bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A bibliographic study reviewing the last decade of hydrochar in environmental application: history, status quo, and trending research paths
Authors: Huang Junxia , Feng Yanfang , Xie Huifang , Wu Ping , Wang Minli , Wang Bingyu , Zhang Qiang , Zhang Shicheng , Liu Zhengang
Published: March 2023

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology has increasingly been considered for biomass conversion applications because of its economic and environmental advantages. As an HTC conversion product, hydrochar has been widely used in the agricultural and environmental fields for decades. A CiteSpace-based system analysis was used for conducting a bibliometric study to understand the state of hydrochar environmental application research from 2011 to 2021. Researchers had a basic understanding of hydrochar between 2011 and 2016 when they discovered hydrochar could apply to agricultural and environmental improvement projects. Keyword clustering results of the literature published in 2017–2021 showed that soil quality and plant growth were the major research topics, followed by carbon capture and greenhouse gas emissions, organic pollutant removal, and heavy metal adsorption and its bioavailability. This review also pointed out the challenge and perspective for hydrochar research and application, namely: (1) the environmental effects of hydrochar on soils need to be clarified in terms of the scope and conditions; (2) the influence of soil microorganisms needs to be investigated to illustrate the impact of hydrochar on greenhouse gas emissions; (3) combined heavy metal and organic contaminant sorption experiments for hydrochar need to be conducted for large-scale applications; (4) more research needs to be conducted to reveal the economic benefits of hydrochar and the coupling of hydrochar with anaerobic digestion technology. This review suggested that it would be valuable to create a database that contains detailed information on how hydrochar got from different sources, and different preparation conditions can be applied in the environmental field.

Graphical Abstract
Overview of the brand journey and opportunities for future studies
Authors: Loureiro Sandra Maria Correia
Published: March 2023

With this study, brand managers can have an overview of the major concepts and characteristics of brands over time, while academics receive a mapping of the most analyzed topics and suggestions for future research. Based on the documents published in Scopus and Web of Science databases using the word “brand”, this article aims to provide an overview of the brands and suggest opportunities for future research. Text mining clustering allowed the processing of a large amount of information and organized the first overview of the concepts that have been studied. Thus, first, we examine the existing definitions of a brand. Then, we provide a historical perspective of the topics associated with brand constructs and their associations and present a framework for the psychological characteristics of the branding process. Finally, we present the future trends.
British Yemeni Young People’s Experience of Body Image, Home, Food, Language, and Religion
Authors: Ahmed Huda Kamel
Published: March 2023

This paper provides an in-depth knowledge on the social practices of an under-researched ethnic group in the UK, the British Yemenis. Through an exploration of their lived activities in the context of the conduct of everyday life, this study uses photo-novella and semi-structured interviews in combination, to present five main themes which emerged from the study. These are body image, food, home, language, and religion. The paper shows how British Yemeni young people connect and disconnect, at different levels, times, and context, with mainstream British cultures and Yemeni subcultures, displaying elements of cultural hybridity that are unique to these individuals, yet at the same time provides some information on the Yemeni community. The study follows the daily activities of six British Yemeni young people in a longitudinal manner, exploring an understanding of how social structures and cultures have, and are continuously, impacting the young people’s conduct of everyday life. The study also contributes to the use of intersectionality and post-colonialism as analytic tools in the study of young people’s lived experiences.
Development of a theoretical model of pilot decision making with conflicting information
Authors: Pittorie W. , Nakushian A. , Rebensky S. , Satter M. , Osman M. , Hunt L. , Carroll M.
Published: March 2023

The advancement of technology on the modern commercial flight deck has allowed flight crew members to utilise multiple sources of information to maintain the safety of their flight. Having multiple sources of flight deck information, capable of displaying the same type of information, can lead to a situation in which a pilot encounters conflicting information. Understanding how a pilot makes a decision when faced with an information conflict on the flight deck is important to ensure appropriate design of flight-deck information systems and effective pilot training. This effort utilised data collected from 25 airline pilots who experienced information conflicts on a simulated B-737 flight deck, in conjunction with a theoretical review of how information conflicts impact decision making, to develop a theoretical model of pilot decision-making in the presence of an information conflict. This manuscript describes the model, along with the theory-driven and data-driven approaches utilised to develop the model.
Facilitators and barriers to implementation of suicide prevention interventions: Scoping review
Authors: Kasal Alexandr , Táborská Roksana , Juríková Laura , Grabenhofer-Eggerth Alexander , Pichler Michaela , Gruber Beate , Tomášková Hana , Niederkrotenthaler Thomas
Published: March 2023

We know that suicide is preventable, yet hundreds of thousands of people still die due to suicide every year. Many interventions were proven to be effective, and dozens of others showed promising results. However, translating these interventions into new settings brings several challenges. One of the crucial obstacles to success is not anticipating possible barriers to implementation nor enhancing possible benefits of factors facilitating the implementation. While we witnessed great support for suicide prevention activities globally in the past years, implementation barriers and facilitating factors are yet to be comprehensively mapped to help implementation activities worldwide. This scoping review maps current knowledge on facilitators and barriers to the implementation of suicide prevention interventions while using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) for classification. We included 64 studies. Barriers and facilitators were most commonly identified in the outer setting CFIR domain, namely in the sub-domain of patient needs and resources, which refers to the way in which these needs and resources are reflected by the reviewed interventions. The second most saturated CFIR domain for facilitators was intervention characteristics, where relative advantage, adaptability and cost of intervention sub-domains were equally represented. These sub-domains refer mostly to how the intervention is perceived by key stakeholders, to what extent it can be tailored to the implementation context and how much it costs. While intervention characteristics domain was the second most common also for barriers, the complexity sub-domain referring to high perceived difficulty of implementation was the most frequently represented. With reference to the results, we recommend adapting interventions to the needs of the target groups. Furthermore, carefully selecting the intervention to suit the target context concerning their adaptability, costs and complexity is vital for a successful implementation. Further implications for practice and research are discussed.
Measurement of electron beam transverse slice emittance using a focused beamline
Authors: Jiang Kangnan , Feng Ke , Wang Hao , Yang Xiaojun , Bai Peile , Xu Yi , Leng Yuxin , Wang Wentao , Li Ruxin
Published: March 2023

A single-shot measurement of electron emittance was experimentally accomplished using a focused transfer line with a dipole. The betatron phase of electrons based on laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is energy dependent owing to the coupling of the longitudinal acceleration field and the transverse focusing (defocusing) field in the bubble. The phase space presents slice information after phase compensation relative to the center energy. Fitting the transverse size of the electron beam at different energy slices in the energy spectrum measured 0.27 mm mrad in the experiment. The diagnosis of slice emittance facilitates local electron quality manipulation, which is important for the development of LWFA-based free electron lasers. The quasi-3D particle-in-cell simulations matched the experimental results and analysis well.
Presidential Investment in the Administrative State
Authors: BEDNAR NICHOLAS R. , LEWIS DAVID E.
Published: March 2023

In this paper, we explain how presidents strategically invest in administrative capacity, noting that presidents have few incentives to invest effort in capacity building in most agencies. We test our account with two analyses. First, we examine the time it took for the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations to nominate individuals to appointed positions. We find that presidents prioritize appointments to policy over management positions and that nominations occur sooner in agencies that implement presidential priorities. Second, we examine the responses of federal executives to the 2020 Survey on the Future of Government Service to see whether perceptions of presidential investment in administrative capacity match our predictions. We find that federal executives perceive higher levels of investment when the agency is a priority of the president and when the agency shares the president’s policy views. We conclude with implications for our understanding of the modern presidency and government performance.
The prosody of surprise questions in Estonian
Authors: ASU EVA LIINA , SAHKAI HEETE , LIPPUS PÄRTEL
Published: March 2023

This paper examines the role of prosody in a little-studied type of non-canonical questions: syntactically and lexically canonical interrogative sentences that have been uttered by the speaker in order to express surprise. The study compares Estonian surprise questions with string-identical information-seeking questions elicited by means of context descriptions. The materials comprise 1,008 utterances by 21 speakers.

It is concluded that the prosody of the examined utterances has three roles that are relevant to the expression of surprise by ordinary interrogative sentences. First, the enhanced prosodic realisation of the utterances as manifested in a longer duration, a wider pitch range, and a more frequent occurrence of upstepped pitch accents conveys emotional expressivity. Second, lower pitch along with the creaky voice quality signals that the utterances are not canonical questions, while the main prosodic correlate of information-seeking questions is high pitch. Phonological pitch accents and boundary tones, however, are not used to distinguish between surprise questions and information-seeking questions. Third, the nuclear accent placement signals an information structure that is associated with the expression of incongruity or counterexpectation: the focal accent can evoke an alternative (set) that arises from the speaker’s expectations.
The Participation of People in Vulnerable Situations in Interest Organisations: A Qualitative Study of Representatives Views
Authors: Gathen Jan Marius , Slettebø Tor , Skjeggestad Erik
Published: March 2023

People in vulnerable situations have the same right as others to participate in public spheres and influence health and welfare services. However, organisations that support these people and promote their interests are essential to their participation. This study investigated how people in vulnerable situations with lived experiences of using public services participate in organisations representing their interests. Fourteen representatives from eight interest organisations were interviewed. The first theme we developed – namely, participation as representatives of the organisations, revealed that a spokesperson’s role is connected to competence and that users of public services rarely obtain such a position. However, people with experience of using public services participate as living examples in external activities, increasing the groups’ visibility through their physical presence and their stories. The second theme was titled participation in organisational activities. The extent to which people with lived experiences participate in formal meetings varies, but they are often consulted by the organisations and attend events and informal gatherings. Notably, people in vulnerable situations interact with and, thus, influence the service-providing organisations. This article discusses the findings in light of representation theory and their implications for practice.
The hierarchy in economics and its implications
Authors: Wright Jack
Published: March 2023

This paper argues for two propositions. (I) Large asymmetries of power, status and influence exist between economists. These asymmetries constitute a hierarchy that is steeper than it could be and steeper than hierarchies in other disciplines. (II) This situation has potentially significant epistemic consequences. I collect data on the social organization of economics to show (I). I then argue that the hierarchy in economics heightens conservative selection biases, restricts criticism between economists and disincentivizes the development of novel research. These factors together constrain economics’ capacity to develop new beliefs and reduce the likelihood that its outputs will be true.
Analyzing the unrestricted web: The finnish corpus of online registers
Authors: Skantsi Valtteri , Laippala Veronika
Published: March 2023

This article introduces the Finnish Corpus of Online Registers (FinCORE) representing the full range of registers – situationally defined text varieties such as news and blogs – on the Finnish Internet. The extreme range of language use found online has challenged the study of registers. It has been unclear what registers the entire Internet includes, and if they can be sufficiently defined to allow for their analysis or classification, previous studies focusing on restricted sets of registers and English. FinCORE features 10,754 texts from the unrestricted web, manually annotated for their register using a scheme originally established for the Corpus of Online Registers of English (CORE). We present the FinCORE registers and compare them to CORE. Finally, we show that the FinCORE registers are sufficiently well-defined to allow for their automatic identification, thus opening novel possibilities for both linguistics and web-as-corpus research. FinCORE is published under an open license.
Social Illness Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Regional Study
Authors: Stirparo Giuseppe , Pireddu Roberta , Andreassi Aida , Sechi Giuseppe Maria , Signorelli Carlo
Published: March 2023

Introduction:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically changed the epidemiology of several diseases. Much evidence on this has been published in the pandemic phase. In addition, many studies have shown that phenomena such as stress, substance abuse, and burnout increased in the general population during the lockdown. Unfortunately, few studies analyze the post-pandemic phase.

Study Objective:

The study aimed to evaluate the trend of broad social problems, such as a diagnosis by the emergency department (ED), in the post-pandemic phase in the Lombardy (Italy) region.

Methods:

The study is a retrospective observational cohort study. All admissions to emergency rooms in the Lombardy region registered in the Emergency Urgency OnLine (EUOL) portal made from January through June 2019 were analyzed, having as main causes: psychiatric disorders, self-harm, substance abuse, social disadvantage, and violence. All accesses in emergency rooms in the Lombardy region registered in the EUOL portal made from January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019 were analyzed and compared with the same period in 2022.

Results:

The study recorded an increase in the likelihood of events of self-harm (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.8-2.6; P <.0001), substance abuse (OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3; P <.0001), violence by others (OR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4; P <.0001), and social disadvantage (OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4; P = .0045). The events are more concentrated in suburban areas (OR = 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4; P <.001).

Conclusion:

The increase in diagnoses of these social problems in the ED is only the culmination of a phenomenon that hides an underlying rise in social illness. In the post-COVID-19 phase, there is a need to invest in community care and social illness prevention policies.
Comparison of intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) versus intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for the treatment of head and neck cancer based on radiobiological modelling
Authors: Nguyen My-Lien , Afrin Kazi T. , Newbury Patrick , Henson Christina , Ahmad Salahuddin
Published: March 2023

Aim:

The aim of our study is to retrospectively report the radiobiological aspects for intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) against intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for patients with head and neck cancer treated at our institution. A secondary goal is to reinforce current model-based approaches to head and neck cancer patient selection for IMPT.

Materials and Methods:

Eighteen patients were evaluated with prescription doses ranging from 50 to 70 Gy delivered in 2 Gy per fraction. The dose volume histograms (DVH) were used to calculate equivalent uniform dose (EUD), tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for biophysical comparison using mechanistic mathematical dose response models. Absolute values of TCP and NTCP were then compared between IMPT and IMRT.

Results:

The dose models demonstrate a minimal radiobiological advantage for IMPT compared to IMRT in treating head and neck cancers. Absolute values of TCP were slightly higher, while absolute values of NTCP were slightly lower for IMPT versus IMRT.

Conclusions:

Further studies are needed to determine if the radiobiological advantage indeed translates to a therapeutic advantage for patients.
Harvest weed seed control in soybean with an impact mill
Authors: Winans Travis , Massey Raymond , Schreier Haylee , Bish Mandy , Bradley Kevin W.
Published: March 2023

The distribution of herbicide-resistant weeds such as waterhemp has resulted in a greater need for a more integrated approach to weed management, especially in U.S. soybean production systems. Previous research has shown harvest weed seed control (HWSC) to be an effective method of reducing the amount of weed seed returning to the soil. One form of HWSC is the use of impact mills to destroy weed seed exiting the combine during harvest. In 2019 and 2020, we investigated the efficacy and operating costs of the Seed TerminatorTM impact mill in five Missouri soybean fields that contained significant waterhemp infestations. Results indicated that 22% to 40% of the available waterhemp seed in the field at harvest drops to the soil surface because of shatter whenever the combine reel contacts waterhemp plants. Across all locations, an average of 94% of waterhemp seed exiting the Seed Terminator™ was substantially damaged and considered nonviable. Consecutive seasons of use of the Seed TerminatorTM on the same field in two of the locations resulted in a 96% to 97% reduction of waterhemp in the soil seed bank the spring following the second harvest. The estimated increased operating cost of using a Seed Terminator™ was $14.18 ha–1 compared to harvesting with a conventional combine alone. Engine load increased by 12.5%, fuel consumption was 11.3 L h–1 and 1 L ha–1 greater with the Seed Terminator™, but there was no reduction in productivity when harvesting with a combine equipped with a Seed TerminatorTM compared to a conventional combine. The use of impact mills could play a significant role in reducing soil weed seed banks in soybean production systems in at least the Midwest region of the United States in the future.
The Pakistan Flood of August 2022: Causes and Implications
Authors: Nanditha J. S. , Kushwaha Anuj Prakash , Singh Rajesh , Malik Iqura , Solanki Hiren , Chuphal Dipesh Singh , Dangar Swarup , Mahto Shanti Shwarup , Vegad Urmin , Mishra Vimal
Published: March 2023

The risk of floods has increased in South Asia due to high vulnerability and exposure. The August 2022 Pakistan flood shows a glimpse of the enormity and devastation that can further rise under the warming climate. The deluge caused by the floods in 2022, which badly hit the country’s southern provinces, is incomparable to any recent events in terms of the vast spatial and temporal scale. The flood event is ranked second in human mortality, while this was the top event that displaced about 33 million people in Pakistan. Using observations and climate projections, we examine the causes and implications of the 2022 flood in Pakistan. Multiday (∼15 days) extreme precipitation on wet antecedent soil moisture conditions was the primary driver of the flood in August 2022. The extreme precipitation in August was caused by two atmospheric rivers that passed over southern Pakistan. Streamflow simulations from the multiple hydrological models show that multiday extreme precipitation was the primary driver of floods. Several flood‐affected stations experienced anomalously higher flow than the upstream stations. The 2022 Pakistan flood highlights the adaptation challenges South Asia is facing along with the substantial need for climate mitigation to reduce the risk of such events.
The Influence of Geochemical Variation Among Globigerinoides ruber Individuals on Paleoceanographic Reconstructions
Authors: Kearns L. E. , Searle‐Barnes A. , Foster G. L. , Milton J. A. , Standish C. D. , Ezard T. H. G.
Published: March 2023

Variation among individuals within species is a biological precondition for co‐existence. Traditional geochemical analysis based on bulk averages facilitates rapid data gathering but necessarily means the loss of large amounts of potentially crucial information into variability within a given sample. As the sensitivity of geochemical analysis improves, it is now feasible to build sufficiently powerful datasets to investigate paleoclimatic variation at the level of individual specimens. Here, we investigate geochemical and morphological variation among the sensu stricto, sensu lato and sensu lato extreme subspecies of the workhorse extant planktic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber. Our experimental design distinguishes between subspecies and intraspecific variability as well as the repeatability of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS). We show that geochemical variability in Mg/Ca ratios is driven by differences in subspecies depth habitat and that ontogenetic trends in Mg/Ca ratios are evident in the final whorl, with the final chamber consistently showing depleted Mg/Ca. These ontogenetic trends are not driven by individual chamber or test size. The Mg/Ca value variance among individuals is ∼100 times higher than the variance among repeated laser spot analyses of single chambers, directing laboratory protocols towards the need to sample ecologically and environmentally homogeneous samples. Our results emphasize that we can use LA‐ICP‐MS to quantify how individual variability aggregates to bulk results, and highlights that, with sufficient sample sizes, it is possible to reveal how intraspecific variability alters geochemical inference.
Strange Storms: Rainfall Extremes From the Remnants of Hurricane Ida (2021) in the Northeastern US
Authors: Smith James A. , Baeck Mary Lynn , Su Yibing , Liu Maofeng , Vecchi Gabriel A.
Published: March 2023

On 1 September 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida transformed into a lethal variant of tropical cyclone in which unprecedented short‐duration rainfall from clusters of supercells produced catastrophic flooding in watersheds of the Northeastern US. Short‐duration rainfall extremes from Ida are examined through analyses of polarimetric radar fields and rain gauge observations. Rainfall estimates are constructed from a polarimetric rainfall algorithm that is grounded in specific differential phase shift (KDP) fields. Rainfall accumulations at multiple locations exceed 1000‐year values for 1–3 hr time scales. Radar observations show that supercells are the principal agents of rainfall extremes. Record flood peaks occurred throughout the eastern Pennsylvania—New Jersey region; the peak discharge of the Elizabeth River is one of the most extreme in the eastern US, based on the ratio of the peak discharge to the sample 10‐year flood at the gaging station. As with other tropical cyclones that have produced record flooding in the Northeastern US, Extratropical Transition was a key element of extreme rainfall and flooding from Ida. Tropical and extratropical elements of the storm system contributed to extremes of atmospheric water balance variables and Convective Available Potential Energy, providing the environment for extreme short‐duration rainfall from supercells.
Tumor malignancy by genetic transfer between cells forming cell-in-cell structures
Authors: Wang Ruizhi , Zhong Hao , Wang Chenxi , Huang Xiaohui , Huang Anpei , Du Nannan , Wang Dong , Sun Qiang , He Meifang
Published: March 2023

Cell-in-cell structures (CICs) refer to a type of unique structure with one or more cells within another one, whose biological outcomes are poorly understood. The present study aims to investigate the effects of CICs formation on tumor progression. Using genetically marked hepatocellular cancer cell lines, we explored the possibility that tumor cells might acquire genetic information and malignant phenotypes from parental cells undergoing CICs formation. The present study showed that the derivatives, isolated from CICs formed between two subpopulations by flow cytometry sorting, were found to inherit aggressive features from the parental cells, manifested with increased abilities in both proliferation and invasiveness. Consistently, the CICs clones expressed a lower level of E-cadherin and a higher level of Vimentin, ZEB-1, Fibronectin, MMP9, MMP2 and Snail as compared with the parental cells, indicating epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Remarkably, the new derivatives exhibited significantly enhanced tumorigenicity in the xenograft mouse models. Moreover, whole exome sequencing analysis identified a group of potential genes which were involved in CIC-mediated genetic transfer. These results are consistent with a role of genetic transfer by CICs formation in genomic instability and malignancy of tumor cells, which suggest that the formation of CICs may promote genetic transfer and gain of malignancy during tumor progression.
Single-cell and spatial dissection of precancerous lesions underlying the initiation process of oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Sun Lulu , Kang Xindan , Wang Chong , Wang Rui , Yang Guizhu , Jiang Wen , Wu Qi , Wang Yujue , Wu Yaping , Gao Jiamin , Chen Lan , Zhang Jie , Tian Zhen , Zhu Guopei , Sun Shuyang
Published: March 2023

Precancerous lesions of the oral mucosa, especially those accompanied by moderate to severe dysplasia, contribute to the initiation of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the cellular compositions and spatial organization of the precancerous stage and how these factors promote human OSCC initiation remain unclear. Here, we built a single-cell transcriptome atlas and a spatial transcriptome map after obtaining data from pairwise human oral mucosal biopsies of 9 individuals consisting of very early-stage OSCC, adjacent precancerous lesions with moderate to severe dysplasia, as well as a matched normal region. An altered epithelial gene-expression profile was identified which favored OSCC initiation. This observation was coupled with distinct fibroblast, monocytic, and regulatory T-cell subclusters involved in reshaping the microenvironment. In particular, a unique immune-inhibitory monocyte subtype and spatial-switching regulation of VEGF signaling were observed surrounding precancerous lesions, concertedly strengthening activities in promoting cancer initiation. Collectively, our work elucidated the cellular landscapes and roles of precancerous lesions underlying OSCC initiation, which is essential for understanding the entire OSCC initiation process and helps inform therapeutic strategies for cancer intervention.
Controlling doping efficiency in organic semiconductors by tuning short-range overscreening
Authors: Armleder Jonas , Neumann Tobias , Symalla Franz , Strunk Timo , Olivares Peña Jorge Enrique , Wenzel Wolfgang , Fediai Artem
Published: March 2023

Conductivity doping has emerged as an indispensable method to overcome the inherently low conductivity of amorphous organic semiconductors, which presents a great challenge in organic electronics applications. While tuning ionization potential and electron affinity of dopant and matrix is a common approach to control the doping efficiency, many other effects also play an important role. Here, we show that the quadrupole moment of the dopant anion in conjunction with the mutual near-field host-dopant orientation have a crucial impact on the conductivity. In particular, a large positive quadrupole moment of a dopant leads to an overscreening in host-dopant integer charge transfer complexes. Exploitation of this effect may enhance the conductivity by several orders of magnitude. This finding paves the way to a computer-aided systematic and efficient design of highly conducting amorphous small molecule doped organic semiconductors.
Emergent chirality in a polar meron to skyrmion phase transition
Authors: Shao Yu-Tsun , Das Sujit , Hong Zijian , Xu Ruijuan , Chandrika Swathi , Gómez-Ortiz Fernando , García-Fernández Pablo , Chen Long-Qing , Hwang Harold Y. , Junquera Javier , Martin Lane W. , Ramesh Ramamoorthy , Muller David A.
Published: March 2023

Polar skyrmions are predicted to emerge from the interplay of elastic, electrostatic and gradient energies, in contrast to the key role of the anti-symmetric Dzyalozhinskii-Moriya interaction in magnetic skyrmions. Here, we explore the reversible transition from a skyrmion state (topological charge of −1) to a two-dimensional, tetratic lattice of merons (with topological charge of −1/2) upon varying the temperature and elastic boundary conditions in [(PbTiO3)16/(SrTiO3)16]8 membranes. This topological phase transition is accompanied by a change in chirality, from zero-net chirality (in meronic phase) to net-handedness (in skyrmionic phase). We show how scanning electron diffraction provides a robust measure of the local polarization simultaneously with the strain state at sub-nm resolution, while also directly mapping the chirality of each skyrmion. Using this, we demonstrate strain as a crucial order parameter to drive isotropic-to-anisotropic structural transitions of chiral polar skyrmions to non-chiral merons, validated with X-ray reciprocal space mapping and phase-field simulations.
Abiotic selection of microbial genome size in the global ocean
Authors: Ngugi David K. , Acinas Silvia G. , Sánchez Pablo , Gasol Josep M. , Agusti Susana , Karl David M. , Duarte Carlos M.
Published: March 2023

Strong purifying selection is considered a major evolutionary force behind small microbial genomes in the resource-poor photic ocean. However, very little is currently known about how the size of prokaryotic genomes evolves in the global ocean and whether patterns reflect shifts in resource availability in the epipelagic and relatively stable deep-sea environmental conditions. Using 364 marine microbial metagenomes, we investigate how the average genome size of uncultured planktonic prokaryotes varies across the tropical and polar oceans to the hadal realm. We find that genome size is highest in the perennially cold polar ocean, reflecting elongation of coding genes and gene dosage effects due to duplications in the interior ocean microbiome. Moreover, the rate of change in genome size due to temperature is 16-fold higher than with depth up to 200 m. Our results demonstrate how environmental factors can influence marine microbial genome size selection and ecological strategies of the microbiome.
Trifunctional nanoprecipitates ductilize and toughen a strong laminated metastable titanium alloy
Authors: Zhang Chongle , Liu Shuaiyang , Zhang Jinyu , Zhang Dongdong , Kuang Jie , Bao Xiangyun , Liu Gang , Sun Jun
Published: March 2023

Metastability-engineering, e.g., transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP), can enhance the ductility of alloys, however it often comes at the expense of relatively low yield strength. Here, using a metastable Ti-1Al-8.5Mo-2.8Cr-2.7Zr (wt.%) alloy as a model material, we fabricate a heterogeneous laminated structure decorated by multiple-morphological α-nanoprecipitates. The hard α nanoprecipitate in our alloy acts not only as a strengthener to the material, but also as a local stress raiser to activate TRIP in the soft matrix for great uniform elongation and as a promoter to trigger interfacial delamination toughening for superior fracture resistance. By elaborately manipulating the activation sequence of lamellar-thickness-dependent deformation mechanisms in Ti-1Al-8.5Mo-2.8Cr-2.7Zr alloys, the yield strength of the present submicron-laminated alloy is twice that of equiaxed-coarse grained alloys with the same composition, yet without sacrificing the large uniform elongation. The desired mechanical properties enabled by this strategy combining the laminated metastable structure and trifunctional nanoprecipitates provide new insights into designing ultra-strong and ductile materials with great toughness.
DRLBTS: deep reinforcement learning-aware blockchain-based healthcare system
Authors: Lakhan Abdullah , Mohammed Mazin Abed , Nedoma Jan , Martinek Radek , Tiwari Prayag , Kumar Neeraj
Published: March 2023

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the new paradigm to perform different healthcare  applications with different services in daily life. Healthcare applications based on IIoT paradigm are widely used to track patients health status using remote healthcare technologies. Complex biomedical sensors exploit wireless technologies, and remote services in terms of industrial workflow applications to perform different healthcare tasks, such as like heartbeat, blood pressure and others. However, existing industrial healthcare technoloiges still has to deal with many problems, such as security, task scheduling, and the cost of processing tasks in IIoT based healthcare paradigms. This paper proposes a new solution to the above-mentioned issues and presents the deep reinforcement learning-aware blockchain-based task scheduling (DRLBTS) algorithm framework with different goals. DRLBTS provides security and makespan efficient scheduling for the healthcare applications. Then, it shares secure and valid data between connected network nodes after the initial assignment and data validation. Statistical results show that DRLBTS is adaptive and meets the security, privacy, and makespan requirements of healthcare applications in the distributed network.
The role of additive and diffusive coupling on the dynamics of neural populations
Authors: Lopes Marinho A. , Hamandi Khalid , Zhang Jiaxiang , Creaser Jennifer L.
Published: March 2023

Dynamical models consisting of networks of neural masses commonly assume that the interactions between neural populations are via additive or diffusive coupling. When using the additive coupling, a population’s activity is affected by the sum of the activities of neighbouring populations. In contrast, when using the diffusive coupling a neural population is affected by the sum of the differences between its activity and the activity of its neighbours. These two coupling functions have been used interchangeably for similar applications. In this study, we show that the choice of coupling can lead to strikingly different brain network dynamics. We focus on a phenomenological model of seizure transitions that has been used both with additive and diffusive coupling in the literature. We consider small networks with two and three nodes, as well as large random and scale-free networks with 64 nodes. We further assess resting-state functional networks inferred from magnetoencephalography (MEG) from people with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and healthy controls. To characterize the seizure dynamics on these networks, we use the escape time, the brain network ictogenicity (BNI) and the node ictogenicity (NI), which are measures of the network’s global and local ability to generate seizure activity. Our main result is that the level of ictogenicity of a network is strongly dependent on the coupling function. Overall, we show that networks with additive coupling have a higher propensity to generate seizures than those with diffusive coupling. We find that people with JME have higher additive BNI than controls, which is the hypothesized BNI deviation between groups, while the diffusive BNI provides opposite results. Moreover, we find that the nodes that are more likely to drive seizures in the additive coupling case are more likely to prevent seizures in the diffusive coupling case, and that these features correlate to the node’s number of connections. Consequently, previous results in the literature involving such models to interrogate functional or structural brain networks could be highly dependent on the choice of coupling. Our results on the MEG functional networks and evidence from the literature suggest that the additive coupling may be a better modeling choice than the diffusive coupling, at least for BNI and NI studies. Thus, we highlight the need to motivate and validate the choice of coupling in future studies involving network models of brain activity.
Conductive organic electrodes for flexible electronic devices
Authors: Chakraborty Amrita , Herrera Daniel , Fallen Payton , Hall Daniel , Bampton Nicholas , Olivero Thomas , Orlowski Marius
Published: March 2023

The paper reports on a novel process flow to manufacture conductive organic electrodes from highly conductive doped PEDOT:PSS polymer films that can be patterned and display a good adhesion to oxidized Si wafers as well as to flexible substrates, such as Mylar. Among other results, it is shown that multiple depositions of PEDOT:PSS increase the electrical conductivity by more than two orders of magnitude without increasing the film thickness of PEDOT:PSS significantly. An exponential dependence between sheet resistance and the number of PEDOT:PSS coatings has been found. The electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS can be increased by another two orders of magnitude doping with Cu nanoparticles when coated on the surface of a soft-baked PEDOT:PSS film. It is found, however, that both kinds of conductivity enhancement are not additive. Adhesion of PEDOT:PSS to oxidized Si wafers and BoPET (Mylar) has been ensured by applying an oxygen plasma cleaning step before spin coating. The manufactured high-conductivity PEDOT:PSS film can be patterned using a sacrificial metal layer with subsequent etching of PEDOT:PSS in oxygen plasma, followed by the removal of the patterned segments of the sacrificial metal layer in an aqueous acid solution.
Antibacterial efficacy of synthesized silver nanoparticles of Microbacterium proteolyticum LA2(R) and Streptomyces rochei LA2(O) against biofilm forming meningitis causing microbes
Authors: Bano Naushin , Iqbal Danish , Al Othaim Ayoub , Kamal Mehnaz , Albadrani Hind Muteb , Algehainy Naseh A. , Alyenbaawi Hadeel , Alghofaili Fayez , Amir Mohammad , Roohi
Published: March 2023

Actinobacteria obtained from the least explored Indian regions were studied for their ability to suppress meningitis-causing bacteria in nanoparticle form. Drug-resistant bacteria and long-term treatment with different medications make meningitis control complicated. Thus, new meningitis drugs are required to combat MDR bacteria. In this study, secondary metabolites isolated from actinomycetes strains,Microbacterium proteolyticumLA2(R) andStreptomyces rocheiLA2(O), were employed to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) at 37 °C for seven days incubation. UV–Vis spectroscopy, TEM, FTIR, and HPLC studies were used for the confirmation of the synthesis of AgNPs. Furthermore, these NPs demonstrated antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against meningitis-causing bacteria. The average size of LA2(R) and LA2(O) isolated secondary metabolites mediated AgNPs was observed to be 27 ± 1and 29 ± 2 nm by TEM analysis. FTIR study of RAgNPs and OAgNPs revealed that presence of peaks with positions of 1637.17 cm1and 1636.10 cm1for C=O amide group appearances in the amide I linkage. These NPs were effective against bacterial pathogens such asS. pneumoniae, H. influenzae,andN. meningitidisand confirmed by their MICs, i.e., 109.4, 120.60, and 138.80 μg/ml of RAgNPs and 105.80, 114.40 and 129.06 μg/ml of OAgNPs, respectively. Additionally, the production of biofilms is impeded by these nanoparticles onS. pneumoniae,H. influenzae, andN. meningitidisby 73.14%, 71.89% and 64.81%, respectively. These findings confirm the potential role of synthesized AgNPs against biofilm forming meningitis causing Multidrug resistance (MDR) microbes.
Myo1e overexpression in lung adenocarcinoma is associated with increased risk of mortality
Authors: Jusue-Torres Ignacio , Tiv Richies , Ricarte-Filho Julio C. , Mallisetty Apurva , Contreras-Vargas Leglys , Godoy-Calderon Maria Jose , Khaddour Karam , Kennedy Kathleen , Valyi-Nagy Klara , David Odile , Menchaca Martha , Kottorou Anastasia , Koutras Angelos , Dimitrakopoulos Foteinos , Abdelhady Khaled M. , Massad Malek , Rubinstein Israel , Feldman Lawrence , Stewart John , Shimamura Takeshi , Danilova Ludmila , Hulbert Alicia
Published: March 2023

This study aims to perform a comprehensive genomic analysis to assess the influence of overexpression of MYO1E in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and whether there are differences in survival and mortality risk in NSCLC patients depending on both DNA methylation and RNA expression of MYO1E. The DNA methylation probe cg13887966 was inversely correlated with MYO1E RNA expression in both LUAD and LUSC subpopulations showing that lower MYO1E RNA expression was associated with higher MYO1E DNA methylation. Late stages of lung cancer showed significantly lower MYO1E DNA methylation and significantly higher MYO1E RNA expression for LUAD but not for LUSC. Low DNA methylation as well as high RNA expression of MYO1E are associated with a shorter median survival time and an increased risk of mortality for LUAD, but not for LUSC. This study suggests that changes in MYO1E methylation and expression in LUAD patients may have an essential role in lung cancer’s pathogenesis. It shows the utility of MYO1E DNA methylation and RNA expression in predicting survival for LUAD patients. Also, given the low normal expression of MYO1E in blood cells MYO1E DNA methylation has the potential to be used as circulating tumor marker in liquid biopsies.
Risks of organ failures and deaths associated with young-onset dementia after hospitalizations for motor vehicle crash injuries: a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study
Authors: Liu Chien-Hui , Wang Jiun-Yi , Chang Kun-Chia , Ko Ming-Chung , Lee Pei-Chen , Liu Chih-Ching
Published: March 2023

Patients with dementia are at increased risks of adverse consequences associated with motor vehicle crash injury (MVCI). However, studies of the association for patients with young-onset dementia (YOD) are limited. Therefore, we aim to investigate whether YOD was associated with adverse outcomes after hospitalization for MVCI. In this retrospective cohort study, we identified 2052 MVCI patients with YOD (aged 40–64 years) between 2006 and 2015 and included 10 260 matched MVCI patients without YOD (matching ratio: 1:5) from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database and the Taiwan Police-Reported Traffic Accident Registry. We evaluated the intensive care unit (ICU) admission, organ failure, in-hospital and 30-day mortalities, length of hospital stay, and hospital costs. Compared with participants without dementia, patients with YOD had higher rates of ICU admission (34.31% vs. 20.89%) and respiratory failure (6.04% vs. 2.94%), with a covariate-adjusted odds ratio of 1.50 (95% CI 1.33–1.70) and 1.63 (95% CI 1.24–2.13), respectively. The patients also exhibited higher in-hospital mortality (4.73% vs. 3.12%) and 30-day mortality (5.12% vs. 3.34%) than their non-YOD counterparts, but the risk ratio was not significant after adjusting for transport mode. Moreover, the log means of hospital stay and cost were higher among patients with YOD (0.09 days; 95% CI 0.04–0.14 and NT$0.17; 95% CI 0.11–0.23, respectively). This cohort study determined that YOD may be adversely associated with hospital outcomes among MVCI patients. However, the association between YOD and mortality risk may depend on transport mode.
Study on stress variation of advance fiberglass anchor bolts during tunnel excavation process
Authors: Feng Jimeng , Tan Yumei , Yao Shiyu , Jiang Hui , Zhang Junru , Li Hongtao
Published: March 2023

One of the main causes for excessive deformation within a tunnel is due to the instability of the soil or soft rock ahead of the excavation face. Fiberglass bolts have been shown to be a useful advance reinforcement method for the excavation face. In this paper, an improved ADECO-RS (Analysis of controlled deformation in rock and soils) method had been proposed for soft rock mountain tunnels, in terms of the partial (mainly the upper bench) excavation face reinforcement and also for the bench excavation method. Strain gauges were used to test the micro-strain in the fiberglass bolt to investigate how the axial force of the fiberglass bolt varied during the tunnel excavation. In addition, combined with the field tunnel deformation monitoring data, the relationship between the reinforcement parameters of the fiberglass bolts and the tunnel construction phase were discussed. The research results show that: (1) The stress state of the anchor rod is related to the reinforcement length of the anchor rod; (2) Excavation within the lap area of the fiberglass bolt leads to an increase in the axial force of the bolt, while excavation outside the lap area of the fiberglass bolt has no effect on the anchor; (3) Reducing the reinforcement area of rock mass will affect the stability of the excavation. To ensure the stability of the excavation face, the initial support construction loop should be completed as soon as possible; (4) In a future project with similar conditions, the recommended lap length of the fiberglass bolt could be 3 m utilizing the fiberglass bolt grouting face reinforcement method.