bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhanced optical properties of MoSe2 grown by molecular beam epitaxy on hexagonal boron nitride
Authors: Vergnaud C. , Tiwari V. , Ren L. , Taniguchi T. , Watanabe K. , Okuno H. , Gomes de Moraes I. , Marty A. , Robert C. , Marie X. , Jamet M.
Published: July 2024

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) like MoSe2 exhibit remarkable optical properties such as intense photoluminescence (PL) in the monolayer form. To date, narrow-linewidth PL is only achieved in micrometer-sized exfoliated TMD flakes encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). In this work, we develop a growth strategy to prepare monolayer MoSe2 on hBN flakes by molecular beam epitaxy in the van der Waals regime. It constitutes the first step toward the development of large area single crystalline TMDs encapsulated in hBN for potential integration in electronic or optoelectronic devices. For this purpose, we define a two-step growth strategy to achieve monolayer-thick MoSe2 grains on hBN flakes. The high quality of MoSe2 allows us to detect very narrow PL linewidth down to 5.5 meV at 13 K, comparable to the one of encapsulated exfoliated MoSe2 flakes. Moreover, sizeable PL can be detected at room temperature as well as clear reflectivity signatures of A, B, and charged excitons.
Targeting the muscarinic M1 receptor with a selective, brain-penetrant antagonist to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Poon Michael M. , Lorrain Kym I. , Stebbins Karin J. , Edu Geraldine C. , Broadhead Alexander R. , Lorenzana Ariana J. , Roppe Jeffrey R. , Baccei Jill M. , Baccei Christopher S. , Chen Austin C. , Green Ari J. , Lorrain Daniel S. , Chan Jonah R.
Published: July 2024

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and debilitating neurological disease that results in inflammatory demyelination. While endogenous remyelination helps to recover function, this restorative process tends to become less efficient over time. Currently, intense efforts aimed at the mechanisms that promote remyelination are being considered promising therapeutic approaches. The M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1R) was previously identified as a negative regulator of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination. Here, we validate M1R as a target for remyelination by characterizing expression in human and rodent oligodendroglial cells (including those in human MS tissue) using a highly selective M1R probe. As a breakthrough to conventional methodology, we conjugated a fluorophore to a highly M1R selective peptide (MT7) which targets the M1R in the subnanomolar range. This allows for exceptional detection of M1R protein expression in the human CNS. More importantly, we introduce PIPE-307, a brain-penetrant, small-molecule antagonist with favorable drug-like properties that selectively targets M1R. We evaluate PIPE-307 in a series of in vitro and in vivo studies to characterize potency and selectivity for M1R over M2-5R and confirm the sufficiency of blocking this receptor to promote differentiation and remyelination. Further, PIPE-307 displays significant efficacy in the mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model of MS as evaluated by quantifying disability, histology, electron microscopy, and visual evoked potentials. Together, these findings support targeting M1R for remyelination and support further development of PIPE-307 for clinical studies.
New social categories in dangerous times
Authors: Aznárez-Mauleón Mónica
Published: July 2024

After a three-month Covid-19 lockdown, the Spanish national and regional governments implemented stringent
rules to curb the pandemic’s spread during the “new normal”. These measures aimed to reduce face-to-face interactions while
sustaining economic and educational activities, reshaping social behaviours and perceptions. Notably, a distinct shift
occurred in Spain’s landscape of social groups and relationships, traditionally characterised by keywords like
familia and amigos/amigas used to refer to close connections. Emerging from political
and legal jargon, technical terms such as unidad familiar, conviviente, and grupo burbuja
entered the public sphere and everyday conversation. Using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework, this study
analyses these expressions, revealing that, unlike familia and amigos/amigas, the new terms
are primarily grounded in the concept of “space” and lack an inherent emotional component. This finding prompts reflection on
the potential impact of these concepts on people’s mindsets in the “new normal” era.
Iso-structural phase transition in pyrochlore iridates (Sm

_{1-x}$

Bix)2Ir2O7 (x = 0, 0.02, and 0.10): high-pressure Raman and x-ray diffraction studies
Authors: Rosalin M , Irshad K A , Joseph Boby , Telang Prachi , Singh Surjeet , S Muthu D V , Sood A K
Published: July 2024

The pyrochlore iridates, A
2Ir2O7, show a wide variety of structural, electronic, and magnetic properties controlled by the interplay of different exchange interactions, which can be tuned by external pressure. In this work, we report pressure-induced iso-structural phase transitions at ambient temperature using synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction (up to ∼20 GPa) and Raman-scattering measurements (up to ∼25 GPa) of the pyrochlore series (Sm

_{1-x}

Bi
x
)2Ir2O7 (x = 0, 0.02, and 0.10). Our Raman and x-ray data suggest an iso-structural transition in Sm2Ir2O7 at

P
c

∼ 11.2 GPa, associated with the rearrangement of IrO6 octahedra in the pyrochlore lattice. The transition pressure decreases to ∼10.2 and 9 GPa for x = 0.02 and 0.10, respectively. For all the samples, the linewidth of three phonons associated with Ir–O–Ir (

A

1
g

and Eg
) and Ir–O (

T

2
g

4

) vibrations show anomalous decrease up to

P
c

, due to decrease in electron–phonon interaction.
A complex magnetic study: evidence of spin-glass transition below long-range magnetic ordering and its correlation with renormalization of phonon modes
Authors: Mohanty Sipun , Mukherjee Samrat
Published: July 2024

In this paper, we report a complex magnetic behavior arising due to the interplay of three active magnetic cations (Nd/Sm, Co and Ir), forming 3d-5d-4f magnetic sublattices. The B-site ordered double perovskites Nd2CoIrO6 and Sm2CoIrO6 were successfully prepared by conventional solid-state method. Detailed structural analysis revealed that both samples crystallized in monoclinic structure with P21/n (No.-14) space group. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirms the presence of multiple oxidation states of Ir (i.e. Ir4+ and Ir5+). Both samples show a paramagnetic-ferrimagnetic (TFiM) transition around 100 K, additionally, a low temperature transition is observed at around 10 K in the SCIO sample. This FM-like behavior of the samples is attributed to the antiparallel alignment of the Co2+ and Ir4+ spins, resulting in FiM ordering. The ac susceptibility analysis confirms a spin glass type transition just below the long-range ordering temperature in NCIO sample, The obtained characteristic flipping time of a single spin from both the law (Power law and Vogel–Fulcher law) and nonzero Vogel–Fulcher temperature (

T
0

≃ 89.1 K) further verified the existence of cluster spin-glass behavior below the ordering temperature. The temperature evolution of phonon modes (up to 4 K) suggests that the phonon mode above the magnetic ordering temperature is mainly governed by the lattice degrees of freedom; notable renormalization of the mode frequency below the ordering temperature is due to the coupling of lattice with the underlying magnetic degrees of freedom.
High sensitivity optical fiber accelerometer based on symmetric hinge structure with dual mass blocks
Authors: Li Huidong , Zhang Xuan , Gao Hong , Zhou Rui , Qiao Xueguang
Published: July 2024

A symmetrical multi-level flexible hinge and dual mass block structure fiber Bragg grating accelerometer has been designed, which has the characteristics of small amplitude and high sensitivity. According to the working principle of the two-degree-of-freedom vibration system, there are vibration nodes in the double mass block during the vibration process, and the vibration nodes can reduce the amplitude of the system and protect the optical fiber; and the multi-stage flexible hinge can reduce the structural rigidity and improve the sensitivity of the accelerometer. The experimental results show that the vibration signal is in the range of 5–90 Hz, the acceleration is in the range of 0.1–1 G, the sensitivity of the accelerometer is 878.4 pm/G, and the linear fit R
2 = 0.991. Moreover, the mechanical structure of the accelerometer is integrally machined with high mechanical strength to ensure stable operation of the accelerometer. The designed accelerometer can be used for monitoring low-frequency vibrations in fields such as seismic wave exploration and oil and gas field development.
Estimation of lithium battery state of charge using the LTG-SABO-GRU model
Authors: Xiao Yanjun , Song Weihan , Liu Weiling , Wan Feng
Published: July 2024

Accurate estimation of the state of charge (SOC) in lithium batteries is crucial for optimizing energy utilization and ensuring battery safety within battery management systems (BMSs). While deep learning techniques have made significant progress, time-series models based on the gate recurrent unit (GRU) have gained widespread application in SOC estimation. However, their performance heavily hinges on the initial hyperparameter settings, impacting both precision and application range. To address this challenge, we propose a novel algorithm—the logistic-tent-gold subtraction average-based optimizer (LTG-SABO)—which combines composite chaotic mapping with the golden sine algorithm. The LTG-SABO algorithm aims to optimize key hyperparameters of the GRU model, thereby enhancing precision and robustness in SOC estimation. By leveraging the Logistic-tent composite chaotic mapping for population initialization, our approach not only expands the search space but also effectively prevents algorithm convergence to local optima. Additionally, integrating the Gold-SA strategy further enhances the global search capability of the SABO algorithm, significantly reducing convergence time. The computational results reveal that the proposed LTG-SABO-GRU model outperforms the traditional GRU model in estimating SOC precision under both normal and extreme temperature conditions. Specifically, the root mean square error and mean absolute error show a substantial improvement, increasing by over 50% compared to the traditional model. Moreover, the LTG-SABO-GRU model exhibits significantly fewer convergence iterations than existing typical population optimization algorithms. This study introduces a novel, efficient, and practical approach for SOC estimation in BMS applications.
Fault diagnosis of rolling bearing based on adaptive attention network and federated learning
Authors: Zheng Bowen , Wu Dinghui , Fan Junyan , Du Kangning
Published: July 2024

For rolling bearings in actual industrial scenarios, the problem of low diagnostic accuracy is caused by the large difference in data distribution under different working conditions and the complexity of working conditions with a lot of redundant information, in this paper, a combination of the federated adaptive attention network based fault diagnostic model is proposed. Firstly, the fault information is randomly divided into multiple sequences, by utilizing dual convolutional layers and adaptive attention mechanism to process abundant vibration data, it enables accurate identification of fault information distribution in the original signal while removing superfluous information and fusing characteristics to improve diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, a federated learning model incorporating attention mechanism is proposed. It performs asynchronous updates based on local data distribution, improving the efficiency and accuracy of data analysis uploads, and enhancing the model’s generalization capability. Simulation experiments have been carried out using the datasets from Case Western Reserve University and Jiangnan University, and after comparative analysis, the proposed method has better performance and generalization ability.
Sponge-shaped Au nanoparticles: a stand-alone metallic photocatalyst for driving the light-induced CO2 reduction reaction
Authors: Vahidzadeh Ehsan , Rajashekhar Harshitha , Riddell Saralyn , Alam Kazi M , Vrushabendrakumar Damini , Kumar Navneet , Shankar Karthik
Published: July 2024

Coinage metal nanoparticles (NPs) enable plasmonic catalysis by generating hot carriers that drive chemical reactions. Making NPs porous enhances the adsorption of reactant molecules. We present a dewetting and dealloying strategy to fabricate porous gold nanoparticles (Au-Sponge) and compare their CO2 photoreduction activity with respect to the conventional gold nanoisland (Au-Island) morphology. Porous gold nanoparticles exhibit an unusually broad and red-shifted plasmon resonance which is in agreement with the results of finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. The key insight of this work is that the multi-step reduction of CO2 driven by short-lived hot carriers generated by the d → s interband transition proceeds extremely quickly as evidenced by the generation of methane. A 3.8-fold enhancement in the photocatalytic performance is observed for the Au-Sponge in comparison to the Au-Island. Electrochemical cyclic voltammetry measurements confirm the 2.5-fold increase in the surface area and roughness factor of the Au-Sponge sample due to its porous nature. Our results indicate that the product yield is limited by the amount of surface adsorbates i.e. reactant-limited. Isotope-labeled mass spectrometry using 13CO2 was used to confirm that the reaction product (13CH4) originated from CO2 photoreduction. We also present the plasmon-mediated photocatalytic transformation of 4-aminothiophenol (PATP) into p,p′-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) using Au-Sponge and Au-Island samples.
Inter-subject cerebrovascular variability: a source of uncertainty for dose calculation to circulating blood cells for glioblastoma patients treated with modern radiotherapy techniques
Authors: Hammi Abdelkhalek , Shusharina Nadya , Djuffouo Sonya
Published: July 2024

Purpose. To assess how inter-subject variations in brain vasculature among glioblastoma (GBM) patients affects the calculated dose received by circulating blood cells (CBC) during radiotherapy and its subsequent impact on CBC depletion. Methods. Ten GBM patients treated with either intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) were selected. For each patient, 23 cerebrovascular models were developed based on 23 healthy subject MR-angiography data to simulate intra- and inter-subject blood vessel diversity. Based on the corresponding treatment plan of the patient, the dose to CBC was calculated for all the 230 scenarios. The impact of inter-subject variation on fraction of irradiated blood volume (VD

>0 cGy) and lymphocyte kill rates as a function of the clinical target volume (CTV) size and treatment technique were analyzed. Results. The dose fluctuation to CBC was higher in IMRT plans compared to VMAT plans. The uncertainty in the VD

>0 cGy was 18.3% for IMRT and 2.0% (CI95%) for VMAT and the dispersion of the D
2% index was 6 cGy for IMRT and 1 cGy for VMAT (CI95%) for one single treatment fraction of 200 cGy. The uncertainty in killed CBC due to inter-subject diversity in brain blood vessel increased with increasing CTV size and was σ = 11.2%. Conclusions. VMAT showed greater robustness against inter-subject variation in blood vessels compared to IMRT. We recommend considering the uncertainty in depleting CBC resulting from the use of less patient-specific and generic blood vessel phantoms to improve the radiation-induced lymphopenia assessments.
The core–edge integrated neon-seeded scenario in deuterium–tritium at JET
Authors: Giroud C. , Carvalho I.S. , Brezinsek S. , Huber A. , Keeling D. , Mailloux J. , Pitts R.A. , Lerche E. , Henriques R. , Hillesheim J. , Lawson K. , Marin M. , Pawelec E. , Sos M. , Sun H.J. , Tomes M. , Aleiferis S. , Bleasdale A. , Brix M. , Boboc A. , Bernardo J. , Carvalho P. , Coffey I. , Henderson S. , King D.B. , Rimini F. , Maslov M. , Alessi E. , Craciunescu T. , Fontana M. , Fontdecaba J.M. , Garzotti L. , Ghani Z. , Horvath L. , Jepu I. , Karhunen J. , Kos D. , Litherland-Smith E. , Meigs A. , Menmuir S. , Morales R.B. , Nowak S. , Peluso E. , Pereira T. , Parail V. , Petravich G. , Pucella G. , Puglia P. , Refy D. , Scully S. , Sertoli M. , Silburn S. , Taylor D. , Thomas B. , Tookey A. , Štancar Ž. , Szepesi G. , Viola B. , Widdowson A. , de la Luna E. ,   JET Contributors
Published: July 2024

This paper reports the first experiment carried out in deuterium–tritium addressing the integration of a radiative divertor for heat-load control with good confinement. Neon seeding was carried out for the first time in a D–T plasma as part of the second D–T campaign of JET with its Be/W wall environment. The technical difficulties linked to the re-ionisation heat load are reported in T and D–T. This paper compares the impact of neon seeding on D–T plasmas and their D counterpart on the divertor detachment, localisation of the radiation, scrape-off profiles, pedestal structure, edge localised modes and global confinement.
Simultaneous access to high normalized density, current, pressure, and confinement in strongly-shaped diverted negative triangularity plasmas
Authors: Paz-Soldan C. , Chrystal C. , Lunia P. , Nelson A.O. , Thome K.E. , Austin M.E. , Cote T.B. , Hyatt A.W. , Leuthold N. , Marinoni A. , Osborne T.H. , Pharr M. , Sauter O. , Scotti F. , Wilks T.M. , Wilson H.S.
Published: July 2024

Strongly-shaped diverted negative triangularity (NT) plasmas in the DIII-D tokamak demonstrate simultaneous access to high normalized density, current, pressure, and confinement. NT plasmas are shown to exist across an expansive parameter space compatible with high fusion power production, revealing surprisingly good core stability properties that compare favorably to conventional positive triangularity plasmas in DIII-D. Non-dimensionalizing the key parameters, expanded operating spaces featuring edge safety factors below 3, normalized betas above 3, Greenwald density fractions above 1, and high-confinement mode (H-mode) confinement qualities above 1 are observed, even simultaneously, and all with a robustly stable edge free from deleterious edge-localized mode instabilities. Scaling of the confinement time with engineering parameters reveals at least a linear dependence on plasma current although with significant power degradation, both in excess of expected H-mode scalings. These results increase confidence that NT plasmas are a viable approach to realize fusion power and open directions for future detailed study.
Investigation of the transmission characters of Ince-Gaussian beams in oceanic turbulence
Authors: Li Chenlu , Zhang Minyang , Ruan Pengxiang , Xu Changlan , Hu Youyou , Zhang Mingming , Jing Qingli , Chen Dongxu , Liu Jun
Published: July 2024

We focus on the transmission characteristics of Ince-Gaussian (IG) beams in oceanic turbulence which is simulated by the random phase screen method. The transmission characteristics of IG beams with different distances and turbulence intensities are also shown in the experiments. The impacts of the temperature and salinity in oceanic turbulence are discussed in detail. The experimental results show that the IG beam maintains the intensity distribution well after transmission. In addition, compared with the others’ structured beams, the IG beams show better robustness in oceanic turbulence with different salinity, turbulence intensity and suspended solids. Our work paves the way for leveraging IG beams in underwater optical communication.
Large-ensemble Monte Carlo: a researcher’s guide to better climate trend uncertainties
Authors: Glaser Zachary I , Richardson Mark T , Landerer Felix W
Published: July 2024

Internal climate variability (ICV) often violates the assumptions of statistical methods, and the climate research community does not have an established approach for addressing resulting biases. Here we argue for a technique we call climate model Large-Ensemble Monte-Carlo (LENS-MC) to inform the selection of statistical methods for real-world application. Until now, scientists have often made best efforts to select methods based on assumptions about the mathematical properties of ICV. LENS-MC relaxes these assumptions and justifies method selection, potentially for a wide range of statistical analyses. We demonstrate LENS-MC using a case study of statistical errors in 20 year trends in global temperature and top-of-atmosphere flux series, comparing results with standard ordinary least squares (OLS). OLS commonly underestimates trend uncertainties, resulting in a higher likelihood of falsely reporting statistically significant trends or changes in trends, for example reporting p < 0.05 in 20 year temperature trends when the statistics are actually equivalent to p < 0.56. LENS-MC tests result in the selection of methods that almost eliminate the low bias in OLS trend standard errors. Using the suggested methods, researchers are less likely to mistakenly report significant trends, and LENS-MC could be widely applied to statistical climate analysis for which model output is available, provided that model ICV displays similar statistical structure, such as in autocorrelation, to observed ICV.
Recent advances in 3D-printable aggregation-induced emission materials
Authors: Zhang Mingtao , Li Yu , Ma Guangmeng , Guo Fawei , Wu Haixin , Wu Han , Jin Qingxin , Luo Xin , Luo Chunyi , Li Jiaqi , Long Yu
Published: July 2024

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials exhibit remarkable emission properties in the aggregated or solid states, offering numerous advantages such as high quantum yield, excellent photostability, and low background signals. These characteristics have led to their widespread application in optoelectronic devices, bio-detection markers, chemical sensing, and stimuli-responsive applications among others. In contrast to traditional manufacturing processes, 3D printing (3DP) enables rapid prototyping and large-scale customization with excellent flexibility in manufacturing techniques and material selection. The combination of AIE materials with 3DP can provide new strategies for fabricating materials and devices with complex structures. Therefore, 3DP is an ideal choice for processing AIE organic luminescent materials. However, 3DP of AIE materials is still in the early stages of development and is facing many challenges including limited printable AIE materials, poor printing functionalities and limited application range. This review aims to summarize the significant achievements in the field of 3DP of AIE materials. Firstly, different types of AIE materials for 3DP are studied, and the factors that affect the printing effect and the luminescence mechanism are discussed. Then, the latest advancements made in various application domains using 3D printed AIE materials are summarized. Finally, the existing challenges of this emerging field are discussed while the future prospects are prospected.
Adverse health effects of declined intrinsic capacity in middle-aged and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhao Yuan , Jiang Yueying , Tang Panpan , Wang Xueqing , Guo Yunyu , Tang Leiwen
Published: July 2024

Background

Intrinsic capacity refers to a broad range of health traits, including the physiological and psychological changes brought on by aging. Previous research has shown that intrinsic capacity, as an independent emerging construct, is a highly effective predictor of several health outcomes.

Objective

We aimed to summarise the predictive effect of intrinsic capacity at baseline on health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults.

Design

A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Participants

Middle-aged and older adults.

Methods

We systematically searched up to 3 April 2024 in 10 electronic databases. Studies investigating the predictive effect of baseline composite intrinsic capacity and health outcomes were included. Publications that had reported hazard ratios (HRs) or odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as effect size were considered.

Results

A total of 23 publications were included. The sample size ranged from 100 to 17 031. The results of the meta-analysis showed statistically significant prediction of adverse health outcomes such as disability (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.68–2.03, I2 = 41%, Pheterogeneity=.10), falls (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.19–1.60, I2 = 45%, Pheterogeneity=.11), hospitalisation (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.17–4.3, I2 = 68%, Pheterogeneity=.08), mortality (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.54–1.91, I2 = 32%, Pheterogeneity=.12) and frailty (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.45–1.70, I2 = 2%, Pheterogeneity=.31) by the baseline composite intrinsic capacity.

Conclusions

Declined intrinsic capacity has potential predictive value for adverse health outcomes, further high-quality study is needed to validate these findings and strengthen their cumulative impact. Attention to health outcomes should also focus on both breadth and category precision.
Inter- and intra-observer variation in phytolith morphometry
Authors: Out Welmoed A , Evett Rand , Hošková Kristýna , Power Robert C , Ruiz-Pérez Javier , Tromp Monica , Vrydaghs Luc , Wade Kali , Hasler Mario
Published: July 2024

Background

Archaeobotanists and palaeoecologists use geometric morphometrics extensively to identify plant opal phytoliths. Particularly when applied to assemblages of phytoliths from concentrations retrieved from closed contexts, morphometric data from archaeological phytoliths compared with similar data from reference material can allow taxonomic attribution. Observer variation is one aspect of phytolith morphometry that has received little attention but might be an important source of error and a potential cause of misidentification of plant remains.

Scope

To investigate inter- and intra-observer variation in phytolith morphometry, eight researchers (observers) from different laboratories measured 50 samples each from three phytolith morphotypes (Bilobate, Bulliform flabellate and Elongate dendritic) three times, under the auspices of the International Committee for Phytolith Morphometrics (ICPM).

Methods

Data for 17 size and shape variables were collected for each phytolith by manually digitizing a phytolith outline (mask) from a photograph, followed by measurement of the mask with open-source morphometric software.

Key results

Inter-observer variation ranged from 0 to 23 % difference from the mean of all observers. Intra-observer variation ranged from 0 to 9 % difference from the mean of individual observers per week. Inter- and intra-observer variation was generally higher among inexperienced researchers.

Conclusions

Scaling errors were a major cause of variation and occurred more with less experienced researchers, which is likely to be related to familiarity with data collection. The results indicate that inter- and intra-observer variation can be reduced substantially by providing clear instructions for and training with the equipment, photograph capturing, software, data collection and data cleaning. In this paper, the ICPM provides recommendations to minimize variation. Advances in automatic data collection might eventually reduce inter- and intra-observer variation, but until this is common practice, the ICPM recommends that phytolith morphometric analyses adhere to standardized guidelines to assure that measured phytolith variables are accurate, consistent and comparable between different researchers and laboratories.
Floral freezing tolerance is tied to flowering time in North American woody plant species
Authors: Savage Jessica A , Fakhreddine Qadry , Vandenheuvel Britton
Published: July 2024

Background and Aims

As winter and spring temperatures continue to increase, the timing of flowering and leaf-out is advancing in many seasonally cold regions. This advancement could put plants that flower early in the spring at risk of decreased reproduction in years when there are late freeze events. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about floral freezing tolerance in forest communities. In this study, we examined the impact of freezing temperatures on the flowers of woody plants in a region where there is rapid winter warming in North America.

Methods

We subjected the flowers of 25 woody species to a hard (−5 °C) and a light freeze (0 °C). We assessed tissue damage using electrolyte leakage. In a subset of species, we also examined the impact of a hard freeze on pollen tube growth. To determine if the vulnerability of flowers to freezing damage relates to flowering time and to examine the responsiveness of flowering time to spring temperature, we recorded the date of first flower for our study species for 3 years.

Key Results and Conclusions

Across species, we found that floral freezing tolerance was strongly tied to flowering time, with the highest freezing tolerance occurring in plants that bloomed earlier in the year. We hypothesize that these early blooming species are unlikely to be impacted by a false spring. Instead, the most vulnerable species to a false spring should be those that bloom later in the season. The flowering time in these species is also more sensitive to temperature, putting them at a great risk of experiencing a false spring. Ultimately, floral damage in one year will not have a large impact on species fitness, but if false springs become more frequent, there could be long-term impacts on reproduction of vulnerable species.
Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) in Chinese
Authors: Chen Maohua , Cai Siyuan , Cai Zhen , Chen Zaihong , Sheng Yang , Cui Wei , Zhang Xinjie , Jiang Zhiyuan
Published: July 2024

Background

Rhinoplasty requires balanced consideration of function and aesthetics, necessitating a precise evaluation tool. A reliable and validated patient-reported measure, the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) evaluates both aspects but was previously unavailable in Chinese. This study fills that gap by providing a Chinese version.

Objectives

In this study we aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Chinese iteration of the SCHNOS (C-SCHNOS) for appraising the functional and aesthetic outcomes among Chinese patients following rhinoplasty, furnishing a reliable and efficacious assessment tool for Chinese users.

Methods

Following international guidelines, the SCHNOS questionnaire was translated and culturally adapted for Chinese use. Its psychometric properties, including internal consistency, correlations, and reproducibility, were evaluated among Chinese natives in Sichuan Province from March 2022 to January 2023.

Results

The C-SCHNOS was administered to 110 Chinese natives, showing high internal consistency, with Cronbach's α of 0.81 for SCHNOS-O (obstructive domain) and 0.92 for SCHNOS-C (cosmetic domain). Spearman correlations for SCHNOS-O (0.36-0.65) and SCHNOS-C (0.51-0.74) were positive and significant. Test-retest reliability analyses revealed strong Spearman correlations for SCHNOS-O (r = 0.87) and SCHNOS-C (r = 0.90). Responsiveness was statistically significant for SCHNOS-O (P < .001) but not for SCHNOS-C (P = .222). Exploratory factor analysis and parallel tests indicated that C-SCHNOS maintained a single-factor structure, with eigenvalues exceeding the critical values (2.55 for SCHNOS-O and 4.35 for SCHNOS-C), reflecting excellent unidimensionality.

Conclusions

The SCHNOS questionnaire was successfully translated into Chinese and culturally adapted. The C-SCHNOS is a dependable and valid instrument for utilization in the Chinese population in patients undergoing functional or cosmetic rhinoplasty.
HNCGAT: a method for predicting plant metabolite–protein interaction using heterogeneous neighbor contrastive graph attention network
Authors: Zhou Xi , Yang Jing , Luo Yin , Shen Xiao
Published: July 2024

The prediction of metabolite–protein interactions (MPIs) plays an important role in plant basic life functions. Compared with the traditional experimental methods and the high-throughput genomics methods using statistical correlation, applying heterogeneous graph neural networks to the prediction of MPIs in plants can reduce the cost of manpower, resources, and time. However, to the best of our knowledge, applying heterogeneous graph neural networks to the prediction of MPIs in plants still remains under-explored. In this work, we propose a novel model named heterogeneous neighbor contrastive graph attention network (HNCGAT), for the prediction of MPIs in Arabidopsis. The HNCGAT employs the type-specific attention-based neighborhood aggregation mechanism to learn node embeddings of proteins, metabolites, and functional-annotations, and designs a novel heterogeneous neighbor contrastive learning framework to preserve heterogeneous network topological structures. Extensive experimental results and ablation study demonstrate the effectiveness of the HNCGAT model for MPI prediction. In addition, a case study on our MPI prediction results supports that the HNCGAT model can effectively predict the potential MPIs in plant.
Systematic analysis on the horse-shoe-like effect in PCA plots of scRNA-seq data
Authors: Shah Najeebullah , Meng Qiuchen , Zou Ziheng , Zhang Xuegong
Published: July 2024

Motivation

In single-cell studies, principal component analysis (PCA) is widely used to reduce the dimensionality of dataset and visualize in 2D or 3D PC plots. Scientists often focus on different clusters within PC plot, overlooking the specific phenomenon, such as horse-shoe-like effect, that may reveal hidden knowledge about underlying biological dataset. This phenomenon remains largely unexplored in single-cell studies.

Results

In this study, we investigated into the horse-shoe-like effect in PC plots using simulated and real scRNA-seq datasets. We systematically explain horse-shoe-like phenomenon from various inter-related perspectives. Initially, we establish an intuitive understanding with the help of simulated datasets. Then, we generalized the acquired knowledge on real biological scRNA-seq data. Experimental results provide logical explanations and understanding for the appearance of horse-shoe-like effect in PC plots. Furthermore, we identify a potential problem with a well-known theory of ‘distance saturation property’ attributed to induce horse-shoe phenomenon. Finally, we analyse a mathematical model for horse-shoe effect that suggests trigonometric solutions to estimated eigenvectors. We observe significant resemblance after comparing the results of mathematical model with simulated and real scRNA-seq datasets.

Availability and implementation

The code for reproducing the results of this study is available at: https://github.com/najeebullahshah/PCA-Horse-Shoe.
Overlapping itch assessments in the Harmonizing Outcome Measures for Eczema core outcome set for eczema clinical trials: is redundancy necessary?
Authors: Baker Arabella , Patel Riya , Stuart Beth , Thomas Kim S
Published: July 2024

We describe a study that looked at the redundancy of itch assessments in the core outcome set for eczema clinical trials.
Jejunal amyloidosis: a rare case presented with sudden weight loss and altered bowel habits
Authors: Majeed Hamid , Lau Jie Fei , Davenport Anna , Muhammad Karim , Bano Farhat
Published: July 2024

Amyloidosis is a multisystem disease characterized by the extracellular deposition of abnormal protein fibrils in various tissues and organs. It is a systemic disease mainly affecting the kidneys, liver, and spleen. In the GI tract, the duodenum is most commonly involved, followed by the stomach. We came across a relatively unusual case of jejunal amyloidosis, where the presentation was with weight loss, abdominal pain, and changes in bowel habits. Radiological findings were non-specific, such as thickening of small bowel loops and small nodular bowel wall lesions, etc. Endoscopic features were also not characteristic of any particular disease entity. Therefore, it was hard to narrow down the differential diagnosis based on endoscopy and clinic-radiological grounds. The diagnosis remained a mystery until the outcome of the final histopathology report. This case study will facilitate readers in considering this entity in the differential list if they encounter mimicking clinical and/or radiological features.
An expanded Pappostipa (Stipeae, Poaceae) includes a lineage of South American species with plumose-like awns
Authors: Sede Silvana M , Testoni Daniel , Sclovich Sergio E , Morello Santiago , Santín Franco , Romaschenko Konstantin , Starr Julian R , Giussani Liliana M
Published: July 2024

Generic delimitation within the tribe Stipeae has been a dynamic process since the late 1980s. In this study, we focus on a morphologically cohesive group of Jarava species with plumose-like awns that previous phylogenetic studies suggested were sister to the genus Pappostipa and only distantly related to Jarava sensu stricto. To test this hypothesis, we broadened species sampling, analysed lemma epidermal patterns, and performed molecular phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear ITS region and three plastid (rpl32-trnL, rps16-trnK, rps16 intron) markers. Phylogenetic results confirmed the close relationship of Jarava species with plumose awns (i.e., the Ptilostipa clade) to species of Pappostipa, forming a well-supported clade (C subclade). This result is supported by lemma epidermal patterns in the Ptilostipa clade that are similar to the ‘Maize-like’ pattern of the Achnatherum subtype found in Pappostipa. Consequently, we expand Pappostipa to include three species of Jarava (i.e., Pappostipa neaei, comb. nov., P. pogonathera, comb. nov., and P. psylantha, comb. nov.) and we place them in a new section, Pappostipa sect. Ptilostipa, sect. nov. Moreover, we provide new diagnostic features for Pappostipa, including drawings and photographs illustrating floret morphology, lemma epidermal surfaces, species’ habit, and notes on distribution.
Multivariate mapping of brain pathology: a step forward with stumbling blocks
Authors: Sperber Christoph , Umarova Roza
Published: July 2024

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Ground-truth validation of uni- and multivariate lesion inference approaches’, by Zavaglia et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcae251).
Breslow density ability to predict melanoma survival: should it be used in clinical practice?
Authors: Gil-Pallares Pedro , Figueroa-Silva Olalla , Taboada-Paz Laura , Gil-Pallares María Eugenia , Sánchez-Aguilar Rojas María Dolores , Balboa-Barreiro Vanesa , Navarro-Bielsa Alba , Suárez-Peñaranda José Manuel
Published: July 2024

Background

Breslow density (BD) is an estimation of melanoma volume, which has emerged as a novel histopathological prognostic biomarker.

Objectives

To evaluate the role of BD as a predictor of patients’ survival and assess its prognostic value in relation to overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), melanoma-specific survival (MSS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS).

Methods

A retrospective observational study in a cohort of 107 patients with invasive melanoma was conducted. Kaplan–Meier and Log-rank tests were used for 10-year survival analysis. The ability of BD and Breslow thickness (BT) to predict survival was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves.

Results

The average follow-up was 115 months, excluding deaths. People with BD ≥ 65% showed lower survival rates compared with the BD < 65% group (log-rank test P < 0.001). Area under the curve (AUC) of BD ≥ 65% was higher than BTs for all studied survival rates except for MSS, in which absolute BD showed the highest value.

Conclusions

BD is proposed as a simple, valuable and inexpensive histopathological feature that could provide additional valuable information to that available from melanoma staging, as it has proved to have a statistically significant prognostic value in relation to survival in patients with melanoma and comparable 10-year survival prediction ability with that of BT.
Dysfunction of motor cortices in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Chu Hong-Yuan , Smith Yoland , Lytton William W , Grafton Scott , Villalba Rosa , Masilamoni Gunasingh , Wichmann Thomas
Published: July 2024

The cerebral cortex has long been thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The impaired cortical function is believed to be a direct and immediate effect of pathologically patterned basal ganglia output, mediated to the cerebral cortex by way of the ventral motor thalamus. However, recent studies in humans with Parkinson’s disease and in animal models of the disease have provided strong evidence suggesting that the involvement of the cerebral cortex is much broader than merely serving as a passive conduit for subcortical disturbances. In the present review, we discuss Parkinson’s disease–related changes in frontal cortical motor regions, focusing on neuropathology, plasticity, changes in neurotransmission, and altered network interactions. We will also examine recent studies exploring the cortical circuits as potential targets for neuromodulation to treat Parkinson’s disease.
A Macroeconomic View on Banks’ Deposits after Monetary Interventions
Authors: Cafiso Gianluca , Rivolta Giulia
Published: July 2024

We study the evolution of bank deposits in response to monetary policy shocks. The objective is to assess whether a significant deposit channel, that is, an outflow of deposits when monetary conditions tighten (Drechsler et al. 2017), emerges at the macro level. The analysis relies on the estimation of a large Bayesian structural VAR for the USA, and monetary policy shocks are identified with Arias et al. (2019)’s method. We find some elements of the deposit channel, but our results suggest that its relevance for the transmission of monetary policy at the macro level is limited.
Community-acquired Pneumonia in People With HIV During the Current Era of Effective Antiretroviral Therapy: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Bai Anthony D , Srivastava Siddhartha , Martinez Cajas Jorge L , Razak Fahad , Verma Amol A
Published: July 2024

Background

It is unclear if human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects the prognosis for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the current era of effective antiretroviral therapy. In this multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients admitted for CAP, we compared the in-hospital mortality rate between people with HIV (PWH) and those without.

Methods

The study included consecutive patients admitted with a diagnosis of CAP across 31 hospitals in Ontario, Canada, from 2015 to 2022. HIV infection was based on discharge diagnoses and antiretroviral prescription. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Competing risk models were used to describe time to death in hospital or discharge. Potential confounders were balanced using overlap weighting of propensity scores.

Results

Of 82 822 patients admitted with CAP, 1518 (1.8%) had a diagnosis of HIV. PWH were more likely to be younger, male, and have fewer comorbidities. In the hospital, 67 (4.4%) PWH and 6873 (8.5%) people without HIV died. HIV status had an adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio of 1.02 (95% confidence interval, .80–1.31; P = .8440) for dying in the hospital. Of 1518 PWH, 440 (29.0%) patients had a diagnosis of AIDS. AIDS diagnosis had an adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio of 3.04 (95% CI, 1.69–5.45; P = .0002) for dying in the hospital compared to HIV without AIDS.

Conclusions

People with and without HIV admitted for CAP had a similar in-hospital mortality rate. For PWH, AIDS significantly increased the mortality risk. HIV infection by itself without AIDS should not be considered a poor prognostic factor for CAP.
The Contender’s Momentum? COVID-19 and IO Relations in the Regime Complex of Financial Assistance
Authors: Biermann Felix , Daßler Benjamin
Published: July 2024

How do crises affect authority structures in international regime complexes? The international order is characterized by regime complexes consisting of ever more overlapping institutions competing for authority. Most complexes consist of established institutions facing a growing number of more recently created institutional contenders. We argue that crises can alter the competitive structure of regime complexes. From the perspective of states, crisis situations can provide newly created contenders—designed as institutional alternatives—with functional advantages over established institutions. Long-established institutions tend to be highly institutionalized, decreasing flexibility and speed of decision-making. Thus, during crises, states may shift their cooperative activities away from inert institutions and to newly created, more flexible alternatives that are less encompassing. We test the plausibility of our claim by studying the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the regime complex of financial assistance (FA). The results of a qualitative process analysis of institutional crisis responses combined with a comparative network analysis of the FA complex support our argument. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank to position themselves as crisis-proof alternatives for developing countries to established institutions like the World Bank.
CO-19 PDB 2.0: A Comprehensive COVID-19 Database with Global Auto-Alerts, Statistical Analysis, and Cancer Correlations
Authors: Ullah Shahid , Li Yingmei , Rahman Wajeeha , Ullah Farhan , Ijaz Muhammad , Ullah Anees , Ahmad Gulzar , Ullah Hameed , Gao Tianshun
Published: July 2024

Biological databases serve as critical basics for modern research, and amid the dynamic landscape of biology, the COVID-19 database has emerged as an indispensable resource. The global outbreak of Covid-19, commencing in December 2019, necessitates comprehensive databases to unravel the intricate connections between this novel virus and cancer. Despite existing databases, a crucial need persists for a centralized and accessible method to acquire precise information within the research community. The main aim of the work is to develop a database which has all the COVID-19-related data available in just one click with auto global notifications. This gap is addressed by the meticulously designed COVID-19 Pandemic Database (CO-19 PDB 2.0), positioned as a comprehensive resource for researchers navigating the complexities of COVID-19 and cancer. Between December 2019 and June 2024, the CO-19 PDB 2.0 systematically collected and organized 120 datasets into six distinct categories, each catering to specific functionalities. These categories encompass a chemical structure database, a digital image database, a visualization tool database, a genomic database, a social science database, and a literature database. Functionalities range from image analysis and gene sequence information to data visualization and updates on environmental events. CO-19 PDB 2.0 has the option to choose either the search page for the database or the autonotification page, providing a seamless retrieval of information. The dedicated page introduces six predefined charts, providing insights into crucial criteria such as the number of cases and deaths’, country-wise distribution, ‘new cases and recovery’, and rates of death and recovery. The global impact of COVID-19 on cancer patients has led to extensive collaboration among research institutions, producing numerous articles and computational studies published in international journals. A key feature of this initiative is auto daily notifications for standardized information updates. Users can easily navigate based on different categories or use a direct search option. The study offers up-to-date COVID-19 datasets and global statistics on COVID-19 and cancer, highlighting the top 10 cancers diagnosed in the USA in 2022. Breast and prostate cancers are the most common, representing 30% and 26% of new cases, respectively. The initiative also ensures the removal or replacement of dead links, providing a valuable resource for researchers, healthcare professionals, and individuals. The database has been implemented in PHP, HTML, CSS and MySQL and is available freely at https://www.co-19pdb.habdsk.org/.

Database URL: https://www.co-19pdb.habdsk.org/