bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enabling Multi-Chemisorption Sites on Carbon Nanofibers Cathodes by an In-situ Exfoliation Strategy for High-Performance Zn–Ion Hybrid Capacitors
Authors: He Hongcheng , Lian Jichun , Chen Changmiao , Xiong Qiaotian , Li Cheng Chao , Zhang Ming
Published: April 2022

Carbon nanofibers films are typical flexible electrode in the field of energy storage, but their application in Zinc-ion hybrid capacitors (ZIHCs) is limited by the low energy density due to the lack of active adsorption sites. In this work, an in-situ exfoliation strategy is reported to modulate the chemisorption sites of carbon nanofibers by high pyridine/pyrrole nitrogen doping and carbonyl functionalization. The experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the highly electronegative pyridine/pyrrole nitrogen dopants can not only greatly reduce the binding energy between carbonyl group and Zn2+ by inducing charge delocalization of the carbonyl group, but also promote the adsorption of Zn2+ by bonding with the carbonyl group to form N–Zn–O bond. Benefit from the multiple highly active chemisorption sites generated by the synergy between carbonyl groups and pyridine/pyrrole nitrogen atoms, the resulting carbon nanofibers film cathode displays a high energy density, an ultralong-term lifespan, and excellent capacity reservation under commercial mass loading (14.45 mg cm‒2). Particularly, the cathodes can also operate stably in flexible or quasi-solid devices, indicating its application potential in flexible electronic products. This work established a universal method to solve the bottleneck problem of insufficient active adsorption sites of carbon-based ZIHCs.Imoproved should be changed into Improved.
Support for Enhanced GDPR Accountability with the Common Semantic Model for ROPA (CSM-ROPA)
Authors: Ryan Paul , Brennan Rob
Published: April 2022

The creation and maintenance of Registers of Processing Activities (ROPA) are essential to meeting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and thus to demonstrate compliance based on the GDPR concept of accountability. To establish its effectiveness in meeting this obligation, we evaluate an ROPA semantic model, the Common Semantic Model–ROPA (CSM–ROPA). Semantic models and tools represent one solution to the compliance challenges faced by organisations: the heterogeneity of relevant data sources, and the lack of tool interoperability and agreed common standards. By surveying current practice and the literature we identify the requirements for GDPR accountability tools: digital exchange of data, automated accountability verification and privacy-aware data governance. A case study was conducted to analyse the expressivity and effectiveness of CSM–ROPA when used as an interoperable, machine-readable mediation layer to express the concepts in a comprehensive regulator-provided accountability framework used for GDPR compliance. We demonstrate that CSM–ROPA can express 98% of ROPA accountability terms and fully express nine of the ten European regulators' ROPA templates. We identify three terms for addition to CSM–ROPA, and we identify areas where CSM–ROPA relies on partial matches that indicate model limitations. These improvements to CSM–ROPA will provide comprehensive coverage of the regulator-supplied model. We show that tools based on CSM–ROPA can fully meet the requirements of compliance best practice when compared with either manual accountability approaches or a leading privacy software solution.
Polyamine-metabolizing enzymes are activated to promote the proper assembly of rice stripe mosaic virus in insect vectors
Authors: Jia Dongsheng , Liu Huan , Zhang Jian , Wan Wenqiang , Wang Zongwen , Zhang Xiaofeng , Chen Qian , Wei Taiyun
Published: April 2022

Both viruses and host cells compete for intracellular polyamines for efficient propagation. Currently, how the key polyamine-metabolizing enzymes, including ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1) and its antizyme 1 (OAZ1), are activated to co-ordinate viral propagation and polyamine biosynthesis remains unknown. Here, we report that the matrix protein of rice stripe mosaic virus (RSMV), a cytorhabdovirus, directly hijacks OAZ1 to ensure the proper assembly of rigid bacilliform non-enveloped virions in leafhopper vector. Viral matrix protein effectively competes with ODC1 to bind to OAZ1, and thus, the ability of OAZ1 to target and mediate the degradation of ODC1 is significantly inhibited during viral propagation, which finally promotes polyamines production. Thus, OAZ1 and ODC1 are activated to synergistically promote viral persistent propagation and polyamine biosynthesis in viruliferous vectors. Our data suggest that it is a novel mechanism for rhabdovirus to exploit OAZ1 for facilitating viral assembly.
The Global Cryosphere
Authors: Barry Roger G. , Gan Thian Yew
Published: April 2022

Recent studies indicate that - due to climate change - the Earth is undergoing rapid changes in all cryospheric components, including polar sea ice shrinkage, mountain glacier recession, thawing permafrost, and diminishing snow cover. This book provides a comprehensive summary of all components of the Earth's cryosphere, reviewing their history, physical and chemical characteristics, geographical distributions, and projected future states. This new edition has been completely updated throughout, and provides state-of-the-art data from GlobSnow-2 CRYOSAT, ICESAT, and GRACE. It includes a comprehensive summary of cryospheric changes in land ice, permafrost, freshwater ice, sea ice, and ice sheets. It discusses the models developed to understand cryosphere processes and predict future changes, including those based on remote sensing, field campaigns, and long-term ground observations. Boasting an extensive bibliography, over 120 figures, and end-of-chapter review questions, it is an ideal resource for students and researchers of the cryosphere.
Music and the Queer Body in English Literature at the Fin de Siècle
Authors: Riddell Fraser
Published: April 2022

Drawing on an ambitious range of interdisciplinary material, including literature, musical treatises and theoretical texts, Music and the Queer Body explores the central place music held for emergent queer identities in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Canonical writers such as Walter Pater, E. M. Forster and Virginia Woolf are discussed alongside lesser-known figures such as John Addington Symonds, Vernon Lee and Arthur Symons. Engaging with a number of historical case studies, Fraser Riddell pays particular attention to the significance of embodiment in queer musical subcultures and draws on contemporary queer theory and phenomenology to show how writers associate music with shameful, masochistic and anti-humanist subject positions. Ultimately, this study reveals how literary texts at the fin de siècle invest music with queer agency: to challenge or refuse essentialist identities, to facilitate re-conceptions of embodied subjectivity, and to present alternative sensory experiences of space and time. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Spatio‐Temporal Clustering of Seismicity Enabled by Off‐Fault Plasticity
Authors: Mia Md Shumon , Abdelmeguid Mohamed , Elbanna Ahmed E.
Published: April 2022

While significant progress has been made in understanding earthquake source processes in linear elastic domains, the effect of more realistic rheologies including plasticity is poorly understood. Here, we simulate the sequence of earthquake and aseismic slip of a 2D antiplane rate‐and‐state fault embedded in a full‐space elastic‐plastic bulk. We show that off‐fault plasticity may lead to partial ruptures as well as temporal clustering of seismic events. Furthermore, the interaction of fault slip and off‐fault plasticity results in pockets of slip deficit. While the energy dissipated through plastic deformation remains a small fraction of the total energy budget, its impact on the source characteristics is disproportionally large through the redistribution of stresses and viscous relaxation. Our results suggest a new mechanism of dynamic heterogeneity in earthquake physics that may have important implications on earthquake size distribution and energy budget.
Lithospheric Deformation Due To the 2015 M7.2 Sarez (Pamir) Earthquake Constrained by 5 years of Space Geodetic Observations
Authors: Jin Zeyu , Fialko Yuri , Zubovich Alexander , Schöne Tilo
Published: April 2022

The 2015 M7.2 Sarez (Pamir) earthquake occurred at the north‐west margin of the Tibetan Plateau. We use Sentinel‐1 and ALOS‐2 Synthetic Aperture Radar and Global Navigation Satellite System data to investigate coseismic and postseismic deformation due to the Sarez earthquake. Kinematic inversions show that the earthquake ruptured a ∼80 km long, sub‐vertical fault producing the maximum surface offset of 3–4 m on the south‐west and central fault segments. In contrast, the largest postseismic displacements are observed at the north‐east end of the earthquake rupture, predominantly on the west (hanging wall) side of the fault with an average rate of 20–30 mm/yr in the satellite line of sight. We use the derived coseismic and postseismic slip models to investigate mechanisms of time‐dependent relaxation, stress transfer and possible triggering relationships between the Sarez earthquake and a sequence of strong M6+ events that occurred within ∼100 km of the 2015 earthquake. We find that the near‐field postseismic displacements are best explained by shallow afterslip driven by the coseismic stress changes. The data also allow some contribution from poroelastic rebound, but do not show a clear signature of viscoelastic relaxation in the lower crust and upper mantle during the observation period, suggesting a lower bound on the effective viscosity of ∼1019 Pa s. A pair of M6+ events that occurred within 100 km and several months of the 2015 mainshock have experienced near‐zero and in some cases negative static Coulomb stress changes, suggesting either delayed dynamic triggering, or no relation to the mainshock.
The Moon in the Microwave: Shedding New Light on the Lunar Farside
Authors: Bugiolacchi R. , Hu G.‐P. , Zheng Y. C.
Published: April 2022

A new lunar map was produced by subtracting the nocturnal microwave radiance data from two frequency channels with different penetrative potential. Chang’E−2 microwave radiometer (MRM) data show areas of anomalous high differences relating to both known and unknown young impact craters, most of which are located on the lunar farside. Thirty‐eight Features Of Interest (FOI) were selected and investigated by comparison with soil maturity maps (OMAT) and infrared‐derived data (H–Parameter), a parameter relating to thermal inertia. In some cases, the surface area of the microwave feature reaches distances of over 40 units of crater radii from the rim before abruptly dropping to background level within less than 10 km. The origin of such microwave variations remains unclear but is likely related to terrain roughness and fine ejecta materials which produce higher signal loss (“loss tangent”) at the uppermost surface layer. The observed discrepancy from the other datasets is due to the higher penetrative potential of microwave radiation, thus potentially carrying additional information on buried materials. The microwave‐derived FOIs appear to be transient within a geological timeframe and, in principle, a relationship between temperature differences at night in the two microwave channels, along with infrared data analysis, could be employed to derive a formation time of the crater. However, the low spatial resolution of the available microwave data precludes a reliable quantitative derivation at present.
Flow Cytometry and Fecal Indicator Bacteria Analyses for Fingerprinting Microbial Pollution in Karst Aquifer Systems
Authors: Vucinic Luka , O’Connell David , Teixeira Rui , Coxon Catherine , Gill Laurence
Published: April 2022

Microbial pollution of aquifers is a persistent water quality problem globally which poses significant risks to public health. Karst aquifer systems are exceptionally vulnerable to pollution from fecal contamination sources as a result of rapid recharge of water from the surface via discrete pathways linked to highly conductive, solutionally enlarged conduits alongside strong aquifer heterogeneity. Consequently, rapid changes in microbial water quality, which are difficult to monitor with expensive and time‐consuming conventional microbiological methods, are a major concern in karst environments. This study examined flow cytometric (FCM) fingerprinting of bacterial cells in groundwater together with fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) at nine separate karst springs of varying catchment size over a 14 month period in order to assess whether such a technique can provide faster and more descriptive information about microbial pollution through such karst aquifer systems. Moreover, the data have also been evaluated with respect to the potential of using turbidity as an easy‐to‐measure proxy indicator of microbial pollution in a novel way. We argue that FCM provides additional data from which enhanced insights into fecal pollution sources and its fate and transport in such karst catchments can be gained. We also present valuable new information on the potential and limitations of turbidity as an indicator of fecal groundwater contamination in karst. FCM has the potential to become a more widely used tool in the field of contaminant hydrogeology.
How Long Can the MJO be Predicted During the Combined Phases of ENSO and QBO?
Authors: Mengist Chalachew Kindie , Seo Kyong‐Hwan
Published: April 2022

The predictability limit of the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the El Niño and La Niña boreal winters (November‐February) is investigated using observational data and historical run outputs of CMIP models. The MJO predictability is computed by the nonlinear local Lyapunov exponents approach for various MJO indices obtained from bandpass‐filtered (30–80 days) outgoing longwave radiation, 850‐hPa zonal wind, and 200‐hPa zonal wind data. The result shows that the MJO predictability during La Niña winters is enhanced by up to 8 days compared to El Niño winters. Enhanced convection of the MJO phases 2–4 with persistence propagation during La Niña winters leads to higher predictability, as compared with those for El Niño winters. The highest (lowest) predictability of the MJO shows 39 (31) days during La Niña/EQBO (El Niño/EQBO) winters. The longer persistence of the MJO during La Niña/EQBO winters leads to higher predictability.
Progressive Intensification of Pacific Deep Water Circulation Since the Early Pliocene
Authors: Yin Shaoru , Hernández‐Molina F. Javier , Jutzeler Martin , Li Jiabiao
Published: April 2022

An important stage in global ocean overturning circulation is the upwelling of the Antarctic Bottom Water into the Pacific Deep Water (PDW). The long‐term evolution of PDW circulation, however, is scarcely addressed. We use seismic reflection data and cores from the International Ocean Discovery Program (and its predecessors) in contourites to reconstruct regional deep ocean circulation patterns. Here, we demonstrate that PDW circulation was progressively enhanced at about 4.35, 3.84, 2.16, and 0.97 Ma since the early Pliocene. Coeval growth of volcanic arcs and tectonic uplifts gradually isolated marginal seas from the PDW and, in conjunction with climate cooling, effectively increasing deep‐water flux within a shrinking Pacific basin. Regional stratigraphic discontinuities in contourites indicate thresholds in the intensification of ocean circulation.
Design of Meteor and Ionospheric Irregularity Observation System and First Results
Authors: Li Guozhu , Xie Haiyong , Wang Ye , Yang Sipeng , Hu Lianhuan , Sun Wenjie , Wu Zhi , Ning Baiqi , Li Yi , Zhao Xiukuan , Reid Iain M. , Yu You
Published: April 2022

The Meteor and ionospheric Irregularity Observation System (MIOS), which consists of multi‐station optical subsystem at Ledong (18.4°N, 109°E) and Sanya (18.3°N, 109.6°E), and radar subsystem including a 38.9 MHz all‐sky interferometric radar and a 47.5 MHz coherent phased array radar at Ledong, has been in full operational since December 2021. This paper describes the system design and first results of meteor plasma density irregularities and corresponding meteoroids. The MIOS optical subsystem consists of a few tens of video cameras for observing optical meteor trail and spectrum. The MIOS phased array is composed of 135 Yagi antennas, arranged in sword‐like grid and grouped into 15 identical subarrays, with distances separated by 2–19.5 times the wavelength for unambiguous interferometry measurements. The phased array can form narrow and wide beams, with half power width of 8° and 24° in azimuth, respectively, allowing narrow‐beam pulse‐to‐pulse steering and wide‐beam multi‐baseline imaging observations in the east‐west direction. Observational results show that the MIOS is capable of unambiguously locating various meteor echoes, that is, head, specular and non‐specular echoes, revealing the structural evolution of field‐aligned and non‐field‐aligned irregularity, and of determining the properties of meteoroids producing/not producing irregularities. Cases of bright meteors producing non‐field‐aligned irregularities and not producing field‐aligned irregularities respectively are presented, and possible factors affecting the generation of meteor trail irregularities are discussed based on current understanding. It is expected that the MIOS will provide an important tool to study the generation and evolution of various meteor trail irregularities and the properties of the corresponding meteoroids.
Targeted CUL4A inhibition synergizes with cisplatin to yield long-term survival in models of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through a DDB2-mediated mechanism
Authors: Jones Trace M. , Espitia Claudia M. , Ooi Aikseng , Bauman Julie E. , Carew Jennifer S. , Nawrocki Steffan T.
Published: April 2022

Patients with late-stage and human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) continue to have a very poor prognosis. The development of more effective novel therapies that improve overall survival and overcome drug resistance is an urgent priority. Here we report that HNSCC tumors significantly overexpress NEDD8 and exhibit high sensitivity to the first-in-class NEDD8-activating enzyme (NAE) inhibitor pevonedistat. Additional studies established that disruption of NEDD8-mediated protein turnover with pevonedistat dramatically augmented cisplatin-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in HNSCC models. Further analysis revealed that the specific pevonedistat target CUL4A played an essential role in driving the synergy of the pevonedistat and cisplatin combination. Targeted inhibition of CUL4A resulted in significant downregulation in Damage Specific DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), a DNA-damage recognition protein that promotes nucleotide excision repair and resistance to cisplatin. Silencing of CUL4A or DDB2 enhanced cisplatin-induced DNA damage and apoptosis in a manner similar to that of pevonedistat demonstrating that targeted inhibition of CUL4A may be a novel approach to augment cisplatin therapy. Administration of pevonedistat to mice bearing HNSCC tumors significantly decreased DDB2 expression in tumor cells, increased DNA damage and potently enhanced the activity of cisplatin to yield tumor regression and long-term survival of all animals. Our findings provide strong rationale for clinical investigation of CUL4A inhibition with pevonedistat as a novel strategy to augment the efficacy of cisplatin therapy for patients with HNSCC and identify loss of DDB2 as a key pharmacodynamic mediator controlling sensitivity to this regimen.
Reversible colossal barocaloric effect dominated by disordering of organic chains in (CH3–(CH2)n−1–NH3)2MnCl4 single crystals
Authors: Gao Yihong , Liu Hongxiong , Hu Fengxia , Song Hongyan , Zhang Hao , Hao Jiazheng , Liu Xingzheng , Yu Zibing , Shen Feiran , Wang Yangxin , Zhou Houbo , Wang Bingjie , Tian Zhengying , Lin Yuan , Zhang Cheng , Yin Zhuo , Wang Jing , Chen Yunzhong , Li Yunliang , Song Youting , Shi Youguo , Zhao Tongyun , Sun Jirong , Huang Qingzhen , Shen Baogen
Published: April 2022

Solid-state refrigeration based on the caloric effect is viewed as a promising efficient and clean refrigeration technology. Barocaloric materials were developed rapidly but have since encountered a general obstacle: the prominent caloric effect cannot be utilized reversibly under moderate pressure. Here, we report a mechanism of an emergent large, reversible barocaloric effect (BCE) under low pressure in the hybrid organic–inorganic layered perovskite (CH3–(CH2)n−1–NH3)2MnCl4 (n = 9,10), which show the reversible barocaloric entropy change as high as ΔSr ∼ 218, 230 J kg−1 K−1 at 0.08 GPa around the transition temperature (Ts ∼ 294, 311.5 K). To reveal the mechanism, single-crystal (CH3–(CH2)n−1–NH3)2MnCl4 (n = 10) was successfully synthesized, and high-resolution single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) was carried out. Then, the underlying mechanism was determined by combining infrared (IR) spectroscopy and density function theory (DFT) calculations. The colossal reversible BCE and the very small hysteresis of 2.6 K (0.1 K/min) and 4.0 K (1 K/min) are closely related to the specific hybrid organic–inorganic structure and single-crystal nature. The drastic transformation of organic chains confined to the metallic frame from ordered rigidity to disordered flexibility is responsible for the large phase-transition entropy comparable to the melting entropy of organic chains. This study provides new insights into the design of novel barocaloric materials by utilizing the advantages of specific organic–inorganic hybrid characteristics.
Nanoscale limit of the thermal conductivity in crystalline silicon carbide membranes, nanowires, and phononic crystals
Authors: Anufriev Roman , Wu Yunhui , Ordonez-Miranda Jose , Nomura Masahiro
Published: April 2022

Silicon carbide (SiC) aims to be the number one material for power microelectronics due to its remarkable thermal properties. Recent progress in SiC technology finally enabled the fabrication of crystalline SiC nanostructures. Yet, the thermal properties of SiC at the nanoscale remain overlooked. Here, we systematically study heat conduction in SiC nanostructures, including nanomembranes, nanowires, and phononic crystals. Our measurements show that the thermal conductivity of nanostructures is several times lower than that in bulk and that the values scale proportionally to the narrowest dimension of the structures. In the smallest nanostructures, the thermal conductivity reached 10% of that in bulk. To better understand nanoscale thermal transport in SiC, we also probed phonon mean free path and coherent heat conduction in the nanostructures. Our theoretical model links the observed suppression of heat conduction with the surface phonon scattering, which limits the phonon mean free path and thus reduces the thermal conductivity. This work uncovers thermal characteristics of SiC nanostructures and explains their origin, thus enabling realistic thermal engineering in SiC microelectronics.
Signal voids of active cardiac implants at 3.0 T CMR
Authors: Reiter Theresa , Weiss Ingo , Weber Oliver M. , Bauer Wolfgang R.
Published: April 2022

Recent technical advancements allow cardiac MRI (CMR) examinations in the presence of so-called MRI conditional active cardiac implants at 3.0 T. However, the artifact burden caused by susceptibility effects remain an obstacle. All measurements were obtained at a clinical 3.0 T scanner using an in-house designed cubic phantom and optimized sequences for artifact evaluation (3D gradient echo sequence, multi-slice 2D turbo spin echo sequence). Reference sequences according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) were additionally applied. Four representative active cardiac devices and a generic setup were analyzed regarding volume and shape of the signal void. For analysis, a threshold operation was applied to the grey value profile of each data set. The presented approach allows the evaluation of the signal void and shape even for larger implants such as ICDs. The void shape is influenced by the orientation of the B0-field and by the chosen sequence type. The distribution of ferromagnetic material within the implants also matters. The void volume depends both on the device itself, and on the sequence type. Disturbances in the B0 and B1 fields exceed the visual signal void. This work presents a reproducible and highly defined approach to characterize both signal void artifacts at 3.0 T and their influencing factors.
Seasonal and geographical differences in the ruminal microbial and chloroplast composition of sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Japan
Authors: Kawarai Shinpei , Taira Kensuke , Shimono Ayako , Takeshita Tsuyoshi , Takeda Shiro , Mizunoya Wataru , Yamazaki Yumiko , Moriya Shigeharu , Minami Masato
Published: April 2022

To understand the nutritional status of culled wild sika deer (Cervus nippon), we compared the ruminal microbes of deer living in habitats differing in food composition (Nagano winter, Nagano spring, and Hokkaido winter) using next-generation sequencing. Twenty-nine sika deer were sampled. Alpha and beta diversity metrics determined via 16S and 18S rRNA amplicon-seq analysis showed compositional differences. Prevotella, Entodinium, and Piromyces were the dominant genera of bacteria, fungi and protozoa, respectively. Moreover, 66 bacterial taxa, 44 eukaryotic taxa, and 46 chloroplastic taxa were shown to differ significantly among the groups by the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) technique. Total RNA-seq analysis yielded 397 significantly differentially expressed transcripts (q < 0.05), of which 48 (q < 0.01) were correlated with the bacterial amplicon-seq results (Pearson correlation coefficient > 0.7). The ruminal microbial composition corresponded with the presence of different plants because the amplicon-seq results indicated that chloroplast from broadleaf trees and Stramenopiles-Alveolates-Rhizaria (SAR) were enriched in Nagano, whereas chloroplast from graminoids, Firmicutes and the dominant phylum of fungi were enriched in Hokkaido. These results could be related to the severe snow conditions in Hokkaido in winter and the richness of plants with leaves and acorns in Nagano in winter and spring. The findings are useful for understanding the nutritional status of wild sika deer.
Thicker eggshells are not predicted by host egg ejection behaviour in four species of Australian cuckoo
Authors: Holleley Clare E. , Grieve Alice C. , Grealy Alicia , Medina Iliana , Langmore Naomi E.
Published: April 2022

Defences of hosts against brood parasitic cuckoos include detection and ejection of cuckoo eggs from the nest. Ejection behaviour often involves puncturing the cuckoo egg, which is predicted to drive the evolution of thicker eggshells in cuckoos that parasitise such hosts. Here we test this prediction in four Australian cuckoo species and their hosts, using Hall-effect magnetic-inference to directly estimate eggshell thickness in parasitised clutches. In Australia, hosts that build cup-shaped nests are generally adept at ejecting cuckoo eggs, whereas hosts that build dome-shaped nests mostly accept foreign eggs. We analysed two datasets: a small sample of hosts with known egg ejection rates and a broader sample of hosts where egg ejection behaviour was inferred based on nest type (dome or cup). Contrary to predictions, cuckoos that exploit dome-nesting hosts (acceptor hosts) had significantly thicker eggshells relative to their hosts than cuckoos that exploit cup-nesting hosts (ejector hosts). No difference in eggshell thicknesses was observed in the smaller sample of hosts with known egg ejection rates, probably due to lack of power. Overall cuckoo eggshell thickness did not deviate from the expected avian relationship between eggshell thickness and egg length estimated from 74 bird species. Our results do not support the hypothesis that thicker eggshells have evolved in response to host ejection behaviour in Australian cuckoos, but are consistent with the hypothesis that thicker eggshells have evolved to reduce the risk of breakage when eggs are dropped into dome nests.
Non-South East Asians have a better running economy and different anthropometrics and biomechanics than South East Asians
Authors: Patoz Aurélien , Lussiana Thibault , Breine Bastiaan , Gindre Cyrille , Mourot Laurent , Hébert-Losier Kim
Published: April 2022

Running biomechanics and ethnicity can influence running economy (RE), which is a critical factor of running performance. Our aim was to compare RE of South East Asian (SEA) and non-South East Asian (non-SEA) runners at several endurance running speeds (10–14 km/h) matched for on-road racing performance and sex. Secondly, we explored anthropometric characteristics and relationships between RE and anthropometric and biomechanical variables. SEA were 6% less economical (p = 0.04) than non-SEA. SEA were lighter and shorter than non-SEA, and had lower body mass indexes and leg lengths (p ≤ 0.01). In terms of biomechanics, a higher prevalence of forefoot strikers in SEA than non-SEA was seen at each speed tested (p ≤ 0.04). Furthermore, SEA had a significantly higher step frequency (p = 0.02), shorter contact time (p = 0.04), smaller footstrike angle (p < 0.001), and less knee extension at toe-off (p = 0.03) than non-SEA. Amongst these variables, only mass was positively correlated to RE for both SEA (12 km/h) and non-SEA (all speeds); step frequency, negatively correlated to RE for both SEA (10 km/h) and non-SEA (12 km/h); and contact time, positively correlated to RE for SEA (12 km/h). Despite the observed anthropometric and biomechanical differences between cohorts, these data were limited in underpinning the observed RE differences at a group level. This exploratory study provides preliminary indications of potential differences between SEA and non-SEA runners warranting further consideration. Altogether, these findings suggest caution when generalizing from non-SEA running studies to SEA runners.
Serotonergic system in vivo with [11C]DASB PET scans in GTP-cyclohydrolase deficient dopa-responsive dystonia patients
Authors: Timmers Elze R. , Peretti Débora E. , Smit Marenka , de Jong Bauke M. , Dierckx Rudi A. J. O. , Kuiper Anouk , de Koning Tom J. , Vállez García David , Tijssen Marina A. J.
Published: April 2022

GTP-cyclohydrolase deficiency in dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) patients impairs the biosynthesis of dopamine, but also of serotonin. The high prevalence of non-motor symptoms suggests involvement of the serotonergic pathway. Our study aimed to investigate the serotonergic system in vivo in the brain of`DRD patients and correlate this to (non-)motor symptoms. Dynamic [11C]DASB PET scans, a marker of serotonin transporter availability, were performed. Ten DRD, 14 cervical dystonia patients and 12 controls were included. Univariate- and network-analysis did not show differences in binding between DRD patients compared to controls. Sleep disturbances were correlated with binding in the dorsal raphe nucleus (all participants: rs = 0.45, p = 0.04; patients: rs = 0.64, p = 0.05) and participants with a psychiatric disorder had a lower binding in the hippocampus (all participants: p = 0.00; patients: p = 0.06). Post-hoc analysis with correction for psychiatric co-morbidity showed a significant difference in binding in the hippocampus between DRD patients and controls (p = 0.00). This suggests that psychiatric symptoms might mask the altered serotonergic metabolism in DRD patients, but definite conclusions are difficult as psychiatry is considered part of the phenotype. We hypothesize that an imbalance between different neurotransmitter systems is responsible for the non-motor symptoms, and further research investigating multiple neurotransmitters and psychiatry in DRD is necessary.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between uric acid levels and chronic kidney disease
Authors: Gonçalves Danilo Lemes Naves , Moreira Tiago Ricardo , da Silva Luciana Saraiva
Published: April 2022

The function of uric acid (UA) in the genesis and evolution of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has motivated numerous studies, but the results remain inconclusive. We sought to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies aiming to analyze the association of UA levels with the incidence and progression of CKD. Pubmed/Medline, Lilacs/Bireme and Web of Science were searched to identify eligible studies, following the PRISMA protocol. Data were presented for CKD incidence and progression separately. For the meta-analysis, studies with data stratified by subgroups according to serum UA levels were selected. The inverse variance-weighted random effects model was used to generate a combined effect estimate. Meta-regressions were performed to identify the causes of heterogeneity. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to assess the risk of bias. The publication bias was tested by funnel plot and Egger’s test. Eighteen CKD incidence studies (n = 398,663) and six CKD progression studies (n = 13,575) were included. An inverse relationship was observed between UA levels and protection from CKD incidence and progression. Lower UA levels were protective for the risk of CKD incidence (RR 0.65 [95% CI 0.56–0.75]) and progression (RR 0.55 [95% CI 0.44–0.68]). UA seems to be implicated both in the genesis of CKD and its evolution.
Deep learning-based approach for identification of diseases of maize crop
Authors: Haque Md. Ashraful , Marwaha Sudeep , Deb Chandan Kumar , Nigam Sapna , Arora Alka , Hooda Karambir Singh , Soujanya P. Lakshmi , Aggarwal Sumit Kumar , Lall Brejesh , Kumar Mukesh , Islam Shahnawazul , Panwar Mohit , Kumar Prabhat , Agrawal R. C.
Published: April 2022

In recent years, deep learning techniques have shown impressive performance in the field of identification of diseases of crops using digital images. In this work, a deep learning approach for identification of in-field diseased images of maize crop has been proposed. The images were captured from experimental fields of ICAR-IIMR, Ludhiana, India, targeted to three important diseases viz. Maydis Leaf Blight, Turcicum Leaf Blight and Banded Leaf and Sheath Blight in a non-destructive manner with varied backgrounds using digital cameras and smartphones. In order to solve the problem of class imbalance, artificial images were generated by rotation enhancement and brightness enhancement methods. In this study, three different architectures based on the framework of ‘Inception-v3’ network were trained with the collected diseased images of maize using baseline training approach. The best-performed model achieved an overall classification accuracy of 95.99% with average recall of 95.96% on the separate test dataset. Furthermore, we compared the performance of the best-performing model with some pre-trained state-of-the-art models and presented the comparative results in this manuscript. The results reported that best-performing model performed quite better than the pre-trained models. This demonstrates the applicability of baseline training approach of the proposed model for better feature extraction and learning. Overall performance analysis suggested that the best-performed model is efficient in recognizing diseases of maize from in-field images even with varied backgrounds.
Rationale and performances of a data-driven method for computing the duration of pharmacological prescriptions using secondary data sources
Authors: Pazzagli Laura , Liang David , Andersen Morten , Linder Marie , Khan Abdul Rauf , Sessa Maurizio
Published: April 2022

The assessment of the duration of pharmacological prescriptions is an important phase in pharmacoepidemiologic studies aiming to investigate persistence, effectiveness or safety of treatments. The Sessa Empirical Estimator (SEE) is a new data-driven method which uses k-means algorithm for computing the duration of pharmacological prescriptions in secondary data sources when this information is missing or incomplete. The SEE was used to compute durations of exposure to pharmacological treatments where simulated and real-world data were used to assess its properties comparing the exposure status extrapolated with the method with the “true” exposure status available in the simulated and real-world data. Finally, the SEE was also compared to a Researcher-Defined Duration (RDD) method. When using simulated data, the SEE showed accuracy of 96% and sensitivity of 96%, while when using real-world data, the method showed sensitivity ranging from 78.0 (nortriptyline) to 95.1% (propafenone). When compared to the RDD, the method had a lower median sensitivity of 2.29% (interquartile range 1.21–4.11%). The SEE showed good properties and may represent a promising tool to assess exposure status when information on treatment duration is not available.
Valorization of spent disposable wooden chopstick as the CO2 adsorbent for a CO2/H2 mixed gas purification
Authors: Koo-amornpattana Wanida , Jonglertjunya Woranart , Phadungbut Poomiwat , Ratchahat Sakhon , Kunthakudee Naphaphan , Chalermsinsuwan Benjapon , Hunsom Mali
Published: April 2022

A series of activated carbons (ACs) derived from spent disposable wooden chopsticks was prepared via steam activation and used to separate carbon dioxide (CO2) from a CO2/hydrogen (H2) mixed gas at atmospheric pressure. A factorial design was employed to investigate the effects of the activation temperature and time as well as their interactions on the production yield of ACs and their CO2 adsorption capacity. The activation temperature exhibited a much higher impact on both the production yield and the CO2 adsorption capacity of ACs than the activation time. The interaction of both parameters did not significantly affect the yield of ACs, but did affect the CO2 adsorption capacity. The optimal preparation condition provided ACs with a desirable yield of around 23.18% and a CO2 adsorption capacity of 85.19 mg/g at 25 °C and 1 atm and consumed the total energy of 225.28 MJ/kg AC or 116.4 MJ/g-mol CO2. A H2 purity of greater than 96.8 mol% was achieved from a mixed gas with low CO2 concentration (< 20 mol%) during the first 3 min of adsorption and likewise around 90 mol% from a mixed gas with a high CO2 concentration (> 30 mol%) during the first 2 min. The CO2 adsorption on the as-prepared ACs proceeded dominantly via multilayer physical adsorption and was affected by both the surface area and micropore volume of the ACs. The adsorption capacity was diminished by around 18% after six adsorption/desorption cycles. The regeneration of the as-prepared chopstick-derived ACs can be easily performed via heating at a low temperature and ambient pressure, suggesting their potential application in the temperature swing adsorption process.
Multi-attack and multi-classification intrusion detection for vehicle-mounted networks based on mosaic-coded convolutional neural network
Authors: Hu Rong , Wu Zhongying , Xu Yong , Lai Taotao
Published: April 2022

With the development of Internet of vehicles, the information exchange between vehicles and the outside world results in a higher risk of external network attacks to the vehicles. The attack modes to the most widely used vehicle-mounted CAN bus are complex and diverse, but most of the intrusion detection approaches proposed by now can only detect one type of attack at a time. Aiming at detecting multi-types of attacks using a single model, we proposed a detection method based on the Mosaic-coded convolution neural network for intrusions containing various combinations of attacks with multi-classification capability. A Mosaic-like two-dimensional data grid was created from the one-dimensional CAN ID for the CNN to effectively extract the data features and maintain the time connections between the CAN IDs. Four types of attacks and all possible combinations of them were used to train and test our model. The autoencoder was also used to reduce the dimensionality of the data so as to cut down the model’s complexity. Experimental results showed that the proposed method was effective in detecting all types of attack combinations with high and stable multi-classification ability.
Spectroscopy detects skeletal muscle microvascular dysfunction during onset of sepsis in a rat fecal peritonitis model
Authors: Kowalewska Paulina M. , Kowalewski Justin E. , Milkovich Stephanie L. , Sové Richard J. , Wang Lin , Whitehead Shawn N. , Ellis Christopher G.
Published: April 2022

Sepsis is a dysregulated host inflammatory response to infection potentially leading to life-threatening organ dysfunction. The objectives of this study were to determine whether early microvascular dysfunction (MVD) in skeletal muscle can be detected as dynamic changes in microvascular hemoglobin (MVHb) levels using spectroscopy and whether MVD precedes organ histopathology in septic peritonitis. Skeletal muscle of male Sprague–Dawley rats was prepared for intravital microscopy. After intraperitoneal injection of fecal slurry or saline, microscopy and spectroscopy recordings were taken for 6 h. Capillary red blood cell (RBC) dynamics and SO2 were quantified from digitized microscopy frames and MVHb levels were derived from spectroscopy data. Capillary RBC dynamics were significantly decreased by 4 h after peritoneal infection and preceded macrohemodynamic changes. At the same time, low-frequency oscillations in MVHb levels exhibited a significant increase in Power in parts of the muscle and resembled oscillations in RBC dynamics and SO2. After completion of microscopy, tissues were collected. Histopathological alterations were not observed in livers, kidneys, brains, or muscles 6 h after induction of peritonitis. The findings of this study show that, in our rat model of sepsis, MVD occurs before detectable organ histopathology and includes ~ 30-s oscillations in MVHb. Our work highlights MVHb oscillations as one of the indicators of MVD onset and provides a foundation for the use of non-invasive spectroscopy to continuously monitor MVD in septic patients.
Involvement of the default mode network under varying levels of cognitive effort
Authors: Weber Sarah , Aleman André , Hugdahl Kenneth
Published: April 2022

Everyday cognitive functioning is characterized by constant alternations between different modes of information processing, driven by constant fluctuations in environmental demands. At the neural level, this is realized through corresponding dynamic shifts in functional activation and network connectivity. A distinction is often made between resting and task processing and between task-negative and task-positive functional networks. The Default Mode Network (DMN) is classically considered as a resting state (i.e. task-negative) network, upregulated in the absence of cognitive demands. In contrast, task-positive networks have been labelled the Extrinsic Mode Network (EMN). We investigated changes in brain activation and functional network connectivity in an experimental situation of repeated alterations between levels of cognitive effort, following a block-design. Using fMRI and a classic Stroop paradigm, participants switched back and forth between periods of no effort (resting), low effort (word reading, i.e. automatic processing based on learned internal representations and rules) and high effort (color naming, i.e. cognitively controlled perceptual processing of specific features of external stimuli). Results showed an expected EMN-activation for task versus resting contrasts, and DMN-activation for rest versus task contrasts. The DMN was in addition more strongly activated during periods of low effort contrasted with high effort, suggesting a gradual up- and down-regulation of the DMN network, depending on the level of demand and the type of processing required. The often reported “anti-correlation” between DMN and EMN was strongest during periods of low effort, indicating intermittent contributions of both networks. Taken together, these results challenge the traditional view of the DMN as solely a task-negative network. Instead, both the EMN and DMN may contribute to low-effort cognitive processing. In contrast, periods of resting and high effort are dominated by the DMN and EMN, respectively.
Multiple ionization of iodine for 2.5–5.0 MeV I22+ ions impacting on Fe target
Authors: Zhou Xianming , Wei Jing , Cheng Rui , Liang Changhui , Chen Yanhong , Zhang Xiaoan , Zhao Yongtao
Published: April 2022

The L-shell X-ray emissions of iodine are investigated as a function of the incident energy for I22+ions impacting on Fe target in the energy region near the Bohr velocity. Six distinct L-subshell X-rays, Lι, Lα1, 2, Lβ1, 3, 4, Lβ2, 15, Lγ1and Lγ2, 3, 4, 4', are observed. Compared to the atomic data, the energy of the experimental X ray shifts to the higher energy side. The relative intensity ratios of Lι, Lβ1, 3, 4, Lβ2, 15, to Lα1, 2, Lι to Lβ2, 15and Lγ2, 3, 4, 4/to Lγ1are enhanced, but has no obvious change with the increase of projectile energy in the present energy region. That is interpreted by the multiple ionization effect of the M-, N- and O-shell electrons.
First use of triply labelled water analysis for energy expenditure measurements in mice
Authors: Wang Xing , Kong Dehuang , van Dijk Gertjan , Meijer Harro A. J.
Published: April 2022

The doubly labelled water (DLW) method is widely used to determine energy expenditure. In this work, we demonstrate the addition of the third stable isotope, 17O, to turn it into triply labelled water (TLW), using the three isotopes measurement of optical spectrometry. We performed TLW (2H, 18O and17O) measurements for the analysis of the CO2 production (rCO2) of mice on different diets for the first time. Triply highly enriched water was injected into mice, and the isotope enrichments of the distilled blood samples of one initial and two finals were measured by an off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy instrument. We evaluated the impact of different calculation protocols and the values of evaporative water loss fraction. We found that the dilution space and turnover rates of 17O and 18O were equal for the same mice group, and that values of rCO2 calculated based on 18O–2H, or on 17O–2H agreed very well. This increases the reliability and redundancy of the measurements and it lowers the uncertainty in the calculated rCO2 to 3% when taking the average of two DLW methods. However, the TLW method overestimated the rCO2 compared to the indirect calorimetry measurements that we also performed, much more for the mice on a high-fat diet than for low-fat. We hypothesize an extra loss or exchange mechanism with a high fractionation for 2H to explain this difference.
Rational design of a facile camphor-based fluorescence turn-on probe for real-time tracking of hypochlorous acid in vivo and in vitro
Authors: Wang Zhonglong , Zhang Yan , Liang Yueyin , Li Mingxin , Meng Zhiyuan , Gong Shuai , Yang Yiqin , Xu Xu , Wang Shifa
Published: April 2022

A novel camphor-based fluorescence turn-on probe with high selectivity and sensitivity was developed for HClO detection, and it was successfully employed for real-time imaging of exogenous and endogenous HClO in living cells as well as in living zebrafish.
Raman spectrum matching with contrastive representation learning
Authors: Li Bo , Schmidt Mikkel N. , Alstrøm Tommy S.
Published: April 2022

An effective contrastive representation learning method for spectra identification with a frequentist guarantee of including the correct class prediction on two Raman datasets (Mineral and Organic) and one SERS dataset (Bacteria).
Efficient yellow and red thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials based on a quinoxaline-derived electron-acceptor
Authors: Ji Si-Chao , Jiang Shanshan , Zhao Tianxiang , Meng Lingyi , Chen Xu-Lin , Lu Can-Zhong
Published: April 2022

Highly efficient yellow and red organic light emitting-diodes are realized by employing thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters based on a new quinoxaline-derived electron-acceptor.
A theoretical approach for homogeneous CO2 reduction by Ni(cyclam): substituents with intra-molecular hydrogen transfer
Authors: Chen Xin , Wang Chiming , Qi Dongdong , Xing Xianran
Published: April 2022

The detailed mechanism reveals the deep relationship of reaction activity with acidity, substituent nature (at position 1 or 2), and conformation in CO2 reduction.