bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Threat of the Fall Armyworm to Asian Rice Production Is Amplified by the Brown Planthopper
Authors: Xu Shengliang , Hu Xiaoyun , Liu Yuexian , Wang Xiaolong , Wang Yanan , Li Guoping , Turlings Ted C. J. , Li Yunhe
Published: October 2024

The recent invasion of the fall armyworm (FAW) into Asia not only has had a major impact on maize yield but is feared to also pose a risk to rice production. We hypothesized that the brown planthopper (BPH) may aggravate this risk based on a recently discovered mutualism between the planthopper and the rice striped stem borer. Here we show that BPH may indeed facilitate a shift of FAW to rice. FAW females were found to strongly prefer to oviposit on BPH‐infested rice plants, which emitted significantly elevated levels of five volatile compounds. A synthetic mixture of these compounds had a potent stimulatory effect on ovipositing females. Although FAW caterpillars exhibited relatively poor growth on both uninfested and BPH‐infested rice, a considerable portion completed their development on young plants. Moreover, FAW were found to readily pupate and survive in exceedingly moist soils typical for rice cultivation, further highlighting FAW's potential to switch to rice. We conclude that BPH, by changing the bouquet of volatiles emitted by rice plants, may greatly facilitate this switch. These findings, together with a current increase of nonflooded upland rice in Asia, warrant careful monitoring and specific control measures against FAW to safeguard Asian rice production.
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BaNCT02: An antagonist with multiple mechanisms of action against Meloidogyne incognita
Authors: Moreira Aurélio Carneiro Soares , Lopes Everaldo Antônio , Visôtto Liliane Evangelista , Soares Márcio Santos , Londe Maria Luíza Araújo , Ribeiro Lara Bertoldo , Terra Willian Cesar , Moreira Silvino Intra , Pedroso Márcio Pozzobon , Pereira Letícia Fagundes , dos Reis Caroline Nunes
Published: October 2024

Bacillus species are among the most studied and commercially exploited biocontrol agents of plant‐parasitic nematodes. These antagonists may control nematodes by producing toxic or repellent substances, inducing systemic resistance in plants and disrupting nematode chemotaxis. Understanding the mechanism of action of antagonists increases the likelihood of success for microbiological nematicides under field conditions. Therefore, the objective of this work was to elucidate the mechanisms of action of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BaNCT02 against Meloidogyne incognita. We assessed the potential of this strain for forming biofilm in roots and producing volatile and non‐volatile toxic substances. BaNCT02 did not induce systemic resistance in tomato plants against M. incognita. Scanning electron microscopy and chemotaxis analyses revealed that the bacteria form a biofilm on soybean roots and 67% of second‐stage juveniles of M. incognita are repelled by common bean roots treated with the antagonist. Additionally, BaNCT02 produces substances with toxic effects against eggs and juveniles of M. incognita, including volatile organic compounds such as 2‐undecanone and 2‐heptanone, as well as non‐volatile metabolites like proteases and chitinases. The suppressive effect of these substances on hatching and mortality of juveniles varied from approximately 70% to more than 90%. We concluded that B. amyloliquefaciens BaNCT02 forms a biofilm on root surfaces and produces volatile and non‐volatile metabolites with nematicidal and repellent effects against M. incognita.
Prevention and management of infectious and tropical diseases in kidney transplant recipients residing in European outermost and overseas territories
Authors: Cachera Laurène , Oehler Erwan , Abdelmoumen Karim , Tardieu Laurène , Thomas Ian , Lagrange Marie , Manaquin Rodolphe , Quirin Nicolas , Sidibe Mohamed , Gbaguidi Tanguy , Davodoun Timoté , Claudeon Joelle , Vacher Henri , Roger Pierre‐Marie , Markowicz Samuel , Cabié André , Scemla Anne , Manchon Romain , Paccoud Olivier , Pilmis Benoît , Lanternier Fanny , Lortholary Olivier , Epelboin Loïc
Published: October 2024

Background

The European Union encompasses 30 outermost and overseas countries and territories (OCTs). Despite a recent increasing activity of renal transplantation in these territories, many patients still undergo transplantation in continental Europe, with follow‐up care coordinated between health professionals from both their transplant center and their home region. Each territory has its unique infectious epidemiology which must be known to ensure appropriate care for kidney transplant recipients (KTRs).

Aims

This paper proposes a pragmatic approach to optimize pre‐transplant check‐up and to provide an overview of the specific epidemiological features of each region. It offers practical algorithms to help practitioners in managing infected KTR living in these territories. This work advocates for increased collaborative research among European OCTs.
Brain abscess following solid organ transplantation: A 21‐year retrospective study
Authors: Grant Leah M. , Vega Pool J. Tobar , Yaman Reena N. , Girardo Marlene E. , Beam Elena , Razonable Raymund R. , Saling Christopher F. , Vikram Holenarasipur R.
Published: October 2024

Background

Development of brain abscess following solid organ transplantation is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We undertook a descriptive study to evaluate the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and outcomes of brain abscess in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients at three major transplant centers in the United States.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of adults with brain abscess following SOT between January 2000 and June 2021 at Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Minnesota, and Florida.

Results

A total of 39 patients were diagnosed with a brain abscess following SOT. The most common pathogens were Nocardia sp. (24 cases, 61.5% [Nocardia farcinica, 37.5%]), followed by fungi (12 cases, 30.7% [Aspergillus sp., 83.3%]). The majority were kidney transplant recipients (59%). Median time to brain abscess diagnosis was 1.3 years (range, 29 days–12 years) after SOT; 10 of 12 patients (83%) with fungal brain abscess were diagnosed within 1 year after SOT. Twelve patients underwent brain biopsy for diagnosis (25% Nocardia vs. 50% fungal), eight (20.5%) underwent surgical resection of the abscess, and 31 (79.5%) received antimicrobial therapy alone. Median time to brain abscess resolution was 166 days for Nocardia and 356 days for fungal pathogens. Eleven of 39 patients (28.2%) died as a result of their brain abscess, including four of 24 patients (16%) with Nocardia and six of 10 patients (60%) with Aspergillus brain abscess. All‐cause mortality was 43.6%.

Conclusion

Brain abscess remains an uncommon infectious complication following SOT. Nocardia and fungi accounted for 92% of pathogens in our cohort. Fungal brain abscess portends a poor prognosis.

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Behavior of Polymeric Substrates and Sintered Silver Printed Hybrid Electronic Assemblies Subject to Extreme Acceleration Levels and Elevated Temperatures
Authors: Richards Hayden , Abusalma Hisham , Dasgupta Abhijit , Bujanda Andres , Tsang Harvey , Bowman Matthew
Published: October 2024

This paper focuses on the response of printed hybrid electronic (PHE) assemblies with polymeric substrates and additively manufactured sintered silver electrical traces subject to extreme mechanical shocks (up to 100,000 g) and high temperatures (up to 150 °C). The substrates are hemispherical domes of injection-molded polycarbonate and polysulfone thermoplastics. Trace deposition onto the domes is accomplished by a novel process that combines conventional milling with extrusion printing to recess silver traces and dielectric insulation within the surface of the substrate. Mechanical shock testing is performed using an accelerated-fall drop tower equipped with a dual mass shock amplifier (DMSA) able to generate accelerations from 10,000 g up to 100,000 g with pulse durations of ∼0.05–0.1 ms and impact velocities of 6.5–20.5 m/s. Specimen performance is characterized by electrical and physical testing before and after testing. While polycarbonate domes survive multiple drops at all acceleration levels and temperatures, they are sensitive to heat and susceptible to warping and structural deformation at 150 °C which can compromise trace performance. Polysulfone domes can survive these temperatures without issue, but are less shock resistant and only survive 3–4 drops at 100,000 g (compared to 30+ for polycarbonate domes). Trace resistance is used as a metric to assess trace performance. All traces exhibit progressive long-term degradation over the course of multiple shocks, followed by instantaneous discontinuity during the final shock event. Trace failure (defined as the doubling of static trace resistance) occurs at ∼105–106 J/kg cumulative impact energy for all acceleration levels.
Turbulent Flow and Wall Forces in Staggered Square Cylinder Porous Media: An Large Eddy Simulation Analysis
Authors: Morales-Contreras O. A. , Herrera-Hernández E. C. , Martínez-Delgadillo Sergio A. , Sanjuan-Galindo Rene , Delgado Norma A. Ramos , Alonzo-Garcia Alejandro
Published: October 2024

The wall-modeled-large eddy simulation (WMLES) technique was used to analyze turbulent flow in a porous medium composed of a staggered arrangement of square cylinders. The study focused on a porosity range of 0.3–0.8 at a pore Reynolds number of 104. The research provides novel information on pressure and shear force distributions around the cylinders and time-averaged values of particle drag and fluctuating lift coefficients. Results indicate that flow physics are mainly driven by an expansion region in front of the central particle and another one in the rear, where the flow is contracted and strongly accelerated. In the first region, velocities, turbulence kinetic energy (k), and its dissipation rate (ε) are attenuated by a sudden pressure increase, while in the contraction region, the effect is the opposite. As porosity decreases, flow gradients and the overall levels of k, ε, and normalized Reynolds stresses become more significant. Turbulent anisotropy increases as porosity decreases below 0.6. Hydrodynamic stresses in the last interval present relatively uniform levels, which is a unique feature that may be considered in designing dedicated engineering devices with controlled stresses.
Optimal Curve Fitting for Serial Chain in Six-Crease Origami Unit
Authors: Chen Wei-Min , Chang Biing-Chwen
Published: October 2024

Origami-inspired structures have been widely used in aerospace and robotics for three-dimensional (3D) symmetrical configurations using crease-symmetrical origami basic patterns. These patterns offer advantages in repeatable and systematic modeling and mass production. However, few studies have focused on 3D nonsymmetrical structures using symmetrical origami basic patterns due to their structure complexity, limiting their application. Therefore, we aim to analyze the folding behavior in 3D nonsymmetrical structures using a 6-crease symmetry origami base pattern. To achieve this goal, we first focus on behavior in a two-dimensional (2D) plane. This article presents a scheme for the behavior of origami units with an optimal curve-fitting algorithm. The curve can be any 2D space curve. The fitting curve, constructed by numerical analysis and an optimal approaching scheme, can satisfy error requirements and retain foldable origami unit features. The article verifies the feasibility of the curve-fitting scheme by presenting two curve examples, including a quadratic curve and a sin wave function. The results show that the fitting error is reduced by 99% when no boundary conditions are applied. This research provides valuable insights into understanding origami unit kinematic optimization through forward and inverse kinematics. It offers potential applications in the engineering design of foldable structures and precision origami-inspired mechanism, thereby opening avenues for further exploration of complex origami structures and their applications in emerging technologies.
The Interior Contact-Aided Rolling Element
Authors: Orr Daniel , Jensen Anna , Peterson Tyler , Bischoff Brianna , Taylor Luke , Velasco Daira , Fullwood David , Howell Larry L. , Bowden Anton E.
Published: October 2024

This work introduces an interior contact-aided rolling element (I-CORE) compliant mechanism that draws upon the concepts used for the contact-aided rolling element, cross-axis flexural pivot, and pre-curved flexible beam. The I-CORE incorporates a bilinear compressive stiffness response with an initial tailorable stiffness governed by the flexural geometry, followed by a stiffness curve governed by the material stiffness at the contact point. The I-CORE mechanism can achieve one or two degrees of rotational freedom as well as a single degree of translational freedom. The purpose of the present work was to introduce the I-CORE mechanism, as well as a pseudo-rigid-body replacement model (PRBM) of the I-CORE mechanism which was subsequently validated using both finite element analysis and benchtop mechanical testing. A pseudo-rigid body model was created for the I-CORE to simplify the rapid adaptation of this mechanism to different design applications. This model was validated using both finite element analysis and benchtop mechanical testing under both compression and rotation loading conditions. Additionally, multiple configurations of the device were created and evaluated in order to test its sensitivity to certain design features including the flexure width, flexure thickness, and the radius of the rounded contact surfaces. It was found that the model is sensitive to the thickness of the flexures and that despite some limitations, the pseudo-rigid body model is sufficiently accurate for initial design work. Some possible applications of the mechanism are proposed.
Design and Control Co-Optimization for Dynamic Loco-Manipulation With a Robotic Arm on a Quadruped Robot
Authors: Rigo Alberto , Hu Muqun , Ma Junchao , Gupta Satyandra K. , Nguyen Quan
Published: October 2024

Research in quadrupedal robotics is transitioning to studies into loco-manipulation, featuring fully articulated robotic arms mounted atop these robots. Integrating such arms enhances the practical utility of legged robots, paving the way for expanded applications like industrial inspection and search and rescue. Existing literature commonly employs a six-degree-of-freedom (six-DoF) arm directly mounted to the robot, which inherently adds significant weight and reduces the available payload for manipulation tasks. Our study explores an optimized combination of arm configuration and control framework by strategically reducing the DoFs and leveraging the quadruped robot’s inherent agile mobility. We demonstrate that by minimizing the DoFs to just one, a range of canonical loco-manipulation tasks can still be accomplished. Some tasks even show improved performance with fewer robotic arm DoFs due to the higher torque motor used in the design, allowing more of the robot’s payload to be used for manipulation. We designed our optimized one-DoF robotic arm and the control framework and tested it on top of a Unitree Aliengo. Our design outperforms conventional six-DoF counterparts in lifting capacity, achieving an impressive 8 kg payload compared to the 2 kg maximum payload of industry-standard six-DoF robotic arms on the same quadruped platform.
A Combined Strategy for Path Planning of Tensegrity Manipulators Considering Structural Stability
Authors: Mao Tianxiao , Deng Hua , Liu Hongchuang
Published: October 2024

A strategy combining an improved rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) method with the artificial potential field (APF) method is proposed for the path planning of flexible tensegrity manipulators considering typical complex constraints, such as structural stability, obstacle avoidance, and cable no-slackening. The relationship between the node displacements and the elongations of active members is established for the kinematic analysis of tensegrity manipulators. The rest lengths of active members are taken as the design variables for the generation of a random tree. The guide node is utilized for goal-biased samplings to expedite the exploration toward the final configuration, while the APF method is introduced to ensure that the obtained elongations of active members can satisfy the constraint of obstacle avoidance. The proportion of random and goal-biased samplings is adaptively adjusted based on the sampling success rate. Futile random samplings can be significantly reduced by dynamically modifying the random sampling range according to the obtained configuration nearest to the final configuration. The computational procedure of the proposed method is presented. An illustrative flexible tensegrity manipulator is employed to demonstrate the adaptability of the proposed path planning method to complex constraints, especially structural stability.
Studies on Tribological Characteristics and Wear Mechanisms of (TiN + TiC) Hybrid Nanocomposite Claddings Deposited on TC4-Grade Titanium Alloy Substrate by the Tungsten Inert Gas Cladding Process
Authors: Rama Krishna K. , Rao Thella Babu , Krishna A Gopala
Published: October 2024

This investigation explored the viability of tribological properties enhancement with the deposition of TiC + TiN nanoparticulate-reinforced hybrid composite claddings in TC4-grade titanium alloy to meet the ever-increasing functional performance requirements employed under aggressive tribological environments. The composite claddings are processed by using the tungsten inert gas cladding process. The tribological performance of the hybrid composite cladding deposition was evaluated against the claddings with simplex reinforcement compositions such as TC4/TiC and TC4/TiN composite claddings and the substrate alloy. Initially, the formation and microstructural characteristics of the composite cladding depositions are studied based on the scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectroscopic analyses to confirm their successful formation. The average microhardness achieved with the deposition of composite claddings such as TiC/TC4, TiN/TC4, and (TiC + TiN)/TC4 is 936.25 HV0.2, 858.88 HV0.2, and 1116. 72 HV0.2, respectively, while the TC4 substrate alloy is about 332.38 HV0.2. The (TiC + TiN)/TC4 hybrid composite cladding composition has shown significantly increased surface hardness which is about 30% and 18%, respectively, compared with the TiC/TC4 and TiN/TC4 composite cladding compositions while about 235% enhancement compared with the TC4 substrate alloy. Compared with the TC4 substrate alloy, the wear resistance enhancement achieved with the deposition of TiC/TC4 and TiN/TC4 composite claddings is up to 22.62% and 38.92%, respectively, while with the (TiC + TiN)/TC4 hybrid composite claddings is up to 49.87%. Similarly, the average CoF of the TC4 substrate alloy, TiC/TC4, TiN/TC4, and (TiC + TiN)/TC4 composite claddings observed are 0.76, 0.49, 0.58, and 0.44, respectively, which indicates that 36%, 23%, and 43% are the enhancements achieved with the respective composite claddings. The SEM analysis of worn surfaces of the composite claddings reveals typical wear mechanisms such as adhesive, abrasive, oxidation, and delamination that are represented by various regions identified on the generated wear maps. The adhesive and delamination wear regions are relatively wider for the TiN/TC4 composite cladding than the TiC/TC4 composite cladding. The wear mechanism of the composite cladding with multiphase TiC and TiN reinforcement particulate has shown an increased prevalence of abrasive wear as a consequence the abrasive wear region is wider while decreasing the window for adhesive and delamination wear.
Wear Micromechanics, Mechanisms, and Wear Map of Al–12.6Si–0.25Fe–x Mn Alloy: The Role of Al15(Mn,Fe)3Si2 Intermetallic and Microstructure Modification
Authors: Biswas Prosanta , Raj Akash , Neelakantan Suresh , Mondal Manas Kumar
Published: October 2024

The study investigates the microstructural evolution and wear behavior of Al–12.6Si–0.25Fe–xMn alloys (x = 0, 1, 2, and 3 wt%) in dry sliding wear experiments. Manganese (Mn) considerably modifies the microstructure by modifying primary and eutectic silicon particles, changing Fe-rich intermetallic compounds, and increasing the overall wear resistance of Al–12.6Si–0.25Fe. The microstructural investigation demonstrates the production of Al15(Mn,Fe)3Si2 intermetallic phases, as well as a more uniform Si particle distribution. Wear experiments at varied loads (20 N, 40 N, and 60 N) show that Mn addition significantly reduces wear-rates and specific wear-rates, especially at lower loads. The findings highlight Mn's significance in increasing the hardness and wear resistance of Al–Si–Fe alloys, making them better suited to automotive applications.
Validation of a Repurposed pH Monitoring Capsule for Cecal Applications Using Novel Synthetic Cecal Contents
Authors: Furr Allison Crane , Chaston John , Terry Benjamin S.
Published: October 2024

This study presents a novel approach to monitoring pH changes in the cecum, a critical step toward understanding the dynamic interactions between the gut microbiota and probiotics. By repurposing the Bravo® capsule, originally designed for esophageal pH monitoring, we demonstrate its potential for accurate, continuous, and nonobstructive pH detection within a simulated cecal environment. To facilitate this investigation, we introduce the first synthetic cecal content (SCC) formulation. Our formulation closely mimics the mechanical properties of porcine cecal contents, particularly in terms of viscosity and shear response. This SCC recipe addresses a significant gap in the availability of simulated biological fluids for in vitro medical device testing. Rheometric analyses confirm the SCC's consistency with biological cecal contents, providing a cost-effective and efficient platform for preliminary device evaluations. Experimental results show that the Bravo® capsule can accurately detect pH changes within the SCC, closely matching readings from a handheld pH probe. The successful validation of the Bravo® capsule's performance in a simulated cecal environment, along with the development of a reliable SCC formulation, paves the way for future in vivo studies in porcine models. This research represents a significant advancement in the field of gut microbiome monitoring and holds promise for the development of targeted, microbiome-based therapeutics. By enabling real-tim/e, in situ analysis of the cecal microbiota's response to various interventions, this approach has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the complex interplay between probiotics, diet, and gut health.
Human-Centered Coordination for Robot-Assisted Equipment Transport
Authors: Fernandez Joshua , Cosby Austin , Mazumdar Anirban
Published: October 2024

This work explores how to use an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to offload the physical burdens of equipment from humans. This work formulates dynamic alignment following and compares it to position-based following techniques. We describe the control strategies of both following methods and implement them in a dynamic simulation and a physical prototype. We test the performance of the two following methods and show that dynamic alignment following can reduce robot positional error and interaction force between the human and the robot. We then analyze the energetics and the performance of the human–UGV team for candidate transportation tasks. The presence of the robot can make some tasks take longer to perform. Nonetheless, the results show that for the candidate tasks, the robot can reduce human average metabolic power and average overall task energy.
State of Health Estimation Method for Lithium-Ion Batteries Based on Multifeature Fusion and BO-BiGRU Model
Authors: Zhu Junchao , Zhang Jun , Kang Jian , Liu ChengZhi , Chen Hua , Wu Tiezhou
Published: October 2024

The state of health (SOH) of lithium-ion batteries is a crucial parameter for assessing battery degradation. The aim of this study is to solve the problems of single extraction of health features (HFs) and redundancy of information between features in the SOH estimation. This article develops an SOH estimation method for lithium-ion batteries based on multifeature fusion and Bayesian optimization (BO)-bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) model. First, a total of eight HFs in three categories, namely, time, energy, and probability, can be extracted from the charging data to accurately describe the aging mechanism of the battery. The Pearson and Spearman analysis method verified the strong correlation between HFs and SOH. Second, the multiple principal components obtained by kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) can eliminate the redundancy of information between HFs. The principal component with the highest correlation with SOH is selected by bicorrelation analysis to be defined as the fused HF. Finally, to improve SOH estimation accuracy, the BO-BiGRU model is proposed. The proposed method is validated using battery datasets from NASA. The results show that the SOH estimation accuracy of the BO-BiGRU model proposed in this article is high, while mean absolute error (MAE) is lower than 1.2%. In addition, the SOH of the lithium battery is estimated using different proportions of test sets, and the results show that the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the SOH remain within 3%, with high estimation accuracy and robustness.
Recommendations on bioacoustical metrics relevant for regulating exposure to anthropogenic underwater sound
Authors: Lucke Klaus , MacGillivray Alexander O. , Halvorsen Michele B. , Ainslie Michael A. , Zeddies David G. , Sisneros Joseph A.
Published: October 2024

Metrics to be used in noise impact assessment must integrate the physical acoustic characteristics of the sound field with relevant biology of animals. Several metrics have been established to determine and regulate underwater noise exposure to aquatic fauna. However, recent advances in understanding cause-effect relationships indicate that additional metrics are needed to fully describe and quantify the impact of sound fields on aquatic fauna. Existing regulations have primarily focused on marine mammals and are based on the dichotomy of sound types as being either impulsive or non-impulsive. This classification of sound types, however, is overly simplistic and insufficient for adequate impact assessments of sound on animals. It is recommended that the definition of impulsiveness be refined by incorporating kurtosis as an additional parameter and applying an appropriate conversion factor. Auditory frequency weighting functions, which scale the importance of particular sound frequencies to account for an animal's sensitivity to those frequencies, should be applied. Minimum phase filters are recommended for calculating weighted sound pressure. Temporal observation windows should be reported as signal duration influences its detectability by animals. Acknowledging that auditory integration time differs across species and is frequency dependent, standardized temporal integration windows are proposed for various signal types.
The role of an oxidized lithospheric mantle in gold mobilization
Authors: Qiu Kun-Feng , Romer Rolf L. , Long Zheng-Yu , Williams-Jones Anthony E. , Yu Hao-Cheng , Turner Simon , Wang Qing-Fei , Li Shan-Shan , Zhang Jing-Yuan , Duan Hao-Ran , Deng Jun
Published: October 2024

Phanerozoic orogenic gold mineralization at craton margins is related to the metasomatism of the lithospheric mantle by crustal material. Slab subduction transfers Au from the crust to the metasomatized mantle and oxidizes the latter to facilitate the mobilization of Au into mantle melts. The role of volatiles in the mobilization of Au in the mantle is unclear because of the absence of direct geochemical evidence relating the mantle source of Au to Au mineralization in the overlying crust. This study uses lithium isotopes from a large suite of lamprophyres to characterize the mantle beneath the eastern North China Craton, which hosts giant Mesozoic gold deposits. Our results indicate a strong genetic link between carbonate metasomatism in the mantle and Au mineralization in the overlying crust. Although pre-enrichment of Au in the mantle is critical for forming giant Au provinces, the oxidation of the lithospheric mantle controls the mobilization of Au.
Human cytomegalovirus UL18 prevents priming of MHC-E– and MHC-II–restricted CD8
+
T cells
Authors: Malouli Daniel , Taher Husam , Mansouri Mandana , Iyer Ravi F. , Reed Jason , Papen Courtney , Schell John B. , Beechwood Teresa , Martinson Thomas , Morrow David , Hughes Colette M. , Gilbride Roxanne M. , Randall Kurt , Ford Julia C. , Belica Karina , Ojha Sohita , Sacha Jonah B. , Bimber Benjamin N. , Hansen Scott G. , Picker Louis J. , Früh Klaus
Published: October 2024

Rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) vectors elicit major histocompatibility complex (MHC)–E–restricted CD8
+
T cells that stringently control simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in rhesus macaques. These responses require deletion of eight RhCMV chemokine-like open reading frames (ORFs) that are conserved in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). To determine whether HCMV encodes additional, nonconserved inhibitors of unconventional T cell priming, we inserted 41 HCMV-specific ORFs into a chemokine-deficient strain (68-1 RhCMV). Monitoring of epitope recognition revealed that HCMV UL18 prevented unconventional T cell priming, resulting in MHC-Ia–targeted responses. UL18 is homologous to MHC-I but does not engage T cell receptors and, instead, binds with high affinity to inhibitory leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor–1 (LIR-1). UL18 lacking LIR-1 binding no longer interfered with MHC-E–restricted T cell stimulation by RhCMV-infected cells or the induction of unconventionally restricted T cells. Thus, LIR-1 binding needs to be deleted from UL18 of HCMV/HIV vaccines to allow for the induction of protective MHC-E–restricted T cells.
Complete genome sequence of
Serratia plymuthica
SWSY-3.47
Authors: Takahashi Himari , Warashina Tomoro , Takahashi Yui , Tanaka Mayuki , Suzuki Kazushi , Morita Teppei , Arakawa Kazuharu
Published: October 2024

Serratia plymuthica
strain SWSY-3.47 is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria isolated for its high chitinolytic activity. Here, we report the complete genome of this strain comprised of a single circular chromosome of 5,636,345 bp with a G + C content of 56.0%.
Supplemental Material: New insights on gravity flow dynamics during submarine canyon flushing events
Authors: Ribo Marta , al. et
Published: October 2024

 Supplemental figures: DTIS seafloor imagery showing the erosive and depositional features (Figs. S1 and S4) and the distribution downcanyon of the wave height and wavelength of the different depositional features (Figs. S2 and S3).  
Progress of nations in the organisation of, and structures for, kidney care delivery between 2019 and 2023: cross sectional survey in 148 countries
Authors: Okpechi Ikechi G , Levin Adeera , Tungsanga Somkanya , Arruebo Silvia , Caskey Fergus J , Chukwuonye Innocent I , Damster Sandrine , Donner Jo-Ann , Ekrikpo Udeme E , Ghimire Anukul , Jha Vivekanand , Luyckx Valerie , Nangaku Masaomi , Saad Syed , Tannor Elliot K , Tonelli Marcello , Ye Feng , Bello Aminu K , Johnson David W
Published: October 2024

Objective

To assess changes in key measures of kidney care using data reported in 2019 and 2023.

Design

Cross sectional survey in 148 countries.

Setting

Surveys from International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas between 2019 and 2023 that included participants from countries in Africa (n=36), Eastern and Central Europe (n=16), Latin America (n=18), the Middle East (n=11), Newly Independent States and Russia (n=10), North America and the Caribbean (n=8), North and East Asia (n=6), Oceania and South East Asia (n=15), South Asia (n=7), and Western Europe (n=21).

Participants

Countries that participated in both surveys (2019 and 2023).

Main outcome measures

Comparison of 2019 and 2023 data for availability of kidney replacement treatment services, access, health financing, workforce, registries, and policies for kidney care. Data for countries that participated in both surveys (2019 and 2023) were included in our analysis. Country data were aggregated by International Society of Nephrology regions and World Bank income levels. Proportionate changes in the status of these measures across both periods were reported.

Results

Data for 148 countries that participated in both surveys were available for analysis. The proportions of countries that provided public funding (free at point of delivery) increased from 27% in 2019 to 28% in 2023 for haemodialysis, 23% to 28% for peritoneal dialysis, and 31% to 36% for kidney transplantation services. Centres for these treatments increased from 4.4 per million population (pmp) to 4.8 pmp (P<0.001) for haemodialysis, 1.4 pmp to 1.6 pmp for peritoneal dialysis, and 0.43 pmp to 0.46 pmp for kidney transplantation services. Overall, access to haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis improved, however, access to kidney transplantation decreased from 30 pmp to 29 pmp. The global median prevalence of nephrologists increased from 9.5 pmp to 12.4 pmp (P<0.001). Changes in the availability of kidney registries and in national policies and strategies for kidney care were variable across regions and country income levels. The reporting of specific barriers to optimal kidney care by countries increased from 55% to 59% for geographical factors, 58% to 68% (P=0.043) for availability of nephrologists, and 46% to 52% for political factors.

Conclusions

Important changes in key areas of kidney care delivery were noted across both periods globally. These changes effected the availability of, and access to, kidney transplantation services. Countries and regions need to enact enabling strategies for preserving access to kidney care services, particularly kidney transplantation.
Public health involvement in alcohol licensing decisions in the UK: a systematic review of qualitative studies
Authors: Rogerson Marie , Blank Lindsay , Clowes Mark , Hock Emma , Goyder Elizabeth
Published: October 2024

Introduction

One approach to reducing alcohol consumption and related harm is to limit physical availability. However, a recent review found alcohol licensing decisions are not consistently associated with improved local health outcomes in the UK, despite public health teams (PHTs) having a statutory role in licensing. This may be explained by limitations in regulatory powers, or because PHTs have been unable to sufficiently influence the use of regulation. This review aims to synthesise qualitative evidence to understand the nature, barriers and enablers, and value of PHT involvement in alcohol licensing decisions in the UK.

Methods

A systematic review of qualitative evidence was conducted. Five electronic databases were searched, supplemented by web searches for grey literature and author, reference and citation searches for included studies. Data was extracted and quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Data was synthesised using thematic synthesis, and confidence in the findings was judged using the Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (CERQual) approach.

Results

10 reports, relating to four separate studies, met the eligibility criteria. Thematic synthesis generated seven analytical themes. We found variation in how PHTs’ role in licensing is understood and enacted, with shared barriers and enablers. PHTs are often not regarded as a key consultee, though some teams found success in pursuing a more strategic approach. While the public health licensing objective in Scotland is considered an asset, it does not guarantee influence. Regardless of its presence, there is variation in the perceived value of PHTs’ involvement in licensing.

Conclusions

A more strategic focus may be of value to PHTs and help strengthen their impact on licensing. However, given the limited potential for public health benefits through influencing regulatory decision-making, PHTs may want to consider if it is the most effective use of limited resource in tackling alcohol-related harms.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42023452508.
Herwig 7.3 release note
Authors: Bewick Gavin , Ferrario Ravasio Silvia , Gieseke Stefan , Kiebacher Stefan , Masouminia Mohammad R. , Papaefstathiou Andreas , Plätzer Simon , Richardson Peter , Samitz Daniel , Seymour Michael H. , Siódmok Andrzej , Whitehead James
Published: October 2024

A new release of the Monte Carlo event generator (version 7.3) has been launched. This iteration encompasses several enhancements over its predecessor, version 7.2. Noteworthy upgrades include: the implementation of a process-independent electroweak angular-ordered parton shower integrated with QCD and QED radiation; a new recoil scheme for initial-state radiation improving the behaviour of the angular-ordered parton shower; the incorporation of the heavy quark effective theory to refine the hadronization and decay of excited heavy mesons and heavy baryons; a dynamic strategy to regulate the kinematic threshold of cluster splittings within the cluster hadronization model; several improvements to the structure of the cluster hadronization model allowing for refined models; the possibility to extract event-by-event hadronization corrections in a well-defined way; the possibility of using the string model, with a dedicated tune. Additionally, a new tuning of the parton shower and hadronization parameters has been executed. This article discusses the novel features introduced in version 7.3.0.
Shadow of a renormalization group improved rotating black hole
Authors: Sánchez Luis A.
Published: October 2024

We present a study on quantum gravity effects on the shadow of a rotating black hole (BH) obtained in the setting of the asymptotically safe gravity. The rotating metric, which results from a static regular one recently presented in the literature, is generated by using the generalized Newman-Janis algorithm. The novelty of the static regular metric lies in the fact that it is the outcome of an effective Lagrangian which describes dust whose spherically symmetric collapse is non-singular as a consequence of the antiscreening character of gravity at small distances. The effective Lagrangian includes a multiplicative coupling, denoted as $$\chi $$
χ
, with the Lagrangian of the collapsing fluid. The resulting exterior metric for large radii depends on a free parameter $$\xi $$
ξ
which captures the quantum gravity effects. The form of the coupling $$\chi $$
χ
and its connection with the quantum parameter $$\xi $$
ξ
are determined by the running of the Newton coupling G(k) along a renormalization group trajectory that stops at the ultraviolet non-gaussian fixed point of the asymptotic safety theory for quantum gravity. Varying both the spin parameter $$a_{\star }$$

a
⋆

and the quantum parameter $$\xi $$
ξ
, we explore the quantum gravity effects on several astronomical observables used to describe the morphology of the shadow cast by rotating BHs. In order to obtain constraints on the parameter $$\xi $$
ξ
, we confront our results with the recent Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of the shadows of the supermassive BHs $$\hbox {M87}^*$$

M87
∗

and Sgr $$\hbox {A}^*$$

A
∗

. We find that the ranges of variation of all the studied shadow observables fall entirely within the ranges determined by the EHT collaboration. We then conclude that the current astronomical data do not rule out the renormalization group improved rotating BH.
Energy change and Landauer’s principle in the interaction between qubit and quantum field theory
Authors: Xu Hao
Published: October 2024

We give a general description of the system evolution under the interaction between qubit and quantum field theory up to the second order perturbation, which is also referred to as the simplified model of light-matter interaction. The results are classified into rotating and counter-rotating wave terms, the former corresponding to stimulated absorption and emission, and the latter to Unruh and anti-Unruh effects. We obtain not only the reduced density matrix of the qubit, but also the backreaction obtained by quantum field theory as the environment. The result shows that the energy variation of the quantum field theory is related to trajectory and the initial state of the qubit, the expectation values of the linear and quadratic field operators, and the temporal order product operator. When the qubit is in accelerated motion, the conventional Unruh effect causes the vacuum state to possess a “temperature”, which raises some doubts about the validity of Landauer’s principle. We prove that Landauer’s principle still holds for any state of motion.
Some Constructions of Perfect c-Nonlinear and Pseudo-Perfect c-Nonlinear Functions
Authors: Cheng Xiangdong
Published: October 2024

The perfect nonlinear functions play an important role in block ciphers and have been widely investigated in the literature. Subsequently, the perfect [Formula: see text]-nonlinear functions were generalized by Ellingsen et al. in 2020. In this paper, we study the [Formula: see text]-differential uniformity of some functions. We first construct some perfect [Formula: see text]-nonlinear functions from known ones. Additionally, pseudo-perfect [Formula: see text]-nonlinear functions are also investigated and a necessary and sufficient condition for a function to be pseudo-perfect [Formula: see text]-nonlinear is presented. Meanwhile, some pseudo-perfect [Formula: see text]-nonlinear functions are constructed. Remarkably, we completely give the difference distribution table of a function with respect to the pseudo [Formula: see text]-derivative.
Bi-objective Optimization in Role Mining
Authors: Crampton Jason , Eiben Eduard , Gutin Gregory , Karapetyan Daniel , Majumdar Diptapriyo
Published: October 2024

Role mining is a technique that is used to derive a role-based authorization policy from an existing policy. Given a set of users
U
, a set of permissions
P
, and a user–permission authorization relation

\(\mathit {UPA} \subseteq U \times P\)

, a role mining algorithm seeks to compute a set of roles
R
, a user–role authorization relation

\(\mathit {UA} \subseteq U \times R\)

, and a permission–role authorization relation

\(\mathit {PA} \subseteq R \times P\)

, such that the composition of
UA
and
PA
is close (in some appropriate sense) to
UPA
. Role mining is therefore a core problem in the specification of role-based authorization policies. Role mining is known to be hard in general and exact solutions are often impossible to obtain, so there exists an extensive literature on variants of the role mining problem that seek to find approximate solutions and algorithms that use heuristics to find reasonable solutions efficiently.

In this article, we first introduce the
Generalized Noise Role Mining
problem (GNRM)—a generalization of the
MinNoise Role Mining
problem—which we believe has considerable practical relevance. In particular, GNRM can produce “security-aware” or “availability-aware” solutions. Extending the work of Fomin et al., we show that GNRM is fixed parameter tractable, with parameter

\(r + k\)

, where

\(r\)

is the number of roles in the solution and

\(k\)

is the number of discrepancies between

\(\mathit {UPA}\)

and the relation defined by the composition of

\(\mathit {UA}\)

and

\(\mathit {PA}\)

. We further introduce a bi-objective optimization variant of GNRM, where we wish to minimize both

\(r\)

and

\(k\)

subject to upper bounds

\(r \le \bar{r}\)

and

\(k\le \bar{k}\)

, where

\(\bar{r}\)

and

\(\bar{k}\)

are constants. We show that the Pareto front of this bi-objective optimization problem (BO-GNRM) can be computed in fixed-parameter tractable time with parameter

\(\bar{r} +\bar{k}\)

. From a practical perspective, a solution to BO-GNRM gives security managers the opportunity to identify a mined policy offering the best tradeoff between the number of policy discrepancies and the number of roles.

We then report the results of our experimental work using the integer programming solver Gurobi to solve instances of BO-GNRM. Our key findings are that (a) we obtained strong support that Gurobi’s performance is fixed-parameter tractable, and (b) our results suggest that our techniques may be useful for role mining in practice, based on our experiments in the context of three well-known real-world authorization policies. We observed that, in many cases, our solver is capable of obtaining optimal solutions when the values of either
k
or
r
are small.
Multimodal Consistency Suppression Factor for Fake News Detection
Authors: Tao Zhulin , Zhao Runze , Shi Xin , Gao Xingyu , Wang Xi , Huang Xianglin
Published: October 2024

Recent multi-modal fake news detection methods often use the consistency between textual and visual contents to determine the truth or fake of a news information. Higher levels of textual-visual consistency typically lead to a greater likelihood of classifying a news item as real. However, a critical observation reveals that creators of most fake news intentionally select images that align with the textual content, thereby enhancing the credibility of the news. Consequently, high consistency between textual and visual contents alone cannot guarantee the authenticity of the information. To address this problem, we introduce a novel approach termed
Multimodal Consistency-based Suppression Factor
to modulate the significance of textual-visual consistency in information assessment. When the textual-visual matching is high, this suppression factor reduces the influence of consistency during the judgment process. Moreover, we use Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training (CLIP) model to extract features and measure the consistency level between modalities to guide multimodal fusion. In addition, we also use a method of compressing and fusing modal information based on Variational Autoencoder (VAE) to reconstruct CLIP features, learning the shared representation of different modal information of CLIP. Finally, extensive experiments were conducted on three publicly datasets, Weibo, Twitter and Weibo21, and the results confirmed that our method outperformed the state-of-the-art methods in the field, and had 0.8%, 2.6% and 4.1% effect improvement on the accuracy rate.
FGTL: Federated Graph Transfer Learning for Node Classification
Authors: Mai Chengyuan , Liao Tianchi , Chen Chuan , Zheng Zibin
Published: October 2024

Unsupervised multi-source domain transfer in federated scenario has become an emerging research direction, which can help unlabeled target domain to obtain the adapted model through source domains under privacy-preserving. However, when local data are graph, the difference of domains (or data heterogeneity) mainly originates from the difference in node attributes and sub-graph structures, leading to serious model drift, which is not considered by the existing related algorithms. Currently, there are two challenges in this scenario: (1) The node representations extracted directly through conventional GNNs lack inter-domain generalized and consistent information, making it difficult to apply existing federated learning algorithms. (2) The knowledge of source domains has quality differences, which may lead to negative transfer. To address these issues, we propose a novel two-phase Federated Graph Transfer Learning (FGTL) framework. In the generalization phase, FGTL utilizes local contrastive learning and global context embedding to force node representations to capture the inter-domain generalized and consistent information, lightly alleviating model drift. In the transfer phase, FGTL utilizes consensus knowledge to force the decision bound of classifier to adapt to the target client. In addition, FGTL+ exploits model grouping to make consensus knowledge generation more efficient, further enhancing the scalability of FGTL. Extensive experiments show that FGTL significantly outperforms state-of-the-art related methods, while FGTL+ further enhances privacy protection and reduces both communication and computation overhead.