bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bandits, Big Swords, and the Rebel Scholar
Authors: DeMare Brian
Published: May 2023

This chapter investigates the deadly alliance between outlaws and secret society men that tried and failed to root out newly arrived Communists. Through a narrative reconstruction of their failed attack, we see how the Communists blurred the lines between outlaws, Nationalists, and counterrevolutionaries.
The Case of the Bodhisattva Society
Authors: DeMare Brian
Published: May 2023

This chapter investigates the case of a runaway landlord who went undercover for the Public Security Bureau to bring two criminal landlords to justice. Because the criminal landlords were relying on local religious beliefs to convince their neighbors to help shield them from the new regime, this chapter delves into rural Buddhist practice. We also see an inside view of the Public Security Bureau and how they framed their work as they hunted for counterrevolutionaries.
Digital Codicology
Authors: Whearty Bridget
Published: May 2023

Medieval manuscripts are our shared inheritance, and today they are more accessible than ever—thanks to digital copies online. Yet for all that widespread digitization has fundamentally transformed how we connect with the medieval past, we understand very little about what these digital objects really are. We rarely consider how they are made or who makes them. This case-study rich book demystifies digitization, revealing what it's like to remake medieval books online and connecting modern digital manuscripts to their much longer media history, from print, to photography, to the rise of the internet.
Examining classic late-1990s projects like Digital Scriptorium 1.0 alongside late-2010s initiatives like Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis, and world-famous projects created by the British Library, Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Stanford University, and the Walters Art Museum against in-house digitizations performed in lesser-studied libraries, Whearty tells never-before-published narratives about globally important digital manuscript archives. Drawing together medieval literature, manuscript studies, digital humanities, and imaging sciences, Whearty shines a spotlight on the hidden expert labor responsible for today's revolutionary digital access to medieval culture. Ultimately, this book argues that centering the modern labor and laborers at the heart of digital cultural heritage fosters a more just and more rigorous future for medieval, manuscript, and media studies.
ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF LACTOSE-FERMENTING YEAST CELLS FROM DAIRY PRODUCTS
Authors: Myrzakhmetova G.M. , Ualieva P.S. , Abdieva G.Zh.
Published: May 2023

One of the most valuable substrates in terms of the composition of important nutritional and biological factors is dairy products. The direct use of dairy products for food purposes is characterized by a combination of high acidity and special organoleptic characteristics. Yeast cells play the role of active ingredients in them, as they have a pronounced lacto- and bifidogenic effect. Lactose-fermenting yeasts are considered one of the main objects of molecular genetics and are widely used as producers of a number of biologically active substances. In recent years, a fundamentally new direction of industrial processing of milk whey and chubat has been actively and purposefully formed, as well as the basis for obtaining derivative components, which are targeted products. The purpose of the research work: isolation and identification of lactose-fermenting yeasts from milk whey and chubat. Growth dynamics of yeast strains were studied in Sabouro's nutrient medium, under aerobic growth conditions, and were also carried out using the methods of Bradford and Glushanov. In the course of the study, the microbiological indicators and taxonomic composition of the microbial community of milk whey of "Amiran" LLP and chubat of "Sarzhailau" LLP were studied. Physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics of dairy products were studied. 2 yeast strains were isolated from substrate samples. The morphological and cultural properties of the isolated yeasts were studied, and as a result, IL1 and IL2 strains were identified as IL1-Pichia fermentans, IL2-Pichia fermentans.
Two new Eriophyes species (Acari: Eriophyidae) on tamarisk trees from Egypt
Authors: Elhalawany Ashraf S. , Ezz El-Dein Seham A. , Ibrahim Noha A.
Published: May 2023

Two new Eriophyes species are described and illustrated on tamarisk (athel) plants from Egypt. They are Eriophyes aegyptitamarix sp. nov., collected from the base of leaves and twigs of Tamarix senegalensis DC. (Tamaricaceae) and caused rusting symptoms, and Eriophyes gizaensis sp. nov., collected from rounded green galls on buds and twigs of T. senegalensis. The adult and immature stages of both species are described and illustrated.
Convergent genomic signatures of local adaptation across a continental-scale environmental gradient
Authors: Moreira Lucas R. , Smith Brian Tilston
Published: May 2023

Convergent local adaptation offers a glimpse into the role of constraint and stochasticity in adaptive evolution, in particular the extent to which similar genetic mechanisms drive adaptation to common selective forces. Here, we investigated the genomics of local adaptation in two nonsister woodpeckers that are codistributed across an entire continent and exhibit remarkably convergent patterns of geographic variation. We sequenced the genomes of 140 individuals of Downy (
Dryobates pubescens
) and Hairy (
Dryobates villosus
) woodpeckers and used a suite of genomic approaches to identify loci under selection. We showed evidence that convergent genes have been targeted by selection in response to shared environmental pressures, such as temperature and precipitation. Among candidates, we found multiple genes putatively linked to key phenotypic adaptations to climate, including differences in body size (e.g.,
IGFPB
) and plumage (e.g.,
MREG
). These results are consistent with genetic constraints limiting the pathways of adaptation to broad climatic gradients, even after genetic backgrounds diverge.
Early-life physical performance predicts the aging and death of elite athletes
Authors: Newman Saul Justin
Published: May 2023

Athleticism and the mortality rates begin a lifelong trajectory of decline during early adulthood. Because of the substantial follow-up time required, however, observing any longitudinal link between early-life physical declines and late-life mortality and aging remains largely inaccessible. Here, we use longitudinal data on elite athletes to reveal how early-life athletic performance predicts late-life mortality and aging in healthy male populations. Using data on over 10,000 baseball and basketball players, we calculate age at peak athleticism and rates of decline in athletic performance to predict late-life mortality patterns. Predictive capacity of these variables persists for decades after retirement, displays large effect sizes, and is independent of birth month, cohort, body mass index, and height. Furthermore, a nonparametric cohort-matching approach suggests that these mortality rate differences are associated with differential aging rates, not just extrinsic mortality. These results highlight the capacity of athletic data to predict late-life mortality, even across periods of substantial social and medical change.
Cytolytic CD8
+
T cells infiltrate germinal centers to limit ongoing HIV replication in spontaneous controller lymph nodes
Authors: Collins David R. , Hitschfel Julia , Urbach Jonathan M. , Mylvaganam Geetha H. , Ly Ngoc L. , Arshad Umar , Racenet Zachary J. , Yanez Adrienne G. , Diefenbach Thomas J. , Walker Bruce D.
Published: May 2023

Follicular CD8
+
T cells (fCD8) mediate surveillance in lymph node (LN) germinal centers against lymphotropic infections and cancers, but the precise mechanisms by which these cells mediate immune control remain incompletely resolved. To address this, we investigated functionality, clonotypic compartmentalization, spatial localization, phenotypic characteristics, and transcriptional profiles of LN-resident virus-specific CD8
+
T cells in persons who control HIV without medications. Antigen-induced proliferative and cytolytic potential consistently distinguished spontaneous controllers from noncontrollers. T cell receptor analysis revealed complete clonotypic overlap between peripheral and LN-resident HIV-specific CD8
+
T cells. Transcriptional analysis of LN CD8
+
T cells revealed gene signatures of inflammatory chemotaxis and antigen-induced effector function. In HIV controllers, the cytotoxic effectors perforin and granzyme B were elevated among virus-specific CXCR5
+
fCD8s proximate to foci of HIV RNA within germinal centers. These results provide evidence consistent with cytolytic control of lymphotropic infection supported by inflammatory recruitment, antigen-specific proliferation, and cytotoxicity of fCD8s.
Progressive lawsonite eclogitization of the oceanic crust: Implications for deep mass transfer in subduction zones
Authors: Hernández-Uribe David , Tsujimori Tatsuki
Published: May 2023

Lawsonite eclogites are major hosts of H2O and trace elements and thus key for long-term deep element cycling in subduction zones. Existing cycling models suggest that the subducting oceanic crust transforms to lawsonite-eclogite assemblages; yet the scarcity of lawsonite eclogites in the rock record questions to what extent the oceanic crust transforms to lawsonite-eclogite assemblages during subduction. Here, we use petrological modeling coupled with geodynamic calculations for a typical subduction zone to show that the occurrence of lawsonite eclogites is controlled by the maturation of the subduction zone. We find that lawsonite eclogite does not form in infant subduction zones; with time, the oceanic crust forms lawsonite assemblages, but prograde heating obliterates lawsonite except in rocks exhumed prior to such heating. Lawsonite-eclogite assemblages in the oceanic crust form and survive prograde metamorphism only in mature and cold subduction zones but still necessitate specific characteristics during exhumation to preserve lawsonite. We show that the stability of lawsonite in mature subduction zones is hindered by hybridization between the mafic crust and the overlaying mantle wedge material; by contrast, lawsonite proportion increases with intense seafloor alteration and Ca-Al metasomatism. These latter processes are thus key for enhancing recycling. We argue that lawsonite-driven mass cycling to the deep mantle is important in mature subduction zones, but the role of lawsonite eclogite in carrying mass deep into Earth in the infant stage of a subduction zone is minor.
Traditional male circumcision and the risk for HIV transmission among men: a systematic review
Authors: Asa Gregorius Abanit , Fauk Nelsensius Klau , Ward Paul Russell
Published: May 2023

Objectives

To synthesise evidence to determine whether, in contrast to medical male circumcision, traditional male circumcision (TMC) practices may contribute to HIV transmission and what the impacts of TMC are on the initiates, their families and societies.

Design

Systematic review.

Data source

PubMed, CINHAL, SCOPUS, ProQuest, Cochrane database and Medline were searched between 15 and 30 October 2022.

Eligibility criteria

(1) Studies involving young men, young male adults, male adults and mixed male and female participants; (2) studies on TMC involving men living with HIV (married and non-married); (3) studies on TMC, HIV transmission and impact in low-income and middle-income countries; (4) qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies and (5) studies aimed at exploring TMC and how it contributes to HIV transmission and the impacts of HIV on circumcised men and their families.

Data extraction

Data were extracted based on study details, study design, characteristics of participants and results.

Result

A total of 18 studies were included: 11 were qualitative studies, five were quantitative studies and two were mixed-method studies. All the studies included were conducted in areas where TMC was performed (17 in Africa and one in Papua New Guinea). The review’s findings were categorised into themes: TMC as a cultural practice, consequences of not being traditionally circumcised on men and their families and TMC-related risk of HIV transmission.

Conclusion

This systematic review highlights that TMC practice and HIV risk could negatively impact men and their families. Existing evidence suggests that little attention has been paid to men and their families experiencing the impacts of TMC and HIV risk factors. The findings recommend the need for health intervention programmes such as safe circumcision and safe sexual behaviours following TMC and efforts to address psychological and social challenges in communities practising TMC.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42022357788.
Iterative evaluation of novel access techniques for small bowel obstruction: combining image guided, percutaneous, and endoscopic methods
Authors: Matsuo Kentaro , Urakawa Shinya , Symer Matthew , Sedrakyan Art , Pua Bradley , Milsom Jeffrey
Published: May 2023

Objective

To avoid the need for extensive adhesiolysis in patients with small bowel obstruction (SBO). We evaluated the feasibility of using advanced imaging, percutaneous access, and endoscopy as alternative therapies for SBO.

Design

Retrospective case series (IDEAL [Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, and Long-term Study Collaborative] stages 1 and 2a).

Setting

Single tertiary referral center.

Participants

Twelve adults with chronic SBO resulting from inflammatory bowel disease, disseminated cancer, radiation, and/or adhesive disease. Participants were included if they underwent one of three novel access procedures. There were no exclusion criteria. The median age of participants was 67.5 years (range 42–81); two-thirds were women; and median American Society of Anesthesiology class was 3.

Interventions

All participants underwent one of three novel access methods, followed by wire-guided balloon dilation of a narrowed area of small bowel. These methods combined endoscopic, fluoroscopic, and surgical techniques. The techniques were (1) a purely endoscopic approach aided by an over-the-scope double-balloon device, (2) a combined endoscopic and percutaneous approach, and (3) a cut-down approach.

Main outcome measures

Procedural success (defined as successful access to the small bowel and successful balloon dilation of the stenotic area). Secondary outcomes included major complications, recurrence, length of stay, and procedure time.

Results

Procedural success was achieved in 10 of 12 patients (83%). At the time of median follow-up of 10 months, recurrence of SBO was observed in two patients. In only one patient, the novel method did not change the treatment plan. No major complications occurred. Conventional operative intervention was avoided in all patients who achieved technical success with one of the novel approaches. The median postprocedure length of hospital stay was 4 days. Median procedure time was 135 min.

Conclusions

Novel minimally invasive approaches to SBO represent feasible alternatives to surgical procedures in select patients. Further study should compare these approaches to standard ones as new methods are refined.
Mortality trends of aortic stenosis in high-income countries from 2000 to 2020
Authors: Hibino Makoto , Pandey Arjun K , Hibino Hiromi , Verma Raj , Aune Dagfinn , Yanagawa Bobby , Takami Yoshiyuki , Bhatt Deepak L , Attizzani Guilherme F , Pelletier Marc P , Verma Subodh
Published: May 2023

Objective

The purpose of this study is to describe recent mortality trends from aortic stenosis (AS) among eight high-income countries.

Methods

We analysed the WHO mortality database to determine trends in mortality from AS in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, the USA and Canada from 2000 to 2020. Crude and age-standardised mortality rates per 100 000 persons were calculated. We calculated age-specific mortality rates in three groups (<64, 65–79 and ≥80 years). Annual percentage change was analysed using joinpoint regression.

Results

During the observation period, the crude mortality rates per 100 000 persons increased in all the eight countries (from 3.47 to 5.87 in the UK, from 2.98 to 8.93 in Germany, from 3.84 to 5.52 in France, from 1.97 to 4.33 in Italy, from 1.12 to 5.49 in Japan, from 2.14 to 3.38 in Australia, from 3.58 to 4.22 in the USA and from 2.12 to 5.00 in Canada). In joinpoint regression of age-standardised mortality rates, trend changes towards a decrease were observed in Germany after 2012 (−1.2%, p=0.015), Australia after 2011 (−1.9%, p=0.005) and the USA after 2014 (−3.1%, p<0.001). Age-specific mortality rates in age group ≥80 years had shifts towards decreasing trends in all the eight countries in contrast to other younger age groups.

Conclusions

While crude mortality rates increased in the eight countries, shifts towards decreasing trends were identified in age-standardised mortality rates in three countries and in the elderly aged ≥80 years in the eight countries. Further multidimensional observation is warranted to clarify the mortality trends.
Lethal use of force surveillance: practical considerations for open-source database linkage
Authors: Simckes Maayan , Willits Dale , Rowhani-Rahbar Ali , Hajat Anjum
Published: May 2023

Currently, there remains no reliable and timely government tracking in the USA of deaths caused by law enforcement. Federal efforts to track these events are insufficient, generally missing as many as half of community deaths that occur annually because of law enforcement’s lethal use of force. The dearth of accurate data on these events limits the ability to accurately quantify their burden and effectively identify opportunities for intervention and policy change. The most reliable data sources on law enforcement related deaths among community members in the USA are publicly run (such as those run by the Washington Post and The Guardian newspapers) or crowdsourced systems, such as Fatal Encounters and Mapping Police Violence, which draw on both traditional and non-traditional sources of reporting and provide open-source access to users. We used successive deterministic and probabilistic linkage to merge these four databases. After exclusions, we found a total of 6333 deaths identified from 2013 to 2017. While most cases were identified by multiple databases, each database also found unique cases during their years of operation. The methodology described here emphasises the importance of these non-traditional data sources and can serve as a helpful resource to improve data accessibility and timeliness for public health agencies and others seeking to expand their study, understanding and response to this growing public health crisis.
Bispecific antibodies redirect synthetic agonistic receptor modified T cells against melanoma
Authors: Märkl Florian , Benmebarek Mohamed-Reda , Keyl Julius , Cadilha Bruno L , Geiger Martina , Karches Clara , Obeck Hannah , Schwerdtfeger Melanie , Michaelides Stefanos , Briukhovetska Daria , Stock Sophia , Jobst Jakob , Müller Philipp Jie , Majed Lina , Seifert Matthias , Klüver Anna-Kristina , Lorenzini Theo , Grünmeier Ruth , Thomas Moritz , Gottschlich Adrian , Klaus Richard , Marr Carsten , von Bergwelt-Baildon Michael , Rothenfusser Simon , Levesque Mitchell P , Heppt Markus Vincent , Endres Stefan , Klein Christian , Kobold Sebastian
Published: May 2023

Background

Melanoma is an immune sensitive disease, as demonstrated by the activity of immune check point blockade (ICB), but many patients will either not respond or relapse. More recently, tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy has shown promising efficacy in melanoma treatment after ICB failure, indicating the potential of cellular therapies. However, TIL treatment comes with manufacturing limitations, product heterogeneity, as well as toxicity problems, due to the transfer of a large number of phenotypically diverse T cells. To overcome said limitations, we propose a controlled adoptive cell therapy approach, where T cells are armed with synthetic agonistic receptors (SAR) that are selectively activated by bispecific antibodies (BiAb) targeting SAR and melanoma-associated antigens.

Methods

Human as well as murine SAR constructs were generated and transduced into primary T cells. The approach was validated in murine, human and patient-derived cancer models expressing the melanoma-associated target antigens tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) and melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (MCSP) (CSPG4). SAR T cells were functionally characterized by assessing their specific stimulation and proliferation, as well as their tumor-directed cytotoxicity, in vitro and in vivo.

Results

MCSP and TYRP1 expression was conserved in samples of patients with treated as well as untreated melanoma, supporting their use as melanoma-target antigens. The presence of target cells and anti-TYRP1 × anti-SAR or anti-MCSP × anti-SAR BiAb induced conditional antigen-dependent activation, proliferation of SAR T cells and targeted tumor cell lysis in all tested models. In vivo, antitumoral activity and long-term survival was mediated by the co-administration of SAR T cells and BiAb in a syngeneic tumor model and was further validated in several xenograft models, including a patient-derived xenograft model.

Conclusion

The SAR T cell-BiAb approach delivers specific and conditional T cell activation as well as targeted tumor cell lysis in melanoma models. Modularity is a key feature for targeting melanoma and is fundamental towards personalized immunotherapies encompassing cancer heterogeneity. Because antigen expression may vary in primary melanoma tissues, we propose that a dual approach targeting two tumor-associated antigens, either simultaneously or sequentially, could avoid issues of antigen heterogeneity and deliver therapeutic benefit to patients.
Combining histological grade, TILs, and the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway to identify immunogenic tumors and de-escalate radiotherapy in early breast cancer: a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Stenmark Tullberg Axel , Sjöström Martin , Tran Lena , Niméus Emma , Killander Fredrika , Kovács Anikó , Lundstedt Dan , Holmberg Erik , Karlsson Per
Published: May 2023

Background

The implementation of immunological biomarkers for radiotherapy (RT) individualization in breast cancer requires consideration of tumor-intrinsic factors. This study aimed to investigate whether the integration of histological grade, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) can identify tumors with aggressive characteristics that can be downgraded regarding the need for RT.

Methods

The SweBCG91RT trial included 1178 patients with stage I–IIA breast cancer, randomized to breast-conserving surgery with or without adjuvant RT, and followed for a median time of 15.2 years. Immunohistochemical analyses of TILs, PD-1, and PD-L1 were performed. An activated immune response was defined as stromal TILs ≥10% and PD-1 and/or PD-L1 expression in ≥1% of lymphocytes. Tumors were categorized as high-risk or low-risk using assessments of histological grade and proliferation as measured by gene expression. The risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) and benefit of RT were then analyzed with 10 years follow-up based on the integration of immune activation and tumor-intrinsic risk group.

Results

Among high-risk tumors, an activated immune infiltrate was associated with a reduced risk of IBTR (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.73, p=0.006). The incidence of IBTR in this group was 12.1% (5.6–25.0) without RT and 4.4% (1.1–16.3) with RT. In contrast, the incidence of IBTR in the high-risk group without an activated immune infiltrate was 29.6% (21.4–40.2) without RT and 12.8% (6.6–23.9) with RT. Among low-risk tumors, no evidence of a favorable prognostic effect of an activated immune infiltrate was seen (HR 2.0, 95% CI 0.87 to 4.6, p=0.100).

Conclusions

Integrating histological grade and immunological biomarkers can identify tumors with aggressive characteristics but a low risk of IBTR despite a lack of RT boost and systemic therapy. Among high-risk tumors, the risk reduction of IBTR conferred by an activated immune infiltrate is comparable to treatment with RT. These findings may apply to cohorts dominated by estrogen receptor-positive tumors.
Is there a duty to routinely reinterpret genomic variant classifications?
Authors: Watts Gabriel , Newson Ainsley J
Published: May 2023

Multiple studies show that periodic reanalysis of genomic test results held by clinical laboratories delivers significant increases in overall diagnostic yield. However, while there is a widespread consensus that implementing routine reanalysis procedures is highly desirable, there is an equally widespread understanding that routine reanalysis of individual patient results is not presently feasible to perform for all patients. Instead, researchers, geneticists and ethicists are beginning to turn their attention to one part of reanalysis—reinterpretation of previously classified variants—as a means of achieving similar ends to large-scale individual reanalysis but in a more sustainable manner. This has led some to ask whether the responsible implementation of genomics in healthcare requires that diagnostic laboratories routinely reinterpret their genomic variant classifications and reissue patient reports in the case of materially relevant changes. In this paper, we set out the nature and scope of any such obligation, and analyse some of the main ethical considerations pertaining to a putative duty to reinterpret. We discern and assess three potential outcomes of reinterpretation—upgrades, downgrades and regrades—in light of ongoing duties of care, systemic error risks and diagnostic equity. We argue against the existence of any general duty to reinterpret genomic variant classifications, yet we contend that a suitably restricted duty to reinterpret ought to be recognised, and that the responsible implementation of genomics into healthcare must take this into account.
Activation of epithelial and inflammatory pathways in adolescent elite athletes exposed to intense exercise and air pollution
Authors: Goossens Janne , Jonckheere Anne-Charlotte , Seys Sven F , Dilissen Ellen , Decaesteker Tatjana , Goossens Camille , Peers Koen , Vanbelle Vincent , Stappers Jeroen , Aertgeerts Sven , De Wilde Barbara , Leus Jasmine , Verelst Sophie , Raes Marc , Dupont Lieven , Bullens Dominique M
Published: May 2023

Rationale

Participation in high-intensity exercise in early life might act as stressor to the airway barrier.

Objectives

To investigate the effect of intense exercise and associated exposure to air pollution on the airway barrier in adolescent elite athletes compared with healthy controls and to study exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in this population.

Methods

Early-career elite athletes attending ‘Flemish-Elite-Sports-Schools’ (12–18 years) of 4 different sport disciplines (n=90) and control subjects (n=25) were recruited. Presence of EIB was tested by the eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) test. Markers at mRNA and protein level; RNA-sequencing; carbon load in airway macrophages were studied on induced sputum samples.

Results

444 genes were differentially expressed in sputum from athletes compared with controls, which were related to inflammation and epithelial cell damage and sputum samples of athletes contained significantly more carbon loaded airway macrophages compared with controls (24%, 95% CI 20% to 36%, p<0.0004). Athletes had significantly higher substance P (13.3 pg/mL, 95% CI 2.0 to 19.2) and calprotectin (1237 ng/mL, 95% CI 531 to 2490) levels as well as IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α mRNA levels compared with controls (p<0.05). The incidence of EIB in athletes was 9%. The maximal fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (%) after EVH test in athletes was significantly associated with prior PM10and PM2.5exposure.

Conclusion

Early-career elite athletes showed increased markers of air pollution exposure, epithelial damage and airway inflammation compared with controls. Acute exposure to increased air pollution PM10levels was linked to increased airway hyper-reactivity.

Trial registration number

NCT03587675.
Effect of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor on airway and systemic inflammation in cystic fibrosis
Authors: Casey Michelle , Gabillard-Lefort Claudie , McElvaney Oisín F , McElvaney Oliver J , Carroll Tomás , Heeney Ronan C , Gunaratnam Cedric , Reeves Emer P , Murphy Mark P , McElvaney Noel G
Published: May 2023

Treatment with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) has been shown to improve lung function in people with cystic fibrosis (PWCF). However, its biological effects remain incompletely understood. Here we describe alterations in pulmonary and systemic inflammation in PWCF following initiation of ETI. To address this, we collected spontaneously expectorated sputum and matching plasma from PWCF (n=30) immediately prior to ETI therapy, then again at 3 and 12 months. Within 3 months, PWCF demonstrated reduced activity of neutrophil elastase, proteinase three and cathepsin G, and decreased concentrations of interleukin (IL)−1β and IL-8 in sputum, accompanied by decreasedPseudomonasburden and restoration of secretory leukoprotease inhibitor levels. Once treated with ETI, all airway inflammatory markers studied in PWCF had reduced to levels found in matched non-CF bronchiectasis controls. In PWCF with advanced disease, ETI resulted in decreased plasma concentrations of IL-6, C-reactive protein and soluble TNF receptor one as well as normalisation of levels of the acute phase protein, alpha-1 antitrypsin. These data clarify the immunomodulatory effects of ETI and underscore its role as a disease modifier.
Steps towards generalization of tensionless string theory with contact interactions as Wilson loop of non-Abelian Yang–Mills theory
Authors: Srisangyingcharoen Pongwit
Published: May 2023

We propose a possible modification to the tensionless string model with contact interactions. The proposed model aims to reproduce the expectation value of a non-Abelian Wilson loop in Yang–Mills theory by integrating out string degrees of freedom with a fixed worldsheet boundary. To reproduce path-ordering along the worldsheet boundary, we introduce Lie algebra-valued fields on the string worldsheet, whose dynamics are determined by the topological BF action. Without bulk contributions, we show that the model describes the non-Abelian Wilson loop, neglecting the effects of self-interactions. Finally, we test the reproduction of the Wilson loop with three-point interaction in the case of SU(2).
Hydrodynamic instability of graphene oxide-water (GO/H2O) suspension with thermo-capillary layers of shear-thinning fluid
Authors: Hussain Zakir , Rehman Asad UR , Zuev Sergei , Ghachem Kaouther , Javid Khurram , Kolsi Lioua , Khan Sami Ullah
Published: May 2023

The thermal applications of nanofluids are extremely high and researchers have suggested multidisciplinary applications of nanomaterials in heat transfer problems, thermal systems, chemical industries, thermal energy systems, nuclear processes, extrusion mechanism, etc. The aim of this work is to discuss thermal properties of nanofluids for Poiseuille flow with hydrodynamic effects. The magnetohydrodynamic Poiseuille flow of thermo-capillary levels of nanoparticles with apparent viscosity nanofluids is focused. The graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles are immersed in water-based fluid. The formulated system is solved numerically by using the Chebyshev collocation method. The mathematical technique Qualitat and Zuverlassigkeit (QZ) is applied to find out eigenvalues from comprehensive Orr–Sommerfeld technique. It is noted that the flow of nanofluids becomes stable due to the wave number and magnetic field. The Reynolds and Prandtl numbers have dynamic role on destabilizing the nanofluids transportation. The outcomes of this study are utilized in drug-delivery systems, photodynamic therapy and delivery of antitumor.
Kink soliton dynamics in one-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensate with higher-order nonlinear interactions
Authors: Jiao Yubin , Ran Xiangyu , Wang Ying , Liu Xiaoning , Wang Wei
Published: May 2023

We investigated the soliton behavior in one-dimensional Bose–Einstein condensates. Based on the modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE) model with higher-order nonlinear interaction and through the F-expansion method, we derived the analytical kink soliton solution of the one-dimensional GPE. The typical kink soliton features under the specific experimental setting are identified, and the physical implication of the analytical results is also demonstrated. The derived theoretical results can be used to guide the experimental study of kink soliton in ultracold atomic systems with higher-order nonlinearity.
Reflections on Conducting Online Think-Alouds
Authors: Imbulpitiya Asanthika , Whalley Jacqueline , Senapathi Mali
Published: May 2023

This article presents a protocol for conducting online think-aloud interviews as well as the reflections of the participants and interviewer on this process. The interviewer and participants commenced the interviews in person but then shifted to an online mode partway through the study. Thus, their reflections provide a comparison of the two different modes. These reflections are situated within a study of novice database designers. This computer science context, to some extent, influences both the protocol and the experiences of the study participants. Recommendations based on these experiences are provided for future computer science education researchers interested in using an online mode for conducting think-alouds, and suggestions for the use of aspects of the protocol in teaching are presented.
MABERT: Mask-Attention-Based BERT for Chinese Event Extraction
Authors: Ding Ling , Chen Xiaojun , Wei Jian , Xiang Yang
Published: May 2023

Event extraction is an essential but challenging task in information extraction. This task has considerably benefited from pre-trained language models, such as BERT. However, when it comes to the trigger-word mismatch problem in languages without natural delimiters, existing methods ignore the complement of lexical information to BERT. In addition, the inherent multi-role noise problem could limit the performance of methods when one sentence contains multiple events. In this article, we propose a Mask-Attention-based BERT (MABERT) framework for Chinese event extraction to address the above problems. Firstly, in order to avoid trigger-word mismatch and integrate lexical features into BERT layers directly, a mask-attention-based transformer augmented with two mask matrices is devised to replace the original one in BERT. By the mask-attention-based transformer, the character sequence interacts with external lexical semantics sufficiently and keeps its structure information at the same time. Moreover, against the multi-role noise problem, we make use of event type information from representation and classification, two aspects to enrich entity features, where type markers and event-schema-based mask matrix are proposed. Experimental results on the widely used ACE2005 dataset show the effectiveness of our proposed MABERT on Chinese event extraction task compared with other state-of-the-art methods.
Human Centricity as Leading Design Principle for Smart City Innovations: Implications for the Governance, Control, Reporting and Performance Evaluation of Well-being of Civil Society Actors
Authors: Christiaanse Rob
Published: May 2023

Governments like municipalities and cities may be regarded as the ultimate stakeholder society organizations. Their key challenge is to balance the welfare of many interest groups as natural stakeholders. Stakeholders need reliable information to assess the effectiveness of implemented policies of organizations to obtain specific objectives. These objectives relate to one or more capitals measuring economic, social, and environmental sustainability affecting societal well-being. This makes reporting sustainability information addressed to a large variety of stakeholders, coined as savers, i.e., investors, and users coined as civil society actor a challenging task to fulfill due to the multidimensional construct of well-being in perspective of CSDR-2022 and similar reporting frameworks. The European Commission asserted that there is significant evidence that many undertakings like businesses do not disclose material information on all major sustainability topics, including climate related information such as GHG emissions and factors that affect bio diversity. In this research, we propose a method build upon the logic of double-entry bookkeeping in a rigorous way, extending the value cycle concept buttressing any value chain to design accounting information systems fulfilling the need of complete and reliable sustainable data for decision-making and evaluation purposes.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Deciphering Diet–Disease Relationships: Case Studies
Authors: Cohen Yotam , Valdés-Mas Rafael , Elinav Eran
Published: May 2023

Modernization of society from a rural, hunter-gatherer setting into an urban and industrial habitat, with the associated dietary changes, has led to an increased prevalence of cardiometabolic and additional noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders. However, while dietary sciences have been rapidly evolving to meet these challenges, validation and translation of experimental results into clinical practice remain limited for multiple reasons, including inherent ethnic, gender, and cultural interindividual variability, among other methodological, dietary reporting–related, and analytical issues. Recently, large clinical cohorts with artificial intelligence analytics have introduced new precision and personalized nutrition concepts that enable one to successfully bridge these gaps in a real-life setting. In this review, we highlight selected examples of case studies at the intersection between diet–disease research and artificial intelligence. We discuss their potential and challenges and offer an outlook toward the transformation of dietary sciences into individualized clinical translation.
Induced Resistance in Fruit and Vegetables: A Host Physiological Response Limiting Postharvest Disease Development
Authors: Prusky Dov , Romanazzi Gianfranco
Published: May 2023

Harvested fruit and vegetables are perishable, subject to desiccation, show increased respiration during ripening, and are colonized by postharvest fungal pathogens. Induced resistance is a strategy to control diseases by eliciting biochemical processes in fruits and vegetables. This is accomplished by modulating the progress of ripening and senescence, which maintains the produce in a state of heightened resistance to decay-causing fungi. Utilization of induced resistance to protect produce has been improved by scientific tools that better characterize physiological changes in plants. Induced resistance slows the decline of innate immunity after harvest and increases the production of defensive responses that directly inhibit plant pathogens. This increase in defense response in fruits and vegetables contributes to higher amounts of phenols and antioxidant compounds, improving both the quality and appearance of the produce. This review summarizes mechanisms and treatments that induce resistance in harvested fruits and vegetables to suppress fungal colonization. Moreover, it highlights the importance of host maturity and stage of ripening as limiting conditions for the improved expression of induced-resistance processes.
Epitaxy of Group-IV Semiconductors for Quantum Electronics
Authors: Hartmann Jean-Michel , Bernier Nicolas , Pierre Francois , Barnes Jean-Paul , Mazzocchi Vincent , Krawczyk Julia , Lima Gabriel , Kiyooka Elyjah , De Franceschi Silvano
Published: May 2023

We are growing at CEA (i) high purity 28Si layers and (ii) c-Ge/SiGe heterostructures for electron and hole spin quantum bits. We describe here strategies usable for the fabrication of 28SOI substrates, with a focus on 28SiH4 consumption minimization, as such a gas is very expensive and hard to come by. We also focus on the properties of Si0.26Ge0.74 and Si0.21Ge0.79 Virtual Substrates (VS) grown at 850°C, 20 Torr and a forward Ge ramping-up on Si(001) substrates. After some chemical polishing (to remove the surface cross-hatch), those VS are used as templates for the 500°C, 100 Torr growth of SiGe/c-Ge/SiGe 2D Hole Gas Gas (2DHG) stacks. Those c-Ge layers are, in X-Ray Diffraction, fully compressively strained on the relaxed SiGe VS underneath and of high crystalline quality. Some slight undulations are evidenced at c-Ge / SiGe cap interfaces, hinting at elastic strain relaxation, however. Magnetotransport measurements in Hall-bar devices were performed at 4.2 K to assess the electrical properties of the 2DHG in those SiGe/c-Ge heterostructures. At low magnetic field, a hole mobility of 1.2 x 105 cm2 V-1 s-1 was obtained for a hole density of n2DHG = 3.7x1011 cm-2 in a 16 nm thick c-Ge/55 nm thick Si0.21Ge0.79 cap sample.
Accurate Torque Evaluation in Elongated Ultra-Scaled STT-MRAM Devices
Authors: Fiorentini Simone , Pruckner Bernhard , Goes Wolfgang , Selberherr Siegfried , Sverdlov Viktor
Published: May 2023

We compute the spin torque acting on elongated magnetic layers inrecently proposed ultra-scaled STT-MRAM devices. For thispurpose we evaluate the non-equilibrium spin accumulation bysolving the coupled spin and charge transport equations. This goesbeyond the Slonczewski torque approximation which describestorques localized at the interface of the tunnel barrier and themagnetic free layer as well as the Zhang-Li torque approximationmodeling the torque acting on a magnetic texture (a domain wall)in the layer’s bulk. We show that the torque contributions frominterface and bulk are not independent from each other and ourgeneralized approach is necessary to accurately model the torquein the presence of a magnetic domain wall inside the magnetic freelayer. We implemented a numerical solution of the spin and chargetransport equations in a finite element-based framework.
(Invited) BioFETs and Nanopore FETs: Nanoscale Silicon Field-Effect Transistors for Single-Molecule Sensing
Authors: Martens Koen , Barge David , Liu Lijun , Santermans Sybren , Delport Jacobus , Willems Kherim , Gevers Juliette , Du Bois Bert , Andrei Alexandru , Lagae Liesbet , Verhulst Anne , Ray Chaudhuri Ashesh , Severi Simone , Marion Sanjin , Van Dorpe Pol
Published: May 2023

High read throughput single-molecule sensing is a cornerstone of established third generation long-read DNA sequencing technologies and is crucial for emerging protein sequencing technologies. These omics technologies are of great interest for essential understanding and applications in the life sciences. Field Effect Transistor (FET)-based single-molecule sensors promise advances in omics, by further enhancing read throughput with massive parallelization. Here an overview is given of our recent progress on nanoscale bioFETs and nanopore FETs (NPFETs).
Consideration of Improved Adhesion of Direct Copper Seed Layer by Medium-Vacuum Sputtering Using Vacuum Ultraviolet Light
Authors: Endo Shinichi , Shimizu Akihiro , Ueyama Hiroyuki , Fukada Kazuhiro , Kashiwagi Yuta , Takamatsu Hirosuke , Hashimoto Kiyoaki , Takahashi Ryotaro
Published: May 2023

A sputtering method is used to form the seed layer for copper electric plating. In general, copper sputtering has weak adhesion to resin, so titanium sputter is combined to increase the adhesion strength. However, etching in the lithography process requires two types of processes, titanium and copper metal. Adhesion strength was improved by performing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) treatment as a pretreatment for medium-vacuum sputtering. We discovered the relationship between the hydroxyl groups on the resin surface and the adhesion strength by the chemical modification XPS method. Furthermore, by XPS analysis of the peeled copper interface, the adhesion mechanism between the resin and copper due to VUV irradiation was estimated. We evaluated the absorption properties in the vacuum ultraviolet region of a thinly polished glass epoxy resin. We investigated the behavior of functional groups at the interface and considered the effect of vacuum ultraviolet light in the depth direction.
Selective Wet and Dry Etching of NiO over β-Ga2O3
Authors: Chiang Chao-Ching , Xia Xinyi , Li Jian-Sian , Ren Fan , Pearton Stephen J
Published: May 2023

Patterning of NiO/Ga2O3 heterojunctions requires the development of selective wet and dry etch processes. Solutions of 1:4 HNO3 :H2O exhibited measurable etch rates for NiO above 40 °C and activation energy for wet etching of 172.9 kJ.mol-1 (41.3 kCal.mol-1, 1.8 eV/atom), which is firmly in the reaction-limited regime. The selectivity over β-Ga2O3 was infinite for temperatures up to 55°C. The strong negative enthalpy for producing the etch product Ga(OH)4 suggests that HNO3-based wet etching of NiO occurs via the formation and dissolution of hydroxides. For dry etching, Cl2/Ar Inductively Coupled Plasmas produced etch rates for NiO up to 800Å.min-1, with maximum selectivities of < 1 over β-Ga2O3. The ion energy threshold for initiation of the etching of NiO was ~55 eV and the etch mechanism was ion-driven, as determined by the linear dependence of etch rate on the square root of ion energy incident on the surface.
(Invited) NiO/ β-(Al
x
Ga1-x
)2O3 /Ga2O3 Heterojunction Lateral Rectifiers with Reverse Breakdown Voltage > 7kV
Authors: Wan Hsiao-Hsuan , Li Jian-Sian , Chiang Chao-Ching , Xia Xinyi , Ren Fan , Masten Hannah , Lundh James Spencer , Spencer Joseph , Alema Fikadu , Osinsky Andrei , Jacobs Alan G. , Hobart Karl D. , Tadjer Marko J. , Pearton Stephen J
Published: May 2023

NiO/ β-(Al
x
Ga1-x
)2O3 /Ga2O3 heterojunction lateral geometry rectifiers with diameter 50-100 µm exhibited maximum reverse breakdown voltages >7kV, showing the advantage of increasing the bandgap using the β-(Al
x
Ga1-x
)2O3 alloy. This Si-doped alloy layer was grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition with an Al composition of ~21 %. On state resistances were in the range 50-2180 Ω.cm2, leading to power figures-of-merit up to 0.72 MW.cm-2. The forward turn-on voltage was in the range 2.3-2.5 V, with maximum on/off ratios >700 when switching from 5V forward to reverse biases up to -100V. Transmission line measurements showed the specific contact resistance was 0.12 Ω.cm2. The breakdown voltage is among the highest reported for any lateral geometry Ga2O3-based rectifier.
(Invited) Application of Synchrotron X-Ray Topography Techniques to the Analysis of Defect Microstructures in Bulk GaN Substrates and Epilayers for Power Devices
Authors: Liu Yafei , Hu Shanshan , Chen Zeyu , Cheng Qianyu , Raghothamachar Balaji , Dudley Michael
Published: May 2023

The study of defects and strain in GaN substrates and epilayers for vertical device development using synchrotron X-ray topography techniques is presented. Synchrotron monochromatic beam X-ray topography (SMBXT) studies show that ammonothermal-grown GaN substrate wafers have the lowest dislocation densities while patterned hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) GaN reveal a starkly heterogeneous distribution of dislocations with large areas containing low threading dislocation densities and HVPE GaN substrates contain high dislocation densities. Epitaxial growth does not nucleate new defects but interactions of dislocations with point defects can cause changes in dislocation configurations. Rocking curve Analysis by Dynamical Simulation (RADS) is shown to be effective in analysis of implantation by correlating the depth profile of strain with the doping profile. Removal of lattice damage induced by implantation requires annealing with proper capping or under high pressures to limit loss of material and lattice distortion. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching may introduce strain in GaN material that can be partially recovered by TBCl etching. Diffusion doping does not introduce new strains in GaN material while neutron transmutation doping at low levels can lead to curing of defects while higher levels lead to irradiation damage and nucleation of new defects.