bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nutritional ecology of a prototypical generalist predator, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Authors: Balestrieri A. , Gigliotti S. , Caniglia R. , Velli E. , Zambuto F. , De Giorgi E. , Mucci N. , Tremolada P. , Gazzola A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractGeneralist species, which exploit a wide range of food resources, are expected to be able to combine available resources as to attain their specific macronutrient ratio (percentage of caloric intake of protein, lipids and carbohydrates). Among mammalian predators, the red fox Vulpesvulpes is a widespread, opportunistic forager: its diet has been largely studied, outlining wide variation according to geographic and climatic factors. We aimed to check if, throughout the species’ European range, diets vary widely in macronutrient composition or foxes can combine complementary foods to gain the same nutrient intake. First, we assessed fox’s intake target in the framework of nutritional geometry. Secondly, we aimed to highlight the effects of unbalanced diets on fox density, which was assumed as a proxy for Darwinian fitness, as assessed in five areas of the western Italian Alps. Unexpectedly, the target macronutrient ratio of the fox (52.4% protein-, 38.7% lipid- and 8.9% carbohydrate energy) was consistent with that of hypercarnivores, such as wolves and felids, except for carbohydrate intakes in urban and rural habitats. The inverse relation between density and the deviation of observed macronutrient ratios from the intake target suggests that fox capability of surviving in a wide range of habitats may not be exempt from fitness costs and that nutrient availability should be regarded among the biotic factors affecting animal abundance and distribution.
Impact of surface topography and hydrophobicity in varied precursor concentrations of tenorite (CuO) films: a study of film properties and photocatalytic efficiency
Authors: Althamthami Mohammed , Temam Hachemi Ben , Temam Elhachmi Guettaf , Rahmane Saâd , Gasmi Brahim , Hasan Gamil Gamal 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSemiconductor films are crucial in photocatalysis applications, yet their controlled production remains challenging. Previous studies have mainly focused on deposition processes, heating rates, and doping of semiconductor oxides. In this paper, we introduce a novel method for fabricating tenorite (CuO) semiconductor films with varying precursor concentrations (0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.1 g/ml) using a dip-coating technique. We explore the impact of contact angles, 3D surface topography, and film thickness on photoactivation properties, areas with limited previous research focus. The results demonstrate that higher-concentration tenorite films (0.1 g/ml) exhibit rougher surfaces (77.3 nm), increased hydrophobicity (65.61°), improved light-harvesting ability, enhanced charge separation, and higher active oxygen output. The crystal sizes were within the range of 7.3–44.1 nm. Wettability tests show a 21.47% improvement in the 0.1 g/ml film surface under indirect sunlight compared to darkness. Transmittance rates in the 600 nm range were from 0.02 to 90.94%. The direct optical band gaps were 1.21–2.74 eV, while the indirect band gaps remained unaffected (0.9–1.11 eV). Surface morphology analysis reveals an increased presence of grains with higher concentrations. Regarding photocatalysis's impact on film morphology and copper content, SEM images reveal minimal changes in film structure, while copper content remains stable with slight variations. This suggests strong adhesion of tenorite to the film after photocatalysis. Tenorite thin films display exceptional photocatalytic efficiency, making them suitable for practical applications.
Enzalutamide induces cytotoxicity in desmoplastic small round cell tumor independent of the androgen receptor
Authors: Magrath Justin W. , Goldberg Ilon N. , Truong Danh D. , Hartono Alifiani B. , Sampath Shruthi Sanjitha , Jackson Chandler E. , Ghosh Anushka , Cardin Derrick L. , Zhang Haitao , Ludwig Joseph A. , Lee Sean B. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractDesmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) is a rare, pediatric cancer caused by the EWSR1::WT1 fusion protein. DSRCT predominantly occurs in males, which comprise 80-90% of the patient population. While the reason for this male predominance remains unknown, one hypothesis is that the androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in DSRCT and elevated testosterone levels in males help drive tumor growth. Here, we demonstrate that AR is highly expressed in DSRCT relative to other fusion-driven sarcomas and that the AR antagonists enzalutamide and flutamide reduce DSRCT growth. However, despite these findings, which suggest an important role for AR in DSRCT, we show that DSRCT cell lines form xenografts in female mice at the same rate as male mice and AR depletion does not significantly alter DSRCT growth in vitro. Further, we find that AR antagonists reduce DSRCT growth in cells depleted of AR, establishing an AR-independent mechanism of action. These findings suggest that AR dependence is not the reason for male predominance in DSRCT and that AR-targeted therapies may provide therapeutic benefit primarily through an AR-independent mechanism that requires further elucidation.
Rotation in attosecond vibronic coherence spectroscopy for molecules
Authors: Yuen Chi-Hong , Lin Chii-Dong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractExcitation or ionization of a molecule by ultrafast laser pulses can create a superposition of electronic states, whose dynamics is influenced by the interplay of electronic coherence and nuclear motion, resulting in charge migration and possibly charge transfer. Probing the vibronic coherence is therefore vital to monitoring electronic dynamics and controlling chemical reactivity, as recently demonstrated in molecules via attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (ATAS). However, theories supporting the interpretation of ATAS experiments neglect the effects of molecular rotation, often leading to inaccurate interpretation of experimental data. Here, we develop a comprehensive theory for ATAS of molecules encompassing the entire pump-probe process. Applying the theory to N2, we demonstrate that the emergence of coherent signals critically depends on the consideration of molecular rotation. This work contributes to close the gap between theory and ATAS experiments, paving the way for monitoring electronic motion and controlling chemical reactivity in diverse molecular systems.
Spin-wave-driven tornado-like dynamics of three-dimensional topological magnetic textures
Authors: Qiu Lei , Shen Laichuan , Shen Ka 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe abundant topological magnetic textures in three-dimensional systems provide opportunities to investigate the fundamental spin dynamics and realize spintronic applications. The dynamics of such magnetic textures have however rarely been studied, especially for those driven by spin waves, which allow applications with ultralow energy consumption and ease of implementation even in insulating systems. Here, we report our micromagnetic simulations on the spin-wave-driven dynamics of a skyrmion tube (SkT) and chiral bobber (ChB) in a thick magnetic film. We predict tornado-like dynamics in both SkT and ChB, where the topological centers present a lateral rotation with the rotation centers forming a distorted profile in the thickness direction. While the velocity of SkT scales with the driving power, the ChB motion presents a threshold in the driving field, which is found to depend linearly on its penetration length. This distinct behavior could be useful to differentiate ChB from SkT and estimate its penetration length experimentally.
Candidate spin-liquid ground state in CsNdSe2 with an effective spin-1/2 triangular lattice
Authors: Xing Jie , Mu Sai , Choi Eun Sang , Jin Rongying 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRare-earth-based triangular lattice materials are extremely attractive for studying unconventional magnetism. Here, we report the magnetic properties of layered CsNdSe2 based on direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) susceptibility measurements down to 0.04 K. While the AC susceptibility at the zero DC field shows a broad hump below 0.5 K, there is no sign of any long-range magnetic ordering. Quantitative analysis of the DC magnetic susceptibility gives the negative Curie-Weiss (CW) temperature θCW < 0 in all directions, indicating antiferromagnetic interaction between Nd ions. Of particular interest is the low temperature magnetic susceptibility, which reflects the effective spin-1/2 state with $${\theta }_{{{{{{{{\rm{cw}}}}}}}}}^{a}/{\theta }_{{{{{{{{\rm{cw}}}}}}}}}^{c}$$

θ

cw

a

/

θ

cw

c

> 3. The estimated exchange interactions are Ja/kB= 1.42 K (in-plane) and Jc/kB= 0.44 K (out-of-plane), pointing to the anisotropic magnetism. First-principles calculations that include spin-orbit coupling and Coulomb correlations reveal multiple states with zero net magnetization for CsNdSe2. Both experiment and simulation strongly suggest CsNdSe2 has the spin liquid ground state with effective spin-1/2. Application of a magnetic field can induce long-range antiferromagnetic ordering with the maximum transition temperature around 0.3 K, in further support of the zero-field spin liquid state.
Seismic monitoring using the telecom fiber network
Authors: Donadello Simone , Clivati Cecilia , Govoni Aladino , Margheriti Lucia , Vassallo Maurizio , Brenda Daniele , Hovsepyan Marianna , Bertacco Elio K. , Concas Roberto , Levi Filippo , Mura Alberto , Herrero André , Carpentieri Francesco , Calonico Davide 
Published: April 2024

AbstractLaser interferometry enables to remotely measure microscopical length changes of deployed telecommunication cables originating from earthquakes. Long reach and compatibility with data transmission make it attractive for the exploration of both remote regions and highly-populated areas where optical networks are pervasive. However, interpretation of its response still suffers from a limited number of available datasets. We systematically analyze 1.5 years of acquisitions on a land-based telecommunication cable in comparison to co-located seismometers, with successful detection of events in a broad magnitude range, including very weak ones. We determine relations between a cable’s detection probability and the events magnitude and distance, introducing spectral analysis of fiber data as a tool to investigate earthquake dynamics. Our results reveal that quantitative analysis is possible, confirming applicability of this technique both for the global monitoring of our planet and the daily seismicity monitoring of populated areas, in perspective exploitable for civilian protection.
Human leukocyte antigen variants associate with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine response
Authors: Esposito Martina , Minnai Francesca , Copetti Massimiliano , Miscio Giuseppe , Perna Rita , Piepoli Ada , De Vincentis Gabriella , Benvenuto Mario , D’Addetta Paola , Croci Susanna , Baldassarri Margherita , Bruttini Mirella , Fallerini Chiara , Brugnoni Raffaella , Cavalcante Paola , Baggi Fulvio , Corsini Elena Maria Grazia , Ciusani Emilio , Andreetta Francesca , Dragani Tommaso A. , Fratelli Maddalena , Carella Massimo , Mantegazza Renato E. , Renieri Alessandra , Colombo Francesca 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundSince the beginning of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign, it has become evident that vaccinated subjects exhibit considerable inter-individual variability in the response to the vaccine that could be partly explained by host genetic factors. A recent study reported that the immune response elicited by the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in individuals from the United Kingdom was influenced by a specific allele of the human leukocyte antigen geneHLA-DQB1.MethodsWe carried out a genome-wide association study to investigate the genetic determinants of the antibody response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in an Italian cohort of 1351 subjects recruited in three centers. Linear regressions between normalized antibody levels and genotypes of more than 7 million variants was performed, using sex, age, centers, days between vaccination boost and serological test, and five principal components as covariates. We also analyzed the association between normalized antibody levels and 204 HLA alleles, with the same covariates as above.ResultsOur study confirms the involvement of the HLA locus and shows significant associations with variants inHLA-A,HLA-DQA1, andHLA-DQB1genes. In particular, the HLA-A*03:01 allele is the most significantly associated with serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Other alleles, from both major histocompatibility complex class I and II are significantly associated with antibody levels.ConclusionsThese results support the hypothesis that HLA genes modulate the response to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and highlight the need for genetic studies in diverse populations and for functional studies aimed to elucidate the relationship between HLA-A*03:01 and CD8+ cell response upon Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination.
Anti-price-gouging law is neither good nor bad in itself: a proposal of narrative numeric method for transdisciplinary social discourses
Authors: Byun Ji-Eun , Yi Sang-ri 
Published: April 2024

AbstractMultiple authorities have introduced an anti-price-gouging law to prevent sellers from raising prices higher than what is considered reasonable. Effectiveness of the law has been heatedly debated in various disciplines such as economics, ethics and politics. In this article, we investigate its effectiveness by developing a model that simulates a post-earthquake situation and apply the model to San Francisco, CA, USA. The model accounts for various competing forces, i.e. post-disaster increase in production cost and demands, assets damage, donation and hoarding. Thereby, it returns multiple decision metrics, i.e. unfulfilled needs in basic goods, repair periods and well-being loss caused by insufficient supplies and increased prices. The result shows that the optimal level of a price cap depends on a decision metric and local conditions. This indicates that the problem does not have a single optimal decision, but rather a compromise needs to be made between conflicting decision metrics. Generalising this observation, we propose a narrative numeric (NN) method as a new social discourse method. The objective of the NN method does not lie in concluding the most truthful argument, but rather in identifying a decision scenario that yields an agreeable compromise to (hopefully) all stakeholder groups.
Audiology Students' Clinical Communication During Simulated Peer Role Play Consultations: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Kanji Amisha , Watermeyer Jennifer , Hassim Aakifah 
Published: April 2024

Purpose:
The objectives of this study were to describe the clinical communication practices of student audiologists during case history taking and feedback giving using simulated peer role play consultations and to explore whether clinical communication skills outcomes can be achieved through simulated peer role play.

Method:
An exploratory, qualitative research design was used for this pilot study. A total of four simulated peer role play consultations were video-recorded, comprising two adult diagnostic audiology case scenarios. Eight online interviews were conducted with the student participants following the simulated audiological consultation. Analysis of the video-recorded sessions incorporated an interactional sociolinguistic focus, and interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results:
Findings from the video analysis and interviews were triangulated, with a specific focus on establishing commonalities in terms of communication skills of student clinicians, reflections of their own skills, and the simulated peer patient's reflections on the student clinician's skills. Although variation was noted in terms of case history taking skills, feedback giving was similar among all student clinicians. These communication practices are consistent with findings from related literature on consultations with real patients. Student clinicians reflected on feedback giving as more challenging than case history taking, with room for improvement suggested by the simulated peer patients.

Conclusions:
Our findings highlight key questions regarding the use of peer simulation in facilitating the development of communication skills for audiological consultations among student audiologists. We discuss some considerations for using this approach to clinical training more effectively.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25492804
Muscle Tension Dysphagia: An Expanded Investigation of Clinical Presentations and Swallowing Kinematics
Authors: Buckley Daniel P. , Borders James C. , Pisegna Jessica M. 
Published: April 2024

Purpose:
This study retrospectively examined patient-reported symptoms, quality of life, and swallowing kinematics in individuals with presumed muscle tension dysphagia (MTDg).

Method:
Twenty-six individuals met the inclusion criteria. Data were gathered from patient-reported outcome measures (PROs), symptomology, clinician reports of palpation, and hyolaryngeal and hyoid movements measured on a 20-ml thin liquid bolus during videofluoroscopic swallowing studies.

Results:

All PROs were outside of typical limits, except for the Voice Handicap Index-10. Mean hyoid excursion was 1.52 cm (
SD
= 0.46, range: 0.76–2.43), and hyolaryngeal excursion was 0.77 cm (
SD
= 0.44, range: −0.42–1.68). A minority of participants (4%–19%) demonstrated atypical hyoid and/or hyolaryngeal excursion compared to the available normative reference value sets.

Conclusions:
Individuals demonstrated abnormalities in the clinical evaluation of the areas of palpation and reported perilaryngeal discomfort and symptoms of laryngeal hyperresponsiveness, with a negative impact on their quality of life across various PROs. Atypical hyoid and/or hyolaryngeal excursion during swallowing was rare when compared to available normative reference values. The clinical evaluation of MTDg may be enhanced by including components related to muscle tension and laryngeal hyperresponsiveness in order to differentiate MTDg from idiopathic functional dysphagia and lead the patient to the otolaryngology/speech-language pathology clinic for intervention and management.
Effects of Speech Cues on Acoustics and Intelligibility of Korean-Speaking Children With Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Chang Younghwa M. , Jeong Pil-Yeon , Hwang KyungHae , Ihn Bo-Yeon , McAuliffe Megan J. , Sim Hyunsub , Levy Erika S. 
Published: April 2024

Purpose:
Reduced speech intelligibility is often a hallmark of children with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy (CP), but effects of speech strategies for increasing intelligibility are understudied, especially in children who speak languages other than English. This study examined the effects of (the Korean translation of) two cues, “speak with your big mouth” and “speak with your strong voice,” on speech acoustics and intelligibility of Korean-speaking children with CP.

Method:
Fifteen Korean-speaking children with CP repeated words and sentences in habitual, big mouth, and strong voice conditions. Acoustic analyses were performed and intelligibility was assessed by means of 90 blinded listeners' ease-of-understanding (EoU) ratings and percentage of words correctly transcribed (PWC).

Results:
In response to both cues, children's vocal intensity and utterance duration increased significantly and differentially, whereas their vowel space area gains did not reach statistical significance. EoU increased significantly in the big mouth condition at word, but not sentence, level, whereas in the strong voice condition, EoU increased significantly at both levels. PWC increases were not statistically significant. Considerable variability in children's responses to cues was noted overall.

Conclusions:
Korean-speaking children with CP modify their speech styles differentially when provided with cues aimed to increase their articulatory working space and vocal intensity. The results provide preliminary support for the use of the strong voice cue, in particular, to increase EoU. While the findings do not offer conclusive evidence of the intelligibility benefits of these cues, investigation with a larger sample size should provide further insight into optimal cueing strategies for increasing intelligibility in this population. Implications for language-specific versus language-independent treatment approaches are discussed.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25521052
Event‐triggered adaptive fuzzy bipartite containment control for switched nonlinear multi‐agent systems with actuator attacks
Authors: Liu Chao , Niu Ben , Jiang Yuqiang , Liu Xinyu , Li Shengtao 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis paper considers the event‐triggered adaptive fuzzy bipartite containment control problem for switched nonlinear multi‐agent systems (MASs) with actuator attacks. To handle the completely unknown nonlinear functions in the considered system, fuzzy logic systems (FLSs) are applied to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions. In addition, an adaptive bipartite containment control approach is designed to deal with the actuator attacks, which can reduce the burden of communication. According to the designed adaptive bipartite containment control scheme, it is shown that all the signals are semi‐globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB), and all the outputs of the followers achieve the bipartite consensus and finally enter the convex set spanned by leaders' in the presence of actuator attacks. Eventually, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the availability of the developed strategy.
Video frame interpolation via spatial multi‐scale modelling
Authors: Qu Zhe , Liu Weijing , Cui Lizhen , Yang Xiaohui 
Published: April 2024

AbstractVideo frame interpolation (VFI) is a technique that synthesises intermediate frames between adjacent original video frames to enhance the temporal super‐resolution of the video. However, existing methods usually rely on heavy model architectures with a large number of parameters. The authors introduce an efficient VFI network based on multiple lightweight convolutional units and a Local three‐scale encoding (LTSE) structure. In particular, the authors introduce a LTSE structure with two‐level attention cascades. This design is tailored to enhance the efficient capture of details and contextual information across diverse scales in images. Secondly, the authors introduce recurrent convolutional layers (RCL) and residual operations, designing the recurrent residual convolutional unit to optimise the LTSE structure. Additionally, a lightweight convolutional unit named separable recurrent residual convolutional unit is introduced to reduce the model parameters. Finally, the authors obtain the three‐scale decoding features from the decoder and warp them for a set of three‐scale pre‐warped maps. The authors fuse them into the synthesis network to generate high‐quality interpolated frames. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach achieves superior performance with fewer model parameters.