bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Encouraging voluntary government action via a solar-friendly designation program to promote solar energy in the United States
Authors: Gao Xue , Canfield Casey , Tang Tian , Hill Hunter , Higman Morgan , Cornwell John
Published: March 2022

Significance

Due to market and system failures, policies and programs at the local level are needed to accelerate the renewable energy transition. A voluntary environmental program (VEP), such as SolSmart, can encourage local governments to adopt solar-friendly best practices. Unlike previous research, this study uses a national sample, more recent data, and a matched control group for difference-in-differences estimation to quantify the causal impact of a VEP in the public, rather than private, sector. We offer empirical evidence that SolSmart increased installed solar capacity and, with less statistical significance, the number of solar installations. The results inform the design of sustainability-focused VEPs and future research to understand the causal pathways between local governments’ voluntary actions and solar market development.
Destabilization of β Cell FIT2 by saturated fatty acids alter lipid droplet numbers and contribute to ER stress and diabetes
Authors: Zheng Xiaofeng , Ho Qing Wei Calvin , Chua Minni , Stelmashenko Olga , Yeo Xin Yi , Muralidharan Sneha , Torta Federico , Chew Elaine Guo Yan , Lian Michelle Mulan , Foo Jia Nee , Jung Sangyong , Wong Sunny Hei , Tan Nguan Soon , Tong Nanwei , Rutter Guy A. , Wenk Markus R. , Silver David L. , Berggren Per-Olof , Ali Yusuf
Published: March 2022

Significance

With obesity on the rise, there is a growing appreciation for intracellular lipid droplet (LD) regulation. Here, we show how saturated fatty acids (SFAs) reduce fat storage–inducing transmembrane protein 2 (FIT2)–facilitated, pancreatic β cell LD biogenesis, which in turn induces β cell dysfunction and death, leading to diabetes. This mechanism involves direct acylation of FIT2 cysteine residues, which then marks the FIT2 protein for endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–associated degradation. Loss of β cell FIT2 and LDs reduces insulin secretion, increases intracellular ceramides, stimulates ER stress, and exacerbates diet-induced diabetes in mice. While palmitate and stearate degrade FIT2, unsaturated fatty acids such as palmitoleate and oleate do not, results of which extend to nutrition and diabetes.
A commensal-encoded genotoxin drives restriction of
Vibrio cholerae
colonization and host gut microbiome remodeling
Authors: Chen Jiandong , Byun Hyuntae , Liu Rui , Jung I-Ji , Pu Qinqin , Zhu Clara Y. , Tanchoco Ethan , Alavi Salma , Degnan Patrick H. , Ma Amy T. , Roggiani Manuela , Beld Joris , Goulian Mark , Hsiao Ansel , Zhu Jun
Published: March 2022

Significance

In a polymicrobial battlefield where different species compete for nutrients and colonization niches, antimicrobial compounds are the sword and shield of commensal microbes in competition with invading pathogens and each other. The identification of an
Escherichia coli
–produced genotoxin, colibactin, and its specific targeted killing of enteric pathogens and commensals, including
Vibrio cholerae
and
Bacteroides fragilis
, sheds light on our understanding of intermicrobial interactions in the mammalian gut. Our findings elucidate the mechanisms through which genotoxins shape microbial communities and provide a platform for probing the larger role of enteric multibacterial interactions regarding infection and disease outcomes.
Structural basis for the oligomerization-mediated regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation
Authors: Ohto Umeharu , Kamitsukasa Yukie , Ishida Hanako , Zhang Zhikuan , Murakami Karin , Hirama Chie , Maekawa Sakiko , Shimizu Toshiyuki
Published: March 2022

Significance

The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) is a pattern recognition receptor that forms an inflammasome. The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the dodecameric form of full-length NLRP3 bound to the clinically relevant NLRP3-specific inhibitor MCC950 has established the structural basis for the oligomerization-mediated regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the mechanism of action of the NLRP3 specific inhibitor. The inactive NLRP3 oligomer represents the NLRP3 resting state, capable of binding to membranes and is likely disrupted for its activation. Visualization of the inhibitor binding mode will enable optimization of the activity of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor drugs.
The evolution of brain neuron numbers in amniotes
Authors: Kverková Kristina , Marhounová Lucie , Polonyiová Alexandra , Kocourek Martin , Zhang Yicheng , Olkowicz Seweryn , Straková Barbora , Pavelková Zuzana , Vodička Roman , Frynta Daniel , Němec Pavel
Published: March 2022

Significance

The evolution of brain processing capacity has traditionally been inferred from data on brain size. However, similarly sized brains of distantly related species can differ in the number and distribution of neurons, their basic computational units. Therefore, a finer-grained approach is needed to reveal the evolutionary paths to increased cognitive capacity. Using a new, comprehensive dataset, we analyzed brain cellular composition across amniotes. Compared to reptiles, mammals and birds have dramatically increased neuron numbers in the telencephalon and cerebellum, which are brain parts associated with higher cognition. Astoundingly, a phylogenetic analysis suggests that as few as four major changes in neuron–brain scaling in over 300 million years of evolution pave the way to intelligence in endothermic land vertebrates.
Relative clauses in child heritage speakers of Turkish in the United States
Authors: Coşkun Kunduz Aylin , Montrul Silvina
Published: March 2022

How does complex syntax develop in heritage language children? This study investigates child Turkish heritage
speakers’ comprehension and production of relative clauses (RCs) in Turkish and in English. RCs vary on their syntactic functions
(subject, object) and show asymmetric patterns of acquisition and processing, which have been explained by linear distance,
structural distance and input factors. Thirty-two child Turkish HS (ages 6–15) and 48 monolingual Turkish children (ages 3–15)
completed a picture-sentence matching (comprehension) task and a sentence repetition (production) task in Turkish. The Turkish HS
were tested on the RC comprehension and production tasks in English as well. The results indicated that the child HS showed (i) better
performance in English than in Turkish with increasing age, (ii) better comprehension than production of Turkish RCs, (iii)
replacement of complex RCs with simple juxtaposition in Turkish, and (iv) a subject advantage in comprehension. We take these findings
to suggest that Turkish RCs do not fully develop in child HS of Turkish in the U.S., although the strength of this explanation
must be corroborated by a study of child and adult HS. Overall, the findings are most compatible with the structural distance
account and other factors that may affect production.
Monocytic MDSCs homing to thymus contribute to age-related CD8+ T cell tolerance of HBV
Authors: Fang Zhong , Zhang Yi , Zhu Zhaoqin , Wang Cong , Hu Yao , Peng Xiuhua , Zhang Dandan , Zhao Jun , Shi Bisheng , Shen Zhongliang , Wu Min , Xu Chunhua , Chen Jieliang , Zhou Xiaohui , Xie Youhua , Yu Hui , Zhang Xiaonan , Li Jianhua , Hu Yunwen , Kozlowski Maya , Bertoletti Antonio , Yuan Zhenghong
Published: March 2022

Hepatitis B virus exposure in children usually develops into chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Although hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)–specific CD8+ T cells contribute to resolve HBV infection, they are preferentially undetected in CHB patients. Moreover, the mechanism for this rarely detected HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells remains unexplored. We herein found that the frequency of HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells was inversely correlated with expansion of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (mMDSCs) in young rather than in adult CHB patients, and CCR9 was upregulated by HBsAg on mMDSCs via activation of ERK1/2 and IL-6. Sequentially, the interaction between CCL25 and CCR9 mediated thymic homing of mMDSCs, which caused the cross-presentation, transferring of peripheral HBsAg into the thymic medulla, and then promoted death of HBsAg-specific CD8+ thymocytes. In mice, adoptive transfer of mMDSCs selectively obliterated HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells and facilitated persistence of HBV in a CCR9-dependent manner. Taken together, our results uncovered a novel mechanism for establishing specific CD8+ tolerance to HBsAg in chronic HBV infection.
Experiments on temperature regulation using a Peltier element and PID technique
Authors: Ponikvar Dušan
Published: March 2022

An experiment on temperature regulation was prepared and is regularly conducted in a laboratory course on electronic at the faculty level. The experiment demonstrates the use, problems and solutions with feedback introduced for temperature regulation. The plans for hardware and complete software to run the experiment are freely available at author’s web page. The hardware consists of easily obtainable and cheap components. Temperatures are measured by widely used semiconductor thermometer chips DS18B20 and results are presented on a PC connected to the experiment. The experiment with heating and cooling can be implemented already at a secondary school level, but the theory behind the experiment requires better understanding of mathematics (differential equations) available at faculty level. The experiment is complemented with software simulation to be used in lectures.
Addendum: Multiaxial resonant MEMS force sensor (2018 J. Micromech. Microeng.
28
105002)
Authors: Dabsch Alexander , Rosenberg Christoph , Klug Patrick , Trimmel Majesa , Keplinger Franz
Published: March 2022

In this letter we present an MEMS Sensor to measure displacement in at least two directions. The sensor device is a resonant, Lorentz force driven and cross-shaped sensing structure whereas the measurement signal equals the change of the resonance frequency induced by the deformation of the sensor-frame. This device is a pre-study to implement the sensor in a two-dimensional micro manipulation system for which the team uses a micro system analyzer to detect the resonance frequencies of the different vibration modes. The sensor-frame deformation between 0.1 and 2 µm is generated by four piezo actuators. With this setup, the sensor achieves a sensitivity of up to 20 nm Hz−1. The device is fabricated from a 100 mm SOI wafer with standard CMOS processes and has two Pt1000 elements integrated on the device layer to compensate any effects caused by thermal extension of the structure or temperature induced changes of material parameters.
Diversified plasmonic metallic nanostructures with high aspect ratio based on templated electrochemical deposition
Authors: Pan Ruhao , Liu Qiulin , Li Guodong , Yang Yang , Geng Guangzhou , Li Chensheng , Yan Junxiang , Zhang Zhongshan , Zhao Huaizhou , Gu Changzhi , Li Junjie
Published: March 2022

Metallic high aspect ratio (HAR) nano-architectures provide new opportunities for a series of plasmonic devices due to their additional controllable degrees in height space compared to 2D patterns, but there is no efficient way that suitable for the rapid fabrication of large area HAR structures limited by the processing ability of traditional methods. Here in this work, we have developed a templated electrochemical deposition (ECD) method to fabricate various HAR metallic nano-structures for diversified plasmonic devices. The templated ECD method is based on the ECD filling of the nanopores that are fabricated by electron beam lithography. With this templated ECD method, numbers of HAR architectures including nanorods, nanofins and even mushroom-like structures, which have a line width as small as 100 nm and the aspect ratio up to 10:1, are established over a large scale. What is more, by simultaneously considering the designed layout and edge effect, sub 10 nm nanogap arrays are prepared, whose aspect ratio reaches 100:1 and the gap width reduces to 5 nm. Due to the extreme light confinement ability brought from Fabry–Perot resonance, the HAR nanogaps can be treated as a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. Finite domain time difference simulation shows that fan-like 10 nm nanogap with a height of 700 nm has the largest light enhancement factor (EF). The configuration optimized nanogap is capable for the sensing of rhodamine 6G with a 10−9 M concentration. And the SERS EF of the nanogap is calculated to be 4 × 106, indicating the ultrasensitive molecular detection ability of the HAR nanogap. The templated ECD method not only brings a new chance for the construction of HAR metallic 3D structures, but also opens up a new horizon for the design of a series of plasmonic devices.
Broadband strong photon correlations of frequency-resolved single-atom resonance fluorescence generated by two equal-frequency laser fields with different amplitudes
Authors: Liu Su-jing , Peng Ze-an , Geng Xu-xing , Zhao Teng , Wu Shao-ping , Li Gao-xiang
Published: March 2022

Frequency-resolved photon statistics of resonance fluorescence generated from a two-level system driven by a strong laser field and a weak laser field with equal frequencies are studied. The frequency resolution of fluorescent radiation is described by quantum filtering dynamics, which is simulated theoretically by two single-mode quantum optical cavities with tunable frequencies to scan the incident fluorescent radiation. By calculating the two-photon intensity–intensity correlation functions in terms of the cavity modes, we demonstrate that two-color strong correlations of resonance fluorescence can be generated not only between the opposite sidebands, but also between the central band and one of the sidebands: although both sidebands are broadened due to the perturbation of the weak laser field on the strong-field dressed atom. We emphasize that these properties are in contrast to the conventional case of the standard single-atom Mollow triplet. Moreover, if the resonance frequencies of the two filtering cavities are tuned appropriately, broadband two-color strong correlations are predicted, and the physical origin is revealed from the perspective of quantum interference of photon emission dynamics. This can be considered as a feasible scheme for the design of broadband non-classical light sources, and may be beneficial to the quantum precise detection of atomic and molecular dynamics via quantum optical spectroscopy.
Modulation of the spin transport properties of γ-graphyne by chemical anchoring groups and strain
Authors: Li Yun , Li Xiaobo , Zhang Xiaojiao , Zhang Shidong , Long Mengqiu
Published: March 2022

Chemical anchoring groups can modulate the connection between metal electrode surfaces and central molecules and regulate the distribution of electronic states and charge transport in monomolecular device energy levels. Thus, the introduction of different anchoring groups inevitably has an influence on multifunctional molecular devices. Moreover, the strain effect is also an important method for electronic property modulation of two-dimensional materials. Therefore, in this paper, three different chemical anchoring groups are combined with compressive and tensile strains, aiming for dual-modulation behavior in the spin-resolved transport properties of γ-graphyne molecular devices. Our calculation results suggest that the chemical anchoring groups of pyrrole (C4H5N), thiophene (C4H4S), and 1H-phosphole (C4H5P) molecules combined with strain have a good regulatory effect on the transport of designed molecular devices, which can be seen from the transmission spectra and molecular energy spectrum. In addition, the dual modulation can induce the spin-polarization phenomenon and the maximum spin filtering efficiency reaches 90%. Furthermore, negative differential resistance behavior has been achieved in the proposed device, and the maximum peak-to-valley ratio can reach 12.14. Our findings may provide a theoretical basis for the dual modulation of molecular junctions by chemical anchoring groups and strain for future nanoelectronic devices.
Superconducting hydrides on a quantum landscape
Authors: Errea Ion
Published: March 2022

Reaching superconductivity at ambient conditions is one of the biggest scientific dreams. The discoveries in the last few years at high pressures place hydrogen-based compounds as the best candidates for making it true. As the recent history shows, first-principles calculations are expected to continue guiding the experimental quest in the right track in the coming years. Considering that ionic quantum fluctuations largely affect the crystal structure and the vibrational properties of superconducting hydrides, in many cases making them thermodynamically stable at much lower pressures than expected, it will be crucial to include such effects on the future ab initio predictions. The prospects for low-pressure high critical-temperature compounds are wide open, even at ambient pressure.
A comprehensive working condition identification scheme for rolling bearings based on modified CEEMDAN as well as modified hierarchical amplitude-aware permutation entropy
Authors: Shu Ling , Deng Hongbin , Liu Xiaoming , Pan Zhenhua
Published: March 2022

As a pivotal part of a machine driven system, the health states of rolling bearings usually determine the normal operation of a whole item of equipment. Consequently, it is important to make accurate and timely judgments as to the operating conditions of rolling bearings. In this paper, a synthesized diagnosis technology, including fault pre-judgment and identification for rolling bearings is proposed. In the first section, a threshold value is defined on the basis of the sensitivity of amplitude-aware permutation entropy (AAPE) to bearing faults. Whether the bearing has defects is judged is based on this value. If a defect exists, a feature extraction scheme combining the modified complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (MCEEMDAN) and the modified hierarchical AAPE (MHAAPE) is adopted, to fully mine the hidden state features. Firstly, the scheme uses MCEEMDAN, which benefits from a good time-frequency decomposition capability, to divide the signal of trouble into a group of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Second, the MHAAPE of each IMF component is computed to form the candidate state features. Then, multi cluster feature selection is employed to compress the high-dimensional fault features to form the low-dimensional sensitive feature vectors required for subsequent classification. Finally, the sensitive feature vectors are input into a random forest classifier for training and classification, so as to ascertain the different fault types and severity. In addition, different contrastive methods are tested based on experimental data. The experiment results indicate that, compared to contrastive methods, the proposed scheme enjoys better performance, which can effectively judge whether the bearing is healthy and accurately identify different fault states in bearings.
Application of electrodeposited Cu-metal nanoflake structures as 3D current collector in lithium-metal batteries
Authors: Xia Yuanyuan , Hu Wang , Yao Yiyuan , Chen Shuhui , Ahn Seongki , Hang Tao , Wu Yunwen , Li Ming
Published: March 2022

Since uncontrolled lithium (Li) dendrite growth and dendrite-induced dead Li severely limit the development of Li metal batteries, 3D Cu current collectors can effectively alleviate these problems during Li plating/stripping. Herein, one-step galvanostatic electrodeposition method is employed to fabricate a new current collector on Cu foam decorated with large-scale and uniform 3D porous Cu-based nanoflake (NF) structures (abbreviated as 3D Cu NF@Cu foam). This 3D structure with large internal surface areas not only generates lithophilic surface copper oxides and hydroxides as charge centers and nucleation sites for Li insertion/extraction, but also endows abundant space with interlinked NFs for buffering the cell volume expansion and increasing battery performance. As a result, Li-deposited 3D Cu NF@Cu foam current collector can realize stable cycling over 455 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 98.8% at a current density of 1.0 mA cm−2, as well as a prolonged lifespan of >380 cycles in symmetrical cell without short-circuit, which are superior to those of blank Cu foam current collector. This work realizes Li metal anode stabilization by constructing 3D porous Cu NFs current collectors, which can advance the development of Li metal anode for battery industries.
A novel high performance photodetection based on axial NiO/β-Ga2O3 p-n junction heterostructure nanowires array
Authors: Pedapudi Michael Cholines , Dhar Jay Chandra
Published: March 2022

Axial NiO/β-Ga2O3 heterostructure (HS) nanowires (NWs) array was fabricated on Si substrate by catalytic free and controlled growth process called glancing angle deposition technique. The field emission scanning electron microscope image shows the formation of well aligned and vertical NWs. A typical high resolution transmission electron microscope image confirms the formation of axial HS NWs consisting of β-Ga2O3 NW at the top and NiO NW at the bottom with an overall length ∼213 nm. A large photo absorption and also photoemission was observed for axial NiO/β-Ga2O3 HS NW as compared to the NiO/β-Ga2O3 HS thin film sample. Moreover, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis prove that there are higher oxygen vacancies with no deviation in electronic state after the formation of axial HS NW. Also, a high performance photodetector (PD) with a very low dark current of 6.31 nA and fast photoresponse with rise time and fall time of 0.28 s and 0.17 s respectively at +4 V was achieved using the axial NiO/β-Ga2O3 HS NWs. The type-II HS p-n junction formation and efficient charge separation at the small wire axis also makes this design to operate in self-powered mode.
Ultrathin Ce-doped La2O3 nanofilm electrocatalysts for efficient oxygen evolution reactions
Authors: Yan Guangyuan , Wu Tong , Xing Shuming , Chen Fei , Zhao Biwei , Gao Wenjing
Published: March 2022

It is still highly desired to develop efficient, resource-abundant and inexpensive electrocatalysts to improve the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in electrochemical water splitting systems. In this work, the large-area ultrathin (2.52 nm thick) Ce-doped La2O3 nanofilms were developed via a facile and reliable ionic layer epitaxy method with different Ce content. The ultrathin Ce-doped La2O3 nanofilm with optimum composition of La1.22Ce0.78O3 exhibited an excellent OER performance with a very low overpotential of 221 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 33.7 mV dec−1. A remarkable high mass activity of 6263.2 A g−1 was also obtained from ultrathin La1.22Ce0.78O3 nanofilm at the overpotential of 221 mV. Such a high mass activity was three orders of magnitude higher than state-of-the-art commercial IrO2 powders (3.8 A g−1) and more than 30 times higher than La2O3 nanofilm (196.7 A g−1) without Ce doping at the same overpotential. This high mass activity was even significantly higher than other recently reported typical OER catalysts. The substantial OER performance gain by the Ce doping was attributed to the improved conductivity and electrochemical active surface areas of nanofilms as a result of favorable tuning on the charge transfer and electronic structures. This work provides a promising approach to develop high-performance two-dimensional (2D) electrocatalysts by effective heteroatom doping strategy.
A single-slit diffraction experiment for measuring laser beam width
Authors: Ratanavis Amarin
Published: March 2022

A single-slit diffraction experiment in an introductory physics laboratory is generally comprised of a rectangular slit and a laser source. The laser beam is sent to the slit producing the well-known diffraction pattern on the screen. This paper proposes a simple modification of the single-slit diffraction experiment to increase student attention about the laser beam and its diffraction. A single slit can be used to measure laser beam width. The beam width measurement is demonstrated by using a 632.8 nm Helium Neon (HeNe) laser. In this experiment, the laser beam is assumed as a Gaussian beam. The beam width is determined by scanning in one direction across the laser beam. The measurement results are shown to achieve satisfactory results when compared with a commercial laser beam profiler. By measuring the laser beam widths, students will qualitatively observe that the laser beam width increases along propagation distance. This experiment can be an additional exercise in a single-slit diffraction experiment.
MHD simulations of small ELMs at low triangularity in ASDEX Upgrade
Authors: Cathey A , Hoelzl M , Harrer G , Dunne M G , Huijsmans G T A , Lackner K , Pamela S J P , Wolfrum E , Günter S
Published: March 2022

The development of small and no-ELM regimes for ITER is a high priority topic due to the risks associated with type-I ELMs. By considering non-linear extended magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak with the JOREK code, we probe a regime that avoids type-I ELMs completely, provided that the separatrix density is high enough. The dynamics of the pedestal in this regime are observed to be qualitatively similar to the so-called quasi-continuous exhaust regime in several ways. Repetitive type-I ELMs are substituted by roughly constant levels of outward transport, caused by peeling-ballooning modes (with dominant ballooning characteristics) which are localised in the last 5% of the confined region (in normalised poloidal flux). The simulated low triangularity plasma transitions to a type-I ELMy H-mode if the separatrix density is sufficiently reduced or if the input heating power is sufficiently increased. The stabilising factors that play a role in the suppression of the small ELMs are also investigated by analysing the simulations, and the importance of including diamagnetic effects in the simulations is highlighted. By considering a scan in the pedestal resistivity and by comparing the poloidal velocity of the modes to theoretical estimates for ideal and resistive modes, we identify the underlying instabilities as resistive peeling-ballooning modes. Decreasing the resistivity below experimentally-relevant conditions (i.e. going towards ideal MHD), the peeling-ballooning modes that constrain the pedestal below the type-I ELM stability boundary display sharply decreasing growth rates.
A 9 T SRAM cell with data-independent read bitline leakage and improved read sensing margin for low power applications
Authors: Sharif Adeeba , Ahmad Sayeed , Alam Naushad
Published: March 2022

Read decoupled SRAM cells were proposed to address the conflicting read and write requirements in conventional 6 T SRAM cells. However, even read decoupled SRAM cells face several challenges like degraded cell stability, data dependent read bitline (RBL) leakage, deteriorated RBL swing which causes the failure in read sensing at scaled voltages. Therefore, in this work, we propose a read decoupled 9 T SRAM cell which improves the read performance. The proposed cell utilizes decoupled read port that significantly improves the read delay, I
ON/I
OFF ratio, bitline leakage as compared to the existing read decoupled cells. The proposed read buffer, having only one transistor in the read path, offers much lower read delay as compared to the existing read buffers. The RBL leakage in the proposed design is also data independent, which significantly improves the RBL sensing margin. We analyse and compare the proposed SRAM cell with existing cells using HSPICE simulations with 16 nm FinFET PTM technology. We observe that at a voltage of V
DD = 0.35 V, the proposed SRAM cell offers ∼55% smaller read delay with only 8% increase in leakage power as compared to conventional 6 T cell. However, the proposed SRAM cell incurs smallest leakage penalty and offers fastest read operation than the existing read buffer based SRAM cells. Attributed to the negligible bitline leakage in the proposed cell, it offers the highest RBL sensing voltage attributed to closeness of RBL voltage for read ‘1’ to V
DD as compared with the other cells. Monte Carlo simulations are also carried out to confirm the robustness of the proposed design under process-voltage-temperature variations. We observe that the proposed SRAM cell is robust and supports voltage scaling and hence could be an attractive choice for low voltage and low power applications.
Prospects of temperature performance enhancement through higher resonant phonon transition designs in GaAs-based terahertz quantum-cascade lasers
Authors: Demić Aleksandar , Ikonić Zoran , Dean Paul , Indjin Dragan
Published: March 2022

In this work we discuss terahertz quantum cascade laser designs that employ resonant phonon mechanism to assist the lasing process. We investigate whether the higher energy separation would be more beneficial for high temperature performance than commonly used resonant value of 36 meV (in GaAs). We show that our density matrix model can be used for reliable cut-off temperature estimation and we present design improvement of several exemplary structures by enhancing their material gain to attain 10–50 K higher cut-off temperature.
Tackling the kaon structure function at EicC *
Authors: Xie Gang , Han Chengdong , Wang Rong , Chen Xurong
Published: March 2022

Measuring the kaon structure beyond proton and pion structures is a prominent topic in hadron physics, as it is one way to understand the nature of the Nambu-Goldstone boson of QCD and observe the interplay between the EHM and HB mechanisms for hadron mass generation. In this study, we present a simulation of the leading Λ baryon tagged deep inelastic scattering experiment at EicC (Electron-ion collider in China), which is engaged to unveil the internal structure of kaon via the Sullivan process. According to our simulation results, the suggested experiment will cover the kinematical domain of

and

up to 50 GeV

, with the acceptable statistical uncertainties. In the relatively low-

region (

GeV

), the Monte-Carlo simulation shows a good statistical precision (

%) for the measurement of the kaon structure function

. In the high-

region (up to 50 GeV

), the statistical uncertainty of

is also acceptable (

%) for the data at

. To perform such an experiment at an electron-ion collider, a high-performance zero-degree calorimeter is suggested. The magnitude of the background process and the assumed detector capabilities are also discussed and illustrated in the paper.
Label-free Raman and fluorescence imaging of amyloid plaques in human Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue reveal carotenoid accumulations
Authors: Ettema Loes , Lochocki Benjamin , Hoozemans Jeroen J M , de Boer Johannes F , Ariese Freek
Published: March 2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease, characterized by the presence of extracellular deposits (plaques) of amyloid-beta peptide and intracellular aggregates of phosphorylated tau. In general, these hallmarks are studied by techniques requiring chemical pre-treatment and indirect labeling. Imaging techniques that require no labeling and could be performed on tissue in its native form could contribute to a better understanding of the disease. In this article a combination of label-free and non-invasive techniques is presented to study the biomolecular composition of AD human brain tissue. We build on previous research that already revealed the autofluorescence property of plaque, and the presence of carotenoids in cored plaques. Here, we present further results on cored plaques: showing blue and green autofluorescence emission coming from the same plaque location. Raman microscopy was used to confirm the presence of carotenoids in the plaque areas, with clear peaks around 1150 and 1514 cm−1. Carotenoid reference spectra were recorded in hexane solution, but also adsorbed on aggregated Aβ42 peptides; the latter agreed better with the Raman spectra observed in plaques. From the six single carotenoids measured, lycopene matched closest with the peak positions observed in the cored plaques. Lastly, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy measurements were performed, targeting the shift of the beta-sheet Amide I peak observed in plaques. Employing SRS in the C–H stretch region we also looked for the presence of a lipid halo around plaque, as reported in the literature for transgenic AD mice, but such a halo was not observed in these human AD brain samples.
Inverse iteration quantum eigensolvers assisted with a continuous variable
Authors: He Min-Quan , Zhang Dan-Bo , Wang Z D
Published: March 2022

The capacity for solving eigenstates with a quantum computer is key for ultimately simulating physical systems. Here we propose inverse iteration quantum eigensolvers, which exploit the power of quantum computing for the classical inverse power iteration method. A key ingredient is constructing an inverse Hamiltonian as a linear combination of coherent Hamiltonian evolution. We first consider a continuous-variable quantum mode (qumode) for realizing such a linear combination as an integral, with weights being encoded into a qumode resource state. We demonstrate the quantum algorithm with numerical simulations under finite squeezing for various physical systems, including molecules and quantum many-body models. We also discuss a hybrid quantum–classical algorithm that directly sums up Hamiltonian evolution with different durations for comparison. It is revealed that continuous-variable resources are valuable for reducing the coherent evolution time of Hamiltonians in quantum algorithms.
Microanatomical study of pyramidal neurons in the contralesional somatosensory cortex after experimental ischemic stroke
Authors: Merino-Serrais Paula , Plaza-Alonso Sergio , Hellal Farida , Valero-Freitag Susana , Kastanauskaite Asta , Muñoz Alberto , Plesnila Nikolaus , DeFelipe Javier
Published: March 2022

At present, many studies support the notion that after stroke, remote regions connected to the infarcted area are also affected and may contribute to functional outcome. In the present study, we have analyzed possible microanatomical alterations in pyramidal neurons from the contralesional hemisphere after induced stroke. We performed intracellular injections of Lucifer yellow in pyramidal neurons from layer III in the somatosensory cortex of the contralesional hemisphere in an ischemic stroke mouse model. A detailed 3-dimensional analysis of the neuronal complexity and morphological alterations of dendritic spines was then performed. Our results demonstrate that pyramidal neurons from layer III in the somatosensory cortex of the contralesional hemisphere show selective changes in their dendritic arbors, namely, less dendritic complexity of the apical dendritic arbor—but no changes in the basal dendritic arbor. In addition, we found differences in spine morphology in both apical and basal dendrites comparing the contralesional hemisphere with the lesional hemisphere. Our results show that pyramidal neurons of remote areas connected to the infarct zone exhibit a series of selective changes in neuronal complexity and morphological distribution of dendritic spines, supporting the hypothesis that remote regions connected to the peri-infarcted area are also affected after stroke.
The neural correlates of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: a multimodal resting-state MEG and fMRI–EEG study
Authors: Zhang Jianfeng , Liu Dong-Qiang , Qian Shufang , Qu Xiujuan , Zhang Peiwen , Ding Nai , Zang Yu-Feng
Published: March 2022

The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) describes the regional intensity of spontaneous blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). How the fMRI–ALFF relates to the amplitude in electrophysiological signals remains unclear. We here aimed to investigate the neural correlates of fMRI–ALFF by comparing the spatial difference of amplitude between the eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO) states from fMRI and magnetoencephalography (MEG), respectively. By synthesizing MEG signal into amplitude-based envelope time course, we first investigated 2 types of amplitude in MEG, meaning the amplitude of neural activities from delta to gamma (i.e. MEG–amplitude) and the amplitude of their low-frequency modulation at the fMRI range (i.e. MEG–ALFF). We observed that the MEG–ALFF in EC was increased at parietal sensors, ranging from alpha to beta; whereas the MEG–amplitude in EC was increased at the occipital sensors in alpha. Source-level analysis revealed that the increased MEG–ALFF in the sensorimotor cortex overlapped with the most reliable EC–EO differences observed in fMRI at slow-3 (0.073–0.198 Hz), and these differences were more significant after global mean standardization. Taken together, our results support that (i) the amplitude at 2 timescales in MEG reflect distinct physiological information and that (ii) the fMRI–ALFF may relate to the ALFF in neural activity.
Bacterial microbiomes from mucus and breath of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)
Authors: Rhodes Linda D , Emmons Candice K , Wisswaesser GabrielS , Wells Abigail H , Hanson M Bradley
Published: March 2022

Opportunities to assess odontocete health are restricted due to their limited time at the surface, relatively quick movements and large geographic ranges. For endangered populations such as the southern resident killer whales (SKRWs) of the northeast Pacific Ocean, taking advantage of non-invasive samples such as expelled mucus and exhaled breath is appealing. Over the past 12 years, such samples were collected, providing a chance to analyse and assess their bacterial microbiomes using amplicon sequencing. Based on operational taxonomic units, microbiome communities from SRKW and transient killer whales showed little overlap between mucus, breath and seawater from SRKW habitats and six bacterial phyla were prominent in expelled mucus but not in seawater. Mollicutes and Fusobacteria were common and abundant in mucus, but not in breath or seawater, suggesting these bacterial classes may be normal constituents of the SRKW microbiome. Out of 134 bacterial families detected, 24 were unique to breath and mucus, including higher abundances of Burkholderiaceae, Moraxellaceae and Chitinophagaceae. Although there were multiple bacterial genera in breath or mucus that include pathogenic species (e.g. Campylobacter, Hemophilus, Treponema), the presence of these bacteria is not necessarily evidence of disease or infection. Future emphasis on genotyping mucus samples to the individual animal will allow further assessment in the context of that animal’s history, including body condition index and prior contaminants burden. This study is the first to examine expelled mucus from cetaceans for microbiomes and demonstrates the value of analysing these types of non-invasive samples.
Adrenal pheochromocytoma as a rare cause of reversible left ventricular systolic dysfunction and malignant arrhythmias: a case series
Authors: Jenča Dominik , Kubánek Miloš , Kudla Michal , Solar Nevenka , Kautzner Josef
Published: March 2022

Background

Pheochromocytoma is a neuroendocrine tumour originating from the chromaffin cells of adrenal glands or sympathetic paraganglia. It produces most frequently norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. As a result of non-specific and variable clinical presentation, pheochromocytoma is difficult to diagnose.

Case summary

A 37-year-old female without medical history and 57-year-old male patient with diabetes, arterial hypertension, and aortic valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis were admitted to the hospital after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation due to ventricular fibrillation. In both patients, coronary angiography demonstrated a normal finding, and echocardiography showed left ventricular (LV) contractile dysfunction with improvement in the subsequent examination. In the first patient, the diagnosis of stress-induced cardiomyopathy was considered as the most probable cause. She was later admitted to hospital due to acute pulmonary oedema with hypertensive crisis. Echocardiography documented reversible LV systolic dysfunction with improvement after 3 days. The course of hospitalization of the male was complicated by multi-organ dysfunction syndrome comprising renal failure, paralytic ileus, and pancreatic irritation, which normalized after 2 weeks. The diagnosis of pheochromocytoma was confirmed by laboratory tests and imaging methods. After pharmacological pre-treatment with doxazosin in both patients and bisoprolol in the female, successful adrenalectomies were performed with no relapse of tumour.

Discussion

We describe an atypical clinical presentation of pheochromocytoma with initial cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation and reversible LV systolic dysfunction. Our cases underline that clinical suspicion of pheochromocytoma as a potentially correctable cause should be raised in unexplained cases of severe heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest.
A new mass spectral library for high-coverage and reproducible analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cell proteome
Authors: Siddiqui Ghizal , De Paoli Amanda , MacRaild Christopher A , Sexton Anna E , Boulet Coralie , Shah Anup D , Batty Mitchell B , Schittenhelm Ralf B , Carvalho Teresa G , Creek Darren J
Published: March 2022

Background

Plasmodium falciparum causes the majority of malaria mortality worldwide, and the disease occurs during the asexual red blood cell (RBC) stage of infection. In the absence of an effective and available vaccine, and with increasing drug resistance, asexual RBC stage parasites are an important research focus. In recent years, mass spectrometry–based proteomics using data-dependent acquisition has been extensively used to understand the biochemical processes within the parasite. However, data-dependent acquisition is problematic for the detection of low-abundance proteins and proteome coverage and has poor run-to-run reproducibility.

Results

Here, we present a comprehensive P. falciparum–infected RBC (iRBC) spectral library to measure the abundance of 44,449 peptides from 3,113 P. falciparum and 1,617 RBC proteins using a data-independent acquisition mass spectrometric approach. The spectral library includes proteins expressed in the 3 morphologically distinct RBC stages (ring, trophozoite, schizont), the RBC compartment of trophozoite-iRBCs, and the cytosolic fraction from uninfected RBCs. This spectral library contains 87% of all P. falciparum proteins that have previously been reported with protein-level evidence in blood stages, as well as 692 previously unidentified proteins. The P. falciparum spectral library was successfully applied to generate semi-quantitative proteomics datasets that characterize the 3 distinct asexual parasite stages in RBCs, and compared artemisinin-resistant (Cam3.IIR539T) and artemisinin-sensitive (Cam3.IIrev) parasites.

Conclusion

A reproducible, high-coverage proteomics spectral library and analysis method has been generated for investigating sets of proteins expressed in the iRBC stage of P. falciparum malaria. This will provide a foundation for an improved understanding of parasite biology, pathogenesis, drug mechanisms, and vaccine candidate discovery for malaria.
Whither the Indo-Pacific? Middle power strategies from Australia, South Korea and Indonesia
Authors: Abbondanza Gabriele
Published: March 2022

Against the backdrop of US–China superpower rivalry in the Indo-Pacific, this article assesses the visions and strategies of the region's middle powers, which remain under-examined at present. First, it briefly traces the boundaries of this research by reviewing the contested nature of the Indo-Pacific concept and the definitional complexities of middle power theory. Second, it provides a novel comparative framework to analyse Australia, South Korea and Indonesia as the region's major middle powers, exploring their goals and strategies. The framework consists of: 1) middle power categorization; 2) interconnectedness with the two superpowers; 3) vision for the Indo-Pacific; 4) resulting regional posture; and 5) capacity to implement the country's goals. Third, it assesses the ensuing implications of this analysis for the region's strategic landscape. It finds that Canberra is now firmly aligned with Washington in balancing against China, as epitomized by the Quad and AUKUS; Seoul is cautiously increasing cooperation with the US, though potentially only to protract its strategic ambiguity; and Jakarta is pursuing strategic autonomy for itself and ASEAN, with the ambitious but precarious goal of creating a ‘third way’ for the Indo-Pacific. Consequently, middle powers seem unlikely to provide an alternative platform for the region's direction in the near future, due to a number of internal divisions. By shedding light on such understudied aspects, this article addresses a gap in the scholarly literature and provides a novel contribution to the understanding of both the diverse roles of middle powers and the Indo-Pacific's evolving strategic landscape.
Diasporas as cyberwarriors: infopolitics, participatory warfare and the 2020 Karabakh war
Authors: Chernobrov Dmitry
Published: March 2022

How do diasporas fight online information wars during armed conflicts in their homelands? I explore this question through interviews with 30 young diaspora Armenians in seven nations about their practical experiences of online activism during the 2020 Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I examine their motivations for engaging in social media activism; strategies and methods of promoting the Armenian narrative; vision of the online opponent; and perceived outcomes of their efforts. Besides investigating this recent case of diaspora mobilization during armed conflict, the study offers broader conclusions about social media and participatory warfare, and about the changing roles of diasporas in international relations. I demonstrate how social media enable participatory war that is transnational, monologic, empowering and retaliatory, involving individual and networked tactics, and culturally and politically transformative. Diasporas, traditionally seen as international agents of lobbying, public diplomacy and material assistance, become important decentralized actors in global conflict infopolitics.
Rejectionist Islamism in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Saalfeld Jannis
Published: March 2022

This article contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of Islamist mobilization in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the late 1980s, several African societies have witnessed significant Islamist violence. Against this background, the article provides a typology of rejectionist Islamism, a strain of Islamism that has left a major imprint both on East and West African settings. While rejectionist Islamist groups share as their common denominator the explicit negation of the nation state's legitimacy, they can be differentiated according to whether they violently challenge the state and are willing to participate in mainstream civil society. Thus, in this article I present four different types of rejectionist Islamism: ‘isolationism’, ‘militant isolationism’, ‘participatory rejectionism’ and ‘militant participatory rejectionism’. Examining rejectionist groups from four African countries, I demonstrate my typology's capacity for facilitating a fine-grained assessment of individual group trajectories over time. Finally, I present findings on the determinants of the violent radicalization of rejectionist Islamist groups.