bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolution of the LHAASO Distributed Computing System based Cloud
Authors: Huang Qiulan , Li Haibo , Cheng Yaodong , Shi Jingyan , Zheng Wei , Hu Qingbao
Published: November 2020

In this paper we will describe the LHAASO distributed computing system based on virtualization and cloud computing technologies. Particularly, we discuss the key points of integrating distributed resources. A solution of integrating cross-domain resources is proposed, which adopt the Openstack+HTCondor to make the distributed resources work as a whole resource pool. A flexible resource scheduling strategy and a job scheduling policy are presented to realize the resource expansion on demand and the efficient job scheduling to remote sites transparently, so as to improve the overall resource utilization. We will also introduce the deployment of the computing system located in Daocheng, the LHAASO observation base using cloud-based architecture, which greatly helps to reduce the operation and maintenance cost as well as to make sure the system availability and stability. Finally, we will show running status of the system.
IPv6-only networking on WLCG
Authors: Babik Marian , Bly Martin , Chown Tim , Christidis Dimitrios , Chudoba Jiři , Condurache Catalin , Finnern Thomas , Froy Terry , Grigoras Costin , Hafeez Kashif , Hoeft Bruno , Kelsey David , Lopes Raul , López Muñoz Fernando , Martelli Edoardo , Nandakumar Raja , Ohrenberg Kars , Prelz Francesco , Rand Duncan , Sciabà Andrea
Published: November 2020

The use of IPv6 on the general Internet continues to grow. The transition of the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) central and storage services to dual-stack IPv6/IPv4 is progressing well, thus enabling the use of IPv6-only CPU resources as agreed by the WLCG Management Board and presented by us at earlier CHEP conferences. During the last year, the HEPiX IPv6 Working Group has continued to chase and support the transition to dual-stack services. We present the status of the transition and some tests that have been made of IPv6-only CPU showing the successful use of IPv6 protocols in accessing WLCG services. The dual-stack deployment does however result in a networking environment which is more complex than when using just IPv6. The group is investigating the removal of the IPv4 protocol in places. We present the areas where this could be useful together with our future plans.
Rebuilding INSPIRE together with the HEP community
Authors: Christodoulaki Stella
Published: November 2020

The INSPIRE digital library has been serving the scientific community for the almost past 50 years. Previously known as SPIRES, it was the first web site outside Europe and the first database on the web. Today, INSPIRE connects more than 100’000 scientists in High Energy Physics worldwide, with over 1 million scientific articles, thousands scientific profiles of authors, data, institution, experiments, conferences and jobs in High Energy Physics. In order to bring INSPIRE to the next level, we recently rebuilt the platform based on modern tools and infrastructure and released the new INSPIRE version in beta a few months ago. To ensure a successful beta release, we worked closely with the High Energy Physics community to identify the users’ needs, drivers and barriers. In this paper, we describe the user-driven process that we followed, our testing strategy, as well as the user feedback following the INSPIRE beta release.
Evolution of the CERNBox platform to support the Malt project
Authors: González Labrador Hugo , Bippus Vincent Nicolas , Bukowiec Sebastian , Castro Diogo , Dellabella Sebastien , Kwiatek Michal , Lo Presti Giuseppe , Mascetti Luca , Mościcki Jakub T. , Puentes Esteban , Seweryn Piotr Jan , Smyrnakis Apostolos
Published: November 2020

CERNBox is the CERN cloud storage hub for more than 25,000 users at CERN. It allows synchronising and sharing files on all major desktop and mobile platforms (Linux, Windows, MacOSX, Android, iOS) providing universal, ubiquitous, online- and offline access to any data stored in the CERN EOS infrastructure. CERNBox also provides integration with other CERN services for big science: visualisation tools, interactive data analysis and real-time collaborative editing.

Over the last two years, CERNBox has evolved from a pure cloud sync and share platform into a collaborative service, to support new applications such as DrawIO for diagrams and organigrams sketching, OnlyOffice and Collabora Online for documents editing, and DXHTML Gantt for project management, as alternatives to traditional desktop applications. Moving to open source applications has the advantage to reduce licensing costs and enables easier integration within the CERN infrastructure. This move from commercial software to open source solutions is part of the MALT project, led by the IT department at CERN to reduce the dependencies on commercial solutions.

As part of the MALT project, CERNBox is the chosen solution to replace Home directories of the Windows DFS file system. Access to storage from Windows managed devices for end-users is largely covered by synchronization clients. However, online access using standard CIFS/SMB protocol is required for shared use-cases, such as central login services (Terminal Services) and visitor desktop computers. We present recent work to introduce a set of Samba gateways running in High Availability cluster mode to enable direct access to the CERNBox backend storage (EOS).
eXtreme monitoring: CERN video conference system and audio-visual IoT device infrastructure
Authors: Gaspar Aparicio Ruben , Soulie Theo
Published: November 2020

Two different use cases for monitoring are analysed in this paper: the CERN video conference system – a complex ecosystem, which is being used by most HEP institutes, together with Swiss Universities through SWITCH; and the CERN Audio-Visual and Conferencing (AVC) environment – a vast Internet of Things (IoT), which includes a great variety of devices accessible via IP. Despite the differences between both use cases, a common set of techniques underpinned by IT services is discussed in order to tackle each situation.
Let’s get our hands dirty: a comprehensive evaluation of DAQDB, key-value store for petascale hot storage
Authors: Abed Abud Adam , Cicalese Danilo , Jereczek Grzegorz , Le Goff Fabrice , Lehmann Miotto Giovanna , Love Jeremy , Maciejewski Maciej , Mommsen Remigius K , Radtke Jakub , Schmiegel Jakub , Szychowska Malgorzata
Published: November 2020

Data acquisition systems are a key component for successful data taking in any experiment. The DAQ is a complex distributed computing system and coordinates all operations, from the data selection stage of interesting events to storage elements. For the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, the experiments at CERN need to meet challenging requirements to record data with a much higher occupancy in the detectors. The DAQ system will receive and deliver data with a significantly increased trigger rate, one million events per second, and capacity, terabytes of data per second. An effective way to meet these requirements is to decouple real-time data acquisition from event selection. Data fragments can be temporarily stored in a large distributed key-value store. Fragments belonging to the same event can be then queried on demand, by the data selection processes. Implementing such a model relies on a proper combination of emerging technologies, such as persistent memory, NVMe SSDs, scalable networking, and data structures, as well as high performance, scalable software. In this paper, we present DAQDB (Data Acquisition Database) — an open source implementation of this design that was presented earlier, with an extensive evaluation of this approach, from the single node to the distributed performance. Furthermore, we complement our study with a description of the challenges faced and the lessons learned while integrating DAQDB with the existing software framework of the ATLAS experiment.
Quantum annealing algorithms for track pattern recognition
Authors: Saito Masahiko , Calafiura Paolo , Gray Heather , Lavrijsen Wim , Linder Lucy , Okumura Yasuyuki , Sawada Ryu , Smith Alex , Tanaka Junichi , Terashi Koji
Published: November 2020

The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) starts from 2027 to extend the physics discovery potential at the energy frontier. The HL-LHC produces experimental data with a much higher luminosity, requiring a large amount of computing resources mainly due to the complexity of a track pattern recognition algorithm. Quantum annealing might be a solution for an efficient track pattern recognition in the HL-LHC environment. We demonstrated to perform the track pattern recognition by using the D-Wave annealing machine and the Fujitsu Digital Annealer. The tracking efficiency and purity for the D-Wave quantum annealer are comparable with those for a classical simulated annealing at a low pileup condition, while a drop in performance is found at a high pileup condition, corresponding to the HL-LHC pileup environment. The tracking efficiency and purity for the Fujitsu Digital Annealer are nearly the same as the classical simulated annealing.
Real-time data analysis model at LHC and connections to other experiments and fields
Authors: Oyanguren Arantza
Published: November 2020

With the upcoming increase of proton-proton collision rates at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, and the corresponding increase of data volumes, real-time analysis becomes a key ingredient to be able to analyse and select the interesting data within the available computing resources. In this talk I will review the main features of the techniques followed by the ATLAS, CMS and LHCb experiments. Similar challenges have to be faced in other fields, such as astronomy and cosmology, and I will comment about them.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among women of childbearing age in an endemic region of Romania, 2016–2018
Authors: Mihu Alin Gabriel , Balta Cornel , Marti Daniela Teodora , Paduraru Ana Alexandra , Lupu Maria Alina , Olariu Tudor Rares
Published: November 2020

Toxoplasmosis is an important worldwide zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. This parasitic infection is often asymptomatic in immunocompetent people. However, if the infection occurs in pregnant women, it can have serious consequences for the foetus. In this study, we evaluated the seroprevalence of T. gondii in women of childbearing age in Arad County, Western Romania. Serum samples from 2626 women were analysed using a Siemens ADVIA Centaur XP Immunoassay System. Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies were demonstrated in 1081 women (41%) and prevalence tended to increase with age, from 32% in women aged 15–19 years to 62% in women aged 40–45 years. There was a higher prevalence in rural areas (46%) than in urban areas (36%). This study provides new data on T. gondii seroprevalence in women of childbearing age from Western Romania.
Covid-19 : Maintenir le dialogue au jour le jour
Authors:   La rédaction Sfen
Published: November 2020

Le nucléaire, troisième filière industrielle française avec 3 000 entreprises et 220 000 employés, a dû s’adapter à une situation de crise inédite afin d’être en capacité d’assurer sa mission de service public. Pour cela, la filière s’est organisée pour faire circuler les informations nécessaires à la gestion de crise, des plus petites entreprises aux ministères concernés, et inversement.
La robustesse du système électrique
Authors: Le Gros Gaïc
Published: November 2020

La robustesse du système électrique, de la production à la distribution, a été mise à l’épreuve par la brusque modification des modes de vie, plus sédentaires que jamais, lors du confinement. La demande mais aussi l’offre d’électricité ont été affectées par cette séquence inédite, ce qui a constitué un véritable défi pour la gestion du réseau à l’échelle nationale et européenne.
Chaîne d’approvisionnement et résilience
Authors:   La rédaction Sfen
Published: November 2020

Durant la période de confinement, la chaîne d’approvisionnement de la filière nucléaire a pleinement joué son rôle. Mais en sort-elle renforcée ? Si l’expérience acquise par les différents acteurs de la supply chain va lui offrir plus de robustesse, les difficultés économiques rencontrées par les autres filières industrielles, comme l’automobile ou l’aéronautique, risquent de fragiliser des acteurs essentiels à la filière nucléaire.
Risk-averse preferences in a dual-channel supply chain with trade credit and demand uncertainty
Authors: Zhang Chong , Wang Yaxian , Zhang Lifan
Published: November 2020

Though it is an important means for enterprises to increase market demand and boost profits, trade credit can carry risks. Besides, risks also result from uncertain market demand. Decision-makers’ attitude towards risk will influence the decisions of enterprises, so it is meaningful to study the impact of risk preference on supply chain performance. This paper explores the effect of risk-averse preferences of the manufacturer or retailer on their delayed payment periods decision and utility when the dual-channel structure is adopted. Customer demands are uncertain and depend on the delayed payment periods that the manufacturer and the retailer may offer to them. Mean-variance model is used to describe the risks due to uncertain demand, and establishes supply chain utility models under four decision-making situations (both are risk-neutral; only the retailer is risk-averse; only the manufacturer is risk-averse; both are risk-averse). According to our study, supply chain members with higher risk aversion are more inclined to prolong delayed payment period. The retailers risk aversion is adverse for her utility, but beneficial to the manufacturers utility, thus a new coordination mechanism is proposed to achieve coordinate when only the retailer is risk averse. We prove that the contract can effectively improve the utility of the whole supply chain. This paper conduces to enrich the emerging literature on relating risk aversion preferences to trade credit period decision and coordination behavior under dual-channel environment.
Underwater cap-assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with surgically altered anatomy: a pilot study
Authors: Fugazza Alessandro , Anderloni Andrea , Paduano Danilo , Badalamenti Matteo , Maselli Roberta , Carrara Silvia , Gabbiadini Roberto , Colombo Matteo , Spadaccini Marco , Cappello Annalisa , Haber Gregory , Repici Alessandro
Published: November 2020

Introduction Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with surgically altered anatomy (SAA) is technically challenging and associated with a significant number of failures. We examined the feasibility and efficacy of a novel technique for the management of bile duct stones (BDSs), called underwater cap-assisted ERCP (u-ERCP).

Methods Between June 2019 and February 2020 all patients with SAA with jaundice or cholangitis secondary to BDSs who underwent u-ERCP were enrolled. The u-ERCP technique combines the underwater advancement of a pediatric colonoscope with a transparent cap fitted on the tip of the endoscope. We evaluated the technical success, clinical success, and adverse events associated with u-ERCP.

Results We describe the technique itself and our initial experience in six patients. A complete and successful procedure was carried out in all patients, with the occurrence of no adverse events. None of the patients needed additional treatments for recurrence of symptoms during the follow-up period.

Conclusions u-ERCP can be considered as a promising alternative for successful endoscopic management of biliary disease in patients with SAA.
Fine-needle aspiration of pancreatic cystic lesions: a randomized study with long-term follow-up comparing standard and flexible needles
Authors: Al-Haddad Mohammad , Wallace Michael B. , Brugge William , Lakhtakia Sundeep , Li Zhao-Shen , Sethi Amrita , Pleskow Douglas , Nguyen Cuong C. , Pannala Rahul , DeWitt John , Raimondo Massimo , Woodward Timothy A. , Ramchandani Mohan J. , Jin Zhendong , Xu Can , Faigel Douglas O.
Published: November 2020

Background Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are increasingly found on cross-sectional imaging, with the majority having a low risk for malignancy. The added value of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in risk stratification remains unclear. We evaluated the impact of three FNA needles on diagnostic accuracy, clinical management, and the ability to accrue fluid for tumor markers.

Methods A multicenter prospective trial randomized 250 patients with PCLs ≥ 13 mm 2:1:1 to 19G Flex, 19G, and 22G needles with crossover for repeated FNA procedures. Diagnostic accuracy was established at 2-year follow-up, with the final diagnosis from surgical histopathology or consensus diagnosis by experts based sequentially on clinical presentation, imaging, and aspirate analysis in blinded review.

Results Enrolled patients (36 % symptomatic) had PCLs in the head (44 %), body (28 %), and tail (26 %). Percentage of cyst volume aspirated was 78 % (72 % – 84 %) for 19G Flex, 74 % (64 % – 84 %) for 22G, and 73 % (63 % – 83 %) for 19G (P = 0.84). Successful FNA was significantly higher for 19G Flex (89 % [82 % – 94 %]) and 22G (82 % [70 % – 90 %]) compared with 19G (75 % [63 % – 85 %]) (P = 0.02). Repeated FNA was required more frequently in head/uncinate lesions than in body and tail (P < 0.01). Diagnostic accuracy of the cyst aspirate was 84 % (73 % – 91 %) against histopathology at 2-year follow-up (n = 79), and 77 % (70 % – 83 %) against consensus diagnosis among nonsurgical cases (n = 171). Related serious adverse events occurred in 1.2 % (0.2 % – 3.5 %) of patients.

Conclusions Our study results demonstrate a statistically significant difference among the three needles in the overall success rate for aspiration, but not in the percentage of cyst volume aspirated. Flexible needles may be particularly valuable in sampling cystic PCLs in the pancreatic head/uncinate process.
Tunability of optical responses in black phosphorus-dielectric heterostructures and black phosphorus covered metallic grating at terahertz frequencies
Authors: Yarmoghaddam Elahe
Published: November 2020

Exceptional properties of the terahertz (THz) radiation lead to growing research on its potential applications in diverse areas. In this work, we study two structures to enhance the polarization selectivity and absorption of the black phosphorus (BP)-based polarizer and absorber at the THz regime. For the first structure, we use the transfer matrix approach to design and optimize optical absorption in a heterostructure comprising BP sandwiched within a linear dielectric media. We model the impact of structural and material parameters and incident wave characteristics on the performance of the designed absorber. In the second design, BP covered metallic grating, we use the equivalent circuit model to show the realization of high extinction ratio polarizer and perfect absorber. The proposed polarizer has a simple structure and a large extinction ratio of around 40 dB. The working frequency of the designed polarizer and absorber is tunable by changing the geometric size of the structure and the electron concentration in the BP layer. We verify the accuracy of our results using the full-wave simulations carried out by the Lumerical finite-difference time domain solution.
Reconstruction of protein structures from single-molecule time series
Authors: Topel Maximilian , Ferguson Andrew L.
Published: November 2020

Single-molecule experimental techniques track the real-time dynamics of molecules by recording a small number of experimental observables. Following these observables provides a coarse-grained, low-dimensional representation of the conformational dynamics but does not furnish an atomistic representation of the instantaneous molecular structure. Takens’s delay embedding theorem asserts that, under quite general conditions, these low-dimensional time series can contain sufficient information to reconstruct the full molecular configuration of the system up to an a priori unknown transformation. By combining Takens’s theorem with tools from statistical thermodynamics, manifold learning, artificial neural networks, and rigid graph theory, we establish an approach, Single-molecule TAkens Reconstruction, to learn this transformation and reconstruct molecular configurations from time series in experimentally measurable observables such as intramolecular distances accessible to single molecule Förster resonance energy transfer. We demonstrate the approach in applications to molecular dynamics simulations of a C24H50 polymer chain and the artificial mini-protein chignolin. The trained models reconstruct molecular configurations from synthetic time series data in the head-to-tail molecular distances with atomistic root mean squared deviation accuracies better than 0.2 nm. This work demonstrates that it is possible to accurately reconstruct protein structures from time series in experimentally measurable observables and establishes the theoretical and algorithmic foundations to do so in applications to real experimental data.
Vibrational spectroscopic signatures of hydrogen bond induced NH stretch–bend Fermi-resonance in amines: The methylamine clusters and other N–H⋯N hydrogen-bonded complexes
Authors: Mishra Saurabh , Nguyen Ha-Quyen , Huang Qian-Rui , Lin Chih-Kai , Kuo Jer-Lai , Patwari G. Naresh
Published: November 2020

The appearance of multiple bands in the N–H stretching region of the infrared spectra of the neutral methylamine dimer and trimer is a sign of NH bend–stretch anharmonic coupling. Ab initio anharmonic calculations were carried out in a step-wise manner to reveal the origin of various bands observed in the spectrum of the methylamine dimer. A seven-dimensional potential energy surface involving symmetric and asymmetric stretching and bending vibrations of both the hydrogen bond donor and the acceptor along intermolecular-translational modes was constructed using the discrete variable representation approach. The resulting spectrum of the dimer shows five bands that can be attributed to the symmetric stretching (νsymD), asymmetric stretchin (νasymD), and bending overtone (2νbendD) of the donor moiety. These appear along with the combination band arising out of bending vibrations of the donor and acceptor (νbendD + νbendA) and with the combination of the intermolecular translational mode over the donor bending overtone (νtrans + 2νbendD). The spectrum of the trimer essentially consists of all the features seen in the dimer with marginal changes in band positions. The analysis of the experimental spectra based on the two-state deperturbation model and ab initio anharmonic calculations yield a matrix element of about 40 cm−1 for the N–H bend–stretch Fermi resonance coupling. In general, the IR spectra of the hydrogen-bonded amino group depict three sets of bands that arise due to bend–stretch Fermi resonance coupling.
High temperature (500 °C) operating limits of oxidized platinum group metal (PtOx, IrOx, PdOx, RuOx) Schottky contacts on
β
-Ga2O3
Authors: Hou C. , York K. R. , Makin R. A. , Durbin S. M. , Gazoni R. M. , Reeves R. J. , Allen M. W.
Published: November 2020

Very high temperature operation β-Ga2O3 Schottky contacts were fabricated on moderately doped 2¯01 β-Ga2O3 single crystal substrates using four different types of intentionally oxidized platinum group metal (PGM) Schottky contacts (SCs), i.e., PtOx, IrOx, PdOx, and RuOx (x ∼ 2.0, 2.2, 1.1, and 2.4, respectively) formed by reactive rf sputtering of plain-metal targets in an oxidizing plasma. All four types of oxidized PGM SCs showed rectification ratios (at ± 3 V) of more than 10 orders of magnitude up to 300 °C, with almost no measurable increase in reverse leakage current density (Jrev) from that at room temperature. From 350 to 500 °C, a measurable increase in Jrev was observed, which was consistent with the thermionic emission of charge carriers over the respective image force (IF) lowered Schottky barriers. Despite this increase, PtOx(IrOx)[PdOx]{RuOx} SCs showed large rectification ratios (at ± 3 V) of 6 × 106(8 × 106)[5 × 105]{2 × 104} and IF-corrected barrier heights of 2.10(2.10)[1.90]{1.60} ± 0.05 eV, respectively, while operating at 500 °C. The significantly lower 500 °C barrier height of the RuOx SCs was due to the thermal reduction of RuOx to Ru that occurred above 400 °C. In contrast, the Schottky barriers of IrOx, PtOx, and PdOx SCs were thermally stable while operating at 500 °C, indicating significant potential for their use in very high temperature rectifying devices.
Review of Scientific Instruments New Products
Authors: Mandelis Andreas
Published: November 2020

In order to supplement manufacturers’ information, this department will welcome the submission by our readers of brief communications reporting measurements on the physical properties of materials which supersede earlier data or suggest new research applications.
Effects of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis and Bacillus subtilis PB6 on growth performance, intestinal microbiota and morphology, and serum parameters in broiler chickens
Authors: Joya Mahboobullah , Ashayerizadeh Omid , Dastar Behrouz
Published: November 2020

Context
The use of microalgae as prebiotics in poultry diets may improve production efficiency by modifying the gastrointestinal ecosystem. Prebiotic properties of the cyanobacterium Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis have been confirmed, but effects of its combination with probiotics on broiler chicken performance are unclear.

Aims
This experiment was designed to study the effects of different levels of a microalga (Spirulina platensis) and a probiotic (Bacillus subtilis PB6, BSPB) on performance, intestinal microbiota and morphology, and blood parameters in broiler chickens.

Methods
One-day-old Ross 308 broiler chickens (300 in total) were allocated to six treatments in a completely randomised design with 3 × 2 factorial arrangement including three levels of Spirulina (0%, 0.05% or 0.1% of diet) and two levels of BSPB (0% or 0.05% of diet) and were reared for 42 days.

Key results
Individual use of Spirulina and BSPB improved bodyweight gain and feed conversion ratio of broiler chickens. The relative weight of the breast cut was greater in broilers treated with 0.05% Spirulina than in those receiving Spirulina-free treatments. The count of lactic acid bacteria was higher in the ileum of birds receiving only BSPB than in those receiving diets without BSPB. The use of 0.1% Spirulina in the diet decreased the pH and coliform population in the ileum compared with 0% Spirulina. There was an interaction between Spirulina and BSPB on villus height (VH) and the VH:crypt depth ratio in the small intestine. Co-supplementation with 0.1% Spirulina and BSPB increased VH and the VH:crypt depth ratio in the duodenum compared with diets supplemented, respectively, with 0.1% Spirulina and BSPB alone. Broiler chickens fed diets with BSPB had higher activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase and lower concentrations of cholesterol and triglyceride in serum.

Conclusions
The results show that supplementation with Spirulina and BSPB had a positive effect on performance and carcass quality of broiler chickens. The synergistic interaction between these supplements leads to enhancement of epithelial morphology in the small intestine.

Implications
Because of the potential of Spirulina and BSPB to create beneficial changes in the intestinal ecosystem and serum parameters, these dietary additives could be recommended for improving the quantity and quality of meat products and health status in broiler chickens.
ISCOs in AdS/CFT
Authors: Berenstein David , Li Ziyi , Simón Joan
Published: November 2020

We study stable circular orbits in spherically symmetric AdS black holes in various dimensions and their limiting innermost stable circular orbits. We provide analytic expressions for their size, angular velocity and angular momentum in a large black hole mass regime. The dual interpretation is in terms of meta-stable states not thermalising in typical thermal scales and whose existence is due to non-perturbative effects on the spatial curvature. Our calculations reproduce the binding energy known in the literature, but also include a binding energy in the radial fluctuations corresponding to near circular trajectories. We also describe how particles are placed on these orbits from integrated operators on the boundary: they tunnel inside in a way that can be computed from both complex geodesics in the black hole background and from the WKB approximation of the wave equation. We explain how these two computations are related.
Transmission-type terahertz beam splitter through all-dielectric metasurface
Authors: Li Jiu-Sheng , Zhou Chen
Published: November 2020

Traditional metal metasurfaces have inherent non radiative losses. In this paper, an all dielectric metasurface is proposed, which can flexibly manipulate the terahertz wave high-efficiency abnormal refraction, beam splitting and orbital angular momentum beam generation. Four kinds of elements are designed to meet the transmission phase at 0.94 THz and the phase difference is about 90°. The 2-bit coding metasurfaces are formed by periodic arrangement of these four coding units along the x-direction, and the different transmission angles can be obtained. Then two coding units with a phase difference of 180° are selected and arranged according to the requirements to achieve beam splitting effect. Finally, the coding units are arranged according to different spiral sample coding sequences to generate single and double vortex beams. It is proved that the near-field distribution and far-field scattering patterns extracted from the full wave simulation are in good agreement with the theoretical results under vertical incidence of the transverse electric-mode terahertz wave. This design provides an effective way to manipulate electromagnetic waves with high efficiency.
Promoting rebound of impinging viscoelastic droplets on heated superhydrophobic surfaces
Authors: Li Bin , Lin Shiji , Wang Yile , Yuan Quanzi , Joo Sang W , Chen Longquan
Published: November 2020

The rebound of impinging droplets is a defining characteristic of superhydrophobic surfaces; yet, such an intriguing interfacial phenomenon can be effectively suppressed by adding a tiny amount of flexible polymers to induce non-Newtonian viscoelastic properties. In this work, however, we demonstrate the promoting effects of surface heating on the rebound of impinging viscoelastic droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces. The underlying mechanism for the promotion is that the local heat transfer at the liquid–solid interface causes the fast evaporation of the liquid and thus the breakup of the formed viscoelastic filaments, which hinder droplet recoiling. Therefore, the lower threshold velocity for rebound increases while the upper threshold velocity for rebound suppression decreases with increasing surface temperature, resulting in a wider regime for droplet rebound in the impact phase diagram. The surface heating effect on liquid–solid interactions also leads to a nontrivial dependence of the contact time on the impact velocity and a linear decrease of the restitution coefficient with the Weber number for diverse bouncing viscoelastic droplets, which can be rationalized by coupling the interfacial force and energy analyses. We envision that these findings would be useful in technological processes requiring control the retention of viscoelastic liquids on solid surfaces.
Complex bursting dynamics of a Mathieu-van der Pol-Duffing energy harvester
Authors: Ma Xindong , Jiang Wen-an , Zhang Xiaofang , Han Xiujing , Bi Qinsheng
Published: November 2020

The purpose of this paper aims to explore the mechanism of several different periodic bursting patterns based on a Mathieu-van der Pol-Duffing energy harvester with parameter excitation. These bursting patterns are categorized as ‘delayed supHopf/supHopf’ bursting, ‘delayed pitchfork/pitchfork’ bursting, ‘delayed Hopf-pitchfork/Hopf-pitchfork’ bursting, ‘delayed subHopf/supHopf’ bursting and ‘delayed subHopf/fold-cycle’ bursting, respectively. Since bursting oscillations can be created when the trajectory transfers between/among different attractors, which means the amplitude of bursting oscillations may be sufficient to overcome the potential barrier of the energy harvester, and thus it would have potential application value in energy harvesting.
Thermostatistics of a
q
-deformed relativistic ideal Fermi gas
Authors: Hou Xu-Yang , Yan H , Guo Hao
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we formulate a q-deformed many-body theory for relativistic Fermi gas and discuss the effects of the deformation parameter q on physical properties of such systems. Since antiparticle excitations appear in the relativistic regime, a suitable treatment to the choice of deformation parameters for both fermions and antifermions must be carefully taken in order to get a consistent theory. By applying this formulation, we further study the thermostatistic properties of a q-deformed ideal relativistic Fermi gas. It can be shown that even in the noninteracting scenario, the system exhibits interesting characteristics which are significantly different from ordinary Fermi gases. Explicitly, antiparticles may become dominant due to the shift of chemical potential by the deformation parameter q. This may build a solid foundation for further studies of q-deformed relativistic interacting systems. We also apply our model to study the electron gas in a white dwarf. The effect of the deformation parameter on the Chandrasekhar limit is discussed.
Traffic-induced epidemic suppression in multiplex networks
Authors: Chen Jie , Hu Mao-Bin , Wu Yong-Hong , Li Ming
Published: November 2020

Multiplex networks have been proposed as an effective abstract of real complex systems, ranging from multi-modal urban transportation systems to communication systems. In this paper, we investigate a traffic-driven epidemic model in multiplex networks, and derive a theoretical approach to accurately predict the epidemic threshold of each layer. Our results show that the multiplex structure can produce different effects on the epidemic threshold of layers. Interestingly, one important finding is that the epidemic can be completely suppressed in a certain layer. This phenomenon occurs only when the connectivity of layers is very different, and the traffic flow is heterogeneously distributed over the layers. Therefore, epidemic spreading becomes quite distinct among the layers with different amounts of traffic flow. By using mean-field analysis, an explicit expression is derived to detect this traffic-induced epidemic suppression phenomenon. The accuracy of theoretical prediction is assessed in Erdős–Rényi and scale-free multiplex networks.
Dextran-coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles modified with folate for targeted drug delivery of camptothecin
Authors: Al-Musawi Sharafaldin , Albukhaty Salim , Al-Karagoly Hassan , Sulaiman Ghassan M , Jabir Majid S , Naderi-Manesh Hossein
Published: November 2020

Drug delivery vehicles based on magnetic nanoparticles present a promising strategy for cancer treatment, due to controlled targeted treatment, high loading efficiency, and biosafety as compared to traditional drug delivery approaches. In the present study, superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (SPIONs) were synthesised by a co-precipitation approach, stabilised with dextran (DEX), and successfully conjugated with folate (FA) for delivery of camptothecin (CPT) in prostate cancer cells. Size and other characteristics of the modified nanoparticles were measured using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta-potential. The results demonstrated that the prepared FA-DEX-SPIONs were spherical in shape with an average diameter of 63.31 nm. They had anticancer activity with high CPT loading efficiency in AT3B-1cancer cells, enabling the therapeutic activity of the drug via its active delivery and release at 37 °C in phosphate and citrate buffer solutions. MTT results exhibited no cytotoxicity on rat androgen independent prostate cancer (AT3B-1) and normal human prostate (RWPE-1) cells. In conclusion, FA-DEX-SPION composite is a promising candidate that could be used for the targeted release of CPT anti-cancer drug.
Structural and mechanical properties study of CNx/MoS2 multilayer coatings obtained by sputtering
Authors: Gutiérrez-Peralta Aime M , Cruz-Valeriano Edgar , Ávila-Herrera Carlos , Flores Christian I Enríquez , Zambrano Gustavo , Morales-Hernández Jorge , Palmerin Joel Moreno , Yañez-Limón José M
Published: November 2020

This work documents the study of samples of CNx/MoS2 multilayer coatings, deposited by magnetron sputtering technique, using 10% and 16% of N2 concentration in the Ar/N2 gas mixture to obtain two sample sets with different nitrogen concentrations in the CNx layers. The samples were grown on Si (100) and AISI 304 steel substrates to carry out different characterizations. The microstructure of the samples was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The chemical structure and vibrational modes present in the multilayer coatings were evaluated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The analysis revealed that the CNx layers are amorphous, while the MoS2 layers show a polycrystalline structure with basal planes perpendicular to the substrate surface. Finally, the mechanical properties were evaluated by nanoindentation and pin on disk tests, respectively. The results revealed that the concentration of N in the CNx layer is fundamental in determining the mechanical properties. In the test carried out in a humid environment, the samples with the lowest concentration of N in the CNx layers present lower values in the coefficient of friction.
On the wave equation with multiplicities and space-dependent irregular coefficients
Authors: Garetto Claudia
Published: November 2020

In this paper we study the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for a wave equation with multiplicities and space-dependent irregular coefficients. As in Garetto and Ruzhansky [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 217 (2015), pp. 113–154], in order to give a meaningful notion of solution, we employ the notion of very weak solution, which construction is based on a parameter dependent regularisation of the coefficients via mollifiers. We prove that, even with distributional coefficients, a very weak solution exists for our Cauchy problem and it converges to the classical one when the coefficients are smooth. The dependence on the mollifiers of very weak solutions is investigated at the end of the paper in some instructive examples.
Can Visual Cues to Portion Size Reduce the Number of Portions of Consumed? Two Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Robertson Deirdre A , Lavin Ciarán , Lunn Peter D
Published: November 2020

Background

Since 1950, the portion size of many snack foods has more than doubled and obesity rates have tripled. Portion size determines energy intake, often unwittingly.

Purpose

This paper tests whether salient visual cues to portion size on the packaging of high fat, sugar, or salty (HFSS) snacks can reduce consumption.

Methods

Two preregistered randomized controlled trials (N = 253 and N = 674) measured consumption in a lab and the home environment. Cues were salient, labeled stripes that demarcated single portions. Participants were randomized to cue condition or control. Consumption was measured without awareness.

Results

The main preregistered effect of the visual cue was not statistically significant. There was some variation by subgroup. In Study 1, men were more likely to eat the whole can of potato chips than women but significantly reduced consumption when visual cues were on the pack. The effect size was large: the number of men eating more than the recommended portion fell by 33%. Study 2 monitored household consumption of chocolate biscuits (cookies) sent to family homes in gift packs. Again, the main effect was nonsignificant but there was significant subgroup variation. When the person receiving the biscuits was female, households were more likely to eat more than the recommended portion per person per day, but less likely when the visual cues were displayed. The gender of the eaters was not known. The effect size was again large: the number of households eating more than the recommended portion fell by 26%. Households with children were also less likely to open packs with visual cues compared to control packs. Both studies recorded significant increases in the likelihood of observing serving size information, together with confusion about what it means.

Conclusions

The studies offer some evidence that salient visual cues could play a role in tackling the high consumption of unhealthy snacks, but the effects are confined to specific subgroups and warrant further investigation.
Safety of hydroxychloroquine and darunavir or lopinavir in COVID-19 infection
Authors: Meriglier Etienne , Rivoisy Claire , Hessamfar Mojgan , Bernard Noelle , Aureau Ines , Lapoirie Joelle , Contis Anne , Sacher Frédéric , Sacristan Benjamin , Lahouati Marin , Pedeboscq Stéphane , Vandenhende Marie-Anne , Bouchet Stéphane , Bonnet Fabrice
Published: November 2020

Background

Combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir has been suggested as an approach to improve the outcome of patients with moderate/severe COVID-19 infection.

Objectives

To examine the safety of combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir.

Methods

This was an observational cohort study of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia treated with hydroxychloroquine and darunavir/ritonavir or lopinavir/ritonavir. Clinical evaluations, electrocardiograms and the pharmacokinetics of hydroxychloroquine, darunavir and lopinavir were examined according to clinical practice and guidelines.

Results

Twenty-one patients received hydroxychloroquine with lopinavir/ritonavir (median age 68 years; 10 males) and 25 received hydroxychloroquine with darunavir/ritonavir (median age 71 years; 15 males). During treatment, eight patients (17.4%) developed ECG abnormalities. Ten patients discontinued treatment, including seven for ECG abnormalities a median of 5 (range 2–6) days after starting treatment. All ECG abnormalities reversed 1–2 days after interrupting treatment. Four patients died within 14 days. ECG abnormalities were significantly associated with age over 70 years, coexisting conditions (such as hypertension, chronic cardiovascular disease and kidney failure) and initial potential drug interactions, but not with the hydroxychloroquine concentration.

Conclusions

Of the patients with COVID-19 who received hydroxychloroquine with lopinavir or darunavir, 17% had ECG abnormalities, mainly related to age or in those with a history of cardiovascular disease.
Value of adjuvant chemotherapy and informed microscopic examination for occult gynecologic cancer detected upon risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy after chemotherapy for BRCA1/2-associated breast cancer: a case report
Authors: Kuji Shiho , Kondo Haruhiro , Ohara Tatsuru , Deura Imari , Tozawa-Ono Akiko , Migita Ohsuke , Kawamoto Hisanori , Tsugawa Koichiro , Chosokabe Motohiro , Koike Junki , Maeda Ichiro , Suzuki Nao
Published: November 2020

BRCA1/2 mutation carriers are at high risk for type II ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer. Although risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy plays an important role in the prevention of these BRCA1/2-associated gynecological cancers, occult ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer is discovered upon risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in 1–4% of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Notably, around 30% of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who undergo risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy have undergone adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. We describe the discovery and treatment of occult cancer at the edge of the left fimbria in a BRCA1 mutation carrier who had, just a short time previously, undergone neoadjuvant paclitaxel plus carboplatin (TC) chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer. During subsequent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, a 5.5-mm nodule was observed at the edge of the left fimbria. Microscopic examination of the tumour tissue revealed high-grade serous carcinoma with degenerate tumour cells and fibrosis. Peritoneal fluid was negative for cancer cells. Two months later, hysterectomy, omentectomy and retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy were performed. The final diagnosis was stage FIGO IA fallopian tube cancer. Adjuvant chemotherapy (TC administered every 3 weeks) was applied, and there has been no evidence of recurrence for 5 years. In applying gynecologic surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, we followed the general recommendation for stage IA fallopian tube cancer. There is no standard strategy for the treatment of occult fallopian tube cancer detected after chemotherapy for BRCA1-associated triple-negative breast cancer. According to our experience in this case, we believe the clinical value of staging laparotomy in cases of a small occult BRCA1/2-associated gynecological cancer should be further investigated.
Prospective observational study estimating willingness-to-pay for breast cancer treatments through contingent valuation method in Japanese breast cancer patients (JCOG1709A)
Authors: Iwatani Tsuguo , Hara Fumikata , Shien Tadahiko , Sasaki Keita , Katayama Hiroshi , Fukuda Haruhiko , Shiroiwa Takeru , Iwata Hiroji
Published: November 2020

In April 2016, the Japanese government introduced health technology assessment as a response to rising medical expenses due to ‘medical innovation’. This study investigates how Japanese breast cancer patients who received treatment in Japan consider the financial value (willingness-to-pay; WTP) for their life and health by using the contingent valuation method (CVM) prospectively. First, 168 patients (84 primary breast cancer patients and 84 metastatic breast cancer patients) were pre-examined their WTP with dichotomous-choice method survey form. Next, 1,596 patients (798 primary breast cancer patients and 798 metastatic breast cancer patients) will be surveyed to their WTP for hypothetical scenarios in CVM. Based on our results, we will construct an evaluation axis from the patients’ viewpoint for the cost-effectiveness of clinical trials to establish standard treatments for breast cancer. We believe this research can contribute to create a meaningful healthcare system for patients, clinicians, industries, and healthcare policymakers.
Flower evolution in the presence of heterospecific gene flow and its contribution to lineage divergence
Authors: Orsucci Marion , Sicard Adrien
Published: November 2020

The success of species depends on their ability to exploit ecological resources in order to optimize their reproduction. However, species are not usually found within single-species ecosystems but in complex communities. Because of their genetic relatedness, closely related lineages tend to cluster within the same ecosystem, rely on the same resources, and be phenotypically similar. In sympatry, they will therefore compete for the same resources and, in the case of flowering plants, exchange their genes through heterospecific pollen transfer. These interactions, nevertheless, pose significant challenges to species co-existence because they can lead to resource limitation and reproductive interference. In such cases, divergent selective pressures on floral traits will favour genotypes that isolate or desynchronize the reproduction of sympatric lineages. The resulting displacement of reproductive characters will, in turn, lead to pre-mating isolation and promote intraspecific divergence, thus initiating or reinforcing the speciation process. In this review, we discuss the current theoretical and empirical knowledge on the influence of heterospecific pollen transfer on flower evolution, highlighting its potential to uncover the ecological and genomic constraints shaping the speciation process.