bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Appropriate reduction of importin‐α gene expression enhances yellow dwarf disease resistance in common wheat
Authors: Wang Lina , Zhang Kunpu , Wang Zhaohui , Yang Jin , Kang Guozhang , Liu Yan , You Liyuan , Wang Xifeng , Jin Huaibing , Wang Daowen , Guo Tiancai
Published: October 2023

Barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) cause widespread damage to global cereal crops. Here we report a novel strategy for elevating resistance to BYDV infection. The 17K protein, a potent virulence factor conserved in BYDVs, interacted with barley IMP‐α1 and ‐α2 proteins that are nuclear transport receptors. Consistently, a nuclear localization signal was predicted in 17K, which was found essential for 17K to be transported into the nucleus and to interact with IMP‐α1 and ‐α2. Reducing HvIMP‐α1 and ‐α2 expression by gene silencing attenuated BYDV‐elicited dwarfism, accompanied by a lowered nuclear accumulation of 17K. Among the eight common wheat CRISPR mutants with two to four TaIMP‐α1 and ‐α2 genes mutated, the triple mutant α1aaBBDD/α2AAbbdd and the tetra‐mutant α1aabbdd/α2AAbbDD displayed strong BYDV resistance without negative effects on plant growth under field conditions. The BYDV resistance exhibited by α1aaBBDD/α2AAbbdd and α1aabbdd/α2AAbbDD was correlated with decreased nuclear accumulation of 17K and lowered viral proliferation in infected plants. Our work uncovers the function of host IMP‐α proteins in BYDV pathogenesis and generates the germplasm valuable for breeding BYDV‐resistant wheat. Appropriate reduction of IMP‐α gene expression may be broadly useful for enhancing antiviral resistance in agricultural crops and other economically important organisms.
Giovanni Pontano hears the street soundscape of Naples
Authors: Shephard Tim , Rice Melany
Published: October 2023

Giovanni Pontano’s dialogue Antonius can be read almost as a thick description of the soundscape of a Neapolitan street in the mid‐ to late‐15th century, complete with public announcements, street performers, domestic arguments, workers’ banter, charms and spells, processions, errand boys, bells, clocks, cockerels, and much more. Antonius was first printed in 1491, and then in a 1501 Opera edition alongside another dialogue, Charon, Pontano’s treatises De fortitudine, De principe and De obedientia, and his treatises on the “social virtues,” De liberalitate, De benificentia, De magnificentia, De splendore, and De conviventia. Using the street soundscape of Antonius as a framework, this essay interleaves both sonic reportage and reflections on the ethics and purpose of sound drawn from the other works included in the 1501 edition, to construct a rich and surprisingly detailed impression of the urban soundscape as it struck Pontano, or at least as he represented it in a literary context.
Commenting on music in Juvenal's sixth satire
Authors: O'Flaherty Ciara , Shephard Tim
Published: October 2023

The satires of Juvenal were immensely popular in Renaissance Italy, printed in various forms over 70 times in the period 1469‐1520, and five times in 1501 alone. The satires contain a wealth of references to instruments, instrumentalists, and playing practices that are frequently used in double entendres connoting lewd acts and infidelity, most potently in the sixth satire. The five Renaissance commentaries printed alongside the satires in 1501 editions suggest how much contemporary scholars wished to say, or indeed not say, about these saucy musical passages. This article will examine the ways in which contemporary commentators unpack and explain musical aspects of the sixth satire, their surprisingly detailed and determined efforts adding up to a distinctive strand of music‐historical study that is in evidence across numerous books of commentated classical verse from our 1501 corpus.
Asymmetric loading strategies during squats following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A longitudinal investigation with curve analyses throughout and after rehabilitation
Authors: Strong Andrew , Markström Jonas L. , Schelin Lina , Häger Charlotte K.
Published: October 2023

Investigations of kinetic asymmetries during bilateral squats following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are limited to mainly cross‐sectional studies and discrete value data extracted at specific knee angles. We assessed loading asymmetries during squats longitudinally throughout rehabilitation using curve analysis and compared patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) between those with and without asymmetry. Bodyweight squats were performed by 24 individuals (13 females) post‐ACLR on three occasions: (1) Early 2.9 (1.1) months; (2) Mid 8.8 (3.1) months; (3) at Return to Sport (RTS) 13.1 (3.6) months; and 29 asymptomatic controls (22 females) once. Time‐normalized between‐leg asymmetry curves of sagittal plane hip, knee, and ankle moments and vertical ground reaction forces were compared using functional data analysis methods. Individual asymmetrical loading for ACLR was classified when exceeding the 95% confidence interval of controls during ≥50% of the squat. At Early, ACLR had greater asymmetry than controls for knee (15%–100% eccentric phase; 0%–100% concentric) and ankle flexion moments (56%–65% concentric). At Mid, ACLR had greater asymmetry for knee (41%–72% eccentric) and ankle flexion moments (56%–69% concentric). No between‐group differences were found at RTS. From Early to RTS, ACLR reduced asymmetry for hip (21%–46% eccentric), knee (27%–58% concentric), and ankle flexion moments (21%–57% eccentric). At Early, 11/24 underloaded their ACLR knee and 1 overloaded compared with controls. At RTS, 4 underloaded and 6 overloaded. No differences in PROMs were found based on loading asymmetry. Beyond the early phase of rehabilitation from ACLR, individual‐level analyses are required to reveal differing loading strategies during bilateral squats.
Government revenue composition and forest loss: A cross‐national study of low‐ and middle‐income nations
Authors: Harper Marion C. , Sommer Jamie M. , Shandra John M.
Published: October 2023

Introduction

We draw on social contract theory and resource curse literatures to assess the relationship between government revenue composition and forest loss in low‐ and middle‐income nations that collect higher levels of revenues from a broad base of individuals and companies should have less forest loss.

Methods

We use two‐stage instrumental variable regression models to test how a government's revenue source impacts forest loss for a sample of 83 low‐ and middle‐income nations.

Results

We find support that low‐ and middle‐income nations that collect more revenue from broad‐based taxes tend to have less forest loss.

Conclusion

We move the cross‐national research frontier forward by applying insights from the fiscal contract and resource curse literatures to forest loss. We find that a government's revenue source is related to forest loss with low‐ and middle‐income nations that rely more on broad‐based taxes having lower levels of forest loss than revenues collected from other sources including natural resource rents and foreign aid.
Investigating the Effect of Tuning the Metal Center in Complexes for Nonlinear Optical Application
Authors: Jillani Mamoona , Athirah Nur , Sapari Suhaila , Abdul Razak Fazira Ilyana
Published: October 2023

In this study, the new transition metal complexes, ML with M = Zn (II), Ni (II), and Pd (II) based on the N,N'-Bis[O-(diphenylphosphino)benzylidene)ethylenediamine ligand were successfully synthesized with a percentage yield of between 33 – 68%. As a result of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-vis spectroscopy (UV-vis), and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (proton NMR) was used to design and completely describe the metal complexes properties. Moreover, for computational study, the Gaussian16 software installed in the high-performance computer (HPC) is used for NLO calculation. The method used to perform this study is Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. 6-31G(d,p) basis set is used with LANL2DZ for zinc, nickel, and palladium along with the keyword ‘GEN’. The molecular structure has been optimized and checked both bond length and bond angle before starting to run the calculation. Thus, NLO calculation had been performed. The dipole moment and the HOMO-LUMO energy gap were employed to verify the first hyperpolarizability, βtot, which can be utilized as an indication of second nonlinear optical characteristics. Transition metal-based complexes produce impressive results because they provide additional flexibility by offering charge transfer (CT) transitions between the metal and the ligands, resulting in a higher NLO response. Due to the charge transfer excitations, it was discovered that the nickel complex with 2.87 D had the largest NLO response (117215.66 x 10-30 esu), particularly in comparison with the zinc complex (2329.72 x 10-30 esu) and palladium complex (191.07 x 10-30 esu) with 6.52 D and 4.04 D values, respectively.
Recursive Parameter Estimation and Its Convergence for Multivariate Normal Hidden Markov Inhomogeneous Models
Authors: Fikri Miftahul , Abdul-Malek Zulkurnain , Mohd Esa Mona Riza , Supriyanto Eko
Published: October 2023

In this paper, will discussed parameter estimation and convergence analysis of multivariate normal hidden inhomogeneous Markov models. The results of this research show that by using the expectation maximization algorithm, a sequence of parameter estimators converges to a stationary point of the likelihood function in a monotonically increasing manner.
Generalization of Randic ́ Index of the Non-commuting Graph for Some Finite Groups
Authors: Roslly Siti Rosllydia Dania , Ab Halem Nur Fatimah Az Zahra , Zailani Nur Syasya Sahira , Alimon Nur Idayu , Mohammad Siti Afiqah
Published: October 2023

Randić index is one of the classical graph-based molecular structure descriptors in the field of mathematical chemistry. The Randić index of a graph is calculated by summing the reciprocals of the square root of the product of the degrees of two adjacent vertices in the graph. Meanwhile, the non-commuting graph is the graph of vertex set whose vertices are non-central elements and two distinct vertices are joined by an edge if and only if they do not commute. In this paper, the general formula of the Randić index of the non-commuting graph associated to three types of finite groups are presented. The groups involved are the dihedral groups, the generalized quaternion groups, and the quasi-dihedral groups. Some examples of the Randić index of the non-commuting graph related to a certain order of these groups are also given based on the main results.
Novel Extraction of Phosphorus using Interaction of Tricaprylylmethylammonium Chloride (TOMAC) with Biodegradable Mixture of Vegetable Oils
Authors: Raja Sulaiman Raja Norimie , Rosli Aishah , Othman Norasikin , Ahmad Zaini Muhammad Abbas
Published: October 2023

This work addresses the development of green formulation for phosphorus compound removal from aqueous solution via solvent extraction process. Several types of extractants, diluents and stripping agents were experimentally investigated and the best formulation was determined. Additionally, other parameters investigated were extractant and stripping agent concentrations. Results showed that TOMAC, a mixture of palm oil (PO) and sunflower oil (SO) as well as sodium chloride (NaCl) turned out to be the best extractant, diluent and stripping agent, respectively. Almost 100 % of 50 ppm of phosphorus were successfully extracted under optimum conditions of 0.3M TOMAC in a mixture of 50% PO + 50% SO. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the intermolecular bonding formation between phosphorus, vegetable oils and TOMAC molecules. Meanwhile, almost 96.5% of phosphorus can be recovered using 1.0M NaCl in two stages of stripping process. Stoichiometric studies showed that about one mole of TOMAC and NaCl were involved during the extraction and stripping reaction of phosphorus, respectively. It can be concluded that the solvent extraction with new green formulation containing TOMAC in interaction with vegetable oils seems to be one of the novel sustainable approaches in removing phosphorus from agricultural wastewater.
Role of the Equivalence Ratio on Soot Formation in a Perfectly Premixed Turbulent Swirled Flame: A Combined Experimental and Large Eddy Simulations Study
Authors: Maffina Aurora , Roussillo Mathieu , Scouflaire Philippe , Darabiha Nasser , Veynante Denis , Candel Sebastien , Franzelli Benedetta
Published: October 2023

The understanding of processes that govern soot production in aero-engines is fundamental for the design of new combustion systems with low environmental impact. Many combustors, more specifically those used in aero-engines, feature rich flame regions typically exploited in the so-called rich-quench-lean (RQL) technology. Thus, it is important to consider rich turbulent flames operating in the premixed mode. To this purpose, a model scale swirled combustor, called EM2Soot, was designed at the EM2C laboratory to analyze soot production under perfectly premixed rich conditions. In this work, the effect of the equivalence ratio on soot production in this burner is experimentally characterized and numerically simulated. Measurements of Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PLIF-PAH) were performed to examine soot precursors presence, whereas soot volume fraction is measured with planar laser-induced incandescence (LII). Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are carried out using models already established in literature. By considering a range of equivalence ratios, the soot volume fraction from the experiments was found to reach a maximum near 1.8, whereas a lower level of soot volume fraction was measured for lower and for higher equivalence ratios. The large eddy simulations are found to be in qualitative agreement with experimental data in terms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soot location. The soot volume fractions fv are notably overestimated with respect to the LII measurements. However, the numerical results correctly retrieve a reduction of soot production for the highest considered equivalence ratio value and can be used to explain the experimental behavior.
MechGPT, a Language-Based Strategy for Mechanics and Materials Modeling That Connects Knowledge Across Scales, Disciplines, and Modalities
Authors: Buehler Markus J.
Published: October 2023

For centuries, researchers have sought out ways to connect disparate areas of knowledge. While early scholars (Galileo, da Vinci, etc.) were experts across fields, specialization took hold later. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, we can now explore relationships across areas (e.g., mechanics-biology) or disparate domains (e.g., failure mechanics-art). To achieve this, we use a fine-tuned large language model (LLM), here for a subset of knowledge in multiscale materials failure. The approach includes the use of a general-purpose LLM to distill question-answer pairs from raw sources followed by LLM fine-tuning. The resulting MechGPT LLM foundation model is used in a series of computational experiments to explore its capacity for knowledge retrieval, various language tasks, hypothesis generation, and connecting knowledge across disparate areas. While the model has some ability to recall knowledge from training, we find that LLMs are particularly useful for extracting structural insights through Ontological Knowledge Graphs. These interpretable graph structures provide explanatory insights, frameworks for new research questions, and visual representations of knowledge that also can be used in retrieval-augmented generation. Three versions of MechGPT are discussed, featuring different sizes from 13 × 109 to 70 × 109 parameters, and reaching context lengths of more than 10,000 tokens. This provides ample capacity for sophisticated retrieval augmented strategies, as well as agent-based modeling where multiple LLMs interact collaboratively and/or adversarially, the incorporation of new data from the literature or web searches, as well as multimodality.
Standing wave patterns in graphene systems studied using scanning tunneling spectroscopy
Authors: Jang Won-Jun , Chang Min Hui , Kang Min Jeong , Song Young Jae , Kahng Se-Jong
Published: October 2023

Standing wave patterns are formed near potential barriers or steps due to the interference of incident and reflected waves. Graphene systems show standing wave patterns near atomic step edges, defects, and impurities in scanning tunneling microscopy; however, there are still unexplored examples. In this study, we present our experimental results for graphene directly grown on hexagonal-BN/Cu by chemical vapor deposition. Standing wave patterns were observed in our scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, revealing linear dispersion relations with a Fermi velocity of about 106 m/s. Our study shows that graphene grown on hexagonal-BN/Cu provides a useful platform to study the electronic characteristics of graphene systems.
A luminous fast radio burst that probes the Universe at redshift 1
Authors: Ryder S. D. , Bannister K. W. , Bhandari S. , Deller A. T. , Ekers R. D. , Glowacki M. , Gordon A. C. , Gourdji K. , James C. W. , Kilpatrick C. D. , Lu W. , Marnoch L. , Moss V. A. , Prochaska J. X. , Qiu H. , Sadler E. M. , Simha S. , Sammons M. W. , Scott D. R. , Tejos N. , Shannon R. M.
Published: October 2023

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration pulses of radio emission originating from extragalactic distances. Radio dispersion is imparted on each burst by intervening plasma, mostly located in the intergalactic medium. In this work, we observe the burst FRB 20220610A and localize it to a morphologically complex host galaxy system at redshift 1.016 ± 0.002. The burst redshift and dispersion measure are consistent with passage through a substantial column of plasma in the intergalactic medium and extend the relationship between those quantities measured at lower redshift. The burst shows evidence for passage through additional turbulent magnetized plasma, potentially associated with the host galaxy. We use the burst energy of 2 × 10
42
erg to revise the empirical maximum energy of an FRB.
Associative and predictive hippocampal codes support memory-guided behaviors
Authors: Liu Can , Todorova Ralitsa , Tang Wenbo , Oliva Azahara , Fernandez-Ruiz Antonio
Published: October 2023

Episodic memory involves learning and recalling associations between items and their spatiotemporal context. Those memories can be further used to generate internal models of the world that enable predictions to be made. The mechanisms that support these associative and predictive aspects of memory are not yet understood. In this study, we used an optogenetic manipulation to perturb the sequential structure, but not global network dynamics, of place cells as rats traversed specific spatial trajectories. This perturbation abolished replay of those trajectories and the development of predictive representations, leading to impaired learning of new optimal trajectories during memory-guided navigation. However, place cell assembly reactivation and reward-context associative learning were unaffected. Our results show a mechanistic dissociation between two complementary hippocampal codes: an associative code (through coactivity) and a predictive code (through sequences).
Is it possible to create magnetic semiconductors that function at room temperature?
Authors: Lee Young Hee
Published: October 2023

As electronic devices continue to shrink to just a few nanometers, enabling the integration of billions of devices in computers, power consumption has surged beyond control, exceeding thermal limits and leading to failure. To address this issue, researchers are exploring an alternative to conventional electronics by harnessing the property of “spin” rather than “charge.” This emerging field, known as spintronics, compared to its counterpart electronics, holds the promise of more energy-efficient quantum computing and data storage, and beyond. Recent successes with van der Waals (vdW)–layered diluted magnetic chalcogenide semiconductors (dMCSs) are promising and have sparked a vibrant research community. This field is still in its infancy on the path to realizing the ultimate spintronics. But it is highly likely that the remaining scientific challenges can be overcome within the next decade or so.
The essential role of clathrin-mediated endocytosis and early endosomes in the trafficking of begomoviruses through the primary salivary glands of their whitefly vectors
Authors: Guo Qi , Ban Fei-Xue , Xia Wen-Qiang , Shu Yan-Ni , Liu Yin-Quan , Liu Shu-Sheng , Pan Li-Long , Wang Xiao-Wei
Published: October 2023

Begomoviruses are significant constraints to the production of many crops worldwide. Efficient passage of the circulatively transmitted begomoviruses through the midgut and primary salivary gland (PSG) of their whitefly vector is an essential step in productive virus transmission. While how begomoviruses transport across the whitefly midgut wall has been characterized, the mechanisms underlying the trafficking of begomoviruses through whitefly PSG remain poorly understood. In this study, we combined direct injection of purified virions into the whitefly hemolymph with inhibitor and dsRNA treatment and investigated the roles of endocytosis and endosomes in the entry and intracellular trafficking of begomoviruses in whitefly PSG. We found that clathrin-mediated endocytosis and early endosomes mediated the entry of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) into whitefly PSG. Additionally, late and recycling endosomes were not involved in TYLCV trafficking in PSG. Notably, the regulating proteins of vesicle trafficking such as Arp2/3 complex; CORVET complex subunits Vps8, Vps11, and Vps33a; and sorting nexin Snx12 did not seem to play a role in TYLCV entry into PSG. Furthermore, clathrin-mediated endocytosis and early endosomes were found to mediate the entry of another begomovirus into PSG, indicating it might be a conserved pathway exploited by begomoviruses to enter PSG. Our results uncovered the key whitefly components that mediate the trafficking of begomoviruses in PSGs of their insect vectors.

IMPORTANCE

Many plant viruses are transmitted by insect vectors in a circulative manner. For efficient transmission, the entry of the virus from vector hemolymph into the primary salivary gland (PSG) is a step of paramount importance. Yet, vector components mediating virus entry into PSG remain barely characterized. Here, we demonstrate the role of clathrin-mediated endocytosis and early endosomes in begomovirus entry into whitefly PSG. Our findings unravel the key components involved in begomovirus transport within the whitefly body and transmission by their whitefly vectors and provide novel clues for blocking begomovirus transmission.
Variability of scan quality and perfusion density in longitudinal optical coherence tomography angiography imaging
Authors: Smith Corey A , Josey Vanessa L , West Michael E , Dyachok Oksana M , Sharpe Glen P , Vianna Jayme R , Rafuse Paul E , Shuba Lesya M , Nicolela Marcelo T , Chauhan Balwantray C
Published: October 2023

Background/aims

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) images are subject to variability, but the extent to which learning impacts OCT-A measurements is unknown. We determined whether there is a learning effect in glaucoma patients and healthy controls imaged with OCT-A.

Methods

Ninety-one open-angle glaucoma patients and 54 healthy controls were imaged every 4 months over a period of approximately 1 year in this longitudinal cohort study. We analysed 15°×15° scans, centred on the fovea, in one eye of each participant. Two-dimensional projection images for the superficial, intermediate and deep vascular plexuses were exported and binarised after which perfusion density was calculated. Linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate the association between perfusion density and follow-up time.

Results

The mean (SD) age of glaucoma patients and healthy controls was 67.3 (8.1) years and 62.1 (9.0) years, respectively. There was a significant correlation between perfusion density and scan quality in both glaucoma patients (r=0.50 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.58); p<0.05) and healthy controls (r=0.41 (95% CI 0.29 to 0.52); p<0.05). An increase in perfusion density occurred over time and persisted, even after adjustment for scan quality (1.75% per year (95% CI 1.14 to 2.37), p<0.01).

Conclusions

Perfusion density measurements are subject to increasing experience of either the operator or participant, or a combination of both. These findings have implications for the interpretation of longitudinal measurements with OCT-A.
COVID-19 has no impact on disease activity, progression and cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis: a 2-year study
Authors: Montini Federico , Nozzolillo Agostino , Tedone Nicolò , Mistri Damiano , Rancoita Paola MV , Zanetta Chiara , Mandelli Alessandra , Furlan Roberto , Moiola Lucia , Martinelli Vittorio , Rocca Maria A , Filippi Massimo
Published: October 2023

Background

Sequelae of COVID-19 in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) have not been characterised. We explored whether COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of disease activity, disability worsening, neuropsychological distress and cognitive dysfunction during the 18–24 months following SARS-COV-2 infection.

Methods

We enrolled 174 PwMS with history of COVID-19 (MS-COVID) between March 2020 and March 2021 and compared them to an age, sex, disease duration, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and a line of treatment-matched group of 348 PwMS with no history of COVID-19 in the same period (MS-NCOVID). We collected clinical, MRI data and SARS-CoV2 immune response in the 18–24 months following COVID-19 or baseline evaluation. At follow-up, PwMS also underwent a complete neuropsychological assessment with brief repeatable battery of neuropsychological tests and optimised scales for fatigue, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Results

136 MS-COVID and 186 MS-NCOVID accepted the complete longitudinal evaluation. The two groups had similar rate of EDSS worsening (15% vs 11%, p=1.00), number of relapses (6% vs 5%, p=1.00), disease-modifying therapy change (7% vs 4%, p=0.81), patients with new T2-lesions (9% vs 11%, p=1.00) and gadolinium-enhancing lesions (7% vs 4%, p=1.00) on brain MRI. 22% of MS-COVID and 23% MS-NCOVID were cognitively impaired at 18–24 months evaluation, with similar prevalence of cognitive impairment (p=1.00). The z-scores of global and domain-specific cognitive functions and the prevalence of neuropsychiatric manifestations were also similar. No difference was detected in terms of SARS-CoV2 cellular immune response.

Conclusions

In PwMS, COVID-19 has no impact on disease activity, course and cognitive performance 18–24 months after infection.
Centre pork chop colour classification using image analysis on the ventral surface of the loin
Authors: Wei X. , Bohrer B. , Uttaro B. , Juárez M.
Published: October 2023

Image analysis of ventral, anterior, and posterior ends of 550 pork loins was used to classify extreme-coloured centre chops. Only the ventral side was strongly correlated ( r = 0.79) to the centre chop. Thresholds at 2.5th, 5th, and 7.5th percentiles of ventral surface pale pork were selected to classify centre chop pale pork (5th percentile). Increasing stringency increased accuracy in excluding pale samples. At the 7.5th percentile, prediction accuracy of pale (85.7%) and non-pale samples (89.5%) was balanced. This method can be adopted by commercial pork processors as a classification or pre-sorting approach.
Whitehorse Trough records Late Triassic–Cretaceous accretionary orogenesis in the Northern Canadian Cordillera via detrital mineral thermochronometry
Authors: Kellett Dawn A. , Coutand I. , Zagorevski A. , Grujic D. , Dewing K. , Beranek L.
Published: October 2023

The Whitehorse Trough formed during early Mesozoic accretion of the Intermontane terranes to northwestern North America. Here we investigate its thermal history using detrital mineral thermochronology, including 171 single-crystal (U–Th)/He zircon (ZHe) ages from 35 samples, 158 single-crystal (U–Th)/He apatite (AHe) ages from 33 samples, and apatite fission track (AFT) ages from 12 samples. ZHe single crystal ages range from 222 to 42 Ma and define Triassic–Early Jurassic, Late Jurassic, and Cretaceous–Paleogene age groups. AFT central ages range from 95 to 30 Ma with a dominant age peak at ∼50 Ma, and AHe single crystal ages range from 228 to 13 Ma with a dominant age peak between 50 and 40 Ma. Forward and inverse models of thermochronological data are compatible with two regional burial/heating stages that variably reset He in zircon. Maximum temperatures of the Whitehorse Trough strata locally exceeded 150 °C during Early Jurassic burial and shortening into a fold and thrust belt. Following Middle to Late Jurassic exhumation-related cooling and development of a prominent unconformity, Whitehorse Trough strata were buried again. Temperatures locally exceeded 150 °C during the Cretaceous, suggesting maximum burial of between ∼4 and 7.5 km. Heating and cooling rates during the Early–Middle Jurassic were ∼10 °C/myr, coinciding with deposition, fold and thrust belt development, and regional crustal thickening during the final stages of Intermontane terrane accretion. Maximum heating rates during the Cretaceous were ∼4–7 °C/myr and likely correspond to regional crustal thickening of the northern Cordillera hinterland and establishment of an outboard, Andean-type continental arc system.
Priorities for Strengthening Key Revenue Sources in Asia
Authors: GUPTA SANJEEV , JALLES JOÃO TOVAR
Published: October 2023

This paper discusses the evolution of key taxes during the past 20 years in developing Asia and the fiscal challenges that the region’s economies face in light of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It presents estimates of tax capacity and tax potential, and discusses the productivity of key taxes in the region. The paper finds that developing Asia has the potential to raise more revenues–reaching up to 4% of gross domestic product on average. While corporate income tax productivity is high vis-à-vis other regions, the same does not apply to personal income tax or value-added tax. There is potential in many economies to raise more revenues by improving the compliance and design of the value-added tax. It is also important to ensure that tax systems in developing Asia become more progressive with the expansion of personal income and property taxes. Increased allocations and better targeting of social spending would help offset some of the regressivity stemming from indirect taxes. An important source of revenue leakage is tax expenditures granted by economies in the region.
Connectivity Status of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Graphs and Its Applications
Authors: Gong Zengtai , He Lele
Published: October 2023

The connectivity is one of the crucial parameters of network used to transport network flow, routing problems and bandwidth allocation problems. The increased connectivity makes a network more stable. In this paper, a new parameter called connectivity status of a vertex is introduced in the intuitionistic fuzzy graph. The related definitions and propositions of connectivity status of a vertex are proposed and investigated in an intuitionistic fuzzy graph. Specifically, connectivity status and status sequence are defined and analysed with various examples. After deleting a vertex, we classify the vertices of an intuitionistic fuzzy graph as connectivity status enhancing vertices, connectivity status neutral vertices and connectivity status reducing vertices because of the change of connectivity status. Finally, we establish two algorithms for these concepts and give an application to illustrate feasibility of algorithms.
Algorithmic Aspects of Total Vertex-Edge Domination in Graphs
Authors: Kumar H. Naresh , Chellali Mustapha , Venkatakrishnan Y. B.
Published: October 2023

A vertex [Formula: see text] of a simple graph [Formula: see text] ve-dominates every edge incident to [Formula: see text] as well as every edge adjacent to these incident edges. A set [Formula: see text] is a total vertex-edge dominating set if every edge of [Formula: see text] is ve-dominated by a vertex of [Formula: see text] and the subgraph induced by [Formula: see text] has no isolated vertex. The total vertex-edge domination problem is to find a total vertex-edge dominating set of minimum cardinality. In this paper, we first show that the total vertex-edge domination problem is NP-complete for chordal graphs. Then we provide a linear-time algorithm for this problem in trees. Moreover, we show that the minimum total vertex-edge domination problem cannot be approximated within [Formula: see text] for any [Formula: see text] unless [Formula: see text]). Finally, we prove that the minimum total vertex-edge domination problem is APX-complete for bounded-degree graphs.
Hierarchical remote preparation of an arbitrary m-qudit state with multiple agents
Authors: Jiang Junli , Ma Songya , Yan Xia
Published: October 2023

Based on Jin et al.’s hierarchical remote preparation scheme of an arbitrary [Formula: see text]-qudit state with three agents, we propose one scheme for multiple agents by utilizing the symmetry of cluster states. To save entanglement resource, we then put forward the other improved scheme. There exists a hierarchy among the agents in terms of their abilities which are quantified by nonconditioned fidelity. The upper-grade agent needs the assistance of all the remaining upper-grade agents and any one of the lower-grade agents to recover the target state, while the lower-grade agent requires all the other agents’ collaboration. It is important to emphasize that the recovery operation is derived by a general expression clearly revealing the relationship with the measurement results.
Divergence Reduction in Monte Carlo Neutron Transport with On-GPU Asynchronous Scheduling
Authors: Cuneo Braxton , Bailey Mike
Published: October 2023

While Monte Carlo Neutron Transport (MCNT) is near-embarrasingly parallel, the effectively unpredictable lifetime of neutrons can lead to divergence when MCNT is evaluated on GPUs. Divergence is the phenomenon of adjacent threads in a warp executing different control flow paths; on GPUS, it reduces performance because each work group may only execute one path at a time. The process of Thread Data Remapping (TDR) resolves these discrepancies by moving data across hardware such that data in the same warp will be processed through similar paths. A common issue among prior implementations of TDR is the synchronous nature of its remapping and processing cycles, which exhaustively sort data produced by prior processing passes and exhaustively evaluate the sorted data. In another work, we defined a method of remapping data through an asynchronous scheduler which allows for work to be stored in shared memory and deferred arbitrarily until that work is a viable option for low-divergence evaluation. This article surveys a wider set of cases, with the goal of characterizing performance trends across a more comprehensive set of parameters. These parameters include cross sections of scattering/capturing/fission, use of implicit capture, source neutron counts, simulation time spans, and tuned memory allocations. Across these cases, we have recorded minimum and average execution times, as well as a heuristically tuned near-optimal memory allocation size for both synchronous and asynchronous scheduling. Across the collected data, it is shown that the asynchronous method is faster and more memory efficient in the majority of cases, and that it requires less tuning to achieve competitive performance.
Semiconductor-Type Triethylamine Sensor for Food Detection Based on WO3 Nanomaterials
Authors: Yang Yina , Liu Jin , Zheng Xiaohong , Ye Chunlin , Wan Bo
Published: October 2023

Triethylamine is an effective indicator for evaluating seafood freshness. Therefore, a device capable of real-time monitoring of triethylamine is required. In this study, WO3 nanomaterials prepared using sodium tungstate as the tungsten source were used to assemble semiconductor sensors to detect low concentrations of triethylamine at low temperatures. To investigate the effects of different structural guides on the sensor performance, citric and oxalic acids were used as structural guiding agents to obtain WO3 nanoplates and nanoparticles, respectively. At an optimal operating temperature of 255 °C, the WO3 nanoplate sensor exhibited a response of 56.57 to 10 ppm triethylamine, with a sensitivity of 50 in the tested concentration range of 2.5–25 ppm triethylamine, and response/recovery times of 9 s/69 s. WO3 nanoplates performed better than that of WO3 nanoparticles. In addition, the effect of different structural guiding agents on the sensor properties was explored, and the response mechanism of the semiconductor sensor was investigated. WO3 nanoplate shows fast response time, high selectivity and low detection limit, that is an excellent TEA sensor, which makes it more promising used in food detection for practical applications.
Associated Biochemical and Hematological Markers in COVID-19 Severity Prediction
Authors: Lamichhane Anit , Pokhrel Sushant , Thapa Tika Bahadur , Shrestha Ojaswee , Kadel Anuradha , Joshi Govardhan , Khanal Sudip
Published: October 2023

Background. The global threat of COVID-19 has created the need for researchers to investigate the disease’s progression, especially through the use of biomarkers to inform interventions. This study aims to assess the correlations of laboratory parameters to determine the severity of COVID-19 infection. Methods. This study was conducted among 191 COVID-19 patients in Sumeru Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal. According to their clinical outcomes, these patients were divided into severe and nonsevere groups. Inflammatory markers such as LDH, D-dimer, CRP, ferritin, complete blood cell count, liver function tests, and renal function tests were performed. Binary logistic regression analysis determined relative risk factors associated with severe COVID-19. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated with ROC curves to assess the potential predictive value of risk factors. Results. Out of 191 patients, 38 (19.8%) subjects died due to COVID-19 complications, while 156 (81.7%) survived and were discharged from hospital. The COVID-19 severity was found in patients with older age and comorbidities such as CKD, HTN, DM, COPD, and pneumonia. Parameters such as d-dimer, CRP, LDH, SGPT, neutrophil, lymphocyte count, and LMR were significant independent risk factors for the severity of the disease. The AUC was highest for d-dimer (AUC = 0.874) with a sensitivity of 82.2% and specificity of 81.2%. Similarly, the cut-off values for other factors were age >54.5 years, D-dimer >0.91 ng/ml, CRP >82.4 mg/dl, neutrophil >78.5%, LDH >600 U/L, and SGPT >35.5 U/L, respectively. Conclusion. Endorsement of biochemical and hematological parameters with their cut-off values also aids in predicting COVID-19 severity. The biomarkers such as D-dimer, CRP levels, LDH, ALT, and neutrophil count could be used to predict disease severity. So, timely analysis of these markers might allow early prediction of disease progression.
Clinical SMN1 and SMN2 Gene-Specific Sequencing to Enhance the Clinical Sensitivity of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Diagnostic Testing
Authors: Miller Cecelia R. , Fang Jin , Snyder Pamela , Long Susan E. , Prior Thomas W. , Jones Dan , Avenarius Matthew R.
Published: October 2023

Purpose. Therapeutic advances in the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) prompt the need for robust and efficient molecular diagnosis of this disease. Approximately five percent of SMA cases are attributable to one copy of SMN1 with a hypomorphic or inactivating variant in trans with a deleted or converted allele. These intragenic variants are challenging to definitively localize to SMN1 due to its sequence homology with the SMN2 gene. To enhance the clinical sensitivity of SMA diagnostic testing, we present an optimized gene-specific sequencing assay to localize variants to either SMN1 or SMN2. Methods. SMN1 and SMN2 genes are independently amplified by long-range allele-specific PCR. Long-range products are used in subsequent nested PCR reactions to amplify the coding exons of SMN1 and SMN2. The resulting products are sequenced using standard Sanger-based methodologies and analyzed for disease-associated alterations. Results. 83 probands suspicious for a clinical diagnosis of SMA with a nondiagnostic SMN dosage result were sequenced for intragenic variants in the SMN1 gene. Gene-specific sequencing revealed likely disease-associated variants in SMN1 in 42 cases (50.6%). Of the 42 variants, 27 are unique including 16 loss-of-function variants, 9 missense variants, 1 in-frame deletion variant, and 1 splice site variant. Conclusions. Herein, we describe an optimized assay for clinical sequencing of the full coding region of SMN1 and SMN2. This assay uses standard techniques and equipment readily available to most molecular diagnostic laboratories.
Microbial and Physicochemical Dynamics of Kocho, Fermented Food from Enset
Authors: Seboka Dereba Workineh , Bejiga Abay Tabor , Turunesh Debela Jufar , Turito Andualem Arimo , Girma Abayeneh
Published: October 2023

Over 20 million Ethiopians depend on enset (Ensete ventricosum) as a staple or costaple food. “Kocho,” “Bulla,” and “Amicho” are the three main food types obtained from enset. This review aimed to summarize the physicochemical and microbial dynamics of kocho. It is the most common food obtained from the scraped pseudostem and decorticated corm of enset after a long period of fermentation. The quality of kocho depends on the maturity of the enset plant, the enset processing method, the fermentation period, and the dynamics of microorganisms during the fermentation process. Microorganisms play a significant role in kocho fermentation to enhance its nutritional quality, improve sensory properties, and reduce spoilage and disease-causing agents. The populations of microbes available in kocho fermentation include lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae, acetic acid bacteria (AAB), yeasts and molds, and Clostridium spp., which have both positive and negative impacts on kocho quality. There is a visible variation in microbial dynamics during kocho fermentation caused by the fermentation period. As the fermentation day increases, species of LAB also increase, whereas counts of Enterobacteriaceae decrease. This is due to a decrease in pH, which leads to an increase in titratable acidity. Moisture content also slightly decreases as fermentation progresses. Dynamics in the microbial population and physicochemical parameters ensure the development of desirable qualities in kocho and enhance the acceptability of the final product. Organic acids (such as lactic acid, acetic acid, and propionic acid), bacteriocins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins are bioactive compounds produced by microorganisms during Kocho fermentation. Further research is needed on the molecular identification of microorganisms during Kocho fermentation.
Secularity the Day after Tomorrow
Authors: Cauchi Mark
Published: October 2023

It is common in accounts of the secularization of Western thought to make reference to the name of Nietzsche. Nietzsche is undeniably a critic of religion, but he is equally a critic of the secular. It is for this reason that I propose thinking about Nietzsche’s philosophy as postsecular. This term is one that has evolved over the last couple decades in response to the so-called “return of the religious” in society, social theory, and philosophy and suggests that secularity and religiosity are not antithetical and therefore that we must move beyond the forms of thinking that would regard them as such. First, I focus on his concepts of will to power, interpretation, perspectivism, and history, and sketch how they are all interrelated and how these ground his interpretation of religion. Based on this view, I show, second, that while religion is, for Nietzsche, a historical perspective, it is also, for him, part of the historical genealogy of secularity. This point leads to my final one on the relationship between secularity and religion in Nietzsche’s thought, where I argue that, on his own terms, Nietzsche’s anti-Christianity is a hyper-Christianity, even while rejecting facets of Christianity.
Updated list of the mammals of Costa Rica, with notes on recent taxonomic changes
Authors: MORA JOSÉ MANUEL , RUEDAS LUIS A.
Published: October 2023

Although Costa Rica occupies a mere 0.03% of the Earth’s land area, it nevertheless has recorded within its borders approximately 5% of the global diversity of mammals, thus making it one of the world’s megadiverse countries. Over the past ten years, 22 species have been added to the country’s inventory, bringing the total number known as here documented to 271; Chiroptera account for ten of these, having grown to 124 from 114; rodents have increased by eight species, from 47 to 55, with the caveat that we include three invasive species of Muridae that have gone feral. In contrast, the number of orders has decreased by one, by Artiodactyla incorporating the former Cetacea. Notes are provided for all taxonomic novelties since the last update. Since the first taxonomic compendium of the mammals of Costa Rica in 1869, the number of known species has grown by approximately 1.22 species year-1 (R2 = 0.96). Since 1983 however, this growth rate has been 1.64 species year-1 (R2 = 0.98). Despite this strong growth, an asymptote in the number of known species has not been reached. Conservation remains a primary need: over 60% of the country’s mammal species show population trends that are decreasing (13%), unknown (37%), or not assessed (11%), based on IUCN criteria. These analyses suggest that much remains to be known regarding the number of mammal species living in Costa Rica, but also that much more remains to be done to safeguard Costa Rica’s exceptional biodiversity heritage.
On the Vertical Structure of Deep-Ocean Subinertial Variability
Authors: Toole John M. , Musgrave Ruth C. , Fine Elizabeth C. , Steinberg Jacob M. , Krishfield Richard A.
Published: October 2023

The vertical structure of subinertial variability is examined using full-depth horizontal velocity and vertical isopycnal displacement observations derived from the Ocean Observatory Initiative (OOI). Vertical profiles on time scales between 100 h and 1 yr or longer are characterized through empirical orthogonal function decomposition and qualitatively compared with theoretical modal predictions for the cases of flat, sloping, and rough bathymetry. OOI observations were obtained from mooring clusters at four deep-ocean sites: Argentine Basin, Southern Ocean, Station Papa, and Irminger Sea. Because no single OOI mooring in these arrays provides temperature, salinity, and horizontal velocity information over the full water column, sensor observations from two or more moorings are combined. Depths greater than ∼150–300 m were sampled by McLane moored profilers; in three of the four cases, two profilers were utilized on the moorings. Because of instrument failures on the deployments examined here, only ∼2 yr of full-ocean-depth observations are available from three of the four sites and some 3+ yr from the other. Results from the OOI “global” sites are contrasted with a parallel analysis of 3.5 yr of observations about the axis of the Gulf Stream where much of the subinertial variability is associated with stream meandering past the moorings. Looking across the observations, no universal vertical structure is found that characterizes the subinertial variability at the five sites examined; regional bathymetry, stratification, baroclinicity, nonlinearity, and the forcing (both local and remote) likely all play a role in shaping the vertical structure of the subinertial variability in individual ocean regions.