bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nanoclustering in non-ideal ethanol/heptane solutions alters solvation dynamics
Authors: Crum Vivian F. , Kubarych Kevin J.
Published: July 2024

Alcohol/alkane solutions widely used in chemical synthesis and as transportation fuels are highly non-ideal due to the nanoscale clustering of the amphiphilic alcohol molecules within the nonpolar alkanes. Besides impacting reactivity, such as combustion, non-ideal solutions are likely to exhibit unusual solvation dynamics on ultrafast time scales arising from the structurally heterogeneous nature of molecular-scale association. Using a convenient transition metal carbonyl vibrational probe [(C5H5)Mn(CO)3, CMT], linear absorption and nonlinear two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy reveal composition-dependent solvation dynamics as reported by the frequency fluctuation correlation function in a series of ethanol/heptane solutions. Slow spectral diffusion with dilute ethanol indicates preferential solvation of the polar solute by the alcohol with a mechanism largely dominated by solvent exchange. Comparison with an ethanol/acetonitrile solution series yields no substantial preferential solvation or solvent exchange signatures in the linear or 2D-IR spectra. In ethanol/heptane solutions, increasing the ethanol concentration speeds up the solvation dynamics, which is largely consistent with a model that includes solvent exchange and single-solvent spectral diffusion. Detailed analysis of the deviation from the experimental time constants from the model’s optimal parameters yields a remarkable resemblance of the concentration-weighted Kirkwood-Buff integrals for ethanol/heptane solutions. This trend indicates that solution non-ideality alters the spectral diffusion dynamics of the probe solute. Given that nanoscale clustering drives the non-ideality, these experiments reveal a dynamical consequence of nanoscale heterogeneity on the ultrafast dynamics of the solution. Refined understanding of the structural and dynamical aspects of mixed solvents will be necessary for predictive solution strategies in chemistry.
A multi-mass and multi-hit two-camera 3D ion momentum imaging system
Authors: Orunesajo Emmanuel , Abubakar Sulaiman , Oguh Blessed , Lee Suk Kyoung , Li Wen
Published: July 2024

We demonstrate an improved two-camera system for multi-mass and multi-hit three-dimensional (3D) momentum imaging of ions. The imaging system employs two conventional complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor cameras. We have shown previously that the system can time slice ion Newton spheres with a time resolution of 8.8 ns, limited by camera timing jitter [J. Chem. Phys., 158, 191104 (2023)]. In this work, a jitter correction method was developed to suppress the camera jitter and improve the time resolution to better than 2 ns. With this resolution, full 3D momentum distributions of ions can be obtained. We further show that this method can detect two ions with different masses when utilizing both the rising and falling edges of the cameras.
Numerical simulation: Diverting study and analysis on nanoparticle-viscoelastic-surfactant acid in high-temperature carbonate reservoir
Authors: Wang Yunjin , Wang Da , Li Yuan , Zheng Leyi , Su Hang , Zhang Yujie , Liang Tianbo , Zhou Fujian
Published: July 2024

Uniform acidizing has been an urgent challenge in strongly heterogeneous and high-temperature carbonate reservoirs. Nanoparticles have been shown to enhance the viscosity of viscoelastic-surfactant (VES) fracturing fluids, thereby improving the proppant carrying capacity of the fluid. However, there is almost no understanding of the nanoparticles on wormhole propagation and diversion in VES acid at low pH values and high salinity. Here, the rheological and adsorption model of nanoparticles in VES acid are established based on experimental results, and the multi-field and multi-scale coupling model of nanoparticles-VES acid is established by introducing the temperature field and two-scale continuum model. Based on the model, the propagation pattern and diverting performance of the wormholes were analyzed. The effects of permeability contrast, temperature, and adsorption on the propagation pattern and diverting performance are systematically investigated. The results show that the synergistic effect of nanoparticles and adsorption divided the invaded zone of spent acid into high-viscosity and low-viscosity zones, and the propagation capacity of the wormholes in the low-permeability reservoir was increased by 17%. The propagation and diverting process of wormholes can be divided into three stages. In stage II, when the additional resistance increased by spent acid is enough to resist the permeability contrast and the wormholes, more acid starts to flow into the low-permeability reservoir. The higher flow rate in the high-permeability reservoir makes the propagation path more complicated, and more branching wormholes are formed. At a reservoir temperature of 393 K, the nanoparticle-VES acid has the poor diverting ability for reservoirs with permeability contrast greater than ten. When the maximum adsorption capacity is 0.008 mol/kg, the diverting performance of nanoparticle-VES acid and VES acid were close. Reducing the adsorption is a very effective way to enhance the diverting performance. When the adsorption capacity is larger, the influence distance of the high viscosity zone formed by the dominant wormholes is limited, and the number of main wormholes in the reservoir becomes significantly large. This study clarifies the propagation law and diverting characteristics of wormholes using nanoparticle-VES acid, fills the technical gap of nanoparticles in acidizing, and provides guidance and a basis for the stimulation of uniform acidizing in high-temperature carbonate.
Predicting composite microstructure from deformation data using deep learning
Authors: Gu Aijun , Sang Sheng
Published: July 2024

Predicting the microstructure of composite plates based on deformation data under static loads is crucial for advanced materials design and optimization. This study utilizes finite element simulations to generate deformation data, capturing the complex mechanical behavior of composite materials under static loading conditions. We developed a deep learning model based on a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) architecture to predict the microstructure of these composite plates from the simulated deformation data. The model is trained on a dataset comprising diverse microstructural patterns and their corresponding deformation responses. Our results demonstrate the MLP’s capability to accurately infer microstructural details, highlighting the potential of deep learning in materials science. This approach not only enhances the understanding of the relationship between deformation and microstructure but also provides a robust framework for designing composite materials with desired properties through computational methods.
Complementarity between Brillouin signature and Scholte wave for controlled elasticity in fibrillated collagen medium for culture cell
Authors: Hamraoui A. , Sénépart O. , Belliard L.
Published: July 2024

Modulating extracellular matrix (ECM) elasticity with fibrillar collagen offers great potential for regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and disease modeling by replicating in vivo mechanical signals. This enhances the understanding of cellular responses and fosters therapeutic innovation. However, precise ECM elasticity measurements are still lacking. This study couples time-resolved Brillouin spectroscopy and pulsed laser-induced Scholte wave generation. We measure how collagen fibrillation affects sound velocity and refractive index. These insights are advancing tissue engineering and cellular biomechanics.
Is cost a barrier to general practice for Australians with mental illness?
Authors: Varden Brendan , Bolton Patrick
Published: July 2024

What is known about the topic? Cost is thought to be a barrier to access to primary care for people with mental illness. What does this paper add? Nearly three-quarters of clients of one mental health services do not report cost to be a barrier to primary care. What are the implications for practitioners? Efforts to help people with mental illness engage in primary care may be best directed towards areas other than the cost of access.
Reversing anxiety by targeting a stress-responsive signaling pathway
Authors: Pandey Saurabh , Han Wenyan , Li Jun , Shepard Ryan , Wu Kunwei , Castellano David , Tian Qingjun , Dong Lijin , Li Yan , Lu Wei
Published: July 2024

Current treatments of anxiety and depressive disorders are plagued by considerable side effects and limited efficacies, underscoring the need for additional molecular targets that can be leveraged to improve medications. Here, we have identified a molecular cascade triggered by chronic stress that exacerbates anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. Specifically, chronic stress enhances Src kinase activity and tyrosine phosphorylation of calmodulin, which diminishes MyosinVa (MyoVa) interaction with Neuroligin2 (NL2), resulting in decreased inhibitory transmission and heightened anxiety-like behaviors. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of Src reinstates inhibitory synaptic deficits and effectively reverses heightened anxiety-like behaviors in chronically stressed mice, a process requiring the MyoVa–NL2 interaction. These data demonstrate the reversibility of anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes at both molecular and behavioral levels and uncover a therapeutic target for anxiety and depressive disorders.
Higher memory effects in numerical simulations of binary black hole mergers
Authors: Grant Alexander M , Mitman Keefe
Published: July 2024

Gravitational memory effects are predictions of general relativity that are characterized by an observable effect that persists after the passage of gravitational waves. In recent years, they have garnered particular interest, both due to their connection to asymptotic symmetries and soft theorems and because their observation would serve as a unique test of the nonlinear nature of general relativity. Apart from the more commonly known displacement and spin memories, however, there are other memory effects predicted by Einstein’s equations that are associated with more subleading terms in the asymptotic expansion of the Bondi-Sachs metric. In this paper, we write explicit expressions for these higher memory effects in terms of their charge and flux contributions. Further, by using a numerical relativity simulation of a binary black hole merger, we compute the magnitude and morphology of these terms and compare them to those of the displacement and spin memory. We find that, although these terms are interesting from a theoretical perspective, due to their small magnitude they will be particularly challenging to observe with current and future detectors.
Influence of material and geometry parameters on resonance linewidths of plasmonic modes in gratings made from highly doped Ge1−
x
Sn
x
Authors: Berkmann Fritz , Povolni Pavel , Schwarz Daniel , Fischer Inga A
Published: July 2024

Highly doped group IV semiconductors such as Ge or GeSn are promising candidates for plasmonic mid infrared applications. The lower effective mass of GeSn alloys in comparison to pure Ge can result in lower plasma wavelengths and extend the application wavelength range. Devices made from doped GeSn alloys, therefore, are one interesting route towards plasmonic applications in the mid-infrared wavelength range, possibly extending to the NIR. Here, we specifically explore how spectrally narrow plasmonic resonances can be obtained in comb-like grating antennas by combining aspects of material growth with geometry optimization. We investigate both in simulation and in experiment how the interplay of localised surface plasmon resonances and Rayleigh anomalies can be tuned to achieve narrow extinction peaks originating from the resulting surface lattice resonances generated in our antennas made from highly doped Ge1−x
Sn
x
.
TinyGC-Net: an extremely tiny network for calibrating MEMS gyroscopes
Authors: Chao Cui , Zhao Jiankang , Haihui Long , Ruitong Zhang
Published: July 2024

This paper introduces a learning-based calibration method tailored for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscopes. The proposed method integrates two linear networks, linked by a parametric rectified linear unit (PReLU), and boasts a compacted architecture with only 25 parameters. This simplicity allows for efficient training on a graphics processing unit (GPU) before deployment on resource-constrained microcontroller units (MCUs). The loss function has been carefully devised to strengthen the neural model by eliminating reliance on open-source datasets, and facilitates the swift collection of training data solely via a tri-axial manual rotation table. Furthermore, the proposed method has undergone rigorous validation through public datasets and real-world scenarios, which not only maintains its ultra-lightweight attributes but also outperforms other existing solutions in terms of accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate the method’s practicality and efficacy, indicating its suitability for applications requiring inertial measurement units (IMUs). And the open-source implementation of this method is accessible at: https://github.com/tsuibeyond/TinyGC-Net.git.
A deep neural network for positioning and inter-crystal scatter identification in multiplexed PET detectors: a simulation study
Authors: Enríquez-Mier-y-Terán Francisco E , Zhou Luping , Meikle Steven R , Kyme Andre Z
Published: July 2024

Objective. High-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) relies on the accurate positioning of annihilation photons impinging the crystal array. However, conventional positioning algorithms in light-sharing PET detectors are often limited due to edge effects and/or the absence of additional information for identifying and correcting scattering within the crystal array (known as inter-crystal scattering). This study explores the feasibility of deep neural network (DNN) techniques for more precise event positioning in finely segmented and highly multiplexed PET detectors with light-sharing. Approach. Initially, a Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation was used to study the spatial and statistical properties of inter-crystal scatter (ICS) events in finely segmented LYSO PET detectors. Next, a DNN for crystal localisation was designed, trained and tested with light distributions of photoelectric (P) and Compton + photoelectric (CP) events simulated using optical GATE and an analytical method to speed up data generation. Using the statistical properties of ICS events, an energy-guided positioning algorithm was then built into the DNN. The positioning algorithm enables selection of the unique or first crystal of interaction in P and CP events, respectively. Performance of the DNN was compared with Anger logic using light distributions from simulated 511 keV point sources placed at different locations around a single PET detector module. Main results. The fraction of events forward and backward scattered in the LYSO detector was 0.54 and 0.46, respectively, whereas naïve application of the Klein–Nishina formulation predicts 70% forward scatter. Despite coarse photodetector data due to signal multiplexing, the DNN demonstrated a crystal classification accuracy of 90% for P events and 82% for CP events. For crystal positioning, the DNN outperformed Anger logic by at least 34% and 14% for P and CP events, respectively. Further improvement is somewhat constrained by the physics—specifically, the ratio of backward to forward scattering of gamma rays within the crystal array being close to 1. This prevents selecting the first crystal of interaction in CP events with a high degree of certainty. Significance. Light sharing and multiplexed PET detectors are common in high-resolution PET, yet their traditional positioning algorithms often underperform due to edge effects and/or the difficulty in correcting ICS events. Our study indicates that DNN-based event positioning has the potential to enhance 2D coincidence event positioning accuracy by nearly a factor of 3 compared to Anger logic. However, further improvements are difficult to foresee without additional information such as event timing.
Dynamically generated decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems on superconducting qubits
Authors: Quiroz Gregory , Pokharel Bibek , Boen Joseph , Tewala Lina , Tripathi Vinay , Williams Devon , Wu Lian-Ao , Titum Paraj , Schultz Kevin , Lidar Daniel
Published: July 2024

Decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems (DFS) preserve quantum information by encoding it into symmetry-protected states unaffected by decoherence. An inherent DFS of a given experimental system may not exist; however, through the use of dynamical decoupling (DD), one can induce symmetries that support DFSs. Here, we provide the first experimental demonstration of DD-generated decoherence-free subsystem logical qubits. Utilizing IBM Quantum superconducting processors, we investigate two and three-qubit DFS codes comprising up to six and seven noninteracting logical qubits, respectively. Through a combination of DD and error detection, we show that DFS logical qubits can achieve up to a 23% improvement in state preservation fidelity over physical qubits subject to DD alone. This constitutes a beyond-breakeven fidelity improvement for DFS-encoded qubits. Our results showcase the potential utility of DFS codes as a pathway toward enhanced computational accuracy via logical encoding on quantum processors.
Anisotropic mechanical and sensing properties of carbon black-polylactic acid nanocomposites produced by fused filament fabrication
Authors: Musenich Ludovico , Berardengo Marta , Avalle Massimiliano , Haj-Ali Rami , Sharabi Mirit , Libonati Flavia
Published: July 2024

3D-printable conductive polymers are gaining remarkable attention for diverse applications, including wearables, pressure sensors, interference shielding, flexible electronics, and damage identification. However, the relationship between the anisotropy of their mechanical and electrical properties remains rather unexplored. This study focuses on characterizing Polylactic Acid/Carbon Black nanocomposites manufactured through fused filament fabrication. It aims to investigate the effect of the orientation of 3D printing layers on the mechanical properties, failure mechanisms, and self-sensing capabilities of the 3D printed material. To this end, we use a coupled health monitoring system in which electrical resistance measurements are applied to diagnose the damage state of 3D-printed samples during tensile testing. The results provide novel insights into the strong dependence of the material behavior on 3D printing pattern orientation, suggesting avenues for optimizing mechanical and electrical anisotropy through a multi-objective approach. Additionally, they offer guidelines for designing self-sensing components for structural health monitoring applications and strain gauge sensors with superior performance.
Modelling co-evolution of resource feedback and social network dynamics in human-environmental systems
Authors: Saeedian Meghdad , Tu Chengyi , Menegazzo Fabio , D’Odorico Paolo , Azaele Sandro , Suweis Samir
Published: July 2024

Games with environmental feedback have become a crucial area of study across various scientific domains, modelling the dynamic interplay between human decisions and environmental changes, and highlighting the consequences of our choices on natural resources and biodiversity. In this work, we propose a co-evolutionary model for human-environment systems that incorporates the effects of knowledge feedback and social interaction on the sustainability of common pool resources (CPRs). The model represents consumers as agents who adjust their resource extraction based on the resource’s state. These agents are connected through social networks, where links symbolize either affinity or aversion among them. The interplay between social dynamics and resource dynamics is explored, with the system’s evolution analyzed across various network topologies and initial conditions. We find that knowledge feedback can independently sustain CPRs. However, the impact of social interactions on sustainability is dual-faceted: it can either support or impede sustainability, influenced by the network’s connectivity and heterogeneity. A notable finding is the identification of a critical network mean degree, beyond which a depletion/repletion transition parallels an absorbing/active state transition in social dynamics, i.e. individual agents and their connections are/are not prone to being frozen in their social states. Furthermore, the study examines the evolution of the social network, revealing the emergence of two polarized groups where agents within each community have the same affinity. Finally, we observe an inverse relationship between system complexity and sustainability. Comparative analyses using Monte–Carlo simulations and rate equations are employed, along with analytical arguments, to reinforce the study’s findings. The model successfully captures key aspects of the human-environment system, offering valuable insights to understand how both the spread of information and social dynamics may impact the sustainability of CPRs.
Investigation of the origin of structural colors in calliphoridae flies for bioinspiration
Authors: Nait Bihi Abdelilah , Rchida Lamiaa , Bahou Younouss , Rattal Mourad , Mouhsen Azeddine , Oualim El Mostafa
Published: July 2024

The article presents a study of the origin of iridescent structural coloration in the thorax of the Calliphoridae fly, intending to inspire in this fly optical and structural properties of interest for use in industry. We carried out SEM microscopic analyses and modeled optical properties using the transfer matrix. The results indicate that this coloration is due to the presence of a one-dimensional photonic crystal composed of two alternating layers of specific thickness. Microscopic analysis using a scanning electron microscope led to this conclusion. Based on these results, a model was proposed describing the structure as consisting of chitin and air. By modulating the optical properties of this structure at different angles of incidence, it was observed that the iridescent colors, notably green, blue, and violet, matched the predictions made by this modulation. These colors are the result of constructive interference. In addition, we observed the presence of a photonic band gap when exploring the influence of the periodicity of chitin and air multilayer in the fly on reflection intensity. Thus, a comparative study of the fly and that emerged in water with a different refractive index revealed consistency in our model. Finally, the results obtained improve our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this coloration and pave the way for the development of new materials inspired by nature, with potential applications in the fields of biomimetic engineering and optics.
Bottomonia in quark-antiquark confining potential
Authors: Garg Ritu , Vishwakarma K K , Upadhyay Alka
Published: July 2024

This paper comprehensively explores bottomonia mass spectra and their decay properties by solving the non-relativistic Schrodinger wave equation numerically with an approximate quark-antiquark potential form. We also incorporate spin-dependent terms—spin-spin, spin-orbit, and tensor terms to remove mass degeneracy and to obtain excited states (nS, nP, nD, nF, n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) mass spectra. Using the Van Royen—Weisskopf formula, we investigate leptonic decay constants, di-leptonic, di-gamma, tri-gamma, di-gluon decay widths and incorporate first-order radiative corrections. We also computed radiative transition widths, which provide better insight into the non-perturbative aspects of QCD. The states ϒ(10750), ϒ(10860), ϒ(11020) are analyzed as pure states 33
D
1, 53
S
1 and 43
D
1, respectively. The present mass spectroscopy and decay properties results align with available experimental values and other theoretical predictions. Our results may provide better insight into upcoming experimental information in the near future.
The extended Adomian decomposition method and its application to the rotating shallow water system for the numerical pulsrodon solutions
Authors: An Hongli , Hou Liying , Yuen Manwai
Published: July 2024

The rotating shallow water system is an important physical model, which has been widely used in many scientific areas, such as fluids, hydrodynamics, geophysics, oceanic and atmospheric dynamics. In this paper, we extend the application of the Adomian decomposition method from the single equation to the coupled system to investigate the numerical solutions of the rotating shallow water system with an underlying circular paraboloidal basin. By introducing some special initial values, we obtain interesting approximate pulsrodon solutions corresponding to pulsating elliptic warm-core rings, which take the form of realistic series solutions. Numerical results reveal that the numerical pulsrodon solutions can quickly converge to the exact solutions derived by Rogers and An, which fully shows the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. Note that the method proposed can be effectively used to construct numerical solutions of many nonlinear mathematical physics equations. The results obtained provide some potential theoretical guidance for experts to study the related phenomena in geography, oceanic and atmospheric science.
Affinity-based drug delivery systems for the central nervous system: exploiting molecular interactions for local, precise targeting
Authors: Ramos Ferrer Pablo , Sakiyama-Elbert Shelly
Published: July 2024

Objective: The effective treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders remains a significant challenge, primarily due to its molecular and structural complexity. Clinical translation of promising therapeutic agents is limited by the lack of optimal drug delivery systems capable of targeted, localized release of drugs to the brain and spinal cord. Approach: This review provides an overview of the potential of affinity-based drug delivery systems, which leverage molecular interactions to enhance the delivery and efficacy of therapeutic agents within the CNS. Main results: Various approaches, including hydrogels, micro- and nanoparticles, and functionalized biomaterials, are examined for their ability to provide local, sustained release of proteins, growth factors and other drugs. Significance: Furthermore, we present a detailed analysis of design considerations for developing effective affinity-based systems, incorporating insights from both existing literature and our group’s research. These considerations include the biochemical modification of delivery vehicles and the optimization of physical and chemical properties to improve therapeutic outcomes.
Large-deviations approach to thermalization: the case of harmonic chains with conservative noise
Authors: Lepri Stefano
Published: July 2024

We investigate the possibility of characterizing the different thermalization pathways through a large-deviation approach. Specifically, we consider clean, disordered and quasi-periodic harmonic chains under energy and momentum-conserving noise. For their associated master equations, describing the dynamics of normal modes energies, we compute the fluctuations of activity and dynamical entropy in the corresponding biased ensembles. First-order dynamical phase transition are found that originates from different activity regions in action space. At the transitions, the steady-state in the biased ensembles changes from extended to localized, yielding a kind of condensation in normal-modes space. For the disordered and quasi-periodic models, we argue that the phase-diagram has a critical point at a finite value of the disorder or potential strength.
DENNIS: a design and analysis tool for dynamic material x-ray diffraction experiments
Authors: Brown Nathan P. , Ao Tommy , Dolan Daniel H. , Knudson Marcus D. , Lane J.Matthew D.
Published: July 2024

We present DENNIS (Diffraction Experiment desigN and
aNalysiS): a graphical software tool useful for the design and
analysis of dynamic x-ray diffraction experiments, such as those
performed on the Z Pulsed Power Facility, Thor Pulsed Power
Generator, and Dynamic Compression Sector (DCS) of the Advanced
Photon Source. DENNIS provides rapid powder and single-crystal
diffraction pattern predictions and powder diffraction pattern image
integration in three-dimensional geometries. Additional features
include crystallographic information file reading, image processing,
and synthetic diffraction pattern image generation. We overview the
software's capabilities, detail the prediction and integration
methodologies, and provide example implementations on Z and DCS
experiments.
The micro-resistive groove detector: a new compact single amplification-stage MPGD
Authors: Tian Xiangqi , He Siqi , Zhou Yi , Shao Ming , Liu Jianbei , Zhang Zhiyong , Shang Lunlin , Wang Xu
Published: July 2024

In this paper, we introduce a novel single
amplification-stage Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD) that
incorporates a Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC)-based resistive electrode
at the bottom of micro-groove structures, the micro-Resistive Groove
(μRGroove) detector. The μRGroove shares a similar compact
stack geometry with the micro-Resistive WELL (μRWELL) detector,
but it distinguishes itself by employing a groove structure for
charge amplification instead of a well. The top metal layer of the
grooves naturally forms an array of strips. By incorporating
additional 1-dimensional (1D) readout strips beneath the DLC
electrode, a 2-dimensional (2D) strip-readout scheme can be easily
implemented. Two prototypes of the μRGroove
(10 cm× 10 cm) were manufactured in 2022 at CERN,
and their performance was evaluated through X-ray and beam
tests. The results indicate a gas gain > 104, an energy
resolution of ~ 25%, and negligible charging-up effects for
8 keV Cu X-rays. Additionally, the detection efficiency was found
to be ~ 95%, with a position resolution of ∼ 75 μm
for 150-GeV/c muons. The μRGroove boasts a compact design and
robustness against discharges. Furthermore, compared to the
μRWELL, it offers cost savings in detector fabrication and
yields significantly higher signal amplitude (approximately double)
at the same gas gain. These attributes position the μRGroove as
a promising candidate for large-area and low-material-budget
tracking applications.
Quantifying the relative contributions of three tropical oceans to the western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone
Authors: Lu Zhiyuan , Dong Lu , Song Fengfei , Wu Bo , Wu Shuyan , Wang Chunzai
Published: July 2024

The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) often exists during the mature and decaying phases of El Niño, significantly affecting the East Asian summer monsoon. Previous studies have revealed the importance of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in generating and maintaining the WNPAC. However, a quantitative comparison of the contributions from these three oceans is still lacking. This study uses pacemaker experiments with a state-of-the-art model to quantify the relative contributions of the three tropical oceans to the interannual WNPAC variability. We find that the Pacific accounts for over 50% of the interannual variance in boreal winter and the following spring, while the roles of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans become more pronounced in the spring. In the summer, all three oceans contribute significantly and equally. The Indian Ocean sea surface temperature is influenced by remote forcing from the Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic Ocean operates more independently, with no evident effect from other oceans.
Choosing to protect: public support for flood defense over relocation in climate change adaptation
Authors: Freihardt Jan , Buntaine Mark T , Bernauer Thomas
Published: July 2024

Policy makers worldwide face tough choices over how to prioritize public funding for adaptation to climate change. One particularly difficult choice is whether to opt for policies that promote relocation away from flood risks or infrastructure investments that protect against flooding. Local communities commonly prefer protective infrastructure, but it is less obvious that the general public will support this approach due to the growing costs. We study public opinion on these adaptation approaches using a choice experiment with nationally representative samples in the United States and Germany (n = 2400 each). We asked participants to prioritize federal funding between two hypothetical, equally sized communities differing in their adaptation strategy, flood frequency, lives and economic assets at risk, economic vitality, geographic distance, and political orientation. In both countries, we find surprisingly strong support for protective infrastructure over relocation policies among the general public, even under conditions where relocation could be an attractive alternative for addressing the growing costs of protective infrastructure and rebuilding efforts.
Multivariate asymptotic normality determined by high moments
Authors: Hitczenko Paweł , Wormald Nick
Published: July 2024

We extend a general result showing that the asymptotic behavior of high moments, factorial or standard, of random variables, determines asymptotically normality, from the one dimensional to the multidimensional setting. This approach differs from the usual moment method which requires that the moments of each fixed order converge. We illustrate our results by considering a joint distribution of the numbers of bins (having the same, finite, capacity) containing a prescribed number of balls in a classical allocation scheme.
New System
Authors: Kibita Nataliya
Published: July 2024

Although formalized in 1920, the Ukrainian government was weak; the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine was fragmented; and the Ukrainian leadership had limited authority over the regions. In the period between 1921 and 1925, the Ukrainian leadership made a persistent effort to become the essential link between the Ukrainian regions and the All-Russian centre, and the authority that adjusted central policies to the context of Ukraine. In 1922, Chairman of the Ukrainian Government Christian Rakovsky attempted to obtain de facto autonomy for the Ukrainian commissariats for the purpose of securing revenue that would consolidate the authority of the government. But although Rakovsky had the initial backing of the First Secretary of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine, Dmytro Manuilsky, the latter doomed the autonomy proposal by withdrawing his support by the end of summer 1922. In 1922–1923, Stalin outmanoeuvred Rakovsky. While Rakovsky rushed to consolidate the Ukrainian government, Stalin consolidated the party. Stalin’s party-state reform led to Rakovsky losing the support of the Ukrainian Central Committee and the gubkoms. The success of Stalin’s party-state reform relegated the Ukrainian leadership to a mere transmission path for Moscow’s orders. However, this did not affect the institutional ambitions of the Ukrainian leadership to assert its authority within the republic.
Gravity Matters
Authors: Stuckey W M , Silberstein Michael , McDevitt Timothy
Published: July 2024

In Sub-Chapter 9B we introduce general relativity and our approach to quantum gravity. We explain how we deal with the Big Bang and black hole singularities. The contextuality of mass in general relativity is attributed to NPRF + G. This is used to solve the missing mass problem and the mystery of dark energy without invoking non-baryonic dark matter or a cosmological constant.
Intersectionality and the making of gender history
Authors: Burton Antoinette
Published: July 2024

This chapter questions the grand narrative of progress that undergirds some accounts of gender history as a field, showing that far from displacing women’s history or being supplanted by intersectional, queer, and trans methods, gender history has exerted an ongoing influence at the confluence of these scholarly practices. It tracks the origins of US thinking about the simultaneity of gender and race through the work of the African American legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who brought intersectionality into the US scholarly lexicon; the impact of multiracial scholarship on teaching in the United States; and the manifestation of these trends across histories in a variety of times and places.
The Authoritarian Nature of Common Good Constitutionalism
Authors: Wilkinson Michael A
Published: July 2024

How are we to evaluate the project of common good constitutionalism? This new movement, which dismisses positivism and liberalism, progressivism and originalism, aims to overturn the entire canon of modern political and constitutional theory. In its place, it aims to restore a classical tradition of natural law jurisprudence, which is said to have been lost over the last century of constitutional law and practice. In so doing it uses one of liberalism’s own juristic heroes, Ronald Dworkin, in order to free conservatism from the tethers of fidelity to constitutional text and the principle of popular sovereignty underwriting it. Common good constitutionalism’s intervention in the constitutional culture wars of the present is authoritarian not because of its opposition to liberalism, but because of its steadfast refusal of any link between constitutional authority and democracy.
Sex differences in binge drinking-related higher morning cortisol levels and in prospective association with future alcohol intake
Authors: McGowan Colleen , Krah Monika , Fogelman Nia , Seo Dongju , Sinha Rajita
Published: July 2024

Aims

Peripheral cortisol represents one biological measure of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, a significant component of the stress system, which is altered by chronic alcohol consumption. However, whether heavy alcohol use affects the HPA axis differentially between the sexes and whether basal cortisol levels are a biomarker of prospective alcohol intake is unknown.

Methods

We recruited light moderate (LM) and binge-heavy (BH) drinkers of alcohol (n = 118). Repeated fasting morning cortisol levels were studied over a 2-hour period to assess basal levels while participants underwent a neuroimaging scan.

Results

Significantly higher average cortisol levels in BH compared to LM groups across four timepoints were observed (P < .018). Overall sex differences were observed with women showing higher initial cortisol levels at the first timepoint with a blunted decrease over the morning relative to men (P < .003). Average morning cortisol differentially predicted prospective future 30-day daily reports of alcohol consumption by sex and group, such that LM males had a positive significant relationship and BH males had a negative non-significant relationship between cortisol and drinking.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that morning plasma cortisol is upregulated in the BH vs. LM group. Although females had higher initial morning cortisol levels, BH males showed a dysregulated negative relationship between stress and binge drinking in contrast to the LM group. Future work should further investigate the role of cortisol and other stress hormones as biomarkers of problematic drinking behaviors in men and women.
Assessing RNA integrity by digital RT-PCR: Influence of extraction, storage, and matrices
Authors: Wurtzer Sebastien , Duvivier Mathilde , Accrombessi Heberte , Levert Morgane , Richard Elise , Moulin Laurent
Published: July 2024

The development of high-throughput sequencing has greatly improved our knowledge of microbial diversity in aquatic environments and its evolution in highly diverse ecosystems. Relevant microbial diversity description based on high-throughput sequencing relies on the good quality of the nucleic acid recovered. Indeed, long genetic fragments are more informative for identifying mutation combinations that characterize variants or species in complex samples. This study describes a new analytical method based on digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) partitioning technology for assessing the fragmentation of nucleic acid and more specifically viral RNA. This method allows us to overcome limits associated with hydrolysis probe-based assay by focusing on the distance between different amplicons, and not, as usual, on the size of amplicons. RNA integrity can thus be determined as a new fragmentation index, the so-called Fragment size 50. The application of this method has provided information on issues that are inherent in environmental analyses, such as the storage impact of raw samples or extracted RNA, extraction methods, and the nature of the sample on the integrity of viral RNA. Finally, the estimation of fragment size by digital PCR (dPCR) showed a very strong similarity with the fragment size sequenced using Oxford Nanopore Technology. In addition to enabling objective improvements in analytical methods, this approach could become a systematic quality control prior to any long-read sequencing, avoiding insufficiently productive sequencing runs or biases in the representativeness of sequenced fragments.
Intraoperative hypotension associated with postoperative acute kidney injury in hypertension patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Li Jin , Ma Yeshuo , Li Yang , Ouyang Wen , Liu Zongdao , Liu Xing , Li Bo , Xiao Jie , Ma Daqing , Tang Yongzhong
Published: July 2024

Background

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common surgical complication and is associated with intraoperative hypotension. However, the total duration and magnitude of intraoperative hypotension associated with AKI remains unknown. In this study, the causal relationship between the intraoperative arterial pressure and postoperative AKI was investigated among chronic hypertension patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of 6552 hypertension patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery (2011 to 2019) was conducted. The primary outcome was AKI as diagnosed with the Kidney Disease-Improving Global Outcomes criteria and the primary exposure was intraoperative hypotension. Patients’ baseline demographics, pre- and post-operative data were harvested and then analyzed with multivariable logistic regression to assess the exposure–outcome relationship.

Results

Among 6552 hypertension patients, 579 (8.84%) had postoperative AKI after non-cardiac surgery. The proportions of patients admitted to ICU (3.97 vs. 1.24%, p < 0.001) and experiencing all-cause death (2.76 vs. 0.80%, p < 0.001) were higher in the patients with postoperative AKI. Moreover, the patients with postoperative AKI had longer hospital stays (13.50 vs. 12.00 days, p < 0.001). Intraoperative mean arterial pressure (MAP) < 60 mmHg for >20 min was an independent risk factor of postoperative AKI. Furthermore, MAP <60 mmHg for >10 min was also an independent risk factor of postoperative AKI in patients whose MAP was measured invasively in the subgroup analysis.

Conclusions

Our work suggested that MAP < 60 mmHg for >10 min measured invasively or 20 min measured non-invasively during non-cardiac surgery may be the threshold of postoperative AKI development in hypertension patients. This work may serve as a perioperative management guide for chronic hypertension patients.

Trial registration

clinical trial number: ChiCTR2100050209 (8/22/2021).

http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=132277.
Pericytes in the brain and heart: functional roles and response to ischaemia and reperfusion
Authors: Dalkara Turgay , Østergaard Leif , Heusch Gerd , Attwell David
Published: July 2024

In the last 20 years, there has been a revolution in our understanding of how blood flow is regulated in many tissues. Whereas it used to be thought that essentially all blood flow control occurred at the arteriole level, it is now recognized that control of capillary blood flow by contractile pericytes plays a key role both in regulating blood flow physiologically and in reducing it in clinically relevant pathological conditions. In this article, we compare and contrast how brain and cardiac pericytes regulate cerebral and coronary blood flow, focusing mainly on the pathological events of cerebral and cardiac ischaemia. The cerebral and coronary capillary beds differ dramatically in morphology, yet in both cases, pericyte-mediated capillary constriction plays a key role in restricting blood flow after ischaemia and possibly in other pathological conditions. We conclude with suggestions for therapeutic approaches to relaxing pericytes, which may prove useful in the long-term for reducing pericyte-induced ischaemia.
GWAS breakthroughs: mapping the journey from one locus to 393 significant coronary artery disease associations
Authors: Aherrahrou Rédouane , Reinberger Tobias , Hashmi Satwat , Erdmann Jeanette
Published: July 2024

Coronary artery disease (CAD) poses a substantial threat to global health, leading to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has a significant genetic component that has been studied through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) over the past 17 years. These studies have made progress with larger sample sizes, diverse ancestral backgrounds, and the discovery of multiple genomic regions related to CAD risk. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of CAD GWAS, including information about the genetic makeup of the disease and the importance of ethnic diversity in these studies. We also discuss challenges of identifying causal genes and variants within GWAS loci with a focus on non-coding regions. Additionally, we highlight tissues and cell types relevant to CAD, and discuss clinical implications of GWAS findings including polygenic risk scores, sex-specific differences in CAD genetics, ethnical aspects of personalized interventions, and GWAS guided drug development.
Coronary bypass surgery for multivessel disease after percutaneous coronary intervention in acute coronary syndromes: why, for whom, how early?
Authors: Besola Laura , Colli Andrea , De Caterina Raffaele
Published: July 2024

Multivessel coronary artery disease is present in ∼50% of patients with acute coronary syndrome and, compared with single-vessel disease, entails a higher risk of new ischaemic events and a worse prognosis. Randomized controlled trials have shown the superiority of ‘complete revascularization’ over culprit lesion-only treatment. Trials, however, only included patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and evidence regarding complete revascularization with coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery after culprit lesion-only PCI (‘hybrid revascularization’) is lacking. The CABG after PCI is an open, non-negligible therapeutic option, for patients with non-culprit left main and/or left anterior descending coronary artery disease where evidence in chronic coronary syndrome patients points in several cases to a preference of CABG over PCI.

This valuable but poorly studied ‘PCI first-CABG later’ option presents, however, relevant challenges, mostly in the need of interrupting post-stenting dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for surgery to prevent excess bleeding. Depending on patients’ clinical characteristics and coronary anatomical features, either deferring surgery after a safe interruption of DAPT or bridging DAPT interruption with intravenous short-acting antithrombotic agents appears to be a suitable option. Off-pump minimally invasive surgical revascularization, associated with less operative bleeding than open-chest surgery, may be an adjunctive strategy when revascularization cannot be safely deferred and DAPT is not interrupted.

Here, the rationale, patient selection, optimal timing, and adjunctive strategies are reviewed for an ideal approach to hybrid revascularization in post-acute coronary syndrome patients to support physicians’ choices in a case-by-case patient-tailored approach.