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In almost all cases, forest inventories require the measurement of diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height, which are essential for the quantitative study of trees and stand structure, as well as for estimating forest stand parameters. Taking into account the digitization trend, this article aims to address the possibility of using the Measure app, a free and common application integrated into the new smartphone models that use the iOS operating system, to measure DBH, by highlighting the impact of diameter measurement errors on tree- and stand-level basal area. To achieve our objectives, two rectangular plots of 1 ha each were established in an uneven-aged mixed forest from Eastern Carpathians. DBH on two orthogonal directions was measured for 888 trees using a caliper and the Measure app built-in operating system iOS 14 (Apple Inc., Cupertino, California, USA), and girth at the level of 1.30 m was measured using a tape. Stand basal area was also estimated by point sampling running 120 horizontal point samples with various basal area factors. The mean error (MEDBH), the absolute mean error (AMEDBH), and the root mean squared error (RMSEDBH) in the breast height diameters were calculated by species. DBH differences were tested using the paired samples t test and the related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank test. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient (R) and multiple R were computed by species to identify the relation between basal area error and various tree characteristics. Our study showed that there was a tendency to underestimate diameters when the app was used, and thus mean DBH was underestimated by 0.45–0.89 cm in the case of the conifers and by 0.17–0.71 cm in the case of the broadleaves. By using the iPhone Measure app, AMEDBH varied from 0.96 to 1.51 cm, while RMSEDBH varied between 1.15 and 1.92 cm. In the cases of the sessile oak and sycamore trees, no significant differences were found between DBH measured by caliper and by app, while for the other species, the differences were significant. Therefore, the ± 5% frequency of individual errors when estimating basal area was reduced by approximately half in the case of using the app as opposed to the caliper, and the risk of recording errors > 10% in tree basal area estimation was 26 times higher. For the most part, basal area error at tree level was determined by the error in DBH measurement, but tree size and the ovality of the cross-sections also contributed to a smaller degree. The tendency to underestimate DBH when the iPhone Measure app was used resulted in underestimating stand basal area by approximately 4.1%. Considering the DBH derived from girth measurement as reference, stand basal area was estimated by the iPhone Measure app with a difference of -6.50%. In contrast, point sampling produced better results using BAF = 4 m2ha− 1. Despite the fact that the iPhone Measure app is a convenient digital measurement tool, it still requires upgrades of certain details to achieve the accuracy of the caliper, so that in the near future this type of application can be used on a wider scale to collect field data related to tree diameter and height, as well as to estimate stand basal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

S-ketamine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, and psilocybin, a 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (serotonin) 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist, are reported as effective rapid-acting antidepressants. Both compounds increase glutamate signalling and evoke cortical hyperexcitation. S-ketamine induces neurotoxicity especially in the retrosplenial cortex (Olney's lesions). Whether psilocybin produces similar neurotoxic effects has so far not been investigated. We performed an immunohistochemical whole-brain mapping for heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in rats treated with psilocybin, S-ketamine, and MK-801. In contrast to S-ketamine- and MK-801-treated animals, we did not detect any HSP70-positive neurons in retrosplenial cortex of rats treated with psilocybin. Our results suggest that psilocybin might be safer for clinical use compared to S-ketamine regarding neuronal damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overrepresentation of foreigners in prisons is a well-established fact in Spain. However, there is a lack of empirical studies exploring the causes of this overrepresentation. Based on focal concerns theory, this paper aims to explore one of the possible causes of this overrepresentation: sentencing disparities between Spanish and foreign citizens. For this purpose, two subsets of court records are used to study disparities in the odds of incarceration (n = 2310) and differences in the length of prison sentence (n = 1162). Due to alleged limitations of standard regression models to analyse disparities in sentencing when differences between groups are large, entropy re-weighting was used to achieve balance between group observations with regard to control variables. The analyses reveal, on the one hand that, even when controlling for relevant legal and other extra-legal factors, citizens from Africa have higher odds than Spanish citizens to be sentenced to prison. On the other hand, no differences in the length of the conviction have been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change, the decline in biodiversity and current socio-economic trends, which support the processes of industrialization or abandonment of agricultural land, have generated numerous concepts and trends to encourage sustainable agriculture and a better connection between agricultural activities and nature. Concepts such as traditional agricultural landscapes (TALs), high nature value farmlands (HNV farmlands), organic farming, and agricultural heritage systems are associated with the maintenance or sustainable development of ecological agricultural systems, with an emphasis on providing ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and heritage protection. This study aimed to review the concept associated with traditional agricultural landscapes and identify the evolution and trends in research on traditional agricultural landscapes. We hypothesize that our findings will advance our understanding of potential alternative methods of sustainable agricultural development associated with traditional agricultural landscapes. We analyzed articles published in international journals, linked to the Web of Science database, related to traditional agricultural landscapes between 1992 and 2021 (n = 230). Keyword analysis was used to identify trends and developments in traditional agricultural landscape research. We chose a non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) because we intended to examine how the relationships between different concepts are established. Our results illustrate the most common research topics related to traditional agricultural landscapes and alternative development pathways associated with sustainable agriculture. The terms used are promoted by the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, which contains articles addressing the top topics of interest and relevance to the research topic of this paper. The NMDS analysis captures the complexity of the topic addressed through the resulting areas of intersection. Our findings suggest that several topics of current interest are addressed in the research on traditional agricultural landscapes. The interest of the scientific community in traditional agricultural landscape research shows a growing trend. The adaptation of traditional agriculture to the current context is a particularly important subject to be addressed in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperm selection is an essential component of all assisted reproductive treatments (ARTs) and is by far the most neglected step in the ART workflow in regard to technological innovation. Conventional sperm selection methodologies typically produce a higher total number of sperm with variable motilities, morphologies, and levels of DNA integrity. Gold-standard techniques, including density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and swim-up (SU), have been shown to induce DNA fragmentation through introducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) during centrifugation. Here, we demonstrate a 3D printed, biologically inspired microfluidic sperm selection device (MSSP) that utilizes multiple methods to simulate a sperms journey toward selection. Sperm are first selected based on their motility and boundary-following behavior and then on their expression of apoptotic markers, yielding over 68% more motile sperm than that of previously reported methods with a lower incidence of DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Sperm from the MSSP also demonstrated higher motile sperm recovery after cryopreservation than that of SU or neat semen. Experiments were conducted side-by-side against conventional SU methods using human semen (n = 33) and showed over an 85% improvement in DNA integrity with an average 90% reduction in sperm apoptosis. These results that the platform is easy-to-use for sperm selection and mimics the biological function of the female reproductive tract during conception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy plays a role of pivotal importance in our daily lives. It is an important requisite for all of us. The main objective of the study is to investigate what factors determine households’ preferences and choice of energy sources for heating in rural areas of District Peshawar, Pakistan. The study is based on a sample of 512 households, which were randomly selected. “To estimate the households” preferences for heating purposes, a multinomial logistic regression model was used”. A multiple linear regression model was also used to investigate factors affecting the cost of energy sources for heating. The results of the multinomial logistic regression model showed that age, gender, education level, and income of households’ head, distance from the nearest market and cost of heating had a positive relationship, while family size had a negative relationship with the use of electricity. Education level and income of household head and distance from the nearest market had significant effect on the use of electricity. In case of firewood, the coefficients of education level, income, and cost on heating of households showed positive, while the age and family size showed negative relationship. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that the relationship of the education level of households head, age, income, family size, and distance from the the nearest market had positive, but negative relationship was found between the cost of heating and the use of natural gas in the study area. The study concluded that the income and education level of households had a more significant effect on the use of electricity, firewood, and natural gas than animal dung cakes. The study recommends that the government should ensure the availability of natural gas to be used for heating purposes in the study area. There was a severe shortage of electricity and natural gas; so “the government should take remedial measures in the studied area.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an expository paper mainly based on certain works due to the author himself. After some introductory sections, we discuss the transformation of vector valued stem functions, defined on sets in the complex plane into quaternionic and Cliffordian valued function, using functional calculi, algebraically or derived via a Cauchy type kernel. Then we consider large families of quaternionic and Cliffordian linear operators, regarded as special classes of real linear operators, extended via a complexification procedure, and thus having the spectrum in the complex plane, which permits the construction of functional calculi with adequate analytic functions, in a classical manner, recaptured by restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latest solutions in biotechnologies and biosensing targeted cold-active extremozymes. Analysis of acetaldehyde as a relevant quality indicator of wine is one example of application that could benefit from using low-temperatures operating catalysts. In search of novel aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) with high stability and activity at low temperatures, the recombinant S2-ALDH from the Antarctic Flavobacterium PL002 was obtained by cloning and expression in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). Structural and phylogenetic analyses revealed strong protein similarities (95%) with psychrophilic homologs, conserved active residues and structural elements conferring enzyme flexibility. Arrhenius plot revealed a conformational shift at 30 °C, favoring catalysis (low activation energy) at lower temperatures. In addition to a broad substrate specificity with preference for acetaldehyde (Km = 1.88 mM), this enzyme showed a high tolerance for ethanol (15%) and several salts and chelators (an advantage for wine analysis), while being sensitive to mercury (I50 = 1.21 µM). The neutral optimal pH (7.5) and the stability up to 40 °C and after lyophilization represent major assets for developing S2-ALDH-based sensors. An enzymatic electrochemical assay was developed for acetaldehyde detection in wines with proven accuracy in comparison with the reference spectrophotometric method, thus evidencing the potential of S2-ALDH as effective biocatalyst for industry and biosensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis on the energy balance of the hybrid energy system and the mooring scheme for a container ship, as well as the energy balance of the electricity generating systems, from unconventional sources. The methods applied to achieve the main objective consist of analytical calculations and simulations in the ANSYS Fluent program for various positions of the analyzed system, as follows: a) technical characteristics of the container ship; b) elements of the hybrid energy system, which uses unconventional energy; c) energy balance of electricity generating systems from unconventional sources; d) connecting conventional and unconventional power sources to the ship's main power bar. Results: Finally of researches, the results obtained are: a) the volume, mass and ascending force of the FLETTNER balloon with helium, assimilated with an airship; b) positioning scheme of large vertical wind turbines installed in the bow of the container ship and in the stern of the container ship; c) the energy balance of electricity generating systems from unconventional sources; d) schemes for connecting conventional and unconventional energy sources to the ship. Conclusions: The calculation of the energy balance of the two types of wind energy capture systems depending on the speed of the ship, in ideal wind conditions and depending on the number of vertical wind turbines running, which use wind energy. Of course, it will never be necessary to turn on all wind power equipment at full capacity. The FLETTNER balloon can generate more power and for this reason, we must to present the number and diameter of cables needed to transmit electricity. Through this research, following the installation of the elements of the hybrid diesel-electric power system with energy from conventional (fossil fuels) and unconventional energy sources (a FLETTNER balloon with helium and four large vertical wind turbines) placed on a ship container portability, both the manoeuvrability and the stability of the ship, do not change fundamentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid-acting antidepressants disprove the dogma that antidepressants need several weeks to become clinically effective. Ketamine, the prototype of a rapid-acting antidepressant, is an N‑methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blocking agent. A single i.v. application of ketamine induces rapid changes in glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems, leading to preferential activation of glutamatergic alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors. This evokes the activation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), causing plastic changes in the central nervous system within 24 h. In the prefrontal cortex ketamine leads to a regeneration of synaptic contacts, which have been damaged by chronic stress. This regeneration correlates with improvement of depression-like behavioral changes in rodent models. Classical monoaminergic antidepressants can cause similar changes but with considerably longer latency periods. For clinical application a nasal spray of esketamine has been developed, since this enantiomer has the highest affinity for NMDA receptors; however, since R‑ketamine and certain ketamine metabolites also have antidepressant effects in preclinical models, these are currently being tested in clinical studies. Moreover, there are many other glutamatergic substances under clinical investigation for antidepressant effects without ketamine-like adverse effects. In addition, there are also several promising rapid-acting antidepressants that do not primarily act via the glutamate system, such as the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor modulator brexanolone or the serotonin receptor agonist psilocybin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapastinel is a novel psychoactive substance that acts as an N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor (NMDAR) agonist and triggers antidepressant- and antipsychotic-like effects in animal models. However, it is unknown if rapastinel possesses a better side-effect profile than fast-acting glutamatergic antidepressants, like ketamine, which trigger neurotoxicity in the perinatal rodent cortex and protracted schizophrenia-like alterations. Here we found a remarkable neuroprotective effect of rapastinel against apoptosis induced by the NMDAR antagonist MK-801 in comparison to that elicited by clozapine and the mGlu2/3 agonist LY354740. These results suggest the potential therapeutic/prophylactic effect of rapastinel in ameliorating deleterious effects induced by NMDAR blockade during neurodevelopment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction/Objectives: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated condition. We compared AS diagnosis, treatment, and burden in Central Eastern European countries (CEE), where this has been less researched, and the United States (US) from a real-world perspective. Methods: Point-in-time survey of rheumatologists and their AS patients was conducted in the US (Apr–Oct 2018) and CEE (Aug–Nov 2019) via physician- and patient-completed record forms, including clinical and patient-reported outcomes. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, Fisher's exact tests, and generalized linear models. Results: In total, 487 patients were recruited from 88 rheumatologists in the US and 922 patients from 126 rheumatologists in CEE. Time from onset of symptoms to final AS diagnosis was longer in CEE than the US (4.2 vs 2.7 years, p < 0.05). At diagnosis, a greater use of conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and injected steroids was reported in CEE vs the US (43.7% vs 27.6%, p < 0.05; 19.3% vs 8.7%, p < 0.05). 22.9% of US patients received a biologic DMARD at diagnosis vs 10% of CEE patients (p < 0.05). At current consultation, biologic DMARD use in CEE was lower vs the US (27.9% vs 71.0%, p < 0.05). CEE vs US patients had greater disease activity (mean Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index 4.2 vs 3.1, p < 0.05) and worse quality of life (QoL; mean Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Questionnaire score 6.2 vs 8.4, p < 0.05). Conclusions: AS patients in CEE vs the US faced slower diagnosis and worse access to biologics, disease activity, and QoL. Whether early access to biologics can improve symptoms, QoL, and daily activities in AS patients in CEE remains to be seen. Key Points • The study provided evidence on the real-world approach to the diagnosis, treatment, and burden of axSpA (axial spondyloarthritis) in CEE compared with the US. • The study reported patients in CEE experienced longer delays in diagnosis and poorer access to biologics than in the US. • This may have resulted in higher disease activity, greater levels of pain, and poorer outcomes, as reported by patients with axSpA in CEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current developments in fields such as quantum physics, fine arts, robotics, cognitive sciences or defense and security indicate the emergence of creative systems capable of producing new and innovative solutions through combinations of machine learning algorithms. These systems, called machine invention systems, challenge the established invention paradigm in promising the automation of – at least parts of – the innovation process. This paper's main contribution is twofold. Based on the identified state-of-the-art examples in the above mentioned fields, key components for machine invention systems and their relations are identified, creating a conceptual model as well as proposing a working definition for machine invention systems. The differences and delimitations to other concepts in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence, such as machine discovery systems are discussed as well. Furthermore, the paper briefly addresses the social and societal implications and limitations that come with the adoption of the technology. Because of their revolutionizing potential, there are widespread implications to consider from ethical and moral implications to policymaking and societal changes, like changes in the job structure. The discussion part approaches some of these implications, as well as solutions to some of the proposed challenges. The paper concludes by discussing some of the systemic benefits that can be accessed through machine invention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isolation of sperm cells from background cell populations and debris is an essential step in all assisted reproductive technologies. Conventional techniques for sperm recovery from testicular sperm extractions stagnate at the sample processing stage, where it can take several hours to identify viable sperm from a background of collateral cells such as white bloods cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), epithelial cells (ECs) and in some cases cancer cells. Manual identification of sperm from contaminating cells and debris is a tedious and time-consuming operation that can be suitably addressed through inertial microfluidics. Microfluidics has proven an effective technology for high-quality sperm selection based on motility. However, motility-based selection methods cannot cater for viable, non-motile sperm often present in testicular or epididymal sperm extractions and aspirations. This study demonstrates the use of a 3D printed inertial microfluidic device for the separation of sperm cells from a mixed suspension of WBCs, RBCs, ECs, and leukemic cancer cells. This technology presents a 36-fold time improvement for the recovery of sperm cells (> 96%) by separating sperm, RBCS, WBCs, ECs and cancer cells into tight bands in less than 5 min. Furthermore, microfluidic processing of sperm has no impact on sperm parameters; vitality, motility, morphology, or DNA fragmentation of sperm. Applying inertial microfluidics for non-motile sperm recovery can greatly improve the current processing procedure of testicular sperm extractions, simplifying the fertility outcomes for severe forms of male infertility that warrant the surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying high-grade valuable wood resources by the visible individual traits of trees is a challenge for foresters and a requirement for sustainable resource management. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant phenotypic descriptors of the acoustic quality of Norway spruce standing timber. Two highly valuable Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands located in the Romanian Carpathians were selected for this purpose. A total of 27 tree, bole, bark, and crown variables and nine variables related to wood structure were statistically checked against the velocities of stress waves measured on standing trees at breast height, and the derived parameters: the radiation, the impedance, and the moduli of elasticity in L and R directions. Principal component analysis was used for exploratory data analysis as well as mixed linear models were involved in explaining these acoustics. There were consistent variations in the measured acoustics from tree to tree, according to the age and social class. Wood acoustical parameters measured in the R direction are better predicted by tree phenotype than the acoustical parameters measured in the L direction. Bark thickness and branch width were the best predictors, while tree ring features were less predictive. At a given age, trees with high velocity had thinner and reddisher bark, thinner branches, and a narrower crown. Trees with high velocity anisotropy had narrower branches and wider sapwood. Furthermore, the phenotypic traits used had a poor explanatory power of the radiation ratio. In conclusion, spruce standing trees from the studied area bring forward certain outside features that enable us the multitrait identification of highly valuable wood for string instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alveolar ducts are connected to peripheral septal fibers which extend from the visceral pleura into interlobular septa, and are anchored to axial fibers in the small airways. Together these axial and septal fibers constitute a fiber continuum that provides tension and integrity throughout the lung. Building on the observations that alveolar ducts associated with sub-pleural alveoli are orientated perpendicular to the visceral pleura, and in parallel to each other, the goal of the present study was to investigate the nature of the collagen fiber organization within sub-pleural alveolar ducts in healthy control and elastase-induced emphysema murine lungs. Employing three-dimensional second harmonic generation imaging, the structural arrangement of fibrilar collagen fibers could be visualized in cleared murine lungs. In healthy control lungs, fibrilar collagen fibers within alveolar mouths formed the coiled collagen structure within the alveolar duct. In the elastase-treated emphysema lungs, there was loss of fibrilar collagen fibers (p < 0.01) and disruption of collagens structural organization as measured by the fibrillar collagen length (p < 0.01) and entropy (p < 0.01). Compared to the alveolar ducts from healthy controls, there was a significant increase in the area of cells (nm2, p < 0.001), and area of cells with cytoplasmic granules (nm2, p < 0.001) compared to emphysematous lungs. These results are consistent with the idea that one of the major contributors to the progressive loss of alveolar surfaces and elastic recoil in the emphysematous lung is loss of the structural integrity of the collagen scaffold that maintains the spatial relationships important for cell survival and lung function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanofibers (CNF) are efficient electrode modifiers in electrochemical biosensors that enhance the electrochemical active area, induce electrocatalytic effect toward the oxidation of the enzymatic cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (reduced form, NADH), and enable the quantitative immobilization of enzymes. Combining CNF with efficient and stable mediators radically augments the speed of electron transfer between NADH and solid electrodes and leads to electrochemical sensors characterized by high sensitivity and stability. The main aim of this work was to investigate the performance of a novel mediator for NADH with advantageously low solubility in an electrochemical detector based on a screen-printed CNF electrode as well as its potential in biosensing. Using a mediator, prepared from Meldola Blue and Ni hexamine chloride, a stable and sensitive electrochemical NADH sensor is provided with a detection limit of 0.5 μmol L−1. Further on, covalent immobilization of a recently described aldehyde dehydrogenase from the Antarctic Flavobacterium PL002 strain on the surface of the mediator-modified electrode produced a stable biosensor for the detection of aldehydes. When integrated in a flow injection analysis (FIA) setup with amperometric detection at 0.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the measurement of benzaldehyde with a detection limit of 10 μmol L−1 over a linear range of 30–300 μmol L−1 is possible. Determination of trace benzaldehyde impurities in a pharmaceutical excipient was also demonstrated and results compared with a chromatographic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treating benign tumors of the pancreatic head by using duodenum-preserving total or subtotal pancreatic head resection (DPPHRt/s) has proven to reduce mortality and morbidity with a positive postoperative outcome, when compared with the standard approach which is represented by pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). We present three cases of DPPHRs for benign tumors, in which pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) and pancreaticogastrostomy (PG) were used. The long-term outcome of these patients was favorable; with a single case that presents a rapid onset of an acute pancreatitis, with postoperative pancreatic fistula that necessitate reoperation. The best results on early postoperative outcome were recorded in the case of pancreaticogastrostomy, with rapid onset of digestive tolerance and short period of hospital stay. These cases come in aiding modern surgery by ensuring an alternative to reintegrate the pancreatic remnant into the digestive tract after limited pancreatic head resection, with lower rates of postoperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let M be the complexification of the quaternionic algebra H . For each function F : U ↦ M , where U ⊂ C , we define a transformation F H : U H ↦ M , where U H ⊂ H is associated to U, via an elementary functional calculus, using the spectra of quaternions, and characterize those transformations F H , which are actually H -valued. In particular, we show that the slice hyperholomorphy can be characterized via a Cauchy type transform, acting on the space of analytic M -valued stem functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Ti-20Zr-5Ta-2Ag alloy was elaborated and characterized regarding its microstructure, its native passive film composition and thickness, its surface wettability, its electrochemical behavior in Ringer solution of different pH values, and its ion release. The new alloy has a bi-phase, α + β, acicular, homogeneous microstructure (scanning electron microscopy (SEM)). Its native passive film (12-nm thicknesses) consists of the protective TiO, ZrO, and TaO oxides, Ti and Ta suboxides, and metallic Ag (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data). The alloy possesses high hydrophilic properties. The main electrochemical parameters of the new alloy are superior to those of Ti as a result of the beneficial influence of Zr, Ta, and Ag alloying elements, which reinforce its native passive film. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) spectra in Ringer solutions for the new alloy displayed better values of impedances and phase angles, proving a more insulate passive film than that on the Ti surface. The main corrosion parameters for the new Ti-20Zr-5Ta-2Ag alloy are more favorable by about 25 to 38 times than those of Ti, confirming extremely resistant passive film. The new Ti-20Zr-5Ta-2Ag alloy releases into Ringer solution low quantities of Ti, Zr metallic ions (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS)). The Ag ions are released in low quantity, conferring to this alloy's low antibacterial activity. All experimental results show that the new Ti-20Zr-5Ta-2Ag alloy fulfills the requirements for biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and antibacterial protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The total number of retrieved and analyzed lymph nodes is known to impact on survival of patients with gastric cancer. Multiple factors are responsible for the high variability of total lymph node yields. Among these factors, the use of surgical ex vivo lymphodissection may be significant for optimizing the lymph node count.Methods: This article includes our personal experience regarding ex vivo lymphodissection and a meta-analysis which included all the articles related to this topic. We compared two groups of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent gastrectomy with at least D2 lymphodissection. In the first group, the lymph node count was performed by the pathologist. As for the second, the surgeon performed an ex vivo lymphodissection of the resected specimens before submitting these to the pathologist for further analysis. For the systematic literature review and the meta-analysis, the PubMed database was thoroughly searched, and in order to assess the inter-study heterogeneity, we used I2 and chi2 tests.Results: The total lymph node yield proved to be significantly higher in the ex vivo lymphodissection group than in the non-ex vivo lymphodissection group (37.4 versus 23.2, p < 0.001). The meta-analysis confirmed our results: the cumulative mean difference between ex vivo lymphodissection and non-ex vivo lymphodissection group is 11.52 (p < 0.00001); inter-study heterogeneity was statistically significant (I2 > 58%, chi2 = 9.63, df = 4, p = 0.05).Conclusion: Surgical ex vivo lymphodissection increases the total lymph node yield and may lead not only to a more accurate staging of gastric cancer, but also to an improved clinical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software engineers share experiences with modern technologies using software information sites, such as Stack Overflow. These sites allow developers to label posted content, referred to as software objects, with short descriptions, known as tags. Tags help to improve the organization of questions and simplify the browsing of questions for users. However, tags assigned to objects tend to be noisy and some objects are not well tagged. For instance, 14.7% of the questions that were posted in 2015 on Stack Overflow needed tag re-editing after the initial assignment. To improve the quality of tags in software information sites, we propose EnTagRec++, which is an advanced version of our prior work EnTagRec. Different from EnTagRec, EnTagRec++ does not only integrate the historical tag assignments to software objects, but also leverages the information of users, and an initial set of tags that a user may provide for tag recommendation. We evaluate its performance on five software information sites, Stack Overflow, Ask Ubuntu, Ask Different, Super User, and Freecode. We observe that even without considering an initial set of tags that a user provides, it achieves Recall@5 scores of 0.821, 0.822, 0.891, 0.818 and 0.651, and Recall@10 scores of 0.873, 0.886, 0.956, 0.887 and 0.761, on Stack Overflow, Ask Ubuntu, Ask Different, Super User, and Freecode, respectively. In terms of Recall@5 and Recall@10, averaging across the 5 datasets, it improves upon TagCombine, which is the prior state-of-the-art approach, by 29.3% and 14.5% respectively. Moreover, the performance of our approach is further boosted if users provide some initial tags that our approach can leverage to infer additional tags: when an initial set of tags is given, Recall@5 is improved by 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium alginate/ammonium lignosulfonate blend solutions and thin films with different compositions have been prepared and studied. The rheology of the film forming solutions was comparatively evaluated and was established the effect of lignosulfonate incorporation onto sodium alginate solution properties and partial compatibility of components was found. The shear-thinning behaviour of the ALG/LS solutions was better evidenced at high ALG content, suggesting that the time required for the reorganization of the network structure is longer for the samples containing predominantly ALG, because its structure is damaged by increasing shear rate. The structural, morphological, optical and antioxidant properties of the crosslinked ALG/LS blend films were investigated with the aim to identify their potential as new active materials with photoprotective and antioxidant properties. The ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed the hydrogen bonding interactions between the components and scanning electron microscopy showed the modified microstructure of the blend films depending on composition. The surface topography changes have been evidenced by atomic force microscopy, showing an increased average surface roughness when the increasing lignosulfonate amount was incorporated into ALG matrix. The optical properties measurements revealed the light barrier properties of the blend films and the antioxidant activity evaluation showed the enhanced radical scavenging activity of the films with higher lignosulfonate content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We applied a new nitrogen-implantation technique (trademark Hardion+) using a source of nitrogen ions, electron cyclotron resonance that assures higher energy and deeper implantation than the conventional techniques. The N-implantation surface of the new Ti-25Ta-25Nb alloy was analyzed as follows: for the phase identification by x-ray diffraction (XRD) in a glancing geometry (1°); for the hardness by the nano-indentation method; for the corrosion behaviour in Ringer solutions of different pH values (simulating the real conditions from the human body) by cyclic and linear polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the monitoring of the open circuit potentials and corresponding potential gradients. XRD pattern was indexed with face-centred cubic TiN compound partially substituted with TaN and NbN. The hardness increased about 2 times for the N-implantation alloy. The implantation layer had a protection effect, increasing the corrosion and passivation potentials and decreasing the tendency to passivation and passive current density, due to its compactness, reinforcement action. The corrosion current density and rate decreased by about 10 times and the polarization resistance increased by about 2 times, indicative of a more resistant nitride layer. The porosity was much reduced and the protection efficiency had values closed to 90%, namely the implantation treatment led to the formation of a dense, resistant layer. Impedance spectra showed that the capacitive behaviour of the N-implantation alloy was more insulating and protective. An electric equivalent circuit with two times constants was modelled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the synthesis of a novel Ti-15Ta-5Zr alloy with an α + ß stable, homogeneous, biphasic microstructure (by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy) and the determination of its mechanical properties, hardness and a Young's modulus of 42.2 GPa. The alloy passive film composition and thickness were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; a thick, compact native passive film containing the protective oxides of all constituent elements (TiO2, TaO, ZrO) was identified. The electrochemical parameters confirmed a nobler behaviour and a more capacitive, resistant passive film on the alloy surface compared to Ti and other existing implant alloys; these facts are due to the alloying elements that, by their oxides stabilize and reinforce the alloy passive film. This passive film thickened in time, which increased its protective capacity. The new alloy had no susceptibility to galvanic or local corrosion. Ti-15Ta-5Zr alloy is recommended as an advanced orthopaedic implant material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this transglobal, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, treat-to-target study, the maintenance of efficacy was compared between biologic-and biologic-free-disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) combination regimens after low disease activity (LDA) was achieved with biologic DMARD induction therapy. Patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate therapy received open-label etanercept 50 mg subcutaneously once weekly plus methotrexate with or without other conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs for 24 weeks. Patients achieving LDA [disease activity score in 28 joints based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) <3.2] at week 24 were randomized to receive etanercept-methotrexate combination therapy or placebo-methotrexate combination therapy, with or without other csDMARDs, for 28 weeks. In the open-label period, 72% of patients achieved DAS28-ESR LDA at week 24. Patients enrolled in the double-blind period had long-standing rheumatoid arthritis and high disease activity at baseline (mean duration, 8.1 years; DAS28-ESR, 6.4). In the etanercept and placebo combination groups, 44% versus 17% achieved DAS28-ESR LDA and 34 versus 13% achieved DAS28-ESR remission at week 52 ( p < 0.001). Adverse events were reported in 37 and 43%, serious adverse events in 0 and 4%, and serious infections in 0 and 2% in these groups, respectively, in the double-blind period. After induction of response with etanercept combination therapy following a treat-to-target approach in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis and high disease activity at baseline, the etanercept combination regimen was significantly more effective in maintaining LDA and remission than a biologic-free regimen. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier. NCT01578850. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural changes occurred in bioactive glass microspheres belonging to the system SiO-NaO-PO-CaO-KO-MgO incorporating yttrium were investigated before and after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and P and Si magic angle sample spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR). The addition of yttrium to the bioactive glass composition induces changes in the behavior of the glass microspheres in SBF. The XRD analysis proves that after the immersion in SBF a crystalline hydroxyapatite-like phase is developed on the microspheres surface. The Si and P MAS-NMR results show that silicate species with two and three bridging oxygens per SiO tetrahedra and PO monomeric units are present in the glass structure. After immersion in SBF, new silicate species with four bridging oxygens appear as result of silica-gel layer formed on microspheres surface. The formation of crystalline hydroxyapatite-type layer is reflected by the occurrence of narrow components in P MAS-NMR spectra. The NMR results support the Hench model for bioactive glasses behavior in biological environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxynitrite (PON for short) is a powerful nitrating, nitrosating and oxidative agent for cellular constituents. In vivo, PON is formed through the diffusion-controlled reaction between superoxide radical (O ) and nitric oxide (•NO). This critical review (with 67 refs.) covers the state of the art in nanomaterial-based (a) detection and imaging of PON inside cells and (b) monitoring of cellular events such as cellular oxidative burst by using optical or electrochemical methods. It starts with the formation, fate and pathophysiology of PON in vivo. The next part summarizes nanomaterial based electrochemical microsensors featuring nanofilms and nanostructured electrodes, nanospheres, 3D nanostructures and graphene-supported catalysts. A following chapter covers techniques based on optical nanoprobes, starting with nanomaterials used in optical detection of PON (including quantum dots, carbon dots, fluorescent organic polymer dots, rare earth nanocrystals including upconversion nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles, and fluorophore-modified nanoporous silicon). This is followed by subsections on strategies for optical detection of PON (including color changes, fluorescence quenching, activation and recovery), and on schemes for optimized spatial and temporal resolution, for improving sensitivity, selectivity, and (photo)stability. We then address critical issues related to biocompatibility, pharmacokinetics, give a number of representative practical applications and discuss challenges related to PON detection. The review concludes with a discussion of latest developments and future perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study was designed to compare the laparoscopic subtotal splenectomy with the robotic approach in patients with hereditary spherocytosis.Methods: Thirty-two consecutive subtotal splenectomies by minimal approach in patients with hereditary spherocytosis were analyzed (10 robotic vs. 22 laparoscopic subtotal splenectomies).Results: A significant difference was found for the robotic approach regarding blood loss, vascular dissection duration, and splenic remnant size. Follow-up for 4-103 months was available.Conclusions: Subtotal splenectomy seems to be a suitable candidate for robotic surgery, requiring a delicate dissection of the splenic vessels and a correct intraoperative evaluation of the splenic remnant. Robotic subtotal splenectomy is comparable to laparoscopy in terms of hospital stay and complication. The main benefits are lower blood loss rate, vascular dissection time, and a better evaluation of the splenic remnant volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For an alloy to be suitable for use as an implant material, it must have a low specific weight and Young's modulus, good mechanical properties that are similar to those of bone, and very good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. In this study, we have developed a novel Ti-20Nb-10Zr-5Ta alloy that is composed of nontoxic, nonallergenic, corrosion-resistant elements. This alloy has low specific weight and Young's modulus and good mechanical properties. It has a fine microstructure with a matrix that is mainly composed of the β phase and some α phase due to recrystallization during cooling. It shows elastoplastic behavior with a fairly linear elastic behavior and low Young's modulus (59 GPa). In addition, its ultimate tensile strength, 0.2% yield strength, and hardness are higher than those of CP Ti, commercial Ti-6Al-4V, and similar β-type alloys. It exhibited a very stable passive state and its electrochemical parameters and corrosion and ion release rates were better than those of CP Ti in Ringer's solutions of different pH values that simulate the severe functional conditions of an implant; this is attributable to the beneficial influence of the alloying elements and to the better protective properties of the coated passive film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One objective of this work was to study the corrosion resistance of the new implant Ti–10Zr–5Ta–5Nb alloy in physiological fluids of different pH values, simulating the extreme functional conditions. Another objective was in vitro biocompatibility evaluation of the new alloy using human fetal osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19. Cytocompatibility was assessed by determination of possible material cytotoxic effects, cell morphology and cell adhesion. The thermo-mechanical processing of the new implant alloy consisted in plastic deformation (almost 90%) performed by hot rolling accompanied by an initial and final heat treatment. The new Ti–10Zr–5Ta–5Nb alloy presented self-passivation, with a large passive potential range and low passive current densities, namely, a very good anticorrosive resistance in Ringer solution of acid, neutral and alkaline pH values. Cell viability was not affected by the alloy substrate presence and a very good compatibility was noticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the long-term (20,000 exposure hours) behavior of titanium and Ti–5Al–4V alloy—Carter–Brugirard saliva interface and the short-term (500 exposure hours) resistance of titanium and Ti–5Al–4V alloy—Tani&Zucchi saliva interface. Potentiodynamic polarization method was applied for the determination of the main electrochemical parameters. Linear polarization measurements for to obtain the corrosion rates were used. Monitoring of the open circuit potentials ( E oc) for long-term have permitted to calculate the potential gradients due to the pH, Δ E oc(pH) and to the saliva composition Δ E oc(c) changes which can appear “in vivo” conditions and can generate local corrosion. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has analyzed the surface roughness. Ion release was studied by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). In Carter–Brugirard saliva both titanium and Ti–5Al–4V alloy present very stable passive films, long-term stability, “very good” resistance, low values of the open circuit potential gradients, which cannot generate local corrosion. In Tani&Zucchi artificial saliva, pitting corrosion and noble pitting protection potentials (which cannot be reached in oral cavity) were registered; titanium ion release is very low; surface roughness increase in time and in the presence of the fluoride ions, denoting some increase in the anodic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-, Ce-, and Ni-doped carbon xerogels (Me-CX) synthesized by sol-gel method followed by an ion exchange process were used as catalysts for catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of phenol. The prepared catalysts were characterized using TEM, SEM, BET surface area, and XRD. Me-CX catalysts were tested in mild conditions (20-60 °C, atmospheric pressure) in a semi-batch reactor in various reaction conditions (30-60 L/h, 0.05-0.2 g catalysts, 50-175 mg phenol/L). Total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency values obtained decrease in the following order Co-CX ≅ Ce-CX > Ni1-CX > K-CX for the catalysts obtained using the same procedure. TOC removal efficiencies of up to 72% were reached in case of Co-CX catalyst at 20 °C, 40 L/h, using 0.15 g catalyst and a solution of 100 mg phenol/L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neodymium and gallium codoped barium titanate (BaNdGaTiO, x = 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.1 and y = 0.03) were prepared by sol-gel method in order to investigate its dielectric and photoluminescence properties. The structure and morphology of BaNdGaTiO powders calcined at 1100 °C and sintered ceramics by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The photoluminescence and dielectric properties of Nd doped BaGaTiO, (y = 0.03) as a function of Nd concentration and sintering temperature were also investigated. The influence of Ga and Nd dopants on the crystalline phases, sintering process by SPS and macroscopic properties of BaNdGaTiO ceramics was analyzed, as well as a weak hot emission from the 4F5/2 level. The sintered ceramics showed high dielectric constant and moderate dielectric losses. The highest value of the permittivity obtained for BaNdGaTiO ceramics was ɛ = 5890 at room temperature, 1 kHz and x = y = 0.03. This study shown that Nd decreases the density of the pellets, increases the dielectric losses and decreases the dielectric constant of BaGaTiO ceramics. Therefore, the values of dielectric properties, at room temperature, of BaTiO doped with 3 at.% Ga and ≤7 at.% Nd are higher than those of undoped BaTiO ceramic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulators and empirical profiling data are often used to understand how suitable a specific hardware architecture is for an application. However, simulators can be slow, and empirical profiling-based methods can only provide insights about the existing hardware on which the applications are executed. While the insights obtained in this way are valuable, such methods cannot be used to evaluate a large number of system designs efficiently. Analytical performance evaluation models are fast alternatives, particularly well-suited for system design-space exploration. However, to be truly application-specific, they need to be combined with a workload model that captures relevant application characteristics. In this paper we introduce PISA, a framework based on the LLVM infrastructure that is able to generate such a model for sequential and parallel applications by performing hardware-independent characterization. Characteristics such as instruction-level parallelism, memory access patterns and branch behavior are analyzed per thread or process during application execution. To illustrate the potential of the framework, we provide a detailed characterization of a representative benchmark for graph-based analytics, Graph 500. Finally, we analyze how the properties extracted with PISA across Graph 500 and SPEC CPU2006 applications compare to measurements performed on x86 and POWER8 processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While rheumatologists often focus on treatment targets, for many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), control over pain and fatigue, as well as sustaining physical function and quality of life (QoL), is of primary importance. This literature review aimed at examining patients' and physicians' treatment aspirations, and identifying the unmet needs for patients with RA receiving ongoing treatment. Searches were performed using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Econlit literature databases for articles published from 2004 to 2014 in the English language. Published literature was screened to identify articles reporting the unmet needs in RA. We found that, despite the wide range of available treatments, RA continues to pose a substantial humanistic and economic burden on patients, and there are still unmet needs across key domains such as pain, physical function, mental function, and fatigue. These findings suggest that there is a need for further treatment advances in RA that address these domains of contemporary unmet need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural, optical and biointerface properties of two semi-alicyclic polyimide precursors have been investigated. The refractive index values are around 1.6, reflecting the impact of the polymer chain polarizability. The presence of the ethylene groups in the diamine residues leads to a higher transmittance of appreciatively 80 %. Optical energies describing absorption limits were determined using the approach of Tauc for amorphous materials, reflecting similar shape of the absorption edges with amorphous materials. The polymer with ethylene groups in the diamine moieties has an optical band-gap of 3.09 eV, indicating a lower probability of optical absorption transitions and thus a good transparency. Biointerface properties, namely the interactions occurring at polymer-blood interface, have been evaluated from the balance between the forces of adhesion and cohesion, before and after plasma treatment. Plasma active species enhance polymer surface polarity over 50 % so that the interfacial blood/sample tension is low enough to indicate a good hemocompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Original calcium alginate beads with porous structure and high adsorption surface are proposed. The beads were synthesized using sodium alginate in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate as foaming agent, NaCl as porogen agent and CaCl as cross-linker. They were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The adsorption capacity of beads was tested with methylene blue (MB). The data show that the adsorption efficiency increases with the amount of beads, decreases with pollutant concentration, and is maximal at pH = 9. The adsorption is fast in the first 3 hours, and slows down thereafter. The kinetic results show that the adsorption of MB on alginate porous beads obeys the Langmuir model. A scheme of MB adsorption taking into account the ionic interactions with calcium alginate beads has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining a productive and collaborative team of developers is essential to Open Source Software (OSS) success, and hinges upon the trust inherent among the team. Whether a project participant is initiated as a committer is a function of both his technical contributions and also his social interactions with other project participants. One's online social footprint is arguably easier to ascertain and gather than one's technical contributions e.g., gathering patch submission information requires mining multiple sources with different formats, and then merging the aliases from these sources. In contrast to prior work, where patch submission was found to be an essential ingredient to achieving committer status, here we investigate the extent to which the likelihood of achieving that status can be modeled solely as a social network phenomenon. For 6 different Apache Software Foundation OSS projects we compile and integrate a set of social measures of the communications network among OSS project participants and a set of technical measures, i.e., OSS developers' patch submission activities. We use these sets to predict whether a project participant will become a committer, and to characterize their socialization patterns around the time of becoming committer. We find that the social network metrics, in particular the amount of two-way communication a person participates in, are more significant predictors of one's likelihood to becoming a committer. Further, we find that this is true to the extent that other predictors, e.g., patch submission info, need not be included in the models. In addition, we show that future committers are easy to identify with great fidelity when using the first three months of data of their social activities. Moreover, only the first month of their social links are a very useful predictor, coming within 10 % of the three month data's predictions. Interestingly, we find that on average, for each project, one's level of socialization ramps up before the time of becoming a committer. After obtaining committer status, their social behavior is more individualized, falling into few distinct modes of behavior. In a significant number of projects, immediately after the initiation there is a notable social cooling-off period. Finally, we find that it is easier to become a committer earlier in the projects life cycle than it is later as the project matures. These results should provide insight on the social nature of gaining trust and advancing in status in distributed projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]