bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Towards a global perspective on early modern slave trade: prices of the enslaved in the Indian Ocean, Indonesian Archipelago and Atlantic worlds
Authors: van Rossum Matthias 
Published: June 2021

AbstractDespite the growth of studies on slavery and slave trade outside the Atlantic world in recent years, especially in the early modern Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago worlds, our knowledge of regional price levels and their development remains surprisingly underdeveloped. This article questions how the price of enslaved people developed in the multi-directional and multi-faceted Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago slave trade, how this compared to the Atlantic world and what this tells us about slave trade and slavery in different parts of the world. Drawing on evidence from a large variety of sources, mainly from the Dutch Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago world, this article expands the body of data significantly and provides for the first time a reconstruction of the level of slave trade prices and their development in several important supplying and demanding slave trade regions in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago world and compares these to the development of slave prices in the Atlantic slave trade.
Are You My Candidate? Gender, Undervoting, and Vote Choice in Same-Party Matchups
Authors: Stauffer Katelyn E. , Fisk Colin A. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPartisanship is the dominant force that dictates American electoral behavior. Yet Americans often participate in elections in which either the partisanship of candidates is unknown or candidates from the same party compete, rendering the partisan cue meaningless. In this research, we examine how candidate demographics—specifically gender—relate to voter behavior and candidate selection in these contexts. Leveraging survey data from same-party matchups in congressional elections (resulting from “top-two primaries”), we examine the relationship between candidate gender and undervoting and vote choice. We find that in same-party matchups, women candidates are associated with lower levels of undervoting among women voters. Furthermore, we find that in mixed-gender contests, women voters from both parties and Democratic men are more likely to favor female candidates. The findings presented here have important implications for the literatures on gender and politics, electoral politics, partisanship, and the design of electoral institutions.
The Persistence of Social Norms, Family Formation, and Gender Balance in Politics
Authors: Gruneau Moa Frödin 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThroughout history, most positions of political power have been held by men, and despite numerous laws and regulations aimed at increasing gender equality in society and politics, the majority of democratic assemblies remain predominantly composed of men. What makes this gender composition persistent over time? Using data from Swedish population registers from 1982 to 2014 and demographic statistics from 1749 to 1859, I study how historical social norms shape the present-day gender balance in local politics. The results show that where family formation was more traditional in the past, there are fewer women in local politics today. The analysis also shows that family formation is a likely mechanism for the transmission of social norms across generations. The findings contribute to our understanding of the historical persistence of social structures and the reasons why gender balance in politics is not easily achieved.
Between comparison and commensuration: a case-study of COVID-19 rankings
Authors: Nelken David 
Published: June 2021

AbstractGlobal social indicators, as a form of governance and soft regulation, exert pressure for change and compliance through the way they compare and rank the relative performance of states or other units. Is it reasonable then to expect the comparisons they make in the process of carrying out such strategic exercises to be accurate and fair? In particular, how far can they, or should they, be required to be faithful to the requirement to ‘compare like with like’. Using as an example the role of indicators in documenting and responding to the current coronavirus epidemic, I investigate the way their hybrid combination of both comparison and commensuration may help to account for the difficulty they have had so far in establishing stable rankings of best practice.
Integrated Hydrology and Operations Modeling to Evaluate Climate Change Impacts in an Agricultural Valley Irrigated With Snowmelt Runoff
Authors: Kitlasten Wesley , Morway Eric D. , Niswonger Richard G. , Gardner Murphy , White Jeremy T. , Triana Enrique , Selkowitz David 
Published: June 2021

AbstractApplying models to developed agricultural regions remains a difficult problem because there are no existing modeling codes that represent both the complex physics of the hydrology and anthropogenic manipulations to water distribution and consumption. We apply an integrated groundwater – surface water and hydrologic river operations model to an irrigated river valley in northwestern Nevada/northern California, United States to evaluate the impacts of climate change on snow‐fed agricultural systems that use surface water and groundwater conjunctively. We explicitly represent individual surface water rights within the hydrologic model and allow the integrated code to change river diversions in response to earlier snowmelt runoff and water availability. Historically under‐used supplemental groundwater rights are dynamically activated within the model to offset diminished surface water deliveries. The model accounts for feedbacks between the natural hydrology and anthropogenic stresses, which is a first‐of‐its‐kind assessment of the impacts of climate change on individual water rights, and more broadly on river basin operations. Earlier snowmelt decreases annual surface water deliveries to all water rights, not just the junior water rights, owing to a lack of surface water storage in the upper river basin capable of capturing earlier runoff. Conversely, downstream irrigators with access to reservoir storage benefit from earlier runoff flowing past upstream points of diversion prior to the start of the irrigation season. Despite regional shifts toward greater reliance on groundwater for irrigation, crop consumption (a common surrogate for crop yield) decreases due to spatiotemporal changes in water supply that preferentially impact a subset of growers in the region.
Earthquake‐Spawning Faults in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Their Seismic Implications
Authors: Hong Tae‐Kyung , Chung Dongchan , Lee Junhyung , Park Seongjun , Kim Byeongwoo , Kim Woohan 
Published: June 2021

AbstractQuaternary faults run across the Seoul metropolitan area that is the highest population region in the Korean Peninsula. Active fault identification and seismic hazard potential assessment are crucial for public safety. Densely deployed permanent and temporal seismic stations enabled us to detect micro to small earthquakes, allowing us to identify earthquake‐spawning faults in Seoul metropolitan area. The source parameters of 455 earthquakes in 2004–2020 are refined. The Gutenberg‐Richter b value is 0.94. Dominant focal depths are 4–15 km. The focal mechanism solutions of 64 earthquakes are determined using seismic‐wave polarities and amplitude ratios. Strike‐slip earthquakes are dominant in the region. Earthquakes are clustered around the Chugaryeong fault system. The dominant strikes of fault planes range from N20°E to N45°E in the northern and southern Seoul metropolitan areas, suggesting branch fault development locally. The earthquakes in middle‐northern Seoul present N‐S directional strike‐slip motions at depths ∼7.5 km along the Chugaryeong fault, suggesting seismically active near‐vertical faults subparallel with Chugaryeong fault.
Increasing Difference of China Summer Precipitation Statistics Between Percentage Anomaly and Probability Distribution Methods Due to Tropical Warming
Authors: Ma Yayu , Zhao Liang , Wang Jing‐Song , Yu Tao 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPrecipitation anomaly grades are usually defined by the percentage anomaly (Pa) or probability distribution (Pd) methods. However, the difference between the two may lead to different estimates for the same events, creating difficulty in judging the severity of the events. Here, we quantify the difference in measuring precipitation variability in China between Pa and Pd methods and analyze physical meaning and influencing factors of the difference. The results show that Pa tends to underestimate the domain of wetness (e.g., it underestimated 7.67% in June 2018) and overestimate/underestimate the severity of extreme wetness (>1.5σ)/dryness (<–1.3σ) compared to the Pd method. Because precipitation has a positive skewed distribution, and precipitation maximum values have a larger influence on Pa than on Pd. On the other hand, uniform Pa thresholds for classifying drought grades at all stations are unreasonable. Because of an asymmetrical range of actual Pa value, Pa fails to symmetrically reflect the degree of drought and flood. Spatially, the large difference usually appears in the areas with extreme precipitation. Therefore, the more extreme precipitation stations, the greater the spatial dispersion of precipitation and the greater the total difference between Pa and Pd in whole China. We further find that the Pa‐Pd difference is significantly related to a concurrent warming of the tropical Indian Ocean and the tropical Pacific sea surface in spring. And the Pa‐Pd difference is rising at 0.022σ/10a with the increase of extreme events associated with the ocean warming, which deserves attention from the decision‐making departments.
Signaling pathways in cancer-associated fibroblasts and targeted therapy for cancer
Authors: Wu Fanglong , Yang Jin , Liu Junjiang , Wang Ye , Mu Jingtian , Zeng Qingxiang , Deng Shuzhi , Zhou Hongmei 
Published: June 2021

AbstractTo flourish, cancers greatly depend on their surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME), and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in TME are critical for cancer occurrence and progression because of their versatile roles in extracellular matrix remodeling, maintenance of stemness, blood vessel formation, modulation of tumor metabolism, immune response, and promotion of cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and therapeutic resistance. CAFs are highly heterogeneous stromal cells and their crosstalk with cancer cells is mediated by a complex and intricate signaling network consisting of transforming growth factor-beta, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin, mitogen-activated protein kinase, Wnt, Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription, epidermal growth factor receptor, Hippo, and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, etc., signaling pathways. These signals in CAFs exhibit their own special characteristics during the cancer progression and have the potential to be targeted for anticancer therapy. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of these signaling cascades in interactions between cancer cells and CAFs is necessary to fully realize the pivotal roles of CAFs in cancers. Herein, in this review, we will summarize the enormous amounts of findings on the signals mediating crosstalk of CAFs with cancer cells and its related targets or trials. Further, we hypothesize three potential targeting strategies, including, namely, epithelial–mesenchymal common targets, sequential target perturbation, and crosstalk-directed signaling targets, paving the way for CAF-directed or host cell-directed antitumor therapy.
Interrogation of novel CDK2/9 inhibitor fadraciclib (CYC065) as a potential therapeutic approach for AML
Authors: Chantkran Wittawat , Hsieh Ya-Ching , Zheleva Daniella , Frame Sheelagh , Wheadon Helen , Copland Mhairi 
Published: June 2021

AbstractOver the last 50 years, there has been a steady improvement in the treatment outcome of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, median survival in the elderly is still poor due to intolerance to intensive chemotherapy and higher numbers of patients with adverse cytogenetics. Fadraciclib (CYC065), a novel cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2/9 inhibitor, has preclinical efficacy in AML. In AML cell lines, myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL-1) was downregulated following treatment with fadraciclib, resulting in a rapid induction of apoptosis. In addition, RNA polymerase II (RNAPII)-driven transcription was suppressed, rendering a global gene suppression. Rapid induction of apoptosis was observed in primary AML cells after treatment with fadraciclib for 6–8 h. Twenty-four hours continuous treatment further increased efficacy of fadraciclib. Although preliminary results showed that AML cell lines harboring KMT2A rearrangement (KMT2A-r) are more sensitive to fadraciclib, we found that the drug can induce apoptosis and decrease MCL-1 expression in primary AML cells, regardless of KMT2A status. Importantly, the diversity of genetic mutations observed in primary AML patient samples was associated with variable response to fadraciclib, confirming the need for patient stratification to enable a more effective and personalized treatment approach. Synergistic activity was demonstrated when fadraciclib was combined with the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, or the conventional chemotherapy agents, cytarabine, or azacitidine, with the combination of fadraciclib and azacitidine having the most favorable therapeutic window. In summary, these results highlight the potential of fadraciclib as a novel therapeutic approach for AML.
The Gibco™ CTS™ Rotea™ system story—a case study of industry-academia collaboration
Authors: Li Anqi , James David , Lim Rebecca 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe Gibco™ CTS™ Rotea™ Counterflow Centrifugation System is an automated cell processing device developed for manufacturing cell therapy products. The developer (Scinogy Pty Ltd) collaborated with Thermo Fisher Scientific to successfully launch the product in late 2020, completing product development from concept to international sales in <3years. This article describes the origin story of the Rotea system and how a chance meeting between a co-inventor of the Rotea system and an academic cell biologist took the invention from a garage workshop to the world stage. We describe the contribution of academic research to the innovation value chain and importance of academic institutions being industry-ready to support such collaborations.
Helium incorporation induced direct-gap silicides
Authors: Ding Shicong , Shi Jingming , Xie Jiahao , Cui Wenwen , Zhang Pan , Yang Kang , Hao Jian , Zhang Lijun , Li Yinwei 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe search of direct-gap Si-based semiconductors is of great interest due to the potential application in many technologically relevant fields. This work examines the incorporation of He as a possible route to form a direct band gap in Si. Structure predictions and first-principles calculations show that He and Si, at high pressure, form four dynamically stable phases of Si2He (oP36-Si2He, tP9-Si2He, mC18-Si2He, and mC12-Si2He). All phases adopt host–guest structures consisting of a channel-like Si host framework filled with He guest atoms. The Si frameworks in oP36-Si2He, tP9-Si2He, and mC12-Si2He could be retained to ambient pressure after removal of He, forming three pure Si allotropes. Among them, oP36-Si2He and mC12-Si2He exhibit direct band gaps of 1.24 and 1.34 eV, respectively, close to the optimal value (~1.3 eV) for solar cell applications. Analysis shows that mC12-Si2He with an electric dipole transition allowed band gap possesses higher absorption capacity than cubic diamond Si, which makes it to be a promising candidate material for thin-film solar cell.
Experimental semi-autonomous eigensolver using reinforcement learning
Authors: Pan C.-Y. , Hao M. , Barraza N. , Solano E. , Albarrán-Arriagada F. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe characterization of observables, expressed via Hermitian operators, is a crucial task in quantum mechanics. For this reason, an eigensolver is a fundamental algorithm for any quantum technology. In this work, we implement a semi-autonomous algorithm to obtain an approximation of the eigenvectors of an arbitrary Hermitian operator using the IBM quantum computer. To this end, we only use single-shot measurements and pseudo-random changes handled by a feedback loop, reducing the number of measures in the system. Due to the classical feedback loop, this algorithm can be cast into the reinforcement learning paradigm. Using this algorithm, for a single-qubit observable, we obtain both eigenvectors with fidelities over 0.97 with around 200 single-shot measurements. For two-qubits observables, we get fidelities over 0.91 with around 1500 single-shot measurements for the four eigenvectors, which is a comparatively low resource demand, suitable for current devices. This work is useful to the development of quantum devices able to decide with partial information, which helps to implement future technologies in quantum artificial intelligence.
Stability and ocular biodistribution of topically administered PLGA nanoparticles
Authors: Swetledge Sean , Carter Renee , Stout Rhett , Astete Carlos E. , Jung Jangwook P. , Sabliov Cristina M. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPolymeric nanoparticles have been investigated as potential delivery systems for therapeutic compounds to address many ailments including eye disease. The stability and spatiotemporal distribution of polymeric nanoparticles in the eye are important regarding the practical applicability and efficacy of the delivery system in treating eye disease. We selected poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with lutein, a carotenoid antioxidant associated with eye health, as our model ophthalmic nanodelivery system and evaluated its stability when suspended in various conditions involving temperature and light exposure. We also assessed the ocular biodistribution of the fluorescently labeled nanoparticle vehicle when administered topically. Lutein-loaded nanoparticles were stable in suspension when stored at 4 °C with only 26% lutein release and no significant lutein decay or changes in nanoparticle morphology. When stored at 25 °C and 37 °C, these NPs showed signs of bulk degradation, had significant lutein decay compared to 4 °C, and released over 40% lutein after 5 weeks in suspension. Lutein-loaded nanoparticles were also more resistant to photodegradation compared to free lutein when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, decaying approximately 5 times slower. When applied topically in vivo, Cy5-labled nanoparticles showed high uptake in exterior eye tissues including the cornea, episcleral tissue, and sclera. The choroid was the only inner eye tissue that was significantly higher than the control group. Decreased fluorescence in all exterior eye tissues and the choroid at 1 h compared to 30 min indicated rapid elimination of nanoparticles from the eye.
NMJ-Analyser identifies subtle early changes in mouse models of neuromuscular disease
Authors: Mejia Maza Alan , Jarvis Seth , Lee Weaverly Colleen , Cunningham Thomas J. , Schiavo Giampietro , Secrier Maria , Fratta Pietro , Sleigh James N. , Fisher Elizabeth M. C. , Sudre Carole H. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the peripheral synapse formed between a motor neuron axon terminal and a muscle fibre. NMJs are thought to be the primary site of peripheral pathology in many neuromuscular diseases, but innervation/denervation status is often assessed qualitatively with poor systematic criteria across studies, and separately from 3D morphological structure. Here, we describe the development of ‘NMJ-Analyser’, to comprehensively screen the morphology of NMJs and their corresponding innervation status automatically. NMJ-Analyser generates 29 biologically relevant features to quantitatively define healthy and aberrant neuromuscular synapses and applies machine learning to diagnose NMJ degeneration. We validated this framework in longitudinal analyses of wildtype mice, as well as in four different neuromuscular disease models: three for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and one for peripheral neuropathy. We showed that structural changes at the NMJ initially occur in the nerve terminal of mutant TDP43 and FUS ALS models. Using a machine learning algorithm, healthy and aberrant neuromuscular synapses are identified with 95% accuracy, with 88% sensitivity and 97% specificity. Our results validate NMJ-Analyser as a robust platform for systematic and structural screening of NMJs, and pave the way for transferrable, and cross-comparison and high-throughput studies in neuromuscular diseases.
High-throughput quantitation of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a single-dilution homogeneous assay
Authors: Kainulainen Markus H. , Bergeron Eric , Chatterjee Payel , Chapman Asheley P. , Lee Joo , Chida Asiya , Tang Xiaoling , Wharton Rebekah E. , Mercer Kristina B. , Petway Marla , Jenks Harley M. , Flietstra Timothy D. , Schuh Amy J. , Satheshkumar Panayampalli S. , Chaitram Jasmine M. , Owen S. Michele , McMullan Laura K. , Flint Mike , Finn M. G. , Goldstein Jason M. , Montgomery Joel M. , Spiropoulou Christina F. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019 and has since spread around the world, causing a pandemic of the respiratory disease COVID-19. Detecting antibodies against the virus is an essential tool for tracking infections and developing vaccines. Such tests, primarily utilizing the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) principle, can be either qualitative (reporting positive/negative results) or quantitative (reporting a value representing the quantity of specific antibodies). Quantitation is vital for determining stability or decline of antibody titers in convalescence, efficacy of different vaccination regimens, and detection of asymptomatic infections. Quantitation typically requires two-step ELISA testing, in which samples are first screened in a qualitative assay and positive samples are subsequently analyzed as a dilution series. To overcome the throughput limitations of this approach, we developed a simpler and faster system that is highly automatable and achieves quantitation in a single-dilution screening format with sensitivity and specificity comparable to those of ELISA.
Smart material based on boron crosslinked polymers with potential applications in cancer radiation therapy
Authors: Vedelago José , Mattea Facundo , Triviño Sebastián , Montesinos María del Mar , Keil Walter , Valente Mauro , Romero Marcelo 
Published: June 2021

AbstractOrganoboron compounds have been playing an increasingly important role in analytical chemistry, material science, health applications, and particularly as functional polymers like boron carriers for cancer therapy. There are two main applications of boron isotopes in radiation cancer therapy, Boron Neutron Capture Therapy and Proton Boron Fusion Therapy. In this study, a novel and original material consisting of a three-dimensional polymer network crosslinked with $$^{10}$$

10

B enriched boric acid molecules is proposed and synthesized. The effects of the exposition to thermal neutrons were studied analyzing changes in the mechanical properties of the proposed material. Dedicated Monte Carlo simulations, based on MCNP and FLUKA main codes, were performed to characterize interactions of the proposed material with neutrons, photons, and charged particles typically present in mixed fields in nuclear reactor irradiations. Experimental results and Monte Carlo simulations were in agreement, thus justifying further studies of this promising material.