bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Popular post‐separation parenting smartphone apps: An evaluation
Authors: Smyth Bruce M. , Payne Jason L. , Irving Michelle , Heard Genevieve
Published: June 2023

In recent years a bewildering array of smartphone applications (“apps”) has emerged to support separated parents' communication. Post‐separation parenting apps vary in cost and features; they typically comprise a messaging tool, shared calendar, expense tracker and a means to export records for legal purposes. A key challenge for separated parents and family law practitioners alike is knowing which apps or app feature(s) can work well for different family contexts, needs and budgets. The present study sought to evaluate nine popular post‐separation parenting apps and their features using small‐n Human–Computer Interaction methods. Mediators role‐played high conflict ex‐couples while completing a set of five common post‐separation communication or organizational tasks. A cross‐case analysis of ratings was conducted. We found that (a) many of the mediators changed their apparent enthusiasm for co‐parenting apps once they had used the apps themselves; (b) all nine apps were rated somewhere between “Poor” to Fair’; and (c) features of some of the best‐known apps were not rated as highly as some of the features of more recent, lesser‐known apps.
Variation in sleep profiles in children with ADHD and associated clinical characteristics
Authors: Sciberras Emma , Hiscock Harriet , Cortese Samuele , Becker Stephen P. , Fernando Julian W. , Mulraney Melissa
Published: June 2023

Background

Sleep difficulties are common in children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, sleep problems are multifaceted and little is known about the variation in sleep difficulties across children with ADHD. We examined the profiles of sleep difficulties in children with ADHD and associated clinical factors (e.g. co‐occurring mental health conditions, stimulant use and parent mental health).

Methods

Data from two harmonised studies of children with ADHD (total: N = 392, ages 5–13 years) were used. Parents completed measures of children's sleep, co‐occurring mental health conditions and their own mental health. Both parents and teachers completed measures of child ADHD symptoms and emotional and conduct symptoms. Latent profile analysis was used to identify sleep profiles, and multinomial logistic regression assessed clinical correlates of the groups.

Results

Five sleep profiles were identified: (a) insomnia/delayed sleep phase (36%), (b) generalised sleep difficulties at sleep onset and overnight (25%), (c) high anxious/bedtime resistance difficulties (11%), (d) overnight sleep difficulties including obstructive sleep apnoea and parasomnias (5%) and (e) no sleep difficulties (22%). Compared with the group without sleep difficulties, the generalised, anxious/bedtime resistance and insomnia/delayed sleep phase sleep had greater parent‐reported emotional and conduct symptoms, co‐occurring anxiety and increased parent mental health difficulties. The generalised and anxious/bedtime resistance groups also had greater parent‐reported ADHD symptoms, with the anxious/bedtime resistance sleep group also having more frequent co‐occurring depression and teacher‐reported emotional symptoms.

Conclusions

The sleep difficulties experienced by children with ADHD are varied. Supports to help children with ADHD need to consider the particular profiles of sleep difficulties experienced and broader clinical characteristics. Tailored intervention approaches are likely needed (including a need to address parent mental health).
Triterpenoids in aerenchymatous phellem contribute to internal root aeration and waterlogging adaptability in soybeans
Authors: Takahashi Hirokazu , Abo Chisato , Suzuki Hayato , Romsuk Jutapat , Oi Takao , Yanagawa Asako , Gorai Tomoka , Tomisaki Yukari , Jitsui Mana , Shimamura Satoshi , Mori Hitoshi , Kaga Akito , Ishimoto Masao , Seki Hikaru , Muranaka Toshiya , Nakazono Mikio
Published: June 2023

Soybeans (Glycine max) develop newly differentiated aerenchymatous phellem (AP) in response to waterlogging stress. AP is formed in the hypocotyl and root, thus contributing to internal aeration and adaptation to waterlogging for several legumes. Extensive accumulation of triterpenoids – lupeol and betulinic acid – has been identified in AP. However, their physiological roles in plants remain unclarified. Lupeol is converted from 2,3‐oxidosqualene by lupeol synthase (LUS) and oxidized to betulinic acid. Notably, soybeans have two LUS genes (GmLUS1 and GmLUS2).

Functional analysis was performed to reveal the biological and physiological functions of triterpenoids in AP using lus mutants.

The AP cells of lus1 mutant lacked triterpenoid accumulation and epicuticular wax. Lupeol and betulinic acid were the major components of epicuticular wax and contributed to tissue hydrophobicity and oxygen transport to the roots. Tissue porosity in AP was lower in the lus1 mutant than in the wild‐type, which resulted in reduced oxygen transport to the roots via AP. This reduction in oxygen transport resulted in shallow root systems under waterlogged conditions.

Triterpenoid accumulation in AP contributes to effective internal aeration and root development for adaptation to waterlogging, suggesting the significance of triterpenoids in improving waterlogging tolerance.
Exploring the performance of spectral and textural information for leaf area index estimation with homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces
Authors: Zhang Yangyang , Han Xu , Yang Jian
Published: June 2023

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the key parameters of vegetation structure, which can be applied in monitoring vegetation growth status. Currently, abundant spatial information (e.g., textural information), provided by the developing remote sensing satellite techniques, could boost the accuracy of LAI estimation. Thus, the performance of spectral and textural information must be evaluated for different vegetation types of LAI estimation in different surface types. In this study, different spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) and grey‐level co‐occurrence matrix‐based textural variables under different moving window sizes were extracted from Landsat TM satellite data. First, the ability of different types of SVIs for LAI estimation in different surface types was analysed. Subsequently, the effect of different texture variables with different moving window sizes towards LAI estimation accuracy in different vegetation types was explored. Lastly, the performance of SVIs combined with textural information for the LAI estimation in different vegetation types was evaluated. Results indicated that SVIs performed better for LAI estimation in the homogeneous region than that in the heterogeneous region, and difference vegetation index was more remarkable for LAI estimation in different vegetation types than other SVIs. In addition, variations in texture variables and moving window sizes had a large influence on LAI estimation of natural vegetation with high canopy heterogeneity. SVI combined with textural information can efficiently improve the accuracy of LAI estimation in different vegetation types (R2 = 0.672, 0.455 and 0.523 for meadow, shrub and cantaloupe, respectively.) compared with SVI alone (R2 = 0.189, 0.064 and 0.431 for meadow, shrub and cantaloupe, respectively.). Especially for natural vegetation (meadow, shrub), the addition of textural information can greatly improve the accuracy of LAI estimation.
Comparison of caregiver burden between dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Yuuki Seiji , Hashimoto Mamoru , Koyama Asuka , Matsushita Masateru , Ishikawa Tomohisa , Fukuhara Ryuji , Honda Kazuki , Miyagawa Yusuke , Ikeda Manabu , Takebayashi Minoru
Published: June 2023

Background

Caring for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) would be more stressful for their caregivers than those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we compared levels of caregiver burden and the possible influential factors on the caregiver burden between DLB and AD.

Methods

Ninety‐three DLB patients and 500 AD patients were selected from the Kumamoto University Dementia Registry. Caregiver burden, neuropsychiatric symptoms, basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were assessed by the Japanese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (J‐ZBI), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), the Physical Self‐Maintenance Scale (PSMS), and the Lawton IADL scale, respectively.

Results

Despite the comparable Mini‐Mental State Examination score, the J‐ZBI score was significantly higher in the DLB group than the AD group (P = 0.012). A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that IADL score (β = −0.23, P = 0.049), PSMS score (β = −0.31, P = 0.010), disinhibition (β = 0.22, P = 0.008), and anxiety (β = 0.19, P = 0.027) were significantly associated with J‐ZBI score in DLB. In AD, caregiver's relationship with patient (child) (β = 0.104, P = 0.005), caregiver's gender (female) (β = 0.106, P = 0.004), IADL score (β = −0.237, P < 0.001), irritability (β = 0.183, P < 0.001), apathy (β = 0.132, P = 0.001), agitation (β = 0.118, P = 0.007), and aberrant motor behaviour (β = 0.107, P = 0.010) were associated with caregiver burden.

Conclusions

Caring for DLB patients caused a higher degree of caregiver burden than AD patients in the same level of cognitive decline. The factors responsible for the caregiver's burden were different between DLB and AD. The caregiver burden for DLB patients was associated with the disability of basic ADL, IADL impairment, anxiety and disinhibition.
Microbiological environmental contamination in the blood supply chain: An international survey by the bacterial subgroup of the ISBT Transfusion‐Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party
Authors: Ramirez‐Arcos Sandra , Garcia‐Otalora Michel , McDonald Carl ,   ISBT Transfusion‐Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party, Subgroup on Bacteria
Published: June 2023

Background and Objectives

Blood transfusion centres ensure the quality and safety of transfusable blood components. However, septic transfusion reactions involving environmental contaminants occur. An international survey issued by the ISBT Transfusion‐Transmitted Infectious Diseases Working Party (ISBT‐TTID‐WP) Bacterial Subgroup aimed to collect information regarding microbiological environmental monitoring from transfusion services.

Materials and Methods

A Form survey (English and Spanish) with 35 questions was sent to ISBT‐TTID‐WP members. The survey had four sections: (1) respondent personal information, (2) cleaning/disinfection practices during blood component manufacturing, (3) cleaning/disinfection practices during blood component storage and (4) blood component storage bag integrity. Respondents completed the survey electronically, and data were comparatively analysed using Microsoft Excel.

Results

There were 49 responses from 20 countries. Five of 49 sites manufacture blood components in a cleanroom, and most use personal protective equipment, although the type varied between sites. Approximately 40% of sites perform environmental monitoring during blood component production, with seven sites providing details about frequency and methods. Most (~94%) centres have procedures for cleaning/disinfection of processing and storage facilities with varying responses regarding areas, frequency and methods. Inconsistency was reported regarding the orientation of platelet component incubation (portrait vs. landscape). Over 93% of sites assess storage bag integrity and report damage to manufacturers, and 49% of centres report septic transfusion reactions potentially linked to damaged storage containers.

Conclusion

Data from this survey highlight the need for consensual guidelines for transfusion services regarding cleaning and disinfection practices. Environmental monitoring could be adopted to minimize the risk of blood component contamination for transfusion patient safety.
Predictive Analytics on Scheduled Surgery Cases in Forecasting the Operating Theatre Utilisation
Authors: Ab Rashid Nurul Atiekah , Ya'acob Suraya
Published: June 2023

The scheduled surgery cases, allocation of clinical provider, machine, equipment, preparation time, surgery performance, and patient recovery give the big impact on OT utilization. Low OT utilization due to no show patient and scheduling bottleneck interrupt patient flow in clinical process. It also decreases the admission to the OT and wastage of resources. In order to improve the capacity of OT, the logical solution need to be carried out is utilization audit. The trend of scheduled surgery cases has identified, and element affect the OT capacity have used to predict the OT optimization for future planning. The purpose of this study is to investigate efficiency of operating theatre (OT) utilization in healthcare institution and the application predictive analytics on its daily operational data. OT contribute to the revenue for the hospital and workload.  This project use machine learning in identify which model can use to predict the decision of admission to which facility after the surgery. The model has been going through a few mathematical reasoning to getting the usage efficiency on the dataset. The result shows that Support Vector Machine (SVM) got the highest accuracy in test data rather than Logistic Regression (LR) and Random Forest Classifier. SVM used to predict the admission decision, which contribute to the surgery scheduling in OT. This project can be extended to the admission decision with the factor or severity of patient condition to undergo any intervention in outpatient.
IoT in Banking: The trends, threats, and solution
Authors: Abu Bakar Nur Azaliah , Abu Hassan Mardiana , Hassan Noor Hafizah
Published: June 2023

The Internet of Things is the next step of the digital revolution that will change consumers' lives. The Internet of Things promises to be a worthy representative of an open course in technology, economics, and culture. IoT, without a doubt, has a promising future. The modern consumer actions and uses represent inescapable digital transformations for banking institutions. Emerging digital world developments guide all banking services' digital transformation. However, the security threats of using IoT in banking are increasing. Cybercriminals such as hacking, corruption, and financial violence, data breaches, and financial expenditure risks will continue to trouble the use of IoT in banking. Therefore, this research aims to study the banking industry's existing IoT uses, issues, and challenges in adopting the IoT in the banking industry. IoT threats are highlighted in this paper. This article sets out a model dimension of the process monitoring framework for IoT security risk management. Other than that, this paper also studies the existing security risk management model of IoT in banking. Moreover, preventive IoT protection initiatives and approaches to enhance  IoT protection by implementing blockchain technology and Control Model Information Structure are addressed in this article
Systematic Literature Review: Factor For Physical Security And Access Control in Maximun Security Protection
Authors: Mohamed Roslinda , Abas Hafiza , Hassan Noor Hafizah , Ismail Saiful Adli
Published: June 2023

Physical security and access control as one of the installations should be upgraded to confirm the security and readiness of the asset belong to the group to continue safely. As the quick development in technology offers a boundless defence level for physical security and access control in the office, every organization must offer a passable budget pertinent to the transformation of the world today.  Through a very humane approach of natural surveillance, access control, maintenance, and reinforcements of territory, this strategy will contribute to the field of physical security as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the features that regulate taking for perimeter protection and access control in maximum were identified and analysed. The findings have revealed that five categories of features can be used to study the taking for perimeter protection and access control in maximum security protection: physical security; access control; security standard and policy; security awareness program and security training and security protection. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was accepted since it uses a more rigorous and well-defined method to swotting the study indication pertinent to the study. Initially, 62 papers were retrieved by a manual search in six databases and 17 primary studies were finally included. Consequently, 5 factors education.
Evidence of compost contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from “compostable” food serviceware
Authors: Goossen Caleb P. , Schattman Rachel E. , MacRae Jean D.
Published: June 2023

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used to waterproof and greaseproof food serviceware for decades. Health concerns about these compounds have drawn attention to the potential for contamination of the food system. Finished compost (n = 3) made from manure and food serviceware labeled “compostable” generated at a large fair was found to contain 12 or 13 of the 28 PFAS compounds sampled for, in concentrations ranging from 1.1 to 183 μg/kg (Σ28PFAS range = 209–455 μg/kg). Of note, perfluorooctanoic acid, a known carcinogen, was found at concentrations between 47.2 and 55.5 μg/kg. In contrast, fresh manure contained only perfluoroctanesulfonic acid at 3.7 μg/kg, and separated food waste from the fair composted with grass clippings and livestock bedding had no detectable PFAS in 2022, and Σ28PFAS = 9.6 μg/kg in 2019. Including compostable serviceware in compost likely contaminates the finished compost and threatens surrounding groundwater and surface waters, in addition to increasing potential crop uptake.
Large redshift in photoluminescence of InAs/AlAs short-period superlattices due to highly ordered lateral composition modulation
Authors: Yao Jinshan , Li Jiayi , Zhang Qihang , Zuo Zongyan , Zhang Weiwei , Wang Wenyang , Li Chen , Chen Baile , Deng Yu , Zhang Xuejin , Lu Hong , Chen Yan-Feng
Published: June 2023

Highly ordered lateral composition modulation (LCM) is obtained in InAs/AlAs short-period superlattices (SPS) grown by molecular beam epitaxy and its effect on photoluminescence (PL) is studied. The formation of LCM and modulation length can be resolved by x-ray diffraction. Furthermore, atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy results reveal both the composition and strain distribution in the modulated and unmodulated samples and demonstrate a clear transition of strain redistribution due to LCM formation, showing that LCM is a preferential route over dislocation formation for strain relief in these strain-compensated SPSs. The LCM leads to a large redshift in PL emissions up to 0.3 eV, which we attribute to the In-rich regions in the modulated InAs/AlAs SPS. This finding facilitates a deeper understanding of these modulated SPSs.
Dual-frequency boiling histotripsy in an ex vivo bovine tendinopathy model
Authors: Smallcomb Molly , Simon Julianna C.
Published: June 2023

Histotripsy fractionates most soft tissues; however, healthy tendons have shown resistance to histotripsy fractionation. Prior work has shown that pre-heating tendons increases susceptibility to histotripsy fractionation; combining multiple driving frequencies may also allow successful fractionation of tendons. Here, we evaluate single- and dual-frequency histotripsy in four healthy and eight tendinopathic ex vivo bovine tendons. First, we evaluated single-frequency (1.07, 1.5, and 3.68 MHz) and dual-frequency (1.07 and 1.5 MHz or 1.5 and 3.68 MHz) bubble dynamics with high-speed photography in a tissue-mimicking phantom. Then, tendons were treated with histotripsy. Cavitation activity was monitored with a passive cavitation detector (PCD) and targeted areas were evaluated grossly and histologically. Results in tendinopathic tendons showed 1.5 MHz or 3.68 MHz single-frequency exposure caused focal disruption, whereas 1.5 and 3.68 MHz dual-frequency exposures caused fractionated holes; all treatments caused some thermal denaturation. Exposure to 1.07 MHz alone or combined with 1.5 MHz did not show fractionation in tendinopathic tendons. In healthy tendons, only thermal necrosis was observed for all tested exposures. PCD showed some differences in cavitation activity in tendinopathic tendons but did not predict successful fractionation. These results suggest that full histotripsy fractionation is possible using dual-frequency exposures in tendinopathic tendons.
The State of Quantitative Research and a Proposed Research Framework in Social Media
Authors: Kunkel Thilo , Kennedy Heather , Baker Bradley J. , Doyle Jason P.
Published: June 2023

Social media has changed how sport organizations and individuals in the sport industry communicate and conduct business. The increase in the number, complexity, and capabilities of platforms provides ample opportunities and data for researchers to employ quantitative research methods. In this article, we provide an overview of the state of scholarship by conducting a scoping review of sport social media research published between 2010 and 2022 with a focus on articles based on quantitative data. We then critically discuss four areas that present opportunities for improvement—scope, theory, data collection, and data analysis. Based on these four areas, we introduce the social media research framework to guide future social media research in sport. Within the social media research framework, we outline three focal areas of research—people, spaces, and technologies—and suggest examining these areas simultaneously, rather than in isolation, as well as their intersections in the sport industry.
Heat Preparation and Knowledge at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 2022
Authors: Galan-Lopez Natalia , Esh Chris J. , Leal Diogo Vaz , Gandini Silvia , Lucas Ronan , Garrandes Frederic , Bermon Stephane , Adami Paolo Emilio , Kajeniene Alma , Hosokawa Yuri , Chrismas Bryna Catherine Rose , Stevens Christopher J. , Taylor Lee
Published: June 2023

Purpose: To assess elite racewalkers’ preparation strategies, knowledge, and general practices for competition in the heat and their health status during the World Athletics Race Walking Teams Championships (WRW) Muscat 2022. Methods: Sixty-six elite racewalkers (male: n = 42; mean age = 25.8 y) completed an online survey prior to WRW Muscat 2022. Athletes were grouped by sex (males vs females) and climate (self-reported) they live/trained in (hot vs temperate/cold), with differences/relationships between groups assessed. Relationships between ranking (medalist/top 10 vs nonmedalist/nontop 10) and precompetition use of heat acclimation/acclimatization (HA) were assessed. Results: All surveyed medalists (n = 4) implemented, and top 10 finishers were more likely to report using (P = .049; OR = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.06%–1%), HA before the championships. Forty-three percent of athletes did not complete specific HA training. Females (8% [males 31%]) were less likely to have measured core temperature (P = .049; OR = 0.2; 95% CI, 0.041–0.99) and more likely to not know expected conditions in Muscat (42% vs 14%; P = .016; OR = 4.3; 95% CI, 1%–14%) or what wet bulb globe temperature is (83% vs 55%; P = .024; OR = 4.1; 95% CI, 1%–14%). Conclusions: Athletes who implemented HA before the championships tended to place better than those who did not. Forty-three percent of athletes did not prepare for the expected hot conditions at the WRW Muscat 2022, primarily attributed to challenges in accessing and/or cost of equipment/facilities for HA strategies. Further efforts to bridge the gap between research and practice in this elite sport are needed, particularly in female athletes.
Experiences, Perspectives, and Barriers to Physical Activity Parenting Practices for Chinese Early Adolescents
Authors: Zhang Youjie , Cao Ruohong , Li Cheng , Shi Ziying , Sheng Hui , Xu Yong
Published: June 2023

Background: Parents play an important role in shaping youth’s lifestyle behaviors. This study aimed to investigate physical activity parenting practices (PAPP) for Chinese early adolescents and compare reporting discrepancies between parents and adolescent boys and girls. Methods: Fifty-five adolescent–parent dyads participated in 16 paired focus group interviews, and an additional 122 dyads completed questionnaire surveys with open-ended questions. Participants were recruited from 3 public middle schools in Suzhou, China. Qualitative data were analyzed inductively using an open-coding scheme. Frequencies of codes were compared by parent–child role and adolescent gender using chi-square tests. Results: Eighteen types of PAPP were identified and grouped into 6 categories: goals/control, structure, parental physical activity participation, communication, support, and discipline. These PAPP were viewed as promotive, preventive, or ineffective. Participants had mixed opinions on the effects of 11 PAPP and identified parental, adolescent, and environmental barriers for parents to promote youth physical activity. Compared with parents, adolescents were more likely to value the effects of setting expectation, scheduling, and coparticipation as well as dislike pressuring, restriction, and punishment. Girls were more likely to favor coparticipation and were more sensitive about negative communication than boys. Parents paid more attention to environmental barriers, whereas adolescents, especially girls, focused more on personal issues. Conclusions: Future studies need to address both positive and negative PAPP as well as perception discrepancies by child–parent role and adolescent gender to generate more evidence to promote parents as favorable socialization agents of youth physical activity.
Arrestins lie in wait
Authors: Foley John F.
Published: June 2023

Preassociation of β-arrestins with the plasma membrane facilitates their interactions with GPCRs.
Novel Synergies and Isolate Specificities in the Drug Interaction Landscape of Mycobacterium abscessus
Authors: Van Nhi , Degefu Yonatan N. , Leus Pathricia A. , Larkins-Ford Jonah , Klickstein Jacob , Maurer Florian P. , Stone David , Poonawala Husain , Thorpe Cheleste M. , Smith Trever C. , Aldridge Bree B.
Published: June 2023

Mycobacterium abscessus
infections are difficult to treat and are often considered untreatable without tissue resection. Due to the intrinsic drug-resistant nature of the bacteria, combination therapy of three or more antibiotics is recommended.
Group B Streptococcus Drives Major Transcriptomic Changes in the Colonic Epithelium
Authors: Domínguez Kristen , Lindon April K. , Gibbons Justin , Darch Sophie E. , Randis Tara M.
Published: June 2023

Group B
Streptococcus
(GBS) is a leading cause of infant sepsis worldwide. Colonization of the gastrointestinal tract is a critical precursor to late-onset disease in exposed newborns.
Structural basis of a bi-functional malonyl-CoA reductase (MCR) from the photosynthetic green non-sulfur bacterium
Roseiflexus castenholzii
Authors: Zhang Xin , Xin Jiyu , Wang Zhiguo , Wu Wenping , Liu Yutong , Min Zhenzhen , Xin Yueyong , Liu Bing , He Jun , Zhang Xingwei , Xu Xiaoling
Published: June 2023

Malonyl-CoA reductase (MCR) is a NADPH-dependent bi-functional enzyme that performs alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase (CoA-acylating) activities in the N- and C-terminal fragments, respectively. It catalyzes the two-step reduction of malonyl-CoA to 3-hydroxypropionate (3-HP), a key reaction in the autotrophic CO
2
fixation cycles of
Chloroflexaceae
green non-sulfur bacteria and the archaea
Crenarchaeota
. However, the structural basis underlying substrate selection, coordination, and the subsequent catalytic reactions of full-length MCR is largely unknown. For the first time, we here determined the structure of full-length MCR from the photosynthetic green non-sulfur bacterium
Roseiflexus castenholzii
(
Rfx
MCR) at 3.35 Å resolution. Furthermore, we determined the crystal structures of the N- and C-terminal fragments bound with reaction intermediates NADP
+
and malonate semialdehyde (MSA) at 2.0 Å and 2.3 Å, respectively, and elucidated the catalytic mechanisms using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and enzymatic analyses. Full-length
Rfx
MCR was a homodimer of two cross-interlocked subunits, each containing four tandemly arranged short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) domains. Only the catalytic domains SDR1 and SDR3 incorporated additional secondary structures that changed with NADP
+
–MSA binding. The substrate, malonyl-CoA, was immobilized in the substrate-binding pocket of SDR3 through coordination with Arg1164 and Arg799 of SDR4 and the extra domain, respectively. Malonyl-CoA was successively reduced through protonation by the Tyr743–Arg746 pair in SDR3 and the catalytic triad (Thr165–Tyr178–Lys182) in SDR1 after nucleophilic attack from NADPH hydrides.

IMPORTANCE

The bi-functional MCR catalyzes NADPH-dependent reduction of malonyl-CoA to 3-HP, an important metabolic intermediate and platform chemical, from biomass. The individual MCR-N and MCR-C fragments, which contain the alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase (CoA-acylating) activities, respectively, have previously been structurally investigated and reconstructed into a malonyl-CoA pathway for the biosynthetic production of 3-HP. However, no structural information for full-length MCR has been available to illustrate the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme, which greatly limits our capacity to increase the 3-HP yield of recombinant strains. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of full-length MCR for the first time and elucidate the mechanisms underlying substrate selection, coordination, and catalysis in the bi-functional MCR. These findings provide a structural and mechanistic basis for enzyme engineering and biosynthetic applications of the 3-HP carbon fixation pathways.
Identification of
In Vitro
Inhibitors of Monkeypox Replication
Authors: Chiem Kevin , Nogales Aitor , Lorenzo Maria , Morales Vasquez Desarey , Xiang Yan , Gupta Yogesh K. , Blasco Rafael , de la Torre Juan Carlos , Martínez-Sobrido Luis
Published: June 2023

Despite the eradication of smallpox, some orthopoxviruses remain important human pathogens, as exemplified by the recent 2022 monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak. Although smallpox vaccines are effective against MPXV, access to those vaccines is limited.
A Mildly Acidic Environment Alters Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence and Causes Remodeling of the Bacterial Surface
Authors: Mozaheb Negar , Rasouli Paria , Kaur Mandeep , Van Der Smissen Patrick , Larrouy-Maumus Gerald , Mingeot-Leclercq Marie-Paule
Published: June 2023

P. aeruginosa
encounters environments with acidic pH when establishing infections in hosts. The bacterium develops an altered phenotype to tolerate a moderate decrease in the environmental pH.
Equation of State of an Infinitely Dilute Solution of Argon in Water
Authors: Novikov A. A.
Published: June 2023

A new equation of state is proposed for a solution of gas at infinite dilution, based on considering the interaction between a gas and a solvent at the microscopic level. It is used to describe the properties of an infinitely dilute aqueous solution of argon in a wide range of temperatures and pressures, including the supercritical region of water. It is shown that the resulting equation is capable of predicting the properties of an aqueous solution of an inert gas with high accuracy, based on a limited set of data at moderate temperatures.
The scale-dependent role of submerged macrophytes as drift-feeding lotic fish habitat
Authors: McLaren John S. , Van Kirk Robert W. , Budy Phaedra , Brothers Soren
Published: June 2023

Although submerged macrophyte (hereafter, “macrophyte”) communities are globally prevalent in low-gradient rivers, the net reach-scale effect of macrophytes on drift-feeding fish microhabitat preference is poorly understood. We used snorkeling and bioenergetics to study fish habitat selection for rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Henrys Fork, ID, USA, investigating microhabitat preference across a reach-scale gradient of macrophyte growth. Fish preferred microhabitats with deep water, low velocity, and low macrophyte coverage. Preferences for microhabitats with higher net rate of energy intake (NREI) were modulated by reach-scale macrophyte coverage, higher coverage increasing preferences for higher NREI. Macrophyte coverage was a weak positive predictor for depth and NREI, and a weak negative predictor for water velocity and median substrate. Our results suggest trade-offs between fish predation risk and bioenergetic food intake, with macrophytes modulating these trade-offs across scales by affecting reach-scale geomorphology, bioenergetics, and predation risk. As such, this study highlights the important and dynamic role that macrophytes can play in fish population dynamics in rivers, with important implications for management decisions.
Optical reflectance across spatial scales—an intercomparison of transect-based hyperspectral, drone, and satellite reflectance data for dry season rangeland
Authors: Slade Glenn , Fawcett Dominic , Cunliffe Andrew M. , Brazier Richard E. , Nyaupane Kamal , Mauritz Marguerite , Vargas Sergio , Anderson Karen
Published: June 2023

Drone-based multispectral sensing is a valuable tool for dryland spatial ecology, yet there has been limited investigation of the reproducibility of measurements from drone-mounted multispectral camera array systems or the intercomparison between drone-derived measurements, field spectroscopy, and satellite data. Using radiometrically calibrated data from two multispectral drone sensors (MicaSense RedEdge (MRE) and Parrot Sequoia (PS)) co-located with a transect of hyperspectral measurements (tramway) in the Chihuahuan desert (New Mexico, USA), we found a high degree of correspondence within individual drone data sets, but that reflectance measurements and vegetation indices varied between field, drone, and satellite sensors. In comparison to field spectra, MRE had a negative bias, while PS had a positive bias. In comparison to Sentinel-2, PS showed the best agreement, while MRE had a negative bias for all bands. A variogram analysis of NDVI showed that ecological pattern information was lost at grains coarser than 1.8 m, indicating that drone-based multispectral sensors provide information at an appropriate spatial grain to capture the heterogeneity and spectral variability of this dryland ecosystem in a dry season state. Investigators using similar workflows should understand the need to account for biases between sensors. Modelling spatial and spectral upscaling between drone and satellite data remains an important research priority.
The adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions and the role of digital infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador
Authors: Gozzi Nicolò , Comini Niccolò , Perra Nicola
Published: June 2023

Adherence to the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) put in place to mitigate the spreading of infectious diseases is a multifaceted problem. Several factors, including socio-demographic and socio-economic attributes, can influence the perceived susceptibility and risk which are known to affect behavior. Furthermore, the adoption of NPIs is dependent upon the barriers, real or perceived, associated with their implementation. Here, we study the determinants of NPIs adherence during the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador. Analyses are performed at the level of municipalities and include socio-economic, socio-demographic, and epidemiological indicators. Furthermore, by leveraging a unique dataset comprising tens of millions of internet Speedtest® measurements from Ookla®, we investigate the quality of the digital infrastructure as a possible barrier to adoption. We use mobility changes provided by Meta as a proxy of adherence to NPIs and find a significant correlation between mobility drops and digital infrastructure quality. The relationship remains significant after controlling for several factors. This finding suggests that municipalities with better internet connectivity were able to afford higher mobility reductions. We also find that mobility reductions were more pronounced in larger, denser, and wealthier municipalities.
CAN INFECTIOUS DISEASES THAT DO NOT CONFER IMMUNITY ERADICATE HOST SPECIES?
Authors: CARLSON BRIAN H. , THIEME HORST R.
Published: June 2023

In SIS epidemic models with host population dynamics, two classes of incidence functions are identified for their potential to be linked to host extinction. Mildly upper density-dependent incidences are never linked to host extinction. Incidences that are positively homogeneous of degree one are linked to host extinction for certain parameter constellations and to mere host decline for others; a threshold parameter is identified that separates host decline from host extinction.
The characteristically invariant extending property for Abelian groups
Authors: Chekhlov Andrey R. , Danchev Peter V.
Published: June 2023

We define and study the so-called CI-extending property for Abelian groups, thus somewhat extending results due to Birkenmeier et al. in Commun. Algebra (2001) concerning the FI-extending property.
Multiplicative lattices: Maximal implies prime and related questions
Authors: Facchini Alberto , Finocchiaro Carmelo Antonio
Published: June 2023

The goal of this paper is to deepen the study of multiplicative lattices in the sense of Facchini, Finocchiaro and Janelidze. We provide a sort of Prime Ideal Principle that guarantees that maximal implies prime in a variety of cases (among them the case of commutative rings with identity). This result is used to study the lattice theoretic counterpart of multiplicative closed sets, that of [Formula: see text]-systems. The notion of [Formula: see text]-system is also studied from the topological point of view.
Nonreciprocal unconventional photon blockade in atom-cavity with χ(2) nonlinear medium
Authors: Shen H. Z. , Luan T. Z. , Zhou Y. H. , Shi Z. C. , Yi X. X.
Published: June 2023

In this paper, we show that the photon blockade (PB) can be observed in a nonreciprocal way with a driven spinning atom-cavity coupled filled with [Formula: see text] nonlinear medium. We analytically derive the optimal conditions for strong photon antibunching, which are in good agreement with those obtained by numerical simulations. Under the weak driving condition, we discuss the physical origins of the nonreciprocal unconventional photon blockade (UPB), which originates from the destructive quantum interference between different paths from the ground state to two-photon states by driving the device from the left side. While the quantum interference paths are broken when the device is driven from the right side, which leads to the occurrence of the photon bunching. Moreover in the opposite direction of driving the device, we also observe another nonreciprocal UPB effect, which can occur by generating bunching and antibunching effects via driving the device from the left and right sides under the derived optimal conditions, respectively. Finally, we cannot observe the nonreciprocal UPB phenomenon with the large cavity decay compared to the atomic spontaneous emission rate (or the bad cavity limit), and give the physical reason behind it. Possible experimental implementation for this scheme is presented.
The ‘
gigantic boulders
’ of the Torino Hill (NW Italy): geohistorical significance and geoheritage value
Authors: Barale Luca
Published: June 2023

Large boulders, up to several metres in diameter and mainly made up of metamorphic rocks, are scattered throughout the Torino Hill in NW Italy. These boulders were originally included in Oligocene–Miocene conglomerate beds and were released by alteration of the host rock at the surface. In the past two centuries, their origin and mechanisms of emplacement in the conglomerate bodies were largely debated by both Italian and foreign geologists. Some of the boulders had been given proper names by the local people and had become the object of legends and rituals. Moreover, in the past, the boulders had an economic value, being used as construction stones or exploited to produce aggregates, lime and millstones. This, together with the progressive urbanization of the area, caused the disappearance of many of the large boulders once present on the Torino Hill. The remaining ones are presently not appreciated and are almost forgotten, even though they represent an invaluable geoheritage and deserve rediscovery and protection.
cuCatch: A Debugging Tool for Efficiently Catching Memory Safety Violations in CUDA Applications
Authors: Tarek Ibn Ziad Mohamed , Damani Sana , Jaleel Aamer , Keckler Stephen W. , Stephenson Mark
Published: June 2023

CUDA, OpenCL, and OpenACC are the primary means of writing general-purpose software for NVIDIA GPUs, all of which are subject to the same well-documented memory safety vulnerabilities currently plaguing software written in C and C++. One can argue that the GPU execution environment makes software development more error prone. Unlike C and C++, CUDA features multiple, distinct memory spaces to map to the GPU’s unique memory hierarchy, and a typical CUDA program has thousands of concurrently executing threads. Furthermore, the CUDA platform has fewer guardrails than CPU platforms that have been forced to incrementally adjust to a barrage of security attacks. Unfortunately, the peculiarities of the GPU make it difficult to directly port memory safety solutions from the CPU space.

This paper presents cuCatch, a new memory safety error detection tool designed specifically for the CUDA programming model. cuCatch combines optimized compiler instrumentation with driver support to implement a novel algorithm for catching spatial and temporal memory safety errors with low performance overheads. Our experimental results on a wide set of GPU applications show that cuCatch incurs a 19% runtime slowdown on average, which is orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art debugging tools on GPUs. Moreover, our quantitative evaluation demonstrates cuCatch’s higher error detection coverage compared to prior memory safety tools. The combination of high error detection coverage and low runtime overheads makes cuCatch an ideal candidate for accelerating memory safety debugging for GPU applications.
HEaaN.MLIR: An Optimizing Compiler for Fast Ring-Based Homomorphic Encryption
Authors: Park Sunjae , Song Woosung , Nam Seunghyeon , Kim Hyeongyu , Shin Junbum , Lee Juneyoung
Published: June 2023

Homomorphic encryption (HE) is an encryption scheme that provides arithmetic operations on the encrypted data without doing decryption.
For Ring-based HE, an encryption scheme that uses arithmetic operations on a polynomial ring as building blocks, performance improvement of unit HE operations has been achieved by two kinds of efforts.
The first one is through accelerating the building blocks, polynomial operations.
However, it does not facilitate optimizations across polynomial operations such as fusing two polynomial operations.
The second one is implementing highly optimized HE operations in an amalgamated manner.
The written codes have superior performance, but they are hard to maintain.

To resolve these challenges, we propose HEaaN.MLIR, a compiler that performs optimizations across polynomial operations.
Also, we propose Poly and ModArith, compiler intermediate representations (IRs) for integer polynomial arithmetic and modulus arithmetic on integer arrays.
HEaaN.MLIR has compiler optimizations that are motivated by manual optimizations that HE developers do.
These include optimizing modular arithmetic operations, fusing loops, and vectorizing integer arithmetic instructions.
HEaaN.MLIR can parse a program consisting of the Poly and ModArith instructions and generate a high-performance, multithreaded machine code for a CPU.
Our experiment shows that the compiled operations outperform heavily optimized open-source and commercial HE libraries by up to 3.06x in a single thread and 4.55x in multiple threads.
Recursive State Machine Guided Graph Folding for Context-Free Language Reachability
Authors: Lei Yuxiang , Sui Yulei , Tan Shin Hwei , Zhang Qirun
Published: June 2023

Context-free language reachability (CFL-reachability) is a fundamental framework for program analysis. A large variety of static analyses can be formulated as CFL-reachability problems, which determines whether specific source-sink pairs in an edge-labeled graph are connected by a reachable path, i.e., a path whose edge labels form a string accepted by the given CFL. Computing CFL-reachability is expensive. The fastest algorithm exhibits a slightly subcubic time complexity with respect to the input graph size. Improving the scalability of CFL-reachability is of practical interest, but reducing the time complexity is inherently difficult.

In this paper, we focus on improving the scalability of CFL-reachability from a more practical perspective---reducing the input graph size. Our idea arises from the existence of trivial edges, i.e., edges that do not affect any reachable path in CFL-reachability. We observe that two nodes joined by trivial edges can be folded---by merging the two nodes with all the edges joining them removed---without affecting the CFL-reachability result. By studying the characteristic of the recursive state machines (RSMs), an alternative form of CFLs, we propose an approach to identify foldable node pairs without the need to verify the underlying reachable paths (which is equivalent to solving the CFL-reachability problem). In particular, given a CFL-reachability problem instance with an input graph G and an RSM, based on the correspondence between paths in G and state transitions in RSM, we propose a graph folding principle, which can determine whether two adjacent nodes are foldable by examining only their incoming and outgoing edges.

On top of the graph folding principle, we propose an efficient graph folding algorithm GF. The time complexity of GF is linear with respect to the number of nodes in the input graph. Our evaluations on two clients (alias analysis and value-flow analysis) show that GF significantly accelerates RSM/CFL-reachability by reducing the input graph size. On average, for value-flow analysis, GF reduces 60.96% of nodes and 42.67% of edges of the input graphs, obtaining a speedup of 4.65× and a memory usage reduction of 57.35%. For alias analysis, GF reduces 38.93% of nodes and 35.61% of edges of the input graphs, obtaining a speedup of 3.21× and a memory usage reduction of 65.19%.
Modular Hardware Design with Timeline Types
Authors: Nigam Rachit , Azevedo de Amorim Pedro Henrique , Sampson Adrian
Published: June 2023

Modular design is a key challenge for enabling large-scale reuse of hardware modules. Unlike software, however, hardware designs correspond to physical circuits and inherit constraints from them. Timing constraints—which cycle a signal arrives, when an input is read—and structural constraints—how often a multiplier accepts new inputs—are fundamental to hardware interfaces. Existing hardware design languages do not provide a way to encode these constraints; a user must read documentation, build scripts, or in the worst case, a module’s implementation to understand how to use it. We present Filament, a language for modular hardware design that supports the specification and enforcement of timing and structural constraints for statically scheduled pipelines. Filament usestimeline types, which describe the intervals of clock-cycle time when a given signal is available or required. Filament enablessafe compositionof hardware modules, ensures that the resulting designs are correctly pipelined, and predictably lowers them to efficient hardware.