bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Increasing crop field size does not consistently exacerbate insect pest problems
Authors: Rosenheim Jay A. , Cluff Emma , Lippey Mia K. , Cass Bodil N. , Paredes Daniel , Parsa Soroush , Karp Daniel S. , Chaplin-Kramer Rebecca
Published: September 2022

Increasing diversity on farms can enhance many key ecosystem services to and from agriculture, and natural control of arthropod pests is often presumed to be among them. The expectation that increasing the size of monocultural crop plantings exacerbates the impact of pests is common throughout the agroecological literature. However, the theoretical basis for this expectation is uncertain; mechanistic mathematical models suggest instead that increasing field size can have positive, negative, neutral, or even nonlinear effects on arthropod pest densities. Here, we report a broad survey of crop field-size effects: across 14 pest species, 5 crops, and 20,000 field years of observations, we quantify the impact of field size on pest densities, pesticide applications, and crop yield. We find no evidence that larger fields cause consistently worse pest impacts. The most common outcome (9 of 14 species) was for pest severity to be independent of field size; larger fields resulted in less severe pest problems for four species, and only one species exhibited the expected trend of larger fields worsening pest severity. Importantly, pest responses to field size strongly correlated with their responses to the fraction of the surrounding landscape planted to the focal crop, suggesting that shared ecological processes produce parallel responses to crop simplification across spatial scales. We conclude that the idea that larger field sizes consistently disrupt natural pest control services is without foundation in either the theoretical or empirical record.
A glycan-based approach to cell characterization and isolation: Hematopoiesis as a paradigm
Authors: Piszczatowski Richard T. , Schwenger Emily , Sundaravel Sriram , Stein Catarina M. , Liu Yang , Stanley Pamela , Verma Amit , Zheng Deyou , Seidel Ronald D. , Almo Steven C. , Townley Robert A. , Bülow Hannes E. , Steidl Ulrich
Published: September 2022

Cell surfaces display a wide array of molecules that confer identity. While flow cytometry and cluster of differentiation (CD) markers have revolutionized cell characterization and purification, functionally heterogeneous cellular subtypes remain unresolvable by the CD marker system alone. Using hematopoietic lineages as a paradigm, we leverage the extraordinary molecular diversity of heparan sulfate (HS) glycans to establish cellular “glycotypes” by utilizing a panel of anti-HS single-chain variable fragment antibodies (scFvs). Prospective sorting with anti-HS scFvs identifies functionally distinct glycotypes within heterogeneous pools of mouse and human hematopoietic progenitor cells and enables further stratification of immunophenotypically pure megakaryocyte–erythrocyte progenitors. This stratification correlates with expression of a heptad of HS-related genes that is reflective of the HS epitope recognized by specific anti-HS scFvs. While we show that HS glycotyping provides an orthogonal set of tools for resolution of hematopoietic lineages, we anticipate broad utility of this approach in defining and isolating novel, viable cell types across diverse tissues and species.
Innatus immunis: Evolving paradigm of adaptive NK cells
Authors: Khalil Mohamed , Malarkannan Subramaniam
Published: September 2022

The mechanisms that govern the development of adaptive-like NK cells are elusive. Shemesh et al. (2022. J. Exp. Med.https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20220551) report that the development of FcRγ−/low adaptive-like NK cells requires reduced mTOR activity and depends on TGF-β or IFN-α. These findings provide exciting new molecular blueprints explaining the development and functions of adaptive-like NK cells.
Axion wormholes with massive dilaton
Authors: Andriolo Stefano , Shiu Gary , Soler Pablo , Van Riet Thomas
Published: September 2022

If Euclidean wormholes contribute meaningfully to the path integral of quantum gravity they can have important implications for particle physics and cosmology. The dominant effects arise from wormholes whose sizes are comparable to the cut-off scale of effective field theory, for which ultraviolet corrections become relevant. We study corrections to classical axion wormhole solutions in string motivated scenarios in which the dilaton partner of the axion becomes massive. We find corrections near the neck region which are consistent with a recent version of the weak gravity conjecture for axions.
Kinematic training of convolutional neural networks for particle image velocimetry
Authors: Manickathan Lento , Mucignat Claudio , Lunati Ivan
Published: September 2022

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) offer an alternative to the image cross-correlation methods used in particle image velocimetry (PIV) to reconstruct the fluid velocity field from the experimental recording. Despite the flexibility of CNNs, the accuracy and robustness of the standard image processing remains unsurpassed for general PIV data. As CNNs are non-linear and typically entail up to millions of trainable parameters, they require large and carefully designed training datasets to avoid over-fitting and to obtain results that are accurate for a wide range of flow conditions and length scales. Most training datasets consist of PIV-like data that are generated from displacement fields resulting from numerical flow simulations, which, in addition of being computationally expensive, may be able to inform the network only about relatively few classes of flow problems. To overcome this issue and improve the accuracy of the velocity reconstructed by CNNs, we propose to train the networks with synthetic PIV-like data generated from random displacement fields. The underlying idea is that the training dataset simply needs to teach the network about the kinematic relationship between position and velocity. These kinematic training datasets are computationally inexpensive and may allow a much richer variability in terms of length scales by varying the generation parameters. By training a state-of-the-art CNN, we investigate the accuracy of the reconstructed displacement and velocity with synthetic and experimental test cases, such as a sinusoidal flow and wind-tunnel data from a turbulent-boundary-layer and a cylinder-wake experiment. We demonstrate that kinematic training can drastically improve the accuracy of the CNN and allows the network to outperform conventional cross-correlation methods, being more robust with respect to data noise and providing reconstructed velocity fields that have considerably higher spatial resolution (at pixel level).
Freestanding α-rhombohedral borophene nanosheets: preparation and memory device application
Authors: Liang Xinchao , Hao Jinqian , Zhang Pengyu , Hou Chuang , Tai Guoan
Published: September 2022

Borophene has attracted extensive interests owing to its distinct structural, electronic and optical properties for promising potential applications. However, the structural instability and need of metal substrate for deposition of borophene seriously restrict the exploration of its exceptional physical and chemical properties and further hamper its extensive applications towards high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, we reported the synthesis of high-quality freestanding α-rhombohedral borophene nanosheets by a facile probe ultrasonic approach in different organic solvents. The results show that the nanosheets have high-quality in ethanol solution and have an average lateral size of 0.54 μm and a thickness of around 1.2 nm. Photoluminescence spectra indicate that a strong quantum confinement effect occurs in the nanosheets, which caused the increase of the band gap from 1.80 eV for boron powders and 2.52 eV for the nanosheets s. A nonvolatile memory device based on the nanosheets mixed with polyvinylpyrrolidone was fabricated, which exhibited a good rewriteable nonvolatile memory behavior and good stability.
Improving cosmological covariance matrices with machine learning
Authors: de Santi Natalí S.M. , Abramo L. Raul
Published: September 2022

Cosmological covariance matrices are fundamental for parameter inference, since they are responsible for propagating uncertainties from the data down to the model parameters. However, when data vectors are large, in order to estimate accurate and precise covariance matrices we need huge numbers of observations, or rather costly simulations - neither of which may be viable. In this work we propose a machine learning approach to alleviate this problem in the context of the covariance matrices used in the study of large-scale structure. With only a small amount of data (matrices built with samples of 50-200 halo power spectra) we are able to provide significantly improved covariance matrices, which are almost indistinguishable from the ones built from much larger samples (thousands of spectra). In order to perform this task we trained convolutional neural networks to denoise the covariance matrices, using in the training process a data set made up entirely of spectra extracted from simple, inexpensive halo simulations (mocks). We then show that the method not only removes the noise in the covariance matrices of the cheap simulation, but it is also able to successfully denoise the covariance matrices of halo power spectra from N-body simulations. We compare the denoised matrices with the noisy sample covariance matrices using several metrics, and in all of them the denoised matrices score significantly better, without any signs of spurious artifacts. With the help of the Wishart distribution we show that the end product of the denoiser can be compared with an effective sample augmentation in the input matrices. Finally, we show that, by using the denoised covariance matrices, the cosmological parameters can be recovered with nearly the same accuracy as when using covariance matrices built with a sample of 30,000 spectra in the case of the cheap simulations, and with 15,000 spectra in the case of the N-body simulations. Of particular interest is the bias in the Hubble parameter H
0, which was significantly reduced after applying the denoiser.
Induced gravitational waves from slow-roll inflation after an enhancing phase
Authors: Balaji Shyam , Domènech Guillem , Silk Joseph
Published: September 2022

The primordial spectrum of fluctuations may present a large peak as a result of enhancing features during inflation. This may include, but is not limited to, bumps in the inflaton's potential, phases of ultra-slow-roll or turns in multi-field space. However, in many models, inflation does not end immediately after the enhancing feature and it is likely to continue with a second phase of slow-roll. We show that the resulting induced gravitational waves may probe the primordial spectrum from the second inflationary phase, even if its amplitude is too small to directly induce detectable gravitational waves. This is because, if there are sharp peaks in the primordial spectrum, the total gravitational wave spectrum is not simply the sum of gravitational waves induced by a peaked and scale-invariant primordial spectra separately, but cross terms from interaction between these modes also become important. We also find that such cross terms always have a characteristic slope. We discuss the parameter space that may be probed by future gravitational wave detectors in the presence of these signals.
Characterization of radiation drive by measuring the localized re-emitted flux from the capsule in inertial confinement fusion experiments
Authors: Xie Xufei , Wu Changshu , Chen Jinwen , Liu Shenye , Hou Lifei , Du Huabin , Cai Hongbo , Guo Liang , Ren Kuan , Li Zhichao , Yang Dong , Li Sanwei , Ge Fengjun , Li Xin , Huang Yunbao , Jing Longfei , Shang Wanli , Liu Yaoyuan , Jiang Xiaohua , Zhan Xiayu , Yang Yimeng , Wang Feng , He Haien , Zou Shiyang , Yang Jiamin , Jiang Shaoen , Zhang Baohan , Ding Yongkun
Published: September 2022

We present for the first time characterization of the time-dependent radiation drive on the capsule by measuring the localized re-emitted flux at Shenguang-III prototype laser facility. The drive flux was obtained with measured re-emitted flux from the capsule and radiation fluxes from the hohlraum wall, in combination with radiation hydrodynamic simulations. It revealed that the temporal behavior of the drive flux was quite distinguished from the radiation flux from the hohlraum wall, and the drive flux was approximately 6 eV (12 eV) lower than the measured flux at up 55° (up 30°). This technique presents a novel way for the assessment of the drive flux, both in cylindrical hohlraums and novel hohlraums with more than two laser entrance holes. Pre-processed radiation hydrodynamic simulations indicate that this technique can also be applied in integrated implosion experiments utilizing standard fusion capsule with carbon-hydrogen ablators.
Modelling of tungsten impurity edge transport and screening for different divertor conditions in EAST
Authors: Wang Hui , Xu Guoliang , Ding Rui , Liu Xiaoju , Si Hang , Zhang Qing , Ding Fang , Zhu Dahuan , Yan Rong , Xie Hai , Meng Lingyi , Wang Liang , Hai Ran , Wang Zhibin , Chen Junling
Published: September 2022

Tungsten (W) transport and screening in the edge plasma are investigated for EAST high dissipative divertor conditions. By combining the 1D impurity fluid model (1DImpFM) and the two-point model formatting (2PMF), W screening is proved to be enhanced for high upstream plasma density conditions, mainly because the impurity temperature gradient velocity decreases with the increase of the upstream plasma density. Based on dedicated EAST density ramp-up experiments, 2D simulations of W erosion and transport are carried out for different levels of dissipative divertor conditions by using the SOLPS-DIVIMP code package, and the modeling results are benchmarked with the 1DImpFM analytic model. The prompt-redeposition, the divertor screening, and the main SOL screening are quantitatively analyzed. For detached divertor conditions, the increase in the W ionization length reduces the prompt redeposition rate, but both the divertor screening and SOL screening are reinforced. The 1DImpFM can interpret well the W leakage in the near separatrix region; however, the 2D simulations suggest that the impurity pressure gradient force which is neglected by the 1DImpFM plays an important role, especially in the far-SOL region. With the divertor condition varied from the high-recycling regime to the deep detachment regime, the W source moves from the near strike point region to the far SOL, and thus makes the W transport in the far SOL more important. Therefore, the impurity pressure gradient force cannot be neglected for edge W transport analysis, especially for the detached divertor conditions.
Numerical modeling of solute convection in the system of two porous layers with different permeabilities
Authors: Ivantsov A O , Parshakova Ya N
Published: September 2022

The numerical simulation of the dynamics of a liquid with solute of high concentration in two horizontal layers of a porous medium with different permeability coefficients is carried out. The dynamics of the solute is modeled within the framework of a nonlinear MIM model that takes into account the adhesion and separation process at the skeleton of a porous medium. The modeling was carried out in a two-dimensional setting. The mobile (moving together with the carrier fluid) and immobile (deposited on the skeleton) phases are modeled by the finite volume method with adaptive mesh refinement algorithm. At each point in space, functions of volumetric saturation are set, and a kinematic equation is solved that describes the dynamics of adhesion and separation. The effective permeability of a porous medium depends on the saturation function of the immobile phase and is calculated using the Kozeny-Karman formula. The obtained numerical data are compared with the results of a linear analysis of stability, and the nonlinear regimes of concentration convection and the distribution of impurities at high supercriticalities are studied. In the case of high ratio of permeability coefficients of upper and lower layers, convection occurs locally in a more permeable sublayer, even with a decrease in its thickness. With an increase in supercriticality the penetration of the convective flow into the poorly permeable sublayer and the transition from local convection to large-scale convection are observed.
Method of generation, measurement of the size and number of microbubbles in NaCl and SDS solutions of different concentrations
Authors: Rybkin K , Kuchinskiy M , Lyubimova T , Kozlov M , Fattalov O , Fattakhova I , Sinitsyna V
Published: September 2022

The research work shows the method of generating and registration of bubbles which is provided by the finely disperse membrane, the air compressor, the water pump and the optical image registration unit and analyses of images. In order to estimate the size of the fixed bubbles the specialized software on Python programming language was used as a tool of analysis. The software outcomes are presented in the form of diagrams of the distribution of the number of bubbles by the diameter. The results of experiments for solutions of sodium chloride salt and sodium dodecyl sulfate of various concentrations indicated the possibility of controlling both the diameter and the amount of produced air bubbles. One of the main findings of the scientific work is determination of the concentration of sodium chloride, which leads to inhibition of the effect of Sodium dodecyl sulfate on the distribution of bubbles by their size in the experiments.
Modeling of thermoelastic deformation of a thin-layer “coating-substrate” system
Authors: Vatulyan A O , Nesterov S A
Published: September 2022

The problem of thermoelastic deformation of a thin-layer coated strip is considered. To consider scale effects, a one-parameter gradient thermoelasticity model is used. The solution to the problem is based on the application of the Fourier transform in the longitudinal coordinate. The inversion of transformants is carried out on the basis of Filon’s quadrature formula. The stress-strain state of the coated strip was calculated both in gradient setting and in classical setting. The analysis of the influence of the scale parameter on the distribution of displacements and stresses is made.
Numerical simulation of heat transfer in the cooling channel of a titanium apparatus
Authors: Karasev T O , Perminov A V
Published: September 2022

Numerical modeling of thermophysical processes in the air cooling channel of the titanium sponge reduction reactor is performed. The cooling channel is an area bounded by a retort filled with liquid magnesium and a wall on which heating elements are mounted. Air flows inside the channel, cooling the retort. A mathematical model is constructed based on unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in axisymmetric formulation using a k −ω SST turbulence model. The model takes into account the radiation heat transfer between the retort and reactor walls. Two variants of thermal boundary conditions are considered. The temperature conditions of the retort wall have been calculated, and the profiles of the heat transfer coefficient along the retort wall for a wide interval of airflow rates have been obtained. It is shown that temperature distributions along the retort are not uniform and strongly depend both on external boundary conditions and on cooling intensity. Heat transfer coefficient distributions from its outer wall for different retort heating conditions are plotted, and an empirical formula for calculating the profile of this coefficient is proposed.
Neutron Beam Characterization on the Beam Tubes of 30 MW G.A. Siwabessy Reactor Using Monte Carlo
Authors: Rasito  , Su’ud Z , Permana S
Published: September 2022

The neutron beam characterization had been conducted on six tubes of RSG-GAS reactor for BNCT application in a simulation using Monte Carlo method with MCNP computer code. The simulation was conducted by modeling the geometry and material of RSG-GAS reactor with a model of radiation source from 235U fission reaction in 40 fuel bundles type U3Si2Al with 235U levels of 19.75%. The distribution of neutron and gamma fluxes was simulated from the reactor core to the edge of beam tube of S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, and S6 with a tube length of 400 cm and a diameter of 30 cm. The highest neutron flux produced by the beam tube of S5 was 4.3×1010 cm−2s−1 with the highest gamma dose was 1362 Sv/j. The lowest neutron flux produced by the beam tube of S6 was 5.9×109 cm−2s−1 with a gamma dose was 51 Sv/j. Based on the characterization result, it was shown that the output neutron beam of each RSG-GAS beam tube had the potential to be used for many application.
Simulation of Erosion Behavior of a Paraffin Plate with Particle Method
Authors: Ifthacharo M , Mustari A P A , Permana S , Nuril A
Published: September 2022

There are many mechanisms in a reactor shutdown function of MSR and inherent self-stabilization. One of those mechanisms is the fuel-salt drain system. The present study focused on the melting and solidification phenomenon that occurs in the freeze valve. An experiment was performed to investigate the erosion behavior of a solid plate by an impinging liquid to time and the effects of fluid viscosity. In addition, numerical modeling based on the MPS method to visualize the heat distribution in the plate will also be carried out. The experiment will be conducted by varying the parameters such as the liquids, temperature, and diameter. Hot water (90°C), molten paraffin, and cooking oil will be used with molded pure paraffin wax will serve as the target plates. The dimension of the target plate is cylindrical, with 44 mm in thickness and 144 mm in length for paraffin wax. The data will then be compared to the MPS simulation. The radial dispersion of the heated liquid and the temperature of the impinged liquid will affect the penetration time, hence making the formation of a mushy zone more likely and promoting the pool effect. The noticeable difference of penetration time between simulation and experiment is likely caused by the changing value of kinematic viscosity of the liquids used in different temperatures. The kinematic viscosity is set to be a constant value in the simulation.
Characterisation of planar sensors for the inner tracker of the CMS experiment
Authors: Hajheidari M.
Published: September 2022

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is expected to collect an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb−1 during the High Luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). This scenario comes with a high number of collisions per bunch crossing, and in turn, a high level of radiation for the innermost layer of the CMS tracker. Simulations estimate a 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence, Φeq, of 2.3 × 1016 cm−2 at a distance of 2.8 cm from the collision point. The inner tracker of the CMS detector is required to withstand this range of fluence and maintain tracking performance. Planar pixel sensors with an active thickness of 150 μm and pixel sizes of 25 × 100 μm2 or 50 × 50 μm2 have been produced by Hamamatsu Photonics (HPK) and Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK). The sensors were bump bonded to the RD53A readout chip prototype. The sensor-chip modules were irradiated with 23 MeV protons to the 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence of up to 2.4 × 1016 cm−2 at the Zyklotron AG (ZAG).

Non-irradiated and irradiated modules were tested in the DESY II beam test facility. The spatial resolution as a function of the incidence angle and hit efficiency as a function of the bias voltage of the sensors were determined from these measurements. It is shown that for the highest fluence, the planar modules still reach 98% hit efficiency at bias voltages below 800 V.
A low noise 5.12 GHz PLL ASIC in 55 nm for NICA multi purpose detector project
Authors: Zhao C. , Guo D. , Chen Q. , Guo Z. , Arteche R. , Ceballos C. , Fang N. , Gan Y. , Murin Y. , Yi L. , Sun X.
Published: September 2022

This paper presents the design and the test results of a low noise PLL ASIC for the optical data transmission system in NICA MPD project. In the proposed PLL, a novel charge pump circuit uses two feedback operational amplifiers to obtain low leakage current and reduce dynamic mismatch. A LC-VCO circuit combines the two-step capacitor tuning structure and the novel capacitor array unit to obtain a reasonable frequency range and an optimized Q factor performance. The PLL ASIC has been fabricated in a 55 nm CMOS process. The test results show that the PLL ASIC outputs the 5.12 GHz clock with a phase noise of −108 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset and a rms jitter of 880 fs. The PLL core consumes 22.2 mW from a 1.2 V power supply.
Development of active laser reflector for alignment and monitoring of large-scale scientific devices
Authors: Feng Xing , Qin Shijun , Wang Qingfeng , Gu Yongqi , Cao Jin , Chen XianFeng , He Xiaoye , Li Xiao
Published: September 2022

As large-scale scientific devices like particle accelerators
and tokamaks become bigger and more complex, efficient measurements
are needed for these devices. At present, when laser trackers are
used to measure these devices, manually rotating reflectors is
needed in many circumstances, but it's inefficient and it's
inappropriate to be used in the areas where human can't approach. To
solve the problem, we designed an active laser reflector, which can
rotate to a target angle position controlled by a host computer
software. We designed a fixture to embed and clamp a spherically
mounted retro-reflector (SMR). And two custom-designed motors are
used to drive the SMR to rotate horizontally and vertically
respectively. The shaft of the motor has a flange to match another
flange on the load, which can reduce the coaxiality error between
them. The motor control system consists of two motor controllers
and a host computer software, and they communicate through WIFI. We
made a prototype of the active laser reflector based on the design
scheme and measured the offset of the SMR center, which is around
±0.23 mm. The active laser reflector we designed can increase
the measuring and monitoring efficiency for large-scale scientific
devices.
The history of climate and society: a review of the influence of climate change on the human past
Authors: Degroot Dagomar , Anchukaitis Kevin J , Tierney Jessica E , Riede Felix , Manica Andrea , Moesswilde Emma , Gauthier Nicolas
Published: September 2022

Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of scholarship that identifies societal responses to past climatic fluctuations. This fast-changing scholarship, which was recently synthesized as the History of Climate and Society (HCS), is today undertaken primary by archaeologists, economists, geneticists, geographers, historians and paleoclimatologists. This review is the first to consider how scholars in all of these disciplines approach HCS studies. It begins by explaining how climatic changes and anomalies are reconstructed by paleoclimatologists and historical climatologists. It then provides a broad overview of major changes and anomalies over the 300,000-year history of Homo sapiens, explaining both the causes and environmental consequences of these fluctuations. Next, it introduces the sources, methods, and models employed by scholars in major HCS disciplines. It continues by describing the debates, themes, and findings of HCS scholarship in its major disciplines, and then outlines the potential of transdisciplinary, ‘consilient’ approaches to the field. It concludes by explaining how HCS studies can inform policy and activism that confronts anthropogenic global warming.
Measurement of a quantum system with a classical apparatus using ensembles on configuration space*
Authors: Reginatto Marcel , Ulbricht Sebastian
Published: September 2022

Finding a physically consistent approach to modeling interactions between classical and quantum systems is a highly nontrivial task. While many proposals based on various mathematical formalisms have been made, most of these efforts run into difficulties of one sort or another. One of the first detailed descriptions was given by Sudarshan and his collaborators who, motivated by the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, proposed a Hilbert space formulation of classical–quantum interactions which made use of the Koopman–von Neumann description of classical systems. Here we use the approach of ensembles on configurations space to give a detailed account of a classical apparatus measuring the position of a quantum particle that is prepared in a superposition of two localized states. We show that the probability of the pointer of the classical apparatus is left in a state that corresponds to the probability of the quantum particle. A subsequent observation of the pointer leads to an update of its probability density. From this we can obtain information about the position of the quantum particle, leading to an update of its wave function. Since this formalism incorporates uncertainties and finite measurement precision, it is well suited for metrological applications. Furthermore, it resolves fundamental issues that appear in the case of a quantum description of the apparatus.
Using Community Project in Teaching Food Security: A Student-centered Approach
Authors: Nguyen Trang , Vu Danh
Published: September 2022

This study aimed to implement community action-based project to help students apply knowledge of food security to the real world. The project had students involved in choosing a food security related topic, collecting data from a community, creating a data-driven action that is beneficial to the selected community, and reporting their work. To aid educators in successfully adopting a project-based learning approach in food security at undergraduate level, this manuscript explained the course framework, demonstrated students’ works, discussed benefits and challenges when employing the community project in the course. The approach described here is applicable in other multidisciplinary fields.
Survey on usage of single use plastic bags in Nepal
Authors: Khanal Ashish
Published: September 2022

The rapid urbanization and economic growth have caused increase of plastic products globally. The least developed countries (LDCs) have been facing severe problems with solid waste due to lack of people’s awareness, lack of skilled manpower to handle waste and necessary equipment to manage in sustainable manner. Nepal, a LDC in South Asia, lacks source segregation leading the maximum plastic items reaching to the landfill site. It is even difficult for the planning authorities to make effective plans for sustainable management of plastic waste due to lack of waste generation data. Nepal has made many rules and directives to ban plastic bags till date but has failed in its implementation. This study is the first of its kind to capture the perception of youths towards single use bags in Nepal. This study was conducted among 569 Nepalese youths of age between 18-40 years. A closed ended self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the respondents and responses were collected for three weeks. The questionnaire was prepared using google form and distributed via Facebook. A snowball method was used where the respondents were asked to share the questionnaire in their network. It was found that majority of Nepalese youths have been practicing the source segregation at their houses. The use of single use plastic is very common in Nepal with an individual using at least 208 plastic bags in a year. The gender and source segregation of waste was statistically significant with p-value of 0.02 (<0.05). The main reason of using plastic bags was its easy availability. There is lack of alterative to the plastic bags in Nepal. However, the youths are ready to support the government plastic ban policy and have asked the alternatives to the plastic bags. The result has shown that the Nepalese people have negative perception towards single use plastics and are in search of alternatives. The government need to implement heavy penalty for producing plastic bags greater than 30 micron and deploy tax with shop keepers and customer if found using it.
Development and Temperature-induced Expression of a HSP90 Gene Lacking Introns in Cotesia chilonis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Authors: Li Shuan-Gan , Dong Chuan-Lei , Zhu Feng , Yang Fei , Lu Ming-Xing , Du Yu-Zhou
Published: September 2022

Cotesia chilonis (Munakata) is the predominant parasitic wasp of Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidea), a major rice pest in China. As climate change continues to intensify, C. chilonis and C. suppressalis must adapt to the increased frequency of adverse temperatures. In this study, the novel Cchsp90-2 was isolated and characterized from C. chilonis. The full-length Cchsp90-2 cDNA was 2689 bp and encoded 728 amino acids with an isoelectric point of 4.93. Cchsp90-2 encodes three heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) family signatures, and the alignment of genomic and cDNA sequences revealed that Cchsp90-2 does not contain introns. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that Cchsp90-2 was induced in eggs and adults; however, larvae and pupae showed no significant differences in Cchsp90-2 expression levels. Cchsp90-2 was induced at both high and low temperatures, with very high expression levels after a 2-h exposure to 33°C or −13°C. This study provides insight into the mechanistic basis of thermal tolerance in C. chilonis and has implications for deploying this wasp to control C. suppressalis.
PEcnv: accurate and efficient detection of copy number variations of various lengths
Authors: Wang Xuwen , Xu Ying , Liu Ruoyu , Lai Xin , Liu Yuqian , Wang Shenjie , Zhang Xuanping , Wang Jiayin
Published: September 2022

Copy number variation (CNV) is a class of key biomarkers in many complex traits and diseases. Detecting CNV from sequencing data is a substantial bioinformatics problem and a standard requirement in clinical practice. Although many proposed CNV detection approaches exist, the core statistical model at their foundation is weakened by two critical computational issues: (i) identifying the optimal setting on the sliding window and (ii) correcting for bias and noise. We designed a statistical process model to overcome these limitations by calculating regional read depths via an exponentially weighted moving average strategy. A one-run detection of CNVs of various lengths is then achieved by a dynamic sliding window, whose size is self-adopted according to the weighted averages. We also designed a novel bias/noise reduction model, accompanied by the moving average, which can handle complicated patterns and extend training data. This model, called PEcnv, accurately detects CNVs ranging from kb-scale to chromosome-arm level. The model performance was validated with simulation samples and real samples. Comparative analysis showed that PEcnv outperforms current popular approaches. Notably, PEcnv provided considerable advantages in detecting small CNVs (1 kb–1 Mb) in panel sequencing data. Thus, PEcnv fills the gap left by existing methods focusing on large CNVs. PEcnv may have broad applications in clinical testing where panel sequencing is the dominant strategy. Availability and implementation: Source code is freely available at https://github.com/Sherwin-xjtu/PEcnv
Foreign and Dangerous? Unpacking the Role of Judges and Prosecutors in Sentencing Disparities in Spain
Authors: Kemp Steven , Varona Daniel
Published: September 2022

Given the salience of the principle of equality before the law, there is growing interest in understanding the relationship between immigration and sentencing disparities; however, research remains relatively scarce in Europe. This article examines, firstly, whether non-citizens receive harsher punishment outcomes in Spain and, secondly, the role of several decisions made by judges and prosecutors in producing punishment inequalities. The results show that foreigners are more likely to be imprisoned and that this is related to disparities in prosecutorial recommendations, plea bargaining and the suspension of prison sentences. However, we find mixed evidence of discriminatory practices in the imposition of prison sentences and no evidence with regard to sentence length. The findings are discussed in relation to theoretical debates and practical implications regarding immigration and criminal justice.
Quinolone Ear Drops and Achilles Tendon Rupture
Authors: Tran Phuong T , Antonelli Patrick J , Winterstein Almut G
Published: September 2022

Background

Delayed eardrum healing has been observed in the ear opposite to the ear treated with otic quinolones (OQ) in rats. Case reports describe tendinopathies after OQ treatment, suggesting adverse systemic effects.

Methods

We studied patients aged 19 to 64 years with diagnosis of otitis externa or media in private insurance between 2005 and 2015. We compared OQ treatment against otic neomycin, oral amoxicillin, or azithromycin. Outcomes included Achilles tendon rupture (ATR), Achilles tendinitis (AT), and all-type tendon rupture (ATTR). We applied an active comparator, new-user design with 1-year look-back and ceased follow-up at initiation of systemic steroids or oral quinolones, external injury, hospitalization, and after 35 days. We used trimmed stabilized inverse probability of treatment weights to balance comparison groups in a survival framework. Negative outcomes (clavicle fractures or sports injuries) were examined to rule out differences from varied physical activity (unmeasured confounding).

Results

We examined 1 501 009 treated otitis episodes. Hazard ratios (HR) for OQ exposure associated with ATR were 4.49 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–11.02), AT 1.04 (95% CI, 0.73–1.50), and ATTR 1.71 (95% CI, 1.21–2.41). Weighted risk differences (RD) per 100 000 episodes for OQ exposure were ATR 7.80 (95% CI, 0.72–14.89), AT 1.01 (95% CI, −12.80 to 14.81), and ATTR 18.57 (95% CI, 3.60–33.53). Corresponding HRs for clavicle fractures and sports injuries were HR,1.71 (95% CI, 0.55–5.27) and HR,1.45 (95% CI, 0.64–3.30), suggesting limited residual confounding.

Conclusions

OQ exposure may lead to systemic consequences. Clinicians should consider this potential risk and counsel patients accordingly. Risk factors and mechanisms for this rare, adverse effect deserve further evaluation. Mechanistic and other clinical studies are warranted to corroborate this finding.
Post-Ebola Symptoms 7 Years After Infection: The Natural History of Long Ebola
Authors: Wohl David Alain , Fischer William A , Mei Wenwen , Zou Fei , Tozay Samuel , Reeves Edwin , Pewu Korto , Demarco Jean , Schieffelin John , Johnson Henrietta , Conneh Tonia , Williams Gerald , McMillian Darrius , Brown Jerry
Published: September 2022

Background

Lingering symptoms have been reported by survivors of Ebola virus disease (EVD). There are few data describing the persistence and severity of these symptoms over time.

Methods

Symptoms of headache, fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, hearing loss, visual loss, numbness of hands or feet were longitudinally assessed among participants in the Liberian Ebola Survivors Cohort study. Generalized linear mixed effects models, adjusted for sex and age, were used to calculate the odds of reporting a symptom and it being rated as highly interfering with life.

Results

From June 2015 to June 2016, 326 survivors were enrolled a median of 389 days (range 51–614) from acute EVD. At baseline 75.2% reported at least 1 symptom; 85.8% were highly interfering with life. Over a median follow-up of 5.9 years, reporting of any symptom declined (odds ratio for each 90 days of follow-up = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: .95, .97; P < .0001) with all symptoms declining except for numbness of hands or feet. Rating of any symptom as highly interfering decreased over time. Among 311 with 5 years of follow-up, 52% (n = 161) reported a symptom and 29% (n = 47) of these as highly interfering with their lives.

Conclusions

Major post-EVD symptoms are common early during convalescence and decline over time along with severity. However, even 5 years after acute infection, a majority continue to have symptoms and, for many, these continue to greatly impact their lives. These findings call for investigations to identify the mechanisms of post-EVD sequelae and therapeutic interventions to benefit the thousands of effected EVD survivors.
Mpox Presenting as Proctitis in Men Who Have Sex With Men
Authors: Yakubovsky Michal , Shasha David , Reich Shelley , Tau Luba , Friedel Nadav , Halutz Ora , Dekel Michal , Meijer Suzy , Ben-Ami Ronen , Paran Yael
Published: September 2022

In our cohort of 70 patients of men who have sex with men (MSM) with mpox, more than one-third presented with proctitis. In two-thirds of proctitis patients, there was no typical rash upon presentation, and in one-fifth, there was no rash at all, making the diagnosis a challenge. A rectal swab for mpox polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be diagnostic.
Capture heats up sharks
Authors: Harding Lucy , Gallagher Austin , Jackson Andrew , Bortoluzzi Jenny , Dolton Haley R , Shea Brendan , Harman Luke , Edwards David , Payne Nicholas
Published: September 2022

Catch-and-release fishing is an important component of ecotourism industries and scientific research worldwide, but its total impact on animal physiology, health and survival is understudied for many species of fishes, particularly sharks. We combined biologging and blood chemistry to explore how this fisheries interaction influenced the physiology of two widely distributed, highly migratory shark species: the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Nineteen sharks were caught by drum line or rod-and-reel angling; subcutaneous body temperature measurements were taken immediately upon capture, with six individuals also providing subsequent subcutaneous body temperature measurements via biologging as they swam freely for several hours post-release. We found that short-term capture caused shark body temperature to increase significantly and rapidly, with increases of 0.6°C–2.7°C for blue sharks (mean, 1.2 ± 0.6°C) and 0.5°C–0.9°C for tiger sharks (mean, 0.7 ± 0.2°C) and with capture-induced heating rates of blue sharks averaging 0.3°C min−1 but as high as 0.8°C min−1. Blue shark body temperature was even higher deeper into the white muscle. These heating rates were three to eight times faster than maximum rates encountered by our biologging sharks swimming through thermally stratified waters and faster than most acute heating experiments conducted with ectotherms in laboratory experiments. Biologging data showed that body temperatures underwent gradual decline after release, returning to match water temperatures 10–40 mins post-release. Blood biochemistry showed variable lactate/glucose levels following capture; however, these concentrations were not correlated with the magnitude of body temperature increase, nor with body size or hooking time. These perturbations of the natural state could have immediate and longer-term effects on the welfare and ecology of sharks caught in catch-and-release fisheries and we encourage further study of the broader implications of this reported phenomenon.
Instar Determination for the Tomato Leafminer Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Using the Density-Based OPTICS Clustering Algorithm
Authors: Wang Wenqian , Xiao Guanli , Yang Baoyun , Ye Jvhui , Zhang Xu , Zheng Yaqiang , Chen Bin
Published: September 2022

The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is one of the most harmful pests of solanaceous crops. Its larval morphological characteristics are similar, making the distinguishing between different larval instars difficult. Accurate identification of T. absoluta instars is necessary either for population outbreak forecasting, or developing successful control programs. Although a clustering algorithm can be used to determine the number of larval instars, little is known regarding the use of density-based ordering points to identify the clustering structure (OPTICS) and determine the number of larvae. In this study, larval instars of 240 T. absoluta individuals were determined by the density-based OPTICS clustering method, based on mandible width, and head capsule width and length. To verify the feasibility of the OPTICS clustering method, we compared it with the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) clustering algorithm, Gaussian mixture models, and k-means. Additionally, the instars determined by the clustering methods were verified using the Brooks–Dyar rule, Crosby rule, and linear regression model. The instars determined by the OPTICS clustering method were equal to those determined by the other types of clustering algorithms, and the instar results were consistent with the Brooks–Dyar rule, Crosby rule, frequency analysis, and logarithmic regression model. These results indicated that the OPTICS clustering method is robust for determining insect larva instar phase. Moreover, it was found that three morphological indices of T. absoluta can be used for determining instars of this pest in the field, which may provide important information for the management of T. absoluta populations.
Value of 3D echocardiography in the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Authors: Addetia Karima , Mazzanti Andrea , Maragna Riccardo , Monti Lorenzo , Yamat Megan , Kukavica Deni , Pagan Eleonora , Kishiki Kanako , Prado Aldo , Marino Maira , Bagnardi Vincenzo , Priori Silvia , Lang Roberto M
Published: September 2022

Aims

The 2010 Task Force Criteria (TFC) require that both right ventricular (RV) regional wall-motion abnormalities (WMA) and specific RV size cut-offs be met in order to fulfil one of the major criterion for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) diagnosis. Currently, 2D echocardiography (2DE) and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) are used to determine if these criteria are met. Little is known about the diagnostic value of 3D echocardiography (3DE) in ARVC. The aim of this study was to determine whether a combination of 2DE-3DE is non-inferior to the currently used 2DE-cMRI combination in the diagnosis of patients with ARVC.

Methods and results

Thirty-nine individuals (47±15 years) with suspected ARVC underwent evaluation of the RV with cMRI, 2DE, and 3DE. 3DE and cMRI were independently used to obtain RV volumes, ejection fraction (EF) and determine the presence of segmental RV WMA. Studies were blindly classified as meeting criteria for ARVC in accordance with the 2010 TFC. Kappa statistics were used to test the concordance between 2DE–cMRI and 2DE–3DE approaches. Using the 2DE–cMRI approach, 3/39 were not affected, 5/39 possible, 8/39 borderline, and 23/39 definite ARVC. The proposed 2DE–3DE approach yielded 5/39 not affected, 7/39 possible, 8/39 borderline, and 19/39 definite diagnoses. The two approaches were highly concordant (k = 0.71; 95% confidence interval: 0.44–0.84). Although 3DE underestimated RV volumes in comparison with cMRI, interfering, in some instances with the fulfilment of a major criterion, it was able to identify more RV WMA (28/39) than 2DE (11/39), with a detection-rate comparable to cMRI (33/39) highlighting a unique advantage.

Conclusion

The combination of 2DE–3DE for ARVC diagnosis is comparable to the conventional 2DE–cMRI approach. 3DE should be performed in all suspected ARVC patients to aide in the detection of WMA.