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Hotspot generation for unique identification with nanomaterials Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Nema M. Abdelazim; Matthew J. Fong; Thomas McGrath; Christopher S. Woodhead; Furat Al-Saymari; Ibrahim E. Bagci; Alex T. Jones; Xintai Wang; Robert J. Young
Nanoscale variations in the structure and composition of an object are an enticing basis for verifying its identity, due to the physical complexity of attempting to reproduce such a system. The biggest practical challenge for nanoscale authentication lies in producing a system that can be assessed with a facile measurement. Here, a system is presented in which InP/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are randomly
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Comparative analysis of nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial genomes of watermelon and melon provides evidence of gene transfer Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Haonan Cui; Zhuo Ding; Qianglong Zhu; Yue Wu; Boyan Qiu; Peng Gao
During plant evolution, there is genetic communication between organelle and nuclear genomes. A comparative analysis was performed on the organelle and nuclear genomes of the watermelon and melon. In the watermelon, chloroplast-derived sequences accounted for 7.6% of the total length of the mitochondrial genome. In the melon, chloroplast-derived sequences accounted for approximately 2.73% of the total
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Composition of the white precipitate formed on the surface of damaged triacetyl cellulose-based motion picture films Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Keiko Takahashi; Maiko Sasaki; Hiroshi Hayakawa; Hitoshi Yajima; Yoshiki Oda
To achieve a better understanding of the “vinegar syndrome” phenomenon, which has caused serious damage to triacetyl cellulose-based motion picture films, the white powder obtained from damaged film surfaces was analysed in this study. The powder was found to be soluble in acetone, diethyl ether, dimethylformamide, and chloroform, but insoluble in water. From the results of 1H, 13C and 31P nuclear
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Trends in mortality rate in patients with congenital heart disease undergoing noncardiac surgical procedures at children’s hospitals Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Viviane G. Nasr; Steven J. Staffa; David Faraoni; James A. DiNardo
Advances made in pediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery and critical care have significantly improved the survival rate of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) leading to an increase in children with CHD presenting for noncardiac surgical procedures. This study aims (1) to describe the trend and perioperative mortality rates in patients with CHD undergoing noncardiac surgical procedures at children’s
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High-speed and high-precision PbSe/PbI 2 solution process mid-infrared camera Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Hannaneh Dortaj; Mahboubeh Dolatyari; Armin Zarghami; Farid Alidoust; Ali Rostami; Samiye Matloub; Reza Yadipour
Infrared (IR) cameras based on semiconductors grown by epitaxial methods face two main challenges, which are cost and operating at room temperature. The alternative new technologies which can tackle these two difficulties develop new and facile material and methods. Moreover, the implementation of high speed camera, which makes high resolution images with normal methods, is very expensive. In this
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Plasma tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in hospitalized COVID-19 patients Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Yu Zuo; Mark Warnock; Alyssa Harbaugh; Srilakshmi Yalavarthi; Kelsey Gockman; Melanie Zuo; Jacqueline A. Madison; Jason S. Knight; Yogendra Kanthi; Daniel A. Lawrence
Patients with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) are at high risk for thrombotic arterial and venous occlusions. However, bleeding complications have also been observed in some patients. Understanding the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis will help inform optimal approaches to thrombosis prophylaxis and potential utility of fibrinolytic-targeted therapies. 118 hospitalized COVID-19 patients
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Co-introduction of precipitate hardening and TRIP in a TWIP high-entropy alloy using friction stir alloying Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Tianhao Wang; Shivakant Shukla; Bharat Gwalani; Subhasis Sinha; Saket Thapliyal; Michael Frank; Rajiv S. Mishra
Tuning deformation mechanisms is imperative to overcome the well-known strength-ductility paradigm. Twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP), transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and precipitate hardening have been investigated separately and have been altered to achieve exceptional strength or ductility in several alloy systems. In this study, we use a novel solid-state alloying method—friction stir
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Multi-energy spectral photon-counting computed tomography (MARS) for detection of arthroplasty implant failure Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Lawrence Chun Man Lau; Wayne Yuk Wai Lee; Anthony P. H. Butler; Alex I. Chernoglazov; Kwong Yin Chung; Kevin Ki Wai Ho; James Griffith; Philip H. Butler; Patrick Shu Hang Yung
To determine whether state-of-the-art multi-energy spectral photon-counting computed tomography (MARS) can detect knee arthroplasty implant failure not detected by standard pre-operative imaging techniques. A total knee arthroplasty (TKA) removed from a patient was reviewed. The extracted prosthesis [NexGen Legacy Posterior Stabilized (LPS) TKA] was analyzed as were pre-operative imaging examination
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Diagnostic accuracy of Fusobacterium nucleatum IgA and IgG ELISA test in colorectal cancer Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Melike Kurt; Zeki Yumuk
The colorectal cancer is a serious health problem. The diagnosis of the disease mostly relies on an invasive procedure. A non-invasive diagnostic test such as an immunoassay, may facilitate diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the use of antibodies against Fusobacterium nucleatum in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Totally 78 patients in three groups were
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Estimating density limits for walking pedestrians keeping a safe interpersonal distancing Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 I. Echeverría-Huarte; A. Garcimartín; R. C. Hidalgo; C. Martín-Gómez; I. Zuriguel
With people trying to keep a safe distance from others due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the way in which pedestrians walk has completely changed since the pandemic broke out1,2. In this work, laboratory experiments demonstrate the effect of several variables—such as the pedestrian density, the walking speed and the prescribed safety distance—on the interpersonal distance established when people move within
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Effect of radiotherapy on survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with sorafenib: a nationwide cancer-registry-based study Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Shou-Sheng Chu; Yu-Hsuan Kuo; Wen-Shan Liu; Shih-Chang Wang; Chung-Han Ho; Yi-Chen Chen; Ching-Chieh Yang; Hung-Chang Wu
Sorafenib is the standard treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. This study aims to determine whether combining radiotherapy with sorafenib administration increases its efficacy. The study cohort included 4763 patients with diagnosed advanced HCC who received sorafenib between January 2012 and December 2015, as reported in medical records in the Taiwan Cancer Registry database
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Genetic barcoding of museum eggshell improves data integrity of avian biological collections Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Alicia Grealy; Naomi E. Langmore; Leo Joseph; Clare E. Holleley
Natural history collections are often plagued by missing or inaccurate metadata for collection items, particularly for specimens that are difficult to verify or rare. Avian eggshell in particular can be challenging to identify due to extensive morphological ambiguity among taxa. Species identifications can be improved using DNA extracted from museum eggshell; however, the suitability of current methods
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Chronic musculoskeletal pain prospectively predicts insomnia in older people, not moderated by age, gender or co-morbid illnesses Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Regina Wing Shan Sit; Benjamin Hon Kei Yip; Bo Wang; Dicken Cheong Chun Chan; Dexing Zhang; Samuel Yeung Shan Wong
The study evaluated if chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain predicts the severity of insomnia, and whether the effect is moderated by age, gender, and number of comorbid diseases in older people. An 18-month prospective study was performed within the framework of a community health program in Hong Kong. A total of 498 older people aged ≥ 60 with multimorbidity were recruited. The predictors included
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A machine learning-based predictor for the identification of the recurrence of patients with gastric cancer after operation Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Chengmao Zhou; Junhong Hu; Ying Wang; Mu-Huo Ji; Jianhua Tong; Jian-Jun Yang; Hongping Xia
To explore the predictive performance of machine learning on the recurrence of patients with gastric cancer after the operation. The available data is divided into two parts. In particular, the first part is used as a training set (such as 80% of the original data), and the second part is used as a test set (the remaining 20% of the data). And we use fivefold cross-validation. The weight of recurrence
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A pilot study: effectiveness of local injection of autologous platelet-rich plasma in treating women with stress urinary incontinence Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Cheng-Yu Long; Kun-Ling Lin; Chin-Ru Shen; Chin-Ru Ker; Yi-Yin Liu; Zi-Xi Loo; Hui-Hua Hsiao; Yung-Chin Lee
The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of local injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (A-PRP) as a treatment for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence (SUI). In a prospective intervention study, twenty consecutive women suffering from SUI were treated with A-PRP injection at anterior vaginal wall where mid-urethra locates. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure pre-treatment
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Oxidation-induced thermopower inversion in nanocrystalline SnSe thin film Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Sunao Shimizu; Kazumoto Miwa; Takeshi Kobayashi; Yujiro Tazawa; Shimpei Ono
Given the growing demand for environmentally friendly energy sources, thermoelectric energy conversion has attracted increased interest as a promising CO2-free technology. SnSe single crystals have attracted attention as a next generation thermoelectric material due to outstanding thermoelectric properties arising from ultralow thermal conductivity. For practical applications, on the other hand, polycrystalline
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Benchtop micro-mashing: high-throughput, robust, experimental beer brewing Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Edward D. Kerr; Christopher H. Caboche; Peter Josh; Benjamin L. Schulz
Brewing science is undergoing a renaissance with the use of modern analytical chemistry and microbiology techniques. However, these modern analytical tools and techniques are not necessarily aligned with the scale and scope of brewing science. In particular, brewing processes can be time consuming, ingredient intensive, and require specialised technical equipment. These drawbacks compound with the
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The combination of malnutrition-inflammation and functional status limitations is associated with mortality in hemodialysis patients Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Eiichiro Kanda; Marcelo Barreto Lopes; Kazuhiko Tsuruya; Hideki Hirakata; Kunitoshi Iseki; Angelo Karaboyas; Brian Bieber; Stefan H. Jacobson; Indranil Dasgupta; Bruce M. Robinson
The identification of malnutrition-inflammation-complex (MIC) and functional status (FS) is key to improving patient experience on hemodialysis (HD). We investigate the association of MIC and FS combinations with mortality in HD patients. We analyzed data from 5630 HD patients from 9 countries in DOPPS phases 4–5 (2009–2015) with a median follow-up of 23 [IQR 11, 31] months. MIC was defined as serum
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CROP: a CRISPR/Cas9 guide selection program based on mapping guide variants Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Victor Aprilyanto; Redi Aditama; Zulfikar Achmad Tanjung; Condro Utomo; Tony Liwang
The off-target effect, in which DNA cleavage was conducted outside the targeted region, is a major problem which limits the applications of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system. CRISPR Off-target Predictor (CROP) is standalone program developed to address this problem by predicting off-target propensity of guide RNAs and thereby allowing the user to select the optimum guides. The approach used by CROP
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Microfluidic on-chip production of microgels using combined geometries Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Hamed Shieh; Maryam Saadatmand; Mahnaz Eskandari; Dariush Bastani
Microfluidic on-chip production of microgels using external gelation can serve numerous applications that involve encapsulation of sensitive cargos. Nevertheless, on-chip production of microgels in microfluidic devices can be challenging due to problems induced by the rapid increase in precursor solution viscosity like clogging. Here, a novel design incorporating a step, which includes a sudden increase
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Non-local terahertz photoconductivity in the topological phase of Hg 1−x Cd x Te Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 A. S. Kazakov; A. V. Galeeva; A. I. Artamkin; A. V. Ikonnikov; L. I. Ryabova; S. A. Dvoretsky; N. N. Mikhailov; M. I. Bannikov; S. N. Danilov; D. R. Khokhlov
We report on observation of strong non-local photoconducitivity induced by terahertz laser pulses in non-zero magnetic field in heterostructures based on Hg1−xCdxTe films being in the topological phase. While the zero-field non-local photoconductivity is negligible, it is strongly enhanced in magnetic fields ~ 0.05 T resulting in appearance of an edge photocurrent that exceeds the respective dark signal
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Interfacial reaction during friction stir assisted scribe welding of immiscible Fe and Mg alloy system Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Hrishikesh Das; Piyush Upadhyay; Tianhao Wang; Bharat Gwalani; Xiaolong Ma
We report on interfacial characteristics and chemistry of bonded Mg-Fe interfaces welded using friction stir assisted scribe technique (FaST). Two pairs of dissimilar joints: (AZ31-DP590) and (Pure Mg-DP590) were studied to shed light on joining mechanisms responsible for bonding of “immiscible” pairs of Mg and Fe. We present first direct experimental evidence of presence of oxide layer, Al segregation
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Influence of biopolymers on the rheological properties of seafloor sediments and the runout behavior of submarine debris flows Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Jun Kameda; Hamada Yohei
Submarine debris flows are mass movement processes on the seafloor, and are geohazards for seafloor infrastructure such as pipelines, communication cables, and submarine structures. Understanding the generation and run-out behavior of submarine debris flows is thus critical for assessing the risk of such geohazards. The rheological properties of seafloor sediments are governed by factors including
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Premature ventricular contraction is associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation: a nationwide population-based study Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Yun Gi Kim; Kyung-Do Han; Jong-Il Choi; Yun Young Choi; Ha Young Choi; Jaemin Shim; Young-Hoon Kim
Premature ventricular contraction (PVC) and atrial fibrillation (AF) are common arrhythmias affecting 1–2% of the general population. During PVC, retrograde ventriculo-atrial activation can occur and act like an atrial ectopy. However, the clinical significance of this phenomenon is not fully understood. We aimed to elucidate whether the clinical diagnosis of PVC can increase the risk of new-onset
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Advances in automatic identification of flying insects using optical sensors and machine learning Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Carsten Kirkeby; Klas Rydhmer; Samantha M. Cook; Alfred Strand; Martin T. Torrance; Jennifer L. Swain; Jord Prangsma; Andreas Johnen; Mikkel Jensen; Mikkel Brydegaard; Kaare Græsbøll
Worldwide, farmers use insecticides to prevent crop damage caused by insect pests, while they also rely on insect pollinators to enhance crop yield and other insect as natural enemies of pests. In order to target pesticides to pests only, farmers must know exactly where and when pests and beneficial insects are present in the field. A promising solution to this problem could be optical sensors combined
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The Feature Ambiguity Mitigate Operator model helps improve bone fracture detection on X-ray radiograph Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Hui-Zhao Wu; Li-Feng Yan; Xiao-Qing Liu; Yi-Zhou Yu; Zuo-Jun Geng; Wen-Juan Wu; Chun-Qing Han; Yong-Qin Guo; Bu-Lang Gao
This study was performed to propose a method, the Feature Ambiguity Mitigate Operator (FAMO) model, to mitigate feature ambiguity in bone fracture detection on radiographs of various body parts. A total of 9040 radiographic studies were extracted. These images were classified into several body part types including 1651 hand, 1302 wrist, 406 elbow, 696 shoulder, 1580 pelvic, 948 knee, 1180 ankle, and
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Thioflavin-positive tau aggregates complicating quantification of amyloid plaques in the brain of 5XFAD transgenic mouse model Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Jisu Shin; Sohui Park; HeeYang Lee; YoungSoo Kim
Transgenic mouse models recapitulating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology are pivotal in molecular studies and drug evaluation. In transgenic models selectively expressing amyloid-β (Aβ), thioflavin S (ThS), a fluorescent dye with β-sheet binding properties, is widely employed to observe amyloid plaque accumulation. In this study, we investigated the possibility that a commonly used Aβ-expressing AD
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Obesity alters the collagen organization and mechanical properties of murine cartilage Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Amber T. Collins; Guoli Hu; Hunter Newman; Michael H. Reinsvold; Monique R. Goldsmith; John N. Twomey-Kozak; Holly A. Leddy; Deepika Sharma; Leyao Shen; Louis E. DeFrate; Courtney M. Karner
Osteoarthritis is a debilitating disease characterized by cartilage degradation and altered cartilage mechanical properties. Furthermore, it is well established that obesity is a primary risk factor for osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of obesity on the mechanical properties of murine knee cartilage. Two-month old wild type mice were fed either a normal diet
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Effect of volatile and total intravenous anesthesia on syndecan-1 shedding after minimally invasive gastrectomy: a randomized trial Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Na Young Kim; Ki Jun Kim; Ki-Young Lee; Hye Jung Shin; Jaein Cho; Da Jeong Nam; So Yeon Kim
This study aimed to compare the effects of volatile anesthesia and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) on syndecan-1 shedding in patients with gastric cancer undergoing minimally invasive gastrectomy. Patients were randomly assigned to either the Volatile (n = 68) or the TIVA (n = 68) group. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane/remifentanil or propofol/remifentanil in the Volatile and TIVA groups
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Structural variability and differentiation of niches in the rhizosphere and endosphere bacterial microbiome of moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ) Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Zong-Sheng Yuan; Fang Liu; Zhen-Yu Liu; Qiu-Liang Huang; Guo-Fang Zhang; Hui Pan
The plant microbiota play a key role in plant productivity, nutrient uptake, resistance to stress and flowering. The flowering of moso bamboo has been a focus of study. The mechanism of flowering is related to nutrient uptake, temperature, hormone balance and regulation of key genes. However, the connection between microbiota of moso bamboo and its flowering is unknown. In this study, samples of rhizosphere
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Black spicules from a new interstitial opheliid polychaete Thoracophelia minuta sp. nov. (Annelida: Opheliidae) Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Naoto Jimi; Shinta Fujimoto; Mami Takehara; Satoshi Imura
The phylum Annelida exhibits high morphological diversity coupled with its extensive ecological diversity, and the process of its evolution has been an attractive research subject for many researchers. Its representatives are also extensively studied in fields of ecology and developmental biology and important in many other biology related disciplines. The study of biomineralisation is one of them
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Quantum Szilard engine for the fractional power-law potentials Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Ekrem Aydiner
In this study, we consider the quantum Szilárd engine with a single particle under the fractional power-law potential. We suggest that such kind of the Szilárd engine works a Stirling-like cycle. We obtain energy eigenvalues and canonical partition functions for the degenerate and non-degenerate cases in this cycle process. By using these quantities we numerically compute work and efficiency for this
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Correlation between short-time and whole-night obstruction level tests for patients with obstructive sleep apnea Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Jeong-Whun Kim; Jae-Cheul Ahn; Young-Seok Choi; Chae-Seo Rhee; Hahn Jin Jung
Identification of obstructive level is crucial for successful surgical outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Unfortunately, most of the dynamic airway evaluations are performed for a short duration under drug-induced sleep; therefore, it is uncertain whether they represent airway events that occur during a whole night of sleep. This study was aimed to evaluate the correlation between
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Ultrasound probe tilt impedes the needle-beam alignment during the ultrasound-guided procedures Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Qingxiang Mao; Haitao He; Yuangang Lu; Yi Hu; Zhen Wang; Maoxiang Gan; Hong Yan; Liyong Chen
The objective of this study was to identify the factors that complicate the needle visualization in ultrasound-guided in-plane needling procedures. Forty-nine residents were recruited and randomized to insert the simulated blood vessel with four different views including Neutral (the long axis of the probe along the visual axis and the ultrasonic beam vertical to the surface of gel phantom), 45°-rotation
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Investigation on performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm based fuzzy inference system (PSOFIS) in a combination of CFD modeling for prediction of fluid flow Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Meisam Babanezhad; Iman Behroyan; Ali Taghvaie Nakhjiri; Azam Marjani; Mashallah Rezakazemi; Amir Heydarinasab; Saeed Shirazian
Herein, a reactor of bubble column type with non-equilibrium thermal condition between air and water is mechanistically modeled and simulated by the CFD technique. Moreover, the combination of the adaptive network (AN) trainer with the fuzzy inference system (FIS) as the artificial intelligence method calling ANFIS has already shown potential in the optimization of CFD approach. Although the artificial
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Prominent luminescence of silicon-vacancy defects created in bulk silicon carbide p–n junction diodes Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Fumiya Nagasawa; Makoto Takamura; Hiroshi Sekiguchi; Yoshinori Miyamae; Yoshiaki Oku; Ken Nakahara
We investigate fluorescent defect centers in 4H silicon carbide p–n junction diodes fabricated via aluminum-ion implantation into an n-type bulk substrate without the use of an epitaxial growth process. At room temperature, electron-irradiated p–n junction diodes exhibit electroluminescence originating from silicon-vacancy defects. For a diode exposed to an electron dose of \(1 \times 10^{18}\,{{\mathrm{cm}}}^{-2}\)
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Movements of marine and estuarine turtles during Hurricane Michael Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Margaret M. Lamont; Darren Johnson; Daniel J. Catizone
Natural disturbances are an important driver of population dynamics. Because it is difficult to observe wildlife during these events, our understanding of the strategies that species use to survive these disturbances is limited. On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida’s northwest coast. Using satellite and acoustic telemetry, we documented movements of 6 individual turtles:
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Changes in acoustic cardiographic parameters before and after hemodialysis are associated with overall and cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Tung-Ling Chung; Yi-Hsueh Liu; Jiun-Chi Huang; Pei-Yu Wu; Szu-Chia Chen; Jer-Ming Chang
Acoustic cardiography can provide simultaneous electrocardiography and acoustic cardiac data to assess the electronic and mechanical heart functions. The aim of this study was to assess whether changes in acoustic cardiographic parameters (ACPs) before and after hemodialysis (HD) are associated with overall and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in HD patients. A total of 162 HD patients was enrolled and
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Assessment of real life eating difficulties in Parkinson’s disease patients by measuring plate to mouth movement elongation with inertial sensors Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Konstantinos Kyritsis; Petter Fagerberg; Ioannis Ioakimidis; K. Ray Chaudhuri; Heinz Reichmann; Lisa Klingelhoefer; Anastasios Delopoulos
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with both motor and non-motor symptoms. Despite the progressive nature of PD, early diagnosis, tracking the disease’s natural history and measuring the drug response are factors that play a major role in determining the quality of life of the affected individual. Apart from the common motor symptoms, i.e., tremor at rest, rigidity and bradykinesia
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The ISN/RPS 2016 classification predicts renal prognosis in patients with first-onset class III/IV lupus nephritis Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Asaka Hachiya; Munetoshi Karasawa; Takahiro Imaizumi; Noritoshi Kato; Takayuki Katsuno; Takuji Ishimoto; Tomoki Kosugi; Naotake Tsuboi; Shoichi Maruyama
Lupus nephritis (LN) is a life-threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus. The 2003 pathological classification of LN was revised in 2016; it quantitatively evaluates the interstitium in addition to the glomeruli. We performed a retrospective multi-centre cohort study and investigated the utility of the 2016 classification—including the activity index (AI), chronicity index (CI), and
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Development of antisense-mediated myostatin knockdown for the treatment of insulin resistance Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Wouter Eilers; Mark Cleasby; Keith Foster
Myostatin is a negative regulator of muscle mass and its inhibition represents a promising strategy for the treatment of muscle disorders and type 2 diabetes. However, there is currently no clinically effective myostatin inhibitor, and therefore novel methods are required. We evaluated the use of antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMO) to reduce myostatin expression in skeletal muscle
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The response of zircon to the extreme pressures and temperatures of a lightning strike Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Gavin G. Kenny; Matthew A. Pasek
Hypervelocity impacts can produce features in zircon that are not normally produced by endogenic processes. However, lightning can also induce extreme pressure–temperature excursions, and its effect on zircon has not been studied. With the aim to recognise features that form in response to extreme pressure–temperature excursions but are not unique to hypervelocity impacts, we imaged and undertook microstructural
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Thermal transformation of polar into less-polar ginsenosides through demalonylation and deglycosylation in extracts from ginseng pulp Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Fan Yao; Xiang Li; Jing Sun; Xinxin Cao; Mengmeng Liu; Yuanhang Li; Yujun Liu
The present study was conducted to qualitatively and quantitatively elucidate dynamic changes of ginsenosides in ginseng pulp steamed under different temperatures (100 or 120 °C) for different durations (1–6 h) through UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS and HPLC with the aid of as numerous as 18 authentic standards of ginsenosides. Results show that levels of eight polar ginsenosides (i.e., Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3
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Regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in 2-methoxyestradiol-mediated osteosarcoma cell death Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Magdalena Gorska-Ponikowska; Paulina Bastian; Agata Zauszkiewicz-Pawlak; Agata Ploska; Adrian Zubrzycki; Alicja Kuban-Jankowska; Stephan Nussberger; Leszek Kalinowski; Zbigniew Kmiec
Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most malignant tumors of childhood and adolescence. Research on mitochondrial dynamics (fusion/fission) and biogenesis has received much attention in last few years, as they are crucial for death of cancer cells. Specifically, it was shown that increased expression of the cytoplasmic dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) triggers mitochondrial fission (division), which activates
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Acquisition of concrete and abstract words is modulated by tDCS of Wernicke’s area Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Diana Kurmakaeva; Evgeny Blagovechtchenski; Daria Gnedykh; Nadezhda Mkrtychian; Svetlana Kostromina; Yury Shtyrov
Previous behavioural and neuroimaging research suggested distinct cortical systems involved in processing abstract and concrete semantics; however, there is a dearth of causal evidence to support this. To address this, we applied anodal, cathodal, or sham (placebo) tDCS over Wernicke’s area before a session of contextual learning of novel concrete and abstract words (n = 10 each), presented five times
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Dietary intake and hospitalisation due to diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Aila J. Ahola; Valma Harjutsalo; Merlin C. Thomas; Carol Forsblom; Per-Henrik Groop
We investigated the association between diet and risk of hospitalisation for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hypoglycaemia in type 1 diabetes. Food records were used to assess dietary intake. Data on DKA and hypoglycaemia hospitalisations, within two years of dietary assessments, were obtained from registries. Analyses were conducted with and without macronutrient substitution. Data were available from
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Evaluation metrics and validation of presence-only species distribution models based on distributional maps with varying coverage Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Kamil Konowalik; Agata Nosol
We examine how different datasets, including georeferenced hardcopy maps of different extents and georeferenced herbarium specimens (spanning the range from 100 to 85,000 km2) influence ecological niche modeling. We check 13 of the available environmental niche modeling algorithms, using 30 metrics to score their validity and evaluate which are useful for the selection of the best model. The validation
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Pressure-assisted sintering and characterization of Nd:YAG ceramic lasers Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Avital Wagner; Yekutiel Meshorer; Barak Ratzker; David Sinefeld; Sergey Kalabukhov; Sharone Goldring; Ehud Galun; Nachum Frage
Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is an advanced one-stage, rapid, near-net shape densification technique combining uniaxial pressure with resistive heating. Various transparent ceramics have been successfully fabricated by SPS, despite the existence of inherent carbon contamination and residual pores. Due to the disk-shape of SPS-processed samples, the technique may be suited for producing thin-disk ceramic
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Elucidating different pattern of immunoregulation in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice and their F1 progeny Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Wiebke Hartmann; Birte Blankenhaus; Marie-Luise Brunn; Jana Meiners; Minka Breloer
Helminths are large multicellular parasites that infect one quarter of the human population. To prolong their survival, helminths suppress the immune responses of their hosts. Strongyloides ratti delays its expulsion from the gut by induction of regulatory circuits in a mouse strain-specific manner: depletion of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) improves the anti-S. ratti immunity in BALB/c but not
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Thiamethoxam exposure deregulates short ORF gene expression in the honey bee and compromises immune response to bacteria Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Pâmela Decio; Pinar Ustaoglu; Kamila Derecka; Ian C. W. Hardy; Thaisa C. Roat; Osmar Malaspina; Nigel Mongan; Reinhard Stöger; Matthias Soller
Maximizing crop yields relies on the use of agrochemicals to control insect pests. One of the most widely used classes of insecticides are neonicotinoids that interfere with signalling of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, but these can also disrupt crop-pollination services provided by bees. Here, we analysed whether chronic low dose long-term exposure to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam alters gene
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A framework of current based defibrillation improves defibrillation efficacy of biphasic truncated exponential waveform in rabbits Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Weiming Li; Jingru Li; Liang Wei; Jianjie Wang; Li Peng; Juan Wang; Changlin Yin; Yongqin Li
Defibrillation is accomplished by the passage of sufficient current through the heart to terminate ventricular fibrillation (VF). Although current-based defibrillation has been shown to be superior to energy-based defibrillation with monophasic waveforms, defibrillators with biphasic waveforms still use energy as a therapeutic dosage. In the present study, we propose a novel framework of current-based
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Isoscattering strings of concatenating graphs and networks Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Michał Ławniczak; Adam Sawicki; Małgorzata Białous; Leszek Sirko
We identify and investigate isoscattering strings of concatenating quantum graphs possessing n units and 2n infinite external leads. We give an insight into the principles of designing large graphs and networks for which the isoscattering properties are preserved for \(n \rightarrow \infty \). The theoretical predictions are confirmed experimentally using \(n=2\) units, four-leads microwave networks
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WASP: a software package for correctly characterizing the topological development of ribbon structures Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Zachary Sierzega; Jeff Wereszczynski; Chris Prior
We introduce the Writhe Application Software Package (WASP) which can be used to characterisze the topology of ribbon structures, the underlying mathematical model of DNA, Biopolymers, superfluid vorticies, elastic ropes and magnetic flux ropes. This characterization is achieved by the general twist–writhe decomposition of both open and closed ribbons, in particular through a quantity termed the polar
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Mechanism for epeirogenic uplift of the Archean Dharwar craton, southern India as evidenced by orthogonal seismic reflection profiles Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Biswajit Mandal; V. Vijaya Rao; P. Karuppannan; K. Laxminarayana
Plateaus, located far away from the plate boundaries, play an important role in understanding the deep-rooted geological processes responsible for the epeirogenic uplift and dynamics of the plate interior. The Karnataka plateau located in the Dharwar craton, southern India, is a classic example for the plateau uplift. It is explored using orthogonal deep crustal seismic reflection studies, and a mechanism
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Isolation of the South China Sea from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre since the latest Miocene due to formation of the Luzon Strait Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Shaoru Yin; F. Javier Hernández-Molina; Lin Lin; Jiangxin Chen; Weifeng Ding; Jiabiao Li
The North Pacific subtropical gyre (NPSG) plays a major role in present global ocean circulation. At times, the gyre has coursed through the South China Sea, but its role in the evolutionary development of that Sea remains uncertain. This work systematically describes a major shift in NPSG paleo-circulation evident from sedimentary features observed in seismic and bathymetric data. These data outline
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Multisensory integration involved in the body perception of community-dwelling older adults Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 M. Hide; Y. Ito; N. Kuroda; M. Kanda; W. Teramoto
This study investigates how the multisensory integration in body perception changes with increasing age, and whether it is associated with older adults’ risk of falling. For this, the rubber hand illusion (RHI) and rubber foot illusion (RFI) were used. Twenty-eight community-dwelling older adults and 25 university students were recruited. They viewed a rubber hand or foot that was stimulated in synchrony
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A double-blind randomized clinical trial of high frequency rTMS over the DLPFC on nicotine dependence, anxiety and depression Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Ahmed A. Abdelrahman; Mostafa Noaman; Mohamed Fawzy; Amira Moheb; Ahmed A. Karim; Eman M. Khedr
High frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) is a widely applied treatment protocol for chronic smoking and major depressive disorder. However, no previous study has measured the effects of rTMS on both nicotine consumption and anxiety/depression in the same volunteers despite the relationship between them. The aim of this
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Simultaneous determination of spirodiclofen, spiromesifen, and spirotetramat and their relevant metabolites in edible fungi using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Fajun Tian; Chengkui Qiao; Caixia Wang; Jing Luo; Linlin Guo; Tao Pang; Jun Li; Ruiping Wang; Rongli Pang; Hanzhong Xie
A fast, sensitive, and reliable analytical method was developed and validated for simultaneous identification and quantification of spirodiclofen, spiromesifen, and spirotetramat and their relevant metabolites in edible fungi by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). First, sample extraction was done with acetonitrile containing 1% formic acid followed by phase
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Striped bass ( Morone saxatilis ) migration timing driven by estuary outflow and sea surface temperature in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, California Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Pascale Goertler; Brian Mahardja; Ted Sommer
The influence of climate on the timing of large-scale animal migrations is a major ecological and resource management concern. Anadromous fish migrations can have broad scale impacts on human communities and marine, aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, isolating the effects of climate change on the timing of life stage transitions for anadromous fish species is challenging. Striped bass (Morone
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Diabetic condition induces hypertrophy and vacuolization in glomerular parietal epithelial cells Sci. Rep. (IF 3.998) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Takahisa Kawaguchi; Kazuhiro Hasegawa; Itaru Yasuda; Hirokazu Muraoka; Hiroyuki Umino; Hirobumi Tokuyama; Akinori Hashiguchi; Shu Wakino; Hiroshi Itoh
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is accompanied by characteristic changes in the glomerulus, but little is known about the effect of diabetes on parietal epithelial cells (PECs). In this study, a descriptive analysis of PECs was undertaken in diabetic db/db mice and in diabetic patients. PEC hypertrophy was significantly more prominent in diabetic mice than in nondiabetic mice, and this was evident even at
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