bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Approximation results in Sobolev and fractional Sobolev spaces by sampling Kantorovich operators
Authors: Cantarini Marco , Costarelli Danilo , Vinti Gianluca
Published: November 2023

The present paper deals with the study of the approximation properties of the well-known sampling Kantorovich (SK) operators in “Sobolev-like settings”. More precisely, a convergence theorem in case of functions belonging to the usual Sobolev spaces for the SK operators has been established. In order to get such a result, suitable Strang-Fix type conditions have been required on the kernel functions defining the above sampling type series. As a consequence, certain open problems related to the convergence in variation for the SK operators have been solved. Then, we considered the above operators in a fractional-type setting. It is well-known that, in the literature, several notions of fractional Sobolev spaces are available, such as, the Gagliardo Sobolev spaces (GSs) defined by means of the Gagliardo semi-norm, or the weak Riemann-Liouville Sobolev spaces (wRLSs) defined by the weak (left and right) Riemann-Liouville fractional derivatives and so on. Here, in order to face the above convergence problem, we introduced a new definition of fractional Sobolev spaces, that we called the tight fractional Sobolev spaces (tfSs) and generated as the intersection of the GSs and the symmetric Sobolev spaces (i.e., that given by the intersection of the left and the right wRLSs). In the latter setting, we obtain one of the main results of the paper, that is a convergence theorem for the SK operators with respect to a suitable norm on tfSs.
Redox flow batteries and their stack-scale flow fields
Authors: Sun Jing , Guo Zixiao , Pan Lyuming , Fan Xinzhuang , Wei Lei , Zhao Tianshou
Published: November 2023

To achieve carbon neutrality, integrating intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, necessitates the use of large-scale energy storage. Among various emerging energy storage technologies, redox flow batteries are particularly promising due to their good safety, scalability, and long cycle life. In order to meet the ever-growing market demand, it is essential to enhance the power density of battery stacks to lower the capital cost. One of the key components that impact the battery performance is the flow field, which is to distribute electrolytes onto electrodes. The design principle of flow fields is to maximize the distribution uniformity of electrolytes at a minimum pumping work. This review provides an overview of the progress and perspectives in flow field design and optimization, with an emphasis on the scale-up process. The methods used to evaluate the performance of flow fields, including both experimental and numerical techniques, are summarized, and the benefits of combining diverse methods are highlighted. The review then investigates the pattern design and structure optimization of serpentine- and interdigitated-based flow fields before discussing challenges and strategies for scaling up these flow fields. Finally, the remaining challenges and the prospects for designing highly efficient flow fields for battery stacks are outlined.
A Case of Cobra Bite in a Term Pregnant Woman: The Obstetric and Wound Management Challenges
Authors: Panda Ritesh , Singh Sweta , Radhakrishnan Rakesh Vadakkethil , Mohanty Chitta Ranjan , Shaji Ijas Muhammed , Prusty Aditya Vikram , Rajput Akanksha
Published: November 2023

Snake envenomation is a rare incident during pregnancy and potentially challenging to manage. Snakebites in pregnancy may lead to several complications such as teratogenicity, miscarriage, antepartum hemorrhage, and even intrauterine fetal death. Here, we report a case of a pregnant woman who presented to our emergency department with signs of systemic envenomation following an Indian cobra bite on her foot, highlighting the key obstetric and wound management challenges. She complained of severe pain at the site of the bite and progressive swelling, abdominal pain, and multiple episodes of vomiting, which started 45 min after the bite. She received 10 vials of polyvalent antivenom from a primary hospital and was then referred to our center. The patient underwent emergency cesarean section and later fasciotomy with free-flap reconstruction at the bitten site due to local tissue necrosis. The case was successfully managed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of an emergency physician, obstetrician, and plastic surgeon, saving 2 lives and the limb of the patient.
Surges vs. Waves: Presidents, Popularity, and the Diffusion of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America
Authors: Vega Diego
Published: November 2023

Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are a striking case of policy diffusion in Latin America. Almost all countries in the region adopted the model within one decade. While most theories of diffusion focus on the international transference of ideas, this article explains that surge of adoptions by analyzing presidents’ expectations. Out of all ideas transmitted into a country, only a few find their way into enactment and implementation, and the executive has a key role in selecting which ones. Policies expected to boost presidents’ popularity grab their attention. They rapidly enact and implement these models. A process-tracing analysis comparing CCTs and public-private partnerships (PPPs) shows that presidents fast-tracked CCTs hoping for an increase in popular support. Adoptions of PPPs, however, followed normal procedures and careful deliberations because the policy was not expected to quickly affect popularity—which, in the aggregate, leads to a slower diffusion wave.
Deconstructing “Nowoczesna Gospodyni”: The Home Efficiency Movement, Gender Roles, and Material Culture in Late State Socialist Poland
Authors: Wasiak Patryk , Stańczak Wiślicz Katarzyna
Published: November 2023

This article deconstructs the politics of the home efficiency movement organization Komitet do spraw Gospodarstwa Domowego (hereafter the KGD), or the Home Economics Committee in late state socialist Poland. While doing so we focus on the organization's agenda of reshaping the lives of rural housewives from being irrational and backward to that of the normative social role of a rational nowoczesna gospodyni (modern rural housewife) by providing them with the knowledge needed to efficiently use home appliances. We argue that the KGD positioned itself as an expert group between the communist state apparatus and society as an intermediary actor that assisted in carrying out the state's social policy of improving living standards. We investigate how this organization exercised its authority through its power/knowledge as an expert group, and its strategy of enrolling other actors in its campaigns. Our article draws from archival documents of the KGD, the content analysis of its periodical, and that of several other relevant popular and expert publications.
Letters from the Ottoman Empire: Migration from the Caucasus and Russia's Pan-Islamic Panic
Authors: Hamed-Troyansky Vladimir
Published: November 2023

This article explores the exchange of letters by Caucasus Muslims across the Russo-Ottoman border and the tsarist government's reactions to it. Between the 1850s and World War I, about a million Muslims left the Caucasus for the Ottoman empire. Many of them, especially Circassians, were expelled by the Russian army, and others, including Chechens, Abkhazians, and Daghestanis, were pushed out or emigrated under tsarist rule. Private letters sustained the Russo-Ottoman Muslim world, which included refugees, emigrants, and pilgrims. The letters, written in Arabic or Ottoman Turkish, were typically smuggled across the border and occasionally intercepted by Russian authorities. I argue that Muslims’ letters fueled the Russian government's paranoia about Pan-Islamism, or advocacy for Muslim unity, that purportedly threatened Russia's colonial project in the Caucasus. Russian officials interpreted the letters as pro-Ottoman propaganda, which underpinned tsarist suppression of transborder correspondence and mobility.
As the Forest is Chopped, the Chips Fly: The Fall of Soviet Internationalism and Late Perestroika's “Refugee” Problem, 1988–1990
Authors: Austin Lyudmila B.
Published: November 2023

By 1989, at least one in five Soviet citizens lived outside of “their” titular territories or did not have one, yet their lived experiences—especially poignant when the USSR dissolved—are not well understood. Using archival evidence and oral interviews, this paper focuses on two events pivotal to these communities: fatal unrest over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory from 1988–1990, the first perestroika conflict that produced the phenomenon of Soviet “refugees” in the country; and the Fergana Valley Massacre of June 1989, the first mass casualty event in Central Asia that displaced tens of thousands more. It argues that these conflicts became major regional and Soviet-wide issues that exposed the growing impotency of the center and contributed widely to the impetus to flight. This paper underscores how Soviet internationalism created the foundation for intercommunal “groupness,” or the various cross-ethnic nexuses that became especially apparent vis-à-vis these episodes of titular violence.
Dangerous Illusions and Fatal Subversions: Russia, Subjugated Rus΄, and the Origins of the First World War
Authors: Andriewsky Olga
Published: November 2023

This article examines how the annexation of Austrian (East) Galicia emerged as a distinct political—and ultimately military—mission in St. Petersburg before the First World War. The Russian nationalist project to recover the “lost lands of Rus΄ became an extension of the domestic agenda formulated by Peter Stolypin to promote Russian political and cultural hegemony in the western provinces of the empire. The campaign to liberate Subjugated Rus΄ and defeat “Ukrainian separatism” in Galicia led St. Petersburg to become ever more deeply engaged in the complex borderland politics of the Habsburg empire in the years before the war. By 1914, the idea of Subjugated Rus΄ and “four million persecuted Russians” came to inform the whole of St. Petersburg's understanding of its relations with Vienna and created an expectation that war with Austria-Hungary was inevitable.
Future Projections of the El Niño—Southern Oscillation and Tropical Pacific Mean State in CMIP6
Authors: Erickson Nathan E. , Patricola Christina M.
Published: November 2023

The El Niño—Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an important mode of tropical Pacific atmosphere‐ocean variability that drives teleconnections with weather and climate globally. However, prior studies using state‐of‐the‐art climate models lack consensus regarding future ENSO projections and are often impacted by tropical Pacific sea‐surface temperature (SST) biases. We used 173 simulations from 29 climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, version 6 (CMIP6) to analyze model biases and future ENSO projections. We analyzed two ENSO indices, namely the ENSO Longitude Index (ELI), which measures zonal shifts in tropical Pacific deep convection and accounts for changes in background SST, and the Niño 3.4 index, which measures SST anomalies in the central‐eastern equatorial Pacific. We found that the warm eastern tropical‐subtropical Pacific SST bias typical of previous generations of climate models persists into many of the CMIP6 models. Future projections of ENSO shift toward more El Niño‐like conditions based on ELI in 48% of simulations and 55% of models, in association with a future weakening of the zonal equatorial Pacific SST gradient. On the other hand, none of the models project a significant shift toward La Niña‐like conditions. The standard deviation of the Niño 3.4 index indicates a lack of consensus on whether an increase or decrease in ENSO variability is expected in the future. Finally, we found a possible relationship between historical SST and low‐level cloud cover biases in the ENSO region and future changes in ELI; however, this result may be impacted by limitations in data availability.
Impacts of Volcanic Emissions on the Global Biogeochemical Mercury Cycle: Insights From Satellite Observations and Chemical Transport Modeling
Authors: Geyman Benjamin M. , Thackray Colin P. , Jacob Daniel J. , Sunderland Elsie M.
Published: November 2023

Volcanism is the largest natural source of mercury (Hg) to the biosphere. However, past Hg emission estimates have varied by three orders of magnitude. Here, we present an updated central estimate and interquartile range (232 Mg a−1; IQR: 170–336 Mg a−1) for modern volcanic Hg emissions based on advances in satellite remote sensing of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and an improved method for considering uncertainty in Hg:SO2 emissions ratios. Atmospheric modeling shows the influence of volcanic Hg on surface atmospheric concentrations in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere is 1.8 times higher than in the Southern Hemisphere. Spatiotemporal variability in volcanic Hg emissions may obscure atmospheric trends forced by anthropogenic emissions at some locations. This should be considered when selecting monitoring sites to inform global regulatory actions. Volcanic emission estimates from this work suggest the pre‐anthropogenic global atmospheric Hg reservoir was 580 Mg, 7‐fold lower than in 2015 (4,000 Mg).
FTO-mediated LINC01134 stabilization to promote chemoresistance through miR-140-3p/WNT5A/WNT pathway in PDAC
Authors: Lu Jin , Yang Yongsheng , Liu Xiangliang , Chen Xiao , Song Wei , Liu Zefeng
Published: November 2023

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer most frequently detected at an advanced stage that limits treatment options to systemic chemotherapy, which has provided only marginal positive clinical outcomes. Currently, the first-line chemotherapeutic agent for PDAC is gemcitabine (GEM). However, the chemotherapy resistance to GEM is often overlooked in the clinical treatment of PDAC due to the lack of effective biological markers. Therefore, it is crucial to find new prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for patients with PDAC. In this study, we identified a novel regulatory mechanism in the development of resistance to GEM in PDAC. Here, we report that LINC01134 was significantly upregulated in primary tumors from PDAC patients. In vitro and in vivo functional studies revealed that LINC01134 promotes PDAC resistance to GEM through facilitating stem cell features and modulating the cell cycle. Mechanistically, LINC01134 interactes with tumor suppressor miR-497-5p in PDAC cells. Increased LINC01134 downregulates miR-140-3p to promotes the oncogenic WNT5A expression. Moreover, m6A demethylase FTO participated in the upregulation of LINC01134 by maintaining LINC01134 mRNA stability through YTHDF2. Taken together, the present study suggested FTO-mediated LINC01134 stabilization to promote chemotherapy resistance to GEM through miR-140-3p/WNT5A/WNT pathway in PDAC. Our study identified new prognostic markers and new therapeutic targets for patients with PDAC.
N4-acetylcytidine-dependent GLMP mRNA stabilization by NAT10 promotes head and neck squamous cell carcinoma metastasis and remodels tumor microenvironment through MAPK/ERK signaling pathway
Authors: Liu Yuanyuan , Wang Xing , Liu Yuying , Yang Jianqiang , Mao Wei , Feng Chen , Wu Xiaoliang , Chen Xinwei , Chen Lixiao , Dong Pin
Published: November 2023

N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is a post-transcriptional RNA modification that regulates in various important biological processes. However, its role in human cancer, especially lymph node metastasis, remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated N-Acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), as the only known “writer” of ac4C mRNA modification, was highly expressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients with lymph node metastasis. High NAT10 levels in the lymph nodes of patients with HNSCC patients are a predictor of poor overall survival. Moreover, we found that high expression of NAT10 was positively upregulated by Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1 (NRF1) transcription factor. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments displayed that NAT10 promoted cell metastasis in mice. Mechanistically, NAT10 induced ac4C modification of Glycosylated Lysosomal Membrane Protein (GLMP) and stabilized its mRNA, which triggered the activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. Finally, the NAT10-specific inhibitor, remodelin, could inhibit HNSCC tumorigenesis in a 4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO)-induced murine tumor model and remodel the tumor microenvironment, including angiogenesis, CD8+ T cells and Treg recruitment. These results demonstrate that NAT10 promotes lymph node metastasis in HNSCC via ac4C-dependent stabilization of the GLMP transcript, providing a potential epitranscriptomic-targeted therapeutic strategy for HNSCC.
Defects and nanostrain gradients control phase transition mechanisms in single crystal high-voltage lithium spinel
Authors: Martens Isaac , Vostrov Nikita , Mirolo Marta , Leake Steven J. , Zatterin Edoardo , Zhu Xiaobo , Wang Lianzhou , Drnec Jakub , Richard Marie-Ingrid , Schulli Tobias U.
Published: November 2023

Lithiation dynamics and phase transition mechanisms in most battery cathode materials remain poorly understood, because of the challenge in differentiating inter- and intra-particle heterogeneity. In this work, the structural evolution inside Li1−xMn1.5Ni0.5O4 single crystals during electrochemical delithiation is directly resolved with operando X-ray nanodiffraction microscopy. Metastable domains of solid-solution intermediates do not appear associated with the reaction front between the lithiated and delithiated phases, as predicted by current phase transition theory. Instead, unusually persistent strain gradients inside the single crystals suggest that the shape and size of solid solution domains are instead templated by lattice defects, which guide the entire delithiation process. Morphology, strain distributions, and tilt boundaries reveal that the (Ni2+/Ni3+) and (Ni3+/Ni4+) phase transitions proceed through different mechanisms, offering solutions for reducing structural degradation in high voltage spinel active materials towards commercially useful durability. Dynamic lattice domain reorientation during cycling are found to be the cause for formation of permanent tilt boundaries with their angular deviation increasing during continuous cycling.
Metasurface-empowered snapshot hyperspectral imaging with convex/deep (CODE) small-data learning theory
Authors: Lin Chia-Hsiang , Huang Shih-Hsiu , Lin Ting-Hsuan , Wu Pin Chieh
Published: November 2023

Hyperspectral imaging is vital for material identification but traditional systems are bulky, hindering the development of compact systems. While previous metasurfaces address volume issues, the requirements of complicated fabrication processes and significant footprint still limit their applications. This work reports a compact snapshot hyperspectral imager by incorporating the meta-optics with a small-data convex/deep (CODE) deep learning theory. Our snapshot hyperspectral imager comprises only one single multi-wavelength metasurface chip working in the visible window (500-650 nm), significantly reducing the device area. To demonstrate the high performance of our hyperspectral imager, a 4-band multispectral imaging dataset is used as the input. Through the CODE-driven imaging system, it efficiently generates an 18-band hyperspectral data cube with high fidelity using only 18 training data points. We expect the elegant integration of multi-resonant metasurfaces with small-data learning theory will enable low-profile advanced instruments for fundamental science studies and real-world applications.
Defining neutralization and allostery by antibodies against COVID-19 variants
Authors: Tulsian Nikhil Kumar , Palur Raghuvamsi Venkata , Qian Xinlei , Gu Yue , D/O Shunmuganathan Bhuvaneshwari , Samsudin Firdaus , Wong Yee Hwa , Lin Jianqing , Purushotorman Kiren , Kozma Mary McQueen , Wang Bei , Lescar Julien , Wang Cheng-I , Gupta Ravindra Kumar , Bond Peter John , MacAry Paul Anthony
Published: November 2023

The changing landscape of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein is linked to the emergence of variants, immune-escape and reduced efficacy of the existing repertoire of anti-viral antibodies. The functional activity of neutralizing antibodies is linked to their quaternary changes occurring as a result of antibody-Spike trimer interactions. Here, we reveal the conformational dynamics and allosteric perturbations linked to binding of novel human antibodies and the viral Spike protein. We identified epitope hotspots, and associated changes in Spike dynamics that distinguish weak, moderate and strong neutralizing antibodies. We show the impact of mutations in Wuhan-Hu-1, Delta, and Omicron variants on differences in the antibody-induced conformational changes in Spike and illustrate how these render certain antibodies ineffective. Antibodies with similar binding affinities may induce destabilizing or stabilizing allosteric effects on Spike, with implications for neutralization efficacy. Our results provide mechanistic insights into the functional modes and synergistic behavior of human antibodies against COVID-19 and may assist in designing effective antiviral strategies.
Discovery of isoflavone phytoalexins in wheat reveals an alternative route to isoflavonoid biosynthesis
Authors: Polturak Guy , Misra Rajesh Chandra , El-Demerdash Amr , Owen Charlotte , Steed Andrew , McDonald Hannah P. , Wang JiaoJiao , Saalbach Gerhard , Martins Carlo , Chartrain Laetitia , Wilkinson Barrie , Nicholson Paul , Osbourn Anne
Published: November 2023

Isoflavones are a group of phenolic compounds mostly restricted to plants of the legume family, where they mediate important interactions with plant-associated microbes, including in defense from pathogens and in nodulation. Their well-studied health promoting attributes have made them a prime target for metabolic engineering, both for bioproduction of isoflavones as high-value molecules, and in biofortification of food crops. A key gene in their biosynthesis, isoflavone synthase, was identified in legumes over two decades ago, but little is known about formation of isoflavones outside of this family. Here we identify a specialized wheat-specific isoflavone synthase, TaCYP71F53, which catalyzes a different reaction from the leguminous isoflavone synthases, thus revealing an alternative path to isoflavonoid biosynthesis and providing a non-transgenic route for engineering isoflavone production in wheat. TaCYP71F53 forms part of a biosynthetic gene cluster that produces a naringenin-derived O-methylated isoflavone, 5-hydroxy-2′,4′,7-trimethoxyisoflavone, triticein. Pathogen-induced production and in vitro antimicrobial activity of triticein suggest a defense-related role for this molecule in wheat. Genomic and metabolic analyses of wheat ancestral grasses further show that the triticein gene cluster was introduced into domesticated emmer wheat through natural hybridization ~9000 years ago, and encodes a pathogen-responsive metabolic pathway that is conserved in modern bread wheat varieties.
Coupled carbon and nitrogen cycling regulates the cnidarian–algal symbiosis
Authors: Rädecker Nils , Escrig Stéphane , Spangenberg Jorge E. , Voolstra Christian R. , Meibom Anders
Published: November 2023

Efficient nutrient recycling underpins the ecological success of cnidarian-algal symbioses in oligotrophic waters. In these symbioses, nitrogen limitation restricts the growth of algal endosymbionts in hospite and stimulates their release of photosynthates to the cnidarian host. However, the mechanisms controlling nitrogen availability and their role in symbiosis regulation remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the metabolic regulation of symbiotic nitrogen cycling in the sea anemone Aiptasia by experimentally altering labile carbon availability in a series of experiments. Combining 13C and 15N stable isotope labeling experiments with physiological analyses and NanoSIMS imaging, we show that the competition for environmental ammonium between the host and its algal symbionts is regulated by labile carbon availability. Light regimes optimal for algal photosynthesis increase carbon availability in the holobiont and stimulate nitrogen assimilation in the host metabolism. Consequently, algal symbiont densities are lowest under optimal environmental conditions and increase toward the lower and upper light tolerance limits of the symbiosis. This metabolic regulation promotes efficient carbon recycling in a stable symbiosis across a wide range of environmental conditions. Yet, the dependence on resource competition may favor parasitic interactions, explaining the instability of the cnidarian-algal symbiosis as environmental conditions in the Anthropocene shift towards its tolerance limits.
Solar neighborhoods: the impact of urban layout on a large-scale solar strategies application
Authors: Singh Kuljeet , Hachem-Vermette Caroline , D’Almeida Ricardo
Published: November 2023

The article addresses the challenges of evaluating energy performance in different neighborhood settings under various energy efficiency measures and proposes a methodology for selecting appropriate solar strategies on a neighborhood scale. The study selects five representative neighborhoods from various climatic zones with different building and street layouts. The proposed methodology involves a systematic three-step multi-domain workflow for implementing energy efficiency measures and solar strategies in the existing neighborhoods. The first step involves typical energy performance simulation, the second step involves energy simulation using high performance building envelope, and the third step involves the addition of solar strategies in combination with retrofitting materials to achieve net-zero status. The results of the study show that modifying the building envelope leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption, with up to 60% reduction observed. The study also finds that the optimal mix of solar strategies depends strongly on the type of neighborhood, its street layouts, and the type of buildings. The article highlights the importance of considering these factors when implementing solar strategies on a neighborhood scale to achieve energy efficiency and net-zero status. It provides urban planners with a systematic decision-making approach to evaluate and optimize neighborhoods to achieve net-zero energy status.
Nano-scale charge trapping memory based on two-dimensional conjugated microporous polymer
Authors: Rezk Ayman , Ansari Md. Hasan Raza , Ranjeesh Kayaramkodath Chandran , Gaber Safa , Kumar Dayanand , Merhi Areej , Kaafarani Bilal R. , Hassine Mohamed Ben , El-Atab Nazek , Shetty Dinesh , Nayfeh Ammar
Published: November 2023

There is a growing interest in new semiconductor nanostructures for future high-density high-performance flexible electronic devices. Two-dimensional conjugated microporous polymers (2D-CMPs) are promising candidates because of their inherent optoelectronic properties. Here, we are reporting a novel donor–acceptor type 2D-CMP based on Pyrene and Isoindigo (PI) for a potential nano-scale charge-trapping memory application. We exfoliated the PI polymer into ~ 2.5 nm thick nanoparticles (NPs) and fabricated a Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor (MIS) device with PI–NPs embedded in the insulator. Conductive AFM (cAFM) is used to examine the confinement mechanism as well as the local charge injection process, where ultrathin high-κ alumina supplied the energy barrier for confining the charge carrier transport. We have achieved a reproducible on-and-off state and a wide memory window (ΔV) of 1.5 V at a relatively small reading current. The device displays a low operation voltage (V < 1 V), with good retention (104 s), and endurance (103 cycles). Furthermore, a theoretical analysis is developed to affirm the measured charge carriers’ transport and entrapment mechanisms through and within the fabricated MIS structures. The PI–NPs act as a nanoscale floating gate in the MIS-based memory with deep trapping sites for the charged carriers. Moreover, our results demonstrate that the synthesized 2D-CMP can be promising for future low-power high-density memory applications.
Association of XIST/miRNA155/Gab2/TAK1 cascade with the pathogenesis of anti-phospholipid syndrome and its effect on cell adhesion molecules and inflammatory mediators
Authors: Abd-Elmawla Mai A. , Elsabagh Yumn A. , Aborehab Nora M.
Published: November 2023

Anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis and miscarriage events. Still, the molecular mechanisms underlying APS, which predisposes to a wide spectrum of complications, are being explored. Seventy patients with primary and secondary APS were recruited, in addition to 35 healthy subjects. Among APS groups, the gene expression levels of XIST, Gab2, and TAK1 were higher along with declined miRNA155 level compared with controls. Moreover, the sera levels of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-1ꞵ, and TNF-α were highly elevated among APS groups either primary or secondary compared with controls. The lncRNA XIST was directly correlated with Gab2, TAK1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL-1ꞵ, and TNF-α. The miRNA155 was inversely correlated with XIST, Gab2, and TAK1. Moreover, ROC curve analyses subscribed the predictive power of the lncRNA XIST and miRNA155, to differentiate between primary and secondary APS from control subjects. The lncRNA XIST and miRNA155 are the upstream regulators of the Gab2/TAK1 axis among APS patients via influencing the levels of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, IL1ꞵ, and TNF-α which propagates further inflammatory and immunological streams. Interestingly, the study addressed that XIST and miRNA155 may be responsible for the thrombotic and miscarriage events associated with APS and provides new noninvasive molecular biomarkers for diagnosing the disease and tracking its progression.
Combining biophysical parameters with thermal and RGB indices using machine learning models for predicting yield in yellow rust affected wheat crop
Authors: Singh RN , Krishnan P. , Singh Vaibhav K. , Sah Sonam , Das B.
Published: November 2023

Evaluating crop health and forecasting yields in the early stages are crucial for effective crop and market management during periods of biotic stress for both farmers and policymakers. Field experiments were conducted during 2017–18 and 2018–19 with objective to evaluate the effect of yellow rust on various biophysical parameters of 24 wheat cultivars, with varying levels of resistance to yellow rust and to develop machine learning (ML) models with improved accuracy for predicting yield by integrating thermal and RGB indices with crucial plant biophysical parameters. Results revealed that as the level of rust increased, so did the canopy temperature and there was a significant decrease in crop photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance, leaf area index, membrane stability index, relative leaf water content, and normalized difference vegetation index due to rust, and the reductions were directly correlated with levels of rust severity. The yield reduction in moderate resistant, low resistant and susceptible cultivars as compared to resistant cultivars, varied from 15.9–16.9%, 28.6–34.4% and 59–61.1%, respectively. The ML models were able to provide relatively accurate early yield estimates, with the accuracy increasing as the harvest approached. The yield prediction performance of the different ML models varied with the stage of the crop growth. Based on the validation output of different ML models, Cubist, PLS, and SpikeSlab models were found to be effective in predicting the wheat yield at an early stage (55-60 days after sowing) of crop growth. The KNN, Cubist, SLR, RF, SpikeSlab, XGB, GPR and PLS models were proved to be more useful in predicting the crop yield at the middle stage (70 days after sowing) of the crop, while RF, SpikeSlab, KNN, Cubist, ELNET, GPR, SLR, XGB and MARS models were found good to predict the crop yield at late stage (80 days after sowing). The study quantified the impact of different levels of rust severity on crop biophysical parameters and demonstrated the usefulness of remote sensing and biophysical parameters data integration using machine-learning models for early yield prediction under biotically stressed conditions.
Biomod2 modeling for predicting the potential ecological distribution of three Fritillaria species under climate change
Authors: Huang Deya , An Qiuju , Huang Sipei , Tan Guodong , Quan Huige , Chen Yineng , Zhou Jiayu , Liao Hai
Published: November 2023

The Fritillaria species ranked as a well-known traditional medicine in China and has become rare due to excessive harvesting. To find reasonable strategy for conservation and cultivation, identification of new ecological distribution of Fritillaria species together with prediction of those responses to climate change are necessary. In terms of current occurrence records and bioclimatic variables, the suitable habitats for Fritillaria delavayi, Fritillaria taipaiensis, and Fritillaria wabuensis were predicted. In comparison with Maxent and GARP, Biomod2 obtained the best AUC, KAPPA and TSS values of larger than 0.926 and was chosen to construct model. Temperature seasonality was indicated to put the greatest influence on Fritillaria taipaiensis and Fritillaria wabuensis, while isothermality was of most importance for Fritillaria delavayi. The current suitable areas for three Fritillaria species were distributed in south-west China, accounting for approximately 17.72%, 23.06% and 20.60% of China's total area, respectively. During 2021–2100 period, the suitable habitats of F. delavayi and F. wabuensis reached the maximum under SSP585 scenario, while that of F. taipaiensis reached the maximum under SSP126 scenario. The high niche overlap among three Fritillaria species showed correlation with the chemical composition (P ≤ 0.05), while no correlation was observed between niche overlap and DNA barcodes, indicating that spatial distribution had a major influence on chemical composition in the Fritillaria species. Finally, the acquisition of species-specific habitats would contribute to decrease in habitat competition, and future conservation and cultivation of Fritillaria species.
Dual adversarial deconfounding autoencoder for joint batch-effects removal from multi-center and multi-scanner radiomics data
Authors: Cavinato Lara , Massi Michela Carlotta , Sollini Martina , Kirienko Margarita , Ieva Francesca
Published: November 2023

Medical imaging represents the primary tool for investigating and monitoring several diseases, including cancer. The advances in quantitative image analysis have developed towards the extraction of biomarkers able to support clinical decisions. To produce robust results, multi-center studies are often set up. However, the imaging information must be denoised from confounding factors—known as batch-effect—like scanner-specific and center-specific influences. Moreover, in non-solid cancers, like lymphomas, effective biomarkers require an imaging-based representation of the disease that accounts for its multi-site spreading over the patient’s body. In this work, we address the dual-factor deconfusion problem and we propose a deconfusion algorithm to harmonize the imaging information of patients affected by Hodgkin Lymphoma in a multi-center setting. We show that the proposed model successfully denoises data from domain-specific variability (p-value < 0.001) while it coherently preserves the spatial relationship between imaging descriptions of peer lesions (p-value = 0), which is a strong prognostic biomarker for tumor heterogeneity assessment. This harmonization step allows to significantly improve the performance in prognostic models with respect to state-of-the-art methods, enabling building exhaustive patient representations and delivering more accurate analyses (p-values < 0.001 in training, p-values < 0.05 in testing). This work lays the groundwork for performing large-scale and reproducible analyses on multi-center data that are urgently needed to convey the translation of imaging-based biomarkers into the clinical practice as effective prognostic tools. The code is available on GitHub at this https://github.com/LaraCavinato/Dual-ADAE.
Distribution, composition and risk assessment of hydrocarbon residue in surficial sediments of El-Dakhla, El-Kharga and El-Farafra oases, Egypt
Authors: Said Tarek O. , Ragab Safaa , El Sikaily Amany , Hassaan Mohamed A. , El Nemr Ahmed
Published: November 2023

This work examined the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes quantities, sources, and hazards in sediments collected from the Egyptian Western Desert Oases namely: Dakhla, Kharga and Farafra oases. The n-alkane (C9–C20) residue concentrations have ranged from 0.66 to 2417.91 µg/g recorded for the three Oases. On the other hand, the total n-alkane ranged from 448.54 µg/g to 8442.60 µg/g. Higher carbon preference index (CPI) values (> 1.0) proposed that the natural sources could be the main contributor to n-alkanes in the Oases sediment. GC-MS/MS (selected reaction monitoring (SRM) method) was used for the determination of the ΣPAHs concentrations in the studied sediments. The ΣPAHs concentrations (ng/g, dry weight) in the studied three Oases varied from 10.18 to 790.14, 10.55 to 667.72, and from 38.27 to 362.77 for the Kharga, Dakhla and Farafra Oases, respectively. The higher molecular weight PAHs were the most abundant compounds in the collected samples. Assessing potential ecological and human health issues highlighted serious dangers for living things and people. All the investigated PAHs had cancer risk values between 1.43 × 10–4 and 1.64 × 10–1, this finding suggests that PAHs in the samples under study pose a moderate risk of cancer. The main sources of PAHs in this study are biomass, natural gas, and gasoline/diesel burning emissions.
Lightweight neural network for smart diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma using histopathological images
Authors: Chakrabarti Shubhadip , Rao Ummity Srinivasa
Published: November 2023

Traditional Cholangiocarcinoma detection methodology, which involves manual interpretation of histopathological images obtained after biopsy, necessitates extraordinary domain expertise and a significant level of subjectivity, resulting in several deaths due to improper or delayed detection of this cancer that develops in the bile duct lining. Automation in the diagnosis of this dreadful disease is desperately needed to allow for more effective and faster identification of the disease with a better degree of accuracy and reliability, ultimately saving countless human lives. The primary goal of this study is to develop a machine-assisted method of automation for the accurate and rapid identification of Cholangiocarcinoma utilizing histopathology images with little preprocessing. This work proposes CholangioNet, a novel lightweight neural network for detecting Cholangiocarcinoma utilizing histological RGB images. The histological RGB image dataset considered in this research work was found to have limited number of images, hence data augmentation was performed to increase the number of images. The finally obtained dataset was then subjected to minimal preprocessing procedures. These preprocessed images were then fed into the proposed lightweight CholangioNet. The performance of this proposed architecture is then compared with the performance of some of the prominent existing architectures like, VGG16, VGG19, ResNet50 and ResNet101. The Accuracy, Loss, Precision, and Sensitivity metrics are used to assess the efficiency of the proposed system. At 200 epochs, the proposed architecture achieves maximum training accuracy, precision, and recall of 99.90%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The suggested architecture's validation accuracy, precision, and recall are 98.40%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. When compared to the performance of other AI-based models, the proposed system produced better results making it a potential AI tool for real world application.
Application of multi-extruded fuel injectors for mixing enhancement of hydrogen gas at scramjet engine: computational study
Authors: Abdollahi Seyyed Amirreza , Ranjbar Seyyed Faramarz , Aminian Saman , Fattahi M. , Uyen P. D.
Published: November 2023

Scramjet engines are considered a highly promising technology for improving high-speed flight. In this study, we investigate the effects of using multi-extruded nozzles on fuel mixing and distribution inside the combustion chamber at supersonic flow. Additionally, we explore the impact of an inner air jet on fuel mixing in annular nozzles. To model fuel penetration in the combustor, we employ a computational technique. Our study compares the roles of three different extruded injectors on fuel diffusion and distribution at supersonic cross-flow. Our findings reveal that the use of an inner air jet increases fuel mixing in the annular jet, while the use of extruded nozzles improves fuel distribution by enhancing the vortices between injectors. These results demonstrate the potential benefits of incorporating multi-extruded nozzles and inner air jets in the design of scramjet engines.
Fabrication and performance of highly stacked GeSi nanowire field effect transistors
Authors: Chen Yu-Rui , Liu Yi-Chun , Lin Hsin-Cheng , Tu Chien-Te , Chou Tao , Huang Bo-Wei , Hsieh Wan-Hsuan , Chueh Shee-Jier , Liu C. W.
Published: November 2023

Horizontal gate-all-around field effect transistors (GAAFETs) are used to replace FinFETs due to their good electrostatics and short channel control. Highly stacked nanowire channels are widely believed to enhance drive current of these devices and improve overall transistor density due to their small footprint. Here we demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of nanowire FETs with stacked 16 Ge0.95Si0.05 nanowires and stacked 12 Ge0.95Si0.05 nanowires without parasitic channels. The device has the high on current (ION) of 190 μA per stack (9400 μA/μm per channel footprint) at overdrive voltage (VOV) = drain-source voltage (VDS) = 0.5 V and the high maximum transconductance (Gm,max) of 490μS (24000μS/μm) at VDS = 0.5 V among reported Si/Ge/GeSi 3D nFETs. Note that the transistor performance can be evaluated by the delay, which is depicted as CV/I. If the transistor ION is improved, the delay of standard cell can be reduced, leading to faster operation of the circuit. The subthreshold slope reduction and ION/IOFF improvement are achieved by the parasitic channel removal. In technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulation, the wrap around contacts are useful to reduce the current difference between the channels. With the proper design of transistor height, the gate delay can be also improved.
Nanocellulose aerogels as 3D amyloid templates
Authors: Sinha Ashutosh , Kummer Nico , Wu Tingting , De France Kevin J. , Pinotsi Dorothea , Thoma Janine L. , Fischer Peter , Campioni Silvia , Nyström Gustav
Published: November 2023

Nanocellulose aerogels induce and accelerate HEWL aggregation, forming β-sheet rich amyloid-like ‘worms’.
Domain nucleation kinetics and polarization-texture-dependent electronic properties in two-dimensional α-In2Se3 ferroelectrics
Authors: Lu Yanan , Su Liqin , Fang Linghui , Luo Qingyuan , Gong Meiying , Cao Dan , Chen Xiaoshuang , Shi Xiaowen , Shu Haibo
Published: November 2023

The reversed α-In2Se3 domains with armchair boundaries are characterized by triangular or stripped shape, and the band gap, carrier spatial distribution, and charge transport of α-In2Se3 ferroelectrics strongly depend on their domain structures.
Making accessible soluble silicon-containing polynorbornenes: hydrosilylation of vinyl-addition poly(5-vinyl-2-norbornene)
Authors: Wozniak Alyona I. , Bermesheva Evgeniya V. , Borisov Ilya L. , Rzhevskiy Sergey A. , Tyutyunov Andrey A. , Ilyin Sergey O. , Topchiy Maxim A. , Asachenko Andrey F. , Bermeshev Maxim V.
Published: November 2023

A simple and efficient approach for producing soluble Si-containing vinyl-addition polynorbornenes via the modification of vinyl-addition polynorbornene with vinyl groups.
Use of pyridazinediones for tuneable and reversible covalent cysteine modification applied to peptides, proteins and hydrogels
Authors: Rochet Léa N. C. , Bahou Calise , Wojciechowski Jonathan P. , Koutsopetras Ilias , Britton Phyllida , Spears Richard J. , Thanasi Ioanna A. , Shao Baihao , Zhong Lisha , Bučar Dejan-Krešimir , Aliev Abil E. , Porter Michael J. , Stevens Molly M. , Baker James R. , Chudasama Vijay
Published: November 2023

Substituted pyridazinediones (PDs) enable reversible and tuneable cysteine modification with exemplification on peptides, proteins and hydrogels.
Modified magnetic equivalent circuit of double‐stator single‐rotor axial flux permanent magnet machine considering stator radial‐end flux‐leakage
Authors: Chen Jixuan , Hua Wei , Shao Lingyun , Wu Zhongze , Yan Xueyi , Zhang Wentao
Published: November 2023

A modified non‐linear magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model is presented for double‐stator single‐rotor axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) (DSSR‐AFPM) machine considering stator radial‐end flux‐leakage, which is severer under a heavier load. Compared to the conventional MEC model for DSSR‐AFPM machine, the proposed model can predict the electromagnetic performance more accurately when the machine operates under a heavy load. The proposed MEC model is verified by the finite element analysis (FEA) on a 24‐slot/20‐pole DSSR‐AFPM machine. The comparison results show that the relative error between the proposed MEC model and FEA is <4% for back electromotive force and <5% for average electromagnetic torque, respectively. Specifically, the relative error of the average torque for the modified MEC model is 4.92% at 28.30 Arms/mm2 slot current density, which is lower than the conventional MEC model, that is, 7.75%.
Upgrading CO2 Into Fuels And Chemicals Via Electrocatalysis
Authors: Li Yuxiang
Published: November 2023

Converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful chemicals through electrochemical reduction reactions (CO2R) has received growing interest because it can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate valuable chemical products. This report discusses the CO2 electrochemical reduction for carbon recycling and the production of valuable chemicals and fuels. It provides an overview of CO2 reduction reaction and a diverse of different CO2 conversion pathway. This research focuses on the mechanisms and catalytic materials used in CO2 electrocatalysis, with a specific emphasis on copper as a unique catalyst. It also highlights the factors that influence CO2 reduction, such as pH, presence of ions, temperature, pressure, electrode fouling, and catalyst deactivation. Furthermore, the economic and environmental aspects of CO2 reduction are explored, including the potential market prices and the positive environmental impacts. The report concludes by addressing the challenges and difficulties faced in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction, such as high activation energy, competing reactions, catalyst poisoning, and low current density. Overall, electrochemical CO2 reduction holds significant potential for sustainable and eco-friendly chemical production.
Saturated cavity ring-down spectroscopy of 12C16O2 near 1.57  µm
Authors: Jiang Shan , Tan Yan , Liu An-Wen , Zhou Xiao-Guo , Hu Shui-Ming
Published: November 2023

We present the saturated absorption spectroscopy of the 30012←00001 band of 12C16O2 by a comb-locked cavity ring-down spectrometer near 1.57 µm. Positions of 37 lines with rotational quantum numbers up to 68 were determined with an accuracy of a few kHz. Comparisons of the ro-vibrational energy levels determined in this work with the Doppler-limited experimental values from literature and those from the CDSD2019 databank are given. Deviations exceeding 1 MHz were observed in the transitions blended by other carbon dioxide isotopologues.