bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Changes of Soil Microbial Communities During the Afforestation of Pinus Armandii in a Karst Region of Southwest China
Authors: He Bin , Li Qing , Zou Shun , Bai Xiaolong , Li Wangjun , Chen Yang
Published: January 2024

Clarifying the response of soil microbial communities to vegetation restoration is essential to comprehend biogeochemical processes and ensure the long-term viability of forest development. To assess the variations in soil microbial communities throughout the growth of Pinus armandii plantations in the karst region, we utilized the “space instead of time” approach and selected four P. armandii stands with ages ranging from 10 to 47 years, along with a grassland control. The microbial community structure was determined by conducting Illumina sequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene and the ITS gene, respectively. The results demonstrated that afforestation with P. armandii significantly influenced soil microbial communities, as indicated by notable differences in bacterial and fungal composition and diversity between the plantations and the control. However, soil microbe diversity did not display significant variation across stand ages. Moreover, the bacterial community exhibited higher responsiveness to age gradients compared to the fungal community. Soil physicochemical factors play a critical role in elucidating microbial diversity and community composition variations during restoration processes. TN, AN, TP, AP, SOC, AK, and pH were the most significant influencing factors for the composition of bacterial community, while TC, SOC, pH, and TCa were the most significant influencing factors for the composition of fungal community. Our findings indicate substantial changes in soil bacterial and fungal communities across successive stages of development. Additionally, the changes in dominant bacteria and fungi characteristics across the age gradient were primarily attributed to variations in the prevailing soil conditions and chemical factors.
Confocal laser endomicroscopy in glial tumors—a histomorphological analysis
Authors: Radtke Karen , Schulz-Schaeffer Walter J. , Oertel Joachim
Published: January 2024

Objective

The extent of resection and neurological outcome are important prognostic markers for overall survival in glioma patients. Confocal laser endomicroscopy is a tool to examine tissue without the need for fixation or staining. This study aims to analyze gliomas in confocal laser endomicroscopy and identify reliable diagnostic criteria for glial matter and glial tumors.

Material and methods

One-hundred-and-five glioma specimens were analyzed using a 670-nm confocal laser endomicroscope and then processed into hematoxylin-eosin-stained frozen sections. All confocal images and frozen sections were evaluated for the following criteria: presence of tumor, cellularity, nuclear pleomorphism, changes of the extracellular glial matrix, microvascular proliferation, necrosis, and mitotic activity. Recurring characteristics were identified. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were assessed for each feature.

Results

All 125 specimens could be processed and successfully analyzed via confocal laser endomicroscopy. We found diagnostic criteria to identify white and grey matter and analyze cellularity, nuclear pleomorphism, changes in the glial matrix, vascularization, and necrosis in glial tumors. An accuracy of > 90.0 % was reached for grey matter, cellularity, and necrosis, > 80.0 % for white matter and nuclear pleomorphism, and > 70.0 % for microvascular proliferation and changes of the glial matrix. Mitotic activity could not be identified. Astroglial tumors showed significantly less nuclear pleomorphism in confocal laser endomicroscopy than oligodendroglial tumors (p < 0.001). Visualization of necrosis aids in the differentiation of low grade gliomas and high grade gliomas  (p < 0.002).

Conclusion

Autofluorescence-based confocal laser endomicroscopy proved not only useful in differentiation between tumor and brain tissue but also revealed useful clues to further characterize tissue without processing in a lab. Possible applications include the improvement of extent of resection and the safe harvest of representative tissue for histopathological and molecular genetic diagnostics.
Boosting the hospital by integrating mobile robotic assistance systems: a comprehensive classification of the risks to be addressed
Authors: Bernhard Lukas , Schwingenschlögl Patrik , Hofmann Jörg , Wilhelm Dirk , Knoll Alois
Published: January 2024

Mobile service robots are a promising technology for supporting workflows throughout the hospital. Combined with an understanding of the environment and the current situation, such systems have the potential to become invaluable tools for overcoming personal shortages and streamlining healthcare workflows. However, few robotic systems have actually been translated to practical application so far, which is due to many challenges centered around the strict and unique requirements imposed by the different hospital environments, which have not yet been collected and analyzed in a structured manner. To address this need, we now present a comprehensive classification of different dimensions of risk to be considered when designing mobile service robots for the hospital. Our classification consists of six risk categories – environmental complexity, hygienic requirements, interaction with persons and objects, workflow flexibility and autonomy – for each of which a scale with distinct risk levels is provided. This concept, for the first time allows for a precise classification of mobile service robots for the hospital, which can prove useful for certification and admission procedures as well as for defining architectural and safety requirements throughout the design process of such robots.
Test suite assessment of safety-critical systems using safety tactics and fault-based mutation testing
Authors: Gurbuz Havva Gulay , Tekinerdogan Bedir , Catal Cagatay , Er Nagehan Pala
Published: January 2024

A safety-critical system is a system in which the software malfunctioning could result in death, injury, or damage to the environment. Addressing safety concerns early on at the architecture design level is critical to guide the subsequent life cycle activities to ensure that the eventual system is reliable. A fundamental approach to address safety at the design level is the adoption of architectural tactics. It is crucial for safety-critical systems to correctly implement the constraints as defined by the selected safety tactics. Given the limitations of traditional safety measures, particularly in conducting thorough analyses of safety tactics at the architectural design level, our motivation is to close this gap by integrating safety tactics and fault-based mutation testing. This article proposes a systematic approach for assessing the adequacy of test suites of safety-critical systems based on these architectural safety tactics. Our proposed approach involves the integration of safety tactics and fault-based mutation testing to comprehensively assess the adequacy of test suites in safety-critical systems. At the core of our methodology is the adoption of architectural safety tactics, addressing potential issues at the design level. We leverage fault-based testing, utilizing a dedicated metamodel and domain-specific language (DSL) to model safety views and their relation to the code. We use a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of our approach using fault-injection techniques. Our study shows that this systematic approach is feasible and effective for test suite assessment of safety-critical systems.
Building a Community Partnership for the Development of Health Ministries Within the African American Community: The Triad Pastors Network
Authors: Gwathmey TanYa M. , Williams K. Lamonte , Caban-Holt Allison , Starks Takiyah D. , Foy Capri G. , Mathews Allison , Byrd Goldie S.
Published: January 2024

African Americans continue to have worse health outcomes despite attempts to reduce health disparities. This is due, in part, to inadequate access to healthcare, but also to the health care and medical mistrust experienced by communities of color. Churches and worship centers have historically served as cultural centers of trusted resources for educational, financial, and health information within African American communities and a growing number of collaborations have developed between academic institutions and community/faith entities. Herein, we describe the infrastructure of a true and sustainable partnership developed with > 100 prominent faith leaders within the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina for the purpose of developing or expanding existing health ministries within houses of worship, to improve health literacy and overall health long-term. The Triad Pastors Network is an asset-based partnership between the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and faith leaders in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina that was created under the guiding principles of community engagement to improve health equity and decrease health disparities experienced by African American communities. A partnership in which co-equality and shared governance are the core of the framework provides an effective means of achieving health-related goals in a productive and efficient manner. Faith-based partnerships are reliable approaches for improving the health literacy needed to address health disparities and inequities in communities of color.
Statistical Analysis and Automation Through Machine Learning of Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy Data from Tests Performed on Complex Additively Manufactured Parts
Authors: Obaton Anne-Françoise , Fallahi Nasim , Tanich Anis , Lafon Louis-Ferdinand , Weaver Gregory
Published: January 2024

Additive manufacturing brings inspection issues for quality assurance of final parts because non-destructive testing methods are faced with shape complexity, size, and high surface roughness. Thus, to drive additive manufacturing forward, advanced non-destructive testing methods are required. Methods based on resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) can take on all the challenges that come with additive manufacturing. Indeed, these full body inspection methods are adapted to shape complexity, to nearly any size, and to high degrees of surface roughness. Furthermore, they are easy to implement, fast and low cost. In this paper, we present the benefit of a resonant ultrasound spectroscopy method, combined with a statistical analysis through Z score implementation, to classify supposedly identical parts, from a batch comprised of several individual builds. We also demonstrate that the inspection can be further accelerated and automated, to make the analysis operator independent, whether the analysis of the resonant ultrasound spectroscopy data is performed supervised or unsupervised with machine learning algorithms.
Hybrid approaches to optimization and machine learning methods: a systematic literature review
Authors: Azevedo Beatriz Flamia , Rocha Ana Maria A. C. , Pereira Ana I.
Published: January 2024

Notably, real problems are increasingly complex and require sophisticated models and algorithms capable of quickly dealing with large data sets and finding optimal solutions. However, there is no perfect method or algorithm; all of them have some limitations that can be mitigated or eliminated by combining the skills of different methodologies. In this way, it is expected to develop hybrid algorithms that can take advantage of the potential and particularities of each method (optimization and machine learning) to integrate methodologies and make them more efficient. This paper presents an extensive systematic and bibliometric literature review on hybrid methods involving optimization and machine learning techniques for clustering and classification. It aims to identify the potential of methods and algorithms to overcome the difficulties of one or both methodologies when combined. After the description of optimization and machine learning methods, a numerical overview of the works published since 1970 is presented. Moreover, an in-depth state-of-art review over the last three years is presented. Furthermore, a SWOT analysis of the ten most cited algorithms of the collected database is performed, investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the pure algorithms and detaching the opportunities and threats that have been explored with hybrid methods. Thus, with this investigation, it was possible to highlight the most notable works and discoveries involving hybrid methods in terms of clustering and classification and also point out the difficulties of the pure methods and algorithms that can be strengthened through the inspirations of other methodologies; they are hybrid methods.
On the evaluation of the alternating multiple $$ t $$ value $$ t({\overline{1}},\ldots ,{\overline{1}}, 1, {\overline{1}},\ldots ,{\overline{1}}) $$
Authors: Charlton Steven
Published: January 2024

We prove an evaluation for the stuffle-regularised alternating multiple $$ t $$
t
value $$ t^{*,V}({\overline{1}},\ldots ,{\overline{1}}, 1, {\overline{1}},\ldots ,{\overline{1}}) $$

t

∗
,
V

(

1
¯

,
…
,

1
¯

,
1
,

1
¯

,
…
,

1
¯

)

in terms of $$ V $$
V
, the regularisation parameter, $$\log (2), \zeta (k) $$

log
(
2
)
,
ζ
(
k
)

and $$ \beta (k) $$

β
(
k
)

. This arises by evaluating the corresponding generating series using the Evans-Stanton/Ramanujan asymptotics of a zero-balanced hypergeometric function $$ {}_3F_2 $$

3

F
2

, and an evaluation established by Li in an alternative approach to Zagier’s evaluation of $$ \zeta (2,\ldots ,2, 3, 2,\ldots ,2) $$

ζ
(
2
,
…
,
2
,
3
,
2
,
…
,
2
)

. We end with some discussion and conjectures on possible motivic applications.
Lifespan and scientific leadership: a counterfactual analysis between presidents and fellows of the Royal Society
Authors: Chan Ho Fai , Mixon Franklin G. , Torgler Benno
Published: January 2024

This study investigates the potential relationship between scientific success and lifespan, with a particular focus on whether serving as President of the Royal Society is associated with a longer lifespan. Previous research has indicated that higher social status can confer health benefits, but it remains unclear whether holding leadership positions within esteemed academic organizations has a similar effect. To mitigate confounding factors, this study established a counterfactual by identifying Royal Society Fellows who are comparable to the Presidents. The analysis indicates that being elected as President of the Royal Society is indeed linked to a longevity advantage.
Willing, able, and engaged: roles of action-state orientation, intrinsic academic motivation, and time management on academic engagement
Authors: PEKER Mehmet
Published: January 2024

The current study investigates the longitudinal association between decision-related action orientation (AOD, the ability to initiate the intended actions decisively) and academic engagement. Moreover, this study examines the roles of time management and intrinsic academic motivation in this relationship. Specifically, it is proposed that time management mediates the relationship between AOD and academic engagement, and this mediated effect is moderated by intrinsic academic motivation. The analysis of the data collected in three waves from 222 undergraduates (180 women) with a mean age of 20.98 years (SD = 2.73) confirmed the predictions. Time management mediated the relationship between AOD and academic engagement for students who reported high intrinsic motivation. Study results suggest that AOD and intrinsic academic motivation work synergetically to shape academic engagement through efficient time management. The study findings provide valuable insights for practice, emphasizing the consideration of both motivational and volitional processes, and time management strategies to contribute to student engagement.
Animal Density Estimation for Large Unmarked Populations Using a Spatially Explicit Model
Authors: Herliansyah Riki , King Ruth , Rahman Dede Aulia , King Stuart
Published: January 2024

Obtaining abundance and density estimates is a particularly important aspect within wildlife conservation and management. To monitor wildlife populations, the use of motion-sensor camera traps is becoming increasing popular due to its non-invasive nature. However, animal identification is not always feasible in practice due to poor quality images and/or individuals not having uniquely identifiable physical characteristics. Spatially explicit models for unmarked individuals permit the estimation of animal density when individuals cannot be uniquely identified. Due to the structure of these models, a Bayesian super-population (data augmentation) approach is often used to fit the models to data, which involves specifying some reasonably large upper limit for the population. However, this approach presents substantial computational challenges for larger populations, as demonstrated by the motivating dataset relating to barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) collected in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia (with a population size in the low thousands). We develop a new and computationally efficient Bayesian algorithm for fitting the models to data that does not require specifying an upper population limit a priori. We apply the new algorithm to the large barking deer dataset, where the standard super-population approach is computationally expensive, and demonstrate a substantial improvement in computational efficiency.Supplementary material to this paper is provided online.
Black Networks Matter
Authors: Simonson Matthew David , Block Jr Ray , Druckman James N. , Ognyanova Katherine , Lazer David M. J.
Published: January 2024

Scholars have long recognized that interpersonal networks play a role in mobilizing social movements. Yet, many questions remain. This Element addresses these questions by theorizing about three dimensions of ties: emotionally strong or weak, movement insider or outsider, and ingroup or cross-cleavage. The survey data on the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests show that weak and cross-cleavage ties among outsiders enabled the movement to evolve from a small provocation into a massive national mobilization. In particular, the authors find that Black people mobilized one another through social media and spurred their non-Black friends to protest by sharing their personal encounters with racism. These results depart from the established literature regarding the civil rights movement that emphasizes strong, movement-internal, and racially homogenous ties. The networks that mobilize appear to have changed in the social media era. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Plume flow characteristics of rectangular exhaust nozzles in a micro-jet engine
Authors: Lee C. , Choi S.M.
Published: January 2024

The flow characteristics of the plume ejected from a micro-jet engine’s rectangular exhaust nozzle have been studied by conducting experimental and numerical analyses. The radiated infrared signature of a plume ejected from a rectangular exhaust nozzle with a large aspect ratio in a jet propulsion engine is known to be significantly lower than that of a plume ejected from a circular exhaust nozzle. The velocity and temperature distributions, which are the flow characteristics of the jet, were measured to investigate this phenomenon. For this purpose, we installed a circular nozzle and a rectangular exhaust nozzle with an aspect ratio of five to a micro-jet engine. The results showed that the plume spreads wider as it moves away from the nozzle exit and that the velocity rapidly decreases in the case of the rectangular nozzle, contrary to the case of the circular nozzle. Similar tendencies were observed for the temperature distribution and magnitude of the ejected plume. Thus, we concluded that the flow distribution caused by the nozzle shape induces a greater drop in the radiated infrared signature of the plume ejected from the rectangular nozzle than the circular nozzle. Flow analysis was conducted to evaluate the flow in and outside the exhaust nozzle; results similar to those of the experiment were obtained. These results show that the ejecting jet has a greater mixing effect on the air outside when using the rectangular nozzle than the circular nozzle.
Asymptotic expansion of matrix models in the multi-cut regime
Authors: Borot Gaëtan , Guionnet Alice
Published: January 2024

We establish the asymptotic expansion in

$\beta $

matrix models with a confining, off-critical potential in the regime where the support of the equilibrium measure is a finite union of segments. We first address the case where the filling fractions of these segments are fixed and show the existence of a

$\frac {1}{N}$

expansion. We then study the asymptotics of the sum over the filling fractions to obtain the full asymptotic expansion for the initial problem in the multi-cut regime. In particular, we identify the fluctuations of the linear statistics and show that they are approximated in law by the sum of a Gaussian random variable and an independent Gaussian discrete random variable with oscillating center. Fluctuations of filling fractions are also described by an oscillating discrete Gaussian random variable. We apply our results to study the all-order small dispersion asymptotics of solutions of the Toda chain associated with the one Hermitian matrix model (

$\beta = 2$

) as well as orthogonal (

$\beta = 1$

) and skew-orthogonal (

$\beta = 4$

) polynomials outside the bulk.
UP IN ARMS: CONDUCTING …(IPHIGENIA)
Authors: Popkin Lionel , Purves Alex
Published: January 2024

The opera begins with a burst of applause as the conductor enters the pit. He bends, bowing to the audience, then turns, lifts his arms, and the music begins. From here, for the remainder of the performance, we can barely see him (although one of us will turn around in the third act to watch him on the video screens that hang behind us). Or, the opera begins before that with an usher in the audience, asking people what they know of the myth, and warning them that this story will not end well.
THE ABANDONED FEMININE: IN CONVERSATION WITH ESPERANZA SPALDING
Authors: Morales Helen , Sanyal Debarati
Published: January 2024

Helen Morales:

We were blown away by the production of …(Iphigenia) that we saw in Berkeley and have had so many discussions after it since and it's great to be able to talk to you about it, so thank you.
FRANK GEHRY AND …(IPHIGENIA): SET DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTIVE FORM
Authors: Flynn Catherine
Published: January 2024

‘Music is mass and it builds things’, esperanza spalding said she dreamt one night as she struggled with the libretto for …(Iphigenia), the phrase forming the turning point for the work. The oneiric formulation extends the material nature of music, granting sonic vibrations architectural abilities. This paradox approaches a paradoxical aim at the heart of Frank Gehry's building practice: to imbue solid matter with motion. His free-form sculptural designs, instanced most famously in the spectacular designs for the Guggenheim Museum at Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, have granted him global auteur status. However, the set design for …(Iphigenia) offered and continues to offer him an attractive state of unknowing, one in which emerges the possibility of non-directed constructive form.
WHEN JAZZ BROKE OPERA: SOUND AND MYTH IN …(IPHIGENIA)
Authors: Kheshti Roshanak
Published: January 2024

As an anthropologist, I am no stranger to the importance of myth to both meaning-making and as connective tissue with ancestral forms of knowledge. Claude Levi-Strauss is synonymous with the study of myth in twentieth-century anthropology. Zora Neale Hurston, however, has only recently been reclaimed by the discipline of anthropology, even though she was both a student of Franz Boas—the so-called ‘father’ of American anthropology—and she conducted tireless ethnographic research in the US South and Caribbean for over forty years, focused on what she preferred to call folklore, or lies. Hurston is an important lens through which to interpret …(Iphigenia) because Hurston's corpus catalogues the mythocentrism of African American and African diasporic culture. She created a mind-bendingly prolific body of both fiction and non-fiction work centered on myth and provides an important context for the connections being drawn in this opera between jazz and Greek tragedy: that of sound.
Psychometric reliability, validity, and generalizability of 3MSE scores among American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study
Authors: Suchy-Dicey Astrid M. , Vo Thao T. , Oziel Kyra , Buchwald Dedra S. , Nelson Lonnie A. , Verney Steven P. , French Brian F.
Published: January 2024

Objective:

Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) is often used to screen for dementia, but little is known about psychometric validity in American Indians.

Methods:

We recruited 818 American Indians aged 65–95 for 3MSE examinations in 2010–2013; 403 returned for a repeat examination in 2017–2019. Analyses included standard psychometrics inferences for interpretation, generalizability, and extrapolation: factor analysis; internal consistency-reliability; test-retest score stability; multiple indicator multiple cause structural equation models.

Results:

This cohort was mean age 73, majority female, mean 12 years education, and majority bilingual. The 4-factor and 2nd-order models fit best, with subfactors for orientation and visuo-construction (OVC), language and executive functioning (LEF), psychomotor and working memory (PMWM), verbal and episodic memory (VEM). Factor structure was supported for both research and clinical interpretation, and factor loadings were moderate to high. Scores were generally consistent over mean 7 years. Younger participants performed better in overall scores, but not in individual factors. Males performed better on OVC and LEF, females better on PMWM. Those with more education performed better on LEF and worse on OVC; the converse was true for bilinguals. All differences were significant, but small.

Conclusion:

These findings support use of 3MSE for individual interpretation in clinic and research among American Indians, with moderate consistency, stability, reliability over time. Observed extrapolations across age, sex, education, and bilingual groups suggest some important contextual differences may exist.
p300 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling underlies mTORC1 hyperactivation in Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome
Authors: Son Sung Min , Park So Jung , Breusegem Sophia Y. , Larrieu Delphine , Rubinsztein David C.
Published: January 2024

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a master regulator of cell growth, metabolism and autophagy. Multiple pathways modulate mTORC1 in response to nutrients. Here we describe that nucleus–cytoplasmic shuttling of p300/EP300 regulates mTORC1 activity in response to amino acid or glucose levels. Depletion of these nutrients causes cytoplasm-to-nucleus relocalization of p300 that decreases acetylation of the mTORC1 component raptor, thereby reducing mTORC1 activity and activating autophagy. This is mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase-dependent phosphorylation of p300 at serine 89. Nutrient addition to starved cells results in protein phosphatase 2A-dependent dephosphorylation of nuclear p300, enabling its CRM1-dependent export to the cytoplasm to mediate mTORC1 reactivation. p300 shuttling regulates mTORC1 in most cell types and occurs in response to altered nutrients in diverse mouse tissues. Interestingly, p300 cytoplasm–nucleus shuttling is altered in cells from patients with Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome. p300 mislocalization by the disease-causing protein, progerin, activates mTORC1 and inhibits autophagy, phenotypes that are normalized by modulating p300 shuttling. These results reveal how nutrients regulate mTORC1, a cytoplasmic complex, by shuttling its positive regulator p300 in and out of the nucleus, and how this pathway is misregulated in Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome, causing mTORC1 hyperactivation and defective autophagy.
Rapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally
Authors: Jasechko Scott , Seybold Hansjörg , Perrone Debra , Fan Ying , Shamsudduha Mohammad , Taylor Richard G. , Fallatah Othman , Kirchner James W.
Published: January 2024

Groundwater resources are vital to ecosystems and livelihoods. Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause groundwater levels to decline1–10, resulting in seawater intrusion11, land subsidence12,13, streamflow depletion14–16and wells running dry17. However, the global pace and prevalence of local groundwater declines are poorly constrained, because in situ groundwater levels have not been synthesized at the global scale. Here we analyse in situ groundwater-level trends for 170,000 monitoring wells and 1,693 aquifer systems in countries that encompass approximately 75% of global groundwater withdrawals18. We show that rapid groundwater-level declines (>0.5 m year−1) are widespread in the twenty-first century, especially in dry regions with extensive croplands. Critically, we also show that groundwater-level declines have accelerated over the past four decades in 30% of the world’s regional aquifers. This widespread acceleration in groundwater-level deepening highlights an urgent need for more effective measures to address groundwater depletion. Our analysis also reveals specific cases in which depletion trends have reversed following policy changes, managed aquifer recharge and surface-water diversions, demonstrating the potential for depleted aquifer systems to recover.
Green steel from red mud through climate-neutral hydrogen plasma reduction
Authors: Jovičević-Klug Matic , Souza Filho Isnaldi R. , Springer Hauke , Adam Christian , Raabe Dierk
Published: January 2024

Red mud is the waste of bauxite refinement into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium production1. With about 180 million tonnes produced per year1, red mud has amassed to one of the largest environmentally hazardous waste products, with the staggering amount of 4 billion tonnes accumulated on a global scale1. Here we present how this red mud can be turned into valuable and sustainable feedstock for ironmaking using fossil-free hydrogen-plasma-based reduction, thus mitigating a part of the steel-related carbon dioxide emissions by making it available for the production of several hundred million tonnes of green steel. The process proceeds through rapid liquid-state reduction, chemical partitioning, as well as density-driven and viscosity-driven separation between metal and oxides. We show the underlying chemical reactions, pH-neutralization processes and phase transformations during this surprisingly simple and fast reduction method. The approach establishes a sustainable toxic-waste treatment from aluminium production through using red mud as feedstock to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from steelmaking.
Mosaic integration and knowledge transfer of single-cell multimodal data with MIDAS
Authors: He Zhen , Hu Shuofeng , Chen Yaowen , An Sijing , Zhou Jiahao , Liu Runyan , Shi Junfeng , Wang Jing , Dong Guohua , Shi Jinhui , Zhao Jiaxin , Ou-Yang Le , Zhu Yuan , Bo Xiaochen , Ying Xiaomin
Published: January 2024

Integrating single-cell datasets produced by multiple omics technologies is essential for defining cellular heterogeneity. Mosaic integration, in which different datasets share only some of the measured modalities, poses major challenges, particularly regarding modality alignment and batch effect removal. Here, we present a deep probabilistic framework for the mosaic integration and knowledge transfer (MIDAS) of single-cell multimodal data. MIDAS simultaneously achieves dimensionality reduction, imputation and batch correction of mosaic data by using self-supervised modality alignment and information-theoretic latent disentanglement. We demonstrate its superiority to 19 other methods and reliability by evaluating its performance in trimodal and mosaic integration tasks. We also constructed a single-cell trimodal atlas of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tailored transfer learning and reciprocal reference mapping schemes to enable flexible and accurate knowledge transfer from the atlas to new data. Applications in mosaic integration, pseudotime analysis and cross-tissue knowledge transfer on bone marrow mosaic datasets demonstrate the versatility and superiority of MIDAS. MIDAS is available at https://github.com/labomics/midas.
Single-nucleus multi-omic profiling of human placental syncytiotrophoblasts identifies cellular trajectories during pregnancy
Authors: Wang Meijiao , Liu Yawei , Sun Run , Liu Fenting , Li Jiaqian , Yan Long , Zhang Jixiang , Xie Xinwei , Li Dongxu , Wang Yiming , Li Shiwen , Zhu Xili , Li Rong , Lu Falong , Xiao Zhenyu , Wang Hongmei
Published: January 2024

The human placenta has a vital role in ensuring a successful pregnancy. Despite the growing body of knowledge about its cellular compositions and functions, there has been limited research on the heterogeneity of the billions of nuclei within the syncytiotrophoblast (STB), a multinucleated entity primarily responsible for placental function. Here we conducted integrated single-nucleus RNA sequencing and single-nucleus ATAC sequencing analyses of human placentas from early and late pregnancy. Our findings demonstrate the dynamic heterogeneity and developmental trajectories of STB nuclei and their correspondence with human trophoblast stem cell (hTSC)-derived STB. Furthermore, we identified transcription factors associated with diverse STB nuclear lineages through their gene regulatory networks and experimentally confirmed their function in hTSC and trophoblast organoid-derived STBs. Together, our data provide insights into the heterogeneity of human STB and represent a valuable resource for interpreting associated pregnancy complications.
Optimizing power consumption and position control in an electro-hydraulic system with cylinder bypass and NN-MPC
Authors: Khedr Omar Hesham , Awad Mohammed Ibrahim , Al-Oufy Affaf Khamis , Maged Shady A.
Published: January 2024

This study introduces an innovative approach to enhance the energy efficiency and position control performance of electro-hydraulic systems, employing a comprehensive comparative analysis. It presents and evaluates three control techniques: Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control, Model Predictive Control (MPC), and Neural Network Model Predictive Control (NN-MPC). These methods are systematically assessed across varying load conditions. Notably, our research unequivocally establishes the exceptional performance of the NN-MPC approach, even when confronted with load variations. Furthermore, the study conducts an exhaustive examination of energy consumption by comparing a conventional system, where a flow control valve is not utilized as a hydraulic cylinder bypass, with a proposed system that employs a fully open Flow Control Valve (FCV). The results underscore the remarkable energy savings achieved, reaching up to 9% at high load levels.
Reliability of a method to assess corticomotor excitability of lower limb muscles using a normalized EMG motor thresholding procedure
Authors: Shih Yo , Powers Christopher M. , Fisher Beth E.
Published: January 2024

Given the importance of determining intervention-induced neuroplastic changes with lower extremity functional tasks, a reliable transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) methodology for proximal lower extremity muscles is needed. A pre-set fixed voltage value is typically used as the criterion for identifying a motor evoked potential (MEP) during the motor thresholding procedure. However, the fixed voltage value becomes problematic when the procedure is applied to proximal lower extremity muscles where active contractions are required. We sought to establish the reliability of a method measuring corticomotor excitability of gluteus maximus and vastus lateralis using normalized electromyography (EMG) as the criterion for identifying MEPs during the motor thresholding procedure. The active motor threshold for each muscle was determined using the lowest stimulator intensity required to elicit 5 MEPs that exceeded 20% maximal voluntary isometric contraction from 10 stimulations. TMS data were obtained from 10 participants on 2 separate days and compared using random-effect intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Slopes from two input–output curve fitting methods as well as the maximum MEP of gluteus maximus and vastus lateralis were found to exhibit good to excellent reliability (ICCs ranging from 0.75 to 0.99). The described TMS method using EMG-normalized criteria for motor thresholding produced reliable results utilizing a relatively low number of TMS pulses.
Non-invasive quantification of corneal vascularization using anterior segment optical coherence tomography angiography
Authors: Aschauer Julia , Klimek Michal , Donner Ruth , Lammer Jan , Roberts Philipp , Schranz Markus , Schmidinger Gerald
Published: January 2024

The presence of corneal vascularization (CV) interferes with the angiogenic and immune privilege of the cornea, risking rejection in eyes following keratoplasty. Pre-operative (lymph)-angioregression is a promising therapeutic approach, but objective monitoring by non-invasive CV imaging is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate anterior-segment optical coherence tomography angiography (AS-OCTA) for CV visualization and quantification, and to show its superiority over slit-lamp photography in high-risk eyes scheduled for keratoplasty. This institutional pilot study included 29 eyes of 26 patients (51 ± 16 years, 8 female) with significant CV scheduled for keratoplasty that were imaged by slit-lamp photography (Zeiss SL 800) and AS-OCTA (Zeiss Plex Elite 9000). After manual corneal layer segmentation correction, CV maximum/relative depth was measured with the inbuilt software. Slit-lamp photographs and AS-OCTA images were compared for visualization of vascular details. Angiotool software allowed a semi-automated determination of CV-related parameters in the vascular complex of AS-OCTA images. The predominant causes of CV were the herpes simplex virus keratitis (n = 7) and chemical burn (n = 4). Visualization of vascular morphology in AS-OCTA was superior to slit-lamp photography in all except one eye. Vascular metrics including total vessel length, number of junctions/endpoints, junction density, lacunarity, and vessel area/density were defined using Angiotool, with CV depth localization despite scarring and opacification. AS-OCTA proved effective for angioregressive treatment monitoring. AS-OCTA enables non-invasive and objective three-dimensional visualization of corneal vascularization superior to slit-lamp photography, and could be a precious tool for monitoring angioregressive preconditioning prior to keratoplasty.
Spodium bonding in bis(alkynyl)mecurials
Authors: Onn Chee S. , Hill Anthony F. , Ward Jas S.
Published: January 2024

A heterotrimetallic complex in which mercury and tungsten are linked by tetra-atomic C–Se–CC– bridges reveals a propensity for diorganomercurials to enter into non-covalent spodium bonding.
In situ assembly of Ni3S2 nanosheets encapsulated with NiFe(oxy)hydroxides for efficient water oxidation
Authors: Wei Yu , Liu Zhao , Han Zhenze , Liu Taolue , Ding Xin , Gao Yan
Published: January 2024

An ultrathin NiFe(OH)x electrocatalyst on Ni3S2 nanosheets was fabricated via chemical nanoengineering technology. The NiFe(OH)x/Ni3S2/NF electrode exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic activity and durability for the oxygen evolution reaction.
Fabrication of shish-kebab structure of MnO2@Co3O4 with remarkably enhanced oxidase-mimicking activity for the detection of l-cysteine
Authors: Zhu Linyu , Zheng Jing , Ci Yanan , Han Lu , Meng Jingjing , Qian Jiayi , Yin Xue-bo
Published: January 2024

Herein, one-dimensional shish-kebab MnO2@Co3O4 was fabricated and employed as a highly active and cost-effective multifunctional nanozyme for the detection of l-cysteine owing to its excellent enzyme-like catalytic and stable performance.
Designing thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters with through-space charge transfer: a theoretical study
Authors: Song Jinhui , Lv Xin , Gu Junjing , Yam ChiYung , Meng Lingyi
Published: January 2024

We conducted a theoretical investigation into two recently reported TSCT-TADF molecules and designed three novel molecules with high molecular rigidity. These molecules exhibit deep-blue light emissions and rapid reverse intersystem crossing rates.
Impact of doping on the mechanical properties of conjugated polymers
Authors: Paleti Sri Harish Kumar , Kim Youngseok , Kimpel Joost , Craighero Mariavittoria , Haraguchi Shuichi , Müller Christian
Published: January 2024

Chemical and electrochemical doping can strongly alter the electrical but also mechanical properties of conjugated polymers, which may enable new types of tunable materials and devices of interest for wearable electronics and bioelectronics.
Nanomaterials for light-mediated therapeutics in deep tissue
Authors: Tsang Chung Yin , Zhang Yong
Published: January 2024

Different activation modes, including chemiluminescence, NIR, X-ray and ultrasound, have been employed to trigger specific light-mediated therapeutics, such as photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy and drug delivery.
Low-spin to low-spin valence tautomeric transition in cobalt bis-dioxolenes
Authors: Mörtel Max , Goodner Stephen J. , Oschwald Johannes , Scheurer Andreas , Drewello Thomas , Khusniyarov Marat M.
Published: January 2024

Intramolecular electron transfer without accompanying spin-crossover in cobalt bis-dioxolenes has been observed for the first time.
Fine-tuning of thermally induced SCO behaviors of trinuclear cyanido-bridged complexes by regulating the electron donating ability of CCN-terminal fragments
Authors: Huang Ying-Ying , He Yong , Liu Yang , Fu Jin-Hui , Liu Xiao-lin , Wu Xin-Tao , Sheng Tian-Lu
Published: January 2024

The T1/2 of complexes decreases with the increase of the electron-donating ability of CCN-terminal fragments (increasing the number of methyl substituents on a cyclopentadiene ligand or replacing Ru with Fe).
Magnetic field and ultrasound induced simultaneous wireless energy harvesting
Authors: Karan Sumanta Kumar , Hosur Sujay , Kashani Zeinab , Leng Haoyang , Vijay Anitha , Sriramdas Rammohan , Wang Kai , Poudel Bed , Patterson Andrew D. , Kiani Mehdi , Priya Shashank
Published: January 2024

A dual energy harvester based upon the magnetoelectric mechanism is reported. The harvester can generate ∼52.1 mW under simultaneously applied magnetic field and ultrasound in porcine tissue operating under safety limits.
Potential tourmaline reference materials for microbeam B and Sr isotopic analyses
Authors: Chen Qijing , Wang Ri-Jing , Yu Hong-Xia , Zhu Guanhong , Zhang Yan-Qiang , Xia Xiao-Ping , Ren Zhong-Yuan , Zhang Le
Published: January 2024

Tourmaline reference materials for in situ B and Sr isotopic analyses.
Boron elemental and isotopic determination via the BF diatomic molecule using high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry
Authors: Aramendía Maite , de Souza André L. M. , Nakadi Flávio V. , Resano Martín
Published: January 2024

A new approach for the elemental and isotopic monitoring of boron via HR CS GFMAS is introduced.
Speech Enhancement Using Joint DNN‐NMF Model Learned with Multi‐Objective Frequency Differential Spectrum Loss Function
Authors: Pashaian Matin , Seyedin Sanaz
Published: January 2024

We propose a multi‐objective joint model of non‐negative matrix factorization (NMF) and deep neural network (DNN) with a new loss function for speech enhancement. The proposed loss function (LMOFD) is a weighted combination of a frequency differential spectrum mean squared error (MSE)‐based loss function (LFD) and a multi‐objective MSE loss function (LMO). The conventional MSE loss function computes the discrepancy between the estimated speech and clean speech across all frequencies, disregarding the process of changing amplitude in the frequency domain which contains valuable information. The differential spectrum representation retains spectral peaks that carry important information. Using this representation helps to ensure that this information in the speech signal is reserved. Also, on the other hand, noise spectra typically have a flat shape and as the differential operation makes the flat spectral partly close to zero, the differential spectrum is resistant to noises with smooth structures. Thus, we propose using a frequency‐differentiated loss function that considers the magnitude spectrum differentiations between the neighboring frequency bins in each time frame. This approach maintains the spectrum variations of the objective signal in the frequency domain, which can effectively reduce the noise deterioration effects. The multi‐objective MSE term (LMO) is a combined two‐loss function related to the NMF coefficients which are the intermediate output targets, and the original spectral signals as the actual output targets. The use of encoded NMF coefficients as low‐dimensional structural features for DNN serves as prior knowledge and helps the learning process. LMO is used beside LFD to take advantage of both the properties of the original and the differential spectrum in the training loss function. Moreover, a DNN‐based noise classification and fusion strategy (NCF) is proposed to exploit a discriminative model for noise reduction. The experiments reveal the improvements of the proposed approach compared to the previous methods.
Représentations spatiales du potentiel de maturité des cépages Chardonnay et Chenin en régions Bretagne et Pays de la Loire (1976-2100)
Authors: Petitjean Théo , Bonnardot Valérie , Tissot Cyril , Chassaing Thomas , Quénol Hervé
Published: January 2024

L’avancée des stades phénologiques et de la maturité de la vigne observée ces dernières années sur l’ensemble des vignobles mondiaux impactent la quantité et la qualité de la production. Afin d’évaluer ces évolutions dans le contexte de changement climatique, cette étude propose une analyse spatio-temporelle du potentiel de maturité des cépages Chardonnay et Chenin sur une région viticole traditionnelle, les Pays de la Loire, et une région viticole émergente, la Bretagne. Deux méthodes de spatialisation de l’indice de maturité « Grapevine Sugar Ripeness - GSR» sont proposées afin de représenter la variabilité des potentiels de maturité dans le futur et de contribuer à l’évaluation de la durabilité et/ou faisabilité économique de l’activité en fonction des différents objectifs de production. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les dates de maturité du Chardonnay et du Chenin en Bretagne dans un futur lointain (2071-2100) pourraient être celles des Pays de la Loire en futur proche (2021-2050).
Approximation of splines in Wasserstein spaces
Authors: Justiniano Jorge , Rumpf Martin , Erbar Matthias
Published: January 2024

This paper investigates a time discrete variational model for splines in Wasserstein spaces to interpolate probability measures. Cubic splines in Euclidean space are known to minimize the integrated squared acceleration subject to a set of interpolation constraints. As generalization on the space of probability measures the integral of the squared acceleration is considered as a spline energy and regularized by addition of the usual action functional. Both energies are then discretized in time using local Wasserstein-2 distances and the generalized Wasserstein barycenter. The existence of time discrete regularized splines for given interpolation conditions is established. On the subspace of Gaussian distributions, the spline interpolation problem is solved explicitly and consistency in the discrete to continuous limit is shown. The computation of time discrete splines is implemented numerically, based on entropy regularization and the Sinkhorn algorithm. A variant of Nesterov’s accelerated gradient descent algorithm is applied for the minimization of the fully discrete functional. A variety of numerical examples demonstrate the robustness of the approach and show striking characteristics of the method. As a particular application the spline interpolation for synthesized textures is presented.