bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustainable binary/ternary blended mortars with recycled water treatment sludge using fly ash or blast slag: Characterization and environmental-economical impacts
Authors: Kina Ceren
Published: January 2024

Water treatment sludge (WTS) is produced daily and disposed of as hazardous material. It would be advisable to use locally available waste products as supplementary cementitious materials that ensure to be disposed of without harming the environment. As a novelty, this research investigated the potential of using recycled WTS with fly ash (FA) and ground-granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) as ternary blended binders. Thus, it can provide an economical solution and alleviate the adverse environmental effects of excessive production of wastes and cement production. Within this scope, the mortars with 0–30 wt% replacement of cement with modified WTS (MWTS) were produced as binary blend, and also, they were combined with FA/BFS as ternary blended binders. Therefore, optimum utilization of waste products into the mortar in terms of rheological, mechanical, durability, microstructural properties, and environmental-economical aspects was examined. Adding 10% recycled WTS as binary caused higher strengths with lower porosity measured by the mercury intrusion porosimeter test and denser microstructure, as revealed by XRD patterns and SEM results. However, the drawbacks of using recycled WTS, in terms of rheological parameters and environmental-economical aspects, were suppressed by adding FA/BFS with comparable strength values. Specifically, cost, CO2 footprint, and embodied energy were reduced by combining 10% MWTS with FA by 8.87%, 37.88%, and 33.07%, respectively, while 90-day compressive and flexural strength were 5.1% and 5.32% lower. This study developed a feasible solution to use recycled MWTS by obtaining more eco-friendly and cost-effective cement-based materials.

Graphical Abstract
Trace elements in the muscle and liver tissues of Garra shamal from the freshwater ecosystem of Oman: an exposure risk assessment
Authors: Al Jufaili Saud M. , Adel Milad , Shekarabi Seyed Pezhman Hosseini , Copat Chiara , Velisek Josef
Published: January 2024

Anthropogenic activities lead to environmental contamination with foreign substances such as heavy metals. This work was aimed to monitor trace elements (total arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chrome (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn)) contamination levels (dry weight base) in three natural freshwater reservoirs of Oman including Al Khawd and Al Amarat (Muscat Governorate) and Surur area (Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate as control area) using a native benthic inland fish (Garra shamal; Cyprinidae) for the first time. The muscle and liver of a hundred and twenty G. shamal were collected to assess the degree of metal contamination. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used as an analytical technique. From the spectrum of analyzed elements, we found Zn as a major element in monitored areas. The statistically significant (P < 0.05) highest concentrations of Zn liver (0.275 ± 0.065 µg/g) were in Al Amarat compared to the other areas. The concentrations of monitored elements in the fish muscle were lower than the liver samples. Furthermore, the fish length was significantly correlated with the accumulation of Hg and Co in both muscle and liver samples. In all analyzed fish from Oman inland water, the concentrations of elements were below the permissible limits; however, additional research is needed.
Social life cycle assessment in the chocolate industry: A Colombian case study with Luker Chocolate
Authors: Luna Ostos Luisa Marcela , Roche Lindsey , Coroama Vlad , Finkbeiner Matthias
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Chocolate is a widely consumed product and consumers are increasingly interested in its sustainability. However, the lack of scientific studies covering the social dimension hinders a holistic assessment of the sustainability. A social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) was conducted in cooperation with a Colombian chocolate manufacturer following the Guidelines for S-LCA of Products and Organizations 2020. This study represents the first application of S-LCA in the chocolate sector covering both cocoa cultivation and chocolate manufacturing.

Methods

The study aimed to identify the main social hotspots within the value chain of a dark chocolate product, as well as to identify the potential and actual social performance of this product. The stakeholders assessed in the study were workers (in the cocoa plantation and manufacturing plant), society, and the local community. Primary inventory data was collected through on-site semi-structured interviews as well as through the review of company reports. Secondary data used to build the reference scales for impact assessment were taken from national regulations and best practice standards. In total, 16 subcategories were assessed.

Results and discussion

The overall results showed an outcome of at least a compliance level (0), and a performance beyond compliance (+ 1 or + 2) for the local community and society. The latter was attributable to the role of the company as an agent of change in a region heavily impacted by violence and poverty. Furthermore, numerous interviewees stressed the importance of companies in the Colombian post-conflict context to re-integrate former conflict actors back into the labor market. For workers, the results also indicated a performance on the compliance level or above, with child labor and health and safety scoring as + 2 and social benefits/social security scoring as + 1. Areas of improvement were identified in subcategories where the score was on the compliance level (0) such as working hours, fair salary, equal opportunities, and employment relationships.

Conclusions

A main challenge encountered was the definition of reference scales for subcategories with no recognized standards applicable to the socio-political context. This suggested a necessity for further S-LCA applications in regions with armed conflicts. The study provided insight into the social sustainability of the chocolate industry across the life cycle, covering the cocoa plantation and the manufacturing plant. At the same time, it provided the company with a tool to measure the positive and negative social impacts of their actions on stakeholders and redirect efforts towards the areas most in need.
Histidine-based ionizable cationic surfactants: novel biodegradable agents for hydrophilic macromolecular drug delivery
Authors: Polidori Ilaria , To Dennis , Kali Gergely , Bernkop-Schnürch Andreas
Published: January 2024

The aim of this study was to design surfactants based on histidine (His) for hydrophobic ion-pairing and evaluate their safety and efficacy. Lauryl, palmitoyl and oleyl alcohol, as well as 2-hexyl-1-decanol were converted into surfactants with histidine as head-group via esterification. The synthesized His-surfactants were characterized regarding pKa, critical micellar concentration (CMC), biodegradability, toxicity on Caco-2 cells, and ability to provide endosomal escape. Furthermore, the suitability of these agents to be employed as counterions in hydrophobic ion pairing was evaluated. Chemical structures were confirmed by 1H-NMR, FT-IR, and MS. The synthesized surfactants showed pKa values ranging from 4.9 to 6.0 and CMC values in the range of 0.3 to 7.0 mM. Their biodegradability was proven by enzymatic cleavage within 24 h. Below the CMC, His-surfactants did not show cytotoxic effects on Caco-2 cells (cell viability > 80%). All His-surfactants showed the ability to provide endosomal escape in a pH-dependent manner in the range of 5.2 to 6.8. Complexes formed between His-surfactants and heparin or plasmid DNA (pDNA) via hydrophobic ion pairing showed at least 100-fold higher lipophilicity than the correspondent model drugs. According to these results, His-surfactants might be a promising safe tool for delivering hydrophilic macromolecular drugs and nucleic acids.

Graphical abstract
Proxy Assertions and Agency: The Case of Machine-Assertions
Authors: Arora Chirag
Published: January 2024

The world is witnessing a rise in speech-enabled devices serving as epistemic informants to their users. Some philosophers take the view that because the utterances produced by such machines can be phenomenologically similar to an equivalent human speech, and they may deliver the same function in terms of delivering content to their audience, such machine utterances should be conceptualized as “assertions”. This paper argues against this view and highlights the theoretical and pragmatic challenges faced by such a conceptualization which seems to be based on a “functionalist” account of assertion. Instead, the paper argues that the view that some such machine utterances can be “proxy assertions”, made on behalf of the designers and/or deployers of such machines is more tenable. Existing accounts of such a view, however, need further refinement, which is provided here. The paper then discusses implications of this view for design of such machines, particularly those enabled and equipped with machine learning capabilities.
Removal of paracetamol from aqueous solution with zinc oxide nanoparticles obtained by green synthesis from purple basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) waste
Authors: Solmaz Alper , Turna Talip , Baran Ayşe
Published: January 2024

In this study, environmentally friendly zinc oxide nanoparticles (OB-ZnO NPs) were synthesized using Ocimum basilicum (OB) plant waste extract, and the removal of paracetamol (PCM) from pharmaceutical wastes with toxic effects on the ecosystem was investigated. The characteristic structure of synthesized OB-ZnO NPs was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zetasizer, thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), and UV-vis spectroscopy. The effect of the obtained OB-ZnO NPs on PCM removal was determined by batch adsorption tests. In the study in which 6 different kinetic and isotherm models were examined, error analysis functions were used to determine the most suitable model. Accordingly, the crystal structure of biosynthesized OB-ZnO NPs has a particle size of 30.39 nm, a surface area of 13.826 m2/g, and a pore volume of 0.0475 cm3/g. Since OB-ZnO NPs have a zeta potential of − 22.1 mV and a mass loss of 33% at about 750 °C, these NPs show that they are durable at high temperatures. When the PCM removal mechanisms with OB-ZnO NPs were examined, it was determined that the most suitable kinetic and isotherm model was the Elovich model with an R2 value of 0.989 and the Redlich-Peterson model with an R2 value of 0.999. In the study, which reached 23 mgPCM/gOB-ZnO NP removal efficiency, it was revealed that OB-ZnO NPs obtained from waste plants have the potential to be used in the removal of pharmaceutical wastes.

Graphical abstract
Gender-Related Differences in the Effects of Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Emotions on Autonomous Use of Technology in Second Language Learning
Authors: Csizér Kata , Albert Ágnes
Published: January 2024

The aim of our paper is to explore the predictor variables of autonomous use of technology (Benson, 2011) in relation to second language learning. To this end, we explored motivated learning behavior (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021), self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) and several language learning-related emotions, such as enjoyment, pride, hope, curiosity, confusion, anxiety, shame, boredom, and apathy (Albert et al., 2021) in our quantitative study. Our research questions concerned the investigation of gender differences in addition to exploring relationships between the constructs analyzed. Our standardized questionnaire was completed by 1,152 secondary school students, 467 boys and 682 girls. Regression analysis results suggest that, in addition to motivation and self-efficacy, there are several emotions which significantly shape the autonomous use of technology related to language learning. Out of these, confusion (with a negative effect) and boredom (surprisingly with a positive effect) influence autonomy for all students, while pride and shame are significant only for boys and anxiety exclusively for girls. Our results have both theoretical and pedagogical implications. The findings concerning the individual difference variables tested contribute to the study of the complex interplay of these variables, and the pedagogical implications draw our attention to the important role of teachers in shaping emotions.
When reality falls short of preferences: a response surface analysis of working time arrangements and older employees’ work ability expectations
Authors: Wöhrmann Anne Marit , Brauner-Sommer Corinna , Michel Alexandra
Published: January 2024

In times of labor shortages and rising regular retirement ages it becomes increasingly important to maintain older employees’ work ability. In this study, drawing on person-environment fit theory, we assume that when working time arrangements do not meet older employees’ preferences this is negatively related to their expected work ability. We operationalize expected work ability as the age until which older employees believe to be physically and mentally able to work in their job. We use a subsample of 4347 employees aged 50 to 65 of the BAuA-Working Time Survey 2017. Results of polynomial regression analyses and response surface analyses reveal that expected work ability is lower when a) actual working hours exceed preferred working hours, b) provided flextime, that is the possibility to control one’s daily beginning and end of the workday, falls short of flextime preferences, and c) work-nonwork segmentation possibilities, that is the possibility to separate work from private life, fall short of the work-nonwork segmentation preferences.

Practical Relevance:

Our study is of practical relevance, especially to organizations who aim to keep their older employees in the workforce. The findings indicate that not only actual working time arrangements themselves but also the fit with older employees’ preferences can play an important role to keep them in the workforce.
Innovations in functional genomics and molecular breeding of pea: exploring advances and opportunities
Authors: Chen Baizhi , Shi Yan , Sun Yuchen , Lu Lu , Wang Luyao , Liu Zijian , Cheng Shifeng
Published: January 2024

The garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a significant cool-season legume, serving as crucial food sources, animal feed, and industrial raw materials. The advancement of functional genomics over the past two decades has provided substantial theoretical foundations and progress to pea breeding. Notably, the release of the pea reference genome has enhanced our understanding of plant architecture, symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF), flowering time, floral organ development, seed development, and stress resistance. However, a considerable gap remains between pea functional genomics and molecular breeding. This review summarizes the current advancements in pea functional genomics and breeding while highlighting the future challenges in pea molecular breeding.
An overview of artificial intelligence in the field of genomics
Authors: Maqsood Khizra , Hagras Hani , Zabet Nicolae Radu
Published: January 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing many real-world applications in various domains. In the field of genomics, multiple traditional machine-learning approaches have been used to understand the dynamics of genetic data. These approaches provided acceptable predictions; however, these approaches are based on opaque-box AI algorithms which are not able to provide the needed transparency to the community. Recently, the field of explainable artificial intelligence has emerged to overcome the interpretation problem of opaque box models by aiming to provide complete transparency of the model and its prediction to the users especially in sensitive areas such as healthcare, finance, or security. This paper highlights the need for eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in the field of genomics and how the understanding of genomic regions, specifically the non-coding regulatory region of genomes (i.e., enhancers), can help uncover underlying molecular principles of disease states, in particular cancer in humans.
Community Health Workers’ experiences of an intervention to provide them with increased support and supervision: a qualitative study of a home visiting model in rural South Africa
Authors: Stansert Katzen L. , Skeen S. , Dippenaar E. , Laurenzi C. , Notholi V. , le Roux K. , le Roux I. , WaluWalu N. , Mbewu N. , Rotheram Borus M. J. , Tomlinson M.
Published: January 2024

Deploying Community Health Workers (CHWs) is a crucial strategy to improve health at a community level in low- and middle-income countries. While there is substantial evidence for CHW effectiveness, there is a need for more research on the mechanisms through which these programs work. Understanding CHWs experiences of how programmes function is important. This article examines CHW’s experiences of three key programmatic domains; training, logistical support and supervision. Data were gathered using through qualitative descriptive study drawing from semi-structured interviews. The study was embedded within a cluster randomized controlled trial, testing the effectiveness of an enhanced supervision package delivered to government-employed CHWs in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa, on maternal and child health outcomes We conducted individual semi structured interviews with CHWs (n = 16) and two supervisors. Data were coded deductively and overall, three overarching areas and five sub-themes emerged from our interviews, the overarching teams were; 1) CHW knowledge and confidence increased through additional training, 2) CHW motivation and community acceptance improved because of added logistical support, and 3) CHW supervision led to improved sense of accountability, feelings of respect, and sense of being supported. Our findings highlight the importance of a functional support system within which CHWs can operate, in a context where most CHWs operate in isolation and without support. CHWs receiving supportive supervision reported positive impacts on their motivation and ability to carry out their work effectively. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02957799, 2016-11-08.
New Public Governance as a Hybrid
Authors: Cataldi Laura
Published: January 2024

This Element focuses on New Public Governance as one of the major administrative narratives of our times. It offers a critical interpretation of NPG as a hybrid tool for management, governance, and reform, arguing that NPG coexists with and is likely to gradually merge into New Public Management. Several arguments support the 'continuity and hybridization' hypothesis, whereby the transition from NPM to NPG occurred through the retention of key elements and a layering and sedimentation process. These arguments challenge the “linear substitution” hypothesis, accounting for NPM's persistence and dominance. The Element develops a new interpretation of NPG and discusses the challenges that NPG poses. Finally, it shows that exploring hybridity is critical for evaluating the potential of NPG in terms of a shift in public administration and understanding governance trajectories and reform scenarios.
Salivary iodide status as a measure of whole body iodine homoeostasis?
Authors: Alsaeedi Eatedal Eenizan , Rose Peter , Welham Simon J. M.
Published: January 2024

Iodine is a trace element required to produce the thyroid hormones, which are critical for development, growth and metabolism. To ensure appropriate population iodine nutrition, convenient and accurate methods of monitoring are necessary. Current methods for determining iodine status either involve a significant participant burden or are subject to considerable intra-individual variation. The continuous secretion of iodide in saliva potentially permits its use as a convenient, non-invasive assessment of status in populations. To assess its likely effectiveness, we reviewed studies analysing the association between salivary iodide concentration (SIC) and dietary iodine intake, urinary iodide concentration (UIC) and/or 24-h urinary iodide excretion (UIE). Eight studies conducted in different countries met the inclusion criteria, including data for 921 subjects: 702 healthy participants and 219 with health conditions. SIC correlated positively with UIC and/or UIE in four studies, with the strength of relationship ranging from r = 0·19 to r = 0·90 depending on sampling protocol, age, and if salivary values were corrected for protein concentration. Additionally, SIC positively correlated with dietary intake, being strongest when saliva was collected after dinner. SIC varied with external factors, including thyroid function, use of some medications, smoking and overall health status. Evidence provided here supports the use of SIC as a viable, low-burden method for determining iodine status in populations. However, small sample sizes and high variability indicates the need for more extensive analyses across age groups, ethnicities, disease states and dietary groups to clarify the relative accuracy and reliability in each case and standardise procedure.
Bridging the gap between science and food policy: nutrition as a driver of policy drawing on Scotland as a case study
Authors: Gill Margaret , Fowler Kieran , Scott E Marian
Published: January 2024

Access to adequate food is one of the Human Rights set out in international law and hence its delivery (through policy) is the role of government. ‘Food policy’ cannot be the role of a single government department, however, since regulations must take care of public goods (e.g. public health and protecting the natural environment) while also creating an economic environment attractive to private sector participation. From the mid-20th century, much of food policy was driven by a need to encourage the production base, but more recently the importance of considering food policy through the lens of nutritional requirements is increasingly recognised, alongside the importance of minimising environmental damage. This review paper draws on experience of working with policymakers (in particular the Scottish Government) and of active participation in an EC-commissioned project. It highlights the need for the research community to invest time and resources in understanding what evidence policymakers are asking for and to consider that alongside evidence from those who will be impacted by the policy (stakeholders). Examples of effective ways of engaging stakeholders and policy communities simultaneously are outlined and the paper provides some thoughts on the boundaries between the science and policy communities and how to bridge them. The Case Study also highlights the importance of evidence to inform prioritisation and consultation at a local level when aiming to meet multiple policy goals nationally.
A tale of two species: Pringlea antiscorbutica and Azorella polaris, sub-Antarctic scurvy remedies
Authors: Hartley Karri Horton , Guy Paul L. , Lord Janice M.
Published: January 2024

Pringlea antiscorbutica (Brassicaceae) and Azorella polaris (syn. Stilbocarpa polaris, Apiaceae) are endemic sub-Antarctic flowering plants of significant ecological and historical importance. Pringlea antiscorbutica occurs on Îles Kerguelen and Crozet, Prince Edward, and the Heard and MacDonald Islands; A. polaris on Auckland, Campbell, and Macquarie Islands. We examine the use of these unrelated species of “wild cabbage,” as scurvy remedies and sustenance for eighteenth–nineteenth-century sailors. We trace their European discovery, taxonomic treatment, morphological representation, and cultural association through the historical record. Scurvy killed more sailors during the sixteenth-nineteenth centuries than armed conflict and shipwrecks combined. Both plants were essential to the survival of sailors and formed a nutritious, carbohydrate-rich staple of their diets, however, attitudes to these plants were strongly influenced by cultural background. Use of P. antiscorbutica as a scurvy remedy was promoted by Cook and Anderson, leading to a greater historical legacy than A. polaris, and a unique contemporary research focus on the plant’s nutritional value and cultivation potential. In contrast, contemporary studies of A. polaris have been directed primarily at the plant’s protection. Pringlea antiscorbutica and A. polaris are intrinsically linked to human associations with the sub-Antarctic islands, which further increases their cultural and conservation value.
A “Tick and Flick” Exercise: Movement and Form in Australian Parliamentary Human Rights Scrutiny
Authors: Mulcahy Sean , Seear Kate
Published: January 2024

Human rights scrutiny processes in some Australian parliaments require consideration of whether rights-limiting legislation is reasonable, justifiable, and proportionate. The Queensland Human Rights commissioner has raised concerns of this becoming a “perfunctory ‘tick and flick’ exercise” in which decision-makers perform the “dance steps to [rights] derogation”—a concern emulated by others. Taking this notion of “tick and flick” and “dance steps” literally, this article explores movement and form in the composition of parliamentary human rights scrutiny reports. Drawing from Marie Jacob and Anna Macdonald's notion of legal documents as material, somatic, and metaphorical forms, this article analyzes the choreographic and calligraphic forms in these reports. Through exploring the forms themselves alongside interview data about parliamentary human rights scrutiny practices, this article speculates on whether form has bearing on the process of parliamentary human rights scrutiny, and how form shapes the substance of both the reports and human rights themselves.
Legitimacy of government and governance
Authors: Arif Imran , Dutta Nabamita
Published: January 2024

This paper highlights scholarly neglect of political legitimacy, the idea of a state's use of power in ways acceptable to its citizens. We argue that political legitimacy affects a state's ability to formulate and implement its policies, thus affecting governance. Our paper provides the first empirical evidence of the positive relationship between political legitimacy and governance. We combine novel cross-sectional data on political legitimacy and several governance indicators from 66 countries. Our results show that a one-standard-deviation increase in the legitimacy score increases the rule of law indicator by about one-third standard deviation. These results are robust across OLS, an instrumental variable method, and several other governance indicators. Moreover, our results reveal that in the presence of greater trust, political legitimacy has an enhanced impact on governance.
Entwicklung und Validierung einer deutschen Kurzversion des Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI)
Authors: Strubel Isabel Theresia , Freund Susanne , Güntert Stefan Tomas
Published: January 2024

Zusammenfassung: Das Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI, Clary et al., 1998 ) erfasst mit 6 Skalen (Karriere-‍, Selbstwert-‍, Schutz-‍, Soziale Anpassungs-‍, Erfahrungs- und Wertefunktion) die Motivation von Freiwilligenarbeit. Das Inventar, das auch in einer deutschen Adaptation vorliegt ( Oostlander et al., 2014 ), umfasst jedoch insgesamt 30 Items, was seinem Einsatz entgegenstehen kann. Daher wurde eine deutsche Kurzversion des VFI, die zwei Items pro Funktion umfasst, entwickelt und validiert. Anhand von zwei unterschiedlichen Stichproben freiwillig Tätiger ( N1 = 2 576 und N2 = 202) wurden Itemanalysen durchgeführt, die Faktorenstruktur überprüft und die Kriterien der lokalen Anpassungsgüte betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse dieser Analysen sprechen für eine hohe Reliabilität und faktorielle, konvergente sowie diskriminante Validität der Kurzversion. Hohe Zusammenhänge zwischen der Kurzversion und der deutschen Adaptation in einer weiteren Stichprobe ( N3 = 573) sowie dem englischsprachigen Pendant der Kurzversion und der englischsprachigen Langversion ( N4 = 101) bestätigen, dass die Skalen der Kurzversion jene des VFI angemessen repräsentieren. Die entwickelte Kurzversion eignet sich somit zur ökonomischen Messung der Motive von Freiwilligenarbeit.
Spatial Variations in the Degree of Upper‐Mantle Depletion in a Mid‐Ocean Ridge–Transform Fault System
Authors: Morishige M.
Published: January 2024

Partial melting beneath a mid‐ocean ridge creates a chemically depleted layer in the uppermost mantle. This chemical depletion lowers the density of the lithosphere compared with the unmelted mantle. Furthermore, dehydration associated with depletion leads to an increase in mantle viscosity that may affect the structure and dynamics of the oceanic plate. Previous studies have mainly considered the formation of this depleted upper‐mantle layer in a two‐dimensional mid‐ocean ridge setting, leaving the dynamics of mid‐ocean ridge–transform fault systems largely unexplored. In this study, spatial variations in the degree of depletion in the uppermost mantle are predicted for a mid‐ocean ridge–transform fault system using a three‐dimensional thermomechanical model. The degree of depletion generally increases with increasing half‐spreading rate. Less depletion is predicted beneath the transform fault and fracture zone compared with the surrounding mantle. Lateral differences in the degree of depletion in the ridge‐parallel direction are reduced when plastic yielding is considered. The degree of variation in the predicted depletion is related to the transform fault length especially at a low spreading rate, thereby suggesting that the large scatter in observed abyssal peridotite compositions with slow spreading rates could be partly attributed to the length of the fault.
Crustal‐Scale Duplex Development During Accretion of the Jiuxi Foreland Basin, North Qilian Shan
Authors: Wang Yiran , Oskin Michael E. , Li Youli , Hu Xiu , Lei Jinghao , Liu Fei
Published: January 2024

Understanding the propagation of shortening, especially the interaction of shallow and deep structural levels in space and time is important to understand the accretion process of a compressional orogen as well as to fully understand earthquake hazards to populated foreland basins. Here we combine evidence from geologic maps and stream‐terrace surveys to construct a set of retrodeformable cross‐sections of the western North Qilian Shan foreland. The uplifted, severely tilted Mesozoic and older rock units suggest the presence of both deep and shallow décollements in western and central part of our research area, and that these structures alternated activity since commencement of the latest phase of the North Qilian Shan uplift. Conversely, in the east, the absence of foreland fold‐and‐thrust belt and the moderately tilted Mesozoic rocks indicate the deformation is dominated by thick‐skinned uplift. Based on our cross‐sections, we estimate the long‐term shortening rate of the Jiuxi foreland basin of 1.2–1.8 m/Kyr. Deformed foreland terraces show that, from west to east in our research area, active deformation switches between different structural levels. This trade‐off between deformation styles in time and space shows that two décollement levels bound a crustal‐scale duplex as the foreland is incorporated into the orogen. We suggest the complex and out‐of‐sequence deformation pattern may relate to pre‐existing weakness within the basement rocks and is likely a common characteristic of the North Qilian foreland. This may impose an additional challenge for seismic hazard estimation of the region.
Spatial transcriptomics reveals that metabolic characteristics define the tumor immunosuppression microenvironment via iCAF transformation in oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Liu Zheqi , Zhang Zhen , Zhang Yu , Zhou Wenkai , Zhang Xu , Peng Canbang , Ji Tong , Zou Xin , Zhang Zhiyuan , Ren Zhenhu
Published: January 2024

Tumor progression is closely related to tumor tissue metabolism and reshaping of the microenvironment. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a representative hypoxic tumor, has a heterogeneous internal metabolic environment. To clarify the relationship between different metabolic regions and the tumor immune microenvironment (TME) in OSCC, Single cell (SC) and spatial transcriptomics (ST) sequencing of OSCC tissues were performed. The proportion of TME in the ST data was obtained through SPOTlight deconvolution using SC and GSE103322 data. The metabolic activity of each spot was calculated using scMetabolism, and k-means clustering was used to classify all spots into hyper-, normal-, or hypometabolic regions. CD4T cell infiltration and TGF-β expression is higher in the hypermetabolic regions than in the others. Through CellPhoneDB and NicheNet cell-cell communication analysis, it was found that in the hypermetabolic region, fibroblasts can utilize the lactate produced by glycolysis of epithelial cells to transform into inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (iCAFs), and the increased expression of HIF1A in iCAFs promotes the transcriptional expression of CXCL12. The secretion of CXCL12 recruits regulatory T cells (Tregs), leading to Treg infiltration and increased TGF-β secretion in the microenvironment and promotes the formation of a tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. This study delineates the coordinate work axis of epithelial cells-iCAFs-Tregs in OSCC using SC, ST and TCGA bulk data, and highlights potential targets for therapy.
Management of triplet excitons transition: fine regulation of Förster and dexter energy transfer simultaneously
Authors: Wang Jiaqiang , Yang Yujie , Sun Xinnan , Li Xiaoning , Zhang Liyao , Li Zhen
Published: January 2024

Understanding and management of triplet excitons transition in the same molecule remain a great challenge. Hence, for the first time, by host engineering, manageable transitions of triplet excitons in a naphthalimide derivative NDOH were achieved, and monitored through the intensity ratio (ITADF/IRTP) between thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP). Energy differences between lowest triplet excited states of host and guest were changed from 0.03 to 0.17 eV, and ITADF/IRTP of NDOH decreased by 200 times, thus red shifting the afterglow color. It was proposed that shorter conjugation length led to larger band gaps of host materials, thus contributing to efficient Dexter and inefficient Förster energy transfer. Interestingly, no transition to singlet state and only strongest RTP with quantum yield of 13.9% could be observed, when PBNC with loosest stacking and largest band gap acted as host. This work provides novel insight for the management and prediction of triplet exciton transitions and the development of smart afterglow materials.
NPAS2 dampens chemo-sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma cells by enhancing DNA damage repair
Authors: Zhang Youyu , Chen Yuqiao , Huang Wentao , Zhou Yuan , Wang Ya , Fu Kai , Zhuang Wei
Published: January 2024

Chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin, have remained a cornerstone of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) treatment and continue to play an essential role in clinical practice, despite remarkable progress in therapeutic strategies. Hence, a thorough comprehension of the molecular mechanisms underlying chemotherapeutic agent resistance is paramount. Our investigation centered on the potential involvement of the NPAS2 gene in LUAD, which is highly expressed in tumors and its high expression has been associated with unfavorable overall survival rates in patients. Intriguingly, we observed that the depletion of NPAS2 in LUAD cells resulted in increased susceptibility to cisplatin treatment. Furthermore, mRNA sequencing analysis revealed that NPAS2 deficiency downregulated genes crucial to DNA repair. Additionally, NPAS2 depletion significantly impairs γH2AX accumulation, a pivotal component of the DNA damage response. Further investigation demonstrates that NPAS2 plays a crucial role in DNA double-strand breakage repair via homology-directed repair (HDR). Our inquiry into the molecular mechanisms underlying NPAS2 regulation of DDR revealed that it may enhance the stability of H2AX mRNA by binding to its mRNA, thereby upregulating the DNA damage repair pathway. In-vivo experiments further confirmed the crucial role of NPAS2 in modulating the effect of cisplatin in LUAD. Taken together, our findings suggest that NPAS2 binds to and enhances the stability of H2AX mRNA, thereby decreasing the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy by augmenting DNA damage repair.
Bioinspired polymeric supramolecular columns as efficient yet controllable artificial light-harvesting platform
Authors: Mu Bin , Hao Xiangnan , Luo Xiao , Yang Zhongke , Lu Huanjun , Tian Wei
Published: January 2024

Light-harvesting is an indispensable process in photosynthesis, and researchers have been exploring various structural scaffolds to create artificial light-harvesting systems. However, achieving high donor/acceptor ratios for efficient energy transfer remains a challenge as excitons need to travel longer diffusion lengths within the donor matrix to reach the acceptor. Here, we report a polymeric supramolecular column-based light-harvesting platform inspired by the natural light-harvesting of purple photosynthetic bacteria to address this issue. The supramolecular column is designed as a discotic columnar liquid crystalline polymer and acts as the donor, with the acceptor intercalated within it. The modular columnar design enables an ultrahigh donor/acceptor ratio of 20000:1 and an antenna effect exceeding 100. Moreover, the spatial confinement within the supramolecular columns facilitates control over the energy transfer process, enabling dynamic full-color tunable emission for information encryption applications with spatiotemporal regulation security.
Application of machine learning to assess the influence of microstructure on twin nucleation in Mg alloys
Authors: Yang Biaobiao , Vassilev-Galindo Valentin , Llorca Javier
Published: January 2024

Twin nucleation in textured Mg alloys was studied by means of electron back-scattered diffraction in samples deformed in tension along different orientations in more than 3000 grains. In addition, 28 relevant parameters, categorized in four different groups (loading condition, grain shape, apparent Schmid factors, and grain boundary features) were also recorded for each grain. This information was used to train supervised machine learning classification models to analyze the influence of the microstructural features on the nucleation of extension twins in Mg alloys. It was found twin nucleation is favored in larger grains and in grains with high twinning Schmid factors, but also that twins may form in the grains with very low or even negative Schmid factors for twinning if they have at least one smaller neighboring grain and another one (or the same) that is more rigid. Moreover, twinning of small grains with high twinning Schmid factors is favored if they have low basal slip Schmid factors and have at least one neighboring grain with a high basal slip Schmid factor that will deform easily. These results reveal the role of many-body relationships, such as differences in stiffness and size between a given grain and its neighbors, to assess extension twin nucleation in grains unfavorably oriented for twinning.
Construction of chitosan-supported nickel cobaltite composite for efficient electrochemical capacitor and water-splitting applications
Authors: Medany Shymaa S. , Nafady Ayman , Soomro Razium Ali , Hefnawy Mahmoud A.
Published: January 2024

The construction of highly efficient electrode material is of considerable interest, particularly for high capacitance and water-splitting applications. Herein, we present the preparation of a NiCo2O4-Chitosan (NC@Chit) nanocomposite using a simple hydrothermal technique designed for applications in high capacitance and water-splitting. The structure/composition of the NC@Chit composite was characterized using different analytical methods, containing electron microscope (SEM and TEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). When configured as an anode material, the NC@Chit displayed a high capacitance of 234 and 345 F g−1 (@1Ag−1 for GC/NC and NC@Chit, respectively) in an alkaline electrolyte. The direct use of the catalyst in electrocatalytic water-splitting i.e., HER and OER achieved an overpotential of 240 mV and 310 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, respectively. The obtained Tafel slopes for OER and HER were 62 and 71 mV dec−1, respectively whereas the stability and durability of the fabricated electrodes were assessed through prolonged chronoamperometry measurement at constant for 10 h. The electrochemical water splitting was studied for modified nickel cobaltite surface using an impedance tool, and the charge transfer resistances were utilized to estimate the electrode activity.
Insights into the DHQ-BN: mechanical, electronic, and optical properties
Authors: Lopes Lima K. A. , Lopes Mendonça F. L. , Giozza W. F. , de Sousa Junior R. T. , Ribeiro Junior L. A.
Published: January 2024

Computational materials research is vital in improving our understanding of various class of materials and their properties, contributing valuable information that helps predict innovative structures and complement empirical investigations. In this context, DHQ-graphene recently emerged as a stable two-dimensional carbon allotrope composed of decagonal, hexagonal, and quadrilateral carbon rings. Here, we employ density functional theory calculations to investigate the mechanical, electronic, and optical features of its boron nitride counterpart (DHQ-BN). Our findings reveal an insulating band gap of 5.11 eV at the HSE06 level and good structural stability supported by phonon calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, DHQ-BN exhibits strong ultraviolet (UV) activity, suggesting its potential as a highly efficient UV light absorber. Its mechanical properties, including Young’s modulus (230 GPa) and Poisson’s ratio (0.7), provide insight into its mechanical resilience and structural stability.
Emerald eco-synthesis: harnessing oleander for green silver nanoparticle production and advancing photocatalytic MB degradation with TiO2&CuO nanocomposite
Authors: Shawky Amira M. , Elshypany Rania , El Sharkawy Heba M. , Mubarak Mahmoud F. , Selim Hanaa
Published: January 2024

The tertiary composite of TiO2/CuO @ Ag (TCA) were synthesized by the solid state method using different ratios of TiO2/CuO NCs and Ag NPs. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of nanocomposites were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, Transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectra, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–Vis/DRS) and photoluminescence spectrophotometry. The results showed enhanced activity of TCA hybrid nano crystals in oxidizing MB in water under visible light irradiation compared to pure TiO2. The photocatalytic performance TCA samples increased with suitable Ag content. The results show that the photo degradation efficiency of the TiO2 compound improved from 13 to 85% in the presence of TiO2–CuO and to 98.87% in the presence of Ag containing TiO2–CuO, which is 7.6 times higher than that of TiO2. Optical characterization results show enhanced nanocomposite absorption in the visible region with long lifetimes between e/h+ at optimal TiO2–CuO/Ag (TCA2) ratio. Reusable experiments indicated that the prepared TCA NC photo catalysts were stable during MB photo degradation and had practical applications for environmental remediation.
Efficient pneumonia detection using Vision Transformers on chest X-rays
Authors: Singh Sukhendra , Kumar Manoj , Kumar Abhay , Verma Birendra Kumar , Abhishek Kumar , Selvarajan Shitharth
Published: January 2024

Pneumonia is a widespread and acute respiratory infection that impacts people of all ages. Early detection and treatment of pneumonia are essential for avoiding complications and enhancing clinical results. We can reduce mortality, improve healthcare efficiency, and contribute to the global battle against a disease that has plagued humanity for centuries by devising and deploying effective detection methods. Detecting pneumonia is not only a medical necessity but also a humanitarian imperative and a technological frontier. Chest X-rays are a frequently used imaging modality for diagnosing pneumonia. This paper examines in detail a cutting-edge method for detecting pneumonia implemented on the Vision Transformer (ViT) architecture on a public dataset of chest X-rays available on Kaggle. To acquire global context and spatial relationships from chest X-ray images, the proposed framework deploys the ViT model, which integrates self-attention mechanisms and transformer architecture. According to our experimentation with the proposed Vision Transformer-based framework, it achieves a higher accuracy of 97.61%, sensitivity of 95%, and specificity of 98% in detecting pneumonia from chest X-rays. The ViT model is preferable for capturing global context, comprehending spatial relationships, and processing images that have different resolutions. The framework establishes its efficacy as a robust pneumonia detection solution by surpassing convolutional neural network (CNN) based architectures.
GMean—a semi-supervised GRU and K-mean model for predicting the TF binding site
Authors: Chuah Chai Wen , He Wanxian , Huang De-Shuang
Published: January 2024

The transcription factor binding site is a deoxyribonucleic acid sequence that binds to transcription factors. Transcription factors are proteins that regulate the transcription gene. Abnormal turnover of transcription factors can lead to uncontrolled cell growth. Therefore, discovering the relationships between transcription factors and deoxyribonucleic acid sequences is an important component of bioinformatics research. Numerous deep learning and machine learning language models have been developed to accomplish these tasks. Our goal in this work is to propose a GMean model for predicting unlabelled deoxyribonucleic acid sequences. The GMean model is a hybrid model with a combination of gated recurrent unit and K-mean clustering. The GMean model is developed in three phases. The labelled and unlabelled data are processed based on k-mers and tokenization. The labelled data is used for training. The unlabelled data are used for testing and prediction. The experimental data consists of deoxyribonucleic acid experimental of GM12878, K562 and HepG2. The experimental results show that GMean is feasible and effective in predicting deoxyribonucleic acid sequences, as the highest accuracy is 91.85% in predicting K562 and HepG2. This is followed by the prediction of the sequence between GM12878 and K562 with an accuracy of 89.13%. The lowest accuracy is the prediction of the sequence between HepG2 and GM12828, which is 88.80%.