bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on the algorithm of fault recording analysis combining its time-domain waveforms with phase-domain trajectories
Authors: Ge Qun , Ren Lu , Li Jia
Published: February 2024

The untimely handling of faults in a power system has a negative impact on its operation and even the national economy, and this requires coordination in the functions of protective relaying as well as supervisory & control devices, where digital fault recorders are used to record fault waveforms of electrical physical quantities. The fault recording of a simulated current is taken as the research object in this article, and it is transformed from the time-domain waveform into a phase-domain trajectory, which is used to analyze fault feature parameters and then reformulate the waveform. The original waveform of the current will be substituted by the reformulated one with fault features to realize functions in the power system. The algorithm of reformulating fault recording, the correlativity of the reformulated waveform and its original one, and errors produced in the research process are researched. The high correlation coefficient between the reformulated waveform and its original one shows that the algorithm studied in the article offers a simple and convenient option for fault recording analysis.
A bioluminescent and homogeneous assay for monitoring GPCR-mediated cAMP modulation and PDE activity
Authors: Mikheil Dareen , Larsen Matthew A. , Hsiao Kevin , Murray Nathan H. , Ugo Tim , Wang Hui , Goueli Said A.
Published: February 2024

3′,5′-Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), the first identified second messenger, is implicated in diverse cellular processes involving cellular metabolism, cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, and gene expression. cAMP is synthesized by adenylyl cyclase (AC), which converts ATP to cAMP upon activation of Gαs-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in most cases and hydrolyzed by cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) to 5′-AMP. Dysregulation of cAMP signaling is implicated in a wide range of pathophysiological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative and behavioral disorders, cancers, diabetes, obesity, cataracts, and others. Therefore, cAMP targeted therapies have been and are still undergoing intense investigation for the treatment of these and other diseases. This highlights the need for developing assays to detect and monitor cAMP levels. In this study, we show cAMP Lumit assay as a highly specific homogeneous bioluminescent assay suitable for high throughput screenings with a large assay window and a wide dynamic range for cAMP detection. We believe that this assay will aid and simplify drug discovery screening efforts for cAMP signaling targeted therapies.
Shock impact simulation model along with the harmonic effect of the working device
Authors: Grządziela Andrzej , Kluczyk Marcin , Piskur Paweł , Naus Krzysztof
Published: February 2024

This study analyses the impact of initial conditions on the results of numerical simulations of the fan load with underwater detonation and simultaneously typical harmonic loads from the operating device. It was shown that different initial conditions affect both displacement and velocity results. Furthermore, significant differences were indicated when comparing the results with devices without harmonic loads. The results indicate the need for more detailed analyses at the initial stage of modelling the impact resistance of devices planned for ship installation.
Projections of the North Atlantic warming hole can be constrained using ocean surface density as an emergent constraint
Authors: Park In-Hong , Yeh Sang-Wook
Published: February 2024

There are large uncertainties in the projections of the future of the warming hole, which is defined as the cooling trend in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean despite of global warming. Here, we found that the uncertainty in the future changes of the warming hole is mainly due to model bias rather than either natural variability or climate change scenario. Observations and model results constrain the future warming hole intensity in terms of its relationship with the present-day surface density in the subpolar North Atlantic. Models with a low present-day surface density tend to project a weaker warming hole intensity (i.e., a stronger temperature increase) due to a suppressed oceanic deep convection in the future than models with a high surface density. This relationship was robust across all scenarios and was used to reduce the uncertainty of the future warming hole intensity by 39% in the high emissions scenario.
Inter-modulating Multi-frequency Rhythms
Authors: Otsuka Kuniaki , Beaty Larry A. , Cornelissen Germaine
Published: February 2024

Circadian rhythms are characterized by their amplitude, phase, and period when they differ from 24 hours, in addition to the rhythm-adjusted mean (MESOR). Non-sinusoidal periodic signals can be described by the amplitude and phase of additional harmonic terms. Alterations in these characteristics are a hallmark of ageing and disease. Time-specified reference values in health make it possible to diagnose impending disease and to initiate treatment early, as illustrated for blood pressure and endpoints of heart rate variability. Often, there is a bidirectional relationship between disease risk and circadian disruption at the molecular as well as at the organismic level. Disease risk assessment and chronotherapy also benefit from the additional consideration of ultradian rhythms, used for pacing and pulsatile drug delivery, and infradian rhythms. The derivation of circadian reference values in health, combined with an assessment of the broad multi-frequency time structure, helps in the early diagnosis of disease and the optimization of treatment through timing. Understanding the role played by clock genes in cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying a given disease condition offers a novel approach to fight disease and restore health, ushering in modern chronomedicine.
The Circadian–Hypoxia Link
Authors: Oyama Yoshimasa , Walker Lori A. , Eckle Tobias
Published: February 2024

Circadian rhythm and hypoxia-mediated adaptation to myocardial ischaemia are linked on a molecular level. Targeting circadian rhythms via the dominant zeitgeber, light, can manipulate hypoxic pathways and provide protection against cardiovascular diseases. Understanding the circadian–hypoxia link reveals novel insights into cardiovascular therapeutics, including how the use of intense light or circadian amplitude enhancing drugs helps maintain or restore heart health.
Growth: Emergence of the Circadian Clock
Authors: Tsuchiya Yoshiki , Yagita Kazuhiro
Published: February 2024

Circadian rhythms are fundamental properties of most cells in our body. However, early embryos and germline cells do not show circadian rhythms. Recent studies have revealed that the circadian clock emerges during prenatal development, shedding light on the functional coupling between the development of the circadian clock and cellular differentiation. This chapter summarizes the mechanistic insights into circadian clock development during ontogeny, highlighting the important roles played by epigenetic modifications and post-transcriptional regulations of clock genes. Furthermore, a reciprocal relationship between circadian rhythms and cancer development is also discussed.
Biogenic-magnesium oxide nanoparticles from Bauhinia variegata (Kachnar) flower extract: a sustainable electrochemical approach for vitamin-B12 determination in real fruit juice and milk
Authors: Shaktawat Sarita , Verma Rahul , Singh Kshitij RB , Singh Jay
Published: February 2024

Vitamin-B12 (Vit-B12) is an essential organo-metallic micronutrient necessary for the proper functioning of the human body.
Printable and flexible integrated sensing systems for wireless healthcare
Authors: Zhou Kemeng , Ding Ruochen , Ma Xiaohao , Lin Yuanjing
Published: February 2024

Printable technologies emerged as one of the most promising strategies to achieve versatile design and integration of multi-functional modules, including sensors and data transmission units, onto various flexible platforms.
Swieteliacates S–U, phragmalin limonoids, from the leaves of Swietenia macrophylla
Authors: Sun Yun-Peng , Xie Zhe , Jin Wen-Fang , Liu Ying-Wei , Sun Li-Juan , Liu Jin-Song , Wang Guo-Kai
Published: February 2024

Three novel phragmalin-class limonoids (1–3) along with four known analogues were isolated and identified from the leaves of S. macrophylla.
Construction of an Au12Cd2 nanocluster with circularly polarized luminescence by a metal- and ligand-exchange strategy
Authors: Zhou Jun , Yang Xiaofei , Zheng Peisen , Li Qinzhen , Li Xiaowu , Chai Jinsong , Huang Baoyu , Yang Sha , Zhu Manzhou
Published: February 2024

In this work, collaborative implementation of fluorescence enhancement and chiral transfer was developed as an effective strategy for constructing an Au12Cd2 nanocluster with CPL properties.
Unleashing the high energy potential of zinc–iodide batteries: high-loaded thick electrodes designed with zinc iodide as the cathode
Authors: Ma Jingkang , Azizi Alireza , Zhang Erhuan , Zhang Hong , Pan Anqiang , Lu Ke
Published: February 2024

An optimized, fully zincified zinc iodide loaded onto a hierarchical carbon scaffold with high active component loading and content (82 wt%) to prepare a thick cathode for enabling high-energy Zn–I2 batteries was proposed.
Three-component dicarbofunctionalization of allylamines via nucleopalladation pathway: unlocking vicinal and geminal selectivity
Authors: Ballav Nityananda , Saha Shib Nath , Yadav Shailesh , Baidya Mahiuddin
Published: February 2024

A palladium(ii)-catalyzed vicinal and geminal selective dicarbofunctionalization of allylamine embedded in a removable picolinamide auxiliary is developed by exploiting a nucleopalladation-triggered intermolecular three-component coupling reaction.
Enhancing the potential of rapeseed cake as protein-source food by γ-irradiation
Authors: Xiong Chuan , Zou Xin , Phan Chia-Wei , Huang Wenli , Zhu Yu
Published: February 2024

Rapeseed cake serves as a by-product in the oil extraction industry, characterized by its elevated protein content. However, the presence of antinutritional factors limits the utilization of rapeseed cake as a viable protein source. In this study, different doses of γ-irradiation were used to irradiate rapeseed cake and rapeseed protein isolate was extracted through a modified alkaline solution and acid precipitation method from rapeseed cake. The chemical composition and in vivo acute toxicity of rapeseed protein isolate were determined. The protein recovery rate of rapeseed protein isolate was 39.08 ± 3.01% after irradiation, while the content of antinutritional factors was significantly reduced. Moreover, γ-irradiation did not have any experimentally related effects on clinical observations or clinicopathology in mice. Overall, the reduced antinutrients and increased functional properties suggest that the irradiation of rapeseed cake (<9 kGy) could be utilized as a pre-treatment in the development of rapeseed cake-based value-added protein products.
A magnetic reconnection model for the hot explosion with both ultraviolet and Hα wing emissions
Authors: Cheng Guanchong , Ni Lei , Chen Yajie , Lin Jun
Published: February 2024

Context. Ellerman bombs (EBs) with significant Hα wing emissions and ultraviolet bursts (UV bursts) with strong Si IV emissions are two kinds of small transient brightening events that occur in the low solar atmosphere. The statistical observational results indicate that about 20% of the UV bursts connect with EBs. While some promising models exist for the formation mechanism of colder EBs in conjunction with UV bursts, the topic remains an area of ongoing research and investigation.

Aim. We numerically investigated the magnetic reconnection process between the emerging arch magnetic field and the lower atmospheric background magnetic field. We aim to find out if the hot UV emissions and much colder Hα wing emissions can both appear in the same reconnection process and how they are located in the reconnection region.

Methods. The open-source code NIRVANA was applied to perform the 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. We developed the related sub-codes to include the more realistic radiative cooling process for the photosphere and chromosphere and the time-dependent ionization degree of hydrogen. The initial background magnetic field is 600 G, and the emerged magnetic field in the solar atmosphere is of the same magnitude, meaning that it results in a low- β magnetic reconnection environment. We also used the radiative transfer code RH1.5D to synthesize the Si IV and Hα spectral line profiles based on the MHD simulation results.

Results. Magnetic reconnection between emerged and background magnetic fields creates a thin, curved current sheet, which then leads to the formation of plasmoid instability and the nonuniform density distributions. Initially, the temperature is below 8000 K. As the current sheet becomes more vertical, denser plasmas are drained by gravity, and hotter plasmas above 20 000 K appear in regions with lower plasma density. The mix of hot tenuous and much cooler dense plasmas in the turbulent reconnection region can appear at about the same height, or even in the same plasmoid. Through the reconnection region, the synthesized Si IV emission intensity can reach above 106 erg s−1 sr−1 cm−2 Å−1 and the spectral line profile can be wider than 100 km s−1, the synthesized Hα line profile also show the similar characteristics of a typical EB. The turbulent current sheet is always in a dense plasma environment with an optical depth larger than 6.5 × 10−5 due to the emerged magnetic field pushing high-density plasmas upward.

Conclusions. Our simulation results indicate that the cold EB and hot UV burst can both appear in the same reconnection process in the low chromosphere, the EB can either appear several minutes earlier than the UV burst, or they can simultaneously appear at the similar altitude in a turbulent reconnection region below the middle chromosphere.
Environmental risk assessment of landfill
Authors: Simangunsong Tuani Lidiawati , Salami Indah Rachmatiah Siti
Published: February 2024

The paper aims to conduct a risk analysis approach that can be used to manage landfill impacts on the environment and public health. This study reviewed the application of environmental risk assessment in landfills. Assessment has been conducted for 30 articles from 2018-2022 resulting in the summary of the baseline data, hazard identification, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and risk management. The study found the necessity of detailed baseline data of landfill sites, identifying relevant toxicity data, recognizing exposed receptors, and potential exposure pathways. It is necessary to conduct research that considers the age of the landfill (old and new landfill) to find out the cumulative effects of the landfill and research related to the impact of the landfill on the health of communities around the landfill at a certain distance from the landfill.
Unraveling the Influence of Age, IQ, Education, and Negative Symptoms
on Neurocognitive Performance in Schizophrenia: A Conditional Inference Tree
Analysis
Authors: Hart Xenia M. , Mitsukura Yasue , Bies Robert R. , Uchida Hiroyuki
Published: February 2024

Introduction The complex nature of neurocognitive impairment in
schizophrenia has been discussed in light of the mixed effects of antipsychotic
drugs, psychotic symptoms, dopamine D2 receptor blockade, and
intelligence quotient (IQ). These factors have not been thoroughly examined
before.

Methods This study conducted a comprehensive re-analysis of the CATIE data
using machine learning techniques, in particular Conditional Inference Tree
(CTREE) analysis, to investigate associations between neurocognitive functions
and moderating factors such as estimated trough dopamine D2 receptor
blockade with risperidone, olanzapine, or ziprasidone, Positive and Negative
Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and baseline IQ in 573 patients with schizophrenia.

Results The study reveals that IQ, age, and education
consistently emerge as significant predictors across all neurocognitive domains.
Furthermore, higher severity of PANSS-negative symptoms was associated
with lower cognitive performance scores in several domains. CTREE analysis, in
combination with a genetic algorithm approach, has been identified as
particularly insightful for illustrating complex interactions between variables.
Lower neurocognitive function was associated with factors such as age>52
years, IQ<94/95,<12/13 education years, and more pronounced negative
symptoms (score<26).

Conclusions These findings emphasize the multifaceted nature of
neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia, with the
PANSS-negative score being an important predictor. This gives rise to a role in
addressing negative symptoms as a therapeutic objective for enhancing cognitive
impairments in these patients. Further research must examine nonlinear
relationships among various moderating factors identified in this work,
especially the role of D2 occupancy.
Tetraphenylmethane Derivatives Containing Nitrogen Heterocycles
Authors: Kotha Sambasivarao , Singh Deepshikha
Published: February 2024

We disclose a useful approach to novel tetrahedral building blocks containing N-heterocycles. Pyrrole was introduced on to the tetraphenylmethane (TPM) core by employing the RCM strategy, Clauson–Kaas reaction, Paal–Knorr condensation, and Ullmann coupling as key steps. In addition, various heterocyclic derivatives of TPM were prepared using nickel catalysts. We also studied the photophysical properties of the synthesized TPM derivatives containing different peripheral substituents and found that they exhibit high quantum yields.
PillHarmonics: An Orchestrated Pharmacogenetics Medication Clinical Decision Support Service
Authors: Dolin Robert H. , Shenvi Edna , Alvarez Carla , Barrows Randolph C. , Boxwala Aziz , Lee Benson , Nathanson Brian H. , Kleyner Yelena , Hagemann Rachel , Hongsermeier Tonya , Kapusnik-Uner Joan , Lakdawala Adnan , Shalaby James
Published: February 2024

Objectives Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is increasingly important in individualizing therapeutic management plans, but is often implemented apart from other types of medication clinical decision support (CDS). The lack of integration of PGx into existing CDS may result in incomplete interaction information, which may pose patient safety concerns. We sought to develop a cloud-based orchestrated medication CDS service that integrates PGx with a broad set of drug screening alerts and evaluate it through a clinician utility study.

Methods We developed the PillHarmonics service for implementation per the CDS Hooks protocol, algorithmically integrating a wide range of drug interaction knowledge using cloud-based screening services from First Databank (drug–drug/allergy/condition), PharmGKB (drug–gene), and locally curated content (drug–renal/hepatic/race). We performed a user study, presenting 13 clinicians and pharmacists with a prototype of the system's usage in synthetic patient scenarios. We collected feedback via a standard questionnaire and structured interview.

Results Clinician assessment of PillHarmonics via the Technology Acceptance Model questionnaire shows significant evidence of perceived utility. Thematic analysis of structured interviews revealed that aggregated knowledge, concise actionable summaries, and information accessibility were highly valued, and that clinicians would use the service in their practice.

Conclusion Medication safety and optimizing efficacy of therapy regimens remain significant issues. A comprehensive medication CDS system that leverages patient clinical and genomic data to perform a wide range of interaction checking and presents a concise and holistic view of medication knowledge back to the clinician is feasible and perceived as highly valuable for more informed decision-making. Such a system can potentially address many of the challenges identified with current medication-related CDS.
A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label Study Comparing Recovery Characteristics between Desflurane and Sevoflurane Anesthesia in Elderly Patients Undergoing Elective Supratentorial Craniotomy
Authors: Sailaja Mallampalli. N. , Lakshminarasimhaiah Geetha , Srinivas Rakshith
Published: February 2024

Background Sevoflurane and desflurane are the two commonly used volatile anesthetics and it is mandatory to comprehend their hemodynamic and recovery profiles to ensure safe administration and early recovery in elderly neurosurgical patients. The primary objective of the study was to compare the recovery profiles of sevoflurane and desflurane in elderly patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy. The secondary outcome measures studied were intraoperative hemodynamic changes, intraoperative brain condition, and early postoperative cognition using short orientation memory concentration test (SOMCT).

Methods The prospective, open-labeled study involving 78 elderly patients undergoing elective supratentorial craniotomies randomized the subjects into sevoflurane and desflurane groups in the ratio of 1:1 (39 each). Pre- and early postoperative cognitive function of the patient was assessed using SOMCT. Time for emergence, extubation, and recovery were also compared between the groups. Hemodynamic parameters during surgery and brain relaxation were recorded. Student's t-test was used to find the significance of study parameters on a continuous scale and chi-squared test to find the significance of study parameters on a categorical scale between two groups.

Results The mean emergence time (minutes) was found to be significantly longer in sevoflurane group as opposed to desflurane (9.44 ± 2.07 vs. 8.28 ± 2.53, p = 0.02). Similarly, the mean recovery time was significantly longer for sevoflurane group than desflurane (17.33 ± 3.36 vs. 15.64 ± 4.63, p = 0.03). A statistically significant difference in pre- and early postoperative SOMCT was observed between the two groups (5.31 ± 2.89 vs. 4.33 ± 1.74, p = 0.04) with better early postoperative SOMCT (p = 0.05) in desflurane group. However, extubation time, average duration of surgery, brain relaxation, and modified Aldrete score were comparable between the groups.

Conclusion Elderly patients who received desflurane had a shorter emergence and recovery time compared with sevoflurane. Improved early postoperative SOMCT scores were noted in desflurane group.
Intraoperative Stimulation Mapping in Neurosurgery for Anesthesiologists—Part 1: The Technical Nuances
Authors: Masohood Naeema S. , Paquin-Lanthier Gabriel , Chui Jason , Lu Nancy , Chowdhury Tumul , Venkatraghavan Lashmi
Published: February 2024

Brain mapping has evolved tremendously in the past decade, fueled by advances in functional neuroimaging technology in neuro-oncology and epilepsy surgery. Despite this, wide anatomic-functional interindividual variability and intraoperative brain shift continue to challenge neurosurgeons performing surgery within or near eloquent brain regions. As such, intraoperative direct cortical and subcortical stimulation mapping remains the gold standard for localizing eloquent brain regions with precision for a safe and tailored resection. Intraoperative stimulation mapping (ISM) allows for maximizing the extent of resection while minimizing postoperative neurological deficits, resulting in better patient outcomes. Understanding the technical nuances of ISM is imperative for the anesthesiologist to provide better anesthetic management tailored to the surgery and stimulation mapping planned. A comprehensive search was performed on electronic databases to identify articles describing intraoperative cortical and subcortical mapping, language, and motor mapping. In the first part of this narrative review, we summarize the salient technical aspects of ISM and the common neurophysiological tasks assessed intraoperatively relevant to the anesthesiologist.
Smart inhaler tailors drug delivery to each patient
Authors: Shapiro Maura
Published: February 2024

Using patient data, machine learning algorithm optimizes inhalers to treat respiratory illness.
Modal analysis of vortex rope using dynamic mode decomposition
Authors: Salehi Saeed , Nilsson Håkan
Published: February 2024

The decelerating swirling flow in the draft tube of hydraulic turbines at part load conditions often results in a self-induced instability known as vortex rope. This phenomenon is associated with detrimental pressure pulsations in the hydropower system that need to be mitigated. A deep understanding of such instability is essential for developing effective mitigation and control strategies. The current article exploits the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) algorithm to perform an in-depth modal analysis of the physical aspects of the vortex rope. DMD can efficiently identify distinct coherent structures with isolated frequencies. The sparsity-promoting variant of DMD is exploited to extract the most influential modes. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data is generated via a resolved improved delayed detached eddy simulation using OpenFOAM. Frequency analysis of the CFD data uncovered peaks at the normalized frequencies of f/fn=0.56 and 0.63, whose origins seemed initially unclear. Nevertheless, the DMD modal analysis elucidates that these excitations are associated with the rotation of the reunited vortex and fluctuations of the separated boundary layer, respectively. The non-linear dynamics of the flow field are unveiled through a modal decomposition revealing distinctive coherent structures with isolated frequencies. These include rotational and plunging modes of the vortex rope, traveling wakes of the blades, boundary layer separation due to strong adverse pressure gradient, and a reunited vortex core. The flow field reconstruction through time dynamics of DMD modes highlights while it is possible to achieve a perfect flow field reconstruction considering all recovered modes, the model typically fails to predict future behavior with an acceptable level of accuracy. The chaotic nature of the resolved turbulent flow field presents a substantial challenge for predicting the future through a model built based on prior events. The current modal analysis not only provides a more comprehensive understanding of the physics underlying the vortex rope phenomenon but also lays the groundwork for potential future applications in controlling mechanisms.
Introducing the halophyte Salicornia europaea to investigate combined impact of salt and tidal submergence conditions
Authors: Jordine Angelina , Retzlaff Julia , Gens Lina , Ehrt Brigitta , Fürtauer Lisa , van Dongen Joost T.
Published: February 2024

Tolerance mechanisms to single abiotic stress events are being investigated in different plant species, but how plants deal with multiple stress factors occurring simultaneously is still poorly understood. Here, we introduce Salicornia europaea as a species with an extraordinary tolerance level to both flooding and high salt concentrations. Plants exposed to 0.5 M NaCl (mimicking sea water concentrations) grew larger than plants not exposed to salt. Adding more salt reduced growth, but concentrations up to 2.5 M NaCl were not lethal. Regular tidal flooding with salt water (0.5 M NaCl) did not affect growth or chlorophyll fluorescence, whereas continuous flooding stopped growth while plants survived. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis of plants exposed to 1% oxygen in air revealed induction of selected hypoxia responsive genes, but these genes were not induced during tidal flooding, suggesting that S. europaea did not experience hypoxic stress. Indeed, plants were able to transport oxygen into waterlogged soil. Interestingly, sequential exposure to salt and hypoxic air changed the expression of several but not all genes as compared to their expression upon hypoxia only, demonstrating the potential to use S. europaea to investigate signalling-crosstalk between tolerance reactions to multiple environmental perturbations.
Novel demonstration of the Doppler shift of planet spectra
Authors: Lewis Matthew
Published: February 2024

In this paper, a novel approach to teaching Doppler shift is presented using a readily available Doppler buzzer, free to download spectrum analyser, turntable and electric motor, enable students to recreate the work done by astronomers when finding by astronomers when exoplanets.
Primordial gravitational waves in non-minimally coupled chromo-natural inflation
Authors: Dimastrogiovanni Ema , Fasiello Matteo , Michelotti Martino , Pinol Lucas
Published: February 2024

We consider inflation driven by an axion-like particle coupled to an SU(2) gauge sector
via a Chern-Simons term. Known as chromo-natural inflation, this scenario is in tension with CMB
observations. In order to remedy this fact and preserve both the symmetries and the intriguing
gravitational wave phenomenology exhibited by the model, we explore the non-minimal coupling of
the axion-inflaton to the Einstein tensor. We identify regions of parameter space corresponding to
a viable cosmology at CMB scales. We also highlight the possibility of a non-trivial chiral
gravitational wave signal at small scales.
Concurrent drought and heatwave events over the Asian monsoon region: insights from a statistically downscaling CMIP6 dataset
Authors: Xu Lianlian , Yu Wei , Yang Song , Zhang Tuantuan
Published: February 2024

Concurrent drought and heatwave (CONDH) can cause tremendous ramifications on socioeconomic activities and human health, and the drought-heatwave (D-H) dependence was revealed to be one of the major factors of the CONDH across most global land regions. However, insufficient attention has been paid on the CONDH over the Asian monsoon region, and the impact of the D-H dependence is even more rarely considered. Based on a statistically downscaling the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) dataset, we explore the spatial distributions of the intensity, frequency, and duration of the CONDH. In addition, the qualitative impacts of D-H dependence on the intensity, frequency, and duration of the CONDH have been further investigated via comparing these three metrics of the CONDH with those of heatwave. In the period of 1961–2014, the spatial pattern of intensity and duration of the CONDH bear a large resemblance to that of heatwave, with more severe CONDH (heatwave) occurring over South Asia, and relatively long-lasting CONDH (heatwave) occupying over the low latitudes of the Asian monsoon region. The frequency of the CONDH presents large discrepancies with that of heatwave. East Asia (South Asia) is hit by more frequent CONDH (heatwave) than other sub-regions. The D-H dependence is conducive to the intensity, frequency, and duration of the CONDH, especially over the East Asia, Eastern Siberia, and Western Siberia. In the period of 2015–2100, the intensity and duration of the CONDH and heatwave maintain the historical spatial structures. The frequency of the CONDH and heatwave change remarkably relative to 1961–2014, with largest value over eastern central Asia. The D-H dependence is conducive to the three features of the CONDH, and such positive contributions would weaken in response to global warming, especially under higher emission scenario.
Emergent functionalities enhanced by mechanical stress in SnO2-based flexible devices
Authors: Sakurai Makoto
Published: February 2024

Emergent functionalities created by applying mechanical stress to flexible devices using SnO2 microrods and Ga2O3/SnO2-core/shell microribbons are reviewed. Dynamic lattice defect engineering through application of mechanical stress and a voltage to the SnO2 microrod device leads to a reversible semiconductor-insulator transition through lattice defect creation and healing, providing an effective and simple solution to the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) problem that has long plagued UV semiconductor photosensors. Here, lattice defects are created near slip planes in a rutile-structured microrod by applying mechanical stress and are healed by Joule heating by applying a voltage to the microrod. Nanoscale amorphous structuring makes the Ga2O3/SnO2-core/shell microribbon with a large SnO2 surface area more sensitive to changes in temperature, while mechanical bending of the wet device improves its sensitivity to adsorbed water molecules. These results illustrate the potential for developing flexible devices with new functionalities by enhancing the intrinsic properties of materials through miniaturization, mechanical stress, and hybridization.
Evaluating the impact of a pharmacy technician training program within a college of pharmacy
Authors: Wheeler James S , Martin Nicholas , Barenie Rachel E
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Ensuring pharmacy technicians are adequately trained and prepared to enter the workforce is an important first step in addressing technician staff shortages. How pharmacy technician learners perceive their experiences after completion of a training program remains unknown. This study evaluated participant outcomes and self-efficacy ratings for common technician competencies after completion of a pharmacy technician training program.

Methods

Between December 2021 and March 2023, we distributed a survey to participants who successfully completed the program approximately 3 months after their estimated completion date. The survey assessed 6 domains: enrollment and academic progression, utilization of educational resources, self-perceived proficiency on core competencies of a pharmacy technician, employment information, program recommendations, and student demographics.

Results

Thirty-six participants completed the survey, corresponding to a 60% response rate. Participants were attracted to the pharmacy technician program due to its affiliation with a college of pharmacy, online format, and affordability. Half of respondents were actively employed as pharmacy technicians, and the self-reported certification exam passage rate slightly exceeded national averages (78% vs 70% to 71%). Participants’ self-efficacy ratings for pharmacy technician competencies were high (mean rating of 4.12 out of 5). Overwhelmingly, 97% of participants agreed that the program prepared them well for becoming a pharmacy technician.

Conclusion

A pharmacy technician training program housed within a college of pharmacy presents one potential solution in addressing pharmacy technician workforce shortages. Participants positively viewed their training experience, with high self-efficacy ratings for pharmacy technician competencies. Moreover, national certification exam results were slightly better than national averages.
Optimizing representations for integrative structural modeling using Bayesian model selection
Authors: Arvindekar Shreyas , Pathak Aditi S , Majila Kartik , Viswanath Shruthi
Published: February 2024

Motivation

Integrative structural modeling combines data from experiments, physical principles, statistics of previous structures, and prior models to obtain structures of macromolecular assemblies that are challenging to characterize experimentally. The choice of model representation is a key decision in integrative modeling, as it dictates the accuracy of scoring, efficiency of sampling, and resolution of analysis. But currently, the choice is usually made ad hoc, manually.

Results

Here, we report NestOR (Nested Sampling for Optimizing Representation), a fully automated, statistically rigorous method based on Bayesian model selection to identify the optimal coarse-grained representation for a given integrative modeling setup. Given an integrative modeling setup, it determines the optimal representations from given candidate representations based on their model evidence and sampling efficiency. The performance of NestOR was evaluated on a benchmark of four macromolecular assemblies.

Availability and implementation

NestOR is implemented in the Integrative Modeling Platform (https://integrativemodeling.org) and is available at https://github.com/isblab/nestor. Data for the benchmark is at https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10360718.
Navigating Police Contact: How Situations Shape Police–Youth Relations
Authors: Gashi Liridona
Published: February 2024

Researchers have increasingly emphasized the dynamics of social situations when investigating, for example, encounters between youth at risk and police officers. Based on numerous field observations of police–youth interactions, this article explores how police–youth relations change during different situations. Using a situational perspective as an interpretive lens, I unpack how the dynamics of police–youth relations are dependent upon: (1) the concrete physical space of the interactions, (2) the audiences present and (3) the emotions that are activated. Typically, street-based interactions with other youth as audiences develop in a different manner to interactions at the police station. More sensitivity to the characteristics of such social situations, I conclude, may prove useful to develop more efficient preventive interventions and policing strategies.
Ethnic Inequalities in Sentencing: Evidence from the Crown Court in England and Wales
Authors: Lymperopoulou Kitty
Published: February 2024

In recent years, there has been considerable policy and academic interest in the existence of ethnic inequalities in the Criminal Justice System. A large body of sentencing research has been dedicated to exploring whether ethnic minority defendants are treated more harshly than similarly situated white defendants. This paper extends this research utilizing Ministry of Justice linked criminal justice datasets and multilevel models to assess the effect of ethnicity and other defendant case and contextual factors on sentencing outcomes in the Crown Court. The analysis shows that legal characteristics such as plea, pre-trial detention, offence type and severity are important factors determining sentencing outcomes although they do not fully explain disparities in these outcomes between ethnic groups. Ethnic disparities in imprisonment persist and, in some cases, become more pronounced after controlling for defendant case and court factors. In contrast, ethnic disparities in sentence length are largely explained by legal factors, and after adjusting for other predictors of sentencing outcomes, observed differences between most (but not all) ethnic minority groups and the white British disappear.
Expectations of journalistic actors in the digital age: A conceptual framework
Authors: Banjac Sandra , Juarez Miro Clara , Hanusch Folker
Published: February 2024

Journalists constantly navigate pressures and competing expectations from diverse stakeholders, all of whom have an interest in shaping journalistic work. Scholarship examining the wide range of influences on journalists has often placed the journalist at the center of the inquiry. We further the argument that there is an urgent need to place more emphasis on understanding the expectations that various stakeholders hold of journalists. To do so, we introduce a conceptual framework to (1) explore expectations across a range of modalities, forms and contexts, and map out their diversity across different stakeholders, and (2) to evaluate which stakeholders’ expectations may hold the power to prompt change and conformity in journalism. By triangulating different perspectives, we gain insight into whose expectations journalism may be prioritizing and fulfilling, or conversely, failing to meet.
Threshold nonlinearities and the democracy-growth nexus
Authors: Chen Chaoyi , Stengos Thanasis
Published: February 2024

This paper investigates the relationship between democracy and economic growth in the context of a linear index threshold regression model. We first introduce the baseline model with endogeneity and propose a two-step smoothed generalised method of moments estimation method. We establish the consistency and derive the asymptotic distributions of the proposed estimators. We then extend the approach to a dynamic panel context and employ the model to explore the impact of democratisation on economic growth. Our findings reveal that democratisation’s impact on growth is nonlinear and depends on the country’s current institutional quality level. Furthermore, democracy’s impact on economic growth is more pronounced in countries with higher education levels than others, suggesting that education also plays a crucial role in enhancing the positive effects of democracy. Our proposed estimator can be used in other situations that require the use of more than one threshold variable. In these cases, our hybrid estimator has less stringent data requirements than an alternative model where the thresholds would enter separately, especially when the threshold variables are correlated.
Examining the Impact of Long-Term Care Insurance on the Care Burden and Labor Market Participation of Informal Carers: A Quasi-Experimental Study in China
Authors: Pei Xingtong , Yang Wei , Xu Mingming
Published: February 2024

Objectives

Existing evidence from high-income countries suggests that policies aimed at enhancing access to formal care can reduce the burden on informal carers and facilitate their reentry into the labor market. However, there is limited evidence regarding the specific carers who have been most affected by such insurance. This study focuses on China’s long-term care insurance (LTCI) and examines its effects on informal care burden and the labor market participation of different types of informal carers.

Methods

Drawing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study of 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model with propensity score matching to analyze the impact of LTCI. To explore time-varying DID estimates, we adopted the DID event study design.

Results

Our study demonstrates that LTCI substantially alleviates the burden on informal carers while markedly boosting labor market participation. Notably, we found a more pronounced decrease in care burden among spouses, amounting to a reduction of 8.5 hr per month. Concurrently, LTCI’s impact on enhancing labor market participation was more significant among younger household members, reflected in an average income increase of 4,534 yuan per year. Furthermore, subgroup analysis highlights that LTCI primarily benefits informal carers providing care for older people with low income or those who were farmers or previously engaged in informal sectors.

Discussion

Our study demonstrates that LTCI has led to a reduction in care burdens and an enhancement in labor market participation. The impact is especially pronounced for informal carers of older people with low income or those with backgrounds in farming or informal work sectors.
MdARF3 switches the lateral root elongation to regulate dwarfing in apple plants
Authors: Lv Jiahong , Feng Yi , Zhai Longmei , Jiang Lizhong , Wu Yue , Huang Yimei , Yu Runqi , Wu Ting , Zhang Xinzhong , Wang Yi , Han Zhenhai
Published: February 2024

Apple rootstock dwarfing and dense planting are common practices in apple farming. However, the dwarfing mechanisms are not understood. In our study, the expression of MdARF3 in the root system of dwarfing rootstock ‘M9’ was lower than in the vigorous rootstock from Malus micromalus due to the deletion of the WUSATAg element in the promoter of the ‘M9’ genotype. Notably, this deletion variation was significantly associated with dwarfing rootstocks. Subsequently, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cv. Xanthi was generated with the ARF3 promoter from ‘M9’ and M. micromalus genotypes. The transgenic apple with 35S::MdARF3 was also obtained. The transgenic tobacco and apple with the highly expressed ARF3 had a longer root system and a higher plant height phenotype. Furthermore, the yeast one-hybrid, luciferase, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and Chip-qPCR identified MdWOX4-1 in apples that interacted with the pMm-ARF3 promoter but not the pM9-ARF3 promoter. Notably, MdWOX4-1 significantly increased the transcriptional activity of MdARF3 and MdLBD16-2. However, MdARF3 significantly decreased the transcriptional activity of MdLBD16-2. Further analysis revealed that MdARF3 and MdLBD16-2 were temporally expressed during different stages of lateral root development. pMdLBD16-2 was mainly expressed during the early stage of lateral root development, which promoted lateral root production. On the contrary, pMmARF3 was expressed during the late stage of lateral root development to promote elongation. The findings in our study will shed light on the genetic causes of apple plant dwarfism and provide strategies for molecular breeding of dwarfing apple rootstocks.
Mine wind speed sensor location selection based on decision tree theory
Authors: Huang Xu , Lei Wulin
Published: February 2024

In order to realize the scientific layout of underground roadway sensors, based on the information entropy theory, the decision tree algorithm is applied to the location selection of the underground wind speed sensor. Taking the air volume traversing the entire network branch as the goal, the node air volume balance and the characteristic relationship between air volume and wind pressure as the constraints, the conventional layout data of the mine wind speed sensor is selected as the training sample, and the reasonable decision node is selected by measuring the uncertainty of the characteristic attribute. The research shows that the smaller the information entropy of the layout elements, the greater the weight in determining the sensor location. The classification conditions obtained by the wind speed sensor are, in descending, order: airflow disturbance, roadway support, distance from the inlet (return) and outlet, and roadway type. Algorithms are applied to effectively combine downhole sensor siting with historical data containing unambiguous results.
Grid load forecasting based on hybrid ensemble empirical mode decomposition and CNN–BiLSTM neural network approach
Authors: Tao Peng , Zhao Junpeng , Liu Xiaoyu , Zhang Chao , Zhang Bingyu , Zhao Shasha
Published: February 2024

This article proposes an amalgamation of ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and the convolutional neural network–bidirectional long short-term memory (CNN–BiLSTM) for the prediction of electricity grid load. Initially, the original load time series undergoes decomposition using EEMD, resulting in intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) that capture various load characteristics. Subsequently, a correlation analysis selects several IMFs closely related to the original sequence. These chosen IMFs are then utilized as input, with separate application of a one-dimensional CNN and a BiLSTM model for modeling and prediction purposes. The CNN automatically extracts temporal features from the different IMFs via its convolutional layers, whereas the BiLSTM effectively captures both short-term and long-term dependencies. In the end, a linear combination is employed to integrate the IMF predictions and reconstruct the final forecast for the electricity grid load. Experimental results demonstrate that this hybrid integration model, combining the adaptive decomposition ability of EEMD, feature extraction capability of CNN and temporal modeling ability of BiLSTM, improves the accuracy and robustness of electricity grid load forecasting compared to single models and ensemble models without EEMD.