bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Testing the accuracy of the SexEst software for sex estimation in a modern Greek sample
Authors: Nikita Paraskevi‐Anna , Garoufi Nefeli , Valakos Eustratios , Constantinou Chrysovalantis , Nikita Efthymia , Chovalopoulou Maria‐Eleni
Published: January 2024

Sex estimation from human skeletal remains is fundamental in osteoarcheology and forensic anthropology. The increasing availability of reference skeletal collections across the world has allowed the development of morphological and metric methods for skeletal sex estimation, some of which may be implemented in specialized computer software. The present study aims to evaluate the freely available SexEst software, which utilizes cranial and postcranial measurements, and different classification models for sex estimation, on a contemporary Greek population comprising of 227 (126 males and 101 females) adult individuals. After the calculation of intra‐observer error to assess the repeatability of the measurements, the proposed variables were tested for classification accuracy individually and in different combinations. Based on the results, the postcranial models outperformed the cranial ones in all cases and can be adequately applied on a Greek population sample. The light gradient boosting (LGB) algorithm yielded the highest correct classification rates when no missing values exist, while the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) models should only be used when dealing with missing data. The highest classification accuracy for a 0.65 posterior probability threshold was reached when utilizing a combination of postcranial variables (89.67%), while the lowest was achieved with the cranial measurement “Glabella‐occipital length” (45.00%). The same models yielded the highest and lowest accuracy for a 0.5 probability threshold, with values of 92.96% and 67.73%, respectively. Combining variables yielded higher accuracies in both skeletal regions, suggesting that the software would be more helpful in cases of intact skeletons. The loss of classification accuracy due to population specificity further corroborates the need to include different ancestries in sex estimation software.
Bactericidal activity of slightly acidic electrolyzed water against the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans and other oral bacteria
Authors: Nishihama Saki , Miyata Ayaka , Le Mi Nguyen‐Tra , Kawada‐Matsuo Miki , Kaneyasu Yoshino , Ohta Kouji , Ohge Hiroki , Shiba Hideki , Komatsuzawa Hitoshi
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) is sterilizing agent produced by the electrolysis of hydrochloric acid. Because SAEW has been applied to various foods as the disinfectant, SAEW is expected to be used in the medical field. In this study, we evaluated the bactericidal effect of SAEW on various oral bacteria.

Methodology

The bactericidal activity of SAEW against cariogenic bacteria, periodontopathogenic bacteria, and antibiotic‐resistant bacteria was evaluated.

Results

We first examined the effect of SAEW on Streptococcus mutans UA159 with different reaction time or the number of bacterial cells. SAEW showed complete bactericidal activity against up to 107 cells within 1 min and even 10 s. Against cariogenic bacteria, periodontopathogenic bacteria, and antibiotic‐resistant bacteria, we evaluated the bactericidal effect of SAEW against 10 S. mutans clinical isolates, three periodontopathogenic bacteria, and 18 cephalosporin‐resistant Gram‐negative bacteria, and we found complete killing against all bacteria. Various dilutions (25%, 50%, and 75%) of SAEW by water still showed complete bactericidal activity, while dilutions by artificial saliva lost the bactericidal activity significantly, with 23.3% bactericidal activity even by 75% SAEW. Storage of SAEW for 7 days at room temperature still showed complete killing activity.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that SAEW has a high antibacterial effect on oral bacteria, indicating the possibility of clinical use in the dental field such as disinfection of dental devices and oral care.
Wildlife farming: Balancing economic and conservation interests in the face of illegal wildlife trade
Authors: Meeks Dominic , Morton Oscar , Edwards David P.
Published: January 2024

Demand for wildlife and their products continues to grow, often despite increasingly militarised regulation and consumer awareness campaigns. We review the sustainability, legality and feasibility of wildlife farming of animals, as a potential conservation tool to ensure the development of an equitable and sustainable trade model.

While there are some positive examples of well‐managed wildlife farming in trade, we identify common themes of misuse including the intentional mislabelling of wild‐caught specimens in global trade and the use of wild‐caught individuals to supplement captive stocks.

We also highlight the frequent failure to incorporate biological data into management strategies, resulting in the widespread use of species with potentially unfavourable life history traits, which constrain the economic and biological sustainability of wildlife farming programmes.

We develop a structured decision framework to aid the examination of when wildlife farming may most benefit or hinder species conservation.

Synthesis and applications. Key opportunities include developing species suitability assessments and removing barriers to legitimate participation with wildlife farming among poor, rural communities. In the absence of management strategies that address the issues of species suitability and accessibility, wildlife farming will continue to place significant strain on wild populations while failing to provide conservation value and sustainable economic returns.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Effect of temperature and moisture composite environments on the mechanical properties and mechanisms of woven carbon fiber composites
Authors: Chen Jingsong , Yang Guangwu , Xiao Shoune , Chen Dongdong , Wang Mingmeng , Jiang Lanxin
Published: January 2024

Temperature and moisture are important environmental conditions governing the usage of carbon fiber‐reinforced plastics (CFRP). In this study, tensile, compression, and shear tests of woven CFRP composites were conducted in four composite environments: cold‐temperature dry state, room‐temperature dry state, elevated‐temperature dry state, and elevated‐temperature wet state. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to analyze the molecular composition and structure under these environments. The fracture morphology was also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the deterioration mechanism of the material properties at the macro and micro scales. Finally, a two‐parameter Weibull statistical model was used to evaluate the scattering of the composites. The results demonstrate that the tensile, compressive, and shear properties of the material decrease under harsh conditions, and the degradation effect on the ultimate strength is much greater than that of the modulus. Cold‐temperature dry and elevated‐temperature wet conditions are particularly severe. Composite environments significantly affect the macroscopic failure process and ultimate failure mode of materials. In general, the temperature and humidity of the matrix system acts at the core of the deterioration mechanism of composites, affecting the properties of the fiber/matrix and orthogonal woven fiber interfaces, and eventually resulting in a loss of their constitutive strength and bearing capacity. The theoretical ultimate strength were consistent with the experimental values.

Highlights

Comprehensive mechanical property testing in multiple composite environments.

Degradation mechanisms were revealed from multiscale morphology analysis.

Scattering of composites were evaluated using statistical analyses.

Cold temperature dry and elevated temperature wet were the worst states.

Deterioration effect of environment on matrix and interface is the core failure mechanism.
Compression molding of polypropylene‐ and polyethylene‐based composite materials using siliceous waste concrete powder
Authors: Kanda Yasuyuki
Published: January 2024

This study investigated the applicability of siliceous waste concrete powder (WCP‐S) as a reinforcing particle in plastic composite materials for effectively utilizing waste concrete. WCP‐S was obtained by milling waste concrete. Two types of resin materials, polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), were used as the matrix of the composite material. Composite materials were fabricated via compression molding, and the effect of the WCP‐S content on the mechanical properties of the composite materials was investigated. The flexural strength of the PP‐based material decreased with increasing WCP‐S content, whereas the flexural modulus increased. This result suggests insufficient interfacial adhesion between the matrix resin and WCP‐S in the plastic region with high flexural load. To improve this interfacial adhesion, we investigated the mechanical properties of the PE‐based composite material. The flexural strength remained almost constant on increasing the WCP‐S content in the PE‐based composite material, whereas the flexural strength increased. Therefore, WCP‐S is a promising reinforcement particle with an improved flexural modulus for PP or PE resins.

Highlights

Plastic composite material was fabricated using WCP‐S.

The flexural strength of PP‐based composite material decreased.

The flexural strength of PE‐based composite material remained almost constant.

Flexural modulus increased the PP‐ and PE‐based composite material.

WCP‐S is a promising reinforcement particle for PP/PE resins.
Predictors of fetal death, neonatal survival and neurological outcomes in severe twin‐twin transfusion syndrome treated by laser ablation of placental vessels
Authors: Andrioli Peralta Cleisson Fábio , Jorge Rodrigues da Costa Karina , Peneluppi Horak Ana Clara , Pinheiro do Carmo Gomes Samara , Sousa Santos Elton , Galvão Barbante Letícia , Hideo Nakagawa Santos Renato
Published: January 2024

Objectives

To identify predictors of outcomes in severe twin oligo‐polyhydramnios sequence (TOPS) with or without twin anemia‐polycythemia sequence (TAPS) and/or selective fetal growth restriction (SFGR) treated by laser ablation of placental vessels (LAPV).

Methods

Analysis of cases treated from 2011 to 2022. Variables evaluated Prenatal predictors: stages of TOPS, presence of TAPS and/or SFGR; pre‐LAPV fetal ultrasound parameters; peri‐LAPV variables. Perinatal predictors: GA at birth; birthweight; Apgar scores; transfontanellar ultrasonography (TFUS). Outcome variables: fetal death, neonatal survival, infant's neurodevelopment. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to detect predictors of outcomes.

Results

265 cases were included. Predictors of post‐LAPV donor fetus' death were delta EFW (p:0.045) and absent/reverse end‐diastolic flow in the umbilical artery (AREDF‐UA) (p < 0.001). The predictor of post‐LAPV recipient fetus' death was hydrops (p:0.009). Predictors of neonatal survival were GA at birth and Apgar scores. Predictors of infant's neurodevelopment were TFUS and pre‐LAPV middle cerebral artery Doppler (MCAD) for the donor twin; and pre‐LAPV ductus venosus' flow and MCAD for the recipient twin.

Conclusions

Prediction of fetal death, neonatal survival and infant's neurodevelopment is possible in cases of TOPS associated or not with SFGR and/or TAPS that were treated by LAPV.
A phosphorylation‐deficient ribosomal protein eS6 is largely functional in Arabidopsis thaliana, rescuing mutant defects from global translation and gene expression to photosynthesis and growth
Authors: Dasgupta Anwesha , Urquidi Camacho Ricardo A. , Enganti Ramya , Cho Sung Ki , Tucker Lindsey L. , Torreverde John S. , Abraham Paul E. , von Arnim Albrecht G.
Published: January 2024

The eukaryote‐specific ribosomal protein of the small subunit eS6 is phosphorylated through the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase pathway. Although this phosphorylation event responds dynamically to environmental conditions and has been studied for over 50 years, its biochemical and physiological significance remains controversial and poorly understood. Here, we report data from Arabidopsis thaliana, which indicate that plants expressing only a phospho‐deficient isoform of eS6 grow essentially normally under laboratory conditions. The eS6z (RPS6A) paralog of eS6 functionally rescued a double mutant in both rps6a and rps6b genes when expressed at approximately twice the wild‐type dosage. A mutant isoform of eS6z lacking the major six phosphorylatable serine and threonine residues in its carboxyl‐terminal tail also rescued the lethality, rosette growth, and polyribosome loading of the double mutant. This isoform also complemented many mutant phenotypes of rps6 that were newly characterized here, including photosynthetic efficiency, and most of the gene expression defects that were measured by transcriptomics and proteomics. However, compared with plants rescued with a phospho‐enabled version of eS6z, the phospho‐deficient seedlings retained a mild pointed‐leaf phenotype, root growth was reduced, and certain cell cycle‐related mRNAs and ribosome biogenesis proteins were misexpressed. The residual defects of the phospho‐deficient seedlings could be understood as an incomplete rescue of the rps6 mutant defects. There was little or no evidence for gain‐of‐function defects. As previously published, the phospho‐deficient eS6z also rescued the rps6a and rps6b single mutants; however, phosphorylation of the eS6y (RPS6B) paralog remained lower than predicted, further underscoring that plants can tolerate phospho‐deficiency of eS6 well. Our data also yield new insights into how plants cope with mutations in essential, duplicated ribosomal protein isoforms.
Registration of ‘KS Big Bow’ hard white winter wheat
Authors: Zhang Guorong , Fritz Allan K. , Li Yonghui , Bowden Robert L. , Bai Guihua , Chen Ming‐Shun , Rupp Jessica , Jin Yue
Published: January 2024

‘KS Big Bow’ (Reg. no. CV‐1206, PI 701521), a hard white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, was developed by the wheat breeding program at the Agricultural Research Center–Hays, Kansas State University, and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station in 2022. KS Big Bow was selected from a single cross of KS050223M‐2/KS11HW15 using a modified bulk breeding method. The main objective of this cross is to release a competitive hard white winter wheat cultivar with adaptation to the dryland production in western Kansas. KS Big Bow is an F5‐derived line and was tested in yield trials from 2017 to 2022 in Kansas before its release. It has performed well in dryland yield trials in western Kansas. KS Big Bow has a medium to medium‐early maturity and medium plant height. Its test weight and straw strength are good. KS Big Bow has a good disease‐resistant package including resistance to Wheat streak mosaic virus, moderate resistances to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Erikss.) and stem rust (caused by P. graminis Pers f. sp. tritici Eriks. & E. Henn.), and intermediate resistance to Barley yellow dwarf virus. Its milling and baking qualities are about average.
Compressive characterization of different chemically treated Borassus flabellifer fruit fibers
Authors: Dash Kamalakant , Nanda Jajneswar , Das Sankar Narayan , Jha Vinay Chandra
Published: January 2024

In this current work, the Borassus flabellifer (BF) fruit fiber's surface has been modified using a variety of chemical processes in order to enhance the fiber properties. Investigations were done into the morphological, thermal, mechanical, and water absorption properties of BF fibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs were used to visualize the effects of the surface alterations made to the BF fibers. These images demonstrate rough texture of the fiber surfaces with tiny holes and grooves as a result of the removal of lignin and hemicellulose from the fiber. To investigate the effects of surface changes on the fiber composition, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of BF fibers was performed. The enhancement in the crystallinity of the surface‐modified BF fibers is confirmed by the energy‐dispersive x‐ray (EDX) and x‐ray diffraction analyses. The thermogravimetric analysis demonstrates that the surface‐modified fibers exhibit increase in thermal stability as well as the tensile strength. The water absorption test confirms the reduction of the hydrophilic nature of the chemically treated BF fibers.

Highlights

Benzoyl chloride‐treated BF fiber have shown the best surface modification.

Chemically treated BF fibers show better crystallinity, as per XRD, SEM and EDX.

Benzolization of BF fiber, increases the hydrophobic nature of the fiber.
Low global warming C5F10O isomers for plasma atomic layer etching and reactive ion etching of SiO2 and Si3N4
Authors: Kim Jihye , Kang Hojin , Kim Yongjae , Jeon Minsung , Chae Heeyeop
Published: January 2024

Plasma atomic layer etching (ALE) processes for SiO2 and Si3N4 and reactive ion etching (RIE) processes for SiO2 with hole patterns were developed using C4F8 and the low global warming potential gases of perfluoroisopropyl vinyl ether (PIPVE) and perfluoropropyl vinyl ether (PPVE). The ALE windows of SiO2 and Si3N4 were in the range of 50.0–57.5 V for all precursors. Etch per cycle of SiO2 was determined to be 5.5 Å/cycle (C4F8), 3.3 Å/cycle (PIPVE), and 5.4 Å/cycle (PPVE), all lower than that of Si3N4. PPVE reduced global warming emissions by 49%, demonstrating better vertical etch profiles in RIE compared to C4F8.
Exercise and pulsatile pulmonary vascular loading in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease
Authors: Osman Sinan , Girdharry Natasha R. , Karvasarski Elizabeth , Bentley Robert F. , Wright Stephen P. , Sharif Nadia , McInnis Micheal , Granton John T. , dePerrot Marc , Mak Susanna
Published: January 2024

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary disease (CTEPD) is characterized by organized nonresolving thrombi in pulmonary arteries (PA). In CTEPD with pulmonary hypertension (PH), chronic thromboembolic PH (CTEPH), early wave reflection results in abnormalities of pulsatile afterload and augmented PA pressures. We hypothesized that exercise during right heart catheterization (RHC) would elicit more frequent elevations of pulsatile vascular afterload than resistive elevations in patients with CTEPD without PH. The interdependent physiology of pulmonary venous and PA hemodynamics was also evaluated. Consecutive patients with CTEPD without PH (resting mean PA pressure ≤20 mmHg) undergoing an exercise RHC were identified. Latent resistive and pulsatile abnormalities of pulmonary vascular afterload were defined as an exercise mean PA pressure/cardiac output >3 WU, and PA pulse pressure to PA wedge pressure (PA PP/PAWP) ratio >2.5, respectively. Forty‐five patients (29% female, 53 ± 14 years) with CTEPD without PH were analyzed. With exercise, 19 patients had no abnormalities (ExNOR), 26 patients had abnormalities (ExABN) of pulsatile (20), resistive (2), or both (4) elements of pulmonary vascular afterload. Exercise elicited elevations of pulsatile afterload (53%) more commonly than resistive afterload (13%) (p < 0.001). ExABN patients had lower PA compliance and higher pulmonary vascular resistance at rest and exercise and prolonged resistance‐compliance time product at rest. The physiological relationship between changes in PA pressures relative to PAWP was disrupted in the ExABN group. In CTEPD without PH, exercise RHC revealed latent pulmonary vascular afterload elevations in 58% of patients with more frequent augmentation of pulsatile than resistive pulmonary vascular afterload.
Acid attacks and epistemic (in)justice: Violence, everyday resistance and hermeneutical responsibilities in the Indian Hindi film Chhapaak
Authors: Pal Payel , Karmakar Goutam
Published: January 2024

By taking into consideration films as a method of dissemination of knowledge, the article examines the relationship between epistemic change, an understanding of epistemic injustice, and the prior epistemic convictions of characters, as well as everyday resistance, in the film Chhapaak, translated as Splash, an Indian Hindi‐language biographical drama film that portrays the life of Laxmi Agarwal, a survivor of an acid attack. The first section of the article contextualizes the story of the film through the trajectories of acid attacks in India. This is followed by discussions on epistemic injustice and collective wrongdoing through the lived realities of acid attack victims and survivors as depicted in the film. The article also highlights how these individuals exhibit everyday resistance and strive to bring about transformation in society. The article concludes with discussions on the epistemic, socio‐cultural, and hermeneutical responsibilities of people that can make society a safe place for all, especially girls and women in India. The article concludes by examining the epistemic, socio‐cultural, and hermeneutical responsibilities that individuals must undertake in order to create a secure environment for all members of society, with a particular focus on girls and women in India.
τ$$ \tau $$‐Inflated beta regression model for censored recurrent events
Authors: Wang Yizhuo , Murray Susan
Published: January 2024

This research introduces a multivariate ‐inflated beta regression (‐IBR) modeling approach for the analysis of censored recurrent event data that is particularly useful when there is a mixture of (a) individuals who are generally less susceptible to recurrent events and (b) heterogeneity in duration of event‐free periods amongst those who experience events. The modeling approach is applied to a restructured version of the recurrent event data that consists of censored longitudinal times‐to‐first‐event in length follow‐up windows that potentially overlap. Multiple imputation (MI) and expectation‐solution (ES) approaches appropriate for censored data are developed as part of the model fitting process. A suite of useful analysis outputs are provided from the ‐IBR model that include parameter estimates to help interpret the (a) and (b) mixture of event times in the data, estimates of mean ‐restricted event‐free duration in a ‐length follow‐up window based on a patient's covariate profile, and heat maps of raw ‐restricted event‐free durations observed in the data with censored observations augmented via averages across MI datasets. Simulations indicate good statistical performance of the proposed ‐IBR approach to modeling censored recurrent event data. An example is given based on the Azithromycin for Prevention of COPD Exacerbations Trial.
Bridging Together Theoretical and Experimental Perspectives in Single‐Atom Alloys for Electrochemical Ammonia Production
Authors: Ahmed MuhammadIbrar , Wang Cheng , Zhao Yong , Sathish CI , Lei Zhihao , Qiao Liang , Sun Chenghua , Wang Shaobin , Kennedy John V. , Vinu Ajayan , Yi Jiabao
Published: January 2024

Ammonia is an essential commodity in the food and chemical industry. Despite the energy‐intensive nature, the Haber–Bosch process is the only player in ammonia production at large scales. Developing other strategies is highly desirable, as sustainable and decentralized ammonia production is crucial. Electrochemical ammonia production by directly reducing nitrogen and nitrogen‐based moieties powered by renewable energy sources holds great potential. However, low ammonia production and selectivity rates hamper its utilization as a large‐scale ammonia production process. Creating effective and selective catalysts for the electrochemical generation of ammonia is critical for long‐term nitrogen fixation. Single‐atom alloys (SAAs) have become a new class of materials with distinctive features that may be able to solve some of the problems with conventional heterogeneous catalysts. The design and optimization of SAAs for electrochemical ammonia generation have recently been significantly advanced. This comprehensive review discusses these advancements from theoretical and experimental research perspectives, offering a fundamental understanding of the development of SAAs for ammonia production.
Self‐healable, Tolerant Superaerophobic Coating for Improving Electrochemical Hydrogen Production
Authors: Sarma Hrisikesh , Mandal Subhankar , Borbora Angana , Das Jaysri , Kumar Saurav , Manna Uttam
Published: January 2024

Gas‐evolving electrodes often suffer from the blocking of catalytic active sites—due to unwanted and unavoidable adhesion of generated gas bubbles, which elevates the overpotential for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)— by raising the resistance of the electrode. Here, a catalyst‐free and self‐healable superaerophobic coating having ultra‐low bubble adhesion is introduced for achieving significantly depleted overpotentials of 209 and 506 mV at both low (50 mA cm−2) and high (500 mA cm−2) current densities, respectively, compared to a bare nickel‐foam electrode. The optimized coating ensured an early detachment of the generated tiny (0.8 ± 0.1 mm) gas bubble—and thus, prevented the undesired rise in resistance of the coated electrode. The systematic association of physical (i.e., ionic interactions, H‐bonding, etc.) cross‐linkage, β‐amino ester type covalent cross‐linkage and reinforced halloysite nano clay enables the design of such functional material embedded with essential characteristics—including improved mechanical (toughness of 63.7 kJ m−3, and tensile modulus of 26 kPa) property and chemical (extremes of pH (1 and 14), salinity, etc.) stability, rapid (<10 min) self‐healing ability (even at alkaline condition) and desired bubble‐wettability (bubble contact angle of 158.2 ± 0.2°) with ultralow force (4.2 ± 0.4 µN) of bubble adhesion.
Optimization of Mechanical and Thermoelectric Properties of SnTe‐Based Semiconductors by Mn Alloying Modulated Precipitation Evolution
Authors: Yang Houjiang , Wu Luoqi , Feng Xiaobin , Wang Hongtao , Huang Xiege , Duan Bo , Li Guodong , Zhai Pengcheng , Zhang Qingjie
Published: January 2024

Multiscale defects engineering offers a promising strategy for synergistically enhancing the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of thermoelectric semiconductors. However, the specific impact of individual defects, in particular precipitation, on mechanical properties remains ambiguous. In this work, the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of Sn1.03−xMnxTe (x = 0–0.30) semiconductors are systematically studied. Mn‐alloying induces dense dislocations and Mn nano‐precipitates, resulting in an enhanced compressive strength with x increased to 0.15. Quantitative calculations are performed to assess the strengthening contributions including grain boundary, solid solution, dislocation, and precipitation strengthening. Due to the dominant contribution of precipitation strengthening, the yield strength of the x = 0.10 sample is improved by ≈74.5% in comparison to the Mn‐free Sn1.03Te. For x ≥ 0.15, numerous MnTe precipitates lead to a synergistic enhancement of strength‐ductility. In addition, multiscale defects induced by Mn alloying can scatter phonons over a wide frequency spectrum. The peak figure of merit ZT of ≈1.3 and an ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of ≈0.35 Wm−1 K−1 are obtained at 873 K for x = 0.10 and x = 0.30 samples respectively. This work reveals tha precipitation evolution optimizes the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of Sn1.03−xMnxTe semiconductors, which may hold potential implications for other thermoelectric systems.
Engineering High‐Performance Hypergolic Propellant by Synergistic Contribution of Metal–Organic Framework Shell and Aluminum Core
Authors: Wang Chao , Li Cai , Duan Zheng , Wang Zi‐Fan , Wang Qian‐You , Zang Shuang‐Quan
Published: January 2024

Hypergolicity is a highly desired characteristic for hybrid rocket engine‐based fuels because it eliminates the need for a separate ignition system. Introducing hypergolic additives into conventional fuels through physical mixing is a feasible approach, but achieving highly reliable hypergolic ignition and energy release remains a major challenge. Here, the construction of core–shell Al@metal organic framework (MOF) heterostructures is reported as high‐performance solid hypergolic propellants. Upon contact with the liquid oxidizer the uniformly distributed hypergolic MOF (Ag‐MOF) shell can induce the ignition of hypergolic‐inert fuel Al, resulting in Al combustion. Such a synthetic strategy is demonstrated to be favorable in hotspot generation and heat transfer relative to a simple physical mixture of Al/Ag‐MOF, thus producing shorter ignition delay times and more efficient combustion. Thermal reactivity study indicated that the functionalization of the Ag‐MOF shell changes the energy release process of the inner Al, which is accompanied by a thermite reaction. The synergistic effect of implantation of hypergolic MOF and high energy Al contributes to high specific impulses of 230–270 s over a wide range of oxidizer‐to‐fuel ratios.
Fabrication of Self‐Wrinkling Polymer Films with Tunable Patterns through an Interfacial‐Fuming‐Induced Surface Instability Process
Authors: Chen Yi‐Chen , Luo Ying‐Wei , Huang Ching‐Yu , Li Yan‐Lin , Chen Ting‐Lun , Xu Ting‐Yu , Hsueh Han‐Yu
Published: January 2024

Inspired by the superglue fuming method for fingerprint collection, this study developed a novel interfacial‐fuming‐induced surface instability process to generate wrinkled patterns on polymeric substrates. High‐electronegativity groups are introduced on the substrate surface to initiate the polymerization of monomer vapors, such as ethyl cyanoacrylate, which results in the formation of a stiff poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate) capping layer. Moreover, interfacial polymerization resulted in the covalent bonding of the substrate, which led to the volumetric shrinkage of the composite and the accumulation of compressive strain. This process ultimately resulted in the development and stabilization of wrinkled surface morphologies. The authors systematically examined parameters such as the modulus of the epoxy substrate, prestrain, the flow rate of fuming, and operating temperature. The aforementioned technique can be easily applied to architectures with complex outer morphologies and inner surfaces, thereby enabling the construction of surface patterns under ambient conditions without vacuum limitations or precise process control. This study is the first to combine fuming‐induced interfacial polymerization with surface instability to create robust wrinkles. The proposed method enables the fabrication of intricate microwrinkled patterns and has considerable potential for use in various practical applications, including microfluidics, optical components, bioinspired adhesive devices, and interfacial engineering.
Device Physics and Design Principles of Mixed‐Dimensional Heterojunction Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Zhang Yuqi , Yang Zhenhai , Ma Tianshu , Ai Zhenhai , Bao Yining , Shi Luolei , Qin Linling , Cao Guoyang , Wang Changlei , Li Xiaofeng
Published: January 2024

Mixed‐dimensional perovskites possess unique photoelectric properties and are widely used in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to improve their efficiency and stability. However, there is a pressing need for a deeper understanding of the physical mechanisms and design principles of mixed‐dimensional PSCs, as such knowledge gaps impose restrictions on unlocking the full potential of this kind of PSC. Herein, a 2D/3D PSC is employed as an example to clarify the working mechanism of mixed‐dimensional PSCs from the perspective of device physics and elaborate on the design rules of high‐efficiency mixed‐dimensional PSCs. Detailed simulation results indicate that the insertion of a layer of 2D perovskite between the 3D perovskite and the hole transport layer (HTL) can significantly reduce the recombination at the HTL/perovskite interface, and PSCs with a 2D/3D perovskite structure exhibit higher tolerance to material selectivity compared with their 3D counterparts. Additionally, the 2D/3D perovskite design can slow down ion migration and accumulation processes, thereby easing the hysteresis behavior of 2D/3D PSCs. Moreover, it is also found that the 2D/3D perovskite structure has a more pronounced effect on improving the efficiency of wide‐bandgap PSCs. Overall, this work sheds new light on mixed‐dimensional PSCs, enabling better guidance for designing high‐efficiency PSCs.
The Counterbalancing Role of Oxygen Vacancy between the Electrochromic Properties and the Trapping Effect Passivation for Amorphous Tungsten Oxide Films
Authors: Zhang Zhaocheng , Mo Huajing , Li Ruicong , Zhou Xinglong , Lin Zicong , Zhang Jiong , Tang Xiufeng , Zhan Yunfeng , Luo Jianyi
Published: January 2024

Defect engineering of electrode materials is considered highly effective in regulating their performance, among which oxygen vacancies play a vital role. Thereupon, comprehensively understanding effects of oxygen vacancy in electrochemical processes of transition metal oxides stays hot and controversial, representatively for amorphous tungsten oxide films and their electrochromic (EC) behaviors. Upon long‐term cycling, amorphous tungsten oxide suffers from the universal trapping effect governed by the intrinsic host microstructure and transport kinetics of the inserted ions, implying that manipulating oxygen vacancies could be a potential solution to the ion‐trapping problem. Hence, systematic work is urgent for not only tackling the trapping effect but also understanding the effect of oxygen vacancies on EC behaviors. Herein, the concentration of oxygen vacancies in the amorphous tungsten oxide films is modulated over a wide range. In combination with comprehensive experiments and first‐principles calculations, the presence of oxygen vacancy is detrimental to the EC properties, but it greatly attenuates the trapping effect. Excellent cyclic stability is achieved with a 100% optical modulation rate and charge capacity retention after 5000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. This study elucidates understanding of oxygen vacancy engineering in transition metal oxides, particularly regarding trapping effect passivation.
In Situ Vanadium‐Deficient Engineering of V2C MXene: A Pathway to Enhanced Zinc‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Wu Bing , Li Min , Mazánek Vlastimil , Liao Zhongquan , Ying Yulong , Oliveira Filipa M. , Dekanovsky Lukas , Jan Luxa , Hou Guorong , Antonatos Nikolas , Wei Qiliang , Li Min , Pal Bhupender , He Junjie , Koňáková Dana , Vejmělková Eva , Sofer Zdenek
Published: January 2024

This research examines vanadium‐deficient V2C MXene, a two‐dimensional (2D) vanadium carbide with exceptional electrochemical properties for rechargeable zinc‐ion batteries. Through a meticulous etching process, a V‐deficient, porous architecture with an expansive surface area is achieved, fostering three‐dimensional (3D) diffusion channels and boosting zinc ion storage. Analytical techniques like scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and X‐ray diffraction confirm the formation of V2C MXene and its defective porous structure. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy further verifies its transformation from the MAX phase to MXene, noting an increase in V3+ and V4+ states with etching. Cyclic voltammetry reveals superior de‐zincation kinetics, evidenced by consistent V3+/V4+ oxidation peaks at varied scanning rates. Overall, this V‐deficient MXene outperforms raw MXenes in capacity and rate, although its capacity diminishes over extended cycling due to structural flaws. Theoretical analyses suggest conductivity rises with vacancies, enhancing 3D ionic diffusion as vacancy size grows. This work sheds light on enhancing V‐based MXene structures for optimized zinc‐ion storage.
Long‐ and short‐read sequencing methods discover distinct circular RNA pools in Lotus japonicus
Authors: Budnick Asa , Franklin Megan J. , Utley Delecia , Edwards Brianne , Charles Melodi , Hornstein Eli D. , Sederoff Heike
Published: January 2024

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed single‐stranded RNAs, generated through a back‐splicing process that links a downstream 5′ site to an upstream 3′ end. The only distinction in the sequence between circRNA and their linear cognate RNA is the back splice junction. Their low abundance and sequence similarity with their linear origin RNA have made the discovery and identification of circRNA challenging. We have identified almost 6000 novel circRNAs from Lotus japonicus leaf tissue using different enrichment, amplification, and sequencing methods as well as alternative bioinformatics pipelines. The different methodologies identified different pools of circRNA with little overlap. We validated circRNA identified by the different methods using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and characterized sequence variations using nanopore sequencing. We compared validated circRNA identified in L. japonicus to other plant species and showed conservation of high‐confidence circRNA‐expressing genes. This is the first identification of L. japonicus circRNA and provides a resource for further characterization of their function in gene regulation. CircRNAs identified in this study originated from genes involved in all biological functions of eukaryotic cells. The comparison of methodologies and technologies to sequence, identify, analyze, and validate circRNA from plant tissues will enable further research to characterize the function and biogenesis of circRNA in L. japonicus.
Association of cord plasma metabolites with birth weight: results from metabolomic and lipidomic studies of discovery and validation cohorts
Authors: Xie Y. , Fang X. , Wang A. , Xu S. , Li Y. , Xia W.
Published: January 2024

Objective

Birth weight is a good predictor of fetal intrauterine growth and long‐term health, and several studies have evaluated the relationship between metabolites and birth weight. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of cord blood metabolomics and lipidomics with birth weight, using a two‐stage discovery and validation approach.

Methods

Firstly, a pseudotargeted metabolomics approach was applied to detect metabolites in 504 cord blood samples in the discovery set enrolled from the Wuhan Healthy Baby Cohort, China. Metabolome‐wide association scan analysis and pathway enrichment were applied to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways that were significantly associated with birth weight adjusted for gestational age Z‐score (BW Z‐score). Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association of metabolites in the most significantly associated pathways with small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) at delivery and low birth weight (LBW). Subsequently, 350 cord blood samples in a validation cohort were subjected to targeted analysis to validate the metabolites identified by screening in the discovery cohort.

Results

In the discovery set, of 2566 metabolites detected, 2418 metabolites were retained for subsequent analysis after data preprocessing. Of these, 513 metabolites were significantly associated with BW Z‐score (P‐value adjusted for false discovery rate (PFDR) < 0.05), of which 298 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG)‐annotated metabolites were included in the pathway analysis. The primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway was the most relevant metabolic pathway associated with BW Z‐score. Elevated cord plasma primary bile acids were associated with lower BW Z‐score and higher risk of SGA or LBW in the discovery and validation cohorts. In the validation set, a 2‐fold increase in taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) and in taurocholic acid (TCA) was associated with a decrease in BW Z‐score (estimated β coefficient, −0.10 (95% CI, −0.20 to 0.00) and −0.18 (95% CI, −0.31 to −0.04), respectively), after adjusting for covariates. In addition, a 2‐fold increase in cord plasma TCDCA and of cord plasma TCA was associated with an increased risk of SGA (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 1.52 (95% CI, 1.00–2.30) and 1.77 (95% CI, 1.05–2.98), respectively). The adjusted OR for LBW, for a 2‐fold increase in TCDCA and TCA concentration, were 2.39 (95% CI, 1.00–5.71) and 3.21 (95% CI, 0.96–10.74), respectively.

Conclusions

These results indicate a significant association of elevated primary bile acids, particularly TCDCA and TCA, in cord blood with lower BW Z‐score, as well as increased risk of SGA and LBW. Abnormalities of primary bile acid metabolism may play an important role in restricted fetal development. © 2024 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Problems of prevention of criminal offenses related to the use of water resources in Kazakhstan
Authors: Sabyr Aisulu , Ramazanova Ainur , Koishybaiuly Kuanysh , Zhanibekov Akynkozha , Apakhayev Nurlan
Published: January 2024

The protection of the environment and its elements is the responsibility of modern society for the possibility of its development in the future. That is why the issues of protection of this category of relations are relevant today in the legal plane. It is important to establish not only an effective mechanism for punishing the guilty but also for preventing the commission of criminal offenses against natural objects. The purpose of the study is to identify effective approaches for the prevention of crimes related to the use of water bodies. In the study, the methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, deduction, generalization, formal legal, and abstraction were applied. As a result, it was possible to determine that the current state of water bodies in Kazakhstan is deteriorating, so they may be at a crisis level in the future. In view of this, the paper investigated the composition of a criminal offense related to the illegal use of water bodies. This made it possible to determine the current position of the legislator on the regulation of this issue in the legal dimension. In addition, the methods and tools that are used in Kazakhstan to prevent the spread of this type of criminal offense were established. Based on this, their shortcomings were analyzed, and proposals were developed to improve the process of preventing such crimes. Therefore, the place of environmental crimes in the modern criminal law doctrine was determined, and international experience in preventing such offenses was considered. The practical value of the findings is the possibility of using them to develop new national strategies and programs aimed at countering crimes in the field of water use.
EcoShap: Save Computations by only Calculating Shapley Values for Relevant Features
Authors: Jamshidi Parisa , Nowaczyk Sławomir , Rahat Mahmoud
Published: January 2024

One of the most widely adopted approaches for eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) involves employing of Shapley values (SVs) to determine the relative importance of input features. While based on a solid mathematical foundation derived from cooperative game theory, SVs have a significant drawback: high computational cost. Calculating the exact SV is an NP-hard problem, necessitating the use of approximations, particularly when dealing with more than twenty features. On the other hand, determining SVs for all features is seldom necessary in practice; users are primarily interested in the most important ones only. This paper introduces the Economic Hierarchical Shapley values (ecoShap) method for calculating SVs for the most crucial features only, with reduced computational cost. EcoShap iteratively expands disjoint groups of features in a tree-like manner, avoiding the expensive computations for the majority of less important features. Our experimental results across eight datasets demonstrate that the proposed technique efficiently identifies top features; at a 50% reduction in computational costs, it can determine between three and seven of the most important features.
Evaluation of Human-Understandability of Global Model Explanations Using Decision Tree
Authors: Sivaprasad Adarsa , Reiter Ehud , Tintarev Nava , Oren Nir
Published: January 2024

In explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) research, the predominant focus has been on interpreting models for experts and practitioners. Model agnostic and local explanation approaches are deemed interpretable and sufficient in many applications. However, in domains like healthcare, where end users are patients without AI or domain expertise, there is an urgent need for model explanations that are more comprehensible and instil trust in the model’s operations. We hypothesise that generating model explanations that are narrative, patient-specific and global (holistic of the model) would enable better understandability and enable decision-making. We test this using a decision tree model to generate both local and global explanations for patients identified as having a high risk of coronary heart disease. These explanations are presented to non-expert users. We find a strong individual preference for a specific type of explanation. The majority of participants prefer global explanations, while a smaller group prefers local explanations. A task based evaluation of mental models of these participants provide valuable feedback to enhance narrative global explanations. This, in turn, guides the design of health informatics systems that are both trustworthy and actionable.
Towards Explainable Deep Domain Adaptation
Authors: Bobek Szymon , Nowaczyk Sławomir , Pashami Sepideh , Taghiyarrenani Zahra , Nalepa Grzegorz J.
Published: January 2024

In many practical applications data used for training a machine learning model and the deployment data does not always preserve the same distribution. Transfer learning and, in particular, domain adaptation allows to overcome this issue, by adapting the source model to a new target data distribution and therefore generalizing the knowledge from source to target domain. In this work, we present a method that makes the adaptation process more transparent by providing two complementary explanation mechanisms. The first mechanism explains how the source and target distributions are aligned in the latent space of the domain adaptation model. The second mechanism provides descriptive explanations on how the decision boundary changes in the adapted model with respect to the source model. Along with a description of a method, we also provide initial results obtained on publicly available, real-life dataset.
Cancellation of quantum corrections on the soft curvature perturbations
Authors: Tada Yuichiro , Terada Takahiro , Tokuda Junsei
Published: January 2024

Abstract

We study the cancellation of quantum corrections on the superhorizon curvature perturbations from subhorizon physics beyond the single-clock inflation from the viewpoint of the cosmological soft theorem. As an example, we focus on the transient ultra-slow-roll inflation scenario and compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the power spectrum of curvature perturbations taking into account nontrivial surface terms in the action. We find that Maldacena’s consistency relation is satisfied and guarantees the cancellation of contributions from the short-scale modes. As a corollary, primordial black hole production in single-field inflation scenarios is not excluded by perturbativity breakdown even for the sharp transition case in contrast to some recent claims in the literature. We also comment on the relation between the tadpole diagram in the in-in formalism and the shift of the elapsed time in the stochastic-δN formalism. We find our argument is not directly generalisable to the tensor perturbations.