bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Insights into the use of polyepichlorohydrin polymer in lithium battery energy storage/conversion devices: review
Authors: Amogne Negese Yazie , Ayele Delele Worku , Habtu Nigus Gabbiye , Thothadri Ganesh , Dagnew Mehary 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
In this paper, the up-to-date state of polyepichlorohydrin-based electrolytes is reviewed. Research works are persistently ongoing to develop free-standing solid polymer electrolytes with exceptional performances and stabilities that can suit the needs of present and next-generation technologies. Polyepichlorohydrin (PECH), for example, is one of the polymer hosts under consideration due to its ether electron donor groups that deliver coordinating spots for cation transport as well as alkyl chloride groups for changing its surface character. Because of this structure, PECH has certain incredible characteristics including small glass transition temperature (Tg), tremendous flexibility, as well as the power to form complexation with diverse salts. Furthermore, the alkyl chloride groups serve as a location for surface modification of the polymer via nucleophilic substitution reactions, resulting in surface changes or bulk properties. As a result, the PECH in chemically modified or pristine form is an emerging option that has been researched and is being considered for use in energy storage devices. This paper reviews the latest studies on the improvements of PECH-based electrolytes for lithium-based battery storage systems. The synthesis methods of PECH polymer, types of lithium batteries, and opportunities and challenges of lithium batteries have been presented briefly. Findings on PECH-based electrolytes have been presented and discussed thoroughly. Lastly, the paper presents, battery performance needs, and cation transportation mechanisms as well as future prospects for the advancement of PECH electrolytes in the field of storage systems.

Article Highlights

The alkyl chloride groups of polyepichlorohydrin polymer play a significant role in modifying the characteristics of the polymer through chemical reactions.

The inherent characteristics of PECH-based polymers including their amorphousity, glass transition temperature, functionality, and others can be altered via chemical and physical means.

The impressive electrochemical characteristics of PECH-based electrolytes make them a viable option for energy storage/conversion devices applications as electrolytes.
Biochar Amendment in Combination with Endophytic Bacteria Stimulates Photosynthetic Activity and Antioxidant Enzymes to Improve Soybean Yield Under Drought Stress
Authors: Nawaz Fahim , Rafeeq Rashid , Majeed Sadia , Ismail Muhammad Shoaib , Ahsan Muhammad , Ahmad Khawaja Shafique , Akram Ahsan , Haider Ghulam 
Published: December 2022

Abstract
The beneficial effects of biochar (BC) and plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) to increase crop yields under harsh environments have been widely reported. However, the knowledge on the synergistic effects of BC and PGPR to induce drought tolerance in oilseeds is scant. In the present study, the effects of cotton sticks derived BC together with PGPR strains (Paraburkholderia phytofirmans and Bacillus sp.) were examined in water-stressed soybean plants. Initially, the BC application rates (1% and 2%) for soybean were optimized in a pilot experiment (experiment I), and the most effective level (1%) was selected for further studies together with PGPR in the second experiment. The soybean plants were raised in pots under semi-controlled conditions and were subjected to drought stress (25–30% water holding capacity) at pod formation stage. In comparison with control, the drought-mediated decrease in photosynthetic pigments and gas exchange characteristics was markedly lower in BC and PGPR-treated plants. However, the maximum increase in photosynthetic (12–30%) and the enzymatic antioxidant activities (5–20%) was recorded in plants treated with BC + P. phytofirmans, whereas no further significant increase was observed in plants treated with combined BC and Bacillus sp. under water deficit conditions. Similarly, the combined BC and P. phytofirmans application considerably increased the grain yield (14%) under drought stress conditions. We conclude that the combined application of BC + P. phytofirmans could be utilized as an effective strategy to improve soybean yield in dry arid regions.
Urbanization diseconomies in China: roles of temporary migrant workers in foreign direct investment location
Authors: Huang Hao 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThis paper investigates whether temporary migrant workers still attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in China nowadays after they played a strong magnet role for FDI in the last century. This paper tests the hypothesis that foreign firms reduce investments to avoid urbanization diseconomies from temporary migrants when China is experiencing rapid urbanization in the 2000s, with the urbanization rate raised from 36% in 2000 to 59% in 2017. This research employs spatial statistics and analyses to examine the change in the spatial inequality of temporal migrant workers and FDI. This research also uses regression models to investigate whether temporary migrant workers still attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in China nowadays. Temporary migrants are increasingly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Bohai Rim Region of the eastern region, and Chengdu in the western region. The results indicate that a one-person increase in temporary migrant workers is associated with 259 dollars decrease in FDI, suggesting that FDI might reduce with increased migrants to avoid urbanization diseconomies from these cities, helping policymakers develop urbanization and migration policies to optimize labor allocation and promote industrial upgrading, developing peripheral cities.
Competitive Equilibrium Always Exists for Combinatorial Auctions with Graphical Pricing Schemes
Authors: Brandenburg Marie-Charlotte , Haase Christian , Tran Ngoc Mai 
Published: December 2022

AbstractWe show that a competitive equilibrium always exists in combinatorial auctions with anonymous graphical valuations and pricing, using discrete geometry. This is an intuitive and easy-to-construct class of valuations that can model both complementarity and substitutes, and to our knowledge, it is the first class besides gross substitutes that have guaranteed competitive equilibrium. We prove through counter-examples that our result is tight, and we give explicit algorithms for constructing competitive pricing vectors. We also give extensions to multi-unit combinatorial auctions (also known as product-mix auctions). Combined with theorems on graphical valuations and pricing equilibrium of Candogan, Ozdagar and Parrilo, our results indicate that quadratic pricing is a highly practical method to run combinatorial auctions.
Impact of high temperature on PV productivity in hot desert climates
Authors: Hashim Samah M. , Hassan Rayan I. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractHot dry climate regions enjoy high solar irradiation, albeit with high ambient temperatures. These two factors have a contradictory effect on the power generated from PV systems. This work studies the combined effect of high ambient temperature and high irradiation on the net performance of PV systems. The study is based on monitoring a grid-connected 5 kW PV system installed on the rooftop of the Energy Research Center of the University of Khartoum, Sudan. The performance was monitored by meteorological and power measurement equipment from April 2017 to March 2018. The results showed stable power output from the PV system with an average final yield of 4.57 kWh/kWp and a 0.21 standard deviation from this average value. The stability in power output is due to the compensation of the efficiency degradation due to high temperature by high irradiation in summer. This is combined with the relatively low irradiation in winter compensated by the low temperature effect in winter. The annual deviation of the temperature and irradiation is small in Khartoum due to its proximity to the equator. The semi desert climate, offers Khartoum notably few annual cloudy hours. These characteristics were compared with the annual performance of other countries with different climates. The conclusion from this work on hot dry regions is that despite the negative effect of temperature, the annual output power from the system tends to be stable due to the substitution contributed by the regionally high radiation and the relatively cool winter climate.
A Discrete Elements Study of the Frictional Behavior of Fault Gouges
Authors: Papachristos E. , Stefanou I. , Sulem J. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractA series of discrete elements simulations is presented for the study of fault gouges' frictional response. The gouge is considered to have previously undergone ultra‐cataclastic flow and long‐time consolidation loading. We explore the effect of different particle characteristics such as size, polydispersity, and also shearing velocities on gouge's response under the conditions met in the seismogenic zone. Monte‐Carlo analyses suggest that the local stick‐slip events disappear when averaging over a large number of numerical samples. Moreover, the apparent material frictional response remains almost unaffected by the spatial randomness of particles' position and by the particle's size distribution. On the contrary, the mean particle size controls the formation and thickness of the observed shear bands, which appear after the peak friction is met. Furthermore, the apparent friction evolution fits well to an exponential decay law with slip, which involves a particle size dependent critical slip distance. For the studied conditions and depth, the shearing velocity is found to play a secondary role on the apparent frictional response of the gouge, which highlights the importance of analyses involving multiphysics for studying the rheology of fault gouges. Besides improving the understanding of the underlying physics of the problem, the above findings are also useful for deriving pertinent constitutive models in the case of modeling with continuum theories.
Mixed Signals From the Stable Isotope Composition of Precipitation and Plant Waxes in the Northern Tropical Andes
Authors: Pérez‐Angel Lina C. , Sepúlveda Julio , Montes Camilo , Smith Jamila J. , Molnar Peter , González‐Arango Catalina , Snell Kathryn E. , Dildar Nadia 
Published: December 2022

AbstractWe evaluate the efficacy of the stable isotope composition of precipitation and plant waxes as proxies for paleoaltimetry and paleohydrology in the northern tropical Andes. We report monthly hydrogen (δ2Hp) and oxygen (δ18Op) isotope values of precipitation for an annual cycle, and hydrogen isotope values of plant waxes (δ2Hwax) obtained from modern soils along the eastern and western flanks of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. δ2Hp, δ18Op, as well as the unweighted mean δ2Hwax values of n‐C29, n‐C31, and n‐C33 n‐alkanes in the eastern flank show a dependence on elevation (R2 = 0.90, 0.82, and 0.65, respectively). In stark contrast, the stable isotope compositions of neither precipitation nor plant waxes from the western flank correlate with elevation (R2 < 0.23), on top of a negligible (p‐value >0.05) correlation between δ2Hwax and δ2Hp. In general, δ2Hwax values along the eastern flank of the Eastern Cordillera seem to follow the trend of a simple Rayleigh distillation process that is consistent with studies elsewhere on the eastern side of the Andes in South America. Neither δ2Hp nor δ18Op, and therefore δ2Hwax, offer reliable estimates of past elevations in the western flank, due perhaps to water vapor source mixing, evaporation overprint, contrasting plant communities, and/or differences in evapotranspiration. Thus, δ2Hwax is only reliable for paleohydrology and paleoaltimetry reconstructions on the eastern flank of the Andes, whereas interpretations based on δ2Hp and/or δ18Op west of the highest point of the Eastern Cordillera need to consider mixing of moisture sources in addition to precipitation amount.
Data-driven discovery of dimensionless numbers and governing laws from scarce measurements
Authors: Xie Xiaoyu , Samaei Arash , Guo Jiachen , Liu Wing Kam , Gan Zhengtao 
Published: December 2022

AbstractDimensionless numbers and scaling laws provide elegant insights into the characteristic properties of physical systems. Classical dimensional analysis and similitude theory fail to identify a set of unique dimensionless numbers for a highly multi-variable system with incomplete governing equations. This paper introduces a mechanistic data-driven approach that embeds the principle of dimensional invariance into a two-level machine learning scheme to automatically discover dominant dimensionless numbers and governing laws (including scaling laws and differential equations) from scarce measurement data. The proposed methodology, called dimensionless learning, is a physics-based dimension reduction technique. It can reduce high-dimensional parameter spaces to descriptions involving only a few physically interpretable dimensionless parameters, greatly simplifying complex process design and system optimization. We demonstrate the algorithm by solving several challenging engineering problems with noisy experimental measurements (not synthetic data) collected from the literature. Examples include turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection, vapor depression dynamics in laser melting of metals, and porosity formation in 3D printing. Lastly, we show that the proposed approach can identify dimensionally homogeneous differential equations with dimensionless number(s) by leveraging sparsity-promoting techniques.
Slowest possible replicative life at frigid temperatures for yeast
Authors: Laman Trip Diederik S. , Maire Théo , Youk Hyun 
Published: December 2022

AbstractDetermining whether life can progress arbitrarily slowly may reveal fundamental barriers to staying out of thermal equilibrium for living systems. By monitoring budding yeast’s slowed-down life at frigid temperatures and with modeling, we establish that Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and a global gene-expression speed quantitatively determine yeast’s pace of life and impose temperature-dependent speed limits - shortest and longest possible cell-doubling times. Increasing cells’ ROS concentration increases their doubling time by elongating the cell-growth (G1-phase) duration that precedes the cell-replication (S-G2-M) phase. Gene-expression speed constrains cells’ ROS-reducing rate and sets the shortest possible doubling-time. To replicate, cells require below-threshold concentrations of ROS. Thus, cells with sufficiently abundant ROS remain in G1, become unsustainably large and, consequently, burst. Therefore, at a given temperature, yeast’s replicative life cannot progress arbitrarily slowly and cells with the lowest ROS-levels replicate most rapidly. Fundamental barriers may constrain the thermal slowing of other organisms’ lives.
An RNA sponge controls quorum sensing dynamics and biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae
Authors: Huber Michaela , Lippegaus Anne , Melamed Sahar , Siemers Malte , Wucher Benjamin R. , Hoyos Mona , Nadell Carey , Storz Gisela , Papenfort Kai 
Published: December 2022

AbstractSmall regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) acting in concert with the RNA chaperone Hfq are prevalent in many bacteria and typically act by base-pairing with multiple target transcripts. In the human pathogenVibrio cholerae, sRNAs play roles in various processes including antibiotic tolerance, competence, and quorum sensing (QS). Here, we use RIL-seq (RNA-interaction-by-ligation-and-sequencing) to identify Hfq-interacting sRNAs and their targets inV. cholerae. We find hundreds of sRNA-mRNA interactions, as well as RNA duplexes formed between two sRNA regulators. Further analysis of these duplexes identifies an RNA sponge, termed QrrX, that base-pairs with and inactivates the Qrr1-4 sRNAs, which are known to modulate the QS pathway. Transcription ofqrrXis activated by QrrT, a previously uncharacterized LysR-type transcriptional regulator. Our results indicate that QrrX and QrrT are required for rapid conversion from individual to community behaviours inV. cholerae.
Neural precursor cells tune striatal connectivity through the release of IGFBPL1
Authors: Butti Erica , Cattaneo Stefano , Bacigaluppi Marco , Cambiaghi Marco , Scotti Giulia Maria , Brambilla Elena , Ruffini Francesca , Sferruzza Giacomo , Ripamonti Maddalena , Simeoni Fabio , Cacciaguerra Laura , Zanghì Aurora , Quattrini Angelo , Fesce Riccardo , Panina-Bordignon Paola , Giannese Francesca , Cittaro Davide , Kuhlmann Tanja , D’Adamo Patrizia , Rocca Maria Assunta , Taverna Stefano , Martino Gianvito 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe adult brain retains over life endogenous neural stem/precursor cells (eNPCs) within the subventricular zone (SVZ). Whether or not these cells exert physiological functions is still unclear. In the present work, we provide evidence that SVZ-eNPCs tune structural, electrophysiological, and behavioural aspects of striatal function via secretion of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-like 1 (IGFBPL1). In mice, selective ablation of SVZ-eNPCs or selective abrogation of IGFBPL1 determined an impairment of striatal medium spiny neuron morphology, a higher failure rate in GABAergic transmission mediated by fast-spiking interneurons, and striatum-related behavioural dysfunctions. We also found IGFBPL1 expression in the human SVZ, foetal and induced-pluripotent stem cell-derived NPCs. Finally, we found a significant correlation between SVZ damage, reduction of striatum volume, and impairment of information processing speed in neurological patients. Our results highlight the physiological role of adult SVZ-eNPCs in supporting cognitive functions by regulating striatal neuronal activity.
Interplay of defect levels and rare earth emission centers in multimode luminescent phosphors
Authors: Zhou Xinquan , Ning Lixin , Qiao Jianwei , Zhao Yifei , Xiong Puxian , Xia Zhiguo 
Published: December 2022

AbstractMultimode luminescence generally involves tunable photon emissions in response to various excitation or stimuli channels, which demonstrates high coding capacity and confidentiality abilities for anti-counterfeiting and encryption technologies. Integrating multimode luminescence into a single stable material is a promising strategy but remains a challenge. Here, we realize distinct long persistent luminescence, short-lived down/upconversion emissions in NaGdTi2O6:Pr3+, Er3+ phosphor by emloying interplay of defect levels and rare earth emission centers. The materials show intense colorful luminescence statically and dynamically, which responds to a wide spectrum ranging from X-ray to sunlight, thermal disturbance, and mechanical force, further allowing the emission colors manipulable in space and time dimensions. Experimental and theoretical approaches reveal that the Pr3+ ↔ Pr4+ valence change, oxygen vacancies and anti-site TiGd defects in this disordered structure contributes to the multimode luminescence. We present a facile and nondestructive demo whose emission color and fade intensity can be controlled via external manipulation, indicating promise in high-capacity information encryption applications.
Dysregulated thrombospondin 1 and miRNA-29a-3p in severe COVID-19
Authors: Kim In Soo , Lee Sung-Gwon , Shin Seul Gi , Jeong Hyeongseok , Sohn Kyung Mok , Park Ki-Sun , Silwal Prashanta , Cheon Shinhye , Kim Jungok , Kym Sungmin , Kim Yeon-Sook , Jo Eun-Kyeong , Park Chungoo 
Published: December 2022

AbstractAlthough nearly a fifth of symptomatic COVID-19 patients suffers from severe pulmonary inflammation, the mechanism of developing severe illness is not yet fully understood. To identify significantly altered genes in severe COVID-19, we generated messenger RNA and micro-RNA profiling data of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from five COVID-19 patients (2 severe and 3 mild patients) and three healthy controls (HC). For further evaluation, two publicly available RNA-Seq datasets (GSE157103 and GSE152418) and one single-cell RNA-Seq dataset (GSE174072) were employed. Based on RNA-Seq datasets, thrombospondin 1 (THBS1) and interleukin-17 receptor A (IL17RA) were significantly upregulated in severe COVID-19 patients’ blood. From single-cell RNA-sequencing data, IL17RA level is increased in monocytes and neutrophils, whereas THBS1 level is mainly increased in the platelets. Moreover, we identified three differentially expressed microRNAs in severe COVID-19 using micro-RNA sequencings. Intriguingly, hsa-miR-29a-3p significantly downregulated in severe COVID-19 was predicted to bind the 3′-untranslated regions of both IL17RA and THBS1 mRNAs. Further validation analysis of our cohort (8 HC, 7 severe and 8 mild patients) showed that THBS1, but not IL17RA, was significantly upregulated, whereas hsa-miR-29a-3p was downregulated, in PBMCs from severe patients. These findings strongly suggest that dysregulated expression of THBS1, IL17RA, and hsa-miR-29a-3p involves severe COVID-19.
Repair of postoperative defects of oral cancer with submental island flaps based on vascular pedicles of different states: a multicenter retrospective study
Authors: Zhao Jiuzhou , Zeng Wen , Li Ke , Huang Jing , Tong Michael C. F. , Deng Lifei , Zhang Xiangmin 
Published: December 2022

AbstractSubmental island flap has certain advantages in repairing postoperative defects of oral cancer, and it can often achieve similar or even better effects compared with those of the free tissue flap. In this study, according to the different characteristics of patients and postoperative defects of oral cancer, submental island flaps with different states of vascular pedicle were prepared, and its repair methods, safety, and clinical effects in treating postoperative defects of oral cancer were investigated. 83 patients with oral cancer who met the inclusion criteria were selected. According to the different characteristics of the patients and postoperative defects of oral cancer, the traditional submental island flap vascular pedicle was modified into three different states: submental artery perforator flap, vascular pedicled flap with the anterior belly of digastric muscle but without the submandibular gland (SIF with anterior belly of DM), and vascular pedicled flap with the anterior belly of the digastric muscle and the submandibular gland (SIF with anterior belly of DM and SG). The types of the submental artery and the drainage vein, flap survival, and complications, were observed. The flap was successfully harvested for all patients, and the submental artery could be found or separated for all of them, with the venous drainage to the internal jugular vein in 57 (57/83, 68.67%), to the external jugular vein in 18 (18/83, 21.69%), and to the anterior jugular vein in eight (8/83, 9.64%) cases. Submental artery perforator flap was used for 11 cases, complete necrosis occurred in two cases (2/11, 18.18%), partial necrosis occurred in one case (1/11, 9.09%); SIF with anterior belly of DM was used for 49 cases, complete necrosis occurred in one case (1/49, 2.04%), partial necrosis occurred in four cases (4/49, 8.16%); SIF with anterior belly of DM and SG was used for 23 cases, including chimeric flap combining the submental island flap and the submandibular gland used for 15 cases, there were no cases of complete or partial necrosis. Submental island flap was effective in repairing postoperative defects of oral cancer. Submental island flaps with three different states of vascular pedicle could repair oral cancer-affected tissues with different defect characteristics.