bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Narrow‐Bandgap InGaAsP Solar Cell with TiO2 Carrier‐Selective Contact
Authors: Tournet Julie , Butson Joshua D. , Narangari Parvathala R. , Dontu Saikrishna , Gupta Bikesh , Lysevych Mykhaylo , Karuturi Siva , Tan Hark Hoe , Jagadish Chennupati
Published: August 2021

Carrier‐selective contacts offer promising opportunities for solar cells. By alleviating the need for p–n junctions and acting as passivation layers, they significantly simplify the device design and fabrication. Herein, this strategy is applied to a narrow‐bandgap (≈0.91 eV) InGaAsP solar cell. Such a solar cell, lattice‐matched to InP, possesses a bandgap ideal for the bottom subcell of a tandem cell. It is shown that TiO2 forms an electron‐selective contact to InGaAsP. The TiO2/InGaAsP solar cell exhibits a short‐circuit current density of 35.2 mA cm−2, an open‐circuit voltage of 0.49 V, and an efficiency of 8.9%. The cell J–V characteristics and quantum efficiency highlight the beneficial aspect of TiO2 as a passivating layer for InGaAsP. The reduced open‐circuit voltage and lower response at longer wavelengths, on the other hand, indicate that the quaternary alloy material quality could be further improved to increase the carrier diffusion length. Nevertheless, the performance of this simplified electron‐selective contact solar cell structure is comparable to conventional p–n junction 1 eV InGaAsP solar cells reported in the literature, highlighting the promise toward lower‐cost photovoltaic tandem cells.
Strain‐Induced Ideal Topological Semimetal in Ort‐B32 Holding Parallel Arc‐Like Nodal Lines and Anisotropic Multiple Weyl Fermions
Authors: Han Shengru , Li Chaoyu , Cui Leyuan , Cui Xin , Song Tielei , Liu Zhifeng
Published: August 2021

Ideal topological semimetals, which are composed of nontoxic lightweight elements and host clean Dirac/Weyl fermions near Fermi energy without contamination from other quasiparticles, are highly desirable for experimental detection and practical application. Herein, using first‐principles calculations, it is demonstrated that a new stable boron allotrope, termed “ort‐B32,” harbors the needed clean Weyl fermions in a sizable energy window under modest tensile strain. Due to the protection of mirror symmetry, the band crossings form two pairs of parallel arc‐like nodal lines, running across the whole Brillouin zone in the plane. The topological features of these nodal lines are characterized by the drumhead‐like surface state and nonzero topological invariant. Remarkably, the examination of slope index reveals that the type‐I, type‐II, and type‐III Weyl states can be found in different moment directions with the value of Fermi velocities ranging from 0 to 1.15 × 106 m s−1. These results not only establish a striking new boron allotrope, but also highlight a promising mechanically induced method for obtaining ideal Weyl semimetal.
Socioeconomic status and school absenteeism: A systematic review and narrative synthesis
Authors: Sosu Edward M. , Dare Shadrach , Goodfellow Claire , Klein Markus
Published: August 2021

School absenteeism is detrimental to life course outcomes and is known to be socioeconomically stratified. However, the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and school absence is complex given the multidimensional nature of both family SES (e.g., income, education, occupational status) and absenteeism (e.g., truancy, sickness, suspension). Despite the vast literature on socioeconomic inequalities in school attendance, no systematic review on SES and school absenteeism exists. This study systematically reviewed and provides a narrative synthesis of journal articles (n = 55) published between 1998 to 2019 on the association between SES dimensions and forms of absenteeism. The majority of studies from high‐income contexts found an association between SES and absenteeism in the expected direction, albeit on average with small effect sizes. Studies largely confirmed these findings among populations at risk of school absence and those from low‐ and middle‐income countries. There was greater evidence for an association between absenteeism and SES measured at the family than the school level. Studies using SES measures of financial resources (e.g., free or reduced‐price lunch) provided more evidence for this association than studies measuring sociocultural resources (e.g., parental education). We found limited evidence that socioeconomic gaps in absenteeism vary by the reasons for absence. Research on the mediating pathways between SES and absenteeism is sparse. A key implication is that attempts to address inequalities in educational outcomes must include tackling SES gaps in school attendance.

Context and implications

Rationale for this study

Our narrative review synthesised the literature on socioeconomic status (SES) and school absenteeism.

Why the new findings matter

Inequalities in school absenteeism may partly account for socioeconomic disparities in children’s academic achievement. We found that lower SES is associated with higher levels of absenteeism in most of the studies we reviewed, including among disadvantaged groups.

Implications for policy‐makers and practitioners

Given robust evidence that school absences are detrimental to children’s academic achievement, policy‐makers and practitioners need to place an explicit focus on addressing socioeconomic disparities in school attendance in order to close SES achievement gaps. This will be particularly important in tackling the consequences of Covid‐19 related school closures around the world. An intersectional approach that addresses multiple disadvantages should be adopted to tackle inequalities in school attendance. Researchers should address several gaps, such as directly comparing SES effects across different reasons for absenteeism and examining the mechanisms by which SES leads to absenteeism.
MT‐filters‐based adaptive quantized dynamic surface control of stochastic nonstrict‐feedback nonlinear systems including input unmodeled dynamics
Authors: Zhang Tianping , Chen Penghao
Published: August 2021

In this article, the issue of stochastic adaptive dynamic surface control (DSC) is discussed for stochastic nonstrict‐feedback constrained nonlinear systems with input quantization and input unmodeled dynamics. Linearly parametrized neural networks are used to estimate unknown continuous functions. With the help of MT‐filters, the unmeasurable system states are observed. An auxiliary signal constructed by the property of unmodeled dynamics is utilized to deal with the dynamic uncertain terms. Input‐quantized actuator is considered to possess quantization and unmodeled dynamics. Using the hyperbolic tangent function as invertible change, the output constrained stochastic nonstrict‐feedback system is transformed into a novel stochastic nonstrict‐feedback system without restrictions. Based on quantized DSC technology and the property of Gaussian function, adaptive neural control is developed for the transformed stochastic nonstrict‐feedback system. The output abides by stochastic constraints in probability. By the Lyapunov synthesis approach, all signals in the whole system are proved to be semi‐global uniform ultimate bounded in probability. The restriction condition is not triggered. The obtained theoretical findings are verified by two numerical examples.
Transcriptional Profiling of Circulating Mononuclear Cells from Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease receiving Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Infusions
Authors: Armitage Jesse D. , Tan Dino B.A. , Sturm Marian , Moodley Yuben P.
Published: August 2021

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory airways disease with limited therapeutic options. We have previously shown that mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) infusions are well tolerated in patients with COPD and reduce circulatory biomarkers associated with systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. This study aimed to delineate the underlying mechanisms further by characterizing the transcriptional networks in these patients and to explore the role of MSC-derived paracrine factors in regulating these pathways. Allogeneic, bone marrow-derived MSCs were systemically administered into patients with stable COPD (n = 9). Gene expression profiles from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed across the first week after infusion. Paracrine mechanisms associated with these transcriptional changes were explored further by culturing patient PBMCs with MSC-conditioned medium (MSC-CM) or post-MSC infusion (PI) plasma to measure the regulatory effects of soluble factors that may be derived from MSCs. MSC-CM and PI-plasma were characterized further to identify potential immunoregulatory candidates. MSC infusion elicited a strong but transient transcriptional response in patient PBMCs that was sustained up to 7 days. MSC infusion strongly downregulated transcriptional pathways related to interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-1β, which were also significantly inhibited in vitro following co-culture of PBMCs with MSC-CM and PI-plasma. MSC-derived soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1, transforming growth factor-β1, and extracellular vesicle-associated microRNAs were identified as potential mechanisms promoting these changes, but depletion of these individual candidates revealed inconsistent results. MSC-derived paracrine factors modulate important inflammatory pathways that are relevant to COPD pathogenesis. These data strengthen the hypothesis that therapies using MSCs and their secreted products may be beneficial to patients with COPD.
Supramolecular Tropism Driven Aggregation of Nanoparticles In Situ for Tumor‐Specific Bioimaging and Photothermal Therapy
Authors: Cheng Qian , Yue Ludan , Li Junyan , Gao Cheng , Ding Yuanfu , Sun Chen , Xu Mengze , Yuan Zhen , Wang Ruibing
Published: August 2021

Inorganic nanomedicine has attracted increasing attentions in biomedical sciences due to their excellent biocompatibility and tunable, versatile functionality. However, the relatively poor accumulation and retention of these nanomedicines in targeted tissues have often hindered their clinical translation. Herein, highly efficient, targeted delivery, and in situ aggregation of ferrocene (Fc)‐capped Au nanoparticles (NPs) are reported to cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7])‐capped Fe3O4 NPs (as an artificial target) that are magnetically deposited into the tumor, driven by strong, multipoint CB[7]‐Fc host–guest interactions (here defined as “supramolecular tropism” for the first time), leading to high tumor accumulation and retention of these NPs. The in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate the precisely controlled, specific accumulation, and retention of Au NPs in the tumor cells and tissue via supramolecular tropism and in situ aggregation, which afford locally enhanced CT imaging of cancer and enable tumor‐specific photothermal therapy attributed to the plasmonic coupling effects between adjacent Au NPs within the supramolecular aggregations. This work provides a novel concept of supramolecular tropism, which may drive targeted delivery and enable specific accumulation, retention, and activation of nanomedicine for improved bioimaging and therapy of cancer.
Raman Spectroscopic Fingerprints of Atomically Precise Ligand Protected Noble Metal Clusters: Au38(PET)24 and Au38−xAgx(PET)24
Authors: Krishnadas Kumaranchira Ramankutty , Baghdasaryan Ani , Kazan Rania , Banach Ewa , Teyssier Jeremie , Nicu Valentin Paul , Buergi Thomas
Published: August 2021

Distinct Raman spectroscopic signatures of the metal core of atomically precise, ligand‐protected noble metal nanoclusters are reported using Au38(PET)24 and Au38−xAgx(PET)24 (PET = 2‐phenylethanethiolate, ‐SC2H4C6H5) as model systems. The fingerprint Raman features (occurring <200 cm−1) of these clusters arise due to the vibrations involving metal atoms of their Au23 or Au23−xAgx cores. A distinct core breathing vibrational mode of the Au23 core has been observed at 90 cm−1. Whereas the breathing mode shifts to higher frequencies with increasing Ag content of the cluster, the vibrational signatures due to the outer metal‐ligand staple motifs (between 200 and 500 cm−1) do not shift significantly. DFT calculations furthermore reveal weak Raman bands at higher frequencies compared to the breathing mode, which are associated mostly with the rattling of two central gold atoms of the bi‐icosahedral Au23 core. These vibrations are also observed in the experimental spectrum. The study indicates that low‐frequency Raman spectra are a characteristic fingerprint of atomically precise clusters, just as electronic absorption spectroscopy, in contrast to the spectrum associated with the ligand shell, which is observed at higher frequencies.
Insights into the Interfacial Lewis Acid–Base Pairs in CeO2‐Loaded CoS2 Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Li Jiayuan , Xia Zhaoming , Xue Qingyu , Zhang Mingkai , Zhang Sai , Xiao Hai , Ma Yuanyuan , Qu Yongquan
Published: August 2021

Despite the known efficacy of CeO2 as a promoter in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the underlying mechanism of this effect remains unclear. CoS2, a pyrite‐type alkaline HER electrocatalyst, suffers from sluggish HER kinetics and severe catalyst leaching due to its weak water dissociation kinetics and oxygen‐related corrosion. Herein, it is demonstrated that the interfacial Lewis acid–base Ce∙∙∙S pairs in CeO2‐loaded CoS2 effectively improve the catalytic activity and durability. In CeO2‐loaded CoS2 nanowire array electrodes, these interfacial Lewis acid–base Ce∙∙∙S pairs with unique electronic and structural configurations efficiently activate water adsorptive dissociation and kinetically accelerate hydrogen evolution, delivering a low overpotential of 36 mV at 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline media. Such Ce∙∙∙S pairs also weaken O2 adsorption on CoS2, leading to undecayed activity over 1000 h. These findings are expected to provide guidance for the design of CeO2‐based electrocatalysts as well as other hybrid electrocatalysts for water splitting.
Application of intrinsically conducting polymers in flexible electronics
Authors: Ouyang Jianyong
Published: August 2021

Intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs), such as polyacetylene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), can have important application in flexible electronics owing to their unique merits including high conductivity, high mechanical flexibility, low cost, and good biocompatibility. The requirements for their application in flexible electronics include high conductivity and appropriate mechanical properties. The conductivity of some ICPs can be enhanced through a postpolymerization treatment, the so‐called “secondary doping.” A conducting polymer film with high conductivity can be used as flexible electrode and even as flexible transparent electrode of optoelectronic devices. The application of ICPs as stretchable electrode requires high mechanical stretchability. The mechanical stretchability of ICPs can be improved through blending with a soft polymer or plasticization. Because of their good biocompatibility, ICPs can be modified as dry electrode for biopotential monitoring and neural interface. In addition, ICPs can be used as the active material of strain sensors for healthcare monitoring, and they can be adopted to monitor food processing, such as the fermentation, steaming, storage, and refreshing of starch‐based food because of the resistance variation caused by the food volume change. All these applications of ICPs are covered in this review article.
Diffusional and Partitionless Ferrite‐to‐Austenite Phase Transformations during Intercritical Annealing of Medium‐Mn Steels
Authors: Mueller Josh J. , Matlock David K. , Speer John G. , De Moor Emmanuel
Published: August 2021

Experimental research on intercritical annealing of a cold‐rolled Fe–7Mn steel with ultralow carbon concentration is presented, providing insight into the efficacy of generating Mn‐enriched austenite during relatively short (≈1000 s) heat treatments compared with batch annealing, as well as the phase transformation mechanisms that can occur during intercritical annealing. It is shown through both bulk characterization and electron microscopy in conjunction with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy that Mn partitioning to austenite occurs via diffusional, partitioning growth of austenite during these shorter treatments and that the intercritical temperature influences the level of Mn enrichment in austenite. Evidence of massive (partitionless) and diffusional (partitioning) transformations of ferrite to austenite occurring simultaneously in a single sample are also shown along with a thermodynamic rationale for this occurrence, which is suggested to be related to residual Mn‐banding that develops during solidification.
Thallium toxicosis in a Brittany Spaniel
Authors: Nunes Rodrigues Tania C. , Mortier Femke , de Baets Justine , Vandenabeele Sophie I.
Published: August 2021

Thallium was commonly used as a rodenticide in the past. It acts as a cellular poison and interferes with the functioning of various enzymes. This report describes a fatal case of thallium intoxication in a dog with gastrointestinal and neurological signs as well as dermatological lesions. Cutaneous histopathology and serum spectrometry confirmed thallium toxicosis.
Flat self-dual gravity
Authors: Krasnov Kirill , Skvortsov Evgeny
Published: August 2021

Abstract

We construct a new covariant action for “flat” self-dual gravity in four space-time dimensions. The action has just one term, but when expanded around an appropriate background gives rise to a kinetic term and a cubic interaction. Upon imposing the light-cone gauge, the action reproduces the expected chiral interaction of Siegel. The new action is in many ways analogous to the known covariant action for self-dual Yang-Mills theory. There is also a sense in which the new self-dual gravity action exhibits the double copy of self-dual Yang-Mills structure.
An Exponential Separation Between MA and AM Proofs of Proximity
Authors: Gur Tom , Liu Yang P. , Rothblum Ron D.
Published: August 2021

Interactive proofs of proximity allow a sublinear-time verifier to
check that a given input is close to the language, using a
small amount of communication with a powerful (but untrusted)
prover. In this work, we consider two natural
minimally interactive variants of such
proofs systems, in which the prover only sends a single message,
referred to as the proof.

The first variant, known as -proofs of
Proximity (), is fully non-interactive, meaning that the
proof is a function of the input only. The second variant,
known as -proofs of Proximity (), allows the proof
to additionally depend on the verifier's (entire) random string. The
complexity of both s and s is the total number of bits
that the verifier observes—namely, the sum of the proof length
and query complexity.

Our main result is an exponential separation between the power of
s and s. Specifically, we exhibit an explicit and
natural property $$\Pi$$
Π
that admits an with complexity
$$O(\log n)$$

O
(
log
n
)

, whereas any for $$\Pi$$
Π
has complexity
$$\tilde{\Omega}(n^{1/4})$$

Ω
~

(

n

1
/
4

)

, where n denotes the length of the input
in bits. Our lower bound also yields an alternate proof,
which is more general and arguably much simpler, for a
recent result of Fischer et al. (ITCS, 2014). Also, Aaronson (Quantum Information & Computation 2012) has shown
a $$\Omega(n^{1/6})$$

Ω
(

n

1
/
6

)

lower bound for the same property $$\Pi$$
Π
.

Lastly, we also consider the notion of oblivious proofs of proximity, in which
the verifier's queries are oblivious to the proof.
In this setting, we show
that s can only be quadratically stronger than s. As an
application of this result, we show an exponential separation
between the power of public and private coin for oblivious
interactive proofs of proximity.
A new strategy for the computer-assisted development of reversed-phase liquid chromatography separation methods of unknown sample mixtures
Authors: Cela R. , Triñanes S. , Cobas C.
Published: August 2021

A new strategy for the computer-assisted methods development in the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separations of unknown sample mixtures has been developed using the latent spectral information in chromatogram raw data files of appropriately designed experiments, rather than resorting to elemental information functions (e.g., the number of peaks in chromatograms or similar criteria). The strategy developed allows unification of the approach for samples of both known and unknown composition and, thus, provide a general strategy for computer-aided tools in the chromatography laboratory. The operation principle of this strategy departs from extracting the spectra of components in the mixture chromatograms by resorting to multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). This technique allows the estimation of the true spectra for the individual components except when they have identical spectra or are fully overlapped. Thus, a convenient experimental design will try to perform separations of the sample mixture having at least partial resolution of components in some runs. This will allow estimating the spectra of components and, then, assign these components to the peaks in each run chromatogram. In this way, a retention model can be built for each component so computerized optimization process can be developed to provide the chromatographer with the best possible separation programs. Following this approach, strategies for sample mixtures of known and unknown composition are only different in the need of an initial spectrum discovery process for unknown mixtures and therefore a real general approach for the computer-assisted LC methods development is now available for the first time.
Spectrahedral representation of polar orbitopes
Authors: Kobert Tim , Scheiderer Claus
Published: August 2021

LetKbe a compact Lie group andVa finite-dimensional representation ofK. The orbitope of a vector$$x\in V$$x∈Vis the convex hull$${\mathscr {O}}_x$$Oxof the orbitKxinV. We show that ifVis polar then$${\mathscr {O}}_x$$Oxis a spectrahedron, and we produce an explicit linear matrix inequality representation. We also consider the coorbitope$${\mathscr {O}}_x^o$$Oxo, which is the convex set polar to$${\mathscr {O}}_x$$Ox. We prove that$${\mathscr {O}}_x^o$$Oxois the convex hull of finitely manyK-orbits, and we identify the cases in which$${\mathscr {O}}_x^o$$Oxois itself an orbitope. In these cases one has$${\mathscr {O}}_x^o=c\cdot {\mathscr {O}}_x$$Oxo=c·Oxwith$$c>0$$c>0. Moreover we show that ifxhas “rational coefficients” then$${\mathscr {O}}_x^o$$Oxois again a spectrahedron. This provides many new families of doubly spectrahedral orbitopes. All polar orbitopes that are derived from classical semisimple Lie algebras can be described in terms of conditions on singular values and Ky Fan matrix norms.
Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of antibacterial activity of transition metal oxyde nanoparticles
Authors: Morais Dielly Oliveira , Pancotti Alexandre , de Souza Guilherme Sastre , Saivish Marielena Vogel , Braoios Alexandre , Moreli Marcos Lázaro , Souza Mauro Vinícius de B. , da Costa Vivaldo G. , Wang Jiale
Published: August 2021

Nanoparticles (NPs) have a wide range of applications in various areas. For health application, cytotoxicity tests are used to ensure its efficiency and safety. In this paper, ZnFe2O4, CoFe2O4, Zn0.5Co0.5Fe2O4 NPs were synthesized, characterized and their antibacterial properties were evaluated. The Sol-Gel method was used to synthesize the NPs. Their electronic and crystallographic structures were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). To perform the antibacterial evaluation, ferrites were dispersed through nanoemulsion to prevent the crystals from accumulating together. Then the evaluation was performed through microdilution in a 96-well plate and diffusion in agar disc in contact with 3 different strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. It demonstrated that the Sol-Gel method was efficient to synthesize NPs with suitable sizes for health application. All synthesized NPs showed the inhibition of bacterias with different concentrations used.
Impact of COVID-19 on ischemic stroke care in Hungary
Authors: Böjti Péter Pál , Szilágyi Géza , Dobi Balázs , Stang Rita , Szikora István , Kis Balázs , Kornfeld Ákos , Óváry Csaba , Erőss Lóránd , Banczerowski Péter , Kuczyński Wojciech , Bereczki Dániel
Published: August 2021

Data about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic’s collateral damage on ischemic stroke (IS) care during the second epidemic wave in Central Europe are limited. We sought to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Hungarian IS care during the two epidemic waves. This retrospective observational study was based on a nationwide reimbursement database that encompasses all IS admissions and all reperfusion interventions, i.e., intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and endovascular therapy (EVT) from 2 January 2017 to 31 December 2020 in Hungary. COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the number of IS admissions and reperfusion interventions were analyzed using different statistics: means, medians, trends, relative rates, and linear relationships. The mean and median values of IS admissions and reperfusion interventions decreased only in some measure during the COVID-periods. However, trend analysis demonstrated a significant decline from the trends. The decline’s dynamic and amplitude have differed for each variable. In contrast to IVT, the number of IS admissions and EVTs negatively correlated with the epidemic waves’ amplitude. Besides, the decrease in the number of IS admissions was more pronounced than the decrease in the number of reperfusion interventions. Our study demonstrated a significant disruption in IS care during the COVID-19 epidemic in Hungary, in which multiple different factors might play a role. The disproportionate reduction of IS admission numbers could partially be explained by the effect of health emergency operative measures and changes in patients’ social behavior. Further studies are needed to evaluate the causes of our observations.
Optimization of a clamping concept based on machine learning
Authors: Feng Qi , Maier Walther , Stehle Thomas , Möhring Hans-Christian
Published: August 2021

Fixtures are an important element of the manufacturing system, as they ensure productive and accurate machining of differently shaped workpieces. Regarding the fixture design or the layout of fixture elements, a high static and dynamic stiffness of fixtures is therefore required to ensure the defined position and orientation of workpieces under process loads, e.g. cutting forces. Nowadays, with the increase in computing performance and the development of new algorithms, machine learning (ML) offers an appropriate possibility to use regression methods for creating realistic, rapid and reliable equivalent ML models instead of simulations based on the finite element method (FEM). This research work introduces a novel method that allows an optimization of clamping concepts and fixture design by means of ML, in order to reduce manufacturing errors and to obtain an increased stiffness of fixtures and machining accuracy. This paper describes the preparation of a dataset for training ML models, the systematic selection of the most promising regression algorithm based on relevant criteria, the implementation of the chosen algorithm Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and other comparable algorithms, the analysis of their regression results, and the validation of the optimization for a selected clamping concept.
An Innovative Solid-State Micro-Anaerobic Digestion Process to Valorize Food Waste: Technical Development Constraints and Consequences on Biological Performances
Authors: Degueurce Axelle , Dabert Patrick , Argence Victor , Blondel Laurent , Le Bihan Anne , Lebreton Megane , Peu Pascal , Sarrazin Martine , Picard Sylvie , Trémier Anne
Published: August 2021

To face the increase of waste production and meet the energy demand of urban areas, municipal waste management systems should be rethought. Innovative solutions such as decentralised small-scale anaerobic digestion could be developed. This work presents the design, operation and performances of a new micro-scale anaerobic digester (AD) developed to degrade food waste (FW) in urban areas i.e. highly compact and with low water and energy demand. To meet these objectives, the new micro-scale AD is a semi-continuous and two-stage process built vertically to take advantage of the gravity to mix and move the digested matter instead of using mechanical devices. The first stage consists in a tubular reactor fed weekly with FW and periodically watered with leachate from the second stage reactor located below the tubular reactor. Results show that AD performances were highly correlated to the efficiency of hydric transfer between the tubular reactor and the leachate tank. Indeed, pH, volatile fatty acids and microbial community analysis showed that the hydrolysis occurred in the tubular reactor, while the methanogenesis step occurred in the leachate tank. Overall, the average methane production was 143 ± 87 NL/kgvs with an average methane content of 44 ± 10% and the operation mode of the process has still to be improved.

Graphic Abstract
Recent advances in cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Sun Qiang , Melino Gerry , Amelio Ivano , Jiang Jingting , Wang Ying , Shi Yufang
Published: August 2021

Cancer immunotherapy represents a major advance in the cure of cancer following the dramatic advancements in the development and refinement of chemotherapies and radiotherapies. In the recent decades, together with the development of early diagnostic techniques, immunotherapy has significantly contributed to improving the survival of cancer patients. The immune-checkpoint blockade agents have been proven effective in a significant fraction of standard therapy refractory patients. Importantly, recent advances are providing alternative immunotherapeutic tools that could help overcome their limitations. In this mini review, we provide an overview on the main steps of the discovery of classic immune-checkpoint blockade agents and summarise the most recent development of novel immunotherapeutic strategies, such as tumour antigens, bispecific antibodies and TCR-engineered T cells.
A Robot Mimicking Heart Motions: An Ex-Vivo Test Approach for Cardiac Devices
Authors: Zurbuchen Adrian , Pfenniger Aloïs , Omari Sammy , Reichlin Tobias , Vogel Rolf , Haeberlin Andreas
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The pre-clinical testing of cardiovascular implants gains increasing attention due to the complexity of novel implants and new medical device regulations. It often relies on large animal experiments that are afflicted with ethical and methodical challenges. Thus, a method for simulating physiological heart motions is desired but lacking so far.

Methods

We developed a robotic platform that allows simulating the trajectory of any point of the heart (one at a time) in six degrees of freedom. It uses heart motion trajectories acquired from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging or accelero-meter data. The rotations of the six motors are calculated based on the input trajectory. A closed-loop controller drives the platform and a graphical user interface monitors the functioning and accuracy of the robot using encoder data.

Results

The robotic platform can mimic physiological heart motions from large animals and humans. It offers a spherical work envelope with a radius of 29 mm, maximum acceleration of 20 m/s2 and maximum deflection of ±19° along all axes. The absolute mean positioning error in x-, y- and z-direction is 0.21 ±0.06, 0.31 ±0.11 and 0.17 ±0.12 mm, respectively. The absolute mean orientation error around x-, y- and z-axis (roll, pitch and yaw) is 0.24 ±0.18°, 0.23 ±0.13° and 0.18 ±0.18°, respectively.

Conclusion

The novel robotic approach allows reproducing heart motions with high accuracy and repeatability. This may benefit the device development process and allows re-using previously acquired heart motion data repeatedly, thus avoiding animal trials.
Small rodent cycles influence interactions among predators in a boreal forest ecosystem
Authors: Cano-Martínez Rocío , Carricondo-Sanchez David , Devineau Olivier , Odden Morten
Published: August 2021

Cyclic fluctuations of prey have profound effects on the functioning of ecosystems, for example, by changing the dynamics, behavior, and intraguild interactions of predators. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of rodent cyclic fluctuations in the interspecific interactions of a guild of small- and medium-sized predators: red fox (Vulpes vulpes), pine marten (Martes martes), and weasels (Mustela erminea and Mustela nivalis) in the boreal ecosystem. We analyzed eight years (2007–2014) of snow tracking data from southeastern Norway using structural equation models to assess hypothesized networks of causal relationships. Our results show that fluctuations in rodent abundance alter the strength of predator’s interactions, as well as the effect of determinant environmental variables. Pine marten and weasel abundances were positively associated with rodent population growth rate, but not red fox abundance. All predators were positively associated with each other; however, the association between red fox and the other predators weakened when rodents increased. Rodent fluctuations had variable effects on the habitat use of the predators. The presence of agricultural land was important for all predators, but this importance weakened for the mustelids as rodent abundance increased. We discuss the shifting role of interference and exploitative competition as possible mechanisms behind these patterns. Overall, we highlight the importance of accounting for the dynamics of prey resources when studying interspecific interactions among predators. Additionally, we demonstrate the importance of monitoring the predator populations in order to anticipate undesirable outcomes such as increased generalist predator abundances to the detriment of specialists.
Predicting 10-year stroke mortality: development and validation of a nomogram
Authors: Szlachetka Weronika A. , Pana Tiberiu A. , Mamas Mamas A. , Bettencourt-Silva Joao H. , Metcalf Anthony K. , Potter John F. , McLernon David J. , Myint Phyo K.
Published: August 2021

Predicting long-term stroke mortality is a clinically important and unmet need. We aimed to develop and internally validate a 10-year ischaemic stroke mortality prediction score. In this UK cohort study, 10,366 patients with first-ever ischaemic stroke between January 2003 and December 2016 were followed up for a median (interquartile range) of 5.47 (2.96–9.15) years. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to predict 10-year post-admission mortality. The predictors associated with 10-year mortality included age, sex, Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), pre-stroke modified Rankin Score, admission haemoglobin, sodium, white blood cell count and comorbidities (atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure, cancer, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver disease and peripheral vascular disease). The model was internally validated using bootstrap resampling to assess optimism in discrimination and calibration. A nomogram was created to facilitate application of the score at the point of care. Mean age (SD) was 78.5 ± 10.9 years, 52% female. Most strokes were partial anterior circulation syndromes (38%). 10-year mortality predictors were: total anterior circulation stroke (hazard ratio, 95% confidence intervals) (2.87, 2.62–3.14), eGFR < 15 (1.97, 1.55–2.52), 1-year increment in age (1.04, 1.04–1.05), liver disease (1.50, 1.20–1.87), peripheral vascular disease (1.39, 1.23–1.57), cancers (1.37, 1.27–1.47), heart failure (1.24, 1.15–1.34), 1-point increment in pre-stroke mRS (1.20, 1.17–1.22), atrial fibrillation (1.17, 1.10–1.24), coronary heart disease (1.09, 1.02–1.16), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.13, 1.03–1.25) and hypertension (0.77, 0.72–0.82). Upon internal validation, the optimism-adjusted c-statistic was 0.76 and calibration slope was 0.98. Our 10-year mortality model uses routinely collected point-of-care information. It is the first 10-year mortality score in stroke. While the model was internally validated, further external validation is also warranted.
Morphological residual convolutional neural network (M-RCNN) for intelligent recognition of wear particles from artificial joints
Authors: Hu Xiaobin , Song Jian , Liao Zhenhua , Liu Yuhong , Gao Jian , Menze Bjoern , Liu Weiqiang
Published: August 2021

Finding the correct category of wear particles is important to understand the tribological behavior. However, manual identification is tedious and time-consuming. We here propose an automatic morphological residual convolutional neural network (M-RCNN), exploiting the residual knowledge and morphological priors between various particle types. We also employ data augmentation to prevent performance deterioration caused by the extremely imbalanced problem of class distribution. Experimental results indicate that our morphological priors are distinguishable and beneficial to largely boosting overall performance. M-RCNN demonstrates a much higher accuracy (0.940) than the deep residual network (0.845) and support vector machine (0.821). This work provides an effective solution for automatically identifying wear particles and can be a powerful tool to further analyze the failure mechanisms of artificial joints.
Prevascularized Micro-/Nano-Sized Spheroid/Bead Aggregates for Vascular Tissue Engineering
Authors: Rahimnejad Maedeh , Nasrollahi Boroujeni Narges , Jahangiri Sepideh , Rabiee Navid , Rabiee Mohammad , Makvandi Pooyan , Akhavan Omid , Varma Rajender S.
Published: August 2021

Efficient strategies to promote microvascularization in vascular tissue engineering, a central priority in regenerative medicine, are still scarce; nano- and micro-sized aggregates and spheres or beads harboring primitive microvascular beds are promising methods in vascular tissue engineering. Capillaries are the smallest type and in numerous blood vessels, which are distributed densely in cardiovascular system. To mimic this microvascular network, specific cell components and proangiogenic factors are required. Herein, advanced biofabrication methods in microvascular engineering, including extrusion-based and droplet-based bioprinting, Kenzan, and biogripper approaches, are deliberated with emphasis on the newest works in prevascular nano- and micro-sized aggregates and microspheres/microbeads.
Enhancing crop yield by using Rubisco activase to improve photosynthesis under elevated temperatures
Authors: Wijewardene Inosha , Shen Guoxin , Zhang Hong
Published: August 2021

With the rapid growth of world population, it is essential to increase agricultural productivity to feed the growing population. Over the past decades, many methods have been used to increase crop yields. Despite the success in boosting the crop yield through these methods, global food production still needs to be increased to be on par with the increasing population and its dynamic consumption patterns. Additionally, given the prevailing environmental conditions pertaining to the global temperature increase, heat stress will likely be a critical factor that negatively affects plant biomass and crop yield. One of the key elements hindering photosynthesis and plant productivity under heat stress is the thermo-sensitivity of the Rubisco activase (RCA), a molecular chaperone that converts Rubisco back to active form after it becomes inactive. It would be an attractive and practical strategy to maintain photosynthetic activity under elevated temperatures by enhancing the thermo-stability of RCA. In this context, this review discusses the need to improve the thermo-tolerance of RCA under current climatic conditions and to further study RCA structure and regulation, and its limitations at elevated temperatures. This review summarizes successful results and provides a perspective on RCA research and its implication in improving crop yield under elevated temperature conditions in the future.
Cell wall associated immunity in plants
Authors: Wan Jiangxue , He Min , Hou Qingqing , Zou Lijuan , Yang Yihua , Wei Yan , Chen Xuewei
Published: August 2021

The plant cell wall is the first physical and defensive barrier against pathogens. The plant cell wall usually undergoes dynamic remodeling as an immune response to prevent infection by pathogens. In this review, we summarize advances on relationship between cell wall and immunity in plants. In particular, we outline current progresses regarding the regulation of the cell wall components, including cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin, on plant disease resistance. We also discuss the impacts of cell wall-derived cellodextrin, oligogalacturonic acid and xyloglucan/xylan oligosaccharides as potent elicitors or signal molecules to trigger plant immune response. We further propose future studies on dissecting the molecular regulation of cell wall on plant immunity, which have potentials in practical application of crop breeding aiming at improvement of plant disease resistance.
Regulation of biotic interactions and responses to abiotic stresses by MAP kinase pathways in plant pathogenic fungi
Authors: Zhang Xue , Wang Zeyi , Jiang Cong , Xu Jin-Rong
Published: August 2021

Like other eukaryotes, fungi use MAP kinase (MAPK) pathways to mediate cellular changes responding to external stimuli. In the past two decades, three well-conserved MAP kinase pathways have been characterized in various plant pathogenic fungi for regulating responses and adaptations to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses encountered during plant infection or survival in nature. The invasive growth (IG) pathway is homologous to the yeast pheromone response and filamentation pathways. In plant pathogens, the IG pathway often is essential for pathogenesis by regulating infection-related morphogenesis, such as appressorium formation, penetration, and invasive growth. The cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway also is important for plant infection although the infection processes it regulates vary among fungal pathogens. Besides its universal function in cell wall integrity, it often plays a minor role in responses to oxidative and cell wall stresses. Both the IG and CWI pathways are involved in regulating known virulence factors as well as effector genes during plant infection and mediating defenses against mycoviruses, bacteria, and other fungi. In contrast, the high osmolarity growth (HOG) pathway is dispensable for virulence in some fungi although it is essential for plant infection in others. It regulates osmoregulation in hyphae and is dispensable for appressorium turgor generation. The HOG pathway also plays a major role for responding to oxidative, heat, and other environmental stresses and is overstimulated by phenylpyrrole fungicides. Moreover, these three MAPK pathways crosstalk and coordinately regulate responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses. The IG and CWI pathways, particularly the latter, also are involved in responding to abiotic stresses to various degrees in different fungal pathogens, and the HOG pathway also plays a role in interactions with other microbes or fungi. Furthermore, some infection processes or stress responses are co-regulated by MAPK pathways with cAMP or Ca2+/CaM signaling. Overall, functions of individual MAP kinase pathways in pathogenesis and stress responses have been well characterized in a number of fungal pathogens, showing the conserved genetic elements with diverged functions, likely by rewiring transcriptional regulatory networks. In the near future, applications of genomics and proteomics approaches will likely lead to better understanding of crosstalk among the MAPKs and with other signaling pathways as well as roles of MAPKs in defense against other microbes (biotic interactions).
The Arabidopsis spliceosomal protein SmEb modulates ABA responses by maintaining proper alternative splicing of HAB1
Authors: Hong Yechun , Yao Juanjuan , Shi Huazhong , Chen Yunjuan , Zhu Jian-Kang , Wang Zhen
Published: August 2021

Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling is critical for seed germination and abiotic stress responses in terrestrial plants. Pre-mRNA splicing is known to regulate ABA signaling. However, the involvement of canonical spliceosomal components in regulating ABA signaling is poorly understood. Here, we show that the spliceosome component Sm core protein SmEb plays an important role in ABA signaling. SmEb expression is up-regulated by ABA treatment, and analysis of Arabidopsis smeb mutant plants suggest that SmEb modulates the alternative splicing of the ABA signaling component HAB1 by enhancing the HAB1.1 splicing variant while repressing HAB1.2. Overexpression of HAB1.1 but not HAB1.2 rescues the ABA-hypersensitive phenotype of smeb mutants. Mutations in the transcription factor ABI3, 4, or 5 also reduce the ABA hypersensitivity of smeb mutants during seed germination. Our results show that the spliceosomal component SmEb plays an important role in ABA regulation of seed germination and early seedling development.
Reforming Antitrust
Authors: Devlin Alan J.
Published: August 2021

Industrial consolidation, digital platforms, and changing political views have spurred debate about the interplay between public and private power in the United States and have created a bipartisan appetite for potential antitrust reform that would mark the most profound shift in US competition policy in the past half-century. While neo-Brandeisians call for a reawakening of antitrust in the form of a return to structuralism and a concomitant rejection of economic analysis founded on competitive effects, proponents of the status quo look on this state of affairs with alarm. Scrutinizing the latest evidence, Alan J. Devlin finds a middle ground. US antitrust laws warrant revision, he argues, but with far more nuance than current debates suggest. He offers a new vision of antitrust reform, achieved by refining our enforcement policies and jettisoning an unwarranted obsession with minimizing errors of economic analysis.