bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dynamic covalent networks with tunable dynamicity by mixing acylsemicarbazides and thioacylsemicarbazides
Authors: Sarkar Ramkrishna , Majumdar Soumabrata , Kuil Sierd , Mallens Jorg , van der Tol Joost J. B. , Sijbesma Rint P. , Heuts Johan P. A. , Palmans Anja R. A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractDynamic covalent networks (DCNs) use chemical bonds that break and reform at appropriate processing conditions to allow reconfiguration of the networks. Recently, the acylsemicarbazide (ASC) motif has been added to the repertoire of such dynamic covalent bonds, which is capable of hydrogen bonding as well as dynamic bond exchange. In this study, we show that its sulfur congener, thioacylsemicarbazide (TASC), also acts as a dynamic covalent bond, but exchanges at a slower rate than the ASC moiety. In addition, siloxane‐based DCNs comprising either ASC or TASC motifs or a varying composition of both show tunable relaxation dynamics, which slow down with an increasing amount of TASC motifs. The reduction in stress relaxation goes hand in hand with a reduction of creep in the network and can be tuned by the ASC/TASC ratio. All networks are readily processed using compression molding and dissolve when treated with excess hydrazide in solution. The ability to control network properties and creep in dynamic covalent polymeric networks by small changes in the molecular structure of the dynamic bond allows a generalized synthetic approach while accommodating a wide temperature window for application.
Dexamethasone versus methylprednisolone for critical asthma: A single center, open‐label, parallel‐group clinical trial
Authors: Roddy Meghan R. , Sellers Austin R. , Darville Kristina K. , Teppa‐Sanchez Beatriz , McKinley Scott D. , Martin Meghan , Goldenberg Neil A. , Nakagawa Thomas A. , Sochet Anthony A. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBackgroundEvidence for the use of dexamethasone for pediatric critical asthma is limited. We sought to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of dexamethasone versus methylprednisolone among children hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for critical asthma.MethodsA prospective, single center, open‐label, two‐arm, parallel‐group, nonrandomized trial among children ages 5−17 years hospitalized within the PICU from April 2019 to December 2021 for critical asthma consented to receive methylprednisolone (standard care) or dexamethasone (intervention) at a 2:1 allocation ratio, respectively. The intervention arm received intravenous dexamethasone 0.25 mg/kg/dose (max: 15 mg/dose) every 6 h for 48 h and the standard care arm intravenous methylprednisolone 1 mg/kg/dose every 6 h (max dose: 60 mg/dose) for 5 days. Study endpoints were clinical efficacy (i.e., length of stay [LOS], continuous albuterol duration, and a composite of adjunctive asthma interventions) and safety (i.e., corticosteroid‐related adverse events).ResultsNinety‐two participants were analyzed of whom 31 were allocated to the intervention arm and 61 the standard care arm. No differences in demographics, clinical characteristics, or acute/chronic asthma severity indices were observed. Regarding efficacy and safety endpoints, no differences in hospital LOS, continuous albuterol duration, adjunctive asthma intervention rates, or corticosteroid‐related adverse events were noted. Compared to the intervention arm, participants in the standard care arm more frequently were prescribed corticosteroids at discharge (72% vs. 13%, p < 0.001).ConclusionsAmong children hospitalized for critical asthma, dexamethasone appears safe and warrants further investigation to fully assess clinical efficacy and potential advantages over commonly applied agents such as methylprednisolone.
Conformational ensembles explain NMR spectra of frozen intrinsically disordered proteins
Authors: Kragelj Jaka , Dumarieh Rania , Xiao Yiling , Frederick Kendra K. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractProtein regions which are intrinsically disordered, exist as an ensemble of rapidly interconverting structures. Cooling proteins to cryogenic temperatures for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR studies suspends most of the motions, resulting in peaks that are broad but not featureless. To demonstrate that detailed conformational restraints can be retrieved from the peak shapes of frozen proteins alone, we developed and used a simulation framework to assign peak features to conformers in the ensemble. We validated our simulations by comparing them to spectra of α‐synuclein acquired under different experimental conditions. Our assignments of peaks to discrete dihedral angle populations suggest that structural constraints are attainable under cryogenic conditions. The ability to infer ensemble populations from peak shapes has important implications for DNP MAS NMR studies of proteins with regions of disorder in living cells because chemical shifts are the most accessible measured parameter.
Achieving COVID‐19 herd immunity in Rwanda, Africa
Authors: Uwizeyimana Theogene , Manirambona Emery , Saidu Musa Shuaibu , Uwiringiyimana Emmanuel , Bazimya Darius , Mathewos Kedest 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to global healthcare systems, including Rwanda's. Rwanda has taken measured actions in response to the pandemic using a multisectoral and one‐government approach. The introduction of the COVID‐19 vaccine boosted the hope of many people but has left debates on the measure of the population required to attain herd immunity. Herd immunity threshold (HIT) was introduced to track progress toward containing COVID‐19. HIT represents the number of people with long‐term immunity from COVID‐19. World Health Organization (WHO) established population vaccination targets for all countries worldwide, which included 40% coverage of the entire population by the end of 2021 and 70% by June 2022. In this paper, we discussed the efforts and progress that have been made so far toward achieving herd immunity in Rwanda.
Projection operator‐based robust adaptive control of an aerial robot with a manipulator
Authors: Sumathy Vidya , Abdul Sajid Ahamed Mohammed , Ghose Debasish 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis paper describes a quadcopter manipulator system, an aerial robot with an extended workspace, its controller design, and experimental validation. The aerial robot is based on a quadcopter with a three degree of freedom robotic arm connected to the base of the vehicle. The work aims to create a stable airborne robot with a robotic arm that can work above and below the airframe, regardless of where the arm is attached. Integrating a robotic arm into an underactuated, unstable system like a quadcopter can enhance the vehicle's functionality while increasing instability. To execute a mission with accuracy and reliability during a real‐time task, the system must overcome the inter‐coupling effects and external disturbances. This work presents a novel design for a robust adaptive feedback linearization controller with a model reference adaptive controller and hardware implementation of the quadcopter manipulator system with plant uncertainties. The closed‐loop stability of the aerial robot and the tracking error convergence with the robust controller is analyzed using Lyapunov stability analysis. The quadcopter manipulator system is custom developed in the lab with an off‐the‐shelf quadcopter and a 3D‐printed robotic arm. The robotic system architecture is implemented using a Jetson Nano companion computer for autonomous onboard flight. Experiments were conducted on quadcopter manipulator system to evaluate the autonomous aerial robot's stability and trajectory tracking with the proposed controller.
Design of a bilateral‐symmetric multi‐slot fishway and its comparison with vertical slot fishway in terms of hydraulic properties
Authors: Zhang Di , Bian Xiaohui , Shi Xiaotao , Deng Jun , Liu Yakun 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAiming at improving the hydraulic properties and enhancing the fish passage efficiency, this study proposes a novel bilateral‐symmetric multi‐slot fishway (BMSF) by combining the structural features of a double‐sided vertical‐slot fishway, multi‐slot fishway and T‐shape fishway. Eight BMSF cases are further designed by adjusting the slot width and the distance between the short baffle and the front end of the central wall, in order to achieve the relatively best hydrodynamic characteristics. The flow fields of two vertical‐slot fishways and eight BMSF fishways are obtained by numerically solving the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equation, the volume‐of‐fluid equation and the k‐ω‐SST turbulence model. Numerical results manifest that the recommended BMSF‐8 provides the smallest values in terms of the maximum time‐averaged velocity magnitude (1.42 m s−1), the maximum time‐averaged turbulent kinetic energy (0.132 m2 s−2), the maximum time‐averaged Reynolds shear stress component (44 Pa), the spatial‐mean time‐averaged velocity magnitude (0.58 m s−1), and the spatial‐mean time‐averaged turbulent kinetic energy (0.042 m2 s−2) in the middle pool at Q = 1000 L/s. Even for the depth‐mean time‐averaged velocity magnitude at the slot and the volume percentages of some critical physical quantities, BMSF‐8 is also superior to the other cases. To sum up, BMSF‐8 leads to the relatively lowest flow velocity and turbulence, being more suitable for the passage of the whole fish community (especially for small‐sized fishes with weaker swimming ability). In addition, the generalizability of the aforementioned superiority of BMSF‐8 is displayed by providing the numerical results of four operating conditions (i.e., Q = 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 L/s).
Nanoscale Control of the Surface Functionality of Polymeric 2D Materials
Authors: Suraeva Oksana , Kaltbeitzel Anke , Landfester Katharina , Wurm Frederik R. , Lieberwirth Ingo 
Published: March 2023

AbstractTypically, 2D nanosheets have a homogeneous surface, making them a major challenge to structure. This study proposes a novel concept of 2D organic nanosheets with a heterogeneously functionalized surface. This work achieves this by consecutively crystallizing two precisely synthesized polymers with different functional groups in the polymer backbone in a two‐step process. First, the core platelet is formed and then the second polymer is crystallized around it. As a result, the central area of the platelets has a different surface functionality than the periphery. This concept offers two advantages: the resulting polymeric 2D platelets are stable in dispersion, which simplifies further processing and makes both crystal surfaces accessible for subsequent functionalization. Additionally, a wide variety of polymers can be used, making the process and the choice of surface functionalization very flexible.
Switchable Polar Nanotexture in Nanolaminates HfO2‐ZrO2 for Ultrafast Logic‐in‐Memory Operations
Authors: Kumar Mohit , Han Seung‐Ik , Ahn Yeonghwan , Jeon Yerin , Park Jiyeong , Seo Hyungtak 
Published: March 2023

AbstractNontrivial topological polar textures in ferroelectric materials, including vortices, skyrmions, and others, have the potential to develop ultrafast, high‐density, reliable multilevel memory storage and conceptually innovative processing units, even beyond the limit of binary storage of 180° aligned polar materials. However, the realization of switchable polar textures at room temperature in ferroelectric materials integrated directly into silicon using a straightforward large area fabrication technique and effectively utilizing it to design multilevel programable memory and processing units has not yet been demonstrated. Here, utilizing vector piezoresponse force and conductive atomic force microscopy, microscopic evidence of the electric field switchable polar nanotexture is provided at room temperature in HfO2‐ZrO2 nanolaminates grown directly onto silicon using an atomic layer deposition technique. Additionally, a two‐terminal Au/nanolaminates/Si ferroelectric tunnel junction is designed, which shows ultrafast (≈83 ns) nonvolatile multilevel current switching with high on/off ratio (>106), long‐term durability (>4000 s), and giant tunnel electroresistance (108%). Furthermore, 14 Boolean logic operations are tested utilizing a single device as a proof‐of‐concept for reconfigurable logic‐in‐memory processing. The results offer a potential approach to “processing with polar textures” and addressing the challenges of developing high‐performance multilevel in‐memory processing technology by virtue of its fundamentally distinct mechanism of operation.
Carbon Foam‐Supported VS2 Cathode for High‐Performance Flexible Self‐Healing Quasi‐Solid‐State Zinc‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Mao Yunjie , Zhao Bangchuan , Bai Jin , Ma Hongyang , Wang Peiyao , Li Wanyun , Xiao Ke , Wang Siya , Zhu Xuebin , Sun Yuping 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAs the new generation of energy storage systems, the flexible battery can effectively broaden the application area and scope of energy storage devices. Flexibility and energy density are the two core evaluation parameters for the flexible battery. In this work, a flexible VS2 material (VS2@CF) is fabricated by growing the VS2 nanosheet arrays on carbon foam (CF) using a simple hydrothermal method. Benefiting from the high electric conductivity and 3D foam structure, VS2@CF shows an excellent rate capability (172.8 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1) and cycling performance (130.2 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles) when it served as cathode material for aqueous zinc‐ion batteries. More importantly, the quasi‐solid‐state battery VS2@CF//Zn@CF assembled by the VS2@CF cathode, CF‐supported Zn anode, and a self‐healing gel electrolyte also exhibits excellent rate capability (261.5 and 149.8 mAh g−1 at 0.2 and 5 A g−1, respectively) and cycle performance with a capacity of 126.6 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 1 A g−1. Moreover, the VS2@CF//Zn@CF full cell also shows good flexible and self‐healing properties, which can be charged and discharged normally under different bending angles and after being destroyed and then self‐healing.
Enzyme‐Triggered Transforming of Assembly Peptide‐Modified Magnetic Resonance‐Tuned Probe for Highly Sensitive Imaging of Bacterial Infection In Vivo
Authors: Li Linyao , Liu Maojuan , Deng Siyu , Zhu Xiaokang , Song Yang , Song Erqun 
Published: March 2023

AbstractConfirming bacterial infection at an early stage and distinguishing between sterile inflammation and bacterial infection is still highly needed for efficient treatment. Here, in situ highly sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) bacterial infection in vivo based on a peptide‐modified magnetic resonance tuning (MRET) probe (MPD‐1) that responds to matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP‐2) highly expressed in bacteria‐infected microenvironments is achieved. MPD‐1 is an assembly of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) bearing with gadolinium ion (Gd3+) modified MMP‐2‐cleavable self‐assembled peptide (P1) and bacteria‐targeting peptide (P), and it shows T2‐weighted signal due to the assemble of MNP and MRET ON phenomenon between MNP assembly and Gd3+. Once MPD‐1 accumulates at the bacterially infected site, P1 included in MPD‐1 is cleaved explicitly by MMP‐2, which triggers the T2 contrast agent of MPD‐1 to disassemble into the monomer of MNP, leading the recovery of T1‐weighted signal. Simultaneously, Gd3+ detaches from MNP, further enhancing the T1‐weighted signal due to MRET OFF. The sensitive MRI of Staphylococcus aureus (low to 104 CFU) at the myositis site and accurate differentiation between sterile inflammation and bacterial infection based on the proposed MPD‐1 probe suggests that this novel probe would be a promising candidate for efficiently detecting bacterial infection in vivo.
Electrochemical Self‐Healing Nanocrystal Electrodes for Ultrastable Potassium‐Ion Storage
Authors: Lin Wei‐Cheng , Yang Yi‐Chun , Tuan Hsing‐Yu 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe unique properties of self‐healing materials hold great potential in battery systems, which can exhibit excellent deformability and return to its original shape after cycling. Herein, a Cu3BiS3 anode material with self‐healing mechanisms is proposed for use in ultrastable potassium‐ion battery (PIB) and potassium‐ion hybrid capacitor (PIHC). Different from the binder design, Cu3BiS3 anode can exhibit the dual advantages of phase and morphological reversibility, further remaining original property after potassiation/depotassiation and exhibiting ultrastable cycling performance. The reversible electrochemical reconstruction during the continuous charge/discharge processes is beneficial to maintain the structure and function of the material. Furthermore, the conversion reactions during the charge and discharge process produce two advantages: i) suppressing the shuttle effect due to the formation of the heterostructure interface between Cu (111) and Bi (012); ii) Cu can avoid the agglomeration of Bi nanoparticles (NPs), further improving the electrochemical performance and long‐cycle stability of the Cu3BiS3 electrode. As a result, the Cu3BiS3 electrode not only exhibits a long cycle life in half cells, but also 2000 cycles and 12000 cycles in PIB and PIHC full cells, respectively.
Sintering Metal–Organic Framework Gels for Application as Structural Adhesives
Authors: Miyazaki Izuru , Masuoka Yumi , Ohshima Ayako , Takahashi Naoko , Suzumura Akitoshi , Moribe Shinya , Takao Hisaaki , Umehara Mitsutaro 
Published: March 2023

AbstractMetal–organic frameworks (MOFs)/coordination polymers are promising materials for gas separation, fuel storage, catalysis, and biopharmaceuticals. However, most applied research on MOFs is limited to these functional materials thus far. This study focuses on the potential of MOFs as structural adhesives. A sintering technique is applied to a zeolitic imidazolate framework‐67 (ZIF‐67) gel that enables the joining of Cu substrates, resulting in a shear strength of over 30 MPa, which is comparable to that of conventional structural adhesives. Additionally, systematic experiments are performed to evaluate the effects of temperature and pressure on adhesion, indicating that the removal of excess 2‐methylimidazole and the by‐product (acetic acid) from the sintered material by vaporization results in a microstructure composed of large spherical ZIF‐67 crystals that are densely aggregated, which is essential for achieving a high shear strength.
Exploring Self‐Healing and Switchable Adhesives based on Multi‐Level Dynamic Stable Structure
Authors: Xu Hualiang , Zhao Shiwei , Yuan Anqian , Zhao Youlong , Wu Xudong , Wei Zhengkai , Lei Jingxin , Jiang Liang 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIt is a challenge to develop adhesives simultaneously capable of strong adhesion and efficient switchable ability. Herein, the authors report multifunctional switchable adhesives named Cu2+‐curcumin‐imidazole‐polyurethane (CIPUs:Cu2+) by introducing 1‐(3‐aminopropyl) imidazole and curcumin into polyurethane system crossed by Cu2+ forming dynamic metal‐ligand bonds. This CIPUs:Cu2+ has strong adhesion (up to 2.46 MPa) on various material surfaces due to their specially designed functional groups alike the secretions from mussels. It can achieve fast switching speed (30 s) and high switch efficiency through multiple contactless remote stimulations. Importantly, density functional theory (DFT) calculation reveals that such metal‐ligand bonds consisting of two components: stronger Cu2+‐curcumin complexes and weaker Cu2+‐imidazole complexes can aggregate to form multi‐level dynamic stable structure . The special structure can not only be acted as sacrificial sites for easily broken and reformed, allowing efficient switchable adhesion and enormous energy dissipation but also acted as firm sites to maintain the cohesion of the adhesive and the reversible reconstruction network. Intriguingly, the CIPUs:Cu2+ can achieve self‐healing at room temperature without needing external stimuli. Overall, this strategy can further broaden the design of switchable adhesives in the fields of intelligent gadgets, wearable bio‐monitoring devices, etc.
Co‐Immobilization of GOD & HRP on Y‐Shaped DNA Scaffold and the Regulation of Inter‐Enzyme Distance
Authors: Chu Guan‐Bo , Li Wen‐Yu , Han Xiao‐Xia , Sun Hui‐Huang , Han Yu , Zhi Gao‐Ying , Zhang Dong‐Hao 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn multienzymes cascade reaction, the inter‐enzyme spacing is supposed to be a factor affecting the cascade activity. Here, a simple and efficient Y‐shaped DNA scaffold is assembled using two partially complementary DNA single strands on magnetic microspheres, which is used to coimmobilize glucose oxidase (GOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). As a result, on poly(vinyl acetate) magnetic microspheres (PVAC), GOD/HRP‐DNA@PVAC multienzyme system is obtained, which can locate GOD and HRP accurately and control the inter‐enzyme distance precisely. The distance between GOD and HRP is regulated by changing the length of DNA strand. It showed that the cascade activity is significantly distance‐dependent. Moreover, the inter‐enzyme spacing is not the closer the better, and too short distance would generate steric hindrance between enzymes. The cascade activity reached the maximum value of 967 U mg−1 at 13.6 nm, which is 3.5 times higher than that of free enzymes. This is ascribed to the formation of substrate channeling.
Explainable artificial intelligence envisioned security mechanism for cyber threat hunting
Authors: Kumar Pankaj , Wazid Mohammad , Singh D. P. , Singh Jaskaran , Das Ashok Kumar , Park Youngho , Rodrigues Joel J. P. C. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractCyber threat hunting proactively searches for cyber threats, which are undetected by the traditional defense mechanisms. It scans deep to identify malicious programs (ie, malware) that escape from detection. It is important because sophisticated cyber threats can bypass the cyber security mechanisms. The performance of the cyber threat hunting can be improved through artificial intelligence (AI), especially, explainable AI (XAI), which adds trust component to the cyber threat hunting process. Due to the inclusion of XAI, the security experts get the full explanations of the detected threats as the working of the detection model in XAI is known. Information, like, which one is a threat, how it has been detected, and why it has been detected, can be obtained very easily due to the inclusion of XAI in the cyber threat hunting. Therefore, an XAI‐envisioned mechanism for cyber threat hunting has been proposed (in short, XAISM‐CTH). The network and threat models of XAISM‐CTH are designed and discussed. The conducted security analysis proves the security of XAISM‐CTH against various potential attacks. XAISM‐CTH also performs better than the other existing schemes. At the end, a practical implementation of XAISM‐CTH has been provided to observe its impact on the performance of the system.