bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reusing wastewater for agricultural irrigation: a water-energy-food Nexus assessment in the North Western Sahara Aquifer System
Authors: Ramirez C , Almulla Y , Fuso Nerini F
Published: February 2021

The North Western Sahara Aquifer System stands out as one of the water scarcest regions in the world. Moreover, in recent decades agriculture activity has grown exacerbating the pressure on groundwater resources and pumping energy requirements. In this study, a water-energy-food Nexus approach was used to assess the effect of capturing, treating and reusing wastewater for irrigation. GIS-based tools were used to capture the systems spatial dimension, enabling to match wastewater supply and water demand points, identify demand hotspots and evaluate techno-economically viable wastewater treatment options. Moreover, the minimum energy requirements for brackish water desalination were estimated. Seven domestic wastewater treatment technologies and one irrigation tailwater treatment technology were evaluated, making use of a levelized cost of Water methodology to identify the least-cost system. Four scenarios were constructed based on water-consumption behaviour of farmers towards changes in irrigation water pricing. The identified least-cost wastewater treatment technologies showed clear trade-offs, as different technologies were more cost-effective depending on treatment capacity requirements of the spatially distributed agglomerations. The reuse of treated wastewater/tailwater in agricultural irrigation, showed improvement of groundwater stress, reducing on about 49% water abstractions and groundwater stress levels in the best case scenario. However, groundwater stress still fell on the extremely high category, highlighting the critical condition of the aquifer. Furthermore, reuse of wastewater/tailwater decreased dependency on groundwater pumping and the overall energy-for-water requirements, reducing by about 15% the total energy requirements in the best case scenario. However, to effectively preserve water resources and act holistically towards the sustainable development agenda, measures as better water pricing mechanisms, management strategies to improve water productivity and adoption of more efficient irrigation schemes may be needed.
Subseasonal predictability of the North Atlantic Oscillation
Authors: Albers John R , Newman Matthew
Published: February 2021

Skillfully predicting the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the closely related northern annular mode (NAM), on ‘subseasonal’ (weeks to less than a season) timescales is a high priority for operational forecasting centers, because of the NAO’s association with high-impact weather events, particularly during winter. Unfortunately, the relatively fast, weather-related processes dominating total NAO variability are unpredictable beyond about two weeks. On longer timescales, the tropical troposphere and the stratosphere provide some predictability, but they contribute relatively little to total NAO variance. Moreover, subseasonal forecasts are only sporadically skillful, suggesting the practical need to identify the fewer potentially predictable events at the time of forecast. Here we construct an observationally based linear inverse model (LIM) that predicts when, and diagnoses why, subseasonal NAO forecasts will be most skillful. We use the LIM to identify those dynamical modes that, despite capturing only a fraction of overall NAO variability, are largely responsible for extended-range NAO skill. Predictable NAO events stem from the linear superposition of these modes, which represent joint tropical sea-surface temperature-lower stratosphere variability plus a single mode capturing downward propagation from the upper stratosphere. Our method has broad applicability because both the LIM and the state-of-the-art European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecast System (IFS) have higher (and comparable) skill for the same set of predicted high skill forecast events, suggesting that the low-dimensional predictable subspace identified by the LIM is relevant to real-world subseasonal NAO predictions.
Optimal covariant quantum measurements
Authors: Haapasalo Erkka , Pellonpää Juha-Pekka
Published: February 2021

We discuss symmetric quantum measurements and the associated covariant observables modelled, respectively, as instruments and positive-operator-valued measures. The emphasis of this work are the optimality properties of the measurements, namely, extremality, informational completeness, and the rank-1 property which contrast the complementary class of (rank-1) projection-valued measures. The first half of this work concentrates solely on finite-outcome measurements symmetric w.r.t. finite groups where we derive exhaustive characterizations for the pointwise Kraus-operators of covariant instruments and necessary and sufficient extremality conditions using these Kraus-operators. We motivate the use of covariance methods by showing that observables covariant with respect to symmetric groups contain a family of representatives from both of the complementary optimality classes of observables and show that even a slight deviation from a rank-1 projection-valued measure can yield an extreme informationally complete rank-1 observable. The latter half of this work derives similar results for continuous measurements in (possibly) infinite dimensions. As an example we study covariant phase space instruments, their structure, and extremality properties.
A statistical mechanism for operator growth
Authors: Cao Xiangyu
Published: February 2021

It was recently conjectured that in generic quantum many-body systems, the spectral density of local operators has the slowest high-frequency decay as permitted by locality. We show that the infinite-temperature version of this ‘universal operator growth hypothesis’ holds for the quantum Ising spin model in d ⩾ 2 dimensions, and for the chaotic Ising chain (with longitudinal and transverse fields) in one dimension. Moreover, the disordered chaotic Ising chain that exhibits many-body localization can have the same high-frequency spectral density asymptotics as thermalizing models. Our argument is statistical in nature, and is based on the observation that the moments of the spectral density can be written as a sign-problem-free sum over paths of Pauli string operators.
Analytical results for the distribution of first hitting times of random walks on random regular graphs
Authors: Tishby Ido , Biham Ofer , Katzav Eytan
Published: February 2021

We present analytical results for the distribution of first hitting (FH) times of random walks (RWs) on random regular graphs (RRGs) of degreec⩾ 3 and a finite sizeN. Starting from a random initial node at timet= 1, at each time stept⩾ 2 an RW hops randomly into one of thecneighbors of its previous node. In some of the time steps the RW may hop into a yet-unvisited node while in other time steps it may revisit a node that has already been visited before. The first time at which the RW enters a node that has already been visited before is called the FH time or the first intersection length. The FH event may take place either by backtracking (BT) to the previous node or by retracing (RET), namely stepping into a node which has been visited two or more time steps earlier. We calculate the tail distributionP(TFH>t) of FH times as well as its mean ⟨TFH⟩ and variance Var(TFH). We also calculate the probabilitiesPBTandPRETthat the FH event will occur via the BT scenario or via the RET scenario, respectively. We show that in dilute networks the dominant FH scenario is BT while in dense networks the dominant scenario is RET and calculate the conditional distributionsP(TFH=t|BT) andP(TFH=t|RET), for the two scenarios. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with the results obtained from computer simulations. Considering the FH event as a termination mechanism of the RW trajectories, these results provide useful insight into the general problem of survival analysis and the statistics of mortality rates when two or more termination scenarios coexist.
Retraction: Neural Networks Considered Harmful (IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science
242 052027)
Authors: Zhang Yanwei , Wang Wenwen
Published: February 2021

This article has been retracted by IOP Publishing on 17 February 2021 in light of clear evidence that it was computer generated. IOP Publishing is investigating why this was not identified during the submission and peer review process by the conference. As a member of the Committee for Publication Ethics (COPE) this has been investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines and it was agreed the article should be retracted.

Retraction published: 17 February 2021
Dynamic of orientation processes in liquid crystal systems of technical devices
Authors: Larionov A N , Polivaev O I , Larionova N N , Mashina A V
Published: February 2021

The relaxation properties of nematic liquid crystals by the pulsed method of a fixed distance in a rotating magnetic field are investigated. The adequacy of the solution of the equation of motion of the nematic director in the conditions of asynchronous motion of the director and the magnetic field induction vector was experimentally confirmed. The values of the rotational viscosity coefficient and the orientation relaxation time that characterize the parameters of devices with a liquid-crystal working medium in a wide range of pressures and temperatures are calculated. In the framework of the free volume theory, the dependence of the rotational viscosity coefficient on temperature and pressure is analyzed.
Energy efficiency of production of Vico-oat mixture at various cultivation technologies
Authors: Sabirova T P , Galina G S , Sabirov P
Published: February 2021

It is well known that growing farm animals requires green food balanced in protein. These requirements are met by the Vico-oat mixture. Green food plays an important role in feeding animals, providing them with essential nutrients and vitamins. Recently, there are more and more questions about environmentally friendly feed production. The selection of technologies for the cultivation of oatmeal mixture for specific farms that use different farming systems and have different material and technical resources is carried out by the Yaroslavl NIIZHK-branch of the Federal research center “V. R. Williams VIC”. The article describes the energy efficiency of cultivation of Vico-oat mixture for green mass using extensive, biologized, intensive and high-intensity technologies. The structure of energy consumption in the cultivation of Vico-oat mixture for green mass according to various technologies is given, as well as energy consumption for all products, net energy income, energy cost of dry matter and raw protein.
Enhancing SiN waveguide optical nonlinearity via hybrid GaS integration
Authors: Deckoff-Jones Skylar , Pelgrin Vincent , Zhang Jianhao , Lafforgue Christian , Deniel Lucas , Guerber Sylvain , Ribeiro-Palau Rebeca , Boeuf Frédéric , Alonso-Ramos Carlos , Vivien Laurent , Hu Juejun , Serna Samuel
Published: February 2021

Silicon nitride (SiN) has been demonstrated as an exceptional low-loss platform for integrated photonics, however, its relatively small nonlinear refractive index limits its full potential in applications such as all-optical phase modulation, supercontinuum generation, and frequency combs. Here, we demonstrate that through hybrid integration with wide-bandgap 2D materials such as gallium sulfide (GaS), the nonlinear refractive index of the hybrid waveguide can be greatly increased (by five-fold in our experiment). We fabricate high quality factor SiN/GaS microring resonators, with low two-photon absorption at telecom wavelengths, to demonstrate enhanced all-optical modulation. We show that the hybrid platform is suitable for assessing the nonlinear properties of 2D materials, and we have used it to quantify, for the first time, the nonlinear refractive index (n
2) of GaS. For GaS, n
2 =

12
×

10

−
19

 

m

2

W

−

1

, which is ten times larger than that of SiN.
Application of single-cell real-time imaging flow cytometry in rapid detection of pathogenic fungi in clinical liquid specimens
Authors: Lv Linting , Dong Li , Zheng Jiajia , Maermaer Tuohutaerbieke , Huang Xiangbo , Fan Xueying , Zhang Hao , Shen Tao
Published: February 2021

Rapid and direct observation of fungal spores or hyphae in clinical liquid specimens poses a challenge for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infection. To allow rapid detection of fungal pathogens, we designed a new method of fungal cell detection involving double fluorescence staining with calcium fluorescent white (CFW) and SYTOX green combined with single-cell real-time imaging flow cytometry (IFC). IFC allowed quick detection and analysis of detailed morphology of the spores and pseudohyphae of Candida albicans, and small hyphae and typical truncated large mycelia of Aspergillus fumigatus. Further, cell sorting based on fluorescence, the width-to-height ratio and bright-field parameters preferentially identified spores or hyphae with a typical cell wall. The specificity and overall coincidence rate of IFC for fungi detection in common clinical samples were 100% and 98.18%, respectively. Moreover, the detection rate by IFC (102/105, 97.14%) was significantly higher (P = 0.002) than that by wet mount method (89/105, 84.5%). Therefore, IFC is a reliable diagnostic method with a high potential for application for rapid diagnosis of fungal infection in the clinic.
Comprehensive topography characterization of polycrystalline diamond coatings
Authors: Gujrati Abhijeet , Sanner Antoine , Khanal Subarna R. , Moldovan Nicolaie , Zeng Hongjun , Pastewka Lars , Jacobs Tevis D. B.
Published: February 2021

The surface topography of diamond coatings strongly affects surface properties such as adhesion, friction, wear, and biocompatibility. However, the understanding of multi-scale topography, and its effect on properties, has been hindered by conventional measurement methods, which capture only a single length scale. Here, four different polycrystalline diamond coatings are characterized using transmission electron microscopy to assess the roughness down to the sub-nanometer scale. Then these measurements are combined, using the power spectral density (PSD), with conventional methods (stylus profilometry and atomic force microscopy) to characterize all scales of topography. The results demonstrate the critical importance of measuring topography across all length scales, especially because their PSDs cross over one another, such that a surface that is rougher at a larger scale may be smoother at a smaller scale and vice versa. Furthermore, these measurements reveal the connection between multi-scale topography and grain size, with characteristic scaling behavior at and slightly below the mean grain size, and self-affine fractal-like roughness at other length scales. At small (subgrain) scales, unpolished surfaces exhibit a common form of residual roughness that is self-affine in nature but difficult to detect with conventional methods. This approach of capturing topography from the atomic- to the macro-scale is termed comprehensive topography characterization, and all of the topography data from these surfaces has been made available for further analysis by experimentalists and theoreticians. Scientifically, this investigation has identified four characteristic regions of topography scaling in polycrystalline diamond materials.
Microstructure and tribological behavior of in situ ZrB2/A356 composites prepared under magnetic field
Authors: Jiao Lei , Fan Li , Zhao Yutao , Wang Bao Wang , Huang Xin Peng , Li Hui , Yang Yong , Li Dong Dong
Published: February 2021

A356-3 wt% ZrB2 composite was prepared by in-situ magnetochemical reaction at x Hz(x = 0, 5, 10, 15) magnetic field frequency, and its dry sliding friction and wear properties were studied. XRD results show that the composite is composed of ZrB2 and aluminum phase. SEM analysis showed that the size and distribution of ZrB2 particles improved with the increase of frequency. The size of ZrB2 particles in the cluster is about 20–100 nm. The hardness test results showed that with the increase of frequency, the hardness of the composite increased to 235.72 Hv. The friction and wear test results show that the friction coefficient and wear rate of the composite material under 10 N load are lower than that under 5 N load, and the lowest values are 0.28112 and 0.50875, respectively. With the increase of frequency, the wear mechanism changes from adhesive wear to abrasive wear. The effect of magnetic field on in-situ reaction is discussed.
Recent advances on application of gold nanorods in detection field
Authors: Xu Weizhen , Wang Boyang , Zhang Yadan , An Qingxiao , Zhou Rongju , Peng Chenzhan , Lin Qinlu , Xing Yanxia
Published: February 2021

The development of new methods for applications of detection in the biological field is a topic of intense and growing interest. The currently practiced methods for biological detection have many defects, such as time-consuming, low accuracy, and cumbersome for operators. Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have received tremendous attention recently in the fields of biological detection owing to the unique characteristics of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which provides a remarkable ability to absorb and scatter light. Furthermore, AuNRs can be functionalized with a wide variety of biomolecules for targeted detection. Moreover, their versatility and unique properties have generated more applications in medical areas. In this review, we briefly outline the synthesis and surface modification of AuNRs, and focus on the recent advances of the application of AuNRs in detection field. Finally, the outlook and future prospect on the development of AuNRs are provided.
Performance evaluation of a new 30 μm thick GaAs x-ray detector grown by MBE
Authors: Lioliou G , Poyser C L , Whale J , Campion R P , Kent A J , Barnett A M
Published: February 2021

A circular mesa (400 μm diameter) GaAs p+-i-n+ photodiode with a 30 μm thick i layer was characterized for its performance as a detector in photon counting x-ray spectroscopy at 20 °C. The detector was fabricated from material grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). An earlier MBE-grown detector fabricated using a different fabrication process and material from a different area of the same epiwafer was shown to suffer from: relatively high leakage current at high temperatures; a high effective carrier concentration that limited its depletion layer width; and material imperfections (butterfly defects) [Lioliou et al 2019 Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A
946 162670]. However, the new detector has better performance (lower leakage current and effective carrier concentration within the i layer). Using the new detector and low noise readout electronics, an energy resolution of 750 eV ± 20 eV Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) at 5.9 keV was achieved at 20 °C, equal to that reported for high quality GaAs detectors made from high quality material grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy [Lioliou et al 2017 J. Appl. Phys.
122 244506]. The results highlight the substantially different performances of detectors made from the same epiwafer when the wafer qualities are not uniform and the effects of different fabrication processes.
Structure, dielectrical properties and capacitance properties of Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3/BaTiO3 hetero-structure thin films with different BTO layer thicknesses
Authors: Ji Hang , Yu Ping
Published: February 2021

Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3/BaTiO3 (BSZT/BTO) films containing 70–640 nm BTO layers and pure BaTiO3 film were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The effect of the BTO layer thickness on the structure and electrical properties of the resulting BSZT/BTO films was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as dielectrical tests. The BTO layer thickness significantly affected the structure and, as a result, the electrical properties of the corresponding BTO/BSZT thin films. Thin films containing 190 nm BSZT layer and 70–640 nm BTO films demonstrated gradually improved crystallinity as the BTO layer thickness increased. Additionally, the (110) crystalline orientations of these films were more evident as the BTO layer thickness increased, which also resulted in improved electrical properties. When the thickness of BTO film was 640 nm, the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and leakage current density of the BSZT/BTO composite thin film were 139, 0.00816 at 1 MHz, and 1.36 × 10−6 A cm−2 at 40 V, respectively. The same values for 680 nm thick pure BTO film were 147, 0.02197 at 1 MHz, and 7.63 × 10−6 A cm−2 at 40 V, respectively. Thus, BSZT/BTO hetero-structured film with a 640 nm BTO possessed lower dielectric loss and six times smaller leakage current than pure BTO film. The reduction of dielectric loss and leakage current will improve the quality of the devices containing BTO films, which is advantageous for their wide-spread practical applications. Meanwhile, the relationship between the thickness of BTO layer and capacitance is explored, and the dielectric constant of BSZT buffer layer is calculated.
The effect of grain boundary on Na ion transport in polycrystalline solid-state electrolyte cubic Na3PS4
Authors: Wang Yixuan , Li Gengwei , Shen Kun , Tian Enke
Published: February 2021

In the polycrystalline solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), ionic transport is directly linked to the properties of all solid-state batteries. Grain boundaries (GBs), as essential defects in SSE, were found to play a significant role in the overall kinetics of Na ion transport, while the mechanism is not well understood due to the complex role of GBs. In this study, the first principles and phase field calculations are combined to explore the diffusion path and the interaction between point defects and grain boundaries in cubic Na3PS4 at different scales. The effects of point defects segregation on the overall kinetics of ionic transport were discussed in detail. By comparing the energy barriers required for ion transition along GBs and across GBs, the effect of the grain boundary on ionic diffusion can be influenced by local atomic coordination. This study could help improve the fundamental understanding of ionic transport in polycrystalline solid-state electrolytes, and provide guidance for designing new solid-state electrolytes with excellent ionic conductivity.
The effect of substrate curvature on capacitance and current–voltage characteristics in thin-film transistors on flexible substrates
Authors: Chattopadhyay Shirsopratim , Labram John G
Published: February 2021

Mechanically flexible electronics are devices designed to operate under significant physical deformations such as bending, twisting, and stretching. While the materials systems and devices compatible with flexible substrates have been extensively studied, the mathematical framework for analysis remains identical to that of traditional planar silicon-based electronics. However, the non-planar and dynamic form factors desired from flexible electronics invalidate assumptions made in these models. For electronic devices to be predictable and ultimately commercially viable, they must be understood in any physical form. Here we employ the method of moments to calculate the capacitance between two electrical conductors of arbitrary shape. Combined with a model for source–drain current in thin-film transistors (TFTs) on the surface of a cylinder, we are able to calculate the current–voltage characteristics in curved TFTs as a function of bending angle. We demonstrate how deformations to device geometry are expected to lead to non-negligible changes in current–voltage characteristics. This work represents the first step towards a new framework for understanding and characterizing electronics with any physical form factor, ultimately bringing flexible electronics closer to commercial viability.
Automation of some macromolecular properties using a machine learning approach
Authors: Hoxha Merjem , Kamberaj Hiqmet
Published: February 2021

In this study, we employed a newly developed method to predict macromolecular properties using a swarm artificial neural network (ANN) method as a machine learning approach. In this method, the molecular structures are represented by the feature description vectors used as training input data for a neural network. This study aims to develop an efficient approach for training an ANN using either experimental or quantum mechanics data. We aim to introduce an error model controlling the reliability of the prediction confidence interval using a bootstrapping swarm approach. We created different datasets of selected experimental or quantum mechanics results. Using this optimized ANN, we hope to predict properties and their statistical errors for new molecules. There are four datasets used in this study. That includes the dataset of 642 small organic molecules with known experimental hydration free energies, the dataset of 1475 experimental pKa values of ionizable groups in 192 proteins, the dataset of 2693 mutants in 14 proteins with given experimental values of changes in the Gibbs free energy, and a dataset of 7101 quantum mechanics heat of formation calculations. All the data are prepared and optimized using the AMBER force field in the CHARMM macromolecular computer simulation program. The bootstrapping swarm ANN code for performing the optimization and prediction is written in Python computer programming language. The descriptor vectors of the small molecules are based on the Coulomb matrix and sum over bond properties. For the macromolecular systems, they consider the chemical-physical fingerprints of the region in the vicinity of each amino acid.
A machine learning based Bayesian optimization solution to non-linear responses in dusty plasmas
Authors: Ding Zhiyue , Matthews Lorin S , Hyde Truell W
Published: February 2021

Nonlinear frequency response analysis is a widely used method for determining system dynamics in the presence of nonlinearities. In dusty plasmas, the plasma–grain interaction (e.g. grain charging fluctuations) can be characterized by a single-particle non-linear response analysis, while grain–grain non-linear interactions can be determined by a multi-particle non-linear response analysis. Here a machine learning-based method to determine the equation of motion in the non-linear response analysis for dust particles in plasmas is presented. Searching the parameter space in a Bayesian manner allows an efficient optimization of the parameters needed to match simulated non-linear response curves to experimentally measured non-linear response curves.
A proactive medical necessity review program reduces revenue loss associated with outpatient medical benefit drugs
Authors: Hawes Emily M , Misita Caron P , Amerine Lindsey B , Francart Suzanne J
Published: February 2021

Purpose

A common denial trend that occurs with “outpatient medical benefit drugs” (ie, medications covered by a medical benefit plan and administered in an outpatient visit) is payers not requiring or permitting prior authorization (PA) proactively, yet denying the drug after administration for medical necessity. In this situation, a preemptive strategy of complying with payer-mandated requirements is critical for revenue protection. To address this need, our institution incorporated a medical necessity review into its existing closed-loop, pharmacy-managed precertification and denials management program.

Referrals for targeted payers and high-cost medical benefit drugs not eligible for PA and deemed high risk for denial were incorporated into the review. Payer medical policies were evaluated and clinical documentation assessed to confirm alignment. This descriptive report outlines the medical necessity workflow as a component of the larger precertification process, details the decision-making process when performing the review, and delineates the roles and responsibilities for involved team members. A total of 526 drug orders were evaluated from September 2018 to August 2019, with 146 interventions completed. Of the 761 individual claims affected by proactive medical necessity review, 99.2% resulted in payment and less than 1% resulted in revenue loss, safeguarding more than $5.3 million in annual institutional drug reimbursement. At the time of analysis, there were only 3 cases of revenue loss.

Conclusion

Our institution’s pharmacy-managed medical necessity review program for high-cost outpatient drugs safeguards reimbursement for therapies not eligible for payer PA. It is a revenue cycle best practice that can be replicated at other institutions.
Tackling the challenges of nanomedicines: are we ready?
Authors: Hertig John B , Shah Vinod P , Flühmann Beat , Mühlebach Stefan , Stemer Gunar , Surugue Jacqueline , Moss Rob , Di Francesco Tiziana
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This review provides an overview of the proceedings of the symposium “Tackling the Challenges of Nanomedicines: Are We Ready?” organized by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Hospital Pharmacy Section and Non-Biological Complex Drugs (NBCDs) Working Group at the 2019 FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Debate centered on reasons underlying the current complex regulatory landscape for nanomedicines and their follow-on products (referred to as nanosimilars) and the pivotal role of hospital pharmacists in selecting, handling, and guiding usage of nanomedicines and nanosimilars.

The evaluation and use of nanomedicines are recognized among scientific, pharmaceutical, and regulatory bodies as complex. Interchangeability and substitutability of nanomedicines and nanosimilars are confounded by a lack of pharmaceutical and pharmacological equivalence, reflecting the inherent complex nature of these drug products and manufacturing processes. Consequences include implications for clinical safety and efficacy and, ultimately, comparability. Local regulatory approvals of some nanomedicines have occurred, but there is no standard to ensure streamlined evaluation and use of consistent measures of therapeutic equivalence of reference products and their nanosimilars. Hospital pharmacists are expected to be experts in the selection, handling, and substitution of nanomedicines and familiarize themselves with the limitations of current methods of assessing pharmaceutical and clinical equivalence of nanosimilars in order to ensure informed formulary decision-making and eventual patient benefit.

Conclusion

Supportive guidance for pharmacists focusing on the substitutability and/or interchangeability of nanomedicines and their nanosimilars is needed. Current FIP guidance for pharmacists on therapeutic interchange and substitution should be extended to include nanomedicines and nanosimilars.
Effects of vacuum soaking on the hydration, steaming, and physiochemical properties of japonica rice
Authors: Li Qiuyun , Li Sen , Guan Xiao , Huang Kai , Zhu Fengbo
Published: February 2021

Soaking is an essential step in the processing of various rice products. In this study, the influences of vacuum soaking on hydration, steaming, and physiochemical properties of rice were investigated. Results showed that vacuum soaking accelerated water absorption as well as affected the mobility and density of water protons inside rice during soaking. Vacuum soaking could considerably shorten the optimal steaming time from 58 to 32 min and reduce the adhesiveness of steamed rice. Microstructure analysis of rice revealed that porous structure was formed on rice surface and the arrangement of starch granules became loosened after vacuum soaking. Moreover, vacuum soaking slightly reduced the relative crystallinity of rice starches without altering the crystalline type. The gelatinization temperature as well as the peak and trough viscosity was also decreased after vacuum soaking. Our study suggested that vacuum soaking was conducive to improve the soaking and steaming properties of rice.
Spontaneous quantity discrimination in a family-living lizard
Authors: Szabo Birgit , Noble Daniel W A , McCloghry Kaitlin J , Monteiro Marco E S , Whiting Martin J
Published: February 2021

While foraging or during social interactions, animals may benefit from judging relative quantity. Individuals may select larger prey or a patch with more food and, likewise, it may pay to track the number and type of individuals and social interactions. We tested for spontaneous quantity discrimination in the gidgee skink (Egernia stokesii), a family-living lizard. Lizards were presented with food quantities differing in number or size and were able to select the larger quantity of food items when they differed in number but not when items differed in size. We show, for the first time, superior spontaneous discrimination of items differing in number over size in a lizard species, which contrasts with previous findings. Our simple method, however, did not include controls for the use of continuous quantities, and further tests are required to determine the role of such information during quantity discrimination. Our results provide support for the use of the parallel individuation system for the discrimination of small quantities (four or fewer items). Lizards might, however, still use the approximate number system if items in larger quantities (more than four) are presented. Overall, we uncovered evidence that species might possess specific cognitive abilities potentially adapted to their niche with respect to quantity information (discrete and/or continuous) and the processing system used when judging quantities. Importantly, our results highlight the need for testing multiple species using similar testing procedures to gain a better understanding of the underlying causes leading to differences across species.
Contextual variations in calls of two nonoscine birds: the blue petrel Halobaena caerulea and the Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata
Authors: Gémard Charlène , Planas-Bielsa Víctor , Bonadonna Francesco , Aubin Thierry
Published: February 2021

Bird vocalizations are critical cues in social interactions as they convey temporary information varying with the social context, for example, the signaler motivation when facing a rival or a potential mate. To date, literature mainly focused on learning birds. Burrowing petrels (Procellariidae) are nonlearning birds with a limited vocal repertoire. Bachelor males communicate with conspecifics with a single call emitted in three situations: in the absence of a certain auditory (spontaneous calls), toward females (female-directed calls), and toward males (male-directed calls). We first hypothesized that, although the call structure is preserved, temporal and spectral parameters vary between the three call types of bachelor males, translating different motivations (Motivation Hypothesis). To go further, we hypothesized that acoustic variations in male-directed calls indicate the signaler’s aggressive motivation and, therefore, the variations are similar whether calls are produced by breeder or bachelor males (Breeding Status Hypothesis). We tested the two hypotheses performing field playback experiments on two petrel species: the blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea) and the Antarctic prion (Pachyptila desolata). Despite the obvious call stereotypy, we observed temporal variations and frequency shifts when males react to a female or a male, which may translate the sexual or aggressive motivation of the signaler. Furthermore, the similarity of variations in male-directed calls of both breeder and bachelor males suggests the aggressive motivation. So far, vocal plasticity in nonlearning birds has been greatly underestimated. Here, we highlighted the expression of different motivations through vocal variations and the ability to produce frequency variations in species with genetically coded vocalizations.
Territoriality in Drosophila: indirect effects and covariance with body mass and metabolic rate
Authors: Tremblay Matteo , Rundle Howard D , Videlier Mathieu , Careau Vincent
Published: February 2021

Territoriality (i.e., defense of a resource) is the outcome of behavioral interactions that can result in selective advantages in many vertebrates and invertebrates. Since territoriality is expressed in a social context, an individuals’ territoriality may change according to the phenotype of the opponents that they are confronted with (termed “indirect effects”). Defending a territory may also confer energetic costs to individuals, which could be reflected in their standard metabolic rate (SMR), a key component of an ectotherms’ energy budget. Here, we measured territoriality using dyadic contests, body mass, and SMR using flow-through respirometry, twice in each of 192 adult male Drosophila melanogaster. Territoriality, body mass, and (whole-animal) SMR were all significantly repeatable. However, essentially all the among-individual variation in SMR was shared with body mass, as indicated by a very strong among-individual correlation (rind) between body mass and SMR. The among-individual correlation between territoriality and SMR also tended to be positive, suggesting the presence of underlying metabolic costs to territoriality. Although indirect effects on territoriality were present but weak (accounting for 8.4% of phenotypic variance), indirect effects on territoriality were negatively and significantly correlated with body mass. This indicates that larger individuals tended to suppress their opponents territoriality. Variation among individuals in their ability to suppress territoriality in others was not associated with their own territoriality or SMR.
Role of zinc in female reproduction
Authors: Garner Tyler Bruce , Hester James Malcolm , Carothers Allison , Diaz Francisco J
Published: February 2021

Zinc is a critical component in a number of conserved processes that regulate female germ cell growth, fertility, and pregnancy. During follicle development, a sufficient intracellular concentration of zinc in the oocyte maintains meiotic arrest at prophase I until the germ cell is ready to undergo maturation. An adequate supply of zinc is necessary for the oocyte to form a fertilization-competent egg as dietary zinc deficiency or chelation of zinc disrupts maturation and reduces the oocyte quality. Following sperm fusion to the egg to initiate the acrosomal reaction, a quick release of zinc, known as the zinc spark, induces egg activation in addition to facilitating zona pellucida hardening and reducing sperm motility to prevent polyspermy. Symmetric division, proliferation, and differentiation of the preimplantation embryo rely on zinc availability, both during the oocyte development and post-fertilization. Further, the fetal contribution to the placenta, fetal limb growth, and neural tube development are hindered in females challenged with zinc deficiency during pregnancy. In this review, we discuss the role of zinc in germ cell development, fertilization, and pregnancy with a focus on recent studies in mammalian females. We further detail the fundamental zinc-mediated reproductive processes that have only been explored in non-mammalian species and speculate on the role of zinc in similar mechanisms of female mammals. The evidence collected over the last decade highlights the necessity of zinc for normal fertility and healthy pregnancy outcomes, which suggests zinc supplementation should be considered for reproductive age women at risk of zinc deficiency.
Experiences with Technology Amongst an International Sample of Older Adults: Results from a Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis
Authors: Miller Vivian J , Roark Erin M , Fields Noelle L , Cronley Courtney
Published: February 2021

Identifying and implementing effective strategies to combat social exclusion and isolation is critical, given that eradicating social isolation has been identified as one of the social work profession’s main goals. Training older adults to use information and communications technology (ICT) effectively may be an appropriate intervention to combat and mitigate the negative impacts of social isolation within the aging population. ICT has demonstrated promise with older adults, with research demonstrating that older adults with higher technology use report better self-reported physical health and subjective well-being. Given this promise, the authors of this study seek to create more nuanced understanding of the experience of ICT usage, as told by an international sample of older adults using a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS). Using the QIMS methodology paired with phenomenological reduction, the authors synthesised nine (N = 9) qualitative studies through the lens of the World Health Organization’s age-friendly domains. This process resulted in three overarching themes that describe older adults’ experiences engaging with technology: ‘desire for empowerment’, ‘connection’ and ‘aging well’. Findings from this study highlight overall benefits of technology use among older adults aging in the community. This study concludes with implications for social work research and practice.
New Trajectory of Clinical and Biomarker Changes in Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Zhuo Junjie , Zhang Yuanchao , Liu Yong , Liu Bing , Zhou Xiaoqing , Bartlett Perry F , Jiang Tianzi ,   Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: February 2021

Identifying dynamic changes in biomarkers and clinical profiles is essential for understanding the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The relevant studies have primarily relied on patients with autosomal dominant AD; however, relevant studies in sporadic AD are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed longitudinal data from 665 participants (mean follow-up 4.90 ± 2.83 years). By aligning normal cognition (CN) baseline with a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or AD, we studied the progression of AD using a linear mixed model to estimate the clinical and biomarker changes from stable CN to MCI to AD. The results showed that the trajectory of hippocampal volume and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was consistent with the clinical measures in that they did not follow a hypothetical sigmoid curve but rather showed a slow change in the initial stage and accelerated changes in the later stage from MCI conversion to AD. Dramatic hippocampal atrophy and the ADAS13 increase were, respectively, 2.5 and 1 years earlier than the MCI onset. Besides, cognitively normal people with elevated and normal amyloid showed no significant differences in clinical measures, hippocampal volume, or FDG. These results reveal that pre-MCI to pre-AD may be a better time window for future clinical trial design.
The Prenatal Origins of Human Brain Asymmetry: Lessons Learned from a Cohort of Fetuses with Body Lateralization Defects
Authors: Kienast Patric , Schwartz Ernst , Diogo Mariana C , Gruber Gerlinde M , Brugger Peter C , Kiss Herbert , Ulm Barbara , Bartha-Doering Lisa , Seidl Rainer , Weber Michael , Langs Georg , Prayer Daniela , Kasprian Gregor
Published: February 2021

Knowledge about structural brain asymmetries of human fetuses with body lateralization defects—congenital diseases in which visceral organs are partially or completely incorrectly positioned—can improve our understanding of the developmental origins of hemispheric brain asymmetry. This study investigated structural brain asymmetry in 21 fetuses, which were diagnosed with different types of lateralization defects; 5 fetuses with ciliopathies and 26 age-matched healthy control cases, between 22 and 34 gestational weeks of age. For this purpose, a database of 4007 fetal magnetic resonance imagings (MRIs) was accessed and searched for the corresponding diagnoses. Specific temporal lobe brain asymmetry indices were quantified using in vivo, super-resolution-processed MR brain imaging data. Results revealed that the perisylvian fetal structural brain lateralization patterns and asymmetry indices did not differ between cases with lateralization defects, ciliopathies, and normal controls. Molecular mechanisms involved in the definition of the right/left body axis—including cilium-dependent lateralization processes—appear to occur independently from those involved in the early establishment of structural human brain asymmetries. Atypically inverted early structural brain asymmetries are similarly rare in individuals with lateralization defects and may have a complex, multifactorial, and neurodevelopmental background with currently unknown postnatal functional consequences.
Reductions in Gray Matter Linked to Epigenetic HIV-Associated Accelerated Aging
Authors: Lew Brandon J , Schantell Mikki D , O’Neill Jennifer , Morsey Brenda , Wang Tina , Ideker Trey , Swindells Susan , Fox Howard S , Wilson Tony W
Published: February 2021

A growing literature suggests a relationship between HIV-infection and a molecular profile of age acceleration. However, despite the widely known high prevalence of HIV-related brain atrophy and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), epigenetic age acceleration has not been linked to HIV-related changes in structural MRI. We applied morphological MRI methods to study the brain structure of 110 virally suppressed participants with HIV infection and 122 uninfected controls age 22–72. All participants were assessed for cognitive impairment, and blood samples were collected from a subset of 86 participants with HIV and 83 controls to estimate epigenetic age. We examined the group-level interactive effects of HIV and chronological age and then used individual estimations of epigenetic age to understand the relationship between age acceleration and brain structure. Finally, we studied the effects of HAND. HIV-infection was related to gray matter reductions, independent of age. However, using epigenetic age as a biomarker for age acceleration, individual HIV-related age acceleration was associated with reductions in total gray matter. HAND was associated with decreases in thalamic and hippocampal gray matter. In conclusion, despite viral suppression, accentuated gray matter loss is evident with HIV-infection, and greater biological age acceleration specifically relates to such gray matter loss.