bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of antioxidative defense system in amelioration of cadmium-induced phytotoxic effects in germinating seeds of maize (
Authors: Abbas Aamer , Ahmad Muhammad Sajid Aqeel , Ashraf Muhammad , Ali Qasim , Alvi Ambreen Khadija 
Published: December 2021

Context Anthropogenic activities are increasing Cd concentration in soil and environment that limits seed germination capacity and causes poor seedling establishment. Aims The effect of different Cd concentrations on seed germination and seedling growth of two maize cultivars (C-20 and EV-1098) was tested in this study. Methods Maize seeds were sown in Petri dishes lined with double filter paper. The seedlings were grown in a growth chamber, applied with different Cd concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 μM), and harvested 12 days after germination. Key results Seeds applied with higher levels of Cd showed a significant decrease in seed germination percentage (GP), seed emergence index (EI) and germination energy (GE). A significant delay in seed germination was observed at the highest Cd treatment in terms of increased mean emergence time (MET), days to 50% germination (T 50) and coefficient of uniformity of emergence (CUE). A marked decline in leaf K, Ca, Na, and P was observed, whereas root K, Ca and P increased with an increase in external Cd concentration. The roots and leaves of maize C-20 showed greater activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) than did those of EV-1098. In contrast, peroxidase (POD) activity was reasonably high in roots and leaves, whereas catalase (CAT) was high only in roots of EV-1098. Non-enzymatic antioxidants such as phenolics and ascorbicacid (AsA) also significantly increased, accompanied with substantially lowermalondialdehyde (MDA) contents in the roots and leaves of EV-1098 than of C-20. Conclusions The differential modulation of the activities of enzymatic and non-enzymaticanti-oxidative defense system in roots and leaves played a critical role intolerance of both cultivars to Cd stress. Implications The findings of this study are helpful in improving seed germination capacity and seedling growth of maize in Cd contaminated soils.
Comparing acoustic survey data for European bats: do walked transects or automated fixed-point surveys provide more robust data?
Authors: Perks Samantha J. , Goodenough Anne E. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract Context Monitoring schemes provide vital data on the distribution and population dynamics of species. This information can be used to inform conservation management and, especially for legally protected species, ensure legislative compliance in development contexts. For bats, acoustic activity surveys are widely used and often involve (1) deployment of automated fixed-point detectors or (2) using bat detectors on walked or driven transects. Transect surveys are typically performed for 2 h, commencing approximately at sunset; automated fixed-point surveys record continually between sunset and sunrise, often over multiple consecutive nights. Aims Despite both walked transects and fixed-point surveys being common methods used to survey bat activity in many parts of the world, often just one technique is used per site. We test the similarity of these two survey methods by comparing acoustic data encompassing 12 species of European bat to determine whether data from different surveys are directly comparable. Methods In this study, we use acoustic data covering 2349 survey hours over a 3-year period to investigate the relative effectiveness of walked activity transects and automated fixed-point methods for 12 species of European bats. Key results A greater number of bat species were recorded via the fixed-point method. Three species, namely, greater horseshoe (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), lesser horseshoe (Rhinolophus hipposideros) and Daubenton’s (Myotis daubentonii), were recorded only by using automated detectors, possibly because the survey window encompassed the entire night rather than the period immediately after sunset. However, activity transects recorded a significantly higher mean species richness per hour than fixed-point surveys. When both methods were used at the same sites on the same nights, providing paired data for direct comparison, detection of brown long-eared (Plecotus auratus) and soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) bat activity was significantly higher for transect surveys. Conclusions and implications This study demonstrated important differences in the data resulting from different bat survey methods and highlighted the potential for combining acoustic survey types to obtain rigorous and reliable monitoring data for bat populations.
Reducing opinion polarization: Effects of exposure to similar people with differing political views
Authors: Balietti Stefano , Getoor Lise , Goldstein Daniel G. , Watts Duncan J. 
Published: December 2021

SignificanceInformal political discussions with peers can increase trust in democracy and improve understanding of self and others. However, these benefits do not often materialize because people tend to shy away from political discussions and because friendship networks rarely expose highly divergent political views. In a large-scale experiment, we overcome these limitations by matching participants to peers selected for sharing common interests and demographics and exposing them to a personal message about a divisive political topic: wealth redistribution. As a result, support for redistributive policies increased and polarization decreased. Furthermore, feeling close to a peer greatly increased the assimilation of a political message. Our results suggest that incidental similarities may cold-start cross-cutting political arguments and increase consensus on divisive topics.
Strong-field atomic physics meets 229Th nuclear physics
Authors: Wang Wu , Zhang Hanxu , Wang Xu 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
We show how two apparently unrelated research areas, namely, strong-field atomic physics and 229Th nuclear physics, are connected. The connection is possible due to the existence of a very low-lying excited state of the 229Th nucleus, which is only about 8 eV above the nuclear ground state. The connection is physically achieved through an electron recollision process, which is the core process of strong-field atomic physics. The laser-driven recolliding electron is able to excite the nucleus, and a simple model is presented to explain this recollision-induced nuclear excitation process. The connection of these two research areas provides novel opportunities for each area and intriguing possibilities from the direct three-partite interplay between atomic physics, nuclear physics, and laser physics.
Temperature-dependent ion chemistry in nanosecond discharge plasma-assisted CH4 oxidation
Authors: Sun Jintao , Chen Qi , Zhao Baoming , Guo Caohui , Liu Jianyu , Zhang Mingming , Li Decai 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Ion chemistry with temperature evolution in weakly ionized plasma is important in plasma-assisted combustion and plasma-assisted catalysis, fuel reforming, and material synthesis due to its contribution to plasma generation and state transition. In this study, the kinetic roles of ionic reactions in nanosecond discharge (NSD) plasma-assisted temperature-dependent decomposition and oxidation of methane are investigated by integrated studies of experimental measurements and mathematical simulations. A detailed plasma chemistry mechanism governing the decomposition and oxidation processes in a He/CH4/O2 combustible mixture is proposed and studied by including a set of electron impact reactions, reactions involving excited species, and ionic reactions. A zero-dimensional model incorporating the plasma kinetics solver ZDPlasKin and the combustion chemical kinetics solver CHEMKIN is used to calculate the time and temperature evolution of the ion density. Uncertainty analysis of ionic reactions on key species generation is conducted by using different referenced data, and insignificant sensitivity is found. The numerical model is consistent with experimental data for methane consumption and generation of major species including CO, CO2, and H2. By modeling the temporal evolution of key ions, it is observed that O2
+ presents the largest concentration in the discharge stage, followed by CH4
+, CH3
+, and CH2
+, which is in accordance with the traditional ion chemistry in hydrocarbon flames and agrees well with molecular-beam mass spectrometer investigations. The path flux shows that the concentrations of key species, including electrons, O, OH, H, O(1D), O2(a1Δg), O2
+, CH3
+, and CH4
+, change within 1–2 orders of magnitude and that the transition from a homogeneous state to a contracted/constricted state does not occur. The path flux and sensitivity analysis reveal the significant roles of cations in the stimulation of active radical generation, including CH, O, OH, and O(1D), thus accelerating methane oxidation. This work provides a deep insight into the ion chemistry of temperature-dependent plasma-assisted CH4 oxidation.
First-principles study on the heterostructure of twisted graphene/hexagonal boron nitride/graphene sandwich structure
Authors: Chen Yiheng , Guo Wen-Ti , Chen Zi-Si , Wang Suyun , Zhang Jian-Min 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
In recent years, the discovery of ‘magic angle’ graphene has given new inspiration to the formation of heterojunctions. Similarly, the use of hexagonal boron nitride, known as white graphene, as a substrate for graphene devices has more aroused great interest in the graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructure system. Based on the first principles method of density functional theory, the band structure, density of states, Mulliken population, and differential charge density of a tightly packed model of twisted graphene/hexagonal boron nitride/graphene sandwich structure have been studied. Through the establishment of heterostructure models twisted bilayer-graphene inserting hBN with different twisted angles, it was found that the band gap, Mulliken population, and charge density, exhibited specific evolution regulars with the rotation angle of the upper graphene, showing novel electronic properties and realizing metal–insulator phase transition. We find that the particular value of the twist angle at which the metal–insulator phase transition occurs and propose a rotational regulation mechanism with angular periodicity. Our results have guiding significance for the practical application of heterojunction electronic devices.
A multi-scale kernel-based network with improved attention mechanism for rotating machinery fault diagnosis under noisy environments
Authors: Weng Chaoyang , Lu Baochun , Gu Qian 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Considering that the vibration signals are easily contaminated by strong and highly nonstationary noise, extracting more sensitive and effective features from the noised vibration signals is still a great challenge for intelligent fault diagnosis of rotating machinery. This paper proposes a multi-scale kernel-based network with an improved attention mechanism (IA-MKNet) to overcome this challenge. In the proposed method, an improved attention mechanism (IAM) for multi-scale convolution is firstly developed to adaptively extract the meaningful fault features and automatically suppress noise. Then, due to the inherent multiple time characteristics of vibration signals, an adaptive multi-scale kernel-based residual block with IAM is designed to capture fault features in multi-time scales of vibration signals. Finally, a combination strategy based on an adaptive ensemble learner is proposed to increase the diversity of features by fusing the outputs of multiple IA-MKNets, which further improves diagnostics accuracy and stability. The experimental results, verified by two bearing data sets with noise interference, confirm that the proposed method improves the fault diagnosis accuracy of rotating machinery under noisy environments, whose performance is superior to the other five benchmark methods.
Optical flow tracking velocimetry of near-field explosions
Authors: Higham J E , Isaac O S , Rigby S E 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
To better understand the complex dynamics and physics associated with the rapid expansion of the detonation product fireball following an explosion, it is imperative to have a full description of its associated velocity field. Typical experimental techniques rely on simple single-point measurements captured from pressure transducers or Hopkinson pressure bars. In this technical design note, we aim to improve the current state-of-the-art by introducing a means to determine full velocity fields from high-speed video using optical flow tracking velocimetry. We demonstrate the significance of this method from our results by comparing velocity fields derived from high-speed video and a validated numerical model of the same case. A wider use of this technique will allow researchers to elucidate spatial and temporal features of explosive detonations, which could not be obtained thus far using single-point measurements.
Melting at Mg/Al interface in Mg–Al–Mg nanolayer by molecular dynamics simulations
Authors: Lv Xue-Qi , Li Xiong-Ying 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The melting at the magnesium/aluminum (Mg/Al) interface is an essential step during the fabrications of Mg–Al structural materials and biomaterials. We carried out molecular dynamics simulations on the melting at the Mg/Al interface in a Mg–Al–Mg nanolayer via analyzing the changes of average atomic potential energy, Lindemann index, heat capacity, atomic density distribution and radial distribution function with temperature. The melting temperatures (

T

m

) of the nanolayer and the slabs near the interface are significantly sensitive to the heating rate (

v

h

) over the range of

v

h

≤ 4.0 K ps−1. The distance (

d

) range in which the interface affects the melting of the slabs is predicted to be (−98.2, 89.9) Å at

v

h

→
0
,

if the interface is put at

d

= 0 and Mg (Al) is located at the left (right) side of the interface. The

T

m

of the Mg (Al) slab just near the interface (e.g.

d
=
4.0

Å) is predicted to be 926.8 K (926.6 K) at

v

h

→
0
,

with 36.9 K (37.1 K) below 963.7 K for the nanolayer. These results highlight the importance of regional research on the melting at an interface in the nanolayers consisting of two different metals.
Critical current improvement and resistance evaluation of superconducting joint between Bi2223 tapes
Authors: Takeda Y , Kobayashi K , Uchida A , Kitaguchi H , Nishijima G , Yanagisawa Y , Nakashima T , Yamade S , Kobayashi S , Kato T , Nakamura S , Motoki T , Shimoyama J 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
We improved the critical current (I
c) of the superconducting joint between the Bi2223 tapes by introducing the two-step sintering process. The in-field transport I
c of ∼300 A at 4.2 K and 1 T under a 10−9 Ω criterion was successfully demonstrated. The I
c improvement can probably be attributed to the enhancement of the intergrain critical current density for a Bi2223 intermediate layer. Ultra-low in-field joint resistance below 10−14 Ω at 4.2 K and 1 T was also demonstrated using current decay measurement. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate a practical level of in-field transport I
c and ultra-low in-field joint resistance for the superconducting joint between Bi2223 tapes. We believe that this superconducting joint technology will facilitate development of persistent current mode Bi2223 superconducting magnets.
Quantum versus classical regime in circuit quantum acoustodynamics
Authors: Zeng Gang-hui , Zhang Yang , Bolgar Aleksey N , He Dong , Li Bin , Ruan Xin-hui , Zhou Lan , Kuang Le-Mang , Astafiev Oleg V , Liu Yu-xi , Peng Z H 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
We experimentally study a circuit quantum acoustodynamics system with a superconducting artificial atom coupled to both a two-dimensional surface acoustic wave resonator and a one-dimensional microwave transmission line. The strong coupling between the artificial atom and the acoustic wave resonator is confirmed by the observation of the vacuum Rabi splitting at the base temperature of dilution refrigerator. We show that the propagation of microwave photons in the microwave transmission line can be controlled by a few phonons in the acoustic wave resonator. Furthermore, we demonstrate the temperature effect on the measurements of the Rabi splitting and temperature induced transitions from high excited dressed states. We find that the spectrum structure of two-peak for the Rabi splitting could become into those of several peaks under some special experimental conditions, and gradually disappears with the increase of the environmental temperature T. The continuous quantum-to-classical crossover is observed around the crossover temperature T
c, which is determined via the thermal fluctuation energy k
B
T and the characteristic energy level spacing of the coupled system. Experimental results agree well with the theoretical simulations via the master equation of the coupled system at different effective temperatures.
Topological signatures in nodal semimetals through neutron scattering
Authors: Nguyen Thanh , Tsurimaki Yoichiro , Pablo-Pedro Ricardo , Bednik Grigory , Liu Tongtong , Apte Anuj , Andrejevic Nina , Li Mingda 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Topological nodal semimetals are known to host a variety of fascinating electronic properties due to the topological protection of the band-touching nodes. Neutron scattering, despite its power in probing elementary excitations, has not been routinely applied to topological semimetals, mainly due to the lack of an explicit connection between the neutron response and the signature of topology. In this work, we theoretically investigate the role that neutron scattering can play to unveil the topological nodal features: a large magnetic neutron response with spectral non-analyticity can be generated solely from the nodal bands. A new formula for the dynamical structure factor for generic topological nodal metals is derived. For Weyl semimetals, we show that the locations of Weyl nodes, the Fermi velocities and the signature of chiral anomaly can all leave hallmark neutron spectral responses. Our work offers a neutron-based avenue toward probing bulk topological materials.
Density- and elongation speed-dependent error correction in RNA polymerization
Authors: Zuo Xinzhe , Chou Tom 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Backtracking of RNA polymerase (RNAP) is an important pausing mechanism during DNA transcription that is part of the error correction process that enhances transcription fidelity. We model the backtracking mechanism of RNAP, which usually happens when the polymerase tries to incorporate a noncognate or ‘mismatched’ nucleotide triphosphate. Previous models have made simplifying assumptions such as neglecting the trailing polymerase behind the backtracking polymerase or assuming that the trailing polymerase is stationary. We derive exact analytic solutions of a stochastic model that includes locally interacting RNAPs by explicitly showing how a trailing RNAP influences the probability that an error is corrected or incorporated by the leading backtracking RNAP. We also provide two related methods for computing the mean times for error correction and incorporation given an initial local RNAP configuration. Using these results, we propose an effective interacting-RNAP lattice that can be readily simulated.
Push or pull: how cytoskeletal crosstalk facilitates nuclear movement through 3D environments
Authors: Marks Pragati C , Petrie Ryan J 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
As cells move from two-dimensional surfaces into complex 3D environments, the nucleus becomes a barrier to movement due to its size and rigidity. Therefore, moving the nucleus is a key step in 3D cell migration. In this review, we discuss how coordination between cytoskeletal and nucleoskeletal networks is required to pull the nucleus forward through complex 3D spaces. We summarize recent migration models which utilize unique molecular crosstalk to drive nuclear migration through different 3D environments. In addition, we speculate about the role of proteins that indirectly crosslink cytoskeletal networks and the role of 3D focal adhesions and how these protein complexes may drive 3D nuclear migration.
Integrating neural and ocular attention reorienting signals in virtual reality
Authors: Lapborisuth Pawan , Koorathota Sharath , Wang Qi , Sajda Paul 
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Objective. Reorienting is central to how humans direct attention to different stimuli in their environment. Previous studies typically employ well-controlled paradigms with limited eye and head movements to study the neural and physiological processes underlying attention reorienting. Here, we aim to better understand the relationship between gaze and attention reorienting using a naturalistic virtual reality (VR)-based target detection paradigm. Approach. Subjects were navigated through a city and instructed to count the number of targets that appeared on the street. Subjects performed the task in a fixed condition with no head movement and in a free condition where head movements were allowed. Electroencephalography (EEG), gaze and pupil data were collected. To investigate how neural and physiological reorienting signals are distributed across different gaze events, we used hierarchical discriminant component analysis (HDCA) to identify EEG and pupil-based discriminating components. Mixed-effects general linear models (GLM) were used to determine the correlation between these discriminating components and the different gaze events time. HDCA was also used to combine EEG, pupil and dwell time signals to classify reorienting events. Main results. In both EEG and pupil, dwell time contributes most significantly to the reorienting signals. However, when dwell times were orthogonalized against other gaze events, the distributions of the reorienting signals were different across the two modalities, with EEG reorienting signals leading that of the pupil reorienting signals. We also found that the hybrid classifier that integrates EEG, pupil and dwell time features detects the reorienting signals in both the fixed (AUC = 0.79) and the free (AUC = 0.77) condition. Significance. We show that the neural and ocular reorienting signals are distributed differently across gaze events when a subject is immersed in VR, but nevertheless can be captured and integrated to classify target vs. distractor objects to which the human subject orients.