Synthesis and properties of tricyclic (10) annulenes

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Novel Sensor Design Using Photonic Crystal Fibres for Monitoring the Onset of Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Structures

In this paper, a novel sensing technique has been designed and investigated for the direct, in-situ detection of steel corrosion distributed in reinforced concrete structures. At present, structural health monitoring (SHM) in reinforced concrete structures is generally focused on monitoring the corrosion risk of the reinforcing steel. It is of significant importance, however, to inform industry of both the onset of corrosion and the corrosion rate as these are key contributors to structural degradation and thus evaluating the service life of the structures. This paper aims to address the above challenges by describing a novel corrosion sensor design using birefringent photonic crystal fibres (PCFs). The technique exploits fully both the birefringence of the fibres for force/pressure measurement and their very low temperature sensitivity to detect the onset of corrosion. This new type of sensor not only determines the onset of corrosion but also allows for better monitoring along the length of a reinforcement bar

Recent progress on water vapor adsorption equilibrium by metal-organic frameworks for heat transformation applications

Adsorption-based heat transformation systems are studied from the twentieth century; however, their performance is low to replace conventional systems. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are providing a new class of micro- and nano-porous organic adsorbents. These have adjustable geometry/topology with a large surface area and pore volume. A comparison of the coefficient of performance (COP) between the MOFs and conventional adsorbents-based cooling systems is made for the years 1975–2020. Conventional adsorbents achieve COP of 0.85, whereas it is improved to 2.00 in the case of MOFs. The main bottleneck in the lower COP level is the low adsorption equilibrium amount. This study is aimed to provide comprehensive detail of water-vapor adsorption equilibrium and physicochemical properties of hydrophilic MOFs. Zn based MOFs are not stable in the presence of water-vapors, whereas MIL series, Zr, Ni, and Cu based MOFs are relatively more stable. Among the studied MOFs, MIL-101(Cr) possesses the highest adsorption uptake of 1.45 kg/kg at 25 °C (saturation condition) and outperformed for heat transformation applications. Its uptake can be increased to 1.60 kg/kg by coating with graphite oxide. For water desalination, MIL-53(Al) exhibits specific daily water production of 25.5 m3/ton.day (maximum) with a specific cooling power of 789.4 W/kg. Both MIL adsorbents are found promising which can be considered for various adsorption applications

Whole-genome resequencing of two elite sires for the detection of haplotypes under selection in dairy cattle

Using a combination of whole-genome resequencing and high-density genotyping arrays, genome-wide haplotypes were reconstructed for two of the most important bulls in the history of the dairy cattle industry, Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief (“Chief”) and his son Walkway Chief Mark (“Mark”), each accounting for ∼7% of all current genomes. We aligned 20.5 Gbp (∼7.3× coverage) and 37.9 Gbp (∼13.5× coverage) of the Chief and Mark genomic sequences, respectively. More than 1.3 million high-quality SNPs were detected in Chief and Mark sequences. The genome-wide haplotypes inherited by Mark from Chief were reconstructed using ∼1 million informative SNPs. Comparison of a set of 15,826 SNPs that overlapped in the sequence-based and BovineSNP50 SNPs showed the accuracy of the sequence-based haplotype reconstruction to be as high as 97%. By using the BovineSNP50 genotypes, the frequencies of Chief alleles on his two haplotypes then were determined in 1,149 of his descendants, and the distribution was compared with the frequencies that would be expected assuming no selection. We identified 49 chromosomal segments in which Chief alleles showed strong evidence of selection. Candidate polymorphisms for traits that have been under selection in the dairy cattle population then were identified by referencing Chief’s DNA sequence within these selected chromosome blocks. Eleven candidate genes were identified with functions related to milk-production, fertility, and disease-resistance traits. These data demonstrate that haplotype reconstruction of an ancestral proband by whole-genome resequencing in combination with high-density SNP genotyping of descendants can be used for rapid, genome-wide identification of the ancestor’s alleles that have been subjected to artificial selection

Tamoxifen metabolism predicts drug concentrations and outcome in premenopausal patients with early breast cancer

Tamoxifen is the standard-of-care treatment for estrogen receptor-positive premenopausal breast cancer. We examined tamoxifen metabolism via blood metabolite concentrations and germline variations of CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 in 587 premenopausal patients (Asians, Middle Eastern Arabs, Caucasian-UK; median age 39 years) and clinical outcome in 306 patients. N-desmethyltamoxifen (DM-Tam)/(Z)-endoxifen and CYP2D6 phenotype significantly correlated across ethnicities (R2: 53%, P<10?77). CYP2C19 and CYP2C9 correlated with norendoxifen and (Z)-4-hydroxytamoxifen concentrations, respectively (P<0.001). DM-Tam was influenced by body mass index (P<0.001). Improved distant relapse-free survival (DRFS) was associated with decreasing DM-Tam/(Z)-endoxifen (P=0.036) and increasing CYP2D6 activity score (hazard ratio (HR)=0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.43–0.91; P=0.013). Low (<14?nM) compared with high (>35?nM) endoxifen concentrations were associated with shorter DRFS (univariate P=0.03; multivariate HR=1.94; 95% CI, 1.04–4.14; P=0.064). Our data indicate that endoxifen formation in premenopausal women depends on CYP2D6 irrespective of ethnicity. Low endoxifen concentration/formation and decreased CYP2D6 activity predict shorter DRFS

Common pitfalls and recommendations for using machine learning to detect and prognosticate for COVID-19 using chest radiographs and CT scans

Abstract: Machine learning methods offer great promise for fast and accurate detection and prognostication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from standard-of-care chest radiographs (CXR) and chest computed tomography (CT) images. Many articles have been published in 2020 describing new machine learning-based models for both of these tasks, but it is unclear which are of potential clinical utility. In this systematic review, we consider all published papers and preprints, for the period from 1 January 2020 to 3 October 2020, which describe new machine learning models for the diagnosis or prognosis of COVID-19 from CXR or CT images. All manuscripts uploaded to bioRxiv, medRxiv and arXiv along with all entries in EMBASE and MEDLINE in this timeframe are considered. Our search identified 2,212 studies, of which 415 were included after initial screening and, after quality screening, 62 studies were included in this systematic review. Our review finds that none of the models identified are of potential clinical use due to methodological flaws and/or underlying biases. This is a major weakness, given the urgency with which validated COVID-19 models are needed. To address this, we give many recommendations which, if followed, will solve these issues and lead to higher-quality model development and well-documented manuscripts

Bilateral Re-Expansion Pulmonary Oedema– When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease

Background: Re-expansion pulmonary oedema is a potentially fatal consequence of rapid reexpansion of a lung, which has been collapsed due to a pleural effusion or a pneumothorax.Case Report: We report a very unusual case in which the patient initially developed ipsilateral followed by contralateral pulmonary oedema following rapid drainage of a massive pleural effusion. The patient’s condition deteriorated rapidly and on the third day following admission, her condition proved fatal. In addition a literature review is presented.Conclusion: It is essential that doctors appreciate the importance of gradual re-expansion of a lung, which has been collapsed for a few days or longer and take appropriate precautions in order to minimize the likelihood of developing re-expansion pulmonary oedema.Key words: pulmonary oedema, re-expansion, pleural effusion, pneumothorax