bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Silencing of catalase reduces unfavorable low‐temperature tolerance capacity in whiteflies
Authors: Ning Jie , Liang Peng , Wu Xiaojie , Wang Wenlu , Wu Qingjun , Wang Shaoli , Yang Xin , Zhang Youjun , Xie Wen
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND

Temperature is a primary factor that determines the eco‐geographical distribution and population development of invasive insects. Temperature stress leads to various negative effects, including excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), and catalase (CAT) is a key enzyme against ROS in the antioxidant pathway. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci MED is a typical invasive pest that causes damage worldwide. Our previous studies have shown that CAT promotes whitefly adaptation to high temperature by eliminating ROS. However, the mechanism underlying the low‐temperature adaptation of whiteflies is still unknown.

RESULTS

In this study, we investigated the role of CAT in the low‐temperature tolerance of B. tabaci MED by analyzing its survival rate, reproduction, and ROS levels at 25 °C (as a control, suitable temperature), 20 °C (moderately decreased temperature), and 4 °C (severely decreased temperature). Silencing of BtCAT1, BtCAT2, or BtCAT3 reduced the viability of whiteflies under a short‐term severely decreased temperature (4 °C), which manifested as decreases in survival and fecundity accompanied by significant increases in ROS levels. Moreover, even at a moderately decreased temperature (20 °C), silencing of BtCAT1 led to high ROS levels and low survival rates in adults.

CONCLUSION

Silencing of BtCATs significantly increased the sensitivity of B. tabaci MED to low temperatures. BtCAT1 is likely more essential than other BtCATs for low‐temperature tolerance in whiteflies. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
The gainers and losers from the United Kingdom's university‐related migration: A subregional analysis of Graduate Outcomes Survey data
Authors: Champion Tony , Green Anne , Kollydas Konstantinos
Published: February 2024

Against the background of the rise in higher‐education participation rates, this paper examines the spatial redistribution of undergraduates across the United Kingdom resulting from moves to and from university. Drawing on the Graduate Outcomes Surveys of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019, address data coded to 53 subregions (SRs) are used to track those enrolled on degree courses by age 20 from domicile to university and workplace 15 months after graduation. The paper begins by examining how university‐ward migration serves to concentrate this group geographically and the way in which subsequent job‐related moves tend to reinforce this process. Each person is then classified on the basis of their migration trajectories between domicile and workplace, enabling a set of migration accounts to be produced for each SR. Applying cluster analysis to these accounts, a six‐way grouping of SRs is used to gauge change between their domicile and workplace populations in both overall numbers and qualitative characteristics, the latter being measured in terms of educational qualifications preuniversity and occupational status 15 months after graduation. These analyses demonstrate how the different types of SRs fare in these exchanges of students/graduates, with more subregions suffering the ‘double whammy’ of losing out in both quantitative and qualitative terms than gaining from this process, with challenging implications for central government's current ‘levelling‐up’ agenda.
A robust Corrádi–Hajnal theorem
Authors: Allen Peter , Böttcher Julia , Corsten Jan , Davies Ewan , Jenssen Matthew , Morris Patrick , Roberts Barnaby , Skokan Jozef
Published: February 2024

For a graph and , we denote by the random sparsification of obtained by keeping each edge of independently, with probability . We show that there exists a such that if and is an ‐vertex graph with and , then with high probability contains a triangle factor. Both the minimum degree condition and the probability condition, up to the choice of , are tight. Our result can be viewed as a common strengthening of the seminal theorems of Corrádi and Hajnal, which deals with the extremal minimum degree condition for containing triangle factors (corresponding to in our result), and Johansson, Kahn and Vu, which deals with the threshold for the appearance of a triangle factor in (corresponding to in our result). It also implies a lower bound on the number of triangle factors in graphs with minimum degree at least which gets close to the truth.
Including the social responsibility of universities and sustainable development goals in the strategic plans of universities in Europe
Authors: Pactwa Katarzyna , Woźniak Justyna , Jach Katarzyna , Brdulak Anna
Published: February 2024

Social responsibility of higher education institutions (HEIs) and 2030 Agenda represent a new tool for improving the management of HEIs. This article aims to conduct an in‐depth study on the diagnosis of the integration of social responsibility guidelines (SR) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) into the strategic plans of Polish and European HEIs. The work shows connections and similarities between the UN Sustainable Development Goals, United Nation Global Compact Principles and the Polish declaration of social responsibility of universities and the forming on this basis the HEI's strategic documents. The methodology of the study was based on the content of open information published on the university's website and research questions addressed to two groups. First was Polish HEIs (N = 83) that have signed the Polish declaration of social responsibility by 2019, the other was European HEIs belonging to the United Nation Global Compact (N = 141). The results indicate that in the current strategic plans of Polish HEIs the process of integrating university social responsibility (USR) into strategic plans is visible at 61.6%, and 43.8% of strategic plans refer to SDGs, unlike for the foreign universities 37.2% and 62.8%.
Ti3C2/Ni/Sm‐Based Screen‐Printed‐Electrode for the ECL Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide as a Milk Preservative
Authors: Arshian Shayesteh , Firoozbakhtian Ali , Salehnia Foad , Naghavi Sheikholeslami Mahsa , Hamidipanah Yalda , Gilnezhad Javad , Reza Ganjali Mohammad , Hosseini Morteza
Published: February 2024

Hydrogen peroxide is a widely used agent in the food industry for its sterilization, packaging, and transportation capabilities. However, its excessive concentration can lead to adverse health effects, especially in gastrointestinal conditions. As a result, it is crucial to detect its presence in food products, particularly milk. To address this need, we have developed a state‐of‐the‐art MXene‐based ECL system that can detect low‐concentration hydrogen peroxide levels with high sensitivity and accuracy. Our system incorporates 2D MXene structures, which not only enhance electrode conductivity but also form a complex with Ni/Sm‐LDH (layered double hydroxide) that enables detection across a broad linear range of 0.05–2 ppm in real samples. Furthermore, we have successfully lowered the detection limit to an impressive 0.005 ppm. With this innovative approach, we can ensure the safety and quality of food products, making it a significant breakthrough in the food industry.
High Electrical Conductivity and Hole Transport in an Insightfully Engineered Columnar Liquid Crystal for Solution‐Processable Nanoelectronics
Authors: De Ritobrata , Maity Madhusudan , Joseph Alvin , Gupta Santosh Prasad , Nailwal Yogendra , Namboothiry Manoj A. G. , Pal Santanu Kumar
Published: February 2024

Discotic liquid crystals (DLCs) are widely acknowledged as a class of organic semiconductors that can harmonize charge carrier mobility and device processability through supramolecular self‐assembly. In spite of circumventing such a major challenge in fabricating low‐cost charge transport layers, DLC‐based hole transport layers (HTLs) have remained elusive in modern organo‐electronics. In this work, a minimalistic design strategy is envisioned to effectuate a cyanovinylene‐integrated pyrene‐based discotic liquid crystal (PY‐DLC) with a room‐temperature columnar hexagonal mesophase and narrow bandgap for efficient semiconducting behavior. Adequately combined photophysical, electrochemical, and theoretical studies investigate the structure‐property relations, logically correlating them with efficient hole transport. With a low reorganization energy of 0.2 eV, PY‐DLC exhibits superior charge extraction ability from the contact electrodes at low values of applied voltage, achieving an electrical conductivity of 3.22 × 10−4 S m−1, the highest reported value for any pristine DLC film in a vertical charge transport device. The columnar self‐assembly, in conjunction with solution‐processable self‐healed films, results in commendably elevated values of hole mobility (≈10−3 cm2 V‐1s−1). This study provides an unprecedented constructive outlook toward the development of DLC semiconductors as practical HTLs in organic electronics.
Recent Advances on Stretchable Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries for Wearable Electronics
Authors: Wang Zhao , Zhu Jian
Published: February 2024

The rapid development of wearable electronics has stimulated the pursuit of advanced stretchable power sources. As a promising candidate, stretchable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (AZIBs), have attracted unprecedented attention owing to their intrinsic safety, low cost, environmental benignity, and high performance, and can be endowed with additional functionalities to broaden the applications of wearable electronics. Here, a comprehensive review on the latest advances of stretchable AZIBs is presented. The materials and methods for stretchable components in AZIBs are first summarized, covering current collectors, electrodes, electrolytes/separators, and encapsulating layers. Subsequently, the benefits of the coplanar, fiber‐shaped, and sandwiched configurations for stretchable AZIBs are analyzed. Moreover, the additional features integrated into stretchable AZIBs are highlighted. Finally, the challenges and prospects of stretchable AZIBs for wearable applications in the future are proposed.
Light and Heat‐Driven Flexible Solid Supramolecular Polymer Displaying Phosphorescence and Reversible Photochromism
Authors: Xu Wen‐Wen , Chen Yong , Xu Xiufang , Liu Yu
Published: February 2024

Herein, a type of light‐ and heat‐driven flexible supramolecular polymer with reversibly long‐lived phosphorescence and photochromism is constructed from acrylamide copolymers with 4‐phenylpyridinium derivatives containing a cyano group (P‐CN, P‐oM, P‐mM), sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin (SBCD), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Compared to their parent solid polymers, these flexible supramolecules based on the non‐covalent cross‐linking of copolymers, SBCD, and PVA efficiently boost the phosphorescence lifetimes (723.0 ms for P‐CN, 623.0 ms for P‐oM, 945.8 ms for P‐mM) through electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonds. The phosphorescence intensity/lifetime, showing excellent responsiveness to light and heat, sharply decreased after irradiation with a 275 nm flashlight or sunlight and gradually recovered through heating. This is accompanied by the occurrence and fading of visible photochromism, manifesting as dark green for P‐CN and pink for P‐oM and P‐mM. These reversible photochromism and phosphorescence behaviors are mainly attributed to the generation and disappearance of organic radicals in the 4‐phenylpyridinium derivatives with a cyano group, which can guide tunable luminescence and photochromism.
Deterministic Formation and Growth of Dendritic Crystals of Attractive Colloids
Authors: Park Sanghyuk , Hwang Hyerim , Kim Shin‐Hyun
Published: February 2024

Dendrites are ubiquitous crystals produced in supersaturated solutions and supercooled melts, but considerably less is known about their formation and growth kinetics. Here, the key factors are explored that dictate dendrite formation and growth, utilizing experimental colloidal models in which the particles act as molecules with Mie potential. Depletion attraction is employed to colloids and manipulate their strength to control supersaturation. Dendrites are predominantly produced under conditions of low supersaturation, where the separation between crystals is large due to slow nucleation. The dendrites do not emerge directly from nuclei. Instead, isotropic grains, initially produced from nuclei, morph into polygons. Arms then sprout from the vertices of these polygons, eventually giving rise to dendrites. Triggering this polygon‐to‐dendrite transformation requires a high diffusional flux. This necessitates a prolonged diffusion time to maintain a steep concentration gradient in the surrounding environment even after the transformation from circular grains to polygons.
Seeded‐Growth of PCN‐224 onto Plasmonic Nanoparticles: Photoactive Microporous Nanocarriers
Authors: Ceballos Manuel , Funes‐Hernando Samuel , Zampini Giulia , Cedrún‐Morales Manuela , Vila‐Fungueiriño José Manuel , Pelaz Beatriz , del Pino Pablo
Published: February 2024

This study addresses the fabrication of microporous plasmonic nanocomposites (NCs) by using plasmonic nanoparticles (i.e., gold bipyramids, AuB) as seeds to grow microporous shells, specifically, metal–organic frameworks (MOF) PCN‐224 of increasing thickness from 69 to 138 nm. This method is based on using a previously synthesized Zr6‐oxo cluster and unfolds at room temperature. Notably, it is demonstrated that the concentration of the AuB seeds determines both the yield of NCs and the resultant thickness of the PCN‐224 shell, illustrating the seeded growth mechanism. Furthermore, it is found that the thermoplasmonic response of the NCs is dominated by the thickness of the microporous shell, with thicker shells having enhanced thermal confinement properties than thinner ones. As a proof of concept, the NCs are loaded with cresyl violet (CV), a lysosomal fluorescent marker. This serves to demonstrate the thermoplasmonic‐induced intracellular release of CV by the photostimulation of the AuB's plasmonic near‐infrared (NIR) band. Moreover, the NCs display exceptional efficacy as photodynamic agents when photostimulated at the PCN‐224's Soret band. In summary, this study offers a facile, efficient, and reproducible methodology for the fabrication of NCs with a controlled geometry while unlocking new possibilities in the field of nanoMOFs as multifunctional theranostic probes.
Exploration of the Lithium Storage Mechanism in Monoclinic Nb2O5 as a Function of the Degree of Lithiation
Authors: Xue Xilai , Asenbauer Jakob , Eisenmann Tobias , Lepore Giovanni Orazio , d’Acapito Francesco , Xing Silin , Tübke Jens , Mullaliu Angelo , Li Yueliang , Geiger Dorin , Biskupek Johannes , Kaiser Ute , Steinle Dominik , Birrozzi Adele , Bresser Dominic
Published: February 2024

Insertion‐type Nb2O5 is a promising candidate for high‐power lithium‐ion anodes. Among the various polymorphs, monoclinic Nb2O5 (H‐Nb2O5) is considered as one of the most promising materials. Herein, the impact of decreasing the lower cutoff potential, i.e., increasing the amount of lithium that is inserted into the crystal structure, from the commonly used 1.0 V versus Li+/Li to 0.8 V and even 0.01 V is explored, yielding reversible specific capacities of 260, 280, and 400 mAh g−1, respectively, at a specific current of 0.05 A g−1. Remarkably, such increase in capacity does not come along with a deterioration of the cycling stability—at least initially. In fact, the comprehensive investigation of the reaction mechanism via operando/ex situ X‐ray diffraction, operando/ex situ X‐ray absorption spectroscopy, ex situ high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, and operando isothermal microcalorimetry reveals that the extension of the voltage range does not affect the crystal structure during the first couple of cycles, but there is a continuous evolution upon long‐term cycling.
Stochastic analysis of plant available water estimates and soil water balance components simulated by a hydrological model
Authors: de Jong van Lier Quirijn , de Melo Marina Luciana Abreu , Pinheiro Everton Alves Rodrigues
Published: February 2024

The uncertainty in soil hydraulic parameters is often not taken into account in process‐based hydrological modeling. Performing runs with 104stochastic parameter realizations, we evaluated the propagation of uncertainty in the Van Genuchten–Mualem (VGM) parameters into estimates of the threshold values of soil water content used to calculate the total and readily available water, and on the long‐term (30 years) simulations of evaporation, transpiration, bottom flux, and runoff by the SWAP hydrological model. The simulated scenarios included weather data from a location in southeast Brazil and seven soils from the same region cropped with maize, comprising a wide range of texture classes. The results showed that uncertainties in VGM parameters affect the estimates of total and readily available water. Water balance components obtained by a deterministic simulation with average VGM parameters did not always agree with the average or median of stochastic simulations, and stochastic simulations including parameter uncertainties should be preferred. Variations in yearly rainfall characteristics were more important for bottom flux and evaporation, while transpiration and runoff were more strongly influenced by the variations in soil hydraulic properties.
RG flows and fixed points of O(N)r models
Authors: Jepsen Christian , Oz Yaron
Published: February 2024

Abstract

By means ofϵand largeNexpansions, we study generalizations of theO(N) model where the fundamental fields are tensors of rankrrather than vectors, and where the global symmetry (up to additional discrete symmetries and quotients) isO(N)r, focusing on the casesr≤ 5. Owing to the distinct ways of performing index contractions, these theories contain multiple quartic operators, which mix under the RG flow. At all largeNfixed points, melonic operators are absent and the leading Feynman diagrams are bubble diagrams, so that all perturbative fixed points can be readily matched to full largeNsolutions obtained from Hubbard-Stratonovich transformations. The family of fixed points we uncover extend to arbitrary higher values ofr, and as their number grows superexponentially withr, these theories offer a vast generalization of the criticalO(N) model.

We also study sexticO(N)rtheories, whose largeNlimits are obscured by the fact that the dominant Feynman diagrams are not restricted to melonic or bubble diagrams. For these theories the largeNdynamics differ qualitatively across different values ofr, and we demonstrate that the RG flows possess a numerous and diverse set of perturbative fixed points beginning at rank four.
On the degrees of freedom of R2 gravity in flat spacetime
Authors: Hell Anamaria , Lüst Dieter , Zoupanos George
Published: February 2024

Abstract

We study the degrees of freedom of R2 gravity in flat spacetime with two approaches. By rewriting the theory a la Stueckelberg, and implementing Lorentz-like gauges to the metric perturbations, we confirm that the pure theory propagates one scalar degree of freedom, while the full theory contains two tensor modes in addition. We then consider the degrees of freedom by directly examining the metric perturbations. We show that the degrees of freedom of the full theory match with those obtained with the manifestly covariant approach. In contrast, we find that the pure R2 gravity has no degrees of freedom. We show that a similar discrepancy between the two approaches appears also in a theory dual to the three-form, and appears due to the Lorentz-like gauges, which lead to the fictitious modes even after the residual gauge redundancy has been taken into account. At first sight, this implies a discontinuity between the full theory and the pure case. By studying the first-order corrections of the full R2 gravity beyond the linear regime, we show that at high-energies, both scalar and tensor degrees of freedom become strongly coupled. This implies that the apparent discontinuity of pure and full R2 gravity is just an artefact of the perturbation theory, and further supports the absence of degrees of freedom in the pure R2 gravity.
Large N master field optimization: the quantum mechanics of two Yang-Mills coupled matrices
Authors: Mathaba Kagiso , Mulokwe Mbavhalelo , Rodrigues João P.
Published: February 2024

Abstract

We study the large N dynamics of two massless Yang-Mills coupled matrix quantum mechanics, by minimization of a loop truncated Jevicki-Sakita effective collective field Hamiltonian. The loop space constraints are handled by the use of master variables. The method is successfully applied directly in the massless limit for a range of values of the Yang-Mills coupling constant, and the scaling behaviour of different physical quantities derived from their dimensions are obtained with a high level of precision. We consider both planar properties of the theory, such as the large N ground state energy and multi-matrix correlator expectation values, and also the spectrum of the theory. For the spectrum, we establish that the U(N) traced fundamental constituents remain massless and decoupled from other states, and that bound states develop well defined mass gaps, with the mass of the two degenerate lowest lying bound states being determined with a particularly high degree of accuracy. In order to confirm, numerically, the physical interpretation of the spectrum properties of the U(N) traced constituents, we add masses to the system and show that, indeed, the U(N) traced fundamental constituents retain their “bare masses”. For this system, we draw comparisons with planar results available in the literature.
Matrix model correlators from non-Abelian T-dual of AdS5 × S5
Authors: Roychowdhury Dibakar
Published: February 2024

Abstract

We study various perturbations and their holographic interpretation for non-Abelian T-dual of AdS5 × S5 where the T-duality is applied along the SU(2) of AdS5. This paper focuses on two types of perturbations, namely the scalar and the vector fields on NATD of AdS5 × S5. For scalar perturbations, the corresponding solutions could be categorised into two classes. For one of these classes of solutions, we build up the associated holographic dictionary where the asymptotic radial mode sources scalar operators for the (0 + 1)d matrix model. These scalar operators correspond to either a marginal or an irrelevant deformation of the dual matrix model at strong coupling. We calculate the two point correlation between these scalar operators and explore their high as well as low frequency behaviour. We also discuss the completion of these geometries by setting an upper cut-off along the holographic axis and discuss the corresponding corrections to the scalar correlators in the dual matrix model. Finally, we extend our results for vector perturbations where we obtain asymptotic solutions for a particular class of modes. These are further used to calculate the boundary charge density at finite chemical potential.
Ärztliche Gesprächsführung und psychologische Beratung bei Endometriose
Authors: Wischmann Tewes , Ditzen Beate
Published: February 2024

Die Tatsache, dass Endometriose eine der häufigsten Unterleibserkrankungen bei Frauen und Mädchen ist, gerät immer mehr in den Blickpunkt der Öffentlichkeit und der Politik. Auch in der Praxis der niedergelassenen Frauenärztinnen und Frauenärzte in Deutschland bekommt diese Erkrankung einen größeren Stellenwert, es fehlt aber noch an „Werkzeugen“ zur Gesprächsführung und psychologischen Beratung bei Endometriose. Im Beitrag werden konkrete Hinweise für die ärztliche Beratung und Fragenbeispiele dazu gegeben sowie praxisnahe Tipps mit Formulierungsbeispielen für Betroffene von Endometriose (und deren Partner*innen). Diese praktischen Empfehlungen können dazu beitragen, die Beziehung zwischen Arzt und Patientin im Falle einer Endometriose zu verbessern. Die genannten Ressourcen (Ratgeberbücher, Internetseiten) fokussieren ausschließlich auf deutschsprachige Angebote.
Space efficiency and throughput performance in AVS/RS under variant lane depths
Authors: Lupi Giacomo , Accorsi Riccardo , Battarra Ilaria , Manzini Riccardo , Sirri Gabriele
Published: February 2024

An automated vehicle storage and retrieval system (AVS/RS) is a widespread automated warehouse solution that hosts hundreds of stock-keeping units (SKU) and counts thousands of incoming and outgoing unit loads corresponding to a sequence of time-dependent storage and retrieval transactions. AVS/RS ensures high storage density, reduced cycle time, and high productivity. This study introduces and applies an original data-driven comparative and competitive multi-scenario methodology to measure and control the performance of a multi-deep tier-captive AVS/RS. This original methodology measures and controls the impact of lane depth (1), assignment strategy (2), opening strategy (3), and dispatching strategy (4) on the storage capacity, system throughput, and space efficiency in the design and configuration of an AVS/RS. The proposed methodology was applied to a real case study, demonstrating that the combination of the four leverages significantly affects system performance.
Laser marking on polyoxymethylene (POM) polymer substrate for a lean manufacturing application
Authors: Ofoegbu Stanley Udochukwu , Rosa Paulo J. A. , Fernandes Fábio A. O. , Pereira António B. , Fonseca Pedro
Published: February 2024

Laser marking is a critical production process step in most automated production systems. However, some materials such as polyoxymethylene (POM) can be quite challenging to laser to 80 kHz.mark, hence the need to develop new laser marking methods. By employing a wide range of marking parameters (marking speed 15–2000 mm/s, laser power from 10 to 100% of 30 W maximum, and frequencies mainly from 1 to 400 kHz) and characterization techniques, and with the use of marker inks as masking agents successful laser marking POM is demonstrated irrespective of its presentation (white or black coloured) using a new method akin to Laser Polymer Tattooing (LPT), and without prior modification of polymer composition (by addition of laser marking additives). Results indicate laser marking of acceptable quality can be obtained with black POM at marking speeds up to 2000 mm/s. For white POM, markings of acceptable quality were obtained at markings speeds up to 100 mm/s, with laser power ≥ 80% (of 30 W maximum), and with frequencies in the range of 20 kHz with the help of a masking agent. The effects of the laser marking parameters on marking quality and the changes induced in the material are presented and discussed. The wide range of marking parameters employed enabled the determination of feasible marking parameters for the development of a lean manufacturing-based automatic and self-evaluating and improving laser marking system with minimal human intervention.
Translation and validation of the Hirschsprung and anorectal malformation quality of life (HAQL) questionnaire in a Danish Hirschsprung population
Authors: Gosvig Kristina , Jensen Signe Steenstrup , Sjölander Hannes , Hansen Nina Højer , Möller Sören , Qvist Niels , Ellebæk Mark Bremholm
Published: February 2024

Background

Hirschsprung’s disease (HD) may result in an impaired quality of life (QoL) due to bowel problems, postoperative complications and other health-related issues. The Hirschsprung and Anorectal Malformation Quality of Life (HAQL) questionnaire is a disease-specific instrument developed in the Netherlands to measure the QoL in patients with HD and anorectal malformations. The aim of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate HAQL in a Danish Hirschsprung population.

Material and methods

Translation and cultural adaptation were performed according to international guidelines. Invitations to participate in the validation were sent to 401 patients operated for HD during the period from 1985 to 2012. A total of 156 patients completed the translated and culturally adapted Danish versions of HAQL and 35 parents of children and adolescents completed the corresponding parent questionnaire. Reliability was evaluated in terms of internal consistency using Cronbach’s α and test–retest reliability using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient for the retest step. Known groups comparison was performed with comparison of mild HD (defined as recto-sigmoidal HD) and serious HD (defined as more proximal disease).

Results

The internal consistency of the dimensions was overall satisfactory for adults and adolescents but more problematic for children, where Cronbach’s α was less than 0.7 in 60% of the dimensions. For both children and adolescents, the α-value was unsatisfactory for social functioning, emotional functioning, and body image. The test–retest reliability was overall good. The known groups comparison was only able to demonstrate a significant difference between mild and severe HD within one dimension.

Conclusions

The translated version of the HAQL questionnaires provides an overall reliable instrument for evaluating disease-specific QoL in a Danish HD population, but it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the questionnaire, especially in children and adolescents.
Instructed speed and accuracy affect binding
Authors: Selimi Silvia , Moeller Birte
Published: February 2024

In the past few decades, binding and retrieval mechanisms have gained increased interest in research on human action control. Recent studies show that these mechanisms also play a role in the control of multiple independent actions. Here, two or more successively executed responses seem to be bound to each other so that repeating one of them can retrieve the other, affecting performance in this second response and resulting in so-called response–response binding effects. Binding effects are typically found in the response time data and, somewhat less reliably, also in the error rates. Whether binding effects show in the response times, the error rates, or both, is likely influenced by the current speed–accuracy settings of the participants, with binding effects more likely showing in error rates under a speed setting, while more likely showing in RTs under an accuracy setting. Alternatively, different speed–accuracy settings might also entail changes in executive control, affecting the size of observed binding effects. In this study, we tested these assumptions by comparing binding effects under different speed–accuracy settings that were induced via instructions focusing on speed, accuracy, or both (ambivalent). Binding effects were observed in response times independent of instructions, while in error rates, they only showed under speed or ambivalent instructions. These findings indicate that binding effects can be affected by instructions regarding speed and accuracy.
Sozial-ökologische Systeme im Wandel: Landnutzungsvisionen im Kilombero Tal, Tansania
Authors: Höllermann Britta
Published: February 2024

Das Kilombero Tal in Tansania ist eines der größten saisonalen Feuchtgebiete Ostafrikas mit großem landwirtschaftlichem Potenzial. Aktuell dominiert der kleinbäuerliche Regenfeld-Reisanbau, es gibt jedoch schon seit Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts noch nicht umgesetzte Pläne zur Intensivierung der Landwirtschaft. Angesichts sich verändernder hydro-klimatischer Risiken und zunehmender sozioökonomischer Dynamiken stellt sich die Frage nach der Resilienz dieser Mensch-Umwelt-Interaktionen. Dabei geht es um eine nachhaltige Balance zwischen menschlichen Bedürfnissen und der Integrität der Ökosysteme. Eine sozial-ökologische Forschungsperspektive kann hierbei die Wechselwirkungen zwischen den sozialen und biophysikalischen Teilsystemen sowie das Handeln der in die Biosphäre eingebetteten Akteure in den Vordergrund rücken und die verschiedenen Teilsysteme auf verschiedenen räumlichen, zeitlichen und institutionellen Ebenen untersuchen. Die Auswirkungen von Landnutzungsvisionen auf bestehende Landnutzungsmuster und die Rolle der Umweltwahrnehmung werden untersucht, ebenso wie die Perspektiven unterschiedlicher Akteure und deren Einfluss auf Entscheidungs- und Handlungsspielräume. Der Beitrag diskutiert, wie Landnutzungsvisionen räumliche Realitäten schaffen und welche Anpassungsstrategien aus welchen Gründen gewählt werden.
Association of indications for mandibular third molar coronectomy and the Pell and Gregory and the Winter classification systems
Authors: Simons Rashida N. , Gonesh Mitchell S. , Tuk Jacco G. , de Lange Jan , Lindeboom Jerome A.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine how the surgeon’s decision to perform a mandibular third molar coronectomy or surgical removal is associated with the impaction pattern as classified using Pell and Gregory or Winter’s system.

Methods

This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 813 mandibular third molars belonging to 565 patients. All patients were referred for removal of the mandibular third molar and had radiographic signs indicating a close relationship with the inferior alveolar nerve. Panoramic images were classified according to the impaction pattern.

Results

A coronectomy was performed on 492 (60.5%) mandibular third molars.

Most impacted mandibular third molars were class IIB with a mesioangular inclination. A significant association was found between the Pell and Gregory classification and the surgeon’s choice (p = 0.002). Winter’s classification was not significantly associated with surgeon choice (p = 0.425).

Conclusion

Mandibular third molar coronectomy is chosen more frequently than surgical removal if molars are class III and position B.

Trial registration number

Not applicable.
Personalized Pressure Conditions and Calibration for a Predictive Computational Model of Coronary and Myocardial Blood Flow
Authors: Montino Pelagi Giovanni , Baggiano Andrea , Regazzoni Francesco , Fusini Laura , Alì Marco , Pontone Gianluca , Valbusa Giovanni , Vergara Christian
Published: February 2024

Predictive modeling of hyperemic coronary and myocardial blood flow (MBF) greatly supports diagnosis and prognostic stratification of patients suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD). In this work, we propose a novel strategy, using only readily available clinical data, to build personalized inlet conditions for coronary and MBF models and to achieve an effective calibration for their predictive application to real clinical cases. Experimental data are used to build personalized pressure waveforms at the aortic root, representative of the hyperemic state and adapted to surrogate the systolic contraction, to be used in computational fluid-dynamics analyses. Model calibration to simulate hyperemic flow is performed in a “blinded” way, not requiring any additional exam. Coronary and myocardial flow simulations are performed in eight patients with different clinical conditions to predict FFR and MBF. Realistic pressure waveforms are recovered for all the patients. Consistent pressure distribution, blood velocities in the large arteries, and distribution of MBF in the healthy myocardium are obtained. FFR results show great accuracy with a per-vessel sensitivity and specificity of 100% according to clinical threshold values. Mean MBF shows good agreement with values from stress-CTP, with lower values in patients with diagnosed perfusion defects. The proposed methodology allows us to quantitatively predict FFR and MBF, by the exclusive use of standard measures easily obtainable in a clinical context. This represents a fundamental step to avoid catheter-based exams and stress tests in CAD diagnosis.
Modeling and prediction of business success: a survey
Authors: Gangwani Divya , Zhu Xingquan
Published: February 2024

Businesses are the driving force behind economic systems and are the lifeblood of the community. A business shares striking similarity to a living organism, including birth, infancy, rising, prosperity, and falling. The success of a business is not only important to the owners, but is also critical to the regional/domestic economic system, or even the global economy. Recent years have witnessed many new emerging businesses with tremendous success, such as Google, Apple, Facebook etc., yet millions of businesses also fail or fade out within a rather short period of time. Finding patterns/factors connected to the business rise and fall remains a long lasting question puzzling many economists, entrepreneurs, and government officials. Recent advancement in artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, has lend researchers powers to use data to model and predict business success. However, due to data driven nature of all machine learning methods, existing approaches are rather domain-driven and ad-hoc in their design and validations. In this paper, we propose a systematic review of modeling and prediction of business success. We first outline a triangle framework to showcase three parities connected to the business: Investment-Business-Market (IBM). After that, we align features into three main categories, each of which is focused on modeling a business from a particular perspective, such as sales, management, innovation etc., and further summarize different types of machine learning and deep learning methods for business modeling and prediction. The survey provides a comprehensive review of computational approaches for business performance modeling and prediction.
Characterization of hybrid nanofibrils composed of xyloglucan and disintegrated bacterial cellulose
Authors: Tagawa Satomi , Tokuyasu Ken , Yamagishi Kenji , Ike Masakazu , Amano Yoshihiko , Mizuno Masahiro
Published: February 2024

Nata puree (NP)—obtained by disintegrating nata de coco (bacterial cellulose [BC]) using a household blender—can be combined with tamarind seed gum (TG) to generate NPTG. In this study, BC fibrils (BC-TG) were prepared by removing free TG from NPTG and characterized. BC-TG exhibited high water dispersibility and relatively long nanofibrils (> 20 μm). We examined the distribution of xyloglucan, the main component of TG, on BC nanofibrils using immunofluorescence staining with calcofluor white, which stains the hydrophilic cellulose surface, and found that xyloglucan was adsorbed at different sites along the fibers. This indicated that BC-TG was a composite nanofibril of xyloglucan and BC. Furthermore, BC-TG showed a higher degree of adsorption on hydrophobic plastic substrates than BC did, suggesting a change in the surface properties of BC. Because the BC-TG preparation process is simple, requires only water and raw materials, and does not involve chemical reactions, it is expected to be an environmentally friendly method for the preparation and modification of BC nanofibrils.
Let’s Connect: Impact Evaluation of an Intervention to Reduce Mental Health Disparities Among People Who are LGBTQ+
Authors: Facente Shelley N. , Davila Xochitlquetzal , Kowell Niko , Calma Nicky , Kwan Ming Ming , Gupta Shalika
Published: February 2024

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or similarly identified (LGBTQ+) people experience substantial mental health disparities compared to heterosexuals. The “Let’s Connect” intervention was designed to improve mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people. This impact evaluation aimed to assess effectiveness of this intervention during its pilot phase, using a single arm pilot trial. Respondents completed baseline surveys at intervention start, a post survey on the last day of the intervention (at 6 weeks), then a follow-up survey 6 weeks after the intervention ended (at 12 weeks). Pre-post differences in outcomes were analyzed using paired t-tests, chi-square tests, and generalized estimating equations to evaluate impact on mental health outcomes at 6 and 12 weeks, and identify characteristics associated with loss to follow-up. The average value of all three outcome measures decreased substantially between the baseline and post surveys; all of these differences were highly statistically significant, and further decreased between the end of the intervention at 6 weeks and the 12 week follow-up survey. Let’s Connect participants did experience substantial improvements in mental health outcomes, on average, between the start and end of this intervention. Further study of this intervention using a randomized design and control group is warranted.
Universal representation learning for multivariate time series using the instance-level and cluster-level supervised contrastive learning
Authors: Moradinasab Nazanin , Sharma Suchetha , Bar-Yoseph Ronen , Radom-Aizik Shlomit , C. Bilchick Kenneth , M. Cooper Dan , Weltman Arthur , Brown Donald E.
Published: February 2024

The multivariate time series classification (MTSC) task aims to predict a class label for a given time series. Recently, modern deep learning-based approaches have achieved promising performance over traditional methods for MTSC tasks. The success of these approaches relies on access to the massive amount of labeled data (i.e., annotating or assigning tags to each sample that shows its corresponding category). However, obtaining a massive amount of labeled data is usually very time-consuming and expensive in many real-world applications such as medicine, because it requires domain experts’ knowledge to annotate data. Insufficient labeled data prevents these models from learning discriminative features, resulting in poor margins that reduce generalization performance. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach: supervised contrastive learning for time series classification (SupCon-TSC). This approach improves the classification performance by learning the discriminative low-dimensional representations of multivariate time series, and its end-to-end structure allows for interpretable outcomes. It is based on supervised contrastive (SupCon) loss to learn the inherent structure of multivariate time series. First, two separate augmentation families, including strong and weak augmentation methods, are utilized to generate augmented data for the source and target networks, respectively. Second, we propose the instance-level, and cluster-level SupCon learning approaches to capture contextual information to learn the discriminative and universal representation for multivariate time series datasets. In the instance-level SupCon learning approach, for each given anchor instance that comes from the source network, the low-variance output encodings from the target network are sampled as positive and negative instances based on their labels. However, the cluster-level approach is performed between each instance and cluster centers among batches, as opposed to the instance-level approach. The cluster-level SupCon loss attempts to maximize the similarities between each instance and cluster centers among batches. We tested this novel approach on two small cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) datasets and the real-world UEA Multivariate time series archive. The results of the SupCon-TSC model on CPET datasets indicate its capability to learn more discriminative features than existing approaches in situations where the size of the dataset is small. Moreover, the results on the UEA archive show that training a classifier on top of the universal representation features learned by our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches.
Management of Fusarium fruit rot of Luffa cylindrical caused by Fusarium incarnatum and Fusarium chlamydosporum
Authors: Abdel-Kader Mokhtar M. , Khalil Mohamed S. A. , El-Gamal Nadia G. , El-Mougy Nehal S.
Published: February 2024

Fusarium rot of Luffa cylindrical was detected at Kafr-El-Dawar province, Beheira governorate, North Egypt during the growing season 2021. Surveyed disease incidence at Beheira, Kafr El-Shekh and Sharkia governorate showed fruit rot incidences of 18.33%, 16.12%, and 12.42%, respectively. Two fungal isolates of Fusarium spp. were tested for their pathogenic ability to induce Fusarium rot disease and typical disease symptoms. The online Basic Local Alignment Search Tool for Nucleotide Sequences (BLASTN) was used for identification and confirmation of identity performance of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) and DNA sequencing, then compared with sequences available in GenBank. The two fungal isolates were identified as Fusarium incarnatum and Fusarium chlamydosporum and registered under accession number MN480497 and MN480498, respectively. Under laboratory conditions, organic acids, essential oils and organic salts significantly inhibited the growth of the two fungal isolates. Complete inhibition of fungal growth (100%) was recorded at 0.75 g/l of Topsin-M70 (Thiophanate-methyl) and 0.5% of salicylic acid. Meanwhile, a moderate growth reduction was observed using benzoic acid, coumarine, and cinnamon, thyme oil and garlic oil treatments. Under field conditions for two successive seasons, similar trends were observed. Foliar sprays with the fungicide Topsin-M70 showed the largest reduction in disease expression. The highest fruit rot disease reduction was recorded for salicylic acid and coumarin treatments followed by thyme oil, benzoic acid and potassium carbonate, garlic oil, boric acid and sodium bicarbonate. We concluded that the treatments are effective, safe and cost-effective methods for the control of this pre-harvest fruit disease under field conditions.
Analysis of the bonding’s energy in metal-halide perovskites and brief evaluation of meta-GGA functionals TPSS and revTPSS
Authors: Diaz José Juan , Ornelas-Cruz Iván , Cano Francisco J. , Velumani S. , Gallardo-Hernández Salvador , Koudriavtsev Iouri , Mansurova Svetlana
Published: February 2024

Metal-halide perovskites, known for their remarkable photovoltaic performance and ease of production, have garnered global attention in material science. Addressing scalability requires tackling the technology’s primary challenge: instability. Crucial insights into the complex chemistry of these materials are imperative for progress. The present study focused on well-known perovskites, namely CsPbI3, CH3NH3PbI3 and HC(NH2)2PbI3. Through both cohesive energy and ICOHP analysis, the chemical bonding of these compounds. Additionally, a comparative evaluation of the functionals of TPSS, revTPSS, HCTH/407, and PBE was made through bandgap determination. The key findings of this study were: i) having confirmed the predominantly ionic nature of lead halide interactions; ii) having pointed out the predominantly covalent nature of the molecules’ constituents binding; iii) having found that the strongest hydrogen bonds are formed by methylammonium; and iv) having nourished the utility of the TPSS meta-GGA functional in calculating the band gap of organic–inorganic perovskites. The results presented here could be important to the understanding and description of metal halide perovskite materials.
Reinforcement learning tutor better supported lower performers in a math task
Authors: Ruan Sherry , Nie Allen , Steenbergen William , He Jiayu , Zhang J. Q. , Guo Meng , Liu Yao , Dang Nguyen Kyle , Wang Catherine Y. , Ying Rui , Landay James A. , Brunskill Emma
Published: February 2024

Resource limitations make it challenging to provide all students with one of the most effective educational interventions: personalized instruction. Reinforcement learning could be a pivotal tool to decrease the development costs and enhance the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring software, that aims to provide the right support, at the right time, to a student. Here we illustrate that deep reinforcement learning can be used to provide adaptive pedagogical support to students learning about the concept of volume in a narrative storyline software. Using explainable artificial intelligence tools, we extracted interpretable insights about the pedagogical policy learned and demonstrated that the resulting policy had similar performance in a different student population. Most importantly, in both studies, the reinforcement-learning narrative system had the largest benefit for those students with the lowest initial pretest scores, suggesting the opportunity for AI to adapt and provide support for those most in need.