bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Low-cost Position and Force Measurement System for Payload Transport Using UAVs
Authors: Gandolfo Daniel Ceferino , Rosales Claudio D. , Salinas Lucio R. , Gimenez J. , Carelli Ricardo
Published: April 2021

In recent years, multiple applications have emerged in the area of payload transport using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This has attracted considerable interest among the scientific community, especially the cases involving one or several rotary-wing UAVs. In this context, this work proposes a novel measurement system which can estimate the payload position and the force exerted by it on the UAV. This measurement system is low cost, easy to implement, and can be used either in indoor or outdoor environments (no sensorized laboratory is needed). The measurement system is validated statically and dynamically. In the first test, the estimations obtained by the system are compared with measurements produced by high-precision devices. In the second test, the system is used in real experiments to compare its performance with the ones obtained using known procedures. These experiments allowed to draw interesting conclusions on which future research can be based.
Lateral Hypothalamic Area Glutamatergic Neurons and Their Projections to the Lateral Habenula Modulate the Anesthetic Potency of Isoflurane in Mice
Authors: Zhao Shiyi , Li Rui , Li Huiming , Wang Sa , Zhang Xinxin , Wang Dan , Guo Juan , Li Huihui , Li Ao , Tong Tingting , Zhong Haixing , Yang Qianzi , Dong Hailong
Published: April 2021

The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) plays a pivotal role in regulating consciousness transition, in which orexinergic neurons, GABAergic neurons, and melanin-concentrating hormone neurons are involved. Glutamatergic neurons have a large population in the LHA, but their anesthesia-related effect has not been explored. Here, we found that genetic ablation of LHA glutamatergic neurons shortened the induction time and prolonged the recovery time of isoflurane anesthesia in mice. In contrast, chemogenetic activation of LHA glutamatergic neurons increased the time to anesthesia and decreased the time to recovery. Optogenetic activation of LHA glutamatergic neurons during the maintenance of anesthesia reduced the burst suppression pattern of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and shifted EEG features to an arousal pattern. Photostimulation of LHA glutamatergic projections to the lateral habenula (LHb) also facilitated the emergence from anesthesia and the transition of anesthesia depth to a lighter level. Collectively, LHA glutamatergic neurons and their projections to the LHb regulate anesthetic potency and EEG features.
Tropical agroindustrial biowaste revalorization through integrative biorefineries—review part I: coffee and palm oil by-products
Authors: Mora-Villalobos Jose-Aníbal , Aguilar Francisco , Carballo-Arce Ana-Francis , Vega-Baudrit José-Roberto , Trimino-Vazquez Humberto , Villegas-Peñaranda Luis Roberto , Stöbener Anne , Eixenberger Daniela , Bubenheim Paul , Sandoval-Barrantes Manuel , Liese Andreas
Published: April 2021

Tropical crops are an important source of wealth in many countries. The current agribusiness model is based on the production of a final commodity, leading to the production of organic by-products (biowastes) that in many cases contain bioactive compounds with a potential added value. The exploitation of these by-products is the foundation of the circular economy that leads to the generation of greener bioprocesses for the industry with foreseeable economic improvements in production systems. This review aims to point out the idle opportunities of agricultural production systems and their associated biowastes to contribute to the establishment of a bioeconomy. Hence, the focus lies on five tropical extensive crops: coffee, oil palm, sugar cane, banana, and pineapple. This first part of the review explores agricultural wastes originated from the coffee and oil palm industrial process and is oriented on the potential use of these by-products as a starting material for the alternative obtention of chemicals, otherwise obtained from petrochemistry. The second part of the review focuses on prospective use of lignocellulosic rich biowaste that is derived from the industrialization of sugar cane, banana, and pineapple. A fundamental difference for the use of coffee biomass compared to other crops is the presence of numerous bioactive compounds that are not yet properly utilized, such as antioxidants (i.e., caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid), as well as their possible use in the manufacture of products of interest in the cosmetic (i.e., quinic acid) or pharmaceutical industry (i.e., caffeic acid phenethyl ester). In the case of oil palm, its potential lies in obtaining chemicals such as glycerol and carotenoids, or in the bioenergy production.
Breaking Through Bottlenecks for Thermally Conductive Polymer Composites: A Perspective for Intrinsic Thermal Conductivity, Interfacial Thermal Resistance and Theoretics
Authors: Gu Junwei , Ruan Kunpeng
Published: April 2021

Rapid development of energy, electrical and electronic technologies has put forward higher requirements for the thermal conductivities of polymers and their composites. However, the thermal conductivity coefficient (λ) values of prepared thermally conductive polymer composites are still difficult to achieve expectations, which has become the bottleneck in the fields of thermally conductive polymer composites. Aimed at that, based on the accumulation of the previous research works by related researchers and our research group, this paper proposes three possible directions for breaking through the bottlenecks: (1) preparing and synthesizing intrinsically thermally conductive polymers, (2) reducing the interfacial thermal resistance in thermally conductive polymer composites, and (3) establishing suitable thermal conduction models and studying inner thermal conduction mechanism to guide experimental optimization. Also, the future development trends of the three above-mentioned directions are foreseen, hoping to provide certain basis and guidance for the preparation, researches and development of thermally conductive polymers and their composites.
Effects of memristive synapse radiation interactions on learning in spiking neural networks
Authors: Gandharava Dahl Sumedha , Ivans Robert C. , Cantley Kurtis D.
Published: April 2021

This study uses advanced modeling and simulation to explore the effects of external events such as radiation interactions on the synaptic devices in an electronic spiking neural network. Specifically, the networks are trained using the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) learning rule to recognize spatio-temporal patterns (STPs) representing 25 and 100-pixel characters. Memristive synapses based on a TiO2 non-linear drift model designed in Verilog-A are utilized, with STDP learning behavior achieved through bi-phasic pre- and post-synaptic action potentials. The models are modified to include experimentally observed state-altering and ionizing radiation effects on the device. It is found that radiation interactions tend to make the connection between afferents stronger by increasing the conductance of synapses overall, subsequently distorting the STDP learning curve. In the absence of consistent STPs, these effects accumulate over time and make the synaptic weight evolutions unstable. With STPs at lower flux intensities, the network can recover and relearn with constant training. However, higher flux can overwhelm the leaky integrate-and-fire post-synaptic neuron circuits and reduce stability of the network.
Self-passivating smart tungsten alloys for DEMO: a progress in joining and upscale for a first wall mockup
Authors: Bachurina Diana , Tan Xiao-Yue , Klein Felix , Suchkov Alexey , Litnovsky Andrey , Schmitz Janina , Gonzalez-Julian Jesus , Bram Martin , Coenen Jan Willem , Wu Yu-Cheng , Linsmeier Christian
Published: April 2021

Self-passivating, so-called smart alloys are under development for a future fusion power plant. These alloys containing tungsten, chromium and yttrium must possess an acceptable plasma performance during a regular plasma operation of a power plant and demonstrate the suppression of non-desirable oxidation of tungsten in case of an accident. The up-scaling of the bulk smart alloys to the reactor-relevant sizes has begun and the first samples with a diameter of 50 mm and thickness of 5 mm became available. The samples feature high relative density of above 99% and good homogeneity. With production of bulk samples, the research program on joining the smart alloy to the structural material was initiated. In a present study, the novel titanium–zirconium–beryllium braze was applied successfully to join the smart alloy to the Rusfer-reduced-activation steel. The braze has survived at least a hundred of cyclic thermal excursions in the range of 300–600 °C without mechanical destruction.
Biblical Philosophy
Authors: Johnson Dru
Published: April 2021

In Biblical Philosophy, Dru Johnson examines how the texts of Christian Scripture argue philosophically with ancient and modern readers alike. He demonstrates how biblical literature bears the distinct markers of a philosophical style in its use of literary and philosophical strategies to reason about the nature of reality and our place within it. Johnson questions traditional definitions of philosophy and compares the Hebraic style of philosophy with the intellectual projects of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Hellenism. Identifying the genetic features of the Hebraic philosophical style, Johnson traces its development from its hybridization in Hellenistic Judaism to its retrieval by the New Testament authors. He also shows how the Gospels and letters of Paul exhibit the same genetic markers, modes of argument, particular argument forms, and philosophical convictions that define the Hebraic style, while they engaged with Hellenistic rhetoric. His volume offers a model for thinking about philosophical styles in comparative philosophical discussions.
The Growth of Royal Government under Henry III
Authors: Jobson Adrian L , Taylor Alice , Hartland Beth , Insley Charles , Carpenter David , Vincent Nicholas , Barratt Nick , Brand Paul , Dryburgh Paul , Hoskin Philippa M. , Waugh Scott , Moore Tony K.
Published: April 2021

The thirteenth century saw major developments in England's administration, as the procedures and processes of government expanded rapidly, the principles enshrined in Magna Carta became embedded, knights and burgesses were summoned to Parliament for the first time, and nothing short of a political revolution took place. The essays here draw on material available for the first time via the completion of the project to calendar all the Fine Rolls of Henry III; these rolls comprise the last series of records of the English Chancery from that period to become readily available in a convenient form, thereby transforming access to several important fields of research, including financial, legal, political and social issues. The volume covers topics including the evidential value of the fine rolls themselves and their wider significance for the English polity, developments in legal and financial administration, the roles of women and the church, and the fascinating details of the development of the office of escheator. Related or parallel developments in Scotland, Wales and Ireland are also dealt with, giving a broader British dimension. Louise J. Wilkinson is Professor of Medieval History, Canterbury Christ Church University; David Crook is Honorary Research Fellow at the National Archives and the University of Notthingham. Contributors: Nick Barratt, Paul Brand, David Carpenter, David Crook, Paul Dryburgh, Beth Hartland, Philippa Hoskin, Charles Insley, Adrian Jobson, Tony Moore, Alice Taylor, Nicholas Vincent, Scott Waugh, Louise Wilkinson
Camberwell Assessment of Need: Forensic Version
Authors: Thomas Stuart , Slade Mike
Published: April 2021

The Camberwell Assessment of Need Forensic Version (CANFOR) is a tool for assessing the needs of people with mental health problems who are in contact with forensic services. It is based on the CAN, a widely used needs assessment for people with severe mental health problems. Individual needs are assessed in 25 areas of life, spanning health, social, clinical and functional domains. Comprehensive versions are available for research (CANFOR-R) and clinical use (CANFOR-C), as well as a short summary version (CANFOR-S) suitable for both research and clinical use. CANFOR was rigorously developed by a multidisciplinary team at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and is suitable for use in all forensic mental health and prison settings. This second edition provides an update of the CANFOR tools and their application in clinical and research settings. The assessment forms are freely available to download from the CAN website (researchintorecovery.com/can) and cambridge.org.
Use of Alzheimer’s Disease Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in A Tertiary Care Memory Clinic
Authors: Stiffel Michael , Bergeron David , Mourabit Amari Karim , Poulin Élizabeth , Roberge Xavier , Meilleur-Durand Synthia , Sellami Leila , Molin Pierre , Nadeau Yannick , Fortin Marie-Pierre , Caron Stéphanie , Poulin Stéphane , Verret Louis , Bouchard Rémi W. , Teunissen Charlotte , Laforce Robert Jr
Published: April 2021

Introduction:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are promising tools to help identify the underlying pathology of neurocognitive disorders. In this manuscript, we report our experience with AD CSF biomarkers in 262 consecutive patients in a tertiary care memory clinic.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed 262 consecutive patients who underwent lumbar puncture (LP) and CSF measurement of AD biomarkers (Aβ1–42, total tau or t-tau, and p-tau181). We studied the safety of the procedure and its impact on patient’s diagnosis and management.

Results:

The LP allowed to identify underlying AD pathology in 72 of the 121 patients (59%) with early onset amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) with a high probability of progression to AD; to distinguish the behavioral/dysexecutive variant of AD from the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) in 25 of the 45 patients (55%) with an atypical neurobehavioral profile; to identify AD as the underlying pathology in 15 of the 27 patients (55%) with atypical or unclassifiable primary progressive aphasia (PPA); and to distinguish AD from other disorders in 9 of the 29 patients (31%) with psychiatric differential diagnoses and 19 of the 40 patients (47%) with lesional differential diagnoses (normal pressure hydrocephalus, encephalitis, prion disease, etc.). No major complications occurred following the LP.

Interpretation:

Our results suggest that CSF analysis is a safe and effective diagnostic tool in select patients with neurocognitive disorders. We advocate for a wider use of this biomarker in tertiary care memory clinics in Canada.
Seasonal dynamics of snow ablation on selected glaciers in central Spitsbergen derived from Sentinel-2 satellite images
Authors: Kavan Jan , Haagmans Vincent
Published: April 2021

The dynamics of seasonal snow ablation on six glaciers in central Spitsbergen (Dicksonland) were assessed by examining a set of Sentinel-2 satellite images covering the summer ablation season for the period 2016–19. All glaciers lost 80% or more of their surface snow cover during the studied ablation seasons. This bolsters the recently observed trend of local glacier thinning, even at higher altitudes. Snow ablation dynamics are highly dependent on the glaciers altitudes, their position relative to the prevailing wind direction and the exposure to insolation. The accumulation areas of the studied glaciers were delimited based on the overlap of the minimum extent of snow-covered areas in the four consecutive studied summer seasons. The high temporal and spatial resolutions of available images enabled a detailed description of the seasonal snow ablation dynamics. Moreover, an estimate of the average number of days with below threshold glacier snow cover was made. This study contributes to our understanding of recent processes and might further support the modelling of glacier melt and subsequent runoff.
A Conservative Right to Privacy: Legal, Ideological, and Coalitional Transformations in US Social Conservatism
Authors: Wuest Joanna
Published: April 2021

The right to privacy has long been regarded as a liberal progressive principle, one that guarantees gender-based equality and liberty in the domain of reproductive rights. Since the US Supreme Court’s renowned articulation of privacy inRoe v. Wade, privacy’s opponents have condemned the right as an illegitimate judicial invention with no basis in the Constitution. This article addresses the puzzle of why a coalition of Christian conservative legal organizations, conservative foundations, Trump administration officials, Republican party lawmakers, and trans-exclusionary radical feminists has assembled to redefine the right to privacy in service of anti-transgender politics. While much attention has been paid to the proliferation of religious liberty-based challenges to the rights of sexual and gender minorities, these accounts miss how central the fight to reassociate privacy has become in conflicts waged in state and federal courts, city and state legislatures, and ballot referendum campaigns. Although this coalition eschews any mention ofRoeor reproductive rights, it does adopt a substantive due process-based interpretation of privacy’s mandate despite the typical conservative disdain for that doctrine. Additionally, the coalition frames its project as one that balances competing rights claims by defending (cis) women’s rights against allegedly lopsided trans-inclusive reforms.
Did shell-crushing predators drive the evolution of ammonoid septal shape?
Authors: Johnson Erynn H. , DiMarco Briana M. , Peterman David J. , Carter Aja M. , Allmon Warren D.
Published: April 2021

For centuries, paleontologists have sought functional explanations for the uniquely complex internal walls (septa) of ammonoids, extinct shelled cephalopods. Ammonoid septa developed increasingly complex fractal margins, unlike any modern shell morphologies, throughout more than 300 million years of evolution. Some have suggested these morphologies provided increased resistance to shell-crushing predators. We perform the first physical compression experiments on model ammonoid septa using controlled, theoretical morphologies generated by computer-aided design and 3D printing. These biomechanical experiments reveal that increasing complexity of septal margins does not increase compression resistance. Our results raise the question of whether the evolution of septal shape may be tied closely to the placement of the siphuncle foramen (anatomic septal hole). Our tests demonstrate weakness in the centers of uniformly thick septa, supporting work suggesting reinforcement by shell thickening at the center of septa. These experiments highlight the importance of 3D reconstruction using idealized theoretical morphologies that permit the testing of long-held hypotheses of functional evolutionary drivers by recreating extinct morphologies once rendered physically untestable by the fossil record.
Fossil bivalves and the sclerochronological reawakening
Authors: Moss David K. , Ivany Linda C. , Jones Douglas S.
Published: April 2021

The field of sclerochronology has long been known to paleobiologists. Yet, despite the central role of growth rate, age, and body size in questions related to macroevolution and evolutionary ecology, these types of studies and the data they produce have received only episodic attention from paleobiologists since the field's inception in the 1960s. It is time to reconsider their potential. Not only can sclerochronological data help to address long-standing questions in paleobiology, but they can also bring to light new questions that would otherwise have been impossible to address. For example, growth rate and life-span data, the very data afforded by chronological growth increments, are essential to answer questions related not only to heterochrony and hence evolutionary mechanisms, but also to body size and organism energetics across the Phanerozoic. While numerous fossil organisms have accretionary skeletons, bivalves offer perhaps one of the most tangible and intriguing pathways forward, because they exhibit clear, typically annual, growth increments and they include some of the longest-lived, non-colonial animals on the planet. In addition to their longevity, modern bivalves also show a latitudinal gradient of increasing life span and decreasing growth rate with latitude that might be related to the latitudinal diversity gradient. Is this a recently developed phenomenon or has it characterized much of the group's history? When and how did extreme longevity evolve in the Bivalvia? What insights can the growth increments of fossil bivalves provide about hypotheses for energetics through time? In spite of the relative ease with which the tools of sclerochronology can be applied to these questions, paleobiologists have been slow to adopt sclerochronological approaches. Here, we lay out an argument and the methods for a path forward in paleobiology that uses sclerochronology to answer some of our most pressing questions.
Studying Policy Design Quality in Comparative Perspective
Authors: FERNÁNDEZ-I-MARÍN XAVIER , KNILL CHRISTOPH , STEINEBACH YVES
Published: April 2021

This article is a first attempt to systematically examine policy design and its influence on policy effectiveness in a comparative perspective. We begin by providing a novel concept and measure of policy design. Our Average Instrument Diversity (AID) index captures whether governments tend to reuse the same policy instruments and instrument combinations or produce policy solutions that are carefully tailored to the policy problem at hand. Second, we demonstrate that our AID index is a valid and reliable measure of policy design quality with a strong explanatory power for the outcome variables tested. Analyzing the composition of environmental policy portfolios in 21 OECD countries, we show that higher levels of AID are positively associated with a country’s policy effectiveness in environmental matters. Based on this finding, we analyze, in a third step, the factors that lead countries to adopt more or less diverse policy portfolios. We find that the policy design quality is significantly improved when policy makers are not bound by high institutional constraints and, more importantly, are backed by well-equipped bureaucracies.
THE HISTORIA AVGVSTA BEFORE MS PAL. LAT. 899: LOST MANUSCRIPTS AND SCRIBAL MEDIATION
Authors: Shedd Martin
Published: April 2021

This article re-evaluates the role of the manuscript tradition of the Historia Augusta in debates over the original contents and authorship of the text. Evidence for physical disruptions to the text before our oldest surviving manuscripts points to an earlier manuscript distributed across multiple codices. A multi-volume archetype eliminates critical arguments against the author's claims about lives missing before the Life of Hadrian as well as in the lacuna for the years a.d. 244–260. Other multi-volume codices of the eighth and ninth centuries show that loss of an initial volume would have disrupted the textual tradition for the index, titles and authorial attributions. Comparison of our most complete early witness, Pal. lat. 899, to the independent branches of the textual tradition shows discrepancies between these paratextual elements as expected in a disrupted tradition. Ultimately, this article concludes that the current debates on authorship and the original scope of the Historia Augusta rest on paratextual elements from a single branch of the manuscript tradition, raising doubts about the centrality of these controversies to understanding the work.
RURAL WORKERS AND THE ROLE OF THE RURAL IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLISH FOOD RIOTING
Authors: GRIFFIN CARL J.
Published: April 2021

No form of English popular protest has been subject to such close scholarly analysis as the eighteenth-century food riot, a response not just to the understanding that food riots comprised two out of every three crowd actions but also to the influence of E. P. Thompson's seminal paper ‘The moral economy of the English crowd’. If the food riot is now understood as an event of considerable complexity, one assertion remains unchallenged: that riots remained a tradition of the towns, with agrarian society all but unaffected by food rioting. This article offers a new interpretation in which the rural is not just the backdrop to food protests but instead a locus and focus of collective actions over the marketing of provisions, with agricultural workers taking centre stage. It is shown that agricultural workers often took the lead in market town riots as well as well as in instigating riots in the countryside. Further, such episodes of collective protest were neither rare nor unusual but instead formed an integral part of the food rioting repertoire. It is also shown that rural industrial workers – notoriously active in market town riots – were often joined or even led by agricultural workers in their protests.
Grand challenges for the 21st century: what crop models can and can't (yet) do
Authors: Silva João Vasco , Giller Ken E.
Published: April 2021

Crop production is at the core of a ‘perfect storm’ encompassing the grand challenges of achieving food and nutrition security for all, in the face of climate change, while avoiding further conversion of natural habitats for agriculture and loss of biodiversity. Here, we explore current trends in crop modelling related to these grand challenges by reflecting on research presented at the Second International Crop Modelling Symposium (iCropM2020). A keyword search in the book of abstracts of the symposium revealed a strong focus on ‘climate change’, ‘adaptation’ and ‘impact assessment’ and much less on ‘food security’ or ‘policy’. Most research focused on field-level investigations and far fewer on farm(ing) systems levels – the levels at which management decisions are made by farmers. Experimentation is key to development and testing of crop models, yet the term ‘simulation’ outweighed by far the terms ‘experiments’ and ‘trials’, and few contributions dealt with model improvement. Cereals are intensively researched, whereas roots, tubers and tropical perennials are under-researched. Little attention is paid to nutrient limitations apart from nitrogen or to pests and diseases. The aforementioned aspects represent opportunities for future research where crop models can help in devising hypotheses and driving new experimentation. We must also ensure that crop models are fit for their intended purposes, especially if they are to provide advice to policymakers. The latter, together with cross-scale and interdisciplinary efforts with direct engagement of stakeholders are needed to address the grand challenges faced by food and agricultural systems in the next century.
When simple self-reference is too simple: Managing the categorical relevance of speaker self-presentation
Authors: Whitehead Kevin A. , Lerner Gene H.
Published: April 2021

Membership categories such as ‘doctor’, ‘customer’, and ‘girl’ can form a set of alternative ways of referring to the same person. Moreover, speakers can select from this array of correct alternatives that term best fitted to what is getting done in their talk. In contrast, self-references alone ordinarily do not convey category membership, unless the speaker specifically employs some sort of category-conveying formulation. This report investigates how speakers manage the categorical relevance of these simplest self-references (e.g. ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’) as a practical means of self-presentation. We first describe how speakers forestall recipient attribution of membership categories. We then consider cases where simple self-references are subjected to subsequent elaboration—via self-categorization—in the face of possible recipient misreading of the speaker's category membership. Thereafter, we introduce the practice of contrastive entanglement, and describe how speakers employ it to fashion tacitly categorized self-references that serve the formation of action. (Person reference, conversation analysis, membership categorization devices, race, gender)*
The End of the Ninth Legion, War in Britain and the Building of Hadrian's Wall
Authors: Hodgson Nick
Published: April 2021

It is often stated that the Ninth Legion was transferred from Britain and continued to exist until the 130s or beyond. The evidence is reviewed, and it is concluded that: (1) no more than a detachment of the legion went abroad, and that only for the period c. 105 to c. 120; (2) there is no prosopographical or other evidence which proves that the legion existed after the early 120s. Given that war, heavy Roman losses and an interruption in the building of Hadrian's Wall are directly attested in Britain, probably occurring in 122 or shortly after, it is argued that it is most likely that the legion was defeated and disbanded in connection with those events.
What Should We Agree on about the Repugnant Conclusion?
Authors: Zuber Stéphane , Venkatesh Nikhil , Tännsjö Torbjörn , Tarsney Christian , Stefánsson H. Orri , Steele Katie , Spears Dean , Sebo Jeff , Pivato Marcus , Ord Toby , Ng Yew-Kwang , Masny Michal , MacAskill William , Lawson Nicholas , Kuruc Kevin , Hutchinson Michelle , Gustafsson Johan E. , Greaves Hilary , Forsberg Lisa , Fleurbaey Marc , Coffey Diane , Cato Susumu , Castro Clinton , Campbell Tim , Budolfson Mark , Broome John , Berger Alexander , Beckstead Nick , Asheim Geir B.
Published: April 2021

The Repugnant Conclusion is an implication of some approaches to population ethics. It states, in Derek Parfit's original formulation,

For any possible population of at least ten billion people, all with a very high quality of life, there must be some much larger imaginable population whose existence, if other things are equal, would be better, even though its members have lives that are barely worth living. (Parfit 1984: 388)
The risk to child nutrition during and after COVID-19 pandemic: what to expect and how to respond
Authors: Ntambara James , Chu Minjie
Published: April 2021

Objective:

The current study aimed to address the key areas of concern for child nutrition, both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes strategic responses to reduce child undernutrition in the short and long term.

Design:

A descriptive literature review was performed. The search of the literature was conducted through using electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane library.

Setting:

A wide range of published articles focused on child malnutrition were reviewed.

Participants:

The study was focused on children especially those under 5 years.

Results:

The current study proposes strategic responses to reduce child undernutrition. These responses include strengthening access to community-based nutrition services that support the early detection and treatment of undernourished children and emergency food distribution, including fortified foods with vitamins and minerals, to vulnerable households, particularly those with children under 5 years. Moreover, counseling and promotion programmes should be reinforced to revitalise community nutrition education in areas such as gestation, exclusive breast-feeding and complementary feeding, and hygienic practices involving handwashing, proper sanitation and other basic behavioural changes.

Conclusions:

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many countries especially those in the regions of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa in which there has been an ongoing burden of child undernutrition. However, malnutrition is preventable and can be eliminated through a multisectoral strategic approach. The effective execution of a multisectoral approach towards preventing childhood malnutrition will require not only a financial investment but also the collective efforts from different ministries of the governments, UN-affiliated agencies and non-governmental organisations.
INVARIANT SETS AND NORMAL SUBGROUPOIDS OF UNIVERSAL ÉTALE GROUPOIDS INDUCED BY CONGRUENCES OF INVERSE SEMIGROUPS
Authors: KOMURA FUYUTA
Published: April 2021

For a given inverse semigroup, one can associate an étale groupoid which is called the universal groupoid. Our motivation is studying the relation between inverse semigroups and associated étale groupoids. In this paper, we focus on congruences of inverse semigroups, which is a fundamental concept for considering quotients of inverse semigroups. We prove that a congruence of an inverse semigroup induces a closed invariant set and a normal subgroupoid of the universal groupoid. Then we show that the universal groupoid associated to a quotient inverse semigroup is described by the restriction and quotient of the original universal groupoid. Finally we compute invariant sets and normal subgroupoids induced by special congruences including abelianization.
Study on the ULF Magnetic Field Generated by Earth Currents Relating to Large EQs
Authors: Zhou H. , Yan F. , Wang J. , Luo Q. , Jin T.
Published: April 2021

ULF magnetic anomalies (f < 1 Hz) have been observed prior to multiple large earthquakes (EQs) during the last three decades. A polarization analysis method was produced and applied in many EQ cases in order to discriminate the weak ULF crustal signals from other signals. Although many publications considered the parameter of polarization ratio (amplitude or power ratio of vertical magnetic field component to horizontal components), a key parameter in the polarization analysis method, useful to detect the possible magnetic signals associated with EQs, there were also many doubts on its reliability. The aim of this work is to evaluate the possibilities of the polarization ratio increases prior to large EQs based on the prevail assumption of Earth currents as the source of ULF emissions during the early stage of EQ preparation independent of the mechanism involved in producing the currents, and the parallel 3‐D finite‐difference time‐domain technique is applied to calculate the electromagnetic responses in the whole inhomogeneous Earth‐ionosphere waveguide. The contributions of the lightning discharges on ULF power are also evaluated based on the gridded flash counts included in the Lightning Imaging Sensor climatology data. The results reveal that the surface vertical magnetic field and polarization ratio are possible to increase locally around the epicenters as long as the intensity of the surface seismic magnetic fields are large enough compared with those produced by other sources. Unfortunately, the actual increases are usually difficult to be distinguished obviously mostly due to the weak seismic increases.
Influence of xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor, topiroxostat, on body weight of diabetic obese mice
Authors: Nakamura Takashi , Nampei Mai , Murase Takayo , Satoh Etsuko , Akari Seigo , Katoh Noriaki , Mizukami Hiroki
Published: April 2021

Plasma xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) activity is high in metabolic disorders such as diabetic mellitus, obesity, or overweight. Thus, this study investigated whether the XOR inhibitor, topiroxostat, affected body weight. Male db/db mice were fed standard diets with or without topiroxostat for 4 weeks. Body weight and food intake were constantly monitored, along with monitoring plasma biochemical markers, including insulin and XOR activity. Additionally, hepatic hypoxanthine and XOR activity were also documented. Single regression analysis was performed to determine the mechanism. Topiroxostat treatment suppressed weight gain relative to the vehicle without any impact on food intake. However, the weight of fat pads and hepatic and muscle triglyceride content did not change. Topiroxostat decreased the plasma uric acid and increased hepatic hypoxanthine in response to the inhibition of XOR activity. Plasma ketone body and free fatty acid were also increased. Moreover, fat weight was weakly associated with plasma XOR activity in the diabetic state and was negatively associated with ketone body by topiroxostat. These results suggested that topiroxostat amplified the burning of lipids and the salvage pathway, resulting in predisposing the body toward catabolism. The inhibition of plasma XOR activity may contribute to weight loss.
The glycolytic process in endothelial cells and its implications
Authors: Leung Susan, Wai Sum , Shi Yi
Published: April 2021

Endothelial cells play an obligatory role in regulating local vascular tone and maintaining homeostasis in vascular biology. Cell metabolism, converting food to energy in organisms, is the primary self-sustaining mechanism for cell proliferation and reproduction, structure maintenance, and fight-or-flight responses to stimuli. Four major metabolic processes take place in the energy-producing process, including glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, glutamine metabolism, and fatty acid oxidation. Among them, glycolysis is the primary energy-producing mechanism in endothelial cells. The present review focused on glycolysis in endothelial cells under both physiological and pathological conditions. Since the switches among metabolic processes precede the functional changes and disease developments, some prophylactic and/or therapeutic strategies concerning the role of glycolysis in cardiovascular disease are discussed.
NR5A2 transcriptional activation by BRD4 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by upregulating GDF15
Authors: Guo Feng , Zhou Yingke , Guo Hui , Ren Dianyun , Jin Xin , Wu Heshui
Published: April 2021

NR5A2 is a transcription factor regulating the expression of various oncogenes. However, the role of NR5A2 and the specific regulatory mechanism of NR5A2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are not thoroughly studied. In our study, Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to assess the expression levels of different molecules. Wound-healing, MTS, colony formation, and transwell assays were employed to evaluate the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer cells. We demonstrated that NR5A2 acted as a negative prognostic biomarker in PDAC. NR5A2 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. While NR5A2 overexpression markedly promoted both events in vitro. We further identified that NR5A2 was transcriptionally upregulated by BRD4 in pancreatic cancer cells and this was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-qPCR. Besides, transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to explore the cancer-promoting effects of NR5A2, we found that GDF15 is a component of multiple down-regulated tumor-promoting gene sets after NR5A2 was silenced. Next, we showed that NR5A2 enhanced the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing the transcription of GDF15. Collectively, our findings suggest that NR5A2 expression is induced by BRD4. In turn, NR5A2 activates the transcription of GDF15, promoting pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, NR5A2 and GDF15 could be promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.
Differences in subcortico-cortical interactions identified from connectome and microcircuit models in autism
Authors: Park Bo-yong , Hong Seok-Jun , Valk Sofie L. , Paquola Casey , Benkarim Oualid , Bethlehem Richard A. I. , Di Martino Adriana , Milham Michael P. , Gozzi Alessandro , Yeo B. T. Thomas , Smallwood Jonathan , Bernhardt Boris C.
Published: April 2021

The pathophysiology of autism has been suggested to involve a combination of both macroscale connectome miswiring and microcircuit anomalies. Here, we combine connectome-wide manifold learning with biophysical simulation models to understand associations between global network perturbations and microcircuit dysfunctions in autism. We studied neuroimaging and phenotypic data in 47 individuals with autism and 37 typically developing controls obtained from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange initiative. Our analysis establishes significant differences in structural connectome organization in individuals with autism relative to controls, with strong between-group effects in low-level somatosensory regions and moderate effects in high-level association cortices. Computational models reveal that the degree of macroscale anomalies is related to atypical increases of recurrent excitation/inhibition, as well as subcortical inputs into cortical microcircuits, especially in sensory and motor areas. Transcriptomic association analysis based on postmortem datasets identifies genes expressed in cortical and thalamic areas from childhood to young adulthood. Finally, supervised machine learning finds that the macroscale perturbations are associated with symptom severity scores on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Together, our analyses suggest that atypical subcortico-cortical interactions are associated with both microcircuit and macroscale connectome differences in autism.
The presence of Superfund sites as a determinant of life expectancy in the United States
Authors: Kiaghadi Amin , Rifai Hanadi S. , Dawson Clint N.
Published: April 2021

Superfund sites could affect life expectancy (LE) via increasing the likelihood of exposure to toxic chemicals. Here, we assess to what extent such presence could alter the LE independently and in the context of sociodemographic determinants. A nationwide geocoded statistical modeling at the census tract level was undertaken to estimate the magnitude of impact. Results showed a significant difference in LE among census tracts with at least one Superfund site and their neighboring tracts with no sites. The presence of a Superfund site could cause a decrease of −0.186 ± 0.027 years in LE. This adverse effect could be as high as −1.22 years in tracts with Superfund sites and high sociodemographic disadvantage. Specific characteristics of Superfund sites such as being prone to flooding and the absence of a cleanup strategy could amplify the adverse effect. Furthermore, the presence of Superfund sites amplifies the negative influence of sociodemographic factors at lower LEs.
Conformational interconversion of MLKL and disengagement from RIPK3 precede cell death by necroptosis
Authors: Garnish Sarah E. , Meng Yanxiang , Koide Akiko , Sandow Jarrod J. , Denbaum Eric , Jacobsen Annette V. , Yeung Wayland , Samson Andre L. , Horne Christopher R. , Fitzgibbon Cheree , Young Samuel N. , Smith Phoebe P. C. , Webb Andrew I. , Petrie Emma J. , Hildebrand Joanne M. , Kannan Natarajan , Czabotar Peter E. , Koide Shohei , Murphy James M.
Published: April 2021

Phosphorylation of the MLKL pseudokinase by the RIPK3 kinase leads to MLKL oligomerization, translocation to, and permeabilization of, the plasma membrane to induce necroptotic cell death. The precise choreography of MLKL activation remains incompletely understood. Here, we report Monobodies, synthetic binding proteins, that bind the pseudokinase domain of MLKL within human cells and their crystal structures in complex with the human MLKL pseudokinase domain. While Monobody-32 constitutively binds the MLKL hinge region, Monobody-27 binds MLKL via an epitope that overlaps the RIPK3 binding site and is only exposed after phosphorylated MLKL disengages from RIPK3 following necroptotic stimulation. The crystal structures identified two distinct conformations of the MLKL pseudokinase domain, supporting the idea that a conformational transition accompanies MLKL disengagement from RIPK3. These studies provide further evidence that MLKL undergoes a large conformational change upon activation, and identify MLKL disengagement from RIPK3 as a key regulatory step in the necroptosis pathway.
A systematic approach to inserting split inteins for Boolean logic gate engineering and basal activity reduction
Authors: Ho Trevor Y. H. , Shao Alexander , Lu Zeyu , Savilahti Harri , Menolascina Filippo , Wang Lei , Dalchau Neil , Wang Baojun
Published: April 2021

Split inteins are powerful tools for seamless ligation of synthetic split proteins. Yet, their use remains limited because the already intricate split site identification problem is often complicated by the requirement of extein junction sequences. To address this, we augment a mini-Mu transposon-based screening approach and devise the intein-assisted bisection mapping (IBM) method. IBM robustly reveals clusters of split sites on five proteins, converting them into AND or NAND logic gates. We further show that the use of inteins expands functional sequence space for splitting a protein. We also demonstrate the utility of our approach over rational inference of split sites from secondary structure alignment of homologous proteins, and that basal activities of highly active proteins can be mitigated by splitting them. Our work offers a generalizable and systematic route towards creating split protein-intein fusions for synthetic biology.
Efficient calculation of carrier scattering rates from first principles
Authors: Ganose Alex M. , Park Junsoo , Faghaninia Alireza , Woods-Robinson Rachel , Persson Kristin A. , Jain Anubhav
Published: April 2021

The electronic transport behaviour of materials determines their suitability for technological applications. We develop a computationally efficient method for calculating carrier scattering rates of solid-state semiconductors and insulators from first principles inputs. The present method extends existing polar and non-polar electron-phonon coupling, ionized impurity, and piezoelectric scattering mechanisms formulated for isotropic band structures to support highly anisotropic materials. We test the formalism by calculating the electronic transport properties of 23 semiconductors, including the large 48 atom CH3NH3PbI3 hybrid perovskite, and comparing the results against experimental measurements and more detailed scattering simulations. The Spearman rank coefficient of mobility against experiment (rs = 0.93) improves significantly on results obtained using a constant relaxation time approximation (rs = 0.52). We find our approach offers similar accuracy to state-of-the art methods at approximately 1/500th the computational cost, thus enabling its use in high-throughput computational workflows for the accurate screening of carrier mobilities, lifetimes, and thermoelectric power.
Discovery of temperature-induced stability reversal in perovskites using high-throughput robotic learning
Authors: Zhao Yicheng , Zhang Jiyun , Xu Zhengwei , Sun Shijing , Langner Stefan , Hartono Noor Titan Putri , Heumueller Thomas , Hou Yi , Elia Jack , Li Ning , Matt Gebhard J. , Du Xiaoyan , Meng Wei , Osvet Andres , Zhang Kaicheng , Stubhan Tobias , Feng Yexin , Hauch Jens , Sargent Edward H. , Buonassisi Tonio , Brabec Christoph J.
Published: April 2021

Stability of perovskite-based photovoltaics remains a topic requiring further attention. Cation engineering influences perovskite stability, with the present-day understanding of the impact of cations based on accelerated ageing tests at higher-than-operating temperatures (e.g. 140°C). By coupling high-throughput experimentation with machine learning, we discover a weak correlation between high/low-temperature stability with a stability-reversal behavior. At high ageing temperatures, increasing organic cation (e.g. methylammonium) or decreasing inorganic cation (e.g. cesium) in multi-cation perovskites has detrimental impact on photo/thermal-stability; but below 100°C, the impact is reversed. The underlying mechanism is revealed by calculating the kinetic activation energy in perovskite decomposition. We further identify that incorporating at least 10 mol.% MA and up to 5 mol.% Cs/Rb to maximize the device stability at device-operating temperature (<100°C). We close by demonstrating the methylammonium-containing perovskite solar cells showing negligible efficiency loss compared to its initial efficiency after 1800 hours of working under illumination at 30°C.