bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Large inverse spin Hall effect in BiSb topological insulator for 4 Tb/in2 magnetic recording technology
Authors: Huy Ho Hoang , Sasaki Julian , Khang Nguyen Huynh Duy , Namba Shota , Hai Pham Nam , Le Quang , York Brian , Hwang Cherngye , Liu Xiaoyong , Gribelyuk Michael , Xu Xiaoyu , Le Son , Ho Michael , Takano Hisashi
Published: January 2023

It is technically challenging to shrink the size of a tunneling magnetoresistance reader to below 20 nm for magnetic recording technology beyond 4 Tb/in2 due to its complex film stack. Recently, we proposed a reader architecture based on the inverse spin Hall effect to resolve those challenges, referred below as spin–orbit torque (SOT) reader, whose structure consists of a SOT layer and a ferromagnetic layer. However, the heavy metal-based SOT reader has small output voltage and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to the limited spin Hall angle θSH (< 1) of heavy metals. In this Letter, we demonstrate the integration of BiSb topological insulator with strong inverse spin Hall effect into the SOT reader that can significantly improve the output voltage and SNR. First, we theoretically calculate the noises in a 20 × 20 nm2 BiSb-based SOT reader to establish the relationships between SNR and θSH at various bias currents. We then demonstrate proof-of-concept BiSb-based SOT readers using CoFe/MgO/BiSb stack, which show large output voltages up to 15 mV at an input current of 9.4 kA/cm2 at room temperature. We project a giant θSH = 61 for BiSb. Our work demonstrates the potential of BiSb for SOT reader beyond 4 Tb/in2 magnetic recording technology.
Experimental and mechanical analyses of dust agglomeration on photovoltaic surfaces due to condensation
Authors: Hu Guoqiang , Huang Pengluan , Zhao Xiaodong , Lu Luyi , Ding Honggang , Li Jianlan
Published: January 2023

The dust deposited on a photovoltaic (PV) surface decreases the photoelectric efficiency of a module, leading to potential security risks. A few studies have demonstrated that condensation affects dust accumulation on PV surfaces; however, the mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of dust agglomeration dynamic factors on PV surfaces using micro-experiments and mechanical analysis. An experimental platform for dust particle agglomeration due to condensation was designed and developed, and microscopic experiments were conducted to study the dust particle agglomeration process on the PV panel surface. The particles on the hydrophilic PV surface were confirmed to agglomerate owing to condensation. The particle agglomeration process on the hydrophilic PV surface primarily entails three typical processes that occur sequentially: fusion between droplets, fusion between the semi-submerged particles and droplets, and agglomeration between semi-submerged particles. The particles agglomerated on the hydrophilic PV surfaces have a tiled morphology. An analysis of the particle agglomeration mechanism on the hydrophilic PV surface due to condensation was performed. Water surface tension was identified as the main dynamic factor leading to particle agglomeration during condensation. The results provide theoretical guidance for reducing the dust deposited on PV surfaces.
Benchmark of general-purpose machine learning-based quantum mechanical method AIQM1 on reaction barrier heights
Authors: Chen Yuxinxin , Ou Yanchi , Zheng Peikun , Huang Yaohuang , Ge Fuchun , Dral Pavlo O.
Published: January 2023

Artificial intelligence-enhanced quantum mechanical method 1 (AIQM1) is a general-purpose method that was shown to achieve high accuracy for many applications with a speed close to its baseline semiempirical quantum mechanical (SQM) method ODM2*. Here, we evaluate the hitherto unknown performance of out-of-the-box AIQM1 without any refitting for reaction barrier heights on eight datasets, including a total of ∼24 thousand reactions. This evaluation shows that AIQM1’s accuracy strongly depends on the type of transition state and ranges from excellent for rotation barriers to poor for, e.g., pericyclic reactions. AIQM1 clearly outperforms its baseline ODM2* method and, even more so, a popular universal potential, ANI-1ccx. Overall, however, AIQM1 accuracy largely remains similar to SQM methods (and B3LYP/6-31G* for most reaction types) suggesting that it is desirable to focus on improving AIQM1 performance for barrier heights in the future. We also show that the built-in uncertainty quantification helps in identifying confident predictions. The accuracy of confident AIQM1 predictions is approaching the level of popular density functional theory methods for most reaction types. Encouragingly, AIQM1 is rather robust for transition state optimizations, even for the type of reactions it struggles with the most. Single-point calculations with high-level methods on AIQM1-optimized geometries can be used to significantly improve barrier heights, which cannot be said for its baseline ODM2* method.
Fast Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro rule with tunable threshold realized in ferroelectric tunnel junction for neuromorphic computing
Authors: Shen Xiaomi , Jia Caihong , Zhang Weifeng
Published: January 2023

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions remain great prospects for neuromorphic computing due to their significant nondestructive readout and ultra-low-energy consumption. In this work, versatile synaptic functions including paired-pulse facilitation, paired-pulse depression, spike-rate-dependent plasticity, and Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro learning rules have been simulated by electrical stimulation in ferroelectric tunnel junctions of the Au/La0.1Bi0.9FeO3/Nb:SrTiO3/In system. A potentiation at high frequency and a depression at low frequency are found under positive bias, while an opposite behavior is observed at negative bias. Furthermore, a fast Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro learning rule in nanosecond order with the sliding threshold rate and enhanced depression effect is demonstrated by only applying a series of presynaptic pulse trains. These findings provide a method for simulating fast Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro learning rules based on ferroelectric tunnel junction.
Work statistics in slow thermodynamic processes
Authors: Gu Jie
Published: January 2023

We apply the adiabatic approximation to slow but finite-time thermodynamic processes and obtain the full counting statistics of work. The average work consists of change in free energy and the dissipated work, and we identify each term as a dynamical- and geometric-phase-like quantity. An expression for the friction tensor, the key quantity in thermodynamic geometry, is explicitly given. The dynamical and geometric phases are proved to be related to each other via the fluctuation-dissipation relation.
Flexible strain sensor with a hat-shaped structure for in situ measurement of 3D deformation
Authors: Xu Liqiang , Sun Quan , Lu Yebo
Published: January 2023

Flexible strain sensors that are currently available are mainly used in human motion recognition and medical health detection applications, and there is still an urgent need for sensors to realize real-time monitoring of the 3D deformation of industrial and agricultural products. In this work, a flexible strain sensor with a hat-shaped structure was fabricated using a molding technique to perform in situ measurement of 3D deformation. An algorithm for resistance change detection and linear calibration equations were proposed to enable analysis of the deformation data and calculation of local shape changes. The sensor was applied to monitor the growth deformation of a kumquat fruit, and the results were highly consistent with the algorithm. The proposed technique has great potential for application to 3D deformation detection of flexible objects.
1-Matrix functional for long-range interaction energy of two hydrogen atoms
Authors: Cioslowski Jerzy , Schilling Christian , Schilling Rolf
Published: January 2023

The leading terms in the large-R asymptotics of the functional of the one-electron reduced density matrix for the ground-state energy of the H2 molecule with the internuclear separation R are derived thanks to the solution of the phase dilemma at the R → ∞ limit. At this limit, the respective natural orbitals (NOs) are given by symmetric and antisymmetric combinations of “half-space” orbitals with the corresponding natural amplitudes having the same amplitudes but opposite signs. Minimization of the resulting explicit functional yields the large-R asymptotics for the occupation numbers of the weakly occupied NOs and the C6 dispersion coefficient. The highly accurate approximates for the radial components of the p-type “half-space” orbitals and the corresponding occupation numbers (that decay like R−6), which are available for the first time thanks to the development of the present formalism, have some unexpected properties.
Environmental impacts of the Australian poultry industry. 2. Egg production
Authors: Copley M. A. , Wiedemann S. G. , McGahan E. J.
Published: January 2023

Context Eggs, a dietary staple, are a low environmental-impact animal protein, although no quantified analysis has been published for the Australian egg industry. Aims This study determined baseline greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, fossil energy use, freshwater consumption, water stress, and land-occupation impacts for the Australian egg for 2020 and identified hotspots. Methods To understand the environmental credentials of the industry, an attributional life-cycle assessment was conducted using primary data collected from all major Australian production regions. Impacts were reported per kilogram of table eggs and per kilogram of shell- and protein-corrected eggs for cage (C), cage-free (CF) and free-range (FR) production. Monte Carlo analysis was used to assess uncertainty, and results are presented using the means and standard deviations. Key results Statistically significant (P < 0.05) differences among all systems were found for GHG and land occupation, and between cage and non-cage systems for fossil energy use. Impacts were 1.2 ± 0.04 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e), 10.7 ± 0.2 MJ, 177.2 ± 19.0 L, 84.5 ± 9.6 L H2O-e and 16.0 ± 1.6 m3, and 7.6 ± 0.1 m2/kg C eggs, 1.4 ± 0.03 kg CO2-e, 12.0 ± 0.3 MJ, 190.6 ± 23.1 L, 88.9 ± 10.3 L H2O-e and 17.5 ± 1.9 m3, and 8.1 ± 0.1 m2/kg CF eggs and 1.5 ± 0.04 kg CO2-e, 12.2 ± 0.3 MJ, 204.6 ± 23.9 L, 100.8 ± 10.7 L H2O-e and 19.1 ± 1.8 m3 and 8.7 ± 0.1 m2/kg FR eggs. Land use and direct land use-change emissions associated with imported soymeal were significant, contributing a further 0.6 ± 0.1, 0.7 ± 0.1 and 0.7 ± 0.1 kg CO2-e/kg C, CF and FR eggs respectively. More efficient feed conversion ratios (FCRs) drove lower impacts in C production. Feed production was the major hotspot, followed by the layer farm and pullet rearing operations. Conclusions Reducing impacts will be most effective through changing diets to reduce reliance on high environmental-impact feed commodities, FCR improvements and energy efficiency measures to reduce housing energy demand. Improved land management is likely to have resulted in isolated small levels of carbon sequestration in Australian cropland over the analysis period, offsetting some GHG emissions. Further reduction in environmental impacts will rely on decarbonisation of feed supply chains and prioritisation of low environmental-impact feed commodities. Implications Being the first industry-wide environmental assessment of Australian egg production, this study has highlighted the need for ongoing assessment to isolate inter-annual variability, determine long-term trends, and investigate pathways to reduce impacts into the future.
Book Review
Authors: Fulton Graham R.
Published: January 2023

This book is the revised and updated version of the award winning book by Charles Massey OAM. It is a manifesto on regenerative agriculture. Deeply researched, presenting a lifetime of learning on how to cease thrashing the earth and commence healing it.
Evaluation of lion (Panthera leo) scat as a wild dog (Lycaon pictus) deterrent on game farms
Authors: Haring Ronja D. , Beverley Grant , Thompson Peter N. , Taylor Andrew , O’Dell Jacques H.
Published: January 2023

Context The conservation of the Endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) poses a major challenge to conservationists because outside the boundaries of protected areas, wild dogs are prone to conflict with farmers. Mitigation measures appropriate for game farmers are scarce, leaving them with limited options to reduce wild dog impact. As a result, targeted persecution is a common occurrence. However, wild dogs are subject to intraguild competition with dominant competitors, often resulting in their suppression and spatial displacement. Therefore, olfactory cues of lion presence may trigger an adverse reaction in wild dogs, and could be a means to manage wild dog movements across the landscape to prevent conflict with farmers. Aim We aimed to evaluate whether wild dogs can be deterred by simulating lion presence. Methods By using translocated scent cues in the form of lion scat deployed along the perimeter of plots, lion presence was simulated on game farms where lions were absent. The rate and duration of incursions by wild dogs, collared with GPS trackers, into control and treatment plots (‘group’) were evaluated. Key results Wild dog incursion rate dropped by 55.5%, and duration of incursion events dropped by 72.7%, after lion scat was deposited. Control and treatment plots were equally affected with no significant effect of the grouping on wild dog movement. The magnitude of the treatment effect differed between packs. Conclusion The significant decline of wild dog movement after implementation of treatment suggests a deterrence effect. The insignificant effect of group on wild dog movement indicates large-scale avoidance triggered by a change in the wild dogs’ risk perception across the landscape following treatment. The fact that the magnitude of the treatment effect differed between packs indicates that the response to predator cues is likely to be context-dependent. Implications The findings present a novel approach to managing free-roaming wild dogs by utilising biologically relevant cues, which may benefit wild dog conservation. There is a need for further research to develop the emerging field of scent studies to provide non-lethal solutions and progress towards evidence-based large carnivore management practices.
Multilayered optofluidics for sustainable buildings
Authors: Kay Raphael , Jakubiec J. Alstan , Katrycz Charlie , Hatton Benjamin D.
Published: January 2023

Indoor climate control is among the most energy-intensive activities conducted by humans. A building facade that can achieve versatile climate control directly, through independent and multifunctional optical reconfigurations, could significantly reduce this energy footprint, and its development represents a pertinent unmet challenge toward global sustainability. Drawing from optically adaptive multilayer skins within biological organisms, we report a multilayered millifluidic interface for achieving a comprehensive suite of independent optical responses in buildings. We digitally control the flow of aqueous solutions within confined milliscale channels, demonstrating independent command over total transmitted light intensity (95% modulation between 250 and 2,500 nm), near-infrared-selective absorption (70% modulation between 740 and 2,500 nm), and dispersion (scattering). This combinatorial optical tunability enables configurable optimization of the amount, wavelength, and position of transmitted solar radiation within buildings over time, resulting in annual modeled energy reductions of more than 43% over existing technologies. Our scalable “optofluidic” platform, leveraging a versatile range of aqueous chemistries, may represent a general solution for the climate control of buildings.
Cooperative transitions involving hydrophobic polyelectrolytes
Authors: Martin Robinson James L. , Kegel Willem K.
Published: January 2023

Hydrophobic polyelectrolytes (HPEs) can solubilize bilayer membranes, form micelles, or can reversibly aggregate as a function of pH. The transitions are often remarkably sharp. We show that these cooperative transitions occur by a competition between two or more conformational states and can be explained within the framework of Monod–Wymann–Changeux (MWC) theory that was originally formulated for allosteric interactions. Here, we focus on the pH-dependent destabilization and permeation of bilayer membranes by HPEs. We formulate the general conditions that lead to sharp conformational transitions involving simple macromolecules mediated by concentration variations of molecular ligands. That opens up potential applications ranging from medicine to the development of switchable materials.
Boundary exchange completes the marine Pb cycle jigsaw
Authors: Chen Mengli , Carrasco Gonzalo , Zhao Ning , Wang Xianfeng , Lee Jen Nie , Tanzil Jani T. I. , Annammala Kogila Vani , Poh Seng Chee , Lauro Federico M. , Ziegler Alan D. , Duangnamon Decha , Boyle Edward A.
Published: January 2023

Material fluxes at the land–ocean interface impact seawater composition and global cycling of elements. However, most attention has been focused on the fluvial dissolved fluxes. For elements like lead (Pb), whose fluvial particulate flux into the ocean is two orders of magnitude higher than the dissolved counterpart, the role of particulates in elemental cycling is potentially important but currently less appreciated. Using both chemical analyses on samples collected from around equatorial Southeast Asia and model simulations, we show that particulate-dissolved exchange is an important mechanism controlling the concentration and isotopic composition of dissolved Pb in the ocean. Our model indicates that Pb contributed from particulate-dissolved exchange at ocean boundaries is larger than, or at least comparable to, other major Pb sources to the seawater before the Anthropocene, when the anthropogenic Pb was absent. Our work highlights the importance of boundary exchange in understanding marine element cycling and weathering-climate feedback.
Genome-wide CRISPRi screen identifies enhanced autolithotrophic phenotypes in acetogenic bacterium
Eubacterium limosum
Authors: Shin Jongoh , Bae Jiyun , Lee Hyeonsik , Kang Seulgi , Jin Sangrak , Song Yoseb , Cho Suhyung , Cho Byung-Kwan
Published: January 2023

Acetogenic bacteria are a unique biocatalyst that highly promises to develop the sustainable bioconversion of carbon oxides (e.g., CO and CO
2
) into multicarbon biochemicals. Genotype–phenotype relationships are important for engineering their metabolic capability to enhance their biocatalytic performance; however, systemic investigation on the fitness contribution of individual gene has been limited. Here, we report genome-scale CRISPR interference screening using 41,939 guide RNAs designed from the
E. limosum
genome, one of the model acetogenic species, where all genes were targeted for transcriptional suppression. We investigated the fitness contributions of 96% of the total genes identified, revealing the gene fitness and essentiality for heterotrophic and autotrophic metabolisms. Our data show that the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, membrane regeneration, membrane protein biosynthesis, and butyrate synthesis are essential for autotrophic acetogenesis in
E. limosum
. Furthermore, we discovered genes that are repression targets that unbiasedly increased autotrophic growth rates fourfold and acetoin production 1.5-fold compared to the wild-type strain under CO
2
-H
2
conditions. These results provide insight for understanding acetogenic metabolism and genome engineering in acetogenic bacteria.
Engineering the interfacial orientation of MoS
2
/Co
9
S
8
bidirectional catalysts with highly exposed active sites for reversible Li-CO
2
batteries
Authors: Lu Bingyi , Chen Biao , Wang Dashuai , Li Chuang , Gao Runhua , Liu Yingqi , Mao Rui , Yang Jinlong , Zhou Guangmin
Published: January 2023

Sluggish CO
2
reduction reaction (CO
2
RR) and evolution reaction (CO
2
ER) kinetics at cathodes seriously hamper the applications of Li-CO
2
batteries, which have attracted vast attention as one kind of promising carbon-neutral technology. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have shown great potential as the bidirectional catalysts for CO
2
redox, but how to achieve a high exposure of dual active sites of TMDs with CO
2
RR/CO
2
ER activities remains a challenge. Herein, a bidirectional catalyst that vertically growing MoS
2
on Co
9
S
8
supported by carbon paper (V-MoS
2
/Co
9
S
8
@CP) has been designed with abundant edge as active sites for both CO
2
RR and CO
2
ER, improves the interfacial conductivity, and modulates the electron transportation pathway along the basal planes. As evidenced by the outstanding energy efficiency of 81.2% and ultra-small voltage gap of 0.68 V at 20 μA cm
−2
, Li-CO
2
batteries with V-MoS
2
/Co
9
S
8
@CP show superior performance compared with horizontally growing MoS
2
on Co
9
S
8
(H-MoS
2
/Co
9
S
8
@CP), MoS
2
@CP, and Co
9
S
8
@CP. Density functional theory calculations help reveal the relationship between performance and structure and demonstrate the synergistic effect between MoS
2
edge sites and Co
9
S
8
. This work provides an avenue to understand and realize rationally designed electronic contact of TMDs with specified crystal facets, but more importantly, provides a feasible guide for the design of high-performance cathodic catalyst materials in Li-CO
2
batteries.
Two specific domains of the γ subunit of chloroplast F
o
F
1
provide redox regulation of the ATP synthesis through conformational changes
Authors: Akiyama Kentaro , Ozawa Shin-Ichiro , Takahashi Yuichiro , Yoshida Keisuke , Suzuki Toshiharu , Kondo Kumiko , Wakabayashi Ken-ichi , Hisabori Toru
Published: January 2023

Chloroplast F
o
F
1
-ATP synthase (CF
o
CF
1
) converts proton motive force into chemical energy during photosynthesis. Although many studies have been done to elucidate the catalytic reaction and its regulatory mechanisms, biochemical analyses using the CF
o
CF
1
complex have been limited because of various technical barriers, such as the difficulty in generating mutants and a low purification efficiency from spinach chloroplasts. By taking advantage of the powerful genetics available in the unicellular green alga
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
, we analyzed the ATP synthesis reaction and its regulation in CF
o
CF
1
. The domains in the γ subunit involved in the redox regulation of CF
o
CF
1
were mutated based on the reported structure. An in vivo analysis of strains harboring these mutations revealed the structural determinants of the redox response during the light/dark transitions. In addition, we established a half day purification method for the entire CF
o
CF
1
complex from
C. reinhardtii
and subsequently examined ATP synthesis activity by the acid–base transition method. We found that truncation of the β-hairpin domain resulted in a loss of redox regulation of ATP synthesis (i.e., constitutively active state) despite retaining redox-sensitive Cys residues. In contrast, truncation of the redox loop domain containing the Cys residues resulted in a marked decrease in the activity. Based on this mutation analysis, we propose a model of redox regulation of the ATP synthesis reaction by the cooperative function of the β-hairpin and the redox loop domains specific to CF
o
CF
1
.
Arabidopsis Sec14 proteins (SFH5 and SFH7) mediate interorganelle transport of phosphatidic acid and regulate chloroplast development
Authors: Yao Hong-Yan , Lu Yao-Qi , Yang Xiao-Li , Wang Xiao-Qing , Luo Zhipu , Lin De-Li , Wu Jia-Wei , Xue Hong-Wei
Published: January 2023

Lipids establish the specialized thylakoid membrane of chloroplast in eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, while the molecular basis of lipid transfer from other organelles to chloroplast remains further elucidation. Here we revealed the structural basis of
Arabidopsis
Sec14 homology proteins AtSFH5 and AtSFH7 in transferring phosphatidic acid (PA) from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to chloroplast, and whose function in regulating the lipid composition of chloroplast and thylakoid development. AtSFH5 and AtSFH7 localize at both ER and chloroplast, whose deficiency resulted in an abnormal chloroplast structure and a decreased thickness of stacked thylakoid membranes. We demonstrated that AtSFH5, but not yeast and human Sec14 proteins, could specifically recognize and transfer PA in vitro. Crystal structures of the AtSFH5-Sec14 domain in complex with L-α-phosphatidic acid (L-α-PA) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DPPA) revealed that two PA ligands nestled in the central cavity with different configurations, elucidating the specific binding mode of PA to AtSFH5, different from the reported phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)/phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylinositol (PI) binding modes. Quantitative lipidomic analysis of chloroplast lipids showed that PA and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), particularly the C18 fatty acids at
sn
-2 position in MGDG were significantly decreased, indicating a disrupted ER-to-plastid (chloroplast) lipid transfer, under deficiency of AtSFH5 and AtSFH7. Our studies identified the role and elucidated the structural basis of plant SFH proteins in transferring PA between organelles, and suggested a model for ER-chloroplast interorganelle phospholipid transport from inherent ER to chloroplast derived from endosymbiosis of a cyanobacteriumproviding a mechanism involved in the adaptive evolution of cellular plastids.
The linguistic realization of continuative discourse relations in English discourse
Authors: Fetzer Anita , Klumm Matthias
Published: January 2023

This paper examines the linguistic realization of continuative discourse relations in British English written
discourse comparing narrative and argumentative dyadically edited texts. The data comprise 18 co-edited texts and metadata
documenting the editing process (keystroke logs and transcripts of the dyads negotiating discursive well-formedness). The focus of
analysis lies on the linguistic realization of coordinating continuation and narration, which keep the discourse
on the same level, and on the linguistic realization of subordinating elaboration and explanation, which
introduce a deeper level in the discourse hierarchy. Special attention is paid to contexts in which the discourse relations are
encoded in intra-clausal coherence strands, and to contexts in which they are additionally signalled in the peripheries. The
quantitative analysis of the signalling of continuative discourse relations shows genre-specific preferences for the signalling of
continuation and elaboration in the argumentative data, and continuation, narration and
explanation in the narrative data. Both the products of the edited data, the co-edited texts, and the metadata show
that the linguistic realization and interpretation of continuative discourse relations are – to varying degrees – subject to
recontextualization. We suggest that this variation provides evidence for (1) discourse relations as constitutive parts of
discourse grammar, and (2) genre as a blueprint which constrains their linguistic realization.
RLC phosphorylation amplifies Ca2+ sensitivity of force in myocardium from cMyBP-C knockout mice
Authors: Turner Kyrah L. , Morris Haley S. , Awinda Peter O. , Fitzsimons Daniel P. , Tanner Bertrand C.W.
Published: January 2023

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading genetic cause of heart disease. The heart comprises several proteins that work together to properly facilitate force production and pump blood throughout the body. Cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) is a thick-filament protein, and mutations in cMyBP-C are frequently linked with clinical cases of HCM. Within the sarcomere, the N-terminus of cMyBP-C likely interacts with the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC); RLC is a subunit of myosin located within the myosin neck region that modulates contractile dynamics via its phosphorylation state. Phosphorylation of RLC is thought to influence myosin head position along the thick-filament backbone, making it more favorable to bind the thin filament of actin and facilitate force production. However, little is known about how these two proteins interact. We tested the effects of RLC phosphorylation on Ca2+-regulated contractility using biomechanical assays on skinned papillary muscle strips isolated from cMyBP-C KO mice and WT mice. RLC phosphorylation increased Ca2+ sensitivity of contraction (i.e., pCa50) from 5.80 ± 0.02 to 5.95 ± 0.03 in WT strips, whereas RLC phosphorylation increased Ca2+ sensitivity of contraction from 5.86 ± 0.02 to 6.15 ± 0.03 in cMyBP-C KO strips. These data suggest that the effects of RLC phosphorylation on Ca2+ sensitivity of contraction are amplified when cMyBP-C is absent from the sarcomere. This implies that cMyBP-C and RLC act in concert to regulate contractility in healthy hearts, and mutations to these proteins that lead to HCM (or a loss of phosphorylation with disease progression) may disrupt important interactions between these thick-filament regulatory proteins.
Microscopic mechanism of PIEZO1 activation by pressure-induced membrane stretch
Authors: Wijerathne Tharaka D. , Ozkan Alper D. , Lacroix Jérôme J.
Published: January 2023

Mechanosensitive PIEZO1 ion channels open in response to membrane stretch. Yet, the underlying microscopic mechanism of this activation remains unknown. To probe this mechanism, we used cell-attached pressure-clamp recordings to measure single channel currents at different steady-state negative pipette pressures, spanning the full range of the channel’s pressure sensitivity. Pressure-dependent activation occurs through a sharp reduction of the mean shut duration and through a moderate increase of the mean open duration. Across all tested pressures, the distribution of open and shut dwell times best follows sums of two and three exponential components, respectively. As the magnitude of the pressure stimulus increases, the time constants of most of these exponential components gradually change, in opposite directions for open and shut dwell times, and to a similar extent. In addition, while the relative amplitudes of fast and slow components remain unchanged for open intervals, they fully reverse for shut intervals, further reducing the mean shut duration. Using two-dimensional dwell time analysis, Markov-chain modeling, and simulations, we identified a minimal five-states model which recapitulates essential characteristics of single channel data, including microscopic reversibility, correlations between adjacent open and shut intervals, and asymmetric modulation of dwell times by pressure. This study identifies a microscopic mechanism for the activation of PIEZO1 channels by pressure-induced membrane stretch and deepens our fundamental understanding of mechanotransduction by a vertebrate member of the PIEZO channel family.
Scaling analysis parameters in 3D-focusing velocity map imaging
Authors: Wu Ruichang , Ding Bocheng , Feng Yunfei , Wu Kefei , Jin Xin , Liu Xiao-Jing
Published: January 2023

Velocity map imaging spectrometer is a powerful tool for measuring the two-dimensional momenta of charged particles in dissociative photoionization processes. By combining a time-position sensitive detector with a three-dimensional (3D) source focusing mode, 3D momentum can be measured at a much higher resolution. However, due to the side effects of the non-uniform electric field in this mode, the retrieval of the 3D momentum becomes complicated. Here, we describe a method to retrieve the 3D momentum from the time of flight and the position at a numerical accuracy better than 0.1%, much below the best achievable relative energy resolution of 1% in the reported experiments. The method is consistently tested on simulated data, including ions with different masses and charges. Moreover, a scaling relationship is established among them.
Defect recombination suppression and carrier extraction improvement for efficient CsPbBr3/SnO2 heterojunction photodetectors
Authors: Zhang Qianwen , Yao Lijuan , Li Bobo , Fang Dan , Wang Dengkui , Li Jinhua , Wang Xiaohua , Han Peigang , Qiu Mingxia , Fang Xuan
Published: January 2023

Perovskite materials with excellent optical and electronic properties have huge potential in the research field of photodetectors. Constructing heterojunctions and promoting carrier transportation are significant for the development of perovskite-based optoelectronics devices with high performances. Herein, we demonstrated a CsPbBr3/SnO2 heterojunction photodetector and improved the device performances through post-annealing treatment of SnO2 film. The results indicated that the electrical properties of SnO2 films will make an important impact on carrier extraction, especially for type-II heterojunction. As the electrons transfer layer in CsPbBr3/SnO2 type-II heterojunction, defects related to oxygen vacancy should be the key factor to affect carrier concentration, induce carriers’ limitation and recombination rate. Under proper annealing temperature for SnO2 layer, the recombination rate can decrease to 1.37 × 1021 cm3 s and the spectral responsivity will be highly increased. This work can enhance the understanding on the photoresponse of perovskite photodetectors, and will be helpful for the further optimization and design of optoelectronic devices based on the perovskite heterojunction.
From multi-segmented to core/shell nanorods: morphology evolution in Fe–Au nanorods by tuning fabrication conditions
Authors: Khurshid Hafsa , Yoosuf Rahana , Zafar Humaira , Attanayake Supun B , Azeem Muhammad , Issa Bashar A , Anjum Dalaver H , Srikanth Hariharan
Published: January 2023

Aiming to obtain hybrid magneto-plasmonic nanostructures, we have developed multisegmented and core/shell structured Fe–Au nanorods using template assisted electrochemical deposition. A facile method of tuning the growth pattern of multisegmented nanorods into core/shell structured is demonstrated. With a precise control of current density and deposition time, a brick-stacked wire like growth led to the formation of hollow nanotubes that could be further tuned to multilayered hollow nanotubes and core/shell structured nanorods. TEM imaging and STEM-EELS technique were used to explore the morphology, microstructure and the distribution of Au and Fe in the nanorods. The easy magnetization direction was found to be perpendicular to the nanorods’ growth direction in the segmented nanorods. On the other hand, core/shell nanorods exhibited isotropic behavior. Our findings provide deeper insights into the fabrication of hybrid nanorods and the opportunity to tune the fabrication method to vary their morphology accordingly. Such studies will benefit design of hybrid nanorods with specific morphologies and physical properties and hence their integration into sensing, spintronics and other potential biomedical and technological applications.
Intersections of middle-α Cantor sets with a fixed translation
Authors: Huang Yan , Kong Derong
Published: January 2023

For

λ
∈
(
0
,
1

/

3
]

let C

λ
be the middle-

(
1
−
2
λ
)

Cantor set in

R

. Given

t
∈
[
−
1
,
1
]

, excluding the trivial case we show that

Λ
(
t
)
:=

λ
∈
(
0
,
1

/

3
]
:

C
λ

∩
(

C
λ

+
t
)
≠
∅

is a topological Cantor set with zero Lebesgue measure and full Hausdorff dimension. In particular, we calculate the local dimension of

Λ
(
t
)

, which reveals a dimensional variation principle. Furthermore, for any

β
∈
[
0
,
1
]

we show that the level set

Λ
β

(
t
)
:
=

{

λ
∈
Λ
(
t
)
:

dim

H

(

C
λ

∩
(

C
λ

+
t
)
)
=

dim

P

(

C
λ

∩
(

C
λ

+
t
)
)
=
β

log
2

−
log
λ

}

has equal Hausdorff and packing dimension

(
−
β
log
β
−
(
1
−
β
)
log

1
−
β

2

)

/

log
3

. We also show that the set of

λ
∈
Λ
(
t
)

for which

dim
H

(

C
λ

∩
(

C
λ

+
t
)
)
≠

dim
P

(

C
λ

∩
(

C
λ

+
t
)
)

has full Hausdorff dimension.
Typical electrical, mechanical, electromechanical characteristics of copper-encapsulated REBCO tapes after processing in temperature under 250 °C
Authors: Pan Xinyue , Wu Wei , Yu Xin , Lu Li , Guo Chunjiang , Zhao Yue
Published: January 2023

Heat treatments are inevitable not only in the production of rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) tapes, but also in their post-processing for applications, typically, in soldering and epoxy/wax impregnation during the fabrication of REBCO coils. In general, the heat treatment of REBCO tapes should be carried out at lower temperature for a shorter time, but the specific safe boundary of heat-treatment temperature and time for REBCO tapes is still unknown. Therefore, a comprehensive study on the typical electrical, mechanical, and electromechanical characteristics of REBCO tapes after heat treatments under temperature of 250 °C is necessary. This work focus on the copper-encapsulated REBCO tapes, which are more robust (while with much lower engineering current density) to be processed in application systems than the tapes without encapsulation. The critical current degradation, stress–strain characteristic, and electromechanical properties of REBCO tapes were measured after heat treatments at different temperatures in argon and oxygen atmosphere. A 2D finite element (FE) analysis model was established for detailed stress/train analyzes under tension and bending based on the analysis of residual stress/strain. The results indicate that the critical current of the copper-encapsulated REBCO tapes decreases with increasing heat-treatment temperature and dwell time, and is of no evident relation to atmosphere. In addition, increased temperature of heat treatment leads to an obvious decrease in the yield strength and critical tensile stress. This effect is mainly attributed to the degradation of mechanical properties of the encapsulated copper layer, which is demonstrated by the combination of our FE simulation and the experiments results. Interestingly, the change in the critical bending radius due to heat treatments was slight, because the bending axial strain of the REBCO layer remained almost unchanged after heating. It is also worthy to note that all the properties tested in this study were irrelevant to the external oxygen partial pressure during the heating process. As a practical conclusion for the application systems, an upper and atmosphere-irrelevant limit of processing temperature of 130 °C or 150 °C (2 h dwell time) was proposed for copper-encapsulated REBCO tapes, under which the critical current, yield strength, critical tensile stress/strain and critical bending radius of the copper-encapsulated REBCO tapes decay by <1% or 3%, respectively.
Thickness and refractive index measurements of a thin-film using an artificial neural network algorithm
Authors: Lee Joonyoung , Jin Jonghan
Published: January 2023

Thin-film thickness and refractive index measurements are important for quality control in many high-tech industrial manufacturing processes, such as the semiconductor, display, and battery. Many studies have been carried out to measure the thickness and refractive index of thin-films, and recently studies using an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm have also been conducted. However, strict evaluations of ANNs were not reported in all previous studies. In this study, a multilayer perceptron type of ANN algorithm for simultaneously analyzing the thickness and refractive index of a thin-film is designed and verified by using four thin-film certified reference materials (CRMs) being traceable to the length standard. According to the number of hidden layers and the number of nodes for each hidden layer, 12 multilayer perceptron type ANN algorithms were designed and trained with a theoretical dataset generated through optics theory based on multiple interferences. Subsequently, the interference spectra measured by the four CRMs were put into the 12 trained ANNs as input, and it was checked whether or not the output values were in good agreement with the corresponding certified values of both the thickness and refractive index. As a result, an ANN algorithm having two hidden layers with 100 nodes was selected as the final algorithm and an uncertainty evaluation was performed. Finally, the combined uncertainties for the thickness and refractive index were estimated to be 2.0 nm and 0.025 at a wavelength of 632.8 nm, respectively, as measured using a spectral reflectometer with the well-trained ANN algorithm.
Characterization of the LED filament lamp for luminous intensity calibration
Authors: Zhao Weiqiang , Yan Jinyun , Liu Hui , Su Ying , Lin Yandong
Published: January 2023

Light-emitting diode (LED) is now the main type of light source in global lighting marketing. However, traditional photometry with the incandescent standard lamp is not sufficient to implement high-level LED photometric measurement, since a considerable spectral mismatch error may exist if the photometer has a large general V(λ) mismatch index

f
1

′

. The LED standard lamp is proposed to be the complementary transfer standard for photometry to reduce this measurement uncertainty. National Institute of Metrology, China (NIM) has previously reported a type of LED filament lamp for total luminous flux. In this article, NIM demonstrates another type of LED filament lamp for luminous intensity calibration. The LED filaments are sealed in a T90 cylinder glass bulb as emitters, and have a spectrum similar to the reference white LED spectrum considered in Commission on Illumination technical committee 2–90. The LED lamp uses the E27 screw base as the connector, and is compatible with the traditional alignment approaches. The warm-up time is less than 12 min. The output change of a group of 12 lamps, over nearly two years of storage and 1 h operation every day during the whole long-term test, is found to be ±0.2% or less for most of the lamps. The ageing effect of one lamp over a continuous 6500 h of burning is estimated to be −0.014% per 100 h, and it is significantly lower than 1% per 100 h, the typical drift rate of the traditional incandescent luminous intensity lamp. In the aspect of the coincidence with inverse square law, the LED lamp has a similar performance to the WI41/G lamp, the traditional luminous intensity lamp.
EEG changes during passive movements improve the motor imagery feature extraction in BCIs-based sensory feedback calibration
Authors: Delisle-Rodriguez Denis , Silva Leticia , Bastos-Filho Teodiano
Published: January 2023

Objective. This work proposes a method for two calibration schemes based on sensory feedback to extract reliable motor imagery (MI) features, and provide classification outputs more correlated to the user’s intention. Method. After filtering the raw electroencephalogram (EEG), a two-step method for spatial feature extraction by using the Riemannian covariance matrices (RCM) method and common spatial patterns is proposed here. It uses EEG data from trials providing feedback, in an intermediate step composed of both kth nearest neighbors and probability analyses, to find periods of time in which the user probably performed well the MI task without feedback. These periods are then used to extract features with better separability, and train a classifier for MI recognition. For evaluation, an in-house dataset with eight healthy volunteers and two post-stroke patients that performed lower-limb MI, and consequently received passive movements as feedback was used. Other popular public EEG datasets (such as BCI Competition IV dataset IIb, among others) from healthy subjects that executed upper-and lower-limbs MI tasks under continuous visual sensory feedback were further used. Results. The proposed system based on the Riemannian geometry method in two-steps (RCM–RCM) outperformed significantly baseline methods, reaching average accuracy up to 82.29%. These findings show that EEG data on periods providing passive movement can be used to contribute greatly during MI feature extraction. Significance. Unconscious brain responses elicited over the sensorimotor areas may be avoided or greatly reduced by applying our approach in MI-based brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). Therefore, BCI’s outputs more correlated to the user’s intention can be obtained.
Research on Online Monitoring Method of Arrester Deterioration Based on Improved Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Ma Hui , Sun Fengwei , Fan Bo , Liu Guobin
Published: January 2023

Zinc oxide lightning arrester is an important overvoltage protection equipment widely used in 3~500kV power grids. It gradually ages under operating voltage and external environmental factors. Once the failure occurs, the lightning arrester itself will cause damage or even explosion, affecting the safe operation of the power system. The online monitoring problem of zinc oxide arrester (MOA) is proposed. Using the excellent computing power of improved genetic algorithm, the equivalent model of MOA based on operating voltage and measured leakage current values are avoided. The detonator state parameters are solved to realize the monitoring of the arrester deterioration state. The experiments show that the proposed monitoring technique based on the improved genetic algorithm can calculate the leakage current values well and approximate the actual measured leakage current, improving the accuracy of online monitoring.
Characterisation of the MUSIC ASIC for large-area silicon photomultipliers for gamma-ray astronomy
Authors: De Angelis Nicolas , Gascón David , Gómez Sergio , Heller Matthieu , Montaruli Teresa , Nagai Andrii
Published: January 2023

Large-area silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are desired in many applications where large surfaces have to be covered. For instance, a large area SiPM has been developed by Hamamatsu Photonics in collaboration with the University of Geneva, to equip gamma-ray cameras employed in imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes.
The sensor being about 1 cm2, a suitable preamplification electronics has been investigated in this work, which can deal with long pulses induced by the large capacitance of the sensor. The so-called Multiple Use SiPM Integrated Circuit (MUSIC), developed by the ICCUB (University of Barcelona), is investigated as a potential front-end ASIC, suitable to cover large area photodetection planes of gamma-ray telescopes.
The ASIC offers an interesting pole-zero cancellation (PZC) that allows dealing with long SiPM signals, the feature of active summation of up to 8 input channels into a single differential output and it can offer a solution for reducing power consumption compared to discrete solutions. Measurements and simulations of MUSIC coupled to two SiPMs developed by Hamamatsu are considered and the ASIC response is characterized.
Livestock removal increases plant cover across a heterogeneous dryland landscape on the Colorado Plateau
Authors: McNellis B E , Knight A C , Nauman T W , Chambers S , Brungard C W , Fick S E , Livensperger C G , Borthwick S , Duniway M C
Published: January 2023

Livestock removal is increasingly used as a management option to mitigate the negative impacts of grazing-related disturbances on rangelands. Removal generally increases plant cover, but it is unclear when, where, and by how much plant and soil cover changes can be expected. On the Colorado Plateau, complex geology, topography, soils, and climate all interact to mediate the relationship between land cover, climate, and disturbance. In this study we used new developments in land cover mapping and analysis to assess landscape plant and bare soil cover up to 30 years after livestock removal from two grazing allotments in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Results indicate that livestock removal increases plant cover 0.17-0.32% per year and reduces bare soil cover 0.34-0.41% per year, although these rates may be suppressed by warming temperatures. Soils, assessed through Soil Geomorphic Units, played a strong but complex role in mediating land cover changes through time. These results suggest that livestock removal is an effective strategy for increasing plant cover and reducing bare soil on the Colorado Plateau, but including soil information in decision making will enhance efficiency by improving manager’s ability to prioritize management actions effectively across space and through time.