bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification and functional characterization of new missense SNPs in the coding region of the TP53 gene
Authors: Doffe Flora , Carbonnier Vincent , Tissier Manon , Leroy Bernard , Martins Isabelle , Mattsson Johanna S. M. , Micke Patrick , Pavlova Sarka , Pospisilova Sarka , Smardova Jana , Joerger Andreas C. , Wiman Klas G. , Kroemer Guido , Soussi Thierry
Published: November 2020

Infrequent and rare genetic variants in the human population vastly outnumber common ones. Although they may contribute significantly to the genetic basis of a disease, these seldom-encountered variants may also be miss-identified as pathogenic if no correct references are available. Somatic and germline TP53 variants are associated with multiple neoplastic diseases, and thus have come to serve as a paradigm for genetic analyses in this setting. We searched 14 independent, globally distributed datasets and recovered TP53 SNPs from 202,767 cancer-free individuals. In our analyses, 19 new missense TP53 SNPs, including five novel variants specific to the Asian population, were recurrently identified in multiple datasets. Using a combination of in silico, functional, structural, and genetic approaches, we showed that none of these variants displayed loss of function compared to the normal TP53 gene. In addition, classification using ACMG criteria suggested that they are all benign. Considered together, our data reveal that the TP53 coding region shows far more polymorphism than previously thought and present high ethnic diversity. They furthermore underline the importance of correctly assessing novel variants in all variant-calling pipelines associated with genetic diagnoses for cancer.
Long-read trio sequencing of individuals with unsolved intellectual disability
Authors: Pauper Marc , Kucuk Erdi , Wenger Aaron M. , Chakraborty Shreyasee , Baybayan Primo , Kwint Michael , van der Sanden Bart , Nelen Marcel R. , Derks Ronny , Brunner Han G. , Hoischen Alexander , Vissers Lisenka E. L. M. , Gilissen Christian
Published: November 2020

Long-read sequencing (LRS) has the potential to comprehensively identify all medically relevant genome variation, including variation commonly missed by short-read sequencing (SRS) approaches. To determine this potential, we performed LRS around 15×–40× genome coverage using the Pacific Biosciences Sequel I System for five trios. The respective probands were diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) whose etiology remained unresolved after SRS exomes and genomes. Systematic assessment of LRS coverage showed that ~35 Mb of the human reference genome was only accessible by LRS and not SRS. Genome-wide structural variant (SV) calling yielded on average 28,292 SV calls per individual, totaling 12.9 Mb of sequence. Trio-based analyses which allowed to study segregation, showed concordance for up to 95% of these SV calls across the genome, and 80% of the LRS SV calls were not identified by SRS. De novo mutation analysis did not identify any de novo SVs, confirming that these are rare events. Because of high sequence coverage, we were also able to call single nucleotide substitutions. On average, we identified 3 million substitutions per genome, with a Mendelian inheritance concordance of up to 97%. Of these, ~100,000 were located in the ~35 Mb of the genome that was only captured by LRS. Moreover, these variants affected the coding sequence of 64 genes, including 32 known Mendelian disease genes. Our data show the potential added value of LRS compared to SRS for identifying medically relevant genome variation.
Bayesian learning of chemisorption for bridging the complexity of electronic descriptors
Authors: Wang Siwen , Pillai Hemanth Somarajan , Xin Hongliang
Published: November 2020

Building upon the d-band reactivity theory in surface chemistry and catalysis, we develop a Bayesian learning approach to probing chemisorption processes at atomically tailored metal sites. With representative species, e.g., *O and *OH, Bayesian models trained with ab initio adsorption properties of transition metals predict site reactivity at a diverse range of intermetallics and near-surface alloys while naturally providing uncertainty quantification from posterior sampling. More importantly, this conceptual framework sheds light on the orbitalwise nature of chemical bonding at adsorption sites with d-states characteristics ranging from bulk-like semi-elliptic bands to free-atom-like discrete energy levels, bridging the complexity of electronic descriptors for the prediction of novel catalytic materials.
A clinically applicable deep-learning model for detecting intracranial aneurysm in computed tomography angiography images
Authors: Shi Zhao , Miao Chongchang , Schoepf U. Joseph , Savage Rock H. , Dargis Danielle M. , Pan Chengwei , Chai Xue , Li Xiu Li , Xia Shuang , Zhang Xin , Gu Yan , Zhang Yonggang , Hu Bin , Xu Wenda , Zhou Changsheng , Luo Song , Wang Hao , Mao Li , Liang Kongming , Wen Lili , Zhou Longjiang , Yu Yizhou , Lu Guang Ming , Zhang Long Jiang
Published: November 2020

Intracranial aneurysm is a common life-threatening disease. Computed tomography angiography is recommended as the standard diagnosis tool; yet, interpretation can be time-consuming and challenging. We present a specific deep-learning-based model trained on 1,177 digital subtraction angiography verified bone-removal computed tomography angiography cases. The model has good tolerance to image quality and is tested with different manufacturers. Simulated real-world studies are conducted in consecutive internal and external cohorts, in which it achieves an improved patient-level sensitivity and lesion-level sensitivity compared to that of radiologists and expert neurosurgeons. A specific cohort of suspected acute ischemic stroke is employed and it is found that 99.0% predicted-negative cases can be trusted with high confidence, leading to a potential reduction in human workload. A prospective study is warranted to determine whether the algorithm could improve patients’ care in comparison to clinicians’ assessment.
A new view on the origin of zero-bias anomalies of Co atoms atop noble metal surfaces
Authors: Bouaziz Juba , Mendes Guimarães Filipe Souza , Lounis Samir
Published: November 2020

Many-body phenomena are paramount in physics. In condensed matter, their hallmark is considerable on a wide range of material characteristics spanning electronic, magnetic, thermodynamic and transport properties. They potentially imprint non-trivial signatures in spectroscopic measurements, such as those assigned to Kondo, excitonic and polaronic features, whose emergence depends on the involved degrees of freedom. Here, we address systematically zero-bias anomalies detected by scanning tunneling spectroscopy on Co atoms deposited on Cu, Ag and Au(111) substrates, which remarkably are almost identical to those obtained from first-principles. These features originate from gaped spin-excitations induced by a finite magnetic anisotropy energy, in contrast to the usual widespread interpretation relating them to Kondo resonances. Resting on relativistic time-dependent density functional and many-body perturbation theories, we furthermore unveil a new many-body feature, the spinaron, resulting from the interaction of electrons and spin-excitations localizing electronic states in a well defined energy.
Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of DNA methylation differences in prefrontal cortex implicates the immune processes in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Zhang Lanyu , Silva Tiago C. , Young Juan I. , Gomez Lissette , Schmidt Michael A. , Hamilton-Nelson Kara L. , Kunkle Brian W. , Chen Xi , Martin Eden R. , Wang Lily
Published: November 2020

DNA methylation differences in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been reported. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of more than 1000 prefrontal cortex brain samples to prioritize the most consistent methylation differences in multiple cohorts. Using a uniform analysis pipeline, we identified 3751 CpGs and 119 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) significantly associated with Braak stage. Our analysis identified differentially methylated genes such asMAMSTR,AGAP2, andAZU1. The most significant DMR identified is located on theMAMSTRgene, which encodes a cofactor that stimulates MEF2C. Notably, MEF2C cooperates with another transcription factor, PU.1, a central hub in the AD gene network. Our enrichment analysis highlighted the potential roles of the immune system and polycomb repressive complex 2 in pathological AD. These results may help facilitate future mechanistic and biomarker discovery studies in AD.
Development of a multi-antigenic SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate using a synthetic poxvirus platform
Authors: Chiuppesi Flavia , Salazar Marcela d’Alincourt , Contreras Heidi , Nguyen Vu H. , Martinez Joy , Park Yoonsuh , Nguyen Jenny , Kha Mindy , Iniguez Angelina , Zhou Qiao , Kaltcheva Teodora , Levytskyy Roman , Ebelt Nancy D. , Kang Tae Hyuk , Wu Xiwei , Rogers Thomas F. , Manuel Edwin R. , Shostak Yuriy , Diamond Don J. , Wussow Felix
Published: November 2020

Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) is a highly attenuated poxvirus vector that is widely used to develop vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer. We demonstrate the construction of a vaccine platform based on a unique three-plasmid system to efficiently generate recombinant MVA vectors from chemically synthesized DNA. In response to the ongoing global pandemic caused by SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), we use this vaccine platform to rapidly produce fully synthetic MVA (sMVA) vectors co-expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid antigens, two immunodominant antigens implicated in protective immunity. We show that mice immunized with these sMVA vectors develop robust SARS-CoV-2 antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses, including potent neutralizing antibodies. These results demonstrate the potential of a vaccine platform based on synthetic DNA to efficiently generate recombinant MVA vectors and to rapidly develop a multi-antigenic poxvirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate.
Lethality of SARS-CoV-2 infection in K18 human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 transgenic mice
Authors: Oladunni Fatai S. , Park Jun-Gyu , Pino Paula A. , Gonzalez Olga , Akhter Anwari , Allué-Guardia Anna , Olmo-Fontánez Angélica , Gautam Shalini , Garcia-Vilanova Andreu , Ye Chengjin , Chiem Kevin , Headley Colwyn , Dwivedi Varun , Parodi Laura M. , Alfson Kendra J. , Staples Hilary M. , Schami Alyssa , Garcia Juan I. , Whigham Alison , Platt Roy Neal , Gazi Michal , Martinez Jesse , Chuba Colin , Earley Stephanie , Rodriguez Oscar H. , Mdaki Stephanie Davis , Kavelish Katrina N. , Escalona Renee , Hallam Cory R. A. , Christie Corbett , Patterson Jean L. , Anderson Tim J. C. , Carrion Ricardo , Dick Edward J. , Hall-Ursone Shannan , Schlesinger Larry S. , Alvarez Xavier , Kaushal Deepak , Giavedoni Luis D. , Turner Joanne , Martinez-Sobrido Luis , Torrelles Jordi B.
Published: November 2020

Vaccine and antiviral development against SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 disease would benefit from validated small animal models. Here, we show that transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) by the human cytokeratin 18 promoter (K18 hACE2) represent a susceptible rodent model. K18 hACE2 transgenic mice succumbed to SARS-CoV-2 infection by day 6, with virus detected in lung airway epithelium and brain. K18 ACE2 transgenic mice produced a modest TH1/2/17 cytokine storm in the lung and spleen that peaked by day 2, and an extended chemokine storm that was detected in both lungs and brain. This chemokine storm was also detected in the brain at day 6. K18 hACE2 transgenic mice are, therefore, highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and represent a suitable animal model for the study of viral pathogenesis, and for identification and characterization of vaccines (prophylactic) and antivirals (therapeutics) for SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated severe COVID-19 disease.
Edge-oriented and steerable hyperbolic polaritons in anisotropic van der Waals nanocavities
Authors: Dai Zhigao , Hu Guangwei , Si Guangyuan , Ou Qingdong , Zhang Qing , Balendhran Sivacarendran , Rahman Fahmida , Zhang Bao Yue , Ou Jian Zhen , Li Guogang , Alù Andrea , Qiu Cheng-Wei , Bao Qiaoliang
Published: November 2020

Highly confined and low-loss polaritons are known to propagate isotropically over graphene and hexagonal boron nitride in the plane, leaving limited degrees of freedom in manipulating light at the nanoscale. The emerging family of biaxial van der Waals materials, such as α-MoO3 and V2O5, support exotic polariton propagation, as their auxiliary optical axis is in the plane. Here, exploiting this strong in-plane anisotropy, we report edge-tailored hyperbolic polaritons in patterned α-MoO3 nanocavities via real-space nanoimaging. We find that the angle between the edge orientation and the crystallographic direction significantly affects the optical response, and can serve as a key tuning parameter in tailoring the polaritonic patterns. By shaping α-MoO3 nanocavities with different geometries, we observe edge-oriented and steerable hyperbolic polaritons as well as forbidden zones where the polaritons detour. The lifetime and figure of merit of the hyperbolic polaritons can be regulated by the edge aspect ratio of nanocavity.
Depletion of circulating IgM memory B cells predicts unfavourable outcome in COVID-19
Authors: Lenti Marco Vincenzo , Aronico Nicola , Pellegrino Ivan , Boveri Emanuela , Giuffrida Paolo , Borrelli de Andreis Federica , Morbini Patrizia , Vanelli Laura , Pasini Alessandra , Ubezio Cristina , Melazzini Federica , Rascaroli Alessandro , Antoci Valentina , Merli Stefania , Di Terlizzi Francesco , Sabatini Umberto , Cambiè Ginevra , Tenore Annamaria , Picone Cristina , Vanoli Alessandro , Arcaini Luca , Baldanti Fausto , Paulli Marco , Corazza Gino Roberto , Di Sabatino Antonio
Published: November 2020

Impaired immune responses have been hypothesised to be a possible trigger of unfavourable outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to characterise IgM memory B cells in patients with COVID-19 admitted to an internal medicine ward in Northern Italy. Overall, 66 COVID-19 patients (mean age 74 ± 16.6 years; 29 females) were enrolled. Three patients (4.5%; 1 female) had been splenectomised and were excluded from further analyses. Fifty-five patients (87.3%) had IgM memory B cell depletion, and 18 (28.6%) died during hospitalisation (cumulative incidence rate 9.26/100 person-week; 5.8–14.7 95% CI). All patients who died had IgM memory B cell depletion. A superimposed infection was found in 6 patients (9.5%), all of them having IgM memory B cell depletion (cumulative incidence rate 3.08/100 person-week; 1.3–6.8 95% CI). At bivariable analyses, older age, sex, number of comorbidities, and peripheral blood lymphocyte count < 1500/µl were not correlated with IgM memory B cell depletion. A discrete-to-marked reduction of the B-cell compartment was also noticed in autoptic spleen specimens of two COVID-19 patients. We conclude that IgM memory B cells are commonly depleted in COVID-19 patients and this correlates with increased mortality and superimposed infections.
The Type of Noise Influences Quality Ratings for Noisy Speech in Hearing Aid Users
Authors: Lundberg Emily M. H. , Chon Song Hui , Kates James M. , Anderson Melinda C. , Arehart Kathryn H.
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The overall goal of the current study was to determine whether noise type plays a role in perceptual quality ratings. We compared quality ratings using various noise types and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ranges using hearing aid simulations to consider the effects of hearing aid processing features.

Method

Ten older adults with bilateral mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss rated the sound quality of sentences processed through a hearing aid simulation and presented in the presence of five different noise types (six-talker babble, three-talker conversation, street traffic, kitchen, and fast-food restaurant) at four SNRs (3, 8, 12, and 20 dB).

Results

Everyday noise types differentially affected sound quality ratings even when presented at the same SNR: Kitchen and three-talker noises were rated significantly higher than restaurant, traffic, and multitalker babble, which were not different from each other. The effects of noise type were most pronounced at poorer SNRs.

Conclusions

The findings of this study showed that noise types differentially affected sound quality ratings. The differences we observed were consistent with the acoustic characteristics of the noise types. Noise types having lower envelope fluctuations yielded lower quality ratings than noise types characterized by sporadic high-intensity events at the same SNR.
Lexical–Semantic Cues Induce Sound Pattern Stability in Children With Developmental Language Disorder
Authors: Benham Sara , Goffman Lisa
Published: November 2020

Purpose

When learning novel word forms, preschoolers with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known asspecific language impairment) produce speech targets inaccurately and with a high degree of intraword variability. The aim of the current study is to specify whether and how layering lexical–semantic information onto novel phonological strings would induce increased organization of sound production patterns.

Method

Twenty-one preschoolers with DLD and 21 peers with typical language (ranging in age from 4;1 to 5;11 [years;months]) imitated multiple renditions of novel words, half with (i.e., words) and half without (i.e., nonwords) a linked visual referent. Methods from network science were used to assess the stability and patterning of syllable sequences. Sound accuracy was also measured.

Results

Children with DLD were less accurate and more variable than their typical peers. However, once word forms were associated with a visual referent, network stability, but not accuracy, improved for children with DLD.

Conclusions

Children with DLD showed significant word form deficits as they acquired novel words and nonwords. The inclusion of a meaningful referent resulted in increased sound sequence stability, suggesting that lexical–semantic information provides a bootstrap for phonological organization in children with DLD.
Neue Wege der interdisziplinären Kooperation: ASV bei urologischen Tumoren
Authors: Roigas Jan , Hölzer Wolfgang , Zillmann Roger
Published: November 2020

Mit der Einführung der ambulanten spezialfachärztlichen Versorgung, kurz ASV, für urologische Tumoren im April 2018 wurde diese neue Versorgungsform auch für die Diagnostik und Therapie von Patienten mit urologischen Tumoren etabliert. Ziel von ASV ist es, die „Lücke“ zwischen ambulanter und stationärer Versorgung zu schließen, interdisziplinär und sektorenübergreifend! Dies gilt insbesondere für komplexe und fortgeschrittene urologische Tumoren, bei denen moderne diagnostische Verfahren und innovative Therapieansätze zur praktischen Umsetzung gelangen sollen.

Die Bedeutung urologischer Karzinomerkrankungen in der Onkologie ist hoch, etwa 20 % aller erstdiagnostizierten Karzinomerkrankungen in Deutschland sind urologisch. Dazu kommt, dass die Therapie dieser Erkrankungen in fortgeschrittenen Stadien in den letzten Jahren hochinnovative Veränderungen erfahren hat und häufig im ambulanten Sektor durchgeführt wird.

Aber wird ASV von den uro-onkologisch tätigen Kolleginnen und Kollegen akzeptiert? Bringt ASV wirklich Verbesserungen in der medizinischen Versorgung von Patienten? Wirkt ASV als konkurrierende Versorgungsform gegenüber interdisziplinären Tumorzentren und der Onkologievereinbarung? Die Nuklearmedizin ist ein spezifischer und wichtiger Bestandteil bei der Diagnostik und Therapie urologischer Tumoren. Welche Rolle kann die Nuklearmedizin unter ASV-Bedingungen spielen? Der aktuelle Status von ASV bei urologischen Tumoren, die Probleme wie auch die Chancen werden in diesem Beitrag unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Nuklearmedizin analysiert.
Endokrine Nebenwirkungen onkologischer Immuntherapien
Authors: Kroiß Matthias , Schilling Bastian , Deutschbein Timo
Published: November 2020

Was ist neu?

Inzidenzen endokriner Nebenwirkungen von Immuncheckpoint-Inhibitoren Je nach Klasse der Immuncheckpoint-Inhibitoren (ICI) unterscheidet sich die Häufigkeit endokriner Nebenwirkungen. Eine Inhibition des PD-1 (programmed cell death receptor 1) oder seines Liganden PD-L1 führt häufig zu einer Thyreoiditis, eine Immunkombinationstherapie mit CTLA-4-Antagonisten (cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4) besonders häufig zur Hypophysitis.

Hypophysitis Eine Hypophysitis ist eine potenziell lebensbedrohliche Komplikation, maßgeblich aufgrund der dadurch bedingten sekundären Nebenniereninsuffizienz. Sie geht oft mit passageren Kopfschmerzen einher, darüber hinaus bestehen häufig unspezifische Symptome wie Abgeschlagenheit und Schwindel. Die Bildgebung der Sella verläuft mitunter unspezifisch. Laborchemisch imponiert meist eine Hyponatriämie. Der Verdacht erfordert die umgehende Substitution von Glukokortikoiden, die bei drohender oder manifester Nebennierenkrise intravenös erfolgen muss. Weitere beeinträchtigte Hypophysenachsen werden im Verlauf (üblicherweise dauerhaft) substituiert.

Schilddrüsenfunktionsstörungen Ursache ist häufig die immunvermittelte Destruktion des Schilddrüsenparenchyms, die in der Regel zu einer transienten Hyperthyreose gefolgt von einer Hypothyreose führt. In der hyperthyreoten Phase ist oft keine spezifische Therapie erforderlich, die Hypothyreose muss – in der Regel fortwährend – substituiert werden. Seltene und potenziell lebensbedrohliche weitere immunvermittelte Nebenwirkungen endokriner Organe sind primäre Nebenniereninsuffizienz, Diabetes mellitus Typ I und Hypoparathyreoidismus.

Auswirkung auf die Prognose der Tumorerkrankung Auch nach endokrinen immunvermittelten Nebenwirkungen (irAE) und Substitutionstherapie sollte die Fortsetzung der ICI-Therapie erwogen werden. Entscheidende Schritte zur Früherkennung endokriner Nebenwirkungen von ICI sind die Aufklärung des Patienten, regelmäßige Laborkontrollen (Hormone, Elektrolyte) vor bzw. während einer Immuntherapie und das „Drandenken“, selbst wenn eine Immuntherapie bereits längere Zeit zurückliegt.
Schmerzmanagement bei älteren Pflegebedürftigen in der ambulanten Versorgung
Authors: Dräger Dagmar , Budnick Andrea , Kreutz Reinhold
Published: November 2020

Was ist neu?

Schmerz und Schmerzfolgen Chronische Schmerzen bei älteren Pflegebedürftigen, die in der eigenen Häuslichkeit leben, sind aufgrund ihrer Häufigkeit und Intensität von hoher Relevanz. Schmerzfolgen werden in dieser vulnerablen Gruppe insbesondere in Form von ausgeprägten Beeinträchtigungen der Mobilität und Aktivität deutlich.

Schmerzkommunikation in der ambulanten Versorgung Sowohl die versorgenden Ärztinnen und Ärzte als auch das Pflegepersonal ambulanter Pflegedienste kommunizieren zu selten mit den schmerzbetroffenen Pflegebedürftigen über Schmerzen, ihre Intensität und Dauer sowie über das Schmerzmanagement.

Medikamentöse Schmerztherapie Die in der ambulanten Versorgung schmerzbetroffener Pflegebedürftiger defizitäre Schmerztherapie bedarf einer Überprüfung der Angemessenheit schmerzreduzierender Arzneistoffe, der gleichzeitigen Verordnung von Dauer- und Bedarfsmedikation sowie klarer Angaben zu Dosis und Dosisintervallen auf verbindlichen Medikationsplänen.

Interdisziplinäre Ressourcen Den Herausforderungen einer interdisziplinären Versorgung älterer Pflegebedürftiger im ambulanten Setting wurde bisher zu wenig Beachtung geschenkt, obwohl die Interdisziplinarität im Schmerzmanagement schon lange gefordert wird. Multidisziplinäres Handeln, basierend auf abgestimmten Leitlinien und Standards, stellt den Schlüssel für ein angemessenes Schmerzmanagement dar. Die Schnittstellenkommunikation zwischen den Berufsgruppen ist optimierungsbedürftig.
Ernährung nach Adipositas- bzw. metabolischer Chirurgie
Authors: Selig Lars , Dietrich Arne
Published: November 2020

Vor und nach adipositaschirurgischen oder metabolischen Eingriffen ist eine entsprechende ernährungstherapeutische Mitbetreuung obligat. Postoperativ sollte im Sinne der Fast-Track-Chirurgie ein rascher Kostaufbau erfolgen.

Adipositas ist als eine chronische Erkrankung zu sehen, und ein Rückfall in alte Ernährungsgewohnheiten oder Essstörungen ist jederzeit möglich. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist eine postoperative Anbindung (Ernährungstherapeut, ggf. Verhaltenstherapeut, wenn erforderlich) wichtig, um den mit der Operation erzielten Gewichtsverlust zu stabilisieren und die Verbesserung und Reduzierung von Komorbiditäten möglichst lange beizubehalten.
Accumulation layers in cryogenic electrolytes
Authors: Chikina I. , Shikin V.
Published: November 2020

Flat cryogenic cells with a radiation source at one of the control (zero) electrodes create promising opportunities for studying the properties of charged accumulation layers in weakly conducting media. The question as to the origin of different relaxation times, short τ0 or long τ∞≫τ0, when the medium is exposed to a rectangular surge of the control voltage Vg, remains relevant in this area. The existing, primarily numerical, analysis of the problem confirms that there is a hierarchy of relaxation times, but ignores the physical nature of the observed dispersion. A “self-similar” version of the accumulation layer’s adjustment to its stationary state is discussed. This scenario yields clear definitions of τ0 and τ∞≫τ0. A relationship between τ∞ and Vg is found. The pioneering significance that cryogenic data has in the experimental study of accumulation layer kinetics is noted.
Ultra-wideband radar cross section reduction using amplitude and phase gradient modulated surface
Authors: Azizi Yousef , Soleimani Mohammad , Sedighy Seyed Hassan
Published: November 2020

In this paper, an amplitude and phase gradient-modulated surface is introduced to design a low cost and simple radar cross section (RCS) reducer metasurface. The simultaneous gradual amplitude and phase differences between adjacent unit cells achieve more degrees of freedom in the design approach, which leads to bandwidth enhancement of RCS reduction. A dual-layer stacked patch unit cell analyzed with a transmission line method is proposed to design the different required unit cells. The sinusoidal modulation applied on top and bottom layers of two stacked FR-4 substrates is used to realize the unit cells with gradual amplitude and phase variations. Finally, an ultra-wideband dual-layer stacked modulated surface composed of 26 × 26 unit cells is fabricated to demonstrate the idea. This surface achieves more than 10 dB RCS reduction from 9 GHz to 40.7 GHz (128%) for normal incident waves. Moreover, this surface has more than 118% and 88% RCS reduction bandwidths for transverse magnetic and transverse-electric obliquely polarized waves, respectively. Low profile, low cost, lightweight, and a simple assembling procedure are the main specifications of the proposed structure rather the state-of-the-art references, which candidate it as an ultra-wideband monostatic RCS reduction surface in practical applications.
Precision measurements of electric-field-induced frequency displacements of an ultranarrow optical transition in ions in a solid
Authors: Zhang S. , Lučić N. , Galland N. , Le Targat R. , Goldner P. , Fang B. , Seidelin S. , Le Coq Y.
Published: November 2020

We report a series of measurements of the effect of an electric field on the frequency of the ultranarrow linewidth F70→ D50 optical transition of Eu3+ ions in an Y2SiO5 matrix at cryogenic temperatures. We provide linear Stark coefficients along two dielectric axes and for the two different substitution sites of the Eu3+ ions, with an unprecedented accuracy and an upper limit for the quadratic Stark shift. The measurements, which indicate that the electric field sensitivity is a factor of seven larger for site 1 relative to site 2 for a particular direction of the electric field, are of direct interest in the context of both quantum information processing and laser frequency stabilization with rare-earth doped crystals, in which electric fields can be used to engineer experimental protocols by tuning transition frequencies.
Effect of emissivity on ultrafast luminescence spectra in silver
Authors: Suemoto T. , Yamanaka K. , Sugimoto N. , Otsu T. , Tani S. , Kobayashi Y. , Koyama T.
Published: November 2020

The effect of emissivity on the ultrafast luminescence spectrum was studied for bulk silver having surfaces with varying grades of roughnesses by using the femtosecond upconversion technique in the infrared region of 0.3–1.0 eV under excitation by 130 fs pulses at 1.19 eV. In addition, the absorptivity spectra were measured by the calorimetric method in the same energy range. As the roughnesses increase, the intensity of the time-resolved luminescence at 0.9 eV at 0 ps increases for three orders of magnitude proportional to the square of the absorptivity, indicating that the luminescence intensity is proportional to the product of absorptivity and emissivity. Although the spectral shapes are very different for the surfaces with different roughnesses, we successfully retrieved internal luminescence spectra after correcting for the emissivity spectrum. It is shown that the retrieval process does not require precise knowledge of microscopic surface morphology.
Magnon thermal Edelstein effect detected by inverse spin Hall effect
Authors: Zhang Hantao , Cheng Ran
Published: November 2020

In an easy-plane antiferromagnet with the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), magnons are subject to an effective spin-momentum locking. An in-plane temperature gradient can generate interfacial accumulation of magnons with a specified polarization, realizing the magnon thermal Edelstein effect. We theoretically investigate the injection and detection of this thermally driven spin polarization in an adjacent heavy metal with a strong spin Hall effect. We find that the inverse spin Hall voltage depends monotonically on both temperature and the DMI but non-monotonically on the hard-axis anisotropy. Counterintuitively, the magnon thermal Edelstein effect is an even function of a magnetic field applied along the Néel vector.
Planar Hall effect caused by the memory of antiferromagnetic domain walls in Mn3Ge
Authors: Xu Liangcai , Li Xiaokang , Ding Linchao , Behnia Kamran , Zhu Zengwei
Published: November 2020

In Mn3X (X = Sn, Ge) antiferromagnets, domain walls are thick and remarkably complex because of the non-collinear arrangement of spins in each domain. A planar Hall effect (PHE), an electric field perpendicular to the applied current but parallel to the applied magnetic field, was recently observed inside the hysteresis loop of Mn3Sn. The sign of the PHE displayed a memory tuned by the prior orientation of the magnetic field and its history. We present a study of the PHE in Mn3Ge extended from room temperature down to 2 K and show that this memory effect can be manipulated by either a magnetic field or thermal cycling. We show that the memory can be wiped out if the prior magnetic field exceeds 0.8 T or when the temperature exceeds TN. We also find a detectable difference between the amplitude of the PHE with zero-field and field thermal cycling. The ratio between the PHE and the anomalous Hall effect decreases slightly as temperature is increased from 2 K to TN and tracks the temperature dependence of magnetization. This erasable memory effect may be used for data storage.
Interfacial modification mechanism by aging effect for high-performance Cd-free and all-dry process Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 solar cells
Authors: Nishimura Takahito , Chantana Jakapan , Kawano Yu , Yamada Akira , Kimoto Yoshinori , Kato Takuya , Sugimoto Hiroki , Minemoto Takashi
Published: November 2020

Modification of the hetero-junction interface in Cd-free and all-dry process Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSSe) solar cells by introducing the aging process for the bare CIGSSe films is demonstrated, ultimately achieving the highest conversion efficiency of 22.0%. In this article, two positive effects of the aging process are discussed. First, additional phases, such as Inx(O,S)y and Cu-deficient phases, are naturally formed on the CIGSSe surface. Second, unintentional segregation of Zn-rich particles at the (Zn,Mg)O/CIGSSe interface during the (Zn,Mg)O deposition is suppressed. These effects lead to the reduction of recombination at the hetero-junction interface and dramatic enhancement of performance for the Cd-free and all-dry process CIGSSe solar cells.
Room temperature anomalous Hall effect in antiferromagnetic Mn3SnN films
Authors: You Yunfeng , Bai Hua , Chen Xianzhe , Zhou Yongjian , Zhou Xiaofeng , Pan Feng , Song Cheng
Published: November 2020

Rich magnetic phase transition makes the antiperovskite manganese nitride Mn3AN family an ideal platform to explore the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) with different magnetic configurations. Here, we report the observation of AHE signals up to room temperature in antiferromagnetic (AFM) (001)-oriented Mn3SnN thin films. AHE signals, originated from the Berry curvature, can be controlled by the growth-induced biaxial strain, which leads to the modulation of noncollinear AFM configurations. A relatively large biaxial strain could enhance AHE signals ascribed to the canted AFM structure induced by the piezomagnetic effect. Our findings advance the effective utilization of the AHE in AFM spintronics.
The effects of Toxoplasma gondii on New Zealand wildlife: implications for conservation and management
Authors: Roberts Jim O. , Jones Hannah F. E. , Roe Wendi D.
Published: November 2020

Toxoplasma gondii is a globally widespread protozoan parasite that can infect all bird and mammal species. Cat species (Felidae) are the only known definitive host for T. gondii and this parasite should have been absent from New Zealand prior to the introduction of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in the 18th Century. Clinical toxoplasmosis has recently been reported in multiple wild-living New Zealand native species, including: Hector’s and Māui dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori and Cephalorhynchus hectori maui, respectively), kākā (Nestor meridionalis), red-crowned kākāriki (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae), kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) and several kiwi species (Apteryx spp.). However, the prevalence of T. gondii infection and associated disease are unknown for most New Zealand native species, and the wider conservation risks of T. gondii remain poorly understood. The preliminary evidence suggests that fatal toxoplasmosis may be more frequent in Hector’s and Māui dolphins relative to other native cetaceans and avifauna that have been assessed for infection. This review summarises the research on the effects of T. gondii on New Zealand wildlife, identifies potential options for managing conservation risks, and outlines critical knowledge gaps.
Summer habitat selection and impacts of human disturbance on leopard cats (
Prionailurus bengalensis
)
Authors: Wu Jiayi , Wang Jing , Zhu Yinjiu , Bu Xiangli , Xiang Rongwei , Lu Qingbin , Cui Shaopeng , Hao Yinghong , Sheng Yan , Meng Xiuxiang
Published: November 2020

Introduction:
As a consequence of habitat loss and degradation, the leopard cat (
Prionailurus bengalensis
) in China has become endangered and in need of urgent protection.
In situ
conservation of leopard cats must be based on an understanding of their habitat selection patterns. We studied the summer habitat of leopard cats using line-transect surveys in the northern Taihang Mountain region surrounding Beijing, China. We compared used plots with non-used plots in elevation, tree canopy, and 20 other ecological variables, and used Vanderploeg＆Scavia’s resource selection index (VSI) to analyze habitat preferences.

Outcomes/others:
Results show that tree canopy, tree height, tree density, and stump quantity of used plots were significantly lower than non-used plots in summer, and that leopard cats preferred habitats located on northern, flat slopes with lower slope, shrub-dominated, dry soil, and less fallen-wood. Leopard cats had a strong tendency to use habitats near human disturbance areas with moderate levels of disturbance intensity.

Conclusion:
The results suggest that future conservation efforts should emphasize: (1) strengthening the protection and management of forest fringe shrub habitats to improve summer habitat suitability, and (2) environmental education and animal protection campaigns to promote community biodiversity conservation.
A stiffness-tunable MEMS accelerometer
Authors: Guo Yixuan , Ma Zhipeng , Zhang Tengfei , Zheng Xudong , Jin Zhonghe
Published: November 2020

This paper reports a novel MEMS accelerometer whose effective stiffness can be adjusted flexibly and even tuned to almost zero by using the electrostatic softening effect of two parallel plate capacitors: the comb-finger capacitor and the triangular capacitor. When applied to a biased voltage, the comb-finger capacitor provides a relatively large and nonlinear negative stiffness in the gap-varying direction, while the triangular capacitor produces a small yet linear negative stiffness in the area-varying direction. The proposed accelerometer is fabricated by using a standard silicon-on-glass manufacturing process and controlled by a customized digital circuit. An analytical model based on the pull-in dynamics as a result of the stiffness tuning is developed and simulated to investigate the dynamic behavior of the nonlinear accelerometer system. The proportion integral differential controller is utilized to improve the performance of the accelerometer while maintaining the stability of the closed-loop system operating with extremely low effective stiffness. The experimental results indicate that a two-fold increase of the sensitivity, a 30% reduction of Allan deviation bias instability, and a 20% reduction of Allan velocity random walk are achieved for the open-loop accelerometer system. A 75% decrease of the standard deviation bias instability and nearly two orders of magnitude improvement of the noise floor at 1 Hz for the closed-loop accelerometer system are realized when the effective stiffness is reduced to almost zero.
A novel adaptive Kalman filter for Euler-angle-based MEMS IMU/magnetometer attitude estimation
Authors: Zhou Qifan , Li Zheng , Yu Guizhen , Li Huazhi , Zhang Na
Published: November 2020

This paper introduces a novel Euler-angle-based adaptive attitude filter for micro-electro-mechanical system inertial measurement unit (IMU)/magnetometer fusion. An intelligent coordinate switch algorithm is proposed to overcome the singularity problem that exists in the Euler-angle-based attitude calculation approach. This method rotates the physical IMU body frame and forms a quasi-computational coordinate to perform the attitude and filter update. In addition, a novel noise estimation theorem based on redundant measurement systems is introduced, proofed and employed to adaptively tune the measurement covariance matrix R in the filter. This algorithm uses gyroscope short-term accuracy to evaluate the attitude performance derived from different sensors and optimally assigns weight in the filter update. Simulated and practical experiments are carried out to test the validation of the proposed adaptive attitude filter. The results achieved demonstrate that this approach can provide a promising orientation solution.
Fast switching characteristics of (111) oriented cerium oxide thin film-based metal-oxide semiconductor UV photodetector
Authors: Monica Devi Ngasepam , Ngangbam Chitralekha , Singh Naorem Khelchand
Published: November 2020

This work presents the studies of cerium oxide (CeO2) thin films (TFs) with different thicknesses on Si substrates using the electron beam evaporation method for photodetector (PD) application in the UV region. The effect of thickness on the structural, morphological, and optoelectronic properties of the TF was comprehensively studied. The structure and crystallinity of the samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction and all TFs showed highly preferred orientation along the (111) plane. The crystallinity and structural parameters like crystallite size, lattice constant, microstrain and dislocation density were also calculated, and 200 nm film showed the best results. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the CeO2 TF was smoothly deposited on the substrate. The absorption enhanced with increased thickness and thereby, the bandgap energy decreased to 3.45 eV for 300 nm as compared to 3.65 eV for 100 nm thickness. The electrical performance also proved superior for thicker films with increased photocurrent accompanied by lower dark current. The 200 nm CeO2 TF device showed the fastest switching response with a rise time of 240 ms and a fall time of 152 ms at a bias voltage of −4 V with an on/off ratio of 13.59. Moreover, spectral responses were higher for 200 nm film, thus exhibiting good PD performance. It is believed that this work will be highly useful for use as a sensitive UV PD.
Behaviour prediction of closed-loop HTS coils in non-uniform AC fields
Authors: Zhong Zhuoyan , Wu Wei , Wang Xueliang , Li Xiao-Fen , Sheng Jie , Hong Zhiyong , Jin Zhijian
Published: November 2020

Field decay rate is the key characteristic of superconducting magnets based on closed-loop coils. However, in Maglev trains or rotating machines, closed-loop magnets work in external AC fields and will exhibit an evidently accelerated field decay resulting from dynamic resistances, which are usually much larger than joint resistance. Nevertheless, there has not been a numerical model capable of systematically studying this behaviour, which is the main topic of this work. The field decay curves of a closed-loop high-temperature-superconducting (HTS) coil in various AC fields are simulated based on H-formulation. A non-uniform external field generated by armature coils is considered. Reasonable consistence is found between experimental and simulation results. In our numerical model, the impact of current relaxation, which is a historical challenge, is analysed and subsequently eliminated with acceptable precision. Our simulation results suggest that most proportion of the field decay rate is from the innermost and outermost turns. Based on this observation, a magnetic shielding pattern is designed to reduce the field decay rate efficiently. This work has provided magnet designers with an effective method to predict the field decay rate of closed-loop HTS coils in external AC fields, and explore various shielding designs.
Fluorescence properties of self assembled colloidal supraparticles from CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanocrystals
Authors: Blondot Victor , Bogicevic Alexandra , Coste Antoine , Arnold Christophe , Buil Stéphanie , Quélin Xavier , Pons Thomas , Lequeux Nicolas , Hermier Jean-Pierre
Published: November 2020

We first report the synthesis of supraparticles with a mean diameter of 130 nm consisting in a compact self-assembly of colloidal CdSe/CdS/ZnS nanocrystals encapsulated in a silica shell. This provides a system with robust optical properties such as a high quantum efficiency, a stable and Poissonian emission at room temperature. Additionally, enhancement of the photoluminescence decay rate through Förster resonance energy transfer is observed.
Quantitative recurrence properties for self-conformal sets
Authors: Baker Simon , Farmer Michael
Published: November 2020

In this paper we study the quantitative recurrence properties of self-conformal sets

X
X

equipped with the map

T
:
X
→
X

T:X\to X

induced by the left shift. In particular, given a function

φ
:

N

→
(
0
,
∞
)
,

\varphi :\mathbb {N}\to (0,\infty ),

we study the metric properties of the set
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper R left-parenthesis upper T comma phi right-parenthesis equals StartSet x element-of upper X colon StartAbsoluteValue upper T Superscript n Baseline x minus x EndAbsoluteValue greater-than phi left-parenthesis n right-parenthesis for infinitely many n element-of double-struck upper N EndSet period">

R
(
T
,
φ
)
=

{
x
∈
X
:

|

T
n

x
−
x

|

>
φ
(
n
)
 for infinitely many 
n
∈

N

}

.

\begin{equation*} R(T,\varphi )=\left \{x\in X:|T^nx-x|>\varphi (n)\text { for infinitely many }n\in \mathbb {N}\right \}. \end{equation*}

Our main result shows that for the natural measure supported on

X
X

,

R
(
T
,
φ
)

R(T,\varphi )

has zero measure if a natural volume sum converges, and under the open set condition

R
(
T
,
φ
)

R(T,\varphi )

has full measure if this volume sum diverges.
Uniform Lipschitz continuity of the isoperimetric profile of compact surfaces under normalized Ricci flow
Authors: Zheng Yizhong
Published: November 2020

We show that the isoperimetric profilehg(t)(ξ)h_{g(t)}(\xi )of a compact Riemannian manifold(M,g)(M,g)is jointly continuous when metricsg(t)g(t)vary continuously. We also show that, whenMMis a compact surface andg(t)g(t)evolves under normalized Ricci flow,hg(t)2(ξ)h^2_{g(t)}(\xi )is uniform Lipschitz continuous and hencehg(t)(ξ)h_{g(t)}(\xi )is uniform locally Lipschitz continuous.
SARS-CoV-2 hot-spot mutations are significantly enriched within inverted repeats and CpG island loci
Authors: Goswami Pratik , Bartas Martin , Lexa Matej , Bohálová Natália , Volná Adriana , Červeň Jiří , Červeňová Veronika , Pečinka Petr , Špunda Vladimír , Fojta Miroslav , Brázda Václav
Published: November 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is an intensively investigated virus from the order Nidovirales (Coronaviridae family) that causes COVID-19 disease in humans. Through enormous scientific effort, thousands of viral strains have been sequenced to date, thereby creating a strong background for deep bioinformatics studies of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. In this study, we inspected high-frequency mutations of SARS-CoV-2 and carried out systematic analyses of their overlay with inverted repeat (IR) loci and CpG islands. The main conclusion of our study is that SARS-CoV-2 hot-spot mutations are significantly enriched within both IRs and CpG island loci. This points to their role in genomic instability and may predict further mutational drive of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Moreover, CpG islands are strongly enriched upstream from viral ORFs and thus could play important roles in transcription and the viral life cycle. We hypothesize that hypermethylation of these loci will decrease the transcription of viral ORFs and could therefore limit the progression of the disease.
Enhanced communication of IARC Monograph findings to better achieve public health outcomes
Authors: Stewart Bernard W
Published: November 2020

Despite certain assertions, IARC Monographs involve more than hazard identification because they address exposure and risk for particular tumour sites. Immediate communication of all such key findings, together with authorities positioned to intervene, would reduce misunderstanding and also aid public health.