bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detectability of COVID-19 global emissions reductions in local CO2 concentration measurements
Authors: Dacre H F , Western L M , Say D , O’Doherty S , Arnold T , Rennick C , Hawkins E
Published: August 2021

It is estimated that global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduced by up to 12% at the start of 2020 compared to recent years due to the COVID-19 related downturn in economic activity. Despite the large decrease in CO2 emissions, no reduction in the trend in background atmospheric CO2 concentrations has been detected. So, how long would it take for sustained COVID-19 CO2 emission reductions to be detected in daily and monthly averaged local CO2 concentration measurements? CO2 concentration measurements for five measurement sites in the UK and Ireland are combined with meteorological numerical weather prediction data to build statistical models that can predict future CO2 concentrations. It is found that

75
%

of the observed daily variability can be explained by these simple models. Emission reduction scenario experiments using these simple models illustrate that large daily and seasonal variability in local CO2 concentrations precludes the rapid emergence of a detectable signal. COVID-19 magnitude emissions reductions would only be detectable in the daily CO2 concentrations after at least 38 months and in monthly CO2 concentrations after 11 months of sustained reductions. For monthly CO2 concentrations the time of emergence is similar for all sites since the seasonal variability is largely driven by non-local fluxes of CO2 between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere. The COVID-19 CO2 anthropogenic emissions reductions are similar in magnitude to those that are required to meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global temperatures below

2
°

C. This study demonstrates that, using measurements alone, there will be a considerable lag between changes in global anthropogenic emissions and a detected signal in local CO2 concentration trends. Thus, there is likely to be a delay of several years between changes in policy designed to meet CO2 anthropogenic emissions targets and our ability to detect the impact of these policies on CO2 concentrations using atmospheric measurements alone.
Efficacy of face masks against respiratory infectious diseases: a systematic review and network analysis of randomized-controlled trials
Authors: Tran Thach Quang , Mostafa Esraa Mahmoud , Tawfik Gehad Mohamed , Soliman Mohammed , Mahabir Seshini , Mahabir Randi , Dong Vinh , Ravikulan Rohanti , Alhijazeen Suleiman , Farrag Doha Ahmed , Dumre Shyam Prakash , Huy Nguyen Tien , Hirayama Kenji
Published: August 2021

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, face masks are among the most common and practical control measures used globally in reducing the risk of infection and disease transmission. Although several studies have investigated the efficacy of various face masks and respirators in preventing infection, the results have been inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of the randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the actual efficacy of face masks in preventing respiratory infections. We searched nine electronic databases up to July 2020 to find potential articles. We accepted trials reporting the protective efficacy of face masks against respiratory infections, of which the primary endpoint was the presence of respiratory infections. We used the ROB-2 Cochrane tool to grade the trial quality. We initially registered the protocol for this study in PROSPERO (CRD42020178516). Sixteen RCTs involving 17 048 individuals were included for NMA. Overall, evidence was weak, lacking statistical power due to the small number of participants, and there was substantial inconsistency in our findings. In comparison to those without face masks, participants with fit-tested N95 respirators were likely to have lesser infection risk (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.38–1.19, P-score 0.80), followed by those with non-fit-tested N95 and non-fit-tested FFP2 respirators that shared the similar risk, (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.12–4.36, P-score 0.63) and (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.38–1.71, P-score 0.63), respectively. Next, participants who donned face masks with and without hand hygiene practices showed modest risk improvement alike (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.67–1.17, P-score 0.55) and (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.70–1.22, P-score 0.51). Otherwise, participants donning double-layered cloth masks were prone to infection (RR 4.80, 95% CI 1.42–16.27, P-score 0.01). Eleven out of 16 RCTs that underwent a pairwise meta-analysis revealed a substantially lower infection risk in those donning medical face masks (MFMs) than those without face masks (RR 0.83 95% CI 0.71–0.96). Given the body of evidence through a systematic review and meta-analyses, our findings supported the protective benefits of MFMs in reducing respiratory transmissions, and the universal mask-wearing should be applied—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. More clinical data is required to conclude the efficiency of cloth masks; in the short term, users should not use cloth face masks in the outbreak hot spots and places where social distancing is impossible.
Exploring the potential greywater use in a typical microcosmic commercial area of South Africa
Authors: Kapata AK , Ngidi SD , Nkhonjera GK
Published: August 2021

With water scarcity looming, South Africa needs to be mindful of the way water is used, conserved, or disposed of. By investigating the biological and physical characteristics of grey water, this paper attempted to explore the potential use of grey water within a microcosmic commercial area. Through different methods, samples were tested for Conductivity, Temperature, pH, and Turbidity. Using IDEXX 2000 method, biological characteristics of the grey water (Total Coliform (TC) and E-coli) were tested. At a pH range of 5.8 to 9, Turbidity in the grey water was found to be between 20.1 and 814. The count for TC ranged between 6.83 ×105 – 3.255 ×109 MPN/100 ml, and that for E-coli ranged between 0.1046 ×104 and 0.7701 ×108 MPN/100 ml. The study found that high turbidity values may have serious implications on the perception of people on grey water use as a potential substitute for potable water. However, the low number of E-coli counts suggests that greywater in commercial areas of South Africa may not pose a major health risk to people compared to black water. This paper will contribute to the knowledge about grey water characteristics expected to be encountered when contemplating exploiting grey water in commercial areas around South Africa.
Genesis and petroleum geological significance of calcareous mudstone in Beier Sag
Authors: Chen Fangju
Published: August 2021

Beier sag is one of the most oil-rich sags in the south of Hailaer Basin in China. The purpose of the study is to clarify the identification characteristics and geological origin of calcareous mudstone strata in Nantun Formation of Beier sag, so as to provide new ideas for the identification and evaluation of high-quality source rocks, and to provide effective support for efficient exploration of oil and gas in the basin. The comparative analysis of logging curves and seismic reflection characteristics shows that the calcareous mudstone layer has the “three high and one low” logging response with high GR (Natural Gamma Ray), high LLD (Deep Investigate Induction Log), high AC (Acoustic) and low DEN (Rock Density), showing continuous and strong seismic reflection characteristics. Through the comparative analysis of experimental data of rock thin slice and microscopic image and organic geochemistry, the layer lithology is mainly gray-black mudstone, locally mixed with oil shale and marl, rich in calcium and algae. The layer has the high abundance of organic matter, good organic matter type ( II1-I ), high hydrocarbon-generating potential and high hydrocarbon-exhausting efficiency. It is the highest quality source rock found in Beier sag, and is the material base to form the large scale oil and gas accumulation. The formation of calcareous mudstone formed in the brackish water and wide lake basin by a wide range, represents the anoxic event early in Cretaceous period and is the significant stratigraphic correlation marker bed of the sag. In addition, this layer and the fan-delta front sand widely distributed in the lower part of Nantun Formation form the most favorable reservoir combination, which controls the plane distribution of oil and gas reservoirs. Above and below the calcareous mudstone strata, oil and gas are very rich.
Method of multi-objective optimal operation for combined cooling, heating, and power system
Authors: Sun Peiran , Hao Xuejun , Wang Jun
Published: August 2021

In order to give full play to the advantages of energy saving, high efficiency, economy, and low carbon of combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system, it is necessary to seek an optimal operation mode. In this paper, a CCHP system model including energy storage equipment and ground source heat pump is established. To ensure the control accuracy, the unit commitment problem is considered in the programming. The optimal operation mode of CCHP system is obtained by taking the minimum annual operation cost, including pollutant treatment cost and the maximum primary energy utilization rate as the objective, and discussing the weight value of the above two purposes. Compared with the single objective optimization method, this optimal operation mode can provide more diversified and refined choices for the actual operation of CCHP system.
Photovoltaic grid-connected inverter based on super capacitor energy storage MMC
Authors: Sun Shuqin , Pang Xiaoyu , Zhang Xinhao , Li Gang
Published: August 2021

In order to improve the reliability of grid-connected operation of photovoltaic power generation systems, this paper proposes a photovoltaic grid-connected inverter based on supercapacitor energy storage MMC. Compared with traditional battery energy storage devices, the converter has the advantages of environmental friendliness, high energy storage efficiency, and long service life. The control strategy of the system is divided into three parts: carrier phase shift modulation strategy (CPS-SPWM), voltage balance control strategy and super capacitor charging control strategy. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed photovoltaic grid-connected inverter and its control strategy is verified in MATLAB/Simulink. The results show that the system can realize the photovoltaic grid-connected inverter process, realizes soft switching, and has high Energy storage efficiency.
Spectrophotometric determination of chlorophylls in different solvents related to the leaf traits of the main tree species in Northeast China
Authors: Sun Huizhen , Liu Shanshan , Chen Kangkang , Li Gaiyan
Published: August 2021

The accurate detection of the leaf chlorophyll (Chl) is of substantial importance for the immediate assessment of forest conditions to manage and conserve forest ecosystems. We compared 80% acetone, 95% ethanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) over a range of incubation times (2, 4, 6, 8, 18, 26, and 32 h) to determine the Chl contents of 12 tree species in northeast China. The results showed that to obtain the maximum Chl (a+b) contents for most tree species extracted by 80% acetone and 95% ethanol required a minimum of 18 h, while the incubation periods by DMSO were 2-6 h and 18-32 h to extract 90% of the Chl from the broadleaved and coniferous tree species, respectively. We observed that the amount of Chl extracted with DMSO was significantly higher than that extraction with 80% acetone and 95% ethanol, particularly for conifer species with the exception of Phellodendron amurense, Fraxinus mandshurica, and Tilia amurensis, in which the maximum amount of Chl was extracted with acetone. The DMSO extracted Chl in exhibited the lowest degree of variation among the three solvents. The leaf mass area (LMA), leaf thickness, and diameter of the primary leaf vein were significantly negatively correlated with the Chl a, Chl b, and Chl (a+b) content for the 12 tree species. There were non-significant different slopes or intercepts between the curves for LMA and Chl a, Chl b, or Chl (a+b) at the different incubation times for the same solvent or the different solvents at the certain incubation time (P > 0.05).
Design and realization of the supervision system for the harmless treatment of building waste based on LCA
Authors: Chen Lanyun , Wu Shuanglei , Zhao Quanwei
Published: August 2021

With the acceleration of our country’s urbanization and the continuous enrichment of people’s material life, it is necessary to improve the construction of urban functions. Therefore, it should demolish and rebuild existing buildings to improve the original scattered, chaotic, and poor environment, resulting in a large amount of construction waste. At present, most of the construction waste has not undergone any treatment and is disposed of in open-air storage or landfill. This treatment method not only takes up a lot of arable land and construction funds, but also increases environmental pollution, causing increasingly unbearable pressure on the social environment. For this reason, it is essential to design a monitoring system for the harmless treatment of building waste from the perspective of a long-term life cycle. The purpose of this article is to study the harmless treatment of building waste and the real-time supervision of waste. In this paper, the field survey method and questionnaire survey method are used to investigate and respond to on-site construction waste. Experimental research results show that the design of the supervision system for the harmless treatment of building waste is supported by the state, society, enterprises and citizens. Among them, the treatment of concrete in the waste is the first place, because its proportion in the waste reaches 47.8%. In order to protect the environment and follow the path of sustainable development, it is imperative to treat wastes in a harmless manner.
Sedimentary characteristics and geological significance of sublacustrine fan in the Houdomoer tectonic belt
Authors: Li Yue
Published: August 2021

At present, the sedimentary characteristics of the sublacustrine fans in the Houdomoer tectonic belt have not been clearly understood, which restricts further oil and gas exploration. In this research, the sedimentary characteristics of the sublacustrine fans and their oil and gas geological significance are studied based on the data of core, well logging, logging and earthquake. It is found that the sublacustrine fans in the study area can be divided into three types. The sublacustrine fan of the Houdomoer tectonic belt is located in the stratum next to the best source rock in Nantun Formation. Oil and gas are injected into the sublacustrine fan sand body from the bottom and side. Generally, oil and gas accumulation is mainly controlled by the physical characteristics of the reservoir. Experimental analysis shows that the reservoir capacity of different sedimentary microfacies is quite different. The braided channel microfacies of the middle fan is the most favorable type of reservoir facies belt, and the main channel microfacies of the inner fan is the second most favorable reservoir. The practice of oil and gas exploration also proves that the high-yield wells are mostly located in the braided channel microfacies of the middle fan. Therefore, this microfacies type has a broad exploration prospect.
Research on spatial ecological response mechanism of Hexi Corridor
Authors: Xie Xiaoling , Wei Yaqiang , Yan Xiangyu
Published: August 2021

This paper focuses on the ecological problems that hinder development, such as lack of water resources and desertification in the Hexi region. On the basis of the impact of urbanization in the Hexi region on the ecological environment, this paper focuses on the ecological environment response brought by the process of urbanization due to the change in the ecological land, living land and production land of Sansheng Space Structure through quantitative analysis, explores its underlying reasons and puts forward strategies to protect and upgrade the ecological environment in the process of urbanization in Hexi.
Changes of vegetation coverage in Beijing in the background of urbanization based on the data from 2000 to 2019
Authors: Zhao Linyi , Wang FanTianming , Dong Fan , Xiao Caixuan
Published: August 2021

With the rapid development of urbanization, high-intensity human activities in Beijing profoundly impact the changes of ecological environment, especially on vegetation coverage. Vegetation can provide a variety of ecological services for the city. Based on the data of NDVI (Normalized vegetation Index) from 2000 to 2019, the study analysed the Spatio-temporal changes of vegetation variation and land use pattern in Beijing by GIS analysis. The proportion of the significantly increased pixels of NDVI occupied 76.71% while that of the significantly decreased pixels only occupied 4.99% of the total. The significant positive trends of NDVI were concentrated in the urban core functional areas within the Fifth Ring Road and in the northern and western mountainous areas. The significant negative trends of NDVI were concentrated from the 5th Ring Road to the outside areas of the 6th Ring Road. And the gradual change of land use type is a prominent feature in significantly positive trend area. The reflection of the vegetation coverage and land use change on a large time scale in Beijing has a certain reference value for future land pattern planning and urban policy revision.
Characteristics of community domestic waste separation: separation amount, physical and chemical characteristics
Authors: Guo Hanwen , Tong Lin , Shu Tianchu , Li Xu , Bai Binjie , Nie Xiaoqin
Published: August 2021

With the improvement of people’s living standards and the highly progress of urban construction, the management of domestic waste has become increasingly important. To a large extent, the treatment and utilization of domestic waste depends on the physical and chemical composition of the separated waste. However, there is an insufficient research on the characteristics of community waste after mandatory classification. To fulfil the existing research gap, a community that has started with waste separation was chosen for waste generation and separation. Three ways including weighed by community residents, weighed by community cleaners and weighed by automatic electronic scale were conducted in the present study. From households, food waste contained the biggest component, 49%, while the residual waste counted for 32% and the residuals were recyclable waste. When weighed by cleaners, the average amount of separated household food waste was on the range of 0.07-0.23 kg/d/person. In addition, an automatic electronic scale was invented to realize real-time weighing, and the quality waste bin, the peak weight as well as the concentration time for separation were recorded. When compared to the generation of food waste, 6% to 56% of household food waste was separated. In addition, physical and chemical components were conducted for conducting further analysis. The results demonstrate that food waste contains a high purity with a percentage of 98.76%.
Optimization of the aluminum based compound flocculant preparation conditions and fluorine removal performance validation by response surface method
Authors: Zheng Lixiang , Xu Xufeng
Published: August 2021

The aluminum based compound flocculant was prepared with components such as polyaluminum chloride (PAC), calcium oxide (CaO) and polyaluminosilicate ferric oxide (PSAF) by adopting mixed and compound method. On the basis of single factor experiment, the main factors affecting the preparation of aluminum based compound flocculant were selected, and the preparation conditions were optimized through Box-Behnken design experiment and response surface analysis. The results showed that the quadratic polynomial model had significant regression, but the loss of fit term was not noticeable. The determination coefficient R2 is 0.9603, which indicated that the model had good fit. The optimum preparation condition of the aluminum based compound flocculant was as follows: the mass ratio of PAC:CaO:PSAF was 8:4:5. When the influent initial fluorine content was 4.0∼6.0mg/L, the dosage of the flocculant was 0.85mg/L, and the initial pH value was 7.5, the removal rate of fluoride ion (F−) reached 92.95%, the fluoride ion content in the supernatant was less than 1.0mg/L, and the relative error with the predicted value of the model was 2.31%. The response surface curve optimization model was reliable.
Development direction and focus of new energy industry in Jilin Province
Authors: Qu Chunyan , Guan Jie , Wang Tao
Published: August 2021

The choice of new energy industry is the key content of the development decision-making of urban new energy industry. Currently, the important problem to be solved in the field of industrial development in China is to adopt scientific methods to select new energy industry conforming to the national industrial adjustment and the characteristics of new energy industry, based on the the analysis of the current situation of new energy development in Jilin Province with a reference to the development rule and trend of new energy industry in developed areas in China and abroad. With the basic principle and method of group decision and fuzzy preference relationship, this paper introduces the consistency into the new energy industry selection, constructs the model of new energy industry selection, and proposes the new method of new energy industry selection. With the above methods, evaluation indexes including the industrial scale economy effect and the resources concentration degree, ability to absorb scientific and technological achievements and technological innovation, the industrial correlation effect, the social benefit, the sustainability were adopted, and the emphases and directions of new energy industry development in Jilin Province were selected.
Reservoir forming conditions and risk exploration techniques of bedrock in the central paleouplift of the northern Songliao Basin
Authors: Bai Xuefeng
Published: August 2021

Bedrock in the central paleouplift of the northern Songliao Basin presents favorable conditions for forming natural gas reservoirs, high-yield industrial gas was produced from the weathered crust of bedrock by risk exploration well Lp1, which means a great breakthrough in the exploration of bedrock gas reservoirs. In order to evaluate the exploration potential of bedrock gas reservoirs in the northern Songliao Basin, this paper systematically summarizes the exploration history, accumulation conditions and main controlling factors of bedrock gas reservoirs, and a set of technical methods for bedrock gas risk exploration has been established. Research results show that the major exploration breakthrough of the bedrock weathering crust proves that the bedrock in the basin has great potential for oil and gas exploration, and has strengthened the determination and confidence in the transformation of exploration ideas and the expansion of new exploration fields.
Analysis of reservoir-forming conditions of Beidong sub-sag in Beier Sag
Authors: Jiang Yongxu
Published: August 2021

Beier Sag is the main oil-rich sag in Hailar District basin. This paper analyzes the structure, source rock, relationship of source and reservoir, and deeply studies the reservoir-forming characteristics of Beidong sub-sag in Beier Sag. The study shows that the structure pattern of the bei-dong sub-sag in Beier Sag is characterized by “concave and uplifted interchangeably”, the present basin pattern is quite different from the prototype basin, develops northeast-east and north-east fault depressions in the Nantun formation during the sedimentary period. After three-stage tectonic transformation, it changes into the north-northeast direction, develops the palaeo-structure and has the geological conditions of reservoir formation. The dark mudstone of Nantun formation in Beidong sub-sag is thick, the abundance of organic matter is higher, and Type II is the main type; it is the medium-good source rocks with favorable conditions for reservoir formation. There are three sets of reservoir-forming assemblages in Beidong sub-sag, forming multi-type reservoirs. The succession of palaeo-structure is the main controlling factor of oil and gas accumulation, the favorable oil-bearing structures, such as reverse fault block and mid-concave uplift, are developed.
Chemical bonding of termination species in 2D carbides investigated through valence band UPS/XPS of Ti3C2T
x
MXene
Authors: Näslund Lars-Åke , Mikkelä Mikko-Heikki , Kokkonen Esko , Magnuson Martin
Published: August 2021

MXenes are technologically interesting 2D materials that show potential in numerous applications. The properties of the MXenes depend at large extent on the selection of elements that build the 2D MX-layer. Another key parameter for tuning the attractive material properties is the species that terminate the surfaces of the MX-layers. Although being an important parameter, experimental studies on the bonding between the MX-layers and the termination species are few and thus an interesting subject of investigation. Here we show that the termination species fluorine (F) bonds to the Ti3C2-surface mainly through Ti 3p—F 2p hybridization and that oxygen (O) bonds through Ti 3p—O 2p hybridization with a significant contribution of Ti 3d and Ti 4p. The study further shows that the Ti3C2-surface is not only terminated by F and O on the threefold hollow face-centered-cubic site. A significant amount of O sits on a bridge site bonded to two Ti surface atoms on the Ti3C2-surface. In addition, the results provide no support for hydroxide (OH) termination on the Ti3C2-surface. On the contrary, the comparison of the valence band intensity distribution obtained through ultraviolet- and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with computed spectra by density of states, weighed by matrix elements and sensitivity factors, reveals that OH cannot be considered as an inherent termination species in Ti3C2T
x
. The results from this study have implications for correct modeling of the structure of MXenes and the corresponding materials properties. Especially in applications where surface composition and charge are important, such as supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, electrocatalysis, and fuel- and solar cells, where intercalation processes are essential.
On the continuity of the root barrier
Authors: Bayraktar Erhan , Bernhardt Thomas
Published: August 2021

We show that the barrier function in Root’s solution to the Skorokhod embedding problem is continuous and finite at every point where the target measure has no atom and its absolutely continuous part is locally bounded away from zero.
Self-similar curve shortening flow in hyperbolic 2-space
Authors: Woolgar Eric , Xie Ran
Published: August 2021

We find and classify self-similar solutions of the curve shortening flow in standard hyperbolic 2-space. Together with earlier work of Halldorsson on curve shortening flow in the plane and Santos dos Reis and Tenenblat in the 2-sphere, this completes the classification of self-similar curve shortening flows in the constant curvature model spaces in 2-dimensions.
First passage times over stochastic boundaries for subdiffusive processes
Authors: Constantinescu C. , Loeffen R. , Patie P.
Published: August 2021

Let

X

=
(

X

t

)

t
≥
0

\mathbb {X}=(\mathbb {X}_t)_{t\geq 0}

be the subdiffusive process defined, for any

t
≥
0

t\geq 0

, by

X

t

=

X

ℓ
t

\mathbb {X}_t = X_{\ell _t}

where

X
=
(

X
t

)

t
≥
0

X=(X_t)_{t\geq 0}

is a Lévy process and

ℓ
t

=
inf
{
s
>
0
;

K

s

>
t
}

\ell _t=\inf \{s>0; \mathcal {K}_s>t \}

with

K

=
(

K

t

)

t
≥
0

\mathcal {K}=(\mathcal {K}_t)_{t\geq 0}

a subordinator independent of

X
X

. We start by developing a composite Wiener-Hopf factorization to characterize the law of the pair
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="left-parenthesis double-struck upper T Subscript a Superscript left-parenthesis b right-parenthesis Baseline comma left-parenthesis double-struck upper X minus b right-parenthesis Subscript double-struck upper T Sub Subscript a Sub Superscript left-parenthesis b right-parenthesis Subscript Baseline right-parenthesis">

(

T

a

(

b

)

,
(

X

−

b

)

T

a

(

b

)

)

(\mathbb {T}_a^{({b})}, (\mathbb {X} - {b})_{\mathbb {T}_a^{({b})}})

where
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="double-struck upper T Subscript a Superscript left-parenthesis b right-parenthesis Baseline equals inf left-brace t greater-than 0 semicolon double-struck upper X Subscript t Baseline greater-than a plus b Subscript t Baseline right-brace">

T

a

(

b

)

=
inf
{
t
>
0
;

X

t

>
a
+

b

t

}

\begin{equation*}\mathbb {T}_a^{({b})} = \inf \{t>0; \mathbb {X}_t > a+ {b}_t \} \end{equation*}

with

a
∈

R

a \in \mathbb {R}

and

b

=
(

b

t

)

t
≥
0

{b}=({b}_t)_{t\geq 0}

a (possibly degenerate) subordinator independent of

X
X

and

K

\mathcal {K}

. We proceed by providing a detailed analysis of the cases where either

X

\mathbb {X}

is a self-similar or is spectrally negative. For the later, we show the fact that the process

(

T

a

(

b

)

)

a
≥
0

(\mathbb {T}_a^{({b})})_{a\geq 0}

is a subordinator. Our proofs hinge on a variety of techniques including excursion theory, change of measure, asymptotic analysis and on establishing a link between subdiffusive processes and a subclass of semi-regenerative processes. In particular, we show that the variable

T

a

(

b

)

\mathbb {T}_a^{({b})}

has the same law as the first passage time of a semi-regenerative process of Lévy type, a terminology that we introduce to mean that this process satisfies the Markov property of Lévy processes for stopping times whose graph is included in the associated regeneration set.
The Eulerian transformation
Authors: Brändén Petter , Jochemko Katharina
Published: August 2021

Eulerian polynomials are fundamental in combinatorics and algebra. In this paper we study the linear transformation

A

:

R

[
t
]
→

R

[
t
]

\mathcal {A}: \mathbb {R}[t] \to \mathbb {R}[t]

defined by

A

(

t
n

)
=

A
n

(
t
)

\mathcal {A}(t^n) = A_n(t)

, where

A
n

(
t
)

A_n(t)

denotes the

n
n

-th Eulerian polynomial. We give combinatorial, topological and Ehrhart theoretic interpretations of the operator

A

\mathcal {A}

, and investigate questions of unimodality and real-rootedness. In particular, we disprove a conjecture by Brenti (1989) concerning the preservation of real zeros, and generalize and strengthen recent results of Haglund and Zhang (2019) on binomial Eulerian polynomials.
Keratin 19 interacts with GSK3β to regulate its nuclear accumulation and degradation of cyclin D3
Authors: Sharma Pooja , Tiufekchiev Sarah , Lising Victoria , Chung Seung Woo , Suk Jung Soo , Chung Byung Min
Published: August 2021

Keratin 19 (K19) inhibits glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) accumulation in the nucleus, preventing cyclin D3 degradation. K19 physically interacts with GSK3β, and this interaction requires Ser 10 and 35 of K19. Mutating either residues decreased cyclin D3 levels and cell proliferation. The K19–GSK3β–cyclin D3 pathway also regulates the sensitivity of cancer cells to CDK4/6 inhibitors.
The SON RNA splicing factor is required for intracellular trafficking structures that promote centriole assembly and ciliogenesis
Authors: Stemm-Wolf Alexander J. , O’Toole Eileen T. , Sheridan Ryan M. , Morgan Jacob T. , Pearson Chad G.
Published: August 2021

The SON RNA splicing factor controls diverse pathways promoting microtubule organization and centriolar satellite formation that support centriole duplication and ciliogenesis.
High-dimensional generalized propensity score with application to omics data
Authors: Gao Qian , Zhang Yu , Liang Jie , Sun Hongwei , Wang Tong
Published: August 2021

Propensity score (PS) methods are popular when estimating causal effects in non-randomized studies. Drawing causal conclusion relies on the unconfoundedness assumption. This assumption is untestable and is considered more plausible if a large number of pre-treatment covariates are included in the analysis. However, previous studies have shown that including unnecessary covariates into PS models can lead to bias and efficiency loss. With the ever-increasing amounts of available data, such as the omics data, there is often little prior knowledge of the exact set of important covariates. Therefore, variable selection for causal inference in high-dimensional settings has received considerable attention in recent years. However, recent studies have focused mainly on binary treatments. In this study, we considered continuous treatments and proposed the generalized outcome-adaptive LASSO (GOAL) to select covariates that can provide an unbiased and statistically efficient estimation. Simulation studies showed that when the outcome model was linear, the GOAL selected almost all true confounders and predictors of outcome and excluded other covariates. The accuracy and precision of the estimates were close to ideal. Furthermore, the GOAL is robust to model misspecification. We applied the GOAL to seven DNA methylation datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which covered four brain regions, to estimate the causal effects of epigenetic aging acceleration on the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Using molecular embeddings in QSAR modeling: does it make a difference?
Authors: Sabando María Virginia , Ponzoni Ignacio , Milios Evangelos E , Soto Axel J
Published: August 2021

With the consolidation of deep learning in drug discovery, several novel algorithms for learning molecular representations have been proposed. Despite the interest of the community in developing new methods for learning molecular embeddings and their theoretical benefits, comparing molecular embeddings with each other and with traditional representations is not straightforward, which in turn hinders the process of choosing a suitable representation for Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship (QSAR) modeling. A reason behind this issue is the difficulty of conducting a fair and thorough comparison of the different existing embedding approaches, which requires numerous experiments on various datasets and training scenarios. To close this gap, we reviewed the literature on methods for molecular embeddings and reproduced three unsupervised and two supervised molecular embedding techniques recently proposed in the literature. We compared these five methods concerning their performance in QSAR scenarios using different classification and regression datasets. We also compared these representations to traditional molecular representations, namely molecular descriptors and fingerprints. As opposed to the expected outcome, our experimental setup consisting of over $25 000$ trained models and statistical tests revealed that the predictive performance using molecular embeddings did not significantly surpass that of traditional representations. Although supervised embeddings yielded competitive results compared with those using traditional molecular representations, unsupervised embeddings tended to perform worse than traditional representations. Our results highlight the need for conducting a careful comparison and analysis of the different embedding techniques prior to using them in drug design tasks and motivate a discussion about the potential of molecular embeddings in computer-aided drug design.
Improved datasets and evaluation methods for the automatic prediction of DNA-binding proteins
Authors: Zaitzeff Alexander , Leiby Nicholas , Motta Francis C , Haase Steven B , Singer Jedediah M
Published: August 2021

Motivation

Accurate automatic annotation of protein function relies on both innovative models and robust datasets. Due to their importance in biological processes, the identification of DNA-binding proteins directly from protein sequence has been the focus of many studies. However, the datasets used to train and evaluate these methods have suffered from substantial flaws. We describe some of the weaknesses of the datasets used in previous DNA-binding protein literature and provide several new datasets addressing these problems. We suggest new evaluative benchmark tasks that more realistically assess real-world performance for protein annotation models. We propose a simple new model for the prediction of DNA-binding proteins and compare its performance on the improved datasets to two previously published models. In addition, we provide extensive tests showing how the best models predict across taxa.

Results

Our new gradient boosting model, which uses features derived from a published protein language model, outperforms the earlier models. Perhaps surprisingly, so does a baseline nearest neighbor model using BLAST percent identity. We evaluate the sensitivity of these models to perturbations of DNA-binding regions and control regions of protein sequences. The successful data-driven models learn to focus on DNA-binding regions. When predicting across taxa, the best models are highly accurate across species in the same kingdom and can provide some information when predicting across kingdoms.

Availability and Implementation

The data and results for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5153906. The code for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5153683. The code, data and results can also be found at https://github.com/AZaitzeff/tools_for_dna_binding_proteins.
Assassin bugs can reduce the aggression of their spider prey before an attack
Authors: Wignall Anne E , Soley Fernando G
Published: August 2021

Predators that hunt dangerous prey require specialized predatory tactics to avoid counter-attack. Usually, these predatory tactics reduce the probability of detection. The assassin bugs Stenolemus bituberus and S. giraffa rely on stealth or mimicry to prey on dangerous web-building spiders. Paradoxically, however, these assassin bugs tap the spiders with their antennae prior to attacking, leaving the bugs vulnerable to detection and counter-attack. Here, we tested the function of prey tapping. We used a controlled, repeated-measures experiment to assess the responses of spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) to simulated prey and compared their responses after being tapped on the leg (mimicking tapping by Stenolemus) or sham-tapped. We show that tapping can reduce the likelihood that spiders will behave aggressively, in turn lowering the risks of injury for assassin bug predators. Tapping may be an adaptation to reduce intraspecific aggression in prey that is being exploited by their predators.
Orienting to the sun improves camouflage for bilaterally symmetrical prey
Authors: Mavrovouna Veronica , Penacchio Olivier , Allen William L
Published: August 2021

Here, we investigate the camouflage consequences of animal orientation behaviour. Shadows can be a conspicuous cue to the presence of prey. For bilaterally symmetrical animals, light field modelling indicates that camouflage will be improved when an animal orients its longitudinal axis directly towards or away from the sun, because the appearance of shadows is minimized. We test this prediction with a field predation experiment, in which wild birds hunt for artificial camouflaged prey oriented with the longitudinal axis either parallel or perpendicular to the sun. We find that prey oriented parallel to the sun are 3.93 times more likely to survive than prey oriented perpendicular to the sun. This result demonstrates the strong orientation dependence of camouflage. Given the dramatic difference in survival of prey with different orientations, we suggest that camouflage should be investigated as an important determinant of the positional behaviour of animals.
Enhancing endocannabinoid signalling in astrocytes promotes recovery from traumatic brain injury
Authors: Hu Mei , Zhu Dexiao , Zhang Jian , Gao Fei , Hashem Jack , Kingsley Philip , Marnett Lawrence J , Mackie Ken , Chen Chu
Published: August 2021

Traumatic brain injury is an important risk factor for development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Unfortunately, no effective therapies are currently available for prevention and treatment of the traumatic brain injury-induced Alzheimer’s disease-like neurodegenerative disease. This is largely due to our limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying traumatic brain injury-induced neuropathology. Previous studies showed that pharmacological inhibition of monoacylglycerol lipase, a key enzyme degrading the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol, attenuates traumatic brain injury-induced neuropathology. However, the mechanism responsible for the neuroprotective effects produced by inhibition of monoacylglycerol lipase in traumatic brain injury remains unclear.

Here we first show that genetic deletion of monoacylglycerol lipase reduces neuropathology and averts synaptic and cognitive declines in mice exposed to repeated mild closed head injury. Surprisingly, these neuroprotective effects result primarily from inhibition of 2-arachidonoylglycerol metabolism in astrocytes, rather than in neurons. Single-cell RNA-sequencing data reveal that astrocytic monoacylglycerol lipase knockout mice display greater resilience to traumatic brain injury-induced changes in expression of genes associated with inflammation or maintenance of brain homeostasis in astrocytes and microglia. The monoacylglycerol lipase inactivation-produced neuroprotection is abrogated by deletion of the cannabinoid receptor-1 or by adeno-associated virus vector-mediated silencing of astrocytic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ. This is further supported by the fact that overexpression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ in astrocytes prevents traumatic brain injury-induced neuropathology and impairments in spatial learning and memory.

Our results reveal a previously undefined cell type-specific role of 2-arachidonoylglycerol metabolism and signalling pathways in traumatic brain injury-induced neuropathology, suggesting that enhanced 2-arachidonoylglycerol signalling in astrocytes is responsible for the monoacylglycerol lipase inactivation-produced alleviation of neuropathology and deficits in synaptic and cognitive functions in traumatic brain injury.
Lymphatic contractile function: a comprehensive review of drug effects and potential clinical application
Authors: Russell Peter S , Hong Jiwon , Trevaskis Natalie L , Windsor John A , Martin Niels D , Phillips Anthony R J
Published: August 2021

The lymphatic system and the cardiovascular (CV) system work together to maintain body fluid homeostasis. Despite that, the lymphatic system has been relatively neglected as a potential drug target and a source of adverse effects from CV drugs. Like the heart, the lymphatic vessels undergo phasic contractions to promote lymph flow against a pressure gradient. Dysfunction or failure of the lymphatic pump results in fluid imbalance and tissue oedema. While this can be due to drug effects, it is also a feature of breast cancer-associated lymphoedema, chronic venous insufficiency, congestive heart failure, and acute systemic inflammation. There are currently no specific drug treatments for lymphatic pump dysfunction in clinical use despite the wealth of data from pre-clinical studies. The aim of this study was to identify (i) drugs with direct effects on lymphatic tonic and phasic contractions with potential for clinical application, and (ii) drugs in current clinical use that have a positive or negative side effect on lymphatic function. We comprehensively reviewed all studies that tested the direct effect of a drug on the contractile function of lymphatic vessels. Of the 208 drugs identified from 193 studies, about a quarter had only stimulatory effects on lymphatic tone, contraction frequency, and/or contraction amplitude. Of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, there were 14 that increased lymphatic phasic contractile function. The most frequently used class of drugs with inhibitory effects on lymphatic pump function were the calcium channels blockers. This review highlights the opportunity for specific drug treatments of lymphatic dysfunction in various disease states and for avoiding adverse drug effects on lymphatic contractile function.
“Systemic, Transhistoric, Institutionalized, and Legitimized Antipathy”: Epistemic and Sexual Violence inA Girl Is a Half-formed ThingandMilkman
Authors: Darling Orlaith
Published: August 2021

This article concerns the interrelations of epistemic and physical gendered violence in two award-winning contemporary Irish novels, A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing (2013) and Milkman (2018) by Eimear McBride and Anna Burns, respectively. It argues that patriarchal naming power which defines women as sexual objects is inextricable from the physical violence featured in both texts. Using theories of violence and naming, it examines how, faced with a climate of constant and submerged sexual threat, “middle sister” (as the narrator is called) and “Girl” (the protagonist of A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing) attempt to appropriate dominant patriarchal narratives to retain subjectivity in the face of violence. While “middle sister” comes to recognize and articulate the violence done to her, Girl’s internalization of violence leads to the annihilation of both self and body.
Seasonal Appearance, Abundance, and Host Preference of Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) in Olive Groves in Greece
Authors: Antonatos Spyridon , Papachristos Dimitrios P , Varikou Kyriaki , Vahamidis Petros , Kapranas Apostolos , Milonas Panagiotis
Published: August 2021

Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al. (Xanthomonadales: Xanthomonadaceae) is a xylem inhabiting bacterium which is exclusively transmitted by xylem sap feeding insects. Among them, Philaenus spumarius Linnaeus and Neophilaenus campestris Fallén are the most abundant species in Europe. During 2018 and 2019 a survey was conducted in olive groves in Greece aimed to improve the knowledge about the biology and ecology of those spittlebugs in areas with Mediterranean climate. Moreover, the host preference of the nymphs was studied. The nymphs of P. spumarius and N. campestris were observed between early March and middle May depending on geographic location and year. The spittlebug adults were present during two periods every year, one in spring and another one in autumn and early winter. During summer months the spittlebugs were totally absent from olive groves. Our observation on host plant selection revealed that there was a strong preference of N. campestris nymphs for plants belonging to the family Poaceae. On the contrary, P. spumarius nymphs were polyphagous. The most preferable plants for the nymphs of this species belonged to the families Asteraceae and Fabaceae. The importance of these findings for control measures for these spittlebugs is discussed.