bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the effects of titanium oxide concentration on the sinterability, microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties, in vitro bioactivity, and cell culture behavior of chicken-derived hydroxyapatite
Authors: Gökçe Hasan 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis study focuses on how titanium oxide (TiO2) in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 4% by weight added the hydroxyapatite (CHA) made from chicken femur bones’, affects sinterability, microstructural, mechanical, and in vitro bioactivity properties. According to the results of the experiments, it was determined that CHA decomposed into whitlockite, alpha tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP), tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP), and calcium oxide (CaO) phases at different temperatures. Rutile and perovskite (CaTiO3) phases were also found in TiO2 added CHAs in addition to these phases. With increasing sintering temperature of CHA, the diameters and the heights of the samples decreased. Density increased up to 1250 °C and decreased at 1300 °C respectively. while the partial density value showed similar behavior with density and hardness, At 1200 °C, the maximum values of fracture toughness (1.071 MPam1/2) and compressive strength (145.417 MPa) were attained; however, as sintering temperatures increased, these values shifted downward to 0.882 MPam1/2 and 111.096 MPa, respectively. It has been determined that grain growth and decomposition are the underlying factors in obtaining the highest density, hardness, fracture toughness and compressive strength values for CHA at different temperatures. Among the TiO2 added CHAs, the best properties are obtained for CHA-0.5TiO2 sintered at 1300 °C (Density: 3.0057 g/cm3, Hardness: 3.973 GPa, Fracture toughness: 1.583 MPam1/2 and Compressive strength: 170.045 MPa) and the properties of the CHA-TiO2 composite decreased with increasing TiO2 ratio. This is due to the fact that increasing TiO2 has a detrimental impact on CHA’s sinterability behavior and causes it to become more porous and degrade more quickly. It was discovered through in vitro bioactivity and cell culture assays that the addition of TiO2 had a detrimental impact on the proliferation of bone tissues.
Germination responses of the invasive hedge cactus (Cereus uruguayanus) to environmental factors
Authors: Panetta F. Dane , Campbell Shane , Brooks Simon , Brazier Dannielle , Chauhan Bhagirath Singh 
Published: February 2024

AbstractHedge cactus (Cereus uruguayanus R. Kiesling; syn.: Cereus hildmannianus K. Schum.) is a columnar cactus that was introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant and has since become invasive in subhumid regions of Queensland and New South Wales. Compared with its congener, queen of the night (Cereus jamacaru DC.), which is currently invasive in both eastern and southern Africa, information on seed biology of C. uruguayanus is lacking. Experiments were conducted to study the effects of alternating day/night temperature, salt stress, water stress, and burial depth on germination and seedling emergence of four seed accessions of C. uruguayanus. Seeds were also subjected to a controlled aging test (CAT) to obtain an estimate of potential persistence under field conditions. The optimum temperature regime for germination of all accessions was 30/20 C. Germination decreased with an increase in sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration, but germination of all accessions (range 26% to 81%) occurred at 160 mM NaCl, indicating very high salt tolerance. Seed germination gradually decreased with an increase in water stress, but germination in all accessions (range 19% to 47%) occurred at −0.8 MPa. Seed viability and dormancy status were unaffected by exposure to salt level (320 mM NaCl) and water (−1.6 MPa) stress under which germination did not occur. Germination responses to all three factors were generally similar to those documented for C. jamacaru. The emergence of C. uruguayanus decreased with an increase in seed burial depth. The highest emergence (43%) was recorded for surface-sown seeds, and emergence was reduced to 0 at a burial depth of 2 cm. CAT results for two seed accessions indicated that seeds of C. uruguayanus are likely to demonstrate extended (>3 yr) persistence under field conditions, a prediction that is supported by evidence that germination of its small (2-mm) seeds is markedly reduced by burial.
Field Observations of Hydrostatic Pressure Deviations in a Nearshore Sediment Bed
Authors: Marry Melissa , Foster Diane 
Published: February 2024

AbstractMomentary liquefaction (ML), an instantaneous loss of effective stress between individual sand grains, is caused by the upward vertical pressure gradient of the excess pore‐water pressure in the sediment during the passage of a wave. Few field experiments have provided detailed observations of vertical pressure gradients within a sediment bed. Here, a novel autonomous pressure‐profiling instrument, the Pressure Stick, was deployed in the surf zone of an ocean beach in Rye, New Hampshire. The Pressure Stick has eight time‐synced absolute pressure sensors distributed over a 70 cm distance to measure absolute pressure in the water column and in the sediment bed. The absence of direct measurements of the sediment‐water interface location and sediment porosity limit direct observations of ML but allow for an examination of the hydrostatic pressure deviations. Observed upward vertical pressure head gradients within the sediment exceed the assumed effective weight of the sediment. Exceedances of two ML thresholds are observed within 16 cm of the sediment‐water interface and consistently occur at the onset of steeper and larger wave crests. Individual waves are characterized with an approximation of the Sleath parameter and the depth normalized wave height. The ML thresholds are exceeded 1%–40% of the time when the Sleath parameter is greater than 0.1 and 1%–33% of the time when the depth normalized wave height is greater than 0.4. These results suggest that wave steepness and nonlinearity may be necessary to induce large vertical pressure gradients that substantially deviate from hydrostatic pressure.
Versatile photonic molecule switch in multimode microresonators
Authors: Tao Zihan , Shen Bitao , Li Wencan , Xing Luwen , Wang Haoyu , Wu Yichen , Tao Yuansheng , Zhou Yan , He Yandong , Peng Chao , Shu Haowen , Wang Xingjun 
Published: February 2024

AbstractHarnessing optical supermode interaction to construct artificial photonic molecules has uncovered a series of fundamental optical phenomena analogous to atomic physics. Previously, the distinct energy levels and interactions in such two-level systems were provided by coupled microresonators. The reconfigurability is limited, as they often require delicate external field stimuli or mechanically altering the geometric factors. These highly specific approaches also limit potential applications. Here, we propose a versatile on-chip photonic molecule in a multimode microring, utilizing a flexible regulation methodology to dynamically control the existence and interaction strength of spatial modes. The transition between single/multi-mode states enables the “switched-off/on” functionality of the photonic molecule, supporting wider generalized applications scenarios. In particular, “switched-on” state shows flexible and multidimensional mode splitting control in aspects of both coupling strength and phase difference, equivalent to the a.c. and d.c. Stark effect. “Switched-off” state allows for perfect low-loss single-mode transition (Qi~ 10 million) under an ultra-compact bend size (FSR ~ 115 GHz) in a foundry-based silicon microring. It breaks the stereotyped image of the FSR-Q factor trade-off, enabling ultra-wideband and high-resolution millimeter-wave photonic operations. Our demonstration provides a flexible and portable solution for the integrated photonic molecule system, extending its research scope from fundamental physics to real-world applications such as nonlinear optical signal processing and sixth-generation wireless communication.
Fasting-mimicking diet causes hepatic and blood markers changes indicating reduced biological age and disease risk
Authors: Brandhorst Sebastian , Levine Morgan E. , Wei Min , Shelehchi Mahshid , Morgan Todd E. , Nayak Krishna S. , Dorff Tanya , Hong Kurt , Crimmins Eileen M. , Cohen Pinchas , Longo Valter D. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIn mice, periodic cycles of a fasting mimicking diet (FMD) protect normal cells while killing damaged cells including cancer and autoimmune cells, reduce inflammation, promote multi-system regeneration, and extend longevity. Here, we performed secondary and exploratory analysis of blood samples from a randomized clinical trial (NCT02158897) and show that 3 FMD cycles in adult study participants are associated with reduced insulin resistance and other pre-diabetes markers, lower hepatic fat (as determined by magnetic resonance imaging) and increased lymphoid to myeloid ratio: an indicator of immune system age. Based on a validated measure of biological age predictive of morbidity and mortality, 3 FMD cycles were associated with a decrease of 2.5 years in median biological age, independent of weight loss. Nearly identical findings resulted from a second clinical study (NCT04150159). Together these results provide initial support for beneficial effects of the FMD on multiple cardiometabolic risk factors and biomarkers of biological age.
Prefusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 S2-only antigen provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge
Authors: Hsieh Ching-Lin , Leist Sarah R. , Miller Emily Happy , Zhou Ling , Powers John M. , Tse Alexandra L. , Wang Albert , West Ande , Zweigart Mark R. , Schisler Jonathan C. , Jangra Rohit K. , Chandran Kartik , Baric Ralph S. , McLellan Jason S. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractEver-evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) have diminished the effectiveness of therapeutic antibodies and vaccines. Developing a coronavirus vaccine that offers a greater breadth of protection against current and future VOCs would eliminate the need to reformulate COVID-19 vaccines. Here, we rationally engineer the sequence-conserved S2 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and characterize the resulting S2-only antigens. Structural studies demonstrate that the introduction of interprotomer disulfide bonds can lock S2 in prefusion trimers, although the apex samples a continuum of conformations between open and closed states. Immunization with prefusion-stabilized S2 constructs elicits broadly neutralizing responses against several sarbecoviruses and protects female BALB/c mice from mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 lethal challenge and partially protects female BALB/c mice from mouse-adapted SARS-CoV lethal challenge. These engineering and immunogenicity results should inform the development of next-generation pan-coronavirus therapeutics and vaccines.
Traffic light optimization with low penetration rate vehicle trajectory data
Authors: Wang Xingmin , Jerome Zachary , Wang Zihao , Zhang Chenhao , Shen Shengyin , Kumar Vivek Vijaya , Bai Fan , Krajewski Paul , Deneau Danielle , Jawad Ahmad , Jones Rachel , Piotrowicz Gary , Liu Henry X. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTraffic light optimization is known to be a cost-effective method for reducing congestion and energy consumption in urban areas without changing physical road infrastructure. However, due to the high installation and maintenance costs of vehicle detectors, most intersections are controlled by fixed-time traffic signals that are not regularly optimized. To alleviate traffic congestion at intersections, we present a large-scale traffic signal re-timing system that uses a small percentage of vehicle trajectories as the only input without reliance on any detectors. We develop the probabilistic time-space diagram, which establishes the connection between a stochastic point-queue model and vehicle trajectories under the proposed Newellian coordinates. This model enables us to reconstruct the recurrent spatial-temporal traffic state by aggregating sufficient historical data. Optimization algorithms are then developed to update traffic signal parameters for intersections with optimality gaps. A real-world citywide test of the system was conducted in Birmingham, Michigan, and demonstrated that it decreased the delay and number of stops at signalized intersections by up to 20% and 30%, respectively. This system provides a scalable, sustainable, and efficient solution to traffic light optimization and can potentially be applied to every fixed-time signalized intersection in the world.
Identification of HDV-like theta ribozymes involved in tRNA-based recoding of gut bacteriophages
Authors: Kienbeck Kasimir , Malfertheiner Lukas , Zelger-Paulus Susann , Johannsen Silke , von Mering Christian , Sigel Roland K. O. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTrillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome, inhabit our bodies with the gut microbiome being of particular interest in biomedical research. Bacteriophages, the dominant virome constituents, can utilize suppressor tRNAs to switch to alternative genetic codes (e.g., the UAG stop-codon is reassigned to glutamine) while infecting hosts with the standard bacterial code. However, what triggers this switch and how the bacteriophage manipulates its host is poorly understood. Here, we report the discovery of a subgroup of minimal hepatitis delta virus (HDV)-like ribozymes – theta ribozymes – potentially involved in the code switch leading to the expression of recoded lysis and structural phage genes. We demonstrate their HDV-like self-scission behavior in vitro and find them in an unreported context often located with their cleavage site adjacent to tRNAs, indicating a role in viral tRNA maturation and/or regulation. Every fifth associated tRNA is a suppressor tRNA, further strengthening our hypothesis. The vast abundance of tRNA-associated theta ribozymes – we provide 1753 unique examples – highlights the importance of small ribozymes as an alternative to large enzymes that usually process tRNA 3’-ends. Our discovery expands the short list of biological functions of small HDV-like ribozymes and introduces a previously unknown player likely involved in the code switch of certain recoded gut bacteriophages.
Unsupervised classification of brain-wide axons reveals the presubiculum neuronal projection blueprint
Authors: Wheeler Diek W. , Banduri Shaina , Sankararaman Sruthi , Vinay Samhita , Ascoli Giorgio A. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractWe present a quantitative strategy to identify all projection neuron types from a given region with statistically different patterns of anatomical targeting. We first validate the technique with mouse primary motor cortex layer 6 data, yielding two clusters consistent with cortico-thalamic and intra-telencephalic neurons. We next analyze the presubiculum, a less-explored region, identifying five classes of projecting neurons with unique patterns of divergence, convergence, and specificity. We report several findings: individual classes target multiple subregions along defined functions; all hypothalamic regions are exclusively targeted by the same class also invading midbrain and agranular retrosplenial cortex; Cornu Ammonis receives input from a single class of presubicular axons also projecting to granular retrosplenial cortex; path distances from the presubiculum to the same targets differ significantly between classes, as do the path distances to distinct targets within most classes; the identified classes have highly non-uniform abundances; and presubicular somata are topographically segregated among classes. This study thus demonstrates that statistically distinct projections shed light on the functional organization of their circuit.
Imputation of plasma lipid species to facilitate integration of lipidomic datasets
Authors: Dakic Aleksandar , Wu Jingqin , Wang Tingting , Huynh Kevin , Mellett Natalie , Duong Thy , Beyene Habtamu B. , Magliano Dianna J. , Shaw Jonathan E. , Carrington Melinda J. , Inouye Michael , Yang Jean Y. , Figtree Gemma A. , Curran Joanne E. , Blangero John , Simes John ,   LIPID Study Investigators, Giles Corey , Meikle Peter J. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractRecent advancements in plasma lipidomic profiling methodology have significantly increased specificity and accuracy of lipid measurements. This evolution, driven by improved chromatographic and mass spectrometric resolution of newer platforms, has made it challenging to align datasets created at different times, or on different platforms. Here we present a framework for harmonising such plasma lipidomic datasets with different levels of granularity in their lipid measurements. Our method utilises elastic-net prediction models, constructed from high-resolution lipidomics reference datasets, to predict unmeasured lipid species in lower-resolution studies. The approach involves (1) constructing composite lipid measures in the reference dataset that map to less resolved lipids in the target dataset, (2) addressing discrepancies between aligned lipid species, (3) generating prediction models, (4) assessing their transferability into the targe dataset, and (5) evaluating their prediction accuracy. To demonstrate our approach, we used the AusDiab population-based cohort (747 lipid species) as the reference to impute unmeasured lipid species into the LIPID study (342 lipid species). Furthermore, we compared measured and imputed lipids in terms of parameter estimation and predictive performance, and validated imputations in an independent study. Our method for harmonising plasma lipidomic datasets will facilitate model validation and data integration efforts.
Crystal net catalog of model flat band materials
Authors: Neves Paul M. , Wakefield Joshua P. , Fang Shiang , Nguyen Haimi , Ye Linda , Checkelsky Joseph G. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractFlat band systems are currently under intense investigation in quantum materials, optical lattices, and metamaterials. These efforts are motivated by potential realization of strongly correlated phenomena enabled by frustration-induced flat band dispersions; identification of candidate platforms plays an important role in these efforts. Here, we develop a high-throughput materials search for bulk crystalline flat bands by automated construction of uniform-hopping near-neighbor tight-binding models. We show that this approach captures many of the essential features relevant to identifying flat band lattice motifs in candidate materials in a computationally inexpensive manner, and is of use to identify systems for further detailed investigation as well as theoretical and metamaterials studies of model systems. We apply this algorithm to 139,367 materials in the Materials Project database and identify 63,076 materials that host at least one flat band elemental sublattice. We further categorize these candidate systems into at least 31,635 unique flat band crystal nets and identify candidates of interest from both lattice and band structure perspectives. This work expands the number of known flat band lattices that exist in physically realizable crystal structures and classifies the majority of these systems by the underlying lattice, providing additional insights for familiar (e.g., kagome, pyrochlore, Lieb, and dice) as well as previously unknown motifs.
A new recumbirostran ‘microsaur’ from the lower Permian Bromacker locality, Thuringia, Germany, and its fossorial adaptations
Authors: MacDougall Mark J. , Jannel Andréas , Henrici Amy C. , Berman David S. , Sumida Stuart S. , Martens Thomas , Fröbisch Nadia B. , Fröbisch Jörg 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSeveral recumbirostran ‘microsaurs’ are known from early Permian sites across Germany, including the Tambach Formation in Thuringia, central Germany. The only ‘microsaur’ thus far described from the Tambach Formation was the ostodolepid recumbirostran Tambaroter carrolli. However, there is also the documented presence of an undescribed recumbirostran ‘microsaur’ at the well-known Bromacker locality. The Bromacker locality is highly recognized and best known for its very diverse and extremely well-preserved terrestrial tetrapod assemblage combined with the co-occurrence of an exceptional vertebrate ichnofossil record. Here we describe a second new recumbirostran taxon from the Tambach Formation, which is also the first from the Bromacker locality itself. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the new taxon, Bromerpeton subcolossus gen. et sp. nov., is a brachystelechid recumbirostran, a group also known elsewhere in Germany. The following features differentiate Bromerpeton from the other members of the clade: the presence of 13 maxillary teeth, narrow postorbitals that do not substantially contribute to the postorbital region of the skull, the frontal does not contribute to the orbital margin, and the presence of five manual digits. This new recumbirostran ‘microsaur’ further adds to the unique ecosystem that is preserved at the Bromacker locality, granting us a better understanding of what was living underfoot the larger more well-known animals at the locality. Likewise, it expands our understanding of the evolution of recumbirostran ‘microsaurs’, especially with regards to digit and limb reduction within the clade.
A modified shuffled frog leaping algorithm with inertia weight
Authors: Zhao Zhuanzhe , Wang Mengxian , Liu Yongming , Chen Yu , He Kang , Liu Zhibo 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) is a promising metaheuristic bionics algorithm, which has been designed by the shuffled complex evolution and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) framework. However, it is easily trapped into local optimum and has the low optimization accuracy when it is used to optimize complex engineering problems. To overcome the shortcomings, a novel modified shuffled frog leaping algorithm (MSFLA) with inertia weight is proposed in this paper. To extend the scope of the direction and length of the updated worst frog (vector) of the original SFLA, the inertia weight α was introduced and its meaning and range of the new parameters are fully explained. Then the convergence of the MSFLA is deeply analyzed and proved theoretically by a new dynamic equation formed by Z-transform. Finally, we have compared the solution of the 7 benchmark functions with the original SFLA, other improved SFLAs, genetic algorithm, PSO, artificial bee colony algorithm, and the grasshopper optimization algorithm with invasive weed optimization. The testing results showed that the modified algorithms can effectively improve the solution accuracy and convergence property, and exhibited an excellent ability of global optimization in high-dimensional space and complex function problems.
Pediatric diabetes prediction using deep learning
Authors: El-Bashbishy Abeer El-Sayyid , El-Bakry Hazem M. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis study proposed a novel technique for early diabetes prediction with high accuracy. Recently, Deep Learning (DL) has been proven to be expeditious in the diagnosis of diabetes. The supported model is constructed by implementing ten hidden layers and a multitude of epochs using the Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based multi-layer perceptron (MLP) algorithm. We proceeded to meticulously fine-tune the hyperparameters within the fully automated DL architecture to optimize data preprocessing, prediction, and classification using a novel dataset of Mansoura University Children's Hospital Diabetes (MUCHD), which allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the system’s performance. The system was validated and tested using a sample of 548 patients, each with 18 significant features. Various validation metrics were employed to ensure the reliability of the results using cross-validation approaches with various statistical measures of accuracy, F-score, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and Dice similarity coefficient. The high performance of the proposed system can help clinicians accurately diagnose diabetes, with a remarkable accuracy rate of 99.8%. According to our analysis, implementing this method results in a noteworthy increase of 0.39% in the overall system performance compared to the current state-of-the-art methods. Therefore, we recommend using this method to predict diabetes.