bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Urban Living Labs, Circular Economy and Nature-Based Solutions: Ideation and Testing of a New Soil in the City of Turin Using a Multi-stakeholder Perspective
Authors: Ascione Grazia Sveva , Cuomo Federico , Mariotti Nicole , Corazza Laura
Published: March 2021

In the attempt to foster circular economy (CE), cities are increasingly adopting urban living labs (ULLs) as sites of co-production aimed at testing alternative solutions based on the reuse of products, reduction of consumption and recycling of materials. Taking this perspective, our study adopts an exploratory research design to discover the pragmatic implications emerging from a case study. The City of Turin joined proGIreg, a European project that entails the regeneration of former industrial districts by means of nature-based solutions (NBS). Ranging from aquaponics to green roofs, seven NBS have been experimented in Turin, which rely on the use of natural systems to tackle social, economic and environmental challenges efficiently and sustainably. Among them, the most promising is related to the production and test of the ‘new soil’, a blend obtained by mixing earth materials coming from construction sites with compost, zeolites and mycorrhizae. The case herein presented is interesting to analyse for the multi-stakeholder management setting used, where public institutions, private companies, research institutions, citizens and associations collaborated in the co-creation and testing phase of the NBS. Consequently, the data collected through participant observation and direct interviews allow researchers to describe multi-stakeholders’ dynamics and how they work. Thus, this paper narrates a micro-contextual experience while providing a critique. Results include an analysis of the unique combination of different stakeholders, which strongly impacted on the management and the effectiveness of the entire project. By consequence, the paper offers both theoretical contributions to the relational branch of stakeholder theory and practical evidence in demonstrating the importance of the relational branch of the theory over a more traditional transactional view.
The Rights of Refugees under International Law
Authors: Hathaway James C.
Published: March 2021

Do states have a duty to assimilate refugees to their own citizens? Are refugees entitled to freedom of movement, to be allowed to work, to have access to public welfare programs, or to be reunited with family members? Indeed, is there even a duty to admit refugees at all? This fundamentally rewritten second edition of the award-winning treatise presents the only comprehensive analysis of the human rights of refugees set by the UN Refugee Convention and international human rights law. It follows the refugee's journey from flight to solution, examining every rights issue both historically and by reference to the decisions of senior courts from around the world. Nor is this a purely doctrinal book: Hathaway's incisive legal analysis is tested against and applied to hundreds of protection challenges around the world, ensuring the relevance of this book's analysis to responding to the hard facts of refugee life on the ground.
PRICING LONGEVITY-LINKED SECURITIES IN THE PRESENCE OF MORTALITY TREND CHANGES
Authors: Freimann Arne
Published: March 2021

Even though the trend in mortality improvements has experienced several permanent changes in the past, the uncertainty regarding future mortality trends is often left unmodeled when pricing longevity-linked securities. In this paper, we present a stochastic modeling framework for the valuation of longevity-linked securities which explicitly considers the risk of random future changes in the long-term mortality trend. We construct a set of meaningful probability distortions which imply equivalent risk-adjusted pricing measures under which the basic model structure is preserved. Inspired by risk-based capital requirements for (re)insurers, we also establish a cost-of-capital pricing approach which then serves as the appropriate reference framework for finding a reasonable range for the market price of longevity risk. In a numerical application, we demonstrate that our model produces plausible risk loadings and show that a greater proportion of the risk loading is allocated to longer maturities when the risk of random future mortality trend changes is adequately modeled.
Mask Wearing Hesitancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Iran
Authors: Asadi-Pooya Ali A. , Nezafat Abdullah , Sadeghian Saeid , Shahisavandi Mina , Nabavizadeh Seyed Ali , Barzegar Zohreh
Published: March 2021

Purpose:

The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of face mask wearing among different groups of people in south Iran. We also investigated the associations between mask wearing hesitancy and various factors.

Methods:

We surveyed a sample (convenience sampling) of 5 groups of people: general population, people with epilepsy, people with diabetes mellitus (DM), people with cardiac problems, and people with psychiatric problems. The survey included 4 general questions (age, sex, education, and medical/psychiatric problem) and 4 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-specific questions (contracting COVID-19, relatives with COVID-19, wearing a face mask while in crowded places, and the frequency of daily hand washings).

Results:

A total of 582 people (153 people with epilepsy, 127 patients with DM, 98 people with cardiac problems, 96 patients with psychiatric disorders, and 108 healthy individuals) participated. Twenty-eight (4.8%) people expressed that they do not wear a face mask when at crowded places. A lower education and less frequent daily hand washings had associations with mask wearing hesitancy.

Conclusions:

Mask wearing hesitancy is a concern during a respiratory viral disease pandemic. Paying attention to personal variables, especially if they are modifiable (eg, education and hygiene), is probably productive and practical in promoting mask wearing culture.
“Fraudonomics”: Cartooning against Structural Adjustment in Togo
Authors: Frisch Robin
Published: March 2021

This article offers a sensitive reading of oppositional political cartoons in Togo in the early 1990s, during the period of structural adjustment, which was accompanied by the swift reversal of democratizing trends and the restoration of authoritarian rule. Togolese satirists perceived this moment as a moment of “fraudonomics”, thus contesting rampant corruption and clientelism in politics. They poked fun at the president, local politicians, businesspeople, and bureaucrats of the international institutions. The article begins by examining the making of satirical newspapers with a focus on the biographies of the satirists. As students, they started out on the adventure of publication with their own money and learned most of their drawing and printing techniques as work progressed. Secondly, an analysis of the readership shows that, although the satirical newspapers were a crucial element of the media in the early 1990s, it was mostly an elitist and urban phenomenon. The third section analyses the changing visual repertoire of contention through in-depth analysis of four selected caricatures.
Immunohistopathological response against anisakid nematode larvae and a coccidian in Micromesistius poutassou from NE Atlantic waters
Authors: Sayyaf Dezfuli B. , Simoni E. , Bosi G. , Palomba M. , Mattiucci S. , Giulietti L. , Bao M. , Levsen A. , Cipriani P.
Published: March 2021

A survey on Anisakis simplex (sensu stricto (s.s.)) from blue whiting, Micromesistius poutassou, in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean revealed the occurrence of high infection levels of third larval stages in visceral organs and flesh. Larvae were genetically identified with a multilocus approach as A. simplex (s.s.). Histochemical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural observations were conducted on 30 M. poutassou specimens. Gonads, pyloric caeca and flesh harboured encapsulated larvae of A. simplex (s.s.) but no intense host reaction was encountered around the parasite in the above organs. In the liver, the most infected organ, the larvae co-occurred with the coccidian Goussia sp. Within the granuloma around the A. simplex (s.s.) larvae, two concentric layers were recognized, an inner mostly comprising electron-dense epithelioid cells and an outer layer made of less electron-dense epithelioid cells. Macrophages and macrophage aggregates (MAs) were abundant out of the granulomas, scattered in parenchyma, and inside the MAs, the presence of engulfed Goussia sp. was frequent. In liver tissue co-infected with Goussia sp. and A. simplex (s.s.), hepatocytes showed cytoplasmic rarefaction and acute cell swelling. Results suggest that the host-induced encapsulation of A. simplex (s.s.) larvae is a strategic compromise to minimize collateral tissue damage around the larval infection sites, to facilitate the survival of both parasite and host.
Telecommunication line infrastructure and the Arctic environment: past, present and future
Authors: Saunavaara Juha , Kylli Ritva , Salminen Mirva
Published: March 2021

This article concentrates on the interconnected past, present and future of telecommunications and the environment in the Arctic. It brings together discussions on the natural environment, sustainable development and connectivity in and through the Arctic and focuses on fixed-line infrastructure. This study builds on the theoretical literature on infrastructure, infrastructuring and pipeline ecologies and demonstrates how the peculiar features of the Arctic, such as coldness, snow and ice, ground frost and permafrost affect telecommunication lines, and how this infrastructure impacts the environment in which it is built. Similarly, the environmental conditions, paired with long distances, small populations and limited economic opportunities, affect the infrastructuring processes and the selection of technologies, as well as their spatial extent, quality and the speed of their expansion. While the construction of telecommunication lines supports the exploitation of natural resources in and beyond the different parts of the circumpolar North, it also plays a role in the observation and protection of the Arctic.
Psappha, 3x3 Concerts 1 October and 12 November 2020
Authors: Hunt Edmund
Published: March 2021

What constitutes a concert? While many have played with the form, the basics – performers and audience in a shared space – seemed self-evident. However, at a time when restrictions limit or prevent gatherings of performers and audience, this question has assumed new significance. Indeed, the area of live music performance has borne the brunt of many of the ongoing uncertainties, changes and debates of recent months. In the midst of disappointing and unsettling news about cancellations and postponements, it was a welcome relief to read that Psappha decided to go ahead with their 2020–21 concert series. As one of the UK's preeminent contemporary music ensembles, Psappha's influence extends far beyond its Manchester home, reaching a worldwide audience via its YouTube channel. Psappha's current programme is testament to the ensemble's vision, juxtaposing well-known monoliths from the twentieth-century repertoire against works by emerging composers and those whose music is heard less often in the UK.
A ξ-weak Grothendieck compactness principle
Authors: BEANLAND KEVIN , CAUSEY RYAN M.
Published: March 2021

For 0 ≤ ξ ≤ ω1, we define the notion of ξ-weakly precompact and ξ-weakly compact sets in Banach spaces and prove that a set is ξ-weakly precompact if and only if its weak closure is ξ-weakly compact. We prove a quantified version of Grothendieck’s compactness principle and the characterisation of Schur spaces obtained in [7] and [9]. For 0 ≤ ξ ≤ ω1, we prove that a Banach space X has the ξ-Schur property if and only if every ξ-weakly compact set is contained in the closed, convex hull of a weakly null (equivalently, norm null) sequence. The ξ = 0 and ξ= ω1 cases of this theorem are the theorems of Grothendieck and [7], [9], respectively.
Corruption and its Impact on Protest Activities in Post-communist Europe
Authors: Školník Milan
Published: March 2021

Corruption is a phenomenon that affects societies. It lowers trust in public institutions, lowers trust among people, undermines economic development, undermines democracy, and has implications for political participation. This article contributes to current debates on the impact of corruption by looking at other possible consequences of corruption. Specifically, this article looks at the impact of the perception of corruption on the approval of public protest meetings and demonstrations because, if corruption leads to these non-institutionalized forms of political participation, this may lead to security problems or a direct outbreak of violence. This study analyses this relationship by using seven post-communist countries that have undergone specific developments in terms of corruption. These developments were largely due to large-scale privatizations, politicized state administration, and the linking of politicians to the private sector. This research was conducted with individual-level data. The module ‘The Role of Government V’ from the International Social Survey Programme was used. Descriptive charts have revealed that in six out of the seven countries, most respondents considered politicians to be very corrupt. Around 80% of respondents in all seven countries approve of the organization of public protest meetings. Around 70% of respondents in all seven countries approve of demonstrations. Regression analysis revealed that there is a relationship between the perception of corruption among politicians and the approval of protest activities. Specifically, the more politicians are corrupt, the more people approve of holding public protest meetings and demonstrations.
Three Versions of Classic: The Construction of Gabriel Fauré in the 1920s
Authors: Moore Christopher
Published: March 2021

Drawing on recent scholarship (Kelly, Pasler, Wheeldon, Fauser) examining the discursive construction of the reputations of well-known Belle-Époque musicians, this article investigates the case of Gabriel Fauré and the ways in which his posthumous legacy was shaped throughout the 1920s in France. Drawing on wide-ranging journalistic and biographical sources, the article argues that the figure of Fauré was increasingly constructed around the concept of the ‘classic’ in the years immediately following his death in 1924. I suggest that the types of ‘classicism’ associated with Fauré in this context were, however, multivalent and largely contingent on the cultural and aesthetic mandates of those ‘reputational entrepreneurs’ that sought to advocate in favour of his posthumous legacy. This article thus examines the notion of Fauré ‘the classic’ as it was discursively constructed in three specific instances: by the French Republic in its State funeral for the composer; by the young post-war generation of composers (especially Georges Auric of the group Les Six), and by the composer, former student, and biographer of Fauré, Charles Koechlin. These cases reveal that Fauré's classicism was articulated in contrasting ways, ranging from a heroic classicism associated with the celebration of national ‘great men’, an aesthetic classicism linked to French musical traditions, or, finally, a classicism derived from the aesthetics and culture of Ancient Greece.
Education and Social Capital
Authors: Apfeld Brendan , Coman Emanuel , Gerring John , Jessee Stephen
Published: March 2021

Early research suggested that education was a major factor in structuring rates of political participation and social capital. More recent work based on experimental or quasi-experimental evidence offers mixed findings. In this study, we enlist a unique research setting in Romania, where passing the baccalaureate is required for entrance into university, setting up the occasion for a fuzzy RD design. The sample is drawn from a cross section of Romanians whose scores fall just above or below the cutoff. Because the sample is large and the measurement of exam scores are fine-grained, it is plausible to regard the outcome as continuous at the cutoff. Because the number of exam takers is enormous, we are able to focus on a very narrow bandwidth. The assumption of as-if random assignment is, therefore, plausible. We find that university attendance in Romania increases social capital as measured by our composite index, corroborating the main hypothesis.
Long and Active Magnetopause Reconnection X‐Lines During Changing IMF Conditions
Authors: Trattner K. J. , Fuselier S. A. , Petrinec S. M. , Burch J. L. , Ergun R. , Grimes E. W.
Published: March 2021

The magnetic reconnection process at the Earth's magnetopause is observed at various times and places as either anti‐parallel or component reconnection. The two scenarios are combined in a model known as the Maximum Magnetic Shear model, which predicts the location of long and continuous reconnection X‐lines across the dayside magnetopause along the ridge of maximum magnetic shear. This study investigates a Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) magnetopause encounter where the spacecraft had repeated contact with the boundary layers for about 40 min. While in contact with the magnetopause boundary layers, the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) slowly and continuously rotated, magnetically connecting the MMS spacecraft to different sections along an extended dayside reconnection X‐line. These magnetic connection points slide along component reconnection tilted X‐lines and also connect several times to the anti‐parallel section of the magnetopause X‐line. Despite the continuously changing IMF conditions, each magnetopause boundary layer encounter shows accelerated ion beams, indicating an active reconnection X‐line at the magnetopause that covers a length of about 20 RE.
Surface Thermal Structure and Variability of Upwelling Shadows in the Gulf of Arauco, Chile
Authors: Wong Zeneida , Saldías Gonzalo S. , Largier John L. , Strub P. Ted , Sobarzo Marcus
Published: March 2021

The upwelling shadow in the Gulf of Arauco (GA) is studied using 15 years of daily satellite images of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), as well as heat flux and wind data from the ERA5 reanalysis product. An Upwelling Shadow Index (USI) is developed based on the SST differences between the GA and the region off Punta Lavapie (PL) farther offshore, characterized by active upwelling. USI values greater than 0.91°C and SST differences less than 1.1°C, correspond to an upwelling shadow event. These cases occurred 10.29% of the time and were more frequent in spring/summer during events of upwelling‐favorable winds with strong cyclonic wind stress curl, interspersed with wind relaxations. Multiple correlations between USI and wind stress curl and solar radiation showed an r2 = 40%–80% for some summer months. Most events persisted for only 1 day (53%), whereas 34% of upwelling shadow events lasted between 2 and 4 days and 9% of events were longer than 4 days. Water residence times as long as 15 days were observed in the GA during upwelling shadow events. During southerly wind relaxation (less than 2 days), cold surface waters flowing north from PL curved onshore and entered the GA from the north, weakening the thermal gradient between PL and GA and the upwelling shadow. Long periods of wind relaxation (at least 1 week) resulted in the dissipation of the thermal gradient due to the warming of offshore waters.
Upscaling Sediment‐Flux‐Dependent Fluvial Bedrock Incision to Long Timescales
Authors: Turowski Jens M.
Published: March 2021

Fluvial bedrock incision is driven by the impact of moving bedload particles. Mechanistic, sediment‐flux‐dependent incision models have been proposed, but the stream power incision model (SPIM) is frequently used to model landscape evolution over large spatial and temporal scales. This disconnect between the mechanistic understanding of fluvial bedrock incision on the process scale, and the way it is modeled on long time scales presents one of the current challenges in quantitative geomorphology. Here, a mechanistic model of fluvial bedrock incision that is rooted in current process understanding is explicitly upscaled to long time scales by integrating over the distribution of discharge. The model predicts a channel long profile form equivalent to the one yielded by the SPIM, but explicitly resolves the effects of channel width, cross‐sectional shape, bedrock erodibility, and discharge variability. The channel long profile chiefly depends on the mechanics of bedload transport, rather than bedrock incision. In addition to the imposed boundary conditions specifying the upstream supply of water and sediment, and the incision rate, the model includes four free parameters, describing the at‐a‐station hydraulic geometry of channel width, the dependence of bedload transport capacity on channel width, the threshold discharge of bedload motion, and reach‐scale cover dynamics. For certain parameter combinations, no solutions exist. However, by adjusting the free parameters, one or several solutions can usually be found. The controls on and the feedbacks between the free parameters have so far been little studied, but may exert important controls on bedrock channel morphology and dynamics.
A Deep Learning Model for the Thermospheric Nitric Oxide Emission
Authors: Chen Xuetao , Lei Jiuhou , Ren Dexin , Wang Wenbin
Published: March 2021

Nitric oxide (NO) infrared radiation is an essential cooling source for the thermosphere, especially during and after geomagnetic storms. An accurate representation of the three‐dimension (3‐D) morphology of NO emission in models is critical for predicting the thermosphere state. Recently, the deep‐learning neural network has been widely used in space weather prediction and forecast. Given that the 3‐D image of NO emission from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) onboard the Thermosphere Ionosphere Energetics and Dynamics satellite contains a large amount of missing data which is unobserved, a context loss function is applied to extract the features from the incomplete SABER NO emission images. A 3‐D NO emission model (referred to as NOE3D) that is based on the convolutional neural network with a context loss function is developed to estimate the 3‐D distribution of NO emission. NOE3D can effectively extract features from incomplete SABER 3‐D images. Additionally, NOE3D has excellent performance not only for the training datasets but also for the test datasets. The NO emission climate variations associated with solar activities have been well reproduced by NOE3D. The comparison results suggest that NOE3D has better capability in predicting the NO emission than the Thermosphere‐Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. More importantly, NOE3D is capable of providing the variations of NO emission during extremely disturbed times.
Unsteady‐State Contact Angle Hysteresis During Droplet Oscillation in Capillary Pores: Theoretical Model and VOF Simulation
Authors: Zeng Chao , Deng Wen , Wang Lichun
Published: March 2021

Contact angle hysteresis (CAH) is a critical phenomenon that could significantly affect the fate of immiscible bubbles/droplets in vadose zones, nonaqueous phase liquid contaminated aquifers, and saline aquifers for CO2 sequestration in terms of infiltration patterns and residual trapping mechanisms. When external physical impacts such as oscillatory excitation or pulse forcing are applied, it could result in pinned oscillation of droplets due to this CAH or mobilization of pinned droplets. Conventional steady‐state analysis of contact angle could underestimate CAH. As the first time to take unsteady‐state effect into consideration, a hydrodynamic analysis is developed in this study to address the unsteady‐state CAH theoretically, and this hydrodynamic model is also validated against volume‐of‐fluid‐based computational fluid dynamics simulations. It is found that the unsteady‐state CAH of drop can significantly lower the critical acceleration amplitude of excitation to achieve the depinning of contact lines of drops.
GASC1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression by inhibiting the degradation of ROCK2
Authors: Shao Na , Cheng Jiamin , Huang Hong , Gong Xiaoshan , Lu Yongling , Idris Muhammad , Peng Xu , Ong Belinda X. , Zhang Qiongyi , Xu Feng , Liu Chungang
Published: March 2021

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a devastating malignancy without targeted therapeutic options. Our results indicated that the histone demethylase GASC1 signature is associated with later tumor stage and poorer survival in HCC patients. GASC1 depletion led to diminished HCC proliferation and tumor growth. A distinct heterogeneity in GASC1 levels was observed among HCC cell populations, predicting their inherent high or low tumor-initiating capacity. Mechanistically, GASC1 is involved in the regulation of several components of the Rho-GTPase signaling pathway including its downstream target ROCK2. GASC1 demethylase activity ensured the transcriptional repression of FBXO42, a ROCK2 protein-ubiquitin ligase, thereby inhibiting ROCK2 degradation via K63-linked poly-ubiquitination. Treatment with the GASC1 inhibitor SD70 impaired the growth of both HCC cell lines and xenografts in mice, sensitizing them to standard-of-care chemotherapy. This work identifies GASC1 as a malignant-cell-selective target in HCC, and GASC1-specific therapeutics represent promising candidates for new treatment options to control this malignancy.
Twist-angle engineering of excitonic quantum interference and optical nonlinearities in stacked 2D semiconductors
Authors: Lin Kai-Qiang , Faria Junior Paulo E. , Bauer Jonas M. , Peng Bo , Monserrat Bartomeu , Gmitra Martin , Fabian Jaroslav , Bange Sebastian , Lupton John M.
Published: March 2021

Twist-engineering of the electronic structure in van-der-Waals layered materials relies predominantly on band hybridization between layers. Band-edge states in transition-metal-dichalcogenide semiconductors are localized around the metal atoms at the center of the three-atom layer and are therefore not particularly susceptible to twisting. Here, we report that high-lying excitons in bilayer WSe2 can be tuned over 235 meV by twisting, with a twist-angle susceptibility of 8.1 meV/°, an order of magnitude larger than that of the band-edge A-exciton. This tunability arises because the electronic states associated with upper conduction bands delocalize into the chalcogenide atoms. The effect gives control over excitonic quantum interference, revealed in selective activation and deactivation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in second-harmonic generation. Such a degree of freedom does not exist in conventional dilute atomic-gas systems, where EIT was originally established, and allows us to shape the frequency dependence, i.e., the dispersion, of the optical nonlinearity.
Properties of repression condensates in living Ciona embryos
Authors: Treen Nicholas , Shimobayashi Shunsuke F. , Eeftens Jorine , Brangwynne Clifford P. , Levine Michael
Published: March 2021

Recent studies suggest that transcriptional activators and components of the pre-initiation complex (PIC) form higher order associations—clusters or condensates—at active loci. Considerably less is known about the distribution of repressor proteins responsible for gene silencing. Here, we develop an expression assay in living Ciona embryos that captures the liquid behavior of individual nucleoli undergoing dynamic fusion events. The assay is used to visualize puncta of Hes repressors, along with the Groucho/TLE corepressor. We observe that Hes.a/Gro puncta have the properties of viscous liquid droplets that undergo limited fusion events due to association with DNA. Hes.a mutants that are unable to bind DNA display hallmarks of liquid–liquid phase separation, including dynamic fusions of individual condensates to produce large droplets. We propose that the DNA template serves as a scaffold for the formation of Hes condensates, but limits the spread of transcriptional repressors to unwanted regions of the genome.
easyCLIP analysis of RNA-protein interactions incorporating absolute quantification
Authors: Porter Douglas F. , Miao Weili , Yang Xue , Goda Grant A. , Ji Andrew L. , Donohue Laura K. H. , Aleman Maria M. , Dominguez Daniel , Khavari Paul A.
Published: March 2021

Quantitative criteria to identify proteins as RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are presently lacking, as are criteria to define RBP target RNAs. Here, we develop an ultraviolet (UV) cross-linking immunoprecipitation (CLIP)-sequencing method, easyCLIP. easyCLIP provides absolute cross-link rates, as well as increased simplicity, efficiency, and capacity to visualize RNA libraries during sequencing library preparation. Measurement of >200 independent cross-link experiments across >35 proteins identifies an RNA cross-link rate threshold that distinguishes RBPs from non-RBPs and defines target RNAs as those with a complex frequency unlikely for a random protein. We apply easyCLIP to the 33 most recurrent cancer mutations across 28 RBPs, finding increased RNA binding per RBP molecule for KHDRBS2 R168C, A1CF E34K and PCBP1 L100P/Q cancer mutations. Quantitating RBP-RNA interactions can thus nominate proteins as RBPs and define the impact of specific disease-associated RBP mutations on RNA association.
Structural basis for VPS34 kinase activation by Rab1 and Rab5 on membranes
Authors: Tremel Shirley , Ohashi Yohei , Morado Dustin R. , Bertram Jessie , Perisic Olga , Brandt Laura T. L. , von Wrisberg Marie-Kristin , Chen Zhuo A. , Maslen Sarah L. , Kovtun Oleksiy , Skehel Mark , Rappsilber Juri , Lang Kathrin , Munro Sean , Briggs John A. G. , Williams Roger L.
Published: March 2021

The lipid phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PI3P) is a regulator of two fundamental but distinct cellular processes, endocytosis and autophagy, so its generation needs to be under precise temporal and spatial control. PI3P is generated by two complexes that both contain the lipid kinase VPS34: complex II on endosomes (VPS34/VPS15/Beclin 1/UVRAG), and complex I on autophagosomes (VPS34/VPS15/Beclin 1/ATG14L). The endosomal GTPase Rab5 binds complex II, but the mechanism of VPS34 activation by Rab5 has remained elusive, and no GTPase is known to bind complex I. Here we show that Rab5a–GTP recruits endocytic complex II to membranes and activates it by binding between the VPS34 C2 and VPS15 WD40 domains. Electron cryotomography of complex II on Rab5a-decorated vesicles shows that the VPS34 kinase domain is released from inhibition by VPS15 and hovers over the lipid bilayer, poised for catalysis. We also show that the GTPase Rab1a, which is known to be involved in autophagy, recruits and activates the autophagy-specific complex I, but not complex II. Both Rabs bind to the same VPS34 interface but in a manner unique for each. These findings reveal how VPS34 complexes are activated on membranes by specific Rab GTPases and how they are recruited to unique cellular locations.
Author Correction: Evidence for SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses circulating in bats and pangolins in Southeast Asia
Authors: Wacharapluesadee Supaporn , Tan Chee Wah , Maneeorn Patarapol , Duengkae Prateep , Zhu Feng , Joyjinda Yutthana , Kaewpom Thongchai , Chia Wan Ni , Ampoot Weenassarin , Lim Beng Lee , Worachotsueptrakun Kanthita , Chen Vivian Chih-Wei , Sirichan Nutthinee , Ruchisrisarod Chanida , Rodpan Apaporn , Noradechanon Kirana , Phaichana Thanawadee , Jantarat Niran , Thongnumchaima Boonchu , Tu Changchun , Crameri Gary , Stokes Martha M. , Hemachudha Thiravat , Wang Lin-Fa
Published: March 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21768-2
How antisolvent miscibility affects perovskite film wrinkling and photovoltaic properties
Authors: Kim Seul-Gi , Kim Jeong-Hyeon , Ramming Philipp , Zhong Yu , Schötz Konstantin , Kwon Seok Joon , Huettner Sven , Panzer Fabian , Park Nam-Gyu
Published: March 2021

Charge carriers’ density, their lifetime, mobility, and the existence of trap states are strongly affected by the microscopic morphologies of perovskite films, and have a direct influence on the photovoltaic performance. Here, we report on micro-wrinkled perovskite layers to enhance photocarrier transport performances. By utilizing temperature-dependent miscibility of dimethyl sulfoxide with diethyl ether, the geometry of the microscopic wrinkles of the perovskite films are controlled. Wrinkling is pronounced as temperature of diethyl ether (TDE) decreases due to the compressive stress relaxation of the thin rigid film-capped viscoelastic layer. Time-correlated single-photon counting reveals longer carrier lifetime at the hill sites than at the valley sites. The wrinkled morphology formed at TDE = 5 °C shows higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) and better stability than the flat one formed at TDE = 30 °C. Interfacial and additive engineering improve further PCE to 23.02%. This study provides important insight into correlation between lattice strain and carrier properties in perovskite photovoltaics.
Fragility of surface states in topological superfluid 3He
Authors: Heikkinen P. J. , Casey A. , Levitin L. V. , Rojas X. , Vorontsov A. , Sharma P. , Zhelev N. , Parpia J. M. , Saunders J.
Published: March 2021

Superfluid 3He, with unconventional spin-triplet p-wave pairing, provides a model system for topological superconductors, which have attracted significant interest through potential applications in topologically protected quantum computing. In topological insulators and quantum Hall systems, the surface/edge states, arising from bulk-surface correspondence and the momentum space topology of the band structure, are robust. Here we demonstrate that in topological superfluids and superconductors the surface Andreev bound states, which depend on the momentum space topology of the emergent order parameter, are fragile with respect to the details of surface scattering. We confine superfluid 3He within a cavity of height D comparable to the Cooper pair diameter ξ0. We precisely determine the superfluid transition temperature Tc and the suppression of the superfluid energy gap, for different scattering conditions tuned in situ, and compare to the predictions of quasiclassical theory. We discover that surface magnetic scattering leads to unexpectedly large suppression of Tc, corresponding to an increased density of low energy bound states.
Unusual hydrogen implanted gold with lattice contraction at increased hydrogen content
Authors: Nguyen Khac Thuan , Hiep Vuong Van , Nguyen The Nghia , Nguyen Trong Tinh , Yamamoto Tomoyuki , Hoang Nam Nhat
Published: March 2021

The experimental evidence for the contraction of volume of gold implanted with hydrogen at low doses is presented. The contraction of lattice upon the addition of other elements is very rare and extraordinary in the solid-state, not only for gold but also for many other solids. To explain the underlying physics, the pure kinetic theory of absorption is not adequate and the detailed interaction of hydrogen in the lattice needs to be clarified. Our analysis points to the importance of the formation of hydride bonds in a dynamic manner and explains why these bonds become weak at higher doses, leading to the inverse process of volume expansion frequently seen in metallic hydrogen containers.
Stereoselectivity in spontaneous assembly of rolled incommensurate carbon bilayers
Authors: Matsuno Taisuke , Ohtomo Yutaro , Someya Maki , Isobe Hiroyuki
Published: March 2021

The periodicity of two-dimensional entities can be manipulated by their stacking assembly, and incommensurate stacks of bilayers are attracting considerable interest in materials science. Stereoisomerism in incommensurate bilayers was first noted with incommensurate double-wall carbon nanotubes composed of helical carbon networks, but the lack of structural information hampered the chemical understanding such as the stereoselectivity during bilayer formation. In this study, we construct a finite molecular version of incommensurate carbon bilayers by assembling two helical cylindrical molecules in solution. An outer cylindrical molecule is designed to encapsulate a small-bore helical cylindrical molecule, and the spontaneous assembly of coaxial complexes proceeds in a stereoselective manner in solution with a preference for heterohelical combinations over diastereomeric, homohelical combinations. The rational design of incommensurate bilayers for material applications may be facilitated by the design and development of molecular versions with discrete structures with atomic precision.
Meta-analysis of the Parkinson’s disease gut microbiome suggests alterations linked to intestinal inflammation
Authors: Romano Stefano , Savva George M. , Bedarf Janis R. , Charles Ian G. , Hildebrand Falk , Narbad Arjan
Published: March 2021

The gut microbiota is emerging as an important modulator of neurodegenerative diseases, and accumulating evidence has linked gut microbes to Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptomatology and pathophysiology. PD is often preceded by gastrointestinal symptoms and alterations of the enteric nervous system accompany the disease. Several studies have analyzed the gut microbiome in PD, but a consensus on the features of the PD-specific microbiota is missing. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis re-analyzing the ten currently available 16S microbiome datasets to investigate whether common alterations in the gut microbiota of PD patients exist across cohorts. We found significant alterations in the PD-associated microbiome, which are robust to study-specific technical heterogeneities, although differences in microbiome structure between PD and controls are small. Enrichment of the generaLactobacillus,Akkermansia, andBifidobacteriumand depletion of bacteria belonging to the Lachnospiraceae family and theFaecalibacteriumgenus, both important short-chain fatty acids producers, emerged as the most consistent PD gut microbiome alterations. This dysbiosis might result in a pro-inflammatory status which could be linked to the recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms affecting PD patients.
Quality by design approach identifies critical parameters driving oxygen delivery performance in vitro for perfluorocarbon based artificial oxygen carriers
Authors: Lambert Eric , Janjic Jelena M.
Published: March 2021

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) exhibiting high solubility for oxygen are attractive materials as artificial oxygen carriers (AOC), an alternative to whole blood or Haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs). PFC-based AOCs, however, met clinical translation roadblocks due to product quality control challenges. To overcome these issues, we present an adaptation of Quality by Design (QbD) practices to optimization of PFC nanoemulsions (PFC-NEs) as AOCs. QbD elements including quality risk management, design of experiments (DoE), and multivariate data analysis facilitated the identification of composition and process parameters that strongly impacted PFC colloidal stability and oxygen transport function. Resulting quantitative relationships indicated a composition-driven tradeoff between stability and oxygen transport. It was found that PFC content was most predictive of in vitro oxygen release, but the PFC type (perfluoro-15-crown-5-ether, PCE or perfluorooctyl bromide, PFOB) had no effect on oxygen release. Furthermore, we found, under constant processing conditions, all PFC-NEs, comprised of varied PFC and hydrocarbon content, exhibited narrow droplet size range (100–150 nm) and narrow size distribution. Representative PFOB-NE maintained colloidal attributes upon manufacturing on larger scale (100 mL). QbD approach offers unique insights into PFC AOC performance, which will overcome current product development challenges and accelerate clinical translation.
Atomic-level breakdown of Green–Kubo relations provides new insight into the mechanisms of thermal conduction
Authors: Manjunatha Likhith , Takamatsu Hiroshi , Cannon James J.
Published: March 2021

Precise control of thermophysical properties of liquids through tailor-made design of the liquid molecular structure is a goal that, if achieved, could have significant positive impacts on machine design, performance and durability. In this work we show how the breakdown of the Green–Kubo relations down to the atomic level in molecular dynamics simulation can give useful insight into the mechanisms of thermal conduction. Using a group of five small alcohols as a case study, we demonstrate how combining this level of insight with differential-structure analysis reveals the competition for conduction between carbon and hydroxyl group atoms, and show how this competition contributes to the change in thermal conductivity observed in experiment. We hope that this method will become a useful tool in the quest for molecular-structure based thermal design.
An immersive first-person navigation task for abstract knowledge acquisition
Authors: Kuhrt Doerte , St. John Natalie R. , Bellmund Jacob L. S. , Kaplan Raphael , Doeller Christian F.
Published: March 2021

Advances in virtual reality (VR) technology have greatly benefited spatial navigation research. By presenting space in a controlled manner, changing aspects of the environment one at a time or manipulating the gain from different sensory inputs, the mechanisms underlying spatial behaviour can be investigated. In parallel, a growing body of evidence suggests that the processes involved in spatial navigation extend to non-spatial domains. Here, we leverage VR technology advances to test whether participants can navigate abstract knowledge. We designed a two-dimensional quantity space—presented using a head-mounted display—to test if participants can navigate abstract knowledge using a first-person perspective navigation paradigm. To investigate the effect of physical movement, we divided participants into two groups: one walking and rotating on a motion platform, the other group using a gamepad to move through the abstract space. We found that both groups learned to navigate using a first-person perspective and formed accurate representations of the abstract space. Interestingly, navigation in the quantity space resembled behavioural patterns observed in navigation studies using environments with natural visuospatial cues. Notably, both groups demonstrated similar patterns of learning. Taken together, these results imply that both self-movement and remote exploration can be used to learn the relational mapping between abstract stimuli.
Validation of a multicellular tumor microenvironment system for modeling patient tumor biology and drug response
Authors: Roller Devin G. , Hoang Stephen A. , Rawls Kristopher D. , Owen Katherine A. , Simmers Michael B. , Figler Robert A. , Wulfkuhle Julia D. , Petricoin Emanuel F. , Wamhoff Brian R. , Gioeli Daniel
Published: March 2021

Lung cancer rates are rising globally and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a five year survival rate of only 24%. Unfortunately, the development of drugs to treat cancer is severely hampered by the inefficiency of translating pre-clinical studies into clinical benefit. Thus, we sought to apply a tumor microenvironment system (TMES) to NSCLC. Using microvascular endothelial cells, lung cancer derived fibroblasts, and NSCLC tumor cells in the presence of in vivo tumor-derived hemodynamic flow and transport, we demonstrate that the TMES generates an in-vivo like biological state and predicts drug response to EGFR inhibitors. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling indicate that the TMES recapitulates the in vivo and patient molecular biological state providing a mechanistic rationale for the predictive nature of the TMES. This work further validates the TMES for modeling patient tumor biology and drug response indicating utility of the TMES as a predictive tool for drug discovery and development and potential for use as a system for patient avatars.
The duration-energy-size enigma for acoustic emission
Authors: Casals Blai , Dahmen Karin A. , Gou Boyuan , Rooke Spencer , Salje Ekhard K. H.
Published: March 2021

Acoustic emission (AE) measurements of avalanches in different systems, such as domain movements in ferroics or the collapse of voids in porous materials, cannot be compared with model predictions without a detailed analysis of the AE process. In particular, most AE experiments scale the avalanche energy E, maximum amplitude Amax and duration D as E ~ Amaxx and Amax ~ Dχ with x = 2 and a poorly defined power law distribution for the duration. In contrast, simple mean field theory (MFT) predicts that x = 3 and χ = 2. The disagreement is due to details of the AE measurements: the initial acoustic strain signal of an avalanche is modified by the propagation of the acoustic wave, which is then measured by the detector. We demonstrate, by simple model simulations, that typical avalanches follow the observed AE results with x = 2 and ‘half-moon’ shapes for the cross-correlation. Furthermore, the size S of an avalanche does not always scale as the square of the maximum AE avalanche amplitude Amax as predicted by MFT but scales linearly S ~ Amax. We propose that the AE rise time reflects the atomistic avalanche time profile better than the duration of the AE signal.
Drug design and repurposing with DockThor-VS web server focusing on SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic targets and their non-synonym variants
Authors: Guedes Isabella A. , Costa Leon S. C. , dos Santos Karina B. , Karl Ana L. M. , Rocha Gregório K. , Teixeira Iury M. , Galheigo Marcelo M. , Medeiros Vivian , Krempser Eduardo , Custódio Fábio L. , Barbosa Helio J. C. , Nicolás Marisa F. , Dardenne Laurent E.
Published: March 2021

The COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus was declared a pandemic disease in March 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Structure-Based Drug Design strategies based on docking methodologies have been widely used for both new drug development and drug repurposing to find effective treatments against this disease. In this work, we present the developments implemented in the DockThor-VS web server to provide a virtual screening (VS) platform with curated structures of potential therapeutic targets from SARS-CoV-2 incorporating genetic information regarding relevant non-synonymous variations. The web server facilitates repurposing VS experiments providing curated libraries of currently available drugs on the market. At present, DockThor-VS provides ready-for-docking 3D structures for wild type and selected mutations for Nsp3 (papain-like, PLpro domain), Nsp5 (Mpro, 3CLpro), Nsp12 (RdRp), Nsp15 (NendoU), N protein, and Spike. We performed VS experiments of FDA-approved drugs considering the therapeutic targets available at the web server to assess the impact of considering different structures and mutations to identify possible new treatments of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The DockThor-VS is freely available at www.dockthor.lncc.br.
The impact of facemasks on emotion recognition, trust attribution and re-identification
Authors: Marini Marco , Ansani Alessandro , Paglieri Fabio , Caruana Fausto , Viola Marco
Published: March 2021

Covid-19 pandemics has fostered a pervasive use of facemasks all around the world. While they help in preventing infection, there are concerns related to the possible impact of facemasks on social communication. The present study investigates how emotion recognition, trust attribution and re-identification of faces differ when faces are seen without mask, with a standard medical facemask, and with a transparent facemask restoring visual access to the mouth region. Our results show that, in contrast to standard medical facemasks, transparent masks significantly spare the capability to recognize emotional expressions. Moreover, transparent masks spare the capability to infer trustworthiness from faces with respect to standard medical facemasks which, in turn, dampen the perceived untrustworthiness of faces. Remarkably, while transparent masks (unlike standard masks) do not impair emotion recognition and trust attribution, they seemingly do impair the subsequent re-identification of the same, unmasked, face (like standard masks). Taken together, this evidence supports a dissociation between mechanisms sustaining emotion and identity processing. This study represents a pivotal step in the much-needed analysis of face reading when the lower portion of the face is occluded by a facemask.