bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The contribution of methyl groups to electron spin decoherence of nitroxides in glassy matrices
Authors: Jahn Samuel M. , Stowell Rachelle K. , Stoll Stefan
Published: November 2024

Long electron spin coherence lifetimes are crucial for high sensitivity and resolution in many pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments aimed at measuring hyperfine and dipolar couplings, as well as in potential quantum sensing applications of molecular spin qubits. In immobilized systems, methyl groups contribute significantly to electron spin decoherence as a result of methyl torsional quantum tunneling. We examine the electron spin decoherence dynamics of the nitroxide radical 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) in both a methyl-free solvent and a methyl-containing solvent at cryogenic temperature. We model nitroxide and solvent methyl effects on decoherence using cluster correlation expansion (CCE) simulations extended to include methyl tunneling and compare the calculations to experimental data. We show that by using the methyl tunneling frequency as a fit parameter, experimental Hahn echo decays can be reproduced fairly well, allowing structural properties to be investigated in silico. In addition, we examine the Hahn echo of a hypothetical system with an unpaired electron and a single methyl to determine the effect of geometric configuration on methyl-driven electron spin decoherence. The simulations show that a methyl group contributes the most to electron spin decoherence if it is located between 2.5 and 6–7 Å from the electron spin, with its orientation being of secondary importance.
Cholinergic regulation of dendritic Ca2+spikes controls firing mode of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons
Authors: Kis Noémi , Lükő Balázs , Herédi Judit , Magó Ádám , Erlinghagen Bela , Ahmadi Mahboubeh , Raus Balind Snezana , Irás Mátyás , Ujfalussy Balázs B. , Makara Judit K.
Published: November 2024

Active dendritic integrative mechanisms such as regenerative dendritic spikes enrich the information processing abilities of neurons and fundamentally contribute to behaviorally relevant computations. Dendritic Ca2+spikes are generally thought to produce plateau-like dendritic depolarization and somatic complex spike burst (CSB) firing, which can initiate rapid changes in spatial coding properties of hippocampal pyramidal cells (PCs). However, here we reveal that a morpho-topographically distinguishable subpopulation of rat and mouse hippocampal CA3PCs exhibits compound apical dendritic Ca2+spikes with unusually short duration that do not support the firing of sustained CSBs. These Ca2+spikes are mediated by L-type Ca2+channels and their time course is restricted by A- and M-type K+channels. Cholinergic activation powerfully converts short Ca2+spikes to long-duration forms, and facilitates and prolongs CSB firing. We propose that cholinergic neuromodulation controls the ability of a CA3PC subtype to generate sustained plateau potentials, providing a state-dependent dendritic mechanism for memory encoding and retrieval.
Word reuse and combination support efficient communication of emerging concepts
Authors: Xu Aotao , Kemp Charles , Frermann Lea , Xu Yang
Published: November 2024

A key function of the lexicon is to express novel concepts as they emerge over time through a process known as lexicalization. The most common lexicalization strategies are the reuse and combination of existing words, but they have typically been studied separately in the areas of word meaning extension and word formation. Here, we offer an information-theoretic account of how both strategies are constrained by a fundamental tradeoff between competing communicative pressures: Word reuse tends to preserve the average length of word forms at the cost of less precision, while word combination tends to produce more informative words at the expense of greater word length. We test our proposal against a large dataset of reuse items and compounds that appeared in English, French, and Finnish over the past century. We find that these historically emerging items achieve higher levels of communicative efficiency than hypothetical ways of constructing the lexicon, and both literal reuse items and compounds tend to be more efficient than their nonliteral counterparts. These results suggest that reuse and combination are both consistent with a unified account of lexicalization grounded in the theory of efficient communication.
Extensive import of nucleus-encoded tRNAs into chloroplasts of the photosynthetic lycophyte,
Selaginella kraussiana
Authors: Berrissou Christina , Cognat Valérie , Koechler Sandrine , Bergdoll Marc , Duchêne Anne-Marie , Drouard Laurence
Published: November 2024

Over the course of evolution, land plant mitochondrial genomes have lost many transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and the import of nucleus-encoded tRNAs is essential for mitochondrial protein synthesis. By contrast, plastidial genomes of photosynthetic land plants generally possess a complete set of tRNA genes and the existence of plastidial tRNA import remains a long-standing question. The early vascular plants of the Selaginella genus show an extensive loss of plastidial tRNA genes while retaining photosynthetic capacity, and represent an ideal model for answering this question. Using purification, northern blot hybridization, and high-throughput tRNA sequencing, a global analysis of total and plastidial tRNA populations was undertaken in
Selaginella kraussiana.
We confirmed the expression of all plastidial tRNA genes and, conversely, observed that nucleus-encoded tRNAs corresponding to these plastidial tRNAs were generally excluded from the chloroplasts. We then demonstrated a selective and differential plastidial import of around forty nucleus-encoded tRNA species, likely compensating for the insufficient coding capacity of plastidial-encoded tRNAs. In-depth analysis revealed differential import of tRNA isodecoders, leading to the identification of specific situations. This includes the expression and import of nucleus-encoded tRNAs expressed from plastidial or bacterial-like genes inserted into the nuclear genome. Overall, our results confirm the existence of molecular processes that enable tRNAs to be selectively imported not only into mitochondria, as previously described, but also into chloroplasts, when necessary.
The Penrose limit of the Weyl double copy
Authors: Chawla Samarth , Fransen Kwinten , Keeler Cynthia
Published: November 2024

We embed the Penrose limit into the Weyl classical double copy. Thereby, we provide a lift of the double copy properties of plane wave spacetimes into black hole geometries and we open a novel avenue towards taking the classical double copy beyond statements about algebraically special backgrounds. In particular, the Penrose limit, viewed as the leading order Fermi coordinate expansion around a null geodesic, complements approaches leveraging asymptotic flatness such as the asymptotic Weyl double copy. Along the way, we show how our embedding of the Penrose limit within the Weyl double copy naturally fixes the functional ambiguity in the double copy for Petrov type N spacetimes. We also highlight the utility of a spinorial approach to the Penrose limit. In particular, we use this spinorial approach to derive a simple analytical expression for arbitrary Penrose limits of four-dimensional, vacuum type D spacetimes.
An interesting class of exact solutions to Binet’s equation, with references to Newton’s and Einstein’s theories of gravity
Authors: Selg Matti
Published: November 2024

To adequately describe the motion of a particle in a central force field, one has to specify the apsidal angle (α). The particle’s trajectory can only be truly periodic (closed), if α/π is a rational number. For example, if F ∼ 1/r
2 then α = π, and the trajectory is an ellipse. This is the simplest case when the trajectory equation (Binet’s equation) is exactly solvable. In this article, bounded motion in a two-component central potential field V(r) = −a
1/r − a
2/r
2 will be examined and illustrated. This case is more complex, but the corresponding Binet’s equation is still exactly solvable. Moreover, the perturbational solution to the relativistic trajectory equation is, in fact, the exact solution for a force field of the same type. It means that the relativistic force F ∼ r
−4 is formally replaced with an effective F ∼ r
−3 force. As will be shown, this differently interpretable solution gives a very accurate prediction to the anomalous shift of Mercury’s perihelion.
Valley manipulation by external fields in two-dimensional materials and their hybrid systems
Authors: Shao Ya-Ping , Li Yun-Qin , Zheng Jun-Ding , Tan Yi-Fan , Guan Zhao , Zhong Ni , Yue Fang-Yu , Tong Wen-Yi , Duan Chun-Gang
Published: November 2024

Investigating two-dimensional (2D) valleytronic materials opens a new chapter in physics and facilitates the emergence of pioneering technologies. Nevertheless, this nascent field faces substantial challenges, primarily attributed to the inherent issue of valley energy degeneracy and the manipulation of valley properties. To break these constraints, the application of external fields has become pivotal for both generating and manipulating the valley properties of 2D systems. This paper takes a close look at the latest progress in modulating the valley properties of 2D valleytronic materials using external fields, covering a wide array of configurations from monolayers and bilayers to intricate heterostructures. We hope that this overview will inspire more exciting discoveries and significantly propel the evolution of valleytronics within the realm of 2D material research.
Critical factors influencing electron and phonon thermal conductivity in metallic materials using first-principles calculations
Authors: Xia Yonglin , Zhang Xinyu , Wang Ao , Sheng Yufei , Xie Han , Bao Hua
Published: November 2024

Understanding the thermal transport of various metals is crucial for many energy-transfer applications. However, due to the complex transport mechanisms varying among different metals, current research on metallic thermal transport has been focusing on case studies of specific types of metallic materials. A general understanding of the transport mechanisms across a broad spectrum of metallic materials is still lacking. In this work, we perform first-principles calculations to determine the thermal conductivity of 40 representative metallic materials, within a range of 8–456 W mK−1. Our predicted values of electrical and thermal conductivity are in good agreement with available experimental results. Based on the data of separated electron and phonon thermal conductivity, we employ a statistical approach to examine nine factors derived from previous understandings and identify the critical factors determining these properties. For electrons, although a high electron density of states around the Fermi level implies more conductive electrons, we find it counterintuitively correlates with low electron thermal conductivity. This is attributed to the enlarged electron–phonon scattering channels induced by substantial electrons around the Fermi level. Regarding phonons, we demonstrate that among all the studied factors, Debye temperature plays the most significant role in determining the phonon thermal conductivity, despite the phonon–electron scattering being non-negligible in some transition metals. Correlation analysis suggests that Debye temperature has the highest positive correlation coefficient with phonon thermal conductivity, as it corresponds to a large phonon group velocity. Additionally, Young’s modulus is found to be closely correlated with high phonon thermal conductivity and contribution. Our findings of simple factors that closely correlate with the electron and phonon thermal conductivity provide a general understanding of various metallic materials. They may facilitate the discovery of novel materials with extremely high or low thermal conductivity, or be used as descriptors in machine learning to accurately predict the thermal conductivity of metals in the future.
Chirality reversal quantum phase transition in flat-band topological insulators
Authors: Litvinov V I
Published: November 2024

Quantum anomalous Hall effect generates dissipationless chiral conductive edge states in materials with large spin-orbit coupling and strong, intrinsic, or proximity magnetisation. The topological indexes of the energy bands are robust to smooth variations in the relevant parameters. Topological quantum phase transitions between states with different Chern numbers require the closing of the bulk bandgap:

|
C
|

=
1
→
C
=
1

/

2

corresponds to the transition from a topological insulator to a gapless state in

k
=
0

- quantum anomalous semimetal. Within the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang (BHZ) model of 2D topological quantum well, this study identifies another type of topological phase transition induced by a magnetic field. The transition

C
=
±
1
→
C
=
∓
1

occurs when the monotonic Zeeman field reaches the threshold value and thus triggers the reversal of edge modes chirality. The calculated threshold depends on the width of the conduction and valence bands and is more experimentally achievable the flatter the bands. The effect of the topological phase transition

|

Δ
C

|

=
2

can be observed experimentally as a jump in magnetoresistance.
Monte Carlo uncertainty quantification method of pneumatic measurement tube frequency response
Authors: Yan Ming Hui , Li Wei Min , Chen Qin , Zhao Shao Mei , Xie Jin , Gao Wei Feng , Li Hong , Wang Qing Min
Published: November 2024

The pneumatic tube plays a critical role in the frequency response of the pressure measurement system, which also significantly affects the accuracy of the measurement data. This paper applied the Monte Carlo uncertainty quantification method to the pressure measurement tube system frequency response and studied the effects of four parameters, including tube length, radius, temperature, and source pressure, on uncertainty characteristics for a given tube system configuration. The reported results show the technique’s applicability, flexibility, and limitations of Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. It is found that the frequency response and corresponding uncertainty are not directly related to frequency but are closely related to the natural frequencies. Comparative experimental results show that the longer tube reduces the system’s natural frequencies and intensifies the phase lag. In addition, larger tube radius and source pressure result in more significant amplitude response peaks. Closed to the natural frequencies, with the increase of the parameter, the uncertainties of frequency response value and the corresponding variation range increase for tube radius and source pressure while decreasing for temperature and tube length.
Anti-disturbance adaptive cruise control method based on

H
∞

robust controller with optimized safe velocity and following time headway
Authors: Liu Yujie , Sun Qun , Liu Congzhi , Guo Hongqiang , Yue Ming
Published: November 2024

To alleviate driver workload, many vehicles are now equipped with adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems. However, ACC performance can significantly deteriorate in real-world conditions due to disturbances such as sensor measurement errors, system uncertainties, and modeling errors. Therefore, an innovative anti-disturbance ACC method is proposed based on

H
∞

robust controller with optimized safe velocity and following time headway to overcome the above problems. Initially, we analyze the longitudinal following characteristics that are undergoing disturbances and establish the ACC system model. Then, the optimization models for the safe velocity and the following time headway during ACC are designed. Subsequently, based on

H
∞

theory, the design criterion of the

H
∞

robust controller for ACC is established by utilizing the linear matrix inequality technique. Finally, two typical experiment scenarios are given for hardware-in-the-loop simulation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
On a variant of Hilbert’s 16th problem
Authors: Gasull Armengol , Santana Paulo
Published: November 2024

We study the number of limit cycles that a planar polynomial vector field can have as a function of its number m of monomials. We prove that the number of limit cycles increases at least quadratically with m and we provide good lower bounds for

m
⩽
10

.
Characterizing EEG signal dynamics in healthy, seizure-free, and seizure states using the chaos decision tree algorithm
Authors: Rahimi Saryazdi Ali , Nazarimehr Fahimeh , Ghassemi Farnaz , Parastesh Fatemeh , Jafari Sajad
Published: November 2024

Epilepsy is a multifaceted neurological condition marked by repetitive seizures that arise from irregular electrical activity in the brain. To understand this condition, a thorough examination of brain signals captured in different states is needed. In order to examine the dynamic behavior of brain signals in three different conditions: healthy, seizure-free, and seizure periods, this study uses the chaos decision tree algorithm. The findings show notable variations in these situations’ dynamics. Chaos is evident during seizure moments, showing extremely chaotic activity. The signals mostly exhibit stochastic behavior in the healthy condition, which is consistent with typical brain dynamics. It is noteworthy that an intermediate state exhibiting a blend of stochastic and chaotic signal dynamics is exhibited throughout the seizure-free time. Furthermore, the research shows that the frequency of chaotic signals rises with increasing proximity to the epileptogenic zone. These discoveries clarify the complex nature of epilepsy and offer insightful information about the dynamic properties of brain signals in various stages, aiding in improved understanding and potential diagnostic approaches.
Experimental investigation and optimization of process parameters on tensile strength of carbon coated PLA material
Authors: Maurya Nagendra Kumar , Maurya Manish , Vishnoi Mohit , Singh Vikrant , Bansal Anuj , Dhull Sachin , Saxena Ambuj
Published: November 2024

This study explores the effect of key process parameters on the tensile strength of carbon-coated PLA (Polylactic Acid) material using additive manufacturing. The problem addressed is the need to enhance the mechanical properties of PLA, a widely used biodegradable polymer, by optimizing process parameters to improve its tensile strength when coated with carbon. The parameters investigated include infill pattern, printing speed, layer thickness, and orientation. A response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to design the experiments, while Minitab 15 software was used to analyze the data through analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicate that the optimal process parameters, linear infill pattern, printing speed of 20 mm s−1, layer thickness of 150 μm, and Y-90 orientation, yield an average tensile strength of 56.4 MPa. A regression model was developed to predict tensile strength, with a high degree of accuracy (R2 = 0.97). Confirmation tests verified the model’s predictions, contributing to the development of high-performance PLA-based materials for demanding applications.
Mathematical analysis of a three-strain model for dengue with vaccination
Authors: Khan Mohsin , Farhan Muhammad , Zheng Zhoumin , Shah Zahir , Alshehri Mansoor H , Antonescu Elisabeta
Published: November 2024

Dengue has emerged as the most widespread mosquito-borne ailment in humans, causing an estimated 390 million infections within the endemic regions of the world annually. In this paper, a novel mathematical model is proposed for three strains of dengue virus with vaccination measures. Some of the important qualitative analysis carried out are as follows: The dengue serotypes 1, 2 and 3 sub-models are qualitatively analyzed, using well constructed candidates of Lyapunov function. The sub-models’ infection-free equilibria are proven to be locally asymptotically stable. The infection-free and endemic equilibria of the sub-models are established to be globally asymptotically stable. The complete model’s infection-free equilibrium is proven to be locally and globally asymptotically stable. Also, simulations are also presented to validate the theoretical analysis in the paper. The solution profiles of all epidemiological compartments when the reproduction numbers are both below one and greater than one are graphically presented. It was observed that, for the scenarios when the dengue reproduction number

R

0

is below and above one, the solution trajectories converge to the infection-free and dengue-endemic steady states, respectively. Sensitivity analyses using the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS), and also using contour plots and surface plots are performed on the dengue serotypes associated reproduction numbers. The impact of influential parameters are graphically presented. Worthy of mention, is the significant impact of dengue transmission rates (positively correlated) and dengue vaccination rates and vaccine effectiveness levels (negatively correlated). Different scenario analyses to investigate the impact of dengue vaccination measures are presented. It was observed that enhanced dengue vaccination programme under the administration of safe and highly effective vaccine could curtail the spread and co-circulation of different dengue serotypes within the population.
Effect of anisotropy field on the resonance frequency and reflection loss shift characteristics of barium hexaferrite ceramics
Authors: Adi Wisnu Ari , Winatapura Didin Sahidin , Mulyawan Ade , Deswita Deswita , Dewi Sari Hasnah , Yunasfi Yunasfi , Mashadi Mashadi , Taryana Yana
Published: November 2024

For this study, a modified barium hexaferrite based microwave and radar absorbing material was used. Synthesis and characterization of BaFe(12−2x)(MnTi)
x
O19 (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) have been prepared by solid state reaction method. The x-ray diffraction patterns reveal that all samples only crystallized into M-type barium hexaferrite after calcination at 1200 °C. Surface morphology images show that the hexagonal flake-like particle is formed at the initial stages of the Mn-Ti substitution level. The magnetic properties measurement reveals that the variation of magnetization values may vary based on preferable site occupation of Mn4+-Ti2+ cations to replace Fe3+ cations. The significant decrease in coercive field (H
c) from 3.18 kOe to 0.51 kOe with the increase of Mn-Ti substitution affected the lowering values of anisotropy field (H

a
). The maximum reflection loss (RL) positions of BaFe(12−2x)(MnTi)
x
O19 compositional series are shifted to lower frequency range following the H

a
trendlines. The maximum RL value equals to 98.42% microwave absorption at 10.5 GHz has been obtained in x = 1.0 (BaFe10Mn0.5Ti0.5O19) composition.
A first-principles investigation of the structural, optoelectronic, elastic and thermal properties of the p-type half-metallic ferromagnetic perovskites BaFeX3(X = Cl, Br, I)
Authors: Noor Farhan , Kabir Alamgir , Mahmud MD Tareq
Published: November 2024

The half-metallic nature of the metal halide perovskites BaFeX
3 (X = Cl, Br,I) and their physical properties were studied using Spin-polarised Density Functional Theory calculations. For each structure, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and non-magnetic calculation were performed and the ferromagnetic phase was found to have the lowest energy. The calculated band structures in addition to the electronic density of states confirmed half-metallicity, where the perovskites showed semiconducting nature in the spin up channel and metallic in spin-down channel. The optical properties are calculated and strong absorption in the UV range was seen and the mechanical properties demonstrated mechanical stability with ductile behaviour for all perovskites. The specific heats (at constant volume) of all of the studied perovskites levelled off to about 245 JK−1 mol−1 at high temperatures. The Seebeck coefficient was also calculated as a function of temperature and found to be positive for all the structures which confirm them to be p-type materials. These perovskites are therefore suited for thin film fabrication and bulk single crystals for applications such as UV photodetectors and energy harvesting, in addition to spintronics applications.
Investigating the fractional Caudrey-Dodd-Gibbon-Sawada-Kotera equation: an iterative framework for nonlinear wave dynamics
Authors: Ayata Muammer
Published: November 2024

This paper addresses the solution of the fractional Caudrey-Dodd-Gibbon-Sawada-Kotera (CDGSK) equation using the Conformable Laplace Decomposition Method (CLDM). The CDGSK equation, a fundamental model in wave dynamics and fluid mechanics, is explored for its applications in quantum mechanics and nonlinear optics. By employing fractional calculus, we demonstrate how fractional derivatives influence the physical characteristics of wave propagation in both optical and quantum systems. The exact solutions obtained provide insight into soliton behavior, essential for understanding wave-particle interactions in quantum fields and light–matter interactions in optics. The fractional nature of the equation allows for more accurate modeling of non-integer order dynamics commonly found in optical fibers and quantum waveguides. The CLDM method proves to be highly effective, providing approximate solutions with minimal computational effort. These findings offer significant contributions to the fields of quantum mechanics and nonlinear optics, where the fractional CDGSK equation can be applied to solve complex wave equations with great accuracy.
Modulational instability for a cubic-quintic model of coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations with residual nonlinearities
Authors: Mboumba Maïk Delon , Kamsap Marius Romuald , Moubissi Alain Brice , Ekogo Thierry Blanchard , Kofané Timoléon Crépin
Published: November 2024

We demonstrate the existence of modulational instability (MI) in both trapped miscible and immiscible two component Bose–Einstein condensates. The study is addressed theoretically and numerically in the framework of one-dimensional coupled Gross–Pitaevskii equations incorporating intra- and interspecies cubic-quintic nonlinearities with higher-order ones. Using the time-dependent variational approach, we derive the new Euler-Langrange equations for the time evolution of the phase and amplitude of the modulational perturbation as well as the effective potential and the instability criteria of the system. We examine the effects of higher order nonlinearities on the instability dynamics of the condensates. We show that the modulational properties of the chosen wave numbers are significantly modified. Direct numerical simulations run by the split step Fourier method confirm the analytical predictions.
Operational matrix method approach for fractional partial differential-equations
Authors: Turan-Dincel Arzu , Tural-Polat Sadiye Nergis
Published: November 2024

Fractional partial differential equations (FPDEs) have become very popular to model and analyze numerous different physical phenomena in recent years. However, it is generally complicated to find the exact solutions of those FPDEs. The objective of this study is to find the approximate numerical solution of FPDEs by introducing a wavelet-based operational matrix technique. In this study we employ Hermite wavelets (HWs) and the operational matrices of the fractional integration for Hermite wavelets. The sparsity of the obtained operational matrices provides fast and efficient computation of the proposed method. The original FPDE equations are converted to Sylvester equations, which then are solved to obtain the final solution. We provide a few numerical examples to demonstrate the versatility and efficiency of the proposed method.
Nonlocal correlations and entanglement in two coupled double quantum dots under external magnetic field
Authors: Ait Mansour H , Chouiba A , Mansour M , El Baz M
Published: November 2024

Double quantum dot (DQD) systems are highly regarded as promising candidates for advancements in the fields of quantum computing and quantum information processing. In this work, we investigate the behaviour of quantum correlations (QCs) in a system of two DQDs, AlGaAs/GaAs under various parameters such as temperature, energy offsets, coupling strength, and magnetic fields. We employ uncertainty-induced nonlocality and Bell nonlocality to quantify QC and logarithmic negativity to measure entanglement in the considered physical system. The findings demonstrate that QCs are significantly influenced by noisy equilibrium temperature and system parameters. In particular, lower temperatures enhance QCs, whereas higher temperatures result in a decrease due to thermal effects. In addition, the magnetic fields have a profound influence on the conditions of resonance. We also show that maximum QCs occur at resonance conditions with no energy offset between each DQD. However, introducing an energy offset or too-strong coupling reduces these correlations. Finally, our findings provide an understanding of the behaviour of entanglement and quantum nonlocality in DQD systems, offering potential implications for quantum technologies.
Plasma self-driven current in tokamaks with magnetic islands
Authors: Wang W.X. , Yoo M.G. , Startsev E.A. , Kaye S. , Ethier S. , Chen J.
Published: November 2024

Magnetic island perturbations may cause a reduction in plasma self-driven current that is needed for tokamak operation. A novel effect on tokamak self-driven current revealed by global gyrokinetic simulations is due to magnetic-island-induced 3D electric potential structures, which have the same dominant mode numbers as that of the magnetic island, whereas centered at both the inner and outer edge of the island. The non-resonant potential islands are shown to drive a current through an efficient nonlinear parallel acceleration of electrons. In large aspect ratio (large-A) tokamak devices, this new effect can result in a significant global reduction of the electron bootstrap current when the island size is sufficiently large, in addition to the local current loss across the island region due to the pressure profile flattening. It is shown that there exists a critical magnetic island width for large-A tokamaks beyond which the electron bootstrap current loss is global and increases rapidly with the island size. As such, this process may introduce a size limit for tolerable magnetic islands in large-A tokamak devices in the context of steady state operation. On the other hand, the current loss caused by magnetic islands in low-A tokamaks such as spherical tokamak (ST) NSTX/U is minor. The reduction of the axisymmetric current by magnetic islands scales with the square of island width. However, the loss of the current is mainly local to the island region, and the pace of current loss as the island size increases is substantially slower compared to large-A tokamaks. In particular, the bootstrap current reduction in STs is even smaller in the reactor-relevant high-β

p
regime where neoclassical tearing modes are more likely to develop.
Immunological reactivity in cows under technogenic load conditions
Authors: Poryvaeva A P , Pechura E V , Krasnopeorov A S , Belousova D A , Klepova Yu V , Kozhukhovskaya V V
Published: November 2024

Technogenic load has a negative impact on agricultural efficiency and threatens global food security. Exogenous toxicants have a complex effect on the organism of animals, provoking the development of compensatory mechanisms and changes in the clinical status, morphological and immune blood parameters. The authors analysed the state of the immunohaematological profile. For qualitative and quantitative adaptation reactions characterisation of the organism, leukocyte blood indexes were calculated. The results of the study have allowed to determine the main markers of impaired immunological reactivity in animals kept in territories with unfavourable environmental conditions.
Reinforcing polyvinyl alcohol films with layered double hydroxide and tannic acid to enhance tensile strength, tribological performance, and corrosion resistance in biomedical coating applications
Authors: Rahmadiawan Dieter , Shi Shih-Chen , Zhuang Wei-Ting
Published: November 2024

This study investigates the synergistic effects of incorporating layered double hydroxide (LDH) and tannic acid (TA) into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films to enhance their mechanical, tribological, and corrosion resistance properties for biomedical applications. Composite coating films were prepared by blending PVA with LDH and TA in various concentrations. The addition of LDH and TA significantly increased the crystallinity index of the composite films, with the highest crystallinity observed at 66.3% for the sample containing 1 wt% TA and 2 wt% LDH (PVA/TA1/LDH2). This enhancement in crystallinity contributed to improved mechanical performance, as demonstrated by tensile tests, where the PVA/TA1/LDH2 composite exhibited the highest tensile strength among all samples. Tribological testing revealed that the PVA/TA1/LDH2 composite also achieved the lowest coefficient of friction (COF), along with a minimal wear rate, indicating superior wear resistance. SEM analysis of the wear scars confirmed a narrow wear track and smoother surface morphology for this composite, which suggests effective load distribution and reduced surface degradation. The addition of TA was further shown to improve the corrosion resistance of the PVA composite films, with the PVA/TA1/LDH1 sample exhibiting the lowest corrosion current density (Icorr) of 0.36 μA cm−2, representing a significant improvement over neat PVA. These findings highlight the potential of PVA/LDH/TA films for coating applications in biomedical devices, where enhanced mechanical strength, wear resistance, and corrosion protection are critical. The synergistic effects of LDH and TA provide a pathway for developing durable and functional coatings, expanding the practical utility of PVA films in demanding biomedical environments.
‘Going the distance’? The effects of a new method of proximizing climate change on perceived distance, risk perception, emotional response, and engagement in climate change mitigation
Authors: Langlais C , Mauduy M , Demarque C , Cantat O , Sénémeaud C
Published: November 2024

‘Proximizing climate change’ is a widely used strategy for promoting public engagement in environmental communication. However, experimental manipulations of psychological distance often fail to substantially reduce the perceived distance of climate change, and, do not systematically affect responses to this issue. In this study, we test the effectiveness of a new proximizing method that combines two strategies on a sample of French students (N = 349). First, we communicated about the immediate (vs. distant) consequences of climate change. Then, participants were asked to relate these consequences to their own direct experiences to accentuate the level of distance induced (versus a no-accentuation condition). We found that presenting proximal events reduces the perceived distance of climate change, but only when proximity is accentuated. This combined method also leads to greater risk perception, stronger emotional response, and increased engagement in mitigation, as it influences the perceived distance. Our results suggest that proximizing climate change is a valuable communication strategy in environmental campaigns when psychological closeness to climate change is made relevant to individuals’ personal experience.
Long-term load forecasting for smart grid
Authors: Kumar Vikash , Mandal Rajib Kumar
Published: November 2024

The load forecasting problem is a complicated non-linear problem connected with the weather, economy, and other complex factors. For electrical power systems, long-term load forecasting provides valuable information for scheduling maintenance, evaluating adequacy, and managing limited energy supplies. A future generating, transmission, and distribution facility’s development and planning process begins with long-term demand forecasting. The development of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has greatly expanded the amount of real-time data collection on large-scale electricity consumption. The load forecasting techniques have changed significantly as a result of the real-time utilization of this vast amount of smart meter data. This study suggests numerous approaches for long-term load forecasting using smart-metered data from an actual distribution system on the NIT Patna campus. Data pre-processing is the process of converting unprocessed data into a suitable format by eliminating possible errors caused by lost or interrupted communications, the presence of noise or outliers, duplicate or incorrect data, etc. The load forecasting model is trained using historical load data and significant climatic variables discovered through correlation analysis. With a minimum MAPE and RMSE for every testing scenario, the proposed artificial neural network model yields the greatest forecasting performance for the used system data. The efficacy of the proposed technique has been through a comparison of the acquired results with various alternative load forecasting methods.
The transmembrane domain of the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein-1 governs lipid raft association to promote desmosome adhesive strength
Authors: Zimmer Stephanie E. , Giang William , Levental Ilya , Kowalczyk Andrew P.
Published: November 2024

Cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched domains called lipid rafts are hypothesized to selectively coordinate protein complex assembly within the plasma membrane to regulate cellular functions. Desmosomes are mechanically resilient adhesive junctions that associate with lipid raft membrane domains, yet the mechanisms directing raft association of the desmosomal proteins, particularly the transmembrane desmosomal cadherins, are poorly understood. We identified the desmoglein-1 (DSG1) transmembrane domain (TMD) as a key determinant of desmoglein lipid raft association and designed a panel of DSG1TMD variants to assess the contribution of TMD physicochemical properties (length, bulkiness, and palmitoylation) to DSG1 lipid raft association. Sucrose gradient fractionations revealed that TMD length and bulkiness, but not palmitoylation, govern DSG1 lipid raft association. Further, DSG1 raft association determines plakoglobin recruitment to raft domains. Super-resolution imaging and functional assays uncovered a strong relationship between the efficiency of DSG1TMD lipid raft association and the formation of morphologically and functionally robust desmosomes. Lipid raft association regulated both desmosome assembly dynamics and DSG1 cell surface stability, indicating that DSG1 lipid raft association is required for both desmosome formation and maintenance. These studies identify the biophysical properties of desmoglein transmembrane domains as key determinants of lipid raft association and desmosome adhesive function.
Relationship between oriT length and efficiency of RP4-mediated conjugation from Escherichia coli to Gram-positive bacteria
Authors: Fukada Yuta , Inomata Shunsuke , Kataoka Masakazu
Published: November 2024

In RP4 conjugation, approximately 350 bp of the origin of transfer (oriT) is required for transfer. Within this oriT, there are binding regions for the transfer-related proteins TraI, TraK, and TraJ. We investigated the influence of deleting each protein-binding region within oriT on transfer efficiency in Escherichia coli, Streptomyces lividans, and Bacillus subtilis. The deletion of the TraI-binding region completely abolished transfer in all species. The partial deletion of the TraK-binding region had a minimal impact when targeting but affected efficiency when targeting B. subtilis. The deletion of the TraJ-binding region completely abolished transfer in E. coli and B. subtilis but only reduced efficiency in S. lividans. This is the first report to investigate the influence of each region within oriT on transfer efficiency in S. lividans and B. subtilis, suggesting that the length of oriT required for effective RP4 conjugation varies when targeting Gram-positive bacteria.
A hierarchical random effects state-space model for modeling brain activities from electroencephalogram data
Authors: Guo Xingche , Yang Bin , Loh Ji Meng , Wang Qinxia , Wang Yuanjia
Published: November 2024

Mental disorders present challenges in diagnosis and treatment due to their complex and heterogeneous nature. Electroencephalogram (EEG) has shown promise as a source of potential biomarkers for these disorders. However, existing methods for analyzing EEG signals have limitations in addressing heterogeneity and capturing complex brain activity patterns between regions. This paper proposes a novel random effects state-space model (RESSM) for analyzing large-scale multi-channel resting-state EEG signals, accounting for the heterogeneity of brain connectivities between groups and individual subjects. We incorporate multi-level random effects for temporal dynamical and spatial mapping matrices and address non-stationarity so that the brain connectivity patterns can vary over time. The model is fitted under a Bayesian hierarchical model framework coupled with a Gibbs sampler. Compared to previous mixed-effects state-space models, we directly model high-dimensional random effects matrices of interest without structural constraints and tackle the challenge of identifiability. Through extensive simulation studies, we demonstrate that our approach yields valid estimation and inference. We apply RESSM to a multi-site clinical trial of major depressive disorder (MDD). Our analysis uncovers significant differences in resting-state brain temporal dynamics among MDD patients compared to healthy individuals. In addition, we show the subject-level EEG features derived from RESSM exhibit a superior predictive value for the heterogeneous treatment effect compared to the EEG frequency band power, suggesting the potential of EEG as a valuable biomarker for MDD.
Application value of strain elastography and shear wave elastography in patients with type 2 diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a prospective observational study
Authors: Zheng Siqi , Zhu Miao , Fan Gaoxiang , Yang Xueting , Bai Min
Published: November 2024

Objective

To evaluate the value of conventional ultrasound (US), strain elastography (SE), and shear wave elastography (SWE) in detecting diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) of the tibial nerve (TN), and to establish a predictive model for the diagnosis of DPN.

Methods

A total of 32 healthy participants, 34 diabetic patients without DPN, and 36 diabetic patients with DPN were recruited for this study. The TN at the ankle and popliteal fossa were selected for examination. US was used to measure the cross-sectional area (CSA) and perimeter of the TN. Additionally, SE was used to measure the strain ratio (SR) between the TN and the surrounding adipose tissue, and SWE was used to measure the shear wave velocity (SWV) of the TN.

Results

The CSA, perimeter, SR, and SWV of the TN at the ankle were significantly higher in the DPN group compared to both the Non-DPN group and control group (P < .05). Similarly, the TN at the popliteal fossa showed these differences. At the ankle, the CSA, perimeter, SR, and SWV of the TN in patients without DPN were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < .05). At the popliteal fossa, the SR and SWV of the TN in patients without DPN were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < .05). However, the CSA and perimeter of the TN in patients without DPN did not show a statistically significant difference compared to the control group. The area under the curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of DPN using SWE is significantly greater than that of SE and US.

Conclusion

US, SE, and SWE could be used to diagnose DPN, and they also have good diagnostic value for sub-clinical DPN. Among these methods, SWE has demonstrated superior diagnostic efficacy. Compared to examining the TN in the popliteal fossa, the ankle level offers a better site for examination.

Advances in knowledge

For diabetic peripheral neuropathy, US, SE, and SWE are all promising diagnostic methods with high clinical utility.
Application of CT-based foundational artificial intelligence and radiomics models for prediction of survival for lung cancer patients treated on the NRG/RTOG 0617 clinical trial
Authors: Upadhaya Taman , Chetty Indrin J , McKenzie Elizabeth M , Bagher-Ebadian Hassan , Atkins Katelyn M
Published: November 2024

Objectives

To apply CT-based foundational artificial intelligence (AI) and radiomics models for predicting overall survival (OS) for patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Data for 449 patients retrospectively treated on the NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0617 clinical trial were analyzed. Foundational AI, radiomics, and clinical features were evaluated using univariate cox regression and correlational analyses to determine independent predictors of survival. Several models were fit using these predictors and model performance was evaluated using nested cross-validation and unseen independent test datasets via area under receiver-operator-characteristic curves, AUCs.

Results

For all patients, the combined foundational AI and clinical models achieved AUCs of 0.67 for the Random Forest (RF) model. The combined radiomics and clinical models achieved RF AUCs of 0.66. In the low-dose arm, foundational AI alone achieved AUC of 0.67, while AUC for the ensemble radiomics and clinical models was 0.65 for the support vector machine (SVM). In the high-dose arm, AUC values were 0.67 for combined radiomics and clinical models and 0.66 for the foundational AI model.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated encouraging results for application of foundational AI and radiomics models for prediction of outcomes. More research is warranted to understand the value of ensemble models toward improving performance via complementary information.

Advances in knowledge

Using foundational AI and radiomics-based models we were able to identify significant signatures of outcomes for NSCLC patients retrospectively treated on a national cooperative group clinical trial. Associated models will be important for application toward prospective patients.