bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optical and mid-infrared line emission in nearby Seyfert galaxies
Authors: Feltre A. , Gruppioni C. , Marchetti L. , Mahoro A. , Salvestrini F. , Mignoli M. , Bisigello L. , Calura F. , Charlot S. , Chevallard J. , Romero-Colmenero E. , Curtis-Lake E. , Delvecchio I. , Dors O. L. , Hirschmann M. , Jarrett T. , Marchesi S. , Moloko M. E. , Plat A. , Pozzi F. , Sefako R. , Traina A. , Vaccari M. , Väisänen P. , Vallini L. , Vidal-García A. , Vignali C.
Published: May 2023

Line ratio diagnostics provide valuable clues as to the source of ionizing radiation in galaxies with intense black hole accretion and starbursting events, such as local Seyfert galaxies or galaxies at the peak of their star formation history. We aim to provide a reference joint optical and mid-IR line ratio analysis for studying active galactic nucleus (AGN) identification via line-ratio diagnostics and testing predictions from photoionization models. We first obtained homogenous optical spectra with the Southern Africa Large Telescope for 42 Seyfert galaxies with availableSpitzer/IRS spectroscopy, along with X-ray to mid-IR multiband data. After confirming the power of the main optical ([O III]λ5007) and mid-IR ([Ne V]14.3 μm, [O IV]25.9 μm, [Ne III]15.7 μm) emission lines in tracing AGN activity, we explored diagrams based on ratios of optical and mid-IR lines by exploiting photoionization models of different ionizing sources (AGN, star formation, and shocks). We find that pure AGN photoionization models are good at reproducing observations of Seyfert galaxies with an AGN fractional contribution to the mid-IR (5 − 40 μm) continuum emission larger than 50 per cent. For targets with a lower AGN contribution, even assuming a hard ionizing field from the central accretion disk (Fν ∝ να, withα ≈ −0.9), these same models do not fully reproduce the observed mid-IR line ratios. Mid-IR line ratios such as [Ne V]14.3 μm/[Ne II]12.8 μm, [O IV]25.9 μm/[Ne II]12.8 μm, and [Ne III]15.7 μm/[Ne II]12.8 μm show a dependence on the AGN fractional contribution to the mid-IR, unlike optical line ratios. An additional source of ionization, either from star formation or radiative shocks, can help explain the observations in the mid-IR. While mid-IR line ratios are good tracers of the AGN activity versus star formation, among the combinations of optical and mid-IR diagnostics in line-ratio diagrams, only those involving the [O I]/Hαratio are promising diagnostics for simultaneously unraveling the relative roles of AGN, star formation, and shocks. A proper identification of the dominant source of ionizing photons would require the exploitation of analysis tools based on advanced statistical techniques as well as spatially resolved data.
Spectral stacking of radio-interferometric data
Authors: Neumann Lukas , den Brok Jakob S. , Bigiel Frank , Leroy Adam , Usero Antonio , Barnes Ashley T. , Bešlić Ivana , Eibensteiner Cosima , Held Malena , Jiménez-Donaire María J. , Pety Jérôme , Rosolowsky Erik W. , Schinnerer Eva , Williams Thomas G.
Published: May 2023

Context. Mapping molecular line emission beyond the bright low-J CO transitions is still challenging in extragalactic studies, even with the latest generation of (sub-)millimetre interferometers, such as ALMA and NOEMA.

Aims. We summarise and test a spectral stacking method that has been used in the literature to recover low-intensity molecular line emission, such as HCN(1−0), HCO+(1−0), and even fainter lines in external galaxies. The goal is to study the capabilities and limitations of the stacking technique when applied to imaged interferometric observations.

Methods. The core idea of spectral stacking is to align spectra of the low S/N spectral lines to a known velocity field calculated from a higher S/N line expected to share the kinematics of the fainter line (e.g. CO(1−0) or 21 cm emission). Then these aligned spectra can be coherently averaged to produce potentially high S/N spectral stacks. Here we used imaged simulated interferometric and total power observations at different S/N levels, based on real CO observations.

Results. For the combined interferometric and total power data, we find that the spectral stacking technique is capable of recovering the integrated intensities even at low S/N levels across most of the region where the high S/N prior is detected. However, when stacking interferometer-only data for low S/N emission, the stacks can miss up to 50% of the emission from the fainter line.

Conclusions. A key result of this analysis is that the spectral stacking method is able to recover the true mean line intensities in low S/N cubes and to accurately measure the statistical significance of the recovered lines. To facilitate the application of this technique we provide a public Python package, called PYSTACKER.
Physiologie des Gehens und der Haltungskontrolle
Authors: Jahn Klaus
Published: May 2023

Aufrechtes Stehen und Gehen sind bei Gesundheit so selbstverständliche
Fähigkeiten, dass sie nebenbei gelingen. Im Fall von Erkrankungen
verdeutlicht sich die Komplexität der Haltungskontrolle. Dieser Beitrag
zeigt, welche Aspekte für Gleichgewicht und Gang wichtig sind. Das
Verständnis dafür, was im Einzelfall gestört ist, bildet
die Voraussetzung für eine gezielte und erfolgreiche Therapie.
Optimizing mobile in-app advertising effectiveness using app publishers-controlled factors
Authors: Truong Vinh
Published: May 2023

Mobile in-app advertising has become one of the most popular business advertising platforms in recent years. This relatively new advertising strategy’s annual spending has increased dramatically in recent years. Despite its practical success, the background theory for mobile in-app advertising is still in its infancy. This type of advertising also sees the emergence of new participants, such as ad networks and app publishers, which leads to the development of new theoretical constructs and more nuanced conceptual relationships on top of popularly accepted frameworks, e.g. Mobile Advertising Effectiveness Framework. This study especially looks at app publishers’ roles, which have received the least attention in the advertising literature and are almost non-existent in the previous effectiveness frameworks. The empirical goal of this study was to assess the moderating effects of ad space characteristics on the effectiveness of mobile in-app advertising. To test the research’s conceptual model, a 24-factorial online experiment was set up. Accordingly, this study established a common goal for participants and a metric to measure that common effectiveness goal. Ultimately, the model was successfully tested by both Moderated Regression Analysis and Multigroup Moderation Analysis techniques with data from over 15,000 ad impressions and over 800 ad clicks from thousands of mobile users in over 160 countries around the world. The study theoretically found that publishers can significantly moderate the effects controlled by advertisers, and users, which can practically help increase the revenue of advertising through designing and delivering ad spaces on their applications.
Entity, event, and sensory modalities: An onto-cognitive account of sensory nouns
Authors: Zhong Yin , Ahrens Kathleen , Huang Chu-Ren
Published: May 2023

Nouns in human languages mostly profile concrete and abstract entities. But how much eventive information can be found in nouns? Will such eventive information found in sensory nouns have anything to do with the cognitive representation of the basic human senses? Importantly, is there any ontological and/or cognitive motivation that can account for this noun–verb dichotomy via body-and-world interactions? This study presents the first comprehensive investigation of sensory nouns in Mandarin Chinese, examining their qualia structures formalised in the Generative Lexicon Theory, as well as the time-dependent (endurant–perdurant) properties encoded in their sensory modalities. This study fills the gap in sensorial studies by highlighting the pivotal position of nouns in sensory experiences and provides insights into the interactions between perception, cognition, and language. Further, it establishes, for the first time, the cognitive motivation of the categorial noun–verb bifurcation without presupposing any a priori knowledge of grammatical categories.
Neutron scattering studies on dynamics of lipid membranes
Authors: Nagao Michihiro , Seto Hideki
Published: May 2023

Neutron scattering methods are powerful tools for the study of the structure and dynamics of lipid bilayers in length scales from sub Å to tens to hundreds nm and the time scales from sub ps to μs. These techniques also are nondestructive and, perhaps most importantly, require no additives to label samples. Because the neutron scattering intensities are very different for hydrogen- and deuterium-containing molecules, one can replace the hydrogen atoms in a molecule with deuterium to prepare on demand neutron scattering contrast without significantly altering the physical properties of the samples. Moreover, recent advances in neutron scattering techniques, membrane dynamics theories, analysis tools, and sample preparation technologies allow researchers to study various aspects of lipid bilayer dynamics. In this review, we focus on the dynamics of individual lipids and collective membrane dynamics as well as the dynamics of hydration water.
Dog guardians and genetic testing: Survey textbox responses & human-animal bond influences
Authors: Bennett Nikki E. , Soto Suzanna , Nicolas-Serrano Jhobany , Gray Peter B.
Published: May 2023

Research has yet to evaluate how direct-to-consumer genetic services for companion animals may influence the human–animal bond (HAB). US-based Wisdom Panel
TM
customers were invited to complete an online survey to evaluate dog guardians who had used a genetic test for their dogs. This paper presents a subset of that data in which participants provided qualitative responses and answered Likert scale questions related to genetic test use and the HAB. Our sample consisted of 253 participants who completed the HAB questions, with 126 completing one or both open-ended text box questions. Qualitative responses were deductively coded using a codebook from a previous content analysis on pet genetic company website and consumer review data. Responses to HAB Likert items indicated genetic test results allow guardians to learn more about their dog, a benefit promoted by pet genetic companies, but did not suggest the new genetic knowledge influenced their sentiments toward the tested dog. Central themes found in qualitative responses were participants using the test results to interpret their dog’s breed or other types of information (e.g. biological relatives in the Wisdom Panel database). Other themes were participants discussing their perceptions toward their dog’s test results (e.g. perceived accuracy of the results) and sharing information about their dog to give additional context to their experience of using a genetic test (e.g. dog acquisition history). Follow-up research should further explore the potential impacts companion animal genetic services may have on the HAB and utilize these findings as a framework. These lines of inquiry will especially be pertinent with the growing use of genetic services for companion animals and genetic researchers suggesting genomic technologies may be used to enhance HAB.
Electrochemical detection of nitrazepam using leaf-like graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets
Authors: Imran Mohd , Ahmed Shahzad , Al-Harthi Enaam A , Khan Mohammad Ehtisham , Alam Md Mottahir , Haouala Faouzi , Chaudhary Anis Ahmad , Asghar Ali
Published: May 2023

Benzodiazepines like nitrazepam are extensively used, both as prescribed medications and as illicit drug substitutes, and therefore detection is of prime importance. In this work, the electrochemical detection of nitrazepam using a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) modified electrode was investigated. The nitrogen-rich carbon material i.e., g-C3N4 was easily synthesized by the thermal condensation method using melamine as a precursor. The platinum electrode was modified by synthesized material and its electrochemical activity was tested using a three-electrode set-up. The cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirmed the effective detection of nitrazepam. The detection at different concentrations was analyzed using CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The detection limit of 0.02 μM was found with the linear dynamic range of nitrazepam. A repeatability experiment was conducted to check the stability of the proposed electrode. This study confirms the potential use of g-C3N4 as an effective and stable electrode material for the detector in the field of pharmaceuticals and health care.
Laser irradiation time influence on the optical and structural properties of copper phthalocyanine blue thin films
Authors: Ejam Ahmed Ali , AbdulWahhab Nihal A
Published: May 2023

Copper phthalocyanine blue thin films were deposited on a glass substrate 219.12 nm thick at room temperature and deposited by a spin coating technique. After deposition, the thin films were irradiated at different laser wavelengths 650 532 and 405 nm for different irradiation times 0, 10, 20, and 30 min. The optical properties were measured before and after irradiating the thin films. The absorbance and reflectance decrease with increasing irradiation time. The same behavior is noticed for all laser wavelengths. The energy gap augment’s with augmenting irradiation time. XRD results show a decrease in the peak height with increasing time. Atomic mass microscopy data show that there is an obvious impact on thin films by laser radiation.
Generation of conventional solitons and bound state solitons in a passively mode-locked fiber laser based on GIMF–NCF–GIMF structured saturable absorber
Authors: Fan Yufeng , Wang D N , Xu Ben
Published: May 2023

A new all-fiber structured saturable absorber, consisting of graded index multimode fiber-no-core fiber-graded index multimode fiber (GIMF–NCF–GIMF), in a passively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber laser is proposed and demonstrated. The conventional solitons with a center wavelength of 1575.5 nm, a pulse width of 707 fs, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 66 dB are generated at the repetition frequency of 18.919 MHz. The different lengths of each part of the saturable absorber (SA) can usually allow the fiber laser system to reach mode-locking, which shows that the length limits on this SA can not be quite as serious. Meanwhile, by only adjusting the polarization controller, tightly bound solitons and loosely bound solitons can be readily generated. The pulse trains of tightly bound solitons exhibit a separation of 1.52 ps, a pulse width of ∼850 fs, and centered at 1573 nm, whereas the pulse separation of loose bound solitons are from 23 ps to 58 ps, which shows wide variations of the time dispersion. More importantly, it is found that tightly bound solitons and loosely bound solitons can exist simultaneously for higher-order solitons, for the first time to the best of our knowledge. Such an SA is easy to fabricate, highly stable and of low cost, and has high potential in ultrafast photonics.
Optical appearance of the Schwarzschild black hole in the string cloud context*
Authors: Guo Sen , Huang Yu-Xiang , Li Guo-Ping
Published: May 2023

The image of a black hole (BH) consists of direct and secondary images that depend on the observer position. We investigate the optical appearance of a Schwarzschild BH in the context of a string cloud to reveal how the BH's observable characteristics are influenced by the inclination angle, string cloud parameter, and impact parameter. Following Luminet's work [Astron. Astrophys. 75, 228 (1979)], we adopt a semi-analytic method to calculate the total bending angle of the light ray and derive the direct and secondary images of the Schwarzschild string cloud BH. Our results show that an increase in the inclination angle leads to a more pronounced separation of the images. We consider the gravitational redshift and present the redshift distribution of the direct image while illustrating the flux distribution. We observe that the direct image exhibits blueshift and redshift simultaneously, and the asymmetry of the flux distribution increases with the inclination angle. Finally, we obtain the Schwarzschild string cloud BH image via a numerical simulation, which provides an approximate illustration of the EHT resolution.
An X-Ray Burst Associated with FRB 200428 from a Magnetar-asteroid Impact
Authors: Liu Ze-Nan , Yang Yuan-Pei , Wang Wei-Yang , Joseph Zhang Zhao , Li Qiao-Chu , Chen Ken , Ren Jia , Zhang Bin-Bin , Li Cheng-Kui , Zhang Shuang-Nan , Dai Zi-Gao
Published: May 2023

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extragalactic radio transients with millisecond duration and brightness temperature. An FRB-associated X-ray burst (XRB) was recently found to arise from the Galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154. Following the model of Dai, in which an FRB may originate from a magnetar encountering an asteroid, we focus on explaining the spectrum of the XRB associated with FRB 200428 from SGR J1935+2154. Collisions between asteroidal fragments and the magnetar surface produce a fireball, which further expands relativistically. Due to the velocity difference among some shells in the fireball, internal shocks would form far away from the magnetar, and further emit X-ray emission. We propose that the FRB-associated XRB can be produced by synchrotron emission from the internal shocks, and then constrain the physical parameters by the observed XRB spectrum.
Study on U/Th residual radioactivity in acrylic from surface treatment
Authors: Li Yuanxia , Qian Xiaohui , Luo Xiaolan , Zhao Jie , Zhang Gaofeng , Ma Xiaoyan , Heng Yuekun , Wen Liangjian , Sisti Monica , Perrot Frédéric , Tang Hongqiang
Published: May 2023

Acrylic is widely used as material for the target container
in low background experiments due to its high light transparency and
low intrinsic radioactivity. However, its surface can be easily
contaminated during production, so careful treatment of the surface
is essential to avoid direct contamination of the target. The
Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory will use about 600 t of
acrylic to build the spherical vessel of 35.4 m in diameter for a
20 kt liquid scintillator (LS). Since acrylic will contact the LS
directly, the cleanliness of the its surface is quite important for
the radiopurity of the LS. A new method for measuring the
radioactivity of 238U and 232Th in acrylic to sub-ppt
(< 10-12 g/g) was developed, and it is crucial for the acrylic
radioactivity screening in this study. We performed many background
tests on different surface treatments, and the recommended procedure
for the treatment of acrylic to achieve low radioactivity and high
light transparency could be applicable to other low background
experiments.
Improvement of the CGEM detector simulation with cosmic-rays
Authors: Lu X.L. , Wang L.L. , Zhou H. , Zhang Z.H. , Wu L.H. , Liu H.M. , Amoroso A. , Baldini Ferroli R. , Balossino I. , Bertani M. , Bettoni D. , Bianchi F. , Bortone A. , Cibinetto G. , Cotta Ramusino A. , Cossio F. , Cotto G. , Dong M.Y. , Da Rocha Rolo M. , De Mori F. , Destefanis M. , Dong J. , Evangelisti F. , Farinelli R. , Fava L. , Felici G. , Garzia I. , Gatta M. , Giraudo G. , Gramigna S. , Garbolino S. , Greco M. , Guo A.Q. , Huang Z. , Hou Y.R. , Imoehl W. , Lavezzi L. , Maggiora M. , Melendi F.M. , Malaguti R. , Mangoni A. , Marcello S. , Melchiorri M. , Mezzadri G. , Mitchell R.E. , Ouyang Q. , Pacetti S. , Patteri P. , Rivetti A. , Shi R.S. , Scodeggio M. , Sosio S. , Spataro S. , Wang B.L. , Wang H.P. , Zhang Y. , Zhao J.Y.
Published: May 2023

A Cylindrical Gas Electron Multiplier (CGEM) is under construction for the upgrade of the BESIII inner tracker. A preliminary simulation of the CGEM signal before the frond-end electronics has been worked out by making some sampling models from the beforehand Garfield++ simulation. The electronics response functions are implemented making the simulation of CGEM more complete. By comparing the cosmic-ray data acquired by two layers of CGEM and the simulation, the micro-sector effect is simulated and some key parameters in the sampling models are fine tuned in this order: gain, charge sharing, charge fluctuation and electron diffusion. A general agreement is achieved between the cosmic-ray data and the simulation with these improvements.
The relationship between female and younger legislative representation and performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
*
Authors: Amanuma Nobue , Zusman Eric , Langlet Dewi
Published: May 2023

Though the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were crafted through an inclusive process, research on the relationship between greater female or younger legislative representation and SDG performance has been lacking. This article employs a linear mixed effects modeling approach to shed light on this relationship. Controlling for economic and democracy levels and population, the modeling reveals a positive correlation between female and youth legislative representation and SDG performance. Additional analyses, however, suggest the strength of the relationships with female and youth legislative representation vary between the socioeconomic and environmental SDGs. Female and youth representation are strongly correlated with the socioeconomic SDG index; they improve the fit of the model for the environmental SDG index. This result may stem from a tendency in developed countries to trade off the environmental SDGs for the socioeconomic SDGs. It may also imply that greater legislative representation is not sufficient to overcome constraints in energy and consumption and production systems that often lead to those trade-offs. Rather bringing women and younger people into legislatures may need to be combined with institutional and policy reforms that turn socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs into synergies.
Sub-weekly signatures relate ultrafine aerosols enriched in metals from intensive farming and urban pollution to Kawasaki disease
Authors: Rodó Xavier , Navarro-Gallinad Albert , Kojima Tomoko , Morguí Josep-Anton , Borràs Silvia , Fontal Alejandro
Published: May 2023

Air pollution (urban, industrial or rural) has been linked to a myriad of human ailments despite clear mechanistic associations that are often not thoroughly established. Daily variability of fine aerosols in a surveillance campaign in south Japan shows a striking coevolution between their trace elements (metal and metalloid, MM) content and Kawasaki disease (KD) admissions, suggesting a strong dynamical link. These aerosol MM could instigate an immune response that, along with genetic susceptibility, would lead to KD development. This association may account for over 40% of the total variability in the disease, being dominated by a clear sub-weekly cycle (SWC1). Thanks to both an unprecedented daily KD epidemiological record going back to 1970, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) atmospheric backscattering profiles for the interval 2010–2016 and HYSPLIT simulations with numerous sensitivity analyses, we can trace this SWC1 variability to occur concomitantly from sub-seasonal to interannual timescales in both KD and aerosols. This SWC1 appears to connect or disconnect Japan to air intrusions from above the planetary boundary layer (PBL), having their source in industrial and agricultural areas in NE Asia and points to a stronger case for an agricultural source for the exposure as opposed to urban pollution. The KD maxima always occur in full synchrony with the arrival of very small (<1 µm; PM1) particles showing that ultrafine aerosols appear as a necessary cofactor in the occurrence of KD and sets the field to associate other similar human diseases. Our study shows how signal-detection approaches can be useful to uncover hidden associations between the environment and human health, otherwise unnoticed and help set new early-warning systems for disease prevention.
Effect of graphene dispersed coconut biodiesel on the Micro ED milling characteristics of Inconel 718 alloy
Authors: Arun Pillai K V , Saravana Kumar P
Published: May 2023

Micro Electrical discharge milling is a familiar micromachining process for machining of complex microstructures using a cylindrical tool. In this research work, the influence of process parameters namely capacitance, voltage, threshold on response indicators during machining of Inconel 718 with coconut biodiesel and graphene nano powder dispersed coconut biodiesel is investigated in detail. Further, surface-topography of the machined surface was critically examined using scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional non-contact roughness tester. Graphene nano powder concentration (0.3 g l−1) increased the MRR around 68% compared to coconut biodiesel (BD). A medium order of capacitance (10 nF) offered a maximum MRR irrespective of dielectric used. With higher order capacitance, the minimum TWR is obtained due to longer pulse off duration. High surface finish is achieved with graphene nano powder dispersed coconut BD due to uniformly distributed of craters on the machined surface. Recast layer thickness is 3.08 μm, 1.62 μm and 2.34 μm with coconut biodiesel, 0.3 g l−1 and 0.6 g l−1 graphene particles mixed coconut biodiesel, respectively. Minimum recast layer is observed with graphene particles mixed coconut biodiesel under considered parametric conditions due to lesser eroded particle deposition. EDS results confirm that the sedimentation of graphene nano powder (increase in carbon %) on work surface results in increase in hardness. Crater size, voids and cracks were reduced with graphene nano powder dispersed coconut BD due to uniform distribution of heat energy over machining region. Results showed that the graphene nano powder mixed coconut biodiesel can be the substitute for mineral oil.
Experimental validation and thermodynamics analysis of (Nb, V)(C, N) coupling precipitation in high-strength spring steel FAS3550
Authors: Wang Yanlin , Zheng Zhihao , Shi Rongjian , Zhang Bowei , Zhou Xiaohua , Pang Xiaolu , Luo Wenbo , Wang Zidong
Published: May 2023

Based on the thermodynamic coupling model of multiple microelements in steels, the solid solution and coupling precipitation behavior of Nb-V-N-C system quaternary secondary phase was further verified in microalloyed steels, and combining with the engineering practice in high-strength spring steel FAS3550 containing nanoparticles. According to the thermodynamic calculations, the dissolved V (or Nb) content increased with the increasing addition V (or Nb), while decreased with the increase of addition C, N or Nb (or V). The complete dissolution temperature was 1314 °C, and the effective precipitation temperature of carbonitride was 1060 °C in 0.49%C-0.0060%N-0.03%Nb-0.12%V system spring steel FAS3550, the grains in steel began to coarsen above 1100 °C during heat treatment, and the (Nb, V)(C, N) nanoprecipitates were smaller than 100 nm. The strength and plasticity have been improved simultaneously, and its fatigue life has been increased by 13% after optimizing the heat treatment process.
Comparison of hydrophilic and hydrophobic nano topographic surfaces of titanium alloys on pre-osteoblastic cell interaction
Authors: de Oliveira Diego Pedreira , Micocci Kelli Cristina , Almeida Gustavo Foresto Brito de , Otuka Adriano José Galvani , Mendonça Cléber Renato , Selistre-de-Araujo Heloisa Sobreiro , Bolfarini Claudemiro
Published: May 2023

This work aimed to assess the influence of different structured substrates with hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties on micro and nano topographies developed on titanium alloys over pre-osteoblastic cell behavior. Nano topography influences small dimension levels of cell morphology by inducing filopodia formation in cell membranes, irrespectively to the wettability behavior of the surface. Therefore, micro and nanostructured surfaces of titanium-based samples using different techniques of surface modification processing, such as chemical treatments, micro-arc anodic oxidation (MAO), and MAO combined to laser irradiation were developed. Isotropic and anisotropic texture morphologies, wettability, topological parameters and compositional alterations were measured after the surface treatments. Finally, cell viability, adhesion and morphological responses were assessed to investigate the influence of distinct topologies on osteoblastic cells aiming to encounter the conditions to better promote mineralization events. Our study demonstrated that the hydrophilic behavior improves cell adhesion, amplified when effective surface area increases. Surfaces presenting nano topography have a direct influence on cell morphology and play a key role for filopodia formation.
A machine learning framework for process optimization in aerosol jet 3D printing
Authors: Liu Yujia , Yin Shuai , Liu Zhixin , Zhang Haining
Published: May 2023

As a burgeoning three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, aerosol jet printing (AJP) technique has the characteristics of direct writing and customizing microelectronic components with flexible substrates. Therefore, it has been widely applied to manufacture different electronic devices. Although AJP has unique advantages over traditional methods, the electrical performance of printed electronic devices is significantly reduced because of the inferior printing qualities, such as high overspray, low level of line thickness and high level of edge roughness. Therefore, producing lines with high-controllability and high-aspect ratio is urgent for AJP technology. In this research, a machine learning scheme is developed for process optimization in AJP. In the proposed scheme, a support vector machine is combined with Latin hyper sampling to determine an optimal operating window of AJP, producing conductive lines with better edge definition and reduced overspray. Then, based on the identified 3D operating window, the conflicting relationship between the deposited line width and thickness was revealed based on the developed Gaussian process regression models. Following that, via a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, the conflicting printed line morphology was further optimized under dual conflicting targets for maximizing line thickness and customizing line width, which helps to produce high-controllability and high-aspect ratio lines for AJP. The optimization results demonstrated the validity of the proposed approach, which is beneficial to the systemic optimization of the entire printing process.
Rapid solidified ductile Cu-Al-Mn ribbon and its elastocaloric potential
Authors: Ouyang Gaoyuan , Pan Chaochao , Hilliard Benjamin , Czernuszewicz Agata , Slaughter Julie , Cui Jun
Published: May 2023

Cu-Al-Mn alloys display martensitic transformation over a wide range of temperatures. In addition to low cost, this alloy is known for its low transformation stress with reasonable latent heat favoring elastocaloric applications. However, the ductility of Cu-Al-Mn can be limited owing to ordering and intergranular fracture. Through rapid solidification by melt spinning, we show that Cu-Al-Mn ribbon can be made highly ductile (greater than 8% tensile strain in the as-spun state and 10% tensile strain after heat treatment). The ductility of the melt-spun ribbon is related to the suppression of L21 ordering that is characterized through magnetic property measurement. Heat treatment of the ribbon promotes bamboo grain formation, and the latent heat is increased to 6.4 J g−1. Under tensile conditions, we show that the ribbon exhibited about 4 °C temperature change (4.4 °C on heating and 4.2 °C on cooling from 6.3% strain).
scGMM-VGAE: a Gaussian mixture model-based variational graph autoencoder algorithm for clustering single-cell RNA-seq data
Authors: Lin Eric , Liu Boyuan , Lac Leann , Fung Daryl L X , Leung Carson K , Hu Pingzhao
Published: May 2023

Cell type identification using single-cell RNA sequencing data is critical for understanding disease mechanisms and drug discovery. Cell clustering analysis has been widely studied in health research for rare tumor cell detection. In this study, we propose a Gaussian mixture model-based variational graph autoencoder on scRNA-seq data (scGMM-VGAE) that integrates a statistical clustering model to a deep learning algorithm to significantly improve the cell clustering performance. This model feeds a cell-cell graph adjacency matrix and a gene feature matrix into a graph variational autoencoder (VGAE) to generate latent data. These data are then used for cell clustering by the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) module. To optimize the algorithm, a designed loss function is derived by combining parameter estimates from the GMM and VGAE. We test the proposed method on four publicly available and three simulated datasets which contain many biological and technical zeros. The scGMM-VGAE outperforms four selected baseline methods on three evaluation metrics in cell clustering. By successfully incorporating GMM into deep learning VGAE on scRNA-seq data, the proposed method shows higher accuracy in cell clustering on scRNA-seq data. This improvement has a significant impact on detecting rare cell types in health research. All source codes used in this study can be found at https://github.com/ericlin1230/scGMM-VGAE.
Deep learning-based multi-functional therapeutic peptides prediction with a multi-label focal dice loss function
Authors: Fan Henghui , Yan Wenhui , Wang Lihua , Liu Jie , Bin Yannan , Xia Junfeng
Published: May 2023

Motivation

With the great number of peptide sequences produced in the postgenomic era, it is highly desirable to identify the various functions of therapeutic peptides quickly. Furthermore, it is a great challenge to predict accurate multi-functional therapeutic peptides (MFTP) via sequence-based computational tools.

Results

Here, we propose a novel multi-label-based method, named ETFC, to predict 21 categories of therapeutic peptides. The method utilizes a deep learning-based model architecture, which consists of four blocks: embedding, text convolutional neural network, feed-forward network, and classification blocks. This method also adopts an imbalanced learning strategy with a novel multi-label focal dice loss function. multi-label focal dice loss is applied in the ETFC method to solve the inherent imbalance problem in the multi-label dataset and achieve competitive performance. The experimental results state that the ETFC method is significantly better than the existing methods for MFTP prediction. With the established framework, we use the teacher–student-based knowledge distillation to obtain the attention weight from the self-attention mechanism in the MFTP prediction and quantify their contributions toward each of the investigated activities.

Availability and implementation

The source code and dataset are available via: https://github.com/xialab-ahu/ETFC.
Is a Free Trade Agreement More than Merely a Trade Policy? People's Preferences for Free Trade Agreements and the Security Factor
Authors: Fujita Taisuke
Published: May 2023

What determines people's preferences regarding trade policy? Existing studies have assumed that people consider trade policy merely trade politics; accordingly, these studies have focused on economic factors, such as benefits to individual or national welfare; ideational factors, such as xenophobia; or domestic political factors. This paper reveals that the international political factor of national security influences ordinary people's preferences for trade policy. While several studies have addressed the effect of the national security factor, they did not persuasively reveal the causal mechanism of the relationship between the national security factor and people's trade preferences. The present study conducted a factorial survey experiment to investigate the causal effect and the causal mechanism of the security factor on people's preferences regarding free trade agreements (FTAs). The results of the experiment conducted in Japan reveal that ordinary people consider the national security factor along the so-called realism path in forming their opinions regarding FTAs.
T Residues Preceded by Runs of G Are Hotspots of T→G Mutation in Bacteria
Authors: Cherry Joshua L
Published: May 2023

The rate of mutation varies among positions in a genome. Local sequence context can affect the rate and has different effects on different types of mutation. Here, I report an effect of local context that operates to some extent in all bacteria examined: the rate of T→G mutation is greatly increased by preceding runs of three or more G residues. The strength of the effect increases with the length of the run. In Salmonella, in which the effect is strongest, a G run of length three 3 increases the rate by a factor of ∼26, a run of length 4 increases it by almost a factor of 100, and runs of length 5 or more increase it by a factor of more than 400 on average. The effect is much stronger when the T is on the leading rather than the lagging strand of DNA replication. Several observations eliminate the possibility that this effect is an artifact of sequencing error.
The philosophical aspect of world order
Authors: Ehrhardt Andrew
Published: May 2023

The term ‘world order’ is perhaps the most enticing, consequential and vague concept in the diplomatic lexicon. There are countless scholars, analysts and policy-makers wrestling over its theoretical and practical dimensions. But often taken for granted in these examinations is the philosophical aspect—in other words, those fundamental reflections on the very purpose and nature of order across regional and international systems. Using a historical precedent as an example of this mode of thinking, this article makes the case for why questions related to political philosophy and political theory are essential to abstract and practical considerations of future world order.
Gender identity in the era of mass incarceration: The cruel and unusual segregation of trans people in the United States
Authors: Coppola Federica
Published: May 2023

The scarce legal recognition of the gender identity of trans people is a contributing factor to the phenomenon of mass incarceration in the United States. The disproportionately higher rates of incarceration of trans people—especially trans people of color—are driven by discrimination-based barriers to housing, employment, education, and trans-specific healthcare. The denial of trans identity in prison results in the ill-treatment of trans persons, including a heightened exposure to assault and violence. Concerningly, incarcerated trans people are commonly confronted with harsh conditions of confinement such as solitary confinement, which are generally enacted to (presumably) protect their own safety. Against this backdrop, this article advances Eighth Amendment-based arguments for (indirectly) affording a more consistent constitutional protection to gender self-determination in prison settings. First, the article argues that a more robust dignity-based interpretation of the Eighth Amendment regarding the conditions of confinement can lead to recognizing (self-determined) gender-affirming placement as a basic human need, the deprivation of which causes constitutionally relevant harm. The second argument relies upon penal theory to illustrate that the denial of gender self-determination in prison settings, with all the negative corollaries it implies, contradicts the fundamental pillars of each major justification for punishment. Thus, such a denial does not serve any constitutionally justified penological need.
An advanced acceptance reliability sampling plan for heterogeneous items subject to external shocks
Authors: Cha Ji Hwan , Finkelstein Maxim
Published: May 2023

Accepted by: Phil Scarf

In practice, many engineering items have more than one failure mode, whereas most of the existing reliability acceptance sampling plans reported in the literature assume that they have only one basic failure mode. To fill the gap, in this paper, we propose a reliability sampling plan for items with an additional failure mode that is due to external shocks. Moreover, heterogeneous populations of items are considered when items’ lifetime distributions differ from subpopulation to subpopulation. A new two-stage reliability sampling plan that takes into account these factors has been developed, where the lifetimes of items in a population are stochastically compared before and after the acceptance test. It is shown that the developed sampling plan improves the reliability characteristic of the population.
Antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from laying hens in Zambia: implications and significance on one health
Authors: Mudenda Steward , Malama Sydney , Munyeme Musso , Matafwali Scott Kaba , Kapila Penjaninge , Katemangwe Patrick , Mainda Geoffrey , Mukubesa Andrew Nalishuwa , Hadunka Mwendalubi Albert , Muma John Bwalya
Published: May 2023

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been deepening in the layer poultry sector in Zambia partly due to the inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Escherichia coli (E. coli), a commensal and zoonotic bacterium, can potentially be a source of AMR.

Objectives

This study assessed the phenotypic AMR profiles of E. coli isolated from the apparent health-laying hens in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2020 and April 2021 in which 365 cloacal swabs were collected from 77-layer farms based in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia. E. coli isolation and identification were done using cultural and biochemical properties and confirmed using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was done using the Kirby–Bauer disc-diffusion method. Data analysis was done using WHONET 2020 and Stata v.16.1.

Results

Of the 365 samples, E. coli was isolated from 92.9% (n = 339). The AMR was detected in 96.5% (n = 327) of the isolates, of which 64.6% (n = 219) were multidrug-resistant (MDR). E. coli was highly resistant to tetracycline (54.6%) and ampicillin (54%) but showed low resistance to meropenem (0.9%), ceftazidime (6.2%) and chloramphenicol (8.8%).

Conclusion

This study found a high prevalence of E. coli resistant to some commonly used antibiotics in poultry, which is a public health concern because of the potential contamination of eggs and layers of chicken meat that enter the food chain. Urgent attention is needed, including strengthening antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance programmes in layer poultry production in Zambia.
Recent advances in in-resin correlative light and electron microscopy of Epon-embedded cells
Authors: Tanida Isei , Yamaguchi Junji , Suzuki Chigure , Kakuta Soichiro , Uchiyama Yasuo
Published: May 2023

Correlative fluorescent and electron microscopic images of the same section of epoxy (or other polymer)-embedded samples, hereafter referred to as ‘in-resin CLEM’, have been developed to improve the positional accuracy and Z-axis resolution limitations of conventional correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM). High-pressure freezing and quick-freezing substitution result in in-resin CLEM of acrylic-based resin-embedded cells expressing green fluorescent protein, yellow fluorescent protein, mVenus and mCherry, which are sensitive to osmium tetroxide. The identification of osmium-resistant fluorescent proteins leads to the development of in-resin CLEM of Epon-embedded cells. Using subtraction-based fluorescence microscopy with a photoconvertible fluorescent protein, mEosEM-E, its green fluorescence can be observed in thin sections of Epon-embedded cells, and two-color in-resin CLEM using mEosEM-E and mScarlet-H can be performed. Green fluorescent proteins, CoGFP variant 0 and mWasabi, and far-red fluorescent proteins, mCherry2 and mKate2, are available for in-resin CLEM of Epon-embedded cells using the standard procedure for Epon-embedding with additional incubation. Proximity labeling is applied to in-resin CLEM to overcome the limitations of fluorescent proteins in epoxy resin. These approaches will contribute significantly to the future of CLEM analysis.
Nutrition as prevention for improved cancer health outcomes: a systematic literature review
Authors: Parsons Helen M , Forte Mary L , Abdi Hamdi I , Brandt Sallee , Claussen Amy M , Wilt Timothy , Klein Mark , Ester Elizabeth , Landsteiner Adrienne , Shaukut Aasma , Sibley Shalamar S , Slavin Joanne , Sowerby Catherine , Ng Weiwen , Butler Mary
Published: May 2023

Background

Among adults with cancer, malnutrition is associated with decreased treatment completion, more treatment harms and use of health care, and worse short-term survival. To inform the National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention workshop, “Nutrition as Prevention for Improved Cancer Health Outcomes,” this systematic review examined the evidence for the effectiveness of providing nutrition interventions before or during cancer therapy to improve outcomes of cancer treatment.

Methods

We identified randomized controlled trials enrolling at least 50 participants published from 2000 through July 2022. We provide a detailed evidence map for included studies and grouped studies by broad intervention and cancer types. We conducted risk of bias (RoB) and qualitative descriptions of outcomes for intervention and cancer types with a larger volume of literature.

Results

From 9798 unique references, 206 randomized controlled trials from 219 publications met the inclusion criteria. Studies primarily focused on nonvitamin or mineral dietary supplements, nutrition support, and route or timing of inpatient nutrition interventions for gastrointestinal or head and neck cancers. Most studies evaluated changes in body weight or composition, adverse events from cancer treatment, length of hospital stay, or quality of life. Few studies were conducted within the United States. Among intervention and cancer types with a high volume of literature (n = 114), 49% (n = 56) were assessed as high RoB. Higher-quality studies (low or medium RoB) reported mixed results on the effect of nutrition interventions across cancer and treatment-related outcomes.

Conclusions

Methodological limitations of nutrition intervention studies surrounding cancer treatment impair translation of findings into clinical practice or guidelines.