bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seasonal changes of stable isotope signals in the primary feathers of plains sharp‐tailed grouse
Authors: Meyhoff Sejer D. , Johnson Daniel L. , Ellert Benjamin H. , Lutes Katelyn
Published: December 2022

Stable isotopes of a consumer organism can be used to estimate the proportional utilization of food items that have different isotopic signals to estimate changes in diet over time. Using stable isotopes as biotracers has become a useful tool for investigating trophic dynamics in ecosystems. Recent advances in the theory of stable isotope dynamics and food web modeling have extended the utility of natural variations in stable isotope abundance. However, as a growing field, some potentially useful approaches to using stable isotopes remain untested. Here, we used stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) to validate their utility in examining the feeding relationships of plains sharp‐tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi; hereafter sharp‐tailed grouse) in southern Alberta, Canada. Sharp‐tailed grouse are known to consume mostly plants and opportunistically utilize insects and spiders as a high protein food source between May and October. Primary feathers obtained from hunter harvested grouse were analysed and used to estimate diet proportions of vegetation and arthropods during this time frame. Stable isotope measurements of primary feathers were able to show seasonal changes in sharp‐tailed grouse diet. Our results indicated that sharp‐tailed grouse may primarily utilize nutrients obtained from insect prey (mainly grasshoppers) for feather synthesis during molt, and that the isotope signals found in primary feathers may be a result of isotopic routing. Stable isotope data also reflected known differences among adult female and male, and juvenile grouse feeding ecology. However, model uncertainty existed due to isotopic similarity of some plant and animal food sources.
Formulation of SH wave characteristics in nonlocal nanoplates
Authors: Wang Xianhui , Yu Pengcheng , Qiao Hui , Yu Jiangong , Zhang Xiaoming
Published: December 2022

The scale effect of mechanical properties is one of the most critical issues in application of the nanostructures. In order to study the scale effect on SH waves in nanoplates, a Legendre polynomial series method combined with the nonlocal theory (N‐LPSA) is developed in this paper. The presented method enables the boundary condition achieved quickly by the derived iterative solution formula of the integral, which contains nonlocal factors and Legendre polynomials. Besides, the formula of escape frequency is deduced analytically to facilitate the study of wave propagation law. Numerical comparisons show the correctness of the N‐LPSA. The results indicate that cut‐off frequencies of some higher‐order modes are higher than their escape frequencies. The anisotropy with the nonlocal effects can lead to the intersection of the modal curves, which does not appear in classical structures. Moreover, the fitting formulas of cut‐off and crossing frequencies are developed to predict the compression and the intersection of the modal curves, respectively.
On continuous 2-category symmetries and Yang-Mills theory
Authors: Antinucci Andrea , Galati Giovanni , Rizi Giovanni
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We study a 4d gauge theory U(1)N−1 ⋊ SN obtained from a U(1)N−1 theory by gauging a 0-form symmetry SN. We show that this theory has a global continuous 2-category symmetry, whose structure is particularly rich for N > 2. This example allows us to draw a connection between the higher gauging procedure and the difference between local and global fusion, which turns out to be a key feature of higher categorical symmetries. By studying the spectrum of local and extended operators, we find a mapping with gauge invariant operators of 4d SU(N) Yang-Mills theory. The largest group-like subcategory of the non-invertible symmetries of our theory is a $$ {\mathbb{Z}}_N^{(1)} $$

ℤ
N

1

1-form symmetry, acting on the Wilson lines in the same way as the center symmetry of Yang-Mills theory does. Supported by a path-integral argument, we propose that the U(1)N−1 ⋊ SN gauge theory has a relation with the ultraviolet limit of SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in which all Gukov-Witten operators become topological, and form a continuous non-invertible 2-category symmetry, broken down to the center symmetry by the RG flow.
Transverse Λ polarization in e+e− processes within a TMD factorization approach and the polarizing fragmentation function
Authors: D’Alesio Umberto , Gamberg Leonard , Murgia Francesco , Zaccheddu Marco
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We perform a re-analysis of Belle data for the transverse Λ and $$ \overline{\Lambda} $$

Λ
¯

polarization in e+e− annihilation processes within a transverse momentum dependent (TMD) factorization approach. We consider two data sets, one referring to the associated production of Λ’s with a light unpolarized hadron in an almost back-to-back configuration, and one for the inclusive Λ production, with the reconstruction of the thrust axis. We adopt the Collins-Soper-Sterman framework and employ the recent formulation on the factorization of single-inclusive hadron production. This extends a previous phenomenological study carried out in a more simplified TMD approach, leading to a new extraction of the polarizing fragmentation function (FF). While confirming several features of the previous analysis, here we include the proper QCD scale dependence of this TMD FF and carefully exploit the role of its nonperturbative component. The compatibility, within a unique TMD factorization scheme, of double and single-inclusive hadron production is discussed in detail. Moreover, we consider another data set for inclusive Λ production, at much larger energies, from the OPAL Collaboration, in order to test the consistency of the entire approach. Finally, we elaborate on some fundamental issues like the role of SU(2) isospin symmetry and the heavy quark contributions.
Personality Traits and Parental Burnout Among Fathers: A Moderated Mediation Model
Authors: Wang Wei , Liu Xia , Wang Shengnan , Li Yimin , Li Yongxin
Published: December 2022

Focusing on a sample of fathers, this study examined the effects of two personality traits, agreeableness and neuroticism, on parental burnout, as well as the mediating role of parenting sense of competence and moderating effects of parental psychological flexibility. Data were collected from 263 fathers of middle-school children in central China, with questionnaires including the agreeableness and neuroticism subscales from the Big Five personality trait scale, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Parenting Psychological Flexibility scale, and Parental Burnout Assessment. To analyze the hypothesized moderated mediation model, bootstrapping analysis and structural equation modeling were performed. Results showed that agreeableness was negatively correlated with parental burnout, while neuroticism was positively correlated with parental burnout; both these relationships were partially mediated by parenting sense of competency. Further, psychological flexibility moderated the relationship between parenting sense of competence and parental burnout. When parenting psychological flexibility was low, parenting sense of competence was significantly related to parental burnout, while parenting psychological flexibility was high, parenting sense of competence was not related to parental burnout significantly. These preliminary findings provide theoretical guidance and an empirical basis for intervention strategies to prevent burnout among fathers.
The Political Economy of the Frankfurt School
Authors: Fleck Christian
Published: December 2022

The paper presents the findings of two recent books on the financial history of the Frankfurt School: Jeanette Erazo-Heufelder, Der argentinische Krösus: Kleine Wirtschaftsgeschichte der Frankfurter Schule, 2017, and Bertus Mulder, Sophie Louisa Kwaak und das Kapital der Unternehmerfamilie Weil. Ein Beitrag zur Wirtschaftsgeschichte der Frankfurter Schule, 2021 (Dutch original 2015). In contrast to the “court histories” of the school, the two authors tell the story of the money that brought the school to life and secured its existence throughout a turbulent period of history. At the center of the books are individuals who have been sidelined until now or even completely ignored by the literature on the Frankfurt School: on the one hand, Felix Weil, who founded and financed the Institute of Social Research and, on the other hand, Erich A. Nadel and Sophie L. Kwaak, two employees of the holding company who managed the accounts of the Weil family and the Institute’s foundations and were responsible for protecting the assets from being seized by Nazis. The books’ thick descriptions induced the author of the present paper to consider an alternative perspective on the Frankfurt School by contemplating Max Horkheimer and Friedrich Pollock as playing confidential games with Weil and others.
Phage transcription activator RinA regulates Staphylococcus aureus virulence by governing sarA expression
Authors: Jiang Ming , Li Yilin , Sun Baolin , Xu Shiwen , Pan Ting , Li Yujie
Published: December 2022

Background

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen, that can lead to various community- and hospital-acquired infections. RinA is a transcription activator of S. aureus phage φ 11 involved in phage packaging and virulence gene transfer. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of RinA in the regulation of virulence.

Objective

We aimed to explore a novel contribution of RinA in the regulation of virulence and provide a new drug target in the treatment of S. aureus infections.

Methods

The specific functions of RinA in S. aureus were analyzed by the methods of growth curve, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), subcellular localization, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), infection model of Galleria mellonella larvae and the mouse subcutaneous abscess model.

Results

In this study, we demonstrated that RinA is a protein evenly distributed in the cytoplasm of S. aureus, and its deletion could cause the growth defects. RT-qPCR and EMSA determined that rinA could negatively regulate the expression of sarA by directly binding to its promoter, and vice versa. The Galleria mellonella larvae infection and mouse subcutaneous abscess models revealed that the rinA mutant strain exhibited obvious virulence defects. When sarA is knocked out, the virulence of S.aureus had no significantly changes whether rinA is knocked out or not.

Conclusion

Our fndings demonstrated that phage transcription activator RinA regulates S. aureus virulence by governing sarA expression.
A hybrid algorithm based on state-adaptive slime mold model and fractional-order ant system for the travelling salesman problem
Authors: Gong Xiaoling , Rong Ziheng , Wang Jian , Zhang Kai , Yang Shengxiang
Published: December 2022

The ant colony optimization (ACO) is one efficient approach for solving the travelling salesman problem (TSP). Here, we propose a hybrid algorithm based on state-adaptive slime mold model and fractional-order ant system (SSMFAS) to address the TSP. The state-adaptive slime mold (SM) model with two targeted auxiliary strategies emphasizes some critical connections and balances the exploration and exploitation ability of SSMFAS. The consideration of fractional-order calculus in the ant system (AS) takes full advantage of the neighboring information. The pheromone update rule of AS is modified to dynamically integrate the flux information of SM. To understand the search behavior of the proposed algorithm, some mathematical proofs of convergence analysis are given. The experimental results validate the efficiency of the hybridization and demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has the competitive ability of finding the better solutions on TSP instances compared with some state-of-the-art algorithms.
No Resilience Without Partners: A Case Study on German Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Context of COVID-19
Authors: Trunk Anna , Birkel Hendrik
Published: December 2022

Much research has been conducted on the effects of COVID-19 on company and supply chain resilience. However, few contributions have focused on small and medium-sized enterprises. These companies are claimed to be the drivers of economic growth but often lack access to resources and alternatives when interruptions occur, making them a bottleneck for supply chains. Using a multiple case study approach, this paper links resilience theory to the design of the relationships between eight German small and medium-sized enterprises and their suppliers and customers. It analyzes the way in which these companies combine contractual and relational investments across their supply chain flows of product, finance, and information in order to improve resilience. Company representatives were interviewed on three occasions between June 2018 and December 2020, that is, before COVID-19 and during the lockdowns. The results of the case study explain why and how companies of this type have been able to anticipate and manage the crisis. The interviews revealed that those companies that made the largest investments in the relational aspects of their partnerships while safeguarding product and financial flows through contracts performed best. In principle, contractual investments are higher in partnerships with suppliers. However, the precise combination of contractual and relational investments depends on the business model, the business philosophy of the CEO, and the allocation of power within the supply chain. These findings indicate that, when collaborating with small businesses, supply chain partners should focus on building relationships in order to create resilience in the supply chain.
Immigrant pentecostalism in the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis: reactions and responses from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Berlin
Authors: van der Hoek Stefan
Published: December 2022

This article seeks to analyze the reactions and responses of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in Berlin to the global COVID-19 crisis. Although the UCKG has been the subject of multiple international types of research regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus, this article shows that the UCKG’s global network of local churches must be differentiated in their responses and reactions to the global pandemic. This article traces and analyzes how the local UCKG in Berlin responded to the pandemic in its respective conditions and differed from the global network in the emergence of a pandemic in its rhetoric and discourse, using the concept of the Third Space. For this purpose, the services and sermons of local pastors were recorded to analyze how the discourse toward the COVID-19 crisis changed during the period of occurrence and awareness of a global pandemic. The results show how the church has adapted to the local restriction and regulations and reflect the international literature on how the UCKG’s mother church in Brazil acted in comparison. The church and its pastors in Germany responded to the global pandemic in three primary ways: they assigned to authorities’ guidelines, provided sermons with undertones of spiritual warfare, and rejected the interpretation of interdependencies between demons and health issues.
Partizipative Forschung mit Kindern im internationalen Diskurs – Impulse für die Grundschulforschung in Deutschland
Authors: Hüpping Birgit , Velten Katrin
Published: December 2022

Partizipative Forschung mit Kindern gewinnt im Schnittfeld von Kindheits- und Grundschulforschung national und international an Bedeutung, um Kinder und ihre Perspektiven in Forschungsprojekte einzubeziehen. Ergebnisse eines systematischen Forschungsreviews zur Partizipativen Forschung mit Grundschulkindern zeigen, dass in englischsprachigen Studien forschungsethische Fragen systematischer im Forschungsprozess mit den Kindern und als zentraler Gegenstand in Publikationen reflektiert werden, während deutschsprachige Studien vor allem Ansätze Partizipativer Forschung forschungsmethodisch diskutieren und Fragen generationaler Ordnung und (Macht)Asymmetrien eher im Diskursfeld der Erwachsenen verbleiben. Daraus werden Herausforderungen sowie Potenziale für die Grundschulforschung in Deutschland abgeleitet.
Automating Learning Situations in EdTech: Techno-Commercial Logic of Assetisation
Authors: Hansen Morten , Komljenovic Janja
Published: December 2022

Critical scholarship has already shown how automation processes may be problematic, for example, by reproducing social inequalities instead of removing them or requiring intense labour from education institutions’ staff instead of easing the workload. Despite these critiques, automated interventions in education are expanding fast and often with limited scrutiny of the technological and commercial specificities of such processes. We build on existing debates by asking: does automation of learning situations contribute to assetisation processes in EdTech, and if so, how? Drawing on document analysis and interviews with EdTech companies’ employees, we argue that automated interventions make assetisation possible. We trace their techno-commercial logic by analysing how learning situations are made tangible by constructing digital objects, and how they are automated through specific computational interventions. We identify three assetisation processes: First, the alienation of digital objects from students and staff deepens the companies’ control of digital services offering automated learning interventions. Second, engagement fetishism—i.e., treating engagement as both the goal and means of automated learning situations—valorises particular forms of automation. And finally, techno-deterministic beliefs drive investment and policy into identified forms of automation, making higher education and EdTech constituents act ‘as if’ the automation of learning is feasible.
Krise als Dauerzustand. Die Corona-Pandemie in der Geschichte der Gegenwart
Authors: Lenel Laetitia
Published: December 2022

Als empfundener gesellschaftlicher Ausnahmezustand provozierte die Corona-Pandemie frühzeitig eine Vielzahl zeitgenössischer Deutungen. Der Essay setzt sich mit zwei geschichtswissenschaftlichen Abrissen der Pandemie und der gesellschaftlichen Reaktionen darauf auseinander. Neben einem Vergleich beider Bücher fragt der Beitrag auch, wie die Autoren unser Verständnis der Zeit zwischen 2020 und 2021 erhellen, und diskutiert die Herausforderungen und Gefahren einer Krisengeschichtsschreibung. Krise, so argumentiert der Essay, ist mittlerweile fast immer – eine Tatsache, an der die Geschichtswissenschaft nicht ganz unschuldig ist. So produzieren die narrativen Konventionen der Geschichtswissenschaften das Überraschungsmoment, welches das Gefühl des Ausnahmezustands mit hervorbringt. Der Beitrag skizziert mögliche Gegenstrategien, die den Blick auf gegenwärtige und künftige Herausforderungen schärfen könnten.
The Aesthetics of Solidarity: Our Lady of Guadalupe and American Democracy
Authors: Pineda-Madrid Nancy
Published: December 2022

“What moves the human heart?”1 is a question the late Alejandro García-Rivera spent his life examining through his many works on theological aesthetics. In The Aesthetics of Solidarity, Nichole Flores furthers this work by framing her important contribution to the field in a new direction: “What often remains unexamined … is the role the very structures of liberal democracy itself plays in hindering robust participation among Latines2 and other marginalized groups. Understanding why this is the case invites an exploration of the relationship involving political liberalism, Latine theological aesthetics, Catholic social teaching, and Our Lady of Guadalupe.”3 In this captivating book she advances the overarching claim that “Latine theological aesthetics can help generate a framework for thinking about pluralism and participation within a democracy.”4
Reflective practice in psychiatric training: Balint groups during COVID-19
Authors: Elzain M. , Murthy S. , Omer S. , McCarthy G.
Published: December 2022

Reflective practice is increasingly being recognized as an important component of doctors’ professional development. Balint group practice is centered on the doctor–patient relationship: what it means, how it may be used to benefit patients, and why it commonly fails owing to a lack of understanding between doctor and patient. The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented disruption to postgraduate medical training programs, including the mandatory Balint groups for psychiatric trainees. This editorial reports on the experience of online Balint groups in the North West of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, and furthermore provides guidance for online Balint group practice into the future.
Disciplinary Deities and How to Please Them
Authors: Das Acevedo Deepa
Published: December 2022

After more than half a century of law and society scholarship, two recent volumes propose to survey and advance the field. Edited by Mariana Valverde, Kamari Clarke, Even Darian-Smith, and Prabha Kotiswaran, The Routledge Handbook of Law and Society (2021) draws on an international list of contributors to refocus law and society scholarship on fresh topics and themes. The Research Handbook on Modern Legal Realism (2021), edited by Shauhin Talesh, Elizabeth Mertz, and Heinz Klug, presents a comprehensive guide to the New Legal Realism (NLR) movement that emerged from law and society around fifteen years ago. This review essay explores how the volumes’ common call for a more prominent and methodologically diversified social science of law also encourages a renewed attention to the internal logics of legal doctrine.
Third-Wettest Year in Arctic Wraps Up
Authors: Duncombe Jenessa
Published: December 2022

The annual Arctic Report Card charts the rise in rain in northern latitudes and serves as a new “vital sign” of the region’s shifting climate.
Baroclinic Ocean Response to Climate Forcing Regulates Decadal Variability of Ice‐Shelf Melting in the Amundsen Sea
Authors: Silvano Alessandro , Holland Paul R. , Naughten Kaitlin A. , Dragomir Oana , Dutrieux Pierre , Jenkins Adrian , Si Yidongfang , Stewart Andrew L. , Peña Molino Beatriz , Janzing Gregor W. , Dotto Tiago S. , Naveira Garabato Alberto C.
Published: December 2022

Warm ocean waters drive rapid ice‐shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. The ocean heat transport toward the ice shelves is associated with the Amundsen Undercurrent, a near‐bottom current that flows eastward along the shelf break and transports warm waters onto the continental shelf via troughs. Here we use a regional ice‐ocean model to show that, on decadal time scales, the undercurrent's variability is baroclinic (depth‐dependent). Decadal ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific results in cyclonic wind anomalies over the Amundsen Sea. These wind anomalies drive a westward perturbation of the shelf‐break surface flow and an eastward anomaly (strengthening) of the undercurrent, leading to increased ice‐shelf melting. This contrasts with shorter time scales, for which surface current and undercurrent covary, a barotropic (depth‐independent) behavior previously assumed to apply at all time scales. This suggests that interior ocean processes mediate the decadal ice‐shelf response in the Amundsen Sea to climate forcing.
Paleolake Inlet Valley Formation: Factors Controlling Which Craters Breached on Early Mars
Authors: Bamber Emily R. , Goudge T. A. , Fassett C. I. , Osinski G. R. , Stucky de Quay G.
Published: December 2022

The ancient surface of Mars is dominated by degraded impact craters with reduced or eliminated rim relief. Some degraded craters have an inlet valley, while many remain fluvially isolated. Despite controlling Martian fluvial connectivity, few constraints exist on why some—but not all—degraded craters possess inlets. We compared a suite of properties around degraded Martian craters with and without inlets to ascertain what topographic and hydrologic factors influenced inlet formation. Slope and surface roughness are similar, but topographic inset within the catchment, drainage density, and potential contributing areas diverge for breached and non‐breached craters. We suggest that the importance of basin hydrology‐related factors over topographic factors is the result of the former less frequently surpassing inlet incision thresholds than the latter. We conclude that greater topographic inset (i.e., craters deeper within regional depressions) promoted higher discharge, and that inlet valley formation was ultimately controlled by Mars' crater‐dominated topography.
Accuracy and data efficiency in deep learning models of protein expression
Authors: Nikolados Evangelos-Marios , Wongprommoon Arin , Aodha Oisin Mac , Cambray Guillaume , Oyarzún Diego A.
Published: December 2022

Synthetic biology often involves engineering microbial strains to express high-value proteins. Thanks to progress in rapid DNA synthesis and sequencing, deep learning has emerged as a promising approach to build sequence-to-expression models for strain optimization. But such models need large and costly training data that create steep entry barriers for many laboratories. Here we study the relation between accuracy and data efficiency in an atlas of machine learning models trained on datasets of varied size and sequence diversity. We show that deep learning can achieve good prediction accuracy with much smaller datasets than previously thought. We demonstrate that controlled sequence diversity leads to substantial gains in data efficiency and employed Explainable AI to show that convolutional neural networks can finely discriminate between input DNA sequences. Our results provide guidelines for designing genotype-phenotype screens that balance cost and quality of training data, thus helping promote the wider adoption of deep learning in the biotechnology sector.
Room-temperature valence transition in a strain-tuned perovskite oxide
Authors: Chaturvedi Vipul , Ghosh Supriya , Gautreau Dominique , Postiglione William M. , Dewey John E. , Quarterman Patrick , Balakrishnan Purnima P. , Kirby Brian J. , Zhou Hua , Cheng Huikai , Huon Amanda , Charlton Timothy , Fitzsimmons Michael R. , Korostynski Caroline , Jacobson Andrew , Figari Lucca , Barriocanal Javier Garcia , Birol Turan , Mkhoyan K. Andre , Leighton Chris
Published: December 2022

Cobalt oxides have long been understood to display intriguing phenomena known as spin-state crossovers, where the cobalt ion spin changes vs. temperature, pressure, etc. A very different situation was recently uncovered in praseodymium-containing cobalt oxides, where a first-order coupled spin-state/structural/metal-insulator transition occurs, driven by a remarkable praseodymium valence transition. Such valence transitions, particularly when triggering spin-state and metal-insulator transitions, offer highly appealing functionality, but have thus far been confined to cryogenic temperatures in bulk materials (e.g., 90 K in Pr1-xCaxCoO3). Here, we show that in thin films of the complex perovskite (Pr1-yYy)1-xCaxCoO3-δ, heteroepitaxial strain tuning enables stabilization of valence-driven spin-state/structural/metal-insulator transitions to at least 291 K, i.e., around room temperature. The technological implications of this result are accompanied by fundamental prospects, as complete strain control of the electronic ground state is demonstrated, from ferromagnetic metal under tension to nonmagnetic insulator under compression, thereby exposing a potential novel quantum critical point.
BepiColombo mission confirms stagnation region of Venus and reveals its large extent
Authors: Persson M. , Aizawa S. , André N. , Barabash S. , Saito Y. , Harada Y. , Heyner D. , Orsini S. , Fedorov A. , Mazelle C. , Futaana Y. , Hadid L. Z. , Volwerk M. , Collinson G. , Sanchez-Cano B. , Barthe A. , Penou E. , Yokota S. , Génot V. , Sauvaud J. A. , Delcourt D. , Fraenz M. , Modolo R. , Milillo A. , Auster H.-U. , Richter I. , Mieth J. Z. D. , Louarn P. , Owen C. J. , Horbury T. S. , Asamura K. , Matsuda S. , Nilsson H. , Wieser M. , Alberti T. , Varsani A. , Mangano V. , Mura A. , Lichtenegger H. , Laky G. , Jeszenszky H. , Masunaga K. , Signoles C. , Rojo M. , Murakami G.
Published: December 2022

The second Venus flyby of the BepiColombo mission offer a unique opportunity to make a complete tour of one of the few gas-dynamics dominated interaction regions between the supersonic solar wind and a Solar System object. The spacecraft pass through the full Venusian magnetosheath following the plasma streamlines, and cross the subsolar stagnation region during very stable solar wind conditions as observed upstream by the neighboring Solar Orbiter mission. These rare multipoint synergistic observations and stable conditions experimentally confirm what was previously predicted for the barely-explored stagnation region close to solar minimum. Here, we show that this region has a large extend, up to an altitude of 1900 km, and the estimated low energy transfer near the subsolar point confirm that the atmosphere of Venus, despite being non-magnetized and less conductive due to lower ultraviolet flux at solar minimum, is capable of withstanding the solar wind under low dynamic pressure.
Revealing carbon capture chemistry with 17-oxygen NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Berge Astrid H. , Pugh Suzi M. , Short Marion I. M. , Kaur Chanjot , Lu Ziheng , Lee Jung-Hoon , Pickard Chris J. , Sayari Abdelhamid , Forse Alexander C.
Published: December 2022

Carbon dioxide capture is essential to achieve net-zero emissions. A hurdle to the design of improved capture materials is the lack of adequate tools to characterise how CO2 adsorbs. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a promising probe of CO2 capture, but it remains challenging to distinguish different adsorption products. Here we perform a comprehensive computational investigation of 22 amine-functionalised metal-organic frameworks and discover that 17O NMR is a powerful probe of CO2 capture chemistry that provides excellent differentiation of ammonium carbamate and carbamic acid species. The computational findings are supported by 17O NMR experiments on a series of CO2-loaded frameworks that clearly identify ammonium carbamate chain formation and provide evidence for a mixed carbamic acid – ammonium carbamate adsorption mode. We further find that carbamic acid formation is more prevalent in this materials class than previously believed. Finally, we show that our methods are readily applicable to other adsorbents, and find support for ammonium carbamate formation in amine-grafted silicas. Our work paves the way for investigations of carbon capture chemistry that can enable materials design.
Quantum variational algorithms are swamped with traps
Authors: Anschuetz Eric R. , Kiani Bobak T.
Published: December 2022

One of the most important properties of classical neural networks is how surprisingly trainable they are, though their training algorithms typically rely on optimizing complicated, nonconvex loss functions. Previous results have shown that unlike the case in classical neural networks, variational quantum models are often not trainable. The most studied phenomenon is the onset of barren plateaus in the training landscape of these quantum models, typically when the models are very deep. This focus on barren plateaus has made the phenomenon almost synonymous with the trainability of quantum models. Here, we show that barren plateaus are only a part of the story. We prove that a wide class of variational quantum models—which are shallow, and exhibit no barren plateaus—have only a superpolynomially small fraction of local minima within any constant energy from the global minimum, rendering these models untrainable if no good initial guess of the optimal parameters is known. We also study the trainability of variational quantum algorithms from a statistical query framework, and show that noisy optimization of a wide variety of quantum models is impossible with a sub-exponential number of queries. Finally, we numerically confirm our results on a variety of problem instances. Though we exclude a wide variety of quantum algorithms here, we give reason for optimism for certain classes of variational algorithms and discuss potential ways forward in showing the practical utility of such algorithms.
Structural insights into p300 regulation and acetylation-dependent genome organisation
Authors: Ibrahim Ziad , Wang Tao , Destaing Olivier , Salvi Nicola , Hoghoughi Naghmeh , Chabert Clovis , Rusu Alexandra , Gao Jinjun , Feletto Leonardo , Reynoird Nicolas , Schalch Thomas , Zhao Yingming , Blackledge Martin , Khochbin Saadi , Panne Daniel
Published: December 2022

Histone modifications are deposited by chromatin modifying enzymes and read out by proteins that recognize the modified state. BRD4-NUT is an oncogenic fusion protein of the acetyl lysine reader BRD4 that binds to the acetylase p300 and enables formation of long-range intra- and interchromosomal interactions. We here examine how acetylation reading and writing enable formation of such interactions. We show that NUT contains an acidic transcriptional activation domain that binds to the TAZ2 domain of p300. We use NMR to investigate the structure of the complex and found that the TAZ2 domain has an autoinhibitory role for p300. NUT-TAZ2 interaction or mutations found in cancer that interfere with autoinhibition by TAZ2 allosterically activate p300. p300 activation results in a self-organizing, acetylation-dependent feed-forward reaction that enables long-range interactions by bromodomain multivalent acetyl-lysine binding. We discuss the implications for chromatin organisation, gene regulation and dysregulation in disease.
Achieving single nucleotide sensitivity in direct hybridization genome imaging
Authors: Wang Yanbo , Cottle W. Taylor , Wang Haobo , Gavrilov Momcilo , Zou Roger S. , Pham Minh-Tam , Yegnasubramanian Srinivasan , Bailey Scott , Ha Taekjip
Published: December 2022

Direct visualization of point mutations in situ can be informative for studying genetic diseases and nuclear biology. We describe a direct hybridization genome imaging method with single-nucleotide sensitivity, single guide genome oligopaint via local denaturation fluorescence in situ hybridization (sgGOLDFISH), which leverages the high cleavage specificity of eSpCas9(1.1) variant combined with a rationally designed guide RNA to load a superhelicase and reveal probe binding sites through local denaturation. The guide RNA carries an intentionally introduced mismatch so that while wild-type target DNA sequence can be efficiently cleaved, a mutant sequence with an additional mismatch (e.g., caused by a point mutation) cannot be cleaved. Because sgGOLDFISH relies on genomic DNA being cleaved by Cas9 to reveal probe binding sites, the probes will only label the wild-type sequence but not the mutant sequence. Therefore, sgGOLDFISH has the sensitivity to differentiate the wild-type and mutant sequences differing by only a single base pair. Using sgGOLDFISH, we identify base-editor-modified and unmodified progeroid fibroblasts from a heterogeneous population, validate the identification through progerin immunofluorescence, and demonstrate accurate sub-nuclear localization of point mutations.
Decoupling light absorption and carrier transport via heterogeneous doping in Ta3N5 thin film photoanode
Authors: Xiao Yequan , Fan Zeyu , Nakabayashi Mamiko , Li Qiaoqiao , Zhou Liujiang , Wang Qian , Li Changli , Shibata Naoya , Domen Kazunari , Li Yanbo
Published: December 2022

The trade-off between light absorption and carrier transport in semiconductor thin film photoelectrodes is a major limiting factor of their solar-to-hydrogen efficiency for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Herein, we develop a heterogeneous doping strategy that combines surface doping with bulk gradient doping to decouple light absorption and carrier transport in a thin film photoelectrode. Taking La and Mg doped Ta3N5 thin film photoanode as an example, enhanced light absorption is achieved by surface La doping through alleviating anisotropic optical absorption, while efficient carrier transport in the bulk is maintained by the gradient band structure induced by gradient Mg doping. Moreover, the homojunction formed between the La-doped layer and the gradient Mg-doped layer further promotes charge separation. As a result, the heterogeneously doped photoanode yields a half-cell solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 4.07%, which establishes Ta3N5 as a leading performer among visible‐light‐responsive photoanodes. The heterogeneous doping strategy could be extended to other semiconductor thin film light absorbers to break performance trade-offs by decoupling light absorption and carrier transport.
Cardiopulmonary examinations of athletes returning to high-intensity sport activity following SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Babity Mate , Zamodics Mark , Konig Albert , Kiss Anna Reka , Horvath Marton , Gregor Zsofia , Rakoczi Reka , Kovacs Eva , Fabian Alexandra , Tokodi Marton , Sydo Nora , Csulak Emese , Juhasz Vencel , Lakatos Balint Karoly , Vago Hajnalka , Kovacs Attila , Merkely Bela , Kiss Orsolya
Published: December 2022

After SARS-CoV-2 infection, strict recommendations for return-to-sport were published. However, data are insufficient about the long-term effects on athletic performance. After suffering SARS-CoV-2 infection, and returning to maximal-intensity trainings, control examinations were performed with vita-maxima cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). From various sports, 165 asymptomatic elite athletes (male: 122, age: 20y (IQR: 17-24y), training:16 h/w (IQR: 12–20 h/w), follow-up:93.5 days (IQR: 66.8–130.0 days) were examined. During CPET examinations, athletes achieved 94.7 ± 4.3% of maximal heart rate, 50.9 ± 6.0 mL/kg/min maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), and 143.7 ± 30.4L/min maximal ventilation. Exercise induced arrhythmias (n = 7), significant horizontal/descending ST-depression (n = 3), ischemic heart disease (n = 1), hypertension (n = 7), slightly elevated pulmonary pressure (n = 2), and training-related hs-Troponin-T increase (n = 1) were revealed. Self-controlled CPET comparisons were performed in 62 athletes: due to intensive re-building training, exercise time, V̇O2max and ventilation increased compared to pre-COVID-19 results. However, exercise capacity decreased in 6 athletes. Further 18 athletes with ongoing minor long post-COVID symptoms, pathological ECG (ischemic ST-T changes, and arrhythmias) or laboratory findings (hsTroponin-T elevation) were controlled. Previous SARS-CoV-2-related myocarditis (n = 1), ischaemic heart disease (n = 1), anomalous coronary artery origin (n = 1), significant ventricular (n = 2) or atrial (n = 1) arrhythmias were diagnosed. Three months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, most of the athletes had satisfactory fitness levels. Some cases with SARS-CoV-2 related or not related pathologies requiring further examinations, treatment, or follow-up were revealed.
lncRNA–disease association prediction method based on the nearest neighbor matrix completion model
Authors: Du Xiao-xin , Liu Yan , Wang Bo , Zhang Jian-fei
Published: December 2022

State-of-the-art medical studies proved that long noncoding ribonucleic acids (lncRNAs) are closely related to various diseases. However, their large-scale detection in biological experiments is problematic and expensive. To aid screening and improve the efficiency of biological experiments, this study introduced a prediction model based on the nearest neighbor concept for lncRNA–disease association prediction. We used a new similarity algorithm in the model that fused potential associations. The experimental validation of the proposed algorithm proved its superiority over the available Cosine, Pearson, and Jaccard similarity algorithms. Satisfactory results in the comparative leave-one-out cross-validation test (with AUC = 0.96) confirmed its excellent predictive performance. Finally, the proposed model’s reliability was confirmed by performing predictions using a new dataset, yielding AUC = 0.92.
COVID-19 infection and vaccine have no impact on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome
Authors: Albeitawi Soha , Al-Alami Zina M. , Hamadneh Jehan , Alqam Hiba , Qublan Hussein , Al Natsheh Maha
Published: December 2022

To investigate the effect of COVID-19 infection or vaccine on IVF outcome. This is a multicenter retrospective study. Data were collected from all patients treated in the ART units between September and November 2021 after the vaccination of the general population began. Medical records of all patients who had IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were categorized into four groups: previously infected by COVID-19, vaccinated by COVID vaccine, previously infected and vaccinated, or neither infected nor vaccinated. Total number of participants 151 (vaccinated only 66, infected only 18, vaccinated and previously infected 34, and control 33. Outcomes (ET on day of trigger, number of oocytes retrieved, quality of oocytes, number of fertilized oocytes, number and quality of embryos, number of embryos transferred, number of embryos frozen, implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate) were compared between these four groups. Moreover, we compared the outcome before and post infection, as well as before and post vaccine in a group of patients. No evidence was found to suggest that COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine adversely affects Clinical pregnancy rates (positive fetal heartbeat) (OR 0.9, CI 0.5–1.9, OR 1.8, CI 0.9–3.6, respectively) and the following parameters: fertilization rate, implantation rate, positive bHcg) (OR 0.9, CI 0.5–1.8, OR 1.5, CI 0.7–2.9, respectively). Although a limitation of our study is the small comparison groups, and the wide confidence intervals in the Odds Ratio estimates.
Ultracompact single-layer optical MEMS accelerometer based on evanescent coupling through silicon nanowaveguides
Authors: Xin Chenguang , Zhang Zhongyao , Wang Xuhu , Fan Changjiang , Li Mengwei
Published: December 2022

In this paper, a novel optical MEMS accelerometer is proposed based on evanescent coupling between parallel silicon nanowaveguides. The coupling length between nanowaveguides changes due to the input acceleration, leading to a great change of coupling efficiency. As a result, the applied acceleration can be obtained by measuring the transmission of waveguiding light. Simulation results with optical displacement sensing sensitivity of 32.83%/$$\upmu $$
μ
m within measurement range of 1.68 g is obtained. This design shows high compactness with no need of assembly, suggesting great potential in applications such as integrated photonic circuits.
Controlling anammox speciation and biofilm attachment strategy using N-biotransformation intermediates and organic carbon levels
Authors: Lu Yang , Natarajan Gayathri , Nguyen Thi Quynh Ngoc , Thi Sara Swa , Arumugam Krithika , Seviour Thomas , Williams Rohan B. H. , Wuertz Stefan , Law Yingyu
Published: December 2022

Conventional nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment requires a high oxygen and energy input. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), the single-step conversion of ammonium and nitrite to nitrogen gas, is a more energy and cost effective alternative applied extensively to sidestream wastewater treatment. It would also be a mainstream treatment option if species diversity and physiology were better understood. Anammox bacteria were enriched up to 80%, 90% and 50% relative abundance, from a single inoculum, under standard enrichment conditions with either stepwise-nitrite and ammonia concentration increases (R1), nitric oxide supplementation (R2), or complex organic carbon from mainstream wastewater (R3), respectively. Candidatus Brocadia caroliniensis predominated in all reactors, but a shift towards Ca. Brocadia sinica occurred at ammonium and nitrite concentrations > 270 mg NH4–N L−1 and 340 mg NO2–N L−1 respectively. With NO present, heterotrophic growth was inhibited, and Ca. Jettenia coexisted with Ca. B. caroliniensis before diminishing as nitrite increased to 160 mg NO2–N L−1. Organic carbon supplementation led to the emergence of heterotrophic communities that coevolved with Ca. B. caroliniensis. Ca. B. caroliniensis and Ca. Jettenia preferentially formed biofilms on surfaces, whereas Ca. Brocadia sinica formed granules in suspension. Our results indicate that multiple anammox bacteria species co-exist and occupy sub-niches in anammox reactors, and that the dominant population can be reversibly shifted by, for example, changing nitrogen load (i.e. high nitrite concentration favors Ca. Brocadia caroliniensis). Speciation has implications for wastewater process design, where the optimum cell immobilization strategy (i.e. carriers vs granules) depends on which species dominates.
Effect of vibration during bulk and incremental filling on adaptation of a bulk-fill composite resin
Authors: Kim Yung-Soo , Baek Seung-Ho , Kim Ryan Jin Young
Published: December 2022

This study evaluated the effect of vibration on adaptation of bulk-fill composite resin. A scanning laser doppler vibrometer measured the frequency and amplitude of a vibratory device (COMO; B&L Biotech) used for resin placement and visualized its effect on the resin according to depth. A bulk-fill composite resin (Filtek Bulk Fill; 3M ESPE) was placed in simulated cavities (4 mm diameter, 4 mm depth) by different layering methods (incremental filling with two 2-mm-thick layers vs. bulk filling with a single 4-mm-thick layer). The groups were further divided based on the application of vibration during restoration (no vibration vs. vibration). In addition to the surface void area at the cavity floor, the overall void volume and the void volumes of the bottom, middle, and top thirds were obtained for micro-computed tomography analysis. The frequency and amplitude of the COMO were approximately 149 Hz and between 26 and 51 µm, respectively. When vibration was not applied, incremental filling had a lower void volume in the bottom third of the cavity than did bulk filling (p < 0.05). Vibration applied with a 4-mm-thick bulk fill had no significant effect on the adaptation of composite resin (p > 0.05). In contrast, vibration reduced the amount of void formation in the bottom third of the cavity during incremental filling (p < 0.05). Application of vibration to resin with a 2-mm incremental-layering technique formed a smaller void at the interface between the cavity and resin and within the bulk-fill composite resin.
Analysis of disordered abrasive scratches on titanium surfaces and their impact on nuclear translocation of yes-associated protein
Authors: Migita Satoshi , Wakabayashi Keita
Published: December 2022

The morphology of the metallic surface of an implant is important for its contact with bone tissue as it directly affects osteoblast functions, such as cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Firm contact between the implant and cells creates a barrier that prevents inflammation and bacterial infections. Therefore, optimizing surface morphology, such as surface roughness adjustments, is essential to improving the adhesion between the implant and cells for successful tissue regeneration. However, the manner in which the cells sense the surface roughness and morphology remains unclear. Previously, we analyzed cell adhesion behavior and observed that inhibited cell spreading can delay osteoblast functions. Therefore, assuming that the surface morphology can be sensed through cell spreading, we investigated the cell spreading area and yes-associated protein (YAP) localization in mouse osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) on a titanium surface with disordered abrasive scratches. Surface roughness of 100–150 nm was obtained by polishing, which inhibited the cell spreading, indicating that YAP localization in the nucleus was lower than that on other surfaces. The obtained results indicate that the cells sense the surface environment based on their spreading area, which regulates cellular functions via the Hippo pathway.