bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interactive visualisation for teaching a quantum double slit experiment
Authors: Legerská Jana
Published: January 2024

In teaching quantum physics, visualisation is a useful tool to improve students’ understanding of phenomena from the quantum realm. The double slit experiment has shown itself to be a good simple enough example where all important quantum concepts such as wave-particle duality, superposition, or measurement meet in a nice way. Compiling advantages of existing visualizations, we present a new simple web-based interactive interface visualising the double slit experiment with electrons suitable for high school level. Guidelines for using the visualization in classroom are also provided. Teachers and students would be able to conduct this experiment by themselves and explore behaviour of quantum objects step-by-step, following a path outlined by Richard Feynman in his famous lectures.
Training teachers on new topics and new tools in Physics education
Authors: Piccione A , Massa A A , Ruggiero M L , Serio M , Rinaudo M , Marocchi D , Marino T
Published: January 2024

We report the result of a collaboration among Universities, Schools, and Institutions to increase interest in new tools and learning environments. To address this issue, we provide scientific and didactic support to teachers through different kinds of training sessions to introduce innovative didactic methodologies for teaching and learning. The project involved a training course both in streaming and carried-out sessions with university staff as well as secondary school teachers. We selected current research such as climate change, space missions, and Einstein’s relativity since they are not commonly included in the Italian physics curriculum; we suggested an approach based on some new methodologies and technologies to introduce these topics. We used microcontroller development boards for measuring environmental parameters, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data processing applied to Open Data from space missions or weather archives. We also suggested a new approach to teaching modern physics. For this purpose, we used a web-based platform to explore the basic concepts of relativistic physics by emphasizing its impact on Global Positioning Systems, which is of utmost importance in everyday life.
What are the perceptions of physics teachers in Brazil about ChatGPT in school activities?
Authors: Rezende Junior M F , López-Simó V
Published: January 2024

In this work, we propose to discuss the perceptions of physics teachers in Brazil about AI generative like ChatGPT. Data were collected by an online Focus Group (FG) held during three meetings of one and a half hours each, with six Brazilian physics teachers with varied experience and backgrounds. Participants’ discourse was analysed according to three different questions: (a) the players involved in using ChatGPT in physics classes, (b) the attitudes towards the introduction of ChatGPT in physics classes, and (c) the main functionalities of ChatGPT in physics classes. Our results indicate that physics teachers’ perceptions of GPT, in general, involves more the role of students than the role of the teacher, correspond to more positive than negative perception, and allows identifying four main functionalities defined as a co-pilot of lessons, as an educational bureaucracy manager, as a simple problem-solving tool, and as a literal information providing tool.
Visualizing the Movement of the Celtic Stone as High School Students Activity
Authors: Zawadzki P , Greczylo T
Published: January 2024

The Celtic Stone (also known as a rattleback) is a semi-ellipsoidal shaped solid object which when spun rotates on its axis in a preferred direction. If spun in the opposite direction, it goes to the stop and reverses its spin to the preferred direction. As the movement of the stone is multidirectional it is a challenge to perform quantitative measurements of its motion characteristics. The work presents the experimental set-up and the procedure for collecting date of a rattleback motion as the high school students activity. Proposals for specific student actions and their benefits for learning were described in connection with the results obtained. Some preliminary results of video measurements performed with a specific metal rattleback and meant to visualize its motion are reported. Attempts to compare the results with predictions based on the numerical model of the situation are undertaken. The advantages and disadvantages of the measurement system are presented and discussed.
Comparing AI and student responses on variations of questions through the lens of sensemaking and mechanistic reasoning
Authors: Zollman D , Sirnoorkar A , Laverty J
Published: January 2024

Physics education research (PER) shares a rich tradition of designing learning environments that promote valued epistemic practices such as sensemaking and mechanistic reasoning. Recent technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence has caught significant traction in the PER community due to its human-like, sophisticated responses to physics tasks. In this study, we contribute to the ongoing efforts by comparing AI (ChatGPT) and student responses to a physics task through the cognitive frameworks of sensemaking and mechanistic reasoning. Findings highlight that by virtue of its training data set, ChatGPT’s response provide evidence of mechanistic reasoning and mimics the vocabulary of experts in its responses. On the other hand, half of students’ responses evidenced sensemaking and reflected an effective amalgamation of diagram-based and mathematical reasoning, showcasing a comprehensive problem-solving approach. Thus, while AI responses elegantly reflected how physics is talked about, a part of students’ responses reflected how physics is practiced. In a second part of the study, we presented ChatGPT with variations of the task, including an open-ended version and one with significant scaffolding. We observed significant differences in conclusions and use of representations in solving the problems across both student groups and the task formats.
Safe by process design (SbPD) strategies based on proper measures to mitigate nanoparticle exposure in industrial settings
Authors: Fito-López Carlos , Salvador Hermosilla Jorge , Vela Vela Veronica , Barbero Colmenar Elena , Andreu Sánchez Oscar
Published: January 2024

Due to its potential to develop new added value products, a staggering number of nanoparticles (NPs) is already available on the market. Moreover, this increase is expected to continue in the future. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the level of exposure to nanoparticles, and the information related to possible adverse health effects is scarce. Furthermore, there is very little studies concerning the effect of risk management measures (RMMs) on the levels of exposure to nanoparticles at workplaces, compared to the number of exposure situations that can be distinguished.

This study focuses on 5 case studies covering different types of materials, assessing the effectiveness of targeted mitigation strategies applied during the production process. Customized mitigation measures were applied in each industrial scenario to minimize exposure levels. The effects on the particle concentration levels using source enclosure, partial or full, combined with local exhaust ventilation systems (LEVs), was evaluated to generate new knowledge to support the definition of informed safe by process design approaches when dealing with NPs. This study demonstrates that technological advancements can significantly reduce work-related exposures. The findings underscore the importance of tailored mitigation measures due to the diverse range of potential sources and activities in industrial scenarios.
The role of decellularized cell derived extracellular matrix in the establishment and culture of in vitro breast cancer tumor model
Authors: Tevlek Atakan
Published: January 2024

Decades of research have shown that two-dimensional cell culture studies are insufficient for preclinical cancer diagnosis and treatment, and that cancer cells in three-dimensional (3D) culture systems have better cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions, gene expression, heterogeneity, and structural complexity that more closely resemble in vivo tumors. Researchers are still optimizing 3D culturing settings for different cancers. Despite promising tumor spheroid research, tumor cell-only aggregates lack the tumor microenvironment and cannot model tumors. Here, MCF-7 breast cancer cell derived decellularized extracellular matrix (CD-dECMs) were obtained and converted into autologous, biologically active, biocompatible, and non-immunogenic hydrogels to be used as micro-environment in both organoid formation and culture. For the production of organoids, CD-dECM doping concentrations ranging from 0.1 mg ml−1 to 1.5 mg ml−1 were evaluated, and the lowest concentration was found to be the most effective. For organoid culture, 8 mg ml−1 CD-dECM, 4 mg ml−1 rat tendon collagen type I (Col I) (4 mg ml−1) and a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of these two were used and the most viable and the biggest organoids were discovered in CD-dECM/Col I (1:1) group. The results show that autologous CD-dECM can replace hydrogels in tumor organoid generation and culture at low and high concentrations, respectively.
Society’s material stocks as carbon pool: an economy-wide quantification of global carbon stocks from 1900–2015
Authors: Kaufmann Lisa , Wiedenhofer Dominik , Cao Zhi , Theurl Michaela Clarissa , Lauk Christian , Baumgart André , Gingrich Simone , Haberl Helmut
Published: January 2024

Societal activities massively alter the global carbon (C) cycle, thereby driving global climate heating. Socioeconomic material stocks - e.g. in buildings and infrastructures - have been identified as a C pool that can potentially store increasing amounts of C, thereby keeping C away from the atmosphere. However, little is known about the size, composition, distribution and development of global socioeconomic C stocks. Based on an established economy-wide C accounting approach from sociometabolic research, we consistently and comprehensively quantified the C contained in eight components of socioeconomic stocks in the period 1900–2015 at the level of nine world regions. We discern inert (aggregates and other gravel) and ‘active’ climate-relevant (i.e. biomass and fossil-fuel based) C pools. We find that global active components of socioeconomic C stocks grew by a factor of 9, from 1.9 (1.5–2.2) Pg of carbon (PgC) to 16.8 (13.7–20.2) PgC. The inert socioeconomic C stock in aggregates & other gravel amounted to 25.2 (6.1–48.0) PgC in 2015, however with high uncertainties. Absolute annual net additions to stock (NAS) of active stock components was 0.49 (0.40–0.59) PgC yr−1 which equaled 5% of the C emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes. However, raising NAS of components with biomass feedstock that sequester C from the atmosphere comes with biodiversity and food security trade-offs. This study contributes to a holistic perspective on social and natural C stocks that acknowledges their interactions. The global socioeconomic C stock reached a geologically relevant extent (approximately the size of C in coasts) and should therefore be integrated in the assessments of the global C cycle to acknowledge the Anthropocene.
Mobility, response and transport in non-equilibrium coarse-grained models
Authors: Jung Gerhard
Published: January 2024

We investigate two different types of non-Markovian coarse-grained models extracted from a linear, non-equilibrium microscopic system, featuring a tagged particle coupled to underdamped oscillators. The first model is obtained by analytically ‘integrating out’ the oscillators and the second is based on a derivation using projection operator techniques. We observe that these two models behave very differently when the tagged particle is exposed to external harmonic potentials or pulling forces. Most importantly, we find that the analytic model has a well defined friction kernel and can be used to extract work, consistent with the microscopic system, while the projection model corresponds to an effective equilibrium model, which cannot be used to extract work. We apply the analysis to two popular non-equilibrium systems, time-delay feedback control and the active Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. Finally, we highlight that our study could have important consequences for dynamic coarse-graining of non-equilibrium systems going far beyond the linear systems investigated in this manuscript.
Synergetic effect of oleophilic textured surfaces and MoS2 on the tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy under dry and lubricated sliding conditions
Authors: Narayana Turali , Saleem Sheikh Shahid
Published: January 2024

In the present work, surface modification of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was carried out using Laser surface texturing (LST). The investigation aims to explore the synergetic impact of LST and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), as a solid lubricant, on the tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Three types of LST textures (Circular, triangular, and square textures) were created on the Ti6Al4V alloy. Subsequently, tribological tests were conducted on a universal tribometer (ball-on-disc), at a load of 20 N with a frequency of 15 Hz. The worn surface was analyzed using various methods, including optical microscopy, 3D-profilometer, FESEM, EDAX analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The study compared the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear behavior of un-textured surfaces (UTS) with those of textured surfaces (TS) under both dry sliding conditions (DSC) and lubricated sliding conditions (LSC). The results demonstrated a significant reduction in the COF and wear coefficients on the TS. Specifically, the circular texture exhibited significant results with a 10.30%, 10.42%, and 28.80% decrease in COF and a remarkable reduction of 39.22%, 47.51%, and 77.90% in wear coefficients compared to the UTS tested under DSC and LSC (using PAO-4 and PAO-4 + 1% wt MoS2). Severe abrasion, adhesion, and delamination as the primary wear mechanisms were observed on the UTS and TS under DSC, while the LSC was characterized by mild adhesive and delamination wear on the UTS and TS. The carbon layer formation and concentration of Mo and S particles resulted in lower friction and wear coefficients for the UTS, and TS under LSC (PAO-4 + 1% wt MoS2). The analysis indicated that the use of LST and solid lubricant nanoparticles on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy would result in improved service life and better endurance in cutting tools and tribo-mating parts.
Thermal activation and mechanical properties of high alumina coal gangue as auxiliary cementitious admixture
Authors: Zhang Mingjun , Li Liang , Yang Fan , Zhang Shigang , Zhang He , An Jian
Published: January 2024

In order to use high alumina coal gangue as auxiliary cementitious admixture via a simple and convenient thermal activation technique, the thermal transformation, mineral phase transformation and structure changes of coal gangue at calcining temperatures of 500–1000 °C were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal Analysis (DTA), thermogravimetry (TG), infrared analysis (IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mechanical properties of cement mortar with 30% coal gangue auxiliary cementitious admixture were also measured to determine the optimal calcining temperature. As calcining temperature was increased, the coal gangue experienced the following transformations: carbon combustion, dehydroxylation, metakaolin transformation and mullite transformation. The cement mortar with coal gangue auxiliary cementitious admixture calcined at 700 °C presented the highest 28-d flexural and compressive strength, increasing by 8.27% and 11.85% respectively as compared with the benchmark cement mortar. The maximum dosage of coal gangue auxiliary cementitious admixture in cement mortar was further identified to be less than 30% by mechanical properties testing. The activity of high alumina coal gangues at different calcining temperatures was explained from the view points of hydration degree and products. The present investigation can provide a useful reference to utilize high alumina coal gangue as auxiliary cementitious admixture by means of a simple thermal activation at 700 °C.
Explainable attention-based fused convolutional neural network (XAFCNN) for tire defect detection: an industrial case study
Authors: Saleh Radhwan A. A. , Metin ERTUNÇ H
Published: January 2024

Ensuring tire quality is crucial in the manufacturing industry, particularly for race cars, where defective tires present a significant safety risk. Visual inspection for defects in tires is crucial; however, identifying defects in complex, textured tires has been proven to be a challenging task. This paper tackles this challenge by introducing XAFCNN, an Explainable Attention-based Fused Convolutional Neural Network for tire defect detection. XAFCNN’s novel architecture, including a Special Attention Module (SAM) and custom CNN structure, coupled with Grad-CAM visualization, prevents overfitting, enhances local feature mapping, enables detection of small defects, and proffers valuable insights into the model’s reasoning, enabling confident interpretation of its predictions. The model was trained on a dataset from a leading global tire manufacturer, including 38,710 x-ray images of defective tires and 83,985 defect-free tire images, covering 15 defect types and 50 design patterns. The results demonstrate the model’s exceptional performance compared to literature, achieving a recall rate of 86.85%, a precision of 98.5%, an F1 score of 92.31%, and an overall accuracy of 95.40%. This research, with its substantial dataset and high-performing model, advances automated tire defect detection, satisfying the industry’s need for accurate and reliable inspections, ultimately enhancing human safety.
Enhancing person re-identification on RGB-D data with noise free pose-regularized color and skeleton distance features
Authors: Bilakeri Shavantrevva , Kotegar Karunakar A
Published: January 2024

Noisy features may introduce irrelevant or incorrect features that can lead to incorrect classifications and lower accuracy. This can be especially problematic in tasks such as person re-identification (ReID), where subtle differences between individuals need to be accurately captured and distinguished. However, the existing ReID methods directly use noisy and limited multimodality features for similarity measures. It is crucial to use robust features and pre-processing techniques to reduce the effects of noise and ensure accurate classification. As a solution, we employ a Gaussian filter to eliminate the Gaussian noise from RGB-D data in the pre-processing stage. For similarity measure, the color descriptors are computed using the top eight peaks of the 2D histogram constructed from pose regularized partition grid cells, and eleven different skeleton distances are considered. The proposed method is evaluated on the BIWI RGBD-ID dataset, which comprises still (front view images) and walking set (images with varied pose and viewpoint) images. The obtained recognition rates of 99.15% and 94% on still and walking set images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for the ReID task in the presence of pose and viewpoint variations. Further, the method is evaluated on and RGBD-ID and achieved improved performance over the existing techniques.
Exploiting deep learning accelerators for neuromorphic workloads
Authors: Sun Pao-Sheng Vincent , Titterton Alexander , Gopiani Anjlee , Santos Tim , Basu Arindam , Lu Wei D , Eshraghian Jason K
Published: January 2024

Spiking neural networks (SNNs) have achieved orders of magnitude improvement in terms of energy consumption and latency when performing inference with deep learning workloads. Error backpropagation is presently regarded as the most effective method for training SNNs, but in a twist of irony, when training on modern graphics processing units this becomes more expensive than non-spiking networks. The emergence of Graphcore’s intelligence processing units (IPUs) balances the parallelized nature of deep learning workloads with the sequential, reusable, and sparsified nature of operations prevalent when training SNNs. IPUs adopt multi-instruction multi-data parallelism by running individual processing threads on smaller data blocks, which is a natural fit for the sequential, non-vectorized steps required to solve spiking neuron dynamical state equations. We present an IPU-optimized release of our custom SNN Python package, snnTorch, which exploits fine-grained parallelism by utilizing low-level, pre-compiled custom operations to accelerate irregular and sparse data access patterns that are characteristic of training SNN workloads. We provide a rigorous performance assessment across a suite of commonly used spiking neuron models, and propose methods to further reduce training run-time via half-precision training. By amortizing the cost of sequential processing into vectorizable population codes, we ultimately demonstrate the potential for integrating domain-specific accelerators with the next generation of neural networks.
A framework for informing context-sensitive sustainable management of organic waste in rural agricultural regions
Authors: Zaki Mohammed T , Wilson Matthew E , Yates Jarred , Orner Kevin D
Published: January 2024

Resource recovery can provide opportunities to mitigate the negative impacts of conventional organic waste management such as landfilling to the environment, economy, and society in rural agricultural regions. However, region-specific assessment of such opportunities can be challenging due to lack of data, limited economic resources, and inadequate policy support to meet community needs. Therefore, we developed a framework utilizing open-source data and methods informed by community engagement to assist stakeholders in rural agricultural regions in considering strategies to recover resources from organic waste. The framework was applied in Hardy County (one of the largest agricultural regions in rural West Virginia) to compare the sustainability of current management practices (landfilling of sewage sludge and organic municipal solid waste such as food and yard waste, land application of sewage sludge and poultry litter, and transportation of poultry litter out of watershed) with different anaerobic digestion scenarios. The results indicated that co-digesting alum-treated poultry litter with organic municipal solid waste and sewage sludge would result in the most sustainable organic waste management under stakeholder-preferred weighting of environmental (global warming and eutrophication potential), economic (annual worth), and social (potential to benefit vulnerable households) factors. Interestingly, the current management practices received the second-highest score. The results were further utilized to develop recommendations for relevant policies related to nutrient management and decarbonization. Overall, the framework can be a useful tool for rural agricultural regions to promote sustainable organic waste management.
The Underlying Structure of Preventive Behaviors and Related Factors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Network Analysis
Authors: Liang Yan , Zhu Qianqian , Yang Yuqi , Gu Xiaoqing , Yan Yuge , Gu Jie , Huang Jiaoling
Published: January 2024

Background

Various strategies against COVID-19 have been adopted in different countries, with vaccination and mask-wearing being widely used as self-preventive interventions. However, the underlying structure of these behaviors and related factors remain unclear.

Purpose

In this study, we aimed to explore the network structure of preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and their underlying factors, incorporating age and sex in the network.

Methods

We used a multi-center sample of 20,863 adults who were vaccinated against COVID-19 in China between April 1, 2021, and June 1, 2021. Networks were estimated using unregularized partial correlation models. We also estimated the accuracy and stability of the network.

Results

The preventive behaviors related to network factors revealed that self-initiated vaccination was more connected with cognition factors, and mask-wearing was more connected with personal profiles. The two clusters were linked through information-seeking and political beliefs. Moreover, self-initiated vaccination was negatively connected with vaccine hesitancy and concerns about COVID-19 vaccines and positively connected with trust in the vaccines, pandemic-related altruism, political beliefs, and being married. Mask-wearing was negatively connected with being a professional/white collar worker and higher education level and positively connected with regular physical examination, self-rated health, migration, being married, and better family relationships. Incorporation of age and sex into the network revealed relevant associations between age and mask-wearing and age and self-initiated vaccination. The network was highly accurately estimated. The subset bootstrap showed that the order of node strength centrality, betweenness, and closeness were all stable. The correlation stability coefficient (CS-coefficient) also showed the stability of this estimate, with 0.75 for node strength, 0.75 for betweenness, and 0.67 for closeness.

Conclusions

The internal structures of vaccination and mask-wearing behaviors were quite different, the latter of which were mainly affected by socioeconomic status and health-related behaviors and the former by knowledge about vaccines and political beliefs. Information-seeking and family relationships were the bridge factors connecting these two self-preventive behavior clusters, suggesting the direction of future efforts.
Principal stratification analysis of noncompliance with time-to-event outcomes
Authors: Liu Bo , Wruck Lisa , Li Fan
Published: January 2024

Post-randomization events, also known as intercurrent events, such as treatment noncompliance and censoring due to a terminal event, are common in clinical trials. Principal stratification is a framework for causal inference in the presence of intercurrent events. The existing literature on principal stratification lacks generally applicable and accessible methods for time-to-event outcomes. In this paper, we focus on the noncompliance setting. We specify 2 causal estimands for time-to-event outcomes in principal stratification and provide a nonparametric identification formula. For estimation, we adopt the latent mixture modeling approach and illustrate the general strategy with a mixture of Bayesian parametric Weibull-Cox proportional hazards model for the outcome. We utilize the Stan programming language to obtain automatic posterior sampling of the model parameters. We provide analytical forms of the causal estimands as functions of the model parameters and an alternative numerical method when analytical forms are not available. We apply the proposed method to the ADAPTABLE (Aspirin Dosing: A Patient-Centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-Term Effectiveness) trial to evaluate the causal effect of taking 81 versus 325 mg aspirin on the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. We develop the corresponding R package PStrata.
Immunoproteasome deficiency results in age-dependent development of epilepsy
Authors: Leister Hanna , Krause Felix F , Gil Beatriz , Prus Ruslan , Prus Inna , Hellhund-Zingel Anne , Mitra Meghma , Da Rosa Gerbatin Rogerio , Delanty Norman , Beausang Alan , Brett Francesca M , Farrell Michael A , Cryan Jane , O’Brien Donncha F , Henshall David C , Helmprobst Frederik , Pagenstecher Axel , Steinhoff Ulrich , Visekruna Alexander , Engel Tobias
Published: January 2024

The immunoproteasome is a central protease complex required for optimal antigen presentation. Immunoproteasome activity is also associated with facilitating the degradation of misfolded and oxidized proteins, which prevents cellular stress. While extensively studied during diseases with increasing evidence suggesting a role for the immunoproteasome during pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases, this enzyme complex is believed to be mainly not expressed in the healthy brain. In this study, we show an age-dependent increase in polyubiquitination in the brains of wild-type mice, accompanied by an induction of immunoproteasomes, which was most prominent in neurons and microglia. In contrast, mice completely lacking immunoproteasomes (triple-knockout mice), displayed a strong increase in polyubiquitinated proteins already in the young brain and developed spontaneous epileptic seizures, beginning at the age of 6 months. Injections of kainic acid led to high epilepsy-related mortality of aged triple-knockout mice, confirming increased pathological hyperexcitability states. Notably, the expression of the immunoproteasome was reduced in the brains of patients suffering from epilepsy. In addition, the aged triple-knockout mice showed increased anxiety, tau hyperphosphorylation and degeneration of Purkinje cell population with the resulting ataxic symptoms and locomotion alterations. Collectively, our study suggests a critical role for the immunoproteasome in the maintenance of a healthy brain during ageing.
Interhemispheric imbalance and bradykinesia features in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Paparella Giulia , De Riggi Martina , Cannavacciuolo Antonio , Costa Davide , Birreci Daniele , Passaretti Massimiliano , Angelini Luca , Colella Donato , Guerra Andrea , Berardelli Alfredo , Bologna Matteo
Published: January 2024

In patients with Parkinson’s disease, the connectivity between the two primary motor cortices may be altered. However, the correlation between asymmetries of abnormal interhemispheric connections and bradykinesia features has not been investigated. Furthermore, the potential effects of dopaminergic medications on this issue remain largely unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate the interhemispheric connections in Parkinson’s disease by transcranial magnetic stimulation and explore the potential relationship between interhemispheric inhibition and bradykinesia feature asymmetry in patients. Additionally, we examined the impact of dopaminergic therapy on neurophysiological and motor characteristics. Short- and long-latency interhemispheric inhibition was measured in 18 Parkinson’s disease patients and 18 healthy controls, bilaterally. We also assessed the corticospinal and intracortical excitability of both primary motor cortices. We conducted an objective analysis of finger-tapping from both hands. Correlation analyses were performed to explore potential relationships among clinical, transcranial magnetic stimulation and kinematic data in patients. We found that short- and long-latency interhemispheric inhibition was reduced (less inhibition) from both hemispheres in patients than controls. Compared to controls, finger-tapping movements in patients were slower, more irregular, of smaller amplitudes and characterized by a progressive amplitude reduction during movement repetition (sequence effect). Among Parkinson’s disease patients, the degree of short-latency interhemispheric inhibition imbalance towards the less affected primary motor cortex correlated with the global clinical motor scores, as well as with the sequence effect on the most affected hand. The greater the interhemispheric inhibition imbalance towards the less affected hemisphere (i.e. less inhibition from the less to the most affected primary motor cortex than that measured from the most to the less affected primary motor cortex), the more severe the bradykinesia in patients. In conclusion, the inhibitory connections between the two primary motor cortices in Parkinson’s disease are reduced. The interhemispheric disinhibition of the primary motor cortex may have a role in the pathophysiology of specific bradykinesia features in patients, i.e. the sequence effect.
Theoretical study on molecular charge populations of 1D π-stacked multimers in neutral and electron oxidation states
Authors: Yoshida Wataru , Shigeta Yasuteru , Matsui Hiroshi , Miyamoto Hajime , Kishi Ryohei , Kitagawa Yasutaka
Published: January 2024

We theoretically investigated molecular charge populations of 1D π-stacked multimers consisting of π-conjugated molecules in the neutral and electron oxidation states based on the valence-bond (VB) theory. Qualitative analysis for a π-stacked trimer model based on the VB mixing diagram suggested that the inner monomer site tends to be more positively charged than the outer sites in the monocationic π-stacked trimer. Spatial expansion of each molecular site orbital toward the stacking direction is predicted to enhance the difference of positive charge populations between the inner and outer monomers. In contrast, an opposite tendency for the site charges was expected in the dicationic π-stacked trimer, primarily due to the hole–hole Coulomb repulsions. To generalize the results of the trimer to π-stacked N-mers, 1D N-site VB configuration interaction models were constructed considering the orbital expansion effects between the sites. We examined how the number of monomers (N), stacking distance (R), and characteristic orbital exponent for the monomers (ζ) affected the molecular charge populations in the monocationic and dicationic π-stacked N-mers through the parameters χij characterizing the orbital expansion effect. The results are expected to help establish design strategies for novel electronic functional materials based on discrete stacks of π-conjugated molecules.
A General Blockchain-Based Automatic Audit Scheme For Proofs Of Retrievability
Authors: Chen Xiuyuan , Lin Chao , Wu Wei , He Debiao
Published: January 2024

Cloud storage has been widely used in remote data management, although correct storage of the outsourced file is still challenging in practice. Proofs of Retrievability (PoRs), a storage-oriented cryptographic tool, support integrity checking and efficient retrieval of the file. However, due to the lack of a fully credible oversight mechanism or a serious dependence on a trusted third party, most PoRs are incapable of achieving essential and straightforward trust between participants (i.e. the client and server). While blockchain shows promise in solving this trust issue, existing blockchain-based storage systems are scenario-constrained as they require private/permissioned or special-construct blockchains. Consequently, none of these systems provide robust and decentralized trustworthiness. We propose a general Blockchain-based Automatic Audit (BAA) scheme for PoR without limitations based on specific blockchain types. Specifically, we present BAA via stitching together a carefully designed or chosen array of sub-components such as storage proofs and Turing-complete smart contracts. We also integrate BAA with specific PoR models to prove its strong generality and availability. To our best knowledge, our proposal is the first blockchain-based approach that enhances traditional PoR models with both automatic audit and fair payment. The final analysis and implemented prototype on Ethereum demonstrate the utility of BAA.
Validation of an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of corticosterone metabolites from northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) feces
Authors: Leach Jeremiah , Suber Hannah N , Conley Katelyn , Rivera Regan , Surles James , Hames Benjamin , Kendall Ronald J
Published: January 2024

Interest in the effects of stressors on wildlife has grown substantially over the past few decades. As this interest has grown, so has the need for minimally invasive and reliable methods for estimating differences in the levels of stress hormones. An enzyme immunoassay using standardized methods was validated for detecting concentrations of corticosterone (cort) metabolites from northern bobwhite fecal samples. Two physiological challenges and one biological challenge were applied to 18 northern bobwhites (nine males and nine females), and the fecal cort metabolite concentrations were compared to baseline levels. The interactions of sex and treatment, treatment and time and sex and time were all significant. Thus, the methods and tools used here were sensitive enough to detect expected changes to the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis of northern bobwhite.
The habitat quality paradox: loss of riparian forest cover leads to decreased risk of parasitism and improved body condition in an imperiled amphibian
Authors: Bodinof Jachowski Catherine M , Alaasam Valentina , Blumenthal Arden , Davis Andrew K , Hopkins William A
Published: January 2024

Amphibian declines are a global phenomenon but responses of populations to specific threats are often context dependent and mediated by individual physiological condition. Habitat degradation due to reduced riparian forest cover and parasitism are two threats facing the hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), but their potential to interact in nature remains largely unexplored. We investigated associations between forest cover, parasitic infection and physiology of hellbenders to test the hypotheses that physiological condition responds to infection and/or habitat degradation. We sampled 17 stream reaches in southwest Virginia, USA, on a year-round basis from 2013 to 2016 and recorded 841 captures of 405 unique hellbenders. At each capture we documented prevalence of two blood-associated parasites (a leech and trypanosome) and quantified up to three physiological condition indices (body condition, hematocrit, white blood cell [WBC] differentials). We used generalized linear mixed models to describe spatiotemporal variation in parasitic infection and each condition index. In general, living in the most heavily forested stream reaches, where hellbender density was highest, was associated with the greatest risk of parasitism, elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (N:L) ratios and eosinophils, slightly lower hematocrit and lower mean body condition in hellbenders. All condition indices fluctuated temporally in a manner consistent with seasonal variation in hellbender metabolic demands and breeding phenology and were associated with land use during at least part of the year. Paradoxically, relatively low levels of forest cover appeared to confer a potential advantage to individuals in the form of release from parasites and improved body condition. Despite improved body condition, individuals from less forested areas failed to exhibit fluctuating body condition in response to spawning, which was typical in hellbenders from more forested habitats. We postulate this lack of fluctuation could be due to reduced conspecific competition or reproductive investment and/or high rates of filial cannibalism in response to declining forest cover.
Bat cellular immunity varies by year and dietary habit amidst land conversion
Authors: DeAnglis Isabella K , Andrews Benjamin R , Lock Lauren R , Dyer Kristin E , Yang Anni , Volokhov Dmitriy V , Fenton M Brock , Simmons Nancy B , Downs Cynthia J , Becker Daniel J
Published: January 2024

Monitoring the health of wildlife populations is essential in the face of increased agricultural expansion and forest fragmentation. Loss of habitat and habitat degradation can negatively affect an animal’s physiological state, possibly resulting in immunosuppression and increased morbidity or mortality. We sought to determine how land conversion may differentially impact cellular immunity and infection risk in Neotropical bats species regularly infected with bloodborne pathogens, and to evaluate how effects may vary over time and by dietary habit. We studied common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus), northern yellow-shouldered bats (Sturnira parvidens) and Mesoamerican mustached bats (Pteronotus mesoamericanus), representing the dietary habits of sanguivory, frugivory and insectivory respectively, in northern Belize. We compared estimated total white blood cell count, leukocyte differentials, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and infection status with two bloodborne bacterial pathogens (Bartonella spp. and hemoplasmas) of 118 bats captured in a broadleaf, secondary forest over three years (2017–2019). During this period, tree cover decreased by 14.5% while rangeland expanded by 14.3%, indicating increasing habitat loss and fragmentation. We found evidence for bat species-specific responses of cellular immunity between years, with neutrophil counts significantly decreasing in S. parvidens from 2017 to 2018, but marginally increasing in D. rotundus. However, the odds of infection with Bartonella spp. and hemoplasmas between 2017 and 2019 did not differ between bat species, contrary to our prediction that pathogen prevalence may increase with land conversion. We conclude that each bat species invested differently in cellular immunity in ways that changed over years of increasing habitat loss and fragmentation. We recommend further research on the interactions between land conversion, immunity and infection across dietary habits of Neotropical bats for informed management and conservation.
Capture and discard practises associated with an ornamental fishery affect the metabolic rate and aerobic capacity of three-striped dwarf cichlids Apistogramma trifasciata
Authors: Ojelade Oluwaseun , Storm Zoe , Fu Cheng , Cortese Daphne , Munson Amelia , Boulamail Sarah , Pineda Mar , Kochhann Daiani , Killen Shaun
Published: January 2024

Fishing causes direct removal of individuals from wild populations but can also cause a physiological disturbance in fish that are released or discarded after capture. While sublethal physiological effects of fish capture have been well studied in commercial and recreational fisheries, this issue has been overlooked for the ornamental fish trade, where it is common to capture fish from the wild and discard non-target species. We examined metabolic responses to capture and discard procedures in the three-striped dwarf cichlid Apistogramma trifasciata, a popular Amazonian aquarium species that nonetheless may be discarded when not a target species. Individuals (n = 34) were tagged and exposed to each of four treatments designed to simulate procedures during the capture and discard process: 1) a non-handling control; 2) netting; 3) netting +30 seconds of air exposure; and 4) netting +60 seconds of air exposure. Metabolic rates were estimated using intermittent-flow respirometry, immediately following each treatment then throughout recovery overnight. Increasing amounts of netting and air exposure caused an acute increase in oxygen uptake and decrease in available aerobic scope. In general, recovery occurred quickly, with rapid decreases in oxygen uptake within the first 30 minutes post-handling. Notably, however, male fish exposed to netting +60 seconds of air exposure showed a delayed response whereby available aerobic scope was constrained <75% of maximum until ~4–6 hours post-stress. Larger fish showed a greater initial increase in oxygen uptake post-stress and slower rates of recovery. The results suggest that in the period following discard, this species may experience a reduced aerobic capacity for additional behavioural/physiological responses including feeding, territory defence and predator avoidance. These results are among the first to examine impacts of discard practises in the ornamental fishery and suggest ecophysiological research can provide valuable insight towards increasing sustainable practises in this global trade.
Can we predict the risk of esophageal stricture after caustic injury?
Authors: Zerbib Philippe , Lailheugue Aurore , Labreuche Julien , Richa Yasmina , Cailliau Emeline , Onimus Thierry , Valibouze Caroline
Published: January 2024

Nonoperative management of severe caustic injuries has demonstrated its feasibility, avoiding the need for emergency esogastric resection and resulting in low mortality rates. However, leaving superficial necrosis in place could increase the risk of esophageal stricture development. Data on the risk factors of esophageal stricture secondary to caustic ingestion are scarce. The aim of our study was to identify the risk factors for esophageal strictures after caustic ingestion at admission. From February 2015 to March 2021, all consecutive patients with esophageal or gastric caustic injury score ≥ II according to the Zargar classification were retrospectively analyzed. For each patient, we collected over 50 criteria at admission to the emergency room and then selected among them 20 criteria with the best clinical relevance and limited missing data for risk factor analyses. Among the 184 patients included in this study, 37 developed esophageal strictures (cumulative rate 29.4%). All esophageal strictures occurred within 3 months. In multivariate analyses, the risk factors for esophageal strictures were voluntary ingestion (cause-specific hazard ratio 5.92; 95% confidence interval 1.76–19.95, P = 0.004), Zargar’s esophageal score ≥ III (cause-specific hazard ratio 14.30; 95% confidence interval 6.07–33.67, P < 0.001), and severe ear, nose, and throat lesions (cause-specific hazard ratio 2.15; 95% confidence interval 1.09–4.22, P = 0.027). Intentional ingestion, severe endoscopic grade, and severe ENT lesions were identified as risk factors for esophageal stricture following caustic ingestion. Preventive measures for this population require further evaluation.
Medical management of painful achalasia: a patient-driven systematic review
Authors: Bramer Solange , Ladell Amanda , Glatzel Hannah , Moss Alan , Hashemi Majid , Zaninotto Giovanni , Antonowicz Stefan
Published: January 2024

Achalasia is a rare esophageal disorder characterized by abnormal esophageal motility and swallowing difficulties. Pain and/or spasms often persist or recur despite effective relief of the obstruction. A survey by UK charity ‘Achalasia Action’ highlighted treatments for achalasia pain/spasms as a key research priority. In this patient-requested systematic review, we assessed the existing literature on pharmacological therapies for painful achalasia. A systematic review of the literature using Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases was performed to identify studies evaluating pharmacological therapies for achalasia. Methodological quality of included randomized controlled trials was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. In total, 70% (40/57) of survey respondents reported experiencing pain/spasms. A range of management strategies were reported. Thirteen studies were included in the review. Seven were randomized controlled trials. Most studies were >30 years old, had limited follow-up, and focussed on esophageal manometry as the key endpoint. Generally, studies found improvements in lower esophageal pressures with medications. Only one study evaluated pain/spasm specifically, precluding meta-analysis. Overall risk of bias was high. The achalasia patient survey identified that pain/spasms are common and difficult to treat. This patient-requested review identified a gap in the literature regarding pharmacological treatments for these symptoms. We provide an algorithm for investigating achalasia-related pain/spasms. Calcium channel blockers or nitrates may be helpful when esophageal obstruction and reflux have been excluded. We advocate for registry-based clinical trials to expand the evidence base for these patients.