bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic wetting and heat transfer during droplet impact on bi-phobic wettability-patterned surfaces
Authors: Qi Wenliang , Weisensee Patricia B.
Published: June 2020

This paper reports the dynamic wetting behavior and heat transfer characteristics for impinging droplets on heated bi-phobic surfaces (superhydrophobic matrix with hydrophobic spots). A non-patterned superhydrophobic and a sticky hydrophobic surface acted as control wettability surfaces. As expected, differences in wetting and heat transfer dynamics were noticeable for all surfaces with the most pronounced variation during the receding phase. During spreading, inertia from the impact dominated the droplet dynamics, and heat transfer was dominated by convection at the contact line and internal flow. As contact line velocities decreased over time, evaporative cooling at the contact line gained importance, especially for the bi-phobic surfaces, where liquid remained trapped on the hydrophobic spots during receding. These satellite droplets increased the contact area and contact line length and assisted heat transfer and substrate cooling after lift-off of the main droplet. Compared with the hydrophobic surface, the contribution of the contact line heat transfer increased by 17%–27% on the bi-phobic surfaces depending on the location of impact relative to the hydrophobic spots. Nonetheless, the bi-phobic surfaces had a lower total thermal energy transfer. However, compared with the plain superhydrophobic surface, heat transfer was enhanced by 33%–46% by patterning the surface. Depending on the application, a trade-off exists between the different surfaces: the sticky hydrophobic surface provides the best cooling efficiency yet is prone to flooding, whereas the superhydrophobic surface repels the liquid but has poor cooling efficiency. The bi-phobic surfaces provide a middle path with reasonable cooling effectiveness and low flooding probability.
Dynamics of impact cratering on granular bed by hydrogel sphere
Authors: Matsuda Yu , Kamiya Ryota , Yamaguchi Hiroki , Uchiyama Tomomi
Published: June 2020

A lot of studies on the dynamics of a granular impact cratering by a liquid drop have been carried out. However, the results so far are controversial due to the complex impact dynamics of a liquid drop, such as deformation, splash, and penetration into the granular bed. In this study, we focused on the dynamics of the granular impact cratering by a hydrogel sphere, which deforms without splashing and penetrating. We investigated the maximal deformation time of the sphere and the lift-off time of the grains. Both the maximal deformation time and the lift-off time are similar to each other and depend on the −1/2 power of the Young’s modulus of the hydrogel sphere. This power law of the maximum deformation time is the same as an impact of a gel sphere on a flat solid surface. The angle of the ejected curtain was evaluated. The angle is larger for the impact with small deformation of the sphere than that for the impact with large deformation, and the angle is less dependent on the free-fall height. We also investigated the distributions of the ejected grains using the grains dyed by a fluorescent dye. The distribution was visualized by the fluorescent images captured before and after the impact. At the crater rim, the number of the dyed grains flying to and away are balanced. The number of the dyed grains gathered at the dimensionless distance from the crater center of 1.15, where the distance is nondimensionalized by the crater radius, is the largest. This maximum value for the number of the gathered grains is larger for the impact with small deformation than that with large deformation. This result is consistent with the dependence of the impact mode on the angle of the ejected curtain.
Magnetoexciton–photon coupling in a semiconductor quantum microcavity subjected to a parallel electric field
Authors: Valdés-Negrin P. L. , Flores-Desirena B. , Toledo-Solano M. , Pérez-Rodríguez F.
Published: June 2020

The strong coupling of light with magnetoexcitons in a quantum well within a semiconductor microcavity under the action of an electric field parallel to the quantum well plane, is theoretically studied. Such a phenomenon is described within the Stahl–Balslev real-space density-matrix approach using a system of coupled equations for the coherent-wave amplitude and the electromagnetic fields. In the study, both s- and p-polarization geometries as well as the Coulomb interaction potential between electrons and holes are considered. It is shown that the optical reflectivity spectra for a heterostructure, having an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well inside the semiconductor microcavity with Bragg mirrors of alternating GaAs and InGaAs layers, exhibit well-discernible resonant dips. The strong magnetoexciton–photon coupling occurs when the magnetoexciton resonance frequency and that of the confined photon are close to each other. The application of a static electric field, parallel to the interfaces of the layers, allows for the optical excitation of magnetoexcitons, having nonzero angular momentum projection, and noticeably alters the resonance structure of both s- and p-polarization optical spectra. The strong magnetoexciton–photon coupling is observed until sufficiently large magnitudes of the applied parallel electric field are reached.
Elastic electron scattering by SnCl4 in the low-energy regime
Authors: Randi P. A. S. , Bettega M. H. F.
Published: June 2020

We report integral, differential, and momentum-transfer cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by tin tetrachloride (SnCl4). The scattering cross sections were calculated with the Schwinger multichannel method implemented with norm-conserving pseudopotentials, in the static-exchange and static-exchange plus polarization levels of approximation, for energies ranging from 0.01 eV to 30 eV. Our calculations show the presence of two resonant structures in the integral cross section located at 3.3 eV and 7.5 eV in the static-exchange approximation, while in the static exchange plus polarization approximation, these structures are centered around 1.2 eV and 5.6 eV. The symmetry decomposition of the integral cross section in both C2v and Td groups along with the analysis of the eigenvalues of the scattering Hamiltonian supports that the first resonance belongs to the T2 symmetry and the second to the E symmetry. Our results also support that the ground state of the negative ion SnCl4− is stable, in agreement with the results of previous studies. The low-energy behavior of the s-wave cross section and the s-wave eigenphase support the presence of a Ramsauer–Townsend minimum at 0.1027 eV. The present integral, differential, and momentum-transfer cross sections in the static exchange approximation are in good agreement with the previous results reported by Joucoski and Bettega [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 35, 4953 (2002)]. In the static exchange plus polarization approximation, our integral cross section shows a good qualitative agreement with the measured grand-total cross section of Możejko et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 151, 064305 (2019)].
Determination of acoustic nonlinearity parameters using thermal modulation of ultrasonic waves
Authors: Sun Hongbin , Zhu Jinying
Published: June 2020

This study presents a test method and its theoretical framework to determine the acoustic nonlinearity parameters (α,  β,  δ) of material using thermal modulation of ultrasonic waves. Temperature change-induced thermal strain excites the nonlinear response of the material and modulates the ultrasonic wave propagating in it. Experimental results showed a strong correlation between the relative wave velocity change and the temperature change. With a quadratic polynomial model, the acoustic nonlinearity parameters were obtained from the polynomial coefficients by curve fitting the experimental data. Their effects on thermal-induced velocity change were discussed. The parameters α,  β,  and δ govern the hysteretic gap, average slope, and curvature of the correlation curve, respectively. The proposed theory was validated on aluminum, steel, intact and damaged concrete samples. The obtained nonlinear parameters show reasonable agreement with values reported in the literature. Compared to other nonlinear acoustic methods using vibration or acoustic excitation, the thermal modulation method generates more uniform, slow changing, and larger strain field in the test sample. Employing the thermal effect as the driving force for nonlinearity instead of an undesired influencing factor, this method can measure the absolute values of α,  β, and δ with good accuracy using a simple ultrasonic test setup.
Demanding applications in harsh environment – FeCrMnNiC amorphous equiatomic alloy thin film
Authors: Muftah Waleed , Patmore Nathan , Vishnyakov Vladimir
Published: June 2020

An amorphous equiatomic FeCrMnNiC alloy thin film was synthesised on silica and silicon substrates by ion beam sputter deposition. Scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction and nano indentation were used to investigate the material. The produced film is amorphous and uniform on the atomic level without any detectable element segregation. The corrosion properties were assessed in 3.5% NaCl solution. The FeCrMnNiC alloy has corrosion resistance better than corrosion resistance of 304 SS. The thin film has hardness at around 12.3 ± 0.5 GPa and reduced Young's modulus at around 222 ± 12 GPa.
Tuning austenite stability in a medium Mn steel and relationship to structure and mechanical properties
Authors: Li Z. C. , Li X. J. , Mou Y. J. , Misra R. D. K. , Ding H. , He L. F. , Li H. P.
Published: June 2020

We study here the underlying factors that govern the stability of austenite in a medium Mn (Fe–0.18C–11Mn–3.8Al) (wt-%) steel. In this regard, a novel heat treatment involving intercritical quenching and tempering was designed to obtain high total elongation (TEL) and high ultimate tensile strength (UTS) in the cold-rolled steel. And the UTS and TEL approached 920–1150 MPa and 35–65%, respectively. The product of TEL and UTS (PSE) exceeded 40 GPa%, with a maximum value of 60 GPa%. A detailed analysis of microstructure before and after tensile deformation revealed that the TRIP effect occurred and the stability of austenite was predominantly governed by the grain sizes of austenite rather than the orientation of austenite grains. The theoretical analysis of work hardening data suggested that the superior elongation of medium Mn TRIP steel is related to the high stability of austenite and the cooperative deformation of ferrite.
The mass quadrupole moment of compact binary systems at the fourth post-Newtonian order
Authors: Marchand Tanguy , Henry Quentin , Larrouturou François , Marsat Sylvain , Faye Guillaume , Blanchet Luc
Published: June 2020

The mass-type quadrupole moment of inspiralling compact binaries (without spins) is computed at the fourth post-Newtonian (4PN) approximation of general relativity. The multipole moments are defined by matching between the field in the exterior zone of the matter system and the PN field in the near zone, following the multipolar-post-Minkowskian (MPM)-PN formalism. The matching implies a specific regularization for handling infra-red (IR) divergences of the multipole moments at infinity, based on the Hadamard finite part procedure. On the other hand, the calculation entails ultra-violet (UV) divergences due to the modelling of compact objects by delta-functions, that are treated with dimensional regularization (DR). In future work we intend to systematically study the IR divergences by means of dimensional regularization as well. Our result constitutes an important step in the goal of obtaining the gravitational wave templates of inspiralling compact binary systems with 4PN/4.5PN accuracy.
Effects of gas adsorption on monolayer Si2BN and implications for sensing applications
Authors: Babar Vasudeo , Murat Altynbek , Schwingenschlögl Udo
Published: June 2020

Using density functional theory, we investigate the adsorption behavior of CO, NH3, and NO molecules on monolayer Si2BN. The energetically favorable structural configurations along with their adsorption energies, charge transfers, and electronic properties are discussed. The CO and NH3 molecules show physisorption with moderate adsorption energies, whereas the NO molecule is subject to chemisorption. We further calculate the current–voltage characteristics using the non-equilibrium Green’s function formalism. Significant anisotropy is observed for the armchair and zigzag directions, consistent with the anisotropy of the electronic band structure. Pronounced enhancement of the resistivity upon gas adsorption indicates that monolayer Si2BN is promising as gas sensing material.
Impurity-dependent gyrotropic motion, deflection and pinning of current-driven ultrasmall skyrmions in PdFe/Ir(111) surface
Authors: Fernandes Imara Lima , Chico Jonathan , Lounis Samir
Published: June 2020

Resting on multi-scale modelling simulations, we explore dynamical aspects characterizing magnetic skyrmions driven by spin-transfer-torque towards repulsive and pinning 3d and 4d single atomic defects embedded in a Pd layer deposited on the Fe/Ir(111) surface. The latter is known to host sub-10 nm skyrmions which are of great interest in information technology. The Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation is parametrized with magnetic exchange interactions extracted from the ab-initio all-electron full potential Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker Green function method, where spin–orbit coupling is added self-consistently. Depending on the nature of the defect and the magnitude of the applied magnetic field, the skyrmion deforms by either shrinking or increasing in size, experiencing thereby elliptical distortions. After applying a magnetic field of 10 T, ultrasmall skyrmions are driven along a straight line towards the various defects which permits a simple analysis of the impact of the impurities. Independently from the nature of the skyrmion-defect complex interaction, being repulsive or pinning, a gyrotropic motion is observed. A repulsive force leads to a skyrmion trajectory similar to the one induced by an attractive one. We unveil that the circular motion is clockwise around pinning impurities but counter clockwise around the repulsive ones, which can be used to identify the interaction nature of the defects by observing the skyrmions trajectories. Moreover, and as expected, the skyrmion always escapes the repulsive defects in contrast to the pinning defects, which require a minimal depinning current to observe impurity avoidance. This unveils the richness of the motion regimes of skyrmions. We discuss the results of the simulations in terms of the Thiele equation, which provides a reasonable qualitative description of the observed phenomena. Finally, we show an example of a double track made of pinning impurities, where the engineering of their mutual distance allows to control the skyrmion motion with enhanced velocity.
New opportunities at the next-generation neutrino experiments I: BSM neutrino physics and dark matter
Authors: Argüelles C A , Aurisano A J , Batell B , Berger J , Bishai M , Boschi T , Byrnes N , Chatterjee A , Chodos A , Coan T , Cui Y , de Gouvêa A , Denton P B , De Roeck A , Flanagan W , Forero D V , Gandrajula R P , Hatzikoutelis A , Hostert M , Jones B , Kayser B J , Kelly K J , Kim D , Kopp J , Kubik A , Lang K , Lepetic I , Machado P A N , Moura C A , Olness F , Park J C , Pascoli S , Prakash S , Rogers L , Safa I , Schneider A , Scholberg K , Shin S , Shoemaker I M , Sinev G , Smithers B , Sousa A , Sui Y , Takhistov V , Thomas J , Todd J , Tsai Y-D , Tsai Y-T , Yu J , Zhang C
Published: June 2020

The combination of the high intensity proton beam facilities and massive detectors for precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters including the charge-parity violating (CPV) phase will open the door to help make beyond the standard model (BSM) physics reachable even in low energy regimes in the accelerator-based experiments. Large-mass detectors with highly precise tracking and energy measurements, excellent timing resolution, and low energy thresholds will enable the searches for BSM phenomena from cosmogenic origin, as well. Therefore, it is also conceivable that BSM topics in the next-generation neutrino experiments could be the dominant physics topics in the foreseeable future, as the precision of the neutrino oscillation parameter and CPV measurements continue to improve.This paper provides a review of the current landscape of BSM theory in neutrino experiments in two selected areas of the BSM topics—dark matter and neutrino related BSM—and summarizes the current results from existing neutrino experiments to set benchmarks for both theory and experiment. This paper then provides a review of upcoming neutrino experiments throughout the next 10 to 15 year time scale and their capabilities to set the foundation for potential reach in BSM physics in the two aforementioned themes. An important outcome of this paper is to ensure theoretical and simulation tools exist to carry out studies of these new areas of physics, from the first day of the experiments, such as Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in the U.S. and Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment in Japan.
High performance terahertz anisotropic absorption in graphene–black phosphorus heterostructure*
Authors: Liang Jinming , Lei Jiangtao , Wang Yun , Ding Yan , Shen Yun , Deng Xiaohua
Published: June 2020

Graphene and black phosphorus have attracted tremendous attention in optics due to their support of localized plasmon resonance. In this paper, a structure consisted of graphene–black phosphorus heterostructure is proposed to realize terahertz anisotropic near-perfect absorption. We demonstrate that strong plasmonic resonances in graphene–black phosphorus heterostructure nanoribbons can both be provided along armchair and zigzag directions, and dominated by the distance between the graphene and black phosphorus ribbons. In particular, the maximum absorption of 99.6% at 10.2 THz along armchair direction can be reached. The proposed high performance anisotropic structure may have promising potential applications in photodetectors, biosensors, and terahertz imaging.
Postmortem investigation of a human cortical visual prosthesis that was implanted for 36 years
Authors: Towle Vernon L , Pytel Peter , Lane Frank , Plass John , Frim David M , Troyk Philip R
Published: June 2020

Objective

Postmortem analysis of the brain from a blind human subject who had a cortical visual prosthesis implanted for 36 years (Dobelle 2000 Asaio J.
46 3–9)

Approach

This provided insight into the design requirements for a successful human cortical visual prosthesis by revealing, (a) unexpected rotation of the electrode array 25 to 40 degrees away from the midsagittal plane, thought to be due to the torque of the connecting cable, (b) degradation of the platinum electrodes, and (c) only partial coverage of the primary visual cortex by the rectangular array. The electrode array only overlapped with the anterior 45% of primary visual cortex (identified by the line of Gennari), largely missing the posterior foveal representation of visual cortex.

Main results

A significantly greater proportions of electrodes outside of V1 elicited phosphenes than did electrodes within of V1. Histology did not reveal appreciable loss of neurons in cortex that surrounded the migrated array, perhaps due to the very slow rotation of this implant.

Significance

This pioneering effort to develop a cortical visual prosthesis suggests that to maximize efficacy, the long-term effects of implanted alien materials on nervous tissue, and vice versa, need to be considered in detail, and that electrode array design considerations need to optimally match the electrodes to the patient’s cortical anatomy. Modern pre-implant imaging can help optimize future implants by identifying the location and extent of bridging veins with MRI and even map the location of the V1/V2 border in vivo with PET.
Effect of post-weld heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of 7055 aluminum alloy electron beam welded joint
Authors: Wang Zheng , Wang Shaogang , Zhang Chengcong , Wang Zhiguo
Published: June 2020

The spray forming 7055 aluminum alloy is welded by electron beam welding (EBW). After welding, the single solution treatments under different temperatures and then aging treatment (STA) and the stepped solution treatment and then aging treatment (SSTA) are carried out for the welded joints respectively. The effect of different post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) procedures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joints is systematically investigated. Results show that, in as-welded condition, the fusion zone mainly consists of α-Al phase, and there are some precipitated phases such as Mg32(Al,Zn)49, Al7Cu2Fe, Al2CuMg, and a small amount of phase MgZn2 in weld metal. After PWHT, the continuous network structures at grain boundary disappear. There are only a few isolated particle phases at grain boundary, and many ellipsoidal η′ phases and rod-like η phases are precipitated within grains. The mechanical property of welded joint is improved after PWHT. Compared with that of in STA condition, the strengthening effect to welded joint is more obvious after SSTA. In SSTA condition, the hardness of weld zone is close to that of base metal (BM), and the tensile strength of welded joint reaches 486.2 MPa, which is 85.6% of that of BM. There are many equiaxed dimples on the tensile fracture surface, and the joint mainly presents the characteristic of ductile fracture.
Screen printed TiO2film: A candidate for photovoltaic applications
Authors: Zargar Rayees Ahmad , Boora Navjyoti , Hassan Malik Mubasher , Khan Aslam , Hafiz Aurangzeb Khurram
Published: June 2020

In this paper we report synthesis and analysis of low cost screen printed coating of TiO2in the form of thick film fabricated on glass substrate followed by annealing at 350 °C. The film has been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), UV-visible and Fourier-transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy and current-voltage (I-V) measurement via two probe. The XRD analysis showed that the prepared thick film has crystal structure of anatase phase with preferred orientation of (1 0 1)plane. The SEM image identified porous nature of film while EDX spectra revealed the presence of titanium and oxygen atoms in the film. The FTIR spectrum displayed the strong presence of TiO2. DC electrical conductivity measurements revealed that electrical conductivity increases on increasing temperature which confirms semiconducting behaviour.
Time-of-Day Differences in Treatment-Related Habit Strength and Adherence
Authors: Phillips L Alison , Burns Edith , Leventhal Howard
Published: June 2020

Background

Many of our daily behaviors are habitual, occurring automatically in response to learned contextual cues, and with minimal need for cognitive and self-regulatory resources. Behavioral habit strength predicts adherence to actions, including to medications. The time of day (morning vs. evening) may influence adherence and habit strength to the degree that stability of contexts/routines varies throughout the day.

Purpose

The current study evaluates whether patients are more adherent to morning versus evening doses of medication and if morning doses show evidence of greater habit strength than evening doses.

Methods

Objective adherence data (exact timing of pill dosing) were collected in an observational study by electronic monitoring pill bottles in a sample of patients on twice-daily pills for Type 2 diabetes (N = 51) over the course of 1 month.

Results

Data supported the hypothesis that patients would miss fewer morning than evening pills. However, counter to the hypothesis, variability in dose timing (an indicator of habit strength) was not significantly different for morning versus evening pills.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that medication adherence may be greater in the morning than in the evening. However, more research is needed to evaluate the role of habitual action in this greater adherence. Furthermore, future research should evaluate the validity of behavioral timing consistency as an indicator of habit strength.
A meta-analysis of factors influencing the strength of mate-choice copying in animals
Authors: Davies Alice D , Lewis Zenobia , Dougherty Liam R
Published: June 2020

Mate-choice copying is a form of social learning in which an individual’s choice of mate is influenced by the apparent choices of other individuals of the same sex and has been observed in more than 20 species across a broad taxonomic range. Though fitness benefits of copying have proven difficult to measure, theory suggests that copying should not be beneficial for all species or contexts. However, the factors influencing the evolution and expression of copying have proven difficult to resolve. We systematically searched the literature for studies of mate-choice copying in nonhuman animals and, then, performed a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis to explore which factors influence the expression of copying across species. Across 58 published studies in 23 species, we find strong evidence that animals copy the mate choice of others. The strength of copying was significantly influenced by taxonomic group; however, sample size limitations mean it is difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding copying in mammals and arthropods. The strength of copying was also influenced by experimental design: copying was stronger when choosers were tested before and after witnessing a conspecific’s mate choice compared to when choosers with social information were compared to choosers without. Importantly, we did not detect any difference in the strength of copying between males and females or in relation to the rate of multiple mating. Our search also highlights that more empirical work is needed to investigate copying in a broader range of species, especially those with differing mating systems and levels of reproductive investment.
Programmatic access to bacterial regulatory networks with regutools
Authors: Chávez Joselyn , Barberena-Jonas Carmina , Sotelo-Fonseca Jesus E , Alquicira-Hernández José , Salgado Heladia , Collado-Torres Leonardo , Reyes Alejandro
Published: June 2020

RegulonDB has collected, harmonized and centralized data from hundreds of experiments for nearly two decades and is considered a point of reference for transcriptional regulation in Escherichia coli K12. Here, we present the regutools R package to facilitate programmatic access to RegulonDB data in computational biology. regutools gives researchers the possibility of writing reproducible workflows with automated queries to RegulonDB. The regutools package serves as a bridge between RegulonDB data and the Bioconductor ecosystem by reusing the data structures and statistical methods powered by other Bioconductor packages. We demonstrate the integration of regutools with Bioconductor by analyzing transcription factor DNA binding sites and transcriptional regulatory networks from RegulonDB. We anticipate that regutools will serve as a useful building block in our progress to further our understanding of gene regulatory networks.

Availability and implementation

regutools is an R package available through Bioconductor at bioconductor.org/packages/regutools.
Network-guided search for genetic heterogeneity between gene pairs
Authors: Gumpinger Anja C , Rieck Bastian , Grimm Dominik G ,   International Headache Genetics Consortium, Borgwardt Karsten
Published: June 2020

Motivation

Correlating genetic loci with a disease phenotype is a common approach to improve our understanding of the genetics underlying complex diseases. Standard analyses mostly ignore two aspects, namely genetic heterogeneity and interactions between loci. Genetic heterogeneity, the phenomenon that genetic variants at different loci lead to the same phenotype, promises to increase statistical power by aggregating low-signal variants. Incorporating interactions between loci results in a computational and statistical bottleneck due to the vast amount of candidate interactions.

Results

We propose a novel method SiNIMin that addresses these two aspects by finding pairs of interacting genes that are, upon combination, associated with a phenotype of interest under a model of genetic heterogeneity. We guide the interaction search using biological prior knowledge in the form of protein–protein interaction networks. Our method controls type I error and outperforms state-of-the-art methods with respect to statistical power. Additionally, we find novel associations for multiple Arabidopsis thaliana phenotypes, and, with an adapted variant of SiNIMin, for a study of rare variants in migraine patients.

Availability and implementation

Code available at https://github.com/BorgwardtLab/SiNIMin.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Evaluating individual genome similarity with a topic model
Authors: Juan Liran , Wang Yongtian , Jiang Jingyi , Yang Qi , Wang Guohua , Wang Yadong
Published: June 2020

Motivation

Evaluating genome similarity among individuals is an essential step in data analysis. Advanced sequencing technology detects more and rarer variants for massive individual genomes, thus enabling individual-level genome similarity evaluation. However, the current methodologies, such as the principal component analysis (PCA), lack the capability to fully leverage rare variants and are also difficult to interpret in terms of population genetics.

Results

Here, we introduce a probabilistic topic model, latent Dirichlet allocation, to evaluate individual genome similarity. A total of 2535 individuals from the 1000 Genomes Project (KGP) were used to demonstrate our method. Various aspects of variant choice and model parameter selection were studied. We found that relatively rare (0.001<allele frequency < 0.175) and sparse (average interval > 20 000 bp) variants are more efficient for genome similarity evaluation. At least 100 000 such variants are necessary. In our results, the populations show significantly less mixed and more cohesive visualization than the PCA results. The global similarities among the KGP genomes are consistent with known geographical, historical and cultural factors.

Availability and implementation

The source code and data access are available at: https://github.com/lrjuan/LDA_genome.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Elevation-dependent endopolyploid response suggests that plants with holocentric chromosomes are less stressed by UV-B
Authors: Zedek František , Šmerda Jakub , Veselý Pavel , Horová Lucie , Kocmanová Jana , Bureš Petr
Published: June 2020

Previous studies suggested that holocentric chromosomes may confer a selective advantage under high ionizing or UV-B radiation due to their tolerance of fragmentation, and that the first plant and animal colonizers of land in the Palaeozoic were or may have been holocentric. Holocentric chromosomes could have, therefore, aided terrestrialization of Earth’s biota half a billion years ago, because leaving water meant facing a sharp increase of UV-B. Because we cannot go back in time, the hypothesis needs to be tested with present-day species using an indicator of UV-B stress. We took advantage of the fact that UV-B intensity increases with elevation and tested whether holocentric plants (six species of Cyperaceae and Juncaceae) are less stressed with increasing elevation than monocentric plants (six species of Poaceae). Phylogenetically corrected regression showed that the proxy for UV-B stress (endopolyploidy index from 671 samples measured by flow cytometry) increased with elevation in holocentric and monocentric species, but the increase was more rapid in monocentric species. Although half a billion year elapsed since terrestrialization, holocentric Cyperaceae and Juncaceae still appear less stressed by UV-B than monocentric Poaceae, despite the other counter UV-B adaptations they both have evolved (graminoid morphology, silica bodies).
Moving beyond the dual stream account of language
Authors: Upton Emily , Hope Thomas M.H.
Published: June 2020

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Structural white matter connectometry of word production in aphasia: an observational study’, by Hula etal. (doi:10.1093/brain/awaa193).
Simultaneous Separation and Quantification of Vitamins by Microemulsion Liquid Chromatography
Authors: Xu Tongtong , Wu Hongxing , Zheng Aini , Yu Nuojun , Li Ning
Published: June 2020

Microemulsion eluents have been found to have excellent potential uses in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Here, a novel, environmentally benign and simple method using concentration/flow-rate double-gradient elution using a microemulsion eluent was used to separate water- and fat-soluble vitamins simultaneously and rapidly. Preliminary screening experiments were performed to determine the optimum column type, surfactant concentration, co-surfactant to surfactant ratio, oil, mobile phase pH and microemulsion concentration. The resolution and analysis time were simultaneously optimized using concentration/flow-rate double-gradient elution. The optimized method simultaneously separated water- and fat-soluble vitamins using a Venusil ASB C8 column and a combination of isocratic and linear gradient elution modes using a microemulsion mobile phase (solvent A) consisting of 3.5% (w/w) sodium dodecyl sulfate, 10.5% (w/w) n-butanol, 0.8% (w/w) n-octanol and 85.2% (w/w) water and water (solvent B) at pH 2.50. The optimum detection wavelength was 283 nm. The method was validated and used to analyze a solid pharmaceutical sample.
The Effect of Saccharomyces boulardii Primary Prevention on Risk of Hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile Infection in Hospitalized Patients Administered Antibiotics Frequently Associated With C. difficile Infection
Authors: Wombwell Eric , Patterson Mark E , Bransteitter Bridget , Gillen Lisa R
Published: June 2020

Background

Hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (HO-CDI) is a costly problem leading to readmissions, morbidity, and mortality. We evaluated the effect of a single probiotic strain, Saccharomyces boulardii, at a standardized dose on the risk of HO-CDI within hospitalized patients administered antibiotics frequently associated with HO-CDI.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study merged hospital prescribing data with HO-CDI case data. The study assessed patients hospitalized from January 2016 through March 2017 who were administered at least 1 dose of an antibiotic frequently associated with HO-CDI during hospitalization. Associations between S. boulardii administration, including timing, and HO-CDI incidence were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression.

Results

The study included 8763 patients. HO-CDI incidence was 0.66% in the overall cohort. HO-CDI incidence was 0.56% and 0.82% among patients coadministered S. boulardii with antibiotics and not coadministered S. boulardii, respectively. In adjusted analysis, patients coadministered S. boulardii had a reduced risk of HO-CDI (odds ratio [OR], 0.57 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .33–.96]; P = .04) compared to patients not coadministered S. boulardii. Patients coadministered S. boulardii within 24 hours of antibiotic start demonstrated a reduced risk of HO-CDI (OR, 0.47 [95% CI, .23–.97]; P = .04) compared to those coadministered S. boulardii after 24 hours of antibiotic start.

Conclusions

Saccharomyces boulardii administered to hospitalized patients prescribed antibiotics frequently linked with HO-CDI was associated with a reduced risk of HO-CDI.
Nosocomial Transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Retrospective Study of 66 Hospital-acquired Cases in a London Teaching Hospital
Authors: Rickman Hannah M , Rampling Tommy , Shaw Karen , Martinez-Garcia Gema , Hail Leila , Coen Pietro , Shahmanesh Maryam , Shin Gee Yen , Nastouli Eleni , Houlihan Catherine F
Published: June 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause deadly healthcare-associated outbreaks. In a major London teaching hospital, 66 of 435 (15%) COVID-19 inpatient cases between 2 March and 12 April 2020 were definitely or probably hospital-acquired, through varied transmission routes. The case fatality was 36%. Nosocomial infection rates fell following comprehensive infection prevention and control measures.
Reconstruction of the aortic valve leaflet with autologous pulmonary artery wall
Authors: El Arid Jean-Marc , Neville Paul , Soulé Nathalie , Lefort Bruno
Published: June 2020

Leaflet reconstruction outcomes in young patients can be compromised by treated autologous pericardium utilization. We present a new and simple unicuspid/unicommissural aortic valve repair technique with an autologous pulmonary artery wall graft. With comparative and longitudinal follow-up studies, this technique could constitute a living reconstruction of the aortic valve that does not preclude a future Ross procedure.
Anticipating the financial crisis: evidence from insider trading in banks
Authors: Akin Ozlem , Marín José M , Peydró and José-Luis
Published: June 2020

Banking crises are recurrent phenomena, often induced by excessive bank risk-taking, which may be due to behavioural reasons (over-optimistic banks neglecting risks) and to conflicts of interest between bank shareholders/managers and debtholders/taxpayers (banks exploiting moral hazard). We test whether US banks’ stock returns in the 2007–8 financial crisis are associated with bank insiders’ sales of their own bank’s shares in the period prior to 2006Q2 (the peak and reversal in real estate prices). We find that top-five executives’ sales of shares predict bank performance during the crisis. Interestingly, effects are insignificant for the sales of independent directors and other officers. Moreover, the top-five executives’ impact is stronger for banks with higher exposure to the real estate bubble, where a one standard deviation increase of insider sales is associated with a 13.33 percentage point drop in stock returns during the crisis period. Finally, even though bankers in riskier banks sold more shares (furthering their own interests), they did not change their bank’s policies, for example, by reducing bank-level exposure to real estate. The informational content of bank insider trading before the crisis suggests that insiders knew that their banks were taking excessive risks, which has important implications for theory, public policy and the understanding of crises, as well as a supervisory tool for early warning signals.
Diversity and function of soil microbes on montane gradients: the state of knowledge in a changing world
Authors: Looby Caitlin I , Martin Patrick H
Published: June 2020

Mountains have a long history in the study of diversity. Like macroscopic taxa, soil microbes are hypothesized to be strongly structured by montane gradients, and recently there has been important progress in understanding how microbes are shaped by these conditions. Here, we summarize this literature and synthesize patterns of microbial diversity on mountains. Unlike flora and fauna that often display a mid-elevation peak in diversity, we found a decline (34% of the time) or no trend (33%) in total microbial diversity with increasing elevation. Diversity of functional groups also varied with elevation (e.g. saprotrophic fungi declined 83% of the time). Most studies (82%) found that climate and soils (especially pH) were the primary mechanisms driving shifts in composition, and drivers differed across taxa—fungi were mostly determined by climate, while bacteria (48%) and archaea (71%) were structured primarily by soils. We hypothesize that the central role of soils—which can vary independently of other abiotic and geographic gradients—in structuring microbial communities weakens diversity patterns expected on montane gradients. Moving forward, we need improved cross-study comparability of microbial diversity indices (i.e. standardizing sequencing) and more geographic replication using experiments to broaden our knowledge of microbial biogeography on global gradients.
Long-term Survival After Hospital Admission in Older Italians: Comparison Between Geriatrics and Internal Medicine Across Different Discharge Diagnoses and Risk Status
Authors: Di Bari Mauro , Carreras Giulia , Giordano Antonella , Degli Esposti Luca , Buda Stefano , Michelozzi Paola , Bernabei Roberto , Marchionni Niccolò , Balzi Daniela
Published: June 2020

Background

In randomized clinical trials, compared to Internal Medicine, admission to Geriatrics improved clinical outcomes of frail older patients accessing the Emergency Department (ED). Whether this advantage is maintained also in the “real world” is uncertain. We compared long-term survival of patients admitted to Geriatrics or Internal Medicine wards after stratification for background risk and across a variety of discharge diagnoses.

Method

Data were derived from the “Silver Code National Project,” an observational study of 180,079 unselected 75+ years old persons, admitted via the ED to Internal Medicine (n = 169,717, 94.2%) or Geriatrics (n = 10,362) wards in Italy. The Dynamic Silver Code (DSC), based on administrative data, was applied to balance for background risk between participants admitted to Geriatrics or Internal Medicine.

Results

One-year mortality was 33.7%, lower in participants discharged from Geriatrics (32.1%) than from Internal Medicine (33.8%; p < .001), and increased progressively across four DSC risk classes (p < .001). Admission to Geriatrics was associated with survival advantage in DSC class II to IV participants, with HR (95% CI) of 0.88 (0.83–0.94), 0.86 (0.80–0.92), and 0.92 (0.86–0.97), respectively. Cerebrovascular diseases, cognitive disorders, and heart failure were the discharge diagnoses with the widest survival benefit from admission to Geriatrics, which was mostly observed in DSC class III.

Conclusions

Admission to Geriatrics may provide long-term survival benefit in subjects who, based on the DSC, may be considered at an intermediate risk. Specific clinical conditions should be considered in the ED to improve selection of patients to be targeted for Geriatrics admission.
Corporate social responsibility and internal stakeholders’ health and well-being in Europe: a systematic descriptive review
Authors: Macassa Gloria , McGrath Cormac , Tomaselli Gianpaolo , Buttigieg Sandra C
Published: June 2020

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can contribute to the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental performance in organizations. However, the relationship between CSR, employee health and well-being has not been frequently assessed despite an increased awareness that this relationship can contribute to sustainable workplaces. To identify studies addressing the relationship between CSR and employee health and well-being within the EuCIropean context, we conducted a systematic literature search using Web of Science and Medline. Of the 60 articles screened for inclusion, 16 were retained. The results suggest that the majority (n = 14) of the identified studies aimed to understand the impact of CSR strategies on employees’ job satisfaction. None of the studies investigated the relationship between internal CSR and physical health. There was no clarity in the measurement of either internal CSR or the extent to which it affected employee outcomes. There is a need for consensus on measurement of internal CSR and of the health and well-being-related outcomes. Public health and occupational health researchers should be part of the discussion on the potential role of CSR in physical and psychological health outcomes beyond job satisfaction.
Retailer-led healthy pricing interventions: a pilot study within aquatic and recreation centres in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Huse Oliver , Orellana Liliana , Ferguson Megan , Palermo Claire , Jerebine Alethea , Zorbas Christina , Boelsen-Robinson Tara , Blake Miranda R , Peeters Anna , Brimblecombe Julie , Moodie Marj , Backholer Kathryn
Published: June 2020

This study aimed to pilot the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of three co-developed healthy food and beverage pricing interventions in a community retail setting. Aquatic and recreation centres in Victoria, Australia were recruited to co-develop and pilot pricing interventions within their onsite cafés, for 15 weeks from January 2019. A mixed method intervention evaluation was conducted. Interviews were conducted with food retail managers to understand the factors perceived to influence implementation, maintenance and effectiveness. Customer surveys assessed support for, and awareness of, interventions. Interrupted time series analysis estimated the impact of pricing interventions on food and beverage sales. Three centres each implemented a unique intervention: (i) discounted healthy bundles (‘healthy combination deals’), (ii) offering deals at specific times of the day (‘healthy happy hours’) and (iii) increasing the prices of selected unhealthy options and reducing the prices of selected healthier options (‘everyday pricing changes’). Café team leaders did not identify any significant challenges to implementation or maintenance of interventions, though low staff engagement was identified as potentially influencing the null effect on sales for healthy combination deals and healthy happy hours interventions. Customers reported low levels of awareness and high levels of support for interventions. Everyday pricing changes resulted in a significant decrease in sales of unhealthy items during the intervention period, though also resulted in a decrease in café revenue. Co-developed healthy food and beverage pricing interventions can be readily implemented with broad customer support. Everyday pricing changes have demonstrated potential effectiveness at reducing unhealthy purchases.
Wing-Beat Frequency and Its Acoustics in Birds and Bats
Authors: Boonman Arjan , Yovel Yossi , Eitan Ofri
Published: June 2020

Synopsis

Animal flight noise can serve as an inspiration to engineering solutions to wind-noise problems in planes or wind turbines. Here we investigate the acoustics of wingbeats in birds and bats by co-registering wing-movement in natural flight with acoustic noise. To understand the relationships between wing movement and acoustics, we conducted additional acoustic measurements of single moving wings and other moving surfaces with accurately tracked motion paths. We found a correlation between wing-surface area and the sound pressure level of wingbeats; with bats tending to produce lower levels than birds. Measuring moving wings in isolation showed that a downstroke toward a microphone causes negative sound pressure that flips back into positive pressure at the reversal to the upstroke. The flip back to positive pressure is unrelated to the action of the upstroke, but occurs when the downward motion is halted. If the microphone is positioned above the downward wingbeat, then sound pressure instead quickly rises during the downward motion of the wing. The phase pattern of the impulse created by the wingbeat varies systematically with recording-angle. The curvature of the wing appears to be a determinant of the average frequency of the acoustic impulse. Our findings can be used to predict the acoustics of smaller flying animals where repetition pitch of similar underlying impulses, repeated at much higher wingbeat-rates become dominant.