bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Techno-optimism: an Analysis, an Evaluation and a Modest Defence
Authors: Danaher John
Published: June 2022

What is techno-optimism and how can it be defended? Although techno-optimist views are widely espoused and critiqued, there have been few attempts to systematically analyse what it means to be a techno-optimist and how one might defend this view. This paper attempts to address this oversight by providing a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of techno-optimism. It is argued that techno-optimism is a pluralistic stance that comes in weak and strong forms. These vary along a number of key dimensions but each shares the view that technology plays a key role in ensuring that the good prevails over the bad. Whatever its strength, to defend this stance, one must flesh out an argument with four key premises. Each of these premises is highly controversial and can be subjected to a number of critiques. The paper discusses five such critiques in detail (the values critique, the treadmill critique, the sustainability critique, the irrationality critique and the insufficiency critique). The paper also considers possible responses from the techno-optimist. Finally, it is concluded that although strong forms of techno-optimism are not intellectually defensible, a modest, agency-based version of techno-optimism may be defensible.
Why interculturalism does not always translate into action: Insights from teachers in an Australian primary school
Authors: Tualaulelei Eseta , Halse Christine
Published: June 2022

For intercultural education to impact learners and, in turn, wider society, teachers must turn intercultural perspectives into actions in their professional contexts. This article examines why teachers who hold positive intercultural views might not be compelled to teach to these in their classrooms. Focusing specifically on education for culturally diverse learners, this article presents a critical ethnographic study of two teachers working in a multicultural Australian primary school. It analyses the tensions that complicate teachers’ work for intercultural education, and suggests that competent, well-intentioned teachers might be discouraged from responding pedagogically to their students’ cultural or linguistic backgrounds because of perceived constraints in the contemporary neoliberal educational environment. This prompts our recommendation that future research seek ways to open up new conditions of possibility for teachers to act on their perspectives including opportunities for increased cross-cultural engagement and dialogue.
A community-based feasibility randomized controlled study to test food-specific inhibitory control training in people with disinhibited eating during COVID-19 in Italy
Authors: Cardi Valentina , Meregalli Valentina , Di Rosa Elisa , Derrigo Rossella , Faustini Chiara , Keeler Johanna Louise , Favaro Angela , Treasure Janet , Lawrence Natalia
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The aim of this study was to expand the evidence on the feasibility and impact of food-specific inhibitory control training in a community sample of people with disinhibited eating.

Methods

Recruitment and data collection were conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak, in Italy. Ninety-four adult individuals with disinhibited eating were randomised to one of two conditions: App-based food-specific inhibitory control training or waiting list. Participants were assessed at baseline, end of intervention (2 weeks following baseline) and follow-up (one week later). The assessment measures included questionnaires about eating behaviour and mood.

Results

Seventy-three percent of the sample reported a diagnosis of binge eating disorder, and 20.4% a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. Retention rates were 77% and 86% for the food-specific inhibitory control training and the waiting list conditions, respectively. Almost half of the participants allocated to the training condition completed the “recommended” dose of training (i.e., 10 or more sessions). Those in the training condition reported lower levels of wanting for high-energy dense foods (p < 0.05), a trend for lower levels of perceived hunger (p = 0.07), and lower levels of depression (p < 0.05). Binge eating symptoms, disinhibition, wanting for high-energy dense foods, stress and anxiety were significantly lower at end of intervention, compared to baseline (p < .05).

Conclusion

Findings corroborated the feasibility of food-specific inhibitory control training, and its impact on high-energy dense foods liking. The study expands the evidence base for food-specific inhibitory control training by highlighting its impact on perceived hunger and depression. The mechanisms underlying these effects remain to be clarified.

Level of evidence

Level I, Evidence obtained from at least one properly designed randomized controlled trials; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; experimental studies.
Topologically optimized cast glass: a new design approach for loadbearing monolithic glass components of reduced annealing time
Authors: Damen Wilfried , Oikonomopoulou Faidra , Bristogianni Telesilla , Turrin Michela
Published: June 2022

Up to now, fabricating cast glass components of substantial mass and/or thickness involves a lengthy and perplex annealing process. This has limited the use of this glass manufacturing method in the built environment to simple objects up to the size of regular building bricks, which can be annealed within a few hours. For the first time, structural topological optimization (TO) is investigated as an approach to design monolithic loadbearing cast-glass elements of substantial mass and dimensions, with significantly reduced annealing times. The research is two-fold. First, a numerical exploration is performed. The potential of reducing mass while maintaining satisfactory stiffness of a structural component is done through a case-study, in which a cast-glass grid shell node is designed and optimised. To achieve this, several design criteria in respect to glass as a material, casting as the manufacturing process and TO as a design method, are formulated and applied in the optimisation. It is concluded that a TO approach fully suited for three-dimensional glass design is as of yet not available. For this research, strain- or compliance based TO is selected for the optimization of the three-dimensional, cast glass grid shell node; in our case, we consider that a strain based TO allows for a better exploration of the thickness reduction, which, in turn, has a major influence on the annealing time of cast glass. In comparison, in a stress-based optimization, the considerably lower tensile strength of glass would become the main restrain, leaving underutilized the higher compressive strength. Furthermore, it is determined that a single, unchanging and dominant load-case is most suited for TO optimisation. Using ANSYS Workbench, mass reductions of up to 69% compared to an initial, unoptimized geometry are achieved, reducing annealing times by an estimated 90%. Following this, the feasibility of manufacturing the resulting complex-shaped glass components is investigated though physical prototypes. Two manufacturing techniques are explored: lost-wax casting using 3D-printed wax geometries, and kiln-casting using 3D-printed disposable sand moulds. Several glass prototypes were successfully cast and annealed. From this, several conclusions are drawn regarding the applicability and limitations of TO for cast glass components and the potential of alternative manufacturing methods for making such complex-shaped glass components.
The effect of defects formed under pressure on CuCrO2 delafossite
Authors: Boyraz C. , Aksu P. , Guler A. , Arda L.
Published: June 2022

Pressure-dependent delafossite CuCrO2 samples are synthesized by the solid-state reaction method to investigate the effect of defects formed under pressure on the structure and magnetic properties of CuCrO2. X-ray Diffractometer, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) are used the characterize CuCrO2 samples. All samples give almost the same structural phase properties without any secondary peaks. All magnifications of SEM images show no melting of the sample and thus the annealing temperature of the samples is optimized. Photoluminescence measurements reveal that near band emission is caused by excitonic transitions between electrons and holes, the stronger the UV emission of the sample, the higher the crystallization quality, and fewer defects occur. Magnetic investigations depict that the spins are antiferromagnetically oriented while they have a magnetic moment component perpendicular to the plane. Therefore, each grain should be considered a weak magnet. Temperature-dependent magnetic moment measurements exhibit a slight variation in moment values. The reason behind this should be attributed to the grain size related to the formation of grains by applied pressure.
Moment-to-Moment Interplay Among Stress Appraisals and Emotion Regulation Flexibility in Daily Life
Authors: Socastro Angela , Everaert Jonas , Boemo Teresa , Blanco Ivan , Rodríguez-Carvajal Raquel , Sanchez-Lopez Alvaro
Published: June 2022

Flexible use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies in daily life is theorized to depend on appraisals of occurring stressful events. Yet, to date, little is known about (a) how appraisals of the current situation modulate the use of ER strategies in daily life and (b) how individual differences in affective symptoms impact these relations among appraisals and ER strategy use. This study attempted to address these two limitations using a 5-day experience sampling protocol, with three surveys administered per day in a sample of 97 participants. Each survey measured momentary appraisals of stress intensity and controllability as well as ER strategy use (i.e., rumination, reappraisal, avoidance, and active coping). Results showed that, in situations of low-stress intensity, higher stress controllability was related to greater use of reappraisal and rumination. In situations of high-stress intensity, higher controllability was related to reduced use of rumination. This pattern of flexible use of ER strategies depending on momentary stress appraisals was found for both rumination and avoidance and occurred specifically in individuals reporting lower levels of depression and/or anxiety levels. These findings provide new insight into how flexible use of ER strategies in daily life is modulated by interactions between stress intensity and controllability appraisals at varying levels of affective symptoms.
How to Be a Feminist Muslim
Authors: AMIJEE FATEMA
Published: June 2022

Can Muslim values be reconciled with a feminist outlook? The question is pressing on both an individual level—for Muslim feminists—and on a political level—for the project of making Islamic practice compatible with the ideals of a just and liberal society. A version of this question arises specifically for the central Muslim text, the Quran: Can the message of the Quran be reconciled with a feminist outlook? There have, broadly speaking, been two approaches to this more specific question. I argue that both are inadequate. I then develop a novel approach to reconciliation that does not threaten the objective and universal normative force Muslims attribute to the Quran. My approach is revolutionary rather than apologetic and carves out a central role for moral understanding in Islam-as-practiced.
Discrete-time risk-aware optimal switching with non-adapted costs
Authors: Martyr Randall , Moriarty John , Perninge Magnus
Published: June 2022

We solve non-Markovian optimal switching problems in discrete time on an infinite horizon, when the decision-maker is risk-aware and the filtration is general, and establish existence and uniqueness of solutions for the associated reflected backward stochastic difference equations. An example application to hydropower planning is provided.
The relative f-invariant and non-uniform random sofic approximations
Authors: SHRIVER CHRISTOPHER
Published: June 2022

The f-invariant is an isomorphism invariant of free-group measure-preserving actions introduced by Lewis Bowen, who first used it to show that two finite-entropy Bernoulli shifts over a finitely generated free group can be isomorphic only if their base measures have the same Shannon entropy. Bowen also showed that the f-invariant is a variant of sofic entropy; in particular, it is the exponential growth rate of the expected number of good models over a uniform random homomorphism. In this paper we present an analogous formula for the relative f-invariant and use it to prove a formula for the exponential growth rate of the expected number of good models over a random sofic approximation which is a type of stochastic block model.
On subsonic boundary-layer receptivity to acoustic waves over an aircraft wing coated by a thin liquid film
Authors: Khoshsepehr F. , Ruban A.I.
Published: June 2022

This work is concerned with the laminar–turbulent transition in the boundary layer on an aircraft wing covered by a water film. We consider the initial stage of the transition process known as the receptivity of the boundary layer, namely, we study the generation of the interfacial instability waves by the unsteady free-stream acoustic noise interacting with a small roughness on the wing surface. For effective receptivity, the ‘forcing’ should obey the so-called ‘double-resonance’ principle. According to this principle, both the frequency and the wavenumber of the external perturbations should be in tune with the natural instability modes of the flow. Correspondingly, we choose the frequency of the acoustic wave to coincide with that of the interfacial instability wave. However, this makes the wavelength of the acoustic wave significantly larger than wavelength of the instability wave. Thus, the second resonance condition is not satisfied, which means that the acoustic wave alone cannot produce the instability waves in the boundary layer. Instead, the Stokes layer is created in the boundary layer just above the liquid film. As far as the film is concerned, it also experiences wave-like motion caused by the varying shear stress on the interface. The generation of the interfacial instability waves takes place when the Stokes layer encounters a wall roughness that is short enough for an appropriate scale conversion to take place. To describe the flow in the vicinity of the roughness, a suitably modified triple-deck theory is used.
Law, Legal Socializations, and Epistemic Injustice
Authors: Ballakrishnen Swethaa S. , Lawsky Sarah B.
Published: June 2022

This review essay looks at the relationship between Deborah Tuerkheimer’s Credible (2021) and Meera Deo’s Unequal Profession (2019) in order to make a substantive point about inequality in legal institutions and the methods that are employed in dissecting them. At first glance, the connections between these projects might not seem apparent, although each deals with the inequalities in which its actors in focus are embedded. But both projects go deeper by unveiling institutional inequities that are often in plain sight when we investigate the background frameworks implicated in their production, and they reveal the problematic relationship between everyday discrimination and the systemic biases that justify them. Finally, reading these books together allows us to make an intervention about the methods and credibility of narratives within socio-legal scholarship more generally. In theorizing about legitimacy, we ask how the way in which we are told to look at structures of normativity changes the kinds of inequities we are able to see.
Neuromedin U regulates food intake of Siberian sturgeon through the modulation of central and peripheral appetite factors
Authors: Zhang Xin , Chen Shuhuang , Tang Ni , Wang Shuyao , Liu Youlian , Li Ya , Liu Yanling , Zhang Shupeng , Li Yingzi , Chen Defang , Li Zhiqiong
Published: June 2022

Neuromedin U (NMU) has a critical function on the regulation of food intake in mammals, while the information is little in teleost. To investigate the function of NMU on appetite regulation of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), this study first clonednmucDNA sequence that encoded 154 amino acids including NMU-25 peptide. Besides, the results showed thatnmumRNA was widely distributed in various tissues especially in the hypothalamus and telencephalon. The results of nutritional status (pre-feeding and post-feeding, fasting and re-feeding) experiments showed thatnmumRNA expression was significantly decreased at 1 and 3 h after feeding in different brain regions. Similarly, after feeding, the expression ofnmusignificantly decreased in peripheral tissues. Moreover,nmuexpression in the hypothalamus was significantly increased after fasting 1 d, but decreased after fasting 17 d, which was significantly reversed after re-feeding. However, other brain regions like telencephalon and peripheral tissues like oesophagus, intestinum valvula and liver have different change patterns. Further study showed that acutei.c.v.andi.p.injection of NMU and chronici.p.injection of NMU significantly reduced the food intake in a dose-dependent mode. In addition, the expressions of several critical appetite factors (nmu,aplein,cart,cck,ghrelin,npy,nucb2,pyyanducn3) were significantly affected by acute NMU-25 administration in the hypothalamus, intestinum valvula and liver. These results indicate that NMU-25 has the anorexigenic function on food intake by affecting different appetite factors in Siberian sturgeon, which provides a foundation for further exploring the appetite regulation networks in fish.
Bohuslav Balbín and the Patriotic Reconceptualization of Bohemia, c. 1650–1675
Authors: Pípalová Anna-Marie
Published: June 2022

This article examines four Marian histories written by Bohuslav Balbín (1621–88), a Bohemian Jesuit, scholar, and noble, in the second half of the seventeenth century. Assessing the content and form of these works, it argues that Balbín reinterpreted and intellectualized the genre of Marian hagiotopography, expanding the historical sections of his works and conceiving of hagiotopography as historical scholarship. Balbín's unique approach to this genre and his focus on Bohemian, Moravian, and Silesian history allowed him to present his particular vision of the Bohemian composite monarchy, which was influenced by his status as a Jesuit and by his patriotism. Balbín's representation of the inherent unity of the territories which made up the composite state criticized Habsburg policy during and following the Thirty Years’ War. In this way, the article sheds light on the interplay between Catholicism, patriotism, and scholarship in early modern Europe.
Three General Wills in Rousseau
Authors: Canon Jason S.
Published: June 2022

Jean-Jacques Rousseau introduces three conceptions of the general will: an implicit will of collectives, a declared will of assemblies, and a personal will toward the common good. Where his Discourse on Political Economy uses only the first conception, the Social Contract and its unpublished “Geneva Manuscript” turn to the second and third. I argue that Rousseau's mature account in the Social Contract grounds legitimacy on the capacity of citizens to declare their common good through deliberation and the exercise of private discernment. This finding helps resolve a long-standing interpretive impasse between “formal” and “transcendent” accounts of the general will and illumines the role of democratic sovereignty in the Social Contract.
From Labor Rights to the Right to Work: Constituting and Resisting Social Citizenship, 1932–1953
Authors: JANIEWSKI DOLORES
Published: June 2022

The analysis examines the effort to incorporate labor rights into the American conception of civil liberties and the opposition to that endeavor. It focuses on three Senators—Robert Wagner, Robert La Follette, Jr., and Elbert Thomas—and New Deal officials who conceived of the National Labor Relations Act as a cornerstone of the effort to achieve “economic justice” and defended the law against its critics. It examines the opponents, including the National Association of Manufacturers and an anticommunist alliance between southern Democrats and Republicans. An ideological counteroffensive recast the supporters of social rights as un-American opponents of free enterprise and defined civil liberties as protecting the individual from an expansionist state and labor bosses. The analysis demonstrates the multiple causes for the disappearance of ideological space for conceiving that protection from oppressive employers constituted a civil liberty and the displacement of labor rights by the “right to work.”
Double Bind: Alejandro Lipschütz and the Failure of Transnational Indigenismo in Chile
Authors: Stegeman John
Published: June 2022

This article examines the life and career of Alejandro Lipschütz, Chile's most accomplished indigenista, to investigate his influence on the scientific and political discourse about the role of indigenous peoples in modern American states, known as indigenismo. Trained as an experimental biologist, Lipschütz criticized prevailing views of race in the Americas, arguing for a social interpretation and analysis of racial categories that defined indigeneity. Lipschütz then promoted the creation of an indigenous institute within the Chilean state and advocated on behalf of the Mapuche people. Because indigenous leaders themselves developed a strong political movement in the mid twentieth century, transnational indigenismo failed to produce meaningful or lasting progress in Chile. That failure convinced Lipschütz that indigenous peoples should preserve and strengthen traditional communities and seek political autonomy. This analysis joins a growing body of scholarship that challenges conventional views of indigenismo, which characterize it as a repressive ideology used by paternalistic states. This study of Alejandro Lipschütz prefigures the shift toward acknowledging the greater indigenous agency that accompanied identity-based social movements emerging in the 1980s.
Do Citizen Science Intense Observation Periods Increase Data Usability? A Deep Dive of the NASA GLOBE Clouds Data Set With Satellite Comparisons
Authors: Dodson J. Brant , Colón Robles Marilé , Rogerson Tina M. , Taylor Jessica E.
Published: June 2022

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) citizen science program has recently conducted a series of month‐long intensive observation periods (IOPs), asking the public to submit daily reports on cloud and sky conditions from all regions of Earth. This provides a wealth of crowdsourced observations from the ground, which complements other conventional scientific cloud data. In addition, the GLOBE reports are matched in space and time with geostationary and low Earth orbit satellites, which allows for a straightforward comparison of cloud properties, and minimizes the biases associated with mismatched sampling between participants and satellites. The matched GLOBE data set is used to calculate the mean observed cloud cover by atmospheric level both worldwide and by region. The overall magnitudes of cloud cover between the GLOBE participants and the matched satellites agree within 10%, which is notable given the distinctly different natures of the data sources. The mean vertical cloud profiles show GLOBE reporting more low‐level clouds and fewer high‐level clouds than satellites. The low cloud disagreement is likely related to satellites missing low clouds when high clouds block their view. Conversely, the high cloud disagreement is related primarily to cloud opacity, as satellites may miss some optically thin clouds. Monte Carlo testing shows the results to be robust, and the tripled amount of IOP data reduces uncertainty by half. These findings also highlight ways in which citizen science IOP data may be used to support scientific research while accounting for their unique properties.
Modeling the Organic Carbon Oxidation and Redox Sequence Under the Partial‐Equilibrium Approach: A Discussion by Means of a Semi‐Analytical Solution
Authors: Saaltink Maarten W. , Rodríguez‐Escales Paula
Published: June 2022

In this work, we have developed a semi‐analytical solution for organic carbon oxidation coupled to the reduction‐oxidation sequence assuming the Partial Equilibrium Approach (PEA) and using the decoupling procedure of De Simoni et al. (2005), https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004056. Our solution was applied to two very simple cases. The first assumes only advective transport and the second only diffusive transport. Comparison with a numerical solution showed the adequacy of our analytical solution to be implemented in several scenarios, for example, in organic carbon oxidation in the unsaturated zone or in highly heterogeneous advective domains. We found that for the diffusion case the PEA produced spurious reactions, such as oxidation of N2 by O2 when compared with an approach using full kinetics. These reactions do not occur in the advection case. An analysis with the semi‐analytical solution revealed that they are the result of a combination of diffusive fluxes and the fact that the PEA assumes the electron acceptors to react with each other in equilibrium. Our analytical solutions are capable to quantify this shortcoming, becoming a tool to validate numerical models using PEA to describe organic carbon oxidation.
An Investigation of Ionospheric TEC Prediction Maps Over China Using Bidirectional Long Short‐Term Memory Method
Authors: Shi Shuangshuang , Zhang Kefei , Wu Suqin , Shi Jiaqi , Hu Andong , Wu Huajing , Li Yu
Published: June 2022

The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) is an important ionospheric parameter, and it is widely utilized in research such as space weather prediction and precise positioning. However, it is still challenging to develop an ionospheric TEC prediction model with high accuracy. In this study, a new ionospheric TEC model over China was developed using the bidirectional long short‐term memory (bi‐LSTM) method and observations from 257 ground‐based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations in the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China from January 2018 to December 2021. The root mean square errors of the bi‐LSTM‐based model’s 1 and 2 hr ahead predictions on the test data set (from June 2021 to December 2021) are 1.12 and 1.68 TECU, respectively, which are 75/50/32% and 72/48/22% smaller than those of the IRI‐2016, artificial neural network and LSTM‐based models, correspondingly. The bi‐LSTM‐based model shows the best performance, which is most likely due to the fact that the sequence information in both forward and backward directions is taken into consideration in the new model. In addition, the diurnal variation, seasonal variation of the ionospheric TEC, and variations under geomagnetic storm conditions are successfully captured by the bi‐LSTM‐based model. Moreover, the TEC maps resulting from the bi‐LSTM model agree well with those obtained from the final ionospheric product from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Hence, the new model can be a good choice for the investigation of the spatiotemporal variation trend in the ionosphere and GNSS navigation.
Ethanol withdrawal-induced adaptations in prefrontal corticotropin releasing factor receptor 1-expressing neurons regulate anxiety and conditioned rewarding effects of ethanol
Authors: Patel Reesha R. , Wolfe Sarah A. , Borgonetti Vittoria , Gandhi Pauravi J. , Rodriguez Larry , Snyder Angela E. , D’Ambrosio Shannon , Bajo Michal , Domissy Alain , Head Steven , Contet Candice , Dayne Mayfield R. , Roberts Amanda J. , Roberto Marisa
Published: June 2022

Prefrontal circuits are thought to underlie aberrant emotion contributing to relapse in abstinence; however, the discrete cell-types and mechanisms remain largely unknown. Corticotropin-releasing factor and its cognate type-1 receptor, a prominent brain stress system, is implicated in anxiety and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Here, we tested the hypothesis that medial prefrontal cortex CRF1-expressing (mPFCCRF1+) neurons comprise a distinct population that exhibits neuroadaptations following withdrawal from chronic ethanol underlying AUD-related behavior. We found that mPFCCRF1+ neurons comprise a glutamatergic population with distinct electrophysiological properties and regulate anxiety and conditioned rewarding effects of ethanol. Notably, mPFCCRF1+ neurons undergo unique neuroadaptations compared to neighboring neurons including a remarkable decrease in excitability and glutamatergic signaling selectively in withdrawal, which is driven in part by the basolateral amygdala. To gain mechanistic insight into these electrophysiological adaptations, we sequenced the transcriptome of mPFCCRF1+ neurons and found that withdrawal leads to an increase in colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) in this population. We found that selective overexpression of CSF1 in mPFCCRF1+ neurons is sufficient to decrease glutamate transmission, heighten anxiety, and abolish ethanol reinforcement, providing mechanistic insight into the observed mPFCCRF1+ synaptic adaptations in withdrawal that drive these behavioral phenotypes. Together, these findings highlight mPFCCRF1+ neurons as a critical site of enduring adaptations that may contribute to the persistent vulnerability to ethanol misuse in abstinence, and CSF1 as a novel target for therapeutic intervention for withdrawal-related negative affect.
Mechanisms of bone pain: Progress in research from bench to bedside
Authors: Zhen Gehua , Fu Yuhan , Zhang Chi , Ford Neil C. , Wu Xiaojun , Wu Qichao , Yan Dong , Chen Xueming , Cao Xu , Guan Yun
Published: June 2022

The field of research on pain originating from various bone diseases is expanding rapidly, with new mechanisms and targets asserting both peripheral and central sites of action. The scope of research is broadening from bone biology to neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, and immunology. In particular, the roles of primary sensory neurons and non-neuronal cells in the peripheral tissues as important targets for bone pain treatment are under extensive investigation in both pre-clinical and clinical settings. An understanding of the peripheral mechanisms underlying pain conditions associated with various bone diseases will aid in the appropriate application and development of optimal strategies for not only managing bone pain symptoms but also improving bone repairing and remodeling, which potentially cures the underlying etiology for long-term functional recovery. In this review, we focus on advances in important preclinical studies of significant bone pain conditions in the past 5 years that indicated new peripheral neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms, novel targets for potential clinical interventions, and future directions of research.
Skyrmion pinning energetics in thin film systems
Authors: Gruber Raphael , Zázvorka Jakub , Brems Maarten A. , Rodrigues Davi R. , Dohi Takaaki , Kerber Nico , Seng Boris , Vafaee Mehran , Everschor-Sitte Karin , Virnau Peter , Kläui Mathias
Published: June 2022

A key issue for skyrmion dynamics and devices are pinning effects present in real systems. While posing a challenge for the realization of conventional skyrmionics devices, exploiting pinning effects can enable non-conventional computing approaches if the details of the pinning in real samples are quantified and understood. We demonstrate that using thermal skyrmion dynamics, we can characterize the pinning of a sample and we ascertain the spatially resolved energy landscape. To understand the mechanism of the pinning, we probe the strong skyrmion size and shape dependence of the pinning. Magnetic microscopy imaging demonstrates that in contrast to findings in previous investigations, for large skyrmions the pinning originates at the skyrmion boundary and not at its core. The boundary pinning is strongly influenced by the very complex pinning energy landscape that goes beyond the conventional effective rigid quasi-particle description. This gives rise to complex skyrmion shape distortions and allows for dynamic switching of pinning sites and flexible tuning of the pinning.
Machine learning the metastable phase diagram of covalently bonded carbon
Authors: Srinivasan Srilok , Batra Rohit , Luo Duan , Loeffler Troy , Manna Sukriti , Chan Henry , Yang Liuxiang , Yang Wenge , Wen Jianguo , Darancet Pierre , K.R.S. Sankaranarayanan Subramanian
Published: June 2022

Conventional phase diagram generation involves experimentation to provide an initial estimate of the set of thermodynamically accessible phases and their boundaries, followed by use of phenomenological models to interpolate between the available experimental data points and extrapolate to experimentally inaccessible regions. Such an approach, combined with high throughput first-principles calculations and data-mining techniques, has led to exhaustive thermodynamic databases (e.g. compatible with the CALPHAD method), albeit focused on the reduced set of phases observed at distinct thermodynamic equilibria. In contrast, materials during their synthesis, operation, or processing, may not reach their thermodynamic equilibrium state but, instead, remain trapped in a local (metastable) free energy minimum, which may exhibit desirable properties. Here, we introduce an automated workflow that integrates first-principles physics and atomistic simulations with machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing to allow rapid exploration of the metastable phases to construct “metastable” phase diagrams for materials far-from-equilibrium. Using carbon as a prototypical system, we demonstrate automated metastable phase diagram construction to map hundreds of metastable states ranging from near equilibrium to far-from-equilibrium (400 meV/atom). We incorporate the free energy calculations into a neural-network-based learning of the equations of state that allows for efficient construction of metastable phase diagrams. We use the metastable phase diagram and identify domains of relative stability and synthesizability of metastable materials. High temperature high pressure experiments using a diamond anvil cell on graphite sample coupled with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) confirm our metastable phase predictions. In particular, we identify the previously ambiguous structure of n-diamond as a cubic-analog of diaphite-like lonsdaelite phase.
Perirenal adipose afferent nerves sustain pathological high blood pressure in rats
Authors: Li Peng , Liu Boxun , Wu Xiaoguang , Lu Yan , Qiu Ming , Shen Yihui , Tian Yunfan , Liu Chi , Chen Xiru , Yang Chuanxi , Deng Mengqing , Wang Yaqing , Gu Jia , Su Zhongping , Chen Xuguan , Zhao Kun , Sheng Yanhui , Zhang Shijiang , Sun Wei , Kong Xiangqing
Published: June 2022

Hypertension is a pathological condition of persistent high blood pressure (BP) of which the underlying neural mechanisms remain obscure. Here, we show that the afferent nerves in perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) contribute to maintain pathological high BP, without affecting physiological BP. Bilateral PRAT ablation or denervation leads to a long-term reduction of high BP in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR), but has no effect on normal BP in control rats. Further, gain- and loss-of-function and neuron transcriptomics studies show that augmented activities and remodeling of L1-L2 dorsal root ganglia neurons are responsible for hypertension in SHR. Moreover, we went on to show that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a key endogenous suppressor of hypertension that is sequestered by pro-hypertensive PRAT in SHRs. Taken together, we identify PRAT afferent nerves as a pro-hypertensive node that sustains high BP via suppressing CGRP, thereby providing a therapeutic target to tackle primary hypertension.
Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease
Authors: Cadby Gemma , Giles Corey , Melton Phillip E. , Huynh Kevin , Mellett Natalie A. , Duong Thy , Nguyen Anh , Cinel Michelle , Smith Alex , Olshansky Gavriel , Wang Tingting , Brozynska Marta , Inouye Mike , McCarthy Nina S. , Ariff Amir , Hung Joseph , Hui Jennie , Beilby John , Dubé Marie-Pierre , Watts Gerald F. , Shah Sonia , Wray Naomi R. , Lim Wei Ling Florence , Chatterjee Pratishtha , Martins Ian , Laws Simon M. , Porter Tenielle , Vacher Michael , Bush Ashley I. , Rowe Christopher C. , Villemagne Victor L. , Ames David , Masters Colin L. , Taddei Kevin , Arnold Matthias , Kastenmüller Gabi , Nho Kwangsik , Saykin Andrew J. , Han Xianlin , Kaddurah-Daouk Rima , Martins Ralph N. , Blangero John , Meikle Peter J. , Moses Eric K.
Published: June 2022

We integrated lipidomics and genomics to unravel the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism and identify genetic variants associated with lipid species putatively in the mechanistic pathway for coronary artery disease (CAD). We quantified 596 lipid species in serum from 4,492 individuals from the Busselton Health Study. The discovery GWAS identified 3,361 independent lipid-loci associations, involving 667 genomic regions (479 previously unreported), with validation in two independent cohorts. A meta-analysis revealed an additional 70 independent genomic regions associated with lipid species. We identified 134 lipid endophenotypes for CAD associated with 186 genomic loci. Associations between independent lipid-loci with coronary atherosclerosis were assessed in ∼456,000 individuals from the UK Biobank. Of the 53 lipid-loci that showed evidence of association (P < 1 × 10−3), 43 loci were associated with at least one lipid endophenotype. These findings illustrate the value of integrative biology to investigate the aetiology of atherosclerosis and CAD, with implications for other complex diseases.
Identifying colorectal cancer caused by biallelic MUTYH pathogenic variants using
tumor mutational signatures
Authors: Georgeson Peter , Harrison Tabitha A. , Pope Bernard J. , Zaidi Syed H. , Qu Conghui , Steinfelder Robert S. , Lin Yi , Joo Jihoon E. , Mahmood Khalid , Clendenning Mark , Walker Romy , Amitay Efrat L. , Berndt Sonja I. , Brenner Hermann , Campbell Peter T. , Cao Yin , Chan Andrew T. , Chang-Claude Jenny , Doheny Kimberly F. , Drew David A. , Figueiredo Jane C. , French Amy J. , Gallinger Steven , Giannakis Marios , Giles Graham G. , Gsur Andrea , Gunter Marc J. , Hoffmeister Michael , Hsu Li , Huang Wen-Yi , Limburg Paul , Manson JoAnn E. , Moreno Victor , Nassir Rami , Nowak Jonathan A. , Obón-Santacana Mireia , Ogino Shuji , Phipps Amanda I. , Potter John D. , Schoen Robert E. , Sun Wei , Toland Amanda E. , Trinh Quang M. , Ugai Tomotaka , Macrae Finlay A. , Rosty Christophe , Hudson Thomas J. , Jenkins Mark A. , Thibodeau Stephen N. , Winship Ingrid M. , Peters Ulrike , Buchanan Daniel D.
Published: June 2022

Carriers of germline biallelic pathogenic variants in the
MUTYH gene have a high risk of colorectal cancer. We test
5649 colorectal cancers to evaluate the discriminatory potential of a tumor mutational
signature specific to MUTYH for identifying biallelic
carriers and classifying variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS). Using a
tumor and matched germline targeted multi-gene panel approach, our classifier identifies
all biallelic MUTYH carriers and all known non-carriers in an
independent test set of 3019 colorectal cancers (accuracy = 100% (95% confidence
interval 99.87–100%)). All monoallelic MUTYH carriers are
classified with the non-MUTYH carriers. The classifier
provides evidence for a pathogenic classification for two VUS and a benign
classification for five VUS. Somatic hotspot mutations KRAS
p.G12C and PIK3CA p.Q546K are associated with colorectal
cancers from biallelic MUTYH carriers compared with
non-carriers (p = 2 × 10−23 and
p = 6 × 10−11, respectively). Here, we
demonstrate the potential application of mutational signatures to tumor sequencing
workflows to improve the identification of biallelic MUTYH
carriers.
Machine learning for exploring small polaron configurational space
Authors: Birschitzky Viktor C. , Ellinger Florian , Diebold Ulrike , Reticcioli Michele , Franchini Cesare
Published: June 2022

Polaron defects are ubiquitous in materials and play an important role in many processes involving carrier mobility, charge transfer and surface reactivity. Determining small polarons’ spatial distributions is essential to understand materials properties and functionalities. However, the required exploration of the configurational space is computationally demanding when using first principles methods. Here, we propose a machine-learning (ML) accelerated search that determines the ground state polaronic configuration. The ML model is trained on databases of polaron configurations generated by density functional theory (DFT) via molecular dynamics or random sampling. To establish a mapping between configurations and their stability, we designed descriptors modelling the interactions among polarons and charged point defects. We used the DFT+ML protocol to explore the polaron configurational space for two surface-systems, reduced rutile TiO2(110) and Nb-doped SrTiO3(001). The ML-aided search proposes additional polaronic configurations and can be utilized to determine optimal polaron distributions at any charge concentration.
Data-driven analysis of process, structure, and properties of additively manufactured Inconel 718 thin walls
Authors: Fang Lichao , Cheng Lin , Glerum Jennifer A. , Bennett Jennifer , Cao Jian , Wagner Gregory J.
Published: June 2022

In additive manufacturing of metal parts, the ability to accurately predict the extremely variable temperature field in detail, and relate it quantitatively to structure and properties, is a key step in predicting part performance and optimizing process design. In this work, a finite element simulation of the directed energy deposition (DED) process is used to predict the space- and time-dependent temperature field during the multi-layer build process for Inconel 718 walls. The thermal model results show good agreement with dynamic infrared images captured in situ during the DED builds. The relationship between predicted cooling rate, microstructural features, and mechanical properties is examined, and cooling rate alone is found to be insufficient in giving quantitative property predictions. Because machine learning offers an efficient way to identify important features from series data, we apply a 1D convolutional neural network data-driven framework to automatically extract the dominant predictive features from simulated temperature history. Very good predictions of material properties, especially ultimate tensile strength, are obtained using simulated thermal history data. To further interpret the convolutional neural network predictions, we visualize the extracted features produced on each convolutional layer and compare the convolutional neural network detected features of thermal histories for high and low ultimate tensile strength cases. A key result is the determination that thermal histories in both high and moderate temperature regimes affect material properties.
Mechanical-robust and recyclable polyimide substrates coordinated with cyclic Ti-oxo cluster for flexible organic solar cells
Authors: Zhang Guangcong , Chen Qiaomei , Xie Chengcheng , Wang Yongmei , Zhao Chaowei , Xiao Chengyi , Wei Yen , Li Weiwei
Published: June 2022

With the rapid development of flexible optoelectronic devices, recyclability is highly desirable for alleviating resource waste and environmental pollution, but remains challenging. Here, a fully closed-loop recyclable crosslinked polyimide (RCPI) was fabricated via carboxyl ligand exchange between the CPI with pendent carboxyl groups and the cyclic Ti-oxo cluster (CTOC) with labile carboxyl ligands, which could be reconverted into reprocessable CPI and CTOC solution by pivalic acid. The RCPI-based embedded AgNWs@RCPI electrode shows comparable high conductivity, transparency and low roughness with ITO (indium tin oxide)/glass electrode, and meanwhile outstanding mechanical robustness. The related flexible organic solar cells (FOSCs) provided a high efficiency of 14.78% and maintained ~97% of the initial efficiency after 5000 bending cycles at a small bending radius of 1 mm. Moreover, the recyclability of the RCPI still retains after being manufactured into the FOSCs. This work provides a promising strategy for recyclable flexible optoelectronic devices.
Directed evolution and selection of biostable l-DNA aptamers with a mirror-image DNA polymerase
Authors: Chen Ji , Chen Mengyin , Zhu Ting F.
Published: June 2022

Mirror-image aptamers made from chirally inverted nucleic acids are nuclease-resistant and exceptionally biostable, opening up opportunities for unique applications. However, the directed evolution and selection of mirror-image aptamers directly from large randomized l-DNA libraries has,﻿ to our knowledge, not been demonstrated previously. Here, we developed a ‘mirror-image selection’ scheme for the directed evolution and selection of biostable l-DNA aptamers with a mirror-image DNA polymerase. We performed iterative rounds of enrichment and mirror-image polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of l-DNA sequences that bind native human thrombin, in conjunction with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to isolate individual aptamers and l-DNA sequencing-by-synthesis to determine their sequences. Based on the selected l-DNA aptamers, we designed biostable thrombin sensors and inhibitors, which remained functional in physiologically relevant nuclease-rich environments, even in the presence of human serum that rapidly degraded d-DNA aptamers. Mirror-image selection of biostable l-DNA aptamers directly from large randomized l-DNA libraries greatly expands the range of biomolecules that can be targeted, broadening their applications as biostable sensors, therapeutics and basic research tools.
Improving preeclampsia risk prediction by modeling pregnancy trajectories from routinely collected electronic medical record data
Authors: Li Shilong , Wang Zichen , Vieira Luciana A. , Zheutlin Amanda B. , Ru Boshu , Schadt Emilio , Wang Pei , Copperman Alan B. , Stone Joanne L. , Gross Susan J. , Kao Yu-Han , Lau Yan Kwan , Dolan Siobhan M. , Schadt Eric E. , Li Li
Published: June 2022

Preeclampsia is a heterogeneous and complex disease associated with rising morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and newborns in the US. Early recognition of patients at risk is a pressing clinical need to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. We assessed whether information routinely collected in electronic medical records (EMR) could enhance the prediction of preeclampsia risk beyond what is achieved in standard of care assessments. We developed a digital phenotyping algorithm to curate 108,557 pregnancies from EMRs across the Mount Sinai Health System, accurately reconstructing pregnancy journeys and normalizing these journeys across different hospital EMR systems. We then applied machine learning approaches to a training dataset (N = 60,879) to construct predictive models of preeclampsia across three major pregnancy time periods (ante-, intra-, and postpartum). The resulting models predicted preeclampsia with high accuracy across the different pregnancy periods, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.92, 0.82, and 0.89 at 37 gestational weeks, intrapartum and postpartum, respectively. We observed comparable performance in two independent patient cohorts. While our machine learning approach identified known risk factors of preeclampsia (such as blood pressure, weight, and maternal age), it also identified other potential risk factors, such as complete blood count related characteristics for the antepartum period. Our model not only has utility for earlier identification of patients at risk for preeclampsia, but given the prediction accuracy exceeds what is currently achieved in clinical practice, our model provides a path for promoting personalized precision therapeutic strategies for patients at risk.