bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Polynomial stability of a piezoelectric beam with magnetic effect and a boundary dissipation of the fractional derivative type
Authors: Poblete Verónica , Toledo Fernando , Vera Octavio
Published: April 2023

This work studies the asymptotic behavior of a waves coupled system with a boundary dissipation of the fractional derivative type. We prove well-posedness and polynomial stability based on the semigroup approach, the energy method, and the result of stability.
Mukaddesatçılık: A Cold War Ideology of Muslim Turkish Ressentiment
Authors: Köseoğlu Talha
Published: April 2023

This paper introduces mukaddesatçılık as a Cold War ideological position that reconciles Turkish nationalism, religious conservatism, and Islamist revivalism. Mukaddesatçılık channels senses of disempowerment and alienation among people with Islamic and nationalistic sensibilities to a sense of ressentiment against the Turkish modernization process. The paper analyzes mukaddesatçılık's ideational and emotional components based on the writings of Necip Fazıl Kısakürek. In addition to being the name-father of the concept, Kısakürek was distinguished from other Islam-inspired conservative intellectuals by his appeal to popular mobilization around mukaddesatçı ideology through his eloquent and powerful speeches and poems. The paper argues that Kısakürek's mukaddesatçılık reconstructed Muslimness as the political identity of the popular masses, who are the supposed victims of the Turkish modernization process, to mobilize them against the so-called Western-minded modernizing elite. Mukaddesatçılık informs the current populist policies of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government that seek to maintain the divisive polarization between religious and secular identities.
Differentiating Scientific Inquiry and Politics
Authors: Douglas Heather
Published: April 2023

Protecting science from politicization is an ongoing concern in contemporary society. Yet some political influences on science (e.g., setting public funding amounts) are fully legitimate. We need to have a clear account of when a political influence is politicization (an illegitimate political influence) in order to properly detect and address the problem. I argue in this paper that understanding how the space of scientific inquiry is distinctive from democratic politics can be the basis for defining politicization. Similarities between inquiry and democratic politics have long been noted, but there are important differences as well. I describe four norms that are importantly distinct for inquiry when compared with democratic politics, even if they can be seen as roughly similar. Although there are parallels between democratic political norms and norms for scientific inquiry, there are crucial differences as well. Eliding these differences creates politicization of inquiry. Even as we understand scientific inquiry as pursued within society and responsible to society, we pursue it in a distinctive space, guided by distinctive norms and practices.
Binding paradox in artificial social realities
Authors: Vogeley Kai
Published: April 2023

The relation between communication partners is crucial for the success of their interaction. This is also true for artificial social agents. However, the more we engage in artificial relationships, the more we are forced to regulate and control them. I refer to this as binding paradox. This deserves attention during technological developments and requires professional supervision during ongoing interactions.
Interacting with characters redux
Authors: Gerrig Richard J.
Published: April 2023

Clark and Fischer (C&F) discuss how people interact with social robots in the context of a general analysis of interaction with characters. I suggest that a consideration of aesthetic illusion would add nuance to this analysis. In addition, I illustrate how people's experiences with other depictions of characters require adjustments to C&F's claims.
Cues trigger depiction schemas for robots, as they do for human identities
Authors: Doyle Eliott K. , Hodges Sara D.
Published: April 2023

Clark and Fischer's three levels of depiction of social robots can be conceptualized as cognitive schemas. When interacting with social robots, humans shift between schemas similarly to how they shift between identity category schemas when interacting with other humans. Perception of mind, context cues, and individual differences underlie perceptions of which level of depiction is most situationally relevant.
Research status and development trend of frog-inspired robots
Authors: Wang Shuqi , Fan Jizhuang , Liu Gangfeng
Published: April 2023

The frog-inspired robots with amphibious locomotion ability have greatest application prospects and practical value in the fields of resource exploration and environmental reconnaissance. Although frog-inspired robots have been of interest over many years, research on frog-inspired amphibious robots is still in its infancy. Since the locomotion mechanism is the basis for the research of frog-inspired amphibious robots, the research methods of the single motion mechanism of frogs are firstly inductive analyzed, and a reference scheme is proposed to inspire the research on the amphibious motion mechanism. Then, we collect and introduce a systematic discussion of the research status of frog-inspired robots according to the locomotion mode. The characteristics of the robots are analyzed from the aspects of design concept, structural characteristics, driving method, and motion performance. Finally, the technical challenges faced by the research on the frog-inspired robots are analyzed, and the development trend is predicted. The authors hope that this study can provide an informative reference for future research in the direction of frog-inspired amphibious robot.
Transportation and language access as crucial pillars for an immigrant-inclusive 21st-century food security program
Authors: Park Jin K , Yi Stella S
Published: April 2023

Though food insecurity has long been recognised to impact health, population-specific determinants of food insecurity have recently been studied systematically as an important public health concern. Indeed, while immigrant populations face particular challenges to equitable access to the food system, many of these concerns have not been systematically described. To this end, we critically review recent work that demonstrates the importance of transportation and language access as independent determinants of access to food for immigrant populations. Furthermore, we highlight proposals to mitigate barriers to access, including both academic and community-driven approaches to create overlapping institutional commitments for inclusive policymaking that meets the specific needs of diverse populations.
Astrovirology: how viruses enhance our understanding of life in the Universe
Authors: Trubl Gareth , Stedman Kenneth M. , Bywaters Kathryn F. , Matula Emily E. , Sommers Pacifica , Roux Simon , Merino Nancy , Yin John , Kaelber Jason T. , Avila-Herrera Aram , Johnson Peter Anto , Johnson John Christy , Borges Schuyler , Weber Peter K. , Pett-Ridge Jennifer , Boston Penelope J.
Published: April 2023

Viruses are the most numerically abundant biological entities on Earth. As ubiquitous replicators of molecular information and agents of community change, viruses have potent effects on the life on Earth, and may play a critical role in human spaceflight, for life-detection missions to other planetary bodies and planetary protection. However, major knowledge gaps constrain our understanding of the Earth's virosphere: (1) the role viruses play in biogeochemical cycles, (2) the origin(s) of viruses and (3) the involvement of viruses in the evolution, distribution and persistence of life. As viruses are the only replicators that span all known types of nucleic acids, an expanded experimental and theoretical toolbox built for Earth's viruses will be pivotal for detecting and understanding life on Earth and beyond. Only by filling in these knowledge and technical gaps we will obtain an inclusive assessment of how to distinguish and detect life on other planetary surfaces. Meanwhile, space exploration requires life-support systems for the needs of humans, plants and their microbial inhabitants. Viral effects on microbes and plants are essential for Earth's biosphere and human health, but virus–host interactions in spaceflight are poorly understood. Viral relationships with their hosts respond to environmental changes in complex ways which are difficult to predict by extrapolating from Earth-based proxies. These relationships should be studied in space to fully understand how spaceflight will modulate viral impacts on human health and life-support systems, including microbiomes. In this review, we address key questions that must be examined to incorporate viruses into Earth system models, life-support systems and life detection. Tackling these questions will benefit our efforts to develop planetary protection protocols and further our understanding of viruses in astrobiology.
Utilization of inpatient palliative care services among adolescents and young adults with cancer: Evidence from National Inpatient Sample 2016–2019
Authors: Yadav Sandhya , Turner Kea , Xie Zhigang , Chen Guanming , Islam Jessica Y. , Suk Ryan , Hong Young-Rock
Published: April 2023

Objectives

Palliative care can improve the quality of life of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer. However, little is known about the utilization of palliative care among AYA cancer patients. Identifying factors associated with the utilization of palliative care could inform efforts to improve palliative care access among AYA patients living with cancer.

Methods

Using data from the National Inpatient Sample 2016–2019, a representative sample of US hospitalizations, we examined palliative care encounters and associated characteristics among hospitalizations of AYA with cancer and high inpatient mortality risk. Survey design–adjusted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations of patient- and hospital-level characteristics with palliative care.

Results

Of 10,979 hospitalizations by AYA cancer patients with high mortality risk, 19.9% received palliative care services between 2016 and 2019. After adjusting for all characteristics, independent predictors of palliative care use were as follows: older age (25–39 years old vs. 25–39 years; odds ratio [OR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–1.49), Hispanic/Latinx (vs. non-Hispanic White; OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.01–1.34), female (vs. male; OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.14–1.41), public insurance (vs. private insurance; OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10–1.38), hospital location in the US South (vs. Northeast; OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.66–0.94), and a large hospital (vs. small; OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.72–0.96).

Significance of results

Less than 20% of AYAs with cancer and high risk of mortality received inpatient palliative care services. Further research is needed to explore the reasons for lower palliative care utilization in the younger age groups.
Race-conscious serious illness communication: An interpersonal tool to dismantle racism in practice and research
Authors: Rosa William E. , Brown Crystal E. , Curtis J. Randall
Published: April 2023

Background

Racism significantly contributes to inequitable care quality and outcomes for people of color with serious illness, their families, and their communities. Clinicians use serious illness communication (SIC) to foster trust, elicit patients’ needs and values, and deliver goal-concordant services. Current SIC tools do not actively guide users to incorporate patients’ experiences with racism into care.

Objectives

1) To explicitly address racism during SIC in the context of the patient’s lived experience and 2) to provide race-conscious SIC recommendations for clinicians and researchers.

Methods

Applying the conceptual elements of Public Health Critical Race Praxis to SIC practice and research through reflection on inclusive SIC approaches and a composite case.

Results

Patients’ historical and ongoing narratives of racism must be intentionally welcomed in physically and psychologically safe environments by leveraging empathic communication opportunities, forging antiracist palliative care practices, removing interpersonal barriers to promote transparent patient–clinician relationships, and strengthening organizational commitments to strategically dismantle racism. Race-conscious SIC communication strategies, skills, and examples of talking points are provided.

Discussion

Race-conscious SIC practices may assist to acknowledge racial dynamics within the patient–clinician encounter. Furthermore, race-conscious SIC may help to mitigate implicit and explicit bias in clinical practices and the exclusionary research cultures that guide them.
Towards a Transnational Approach to Transboundary Haze Pollution: Governing Traditional Farming in Fire-Prone Regions of Indonesia
Authors: Alam Shawkat , Nurhidayah Laely , Lim Michelle
Published: April 2023

In Indonesia, swidden practices have been part of traditional rice farming for centuries. Swidden agriculture is a fundamental part of all remaining large tropical forests and provides a critical form of biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Meanwhile, peatland degradation and land conversion for oil palm plantation and agriculture have created an annual transboundary environmental disaster in Southeast Asia. This article adopts a transnational lens to highlight the complex multi-scale interactions that perpetuate recurring transboundary air pollution in the region. Having examined the traditional practices of swidden agriculture in Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra (Indonesia), the article reveals that swidden agriculture has been misunderstood generally, and in particular in international and national law and policy. It argues that existing laws fail to identify the important role that swidden agriculture plays in sustainable ecosystem management and cultural expression. Nuanced understandings of fire use, alongside transnational multi-stakeholder and multi-scale approaches, are required.
Kinetic Simulation of Cold Ion Heating in Asymmetric Reconnection
Authors: Song Liangjin , Zhou Meng , Yi Yongyuan , Deng Xiaohua , Zhong Zhihong
Published: April 2023

Cold ions from the plasmasphere can reach the Earth's magnetopause through the plasma wind and plume, affecting the reconnection at the magnetopause, such as changing the reconnection rate and influencing the energy budget. Recent observations found that cold ions were substantially heated by magnetopause reconnection. Although a few mechanisms have been proposed to account for the cold ion acceleration at the magnetopause, the dominant mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, we perform 2.5‐dimensional fully kinetic simulations to study cold ion heating in asymmetric reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. We find that cold ions absorb about 10%–25% of the total released magnetic energy, which is predominantly converted into the thermal energy of cold ions. The proportion of the energy gained by cold ions increases with the increment of the initial density ratio of the cold ions to hot ions in the magnetosphere. Cold ions are primarily accelerated by the Hall electric field at the magnetospheric separatrix region, while the out‐of‐plane electric field does negative work. The increase in thermal energy of cold ions is mainly caused by stochastic heating, that is, the viscous heating associated with the non‐gyrotropic pressure tensor, , contributes the most. The work done by pressure is most significant around the magnetosheath separatrix region. These results can significantly deepen our understanding of the cold ion dynamics at Earth's magnetopause.
Multichannel Sparse Deconvolution of Teleseismic Receiver Functions With f − x Preconditioning
Authors: Sun W. , Sacchi M. D. , Gu Y. J.
Published: April 2023

Teleseismic receiver functions (RFs) are an effective tool for structural imaging due to their simplicity and sensitivity to changes in rock elastic properties. Generally, RFs are estimated through trace‐by‐trace deconvolution. This individualized approach ignores the lateral coherency among RFs from neighboring raypaths, which could lead to rougher or incorrect seismic sections due to the presence of noise. This study presents a multichannel sparse deconvolution method that takes advantage of the cross‐trace coherency of RFs at individual stations for stable and accurate imaging outcomes. The proposed algorithm incorporates sparse inversion and frequency‐space prediction filters, which facilitate the retrieval of high‐resolution and spatially continuous conversion energy. Rigorous testing using synthetic and actual data typically suggests the higher robustness of multichannel deconvolution over single‐channel deconvolution, especially under low signal‐to‐noise ratios. The noise‐resistance property of the multichannel approach offers new opportunities to increase the volume of usable, high‐quality data for receiver function analysis.
Deep Geophysical Anomalies Beneath the Changbaishan Volcano
Authors: Li Shaohua , Li Jiaqi , Ferrand Thomas P. , Zhou Tong , Lv Mingda , Xi Ziyi , Maguire Ross , Han Guangjie , Li Juan , Bao Xiyuan , Jiang Yiran , Bao Tiezhao
Published: April 2023

Subsurface imaging is key to understanding the origin of intraplate volcanoes. The Changbaishan volcano, located about 2,000 km away from the western Pacific subduction zone, has several debated origins. To investigate this, we compared regional seismic tomography with the electrical resistivity results and obtained high‐resolution 1D and quasi‐2D velocity‐depth profiles. We show that the upper mantle is characterized by two anomalies exhibiting distinct features which cannot be explained by the same mechanism. We document a localized low‐velocity anomaly atop the 410‐km discontinuity, where the P‐wave velocity is reduced more than that of the S‐wave (i.e., lower Vp/Vs). We propose that this anomaly is caused by the reduction of the effective moduli during the phase transformation of olivine. The other anomaly, located between 300 and 370 km depth, reveals a significant reduction of the S‐wave velocity (i.e., higher Vp/Vs), associated with a reduction of the electrical resistivity, altogether consistent with partial melting.
The Effect of Clay Content on the Dilatancy and Frictional Properties of Fault Gouge
Authors: Ashman I. R. , Faulkner D. R.
Published: April 2023

Mature fault cores are comprised of extremely fine, low permeability, clay‐bearing gouges. Saturated granular fault materials are known to dilate in response to increases in sliding velocity, resulting in significant pore pressure drops that can suppress instability. Up to now, dilatancy has been measured predominantly in clay‐poor gouges. Clay minerals have low frictional strengths and, in previous experiments, even small proportions of clay minerals were shown to affect the frictional properties of a fault. It is important, therefore, to document in detail the impact of the proportion of clay on the frictional behavior and dilatancy of fault rocks. In this work, a suite of triaxial deformation experiments elucidated the frictional behavior of saturated, synthetic quartz‐clay (kaolinite) fault gouges at effective normal stresses of 60, 25, and 10 MPa. Upon a 10‐fold velocity increase, gouges of all clay‐quartz contents displayed measurable dilatancy with clay‐poor samples yielding comparable changes to previous studies. Peak dilation did not occur in the pure quartz gouges, but rather in gouges containing 10 to 40 wt% clay. The clay content of the simulated gouges was found to control the gouge frictional strength and the stability of slip. A transition occurred at ∼40 wt% clay from strong, unstably sliding quartz‐dominated gouges to weak but stably sliding clay‐dominated gouges. These results indicate that in a low permeability, clay‐rich fault zone, the increases in pore volume could generate pore‐fluid pressure transients, contributing to the arrest of earthquake nucleation or potentially the promotion of sustained slow slip.
Experimentally Derived Luminous Efficiencies for Aluminum and Iron at Meteoric Speeds
Authors: Tarnecki L. K. , Marshall R. A. , Fontanese J. , Sternovsky Z. , Munsat T.
Published: April 2023

Calculating meteoroid masses from photometric observations relies on prior knowledge of the luminous efficiency, a parameter that is not well characterized; reported values vary by several orders of magnitude. We present results from an experimental campaign to determine the luminous efficiency as a function of mass, velocity, and composition. Using a linear electrostatic dust accelerator, iron and aluminum microparticles were accelerated to v > 10 km/s and ablated, and the light production measured. The luminous efficiency of each event was calculated and functional forms fit for each species. For both materials, the luminous efficiency is lowest at low velocities, rises sharply, then falls as velocity increases. However, the exact shape and magnitude of the curve is not consistent between the materials. The difference between the luminous efficiencies for iron and aluminum, particularly at high velocities, indicates that it is not sufficient to use the same luminous efficiency for all compositions and velocities.
Regional Heatwave Prediction Using Graph Neural Network and Weather Station Data
Authors: Li Peiyuan , Yu Yin , Huang Daning , Wang Zhi‐Hua , Sharma Ashish
Published: April 2023

Heatwaves lead to catastrophic consequences on public health and the economy. Accurate and timely predictions of regional heatwaves can improve climate preparedness and foster decision‐making to alleviate the burdens due to climate change. In this paper, we propose a heatwave prediction algorithm based on a novel deep learning model, that is, Graph Neural Network (GNN). This new GNN framework can provide real time warnings of the sudden occurrence of regional heatwaves with high accuracy at lower costs of computation and data collection. In addition, its interpretable structure unravels the spatiotemporal patterns of regional heatwaves and helps to enrich our understanding of the general climate dynamics and the causal influences between locations. The proposed GNN framework can be applied for the detection and prediction of other extreme or compound climate events, which calls for future studies.
Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumoroids reveal subgroup-specific drug vulnerabilities
Authors: Paassen Irene , Williams Justin , Ríos Arceo Carla , Ringnalda Femke , Mercer Kimberly Shea , Buhl Juliane L. , Moreno Natalia , Federico Aniello , Franke Niels E. , Kranendonk Mariette , Upadhyaya Santhosh A. , Kerl Kornelius , van de Wetering Marc , Clevers Hans , Kool Marcel , Hoving Eelco W. , Roussel Martine F. , Drost Jarno
Published: April 2023

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) represent a rare, but aggressive pediatric brain tumor entity. They are genetically defined by alterations in the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex members SMARCB1 or SMARCA4. ATRTs can be further classified in different molecular subgroups based on their epigenetic profiles. Although recent studies suggest that the different subgroups have distinct clinical features, subgroup-specific treatment regimens have not been developed thus far. This is hampered by the lack of pre-clinical in vitro models representative of the different molecular subgroups. Here, we describe the establishment of ATRT tumoroid models from the ATRT-MYC and ATRT-SHH subgroups. We demonstrate that ATRT tumoroids retain subgroup-specific epigenetic and gene expression profiles. High throughput drug screens on our ATRT tumoroids revealed distinct drug sensitivities between and within ATRT-MYC and ATRT-SHH subgroups. Whereas ATRT-MYC universally displayed high sensitivity to multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors, ATRT-SHH showed a more heterogeneous response with a subset showing high sensitivity to NOTCH inhibitors, which corresponded to high expression of NOTCH receptors. Our ATRT tumoroids represent the first pediatric brain tumor organoid model, providing a representative pre-clinical model which enables the development of subgroup-specific therapies.
Fetal exposure to valproic acid dysregulates the expression of autism-linked genes in the developing cerebellum
Authors: Guerra Marika , Medici Vanessa , Weatheritt Robert , Corvino Valentina , Palacios Daniela , Geloso Maria Concetta , Farini Donatella , Sette Claudio
Published: April 2023

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a set of highly heritable neurodevelopmental syndromes characterized by social and communication impairment, repetitive behaviour, and intellectual disability. Although mutations in multiple genes have been associated to ASD, most patients lack detectable genetic alterations. For this reason, environmental factors are commonly thought to also contribute to ASD aetiology. Transcriptome analyses have revealed that autistic brains possess distinct gene expression signatures, whose elucidation can provide insights about the mechanisms underlying the effects of ASD-causing genetic and environmental factors. Herein, we have identified a coordinated and temporally regulated programme of gene expression in the post-natal development of cerebellum, a brain area whose defects are strongly associated with ASD. Notably, this cerebellar developmental programme is significantly enriched in ASD-linked genes. Clustering analyses highlighted six different patterns of gene expression modulated during cerebellar development, with most of them being enriched in functional processes that are frequently dysregulated in ASD. By using the valproic acid mouse model of ASD, we found that ASD-linked genes are dysregulated in the developing cerebellum of ASD-like mice, a defect that correlates with impaired social behaviour and altered cerebellar cortical morphology. Moreover, changes in transcript levels were reflected in aberrant protein expression, indicating the functional relevance of these alterations. Thus, our work uncovers a complex ASD-related transcriptional programme regulated during cerebellar development and highlight genes whose expression is dysregulated in this brain area of an ASD mouse model.
ERK MAPK signaling pathway inhibition as a potential target to prevent autophagy alterations in Spinal Muscular Atrophy motoneurons
Authors: Sansa Alba , Miralles Maria P. , Beltran Maria , Celma-Nos Ferran , Calderó Jordi , Garcera Ana , Soler Rosa M.
Published: April 2023

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a severe genetic neuromuscular disorder that occurs in childhood and is caused by misexpression of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. SMN reduction induces spinal cord motoneuron (MN) degeneration, which leads to progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. The link between SMN deficiency and the molecular mechanisms altered in SMA cells remains unclear. Autophagy, deregulation of intracellular survival pathways and ERK hyperphosphorylation may contribute to SMN-reduced MNs collapse, offering a useful strategy to develop new therapies to prevent neurodegeneration in SMA. Using SMA MN in vitro models, the effect of pharmacological inhibition of PI3K/Akt and ERK MAPK pathways on SMN and autophagy markers modulation was studied by western blot analysis and RT-qPCR. Experiments involved primary cultures of mouse SMA spinal cord MNs and differentiated SMA human MNs derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Inhibition of the PI3K/Akt and the ERK MAPK pathways reduced SMN protein and mRNA levels. Importantly, mTOR phosphorylation, p62, and LC3-II autophagy markers protein level were decreased after ERK MAPK pharmacological inhibition. Furthermore, the intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA prevented ERK hyperphosphorylation in SMA cells. Our results propose a link between intracellular calcium, signaling pathways, and autophagy in SMA MNs, suggesting that ERK hyperphosphorylation may contribute to autophagy deregulation in SMN-reduced MNs.
Bone marrow-derived extracellular vesicles carry the TGF-β signal transducer Smad2 to preserve hematopoietic stem cells in mice
Authors: Gautheron Flavie , Georgievski Aleksandra , Garrido Carmen , Quéré Ronan
Published: April 2023

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by cells in the bone marrow (BM) are important for regulating proliferation, differentiation, and other processes in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). TGF-β signaling is now well known to be involved in HSC’s quiescence and maintenance, but the TGF-β pathway related to EVs is still largely unknown in the hematopoietic system. We found that the EV inhibitor Calpeptin, when injected intravenously into mice, particularly affected the in vivo production of EVs carrying phosphorylated Smad2 (p-Smad2) in mouse BM. This was accompanied with an alteration in the quiescence and maintenance of murine HSC in vivo. EVs produced by murine mesenchymal stromal MS-5 cells also showed presence of p-Smad2 as a cargo. We treated MS-5 cells with the TGF-β inhibitor SB431542 in order to produce EVs lacking p-Smad2, and discovered that its presence was required for ex vivo maintenance of HSC. In conclusion, we revealed a new mechanism involving EVs produced in the mouse BM that transport bioactive phosphorylated Smad2 as a cargo to enhance the TGF-β signaling-mediated quiescence and maintenance of HSC.
Drivers of strong isolation and small effective population size at a leading range edge of a widespread plant
Authors: Cisternas-Fuentes Anita , Koski Matthew H.
Published: April 2023

Climate change has influenced species distributions worldwide with upward elevational shifts observed in many systems. Leading range edge populations, like those at upper elevation limits, are crucial for climate change responses but can exhibit low genetic diversity due to founder effects, isolation, or limited outbreeding. These factors can hamper local adaptation at range limits. Using the widespread herb, Argentina anserina, we measured ecological attributes (population density on the landscape, area of population occupancy, and plant and flower density) spanning a 1000 m elevation gradient, with high elevation populations at the range limit. We measured vegetative clonal potential in the greenhouse for populations spanning the gradient. We combined these data with a ddRAD-seq dataset to test the hypotheses that high elevation populations would exhibit ecological and genomic signatures of leading range edge populations. We found that population density on the landscape declined towards the high elevation limit, as is expected towards range edges. However, plant density was elevated within edge populations. In the greenhouse, high elevation plants exhibited stronger clonal potential than low elevation plants, likely explaining increased plant density in the field. Phylogeographic analysis supported more recent colonization of high elevation populations which were also more genetically isolated, had more extreme heterozygote excess and had smaller effective population size than low. Results support that colonization of high elevations was likely accompanied by increased asexuality, contributing to a decline in effective population size. Despite high plant density in leading edge populations, their small effective size, isolation and clonality could constrain adaptive potential.
A stress-induced cilium-to-PML-NB route drives senescence initiation
Authors: Ma Xiaoyu , Zhang Yingyi , Zhang Yuanyuan , Zhang Xu , Huang Yan , He Kai , Chen Chuan , Hao Jielu , Zhao Debiao , LeBrasseur Nathan K. , Kirkland James L. , Chini Eduardo N. , Wei Qing , Ling Kun , Hu Jinghua
Published: April 2023

Cellular senescence contributes to tissue homeostasis and age-related pathologies. However, how senescence is initiated in stressed cells remains vague. Here, we discover that exposure to irradiation, oxidative or inflammatory stressors induces transient biogenesis of primary cilia, which are then used by stressed cells to communicate with the promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) to initiate senescence responses in human cells. Mechanistically, a ciliary ARL13B-ARL3 GTPase cascade negatively regulates the association of transition fiber protein FBF1 and SUMO-conjugating enzyme UBC9. Irreparable stresses downregulate the ciliary ARLs and release UBC9 to SUMOylate FBF1 at the ciliary base. SUMOylated FBF1 then translocates to PML-NBs to promote PML-NB biogenesis and PML-NB-dependent senescence initiation. Remarkably, Fbf1 ablation effectively subdues global senescence burden and prevents associated health decline in irradiation-treated mice. Collectively, our findings assign the primary cilium a key role in senescence induction in mammalian cells and, also, a promising target in future senotherapy strategies.
The m6A reader YTHDC1 and the RNA helicase DDX5 control the production of rhabdomyosarcoma-enriched circRNAs
Authors: Dattilo Dario , Di Timoteo Gaia , Setti Adriano , Giuliani Andrea , Peruzzi Giovanna , Beltran Nebot Manuel , Centrón-Broco Alvaro , Mariani Davide , Mozzetta Chiara , Bozzoni Irene
Published: April 2023

N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) is well-known for controlling different processes of linear RNA metabolism. Conversely, its role in the biogenesis and function of circular RNAs (circRNAs) is still poorly understood. Here, we characterize circRNA expression in the pathological context of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), observing a global increase when compared to wild-type myoblasts. For a set of circRNAs, such an increase is due to the raised expression of the m6A machinery, which we also find to control the proliferation activity of RMS cells. Furthermore, we identify the RNA helicase DDX5 as a mediator of the back-splicing reaction and as a co-factor of the m6A regulatory network. DDX5 and the m6A reader YTHDC1 are shown to interact and to promote the production of a common subset of circRNAs in RMS. In line with the observation that YTHDC1/DDX5 depletion reduces RMS proliferation, our results provide proteins and RNA candidates for the study of rhabdomyosarcoma tumorigenicity.
Imaging-based intelligent spectrometer on a plasmonic rainbow chip
Authors: Tua Dylan , Liu Ruiying , Yang Wenhong , Zhou Lyu , Song Haomin , Ying Leslie , Gan Qiaoqiang
Published: April 2023

Compact, lightweight, and on-chip spectrometers are required to develop portable and handheld sensing and analysis applications. However, the performance of these miniaturized systems is usually much lower than their benchtop laboratory counterparts due to oversimplified optical architectures. Here, we develop a compact plasmonic “rainbow” chip for rapid, accurate dual-functional spectroscopic sensing that can surpass conventional portable spectrometers under selected conditions. The nanostructure consists of one-dimensional or two-dimensional graded metallic gratings. By using a single image obtained by an ordinary camera, this compact system can accurately and precisely determine the spectroscopic and polarimetric information of the illumination spectrum. Assisted by suitably trained deep learning algorithms, we demonstrate the characterization of optical rotatory dispersion of glucose solutions at two-peak and three-peak narrowband illumination across the visible spectrum using just a single image. This system holds the potential for integration with smartphones and lab-on-a-chip systems to develop applications for in situ analysis.
Two-dimensional ferroelectricity in a single-element bismuth monolayer
Authors: Gou Jian , Bai Hua , Zhang Xuanlin , Huang Yu Li , Duan Sisheng , Ariando A. , Yang Shengyuan A. , Chen Lan , Lu Yunhao , Wee Andrew Thye Shen
Published: April 2023

Ferroelectric materials are fascinating for their non-volatile switchable electric polarizations induced by the spontaneous inversion-symmetry breaking. However, in all of the conventional ferroelectric compounds, at least two constituent ions are required to support the polarization switching1,2. Here, we report the observation of a single-element ferroelectric state in a black phosphorus-like bismuth layer3, in which the ordered charge transfer and the regular atom distortion between sublattices happen simultaneously. Instead of a homogenous orbital configuration that ordinarily occurs in elementary substances, we found the Bi atoms in a black phosphorous-like Bi monolayer maintain a weak and anisotropic sp orbital hybridization, giving rise to the inversion-symmetry-broken buckled structure accompanied with charge redistribution in the unit cell. As a result, the in-plane electric polarization emerges in the Bi monolayer. Using the in-plane electric field produced by scanning probe microscopy, ferroelectric switching is further visualized experimentally. Owing to the conjugative locking between the charge transfer and atom displacement, we also observe the anomalous electric potential profile at the 180° tail-to-tail domain wall induced by competition between the electronic structure and electric polarization. This emergent single-element ferroelectricity broadens the mechanism of ferroelectrics and may enrich the applications of ferroelectronics in the future.
Imperatorin exerts antioxidant effects in vascular dementia via the Nrf2 signaling pathway
Authors: Liao Xiangping , Zhang Ziliang , Ming Min , Zhong Shanquan , Chen Jianping , Huang Ying
Published: April 2023

Imperatorin, an active ingredient extracted from Angelica and Qianghuo, has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress damage, blocking calcium channels, and other properties. Our preliminary findings revealed the protective role of imperatorin in the treatment of vascular dementia, we further explored the underlying mechanisms concerning the neuroprotection function of imperatorin in vascular dementia. The cobalt chloride (COCl2)-induced chemical hypoxia and hypoglycemia of hippocampal neuronal cells was applied as in vitro vascular dementia model. Primary neuronal cells was isolated from the hippocampal tissue of SD suckling rats within 24 h of birth. Hippocampal neurons were identified by immunofluorescence staining of microtubule-associated protein 2. Silencing or overexpression of Nrf2 was conducted by transfection of corresponding plasmids in hippocampal neuronal cells. Cell viability was detected by MTT assay to determine the optimal modeling concentration of CoCl2. Mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular reactive oxygen species and apoptosis rate was measured by flow cytometry. The expression of anti-oxidative proteins was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot, including Nrf2, NQO-1 and HO-1. Nrf2 nuclear translocation was detected using laser confocal microscopy. The modeling concentration of CoCl2 was 150umol/l, and the best interventional concentration of imperatorin was 7.5umol/l. Significantly, imperatorin facilitated the nuclear localization of Nrf2, promoted the expressions of Nrf2, NQO-1, and HO-1 relative to the model-control group. Moreover, imperatorin reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential and ameliorated CoCl2-induced hypoxic apoptosis in hippocampal neurons. On the contrary, silencing Nrf2 completely abrogated the protective effects of imperatorin. Imperatorin might be an effective drug for preventing and treating vascular dementia.
Synthesis, characterization and protective efficiency of novel polybenzoxazine precursor as an anticorrosive coating for mild steel
Authors: Soliman Ahmed M. M. , Aly Kamal I. , Mohamed Mohamed Gamal , Amer Amer A. , Belal Mostafa R. , Abdel-Hakim Mohamed
Published: April 2023

In this study, 2-[(E)-(hexylimino)methyl] phenol (SA-Hex-SF) was synthesized by adding salicylaldehyde (SA) and n-hexylamine (Hex-NH2), which was subsequently reduced by sodium borohydride to produce 2-[(hexylamino)methyl] phenol (SA-Hex-NH). Finally, the SA-Hex-NH reacted with formaldehyde to give a benzoxazine monomer (SA-Hex-BZ). Then, the monomer was thermally polymerized at 210 °C to produce the poly(SA-Hex-BZ). The chemical composition of SA-Hex-BZ was examined using FT-IR, 1H, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), respectively, were used to examine the thermal behavior, surface morphology, and crystallinity of the SA-Hex-BZ and its PBZ polymer. Mild steel (MS) was coated by poly(SA-Hex-BZ) which was quickly prepared using spray coating and thermal curing techniques (MS). Finally, the electrochemical tests were used to evaluate the poly(SA-Hex-BZ)-coating on MS as anti-corrosion capabilities. According to this study, the poly(SA-Hex-BZ) coating was hydrophobic, and corrosion efficiency reached 91.7%.
A new Carboniferous edaphosaurid and the origin of herbivory in mammal forerunners
Authors: Mann Arjan , Henrici Amy C. , Sues Hans-Dieter , Pierce Stephanie E.
Published: April 2023

Herbivory evolved independently in several tetrapod lineages during the Late Carboniferous and became more widespread throughout the Permian Period, eventually leading to the basic structure of modern terrestrial ecosystems. Here we report a new taxon of edaphosaurid synapsid based on two fossils recovered from the Moscovian-age cannel coal of Linton, Ohio, which we interpret as an omnivore–low-fibre herbivore. Melanedaphodon hovaneci gen. et sp. nov. provides the earliest record of an edaphosaurid to date and is one of the oldest known synapsids. Using high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography, we provide a comprehensive description of the new taxon that reveals similarities between Late Carboniferous and early Permian (Cisuralian) members of Edaphosauridae. The presence of large bulbous, cusped, marginal teeth alongside a moderately-developed palatal battery, distinguishes Melanedaphodon from all other known species of Edaphosauridae and suggests adaptations for processing tough plant material already appeared among the earliest synapsids. Furthermore, we propose that durophagy may have provided an early pathway to exploit plant resources in terrestrial ecosystems.
Enhancement of magnon–photon–phonon entanglement in a cavity magnomechanics with coherent feedback loop
Authors: Amazioug Mohamed , Teklu Berihu , Asjad Muhammad
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we present a coherent feedback loop scheme to enhance the magnon–photon–phonon entanglement in cavity magnomechanics. We provide a proof that the steady state and dynamical state of the system form a genuine tripartite entanglement state. To quantify the entanglement in the bipartite subsystem and the genuine tripartite entanglement, we use the logarithmic negativity and the minimum residual contangle, respectively, in both the steady and dynamical regimes. We demonstrate the feasibility of our proposal by implementing it with experimentally realizable parameters to achieve the tripartite entanglement. We also show that the entanglement can be significantly improved with coherent feedback by appropriately tuning the reflective parameter of the beam splitter and that it is resistant to environmental thermalization. Our findings pave the way for enhancing entanglement in magnon–photon–phonon systems and may have potential applications in quantum information.
Key therapeutic targets implicated at the early stage of hepatocellular carcinoma identified through machine-learning approaches
Authors: Hosseiniyan Khatibi Seyed Mahdi , Najjarian Farima , Homaei Rad Hamed , Ardalan Mohammadreza , Teshnehlab Mohammad , Zununi Vahed Sepideh , Pirmoradi Saeed
Published: April 2023

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of primary liver cancer. Early-stage detection plays an essential role in making treatment decisions and identifying dominant molecular mechanisms. We utilized machine learning algorithms to find significant mRNAs and microRNAs (miRNAs) at the early and late stages of HCC. First, pre-processing approaches, including organization, nested cross-validation, cleaning, and normalization were applied. Next, the t-test/ANOVA methods and binary particle swarm optimization were used as a filter and wrapper method in the feature selection step, respectively. Then, classifiers, based on machine learning and deep learning algorithms were utilized to evaluate the discrimination power of selected features (mRNAs and miRNAs) in the classification step. Finally, the association rule mining algorithm was applied to selected features for identifying key mRNAs and miRNAs that can help decode dominant molecular mechanisms in HCC stages. The applied methods could identify key genes associated with the early (e.g., Vitronectin, thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, lactate dehydrogenase D (LDHD), miR-590) and late-stage (e.g., SPRY domain containing 4, regucalcin, miR-3199-1, miR-194-2, miR-4999) of HCC. This research could establish a clear picture of putative candidate genes, which could be the main actors at the early and late stages of HCC.
Behavioral pattern separation is associated with neural and electrodermal correlates of context-dependent fear conditioning
Authors: Neudert Marie K. , Schäfer Axel , Zehtner Raphaela I. , Fricke Susanne , Seinsche Rosa J. , Kruse Onno , Stark Rudolf , Hermann Andrea
Published: April 2023

Hippocampus-dependent pattern separation is considered as a relevant factor for context discrimination and might therefore impact the contextual modulation of conditioned fear. However, the association between pattern separation and context-dependent fear conditioning has not been investigated so far. In the current study, 72 healthy female students completed the Mnemonic Similarity Task, a measure of behavioral pattern separation, in addition to a context-dependent fear conditioning paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The paradigm included fear acquisition in context A and extinction training in context B on a first day, as well as retrieval testing of the fear and extinction memories in the safe context B (extinction recall) and a novel context C (fear renewal) one day later. Main outcome measures comprised skin conductance responses (SCRs) and blood oxygen level-dependent responses in brain regions of the fear and extinction circuit. Regarding retrieval testing, pattern separation did not correlate with extinction recall, but with stronger dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activation and conditioned SCRs (trend) during fear renewal, indicating a stronger retrieval of the fear memory trace. Our findings suggest that behavioral pattern separation ability seems to be important for context-dependent fear modulation, which is impaired in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.
The role of nonequilibrium LO phonons, Pauli exclusion, and intervalley pathways on the relaxation of hot carriers in InGaAs/InGaAsP multi-quantum-wells
Authors: Zou Yongjie , Esmaielpour Hamidreza , Suchet Daniel , Guillemoles Jean-François , Goodnick Stephen M.
Published: April 2023

Under continuous-wave laser excitation in a lattice-matched In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.8Ga0.2As0.44P0.56 multi-quantum-well (MQW) structure, the carrier temperature extracted from photoluminescence rises faster for 405 nm compared with 980 nm excitation, as the injected carrier density increases. Ensemble Monte Carlo simulation of the carrier dynamics in the MQW system shows that this carrier temperature rise is dominated by nonequilibrium LO phonon effects, with the Pauli exclusion having a significant effect at high carrier densities. Further, we find a significant fraction of carriers reside in the satellite L-valleys for 405 nm excitation due to strong intervalley transfer, leading to a cooler steady-state electron temperature in the central valley compared with the case when intervalley transfer is excluded from the model. Good agreement between experiment and simulation has been shown, and detailed analysis has been presented. This study expands our knowledge of the dynamics of the hot carrier population in semiconductors, which can be applied to further limit energy loss in solar cells.