bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Steroidal Thioethers via [HDBU][OAc]‐Mediated Michael Addition of Thiols to 16‐Dehydropregnenolone
Authors: Maksó Lilla , Kovács Krisztina , Andreidesz Kitti , Gömöry Ágnes , Mahó Sándor , Skoda‐Földes Rita 
Published: August 2022

AbstractIn the catalytic addition of thiols to 16‐dehydropregnenolone fourteen thioethers were prepared via thiol‐Michael addition reaction in the presence of different aliphatic and aromatic thiols as reagents. [HDBU][OAc] was proved to be an efficient catalyst and solvent providing thioether derivatives in good to excellent yields. The ionic liquid could be reused for five times without noticeable loss of activity. The structures of compounds were confirmed by 1H‐, 13C NMR and IR spectroscopy and mass spectral analysis. A series of these pregnenolone derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity on breast cancer (MDA‐MB‐231, MCF7) cell lines.
Synthesis, Cytotoxicity, Pan‐HDAC Inhibitory Activity and Docking Study of N‐(2‐Aminophenyl)‐2‐arylquinoline‐4‐ and N‐(2‐Aminophenyl)‐2‐arylbenzo[h]quinoline‐4‐carboxamides**
Authors: Omidkhah Negar , Eisvand Farhad , Hadizadeh Farzin , Zarghi Afshin , Ghodsi Razieh 
Published: August 2022

AbstractA series of new N‐(2‐aminophenyl)‐2‐arylquinoline‐4‐carboxamide and N‐(2‐aminophenyl)‐2‐arylbenzo[h]quinoline‐4‐carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized compounds was investigated on three cell lines A549, HT‐29 and HCT116. The synthesized compounds, despite simple structures, displayed moderate to good cytotoxicity. Pan‐HDAC inhibitory activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated on two cell lines, HT‐29 and HCT116, which displayed inhibitory activity (%) of 9.77–50.39 % on HT‐29 and 7.1–53.64 % on HCT116 cell line at concentrations of 100 μM. The compounds 11 h, 11 k, 11 l, 11 m, 12 b, 12 c and 12 e with the best cytotoxicity (%) and Pan‐HDAC inhibitory activity (%) were selected to determine IC50 values. IC50 values were calculated from 18.5–43.5 μM on HCT116 compared to 15.9 μM for CI‐994 and 35.5–75.9 μM on HT‐29 compared to 33.65 μM for CI‐994. Pan‐HDAC inhibitory activity of these compounds was more than 100 μM on HCT116 cell line except for compound 12 e (85.75±7.49 μM). Docking study of selected compounds (11 h, 11 k, 11 l, 11 m, 12 b, 12 c and 12 e) was performed on HDAC isoforms that displayed the best docking scores on sirtuins.
Reuse of Acid‐treated Waste Corn Straw for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production
Authors: Zhou Yunlong , Lin Dongyao , Ye Xiaoyuan , Sun Bo 
Published: August 2022

AbstractUsing natural biomass as sacrificial agent for photocatalytic hydrogen production is a current topic of interest in the field of new energy research because it has widely available resources, is economical, and has environmental benefits. In this study, we propose a strategy for photocatalytic hydrogen production using acid‐treated corn straw and its extracts as a sacrificial agent. Furthermore, the important factors that affect the photocatalytic performance of hydrogen production are also studied. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed to characterize the composition, structure, and morphology of the corn straw. High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is employed to characterize the composition of extracts in the filtrate obtained from acid treatment. The results from the above analyses show that cellobiose and xylose, which are extracted from corn straw, significantly improve the hydrogen production performance. The optimal hydrogen generation rates in this study reach 30.583 μmol/h in 100 mL of water; this is 72 times greater than that using pure water, 2 times greater than that using raw corn straw, and 4.5 times greater than that using acid‐treated corn straw. Also, from these characterizations and analyses, the possible photocatalytic mechanism of this system is also proposed in this paper.
Extraction‐Dominated Temperature Degradation of Population Inversion in Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers
Authors: Wu Yuyang , Zhang Jinchuan , Zhao Yunhao , Liang Chongyun , Liu Fengqi , Shi Yi , Che Renchao 
Published: August 2022

AbstractDegraded population inversion (PI) at elevated temperature, regarded as an important temperature degradation factor in terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCL), has hindered the widespread use of these devices. Herein, the mechanism of the temperature degradation of PI is investigated microscopically. It is demonstrated that the limited extraction efficiency of the extraction system dominates the decrease of PI at elevated temperatures. To be specific, the increased temperature brings about intense thermally activated longitudinal optical phonon scattering, leading to large amounts of electrons scattering to lower level state. In this case, the resonant‐phonon extraction system is incapable of depleting all the electrons from lower level states. So even though the resonant‐tunneling injection seems efficient enough to compensate the electron runoff at the upper state, the electron density at lower level state increases and the overall PI turns out lower. In addition, it is found that strong electron‐ionized donor separation at high temperature can induce level misalignment, which can stagger the optimal conditions of injection and extraction. Also, the extraction efficiency gets lower as the extraction system requires accurate coupling between several energy levels.
Mechanical properties of hybrid fiber‐reinforced concretes made with low dosages of synthetic fibers
Authors: Kazemian Maziar , Shafei Behrouz 
Published: August 2022

AbstractRecent advances made in concrete fibers have made them one of the concrete's recommended ingredients, mainly to eliminate the drawbacks associated with the weakness of cementitious materials, such as concrete, in tension. The addition of fibers, however, introduces extra cost and labor requirements, while selecting an appropriate choice and dosage of fibers has still remained a standing question. To address the outlined issues, the current study investigates the development of fiber‐reinforced concrete (FRC) mixtures with a focus on achieving superior mechanical properties with a low dosage of synthetic fibers. For this purpose, three choices of macrofibers were examined. The investigations spanned four dosages of each macrofiber mixed with three dosages of a microfiber included to ensure adequate resistance to early‐age, shrinkage‐induced strains. The experiments conducted on the developed hybrid FRC mixtures systematically measured workability, as well as compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength properties. The test results were then paired with the micro‐scale monitoring of the bond between individual macrofibers and the concrete matrix through scanning electron microscope images. The outcome shed light on how each of the macrofibers of choice contributed to improving the FRC's mechanical properties. This paved the way to benefit from a minimum dosage of them to achieve the expected structural response, while avoiding crack formation and propagation in various applications.
Rethinking governance in international climate finance: Structural change and alternative approaches
Authors: Browne Katherine Elizabeth 
Published: August 2022

AbstractInternational public finance plays an increasingly prominent role in global efforts to combat climate change and, as it grows, it faces a familiar challenge: governance. Global organizations not only disburse climate funding, but are also expected to ensure the “good governance” of climate programs in recipient countries. Many of these same organizations faced similar challenges in disbursing development finance. In what became known as the “institutionalist turn,” they sought to reform governance and build effective institutions in recipient countries. At first glance, the approach to governance in climate finance appears to be a continuation of these largely ineffective policies. I argue, however, that important structural differences between climate finance and development finance have been overlooked, and that these differences create space for alternatives approaches to governance. I first examine the literature on what led to the ineffectiveness of governance reforms tied to development finance, concluding that global organizations have been consistently unable to recognize and grapple with how power actually works in recipient countries, especially informal power. I then highlight three new principles underlying climate finance: (1) that it is restitution not aid, (2) that recipient countries should control resource allocation, and (3) that funding should support mitigation and adaptation. I demonstrate how each new principle has produced shifts in decision‐making authority away from contributors and toward recipient countries. I discuss how alternative approaches could emerge both from forums where recipient countries exercise newfound authority, and from experimentation on the part of multilateral organizations.This article is categorized under:
Climate and Development > Social Justice and the Politics of Development
Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance
Non-associative, Non-commutative Multi-modal Linear Logic
Authors: Blaisdell Eben , Kanovich Max , Kuznetsov Stepan L. , Pimentel Elaine , Scedrov Andre 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAdding multi-modalities (calledsubexponentials) to linear logic enhances its power as a logical framework, which has been extensively used in the specification ofe.g.proof systems, programming languages and bigraphs. Initially, subexponentials allowed for classical, linear, affine or relevant behaviors. Recently, this framework was enhanced so to allow for commutativity as well. In this work, we close the cycle by considering associativity. We show that the resulting system ($$\mathsf {acLL}_\varSigma $$acLLΣ) admits the (multi)cut rule, and we prove two undecidability results for fragments/variations of$$\mathsf {acLL}_\varSigma $$acLLΣ.
Technologiegestütztes funktionelles Training in den eigenen vier Wänden
Authors: Venek Verena , Rieser Harald 
Published: August 2022

ZusammenfassungInternationale wie nationale Bewegungsempfehlungen unterstreichen den Faktor Bewegung für ein gesundes Altern. Durch Technologie-gestütztes Training sollen Barrieren zur Etablierung von Trainingsroutinen im Alltag überwunden und Nutzer*innen zu regelmäßiger Aktivität angeregt werden. Daher widmet sich dieser Beitrag der Definition und Einteilung von Technologie-gestütztem Fitnesstraining in den eigenen vier Wänden. Im Rahmen des fit4AAL-Projektes wurde ein solches Trainingssystem entwickelt, erprobt und die Trainingsdaten analysiert. Das in fit4AAL entwickelte personalisierte Trainingsprogramm dient als Beispiel einer komplexen digitalen Unterstützung.
Myocardin regulates exon usage in smooth muscle cells through induction of splicing regulatory factors
Authors: Liu Li , Kryvokhyzha Dmytro , Rippe Catarina , Jacob Aishwarya , Borreguero-Muñoz Andrea , Stenkula Karin G. , Hansson Ola , Smith Christopher W. J. , Fisher Steven A. , Swärd Karl 
Published: August 2022

AbstractDifferentiation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) depends on serum response factor (SRF) and its co-activator myocardin (MYOCD). The role of MYOCD for the SMC program of gene transcription is well established. In contrast, the role of MYOCD in control of SMC-specific alternative exon usage, including exon splicing, has not been explored. In the current work we identified four splicing factors (MBNL1, RBPMS, RBPMS2, and RBFOX2) that correlate with MYOCD across human SMC tissues. Forced expression of MYOCD family members in human coronary artery SMCs in vitro upregulated expression of these splicing factors. For global profiling of transcript diversity, we performed RNA-sequencing after MYOCD transduction. We analyzed alternative transcripts with three different methods. Exon-based analysis identified 1637 features with differential exon usage. For example, usage of 3´ exons in MYLK that encode telokin increased relative to 5´ exons, as did the 17 kDa telokin to 130 kDa MYLK protein ratio. Dedicated event-based analysis identified 239 MYOCD-driven splicing events. Events involving MBNL1, MCAM, and ACTN1 were among the most prominent, and this was confirmed using variant-specific PCR analyses. In support of a role for RBPMS and RBFOX2 in MYOCD-driven splicing we found enrichment of their binding motifs around differentially spliced exons. Moreover, knockdown of either RBPMS or RBFOX2 antagonized splicing events stimulated by MYOCD, including those involving ACTN1, VCL, and MBNL1. Supporting an in vivo role of MYOCD-SRF-driven splicing, we demonstrate altered Rbpms expression and splicing in inducible and SMC-specific Srf knockout mice. We conclude that MYOCD-SRF, in part via RBPMS and RBFOX2, induce a program of differential exon usage and alternative splicing as part of the broader program of SMC differentiation.
Technical, environmental, and economic feasibility investigation of an innovative dry washing process for metal degreasing
Authors: Rubino Gianluca , Marconi Marco , Baiocco Gabriele , Menna Erica 
Published: August 2022

AbstractIndustrial washing is essential in manufacturing and many other technological fields. Nowadays, steam washing is the most common technique. However, it involves chemical solvents which are potentially noxious for the environment and difficult to be disposed of. Therefore, there is a growing demand for alternative washing techniques that would ensure low operating costs, extensive productivity, high efficiency, environmental sustainability, good compatibility with different materials, and safe operating conditions. A fluidized bed (FB) represents a promising alternative to satisfy market requirements. In this study, a prototype of FB machine for the degreasing of pressure vessels was designed, built, and compared to the current solvent washing machine. The scope of the work is to assess the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of a FB device for industrial washing. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to detect the process parameters influencing the cleaning. The optimal process parameters were identified based on the experimental results. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost analysis were performed to evaluate environmental impacts, and operating costs. The results confirmed the validity of FB technology as an alternative to current washing techniques thanks to its higher cleanness, minor environmental impact and costs, and comparable productivity.
Bioactive secondary metabolites from marine Actinomyces sp. AW6 with an evaluation of ADME-related physicochemical properties
Authors: Agour Mohamed A. , Hamed Ahmed A. , Ghareeb Mosad A. , Abdel-Hamid Eman A. A. , Ibrahim Mohamed K. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThis study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic potentials of the marine actinomycetes spp. isolated from the Red Sea water, Hurghada, Egypt. Out of 80 actinomycetes isolates, one isolate AW6 was selected based on its antioxidant activity (IC50 about 5.24 µg/mL which scavenged 91% of formed DPPH free radicals) and antimicrobial potential against E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis, and P. aeruginosa, A. niger, and C. albicans. The strain was identified based on phenotypic and genotypic analysis, and deposited in the GenBank with accession number OK090864.1. Cultivation of the selected strain on rice, chromatographic purification, and structural elucidation led to the isolation of two compounds C1: umbelliferone, and C2: 1-methoxy-3-methyl-8-hydroxy-anthraquinone. The antimicrobial activity of the obtained compounds showed that C1 and C2 have low antibacterial activity toward S. aureus and E. coli with no pronounced activity toward P. aeruginosa, C. albicans, and A. niger. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of C1 and C2 revealed that C2 has a good antioxidant activity, with DPPH scavenging activity reaching (55.25%), followed by C1 (30.20%). Moreover, both compounds displayed anti-Gyr-B enzyme activity with IC50 value of (3.79 ± 0.21 µM) for C1, and (IC50 = 13 ± 0.71 µM) for C2. The ADME-related physicochemical properties of the obtained compound were predicted using SwissADME web tools and the ProToxii webserver was used to estimate in silico toxicity.
Nectar-Inhabiting Bacteria Affect Olfactory Responses of an Insect Parasitoid by Altering Nectar Odors
Authors: Cusumano Antonino , Bella Patrizia , Peri Ezio , Rostás Michael , Guarino Salvatore , Lievens Bart , Colazza Stefano 
Published: August 2022

AbstractFloral nectar is ubiquitously colonized by a variety of microorganisms among which yeasts and bacteria are the most common. Microorganisms inhabiting floral nectar can alter several nectar traits, including nectar odor by producing microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Evidence showing that mVOCs can affect the foraging behavior of insect pollinators is increasing in the literature, whereas the role of mVOCs in altering the foraging behavior of third-trophic level organisms such as insect parasitoids is largely overlooked. Parasitoids are frequent visitors of flowers and are well known to feed on nectar. In this study, we isolated bacteria inhabiting floral nectar of buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum (Polygonales: Polygonaceae), to test the hypothesis that nectar bacteria affect the foraging behavior of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) via changes in odors of nectar. In behavioral assays, we found that T. basalis wasps are attracted toward nectar fermented by 4 out of the 14 bacterial strains isolated, which belong to Staphylococcus epidermidis, Terrabacillus saccharophilus (both Firmicutes), Pantoea sp. (Proteobacteria), and Curtobacterium sp. (Actinobacteria). Results of chemical investigations revealed significant differences in the volatile blend composition of nectars fermented by the bacterial isolates. Our results indicate that nectar-inhabiting bacteria play an important role in the interactions between flowering plants and foraging parasitoids. These results are also relevant from an applied perspective as flowering resources, such as buckwheat, are largely used in agriculture to promote conservation biological control of insect pests.
Distinct Fringe Subtrees in Random Trees
Authors: Seelbach Benkner Louisa , Wagner Stephan 
Published: August 2022

AbstractA fringe subtree of a rooted tree is a subtree induced by one of the vertices and all its descendants. We consider the problem of estimating the number of distinct fringe subtrees in random trees under a generalized notion of distinctness, which allows for many different interpretations of what “distinct” trees are. The random tree models considered are simply generated trees and families of increasing trees (recursive trees, d-ary increasing trees and generalized plane-oriented recursive trees). We prove that the order of magnitude of the number of distinct fringe subtrees (under rather mild assumptions on what ‘distinct’ means) in random trees with n vertices is $$n/\sqrt{\log n}$$

n
/

log
n

for simply generated trees and $$n/\log n$$

n
/
log
n

for increasing trees.
Development of the surface displacement during repeated rainfalls in sandy model slopes: condition for the increase of the displacement to failure
Authors: Sasahara Katsuo 
Published: August 2022

Abstract
It had been often reported that surface displacement showed an accelerating increase just prior to failure of a slope. Many methods for predicting failure time of a slope were proposed based on the modelling of the accelerating displacement just prior to failure. The mechanical condition which caused the accelerating displacement up to failure has been unclear until now. Measurement of 2-dimensional displacement was conducted on the model slopes under repeated rainfall, and measured data was analysed to examine the condition for accelerating surface displacement up to failure. Measured normal displacement varied with increasing surface displacement and did not converge to constant finally against the idea that the normal displacement approached to constant at steady state in direct shear condition on the slip surface parallel to the slope surface. It was supposed to be due to the difference in the direction of the slip surface to that of the slope surface. The angle α between the direction of slope surface and that of synthetic displacement on the surface, which synthesized the surface and normal displacements on the surface, was introduced to explain the variation of normal displacement with the increase of shear displacement on the slip surface in direct shear condition just prior to failure. The angle α varied at first with increasing surface displacement and converged to constant or quasi-constant just prior to failure on model slopes. It was recognized that the normal displacement converged to constant just prior to failure on the slip surface which was inclined against the slope surface. The angle α could be an indicator to judge whether the surface displacement increased significantly up to failure or not in the case that the slope failed under artificial rainfall.
Single-channel speech enhancement using implicit Wiener filter for high-quality speech communication
Authors: Jaiswal Rahul Kumar , Yeduri Sreenivasa Reddy , Cenkeramaddi Linga Reddy 
Published: August 2022

AbstractSpeech enables easy human-to-human communication as well as human-to-machine interaction. However, the quality of speech degrades due to background noise in the environment, such as drone noise embedded in speech during search and rescue operations. Similarly, helicopter noise, airplane noise, and station noise reduce the quality of speech. Speech enhancement algorithms reduce background noise, resulting in a crystal clear and noise-free conversation. For many applications, it is also necessary to process these noisy speech signals at the edge node level. Thus, we propose implicit Wiener filter-based algorithm for speech enhancement using edge computing system. In the proposed algorithm, a first order recursive equation is used to estimate the noise. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated for two speech utterances, one uttered by a male speaker and the other by a female speaker. Both utterances are degraded by different types of non-stationary noises such as exhibition, station, drone, helicopter, airplane, and white Gaussian stationary noise with different signal-to-noise ratios. Further, we compare the performance of the proposed speech enhancement algorithm with the conventional spectral subtraction algorithm. Performance evaluations using objective speech quality measures demonstrate that the proposed speech enhancement algorithm outperforms the spectral subtraction algorithm in estimating the clean speech from the noisy speech. Finally, we implement the proposed speech enhancement algorithm, in addition to the spectral subtraction algorithm, on the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, which is a low power edge computing device.