bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Umgang mit gesellschaftlichen Krisen im Schulalltag
Authors: Asbrand Julia , Peter Felix , Calvano Claudia , Dohm Lea
Published: February 2024

In Zeiten von multiplen Krisen wie der Klima- und Biodiversitätskrise, dem Angriffskrieg Russlands gegen die Ukraine, den Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie, Inflation und Energiekrise berichten Kinder und Jugendliche eine deutliche höhere psychische Belastung. Mit Blick auf die Schule kommt ein stark beanspruchtes Bildungssystem mit eklatantem Personalmangel hinzu. Die neue, krisenhafte und unsichere Normalität trifft auf die Schule, die sowohl als bedeutende gesellschaftliche Einrichtung als auch als konkreter sozialer Ort damit umgehen muss.
Das Buch beleuchtet, was gesellschaftliche Krisen sind und wie sie auf die Schule und die Personen in der Schule einwirken. Es wird ein individuelles Stressmodell vorgestellt und daraus mögliche Bewältigungs- und Handlungsstrategien für Lehrkräfte, Schüler*innen und andere Beteiligte abgeleitet. Das Thema Resilienz steht im Fokus, um Schüler*innen, Lehrkräfte sowie auch die Schulen als System langfristig krisenfester zu machen; denn gerade mit Blick auf die großen sozial-ökologischen Krisen kommt für den Schulalltag die Herausforderung hinzu, Prävention und Verarbeitung der bestehenden Belastungen angemessen zu priorisieren. Schließlich ist ein weiteres Kapitel der Gesundheit der Lehrkräfte gewidmet, die Schüler*innen im Schulalltag als Vorbild dienen, sie begleiten und anleiten.
Mit konkreten Handlungsempfehlungen und Ideen für eine resilientere Zukunft werden die Leser*innen zum Anwenden und Weiterdenken eingeladen.
Marine Aluminum Phosphate–Sulfate Authigenesis as a Phosphorus Sink During Mid‐Proterozoic Oxygenation
Authors: Xie Baozeng , Lechte Maxwell , Shi Xiaoying , Wang Xi , Zhou Limin , Zhou Xiqiang , Huang Kang‐Jun , Wang Zhenfei , Wang Xinqiang , Tang Dongjie
Published: February 2024

Enhanced continental phosphorus input into the ocean has been suggested as a potential trigger for the transient oxygenation events during the mid‐Proterozoic; however, the response of phosphorus cycling to these marine oxygenations remains unclear. Here, we report the changes in phosphorus cycling associated with a ∼1.7 Ga transient oxygenation. Abundant authigenic aluminum phosphate–sulfate mineral svanbergite (SrAl3(PO4) (SO4) (OH)6; 8.02 ± 4.92 wt%) is identified within the ∼1.7 Ga Yunmengshan ironstones from the Xiong'er Basin, North China and other contemporaneous basins. This observation provides new evidence to support the suggestion that early diagenetic aluminum phosphate‐sulfate minerals could have represented a critical sink of marine phosphorus during the Proterozoic. We suggest that atmospheric oxygenation and concomitant changes in porewater redox chemistry may have enhanced the formation of early diagenetic phosphates, leading to a negative feedback on the oceanic phosphorus reservoir and atmospheric oxygen levels.
Tracking Lightning Through 3D Thunder Source Location With Distributed Acoustic Sensing
Authors: Hong Heting , Wang Baoshan , Lu Gaopeng , Li Xiao , Ge Qishuai , Xie Ao , Wu Yue , Qiu Xuexing , Chen Jian
Published: February 2024

Investigating lightning is of key significance in understanding the lightning mechanism and mitigating lightning hazards. We reported an experiment of investigating lightning through three‐dimensional (3D) thunder locating using a Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) array in Hefei, China. In this experiment, we recast a 7.7 km long urban telecom optical fiber cable as 3,850 sensors using the DAS technique. From dense DAS recording, we manually identified 101 thunder events during six positive cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning flashes within 20 min. The DAS recorded thunder signals are dominated by direct acoustic waves rather than air‐ground coupled surface waves. The thunder events were then located using the arrival times of thunder signals. The locations and amplitudes of thunder events are generally consistent with those from the conventional lightning detection data set and broadband magnetic field. There is likely a correlation between the maximum strength of thunder events and the highest peak current for individual CG flashes. Moreover, the comparison with weather radar observations indicates that lightning usually originated from areas of high reflectivity (e.g., ≥50dBz) with diffusely distributed (from ground surface to ∼5 km altitude) thunder events and extended in a narrow altitude range of 3–5 km to areas with low radar reflectivity.
New Method for Determining Azimuths of ELF Signals Associated With the Global Thunderstorm Activity and the Hunga Tonga Volcano Eruption
Authors: Kubisz J. , Gołkowski M. , Mlynarczyk J. , Ostrowski M. , Michalec A.
Published: February 2024

A new method is proposed for deriving extremely low frequency (ELF) wave arrival azimuths using the wide range of signal amplitudes, contrary to previously applied high amplitude impulses only. The method is applied to observations from our new magnetic sensor in the Hylaty station with an 18 bit dynamic range and a 3 kHz sampling frequency. We analyzed a day of 15 January 2022, to test the procedure against the ability to extract ELF signals generated during the Hunga Tonga volcano eruption. With complementary filtering of power line 50 Hz signatures, precise azimuth information can be extracted for waves from a multitude of thunderstorms on Earth varying during the day at different azimuths. A phenomenon of successive regular variation—decay or activation—of thunderstorms activity with varying azimuth is observed, possibly due to passing over the solar (day/night) terminator, and signatures of azimuth direction change during this passage can be noted. We also show that the erupting Hunga Tonga volcano associated impulses dispersed due to a long propagation path are clearly revealed in the azimuth distribution with analysis using parameters fitted to measure slowly varying signals, but not for fast varying impulses. We show that the Hunga Tonga related signals arrive from the azimuth ≈10° smaller than the geographic great circle path. The discrepancy is believed to be due to propagation through the polar region and in the vicinity of the solar terminator.
Synthetic Forecast Ensembles for Evaluating Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations
Authors: Brodeur Zachary P. , Delaney Chris , Whitin Brett , Steinschneider Scott
Published: February 2024

Forecast informed reservoir operations (FIRO) is an important advance in water management, but the design and testing of FIRO policies is limited by relatively short (10–35 year) hydro‐meteorological hindcasts. We present a novel, multisite model for synthetic forecast ensembles to overcome this limitation. This model utilizes parametric and non‐parametric procedures to capture complex forecast errors and maintain correlation between variables, lead times, locations, and ensemble members. After being fit to data from the hindcast period, this model can generate synthetic forecast ensembles in any period with observations. We demonstrate the approach in a case study of the FIRO‐based Ensemble Forecast Operations (EFO) control policy for the Lake Mendocino—Russian River basin, which conditions release decisions on ensemble forecasts from the Hydrologic Ensemble Forecast System (HEFS). We explore two generation strategies: (a) simulation of synthetic forecasts of meteorology to force HEFS; and (b) simulation of synthetic HEFS streamflow forecasts directly. We evaluate the synthetic forecasts using ensemble verification techniques and event‐based validation, finding good agreement with the actual ensemble forecasts. We then evaluate EFO policy performance using synthetic and actual forecasts over the hindcast period (1985–2010) and synthetic forecasts only over the pre‐hindcast period (1948–1984). Results show that the synthetic forecasts highlight important failure modes of the EFO policy under plausible forecast ensembles, but improvements are still needed to fully capture FIRO policy behavior under the actual forecast ensembles. Overall, the methodology advances a novel way to test FIRO policy robustness, which is key to building institutional support for FIRO.
Enhancing the explanation of household water consumption through the water-energy nexus concept
Authors: Li Zonghan , Wang Chunyan , Liu Yi , Wang Jiangshan
Published: February 2024

Estimating household water consumption can facilitate infrastructure management and municipal planning. The relatively low explanatory power of household water consumption, although it has been extensively explored based on various techniques and assumptions regarding influencing features, has the potential to be enhanced based on the water-energy nexus concept. This study attempts to explain household water consumption by establishing estimation models, incorporating energy-related features as inputs and providing strong evidence of the need to consider the water-energy nexus to explain water consumption. Traditional statistical (OLS) and machine learning techniques (random forest and XGBoost) are employed using a sample of 1320 households in Beijing, China. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of energy-related features increases the coefficient of determination (R2) by 34.0% on average. XGBoost performs the best among the three techniques. Energy-related features exhibit higher explanatory power and importance than water-related features. These findings provide a feasible modelling basis and can help better understand the household water-energy nexus.
Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short- and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa
Authors: Montràs-Janer Teresa , Suggitt Andrew J. , Fox Richard , Jönsson Mari , Martay Blaise , Roy David B. , Walker Kevin J. , Auffret Alistair G.
Published: February 2024

Climate change and habitat loss present serious threats to nature. Yet, due to a lack of historical land-use data, the potential for land-use change and baseline land-use conditions to interact with a changing climate to affect biodiversity remains largely unknown. Here, we use historical land use, climate data and species observation data to investigate the patterns and causes of biodiversity change in Great Britain. We show that anthropogenic climate change and land conversion have broadly led to increased richness, biotic homogenization and warmer-adapted communities of British birds, butterflies and plants over the long term (50+ years) and short term (20 years). Biodiversity change was found to be largely determined by baseline environmental conditions of land use and climate, especially over shorter timescales, suggesting that biodiversity change in recent periods could reflect an inertia derived from past environmental changes. Climate–land-use interactions were mostly related to long-term change in species richness and beta diversity across taxa. Semi-natural grasslands (in a broad sense, including meadows, pastures, lowland and upland heathlands and open wetlands) were associated with lower rates of biodiversity change, while their contribution to national-level biodiversity doubled over the long term. Our findings highlight the need to protect and restore natural and semi-natural habitats, alongside a fuller consideration of individual species’ requirements beyond simple measures of species richness in biodiversity management and policy.
Numerical algorithm for environmental/economic load dispatch with emissions constraints
Authors: Bakos Christos , Giakoumis Angelos
Published: February 2024

This paper presents a numerical algorithm for environmental/economic load dispatch (EELD) with emissions constraints, which takes into account the emissions trading system’s effect on electricity generation cost and is implemented using a Python computer program. The developed program is applied to a power system of six (6) fossil-fueled electricity generating units with NOx, SO2and CO2constraints and proved to be significantly beneficial not only for the environment but also for the power company and the consumers. The proposed algorithm uses multi-objective optimization and incorporates both fuel and emissions allowances costs. The schedule of generating units is calculated and the testing of all possible weighting factor combinations with resolution of 0.01 is carried out showing that the proposed algorithm is fast, cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Exergy-energy, sustainability, and emissions assessment of Guizotia abyssinica (L.) fuel blends with metallic nano additives
Authors: Abishek M. S. , Kachhap Sabindra , Rajak Upendra , Verma Tikendra Nath , Giri Nimay Chandra , AboRas Kareem M. , ELrashidi Ali
Published: February 2024

This study extensively examined the impact of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles addition in the biodiesel fuel derived from Guizotiaabyssinica (L.) oil. The assessment of fuel blends, which were created by combining nanoparticles and biodiesel was conducted using energy, exergy, and sustainability indices. The highest recorded power output of 2.81 kW was observed for the GAB20A engine operating at 1800 rpm. The experimental results revealed that the GAB20A exhibited the lowest fuel consumption, with a recorded value of 203 g/kWh, when operated at 1600 rpm among all the tested blend fuels. The blend GAB20A exhibited the highest level of energy efficiency at 1600 rpm of 29.5%, as determined by the study. Simultaneously, it was observed that GAB20 exhibited the lowest energy efficiency at 1200 rpm among all the blend fuels at 25%. The emission levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) were observed to be quite low, although a little rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) was detected. For validation of results the artificial neural network (ANN) was used and an average of 1.703% difference in energy efficiency, 2.246% decrease in exergy efficiency, and 1.416% difference in sustainability index was found.
The survival of multi-drug resistant bacteria on raw Douglas fir material
Authors: Taisne A. , Aviat F. , Essono Mintsa M. , Belloncle C. , Pailhoriès H.
Published: February 2024

In today’s age of ecological transition, the use of materials such as renewable wood in construction is particularly relevant, but also a challenge in the healthcare sector where the hygiene dimension also comes into play. In this study we have investigated the survival of multi-resistant bacteria commonly responsible for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (ESBL-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae and glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) on two different types of wood (Douglas fir : Pseudotsuga menziesii and Maritime Pine : Pinus pinaster) compared to other materials (smooth: stainless steel and rough: pumice stone) and the effect of a disinfection protocol on the bacterial survival on Pseudotsuga menziesii. Approximately 108 bacteria were inoculated on each material and bacterial survival was observed over several days (D0, D1, D2, D3, D6, D7 and D15). Each analysis was performed in triplicate for each time and material. The results show an important reduction of the bacterial inoculum for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus faecalis on Douglas fir, in contrast with the results obtained on maritime pine, stainless steel and pumice stone. No bacterial survival was detected on Douglas fir after application of a hospital disinfection protocol. These different results show that wood may have a place in the future of healthcare construction. Further studies would be interesting to better understand the different properties of wood.
Magneto-optical heterostructures with second resonance of transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect
Authors: Rezaeian Amene , Hosseini Farzad Mahmood
Published: February 2024

Two conventional magneto-plasmonic (MP) structures are firstly superimposed with mirror symmetry to form a symmetric MP heterostructure. These two MP components are separated from each other by a noble metallic layer. The unique feature of this novel heterostructure is that both magneto-plasmon modes of the up and down MP portions can be coupled as the spacer becomes thinner. This intertwining effect leads to appearance of a new peak in the angular transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) curve of the heterostructure. This new peak which is reported for the first time in the TMOKE signal, is generally similar to plasmon induced transparency (PIT) phenomenon observed in plasmonic multilayered structures. We entitle this novel effect as “second resonance of TMOKE signal”. More importantly, the occurrence angle and magnitude of the second peak can be controlled by varying the thickness and material of separating layer between two MP parts. Also, the dispersion diagram of the heterostructure shows this coupling so that two branches convert into four branches by reducing the thickness of spacer. Furthermore, coupled oscillators model confirms emergence of the second peak in the TMOKE signal. These results can offer great promise for increasing sensitivity of conventional magneto-optical refractive index sensors.
Urinary cancer detection by the target urine volatile organic compounds biosensor platform
Authors: Suthat Na Ayutaya Vichayut , Tantisatirapoon Chaianan , Aekgawong Sekdusit , Anakkamatee Watcharapong , Danjittrong Taechasit , Kreepala Chatchai
Published: February 2024

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have grown due to their crucial role in transitioning from invasive to noninvasive cancer diagnostic methods. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of the metal oxide biosensor platform using urine VOCs for detecting genitourinary cancers. Five different commercially available semiconductor sensors were chosen to detect specific VOCs (methane, iso-butane, hydrogen, ethanol, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, toluene, butane, propane, trimethylamine, and methyl-mercaptan). Changes in electrical resistance due to temperature variations from the voltage heater were examined to characterize VOC metabolism. Logistic regression and ROC analysis were employed to evaluate potential urine VOCs for genitourinary cancer determination. This study involved 64 participants which were categorized into a cancer and a non-cancer group. The genitourinary cancer (confirmed by tissue pathology) comprised 32 patients, including renal cell carcinoma (3.1%), transitional cell carcinoma (46.9%), and prostate cancer (50%). The non-cancer comprised 32 patients, with 9 healthy subjects and 23 individuals with other genitourinary diseases. Results indicated that VOC sensors for methane, iso-butane, hydrogen, and ethanol, at a voltage heater of 2000 mV, demonstrated a significant predictive capability for genitourinary cancer with P = 0.013. The ROC of these biomarkers also indicated statistical significance in predicting the occurrence of the disease (P < 0.05). This report suggested that methane, iso-butane, hydrogen, and ethanol VOCs exhibited potential for diagnosing genitourinary cancer. Developing gas metal oxide sensors tailored to these compounds, and monitoring changes in electrical resistance, could serve as an innovative tool for identifying this specific type of cancer.
Analysis of progression after elective distal ureterectomy and effects of salvage radical nephroureterectomy in patients with distal ureteral urothelial carcinoma
Authors: Lee Chung Un , Lee Jong Hoon , Lee Hye Won , Chung Jae Hoon , Song Wan , Kang Minyong , Jeon Hwang Gyun , Jeong Byong Chang , Seo Seong Il , Jeon Seong Soo , Sung Hyun Hwan
Published: February 2024

We compared the progression patterns after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and elective distal ureterectomy (DU) in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the distal ureter. Between Jan 2011 and Dec 2020, 127 patients who underwent RNU and 46 who underwent elective DU for distal ureteral cancer were enrolled in this study. The patterns of progression and upper tract recurrence were compared between the two groups. Progression was defined as a local recurrence and/or distant metastasis after surgery. Upper tract recurrence and subsequent treatment in patients with DU were analyzed. Progression occurred in 35 (27.6%) and 10 (21.7%) patients in the RNU and DU groups, respectively. The progression pattern was not significantly different (p = 0.441), and the most common progression site was the lymph nodes in both groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that pT2 stage, concomitant lymphovascular invasion, and nodal stage were significant predictors of disease progression. Upper tract recurrence was observed in nine (19.6%) patients with DU, and six (66.7%) patients had a prior history of bladder tumor. All patients with upper tract recurrence after DU were managed with salvage RNU. Elective DU with or without salvage treatment was not a risk factor for disease progression (p = 0.736), overall survival (p = 0.457), cancer-specific survival (p = 0.169), or intravesical recurrence-free survival (p = 0.921). In terms of progression patterns and oncological outcomes, there was no difference between patients who underwent RNU and elective DU with/without salvage treatment. Elective DU should be considered as a therapeutic option for distal ureter tumor.
Digital health technologies and machine learning augment patient reported outcomes to remotely characterise rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Creagh Andrew P. , Hamy Valentin , Yuan Hang , Mertes Gert , Tomlinson Ryan , Chen Wen-Hung , Williams Rachel , Llop Christopher , Yee Christopher , Duh Mei Sheng , Doherty Aiden , Garcia-Gancedo Luis , Clifton David A.
Published: February 2024

Digital measures of health status captured during daily life could greatly augment current in-clinic assessments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to enable better assessment of disease progression and impact. This work presents results from weaRAble-PRO, a 14-day observational study, which aimed to investigate how digital health technologies (DHT), such as smartphones and wearables, could augment patient reported outcomes (PRO) to determine RA status and severity in a study of 30 moderate-to-severe RA patients, compared to 30 matched healthy controls (HC). Sensor-based measures of health status, mobility, dexterity, fatigue, and other RA specific symptoms were extracted from daily iPhone guided tests (GT), as well as actigraphy and heart rate sensor data, which was passively recorded from patients’ Apple smartwatch continuously over the study duration. We subsequently developed a machine learning (ML) framework to distinguish RA status and to estimate RA severity. It was found that daily wearable sensor-outcomes robustly distinguished RA from HC participants (F1, 0.807). Furthermore, by day 7 of the study (half-way), a sufficient volume of data had been collected to reliably capture the characteristics of RA participants. In addition, we observed that the detection of RA severity levels could be improved by augmenting standard patient reported outcomes with sensor-based features (F1, 0.833) in comparison to using PRO assessments alone (F1, 0.759), and that the combination of modalities could reliability measure continuous RA severity, as determined by the clinician-assessed RAPID-3 score at baseline (r2, 0.692; RMSE, 1.33). The ability to measure the impact of the disease during daily life—through objective and remote digital outcomes—paves the way forward to enable the development of more patient-centric and personalised measurements for use in RA clinical trials.
Genomic attributes of airway commensal bacteria and mucosa
Authors: Cuthbertson Leah , Löber Ulrike , Ish-Horowicz Jonathan S. , McBrien Claire N. , Churchward Colin , Parker Jeremy C. , Olanipekun Michael T. , Burke Conor , McGowan Aisling , Davies Gwyneth A. , Lewis Keir E. , Hopkin Julian M. , Chung Kian Fan , O’Carroll Orla , Faul John , Creaser-Thomas Joy , Andrews Mark , Ghosal Robin , Piatek Stefan , Willis-Owen Saffron A. G. , Bartolomaeus Theda U. P. , Birkner Till , Dwyer Sarah , Kumar Nitin , Turek Elena M. , William Musk A. , Hui Jennie , Hunter Michael , James Alan , Dumas Marc-Emmanuel , Filippi Sarah , Cox Michael J. , Lawley Trevor D. , Forslund Sofia K. , Moffatt Miriam F. , Cookson William. O. C.
Published: February 2024

Microbial communities at the airway mucosal barrier are conserved and highly ordered, in likelihood reflecting co-evolution with human host factors. Freed of selection to digest nutrients, the airway microbiome underpins cognate management of mucosal immunity and pathogen resistance. We show here the initial results of systematic culture and whole-genome sequencing of the thoracic airway bacteria, identifying 52 novel species amongst 126 organisms that constitute 75% of commensals typically present in heathy individuals. Clinically relevant genes encode antimicrobial synthesis, adhesion and biofilm formation, immune modulation, iron utilisation, nitrous oxide (NO) metabolism and sphingolipid signalling. Using whole-genome content we identify dysbiotic features that may influence asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We match isolate gene content to transcripts and metabolites expressed late in airway epithelial differentiation, identifying pathways to sustain host interactions with microbiota. Our results provide a systematic basis for decrypting interactions between commensals, pathogens, and mucosa in lung diseases of global significance.
SIMPEL: using stable isotopes to elucidate dynamics of context specific metabolism
Authors: Kambhampati Shrikaar , Hubbard Allen H. , Koley Somnath , Gomez Javier D. , Marsolais Frédéric , Evans Bradley S. , Young Jamey D. , Allen Doug K.
Published: February 2024

The capacity to leverage high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with transient isotope labeling experiments is an untapped opportunity to derive insights on context-specific metabolism, that is difficult to assess quantitatively. Tools are needed to comprehensively mine isotopologue information in an automated, high-throughput way without errors. We describe a tool, Stable Isotope-assisted Metabolomics for Pathway Elucidation (SIMPEL), to simplify analysis and interpretation of isotope-enriched HRMS datasets. The efficacy of SIMPEL is demonstrated through examples of central carbon and lipid metabolism. In the first description, a dual-isotope labeling experiment is paired with SIMPEL and isotopically nonstationary metabolic flux analysis (INST-MFA) to resolve fluxes in central metabolism that would be otherwise challenging to quantify. In the second example, SIMPEL was paired with HRMS-based lipidomics data to describe lipid metabolism based on a single labeling experiment. Available as an R package, SIMPEL extends metabolomics analyses to include isotopologue signatures necessary to quantify metabolic flux.
SHMT2 reduces fatty liver but is necessary for liver inflammation and fibrosis in mice
Authors: Chen Guohua , Zhou Guoli , Zhai Lidong , Bao Xun , Tiwari Nivedita , Li Jing , Mottillo Emilio , Wang Jian
Published: February 2024

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with an irregular serine metabolism. Serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2 (SHMT2) is a liver enzyme that breaks down serine into glycine and one-carbon (1C) units critical for liver methylation reactions and overall health. However, the contribution of SHMT2 to hepatic 1C homeostasis and biological functions has yet to be defined in genetically modified animal models. We created a mouse strain with targeted SHMT2 knockout in hepatocytes to investigate this. The absence of SHMT2 increased serine and glycine levels in circulation, decreased liver methylation potential, and increased susceptibility to fatty liver disease. Interestingly, SHMT2-deficient mice developed simultaneous fatty liver, but when fed a diet high in fat, fructose, and cholesterol, they had significantly less inflammation and fibrosis. This study highlights the critical role of SHMT2 in maintaining hepatic 1C homeostasis and its stage-specific functions in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.
Estimating the phase diagrams of deep eutectic solvents within an extensive chemical space
Authors: Fajar Adroit T. N. , Hanada Takafumi , Hartono Aditya D. , Goto Masahiro
Published: February 2024

Assessing the formation of a deep eutectic solvent (DES) necessitates a solid-liquid equilibrium phase diagram. Yet, many studies focusing on DES applications do not include this diagram because of challenges in measurement, leading to misidentified eutectic points. The present study provides a practical approach for estimating the phase diagram of any binary mixture from the structural information, utilizing machine learning and quantum chemical techniques. The selected machine learning model provides reasonably high accuracy in predicting melting point (R2 = 0.84; RMSE = 40.53 K) and fusion enthalpy (R2 = 0.84; RMSE = 4.96 kJ mol−1) of pure compounds upon evaluation by test data. By pinpointing the eutectic point coordinates within an extensive chemical space, we highlighted the impact of the mole fractions and melting properties on the eutectic temperatures. Molecular dynamics simulations of selected mixtures at the eutectic points emphasized the pivotal role of hydrogen bonds in dictating mixture behavior.
Clouds dissipate quickly during solar eclipses as the land surface cools
Authors: Trees Victor J. H. , de Roode Stephan R. , Wiltink Job I. , Meirink Jan Fokke , Wang Ping , Stammes Piet , Siebesma A. Pier
Published: February 2024

Clouds affected by solar eclipses could influence the reflection of sunlight back into space and might change local precipitation patterns. Satellite cloud retrievals have so far not taken into account the lunar shadow, hindering a reliable spaceborne assessment of the eclipse-induced cloud evolution. Here we use satellite cloud measurements during three solar eclipses between 2005 and 2016 that have been corrected for the partial lunar shadow together with large-eddy simulations to analyze the eclipse-induced cloud evolution. Our corrected data reveal that, over cooling land surfaces, shallow cumulus clouds start to disappear at very small solar obscurations (~15%). Our simulations explain that the cloud response was delayed and was initiated at even smaller solar obscurations. We demonstrate that neglecting the disappearance of clouds during a solar eclipse could lead to a considerable overestimation of the eclipse-related reduction of net incoming solar radiation. These findings should spur cloud model simulations of the direct consequences of sunlight-intercepting geoengineering proposals, for which our results serve as a unique benchmark.
Blind magmatism abets nonvolcanic continental rifting
Authors: Ajala Rasheed , Kolawole Folarin , Menke William
Published: February 2024

Tectonic forces alone cannot drive rifting in old and thick continental lithosphere. Geodynamic models suggest that thermal weakening is critical for lithospheric extension, yet many active rifts lack volcanism, seeming to preclude this process. We focus on one such rift, the Tanganyika-Rukwa segment of the East African Rift System, where we analyze local seismicity for shear wave anisotropy and couple the results with numerical modeling. The strongest splitting measurements are from earthquakes with paths sampling lower crustal regions of high compressional-to-shear wave velocity ratios and have fast polarization directions parallel to the local mantle flow, implying the existence of oriented melt lenses. This lower crustal magmatism and observed high surface heat flow are consistent with substantial lithospheric weakening and explain the enigmatic relief and increasing strain accommodation along the rift axis. We conclude that progressive nonvolcanic rifting is assisted by deep crustal melts yet to breach the surface.
Global high-resolution total water storage anomalies from self-supervised data assimilation using deep learning algorithms
Authors: Gou Junyang , Soja Benedikt
Published: February 2024

Total water storage anomalies (TWSAs) describe the variations of the terrestrial water cycle, which is essential for understanding our climate system. This study proposes a self-supervised data assimilation model with a new loss function to provide global TWSAs with a spatial resolution of 0.5°. The model combines hydrological simulations as well as measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its follow-on (GRACE-FO) satellite missions. The efficiency of the high-resolution information is proved by closing the water balance equation in small basins while preserving large-scale accuracy inherited from the GRACE(-FO) measurements. The product contributes to monitoring natural hazards locally and shows potential for better understanding the impacts of natural and anthropogenic activities on the water cycle. We anticipate our approach to be generally applicable to other TWSA data sources and the resulting products to be valuable for the geoscience community and society.
Biomedical applications, perspectives and tag design concepts in the cell – silent Raman window
Authors: Vardaki Martha Z. , Gregoriou Vasilis G. , Chochos Christos L.
Published: February 2024

This comprehensive review article discusses the potential of the cell – silent Raman region, reporting on the tags employed for biomedical applications using variants of Raman spectroscopy.
Highly stable CsPbBr3 perovskite phases from new lead β-diketonate glyme adducts
Authors: Sirna Lorenzo , Pellegrino Anna Lucia , Sciacca Salvatore Pio , Lippi Martina , Rossi Patrizia , Bonaccorso Carmela , Bengasi Giuseppe , Foti Marina , Malandrino Graziella
Published: February 2024

Lead is one of the key metals of the all-inorganic lead halide perovskites. Novel “Pb(hfa)2glyme” precursors were synthesized and applied to the fabrication of CsPbBr3 microcrystals through a one-step, room-temperature, and benchtop condition process.
Tuning sensing efficacy of anthraimidazoledione-based charge transfer dyes: nitro group positioning impact
Authors: Chettri Bimal , Pal Animesh , Jha Satadru , Dey Nilanjan
Published: February 2024

Anthraimidazoledione-based optical sensors have been designed by varying the position of the nitro functional group for investigation its impact on anion sensing.
Stereoselective synthesis and antiproliferative activity of allo-gibberic acid-based 1,3-aminoalcohol regioisomers
Authors: Khdar Zein Alabdeen , Le Tam Minh , Schelz Zsuzsanna , Zupkó István , Szakonyi Zsolt
Published: February 2024

Starting from gibberellic acid (GA3), a library of allo-gibberic acid-based aminoalcohols was synthesised, and their antiproliferative effects were assayed by in vitro MTT method against a panel of human cancer cell lines (HeLa, SiHa, A2780, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231).
Recent advances of nanoparticles on bone tissue engineering and bone cells
Authors: Zhang Gejing , Zhen Chenxiao , Yang Jiancheng , Wang Jianping , Wang Shenghang , Fang Yanwen , Shang Peng
Published: February 2024

This article reviews the current development of nanoparticles on bone tissue engineering & bone cells and potential mechanisms of the effects of NPs on bone cell to potentially reveal new therapeutic strategies to improve the effectiveness of bone regeneration therapy.
A deeper insight into the evaluation of water-in-oil amicroemulsion templated samarium sulfide nanospheres: exploring its role in pickering emulsion formulation for photocatalytic dye degradation and synthesis of PANI@Sm2S3 nanocomposites
Authors: Rahaman Sk Mehebub , Khatun Nargis , Pal Prashanta , Mandal Trishna , Patra Arnab , Nandi Mahasweta , Saha Bidyut
Published: February 2024

W/O microemulsion-mediated Sm2S3 nanospheres in pickering emulsion-based crystal violet (CV) dye degradation and PANI@Sm2S3 nanocomposite synthesis.
Reinforcement using undoped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with a partially carbonized structure doubles the toughness of PVA membranes
Authors: Latif Zeeshan , Albargi Hasan B. , Khaliq Zubair , Shahid Kinza , Khalid Usama , Qadir Muhammad Bilal , Ali Mumtaz , Arshad Salman Noshear , Alkorbi Ali S. , Jalalah Mohammed
Published: February 2024

Nanoreinforcements increase the stiffness of composite, however, CQDs enhance the toughness, thereby increasing both elongation and strength.
Understanding Au facet effects in photocatalytic nonoxidative coupling of methane
Authors: Liu Zhuo , Xu Biyang , Lu Xuanzhao , Li Pan , Zhu Jun-Jie , Zhu Wenlei
Published: February 2024

The strong facet-dependent activity of Au co-catalysts on photocatalytic nonoxidative coupling of methane was studied. Au octahedra with preferentially exposed (111) facets showed the best performance for this reaction.
Prussian blue-derived FeNx/Fe-based N-doped carbon nanotube catalysts with high ORR electrochemical performance
Authors: Zhao Zhenlu , Lu Qidi , Wang Xin
Published: February 2024

Prussian blue-derived FeNx/Fe-based N-doped carbon nanotube catalysts with high ORR electrochemical performance.
It is us against cancer
Authors: Owee Kayden
Published: February 2024

The Biochemical Society identifies and celebrates outstanding science communication talent in the molecular biosciences with its annual Science Communication Prize. Kayden Owee, from Malaysia, won the first prize in the media category for students studying for A-level/T-level/BTEC National/Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications. Kayden’s entry is titled ‘It Is Us Against Cancer’.
Application of an Antibacterial Coating Layer via Amine‐Terminated Hyperbranched Zirconium–Polysiloxane for Stainless Steel Orthodontic Brackets
Authors: Qu Yaxin , Lu Xinwei , Zhu Tingting , Yu Jie , Zhang Zhe , Sun Yu , Hao Yuanping , Wang Yuanfei , Yu Yanling
Published: February 2024

The massive growth of various microorganisms on the orthodontic bracket can form plaques and cause diseases. A novel amine‐terminated hyperbranched zirconium–polysiloxane (HPZP) antimicrobial coating was developed for an orthodontic stainless steel tank (SST). After synthesizing HPZP and HPZP‐Ag coatings, their structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thickness measurement, contact angle detection, mechanical stability testing, and corrosion testing. The cell toxicity of the two coatings to human gingival fibroblasts (hGFs) and human oral keratinocytes (hOKs) was detected by cell counting kit eight assays, and SST, HPZP@SST, and HPZP‐Ag@SST were cocultured with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus mutans for 24 hr to detect the antibacterial properties of the coatings, respectively. The results show that the coatings are about 10 μm, and the water contact angle of HPZP coating is significantly higher than that of HPZP‐Ag coating (P < 0.01). Both coatings can be uniformly and densely distributed on SST and have good mechanical stability and corrosion resistance. The cell counting test showed that HPZP coating and HPZP‐Ag coating were less toxic to cells compared with SST, and the toxicity of HPZP‐Ag coating was greater than that of HPZP coating, with the cell survival rate greater than 80% after 72 hr cocultured with hGFs and hOKs. The antibacterial test showed that the number of bacteria on the surface of different materials was ranked from small to large: HPZP@SST < HPZP‐Ag@SST < SST and 800 μg/mL HPZP@SST showed a better bactericidal ability than 400 μg/mL after cocultured with S. aureus, E. coli, and S. mutans, respectively (all P < 0.05). The results showed that HPZP coating had a better effect than HPZP‐Ag coating, with effective antibacterial and biocompatible properties, which had the potential to be applied in orthodontic process management.
A speed‐area‐efficient hardware ECPM‐engine in GF(p) over generic Weierstrass curves
Authors: Xie Yujun , He Zhenhui , Liu Yuan , Zheng Xin , Cai Shuting , Xiong Xiaoming
Published: February 2024

This paper proposes a 256‐bit speed‐area‐efficient hardware elliptic curve point‐multiplication engine (ECPM‐engine) in GF(p) over generic Weierstrass curves, which is optimized by a new speed‐area‐efficient radix‐64 Montgomery modular multiplication (R64MMM) and a novel Montgomery ladder scheduling. The R64MMM calls one 129‐bit adder and one (64x64+129)‐bit multiply‐accumulator (64‐129‐MAC) in parallel to make a trade‐off between speed and area. The novel Montgomery ladder scheduling is used to improve the utilization of MAC in ECPM operation. In this ECPM‐engine, both MAC utilization in R64MMM operations and R64MMM utilization in ECPM operations are close to 100%. The result shows that the proposed ECPM‐engine consumes 72k gates when the clock frequency is 714 MHz with a 90 nm standard cell library, and it computes one 256‐bit ECPM in 0.14 ms.
RAINBOW: A colorful approach to multipassband light-curve estimation
Authors: Russeil E. , Malanchev K. L. , Aleo P. D. , Ishida E. E. O. , Pruzhinskaya M. V. , Gangler E. , Lavrukhina A. D. , Volnova A. A. , Voloshina A. , Semenikhin T. , Sreejith S. , Kornilov M. V. , Korolev V. S.
Published: February 2024

Context. Time series generated by repeatedly observing astronomical transients are generally sparse, irregularly sampled, noisy, and multidimensional (obtained through a set of broad-band filters). In order to fully exploit their scientific potential, it is necessary to use this incomplete information to estimate a continuous light-curve behavior. Traditional approaches use ad hoc functional forms to approximate the light curve in each filter independently (hereafter, the MONOCHROMATIC method).

Aims. We present RAINBOW, a physically motivated framework that enables simultaneous multiband light-curve fitting. It allows the user to construct a 2D continuous surface across wavelength and time, even when the number of observations in each filter is significantly limited.

Methods. Assuming the electromagnetic radiation emission from the transient can be approximated by a blackbody, we combined an expected temperature evolution and a parametric function describing its bolometric light curve. These three ingredients allow the information available in one passband to guide the reconstruction in the others, thus enabling a proper use of multisurvey data. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by applying it to simulated data from the Photometric LSST Astronomical Time-series Classification Challenge (PLAsTiCC) as well as to real data from the Young Supernova Experiment (YSE DR1).

Results. We evaluate the quality of the estimated light curves according to three different tests: goodness of fit, peak-time prediction, and ability to transfer information to machine-learning (ML) based classifiers. The results confirm that RAINBOW leads to an equivalent goodness of fit (supernovae II) or to a goodness of fit that is better by up to 75% (supernovae Ibc) than the MONOCHROMATIC approach. Similarly, the accuracy improves for all classes in our sample when the RAINBOW best-fit values are used as a parameter space in a multiclass ML classification.

Conclusions. Our approach enables a straightforward light-curve estimation for objects with observations in multiple filters and from multiple experiments. It is particularly well suited when the light-curve sampling is sparse. We demonstrate its potential for characterizing supernova-like events here, but the same approach can be used for other classes by changing the function describing the light-curve behavior and temperature representation. In the context of the upcoming large-scale sky surveys and their potential for multisurvey analysis, this represents an important milestone in the path to enable population studies of photometric transients.
Upgrading the GRAVITY fringe tracker for GRAVITY+
Authors: Nowak M. , Lacour S. , Abuter R. , Woillez J. , Dembet R. , Bordoni M. S. , Bourdarot G. , Courtney-Barrer B. , Defrère D. , Drescher A. , Eisenhauer F. , Fabricius M. , Feuchtgruber H. , Frahm R. , Garcia P. , Gillessen S. , Gopinath V. , Graf J. , Hoenig S. , Kreidberg L. , Laugier R. , Le Bouquin J. B. , Lutz D. , Mang F. , Millour F. , More N. , Morujão N. , Ott T. , Paumard T. , Perrin G. , Rau C. , Ribeiro D. C. , Shangguan J. , Shimizu T. , Soulez F. , Straubmeier C. , Widmann F. , Wolff B.
Published: February 2024

Context.The GRAVITY beam-combiner at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer has recently made important contributions to many different fields of astronomy, from observations of the Galactic centre to the study of massive stars, young stellar objects, exoplanet atmospheres, and active galactic nuclei. These achievements were only made possible by the development of several key technologies, including the development of reliable and high-performance fringe trackers. These systems compensate for disturbances ranging from atmospheric turbulence to vibrations in the optical system, enabling long exposures and ensuring the stability of interferometric measurements.

Aims.As part of the ongoing GRAVITY+ upgrade of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer infrastructure, we aim to improve the performance of the GRAVITY fringe tracker, and to enable its use by other instruments.

Methods.We modified the group-delay controller to consistently maintain tracking in the white-light fringe, which is characterised by a minimum group delay. Additionally, we introduced a novel approach in which fringe-tracking is performed in the non-observable optical path length state-space using a covariance-weighted Kalman filter and an auto-regressive model of the disturbance. We outline this new state-space representation and the formalism we used to propagate the state vector and generate the control signal. While our approach is presented specifically in the context of GRAVITY/GRAVITY+, it can easily be adapted to other instruments or interfero-metric facilities.

Results.We successfully demonstrate phase-delay tracking within a single fringe, with any spurious phase jumps detected and corrected in less than 100 ms. We also report a significant performance improvement, as shown by a reduction of ~30 to 40% in phase residuals, and a much better behaviour under sub-optimal atmospheric conditions. Compared to what was observed in 2019, the median residuals have decreased from 150 nm to 100 nm on the Auxiliary Telescopes and from 250 nm to 150 nm on the Unit Telescopes.

Conclusions.The improved phase-delay tracking combined with white-light fringe tracking means that from now on, the GRAVITY fringe tracker can be used by other instruments operating in different wavebands. The only limitation remains the need for an adjustment of the optical path dispersion.