bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Sesame Workshop's Little Children, Big Challenges: A digital media SEL intervention for preschool classrooms
Authors: Oades‐Sese Geraldine V. , Cahill Abigail , Allen Jedediah Wilfred Papas , Rubic Wai‐Ling , Mahmood Noor
Published: July 2021

This cluster‐randomized pre‐post comparison study examined the effects of using Sesame Workshop's Little Children, Big Challenges: General Resilience (LCBC) digital media toolkit in preschool classrooms over a 12‐week period. Participants included 157 preschool teachers and 766 preschool children from 159 preschool classrooms in 38 Head Start centers, 7 Military Child Development Centers, 2 community‐based preschool agencies, and a public school district. Children's social‐emotional skills, behaviors, and relationship qualities were measured using a combination of direct testing of children and teacher behavioral ratings. Hierarchical linear modeling accounted for classroom‐level nested data and the results indicated that LCBC increased emotion vocabulary, attachment, initiative, self‐control, emotion regulation, and adaptability. The LCBC intervention also significantly reduced teacher conflict, attention problems, and emotion control problems. Additionally, the teacher survey indicated that the intervention was appealing to teachers and students. Reasons for nonsignificant effects on teacher closeness, social problem solving, and social skills are discussed.
The disordered PCI‐binding human proteins CSNAP and DSS1 have diverged in structure and function
Authors: Ruidiaz Sarah F. , Dreier Jesper E. , Hartmann‐Petersen Rasmus , Kragelund Birthe B.
Published: July 2021

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) regularly constitute components of larger protein assemblies contributing to architectural stability. Two small, highly acidic IDPs have been linked to the so‐called PCI complexes carrying PCI‐domain subunits, including the proteasome lid and the COP9 signalosome. These two IDPs, DSS1 and CSNAP, have been proposed to have similar structural propensities and functions, but they display differences in their interactions and interactome sizes. Here we characterized the structural properties of human DSS1 and CSNAP at the residue level using NMR spectroscopy and probed their propensities to bind ubiquitin. We find that distinct structural features present in DSS1 are completely absent in CSNAP, and vice versa, with lack of relevant ubiquitin binding to CSNAP, suggesting the two proteins to have diverged in both structure and function. Our work additionally highlights that different local features of seemingly similar IDPs, even subtle sequence variance, may endow them with different functional traits. Such traits may underlie their potential to engage in multiple interactions thereby impacting their interactome sizes.
The Caenorhabditis elegans 12‐kDa small heat shock proteins with little in vitro chaperone activity play crucial roles for its dauer formation, longevity, and reproduction
Authors: Fu Xinmiao , Ezemaduka Anastasia N. , Lu Xinping , Chang Zengyi
Published: July 2021

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are known to exhibit in vitro chaperone activity by suppressing the aggregation of misfolded proteins. The 12‐kDa sHSPs (Hsp12s) subfamily members from Caenorhabditis elegans, including Hsp12.2, Hsp12.3, and Hsp12.6, however, are devoid of such chaperone activity, and their in vivo functions are poorly understood. Here we verified that Hsp12.1, similar to its homologs Hsp12.2, Hsp12.3, and Hsp12.6, hardly exhibited any chaperone activity. Strikingly, we demonstrated that these Hsp12s seem to play crucial physiological roles in C. elegans, for suppressing dauer formation and promoting both longevity and reproduction. A unique sHSP gene from Filarial nematode worm Brugia malayi was identified such that it encodes two products, one as a full‐length Hsp12.6 protein and the other one having an N‐terminal arm of normal length but lacks the C‐terminal extension. This gene may represent an intermediate form in evolution from a common sHSP to a Hsp12. Together, our study offers insights on what biological functions the chaperone‐defective sHSPs may exhibit and also implicates an evolutionary scenario for the unique Hsp12s subfamily.
Motions around conserved helical weak spots facilitate GPCR activation
Authors: Bibbe Janne M. , Vriend Gert
Published: July 2021

G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) participate in most physiological processes and are important drug targets in many therapeutic areas. Recently, many GPCR X‐ray structures became available, facilitating detailed studies of their sequence‐structure‐mobility‐function relations. We show that the functional role of many conserved GPCR sequence motifs is to create weak spots in the transmembrane helices that provide the structural plasticity necessary for ligand binding and signaling. Different receptor families use different conserved sequence motifs to obtain similar helix irregularities that allow for the same motions upon GPCR activation. These conserved motions come together to facilitate the timely release of the conserved sodium ion to the cytosol. Most GPCR crystal structures could be determined only after stabilization of the transmembrane helices by mutations that remove weak spots. These mutations often lead to diminished binding of agonists, but not antagonists, which logically agrees with the fact that large helix rearrangements occur only upon agonist binding. Upon activation, six of the seven TM helices in GPCRs undergo helix motions and/or deformations facilitated by weak spots in these helices. The location of these weak spots is much more conserved than the sequence motifs that cause them. Knowledge about these weak spots helps understand the activation process of GPCRs and thus helps design medicines.
The community‐wide effectiveness of municipal larval control programs for West Nile virus risk reduction in Connecticut, USA
Authors: McMillan Joseph R , Harden Christina A , Burtis James C , Breban Mallery I , Shepard John J , Petruff Tanya A , Misencik Michael J , Bransfield Angela B , Poggi Joseph D , Harrington Laura C , Andreadis Theodore G , Armstrong Philip M
Published: July 2021

BACKGROUND

Mosquito larval control through the use of insecticides is the most common strategy for suppressing West Nile virus (WNV) vector populations in Connecticut (CT), USA. To evaluate the ability of larval control to reduce entomological risk metrics associated with WNV, we performed WNV surveillance and assessments of municipal larvicide application programs in Milford and Stratford, CT in 2019 and 2020. Each town treated catch basins and nonbasin habitats (Milford only) with biopesticide products during both WNV transmission seasons. Adult mosquitoes were collected weekly with gravid and CO2‐baited light traps and tested for WNV; larvae and pupae were sampled weekly from basins within 500 m of trapping sites, and Culex pipiens larval mortality was determined with laboratory bioassays of catch basin water samples.

RESULTS

Declines in 4th instar larvae and pupae were observed in catch basins up to 2‐week post‐treatment, and we detected a positive relationship between adult female C. pipiens collections in gravid traps and pupal abundance in basins. We also detected a significant difference in total light trap collections between the two towns. Despite these findings, C. pipiens adult collections and WNV mosquito infection prevalence in gravid traps were similar between towns.

CONCLUSION

Larvicide applications reduced pupal abundance and the prevalence of host‐seeking adults with no detectable impact on entomological risk metrics for WNV. Further research is needed to better determine the level of mosquito larval control required to reduce WNV transmission risk.
Genetic architecture underlying HPPD‐inhibitor resistance in a Nebraska Amaranthus tuberculatus population
Authors: Murphy Brent P , Beffa Roland , Tranel Patrick J
Published: July 2021

BACKGROUND

Amaranthus tuberculatus is a problematic weed species in Midwest USA agricultural systems. Inhibitors of 4‐hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) are an important chemistry for weed management in numerous cropping systems. Here, we characterize the genetic architecture underlying the HPPD‐inhibitor resistance trait in an A. tuberculatus population (NEB).

RESULTS

Dose–response studies of an F1 generation identified HPPD‐inhibitor resistance as a dominant trait with a resistance factor of 15.0–21.1 based on dose required for 50% growth reduction. Segregation analysis in a pseudo‐F2 generation determined the trait is moderately heritable (H2 = 0.556) and complex. Bulk segregant analysis and validation with molecular markers identified two quantitative trait loci (QTL), one on each of Scaffold 4 and 12.

CONCLUSIONS

Resistance to HPPD inhibitors is a complex, largely dominant trait within the NEB population. Two large‐effect QTL were identified controlling HPPD‐inhibitor resistance in A. tuberculatus. This is the first QTL mapping study to characterize herbicide resistance in a weedy species.
Mechanisms of migrant exclusion: Temporary labour, precarious noncitizenship, and technologies of detention
Authors: Parreñas Rhacel , Landolt Patricia , Goldring Luin , Golash‐Boza Tanya , Silvey Rachel
Published: July 2021

‘Mechanisms of Migrant Exclusion’ focuses on the exclusionary measures that migrant workers confront. Although migration studies have long attended to various social and structural systems of exclusion, for instance, xenophobia and nativism (De Genova, 2005,https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822387091; Golash‐Boza, 2011,https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203123928, and 2015,https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479894666.001.0001), recent global shifts in immigration politics and temporary labour regimes have increased the urgency of attending to the rise of global and transnational systems or regimes of exclusion. Internationally, noncitizens have grown increasingly vulnerable to detention and deportation (Mountz, 2020, 10.5749/j.ctv15d8153), whereas migrant contract workers continue to be systematically denied rights and protections in the labour market (Strauss and McGrath, 2017, 10.1016/j.geoforum.2016.01.008). These mechanisms of exclusion illustrate the range of limitations faced by migrants, particularly those who are undocumented, refugees, or temporary workers.
Kesterite Thin‐Film Solar Cell: Role of Grain Boundaries and Defects in Copper–Zinc–Tin–Sulfide and Copper–Zinc–Tin–Selenide
Authors: Sravani Lingam , Routray Soumyaranjan , Pradhan Kumar Prasannajit , Piedrahita Maykel Courel
Published: July 2021

Kesterite materials, such as copper–zinc–tin–sulfide (CZTS) solar cell, have received considerable attention for low‐cost and high‐efficiency solar cells. However, the material suffers from poor quality of thin film during deposition, which, in turn, creates multiple grain boundaries along the layer. Consequently, a higher density of defects is randomly formed throughout the layer. Herein, the impact of different loss mechanisms on solar cell performance is analyzed. Numerical investigation on the influence of different loss mechanisms such as radiative recombination and recombination through traps and defects on the performance of the device is presented. A remarkable efficiency decrement of 10% in the devices is found due to the presence of defects and grain boundaries.
Poisson's Ratio and Modulus of Gyroid Lattices
Authors: DeValk Tyler , Lakes Roderic
Published: July 2021

Gyroid surface lattices of different densities exhibit Young's modulus consistent with stretch‐dominated extremal behavior approaching the Hashin–Shtrikman upper bound. The gyroid lattices exhibit a Poisson's ratio of 0.34 ± 0.06 independent of direction, independent of specimen diameter, and independent of chirality. This behavior is in contrast with prior chiral lattices that exhibited pronounced size effects in Poisson's ratio, allowable for chiral elastic solids.
Electronic, Vibrational, Elastic, and Piezoelectric Properties of H‐, F‐Functionalized AlN Sheets
Authors: Lv Shi-Jie , Yin Geng-Xin , Cui Hong-Ling , Wang Hai-Yan
Published: July 2021

Hexagonal monolayer AlN (h‐mAlN) is an indirect wide‐gap semiconductor and is attractive for use in optoelectronic devices. Herein, first‐principles calculations are performed to study the electronic, vibrational, elastic, and piezoelectric properties of H and F‐functionalized AlN sheets. The results indicate that the H‐/F‐functionalized (FAlNH) and fully H‐functionalized (HAlNH) sheets are thermodynamically and dynamically stable. FAlNH is a direct bandgap material while HAlNH is still an indirect one. The F(H) atoms in F(H)AlNH bonded with Al act as electron acceptors whereas the H atoms bonded with N are electron donors. Some vibrational modes of these two functionalized systems differ significantly although their structures are similar. Functionalization with the H and F atoms reduces the elastic constants considerably and alters the mechanical performances of both systems. The in‐plane piezoelectric constants of the FAlNH (HAlNH) sheet increase (decrease) surprisingly to about three times (one‐third) that of h‐mAlN. However, the work functions of both systems are enhanced notably. The study provides useful information for modulating the intrinsic properties of h‐mAlN for possible applications.
S‐Scheme Photocatalytic Mechanism of Type‐I Band Alignment in α‐In2Se3/g‐C3N4 Heterostructure
Authors: Liu Ding-Qiong , Jiang Zhen-Yi , Lin Yan-Ming , Zheng Ji-Ming
Published: July 2021

The energy band alignment and photocatalytic performance of α‐In2Se3/g‐C3N4 heterojunctions of two configurations (A and B) are studied through first‐principles calculations. The spontaneous out‐of‐plane electric polarization of α‐In2Se3 points away from g‐C3N4 for configuration A, in which the layer spacing and formation energy are lower than those of configuration B. Configuration A of α‐In2Se3/g‐C3N4 is characteristic of the I‐type energy band alignment and S‐scheme heterojunction for photocatalytic performance, which is different from the II‐type band alignment characteristic of the previous traditional Z‐scheme heterojunctions with a larger built‐in electric field. The existence of a stronger intrinsic electric field of α‐In2Se3 causes the photogenerated electrons in α‐In2Se3 to migrate across the interface region of α‐In2Se3/g‐C3N4 to reach the valence band maximum (VBM) of g‐C3N4 for configuration A. The recombination of the photogenerated electrons from the conduction band minimum (CBM) of α‐In2Se3 with holes from the VBM of g‐C3N4 reduces the number of photogenerated holes in the VBM of g‐C3N4. The photogenerated electrons in the CBM of g‐C3N4 due to the absence of holes move toward the surface of g‐C3N4 and play a significant role in the hydrogen generation activity.
Scalable Nanostructured Silicon with All‐Dielectric Standard RGB Color
Authors: Zhang Qingyao , Wang Yusheng , Xia Zhouhui , Li Xiang , Shao Beibei , Di Zengfeng , Song Tao , Wang Tao , Sun Baoquan
Published: July 2021

Structural colors attract widespread attention in the fields of display and imaging devices due to their durable, vivid, and vibrant colors with subdiffraction resolution. Dielectrics with high refractive indices and negligible optical loss can achieve high‐quality structural colors that exceed the standard RGB (sRGB) color gamut. However, the fabrication processes are complicated and costly as well as limited in color‐printing areas. Herein, a facile strategy is developed to achieve scalable nanostructured silicon to enable various structural sRGB colors via a cost‐effective and straightforward wet‐chemical etching method. By adjusting the etching time, the nanostructured silicon can easily tune its color from ultraviolet to red, which occupies 60% of the sRGB color space. An optical simulation method uncovers the structure color generation mechanism, which indicates the structure color correlated with a random nanostructure reflection mode. In addition, different random‐shaped patterned displays are demonstrated on the nanostructured silicon with a centimeter‐sized substrate. This work provides a facile and efficient way to build structural color on all‐dielectric silicon substrates.
Superatomic nature of metal encapsulated dodecahedrane: The case of M@C20H20 (M = Li, Na, Mg+)
Authors: Ariyarathna Isuru R.
Published: July 2021

The idea of designing unprecedented materials made of superatomic building blocks, motivated the present study on endohedral M@C20H20 (M = Li, Na, Mg+) species. Ground and excited electronic structures of M@C20H20 (M = Li, Na, Mg+) were analyzed by means of high‐level quantum calculations. In their ground states, one electron occupies a defuse superatomic s‐orbital that lies around the C20H20 cage. These entities populate higher angular momentum p‐, d‐, f‐, g‐superatomic orbitals in their low‐lying electronic states. The proposed superatomic Aufbau shell model for Li@C20H20 and Na@C20H20 is 1s, 1p, 1d, 2s, 1f, 2p, 2d, 1g, 2f slightly different from that of Mg@C20H20+ which is 1s, 1p, 1d, 2s, 1f, 2p, 2d, 1g, 3s, 2f, 2g, 3p. These introduced superatomic orbital series resemble the Aufbau principle of solvated electron precursors.
Multi‐innovation Newton recursive methods for solving the support vector machine regression problems
Authors: Ma Hao , Ding Feng , Wang Yan
Published: July 2021

The support vector machine has been widely used in binary classification applications because of the simplicity of its implementation. This article proposes an online identification method based on the support vector machine in the field of parameter identification. By substituting the constraint item into the original criterion function to form a new criterion function about the weight vector and the bias item, and then on the basis of the recursive identification methods, the newly established criterion function is minimized by using the Newton search to derive the Newton recursive support vector machine algorithm. Additionally, in order to improve the performance of the Newton recursive support vector machine algorithm, the multi‐innovation identification theory is applied to optimize the algorithm, and a multi‐innovation Newton recursive support vector machine algorithm is derived. In addition, the convergence and the calculation amount of the proposed algorithms are carefully analyzed in this article. Finally, a numerical simulation example is given to compare the Newton recursive algorithm and the corresponding multi‐innovation recursive algorithm. The results show that the algorithms and optimization strategy studied in this article are effective.
Weighted expectile regression for right‐censored data
Authors: Seipp Alexander , Uslar Verena , Weyhe Dirk , Timmer Antje , Otto‐Sobotka Fabian
Published: July 2021

Expectile regression can be used to analyze the entire conditional distribution of a response, omitting all distributional assumptions. Among its benefits are computational simplicity, efficiency, and the possibility to incorporate a semiparametric predictor. Due to its advantages in full data settings, we propose an extension to right‐censored data situations, where conventional methods typically focus only on mean effects. We propose to extend expectile regression with inverse probability weights. Estimates are easy to implement and computationally simple. Expectiles can be converted to more easily interpreted tail expectations, that is, the expected residual life. It provides a meaningful effect measure, similar to the hazard rate. The results from an extensive simulation study are presented, evaluating consistency and sensitivity to violations of assumptions. We use the proposed method to analyze survival times of colorectal cancer patients from a regional certified high volume cancer center.
Time‐ and Space‐Resolved Flow‐Cytometry of Cell Organelles to Quantify Nanoparticle Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking by Cells
Authors: Garcia Romeu Hector , Deville Sarah , Salvati Anna
Published: July 2021

The design of targeted nanomedicines requires intracellular space‐ and time‐resolved data of nanoparticle distribution following uptake. Current methods to study intracellular trafficking, such as dynamic colocalization by fluorescence microscopy in live cells, are usually low throughput and require extensive analysis of large datasets to quantify colocalization in several individual cells. Here a method based on flow cytometry to easily detect and characterize the organelles in which nanoparticles are internalized and trafficked over time is proposed. Conventional cell fractionation methods are combined with immunostaining and high‐sensitivity organelle flow cytometry to get space‐resolved data of nanoparticle intracellular distribution. By extracting the organelles at different times, time‐resolved data of nanoparticle intracellular trafficking are obtained. The method is validated by determining how nanoparticle size affects the kinetics of arrival to the lysosomes. The results demonstrate that this method allows high‐throughput analysis of nanoparticle uptake and intracellular trafficking by cells, therefore it can be used to determine how nanoparticle design affects their intracellular behavior.
Two‐Dimensional MXene Synapse for Brain‐Inspired Neuromorphic Computing
Authors: Ju Jae Hyeok , Seo Seunghwan , Baek Sungpyo , Lee Dongyoung , Lee Seojoo , Lee Taeran , Kim Byeongchan , Lee Je‐Jun , Koo Jiwan , Choo Hyeongseok , Lee Sungjoo , Park Jin‐Hong
Published: July 2021

MXenes, an emerging class of two‐dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides, have attracted wide attention because of their fascinating properties required in functional electronics. Here, an atomic‐switch‐type artificial synapse fabricated on Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets with lots of surface functional groups, which successfully mimics the dynamics of biological synapses, is reported. Through in‐depth analysis by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, it is found that the synaptic dynamics originated from the gradual formation and annihilation of the conductive metallic filaments on the MXene surface with distributed functional groups. Subsequently, via training and inference tasks using a convolutional neural network for the Canadian‐Institute‐For‐Advanced‐Research‐10 dataset, the applicability of the artificial MXene synapse to hardware neural networks is demonstrated.
Atomic Layer Deposition of Textured Li4Ti5O12: A High‐Power and Long‐Cycle Life Anode for Lithium‐Ion Thin‐Film Batteries
Authors: Speulmanns Jan , Kia Alireza M. , Bönhardt Sascha , Weinreich Wenke , Adelhelm Philipp
Published: July 2021

The “zero‐strain” Li4Ti5O12 is an attractive anode material for 3D solid‐state thin‐film batteries (TFB) to power upcoming autonomous sensor systems. Herein, Li4Ti5O12 thin films fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are electrochemically evaluated for the first time. The developed ALD process with a growth per cycle of 0.6 Å cycle−1 at 300 °C enables high‐quality and dense spinel films with superior adhesion after annealing. The short lithium‐ion diffusion pathways of the nanostructured 30 nm films result in excellent electrochemical properties. Planar films reveal 98% of the theoretical capacity with 588 mAh cm−3 at 1 C. Substrate‐dependent film texture is identified as a key tuning parameter for exceptional C‐rate performance. The highly parallel grains of a strong out‐of‐plane (111)‐texture allow capacities of 278 mAh cm−3 at extreme rates of 200 C. Outstanding cycle performance is demonstrated, resulting in 97.9% capacity retention of the initial 366 mAh cm−3 after 1000 cycles at 100 C. Compared to other deposition techniques, the superior performance of ALD Li4Ti5O12 is a breakthrough towards scalable high‐power 3D TFBs.
Light‐Harvesting Properties of a Subphthalocyanine Solar Absorber Coupled to an Optical Cavity
Authors: Esteso Victoria , Caliò Laura , Espinós Hilario , Lavarda Giulia , Torres Tomás , Feist Johannes , García-Vidal Francisco J. , Bottari Giovanni , Míguez Hernán
Published: July 2021

Herein, both from the experimental and theoretical point of view, the optical absorption properties of a subphthalocyanine (SubPc), an organic macrocycle commonly used as a sunlight harvester, coupled to metallic optical cavities are analyzed. How different electronic transitions characteristic of this compound and specifically those that give rise to excitonic (Q band) and charge transfer (CT band) transitions couple to optical cavity modes is investigated. It is observed that whereas the CT band couples weakly to the cavity, the Q band transitions show evidence of hybridization with the photon eigenstates of the resonator, a distinctive trait of the strong coupling regime. As a result of the different coupling regimes of the two electronic transitions, very different spectral and directional light‐harvesting features are observed, which for the weakly coupled CT transitions are mainly determined by the highly dispersive cavity modes and for the strongly coupled Q band by the less angle‐dependent exciton‐polariton bands. Modeling also allows discriminating parasitic from productive absorption in each case, enabling the estimation of the expected losses in a solar cell acting as an optical resonator.
The Optical Origin of Near‐Unity External Quantum Efficiencies in Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Brinkmann Kai Oliver , Becker Tim , Zimmermann Florian , Kreusel Cedric , Gahlmann Tobias , Haeger Tobias , Riedl Thomas
Published: July 2021

With the emergence of highly efficient perovskite solar cells in both single‐ and multijunction architectures, there is an abundance of reports of extremely high external quantum efficiencies (EQE) up to 98%. Typically, the spectral maximum of the EQE is found in the range between 400 and 500 nm, which is even more surprising, as the transmittance of typically used indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrates does not exceed 90% in this wavelength range. Herein, the root cause of the high EQE values by a combination of experimental data and optical simulations is analyzed and explained. It is shown that the high refractive index of the perovskite absorber is strongly increasing the transmittance of incident light into the active perovskite layer, while the spectral distribution and ultimately the spectral position of the peak in the transmittance spectrum are strongly affected by the thickness and optical properties of the underlying transparent electrode.
Spray‐Coated Lead‐Free Cs2AgBiBr6 Double Perovskite Solar Cells with High Open‐Circuit Voltage
Authors: Daem Nathan , Dewalque Jennifer , Lang Felix , Maho Anthony , Spronck Gilles , Henrist Catherine , Colson Pierre , Stranks Samuel D. , Cloots Rudi
Published: July 2021

Lead‐free Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskite is considered a promising alternative photovoltaic absorber to the widely used lead halide perovskite due to its easy processability, high stability, and reduced toxicity. Herein, for the first time spray processing for the deposition of Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskite thin films is reported. Microstructural (X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy) and optoelectronic (absorbance, photoluminescence, photocurrent density versus applied voltage curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) properties of spray‐coated film are compared with the spin‐coated benchmark. Incorporation of the spray‐coated Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskite thin films in solar cells leads to a 2.3% photoconversion efficiency with high open‐circuit voltage of 1.09 V. This study highlights the suitability of ultrasonic spray deposition for the optimization of Cs2AgBiBr6 solar cells in terms of light absorption properties and charge transfer at the Cs2AgBiBr6/hole transporting layer interface.
Germanene Nanosheets: Achieving Superior Sodium‐Ion Storage via Pseudointercalation Reactions
Authors: Liu Nana , Xu Kang , Lei Yaojie , Xi Yilian , Liu Yani , Wang Nana , Wang Yun-Xiao , Xu Xun , Hao Weichang , Dou Shi Xue , Du Yi
Published: July 2021

The potential of germanium‐based anodes for sodium‐ion batteries (NIBs) is seriously hindered by the high diffusion barrier of Na ions in the Ge lattice. Herein, a massive and defect‐rich 2D germanene nanosheet based anode is fabricated and exhibits enhanced Na‐storage performance for NIBs. Unlike the typical alloying/dealloying reactions of crystalline Ge, the germanene nanosheets are converted to go through a pseudointercalation mechanism during charge/discharge processes. Accordingly, the diffusion energy barriers of sodium atoms in the germanene nanosheets are significantly reduced, leading to high Na‐storage activity. Combined with its large surface area, high mechanical flexibility, fast electron mobility as well as its defect‐rich structure, the germanene anode delivers an initial capacity of 695 mAh g−1, enhanced cycling performance, and outstanding rate capacities, compared with those of GeH nanosheets and Ge particles. It is believed that the germanene anode not only extends the scope of germanene application, but also provides new insights for adjusting Na‐storage pathways toward superior battery performance.
Digital innovation and Industry 4.0 for global value chain resilience: Lessons learned and ways forward
Authors: Dilyard John , Zhao Shasha , You Jacqueline Jing
Published: July 2021

This perspective article highlights some major implications of the recent pandemic (Covid‐19) on global value chains (GVCs) and how the pandemic can accelerate the adoption of digital and Industry 4.0 technologies in GVCs, with attention paid to multinational enterprises and small‐medium enterprises. Particularly, it discusses the potential value of digital technologies in enhancing GVC resilience for better mitigation of disruptions caused by future global shocks. It also proposes useful avenues for future policy considerations to support and direct deployment of digital technologies across key stakeholders in GVCs.
In vitro antimetastatic activity of Momordica balsamina crude acetone extract in HT‐29 human colon cancer cells
Authors: Serala Karabo , Steenkamp Paul , Mampuru Leseilane , Prince Sharon , Poopedi Kgomotso , Mbazima Vusi
Published: July 2021

Plant‐derived compounds and/or extracts have proven to be beneficial for the treatment of a broad spectrum of cancers with minimal side effects. In this study, we investigated whether a crude acetone extract of Momordica balsamina (MBE) can interfere with the metastatic ability of HT‐29 colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. The phytochemical composition of MBE was determined by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography and cytotoxic effects by the MTT and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining assays. The effect of MBE on the formation of reactive oxygen species was assessed using the DCFH2‐DA assay. Wound healing assay, transwell cell invasion assay, cell adhesion assay, and the extracellular matrix‐cell adhesion array were used to assess the antimetastatic effects of MBE. The effect of MBE on the expression of TNF‐α, NF‐κB, TIMP‐3, MMP‐2, and MMP‐9 was assessed by western blot analysis. Our results showed that MBE consists of a mixture of compounds without a known anticancer activity in CRC and exhibits cytotoxicity against HT‐29 cells. MBE also suppressed reactive oxygen species formation, cell invasion, cell migration, and cell adhesion. The reduction of cell invasion was associated with the downregulation of TNF‐α, NF‐κB, MMP2, and MMP9 and upregulation of TIMP‐3 proteins. We concluded that MBE inhibits the metastatic ability of HT‐29 CRC cells in vitro.
Norcantharidin combined with paclitaxel induces endoplasmic reticulum stress mediated apoptotic effect in prostate cancer cells by targeting SIRT7 expression
Authors: Wu Min‐Hua , Hui Su‐Chun , Chen Yong‐Syuan , Chiou Hui‐Ling , Lin Ching‐Yi , Lee Chien‐Hsing , Hsieh Yi‐Hsien
Published: July 2021

Prostate cancer (PCa), an extremely common malignancy in males, is the most prevalent disease in several countries. Norcantharidin (NCTD) has antiproliferation, antimetastasis, apoptosis, and autophagy effects in various tumor cells. Nevertheless, the antitumor effect of NCTD combined with paclitaxel (PTX), a chemotherapeutic drug, in PCa remains unknown. The cell growth, proliferative rate, cell cycle distribution, and cell death were determined by 3‐[4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl]‐2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide, colony formation assay, PI staining, and Annexin V/PI staining by flow cytomertry, whereas the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was evaluated using the MitoPotential assay and ER‐ID red assay. We also evaluated the protein and mRNA expression of SIRTs by Western blotting and qRTPCR assay. Overexpression effectivity was measured by DNA transfection assay. Our study showed that cell viability and proliferative PC3 and DU145 rates were effectively inhibited after NCTD‐PTX combination. We also found that NCTD‐PTX combination treatment significantly enhance G2/M phase arrest, induction of cell death and ER stress, loss of MMP, and ER‐ or apoptotic‐related protein expression. Furthermore, NCTD‐PTX combination treatment was significantly decreasing the protein and mRNA expression of SIRT7 in PCa cells. Combination therapy effectively reduced cell viability, ER stress‐mediated apoptosis and p‐eIF2α/ATF4/CHOP/cleaved‐PARP expression inhibition in SIRT7 overexpression of PCa cells. These results indicate that NCTD combined with PTX induces ER stress‐mediated apoptosis of PCa cells by regulating the SIRT7 expression axis. Moreover, combination therapy may become a potential therapeutic strategy against human PCa.
Moving Beyond Decoding: Teaching Pronoun Resolution to Develop Reading Comprehension
Authors: Letchford Lois , Rasinski Timothy
Published: July 2021

"Little" Words often carry complex meanings. Pronoun resolution is an essential component of comprehension. Skilled readers work to maintain text cohesion (i.e., they resolve the pronouns as needed.) Less proficient readers often are not as proficient in resolving pronouns. Limited pronoun resolution limits comprehension. This article defines pronoun resolution as a comprehension task and offers instructional approaches to teaching students this oft‐neglected comprehension strategy.
Physiological, oxidative and metabolic responses of lactating water buffaloes to tropical climate of South China
Authors: Li Mengwei , Hassan Faiz‐ul , Tang Zhenhua , Guo Yanxia , Liang Xin , Peng Lijuan , Xie Huade , Yang Chengjian
Published: July 2021

Background

Heat stress in tropics is generally associated with significant economic losses resulting from reduced performance, morbidity, and mortality of livestock. To avoid serious consequences of heat stress, it is imperative to better understand the physiological responses and biochemical changes under the state of altered body homeostasis during different seasons of the year.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the seasonal dynamics of physiological, oxidative and metabolic responses of lactating Nili‐Ravi buffaloes to the tropical climate of South China.

Methods

Physiological responses including rectal temperature (RT), body surface temperature (BST) and respiratory rate (RR) along with serum biochemical and antioxidant parameters of 20 lactating Nili‐Ravi buffaloes were evaluated during different seasons of the year.

Results

Higher temperature‐humidity Index (THI) during the summer season (>80) resulted in a significant increases in RR and BST as compared to the winter season. Higher oxidative stress was observed in the summer season as revealed by significantly higher MDA while lower serum antioxidant enzyme (TAC, GSH‐Px, SOD and CAT) contents. Moreover, serum cortisol was also significantly higher in summer and autumn. The levels of growth hormone and ACTH were also significantly (P < 0.05) lower in summer and autumn as compared to other seasons. The negative association of THI with physiological and antioxidant parameters was observed while it was positively associated with serum MDA and cortisol levels.

Conclusions

Our study revealed moderate heat stress in lactating buffaloes in the summer season which calls for attention to avoid economic losses and animal welfare issues.
Fabrication of bacterial cellulose with high efficient loading of Ag andTiO2nanoparticles for removing organic dyes
Authors: Hu Jinyan , Liu Suo , Wu Dingsheng , Pan Dengyu , Feng Quan
Published: July 2021

As a new advanced oxidation technology, photocatalytic technology has broad application prospects in the field of wastewater treatment. However, in the actual use process, there will be difficulties in catalyst recovery and reuse. This article successfully prepared bacterial cellulose (BC) loaded silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (Ag‐plated TiO2/BC composite pellicle) by in situ embedding method. BC not only works as the carrier to load TiO2and Ag NPs but also adsorbs dyes to promote the reaction. As a reusable photocatalytic film, it is convenient to use and recycle in terms of testing and characterization compared with powders. The results show that Ag and TiO2nanoparticles were closely embedded in BC. We evaluated the photocatalytic degradation performance of the catalyst on methylene blue (MB), active red X‐3B, and Rhodamine B. When the reaction time was 2 h, the dye removal rates were 71%, 68%, and 82.6%. At the same time, through the inhibition zone experiment, it was found that the material has a certain inhibitory effect on bothEscherichia coliandStaphylococcus aureus. Therefore, the supported catalyst prepared by this method has the advantages of high catalytic activity, relatively stable property, easy recovery, and tailorability, making it potentially applicable in sewage post‐treatment links.
The value of airborne wind energy to the electricity system
Authors: Malz Elena C. , Walter Viktor , Göransson Lisa , Gros Sebastien
Published: July 2021

Airborne wind energy (AWE) is a new power generation technology that harvests wind energy at high altitudes using tethered wings. The potentially higher energy yield, combined with expected lower costs compared to traditional wind turbines (WTs), motivates interest in further developing this technology. However, commercial systems are currently unavailable to provide more detailed information on costs and power generation. This study estimates the economic value of AWE in the future electricity system, and by that indicates which cost levels are required for AWE to be competitive. A specific focus is put on the relation between AWE systems (AWESs) and WTs. For this work, ERA‐5 wind data are used to compute the power generation of the wind power technologies, which is implemented in a cost‐minimizing electricity system model. By forcing a certain share of the annual electricity demand to be supplied by AWESs, the marginal system value (MSV) of AWE is investigated. The MSV is found to be affected by the AWE share, the wind resource, and the temporal distribution of the AWES's electricity generation. The MSV of AWE is location‐ and system‐dependent and ranges between 1.4 and 2.2
at a low share of AWE supply (0%–30%). At higher shares, the MSV drops. The power generation of WTs and AWESs are related, implying that the wind technologies present a similar power source and can be used interchangeably. Thus, the introduction of AWESs will have a low impact on the cost‐optimal wind power share in the electricity system, unless an AWES cost far below the system‐specific MSV is attained.
Determination of peaking factors for sewerage system in Antalya, tourism capital of Turkey
Authors: Tan Remziye İlayda , Arslankaya Ertan , Kesgin Erdal , Agaccioglu Hayrullah
Published: July 2021

The design of wastewater system pipe size is traditionally based on the maximum wastewater flow that is a function of multiple factors. Understanding the appropriate peaking factors (PF) by using daily flow variations through wastewater collection systems (WWCS) is essential for cost‐effective design. This paper describes the maximum and minimum PFs by using wastewater flow data of four separate residential areas such as Lara, Belek‐1, Kemer, and Hurma in Antalya, which is the tourism capital of Turkey. The study involves the analysis of wastewater data recorded at daily interval for two different time periods (2006–2009 and 2016–2019) in Antalya. There is a comprehensive investigation regarding PFs that involves sustained peaking flow and percentiles. Therefore, a new empirical equation was proposed by using wastewater flowrate for the estimation of the maximum daily peaking factor. When the daily PFs are determined in the range of 1.31–1.52, 1.60–2.58, 2.26–3.29, and 1.93–2.29 for Lara, Belek‐1, Kemer, and Hurma wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for 2016–2019 time period, they are in the range of 2.19–2.93 and 1.95–3.31 for Lara and Hurma WWTPs for the time period of 2006–2009, respectively. In brief, this study presents a comprehensive calculation of PFs with a determination of their sustained flow analysis with different durations and percentiles.

Practitioner Points

This study presents the findings regarding peaking factors and its statistical analysis for different time periods.

Statistical analysis included sustained flow, and the percentile of peaking factors was applied to waste water flow data for touristic city of Antalya.

The new formula of
was determined by using more touristic areas of Antalya within the scope of estimation of the daily peaking factor for dry weather flow by using average daily wastewater flowrate data with the determination coefficient of 0.95.
NNrepair: Constraint-Based Repair of Neural Network Classifiers
Authors: Usman Muhammad , Gopinath Divya , Sun Youcheng , Noller Yannic , Păsăreanu Corina S.
Published: July 2021

We present NNrepair, a constraint-based technique for repairing neural network classifiers. The technique aims to fix the logic of the network at an intermediate layer or at the last layer. NNrepair first uses fault localization to find potentially faulty network parameters (such as the weights) and then performs repair using constraint solving to apply small modifications to the parameters to remedy the defects. We present novel strategies to enable precise yet efficient repair such as inferring correctness specifications to act as oracles for intermediate layer repair, and generation of experts for each class. We demonstrate the technique in the context of three different scenarios: (1) Improving the overall accuracy of a model, (2) Fixing security vulnerabilities caused by poisoning of training data and (3) Improving the robustness of the network against adversarial attacks. Our evaluation on MNIST and CIFAR-10 models shows that NNrepair can improve the accuracy by 45.56% points on poisoned data and 10.40% points on adversarial data. NNrepair also provides small improvement in the overall accuracy of models, without requiring new data or re-training.
PEREGRiNN: Penalized-Relaxation Greedy Neural Network Verifier
Authors: Khedr Haitham , Ferlez James , Shoukry Yasser
Published: July 2021

Neural Networks (NNs) have increasingly apparent safety implications commensurate with their proliferation in real-world applications: both unanticipated as well as adversarial misclassifications can result in fatal outcomes. As a consequence, techniques of formal verification have been recognized as crucial to the design and deployment of safe NNs. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to formally verify the most commonly considered safety specifications for ReLU NNs – i.e. polytopic specifications on the input and output of the network. Like some other approaches, ours uses a relaxed convex program to mitigate the combinatorial complexity of the problem. However, unique in our approach is the way we use a convex solver not only as a linear feasibility checker, but also as a means of penalizing the amount of relaxation allowed in solutions. In particular, we encode each ReLU by means of the usual linear constraints, and combine this with a convex objective function that penalizes the discrepancy between the output of each neuron and its relaxation. This convex function is further structured to force the largest relaxations to appear closest to the input layer; this provides the further benefit that the most “problematic” neurons are conditioned as early as possible, when conditioning layer by layer. This paradigm can be leveraged to create a verification algorithm that is not only faster in general than competing approaches, but is also able to verify considerably more safety properties; we evaluated PEREGRiNN on a standard MNIST robustness verification suite to substantiate these claims.
Isla: Integrating Full-Scale ISA Semantics and Axiomatic Concurrency Models
Authors: Armstrong Alasdair , Campbell Brian , Simner Ben , Pulte Christopher , Sewell Peter
Published: July 2021

Architecture specifications such as Armv8-A and RISC-V are the ultimate foundation for software verification and the correctness criteria for hardware verification. They should define the allowed sequential and relaxed-memory concurrency behaviour of programs, but hitherto there has been no integration of full-scale instruction-set architecture (ISA) semantics with axiomatic concurrency models, either in mathematics or in tools. These ISA semantics can be surprisingly large and intricate, e.g. 100k+ lines for Armv8-A.

   In this paper we present a tool, Isla, for computing the allowed behaviours of concurrent litmus tests with respect to full-scale ISA definitions, in Sail, and arbitrary axiomatic relaxed-memory concurrency models, in the Cat language. It is based on a generic symbolic engine for Sail ISA specifications, which should be valuable also for other verification tasks. We equip the tool with a web interface to make it widely accessible, and illustrate and evaluate it for Armv8-A and RISC-V.

   By using full-scale and authoritative ISA semantics, this lets one evaluate litmus tests using arbitrary user instructions with high confidence. Moreover, because these ISA specifications give detailed and validated definitions of the sequential aspects of systems functionality, as used by hypervisors and operating systems, e.g. instruction fetch, exceptions, and address translation, our tool provides a basis for developing concurrency semantics for these. We demonstrate this for the Armv8-A instruction-fetch model and self-modifying code examples of Simner et al.
Summing up Smart Transitions
Authors: Elad Neta , Rain Sophie , Immerman Neil , Kovács Laura , Sagiv Mooly
Published: July 2021

Some of the most significant high-level properties of currencies are the sums of certain account balances. Properties of such sums can ensure the integrity of currencies and transactions. For example, the sum of balances should not be changed by a transfer operation. Currencies manipulated by code present a verification challenge to mathematically prove their integrity by reasoning about computer programs that operate over them, e.g., in Solidity. The ability to reason about sums is essential: even the simplest ERC-20 token standard of the Ethereum community provides a way to access the total supply of balances.

Unfortunately, reasoning about code written against this interface is non-trivial: the number of addresses is unbounded, and establishing global invariants like the preservation of the sum of the balances by operations like transfer requires higher-order reasoning. In particular, automated reasoners do not provide ways to specify summations of arbitrary length.

In this paper, we present a generalization of first-order logic which can express the unbounded sum of balances. We prove the decidablity of one of our extensions and the undecidability of a slightly richer one. We introduce first-order encodings to automate reasoning over software transitions with summations. We demonstrate the applicability of our results by using SMT solvers and first-order provers for validating the correctness of common transitions in smart contracts.