bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thermal contraction crack polygons in Nunavik (northern Quebec): Distribution and development of polygonal patterned ground
Authors: Chiasson Alexandre , Allard Michel
Published: May 2022

We evaluated the spatial distribution and morphological variability of thermal contraction crack polygon (TCCP) networks across Nunavik, a 440,000‐km2 region of northern Québec that spans the northward transition from discontinuous to continuous permafrost. A population of 4,567 TCCP sites was sampled and analyzed from 80,737 georeferenced high‐resolution aerial photographs and 264,504 km2 of ESRI satellite basemaps. For each site, six parameters were inventoried and compiled into a database: (a) network geometric arrangement; (b) intersection angles; (c) number of subdivisions and nested polygons (referred to as generations of development); (d) dominant polygon morphology; (e) surficial geology; and (f) vegetation cover. Statistical analyses of the tabulated data revealed a strong association between Holocene glacial, glacio‐fluvial, fluvial, marine, and organic landforms and the different intersections angles in the networks, providing insight into how the processes of thermal contraction cracking function and manifest geomorphically across varied permafrost landscapes. Orthogonal polygons (intersection angle of 90°) dominate on flat terrains where the thermo‐mechanical stresses are probably spatially homogeneous. Hexagonal (angles of 120°) and poorly structured polygons tend to form where topography variability probably generates heterogeneous heat flow patterns and thermo‐mechanical stresses in the ground, resulting in irregular cracking patterns.
On the Search for Low W0
Authors: Broeckel Igor , Cicoli Michele , Maharana Anshuman , Singh Kajal , Sinha Kuver
Published: May 2022

The magnitude of the vacuum expectation value of the Gukov‐Vafa‐Witten superpotential plays a central role in the phenomenology of type IIB flux compactifications. Recent analytical constructions have shown that perturbatively flat vacua can be used to obtain very low values of . We present systematic algorithms to carry out exhaustive numerical searches for such vacua. We also analyse them in the statistical context, as part of the entire ensemble of type IIB flux vacua at low . Our preliminary analysis indicates that these perturbatively flat vacua are statistically sparse in the whole set of vacua at low as calculated by Denef and Douglas. Two‐moduli examples are used to illustrate these more general findings in specific settings. We find that these simple (two moduli) cases are good examples for existence proofs but they do not feature a large statistical tuning freedom for phenomenological applications.
Evaluation and design of structures to contain lithium‐ion battery hazards
Authors: Shelton Gabriel A.
Published: May 2022

This article is a continuation of BakerRisk's six‐part series on Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) hazards. Thus far, the series has introduced failure types, failure frequencies, fire mitigation methods, and quantifying explosion and fire hazard consequences related to BESS hazards. Lithium‐ion (Li‐ion) batteries have the potential for severe explosion and fire hazards due to the ability of Li‐ion batteries to experience thermal runaway reactions that can continue without supplemental oxygen. These hazards can have serious consequences on human life, equipment, and building integrity. Li‐ion batteries have many uses, from cell phones to electric vehicles, and are also located in various facilities such as BESS or battery test labs. This fifth article in the six‐part series provides a review of available analytical approaches to evaluate existing structures and design new structures for protection from Li‐ion battery hazards.
A statistic with demonstrated insensitivity to unmeasured bias for 2 × 2 ×Stables in observational studies
Authors: Rosenbaum Paul R.
Published: May 2022

Are weak associations between a treatment and a binary outcome always sensitive to small unmeasured biases in observational studies? This possibility is often discussed in epidemiology. The familiar Mantel‐Haenszel test for a contingency table exaggerates sensitivity to unmeasured biases when the population odds ratios vary among the strata. A statistic built from several components, here from the  strata, is said to have demonstrated insensitivity to bias if it uses only those components that provide indications of insensitivity to bias. Briefly, such a statistic is a ‐statistic. There are candidate statistics with strata, and a ‐statistic considers them all.  To have level , a test based on a ‐statistic must pay a price for its double use of the data, but as the sample size increases, that price becomes small, while the gain may be large. The price is paid by conditioning on the limited information used to identify components that are insensitive to a bias of specified magnitude, basing the test result on the information that remains after conditioning. In large samples, the ‐statistic achieves the largest possible design sensitivity, so it does not exaggerate sensitivity to unmeasured bias. A simulation verifies that the large sample result has traction in samples of practical size. A study of sunlight as a cause of cataract is used to illustrate issues and methods. Several extensions of the method are discussed. AnRpackagedstat2x2xkimplements the method.
Exploiting the Synergistic Electronic Interaction between Pt‐Skin Wrapped Intermetallic PtCo Nanoparticles and Co‐N‐C Support for Efficient ORR/EOR Electrocatalysis in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell
Authors: Gao Jiaojiao , Zhou Xuyan , Wang Yu , Chen Yimai , Xu Zhenyu , Qiu Yejun , Yuan Qunhui , Lin Xi , Qiu Hua‐Jun
Published: May 2022

The development of low‐Pt catalysts with high activity and durability is critical for fuel cells. Here, Pt‐skin wrapped sub‐5 nm PtCo intermetallic nanoparticles are successfully mounted on single atom Co‐N‐C support by exploiting the barrier effect of Co‐anchor. According to a collaborative experimental and computational investigation, the increased oxygen reduction reaction activity of PtCo/Co‐N‐C arises from the direct electron transfer from PtCo to Co‐N‐C, and the resulting optimal d‐band center of Pt. Owing to such unique electronic structure interaction and synergistic effect, the specific and mass activities of PtCo/Co‐N‐C are up to 4.20 mA cm−2 and 2.71 A mgPt−1, respectively, with barely degraded stability after 40 000 CV cycles. The PtCo/Co‐N‐C also exhibits outstanding activity as an ethanol electrocatalyst. This work shows a new and effective route to boost the overall efficiency of direct ethanol fuel cells in acidic media by integrating intermetallic low‐Pt alloys and single atom carbon support.
Laserstrahl‐ und Laserhybridschweißverbindungen aus ultrahochfesten Feinkornbaustählen – Teil 1: Verfahren und Schweißnahtcharakterisierung
Authors: Seyfried Benjamin , Möller Benjamin , Ummenhofer Thomas , Baumgartner Jörg , Melz Tobias
Published: May 2022

Bei Feinkornbaustählen mit den aktuell höchsten nominellen Streckgrenzen von bis zu 1300 MPa stellt die Ausführung hochwertiger Schweißverbindungen eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Innovative Schweißverfahren, wie Laserstrahl‐ und Laserhybridschweißverfahren, bieten ein hohes Einsatzpotenzial, werden aber aufgrund mangelnder Erfahrungswerte bisher nur selten eingesetzt. Im Beitrag wird deshalb eine an vier verschiedenen Werkstoffen (S960MC, S1100M, S1100QL, S1300QL) und zwei Schweißverfahrensvarianten (Laserstrahlschweißen ohne Zusatzwerkstoff, Laserstrahl‐MSG‐Hybridschweißen) durchgeführte Schweißnahtcharakterisierung vorgestellt. Die Untersuchungen der Stumpfnähte umfassen u. a. Sicht‐, Farbeindring‐ und Röntgenprüfungen sowie Querzugversuche und Härtefeldmessungen. Die Schweißzonen zeigen auffallend geringe Abmessungen und nur eine moderate Entfestigung, die sich insbesondere auf die Anlasszone konzentriert. Eine Ausnahme stellen die Verbindungen des S1100M dar, bei welchem keine Entfestigung in der Anlasszone festgestellt wird.
Chromosome‐level genome assembly of Indian mangrove (Ceriops tagal) revealed a genome‐wide duplication event predating the divergence of Rhizophoraceae mangrove species
Authors: Pootakham Wirulda , Naktang Chaiwat , Sonthirod Chutima , Kongkachana Wasitthee , Narong Nattapol , Sangsrakru Duangjai , Maknual Chatree , Jiumjamrassil Darunee , Chumriang Pranom , Tangphatsornruang Sithichoke
Published: May 2022

Mangrove ecosystems are unique, highly diverse, provide benefits to humans, and aid in coastal protection. The Indian mangrove, or spurred mangrove, [Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C. B. Rob.] is a member of the Rhizophoraceae family and is commonly found along the intertidal zones in tropical regions in Southeast Asia, southern Asia, and Africa. Here, we present the first high‐quality reference genome assembly of the Ceriops species. A preliminary draft assembly, generated from the 10× Genomics linked‐read library, was scaffolded using the proximity ligation chromatin contact mapping technique (Hi‐C) to obtain a chromosome‐scale assembly of 231,919,005 bases with an N50 length of 11,408,429 bases. The benchmarking universal single‐copy orthologs (BUSCO) analysis revealed that C. tagal gene predictions recovered 95.8% of the highly conserved orthologs. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that C. tagal diverged from the last common ancestor of flat‐leaf spurred mangrove [C. decandra (Griff.) Ding Hou] and C. zippeliana Blume ∼10.4 million yr ago (MYA), and the last common ancestor of genera Ceriops, Kandelia, and Rhizophora diverged from that of genus Bruguiera ∼49.4 MYA. In addition, our analysis of the transversion rate at fourfold‐degenerate sites from orthologous gene pairs provided evidence supporting a recent whole‐genome duplication in C. tagal. The STRUCTURE and principal component analyses illustrated that C. tagal individuals investigated in this study were the admixture of two subpopulations, the genetic background of which was influenced primarily by location. The availability of genomic and transcriptomic resources and biodiversity data reported in this work will be useful for future studies that may shed light on adaptive evolutions of mangrove species.
Performance evaluation of polyaniline modified phosphorylated cotton as promising adsorbent for Pb (II) ions removal
Authors: Khadr Amira , Essa Dalia Mohamed , Sabaa Magdy W. , Elnagar Khaled , Mohamed Riham R. , Samaha Sayed Hussein
Published: May 2022

In this article, phosphorylated cotton fabric was modified with polyaniline using in‐situ chemical solution polymerization to produce conducting fabric. The modified fabric was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the surface electrical resistivity was measured where the modified fabric recorded electrical resistivity of 9.02 kΩ, compared to more than 1000 MΩ for untreated cotton fabrics. The efficiency of the modified fabric in the removal of Pb2+ ions from an aqueous solution was investigated. The phosphorylated cotton fabric modified with polyaniline (C‐Ph‐PANI) exhibited the highest adsorption capacity (250 mg g−1) compared to 54 mg g−1 for the unmodified cotton fabric and 113.7 mg g−1 for cotton fabric modified with polyaniline. The impact of pH, adsorbent amount, adsorbate concentration, and contact time on Pb2+ ions adsorption capacity was also investigated. The adsorption mechanism of Pb2+ ions by C‐Ph‐PANI was studied using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. It was found that, the adsorption isotherm obeyed the Langmuir model (monolayer adsorption) with a higher R2 value (0.979) more than the Freundlich model (multilayer adsorption) which recorded a lower R2 value (0.904).
Implications of video chat use for young children's learning and social–emotional development: Learning words, taking turns, and fostering familial relationships
Authors: Glick Aaron R. , Saiyed Fauzia S. , Kutlesa Katia , Onishi Kristine H. , Nadig Aparna S.
Published: May 2022

Parents of young children use video chat differently than other screen media, paralleling expert recommendations (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media, 2016), which suggest that video chat, unlike other screen media, is acceptable for use by children under 18 months. Video chat is unique among screen media in that it permits contingent (time‐sensitive and content‐sensitive) social interactions. Contingent social interactions take place between a child and a partner (dyadic), with objects (triadic), and with multiple others (multi‐party configurations), which critically underpin development in multiple domains. First, we review how contingent social interaction may underlie video chat's advantages in two domains: for learning (specifically learning new words) and for social–emotional development (specifically taking turns and fostering familial relationships). Second, we describe constraints on video chat use and how using chat with an active adult (co‐viewing) may mitigate some of its limitations. Finally, we suggest future research directions that will clarify the potential advantages and impediments to the use of video chat by young children.

This article is categorized under:

Linguistics > Language Acquisition

Psychology > Learning

Cognitive Biology > Social Development
Facilitating behavior change: Introducing the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change as a conservation psychology framework and tool for practitioners
Authors: Abrash Walton Abigail , Nageotte Nichole L. , Heimlich Joe E. , Threadgill A. Victoria
Published: May 2022

The primary opportunities for improved conservation and sustainability outcomes are through changing human behavior. Zoos, aquariums, and other public‐facing biodiversity conservation institutions offer an important space for environmental learning and facilitating proenvironmental behavior change. We have focused, in this review, on examining common behavior change models as well as the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Behavior Change​​​​​, a widely regarded model within the health fields and, recently, in the fields of environmental and leadership studies, with new research applying the TTM specifically in a zoo setting. We have discussed critiques of the TTM and rebuttals to those critiques. We have presented examples of TTM applications in a zoo setting. Our objective has been to explore the TTM as a possible “best fit” framework and tool for zoo and aquarium practitioners in facilitating proenvironmental behavior. Key findings include that (a) the TTM differs significantly from other proenvironmental behavior theoretical models, including those that are prevalent in the conservation psychology literature and applied by zoos and aquariums, in terms of the TTM stages of change and processes of change constructs; (b) the TTM appears to overlap significantly with the 10 interventions or treatments identified by researchers as the most effective approaches to facilitating proenvironmental behavior; and (c) there is nascent and promising application of TTM constructs in zoo and aquarium programming. We remain impressed by the potential of the TTM to address a critical question within the conservation psychology research field concerning proenvironmental behavior: what specific tools to employ and when.
Robustness of ARS leptogenesis in scalar extensions
Authors: Fischer Oliver , Lindner Manfred , van der Woude Susan
Published: May 2022

Abstract

Extensions of the Standard Model (SM) with sterile neutrinos are well motivated from the observed oscillations of the light neutrinos and they have shown to successfully explain the Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) through, for instance, the so-called ARS leptogenesis. Sterile neutrinos can be added in minimal ways to the SM, but many theories exist where sterile neutrinos are not the only new fields. Such theories often include scalar bosons, which brings about the possibility of further interactions between the sterile neutrinos and the SM. In this paper we consider an extension of the SM with two sterile neutrinos and one scalar singlet particle and investigate the effect that an additional, thermalised, scalar has on the ARS leptogenesis mechanism. We show that in general the created asymmetry is reduced due to additional sterile neutrino production from scalar decays. When sterile neutrinos and scalars are discovered in the laboratory, our results will provide information on the applicability of the ARS leptogenesis mechanism.
Twistor coverings and Feynman diagrams
Authors: Bhat Faizan , Gopakumar Rajesh , Maity Pronobesh , Radhakrishnan Bharathkumar
Published: May 2022

Abstract

Recently, a worldsheet dual to free $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 Super Yang-Mills has been proposed in terms of twistor variables for AdS5, in parallel to that for the AdS3 dual to the free symmetric orbifold CFT. In the latter case, holomorphic covering maps play a central role in determining correlators and are associated to Feynman diagrams. After recasting these maps in terms of the worldsheet twistor variables for AdS3, we generalise to AdS5. We propose stringy incidence relations and appropriate reality conditions for the twistor covering maps. For some special kinematic configurations of correlators, we exhibit an explicit construction of the corresponding covering map. We find that the closed string worldsheet corresponding to this map is related to a gauge theory Feynman diagram by the Strebel construction, as for AdS3/CFT2. Rather strikingly, the regularised Strebel area of the worldsheet reproduces the Feynman propagator of the free field theory.
Autonomic dysfunction in non-critically ill COVID-19 patients during the acute phase of disease: an observational, cross-sectional study
Authors: Scala Irene , Bellavia Simone , Luigetti Marco , Brunetti Valerio , Broccolini Aldobrando , Gabrielli Maurizio , Zileri Dal Verme Lorenzo , Calabresi Paolo , Della Marca Giacomo , Frisullo Giovanni
Published: May 2022

Introduction

Evidence is emerging about an extra-pulmonary involvement of SARS-CoV-2, including the nervous system. Autonomic dysfunction in patients recovering from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recently described. Dysautonomic symptoms have been reported in the acute phase of the disease, but clear evidence is lacking, especially in the non-critical forms of the infection.

Objective

The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of dysautonomia in acute, non-critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Methods

In this observational, cross-sectional study, we compared 38 non-critically ill patients with acute COVID-19 (COVID + group) to 38 healthy volunteers (COVID − group) in order to assess the prevalence of signs and symptoms of dysautonomia through the administration of the composite autonomic symptom score 31 (COMPASS-31) and an active standing test. Comparisons between groups were performed by means of both univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

The prevalence of orthostatic hypotension was significantly higher in the COVID + group. Higher total scores of COMPASS-31 were observed in the COVID + group than controls. Significant differences between groups emerged in the secretomotor, orthostatic intolerance, and gastrointestinal COMPASS-31 domains. All these results maintained the statistical significance after the adjustment for concomitant drugs with a known effect on the autonomic nervous system assumed by the study participants, except for the differences in the gastrointestinal domain of COMPASS-31.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that an autonomic dysfunction could be an early manifestation of COVID-19, even in the contest of mild forms of the infection.
$${{\mathrm {Latent}}Out}$$: an unsupervised deep anomaly detection approach exploiting latent space distribution
Authors: Angiulli Fabrizio , Fassetti Fabio , Ferragina Luca
Published: May 2022

Anomaly detection methods exploiting autoencoders (AE) have shown good performances. Unfortunately, deep non-linear architectures are able to perform high dimensionality reduction while keeping reconstruction error low, thus worsening outlier detecting performances of AEs. To alleviate the above problem, recently some authors have proposed to exploit Variational autoencoders (VAE) and bidirectional Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), which arise as a variant of standard AEs designed for generative purposes, both enforcing the organization of the latent space guaranteeing continuity. However, these architectures share with standard AEs the problem that they generalize so well that they can also well reconstruct anomalies. In this work we argue that the approach of selecting the worst reconstructed examples as anomalies is too simplistic if a continuous latent space autoencoder-based architecture is employed. We show that outliers tend to lie in the sparsest regions of the combined latent/error space and propose the$$\mathrm{VAE}Out$$VAEOutand$${{\mathrm {Latent}}Out}$$LatentOutunsupervised anomaly detection algorithms, identifying outliers by performing density estimation in this augmented feature space. The proposed approach shows sensible improvements in terms of detection performances over the standard approach based on the reconstruction error.
Structural relationships between classroom emotional climate, teacher–student interpersonal relationships and students’ attitudes to STEM
Authors: McLure Felicity I. , Fraser Barry J. , Koul Rekha B.
Published: May 2022

Recently, integrated STEM projects have been introduced into school curricula in an attempt to increase students’ understanding and interest in pursuing STEM subjects in senior high school and university. However, little is known about the classroom emotional climate in STEM classrooms and its effect, along with teacher–student interpersonal relationships, on students’ attitudes towards STEM. A validated questionnaire about students’ perceptions of the STEM classroom emotional climate and a simplified version of the questionnaire of teacher-student interpersonal relationships were administered to students completing STEM projects (N = 698). Students also completed a questionnaire about their attitudes towards STEM projects and continuation in the STEM pipeline. Structural equation modelling analysis suggested that the classroom emotional climate together with helping/friendly teacher-student interpersonal relationships have positive influences on student attitudes towards STEM. On the other hand, while teacher-student interpersonal relationships that are understanding or directing have a positive influence on the classroom emotional climate, they have negative influences on students’ attitudes towards STEM and continuing in the STEM pipeline. There are some significant gender differences in teacher-student relationships that influence attitudes towards STEM. This raises some interesting possibilities about how teachers should manage classrooms that integrate STEM skills to complete projects in order to encourage greater participation in STEM subjects.
Outcome of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients over 85 years of age versus patients aged 85 and younger
Authors: van den Brink F. S. , Wijtsma I. , Amrane H. , Vossenberg T. N. E. , Haenen J. , Porta F. , Van Boven A. J. , Hofma S. H.
Published: May 2022

Introduction

The Dutch general population is aging rapidly. Many of these patient are fit and eligible for TAVR. However, studies on outcome in older versus younger patients are scant.

Material and methods

A single-centre retrospective study comparing patients older and younger than age 85 on outcome.

Results

190 patients underwent TAVR: 136 were aged 85 or younger (U85), 54 were older than 85 (O85). The U85 group had more men (U85: 71 [52.2%] vs O85: 19 [35.2%];p = 0.034), a higher incidence of diabetes (U85: 36 [26.5%] vs O85: 3 [5.6%];p = 0.001) and atrial fibrillation (U85: 35 [25.7%] vs O85: 5 [9.3%];p = 0.03) and a higher body mass index (U85: 27.5 [± 5.24] vs O85: 26 [± 3.78];p = 0.027). In the O85 group there was a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (O85: 50.28 [± 15.32] ml/min vs U85: 65.25 [± 29.97] ml/min;p = 0.012). There was no difference in 30-day mortality (U85: 6 [4.4%] vs O85: 3 [5.6%]) and 1‑year mortality (U85 9 [6.6%] vs O85 3 [5.6%]) (p = 0.521). There was an equal amount of new onset permanent left bundle branch block (U85: 38 [27.9%] vs O85: 14 [25.9%];p = 0.896) and permanent pacemaker implantation (U85: 28 [20.6%] vs O85: 28 [20.6%];p = 0.748). There was no difference in bleeding events (p = 0.469), vascular complications (p = 0.195) or moderate/severe regurgitation (p = 0.972). The U85 group had a slightly longer admission duration (U85 6.29 [± 5.289] days vs O85 5.98 [± 3.328] days (p = 0.037)).

Conclusion

TAVR in patients over 85 years of age has excellent outcome, comparable to those aged 85 and younger.
Prehospital Care (EMS) in Yemen: Brief Report
Authors: Naser Waheeb Nasr , Alsabri Mohammed , Salem Waleed , Yu Rebecca , Ba Saleem Huda
Published: May 2022

Objective:

A well-organized emergency medical system with adequate prehospital care can save lives and prevent disability. In Yemen, there are no data available about its prehospital care system. This qualitative, cross-sectional study aims to assess the status of prehospital care or emergency medical services in Yemen.

Methods:

Data were collected from January to February 2019 through interviews and a questionnaire obtained from the Prehospital Trauma Care Systems Guideline published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Respondents were key representatives of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP), Civil Defense/Police departments, and Yemeni Red Crescent Association (YRCA).

Results:

Overall, based on 153 responses, it was found that, despite the availability of some formal services, the prehospital care system in Yemen is uncoordinated, fragmented, and insufficient.

Conclusions:

Given the importance of regulation, legislation, and funding support in the establishment of an effective prehospital care system, these areas merit the greatest attention and efforts. Future policies and strategies should also strive to improve communication and coordination between existing prehospital care providers, to establish a lead agency, and to increase accessibility to training.
Iterative square roots of functions
Authors: BHAT B. V. RAJARAMA , GOPALAKRISHNA CHAITANYA
Published: May 2022

An iterative square root of a self-mapfis a self-mapgsuch that$g(g(\cdot ))=f(\cdot )$. We obtain new characterizations for detecting the non-existence of such square roots for self-maps on arbitrary sets. They are used to prove that continuous self-maps with no square roots are dense in the space of all continuous self-maps for various topological spaces. The spaces studied include those that are homeomorphic to the unit cube in${\mathbb R}^{m}$and to the whole of$\mathbb {R}^{m}$for every positive integer$m.$However, we also prove that every continuous self-map on a space homeomorphic to the unit cube in$\mathbb {R}^{m}$with a fixed point on the boundary can be approximated by iterative squares of continuous self-maps.
-invariants for planar two-center Stark–Zeeman systems
Authors: CIELIEBAK KAI , FRAUENFELDER URS , ZHAO LEI
Published: May 2022

In this paper, we introduce the notion of planar two-center Stark–Zeeman systems and define four
$J^{+}$
-like invariants for their periodic orbits. The construction is based on a previous construction for a planar one-center Stark–Zeeman system in [K. Cieliebak, U. Frauenfelder and O. van Koert. Periodic orbits in the restricted three-body problem and Arnold’s
$J^+$
-invariant. Regul. Chaotic Dyn.22(4) (2017), 408–434] as well as Levi-Civita and Birkhoff regularizations. We analyze the relationship among these invariants and show that they are largely independent, based on a new construction called interior connected sum.
Theory and simulation of electrokinetic fluctuations in electrolyte solutions at the mesoscale
Authors: Deng Mingge , Tushar Faisal , Bravo Luis , Ghoshal Anindya , Karniadakis George , Li Zhen
Published: May 2022

Electrolyte solutions play an important role in energy storage devices, whose performance relies heavily on the electrokinetic processes at sub-micron scales. Although fluctuations and stochastic features become more critical at small scales, the long-range Coulomb interactions pose a particular challenge for both theoretical analysis and simulation of fluid systems with fluctuating hydrodynamic and electrostatic interactions. Here, we present a theoretical framework based on the Landau–Lifshitz theory to derive closed-form expressions for fluctuation correlations in electrolyte solutions, indicating significantly different decorrelation processes of ionic concentration fluctuations from hydrodynamic fluctuations, which provides insights for understanding transport phenomena of coupled fluctuating hydrodynamics and electrokinetics. Furthermore, we simulate fluctuating electrokinetic systems using both molecular dynamics (MD) with explicit ions and mesoscopic charged dissipative particle dynamics (cDPD) with semi-implicit ions, from which we identify that the spatial probability density functions of local charge density follow a gamma distribution at sub-nanometre scale (i.e.

$0.3\,{\rm nm}$

) and converge to a Gaussian distribution above nanometre scales (i.e.

$1.55\,{\rm nm}$

), indicating the existence of a lower limit of length scale for mesoscale models using Gaussian fluctuations. The temporal correlation functions of both hydrodynamic and electrokinetic fluctuations are computed from all-atom MD and mesoscale cDPD simulations, showing good agreement with the theoretical predictions based on the linearized fluctuating hydrodynamics theory.
Consistency between the attached-eddy model and the inner–outer interaction model: a study of streamwise wall-shear stress fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow
Authors: Cheng Cheng , Fu Lin
Published: May 2022

The inner–outer interaction model (Marusic et al., Science, vol. 329, 2010, pp. 193–196) and the attached-eddy model (Townsend, Cambridge University Press, 1976) are two fundamental models describing the multiscale turbulence interactions and the organization of energy-containing motions in the logarithmic region of high-Reynolds-number wall-bounded turbulence, respectively. In this paper, by coupling the additive description with the attached-eddy model, the generation process of streamwise wall-shear fluctuations, resulting from wall-attached eddies, is portrayed. Then, by resorting to the inner–outer interaction model, the streamwise wall-shear stress fluctuations generated by attached eddies in a turbulent channel flow are isolated. Direct comparison between the statistics from these two models demonstrates that they are consistent with and complement each other. Meanwhile, we further show that the superpositions of attached eddies follow an additive process strictly by verifying the validity of the strong and extended self-similarity. Moreover, we propose a Gaussian model to characterize the instantaneous distribution of streamwise wall-shear stress, resulting from the attached-eddy superpositions. These findings are important for developing an advanced reduced-order wall model.
The Antimilitarist Campaign against Compulsory Military Service in Spain during the 1970s and 1980s
Authors: Ordás García Carlos Ángel
Published: May 2022

The present article focuses on the political and social influence of the antimilitarist movement in Spain during the 1970s and 1980s. The article shows how throughout the 1970s the issue of conscientious objection became part of a wider context of struggle for the individual and collective rights and freedoms the Francoist dictatorship denied the Spanish population, achieving an important political impact by concentrating its action on Spain's external image. Throughout the following decade, the antimilitarist movement grew within a context of large-scale mobilisations and public debate around pacifism and antimilitarism, on the occasion of the referendum on Spain's permanence in NATO. The most important campaign was that of resistance both to military service and the alternative social service, the so-calledinsumisión.
The Influence of Equation of State on the Giant Impact Simulations
Authors: Hosono Natsuki , Karato Shun‐ichiro
Published: May 2022

We explore the role of various equations of state (EoS) in controlling the composition of the Moon formed by a giant impact (GI) using a density‐independent SPH code. A limitation in our previous model Hosono et al. (2019), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0354-2 is improved by replacing the EoS of the solid from Tillotson EoS to M‐ANEOS, and we also explored two recently proposed EoSs by Stewart et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1063/12.0000946 and Wissing and Hobbs (2020a), https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201935814; Wissing and Hobbs (2020b), https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936227. The goal is to investigate to what extent we can explain the observed composition of the Moon including the similarity in the isotopic composition and the dissimilarity in the FeO/(FeO + MgO) ratio as compared to that of Earth by the different types of EoS assuming the conventional collision conditions. We found that changing the EoS for solids from Tillotson to M‐ANEOS EoS resolves the issues of latent heat, but its effect on the composition of the disk is small compared to the influence of the hard‐sphere EoS of magma ocean in controlling the composition of the disk. Similarly, two recently proposed EoSs have small effects on the composition of the disk in comparison to the model where the hard‐sphere EoS is used for preexisting magma ocean. We attribute this difference to a fundamental difference in thermodynamic behavior of silicate melts captured by the hard‐sphere EoS and by newly proposed EoSs; in the hard‐sphere model of silicate melts, configurational entropy dominates in free energy, whereas in the newly proposed model, entropy is dominated by vibrational entropy similar to entropy of solids.
Quantifying the Health Benefits of a U.S. Clean Energy Transition
Authors: Fritts Rachel
Published: May 2022

Eliminating energy-related air pollution in the United States could prevent roughly 50,000 premature deaths and save billions of dollars per year.
Distribution of Negative J·E′ in the Inflow Edge of the Inner Electron Diffusion Region During Tail Magnetic Reconnection: Simulations Vs. Observations
Authors: Xiong Q. Y. , Huang S. Y. , Zhou M. , Yuan Z. G. , Deng X. H. , Jiang K. , Wei Y. Y. , Xu S. B. , Zhang J. , Lin R. T. , Yu L.
Published: May 2022

Magnetic reconnection is a universal phenomenon existing in the space. Energy conversion is one of the essential parts of reconnection discussed for decades. Positive energy conversion (J·E′ > 0) is usually regarded as the sign of electron diffusion region (EDR), while the negative one (J·E′ < 0) turns out to gather in the outer EDR. Here we report the negative J·E′ appearing in the inflow edge of the inner EDR, based on Magnetospheric Multiscale mission observations and particle‐in‐cell simulations. Both observations and simulations verify that this negative J·E′ is mainly contributed from the electron pressure tensor term in generalized Ohm's law. The energy loss of electrons plays the dominant effect in the electron pressure tensor, and this energy decline is caused by the electric field which is induced by the decreasing magnetic field. Our results provide significant insights to expand the understanding of the reconnection regimes.
Hazy Blue Worlds: A Holistic Aerosol Model for Uranus and Neptune, Including Dark Spots
Authors: Irwin P. G. J. , Teanby N. A. , Fletcher L. N. , Toledo D. , Orton G. S. , Wong M. H. , Roman M. T. , Pérez‐Hoyos S. , James A. , Dobinson J.
Published: May 2022

We present a reanalysis (using the Minnaert limb‐darkening approximation) of visible/near‐infrared (0.3–2.5 μm) observations of Uranus and Neptune made by several instruments. We find a common model of the vertical aerosol distribution i.e., consistent with the observed reflectivity spectra of both planets, consisting of: (a) a deep aerosol layer with a base pressure >5–7 bar, assumed to be composed of a mixture of H2S ice and photochemical haze; (b) a layer of photochemical haze/ice, coincident with a layer of high static stability at the methane condensation level at 1–2 bar; and (c) an extended layer of photochemical haze, likely mostly of the same composition as the 1–2‐bar layer, extending from this level up through to the stratosphere, where the photochemical haze particles are thought to be produced. For Neptune, we find that we also need to add a thin layer of micron‐sized methane ice particles at ∼0.2 bar to explain the enhanced reflection at longer methane‐absorbing wavelengths. We suggest that methane condensing onto the haze particles at the base of the 1–2‐bar aerosol layer forms ice/haze particles that grow very quickly to large size and immediately “snow out” (as predicted by Carlson et al. (1988), https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1988)045<2066:CMOTGP>2.0.CO;2), re‐evaporating at deeper levels to release their core haze particles to act as condensation nuclei for H2S ice formation. In addition, we find that the spectral characteristics of “dark spots”, such as the Voyager‐2/ISS Great Dark Spot and the HST/WFC3 NDS‐2018, are well modelled by a darkening or possibly clearing of the deep aerosol layer only.
Enzymatically amplified linear dbDNATM as a rapid and scalable solution to industrial lentiviral vector manufacturing
Authors: Barreira Maria , Kerridge Claire , Jorda Sara , Olofsson Didrik , Neumann Alexander , Horton Helen , Smith-Moore Sarah
Published: May 2022

Traditional bacterial fermentation techniques used to manufacture plasmid are time-consuming, expensive, and inherently unstable. The production of sufficient GMP grade material thus imposes a major bottleneck on industrial-scale manufacturing of lentiviral vectors (LVV). Touchlight’s linear doggybone DNA (dbDNATM) is an enzymatically amplified DNA vector produced with exceptional speed through an in vitro dual enzyme process, enabling industrial-scale manufacturing of GMP material in a fraction of the time required for plasmid. We have previously shown that dbDNATM can be used to produce functional LVV; however, obtaining high LVV titres remained a challenge. Here, we aimed to demonstrate that dbDNATM could be optimised for the manufacture of high titre LVV. We found that dbDNATM displayed a unique transfection and expression profile in the context of LVV production, which necessitated the optimisation of DNA input and construct ratios. Furthermore, we demonstrate that efficient 3’ end processing of viral genomic RNA (vgRNA) derived from linear dbDNATM transfer vectors required the addition of a strong 3’ termination signal and downstream spacer sequence to enable efficient vgRNA packaging. Using these improved vector architectures along with optimised transfection conditions, we were able to produce a CAR19h28z LVV with equivalent infectious titres as achieved using plasmid, demonstrating that dbDNATM technology can provide a highly effective solution to the plasmid bottleneck.
Experimental implementation of a neural network optical channel equalizer in restricted hardware using pruning and quantization
Authors: Ron Diego Argüello , Freire Pedro J. , Prilepsky Jaroslaw E. , Kamalian-Kopae Morteza , Napoli Antonio , Turitsyn Sergei K.
Published: May 2022

The deployment of artificial neural networks-based optical channel equalizers on edge-computing devices is critically important for the next generation of optical communication systems. However, this is still a highly challenging problem, mainly due to the computational complexity of the artificial neural networks (NNs) required for the efficient equalization of nonlinear optical channels with large dispersion-induced memory. To implement the NN-based optical channel equalizer in hardware, a substantial complexity reduction is needed, while we have to keep an acceptable performance level of the simplified NN model. In this work, we address the complexity reduction problem by applying pruning and quantization techniques to an NN-based optical channel equalizer. We use an exemplary NN architecture, the multi-layer perceptron (MLP), to mitigate the impairments for 30 GBd 1000 km transmission over a standard single-mode fiber, and demonstrate that it is feasible to reduce the equalizer’s memory by up to 87.12%, and its complexity by up to 78.34%, without noticeable performance degradation. In addition to this, we accurately define the computational complexity of a compressed NN-based equalizer in the digital signal processing (DSP) sense. Further, we examine the impact of using hardware with different CPU and GPU features on the power consumption and latency for the compressed equalizer. We also verify the developed technique experimentally, by implementing the reduced NN equalizer on two standard edge-computing hardware units: Raspberry Pi 4 and Nvidia Jetson Nano, which are used to process the data generated via simulating the signal’s propagation down the optical-fiber system.
Briquetting of subbituminous coal and torrefied biomass using bentonite as inorganic binder
Authors: Adeleke A. A. , Odusote J. K. , Ikubanni P. P. , Olabisi A. S. , Nzerem P.
Published: May 2022

The use of inorganic binder for briquetting of subbituminous coal and torrefied biomass for energy generation is scarce. The present study focuses on the physicomechanical durability and energy content of briquettes produced from subbituminous coal (SubC) and torrefied biomass (TM) using bentonite as binder. Briquettes were produced using 95% SubC and 5% TM. Bentonite was varied at 2–10% of the total SubC and TM weight. The briquettes were produced with a constant pressure (28 MPa) in a hydraulic press. The briquettes were primarily cured at room temperature and then at 300 $$^\circ{\rm C}$$

∘

C

in a tubular furnace under an inert condition for 60 min. The density and water resistance (WRI) of the briquettes were evaluated. Drop to fracture (DF), impact resistance index (IRI), cold crushing strength (CCS) and tumbling strength index (TSI+3 mm) of the briquette were obtained. The reactivity index (RI), proximate, ultimate and calorific values analyses were assessed based on different ASTM standards. Microstructural studies and elemental mapping were carried out using scanning electron microscope equipped with EDS and electron probe microanalyzer. The density increased with increment in bentonite content. The WRI decreased with increase in bentonite while the least (95.21%) was obtained at 10% binder content. The DF and IRI ranges from 100 to 150 and 2000–3000, respectively. The CCS were in the range of 19.71 to 40.23 MPa. The RI varies from 34 to 50%. Fixed carbon, carbon and calorific values were impaired as the bentonite content in the briquette increases. Oxygen and silica bridges with mechanical interlocking were observed on the micrographs of the briquettes. The briquettes produced with 2% bentonite content have better physicomechanical durability with equivalent energy content. It is recommended as feedstock for thermal and metallurgical applications.
7-Methoxyisoflavone ameliorates atopic dermatitis symptoms by regulating multiple signaling pathways and reducing chemokine production
Authors: Dong Hao , Feng Chenjie , Cai Xiyunyi , Hao Yuanyuan , Gu Xinyue , Cai Lei , Wu Shuting , Chen Jiamin , Liu Zhou , Xie Wen , Lu Xuanren , Qian Hongfa , Liu Yulin , Cao Yiming , Zhu Junlin , Xu Jiayi , Zhou Yanjie , Ma Shuangyu , Yang Sha , Shi Yufeng , Yu Haojiang , Shi Minjie , Wang Yurong , Gu Harvest F. , Fan Lei , Wu Liang
Published: May 2022

7-Met, a derivative of soybean isoflavone, is a natural flavonoid compound that has been reported to have multiple signaling pathways regulation effects. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of 7-Met on mice with atopic dermatitis induced by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), or oxazolone (OXZ). 7-Met ameliorated FITC or OXZ-induced atopic dermatitis symptoms by decreasing ear thickness, spleen index, mast cell activation, neutrophil infiltration and serum IgE levels in female BALB/c mice. In FITC-induced atopic dermatitis mice, 7-Met reduced Th1 cytokines production and regulated Th1/Th2 balance by downregulating the secretion of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) via inactivation of the NF-κB pathway. In OXZ-induced atopic dermatitis, 7-Met functioned through the reduction of Th17 cytokine production. Our study showed that 7-Methoxyisoflavone alleviated atopic dermatitis by regulating multiple signaling pathways and downregulating chemokine production.
Effective hole conductivity in nitrogen-doped CVD-graphene by singlet oxygen treatment under photoactivation conditions
Authors: Bianco Giuseppe Valerio , Sacchetti Alberto , Grande Marco , D’Orazio Antonella , Milella Antonella , Bruno Giovanni
Published: May 2022

Nitrogen substitutional doping in the π-basal plane of graphene has been used to modulate the material properties and in particular the transition from hole to electron conduction, thus enlarging the field of potential applications. Depending on the doping procedure, nitrogen moieties mainly include graphitic-N, combined with pyrrolic-N and pyridinic-N. However, pyridine and pyrrole configurations of nitrogen are predominantly introduced in monolayer graphene:N lattice as prepared by CVD. In this study, we investigate the possibility of employing pyridinic-nitrogen as a reactive site as well as activate a reactive center at the adjacent carbon atoms in the functionalized C–N bonds, for additional post reaction like oxidation. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the graphene:N surface in the production of singlet oxygen (1O2) is fully exploited for the oxidation of the graphene basal plane with the formation of pyridine N-oxide and pyridone structures, both having zwitterion forms with a strong p-doping effect. A sheet resistance value as low as 100 Ω/□ is reported for a 3-layer stacked graphene:N film.
Activation of Gαq sequesters specific transcripts into Ago2 particles
Authors: Jackson Lela , Rennie Madison , Poussaint Alison , Scarlata Suzanne
Published: May 2022

The Gαq/phospholipase Cβ1 (PLCβ1) signaling system mediates calcium responses from hormones and neurotransmitters. While PLCβ1 functions on the plasma membrane, there is an atypical cytosolic population that binds Argonaute 2 (Ago2) and other proteins associated with stress granules preventing their aggregation. Activation of Gαq relocalizes cytosolic PLCβ1 to the membrane, releasing bound proteins, promoting the formation of stress granules. Here, we have characterized Ago2 stress granules associated with Gαq activation in differentiated PC12 cells, which have a robust Gαq/PLCβ1 signaling system. Characterization of Ago2-associated stress granules shows shifts in protein composition when cells are stimulated with a Gαq agonist, or subjected to heat shock or osmotic stress, consistent with the idea that different stresses result in unique stress granules. Purified Ago2 stress granules from control cells do not contain RNA, while those from heat shock contain many different mRNAs and miRs. Surprisingly, Ago2 particles from cells where Gαq was stimulated show only two transcripts, chromogranin B, which is involved in secretory function, and ATP synthase 5f1b, which is required for ATP synthesis. RT-PCR, western blotting and other studies support the idea that Gαq-activation protects these transcripts. Taken together, these studies show a novel pathway where Gαq/PLCβ regulates the translation of specific proteins.
Smartphone-based autofluorescence imaging to detect bacterial species on laboratory surfaces
Authors: Buchanan Bailey C. , Safavinia Babak , Wu Lillian , Yoon Jeong-Yeol
Published: May 2022

This work demonstrated instantaneous, reagent- and staining-free, smartphone-based autofluorescence detection of bacterial contamination on typical laboratory desk surfaces. Detection was successfully distinguished from protein, salt, and tap water.