bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Phase‐Field Simulations of Epitaxial Crystal Growth in Open Fractures With Reactive Lateral Flow
Authors: Späth Michael , Selzer Michael , Busch Benjamin , Schneider Daniel , Hilgers Christoph , Urai Janos L. , Nestler Britta 
Published: July 2023

AbstractFluid flow in fracture porosity in the Earth's crust is in general accompanied by crystallization or dissolution depending on the state of saturation. The evolution of the microstructure in turn affects the transport and mechanical properties of the rock, but the understanding of this coupled system is incomplete. Here, we aim to simulate spatio‐temporal observations of laboratory experiments at the grain scale (using potash alumn), where crystals grow in a fracture during reactive flow, and show a varying growth rate along the fracture due to saturation differences. We use a multiphase‐field modeling approach, where reactive fluid flow and crystal growth is computed and couple the chemical driving force for grain growth to the local saturation state of the fluid. The supersaturation of the fluid is characterized by a concentration field which is advected by fluid flow and in turn affects the crystal growth with anisotropic growth kinetics. The simulations exhibit good agreement with the experimental results, providing the basis for upscaling our results to larger scale computations of combined multi‐physical processes in fractured porous media for applications as groundwater protection, geothermal, and hydrocarbon reservoir prediction, water recovery, or storing H2 or CO2 in the subsurface.
Maternal aging increases offspring adult body size via transmission of donut-shaped mitochondria
Authors: Zhang Runshuai , Fang Jinan , Qi Ting , Zhu Shihao , Yao Luxia , Fang Guicun , Li Yunsheng , Zang Xiao , Xu Weina , Hao Wanyu , Liu Shouye , Yang Dan , Chen Di , Yang Jian , Ma Xianjue , Wu Lianfeng 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMaternal age at childbearing has continued to increase in recent decades. However, whether and how it influences offspring adult traits are largely unknown. Here, using adult body size as the primary readout, we reveal that maternal rather than paternal age has an evolutionarily conserved effect on offspring adult traits in humans,Drosophila, andCaenorhabditis elegans. Elucidating the mechanisms of such effects in humans and other long-lived animals remains challenging due to their long life course and difficulties in conducting in vivo studies. We thus employ the short-lived and genetically tractable nematodeC. elegansto explore the mechanisms underlying the regulation of offspring adult trait by maternal aging. By microscopic analysis, we find that old worms transmit aged mitochondria with a donut-like shape to offspring. These mitochondria are rejuvenated in the offspring’s early life, with their morphology fully restored before adulthood in an AMPK-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that early-life mitochondrial dysfunction activates AMPK, which in turn not only alleviates mitochondrial abnormalities but also activates TGFβ signaling to increase offspring adult size. Together, our findings provide mechanistic insight into the ancient role of maternal aging in shaping the traits of adult offspring.
A fully coupled Hydraulic Mechanical Chemical approach applied to cementitious material damage due to carbonation
Authors: Socié Adrien , Seigneur Nicolas , Bary Benoît , Poyet Stéphane , Touzé Gaëtan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractCoupled Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) approaches may be important for assessing the long-term durability of cementitious materials. We present a multiphysics approach to overcome past limitations of THMC modelling and validate it based on experimental results of accelerated carbonation tests. Our numerical approach rests on a sequential coupling between Hytec and Cast3m. Hytec computes the evolution of hydraulic and mineralogical fields allowing to compute the micromechanical properties (e.g. Young’s modulus). The mineral reactions generate tensile stresses and Cast3M computes the associated strain tensors and the damage evolution represented by the opening or sealing of cracks, impacting subsequent reactive transport processes. Our approach manages to qualitatively represent the crack patterns and non-uniform degradation depths observed on microtomographic images of carbonated cement samples, which can only be explained by the coupled dynamics of chemical and mechanical processes. Our approach can be extended to a wide range of cement-concrete pathologies and contexts.
Mechanistic neutral models show that sampling biases drive the apparent explosion of early tetrapod diversity
Authors: Dunne Emma M. , Thompson Samuel E. D. , Butler Richard J. , Rosindell James , Close Roger A. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractEstimates of deep-time biodiversity typically rely on statistical methods to mitigate the impacts of sampling biases in the fossil record. However, these methods are limited by the spatial and temporal scale of the underlying data. Here we use a spatially explicit mechanistic model, based on neutral theory, to test hypotheses of early tetrapod diversity change during the late Carboniferous and early Permian, critical intervals for the diversification of vertebrate life on land. Our simulations suggest that apparent increases in early tetrapod diversity were not driven by local endemism following the ‘Carboniferous rainforest collapse’. Instead, changes in face-value diversity can be explained by variation in sampling intensity through time. Our results further demonstrate the importance of accounting for sampling biases in analyses of the fossil record and highlight the vast potential of mechanistic models, including neutral models, for testing hypotheses in palaeobiology.
Origins of the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells and design rules for minimized voltage losses
Authors: Wang Yuming , Yu Jianwei , Zhang Rui , Yuan Jun , Hultmark Sandra , Johnson Catherine E. , Gallop Nathaniel P. , Siegmund Bernhard , Qian Deping , Zhang Huotian , Zou Yingping , Kemerink Martijn , Bakulin Artem A. , Müller Christian , Vandewal Koen , Chen Xian-Kai , Gao Feng 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe power conversion efficiency of ternary organic solar cells (TOSCs), consisting of one host binary blend and one guest component, remains limited by large voltage losses. The fundamental understanding of the open-circuit voltage (VOC) in TOSCs is controversial, limiting rational design of the guest component. In this study, we systematically investigate how the guest component affects the radiative and non-radiative related parts of VOC of a series of TOSCs using the detailed balanced principle. We highlight that the thermal population of charge-transfer and local exciton states provided by the guest binary blend (that is, the guest-component-based binary blend) has a significant influence on the non-radiative voltage losses. Ultimately, we provide two design rules for enhancing the VOC in TOSCs: high emission yield for the guest binary blend and similar charge-transfer-state energies for host/guest binary blends; high miscibility of the guest component with the low gap component in the host binary blend.
Enzyme-less nanopore detection of post-translational modifications within long polypeptides
Authors: Martin-Baniandres Pablo , Lan Wei-Hsuan , Board Stephanie , Romero-Ruiz Mercedes , Garcia-Manyes Sergi , Qing Yujia , Bayley Hagan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMeans to analyse cellular proteins and their millions of variants at the single-molecule level would uncover substantial information previously unknown to biology. Nanopore technology, which underpins long-read DNA and RNA sequencing, holds potential for full-length proteoform identification. We use electro-osmosis in an engineered charge-selective nanopore for the non-enzymatic capture, unfolding and translocation of individual polypeptides of more than 1,200 residues. Unlabelled thioredoxin polyproteins undergo transport through the nanopore, with directional co-translocational unfolding occurring unit by unit from either the C or N terminus. Chaotropic reagents at non-denaturing concentrations accelerate the analysis. By monitoring the ionic current flowing through the nanopore, we locate post-translational modifications deep within the polypeptide chains, laying the groundwork for compiling inventories of the proteoforms in cells and tissues.
Single-molecule genome-wide mutation profiles of cell-free DNA for non-invasive detection of cancer
Authors: Bruhm Daniel C. , Mathios Dimitrios , Foda Zachariah H. , Annapragada Akshaya V. , Medina Jamie E. , Adleff Vilmos , Chiao Elaine Jiayuee , Ferreira Leonardo , Cristiano Stephen , White James R. , Mazzilli Sarah A. , Billatos Ehab , Spira Avrum , Zaidi Ali H. , Mueller Jeffrey , Kim Amy K. , Anagnostou Valsamo , Phallen Jillian , Scharpf Robert B. , Velculescu Victor E. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractSomatic mutations are a hallmark of tumorigenesis and may be useful for non-invasive diagnosis of cancer. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing data from 2,511 individuals in the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) study as well as 489 individuals from four prospective cohorts and found distinct regional mutation type-specific frequencies in tissue and cell-free DNA from patients with cancer that were associated with replication timing and other chromatin features. A machine-learning model using genome-wide mutational profiles combined with other features and followed by CT imaging detected >90% of patients with lung cancer, including those with stage I and II disease. The fixed model was validated in an independent cohort, detected patients with cancer earlier than standard approaches and could be used to monitor response to therapy. This approach lays the groundwork for non-invasive cancer detection using genome-wide mutation features that may facilitate cancer screening and monitoring.
24-Hour efficacy of single primary selective laser trabeculoplasty versus latanoprost eye drops for Naïve primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension patients
Authors: Shi Yipeng , Zhang Yan , Sun Wenying , Huang Alex S. , Chen Shuang , Zhang Lixia , Wang Wei , Xie Like , Xie Xiaobin 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThis prospective, observer-masked, randomized clinical trial was conducted between December 2018 and June 2021 at Eye Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. A total of 45 glaucoma patients from Beijing, China, were enrolled in this clinical trial to compare the short-term efficacy of primary single-selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) to 0.005% latanoprost eye drops for the treatment of 24-h intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with newly diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT). Both SLT and latanoprost significantly decreased mean 24-h IOP and peak IOP, although the latanoprost group effect was more potent when compared to the SLT group (both Ps < 0.05). Compared with the SLT group, the latanoprost group had a significant and stable decrease in IOP after treatment. The latanoprost group had a more pronounced reduction in IOP at weeks 4 and 12 (P < 0.05) but had no difference at week 1 (P = 0.097). As a first-line treatment, both SLT and latanoprost eye drops are effective in newly diagnosed POAG and OHT patients. However, the latanoprost eye drops may be better in decreasing mean and peak 24-h IOP and thus controlling 24-h IOP fluctuation compared to SLT.
Structural integrity and healing efficiency study of micro-capsule based composite materials via 1H NMR relaxometry
Authors: Orfanidis S. , Kosarli M. , Karagianni M. , Paipetis A. S. , Papavassiliou G. , Fardis M. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIn this work we present a novel approach utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry to assess the structural stability of microcapsules employed as self-healing agents in advanced aerospace composites both in ambient and harsh environmental conditions. We successfully correlate the amount of the encapsulated self-healing agent with the signal intensity and confirm non-destructively the quantity of the encapsulated self-healing agent mass for the first time in the literature using 1H NMR spin–spin relaxation techniques on urea–formaldehyde (UF) microcapsules of different diameters containing an epoxy healing agent. The amount of self-healing agent is shown to increase by reducing the capsule diameter; however, the reduced shell mass renders the capsules more fragile and prone to failure. Most notably, via NMR experiments conducted during thermal cycling simulating flight conditions, we demonstrate that the microcapsule integrity under thermal fatigue varies according to their size. Especially we experimentally verify that the microcapsules with the most sensitive shells are the 147 nm and 133 nm diameter microcapsules, which are the most commonly used in self-healing systems. Finally, we were able to retrieve the same results using a portable NMR spectrometer developed in-house for in situ microcapsule testing, thus demonstrating the potential of NMR relaxometry as a powerful non-destructive evaluation tool for the microcapsule production line.
Creep in nitroimidazole inhibitory concentration among the Entamoeba histolytica isolates causing amoebic liver abscess and screening of andrographolide as a repurposing drug
Authors: Singh Aradhana , Banerjee Tuhina , Shukla Sunit Kumar , Upadhyay Soumya , Verma Ashish 
Published: July 2023

AbstractInfections by Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) lead to considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and treatment is reliant on a single class of drugs, nitroimidazoles. Treatment failures and intermittent reports of relapse from different parts of world indicate towards development of clinical drug resistance. In the present study, susceptibility testing of clinical isolates of E. histolytica was carried against metronidazole and tinidazole. Additionally, anti-amoebic property of active compounds of Andrographis paniculata was also evaluated. Prevalence of metronidazole resistance gene (nim) in patients attending hospital was also done to get comprehensive insight of present situation of drug resistance in E. histolytica. Mean inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) value of E. histolytica isolates against metronidazole and tinidazole was 20.01 and 16.1 µM respectively. Andrographolide showed minimum mean IC50 value (3.06 µM). Significant percentage inhibition of E. histolytica isolates by andrographolide was seen as compared to metronidazole (p = 0.0495). None of E. histolytica isolates showed presence of nim gene. However, in stool samples from hospital attending population, prevalence of nimE gene was found to be 76.6% (69/90) and 62.2% (56/90) in diarrheal and non-diarrheal samples respectively. Inhibitory concentration of commonly used nitroimidazoles against clinical isolates of E. histolytica are on rise. Percentage inhibition of E. histolytica isolates by andrographolide was significantly higher than control drug metronidazole.
It's Never Too Soon! Comparing Intercultural Learning Outcomes of Undergraduate Students via Face-to-Face and Online Teaching Modalities
Authors: Jaiswal Aparajita , Masters Christi , Jin Lan , Inani Tanvi , Schenkel Annika , Sapkota Muna , Krishnan Lata 
Published: July 2023

Purpose:
Providing culturally responsive care for a diverse patient population is critical for future speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Prior studies have shown gains in intercultural competence (ICC) from study abroad programs, face-to-face classes, and online courses; however, limited studies have investigated differences between face-to-face and online modes of delivery in speech-language pathology and audiology. The purpose of this study was (a) to evaluate whether there are quantitative differences in development of ICC in a direct comparison of a face-to-face and 100% asynchronous online introductory in communication disorders, and (b) to describe participants learning through the structural intercultural learning activities embedded into the course using a qualitative approach.

Method:

The study used a mixed-methods approach collecting both quantitative (Intercultural Development Inventory) and qualitative (final reflection papers) data. Data analysis included
t
tests and clustering analysis of quantitative data and scoring and thematic analysis of qualitative data.

Results:
Results demonstrated statistically significant increases in IDI scores for participants in both the online and face-to-face classes. Qualitative analysis indicated that all participants, regardless of change in score, demonstrated growth in ICC as seen in their comments.

Conclusions:
Overall, structured intercultural learning activities embedded within a course can be an effective means of facilitating intercultural growth in undergraduate participants in both face-to-face and online instructional modalities. Additionally, participants whose quantitative scores declined had similar qualitative comments suggesting intercultural growth in all participants independent of changes in quantitative scores.
The proto-neutron star inner crust in a multi-component plasma approach
Authors: Dinh Thi H. , Fantina A. F. , Gulminelli F. 
Published: July 2023

Context. Proto-neutron stars are born hot, with temperatures exceeding a few times 1010 K. In these conditions, the crust of the proto-neutron star is expected to be made of a Coulomb liquid and composed of an ensemble of different nuclear species.
Aims. In this work, we perform a study of the beta-equilibrated proto-neutron-star crust in the liquid phase in a self-consistent multi-component approach. This also allows us to perform a consistent calculation of the impurity parameter, which is often taken as a free parameter in cooling simulations.
Methods. To this aim, we developed a self-consistent multi-component approach at finite temperature using a compressible liquid-drop description of the ions, with surface parameters adjusted to reproduce experimental masses. The treatment of the ion centre-of-mass motion was included through a translational free-energy term accounting for in-medium effects. The results of the self-consistent calculations of the multi-component plasma are systematically compared with those performed in a perturbative treatment as well as in the one-component plasma approximation.
Results. We show that the inclusion of non-linear mixing terms arising from the ion centre-of-mass motion leads to a breakdown of the ensemble equivalence between the one-component and multi-component approach. Our findings also illustrate that the abundance of light nuclei becomes important and eventually dominates the whole distribution at higher density and temperature in the crust. This is reflected in the impurity parameter, which, in turn, may have a potential impact on neutron-star cooling. For practical application to astrophysical simulations, we also provide a fitting formula for the impurity parameter in the proto-neutron-star inner crust.
Conclusions. Our results obtained within a self-consistent multi-component approach show important differences in the prediction of the proto-neutron-star composition with respect to those obtained with a one-component approximation or a perturbative multi-component approximation, particularly in the deeper region of the crust. This highlights the importance of a full, self-consistent multi-component plasma calculation for reliable predictions of the proto-neutron-star crust composition.
Diffuse emission in microlensed quasars and its implications for accretion-disk physics
Authors: Fian C. , Chelouche D. , Kaspi S. 
Published: July 2023

Aims. We investigate the discrepancy between the predicted size of accretion disks (ADs) in quasars and the observed sizes as deduced from gravitational microlensing studies. Specifically, we aim to understand whether the discrepancy is due to an inadequacy of current AD models or whether it can be accounted for by the contribution of diffuse broad-line region (BLR) emission to the observed continuum signal.
Methods. We employed state-of-the-art emission models for quasars and high-resolution microlensing magnification maps and compared the attributes of their magnification-distribution functions to those obtained for pure Shakura-Sunyaev disk models. We tested the validity of our detailed model predictions by examining their agreement with published microlensing estimates of the half-light radius of the continuum-emitting region in a sample of lensed quasars.
Results. Our findings suggest that the steep disk temperature profiles found by microlensing studies are erroneous as the data are largely affected by the BLR, which does not obey a temperature-wavelength relation. We show with a sample of 12 lenses that the mere contribution of the BLR to the continuum signal is able to account for the deduced overestimation factors as well as the implied size-wavelength relation.
Conclusions. Our study points to a likely solution to the AD size conundrum in lensed quasars, which is related to the interpretation of the observed signals rather than to disk physics. Our findings significantly weaken the tension between AD theory and observations, and suggest that microlensing can provide a new means to probe the hitherto poorly constrained diffuse BLR emission around accreting black holes.
Exploring how unemployment and grandparental support influence reproductive decisions in sub-Saharan African countries: Nigeria in focus
Authors: Imhanrenialena Benedict Ogbemudia , Ebhotemhen Wilson , Ekeoba Anthony Aziegbemin , Ate Andrew Asan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe socioeconomic factors driving the adoption of birth limitation and lengthening birth intervals as fertility control mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa are a subject of debate. There are also arguments over what accounts for the low performance of the adopted fertility control mechanisms, and the break experienced in the fertility transition process. To fill the gaps, the authors work from a life-course perspective and linked data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Population Commission to collect retrospective data from 416 participants. Drawing on the socioeconomic framework, the roles of unemployment and grandparental support in reproductive decisions were tested. Results suggest that the unemployment situation is an underlying mechanism that triggered the adoption of birth control measures in Nigeria. The results also suggest that grandparental support accounts for the slow pace of the fertility transition process. This current study concludes that the unemployment situation pressures parents to reduce the number of childbirth. However, where grandparental support for grandchildren is available, parents tend to have a large family size in line with the pro-natalist nature of Nigerians.