bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Whole-Genome Sequence of Paenibacillus marchantiae Isolated from the Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha subsp.
ruderalis
Ecotype BoGa
Authors: Meierhenrich Anja , Frommer Bianca , Halpape Wiebke , Hildebrandt Marvin , Bleile Isabell E. , Helmig Judith , Zachgo Sabine , Bräutigam Andrea , Verwaaijen Bart
Published: June 2023

The bacterium
Paenibacillus marchantiae
was isolated from male plants of the liverwort
Marchantia polymorpha
subsp.
ruderalis
ecotype BoGa. Here, we report on the complete genome sequence generated from long Nanopore reads. The genome sequence comprises 6,983,959 bp with a GC content of 46.02% and 6,195 predicted protein-coding genes.
Distribution, abundance, and ecogenomics of the
Palauibacterales
, a new cosmopolitan thiamine-producing order within the
Gemmatimonadota
phylum
Authors: Aldeguer-Riquelme Borja , Antón Josefa , Santos Fernando
Published: June 2023

The phylum
Gemmatimonadota
comprises mainly uncultured microorganisms that inhabit different environments such as soils, freshwater lakes, marine sediments, sponges, or corals. Based on 16S rRNA gene studies, the group PAUC43f is one of the most frequently retrieved
Gemmatimonadota
in marine samples. However, its physiology and ecological roles are completely unknown since, to date, not a single PAUC43f isolate or metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) has been characterized. Here, we carried out a broad study of the distribution, abundance, ecotaxonomy, and metabolism of PAUC43f, for which we propose the name of
Palauibacterales
. This group was detected in 4,965 16S rRNA gene amplicon datasets, mainly from marine sediments, sponges, corals, soils, and lakes, reaching up to 34.3% relative abundance, which highlights its cosmopolitan character, mainly salt-related. The potential metabolic capabilities inferred from 52
Palauibacterales
MAGs recovered from marine sediments, sponges, and saline soils suggested a facultative aerobic and chemoorganotrophic metabolism, although some members may also oxidize hydrogen. Some
Palauibacterales
species might also play an environmental role as N
2
O consumers as well as suppliers of serine and thiamine. When compared to the rest of the
Gemmatimonadota
phylum, the biosynthesis of thiamine was one of the key features of the
Palauibacterales
. Finally, we show that polysaccharide utilization loci (PUL) are widely distributed within the
Gemmatimonadota
so that they are not restricted to
Bacteroidetes
, as previously thought. Our results expand the knowledge about this cryptic phylum and provide new insights into the ecological roles of the
Gemmatimonadota
in the environment.

IMPORTANCE

Despite advances in molecular and sequencing techniques, there is still a plethora of unknown microorganisms with a relevant ecological role. In the last years, the mostly uncultured
Gemmatimonadota
phylum is attracting scientific interest because of its widespread distribution and abundance, but very little is known about its ecological role in the marine ecosystem. Here we analyze the global distribution and potential metabolism of the marine
Gemmatimonadota
group PAUC43f, for which we propose the name of
Palauibacterales
order. This group presents a saline-related character and a chemoorganoheterotrophic and facultatively aerobic metabolism, although some species might oxidize H
2
. Given that
Palauibacterales
is potentially able to synthesize thiamine, whose auxotrophy is the second most common in the marine environment, we propose
Palauibacterales
as a key thiamine supplier to the marine communities. This finding suggests that
Gemmatimonadota
could have a more relevant role in the marine environment than previously thought.
Mutation in the two-component regulator BaeSR mediates cefiderocol resistance and enhances virulence in
Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Liu Xiaochen , Chang Yunjie , Xu Qingye , Zhang Wang , Huang Zhen , Zhang Linyue , Weng Shanshan , Leptihn Sebastian , Jiang Yan , Yu Yunsong , Hua Xiaoting
Published: June 2023

Acinetobacter baumannii
has become one of the most challenging pathogens in many countries with limited treatment options available. Cefiderocol, a novel siderophore-conjugated cephalosporin, shows potent
in vitro
activity against
A. baumannii
, including isolates resistant to carbapenems. To date, few reports on the mechanisms of cefiderocol resistance are available. In order to investigate potential mechanisms of cefiderocol resistance in
A. baumannii
, we performed
in vitro
evolution experiments at sub-lethal concentrations of the antibiotic. All four cefiderocol-resistant strains obtained harbored mutations in two-component system BaeS-BaeR. When we engineered the mutations of BaeS (D89V) and BaeR (S104N) into the genome of ATCC 17978, these mutations increased cefiderocol minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) by 8-fold to 16-fold. Transcriptome analyses showed that the expression of MacAB-TolC and MFS transporters was up-regulated in BaeSR mutants. Strains over-expressing MFS transporter and MacAB-TolC displayed higher MICs and higher median inhibition concentration (IC
50
) values, while MICs and IC
50
decreased when efflux pump genes were knocked out. In a BaeR mutant with up-regulated
csu
operon, we observed a higher number of pili, enhanced surface motility, and increased biofilm formation compared to wild-type ATCC 17978. Using the
Galleria mellonella
infection model, we found that the BaeS mutant in which
paa
operon was up-regulated exhibited increased virulence. In conclusion, the mutations in BaeSR decreased cefiderocol susceptibility of
A. baumannii
through up-regulating efflux pumps gene expression. BaeS or BaeR also controls the expression of
csu
and
paa
, influencing biofilm formation, surface motility, and virulence in
A. baumannii
.

IMPORTANCE

The widespread prevalence of
m
ulti-
d
rug
-r
esistant

A
.
b
aumannii

(MDRAB) poses a significant therapeutic challenge. Cefiderocol is considered a promising antibiotic for the treatment of MDRAB infections. Therefore, it is necessary to study the potential resistance mechanisms of cefiderocol to delay the development of bacterial resistance. Here, we demonstrated that mutations in
baeS
and
baeR
reduced the susceptibility of
A. baumannii
to cefiderocol by up-regulating the expression of the MFS family efflux pump and MacAB-TolC efflux pump. We propose that BaeS mutants increase bacterial virulence by up-regulating the expression of the
paa
operon. This also reports the regulatory effect of BaeSR on
csu
operon for the first time. This study provides further insights into the role of BaeSR in developing cefiderocol resistance and virulence in
A. baumannii
.
The Impact of Long-Term Macrolide Exposure on the Gut Microbiome and Its Implications for Metabolic Control
Authors: Choo Jocelyn M. , Martin Alyce M. , Taylor Steven L. , Sun Emily , Mobegi Fredrick M. , Kanno Tokuwa , Richard Alyson , Burr Lucy D. , Lingman Stevie , Martin Megan , Keating Damien J. , Mason A. James , Rogers Geraint B.
Published: June 2023

Long-term macrolide therapy is widely used in chronic respiratory diseases although its antibacterial activity can also affect the gut microbiota, a key regulator of host physiology. Macrolide-associated studies on the gut microbiota have been limited to short antibiotic courses and have not examined its consequences for host immune and metabolic regulation.
Species-Specific Analysis of Bacterial Vaginosis-Associated Bacteria
Authors: Osei Sekyere John , Oyenihi Ayodeji B. , Trama Jason , Adelson Martin E.
Published: June 2023

For many years since 2005, BVAB, an important pathogen of the female vaginal tract that is associated with BV, has been identified using PCR without knowing its actual species. Without a full genome of these pathogens, a better understanding of their pathogenicity, treatment, resistance, and diagnostics cannot be reached.
Orally Administered Bifidobacterium adolescentis Diminishes Serum Glutamate Concentration in Mice
Authors: Royo Felix , Tames Hector , Bordanaba-Florit Guillermo , Cabrera Diana , Azparren-Angulo Maria , Garcia-Vallicrosa Clara , Margolles Abelardo , Ruiz Lorena , Ruas-Madiedo Patricia , Falcon-Perez Juan M.
Published: June 2023

This work presents the results of a trial using mice as a model that were fed with a bacterial strain of the species
B. adolescentis
, which possesses different active genes capable of degrading glutamate and converting it into GABA. Indeed, the bacterium is able to survive the passage through the gastric tract and, more importantly, the animals reduce over time the concentration of glutamate in their blood.
Lattice Study of the Equation of State of a Rotating Gluon Plasma
Authors: Braguta V. V. , Kudrov I. E. , Roenko A. A. , Sychev D. A. , Chernodub M. N.
Published: June 2023

The effect of uniform rotation on the equation of state of gluodynamics has been studied in lattice simulation. To this end, the system has been considered in the corotating reference frame, where the rotation can be modeled as an external gravitational field. The free energy of the studied system in the case of sufficiently slow rotation can be expanded in a power series in the angular velocity. The moment of inertia given by the second-order coefficient of this expansion has been calculated and its dependence on the temperature and the dimensions of the rotating system has been determined. Our results indicate that the moment of inertia of gluodynamics is negative up to the temperature T * ~ 1.5Tc, where Tc is the critical temperature of the confinement/deconfinement phase transition, and becomes positive at temperatures T > T *. The negative moment of inertia has been attributed to the thermodynamic instability of the gluon plasma with respect to uniform rotation.
Recurrent strokes in the setting of anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery
Authors: Vos Ayesha , Rajakariar Kevin , Siriratnam Pakeeran , Freeman Melanie
Published: June 2023

A young woman presented with a syncopal episode. As part of the work-up for her presentation, an MRI of the brain was performed which showed a small acute stroke. She subsequently had a further embolic-appearing stroke 9 months later. The initial investigations for the work-up of her strokes did not reveal any major abnormalities, including an unremarkable ECG and transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). A transoesophageal echocardiogram (TOE) showed aneurysmal apical and mid-anteroseptal akinesis with mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) was confirmed on coronary angiogram. Although ALCAPA presenting in adulthood is rare, our case highlights the value of TOE over TTE in the work-up of cryptogenic strokes, particularly in young patients with embolic strokes of undetermined source.
Association between surgeon volume and patient outcomes after elective shoulder replacement surgery using data from the National Joint Registry and Hospital Episode Statistics for England: population based cohort study
Authors: Valsamis Epaminondas Markos , Collins Gary S , Pinedo-Villanueva Rafael , Whitehouse Michael R , Rangan Amar , Sayers Adrian , Rees Jonathan L
Published: June 2023

Objective

To investigate the association between surgeon volume and patient outcomes after elective shoulder replacement surgery to improve patient outcomes and inform future resource planning for joint replacement surgery.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Public and private hospitals in the United Kingdom, 2012-20.

Participants

Adults aged 18 years or older who had shoulder replacement surgery, identified in the National Joint Registry, with linkage of participants in England to Hospital Episode Statistics data.

Main outcome measures

The main outcome measure was revision surgery. Secondary outcome measures were reoperation within 12 months, serious adverse events, and prolonged hospital stay (>3 nights) after shoulder replacement surgery.

Results

39 281 shoulder replacement procedures undertaken by 638 consultant surgeons at 416 surgical units met the inclusion criteria and were available for analysis. Multilevel mixed effects models and restricted cubic splines were fit to examine the association between a surgeon’s mean annual volume and risk of adverse patient outcomes, with a minimum volume threshold of 10.4 procedures yearly identified. Below this threshold the risk of revision surgery was significantly increased, as much as twice that of surgeons with the lowest risk (hazard ratio 1.94, 95% confidence interval 1.27 to 2.97). A greater mean annual surgical volume was also associated with a significantly lower risk of reoperations, fewer serious adverse events, and shorter hospital stay, with no thresholds identified. Annual variation in surgeon volume was not associated with any of the outcomes assessed.

Conclusions

In the healthcare system represented by these registry data, an association was found between surgeons who averaged more than 10.4 shoulder replacements yearly and lower rates of revision surgery and reoperation, lower risk of serious adverse events, and shorter hospital stays. These findings should inform resource planning for surgical services and joint replacement surgery waiting lists and improve patient outcomes after shoulder replacement surgery.
Ethical analysis of the first porcine cardiac xenotransplantation
Authors: Gyngell Christopher , Munsie Megan , Fujita Misao , Thiessen Carrie , Savulescu Julian , Konstantinov Igor E
Published: June 2023

In this article, we provide an ethical analysis of the first porcine cardiac xenotransplant, performed in Maryland, USA in early 2022. David Bennett was offered the experimental procedure after he was deemed ineligible for human heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support, based on a history of non-compliance. It was reported that Mr Bennett’s previous instances of non-compliance were for medically non-life-threatening conditions years earlier, where the risks of non-compliance were not as high. We argue that, in Mr Bennett’s case, a history of non-compliance in a different context, should not necessarily rule him ineligible for a potentially life-saving treatment now. Furthermore, using previous non-compliance to exclude individuals from donor organs may have the unintended effect of placing the burden of testing xenotransplantation on those who are already disadvantaged. We then argue that it is not enough to rely on patient consent to ethically justify xenotransplantation research. Taking a broad ethical perspective is crucial when mapping a clinical pathway for xenotransplantation.
Post-conflict movements of polar bears in western Hudson Bay, Canada
Authors: Miller Erin N. , Trim Vicki , Lunn Nicholas J. , McGeachy David , Derocher Andrew E.
Published: June 2023

Human–carnivore conflicts have increased as habitat has been affected by development and climate change. Understanding how biological factors, environment, and management decisions affect the behaviour of animals may reduce conflicts. We examined how biological factors, sea ice conditions, and management decisions affected the autumn migratory movement of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774) from 2016 to 2021 following their capture near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and release after a mean of 20 days (SE 2) in a holding facility. We deployed eartag satellite transmitters on 63 bears (26 males, 37 females), with 49% adults (>5 years old), 48% subadults (3–5 year old), and 3% <2-year old. We compared variation in on-ice departure of bears released post-conflict (conflict) to adult females without a conflict history (non-conflict). Conflict bears departed 89 km further north (mean = 59.7°N, SE 0.2) of non-conflict bears (mean = 58.9°N, SE 0.1). Bears released later during the migratory period were less likely to re-enter a community at a rate of 5.9%–6.4% per day. Of 69 releases (6 individuals requiring multiple releases), 12 bears re-entered Churchill and 13 entered Arviat, Nunavut. We suggest that the holding facility was effective at preventing additional conflicts and individuals with a high likelihood of recidivism should be held longer.
Presence of antibiotic resistance genes in the receiving environment of Iqaluit's wastewater treatment plant in water, sediment, and clams sampled from Frobisher Bay, Nunavut: a preliminary study in the Canadian Arctic
Authors: Starks Madeleine , Schaefer Christina M. , Jeffries Kenneth M. , Deslauriers David , Luong Kim Hoang , Wong Charles S. , Hanson Mark L. , Knapp Charles W.
Published: June 2023

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a growing health concern worldwide and the Arctic represents an understudied region in terms of AR. This study aimed to quantify AR genes (ARGs) from effluent released from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, thus creating a baseline reference for future evaluations. Water, sediment, and truncate softshell clam ( Mya truncata) tissue samples were compared from the wastewater, the receiving environment of Frobisher Bay, and nearby undisturbed freshwaters. The pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) atenolol, carbamazepine, metoprolol, naproxen, sulfapyridine, and trimethoprim were found in the wastewater, but the PPCPs were undetectable in the receiving environment. However, the relative abundances of ARGs were significantly higher in wastewater than in the receiving environment or reference sites. Abundances did not significantly differ in Frobisher Bay compared to undisturbed reference sites. ARGs in clams near the WWTP had similar relative abundances as those from pristine areas. The lack of ARG detection is likely due to Frobisher Bay tides flushing inputs to levels below detection. These data suggest that the WWTP infrastructure does not influence the receiving environment based on the measured parameters; more importantly, further research must elucidate the impact and fate of AR and PPCPs in Arctic communities.
Characteristics of a novel alkali flame ionization detector as an air sensor for volatile organo-nitrogen compounds
Authors: Mogenson Cole M. , Thurbide Kevin B.
Published: June 2023

A novel alkali flame ionization detector (AFID) is introduced and characterized for use as an air sensor (i.e., without chromatographic separation) for organo-nitrogen compounds. Using a planar channeled quartz design, a simple, lightweight architecture for the portable device is presented, which yields sensitive and selective response toward nitrogen-containing analytes. For instance, the AFID sensor offers a detection limit of 30 pg N/s and a selectivity for nitrogen response over carbon of nearly two orders of magnitude. Further, nitrogen response is linear over the 1000-fold range of concentrations investigated. Relative to a flame photometric detector (FPD) device also used in a sensor mode, the AFID is observed to provide 100 times greater S/N values for nitrogen analytes with a nitrogen-to-carbon selectivity that is about 15 times larger. When using the AFID and FPD sensors in tandem, it is found that the response ratio of the simultaneous signals generated by each produces characteristic values that more clearly identify the presence or absence of nitrogen in unknown analytes. The AFID sensor was used to detect organo-nitrogen analytes in several samples, and results indicate that it could be a useful approach for portable air sensing of nitrogen compounds.
Comparative analysis of physicochemical characteristics, bioactive components, and volatile profile of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus)
Authors: Kaur Prabhjot , Morden Kitson , Subramanian Jayasankar , Singh Ashutosh
Published: June 2023

This study provides a detailed report on the physicochemical, bioactive components, and volatile profiles of diverse sour cherry ( Prunus cerasus) cultivars to identify the cultivar(s) containing high health-promoting components. Physiological characteristics (fruit weight, size dimensions, moisture, color attributes, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, maturity index, nutritional bioactive components (total phenolic, total anthocyanin content, and total flavonoids), antioxidant activity, and volatile profile of 10 sour-cherry cultivars, consisting of dark red Morello type and clear fruit flesh Amarelle type, were studied. The total phenolic content was in the range of 123.24–289.91 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g FW (fresh weight), total flavonoids (1340.23–2831.91 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g FW), and total anthocyanins (225.43–485.66 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalent (CGE)/100 g FW) in different sour-cherry cultivars, showing significant diversity in such health-promoting compounds. In vitro antioxidant activity assessed by ferric reducing antioxidant potential was observed in the range of 658.18–1483.37 mg Trolox equivalent (TE)/100 g FW and by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) at 384.36 and 931.85 mg TE/100 g FW. A total of 10 phenolic components, including five hydroxycinnamic acids, three flavonoids (flavanols), and one anthocyanin, have been identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Hydroxycinnamic acids represented 40%–60% of total phenolic components, while flavonoids and anthocyanins amounted to 20% each in total phenolic composition. The volatile profile of sour-cherry cultivars revealed that aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, monoterpenes, acids, sugars, and hydrocarbons were the predominant volatiles present in sour cherry.
Evaluation of chia and flax mucilages as consolidants of paint films and as hydrogels used in the cleaning of canvases reverses: first results
Authors: Palma Prieto Marina , Santos Gómez Sonia , Pérez-Estébanez Marta , De la Roja José Manuel
Published: June 2023

In the field of conservation of cultural heritage, animal glues, synthetic resins, and some polysaccharides are used to consolidate pictorial layers. Meanwhile, in order to clean the obverse and the reverse of paintings, organic solvents and aqueous systems are sometimes employed in the form of gels. In this work, vegetable mucilages have been tested for both applications. This research has been carried out in several phases. Firstly, mucilages were extracted from flax and chia seeds. The efficacy of the obtained products was tested on two kinds of mock-ups. As consolidantes, the mucilages were applied on a board with a film of powdery tempera painting. In the case of their use as cleaning gels, two linen cloths were prepared: one with animal glue and the other with gacha, an adhesive used in the Mediterranean Basin. In the last step, the efficacy and safety of the treatments were determined through microscopic observations and FTIR-ATR measurements. Colour and gloss characterisation were also performed in the consolidated pictorial layers. According to the first results shown in this work, flax mucilage can consolidate disintegrated layers of rabbit-skin glue tempera producing minimum colour and gloss changes, whereas chia mucilage has less efficacy to consolidate the tempera. Regarding the efficacy of mucilages as hydrogels, both have shown promising results. With these first results, future work will focus on the study of the long-term behaviour of vegetable mucilages through accelerated artificial ageing and on laying the foundations for their use in other conservation treatments, such as the cleaning of pictorial layers.
Enhanced energy localization and harvesting by design of phononic crystal defects
Authors: Li J. R. , Guo J. C. , Zhang Z.
Published: June 2023

A new arrayed phononic crystal (PnCs) with defects is proposed. The supercell method is used to calculate the band structures. Energy localization can be found around the defects and energy harvesting (EH) can be realized by the attachment of piezoelectric patches around the designed defects. The EH can be concentrated on the frequency of 64–64.1[Formula: see text]kHz with output voltage of 8.22[Formula: see text]V. By the change of the piezoelectric patch from circular to oval shape, the frequency of EH can be changed. By the optimization of geometric shapes of piezoelectric patches and the optimal design of unit cell, the EH output voltage can be increased to 4.21 times higher than the original state and the EH frequency band is effectively broadened. The amplification factor can be increased to 327.13.
The influence of different drying methods on the properties of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 material
Authors: Li Yunxiu , Zhang Yu , Dai Shihang , Qin Xianxian , Li Xuetian , Shao Zhongcai , Liu Zhijiang
Published: June 2023

It was precisely because LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 cathode material had many advantages, including high voltage, high power, no pollution, low cost, etc., that it became a research hotspot for lithium-ion cathode materials. Although LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 has a three-dimensional Li[Formula: see text] diffusion channel, there are still some problems that lead to capacity decay and reduced cycling stability, limiting its commercial application. In this paper, the LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 cathode material was prepared by the freezing precipitation method. We studied the effects of different drying methods, such as blast drying, water bath drying and freeze-drying on the structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 cathode materials. The study found that the LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 cathode material prepared by the precipitation-freeze-drying method had a complete crystal form, a stable structure and no LixNi[Formula: see text]O impurity peak. The SEM image showed that the particles were smaller and had a smooth surface. The initial discharge-specific capacity at 0.1[Formula: see text]C was 105.2[Formula: see text]mAh⋅g[Formula: see text]. After 50 cycles, its specific discharge capacity was 99.4[Formula: see text]mAh⋅g[Formula: see text] and the capacity retention rate was 94.5%. Compared with LiNi[Formula: see text]Mn[Formula: see text]O4 materials prepared by other methods, it had better electrochemical performance.
Nordhaus–Gaddum-Type Results for the k-Independent Number of Graphs
Authors: Wang Zhao , Liu Hongfang , Liu Yuhu
Published: June 2023

The concept of [Formula: see text]-independent set, introduced by Fink and Jacobson in 1986, is a natural generalization of classical independence set. A [Formula: see text]-independent set is a set of vertices whose induced subgraph has maximum degree at most [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text]-independence number of [Formula: see text], denoted by [Formula: see text], is defined as the maximum cardinality of a [Formula: see text]-independent set of [Formula: see text]. As a natural counterpart of the [Formula: see text]-independence number, we introduced the concept of [Formula: see text]-edge-independence number. An edge set [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] is called [Formula: see text]-edge-independent if the maximum degree of the subgraph induced by the edges in [Formula: see text] is less or equal to [Formula: see text]. The [Formula: see text]-edge-independence number, denoted [Formula: see text], is defined as the maximum cardinality of a [Formula: see text]-edge-independent set. In this paper, we study the Nordhaus–Gaddum-type results for the parameter [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We obtain sharp upper and lower bounds of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for a graph [Formula: see text] of order [Formula: see text]. Some graph classes attaining these bounds are also given.
China’s Revolutionary Transition towards Carbon Neutrality and Prevention of Relevant Risks
Authors: PAN Jiahua , LI Yushan , ZHANG Ying , JI Zhixuan
Published: June 2023

Achieving carbon neutrality requires the fundamental transformation of the development paradigm, the disruptive technologies. With efficiency-improving technologies and carbon removal technologies alone, it is possible to move further towards low carbon but hard to achieve carbon neutrality. It can only be realized through thorough decoupling from fossil energy with disruptive technologies. This revolution aiming at carbon neutrality has not only made new ground in the energy market, but also the central task which is to revolutionize zero-carbon energy production and consumption through underlying changes to the relations of production and mode of distribution, thereby pushing forward the fundamental transformation of social development paradigm.
The role of subduction in the formation of Pangaean oceanic large igneous provinces
Authors: Heron Philip J. , Gün Erkan , Shephard Grace E. , Dannberg Juliane , Gassmöller Rene , Martin Erin , Sharif Aisha , Pysklywec Russell N. , Nance R. Damian , Murphy J. Brendan
Published: June 2023

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) have been linked to both surface and deep mantle processes. During the formation, tenure and break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea, there is an increase in emplacement events for both continental and oceanic LIPs. There is currently no clear consensus on the origin of LIPs, but a hypothesis relates their formation to crustal emplacement of hot plume material originating in the deep mantle. The interaction of subducted slabs with the lowermost mantle thermal boundary and subsequent return flow is a key control on such plume generation. This mechanism has been explored for LIPs below the interior of a supercontinent (i.e. continental LIPs). However, a number of LIPs formed exterior to Pangaea (e.g. Ontong Java Plateau), with no consensus on their formation mechanism. Here, we consider the dynamics of supercontinent processes as predicted by numerical models of mantle convection and analyse whether circum-supercontinent subduction could generate both interior (continental) and exterior (oceanic) deep mantle plumes. Our numerical models show that subduction related to the supercontinent cycle can reproduce the location and timing of the Ontong Java Plateau, Caribbean LIP and potentially the Shatsky Rise by linking the origin of these LIPs to the return flow that generated deep mantle exterior plumes.
Fragility in AIs Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Johnson Jeff A. , Bullock Daniel H.
Published: June 2023

Suggesting ways to reduce fragility in AI systems that include artificial neural networks.
Sampling the Goods
Authors: Shasha Dennis
Published: June 2023

Clever sampling for the worst/average case.
Outsmarting Deepfake Video
Authors: Mone Gregory
Published: June 2023

Looking for truth, when "it's becoming surprisingly easy to distort reality."
Clustering Heterogeneous Data Values for Data Quality Analysis
Authors: Wenz Viola , Kesper Arno , Taentzer Gabriele
Published: June 2023

Data is of high quality if it is fit for its intended purpose. Data heterogeneity can be a major quality problem, as quality aspects such as understandability and consistency can be compromised. Heterogeneity of data values is particularly common when data is manually entered by different people using inadequate control rules. In this case, syntactic and semantic heterogeneity often go hand in hand. Heterogeneity of data values may be a direct result of problems in the acquisition process, quality problems of the underlying data model, or possibly erroneous data transformations. For example, in the cultural heritage domain, it is common to analyze data fields by manually searching lists of data values sorted alphabetically or by number of occurrences. Additionally, search functions such as regular expression matching are used to detect specific patterns. However, this requires a priori knowledge and technical skills that domain experts often do not have. Since such datasets often contain thousands of values, the entire process is very time-consuming. Outliers or subtle differences between values that may be critical to data quality can be easily overlooked. To improve this process of analyzing the quality of data values, we propose a bottom-up human-in-the-loop approach that clusters values of a data field according to syntactic similarity. The clustering is intended to help domain experts explore the heterogeneity of values in a data field and can be configured by domain experts according to their domain knowledge. The overview of the syntactic diversity of the data values gives an impression of the rules and practices of data acquisition as well as their violations. From this, experts can infer potential quality issues with the data acquisition process and system, as well as the data model and data transformations. We outline a proof-of-concept implementation of the approach. Our evaluation found that clustering adds value to data quality analysis, especially for detecting quality problems in data models.
Participating Citizens = Smart Citizens? Applying the Human-centered Design Approach on a Digital Care Platform
Authors: Neumann Sara , Bleja Jelena , Krüger Tim , Grossmann Uwe
Published: June 2023

New digital innovations are becoming increasingly relevant in the healthcare sector of smart cities. Although the healthcare sector has not been the focus of smart city strategies so far, this sector offers a high potential to save resources. One such measure is the development of a digital care platform. A digital care platform is intended to counteract the shortage of skilled care staff through the targeted deployment of caregivers. To meet the needs of users and service providers, a target group-oriented, human-centered design approach is applied to evaluate the benefits of a care platform for users and service providers. The results are recorded with the help of a Benefit Model. During the surveys, it became clear that users and service providers benefit from the use of a care platform in technical, economic, and social aspects, among others. In the process, stakeholders not only save important resources but also can build valuable networks for healthy and successful aging.
A Data-dependent Approach for High-dimensional (Robust) Wasserstein Alignment
Authors: Ding Hu , Liu Wenjie , Ye Mingquan
Published: June 2023

Many real-world problems can be formulated as the alignment between two geometric patterns. Previously, a great amount of research focus on the alignment of two-dimensional (2D) or 3D patterns in the field of computer vision. Recently, the alignment problem in high dimensions finds several novel applications in practice. However, the research is still rather limited in the algorithmic aspect. To the best of our knowledge, most existing approaches are just simple extensions of their counterparts for 2D and 3D cases and often suffer from the issues such as high computational complexities. In this article, we propose an effective framework to compress the high-dimensional geometric patterns. Any existing alignment method can be applied to the compressed geometric patterns and the time complexity can be significantly reduced. Our idea is inspired by the observation that high-dimensional data often has a low intrinsic dimension. Our framework is a “data-dependent” approach that has the complexity depending on the intrinsic dimension of the input data. Our experimental results reveal that running the alignment algorithm on compressed patterns can achieve similar qualities, comparing with the results on the original patterns, but the runtimes (including the times cost for compression) are substantially lower.
ECRLoRa: LoRa Packet Recovery under Low SNR via Edge–Cloud Collaboration
Authors: Mei Luoyu , Yin Zhimeng , Wang Shuai , Zhou Xiaolei , Ling Taiwei , He Tian
Published: June 2023

Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs), extensively utilized for connecting billions of IoT devices, encounter wireless interference challenges in unlicensed frequency bands. Cutting-edge research suggests employing Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) sequences for error detection to mitigate interference-related issues. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this method significantly declines under low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Additionally, long-range communication often results in low SNR received signals, sometimes even below the noise floor. Targeting this fundamental issue, this article proposes the LPWAN packet technique, broadly applicable across diverse scenarios through edge–cloud collaboration. On the edge side, we propose an innovative architecture that fully exploits spatial distribution and interference independence in the field. Rather than utilizing resource-intensive RSSI-based error detection, we leverage a lightweight coding scheme for error detection at the Long Range (LoRa) edge, forwarding correct frames to the cloud. On the cloud side, packet recovery is achieved utilizing group-weighted voting. We design and implement ECRLoRa with commercially available devices (SemTech’s SX1278 and SX1302 LoRa chipsets) and assess its performance in low SNR environments. Our thorough evaluation demonstrates that our approach attains a Packet Recovery Ratio of 96% with low SNR (i.e., below −10 dB), resulting in 1.8× throughput, 7.5× faster recovery time, and 4.92× average accuracy compared to state-of-the-art cloud-optimized application layer solutions.
Qrowdsmith: Enhancing Paid Microtask Crowdsourcing with Gamification and Furtherance Incentives
Authors: Maddalena Eddy , Ibáñez Luis-Daniel , Reeves Neal , Simperl Elena
Published: June 2023

Microtask crowdsourcing platforms are social intelligence systems in which volunteers, called crowdworkers, complete small, repetitive tasks in return for a small fee. Beyond payments, task requesters are considering non-monetary incentives such as points, badges, and other gamified elements to increase performance and improve crowdworker experience. In this article, we present Qrowdsmith, a platform for gamifying microtask crowdsourcing. To design the system, we explore empirically a range of gamified and financial incentives and analyse their impact on how efficient, effective, and reliable the results are. To maintain participation over time and save costs, we propose furtherance incentives, which are offered to crowdworkers to encourage additional contributions in addition to the fee agreed upfront. In a series of controlled experiments, we find that while gamification can work as furtherance incentives, it impacts negatively on crowdworkers’ performance, both in terms of the quantity and quality of work, as compared to a baseline where they can continue to contribute voluntarily. Gamified incentives are also less effective than paid bonus equivalents. Our results contribute to the understanding of how best to encourage engagement in microtask crowdsourcing activities and design better crowd intelligence systems.
B
3
: Backdoor Attacks against Black-box Machine Learning Models
Authors: Gong Xueluan , Chen Yanjiao , Yang Wenbin , Huang Huayang , Wang Qian
Published: June 2023

Backdoor attacks aim to inject backdoors to victim machine learning models during training time, such that the backdoored model maintains the prediction power of the original model towards clean inputs and misbehaves towards backdoored inputs with the trigger. The reason for backdoor attacks is that resource-limited users usually download sophisticated models from model zoos or query the models from MLaaS rather than training a model from scratch, thus a malicious third party has a chance to provide a backdoored model. In general, the more precious the model provided (i.e., models trained on rare datasets), the more popular it is with users.

In this article, from a malicious model provider perspective, we propose a black-box backdoor attack, named
B
3
, where neither the rare victim model (including the model architecture, parameters, and hyperparameters) nor the training data is available to the adversary. To facilitate backdoor attacks in the black-box scenario, we design a cost-effective
model extraction
method that leverages a carefully constructed query dataset to steal the functionality of the victim model with a limited budget. As the trigger is key to successful backdoor attacks, we develop a novel trigger generation algorithm that intensifies the bond between the trigger and the targeted misclassification label through the neuron with the highest impact on the targeted label. Extensive experiments have been conducted on various simulated deep learning models and the commercial API of Alibaba Cloud Compute Service. We demonstrate that
B
3
has a high attack success rate and maintains high prediction accuracy for benign inputs. It is also shown that
B
3
is robust against state-of-the-art defense strategies against backdoor attacks, such as model pruning and NC.
Approx-RM: Reducing Energy on Heterogeneous Multicore Processors under Accuracy and Timing Constraints
Authors: Azhar Muhammad Waqar , Manivannan Madhavan , Stenström Per
Published: June 2023

Reducing energy consumption while providing performance and quality guarantees is crucial for computing systems ranging from battery-powered embedded systems to data centers. This article considers approximate iterative applications executing on heterogeneous multi-core platforms under user-specified performance and quality targets. We note that allowing a slight yet bounded relaxation in solution quality can considerably reduce the required iteration count and thereby can save significant amounts of energy. To this end, this article proposes
Approx-RM
, a resource management scheme that reduces energy expenditure while guaranteeing a specified performance
as well as
accuracy target.
Approx-RM
predicts the number of iterations required to meet the relaxed accuracy target at runtime. The time saved generates execution-time slack, which allows
Approx-RM
to allocate fewer resources on a heterogeneous multi-core platform in terms of DVFS, core type, and core count to save energy while meeting the performance target.
Approx-RM
contributes with lightweight methods for predicting the iteration count needed to meet the accuracy target and the resources needed to meet the performance target.
Approx-RM
uses the aforementioned predictions to allocate
just enough
resources to comply with quality of service constraints to save energy. Our evaluation shows energy savings of 31.6%, on average, compared to
Race-to-idle
when the accuracy is only relaxed by 1%.
Approx-RM
incurs timing and energy overheads of less than 0.1%.
Using Randomization in Self-organized Synchronization for Wireless Networks
Authors: Schmidt Jorge F. , Schilcher Udo , Vogell Arke , Bettstetter Christian
Published: June 2023

The concept of pulse-coupled oscillators for self-organized synchronization has been applied to wireless systems. Putting theory into practice, however, faces certain obstacles, particularly in radio technologies that cannot implement pulses but use common messages for interactions between nodes. This raises the question of how to deal with interference between messages. We show that interference can disturb the synchronization process and propose low-complex, randomization-based techniques to address this issue. First, we demonstrate that randomly switching between two transmit power levels (without increasing the average power) can expedite synchronization. The high-power transmissions temporarily boost network connectivity with negligible impact on the average interference. Second, we reduce interference by blindly distributing the messages over the entire oscillator cycle. Instead of using a fixed oscillator phase at which the pulses are sent, each node chooses its own, randomly selected phase to send a synchronization message. This node-specific “fire phase” is contained in the message to permit others to compute the timing. Third, we suggest that such interference management can also be beneficial for other synchronization techniques and validate this claim using Glossy as an example. Our insights may contribute to feasible solutions for self-organized wireless synchronization. Further work is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the effects of randomization and to develop algorithms for the adaptability of local parameters.
A Survey on Hypergraph Representation Learning
Authors: Antelmi Alessia , Cordasco Gennaro , Polato Mirko , Scarano Vittorio , Spagnuolo Carmine , Yang Dingqi
Published: June 2023

Hypergraphs have attracted increasing attention in recent years thanks to their flexibility in naturally modeling a broad range of systems where high-order relationships exist among their interacting parts. This survey reviews the newly born hypergraph representation learning problem, whose goal is to learn a function to project objects—most commonly nodes—of an input hyper-network into a latent space such that both the structural and relational properties of the network can be encoded and preserved. We provide a thorough overview of existing literature and offer a new taxonomy of hypergraph embedding methods by identifying three main families of techniques, i.e., spectral, proximity-preserving, and (deep) neural networks. For each family, we describe its characteristics and our insights in a single yet flexible framework and then discuss the peculiarities of individual methods, as well as their pros and cons. We then review the main tasks, datasets, and settings in which hypergraph embeddings are typically used. We finally identify and discuss open challenges that would inspire further research in this field.
Effects of 300 keV N+ Ion Irradiation on Radio-Frequency Sputtered Al-ZnO Thin Films for a Low Energy Regime
Authors: Sharma Richa , Gupta Himanshi , Singh Fouran , Rana J. M. S. , Hothi Navjot , Priya Bhanu , Kumar Tanuj , Singh Divya Pratap , Verma Ajay Singh , Gupta Rajeev
Published: June 2023

The experimentally observed effects induced by ion irradiation in AZO thin films are discussed in limited articles. Here, in the present study, we report the results of ion irradiation by 300 keV Nitrogen ions. To study the structural, morphological, and optical properties of thin film, XRD, FE-SEM, and UV visible spectroscopy were used and it was confirmed by the structural investigation that the ion irradiation resulted in changes in different calculated structural parameters. Furthermore, different dopant concentrations are examined in relation to the effects of irradiation. The polar crystal growth orientation mechanism is initiated over nonpolar crystal growth orientation, as the 2%AZO thin films are presented to ion beam irradiation. The transition in the stress of thin film after N ion irradiation is also discussed. The phenomena responsible for the morphological changes is discussed. The observed morphological changes are correlated with structural changes. The change in the colour of the thin films after irradiation is explained. The other alterations in the thin films’ optical properties are also discussed. The systematics study of the irradiated thin films may be helpful for device fabrication.
Up-Conversion of Infrared Spectrum to Visible Spectrum with NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ Coated Film for Façade Envelope
Authors: Ang Barbara Ting Wei , Soh Chew Beng , Fong Yin Mei , Saha Arijit , Chien Szu Cheng , An Hui , Tay Ryan Hong Soon
Published: June 2023

Excessive heat build-up in buildings is undesirable and excess infrared (IR) radiation can be attenuated via up-conversion (UC) of IR to visible light. Sodium Yttrium Fluoride co-doped with Ytterbium and Erbium hexagonal micro-prism phosphors were synthesized for the up-conversion of IR to visible wavelengths. These synthesized UC phosphors were uniformly dispersed into an epoxy matrix for application on a transparent laminated film substrate via the Doctor Blade method. This UC phosphor coating reduced thermal irradiance and consequently a much lower interior temperature was achieved compared to a structure envelope without the coated film.
Recreating an introductory physiology unit in the Core Concepts form: helping students to think like a physiologist
Authors: Etherington Sarah J. , Callan Natalie , Koh Shu Hui , Hourani Tamara , Nolton Marnie
Published: June 2023

This article presents a “how-to” guide for redesigning an introductory physiology unit to emphasize the Core Concepts of Physiology. Detailed descriptions are provided of innovative, scalable, adjustments to content delivery, assessment, learning objectives, and activities. Staff reflections and student experience suggest a strong Core Concepts emphasis, while challenging, can promote critical thinking and develop an understanding of underlying chemical, physical and biological principles.