bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visual pathways functioning in healthy pre-term adolescents: Sex but not gestational age effect
Authors: Taddei Matilde , Tinelli Francesca , Faccio Flavia , Riva Daria , Bulgheroni Sara
Published: October 2024

Background

Visuo-spatial and visuo-perceptual functioning is widely studied in preterm child and is strongly sex-specific. However, little to no data is available regarding male-female differences in preterm children and adolescents and about the interaction effect between sex and preterm birth.

Methods

We studied 30 adolescents born preterm with normal cognitive and clinical neurological outcomes and 34 age-matched controls to investigate the interaction between levels of prematurity and sex in predicting the outcome of visual pathways functioning and to explore the relation between psychophysiological perceptive processing and neuropsychological performance.

Results

In the presence of prematurity, a greater female vulnerability in central visuo-cognitive processing (Form Coherence Task), but not in neuropsychological accuracy (Street Completion Test and Visual Object and Space Perception battery), seems to be more evident. Moreover, the psychophysical threshold is correlated to neuropsychological accuracy only in preterm females and not in males.

Conclusion

These results support the idea that the male vulnerability in cognitive functioning described in prematurity-related developmental conditions is negligible during school age in children-adolescents with normal cognitive and clinical neurological outcomes.

Impact

Visuo-perceptual functioning is widely studied in prematurity. However, few data are available about the interaction effect between sex and preterm birth in predicting visuo-perceptual functioning.

We evidenced that in females born preterm with preserved cognitive abilities, the efficiency of the psychophysical visuo-perceptual threshold is reduced, but not related to the neuropsychological performance. Females may implement compensation strategies to achieve good performance regardless of the perceptual threshold.

The present study addresses an important gap in literature, suggesting possible sex-specific outcomes in visuo-perceptual ability among preterm children and adolescents with normal intelligence and neurological outcomes.
Living histopathology - interrogation of ocular tissues by light: a celebration of the slit-lamp and a repertoire of clinical techniques
Authors: Meyer Paul A. R.
Published: October 2024

The evolution of the slit-lamp microscope has enabled ophthalmologists to examine the transparent tissues of the eye with histological detail. This paper considers the history and optics of the slit-lamp. Optical sectioning and retro-illumination are discussed; particularly, effective placement of the reflected light beam. A variety of less conventional slit-lamp examination techniques is described. These include remote dark-field retro-illumination, examination through refractive surfaces (particularly, meniscus retro-illumination to demonstrate tear cells and non-contact corneal endothelial specular microscopy), location of vitreous abnormalities by parallax, expanding radial cords of vitreous cells in lymphoma, mirror examination of the superior fornix and corneal epithelial folds in ocular hypotension. It concludes with brief discussions about haemoglobin video imaging, semi-quantification of aqueous outflow volume by aqueous column cross-section area, and autofocus for video-microscopy.
Study of mechanical and electrical properties through positron annihilation spectroscopy for ethylene-propylene-diene rubber biocomposites with treated wheat husk fibers
Authors: Mohamed Hamdy F. M. , Taha Howayda G. , Mohammed Wael M. , Abdel-Hady Esam E. , Awad Somia
Published: October 2024

The positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy characteristics of ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber (EPDM) composites reinforced with treated wheat husk fibers (WHFs) were investigated for the first time. PAL spectroscopy is employed to study the free volume of polymers. The use of lignocellulosic materials as reinforcement in polymeric composites has gained attention due to their low cost, availability, and eco-friendliness. In this study, the impact of the loading concentration on the interfacial adhesion between the EPDM matrix and WHFs is quantified, along with the evaluation of swelling measurement and tensile properties. Additionally, the nanoscopic properties derived from PAL spectroscopy correlate with the composites’ macroscopic properties. In addition, the dielectric properties of the investigated samples have been studied, and their conductivity has been calculated. To determine the conduction mechanism within these samples and how it is affected by the addition of WHF, the change in electrical conductivity with the frequency of the external electric field applied to the samples was studied, and from this, the conduction mechanism was determined, and the barrier height value was calculated. The experimental results provide insights into the relationship between the structure and properties of EPDM-WHF biocomposites, offering valuable knowledge for developing sustainable and high-performance materials.
AnEEG: leveraging deep learning for effective artifact removal in EEG data
Authors: Kalita Bhabesh , Deb Nabamita , Das Daisy
Published: October 2024

In neuroscience and clinical diagnostics, electroencephalography (EEG) is a crucial instrument for capturing neural activity. However, this signal is polluted by different artifacts like muscle activity, eye blinks, environmental interference, etc., which makes it more difficult to retrieve important information from the signal. Deep learning methods have demonstrated the potential to lower these artifacts and enhance the EEG’s quality in recent years. In this work, a novel deep learning method,“AnEEG” is presented for eliminating artifacts from EEG signal. The quantitative matrices NMSE, RMSE, CC, SNR and SAR are calculated to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed model. Through this process, it was found that the suggested model outperformed wavelet decomposition techniques. The model achieves lower NMSE and RMSE values, which indicates better agreement with the original signal. Achieving higher CC values means stronger linear agreement with the ground truth signals. Additionally, the model shows improvements in both SNR and SAR values. Overall, this suggested approach showcases promising results in improving the quality of EEG data by utilizing deep learning.
UDCA ameliorates inflammation driven EMT by inducing TGR5 dependent SOCS1 expression in mouse macrophages
Authors: Fathima Ashna , Jamma Trinath
Published: October 2024

Long-standing chronic inflammation of the digestive tract leads to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), comprising Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC). The persistent prevalence of these conditions in the gut is a predisposing factor for Colitis-Associated Cancer (CAC), one of the most common sub-types of Colorectal Cancer (CRC), emphasizing the role of inflammation in tumorigenesis. Therefore, targeted intervention of chronic intestinal inflammation is a potential strategy for preclusion and treatment of inflammation-driven malignancies. The association between bile acids (BA) and gut immune homeostasis has been explored in the recent past. However, the exact downstream mechanism by which secondary BA successfully regulating intestinal inflammation and inflammation-dependent CAC is unclear. Our study demonstrated that Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a secondary bile acid of host gut microbial origin, finetunes the dialogue between activated macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells, modulating inflammation-driven epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a hallmark of cancer. UDCA treatment and dependency on the TGR5/GPBAR1 receptor significantly upregulated the Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 (SOCS1) expression, contributing to the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in activated macrophages. In this study, we also noticed heightened expression of SOCS1 in UDCA-mitigated CAC in the AOM-DSS mouse model with reduced inflammatory gene expression. Overall, our observations highlight the possible utility of UDCA for inflammation-driven intestinal cancer.
Overview of Glycosylation Studies of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Pepi Lauren E. , Shajahan Asif , Gleinich Anne S. , Heiss Christian , Azadi Parastoo
Published: October 2024

At the end of 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel human coronavirus, emerged and rapidly caused a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which affects the respiratory tract and lungs of infected individuals. Due to the increased transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to its previous versions, determining as fully as possible the various structural aspects of the virus became critical for the development of therapeutics and vaccines to combat this virus. Knowing the structures of viral proteins and their glycosylation is an essential foundation for the understanding of the mechanism of the disease. Glycopeptide analysis has been used to map the glycosylation of viral glycoproteins, including those of influenza and HIV. Thanks to the developments in the field over the last few decades, scientists were able to quickly develop therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. This chapter discusses the four structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, their glycosylation and modifications, and the techniques used to map SARS-CoV-2 glycosylation.
Cracking the Glycome with the Sweet Tooth of Nature: Overview and Outlook of Lectin Microarray Technology
Authors: Qin Rui , Mahal Lara K.
Published: October 2024

Lectin microarray technology is a rapid, sensitive and cost-efficient method for glycomic profiling, which has applications ranging from glycoprotein analysis to biomarker discovery. Recent advances continue to improve the sensitivity and analytical resolution of this technology. An emerging trend in glycomics is the integration of lectin microarray data with the biology technologies of other systems. This has led to a series of discoveries and indicates one of the future directions of lectin microarray technology. In this review, we give an overview of the principle of lectin microarrays and sketch the current state of this technology from both technical and application perspectives.
O-Glycoproteomics: Methods, Challenges, and New Opportunities
Authors: Riley Nicholas M. , Malaker Stacy A.
Published: October 2024

The field of O-glycoproteomics has seen many notable advances in the last decade, which have allowed the site-specific localization of O-glycans on a myriad of proteins. In this chapter, we describe the state-of-the-art techniques in glycoproteomics in the hope of providing a broad overview of the methods and practices used within the field. We first cover the digestion of O-glycoproteins with proteases, such as trypsin, Proteinase K, and the newly introduced class of O-glycoproteases. Then, given that glycopeptides are enriched to enhance their detection via mass spectrometry (MS), we also discuss enrichment methods involving lectins, antibodies, and/or solid-phase extraction. Importantly, we provide a broad overview of glycopeptide analysis within the MS, including dissociation via tandem MS, beam-type collision-induced dissociation (beamCID), electron transfer dissociation (ETD), and/or ETD with supplemental collisional activation (EThcD). Finally, we discuss the growing collection of glycoproteomic search algorithms, including some new programs specializing in O-glycoproteomics, that can assist in the analysis of resultant spectra. Taken together, this chapter serves as a broad overview of O-glycoproteomics, including current techniques, challenges, and emerging opportunities in the field.
N2 Electrochemical Activation
Authors: Fernandez Carlos A. , Huang Po-Wei , Chipoco Haro Danae A. , Hatzell Marta C.
Published: October 2024

Catalytic conversion of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) and nitric acid (HNO3) is essential for the production of nitrogen-based fertilisers. The activation of N2 is the critical first step to accomplish this goal. As N2 contains a triple bond (N≡N), its activation and conversion to ammonia and nitrates has been a global challenge for over a century. Historically, precedent suggests that the most efficient way to activate N2 and synthesise NH3 is through a high temperature and pressure process (Haber–Bosch process). Recently, novel approaches have emerged to activate N2 and produce NH3 at lower temperatures and pressures. These approaches include direct electrochemical approaches, plasma-mediated systems, and indirect electrochemical approaches (lithium mediated). In this chapter, some of the energy, economic, and materials considerations for these novel technologies are considered in this context.
The impact of gas purity on observed reactivity with NO using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: French Amanda D. , Hobbs Kirby P. , Cox Richard M , Arnquist Isaac J.
Published: October 2024

Interference removal in inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) is strongly dependent on the gas selected for use within the collision/reaction cell.
Mechanism of solvent-mediated polymorphic transformation to prepare axitinib form XLI controlled by water activity
Authors: Li Tong , Zhang Jin , Li Maolin , Qu Haibin , Wu Songgu , Gong Junbo
Published: October 2024

Axitinib (AXI) is widely used in the treatment of renal cancer.
TD-DFT-guided development of a robust hole-transporting layer for optimized triple-cation perovskite solar cell performance
Authors: Abdalhadi Saifaldeen M. , Mohammed Mustafa K. A. , Al-Baitai Asmaa Yahya , Yaseen Zaher Mundher
Published: October 2024

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have earned considerable attention as a promising photovoltaic technology for future power generation.
Development, structural characterization, in vitro release and oral bioavailability studies of novel surface-modified natural Fiber Interlaced Liposomal Vitamin C
Authors: Jacob Joby , Sharma Vedashree M. , Valsaraj T. V. , Sudeep Heggar Venkataramana , Thomas Jestin , Kodimule Shyamprasad
Published: October 2024

The novel Fiber Interlaced Liposomal (FIL) Vit C improves the bioavailability of Vit C by surface modification of liposomes.
Supervised and Revocable Decentralized Identity Privacy Protection Scheme
Authors: He Jing , MA Xiaofeng , Zhang Dawei , Peng Feng
Published: October 2024

Decentralized identity represents an innovative approach based on blockchain to achieve effective identity management. This method utilizes decentralized identifiers and verifiable credential to enable trusted authentication, free circulation of identity information, and self-sovereign control over identity data functionalities. The current decentralized identity systems rely on entirely anonymous identifiers, lacking robust identity regulation. Furthermore, they face challenges such as identity attribute leakage during verifiable credential presentation and the issuers' struggle to reliably revoke credentials. To address these issues, efficient and practical schemes have been designed based on BBS signature, zero-knowledge proof, dynamic accumulator and blockchain technology: one for decentralized identifiers management and the other for verifiable credential privacy protection, both of which are supervised and revocable. The former ensures the privacy of subject identity while achieving regulatability and revocability of identity data by regulator. The latter facilitates selective disclosure of anonymous credentials and reliable revocation. A security analysis shows that the proposed scheme meets anonymity, non-forgeability, regulatory reliability, and revocability reliability, and offers comprehensive and effective privacy protection measures. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithms designed operate at a millisecond level, which satisfies the demands of blockchain identity management scenarios.
La réforme de la formation initiale des enseignants d’éducation physique et à la santé en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles : Le cas de la Haute École Léonard de Vinci
Authors: Dupont Jean-Philippe
Published: October 2024

À l’instar d’autres nations et régions à travers le monde, la Belgique francophone a entrepris une vaste réforme de son système éducatif, connue sous le nom de Pacte pour un Enseignement d’Excellence (PEE) (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, 2017). Cette réforme inclut un ensemble de mesures structurelles spécifiques, telles que l’extension du tronc commun de 3 à 15 ans et la révision approfondie de la Formation Initiale des Enseignants (FIE) (Dachet & Bayet, 2021). En lien avec la thématique de ce numéro spécial, cette contribution adopte une approche descriptive visant à exposer les défis que le PEE implique pour l’enseignement de l’éducation physique, de 3 à 15 ans, en Belgique francophone. En outre, elle se fixe pour objectif de détailler et d’analyser la mise en pratique du nouveau curriculum de la FIE en éducation physique et à la santé. Après une vue d’ensemble, une analyse de cas spécifique, portant sur la Haute École Léonard de Vinci à Bruxelles, sera menée pour mettre en lumière les stratégies et les contenus développés au sein de cette institution d’enseignement supérieur.
Synthesis, Isolation and Characterization of Nine Pharmacopeial Impurities Related to the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Olsalazine Sodium
Authors: Thorat Rakesh G. , Chavan Jagdish , Chaskar Sudhir , Vedpathak Hanmant , Suryawanshi Venkat , Chaudhari Ashok , Pramanik Chinmoy , Roychowdhury Abhijit
Published: October 2024

Olsalazine sodium is an anti-inflammatory agent used to treat ulcerative colitis. Both British and European Pharmacopoeia list nine process-related impurities in their monographs. Quantification of the impurities in the final synthesized active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is required to meet the quality standards set by the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH). Both literature reports and commercial vendors for these impurities are few and far between. The present report describes the synthesis, isolation, purification and characterization of these nine pharmacopeial impurities.
Adaptive control of recurrent neural networks using conceptors
Authors: Pourcel Guillaume , Goldmann Mirko , Fischer Ingo , Soriano Miguel C.
Published: October 2024

Recurrent neural networks excel at predicting and generating complex high-dimensional temporal patterns. Due to their inherent nonlinear dynamics and memory, they can learn unbounded temporal dependencies from data. In a machine learning setting, the network’s parameters are adapted during a training phase to match the requirements of a given task/problem increasing its computational capabilities. After the training, the network parameters are kept fixed to exploit the learned computations. The static parameters, therefore, render the network unadaptive to changing conditions, such as an external or internal perturbation. In this paper, we demonstrate how keeping parts of the network adaptive even after the training enhances its functionality and robustness. Here, we utilize the conceptor framework and conceptualize an adaptive control loop analyzing the network’s behavior continuously and adjusting its time-varying internal representation to follow a desired target. We demonstrate how the added adaptivity of the network supports the computational functionality in three distinct tasks: interpolation of temporal patterns, stabilization against partial network degradation, and robustness against input distortion. Our results highlight the potential of adaptive networks in machine learning beyond training, enabling them to not only learn complex patterns but also dynamically adjust to changing environments, ultimately broadening their applicability.
Ultrafast photo-induced O2− channel-opening in oxygen vacancy ordered SrCoO2.5 film
Authors: Zhang Hai-juan , Zhu Chang-qing , Yang Ming-wei , Lu Xin , Chen Jie , Jin Kui-juan , Chen Li-ming
Published: October 2024

The recent development of electric-field controlled brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 (BM-SCO) to SrCoO3-δ phase transformation greatly enriches the controlling diversity of functional materials. However, the required potential is much larger than that for the standard electrolysis of H2O and the detailed mechanisms for the corresponding oxygen insertion are still unclear. In this study, we mimic such electric-field control step with optical pulse excitation. In specific, by exciting BM-SCO thin film with femtosecond 400 or 800 nm pulses, and monitoring the lattice dynamics using ultrafast x-ray diffraction, we find that 400 nm photo-excitation can induce a distinctive transient BM-SCO state containing both Co2+ and Co4+, which is more suitable for O2− invasion. This transient BM-SCO state is suggested to originate from the redistribution of electrons on CoT (tetragonal layer) and CoO (octahedral layer) 3d orbitals, which is further confirmed by femtosecond transient reflectance measurements. We suggest that this distinctive transient BM-SCO state, which is critical for the phase transition, is also induced during the electric-field controlled BM-SCO to SrCoO3-δ phase transformation. This study intends to contribute an intriguing research thought for the inherent mechanism that might be powerless with traditional means and a special phase control method as well.
Surprisingly tight Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy condition in explicit high-order Arakawa schemes
Authors: Raeth Mario , Hallatschek Klaus
Published: October 2024

The Arakawa scheme, which exactly conserves energy and enstrophy in two-dimensional hydrodynamics, severely reduces the maximum allowable stable time step compared to the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy condition when combined with a spectral or spectral-like high-order discretization. We calculate the time step restriction by finding the responsible high frequency eigenfunctions and suggest a remedy. The phenomenon has relevance for analogous methods conserving multiple quadratic invariants in gyrokinetic or magnetohydrodynamic simulations.
Characteristics of gas–liquid two-phase flow in a stirred tank with double-layer punched impeller
Authors: Liu Tian , Si Wen , Qiao Juanjuan , Luan Deyu , Chen Songying
Published: October 2024

This study investigates the gas–liquid two-phase flow characteristics in a stirred tank equipped with a double-layer punched impeller. Numerical simulations are conducted to analyze flow dynamics, gas holdup, bubble sizes, and distributions under various operational conditions. The results show a high degree of agreement between experimental and simulated power values and gas holdup distributions, validating the reliability of the computational fluid dynamics–population balance model coupling approach. The combination of the punched four-inclined-blade up-pumping turbine and the punched Rushton impeller exhibits excellent bubble dispersion characteristics, with overall small bubble sizes. Increasing the rotational speed can enhance turbulence within the flow field and accelerate the liquid phase velocity, which facilitates gas diffusion and improves gas–liquid mixing efficiency. Additionally, higher rotational speed further intensifies the shear effect of the punched impeller, resulting in a reduction in average bubble size.
Influence of the rigidity of the backbone and arms on the dynamical and conformational properties of the comb polymer in shear flow
Authors: Huang Xinbiao , Wen Xiaohui , Likos Christos N. , Wang Deyin , He Linli , Li Hai , Li Rundong
Published: October 2024

The dynamical and conformational properties of the comb polymer with various rigidities of the backbone and arms in steady shear flow are studied by using a hybrid mesoscale simulation approach that combines multiparticle collision dynamics with standard molecular dynamics. First, during the process of the comb polymer undergoing periodic tumbling motion, we find that the rigidity of the arms always promotes the tumbling motion of the comb polymer, but the rigidity of the backbone shifts from hindering to promoting it with increasing the rigidity of the arms. In addition, the comb polymer transitions from vorticity tumbling to gradient tumbling with the increase in shear rate. Second, the range of variation of the end-to-end distance of the backbone and the average end-to-end distance of the arms increases with the increase in the rigidity of the arms and backbone, respectively, and the range of both changes grows with the increase in shear rate. Furthermore, as the rigidity increases, the moldability of the comb polymer decreases and the orientation angle of the comb polymer increases.
An ambipolar single-charge pump in silicon
Authors: Yamahata Gento , Fujiwara Akira
Published: October 2024

The mechanism of single-charge pumping using a dynamic quantum dot needs to be precisely understood for high-accuracy and universal operation toward applications to quantum current standards and quantum information devices. The type of charge carrier (electron or hole) is an important factor for determining the pumping accuracy, but it has been so far compared just using different devices that could have different potential landscapes. Here, we report measurements of a silicon ambipolar single-charge pump. It allows a comparison between the single-electron and single-hole pumps that share the entrance tunnel barrier, which is a critical part of the pumping operation. By changing the frequency and temperature, we reveal that the entrance barrier has a better energy selectivity in the single-hole pumping, leading to a pumping error rate better than that in the single-electron pumping up to 400 MHz. This result implies that the heavy effective mass of holes is related to the superior characteristics in the single-hole pumping, which would be an important finding for stably realizing accurate single-charge pumping operation.
Mpox outbreak: Time series analysis with multifractal and deep learning network
Authors: Priyanka T. M. C. , Gowrisankar A. , Banerjee Santo
Published: October 2024

This article presents an overview of an mpox epidemiological situation in the most affected regions—Africa, Americas, and Europe—tailoring fractal interpolation for pre-processing the mpox cases. This keen analysis has highlighted the irregular and fractal patterns in the trend of mpox transmission. During the current scenario of public health emergency of international concern due to an mpox outbreak, an additional significance of this article is the interpretation of mpox spread in light of multifractality. The self-similar measure, namely, the multifractal measure, is utilized to explore the heterogeneity in the mpox cases. Moreover, a bidirectional long-short term memory neural network has been employed to forecast the future mpox spread to alert the outbreak as it seems to be a silent symptom for global epidemic.
Superposition of steady shear flow upon orthogonal small-amplitude oscillation from a rotarance theory
Authors: Pak Myong Chol , Kang Hyon Jin , Giacomin A. J.
Published: October 2024

The novelty of this work is in its prediction of the non-Newtonian behavior of polymeric liquids in the orthogonal superposition of small-amplitude oscillatory shear flow upon steady shear flow. We do so using rotarance theory, namely, by considering only the orientability of the macromolecules in suspension. We arrive at explicit analytical solutions for the complex viscosity as a function of the steady shear rate and of the frequency of the superposed oscillation. Our results explain the canonical laboratory observations of orthogonal superposition: (α) the real part of the complex viscosity as a function of frequency decreases with increasing steady shear rate, (β) the curves of minus the imaginary part as a function of frequency go through a maximum, and (γ) the independence of the steady mean shear stress from the superposed oscillation. We compare our predictions with those of parallel superposition and discover that the further the macromolecular structure from axisymmetric, I3/I1=1, the greater the difference between parallel and superposition. In other words, studying both directions of superposition of either part of the complex viscosity uncovers the most important feature of macromolecular structure, the moment ratio, I3/I1, and thus, the macromolecular orientability.
Deciphering the neural responses to a naturalistic persuasive message
Authors: Ntoumanis Ioannis , Sheronova Julia , Davydova Alina , Dolgaleva Maria , Jääskeläinen Iiro P. , Kosonogov Vladimir , Shestakova Anna N. , Klucharev Vasily
Published: October 2024

Effective health promotion may benefit from understanding how persuasion emerges. While earlier research has identified brain regions implicated in persuasion, these studies often relied on event-related analyses and frequently simplified persuasive communications. The present study investigates the neural basis of valuation change induced by a persuasive healthy eating call, employing naturalistic stimuli. Fifty healthy participants performed two blocks of a bidding task, in which they had to bid on sugar-containing, sugar-free, and nonedible products during functional MRI. In between the two blocks, they listened to a persuasive healthy eating call that influenced their bidding behavior. Intriguingly, participants who resisted persuasion exhibited increased synchronization of brain activity during listening in several regions, including default mode network structures. Additionally, intersubject functional connectivity among these brain regions was found to be weaker in persuaded individuals. These results emphasize the individualized nature of processing persuasive messages, challenging conventional interpretations of synchronized neural activity. Our findings support the emerging practice of tailoring persuasive messages in health promotion campaigns.
KCTD1 regulation of Adenylyl cyclase type 5 adjusts striatal cAMP signaling
Authors: Liao Yini , Muntean Brian S.
Published: October 2024

Dopamine transfers information to striatal neurons, and disrupted neurotransmission leads to motor deficits observed in movement disorders. Striatal dopamine converges downstream to Adenylyl Cyclase Type 5 (AC5)-mediated synthesis of cAMP, indicating the essential role of signal transduction in motor physiology. However, the relationship between dopamine decoding and AC5 regulation is unknown. Here, we utilized an unbiased global protein stability screen to identify Potassium Channel Tetramerization Domain 1 (KCTD1) as a key regulator of AC5 level that is mechanistically tied to N-linked glycosylation. We then implemented a CRISPR/SaCas9 approach to eliminate KCTD1 in striatal neurons expressing a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based cAMP biosensor. 2-photon imaging of striatal neurons in intact circuits uncovered that dopaminergic signaling was substantially compromised in the absence of KCTD1. Finally, knockdown of KCTD1 in genetically defined dorsal striatal neurons significantly altered motor behavior in mice. These results reveal that KCTD1 acts as an essential modifier of dopaminergic signaling by stabilizing striatal AC5.
Divergent molecular assembly and catalytic mechanisms between bacterial and archaeal RNase P in pre-tRNA cleavage
Authors: Liang Xiaoge , Chen Dian , Su Aimin , Liu Yu
Published: October 2024

Ribonuclease P (RNase P) plays a vital role in the maturation of tRNA across bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. However, how RNase P assembles various components to achieve specific cleavage of precursor tRNA (pre-tRNA) in different organisms remains elusive. In this study, we employed single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer to probe the dynamics of RNase P from
E. coli
(
Escherichia coli
) and
Mja
(
Methanocaldococcus jannaschii
) during pre-tRNA cleavage by incorporating five Cy3-Cy5 pairs into pre-tRNA and RNase P. Our results revealed significant differences in the assembly and catalytic mechanisms of RNase P between
E. coli
and
Mja
at both the RNA and protein levels. Specifically, the RNA of
E. coli
RNase P (
Eco
RPR) can adopt an active conformation that is capable of binding and cleaving pre-tRNA with high specificity independently. The addition of the protein component of
E. coli
RNase P (RnpA) enhances and accelerates pre-tRNA cleavage efficiency by increasing and stabilizing the active conformation. In contrast,
Mja
RPR is unable to form the catalytically active conformation on its own, and at least four proteins are required to induce the correct folding of
Mja
RPR. Mutation experiments suggest that the functional deficiency of
Mja
RPR arises from the absence of the second structural layer, and proper intermolecular assembly is essential for
Mja
RNase P to be functional over a broad temperature range. We propose models to illustrate the distinct catalytic patterns and RNA–protein interactions of RNase P in these two organisms.
Lactylation of RNA m
6
A demethylase ALKBH5 promotes innate immune response to DNA herpesviruses and mpox virus
Authors: Li Wan , Zhou Jing , Gu Yang , Chen Yuheng , Huang Yiming , Yang Jingxin , Zhu Xiaojuan , Zhao Kangchen , Yan Qin , Zhao Zongzheng , Li Xiao , Chen Guochun , Jia Xuemei , Gao Shou-Jiang , Lu Chun
Published: October 2024

RNA
N
6
-methyladenosine (m
6
A) demethylase AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) plays a crucial role in regulating innate immunity. Lysine acylation, a widespread protein modification, influences protein function, but its impact on ALKBH5 during viral infections has not been well characterized. This study investigates the presence and regulatory mechanisms of a previously unidentified lysine acylation in ALKBH5 and its role in mediating m
6
A modifications to activate antiviral innate immune responses. We demonstrate that ALKBH5 undergoes lactylation, which is essential for an effective innate immune response against DNA herpesviruses, including herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and mpox virus (MPXV). This lactylation attenuates viral replication. Mechanistically, viral infections enhance ALKBH5 lactylation by increasing its interaction with acetyltransferase ESCO2 and decreasing its interaction with deacetyltransferase SIRT6. Lactylated ALKBH5 binds interferon-beta (IFN-β) messenger RNA (mRNA), leading to demethylation of its m
6
A modifications and promoting IFN-β mRNA biogenesis. Overexpression of ESCO2 or depletion of SIRT6 further enhances ALKBH5 lactylation to strengthen IFN-β mRNA biogenesis. Our results identify a posttranslational modification of ALKBH5 and its role in regulating antiviral innate immune responses through m
6
A modification. The finding provides an understanding of innate immunity and offers a potential therapeutic target for HSV-1, KSHV, and MPXV infections.
Correlated topological flat bands in rhombohedral graphite
Authors: Zhang Hongyun , Li Qian , Scheer Michael G. , Wang Renqi , Tuo Chuyi , Zou Nianlong , Chen Wanying , Li Jiaheng , Cai Xuanxi , Bao Changhua , Li Ming-Rui , Deng Ke , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Ye Mao , Tang Peizhe , Xu Yong , Yu Pu , Avila Jose , Dudin Pavel , Denlinger Jonathan D. , Yao Hong , Lian Biao , Duan Wenhui , Zhou Shuyun
Published: October 2024

Flat bands and nontrivial topological physics are two important topics of condensed matter physics. With a unique stacking configuration analogous to the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model, rhombohedral graphite (RG) is a potential candidate for realizing both flat bands and nontrivial topological physics. Here, we report experimental evidence of topological flat bands (TFBs) on the surface of bulk RG, which are topologically protected by bulk helical Dirac nodal lines via the bulk-boundary correspondence. Moreover, upon in situ electron doping, the surface TFBs show a splitting with exotic doping evolution, with an order-of-magnitude increase in the bandwidth of the lower split band, and pinning of the upper band near the Fermi level. These experimental observations together with Hartree–Fock calculations suggest that correlation effects are important in this system. Our results demonstrate RG as a platform for investigating the rich interplay between nontrivial band topology, correlation effects, and interaction-driven symmetry-broken states.
High-performance deep-ultraviolet photodetector based on a single-crystalline ϵ-Ga2O3/Sn-doped In2O3 heterojunction
Authors: Hu Shudong , Liu Ningtao , Li Teng , Han Dongyang , Zhuo Hao , Shao Botao , Zhang Xiaoli , Zhang Wenrui , Chen Feng
Published: October 2024

Metastable ϵ-Ga2O3, with its superior physical properties and high substrate compatibility, demonstrates considerable potential in developing heterojunction deep-ultraviolet photodetectors (DUV PDs). Herein, we fabricate a high-performance DUV PD utilizing a single crystalline ϵ-Ga2O3/ Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) heterojunction. Under a reverse bias of 15 V, the device exhibits a high responsivity of 506 A/W, an excellent UV/visible rejection ratio of 6.74 × 104, and a fast fall time of 40 ms while maintaining good performance across a broad illumination range of 90–4100 μW cm−2. Moreover, the device can operate in a self-powered mode at zero bias, further verifying the presence of a depletion region within the ϵ-Ga2O3/ITO heterojunction. Our results demonstrate that ϵ-Ga2O3 is promising for high-quality integration on ITO and application in DUV detection, offering new strategic directions for developing high-performance Ga2O3-based DUV PDs.
Influence of substrate temperature on plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to improve the surface flashover performance of epoxy resin
Authors: Canhui Liu , Yan Mi , Lei Deng , Yong Chen , Wentao Liu , Yiqin Peng
Published: October 2024

Epoxy resin composites are widely used as insulating and supporting materials in high-voltage power systems due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. However, long-term operation under high-voltage direct current induces surface flashover. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been shown to effectively improve the surface insulation properties of epoxy resin. However, the influence of substrate temperature on the film composition, stress, morphology, and surface flashover performance remains unclear. This study uses PECVD to treat epoxy resin, enhancing its surface flashover performance. Tetraethoxysilane is used as the precursor to deposit nano-scale SiO
x
films on the epoxy resin surface. The effects of different substrate temperatures on the surface flashover voltage, physicochemical properties, and mechanical properties of epoxy resin are characterized. The results show that the surface flashover voltage increases and then saturates with increasing substrate temperature, improving by 27.4% at 60 °C compared to untreated samples. The surface roughness of epoxy resin decreases after plasma deposition, while highly oxidized silicon-containing functional groups are introduced. When the substrate temperature increases from 20 °C to 60 °C, the interfacial bonding strength improves by 25.9%. This study provides a simple, efficient, and controllable method to enhance the surface flashover performance of epoxy resin, promoting the application of this technology in engineering practice.
Effects of heavy alkali metals (Rb, Cs) post-deposition treatments on CuInGaSe2 using a spin-coating technique
Authors: Nwakanma Onyekachi , Morales-Acevedo Arturo , Subramaniam Velumani , Ezema Fabian , Sugiyama Mutsumi
Published: October 2024

This study used a controlled environment to explore the post-deposition treatment (PDT) effects on CuInGaSe2 (CIGSe2) semiconducting thin films using a non-vacuum spin-coating technique for doping the CIGSe layers with Cs and Rb. The structural characterization confirmed the successful deposition of chalcopyrite structures with no phases belonging to any alkali metals after the PDT, with crystallite sizes in the range between 40–67 nm, and with a slight change in the x-ray Diffraction peak positions indicating a change from copper-rich to copper-poor phases. The morphological studies confirmed the increase in grain sizes after the PDT. The energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy chemical studies showed that there is a reduction in the copper content after PDT. The topographical studies showed a change in the surface morphology with modifications of the grain parameters. In addition, the electrical characterization showed a significant increase of the effective carrier mobility after the treatments, consistent with the grain size increase observed by both microscopic (scanning electron microscope and AFM) studies. Raman characterization of the CIGSe2 films showed the A1 optical phonon mode of CIGS chalcopyrite structures and peaks at lower frequencies belonging to ordered vacancy compounds (OVCs). The deconvolution of the Raman spectroscopy broad peaks for the CIGSe2 films after their PDT confirmed the formation of alk-InSe2 OVC phases on top of the absorber layer.
Spectroscopic analysis of single and multiphase electrical discharge for clean energy conversion
Authors: Baky Md Abdullah Hil , Wang Kunpeng , Jemison Howard , Staack David
Published: October 2024

In this study, we examined non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma processes operating under varying conditions using different liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon materials. The light emission from the discharges were analyzed through optical emission spectroscopy to comprehend the products generated in different parameter space. The gaseous products from each of these analyses were also collected and analyzed through gas chromatography. Analysis of the optical emission from the discharge and concentration of the gaseous products show a linear trend between emission intensity ratio H
α
/C2 and gas concentration ratio H2/C2H
x
. Gas temperature and electronic excitation temperature of different experimental conditions were also compared and indicates that spark discharge relates to higher electronic excitation temperature compared to glow discharge of similar medium. Higher electronic excitation temperature leads to generation of different products from spark discharge compared to glow discharge. Glow discharge generates more of the intermediate products. Whereas spark discharge, because of its higher electronic excitation temperature, leads to higher rate of dissociation and therefore generates more of the dissociated products. Glow discharge, for example generates more of OH and H from the moisture present in the carrier gas as impurity, whereas spark discharge would generate more of H
α
and O particles further breaking down the OH bonds. Finally, UV–Vis analysis was performed on the liquid products of the discharge and reveals that the photo-centers and the newly generated soot nano particles absorb the UV range lights and some of the visible range light emission mostly up to ∼600 nm.
Research on gas pipeline leakage identification based on SE-2DCNN with ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating distributed acoustic sensing system
Authors: Luo Zhihui , Yang Yexu , Chen Xiaoan , Ran Changyan
Published: October 2024

A new method for identifying gas pipeline leaks using an ultra-weak fiber Bragg grating (UWFBG) distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system is proposed. To enhance the accuracy of gas leakage detection, an improved convolutional neural network (CNN) incorporating a two-dimensional structure based on the squeeze-and-excitation (SE) attention mechanism was introduced. The principle of acoustic leakage sensing using this technology is explained in detail, and an experimental setup simulating gas pipeline leaks is constructed. During this process, 9340 DAS data points across varying leakage volumes and pipeline pressures were collected to create ten distinct datasets. The Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) are employed as the feature input for the optimized SE-2DCNN model, which performs identification tasks. The results show that this optimized model achieves an average leakage identification accuracy of 95.33%, demonstrating superior performance over other methods. This approach offers a robust reference for accurately detecting gas pipeline leakages.
A dual-stream temporal convolutional network for remaining useful life prediction of rolling bearings
Authors: Zhang Yazhou , Zhao Xiaoqiang , Xu Rongrong , Peng Zhenrui
Published: October 2024

Remaining useful life (RUL) prediction plays an indispensable role in the reliable operation and improved maintenance of rolling bearings. Currently, data-driven methods based on deep learning have made significant progress in RUL prediction. However, most of such methods only consider the correlation between channels, ignoring the importance of different time steps for RUL prediction. In addition, it is still challenging to effectively fuse the degradation features of rolling bearings to improve the model RUL prediction performance. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a novel data-driven RUL prediction method named dual-stream temporal convolution network (DSTCN). First, a hybrid attention temporal convolution block (HATCB) is designed to capture the correlation of degraded features on the channel dimension and temporal dimension. Second, a one-dimensional attention fusion module is designed. This module is capable of weight recalibration and assignment to adaptively fuse different degraded features. Afterward, the Hilbert Marginal spectrum is obtained using the Hilbert–Huang Transform and used as the input to one stream. Meanwhile, vibration signals are used as the input of the other stream, thus building a DSTCN to realize RUL prediction. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated with two life-cycle datasets, and the results show that the method has lower prediction error than other methods for RUL prediction and prognostic analysis.
Research on registration method for enface image using multi-feature fusion
Authors: Pan Lingjiao , Cai Zhongwang , Hu Derong , Zhu Weifang , Shi Fei , Tao Weige , Wu Quanyu , Xiao Shuyan , Chen Xinjian
Published: October 2024

Objective. The purpose of this work is to accurately and quickly register the Optical coherence tomography (OCT) projection (enface) images at adjacent time points, and to solve the problem of interference caused by CNV lesions on the registration features. Approach. In this work, a multi-feature registration strategy was proposed, in which a combined feature (com-feature) containing 3D information, intersection information and SURF feature was designed. Firstly, the coordinates of all feature points were extracted as combined features, and then these feature coordinates were added to the initial vascular coordinate set simplified by the Douglas–Peucker algorithm as the point set for registration. Finally, the coherent point drift registration algorithm was used to register the enface coordinate point sets of adjacent time series. Main results. The newly designed features significantly improve the success rate of global registration of vascular networks in enface images, while the simplification step greatly improves the registration speed on the basis of preserving vascular features. The MSE, DSC and time complexity of the proposed method are 0.07993, 0.9693 and 42.7016 s, respectively. Significance. CNV is a serious retinal disease in ophthalmology. The registration of OCT enface images at adjacent time points can timely monitor the progress of the disease and assist doctors in making diagnoses. The proposed method not only improves the accuracy of OCT enface image registration, but also significantly reduces the time complexity. It has good registration results in clinical routine and provides a more efficient method for clinical diagnosis and treatment.