bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High‐frequency harmonic suppression method for interleaved traction converters based on synchronous sampling
Authors: Gao Jian , Chen Zhibo , Huang Shoudao
Published: July 2022

High‐frequency resonance in traction power supply systems (TPSSs) is of great concern because of its potential to cause great damage to the safety and stable operation of railroad systems; it has been demonstrated that when a locomotive generates a harmonic current with the resonant frequency of the series impedance on the traction network, a large amount of high‐frequency harmonic voltage is generated. This paper proposes a high‐frequency harmonic suppression method based on synchronous sampled carrier phase‐shift PWM modulation strategy (SSCPS‐PWM), which has the advantage of not only considering the consistency of sampling the analogue signal by multiple controllers, but also further optimising the precise synchronization between multiple converter pulses. This method generates lower high‐frequency harmonic content and is particularly suitable for the field of high‐power, low switching frequency, multi‐controller locomotive traction converters. The proposed method was simulated and compared with the traditional method for the harmonics injected by the locomotive, and a real railway line with a harsh power supply condition was selected and field tests were conducted in four sections by a 7200kW 6‐axle electric locomotive. The test results showed that the proposed method effectively reduced the high‐frequency harmonic current of the locomotive and reduced the high‐frequency resonant overvoltage in the TPSS.
Transient stability constrained optimal power flow solution using ant colony optimization for continuous domains (ACOR)
Authors: Moradi Behzad , Kargar Abbas , Abazari Saeed
Published: July 2022

This paper aims to improve transient stability using the Ant Colony Optimization for Continuous Domains (ACOR). This improvement is obtained by solving the Transient Stability Constrained Optimal Power Flow (TSCOPF) problem and extracting the sensitivity coefficients. The presented costs minimization approach requires less execution time to manage energy resources efficiently and compared to other conventional methods, it also outperforms based on statistical indicators such as mean and standard deviation. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of the suggested method considers the active power generation of the generating units along with their terminal voltage, which notably decreases the operation cost and reduces risk to the power system. On the other hand, the application of ACOR algorithm can reduce the fuel cost of power system operation to 60,928.36 $/h with a decrease of 15.33 $/h compared to the conventional method with a standard deviation equal to 2.51 $/h and an execution time of 7.66 s. This strategy could be used in power system dispatching. This method is implemented on the New England 39 bus system, and the results demonstrate the method's efficiency compared to other conventional methods.
Research of cycloaliphatic epoxy resin and silicone rubber composite insulator interface based on four‐electrode system and temperature rise model
Authors: Wang Yunsong , Liu Yuhao , Mei Hongwei , Xie Min , Wang Liming
Published: July 2022

Interface degradation between mandrel and sheath can cause a decrease in insulation performance and mechanical strength of composite insulators. In this study, the interface ageing properties of cycloaliphatic epoxy resin and silicone rubber composite insulator were compared. A water diffusion test was adopted to simulate the composite insulator ageing in a hot and humid environment. A four‐electrode system was built to detect leakage current at different locations (mandrel, sheath and interface), which is an important basis for evaluating insulator performance. The ageing degree of insulator could be quantitatively characterised by leakage current change. It was found that the infiltrated moisture had a great effect on insulation performance. Based on the water absorption test result, the interface performance of two insulators was mainly influenced by their sheath sealing quality. As an auxiliary evaluation method, temperature rise during the test was recorded using an infrared camera. The experiment results showed that interface degradation was the main factor for the insulation performance decrease of silicone rubber composite insulators. However, insulation level reduction of the cycloaliphatic epoxy resin was caused by the wet sheath. In addition, a model for temperature rise of cycloaliphatic epoxy resin insulators was proposed based on good correspondence between sheath material and insulation. The model incorporated multiple processes such as ageing and heating of insulators, and it can predict the early temperature rise well.
Feature hallucination in hypersphere space for few‐shot classification
Authors: Yang Sai , Liu Fan , Chen Zhiyu
Published: July 2022

Few‐shot classification (FSC) targeting at classifying unseen classes with few labelled samples is still a challenging task. Recent works show that transfer‐learning based approaches are competitive with meta‐learning ones, which usually pre‐train a convolutional neural networks (CNN)‐based network using cross‐entropy (CE) loss and throw away the last layer to post‐process the novel classes. Hereby, they still suffer the issue of getting a more transferable extractor and lacking enough labelled novel samples. Thus, the authors propose the algorithm of feature hallucination in hypersphere space (FHHS) for FSC. On the first stage, the authors pre‐train a more transferable feature extractor using a hypersphere loss (HL), which supplies CE with supervised contrastive (SC) loss and self‐supervised loss (SSL), in which SC can map the base and novel images onto the hypersphere space densely. On the second stage, the authors generate new samples for unseen classes using their novel algorithm of synthetic novel sampling with the base (SNSB), which linearly interpolate between each novel class prototype and its K nearest neighbour base class prototypes. Comprehensive experiments on multiple popular FSC demonstrate that HL loss can enhance the performance of backbone network and the authors’ feature hallucination method is superior to the existing hallucination‐based methods.
Distributed model predictive control methods for intermodal transport cooperative planning based on ADMM
Authors: Zhou Qicai , Huang Yuankai , Xiong Xiaolei , Zhao Jiong
Published: July 2022

The cooperative planning in intermodal transport networks can obtain the global optimal decision under the premise of ensuring the data privacy of each role in the cooperation and avoiding massive data transmission. For the control of container flow in intermodal transport networks, the distributed model predictive control (DMPC) method can effectively realize cooperative planning, but the convergence speed of the existing DMPC methods is slow. Therefore, this study attempts to construct faster DMPC methods for cooperative planning. The Jacobi proximal distributed model predictive control (JP‐DMPC) and dual consensus distributed model predictive control (DC‐DMPC) methods are constructed for container flow control based on two variants of alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The simulation experiments prove that the convergence speed of JP‐DMPC and DC‐DMPC methods is higher than that of the state‐of‐the‐art method on the premise that the time cost and interaction data volume of each iteration do not change much, and the DC‐DMPC method improves planning speed particularly significantly. This study provides new methods for intermodal transport cooperative planning and has significance for the development of synchromodal transport.
Are pulsar halos rare?
Authors: Martin Pierrick , Marcowith Alexandre , Tibaldo Luigi
Published: July 2022

Context.Extended gamma-ray emission, interpreted as halos formed by the inverse-Compton scattering of ambient photons by electron-positron pairs, is observed toward a number of middle-aged pulsars. The physical origin and actual commonness of the phenomenon in the Galaxy remain unclear. The conditions of pair confinement seem extreme compared to what can be achieved in recent theoretical models.

Aims.We searched for scenarios minimizing as much as possible the extent and magnitude of diffusion suppression in the halos in J0633+1746 and B0656+14, and explored the implications on the local positron flux if they are applied to all nearby middle-aged pulsars.

Methods.We used a phenomenological static two-zone diffusion framework, and compared its predictions withFermi-LAT and HAWC observations of the two halos, and with the local positron flux measured with AMS-02.

Results.While strong diffusion suppression of two to three orders of magnitude at ∼100 TeV is required by the data, it is possible to find solutions with diffusion suppression extents as small as 30 pc for both objects. If all nearby middle-aged pulsars develop such halos, their combined positron flux including the contribution from Geminga would saturate the ≳100 GeV AMS-02 measurement for injection efficiencies that are much smaller than those inferred for the canonical halos in J0633+1746 and B0656+14, and more generally with the values typical of younger pulsar wind nebulae. Conversely, if positrons from other nearby pulsars are released in the interstellar medium without any confinement around the source, their total positron flux fits into the observed spectrum for the same injection efficiencies of a few tens of percent for all pulsars, from objects a few thousand years in age that power bright pulsar wind nebulae to much older objects like J0633+1746 and B0656+14.

Conclusions.It seems simpler to assume that most middle-aged pulsars do not develop halos, although the evidence supporting this scenario depends on the actual properties of the local pulsar population and on the uncertain physics driving the formation and evolution of halos. The occurrence rate of the phenomenon could be as low as ∼5−10%, and the local positron flux in the ∼0.1−1.0 TeV range would thus be attributed to a few dozen nearby middle-aged pulsars rapidly releasing pairs into the interstellar medium, with a possible contribution over part or most of the range by J0633+1746, and at higher energies by B0656+14.
Orbital and dynamical analysis of the system around HR 8799
Authors: Zurlo A. , Goździewski K. , Lazzoni C. , Mesa D. , Nogueira P. , Desidera S. , Gratton R. , Marzari F. , Langlois M. , Pinna E. , Chauvin G. , Delorme P. , Girard J. H. , Hagelberg J. , Henning Th. , Janson M. , Rickman E. , Kervella P. , Avenhaus H. , Bhowmik T. , Biller B. , Boccaletti A. , Bonaglia M. , Bonavita M. , Bonnefoy M. , Cantalloube F. , Cheetham A. , Claudi R. , D’Orazi V. , Feldt M. , Galicher R. , Ghose E. , Lagrange A.-M. , le Coroller H. , Ligi R. , Kasper M. , Maire A.-L. , Medard F. , Meyer M. , Peretti S. , Perrot C. , Puglisi A. T. , Rossi F. , Rothberg B. , Schmidt T. , Sissa E. , Vigan A. , Wahhaj Z.
Published: July 2022

Context.HR 8799 is a young planetary system composed of four planets and a double debris belt. Being the first multi-planetary system discovered with the direct imaging technique, it has been observed extensively since 1998. This wide baseline of astrometric measurements, counting over 50 observations in 20 years, permits a detailed orbital and dynamical analysis of the system.

Aims.To explore the orbital parameters of the planets, their dynamical history, and the planet-to-disk interaction, we made follow-up observations of the system during the VLT/SPHERE guaranteed time observation program. We obtained 21 observations, most of them in favorable conditions. In addition, we observed HR 8799 with the instrument LUCI at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT).

Methods.All the observations were reduced with state-of-the-art algorithms implemented to apply the spectral and angular differential imaging method. We re-reduced the SPHERE data obtained during the commissioning of the instrument and in three open-time programs to have homogeneous astrometry. The precise position of the four planets with respect to the host star was calculated by exploiting the fake negative companions method. We obtained an astrometric precision of the order of 6 mas in the worst case and 1 mas in the best case. To improve the orbital fitting, we also took into account all of the astrometric data available in the literature. From the photometric measurements obtained in different wavelengths, we estimated the masses of the planets following the evolutionary models.

Results.We obtained updated parameters for the orbits with the assumption of coplanarity, relatively small eccentricities, and periods very close to the 2:1 resonance. We also refined the dynamical mass of each planet and the parallax of the system (24.49 ± 0.07 mas), which overlap with the recentGaiaeDR3/DR3 estimate. Hydrodynamical simulations suggest that inward migration of the planets caused by the interaction with the disk might be responsible for the planets being locked in resonance. We also conducted detailedN-body simulations indicating possible positions of a putative fifth planet with a mass below the present detection limits of ≃3MJup.
X-shaped radio galaxy 3C 223.1: A ‘double boomerang’ with an anomalous spectral gradient
Authors: Gopal Krishna  , Dabhade Pratik
Published: July 2022

A comparison of the recent LOFAR 144 MHz map of the radio source 3C 223.1 (J094124.028+394441.95) with the VLA maps at 4.9 GHz and 8.3 GHz that we built based on archival data, establishes this X-shaped radio galaxy (XRG) as a singularly robust case where the ‘wings’ exhibit a distinctly flatter radio spectrum than the primary lobes. The details of its anomalous spectral gradient are unravelled here with unprecedented precision. We also highlight the ‘double boomerang’ type radio morphology of this XRG. It appears plausible that the peculiar spectral gradient in this XRG is owed to particle acceleration associated with the rebounding of the collimated backflows of synchrotron plasma streaming through its two primary lobes, as they impinge upon and encounter the magnetic tension in the prominent dusty disk of the elliptical galaxy hosting this XRG. We also draw attention to an intriguing new morphological peculiarity among XRGs, namely, a lateral offset observed between the (parallel) axes of the two primary radio lobes.
Stability of microemulsions containing red grape pomace extract obtained with a glycerol/sodium benzoate deep eutectic solvent
Authors: Alibade Aggeliki , Kaltsa Olga , Bozinou Eleni , Athanasiadis Vassilis , Palaiogiannis Dimitrios , Lalas Stavros , Chatzilazarou Arhontoula , Makris Dimitris P.
Published: July 2022

The valorization of red grape pomace is significant as grape is one of the most cultivated fruits worldwide and generated by-product quantities are enormous. For this purpose, numerous encapsulation techniques have been developed. However, the studies on microemulsions composed with deep eutectic solvent extracts are very limited. In this study, red grape pomace extract (RGPE) was first prepared by deep eutectic solvent extraction and characterized by HPLC analysis. Rutin, quercetin, catechin and caftaric acid were identified as the main non-pigment phenolic compounds. The RGPE was further encapsulated in microemulsions (MEs) following a low-energy approach using a mixture of low molecular weight surfactants, and the pseudo-ternary phase diagram was constructed. The physical and antioxidant stability of MEs containing 3–15 wt% RGPE was investigated for a period of 30 days. MEs were stable at an ambient temperature of 25 or 37 °C. The radical scavenging activity of encapsulated RGPE was improved up to 13% compared to the free extract. Our results indicate that microemulsions provide protection of valuable phenolic constituents especially under elevated temperature conditions and can therefore be used as systems for applications in nutraceuticals or cosmetics.
Cannabis in der Onkologie – viel Rauch um nichts?
Authors: Burkhard-Meier Anton , Rémi Constanze , Lindner Lars H. , von Bergwelt-Baildon Michael
Published: July 2022

Die medizinische Verwendung von Cannabis hat in den letzten Jahren in Europa und Nordamerika an Popularität gewonnen. Cannabinoide sind sowohl als Fertigarzneimittel als auch in Blüten- und Extraktform verfügbar. Der vorliegende Artikel legt den Fokus auf die supportive Therapie onkologischer Patienten. Mögliche Indikationen sind Schmerzen, Chemotherapie-bedingte Übelkeit und Erbrechen, Appetitlosigkeit und Geschmacksveränderungen. Trotz des enormen Hypes um Cannabis als Medizin ist die Evidenz für dessen Anwendung bei onkologischen Patienten unzureichend. Palliativpatienten mit refraktären Symptomen könnten jedoch geeignete Kandidaten für einen Therapieversuch darstellen. Der entscheidende Parameter für die Auswahl eines Cannabis-Arzneimittels ist die THC/CBD-Ratio. Orale Einnahmeformen bieten sich gerade für Cannabis-naive und ältere Patienten an. Psychische und kardiovaskuläre Nebenwirkungen sind nicht zu unterschätzen.
Langlois Reagent Mediated Tandem Cyclization of o-Hydroxyaryl Enaminones for the Synthesis of 3-(Trifluoromethyl)chromones
Authors: Behera Manoranjan , Thota Pradeepkumar , Sheelam Kalidasu , Kottawar Shrinivas , Shivakumar K. , Kaliyaperumal Muralidharan , Yennam Satyanarayana
Published: July 2022

An efficient and simple synthesis of various 3-(trifluoromethyl)chromones from enamino ketones is described. The key step in the synthesis involves the introduction of a trifluoromethyl (CF3) moiety onto a chromone structure. The significant features of this method include simple operational procedures, the high purity and yield of the product, and excellent regioselectivity.
Meeting Parents' Needs for Education and Preparation following Congenital Heart Disease Diagnosis: Recommendations from a Crowdsourced Study
Authors: Gramszlo Colette , Karpyn Allison , Christofferson Jennifer , McWhorter Linda G. , Demianczyk Abigail C. , Neely Trent , Zyblewski Sinai , Shillingford Amanda , Kazak Anne E. , Sood Erica
Published: July 2022

Objective This article characterizes the educational needs of parents following fetal or neonatal congenital heart disease (CHD) diagnosis and generates recommendations for meeting these needs.

Study Design Online crowdsourcing methods were used to collect qualitative data from 95 parents of children with CHD regarding their needs for education and preparation following fetal or neonatal diagnosis. Data were analyzed using qualitative methods and themes were organized around the substructure of met and unmet needs.

Results Two themes represented consistently met needs, whereas 10 themes represented needs that were either inconsistently met or consistently unmet. Parents reported needing more information about social, emotional, and financial supports, preparation for long-term care, and guidance toward reputable online resources. Parents also provided recommendations for meeting these needs.

Conclusion Parents' needs for education and preparation following CHD diagnosis are much broader in scope than what they currently receive. Addressing these may support parental coping and active participation in medical decision-making.

Key Points
Perceived Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Practitioners: A Bi-Country Survey
Authors: Tariq Khaloud , Iqbal Kanza , Bhutta Hadeer , Hassan Muhammad , Baloch Faisal
Published: July 2022

Objective COVID-19 resulted in dentistry being declared high-risk occupation due to the mode of the spread of the virus. This resulted in partial and complete closure of dental practices around the world, reducing revenue of practitioners. Hence, study aims to evaluate financial impact on dental practitioners in Pakistan and UAE.

Materials and Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2020 to January 2021. It involved questions relating to demographics and financial challenges faced, associated with change in standard operating procedures due to pandemic. The descriptive statistics were expressed as frequency and percentage. Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square test or Fischer's exact test.

Results In total, 427 respondents participated in the study. Approximately half (55.7%) of the respondents had their practices shut down, while 89.9% observed decrease in patient flow. The majority (82.2%) of respondents had to buy personal protective equipment (PPE), whereas 66.7% had to pay a high cost for that. Almost 87.3% of respondents reported having experienced financial constraints because of the pandemic related changes to the practice. Moreover, 27.8% reported staff being laid off, which were mostly due to monetary constrictions.

Conclusion Dental professionals faced a considerable impact on their practice and financial situation due to pandemic. Policies must be made to support such professionals in times of emergency who are at higher risk of being most affected with respect to health and finances.
A Clinical Risk Analysis of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting After Colorectal Cancer Surgery
Authors: Hiraki Masatsugu , Tanaka Toshiya , Koga Mika , Miura Daisuke , Sadashima Eiji , Sato Hirofumi , Mitsumizo Shinji , Kitahara Kenji
Published: July 2022

Objective Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a frequent complication following colorectal surgery. The present study investigated the risk factors for PONV after colorectal cancer surgery.

Methods A retrospective study of 204 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer was conducted. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the clinicopathological factors associated with PONV.

Results The overall incidence of postoperative nausea (PON) and postoperative vomit (POV) was 26.5% (54/204), and 12.3% (25/204), respectively. The univariate analysis showed that female gender (p < 0.001), no current alcohol drinking habit (p = 0.003), and no stoma creation (p = 0.023) were associated with PON. Postoperative vomit was significantly correlated with female gender (p = 0.009), high body mass index (p = 0.017), and right-sided colon cancer (p = 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender (odds ratio [OR]: 4.225; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.170–8.226; p < 0.001) was an independent risk factor for PON. A high body mass index (OR: 1.148; 95%CI: 1.018–1.295; p = 0.025), and right-sided colon cancer (OR: 3.337; 95%CI: 1.287–8.652; p = 0.013) were independent risk factors for POV.

Conclusion Our findings suggest that female gender for PON and a high body mass index and right-sided colon cancer for POV are risk factors after colorectal cancer surgery. An assessment using these factors might be helpful for predicting PONV.
Impact of Inpatient Rehabilitation on Quality of Life Among Stroke Patients
Authors: Khanna Meeka , Sivadas Dhinla , Gupta Anupam , Haldar Partha , Prakash Navin B
Published: July 2022

Background Despite remarkable progression in the treatment of stroke, the quality of life (QoL) and social-related events caused by stroke have received limited attention in our country. The assessment of QOL is an important part of the evaluation of stroke patients and their management.

Objective To assess the QoL in patients with stroke at the time of admission in the rehabilitation unit and assess the impact of inpatient rehabilitation on change in QoL in these patients.

Materials and methods Adult patients with first arterial stroke of any duration, with presentation as hemiplegia were recruited. The clinical outcome scales and SF-36 parameters for QOL were assessed at both admission and discharge. The scales used were Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS), Barthel Index (BI), modified Rankin Scale (mRS). SF-36 scores were assessed after 6 weeks of discharge also.

Results Ten patients with a median age of 36.5 years and a median duration of stroke 75 days were recruited. There was significant improvement in functional scores of BI and SSS scales at the time of discharge. Majority of the components of both physical and mental domains of QOL SF-36 questionnaire showed significant improvement. The QOL scores after 6 weeks of discharge did not show significant change except for the emotional well-being.

Conclusion The QOL in patients with stroke improves with inpatient rehabilitation along with motor and functional scores. Improved functional independence leads to better emotional state after discharge also.
Effects of transition metal doping on CsGeBr3 perovskite: First-principles study
Authors: Bin Selim Fahim , Kabir Alamgir , Nishat Sadiq Shahriyar
Published: July 2022

Metal halide perovskites have shown the most promising results as the light-harvesting section of photovoltaics and opto-electronic devices. Among the non-toxic halide perovskites, CsGeBr3 was found to be the best candidate for opto-electronic applications; however, it is understood that the efficiency of CsGeBr3 can be further increased with the insertion of transition metals as dopants. In this article, the first-principles density functional theory calculations are used to predict the mechanical, structural, electronic, and optical properties of pristine, Ni-doped, Mn-doped, and Fe-doped CsGeBr3 with 12.5% of doping concentration. All the doped materials are found to be ferromagnetic and mechanically stable. They have finite magnetization values. The optical absorption edge in all the doped materials shows that they have additional peaks within the large emission range of solar radiation, which makes them more suitable than the pristine material for photovoltaics and opto-electronic applications. Among the doped materials, Mn-doped and Fe-doped CsGeBr3 have comparably higher absorption peaks and are almost identical in shape. The electronic bandgap is smaller than the pristine structure in the case of Fe-doped CsGeBr3 and larger for Ni and Mn-doped CsGeBr3. These combinational analyses lead to the decision that, among the non-toxic, inorganic perovskite materials, Fe-doped CsGeBr3 is better suited for the use in opto-electronic applications.
Information thermodynamics for deterministic chemical reaction networks
Authors: Penocchio Emanuele , Avanzini Francesco , Esposito Massimiliano
Published: July 2022

Information thermodynamics relates the rate of change of mutual information between two interacting subsystems to their thermodynamics when the joined system is described by a bipartite stochastic dynamics satisfying local detailed balance. Here, we expand the scope of information thermodynamics to deterministic bipartite chemical reaction networks, namely, composed of two coupled subnetworks sharing species but not reactions. We do so by introducing a meaningful notion of mutual information between different molecular features that we express in terms of deterministic concentrations. This allows us to formulate separate second laws for each subnetwork, which account for their energy and information exchanges, in complete analogy with stochastic systems. We then use our framework to investigate the working mechanisms of a model of chemically driven self-assembly and an experimental light-driven bimolecular motor. We show that both systems are constituted by two coupled subnetworks of chemical reactions. One subnetwork is maintained out of equilibrium by external reservoirs (chemostats or light sources) and powers the other via energy and information flows. In doing so, we clarify that the information flow is precisely the thermodynamic counterpart of an information ratchet mechanism only when no energy flow is involved.
Machine learning in the study of phase transition of two-dimensional complex plasmas
Authors: Huang He , Nosenko Vladimir , Huang-Fu Han-Xiao , Thomas Hubertus M. , Du Cheng-Ran
Published: July 2022

Machine learning is applied to investigate the phase transition of two-dimensional complex plasmas. The Langevin dynamics simulation is employed to prepare particle suspensions in various thermodynamic states. Based on the resulted particle positions in two extreme conditions, bitmap images are synthesized and imported to a convolutional neural network (ConvNet) as a training sample. As a result, a phase diagram is obtained. This trained ConvNet model has been directly applied to the sequence of the recorded images using video microscopy in the experiments to study the melting.
Temporal structure of blobs in NSTX
Authors: Zweben S. J. , Lampert M. , Myra J. R.
Published: July 2022

The time dependence of the blob pulse shape and the waiting time between blobs was found using data from the gas puff imaging diagnostic in NSTX. The database used was of 103 shots from 2010 as described in a previous paper (Zweben et al., Phys. Plasmas 29, 012505 (2022).]. The blob pulse shape was well fit by an exponential rise and fall where the average rise time was τr = 9.0 ± 2.7 μs and the average fall time was τf = 16.6 ± 5.8 μs. The waiting times between blob pulses above a threshold of three times the mean had a broad distribution with an average of τw = 1.2 ± 0.85 ms over the database. The blob intermittency parameter γb = τd/τw, where the blob pulse duration was τd =  τr + τf, ranged from γb ∼1% to 5% for shots in this database and increased almost linearly with the blob fraction.
Calculating adsorption isotherms using the two-phase thermodynamic method and molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Malviya Shubham , Tapia Joseph C. , Bai Peng
Published: July 2022

We describe the calculation of adsorption isotherms from molecular dynamics simulations based on the two-phase thermodynamic (2PT) model. The 2PT model developed for bulk fluid phases treats the gas-like components as hard spheres (HSs), which correctly recovers the limiting behaviors of unconfined fluids. We showed that this treatment, however, does not always lead to the correct zero-loading behavior in strongly confining systems. For methane adsorption into zeolite MFI, the HS reference state underestimates entropy by up to 20% at low loadings and leads to an order-of-magnitude increase in the adsorption onset pressure. To fix these issues, we propose the use of ideal adsorbed gas (IAG) as the gas reference model, the properties of which can be computed using the Widom insertion method on an empty adsorbent. We further describe three routes to compute adsorption isotherms from the Helmholtz free energy at different loadings. Comparing against established Monte Carlo (MC) methods, we found that the adsorption isotherms obtained using the IAG reference state agrees to within 40%, which corresponds to deviations of <5% in adsorption free energy. The isotherms calculated using the HS reference state underestimate the adsorption uptake at low to medium loadings in strongly confining systems, but its accuracy improves at higher loadings and as the pore size increases relative to the sorbate diameter. The methods described here provide an alternative approach for computing adsorption isotherms when MC simulations in an open ensemble are undesirable and enable a direct comparison of computed adsorption thermodynamics with experiments.
Systematic analysis of experimental data on productive and reproductive traits of Brazilian dairy herds compared with breeders’ association records
Authors: Castro Ícaro Rainyer Rodrigues , Marcondes Marcos Inácio
Published: July 2022

Context Dairy farming in Brazil is characterised by heterogeneity in production techniques, herds and kinds of producers; nonetheless, it has expanded in recent years. The data available in the scientific literature regarding breeds used in the system are inconsistent and may not represent the current genetic, productive and reproductive profile of Brazilian herds. Aim This study was developed to understand differences between animals used in experiments and those in breed control assessments. We aimed to evaluate data of Holstein, Gyr, Guzerat, Jersey, Sindhi, Brown Swiss, Holstein × Gyr and Holstein × Guzerat cattle on the traits 305-day milk yield, fat and protein contents, lactation length, age at first calving, and calving interval by comparing research literature and national official control records. Methods National breeders’ associations (NBAs) for each breed or cross were asked to send their official control from 2019 for comparison with 15 years of published data that we retrieved from the literature. Key results Holsteins showed the closest mean for milk yield between literature and NBA data. In Holstein × Gyr crosses, increasing the proportion of Gyr genes decreased milk yield. Jersey data showed the greatest variance between the literature and NBA. For Brown Swiss milk fat, literature values were 12.7% above NBA values. Holsteins had the longest lactation (305 days), and 5/8 Holstein × Gyr the shortest (262 days). For age at first calving, Jerseys were the youngest (26.3 months) and Guzerats the oldest (45.7 months). Jersey cows showed the shortest (best) mean calving interval (12 months), and Sindhi the longest (17 months). NBA data were not available for comparison for some traits in some breeds/crosses. Conclusions Holstein was the most productive breed. Holstein × Gyr crosses, because of adaptation and management, were able to express their productive and reproductive potentials. There was variance between literature and NBA data. Implications We expected that the literature data would somewhat represent the NBA data; however, for most traits, NBA data do not coincide (or do not exist). Literature data need to be collected to represent more closely what is happening at the field level in the national dairy industry.
Activity-dependent endoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
uptake depends on Kv2.1-mediated endoplasmic reticulum/plasma membrane junctions to promote synaptic transmission
Authors: Panzera Lauren C. , Johnson Ben , Quinn Josiah A. , Cho In Ha , Tamkun Michael M. , Hoppa Michael B.
Published: July 2022

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms a continuous and dynamic network throughout a neuron, extending from dendrites to axon terminals, and axonal ER dysfunction is implicated in several neurological disorders. In addition, tight junctions between the ER and plasma membrane (PM) are formed by several molecules including Kv2 channels, but the cellular functions of many ER-PM junctions remain unknown. Recently, dynamic Ca
2+
uptake into the ER during electrical activity was shown to play an essential role in synaptic transmission. Our experiments demonstrate that Kv2.1 channels are necessary for enabling ER Ca
2+
uptake during electrical activity, as knockdown (KD) of Kv2.1 rendered both the somatic and axonal ER unable to accumulate Ca
2+
during electrical stimulation. Moreover, our experiments demonstrate that the loss of Kv2.1 in the axon impairs synaptic vesicle fusion during stimulation via a mechanism unrelated to voltage. Thus, our data demonstrate that a nonconducting role of Kv2.1 exists through its binding to the ER protein VAMP-associated protein (VAP), which couples ER Ca
2+
uptake with electrical activity. Our results further suggest that Kv2.1 has a critical function in neuronal cell biology for Ca
2+
handling independent of voltage and reveals a critical pathway for maintaining ER lumen Ca
2+
levels and efficient neurotransmitter release. Taken together, these findings reveal an essential nonclassical role for both Kv2.1 and the ER-PM junctions in synaptic transmission.
Divergent evolution of extreme production of variant plant monounsaturated fatty acids
Authors: Gan Lu , Park Kiyoul , Chai Jin , Updike Evan M. , Kim Hyojin , Voshall Adam , Behera Sairam , Yu Xiao-Hong , Cai Yuanheng , Zhang Chunyu , Wilson Mark A. , Mower Jeffrey P. , Moriyama Etsuko N. , Zhang Chi , Kaewsuwan Sireewan , Liu Qun , Shanklin John , Cahoon Edgar B.
Published: July 2022

Metabolic extremes provide opportunities to understand enzymatic and metabolic plasticity and biotechnological tools for novel biomaterial production. We discovered that seed oils of many
Thunbergia
species contain up to 92% of the unusual monounsaturated petroselinic acid (18:1Δ6), one of the highest reported levels for a single fatty acid in plants. Supporting the biosynthetic origin of petroselinic acid, we identified a Δ6-stearoyl-acyl carrier protein (18:0-ACP) desaturase from
Thunbergia laurifolia
, closely related to a previously identified Δ6-palmitoyl-ACP desaturase that produces sapienic acid (16:1Δ6)-rich oils in
Thunbergia alata
seeds. Guided by a
T. laurifolia
desaturase crystal structure obtained in this study, enzyme mutagenesis identified key amino acids for functional divergence of Δ6 desaturases from the archetypal Δ9-18:0-ACP desaturase and mutations that result in nonnative enzyme regiospecificity. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of the
T. laurifolia
desaturase for the production of unusual monounsaturated fatty acids in engineered plant and bacterial hosts. Through stepwise metabolic engineering, we provide evidence that divergent evolution of extreme petroselinic acid and sapienic acid production arises from biosynthetic and metabolic functional specialization and enhanced expression of specific enzymes to accommodate metabolism of atypical substrates.
A semi-supervised algorithm for detecting extremism propaganda diffusion on social media
Authors: Francisco M. , Benítez-Castro M. Á. , Hidalgo-Tenorio E. , Castro Juan L.
Published: July 2022

Extremist online networks reportedly tend to use Twitter and other Social Networking Sites (SNS) in order to issue
propaganda and recruitment statements. Traditional machine learning models may encounter problems when used in such a context, due
to the peculiarities of microblogging sites and the manner in which these networks interact (both between themselves and with
other networks). Moreover, state-of-the-art approaches have focused on non-transparent techniques that cannot be audited; so,
despite the fact that they are top performing techniques, it is impossible to check if the models are actually fair. In this
paper, we present a semi-supervised methodology that uses our Discriminatory Expressions algorithm for feature
selection to detect expressions that are biased towards extremist content (Francisco and
Castro 2020). With the help of human experts, the relevant expressions are filtered and used to retrieve further
extremist content in order to iteratively provide a set of relevant and accurate expressions. These discriminatory expressions
have been proved to produce less complex models that are easier to comprehend, and thus improve model transparency. In the
following, we present close to 70 expressions that were discovered by using this method alongside the validation test of the
algorithm in several different contexts.
Spaniards articulate faster than Mexicans
Authors: Santiago Fabian , Mairano Paolo
Published: July 2022

We analyse articulation rate and speech rate, number and duration of pauses for 22 speakers of two regional
varieties of Spanish (Madrilenian vs Mexican) in three different tasks (reading, picture description and interview). Our results
show that speakers from Madrid have higher articulation rate and speech rate than speakers from Mexico, but that such differences
are mainly observed in spontaneous speech (picture description). Instead, the number and duration of pauses were not significantly
affected by the origin of speakers. Some methodological issues are discussed in order to make legitimate inferences from this
exploratory study.
ORAI3 is dispensable for store-operated Ca2+ entry and immune responses by lymphocytes and macrophages
Authors: Wang Liwei , Noyer Lucile , Wang Yin-Hu , Tao Anthony Y. , Li Wenyi , Zhu Jingjie , Saavedra Pedro , Hoda Syed T. , Yang Jun , Feske Stefan
Published: July 2022

Ca2+ signals regulate the function of many immune cells and promote immune responses to infection, cancer, and autoantigens. Ca2+ influx in immune cells is mediated by store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) that results from the opening of Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels. The CRAC channel is formed by three plasma membrane proteins, ORAI1, ORAI2, and ORAI3. Of these, ORAI1 is the best studied and plays important roles in immune function. By contrast, the physiological role of ORAI3 in immune cells remains elusive. We show here that ORAI3 is expressed in many immune cells including macrophages, B cells, and T cells. To investigate ORAI3 function in immune cells, we generated Orai3−/− mice. The development of lymphoid and myeloid cells in the thymus and bone marrow was normal in Orai3−/− mice, as was the composition of immune cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Deletion of Orai3 did not affect SOCE in B cells and T cells but moderately enhanced SOCE in macrophages. Orai3-deficient macrophages, B cells, and T cells had normal effector functions in vitro. Immune responses in vivo, including humoral immunity (T cell dependent or independent) and antitumor immunity, were normal in Orai3−/− mice. Moreover, Orai3−/− mice showed no differences in susceptibility to septic shock, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or collagen-induced arthritis. We conclude that despite its expression in myeloid and lymphoid cells, ORAI3 appears to be dispensable or redundant for physiological and pathological immune responses mediated by these cells.
Molecular dynamics study of hydrogen isotopes at the Be/BeO interface
Authors: Hodille E A , Byggmästar J , Ferro Y , Nordlund K
Published: July 2022

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the behaviour of D atoms at two interfaces between beryllium (Be) and beryllium oxide (BeO). After relaxation of the simulation cell, there are (a) localised defects at the interface and (b) a hexagonal misfit dislocation network creating a succession of compressed and expanded area from each side of the interface. The simulations between 750 K and 1500 K for tens to hundreds of nanoseconds show that both interfaces act as trapping sites for D atoms. The simulations also show that D atoms tend to migrate in the material where the hydrogen isotope solubility is the highest as predicted by thermodynamics. However, the simulations also shows that there are additional kinetic barriers (D trapping sites, D2 formation/dissociation in BeO) that slow down the path to equilibrium. These additional kinetic barriers may influence the fuel retention and permeation in Be materials.
A highly tunable photoelectric response of graphene field-effect transistor with lateral P–N junction in channel
Authors: Zhang Yantao , Wang Zhong , Zhang Guohe , Wang Xiaoli , Han Chuanyu , Li Xin , Liu Weihua
Published: July 2022

This paper reports a highly tunable photoelectric response of graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) with lateral P–N junction in channel. The poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) provides strong N-type doping on graphene due to the dipole moment of pendent groups after ultraviolet annealing in high vacuum. A lateral P–N junction is introduced into the channel of the GFET by partially covering the graphene channel with PSBMA. With such P–N junction in the channel, the GFET exhibits a highly tunable photoelectric response over a wide range of exciting photon wavelength. With a lateral P–N junction in the channel, the polarity of photocurrent (I
ph) of the GFET switches three times as the back-gate voltage (V
BG) scan over two Dirac-point voltages. The underlying physical mechanism of photoelectric response is attributed to photovoltaic and photo-induced bolometric effect, which compete to dominating I
ph at various V
BG. This provides a possible strategy for designing new phototransistors or optoelectronic device in the future.
Measures on a Foucault’s pendulum for schools
Authors: Boccherini Benedetta , Straulino Samuele
Published: July 2022

We present some measures with the Foucault’s pendulum located in the building housing the Physics and Astronomy Department of our University. We shot a movie of the pendulum motion over 1 hour, whose frames have been later analysed to extract information about the trajectory. Thanks to this method, the rotation of the oscillation plane has been reconstructed with great accuracy. The educational value of this experiment is pointed out, which is also suitable for secondary school’s students.
Potential alpha particle detection with thin poly (ether sulfone) substrates
Authors: Nakamura Hidehito , Mori Kazuhiro , Shirakawa Yoshiyuki
Published: July 2022

Plastics without fluorescent-molecule doping have attracted increasing attention as radiation detection components in measurement systems to ensure safe nuclear reactors and radiation facilities. A promising candidate is poly (ether sulfone) (PES), which is resistant to environmental stress. Here, we show that transparent PES responds rapidly to alpha particles despite its amber colouration. Specifically, 1- and 5 mm-thick PES samples were exposed to an 241Am radioactive source, and the induced PES fluorescence was acquired with a photodetector. The overall system responses were comparable to the intrinsic detector response. The averaged time profiles of the acquired fluorescence pulses for each sample exhibited leading edges that exponentially increased with rise times of 3.3 ± 0.1 ns. The falling tails exponentially decreased with decay times of 12.4 ± 0.1 ns and 12.1 ± 0.3 ns. The maximum intensity from the 1 mm-thick sample was approximately 2.4 times greater than that from the 5 mm-thick sample. This knowledge will lead to future PES applications in radiation measurements.
Unsupervised Martian Dust Storm Removal via Disentangled Representation Learning
Authors: Zhao Dong , Li Jia , Li Hongyu , Xu Long
Published: July 2022

Mars exploration has become a hot spot in recent years and is still advancing rapidly. However, Mars has massive dust storms that may cover many areas of the planet and last for weeks or even months. The local/global dust storms are so influential that they can significantly reduce visibility, and thereby the images captured by the cameras on the Mars rover are degraded severely. This work presents an unsupervised Martian dust storm removal network via disentangled representation learning (DRL). The core idea of the DRL framework is to use the content encoder and dust storm encoder to disentangle the degraded images into content features (on domain-invariant space) and dust storm features (on domain-specific space). The dust storm features carry the full dust storm-relevant prior knowledge from the dust storm images. The “cleaned” content features can be effectively decoded to generate more natural, faithful, clear images. The primary advantages of this framework are twofold. First, it is among the first to perform unsupervised training in Martian dust storm removal with a single image, avoiding the synthetic data requirements. Second, the model can implicitly learn the dust storm-relevant prior knowledge from the real-world dust storm data sets, avoiding the design of the complicated handcrafted priors. Extensive experiments demonstrate the DRL framework’s effectiveness and show the promising performance of our network for Martian dust storm removal.
(Ca,K)(Zn,Mn)2As2: Ferromagnetic semiconductor induced by decoupled charge and spin doping in CaZn2As2
Authors: Dong Jinou , Zhao Xueqin , Fu Licheng , Gu Yilun , Zhang Rufei , Yang Qiaolin , Xie Lingfeng , Ning Fanlong
Published: July 2022

We have successfully synthesized a novel diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ca1−2x
K2x
)(Zn1−

x
Mn
x
)2As2 with decoupled charge and spin doping. The substitutions of (Ca2+, K+) and (Zn2+, Mn2+) in the parent compound CaZn2As2 (space group P

m1 (No. 164)) introduce carriers and magnetic moments, respectively. Doping only Mn into CaZn2As2 does not induce any type of long range magnetic ordering. The ferromagnetic ordering arise can only when K+ and Mn2+ are simultaneously doped. The resulted maximum Curie temperature reaches ~7 K, and the corresponding coercive field is ~60 Oe. The transport measurements confirm that samples with K and Mn co-doping still behave like a semiconductor.
Disentanglement and a nonlinear Schrödinger equation
Authors: Buks Eyal
Published: July 2022

We explore a nonlinear term that can be added to the Schrödinger equation without violating unitarity of the time evolution. We find that the added term suppresses entanglement, without affecting the evolution of any product state. The dynamics generated by the modified Schrödinger equation is explored for the case of a two-spin 1/2 system.