bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Control Home Appliances Through Internet of Things To Assist Elderly In Their Daily Routine
Authors: Phua Karsten Cheng Kai , Goh Wei Wei , Marjani Mohsen
Published: January 2021

Aging population rate in Malaysia is getting higher every year. When people becoming older, they start losing their abilities to do some of the activities properly and easily that they were able to do when they were younger. Basic tasks like cooking and cleaning, which were once part of manageable daily routine, become too difficult to perform as they enter to the elderly age. Despite this, many elderlies choose to live independently in their own home. This paper presents a new approach to utilize advanced Internet of Things (IoT) based pulse sensors for elderly. This proposed solution is an embedded scheme that support elderly with controlled automation solution that control and operates various home electrical appliances such as lights, fans, and televisions based on the measurement of pulse rate and instructions. The solution consists of pulse sensors, microcontrollers which integrated with Blynk server as a communication protocol. The proposed solution aims to minimize elderly movement by providing substantial assistance to the physically challenged elderly without assistance from any third person. The scope of the article focuses on enhancing and improving quality life of elderly. The main advantage of the proposed solution is that it is sensible and required zero technology knowledge that provides users with an automation solution with minimum movement needed. The proposed solution reduces human labours, effort, and energy conservation in the meantime. This study is limited to the scale of elderly in Malaysia rather than the whole world.
Feast In: A Machine Learning Image Recognition Model of Recipe and Lifestyle Applications
Authors: Ann Evelyn Toh Lee , Hao Ng Sze , Wei Goh Wei , Hee Khor Chun
Published: January 2021

With the increase of individuals having an interest in the culinary world, the demand for recipe and lifestyle applications have increased. As we adapt to the changes around us during these trying times, many have also taken an interest in home-cooking. However, it may be challenging, especially for beginners to brainstorm recipes for cooking as they may not be equipped with the proper ingredients to do so. In this paper, we propose Feast In, a platform for web and mobile devices which aims to meet a user’s needs for home-cooking. The platform focuses on three unique features which make Feast In more than just the average recipe platform. Firstly, an improved search algorithm which goes beyond searching for keywords would help users narrow down recipes which they can use in their kitchen. Next, customization features which would create a personalized experience, specifically towards recipes results. This would provide individuals who may face allergies or dietary restrictions an improved experience as they would not have to browse through recipes which do not meet their needs. Lastly, the search-by-image function which utilizes image recognition and machine learning technologies. Users will be able to upload an image of food that they have come across and Feast In will return a list of results which matches the image uploaded. By conducting this research, we were able to propose a unique lifestyle and recipe application which would aid users in searching for the perfect recipe.
De nouvelles techniques pour dévoiler le rôle des cellules gliales du cerveau
Authors: Hemonnot-Girard Anne-Laure , Ben Haim Lucile , Escartin Carole , Hirbec Hélène
Published: January 2021

L’exécution des fonctions cérébrales requiert des interactions optimales entre les neurones et les différents types de cellules gliales (astrocytes, microglies et oligodendrocytes). Le domaine de la gliobiologie, qui s’intéresse aux cellules gliales, est en pleine expansion. Les innovations techniques permettent désormais d’aborder des questions biologiques complexes quant aux rôles de ces cellules dans le fonctionnement physiologique et pathologique du cerveau. Dans cette synthèse, nous décrivons comment certaines de ces avancées techniques nous ont permis d’en apprendre davantage sur les origines et les rôles fonctionnels des cellules gliales. Nous illustrons également comment ces techniques et les découvertes qui en ont découlé, peuvent être transposées en clinique et pourraient, dans un futur proche, offrir des nouvelles perspectives thérapeutiques.
Production de savoirs à partir de données collectées par les associations de malades
Authors: Robert Carole , Imbert Jean , Lajnef Mohamed , Noûs Camille , Cabiran Gilbert , Robert Serge , Cabiran Françoise , Mathieu Flavie
Published: January 2021

Pour répondre au défi sociétal de démocratisation de l’accès à la connaissance, différentes initiatives de recherches participatives se développent : actions d’information, de formation ou de consultation des citoyens ou par l’intermédiaire de demandes de financement par des chercheurs auprès des associations. Cependant, peu des collaborations chercheurs-malades sont à l’initiative des personnes concernées, les patients et leurs familles. Nous avons adopté et testé cette démarche à la demande et en coopération avec l’association Fibromyalgie France.
On the minimum-norm solution of convex quadratic programming
Authors: Ketabchi Saeed , Moosaei Hossein , Hladík Milan
Published: January 2021

We discuss some basic concepts and present a numerical procedure for finding the minimum-norm solution of convex quadratic programs (QPs) subject to linear equality and inequality constraints. Our approach is based on a theorem of alternatives and on a convenient characterization of the solution set of convex QPs. We show that this problem can be reduced to a simple constrained minimization problem with a once-differentiable convex objective function. We use finite termination of an appropriate Newton’s method to solve this problem. Numerical results show that the proposed method is efficient.
Magnetic flexible endoscope for colonoscopy: an initial learning curve analysis
Authors: Mamunes Alexander P. , Campisano Federico , Martin James , Scaglioni Bruno , Mazomenos Evangelos , Valdastri Pietro , Obstein Keith L.
Published: January 2021

Background and study aims Colonoscopy is a technically challenging procedure that requires extensive training to minimize discomfort and avoid trauma due to its drive mechanism. Our academic team developed a magnetic flexible endoscope (MFE) actuated by magnetic coupling under supervisory robotic control to enable a front-pull maneuvering mechanism, with a motion controller user interface, to minimize colon wall stress and potentially reduce the learning curve. We aimed to evaluate this learning curve and understand the user experience.

Methods Five novices (no endoscopy experience), five experienced endoscopists, and five experienced MFE users each performed 40 trials on a model colon using 1:1 block randomization between a pediatric colonoscope (PCF) and the MFE. Cecal intubation (CI) success, time to cecum, and user experience (NASA task load index) were measured. Learning curves were determined by the number of trials needed to reach minimum and average proficiency—defined as the slowest average CI time by an experienced user and the average CI time by all experienced users, respectively.

Results MFE minimum proficiency was achieved by all five novices (median 3.92 trials) and five experienced endoscopists (median 2.65 trials). MFE average proficiency was achieved by four novices (median 14.21 trials) and four experienced endoscopists (median 7.00 trials). PCF minimum and average proficiency levels were achieved by only one novice. Novices’ perceived workload with the MFE significantly improved after obtaining minimum proficiency.

Conclusions The MFE has a short learning curve for users with no prior experience—requiring relatively few attempts to reach proficiency and at a reduced perceived workload.
Premedication with simethicone and N-acetylcysteine for improving mucosal visibility during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in a Western population
Authors: Manfredi Guido , Bertè Roberto , Iiritano Elena , Alicante Saverio , Londoni Claudio , Brambilla Giancarlo , Romeo Samanta , Menozzi Fernanda , Griffanti Paola , Brandi Giovanna , Moreschi Oliva , Pezzilli Raffaele , Zullo Angelo , Buscarini Elisabetta
Published: January 2021

Background and study aim Pre-endoscopic use of a preparation with tensioactive and mucolytic agents improved gastric mucosa visualization in Eastern studies. Data on Western population are scanty.

Patients and methods This prospective, endoscopist-blinded, randomized study enrolled patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy in a single center. Before endoscopy patients, were randomized to receive or not receive an oral preparation with simethicone and N-acetylcysteine in water. A pretested score (Crema Stomach Cleaning Score [CSCS]) for gastric mucosa cleaning evaluation was used. In detail, the stomach was divided into the antrum, body, and fundus and a score of 1 to 3 was assigned to each part (the higher the score, the better the preparation), and a total value ≤ 5 was considered as insufficient. Time between endoscope insertion and clean achievement (mouth to clean time) or the end of examination (mouth to mouth time) was recorded.

Results A total of 197 patients were enrolled. The mean overall CSCS value and mucosal cleaning in all parts was better in treated patients than in controls. Prevalence total score ≤ 5 was significantly lower in patients treated before endoscopy. Need for water flush occurred less frequently in treated patients (P < 0.0001). The mouth to clean time was lower in the treated than in the control group (2.3 ± 1.6 vs 3.8 ± 1.6 min; P < 0.001), whereas no significant difference in mouth to mouth time emerged.

Conclusions Data from this study show that premedication with simethicone and N-acetylcysteine results in significantly better endoscopic visualization of gastric mucosa, and the proposed CSCS could be useful for standardizing this evaluation.
Quality performance measures for small capsule endoscopy: Are the ESGE quality standards met?
Authors: Rondonotti Emanuele , Spada Cristiano , Cadoni Sergio , Cannizzaro Renato , Calabrese Carlo , de Franchis Roberto , Elli Luca , Girelli Carlo Maria , Hassan Cesare , Marmo Riccardo , Riccioni Maria Elena , Oliva Salvatore , Scarpulla Giuseppe , Soncini Marco , Vecchi Maurizio , Pennazio Marco ,   “RAVE Study Group”
Published: January 2021

Background and study aims The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) recently issued a quality performance measures document for small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE). The aim of this nationwide survey was to explore SBCE practice with ESGE quality measures as a benchmark.

Patients and methods A dedicated per-center semi-quantitative questionnaire based on ESGE performance measures for SBCE was created by a group of SBCE experts. One-hundred-eighty-one centers were invited to participate and were asked to calculate performance measures for SBCE performed in 2018. Data were compared with 10 ESGE quality standards for both key and minor performance measures.

Results Ninety-one centers (50.3 %) participated in the data collection. Overall in the last 5 years (2014–2018), 26,615 SBCEs were performed, 5917 of which were done in 2018. Eighty percent or more of the participating centers reached the minimum standard established by the ESGE Small Bowel Working Group (ESBWG) for four performance measures (indications for SBCE, complete small bowel evaluation, diagnostic yield and retention rate). Conversely, compliance with six minimum standards established by ESBWG concerning adequate bowel preparation, patient selection, timing of SBCE in overt bleeding, appropriate reporting, reading protocols and referral to device-assisted enteroscopy was met by only 15.5 %, 10.9 %, 31.1 %, 67.7 %, 53.4 %, and 32.2 % of centers, respectively.

Conclusions The present survey shows significant variability across SBCE centers; only four (4/10: 40 %) SBCE procedural minimum standards were met by a relevant proportion of the centers ( ≥ 80 %). Our data should help in identifying target areas for quality improvement programs in SBCE.
Zwischen Ökonomisierung und Versorgungssicherheit: Die stationäre Pädiatrie im ländlichen Raum
Authors: Holbe Fabian , Walus Andreas
Published: January 2021

Auf Grundlage der aktuellen Krankenhausfinanzierung ist der wirtschaftliche Betrieb kleiner Abteilungen nur unzureichend möglich. Die Sicherung des Facharztstandards „rund um die Uhr“ in den Abteilungen führt zu hohen Fixkosten. Die Vergütung durch das Fallpauschalensystem wird zurzeit anhand der Kostenrechnung spezialisierter Leistungserbringer und großer Kliniken berechnet. Im Gegensatz zu den basisversorgenden kleineren Abteilungen bedeutet für große Einrichtungen die Aufrechterhaltung einer Grundversorgung nur einen prozentual geringeren Kostenanteil. Einer politischen Einflussnahe auf das System der Krankenhausfinanzierung sind rechtliche und ökonomische Grenzen gesetzt.

Eine Übernahme eines privaten Krankenhauses in kommunale Trägerschaft kann, sollte die Versorgungssicherheit gefährdet sein, unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen diskutiert werden. Neben Qualitätsindikatoren muss zur Übernahme eines Krankenhauses dem kommunalwirtschaftlichen Subsidiaritätsprinzip entsprochen werden. Auch unter kommunaler Trägerschaft muss nach wirtschaftlicher Effizienz gearbeitet werden. Fraglich hierbei ist, ob es einem kommunalen Träger gelingt, eine höhere Effizienz zu erreichen als ein großer privater Krankenhauskonzern. Eine Kostenumverteilung auf den kommunalen Träger wäre eine mögliche Folge. Unter Beibehaltung der aktuellen Krankenhausfinanzierung werden kleine Krankenhäuser im ländlichen Raum benachteiligt. Personelle Engpässe verschärfen die Situation zusätzlich. Mit den Mechanismen des freien Marktes ist nicht davon auszugehen, dass private Krankenhausbetreiber ein gesteigertes Interesse am Betrieb entsprechender Kliniken haben. Eine (Re)Kommunalisierung bei gleichem Finanzierungsmodell ermöglicht voraussichtlich auch keinen wirtschaftlicheren Betrieb, erscheint aber aus politischen Erwägungen als eine Option.

Es bedarf Änderungen im System der Krankenhausfinanzierung, wenn einer weiteren Benachteiligung des ländlichen Raums bzw. dem Abbau der medizinischen Versorgungssicherheit entgegengewirkt werden soll.
Primary and secondary school teachers’ perceptions of their social science training needs
Authors: Sánchez-Ibáñez Raquel , Guerrero-Romera Catalina , Miralles-Martínez Pedro
Published: January 2021

Competency-based education is one of the challenges currently faced by social science teachers. At present, there is an abundance of research on competencies relating to the social sciences which favour the development of historical thinking among learners. The ongoing training of teachers is of vital importance when it comes to shifting the method of teaching towards approaches which focus more on the learner, which favour the teaching of historical contents and competences aimed at forming a critical citizenship. For this reason, the two objectives of this study are to discover which disciplinary contents are considered by teachers to be most relevant for the teaching of history and what training is required by teachers who give social science classes in primary and secondary education in Spain. The research is a non-experimental mixed-methods study. In order to achieve the first objective, a quantitative analysis has been carried out of the data obtained from a questionnaire with a Likert-type scale administered to 332 primary and secondary teachers in Spain. To achieve the second objective, the information obtained from 12 interviews with primary and secondary school teachers in Spain has been analysed in a qualitative way. The results obtained indicate that teachers update their disciplinary knowledge via scientific journals and that they are interested in receiving training in historical thinking skills, active learning methods and ICT resources. Based on these training needs, it is concluded that teachers currently envisage a teaching model in the social sciences which is more competency-based and focused on the active participation of the learner.
Extreme matter compression caused by radiation cooling effect in gigabar shock wave driven by laser-accelerated fast electrons
Authors: Gus’kov S. Yu. , Kuchugov P. A. , Vergunova G. A.
Published: January 2021

Heating a solid material with laser-accelerated fast electrons is a particularly useful method for generating a plane powerful shock wave with a pressure of several hundred or even thousands of Mbar in the laboratory. Behind the front of such a powerful shock wave, dense plasma is heated to a temperature of several keV. Then, a high rate of radiation energy loss occurs even in low-Z plasmas. In this paper, the strong compression of matter due to radiation cooling in a Gbar shock wave driven by fast electrons is studied using both computational and theoretical approaches. It is shown that the effect of radiation cooling leads to compression of matter in the peripheral region of the shock wave to a density several times greater than the density at its front. Heating a solid material by a petawatt flux of laser-accelerated fast electrons offers the opportunity to surpass the gigabar pressure level of plane shock waves generated by the impact of laser-accelerated pellets. Higher pressures of about 100 Gbar can be achieved under laboratory conditions only when a spherical target is imploded under the action of a terawatt laser pulse.
Identification and characterisation of cold stress-related proteins in Oryza rufipogon at the seedling stage using label-free quantitative proteomic analysis
Authors: Bai Li-Wei-Dan , Liu Jian , Dai Liang-Fang , Deng Qian-Wen , Chen Ya-Ling , Xie Jian-Kun , Luo Xiang-Dong
Published: January 2021

In this study, label-free quantitative proteomics were used to study cold stress-related proteins in Dongxiang wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff., DWR) and cold sensitive cultivated rice ‘Xieqingzao B’(Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica cv., XB). The results demonstrated the presence of 101 and 216 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were detected in DWR and XB, respectively, after cold stress. Bioinformatics analysis showed that DWR and XB differed significantly in their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulate energy metabolism. Of the 101 DEPs of DWR, 46 DEPs related to differential expressed genes were also detected by transcriptome analysis. And 13 out of 101 DEPs were located in previous cold related quantitative trait loci (QTL). Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that protein expression and transcription patterns were not similar in XB and DWR. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constituted using the DEPs of DWR and XB, and the following three centre proteins were identified: Q8H3I3, Q9LDN2, and Q2QXR8. Next, we selected a centre protein and two of the 37 DEPs with high levels of differential expression (fold change ≥ 2) were used for cloning and prokaryotic expression. We found that Q5Z9Q8 could significantly improve the cold tolerance of Escherichia coli.
Judeo-Hamadani: The Language of Jews in Hamadan and Its Origins
Authors: Gholami Saloumeh
Published: January 2021

The study of the language of religious minorities in Iran is particularly important for understanding the historical development and typology of Iranian languages. Historical and linguistic evidence substantiates the idea that Zoroastrians and Jews in cities in central and western Iran preserved their former vernacular language, whereas the majority of the population replaced it with Persian in the New Iranian period. This paper focuses on the language of Jews in Hamadan and has two main objectives: first, it examines numerous distinctive features of Judeo-Hamadani; second, it reviews and updates recent research to clarify the language origins, using data from new materials recorded during fieldwork in Hamadan from October 2018 to August 2019, and in Yazd in 2017.
Adolescent Caffeine Consumption and Aggressive Behavior: A Longitudinal Assessment
Authors: Kristjansson Alfgeir L. , Kogan Steven M. , James Jack E. , Sigfusdottir Inga Dora
Published: January 2021

Background

Adolescent caffeine consumption has been linked to aggressive behaviors, although no longitudinal tests have been reported to date. The purpose of this study was to test the longitudinal relations between daily adolescent caffeine consumption and aggressive behaviors.

Methods

Two waves of survey data collected 12 months apart in the spring of 2018 and 2019, from the 2004 birth cohort in the Icelandic LIFECOURSE study, were analyzed using structural equation modeling ( N = 2,278). Both direct and mediated models were employed.

Results

Caffeine use at time 1 (T1) was associated with aggressive behavior at time 2 (T2) ( β = .12, p < .001) independent of aggressive behavior at T1. A considerable added relation was observed between caffeine at T1 and aggressive behavior at T2 via indirect (i.e., mediated) effects of aggressive behavior at T1 (standardized β = .20, p < .001). Over 64% of the standardized total effect ( β = .31) observed between caffeine at T1 and aggressive behavior at T2 was due to mediation.

Conclusion

Adolescent caffeine consumption forecasts aggressive behaviors. Caffeine use at T1 increased the likelihood of self-reported aggressive behaviors 12 months later irrespective of level of reported aggressive behavior at T1 while controlling for common confounders.
Introducing physical warp drives
Authors: Bobrick Alexey , Martire Gianni
Published: January 2021

The Alcubierre warp drive is an exotic solution in general relativity. It allows for superluminal travel at the cost of enormous amounts of matter with negative mass density. For this reason, the Alcubierre warp drive has been widely considered unphysical. In this study, we develop a model of a general warp drive spacetime in classical relativity that encloses all existing warp drive definitions and allows for new metrics without the most serious issues present in the Alcubierre solution. We present the first general model for subliminal positive-energy, spherically symmetric warp drives; construct superluminal warp-drive solutions which satisfy quantum inequalities; provide optimizations for the Alcubierre metric that decrease the negative energy requirements by two orders of magnitude; and introduce a warp drive spacetime in which space capacity and the rate of time can be chosen in a controlled manner. Conceptually, we demonstrate that any warp drive, including the Alcubierre drive, is a shell of regular or exotic material moving inertially with a certain velocity. Therefore, any warp drive requires propulsion. We show that a class of subluminal, spherically symmetric warp drive spacetimes, at least in principle, can be constructed based on the physical principles known to humanity today
Force-free magnetosphere attractors for near-horizon extreme and near-extreme limits of Kerr black hole
Authors: Camilloni Filippo , Grignani Gianluca , Harmark Troels , Oliveri Roberto , Orselli Marta
Published: January 2021

We propose a new approach to find magnetically-dominated force-free (FF) magnetospheres around highly spinning black holes, relevant for models of astrophysical jets. Employing the near-horizon extreme Kerr (NHEK) limit of the Kerr black hole, any stationary, axisymmetric and regular FF magnetosphere reduces to the same attractor solution in the NHEK limit with null electromagnetic field strength. We use this attractor solution as the universal starting point for perturbing away from the NHEK region in the extreme Kerr spacetime. We demonstrate that by going to second order in perturbation theory, it is possible to find magnetically dominated magnetospheres around the extreme Kerr black hole. Furthermore, we consider the near-horizon near-extreme Kerr (near-NHEK) limit that provides access to a different regime of highly spinning black holes. Also in this case we find a novel FF attractor, which can be used as the universal starting point for a perturbative construction of FF magnetospheres. Finally, we discuss the relation between the NHEK and near-NHEK attractors.
CutLang as an analysis description language for introducing students to analyses in particle physics
Authors: Adıgüzel A , Çakır O , Kaya Ü , Özcan V E , Öztürk S , Sekmen S , Türk Çakır İ , Ünel G
Published: January 2021

The fifth edition of the ‘Computing Applications in Particle Physics’ school was held on 3–7 February 2020, at İstanbul University, Turkey. This particular edition focused on the processing of simulated data from the large hadron collider collisions using an analysis description language and its runtime interpreter called CutLang. 24 undergraduate and 6 graduate students were initiated to collider data analysis during the school. After 3 days of lectures and exercises, the students were grouped into teams of 3 or 4 and each team was assigned an analysis publication from ATLAS or CMS experiments. After 1.5 days of independent study, each team was able to reproduce the assigned analysis using CutLang.
Quantum defect-assisted multiphonon Raman scattering in metal halide perovskites
Authors: Wang Zi-Wu , Sun Yong , Cui Yu , Xiao Yao , Deng Jia-Pei , Xiong Wen , Li Zhi-Qing
Published: January 2021

Quantum defects are essential to understand the non-radiative recombination processes in metal halide perovskites-based photovoltaic devices, in which Huang–Rhys factor, reflecting the coupling strength between the charge carrier and optical phonons, plays a key role in determining the non-radiative recombination via multiphonon processes. Herein, we theoretically present multiphonon Raman scattering intermediated by defects arising from the charge carrier of defect coupled with the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon in the deformation potential and Fr

o

̈

hlich mechanisms, respectively. We find that the Raman scattering shows multiple LO phonon overtones at equal interval LO phonons, where Huang–Rhys factor could be evaluated by the order of the strongest overtone. Meanwhile, we give the combinational multiphonon scattering between two mechanisms. Different types of the combinational modes with the weak scattering intensities provide a possible explanation for the long non-radiative charges-carrier lifetimes in metal halide perovskites.
Stability analysis of two-fluid dark energy models
Authors: Mishra B , Esmaeili Fakhereh Md , Ray Pratik P , Tripathy S K
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we have studied the stability of the cosmological models with dark energy and combination of matter fields and dark energy in an anisotropic space time. The pressure anisotropy along the spatial directions are derived and its stability in each direction has been examined. The four models presented here, show its stability on certain spatial direction. The role of matter field on the stability analysis has been obtained. The positive and negative value of cosmic string completely changed the stability behaviour of the model. The presence of a magnetic field disturbs the stability aspects of the models at least in an early epoch.
Unraveling the impact of nonmagnetic Sc substitution on the magnetic properties of La2NiMnO6 double perovskite
Authors: Nasir Mohammad , Khan Mahmud , Bhatt Subhash , Patra Nirmalendu , Bhattacharyya Dibyendu , Sen Somaditya
Published: January 2021

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of a sol-gel prepared series of La2Ni1−x
Sc
x
MnO6 compounds have been extensively studied using x-ray diffraction, x-ray absorption near edge structure, and dc magnetization techniques, respectively. The entire series was isostructural and exhibited the La2NiMnO6 double perovskite P21/n monoclinic structure. The nonmagnetic Sc3+ substitution led to the evolution of competing magnetic phases in La2Ni1−x
Sc
x
MnO6. The substitution also caused an increase in lattice parameters, cell volume, and bond lengths. Consequently, Sc3+ dilution resulted in a dramatic decrease in Curie temperature, suggesting a reduction in the strength of the Ni2+–O2−–Mn4+ superexchange ferromagnetic interaction. The Sc3+ substitution generated antisite defects, which significantly suppressed the saturation magnetization of the system. The competing magnetic interactions observed in the La2Ni1−x
Sc
x
MnO6 system are discussed in terms of cation disorder, cation valances, and changes in the bond lengths/angles, caused by the Sc3+ substitution.
Interacting tachyonic scalar field
Authors: Kundu A , Pathak S D , Ojha V K
Published: January 2021

We discuss the coupling between dark energy and matter by considering a homogeneous tachyonic scalar field as a candidate for dark energy. We obtained the functional form of scale factor by assuming that the coupling strength depends linearly on the Hubble parameter and energy density. We also estimated the cosmic age of the Universe for different values of coupling constant.
Novel travelling wave structures: few-cycle-pulse solitons and soliton molecules
Authors: Chen Zitong , Jia Man
Published: January 2021

We discuss a fifth order KdV (FOKdV) equation via a novel travelling wave method by introducing a background term. Results show that the background term plays an essential role in finding new abundant travelling wave structures, such as the soliton induced by negative background, the periodic travelling wave excited by the positive background, the few-cycle-pulse (FCP) solitons with and without background, the soliton molecules excited by the background. The FCP solitons are first obtained for the FOKdV equation.
Energy law preserving continuous finite element schemes for a gas metal arc welding system
Authors: Lin Yanhai , Jiang Yongyue
Published: January 2021

In this paper a modified continuous energy law was explored to investigate transport behavior in a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) system. The energy law equality at a discrete level for the GMAW system was derived by using the finite element scheme. The mass conservation and current density continuous equation with the penalty scheme was applied to improve the stability. According to the phase-field model coupled with the energy law preserving method, the GMAW model was discretized and a metal transfer process with a pulse current was simulated. It was found that the numerical solution agrees well with the data of the metal transfer process obtained by high-speed photography. Compared with the numerical solution of the volume of fluid model, which was widely studied in the GMAW system based on the finite element method Euler scheme, the energy law preserving method can provide better accuracy in predicting the shape evolution of the droplet and with a greater computing efficiency.
Relativistic Landau quantization in the spiral dislocation spacetime
Authors: Maia A V D M , Bakke K
Published: January 2021

We analyse the interaction of a relativistic electron with a uniform magnetic field in the spiral dislocation spacetime. We show that analytical solutions to the Dirac equation can be obtained, where the spectrum of energy corresponds to the relativistic Landau levels. We also analyse the influence of the spiral dislocation on the relativistic Landau levels by showing that there exists an analogue of the Aharonov–Bohm effect for bound states.
Quantifying nonclassicality of multimode bosonic fields via skew information
Authors: Zhang Yue , Luo Shunlong
Published: January 2021

We quantify the nonclassicality of multimode bosonic field states by adopting an information-theoretic approach involving the Wigner-Yanase skew information. The fundamental properties of the quantifier such as convexity, superadditivity, monotonicity, and conservation relations are revealed. The quantifier is illustrated by a variety of typical examples, and applications to the quantification of nonclassical correlations are discussed. Various extensions are indicated.
On the process of filtration of fractional viscoelastic liquid food
Authors: Meng Yahui , Li Botong , Si Xinhui , Chen Xuehui , Liu Fawang
Published: January 2021

In the process of filtration, fluid impurities precipitate/accumulate; this results in an uneven inner wall of the filter, consequently leading to non-uniform suction/injection. The Riemannian–Liouville fractional derivative model is used to investigate viscoelastic incompressible liquid food flowing through a permeable plate and to generalize Fick’s law. Moreover, we consider steady-state mass balance during ultrafiltration on a plate surface, and a fractional-order concentration boundary condition is established, thereby rendering the problem real and complex. The governing equation is numerically solved using the finite difference algorithm. The effects of the fractional constitutive models, generalized Reynolds number, generalized Schmidt number, and permeability parameter on the velocity and concentration fields are compared. The results show that an increase in fractional-order α in the momentum equation leads to a decrease in the horizontal velocity. Anomalous diffusion described by the fractional derivative model weakens the mass transfer; therefore, the concentration decreases with increasing fractional derivative γ in the concentration equation.
Band mixing in 96,98Mo isotopes *
Authors: Majarshin A. Jalili , Luo Yan-An , Pan Feng , Draayer Jerry P.
Published: January 2021

We use the two lowest weight states to fit E2 strengths connecting the

and

transitions in

Mo. Our results confirm that the

and

states are maximally mixed, and that the

states are weakly mixed in both nuclei. An appropriate Hamiltonian to represent the band mixing is found to be exactly solvable, and its eigenstates can be expressed as the basis vectors in the configuration mixing scheme and interacting boson model. The interacting boson model and coexistence mixing configuration under the solvable methods are suitable models for analyzing the band mixing with high accuracy.
Exploring the uncertainties in theoretical predictions of nuclear β-decay half-lives *
Authors: Shi M. , Fang J. Y. , Niu Z. M.
Published: January 2021

Nuclear

-decay half-lives are predicted based on an empirical formula and the mass predictions from various nuclear models. It is found that the empirical formula can reproduce the nuclear

-decay half-lives well, especially for short-lived nuclei with

s. The theoretical half-life uncertainties from

-decay energies and the parameters of the empirical formula are further investigated. It is found that the uncertainties of the half-lives are relatively large for heavy nuclei and nuclei near the neutron-drip line. For nuclei on the r-process path, the uncertainties for those with

are about one order of magnitude, which are much larger than the uncertainties for those with

and

. However, theoretical uncertainties from the parameters of the empirical formula are relatively small for the nuclei on the r-process path, which indicates that the empirical formula is very suitable for predicting the

-decay half-lives in r-process simulations.
Effect of momentum anisotropy on quark matter in the quark-meson model *
Authors: Zhang He-Xia , Zhang Ben-Wei
Published: January 2021

We investigate the chiral phase structure of quark matter with spheroidal momentum-space anisotropy specified by one anisotropy parameter

in the 2+1 flavor quark-meson model. We find that the chiral phase diagram and the location of the critical endpoint (CEP) are significantly affected by the value of

. With an increase in

, the CEP is shifted to lower temperatures and higher quark chemical potentials. In addition, the temperature of the CEP is more sensitive to the anisotropy parameter than the corresponding quark chemical potential, which is the opposite to that from the finite system volume effect. The effects of the momentum anisotropy on the thermodynamic properties and scalar (pseudoscalar) meson masses are also studied at the vanishing quark chemical potential. The numerical results reveal that an increase in

can hinder the restoration of chiral symmetry. We also find that shear viscosity and electrical conductivity decrease as

increases. However, the bulk viscosity exhibits a significant non-trivial behavior with

in the entire temperature domain of interest.
Sustainable but hungry? Food security outcomes of certification for cocoa and oil palm smallholders in Ghana
Authors: Dompreh Eric Brako , Asare Richard , Gasparatos Alexandros
Published: January 2021

Cocoa and oil palm are the major commodity crops produced in Ghana and livelihood options for hundreds of thousands of rural households. However, their production has negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Certification standards have been promoted as a market-led mechanism to ensure their sustainable production. Even though food security does not feature in the theory of change of most certification standards, there are interesting intersections. This paper assesses the food security outcomes of certification adoption among cocoa and oil palm smallholders in Ghana. We analyse 608 household surveys from two study sites using propensity score matching and multiple standardized metrics of food security such as the Food Consumption Score (FCS), the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the Coping Strategies Index. Certified cocoa/oil palm farmers are more food secure than uncertified farmers and food crop farmers across most indicators and group comparisons. However, the differences are for most indicators not substantial or statistically significant (except the HFIAS). In fact, 65% and 68% of the certified cocoa and oil palm farmers are vulnerable to food insecurity in terms of the FCS. These results suggest that even though certification adoption can improve the livelihoods and yields of farmers, in reality it has marginal effect on food security. Certification standards would need to emphasize food security in their guidelines, theories of change and support packages to smallholders if they are to enhance food security and have a truly positive effect on the sustainability of cocoa and oil palm production.
Greater aridity increases the magnitude of urban nighttime vegetation-derived air cooling
Authors: Ibsen Peter C , Borowy Dorothy , Dell Tyler , Greydanus Hattie , Gupta Neha , Hondula David M , Meixner Thomas , Santelmann Mary V , Shiflett Sheri A , Sukop Michael C , Swan Christopher M , Talal Michelle L , Valencia Miguel , Wright Mary K , Jenerette G Darrel
Published: January 2021

High nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted nighttime heat mitigation effects of urban vegetation, the magnitude and variability of vegetation-derived urban nighttime cooling differs greatly among cities. We hypothesize that urban vegetation-derived nighttime air cooling is driven by vegetation density whose effect is regulated by aridity through increasing transpiration. We test this hypothesis by deploying microclimate sensors across eight United States cities and investigating relationships of nighttime air temperature and urban vegetation throughout a summer season. Urban vegetation decreased nighttime air temperature in all cities. Vegetation cooling magnitudes increased as a function of aridity, resulting in the lowest cooling magnitude of 1.4 °C in the most humid city, Miami, FL, and 5.6 °C in the most arid city, Las Vegas, NV. Consistent with the differences among cities, the cooling effect increased during heat waves in all cities. For cities that experience a summer monsoon, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, the cooling magnitude was larger during the more arid pre-monsoon season than during the more humid monsoon period. Our results place the large differences among previous measurements of vegetation nighttime urban cooling into a coherent physiological framework dependent on plant transpiration. This work informs urban heat risk planning by providing a framework for using urban vegetation as an environmental justice tool and can help identify where and when urban vegetation has the largest effect on mitigating nighttime temperatures.
Enhanced mid-infrared gas absorption spectroscopic detection using chalcogenide or porous germanium waveguides
Authors: Zegadi Rami , Lorrain Nathalie , Bodiou Loїc , Guendouz Mohammed , Ziet Lahcene , Charrier Joël
Published: January 2021

Different integrated photonic sensors are investigated for the detection in the mid-infrared region of the two gases namely CO2 and CH4. The three studied structures are ridge waveguides, based both on chalcogenide films (ChG) or porous germanium (PGe) and slot waveguides based on ChG. Waveguide dimensions are optimized to obtain the highest power factor between guided light and gas while maintaining a single mode propagation in the mid-infrared wavelength range. The achievable power factor is 1% in case of ChG ridge-waveguide, 45% for PGe-ridge, and 58% in case of ChG-slot. Extremely low limits of detection (LOD), 0.1 ppm for CO2 at λ = 4.3 μm and 1.66 ppm for CH4 at λ = 7.7 μm are obtained for a ChG slot waveguide, due to the large gas absorption coefficients in the mid-infrared spectral range. For PGe waveguides, low LOD values are also computed: 0.12 ppm for CO2 at λ = 4.3 μm and 1.89 ppm for CH4 at λ = 7.7 μm. These results show that the proposed structures could achieve competitive performance required for generic spectroscopic detection on a chip for environment and health sensing.
Ir/Ni/W/Ni Ohmic contacts for n-type 3C-SiC grown on p-type silicon substrate
Authors: Li Ru-Quan , Guo Jun-Mei , Wen Ming , Zhou Xiao-Long , Guan Wei-Ming , Wang Chuan-Jun
Published: January 2021

In this work, Ohmic contacts to n-type 3C-SiC grown on p-type Si substrate employing Ni layer and Ir/Ni/W/Ni multilayers were investigated. Specific contact resistances of 2.57 × 10–4 Ω · cm2 and 2.74 × 10–5 Ω · cm2 were achieved with Ni layer and Ir/Ni/W/Ni multilayers, respectively, at an annealing temperature of 1050 °C. Samples were characterized using XRD, AFM and SEM. The result indicates the W is effective as a carbon absorbing and stabilizing layer and the presence of Ir cap layer facilitates lowering the surface roughness. As a result, the thermal stability and contact surface morphology of Ir/Ni/W/Ni/3C-SiC is greatly improved compared with Ni/SiC contact.
Seeds and seedlings of oaks suffer from mammals and molluscs close to phylogenetically isolated, old adults
Authors: Deniau Maud , Pihain Mickael , Béchade Benoît , Jung Vincent , Brunellière Margot , Gouesbet Valérie , Prinzing Andreas
Published: January 2021

Background and Aims

Mammals and molluscs (MaM) are abundant herbivores of tree seeds and seedlings, but how the trees and their environment affect MaM herbivory has been little studied. MaM tend to move much larger distances during the feeding stage than the more frequently studied insect herbivores. We hypothesize that MaM (1) select and stay within the patches that promise to be relatively the richest in seeds and seedlings, i.e. patches around adult trees that are old and within a distantly related, less productive neighborhood; and (2) try to remain sheltered from predators while foraging, i.e. mammals remain close to adult trees or to cover by herbs while foraging, and might force their mollusc prey to show the opposite distribution.

Methods

We exposed oak acorns and seedlings in a temperate forest along transects from adult conspecifics in different neighbourhoods. We followed acorn removal and leaf herbivory. We used exclusion experiments to separate acorn removal by ungulates vs. rodents and leaf herbivory by insects vs. molluscs. We measured the size of the closest conspecific adult tree, its phylogenetic isolation from the neighbourhood and the herbaceous ground cover.

Key Results

Consistent with our hypothesis, rodents removed seeds around adult trees surrounded by phylogenetically distant trees and by a dense herb cover. Molluscs grazed seedlings surrounding large conspecific adults and where herb cover is scarce. Contrary to our hypothesis, the impact of MaM did not change from 1 to 5 m distance from adult trees.

Conclusions

We suggest that foraging decisions of MaM repulse seedlings from old adults, and mediate the negative effects of herbaceous vegetation on tree recruitment. Also, an increase in mammalian seed predation might prevent trees from establishing in the niches of phylogenetically distantly related species, contrary to what is known from insect enemies.
McSplicer: a probabilistic model for estimating splice site usage from RNA-seq data
Authors: Alqassem Israa , Sonthalia Yash , Klitzke-Feser Erika , Shim Heejung , Canzar Stefan
Published: January 2021

Motivation

Alternative splicing removes intronic sequences from pre-mRNAs in alternative ways to produce different forms (isoforms) of mature mRNA. The composition of expressed transcripts gives specific functionalities to cells in a particular condition or developmental stage. In addition, a large fraction of human disease mutations affect splicing and lead to aberrant mRNA and protein products. Current methods that interrogate the transcriptome based on RNA-seq either suffer from short-read length when trying to infer full-length transcripts, or are restricted to predefined units of alternative splicing that they quantify from local read evidence.

Results

Instead of attempting to quantify individual outcomes of the splicing process such as local splicing events or full-length transcripts, we propose to quantify alternative splicing using a simplified probabilistic model of the underlying splicing process. Our model is based on the usage of individual splice sites and can generate arbitrarily complex types of splicing patterns. In our implementation, McSplicer, we estimate the parameters of our model using all read data at once and we demonstrate in our experiments that this yields more accurate estimates compared to competing methods. Our model is able to describe multiple effects of splicing mutations using few, easy to interpret parameters, as we illustrate in an experiment on RNA-seq data from autism spectrum disorder patients.

Availability and implementation

McSplicer source code is available at https://github.com/canzarlab/McSplicer and has been deposited in archived format at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4449881.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Compartor: a toolbox for the automatic generation of moment equations for dynamic compartment populations
Authors: Pietzsch Tobias , Duso Lorenzo , Zechner Christoph
Published: January 2021

Many biochemical processes in living organisms take place inside compartments that can interact with each other and remodel over time. In a recent work, we have shown how the stochastic dynamics of a compartmentalized biochemical system can be effectively studied using moment equations. With this technique, the time evolution of a compartment population is summarized using a finite number of ordinary differential equations, which can be analyzed very efficiently. However, the derivation of moment equations by hand can become time-consuming for systems comprising multiple reactants and interactions. Here we present Compartor, a toolbox that automatically generates the moment equations associated with a user-defined compartmentalized system. Through the moment equation method, Compartor renders the analysis of stochastic population models accessible to a broader scientific community.

Availability and implementation

Compartor is provided as a Python package and is available at https://pypi.org/project/compartor/. Source code and usage tutorials for Compartor are available at https://github.com/zechnerlab/Compartor.