady flow of thin liquid film on a heated stretching cylinder has considered the boundary‐layer approximation under the assumption that the film thickness is thick. In this article, we have considered the full set of Navier–Stokes equations to study the unsteady film development over a porous heated stretching cylinder with the assumption that film height either coincides or lies within the boundary‐layer thickness. The effects of magnetic field, suction/injection, and cooling or heating of the cylinder have been considered for investigation. The governing set of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations is solved numerically by the implicit finite difference scheme (Crank–Nicolson). It was found that the film thinning rate diminishes with rising values of the porosity parameter and Hartmann number. It is also noted that the film thickness is enhanced for injection whereas opposite results are observed for suction through the porous cylinder. The thermocapillary effect showed that the thinning rate of the liquid film decreases or increases according to the surface of the cylinder being heated or cooled. It is observed that continuously increasing the stretching speed of the cylinder produces faster thinning of the liquid film. The temperature of the liquid film is the maximum at the surface of the cylinder and it decreases toward the free surface when the cylinder is heated. But the opposite phenomenon occurs when the cylinder is cooled.
Risk factors identification of COVID‐19 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A retrospective study in Punjab‐Pakistan
Authors: Hassan Muhammad Muneeb , Tahir M. H. , Ameeq Muhammad , Jamal Farrukh , Mendy John T. , Chesneau Christophe 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundAccessibility to the immense collection of studies on noncommunicable diseases related to coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID‐19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is an immediate focus of researchers. However, there is a scarcity of information about chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD), which is associated with a high rate of infection in COVID‐19 patients. Moreover, by combining the effects of the SARS‐CoV‐2 on COPD patients, we may be able to overcome formidable obstacles factors, and diagnosis influencers.Materials and MethodsA retrospective study of 280 patients was conducted at DHQ Hospital Muzaffargarh in Punjab, Pakistan. Negative binomial regression describes the risk of fixed successive variables. The association is described by the Cox proportional hazard model and the model coefficient is determined through log‐likelihood observation. Patients with COPD had their survival and mortality plotted on Kaplan–Meier curves.ResultsThe increased risk of death in COPD patients was due to the effects of variables such as cough, lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), tuberculosis (TB), and body‐aches being 1.369, 0.693, 0.170, and 0.217 times higher at (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.747–1.992), (95% CI: 0.231–1.156), (95% CI: 0.008–0.332), and (95% CI: −0.07 to 0.440) while it decreased 0.396 in normal condition.ConclusionWe found that the symptoms of COPD (cough, LRTI, TB, and bodyaches) are statistically significant in patients who were most infected by SARS‐CoV‐2.
E2F3 renders an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Involvements of the transcription activation of PRC1 and BIRC5
Authors: Wang Qiang , Yu Qi , Liu Yueyang 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundE2F transcription factors are well‐recognized oncogenic molecules, and their correlation with immune cell infiltration has recently been reported. This work studies the impacts and mechanism of E2F transcription factor 3 (E2F3) in the growth and tumor microenvironment (TME) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).MethodsAberrantly expressed transcription factors in NPC were screened by abundant bioinformatics analyses. Gene expression in NPC cells was analyzed by reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. Malignant behaviors of NPC cells were analyzed by cell counting kit‐8, 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine labeling, Transwell assays, and xenograft tumor models. TPA‐induced THP‐1 cells (macrophages) were cultured in the conditioned medium of NPC cells to mimic tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) in vivo, and these TAMs were cocultured with CD8+ T cells. Regulation of E2F3 on protein regulator of cytokinesis 1 (PRC1) and baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) was validated by chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays.ResultsE2F3 was highly expressed in NPC cells, and its knockdown suppressed malignant behavior and tumorigenic ability of the cells. The E2F3 knockdown condition downregulated M2 cytokines CD163 and interleukin‐10 in TAMs, which further enhanced proliferation and activation of the cocultured CD8+ T cells. E2F3 promoted transcription of PRC1 and BRIC5. Furthermore, PRC1 or BRIC5 upregulation in NPC cells restored the malignant properties of NPC cells, reprogrammed the TAMs to M2 phenotype, and suppressed the CD8+ T cell proliferation and activation.ConclusionThis work suggests that E2F3 renders an immunosuppressive TME in NPC by activating PRC1 and BIRC5. Suppression of any member involved might favor tumor elimination.
Disturbances of menstrual cycle after immunization against SARS‐CoV‐2 and their risk factors: Cross‐sectional clinical study
Authors: Lukac Stefan , Hancke Katharina , Janni Wolfgang , Gruber Tobias , Schmid Marinus , El‐Taie Ziad , Kersten Maria , Friedl Thomas Wolfram Paul , Dayan Davut 
Published: August 2023

AbstractObjectiveAbnormalities of the menstrual cycle were reported after infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 and vaccination against it, but the available data are very heterogeneous, do not reflect intermenstrual variations or regional differences, and their risk factors are missing.MethodsWe performed a survey‐based study among 6383 employees and students of Ulm University Hospital in Germany between March 1 and 31, 2021. Attributes of menstrual cycles such as cycle length (CL), menses duration (MD), and bleeding volume (BV) were reported as categorical variables before and after immunization against SARS‐CoV‐2 (first, second, third vaccination or infection). Additionally, the potential risk factors for cycle changes were evaluated and all participants reported the subjective perception of changes, their duration, and time of occurrence.ResultsThe final analysis included 1726 participants. CL and BV significantly changed after vaccination, but not MD. The subjective perception showed only slight levels of agreement with the objective changes, with the highest Cohen's kappa for CL. The risk factors for the variations in CL were previous cycle irregularities, and risk factors for the changes in BV were age and body mass index. The combination of vaccines (homogenous or heterogeneous) and different types of immunization (infection and vaccination) had no significant effect on cycle irregularities.ConclusionIn summary, immunization against SARS‐CoV‐2 causes changes in the characteristics of the menstrual cycle, which are mostly temporary. The individual risk factors, but not the type of immunization, can affect the mentioned changes.
Impact of macroeconomic assumptions on United States Department of Agriculture's baseline farm income projections
Authors: Regmi Hari P. , Kuethe Todd H. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) agricultural baseline projections are important in shaping US agricultural policy. We investigate the degree to which previous findings of bias and inefficiency of USDA baseline projections of farm income and its components are driven by underlying macroeconomic assumptions. Once we control for the deviation of underlying macroeconomic assumptions from their observed path, we find that USDA projections of net cash income and its components are optimal for 73.3% of the projection horizons and the length of informative horizons improves. These findings may help USDA projection users, adjust their expectations when making plans and decisions.
Phlpp1 Expression in Osteoblasts Plays a Modest Role in Bone Homeostasis
Authors: Karkache Ismael Y , Molstad David HH , Vu Elizabeth , Jensen Eric D , Bradley Elizabeth W 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTPrior work demonstrated that Phlpp1 deficiency alters limb length and bone mass, but the cell types involved and requirement of Phlpp1 for this effect were unclear. To understand the function of Phlpp1 within bone‐forming osteoblasts, we crossed Phlpp1 floxed mice with mice harboring type 1 collagen (Col1a12.3kb)‐Cre. Mineralization of bone marrow stromal cell cultures derived from Phlpp1 cKOCol1a1 was unchanged, but levels of inflammatory genes (eg, Ifng, Il6, Ccl8) and receptor activator of NF‐κB ligand/osteoprotegerin (RANKL/OPG) ratios were enhanced by either Phlpp1 ablation or chemical inhibition. Micro‐computed tomography of the distal femur and L5 vertebral body of 12‐week‐old mice revealed no alteration in bone volume per total volume, but compromised femoral bone microarchitecture within Phlpp1 cKOCol1a1 conditional knockout females. Bone histomorphometry of the proximal tibia documented no changes in osteoblast or osteoclast number per bone surface but slight reductions in osteoclast surface per bone surface. Overall, our data show that deletion of Phlpp1 in type 1 collagen–expressing cells does not significantly alter attainment of peak bone mass of either males or females, but may enhance inflammatory gene expression and the ratio of RANKL/OPG. Future studies examining the role of Phlpp1 within models of advanced age, inflammation, or osteocytes, as well as functional redundancy with the related Phlpp2 isoform are warranted. © 2023 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Cartesian constraints in QM/MM optimizations
Authors: López‐Sosa L. , Calaminici P. , Köster A. M. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWith the rise of quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods, the interest in the calculation of molecular assemblies has increased considerably. The structures and dynamics of such assemblies are usually governed to a large extend by intermolecular interactions. As a result, the corresponding potential energy surfaces are topological rich and possess many shallow minima. Therefore, local structure optimizations of QM/MM molecular assemblies can be challenging, in particular if optimization constraints are imposed. To overcome this problem, structure optimization in normal coordinate space is advocated. To do so, the external degrees of freedom of a molecule are separated from the internal ones by a projector matrix in the space of the Cartesian coordinates. Here we extend this approach to Cartesian constraints. To this end, we devise an algorithm that adds the Cartesian constraints directly to the projector matrix and in this way eliminates them from the reduced coordinate space in which the molecule is optimized. To analyze the performance and stability of the constrained optimization algorithm in normal coordinate space, we present constrained minimizations of small molecular systems and amino acids in gas phase as well as water employing QM/MM constrained optimizations. All calculations are performed in the framework of auxiliary density functional theory as implemented in the program deMon2k.
Amino‐functionalized hyper‐cross‐linked resins for levulinic acid adsorption from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate
Authors: Ji Xuran , Shen Zhijie , Wang Can , Yao Shimiao , Xiong Lian , Zhang Hairong , Zhou Hongcai , Chen Xuefang , Chen Xinde 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBACKGROUNDLevulinic acid (LA) is an important biomass‐platform compound. The preparation of LA from biomass will inevitably produce many by‐products. However, there are few investigations focused on the separation and purification of LA from biomass hydrolysate. This study designed a series of hyper‐cross‐linked resins to adsorb LA from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate, investigated the adsorption behavior of LA onto resin in a fixed‐bed system and established a relevant model to depict the adsorption process, which can provide reference for LA separation.RESULTSThe hyper‐cross‐linked resin G10PTEPA synthesized by poly(styrene‐divinylbenzene‐glycidyl methacrylate) resin G10 with the Friedel–Crafts reaction and amination reaction using tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) had the best adsorption performance. The adsorption capacity of LA onto G10PTEPA in the sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate was 95.02 mg g−1, which was improved by 37% compared with G10. The maximum efficiency of the fixed‐bed onto G10PTEPA was 86.01% at flow rate of 0.6 mL min−1, with bed volume of 14 mL, fixed‐bed diameter of 2 cm, and feed LA concentration of 19.0 g · L−1. After elution by ethanol, a five‐fold increase in the concentration of LA with a purity of 80% was achieved. The Thomas model and the Yoon–Nelson model fitted well (R2 > 0.99) to the fixed‐bed adsorption behavior of LA onto G10PTEPA and can give accurate predictions.CONCLUSIONThe resin G10PTEPA was the best‐performing adsorbent for LA adsorption. Larger fixed‐bed diameter, higher flow rate and higher inflow concentration were beneficial to increase the mass transfer driving force. This study provides a potential adsorbent and theoretical guidance for LA separation. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Electric discharge by sulphide shuttling bacteria
Authors: Linssen Rikke , ter Heijne Annemiek 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBACKGROUNDIn biodesulphurisation processes, sulphide oxidising bacteria (SOB) convert toxic sulphide to sulphur. Haloalkalophilic SOB are known to anaerobically remove sulphide from solution and release electrons when subsequently exposed to an electrode. This makes SOB able to spatially decouple sulphide removal and current production, thereby acting as sulphide shuttles. Little is known about the kinetics of electron release by sulphide shuttling SOB. To gain more insight into the sulphide shuttling mechanism and electron release, current production of abiotic sulphide and sulphide shuttling SOB was compared.RESULTSSOB communities dominated byThioalkalivibrio sulfidophiluswere incubated with sulphide in batch experiments. After sulphide was removed, SOB were discharged in an electrochemical cell. Anode potential, sulphide load and biomass concentration were varied. Current was produced at potentials of −0.2 VversusAg/AgCl and higher, and at a potential of 0.1 V a coulombic efficiency of 70% was reached in 30 min. The maximum charge recovered from biologically stored sulphide was 4900 ± 810 mC mgN−1. Discharge kinetics were not affected by biomass concentration or degree of sulphide removal and kinetics of biotic and abiotic current production were similar.CONCLUSIONCurrent production of sulphide shuttling SOB and abiotic sulphide was highly similar. This implies that sulphide shuttling is based on sorption to the biomass, and that shuttled sulphide converts to sulphur directly at the electrode surface. Therefore, the sulphide shuttling strategy is not sufficient to prevent electrode passivation, and different strategies need to be applied in the design of a sulphur‐producing bioelectrochemical desulphurisation process. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Soft rot of postharvest pepper: bacterial pathogen, pathogenicity and its biological control using Lactobacillus farciminis LJLAB1
Authors: Li Xiaofen , Li Guang , Yi Lanhua , Zeng Kaifang 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundSoft rot is the most important bacterial disease of postharvest pepper during storage and transportation. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the bacterial pathogen species causing pepper soft rot and seek for an antagonistic bacterium to control this disease.ResultsPathogens Pectobacterium carotovorum, Enterobacter sp., Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. were verified to be the causes of soft rot which were isolated from rotten peppers. Among them, P. carotovorum had the highest prevalence, including P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) and P. carotovorum subsp. brasilisesis (Pcb). The result of pathogenicity analysis showed that Pcb Jm2 had strong pathogenicity at 25 °C even at a cell concentration of 103 CFU mL−1. Its pathogenicity decreased at 4 °C. Multiple pathogenic factors were identified in the draft genome of Pcb Jm2, including cellulase, pectinase, pectin methylesterase, pectinesterase, pectin lyase, polygalacturonase and so forth. Further, the disease control ability of Lactobacillus farciminis LJLAB1 was investigated. The cell‐free supernatant (CFS) and crude bacteriocin of L. farciminis LJLAB1 had good antibacterial activities to Pcb Jm2 in vitro, but CFS exhibited a better disease control effect in vivo. CFS treatment prevented the damage of pepper epidermal structure caused by Pcb Jm2, and 99.26% of pathogen cells on pepper were killed by it. Moreover, CFS treatment delayed firmness decrease, soluble solid content loss, weight loss, yellowing and malonaldehyde accumulation of pepper during storage after pathogen infection.ConclusionL. farciminis LJLAB1 can be an effective biological control agent to control pepper soft rot caused by Pcb. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Engineering Super‐Poissonian Photon Statistics of Spatial Light Modes
Authors: Hong Mingyuan , Miller Ashe , León‐Montiel Roberto de J. , You Chenglong , Magaña‐Loaiza Omar S. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe nature of light sources is defined by the statistical fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. As such, the photon statistics of light sources are typically associated with distinct emitters. Here, the possibility of producing light beams with various photon statistics through the spatial modulation of coherent light is demonstrated. This is achieved by the sequential encoding of controllable Kolmogorov phase screens in a digital micromirror device. Interestingly, the flexibility of this scheme allows for the shaping of spatial light modes with engineered photon statistics at different spatial positions. The performance of this scheme is assessed through the photon‐number‐resolving characterization of different families of spatial light modes with engineered photon statistics. It is believed that the possibility of controlling the photon fluctuations of the light field at arbitrary spatial locations has important implications for quantum spectroscopy, sensing, and imaging.
Colloidal Manipulation through Plasmonic and Non‐plasmonic Laser‐Assisted Heating
Authors: K Monisha , K Suresh , George Sajan D. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractIn spite of the long‐term awareness of the conversion of light to heat even in materials with low absorption coefficient via the photothermal effect and consequent usage of the effect to evaluate thermo‐optic properties of the materials, only recently has the thermal field created via photon‐to‐phonon conversion been exploited for manipulation of colloidal objects as well as living cells. As compared to conventional direct photon‐assisted manipulation via optical tweezers, the optothermal manipulation technique employs much lower optical source power and can manipulate particles over a long range. In this review, the working mechanisms, concepts, and applications of a series of recently established optothermal techniques are discussed for the manipulation of diverse species including micro/nanoparticles, biological cells, molecules, and micelles in various fluidic environments. The physical mechanism of the optical manipulation that relies on the coordinated action of thermal convection, Marangoni convection, thermophoresis, thermoelectricity, depletion attraction, and thermo‐osmotic flow is discussed in detail. With their low‐power operation, diverse functionalities, and simple optics employed, optothermal manipulation techniques are increasingly finding a wide range of applications in colloidal science, life sciences, materials science, and nanoscience, as well as in the developments of colloidal functional devices and nanomedicine.
Effect of Protein Corona on the Specificity and Efficacy of Nanobioconjugates to Treat Intracellular Infections
Authors: Mejía Susana P. , Marques Richard da Costa , Landfester Katharina , Orozco Jahir , Mailänder Volker 
Published: August 2023

AbstractEncapsulating drugs into functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) is an alternative to reach the specific therapeutic target with lower doses. However, when the NPs are in contact with physiological media, proteins adsorb on their surfaces, forming a protein corona (PC) biomolecular layer, acquiring a distinct biological identity that alters their interactions with cells. Itraconazole (ITZ), an antifungal agent, is encapsulated into PEGylated and/or functionalized NPs with high specificity for macrophages. It is evaluated how the PC impacts their cell uptake and antifungal effect. The minimum inhibitory concentration and colony‐forming unit assays demonstrate that encapsulated ITZ into poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) NPs improves the antifungal effect compared with NPs lacking PEGylation. The improvement can be related to the synergistic effect of the encapsulated ITZ and NPs composition and the reduction of PC formation in PEG NPs. Functionalized NPs with anti‐F4/80 and anti‐MARCO antibodies, or mannose without PEG and treated with PC, show an improved uptake but, in the presence of PEG, significantly reduce the endocytosis, dominating the stealth effect from PEG. Therefore, the PC plays a crucial role in the nanosystem uptake and antifungal effects, which suggests the need for in vivo model studies to evaluate the effect of PC in the specificity and biodistribution.
Properties of a polyanalytic functional calculus on the S‐spectrum
Authors: De Martino Antonino , Pinton Stefano 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe Fueter mapping theorem gives a constructive way to extend holomorphic functions of one complex variable to monogenic functions, that is, null solutions of the generalized Cauchy–Riemann operator in , denoted by . This theorem is divided in two steps. In the first step, a holomorphic function is extended to a slice hyperholomorphic function. The Cauchy formula for this type of functions is the starting point of the S‐functional calculus. In the second step, a monogenic function is obtained by applying the Laplace operator in four real variables, namely, Δ, to a slice hyperholomorphic function. The polyanalytic functional calculus, that we study in this paper, is based on the factorization of . Instead of applying directly the Laplace operator to a slice hyperholomorphic function, we apply first the operator and we get a polyanalytic function of order 2, that is, a function that belongs to the kernel of . We can represent this type of functions in an integral form and then we can define the polyanalytic functional calculus on S‐spectrum. The main goal of this paper is to show the principal properties of this functional calculus. In particular, we study a resolvent equation suitable for proving a product rule and generate the Riesz projectors.