bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Giardia hinders growth by disrupting nutrient metabolism independent of inflammatory enteropathy
Authors: Giallourou Natasa , Arnold Jason , McQuade Elizabeth T. Rogawski , Awoniyi Muyiwa , Becket Rose Viguna Thomas , Walsh Kenneth , Herzog Jeremy , Gulati Ajay S. , Carroll Ian M. , Montgomery Stephanie , Quintela Pedro Henrique , Faust Angela M. , Singer Steven M. , Fodor Anthony A. , Ahmad Tahmeed , Mahfuz Mustafa , Mduma Esto , Walongo Thomas , Guerrant Richard L. , Balfour Sartor R. , Swann Jonathan R. , Kosek Margaret N. , Bartelt Luther A.
Published: May 2023

Giardia lamblia (Giardia) is among the most common intestinal pathogens in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although Giardia associates with early-life linear growth restriction, mechanistic explanations for Giardia-associated growth impairments remain elusive. Unlike other intestinal pathogens associated with constrained linear growth that cause intestinal or systemic inflammation or both, Giardia seldom associates with chronic inflammation in these children. Here we leverage the MAL-ED longitudinal birth cohort and a model of Giardia mono-association in gnotobiotic and immunodeficient mice to propose an alternative pathogenesis of this parasite. In children, Giardia results in linear growth deficits and gut permeability that are dose-dependent and independent of intestinal markers of inflammation. The estimates of these findings vary between children in different MAL-ED sites. In a representative site, where Giardia associates with growth restriction, infected children demonstrate broad amino acid deficiencies, and overproduction of specific phenolic acids, byproducts of intestinal bacterial amino acid metabolism. Gnotobiotic mice require specific nutritional and environmental conditions to recapitulate these findings, and immunodeficient mice confirm a pathway independent of chronic T/B cell inflammation. Taken together, we propose a new paradigm that Giardia-mediated growth faltering is contingent upon a convergence of this intestinal protozoa with nutritional and intestinal bacterial factors.
Single-frame deep-learning super-resolution microscopy for intracellular dynamics imaging
Authors: Chen Rong , Tang Xiao , Zhao Yuxuan , Shen Zeyu , Zhang Meng , Shen Yusheng , Li Tiantian , Chung Casper Ho Yin , Zhang Lijuan , Wang Ji , Cui Binbin , Fei Peng , Guo Yusong , Du Shengwang , Yao Shuhuai
Published: May 2023

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) can be used to resolve subcellular structures and achieve a tenfold improvement in spatial resolution compared to that obtained by conventional fluorescence microscopy. However, the separation of single-molecule fluorescence events that requires thousands of frames dramatically increases the image acquisition time and phototoxicity, impeding the observation of instantaneous intracellular dynamics. Here we develop a deep-learning based single-frame super-resolution microscopy (SFSRM) method which utilizes a subpixel edge map and a multicomponent optimization strategy to guide the neural network to reconstruct a super-resolution image from a single frame of a diffraction-limited image. Under a tolerable signal density and an affordable signal-to-noise ratio, SFSRM enables high-fidelity live-cell imaging with spatiotemporal resolutions of 30 nm and 10 ms, allowing for prolonged monitoring of subcellular dynamics such as interplays between mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, the vesicle transport along microtubules, and the endosome fusion and fission. Moreover, its adaptability to different microscopes and spectra makes it a useful tool for various imaging systems.
Increasing global precipitation whiplash due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
Authors: Tan Xuezhi , Wu Xinxin , Huang Zeqin , Fu Jianyu , Tan Xuejin , Deng Simin , Liu Yaxin , Gan Thian Yew , Liu Bingjun
Published: May 2023

Precipitation whiplash, including abrupt shifts between wet and dry extremes, can cause large adverse impacts on human and natural systems. Here we quantify observed and projected changes in characteristics of sub-seasonal precipitation whiplash and investigate the role of individual anthropogenic influences on these changes. Results show that the occurrence frequency of global precipitation whiplash is projected to be 2.56 ± 0.16 times higher than in 1979–2019 by the end of the 21stCentury, with increasingly rapid and intense transitions between two extremes. The most dramatic increases of whiplash show in the polar and monsoon regions. Changes in precipitation whiplash show a much higher percentage change than precipitation totals. In historical simulations, anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) and aerosol emissions have increased and decreased precipitation whiplash occurrences, respectively. By 2079, anthropogenic GHGs are projected to increase 55 ± 4% of the occurrences risk of precipitation whiplash, which is driven by shifts in circulation patterns conducive to precipitation extremes.
Rehybridization dynamics into the pericyclic minimum of an electrocyclic reaction imaged in real-time
Authors: Liu Y. , Sanchez D. M. , Ware M. R. , Champenois E. G. , Yang J. , Nunes J. P. F. , Attar A. , Centurion M. , Cryan J. P. , Forbes R. , Hegazy K. , Hoffmann M. C. , Ji F. , Lin M.-F. , Luo D. , Saha S. K. , Shen X. , Wang X. J. , Martínez T. J. , Wolf T. J. A.
Published: May 2023

Electrocyclic reactions are characterized by the concerted formation and cleavage of both σ and π bonds through a cyclic structure. This structure is known as a pericyclic transition state for thermal reactions and a pericyclic minimum in the excited state for photochemical reactions. However, the structure of the pericyclic geometry has yet to be observed experimentally. We use a combination of ultrafast electron diffraction and excited state wavepacket simulations to image structural dynamics through the pericyclic minimum of a photochemical electrocyclic ring-opening reaction in the molecule α-terpinene. The structural motion into the pericyclic minimum is dominated by rehybridization of two carbon atoms, which is required for the transformation from two to three conjugated π bonds. The σ bond dissociation largely happens after internal conversion from the pericyclic minimum to the electronic ground state. These findings may be transferrable to electrocyclic reactions in general.
Convergence of dominance and neglect in flying insect diversity
Authors: Srivathsan Amrita , Ang Yuchen , Heraty John M. , Hwang Wei Song , Jusoh Wan F. A. , Kutty Sujatha Narayanan , Puniamoorthy Jayanthi , Yeo Darren , Roslin Tomas , Meier Rudolf
Published: May 2023

Most of arthropod biodiversity is unknown to science. Consequently, it has been unclear whether insect communities around the world are dominated by the same or different taxa. This question can be answered through standardized sampling of biodiversity followed by estimation of species diversity and community composition with DNA barcodes. Here this approach is applied to flying insects sampled by 39 Malaise traps placed in five biogeographic regions, eight countries and numerous habitats (>225,000 specimens belonging to >25,000 species in 458 families). We find that 20 insect families (10 belonging to Diptera) account for >50% of local species diversity regardless of clade age, continent, climatic region and habitat type. Consistent differences in family-level dominance explain two-thirds of variation in community composition despite massive levels of species turnover, with most species (>97%) in the top 20 families encountered at a single site only. Alarmingly, the same families that dominate insect diversity are ‘dark taxa’ in that they suffer from extreme taxonomic neglect, with little signs of increasing activities in recent years. Taxonomic neglect tends to increase with diversity and decrease with body size. Identifying and tackling the diversity of ‘dark taxa’ with scalable techniques emerge as urgent priorities in biodiversity science.
A continent-wide detailed geological map dataset of Antarctica
Authors: Cox Simon C. , Smith Lyttle Belinda , Elkind Samuel , Smith Siddoway Christine , Morin Paul , Capponi Giovanni , Abu-Alam Tamer , Ballinger Matilda , Bamber Lauren , Kitchener Brett , Lelli Luigi , Mawson Jasmine , Millikin Alexie , Dal Seno Nicola , Whitburn Louis , White Tristan , Burton-Johnson Alex , Crispini Laura , Elliot David , Elvevold Synnøve , Goodge John , Halpin Jacqueline , Jacobs Joachim , Martin Adam P. , Mikhalsky Eugene , Morgan Fraser , Scadden Phil , Smellie John , Wilson Gary
Published: May 2023

A dataset to describe exposed bedrock and surficial geology of Antarctica has been constructed by the GeoMAP Action Group of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and GNS Science. Our group captured existing geological map data into a geographic information system (GIS), refined its spatial reliability, harmonised classification, and improved representation of glacial sequences and geomorphology, thereby creating a comprehensive and coherent representation of Antarctic geology. A total of 99,080 polygons were unified for depicting geology at 1:250,000 scale, but locally there are some areas with higher spatial resolution. Geological unit definition is based on a mixed chronostratigraphic- and lithostratigraphic-based classification. Description of rock and moraine polygons employs the international Geoscience Markup Language (GeoSciML) data protocols to provide attribute-rich and queryable information, including bibliographic links to 589 source maps and scientific literature. GeoMAP is the first detailed geological map dataset covering all of Antarctica. It depicts ‘known geology’ of rock exposures rather than ‘interpreted’ sub-ice features and is suitable for continent-wide perspectives and cross-discipline interrogation.
Fast response and recovery polyaniline montmorillonite reduce graphene oxide polymer nanocomposite material for detection of hydrogen cyanide gas
Authors: Singh Aparna , Dipak Pukhrambam , Iqbal Asif , Samadhiya Anuradha , Dwivedi Shailendra Kumar , Tiwari Dinesh Chandra , Tiwari Rajendra Kumar , Pandey Kailash Nath
Published: May 2023

In the present work, we have developed a polymer based gas sensor. The polymer nanocomposites are synthesized by the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline with ammonium persulfate and sulfuric acid. The fabricated sensor is able to achieve a sensing response of 4.56% for PANI/MMT-rGO at 2 ppm of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas. The sensitivity of the sensors PANI/MMT and PANI/MMT-rGO are 0.89 ppm−1 and 1.1174 ppm−1 respectively. The increase in the sensitivity of the sensor may be due to an increase in the surface area provided by MMT and rGO which provided more binding sites for the HCN gas. The sensing response of the sensor increases as the concentration of the gas exposed increases but saturates after 10 ppm. The sensor recovers automatically. The sensor is stable and can work for 8 months.
Revealing the immune cell subtype reconstitution profile in patients from the CLARITY study using deconvolution algorithms after cladribine tablets treatment
Authors: Kalatskaya Irina , Giovannoni Gavin , Leist Thomas , Cerra Joseph , Boschert Ursula , Rolfe P. Alexander
Published: May 2023

Immune Cell Deconvolution methods utilizing gene expression profiling to quantify immune cells in tissues and blood are an appealing alternative to flow cytometry. Our objective was to investigate the applicability of deconvolution approaches in clinical trial settings to better investigate the mode of action of drugs for autoimmune diseases. Popular deconvolution methods CIBERSORT and xCell were validated using gene expression from the publicly available GSE93777 dataset that has comprehensive matching flow cytometry. As shown in theonline tool, ~ 50% of signatures show strong correlation (r > 0.5) with the remainder showing moderate correlation, or in a few cases, no correlation. Deconvolution methods were then applied to gene expression data from the phase III CLARITY study (NCT00213135) to evaluate the immune cell profile of relapsing multiple sclerosis patients treated with cladribine tablets. At 96 weeks after treatment, deconvolution scores showed the following changes vs placebo: naïve, mature, memory CD4+and CD8+T cells, non-class switched, and class switched memory B cells and plasmablasts were significantly reduced, naïve B cells and M2 macrophages were more abundant. Results confirm previously described changes in immune cell composition following cladribine tablets treatment and reveal immune homeostasis of pro- vs anti-inflammatory immune cell subtypes, potentially supporting long-term efficacy.
Spatiotemporal bias of the human gaze toward hierarchical visual features during natural scene viewing
Authors: Akamatsu Kazuaki , Nishino Tomohiro , Miyawaki Yoichi
Published: May 2023

The human gaze is directed at various locations from moment to moment in acquiring information necessary to recognize the external environment at the fine resolution of foveal vision. Previous studies showed that the human gaze is attracted to particular locations in the visual field at a particular time, but it remains unclear what visual features produce such spatiotemporal bias. In this study, we used a deep convolutional neural network model to extract hierarchical visual features from natural scene images and evaluated how much the human gaze is attracted to the visual features in space and time. Eye movement measurement and visual feature analysis using the deep convolutional neural network model showed that the gaze was more strongly attracted to spatial locations containing higher-order visual features than to locations containing lower-order visual features or to locations predicted by conventional saliency. Analysis of the time course of gaze attraction revealed that the bias to higher-order visual features was prominent within a short period after the beginning of observation of the natural scene images. These results demonstrate that higher-order visual features are a strong gaze attractor in both space and time, suggesting that the human visual system uses foveal vision resources to extract information from higher-order visual features with higher spatiotemporal priority.
Improved water purification by PVDF ultrafiltration membrane modified with GO-PVA-NaAlg hydrogel
Authors: Ghobadi Moghadam Armin , Hemmati Alireza
Published: May 2023

This work presents a modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane blended with graphene oxide-polyvinyl alcohol-sodium alginate (GO-PVA-NaAlg) hydrogel (HG) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) prepared by the immersion precipitation induced phase inversion approach. Characteristics of the membranes with different HG and PVP concentrations were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurement (CA), and Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The FESEM images showed an asymmetric structure of the fabricated membranes, and possessing a thin dense layer over the top and a layer finger-like. With increasing HG content, membrane surface roughness increases so that highest surface roughness for the membrane containing 1wt% HG is with a Ra value of 281.4 nm. Also, the contact angle of the membrane reaches from 82.5° in bare PVDF membrane to 65.1° in the membrane containing 1wt% HG. The influences of adding HG and PVP to the casting solution on pure water flux (PWF), hydrophilicity, anti-fouling ability, and dye rejection efficiency were evaluated. The highest water flux reached 103.2 L/m2 h at 3 bar for the modified PVDF membranes containing 0.3 wt% HG and 1.0wt% PVP. This membrane exhibited a rejection efficiency of higher than 92%, 95%, and 98% for Methyl Orange (MO), Conge Red (CR), and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), respectively. All nanocomposite membranes possessed a flux recovery ratio (FRR) higher than bare PVDF membranes, and the best anti-fouling performance of 90.1% was relevant to the membrane containing 0.3 wt% HG. The improved filtration performance of the HG-modified membranes was due to the enhanced hydrophilicity, porosity, mean pore size, and surface roughness after introducing HG.
PastoCovac and PastoCovac Plus as protein subunit COVID-19 vaccines led to great humoral immune responses in BBIP-CorV immunized individuals
Authors: Ramezani Amitis , Sorouri Rahim , Haji Maghsoudi Saiedeh , Dahmardeh Sarah , Doroud Delaram , Sadat Larijani Mona , Eybpoosh Sana , Mostafavi Ehsan , Olyaeemanesh Alireza , Salehi-Vaziri Mostafa , Bavand Anahita , Zarghani Ghazaleh , Moradi Ladan , Ashrafian Fatemeh , Bagheri Amiri Fahimeh , Mashayekhi Parisa , Tahmasebi Zahra , Biglari Alireza
Published: May 2023

The optimal booster vaccine schedule against COVID-19 is still being explored. The present study aimed at assessment of the immunogenicity and antibody persistency of inactivated-virus based vaccine, BBIP-CorV and protein-subunit based vaccines, PastoCovac/Plus through heterologous and homologous prime-boost vaccination. Totally, 214 individuals who were previously primed with BBIBP-CorV vaccines were divided into three arms on their choice as heterologous regimens BBIBP-CorV/PastoCovac (n = 68), BBIBP-CorV/PastoCovac Plus (n = 72) and homologous BBIBP-CorV (n = 74). PastoCovac booster recipients achieved the highest rate of anti-Spike IgG titer rise with a fourfold rise in 50% of the group. Anti-RBD IgG and neutralizing antibody mean rise and fold rise were almost similar between the PastoCovac and PastoCovac Plus booster receivers. The antibody durability results indicated that the generated antibodies were persistent until day 180 in all three groups. Nevertheless, a higher rate of antibody titer was seen in the heterologous regimen compared to BBIP-CorV group. Furthermore, no serious adverse event was recorded. The protein subunit-based booster led to a stronger humoral immune response in comparison with the BBIP-CorV booster receivers. Both the protein subunit boosters neutralized SARS-CoV-2 significantly more than BBIP-CorV. Notably, PastoCovac protein subunit-based vaccine could be successfully applied as a booster with convenient immunogenicity and safety profile.
Cognitive test performance in chronic cannabis flower users, concentrate users, and non-users
Authors: Cuttler Carrie , Petrucci Aria S. , LaFrance Emily M.
Published: May 2023

Extremely high-potency cannabis concentrates are becoming increasingly available and popular among consumers. While prior research indicates these products are perceived to have greater detrimental effects relative to cannabis flower, few studies have examined their relative objective effects, and no existing studies have compared the cognitive test performance of sober flower users, concentrate users, and non-users. A total of 198 healthy adults (98 non-users, 46 exclusive flower users, and 54 concentrate users) were administered a battery of tests of memory, psychomotor speed, attention, and executive functioning under sober laboratory-controlled conditions. Significant group differences were detected on tests of verbal free recall and episodic prospective memory, with both the flower users and concentrate users demonstrating significantly worse performance than non-users. Concentrate (but not flower) users performed worse than non-users on a measure of source memory, but contrary to our hypothesis, there were no significant differences between flower and concentrate users on any of the cognitive tests. Results indicate that, under sober conditions, individuals who regularly use concentrates are no more cognitively impacted than those who exclusively use flower. These null findings may reflect the tendency for concentrate users to self-titrate and use significantly lower quantities of concentrates than flower.
Genetic mutations linked to field‐evolved Cry1Fa-resistance in the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis
Authors: Farhan Yasmine , Smith Jocelyn L. , Sovic Michael G. , Michel Andrew P.
Published: May 2023

Transgenic corn, Zea mays (L.), expressing insecticidal toxins such as Cry1Fa, from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt corn) targeting Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) resulted in over 20 years of management success. The first case of practical field-evolved resistance by O. nubilalis to a Bt corn toxin, Cry1Fa, was discovered in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2018. Laboratory-derived Cry1Fa-resistance by O. nubilalis was linked to a genome region encoding the ATP Binding Cassette subfamily C2 (ABCC2) gene; however, the involvement of ABCC2 and specific mutations in the gene leading to resistance remain unknown. Using a classical candidate gene approach, we report on O. nubilalis ABCC2 gene mutations linked to laboratory-derived and field-evolved Cry1Fa-resistance. Using these mutations, a DNA-based genotyping assay was developed to test for the presence of the Cry1Fa-resistance alleles in O. nubilalis strains collected in Canada. Screening data provide strong evidence that field-evolved Cry1Fa-resistance in O. nubilalis maps to the ABCC2 gene and demonstrates the utility of this assay for detecting the Cry1Fa resistance allele in O. nubilalis. This study is the first to describe mutations linked to Bt resistance in O. nubilalis and provides a DNA-based detection method that can be used for monitoring.
Calculation of IFT in porous media in the presence of different gas and normal alkanes using the modified EoS
Authors: Hamidpour Sareh , Safaei Ali , Kazemzadeh Yousef , Hasan-Zadeh Atefeh , Khormali Azizollah
Published: May 2023

Gas injection can increase oil recovery because the gas–oil interfacial tension is less than the water–oil interfacial tension (IFT) and tends to zero in the miscibility state. However, little information has been provided on the gas–oil movement and penetration mechanisms in the fracture system at the porosity scale. The IFT of oil and gas in the porous medium changes and can control oil recovery. In this study, the IFT and the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) are calculated using the cubic Peng-Robinson equation of state that has been modified using the mean pore radius and capillary pressure. The calculated IFT and MMP change with the pore radius and capillary pressure. To investigate the effect of a porous medium on the IFT during the injection of CH4, CO2, and N2 in the presence of n-alkanes and for validation, measured experimental values in references have been used. According to the results of this paper, changes in IFT vary in terms of pressure in the presence of different gases and, the proposed model has good accuracy for measuring the IFT and the MMP during the injection of hydrocarbon gases and CO2. In addition, as the average radius of the pores gets smaller, the interfacial tension tends to lower values. This effect is different with increasing the mean size of interstice in two different intervals. In the first interval, i.e. the Rp from 10 to 5000 nm, the IFT changes from 3 to 10.78 mN/m and in the second interval, i.e. the Rp from 5000 nm to infinity, the IFT changes from 10.78 to 10.85 mN/m. In other words, increasing the diameter of the porous medium to a certain threshold (i.e. 5000 nm) increases the IFT. As a rule, changes in IFT affected by exposure to a porous medium affect the values of the MMP. In general, IFT decreases in very fine porous media, causing miscibility at lower pressures.
Debiased ambient vibrations optical coherence elastography to profile cell, organoid and tissue mechanical properties
Authors: Mason Jonathan H. , Luo Lu , Reinwald Yvonne , Taffetani Matteo , Hallas-Potts Amelia , Herrington C. Simon , Srsen Vlastimil , Lin Chih-Jen , Barroso Inês A. , Zhang Zhihua , Zhang Zhibing , Ghag Anita K. , Yang Ying , Waters Sarah , El Haj Alicia J. , Bagnaninchi Pierre O.
Published: May 2023

The role of the mechanical environment in defining tissue function, development and growth has been shown to be fundamental. Assessment of the changes in stiffness of tissue matrices at multiple scales has relied mostly on invasive and often specialist equipment such as AFM or mechanical testing devices poorly suited to the cell culture workflow.In this paper, we have developed a unbiased passive optical coherence elastography method, exploiting ambient vibrations in the sample that enables real-time noninvasive quantitative profiling of cells and tissues. We demonstrate a robust method that decouples optical scattering and mechanical properties by actively compensating for scattering associated noise bias and reducing variance. The efficiency for the method to retrieve ground truth is validated in silico and in vitro, and exemplified for key applications such as time course mechanical profiling of bone and cartilage spheroids, tissue engineering cancer models, tissue repair models and single cell. Our method is readily implementable with any commercial optical coherence tomography system without any hardware modifications, and thus offers a breakthrough in on-line tissue mechanical assessment of spatial mechanical properties for organoids, soft tissues and tissue engineering.
Asymmetric conformations of cleaved HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimers in styrene-maleic acid lipid nanoparticles
Authors: Wang Kunyu , Zhang Shijian , Go Eden P. , Ding Haitao , Wang Wei Li , Nguyen Hanh T. , Kappes John C. , Desaire Heather , Sodroski Joseph , Mao Youdong
Published: May 2023

During virus entry, the pretriggered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer initially transits into a default intermediate state (DIS) that remains structurally uncharacterized. Here, we present cryo-EM structures at near-atomic resolution of two cleaved full-length HIV-1 Env trimers purified from cell membranes in styrene-maleic acid lipid nanoparticles without antibodies or receptors. The cleaved Env trimers exhibited tighter subunit packing than uncleaved trimers. Cleaved and uncleaved Env trimers assumed remarkably consistent yet distinct asymmetric conformations, with one smaller and two larger opening angles. Breaking conformational symmetry is allosterically coupled with dynamic helical transformations of the gp41 N-terminal heptad repeat (HR1N) regions in two protomers and with trimer tilting in the membrane. The broken symmetry of the DIS potentially assists Env binding to two CD4 receptors—while resisting antibody binding—and promotes extension of the gp41 HR1 helical coiled-coil, which relocates the fusion peptide closer to the target cell membrane.
Stereochemical engineering yields a multifunctional peptide macrocycle inhibitor of Akt2 by fine-tuning macrocycle-cell membrane interactions
Authors: Nag Arundhati , Mafi Amirhossein , Das Samir , Yu Mary Beth , Alvarez-Villalonga Belen , Kim Soo-Kyung , Su Yapeng , Goddard William A. , Heath James R.
Published: May 2023

Macrocycle peptides are promising constructs for imaging and inhibiting extracellular, and cell membrane proteins, but their use for targeting intracellular proteins is typically limited by poor cell penetration. We report the development of a cell-penetrant high-affinity peptide ligand targeted to the phosphorylated Ser474 epitope of the (active) Akt2 kinase. This peptide can function as an allosteric inhibitor, an immunoprecipitation reagent, and a live cell immunohistochemical staining reagent. Two cell penetrant stereoisomers were prepared and shown to exhibit similar target binding affinities and hydrophobic character but 2-3-fold different rates of cell penetration. Experimental and computational studies resolved that the ligands’ difference in cell penetration could be assigned to their differential interactions with cholesterol in the membrane. These results expand the tool kit for designing new chiral-based cell-penetrant ligands.
New copper(i) complexes of bulky 5-substituted-2-iminopyrrolyl ligands as catalysts for azide–alkyne cycloaddition
Authors: Cruz Tiago F. C. , Lopes Patrícia S. , Lemos M. Amélia N. D. A. , Veiros Luís F. , Gomes Pedro T.
Published: May 2023

New well-defined dinuclear copper(i) complexes of bulky 5-substituted-2-iminopyrrolyl ligands were synthesised and characterized, displaying high activity in catalytic azide–alkyne cycloadditions.
Mapping the influence of ligand electronics on the spectroscopic and 1O2 sensitization characteristics of Pd(ii) biladiene complexes bearing phenyl–alkynyl groups at the 2- and 18-positions
Authors: Martin Maxwell I. , Pham Trong-Nhan , Ward Kaytlin N. , Rice Anthony T. , Hertler Phoebe R. , Yap Glenn P. A. , Gilmartin Philip H. , Rosenthal Joel
Published: May 2023

Extension of biladiene complexes via introduction of phenyl-alkynyl groups at the 2- and 18-positions generates new platforms that efficiently sensitize formation of 1O2 using long-visible light.
Application of ionic mesoporous silica in selective recovery of tungstate ions through column adsorption and subsequent photocatalytic degradation of an organic dye
Authors: Dinker Manish K. , Raut Sandesh S. , Kulkarni Prashant S.
Published: May 2023

A photo-catalyst was developed (with novel approach) by selectively adsorbing tungstate ions from wastewater on the surface of IMOS and further, successfully applied for the degradation of an organic dye.
Bamboo derived activated carbon as a highly efficient catalyst for the oxidation and adsorption of hydrogen sulfide at room temperature
Authors: Du Shi , Liu Xin , Liu Yue , Wang Junhao , Liu Dongxu , Yang Jianxiao , Zhang Xin
Published: May 2023

Bamboo derived activated carbon exhibited excellent sulfur capacity for H2S catalytic oxidation–adsorption at room temperature. Diffusion inside the pores was the rate-determining step during the diffusion process of sulfur-containing products.
Coupling behavior and enhancement mechanism of porous structure, graphite microcrystals, and oxygen-containing groups of activated biochar for the adsorption of phenol
Authors: Ma Jiamin , Ankit Garg , Zhong Fei , Li Chuyi , Liu Nian , Niu Wenjuan , Cao Hongliang
Published: May 2023

We systematically investigated the mechanism of the effect of biochar porous structure, graphite microcrystals and oxygen-containing groups on phenol adsorption. In particular, the coupling effect of the three was emphasized.
A fluorescent sensor to detect lead leakage from perovskite solar cells
Authors: Pancini Lorenzo , Montecucco Riccardo , Larini Valentina , Benassi Alessandra , Mirani Diego , Pica Giovanni , De Bastiani Michele , Doria Filippo , Grancini Giulia
Published: May 2023

We applied an organic sensor for the detection and quantification of PbI2 released by perovskite solar cells. The molecule shows a fluorescence intensity enhancement in the presence of Pb2+ cations and is highly selective of the desired analyte.
Catalytic living ROMP: block copolymers from macro-chain transfer agents
Authors: Mandal Ankita , Kilbinger Andreas F. M.
Published: May 2023

Vinyl ether based macro-chain transfer agents (m-CTAs) are used to synthesize different A–B or A–B–C type block co- and terpolymers under catalytic living ROMP conditions.
How organic switches grafting on TiO2 modifies the surface potentials: theoretical insights
Authors: Huang Haiming , Ding Mingquan , Zhang Yu , Zhang Shuai , Ling Yiyun , Wang Weiliang , Zhang Shaolin
Published: May 2023

We studied the surface potentials of hybrid photosensitive organic/inorganic systems to correlate the surface–adsorbate interplay with their surface properties and provide theoretical guidance.
Adsorption characteristics of dichloromethane-ethyl acetate/toluene vapor on a hypercrosslinked polystyrene adsorbent
Authors: Cao Yanbing , Fei Xiaoqi , Wu Xuanhao , Wang Haiqiang , Wu Zhongbiao
Published: May 2023

The adsorption characteristics of dichloromethane (DCM), toluene (MB), and ethyl acetate (EAC) vapors on hypercrosslinked polymeric resins (NDA-88) were studied. It showed that the NDA-88 exhibited promising adsorption and regeneration properties.
Microwave-enhanced hydrogen production: a review
Authors: Zhao Jun , Wang Duanda , Zhang Lei , He Minyi , Ma Wangjing , Zhao Sui
Published: May 2023

Microwave-enhanced hydrogen production. A new technology toward hydrogen society and achieving carbon neutrality.
Cesium salt of tungstophosphoric acid/mesoporous (zirconia–silica) composite for highly efficient synthesis of 7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin and removal of methylene blue
Authors: Ibrahim Amr Awad , Kospa Doaa A. , Hayes O. R. , Khder A. S. , El-Hakam S. A. , Ahmed Awad I.
Published: May 2023

Cs salts of tungstophosphoric acid supported mZS with varying amounts of Cs ions content have been prepared by a two-step impregnation technique, and found to be effective for the removal of hazardous dyes such as MB from an aqueous solution.
Skin-inspired antibacterial conductive hydrogels customized for wireless flexible sensor and collaborative wound healing
Authors: Wang Shuang , Bi Siwei , Zhang Linna , Liu Ruiqi , Wang Haibo , Gu Jun
Published: May 2023

A highly stretchable, ultra-sensitive, self-adhesive, and antibacterial wearable sensor has been successfully fabricated by constructing core–shell structured silk-fibroin@AgNP nanoparticles and MXene nanosheets with promoting wound healing.
TaOx electron transport layers for CO2 reduction Si photocathodes
Authors: Prabhakar Rajiv Ramanujam , Lemerle Raphaël , Barecka Magda , Kim Minki , Seo Sehun , Dayi Elif Nur , Dei Tos Irene , Ager Joel W.
Published: May 2023

TaOx electron transport layers used in photocathodes for light-driven CO2 reduction have good electronic transport, are stable, and are catalytically inert for the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.
3D microstructural characterization of Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia electrodes during long-term CO2 electrolysis
Authors: Shang Yijing , Smitshuysen Anne Lyck , Yu Miao , Liu Yuliang , Tong Xiaofeng , Jørgensen Peter Stanley , Rorato Léa , Laurencin Jérôme , Chen Ming
Published: May 2023

Detailed electrochemical and 3D microstructural characterization of Ni/YSZ electrodes confirms that Ni migration also occurs during CO2 electrolysis, most likely driven by the gradient in the Ni–YSZ interfacial energy along the current direction.
Enhancing the solubility of Mn in AgSbSe2 for high thermoelectric performance through entropy engineering
Authors: Ma Zheng , Luo Yubo , Li Wang , Wei Yingchao , Li Chengjun , Haruna Abubakar Yakubu , Zhang Zhihong , Li Xin , Jiang Qinghui , Yang Junyou
Published: May 2023

Point defects play an important role in regulating the electrical and thermal transport properties of thermoelectric materials, but they are always restricted by the solubility of dopants in the matrix.
In(iii)-dictated formation of double Cs2AgxNa1−xFeyIn1−yCl6 perovskites
Authors: Stroyuk Oleksandr , Raievska Oleksandra , Barabash Anastasia , Hauch Jens , Brabec Christoph J.
Published: May 2023

Doping with In(iii) induces the formation of stable and phase-pure Cs2AgxNa1−xFeyIn1−yCl6 perovskites with bandgaps close to 2 eV.
Negative solvatochromism and sign inversion of circularly polarized luminescence in chiral exciplexes as a function of solvent polarity
Authors: Sumsalee Patthira , Morgante Pierpaolo , Pieters Gregory , Crassous Jeanne , Autschbach Jochen , Favereau Ludovic
Published: May 2023

The properties of chiral donor–acceptor systems displaying CPL sign inversion are investigated in solvents of different polarity. The solvent enables control of their deexcitation pathways favoring either locally excited or charge-transfer states.
A commentary on the paper, ‘Development and validation of a novel automatable assay for cholesterol efflux capacity’
Authors: Bhale Aishwarya Sudam , Venkataraman Krishnan
Published: May 2023

The determination of functionality or quality of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) is assuming a central stage in the prediction of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). To assess HDL quality, several attempts have been made to develop an automated, cost-effective cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) system with few operational steps that might be used in clinical settings for large throughput testing. The work of Dr. Ohkawa and co-workers seems to address this issue and provide a solution for the same (Bioscience Reports (2023), 43 BSR20221519, https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20221519). Earlier work from the author’s lab utilized a radioisotope and cell-free CEC assay known as the immobilized liposome-bound gel beads (ILGs) method. However, this assay required a centrifugation step to separate the cells and was not suitable for automation. To overcome these limitations, two very important changes were made: (i) magnetic beads were used instead of gel beads that allowed them to avoid the centrifugation process that would allow ease of setting up an autonomous analyzer; (ii) porous magnetic beads were coated with liposomes containing fluorescently tagged cholesterol instead radiolabeled cholesterol. These two changes can be considered not only significant but also novel as they were highly suitable for CEC testing. The authors reported the successful development of a simple immobilized liposome-based magnetic beads (ILMs) automated system to measure CEC, which provided both consistent performance and satisfactory correlation with the other methods. Thus, we feel the present study will open newer avenues for measuring the quality of HDL in addition to the quantity of HDL-cholesterol in clinical settings in a more robust way.
Ada‐FFL: Adaptive computing fairness federated learning
Authors: Cong Yue , Qiu Jing , Zhang Kun , Fang Zhongyang , Gao Chengliang , Su Shen , Tian Zhihong
Published: May 2023

As the scale of federated learning expands, solving the Non‐IID data problem of federated learning has become a key challenge of interest. Most existing solutions generally aim to solve the overall performance improvement of all clients; however, the overall performance improvement often sacrifices the performance of certain clients, such as clients with less data. Ignoring fairness may greatly reduce the willingness of some clients to participate in federated learning. In order to solve the above problem, the authors propose Ada‐FFL, an adaptive fairness federated aggregation learning algorithm, which can dynamically adjust the fairness coefficient according to the update of the local models, ensuring the convergence performance of the global model and the fairness between federated learning clients. By integrating coarse‐grained and fine‐grained equity solutions, the authors evaluate the deviation of local models by considering both global equity and individual equity, then the weight ratio will be dynamically allocated for each client based on the evaluated deviation value, which can ensure that the update differences of local models are fully considered in each round of training. Finally, by combining a regularisation term to limit the local model update to be closer to the global model, the sensitivity of the model to input perturbations can be reduced, and the generalisation ability of the global model can be improved. Through numerous experiments on several federal data sets, the authors show that our method has more advantages in convergence effect and fairness than the existing baselines.
An effective data communication community establishment scheme in opportunistic networks
Authors: Huang Juan , Gou Fangfang , Wu Jia
Published: May 2023

The network transmission speed has been greatly improved, thanks to the power of 5G technology. The millisecond‐level communication delay has made a qualitative leap in communication quality. However, the sharp increase in the number of nodes connected to the internet has resulted in an explosion of traffic. Ensuring stable network transmission in the face of large data volumes has become an urgent problem to be solved. Existing research mainly optimizes for low data volumes of nodes, and cannot dynamically adapt to node transmission load to cope with explosive growth. This is because the node's cache is always at a high level, which causes community communication to be blocked. To address this issue, the authors have designed an effective data communication community establishment scheme. By adding a data information flow (DIF) attribute to each user and using the dynamic feedback adjustment (DFA) mechanism, the authors can combine the entire communication community and control the user's data information flow concentration at a relatively low level. This degree of optimization ensures that the user node maintains a relatively stable state for fast communication.

The authors design an effective data communication community establishment scheme. By adding a data information flow (DIF) attribute to each user, using the dynamic feedback adjustment mechanism and combining the entire communication community, the user's data information flow concentration is controlled at a relatively low level.
A Lyapunov approach based on gravitational search algorithm for transient stability assessment of AC/DC systems with wind power
Authors: Xie Zihao , Du Zhaobin , Zhou Weixian , Zhang Wenqian
Published: May 2023

With large‐scale wind farms connected to AC/DC network, the transient stability assessment (TSA) of the power system becomes more and more difficult. Among them, estimating the region of attraction (ROA) of the equilibrium point is a traditional but still challenging problem. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, this paper proposes a new approach to obtain the enlarged estimation of the ROA. The optimization and updating strategy of shape function in the sum of squares (SOS) optimization problem are studied to reduce the conservatism of estimation result. In the proposed method, the gravitational search algorithm (GSA) is employed to optimize the coefficients of initial shape function to improve estimation performance. Based on the time‐domain simulation (TDS) of expected faults, the fitness value for shape function optimization is calculated using the values of state variables at the fault clearing time and the system stability information. Furthermore, the optimal Lyapunov function is computed by introducing the update condition of shape function and adjusting the iteration strategy of the ROA estimation algorithm. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a two‐machine‐infinite‐bus system and a more complex nine‐bus AC/DC system with wind power. And the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by comparing with the existing ROA estimation methods.
Real‐time face perception based encoding strategy optimization method for UHD videos
Authors: Bi Jiang , Wang Lidong , Han Yu , Zhou Cheng
Published: May 2023

Face regions containing rich semantic information appear frequently in the videos. As the video resolution increase dramatically, the face regions will inevitably attract more attentions. This paper proposes a face perception based coding scheme to improve the visual quality of the face regions in UHD videos. A specially tailored face perception model is first utilized to precisely and quickly locate the face regions. Then, a face perception map is generated based on a hierarchical mapping algorithm. Finally, the face perception map is employed as a guidance to optimize the encoding process, including mode decision, block partition and bit allocation. The proposed method is implemented on HEVC to demonstrate the effectiveness. Experimental results on a set of 4K test sequences show that the proposed method can obviously improve the objective and subjective quality of the face regions, while causing only slight quality decline over the rest of the frame. Additionally, the computation required for mode decision and block partition is reduced, thereby saving encoding time cost.
Optimisation method for efficiently determining feed parameters of phased array antenna in microwave wireless power transmission
Authors: Xiao Dongping , Tian Liangliang , Zhang Huaiqing , Wang Xin
Published: May 2023

In the microwave wireless power transmission (MWPT) system, to improve the beam collection efficiency (BCE) and decrease the impact of microwave on the ecological environment outside the receiving area, it is necessary to optimise the beam pattern of transmitting antenna which includes accurate beam pointing and low sidelobe level. Furthermore, when the target is moving, the synthesised beams are required to track the target within a certain range. To track the target quickly and reduce the influence of the beam pattern's distortion on the BCE, this article proposes a time‐saving and effective method to optimise the feed parameters of the phased array antenna (PAA). This method draws on the ideas of Auto‐Encoder network, and uses multi‐layer perceptron to establish a mapping relationship between the desired beam pattern and the feed parameters of PAA. At the same time, to consider the coupling effect between antenna elements, the Eigen‐driven analysis method is adopted to form the actual beam pattern without calling the full wave simulation results. To make the actual beam pattern as close to the desired beam pattern as possible, Adaptive moment estimation algorithm is used to realise the error back propagation. After several iterations, when the error is minimised, the optimal feed parameters can be obtained. The advantage of the proposed method is that speedy focussing and high efficient energy transmission can be realised for the targets in a certain position. A set of examples and corresponding comparative analysis are presented to demonstrate the performances and superiority of the proposed method in MWPT system.
Proposal for a spin logic device based on magneto‐electric effect and spin Hall effect
Authors: Wang Sen , Zou Xue , Li Henan , Shan Dan , Fan Hongliang
Published: May 2023

Based on magneto‐electric (ME) effect and spin Hall effect (SHE), the authors propose a novel spin logic device named MESH‐SLD. In MESH‐SLD, the charge current is transmitted in the channel by employing inverse SHE, which solves the dissipation problem of spin current in the channel of all‐spin logic device (ASLD). By using a magnetization‐dynamics/spin‐transport hybrid model, the authors have investigated the influence of working voltage, channel lengths, and materials on the performance of the MESH‐SLD. And the simulation results show that the energy dissipation of the MESH‐SLD only increases approximately linearly with the increase of channel length, while the switching delay remains almost unchanged. In addition, with the increase of the spin Hall angle of the channel material, the energy dissipation and the minimum working voltage of the MESH‐SLD decrease significantly. Most importantly, compared with conventional ASLD, the proposed MESH‐SLD improve the switching delay and the energy dissipation by about 2.5 times and 851.8 times, respectively.