bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Traffic light optimization using non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA2)
Authors: Leal Samara Soares , de Almeida Paulo Eduardo M.
Published: September 2023

Traffic congestion is a major concern in urban centers, as it can affect society, the environment, and the economy. There are many studies on the use of computational intelligence (CI) to improve mobility in urban centers. Some of these researches focus on developing strategies for traffic light programming, since traffic coordination is complex due to its many parameters, variables, and dynamic behavior, and also an inefficient traffic control plan can lead to increased delays and contribute to traffic congestion. Although there are many works in the literature on strategies for traffic control, there are still some contributions and gaps to be filled, especially because some studies do not consider the automatic optimization of traffic signals in real time, that is, according to the demand of vehicles on the roads, considering multiple objectives and the use of a network of intersections in their experiments. In addition, some of the proposed models are not independent of simulation to evaluate the solutions of CI algorithms, resulting in a more complex deployment in real situations. In this context, this paper presents a new method to optimize traffic light plan in a network of intersections and in real time, called Active Control of Traffic Signals (ACTS) associated with the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm, considering multiple objectives in the optimization process (minimizing the average delay time and the number of vehicles stops per cycle). To test the applicability of the model, a real dataset of vehicle demand collected by the Company of Transport and Traffic of Belo Horizonte (BHTrans) is loaded into the AIMSUN simulator, then the method is applied and compared with the current traffic control plan used by BHTrans. The results show that the ACTS method reduces the average vehicle delay by almost half compared to the results obtained with the current solution used by BHTrans. In real life, this means less time spent in traffic, which promotes faster traffic flow, reducing traffic congestions.
Building a prediction model of college students’ sports behavior based on machine learning method: combining the characteristics of sports learning interest and sports autonomy
Authors: Liu Haibo , Hou Wenzhi , Emolyn Iringan , Liu Yu
Published: September 2023

College students’ sports behavior is affected by many factors, and sports learning interest and sports autonomy support are potential psychological characteristic factors, which have important influence value on college students’ sports behavior. Machine learning methods are widely used to construct prediction models and show high efficiency. In order to understand the impact of sports learning interest and sports autonomy support on college students’ sports behavior (physical exercise level), the research decided to use the relevant methods of machine learning to build a prediction model, so as to find the internal relationship between them. This paper summarizes the relevant factors that affect college students’ sports behavior (physical exercise level) from two aspects, namely, sports autonomy and sports learning interest, and surveys the demographic and sociological information of college students as a supplement. The research evaluates the level of the prediction model through the construction of the prediction model of the machine learning algorithm and the comparison method, so as to determine the optimal prediction model. The results show that the prediction accuracy of the logistic regression model is 0.7288, the recall rate is 0.7590, and F1 is 0.7397; The prediction accuracy of KNN model is 0.6895, the recall rate is 0.7596, and F1 is 0.7096; The prediction accuracy of naive Bayesian model is 0.7166, the recall rate is 0.6703, and F1 is 0.6864; the prediction accuracy of LDA model is 0.7263, the recall rate is 0.7290, and F1 is 0.7265; The prediction accuracy of the support vector machine model is 0.6563, the recall rate is 0.7700, and F1 is 0.6845; The prediction accuracy of GBDT model is 0.6953, the recall rate is 0.7039, and the F1 score is 0.6989; The prediction accuracy of the decision tree model is 0.6872, the recall rate is 0.6507, and F1 is 0.6672. The logistic regression model performs best in the combination of sports learning interest and motor autonomy support, due to the combination of its linear classification characteristics, better adaptability, high computational efficiency, and better adaptability to feature selection and outlier processing. The conclusion points out that the prediction level of logistic regression model is the highest when combining sports learning interest and sports autonomy support to predict college students’ sports behavior (sports exercise grade), which also provides an important reference for improving college students’ sports behavior (sports exercise grade).
Enhancing phytochemical parameters in broccoli through vacuum impregnation and their prediction with comparative ANN and RSM models
Authors: Wahid Aseeya , Giri Saroj Kumar , Kate Adinath , Tripathi Manoj Kumar , Kumar Manoj
Published: September 2023

Amidst increasing demand for nutritious foods, the quest for effective methods to enhance health-promoting attributes has intensified. Vacuum impregnation (VI) is a promising technique to augment produce properties while minimizing impacts on biochemical attributes. In light of broccoli’s growing popularity driven by its nutritional benefits, this study explores the impact of VI using ascorbic acid and calcium chloride as impregnation agents on enhancing its phytochemical properties. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for optimization of the vacuum impregnation process with Vacuum pressure (0.6, 0.4, 0.2 bar), vacuum time (3, 7, 11 min), restoration time (5, 10, 15 min), and concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5%) as independent parameters. The influence of these process parameters on six targeted responses viz. total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ascorbic acid content (AAC), total chlorophyll content (TCC), free radical scavenging activity (FRSA), and carotenoid content (CC) were analysed. Levenberg–Marquardt back propagated neural network (LMB-ANN) was used to model the impregnation process. Multiple response optimization of the vacuum impregnation process indicated an optimum condition of 0.2 bar vacuum pressure, 11 min of vacuum time, 12 min of restoration time, and 1.5% concentration of solution for vacuum impregnation of broccoli. The values of TPC, TFC, AAC, TCC, FRSA, and CC obtained at optimized conditions were 291.20 mg GAE/100 g, 11.29 mg QE/100 g, 350.81 mg/100 g, 1.21 mg/100 g, 79.77 mg, and 8.51 mg, respectively. The prediction models obtained through ANN was found suitable for predicting the responses with less standard errors and higher R2 value as compared to RSM models. Instrumental characterization (FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis) of untreated and treated samples were done to see the effect of impregnation on microstructural and morphological changes in broccoli. The results showed enhancement in the TPC, TFC, AAC, TCC, FRSA, and CC values of broccoli florets with impregnation. The FTIR and XRD analysis also supported the results.
Low-temperature green synthesis of few-layered graphene sheets from pomegranate peels for supercapacitor applications
Authors: Anagbonu Prince , Ghali Mohsen , Allam Ahmed
Published: September 2023

Graphene presents practical applications in energy storage devices, especially supercapacitors. However, mainstream synthesis of graphene includes toxic chemical usage, which threatens the environment. With the recent attention shift to synthesizing nanomaterials from agro-waste due to their easy availability, cost-effectiveness, and, most importantly, their environmental friendliness, we present, in this work for the first time, a novel and green synthesis of few-layered graphene sheets using pomegranate peels as a precursor at a low temperature of 80 °C. The surface morphology and microstructural properties are determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), and the electrical properties determined by Hall Effect Measurement. The application as a supercapacitor is also examined using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Charge–Discharge Cycling (GCD), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The resulting supercapacitor delivers an areal capacitance of $$3.39 mF{cm}^{-2}$$

3.39
m
F

cm

-
2

at a current density of 15.6 μA $${cm}^{-2}$$

cm

-
2

, making our synthesized graphene a good choice for electrochemical storage devices.
Multiple neuron clusters on Micro-Electrode Arrays as an in vitro model of brain network
Authors: Brofiga Martina , Losacco Serena , Poggio Fabio , Zerbo Roberta Arianna , Milanese Marco , Massobrio Paolo , Burlando Bruno
Published: September 2023

Understanding the brain functioning is essential for governing brain processes with the aim of managing pathological network dysfunctions. Due to the morphological and biochemical complexity of the central nervous system, the development of general models with predictive power must start from in vitro brain network engineering. In the present work, we realized a micro-electrode array (MEA)-based in vitro brain network and studied its emerging dynamical properties. We obtained four-neuron-clusters (4N) assemblies by plating rat embryo cortical neurons on 60-electrode MEA with cross-shaped polymeric masks and compared the emerging dynamics with those of sister single networks (1N). Both 1N and 4N assemblies exhibited spontaneous electrical activity characterized by spiking and bursting signals up to global activation by means of network bursts. Data revealed distinct patterns of network activity with differences between 1 and 4N. Rhythmic network bursts and dominant initiator clusters suggested pacemaker activities in both assembly types, but the propagation of activation sequences was statistically influenced by the assembly topology. We proved that this rhythmic activity was ivabradine sensitive, suggesting the involvement of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels, and propagated across the real clusters of 4N, or corresponding virtual clusters of 1N, with dominant initiator clusters, and nonrandom cluster activation sequences. The occurrence of nonrandom series of identical activation sequences in 4N revealed processes possibly ascribable to neuroplasticity. Hence, our multi-network dissociated cortical assemblies suggest the relevance of pacemaker neurons as essential elements for generating brain network electrophysiological patterns; indeed, such evidence should be considered in the development of computational models for envisaging network behavior both in physiological and pathological conditions.
High-Q trenched aluminum coplanar resonators with an ultrasonic edge microcutting for superconducting quantum devices
Authors: Zikiy E. V. , Ivanov A. I. , Smirnov N. S. , Moskalev D. O. , Polozov V. I. , Matanin A. R. , Malevannaya E. I. , Echeistov V. V. , Konstantinova T. G. , Rodionov I. A.
Published: September 2023

Dielectric losses are one of the key factors limiting the coherence of superconducting qubits. The impact of materials and fabrication steps on dielectric losses can be evaluated using coplanar waveguide (CPW) microwave resonators. Here, we report on superconducting CPW microwave resonators with internal quality factors systematically exceeding 5 × 106 at high powers and 2 × 106 (with the best value of 4.4 × 106) at low power. Such performance is demonstrated for 100-nm-thick aluminum resonators with 7–10.5 um center trace on high-resistivity silicon substrates commonly used in Josephson-junction based quantum circuit. We investigate internal quality factors of the resonators with both dry and wet aluminum etching, as well as deep and isotropic reactive ion etching of silicon substrate. Josephson junction compatible CPW resonators fabrication process with both airbridges and silicon substrate etching is proposed. Finally, we demonstrate the effect of airbridges’ positions and extra process steps on the overall dielectric losses. The best quality factors are obtained for the wet etched aluminum resonators and isotropically removed substrate with the proposed ultrasonic metal edge microcutting.
Tapering and discontinuation of glucocorticoids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tofacitinib
Authors: Spinelli Francesca Romana , Garufi Cristina , Mancuso Silvia , Ceccarelli Fulvia , Truglia Simona , Conti Fabrizio
Published: September 2023

Although the rapid onset of effect of glucocorticoids (GCs) allows rapid control of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms, their chronic use may be associated with several adverse events. The 2022 update of EUALR recommendations for the management of patients with RA suggests to reduce and discontinue oral GCs as quickly as possible. Considering GCs as a "bridging therapy" to promptly reduce symptoms and control inflammation, fast-acting drugs such as tofacitinib could allow faster and safer tapering of GCs. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the steroid-sparing effect of adding tofacitinib in patients with RA inadequately responsive to methotrexate taking concomitant GCs. In this open-label pilot study, we enrolled patients with moderate to severe RA on a stable dose of prednisone (5–12.5 mg/day) who started treatment with tofacitinib. After 1 month, in patients who achieved at least a moderate EULAR response (decrease of > 1.2 in DAS28_CRP), GCs was tapered according to a predetermined schedule until complete discontinuation at week 12. Disease activity was assessed after 4, 12, 24 and 48 weeks of treatment. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients discontinuing GCs after 12 weeks of tofacitinib treatment. We enrolled 30 patients (26 F: 4 M, mean age 60 ± 13 years, mean disease duration 13.2 ± 7.8 years). The primary endpoint was achieved: 9 patients (30%) discontinued GCs at week-12. At week-24, other 12 patients (46%) withdrew GCs. The median prednisone dose decreased from 5 mg/day (interquartile range 5–10 mg) to 2.5 (0–5) mg/day at week 12 and 48 (p < 0.00001 vs baseline). At week 48, 12 out of 30 patients (40%) had discontinued prednisone. The percentage of patients achieving remission or low disease activity increased throughout the follow-up without any difference between patients who discontinued or not the GC. In this cohort of long-standing RA patients treated with tofacitinib, the discontinuation of glucocorticoids was achievable in up to 30% of patients. These results should encourage rheumatologists to consider GCs tapering and discontinuation of GCs, as suggested by the 2022 EULAR recommendations, an achievable goal.
Predicting ‘Brainage’ in late childhood to adolescence (6-17yrs) using structural MRI, morphometric similarity, and machine learning
Authors: Griffiths-King Daniel , Wood Amanda G. , Novak Jan
Published: September 2023

Brain development is regularly studied using structural MRI. Recently, studies have used a combination of statistical learning and large-scale imaging databases of healthy children to predict an individual’s age from structural MRI. This data-driven, predicted ‘Brainage’ typically differs from the subjects chronological age, with this difference a potential measure of individual difference. Few studies have leveraged higher-order or connectomic representations of structural MRI data for this Brainage approach. We leveraged morphometric similarity as a network-level approach to structural MRI to generate predictive models of age. We benchmarked these novel Brainage approaches using morphometric similarity against more typical, single feature (i.e., cortical thickness) approaches. We showed that these novel methods did not outperform cortical thickness or cortical volume measures. All models were significantly biased by age, but robust to motion confounds. The main results show that, whilst morphometric similarity mapping may be a novel way to leverage additional information from a T1-weighted structural MRI beyond individual features, in the context of a Brainage framework, morphometric similarity does not provide more accurate predictions of age. Morphometric similarity as a network-level approach to structural MRI may be poorly positioned to study individual differences in brain development in healthy participants in this way.
A density functional theory study of the molecular structure, reactivity, and spectroscopic properties of 2-(2-mercaptophenyl)-1-azaazulene tautomers and rotamers
Authors: El-Demerdash Safinaz H. , Halim Shimaa Abdel , El-Nahas Ahmed M. , El-Meligy Asmaa B.
Published: September 2023

Five stable tautomer and rotamers of the 2-(2-Mercaptophenyl)-1-azaazulene (thiol, thione, R1, R2, and R3) molecules were studied using density functional theory (DFT). The geometries of the studied tautomer and rotamers were fully optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. Thermodynamic calculations were performed at M06-2X/6-311G++(2d,2p) and ωB97XD/6-311G++(2d,2p) in the gas phase and ethanol solution conditions modeled by the solvation model based on density (SMD). The kinetic constant of tautomer and rotamers conversion was calculated in the temperature range 270–320 K using variational transition state theory (VTST) accompanied by one-dimensional wigner tunneling correction. Energy refinement at CCSD(T)/6–311++G(2d,2p) in the gas phase has been calculated. All the studied DFT methods qualitatively give similar tautomer stability orders in the gas phase. The ethanol solvent causes some reordering of the relative stability of 2-(2-Mercaptophenyl)-1-azaazulene conformers. The transition states for the 2-(2-Mercaptophenyl)-1-azaazulene tautomerization and rotamerization processes were also determined. The reactivity, electric dipole moment, and spectroscopic properties of the studied tautomer and rotamers were computed. The hyper-Rayleigh scattering (βHRS), and depolarization ratio (DR) exhibited promising optical properties when nonlinear optical properties were calculated.
Seasonal variation in the metabolome expression of Jania rubens (Rhodophyta) reveals eicosapentaenoic acid as a potential anticancer metabolite
Authors: Krupnik Nimrod , Israel Alvaro , Meiri David
Published: September 2023

Seaweeds of the intertidal zone are subjected to diverse stresses due to environmental changes in radiation, salinity, water quality, herbivore communities, etc. Thus, marine seaweeds developed various unique compounds to deal with environmental fluctuations. Therefore, they are a good source of unique novel compounds. Here, we explored the seasonal metabolomic changes in Jania rubens and found notable changes between extracts of different seasons in the metabolomic profile and in their anticancer activity. The most bioactive extract was from samples collected during the Fall season, which demonstrated an LC50 of 178.39 (± 10.02 SD) µg/ml toward Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) followed by the Winter season extract. The Fall and Winter extracts also displayed more resemblance in their metabolic profile relative to Spring and Summer extracts. The Fall extract was fractionated and tested for cytotoxic activity toward an array of cancer cell lines. Eventually, using a bio-guided assay and multiple fractionation steps, we isolated and identified the essential fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, as the active anticancer agent, showing an LC50 of 5.23 (± 0.07 SD) µg/ml toward NSCLC. Our results emphasize the potential use of J. rubens as a source of beneficial fatty acids and stress the importance of environmental effects on metabolic constitutes.
Feasibility and efficiency of delayed ovarian stimulation and metaphase II oocyte banking for fertility preservation and childbearing desire after fertility-impairing treatment
Authors: Miquel Laura , Liotta Julie , Hours Alice , Bottin Pauline , Castel Pierre , Perrin Jeanne , Guillemain Catherine , Courbiere Blandine
Published: September 2023

The aim of our study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of delayed ovarian stimulation and metaphase II oocyte banking for fertility preservation after fertility-impairing treatment regardless of the initial disease. We conducted a cohort study based on population of women < 40 years of age with diminished ovarian reserve caused by fertility-impairing treatment (n = 129). Three groups of women were compared according to the type of initial disease: hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and benign diseases. The primary endpoint was the number of metaphase II oocytes collected per woman. We studied the cumulative live-birth rate per cycle with fertilized metaphase II oocyte, for women who wanted to conceive. We studied 245 delayed controlled ovarian stimulation cycles in 129 women: 201 for fertility preservation and 44 for in vitro fertilization and fresh embryo transfers. The number of metaphase II oocytes collected per woman after banking was similar in the three groups, with a mean of 10.7 ± 4.6, 12.3 ± 9.1, and 10.1 ± 7.6 metaphase II oocytes (p = 0.46), respectively. In the subgroup of women who wanted to conceive, the cumulative live birth rate per woman was 38%, with 8 live births for these 21 women. After fertility-impairing treatment, practitioners should discuss a fertility preservation procedure for banking metaphase II oocytes.
Allele specific binding of histone modifications and a transcription factor does not predict allele specific expression in correlated ChIP-seq peak-exon pairs
Authors: Prowse-Wilkins Claire P. , Wang Jianghui , Garner Josie B. , Goddard Michael E. , Chamberlain Amanda J.
Published: September 2023

Allele specific expression (ASE) is widespread in many species including cows. Therefore, regulatory regions which control gene expression should show cis-regulatory variation which mirrors this differential expression within the animal. ChIP-seq peaks for histone modifications and transcription factors measure activity at functional regions and the height of some peaks have been shown to correlate across tissues with the expression of particular genes, suggesting these peaks are putative regulatory regions. In this study we identified ASE in the bovine genome in multiple tissues and investigated whether ChIP-seq peaks for four histone modifications and the transcription factor CTCF show allele specific binding (ASB) differences in the same tissues. We then investigate whether peak height and gene expression, which correlates across tissues, also correlates within the animal by investigating whether the direction of ASB in putative regulatory regions, mirrors that of the ASE in the genes they are putatively regulating. We found that ASE and ASB were widespread in the bovine genome but vary in extent between tissues. However, even when the height of a peak was positively correlated across tissues with expression of an exon, ASE of the exon and ASB of the peak were in the same direction only half the time. A likely explanation for this finding is that the correlations between peak height and exon expression do not indicate that the height of the peak causes the extent of exon expression, at least in some cases.
Design and characterization of mesoscopic dielectric cuboid antenna for operation in WR-3.4 waveguide bandwidth (220–330 GHz)
Authors: Ohno Towa , Yabuki Ayumu , Inagaki Keizo , Kanno Atsushi , Nakajima Junichi , Sekine Norihiko , Hisatake Shintaro
Published: September 2023

We designed a mesoscopic dielectric cuboid antenna connected to a flangeless WR-3.4 open-ended waveguide, and the antenna characteristics at 300 GHz were examined through simulations and experiments. Simulations confirmed that the flangeless design eliminated the flange-induced ripples in the radiation pattern, whose shape varied with frequency, and that the antenna operated in the full bandwidth of the WR-3.4 waveguide (220–330 GHz). Prototypes were then fabricated based on the simulation findings. A prototype with an antenna aperture area of 1.5 mm $$\times$$
×
1.5 mm and an antenna length of 2.35 mm exhibited an antenna gain of 17.2 dBi at 300 GHz and a voltage standing wave ratio of less than 1.5 throughout the WR-3.4 waveguide bandwidth. The level of the side lobes at about $$\pm 30$$

±
30

degrees in the E-plane pattern was approximately $$-10$$

-
10

dB that of the main lobe. Therefore, the proposed antenna, connected to a flangeless waveguide, is a promising antenna for use in future short-range high-speed terahertz wireless applications such as kiosk downloads and board-to-board communication.
Experimental investigation of the responses of meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris L.) to sodic salinity and its implications for habitat monitoring
Authors: Wala Mateusz , Kołodziejek Jeremi , Mazur Janusz , Patykowski Jacek
Published: September 2023

Ranunculus acris L. is a native species widely distributed throughout Europe and is invasive in nonnative areas, causing substantial economic losses in pasture productivity. The present study examined the effects of sodic salinity on the growth and functioning of this species. Salinity stresses the germination process and seedling growth, indicating that the studied species experience serious limitations at 60–90 mmol dm−3 NaCl and cannot establish in habitats where salinity is equal to or greater than 150 mmol dm−3 NaCl. R. acris is tuned to subsaline habitats characteristic of temperate meadows, as its growth and functioning were the best when the plants were treated with 30 mmol dm−3 NaCl. Increasing salinity (60 and 90 mmol dm−3 NaCl) hampered growth, leaf morphology and photosynthesis but not mineral nutrition, as Na accumulation seemed to be the most outlined effect of NaCl application. Changes in leaf morphological characteristics coordinated well with Na content in those organs, which indicates that leaf appearance can be easily catchable sign of progressing salinity. Ultimately, progressing salinity reduces the competitiveness of the studied species, shifting its strategy to ruderal behavior, but under subsaline conditions, the strategy of this species seems to be most balanced.
Comparison of the prediction accuracy of machine learning algorithms in crosslinguistic vowel classification
Authors: Georgiou Georgios P.
Published: September 2023

Machine learning algorithms can be used for the prediction of nonnative sound classification based on crosslinguistic acoustic similarity. To date, very few linguistic studies have compared the classification accuracy of different algorithms. This study aims to assess how well machines align with human speech perception by assessing the ability of three machine learning algorithms, namely, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), decision tree (C5.0), and neural network (NNET), to predict the classification of second language (L2) sounds in terms of first language (L1) categories. The models were trained using the first three formants and duration of L1 vowels and fed with the same acoustic features of L2 vowels. To validate their accuracy, adult L2 speakers completed a perceptual classification task. The results indicated that NNET predicted with success the classification of all L2 vowels with the highest proportion in terms of L1 categories, while LDA and C5.0 missed only one vowel each. Furthermore, NNET exhibited superior accuracy in predicting the full range of above chance responses, followed closely by LDA. C5.0 did not meet the anticipated performance levels. The findings can hold significant implications for advancing both the theoretical and practical frameworks of speech acquisition.
Negative chemotaxis of Ligilactobacillus agilis BKN88 against gut-derived substances
Authors: Suzuki Shunya , Yokota Kenji , Igimi Shizunobu , Kajikawa Akinobu
Published: September 2023

Ligilactobacillus agilis is a motile lactic acid bacterium found in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals. The findings of our previous study suggest that the motility of L. agilis BKN88 enables gut colonization in murine models. However, the chemotactic abilities of motile lactobacilli remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the gut-derived chemoeffectors and their corresponding chemoreceptors in L. agilis BKN88. Chemotaxis assays with chemotactic and non-chemotactic (ΔcheA) L. agilis strains revealed that low pH, organic acids, and bile salts served as repellents. L. agilis BKN88 was more sensitive to bile and acid than the gut-derived non-motile lactobacilli, implying that L. agilis might utilize motility and chemotaxis instead of exhibiting stress tolerance/resistance. L. agilis BKN88 contains five putative chemoreceptor genes (mcp1–mcp5). Chemotaxis assays using a series of chemoreceptor mutants revealed that each of the five chemoreceptors could sense multiple chemoeffectors and that these chemoreceptors were functionally redundant. Mcp2 and Mcp3 sensed all tested chemoeffectors. This study provides further insights into the interactions between chemoreceptors and ligands of motile lactobacilli and the unique ecological and evolutionary features of motile lactobacilli, which may be distinct from those of non-motile lactobacilli.
Integrating single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing to predict prognosis and immunotherapy response in prostate cancer
Authors: Wen Xiao Yan , Wang Ru Yi , Yu Bei , Yang Yue , Yang Jin , Zhang Han Chao
Published: September 2023

Prostate cancer (PCa) stands as a prominent contributor to morbidity and mortality among males on a global scale. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are considered to be closely connected to tumour growth, invasion, and metastasis. We explored the role and characteristics of CAFs in PCa through bioinformatics analysis and built a CAFs-based risk model to predict prognostic treatment and treatment response in PCa patients. First, we downloaded the scRNA-seq data for PCa from the GEO. We extracted bulk RNA-seq data for PCa from the TCGA and GEO and adopted “ComBat” to remove batch effects. Then, we created a Seurat object for the scRNA-seq data using the package “Seurat” in R and identified CAF clusters based on the CAF-related genes (CAFRGs). Based on CAFRGs, a prognostic model was constructed by univariate Cox, LASSO, and multivariate Cox analyses. And the model was validated internally and externally by Kaplan–Meier analysis, respectively. We further performed GO and KEGG analyses of DEGs between risk groups. Besides, we investigated differences in somatic mutations between different risk groups. We explored differences in the immune microenvironment landscape and ICG expression levels in the different groups. Finally, we predicted the response to immunotherapy and the sensitivity of antitumour drugs between the different groups. We screened 4 CAF clusters and identified 463 CAFRGs in PCa scRNA-seq. We constructed a model containing 10 prognostic CAFRGs by univariate Cox, LASSO, and multivariate Cox analysis. Somatic mutation analysis revealed that TTN and TP53 were significantly more mutated in the high-risk group. Finally, we screened 31 chemotherapeutic drugs and targeted therapeutic drugs for PCa. In conclusion, we identified four clusters based on CAFs and constructed a new CAFs-based prognostic signature that could predict PCa patient prognosis and response to immunotherapy and might suggest meaningful clinical options for the treatment of PCa.
Comparative and phylogenetic analysis of Asparagus meioclados Levl. and Asparagus munitus Wang et S. C. Chen plastomes and utility of plastomes mutational hotspots
Authors: Tian Yulu , Liu Xue , Xu Yuanjiang , Yu Benxia , Wang Le , Qu Xianyou
Published: September 2023

Tiandong is a vital traditional Chinese herbal medicine. It is derived from the tuber root of the Asparagus cochinchinensis according to the Pharmacopoeia of the people’s republic of China (2020 Edition). On account of the similar morphology, Asparagus meioclados and Asparagus munitus were used as Tian-Dong in southwest China. Chloroplast (cp) genomes are highly active genetic components of plants and play an extremely important role in improving the efficiency of the identification of plant species. To differentiate the medicinal plants belonging to the genus Asparagus, we sequenced and analyzed the complete plastomes (plastid genomes) of A. meioclados and A. munitus and obtained two plastomes whose length changed to 156,515 bp and 156,381 bp, respectively. A total of 111 unique genes have been detected in plastome, which included 78 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. In plastomes of A. meioclados and A. munitus, 14,685 and 14,987 codons were detected, among which 9942 and 10,207 had the relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) values higher than 1, respectively. A. meioclados and A. munitus have 26 SSRs patterns, among which A. meioclados was 25 and A. munitus 21. The average Ka/Ks value was 0.36, and positive selection was detected in genes of the photosynthetic system (ndhF and rbcL) in Asparagus species. To perform the comparative analysis of plastomes, the two newly sequenced plastomes of the A. meioclados and A. munitus species were compared with that of A. cochinchinensis, and 12 hotspots, including 5 coding regions and 7 inter-genomic regions, were identified. Based on the whole plastome of Asparagus, 2 divergent hotspots (accD and rpl32-trnL-UAG) and 1 international barcode fragment (rbcL) were screened, which may be used as particular molecular markers for the identification of Asparagus species. In addition, we determined the phylogenetic relationship between A. meioclados and A. munitus in the genus Asparagus. This study enriches our knowledge of the molecular evolutionary relationships of the Asparagus genus and provides treasured data records for species identification, molecular breeding, and evolutionary analysis of this genus.
Assessing the global ocean science community: understanding international collaboration, concerns and the current state of ocean basin research
Authors: Potter Ross W. K. , Pearson Brodie C.
Published: September 2023

Web of Science data covering 2000–2020 was used to analyse trends in ocean research, specific to the five ocean basins (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Southern), to investigate its state and any underlying concerns for addressing UN Decade of Ocean Science goals and UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 “Life Below Water”. Though Atlantic research has dominated, Pacific research is nearing parity with its neighbour due to significant output growth by China and is soon likely to become the most researched basin. International collaboration, built around G7 countries and China, has increased by 10 percentage points since 2000 but research remains mainly domestic. Outside these countries, there has been growth in collaborations involving Small Island Developing States and a doubling of South America’s global share of ocean basin papers. However, sub-Saharan African research output has not mirrored this expansion. Further growth could be catalysed by increased support for educational efforts and infrastructure development, particularly given the highly specialised and institutionally driven nature of ocean basin research.
Development and application of a mini-QuEChERS method for the determination of pesticide residues in anuran adipose tissues
Authors: Santos Allyson Leandro Rodrigues dos , Lima Igor de Melo , Vieira Andressa Tironi , Gondim Patrícia de Menezes , Cascon Paulo , Faria Anizio Marcio de
Published: September 2023

A simple, eco-friendly, and efficient mini-QuEChERS method is proposed for extracting pesticides from anuran adipose tissue samples. The developed method was successfully applied to 67 tissues of two anuran species, detecting some pesticide residues.
N-Heterocyclic imino-catalyzed 1,4-regioselective azide–alkyne cycloaddition (AAC): a metal-free approach
Authors: Revathi Shanmugam , Shinde Aditya L. , Rajashekhar Mulimani K. , Mandal Debasish , Maity Amit Ranjan , Garai Somenath , Ghatak Tapas
Published: September 2023

A state-of-the-art metal-free approach, serving as a plausible alternative to CuAAC, has been devised with the objective of synthesizing regioselective 1,4-triazoles. The efficacy of the approach is based on the employment of NHI organocatalysts.
Recovering sensitivity lost through convection in pure shift NMR
Authors: Caytan Elsa , Foster Howard M. , Castañar Laura , Adams Ralph W. , Nilsson Mathias , Morris Gareth A.
Published: September 2023

Pure shift NMR experiments using cryoprobes can give very disappointing results. We show that signal losses and phase distortions are a consequence of sample convection, and demonstrate a simple adjustment that restores the lost signal.
Correction: A two-dimensional MXene-supported CuRu catalyst for efficient electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia
Authors: Zhao Fang , Li Guangxin , Hua Qianqian , Cao Jianghui , Song Jiliang , Gao Liguo , Ma Tingli , Ren Xuefeng , Liu Anmin
Published: September 2023

Correction for ‘A two-dimensional MXene-supported CuRu catalyst for efficient electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia’ by Fang Zhao et al., Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3cy01009k.
Extracting structured seed-mediated gold nanorod growth procedures from scientific text with LLMs
Authors: Walker Nicholas , Lee Sanghoon , Dagdelen John , Cruse Kevin , Gleason Samuel , Dunn Alexander , Ceder Gerbrand , Alivisatos A. Paul , Persson Kristin A. , Jain Anubhav
Published: September 2023

The synthesis of gold nanorods remains largely heuristically understood. Large language models provide a route for extracting their structured synthesis procedures from scientific articles to accelerate investigation into synthesis pathways.
Tuning electronic structure for enhanced photocatalytic performance: theoretical and experimental investigation of CuM1−xM′xO2 (M, M′ = B, Al, Ga, In) solid solutions
Authors: Chen Xian-Lan , Shan Bao-Feng , Zhao Zong-Yan , Zhang Jin , Liu Qing-Ju
Published: September 2023

This study introduces robust screening methodology for the efficient design of delafossite CuM1−xM′xO2 solid-solution photocatalysts using band-structure engineering.
Water-assisted single-step catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of polyethylene terephthalate into gasoline- and jet fuel-range cycloalkanes over supported Ru catalysts in a biphasic system
Authors: Murali Vishnu , Kim Jung Rae , Park Young-Kwon , Ha Jeong-Myeong , Jae Jungho
Published: September 2023

A single-step hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) over a Ru/TiO2 catalyst in the water/dodecane biphasic system allows for the quantitative conversion of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to gasoline- and jet fuel-range C6–C8 cyclic hydrocarbons.
Direct, multielement determinations from cotton swipes via plate express microextraction coupled to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (μEx-ICP-MS)
Authors: Stouffer Cameron J. , Marcus R. Kenneth
Published: September 2023

Use of a microextraction device allows for ready sampling of solid substrates, such as cotton swipes, allowing transfer of sub-microgram quantities for multielement ICP-MS analysis.
Three novel indole-bearing porous organic polymers for efficient iodine capture from both vapor and organic phases
Authors: Yu Jingwen , Song Luna , Wang Yeshuang , Li Haowen , Liu Jiawen , Wu Mengmeng , Feng Yu , Mi Jie
Published: September 2023

A novel synthetic strategy for p-di(bis-indolylmethane)benzene was proposed and three derived porous organic polymers with unique mophologies were obtained.
Synthesis of Pt(ii) phosphinocarboxylate complexes with auxiliary arylcarbene ligands and factors that control their stereochemistry
Authors: Horký Filip , Soellner Johannes , Schulz Jiří , Císařová Ivana , Strassner Thomas , Štěpnička Petr
Published: September 2023

Reactions of Pt(ii)-acetylacetonate complexes with orthoplatinated carbene ligands and a ferrocene phosphinocarboxylic acid produce phosphinocarboxylate complexes as single isomers. The factors that control the stereochemistry were investigated.
Local compressive strain regulation of atomically dispersed NiN4 sites for enhancing CO2 electroreduction to CO
Authors: Li Minghui , Zhang DaPeng , Wu Kaifang , Liu Yuhang , Wang Peng , Cao Yonggang , Yang Jian
Published: September 2023

Nitrogen-coordinated single-atom Ni sites are embedded onto the highly curved surface of the helical carbon tube to generate local compressive strain regulation, which results in remarkable CO2 electroreduction performance.
Simultaneous estimation of magnetic moment and Brownian relaxation time distributions of magnetic nanoparticles based on magnetic particle spectroscopy for biosensing application
Authors: Sun Yi , Du Zhongzhou , Zhang Haochen , Wang Haozhe , Sasayama Teruyoshi , Yoshida Takashi
Published: September 2023

This study proposes a new method for simultaneously estimating the magnetic moment and Brownian relaxation time distributions from AC magnetization harmonics, which can analyze the relationship between the core and hydrodynamic size of magnetic nanoparticles.
Versatile lipoprotein-inspired nanocomposites rescue Alzheimer's cognitive dysfunction by promoting Aβ degradation and lessening oxidative stress
Authors: Wang Hui , Han Mengmeng , Li Jianfei , Hu Yunfeng , Chen Yang , Li Jin
Published: September 2023

Graphical illustration of a multifunctional lipoprotein-derived RLA-rHDL@ANG nanostructure for Alzheimer's treatment through promoting Aβ degradation and alleviating oxidative stress.
A dye-quenched/sensitized switching upconversion nanoprobe for high-contrast mapping of the pH-related tumor microenvironment
Authors: He Limei , Li Ye , Zeng Qin , Li Xipeng , Liang Hongze , Zhang Tao
Published: September 2023

Switching from dye-quenched UCL to dye-sensitized UCL jointly enables the detection of a high signal-to-background ratio.
Interlayer electronic coupling regulates the performance of FeN MXenes and Fe2B2 MBenes as high-performance Li- and Al-ion batteries
Authors: Pang Jiafei , Jin Wenyuan , Kuang Xiaoyu , Lu Cheng
Published: September 2023

When two-dimensional (2D) materials are stacked into van der Waals structures, interlayer electronic coupling can induce excellent properties in energy storage materials. The interlayer polarization and magnetism are also analyzed.
Educational series: turning monomers into crosslinked polymer networks
Authors: Weerasinghe M. A. Sachini N. , Dodo Obed J. , Rajawasam Chamoni W. H. , Raji Ibrahim O. , Wanasinghe Shiwanka V. , Konkolewicz Dominik , De Alwis Watuthanthrige Nethmi
Published: September 2023

Multifunctional monomers enable the synthesis of polymer networks by adapting the polymerization methods used for conventional linear polymer synthesis.
Stepwise conversion of the Cys6[4Fe–3S] to a Cys4[4Fe–4S] cluster and its impact on the oxygen tolerance of [NiFe]-hydrogenase
Authors: Schmidt Andrea , Kalms Jacqueline , Lorent Christian , Katz Sagie , Frielingsdorf Stefan , Evans Rhiannon M. , Fritsch Johannes , Siebert Elisabeth , Teutloff Christian , Armstrong Fraser A. , Zebger Ingo , Lenz Oliver , Scheerer Patrick
Published: September 2023

The [4Fe-3S] cluster of an O2-tolerant [NiFe] hydrogenase was transformed into different [4Fe-4S] clusters, and structural, spectroscopic and electrochemical analyses of the enzyme variants revealed an O2-tolerance mechanism at various levels.
Surface stress and shape relaxation of gelling droplets
Authors: Godefroid J. , Bouttes D. , Marcellan A. , Barthel E. , Monteux C.
Published: September 2023

Droplets of biopolymer gelling in a calcium bath relax toward spherical shapes because of an interfacial tensile stress caused by the contraction of the gelling shell.
Correction: Abrupt onset of the capillary-wave spectrum at wall–fluid interfaces
Authors: Parry Andrew O. , Rascón Carlos
Published: September 2023

Correction for ‘Abrupt onset of the capillary-wave spectrum at wall–fluid interfaces’ by Andrew O. Parry et al., Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 5668–5673, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3SM00761H.
A review on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production through the use of lignocellulosic biomass
Authors: Zytner Peter , Kumar Deepak , Elsayed Abdallah , Mohanty Amar , Ramarao B. V. , Misra Manjusri
Published: September 2023

This work examines the process of using lignocellulosic biomass for cost-effective polyhydroxyalkanoate production, from pre-treatment to extraction.
Implications of ubiquitination and the maintenance of replication fork stability in cancer therapy
Authors: Xia Donghui , Zhu Xuefei , Wang Ying , Gong Peng , Su Hong-Shu , Xu Xingzhi
Published: September 2023

DNA replication forks are subject to intricate surveillance and strict regulation by sophisticated cellular machinery. Such close regulation is necessary to ensure the accurate duplication of genetic information and to tackle the diverse endogenous and exogenous stresses that impede this process. Stalled replication forks are vulnerable to collapse, which is a major cause of genomic instability and carcinogenesis. Replication stress responses, which are organized via a series of coordinated molecular events, stabilize stalled replication forks and carry out fork reversal and restoration. DNA damage tolerance and repair pathways such as homologous recombination and Fanconi anemia also contribute to replication fork stabilization. The signaling network that mediates the transduction and interplay of these pathways is regulated by a series of post-translational modifications, including ubiquitination, which affects the activity, stability, and interactome of substrates. In particular, the ubiquitination of replication protein A and proliferating cell nuclear antigen at stalled replication forks promotes the recruitment of downstream regulators. In this review, we describe the ubiquitination-mediated signaling cascades that regulate replication fork progression and stabilization. In addition, we discuss the targeting of replication fork stability and ubiquitination system components as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer.
A comparison of conductive ink usage optimization techniques used in fabrication of epidermal UHF radio frequency identification tags for medical and sensing applications
Authors: Oyeka Dumtoochukwu Obiora , Batchelor John , Saunders Rachel
Published: September 2023

The aim of this work is to assess the performance of various inkjet printing techniques. These techniques are aimed at optimizing the volume of conductive ink used in the fabrication of inkjet printed Radio Frequency Identification tags. It is also possible that they can be used in fabricating other electronic and electromagnetic devices and structures. Three ink optimization approaches were examined viz. gridded (meshed) designs, conductive area trimming and selective ink deposition. The volume of conductive ink utilized in tag fabrication and the measured on‐body (forearm) read range of the tag were used to develop a figure of merit which determined the best printing approach. Although the longest read range was obtained from the tag with 48% conductive area trimming (Trim 1), the best figure of merit, that is, the tag with the best balance between measured read range and utilized conductive ink, was obtained from the tag that had its surface area trimmed by 65% (Trim 2). It is however suggested that optimum use of conductive ink would be achieved with a combination of 65% surface area trimming and selective ink deposition technique.