bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hale cycle in solar hemispheric radio flux and sunspots: Evidence for a northward-shifted relic field
Authors: Mursula K.
Published: May 2023

Context. Solar and heliospheric parameters occasionally depict notable differences between the northern and southern solar hemisphere. Although the hemispheric asymmetries of some heliospheric parameters vary systematically with the Hale cycle, this has not been found to be commonly valid for solar parameters. Also, no verified physical mechanism exists that can explain possible systematic hemispheric asymmetries.

Aims. We use a novel method of high heliolatitudinal vantage points to increase the fraction of one hemisphere in solar 10.7 cm radio fluxes and sunspot numbers. We aim to explore the possibility that solar radio fluxes and sunspot numbers, the two most fundamental solar parameters, depict systematic, possibly mutually similar patterns in their hemispheric activities during the last 75 yr.

Methods. We used three different sets of time intervals with increasing mean heliographic latitude and calculated corresponding hemispheric high-latitude radio fluxes and sunspot numbers. We also normalized these fluxes by yearly means in order to study the variation of fluxes in the two hemispheres over the whole 75 yr time interval.

Results. We find that cycle-maximum radio fluxes and sunspot numbers in each odd solar cycle (19, 21, 23) are larger at northern high latitudes than at southern high latitudes, while maximum fluxes and numbers in all even cycles (18, 20, 22 24) are larger at southern high latitudes than at northern high latitudes. This alternation indicates a new form of systematic, Hale-cycle-related variation in solar activity. Hemispheric differences at cycle maxima are 15% for radio flux and 23% for sunspot numbers, on average. The difference is largest during cycle 19 and smallest in cycle 24. Normalized radio fluxes depict a dominant Hale-cycle variation in both hemispheres, with an opposite phase and overall amplitude of about 5% in the north and 4% in the south. Thus, there is systematic Hale-cycle alternation in magnetic flux emergence in both hemispheres.

Conclusions. The hemispheric Hale cycle in flux emergence can be explained if there is a northward-directed relic magnetic field, which is slightly shifted northward. In that case, in odd cycles, the northern hemisphere is enhanced more than the southern hemisphere, and in even cycles, the northern hemisphere is reduced more than the southern hemisphere, establishing the observed hemispheric alternation. The temporal change of asymmetry during the seven cycles can be explained if the relic shift oscillates at the 210 yr Suess/deVries period, which also provides a physical cause to this periodicity. Gleissberg cycles are explained as off-equator excursions of the relic, each Gleissberg cycle forming one half of the full relic shift oscillation cycle. Having a relic field in the Sun also offers interesting possibilities for century-scale forecasting of solar activity.
Reduction of effective cost for seawater desalination using floated solar energy in south of Jordan Aqaba Port
Authors: Al Khazaleh Mahmoud , Al-Haddad Mwfeq , Al-Adaileh Doaa
Published: May 2023

The major issue that prevails all over the world is potable water. Only 1% of all Earth’s water exists as liquid, whereas less than 3% as freshwater, mostly glaciers, and 97% as salt water. Desalination is the process of removing salt from sea water in order to obtain fresh water. Nowadays, scientists are exploring seawater desalination for potable water. Another key concern that exists in any country is clean energy. The energy crisis is due to overconsumption of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. Engineers try various sources of renewable energy. The cost of potable water and clean energy, say, the cost pertaining to capital, operation, maintenance, performance, and fuel, has increased year after year. The technologies for generating renewable energy, like solar and wind, do not have fuel costs. Modern desalination techniques incur a high initial investment and a higher maintenance cost. The life-cycle cost per litre of potable water generated by the solar stills is lower than that of conventional methods. The most cost-effective way to power desalination plants is with solar power. Seawater desalination with the use of solar power is employed in these regions as a viable alternative solution. Jordan is a country in western Asia. Water and energy sources are scarce in Jordan, with water availability in Jordan is estimated to be less than 100 m3 per year. Jordan imports 95% of its energy needs. Jordan plans to generate 14% of the country’s electricity by utilizing wind and solar energy. The use of solar stills in Jordan can reduce the dependency on oil and gas for power generation. The use of floating solar stills for seawater desalination represents a promising tool for Jordan. Solar stills work on the evaporation and condensation processes. They distil water by using the heat of the sun. Efficiency and productivity have been measured to quantify the performance of solar stills. Solar stills have the advantages of simplicity, low cost, ease of maintenance, and low environmental impact. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the types, materials, components, design, performance, cost, benefits, advantages, and limitations of solar stills. The paper also discussed the reduction of the effective cost of seawater desalination using floated solar energy in Jordan's Aqaba Port.
Experimental study on mechanical properties of Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC)
Authors: Karthikeyan G. , Margret A. Leema , Vineeth V. , Harshani R.
Published: May 2023

Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is a variant of reinforced concrete in which textiles are used in place of steel reinforcing bars. Reinforcing the concrete with steel means increasing its tensile strength, but steel also corrodes and wears out over time. The TRC is a novel idea that has the potential to overcome these drawbacks. TRC is a composite reinforcing material that is made from cement and has the benefits of being resistant to corrosion, having a high bearing capacity, and performing well in terms of its fracture limit. The principal function of TRC in buildings has been as reinforcement and as a means of enhancing the ductility and performance of concrete. This experimental work utilizes a 145 gsm (grams squared per meter) alkali-resistant (AR) glass fiber textile mesh. Specimens were cast with and without fibers, and the number of layers was increased from 1 to 3 at 25 mm spacing. In this experimental work, the mechanical behavior of TRC was investigated by conducting tests on its impact, compressive, and flexural strengths. From these results, the TRC specimen exhibits more flexibility than the control specimen. The TRC specimen bends under force and returns to a new position when the load is removed, indicating a good energy absorption capability. As a result, it infers that the specimen with fibrehave the capacity to withstand a higher maximum load than conventional specimens. TRC has a greater fracture control system compared to conventional steel-reinforced concrete.
Promotion of Events and Festivals in the Digital Era
Authors: Singh Preeti , Vats Yash , Vats Aman , Vats Reshma
Published: May 2023

Purpose / Research Significance: This chapter aims to discuss and analyse the role of Media in the promotion of various events and festivals using different tools of communication such as Newspaper, Local Television Channels and Online Websites, Social Media specifically. The study also offers practical and strategic advice for event planners, brand communicators, and destination marketer sin the major Asian tourism markets, such as India and its neighbours.

Study Design/Methodology/Approach: The outcomes of the study were derived using aqualitative technique. The Prisma technique was used to examine prior literature. Prisma is a set of evidence-based reporting questions for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. There search takes a special review of social media plat forms available to promote an event online.

Finding: The study’s findings provide insight for event/festival organizers and destination marketers interested in achieving success with destination marketing, branding, and promotion.

Implications: The chapter suggests the challenges and opportunities lies in the promotion of an event / festival in the age of social media and making the best use of local media tools available.
An IoT-Based System for Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Solar PV Panels
Authors: D. Balakrishnan , J. Raja , Rajagopal Manikandan , K. Sudhakar , K. Janani
Published: May 2023

This abstract describes an IoT-based system for fault detection and diagnosis in solar PV panels. The proposed Fuzzy logic-based fault detection algorithms aims to improve the performance and reliability of solar PV panels, which can be affected by various faults such as shading, soiling, degradation, and electrical faults. The system includes wireless sensor nodes that are deployed on the panels to collect data on their electrical parameters and environmental conditions, such as temperature, irradiance, and humidity. The collected data is then transmitted to a central server for processing and analysis using machine learning algorithms. The system can detect and diagnose faults in real-time, and provide alerts and recommendations to maintenance personnel to take appropriate actions to prevent further damage or downtime. The system has several advantages over traditional manual inspection and maintenance methods, including reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, and improved energy efficiency. The proposed system has been validated through experimental tests, and the results show that it can accurately detect and diagnose faults in solar PV panels with high reliability and efficiency.
LncRNA LINC01018 Screens Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Regulates
β Cell Function Through Modulating miR-499a-5p
Authors: Liu Li , Li Yuan , Zhang Xiaoqian
Published: May 2023

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia, which
seriously endangers human health. The dysregulation of lncRNA LINC01018 in T2DM
has been noticed in previous studies, but whether it served as a biomarker lacks
validation. This study aimed to confirm the abnormal expression of LINC01018 in
T2DM and reveals its specific function in regulating pancreatic β cell
function. This study enrolled 77 T2DM patients and 41 healthy individuals and
compared the plasma LINC01018 levels between two groups using PCR. The
pancreatic β cell was induced with 25 mM glucose to mimic cell
injury during T2DM. The effects of LINC01018 on β cell proliferation,
dedifferentiation, and insulin production were evaluated by CCK8, western
blotting, and ELISA. Moreover, the involvement of miR-499a-5p was also evaluated
with luciferase reporter assay. Increased plasma LINC01018 was observed in T2DM
patients compared with healthy individuals, which discriminates patients with
high sensitivity and specificity. Upregulated LINC01018 was associated with
patients’ fasting blood glucose and weight loss. High glucose induced
the increasing LINC01018 in pancreatic islet β cells and suppressed cell
proliferation, insulin secretion, and promoted cell dedifferentiation. Silencing
LINC01018 could alleviate the impaired function of β cells by high
glucose, which was reversed by the knockdown by miR-499a-5p. Upregulated
LINC01018 served as a potential diagnostic biomarker for T2DM and alleviated
high glucose-induced β cell dysfunction via negatively modulating
miR-499a-5p.
Financial asset allocation duality and enterprise upgrading: empirical evidence from the Chinese A-share market
Authors: Guo Ke , Guo Xuemeng , Zhang Jun
Published: May 2023

This study selects the financial data of Chinese non-financial listed companies from 2012 to 2021 as the research sample and empirically examines in detail the impact of financial asset allocation on enterprise upgrading and its mechanism. The study finds that financial assets have a dual influence on enterprise upgrading. Short-term financial assets provide the necessary funds for production activities, thus promoting enterprise upgrading. Long-term financial assets crowd out the funds needed for production activities and thus inhibit enterprise upgrading, resulting in an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial assets and enterprise upgrading. Mechanism testing revealed that risk-taking capacity and earnings persistence are important ways in which financial assets affect enterprise upgrading. In addition, the impact of financial assets on enterprise upgrading differs for different types of financial assets. The financial asset significantly impacts the upgrading of over-indebtedness, non-state-owned, and high financing constraints enterprises. This study enriches the research literature on financial assets and enterprise upgrading and provides new micro evidence for understanding the impact of financial assets on the enterprise upgrading of listed companies.
Does firm size affect client targeting? An investigation over the clients of the Indian Microfinance Institutions
Authors: Sangwan Sunil , Nayak Narayan Chandra , Sen Sweta , Sangwan Vikas
Published: May 2023

The study examines the impact of the Microfinance Institutions’ (MFIs) size on their client targeting. Using MFI clients’ household data, the study considers household income, wealth, human development, caste, settlement type, and purposes of loans as different client targeting dimensions. The analysis is based on a sample survey of over 301 women clients who had received loans exclusively from 12 big and 13 small MFIs.The results indicate that the MFI size has an adverse effect on social performance. As the MFIs grow in size, they tend to target and serve the wealthier and non-agriculturally employed clients residing in urban areas. The women’s passive role in borrowing emerges as yet another concern. The instances of poverty penalty among the poor clients as reflected through higher interest rates for small-sized loans are yet another concern. The target towards poverty eradication may turn out to be a far cry under the large-sized MFIs.
Sailing to save the planet? Media-produced narratives of Greta Thunberg’s trip to the UN Climate Summit in German print newspapers
Authors: Lütkes Linda , Tuitjer Leonie , Dirksmeier Peter
Published: May 2023

Narratives and stories are important communication tools and as such essential subjects of social geography. This paper analyses the retelling of Greta Thunberg’s sailing trip across the Atlantic to the Climate Action Summit in New York in 2019 in leading German newspapers and magazines and how her intentions are transformed through this reporting into different narratives. The research mainly focuses on examining the influence of space and place, as geographical research has revealed that spatial determinants are crucial in risk communication and knowledge generation on climate change but have yet to be studied considering stories. The paper, therefore, extends the story-based approach from communication sciences by geographical research on the role of space and place in action-based stories. Therefore, the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) is used to decode the spatial environment in narratives as an active element that shapes the narrative, and the way characters can (inter)act within these settings. The paper further develops the NPF framework through a geographical lens by focusing particularly on the selection options of spaces for social interactions and affective bonds. Thus, it becomes evident how spatial contexts and environments shape the interactions between individuals and crucially influence the types of narratives that emerge.
Electrical properties and energy band alignments of p-Si/n-Ga2O3 and p+-Si/n-Ga2O3 heterostructures fabricated by surface-activated bonding
Authors: Wang Zhenwei , Kitada Takahiro , Takatsuki Daiki , Liang Jianbo , Shigekawa Naoteru , Higashiwaki Masataka
Published: May 2023

We fabricated p-Si/n-Ga2O3 and p+-Si/n-Ga2O3 heterostructures by surface-activated bonding (SAB) and investigated their electrical properties. Current density–voltage measurement was performed before and after thermal annealing at 450 °C. The current density substantially increased after annealing, which was attributed to thinning of an intermediate layer formed by the bonding process. Distinctive two-stage capacitance–voltage characteristics were observed for p-Si/n-Ga2O3 heterostructures, which were well reproduced by numerical calculation considering the effect of two-dimensional electron gas formed at the heterointerface. These results indicate that Ga2O3-based p–n heterostructures with good interface properties and large-area uniformity can be fabricated using SAB.
Application of optical flow algorithm for drift correction in electron microscopy images
Authors: Yao JiaHao , Guo Hongxuan , Yin Ziqing , Liu Chang , Da Bo , Liu Zheng , Chu Yajie , Zhong Li , Sun Litao
Published: May 2023

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image drift correction has been effectively addressed using diverse approaches, including the cross correlation algorithm (CC) and other strategies. However, most of the strategies fall short of achieving sufficient accuracy or cannot strike a balance between time consumption and accuracy. The present study proposes a TEM image drift correction strategy that enhances accuracy without any additional time consumption. Unlike the CC algorithm that matches pixels one by one, our approach involves the extraction of multiple feature points from the first TEM image and then uses the Lucas–Kanade (LK) optical flow algorithm to calculate the optical field of these feature points in the subsequent TEM images. The LK algorithm is used to calculate the instantaneous velocity of these feature points, which can help track the movement of the TEM image series. In addition, a high-precision sub-pixel level correction strategy by the utilization of linear interpolation during the correction process is developed in this work. Experimental results confirm that this strategy offers superior accuracy in comparison with the CC algorithm and also is insensitive to the size of the image. Furthermore, we offer a semantic segmentation neural network for electron microscope image pre-processing, thereby expanding the applicability of our methodology.
Ultra-low noise bipolar current source for ultracold atom magnetic system
Authors: Liu Haotian , Peng Shuai , Jiao Bolong , Li Jiaming , Luo Le
Published: May 2023

We report the development of an ultralow-noise bipolar current source based on the configuration of H-bridge current switching. The measured relative current noise fluctuation reaches 4 × 10−9 Hz−1/2, which enables an ultra-stable magnetic system for cold atom experiments. We avoid the influence of the AC leakage currents induced by the large parasitic capacitance of the H-bridge. First, the current sensor is placed as close as possible to the magnetic coils so that the systematic errors from these leakage currents are minimized. Second, the large parasitic capacitance, which parallels the magnetic coils and forms an LC oscillator, is removed from the feedback loop in our setup to maintain a large self-resonance frequency of the feedback control loop. These two improvements lead to a current source that is more precise and less noisy. Remarkably, the lowest current noise density produced by the proposed method is only 500 nA Hz−1/2 at a current of 100 A, which is about ten fold smaller than the case with leakage current. To optimize the feedback control, a numerical simulation is implemented by using Matlab Simulink, and the numerical simulation results are entirely consistent with the experimental results.
An exa-scale high-performance molecular dynamics simulation program: MODYLAS
Authors: Andoh Yoshimichi , Ichikawa Shin-ichi , Sakashita Tatsuya , Fujimoto Kazushi , Yoshii Noriyuki , Nagai Tetsuro , Tang Zhiye , Okazaki Susumu
Published: May 2023

A new version of the highly parallelized general-purpose molecular dynamics (MD) simulation program MODYLAS with high performance on the Fugaku computer was developed. A benchmark test using Fugaku indicated highly efficient communication, single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) processing, and on-cache arithmetic operations. The system’s performance deteriorated only slightly, even under high parallelization. In particular, a newly developed minimum transferred data method, requiring a significantly lower amount of data transfer compared to conventional communications, showed significantly high performance. The coordinates and forces of 101 810 176 atoms and the multipole coefficients of the subcells could be distributed to the 32 768 nodes (1 572 864 cores) in 2.3 ms during one MD step calculation. The SIMD effective instruction rates for floating-point arithmetic operations in direct force and fast multipole method (FMM) calculations measured on Fugaku were 78.7% and 31.5%, respectively. The development of a data reuse algorithm enhanced the on-cache processing; the cache miss rate for direct force and FMM calculations was only 2.74% and 1.43%, respectively, on the L1 cache and 0.08% and 0.60%, respectively, on the L2 cache. The modified MODYLAS could complete one MD single time-step calculation within 8.5 ms for the aforementioned large system. Additionally, the program contains numerous functions for material research that enable free energy calculations, along with the generation of various ensembles and molecular constraints.
Self-adaptive fusion method for scientific CMOS image sensors with variable gain ratios and background values
Authors: Zhou Errui , Li Binkang , Yang Shaohua , Yan Ming , Li Gang , Guo Mingan , Liu Lu , Wang Jing , Shi Mingyue
Published: May 2023

Image diagnosis is an important technique in transient process research of high-energy physics. High dynamic range scenes require high linear dynamic range imaging systems. Scientific CMOS (sCMOS) image sensors have widely been used in high-energy physics, nuclear medical imaging, and astronomical observation because of their advantages in the high linear dynamic range. In this paper, we study the gain ratio variation and background value variation of commercial sCMOS image sensors. A self-adaptive fusion method is proposed to realize the fusion of high linear dynamic range images. The proposed method only uses the high gain image and the low gain image of the sCMOS image sensor to evaluate the gain ratio and the background compensation. The measured results show that the error rates of the evaluated gain ratio and background compensation are less than 2% and 6%. Test results show that the self-adaptive fusion method realizes well the fusion effects, which efficiently avoids the influence of gain ratio variation and background value variation.
Photon energy dependence of the photoelectron spectra of the anthracene anion: On the influence of autodetaching states
Authors: Jalehdoost A. , von Issendorff B.
Published: May 2023

Vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra of anthracene anions have been measured for photon energies between 1.13 and 4.96 eV. In this energy range, photoemission mostly occurs via autodetaching electronically excited states of the anion, which strongly modifies the vibrational excitation of the neutral molecule after electron emission. Based on the observed vibrational patterns, eight different excited states could be identified, seven of which are resonances known from absorption spectroscopy. Distinctly different photon energy dependencies of vibrational excitations have been obtained for different excited states, hinting at strongly different photoemission lifetimes. Unexpectedly, some resonances seem to exhibit bimodal distributions of emission lifetimes, possibly due to electronic relaxation processes induced by the excitation of specific vibrational modes.
Contrast optimization of Fresnel zone plate imaging
Authors: Haberberger D. , Shvydky A. , Nilson P. M. , Ivancic S. , Froula D. H.
Published: May 2023

Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) are circular diffractive elements that operate as a lens for x-rays. They have gained interest in the field of laser-plasma physics due to their ability to achieve higher spatial resolution than pinholes. Their design and implementation are complicated by the fact that a significant amount of the x-rays passing through the FZP will not diffract (zeroth order) and present a background to the measurement. This background can be large and inhomogeneous depending on the geometric setup of the experiment. Here, we present calculations of the diffracted (first order) and un-diffracted (zeroth order) flux profiles, which makes it possible to optimize the contrast between the first order imaging rays and the zeroth order background. Calculations for the implementation of a central block in the FZP, designed to block the zeroth from the entire field of view, are also presented.
New testing method for the evaluation of topographical gradients of varying strength
Authors: Misiiuk Kirill , Blaikie Richard , Sommers Andrew , Lowrey Sam
Published: May 2023

Passive gradient motion found in nature is becoming a point of interest for heat exchange and green energy technologies. Surfaces with a topographical gradient could potentially enhance heat exchanger performance, promote dropwise vs filmwise condensation, or delay icing on wind turbines by assisting in the removal of condensed or impacted droplets. Coating-free topographical surface tension gradients can be fabricated via various methods and need to be examined in terms of their capability for spontaneous droplet motion. In this work, a simple experimental method, coupled with numerical modeling and force analysis, for examining variable-pitch micro/nanoengineered hierarchical superhydrophobic gradients is shown. The method was validated against numerical calculations, allowing the strength of the gradients to be compared. In most cases, model predictions for droplet travel distance and velocity were within 20% of the measured data. This method could also be useful for gradient design improvements in the absence of spontaneous motion on a horizontal surface.
An intermolecular potential for hydrogen: Classical molecular simulation of pressure–density–temperature behavior, vapor–liquid equilibria, and critical and triple point properties
Authors: Deiters Ulrich K. , Sadus Richard J.
Published: May 2023

An intermolecular potential is reported for molecular hydrogen that combines two-body interactions from ab initio data with three-body interactions. The accuracy of the two-body potential is validated by comparison with experimental second virial coefficient data. Experimental pressure–density–temperature data are used to validate the addition of three-body interactions, often yielding very accurate predictions. Classical Monte Carlo simulations that neglect quantum effects are reported for the vapor–liquid equilibria (VLE), critical properties, and the triple point. A comparison with experimental data indicates that the effect of quantum interactions is to narrow the VLE phase envelope and to lower the critical temperature. The three-body interactions have a considerable influence on the phase behavior, resulting in good agreement with the experimental density. The critical properties of the two-body + three-body potential for hydrogen provide an alternative set of input parameters to improve the accuracy of theoretical predictions at temperatures above 100 K. In the vicinity of the critical point, the coexistence densities do not obey the law of rectilinear diameters, which is a feature that has largely been overlooked in both experimental data and reference equations of state.
A computational discharge model for sphere–plane long air gap under switching impulse voltage
Authors: Fang Yaqi , Tu Hongxian , Jia Lei , Li Enwen , Liu Lei , Wang Guoli , Zhang Xiaoxing
Published: May 2023

There are lots of sphere–plane air gaps in valve halls in extra-high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage converter stations. Accurate prediction for discharge characteristics of sphere–plane gaps is of great significance for the selection of shielding structure and determining the dielectric strength of the valve hall. In this paper, based on the physical process of corona inception and continuous leader inception, a computational model for calculating the discharge voltage of a sphere–plane air gap under positive switching impulse voltage is proposed, and the leader characteristics and discharge voltage are analyzed. Then, the switching impulse discharge test of the sphere–plane gap with 0.15, 2, and 0.3 m radius spherical electrodes is carried out to verify the correctness of the model. The results show that the discharge voltage calculated by the proposed method is consistent with the test results, and the error is within 7.3%. The leader inception voltage and inception time increase with the increasing spherical electrode radius at the same gap distance, and an identical spherical electrode require higher leader inception voltage and faster leader inception time with the increasing gap distance.
Wave diffraction and radiation from a semi-submersible floating foundation for wind turbines: A semi-analytical study
Authors: Michele Simone , Greaves Deborah
Published: May 2023

Many marine structures are composed of vertical axisymmetric floats. In this paper, a semi-analytical model based on the linear potential flow theory and an eigenfunction expansion method is developed to study wave diffraction and radiation by an array of cylindrical structures. Each structure can be formed by three coaxial cylinders of different dimensions. Based on the semi-analytical model, a constrained matrix equation of motion is presented and solved to evaluate the performance of multiple interconnected cylindrical structures. In order to verify the accuracy of the semi-analytical model, a typical OC4-DeepCwind floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) is selected for validation. The validated model is, then, applied to study the effect of base column submergence depth, radius, and thickness on the motion response of a semi-submersible platform. Although the results of this study are of significance for the selection of the optimum semi-submersible FOWT for specific locations (with specific prevailing wave directions), the focus of this work was placed on the semi-analytical model itself, which is efficient in modeling the interaction of the wave field and can be used in future FOWT projects.
Development of a new hole transport material for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Tumen-Ulzii Ganbaatar , Takekuma Kotaro , Fujita Yuki , Senba Dai , Senevirathne Chathuranganie A. M. , Lee Yi-Ting , Wachi Atsushi , Sato Hiroshi , Matsushima Toshinori , Adachi Chihaya
Published: May 2023

N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) is a widely used hole transport layer (HTL) material for emerging lead halide hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Finding alternative HTL materials is required for the future development of more efficient and stable PSCs. Here, we developed a new HTL material of N2,N2,N,7N7-tetrakis(4-methoxyphenyl)benzo[b]benzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d]thiophene-2,7-diamine (TBTD). Chemically doped TBTD provided better hole extraction in PSCs than chemically doped spiro-OMeTAD due to higher electrical conductivity and a more suitable hole transport energy level. Thus, PSCs with the TBTD HTL showed higher power conversion efficiency (∼21%) than spiro-OMeTAD HTL (∼19%). The operational stability of TBTD-based PSCs was similar to that of spiro-OMeTAD-based PSCs. The findings discussed in this study will aid in the future development of high-performance PSCs.
Electro-wetting induced dynamic manipulation of symmetrically coalescing viscoelastic liquid bridges
Authors: Roy Rahul , Quintero Juan S. Marin , Lakkaraju Rajaram , Waghmare Prashant R. , Chakraborty Suman
Published: May 2023

Merging of isolated liquid drops is a common phenomenon that may greatly be influenced by adding polymeric contents to the liquid. Here, we bring out an exclusive control on the dynamics of the intermediate liquid bridge, thus, formed via exploiting the interactions of an exciting electric field with a trace amount of polymeric inclusions present in the intermingling drops. Our results unveil a unique competition of the elastic recovery and time-oscillatory forcing during the drop-unification at early times. However, damped oscillations as a specific signature of the polymer concentration feature eventual stabilization of the bridge at later instants of time. We rationalize these experimental findings in light of a simple unified theory that holds its critical implications in droplet manipulation in a wide variety of applications encompassing digital microfluidics, chemical processing, and biomedical analytics.
Frequency-dependent hydrodynamic finite size correction in molecular simulations reveals the long-time hydrodynamic tail
Authors: Scalfi Laura , Vitali Domenico , Kiefer Henrik , Netz Roland R.
Published: May 2023

Finite-size effects are challenging in molecular dynamics simulations because they have significant effects on computed static and dynamic properties, in particular diffusion constants, friction coefficients, and time- or frequency-dependent response functions. We investigate the influence of periodic boundary conditions on the velocity autocorrelation function and the frequency-dependent friction of a particle in a fluid, and show that the long-time behavior (starting at the picosecond timescale) is significantly affected. We develop an analytical correction allowing us to subtract the periodic boundary condition effects. By this, we unmask the power-law long-time tails of the memory kernel and the velocity autocorrelation function in liquid water and a Lennard-Jones fluid from simulations with rather small box sizes.
Hfq-licensed RNA–RNA interactome in
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
reveals a keystone sRNA
Authors: Gebhardt Michael J. , Farland Elizabeth A. , Basu Pallabi , Macareno Keven , Melamed Sahar , Dove Simon L.
Published: May 2023

The RNA chaperone Hfq plays important regulatory roles in many bacteria by facilitating the base pairing between small RNAs (sRNAs) and their cognate mRNA targets. In the gram-negative opportunistic pathogen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, over a hundred putative sRNAs have been identified but for most, their regulatory targets remained unknown. Using RIL-seq with Hfq in
P. aeruginosa
, we identified the mRNA targets for dozens of previously known and unknown sRNAs. Strikingly, hundreds of the RNA–RNA interactions we discovered involved PhrS. This sRNA was thought to mediate its effects by pairing with a single target mRNA and regulating the abundance of the transcription regulator MvfR required for the synthesis of the quorum sensing signal PQS. We present evidence that PhrS controls many transcripts by pairing with them directly and employs a two-tiered mechanism for governing PQS synthesis that involves control of an additional transcription regulator called AntR. Our findings in
P. aeruginosa
expand the repertoire of targets for previously known sRNAs, reveal potential regulatory targets for previously unknown sRNAs, and suggest that PhrS may be a keystone sRNA with the ability to pair with an unusually large number of transcripts in this organism.
Deriving the number of salience maps an observer has from the number and quality of concurrent centroid judgments
Authors: Gan Lingyu , Sun Peng , Sperling George
Published: May 2023

[C. Koch, S. Ullman,
Hum. Neurobiol.
4
, 219–227 (1985)] proposed a 2D topographical salience map that took feature-map outputs as its input and represented the importance “saliency” of the feature inputs at each location as a real number. The computation on the map, “winner-take-all,” was used to predict action priority. We propose that the same or a similar map is used to compute centroid judgments, the center of a cloud of diverse items. [P. Sun, V. Chu, G. Sperling,
Atten. Percept. Psychophys.
83
, 934–955 (2021)] demonstrated that following a 250-msec exposure of a 24-dot array of 3 intermixed colors, subjects could accurately report the centroid of each dot color, thereby indicating that these subjects had at least three salience maps. Here, we use a postcue, partial-report paradigm to determine how many more salience maps subjects might have. In 11 experiments, subjects viewed 0.3-s flashes of 28 to 32 item arrays composed of M, M = 3,...,8, different features followed by a cue to mouse-click the centroid of items of just the post-cued feature. Ideal detector response analyses show that subjects utilized at least 12 to 17 stimulus items. By determining whether a subject’s performance in (M-1)-feature experiments could/could-not predict performance in M-feature experiments, we conclude that one subject has at least 7 and the other two have at least five salience maps. A computational model shows that the primary performance-limiting factors are channel capacity for representing so many concurrently presented groups of items and working-memory capacity for so many computed centroids.
A dual-action niclosamide-based prodrug that targets cancer stem cells and inhibits TNBC metastasis
Authors: Kim Ji Hyeon , Park Soeun , Jung Eunsun , Shin Jinwoo , Kim Yoon-Jae , Kim Ji Young , Sessler Jonathan L. , Seo Jae Hong , Kim Jong Seung
Published: May 2023

Chemotherapy typically destroys the tumor mass but rarely eradicates the cancer stem cells (CSCs) that can drive metastatic recurrence. A key current challenge is finding ways to eradicate CSCs and suppress their characteristics. Here, we report a prodrug,
Nic-A
, created by combining a carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) inhibitor, acetazolamide, with a signal transducer and transcriptional activator 3 (STAT3) inhibitor, niclosamide.
Nic-A
was designed to target triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) CSCs and was found to inhibit both proliferating TNBC cells and CSCs via STAT3 dysregulation and suppression of CSC-like properties. Its use leads to a decrease in aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 activity, CD44
high
/CD24
low
stem-like subpopulations, and tumor spheroid-forming ability. TNBC xenograft tumors treated with
Nic-A
exhibited decreased angiogenesis and tumor growth, as well as decreased Ki-67 expression and increased apoptosis. In addition, distant metastases were suppressed in TNBC allografts derived from a CSC-enriched population. This study thus highlights a potential strategy for addressing CSC-based cancer recurrence.
Quantitative NMR analysis of the mechanism and kinetics of chaperone Hsp104 action on amyloid-β42 aggregation and fibril formation
Authors: Ghosh Shreya , Tugarinov Vitali , Clore G. Marius
Published: May 2023

The chaperone Hsp104, a member of the Hsp100/Clp family of translocases, prevents fibril formation of a variety of amyloidogenic peptides in a paradoxically substoichiometric manner. To understand the mechanism whereby Hsp104 inhibits fibril formation, we probed the interaction of Hsp104 with the Alzheimer’s amyloid-β42 (Aβ42) peptide using a variety of biophysical techniques. Hsp104 is highly effective at suppressing the formation of Thioflavin T (ThT) reactive mature fibrils that are readily observed by atomic force (AFM) and electron (EM) microscopies. Quantitative kinetic analysis and global fitting was performed on serially recorded
1
H-
15
N correlation spectra to monitor the disappearance of Aβ42 monomers during the course of aggregation over a wide range of Hsp104 concentrations. Under the conditions employed (50 μM Aβ42 at 20 °C), Aβ42 aggregation occurs by a branching mechanism: an irreversible on-pathway leading to mature fibrils that entails primary and secondary nucleation and saturating elongation; and a reversible off-pathway to form nonfibrillar oligomers, unreactive to ThT and too large to be observed directly by NMR, but too small to be visualized by AFM or EM. Hsp104 binds reversibly with nanomolar affinity to sparsely populated Aβ42 nuclei present in nanomolar concentrations, generated by primary and secondary nucleation, thereby completely inhibiting on-pathway fibril formation at substoichiometric ratios of Hsp104 to Aβ42 monomers. Tight binding to sparsely populated nuclei likely constitutes a general mechanism for substoichiometric inhibition of fibrillization by a variety of chaperones. Hsp104 also impacts off-pathway oligomerization but to a much smaller degree initially reducing and then increasing the rate of off-pathway oligomerization.
Delving into suggestion speech acts in Chinese authoritative academic discourse
Authors: Li Ke , Liu Wenyu
Published: May 2023

This paper aims to examine the realisation of suggestions in authoritative academic discourse through the lens of
cognitive pragmatics. To date, the majority of academic suggestion research has focused on face-to-face interactions in an
institutional context. However, other forms of suggesting, namely the written forms of academic suggestions have not yet been
sufficiently explored. Thus, there is a knowledge gap when it comes to authoritative academic suggestions directed to policy
makers. Such policy maker-directed suggestions are always bound and embedded in particular cultural contexts. As a case study, we
explore the suggestions in authoritative academic discourse with the focus on illocutionary force indicating devices (IFIDs) and
relevant construal strategies. Our data were drawn from the Blue Book of Ecological Governance (China Ecological
Governance development report 2019–2020), an important manifestation of authoritative academic discourse in China.
The findings indicate that three types of IFIDs are deployed to delimit Chinese authoritative academic suggestions, among which
conventionalised and indirect IFIDs are preferred. Notably IFID tools pertain to speakers’ choices of construal strategies for
building up the infrastructure of suggestions. The operation of these strategies reveals how authoritative academic suggestions
are internally coded, as well as how they are built to externally act on. Furthermore, we argue that the speakers’ choices of
construal strategies imply a degree of politeness. The study may shed light upon speech act and politeness research in Chinese
linguaculture.
Identification of an anergic BND cell–derived activated B cell population (BND2) in young-onset type 1 diabetes patients
Authors: Stensland Zachary C. , Magera Christopher A. , Broncucia Hali , Gomez Brittany D. , Rios-Guzman Nasha M. , Wells Kristen L. , Nicholas Catherine A. , Rihanek Marynette , Hunter Maya J. , Toole Kevin P. , Gottlieb Peter A. , Smith Mia J.
Published: May 2023

Recent evidence suggests a role for B cells in the pathogenesis of young-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D), wherein rapid progression occurs. However, little is known regarding the specificity, phenotype, and function of B cells in young-onset T1D. We performed a cross-sectional analysis comparing insulin-reactive to tetanus-reactive B cells in the blood of T1D and controls using mass cytometry. Unsupervised clustering revealed the existence of a highly activated B cell subset we term BND2 that falls within the previously defined anergic BND subset. We found a specific increase in the frequency of insulin-reactive BND2 cells in the blood of young-onset T1D donors, which was further enriched in the pancreatic lymph nodes of T1D donors. The frequency of insulin-binding BND2 cells correlated with anti-insulin autoantibody levels. We demonstrate BND2 cells are pre-plasma cells and can likely act as APCs to T cells. These findings identify an antigen-specific B cell subset that may play a role in the rapid progression of young-onset T1D.
Potential for remote TD-NIRS imaging using a TCSPC camera
Authors: Hungerford Graham , Athanasopoulos Nicholas , Hirsch Richard , O’Neill Patrick , Johnston Pamela , McLoskey David
Published: May 2023

Advances in the CMOS process enables single-photon detection and timing to occur within an individual pixel. Pixel arrays incorporating this in-pixel timing methodology have been increasing in size, facilitating time of flight (ToF) imaging. This means that a fully parallel approach can be made to the collection of images, dramatically speeding up data collection in relation to sample scanning and allowing imaging based on time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) to be made in real time. In this work we make use of a commercial TCSPC camera, based on an array of 192 × 126 imaging pixels with in-pixel timing applied in the area of time-domain near infrared spectroscopy. The potential of remote imaging using this methodology was demonstrated using two model systems. The effect of increasing scattering coefficient using a liquid based (milk added to water) system to assess real time potential was investigated. Additionally a more complex system consisting of a solid with liquid interior (egg) to verify the potential of remote imaging into the interior of the object with different illumination conditions was studied. Using a time-slicing approach intensity images related to each time bin in the ToF distribution were obtained and contrast between the yolk and albumin within the egg was observed.
An improved grand-potential phase-field model of solid-state sintering for many particles
Authors: Seiz Marco , Hierl Henrik , Nestler Britta
Published: May 2023

Understanding the microstuctural evolution during the sintering process is of high relevance as it is a key part in many industrial manufacturing processes. Simulations are one avenue to achieve this understanding, especially field-resolved methods such as the phase-field (PF) method. Recent papers have shown several weaknesses in the most common PF model of sintering, which the present paper aims to ameliorate. The observed weaknesses are shortly recounted, followed by presenting model variations aiming to remove these deficiencies. The models are tested in the classical two-particle geometry, with the most promising model being run on large-scale three-dimensional packings to determine representative volume elements. A densification that is strongly dependent on the packing size is observed, which suggests that the model requires further improvement.
Variational quantum simulation of long-range interacting systems
Authors: Lyu Chufan , Tang Xiaoyu , Li Junning , Xu Xusheng , Yung Man-Hong , Bayat Abolfazl
Published: May 2023

Current quantum simulators suffer from multiple limitations such as short coherence time, noisy operations, faulty readout and restricted qubit connectivity in some platforms. Variational quantum algorithms are the most promising approach in near-term quantum simulation to achieve practical quantum advantage over classical computers. Here, we explore variational quantum algorithms, with different levels of qubit connectivity, for digital simulation of the ground state of long-range interacting systems as well as generation of spin squeezed states. We find that as the interaction becomes more long-ranged, the variational algorithms become less efficient, achieving lower fidelity and demanding more optimization iterations. In particular, when the system is near its criticality the efficiency is even lower. Increasing the connectivity between distant qubits improves the results, even with less quantum and classical resources. Our results show that by mixing circuit layers with different levels of connectivity one can sensibly improve the performance. Interestingly, the order of layers becomes very important and grouping the layers with long-distance connectivity at the beginning of the circuit outperforms other permutations. The same design of circuits can also be used to variationally produce spin squeezed states, as a resource for quantum metrology.