bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analytical model for extracting optical properties from absorptance of femtosecond-laser structured hyperdoped silicon
Authors: Schäfer Sören , McKearney Patrick , Paulus Simon , Kontermann Stefan
Published: June 2022

We set up an analytical optical model to emulate the absorptance spectra of light scattering, sulfur-hyperdoped silicon that we fabricate by using femtosecond laser pulses. The model allows us to distinguish between contributions to the absolute sub-bandgap absorptance from the path length enhancement of photons due to laser-induced surface roughness, on the one hand, and from the actual hyperdoped layer, on the other hand. Both effects are quantified via the two free parameters of the model. By varying the laser fluence and the areal pulse density, we create a range from almost planar to heavily structured hyperdoped Si samples that we show to behave almost like a Lambertian scatterer. The optical depth a1, i.e., the product of the absorption coefficient close to the Si bandgap energy and the effective thickness of the hyperdoped layer, scales with the surface area enhancement, which we identify as the main driving force for large sub-bandgap absorptances of this material type. It reaches maximum values of nearly a1 = 0.4, which refers to an absolute absorptance of 82% at a wavelength of 1450 nm. We furthermore discuss, quantify, and reduce possible error sources when determining the absorptance of such optically rough, hyperdoped samples with a spectrophotometer.
Density-unweighted subgrid-scale models for large-eddy simulations of compressible turbulence
Authors: Zhang Chao , Yuan Zelong , Wang Yunpeng , Zhang Ruibo , Wang Jianchun
Published: June 2022

Density-unweighted methods in large-eddy simulations (LES) of turbulence have received little attention, and the modeling of unclosed terms using density-unweighted methods even less. We investigate the density-unweighted subgrid-scale (SGS) closure problem for LES of decaying compressible isotropic turbulence at initial turbulent Mach numbers 0.4 and 0.8. Compared to the LES with Favre (density-weighted) filtering, there are more unclosed SGS terms for density-unweighted LES, which can be reconstructed using different SGS models, including the gradient model (GM), approximate deconvolution model (ADM), dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM), dynamic mixed model (DMM), and the dynamic iterative approximate deconvolution (DIAD) models proposed by Yuan et al. “Dynamic iterative approximate deconvolution models for large-eddy simulation of turbulence,” Phys. Fluids 33, 085125 (2021). We derive GM models suitable for density-unweighted methods. We also, for the first time, apply the DIAD model to investigate compressible turbulence. In the a priori tests, the correlation coefficients of the GM, ADM, and DIAD models are larger than 0.9. Particularly, the correlation coefficients of DIAD models exceed 0.98 and the relative errors are below 0.2, which is superior to that in other SGS models. In the a posteriori tests of the density-unweighted LES, the DIAD model shows great advantages over other SGS models (including GM, ADM, DSM, and DMM models) in predicting the various statistics and structures of compressible turbulence, including the velocity spectrum, probability density functions (PDFs) of SGS fluxes and the instantaneous spatial structures of SGS heat flux, SGS kinetic energy flux, and vorticity.
Size effect on optical and vibrational properties of van der Waals layered In4/3P2S6
Authors: Zhou Hailin , Zhou Ju , Wang Shun , Li Ping , Li Qiankun , Xue Jinshuo , Zhou Ziwen , Wang Rui , Yu Yiqing , Weng Yuyan , Zheng Fengang , Li Zhongguo , Ju Sheng , Fang Liang , You Lu
Published: June 2022

Metal thiophosphates have recently received increasing research interest, thanks to their diversity in regard to metal cation occupation within the P–S scaffold, which produces a broad array of functional properties. Among them, In4/3P2S6 belongs to a special case as regards the ordering of metal cations and vacancy sites, whose physical properties remain largely unexplored, especially in the atomically thin limit. In this work, we undertake a comprehensive investigation on the thickness-dependent optical and vibrational properties of In4/3P2S6 from the bulk scale down to a few-layer flakes. Both optical birefringence and anisotropic photoelectric response are observed, which are closely linked to the monoclinic symmetry of the crystal lattice. The vanishing of Raman, absorption, and photoluminescence intensities at about three to four layers signifies the enhanced structural disorder and lattice incoherence when approaching the monolayer limit. Before reaching this critical thickness, phonon softening due to weakened interlayer coupling and bandgap widening due to quantum confinement are accompanied by thickness reduction. These findings shed light on a general understanding of the finite size effect on the physical properties of metal thiophosphates and deliver possible device applications by exploiting the property of optical anisotropy.
Instability and bifurcations of electro-thermo-convection in a tilted square cavity filled with dielectric liquid
Authors: Jiang Hao-Kui , Zhang Yu , Zhang Zi-Yao , Luo Kang , Yi Hong-Liang
Published: June 2022

The direction of coupled buoyancy and electric forces has a significant effect on both the fluid flow and heat transfer in an electro-thermo-convection (ETC) system. Here, we theoretically and numerically investigate the instability and bifurcations of ETC inside a tilted square cavity. A linear stability analysis is conducted using a unified linearized-lattice Boltzmann model by solving the coupled linear Navier–Stokes equation, linear Poisson equation, linear Nernst–Planck equation, and the linear energy equation. The numerical simulation is performed by integrating our code with the Palabos library. Results show that the interactions between the stabilizing buoyancy force and electric force lead to a Hopf bifurcation for Rayleigh number Ra = 1 × 105. The steady flow transitions to a traveling-wave flow by a subcritical bifurcation when tilted angles are less than δc ∈ [48°,49°]. For tilted angles above δc, the flow loses its stability through a local oscillation caused by a supercritical bifurcation. Finally, the chaotic behavior is quantitatively analyzed through the calculation of the Lyapunov exponent, which increases linearly with the electric Rayleigh number and is weakly dependent on the tilted angle.
Treating random sequential addition via the replica method
Authors: Jadrich Ryan B. , Lindquist Beth A. , Truskett Thomas M.
Published: June 2022

While many physical processes are non-equilibrium in nature, the theory and modeling of such phenomena lag behind theoretical treatments of equilibrium systems. The diversity of powerful theoretical tools available to describe equilibrium systems has inspired strategies that map non-equilibrium systems onto equivalent equilibrium analogs so that interrogation with standard statistical mechanical approaches is possible. In this work, we revisit the mapping from the non-equilibrium random sequential addition process onto an equilibrium multi-component mixture via the replica method, allowing for theoretical predictions of non-equilibrium structural quantities. We validate the above approach by comparing the theoretical predictions to numerical simulations of random sequential addition.
Mechanism of tangential Knudsen force at different Knudsen numbers
Authors: Otic Clint John Cortes , Yonemura Shigeru
Published: June 2022

In a rarefied gas with a non-uniform temperature field, one phenomenon that arises is the tangential Knudsen force. Various research studies have investigated the tangential Knudsen force but have been limited to specific cases. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of the thermally induced tangential Knudsen force, using theoretical analysis under fully diffusive conditions and for a range of Knudsen numbers. Specifically, we formulated a theoretical expression to describe the tangential Knudsen stress by considering the two kinds of momentum fluxes transferred on a surface of interest. One is brought by molecules directly coming from the other surface without experiencing intermolecular collisions, and the other is brought by molecules coming from the bulk region after experiencing intermolecular collisions there. As a reference, we used a channel where the lower surface is a hot ratchet structure and the upper surface is a flat cold object. The tangential Knudsen force on the object obtained by the theoretical analysis was compared with the results from our previous work where we performed numerical experiments by the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. Based on the comparison, it is found that the tangential Knudsen force is caused by three mechanisms. First is the contribution of impinging molecules coming from the other surface with different temperature. Second is the contribution of viscous effect of thermally driven flows, while the third is the contribution of thermal stress, which is noticeable in small Knudsen numbers.
Analytical study on detonation pressure and velocity deficit
Authors: Kanda Takeshi , Amano Hisataka
Published: June 2022

Steady detonation is studied analytically from the viewpoints of conservation laws and entropy change. The mechanisms affecting the pressure at the end of the rarefaction wave and the velocity deficit are examined. Mass, energy, and momentum conservation are applied in the one-dimensional flow based on the Zeldovich–von Neumann–Doering model. The impulse function is found to be larger at the end of the rarefaction wave than in the region from the detonation front to the Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) sonic point. The extra force propels the detonation gas and is consumed by friction under the moving gas. The friction works in the boundary layer, which changes from laminar to turbulent. The detonated gas expands isentropically from the CJ point to the end of the rarefaction wave. The two-position heat release reaction and friction affect the entropy change during the expansion process. The calculated pressure at the end of the rarefaction wave is in reasonable agreement with past experimental results. The velocity deficits reach several percent and are also in reasonable agreement with previous experiments.
What is the optimal mGGA exchange functional for solids?
Authors: Kovács Péter , Tran Fabien , Blaha Peter , Madsen Georg K. H.
Published: June 2022

The space of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and meta-GGA (mGGA) exchange approximations is systematically explored by training 25 new functionals to produce accurate lattice parameter, cohesive energy, and bandgap predictions. The trained functionals are used to reproduce exact constraints in a data-driven way and to understand the accuracy trade-off between the mentioned properties. The functionals are compared to notable mGGA functionals to analyze how changes in the enhancement factor maps influence the accuracy of predictions. Some of the trained functionals are found to perform on par with specialized functionals for bandgaps, while outperforming them on the other two properties. The error surface of our trained functionals can serve as a soft-limit of what mGGA functionals can achieve.
Real-time equation-of-motion CC cumulant and CC Green’s function simulations of photoemission spectra of water and water dimer
Authors: Vila Fernando D. , Rehr John J. , Pathak Himadri , Peng Bo , Panyala Ajay , Mutlu Erdal , Bauman Nicholas P. , Kowalski Karol
Published: June 2022

Newly developed coupled-cluster (CC) methods enable simulations of ionization potentials and spectral functions of molecular systems in a wide range of energy scales ranging from core-binding to valence. This paper discusses the results obtained with the real-time equation-of-motion CC cumulant (RT-EOM-CC) approach and CC Green’s function (CCGF) approaches in applications to the water and water dimer molecules. We compare the ionization potentials obtained with these methods for the valence region with the results obtained with the coupled-cluster with singles, doubles, and perturbative triples formulation as a difference of energies for N and N − 1 electron systems. All methods show good agreement with each other. They also agree well with the experiment with errors usually below 0.1 eV for the ionization potentials. We also analyze unique features of the spectral functions, associated with the position of satellite peaks, obtained with the RT-EOM-CC and CCGF methods employing single and double excitations, as a function of the monomer OH bond length and the proton transfer coordinate in the dimer. Finally, we analyze the impact of the basis set effects on the quality of calculated ionization potentials and find that the basis set effects are less pronounced for the augmented-type sets.
Convergent evolution of antiviral machinery derived from endogenous retrovirus truncated envelope genes in multiple species
Authors: Miyake Ariko , Ngo Minh Ha , Wulandari Shelly , Shimojima Masayuki , Nakagawa So , Kawasaki Junna , Nishigaki Kazuo
Published: June 2022

Host genetic resistance to viral infection controls the pathogenicity and epidemic dynamics of infectious diseases. Refrex-1 is a restriction factor against feline leukemia virus subgroup D (FeLV-D) and an endogenous retrovirus (ERV) in domestic cats (ERV-DC). Refrex-1 is encoded by a subset of ERV-DC loci with truncated envelope genes and secreted from cells as a soluble protein. Here, we identified the copper transporter CTR1 as the entry receptor for FeLV-D and genotype I ERV-DCs. We also identified CTR1 as a receptor for primate ERVs from crab-eating macaques and rhesus macaques, which were found in a search of intact envelope genes capable of forming infectious viruses. Refrex-1 counteracted infection by FeLV-D and ERV-DCs via competition for the entry receptor CTR1; the antiviral effects extended to primate ERVs with CTR1-dependent entry. Furthermore, truncated ERV envelope genes found in chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, crab-eating macaque, and rhesus macaque genomes could also block infection by feline and primate retroviruses. Genetic analyses showed that these ERV envelope genes were acquired in a species- or genus-specific manner during host evolution. These results indicated that soluble envelope proteins could suppress retroviral infection across species boundaries, suggesting that they function to control retroviral spread. Our findings revealed that several mammalian species acquired antiviral machinery from various ancient retroviruses, leading to convergent evolution for host defense.
Bronchial epithelia from adults and children: SARS-CoV-2 spread via syncytia formation and type III interferon infectivity restriction
Authors: Beucher Guillaume , Blondot Marie-Lise , Celle Alexis , Pied Noémie , Recordon-Pinson Patricia , Esteves Pauline , Faure Muriel , Métifiot Mathieu , Lacomme Sabrina , Dacheux Denis , Robinson Derrick R. , Längst Gernot , Beaufils Fabien , Lafon Marie-Edith , Berger Patrick , Landry Marc , Malvy Denis , Trian Thomas , Andreola Marie-Line , Wodrich Harald
Published: June 2022

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections initiate in the bronchi of the upper respiratory tract and are able to disseminate to the lower respiratory tract, where infections can cause an acute respiratory distress syndrome with a high degree of mortality in elderly patients. We used reconstituted primary bronchial epithelia from adult and child donors to follow the SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics. We show that, in epithelia from adult donors, infections initiate in multiciliated cells and spread within 24 to 48 h throughout the whole epithelia. Syncytia formed of ciliated and basal cells appeared at the apical side of the epithelia within 3 to 4 d and were released into the apical lumen, where they contributed to the transmittable virus dose. A small number of reconstituted epithelia were intrinsically more resistant to virus infection, limiting virus spread to different degrees. This phenotype was more frequent in epithelia derived from children versus adults and correlated with an accelerated release of type III interferon. Treatment of permissive adult epithelia with exogenous type III interferon restricted infection, while type III interferon gene knockout promoted infection. Furthermore, a transcript analysis revealed that the inflammatory response was specifically attenuated in children. Taken together, our findings suggest that apical syncytia formation is an underappreciated source of virus propagation for tissue or environmental dissemination, whereas a robust type III interferon response such as commonly seen in young donors restricted SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, the combination of interferon restriction and attenuated inflammatory response in children might explain the epidemiological observation of age-related susceptibility to COVID-19.
Three-dimensional forming characteristics and mechanical property of additive manufacturing aluminium–copper alloys
Authors: Chen Dan , Wang Leilei , He Shi , Lyu Feiyue , Zhan Xiaohong
Published: June 2022

The three-dimensional forming characteristics and mechanical properties of the Al–Cu alloy components, fabricated by the cold metal transfer-based wire arc additive manufacturing process with different deposition parameters, were analysed. A three-dimensional scanner is employed to test the geometrical forming characteristics of deposition components under different parameters. The results indicate that inappropriate heat input reduces the dimensional accuracy of the components. Based on the analysis of the mechanical properties of deposited components, the tensile strength and the elongation increase with the increase in deposited heat input. Meanwhile, the anisotropic tensile properties in the components are more significant. Higher ultimate tensile strength is obtained in the deposition direction than perpendicular to the deposition direction.
Searching for Multiple Populations in Star Clusters Using the China Space Station Telescope
Authors: Li Chengyuan , Zheng Zhenya , Li Xiaodong , Pang Xiaoying , Tang Baitian , Milone Antonino P. , Wang Yue , Wang Haifeng , Jiang Dengkai
Published: June 2022

Multiple stellar populations (MPs) in most star clusters older than 2 Gyr, as seen by lots of spectroscopic and photometric studies, have led to a significant challenge to the traditional view of star formation. In this field, space-based instruments, in particular the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), have made a breakthrough as they significantly improved the efficiency of detecting MPs in crowded stellar fields by images. The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) and the HST are sensitive to a similar wavelength interval, but the CSST covers a field of view which is about 5–8 times wider than that of HST. One of its instruments, the Multi-Channel Imager (MCI), will have multiple filters covering a wide wavelength range from NUV to NIR, making the CSST a potentially powerful tool for studying MPs in clusters. In this work, we evaluate the efficiency of the designed filters for the MCI/CSST in revealing MPs in different color–magnitude diagrams (CMDs). We find that CMDs made with MCI/CSST photometry in appropriate UV filters are powerful tools to disentangle stellar populations with different abundances of He, C, N, O and Mg. On the contrary, the traditional CMDs are blind to multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs). We show that CSST has the potential of being the spearhead instrument for investigating MPs in GCs in the next decades.
About 300 days Optical Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the Long-term Light Curves of the Blazar PKS 2155-304
Authors: Zheng Qi , Zhang Xue-Guang , Yuan Qi-Rong
Published: June 2022

Based on the long-term light curves collected from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) (from 2005 to 2013) and the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) (from 2014 to 2018), optical quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) about 300 days can be well determined in the well-known blazar PKS 2155-304 through four different methods: the generalized Lomb-Scargle periodogram (GLSP) method, the weighted wavelet Z-transform technique, the epoch-folded method and the redfit method. The GLSP determined significance level for the periodicity is higher than 99.9999% based on a false alarm probability. The redfit provided confidence level for the periodicity is higher than 99% in the ASAS-SN light curve, after considering the effects of red noise. Based on continuous autoregressive process created artificial light curves, the probability of detecting fake QPOs is lower than 0.8%. The determined optical periodicity of 300 days from the CSS and ASAS-SN light curves is well consistent with the reported optical periodicity in the literature. Moreover, three possible models are discussed to explain the optical QPOs in PKS 2155-304: the relativistic frame-dragging effect, the binary black hole model and the jet precession model.
Model estimates for climatic effects of anthropogenic GHG emission scenarios in the 21st century
Authors: Denisov S , Eliseev A , Mokhov I
Published: June 2022

To estimate the climatic effects of anthropogenic CO2 and CH4 emission scenarios we performed numerical experiments using IAP RAS CM global climate model. Emissions pathways of 5 RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) regions were used as evaluated scenarios. It is shown that the anthropogenic contribution of CO2 to global surface temperature change starts to decrease in the second half of the century only for RCP 2.6 and only for ASIA, OECD and REF emission scenarios. The rest of the CO2 emission scenarios contribute to an increase in the global surface temperature of the atmosphere throughout the 21st century. The growth of the compensatory effect of natural CO2 fluxes generally slows down by the end of the 21st century. Impact of anthropogenic methane emissions on climate stabilizes in the 21st century for all scenarios under RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 6.0. The estimates of GHG climatic cost equal up to 24 mK per PgC for CO2 and up to 0.9 mK per Tg for CH4. Methane is shown to have at least 40 times stronger impact on global surface temperature per molecule than CO2.
To the theory of convective flows in a rotating stratified medium over a thermally inhomogeneous surface
Authors: Ingel L Kh , Makosko A A
Published: June 2022

In a liquid (gaseous) medium above a thermally inhomogeneous horizontal surface in a gravity field, convective flows arise, which can play an important role, in particular, in the dynamics of the atmosphere. An extensive literature is devoted to their theory, but, due to the complexity of the problem and the variety of possible combinations of parameters, not all situations of interest have been sufficiently studied even in the linear approximation. In this work, a theoretical model of such thermal circulations is considered, which is more general than in a number of previous works. An analytical solution is found within the framework of a linear stationary two-dimensional model of convective flows in a semi-infinite stably stratified medium rotating around a vertical axis. The obtained relations allow analyzing the dependences of the components of velocity and helicity on the parameters of the problem. A number of rather general statements about the ratio of different helicity “components” in the considered thermal circulations, in particular, in atmospheric currents with characteristic horizontal scales of the order of hundreds of kilometres, have been proved. Examples of numerical calculations of the vertical distribution of these components are given.
On the influence of internal gravity waves on the intensity of turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer
Authors: Zaitseva D , Kallistratova M , Lyulyukin V , Kouznetsov R , Kuznetsov D
Published: June 2022

To date experimental data concerning the impact of internal gravity waves on the intensity of turbulence in a stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer are scarce. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the degree of influence on turbulence characteristics of wave-like motions of two classes: Kelvin-Helmholtz billows (KHBs) and horizontally propagating buoyancy waves (BWs). For this purpose the data of long-term sodar measurements carried out in the suburban area of Moscow were used. The passage of 30% of KHB trains and 90% of BW trains was accompanied with increase of turbulent kinetic energy and both heat and momentum fluxes. The relative increase in values of these characteristics was higher during BWs passage. Nevertheless the magnitude of turbulence characteristics were similar for both IGWs classes. In general the difference between characteristics calculated in the presence and in the absence of wavelike motions was smaller than between those in strongly and weakly stable boundary layers.
Outcome After Treatment With 15% Trichloroacetic Acid Peeling After Facial Black Powder Injury
Authors: Ulrich Franzisca , Elahi Leslie , Alexander Rossi Severin , Meuli Joachim , Raffoul Wassim
Published: June 2022

Explosion-related facial black powder injuries are difficult to treat due to traumatic tattooing of powder residue. A common treatment protocol consists of immediate debridement using a variety of surgical techniques with no other adjuncts. The results are often mediocre because of scarring or powder remnants on the skin. The authors present a patient who suffered innumerable black powder tattoos to the face after a cannon explosion treated by initial debridement and serial treatments of 15% trichloroacetic acid peelings with a highly satisfactory result.

Level of Evidence: 5
Molecular genetics of human developmental neurocranial anomalies: towards “precision surgery”
Authors: Duy Phan Q , Timberlake Andrew T , Lifton Richard P , Kahle Kristopher T
Published: June 2022

Recent trio-based whole-exome sequencing studies of congenital hydrocephalus and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis have identified multiple novel disease genes that have illuminated the pathogenesis of these disorders and shed new insight into the genetic regulation of human brain and skull development. Continued study of these and other historically understudied developmental anomalies has the potential to replace the current antiquated, anatomically based disease classification systems with a molecular nomenclature that may increase precision for genetic counseling, prognostication, and surgical treatment stratification—including when not to operate. Data will also inform future clinical trials, catalyze the development of targeted therapies, and generate infrastructure and publicly available data sets relevant for other related nonsurgical neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Case-by-case: neural markers of emotion and task stimulus significance
Authors: Schupp Harald T , Flösch Karl-Philipp , Kirmse Ursula
Published: June 2022

The present study assessed the hypothesis that electrophysiological markers of emotional and task stimulus significance can be demonstrated in concert at the level of the individual case. Participants (n = 18, 9 females) viewed low and high-arousing pictures selected from behavior systems of sexual reproduction, disease avoidance, and predator fear. Furthermore, to concurrently manipulate task relevance, participants performed an explicit emotion categorization task with either low or high-arousing pictures alternating as target stimuli in separate experimental blocks. Pooled across behavior systems, event-related components sensitive to emotional significance reached statistical significance in 100% of the tests for the early posterior negativity and in 96% of the tests for the late positive potential. Regarding explicit task relevance, the target P3 effect was significant in 96% of the tests. These findings demonstrate that neural markers of stimulus significance driven by emotional picture content and explicit task demands can be assessed at the individual level. Replicating an effect case-after-case provides strong support for an effect common-to-all and may support individual inferences. Contributions of the case-by-case approach to reveal reproducible effects and implications for the development of neural biomarkers for specific affective and cognitive component processes are discussed.
A generic neural factor linking resting-state neural dynamics and the brain’s response to unexpectedness in multilevel cognition
Authors: Ouyang Guang
Published: June 2022

The brain’s response to change is fundamental to learning and adaptation; this implies the presence of a universal neural mechanism under various contexts. We hypothesized that this mechanism manifests in neural activity patterns across low and high levels of cognition during task processing as well as in resting-state neural dynamics, because both these elements are different facets of the same dynamical system. We tested our hypothesis by (i) characterizing (a) the neural response to changes in low-level continuous information stream and unexpectedness at different cognitive levels and (b) the spontaneous neural dynamics in resting state, and (ii) examining the associations among the dynamics according to cross-individual variability (n = 200). Our results showed that the brain’s response magnitude was monotonically correlated with the magnitude of information fluctuation in a low-level task, forming a simple psychophysical function; moreover, this effect was found to be associated with the brain’s response to unexpectedness in high-level cognitive tasks (including language processing). These coherent multilevel neural effects in task processing were also shown to be strongly associated with resting-state neural dynamics characterized by the waxing and waning of Alpha oscillation. Taken together, our results revealed large-scale consistency between the neural dynamic system and multilevel cognition.
Advancing Precision Vaccinology by Molecular and Genomic Surveillance of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Germany, 2021
Authors: Oh Djin Ye , Hölzer Martin , Paraskevopoulou Sofia , Trofimova Maria , Hartkopf Felix , Budt Matthias , Wedde Marianne , Richard Hugues , Haldemann Berit , Domaszewska Teresa , Reiche Janine , Keeren Kathrin , Radonić Aleksandar , Ramos Calderón Julia Patricia , Smith Maureen Rebecca , Brinkmann Annika , Trappe Kathrin , Drechsel Oliver , Klaper Kathleen , Hein Sascha , Hildt Eberhardt , Haas Walter , Calvignac-Spencer Sébastien , Semmler Torsten , Dürrwald Ralf , Thürmer Andrea , Drosten Christian , Fuchs Stephan , Kröger Stefan , von Kleist Max , Wolff Thorsten ,   for the Integrated Molecular Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 (IMS-SC2) Laboratory Network, Biere Barbara , Bode Konrad , Corman Victor , Erren Michael , Finzer Patrick , Grosser Roger , Haffner Manuel , Hermann Beate , Kiel Christina , Krumbholz Andi , Meinck Kristian , Nitsche Andreas , Petzold Markus , Schwanz Thomas , Szabados Florian , Tewald Friedemann , Tiemann Carsten
Published: June 2022

Background

Comprehensive pathogen genomic surveillance represents a powerful tool to complement and advance precision vaccinology. The emergence of the Alpha variant in December 2020 and the resulting efforts to track the spread of this and other severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern led to an expansion of genomic sequencing activities in Germany.

Methods

At Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German National Institute of Public Health, we established the Integrated Molecular Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 (IMS-SC2) network to perform SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance at the national scale, SARS-CoV-2–positive samples from laboratories distributed across Germany regularly undergo whole-genome sequencing at RKI.

Results

We report analyses of 3623 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected between December 2020 and December 2021, of which 3282 were randomly sampled. All variants of concern were identified in the sequenced sample set, at ratios equivalent to those in the 100-fold larger German GISAID sequence dataset from the same time period. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed variant assignments. Multiple mutations of concern emerged during the observation period. To model vaccine effectiveness in vitro, we employed authentic-virus neutralization assays, confirming that both the Beta and Zeta variants are capable of immune evasion. The IMS-SC2 sequence dataset facilitated an estimate of the SARS-CoV-2 incidence based on genetic evolution rates. Together with modeled vaccine efficacies, Delta-specific incidence estimation indicated that the German vaccination campaign contributed substantially to a deceleration of the nascent German Delta wave.

Conclusions

SARS-CoV-2 molecular and genomic surveillance may inform public health policies including vaccination strategies and enable a proactive approach to controlling coronavirus disease 2019 spread as the virus evolves.
High Community Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Associated With Decreased Contact Tracing Effectiveness for Identifying Persons at Elevated Risk of Infection—Vermont
Authors: Borah Brian F , Pringle Julia , Flaherty Michael , Oeltmann John E , Moonan Patrick K , Kelso Patsy
Published: June 2022

Vermont contact tracing consistently identified people at risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the prevalence ratio (PR) of COVID-19 among contacts compared with noncontacts when viral transmission was high (PR, 13.5 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 13.2–13.9]) was significantly less than when transmission was low (PR, 49.3 [95% CI, 43.2–56.3]).
Current state of artificial intelligence-based algorithms for hospital admission prediction in patients with heart failure: a scoping review
Authors: Croon P M , Selder J L , Allaart C P , Bleijendaal H , Chamuleau S A J , Hofstra L , Išgum I , Ziesemer K A , Winter M M
Published: June 2022

Aims

Patients with congestive heart failure (HF) are prone to clinical deterioration leading to hospital admissions, burdening both patients and the healthcare system. Predicting hospital admission in this patient group could enable timely intervention, with subsequent reduction of these admissions. To date, hospital admission prediction remains challenging. Increasing amounts of acquired data and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology allow for the creation of reliable hospital prediction algorithms for HF patients. This scoping review describes the current literature on strategies and performance of AI-based algorithms for prediction of hospital admission in patients with HF.

Methods and results

PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science were used to search for articles using machine learning (ML) and deep learning methods to predict hospitalization in patients with HF. After eligibility screening, 23 articles were included. Sixteen articles predicted 30-day hospital (re-)admission resulting in an area under the curve (AUC) ranging from 0.61 to 0.79. Six studies predicted hospital admission over longer time periods ranging from 6 months to 3 years, with AUC’s ranging from 0.65 to 0.78. One study prospectively evaluated performance of a disposable sensory patch at home after hospitalization which resulted in an AUC of 0.89 for unplanned hospital admission prediction.

Conclusion

AI has the potential to enable prediction of hospital admission in HF patients. Improvement of data management, adding new data sources such as telemonitoring data and ML models and prospective and external validation of current models must be performed before clinical applicability is possible.
One-stage total arch and proximal descending aorta replacement via a single median sternotomy
Authors: Shi Enyi , Tang Rui , Jiang Xuan , Gu Tianxiang
Published: June 2022

For extended arch pathologies involving the proximal descending aorta, the exposure afforded by the median sternotomy is less than ideal, and radical replacement of the distal arch by conventional total arch replacement is difficult. We developed a surgical manoeuvre to replace the total arch and proximal descending aorta in 1 stage through a single median sternotomy.
Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J
Authors: Underwood Jennifer C , Akob Denise M , Lorah Michelle M , Imbrigiotta Thomas E , Harvey Ronald W , Tiedeman Claire R
Published: June 2022

Bioaugmentation is a promising strategy for enhancing trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in fractured rock. However, slow or incomplete biodegradation can lead to stalling at degradation byproducts such as 1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Over the course of 7 years, we examined the response of groundwater microbial populations in a bioaugmentation test where an emulsified vegetable oil solution (EOS®) and a dechlorinating consortium (KB-1®), containing the established dechlorinator Dehalococcoides (DHC), were injected into a TCE-contaminated fractured rock aquifer. Indigenous microbial communities responded within 2 days to added substrate and outcompeted KB-1®, and over the years of monitoring, several other notable turnover events were observed. Concentrations of ethene, the end product in reductive dechlorination, had the strongest correlations (P< .05) with members of Candidatus Colwellbacteria but their involvement in reductive dechlorination is unknown and warrants further investigation.DHC never exceeded 0.6% relative abundance of groundwater microbial communities, despite its previously presumed importance at the site. Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide, acetic acid, and methane were positively correlated with increasing ethene concentrations; however, concentrations of cis-DCE and VC remained high by the end of the monitoring period suggesting preferential enrichment of indigenous partial dechlorinators over bioaugmented complete dechlorinators. This study highlights the importance of characterizing in situ microbial populations to understand how they can potentially enhance or inhibit augmented TCE degradation.
Dark stress for improved lipid quantity and quality in bioprospected acid-tolerant green microalgae
Authors: Desjardins Sabrina M , Laamanen Corey A , Basiliko Nathan , Senhorinho Gerusa N A , Scott John A
Published: June 2022

The cost of microalgae cultivation is one of the largest limitations to achieving sustainable, large-scale microalgae production of commercially desirable lipids. Utilizing CO2 as a ‘free’ carbon source from waste industrial flue gas emissions can offer wide-ranging cost savings. However, these gas streams typically create acidic environments, in which most microalgae cannot survive due to the concentration of CO2 and the presence of other acidic gasses such as NO2 and SO2. To address this situation, we investigated growth of a mixed acid-tolerant green microalgal culture (91% dominated by a single Coccomyxa sp. taxon) bioprospected at pH 2.8 from an acid mine drainage impacted water body. The culture was grown at pH 2.5 and fed with a simulated flue gas containing 6% CO2 and 94% N2. On reaching the end of the exponential growth phase, the culture was exposed to either continued light-dark cycle conditions or continual dark conditions. After three days in the dark, the biomass consisted of 28% of lipids, which was 42% higher than at the end of the exponential phase and 55% higher than the maximum lipid content achieved under light/dark conditions. The stress caused by being continually in the dark also favoured the production of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs; 19.47% and 21.04%, respectively, after 7 days) compared to 7-days of light-dark treatment (1.94% and 9.53%, respectively) and showed an increase in nitrogen content (C:N ratio of 6.4) compared to light-dark treatment (C:N ratio of 11.9). The results of the research indicate that use of acid tolerant microalgae overcomes issues using flue gasses that will create an acidic environment and that applying dark stress is a low-cost stressor stimulates production of desirable dietary lipids.
Plume height, duration and volume of sustained explosive eruptions inferred from eruption tremor amplitudes
Authors: Mori Azusa , Kumagai Hiroyuki , Londoño John Makario
Published: June 2022

Seismic source amplitudes determined by using the amplitudes of high-frequency (5−10 Hz) tremor signals generated by sustained explosive eruptions have been shown to be related to eruption plume height by power-law and exponential relations and to eruption volume flux by a proportional relation. We further examined these relations and extended this source quantification approach to investigate eruption duration by using the envelope width, defined by the ratio of the cumulative source amplitude to the source amplitude. We first confirmed that the relationship between source amplitude and plume height proposed by a previous study holds for small eruptions at Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia), although slight modifications were required. We then showed that the relations of envelope width with source amplitude and with cumulative source amplitude of eruption tremor associated with sub-Plinian eruptions at Kirishima (Japan) and Tungurahua (Ecuador) could be described by a power law. The source amplitude functions of these tremors were characterized by three periods and could be approximated by a trapezoidal shape. A power-law function fitted to the relation between eruption volume and eruption duration obtained from these relations was similar to that estimated by fitting a power-law function to previously reported eruption volume and duration data of well-documented silicic and andesitic eruptions. Our results suggest that eruption duration may systematically vary with eruption volume when the conduit is stably open during the second period of the trapezoidal source amplitude function. This study demonstrated that source amplitudes can be used for real-time predictions of both plume height and eruption duration, which in turn may be used to estimate ashfall distributions and tephra transport for local residents and aviation operations.
Obesity and adipose tissue impact on T-cell response and cancer immune checkpoint blockade therapy
Authors: Pasquarelli-do-Nascimento Gabriel , Machado Sabrina Azevedo , de Carvalho Juliana Maria Andrade , Magalhães Kelly Grace
Published: June 2022

Many different types of cancer are now well known to have increased occurrence or severity in individuals with obesity. The influence of obesity on cancer and the immune cells in the tumor microenvironment has been thought to be a pleiotropic effect. As key endocrine and immune organs, the highly plastic adipose tissues play crucial roles in obesity pathophysiology, as they show alterations according to environmental cues. Adipose tissues of lean subjects present mostly anti-inflammatory cells that are crucial in tissue remodeling, favoring uncoupling protein 1 expression and non-shivering thermogenesis. Oppositely, obese adipose tissues display massive proinflammatory immune cell infiltration, dying adipocytes, and enhanced crown-like structure formation. In this review, we discuss how obesity can lead to derangements and dysfunctions in antitumor CD8+ T lymphocytes dysfunction. Moreover, we explain how obesity can affect the efficiency of cancer immunotherapy, depicting the mechanisms involved in this process. Cancer immunotherapy management includes monoclonal antibodies targeting the immune checkpoint blockade. Exhausted CD8+ T lymphocytes show elevated programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) expression and highly glycolytic tumors tend to show a good response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy. Although obesity is a risk factor for the development of several neoplasms and is linked with increased tumor growth and aggressiveness, obesity is also related to improved response to cancer immunotherapy, a phenomenon called the obesity paradox. However, patients affected by obesity present higher incidences of adverse events related to this therapy. These limitations highlight the necessity of a deeper investigation of factors that influence the obesity paradox to improve the application of these therapies.
On the Crossing Estimates for Simple Conformal Loop Ensembles
Authors: Bai Tianyi , Wan Yijun
Published: June 2022

We prove a super-exponential decay of probabilities that there exist $n$ crossings of a given quad for a simple $\textrm {CLE}_\kappa (\Omega )$, $\frac {8}{3}<\kappa \le 4$, as $n$ goes to infinity. Besides, being of independent interest, this also provides the missing ingredient in [2] for proving the convergence of probabilities of cylindrical events for the double-dimer loop ensembles to those for the nested $\textrm {CLE}_4(\Omega )$.
Nitazoxanide potentiates linezolid against linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Kaul Grace , Akhir Abdul , Shukla Manjulika , Rawat Kundan S , Sharma Chandra P , Sangu Komal G , Rode Haridas B , Goel Atul , Chopra Sidharth
Published: June 2022

Background

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing menace, claiming millions of lives all over the world. In this context, drug repurposing is one approach gaining interest as a suitable alternative to conventional drug discovery and development.

Methods

Whole-cell assays were used to screen FDA-approved drugs to identify novel antimicrobial agents active against bacterial pathogens. Following identification of nitazoxanide, its various characteristics, such as antimicrobial activity against MDR isolates, time–kill kinetics, ability to synergize with approved drugs, antibiofilm activity and ability to generate resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, were determined, followed by determination of its in vivo potential against MDR S. aureus.

Results

Nitazoxanide demonstrated a potent in vitro antistaphylococcal profile, including equipotent activity against clinical drug-resistant S. aureus and Enterococcus spp. Nitazoxanide exhibited concentration-dependent killing, significantly eradicated preformed S. aureus biofilm and S. aureus did not generate resistance to it. Nitazoxanide strongly synergized with linezolid both in vitro and in vivo against linezolid-susceptible and -resistant S. aureus, displaying superior activity to untreated control and drug-alone treatment groups.

Conclusions

Nitazoxanide can be utilized in combination with linezolid against infections caused by linezolid-resistant S. aureus as it exhibits strong synergism in vitro and in vivo.