bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microstructural study of apple slices during hot air‐explosion puffing drying
Authors: Yuan Yuejin , Deng Zhining , Wang Dong , Xu Yingying , Kong Lingbo , Hong Chen , Yuan Yueding
Published: September 2023

In order to reveal the change laws of microstructure in apple slices during hot air‐explosion puffing drying, the microstructure images and parameters of apple slices under different drying conditions were obtained by using paraffin sectioning, microscopic observation, and image processing techniques with apples as raw material and CO2 as drying medium. Subsequently, the changes in internal cell and pore structure of dried apple slices were analyzed, as well as the relationship between micro‐parameters of apple slices and macro‐measurement indicators was further obtained. Results indicated that the overall cross‐sectional area, cross‐sectional perimeter, equivalent diameter, and porosity of cells increased by explosion puffing drying, while the cell roundness and wall roughness factors changed relatively little. Meanwhile, macro–micro parameters of expanded apples were fitted and analyzed. Then, the obtained mathematical model showed a nonlinear correlation as experimental and predicted results exhibited good agreement, with determination coefficients R2 more significant than 0.8, which could better expect the macro–microparameters to change in the drying process. The results of this research could provide an essential reference for exploring the change laws of tissue microstructure parameters in apples dried by hot air‐explosion puffing drying, with expansion and rehydration ratios under different experimental conditions, as well as optimizing the puffing drying process and designing corresponding drying equipment.

Practical Applications

Fresh apples have high moisture content and are not easy to store, so drying is usually used to reduce the moisture content to extend shelf time and increase economic benefits. For the drying process of fruit and vegetable products, scholars mainly focused on the influence of microstructure parameters on moisture migration, drying rate, heat and mass transfer and other factors, but did not give a quantitative description of how microstructure parameters affect macroscopic parameters. In this article, the relationship between microstructural changes and macroscopic indicators was investigated by taking puffed apple slices as an example. Research could provide an essential reference for exploring the change laws of tissue microstructure parameters in apples dried by hot air‐explosion puffing drying, with expansion and rehydration ratios under different experimental conditions, as well as optimizing the puffing drying process and designing corresponding drying equipment.
Law, language, and the power of ‘invisible threats’ of violence against women
Authors: TURNER CATHERINE , SWAINE AISLING
Published: September 2023

Violence, and the threat of violence, is a pervasive feature of women's lives. From high‐profile threats in politics to everyday harms such as domestic abuse, violence, threat, and intimidation control women's behaviour and silence their voices. Yet in many cases the pernicious and harmful effect of threat is not captured by the law. Drawing on the work of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and empirical research undertaken in Northern Ireland, this article analyses the ways in which both objective and ‘incorporated’ social structures generate invisible forces of fear and threat that the law does not see, but that women feel and structure their lives around. The article develops the novel conceptual tool of ‘invisible threats’ to capture threat as harm, to show the relation between threat and gendered (in)securities, and to challenge institutions of the law to respond better to invisible threats as perceived and articulated by women.
Test of change point versus long‐range dependence in functional time series
Authors: Baek Changryong , Kokoszka Piotr , Meng Xiangdong
Published: September 2023

In the context of functional time series, we propose a significance test to distinguish between short memory with a change point and long range dependence. The test is based on coefficients of projections onto an optimal direction that captures the dependence structure of the latent stationary functions that are not observable due to a potential change point. The optimal direction must be estimated as well. The test statistic is constructed using the local Whittle estimator applied to these coefficients. It has standard normal distribution under the null hypothesis (change point) and diverges to infinity under the alternative (long range dependence). The article includes asymptotic theory, a simulation study and an application to curve‐valued time series derived from intraday asset prices.
Retrospective evaluation of ceruminous gland tumors confined to the external ear canal of dogs and cats treated with biopsy and CO2 laser ablation
Authors: Pieper Jason B. , Noxon James O. , Berger Darren J.
Published: September 2023

Background

Treatments currently available for ceruminous gland tumors include surgery and radiation therapy, which come with high financial costs and frequent complication and recurrence rates.

Hypothesis

To evaluate the treatment, response, complication, and recurrence of ceruminous gland tumors confirmed with biopsy and ablated using CO2 laser.

Methods

Retrospective review of medical records from Iowa State University and the University of Illinois between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021. Electronic medical records were evaluated for a histopathologically confirmed ceruminous gland tumor via video‐otoscopic aided biopsy and subsequent CO2 laser ablation. Signalment, tumor type, size, location within the ear canal, length of time tumor was present before presentation, advanced imaging, and follow‐up including recurrence were assessed.

Results

Fourteen ceruminous gland adenomas (4 dogs, 10 cats) and 12 ceruminous gland adenocarcinomas (7 dogs, 5 cats) were identified. Bacterial otitis externa was present in 4/26 (15%) animals. Recurrence was identified in 1/14 (7%) ceruminous gland adenomas and 1/12 (8%) ceruminous gland adenocarcinomas.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Video‐otoscopic aided biopsy and CO2 laser ablation of ceruminous gland tumors in dogs and cats is a viable treatment option with low recurrence and complication rates with CO2 laser ablation.
Towards multi‐agent reinforcement learning‐driven over‐the‐counter market simulations
Authors: Vadori Nelson , Ardon Leo , Ganesh Sumitra , Spooner Thomas , Amrouni Selim , Vann Jared , Xu Mengda , Zheng Zeyu , Balch Tucker , Veloso Manuela
Published: September 2023

We study a game between liquidity provider (LP) and liquidity taker agents interacting in an over‐the‐counter market, for which the typical example is foreign exchange. We show how a suitable design of parameterized families of reward functions coupled with shared policy learning constitutes an efficient solution to this problem. By playing against each other, our deep‐reinforcement‐learning‐driven agents learn emergent behaviors relative to a wide spectrum of objectives encompassing profit‐and‐loss, optimal execution, and market share. In particular, we find that LPs naturally learn to balance hedging and skewing, where skewing refers to setting their buy and sell prices asymmetrically as a function of their inventory. We further introduce a novel RL‐based calibration algorithm, which we found performed well at imposing constraints on the game equilibrium. On the theoretical side, we are able to show convergence rates for our multi‐agent policy gradient algorithm under a transitivity assumption, closely related to generalized ordinal potential games.
Isotopic constraints on genetic relationships among group IIIF iron meteorites, Fitzwater Pass, and the Zinder pallasite
Authors: Pape Jonas , Zhang Bidong , Spitzer Fridolin , Rubin Alan E. , Kleine Thorsten
Published: September 2023

Complex interelement trends among magmatic IIIF iron meteorites are difficult to explain by fractional crystallization and have raised uncertainty about their genetic relationships. Nucleosynthetic Mo isotope anomalies provide a powerful tool to assess if individual IIIF irons are related to each other. However, while trace element data are available for all nine IIIF irons, Mo isotopic data are limited to three samples. We present Mo isotopic data for all but one IIIF irons that help assess the genetic relationships among these irons, together with new Mo and W isotopic data for Fitzwater Pass (classified IIIF), and the Zinder pallasite (for which a cogenetic link with IIIF irons has been proposed). After correction for cosmic‐ray exposure, the Mo isotopic compositions of the IIIF irons are identical within uncertainty and confirm their belonging to carbonaceous chondrite (CC)‐type meteorites. The mean Mo isotopic composition of group IIIF overlaps those groups IIF and IID, but a common parent body for these groups is ruled out based on distinct trace element systematics. The new Mo isotopic data do not argue against a single parent body for the IIIF irons, and suggest a close genetic link among these samples. In contrast, Fitzwater Pass has distinct Mo and W isotopic compositions, identical to those of some non‐magmatic IAB irons. The Mo and W isotope data for Zinder indicate that this meteorite is not related to IIIF irons, but belongs to the non‐carbonaceous (NC) type and has the same Mo and W isotopic composition as main‐group pallasites.
Vaccinating without complete willingness against COVID‐19: Personal and social aspects of Israeli nursing students and faculty members
Authors: Biton Linoy , Shvartsur Rachel , Grinberg Keren , Kagan Ilya , Linetsky Irena , Halperin Ofra , Azab Abed N. , Cohen Odeya
Published: September 2023

Soon after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic outbreak, it became clear that vaccination will be the most useful tool to combat the disease. Despite the apparent safety and efficacy of the developed anti‐COVID‐19 vaccines, relatively high percentages of the population worldwide refused to get vaccinated, including many health workers and health students. The present cross‐sectional study examined the motives, attitudes, and personal characteristics of those who did not get vaccinated against COVID‐19 or vaccinated without complete willingness among nursing students and nursing faculty members in Israel (n = 472). Results show that the vast majority of the study participants (97%) received at least one dose of the anti‐COVID‐19 vaccine. Nearly 37% of the participants indicated that they received the vaccine without complete willingness. As compared to faculty members, nursing students reported lower trust in the efficacy of the vaccine, perceived the COVID‐19 pandemic as a health threat to a lesser extent, exhibited lower institutional and personal trust, and had higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Non‐Jewish participants were at risk of vaccinating without complete willingness. These findings underscore the need for developing evidence‐based strategies to promote the safety and efficacy of the anti‐COVID‐19 vaccines in nursing schools.
m6A mRNA methylation: Biological features, mechanisms, and therapeutic potentials in type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Ren Yuanyuan , Li Zi , Li Jiaoyu , Liang Rui , Wang Zhen , Bai Yiduo , Yang Yafang , Tang Qian , Fu Yaolei , Zhang Xiaobo , Zhang Yu , Yu Yi , Xiong Yuyan
Published: September 2023

As the most common internal post‐transcriptional RNA modification in eukaryotic cells, N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) performs a dynamic and reversible role in a variety of biological processes mediated by methyltransferases (writers), demethylases (erasers), and m6A binding proteins (readers). M6A methylation enables transcriptome conversion in different signals that regulate various physiological activities and organ development. Over the past few years, emerging studies have identified that mRNA m6A regulators defect in β‐cell leads to abnormal regulation of the target mRNAs, thereby resulting in β‐cell dysfunction and loss of β‐cell identity and mass, which are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pathogenesis. Also, mRNA m6A modification has been implicated with insulin resistance in muscles, fat, and liver cells/tissues. In this review, we elaborate on the biological features of m6A methylation; provide a comprehensive overview of the underlying mechanisms that how it controls β‐cell function, identity, and mass as well as insulin resistance; highlight its connections to glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism linking to T2DM; and further discuss its role in diabetes complications and its therapeutic potentials for T2DM diagnosis and treatment.
Return of the evil genius
Authors: Hardman Doug
Published: September 2023

In this essay, I consider whether it makes sense to say that our cognitive capacities—remembering, imagining, intending, hoping, expecting and so on—manifest as inner, subpersonal processes. Given whether something makes sense is a grammatical rather than theoretical or empirical issue, it cannot be explained but can only be better understood by describing and reflecting on situations in which it arises. As such, I approach this issue using the descriptive method of O.K. Bouwsma, which is a development of Wittgenstein's latter methodological approach of conceptually clarifying our bounds of sense. In the course of my investigation, I come to the realisation that cognitive capacities do not, as much psychology and cognitive science imply, make sense as inner, subpersonal processes. Instead, they make sense as personal capacities, which manifest in many ways of acting.
Treatment of superficial and deep partial width second degree burn's wound with allogeneic cord blood platelet gel
Authors: Nilforoushzadeh Mohammad Ali , Torkamaniha Elham , Dahmardehei Mostafa , Amirkhani Mohammad Amir , Heidari‐Kharaji Maryam , Mansouri Parvin , Hortamani Shamim , Zare Sona
Published: September 2023

Background

Burns are caused by a variety of mechanisms, including flames, hot liquids, metallurgy, chemicals, electric current, and ionizing and non‐ionizing radiation. The most significant burn wound management involves complete repair and regeneration as soon as possible while minimizing infection, contraction, and scarring in the damaged tissue area. Some factors such as delivery of nutrients, growth factors, and oxygen are essential to promote and stimulate the wound healing progress in the burns area. When these factors are not provided, the burn wound undergoes a physiological crisis. The use of growth factors is a promising approach to overcoming this limitation. Umbilical cord blood platelet concentrates are a rich natural source of growth factors.

Methods

This clinical trial used growth factors released from the lysis of umbilical cord blood platelet concentrates that have a key role in promoting re‐epithelization and regeneration of damaged tissues by forming a fibrin network. This study evaluated the effectiveness of allogeneic cord blood platelet gel topical dressing in a group of patients diagnosed with superficial and deep partial thickness (second‐degree) burn wounds. Clinical outcomes were compared between the intervention group and a control group of patients with superficial second‐degree burn wounds who received the standard routine treatment including paraffin gauze wound dressing and silver sulfadiazine ointment.

Results

The study's results showed that the increased rate of recovery and tissue granulation completely promoted to wound healing and burn wound closure, decreased the recovery time, and reduced inflammation and scars caused by burn injuries. However, the use of cord blood platelet gel topical dressing is not currently a routine treatment method in patients suffering from burn wounds. However, the study's results showed that allogenic cord blood platelet gel could be used to treat superficial and deep second‐degree burns as a routine treatment. It was also shown that allogenic cord blood platelet gel topical dressing could be a candidate for autograft or after autograft skin transplantation surgery (in donor and recipient sites) instead of skin surgery in some patients.

Conclusion

Allogeneic topical wound dressing provides an effective treatment that offers a faster rate of epithelialization and healing of wounds and also decreases patients’ scar and inflammation level as well as the length of recovery time. This, finally, leads to better burn wound management and the improved quality of burn wound treatment.
Chromatin remodeling analysis reveals the RdDM pathway responds to low‐phosphorus stress in maize
Authors: Luo Bowen , Zhang Ziqi , Li Binyang , Zhang Haiying , Ma Junchi , Li Jing , Han Zheng , Zhang Chong , Zhang Shuhao , Yu Ting , Zhang Guidi , Ma Peng , Lan Yuzhou , Zhang Xiao , Liu Dan , Wu Ling , Gao Duojiang , Gao Shiqiang , Su Shunzong , Zhang Xuecai , Gao Shibin
Published: September 2023

Chromatin in eukaryotes folds into a complex three‐dimensional (3D) structure that is essential for controlling gene expression and cellular function and is dynamically regulated in biological processes. Studies on plant phosphorus signaling have concentrated on single genes and gene interactions. It is critical to expand the existing signaling pathway in terms of its 3D structure. In this study, low‐Pi treatment led to greater chromatin volume. Furthermore, low‐Pi stress increased the insulation score and the number of TAD‐like domains, but the effects on the A/B compartment were not obvious. The methylation levels of target sites (hereafter as RdDM levels) peaked at specific TAD‐like boundaries, whereas RdDM peak levels at conserved TAD‐like boundaries shifted and decreased sharply. The distribution pattern of RdDM sites originating from the Helitron transposons matched that of genome‐wide RdDM sites near TAD‐like boundaries. RdDM pathway genes were upregulated in the middle or early stages and downregulated in the later stages under low‐Pi conditions. The RdDM pathway mutant ddm1a showed increased tolerance to low‐Pi stress, with shortened and thickened roots contributing to higher Pi uptake from the shallow soil layer. ChIP‐seq results revealed that ZmDDM1A could bind to Pi‐ and root development‐related genes. Strong associations were found between interacting genes in significantly different chromatin‐interaction regions and root traits. These findings not only expand the mechanisms by which plants respond to low‐Pi stress through the RdDM pathway but also offer a crucial framework for the analysis of biological issues using 3D genomics.
Positron emission tomography assessment of metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures post surgical repair: Prospective study in 14 racehorses
Authors: Bergstrom Thomas C. , Spriet Mathieu , O'Brion Julie , Carpenter Ryan
Published: September 2023

Objectives

To assess 18F‐sodium fluoride (18F‐NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) findings associated with metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures at the time of fracture repair and through healing.

Study design

Prospective descriptive study.

Animals

Fourteen Thoroughbred racehorses.

Methods

18F‐NaF PET was performed within 4 days of surgical metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fracture repair, on both the injured and contralateral limb. Follow‐up PET scans were offered at 3‐ and 5‐months post fracture repair. Areas of abnormal uptake were assessed using a previously validated grading system.

Results

Eight fractures were located in the parasagittal groove (PSG) (six lateral and two medial) and six fractures were located abaxial to the PSG (non‐PSG) through the palmar/plantar condyle (all lateral). All horses in the latter group had uptake in the lateral palmar condyle of the contralateral limb suggestive of stress remodeling. Three horses with PSG fractures had uptake in a similar location in the contralateral limb. Horses with lateral condylar fracture only presented minimal or mild uptake in the medial condyle, which is considered atypical in the front limbs for horses in full training. Four horses developed periarticular uptake in the postoperative period suggestive of degenerative joint disease, three of these horses had persistent uptake at the fracture site. These four horses did not return to racing successfully.

Conclusion

The findings of this study provide evidence of pre‐existing lesions and specific uptake patterns in racehorses suffering from metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures.

Clinical significance

PET has a possible role in the prevention, diagnosis, and postoperative monitoring of metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures in racehorses.
Enzymatic biodegradation and detoxification of azo and anthraquinone dyes by indigenously isolated bacterial monocultures and their synergistic behaviour in developed consortia
Authors: Hussain Khalid , Aman Afsheen , Ullah Asad , Khan Muhammad Qamar , Ansari Asma
Published: September 2023

Wastewater generated by textile industry needs to be treated to reduce its toxicity before final disposal and/or for recycling purposes. In the current study, several bacterial strains were screened for dye decolorization potential. UV–visible spectroscopy was used to determine maximum absorption wavelength of disperse dyes. HPLC and MTS assay were used to confirm the degradation and detoxification of disperse dyes, respectively. Results revealed that indigenously isolated Bacillus licheniformis, Glutamicibacter uratoxydans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed strong decolorization of red, blue and violet, respectively in 6–9 h. MTS assay revealed 100% viability of NIH/3T3 cell lines in presence of treated dyes. Enzyme screening assay confirmed the production of intracellular and membrane bound oxidoreductases in presence of specific dye as substrate. To resolve this issue, bacterial consortia were prepared, and better decolorization of all dyes was achieved in synergistic behaviour of Consortia 1 and 4 with 85% and 88% decolorization potential, respectively.
Literary Authority
Authors: Willan Claude
Published: September 2023

This book is the cultural history of an idea which now seems so self-evident as barely to be worth stating: through writing imaginative literature, an author can accrue significant and lasting economic and cultural power. We take for granted, now, that authority dwells in literature and in being its author. This state of affairs was not naturally occurring, but deliberately invented. This book tells the story of that invention.
The story's central figures are Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson. But its narrative begins in the 1680s, with the last gasp of the bond linking literary to political authority. While Jacobite poets celebrated (and mourned) the Stuart dynasty, Whig writers traced the philosophical and aesthetic consequences of the accession of William of Orange. Both groups left behind sets of literary devices ready-made to confer and validate authority. Claude Willan challenges the continued reign of the "Scriblerian" model of the period and shows how that reign was engineered. In so doing he historicizes the relationship between "good" and "bad" writing, and suggests how we might think about literature and beauty had Pope and Johnson not taken literary authority for themselves. What might literature have looked like, and what could we use it like for, he provocatively asks.
Introduction
Authors: Willan Claude
Published: September 2023

Summarizes chapters and places the argument in the context of recent methodological developments in the fields covered by the1 book. Situates the argument in transhistorical context and suggests how it bears the weight of transhistorical value despite – because of – its granular historical specificity. It introduces the concept of the genre system, a holistic term for the agglomeration of economic, social and material substrates, practices and communities that are the necessary preconditions of a text’s existence and the set of vectors that produce and disseminate it. Poses the problem of continued Scriblerian cultural bias and suggests the interpretive plenitude that could come from rejecting it.
Pope’s Moderate Ascendancy
Authors: Willan Claude
Published: September 2023

Pope finessed his technique of asserting epistemological privilege. But rather than speaking to a readership or a milieu Pope cantilevered his claims at a national scale. This process was intensely dialogic in the engagement it required him to make with leading voices of the Whig cultural revolution. I read An Essay on Man as a direct engagement with Whiggish mores and with physico-theology in particular, while Epistle to Cobham shows Pope using the Whig opposition to Walpole as well as differentiating himself from it. Epistle to Arbuthnot shows Pope engaging with the predecessor of Pope’s who worried him the most - Pope himself - while offering a fully self-sufficient taxonomy of literary merit and cultural value. The chapter closes with a consideration of Pope’s penchant for enmity, and asks what practical advantage Pope chose to accrue through malice.
The Philosophical Pathos of Susan Taubes
Authors: Wolfson Elliot R.
Published: September 2023

The Philosophical Pathos of Susan Taubes offers a detailed analysis of an extraordinary figure in the twentieth-century history of Jewish thought, Western philosophy, and the study of religion. Drawing on close readings of Susan Taubes's writings, including her correspondence with Jacob Taubes, scholarly essays, literary compositions, and poems, Elliot R. Wolfson plumbs the depths of the tragic sensibility that shaped her worldview, hovering between the poles of nihilism and hope.
By placing Susan Taubes in dialogue with a host of other seminal thinkers, Wolfson illumines how she presciently explored the hypernomian status of Jewish ritual and belief after the Holocaust; the theopolitical challenges of Zionism and the dangers of ethnonationalism; the antitheological theology and gnostic repercussions of Heideggerian thought; the mystical atheism and apophaticism of tragedy in Simone Weil; and the understanding of poetry as the means to face the faceless and to confront the silence of death in the temporal overcoming of time through time. Wolfson delves into the abyss that molded Susan Taubes's mytheological thinking, making a powerful case for the continued relevance of her work to the study of philosophy and religion today.
Introduction
Authors: Wolfson Elliot R.
Published: September 2023

After providing a brief biographical sketch of Susan Taubes, the Introduction lays out the purpose of the book: to provide a philosophical analysis of her thought and to demonstrate that she should be taken seriously as a thinker who has contributed generally to the study of philosophy and religion and particularly to Jewish philosophy in the period right after the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel. This book’s attempt to reclaim the legacy of this extraordinary figure for the history of Judaism should not be construed parochially. On the contrary, for Susan, the Jew attests figurally to the fact that the general must always be measured from the standpoint of a particularity that withstands collapsing the difference between self and other. The marker of being Jewish, consequently, is not primarily religious, cultural, or political, but is rather the ethical directive to uphold the dignity of the other.
Ghosts of Judaism and the Serpent Devouring Its Own Tale
Authors: Wolfson Elliot R.
Published: September 2023

This chapter explores Susan’s complicated relationship to Judaism and her estrangement from the community to which she belonged by not belonging. As a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, Susan likened herself to a nomad who has no roots in the social structures of family, peoplehood, or nation. Susan maintained that the abiding nature of Judaism is not to be assessed from its historical legacy, but rather from a more primitive affirmation of the intrinsic merit of life in the present. This is expressed in her positing a secular ritual ground in mythologic fervor. Susan’s promotion of a ritual observance unencumbered by halakhic interdictions embraced an erotic nature, epitomized in her reference to kindling the Sabbath candles as lighting the serpent or alternatively as breathing the holy. In lieu of rabbinic orthopraxis, Susan posited a sense of ritual informed by the hypernomian axiom of obeying the law by extending beyond its strictures.
Tragedy, Mystical Atheism, and the Apophaticism of Simone Weil
Authors: Wolfson Elliot R.
Published: September 2023

Tragedy is marked by the quality that it cannot be integrated within a mythical, religious, or rationalistic worldview. Historically, ritualistic patterns of sacrificial purification may have been the impetus for the formation of the tragic sensibility, but ideationally, tragic mimesis is distinguished from ritual mimesis inasmuch as the former centers on a human protagonist defiant in the face of the noumenal powers dreaded and mollified by the latter. Susan maintained that the pledge that life must go on is the deceit that tragedy and mysticism share. The paradox of tragedy resists a dialectical sublation of antinomies, and in its place, it upholds a perilous balance that leaves the door open to nihilism as well as to faith. In her criticism of Weil, Susan argued that the impossible task that religion imparts to us is to speak dialogically to the nothing without succumbing to the theopoetic tendency to personalize the holy.
A magnetic field based on Ampère's force law
Authors: Groner Chananya , Minteer Timothy M. , McDonald Kirk T.
Published: September 2023

Ampère's force law for steady currents was not historically associated with a magnetic field, but it could have been. A magnetic field, inspired by work of Helmholtz in 1870, can be defined such that the double-differential form of Ampère's force law is a function of a double-differential of this field. We call this field the Ampère–Weber field, B, and show that its divergence is zero everywhere, as is that of the usual, but different, magnetic field B of Maxwellian electrodynamics. The curl of the Ampère–Weber field is nonzero everywhere in static examples, in contrast to that of the usual magnetic field B. We illustrate the field B for three examples, which exhibit patterns of field lines quite different from those of the usual magnetic field. As the Ampère–Weber field is based on Ampère's force law for steady currents, it does not extrapolate well to the Lorentz force on a moving charge in a magnetic field. That is, the Ampère–Weber field B, like Ampère's force law, is more of a curiosity than a viable alternative to the usual magnetic field B. If the Ampère–Weber field had been invented in the mid-1800s, it would have been a distraction more than a step toward a generally valid electromagnetic field theory.
Generalized Gaussian integrals with application to the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation
Authors: Byczuk Krzysztof , Jakubczyk Paweł
Published: September 2023

We analyze a variety of Gaussian integrals with the aim of revisiting the derivation of the Hubbard–Stratonovich transformation as given in standard graduate-level textbooks and provide an overview of its applications. We pinpoint problematic steps in the usual discussions and propose careful derivations of the Hubbard–Stratonovich identity pertinent to a variety of situations relevant to statistical physics and quantum field theory. These derivations are based on direct use of either a resolution identity or a series expansion. A few homework problems for students are suggested.
Recreational Runners Gain Physiological and Biomechanical Benefits From Super Shoes at Marathon Paces
Authors: Paradisis Giorgos P. , Zacharogiannis Elias , Bissas Athanassios , Hanley Brian
Published: September 2023

Purpose: Advanced footwear technology is prevalent in distance running, with research focusing on these “super shoes” in competitive athletes, with less understanding of their value for slower runners. The aim of this study was to compare physiological and biomechanical variables between a model of super shoes (Saucony Endorphin Speed 2) and regular running shoes (Saucony Cohesion 13) in recreational athletes. Methods: We measured peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in 10 runners before testing each subject 4 times in a randomly ordered crossover design (ie, Endorphin shoe or Cohesion shoe, running at 65% or 80% of velocity at VO2peak [vVO2peak]). We recorded video data using a high-speed camera (300 Hz) to calculate vertical and leg stiffnesses. Results: 65% vVO2peak was equivalent to a speed of 9.4 km·h−1 (0.4), whereas 80% vVO2peak was equivalent to 11.5 km·h−1 (0.5). Two-way mixed-design analysis of variance showed that oxygen consumption in the Endorphin shoe was 3.9% lower than in the Cohesion shoe at 65% vVO2peak, with an interaction between shoes and speed (P = .020) meaning an increased difference of 5.0% at 80% vVO2peak. There were small increases in vertical and leg stiffnesses in the Endorphin shoes (P < .001); the Endorphin shoe condition also showed trivial to moderate differences in step length, step rate, contact time, and flight time (P < .001). Conclusions: There was a physiological benefit to running in the super shoes even at the slower speed. There were also spatiotemporal and global stiffness improvements indicating that recreational runners benefit from wearing super shoes.
Reproductive outcomes after pregnancy-induced displacement of preexisting microchimeric cells
Authors: Shao Tzu-Yu , Kinder Jeremy M. , Harper Gavin , Pham Giang , Peng Yanyan , Liu James , Gregory Emily J. , Sherman Bryan E. , Wu Yuehong , Iten Alexandra E. , Hu Yueh-Chiang , Russi Abigail E. , Erickson John J. , Miller-Handley Hilary , Way Sing Sing
Published: September 2023

Pregnancy confers partner-specific protection against complications in future pregnancy that parallel persistence of fetal microchimeric cells (FMcs) in mothers after parturition. We show that preexisting FMcs become displaced by new FMcs during pregnancy and that FMc tonic stimulation is essential for expansion of protective fetal-specific forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)–positive regulatory T cells (T
reg
cells). Maternal microchimeric cells and accumulation of T
reg
cells with noninherited maternal antigen (NIMA) specificity are similarly overturned in daughters after pregnancy, highlighting a fixed microchimeric cell niche. Whereas NIMA-specific tolerance is functionally erased by pregnancy, partner-specific resiliency against pregnancy complications persists in mothers despite paternity changes in intervening pregnancy. Persistent fetal tolerance reflects FOXP3 expression plasticity, which allows mothers to more durably remember their babies, whereas daughters forget their mothers with new pregnancy-imprinted immunological memories.
The distribution of CO
2
on Europa indicates an internal source of carbon
Authors: Trumbo Samantha K. , Brown Michael E.
Published: September 2023

Jupiter’s moon Europa has a subsurface ocean, the chemistry of which is largely unknown. Carbon dioxide (CO
2
) has previously been detected on the surface of Europa, but it was not possible to determine whether it originated from subsurface ocean chemistry, was delivered by impacts, or was produced on the surface by radiation processing of impact-delivered material. We mapped the distribution of CO
2
on Europa using observations obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We found a concentration of CO
2
within Tara Regio, a recently resurfaced terrain. This indicates that the CO
2
is derived from an internal carbon source. We propose that the CO
2
formed in the internal ocean, although we cannot rule out formation on the surface through radiolytic conversion of ocean-derived organics or carbonates.
Solid-solvent processing of ultrathin, highly loaded mixed-matrix membrane for gas separation
Authors: Chen Guining , Chen Cailing , Guo Yanan , Chu Zhenyu , Pan Yang , Liu Guozhen , Liu Gongping , Han Yu , Jin Wanqin , Xu Nanping
Published: September 2023

Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) that combine processable polymer with more permeable and selective filler have potential for molecular separation, but it remains difficult to control their interfacial compatibility and achieve ultrathin selective layers during processing, particularly at high filler loading. We present a solid-solvent processing strategy to fabricate an ultrathin MMM (thickness less than 100 nanometers) with filler loading up to 80 volume %. We used polymer as a solid solvent to dissolve metal salts to form an ultrathin precursor layer, which immobilizes the metal salt and regulates its conversion to a metal-organic framework (MOF) and provides adhesion to the MOF in the matrix. The resultant membrane exhibits fast gas-sieving properties, with hydrogen permeance and/or hydrogen–carbon dioxide selectivity one to two orders of magnitude higher than that of state-of-the-art membranes.
Identification of a novel transcriptional regulator, CorR, for copper stress response in
Edwardsiella piscicida
Authors: Xia Feng , Xu Pengfei , Zhang Boya , Zhang Yibei , Liu Xiaohong , Ma Yue , Zhang Yuanxing , Wang Qiyao , Shao Shuai
Published: September 2023

Copper plays a vital role in the host–pathogen interface, potentially making components of the bacterial copper response suitable targets for the development of innovative antimicrobial strategies. The anti-copper arsenal of intracellular pathogens has expanded as an adaptation to survive copper toxicity in order to escape intracellular killing by the host immune system. Herein, we employed transposon insertion sequencing to investigate the genetic mechanisms underlying the survival of
Edwardsiella piscicida
under copper stress. A novel transcriptional regulator, ETAE_2324 (named CorR), was identified to participate in the response to copper ions by controlling the expression of
copA,
the core component of cytoplasmic copper homeostasis. Furthermore, CorR regulated the expression of virulent determinant
eseB
, influencing the
in vivo
colonization of
E. piscicida
. Collectively, our results contribute to the comprehension of the underlying mechanism of the adaption of intracellular pathogens to copper stress during bacterial infections.

IMPORTANCE

Copper ions play a pivotal role in the interaction between bacteria and the host during infection. The host’s innate immune system employs copper ions for their bactericidal properties, thereby making bacterial copper tolerance a crucial determinant of virulence.
Edwardsiella piscicida
, a significant marine pathogen, has caused substantial losses in the global aquaculture industry. To comprehensively investigate how
E. piscicida
responds to copper stress, we utilized transposon insertion sequencing to explore genes associated with copper tolerance in culture media containing different concentrations of copper ions. A novel transcriptional regulator, CorR, was identified to respond to copper ions and regulates the expression of crucial components of copper homeostasis CopA, along with the essential virulence factor EseB. These findings offer valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that govern bacterial copper tolerance and present novel perspectives for the development of vaccines and therapeutic strategies targeting
E. piscicida
.
PKR-mediated stress response enhances dengue and Zika virus replication
Authors: Ricciardi-Jorge Taissa , da Rocha Edroaldo Lummertz , Gonzalez-Kozlova Edgar , Rodrigues-Luiz Gabriela Flavia , Ferguson Brian J. , Sweeney Trevor , Irigoyen Nerea , Mansur Daniel Santos
Published: September 2023

The mechanisms by which flaviviruses use non-canonical translation to support their replication in host cells are largely unknown. Here, we investigated how the integrated stress response (ISR), which promotes translational arrest by eIF2ɑ phosphorylation (p-eIF2ɑ), regulates flavivirus replication. During dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, eIF2ɑ phosphorylation peaked at 24 hours post-infection and was dependent on protein kinase RNA-activated (PKR) but not type I interferon. The ISR is activated downstream of p-eIF2α during infection with either virus, but translation arrest only occurred following DENV4 infection. Despite this difference, both DENV4 and ZIKV replications were impaired in cells lacking PKR, independent of type I interferon/NF-kB signaling or cell viability. By using a ZIKV 5′-untranslated region (UTR) reporter system as a model, we found that this region of the genome is sufficient to promote an enhancement of viral mRNA translation in the presence of an active ISR. Together, we provide evidence that flaviviruses escape ISR translational arrest and co-opt this response to increase viral replication.

IMPORTANCE

One of the fundamental features that make viruses intracellular parasites is the necessity to use cellular translational machinery. Hence, this is a crucial checkpoint for controlling infections. Here, we show that dengue and Zika viruses, responsible for nearly 400 million infections every year worldwide, explore such control for optimal replication. Using immunocompetent cells, we demonstrate that arrest of protein translations happens after sensing of dsRNA and that the information required to avoid this blocking is contained in viral 5′-UTR. Our work, therefore, suggests that the non-canonical translation described for these viruses is engaged when the intracellular stress response is activated.
GlMPC
activated by GCN4 regulates secondary metabolism under nitrogen limitation conditions in
Ganoderma lucidum
Authors: Wang Zi , Chen Juhong , Ding Juan , Han Jing , Shi Liang
Published: September 2023

Fungi actively alter their metabolic and synthetic pathways to cope with changing environmental conditions. The mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) plays a vital role in transporting pyruvate into mitochondria and regulating carbon metabolic homeostasis. However, the mechanism by which MPC regulates carbon metabolism in response to environmental stress in fungi remains unclear. In this study, yeast one-hybrid library screening assays were employed to screen for transcription factors in
Ganoderma lucidum
that may interact with GlMPC. General control non-derepressible 4 (GCN4), a key transcription factor responding to nitrogen metabolism, was found to interact with the
GlMPC
promoter region. This interaction was further confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR assays, demonstrating that GCN4 is capable of binding to the
GlMPC
promoter region
in vitro
and
in vivo
. Further results indicated that GCN4 could activate
GlMPC
expression and participate in regulating the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and ganoderic acid (GA) biosynthesis under low nitrogen conditions in
G. lucidum
. These findings revealed a specific regulatory mechanism by which GCN4-activated
GlMPC
regulates the TCA cycle and secondary metabolism under nitrogen limitation conditions in
G. lucidum
, providing crucial insights into the regulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in fungi.

IMPORTANCE

Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) is a pyruvate transporter that plays a crucial role in regulating the carbon metabolic flow and is considered an essential mechanism for microorganisms to adapt to environmental changes. However, it remains unclear how MPC responds to environmental stress in organisms. General control non-derepressible 4 (GCN4), a key regulator of nitrogen metabolism, plays a pivotal role in the growth and development of fungi. In this study, we report that GCN4 can directly bind to the promoter region and activate the expression of GlMPC, thereby regulating the tricarboxylic acid cycle and secondary metabolism under nitrogen limitation conditions in
Ganoderma lucidum
. These findings provide significant insights into the regulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in fungi, highlighting the critical role of GCN4 in coordinating metabolic adaptation to environmental stresses.
F-actin and myosin F control apicoplast elongation dynamics which drive apicoplast-centrosome association in
Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Devarakonda Parvathi Madhavi , Sarmiento Valeria , Heaslip Aoife T.
Published: September 2023

Toxoplasma gondii
contains an essential plastid organelle called the apicoplast that is necessary for fatty acid, isoprenoid, and heme synthesis. Perturbations affecting apicoplast function or inheritance lead to parasite death. The apicoplast is a single copy organelle and, therefore, must be divided so that each daughter parasite inherits an apicoplast during cell division. In this study, we identify new roles for F-actin and an unconventional myosin motor, TgMyoF, in this process. First, loss of TgMyoF and actin lead to an accumulation of apicoplast vesicles in the cytosol indicating a role for this actomyosin system in apicoplast protein trafficking or morphological integrity of the organelle. Second, live cell imaging reveals that during division the apicoplast is highly dynamic, exhibiting branched, U-shaped and linear morphologies that are dependent on TgMyoF and actin. In parasites where movement was inhibited by the depletion of TgMyoF, the apicoplast fails to associate with the parasite centrosomes. Thus, this study provides crucial new insight into mechanisms controlling apicoplast-centrosome association, a vital step in the apicoplast division cycle, which ensures that each daughter inherits a single apicoplast.

IMPORTANCE

Toxoplasma gondii
and most other parasites in the phylum Apicomplexa contain an apicoplast, a non-photosynthetic plastid organelle required for fatty acid, isoprenoid, iron-sulfur cluster, and heme synthesis. Perturbation of apicoplast function results in parasite death. Thus, parasite survival critically depends on two cellular processes: apicoplast division to ensure every daughter parasite inherits a single apicoplast, and trafficking of nuclear encoded proteins to the apicoplast. Despite the importance of these processes, there are significant knowledge gaps in regards to the molecular mechanisms which control these processes; this is particularly true for trafficking of nuclear-encoded apicoplast proteins. This study provides crucial new insight into the timing of apicoplast protein synthesis and trafficking to the apicoplast. In addition, this study demonstrates how apicoplast-centrosome association, a key step in the apicoplast division cycle, is controlled by the actomyosin cytoskeleton.
Complete genome sequence of an avian pathogenic
Escherichia coli
strain isolated from poultry
Authors: Jia Xinglin , Phillips Gregory J. , Lyte Joshua M.
Published: September 2023

Avian pathogenic
Escherichia coli
found in the avian intestinal tract can cause systemic disease in birds and act as a foodborne zoonotic pathogen associated with human disease. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of
E. coli
strain H1998 isolated from a chicken with colisepticemia.