bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antifungal activity of Carya illinoinensis extracts against Alternaria alternata pathogen and their cytotoxicity effects on HEK-293T cells: HPLC analysis of bioactive compounds
Authors: Achilonu Conrad Chibunna , Gryzenhout Marieka , Marais Gert Johannes , Johar Dina , Ghosh Soumya , Hassanin Soha Osama 
Published: February 2024

AbstractDerivatives ofCarya illinoinensis(pecan) are used as dietary supplements and their leaf and nuts-in-shuck extracts are used in the treatment of various pathologies due to their significant composition in phenolic compounds that act as natural antifungal and anticancer agents. This study aimed to evaluate the antifungal activity of acetone extracts (AEs) from leaves (L) and nuts-in-shucks (S) of cultivars (cv.) Wichita (Wic) and Ukulinga (Uku) of South AfricanC. illinoinensisagainstA. alternatapathogen. The AEs of Wic-L and Uku-L showed higher antifungal efficacy against all testedA. alternataisolates, with inhibition zones ranging from 11 to 39 mm. Acetone crude extracts of cv. Wichita and cv. Ukulinga showed efficacy against the isolates and were significantly different (p < 0.001). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed major morphological damages on the conidia from assayed cultures, which resulted in inhibition. We further evaluated the in vitro cytotoxic effects ofCarya illinoinensison human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293T) cell lines with methanolic extracts (MEs). HEK-293T cell lines (10 × 103cells/well) were treated with each sample of the extracts at various concentration (1.56, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 µg/mL) and cell viability was quantitated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after 48 h. The HEK-293 cell viabilities when exposed to MEs of Wic-L, Wic-S, and Uku-L were 88.2%, 75.2%, and 86.3% respectively, confirming non-toxic properties in accordance with International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) norms. However, the viability of cell culture after the treatment with MEs of Uku-S was 37% and was as toxic. We further used High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to investigate individual phenolic constituents and total phenolic content in the leaves and shucks of both cultivars. Twelve individual phenols were detected through HPLC analysis in the respective extracts. The total phenolic content was higher in the extracts of Wic-L (102.19 mg GAE/g) and Uku-L (110.13 mg GAE/g) relative to the Wic-S (62.03 mg GAE/g) and Uku-S (85.07 mg GAE/g) extracts. Finally, these findings highlighted the possibility of pecan leaf extracts as a potential natural bioactive antifungal agent against black spot disease on pecans in South Africa.
Insect species dynamics and associated losses in on-farm stored sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds in major sesame growing areas in Ethiopia
Authors: Berhe Muez , Subramanyam Bhadriraju , Demissie Girma , Chichaybelu Mekasha , Abera Fetien Abay , Mahroof Rizana , Harvey Jagger 
Published: February 2024

AbstractInsufficient storage practices and frequent infestations of insect pests pose significant obstacles to sesame production and storage, adversely affecting the quality and quantity of seeds. This forces farmers and traders to sell their crops at lower prices immediately after threshing to avoid market rejection caused by pests and mold damage during storage. The objective of this study was to investigate the insect species dynamics and the losses of on-farm-stored sesame seeds during the 2017- 2018 production year. Sesame seed samples obtained from randomly selected 431farm households in five districts were analyzed to determine the insect species present, insect density, seed weight loss, seed damage, germination percentage, and dockage using R software version 4.2.2. Biophysical parameters such as inter-granular temperature, seed moisture, and relative humidity were also recorded. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the 431 farm households to gather information on their seed storage methods, practices for controlling insect pests, and the varieties of sesame they produce and store. The findings revealed the presence of 13 arthropod species from four orders (Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera) which belongs to eight families (Tenebrionidae, Silvanidae, Bostrichidae, Curculionidae, Carabidae, Coreidae, Formicidae, and Pyralidae) in the stored sesame seeds at the study site. The most prevalent species was the flour beetle (Tribolium spp.), accounting for 44.26% of the infestation, followed by the rice moth, lesser grain borer, and rice weevil, which constituted 28.2%, 15.72%, and 4.88% of the infestation, respectively. The farmers grew and stored nine different cultivars along with one improved sesame variety called setit-1. On average, there was a 1.97% loss in seed weight, with insect pests causing damage to 8.3% of the seeds. The study districts exhibited an average of 3.79 insects per kilogram of sesame seeds, and the seeds showed a mean germination rate of 77%, which was significantly influenced by the extent of insect damage. The study underscores the significant challenges faced by sesame production and storage in Ethiopia due to inadequate storage practices and infestation by insect pests, resulting in diminished seed quality and quantity. To mitigate the losses incurred from storing sesame on farms, effective measures should be implemented, including improved storage practices and efficient pest control methods.
Epistemic Complicity
Authors: Boult Cameron 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThere is a widely accepted distinction between being directly responsible for a wrongdoing versus being somehow indirectly or vicariously responsible for the wrongdoing of another person or collective. Often this is couched in analyses of complicity, and complicity's role in the relationship between individual and collective wrongdoing. Complicity is important because, inter alia, it allows us to make sense of individuals who may be blameless or blameworthy to a relatively low degree for their immediate conduct, but are nevertheless blameworthy to a higher degree for their implication in some larger (or another person's) wrongdoing. In this paper, I argue that there is a distinctively epistemic kind of complicity. First, I motivate the distinction between direct and vicarious responsibility with three interlocking arguments, respectively appealing to: (i) the structure of rational agency; (ii) linguistic considerations; (iii) the role of ‘principal' vs. ‘accomplice’ in legal doctrine. I show how these arguments naturally extend to the epistemic domain, motivating an epistemic form of vicarious responsibility. I then examine complicity as a mechanism of vicarious epistemic responsibility. To fill this out, I engage with an epistemic analogue of the debate about the role of intention versus causal contribution in complicity. I propose a Casual Account of Epistemic Complicity, arguing that it accommodates a wide range of cases, and enables fine-grained explanations of degrees of culpability for epistemic complicity. With an adequate account of epistemic complicity on hand, we can explain what is objectionable about an important class of epistemic agent who, on an individual level, may be epistemically blameless or blameworthy to a relatively low degree, but whose relation to other individuals or collectives nevertheless makes them epistemically blameworthy to a higher degree. I explore some broader implications of this result.
Postprandial plasma amino acid and appetite responses with ingestion of a novel salmon-derived protein peptide in healthy young adults
Authors: Prosser Sophie , Fava Mia , Rogers Lucy M. , Liaset Bjørn , Breen Leigh 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis study assessed postprandial plasma aminoacidemia, glycemia, insulinemia and appetite responses to ingestion of a novel salmon-derived protein peptide (Salmon PP) compared with milk protein isolate (Milk PI). In a randomised, participant-blind crossover design, eleven healthy adults (M = 5, F = 6; mean ± sd age: 22 ± 3 years; BMI: 24 ± 3 kg/m2) ingested 0·3 g/kg/body mass of Salmon PP or Milk PI. Arterialised blood samples were collected whilst fasted and over a 240-min postprandial period. Appetite sensations were measured via visual analogue scales. An ad libitum buffet-style test meal was administered after each trial. The incremental AUC (iAUC) plasma essential amino acid (EAA) response was similar between Salmon PP and Milk PI. The iAUC plasma leucine response was significantly greater following Milk PI ingestion (P < 0·001), whereas temporal and iAUC plasma total amino acid (P = 0·001), non-essential amino acid (P = 0·002), glycine (P = 0·0025) and hydroxyproline (P < 0·001) responses were greater following Salmon PP ingestion. Plasma insulin increased similarly above post-absorptive values following Salmon PP and Milk PI ingestion, whilst plasma glucose was largely unaltered. Indices of appetite were similarly altered following Salmon PP and Milk PI ingestion, and total energy and macronutrient intake during the ad libitum meal was similar between Salmon PP and Milk PI. The postprandial plasma EAA, glycine, proline and hydroxyproline response to Salmon PP ingestion suggest this novel protein source could support muscle and possibly connective tissue adaptive remodelling, which warrants further investigation, particularly as the plasma leucine response to Salmon PP ingestion was inferior to Milk PI.
On the Non‐Linear Nature of Long‐Term Sea Surface Temperature Global Trends
Authors: Martinez‐Lopez B. , Quintanar A. I. , Cabos‐Narvaez W. D. , Moreles E. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe year‐to‐year rate and acceleration of the changes in global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) for 1870–2022 are determined using non‐linear techniques. Our methodology identifies the non‐linear, long‐term tendencies of the warming, revealing subtle but essential features of the SST changes that are impossible to identify by linear techniques. Our analysis identifies inhomogeneous patterns of SST evolution. For instance, in most equatorial regions, including the western Pacific, the acceleration of the warming is positive, and sustained warming replaces the cooling at the beginning of the records. On the contrary, the warming acceleration in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific is negative, indicating a sustained warming at the beginning of the record that weakens over the years, resulting in a stagnated warming or even a cooling in recent years. We identify a strong warming with a negative acceleration for the North Atlantic. We hypothesize that this warming is part of the multidecadal variability of SST rather than a long‐term trend.
Past and Projected Future Droughts in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Authors: McCabe Gregory J. , Wolock David M. , Gangopadhyay Subhrendu 
Published: February 2024

AbstractDrought has affected much of the western United States since about the year 2000, including the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). Using a time series of UCRB streamflow derived from a tree‐ring based reconstruction of UCRB streamflow for the years 1 CE through 1905 CE, together with naturalized UCRB streamflow values for 1906 CE through 2021 CE, we identify 51 drought events, including the 2000–2021 drought. Although the recent 2000–2021 drought has been relatively severe, it is not the most severe of the UCRB drought events we identified. Results also indicate that natural variability combined with projected climate warming can result in UCRB drought events that are more severe than any drought since 1 CE.
East Asia Atmospheric River Forecast With a Deep Learning Method: GAN‐UNet
Authors: Tian Yuan , Zhao Yang , Li Jianping , Chen Bin , Deng Lin , Wen Dawei 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAccurate forecasting of atmospheric rivers (ARs) holds significance in preventing losses from extreme precipitation. However, traditional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are computationally expensive and can be limited in accuracy due to inaccurate physical parameter settings. To overcome these limitations, we propose a deep learning (DL) model, called GAN‐UNet, to forecast the AR occurrence, position, and intensity in East Asia. GAN‐UNet can capture the complex nonlinear relationship between the inputs at the past moment, including the vertically integrated water vapor transport (IVT), zonal wind at 850 hPa (U850), and meridional wind at 850 hPa (V850), and the forecast output (IVT, U850, or V850), whose results are comparable to NWP models. In addition, the average model (AM) by integrating the results generated by GAN‐UNet and European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) outperforms all the NWP models selected in this study, demonstrating its potential to improve the performance of NWP through the DL method. Specifically, the 5‐day average F1 scores of the AM are 0.777 and 0.845, whose values are significantly better than those obtained by ECMWF (0.712 and 0.794) in the two key regions of East Asia; The AM 5‐day average intersection over unions are 0.706 and 0.688 while the values of ECMWF are 0.675 and 0.64; in terms of intensity forecast, GAN‐UNet and AM exhibited lower differences in most of the intensity bins, except for the final bin with IVT more than 825 kg m−1 s−1. With this thorough analysis, GAN‐UNet is shown as an effective model to forecast ARs.
Introducing Pour Points: Characteristics and Hydrological Significance of a Rainfall‐Concentrating Mechanism in a Water‐Limited Woodland Ecosystem
Authors: Kunadi Ashvath S. , Lardner Tim , Silberstein Richard P. , Leopold Matthias , Callow Nik , Veneklaas Erik , Puri Aryan , Sydney Eleanor , Thompson Sally E. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe interception of rainfall by plant canopies alters the depth and spatial distribution of water arriving at the soil surface, and thus the location, volume, and depth of infiltration. Mechanisms like stemflow are known to concentrate rainfall and route it deep into the soil, yet other mechanisms of flow concentration are poorly understood. This study characterizes pour points, formed by the detachment of water flowing under a branch, using a combination of field observations in Western Australian banksia woodlands and rainfall simulation experiments on Banksia menziesii branches. We aim to establish the hydrological significance of pour points in a water‐limited woodland ecosystem, along with the features of the canopy structure and rainfall that influence pour point formation and fluxes. Pour points were common in the woodland and could be identified by visually inspecting trees. Throughfall depths at pour points were up to 15 times greater than rainfall and generally comparable to or greater than stemflow. Soil water content beneath pour points was greater than in adjacent controls, with 20%–30% of the seasonal rainfall volume infiltrated into the top 1 m of soil beneath pour points, compared to 5% in controls. Rainfall simulations showed that pour points amplified the spatial heterogeneity of throughfall, violating assumptions used to close the water balance. The simulation experiments demonstrated that pour point fluxes depend on the interaction of branch angle and foliation for a given branch architecture. Pour points can play a significant part in the water balance, depending on their density and rainfall concentration ability.
Differential responses of hepatopancreas transcriptome between fast and slow growth in giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) fed a plant-based diet
Authors: Phonsiri Khanakorn , Mavichak Rapeepat , Panserat Stephane , Boonanuntanasarn Surintorn 
Published: February 2024

AbstractEfficient utilisation of plant-based diets in the giant freshwater prawn, Marcrobrachium rosenbergii, varies according to individual, suggesting that it might be associated with differences in physiological and metabolic responses. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the individual differences in the growth response of shrimp fed to a soybean-based diet (SBM). Two hundred shrimp were fed SBM for 90 days, and specific growth rate (SGR) was determined individually. Fast- and slow-growing shrimp (F-shrimp vs. S-shrimp), with the highest and lowest 5% SGRs, respectively, were sampled to determine haemolymph chemistry and carcass composition. The hepatopancreas of these shrimps were used for transcriptome analysis through RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). The results showed no significant differences in haemolymph chemistry parameters. In terms of carcass proximate composition, F-shrimp exhibited higher protein composition than did S-shrimp, suggesting that F-shrimp have higher protein anabolism. Using RNA-seq and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), the expression levels of several genes encoding physiologic and metabolic enzymes were found to be upregulated in F-shrimp compared to in S-shrimp, suggesting that these enzymes/proteins mediated the efficient use of SBM-based diets for growth promotion in shrimp. Various DEGs associated with the immune system were observed, indicating a difference in immune processes between F- and S-shrimp. The expression of several housekeeping genes was found to be upregulated in S-shrimp. Collectively, the upregulated expression of several enzymes associated with physiological and/or metabolic processes and increased protein anabolism may be attributed to the efficient use of SBM for maximal growth in shrimp.
The influence of another’s actions and presence on perspective taking
Authors: Lukošiūnaitė Ieva , Kovács Ágnes M. , Sebanz Natalie 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe ability to take each other’s visuospatial perspective has been linked to people’s capacity to perceive another’s action possibilities and to predict their actions. Research has also shown that visuospatial perspective taking is supported by one’s own mental own-body transformation. However, how these two processes of action perception and visuospatial perspective taking might interact remains largely unknown. By introducing seven angular disparities between participants and the model in the stimuli pictures across “Action” and “No Action” conditions, we investigated whether the observation of a goal-directed action facilitates perspective taking and whether this facilitation depends on the level of mental own-body transformation required to take perspective. The results showed that action observation facilitated performance independently of the level of mental-own body transformation. The processes behind this facilitation could involve anatomical mapping that is independent of the congruency between the participants’ and the model’s perspectives. Further, we replicated previous research findings, showing that participants were more accurate and faster when taking the perspective of a person compared to an inanimate object (a chair). The strongest facilitation effects were seen at the highest angular disparities between participants and the model in the stimuli pictures. Together, these findings enhance our knowledge of the mechanisms behind visuospatial perspective taking.
Controlled synchronization of three co-rotating exciters based on a circular distribution in a vibratory system
Authors: Jia Lei , Tian Yang , Liu Ziliang , Zhang Xin 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIn this article, an engineering problem of three co-rotating exciters with the circular distribution in a vibrating system is investigated. The dynamical model constructed by the motion differential equations is established. By introducing the small parameter averaged method in the dynamic equation, the synchronization and stability conditions of the electromechanical coupling dynamical model is derived. To illustrate the necessity of the controlling method, the self-synchronization of the vibrating system is firstly analyzed with the theory, numerical simulations and experiments. With the self-synchronization results, it is indicated that the ellipse trajectory which is needed in the industry can’t be realizefd by the self-synchronization motion of the vibrating system. And then, a fuzzy PID controlling method based on the master–slave controlling strategy is introduced in the vibrating system to realize the controlled synchronization. The Lyapunov stability criterion is given to certify the stability of the controlling system. Through some simulations and experiments, the effectiveness of controlled synchronization is illustrated in the discussion. Finally, the present work illuminates the feasibility and practicality for designing some new types of vibrating screens in the industry.
Broadband anti-reflection coating for Si solar cell applications based on periodic Si nanopillar dimer arrays & Si3N4 layer
Authors: Huang Xiaodan , Zhang Bo , Ma Huishu , Shao Guojian 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
A structure of periodic Si nanopillar dimer array & Si3N4 layer which sits on Si substrates is presented to obtain a broadband high transmission and low reflection. We show numerically that the average reflection of this structure can reach 1.8%, and the average transmission can reach 93.1% in the 400–1100 nm range, due to the combined effects of the forward scattering effects of Si nanopillar dimers and Si3N4 layer’s anti-reflection effects. Si nanopillars’ diameter and height, Si3N4 layer’s height, the gap of dimers, and the period of the array have significant impacts on the transmittance and reflection. This work supplies a practicable way for decreasing broadband surface reflection and increasing the absorption of light for Si solar cell applications.
Giant amplification of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature in superconducting systems characterized by cooperative interplay of small-gapped valence and conduction bands
Authors: Midei Giovanni , Perali Andrea 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Two-dimensional superconductors and electron-hole superfluids in van der Waals heterostructures having tunable valence and conduction bands in the electronic spectrum are emerging as rich platforms to investigate novel quantum phases and topological phase transitions. In this work, by adopting a mean-field approach considering multiple-channel pairings and the Kosterlitz-Nelson criterion, we demonstrate giant amplifications of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition temperature and a shrinking of the pseudogap for small energy separations between the conduction and valence bands and small density of carriers in the conduction band. The presence of the holes in the valence band, generated by intra-band and pair-exchange couplings, contributes constructively to the phase stiffness of the total system, adding up to the phase stiffness of the conduction band electrons that is boosted as well, due to the presence of the valence band electrons. This strong cooperative effect avoids the suppression of the BKT transition temperature for low density of carriers, that occurs in single-band superconductors where only the conduction band is present. Thus, we predict that in this regime, multi-band superconducting and superfluid systems with valence and conduction bands can exhibit much larger BKT critical temperatures with respect to single-band and single-condensate systems.