bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Explaining the allocation of legislative specialization
Authors: Ponce Aldo F. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis article explains why there is important variation in the degree of concentration of legislative specialization across legislative parties. Greater concentration of legislative specialization leads parties to concentrate their legislative efforts on a smaller set of policy jurisdictions. Through enhancing their concentration of legislative specialization in certain policy areas, parties might more clearly signal their policy concerns and interests to voters. This study argues and shows that party size alters the concentration of legislative specialization. In particular, I find that a U-shaped curve defines the relationship between party size and the degree of concentration of legislative specialization: niche parties and the largest parties choose higher levels of concentration of legislative specialization.
Pervasive Permafrost Thaw Exacerbates Future Risk of Water Shortage Across the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wang Taihua , Yang Dawen , Yang Yuting , Zheng Guanheng , Jin Huijun , Li Xin , Yao Tandong , Cheng Guodong 
Published: October 2023

AbstractRivers originating from the Tibetan Plateau (TP) provide water to more than 1 billion people living downstream. Almost 40% of the TP is currently underlain by permafrost, which serves as both an ice reserve and a flow barrier and is expected to degrade drastically in a warming climate. The hydrological impacts of permafrost thaw across the TP, however, remain poorly understood. Here, we quantify the permafrost change on the TP over 1980–2100 and evaluate its hydrological impacts using a physically‐based cryospheric‐hydrological model at a high spatial resolution. Using the ensemble mean of 38 models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), the near‐surface permafrost area and the total ground ice storage are projected to decrease by 86.4% and 61.6% during 2020–2100 under a high‐emission scenario, respectively. The lowering of the permafrost table and removal of permafrost as a flow barrier would enhance infiltration and raise subsurface storage capacity. The diminished water supply from ground ice melt and enhanced subsurface storage capacity could jointly reduce annual runoff and lead to exacerbated regional water shortage when facing future droughts. If the most severe 10‐year drought in the historical period occurs again in the future, the annual river runoff will further decrease by 9.7% and 11.3% compared with the historical dry period due to vanishing cryosphere in the source area of Yellow and Yangtze River. Our findings highlight the importance to get prepared for the additional water shortage risks caused by pervasive permafrost thaw in future water resources management across the TP.
Pitch Angle Distributions of Energetic Particles Near Callisto
Authors: Krupp N. , Roussos E. , Fränz M. , Kollmann P. , Paranicas C. , Clark G. , Khurana K. , Galli A. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe Galileo spacecraft performed close flybys of the moon Callisto between 1996 and 2001. We reanalyzed particle data of the energetic particles detector onboard Galileo and derived pitch angle distributions in the energy range of several keV to MeV during Callisto flybys C3, C9, C10, and C30. We establish that field‐aligned beams observed during the flyby periods are more likely to originate from Callisto's magnetospheric interaction rather than by independent magnetospheric processes. These beams are prominent only during flyby C3, they come mainly from the North, and connect the moon and the ionosphere of Jupiter. For short intervals they have also been observed propagating from the South. The beams are regularly unidirectional and typically extend to 300 keV in energy, occasionally reaching above 600 keV. Energetic particle depletions in Callisto's wake during the downstream flybys are not at all obvious, even at low altitudes and in the wake center. The signature of the wake becomes more apparent when energetic particle observations are organized in pitch angle. In that case, pitch angle distribution minima at 90 deg can be discerned in some flybys, however, not always associated with a profound drop in the absolute signal intensity. They instead indicate that field‐aligned particle flux within the wake is higher. Outside the wake these minima continue in an energy‐dependent disturbed region toward Jupiter which seems to be at least partially collocated with Alfvén‐wing structures as predicted from magnetohydrodynamic simulation results or simple flyby geometry considerations.
GaAs-chip-based mid-infrared supercontinuum generation
Authors: Granger Geoffroy , Bailly Myriam , Delahaye Hugo , Jimenez Cristian , Tiliouine Idris , Leventoux Yann , Orlianges Jean-Christophe , Couderc Vincent , Gérard Bruno , Becheker Rezki , Idlahcen Said , Godin Thomas , Hideur Ammar , Grisard Arnaud , Lallier Eric , Février Sébastien 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe mid-infrared spectral region opens up new possibilities for applications such as molecular spectroscopy with high spatial and frequency resolution. For example, the mid-infrared light provided by synchrotron sources has helped for early diagnosis of several pathologies. However, alternative light sources at the table-top scale would enable better access to these state-of-the-art characterizations, eventually speeding up research in biology and medicine. Mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in highly nonlinear waveguides pumped by compact fiber lasers represents an appealing alternative to synchrotrons. Here, we introduce orientation-patterned gallium arsenide waveguides as a new versatile platform for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. Waveguides and fiber-based pump lasers are optimized in tandem to allow for the group velocities of the signal and the idler waves to match near the degeneracy point. This configuration exacerbates supercontinuum generation from 4 to 9 µm when waveguides are pumped at 2750 nm with few-nanojoule energy pulses. The brightness of the novel mid-infrared source exceeds that of the third-generation synchrotron source by a factor of 20. We also show that the nonlinear dynamics is strongly influenced by the choice of waveguide and laser parameters, thus offering an additional degree of freedom in tailoring the spectral profile of the generated light. Such an approach then opens new paths for high-brightness mid-infrared laser sources development for high-resolution spectroscopy and imaging. Furthermore, thanks to the excellent mechanical and thermal properties of the waveguide material, further power scaling seems feasible, allowing for the generation of watt-level ultra-broad frequency combs in the mid-infrared.
Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus viral protein kinase augments cell survival
Authors: Wu Xin-Jun , Zhang Zhigang , Wong Jason P. , Rivera-Soto Ricardo , White Maria C. , Rai Aryan A. , Damania Blossom 
Published: October 2023

AbstractOncogenic viruses have developed various strategies to antagonize cell death and maintain lifelong persistence in their host, a relationship that may contribute to cancer development. Understanding how viruses inhibit cell death is essential for understanding viral oncogenesis. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is associated with three different cancers in the human population, including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), the most common cancer in HIV patients. Previous studies have indicated that the KSHV-encoded viral protein kinase (vPK) impacts many processes dysregulated in tumorigenesis. Here, we report that vPK protects cells from apoptosis mediated by Caspase-3. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) expressing vPK (HUVEC-vPK) have a survival advantage over control HUVEC under conditions of extrinsic- and intrinsic-mediated apoptosis. Abolishing the catalytic activity of vPK attenuated this survival advantage. We found that KSHV vPK-expressing HUVECs exhibited increased activation of cellular AKT kinase, a cell survival kinase, compared to control cells without vPK. In addition, we report that vPK directly binds the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of AKT1 but not AKT2 or AKT3. Treatment of HUVEC-vPK cells with a pan-AKT inhibitor Miransertib (ARQ 092) reduced the overall phosphorylation of AKT, resulting in the cleavage of Caspase-3 and the induction of apoptosis. Furthermore, vPK expression activated VEGF/VEGFR2 in HUVECs and promoted angiogenesis through the AKT pathway. vPK expression also inhibited the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that vPK’s ability to augment cell survival and promote angiogenesis is critically dependent on AKT signaling, which is relevant for future therapies for treating KSHV-associated cancers.
MacroH2A1.1 as a crossroad between epigenetics, inflammation and metabolism of mesenchymal stromal cells in myelodysplastic syndromes
Authors: Giallongo C. , Dulcamare I. , Giallongo S. , Duminuco A. , Pieragostino D. , Cufaro M. C. , Amorini A. M. , Lazzarino G. , Romano A. , Parrinello N. , Di Rosa M. , Broggi G. , Caltabiano R. , Caraglia M. , Scrima M. , Pasquale L. S. , Tathode M. S. , Li Volti G. , Motterlini R. , Di Raimondo F. , Tibullo D. , Palumbo G. A. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractIneffective hematopoiesis is a hallmark of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Hematopoietic alterations in MDS patients strictly correlate with microenvironment dysfunctions, eventually affecting also the mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) compartment. Stromal cells are indeed epigenetically reprogrammed to cooperate with leukemic cells and propagate the disease as “tumor unit”; therefore, changes in MSC epigenetic profile might contribute to the hematopoietic perturbations typical of MDS. Here, we unveil that the histone variant macroH2A1 (mH2A1) regulates the crosstalk between epigenetics and inflammation in MDS-MSCs, potentially affecting their hematopoietic support ability. We show that the mH2A1 splicing isoform mH2A1.1 accumulates in MDS-MSCs, correlating with the expression of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an important pro-tumor activator of MSC phenotype associated to a pro-inflammatory behavior. MH2A1.1-TLR4 axis was further investigated in HS-5 stromal cells after ectopic mH2A1.1 overexpression (mH2A1.1-OE). Proteomic data confirmed the activation of a pro-inflammatory signature associated to TLR4 and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) activation. Moreover, mH2A1.1-OE proteomic profile identified several upregulated proteins associated to DNA and histones hypermethylation, including S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, a strong inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase and of the methyl donor S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM). HPLC analysis confirmed higher SAM/SAH ratio along with a metabolic reprogramming. Interestingly, an increased LDHA nuclear localization was detected both in mH2A1.1-OE cells and MDS-MSCs, probably depending on MSC inflammatory phenotype. Finally, coculturing healthy mH2A1.1-OE MSCs with CD34+cells, we found a significant reduction in the number of CD34+cells, which was reflected in a decreased number of colony forming units (CFU-Cs). These results suggest a key role of mH2A1.1 in driving the crosstalk between epigenetic signaling, inflammation, and cell metabolism networks in MDS-MSCs.
Autonomous self-healing organic crystals for nonlinear optics
Authors: Mondal Saikat , Tanari Pratap , Roy Samrat , Bhunia Surojit , Chowdhury Rituparno , Pal Arun K. , Datta Ayan , Pal Bipul , Reddy C. Malla 
Published: October 2023

AbstractNon-centrosymmetric molecular crystals have a plethora of applications, such as piezoelectric transducers, energy storage and nonlinear optical materials owing to their unique structural order which is absent in other synthetic materials. As most crystals are brittle, their efficiency declines upon prolonged usage due to fatigue or catastrophic failure, limiting their utilities. Some natural substances, like bone, enamel, leaf and skin, function efficiently, last a life-time, thanks to their inherent self-healing nature. Therefore, incorporating self-healing ability in crystalline materials will greatly broaden their scope. Here, we report single crystals of a dibenzoate derivative, capable of self-healing within milliseconds via autonomous actuation. Systematic quantitative experiments reveal the limit of mechanical forces that the self-healing crystals can withstand. As a proof-of-concept, we also demonstrate that our self-healed crystals can retain their second harmonic generation (SHG) with high efficiency. Kinematic analysis of the actuation in our system also revealed its impressive performance parameters, and shows actuation response times in the millisecond range.
Unveiling the spatially confined oxidation processes in reactive electrochemical membranes
Authors: Kang Yuyang , Gu Zhenao , Ma Baiwen , Zhang Wei , Sun Jingqiu , Huang Xiaoyang , Hu Chengzhi , Choi Wonyong , Qu Jiuhui 
Published: October 2023

AbstractElectrocatalytic oxidation offers opportunities for sustainable environmental remediation, but it is often hampered by the slow mass transfer and short lives of electro-generated radicals. Here, we achieve a four times higher kinetic constant (18.9 min−1) for the oxidation of 4-chlorophenol on the reactive electrochemical membrane by reducing the pore size from 105 to 7 μm, with the predominate mechanism shifting from hydroxyl radical oxidation to direct electron transfer. More interestingly, such an enhancement effect is largely dependent on the molecular structure and its sensitivity to the direct electron transfer process. The spatial distributions of reactant and hydroxyl radicals are visualized via multiphysics simulation, revealing the compressed diffusion layer and restricted hydroxyl radical generation in the microchannels. This study demonstrates that both the reaction kinetics and the electron transfer pathway can be effectively regulated by the spatial confinement effect, which sheds light on the design of cost-effective electrochemical platforms for water purification and chemical synthesis.
Reprogramming of cis-regulatory networks during skeletal muscle atrophy in male mice
Authors: Lin Hongchun , Peng Hui , Sun Yuxiang , Si Meijun , Wu Jiao , Wang Yanlin , Thomas Sandhya S. , Sun Zheng , Hu Zhaoyong 
Published: October 2023

AbstractA comprehensive atlas of cis-regulatory elements and their dynamic activity is necessary to understand the transcriptional basis of cellular structure maintenance, metabolism, and responses to the environment. Here we show, using matched single-nucleus chromatin accessibility and RNA-sequencing from juvenile male C57BL6 mice, an atlas of accessible chromatin regions in both normal and denervated skeletal muscles. We identified cell-type-specific cis-regulatory networks, highlighting the dynamic regulatory circuits mediating transitions between myonuclear types. Through comparison of normal and perturbed muscle, we delineated the reprogramming of cis-regulatory networks in response to denervation, described the interplay of promoters/enhancers and target genes. We further unveil a hierarchical structure of transcription factors that delineate a regulatory network in atrophic muscle, identifying ELK4 as a key atrophy-related transcription factor that instigates muscle atrophy through TGF-β1 regulation. This study furnishes a rich genomic resource, essential for decoding the regulatory dynamics of skeletal muscle in both physiological and pathological states.
A DEAD-box helicase drives the partitioning of a pro-differentiation NAB protein into nuclear foci
Authors: Doi Akiko , Suarez Gianmarco D. , Droste Rita , Horvitz H. Robert 
Published: October 2023

AbstractHow cells regulate gene expression in a precise spatiotemporal manner during organismal development is a fundamental question in biology. Although the role of transcriptional condensates in gene regulation has been established, little is known about the function and regulation of these molecular assemblies in the context of animal development and physiology. Here we show that the evolutionarily conserved DEAD-box helicase DDX-23 controls cell fate inCaenorhabditis elegansby binding to and facilitating the condensation of MAB-10, theC. eleganshomolog of mammalian NGFI-A-binding (NAB) protein. MAB-10 is a transcriptional cofactor that functions with the early growth response (EGR) protein LIN-29 to regulate the transcription of genes required for exiting the cell cycle, terminal differentiation, and the larval-to-adult transition. We suggest that DEAD-box helicase proteins function more generally during animal development to control the condensation of NAB proteins important in cell identity and that this mechanism is evolutionarily conserved. In mammals, such a mechanism might underlie terminal cell differentiation and when dysregulated might promote cancerous growth.
Non-invasive current collectors for improved current-density distribution during CO2 electrolysis on super-hydrophobic electrodes
Authors: Iglesias van Montfort Hugo-Pieter , Li Mengran , Irtem Erdem , Abdinejad Maryam , Wu Yuming , Pal Santosh K. , Sassenburg Mark , Ripepi Davide , Subramanian Siddhartha , Biemolt Jasper , Rufford Thomas E. , Burdyny Thomas 
Published: October 2023

AbstractElectrochemical reduction of CO2 presents an attractive way to store renewable energy in chemical bonds in a potentially carbon-neutral way. However, the available electrolyzers suffer from intrinsic problems, like flooding and salt accumulation, that must be overcome to industrialize the technology. To mitigate flooding and salt precipitation issues, researchers have used super-hydrophobic electrodes based on either expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) gas-diffusion layers (GDL’s), or carbon-based GDL’s with added PTFE. While the PTFE backbone is highly resistant to flooding, the non-conductive nature of PTFE means that without additional current collection the catalyst layer itself is responsible for electron-dispersion, which penalizes system efficiency and stability. In this work, we present operando results that illustrate that the current distribution and electrical potential distribution is far from a uniform distribution in thin catalyst layers (~50 nm) deposited onto ePTFE GDL’s. We then compare the effects of thicker catalyst layers (~500 nm) and a newly developed non-invasive current collector (NICC). The NICC can maintain more uniform current distributions with 10-fold thinner catalyst layers while improving stability towards ethylene (≥ 30%) by approximately two-fold.
Exploring the evidence of Middle Amazonian aquifer sedimentary outburst residues in a Martian chaotic terrain
Authors: Rodriguez J. Alexis P. , Wilhelm Mary Beth , Travis Bryan , Kargel Jeffrey S. , Zarroca Mario , Berman Daniel C. , Cohen Jacob , Baker Victor , Lopez Anthony , Buckner Denise 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
﻿The quest for past Martian life hinges on locating surface formations linked to ancient habitability. While Mars' surface is considered to have become cryogenic ~3.7 Ga, stable subsurface aquifers persisted long after this transition. Their extensive collapse triggered megafloods ~3.4 Ga, and the resulting outflow channel excavation generated voluminous sediment eroded from the highlands. These materials are considered to have extensively covered the northern lowlands. Here, we show evidence that a lacustrine sedimentary residue within Hydraotes Chaos formed due to regional aquifer upwelling and ponding into an interior basin. Unlike the northern lowland counterparts, its sedimentary makeup likely consists of aquifer-expelled materials, offering a potential window into the nature of Mars' subsurface habitability. Furthermore, the lake’s residue’s estimated age is ~1.1 Ga (~2.3 Ga post-peak aquifer drainage during the Late Hesperian), enhancing the prospects for organic matter preservation. This deposit’s inferred fine-grained composition, coupled with the presence of coexisting mud volcanoes and diapirs, suggest that its source aquifer existed within abundant subsurface mudstones, water ice, and evaporites, forming part of the region’s extremely ancient (~ 4 Ga) highland stratigraphy. Our numerical models suggest that magmatically induced phase segregation within these materials generated enormous water-filled chambers. The meltwater, originating from varying thermally affected mudstone depths, could have potentially harbored diverse biosignatures, which could have become concentrated within the lake’s sedimentary residue. Thus, we propose that Hydraotes Chaos merits priority consideration in future missions aiming to detect Martian biosignatures.
Screening obstructive sleep apnea patients via deep learning of knowledge distillation in the lateral cephalogram
Authors: Kim Min-Jung , Jeong Jiheon , Lee Jung-Wook , Kim In-Hwan , Park Jae-Woo , Roh Jae-Yon , Kim Namkug , Kim Su-Jung 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe lateral cephalogram in orthodontics is a valuable screening tool on undetected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which can lead to consequences of severe systematic disease. We hypothesized that a deep learning-based classifier might be able to differentiate OSA as anatomical features in lateral cephalogram. Moreover, since the imaging devices used by each hospital could be different, there is a need to overcome modality difference of radiography. Therefore, we proposed a deep learning model with knowledge distillation to classify patients into OSA and non-OSA groups using the lateral cephalogram and to overcome modality differences simultaneously. Lateral cephalograms of 500 OSA patients and 498 non-OSA patients from two different devices were included. ResNet-50 and ResNet-50 with a feature-based knowledge distillation models were trained and their performances of classification were compared. Through the knowledge distillation, area under receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and gradient-weighted class activation mapping of knowledge distillation model exhibits high performance without being deceived by features caused by modality differences. By checking the probability values predicting OSA, an improvement in overcoming the modality differences was observed, which could be applied in the actual clinical situation.
Synthesis, characterization and application of oligomeric proanthocyanidin-rich dual network hydrogels
Authors: Song Jie , Zhang Shuyu , Du Liuping , Gao Chong , Xie Longyue , Shi Yu , Su Ling , Ma Yanli , Ren Shixue 
Published: October 2023

AbstractA structurally dense hydrogel, with strong hydrogen bonding networks, was formed from poly(vinyl alcohol), sodium alginate, and oligomeric proanthocyanidins, using a combination of freeze–thaw cycles and calcium ion cross-linking. The structure of the hydrogel was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Mechanical testing and thermogravimetric analysis showed that incorporation of proanthocyanidins enhanced both the mechanical properties and the thermal stability of the hydrogel. The hydrogel was also demonstrated to have excellent ultraviolet resistance and antioxidant properties. The hydrogel was further shown that this hydrogel is also capable of generating electrochemical reactions, which strongly suggests that this hydrogel has exciting potential in many fields.