bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Suicidal Ideation and Attempt among Patients with Major Depressive Disorder at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Puducherry
Authors: Lalthankimi Ralte , Nagarajan Padmavathi , Menon Vikas , Olickal Jeby Jose
Published: January 2021

Objectives Mental disorders have a large impact on death by suicide. Hence, this study aims to determine the prevalence of suicidal behaviors among major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and the associated factors.

Materials and Methods This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among individuals aged 18 to 65 years, diagnosed with MDD in the Psychiatry Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Center, Puducherry during March to October 2019. Severity of depression was assessed using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale was used to find the suicidal behaviors.

Results For 166 participants in the study, mean (standard deviation) age was 40 (11) years and majority were females (76%). More than one-third (37%) had severe or very severe depression, and the prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempts were 83, 24, and 35%, respectively. After adjusting the covariates, the severity of depression and unemployment were significantly associated with suicidal attempts (adjusted prevalence ratios [aPR] = 11.4 and 1.9), and very severe depression was associated with suicidal ideation (aPR = 1.6). Among 140 individuals with suicidal ideation, 45 (32%) had an ideation frequency of 2 to 3 times/week, 69 (50%) had ideation for 1 hour, 36 (26%) could control ideation with little difficulty, and 12% had suicidal ideation mostly to end or stop their pain.

Conclusion Suicidal ideation and attempts were significantly high in MDD patients, and the severity of depression was significantly associated with it. Early identification of high-risk suicidal behavior and implementation of effective preventive interventions are necessary to reduce death by suicide in these groups.
The Graduated Embryo Score of Embryos from Infertile Women with and without Peritoneal Endometriosis
Authors: Caran Juliana , Genro Vanessa Krebs , Souza Carlos Augusto Bastos de , Cunha-Filho João Sabino
Published: January 2021

Objective To determine embryo quality (mean graduated embryo score [GES]) in infertile patients with endometriosis undergoing in vitro fertilization with embryo transfer (IVF-ET) compared with infertile patients without endometriosis.

Methods A case-control study was performed comparing 706 embryos (162 patients) divided into 2 groups: 472 embryos derived from patients without endometriosis (n = 109, infertile patients with tubal infertility) and 234 embryos from patients in the study group (n = 53, infertile patients with peritoneal endometriosis). All patients were subjected to IVF using an oestradiol-antagonist-recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) protocol for ovarian stimulation. The mean GES was performed to evaluate all embryos at 3 points in time: 16 to 18 hours, 25 to 27 hours, and 64 to 67 hours. Embryo evaluation was performed according to the following parameters: fragmentation, nucleolar alignment, polar body apposition, blastomere number/morphology, and symmetry. The primary outcome measure was the mean GES score. We also compared fertilization, implantation, and pregnancy rates.

Results Although the number of embryos transferred was greater in patients with endometriosis than in the control group (2.38 ± 0.66 versus 2.15 ± 0.54; p = 0.001), the mean GES was similar in both groups (71 ± 19.8 versus 71.9 ± 23.5; p = 0.881). Likewise, the fertilization rate was similar in all groups, being 61% in patients with endometriosis and 59% in the control group (p = 0.511). No significant differences were observed in the implantation (21% versus 22%; [p = 0.989]) and pregnancy rates (26.4% versus 28.4%; p = 0.989).

Conclusion Embryo quality measured by the mean GES was not influenced by peritoneal endometriosis. Likewise, the evaluated reproductive outcomes were similar between infertile patients with and without endometriosis.
Aging Methods—An Evaluation of Their Influence on Bond Strength
Authors: Teixeira Gabriela Simões , Pereira Gabriel Kalil Rocha , Susin Alexandre Henrique
Published: January 2021

Objectives To evaluate the effect of different artificial aging methods on the bond strength of a resin composite associated with a universal adhesive (Scotchbond Universal) used under two etching approaches (self-etch [SE] or etch-and-rinse [ER]) to enamel and dentin substrates.

Materials and Methods A total of 96 noncarious human third molars were prepared and randomly divided according to three factors (n = 6): substrate (enamel and dentin), adhesive approach (SE and ER), and aging method (water storage for 24 hours, 6 months, or 1 year; subjected to 10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 thermal cycles; and sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl] storage for 1 or 5 hours).

Statistical Analysis Microshear bond strength tests were conducted, and the collected data (MPa) were subjected to three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Bonferroni tests (p < 0.05) and Weibull analysis. The failure pattern was also evaluated.

Results Three-way ANOVA revealed that the factors “substrate” (p = 0.00) and “aging method” (p = 0.00) had a significant effect on the bond strength, but the factor “adhesive approach” did not (p = 0.84). The bond strength in the enamel group for the SE approach was negatively affected under 20,000 and 30,000 thermal cycles. Weibull presented the highest m in the NaOCl storage for the 5 hours group to enamel using the SE and to dentin using ER approaches. Adhesive/mixed failures were predominant for all groups.

Conclusion Thermocycling aging (20,000 and 30,000 cycles) significantly reduced the bond strength to enamel using the SE approach. On the contrary, storage with the NaOCl method proved to increase bond strength under the evaluated conditions.
The Value of a Standardized Knee Functional Assessment in Predicting the Outcomes of Total Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Ferreira Aline Miranda , Salim Rodrigo , Fogagnolo Fabricio , de Oliveira Luciano Fonseca Lemos , Riberto Marcelo , Kfuri Mauricio
Published: January 2021

Questionnaires and physical tests are tools to determine the ability of an individual to perform tasks of the daily living. In our institution, a standardized knee performance evaluation including patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and physical performance tests has been applied to all patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Our goal was to identify which preoperative tools influence the outcomes of a TKA and if physical performance tests can be of value if used along with PROMs in predicting functional outcomes. Classification and regression tree was used to analyze which preoperative factors influence function after TKA. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) function (WOMAC-F), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and timed up and go (TUG) test at the 12th postoperative month were the dependent variables. Age, body mass index, preoperative WOMAC function and pain score, muscle strength, 6MWT, and TUG test score were used as preoperative predictors of dependent variables. TUG ≤19.3 seconds and age <62 years were preoperative predictors of better scores in the WOMAC-F (5.5). Strength of extensor muscles of the nonoperated knee ≥99.43 N·m/kg and 6MWT> 328 m were preoperative predictors of a better postoperative 6MWT (499 m). TUG <12.3 seconds and 6MWT ≥421 m were preoperative predictors of better postoperative TUG (7.3 seconds). Preoperative performance in physical tests had an influence on postoperative outcome scores than PROMs after TKA. Less age, good muscular strength, greater capacity of walking, and smaller TUG times were associated with better outcomes.
Posttraumatic Delayed Jugular Foramen Syndrome in a Toddler
Authors: Toledo-Gotor Cristina , Gorría Nerea , Oscoz Miren , Llano Katia , Rodríguez-de la Fuente Pablo , Aguilera-Albesa Sergio
Published: January 2021

Background Multiple lower cranial nerve palsies have been attributed to occipital condyle fractures in older children and adults, but no clinical details of other possible mechanisms have been described in infants.

Case Report A 33-month-old boy suffered blunt head trauma. A bilateral skull base fracture was diagnosed, with favorable outcome during the first days after trauma. On the sixth day, the patient began to refuse drinking and developed hoarseness. Physical examination and additional investigations revealed paralysis of left VII, IX, X, and XI cranial nerves. A follow-up computed tomography (CT) scan disclosed a left petrous bone fracture involving the lateral margin of the jugular foramen, and a cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study showed a left cerebellar tonsil contusion. He improved after methylprednisolone was started. Three months later, he was asymptomatic, although mild weakness and atrophy of the left sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles remained 1 year later.

Discussion A posttraumatic “jugular foramen syndrome” is rare in children, but it has been reported shortly after occipital condyle fracture, affecting mainly IX, X, and XI cranial nerves. In this toddler, delayed symptoms appeared with unilateral involvement. While an occipital fracture was ruled out, neuroimaging findings suggest the hypothesis of a focal contusion as a consequence of a coup-contrecoup injury.

Conclusion This exceptional case highlights the importance of gathering physical examination, anatomical correlation, and neuroimaging to yield a diagnosis.
Angiotensin-Receptor Blockade Improves Inflammation and Endothelial Dysfunction in Ankylosing Spondylitis: ARB-AS Study
Authors: Garg Nidhi , Krishan Pawan , Syngle Ashit
Published: January 2021

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of premature death in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Atherosclerosis and AS share similar pathogenic mechanisms. The proven benefits of angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and their role in immune mediation provide strong rationale to investigate its impact with olmesartan on inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in AS. To investigate the effect of olmesartan on inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in AS. 40 AS patients were randomized to receive 24 weeks of treatment with olmesartan (10 mg/day, n = 20) and placebo (n = 20) as an adjunct to existing stable antirheumatic drugs. Markers of endothelial function included the following: flow-mediated dilation (FMD) assessed by AngioDefender, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) estimated by flow cytometry, nitrite (nitric oxide surrogate), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and inflammatory measures including Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), ankylosing spondylitis disease activity score (ASDAS) and bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI); erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP); proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1 [IL-1], IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) and marker of oxidative stress– thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) estimated at baseline and after treatment. Health assessment questionnaire disability index (HAQDI), 36-item short form survey (SF-36), and systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) were estimated using standard tools. FMD improved significantly in the olmesartan group (5.83 ± 0.31% to 7.68 ± 0.27%, p  ≤  0.05) as compared with placebo (5.89 ± 0.35% to 6.04 ± 0.32%, p = 0.33). EPC population, nitrite, VCAM-1, and TBARS levels improved significantly in olmesartan group as compared with placebo (p ≤ 0.05). Olmesartan significantly decreased ASDAS, BASDAI, BASFI, ESR, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, and SCORE as compared with placebo. HAQDI and SF-36 (PH) scores improved significantly in olmesartan group as compared with placebo. Olmesartan reduces inflammatory disease activity, improves quality of life (QOL), and decreases CV risk demonstrating the immunomodulatory, vasculoprotective, and cardioprotective potential of this drug in AS.
Systematic electrochemical etching of various metal tips for tunneling spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy
Authors: Zhang Jiawei , Wang Pinyuan , Zhang Xuao , Ji Haoran , Luo Jiawei , Wang He , Wang Jian
Published: January 2021

Hard point-contact spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy/spectroscopy are powerful techniques for investigating materials with strong expandability. To support these studies, tips with various physical and chemical properties are required. To ensure the reproducibility of experimental results, the fabrication of tips should be standardized, and a controllable and convenient system should be set up. Here, a systematic methodology to fabricate various tips is proposed, involving electrochemical etching reactions. The reaction parameters fall into four categories: solution, power supply, immersion depth, and interruption. An etching system was designed and built so that these parameters could be accurately controlled. With this system, etching parameters for copper, silver, gold, platinum/iridium alloy, tungsten, lead, niobium, iron, nickel, cobalt, and permalloy were explored and standardized. Among these tips, silver and niobium’s new recipes were explored and standardized. Optical and scanning electron microscopies were performed to characterize the sharp needles. Relevant point-contact experiments were carried out with an etched silver tip to confirm the suitability of the fabricated tips.
Shape effect of thickness of the NREL S815 profile on the performance of the H-rotor Darrieus turbine
Authors: Martinez Rogelio , Urquiza G. , Castro Laura , García J. C. , Rodríguez Alfredo , Pirin Oscar Tenango , Dávalos J. O. , Herrera Uzziel Caldiño
Published: January 2021

With the aim of improving the performance of vertical axis wind turbines, in this article, the flow field and aerodynamic performance of an H-rotor Darrieus turbine are computed using computational fluid dynamics. Specifically, the power coefficient (Cp) of different airfoil profile thicknesses was evaluated as a function of tip-speed ratios (TSRs) and wind speed. Four different thicknesses of the NREL S815 airfoil were evaluated, and the TSR was varied from 0.6 to 2.25 using wind speeds of 6 and 8 m/s. As a result, the power coefficient (Cp) was calculated for each airfoil and the different tip-speed ratios. It was found that for each airfoil profile, the Cp increases when the airfoil thickness and the TSR rise, until reaching a maximum, then the Cp decreases in spite of larger thickness or TSRs. After comparing the performance of each airfoil profile, the Cp is improved 14.96% for 19.2% thicker airfoils, using a TSR of 1.725 and a wind speed of 8 m/s.
On symmetric embedding of type I factors
Authors: De Debabrata , Mukherjee Kunal
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we provide a direct proof of the fact that the symmetric embedding of B(H) into any of its bimodules induced by Markov maps is compact and establishes that this property characterizes type I factors. This is an extension of a result of D. Buchholz, C. D’Antoni, and R. Longo [J. Funct. Anal. 88(2), 233–250 (1990)].
Thermal and electrical transport at nanosized metallic contacts: In the diffusive–ballistic region at room temperature
Authors: Wang Jianli , Chen Lu , Wang Cong , Mao Chengkun , Yu Hongmei , Cui Zhenyu
Published: January 2021

The Wiedemann–Franz law has been proved at the quantized metallic contacts but has never been verified at the nanosized contacts when the electrons travel in the diffusive–ballistic region. Herein, by developing a home-made inelastic tunneling spectroscope, the electrical and thermal resistances of the nanosized metallic contacts are investigated. The contact is established by pressing two wires crosswise against each other under the Lorentz force in the magnetic field. The nonmetallic surface layer is in situ removed by the resistive heating under high vacuum. The temperature dependence of the electrical contact resistance is used to separate the contributions from the diffusive and the ballistic transports. The thermal contact resistance is found to increase linearly with the electrical counterpart, indicating the validity of the Wiedemann–Franz law at the clean metallic contacts.
Accurate first-order perturbation theory for fluids: uf-theory
Authors: van Westen Thijs , Gross Joachim
Published: January 2021

We propose a new first-order perturbation theory that provides a near-quantitative description of the thermodynamics of simple fluids. The theory is based on the ansatz that the Helmholtz free energy is bounded below by a first-order Mayer-f expansion. Together with the rigorous upper bound provided by a first-order u-expansion, this brackets the actual free energy between an upper and (effective) lower bound that can both be calculated based on first-order perturbation theory. This is of great practical use. Here, the two bounds are combined into an interpolation scheme for the free energy. The scheme exploits the fact that a first-order Mayer-f perturbation theory is exact in the low-density limit, whereas the accuracy of a first-order u-expansion grows when density increases. This allows an interpolation between the lower “f”-bound at low densities and the upper “u” bound at higher liquid-like densities. The resulting theory is particularly well behaved. Using a density-dependent interpolating function of only two adjustable parameters, we obtain a very accurate representation of the full fluid-phase behavior of a Lennard-Jones fluid. The interpolating function is transferable to other intermolecular potential types, which is here shown for the Mie m-6 family of fluids. The extension to mixtures is simple and accurate without requiring any dependence of the interpolating function on the composition of the mixture.
A medium-scale volume dielectric barrier discharge system for short-term treatment of cereal seeds indicates improved germination performance with long-term effects
Authors: Brust H. , Nishime T. M. C. , Wannicke N. , Mui T. S. M. , Horn S. , Quade A. , Weltmann K.-D.
Published: January 2021

Atmospheric pressure plasma has the potential of being applied in pre-harvest processes as a sustainable technology for seed and plant treatment. In this study, a medium-scale volume dielectric barrier discharge reactor with a power density of 53.5 mW/cm3 was developed and applied for continuous treatment of larger amount of seeds. Within the argon plasma, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species were observed by optical emission spectroscopy. Short-term plasma treatment in the range of seconds of wheat and barley seeds revealed improved germination performance accompanied by altered seed surface properties. Depending on the exposure time, plasma displayed a positive impact on maximum germination and germination speed in both species. In line with this, the t50 values were significantly decreased for plasma treated seeds compared to untreated seeds for wheat and barley. Cumulative germination was enhanced from 20% up to 53% after 27 h of germination for wheat seeds treated from 10 s to 60 s with plasma. Barley seeds respond to the short plasma treatment times with increased germination of 10%–23% after 24 h observation time. Moreover, the seed surface of both plant species became more hydrophilic after plasma treatment supported by a decrease in the water contact angle and an increase in hydrophilic functional groups being detected by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Water uptake by seeds was moderately increased after 2 h of imbibition for both plant species. The positive effects of plasma treatment on germination performance were still detectable after storage of seeds for one and two months.
Cadmium telluride as a potential conversion surface
Authors: Gasser Jonathan , Föhn Martina , Galli André , Artegiani Elisa , Romeo Alessandro , Wurz Peter
Published: January 2021

In instruments for low energetic neutral atom imaging of space plasmas, a charge state conversion surface (CS) is used to convert neutral atoms into ions for detection. We investigated a cadmium telluride (CdTe) coated sample as a novel material candidate regarding its suitability to be used as a CS. We measured the efficiency of converting H and O atoms into negative ions by surface scattering, as well as their angular scattering distribution, for energies from 195 eV to 1 keV at 8° incidence angle. Also, the energy distribution of scattered particles was recorded for incident O2+ ions, which confirms that molecules are mainly scattered as single atoms. The mean energy loss per atom was about 45%. The negative ion yield from scattering off CdTe was up to 13% for O and about 2% for H, which is comparable to other CS coatings in use. CdTe shows a nearly circular angular scattering cone of width comparable to established CS materials. We conclude that CdTe is a viable CS coating material for ENA instruments in space applications.
Efficient surface passivation using two-step ammonium sulfide based treatment for GaN/AlGaN heterojunction phototransistors
Authors: Wen Quan , Tang Shaoji , Jiang Hao
Published: January 2021

The effects of different ammonium sulfide [(NH4)2Sx]-based treatments on the surface passivation of dry-etched and thermally recovered GaN epilayer have been investigated. A two-step treatment using HCl followed by the mixture of (NH4)2Sx and isopropyl alcohol demonstrated a more effective removal of intrinsic oxide layer and formation of sulfide passivation. The compensating centers on both the p- and n+-type GaN surfaces were significantly reduced. The fabricated base-floating GaN/Al0.1GaN heterojunction phototransistors (HPTs) with the surface passivation showed improved I–V and enhanced optical gain due to the effective suppression of surface recombination current. A maximum gain of 1.3 × 105 was obtained at 5 V bias in the HPTs using the two-step treatment.
Physical mechanism of material flow in variable polarity plasma arc keyhole welding revealed by in situ x-ray imaging
Authors: Xu Bin , Chen Shujun , Tashiro Shinichi , Jiang Fan , Tanaka Manabu
Published: January 2021

Lightweight manufacturing reduces energy consumption and protects the environment; therefore, it offers an important direction of development in engineering. Variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding is a light gauge aluminum and magnesium alloy joining technology capable of the highly efficient welding of medium-thickness metals via the keyhole effect, and without the complex pre-processing required by traditional methods. However, the stability of the keyhole weld pool is easily lost, resulting in a much narrower parameter window than that of conventional methods. Here, through keyhole morphology analysis and x-ray in situ imaging experiments, we reveal the material flow behavior, the mechanism behind the stability of the keyhole weld pool, and the reason for the very narrow process parameter window in VPPA welding processes. We discovered that the polarity pressure difference of the plasma arc, which is induced by the keyhole boundary shape and plasma arc intensity, drives the flow pattern to the top side of the keyhole, which is beneficial for keyhole filling and the formation of a stable weld bead. The influence of the difference in plasma arc pressure and the keyhole boundary on the flow field revealed in this study may guide the optimization process of light metal joining to achieve the highly efficient and defect-free manufacturing of large and complex structures.
Vortex ring-tube reconnection in a viscous fluid
Authors: Nguyen Van Luc , Duong Viet Dung
Published: January 2021

The vortex ring-tube reconnection in a viscous fluid was investigated using a proposed vortex-in-cell method combined with a large eddy simulation model (LVIC). This method was verified using simulations of the Taylor–Green vortex flow at the Reynolds numbers (Re) 200 and 2000. The results show that the present method can capture the small-scale vortex structures in turbulent flows well. Besides, a Lagrangian method for passive scalar transport was successfully developed to track the vortex dynamics. The LVIC was then applied to three simulations of the interaction of a vortex ring at ReΓr(Γ/ν)=10000 and a vortex tube at ReΓt=1000, 5000, and 10 000. At ReΓr=10000 and ReΓt=1000, the effects of the tube on the ring are trivial while the ring breaks it into two parts and entrains them. The flow’s energy spectrum remains unchanged with time, the small-scale vortices are not generated, and the ring’s motion plays a key role in the flow. Moreover, the helicity distribution on the vortices is negligible. At ReΓr=10000 and ReΓt=5000, the tube breaks into two parts, and the leaving part of the tube interacts forcefully with the ring to form the small-scale vortices at the high wavenumbers. The population of small-scale vortex structures increases with time, and the large-scale vortices are twisted after the impingement. At ReΓr=10000 and ReΓt=10000, the impingement of the ring on the tube leads to their breakdown and reconnection. A part of the ring interacts with the leaving part of the tube to form a secondary ring, while the rest replaces the leaving part to reconnect the tube. The population of small-scale vortex structures and helicity distribution increase in this flow stage because of the interaction of the secondary ring wake and connection vortices. However, after the reconnection, the population and helicity distribution on the vortex structures significantly decrease. The smallest-scale vortex structure and the most effective mixing occur with ReΓr=10000 and ReΓt=5000.
Deep learning for nanopore ionic current blockades
Authors: Díaz Carral Ángel , Ostertag Magnus , Fyta Maria
Published: January 2021

DNA molecules can electrophoretically be driven through a nanoscale opening in a material, giving rise to rich and measurable ionic current blockades. In this work, we train machine learning models on experimental ionic blockade data from DNA nucleotide translocation through 2D pores of different diameters. The aim of the resulting classification is to enhance the read-out efficiency of the nucleotide identity providing pathways toward error-free sequencing. We propose a novel method that at the same time reduces the current traces to a few physical descriptors and trains low-complexity models, thus reducing the dimensionality of the data. We describe each translocation event by four features including the height of the ionic current blockade. Training on these lower dimensional data and utilizing deep neural networks and convolutional neural networks, we can reach a high accuracy of up to 94% in average. Compared to more complex baseline models trained on the full ionic current traces, our model outperforms. Our findings clearly reveal that the use of the ionic blockade height as a feature together with a proper combination of neural networks, feature extraction, and representation provides a strong enhancement in the detection. Our work points to a possible step toward guiding the experiments to the number of events necessary for sequencing an unknown biopolymer in view of improving the biosensitivity of novel nanopore sequencers.
Ferroelectric-relaxor crossover induce large electrocaloric effect with ultrawide temperature span in NaNbO3-based lead-free ceramics
Authors: Li Feng , Li Kai , Long Mingsheng , Wang Chunchang , Chen Guohua , Zhai Jiwei
Published: January 2021

In this study, a large electrocaloric effect (ECE) of 0.49 K with an ultrawide temperature span of 80 °C ranging from −15 to 65 °C (0.49 K ± 10%) was reported in the 0.94(0.80NaNbO3–0.20BaTiO3)–0.06Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 composition. The incorporation of Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT) into the NaNbO3–BaTiO3 matrix induced a ferroelectric-to-relaxor (FR) phase transition, accompanied by polar P4 mm evolving to the nonpolar Pm3¯m phase and an increase in the relaxor degree. The inflexions in the peak current density value and Raman spectra indicated a successive downward-shift of FR temperature with the increasing BNT content, which established a continuous modulation of temperature corresponding to the peak ECE in this system. The obtained high ECE performance was believed to originate from an enhanced diffuse phase transition character and coexistence of P4 mm and Pm3¯m phases. This work may provide a guideline to designing high-efficiency solid-state cooling devices that are applied at mutable ambient temperature.
Theoretical investigation of superconductivity in diamond: Effects of doping and pressure
Authors: Costa F. J. R. , de Almeida J. S.
Published: January 2021

The electronic structure, lattice dynamics, and electron–phonon coupling of pure, boron and nitrogen-doped diamond carbon were investigated using first-principle calculations within the generalized-gradient and virtual crystal approximations. To examine the influence of the impurity content and pressure on the superconductivity of these systems, the electron–phonon coupling constant (λ) and the critical temperature (Tc) were calculated as a function of concentrations from 0 to 15% and pressures from 0 to 90 GPa. Regarding the boron-doped diamond, calculations indicated that its electron–phonon coupling strongly relates to the optical phonon modes, and the estimated critical temperatures matched previous theoretical and experimental results. Regarding the nitrogen-doped case, it was observed that both λ and Tc were larger than those obtained for the hole-doped case. The most distinguishing feature of this system was its rising acoustic contribution to the electron–phonon coupling, which led to significant values for λ and Tc. The majority of the scenarios investigated here presented a decreasing critical temperature with increasing pressure. In contrast to the other cases, C0.85N0.15 exhibited a positive dependence between Tc and pressure leading to a superconducting transition temperature of about 122 K at 20 GPa.
Experimental investigation of shock-induced tandem droplet breakup
Authors: Wang Zhaoguang , Hopfes Thomas , Giglmaier Marcus , Adams Nikolaus A.
Published: January 2021

For deeper insights into the dynamics of dense sprays, the present experimental work investigates the shock-induced breakup of two identically sized water droplets in tandem formation. The breakup process is visualized in a shadowgraph system and captured by an ultra-high-speed camera. The experimental Weber number ranges from 13 to 180, and the separation distance between the droplets is varied between 1.2 and 10.5 times of the droplet diameter. While the tandem formation exerts marginal influence on the lead droplet, the breakup intensity of the trailing droplet is consistently attenuated as the separation distance falls below critical levels. The time of initial deformation is postponed, the maximum cross-stream diameter is reduced, and the mean drag coefficient is lowered. These effects are more profound at lower Weber numbers and closer separation distances. The attenuation of the breakup intensity is also reflected by the formation of smaller bags in bag and bag-and-stamen morphologies and by the narrower cross-stream dispersion of fragments in multibag and shear stripping morphologies. When positioned in close proximity to the lead droplet, the trailing droplet fails to follow the conventional breakup morphologies. Instead, it either punctures or coalesces with the lead droplet.
Anharmonic vibrational frequencies of ammonia borane (BH3NH3)
Authors: Westbrook Brent R. , Valencia E. Michael , Rushing Spencer C. , Tschumper Gregory S. , Fortenberry Ryan C.
Published: January 2021

The fundamental vibrational frequency of the B–N stretch in BH3NH3 has eluded gas-phase experimental observation for decades. This work offers a theoretical anharmonic prediction of this mode to be 644 cm−1, using a Cartesian quartic force field at the CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVTZ-F12 level of theory. The other fundamental frequencies reported herein have a mean absolute error of only 5 cm−1 from the seven available gas-phase experimental frequencies, making the anharmonic vibrational frequencies and rotational constants the most accurate computational data available for BH3NH3 to date. The inclusion of Fermi, Coriolis, and Darling–Dennison resonances is a major source of this accuracy, with the non-resonance-corrected frequencies having a mean absolute error of 10 cm−1. In particular, the inclusion of the 2ν6 = ν5 type 1 Fermi resonance increases the B–N stretching frequency by 14 cm−1 compared to previous work. Ammonia borane also represents one of the largest molecules ever studied by quartic force fields, making this work an important step in extending the breadth of application for these theoretical rovibrational techniques.
Monitoring the behaviour of Australian Vertosols in response to the shrink–swell characteristic and cotton picker traffic
Authors: Al-Shatib Mohammed A.M. , Chen Guangnan , Bennett John McL. , Jensen Troy A.
Published: January 2021

Vertosols are widely used for cotton production globally. One main advantage of this soil type is its capacity to improve its structure gradually due to natural processes over time. However, Vertosols are highly susceptible to compaction, especially under wet soil conditions. This study investigated the change in characteristics of Australian Vertosols due to the impact of rainfall, seasonal variability, and John Deere 7760 cotton picker traffic. Soil cores were collected between October 2016 and May 2017. Measurements of soil physical properties (soil water content, dry bulk density, and soil penetration resistance) were carried out in the 0–80 cm depth profile during the study period. Increasing soil water content due to rainfall caused the Vertosol to swell, providing some degree of natural compaction alleviation and decreasing the dry bulk density and soil penetration resistance. Increased temperatures from October 2016 to January 2017 resulted in increased moisture evapotranspiration. This led to shrinkage of the Vertosol and resulted in increased dry bulk density and soil penetration resistance, particularly in the top 0–30 cm of soil. Traffic from the JD7760 cotton picker induced significant compaction throughout the depth profile. These findings have important implications for farmers intending to grow crops in Vertosols and managing the issue of soil compaction.
Regime changes and the impact of informal labor
Authors: Or Iair G.
Published: January 2021

In Israel, approximately 25,000 Thai laborers are contracted for agricultural work in all parts of the country, following
a series of bilateral agreements between the governments of Israel and Thailand. Various NGOs and agencies have documented numerous
violations of labor laws in many Israeli farms, including the lack of safety measures, poor working and living conditions, and extremely low
salaries. Israeli discourse on the topic vacillates between the interests of farmers, workers, consumers, and the government (Or & Shohamy, 2020), and the occasional appearance of reports about the abuse of workers
reignites the debate and tensions surrounding these issues. This longitudinal qualitative study, spanning from 2013 to 2019, focuses on the
linguistic landscape (LL) of the Central Arava region – an arid, sparsely populated subdistrict in Southern Israel. What makes this region
unique is that the number of Thai migrant workers there equals or slightly exceeds that of Hebrew-speaking Jews. Using an LL approach (Jaworski & Thurlow, 2010; Shohamy & Gorter, 2009;
Shohamy, 2012), the 2013 study sought to explore the visibility and vitality of the Thai
language as well as its interactions with other languages. The roles that Thai, Hebrew, English, Arabic, and other languages played in the
public space clearly revealed the power relations between the speakers of these languages. The 2018–19 follow-up to the original 2013
findings seeks to track the impact on the public space of recent developments such as population changes, the advent of speakers of other
languages to the region, the economic crisis, and the public controversy about the exploitation of workers. The study shows that the number
of Thai signs has been significantly reduced in recent years, not only pointing to changes in the multilingual reality of the region, but
also raising a series of questions about labor conditions, regulation, informal labor markets, and cases of potential mismatch between
reality and perceptions.
Marcas e indicadores humorísticos en las narraciones escritas de niños y niñas de 8, 10 y 12 años en
español
Authors: Timofeeva-Timofeev Larissa , Ruiz-Gurillo Leonor
Published: January 2021

Abstracta

Este trabajo presenta una propuesta tipológica de marcas e indicadores
humorísticos (Ruiz-Gurillo 2012, 78–86) que actúan como soportes empíricos en la
investigación en torno al humor verbal infantil. Nuestra clasificación se fundamenta en el análisis de 448 narraciones
humorísticas, escritas por escolares de 8, 10 y 12 años procedentes de 5 centros educativos de la provincia de Alicante (Timofeeva-Timofeev 2017). Asimismo, es la base del etiquetaje pragmático del corpus
CHILDHUM, actualmente en construcción, compuesto por estas y otras narraciones procedentes de diversas partes
de España. La observación en el corpus de cómo evoluciona el uso de marcas e indicadores humorísticos a lo largo de las franjas
etarias examinadas revela pautas de desarrollo de la competencia humorística y la metalingüística, aportando datos empíricos
nuevos que no son accesibles desde la perspectiva íntegramente psicológica.
Pragmatics of humour in memes in Spanish
Authors: Yus Francisco
Published: January 2021

In this paper the discourse of a specific type of meme in Spanish, the image macro, is analysed, together with several ways in which memes generate humorous effects. Two main areas are addressed: (a) how humour arises from the processing of the text in the meme (decoding of the text plus further inferential enrichment); and (b) how humour relies on specific combinations of the text and the image in the meme. The pragmatic framework used in the analysis will be relevance theory (Sperber and Wilson 1995), which in previous research (especiallyYus 2016) has proven to be a valid foundation for the analysis of humour.
Multiscale modeling of twitch contractions in cardiac trabeculae
Authors: Mijailovich Srboljub M. , Prodanovic Momcilo , Poggesi Corrado , Geeves Michael A. , Regnier Michael
Published: January 2021

Understanding the dynamics of a cardiac muscle twitch contraction is complex because it requires a detailed understanding of the kinetic processes of the Ca2+ transient, thin-filament activation, and the myosin–actin cross-bridge chemomechanical cycle. Each of these steps has been well defined individually, but understanding how all three of the processes operate in combination is a far more complex problem. Computational modeling has the potential to provide detailed insight into each of these processes, how the dynamics of each process affect the complexity of contractile behavior, and how perturbations such as mutations in sarcomere proteins affect the complex interactions of all of these processes. The mechanisms involved in relaxation of tension during a cardiac twitch have been particularly difficult to discern due to nonhomogeneous sarcomere lengthening during relaxation. Here we use the multiscale MUSICO platform to model rat trabecular twitches. Validation of computational models is dependent on being able to simulate different experimental datasets, but there has been a paucity of data that can provide all of the required parameters in a single experiment, such as simultaneous measurements of force, intracellular Ca2+ transients, and sarcomere length dynamics. In this study, we used data from different studies collected under similar experimental conditions to provide information for all the required parameters. Our simulations established that twitches either in an isometric sarcomere or in fixed-length, multiple-sarcomere trabeculae replicate the experimental observations if models incorporate a length–tension relationship for the nonlinear series elasticity of muscle preparations and a scheme for thick-filament regulation. The thick-filament regulation assumes an off state in which myosin heads are parked onto the thick-filament backbone and are unable to interact with actin, a state analogous to the super-relaxed state. Including these two mechanisms provided simulations that accurately predict twitch contractions over a range of different conditions.
Complexity in genetic cardiomyopathies and new approaches for mechanism-based precision medicine
Authors: Greenberg Michael J. , Tardiff Jil C.
Published: January 2021

Genetic cardiomyopathies have been studied for decades, and it has become increasingly clear that these progressive diseases are more complex than originally thought. These complexities can be seen both in the molecular etiologies of these disorders and in the clinical phenotypes observed in patients. While these disorders can be caused by mutations in cardiac genes, including ones encoding sarcomeric proteins, the disease presentation varies depending on the patient mutation, where mutations even within the same gene can cause divergent phenotypes. Moreover, it is challenging to connect the mutation-induced molecular insult that drives the disease pathogenesis with the various compensatory and maladaptive pathways that are activated during the course of the subsequent progressive, pathogenic cardiac remodeling. These inherent complexities have frustrated our ability to understand and develop broadly effective treatments for these disorders. It has been proposed that it might be possible to improve patient outcomes by adopting a precision medicine approach. Here, we lay out a practical framework for such an approach, where patient subpopulations are binned based on common underlying biophysical mechanisms that drive the molecular disease pathogenesis, and we propose that this function-based approach will enable the development of targeted therapeutics that ameliorate these effects. We highlight several mutations to illustrate the need for mechanistic molecular experiments that span organizational and temporal scales, and we describe recent advances in the development of novel therapeutics based on functional targets. Finally, we describe many of the outstanding questions for the field and how fundamental mechanistic studies, informed by our more nuanced understanding of the clinical disorders, will play a central role in realizing the potential of precision medicine for genetic cardiomyopathies.
Two symmetric four-wave mixing signals generated in a medium with anomalous refractive index
Authors: Alvarez A S , de Almeida A A C , Vianna S S
Published: January 2021

We report experimental and theoretical results of two symmetrical signals of degenerate four-wave mixing generated in rubidium vapor. Both nonlinear signals are induced by two almost copropagating laser beams, with

k

⃗

a

and

k

⃗

b

wave-vectors, and detected simultaneously in the

2

k

⃗

a

−

k

⃗

b

and

2

k

⃗

b

−

k

⃗

a

directions. In each direction, we observe a single peak when the two beams are tuned on the closed transition 85Rb 5S
1/2(F = 3) → 5P
3/2(F = 4). The excitation spectra reveal a small frequency separation between the two peaks, which is explained when propagation effects are taken into account. Furthermore, our theoretical analysis shows that a correct description of the frequency position of each peak is achieved with a variable refractive index for both lasers, in which the scanning laser experiences an anomalous window in the refractive index near resonance.
Static Casimir effect induced optical chaos in an optomechanical system
Authors: Wang Xiao-Yun , Si Liu-Gang , Lu Xiao-Hu , Wu Ying
Published: January 2021

Static Casimir effect as one of the most interesting purely quantum effects is very general and may bring about novel physical phenomena and find applications in various fields of physics. Here, we investigate theoretically the generation of optical chaos induced by the static Casimir effect in an optomechanical system. We show that the dynamic behavior of the cavity field experiences the conversion from period to chaos motion under the condition of properly adjusting the static Casimir effect, even if the driven optical fields are comparatively weak. Furthermore, our numerical calculation with experimentally attainable parameters also shows that compared with the standard bare optomechanical system, the optical threshold of chaos is reduced about one order when the static Casimir effect is applied. Beyond the significance in broadening the scope of cavity optomechanics, this finding provides a different perspective to the study of optical chaos and lays a foundation for using static Casimir effect to comprehend the nonlinear characteristics of the optomechanical system. In particular, our results may find potential applications in chaos-based communication.
Pseudo-Edelstein effect in disordered silicene
Authors: Baghran R , Tehranchi M M , Phirouznia A
Published: January 2021

The ‘pseudo-Edelstein’ effect by which charge current J

x
converts to pseudo-spin polarization, τ

z
, has been investigated theoretically for an infinite sheet of silicene. Calculations have been performed for conductor phase of silicene within the Dirac point approximation and in the presence of normally applied electric field. The latter conversion as an outcome of voltage-texture correlation in buckled silicene has been considered as ‘pseudo-Edelstein’response function. This response function have been calculated in the context of Kubo formalism in the presence of vertex corrections. It has been verified that the charge current results in normal pseudo-spin polarization i.e. sublattice population imbalance. According to obtained results in the presence of vertex corrections, ‘pseudo-Edelstein’ response function is weakened by several orders of magnitude with non-identical different valley contributions. In addition, extra small oscillations of obtained response function have been observed. Nevertheless, when the vertex corrections is off, the ‘pseudo-Edelstein’ response function is strengthened by several orders of magnitudes with the same different valleys contributions and the extra small oscillations of obtained response function are disappeared. These findings show that ‘pseudo-Edelstein’ response function is weakened by the intrinsic Rashba spin–orbit interaction which originally arises from buckling in silicene. As silicene has the lowest buckling among the graphene-like Dirac materials so it can be expected that ‘pseudo-Edelstein’ effect could be realized in a more pronounced manner in silicene. Obviously, this novel type of conversion not only can be employed in the future data transfer technology but also opens a sensible way to control of electrons populations electrically in realistic disordered silicene samples. The optical absorption spectroscopy could be taken as an efficient experimental plan of action by which the results of present work can be checked out.