bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hybrid speed bump-PV-battery-grid power generation in a smart grid environment
Authors: Oni Oluwafemi , Skhosanaa Robert Thokozani , Longe Omowunmi Mary
Published: July 2023

To meet the growing demand for clean energy and improved energy availability factor in South Africa, various solutions are being proposed from academia and industry. Therefore, in this study, a non-conventional method of generating clean energy was designed and constructed. The proposed system harnesses the kinetic energy of vehicles driving over speed bumps and converts it to electrical energy using a generator. This energy is supplemented with the energy generated from solar PV panels to provide a sustainable power supply for traffic and streetlights. The system is further designed to operate with a grid connection as a backup. An interface was further created to give real-time monitoring of electric power generation and consumption. The setup is also suitable for areas with limited/no access to electricity, and in the case of loadshedding. The results obtained during the testing of this prototype demonstrate the effectiveness of the system to provide a reliable source of electricity for street and traffic lights to ensure safety on the roads and avoidance of traffic congestion during loadshedding. The prototype is scalable to meet future power demands and feed into the grid in a smart grid environment.
Incident Reporting in Perfusion: Current Perceptions on PIRS-2
Authors: Willcox Timothy W. , Baker Robert A.
Published: July 2023

The Australia and New Zealand College of Perfusionists’ (ANZCP) Perfusion Incident Reporting System was established in 1998 and has evolved to an open access on-line incident perfusion reporting system (PIRS-2). Changes were made to PIRS-2 to promote learning from what went well in unexpected situations. A 9-question survey was e-mailed to the PIRS-2 contact group to elicit feedback on attitudes to voluntarily reporting perfusion-related incidents and near-miss events to PIRS-2. In August 2019, a 9-question survey using SurveyMonkey®(San Mateo Ca) was e-mailed to 198 perfusionists currently on the ANZCP PIRS-2 e-mail contacts group. Responses for all responding practicing perfusionists were totaled and expressed as a percentage of the total number of respondents. The respondents were then grouped by region and responses were expressed as a percentage of respondents from each region as well as for grouped responses from Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) and non-ANZ respondents. The response rate was 49.5% with 95 practicing perfusionists completing the survey. In the 12 months before the survey, 22% of respondents had submitted reports to PIRS-2, whereas 79% had read e-mailed reports. Unit culture was the most frequently cited barrier to reporting from all respondents (19%; 0% to 40% by region). Twenty-five percentage of Australian respondents cited unit culture as a barrier to reporting vs. 0% of New Zealand respondents. A combination of concern of discovery and identification of region ranked second as a barrier for 17% of all respondents. The open access ANZCP PIRS-2 voluntary incident reporting in perfusion was widely viewed as relevant and beneficial to both individual practice and to team performance. A high likelihood to considering reporting incidents is tempered by the well-established barriers of ease of the reporting system, the fix and forget phenomenon, concerns of discovery, and a defensive unit culture.
ECMO as a Platform for Rapid Ammonia Removal in a Neonate with Multienzyme Urea Cycle Disorder
Authors: Ikeri Kelechi , Cardona Vilmaris Quinones , Hagan-Brown Abena , Young Megan , Schneider Michael , Menkiti Ogechukwu
Published: July 2023

Since the initial deployment of neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure, the use of ECMO in this population has diversified. We present a term female infant with carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 and partial N-acetylglutamate synthase deficiencies who developed severe hyperammonemia refractory to medical management requiring venoarterial ECMO-driven continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration for ammonia detoxification. This case report illustrates a subpopulation where neonatal ECMO may improve survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a urea cycle defect arising from two proximal enzyme deficiencies. Also, this is one of the few reported patients with UCD associated with peak ammonia levels >2,000 μmol/L who survived to hospital discharge after the successful use of ECMO for ammonia reduction. This case will add to the existing scant literature supporting the use of ECMO as a platform for rapid removal of serum ammonia.
Nevus of Ota with palatal involvement: a case report
Authors: Derache Anaïs , Simon Etienne , Brix Muriel
Published: July 2023

Nevus of Ota is a macular discoloration of the face which is most commonly found in the Japanese and females are more commonly affected than males. It is first described by Ota and Tanino in 1939, involves the skin along the distribution of first and second division of trigeminal nerve. Involvement of the palatal mucosa occurs rarely in nevus of Ota, it usually blends with the oral mucosa and is typically irregular, undefined and often present as a mottled patch. We describe here the case of nevus of Ota with palatal involvement in a 13-year-old Asiatic boy. His past medical history revealed the presence of the lesion since birth. There were no other pigmented lesion locations. The exact etiology of nevus of Ota is still unknown but they have the potential to undergo melanomatous change.
Collective transitioning of a heavy industrial area towards ‘Net Zero Carbon’: the critical role of Governance in delivering Enterprise action
Authors: Oughton Chris , Kurup Biji , Anda Martin , Ho Goen
Published: July 2023

Industrial enterprises around the world are grappling with greenhouse gas emission reduction expectations, whether being driven by respective government policy for climate change or by shareholders to drive corporate sustainability through maintaining access to their ‘net zero’-demanding markets. In some instances, the enterprises co-located within complex industrial areas are coming together to face the common carbon reduction challenge as a collective. The Kwinana Industrial Area in Perth, Western Australia is well regarded on the world's stage as a successful integrated heavy industrial precinct, presenting as an extensive, complex, and broad-based example of Industrial Symbiosis. In earlier papers, the authors have posited a novel four-dimensional framework to expand the definition of Industrial Symbiosis to be used to understand why one industrial precinct may be more successful for its resident industries to operate within than another, and for application in the design of new industrial areas. The four dimensions are described as Materials Exchange, Skilled Workforce, Support Industry, and Governance. Through the lens of climate change literature and policy frameworks, we investigate the governance dimension and industry's response to the contemporary climate challenge. The outputs of the paper include a literature review of the governance dimension, and a description of the cascading nature of climate change policy from global through to the enterprise level. We illustrate how climate change governance is enhanced in practice by detailing how the enterprises in Kwinana collectively responded to the global requirement for carbon reduction, achieved through the facilitative governance-based intervention of their industry association, the Kwinana Industries Council. Exploring this in-practice example helped to consolidate the hypothesis that successful industrial symbiosis is about positive relationships across several dimensions building towards improved Circular Economy outcomes.
Tunable Optical Properties and Self-Assemblies of a Water-Soluble Perimidinium Imide Dye
Authors: Mahata Kingsuk , Roy Tirupati , Debnath Indraneel
Published: July 2023

The synthesis of unsymmetrically peri-annulated naphthalene dyes, perimidinium imides (PrIm), is reported. Compared with the symmetrical and popular analogous naphthalenediimide dyes, PrIm showed a red-shifted absorption maximum. The water-soluble dyes showed tunable self-assembly behaviors and optical properties. The dyes retain their photoluminescence properties in water.
Proton Bragg curve and energy reconstruction using an online scintillator stack detector
Authors: Istokskaia Valeriia , Lefebvre Benoit , Petringa Giada , Cirrone Pablo , Guarrera Mariacristina , Giuffrida Lorenzo , Versaci Roberto , Olšovcová Veronika , Margarone Daniele
Published: July 2023

Real-time measurement and characterization of laser-driven proton beams have become crucial with the advent of high-repetition-rate laser acceleration. Common passive diagnostics such as radiochromic film (RCF) are not suitable for real-time operation due to time-consuming post-processing; therefore, a novel approach is needed. Various scintillator-based detectors have recently gained interest as real-time substitutes to RCF—thanks to their fast response for a wide range of dose deposition rates. This work introduces a compact, scalable, and cost-effective scintillator-based device for proton beam measurements in real-time suitable for the laser–plasma environment. An advanced signal processing technique was implemented based on detailed Monte Carlo simulations, enabling an accurate unfolding of the proton energy and the depth–dose deposition curve. The quenching effect was accounted for based on Birks’ law with the help of the Monte Carlo simulations. The detector was tested in a proof-of-principle experiment at a conventional cyclotron accelerating protons up to 35 MeV of energy. The signal comparison with a standard RCF stack was also performed during the test of the device, showing an excellent agreement between the two diagnostics. Such devices would be suitable for both conventional and laser-driven proton beam characterization.
Water on ceria{111}: Comparison between 23 experimental vibrational studies in the literature and new modeling
Authors: Röckert Andreas , Kullgren Jolla , Sethio Daniel , Agosta Lorenzo , Hermansson Kersti
Published: July 2023

Theoretical and experimental vibrational signatures of H2O and OH− (dissociated water) adsorbed on stoichiometric ceria{111} surfaces are compared. The experimental ones were collected from low-coverage experiments in the literature, and the theoretical anharmonic frequencies were generated using density functional theory calculations employing the optPBE-vdW functional for coverages from 0.5 to a few monolayers. It is found that (i) the experiments and our calculations overall agree well, lending credibility to both; (ii) the calculations manage to resolve the large class of H-bonded motifs into frequency classes that can guide experimental assignments; (iii) it is possible to find a geometrical H-bond definition that also captures the OH vibrational frequency downshifts well: R(H⋯O) ≤2.5 Å and the O–H⋯O angle θ ≥ 100°; and (iv) the frequency vs electric field relations for water and hydroxides (i.e., dissociated water) follow different and well-separated curves.
Comparison of reduced order models based on dynamic mode decomposition and deep learning for predicting chaotic flow in a random arrangement of cylinders
Authors: Raj Neil Ashwin , Tafti Danesh , Muralidhar Nikhil
Published: July 2023

Three reduced order models are evaluated in their capacity to predict the future state of an unsteady chaotic flow field. A spatially fully developed flow generated in a random packing of cylinders at a solid fraction of 0.1 and a nominal Reynolds number of 50 is investigated. For deep learning (DL), convolutional autoencoders are used to reduce the high-dimensional data to lower dimensional latent space representations of size 16, which were then used for training the temporal architectures. To predict the future states, two DL based methods, long short-term memory and temporal convolutional neural networks, are used and compared to the linear dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The predictions are tested in their capability to predict the spatiotemporal variations of velocity and pressure, flow statistics such as root mean squared values, and the capability to predict fluid forces on the cylinders. Relative errors between 15% and 20% are evident in predicting instantaneous velocities, chiefly resulting from phase differences between predictions and ground truth. The spatial distribution of statistical second moments is predicted to be within a maximum of 5%–10% of the ground truth with mean error in the range of 1%–2%. Using the predicted fields, instantaneous fluid drag force predictions on individual particles exhibit a mean relative error within 20%, time-averaged drag force predictions to within 5%, and total drag force over all particles to within 1% of the ground truth values. It is found that overall, the non-linear DL models are more accurate than the linear DMD algorithm for the prediction of future states.
Densest-known packings and phase behavior of hard spherical capsids
Authors: Ramírez González Juan Pedro , Cinacchi Giorgio
Published: July 2023

By mostly using Monte Carlo numerical simulation, this work investigates the densest-known packings and phase behavior of hard spherical capsids, i.e., hard infinitesimally thin spherical caps with a subtended angle larger than the straight angle. The infinitely degenerate densest-known packings are all characterized by hard spherical capsids that interlock and can be subdivided into three families. The first family includes crystalline packings that are constructed by suitably rotating and stacking layers of hexagonally arranged and suitably tilted hard spherical capsids; depending on the successive rotations, the crystalline packings of this family can become the face-centered cubic crystal, the hexagonal close-packed crystal, and their infinitely degenerate variants in the hard-sphere limit. The second family includes crystalline packings that are characterized by rhombic motifs; they all become the face-centered cubic crystal in the hard-sphere limit. The third family includes crystalline packings that are constructed by suitably shifting and stacking layers in which hard spherical capsids are arranged in tightly packed, straight or zigzag, columns; depending on the successive shifts, the crystalline packings of this family can become the face-centered cubic crystal, the hexagonal close-packed crystal, and their infinitely degenerate variants in the hard-sphere limit. In the plane number density vs subtended angle, the phase diagram of hard spherical capsids features a hexagonal columnar liquid-crystalline phase, toward the hard-hemispherical-cap limit, and a plastic-crystalline phase, toward the hard-sphere limit, in addition to the isotropic fluid phase and crystalline phases. On departing from the hard-sphere limit, the increasing propensity of hard spherical capsids to interlock progressively disfavors the plastic-crystalline phase while favoring auto-assemblage into mostly dimeric interlocks in the denser isotropic fluid phase so that a purely entropic isotropic-fluid–plastic-crystal–isotropic-fluid re-entrant sequence of phase transitions is observed in systems of hard spherical capsids with a subtended angle intermediate between the straight angle and the complete angle.
Liquid state theory study of the phase behavior and macromolecular scale structure of model biomolecular condensates
Authors: Shi Guang , Schweizer Kenneth S.
Published: July 2023

Biomolecular condensates can form through the liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins and RNAs in cells. However, other states of organization, including mesostructured network microstructures and physical gels, have been observed, the physical mechanism of which are not well understood. We use the Polymer Reference Interaction Site Model liquid state integral equation theory to study the equilibrium behavior of (generally aperiodic in sequence) biomolecular condensates based on a minimal sticker–spacer associating polymer model. The role of polymer packing fraction, sequence, and the strength and range of intermolecular interactions on macromolecular scale spatial organization and phase behavior is studied for typical sticker–spacer sequences. In addition to the prediction of conventional LLPS, a sequence-dependent strongly fluctuating polymeric microemulsion homogeneous state is predicted at high enough concentrations beyond the so-called Lifshitz-like point, which we suggest can be relevant to the dense phase of microstructured biomolecular condensates. New connections between local clustering and the formation of mesoscopic microdomains, the influence of attraction range, compressibility, and the role of spatial correlations across scales, are established. Our results are also germane to understanding the polymer physics of dense solutions of nonperiodic and unique sequence synthetic copolymers and provide a foundation to create new theories for how polymer diffusion and viscosity are modified in globally isotropic and homogeneous dense polymeric microemulsions.
A Perspective on multifunctional ferromagnet/organic molecule spinterface
Authors: Pandey Esita , Sharangi Purbasha , Sahoo Antarjami , Mahanta Swayang Priya , Mallik Srijani , Bedanta Subhankar
Published: July 2023

Organic spintronics is an emerging research field that offers numerous fundamental physics and has shown potential in future spintronic applications. The spin-polarized hybridized interface formed at the ferromagnet (FM)/organic molecule (OM) interface is called the “spinterface.” It has been found that the spinterface helps to reduce the well-known impedance mismatch issue in spin valves, enhances spin-polarization of the effective FM electrode, and aligns the molecular levels for easy spin transport. High magnetoresistance (MR) of ∼ 400% has been observed at low temperatures (∼10 K) for OM-based spin valves. However, the MR value at room temperature for such OM-based spin valves is low (∼10%) due to the complex nature of the FM/OM interface. During the last decade, much attention has been devoted to understand the nature of FM/OM interface for tailoring spintronic device functionalities. In this context, the role of spinterface on the global magnetization reversal, magnetic domains, and magnetic anisotropy in FM/OM systems becomes very important. Furthermore, it is also essential to understand the impact of crystallinity and thickness of FM on the induced moment in the non-magnetic OM in such heterostructures. Here, in this brief review, we give our Perspective on the progress and future challenges of the role of spinterface on various magnetic properties in FM/OM systems. Furthermore, we also discuss the recent observation of spin pumping in FM/OM systems where the OMs exhibit reasonable spin–orbit coupling. This shows the potential of OMs for spin–orbit torque-based physics and applications.
Ethylene-induced improvement in photosynthetic performance of Zanthoxylum armatum under reoxygenation conditions
Authors: Wu Jiaojiao , Wang Jingyan , Wang Peiyun , Su Chengyi , Hui Wenkai , Gong Wei
Published: July 2023

In this study, we evaluated the photosynthetic performance of Zanthoxylum armatum seedlings to test the tolerance to reoxygenation after waterlogging. The experiment included a control group without waterlogging (NW) and three reoxygenation groups with reoxygenation after 1 day (WR1), 2 days (WR2) and 3 days (WR3). Seedlings were pretreated with concentrations of 0, 200 and 400 μmol L−1 of ethylene. The results showed that reoxygenation after waterlogging for 1–3 days decreased photosynthetic pigments content, enzymes activity, stomatal conductance (Gs), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr) and water-use efficiency (WUE). However, pretreatment with ethylene increased photosynthetic pigments content, enzymes activity and gas exchange parameters under both NW and WR3 treatments. The chlorophyll fluorescence results showed that the maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm) and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (ΦPSII) remained no significant changes under the NW and WR1 treatments, while they were significantly reduced with an increase in waterlogging days followed by reoxygenation under WR2 and WR3 treatments. Exogenous ethylene inhibited Fv/Fm and the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ), while enhanced ΦPSII and electron transfer efficiency (ETR) under WR2 treatments. Moreover, the accumulation of exogenous ethylene reduced photosynthetic ability. These findings provide insights into the role of ethylene in enhancing the tolerance of Z. armatum to reoxygenation stress, which could help mitigate the impact of continued climate change.
Network bypasses sustain complexity
Authors: Estrada Ernesto , Gómez-Gardeñes Jesús , Lacasa Lucas
Published: July 2023

Real-world networks are neither regular nor random, a fact elegantly explained by mechanisms such as the Watts–Strogatz or the Barabási-Albert models, among others. Both mechanisms naturally create shortcuts and hubs, which while enhancing the network’s connectivity, also might yield several undesired navigational effects: They tend to be overused during geodesic navigational processes—making the networks fragile—and provide suboptimal routes for diffusive-like navigation. Why, then, networks with complex topologies are ubiquitous? Here, we unveil that these models also entropically generate network bypasses: alternative routes to shortest paths which are topologically longer but easier to navigate. We develop a mathematical theory that elucidates the emergence and consolidation of network bypasses and measure their navigability gain. We apply our theory to a wide range of real-world networks and find that they sustain complexity by different amounts of network bypasses. At the top of this complexity ranking we found the human brain, which points out the importance of these results to understand the plasticity of complex systems.
Independent evolution of transposase and TIRs facilitated by recombination between
Mutator
transposons from divergent clades in maize
Authors: Hunter Charles T. , McCarty Donald R. , Koch Karen E.
Published: July 2023

Nearly all eukaryotes carry DNA transposons of the Robertson’s
Mutator
(
Mu
) superfamily, a widespread source of genome instability and genetic variation. Despite their pervasive impact on host genomes, much remains unknown about the evolution of these transposons. Transposase recognition of terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) is thought to drive and constrain coevolution of
MuDR
transposase genes and TIRs. To address the extent of this relationship and its impact, we compared separate phylogenies of TIRs and
MuDR
gene sequences from
Mu
elements in the maize genome. Five major clades were identified. As expected, most
Mu
elements were bound by highly similar TIRs from the same clade (homomorphic type). However, a subset of elements contained dissimilar TIRs derived from divergent clades. These “heteromorphs” typically occurred in multiple copies indicating active transposition in the genome. In addition, analysis of internal sequences showed that exchanges between elements having divergent TIRs produced new
mudra
and
mudrb
gene combinations. In several instances, TIR homomorphs had been regenerated within a heteromorph clade with retention of distinctive internal
MuDR
sequence combinations. Results reveal that recombination between divergent clades facilitates independent evolution of transposase (
mudra
), transposase-binding targets (TIRs), and capacity for insertion (
mudrb
) of active
Mu
elements. This mechanism would be enhanced by the preference of
Mu
insertions for recombination-rich regions near the 5′ ends of genes. We suggest that cycles of recombination give rise to alternating homo- and heteromorph forms that enhance the diversity on which selection for
Mu
fitness can operate.
The ‘Covid-19 presidential genre’
Authors: Mugumya Levis
Published: July 2023

This chapter examines the presidential addresses delivered by the Ugandan president during the Covid-19 lockdown. It invokes genre analysis to examine the nature of the rhetorical moves that characterised the Presidential statements. It also employs critical discourse analysis to examine the linguistic devices that the president invoked during the addresses. Focusing on the extempore narrative episodes emanating from 20 presidential addresses, the chapter explicates the nature of utterances (rebukes, warnings and reassurances) the President made. It demonstrates how the President not only invoked the war rhetoric, metaphors, and proverbs to sustain the attention of his audience but also to explain the science of the new pandemic, justify the continued lockdown and other restrictive measures, and rally support from the citizens.
Shambolic blunder
Authors: Holze Regina
Published: July 2023

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Great Britain’s Prime Minister Johnson had to admit the failure of his measures on several occasions and subsequently change policies. This paper analyses Johnson’s strategies of communicating failure, relying on a corpus of official statements and interviews dating from March 2020 to January 2021. Drawing on methods from corpus-assisted discourse analysis, his main strategies of communicating failure are analysed by identifying typical speech acts and classifying them according to Boin et al.’s accountability model (2017). Additionally, frequent frames are examined with relation to the narrative to which they contribute. Results show a tendency to avoid admitting policy failure and shirk responsibility, complemented by a common reference to the success of previous policies and the need for unity in crisis.
Formulations of risk and responsibility in COVID-19 contact tracing telephone
interactions in Flanders, Belgium
Authors: De Timmerman Romeo , Bafort Anne-Sophie , Van de Geuchte Sofie , Vandenbroucke Mieke , Slembrouck Stef
Published: July 2023

Government responses to the Covid-19 health crisis are composed
of recursively applied stages of risk calculation and management as necessary
processes in the containment of outbreaks. One of the most prominent forms of risk
management in Flanders was contact tracing. It occurs in three variants: (i)
the development and implementation of a smartphone-based contact tracing app, (ii)
regionally-organised contact tracing telephone conversations conducted through
commercially-contracted call centres, and (iii) home visiting by local field agents
of populations who are difficult to reach. This chapter focuses on (ii), due to its
prevalence, and is based on an interactional analysis of a corpus of 220 contact
tracing conversations with index patients that was compiled late 2020 and early
2021. The chapter opens with a discussion of the notions of “Risk Society” and
“responsibilisation” as relevant socio-cultural orientations in the current era of
globalized Late Modernity and “governmentality” as a discursive field. The
regionally-organised contact tracing telephone call can be characterized as a
large-scale, micro-level form of interactionally and dialogically-accomplished risk
management. The genre foregrounds the articulation of multiple dimensions of risk
and responsibility, situated at various levels of social organization and appeal.
The management of risk and responsibility intersects with the accomplishment of the
specific communicative functions of the genre. The contact tracer’s three-fold task
is to (i) gather private information about the index patient’s symptoms and their
contacts during a relevant time period; (ii) provide instructions about quarantine.
In addition, (iii) contact tracers are expected to sustain a caring and empathetic
stance during their interactions with index patients. In this respect, the contact
tracers’ responsibilities include their role as a representative of the government’s
risk-managing response to successive stages of the pandemic. The analysis
illustrates how various formulations of risk and responsibility interrelate with the
communicative goals and the specific interactional demands of contact tracing
telephone conversations.
Risk and responsibility in human-robot interaction
Authors: Fischer Kerstin
Published: July 2023

In this chapter, I argue that interaction researchers have a
large toolbox available to analyze the quality of current human-robot interactions,
allowing us to identify possible risks concerning the introduction of social robots
into our societies. I illustrate how interactional analyses can serve to evaluate
the quality of human-robot interactions on sample studies of an interview
interaction with Sophia the Robot and tutoring interactions of the iCub robot with a
focus on how the interaction partners take each other into account. The results
indicate potential risks even in seemingly enjoyable and tightly coordinated
human-robot interactions, which suggests that interaction researchers may want to
take responsibility for contributing to the risk assessment of introducing social
robots into our social spaces.
Word order in simple sentences of tri-lingual tri-modal deaf students*
Authors: Novogrodsky Rama , Stamp Rose , Shaban-Rabah Sabrin
Published: July 2023

This study explores word order patterns produced by deaf students who use Israeli Sign Language (ISL) and Arabic. Nineteen students participated in a sentence elicitation task in which they retold events portrayed in 24 short videos in three language conditions: signed ISL, spoken Palestinian Arabic and written Modern Standard Arabic. A control group of 19 hearing students was tested in the two Arabic conditions. Results showed that SVO word order was the most frequent in both groups, and in all three languages. SOV word order, which is common in ISL but ungrammatical in Arabic, was produced only by the deaf group. Finally, unique word orders, specific to the signed modality were produced only in the ISL condition. The findings suggest that deaf students are sensitive to the syntactic structures of each language they use and show natural cross-linguistic interaction in their language use.
Statistical analysis of discrete dislocation dynamics simulations: initial structures, cross-slip and microstructure evolution
Authors: Demirci Aytekin , Steinberger Dominik , Stricker Markus , Merkert Nina , Weygand Daniel , Sandfeld Stefan
Published: July 2023

Over the past decades, discrete dislocation dynamics simulations have been shown to reliably predict the evolution of dislocation microstructures for micrometer-sized metallic samples. Such simulations provide insight into the governing deformation mechanisms and the interplay between different physical phenomena such as dislocation reactions or cross-slip. This work is focused on a detailed analysis of the influence of the cross-slip on the evolution of dislocation systems. A tailored data mining strategy using the ‘discrete-to-continuous (D2C) framework’ allows to quantify differences and to quantitatively compare dislocation structures. We analyze the quantitative effects of the cross-slip on the microstructure in the course of a tensile test and a subsequent relaxation to present the role of cross-slip in the microstructure evolution. The precision of the extracted quantitative information using D2C strongly depends on the resolution of the domain averaging. We also analyze how the resolution of the averaging influences the distribution of total dislocation density and curvature fields of the specimen. Our analyzes are important approaches for interpreting the resulting structures calculated by dislocation dynamics simulations.
Tailoring the work function of graphene via defects, nitrogen-doping and hydrogenation: A first principles study
Authors: Dimov Nikolay , Staykov Aleksandar , Kusdhany‬ ‪Muhammad Irfan Maulana , Lyth Stephen M
Published: July 2023

The effect of defects, nitrogen doping, and hydrogen saturation on the work function of graphene is investigated via first principle calculations. Whilst Stone–Wales defects have little effect, single and double vacancy defects increase the work function by decreasing charge density in the π-electron system. Substitutional nitrogen doping in defect-free graphene significantly decreases the work function, because the nitrogen atoms donate electrons to the π-electron system. In the presence of defects, these competing effects mean that higher nitrogen content is required to achieve similar reduction in work function as for crystalline graphene. Doping with pyridinic nitrogen atoms at vacancies slightly increases the work function, since pyridinic nitrogen does not contribute electrons to the π-electron system. Meanwhile, hydrogen saturation of the pyridinic nitrogen atoms significantly reduces the work function, due to a shift from pyridinic to graphitic-type behavior. These findings clearly explain some of the experimental work functions obtained for carbon and nitrogen-doped carbon materials in the literature, and has implications in applications such as photocatalysis, photovoltaics, electrochemistry, and electron field emission.
Influence of vacancy defects on 2D BeN4 monolayer for NH3 adsorption: a density functional theory investigation
Authors: Lakshmy Seetha , Sanyal Gopal , Kalarikkal Nandakumar , Chakraborty Brahmananda
Published: July 2023

Two-dimensional materials have attracted a great deal of interest in developing nanodevices for gas-sensing applications over the years. The 2D BeN4 monolayer, a recently synthesized single-layered Dirac semimetal, has the potential to function as a gas sensor. This study analyzes the NH3 sensing capacity of the pristine and vacancy-induced BeN4 monolayers using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As per the results, the NH3 molecule is physisorbed on the pristine BeN4 via weak Van der Waals interaction with a poor adsorption energy of −0.41 eV and negligible charge transfer. Introducing Be vacancy in BeN4 increased the NH3 adsorption energy to −0.83 eV due to the improved charge transfer (0.044 e) from the defective monolayer to the NH3 molecule. The structural stability, sufficient recovery time (74 s) at room temperature, and superior work function sensitivity promise the potential application of defective BeN4 as an NH3 sensor. This research will be a theoretical groundwork for creating innovative BeN4-based NH3 gas sensors.
Ionization detail parameters and cluster dose: a mathematical model for selection of nanodosimetric quantities for use in treatment planning in charged particle radiotherapy
Authors: Faddegon Bruce , Blakely Eleanor A , Burigo Lucas , Censor Yair , Dokic Ivana , Domínguez Kondo Naoki , Ortiz Ramon , Ramos Méndez José , Rucinski Antoni , Schubert Keith , Wahl Niklas , Schulte Reinhard
Published: July 2023

Objective. To propose a mathematical model for applying ionization detail (ID), the detailed spatial distribution of ionization along a particle track, to proton and ion beam radiotherapy treatment planning (RTP). Approach. Our model provides for selection of preferred ID parameters (I

p
) for RTP, that associate closest to biological effects. Cluster dose is proposed to bridge the large gap between nanoscopic I

p
and macroscopic RTP. Selection of I

p
is demonstrated using published cell survival measurements for protons through argon, comparing results for nineteen I

p
: N

k
, k = 2, 3, …, 10, the number of ionizations in clusters of k or more per particle, and F

k
, k = 1, 2, …, 10, the number of clusters of k or more per particle. We then describe application of the model to ID-based RTP and propose a path to clinical translation. Main results. The preferred I

p
were N
4 and F
5 for aerobic cells, N
5 and F
7 for hypoxic cells. Significant differences were found in cell survival for beams having the same LET or the preferred N

k
. Conversely, there was no significant difference for F
5 for aerobic cells and F
7 for hypoxic cells, regardless of ion beam atomic number or energy. Further, cells irradiated with the same cluster dose for these I

p
had the same cell survival. Based on these preliminary results and other compelling results in nanodosimetry, it is reasonable to assert that I

p
exist that are more closely associated with biological effects than current LET-based approaches and microdosimetric RBE-based models used in particle RTP. However, more biological variables such as cell line and cycle phase, as well as ion beam pulse structure and rate still need investigation. Significance. Our model provides a practical means to select preferred I

p
from radiobiological data, and to convert I

p
to the macroscopic cluster dose for particle RTP.
Regions without flux surfaces of given class for magnetic fields in toroidal geometry
Authors: Kallinikos N , MacKay R S , Martínez-del-Río D
Published: July 2023

A converse KAM method for 3D vector fields, establishing regions through which passes no invariant 2-tori transverse to a given direction field, is tested on some helical perturbations of an axisymmetric magnetic field in toroidal geometry. It finds regions corresponding to magnetic islands and chaos for the fieldline flow. The minimization of these regions is proposed as a tool to help in the design of plasma confinement devices of tokamak and stellarator type.
Holographic energy loss near critical temperature in an anisotropic background
Authors: Zhou Qi , Zhang Ben-Wei
Published: July 2023

We study the energy loss of a quark moving in a strongly coupled quark gluon plasma under the influence of anisotropy. The heavy quark drag force, diffusion coefficient, and jet quenching parameter are calculated using the Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton model, where the anisotropic background is characterized by an arbitrary dynamical parameter A. Our findings indicate that as the anisotropic factor A increases, the drag force and jet quenching parameter both increase, while the diffusion coefficient decreases. Additionally, we observe that the energy loss becomes more significant when the quark moves perpendicular to the anisotropy direction in the transverse plane. The enhancement of the rescaled jet quenching parameters near critical temperature T

c
, as well as drag forces for a fast-moving heavy quark is observed, which presents one of the typical features of quantum chromodynamics phase transition.
Show, Don’t Tell: Emotion, Acquaintance and Moral Understanding Through Fiction
Authors: Brick Shannon
Published: July 2023

This paper substantiates a distinction, built out of Gricean resources, between two kinds of communicative act: showing and telling. Where telling that p proceeds by recruiting an addressee’s capacity to recognize trustworthy informants, showing does not. Instead, showing proceeds by presenting an addressee with a consideration that provides reason to believe that p (other than the reason provided by an informant’s credibility), and so recruits their capacity to respond to those reasons. With this account in place, the paper defends an account of one way in which authors can show their readers that certain moral states of affairs obtain both inside, and outside of, their fictions. It is argued, moreover, that this kind of showing gives addressees access to more than just reasons for moral belief–it also gives them access to the sorts of reasons that enable agents to increase their moral understanding. In virtue of these latter capacities, the showing identified is a way of communicating about morality that is markedly different from the sort of moral testimony that many philosophers have been increasingly interested in of late.
Sustained Hypothetical Interventions on Midlife Alcohol Consumption in Relation to All-Cause and Cancer Mortality: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health
Authors: Yang Yi , Hodge Allison M , Lynch Brigid M , Dugué Pierre-Antoine , Williamson Elizabeth J , Jayasekara Harindra , Mishra Gita , English Dallas R
Published: July 2023

No randomized controlled trial has evaluated the effect of long-term alcohol interventions on mortality. Results reported in existing observational studies may be subject to selection bias and time-varying confounding. Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health 1946–1951 birth cohort, collected regularly from 1996–2016, we estimated all-cause and cancer mortality had women been assigned various alcohol interventions (in categories ranging from 0 to >30 g/day ethanol, or reduced to ≤20 g/day if higher) at baseline, and had they maintained these levels of consumption. The cumulative risks for all-cause and cancer mortality were 5.6% (10,118 women followed for 20 years) and 2.9% (18 years), respectively. For all-cause and cancer mortality, baseline ethanol up to 30 g/day showed lower risk and >30 g/day showed higher risk relative to abstention. Had women sustainedly followed the interventions, a similar relationship was observed for all-cause mortality. However, the negative association observed for intakes ≤30 g/day and positive association for intakes >30 g/day was not evident for cancer mortality. Our findings suggest that all-cause mortality could have been lower than observed if this cohort of women had consumed some alcohol (no more than 30 g/day) rather than no consumption, but cancer mortality might not.
Quantification of bacterial adhesion to tissue in high-throughput kinetics
Authors: Shteindel Nimrod , Gutman Danielle , Atzmon Gil , Gerchman Yoram
Published: July 2023

Bacterial adhesion to tissue is the starting point for many pathogenic processes and beneficial interactions. The dynamics and speed of adhesion (minutes) make high-resolution temporal kinetic data important, but this capability is absent from the current toolset. We present a high-throughput method with a second-to-minute kinetic resolution, testing the adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 wild-type, flagella-, pili-, and quorum-sensing mutants to human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. Adhesion rates were in good correlation with HEK293 confluence, and the ways in which various bacterial mutations modified adhesion patterns are in agreement with the published literature. This simple assay can facilitate drug screening and treatment development as well as provide a better understanding of the interactions of pathogenic and probiotic bacteria with tissues, allowing the design of interventions and prevention treatments.
RFC1 in an Australasian neurological disease cohort: extending the genetic heterogeneity and implications for diagnostics
Authors: Scriba Carolin K , Stevanovski Igor , Chintalaphani Sanjog R , Gamaarachchi Hasindu , Ghaoui Roula , Ghia Darshan , Henderson Robert D , Jordan Nerissa , Winkel Antony , Lamont Phillipa J , Rodrigues Miriam J , Roxburgh Richard H , Weisburd Ben , Laing Nigel G , Deveson Ira W , Davis Mark R , Ravenscroft Gianina
Published: July 2023

Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy and vestibular areflexia syndrome is a progressive, generally late-onset, neurological disorder associated with biallelic pentanucleotide expansions in Intron 2 of the RFC1 gene. The locus exhibits substantial genetic variability, with multiple pathogenic and benign pentanucleotide repeat alleles previously identified. To determine the contribution of pathogenic RFC1 expansions to neurological disease within an Australasian cohort and further investigate the heterogeneity exhibited at the locus, a combination of flanking and repeat-primed PCR was used to screen a cohort of 242 Australasian patients with neurological disease. Patients whose data indicated large gaps within expanded alleles following repeat-primed PCR, underwent targeted long-read sequencing to identify novel repeat motifs at the locus. To increase diagnostic yield, additional probes at the RFC1 repeat region were incorporated into the PathWest diagnostic laboratory targeted neurological disease gene panel to enable first-pass screening of the locus for all samples tested on the panel. Within the Australasian cohort, we detected known pathogenic biallelic expansions in 15.3% (n = 37) of patients. Thirty indicated biallelic AAGGG expansions, two had biallelic ‘Māori alleles’ [(AAAGG)exp(AAGGG)exp], two samples were compound heterozygous for the Māori allele and an AAGGG expansion, two samples had biallelic ACAGG expansions and one sample was compound heterozygous for the ACAGG and AAGGG expansions. Forty-five samples tested indicated the presence of biallelic expansions not known to be pathogenic. A large proportion (84%) showed complex interrupted patterns following repeat-primed PCR, suggesting that these expansions are likely to be comprised of more than one repeat motif, including previously unknown repeats. Using targeted long-read sequencing, we identified three novel repeat motifs in expanded alleles. Here, we also show that short-read sequencing can be used to reliably screen for the presence or absence of biallelic RFC1 expansions in all samples tested using the PathWest targeted neurological disease gene panel. Our results show that RFC1 pathogenic expansions make a substantial contribution to neurological disease in the Australasian population and further extend the heterogeneity of the locus. To accommodate the increased complexity, we outline a multi-step workflow utilizing both targeted short- and long-read sequencing to achieve a definitive genotype and provide accurate diagnoses for patients.
Impact of the Introduction of a Package of Diagnostic Tools, Diagnostic Algorithm, and Training and Communication on Outpatient Acute Fever Case Management at 3 Diverse Sites in Uganda: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Kapisi James , Sserwanga Asadu , Kitutu Freddy Eric , Rutebemberwa Elizeus , Awor Phyllis , Weber Stephan , Keller Thomas , Kaawa-Mafigiri David , Ekusai-Sebatta Deborah , Horgan Philip , Dittrich Sabine , Moore Catrin E , Salami Olawale , Olliaro Piero , Nkeramahame Juvenal , Hopkins Heidi
Published: July 2023

Background

Increasing trends of antimicrobial resistance are observed around the world, driven in part by excessive use of antimicrobials. Limited access to diagnostics, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, contributes to diagnostic uncertainty, which may promote unnecessary antibiotic use. We investigated whether introducing a package of diagnostic tools, clinical algorithm, and training-and-communication messages could safely reduce antibiotic prescribing compared with current standard-of-care for febrile patients presenting to outpatient clinics in Uganda.

Methods

This was an open-label, multicenter, 2-arm randomized controlled trial conducted at 3 public health facilities (Aduku, Nagongera, and Kihihi health center IVs) comparing the proportions of antibiotic prescriptions and clinical outcomes for febrile outpatients aged ≥1 year. The intervention arm included a package of point-of-care tests, a diagnostic and treatment algorithm, and training-and-communication messages. Standard-of-care was provided to patients in the control arm.

Results

A total of 2400 patients were enrolled, with 49.5% in the intervention arm. Overall, there was no significant difference in antibiotic prescriptions between the study arms (relative risk [RR]: 1.03; 95% CI: .96–1.11). In the intervention arm, patients with positive malaria test results (313/500 [62.6%] vs 170/473 [35.9%]) had a higher RR of being prescribed antibiotics (1.74; 1.52–2.00), while those with negative malaria results (348/688 [50.6%] vs 376/508 [74.0%]) had a lower RR (.68; .63–.75). There was no significant difference in clinical outcomes.

Conclusions

This study found that a diagnostic intervention for management of febrile outpatients did not achieve the desired impact on antibiotic prescribing at 3 diverse and representative health facility sites in Uganda.