bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Collective vibrations of phase boundaries in high-temperature superconductors
Authors: Kosevich Yu. A. , Syrkin E. S.
Published: January 2025

The conditions of emergence of surface waves with the dispersion relation ω ∝ k1/2 typical of two-dimensional plasmons and the region of existence of these waves are analyzed for a triple solid-state system A–B–A. Excitation of this kind were used by Horovitz et al. /Phys. Rev. B36, 8895 (1987)/ to explain anomalies in low-temperature thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of HTS. It is shown that the region of existence of such oscillations noticeably expands in the vicinity of a structural phase transition enhancing the elastic anisotropy of the system. The conditions of “optimal” geometry of phase conjugation, in which collective excitations of the type under consideration emerge are formulated. In the general case, the close densities of contacting phases and delay effects of acoustic waves in a crystal impose strict limitations on the region of existence of such excitations, which makes their noticeable contribution to thermodynamics and kinetics of HTS improbable.
Photoinduced linear birefringence and cooperative Jahn–Teller effect in manganese–germanium garnets
Authors: Gnatchenko S. L. , Kharchenko N. F. , Bedarev V. A. , Eremenko V. V. , Artinyan M. , Devin D. M. , le Galle A.
Published: January 2025

Temperature dependences of photoinduced linear birefringence in tetragonal garnet Ca3Mn2Ge3Ol2 and cubic garnets Ca3Mn2Ga2–xGe3O12 (x ≈ 0.2) and Cd3Mn2Ge3Ol2 are investigated. The existence of a relationship between photoinduced birefringence and the cooperative Jahn–Teller effect in manganese-germanium garnets is shown. The temperature dependence of photoinduced linear birefringence in manganese–germanium garnets is described and the activation energy of the process destroying the photoinduced effect is determined: ε = 0.056 eV for Ga2Mn2Ge3O12 and ε = 0.039 eV for Cd2Mn2Ge3O12 garnets.
Critical temperature of superconducting superlattices
Authors: Gvozdikov V. M.
Published: January 2025

The dependence of the critical temperature Tc of artificially structured superconducting superlattices of the S–N–S and S–I–S types on the number of layers, their thicknesses, as well as the parameters l1 and l2 characterizing the transparency and the unpairing effect of the layers separating neighboring superconducting layers is investigated. It is shown that an increase in the number of layers and the strengthening of the bond between them increase the value of Tc, the relative value of this increase growing with decreasing thickness of superconducting layers.
Low-temperature phonon contribution to heat capacity of weakly inhomogeneous solids
Authors: Zaslavskii O. B.
Published: January 2025

The effect of inhomogeneities on thermodynamic functions of a solid is investigated. A Wigner-Kirkwood type expansion is constructed for a continuous weakly inhomogeneous medium and the main correction due to density gradients is calculated. The obtained results must be manifested in a deviation of the temperature dependence of heat capacity from the T3 law due to corrections which are linear in temperature. The developed method is applicable also when the crystalline structure of solids is taken into account.
Anomalous behavior of sound velocity in gallium in a magnetic field
Authors: Deineka E. Yu. , Kabanov A. E. , Fil’ V. D. , Burma N. G.
Published: January 2025

A considerable abrupt change (by ∼ 5–7%) in the sound velocity in gallium is observed experimentally in classically strong and weak magnetic fields. The effect is associated with a delay in the electron–phonon interaction and is apparently observed under the resonance coupling of elastic waves and intrinsic electromagnetic waves in the metal.
Experimental observation of energy gap in a YBaCuO superconductor by Raman scattering method
Authors: Gnezdilov V. P. , Eremenko V. V. , Peschanskii A. V. , Fomin V. I. , Sukhareva T. V.
Published: January 2025

The Raman spectra (RS) of the ceramic YBa2Cu3Ox (x = 6, 7) are studied at temperatures 300 and 30 K in the frequency range 50−800 cm −1. The analysis of the variation in the spectrum of the superconducting sample at T = 30 K led to the discovery of an asymmetric singularity whose low-frequency boundary determines the width of the superconducting gap: 2Δ = 200 ± 10 cm−1
Spin-density waves and SDW fluctuations
Authors: Fawcett Eric
Published: January 2025

Spin-density (SDWs) are reviewed in three-dimensional and in quasi-one-dimensional conductors, and SDW fluctuations in high-temperature superconductors and paramagnetic alloys.
Raman study of superconducting energy gap in YBa2Cu3O7–δ superconductors
Authors: Gnezdilov V. P. , Eremenko V. V. , Kurnosov V. S. , Peschanskii A. V. , Fomin V. I.
Published: January 2025

Raman spectra from four ceramic YBa2Cu3O7–δ samples are measured. An analysis of changes in the spectra of superconducting samples upon cooling below the superconducting transition temperature Tc reveals an asymmetric singularity whose low-frequency boundary determines the energy gap width. The dependence of the gap parameter on Tc is determined, and the temperature behavior of the superconducting gap parameter is investigated.
Activation parameters of low-temperature peak of internal friction in YBa2Cu3O7–x ceramics
Authors: Natsik V. D. , Pal’-Val’ P. P. , Engert J. , Kaufmann H.-J.
Published: January 2025

Temperature dependences of the velocity and absorption coefficient of longitudinal ultrasound with two frequencies f1 = 1.25 × 105 s−1 and f2 = 75 × 105 s−1 are investigated in the temperature interval between 6 and 300 K. Hysteresis of sound velocity under thermal cycling and a series of absorption peaks are recorded. The behavior of the peak localized in the hysteresis region upon a variation of acoustic frequency is analyzed in detail. It is suggested that this peak is associated with a certain thermally activated structural process, and the activation parameters of the process are calculated.
Acoustoelectric properties of bismuth with nonuniform distribution of structural imperfections
Authors: Bengus S. V. , Bogod Yu. A. , Finkel’ P. E.
Published: January 2025

A build-up mode is realized for elastic waves in bismuth single crystals distinguished by the skinning of steady-state electron fluxes due to a nonuniform distribution of structural imperfections [Yu. A. Bogod and Vit. B. Krasovitskii, Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 6, 806 (1980); Yu. A. Bogod, Vit. B. Krasovitskii, and E. T. Lemeshevskaya, Fiz. Nizk. Temp. 11, 161 (1985); ibid. 13, 1087 (1987)]. It is shown that the longitudinal conductivity of the sample in the plane perpendicular to current becomes nonuniform in the nonlinear region of electric fields. A geometry of experiment which is optimal for the generation of acoustoelectric oscillations is found and the relation between oscillations with the motion of acoustoelectric domains is demonstrated graphically. It is concluded that the realization of oscillations depends on the structure of the surface regions of a crystal.
Effect of fine structural singularities on resistive and elastic properties of high-temperature superconductors
Authors: Kutelia É. R. , Asatiani D. M. , Dzigrashvili T. A. , Tsivtsivadze D. M. , Vardosanidze T. O. , Kobakhidze M. V. , Miminoshvili É. B. , Sagaradze V. R. , Mogilyanskii D. A. , Kukava T. G. , Gurgenadze M. A.
Published: January 2025

Complex investigations of yttrium and gadolinium HTS samples have been carried out by the method of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron diffraction studies, x-ray microspectral analysis, measurements of the temperature spectrum of internal friction and shear modulus. It is shown that all crystals in the rhombic phase contain regularly arranged polysynthetic twins. Each crystallite has a shell of different composition through which the crystallites come in contact with each other. Contact with water vapor primarily results in the destruction of shells. A sharp internal friction peak and a corresponding anomaly in the shear modulus are observed around 200 °C. It is established that the temperature dependence of resistance for the investigated samples has a “metallic” character, and a sharp decrease in ρ to a certain constant value is observed as the temperature Tc is approached. The temperature shift at which the sample has zero resistance tends to saturation with increasing current density.
Peculiarities in the properties of ceramic Bi (Tl)–Sr (Ba)–Ca–Cu–O
Authors: Baryl’nik A. S. , Dmitriev V. M. , Dikin D. A. , Zolochevskii I. V. , Isakina A. S. , Kvichko L. A. , Prokhvatilov A. I. , Ramakaeva R. F. , Khristenko E. V. , Churilov G. E. , Shcherbakov G. N. , Yantsevich L. D.
Published: January 2025

The phase composition, phase structure, lattice parameters, thermal expansion coefficients, magnetic susceptibility, and electric resistivity of Bi and Tl ceramics were measured at temperatures between 5 and 293 K. The 2212 phase revealed an instability which was manifested in the relaxation of structural and thermodynamic characteristics induced by redistribution and ordering of oxygen atoms. Thermal expansion anisotropy may be observed in the basal plane of the 2212 phase of the Bi ceramic. The Tl ceramic is found to contain a new pseudotetragonal phase 2245 with the parameter c = 48.2 Å. According to the measurements of the ρ (T) dependence, this phase may become superconducting at T = 180 K.
Electromagnetic excitation of metal surface vibrations
Authors: Vasil’ev A. N. , Gulyanskii M. A.
Published: January 2025

The efficiency of direct transformation of electromagnetic waves into three-dimensional elastic waves on a metal surface is normally characterized by U∝, viz., the amplitude of the ultrasound registered at distances x ≫ l, δ, ks−1 (l is the electron mean free path, δ the skin depth, and ks the ultrasound wave vector). It is possible, however, to set an experiment involving acoustic modulation of the Mössbauer effect in which the amplitude U0 of metal surface vibrations can be measured directly. In this paper, the dependence of U0 and U∝ on the frequency ω of the incident electromagnetic wave are investigated.
Antiferromagnetic resonance and magnetoelastic properties of MnCI2
Authors: Lozenko A. F. , Ryabchenko S. M. , Trotsenko P. A.
Published: January 2025

Frequency-field dependences of the antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) branches are investigated in lamellar antiferromagnet MnCl2. The obtained results are interpreted in the framework of the two-sublattice model taking into account simultaneously the magnetoelastic and dipole–dipole interactions in the easy-plane antiferromagnetic structure. Spontaneous magnetostriction is assumed to be the cause of lowering the symmetry, while the main contribution to the low-frequency AFMR gap in the state with spontaneously lowered symmetry comes from the dipole–dipole interaction rather than from the magnetoelastic interaction. It is established that induced magnetostriction plays a considerable role in the formation of frequency-field dependences of the AFMR branches.
Transverse focusing spectroscopy of Bose excitations at metal boundary
Authors: Kolesnichenko Yu. A. , Shekhter R. I.
Published: January 2025

The boundary condition is found for the semiclassical electron distribution function, which takes into account the effect of inelastic interaction of charge carriers with Bose branches of the surface state spectrum. The influence of inelastic scattering processes at the metal boundary on the effect of transverse electron focusing (EF) is analyzed theoretically. It is shown that the dependence of the amplitude of EF lines on the voltage across the emitter makes it possible to reconstruct the function of interaction between electrons and surface vibrations.
Structural and thermodynamic properties of disordered hcp O2–Kr solutions
Authors: Baryl’nik A. S. , Prokhvatilov A. I.
Published: January 2025

X-ray studies of supercooled orientationally disordered hexagonal close-packed phase of O2–Kr solutions are carried out in the temperature range from 5 to 43 K for O2 concentrations varying between 20 and 50%. For T < 30 K, the lattice parameters, molar volumes and thermal expansion coefficients exhibit anomalous behavior, which is assumed to be due to the slowing down of the rotational motion and the enhancement of magnetic and orientational ordering in the molecular subsystems of the solutions at low temperatures. The results are compared with those obtained earlier for O2–Ar solutions. Some ideas about the nature of short-range orientational order in frozen disordered phases of binary systems of cryocrystals are proposed.
Magnetoelastic mechanism of nuclear spin relaxation anomalies in low-temperature magnetic films
Authors: Tarasenko S. V.
Published: January 2025

Magnetoelastic anomalies emerging upon nuclear spin relaxation under the conditions of strong extraresonant linear magnon–phonon interaction are investigated for the first time for a thin film of a cubic low-temperature two-sublattice magnet. It is shown that a consistent account of magnetoelastic interaction leads under certain conditions to a highly nonmonotonic nuclear spin relaxation depending on the cubic anisotropy magnitude or film thickness.
Anomalies in thermal expansion of YBa2Cu3O7–x superconducting ceramic
Authors: Kisil’ O. I. , Kruglov A. B. , Kuznetsov A. V. , Protasov E. A. , Sobolev V. P.
Published: January 2025

The resistivity and the linear thermal expansion coefficient of YBa2Cu3O7−x ceramic are measured in the temperature intervals 80–100 and 180–210 K. The experimental results suggest a structural transformation in YBa2Cu3O7–x ceramic not only in the region of superconducting transition, but also at 180–210 K.
Observation of acoustic emission in high-T
c YBa2Cu3O7–x superconductor at 300, 77, and 4.2 K under loading
Authors: Boiko V. S. , Gorbatenko V. M. , Krivenko L. F. , Lazareva M. B. , Sokolenko V. I. , Khaimovich P. A.
Published: January 2025

Acoustic emission (AE) is studied in the process of loading the samples of high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7–x at temperatures 300, 77 and 4.2 K. In the region of room temperature, one or two AE spikes were observed under loading immediately preceding fracture (σ = 80 MPa). At 77 K, the first AE spikes were observed at (σ = 60–70 MPa in the form of large-amplitude pulses. Separate large-amplitude AE spikes were also recorded during unloading of the samples. The nature of AE at 4.2 K was qualitatively different. Continuous emission emerged at σ = 5–10 MPa and was supplemented with large-amplitude AE spikes starting from the values σ = 10–15 MPa. The Keiser effect was observed for continuous emission. An analysis of AE signals leads to the conclusion that the YBa2Cu3O7–x high-Tc superconductor must possess an appreciable plasticity at 77 and 4.2 K. It is expected that the contribution of irreversible plastic deformation increases as the temperature decreases from 77 to 4.2 K.
Inherent magnetic noise in HTS ceramics in the phase transition region
Authors: Glyantsev V. N. , Dmitrenko I. M. , Borzenets V. V. , Shnyrkov V. I.
Published: January 2025

Phase transition of YBa2Cu3O7–δ HTS ceramics is investigated experimentally by the SQUID method in weak (10−10−10−5 T) magnetic fields. It is found that a low-temperature excess noise emerging at T1 in the phase transition region correlates with typical variations of the real (χ′) and imaginary (χ″) components of magnetic susceptibility with temperature. An analysis of the spectral density Sn (f) of the noise indicates that it is due to peculiarities of the ceramic and exists even in zero magnetic field.
Critical parameters of superfluid flow through narrow channels
Authors: Kiknadze L. V. , Mamaladze Yu. G.
Published: January 2025

The conditions for the existence of the superfluid state of liquid helium in narrow channels are considered.
Pinning of Josephson vortex chain in periodically heterogeneous junctions: theory and experiment
Authors: Malomed V. A. , Ustinov A. V.
Published: January 2025

The critical values of the density of extrinsic current depinning a rigid chain of Josephson vortices fixed by a periodic lattice of inhomogeneities in a long Josephson junction are calculated in the framework of perturbation theory. The dynamics of the chain is also investigated. In particular, the minimum value of the current density permitting free motion of the chain in such a junction in the presence of dissipation is estimated. Dependences of the critical current Ic on the external magnetic field H are investigated experimentally for long Josephson Nb–NbOx–Pb junctions with artificial spatially periodic inhomogeneities of the dielectric barrier. According to the theory, the peak-type singularities observed on the Ic(H) curve at multiple values of H are attributed to the increase in the intensity of Josephson vortex pinning by the barrier inhomogeneities when the spatial periods of the vortex chain are commensurate with those of the lattice of inhomogeneities.
On the linear temperature dependence of resistivity in a system with localized and delocalized electrons
Authors: Itskovich I. F. , Shekhter R. I.
Published: January 2025

In the case of hybridization of two-dimensional band electrons with a system of spatially periodic localized states, the mean free path of charge carriers scattered by defects has a sharp peak for energies E in the vicinity of the hybridization gap edge ε0. For a dirty conductor, this may result in a narrow (∼ΔE) band of states which does not exhibit a quantum localization of electrons. If the chemical potential is close to this band, the temperature dependence of resistivity is found to be linear (for T ≫ ΔE). A change in the carrier concentration leading to a deviation of the chemical potential from the ε0 level is accompanied by the replacement of the linear temperature dependence by an exponential one.
Peculiarities of the resistive state induced by mutually transverse currents in wide superconducting films
Authors: Churilov G. E. , Svetlov V. N.
Published: January 2025

Peculiarities of transverse current-voltage characteristics induced by a transverse current in wide superconducting films are investigated. It is shown that under certain conditions a voltage transverse to. the transport current emerges due to distortion of trajectories of vortices and antivortices as a result of their mutual attraction and annihilation. It is found that non-Josephson generation at a frequency ∼ 107 Hz is observed at certain values of transport and transverse currents.
Aharonov–Bohm effect in a parallel chain of a tunnel junction and a disordered conductor
Authors: Zagoskin A. M. , Bogachek É. N. , Kulik I. O.
Published: January 2025

The conductance of a doubly connected metal structure in the form of a parallel chain of a tunnel junction and a conductor with the metal-type conductivity is calculated. When resonance sets in at the equality of the resistances of the branches, the amplitude of mesoscopic oscillations of flux quantization with a period hc/e cannot be regarded as a small quantity. The cases are considered when the conducting branch is (1) an ordered structure, (2) a random system (disordered conductor), and (3) a structure with the quasicrystalline long-range order.
Effect of temperature on integral intensities of multimagnon optical transitions in an antiferroinsulator
Authors: Gorbach V. V. , Petrov É. G.
Published: January 2025

The integral intensity of spin-forbidden optical transitions in a weakly anisotropic antiferroinsulator in an external magnetic field violating the collinearity of magnetic ion spins is investigated theoretically in the molecular field approximation.
Green’s lattice function and local oscillations in a semibounded crystal
Authors: Kosevich A. M. , Polyakov M. I. , Syrkin E. S.
Published: January 2025

An analytic expression for Green’s function is derived in the k-representation for a simple model of a semibounded fcc crystal with an interaction of nearest and next nearest neighbors. The earlier dispersion relations for surface waves in cubic crystals are confirmed. The threshold of local oscillation generation near a defect (isotope) is calculated. It is shown that the peculiarities of the density of states which are important for the solution of similar problems can be analyzed by using two-dimensional projections of isofrequency surfaces. The obtained results describe, to within a redesignation, the peculiarities of spin excitation dynamics in a Heisenberg ferromagnet in the one-magnon approximation.
Electronic sound in metals in a magnetic field
Authors: Bezuglyi E. V. , Burma N. G. , Deineka E. Yu. , Fil’ V. D.
Published: January 2025

Theoretical and experimental studies reveal that in a compensated metal placed in a strong magnetic field, a transverse electromagnetic wave may propagate with a linear dispersion relation and a velocity of the order of the Fermi velocity for an arbitrary orientation of the wave vector relative to the magnetic field. This wave is a hybrid of zero-acoustic and fast magnetoacoustic waves.
On the phase diagram of rotating liquid helium
Authors: Kiknadze L. V. , Mamaladze Yu. G.
Published: January 2025

The boundaries of existence and stability are determined for different states of rotating helium, viz., the normal state, the vortex-free superfluid state and the superfluid state with a vortex along the rotational axis. The role of vortex formation as a factor maintaining superfluidity is discussed.
Ginzburg–Landau equations for two-band superconductors
Authors: Poluéktov Yu. M. , Krasil’nikov V. V.
Published: January 2025

The properties of two-band superconductors near the critical temperature are investigated theoretically by using the Ginzburg–Landau equations for the two-component order parameter. The variation of the quantities being measured with temperature qualitatively resembles their behavior in one-band superconductors. Many relations connecting the observed quantities in the one-band model also remain valid.
Think About Power
Authors: Allen Peter
Published: January 2025

There is a story commonly told about power: that it flows through political institutions that exist to ensure it is used in a certain way by certain people. Power is expected to turn up in a suit, behind a podium, cheered on by supporters. But is this the only kind of power? From people’s own lives, it is known that power comes in other, less visible, forms. There is power that operates largely in the background of societies, unelected and not invested in specific roles or offices; power that swishes around our the intimate relationships; and power that is encountered in the workplace as employees are told what they can do and when. It is this tension between visible power and less visible power, the question of how to control these different kinds of power, and what this means for the way societies work that this chapter is about.
Think About What You Want
Authors: Allen Peter
Published: January 2025

Two questions shape this chapter: first, what should people want out of politics and, second, what do people want politics to be in their life? Politics is often seen as something separate from the rest of daily life. But whether one is highly politically engaged or not, when someone makes the political choices available to them, these choices are nonetheless very much about who they are and what they value in their lives. As such, political choices should (and will) reflect who people are, and at the same time, who people are is in part constituted by their political choices. Anybody looking for a more useful way to think about politics could do a lot worse than starting by trying to think in a more useful way about themselves—about what they value and what they want.
A dyadic stress induction tool for experimental investigation of adult patients with cancer and their family caregivers
Authors: Kim Youngmee , Carver Charles S , Tsai Thomas C , Ting Amanda , Spiegel David
Published: January 2025

Background

Medical illnesses are major stressors not only for the patients but also for their family caregivers, yet existing tools are inadequate to assess mechanistic response patterns to such stressors.

Purpose

We sought to validate a stress induction task that pertains to close relationships and health-related concerns with adult patients with cancer and their family caregivers.

Methods

Patients newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer (n = 123, 56 years old, 34% female, 60% Hispanic, 6.5 months post-diagnosis) and their family caregivers (55 years old, 66% female, 59% Hispanic) underwent an experimental session during which both individuals imagined a scenario where one person is hit by a car (patient) and the partner (caregiver) has no means to provide or seek out help for the victim. The session consisted of 6 phases: baseline, scenario provision, speech preparation, speech by caregiver, speech by patient, and recovery.

Results

Results of general linear modeling with repeated measures revealed that the task induced significant affective, stress, and cardiovascular responses in both patients and caregivers. Stress reactivity and recovery patterns, however, varied by patients versus caregivers, stress induction phases, and the types of assessment.

Conclusions

Findings suggest the newly developed stress task as an acceptable tool for studying stress regulation in medical and family contexts. With further validation, this tool may help identify psychological and physiological pathways to improve the stress coping outcomes of adult patients with cancer and their family caregivers.
Early mobilisation after hip fracture surgery reduces the risk of infection: an inverse probability of treatment weighted analysis
Authors: Hjelholt Thomas Johannesson , Andersen Ina Trolle , Kristensen Morten Tange , Pedersen Alma Becic
Published: January 2025

Background

Mobilisation within the first day following hip fracture surgery is recommended. However, an in-depth analysis of the association between early mobilisation and the risk of infection is lacking.

Objective

To examine the association between early mobilisation and the subsequent risk of hospital-treated infections following hip fracture surgery.

Methods

Using nationwide registries, we included 36 229 patients aged ≥65 who underwent surgery for hip fracture (2016–21). Exposure was time from surgery to first mobilisation in hours. Outcomes were any hospital-treated infection, pneumonia, urinary tract infection and sepsis within 2–30 days and reoperation due to surgical-site infection within 2–365 days of surgery. We calculated cumulative incidences (risks), risk differences (RD) and hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the inverse probability of treatment (IPT) weighted method to account for confounding.

Results

Overall, 27 174 (75%) patients were mobilised ≤24 h, 2890 (8%) between 24 and 36 h, and 6165 (17%) were mobilised >36 h of surgery or had no registration of mobilisation time.

In the weighted analysis, the risk of any infection was 12.9% (CI 11.7%–14.2%) in patients mobilised 24–36 h of surgery and 10.9% (CI 10.5%–11.7%) in those mobilised ≤24 h, corresponding to RD of 2.0% (CI 0.7–3.3) and HR of 1.2 (CI 1.1–1.3). Similar associations were observed for pneumonia and urinary tract infection but not for sepsis and reoperation.

Conclusions

Infection is a common complication after hip fracture surgery. Mobilisation within 24 h is clearly associated with reduced infection risk. Our results emphasise the importance of early mobilisation and suggest a possible pathway for reducing complications and mortality after hip fracture.
The rise and fall of parochialism: Colombia and the New York Convention
Authors: Mantilla Blanco Sebastián , Zuleta Jaramillo Eduardo , Zuleta Ríos Santiago
Published: January 2025

The New York Convention is the blueprint of the international arbitration system. The history of the Convention in Colombia reveals the complexity of the interactions between domestic decision-makers and international law. Even though Colombia was an active participant in the 1958 Conference on International Arbitration, congressional approval for the Convention proved a challenging crusade. Decades of setbacks concluded with the ratification of the Convention in 1979, only to be followed by a new challenge, as the law approving the treaty was declared unconstitutional in 1988. The Convention was re-approved in 1990. From 1990 to 2011, however, the Supreme Court was reluctant to apply the Convention in accordance with its spirit. In 2011, the Court turned around its own jurisprudence on arbitration, adopting a pro-arbitration approach that has lasted until today. The Court has dealt with many aspects of the Convention, including its interaction with domestic rules of civil procedure, the notion of arbitral award, public policy, reciprocity, and the interplay between the New York Convention and other international treaties. The history of the Convention in Colombia is a global south example of the manifold challenges involved in the use and implementation of international law instruments at the domestic level.
SP-DTI: Subpocket-Informed Transformer for Drug-Target Interaction Prediction
Authors: Liu Sizhe , Liu Yuchen , Xu Haofeng , Xia Jun , Li Stan Z
Published: January 2025

Motivation

Drug–target interaction (DTI) prediction is crucial for drug discovery, significantly reducing costs and time in experimental searches across vast drug compound spaces. While deep learning has advanced DTI prediction accuracy, challenges remain: (i) existing methods often lack generalizability, with performance dropping significantly on unseen proteins and cross-domain settings; (ii) current molecular relational learning often overlooks subpocket-level interactions, which are vital for a detailed understanding of binding sites.

Results

We introduce SP-DTI, a subpocket-informed transformer model designed to address these challenges through: (i) detailed subpocket analysis using the Cavity Identification and Analysis Routine (CAVIAR) for interaction modeling at both global and local levels, and (ii) integration of pre-trained language models into graph neural networks to encode drugs and proteins, enhancing generalizability to unlabeled data. Benchmark evaluations show that SP-DTI consistently outperforms state-of-the-art models, achieving a ROC-AUC of 0.873 in unseen protein settings, an 11% improvement over the best baseline.

Availability and implementation

The model scripts are available at https://github.com/Steven51516/SP-DTI.

Contact and Supplementary Information

For correspondence, please contact xiajun@westlake.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available online at Bioinformatics.
Evolutionary and environmental influences on life history traits in Neotropical microteiid lizards
Authors: Oliveira Bruno Halluan S , Colli Guarino R , Vitt Laurie J , Costa Gabriel C , Mesquita Daniel O
Published: January 2025

We examine the life history traits of microteiid lizards (families Alopoglossidae and Gymnophthalmidae), focusing on how environmental variables and female body size influence reproductive traits. We compiled life history data from 34 Neotropical microteiid species. We assess phylogenetic signals and the influence of climatic variables on these traits by employing comparative phylogenetic methods. Our results indicate significant phylogenetic signals in most life history traits, suggesting evolutionary structure within these lizard clades. Clutch size (number of eggs) does not vary within microteiid species such that increasing reproductive investment by increasing clutch size is not an option. We found positive correlations between female body size and egg volume. This finding supports our prediction that lizards with a fixed clutch size will exhibit reproductive compensation by producing larger eggs. Our environmental analyses reveal that less arid conditions favour larger body and egg sizes, while increased precipitation and seasonality positively influence reproductive investment, leading to higher relative clutch mass and larger egg volumes. Conversely, higher mean annual temperatures negatively impact reproductive traits. These findings highlight the adaptive strategies of microteiid lizards in response to diverse and fluctuating environmental conditions, balancing reproductive investment and offspring survival to optimize their success across varying habitats.
Prevalence of Chronic Hand Eczema in adults: A cross-sectional survey of over 60,000 respondents in the general population in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom
Authors: Apfelbacher Christian , Bewley Anthony , Molin Sonja , Fargnoli Maria Concetta , Giménez-Arnau Ana Maria , Brignoli Lysel , Rault Bleuenn , Norlin Jenny M , Skaaby Tea , Crépy Marie-Noëlle
Published: January 2025

Background

The lack of attention to Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE) and the lack of a specific International Classification of Diseases code for CHE may have limited the assessment of CHE prevalence. To date, prevalence estimates have primarily been derived from (partly small) single-country studies.

Objectives

To estimate the annual prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE across socio-demographic characteristics among adults in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom (UK).

Methods

In this observational Chronic Hand Eczema epidemiology, Care, and Knowledge of real-life burden (CHECK) study, a questionnaire was administered to adults between 18 and 69 years old in the general population, recruited through online panels. Quotas and minor weighting adjustments were performed to ensure that the participants were representative of the general population regarding sex, age, region, employment status, urban/rural setting, and, in the UK only, ethnicity. Additional weights were applied to account for population size differences when aggregating country results. Information on self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE was collected. CHE was defined, in accordance with the European Society of Contact Dermatitis, as having hand eczema continuously for three months or more or at least two flares in the past 12 months. CHE annual prevalence with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was determined for each country, and by subgroups of sex, age, employment, and urban/rural.

Results

Among 60,131 participants, 2,847 self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE, yielding an annual prevalence of 4.7% (CI: 4.6-4.9). Subgroup analyses revealed the CHE prevalence was significantly higher in females than males (5.6% [5.4-5.9] vs. 3.8% [3.6-4.1]; P<0.001), in employed versus unemployed participants (5.3% [5.1-5.6] vs. 3.3% [3.1-3.6]; P<0.001), and in urban versus rural residents (5.0% [4.8-5.2] vs. 3.7% [3.4-4.1]; P<0.001). The prevalence was highest among those aged 30-39 years (6.5% [6.0-7.0]) and lowest in those aged 60-69 years (2.6% [2.3-3.0]).

Conclusions

This large multi-national study is the first to assess CHE prevalence in Europe and Canada using a consistent definition across a broad geographical population. This study reveals that CHE is a common skin disease with annual prevalence of 4.7%, with higher prevalence among females, individuals aged 30-39, those employed, and those living in urban areas.
Predictive value of dynamic contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging findings for sentinel lymph node metastasis in early-stage invasive breast cancer
Authors: Coskun Bilge Almila , Esen Bostanci Isil
Published: January 2025

Objectives

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the preoperative dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings of mass lesions for predicting sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis in early breast cancer.

Methods

A total of 310 patients with suspicious mass lesions detected in preoperative MRI who subsequently underwent surgery and SLN biopsy (SLNB) between September 2015 and September 2022 were analysed. The relationship between DCE-MRI and DWI findings and SLNB positivity was analysed.

Results

SLNB was positive for SLN metastasis in 108 of 310 lesions. Younger age (P = 0.001) and larger lesion size (P < 0.001) were found to be associated with SLNB positivity. Findings associated with SLN metastasis included peritumoural oedema in 53%, adjacent vessel sign (AVS) in 81%, and increased whole-breast vascularity (WBV) in 58% of patients with positive SLNB (P < 0.001). The SLNB positivity rate was higher in mass lesions with DCE-MRI findings of heterogenous enhancement pattern (P = 0.003), medium or rapid initial phase enhancement (P = 0.001), and washout delayed phase kinetic curve (P = 0.001). It was found that lower tumoural apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values (P = 0.003) and higher peritumoural/tumoural ADC ratios (P = 0.018) increased the probability of encountering SLN metastasis.

Conclusions

Patient age, presence of peritumoural oedema, presence of AVS, increased WBV, and initial phase kinetic curve of the lesions on MRI were found to be associated with SLN metastasis.

Advances in knowledge

We found that younger age and MR findings obtained from the perilesional area of breast cancer may be helpful in the preoperative prediction of SLN metastasis.
From offshore renewable energy to green hydrogen: addressing critical questions
Authors: Kumarasamy Sudhakar , Selvanathan Shanmuga Priya , Ghazali Mohd Fairusham
Published: January 2025

Addressing climate change and navigating the energy transition are more urgent than ever. Several researchers agree that renewable energy adoption and industrial decarbonization are essential pathways forward. As sectors like transportation and heating become increasingly electrified, energy demand is expected to rise, necessitating innovative solutions. Green and blue hydrogen, touted as potential game changers, hold promise in this transition but require advanced electrolysis technologies, sustainable materials, high-pressure storage systems, and optimized system designs for energy efficiency, safety, and scalability to enable large-scale implementation. This study discusses the critical aspects of offshore green hydrogen production, focusing on key findings related to production methods, electrolyzer technologies, and their associated challenges. Key findings highlight that the levelized cost of hydrogen is significantly influenced by the cost of electricity from offshore wind farms, capital expenditure on electrolyzers, and the logistics of offshore platforms, pipelines, and storage. Hydrogen storage advancements, including metal hydrides and chemical carriers, are vital for realizing green hydrogen’s potential as an energy vector. Additionally, the industrial-scale production of green hydrogen through electrolysis powered by offshore wind offers promising pathways for decarbonizing energy systems. The study also emphasizes the critical role of collaboration between local and international policy stakeholders, industrial partnerships, and institutional support in shaping a favorable future for hydrogen in the global energy transition.
A Multianalyte Machine Learning Model to Detect Wrong Blood in Complete Blood Count Tube Errors in a Pediatric Setting
Authors: Graham Brendan V , Master Stephen R , Obstfeld Amrom E , Wilson Robert B
Published: January 2025

Background

Multianalyte machine learning (ML) models can potentially identify previously undetectable wrong blood in tube (WBIT) errors, improving upon current single-analyte delta check methodology. However, WBIT detection model performance has not been assessed in a real-world, low-prevalence context. To estimate real-world positive predictive values, we propose a methodology to assess WBIT detection models by evaluating the impact of missing data and by using a “low prevalence” validation data set.

Methods

We trained a range of model specifications using various predictors in a pediatric setting. We assessed the top-performing model on a modified, “low prevalence” validation data set across a range of probability thresholds. Model performance was also compared to a pre-positive patient identification (pre-PPID) dataset.

Results

An Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model with minimal preprocessing performed the best for both complete blood count with differential white cell count (CBC with Diff) tests (accuracy 0.9715) and complete blood count without differential white cell count (CBC without Diff) tests (accuracy 0.9647). Assessment on a downsampled, “low prevalence” validation data set resulted in estimated positive predictive values ranging from 0.01 to 0.67 (CBC with Diff) and 0.01 to 0.75 (CBC without Diff), depending on the probability threshold chosen. A comparison of prospective performance to PPID data demonstrated a large decrease in estimated WBIT errors.

Conclusions

We find that ML models can accurately predict WBITs in a primarily pediatric setting. Evaluating model performance across a range of probability thresholds minimizes the number of false positives while still providing added safety benefits. The decrease in estimated WBITS post-PPID implementation shows the potential safety benefits of a WBIT model for hospitals not using PPID when collecting laboratory specimens.
DisGeNet: a disease-centric interaction database among diseases and various associated genes
Authors: Hu Yaxuan , Guo Xingli , Yun Yao , Lu Liang , Huang Xiaotai , Jia Songwei
Published: January 2025

The pathogenesis of complex diseases is intricately linked to various genes and network medicine has enhanced understanding of diseases. However, most network-based approaches ignore interactions mediated by noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and most databases only focus on the association between genes and diseases. Based on the mentioned questions, we have developed DisGeNet, a database focuses not only on the disease-associated genes but also on the interactions among genes. Here, the associations between diseases and various genes, as well as the interactions among these genes are integrated into a disease-centric network. As a result, there are a total of 502 688 interactions/associations involving 6697 diseases, 5780 lncRNAs (long noncoding RNAs), 16 135 protein-coding genes, and 2610 microRNAs stored in DisGeNet. These interactions/associations can be categorized as protein–protein, lncRNA–disease, microRNA–gene, microRNA–disease, gene–disease, and microRNA–lncRNA. Furthermore, as users input name/ID of diseases/genes for search, the interactions/associations about the search content can be browsed as a list or viewed in a local network-view.

Database URL: https://disgenet.cn/
Do socioeconomic factors impair uptake of neoadjuvant therapy for patients with locoregional oesophageal cancer?
Authors: Jindani Rajika , Rodriguez-Quintero Jorge Humberto , Loh Isaac , Ha Grace , Olivera Justin , Rosario Justin , Zhu Roger , Kamel Mohamed K , Vimolratana Marc , Chudgar Neel P , Stiles Brendon M
Published: January 2025

OBJECTIVES

The benefits of neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery for patients with locally advanced oesophageal cancer have been well established by multiple trials. However, there may be socioeconomic barriers impacting equitable administration. We aim to identify whether disparities exist in the uptake of neoadjuvant therapy among patients with loco-regional oesophageal cancer.

METHODS

We queried the National Cancer Database to identify patients with clinical stage II–III oesophageal cancer who underwent surgical resection (2006–2020). Logistic regression was performed to identify associations between sociodemographic factors and uptake of neoadjuvant therapy. In propensity score-matched groups, survival was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method.

RESULTS

Among 19 748 clinical stage II–III patients, 85% (n = 16 781) received neoadjuvant therapy and 15% (n = 2967) underwent upfront surgery. Rates of neoadjuvant uptake increased over time. On multivariable analysis after adjusting by clinical stage, factors associated with lower rates of neoadjuvant therapy included older age (age ≥70, adjusted odds ratio 0.52; 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.57; P < 0.001), female sex (0.76; 0.69–0.85; P < 0.001), Black race (0.77; 0.63–0.94; P = 0.009), more comorbidities (0.76; 0.65–0.85; P < 0.001) and government rather than private insurance (0.84; 0.76–0.93; P < 0.001). In a propensity-matched cohort accounting for these variables, neoadjuvant treatment was associated with improved 5-year overall survival compared to upfront surgery (41.1% vs 35.4%, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Several sociodemographic factors are associated with the delivery of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with oesophageal cancer, including age, sex, race, and insurance status. Interventions can be put into place to target vulnerable patients and ensure equitable delivery of care.
Exercising Planetary Jurisdiction: On the Legality and Legitimacy of Unilaterally Mitigating Planetary Ecological Footprints
Authors: Buser Andreas
Published: January 2025

International environmental law is increasingly depicted as being insufficient to prevent intertwined ‘planetary crises’ – notably, climate change and the advent of a sixth mass extinction of species. Perceived shortcomings in multilateral environmental treaties and their implementation have prompted policy-makers, particularly within the European Union, to rely more heavily on unilateral regulatory instruments aimed at addressing planetary crises beyond national borders. Examples include the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, legal corporate sustainability due diligence instruments and import restrictions on products linked to deforestation. The exercise of jurisdiction to tackle planetary crises – referred to here as planetary jurisdiction – raises urgent concerns regarding the legality and legitimacy of unilateral regulation with extraterritorial reach. For some, such unilateral regulation is much needed and responds to a moral responsibility or even legal obligation; for others, exercising planetary jurisdiction is tantamount to ‘regulatory imperialism’. In this complex normative landscape, this article provides a nuanced perspective. Based on scientific insights, it highlights that the effects of planetary crises on the population of regulating states strengthen arguments for the permissibility of exercising planetary jurisdiction under customary international law and even support a human rights obligation for states to address their planetary footprint. Such an obligation, however, can be exercised in various ways, many of which would better align with considerations of equity and justice along North-South lines than existing forms of exercising planetary jurisdiction. Drawing from international environmental law, international trade law and human rights law, this article analyses the extent to which regulators face legal requirements to better address participatory and distributional concerns discussed under the heading of planetary justice.