bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultrahigh-brightness 50 MeV electron beam generation from laser wakefield acceleration in a weakly nonlinear regime
Authors: Xiang Zhongtao , Yu Changhai , Qin Zhiyong , Jiao Xuhui , Cheng Jiahui , Zhou Qiaoxuan , Axi Gatie , Jie Jianghua , Huang Ya , Cai Jintan , Liu Jiansheng
Published: February 2024

We propose an efficient scheme to produce ultrahigh-brightness tens of MeV electron beams by designing a density-tailored plasma to induce a wakefield in the weakly nonlinear regime with a moderate laser energy of 120 mJ. In this scheme, the second bucket of the wakefield can have a much lower phase velocity at the steep plasma density down-ramp than the first bucket and can be exploited to implement longitudinal electron injection at a lower laser intensity, leading to the generation of bright electron beams with ultralow emittance together with low energy spread. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are carried out and demonstrate that high-quality electron beams with a peak energy of 50 MeV, ultralow emittance of ∼28 nm rad, energy spread of 1%, charge of 4.4 pC, and short duration less than 5 fs can be obtained within a 1-mm-long tailored plasma density, resulting in an ultrahigh six-dimensional brightness B6D,n of ∼2 × 1017 A/m2/0.1%. By changing the density parameters, tunable bright electron beams with peak energies ranging from 5 to 70 MeV, a small emittance of ≤0.1 mm mrad, and a low energy spread at a few-percent level can be obtained. These bright MeV-class electron beams have a variety of potential applications, for example, as ultrafast electron probes for diffraction and imaging, in laboratory astrophysics, in coherent radiation source generation, and as injectors for GeV particle accelerators.
Structure of mavacamten-free human cardiac thick filaments within the sarcomere by cryoelectron tomography
Authors: Chen Liang , Liu Jun , Rastegarpouyani Hosna , Janssen Paul M. L. , Pinto Jose R. , Taylor Kenneth A.
Published: February 2024

Heart muscle has the unique property that it can never rest; all cardiomyocytes contract with each heartbeat which requires a complex control mechanism to regulate cardiac output to physiological requirements. Changes in calcium concentration regulate the thin filament activation. A separate but linked mechanism regulates the thick filament activation, which frees sufficient myosin heads to bind the thin filament, thereby producing the required force. Thick filaments contain additional nonmyosin proteins, myosin-binding protein C and titin, the latter being the protein that transmits applied tension to the thick filament. How these three proteins interact to control thick filament activation is poorly understood. Here, we show using 3-D image reconstruction of frozen-hydrated human cardiac muscle myofibrils lacking exogenous drugs that the thick filament is structured to provide three levels of myosin activation corresponding to the three crowns of myosin heads in each 429Å repeat. In one crown, the myosin heads are almost completely activated and disordered. In another crown, many myosin heads are inactive, ordered into a structure called the interacting heads motif. At the third crown, the myosin heads are ordered into the interacting heads motif, but the stability of that motif is affected by myosin-binding protein C. We think that this hierarchy of control explains many of the effects of length-dependent activation as well as stretch activation in cardiac muscle control.
Overall signature of the metric and the cosmological constant
Authors: Alexandre Bruno , Gielen Steffen , Magueijo João
Published: February 2024

We consider a little known aspect of signature change, where the overall sign of the
metric is allowed to change, with physical implications. We show how, in different formulations
of general relativity, this type of classical signature change across boundaries with a degenerate
metric can be made consistent with a change in sign (and value) of the cosmological constant
Λ. In particular, the separate “mostly plus” and “mostly minus” signature sectors of
Lorentzian gravity are most naturally associated with different signs of Λ. We show how
this general phenomenon allows for classical solutions where the open dS patch can arise from a
portion of AdS space time. These can be interpreted as classical “imaginary space” extensions of
the usual Lorentzian theory, with a
2 < 0.
Robust autofocusing propagation in turbulence
Authors: Liu 刘 Na-Na 娜娜 , Tan 谭 Liu 柳 , Chen 陈 Kai-Jian 凯健 , Hong 洪 Pei-Long 佩龙 , Mo 莫 Xiao-Ming 小明 , Zou 邹 Bing-Suo 炳锁 , Ren 任 Yu-Xuan 煜轩 , Liang 梁 Yi 毅
Published: February 2024

Turbulence in complex environments such as the atmosphere and biological media has always been a great challenge to the application of beam propagation in optical communication, optical trapping and manipulation. To overcome this challenge, this study comprehensively investigates the robust propagation of traditional Gaussian and autofocusing beams in turbulent environments. In order to select stable beams that exhibit high intensity and high field gradient at the focal position in complex environments, Kolmogorov turbulence theory is used to simulate the propagation of beams in atmospheric turbulence based on the multi-phase screen method. We systematically analyze the intensity fluctuations, the variation of the coherence factor and the change in the scintillation index with propagation distance. The analysis reveals that the intensity fluctuations of autofocusing beams are significantly smaller than those of Gaussian beams, and the coherence of autofocusing beams is better than that of Gaussian beams under turbulence. Moreover, autofocusing beams exhibit less oscillation than Gaussian beams, indicating that autofocusing beams propagate in complex environments with less distortion and intensity fluctuation. Overall, this work clearly demonstrates that autofocusing beams exhibit higher stability in propagation compared with Gaussian beams, showing great promise for applications such as optical trapping and manipulation in complex environments.
Symmetry transformation of nonlinear optical current of tilted Weyl nodes and application to ferromagnetic MnBi2Te4
Authors: Lu 卢 Zhuo-Cheng 倬成 , Feng 冯 Ji 济
Published: February 2024

A Weyl node is characterized by its chirality and tilt. We develop a theory of how nth-order nonlinear optical conductivity behaves under transformations of anisotropic tensor and tilt, which clarifies how chirality-dependent and -independent parts of optical conductivity transform under the reversal of tilt and chirality. Built on this theory, we propose ferromagnetic MnBi2Te4 as a magnetoelectrically regulated, terahertz optical device, by magnetoelectrically switching the chirality-dependent and -independent DC photocurrents. These results are useful for creating nonlinear optical devices based on the topological Weyl semimetals.
The spectrally resolved photoluminescence decay in YAG:Er, ZnO and SiO2 crystals
Authors: Remeš Z , Buryi M , Pejchal J , Babčenko O , Remeš Š , Novák R , Mičová J
Published: February 2024

We present an optical setup for measuring spectrally resolved photoluminescence (PL) mean decay time using conventional UV LED with sinusoidal excitation and a phase shift method. The phase sensitive detection was applied on the Er-doped yttrium aluminium garnet single crystal (YAG:Er, grown by the micro-pulling-down method) and hydrothermally grown zinc oxide micro-crystallites (ZnO). Commercial ZnO and silicon oxide (SiO2) microcrystalline powders were measured for comparison. SiO2 powder was annealed in O2 plasma at 500 °C for cleaning. While YAG:Er shows well resolved greenish PL peaks with mean decay time about 15 μs related to the Stark splitting of Er3+ (4f11) states and ZnO micro-powder broad reddish PL with similar PL decay time, the plasma treated SiO2 powder shows weak bluish defect-related PL with significantly faster mean decay times below 100 ns.
Characterization of different types of silica-based materials
Authors: Babčenko O , Remeš Z , Beranová K , Kolářová K , Čermák J , Kromka A , Prošek Z , Tesárek P
Published: February 2024

Waste glasses based on silicon dioxide (silica) belong to one of the most demanded secondary raw materials. Besides the glass industry, with strict requirements for source materials, silica-based granular materials from waste glasses are considered suitable for use as fillers in alkali-activated cement-based composites. However, due to variations of ground waste glass powder composition and properties a comprehensive characterization is often needed. This study investigated commercially available silica-based powders by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared Raman spectroscopy, zeta-potential and pH measurements, etc. The differences found in the non-silica impurities composition and structure of SiO2particles (amorphous vs crystalline) were considered as determinative factors that will affect particles’ interaction with water and cement binder. The observed results provide a fundamental background and will contribute to a better understanding and explanation of the silica-based secondary raw materials interaction reactions in concrete or mortar.
Modification of Ce3+ luminescence in Li+ and Mg2+ codoped GAGG:Ce scintillators: A comparative study using synchrotron radiation
Authors: Bartosiewicz K , Kurosawa S , Yamaji A , Zorenko Y , Yoshikawa A
Published: February 2024

The luminescence characteristics of Gd3Al2Ga3O12:Ce3+ garnet scintillator crystals codoped with Li+ and Mg2+ ions were investigated. The excitation and emission spectra were obtained within the energy range of 3.6-21.6 eV, at both liquid helium and room temperature conditions to examine the effects of Li+ and Mg2+ codoping on cerium valence states, gadolinium-cerium energy transfer, and defect formation. Codoping with Mg2+ was found to efficiently convert Ce3+ to Ce4+, evidenced by significant changes in the shapes of the excitation spectra profile for Ce3+ luminescence in the exciton range, while Li+ had little impact. The presence of the high concentration of Ce4+ ions hampered the Gd3+→Ce4+ energy transfer. Redshifts in Ce3+ emission peaks indicated codopant-induced perturbations to the crystal field environment. The significant changes in the location of the Ce3+ excitation bands of Ce3+ luminescence in the exciton range further suggested alterations in the elemental distributions by the creation of complex defect clusters, particularly with Mg2+ codoping. The results demonstrate that Li+ and Mg2+ uniquely impact cerium valence, energy transfer processes, and structural properties in GAGG:Ce crystals.
Development of cutting force components in high-speed cutting on turning centre
Authors: Vopát T , Straka R
Published: February 2024

The article deals with the investigation of high-speed cutting. The influence of cutting speed on the development of individual cutting force components in turning was determined. Cutting tests were carried out on turning centre during the machining of C45 medium carbon steel material. The cutting tool material was cubic boron nitride. Cutting speed was selected with respect to the high-speed cutting (HSC) based on previous studies. In the experiment, cutting force components were recorded. From the results, a decreasing trend in the cutting force values was observed from the cutting speed higher than 1100 m.min-1. It can be caused by changing of metallurgical and mechanical properties in the cutting zone because the overall cutting resistance during HSC was reduced. Chips changed colour to orange during the machining due to temperature changes. No great benefit was observed when high-speed cutting for turning medium carbon steel material. The inefficiency, in this case, is caused by the high price and low tool life of the CBN cutting inserts as well as the cutting force that decreases slowly after the initial increase with a rapidly increasing cutting speed.
Effect of bias voltage on the structural properties of WN/NbN nanolayer coatings deposited by cathodic-arc evaporation
Authors: Smyrnova K , Sahul M , Haršáni M , Čaplovič Ľ , Beresnev V , Čaplovičová M , Kusy M , Pogrebnjak A
Published: February 2024

In this work, WN/NbN nanolaminate coatings were synthesized by cathodic-arc physical vapor deposition (CA-PVD) technique on a stainless-steel substrate. The paper reports the microstructure, cross-sectional morphology, surface roughness, and adhesion strength changes caused by variations in the absolute values of the negative substrate bias voltage, Us
, in the 50-200 V range. Synthesized coatings were analyzed by Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), and Daimler-Benz test. The phase analysis revealed that multilayer coatings had complex polycrystalline microstructure. They consisted of face-cantered cubic (fcc) β-W2N, fcc δ-NbN, and hexagonal ε-NbN phases. The total thickness and surface roughness had a descending trend with an increase in the absolute value of the negative bias voltage. Moreover, the WN/NbN coating deposited at Us = -50 V demonstrated the best adhesion strength to the substrate, suitable for protective coatings.
Influence the effect of balancing the grinding set on the accuracy and roughness of the machined surface
Authors: Jurina F , Straka R , Buranský I
Published: February 2024

The article examines the effect of balancing the grinding wheel set on the accuracy and roughness of the machined surface during the production of cutting tools. Screw drills with a diameter of 12 mm were manufactured as well as test specimen in the shape of a recess with a width of 20 mm and a diameter of 18 mm. The workpiece material was sintered carbide (WC+Co). Properly balanced and unbalanced sets of cubic boron nitride (CBN) and synthetic diamond grinding wheels were used in the production of the tools and test specimens. A WZS 60 Reinecker tool grinder was used as the machine. The parameters of surface roughness and dimensional accuracy were measured in the experiment. Surface roughness was evaluated on a Zeiss Surfcom 5000 shape and contour measuring machine. Dimensional accuracy measurement was performed on an optical measuring machine Zoller Genius 3. In terms of dimensional accuracy, tools and test specimen s produced by wheel balancing to a lower level of balance quality G show greater dimensional inaccuracy than tools and test specimen s produced by wheel sets that were balanced to a higher quality level of balance G. From the point of view of evaluating the surface roughness, the results were not clear, but the tools and test specimens produced by CBN grinding wheels showed better surface roughness, regardless of the quality level of balance G.
Modification of rotor modal properties based on structural changes in the stiffness of its bearings and shaft
Authors: Bucha P , Rolník L , Lovíšková J , Naď M
Published: February 2024

The rotor structures are fundamental mechanical systems that realize the transfer of rotary motion in technical devices and systems. In some operating regimes, the rotor systems are often subjected to undesirable and damaging phenomena resulting in resonant state. The ability to prevent or reduce the level of unwanted rotor vibrations in the given operating mode is an important task in the process of structural design of rotor structures. In general, the dynamic properties of rotor systems depend on their spatial properties - geometric parameters and material properties, i.e. distribution of mass and stiffness properties of rotor structures. For the structural design of the rotor or its structural modification, which will allow the redistribution of its spatial properties (mass and stiffness), two approaches based on changing the bearing stiffness and also on the shaft stiffness are presented in this paper. The main goal for modifying the spatial properties of the rotor is to get the critical rotor speed out of the operating speed range.
Exploration of microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties, and in vitro biocompatibility of biodegradable porous magnesium scaffolds for orthopaedic implants
Authors: Debbarma Debasish , Anand Nikhil , Pal Kaushik
Published: February 2024

In this study, porous magnesium (Mg) scaffolds were investigated with varying strontium (Sr) and constant zinc (Zn) concentrations through the powder metallurgy process. All samples were examined at room temperature to evaluate their microstructure, mechanical and in-vitro degradation behaviour and biological properties. Results indicated that adding Sr was associated with fine average grain size, increased mechanical strength, and a decreased corrosion rate. All samples show tiny isolated and open interconnected pores (porosities: 18%–30%, pores: 127–279 µm) with a suitable surface roughness of less than 0.5 µm. All the provided samples possess mechanical and hemocompatible properties that closely resemble natural bone. Mg–4Zn–2Sr has the highest hardness (102.61 ± 15.1 HV) and compressive strength (24.80 MPa) than Mg–4Zn–0.5Sr (85 ± 8.5 HV, 22.14 MPa) and Mg–4Zn–1Sr (97.71 ± 11.2 HV, 18.06 MPa). Immersion results revealed that samples in phosphate-buffered saline solutions have excellent degradability properties, which makes them a promising biodegradable material for orthopaedic applications. The scaffold with the highest Sr concentration shows the best optimised mechanical and degradation behaviour out of the three porous scaffolds, with a 2.7% hemolysis rate.
Ecofriendly and scalable production of bioglass using an organic calcium source enhanced bioactivity for tissue repair
Authors: Chen Yun , Hu Fang , Guo Chuangzhou , Dong Xihua , Wang Hai , Qin Yue
Published: February 2024

The eco-friendly and scalable production of bioglass remains a challenging but attractive strategy for advancing its widespread biomedical applications. Although the sol–gel method has been considered a valuable approach for bioglass production, the application of calcium nitrate as a calcium source markedly limits its industrialization owing to environmental pollution, high administration costs, and numerous calcium-rich regions in the as-prepared bioglass. Therefore, organic Ca has been proposed as an alternative to inorganic Ca. In the current study, bioglass was successfully prepared using a novel calcium source (calcium glycerol) and was named regeneration silicon (RegeSi). The biocompatibity of bioglass was examined by performing the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay using L929 fibroblasts. The biological and tissue repair properties of RegeSi were better than those of bioglass prepared with calcium nitrate using the sol–gel or traditional melting methods. The applicability of RegeSi was validated using suitable wound healing and dental restoration models. Notably, RegeSi ensured closure of a deep wound (1.6 cm diameter, 2 mm depth) within 11 d. Moreover, RegeSi facilitated tooth repair with a blocking rate of 97.1%. More importantly, large-scale production of RegeSi was achieved at low cost, high bioactivity, and using environmental technology, reaching a capacity of 100 kg/batch.
Connections between low- and high- frequency variabilities of stratospheric northern annular mode and Arctic ozone depletion
Authors: Yu Yueyue , Wu Yufeng , Zhang Jiankai , Cui Zhengfei , Shi Chunhua , Rao Jian , Guo Dong , Xia Xin
Published: February 2024

Previous studies have demonstrated a dynamical linkage between the ozone and stratospheric polar vortex strength, but only a few have mentioned the persistence of the anomalous vortex. This study uses the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise to decompose the winter stratospheric northern annular mode (NAM) variabilities into relatively low frequencies (>4 months) and high frequencies (<2 months) (denoted as NAML and NAMH) and investigates their relationship with the Arctic ozone concentration in March. A closer relationship is found between the Arctic ozone and the NAML, i.e. a persistently strong stratospheric polar vortex in winter (especially February–March) is more critical than a short-lasting extremely strong vortex in contributing to Arctic ozone depletion. We find that a negative NAMH or major stratospheric sudden warming event in early winter could be a precursor for the anomalous depletion of Arctic ozone in March. The NAML changes are further related to the warm North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and ‘central-type’ El Niño-like or La Niña-like SST anomalies in early winter months, as well as cold North Atlantic SST anomalies and higher sea ice concentration in the Barents–Kara Sea from late-autumn to early-spring.
Comment on ‘Twisted bialgebroids versus bialgebroids from a Drinfeld twist’
Authors: Škoda Zoran , Stojić Martina
Published: February 2024

A class of left bialgebroids whose underlying algebra

A
♯
H

is a smash product of a bialgebra H with a braided commutative Yetter–Drinfeld H-algebra A has recently been studied in relation to models of field theories on noncommutative spaces. In Borowiec and Pachoł (2017 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.
50 055205) a proof has been presented that the bialgebroid

A
F

♯

H
F

where HF
and AF
are the twists of H and A by a Drinfeld 2-cocycle

F
=
∑

F
1

⊗

F
2

is isomorphic to the twist of bialgebroid

A
♯
H

by the bialgebroid 2-cocycle

∑
1
♯

F
1

⊗
1
♯

F
2

induced by F. They assume H is quasitriangular, which is reasonable for many physical applications. However the proof and the entire paper take for granted that the coaction and the prebraiding are both given by special formulas involving the R-matrix. There are counterexamples of Yetter–Drinfeld modules over quasitriangular Hopf algebras which are not of this special form. Nevertheless, the main result essentially survives. We present a proof with a general coaction and the correct prebraiding, and even without the assumption of quasitriangularity.
Precision of diamond turning sinusoidal structures as measurement standards used to assess topography fidelity
Authors: Hüser Dorothee , Meeß Rudolf , Dai Gaoliang , Felgner André , Hahm Kai , Verhülsdonk Stefan , Feist Carsten , Gao Sai
Published: February 2024

In optical surface metrology, it is crucial to assess the fidelity of the topography measuring signals. One parameter to quantify this is the small-scale fidelity limit T
FIL defined in ISO 25 178-600:2019. To determine this parameter, sinusoidal structures are generated, where the wavelengths are modulated according to a discrete chirp series. The objects are produced by means of ultra-precision diamond face turning. Planar areas and regions with slopes below 4° could be produced with form deviations of ≲10 nm. An initial estimate of the cutting tool’s nose radius resulted in a deviation that caused the ridges of the structures to be too narrow by approximately 150 nm, while the trenches were too wide. At the bottom of narrow trenches, deviations are observed in the form of elevations with heights of about 20 to 100 nm. The measurement standard investigated in this study has also been used to characterise optical instruments in a round-robin test within the European project TracOptic, which requires precise knowledge of the geometry of all structures. The geometry of the topography, cosine structures superimposed with form deviations, was measured using the Met. LR-AFM metrological long-range atomic force microscope of the German National Metrology Institute.
Assessment of the literature about Be-W mixed material layer formation in the fusion reactor environment
Authors: Lasa Ane , Dasgupta Dwaipayan , Baldwin Matthew J , Cusentino Mary Alice , Hatton Peter , Perez Danny , Uberuaga Blas P , Yang Li , Wirth Brian D
Published: February 2024

All plasma facing surfaces in a fusion reactor, whether initially pure or an alloy, will rapidly evolve into a mixed material due to plasma-induced erosion, migration and redeposition. Beryllium (Be) erosion from the main chamber, and its transport and deposition on to a tungsten (W) divertor results in the growth of mixed Be-W layers, which can evolve to form beryllides. These Be-W mixed materials exhibit generally less desirable properties than pure tungsten or pure beryllium, such as lower melting points. In order to better understand the parameter space for growth of these alloys, this paper reviews the literature on Be-W mixed material formation experiments—in magnetically confined fusion reactors, in linear plasma test stands, and during thin-film deposition—and on computational modeling of Be-W interactions, as well as briefly assesses the Be-W growth kinetics. We conclude that the following kinetic steps drive the material mixing: adsorption of the implanted/deposited ion on the metal surface; diffusion of the implanted/deposited ion from surface into the bulk, which is accelerated by defects; and loss of deposited material through erosion. Adsorption dominates (or prevents) material mixing in thin-film deposition experiments, whereas diffusion drives material mixing in plasma exposures due to the energetic ion implantation.
Tin-antimony/carbon composite porous fibers: electrospinning synthesis and application in sodium-ion batteries
Authors: Chen Xiong , Huang Yusen , Zhang Maobin , Yu Yunlong , Li Xiaoyan , Chen Dagui , Hong Jinquan , Du Shaowu , Guan Xiangfeng
Published: February 2024

In this work, tin-antimony/carbon composites porous fibers were successfully synthesized by an electrospinning method combined with two-step heat treatment processes, in which SnCl2 and SbCl3 were used as tin and antimony sources, and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were used as binders and pore-forming agents. The as-synthesized tin-antimony/carbon composites were systematically characterized by x-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Thermogravimetric Analysis-Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC). The results indicate that the composite material consists of one-dimensional nitrogen-doped carbon porous fibers as the main matrix, with a three-dimensional network structure in which Sn, SnO2, and SnSb particles are encapsulated. Furthermore, the tin-antimony/carbon composites porous fibers were utilized as self-supported negative electrode for sodium-ion batteries. The results showed that the SNbM-2 sample electrode calcined at 800 °C demonstrated the best cycling stability and rate capability among all the sample electrodes, with a discharge capacity of 319.5 mAh·g−1 maintained after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A·g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance of the SNbM-2 sample electrode is benefited from its unique porous structure and the carbon fiber network structure encapsulating Sn, SnO2, and SnSb particles, which could effectively shorten the Na+ ion transport distance and mitigate electrode volume expansion.
Recent advances of silicate materials for wastewater treatment: a review
Authors: Xu Meng , Wang Jinshu , Wu Junshu
Published: February 2024

Heavy metal ions and organic pollutants cause irreversible damage to water environment, thereby posing significant threats to the well-being of organisms. The techniques of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation offer versatile solutions for addressing water pollution challenges, attributed to their inherent sustainability and adaptability. Silicates exhibit exceptional practicality in the realm of environmental protection owing to their structural integrity and robust chemical/thermal stability during hybridization and application process. Furthermore, the abundance of silicate reserves, coupled with their proven effectiveness, has garnered significant attention in recent years. This detailed review compiles and analyzes the extensive body of literature spanning the past six years (2018–2023), emphasizing the pivotal discoveries associated with employing silicates as water purification materials. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the structure, classification, and chemical composition of diverse silicates and offers a thorough descriptive analysis of their performance in eliminating pollutants. Additionally, the utilization of diatomite as either precursors or substrates for silicates, along with the exploration of their corresponding purification mechanisms is discussed. The review unequivocally verifies the efficiency of silicates and their composites in the effective elimination of various toxic pollutants. However, the development of novel silicates capable of adapting to diverse environmental conditions to enhance pollution control, remains an urgent necessity.
Generalized Pohst inequality and small regulators
Authors: Battistoni Francesco , Molteni Giuseppe
Published: February 2024

Current methods for the classification of number fields with small regulator depend mainly on an upper bound for the discriminant, which can be improved by looking for the best possible upper bound of a specific polynomial function over a hypercube. In this paper, we provide new and effective upper bounds for the case of fields with one complex embedding and degree between five and nine: this is done by adapting the strategy we have adopted to study the totally real case, but for this new setting several new computational issues had to be overcome. As a consequence, we detect the four number fields of signature

(

r
1

,

r
2

)
=
(
6
,
1
)

(r_1,r_2)=(6,1)

with smallest regulator; we also expand current lists of number fields with small regulator in signatures

(
3
,
1
)

(3,1)

,

(
4
,
1
)

(4,1)

and

(
5
,
1
)

(5,1)

.
ABAG-docking benchmark: a non-redundant structure benchmark dataset for antibody–antigen computational docking
Authors: Zhao Nan , Han Bingqing , Zhao Cuicui , Xu Jinbo , Gong Xinqi
Published: February 2024

Accurate prediction of antibody–antigen complex structures is pivotal in drug discovery, vaccine design and disease treatment and can facilitate the development of more effective therapies and diagnostics. In this work, we first review the antibody–antigen docking (ABAG-docking) datasets. Then, we present the creation and characterization of a comprehensive benchmark dataset of antibody–antigen complexes. We categorize the dataset based on docking difficulty, interface properties and structural characteristics, to provide a diverse set of cases for rigorous evaluation. Compared with Docking Benchmark 5.5, we have added 112 cases, including 14 single-domain antibody (sdAb) cases and 98 monoclonal antibody (mAb) cases, and also increased the proportion of Difficult cases. Our dataset contains diverse cases, including human/humanized antibodies, sdAbs, rodent antibodies and other types, opening the door to better algorithm development. Furthermore, we provide details on the process of building the benchmark dataset and introduce a pipeline for periodic updates to keep it up to date. We also utilize multiple complex prediction methods including ZDOCK, ClusPro, HDOCK and AlphaFold-Multimer for testing and analyzing this dataset. This benchmark serves as a valuable resource for evaluating and advancing docking computational methods in the analysis of antibody–antigen interaction, enabling researchers to develop more accurate and effective tools for predicting and designing antibody–antigen complexes. The non-redundant ABAG-docking structure benchmark dataset is available at https://github.com/Zhaonan99/Antibody-antigen-complex-structure-benchmark-dataset.
Language model enables end-to-end accurate detection of cancer from cell-free DNA
Authors: Shen Hongru , Liu Jilei , Chen Kexin , Li Xiangchun
Published: February 2024

We present a language model Affordable Cancer Interception and Diagnostics (ACID) that can achieve high classification performance in the diagnosis of cancer exclusively from using raw cfDNA sequencing reads. We formulate ACID as an autoregressive language model. ACID is pretrained with language sentences that are obtained from concatenation of raw sequencing reads and diagnostic labels. We benchmark ACID against three methods. On testing set subjected to whole-genome sequencing, ACID significantly outperforms the best benchmarked method in diagnosis of cancer [Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUROC), 0.924 versus 0.853; P < 0.001] and detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (AUROC, 0.981 versus 0.917; P < 0.001). ACID can achieve high accuracy with just 10 000 reads per sample. Meanwhile, ACID achieves the best performance on testing sets that were subjected to bisulfite sequencing compared with benchmarked methods. In summary, we present an affordable, simple yet efficient end-to-end paradigm for cancer detection using raw cfDNA sequencing reads.
Hound: a novel tool for automated mapping of genotype to phenotype in bacterial genomes assembled de novo
Authors: Reding Carlos , Satapoomin Naphat , Avison Matthew B
Published: February 2024

Increasing evidence suggests that microbial species have a strong within species genetic heterogeneity. This can be problematic for the analysis of prokaryote genomes, which commonly relies on a reference genome to guide the assembly process. Differences between reference and sample genomes will therefore introduce errors in final assembly, jeopardizing the detection from structural variations to point mutations—critical for genomic surveillance of antibiotic resistance. Here we present Hound, a pipeline that integrates publicly available tools to assemble prokaryote genomes de novo, detect user-given genes by similarity to report mutations found in the coding sequence, promoter, as well as relative gene copy number within the assembly. Importantly, Hound can use the query sequence as a guide to merge contigs, and reconstruct genes that were fragmented by the assembler. To showcase Hound, we screened through 5032 bacterial whole-genome sequences isolated from farmed animals and human infections, using the amino acid sequence encoded by blaTEM-1, to detect and predict resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanate which is driven by over-expression of this gene. We believe this tool can facilitate the analysis of prokaryote species that currently lack a reference genome, and can be scaled either up to build automated systems for genomic surveillance or down to integrate into antibiotic susceptibility point-of-care diagnostics.
ZSCAN10 deficiency causes a neurodevelopmental disorder with characteristic oto-facial malformations
Authors: Laugwitz Lucia , Cheng Fubo , Collins Stephan C , Hustinx Alexander , Navarro Nicolas , Welsch Simon , Cox Helen , Hsieh Tzung-Chien , Vijayananth Aswinkumar , Buchert Rebecca , Bender Benjamin , Efthymiou Stephanie , Murphy David , Zafar Faisal , Rana Nuzhat , Grasshoff Ute , Falb Ruth J , Grimmel Mona , Seibt Annette , Zheng Wenxu , Ghaedi Hamid , Thirion Marie , Couette Sébastien , Azizimalamiri Reza , Sadeghian Saeid , Galehdari Hamid , Zamani Mina , Zeighami Jawaher , Sedaghat Alireza , Ramshe Samira Molaei , Zare Ali , Alipoor Behnam , Klee Dirk , Sturm Marc , Ossowski Stephan , Houlden Henry , Riess Olaf , Wieczorek Dagmar , Gavin Ryan , Maroofian Reza , Krawitz Peter , Yalcin Binnaz , Distelmaier Felix , Haack Tobias B
Published: February 2024

Neurodevelopmental disorders are major indications for genetic referral and have been linked to more than 1500 loci including genes encoding transcriptional regulators. The dysfunction of transcription factors often results in characteristic syndromic presentations; however, at least half of these patients lack a genetic diagnosis. The implementation of machine learning approaches has the potential to aid in the identification of new disease genes and delineate associated phenotypes.

Next generation sequencing was performed in seven affected individuals with neurodevelopmental delay and dysmorphic features. Clinical characterization included reanalysis of available neuroimaging datasets and 2D portrait image analysis with GestaltMatcher. The functional consequences of ZSCAN10 loss were modelled in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), including a knockout and a representative ZSCAN10 protein truncating variant. These models were characterized by gene expression and western blot analyses, chromatin immunoprecipitation and quantitative PCR (ChIP-qPCR) and immunofluorescence staining. Zscan10 knockout mouse embryos were generated and phenotyped.

We prioritized bi-allelic ZSCAN10 loss-of-function variants in seven affected individuals from five unrelated families as the underlying molecular cause. RNA-sequencing analyses in Zscan10−/− mESCs indicated dysregulation of genes related to stem cell pluripotency. In addition, we established in mESCs the loss-of-function mechanism for a representative human ZSCAN10 protein truncating variant by showing alteration of its expression levels and subcellular localization, interfering with its binding to DNA enhancer targets. Deep phenotyping revealed global developmental delay, facial asymmetry and malformations of the outer ear as consistent clinical features. Cerebral MRI showed dysplasia of the semicircular canals as an anatomical correlate of sensorineural hearing loss. Facial asymmetry was confirmed as a clinical feature by GestaltMatcher and was recapitulated in the Zscan10 mouse model along with inner and outer ear malformations.

Our findings provide evidence of a novel syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in ZSCAN10.
Health care utilization and the associated costs attributable to cardiovascular disease in Ireland: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Stamenic Danko , Fitzgerald Anthony P , Gajewska Katarzyna A , O'Neill Kate N , Bermingham Margaret , Cronin Jodi , Lynch Brenda M , O'Brien Sarah M , McHugh Sheena M , Buckley Claire M , Kavanagh Paul M , Kearney Patricia M , O'Keeffe Linda M
Published: February 2024

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and disability globally. We examined healthcare service utilization and costs attributable to CVD in Ireland in the period before the introduction of a major healthcare reform in 2016.

Methods

Secondary analysis of data from 8113 participants of the first wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Cardiovascular disease was defined as having a self-reported doctor's diagnosis of myocardial infarction, angina, heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, or transient ischaemic attack. Participants self-reported the utilization of healthcare services in the year preceding the interview. Negative binomial regression with average marginal effects (AMEs) was used to estimate the incremental number of general practitioner (GP) and outpatient department (OPD) visits, accident and emergency department attendances and hospitalizations in population with CVD relative to population without CVD. We calculated the corresponding costs at individual and population levels, by gender and age groups.

Results

The prevalence of CVD was 18.2% (95% CI: 17.3, 19.0) Participants with CVD reported higher utilization of all healthcare services. In adjusted models, having CVD was associated with incremental 1.19 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99, 1.39] GP and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.93) OPD visits. There were twice as many incremental hospitalizations in males with CVD compared to females with CVD [AME (95% CI): 0.20 (0.16, 0.23) vs. 0.10 (0.07, 0.14)]. The incremental cost of healthcare service use in population with CVD was an estimated €352.2 million (95% CI: €272.8, €431.7), 93% of which was due to use of secondary care services.

Conclusion

We identified substantially increased use of healthcare services attributable to CVD in Ireland. Continued efforts aimed at CVD primary prevention and management are required.
Design and performance analysis of thermal assisted reverse osmosis (RO)
Authors: Almatrafi Eydhah
Published: February 2024

Today, the world is facing difficult challenges related to water scarcity and freshwater resources. Water desalination has become necessary to meet this great demand. The reverse osmosis desalination system is considered the dominant type of desalination, although the high amount of energy consumed is considered the main barrier to expanding seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO). The need for producing an environmentally friendly energy source is also one of the most important challenges in preserving the environment and reducing global warming. The coexistence of power plants that release waste heat energy through the condenser and reverse osmosis plant represents an opportunity for a synergy system. Therefore, research has shown that the low/ultralow grade heat from natural sources or industrial processes can assist the process of desalination. This paper reviews available process configurations, system design, and operating parameters, and discusses the performance of the RO process at high temperatures.
Feasibility and economic analysis of electric vehicle battery secondary utilization to reduce wind and photovoltaic abandonment
Authors: Shen Xiaowang
Published: February 2024

The Chinese government has been very supportive of electric vehicles (EVs); however, the disposal of retired batteries from EVs must be carefully considered. Renewable energy, such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, whose output cannot be controlled, often use batteries to smooth production. For this reason, using retired EV batteries in renewable energy applications such as PVs and wind power, rather than new batteries, is considered an up-and-coming solution because retired EV batteries have a lower cost. In this paper, we will analyze both its feasibility and economics. The Chinese government’s support for EVs and the requirement for renewable energy consumption rates make it feasible to apply retired EV batteries to renewable energy. For the cost of retired EV batteries, we give the cost variations with different module capacities, different sizes, and different failure rates; if the battery energy storage is used in low electricity price situations such as in the home, it is difficult to make a profit, but if it is used in high electricity price situations such as factories, it is perfect when the economic benefits are taken into account. If the price of electricity in factories is RMB 1/kWh, the retired battery can start to make a profit after about 400 cycles, which is only about 25% of its life cycle.
Noncommutative Poisson Boundaries, Ultraproducts, and Entropy
Authors: Zhou Shuoxing
Published: February 2024

We construct the noncommutative Poisson boundaries of tracial von Neumann algebras through the ultraproducts of von Neumann algebras. As an application of this result, we complete the proof of Kaimanovich-Vershik’s fundamental theorems regarding noncommutative entropy. We also prove the Amenability-Trivial Boundary equivalence and Choquet-Deny-Type I equivalence for tracial von Neumann algebras.
On Uniqueness in Steiner Problem
Authors: Basok Mikhail , Cherkashin Danila , Rastegaev Nikita , Teplitskaya Yana
Published: February 2024

We prove that the set of $n$-point configurations for which the solution to the planar Steiner problem is not unique has the Hausdorff dimension at most $2n-1$ (as a subset of $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$). Moreover, we show that the Hausdorff dimension of the set of $n$-point configurations for which at least two locally minimal trees have the same length is also at most $2n-1$. The methods we use essentially rely upon the theory of subanalytic sets developed in [ 1]. Motivated by this approach, we develop a general setup for the similar problem of uniqueness of the Steiner tree where the Euclidean plane is replaced by an arbitrary analytic Riemannian manifold $M$. In this setup, we argue that the set of configurations possessing two locally-minimal trees of the same length either has dimension equal to $n \dim M - 1$ or has a non-empty interior. We provide an example of a two-dimensional surface for which the last alternative holds. In addition to the above-mentioned results, we study the set of $n$-point configurations for which there is a unique solution to the Steiner problem in $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. We show that this set is path-connected.
Exploring Diverse Signaling Mechanisms of G Protein-Coupled Receptors through Structural Biology
Authors: Suno Ryoji
Published: February 2024

Recent advancements in structural biology have facilitated the elucidation of complexes involving G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their associated signal transducers, including G proteins and arrestins. A comprehensive analysis of these structures provides profound insights into the dynamics of signaling mechanisms. These structural revelations can potentially guide the development of drugs to minimize side effects through targeted and selective signaling. Understanding the binding modes of different signal-selective ligands is imperative for future drug research and development. Here, we conduct a comparative examination of the structural details of various GPCR–signal transducer complexes and delve into the molecular basis of the currently proposed signal selectivity.
Temporal gene signature of myofibroblast transformation in Peyronie’s disease: first insights into the molecular mechanisms of irreversibility
Authors: Ilg Marcus M , Harding Sophie , Lapthorn Alice R , Kirvell Sara , Ralph David J , Bustin Stephen A , Ball Graham , Cellek Selim
Published: February 2024

Background

Transformation of resident fibroblasts to profibrotic myofibroblasts in the tunica albuginea is a critical step in the pathophysiology of Peyronie’s disease (PD). We have previously shown that myofibroblasts do not revert to the fibroblast phenotype and we suggested that there is a point of no return at 36 hours after induction of the transformation. However, the molecular mechanisms that drive this proposed irreversibility are not known.

Aim

Identify molecular pathways that drive the irreversibility of myofibroblast transformation by analyzing the expression of the genes involved in the process in a temporal fashion.

Methods

Human primary fibroblasts obtained from tunica albuginea of patients with Peyronie’s disease were transformed to myofibroblasts using transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). The mRNA of the cells was collected at 0, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours after stimulation with TGF-β1 and then analyzed using a Nanostring nCounter Fibrosis panel. The gene expression results were analyzed using Reactome pathway analysis database and ANNi, a deep learning–based inference algorithm based on a swarm approach.

Outcomes

The study outcome was the time course of changes in gene expression during transformation of PD-derived fibroblasts to myofibroblasts.

Results

The temporal analysis of the gene expression revealed that the majority of the changes at the gene expression level happened within the first 24 hours and remained so throughout the 72-hour period. At 36 hours, significant changes were observed in genes involved in MAPK-Hedgehog signaling pathways.

Clinical Translation

This study highlights the importance of early intervention in clinical management of PD and the future potential of new drugs targeting the point of no return.

Strengths and Limitations

The use of human primary cells and confirmation of results with further RNA analysis are the strengths of this study. The study was limited to 760 genes rather than the whole transcriptome.

Conclusion

This study is to our knowledge the first analysis of temporal gene expression associated with the regulation of the transformation of resident fibroblasts to profibrotic myofibroblasts in PD. Further research is warranted to investigate the role of the MAPK-Hedgehog signaling pathways in reversibility of PD.