bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Restructuring multi-phase interfaces from Cu-based metal–organic frameworks for selective electroreduction of CO2 to C2H4
Authors: Feng Jiye , Zhang Wenbiao , Shi Danni , Jia Yingshuai , Tang Yi , Meng Yuying , Gao Qingsheng
Published: May 2024

Directional in situ reconfiguration of Ag incorporating HKUST-1 frameworks was introduced to restructure multi-phase Ag/Cu/Cu2O electrocatalysts for the selective electro-reduction of CO2 to C2H4.
Stabilization of Ni-containing Keggin-type polyoxometalates with variable oxidation states as novel catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation
Authors: Li Xiang , Ng Bryan Kit Yue , Ho Ping-Luen , Jia Chunbo , Shang Jining , Yoskamtorn Tatchamapan , Pan Xuelei , Li Yiyang , Li Guangchao , Wu Tai-Sing , Soo Yun-Liang , He Heyong , Yue Bin , Tsang Shik Chi Edman
Published: May 2024

Stabilization of PW9Ni3 polyoxometalate (POM) anions in the MIL-101(Cr) framework, which displays high water oxidation activity under electrochemical conditions with the POM remaining intact.
Origin of copper as a unique catalyst for C–C coupling in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction
Authors: Chen Jie , Chen Benjamin W. J. , Zhang Jia , Chen Wei , Sun Yi-Yang
Published: May 2024

Evolution of the molecular orbitals during CO–CO coupling on the Cu(100) surface and identification of the corresponding frontier molecular orbitals.
Trimodal operation of a robust smart organic crystal
Authors: Wu Wenbo , Chen Kui , Yu Hui , Zhu Jiaxuan , Feng Yaoguang , Wang Jingkang , Huang Xin , Li Liang , Hao Hongxun , Wang Ting , Wang Na , Naumov Panče
Published: May 2024

We describe a dynamic crystalline material that integrates mechanical, thermal, and light modes of operation, with unusual robustness and resilience and a variety of both slow and fast kinematic effects that occur on very different time scales.
Constructing a robust artificial solid electrolyte interphase with a metal–organic framework for a stable Li metal anode
Authors: Chen Long , Lin Xiaohui , Zheng Zhicheng , Guo Ziwei , Wen Zuxin , Xiong Pan , Chen Gen , Zhu Junwu
Published: May 2024

The metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) coating layer can promote homogeneous Li deposition.
Energy landscapes in alkali aluminum germanium phosphate glasses as probed by alkali proton substitution
Authors: Rein Kevin , Weitzel Karl-Michael
Published: May 2024

The transport of native alkali ions in the energy landscape of alkali aluminum germanium phosphate (AAGP) glasses has been investigated by means of an alkali proton substitution (APS) experiment.
A novel topological indium–organic framework for reversible ammonia uptake under mild conditions and catalysis
Authors: He Xin , Gao Shuying , Peng Ri , Zhu Dunru , Yu Fei
Published: May 2024

An unprecedented trinodal 3,3,4-connected 3D MOF, [In8(μ2-OH)6(μ2-H2O)3L6Cl6]·5DMF·4H2O (L = 2,2′-dimethylbiphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylate), has been built to show an NH3 uptake of 10.4 mmol g−1 at 273 K with the regeneration temperature of 60 °C.
Pure cut vs. Endocut in endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Authors: Bicudo de Oliveira Luiza , Funari Mateus Pereira , So Taa Kum Angelo , Bestetti Alexandre de Moraes , Brunaldi Vitor Ottoboni , Franzini Tomazo Antonio Prince , Moura Eduardo Turiani Hourneaux , Baroni Luiza Martins , de Carvalho Matheus Ferreira , Bernardo Wanderley Marques , de Moura Eduardo Guimarães Hourneaux
Published: May 2024

Background and study aims Biliary sphincterotomy is a crucial step in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure known to carry a 5% to 10% risk of complications. The relationship between Pure cut, Endocut, post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) and bleeding is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared these two current types and their relationships with adverse events.

Patients and methods This systematic review involved searching articles in multiple databases until August 2023 comparing pure cut versus Endocut in biliary sphincterotomy. The meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).

Results A total of 987 patients from four randomized controlled trials were included. Overall pancreatitis: A higher risk of pancreatitis was found in the Endocut group than in the Pure cut group (P=0.001, RD=0.04 [range, 0.01 to 0.06]; I2=29%). Overall immediate bleeding: Statistical significance was found to favor Endocut, (P=0.05; RD=–0.15 [range, –0.29 to –0.00]; I2=93%). No statistical significance between current modes was found in immediate bleeding without endoscopic intervention (P=0.10; RD=–0.13 [range, –0.29 to 0.02]; I2=88%), immediate bleeding with endoscopic intervention (P=0.06; RD=–0.07 [range, –0.14 to 0.00]; I2=76%), delayed bleeding (P=0.40; RD=0.01 [range, –0.02 to 0.05]; I2=72%), zipper cut (P=0.58; RD=–0.03 [range, –0.16 to 0.09]; I2=97%), perforation (P=1.00; RD=0.00 [range, –0.01 to 0.01]; I2=0%) and cholangitis (P=0.77; RD=0.00 [range, –0.01 to 0.02]; I2=29%).

Conclusions The available data in the literature show that Endocut carries an increased risk for PEP and does not prevent delayed or clinically significant bleeding, although it prevents intraprocedural bleeding. Based on such findings, Pure cut should be the preferred electric current mode for biliary sphincterotomy.
Oxidative C–N Bond Formation of Isochromans Using an Electronically Tuned Nitroxyl Radical as Catalyst
Authors: Hamada Shohei , Yano Kyoko , Ohshimo Ayano , Elboray Elghareeb E. , Kobayashi Yusuke , Furuta Takumi
Published: May 2024

The cross-dehydrogenative coupling between isochromans and nucleophiles using an electronically tuned nitroxyl radical catalyst, which effectively promotes the oxidation of benzylic ethers, has been investigated. Using sulfonamides as a nucleophile, modification of isochromans via oxidative C–N bond formation has been achieved at ambient temperature.
Cyclic Meditation and Sleep Quality: A Review
Authors: Boopalan Deenadayalan , Vijayakumar Venugopal , Karuppasamy Govindasamy , Dilpreet Kaur , Ravi Poornima , Ponnusamy Yogalakshmi , Vanamoorthy Mahesh kannan , Kuppusamy Maheshkumar
Published: May 2024

Objectives Insufficient sleep leads to several short- and long-term physical and mental consequences. Yoga is a popularly known complementary health approach that maintains physical and mental health through asanas, meditation, and breathing techniques. Cyclic meditation (CM), derived from one of the Upanishads, is practiced by combining physical postures (asanas) with relaxation techniques. Recent findings emphasize the significance of CM as a means to enhance sleep quality. The current review aims to find the effects of CM on sleep quality through the available scientific data.

Methods The current review includes research articles evaluating CM's effect on sleep quality from various databases such as PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar up to January 22, 2023. We conducted a literature search using keywords related to CM and sleep quality, and search results were restricted to studies published in the English language.

Results There were 5 articles with 277 participants meeting inclusion criteria, all conducted in India. Of those, 2 were randomized controlled trials and 3 were single-group or two-group pre-post and crossover studies. Participants ranged from healthy volunteers, type-2 diabetic patients, alcohol dependents, and caregivers for special needs children. Based on the available scientific evidence, CM has been found to be effective (d = 0.56–4.90) in enhancing the quality of sleep.

Conclusion The CM technique could be tentatively considered as a beneficial practice to improve sleep. However, further, adequately powered, and randomized controlled studies with various other parameters of sleep are required to strongly recommend CM as a stand-alone yogic intervention for sleep disturbance.
Review of the Diagnostic and Prognostic Values of Cardiac Markers in Diabetes
Authors: Elbo-Iswadi Tabarak Haamid , Alsharayri Hind Mazen Hasan , Wardeh Rahaf , Bashier AlaaEldin , Rashid Fauzia , Abdelgadir Elamin Ibrahim
Published: May 2024

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality in people with diabetes (PWD). We aimed to explore the role of troponin T (TnT) and probrain natriuretic peptide (proBNP) as screening and prognostic indicators of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in PWD in the existing literature.

Methods This review paper is a focused narrative nonsystematic review of the literature which examined relevant publications pertinent to the significance of cardiac biomarkers. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of cardiac TnT (cTnT) and cTnI in addition to proBNP in diabetes and the prognostic value of cTnT and proBNP in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. The process of searching through literature was conducted from December 2022 to April 2023. Searches were done across PubMed and Google Scholar databases to identify relevant articles published from January 2001 to April 2023. The selected were entered into EndNote 20 software to extract the title and abstract.

Results A total of 75 articles were identified in Google Scholar in addition to 32 articles from PubMed. After a thorough review, only a total of 22 articles were selected, pointing out those which discussed the pathophysiology and diagnostic, prognostic, and screening values of the types of Tn and proBNP markers. The value of TnT in PWD, specifically T2D, is threefold higher than in healthy patients. Individuals with high levels of high-sensitivity (hs) cTnI or cTnT were at the highest mortality risk. Nonetheless, N-terminal (NT)-proBNP and TnT function independently as predictors of unfavorable outcomes.

Conclusion TnT is an important early screening tool prognostic indicator. Elevated TnT was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in PWD. hs-cTn may help diabetes-related clinical care for older persons by identifying those at high mortality risk; furthermore, in diabetic individuals, NT-pro-BNP appears to be 92% sensitive and 90% specific for the diagnosis of heart failure.
Mini-Craniotomy for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Reliable Surgical Option
Authors: Rao Gollapudi Prakash , Imran Mohammed , Raju Reddycherla Naga , Sandeep Pittala , Reddy Kotha Arjun
Published: May 2024

Introduction Chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) is one of the most common conditions encountered in the neurosurgical practice. Surgical modalities like twist drill craniostomy, burr hole evacuation, mini-craniotomy, and craniotomy are practiced in the management of chronic SDH. Mini-craniotomy without excision of membranes may help to achieve best results with decreased complication rate.

Materials and Methods Patients with chronic SDH operated from September 2013 to September 2022 were included in the study. Mini-craniotomy (40–60 mm) was done and cruciate incision was given over the dura. Dura was left wide open by reflecting and suturing the cut edges of the dural leaflets to the craniotomy edge allowing to evacuate subdural space under vision during surgery and to allow any residual collection to drain out freely in the postoperative period. A drain was placed between the inner membrane and the bone flap. Preoperative and postoperative clinical and radiological parameters were recorded. Complications, recurrence, and residual collections were noted.

Results Seventy-seven patients were included in the study. Mean age was 57.32 years. Median Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at presentation was 13 while median GCS at discharge was 15. Two patients with preexisting comorbidities expired after surgery due to medical causes. No recurrences were noted. Fourteen patients had residual collections which resolved by 6 weeks. Two patients had wound infection. One of these patients later needed a bone flap removal due to osteomyelitis.

Conclusion Mini-craniotomy without membranectomy is a good option for complete evacuation of chronic SDH under vision mainly avoiding the complication of membranectomy. It is not associated with increased complications rate. It needs fewer follow-ups as brain expansion can be established radiologically in a short period.
Myiasis in Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage Site
Authors: Tripathy Tara Prasad , Patel Ranjan , Debbarma Ripan , Gupta Sunita , Pattanaik Brahmadutta
Published: May 2024

The infection of dipterous larvae causes myiasis. It is generally associated with unsanitary conditions. An interventional radiologist rarely comes across myiasis. We report a case of myiasis around a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) tube. A 31-year-old man from a rural area underwent left PTBD for cholangiocarcinoma and was discharged with an internal–external drain. Two weeks later, he presented with pain in the local site, pruritus, and bile leakage. He was found to have maggots around the PTBD tube with poor wound hygiene. Treatment included turpentine oil instillation and oral and topical ivermectin, accompanied by manual removal of the larva.
Unveiling the origins of non-performance-oriented behavior in China’s local governments: a game theory perspective on the performance-based promotion system
Authors: Shang Huping , Liu Hongmei , Liu Wei
Published: May 2024

Performance evaluation has great potential to encourage government officials to improve their behavior (performance-oriented government behavior, POGB), but it also tends to lead to behaviors that are detrimental to government performance (non-performance-oriented government behavior, NPOGB). The latter behaviors are prevalent in many parts of the world, especially in areas with fiscal federalist characteristics such as China. This study analyzes POGB and NPOGB and employs game theory to develop a theoretical model to explain the causes of NPOGBs in China, exploring how competition among different jurisdictions leads to them. The findings show that (1) POGB is a condition of Pareto optimality in government behavior, but only represents a very small share of all government behaviors. The majority of behaviors can be categorized as NPOGBs. (2) The primary reason continuous and volatile NPOGBs persist is that, from the perspective of local officials operating under the constraints of information scarcity and risk aversion, they are rational choices, and officials have to imitate one another’s behaviors so as not to be defeated in the competition with others.
Materials requirement prediction challenges addressed through SDM and MEIO
Authors: Ashok T. , Sathish T. , Ibrahim Ahmed Ahmed , Khan Salahuddin , Patil Shashwath , Saravanan R. , Giri Jayant
Published: May 2024

Offering intended products at an affordable price is a highly challenging task in a business environment. To meet such challenges, industrial experts and researchers have different approaches, such as shifting the purchase of materials from import mode to local vendors and optimizing machining cost by optimizing process parameters, waste reduction, rework reduction, and technological improvements. The novelty of this study lies in reducing material cost by accurate materials forecasting to minimize storage cost, ablation cost, average annual consumption cost, etc. This study aims to compare the efficacy of the Seasonal Decomposition Method (SDM) against Multi-Echelon Inventory Optimization (MEIO) for minimizing inventory through accurate materials forecasting. Through rigorous evaluation and analysis, this research seeks to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, thereby providing insights into their applicability and effectiveness in addressing inventory management challenges across diverse seasonal demand patterns. The sample size was taken as 50 per group. The G-power applied is about 80%. The significance value obtained is 0.001 (p < 0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference between the two algorithms used for inventory reduction and materials forecasting. SDM (63.43) outperforms MEIO (48.57) in terms of accuracy. SDM yielded a better accuracy when compared to MEIO for inventory minimization and materials forecasting.
Reduced stress propagation leads to increased mechanical failure resistance in auxetic materials
Authors: Fielding Suzanne M.
Published: May 2024

Materials with a negative Poisson ratio have the counterintuitive property of expanding laterally when they are stretched longitudinally. They are accordingly termed auxetic, from the Greek auxesis meaning to increase. Experimental studies have demonstrated auxetic materials to have superior material properties, compared with conventional ones. These include synclastic curvature, increased acoustic absorption, increased resilience to material fatigue, and increased resistance to mechanical failure. Until now, the latter observations have remained poorly understood theoretically. With this motivation, the contributions of this work are twofold. First, we elucidate analytically the way in which stress propagates spatially across a material following a localized plastic failure event, finding a significantly reduced stress propagation in auxetic materials compared with conventional ones. In this way, a plastic failure event occurring in one part of a material has a reduced tendency to trigger knock-on plastic events in neighboring regions. Second, via the numerical simulation of a lattice elastoplastic model, we demonstrate a key consequence of this reduced stress propagation to be an increased resistance to mechanical failure. This is seen not only via an increase in the externally measured yield strain, but also via a decreased tendency for plastic damage to percolate internally across a sample in catastrophic system-spanning clusters.
Inflation in 2022 did not affect congressional voting, but abortion did
Authors: Mutz Diana C. , Mansfield Edward D.
Published: May 2024

This study examines voting in the 2022 United States congressional elections, contests that were widely expected to produce a sizable defeat for Democratic candidates for largely economic reasons. Based on a representative national probability sample of voters interviewed in both 2020 and 2022, individuals who changed their vote from one party's congressional candidate to another party’s candidate did not do so in response to the salience of inflation or declining economic conditions. Instead, we find strong evidence that views on abortion were central to shifting votes in the midterm elections. Americans who favored (opposed) legal abortions were more likely to shift from voting for Republican (Democratic) candidates in 2020 to Democratic (Republican) candidates in 2022. Since a larger number of Americans supported than opposed legal abortions, the combination of these shifts ultimately improved the electoral prospects of Democratic candidates. New voters were especially likely to weigh abortion views heavily in their vote-shifting calculus. Likewise, those respondents whose confidence in the US Supreme Court declined from 2020 to 2022 were more likely to shift from voting for Republican to Democratic congressional candidates. We provide direct empirical evidence that changes in support for the Supreme Court, a nonpartisan branch of the federal government, are implicated in partisan voting behavior in another branch of government. We explore the implications of these findings for prevalent assumptions about how economic conditions influence voting, as well as for the relationship between the judiciary and electoral politics.
The physical and evolutionary energy landscapes of devolved protein sequences corresponding to pseudogenes
Authors: Jaafari Hana , Bueno Carlos , Schafer Nicholas P. , Martin Jonathan , Morcos Faruck , Wolynes Peter G.
Published: May 2024

Protein evolution is guided by structural, functional, and dynamical constraints ensuring organismal viability. Pseudogenes are genomic sequences identified in many eukaryotes that lack translational activity due to sequence degradation and thus over time have undergone “devolution.” Previously pseudogenized genes sometimes regain their protein-coding function, suggesting they may still encode robust folding energy landscapes despite multiple mutations. We study both the physical folding landscapes of protein sequences corresponding to human pseudogenes using the Associative Memory, Water Mediated, Structure and Energy Model, and the evolutionary energy landscapes obtained using direct coupling analysis (DCA) on their parent protein families. We found that generally mutations that have occurred in pseudogene sequences have disrupted their native global network of stabilizing residue interactions, making it harder for them to fold if they were translated. In some cases, however, energetic frustration has apparently decreased when the functional constraints were removed. We analyzed this unexpected situation for Cyclophilin A, Profilin-1, and Small Ubiquitin-like Modifier 2 Protein. Our analysis reveals that when such mutations in the pseudogene ultimately stabilize folding, at the same time, they likely alter the pseudogenes’ former biological activity, as estimated by DCA. We localize most of these stabilizing mutations generally to normally frustrated regions required for binding to other partners.
Exploring the activation mechanism of metabotropic glutamate receptor 2
Authors: Zhu Xiaohong , Luo Mengqi , An Ke , Shi Danfeng , Hou Tingjun , Warshel Arieh , Bai Chen
Published: May 2024

Homomeric dimerization of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlus) is essential for the modulation of their functions and represents a promising avenue for the development of novel therapeutic approaches to address central nervous system diseases. Yet, the scarcity of detailed molecular and energetic data on mGlu2 impedes our in-depth comprehension of their activation process. Here, we employ computational simulation methods to elucidate the activation process and key events associated with the mGlu2, including a detailed analysis of its conformational transitions, the binding of agonists, G
i
protein coupling, and the guanosine diphosphate (GDP) release. Our results demonstrate that the activation of mGlu2 is a stepwise process and several energy barriers need to be overcome. Moreover, we also identify the rate-determining step of the mGlu2’s transition from the agonist-bound state to its active state. From the perspective of free-energy analysis, we find that the conformational dynamics of mGlu2’s subunit follow coupled rather than discrete, independent actions. Asymmetric dimerization is critical for receptor activation. Our calculation results are consistent with the observation of cross-linking and fluorescent-labeled blot experiments, thus illustrating the reliability of our calculations. Besides, we also identify potential key residues in the G
i
protein binding position on mGlu2, mGlu2 dimer’s TM6–TM6 interface, and Gi α5 helix by the change of energy barriers after mutation. The implications of our findings could lead to a more comprehensive grasp of class C G protein-coupled receptor activation.
The 6-kilodalton peptide 1 in plant viruses of the family Potyviridae is a viroporin
Authors: Chai Mengzhu , Li Lei , Li Yong , Yang Yingshuai , Wang Yuting , Jiang Xue , Luan Yameng , Li Fangfang , Cui Hongguang , Wang Aiming , Xiang Wensheng , Wu Xiaoyun , Cheng Xiaofei
Published: May 2024

Potyviridae, the largest family of plant RNA viruses, includes many important pathogens that significantly reduce the yields of many crops worldwide. In this study, we report that the 6-kilodalton peptide 1 (6K1), one of the least characterized potyviral proteins, is an endoplasmic reticulum–localized protein. AI–assisted structure modeling and biochemical assays suggest that 6K1 forms pentamers with a central hydrophobic tunnel, can increase the cell membrane permeability of
Escherichia coli
and
Nicotiana benthamiana
, and can conduct potassium in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
. An infectivity assay showed that viral proliferation is inhibited by mutations that affect 6K1 multimerization. Moreover, the 6K1 or its homologous 7K proteins from other viruses of the Potyviridae family also have the ability to increase cell membrane permeability and transmembrane potassium conductance. Taken together, these data reveal that 6K1 and its homologous 7K proteins function as viroporins in viral infected cells.
Generational translation in the Jewish Museum, Berlin
Authors: Hindley Clare , Grupp Katja , Sylwestrowicz Magda
Published: May 2024

This paper addresses the challenge museums of catastrophic history face, striving to translate between history and
memory in creating a meaningful and sensitive experience for individual visitors, not only evoking the past but also impacting the
present and future. This study focuses on the Jewish Museum Berlin and asks how the museum can impact individual visitor journeys
and concurrently address the public demand for memory, the contradictions between museum mission and public perception, and the
perceived distance of visitors from historical events. The study builds on memory and translation studies research and the
concepts of history, story, and identity. An analysis of entangled memory (Feindt et al. 2014), here applied as an inspiration for generational translation, shows how the
crossover between memory and translation studies provides insight into the work of memory museums. Previous research and the
history, mission, identity, architecture, and conflicts of the Jewish Museum Berlin show that museums – as (unfinished) collective
memories – allow the creation of space for individual reflection and the interpretation of past and present to create a narrative.
The work of memory museums is complex, but the concepts of generational translation and entangled memory are valuable tools in
provoking and enabling meaningful experience and reflection.
Being sensible is now a radical concept I LOVE that quote haha
Authors: Fetzer Anita
Published: May 2024

This paper examines how the communicative act of quotation may contribute to ordinary users’ discussion of
politics through user comments following up on government- and opposition-party speeches during a pre-election and a non-election
period in Britain. It analyses the linguistic formatting of the communicative act – as direct, indirect, mixed, hypothetical and
scare quotation – and its production-format-specific distribution in the speeches of the political elite and in ordinary-user
comments following up on the elite discourse. Particular attention is given to (1) references to the constitutive parts of the
communicative act of quotation, to its felicity conditions and to social-context coordinates, (2) the discursive functions which
quotation may fulfil in the two different contexts and timeframes, and (3) their perlocutionary effects.
“It’s normal. That’s just my life”
Authors: Shaekhova Liliia , Song Juyoung
Published: May 2024

This study explores Tatar-Russian bilinguals’ dynamic translanguaging and tranßcripting practices in Tatar,
Russian, English, and Arabic. Based on interviews with six Tatar-Russian bilinguals as well as their written social media postings
and audio recordings of voice messages over six months, the study illustrates the participants’ linguistic practices and their
perceptions of bilingualism and relevant practices. The results demonstrate that the bilinguals engaged in various forms of
translanguaging practices and regarded them as their everyday practices, emphasizing their ordinariness for bilingual interaction.
The results also show that they expanded and reinvented their translanguaging into creative and playful tranßcripting practices in
social media, regardless of their divergent attitudes towards each of the languages. The bilinguals projected their identity as
cool multilingual youth through the tranßcripting practices that cross the linguistic boundaries between Russian (dominant state
language), Tatar (dominant local), Arabic (religious), and English (peripheral global). By examining complex and dynamic
relationships between multiple languages in an underrepresented region, this study highlights how translanguaging and
tranßcripting practices reflect multilinguals’ everyday practices and their dynamic identity that go beyond the boundaries of the
local languages and cultures.
“When there’s something wrong, it’s the colour”
Authors: Moraru Mirona
Published: May 2024

Haitian pupils challenge the homogenous and monolingual
imaginary of the Chilean classroom primarily given their limited proficiency in
Spanish and their skin colour. One bottom-up strategy implemented by some
schools is the recruitment of a Haitian intercultural facilitator, whose aim is
to offer linguistic and cultural support primarily through interpretation and
translation. The main objective of the present article is to explore how Haitian
intercultural facilitators mediate the intersection between language and race in
emerging multilingual Chilean classrooms. In order to do so, the article
analyses three in-depth interviews with Haitian intercultural facilitators
employing the main conceptual tools offered by the model of linguistic
production and circulation developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.
The main results outline that both Haitian pupils and Haitian intercultural
facilitators go through a process of racialisation carried out by the rest of
the school community. In turn, this affects how Haitian pupils are perceived and
treated, as well as how Haitian facilitators can mediate the tensions emerging
at the intersection between language and race. These findings represent novel
insights into the complex but little explored multilingual schooling processes
in the Global South.
An integrated experimental and analytical approach on mechanical characterization of advanced powder metallurgy aluminium metal matrix composites reinforced with different particulates
Authors: Shetty Sawan , Shetty Raviraj , Shetty Navaneet , Hegde Adithya
Published: May 2024

Over the last few decades, ‘Discontinuously Reinforced Particulate Composites (DRPCs)’ are a popular class of composite materials with considerable challenge in processing, characterization and machinability because of their increased strength-weight ratio, stiffness, specific strength and oxidization when compared to various metals and their alloys. This paper discusses experimental and numerical investigation on mechanical characteristics of aluminum metal matrix reinforced with various reinforcement particulates such as silicon carbide, aluminium oxide, and zirconium oxide, compaction pressure (kN) and hold time (s) based on Design of Experiments (DOE) and Finite Element Analysis. Initially this paper discusses the process optimization of Aluminum Matrix reinforced with different particulates experimentally to identify the favourable processing conditions by varying reinforcement materials, compaction pressure (kN) and hold time (s) based on TDOE (Taguchi’s Design of Experiments). Further, this paper concentrates to determine ‘maximum principal stress, equivalent elastic strain and equivalent (von-mises) stress’ based on Finite Element Analysis (ANSYS Workbench-2023R1). The results of the experimentation showed that the highest hardness values were achieved with ZrO2 reinforcement material. Increasing the compaction pressure from 8 to 12 kN resulted in a slight decrease in surface roughness and porosity. Higher compaction pressures have assumed to facilitate better particle distribution and improved interfacial bonding, leading to smoother surfaces and lower void content. The simulation results showed that the maximum principal stress achieved were (2235.8 MPa) SiC, (3444.4 MPa) Al2O3, and (3582.5 MPa) ZrO2. The equivalent elastic strain achieved was (0.2488) SiC, (0.2421) Al2O3 and (0.262) ZrO2. The equivalent (Von Mises) stress achieved was (28751 MPa) for SiC, (24880 MPa) for ZrO2 and (26972 MPa) for Al2O3. This experimentation and simulation demonstrated that the PM process can be used to fabricate DRAMMC with different reinforcement particulates. The understanding gained experimentally and analytically from this research can be applied for future processing of Aluminum Matrix Reinforced with different particulates.
Effect of electric mode of micro-arc oxidation on structural and phase state of calcium-phosphate coating
Authors: Mamaeva Axaule , Kenzhegulov Aidar , Panichkin Aleksander
Published: May 2024

The micro-arc oxidation method has been used to obtain calcium-phosphate coatings on titanium surface, expected to have bioactive properties. The effect of the pulse current duty cycle and voltage of micro-arc oxidation on the morphology, elemental and phase composition of the coating has been studied. Decrease in the pulse duty cycle during micro-arc oxidation results in the formation of flake, spheroidal and lamellar structures. It has been shown that the Ca/P ratio and surface roughness of the coating increases regardless of the pulse duty cycle with increase of applied voltage. Depending on the application mode, the Ca/P ratio and the roughness of calcium phosphate coatings ranged from 0.44 to 0.67 and from 4.2 to 6.8 μm, respectively. It was found that change of the pulse current duty cycle and increase of the voltage up to 600 V results in the formation of the main crystalline phases Ca(H2PO4)2(H2O) and CaPO3(OH) in the coatings.
Quantum-secure online shopping moves a step closer
Authors: Boerkamp Martijn
Published: May 2024

Researchers in China have generated shorter secure quantum “keys”, slashing the number of qubits required to verify an e-commerce transaction.
Long-lived qubits survive as ‘islands’ in a noisy environment
Authors: Dumé Isabelle
Published: May 2024

Researchers in Switzerland have shown that qubits are able to survive for long periods in a noisy environment.
Europe must rethink its fusion strategy
Authors: Starckx Senne
Published: May 2024

Ambrogio Fasoli, the new head of EUROfusion, tells Senne Starckx that Europe needs to build a demonstration fusion reactor or risk falling behind other nations.
Linear assumptions
Authors: Bevan John
Published: May 2024

A reply to Robert P Crease’s Critical Point article (December 2023), which questioned the assumption that ionizing radiation – no matter how low – is a risk to human health.
Stamp of success
Authors: Jones Matthew
Published: May 2024

A reply to the Lateral Thoughts article by Ian Briggs (December 2023), which looked at the history of nuclear physics as seen through stamps.
Cosmic combat: the rise of modified gravity
Authors: Cooper Keith
Published: May 2024

In the search for a cosmological model that perfectly explains our universe, most astronomers invoke the notion of dark matter. But what if they should instead modify the age-old laws of gravity? In the first of a three-part series, Keith Cooper explores the struggles and successes of modified gravity in explaining phenomena at varying galactic scales, as well as matching observations from the cosmic microwave background.
Embracing neurodiversity in neutron science
Authors: Berlie Adam
Published: May 2024

Adam Berlie is a muon instrument scientist at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source in the UK, having done postdocs in China and Australia. He talks about his career so far, what it’s like to be a neurodivergent researcher, and his role as chair of the UKRI Disability Matters network.
Atlantic current circulation could shut down, say scientists
Authors: Dumé Isabelle
Published: May 2024

Researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands believe that the collapse of the main ocean current that keeps Europe warmer than other regions at similar latitudes is a real possibility.
Five new isotopes discovered in platinum fragments
Authors: Jarman Sam
Published: May 2024

Physicists in the US have created five previously unseen nuclear isotopes of the elements thulium, ytterbium and lutetium, produced by the fragmentation of platinum-198.
Odysseus becomes first private craft to land on Moon
Authors: Gwynne Peter
Published: May 2024

A US firm became the first private company to successfully land a craft on the Moon when the Odysseus mission touched down on 23 February on the Moon’s Malapert A region, a small crater about 300 km from the lunar south pole.
Rhapsody as European synchrotron examines Niccolò Paganini’s violin
Authors: Banks Michael
Published: May 2024

An almost 300-year-old violin that was played by the great virtuoso Niccolò Paganini has been studied at the European Synchrotron, the ESRF.
Charting India’s nuclear future
Authors: North Chris
Published: May 2024

Shri Rajesh Veeraraghavan, a director at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, tells Chris North why he thinks nuclear power can help low-income nations transition to a carbon-neutral future.
Ambitious story gets lost at sea
Authors: Wright Katherine
Published: May 2024

Katherine Wright reviews Waves in an Impossible Sea: How Everyday Life Emerges from the Cosmic Ocean by Matt Strassler.
Design and performance assessment of improved evolutionary computing based LEACH protocol for energy efficient and lifetime extension of wireless sensor network
Authors: Jain Amit Kumar , Jain Sushil , Mathur Garima
Published: May 2024

The strengths of a Memetic Algorithm and an enhanced Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol are combined in this research study to propose a revolutionary method for improving the energy efficiency and longevity of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). WSNs are widely used for a variety of applications, including industrial automation, healthcare, and environmental monitoring, where extending network lifetime and energy conservation are crucial. Although successful, conventional clustering algorithms like LEACH feature subpar cluster formation and premature cluster head failures. To get over these restrictions, a memetic algorithm is used to maximize cluster formation and reduce energy usage. This algorithm was influenced by natural evolution and cultural learning processes. The Memetic Algorithm iteratively improves the LEACH protocol in the proposed technique by enhancing dynamic clustering, energy-aware routing, and cluster head selection. These methods work together to increase energy efficiency and lengthen the life of the network. In comparison to conventional LEACH-based WSNs and other cutting-edge algorithms, the paper’s study of the simulation results shows how successful the suggested technique is. In light of network longevity, energy use, and data transmission efficiency, the results obtained demonstrate notable improvements.
Comparative study on tensile and morphological properties of resin and rice husk reinforced polymer composite gyroid lattice structures
Authors: Chouhan Ganesh , Bidare Prveen , Murali Gunji Bala
Published: May 2024

This study aims to compare the tensile behaviour of 3d printed resin and rice husk-reinforced resin-based gyroid lattice structures. The work was completed in two phases, firstly a resin gyroid lattice structure with two design configurations of unit cell sizes (3, 4, 5, and 6) and solidity percentages (30, 40, and 50) was developed according to the ASTM638 (4) standard. The 12 designs were manufactured using VAT polymerization additive manufacturing and investigated for tensile strength. In the second phase, the poorest tensile testing results were chosen to develop the rice husk-reinforced resin samples with a mixing proportion of 10–20%–30%. The experiment results revealed that the fracture is localized inside the gauge length according to the standard. Remarkably, the rice husk composite-based gyroid lattice samples exhibit 4.29, 6.55, and 9.35 times higher tensile strength than the selected resin sample (U3–30). Additionally, a homogeneous distribution of rice husk particles has been observed in the micrograph analysis (SEM).
Development and optimisation of a near-infrared spectroscopic system for glucose quantification in aqueous and intralipid-based samples
Authors: Davison Nicholas B , Gaffney Christopher J , Kerns Jemma G , Zhuang Qiandong
Published: May 2024

A non-invasive glucose sensing device could revolutionise diabetes treatment. Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a promising technology for glucose sensing; however, the design and choice of components for NIR spectroscopy can greatly affect the sensing accuracy. We aimed to develop a NIR absorption spectroscopy system to determine liquid glucose concentrations in the physiological range, by evaluating a range of NIR photodetector components and light sources. Three detection assemblies were tested: (i) a dispersive spectrometer with photodiode array, (ii) a Czerny–Turner monochromator with InGaAs photodiode and (iii) a miniature Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. A halogen lamp and NIR globar were trialled as potential light sources. The components were systematically tested by comparing the coefficient of determination and standard error of prediction (SEP) for the same set of aqueous glucose samples through 10 mmol l−1 concentration steps. The Czerny–Turner monochromator with InGaAs photodiode, along with the globar, were identified as the optimal components for the system. A range of concentration steps (1–10 mmol l−1) were scanned to identify the physiologically relevant limit of detection, which was identified as 5 mmol/l for glucose in solution. Spectra were then collected from glucose samples in 10% intralipid suspension in the 10–20 mmol l−1 range and the equivalent concentrations in solution. The SEP was greater for the intralipid samples due to strong scattering. Scattering was dominant above 1300 nm, whilst absorption was dominant below 1300 nm. Although alternative approaches achieve better resolution, our system uses simple and readily-available components and presents a platform for a non-invasive NIR glucose sensing device.
Reducing training data needs with minimal multilevel machine learning (M3L)
Authors: Heinen Stefan , Khan Danish , Falk von Rudorff Guido , Karandashev Konstantin , Jose Arismendi Arrieta Daniel , Price Alastair J A , Nandi Surajit , Bhowmik Arghya , Hermansson Kersti , Anatole von Lilienfeld O
Published: May 2024

For many machine learning applications in science, data acquisition, not training, is the bottleneck even when avoiding experiments and relying on computation and simulation. Correspondingly, and in order to reduce cost and carbon footprint, training data efficiency is key. We introduce minimal multilevel machine learning (M3L) which optimizes training data set sizes using a loss function at multiple levels of reference data in order to minimize a combination of prediction error with overall training data acquisition costs (as measured by computational wall-times). Numerical evidence has been obtained for calculated atomization energies and electron affinities of thousands of organic molecules at various levels of theory including HF, MP2, DLPNO-CCSD(T), DFHFCABS, PNOMP2F12, and PNOCCSD(T)F12, and treating them with basis sets TZ, cc-pVTZ, and AVTZ-F12. Our M3L benchmarks for reaching chemical accuracy in distinct chemical compound sub-spaces indicate substantial computational cost reductions by factors of ∼1.01, 1.1, 3.8, 13.8, and 25.8 when compared to heuristic sub-optimal multilevel machine learning (M2L) for the data sets QM7b, QM9

LCCSD
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, Electrolyte Genome Project, QM9

AE

CCSD
(
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, and QM9

EA

CCSD
(
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, respectively. Furthermore, we use M2L to investigate the performance for 76 density functionals when used within multilevel learning and building on the following levels drawn from the hierarchy of Jacobs Ladder: LDA, GGA, mGGA, and hybrid functionals. Within M2L and the molecules considered, mGGAs do not provide any noticeable advantage over GGAs. Among the functionals considered and in combination with LDA, the three on average top performing GGA and Hybrid levels for atomization energies on QM9 using M3L correspond respectively to PW91, KT2, B97D, and τ-HCTH, B3LYP

∗

(VWN5), and TPSSH.
Symbolic Reproduction in Early Medieval England
Authors: Sykes Katharine
Published: May 2024

In the early middle ages, the conversion of the early English kingdoms acted as a catalyst for significant social and cultural change. One of the most visible of these changes was the introduction of a new type of household—the monastic household—which reproduced through education and training, rather than biological means, and whose inhabitants practised celibacy as a lifelong state, rather than as a stage in the life-course. Because monastic households were dependent on secular households for the production of the next generation of recruits, previous studies have tended to view them as more mutable than their secular counterparts, which are implicitly regarded as natural and ahistorical. This book charts some of the key changes to the structure of households between the seventh and eleventh centuries, as ideas that were first fostered in monastic households, such as ideas of spiritual, non-biological reproduction, were adopted in royal households in the tenth and eleventh centuries, and as ideas about kinship that were generated in secular households, such as the relationship between genealogy and inheritance, were picked up and applied by their monastic counterparts. In place of binary divisions between secular and monastic, biological and spiritual, real and imagined, this study demonstrates that different forms of kinship and reproduction were intimately linked.
Conclusion
Authors: Sykes Katharine
Published: May 2024

The period 600–1100 saw considerable change in the symbolism and structure of the household, as a result of the introduction of ‘new and unknown forms of life’ in the wake of the conversions of the seventh century. Chief among these were the practice of lifelong virginity and the creation of single-sex households, which required rethinking of reproduction and marriage. These changes represent the origins of mutations which have generally been associated with the ninth and tenth centuries (the transformations of the year 1000): although mutations in both secular and monastic households become increasingly visible at this point, their roots lay much further in the past. Furthermore, changes to the structure of secular and monastic households were interdependent and intertwined; like DNA, they formed a double helix.
Persistent changes in calcium-regulating hormones and bone turnover markers in living kidney donors more than 20 years after donation
Authors: Grossardt Brandon R , Maradit Kremers Hilal , Miller Adam R , Kasiske Bertram L , Matas Arthur J , Khosla Sundeep , Kremers Walter K , Amer Hatem , Kumar Rajiv
Published: May 2024

In a previous study, we observed decreased 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and increased bone turnover markers in living kidney donors (LKDs) at 3 months and 36 months after kidney donation. In our recent survey-based study, we found no increased risk of fractures of all types but observed significantly more vertebral fractures in LKDs compared with matched controls. To elucidate the long-term effects of kidney donation on bone health, we recruited 139 LKDs and 139 age and sex matched controls from the survey-based participants for further mechanistic analyses. Specifically, we assessed whether LKDs had persistent abnormalities in calcium- and phosphorus-regulating hormones and related factors, in bone formation and resorption markers, and in density and microstructure of bone compared with controls. We measured serum markers, bone mineral density (BMD), bone microstructure and strength (via high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography and micro-finite element analysis [HRpQCT]), and advanced glycation end-products in donors and controls. LKDs had decreased 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentrations (donors mean 33.89 pg/mL vs. controls 38.79 pg/mL, percent difference = -12.6%; P < .001), increases in both parathyroid hormone (when corrected for ionized calcium; donors mean 52.98 pg/mL vs. controls 46.89 pg/mL,% difference 13%; P = .03) and ionized calcium levels (donors mean 5.13 mg/dL vs. controls 5.04 mg/dL; P < .001), and increases in several bone resorption and formation markers versus controls. LKDs and controls had similar measures of BMD; however, HRpQCT suggested that LKDs have a statistically insignificant tendency toward thinner cortical bone and lower failure loads as measured by micro-finite element analysis. Our findings suggest that changes in the hormonal mileu after kidney donation and the long-term cumulative effects of these changes on bone health persist for decades after kidney donation and may explain later-life increased rates of vertebral fractures.