bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanochemical forces regulate the composition and fate of stalled nascent chains
Authors: Khan Danish , Vinayak Ananya A , Sitron Cole S , Brandman Onn
Published: August 2024

The ribosome-associatedqualitycontrol (RQC) pathway resolves stalled ribosomes. As part of RQC, stalled nascent polypeptide chains (NCs) are appended withCArboxy-Terminal amino acids (CAT tails) in an mRNA-free, non-canonical elongation process. CAT tail composition includes Ala, Thr, and potentially other residues. The relationship between CAT tail composition and function has remained unknown. Using biochemical approaches in yeast, we discovered that mechanochemical forces on the NC regulate CAT tailing. We propose CAT tailing initially operates in an “extrusion mode” that increases NC lysine accessibility for on-ribosome ubiquitination. Thr in CAT tails enhances NC extrusion by preventing formation of polyalanine, which can form α-helices that lower extrusion efficiency and disrupt termination of CAT tailing. After NC ubiquitylation, pulling forces on the NC switch CAT tailing to an Ala-only “release mode” which facilitates nascent chain release from large ribosomal subunits and NC degradation. Failure to switch from extrusion to release mode leads to accumulation of NCs on large ribosomal subunits and proteotoxic aggregation of Thr-rich CAT tails.

One sentence summary

Mechanochemical forces regulate the composition of CAT tails to extrude or release stalled nascent chains and recycle ribosomes.
Isolation and molecular characterization of an enteric isolate of the Genotype-I Bovine coronavirus with notable mutations in the receptor binding domain of the spike glycoprotein and deletion downstream the RNA binding domain of the nucleocapsid protein
Authors: Shah Abid , Gauger Phillip , Hemida Maged Gomaa
Published: August 2024

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) continues to be a significant threat to cattle populations despite the implementation of vaccination programs. The continuous circulation of BCoV highlights the necessity for ongoing genomic surveillance to understand better the virus’s evolution and its impact on cattle health. The main goal of this study was to do isolation and perform a comprehensive molecular characterization of a new enteric field isolate of the BCoV. To identify any genetic elements in the sequences of this BCoV isolate that could act as genetic markers for BCoV infection in cattle. To achieve these objectives, the newly identified BCoV isolate was propagated on the MDBK cell line for several subsequent blind passages. The immunofluorescence assay verified confirmation of the virus propagation. We plaque purified this isolate and titrated it by plaque assay using the HRT-18 cell line. We examined the viral protein expression using the SDS-PAGE followed by the Western blot using the BCoV/S and BCoV/N and BCoV/S antibodies. Our results show a substantial increase in the viral genome copy number, protein expression, and virus infectivity of this BCoV isolate with the increase in cell culture passages. The full-length genome sequence of this isolate using the NGS was drafted. The vial genome is 31 Kb in length. The viral genome has the typical BCoV organization (5’-UTR-Gene- 1- HE-S-M-E-N-UTR-3’). Our phylogenetic analysis based on the nucleotide sequences of the (full-length genome, S, HE, and N) showed that the BCoV-13 clustered with other members of the BCoV (genotype I-i). The sequence analysis shows several synonymous mutations among various domains of the S glycoprotein, especially the receptor binding domain. We found nine notable nucleotide deletions immediately downstream of the RNA binding domain of the nucleocapsid gene. Further gene function studies are encouraged to study the function of these mutations on the BCoV molecular pathogenesis and immune regulation/evasion. This research enhances our understanding of BCoV genomics and contributes to improved diagnostic and control measures for BCoV infections in cattle populations.
FoldToken4: Consistent & Hierarchical Fold Language
Authors: Gao Zhangyang , Tan Cheng , Li Stan Z.
Published: August 2024

Creating protein structure language has attracted increasing attention in unifing the modality of protein sequence and structure. While recent works, such as FoldToken1&2&3 have made great progress in this direction, the relationship between languages created by different models at different scales is still unclear. Moreover, models at multiple scales (different code space size, like 25, 26, ⋯, 212) need to be trained separately, leading to redundant efforts. We raise the question:Could a single model create multiscale fold languages?In this paper, we propose FoldToken4 to learn the consistent and hierarchical of multiscale fold languages. By introducing multiscale code adapters and token mixing techniques, FoldToken4 can generate multiscale languages from the same model, and discover the hierarchical token-mapping relationships across scales. To the best of our knowledge, FoldToken4 is the first effort to learn multi-scale token consistency and hierarchy in VQ research; Also, it should be more novel in protein structure language learning.
The actin cortex acts as a mechanical memory of morphology in confined migrating cells
Authors: Kalukula Yohalie , Luciano Marine , Charras Guillaume , Brückner David B. , Gabriele Sylvain
Published: August 2024

Cell migration in narrow microenvironments is a hallmark of numerous physiological processes, involving successive cycles of confinement and release that drive significant morphological changes. However, it remains unclear whether migrating cells can retain a memory of their past morphological states, which could potentially enhance their navigation through confined spaces. By combining cell migration assays on standardized microsystems with biophysical modeling and biochemical perturbations, we demonstrate that local geometry governs these morphological switches, thereby facilitating cell passage through long and narrow gaps. We uncovered a long-term memory of past confinement events in migrating cells, with morphological states correlated across transitions through actin cortex remodeling. These findings suggest that mechanical memory in migrating cells plays an active role in their migratory potential in confined environments.
Symmetric cumulant
sc2,4{4}
and asymmetric cumulant
ac2{3}
from transverse momentum conservation and flow
Authors: Pei Jia-Lin , Ma Guo-Liang , Bzdak Adam
Published: August 2024

Multiparticle cumulants method can be used to reveal long-range collectivity in small and large colliding systems. The four-particle symmetric cumulant sc2,4{4}, three-particle asymmetric cumulant ac2{3}, and the normalized cumulants nsc2,4{4} and nac2{3} from the transverse momentum conservation and flow are calculated. The interplay between the two effects is also investigated. Our results are in a good agreement with the recent ATLAS measurements of multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method, which provides insight into the origin of collective flow in small systems.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
M1
radiative and spin-nonflip
ππ
transitions of
Bc
states in the Cornell potential model
Authors: Gao Zhi-bin , Fan Yan-yue , Chen Hao , Pang Cheng-Qun
Published: August 2024

In this paper, we mainly predict the rates of M1 radiative and spin-nonflip ππ transitions of the Bc-meson under the nonrelativistic Cornell potential model with a screening potential effect. We employ the numerical wave function to determine the M1 radiative transition widths of Bc excited states and utilize the Kuang-Yan proposed method for the spin-nonflip ππ transitions among Bc states. Our theoretical results are valuable for studying the M1 radiative and spin-nonflip ππ transition processes of Bc states in experiments.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Kaon superfluidity in the early Universe
Authors: Cao Gaoqing
Published: August 2024

Previously, it was found that pion superfluidity could be realized in the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) epoch of the early Universe, when lepton flavor asymmetry |le+lμ| is large enough to generate a charge chemical potential |μQ| larger than vacuum pion mass. By following the same logic, kaon superfluidity might also be possible when |le+lμ| is so large that

|

μ

Q

|

becomes larger than vacuum kaon mass. Such a possibility is checked by adopting Ginzburg-Landau approximation within the three-flavor Polyakov–Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model. Consider the case with full chemical balance, though kaon superfluidity could be stable compared to the chiral phases with only σ condensations, it would get killed by the more favored homogeneous pion superfluidity. If we introduce mismatch between s and d quarks, kaon superfluidity would require so large s quark density that such a state is impossible in the early Universe.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Non-Hermitian lattice fermions in the 2D Gross-Neveu-Yukawa model
Authors: Guo Xingyu , Ma Chen-Te , Zhang Hui
Published: August 2024

We work the lattice fermions and non-Hermitian formulation in the 2D Gross-Neveu-Yukawa (GNY) model and demonstrate the numerical implementation for two flavors by the hybrid Monte Carlo. Our approach has a notable advantage in dealing with chiral symmetry on a lattice by avoiding the Nielsen-Ninomiya theorem, due to the nonsymmetrized finite-difference operator. We restore the hypercubic symmetry by averaging over all possible orientations with the proper continuum limit. Our study is the first simulation for the interacting fermion formulated in a non-Hermitian way. We compare the numerical solution with the one-loop resummation. The resummation results matches with the numerical solution in ⟨ϕ⟩, ⟨ϕ2⟩, ⟨Tr(ψ¯1ψ1+ψ¯2ψ2)/2⟩, and ⟨Tr(ψ¯1ψ1+ψ¯2ψ2)ϕ/2⟩. We also used the one-loop resummation to provide the renormalization group flow and asymptotic safety in the 2D GNY model.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Indirect probe of electroweak-interacting particles at the
μTRISTAN

μ+μ+
collider
Authors: Okabe Risshin , Shirai Satoshi
Published: August 2024

A novel collider, called μTRISTAN, was recently proposed, offering the capability to achieve high-energy collisions of antimuons. This high-energy collider presents an exceptional opportunity for the discovery of electroweak-interacting massive particles (EWIMPs), which are predicted by various new physics models. In a lepton collider like μTRISTAN, the potential for discovering EWIMPs extends beyond their direct production. Quantum corrections arising from EWIMP loops can significantly enhance our prospects for discovery by precise measurement of Standard Model processes. This study focuses on the indirect detection method within the μTRISTAN experiment, with a specific emphasis on TeV-scale EWIMP dark matter scenarios that yield the correct thermal relic density. At collision energies for s=O(1–10)  TeV, these EWIMPs introduce noticeable effects, typically in the range of O(0.1–1)%. Our findings indicate that at s=2(10)  TeV, with an integrated luminosity of 10  ab−1, μTRISTAN can detect Higgsinos at a mass of 1.3 (3.0) TeV and winos at a mass of 1.9 (4.4) TeV, assuming an optimistic level of systematic uncertainty in the observation of the Standard Model processes.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Violation of the equivalence principle induced by oscillating rest mass and transition frequency, and its detection in atom interferometers
Authors: Gué Jordan , Hees Aurélien , Wolf Peter
Published: August 2024

We present a theoretical investigation of the expected experimental signals produced by freely falling atoms with time oscillating mass and transition frequency. These oscillations could be produced in a variety of models, in particular, models of scalar dark matter nonuniversally coupled to the standard matter such as axionlike particles and dilatons. Performing complete and rigorous calculations, we show that, on one hand, two different atomic species would accelerate at a different rate, and, on the other hand, they would produce a nonzero differential phase shift in atom interferometers (AI). The former would produce observable signals in equivalence principle tests like the recent MICROSCOPE mission, and we provide a corresponding sensitivity estimate, showing that MICROSCOPE can reach beyond the best existing searches in the axionlike particle case. We also compare the expected sensitivity of two future AI experiments, namely the AION-10 gradiometer and an isotope differential AI considered for MAGIS-100, that we will refer to as SPID. We show that the SPID setup would be more sensitive to these dark matter fields compared to the gradiometer one, assuming equivalent experimental parameters.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Spinning
Q
-ball superradiance in
3+1D
Authors: Zhang Guo-Dong , Chang Fu-Ming , Saffin Paul M. , Xie Qi-Xin , Zhou Shuang-Yong
Published: August 2024

Recently, it was found that a Q-ball can amplify waves incident upon it, due to rotation in the internal space and the interaction of the two modes in the complex scalar field. While the spherically symmetric 3D case has been investigated previously, here we explore the 3D axisymmetric case, which is numerically much more challenging. The difficulty comes because a partial wave expansion is needed, and the different partial waves can not be separated, for either the background spinning Q-ball solution or the perturbative scattering on top of it. A relaxation method and a high dimensional shooting method are applied to compute the Q-ball solutions and the amplification factors respectively. We also classify the behavior of the amplification factors and we discuss their bounds and the superradiance criteria.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Lagrangian formulation for perfect fluid equations with the
ℓ
-conformal Galilei symmetry
Authors: Snegirev Timofei
Published: August 2024

Lagrangian formulation for perfect fluid equations which hold invariant under the ℓ-conformal Galilei group with half-integer ℓ is proposed. It is based on a Clebsch-type parametrization and reproduces Lagrangian description of the Euler fluid equations for ℓ=12. The transition from the Lagrangian formulation to the Hamiltonian one is analyzed in detail.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Flows in the space of interacting chiral boson theories
Authors: Ebert Stephen , Ferko Christian , Luke Martin Cian , Tartaglino-Mazzucchelli Gabriele
Published: August 2024

We study interacting theories of N left-moving and N¯ right-moving Floreanini-Jackiw bosons in two dimensions. A parametrized family of such theories is shown to enjoy (nonmanifest) Lorentz invariance if and only if its Lagrangian obeys a flow equation driven by a function of the energy-momentum tensor. We discuss the canonical quantization of such theories along classical stress tensor flows, focusing on the case of the root-TT¯ deformation, where we obtain perturbative results for the deformed spectrum in a certain large-momentum limit. In the special case N=N¯, we consider the quantum effective action for the root-TT¯-deformed theory by expanding around a general classical background, and we find that the one-loop contribution vanishes for backgrounds with constant scalar gradients. Our analysis can also be interpreted via dual U(1) Chern-Simons theories in three dimensions, which might be used to describe deformations of charged AdS3 black holes or quantum Hall systems.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Vibrational lifetimes and viscoelastic properties of ultrastable glasses
Authors: Grießer Jan , Pastewka Lars
Published: August 2024

Amorphous solids are viscoelastic. They dissipate energy when deformed at finite rate and finite temperature. We here use analytic theory and molecular simulations to demonstrate that linear viscoelastic dissipation can be directly related to the static and dynamic properties of the fundamental vibrational excitations of an amorphous system. We study ultrastable glasses that do not age, i.e., that remain in stable minima of the potential energy surface at finite temperature. Our simulations show four types of vibrational modes, which differ in spatial localization, similarity to plane waves and vibrational lifetimes. At frequencies below the Boson peak, the viscoelastic response can be split into contributions from plane-wave and quasilocalized modes. We derive a parameter-free expression for the viscoelastic storage and loss moduli for both of these modes. Our results show that the dynamics of microscopic dissipation, in particular the lifetimes of the modes, determine the viscoelastic response only at high frequency. Quasilocalized modes dominate the linear viscoelastic response at intermediate frequencies below the Boson peak.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Local Readout and Control of Current and Kinetic Energy Operators in Optical Lattices
Authors: Impertro Alexander , Karch Simon , Wienand Julian F. , Huh SeungJung , Schweizer Christian , Bloch Immanuel , Aidelsburger Monika
Published: August 2024

Quantum gas microscopes have revolutionized quantum simulations with ultracold atoms, allowing one to measure local observables and snapshots of quantum states. However, measurements so far were mostly carried out in the occupation basis. Here, we demonstrate how all kinetic operators, such as kinetic energy or current operators, can be measured and manipulated with single-bond resolution. Beyond simple expectation values of these observables, the single-shot measurements allow one to access full counting statistics and complex correlation functions. Our work paves the way for the implementation of efficient quantum state tomography and hybrid quantum computing protocols for itinerant particles on a lattice. In addition, we demonstrate how site-resolved programmable potentials enable a spatially selective, parallel readout in different bases as well as the engineering of arbitrary initial states.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Thermodynamic Bounds on Generalized Transport: From Single-Molecule to Bulk Observables
Authors: Dieball Cai , Godec Aljaž
Published: August 2024

We prove that the transport of any differentiable scalar observable in d-dimensional nonequilibrium systems is bounded from above by the total entropy production scaled by the amount the observation “stretches” microscopic coordinates. The result—a time-integrated generalized speed limit—reflects the thermodynamic cost of transport of observables, and places underdamped and overdamped stochastic dynamics on equal footing with deterministic motion. Our work allows for stochastic thermodynamics to make contact with bulk experiments, and fills an important gap in thermodynamic inference, since microscopic dynamics is, at least for short times, underdamped. Requiring only averages but not sample-to-sample fluctuations, the proven transport bound is practical and applicable not only to single-molecule but also bulk experiments where only averages are observed, which we demonstrate by examples. Our results may facilitate thermodynamic inference on molecular machines without an obvious directionality from bulk observations of transients probed, e.g., in time-resolved x-ray scattering.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Proteinaceous Nanoshells with Quasicrystalline Local Order
Authors: Rochal Sergei B. , Roshal Aleksey S. , Konevtsova Olga V. , Podgornik Rudolf
Published: August 2024

Among various proteinaceous nanocontainers and nanoparticles, the most promising ones for various applications in nano- and medical science appear to be those whose structures differ fundamentally from icosahedral viral capsids described by the paradigmatic Caspar-Klug model. By analyzing such anomalous assemblies represented in the Protein Data Bank, we identify a series of shells with square-triangular local order and find that most of them originate from short-period approximants of a dodecagonal tiling consisting of square and triangular tiles. Examining the nonequilibrium assembly of such packings, we propose a new method for obtaining periodic square-triangle approximants and then construct the simplest models of tetragonal, octahedral, and icosahedral shells based on cubic and icosahedral nets cut from the approximant structures. Since gluing the nets can change the distances between adjacent vertices of the resulting shell, we introduce an effective energy, the minimization of which equalizes these distances. While the obtained spherical polyhedra reproduce the structures of experimentally observed protein shells and nanoparticles, the principles of protein organization that we lay out, and the ensuing structural models, can help to discover and investigate similar systems in the future.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Using convolutional neural network denoising to reduce ambiguity in X-ray coherent diffraction imaging
Authors: Chu Kang-Ching , Yeh Chia-Hui , Lin Jhih-Min , Chen Chun-Yu , Cheng Chi-Yuan , Yeh Yi-Qi , Huang Yu-Shan , Tsai Yi-Wei
Published: August 2024

The inherent ambiguity in reconstructed images from coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) poses an intrinsic challenge, as images derived from the same dataset under varying initial conditions often display inconsistencies. This study introduces a method that employs the Noise2Noise approach combined with neural networks to effectively mitigate these ambiguities. We applied this methodology to hundreds of ambiguous reconstructed images retrieved from a single diffraction pattern using a conventional retrieval algorithm. Our results demonstrate that ambiguous features in these reconstructions are effectively treated as inter-reconstruction noise and are significantly reduced. The post-Noise2Noise treated images closely approximate the average and singular value decomposition analysis of various reconstructions, providing consistent and reliable reconstructions.
Integration of inter-ply electrical percolation phenomena in the multiphysics modelling of laminated composite materials
Authors: Kane Banda , Wasselynck Guillaume , Trichet Didier , Berthiau Gérard
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to introduce a predictive homogenization model incorporating electrical percolation considerations to forecast the electrical characteristics of unidirectional carbon-epoxy laminate composites.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a method for calculating the electrical conductivity tensor for various ply arrangement patterns to elucidate phenomena occurring around the interfaces between plies. These interface models are then integrated into a three-dimensional (3D) magneto-thermal model using the finite element method. A comparative study is conducted between different approaches, emphasizing the advantages of the new model through experimental measurements.

Findings

This research facilitates the innovative integration of electrical percolation considerations, resulting in substantial improvement in the prediction of electrical properties of composites. The validity of this improvement is established through comprehensive validation against existing approaches and experimentation.

Research limitations/implications

The study primarily focuses on unidirectional carbon-epoxy laminate composites. Further research is needed to extend the model's applicability to other composite materials and configurations.

Originality/value

The proposed model offers a significant improvement in predicting the electrical properties of composite materials by incorporating electrical percolation considerations at inter-ply interfaces, which have not been addressed in previous studies. This research provides valuable information to improve the accuracy of predictions of the electrical properties of composites and offers a methodology for accounting for these properties in 3D magneto-thermal simulations.
Spillover effect of the geopolitical uncertainty on the cryptocurrency market
Authors: Theiri Saliha
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of geopolitical uncertainty on cryptocurrency markets (CM).

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing two distinct sets of daily returns data spanning from January 1, 2019, to May 4, 2023, the analysis employs the geopolitical risk (GPR) index formulated by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022), which encapsulates two pivotal events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict. The cryptocurrency market (CM) encompasses Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Employing the DCC-GARCH model and supplementing it with wavelet coherence analysis to discern perceptual distinctions between short- and long-term market reactions.

Findings

The main findings indicate that the GPR index clearly impacts the return of CM in the short-, mid- and long-term periods. BTC exhibited the highest volatility in response to changes in the GPR index. The cryptocurrency market offers a better diversification opportunity, and the impact of geopolitical events varies across time, with their direction and magnitude closely related to the specificity of the CM.

Practical implications

This research is helpful for financial market investors, portfolio and risk managers, make informed decisions about including cryptocurrencies in their investment portfolios to mitigate the risks in uncertainty period.

Originality/value

Cryptocurrency market volatility is treated weakly during the risk period. With advanced statistical method, this study links two important events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict and selects the top four cryptocurrencies constituting 80% of the market. This study examines the impact of geopolitical risk on the cryptocurrency market and shows that this market is considered a safe haven.
Gender differences in school principals’ ethical decision-making processes
Authors: Keser Ozmantar Zehra , Gök Funda
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study will examine the school principals’ ethical decision-making processes and to explore gender-related differences.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a mixed-method research design, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with a sample of 10 male and 10 female principals, who were presented with ethical dilemma scenarios. The qualitative component utilized a phenomenological analysis, while additional quantitative analyses were performed on the same dataset to explore gender-related differences.

Findings

Our analysis of principals' ethical evaluations identified three key areas where gender-related differences were evident: decision-making approaches, leadership styles, and philosophy/value orientations. The analysis revealed that women more frequently employed personal approaches, while men favored institutional approaches in their ethical evaluations. Secondly, men tended to adopt a democratic style, while women leaned towards an autocratic style. Finally, men exhibited a relativist orientation, while women displayed an idealist orientation in their ethical decision-making processes.

Originality/value

Gender-based analysis of school principals’ ethical decision-making process has remained an under-researched area. This study contributes to the understanding of gender-related differences in principals’ ethical decision-making processes.
Transforming Wikipedia text into audio through machine learning
Authors: Mandal Sukumar
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to navigate the process of transforming Wikipedia articles into audio files for library readers. The system provides a feasible manner of listening to Wikipedia content, accommodating diverse learning preferences and enlarging knowledge in education society.

Design/methodology/approach

This framework has been constructed using the Python programming languages in the Linux operating platform. Application programming interface and Google text-to-speech (TTS) are required as additional software packages to design this prototype system. Transform any Wikipedia pages into audio files through Wikitrola for libraries and information centers. Wikipedia articles are directly transformed into audio, as these integrate the content seamlessly for the user experience. The whole system has been designed and configured on the basis of machine learning to provide dynamic services among the readers.

Findings

The viewer could use the machine learning system to turn Wikipedia articles into audio files, allowing them to listen to Wikipedia content in audio format. This would make information more accessible and adaptable to diverse learning modes, allowing written content to be engaged in novel and visionary ways.

Originality/value

The insightful observation in connection with the paper is that it shows how to convert text-based material into audio through the Google TTS and machine learning Python programming and finally incorporate them in Wikipedia articles. A harmonious system of information dissemination and technical education is established. This approach shows the effectiveness of imagination and the use of programming tools to enhance learning and knowledge-seeking processes.
Industrious, truthful, upright and manly: Reforming poor young men in the borstal schools of India in the 1920s and 1930s
Authors: Ellis Catriona
Published: August 2024

This article analyses the expansion of the borstal system for young male offenders in late colonial India. Based on legislative debates and prison administration reports, it considers the ways in which young adults were defined and treated within the context of these penal institutions. It reveals how institutionalised care for young men was used to reinforce the power of middle class coercive networks; to define and produce particular forms of masculinity among the poor youth of India and to contribute to wider, emerging discourses about the distinctive position of adolescents in Indian society.
Effects and mechanisms of armed conflict on agricultural production: Spatial evidence from terrorist violence in Burkina Faso
Authors: Kafando Wendata A. , Sakurai Takeshi
Published: August 2024

Extensive studies have been conducted on the link between armed conflict and agricultural production. However, the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. A better understanding of these mechanisms could unpack the subsequent effects of conflict‐induced food and welfare shortages, as well as identify promising policy interventions. We study the effects of terrorist violence on household agricultural production in Burkina Faso and explore the underlying mechanisms. To achieve this, we combine nationally representative five‐year panel data on plots and households with spatial conflict data. Our analysis reveals negative and significant effects of terrorist violence on agricultural productivity and total output. Despite reducing cereal crop output, increased intensity of terrorist violence is significantly associated with higher production of cash crops, which require fewer inputs in Burkina Faso. Further investigations uncover that the decline in household agricultural productivity results from a significant decrease in the number of farming plots, land size, and short‐term production investments, including chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These findings remain robust across various alternative empirical specifications and measures of violence, offering insights that can help policymakers faced with similarly scaled armed conflict. For instance, ensuring a secure environment and providing reliable access to essential production inputs, such as chemical fertilisers and pesticides, can help support conflict‐affected household agricultural production during and after the violence periods.
Intraspecific and interspecific resource partitioning between bumblebee workers and males related to nectar quantity and quality
Authors: Jin Xiao‐Fang , Ye Zhong‐Ming , He Yong‐Deng , Yang Chun‐Feng , Orr Michael , Luo Arong , Williams Paul , Zhu Chao‐Dong
Published: August 2024

Bumblebees are important pollinators for many natural and agricultural systems in temperate regions. Interspecific and intraspecific variation in floral resource preferences have been proposed to influence bumblebee community structure. In particular, sexual dimorphism is a major source of intraspecific niche variation. Although interspecific resource partitioning is well studied, few studies have explored the intraspecific dynamics between workers and males. Here, we report a study on a total of 11 528 workers and 2220 males of 14 bumblebee species recorded over 5 years in the Hengduan Mountains of Southwest China. We first compared the potential for interspecific and intraspecific competition between workers and males using visitation records and resource partitioning indices (overlap index). We then evaluated the influence of nectar traits on flower preference, including nectar volume and the levels of hexose, sucrose and 10 essential amino acids (EAAs). We found that the niche overlap between intraspecific workers and males was higher than that between different species, and temporal overlap alone did not strongly determine diet overlap. Males of most species preferred flowers with high levels of EAAs and hexose, whereas workers of some species preferred flowers with high nectar volume and sucrose levels. This study suggests that there is floral resource partitioning among bumblebee species, and between workers and males, which may play a key role in alleviating interspecific and intraspecific competition. These findings also provide a useful guide for which kinds of plants might be most valuable for bumblebees, especially the understudied males, in this biodiversity hotspot.
Integrated metabolomics analysis of chill‐stored rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) treated with different pressure levels of high hydrostatic pressure by 1H‐NMR spectroscopy
Authors: Lan Qiuyu , Pinheiro Ana Cristina De Aguiar Saldanha , Braschi Giacomo , Picone Gianfranco , Rocculi Pietro , Laghi Luca
Published: August 2024

The antimicrobial effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments on chill‐stored seafood are well‐documented, while their impact on the metabolic profile of seafood, especially the metabolome of fish flesh, and remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the effects of HHP on the metabolome of chill‐stored rose shrimp by conducting multivariate data analysis based on untargeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance observations. Vacuum‐packed rose shrimp samples were subjected to HHP at 0, 400, 500, and 600 MPa for 10 min and then stored at 2–4°C. The microorganism analysis and metabolic analysis were carried out on days 1 and 14. HHP treatment effectively deactivated Lactobacillus spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp., total Coliforms, and sulfite‐reducing anaerobic bacteria. Consequently, HHP treatment significantly reduced the formation rate of decay‐related metabolites, such as hypoxanthine, trimethylamine, and biogenic amines, which exhibited significant accumulation in untreated samples. Multivariate unsupervised analyses provided insights into the overall changes in the metabolite profile induced by HHP. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed several pathways underlying spoilage, including pyruvate metabolism, valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis, purine metabolism, methane metabolism, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, citrate cycle (TCA cycle), glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, sulfur metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism. Importantly, these pathways underwent alterations due to the application of HHP, particularly at high‐pressure levels. In summary, the results unveil the potential mechanisms of HHP effects on chill‐stored rose shrimps.
Reliability of sealer penetration measurement methods and assessment of dentine penetrability after endodontic retreatment: A correlation in vitro study
Authors: Aldawood Sukainah A. , Omar Omar , Almohazey Dana , Atmeh Amre R.
Published: August 2024

This study evaluated the reliability of sealer penetration measurement methods used with confocal laser scanning microscopy in correlation with the percentage of residual root filling and examined the effect of residual root‐filling material on dentine penetrability after retreatment. Extracted teeth were randomly divided into different groups according to the obturation sealer used (n = 6); BioRoot RCS; MTA Fillapex; Bio‐C and AH Plus. Root‐filling material was removed before the secondary chemo‐mechanical preparation and obturation using fluorescein labelled AH Plus. Multiple micro‐computed tomography scans were obtained followed by confocal laser scanning microscopy to measure the penetration of the labelled sealer into the dentinal tubules using four different methods. Measuring sealer penetration into radicular dentine using the penetration percentage method was found to be the most reliable. Dentine penetrability during retreatment did not seem to be affected by the type of residual root‐filling material.
The Social Reproductive Roots of Agrarian Contention: Gendered Labor amid Peasant Struggles in Tunisia
Authors: Djerbi Dhouha
Published: August 2024

This paper revisits the Tunisian 2010–2011 uprising and its ensuing decade of agrarian contention as a crisis of social reproduction stemming from the combined effects of depletion and dispossession. It traces the lineages of the grievances that continue to animate the Tunisian countryside to the multiple and often enmeshed labours—both productive and reproductive—of peasant and rural women. In underscoring the interconnectedness between these labours and the ebb and flow of various contestations against depletion and dispossession, it recognises social reproduction as a site of deep exploitation as well as an arena of day‐to‐day struggle. Guided by social reproduction theorisations and leveraging a multi‐sited ethnography conducted during July and August 2023, this paper relies on participant observation/observant participation and unstructured interviews conducted with predominately landed and landless peasant women, the testimonies of whom serve as a conduit for an important dialogue between feminist materialist analyses of social reproduction and peasant movements.
A Global Era of Disposability: The Anthropocene, The Apotheosis of Waste
Authors: Arefin Mohammed Rafi , Fredericks Rosalind
Published: August 2024

This Symposium explores how under‐examined relations of disposability underpin socio‐ecological transformation in the Anthropocene. The Symposium makes four inventions into ongoing debates at the intersection of discard studies and planetary change. First, it illuminates how new frontiers of accumulation work to revalue discards through shifting waste/value dialectics. Second, it encourages analysis of discards not as incidental of systems and structures but as constitutive, material, processes of maintaining power. Third, it attends closely to waste and its labours in order to illuminate how accumulation is underwritten by embodied precarity. Fourth, it constructively draws out how attention to the politics of discards suggests an ethics of care that is centred on interdependence, accountability, and kinship. Together, the articles demonstrate how an engaged, global study of waste and disposability can not only render the differentiated violences of the current conjuncture visible, but also offer insight into how socio‐material relationships may be revalued.
Maladaptive weight control and eating behaviours in female adolescents/young adults are associated with increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome in adulthood: Results from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS)
Authors: Yang Keming , Kwon Sohee , Burton‐Murray Helen , Kuo Braden , Chan Andrew T. , Field Alison E. , Staller Kyle
Published: August 2024

Background

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is common among individuals with eating disorders. The relationship between these conditions is likely bidirectional. However, data on the risk of IBS among those with prior eating disorders is largely limited to cross‐sectional studies.

Aim

To prospectively evaluate the association between maladaptive weight control/eating behaviours in females during adolescence/young adulthood with subsequent IBS using the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS).

Methods

Starting in 1996 (age: 9–14) and during follow‐up, participants reported frequency of maladaptive eating/weight control behaviours during the past year to lose weight: self‐induced vomiting (n = 5740), laxative use (n = 5438), and fasting (n = 5522) in addition to reporting binge eating (n = 4459). Starting in 2001 and during follow‐up, participants reported if they had ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder (n = 5316). Incident IBS cases were identified from four questionnaire cycles (2013, 2014, 2016, 2019), with participants specifying the year of diagnosis if occurring before the questionnaire date. Multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for age, body mass index, and depressive symptoms estimated the associations of interest.

Results

Maladaptive weight control/eating behaviours were associated with increased IBS risk [ORs (95% CIs) for laxatives to lose weight = 3.67 (2.52–5.35), vomiting to lose weight = 1.83 (1.29–2.60), fasting to lose weight = 2.62 (1.86–3.70), and bingeing = 2.25 (1.54–3.28)] as was history of eating disorder diagnosis [OR (95% CI) = 3.42 (2.38–4.90)]. The magnitude of IBS risk increased with the frequency of maladaptive behaviours.

Conclusions

There is evidence for the potential role of early maladaptive weight control/eating behaviours in the development of adult IBS among females.
Medication management in Danish home health care: Mapping of tasks and time consumption
Authors: Stubmark Heidi , Post Søren , Bjørk Emma , Pottegård Anton , Lundby Carina
Published: August 2024

We aimed to map tasks related to medication management and time consumption in Danish home health care. Nursing staff (n = 30) from five municipalities were followed during a 10‐week period and tasks related to medication management, time consumption and information on citizens' medication were registered. A total of 269 courses were registered, including 163 (61%) home visits, 76 (28%) in‐office courses, 29 (11%) in‐clinic courses and 1 (0.4%) acute visit. Of defined categories related to medication management, ‘record‐keeping and communication’ (62%, n = 167), ‘dispensing’ (48%, n = 129) and ‘identification’ (30%, n = 81) were most often performed. During half of courses (55%, n = 147), the nursing staff was interrupted at least one time. The median time spent on medication management was less than the time allocated in most of allocated time slots (82%), with a median excess time of 5.1 min (range 0.02–24 min). Citizens (n = 32) used a median of 11 (interquartile range [IQR] 9–13) regular medications and 2 (IQR 1–4) as‐needed, and 69% (n = 22) used high‐risk situation medications. In conclusion, employees in Danish home health care perform diverse medication‐related tasks and are frequently interrupted in their work. Employees spend less time than allocated but do not fully solve all tasks according to best practice guidance.
To Eat, or Not to Eat? A Psychoanalytic View on the Food‐Parent
Authors: Mohajer Rhett‐Lawson , Dick Sydney , Salinas Natalia D. , Zolnikov Tara Rava
Published: August 2024

Research shows eating disorders increase the mortality rate: anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate and yet an accurate morbidity rate of bulimia nervosa remains hidden. However, research on the endopsychic structural dynamics that perpetuate in patients with eating disorders is scant. This essay depicts the use of Fairbairn's theory of endopsychic personality structure in understanding anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. Fairbairn, of the independent group of British object relations theorists, provides a picture of the endopsychic structure based on the conscious and unconscious psychodynamics between partial ego/part‐object dyads. Using three case histories, the following pages illustrate the incessantly present endopsychic permutations of the aforementioned dynamics and the possibility of the entrapment in one of these or swinging from one to the other in eating disorders. The essay also shows that early traumatic experiences are present in the case history of individuals with any one of these eating disorders and despite their manifested behavioural differences, they result from the widening of fissures in the universal split in the psyche due to emotional and/or physical abuse. Finally, using Fairbairn's theory, the analysis in the essay explains the comorbidity of certain eating disorders and borderline personality structure.
Weichselian–Holocene glacial history of the Sjuøyane archipelago, northern Svalbard
Authors: Schomacker Anders , Alexanderson Helena , Farnsworth Wesley R. , Furze Mark F. A. , Kjellman Sofia E. , Kirchner Nina , Erstorp Elias Strandell , Noormets Riko , Jomelli Vincent , Ingólfsson Ólafur
Published: August 2024

The Sjuøyane archipelago is the northernmost land area of Svalbard; thus, it provides a window to study the terrestrial glacial history and dynamics of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet and complement marine geological studies in the region. To reconstruct the glacial history of Sjuøyane, we describe coastal sedimentary sections in Quaternary sediments and constrain their chronology by radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence ages. Erratic boulders and bedrock are sampled for 10Be cosmogenic exposure dating, aiming to determine the deglaciation age and exposure history. Holocene environments are studied based on lake sediments and emerging vegetation from retreating snow patches. The sedimentary sections largely consist of shallow (glacio‐)marine and/or littoral sediments deposited during high relative sea levels. The radiocarbon and luminescence ages suggest they formed during a Middle Weichselian interstadial and after the Late Weichselian glaciation. A wave‐washed bedrock erosional notch and rounded boulders at 36±1 m a.h.t. most likely formed during this interstadial. Most of the cosmogenic 10Be ages are older than the last deglaciation, likely indicating a complex exposure history. One boulder sample suggests that the lowlands were deglaciated 14.7±1.82 ka ago, and two boulder samples with ages of 18.94±3.26 and 22.89±4.05 ka suggest that the highlands were possibly ice‐free at this time. The lake sediments from Isvatnet, Phippsøya, consist of glaciolacustrine silt and clay overlain by gyttja. The gyttja has accumulated at least since 7.0 cal. ka BP. Two radiocarbon ages from emerging vegetation suggest Neoglacial cooling since 3.8 cal. ka BP. A patchy glacial drift at the surface of Sjuøyane and well‐preserved pre‐Late Weichselian sediments suggest that the Late Weichselian glaciation was non‐erosive and/or cold‐based at this part of the north margin of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet.