bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assortative mating biases marker-based heritability estimators
Authors: Border Richard , O’Rourke Sean , de Candia Teresa , Goddard Michael E. , Visscher Peter M. , Yengo Loic , Jones Matt , Keller Matthew C.
Published: February 2022

Many traits are subject to assortative mating, with recent molecular genetic findings confirming longstanding theoretical predictions that assortative mating induces long range dependence across causal variants. However, all marker-based heritability estimators implicitly assume mating is random. We provide mathematical and simulation-based evidence demonstrating that both method-of-moments and likelihood-based estimators are biased in the presence of assortative mating and derive corrected heritability estimators for traits subject to assortment. Finally, we demonstrate that the empirical patterns of estimates across methods and sample sizes for real traits subject to assortative mating are congruent with expected assortative mating-induced biases. For example, marker-based heritability estimates for height are 14% – 23% higher than corrected estimates using UK Biobank data.
Multiple expansions of globally uncommon SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Nigeria
Authors: Ozer Egon A. , Simons Lacy M. , Adewumi Olubusuyi M. , Fowotade Adeola A. , Omoruyi Ewean C. , Adeniji Johnson A. , Olayinka Oluseyi A. , Dean Taylor J. , Zayas Janet , Bhimalli Pavan P. , Ash Michelle K. , Maiga Almoustapha I. , Somboro Anou M. , Maiga Mamoudou , Godzik Adam , Schneider Jeffrey R. , Mamede João I. , Taiwo Babafemi O. , Hultquist Judd F. , Lorenzo-Redondo Ramon
Published: February 2022

Disparities in SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance have limited our understanding of the viral population dynamics and may delay identification of globally important variants. Despite being the most populated country in Africa, Nigeria has remained critically under sampled. Here, we report sequences from 378 SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected in Oyo State, Nigeria between July 2020 and August 2021. In early 2021, most isolates belonged to the Alpha “variant of concern” (VOC) or the Eta lineage. Eta outcompeted Alpha in Nigeria and across West Africa, persisting in the region even after expansion of an otherwise rare Delta sub-lineage. Spike protein from the Eta variant conferred increased infectivity and decreased neutralization by convalescent sera in vitro. Phylodynamic reconstructions suggest that Eta originated in West Africa before spreading globally and represented a VOC in early 2021. These results demonstrate a distinct distribution of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Nigeria, and emphasize the need for improved genomic surveillance worldwide.
Genomic insights into the evolution of Echinochloa species as weed and orphan crop
Authors: Wu Dongya , Shen Enhui , Jiang Bowen , Feng Yu , Tang Wei , Lao Sangting , Jia Lei , Lin Han-Yang , Xie Lingjuan , Weng Xifang , Dong Chenfeng , Qian Qinghong , Lin Feng , Xu Haiming , Lu Huabing , Cutti Luan , Chen Huajun , Deng Shuiguang , Guo Longbiao , Chuah Tse-Seng , Song Beng-Kah , Scarabel Laura , Qiu Jie , Zhu Qian-Hao , Yu Qin , Timko Michael P. , Yamaguchi Hirofumi , Merotto Aldo , Qiu Yingxiong , Olsen Kenneth M. , Fan Longjiang , Ye Chu-Yu
Published: February 2022

As one of the great survivors of the plant kingdom, barnyard grasses (Echinochloa spp.) are the most noxious and common weeds in paddy ecosystems. Meanwhile, at least two Echinochloa species have been domesticated and cultivated as millets. In order to better understand the genomic forces driving the evolution of Echinochloa species toward weed and crop characteristics, we assemble genomes of three Echinochloa species (allohexaploid E. crus-galli and E. colona, and allotetraploid E. oryzicola) and re-sequence 737 accessions of barnyard grasses and millets from 16 rice-producing countries. Phylogenomic and comparative genomic analyses reveal the complex and reticulate evolution in the speciation of Echinochloa polyploids and provide evidence of constrained disease-related gene copy numbers in Echinochloa. A population-level investigation uncovers deep population differentiation for local adaptation, multiple target-site herbicide resistance mutations of barnyard grasses, and limited domestication of barnyard millets. Our results provide genomic insights into the dual roles of Echinochloa species as weeds and crops as well as essential resources for studying plant polyploidization, adaptation, precision weed control and millet improvements.
Addressing materials’ microstructure diversity using transfer learning
Authors: Goetz Aurèle , Durmaz Ali Riza , Müller Martin , Thomas Akhil , Britz Dominik , Kerfriden Pierre , Eberl Chris
Published: February 2022

Materials’ microstructures are signatures of their alloying composition and processing history. Automated, quantitative analyses of microstructural constituents were lately accomplished through deep learning approaches. However, their shortcomings are poor data efficiency and domain generalizability across data sets, inherently conflicting the expenses associated with annotating data through experts, and extensive materials diversity. To tackle both, we propose to apply a sub-class of transfer learning methods called unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA). UDA addresses the task of finding domain-invariant features when supplied with annotated source data and unannotated target data, such that performance on the latter is optimized. Exemplarily, this study is conducted on a lath-shaped bainite segmentation task in complex phase steel micrographs. Domains to bridge are selected to be different metallographic specimen preparations and distinct imaging modalities. We show that a state-of-the-art UDA approach substantially fosters the transfer between the investigated domains, underlining this technique’s potential to cope with materials variance.
Photonic resource state generation from a minimal number of quantum emitters
Authors: Li Bikun , Economou Sophia E. , Barnes Edwin
Published: February 2022

Multi-photon entangled graph states are a fundamental resource in quantum communication networks, distributed quantum computing, and sensing. These states can in principle be created deterministically from quantum emitters such as optically active quantum dots or defects, atomic systems, or superconducting qubits. However, finding efficient schemes to produce such states has been a long-standing challenge. Here, we present an algorithm that, given a desired multi-photon graph state, determines the minimum number of quantum emitters and precise operation sequences that can produce it. The algorithm itself and the resulting operation sequence both scale polynomially in the size of the photonic graph state, allowing one to obtain efficient schemes to generate graph states containing hundreds or thousands of photons.
Sequence-dependent surface condensation of a pioneer transcription factor on DNA
Authors: Morin Jose A. , Wittmann Sina , Choubey Sandeep , Klosin Adam , Golfier Stefan , Hyman Anthony A. , Jülicher Frank , Grill Stephan W.
Published: February 2022

Biomolecular condensates are dense assemblies of proteins that form distinct biochemical compartments without being surrounded by a membrane. Some, such as P granules and stress granules, behave as droplets and contain many millions of molecules. Others, such as transcriptional condensates that form on the surface of DNA, are small and contain thousands of molecules. The physics behind the formation of small condensates on DNA surfaces is still under discussion. Here we investigate the nature of transcription factor condensates using the pioneer transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 4 (Klf4). We show that Klf4 can phase separate on its own at high concentrations, but at low concentrations, Klf4 only forms condensates on DNA. Using optical tweezers, we demonstrate that these Klf4 condensates form on DNA as a type of surface condensation. This surface condensation involves a switch-like transition from a thin adsorbed layer to a thick condensed layer, which shows hallmarks of a prewetting transition. The localization of condensates on DNA correlates with sequence, suggesting that the condensate formation of Klf4 on DNA is a sequence-dependent form of surface condensation. Prewetting together with sequence specificity can explain the size and position control of surface condensates. We speculate that a prewetting transition of pioneer transcription factors on DNA underlies the formation and positioning of transcriptional condensates and provides robustness to transcriptional regulation.
Assessing central serous chorioretinopathy with deep learning and multiple optical coherence tomography images
Authors: Ko Junseo , Han Jinyoung , Yoon Jeewoo , Park Ji In , Hwang Joon Seo , Han Jeong Mo , Park Kyu Hyung , Hwang Daniel Duck-Jin
Published: February 2022

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is one of the most common macular diseases that can reduce the quality of life of patients. This study aimed to build a deep learning-based classification model using multiple spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images together to diagnose CSC. Our proposed system contains two modules: single-image prediction (SIP) and a final decision (FD) classifier. A total of 7425 SD-OCT images from 297 participants (109 acute CSC, 106 chronic CSC, 82 normal) were included. In the fivefold cross validation test, our model showed an average accuracy of 94.2%. Compared to other end-to-end models, for example, a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) model and a CNN-long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) model, the proposed system showed more than 10% higher accuracy. In the experiments comparing the proposed model and ophthalmologists, our model showed higher accuracy than experts in distinguishing between acute, chronic, and normal cases. Our results show that an automated deep learning-based model could play a supplementary role alongside ophthalmologists in the diagnosis and management of CSC. In particular, the proposed model seems clinically applicable because it can classify CSCs using multiple OCT images simultaneously.
Development and user experience of an innovative multi-mode stroke rehabilitation system for the arm and hand for patients with stroke
Authors: Hsieh Yu-Wei , Lee Meng-Ta , Chen Chih-Chi , Hsu Fu-Lin , Wu Ching-Yi
Published: February 2022

Many individuals with stroke experience upper-limb motor deficits, and a recent trend is to develop novel devices for enhancing their motor function. This study aimed to develop a new upper-limb rehabilitation system with the integration of two rehabilitation therapies into one system, digital mirror therapy (MT) and action observation therapy (AOT), and to test the usability of this system. In the part I study, the new system was designed to operate in multiple training modes of digital MT (i.e., unilateral and bilateral modes) and AOT (i.e., pre-recorded and self-recorded videos) with self-developed software. In the part II study, 4 certified occupational therapists and 10 stroke patients were recruited for evaluating usability. The System Usability Scale (SUS) (maximum score = 100) and a self-designed questionnaire (maximum score = 50) were used. The mean scores of the SUS were 79.38 and 80.00, and those of the self-designed questionnaire were 41.00 and 42.80, respectively, for the therapists and patients after using this system, which indicated good usability and user experiences. This novel upper-limb rehabilitation system with good usability might be further used to increase the delivery of two emerging rehabilitation therapies, digital AOT and MT, to individuals with stroke.
Slow waves on long helices
Authors: Barr Lauren E. , Ward Gareth P. , Hibbins Alastair P. , Hendry Euan , Sambles J. Roy
Published: February 2022

Slowing light in a non-dispersive and controllable fashion opens the door to many new phenomena in photonics. As such, many schemes have been put forward to decrease the velocity of light, most of which are limited in bandwidth or incur high losses. In this paper we show that a long metallic helix supports a low-loss, broadband slow wave with a mode index that can be controlled via geometrical design. For one particular geometry, we characterise the dispersion of the mode, finding a relatively constant mode index of $$\sim$$
∼
45 between 10 and 30 GHz. We compare our experimental results to both a geometrical model and full numerical simulation to quantify and understand the limitations in bandwidth. We find that the bandwidth of the region of linear dispersion is associated with the degree of hybridisation between the fields of a helical mode that travels around the helical wire and an axial mode that disperses along the light line. Finally, we discuss approaches to broaden the frequency range of near-constant mode index: we find that placing a straight wire along the axis of the helix suppresses the interaction between the axial and high index modes supported by the helix, leading to both an increase in bandwidth and a more linear dispersion.
Therapeutic response to leflunomide in combo therapy and monotherapy is associated to serum teriflunomide (A77 1726) levels
Authors: Fajardo-Robledo Nicte S. , Jacobo-Cuevas Heriberto , Perez-Guerrero Edsaul E. , Corona-Sanchez Esther G. , Saldaña-Cruz A. Miriam , Romero-Tejeda Elba M. , Rodriguez-Jimenez N. Alejandra , Totsuka-Sutto Sylvia E. , Lopez-Roa Rocio I. , Ponce-Guarneros Juan M. , Alcaraz-Lopez M. Fabiola , Cerpa-Cruz Sergio , Muñoz-Valle J. Francisco , Cardona-Muñoz E. German , Gonzalez-Lopez Laura , Gamez-Nava Jorge I. ,   Research Group for Factors Related to Therapeutic Outcomes in Autoimmune Diseases, Fajardo-Robledo Nicte Selene , Jacobo-Cuevas Heriberto , Saldaña-Cruz Ana Miriam , Rodriguez-Jimenez Norma Alejandra , Ponce-Guarneros Juan Manuel , Alcaraz-Lopez Miriam Fabiola , Cardona-Muñoz Ernesto German , Gonzalez-Lopez Laura , Gamez-Nava Jorge Ivan
Published: February 2022

There is a significant rate of therapeutic failure in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with leflunomide (LEF). This study investigates the utility values of teriflunomide levels (A77 1726) in identifying RA patients who remained with moderate or severe disease activity after the treatment with LEF. In this cross-sectional study, we compared: (a) RA patients who achieved a DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2, and (b) RA patients who maintained a DAS28-ESR > 3.2 after treatment. ROC curves determined the cut-off of A77 1726 with the better performance to identify patients achieving a DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2. Of the 115 patients treated with LEF, 69 (60%) remained with moderate/severe disease activity and 46 (40%) achieved low disease activity/remission. Higher A77 1726 levels showed a negative correlation with DAS28-ESR (r = − 0.42, p < 0.001) and other parameters of disease activity. We obtained the following utility values with the cut-off of A77 1726 > 10 µg/mL to identify RA patients who achieved a DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2: sensitivity of 91.31%; specificity of 73.91%; positive predictive value of 70.00%; and negative predictive value of 92.73%. Serum A77 1726 discriminated between RA patients who remained with moderate/severe disease activity despite the treatment with LEF both as monotherapy and LEF as combo therapy.
Metal ion scavenging activity of elastin-like peptide analogues containing a cadmium ion binding sequence
Authors: Sumiyoshi Shogo , Suyama Keitaro , Tatsubo Daiki , Tanaka Naoki , Tomohara Keisuke , Taniguchi Suguru , Maeda Iori , Nose Takeru
Published: February 2022

The development of simple and safe methods for recovering environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals, is needed for sustainable environmental management. Short elastin-like peptide (ELP) analogues conjugated with metal chelating agents are considered to be useful as metal sequestering agents as they are readily produced, environment friendly, and the metal binding domain can be selected based on any target metal of interest. Due to the temperature dependent self-assembly of ELP, the peptide-based sequestering agents can be transformed from the solution state into the particles that chelate metal ions, which can then be collected as precipitates. In this study, we developed a peptide-based sequestering agent, AADAAC-(FPGVG)4, by introducing the metal-binding sequence AADAAC on the N-terminus of a short ELP, (FPGVG)4. In turbidity measurements, AADAAC-(FPGVG)4 revealed strong self-assembling ability in the presence of metal ions such as Cd2+ and Zn2+. The results from colorimetric analysis indicated that AADAAC-(FPGVG)4 could capture Cd2+ and Zn2+. Furthermore, AADAAC-(FPGVG)4 that bound to metal ions could be readily recycled by treatment with acidic solution without compromising its metal binding affinity. The present study indicates that the fusion of the metal-binding sequence and ELP is a useful and powerful strategy to develop cost-effective heavy metal scavenging agents with low environmental impacts.
Gas fields and large shallow seismogenic reverse faults are anticorrelated
Authors: Valensise G. , Donda F. , Tamaro A. , Rosset G. , Parolai S.
Published: February 2022

We investigated the spatial relationships among 18 known seismogenic faults and 1651 wells drilled for gas exploitation in the main hydrocarbon province of northern-central Italy, a unique dataset worldwide. We adopted a GIS approach and a robust statistical technique, and found a significant anticorrelation between the location of productive wells and of the considered seismogenic faults, which are often overlain or encircled by unproductive wells. Our observations suggest that (a) earthquake ruptures encompassing much of the upper crust may cause gas to be lost to the atmosphere over geological time, and that (b) reservoirs underlain by smaller or aseismic faults are more likely to be intact. These findings, which are of inherently global relevance, have crucial implications for future hydrocarbon exploitation, for assessing the seismic–aseismic behaviour of large reverse faults, and for the public acceptance of underground energy and CO2 storage facilities—a pillar of future low carbon energy systems—in tectonically active areas.
Impact of long-term dietary habits on the human gut resistome in the Dutch population
Authors: Stege Paul B. , Hordijk Joost , Shetty Sudarshan A. , Visser Michael , Viveen Marco C. , Rogers Malbert R. C. , Gijsbers Esther , Dierikx Cindy M. , van der Plaats Rozemarijn Q. J. , van Duijkeren Engeline , Franz Eelco , Willems Rob J. L. , Fuentes Susana , Paganelli Fernanda L.
Published: February 2022

The human gut microbiome plays a central role in health and disease. Environmental factors, such as lifestyle and diet, are known to shape the gut microbiome as well as the reservoir of resistance genes that these microbes harbour; the resistome. In this study we assessed whether long-term dietary habits within a single geographical region (the Netherlands) impact the human gut resistome. Faecal samples from Dutch omnivores, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans were analysed by metagenomic shotgun sequencing (MSS) (n = 149) and resistome capture sequencing approach (ResCap) (n = 64). Among all diet groups, 119 and 145 unique antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were detected by MSS or ResCap, respectively. Five or fifteen ARGs were shared between all diet groups, based on MSS and ResCap, respectively. The total number of detected ARGs by MSS or ResCap was not significantly different between the groups. MSS also revealed that vegans have a distinct microbiome composition, compared to other diet groups. Vegans had a lower abundance of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactococcus lactis compared to pescatarians and a lower abundance of S. thermophilus when compared to omnivores. In summary, our study showed that long-term dietary habits are not associated with a specific resistome signature.
Ericaceous vegetation of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia will prevail in the face of climate change
Authors: Kidane Yohannes O. , Hoffmann Samuel , Jaeschke Anja , Beloiu Mirela , Beierkuhnlein Carl
Published: February 2022

Climate change impacts the structure, functioning, and distribution of species and ecosystems. It will shift ecosystem boundaries, potentially affecting vulnerable ecosystems, such as tropical Africa's high mountain ecosystems, i.e., afroalpine ecosystems, and their highly susceptible uniquely adapted species. However, ecosystems along these mountains are not expected to respond similarly to the change. The ericaceous woody vegetation, located between the low-elevation broadleaf forests and high-elevation afroalpine vegetation, are anticipated to be affected differently. We hypothesize that projected climate change will result in an upward expansion and increasing dominance of ericaceous vegetation, which will negatively impact the endemic rich afroalpine ecosystems of the extensive Sanetti plateau. Hence, we modeled the impact of future climate change on the distribution of ericaceous vegetation and discussed its effect on bordering ecosystems in the Bale Mountains. We applied four familiar correlative modeling approaches: bioclim, domain, generalized linear methods, and support vector machines. We used WorldClim’s bioclimatic variables as environmental predictors and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report climate change scenarios, namely RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for future climate projection. The results indicate increased ericaceous vegetation cover on the midaltitude of northwestern and northern parts of the massif, and the Sanetti plateau. We observed upward range expansion and increase of close ericaceous vegetation in midaltitudes, while receding from the lower range across the massif. Moreover, the current ericaceous vegetation range correlates to the temperature and precipitation trends, reaffirming the critical role of temperature and precipitation in determining species distributions along elevational gradients. The results indicate the high likelihood of considerable changes in this biodiversity hotspot in Eastern Africa.
Imaging of clinically silent rectoprostatic hematoma in MRI guided in-bore prostate biopsy
Authors: Garmer Marietta , Hoffmann Christin , Grönemeyer Dietrich , Wagener Birgit , Kamper Lars , Haage Patrick
Published: February 2022

MR imaging provides awareness for rectoprostatic hematomas as a complication in prostate biopsy. We evaluated the frequency and size of clinically silent bleeding after in-bore MRI-guided prostate biopsy according to documentation in MRI. From 2007 until 2020 in-bore MRI-guided prostate biopsy was performed in 283 consecutive patients with suspected prostate cancer. Interventional image documentation was reviewed for rectoprostatic hematomas and rectal blood collections in this retrospective observational single-center study. Correlation to patient characteristics was analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression model. 283 consecutive patients with a mean age of 66 ± 8 years were included. We diagnosed bleeding complications in 41 (14.5%) of the patients. Significant rectoprostatic hematomas were found in 24 patients. Intra-rectal blood collections were observed in 16 patients and one patient showed bleeding in the urinary bladder. The volume of rectoprostatic hematomas was determined with a median of 7.5 ml (range 2–40 ml, IQR 11.25). We found no correlation between the presence of a rectoprostatic hematoma and malignant findings, patient position in biopsy, number of cores, age, prostate volume nor PSA density (p > 0.05). Rectoprostatic hematomas and rectal blood collections are rare complications after in-bore MR-guided prostate biopsy. MR imaging provides benefits not only for lesion detection in prostate biopsy but also for the control of bleeding complications, which can be overlooked in standard TRUS biopsy. Their significance in pain, erectile dysfunction, and urinary retention remains to be investigated.
Altered mechanotransduction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis osteoblasts: an exploratory in vitro study
Authors: Oliazadeh Niaz , Gorman Kristen F. , Elbakry Mohamed , Moreau Alain
Published: February 2022

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most prevalent pediatric spinal deformity. We previously demonstrated elongated cilia and an altered molecular mechanosensory response in AIS osteoblasts. The purpose of this exploratory study was to characterize the mechanosensory defect occurring in AIS osteoblasts. We found that cilia length dynamics in response to flow significantly differ in AIS osteoblasts compared to control cells. In addition, strain-induced rearrangement of actin filaments was compromised resulting in a failure of AIS osteoblasts to position or elongate in function of the bidirectional-applied flow. Contrary to control osteoblasts, fluid flow had an inhibitory effect on AIS cell migration. Moreover, flow induced an increase in secreted VEGF-A and PGE2 in control but not AIS cells. Collectively our data demonstrated that in addition to the observed primary cilium defects, there are cytoskeletal abnormalities correlated to impaired mechanotransduction in AIS. Thus, we propose that the AIS etiology could be a result of generalized defects in cellular mechanotransduction given that an adolescent growing spine is under constant stimulation for growth and bone remodeling in response to applied mechanical forces. Recognition of an altered mechanotransduction as part of the AIS pathomechanism must be considered in the conception and development of more effective bracing treatments.
The transcription factor unc-130/FOXD3/4 contributes to the biphasic calcium response required to optimize avoidance behavior
Authors: Hori Sayaka , Mitani Shohei
Published: February 2022

The central neural network optimizes avoidance behavior depending on the nociceptive stimulation intensity and is essential for survival. How the property of hub neurons that enables the selection of behaviors is genetically defined is not well understood. We show that the transcription factor unc-130, a human FOXD3/4 ortholog, is required to optimize avoidance behavior depending on stimulus strength in Caenorhabditis elegans. unc-130 is necessary for both ON responses (calcium decreases) and OFF responses (calcium increases) in AIBs, central neurons of avoidance optimization. Ablation of predicted upstream inhibitory neurons reduces the frequency of turn behavior, suggesting that optimization needs both calcium responses. At the molecular level, unc-130 upregulates the expression of at least three genes: nca-2, a homolog of the vertebrate cation leak channel NALCN; glr-1, an AMPA-type glutamate receptor; and eat-4, a hypothetical L-glutamate transmembrane transporter in the central neurons of optimization. unc-130 shows more limited regulation in optimizing behavior than an atonal homolog lin-32, and unc-130 and lin-32 appear to act in parallel molecular pathways. Our findings suggest that unc-130 is required for the establishment of some AIB identities to optimize avoidance behavior.
Synthesis and characterization of novel combretastatin analogues of 1,1-diaryl vinyl sulfones, with antiproliferative potential via in-silico and in-vitro studies
Authors: Egharevba Godshelp O. , Kamal Ahmed , Dosumu Omotayo O. , Routhu Sunitha , Fadare Olatomide A. , Oguntoye Stephen O. , Njinga Stanislaus N. , Oluyori Abimbola P.
Published: February 2022

Novel 1,1-diaryl vinyl-sulfones analogues of combretastatin CA-4 were synthesized via Suzuki–Miyaura coupling method and screened for in-vitro antiproliferative activity against four human cancer cell lines: MDA-MB 231(breast cancer), HeLa (cervical cancer), A549 (lung cancer), and IMR-32 (neuroblast cancer), along with a normal cell line HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cell) by employing 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The compounds synthesised had better cytotoxicity against the A549 and IMR-32 cell lines compared to HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. The synthesized compounds also showed significant activity on MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line with IC50 of 9.85–23.94 µM, and on HeLa cancer cell line with IC50 of 8.39–11.70 µM relative to doxorubicin having IC50 values 0.89 and 1.68 µM respectively for MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cell lines. All the synthesized compounds were not toxic to the growth of normal cells, HEK-293. They appear to have a higher binding affinity for the target protein, tubulin, PDB ID = 5LYJ (beta chain), relative to the reference compounds, CA4 (− 7.1 kcal/mol) and doxorubicin (− 7.2 kcal/mol) except for 4E, 4M, 4N and 4O. The high binding affinity for beta-tubulin did not translate into enhanced cytotoxicity but the compounds (4G, 4I, 4J, 4M, 4N, and 4R, all having halogen substituents) that have a higher cell permeability (as predicted in-silico) demonstrated an optimum cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines in an almost uniform manner for all tested cell lines.
The in-silico study provided insight into the role that cell permeability plays in enhancing the cytotoxicity of this class of compounds and as potential antiproliferative agents.
Spatiotemporal sentiment variation analysis of geotagged COVID-19 tweets from India using a hybrid deep learning model
Authors: Kumar Vaibhav
Published: February 2022

India is a hotspot of the COVID-19 crisis. During the first wave, several lockdowns (L) and gradual unlock (UL) phases were implemented by the government of India (GOI) to curb the virus spread. These phases witnessed many challenges and various day-to-day developments such as virus spread and resource management. Twitter, a social media platform, was extensively used by citizens to react to these events and related topics that varied temporally and geographically. Analyzing these variations can be a potent tool for informed decision-making. This paper attempts to capture these spatiotemporal variations of citizen reactions by predicting and analyzing the sentiments of geotagged tweets during L and UL phases. Various sentiment analysis based studies on the related subject have been done; however, its integration with location intelligence for decision making remains a research gap. The sentiments were predicted through a proposed hybrid Deep Learning (DL) model which leverages the strengths of BiLSTM and CNN model classes. The model was trained on a freely available Sentiment140 dataset and was tested over manually annotated COVID-19 related tweets from India. The model classified the tweets with high accuracy of around 90%, and analysis of geotagged tweets during L and UL phases reveal significant geographical variations. The findings as a decision support system can aid in analyzing citizen reactions toward the resources and events during an ongoing pandemic. The system can have various applications such as resource planning, crowd management, policy formulation, vaccination, prompt response, etc.
Cyclometalated (NNC)Ru(ii) complex catalyzed β-methylation of alcohols using methanol
Authors: Ganguli Kasturi , Belkova Natalia V. , Kundu Sabuj
Published: February 2022

Indolyl fragment containing phenanthroline based new ligands and their corresponding Ru(ii) complexes were synthesized and utilized for β-methylation of alcohols using methanol.
Aluminum sheet-induced porous zinc oxide nanosheets decorated with silver nanoparticles for ultrasensitive SERS sensing of crystal violet
Authors: Chen Xuejuan , Wang Qiuli , Qin Lixia , Liu Xiaoxia , Kang Shi-Zhao , Zhang Taiyang , Li Xiangqing
Published: February 2022

A highly SERS active substrate of AgNPs on the Al/ZnO has been developed. It can be used for the selective detection of crystal violet in actual water samples.
Embedded ionic liquid modified ZIF-8 in CaMgAl hydrotalcites for bio-glycerol transesterification
Authors: Liu Guanhao , Yang Jingyi , Zhao Yibo , Xu Xinru
Published: February 2022

Novel modified MOF intercalated hydrotalcites was synthesized for catalyzing the conversion of glycerol into high value-added glycerol carbonate in this paper.
Core–shell-structured and hydrogen-evolution-suppressing zinc anode for high stability Zn–Ni secondary batteries
Authors: Guo Chun , Li Zheng , Wang Tao , Cheng Hao , Zhu Yuan , Tian Zhongliang
Published: February 2022

Bismuth-anchored carbon-coated ZnO (ZnO@C/Bi) with a unique core–shell structure was successfully prepared by a two-step solvothermal method and a subsequent calcination process.
Vertically grown p–n heterojunction FeCoNi LDH/CuO arrays with modulated interfacial charges to facilitate the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction
Authors: Ouyang Qi , Cheng Shichao , Yang Chunhui , Lei Zuotao
Published: February 2022

The built-in electric field at the heterogeneous interface makes FeCoNi LDH in p–n heterojunction FeCoNi LDH/CuO more positively charged, which is more favorable for the adsorption of OH−, leading to the promoted OER activity in the alkaline media.
Correction: The impact of fluorine atoms on a triphenylamine-based dopant-free hole-selective layer for perovskite solar cells
Authors: Ghaderian Abolfazl , Pegu Meenakshi , Hemasiri Naveen Harindu , Huang Peng , Ahmad Shahzada , Kazim Samrana
Published: February 2022

Correction for ‘The impact of fluorine atoms on a triphenylamine-based dopant-free hole-selective layer for perovskite solar cells’ by Abolfazl Ghaderian et al., J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 476–484, DOI: 10.1039/D1TC04972K.
The effects of alkaline-earth-metal-element doping on the thermoelectric properties of β-Zn4Sb3
Authors: Liu Mian , Liu Changsong , Qin Xiaoying
Published: February 2022

The effects of alkaline-earth metal elements Ca, Sr, and Ba on the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of β-Zn4Sb3 were investigated by performing self-consistent ab initio electronic structure calculations within density functional theory and solving the Boltzmann transport equations within the relaxation time approximation. The results demonstrate that these alkaline-earth metal elements with s orbitals could introduce giant sharp resonant peaks in the electronic density of states (DOS) near the host valence band maximum in energy. And these deliberately engineered DOS peaks result in a sharp increase of the room-temperature Seebeck coefficient of β-Zn4Sb3 by a factor of nearly 8/9/19, respectively. Additionally, with the simultaneous increase of conductivity and decline of carrier thermal conductivity upon Ca/Sr/Ba doping, potentially, at least, 10/4/2-fold increase in optimizing power factor, and 14/12/8-fold increase in thermoelectric figure of merit of β-Zn4Sb3 at room temperature are achieved. And their corresponding optimal Fermi levels are all located near the host valence band maximum.
Design and realization of an analog integrated circuit for maximum power point tracking of photovoltaic panels
Authors: Alahdal Abdulrahman , Ammous Anis , Ammous Kaiçar
Published: February 2022

The tracking of the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel is an important part of a PV generation chain. In order to track maximum power from the solar arrays, it is necessary to control the output impedance of the PV panel, so that the circuit can be operated at its Maximum Power Point (MPP), despite the unavoidable changes in the climate conditions such as temperature and Irradiance. A new MPPT analog technique to track the Maximum Power Point (MPP) of PV arrays is proposed. This new technique uses simple and classical functions of electronic circuits. An Off-Grid PV system was considered to apply and validate the proposed new technique. The entire circuit was implemented in circuit-oriented simulator Proteus-ISIS. We present the results associated with the design, the realization, and the experimentation of a PV system equipped with a new analog MPPT command. The obtained results have shown good efficiency of analog technique (more than 98.5%). The second part of the paper consists of the description of the design and the realization of the novel analog MPPT integrated chip. The integrated circuit (IC) was designed and realized using HV CMOS technology 0.35-µm.
Investigation on the effect of powder size on the properties of cladding layer based on RSM
Authors: Yue Kun , Lian Guofu , Feng Meiyan , Zhan Youji
Published: February 2022

This paper aims to reveal the influence of different TiC powder particle sizes and process parameters on the cladding morphology of composite materials and realize the forming control of cladding layer. The center composite design of response surface method was adopted to analyze the effects of laser power, scanning speed and particle size on the cladding morphology of composite materials. The mathematical models between process parameters, TiC powder particle size and micro-hardness, wear volume of the composite cladding layer were established and confirmed by variance analysis and model verification. The results indicate that powder particle size has most significant effect on the micro-hardness, and it increase with the increase of scanning speed, laser power and powder particle size; the effect of powder particle size on the wear resistance of the clad layer is most significant, and it increases with the increase of powder particle size and decreases with the increase of scanning speed and laser power. The optimization of process parameters is carried out with the target of maximizing micro-hardness and minimizing wear area. The error rates between prediction and experiment for the micro-hardness and wear area are 0.1% and 2.0% respectively. The results of this paper provide a reference for the prediction and control of the cladding morphology of composite materials.
Molecular diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis in patients based on frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples
Authors: Knapp Jenny , Lallemand Séverine , Monnien Franck , Felix Sophie , Valmary-Degano Séverine , Courquet Sandra , Demonmerot Florent , Heyd Bruno , Turco Celia , Doussot Alexandre , Bourgeois Lucie , Bresson-Hadni Solange , Richou Carine , Millon Laurence
Published: February 2022

Confirmed diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is based on pathological criteria and molecular evidence. This parasite-borne disease, caused by the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis, sparingly involves humans as a dead-end host. In humans, the parasite mainly colonizes the liver but can colonize any organ and cause atypical forms, often difficult to characterize clinically. Moreover, molecular methods may be suitable to make the diagnosis of AE in cases of atypical forms, extra-hepatic localizations, or immunosuppressed patients. The aim of this study was to determine the most relevant published PCR techniques, for diagnosis of AE in patients and adopt the best strategy for molecular diagnosis depending on the nature of the tested sample. In this study, we evaluated nine end-point PCR assays and one real-time PCR assay (qPCR), targeting mitochondrial genes, using a total of 89 frozen or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples from either 48 AE or 9 cystic echinococcosis patients. Targeted fragment-genes ranged from 84 to 529 bp. Six PCR assays were able to amplify the DNA of 100% of the frozen AE-samples and for one PCR, 69.8% of the FFPE AE-samples. The 16S rrnL PCR (84 bp) was positive in PCR for 77% of the AE samples and in qPCR for 86.5%. The sensitivity of the PCR assays was higher for fresh samples and FFPE samples stored for less than 5 years. The qPCR assay further increased sensitivity for the tested samples, confirming the need for the development of an Echinococcus spp. qPCR to improve the molecular diagnosis of echinococcoses.
Keep that mask on: will Germans become more like East Asians?
Authors: Matschke Xenia , Rieger Marc Oliver
Published: February 2022

We study planned changes in protective routines after the COVID-19 pandemic: in a survey in Germany among >650 respondents, we find that the majority plans to use face masks in certain situations even after the end of the pandemic. We observe that this willingness is strongly related to the perception that there is something to be learned from East Asians’ handling of pandemics, even when controlling for perceived protection by wearing masks. Given strong empirical evidence that face masks help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases and given the considerable estimated health and economic costs of such diseases even pre-Corona, this would be a very positive side effect of the current crisis.
Removal of a series of spikes from magnetic resonance sounding signal by combining empirical mode decomposition and wavelet thresholding
Authors: Lin Tingting , Yu Sijia , Wang Pengfei , Fan Tiehu , Zhang Yang
Published: February 2022

The magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) signal typically suffers from low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The MRS signal is severely distorted by noise, primarily harmonic and spiky noise. In terms of despiking, wavelet thresholding (WT) reconstructs the distorted content of the MRS signal, following isolation and elimination of the spiky sequence. However, WT cannot restore the MRS signal content completely when a series of spikes occurs within a given period of time. To solve this problem, a combined method of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and WT for the removal of a series of spikes is proposed. EMD is first applied to decompose the noisy signal into several different components. The spikes that occur within a period of time are separated, the components without spikes are retained, and the components containing spiky events are selected and further processed by WT. After successively computing the wavelet coefficients of the selected components, the coefficients related to the spikes are isolated by threshold processing, and the subsequent wavelet reconstruction yields the sequence with the spikes removed. Finally, the denoised signal is obtained by adding the processed and retained components. The simulations on synthetic signals corrupted by artificial and real noise show that the proposed method improves the SNR with an accompanying improvement in the retrieval of the signal parameters. Moreover, the comparison results of the proposed and the WT methods suggest that the combined method efficiently removes a series of spikes.
Robust sliding mode controller design of memristive Chua’s circuit systems
Authors: Liu Pingying , Chu Hui , Zheng Bo-Chao
Published: February 2022

Aiming at the memristive Chua’s circuit system, a design method based on robust sliding mode control is proposed in this paper. Due to the complexity of quantization mismatch, communication channel noise, and external disturbances, it is very challenging and difficult to control the memristor-based circuit system. By applying delta operator discretization technology and the working principle of signal encoding and decoding, the dynamical model of the fast sampling quantization mismatched memristive circuit system is established, and the sliding surface is designed via linear matrix inequality technology to ensure the robust quadratic stability of sliding dynamics. Then, a sliding mode reaching control law is designed to realize the robust and stable operation of the memristive circuit system by the combination of delta operator theory and robust sliding mode control theory. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method are finally verified on the Matlab/Simulink simulation platform.
Microbial transport and dispersion in heterogeneous flows created by pillar arrays
Authors: Chen Kejie , Qin Kairong
Published: February 2022

Swimming microbes, such as bacteria and algae, live in diverse habitats including soil, seawater, and the human body. The habitats are characterized by structural boundaries and heterogeneous fluid flows. Although in recent decades much progress has been made in understanding the Brownian ratchet motion of microbes and their hydrodynamic interactions with the wall, the complex interplay between the structural and fluid environment with self-propelling microbial motion still remains elusive. Here, we developed a Langevin model to simulate and investigate the transport and dispersion of microbes in periodic pillar arrays. By tracing the spatiotemporal evolution of microbial trajectories, we show that a no-slip pillar surface induces local fluid shear, which redirects microbial movements. In the vicinity of pillars, looping trajectories and slow motion lead to a transient accumulation and sluggish transport of microbes. Several modes of microscopic motion, including swinging, zigzag, and adhesive motion, were observed. In an asymmetric pillar array, adjacent downstream pillars provide geometric guidance such that the microbial population has a deterministic shift perpendicular to the flow direction. Moreover, the effects of the topology of the pillar array, fluid flow properties, and microbial properties on microbial advection and dispersion in a pillar array were quantitatively analyzed. Our results highlight the importance of surrounding structures and flow on microbial transport and distribution, and these should be carefully considered in the study of microbial processes.
Effect of blade tip cutting angle on energy conversion mechanism of side channel pumps
Authors: Chen Ke , Zhang Fan , Appiah Desmond , Yuan Shouqi , Hong Feng , Zhu Lufeng , Song MengBin
Published: February 2022

Typical industrial blade side channel pumps with tip cuts have been used for many years because the blade profile has significant effect on the performance of the pump. To investigate the effect of the tip cutting angle on the energy conversion mechanism of the pump, the original and the industrial blades with different tip cutting angles were studied in detail. A comprehensive analysis revealed that the cutting tip enhances the hydraulic performance of the side channel pump, especially when the angle is equal to 20°. The act of cutting the tip reduces the intersection of exchanged inflow and outflow between the impeller and side channel, especially at the outer radius, and eliminates the secondary flow at the corner. Furthermore, the application of the new Ω vortex identification method characterizes the dynamic vortex structures in three directions: axial, longitudinal, and radial. Based on the Galilean invariance of the vorticity, this paper operates coordinate transformation and uses the dimension reduction method to simplify the complex 3D (3 dimensional) vortex into 2D (2 dimensional) vortex intensity on specific research surfaces. By comparing each type of vortex, it can be established that the total vortex in the tip cutting scheme is more than the original scheme. This is because the cutting tip will produce extra space for vortex formation. Thus, the cutting tip schemes lead to a higher longitudinal vortex and lower axial vortex, thereby increasing the dynamic vortex and decreasing of the unfavorable vortex is the main reason for better performance. While the radial vortex seems equivalent, the tip cutting will increase this kind of vortex in the outlet region but decrease it in the inlet region as above. This work helps to understand the mechanism of energy conversion of side channel pumps and serves as a guide for further research in fluid engineering with strong swirling flows.