bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proof of concept for the use of trained sniffer dogs to detect osteosarcoma
Authors: Ortal Agustín , Rodríguez Aida , Solis-Hernández María Pilar , de Prado Miguel , Rey Verónica , Tornín Juan , Estupiñán Óscar , Gallego Borja , Murillo Dzohara , Huergo Carmen , García-Llano Juan Luis , Costilla Serafín , Rodríguez René
Published: April 2022

Sarcomas are mesenchymal cancers which often show an aggressive behavior and patient survival largely depends on an early detection. In last years, much attention has been given to the fact that cancer patients release specific odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be efficiently detected by properly trained sniffer dogs. Here, we have evaluated for the first time the ability of sniffer dogs (n = 2) to detect osteosarcoma cell cultures and patient samples. One of the two dogs was successfully trained to discriminate osteosarcoma patient-derived primary cells from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) obtained from healthy individuals. After the training phase, the dog was able to detect osteosarcoma specific odor cues in a different panel of 6 osteosarcoma cell lines with sensitivity and specificity rates between 95 and 100%. Moreover, the same VOCs were also detected by the sniffer dog in saliva samples from osteosarcoma patients (n = 2) and discriminated from samples from healthy individuals with a similar efficacy. Altogether, these results indicate that there are common odor profiles shared by cultures of osteosarcoma cells and body fluid samples from patients and provide a first proof of concept about the potential of canine odor detection as a non-invasive screening method to detect osteosarcomas.
Morphology of subsurface cracks in glass-ceramics induced by Vickers indentation observed by synchrotron X-ray multiscale tomography
Authors: Okuma Gaku , Maeda Kei , Yoshida Satoshi , Takeuchi Akihisa , Wakai Fumihiro
Published: April 2022

The characterization of subsurface cracks induced by indentation is a challenge for understanding contact damage, impact, wear, erosion, and abrasion of brittle materials, because the crack pattern observable on the surface is only a part of the total crack system. Here we applied synchrotron X-ray multiscale tomography to observe the morphology of subsurface cracks produced by Vickers indentation in a novel CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 glass-ceramic with plate-like crystals forming a house-of-cards microstructure. It revealed a diverse type of crack systems around the semispherical microcrack zone beneath the indent, including a new mode II inclined lateral crack driven by the maximum shear stress. Tomography images provided knowledge on how the heterogeneous microstructure affected the toughening processes such as crack deflection, crack bridging, and microcracking.
Sequence-based evaluation of promoter context for prediction of transcription start sites in Arabidopsis and rice
Authors: Hiratsuka Tosei , Makita Yuko , Yamamoto Yoshiharu Y.
Published: April 2022

Genes are transcribed from transcription start sites (TSSs), and their position in a genome is strictly controlled to avoid mis-expression of undesired regions. In this study, we designed and developed a methodology for the evaluation of promoter context, which detects proximal promoter regions from − 200 to − 60 bp relative to a TSS, in Arabidopsis and rice genomes. The method positively evaluates spacer sequences and Regulatory Element Groups, but not core promoter elements like TATA boxes, and is able to predict the position of a TSS within a width of 200 bp. An important feature of the evaluation/prediction method is its independence of the core promoter elements, which was demonstrated by successful prediction of all the TATA, GA, and coreless types of promoters without notable differences in the accuracy of prediction. The positive relationship identified between the evaluation scores and gene expression levels suggests that this method is useful for the evaluation of promoter maturity.
DNA-based copy number analysis confirms genomic evolution of PDX models
Authors: Hoge Anna C. H. , Getz Michal , Zimmer Anat , Ko Minjeong , Raz Linoy , Beroukhim Rameen , Golub Todd R. , Ha Gavin , Ben-David Uri
Published: April 2022

Genomic evolution of patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) may lead to their gradual divergence away of their tumors of origin. We previously reported the genomic evolution of the copy number (CN) landscapes of PDXs during their engraftment and passaging1. However, whether PDX models are highly stable throughout passaging2, or can evolve CNAs rapidly1,3, remains controversial. Here, we reassess the genomic evolution of PDXs using DNA-based CN profiles. We find strong evidence for genomic evolution in the DNA-based PDX data: a median of ~10% of the genome is differentially altered between matched primary tumors (PTs) and PDXs across cohorts (range, 0% to 73% across all models). In 24% of the matched PT-PDX samples, over a quarter of the genome is differentially affected by CN alterations. Moreover, in matched analyses of PTs and their derived PDXs at multiple passages, later-passage PDXs are significantly less similar to their parental PTs than earlier-passage PDXs, indicative of genomic divergence. We conclude that PDX models indeed evolve throughout their derivation and propagation, and that the phenotypic consequences of this evolution ought to be assessed in order to determine its relevance to the proper application of these valuable cancer models.
Atomically resolved TEM imaging of covalently functionalised graphene
Authors: Dolle Christian , Schweizer Peter , Dasler Daniela , Gsänger Sebastian , Maidl Robert , Abellán Gonzalo , Hauke Frank , Meyer Bernd , Hirsch Andreas , Spiecker Erdmann
Published: April 2022

Covalent functionalisation can be a powerful lever to tune the properties and processability of graphene. After overcoming the low chemical reactivity of graphene, covalent functionalisation led to the generation of new hybrid materials, applicable in a broad variation of fields. Although the process of functionalising graphene is nowadays firmly established, fundamental aspects of the produced hybrid materials remain to be clarified. Especially the atomically resolved imaging is only scarcely explored. Here we show aberration corrected in situ high resolution TEM imaging of dodecyl functionalised monolayer graphene at atomic resolution after an effective mechanical filtering approach. The mechanical filtering allows to separate adsorbed contamination from the covalently bound functional molecules and thus opens the possibility for the observation of this hybrid material. The obtained data is validated by DFT calculations and by a novel image simulation approach based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at room temperature.
Mycelium chemistry differs markedly between ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
Authors: Huang Weilin , van Bodegom Peter M. , Declerck Stéphane , Heinonsalo Jussi , Cosme Marco , Viskari Toni , Liski Jari , Soudzilovskaia Nadejda A.
Published: April 2022

The chemical quality of soil carbon (C) inputs is a major factor controlling litter decomposition and soil C dynamics. Mycorrhizal fungi constitute one of the dominant pools of soil microbial C, while their litter quality (chemical proxies of litter decomposability) is understood poorly, leading to major uncertainties in estimating soil C dynamics. We examined litter decomposability of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal species using samples obtained from in vitro cultivation. We showed that the chemical composition of AM and EM fungal mycelium differs significantly: EM fungi have higher concentrations of labile (water-soluble, ethanol-soluble) and recalcitrant (non-extractable) chemical components, while AM fungi have higher concentrations of acid-hydrolysable components. Our results imply that differences in decomposability traits among mycorrhizal fungal guilds represent a critically important driver of the soil C cycle, which could be as vital as is recognized for differences among aboveground plant litter.
Density fluctuations, homeostasis, and reproduction effects in bacteria
Authors: Nemati Shahla , Singh Abhyudai , Dhuey Scott D. , McDonald Armando , Weinreich Daniel M. , Vasdekis Andreas. E.
Published: April 2022

Single-cells grow by increasing their biomass and size. Here, we report that while mass and size accumulation rates of singleEscherichia colicells are exponential, their density and, thus, the levels of macromolecular crowding fluctuate during growth. As such, the average rates of mass and size accumulation of a single cell are generally not the same, but rather cells differentiate into increasing one rate with respect to the other. This differentiation yields a density homeostasis mechanism that we support mathematically. Further, we observe that density fluctuations can affect the reproduction rates of single cells, suggesting a link between the levels of macromolecular crowding with metabolism and overall population fitness. We detail our experimental approach and the “invisible” microfluidic arrays that enabled increased precision and throughput. Infections and natural communities start from a few cells, thus, emphasizing the significance of density-fluctuations when taking non-genetic variability into consideration.
First-principles theory of the rate of magnetic reconnection in magnetospheric and solar plasmas
Authors: Liu Yi-Hsin , Cassak Paul , Li Xiaocan , Hesse Michael , Lin Shan-Chang , Genestreti Kevin
Published: April 2022

The rate of magnetic reconnection is of the utmost importance in a variety of processes because it controls, for example, the rate energy is released in solar flares, the speed of the Dungey convection cycle in Earth’s magnetosphere, and the energy release rate in harmful geomagnetic substorms. It is known from numerical simulations and satellite observations that the rate is approximately 0.1 in normalized units, but despite years of effort, a full theoretical prediction has not been obtained. Here, we present a first-principles theory for the reconnection rate in non-relativistic electron-ion collisionless plasmas, and show that the same prediction explains why Sweet-Parker reconnection is considerably slower. The key consideration of this analysis is the pressure at the reconnection site (i.e., the x-line). We show that the Hall electromagnetic fields in antiparallel reconnection cause an energy void, equivalently a pressure depletion, at the x-line, so the reconnection exhaust opens out, enabling the fast rate of 0.1. If the energy can reach the x-line to replenish the pressure, the exhaust does not open out. In addition to heliospheric applications, these results are expected to impact reconnection studies in planetary magnetospheres, magnetically confined fusion devices, and astrophysical plasmas.
Robustness of noisy quantum networks
Authors: Coutinho Bruno Coelho , Munro William John , Nemoto Kae , Omar Yasser
Published: April 2022

Quantum networks allow us to harness networked quantum technologies and to develop a quantum internet. But how robust is a quantum network when its links and nodes start failing? We show that quantum complex networks based on typical noisy quantum-repeater nodes are prone to discontinuous phase transitions with respect to the random loss of operating links and nodes, abruptly compromising the connectivity of the network, and thus significantly limiting the reach of its operation. Furthermore, we determine the critical quantum-repeater efficiency necessary to avoid this catastrophic loss of connectivity as a function of the network topology, the network size, and the distribution of entanglement in the network. From all the network topologies tested, a scale-free network topology shows the best promise for a robust large-scale quantum internet.
Lateral layered semiconductor multijunctions for novel electronic devices
Authors: Zhang Simian , Deng Xiaonan , Wu Yifei , Wang Yuqi , Ke Shengxian , Zhang Shishu , Liu Kai , Lv Ruitao , Li Zhengcao , Xiong Qihua , Wang Chen
Published: April 2022

Designable lateral layered semiconductor multijunction overview: from controllable synthesis, property modulation to novel electronic devices.
Bioreactivity of a novel poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanocapsule containing atrazine with human lung alveolar epithelial cells
Authors: Moore Amber J. S. , Dean Lareb S. N. , Yam Aiken N. K. , de Lima Renata , Fraceto Leonardo F. , Tetley Teresa D.
Published: April 2022

Nanoencapsulation of pesticide atrazine improves efficacy. However, this study discovered adverse bioreactivity in alveolar type 1 epithelial cells (a major recipient of inhaled nano-sized particles), following exposure to nanoencapsulated atrazine.
Calibration model transfer in mid-infrared process analysis within situattenuated total reflectance immersion probes
Authors: Parrott Andrew J. , McIntyre Allyson C. , Holden Megan , Colquhoun Gary , Chen Zeng-Ping , Littlejohn David , Nordon Alison
Published: April 2022

Spectral space transformation can be used to maintain the performance of calibration models if instrument changes arise in mid-infrared process analysis.
A dicyanoisophorone-based fluorescent probe for hypochlorite with a fast response and its applications in bioimaging
Authors: Chan Chenming , Li Jia , Xue Zhaoli , Guan Binbin
Published: April 2022

We synthesized a phenol-substituted dicyanoisophorone derivative, Is-OL, which has high sensitivity and selectivity for ClO−and allows “naked-eye” detection of hypochlorite with a low detection limit (0.095 μM).
Investigation of adsorptive orientation state change of anionic porphyrin with the hydrolysis reaction of α-tricalcium phosphate
Authors: Noda Daichi , Saito Norio , Yamada Iori , Tagaya Motohiro
Published: April 2022

Interfacial interactions between anionic porphyrin (TCPP) and α-tricalcium phosphate in hydrolysis reaction were clarified, and the orientation of TCPP molecules on the reactive calcium phosphates can be controlled by the mineralization process.
Boost the large driving photovoltages for overall water splitting in direct Z-scheme heterojunctions by interfacial polarization
Authors: Gao Xu , Shen Yanqing , Liu Jiajia , Lv Lingling , Zhou Min , Zhou Zhongxiang , Feng Yuan Ping , Shen Lei
Published: April 2022

Using direct Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts has been regarded as one of the most effective methods to separate photogenerated carriers for photocatalytic redox reactions of water splitting.
Correction: Development of a novel cellulose foam augmented with candle-soot derived carbon nanoparticles for solar-powered desalination of brackish water
Authors: Kumar Thakur Amrit , Sathyamurthy Ravishankar , Velraj R. , Lynch Iseult
Published: April 2022

Correction for ‘Development of a novel cellulose foam augmented with candle-soot derived carbon nanoparticles for solar-powered desalination of brackish water’ by Amrit Kumar Thakur et al., Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d1en01112j.
Interlayer excitons in MoSe2/2D perovskite hybrid heterostructures – the interplay between charge and energy transfer
Authors: Karpińska M. , Jasiński J. , Kempt R. , Ziegler J. D. , Sansom H. , Taniguchi T. , Watanabe K. , Snaith H. J. , Surrente A. , Dyksik M. , Maude D. K. , Kłopotowski Ł. , Chernikov A. , Kuc A. , Baranowski M. , Plochocka P.
Published: April 2022

Investigation of 2D perovskite/MoSe2 heterostructures shows that the charge transfer leads to the formation of inter-layer excitons.
Mapping the electrocatalytic water splitting activity of VO2 across its insulator-to-metal phase transition
Authors: Kim Kyeong-Ho , Kim Kyung-Hwan , Choi Wooseon , Kim Young-Min , Hong Seong-Hyeon , Choi Yun-Hyuk
Published: April 2022

The insulator-to-metal phase transition from VO2(M1) to VO2(R) results in extensive improvements in electrocatalytic activity for both the OER and the HER.
Electronic synergy to boost the performance of NiCoP-NWs@FeCoP-NSs anodes for flexible lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Wu Qian , Wang Linlin , Mao Xin , Yang Yujie , Yan Li , Zeng Suyuan , Zhao Kangning , Huang Qiu-an , Liu Minmin , Liu Xiaojing , Zhang Jiujun , Sun Xueliang
Published: April 2022

Electronic synergy to boost the performance of NiCoP-NWs@FeCoP-NS anodes, which realize high performance for lithium-ion full batteries.
Copper-mediated three-component synthesis of 2-trifluoromethyl benzimidazoles
Authors: You Chenhui , Huang Yangjie , You Yi , Weng Zhiqiang
Published: April 2022

A copper-mediated three-component reaction for the synthesis of 2-trifluoromethyl benzimidazoles is reported.
Sulfur-bridged chromophores for photofunctional materials: using sulfur oxidation state to tune electronic and structural properties
Authors: Yuan Jennifer , Xu Zhen , Wolf Michael O.
Published: April 2022

In this perspective, the effect of different oxidation states in sulfur-bridged bichromophoric systems on structural, photochemical and photophysical properties in organic and coordination compounds is explored.
MXenes: state-of-the-art synthesis, composites and bioapplications
Authors: Fadahunsi Adeola A. , Li Chengpan , Khan Muhammad Imran , Ding Weiping
Published: April 2022

MXenes have shown great potential in a variety of domains. This review elaborates the up-to-date synthesis methods, physicochemical properties and biological applications of MXene-based nanocomposites, as well as the practical hurdles and prospects.
Band-filling effects in single-crystalline oligomer models for doped PEDOT: 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) dimer salt with hydrogen-bonded infinite sulfate anion chains
Authors: Kameyama Ryohei , Fujino Tomoko , Dekura Shun , Imajo Shusaku , Miyamoto Tatsuya , Okamoto Hiroshi , Mori Hatsumi
Published: April 2022

Band-filling modulation of single-crystalline 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene dimer salt from the half-filled state based on hydrogen-bonded anion chain formation enhanced the conductivity.
Mechanochemical synthesis of nonfullerene small molecular acceptors
Authors: Li Zeyang , Deng Ping , Li Siying , Lin Zhensong , Yuan Jianyu , Zhan Hongbing
Published: April 2022

Small molecular acceptors have been successfully synthesized via solvent-free ball milling Knoevenagel condensation in air with ammonium acetate as the catalyst.
Building 3D reconstruction of TomoSAR using multiple bounce scattering model
Authors: Zhang Fubo , Yang Yaqian , Chen Longyong , Yang Ling
Published: April 2022

Tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR) plays a critical role in the 3D reconstruction of complex urban targets with the capability of 3D imaging. Nevertheless, multipath scattering interference is common in 3D point clouds, seriously affecting the structure of the 3D model. In this letter, the multipath scattering phenomenon of buildings is analysed and the building 3D reconstruction of TomoSAR using multiple bounce scattering model is proposed. The superiority of the proposed method is demonstrated for experiments on array TomoSAR data. It is found that the proposed method not only achieves interference suppression but also improves integrity and accuracy taking advantage of multiple scattering information.
Low‐leakage track‐and‐hold buffer in 130‐nm CMOS with open‐gate FET bias
Authors: Morton Susan L. , Tsen Chan‐tang , Ortiz Anthony F. , Cosand Albert E.
Published: April 2022

The goal of this research is to design, fabricate, and test an amplifier circuit which minimizes the input bias current over the input direct current operating point of the amplifier. A biasing scheme to set the drain‐source voltage (Vds) to null the net gate leakage current of the input transistor is shown. The desired Vds bias is obtained by replicating the Vds of a reference transistor that operates at the same current density as the input transistor and has its gate terminal open‐circuited so that the drain‐gate leakage and the gate‐source leakage must cancel. An implementation of this scheme as a cascode amplifier is described. Measurement results are presented showing > 20× reduced drift rate of a track‐and‐hold circuit when the output buffer amplifier uses the new approach as compared with a conventional buffer amplifier.
FPNFuse: A lightweight feature pyramid network for infrared and visible image fusion
Authors: Zhang Zi‐Han , Wu Xiao‐Jun , Xu Tianyang
Published: April 2022

A novel deep learning structure of infrared and visible image fusion is proposed. In particular, feature pyramid networks are developed for enhanced feature extraction across multiple convolutional layers. Besides, a fusion strategy is improved based on the channel attention mechanism to highlight the relevant attributes in the fusion stage. The fusion method consists of four parts: encoder, feature pyramid networks, fusion strategy and decoder, respectively. First, the multi‐scale deep features are extracted from the source images by encoder with embedded feature pyramid networks, realizing cross‐layer interaction. Second, these features are fused by the improved fusion strategy with channel attention for each scale. Finally, the fused features are reconstructed by the designed decoder to produce the informative fused image. The experimental results show that the proposed fusion method achieves state‐of‐the‐art results in both qualitative and quantitative evaluation with a lightweight architecture.
Mathematical analysis of a coupling method for the practical computation of homogenized coefficients
Authors: Gorynina Olga , Le Bris Claude , Legoll Frédéric
Published: April 2022

We present the mathematical study of a computational approach originally introduced by R. Cottereau [Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng.95(2013) 71-90]. The approach aims at evaluating the effective (a.k.a. homogenized) coefficient of a medium with some fine-scale structure. It combines, using the Arlequin coupling method, the original fine-scale description of the medium with an effective description and optimizes upon the coefficient of the effective medium to best fit the response of an equivalent purely homogeneous medium. We prove here that the approach is mathematically well-posed and that it provides, under suitable assumptions, the actual value of the homogenized coefficient of the original medium in the limit of asymptotically infinitely fine structures. The theory presented here therefore usefully complements our numerical developments of Goryninaet al.[SIAM J. Sci. Comput.43(2021) A1273-A1304].
Implementation of technology 4.0 in achieving the effectivity and efficiency of the production process in palm oil plantation
Authors: Dahliani Lili , Wirandayu Sutria , Dewantara M
Published: April 2022

Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a plantation commodity that has a role in the Indonesian economy. The area of palm oil plantations in Indonesia reaches 14,300,000 hectares with 43,000,000 tons of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) production. The implementation of technology 4.0 on palm oil production is needed not only for technology innovation, but also for effectivity and efficiency on production process. This research aims to study the efficiency of resources use and the effectivity of output achievement on palm oil production. This research was done descriptively and quantitatively using primary data, which was direct interviews with the people who works in palm oil plantations, and the secondary data was obtained from research results, plantation company's yearly report, and other literature review. The research result showed that the implementation of technology 4.0 on the recording of employee attendance register and calculation of harvest density rate (HDR) including field and fruit quality was more efficient 25-50% in use of employee and time. The implementation of technology 4.0 was also more effective in achieving output compared to the manual method. The conclusion of this research is the implementation of technology 4.0 on some production process in palm oil plantation is more effective and efficient compared to the manual method. The starting budget on implementing technology 4.0 is higher by 30% compared to the manual method, but it becomes ten times cheaper on the next maintenance cost.
Analysis of The Best Method in Produced of Synbiotics Products for Shrimp Using Microencapsulation Techniques
Authors: Eka Ramadhani Dian , Lesmanawati Wida , Sulistiawati Erni , Widanarni Widanarni
Published: April 2022

This research was conducted to find the best combination of coating material and microencapsulation method for synbiotics. This research consists of 3 chapters. Chapter 1, was conducted to obtain the best combination of 3 types of coating materials (whey protein, skim milk, and maltodextrin) with 3 doses of coating material (0%, 10%, and 20%). Chapter 2, was conducted to find the best microencapsulation method that can maintain viability, the density of probiotic bacteria, and physiological and biochemical properties of bacteria. The probiotic bacteria used was Pseudoalteromonas piscisida with the prebiotic mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS). A total of 9 treatments in Chapter 1 was microencapsulated using spray- and drum-drying methods. Chapter 3, was conducted to determine the economic value of the synbiotic microcapsule products. The best result from Chapters 1 and 2 is synbiotics coated with a combination of 20% skim milk and 20% maltodextrin (treatment 6) with the spray drying method compared to other treatments. Treatment 6 is produced the highest percentage of product, the physical characteristics of which were good white powder when stored in cold (4°C) and room (25-29°C) temperatures. The best result in Chapter 3 is treatment 6 that showed profitable, highest R/C ratio and B/C ratio than other treatments. However, even though the quantity of the product is profitable, the resulting product can not live. Our suggestion is to use another method namely, freeze-drying for microencapsulation of heat-resistant bacteria such as the bacteria used in this study.
Production of Local Microorganism by Utilizing Organic Matter in PT Ultra Peternakan Bandung Selatan
Authors: Alifiah Gunawan Janatin , Sembada Pria , Firmanto Suryo , Ibnu Soewondo Bagus
Published: April 2022

Unmanaged waste in livestock can cause pollution, but it can benefit the environment if managed properly. PT Ultra Peternakan Bandung Selatan reported that effluent produced every day from this farm is about 150.000 liter. The application of local microorganisms (MOL) could be practical because used as a starter for decomposition. However, the most efficient way to produce MOL to manage waste effectively in this company needs to be carried out. This study aimed at improving effluent management by using MOL most efficiently from some organic matters. The analysis performed three treatments for making 10 liters MOL: M1 (Main MOL + molasses + water), M2 (Main MOL + mastitis milk), M3 (Main MOL + milk MOL + water). Each treatment was given a dose of 10% and 15% of 10 liters for main MOL, molasses, and milk MOL. The fermentation experiment was carried out by mixing all the ingredients, that is, main MOL, molasses, and water for M1. For the second ingredient, M2 is mixing mastitis milk and main MOL. Then M3 combines the main MOL, milk MOL, and water. After seven days fermented, observations in local microorganism characteristics were pH, density, and brightness value. The result suggested that treatment M2 (Main MOL + mastitis milk) 10% was the most efficient local microorganism reproduce based on the pH is 4,36, density has a value of 531 gram, and brightness value is 897 lux. The study underlined the importance of mastitis milk to produce MOL and seems effective and efficient to improve the effluent before being evacuated to the land.
Contribution of Contract Farming to Improve Smallholder Seed Multipliers Access to the Market In Rwanda
Authors: Nduwimana Jean Pierre
Published: April 2022

This study assesses the effectiveness of contract farming in improving smallholder maize seed to have multipliers income so that the improvement strategies can be established. Contract farming is seen as linking and maintaining smallholder maize seed multipliers on the seed market and ensures sustainable maize seed supply to the Rwandan farmers after the decision of the government to pull out from bull buying of maize seeds. The results show that Contract farming could contribute to increasing maize seed production. They were reducing transaction costs and marketing risks due to different factors, such as the experience of smallholder multipliers involved. The study finds various factors that can hinder the performance of contract farming, such as limited quantity, low availability of pre-basic seeds essential for certification, pricing mechanism excluding smallholder multipliers, long process, and bureaucracy in seed payment and distribution.
Introduction to the Proceedings of the 8th“Complexity-disorder” days: Tribute to Fernand Braudel and Jean Delacour
Authors: Levy Jean-Claude Serge
Published: April 2022

This introduction to this pluridisciplinary meeting is mainly devoted to celebrate two exceptional pluridisciplinary scientists. Fernand Braudel was simultaneously a historian, geographer, sociologist and economist. The neurophysiologist Jean Delacour was open to other disciplines from philosophy to physics. Braudel’s global point of view of history created new fields in human sciences, paving the way for new active research. For instance, the emergence of the very singular development of world-cities remains to be well understood from detailed network analysis in order to find the driving process of such an emergent deep localization. In a similar way, Delacour’s physiological evidence for unconscious mind resulting from energy saving during sleep remains to be explored in details both for humans and for animals with expected consequences for managing neural networks as well as for quantum computing, and for poetry. The papers of this meeting are shortly introduced.
A tentative tracking of the SARS-Cov2 pandemic in France, based on a corrected SIR model including vaccination effects
Authors: Varret Mathilde , Martin François Xavier , Varret François
Published: April 2022

We developed successive extensions of the SIR model in order to track the dynamics of the SARS-Cov2 disease. The analysis of health system available data is published in a chronicle accessible on the net: https://corona-circule.github.io/lettres/. This chronicle was initiated on late march 2020 and up to now contains 50 issues. A constant concern was the reliability of the data: for instance, we very soon evidenced that the number of confirmed cases, because of the asymptomatic carriers and the erratic testing policy, was hugely underestimated. By the end of 2020 we made a basic change in the model which consisted in accounting for a constant contagiousness time (SIR-tcc) instead of the probabilistic evolution of the end of the infection assumed so far. Recently we completed this SIR-tcc model for the vaccination effects in order to properly track the evolution of the group immunity threshold. Calculations were performed using the Excel facility (Microsoft), allowing a manual fitting of the model parameters. The results have dealt with a large number of countries, but we focus here on the data regarding France. Further pieces of information are also presented, in order to help elucidating some the factors responsible for the complex history of the pandemic dynamics. (submitted dec 14th 2021)
Disorder and the law: a strange hostage-taking
Authors: Joubert Didier
Published: April 2022

In the context of the successive crises that have marked France (terrorism, yellow vests protesters and COVID 19), the judge and the police are trying to respond as best they can to complexity. However, law and science seem to be victims of a strange hostage-taking even though complexity and disorder are constituent elements of reality and therefore subjects for scientific research. After illustrating the messiness and the complexity of the law with concrete examples, the author underlines the importance of science in the field of security and justice and regrets that competition between academic disciplines is hindering the development of a French school of criminology.
Extremophilic and biomimetic architectures for space
Authors: Truyman Sylve , Truyman Pierre-Jacques
Published: April 2022

Extremophilic organisms, living beings with amazing capacities of adaptation to the most hostile and deadly environments to all other living beings, they demonstrate natural adaptation solutions, captivating for the implantation of the life on other planets as much as for the brutal changes of ours. Since the dawn of time, man has used nature as a source of inspiration to innovate and design with a key word, adaptation. This is biomimicry, because nature is the best technology in the world: millions of years of feedback and no copyright…
Typology of pitfalls for causal analyses in physics The case of capillary forces
Authors: Viennot Laurence
Published: April 2022

The reasoning errors of experts in teaching or popularization situations are always surprising. However, they often correspond to “complexity-reducing” schemes, some of which have been categorized for a long time, especially concerning the role of causality. If we restrict ourselves to cases where the reasoning in question leads to the correct result and excludes technical errors, there is still a range of relatively unknown types of invalidity - even though they are in fact very well represented in teaching and popular science practices. The aim of this presentation is to highlight the importance of situating these types of reasoning in a list of problematic explanatory situations previously identified. After a quick reminder of the most well-known elements of such a list, such as “functional reduction” and “linear causal reasoning”, the presentation will focus on cases where the demonstration used seems to surreptitiously remove from the explanatory landscape one of the relevant variables of the phenomenon to be explained. Various examples will show that such a case can be observed in very diverse fields of physics. A case concerning capillary forces - the “liquid bridge” - will introduce a discussion we can have as educators according to our more or less informed treatment of these explanatory situations. At stake: conceptual coherence.
Quantum mechanics: how to use Everett theory practically
Authors: Pomeau Yves , Le Berre Martine
Published: April 2022

Among theories of the physical world, quantum mechanics remains a topic of lively discussions on its so-called interpretation. For some it remains an open question to understand how deterministic equations of this theory, as established long ago, may combine with a fundamental uncertainty. We consider the process of spontaneous emission by an atom interacting with infinite number of degrees of freedom of the electromagnetic field. There is uncertainty in the evolution of the photo-emission process which was characterized as Markovian by using the equations of quantum mechanics when the decay of the atom is due to the coupling with the vacuum field. The Markovian property leads us naturally to describe spontaneous emission by using the classical Kolmogorov equation for the probability evolution of a parameter defining the state of the atom. We explain that Everett’s many-worlds interpretation weld together our description, and appears therefore as a consequence of the equations of quantum mechanics, that solves in this case the riddle of deterministic equations describing random events.
Nonlinear Collective Excitations for a Periodic Array of Domain Walls in Garnet Films with Perpendicular Anisotropy
Authors: Vukadinovic Nicolas , Ben Youssef Jamal
Published: April 2022

The microwave power dependence of the collective translational domain wall resonance spectra in garnet films with a perpendicular anisotropy supporting parallel stripe domains has been investigated using broadband ferromagnetic resonance experiments. Besides the fundamental domain wall resonances, a narrow subharmonic resonance at half the frequency of the fundamental Bloch domain wall resonance is revealed. For each domain wall resonance, the power dependences of the resonance frequency, the resonance linewidth and the amplitude of the power absorption at resonance have been studied. The narrow subharmonic domain wall resonance appears from a moderate input microwave power far below the values for the saturation of the fundamental domain wall resonances and its amplitude at resonance follows a nearly quadratic dependence on the microwave power. An analytical model based on the nonlinear Slonczewski’s equation for the domain wall dynamics serves as a guide to justify the existence of such a subharmonic domain wall resonance and highlights the effect of an oblique pumping field configuration in accordance to our experimental setup.
Drivers of the diversity of diatoms in an oligotrophic Andean stream
Authors: Donato-R Jhon Charles , Mendivelso Hooz A. , Pedraza-Garzón Edna L. , Sabater Sergi
Published: April 2022

An in situ experiment determined that the addition of ammonia N-NH4+, nitrate N-NO3– and phosphate P-PO43– to an oligotrophic Andean stream significantly affected diatom composition and diversity. Over a nine-month period, fertilized and non-fertilized sections of the stream were studied for their environmental characteristics and diatom composition. Nutrient concentrations were increased three times in a downstream section with respect to those occurring naturally upstream. Alpha diversity (Shannon-Wiener [H”] and Simpson [S] indices) were determined monthly. In the non-fertilized control section, diatom diversity was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) related to water flow and P and N concentrations. In the fertilized section diversity was associated to the enhanced ammonia and phosphorus. A redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that conductivity, water flow and nutrient concentrations contributed to the diatom assemblage composition (83% along the first two axes). Achnanthidium minutissimum, Cocconeis placentula, and Epithemia sorex occurrence was related to low phosphorus concentration. Epithemia adnata var. minor, Nitzschia dissipata, and Reimeria sinuata were associated with high P concentrations, high water flow and low conductivity Navicula rynchocephala, Gomphonema parvulum, Navicula capitatoradiata, and Melosira varians were associated with high P.
Producing water bells with kitchen vials
Authors: Thompson Avery
Published: April 2022

A simple setup with a water jet and a vial can generate the full range of water bell shapes.
A narrow bandwidth extreme ultra-violet light source for time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
Authors: Guo Qinda , Dendzik Maciej , Grubišić-Čabo Antonija , Berntsen Magnus H. , Li Cong , Chen Wanyu , Matta Bharti , Starke Ulrich , Hessmo Björn , Weissenrieder Jonas , Tjernberg Oscar
Published: April 2022

Here, we present a high repetition rate, narrow bandwidth, extreme ultraviolet photon source for time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The narrow bandwidth pulses ΔE=9, 14, and 18 meV for photon energies hν=10.8, 18.1, and 25.3 eV are generated through high harmonic generation using ultra-violet drive pulses with relatively long pulse lengths (461 fs). The high harmonic generation setup employs an annular drive beam in tight focusing geometry at a repetition rate of 250 kHz. Photon energy selection is provided by a series of selectable multilayer bandpass mirrors and thin film filters, thus avoiding any time broadening introduced by single grating monochromators. A two stage optical-parametric amplifier provides < 100 fs tunable pump pulses from 0.65 μm to 9 μm. The narrow bandwidth performance of the light source is demonstrated through angle-resolved photoemission measurements on a series of quantum materials, including high-temperature superconductor Bi-2212, WSe2, and graphene.
Interplay of long-chain tetrazine derivatives and biomembrane components at the air–water interface
Authors: Nakahara Hiromichi , Hagimori Masayori , Mukai Takahiro , Shibata Osamu
Published: April 2022

Tetrazine (Tz) is an emerging bioorthogonal ligand that is expected to have applications (e.g., bioimaging) in chemistry and chemical biology. In this review, we highlight the interactions of reduced tetrazine (rTz) derivatives insoluble in aqueous media with biological membrane constituents or their related lipids, such as dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine, dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine, dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylglycerol, palmitoyl-sphingomyelin, and cholesterol in the Langmuir monolayer state at the air–water interface. The two-component interaction was thermodynamically elucidated by measuring the surface pressure (π) and molecular area (A) isotherms. The monolayer miscibility between the two components was analyzed using the excess Gibbs energy of mixing and two-dimensional phase diagram. The phase behavior of the binary monolayers was studied using the Brewster angle, fluorescence, and atomic force microscopy. This study discusses the affinities of the rTz moieties for the hydrophilic groups of the lipids used.
Recent advancements in batteries and photo-batteries using metal halide perovskites
Authors: Tewari Neha , Lam Davy , Li Cham Heng Angus , Halpert Jonathan E.
Published: April 2022

Metal halide perovskites have gained significant interest for use in solar cells and light-emitting devices. Recently, this material has also gained significant interest for its potential in energy storage devices, particularly lithium-ion batteries and photo-batteries, due to their long charge carrier diffusion length, high charge mobility, high light absorption capacity, non-rigid structure, and variable bandgap. This perspective highlights key properties of metal halide perovskites used as electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. The primary discussion is divided into four sections: an explanation of the structure and properties of metal halide perovskites, a very brief description of the operation of a conventional lithium-ion battery, lithium-ion interaction with metal perovskite halides, and the evolution and progress of perovskite halides as electrodes and photo-electrodes. The purpose of this perspective is to build awareness of recent advancements and provide an outlook on this relatively new subfield in order to motivate continued research and development of batteries and photo-batteries containing metal halide perovskites.
Nano-technological aspects of zinc oxide and silver in cosmetics
Authors: Shamaila S. , Jalil Ayesha , Ishfaq Muhammad , Sharif R.
Published: April 2022

Nanoparticles (NPs) specifically synthesized from leaves’ extracts with a high content of phytonutrients have gained significant importance in personal care products such as sunscreens. The objective of this study was to estimate the in vitro sunscreen activity of an emulsion comprising ZnO and Ag NPs synthesized with the leaves’ extract of Laurus nobilis and Citrus limon based on their stability and capping agents. The sun protection factor (SPF) of cream emulsion containing ZnO and Ag NPs was assessed by an ultraviolet spectrophotometric process along with the Mansur equation. At certain and controlled parameters, the synthesized NPs were finely characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and an energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy technique followed by analyzing some physicochemical parameters such as the hydrogen ion concentration (pH), stability test, viscosity analysis, irritancy patch test, and physical texture verification. The SPF values of the cream emulsion containing ZnO and Ag NPs were recorded as 0.573 and 0.601, respectively. The concentrations of hydrogen ion (pH) of the cream emulsion were 5.5 and 6.3 and are according to the nature of skin. Viscosity summary for the cream emulsion specified comparable rheology, which is considered a basic trait for the emulsion. The emulsion was found stable as there was no phase segregation and liquefaction was detected after centrifugation. Obtaining innovative results that have been concluded from experiments showed that the cream emulsion has photo-protective action and may be employed to improve cosmetics formulation that can be explored as profitable commercial products.
Observation of rotationally dependent fine-structure branching ratios near the predissociation threshold N(2D5/2,3/2) + N(2D5/2,3/2) of 14N2
Authors: Jiang Pan , Lu Liya , Gao Hong
Published: April 2022

Photofragment spin–orbit fine-structure branching ratios have long been predicted to depend on the rotational quantum number J′ by theory near the dissociation thresholds of several diatomic molecules, while this has rarely been observed in any photodissociation experiments yet. Here, we measured the fine-structure branching ratios N(2D5/2)/N(2D3/2) produced in the N(2D5/2,3/2) + N(2D5/2,3/2) channel at the b′1Σu+(v = 20) state of 14N2 by using our vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)-pump–VUV-probe time-sliced velocity-mapped ion imaging setup. It is found that 14N2 almost exclusively dissociates into the spin–orbit channel N(2D5/2) + N(2D3/2) at low rotational levels and gradually approaches the statistical or diabatic limit by distributing all possible spin–orbit channels at higher rotational levels. The strongly rotationally dependent fine-structure branching ratios should be due to the increasing strength of nonadiabatic Coriolis interaction among various dissociative states in the so-called “recoupling zone” as J′ increases. They are supposed to provide unprecedented information on the near threshold photodissociation dynamics of 14N2.
Signs of resilience in resprouting
Authors: Gibson Rebecca K. , Hislop Samuel
Published: April 2022

Early and ongoing monitoring of post-fire recovery dynamics is critical for understanding the ecological resilience of forests. The unprecedented scale of Australia’s Black Summer of 2019–2020 poses a significant challenge for post-fire recovery monitoring. Remote sensing is the only practical way to undertake broad-scale analysis of post-fire recovery dynamics. We used Sentinel 2 satellite imagery to compare pre-fire and 1-year post-fire Normalised Burn Ratio (NBR) values. A strong positive trend in the return of vegetation was indicated where post-fire values met or exceeded 80% of the pre-fire NBR value. Our assessment highlighted locations where early recovery responses were divergent from trends in the surrounding areas. Overall, there was a strong spectral recovery across the 2019–2020 south-east Australia fire extent, with more than 50% of the total burned area showing greater than 80% spectral recovery after 1 year. However, several areas where ecosystem resilience may be threatened were identified, including fire-sensitive ecosystems and severely drought-impacted regions. Our results demonstrated biogeographic variation in the effect of fire severity on post-fire spectral recovery, with little effect of severity on spectral recovery observed in the north-east, but much stronger effects in the south. Our study highlights further research for prioritisation as part of adaptive land management programs.
Needleless administration of advanced therapies into the skin via the appendages using a hypobaric patch
Authors: Benaouda Faiza , Inacio Ricardo , Lim Chui Hua , Park Haeeun , Pitcher Thomas , Alhnan Mohamed A. , Aly Mazen M. S. , Al-Jamal Khuloud T , Chan Ka-lung , Gala Rikhav P. , Sebastia-Saez Daniel , Cui Liang , Chen Tao , Keeble Julie , Jones Stuart A.
Published: April 2022

Significance

Needleless delivery into the skin would overcome a major barrier to efficient clinical utilization of advanced therapies such as nanomaterials and macromolecules. This study demonstrates that controlled skin stretching (in porcine, rat, and mouse models) using a patch comprising a hypobaric chamber, to open the skin appendages, can increase the permeability of the tissue and provide a means to enable direct delivery of advanced therapies directly into the skin without the use of a needle or injection system. This technology can facilitate the self-administration of therapeutics including vaccines, RNA, and antigens, thus improving the translation of these products into effective clinical use.