bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cold atmospheric plasma inhibits vesicle transport of human osteosarcoma cells visualized by super‐resolution fluorescence microscopy
Authors: Zhu Cheng , Chen Chong , Guo Jinsong , Wang Qun , Rao Junfeng , Li Hui , Wu Xiaodong , Zhuang Jie
Published: February 2022

Vesicle transport plays a key role in cancer invasion and metastasis. As a promising cancer treatment modality, the impact of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on vesicle transport has been barely examined. In this study, super‐resolution structured illumination microscopy (SIM) was employed to track the intracellular vesicles of osteosarcoma cells. Results indicated that CAP exposure could disintegrate vesicle clusters and individual vesicles. After 20 s of CAP treatment, the average velocity of intracellular vesicles decreased from 0.140 to 0.037 μm/s, while the 60 s maximum displacement declined from 7.76 to 3.26 μm. Significant inhibition of vesicle transport between osteosarcoma cells and human bronchial epithelium was observed after CAP treatment. These findings may shed some light on understanding CAP–cancer cell interactions.
Nitrogen‐Enriched Mesoporous Carbon Spheres as Efficient Anode Material for Long‐Cycle Li/Na‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Ali Shamshad , Waqas Muhammad , Thaheem Imdadullah , Hussain Ayaz , Soomro Afaque Manzoor , Bhutto Zuhaibuddin , Muhammad Wazir , Shah Syed Ali Raza , Shah Jalal
Published: February 2022

Nitrogen doping with carbon material substantially enhances the electrochemical properties in lithium and sodium batteries. However, direct treating at high temperature fails to create high nitrogen content, thus limiting the morphological as well as electrochemical performances. Herein, a hydrophilic material xanthan and acid‐treated melamine are doped by a dual process of hydrothermal and carbonization, enabling high nitrogen content (28%) carbon spheres. The highly defected nanosphere structures (ID/IG = 1.14) enable the high specific surface area of 388 m2 g−1, which facilitates a large number of lithium/sodium ions and gives rise to remarkable electrochemical performances. When applied as an anode, the nitrogen‐doped porous sphere xanthan (NPS‐XAN) delivers a superior discharge capacity of 390 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g−1 for lithium anode and maintains a discharge capacity of 262 mAh g−1 after 2800 cycles at 1 A g−1 for sodium anode. This work signifies superior capacity anodes for Li/Na‐ion batteries and contributes to the long‐life cycling energy application.
Role of Local FCC Structure to the BCC Polycrystalline NbMoTaWV High‐Entropy Refractory Alloy under Plastic Deformation
Authors: Ju Shin-Pon , Li Chen-Chun
Published: February 2022

The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to explore the role of local face‐centered cubic (FCC) structure to the body‐centered cubic (BCC) polycrystalline Nb20.6Mo21.7Ta15.6W21.1V21.0 refractory high‐entropy alloy under plastic deformation. With the grain size of 25.3, 27.9, and 31.9 nm, the dislocation propagation within grains at strains larger than the ultimate strain is the dominant deformation mechanism. With the grain size of 20.1 and 15.6 nm, the dislocation propagation within the grain and the local structural transformation from BCC to the undefined type at the grain/grain boundary (GB) interface are two main deformation mechanisms. With the grain size of 10.0 and 5.2 nm, the local BCC structures of grain atoms significantly become the undefined type, which is the main deformation mechanism during the tensile process. The FCC fraction increases from yield strain to ultimate strain, and remains a FCC fraction of the highest value, indicating the role of local FCC structure is more significant for the cases without dislocation deformation mechanism. Once a large amount of BCC atoms is transformed into the undefined type, some BCC atoms need to transform into local FCC atoms for making their neighbor BCC atoms more local space to decrease the energy barrier for the BCC transformation to the undefined type.
Further theories on application of new generalized probability density function and its applications
Authors: Erem Aysegul , Bilgehan Bülent , Özyapıcı Ali , Boratas Sensoy Zehra
Published: February 2022

The exponential‐based probability density functions (PDFs) such as Gaussian, exponential, and Rayleigh are widely used in lifetime modeling, survival analysis, and engineering. Recently, the generalized probability density functions consisting a well‐known exponential PDFs were introduced and successfully applied in electrical and electronic engineering. After encouraging results of generalized PDF, further theories and applications are considered within this paper. The parameters of the new (GE) PDF were successfully derived by using the maximum likelihood estimation method. The applications in the paper show that the new generalized probability density function based on maximum likelihood parameter estimators provides more effective probabilistic representation. In this study, statistical properties of new GE distribution is discussed. Some reliability characteristics such as hazard function, mean residual lifetime (MRL) function, and mean past lifetime (MPL) functions are obtained based on special functions. Also, th moment of the new GE random variable is obtained in analytical form. Maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) of parameters are also discussed. Lastly, some illustrative examples in engineering and survival analysis are provided based on different real data sets.
Place‐based learning processes in a family science workshop: Discussion prompts supporting families sensemaking and rural science connections using a community water model
Authors: McClain Lucy R. , Chiu Yu‐Chen , Zimmerman Heather Toomey
Published: February 2022

This study addresses intergenerational learning processes in informal settings by investigating families engaging in science talk and practices during a water quality science workshop led by local science experts. As part of a larger design‐based research study, this analysis examines how modified Think–Pair–Share discussion prompts within the water quality workshop curriculum supported the families' (a) sensemaking strategies and (b) place‐based scientific reasoning about local water sources as they interacted with a community water model. Using sociocultural theories of learning as our foundational basis, we analyzed parent–child interactions and family sensemaking processes that took place in four workshops with 44 h of video data (12 families). Through our analysis, we identified six distinct types of sensemaking conversations that arose during the workshops: (1) family experience connection, (2) rural connection, (3) model contextualizing, (4) parent revoicing, (5) parent questioning, and (6) prediction. We also found that families spatially distributed physical gestures over three media (air, table, community water model) to support different types of sensemaking conversations. Our findings point towards the importance of family discussion prompts in informal programs as a mediational means that connects abstract science topics to local, rural experiences to support family sensemaking practices. Implications for designing family‐focused science workshops in informal settings include designing discussion prompts to spark families' personally relevant connections with science and providing ample physical space for families to gesture during sensemaking conversations.
Oxygen Vacancies and Interface Engineering on Amorphous/Crystalline CrOx‐Ni3N Heterostructures toward High‐Durability and Kinetically Accelerated Water Splitting
Authors: Yang Mingyang , Zhao Mengxuan , Yuan Ji , Luo Junxuan , Zhang Junjun , Lu Zhouguang , Chen Dazhu , Fu Xianzhu , Wang Lei , Liu Chen
Published: February 2022

Manipulating catalytic active sites and reaction kinetics in alkaline media is crucial for rationally designing mighty water‐splitting electrocatalysts with high efficiency. Herein, the coupling between oxygen vacancies and interface engineering is highlighted to fabricate a novel amorphous/crystalline CrOx‐Ni3N heterostructure grown on Ni foam for accelerating the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the electron transfer from amorphous CrOx to Ni3N at the interfaces, and the optimized Gibbs free energies of H2O dissociation (ΔGH−OH) and H adsorption (ΔGH) in the amorphous/crystalline CrOx‐Ni3N heterostructure are conducive to the superior and stable HER activity. Experimental data confirm that numerous oxygen vacancies and amorphous/crystalline interfaces in the CrOx‐Ni3N catalysts are favorable for abundant accessible active sites and enhanced intrinsic activity, resulting in excellent catalytic performances for HER and OER. Additionally, the in situ reconstruction of CrOx‐Ni3N into highly active Ni3N/Ni(OH)2 is responsible for the optimized OER performance in a long‐term stability test. Eventually, an alkaline electrolyzer using CrOx‐Ni3N as both cathode and anode has a low cell voltage of 1.53 V at 10 mA cm−2, together with extraordinary durability for 500 h, revealing its potential in industrial applications.
Strong, Healable, Stimulus‐Responsive Fluorescent Elastomers Based on Assembled Borate Dynamic Nanostructures
Authors: Qiu Xiaoyan , Cui Qinke , Guo Quanquan , Zhou Tao , Zhang Xinxing , Tian Ming
Published: February 2022

Self‐healing materials integrated with robust mechanical property and fascinating functions synchronously hold great prospects in many applications, but it still remains a grand challenge. Here, a bottom‐up assembly method of preparing borate dynamic nanostructures (BDN) with controllable morphologies and interfacial crosslinks is proposed, from which a robust self‐healing elastomer is fabricated. The BDN is optimized to construct dense and strong interfacial boronic easter crosslinks, endowing the elastomer with outstanding stretchability (2050%), high strength (17.9 MPa) as well as healing efficiency (77.1%). Moreover, the elastomer also exhibits pH stimulus‐responsive fluorescence property and excellent functional repairability, enabling its potential application in intelligent material fields such as information encoding and encryption. This study demonstrates a general approach to produce self‐healable functional materials with robust mechanical properties, and defines a rich platform for exploring various functional nanostructured materials.
All‐In‐One Biomimetic Nanoplatform Based on Hollow Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Synergistically Enhanced Radiotherapy of Colon Cancer
Authors: Gong Liuyun , Zhang Yujie , Zhao Jing , Zhang Yilei , Tu Kangsheng , Jiao Lianying , Xu Qiuran , Zhang Mingzhen , Han Suxia
Published: February 2022

Even though radiotherapy is the most important therapeutic strategy for colon cancer treatment, there is an enormous demand to improve radiosensitivity in solid tumor destruction. For this purpose, a biomimetic nanoplatform based on hollow polydopamine nanoparticles (HP) with homologous targeting and pH‐responsive drug release properties is designed. In this work, HP is constructed by using a chelation competition‐induced polymerization strategy and then modified with the cancer cell membrane. Hollow polydopamine integrated with Pt nanoparticles (Pt@HP) has a catalase‐like activity, which can be used to trigger endogenous H2O2 into O2, relieving hypoxia of the tumor microenvironment (TME). With mesoporous shells and large cavities, Pt@HP shows efficient apoptin100–109 (AP) and verteporfin (VP) loading to form AVPt@HP@M. Under X‐ray irradiation, AVPt@HP@M exerts a radiosensitization effect via multiple strategies, including relieving hypoxia (Pt NPs), enhancing tumor apoptosis (AP), and X‐ray‐induced photodynamic therapy (X‐PDT) (VP). Further metabonomics analysis shows that the specific mechanism of the AVPt@HP@M is through influencing purine metabolism. Without appreciable systemic toxicity, this nanoplatform highlights a new strategy for effective radiosensitization and provides a reference for treating malignant tumors.
Liquid‐Suspended and Liquid‐Bridged Liquid Metal Microdroplets
Authors: Kim Jieun , Lee Joohyung
Published: February 2022

Liquid metals (LMs) and alloys are attracting increasing attention owing to their combined advantages of high conductivity and fluidity, and have shown promising results in various emerging applications. Patterning technologies using LMs are being actively researched; among them, direct ink writing is considered a potentially viable approach for efficient LM additive manufacturing. However, true LM additive manufacturing with arbitrary printing geometries remains challenging because of the intrinsically low rheological strength of LMs. Herein, colloidal suspensions of LM droplets amenable to additive manufacturing (or “3D printing”) are realized using formulations containing minute amounts of liquid capillary bridges. The resulting LM suspensions exhibit exceptionally high rheological strength with yield stress values well above 103 Pa, attributed to inter‐droplet capillary attraction mediated by the liquid bridges adsorbed on the oxide skin of the LM droplets. Such liquid‐bridged LM suspensions, as extrudable ink‐type filaments, are based on uncurable continuous‐phase liquid media, have a long pot‐life and outstanding shear‐thinning properties, and shape retention, demonstrating excellent rheological processability suitable for 3D printing. These findings will enable the emergence of a variety of new advanced applications that necessitate LM patterning into highly complicated multidimensional structures.
Ternary Organic Solar Cell with 1750 h Half Lifetime Under Ultraviolet Irradiation with Solar Intensity
Authors: Tran Ho Ngoc Khanh , Liu Chia-Chen , Chiu Kuan-Yun , Meng Hsin-Fei , Chao Yu-Chiang , Li Fenghong , Yu Peichen , Zan Hsiao-Wen , Horng Sheng-Fu
Published: February 2022

The ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the solar spectrum causes most of the decay under sunlight for solar cells based on organic photovoltaics (OPV). One‐year outdoor lifetime still remains challenging for OPV. The lifetime of 2000 h under continuous laboratory light corresponds to a 1 year outdoor lifetime. Herein, the stability of the OPVs is studied under continuous irradiation by a UV light emitting diode of 365 nm with a long tracking time. The intensity of 50 W m−2 is the same as the sunlight UV. The compositions of the active layer and cathode interfacial layer are sensitive to UV irradiation. In general, ternary devices have better UV stability than binary devices. In particular, a good stability is achieved for the ternary device based on the high‐performance blend with poly[(2,6‐(4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl‐3‐fluoro)thiophen‐2‐yl)‐benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b']dithiophene))‐alt‐(5,5‐(1',3'‐di‐2‐thienyl‐5',7'‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)benzo[1',2'‐c:4',5'‐c']dithiophene‐4,8‐dione)] (PM6) as the donor. The acceptor is 2,2'‐((2Z,2'Z)‐((12,13‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)‐3,9‐diundecyl‐12,13‐dihydro‐[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4‐e]thieno[2",3":4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2‐g]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2‐b]indole‐2,10‐diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6‐difluoro‐3‐oxo‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indene‐2,1‐diylidene))dimalononitrile (Y6). The fullerene derivative [6,6]‐phenyl C71‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) is added as the second acceptor, whereas a polymer poly[(2,6‐(4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl)thiophen‐2‐yl)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b']dithiophene))‐co‐(1,3‐di(5‐thiophene‐2‐yl)‐5,7‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)benzo[1,2‐c:4,5‐c']dithiophene‐4,8‐dione)] (PBDB‐T) is added as the second donor. For the PM6:Y6 ternary device, the UV half lifetime is 1750 h, which is close to the 2000 h target set by the outdoor of a 1 year lifetime.
Solvent Tuning of the Active Layer Morphology of Non‐Fullerene Based Organic Solar Cells
Authors: Grott Sebastian , Kotobi Amir , Reb Lennart K. , Weindl Christian L. , Guo Renjun , Yin Shanshan , Wienhold Kerstin S. , Chen Wei , Ameri Tayebeh , Schwartzkopf Matthias , Roth Stephan V. , Müller-Buschbaum Peter
Published: February 2022

Non‐fullerene acceptor (NFA)‐based organic solar cells have made tremendous progress in recent years. For the neat NFA system PBDB‐T:ITIC, the film morphology and crystallinity are tailored by the choice of the solvent used for spin coating the active layers. Three different chlorinated solvents, chlorobenzene (CB), chloroform, and dichlorobenzene, are compared and the obtained active layer morphology is correlated with the optoelectronic properties and the device performance. The small domain sizes in the case of CB are most beneficial for the device performance, whereas the largest number or size of face‐on PBDB‐T crystallites is not causing the highest power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). In addition, when using CB, the number of edge‐on crystallites is highest and the distances between neighboring domains are small. The smoothest blend films are realized with CB, which exhibit correlated roughness with their substrates and no large aggregates have formed in these blend films. Thus, CB offers the best way to balance the aggregation and crystallization kinetics in the active layer and enables the highest PCE values.
Effects of Soluble and Insoluble Dietary Fiber from Corn Bran on Pasting, Thermal, and Structural Properties of Corn Starch
Authors: Li Sheng , Liu Huimin , Zheng Qihang , Hu Nannan , Zheng Mingzhu , Liu Jingsheng
Published: February 2022

In this study, the effects of various concentrations (1%, 2%, 3%, 5%) soluble dietary fiber (SDF) and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF) from corn bran on the pasting, rheological, and thermal properties and the microstructure of corn starch (CS) are investigated. The findings show that the addition of dietary fiber inhibits the short‐term retrogradation of starch and decreases the relaxation time of weakly bound water. The SDF and IDF reduce endothermic enthalpy from 11.79 to 8.81 and 8.80 (J g−1), respectively (p  <  0.05). The addition of SDF significantly inhibits the gelatinization of starch (p  <  0.05), which reduces viscosity during CS pasting. In addition, 5% of SDF significantly (p  <  0.05) reduces the wavenumber ratio value (1047 cm–1/1022 cm–1) from 0.906 to 0.861 and decreases the strength of the CS gel from 653.29 to 75.66. The CS‐SDF gel shows a sheet‐like network structure, while in the CS‐IDF gel, IDF is embedded in a network structure. This research further expands the understanding of the interaction between dietary fiber and starch during processing and allows the improvement of high dietary fiber product quality.
Finite element numerical simulation of a cable‐stayed bridge construction through the progressive cantilever method
Authors: Souza Hoffman Igor , Manica Lazzari Bruna , Campos Américo , Manica Lazzari Paula , Rodrigues Pacheco Alexandre
Published: February 2022

Cable‐stayed structures have become popular worldwide as one of the main alternatives for bridge designs with spans from 200 to 1000 m. Due to the dimensions of the structural elements that typically compose such bridges and their nonlinear structural behavior, it is usually employed in the designing phases an analysis that considers the executive process to predict the stay‐cables prestress and the deck elevation. Other relevant factor to consider in numerical simulations is the materials viscous behavior since they have an important role in deflection responses. This study simulates numerically, using the Finite Element Method (FEM), the phases of a prestressed concrete cable‐stayed bridge construction by the progressive cantilever method. The ANSYS software, version 19.2, is customized in its USERMAT3D subroutine, which is used to introduce the viscoelastic models for creep and shrinkage, and the cracking of concrete into the main software. The FEM model simulates the pylon, deck, and stay‐cables of the bridge. The vertical displacements of the deck and the history of forces in the stay‐cables are compared with the measurements taken during a real bridge construction showing good agreement. Horizontal displacements of the pylon and the stress–strain history in the concrete with the construction sequence are also presented, showing good agreement as well even with the added viscous effects.
Influence of the preparation of the cylindrical specimen surface and approach analysis on the test value of compressive strength
Authors: Cangussu Nara , Costa Isabela , Júnior Álvaro Carvalho , Silveira Marise F. , Aslani Farhad , Maia Lino
Published: February 2022

The worldwide use of the axial compressive strength test makes it fundamental to identify the concrete class. However, this test presents dispersion of results which, consequently, reduces the reliability of the test. The surface of the tops of the specimens influences the values of strength measured, since the lack of flatness impairs the uniform application of the load. Different types of procedures can be used to ensure the flatness of the surfaces. Besides, there are different approaches for data analysis, namely to detect outliers. Thus, this research aimed to study and evaluate, the influence of sulfur capping, capping with confined neoprene sheet and noncapping of the test specimens, and the influence of the approach to detect outliers in order to understand the interference in the results. The sulfur cap presented the lowest dispersion values and the cap with confined neoprene sheet obtained the highest strength. In addition, the results showed that the lack of regularization of the tops of the specimens increased dispersion as it causes an important decrease of the resistance in the concrete.
Applying real system age to DoD systems
Authors: Enos James R.
Published: February 2022

Why do some systems exceed their planed lifecycle while others retire at or before their planned retirement date? A possible answer to this question is that systems that exceed their planned lifecycle have several common non‐functional attributes that enable them to continue to provide value to their stakeholders well beyond their planned lifecycle. As this is the case in several Department of Defense systems, it should be possible to develop a mathematical representation of the real system age for these engineered systems to compare that age to their chronological age and determine when to retire a system. This paper expands on previous work to develop a mathematical relationship for real system age by applying it to several DoD systems to include the B‐52 bomber, A‐10 aircraft, F‐117 stealth fighter, and the OH‐58D helicopter. It identifies that the systems the DoD retired have similar traits as their real system age closely follows the chronological age and approaches a 25‐year threshold for retirement. With this equation, it is possible to identify when a system is due for retirement or if an upgrade to the system may be able to extend the useful life of the system.
Inhibition of FAM83D displays antitumor effects in glioblastoma via down‐regulation of the AKT/Wnt/β‐catenin pathway
Authors: Wang Jubo , Quan Yu , Lv Jian , Gong Shouping , Ren Pengyu
Published: February 2022

Up‐regulation of family with sequence similarity 83 member D (FAM83D) has been acknowledged as a vital contributor for the carcinogenesis of numerous cancers. The relevance of FAM83D in glioblastoma (GBM), however, is not well understood. This current work aimed to determine the possible roles and mechanisms of FAM83D in GBM. By analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, we found dramatic increases in FAM83D expression in GBM tissue. We also observed elevated levels of FAM83D in the clinical specimens of GBM. In vitro data showed that silencing FAM83D resulted in remarkable antitumor effects via inhibiting the proliferation, invasion and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition of GBM cells. Moreover, the knockdown of FAM83D improved sensitivity to the chemotherapy drug temozolomide. In‐depth mechanism research revealed that the silencing of FAM83D strikingly decreased the phosphorylation levels of AKT and glycogen synthase kinase‐3β, and prohibited activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. The suppression of AKT abolished FAM83D‐mediated activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway. The re‐expression of β‐catenin reversed FAM83D‐silencing‐induced antitumor effects in GBM cells. In addition, GBM cells with FAM83D silencing exhibited reduced tumorigenic potential in vivo. Overall, the data from this work show that the inhibition of FAM83D displays antitumor effects in GBM via down‐regulation of the AKT/Wnt/β‐catenin pathway and propose FAM83D as a new therapeutic target for GBM.
Intraoperative management of acute portal hypertension during liver lobectomy in a dog
Authors: Filipas Malina , Riggs Julia , Self Ian
Published: February 2022

We report the case of an 11‐year‐old, female neutered, miniature schnauzer presented for assessment of recurrent urinary tract and vaginal infections. During investigations, a hepatic mass was incidentally identified on abdominal ultrasound. Cytology following a fine‐needle aspirate biopsy led to a presumptive diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma affecting the right lateral liver lobe. Following resolution of the urinary pathology, elective resection of the neoplastic mass was performed. During liver lobectomy, acute portal hypertension developed, evident through venous congestion and marked peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract, and pancreatic oedema. Consequently, severe haemodynamic disturbances occurred in the form of systemic hypotension and severe tachycardia. Acute portal hypertension is a potentially life‐threatening complication of hepatic surgery and should be immediately resolved through the reversal of portal vein occlusion.
Precipitation is the key determinant of topsoil δ15N values in southern Patagonia's semiarid rangelands
Authors: Peri Pablo L. , Duarte‐Guardia Sandra , Amelung Wulf , Ladd Brenton
Published: February 2022

Nitrogen (N) cycling in rangeland soils could potentially be controlled by water supply, stocking rates, or a range of other variables, such as ecosystem N stocks. To gauge the relative importance and elucidate possible interactions among these factors, we measured many abiotic variables to identify first‐order controls of δ15N for Patagonia's rangeland soils under contrasting historical grazing intensities. The results showed that δ15N values declined as water availability increased. The effects of precipitation and stocking rate on soil δ15N values were additive, and the effect of precipitation far outweighed the effects of grazing pressure. The soil N stock was a weak predictive variable for modeling variation in δ15N of the soil. Earlier assumptions about an inflection point for N cycling and δ15N values related to aridity were not confirmed. We conclude that variation in water availability drives variation in δ15N values irrespective of grazing intensity. We also conclude that meaningful interpretation of δ15N in soil will require a better mechanistic understanding of the interactions between water and N in the vadose zone than we currently possess.
A proof‐of‐concept experimental study for vacuum‐driven anaerobic biosolids fermentation using the IntensiCarb technology
Authors: Okoye Frances , Kakar Farokh Laqa , Elbeshbishy Elsayed , Bell Kati , Muller Christopher , Jimenez Jose , Al‐Omari Ahmed , Santoro Domenico , Jang Eunkyung , Walton John , Bahreini Gholamreza , Zaman Masuduz , Nakhla George , Hazi Ferenc , Takacs Imre , Murthy Sudhir , Rosso Diego
Published: February 2022

This study demonstrates the potential of an innovative anaerobic treatment technology for municipal biosolids (IntensiCarb), which relies on vacuum evaporation to decouple solids and hydraulic retention times (SRT and HRT). We present proof‐of‐concept experiments using primary sludge and thickened waste activated sludge (50–50 v/v mixture) as feed for fermentation and carbon upgrading with the IntensiCarb unit. IntensiCarb fully decoupled the HRT and SRT in continuously stirred anaerobic reactors (CSAR) to achieve two intensification factors, that is, 1.3 and 2, while keeping the SRT constant at 3 days (including in the control fermenter). The intensified CSARs were compared to a conventional control system to determine the yields of particulate hydrolysis, VFA production, and nitrogen partitioning between fermentate and condensate. The intensified CSAR operating at an intensification factor 2 achieved a 65% improvement in particulate solubilization. Almost 50% of total ammonia was extracted without pH adjustment, while carbon was retained in the fermentate. Based on these results, the IntensiCarb technology allows water resource recovery facilities to achieve a high degree of plant‐wide intensification while partitioning nutrients into different streams and thickening solids.

Practitioner Points

The IntensiCarb reactor can decouple hydraulic (HRT) and solids (SRT) retention times in anaerobic systems while also increasing particulate hydrolysis and overall plant capacity.

Using vacuum as driving force of the IntensiCarb technology, the system could achieve thickening, digestion, and partial dewatering in the same unit—thus eliminating the complexity of multi‐stage biosolids treatment lines.

The ability to partition nutrients between particulate, fermentate, and condensate assigns to the IntensiCarb unit a key role in recovery strategies for value‐added products such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon, which can be recovered separately and independently.
Regulation of antiviral innate immunity by chemical modification of viral RNA
Authors: Li Na , Rana Tariq M.
Published: February 2022

More than 100 chemical modifications of RNA, termed the epitranscriptome, have been described, most of which occur in prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomal, transfer, and noncoding RNA and eukaryotic messenger RNA. DNA and RNA viruses can modify their RNA either directly via genome‐encoded enzymes or by hijacking the host enzymatic machinery. Among the many RNA modifications described to date, four play particularly important roles in promoting viral infection by facilitating viral gene expression and replication and by enabling escape from the host innate immune response. Here, we discuss our current understanding of the mechanisms by which the RNA modifications such as N6‐methyladenosine (m6A), N6,2′‐O‐dimethyladenosine (m6Am), 5‐methylcytidine (m5C), N4‐acetylcytidine (ac4C), and 2′‐O‐methylation (Nm) promote viral replication and/or suppress recognition by innate sensors and downstream activation of the host antiviral response.

This article is categorized under:

RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease

RNA Structure and Dynamics > Influence of RNA Structure in Biological Systems

RNA Evolution and Genomics > RNA and Ribonucleoprotein Evolution
Bhutan’s ‘Middle Way’: Diversification, Mainstreaming, Commodification and Impacts in the Context of Food Security
Authors: Kobayashi Mai
Published: February 2022

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is both wedded to tradition and influenced by the global push to modernize. In this study of the country’s path to food security, Mai Kobayashi describes its evolving national ‘middle way’ towards sustainable agriculture. She traces seed-sector dynamics over the past 70 years, as exogenous influences from India and Japan mingled with endogenous practices. First following a Green Revolution-style high-input agricultural model reflecting India’s, Bhutan joined the Colombo Plan in 1962, paving the way to autonomous economic development. Meanwhile, two Japanese specialists—agriculturalist Keiji Nishioka and seed-processing technologist Katsuhiko Nishikawa—respectively introduced open pollinated varieties and imported hybrids. The latter sited seed access within commodity relations for the first time. But Bhutan’s own National Seed Center has supported a pluralistic approach serving the seed demands of both family and market-oriented farmers, while organic agriculture became a national mandate in 2007. Bhutan, Kobayashi concludes, has shown that its evolving, idiosyncratic ‘middle way’ towards food security is likely to endure.
Agroecology, Sovereignty and the Endogenous Development Perspective in Seed Governance and Management
Authors: Nishikawa Yoshiaki
Published: February 2022

Food sovereignty is a useful concept for researchers, officials and activists eager to understand on-the-ground realities in the context of seed governance. For the Indigenous, peasant and small farmers immersed in those realities, however, it can seem abstract, prescriptive and politicised. In this analysis of the broader debate, Yoshiaki Nishikawa suggests that the Japanese sociologist Kazuko Tsurumi’s endogenous development theory offers a perspective applicable to myriad seed-sovereignty approaches. That perspective puts farmers’ work experience and cultural values first, recognises and supports a genuinely inclusive seed commons and infuses an understanding of rural realities and spontaneous practices into the study and practice of agroecology. Tsurumi emphasised that transformation is never complete: traditional customs and approaches coexist with modern introductions. Thus, the heterogeneous nature of those who manage seeds, and of the resources themselves, needs to be grasped by scientists and policymakers in this arena. As Nishikawa concludes, it is local decisions, not external ideologies, that must come first in guiding analyses on building better seed management systems.
Reclaiming Diverse Seed Commons Through Food Sovereignty, Agroecology and Economies of Care
Authors: Pimbert Michel
Published: February 2022

Seed commons—the collective management of seeds and associated knowledge—is a major aim of food sovereignty, that crucial alternative to the dead end of industrialized agriculture. To reclaim the commons, explains Michel Pimbert in this wide-ranging policy analysis, we need to enable community control over growing, trading and consuming food. That will demand mutually supportive transformations in agriculture, economies, rights and political systems towards agroecology, an economics of solidarity, collective notions of property and direct democracy. Drawing on sources such as the Nyéléni Declaration on food sovereignty and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, Pimbert outlines a radical approach to seed governance outside the capitalist and patriarchal paradigm. The proposals, while scarcely featuring in global and national fora on seed governance, offer a fresh framework for needed change at a time of social exclusion, poverty and deepening environmental crises.
Indigenous Seed Systems and Biocultural Heritage: The Andean Potato Park’s Approach to Seed Governance
Authors: Swiderska Krystyna , Argumedo Alejandro
Published: February 2022

In the Indigenous worldview, seeds are both biological entities and embodiments of immateriality: knowledge, culture and the sacred. Indigenous seed systems thus codify the human connection to nature. Yet such ‘informal’ systems, whether developed by Indigenous peoples or small-scale farmers, barely surface in policy debates. Krystyna Swiderska and Alejandro Argumedo seek to redress the balance in this detailed study of the principles, values and practices of Indigenous seed systems and governance. While ranging over a number of case studies from Kyrgyzstan to Kenya, their prime focus is the Andean Potato Park in Cusco, Peru—a world centre of origin and domestication of crops such as the potato, quinoa and amaranth. Swiderska and Argumedo describe the Park’s collective and customary governance structure, and the ways of learning, exchange systems, seed banks and more developed by its Quechua farmers. To safeguard the vital Indigenous contribution to seed security and diversity, they conclude, a biocultural rights-based approach to seed governance is required  and  needs further support from policy reform, among other measures.
The Diversity of Seed-Saving Governance and Sharing Systems in contemporary Japan
Authors: Kawai Ayako
Published: February 2022

Crop diversity in Japan is on the ebb, eroded by factors such as the rise of industrialised agriculture, a shrinking and ageing population of farmers, and a dearth of knowledge transmission between generations. However, thousands of Japanese farmers follow a practice vital to fostering agrobiodiversity: seed saving. Using a qualitative case study approach, Ayako Kawai tracked diverse seed governance and sharing systems across four groups of producers: traditional, organic and ‘lifestyle’ farmers and local community members. She found differences in the ways seeds are valued—cultural, economic, rights-based, familial or personal—that influence approaches to saving and sharing seeds. Organic and traditional farmers and community growers, for instance, tightly regulate seed distribution, while part-time producers are far keener to actively share seeds. That could, notes Kawai, create a dilemma if broader access to genetic resources becomes a general priority. Yet she concludes that a plurality of practices, like crop diversity itself, builds in resilience by spreading risk and offering a range of responses to future uncertainties.
Seed System Dynamics and Crop Diversity of Chinbaung in Myanmar
Authors: Nagashima Mami , Nishikawa Yoshiaki ,   Mya Shew,   Ohm Mar Saw,   Min San Tein, Kawase Makoto , Watanabe Kazuo , Irie Kenji
Published: February 2022

In this field survey of seed system dynamics in Myanmar, the authors note that the country’s dominant system of traditional agriculture faces pressure from the introduction of ‘improved’ varieties and shifts in policy. However, farmers—from small and subsistence growers to large-scale rice producers—continue to raise indigenous species. One is chinbaung, the collective term for several varieties in the genus Hibiscus. The authors traced differences in chinbaung cultivation and use  among places, and examined production systems in three villages in central arid zone, each sited in a geographically distinct locale. They found that a local festival popular with seed sellers has become a prime conduit for disseminating diverse genetic resources. Poe Yon, a guild of agricultural brokerage firms with hubs in cities across the country, meanwhile involves firms and farmers in a unique relationship that ensures broader distribution. Ultimately, the autonomy of farmers has enabled agrobiodiversity to thrive in Myanmar—a success, the authors note, that agricultural policymakers should heed.
Evolutionary Populations for Sustainable Food Security and Food Sovereignty
Authors: Ceccarelli Salvatore , Grando Stefania , Salimi Maedeh , Razavi Khadija
Published: February 2022

Two mechanisms in plant breeding are thought to diminish crop diversity: the displacement of landraces by “improved” varieties, and a bias towards varieties developed under a high-input management regime. This multinational study examines how genetic diversity can be restored through evolutionary plant breeding: enabling plants under cultivation to evolve via natural selection pressure and adapt to the environment. The authors first present findings from research in Iran. Here, in participation with institutions, farmers selected barley, rice and wheat varieties from evolutionary populations for cultivation and used them outright as “smart crops” with all-around benefits for the environment, human health and farming income. A similarly successful project in Italy led to six more in countries across Africa, Asia and the Near East. Ultimately, the authors conclude, such “evolutionary-participatory” plant breeding enables farmers to manage genetic diversity autonomously. While the seeds produced have yet to meet the requirements of seed laws, new rules emerging in Europe could enable organic farmers to adopt the approach from 2022.
Adding Value to a Scottish Rye Landrace: Collaborative Research into New Artisanal Products
Authors: Blackley Stan , McVey David , Scholten Maria , Veitch Adam
Published: February 2022

Hebridean rye (Secale cereale), a high-yield landrace grown by crofters in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, has traditionally been used as livestock feed. This multi-author study presents and analyses findings into the crop’s potential as the raw material for locally produced flour, bread and beer, offering new opportunities in sustainable seed saving, small-scale agriculture, food production and eco-enterprise. The authors—part of the project’s multidisciplinary team of researchers, artisanal food producers and crofters—explicate aspects of the pioneering project, from conditions on Uist’s coastal machair where the rye originates, to testing seasonal varieties in mainland Lochaber and assessing nutritional qualities and consumer acceptance of novel products. They conclude that Hebridean rye, with its potential for crofters in remote locales and local businesses, could help in preserving agrobiodiversity, traditional knolwedge and practices, crofting culture and economic resilience in the north and north-west of Scotland.
Introduction
Authors: Schultze-Kraft Markus
Published: February 2022

Education on and for peace in countries wrestling with, or emerging from, protracted violent conflict is up against major challenges. Both conventional and critical approaches to peace education are of limited help to address these challenges. Incorporating a focus on historical memory, without losing sight of its own pitfalls, into peace education can support learners and teachers to come to grips with achieving positive, peace-sustaining change at both the micro (individual) and macro (social and institutional) levels and develop concepts and practices of effective and legitimate alternatives to violence and war. Conceived in these terms, historical memory-oriented peace education also stands to enhance the work-in-progress that is the UN-led sustaining peace agenda, closely aligned as it is with the Sustainable Development Goals. Informed by the author’s long-standing work on violent conflict, peace and education in countries of the global South, particularly Colombia, the book presents a comprehensive narrative about the relationship between peace education, historical memory and the sustaining peace agenda, advocating for the adoption of a new perspective on education for sustaining peace through historical memory.
Conventional and Critical Approaches to Peace Education
Authors: Schultze-Kraft Markus
Published: February 2022

Peace and education are both “essentially contested concepts.” Welding them together in one single term—peace education—raises tough questions about what it is that is being proposed and done. With their normative, morally appellative and culturally universalist focus on the individual learner, conventional conceptions and practices of peace education do not easily relate to variable, heterogeneous and context-dependent notions and realities of peace and education in violence-inflected societies. They also shy away from taking account of asymmetric and unequal power relationships. Evoking the importance of building “cultures of peace” falls short of addressing these realities. Critical approaches to peace education forefront empowering individuals as well as collectives to become agents of social transformation. Education for peace is understood as social action geared towards finding solutions to manifold manifestations of direct, cultural and structural violence, injustice and inequality. Critical peace education is more attuned to the thorny issues of power and exclusion. However, it faces the challenge of showing how the empowerment and emancipation of the marginalised and oppressed through formal and informal education for peace can lead to broader institutional transformation. The chapter illustrates peace education’s challenges in relation to the case of Colombia.
Double copy for Lagrangians at trilinear order
Authors: Beneke M. , Hager P. , Sanfilippo A.F.
Published: February 2022

Abstract

We present a novel double-copy prescription for gauge fields at the Lagrangian level and apply it to the original double copy, couplings to matter and the soft theorem. The Yang-Mills Lagrangian in light-cone gauge is mapped directly to the $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 0 supergravity Lagrangian in light-cone gauge to trilinear order, and we show that the obtained result is manifestly equivalent to Einstein gravity at tree level up to this order. The application of the double-copy prescription to couplings to matter is exemplified by scalar and fermionic QCD and finally the soft-collinear effective QCD Lagrangian. The mapping of the latter yields an effective description of an energetic Dirac fermion coupled to the graviton, Kalb-Ramond, and dilaton fields, from which the fermionic gravitational soft and next-to-soft theorems follow.
Swampland constraints on neutrino masses
Authors: Gonzalo E. , Ibáñez L.E. , Valenzuela I.
Published: February 2022

Abstract

Compactifying the Standard Model (SM) on a circle may lead to AdS 3D vacua, depending on the character (Majorana or Dirac) and the mass of the lightest neutrino. It has been shown that, imposing the Ooguri-Vafa conjecture that no stable non-SUSY AdS vacua are consistent with Quantum Gravity, one can obtain conditions on the mass of the lightest neutrino. This result has the shortcoming that it is in general sensitive to the UV structure of the theory. In the present paper we show that two other independent swampland conditions may yield constraints very similar to those. These other two conditions come from the AdS swampland distance conjecture and the dS conjecture as applied to AdS vacua by Lust, Palti and Vafa. Unlike the non-SUSY AdS constraints, for these conjectures the results require only local IR information of the radion potential. We consider both the case of an explicit cosmological 4D constant and the alternative of a simple quintessence 4D potential. Cosmological data in the next decade may falsify the results, giving us information on the constraints of particle physics from Quantum Gravity.
The formation of SCEs as an effect of occupational exposure to formaldehyde
Authors: Ghelli Federica , Cocchi Enrico , Bellisario Valeria , Buglisi Martina , Squillacioti Giulia , Santovito Alfredo , Bono Roberto
Published: February 2022

Formaldehyde (FA) is a ubiquitous toxic chemical employed worldwide due to its disinfectant and preservative properties. Despite being classified as a human carcinogen, FA is still employed as formalin in pathology wards as standard fixative. We evaluated its relationship with the formation of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes on 57 pathologists and 48 controls and the risk/protective role played by several genetic polymorphisms. All subjects were assessed for SCEs and genotyped for the most common cancer-associated gene polymorphisms: CYP1A1 exon 7 (A > G), CYP1A1*2A (T > C), CYP2C19*2 (G > A), GSTT1 (presence/absence), GSTM1 (presence/absence), GSTP1 (A > G), XRCC1 (G399A), XRCC1 (C194T), XRCC1 (A280G), XPC exon 15 (A939C), XPC exon 9 (C499T), TNFα − 308 G > A), IL10 − 1082 (G > A), and IL6 − 174 (G > C). Air-FA concentration was assessed through passive personal samplers. Pathologists, exposed to 55.2 μg/m3 of air-FA, showed a significantly higher SCEs frequency than controls, exposed, respectively, to 18.4 μg/m3. Air-FA was directly correlated with SCEs frequency and inversely with the replication index (RI). Regression models showed FA exposure as a significant predictor in developing SCEs, while did not highlight any role of the selected polymorphisms. Our study confirms the role of low air-FA levels as genotoxicity inductor, highlighting the importance to define exposure limits that could be safer for exposed workers.