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A broadband high‐efficiency high‐gain empty substrate integrated waveguide cavity‐backed filtenna with dual beams is proposed. The antenna is vertically stacked by three cavities. Two rectangular slots are etched above the uppermost cavity to realize the radiation function. Since the interior of the cavity is covered with metal, the characteristics of the antenna are independent of the used dielectric substrate. The fractional bandwidth of the proposed filtenna is 21.1%, and the efficiency can reach more than 90% in the operational band. The antenna has good frequency selection properties, and the ratio of the −10 dB impedance bandwidth to the −3 dB impedance bandwidth is 0.88. Good gain flatness is obtained, the maximum gain of the filtenna within the operational band is 8 dBi. The proposed dual‐beam filtenna can realize broadband and filtering simultaneously, with low cost and high efficiency. It can be used in wireless communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Ethylene‐responsive factors (ERFs) have diverse functions in the regulation of various plant developmental processes. Here, we demonstrate the dual role of an Arabidopsis ERF gene, AtERF19, in regulating reproductive meristem activity and flower organ size through the regulation of genes involved in CLAVATA–WUSCHEL (CLV–WUS) and auxin signaling, respectively. We found that AtERF19 stimulated the formation of flower primordia and controlled the number of flowers produced by activating WUS and was negatively regulated by CLV3. 35S::AtERF19 expression resulted in significantly more flowers, whereas 35S::AtERF19 + SRDX dominant‐negative mutants produced fewer flowers. In addition, AtERF19 also functioned to control flower organ size by promoting the division/expansion of the cells through activating Small Auxin Up RNA Gene 32 (SAUR32), which positively regulated MYB21/24 in the auxin signaling pathway. 35S::AtERF19 and 35S::SAUR32 resulted in similarly larger flowers, whereas 35S::AtERF19 + SRDX and 35S::SAUR32‐RNAi mutants produced smaller flowers than the wild type. The functions of AtERF19 were confirmed by the production of similarly more and larger flowers in 35S::AtERF19 transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) and in transgenic Arabidopsis which ectopically expressed the orchid gene (Nicotiana benthamiana) PaERF19 than in wild‐type plants. The finding that AtERF19 regulates genes involved in both CLV–WUS and auxin signaling during flower development significantly expands the current knowledge of the multifunctional evolution of ERF genes in plants. The results presented in this work indicate a dual role for the transcription factor AtERF19 in controlling the number of flowers produced and flower organ size through the regulation of genes involved in CLV–WUS and auxin signaling, respectively. Our findings expand the knowledge of the roles of ERF genes in the regulation of reproductive development. Significance Statement: The results presented in this work indicate a dual role for the transcription factor AtERF19 in controlling the number of flowers produced and flower organ size through the regulation of genes involved in CLAVATA–WUSCHEL and auxin signaling, respectively. Our findings expand the knowledge of the roles of ERF genes in the regulation of reproductive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remarkable exertions are directed to reveal and understand topographic cues that induce cell mechanical sensitive responses including lineage determination. Extracellular matrix (ECM) is the sophisticated ensemble of diverse factors offering the complicated cellular microenvironment to regulate cell behaviors. However, the functions of only a few of these factors are revealed; most of them are still poorly understood. Herein, the focus is on understanding the curved structure in ECM network for regulating stem cell mechanotransduction. A curved nanofiber network mimicking the curved structure in ECM is fabricated by an improved electrospinning technology. Compared with the straight fibers, the curved fibers promote cell bridge formation because of the cytoskeleton tension. The actomyosin filaments are condensed near the curved edge of the non‐adhesive bridge in the bridging cells, which generates higher myosin‐II‐based intracellular force. This force drives cell lineage commitment toward osteogenic differentiation. This study enriches and perfects the knowledge of the effects of topographic cues on cell behaviors and guides the development of novel biomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vibrational and electronic structures of diruthenium nickel and copper complexes [Ru2Ni(dpa)4Cl2]0,1+ and [Ru2Cu(dpa)4Cl2]0,1+ were studied by using temperature‐controlled Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In the neutral species, the Ru−Ru stretching mode νRu−Ru was assigned to the 333/325 cm−1 band for the diruthenium Ni/Cu complexes, and this band greatly red shifted to 317/321 cm−1 at high temperatures. In contrast, this νRu−Ru band showed no shift in the oxidized forms. The time‐dependent DFT (TD‐DFT) calculations yielded that these complexes in the neutral form, have [Ru2]5+[M]1+ cores with [Ru2] moiety configuration (π*)2(δ*)1 and two low‐lying electronic excited states with [Ru2]4+[M]2+ cores and [Ru2] configurations of (π*)2(δ*)2 and (π*)3(δ*)1, respectively. The significant red shift of νRu−Ru band was explained to thermally access to these two excited states which have [Ru2]4+ cores and weak Ru−Ru bonding. These two states were resulted from metal‐to‐metal intramolecular charge transfer processes from [Ru2]5+[Ni/Cu]1+ to [Ru2]4+[Ni/Cu]2+. This charge transfer reaction is prohibited in the oxidized form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent event and terminal event data commonly arise in clinical and observational studies. To evaluate the efficacy of a treatment effect for both types of events, a composite endpoint has been used as a possible assessment, particularly when faced with high costs and a longer follow‐up study. To model recurrent event processes complicated by the existence of a terminal event, joint frailty modeling has been typically employed. In this study, the objective was to develop some target‐driven response adaptive randomization strategies using a composite endpoint based on joint frailty modeling. We first implemented a balanced randomized design and then investigated the response adaptive randomization. The former is intuitively first adopted while the latter is expected to be desirable and ethical in terms of allocating more subjects to the more effective treatment. The results show that the proposed procedures using a composite endpoint are capable of reducing the number of trial participants who receive inferior treatment while simultaneously reaching a desired optimal target as compared to a balanced randomized design. The R shiny application for calculating the sample size and allocation probabilities is also available. Finally, two clinical trials were used as pilot datasets to introduce the proposed procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a critical disease, and people may get mortality on SAH. Another severe disease induced cardiac arrest is acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and our two cases share the typical characteristics of ACS electrocardiogram (ECG) with ST-segment elevation. The experience is rare and educable, so we present this article to remind emergency physicians in similar cases. Case presentation: Two post-resuscitation electrocardiogram (ECG)-proven cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) revealed ST-segment elevation. Discussion: However, the etiology of the arrest was proven to be subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in the Emergency Department. In this article, we shared ECGs and brain CT scans as a reminder to ED doctors to bear in mind other differential diagnoses when ECGs show ST-segment elevation post-resuscitation. Conclusion: Cases such as these alert frontline ED physicians to the possibility of SAH in cardiac arrest patients and the potentially lethal consequence of inappropriate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent events, including cardiovascular events, are commonly observed in biomedical studies. Understanding the effects of various treatments on recurrent events and investigating the underlying mediation mechanisms by which treatments may reduce the frequency of recurrent events are crucial tasks for researchers. Although causal inference methods for recurrent event data have been proposed, they cannot be used to assess mediation. This study proposed a novel methodology of causal mediation analysis that accommodates recurrent outcomes of interest in a given individual. A formal definition of causal estimands (direct and indirect effects) within a counterfactual framework is given, and empirical expressions for these effects are identified. To estimate these effects, a semiparametric estimator with triple robustness against model misspecification was developed. The proposed methodology was demonstrated in a real‐world application. The method was applied to measure the effects of two diabetes drugs on the recurrence of cardiovascular disease and to examine the mediating role of kidney function in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical methods for analyzing recurrent events have attracted significant attention. The majority of existing works consider situations in which subjects are observed over time periods and events of interest that occurred during the course of follow-up are recorded. In some applications, a subject may leave the study for a period of time and then resume due to various reasons. During the absence, which is referred to as an intermittent gap in this study, it may be impossible to observe a recording of the event. A naive analysis disregards gaps and considers events to be a typical recurrent event dataset. However, this may result in biased estimations and misleading results. In this study, we build an additive rates model for recurrent event data considering intermittent gaps. We provide the asymptotic theories behind the proposed model, as well as the goodness of fit between observed and modeled values. Simulation studies reveal that the estimations perform well if intermittent gaps are taken into account. In addition, we utilized the longitudinal cohort of elderly patients who have type 2 diabetes and at least one record of a severe recurrent complication, hypoglycemia, from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan to demonstrate the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparison of 2 treatments with survival outcomes in a clinical study may require treatment randomization on clusters of multiple units with correlated responses. For example, for patients with otitis media in both ears, a specific treatment is normally given to a single patient, and hence, the 2 ears constitute a cluster. Statistical procedures are available for comparison of treatment efficacies. The conventional approach for treatment allocation is the adoption of a balanced design, in which half of the patients are assigned to each treatment arm. However, considering the increasing acceptability of responsive-adaptive designs in recent years because of their desirable features, we have developed a response-adaptive treatment allocation scheme for survival trials with clustered data. The proposed treatment allocation scheme is superior to the balanced design in that it allows more patients to receive the better treatment. At the same time, the test power for comparing treatment efficacies using our treatment allocation scheme remains highly competitive. The advantage of the proposed randomization procedure is supported by a simulation study and the redesign of a clinical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to develop a formula for calculating the required sample size for paired recurrent events data. The developed formula is based on robust non-parametric tests for comparing the marginal mean function of events between paired samples. This calculation can accommodate the associations among a sequence of paired recurrent event times with a specification of correlated gamma frailty variables for a proportional intensity model. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method with comprehensive simulations including the impacts of paired correlations, homogeneous or nonhomogeneous processes, marginal hazard rates, censoring rate, accrual and follow-up times, as well as the sensitivity analysis for the assumption of the frailty distribution. The use of the formula is also demonstrated using a premature infant study from the neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary center in southern Taiwan. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The present study aimed to identify the health profiles of older adults by using latent class analysis to investigate health heterogeneity and to determine what factors predicted healthy aging among an oldest-old sample cohort that was followed up for 14 years in Taiwan. Methods Data were drawn from five waves (carried out in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007) of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging to examine the changes in health heterogeneity in a nationally representative oldest-old cohort of Taiwanese. Overall, data from a total of 11 145 observations of 3155 older adults were considered. The influential factors predicting health changes were analyzed by using a generalized estimating equation. Results The results showed that four health profiles were identified among the aging population observed in the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging. With increasing age, the combined effects of the physical functioning, cognitive and emotional health, and comorbidities of older adults significantly impact their health changes. Apart from health deteriorating with age and sex disparities, educational and economic status, health behaviors, and social participation at the individual level were found to be the robust factors in predicting healthy aging. Conclusions In considering what factors impact healthy aging, we suggest that a person-centered approach would be useful and critical for policy makers to understand the compositions of health profiles and the influencing factors in view of a life-course perspective. Based on the factors identified as influencing healthy aging at the individual level, it is imperative from a policy-making perspective to maximize opportunities for healthy aging. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 697-707. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A divergent approach to generate either 1-hydroxymethylindenes (which could then be converted to benzofulvenes through a dehydration reaction) or naphthalenes by the rearrangement of cycloprop[2,3]inden-1-ols is reported. The effect of the cyclopropyl ring substitution pattern on ring-opening/expansion rearrangements of the substrates was systemically studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoma is the deadliest cancer. We identified 7-hydroxydehydronuciferine (7-HDNF) isolated from the leaves of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn cv. Rosa-plena to be a bio-active agent that antagonizes melanoma tumor growth in mice xenograft model in vivo. Cell proliferation assay demonstrated strong anticancer effects of 7-HDNF to exhibit a dose-dependent behaviour and displayed minor cytotoxicities on normal human skin cells, including epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes, and dermal fibroblasts. With acridine orange (AO) staining and flow analysis, we found 7-HDNF induced the formation of intracellular vacuoles and the augmentation of acidic vesicular organelles (AVO). The apoptotic cell death ratio was measured via two-dimensional flow cytometry by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) double stained to confirm the cellular membrane asymmetry lost. Onedimensional flow cytometric analysis showed 7-HDNF increased the cellular arrest in cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Through Western blot examinations, protein expressions were discovered to verify autophagy and apoptosis response mechanisms sharing the associated pathways. Finally, 7-HDNF presented a high-quality antimigratory activity in wound-healing assay. Overall, 7-HDNF presented high-quality anticancer bio-functions and inhibited melanoma tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoma is the deadliest cancer. We identified 7- hydroxydehydronuciferine (7-HDNF) isolated from the leaves of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn cv. Rosa-plena to be a bio-active agent that antagonizes melanoma tumor growth in mice xenograft model in vivo. Cell proliferation assay demonstrated strong anticancer effects of 7-HDNF to exhibit a dose-dependent behaviour and displayed minor cytotoxicities on normal human skin cells, including epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes, and dermal fibroblasts. With acridine orange (AO) staining and flow analysis, we found 7-HDNF induced the formation of intracellular vacuoles and the augmentation of acidic vesicular organelles (AVO). The apoptotic cell death ratio was measured via two-dimensional flow cytometry by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) double stained to confirm the cellular membrane asymmetry lost. One-dimensional flow cytometric analysis showed 7-HDNF increased the cellular arrest in cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Through Western blot examinations, protein expressions were discovered to verify autophagy and apoptosis response mechanisms sharing the associated pathways. Finally, 7-HDNF presented a high-quality antimigratory activity in wound-healing assay. Overall, 7-HDNF presented high-quality anticancer bio-functions and inhibited melanoma tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The present study investigated whether dual-task Timed Up & Go tests ( TUG) could identify prefrail individuals more sensitively than the single-task TUG ( TUGsingle) in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited adults aged 50 years and older who actively participated in local community programs. Time taken to complete single-task TUG and dual-task TUG, carrying a cup of water ( TUGmanual) or carrying out serial-3 subtraction ( TUGcognitive) while executing TUG, was measured. Prefrailty status was defined based on Fried's phenotypic definition. Results Of the 65 participants (mean age 71.5 ± 8.1 years), 33.3% of the 12 middle-aged (50-64 years) and 62.3% of the 53 older (≥65 years) adults were prefrail, mainly as a result of weak grip strength. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses for differentiating prefrailty from non-frailty showed that the area under the curve ( AUC) for TUGmanual (0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.86) was better than that for TUGsingle (0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.80), whereas the AUC value was not significant for TUGcognitive (0.60, 95% CI 0.46-0.74). The optimal cut-off points for detecting prefrailty using TUGsingle, TUGmanual and TUGcognitive were 7.7 s (sensitivity 68%), 8.2 s (sensitivity 83%), and 14.3 s (sensitivity 29%), respectively. After adjusting for age, logistic regression analyses showed that individuals with TUGmanual 8.2 s or slower were 7.2-fold more likely to have prefrailty than those with TUGmanual faster than 8.2 s. Conclusion TUGmanual is more valid and sensitive than TUGsingle in identifying prefrail individuals. The TUGmanual thus could serve as a screening tool for early detection of individuals with prefrailty in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 204-210. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptional repressor activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is induced by various stress stimuli, including inflammation-induced renal injury. In addition, ATF3 also down-regulates adhesion molecules like intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1). However, the relation between up-regulated ATF3 after renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and MCP-1 is not completely understood. In this study, we demonstrated that, in renal I/R induced inflammation, induction of adhesion molecules (interleukin-6, P-selectin, E-selectin, ICAM, VCAM, and MCP-1) was higher in ATF3-knockout mice than in wild-type animals. Molecular and biochemical analyses revealed that ATF3 binds to the ATF/CRE sites in the MCP-1 promoter and inhibits the secretion of MCP-1 from renal epithelial cells after I/R injury. Urinary exosome containing ATF3 RNA was 60-fold higher in patients with acute kidney injury than in normal controls, but no difference in total urinary ATF3 RNA levels was found. In addition, in vitro study showed that exosome containing ATF3 RNA derived from epithelial cells also inhibits MCP-1 expression in the epithelial cells and macrophage migration. Furthermore, direct administration of the epithelium-derived exosomal ATF3 RNA attenuates I/R induced kidney injury. Together, our studies reveal a novel regulatory mechanism of MCP-1 expression mediated by the exosomal ATF3 RNA under renal I/R insult and suggest a potential targeted therapy for I/R induced acute kidney injury. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1202-1211, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Quite a number of studies on clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been published in recent years to assess the characteristics and architecture of CDSS and evaluate the effects of CDSS on clinical work. However, until now there have been no relevant studies to investigate the quantity of these, and their contribution to present day thinking. The aim of this study was to explore the areas of theme, and the study design of research on CDSS in literature published in English and Chinese-language journals. Methods We searched the major database including MEDLINE, EMbase, Cochrane Library and four Chinese databases including Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Wanfang Data, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Chinese Journals Full-text Database (CNKI) and to analyze the publication years, research themes, authors' affiliations and methodologies of studies. Quality and statistical method were only appraised by classification of study designs. Results A total of 616 studies published from 1990 to 2013 were included in our research. In the year of 2011 the number of studies reached its peak with 96 studies accounting for 15.58% of the years' publication. We grouped the included studies into six major topic areas of which computerized clinical decision support systems dominated the included studies accounting for 51.46% of all studies. Commentary reviews and cross-sectional studies which took up approximately 46.10% of the included studies, with 30.52% (188 studies) and 15.58% (96 studies) respectively. Most included studies on CDSS were conducted in the following four institutions: universities, hospitals, research institutions and companies. Conclusions There is a growing change trend in the number of studies on CDSS research in recent two decades, most of which are non-comparative studies (46.10%) . Only 21 systematic reviews and 22 randomized controlled trails were published with the percentage of 3.41% and 3.57% of the included studies. More methodologically rigorous designs are needed to improve the research quality on CDSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current status data arise naturally from tumorigenicity experiments, epidemiology studies, biomedicine, econometrics and demographic and sociology studies. Moreover, clustered current status data may occur with animals from the same litter in tumorigenicity experiments or with subjects from the same family in epidemiology studies. Because the only information extracted from current status data is whether the survival times are before or after the monitoring or censoring times, the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator of survival function converges at a rate of n 1∕3 to a complicated limiting distribution. Hence, semiparametric regression models such as the additive hazards model have been extended for independent current status data to derive the test statistics, whose distributions converge at a rate of n 1∕2, for testing the regression parameters. However, a straightforward application of these statistical methods to clustered current status data is not appropriate because intracluster correlation needs to be taken into account. Therefore, this paper proposes two estimating functions for estimating the parameters in the additive hazards model for clustered current status data. The comparative results from simulation studies are presented, and the application of the proposed estimating functions to one real data set is illustrated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Until now, caring research has focused on constructs, processes and outcomes of caring traits exhibited mainly by nurses or nursing students in hospitals. Few studies have considered the perspectives of elderly residents of long-term care facilities ( LTCFs). Aims The aim of this study was to elucidate the nature of caring by describing the experience of elderly residents of Taiwan LTCFs. Methods Data collected by semi-structured interviews with 12 elderly residents of LTCFs were analysed by content analysis. Results The caring perceived by the sample was thematically categorized as calming the body, respectful communication and enriching life. Conclusion The findings of this study confirm the need for managers of LTCFs to address the physical and psychosocial needs of their residents. The findings can be used to develop education programmes and clinical protocols for nurses in the caring field and to develop instruments for measuring perceived caring in LTCFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Dual-tasking probes divided attention and causes performance changes that are associated with an increased risk for falls in the elderly. There is no systematic review investigating the effect of task type and complexity on the prediction of elderly falls. This article synthesizes research evidence regarding this issue on the contents of dual-tasking walking. Methods: Relevant studies were systematically identified from electronic databases of Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL and PsycINFO, and the reference lists of identified articles. The selection criteria were defined a priori. Two independent reviewers classified task types based on properties for cognitive demand, assessed the methodological quality with a customized checklist, and calculated the odds ratio of fall prediction. Results: There was one study of reaction time, one of discrimination and decision-making, 10 of mental tracking, three of verbal fluency and five of manual tasks. The methodological heterogeneity was manifested in the selection criteria, faller classification, tasks and measures, resulting in substantial heterogeneity (I2 87-92%). Meta-analyses resulted in a significant pooled odds ratio 1.33 (95% CI 1.18-1.50). The mental tracking task was the only type that yielded a significant odds ratio 3.30 (95% CI 2.00-5.44). Running meta-analyses separately for simple and difficult mental tracking task showed similar odds ratios. Conclusion: The mental tracking task yielded significant dual-task-related changes for fall prediction. Most studies successively used an appropriate level of task complexity specific to the specified population of interest. More research is required for definite conclusions regarding the effect of task type and complexity. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 289-297. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustered right-censored data often arise from tumorigenicity experiments and clinical trials. For testing the equality of two survival functions, Jung and Jeong extended weighted logrank (WLR) tests to two independent samples of clustered right-censored data, while the weighted Kaplan-Meier (WKM) test can be derived from the work of O'Gorman and Akritas. The weight functions in both classes of tests (WLR and WKM) can be selected to be more sensitive to detect a certain alternative; however, since the exact alternative is unknown, it is difficult to specify the selected weights in advance. Since WLR is rank-based, it is not sensitive to the magnitude of the difference in survival times. Although WKM is constructed to be more sensitive to the magnitude of the difference in survival times, it is not sensitive to late hazard differences. Therefore, in order to combine the advantages of these two classes of tests, this paper developed a class of versatile tests based on simultaneously using WLR and WKM for two independent samples of clustered right-censored data. The comparative results from a simulation study are presented and the implementation of the versatile tests to two real data sets is illustrated. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employed temperature‐controlled Raman spectroscopy to obtain the vibrational structures of the linear tricobalt metal‐string complex Co3(dpa)4Cl2 (dpa = di(2‐pyridyl) amide) and to identify its low‐lying electronic states. The density functional theory (DFT) method B3LYP*‐D3 was used to obtain the molecular structures, vibrational frequencies, and electronic levels of varied spin states. Co3(dpa)4Cl2 has sym‐ and unsym‐forms of Co–Co metal bonding. The Raman intensities of pyridyl breathing bands appeared to be sensitive to the coordinated Co atom and hence could be used to identify both forms. In s‐Co3 crystal, the split pyridyl Raman breathing bands indicated both symmetric and unsymmetric forms. This is explained that the molecule populated both the 2A2 (the ground state) and possibly 2B (reduced symmetry of 2E) states even at 77 K. The 2B state is coupled to the 4B state, which has an unsymmetric Co–Co bond. As the temperature increased to 423 K, the intensity of the low‐wavenumber pyridyl breathing band further increased and was attributed to the 4B state. At 77–323 K, the Raman spectra of u‐Co3 crystal populated mostly in the 4B state. From the SERS measurements, the samples were prepared in solution phase, and u‐Co3 displayed spectral behavior similar to that of s‐Co3, implying that the global minimal geometry is a symmetric form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate oral frailty features present in hospitalized older patients with aspiration pneumonia. Methods: We enrolled hospitalized patients aged ≥50 years and classified them into three groups: the community‐acquired, aspiration, and non‐community‐acquired pneumonia groups. Oral frailty was defined as meeting three or more criteria from the following: choking, and decreased occlusal force, masticatory function, tongue–lip motor function, tongue pressure, and tongue pressure during swallowing. Results: Of 168 patients enrolled, the incidence of aspiration pneumonia was 23.9% (17/71) in patients admitted with pneumonia as the primary diagnosis. The occlusal force and masticatory function were significantly poorer and tongue pressure and tongue pressure during swallowing were significantly lower in the aspiration pneumonia group than in the other two groups. A higher number of chronic comorbidities, poor oral health, and lower tongue pressure during swallowing were significantly associated with aspiration pneumonia. A tongue pressure during swallowing of <10.32 kPa might be a cutoff point for predicting the risk of aspiration pneumonia. Conclusions: Hospitalized patients aged ≥50 years with multiple comorbidities, poor oral hygiene, and oral frailty during swallowing are at a higher risk of developing aspiration pneumonia, especially when their tongue pressure during swallowing is <10.32 kPa. Aspiration pneumonia is a preventable disease. Healthcare professionals should incorporate tongue pressure measurements or other screening tools into routine clinical practice to facilitate the early detection of this condition and intervention. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 351–357. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chondrogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) is highly promising for cartilage repair. The specific mechanism, however, still needs to be explicated. Materials and Methods: In this study, we isolated hDPSCs and transfected cells with lentiviruses containing an over‐expression, knock‐down, or negative control of miR‐20a‐5p. Three‐D pellet cultures of hDPSCs were used for the chondrogenic induction. Following the pellet culture period, chondrogenesis was assessed by histological and immunohistochemical analysis and expression of chondrogenic‐related genes. Dual‐luciferase report assay was performed to determine potential targeted genes of miR‐20a‐5p, and the phosphorylation levels of P65 and IκBα were explored. Animal experiments were performed to determine the effect of miR‐20a‐5p on cartilage regeneration. Results: miR‐20a‐5p was showed to repress the expression of SMAD6 to inhibit the chondrogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. Accordingly, the knock‐down of miR‐20a‐5p promoted cartilage regeneration in the osteochondral defects of rats. Mechanically, it is indicated that NF‐κB signaling is the potential down‐stream network of miR‐20a‐5p/Smad6 crosstalk during chondrogenic differentiation. Conclusions: miR‐20a‐5p could target SMAD6 to activate NF‐κB signaling pathway, and thus inhibit chondrogenesis of hDPSCs, which provided promising therapeutic target for cartilage defects clinically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid synthesis of marine ladder polyethers from polyepoxide precursors (in analogy with the biosynthetic pathway hypothesized by Nakanishi) is hampered by the fact that the exo‐selective epoxide‐opening cyclization cascade that gives THF‐type polyethers is preferred over the endo‐selective cascade that gives the desired products. We found that perfluoro‐tert‐butanol (PFTB) cooperating with 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM]BF4) can promote endo‐selective epoxide‐opening cyclization reactions of trisubstituted epoxy alcohols. Starting from readily accessible homochiral polyepoxy alcohols with a methyl group at all the endo‐cyclization sites, we were able to construct polyethers up to five consecutive fused 6‐, 7‐, and/or 8‐membered rings in one step. Notably, molecules with the 7/7/6/6 and 7/7/6/7/6 polyether frameworks of hemibrevetoxin B and brevenal, respectively, could be synthesized in 40 % and 17 % chemical yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid synthesis of marine ladder polyethers from polyepoxide precursors (in analogy with the biosynthetic pathway hypothesized by Nakanishi) is hampered by the fact that the exo‐selective epoxide‐opening cyclization cascade that gives THF‐type polyethers is preferred over the endo‐selective cascade that gives the desired products. We found that perfluoro‐tert‐butanol (PFTB) cooperating with 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM]BF4) can promote endo‐selective epoxide‐opening cyclization reactions of trisubstituted epoxy alcohols. Starting from readily accessible homochiral polyepoxy alcohols with a methyl group at all the endo‐cyclization sites, we were able to construct polyethers up to five consecutive fused 6‐, 7‐, and/or 8‐membered rings in one step. Notably, molecules with the 7/7/6/6 and 7/7/6/7/6 polyether frameworks of hemibrevetoxin B and brevenal, respectively, could be synthesized in 40 % and 17 % chemical yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rearrangement of various types of cyclopropyl carbinols in refluxing H2O/dioxane mixtures without any additional catalyst gives generally homoallylic alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1,n-rearrangement of acyclic and cyclic allylic alcohols under aqueous conditions represents a novel method for the synthesis of various β,γ-unsaturated alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of different types of nanoparticles including Al2O3, SiO2, and CuO is studied to find the effects of nanoparticles on the thermoeconomic optimization of a fin and tube heat exchanger. The effectiveness and the total annual cost are considered as objective functions, and optimization is performed using multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm by selection of nine design parameters including nanoparticle volumetric concentration and parameters related to the heat exchanger geometry. The effect of nanoparticles on total annual cost (TAC) vs effectiveness indicates that TAC increases by increase of effectiveness. The results also reveal that in all the studied cases, thermoeconomic improvement is found in the case of nanoparticle additive compared with the base fluid for the high heat exchanger effectiveness. Moreover, application of Al2O3 and CuO is more beneficial than SiO2 in the aspect of thermoeconomic point of view. Furthermore, Al2O3 causes a higher effectiveness in the case of considering nanoparticle price, while in the case of neglecting nanoparticle price, CuO is the best for the higher effectiveness. © 2017 Curtin University and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial symbionts can play a key role in the interactions between trophic levels. Certain symbionts are known to confer protection against natural enemies of their arthropod hosts. However, whether natural enemies evolve and adapt to prey symbionts is not well understood.In this study, we found that a free‐living strain of aphid symbiont Serratia symbiotica, SsMj, was the most discriminative biomarker of the aphid feeding in the microbiota of aphidophagous (aphid‐feeding) ladybirds. Moreover, SsMj persisted in the digestive tract of starved ladybirds and did not decay together with ingested aphid materials, suggesting horizontal transmission across trophic levels.We further found that SsMj did not necessarily exhibit a negative impact on aphidophagous ladybirds of the Coccinellini tribe in contrast with other, non‐aphidophagous, ladybirds. First, starvation did not significantly change SsMj relative abundance or alpha microbiota diversity of an aphidophagous ladybird. Second, diets containing SsMj did not decrease the performance of the aphidophagous ladybirds. Third, infection with SsMj through injection had a minor impact on the survival of aphidophagous ladybirds.Together, our evidence suggests that the aphid symbiont S. symbiotica can be horizontally transmitted to ladybird predators. At the same time, the group of ladybirds that have adapted to feeding on aphids have also evolved to establish a nearly neutral relationship with S. symbiotica, suggesting adaptation to a prey symbiont. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The ectopic expression of a MADS box gene FOREVER YOUNG FLOWER ( FYF) caused a significant delay of senescence and a deficiency of abscission in flowers of transgenic Arabidopsis. The defect in floral abscission was found to be due to a deficiency in the timing of cell separation of the abscission zone cells. Down-regulation of INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION ( IDA) may contribute to the delay of the floral abscission in 35S:FYF flowers. FYF was found to be highly expressed in young flowers prior to pollination and was significantly decreased after pollination, a pattern that correlated with its function. Ethylene insensitivity in senescence/abscission and the down-regulation of ETHYLENE RESPONSE DNA-BINDING FACTOR 1 ( EDF1) and EDF2, downstream genes in the ethylene response, in 35S:FYF Arabidopsis suggested a role for FYF in regulating senescence/abscission by suppressing the ethylene response. This role was further supported by the fact that 35S:FYF enhanced the delay of flower senescence/abscission in ethylene response 1 ( etr1), ethylene-insensitive 2 ( ein2) and constitutive triple response 1 ( ctr1) mutants, which have defects in upstream genes of the ethylene signaling pathway. The presence of a repressor domain in the C-terminus of FYF and the enhancement of the delay of senescence/abscission in FYF+SRDX (containing a suppression motif) transgenic plants suggested that FYF acts as a repressor. Indeed, in FYF-DR+VP16 transgenic dominant-negative mutant plants, in which FYF was converted to a potent activator by fusion to a VP16-AD motif, the senescence/abscission of the flower organs was significantly promoted, and the expression of BOP2, IDA and EDF1/ 2 was up-regulated. Our data suggest a role for FYF in controlling floral senescence/abscission by repressing ethylene responses and regulating the expression of BOP2 and IDA in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a high‐efficiency air purifier in patients with allergic rhinitis. Design: We conducted a randomised, double‐blind, clinical controlled trial with active and inactive versions of an air purifier. Our study included patients with allergic rhinitis who were sensitive to Artemisia pollen and treatment of the indoor environment using air filtration at night. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of indoor air filtration during the Artemisia pollen scattering season in Yulin City in Shanxi Province, China. Setting: The First Hospital of Yulin (Yulin City, Shanxi Province, China). Participants: A total of 90 patients with allergic rhinitis who were sensitive to allergens of Artemisia pollen were randomly assigned to one of two groups in equal numbers. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was the difference in visual analogue scale scores from baseline. Secondary outcomes were changes from baseline in nasal symptoms, allergy symptom scores, responses to the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores and tolerability scores for the air purifier. Results: Based on the allergy symptom score, we found significant differences in rhinitis symptoms between the groups who used the active versus the inactive air purifier. Conclusions: The results of our investigation demonstrated the health benefits of particle filtration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new family of the quintuply bonded dichromium complexes [Cr2{μ‐κ2‐HC(N‐2,6‐R2C6H3)2}2(μ‐κ2‐HC[NAr]2)] (R = iPr, Ar = 4‐MeC6H4 (5), Ar = 3,5‐Me2C6H3 (6), and Ar = 2,6‐Me2C6H3 (7); R = Et, Ar = 4‐MeC6H4 (8), Ar = 3,5‐Me2C6H3 [9], and Ar = 2,6‐Et2C6H3 (10)) with a heteroleptic lantern configuration was obtained upon the addition of one equivalent of amidinate to the quintuply bonded dichromium amidinates [Cr{μ‐κ2‐HC(N‐2,6‐R2C6H3)2}]2 (R = iPr, Et). Additionally, the same approach was applied to the preparation of the acetate derivative [Cr2{μ‐κ2‐HC(N‐2,6‐iPr2C6H3)2}2(μ‐κ2‐CH3CO2)] (11), which represents the first example that the quintuply bonded dinuclear complex contains an oxygen‐containing ligand. Of particular interest is that the Cr‐Cr bond lengths in these new trigonal paddlewheel quintuple Cr‐Cr bond species are comparable with those in their precursor compounds. They show ultrashort Cr‐Cr bond lengths in a narrow range of 1.740–1.755 å on the basis of single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography. The small Mayer bond orders of the long Cr‐N bonds as well as divergent, C2v and D3h, structural conformations in 5–11 suggest that the metal–ligand interactions possess minor covalent character and the electrostatic interactions play a dominant role. As a result, these extremely short Cr‐Cr quintuple bonds are caused by the overlap between five pairs of d orbitals that do not involve much in metal–ligand bonding. Additionally, anionic lantern dichromium trisamidinates 5–10 can be chemically oxidized by one electron, supported by electrochemistry, and their ease to undergo oxidation is presumably associated with their neutral lantern dichromium trisamindinate products, whose structures inherently display a Jahn‐Teller distortion, exemplified by the structure of the homoleptic dichromium complex [Cr2{μ‐κ2‐HC(N‐2,6‐Et2C6H3)2}3] [12] determined by X‐ray crystallography. These results unambiguously support the Cr‐Cr quintuple bonding in these novel anionic lantern dichromium complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important human pathogen causing opportunistic nosocomial and community‐acquired infections. A major public health concern regarding K. pneumoniae is the increasing incidence of multidrug‐resistant strains. Here, we isolated three novel Klebsiella bacteriophages, KN1‐1, KN3‐1 and KN4‐1, which infect KN1, KN3 and K56, and KN4 types respectively. We determined their genome sequences and conducted a comparative analysis that revealed a variable region containing capsule depolymerase‐encoding genes. Recombinant depolymerase proteins were produced, and their enzymatic activity and specificity were evaluated. We identified four capsule depolymerases in these phages that could only digest the capsule types of their respective hosts. Our results demonstrate that the activities of these capsule depolymerases were correlated with the host range of each phage; thus, the capsule depolymerases are host specificity determinants. By generating a capsule mutant, we demonstrate that capsule was essential for phage adsorption and infection. Further, capsule depolymerases can enhance bacterial susceptibility to serum killing. The discovery of these phages and depolymerases lays the foundation for the typing of KN1, KN3, KN4 and K56 Klebsiella and could be useful alternative therapeutics for the treatment of K. pneumoniae infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The objective of the present study was to investigate the current situation concerning, and risk factors for, vancomycin (VAN)‐induced acute kidney injury (VI‐AKI) in elderly Chinese patients, to assess outcomes and risk factors in patients who have developed VI‐AKI, in order to provide suggestions for improving the prevention and treatment of this condition in these patients. Method: We retrospectively identified elderly older inpatients who had received four or more doses of VAN treatment. We compared patients with VI‐AKI with those who received VAN treatment and had not developed AKI (NO‐AKI). We defined VI‐AKI as developing AKI during VAN therapy or within 3 days after withdrawal of VAN. Results: A total of 647 out of 862 elderly inpatients were included in the study. Among those excluded, in 89.3% of cases (192/215) this was because of lack of data on serum creatinine (SCr). Among included patients, 32.5% (210/647) of patients received therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) during VAN therapy. In 66.9% of cases (424/634), there was insufficient TDM, and in 3.9% (25/634) this was appropriate. A total of 102 patients had confirmed VI‐AKI, with an incidence of 15.8% (102/647). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that hyperuricaemia [odds ratio (OR) = 3.045; P = 0.000)], mechanical ventilation (OR = 1.906; P = 0.022) and concomitant vasopressor therapy (OR = 1.919; P = 0.027) were independent risk factors for VI‐AKI; higher serum albumin (OR = 0.885; P = 0.000) was determined to be an independent protective factor for VI‐AKI. Conclusions: For the elderly Chinese patients treated with VAN, there was insufficient monitoring of SCr, too little use of VAN TDM, and lower rate of patients whose VAN though serum concentrations were not obtained at the correct time. We recommend that hospital managers increase investment in clinical pharmacists, to strengthen professional management. Patients with concomitant hyperuricaemia and on mechanical ventilation and vasopressor therapy should be paid more attention, and a higher serum albumin was determined to be an independent protective factor for VI‐AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently it has been reported that Nafion oligomers, i.e., 2-(2-sulfonatotetrafluoroethoxy)-2-trifluoromethyltrifluoroethoxyfunctionalized oligotetrafluoroethylenes, also called perfluorinated ionomers (PFIs), can be blended into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDT:PSSH) films to increase their workfunctions beyond 5.2 eV. These PFI-modified films are useful for energy-level alignment studies, and have been proposed as hole-injection layers (HILs). It is shown here however that these HILs do not provide sufficiently fast hole transfer into adjacent polymer semiconductor layers with ionization potentials deeper than ≈5.2 eV. X-ray and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopies reveal that these HILs exhibit a molecularly-thin PFI overlayer that sets up a surface dipole that provides the ultrahigh workfunction. This dipolar layer persists even when the subsequent organic semiconductor layer is deposited, as evidenced by measurements of the diode built-in potentials. As a consequence, the PFI-modified HILs produce a higher contact resistance, and a lower equilibrium density of holes at the semiconductor contact than might have been expected from simple thermodynamic considerations of the reduction in hole-injection barrier. Thus the use of insulating dipolar surface layers at the charge-injection contact to tune its workfunction to match the relevant transport level of the semiconductor is of limited utility to achieve ohmic contact in these devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study aimed at determining the prevalence of metallo-B-lactamases (MBLs)-producing Entero-bacteriaceae isolates at a Taiwanese university hospital in 2006 and examining tigecycline activity against MBL producers. It cites the use of 527 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 1026 Escherichia coli and 274 Enterobacter isolates in investigating the prevalence of MBLs in Enterobacteriaceae. The results emphasized the importance of knowing the characteristics of endemic carbapenemase producers before choosing a screening strategy.