bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wie entstand das Handbuch des Friesischen?
Authors: Munske Horst H.
Published: February 2022

The initiator of the “Handbook” reviews its history, starting at the beginning (1) during the second symposium on Frisian Philology in Alkersum/Föhr (1994), explaining the special conception (2) of the work, addressing three groups: colleagues in Frisian Studies, in neighbouring disciplines and the Frisians themselves. Basic decisions were the language of the handbook, the content and length of the articles, and the selection of the publishers. The planning (3) followed, enlisting the authors, compiling short descriptions of all articles, and a list of technical abbreviations. Then the concrete work began: from the contract to the finished article (4), especially the editors’ intensive work, being coordinated by the Chair for German in Erlangen, acting as intermediary between authors, editors and publishers. The final phase, from the articles to the book (5), concerned the form of the book and the complicated indexes. There were three sponsors: the Ferring Foundation, the German Society for the Advancement of Scientific Research and VGWort. An outlook (6) refers to the continuation of the work on the handbook.
Iareg un a Daans
Authors: Schmidt Christoph
Published: February 2022

Research on the Frisian-language ballad “a bai, a reder”, documented in text before 1830 and in melody in 1886 on the island of Föhr, has so far been almost exclusively from a linguistic and literary point of view. It is thought that the text could have originated in the late Middle Ages. This paper compares musical style elements such as the modal and drone-like characteristic in general and the closing formula with melodies from the 14th to the 17th century, both from Central and Northern Europe, as well as with the orally transmitted melodies of Scandinavian ballads. Each of the stylistic elements examined can be documented more or less frequently in the 15th and 16th centuries, whereas the similarities decrease in later periods. It therefore seems possible that not only the text, but also the melody recorded in the 19th century may have roots in the late Middle Ages.
Amrum und seine BewohnerInnen in der amrumerfriesischen Dramenliteratur von Thea Andresen und Annegret Lutz
Authors: Vanselow Wendy
Published: February 2022

This article deals with the dramatic works of two women, mother and daughter, Thea Andresen (1916–2001) and Annegret Lutz (1945–2003). Their plays are written in the Frisian dialect Öömrang, which is spoken on the island of Amrum, where both women were active as playwrights for a community theatre. The article reconstructs social and narrative structures and gender roles in the respective texts and aims at a short comparison of the dramatic works of both playwrights. The differences lie especially in their value systems.
Nordfriesische Kinder- und Jugendliteratur
Authors: Walker Alastair
Published: February 2022

This article offers a brief survey of children’s literature in North Frisian, a hitherto largely unexplored area. It first gives a chronological overview of the literature from the early 20th century until about 1970, the postulated first epoch, before looking at the actors and the categories in the second epoch up to the present day. Whereas the first epoch is relatively homogenous with respect to authors and works, mostly teachers working with traditional culture and tales, the second epoch displays a greater variety, increasingly using translations from other languages, but developing with them new concepts for books with a modern layout. In both epochs, educational materials play a central role. In the second epoch, the analysis postulates 16 categories of literature, each with varying numbers of publications. Some books are published in several dialects, and bilingual editions are increasing in number. Financing Frisian literature remains a problem.
Extracellular mechanotransduction
Authors: Haller Stephen J. , Dudley Andrew T.
Published: February 2022

We highlight the force-sensing function of extracellular matrix and present a complementary mechanotransduction paradigm.
Phase transitions and properties of lanthanum under high pressures
Authors: Chen Ling , Liang Tianxiao , Zhang Zihan , Song Hao , Liu Zhengtao , Jiang Qiwen , Chen Yue , Duan Defang
Published: February 2022

Lanthanum (La), the first member of the lanthanide elements, recently aroused interests due to the discovery of high-T
c superconductor LaH10 under high pressures and its unique superconducting properties. Here, we study the phase transitions, superconductivity and mechanical properties of metallic La under high pressures by first-principle calculations. The known face-centered cubic (fcc) phase with space group

F
m

3

¯

m

still exists above 100 GPa. And it transforms into an unprecedented body-centered tetragonal (bct) phase with space group I4/mmm above 180 GPa, which expands the high pressure phase transition sequence. Further calculations show that the superconducting transition temperature T
c of fcc phase decreases with increasing pressure with the rate of −0.13 K GPa−1, in good agreement with the experimental results. For the bct phase, the estimated superconducting transition temperature is very low with T
c of 0.7 K at 200 GPa. The calculations of mechanical properties show that both of fcc and bct phases are compressible and brittle.
Effect of external electric field on ultraviolet-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining
Authors: Song Xiaozong , Ge Shundong , Niu Yanjiang , Yan Dengwei
Published: February 2022

Electric field enhanced ultraviolet (UV)-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining is proposed to improve the material removal efficiency of UV-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining by applying an external electric field. The influences of TiO2 nanoparticle concentration, applied electric field voltage and pH value for the photocatalytic activity of the polishing slurry was investigated by orthogonal experiments. Terephthalic acid (TPA) was used as a fluorescent molecular probe to reflect the relative concentration of hydroxyl radical groups (·OH) in polishing slurry, which directly affects the material removal rate in the UV-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to inspect the interaction variations between the TiO2 nanoparticles and the SiC workpiece surface. The SEM and XPS results exhibit that the external electric field can enhance the adsorption of TiO2 nanoparticles on the SiC workpiece surface, which can create more interfacial reaction active centers in the polishing process. The FT-IR spectra results indicate that TiO2 nanoparticles were chemically bonded to the SiC surface by oxygen-bridging atoms in Ti–O–Si bonds. The results of fixed-point polishing experiment show that due to the enhancement effect of external electric field on the photocatalytic activity of the polishing slurry, the material removal efficiency of electric field enhanced UV-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining is 15% higher than that of UV-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining, and is 28% higher than that of pure nanoparticle colloid jet machining. Atomic force microscope micromorphology show that an ultra-smooth SiC workpieces with surface roughness of Rms 0.84 nm (Ra 0.474 nm) has been obtained by electric field enhanced UV-induced nanoparticle colloid jet machining.
The dual-detection mode and improved photoresponse of IGZO-based photodetectors by interfacing with water-soluble biomaterials
Authors: Feria Denice N , Hsu Feng-Hsuan , Chan Yi-Chieh , Chen Bo-Rui , Wu Chang-Jer , Lin Tai-Yuan
Published: February 2022

The use of conventional fabrication methods rapidly developed the performance and notable enhancements of optoelectronic devices. However, it proved challenging to develop and demonstrate stable optoelectronic devices with biodegradability and biocompatibility properties towards sustainable development and extensive applications. This study incorporates a water-soluble Cr-phycoerythrin (Cr-PE) biomaterial to observe its optical and electronic properties effects on the pristine indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO)-based photodetector. The fabricated photodetector demonstrates an extended absorption detection region, enhanced optoelectronic performance, and switchable function properties. The resulting photocurrent and responsivity of the IGZO/Cr-PE structure have increased by 5.7 and 7.1 times as compared to the pristine IGZO photodetector. It was also observed that the photodetector could operate in UV and UV–visible with enhanced optical properties by effectively adding the water-soluble Cr-PE. Also, the sensing region of IGZO photodetector becomes changeable. It exhibits switchable dual detection by alternatively dripping and removing the Cr-PE on the IGZO layer. Different measurement parameters such as detectivity, repeatability, and sensitivity are highlighted to effectively prove the advantage of including Cr-PE on the photodetector structure. This study contributes to understanding the potential functions in improving optoelectronic devices through an environmental-friendly method.
J model for studying AC magnetization loss in 3D cable structures
Authors: Lai Lingfeng , Gu Chen
Published: February 2022

Flux penetration and AC loss are among the key problems in the application of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs). Through simulation, the value and distribution of AC loss in HTS equipment can be evaluated and optimized in the design stage, so as to ensure the reliability and stability of the equipment. At present, there are many algorithms for AC loss calculation that can be simplified to a two-dimensional model, but for the case of three-dimensional structure such as cable in a spiral structure, there are still some problems such as difficult meshing, difficult convergence, and low efficiency. In this paper, an upgrade of the two-dimensional J model to a three-dimensional J model is proposed, permitting effective calculation of the flux penetration and AC loss in the CORC cable. The reliability of the method is verified by comparing the calculated results with the analytic model and with experimental results. At present, this method can efficiently calculate a 3D CORC model with a total of 15 superconducting tapes in five layers. Also discussed is the feasibility of upgrading to calculate larger models.
Enhanced four-wave mixing from multi-resonant silicon dimer-hole membrane metasurfaces
Authors: Xu Lei , Smirnova Daria A , Camacho-Morales Rocio , Aoni Rifat Ahmmed , Kamali Khosro Zangeneh , Cai Marcus , Ying Cuifeng , Zheng Ze , Miroshnichenko Andrey E , Neshev Dragomir N , Rahmani Mohsen
Published: February 2022

Tailoring optically resonant features in dielectric metasurfaces unveils a robust scheme to control electromagnetic near fields of light and thus to boost the nanoscale nonlinear light–matter interactions. Membrane metasurfaces offer unique possibilities for supporting multipolar resonances and meanwhile maintaining high mode volume for enhancing nonlinear frequency conversion. Here we design a silicon membrane metasurface consisting of dimer airy holes, as a versatile platform for generating four-wave mixing (FWM). We show that such a metasurface exhibits a multi-resonant feature, including a quasi bound state in the continuum (BIC) generated by the collective toroidal dipole mode excited in the designed subdiffractive periodic system. We show that via employing the BIC mode in the short-wave infrared (SWIR), together with other resonant enhanced electric near fields in the near-infrared (NIR) region, simultaneously, one can convert invisible SWIR light to visible light radiation with high efficiency, via FWM. We experimentally demonstrated a significant FWM emission enhancement from our metasurface, which leads to a conversion efficiency of 0.76 × 10−6 using pump and signal beam peak intensities as low as 0.33 GW cm−2 and 0.17 GW cm−2, respectively. Our results open new routes for enhancing nonlinear efficiencies for up-conversion processes.
Dynamic analysis of a fractional-order hyperchaotic system and its application in image encryption
Authors: Shi Qianqian , An Xinlei , Xiong Li , Yang Feifei , Zhang Li
Published: February 2022

Compared with integer order chaotic systems, fractional order chaotic systems can reflect natural phenomena more accurately, which are more suitable for chaotic cryptosystems. In order to explore the application of fractional order chaotic system in cryptography, a novel fractional order hyperchaotic system is constructed and implemented on DSP platform. More progressively, based on Adomian decomposition method, the dynamic behavior is studied by phase diagram, bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponent spectrum and spectral entropy (SE) complexity. It is found that each parameter and order have a large range of intervals that can keep the system in a hyperchaotic state. Therefore, the hyperchaotic sequences generated by the constructed fractional order hyperchaotic system have sufficient randomness and are well suited for applications in secure communications. In addition, a color image encryption scheme is designed based on the fractional order hyperchaotic system and DNA dynamic coding. Firstly, the improved Arnold algorithm is used to scramble the original image, then the column cyclic shift method is applied for secondary scrambling, and finally the pixel value is diffused by DNA sequence operation. The security analysis results indicate that the designed encryption algorithm can not only encrypt images effectively, but also has high security and can resist various common attacks.
Investigating Mechanical Performance of Ravelling in Hot Mix Asphalt Containing Plastic Waste
Authors: Susanto H A , Merdiana K , Indriyati E W
Published: February 2022

One of the road damages on the flexible pavement is ravelling. Ravelling caused by the release of aggregate grains from the asphalt mixture. The interaction between the wheels of the vehicle and the surface of the pavement causes friction that pushes the aggregate out. The plastic waste on road pavements has been widely used to improve the performance of road pavement structures. Most of previous study focused on Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) ravelling using Cantabro test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ravelling performance of plastic waste material in hot mix asphalt mixtures. In addition, the use of plastic waste can reduce the environmental impact due to the high volume of plastic waste. The test is carried out in the laboratory using a rotation abrasion device based on the principle of rotating wheel load with loading, speed, and testing time parameters. Furthermore, the ravelling resistance value of HMA was obtained in dry and wet conditions. The addition of plastic waste into asphalt can increase the ravelling resistance of HMA mixes. The results of the wet test have greater ravelling resistance than dry test.
Evaluating the Road Construction Feasibility Performance of the Rigid Pavement in the Flood-Prone Area: A Case Study of Indonesia
Authors: Mudiyono R
Published: February 2022

Rigid pavement is one of several pavement types often used in road construction. This pavement has sufficient flexural strength to transmit the stresses of the wheels over a wider area underneath. During construction, this road uses concrete slabs with or without steel bars. This slab can be installed either on the sub grade of foundation, the layers of foundation or on the sub grade. Planning must examine the thickness level of concrete pavement required to handle the load with the concrete strength, taking into account the characteristics of the pavement that are capable of dispersing the load widely to the sub grade. This study aimed at evaluating the road construction performance of the rigid pavement in the flood-prone area of Kaligawe Road Semarang Indonesia. Data were collected by testing the pavement under certain specifications during the rainy season, particularly in the flooding time, and analyzed using the software of plaxis 3D foundation. Result of the study showed the pavement on Jl. Kaligawe Road Semarang Indonesia was in the “safe” category, as a result, the design of which could serve as a model for constructing roads with similar qualities elsewhere.
Alternative Bituminous Binder for Sustainable Flexible Pavement: A Review
Authors: Yuniarti R , Ahyudanari E , Prastyanto C A
Published: February 2022

Bituminous binders used for flexible pavement materials are primarily obtained from refinement of petroleum. Since petroleum is non-renewable resource, there is an urgent need to produce alternative binders from bio-renewable resources. Standard alternative binders include pyrolyzed materials, jatropha curcas oil, waste cooking oil, pine resin, etc. This article presents an overview on the application of various types of alternative binders as a modifier for virgin asphalt, rejuvenator for aging asphalt, and recycling agent for reclaimed asphalt pavement. This review discusses the effect of using alternative binders on the physical and rheological properties of asphalt 60/70 and shows that alternative binders’ in appropriate dosage can enhance the physical properties of virgin asphalt and restore the properties of the aged binders. It is also concluded that rutting resistance and fatigue performance are affected by an alternative binder. The possibility of using alternative bituminous binder from economics point of view is also discussed for consideration of its applications in the paving industry.
Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential in Malaysian Sandstone Aquifer: An Overview
Authors: Abd Rahman I Z , Abang Hasbollah D Z , Mohd Yunus N Z , Kasiman E H , Mazlan A N
Published: February 2022

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission rate from energy industries in Malaysia has increased exponentially in these few years. Based on this alarming increment of CO2 emission rate from previous data, carbon dioxide sequestration in deep saline aquifer has been identified as one of the way to reduce and overcome the increment of CO2 emission rate in Malaysian atmosphere. Malaysian geology consists of enormous amount of deep saline aquifer which most of the aquifer material is sandstone. Malay Basin has been identified as the most potential basin for CO2 sequestration in Malaysia by previous researchers. There are four sites in Malay Basin which has potential to be CO2 sequestration site such as Jerneh, Dulang, Tangga and Semangkok because they contain the formation of fine-grained sandstone, mudstone and coal properties. This paper aims to discuss CO2 storage potential in Malaysian sandstone aquifer particularly Malay Basin in terms of potential injection location, properties of Malaysian sandstone aquifer, available technologies of injection, injection parameter as well as issues and challenges of carbon sequestration implementation in Malaysia.
Near-infrared doublet zoom lens based on Ge2Sb2Te5 metasurface
Authors: Yang Lei , Zhang Minjie , Yang Xiaohui , Liu Yu , Ren Xudong , Zhang Yun , Chen Mingyang , Ren Yunpeng , Ye Yunxia
Published: February 2022

Although numerous studies showcase the capability of metalenses to serve as crucial elements of miniaturized optical systems, tunable focusing remains an ongoing challenge. Here, we propose a doublet zoom lens based on a Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) metasurface at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. Multistep zooming is realized by the joint control of incident circular polarization inversion and GST phase transition. Three tight focal spots, 0.91 λ, 1.09 λ and 0.89 λ, are achieved from the composite lens. The devised highly-integrated doublet lens, with advantages such as as being multi-foci, easily operated and responding quickly, can find applications in fields that require ultracompact zoom imaging and beam focusing.
Helly-type problems
Authors: Bárány Imre , Kalai Gil
Published: February 2022

In this paper we present a variety of problems in the interface between combinatorics and geometry around the theorems of Helly, Radon, Carathéodory, and Tverberg. Through these problems we describe the fascinating area of Helly-type theorems and explain some of their main themes and goals.
Harold Widom’s work in random matrix theory
Authors: Corwin Ivan , Deift Percy , Its Alexander
Published: February 2022

This is a survey of Harold Widom’s work in random matrices. We start with his pioneering papers on the sine-kernel determinant, continue with his and Craig Tracy’s groundbreaking results concerning the distribution functions of random matrix theory, touch on the remarkable universality of the Tracy–Widom distributions in mathematics and physics, and close with Tracy and Widom’s remarkable work on the asymmetric simple exclusion process.
On arithmetic intersection numbers on self-products of curves
Authors: Wilms Robert
Published: February 2022

We give a closed formula for the Néron–Tate height of tautological integral cycles on Jacobians of curves over number fields as well as a new lower bound for the arithmetic self-intersection number

ω
^

2

\hat {\omega }^2

of the dualizing sheaf of a curve in terms of Zhang’s invariant

φ
\varphi

. As an application, we obtain an effective Bogomolov-type result for the tautological cycles. We deduce these results from a more general combinatorial computation of arithmetic intersection numbers of adelic line bundles on higher self-products of curves, which are linear combinations of pullbacks of line bundles on the curve and the diagonal bundle.
A necessary condition for prescribing mean curvature equations in 𝔹ⁿ
Authors: Liu Chenkai , Wang Shaodong
Published: February 2022

Let

(

B

n

,

g
0

)

(\mathbb {B}^n,g_0)

be the

n
n

-dimensional Euclidean unit ball with

n
⩾
3

n\geqslant 3

. We obtain a necessary condition on the existence of conformal metric in

B

n

\mathbb {B}^n

with zero scalar curvature and prescribed mean curvature function on the boundary.
A note on elementarity of virtual dendro-morphisms for higher rank lattices
Authors: Savini A.
Published: February 2022

Let

Γ
\Gamma

be a discrete countable group and let

(
Ω
,
μ
)

(\Omega ,\mu )

be an ergodic standard Borel probability

Γ
\Gamma

-space. Given any non-elementary virtual dendro-morphism (that is a measurable cocycle in the automorphism group of a dendrite), we construct a unitary representation

V
V

with no invariant vectors such that

H
b
2

⁡
(
Γ
;
V
)

\operatorname {H}^2_b(\Gamma ;V)

contains a non-zero class. As a consequence, all virtual dendro-morphisms of a higher rank lattice must be elementary.
Obstructions to extension of Wasserstein distances for variable masses
Authors: Lombardini Luca , Rossi Francesco
Published: February 2022

We study the possibility of defining a distance on the whole space of measures, with the property that the distance between two measures having the same mass is the Wasserstein distance, up to a scaling factor. We prove that, under very weak and natural conditions, if the base space is unbounded, then the scaling factor must be constant, independently of the mass. Moreover, no such distance can exist, if we include the zero measure. Instead, we provide examples with non-constant scaling factors for the case of bounded base spaces.
Linear stability of viscous shock wave for 1-D compressible Navier-Stokes equations with Maxwell’s law
Authors: Hu Yuxi , Wang Zhao
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we consider the linear stability of traveling wave solutions for one-dimensional compressible isentropic Navier-Stokes equations with Maxwell’s Law. The global stability of traveling wave solution is established with shock-profile initial data for the linearized system. Anti-derivative and some delicate energy methods are explored to get the desired results. Moreover, the relaxation limit of traveling wave solution is also obtained.
Mean oscillation bounds on rearrangements
Authors: Burchard Almut , Dafni Galia , Gibara Ryan
Published: February 2022

We use geometric arguments to prove explicit bounds on the mean oscillation for two important rearrangements on

R

n

{\mathbb {R}^n}

. For the decreasing rearrangement

f
∗

f^*

of a rearrangeable function

f
f

of bounded mean oscillation (BMO) on cubes, we improve a classical inequality of Bennett–DeVore–Sharpley,
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="double-vertical-bar f Superscript asterisk Baseline double-vertical-bar Subscript upper B upper M upper O left-parenthesis double-struck upper R Sub Subscript plus Subscript right-parenthesis Baseline less-than-or-equal-to upper C Subscript n Baseline double-vertical-bar f double-vertical-bar Subscript upper B upper M upper O left-parenthesis double-struck upper R Sub Superscript n Subscript right-parenthesis">

‖

f
∗

‖

BMO

(

R

+

)

≤

C
n

‖
f

‖

BMO

(

R

n

)

\|f^*\|_{{\operatorname {BMO}}(\mathbb {R}_+)}\leq C_n \|f\|_{{\operatorname {BMO}}(\mathbb {R}^n)}

, by showing the growth of

C
n

C_n

in the dimension

n
n

is not exponential but at most of the order of

n

\sqrt {n}

. This is achieved by comparing cubes to a family of rectangles for which one can prove a dimension-free Calderón–Zygmund decomposition. By comparing cubes to a family of polar rectangles, we provide a first proof that an analogous inequality holds for the symmetric decreasing rearrangement,

S
f

Sf

.
Fusion with wild-type SNARE domains is controlled by juxtamembrane domains, transmembrane anchors, and Sec17
Authors: Orr Amy , Song Hongki , Wickner William
Published: February 2022

Fusion is widely believed to be driven only by zippering of membrane-anchored SNARE domains. With wild-type SNARE domains, it is now shown that fusion also depends on each SNARE having its correct juxtamembrane domain, on the multiplicity of membrane-anchor domains, and on SNARE-associated Sec17.
Fiduciary Colonialism
Authors: Connolly Emilie
Published: February 2022

Federal officials in the early United States built an empire by purchase. But rather than hand over lump sums for Native lands, officials offered annual payments, or annuities. This article traces annuities’ material evolution from payments in goods to high-powered money—especially specie—and their financial evolution from straightforward congressional outlays to interest accrued on investments held in trust. Annuities originated as devices that could permit territorial expansion within considerable military-fiscal constraints. But once in use, they became potent instruments of federal power, shoring up officials’ capacity to intrude on Native economies, wrench further territorial transfers, and channel Indigenous wealth as capital for the very infrastructural projects that spread US settlement. Overall, annuities and the trust funds into which they evolved anchored a strategy of dispossession I call fiduciary colonialism: a mode of territorial acquisition and population management carried out through the expansion of administrative control over Native peoples’ wealth. In the face of federal claims to financial superiority, Indigenous peoples did not wither into wardship. Rather, they engaged trusteeship with their own futures in mind, applying annuities and trusts toward social institutions that would allow their nations to survive the ordeal of dispossession.
The COVID-19 Outbreak as a Trigger Event for Sinophobic Hate Crimes in the United Kingdom
Authors: Schumann Sandy , Moore Ysanne
Published: February 2022

We assessed whether the COVID-19 outbreak in the United Kingdom was associated with a rise in sinophobic hate crimes as well as the temporal distribution of victimization rates. A victimization survey (N = 393) showed that following the first known case of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, Chinese/East Asian persons had a higher likelihood of being hate crime or incident victims than members of other ethnic minority groups. Specifically, victimization reported by Chinese/East Asian participants reached its highest level in March 2020 (before lockdown); it then dropped significantly after an initial relaxation of restrictions in May 2020. Overall, we documented a temporary, potentially slightly delayed hate crime trigger effect of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Screening for Chagas Disease Should Be Included in Entry-to-Care Testing for At-Risk People With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Living in the United States
Authors: Clark Eva H , Marquez Carina , Whitman Jeffrey D , Bern Caryn
Published: February 2022

Chagas disease screening of at-risk populations is essential to identify infected individuals and facilitate timely treatment before end-organ damage occurs. Coinfected people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) are at risk for dangerous sequelae, specifically Trypanosoma cruzi reactivation disease. Recently published national recommendations indicate that at-risk PWH, particularly those from endemic areas or born to women from endemic areas, should be screened via a sensitive anti-T. cruzi IgG assay. However, immunocompromised patients with negative serologic results may warrant further investigation. Reactivation should be suspected in at-risk, untreated PWH with low CD4 cell counts presenting with acute neurologic or cardiac symptoms; these patients should be promptly evaluated and treated. One pragmatic solution to improve Chagas disease screening among PWH and thereby reduce T. cruzi–related morbidity and mortality is to incorporate Chagas disease screening into the panel of tests routinely performed during the entry-to-care evaluation for at-risk PWH.
Deciphering endothelial heterogeneity in health and disease at single-cell resolution: progress and perspectives
Authors: Becker Lisa M , Chen Shiau-Haln , Rodor Julie , de Rooij Laura P M H , Baker Andrew H , Carmeliet Peter
Published: February 2022

Endothelial cells (ECs) constitute the inner lining of vascular beds in mammals and are crucial for homeostatic regulation of blood vessel physiology, but also play a key role in pathogenesis of many diseases, thereby representing realistic therapeutic targets. However, it has become evident that ECs are heterogeneous, encompassing several subtypes with distinct functions, which makes EC targeting and modulation in diseases challenging. The rise of the new single-cell era has led to an emergence of studies aimed at interrogating transcriptome diversity along the vascular tree, and has revolutionized our understanding of EC heterogeneity from both a physiological and pathophysiological context. Here, we discuss recent landmark studies aimed at teasing apart the heterogeneous nature of ECs. We cover driving (epi)genetic, transcriptomic, and metabolic forces underlying EC heterogeneity in health and disease, as well as current strategies used to combat disease-enriched EC phenotypes, and propose strategies to transcend largely descriptive heterogeneity towards prioritization and functional validation of therapeutically targetable drivers of EC diversity. Lastly, we provide an overview of the most recent advances and hurdles in single EC OMICs.
Selection of Genome-Wide SNPs for Pooled Allelotyping Assays Useful for Population Monitoring
Authors: Babineau Marielle , Collis Eliza , Ruffell Angela , Bunch Rowan , McNally Jody , Lyons Russell E , Kotze Andrew C , Hunt Peter W
Published: February 2022

Parasitic worms are serious pests of humans, livestock, and crops worldwide. Multiple management strategies are employed in order to reduce their impact, and some of these may affect their genome and population allelic frequency distribution. The evolution of chemical resistance, ecological changes, and pest dispersal has allowed an increasing number of pests to become difficult to control with current management methods. Their lifestyle limits the use of ecological and individual-based management of populations. There is a need to develop rapid, affordable, and simple diagnostics to assess the efficacy of management strategies and delay the evolution of resistance to these strategies. This study presents a multilocus, equal-representation, whole-genome pooled single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) selection approach as a monitoring tool for the ovine nematode parasite Haemonchus contortus. The SNP selection method used two reference genomes of different quality, then validated these SNPs against a high-quality recent genome assembly. From over 11 million high-quality SNPs identified, 334 SNPs were selected, of which 262 were species-specific, yielded similar allele frequencies when assessed as multiple individuals or as pools of individuals, and suitable to distinguish mixed nematode isolate pools from single isolate pools. As a proof-of-concept, 21 Australian H. contortus populations with various phenotypes and genotypes were screened. This analysis confirmed the overall low level of genetic differentiation between populations collected from the field, but clearly identifying highly inbred populations, and populations showing genetic signatures associated with chemical resistance. The analysis showed that 66% of the SNPs were necessary for stability in assessing population genetic patterns, and SNP pairs did not show linkage according to allelic frequencies across the 21 populations. This method demonstrates that ongoing monitoring of parasite allelic frequencies and genetic changes can be achieved as a management assessment tool to identify drug-treatment failure, population incursions, and inbreeding signatures due to selection. The SNP selection method could also be applied to other parasite species.
Strong neutral sweeps occurring during a population contraction
Authors: Moinet Antoine , Schlichta Flávia , Peischl Stephan , Excoffier Laurent
Published: February 2022

A strong reduction in diversity around a specific locus is often interpreted as a recent rapid fixation of a positively selected allele, a phenomenon called a selective sweep. Rapid fixation of neutral variants can however lead to a similar reduction in local diversity, especially when the population experiences changes in population size, e.g. bottlenecks or range expansions. The fact that demographic processes can lead to signals of nucleotide diversity very similar to signals of selective sweeps is at the core of an ongoing discussion about the roles of demography and natural selection in shaping patterns of neutral variation. Here, we quantitatively investigate the shape of such neutral valleys of diversity under a simple model of a single population size change, and we compare it to signals of a selective sweep. We analytically describe the expected shape of such “neutral sweeps” and show that selective sweep valleys of diversity are, for the same fixation time, wider than neutral valleys. On the other hand, it is always possible to parametrize our model to find a neutral valley that has the same width as a given selected valley. Our findings provide further insight into how simple demographic models can create valleys of genetic diversity similar to those attributed to positive selection.
The effect of weak clonal interference on average fitness trajectories in the presence of macroscopic epistasis
Authors: Guo Yipei , Amir Ariel
Published: February 2022

Adaptation dynamics on fitness landscapes is often studied theoretically in the strong-selection, weak-mutation regime. However, in a large population, multiple beneficial mutants can emerge before any of them fixes in the population. Competition between mutants is known as clonal interference, and while it is known to slow down the rate of adaptation (when compared to the strong-selection, weak-mutation model with the same parameters), how it affects the shape of long-term fitness trajectories in the presence of epistasis is an open question. Here, by considering how changes in fixation probabilities arising from weak clonal interference affect the dynamics of adaptation on fitness-parameterized landscapes, we find that the change in the shape of fitness trajectory arises only through changes in the supply of beneficial mutations (or equivalently, the beneficial mutation rate). Furthermore, a depletion of beneficial mutations as a population climbs up the fitness landscape can speed up the rescaled fitness trajectory (where adaptation speed is measured relative to its value at the start of the experiment), while an enhancement of the beneficial mutation rate does the opposite of slowing it down. Our findings suggest that by carrying out evolution experiments in both regimes (with and without clonal interference), one could potentially distinguish the different sources of macroscopic epistasis (fitness effect of mutations vs change in fraction of beneficial mutations).
Added Value of an Anti-Ebola Serology for the Management of Clinically Suspected Ebola Virus Disease Patients Discharged as Negative in an Epidemic Context
Authors: Nkuba-Ndaye Antoine , Mukadi-Bamuleka Daniel , Bulabula-Penge Junior , Thaurignac Guillaume , Edidi-Atani François , Mambu-Mbika Fabrice , Danga-Yema Bernice , Matondo-Kuamfumu Meris , Kinganda-Lusamaki Eddy , Bisento Nella , Lumembe-Numbi Raphaël , Kabamba-Lungenyi Gabriel , Kitsa-Mutsumbirwa Divine , Kambale-Sivihwa Nelson , Boillot François , Delaporte Eric , Mbala-Kingebeni Placide , Ayouba Ahidjo , Peeters Martine , Ahuka-Mundeke Steve
Published: February 2022

Background

Survivors from Ebola virus disease (EVD) may be at the origin of EVD resurgence.

Methods

Simultaneous reactivity to at least 2 Ebola virus or Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) antigens was detected in 11 of 488 (2.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–4.0) suspected EVD patients who were discharged as negative after 2 consecutive negative tests during the 10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Results

After extrapolating the total number of individuals discharged as negative during the entire outbreak, we estimated a total of 1314 additional missed Ebola cases.

Conclusions

These findings emphasize the usefulness of an EBOV serology analysis and the importance of extending epidemic surveillance to clinically suspected cases who were discharged as negative.
P02 To dip or not to dip? Improving the management of lower urinary tract infections in older patients
Authors: Muir G.
Published: February 2022

Introduction

PHE guidelines were revised in 2018 to state that urine dipsticks tests (UDTs) should not be used as a diagnostic aid in any patient over the age of 65 years.

The high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly population is widely acknowledged however the adherence to the above guidelines is unclear.

My aim was to investigate whether geriatric patients are being misdiagnosed with urinary tract infections (UTIs) and mistreated with unnecessary antibiotics, given the high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in this population.

Methods

I sampled patients diagnosed with a UTI in the Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead over a 7 day period. I extracted medical notes of patients prescribed one of 7 antibiotics, then excluded patients under 65 years old and those treated for an infection outside the lower urinary tract. Next, I established whether a UDT was used as a diagnostic aid using the medical notes. Using this methodology, I repeated my data collection and completed two PDSA cycles of this Quality Improvement project, from 2019 to 2021.

Results

My initial findings revealed that a UDT was performed in 100% patients diagnosed with a UTI (i.e. no cases were in line with best practice). My first educational intervention involved sharing the revised PHE guidelines with staff via an interactive teaching-session. Following this step, I found that a UDT was performed in 62% patients. My next intervention was a flow chart entitled ‘to dip or not to dip’ pasted in the ED. After this second intervention, I found that 27% cases were in line with best practice (a UDT was used in 73% cases).

Conclusions

With this modest improvement, I concluded that my recommendations reduced the number of over 65-year-old patients undergoing unnecessary UDTs as part of their diagnostic work-up.
Ethereum-based decentralized car rental system
Authors: Caballero-Gil Cándido , Caballero-Gil Pino , Molina-Gil Jezabel , García-Moreno Néstor
Published: February 2022

Blockchain is a pioneering technology that allows the creation of innovative information exchange ecosystems thanks to unique properties, such as immutability, distribution and transparency. By combining this technology with the emergent internet of things (IoT), many innovative business models can be created. The main objective of this work is to present the design and an initial implementation of a decentralized rental system that takes advantage of smart contracts developed on a public blockchain, combined with the potential of the IoT and its intimate relationship with cyber-physical systems. The logic to be implemented in the blockchain is applied in this paper by using the Ethereum programming language, so that the developed application covers the entire car rental process offered in traditional web applications, but adding more autonomy, functionalities and ease of use for both lessees and lessors. Following Ethereum application development guidelines, all business logic is located in the smart contracts implemented in the network, where they can be used to control the car rental system. While this is a work in progress, the results obtained in the first proof of concept have been very promising.
A modification proposal for the reconciliation mechanism of the key exchange algorithm NewHope
Authors: Martínez V Gayoso , Encinas L Hernández , Muñoz A Martín
Published: February 2022

The latest advances in quantum computing forced the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to launch an initiative for selecting quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms. One of the best-known proposals is NewHope, an algorithm that was initially designed as a key exchange algorithm. In its original design, NewHope presented a reconciliation mechanism that is complex and represents an entry barrier for potential implementers. This contribution presents equivalent schemes in one, two and three dimensions, which allow anyone to make the transition to the 4D NewHope algorithm easier to undertake. In addition to that, the effect of modifying some of the parameters associated to NewHope’s reconciliation mechanism is studied, which has allowed us to propose different sets of parameters that could increase the security of NewHope implementations.
Ammonium transporters cooperatively regulate rice crown root formation responding to ammonium nitrogen
Authors: Luo Long , Zhu Ming , Jia Letian , Xie Yuanming , Wang Ziniu , Xuan Wei
Published: February 2022

Crown roots (CRs) are major components of the rice root system. They form at the basal node of the shoot, and their development is greatly influenced by environmental factors. Ammonium nitrogen is known to impact plant root development through ammonium transporters (AMTs), but it remains unclear whether ammonium and AMTs play roles in rice CR formation. In this study, we revealed a significant role of ammonium, rather than nitrate, in regulating rice CR development. High ammonium supply increases CR formation but inhibits CR elongation. Genetic evidence showed that ammonium regulation of CR development relies on ammonium uptake mediated jointly by ammonium transporters OsAMT1;1, OsAMT1;2; OsAMT1;3, and OsAMT2;1, but not on root acidification which was the result of ammonium uptake. OsAMTs are also needed for glutamine-induced CR formation. Furthermore, we showed that polar auxin transport dependent on the PIN auxin efflux carriers acts downstream of ammonium uptake and assimilation to activate local auxin signaling at CR primordia, in turn promoting CR formation. Taken together, our results highlight a critical role for OsAMTs in cooperatively regulating CR formation through regulating auxin transport under nitrogen-rich conditions.
Celebrating international criminal justice: a sociology of the twentieth anniversary of the International Criminal Court
Authors: Christensen Mikkel Jarle
Published: February 2022

The article analyses events that marked the twentieth anniversary of the Rome Statute. Building on sociological methods and original data, the article shows how these events were dominated by particular elites and by an orthodox perspective on international criminal justice that excluded other points of view and professional groups.
RAMSES-RTZ: non-equilibrium metal chemistry and cooling coupled to on-the-fly radiation hydrodynamics
Authors: Katz Harley
Published: February 2022

Emission and absorption lines from elements heavier than helium (metals) represent one of our strongest probes of galaxy formation physics across nearly all redshifts accessible to observations. The vast majority of simulations that model these metal lines often assume either collisional or photoionization equilibrium, or a combination of the two. For the few simulations that have relaxed these assumptions, a redshift-dependent meta-galactic UV background or fixed spectrum is often used in the non-equilibrium photoionization calculation, which is unlikely to be accurate in the interstellar medium where the gas can self-shield, as well as in the high-redshift circumgalactic medium, where locally emitted radiation may dominate over the UV background. In this work, we relax this final assumption by coupling the ionization states of individual metals to the radiation hydrodynamics solver present in ramses-rt. Our chemical network follows radiative recombination, dielectronic recombination, collisional ionization, photoionization, and charge transfer, and we use the ionization states to compute non-equilibrium optically thin metal-line cooling. The fiducial model solves for the ionization states of C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Fe, and Ne in addition to H, He, and H2, but can be easily extended for other ions. We provide interfaces to two different ODE solvers that are competitive in both speed and accuracy. The code has been benchmarked across a variety of gas conditions to reproduce results from cloudy when equilibrium is reached. We show an example isolated galaxy simulation with on-the-fly radiative transfer that demonstrates the utility of our code for translating between simulations and observations without the use of idealized photoionization models.
A census of X-ray millisecond pulsars in globular clusters
Authors: Zhao Jiaqi , Heinke Craig O
Published: February 2022

We present a comprehensive census of X-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in 29 Galactic globular clusters (GCs), including 68 MSPs with confirmed X-ray luminosities and 107 MSPs with X-ray upper limits. We compile previous X-ray studies of GC MSPs, and add new analyses of six MSPs (PSRs J1326–4728A, J1326–4728B, J1518+0204C, J1717+4308A, J1737–0314A, and J1807–2459A) discovered in five GCs. Their X-ray spectra are well described by a single blackbody model, a single power-law model, or a combination of them, with X-ray luminosities ranging from 1.9 × 1030to 8.3 × 1031 erg s−1. We find that most detected X-ray MSPs have luminosities between ∼1030 and 3 × 1031 erg s−1. Redback pulsars are a relatively bright MSP population with X-ray luminosities of ∼2 × 1031–3 × 1032 erg s−1. Black widows show a bimodal distribution in X-ray luminosities, with eclipsing black widows between ∼7 × 1030 and 2 × 1031 erg s−1, while the two confirmed non-eclipsing black widows are much fainter, with LX of 1.5–3 × 1030 erg s−1, suggesting an intrinsic difference in the populations. We estimate the total number of MSPs in 36 GCs by considering the correlation between the number of MSPs and stellar encounter rate in GCs, and suggest that between 600 and 1500 MSPs exist in these 36 GCs. Finally, we estimate the number of X-ray-detectable MSPs in the Galactic bulge, finding that 1–86 MSPs with LX > 1033 erg s−1, and 20–900 MSPs with LX > 1032 erg s−1 should be detectable there.