bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobials added to the feed of weaned piglets at two ages improves the molecular expression of intestinal barrier proteins
Authors: Herrera Franco Victor H. , Pardo Carrasco Sandra C. , Parra Suescún Jaime E. 
Published: February 2022

Context Weaning is the most critical period during a pig’s life, because it is a challenge with the change of environment, and the digestive system is not adapted to a solid diet at the time of weaning, favouring the appearance of intestinal disorders, infections and diarrhoea. Aims To quantify the gene abundance of intestinal barrier tight junction proteins in pigs fed diets added with antimicrobials and weaned at two ages. Methods A total of 150 pigs weaned at two ages (21 and 28 days) were distributed into groups: Control Diet 1 (D1-Ctrl) without antimicrobial; Diet 2 (D2-Ant): Ctrl with an antibiotic (bacitracin zinc); Diet 3 (D3-Prob): Ctrl with Bacillus subtilis PB6 (PTA-6737); Diet 4 (D4-OEO): Ctrl with oregano essential oil (OEO; Lippia origanoides); Diet 5 (D5-OA): Ctrl with a mixture of organic acids. On post-weaning Days 1, 15 and 30, pigs were euthanised, and a portion of the jejunum was removed to assess the gene abundance of the intestinal tight junction proteins (occludin-OCLN, zonula occludens-ZO-1 and claudins-CLAU) that were measured by qPCR. Key results The pigs fed the diet with the addition of D3-Prob and D4-OEO showed a higher abundance (P < 0.05) of intestinal barrier tight junction protein genes (CLAU-1, CLAU-4, OCLN, ZO-1) compared with the other diets. This abundance was observed in both piglets weaned early, at 21 days, and later at 28 days of age, where, in addition, a statistically significant difference between weaning ages (P < 0.05) was evidenced in favour of later weaning. Conclusions The addition of probiotics in the growth phase, together with weaning at 28 days of age, have a favourable impact on the intestinal digestive function of pigs, being able to influence morphometric and productive parameters, and serve as a basis for the analysis of molecular research related to intestinal health. Implications This research provides a basis for the use of natural nutritional alternatives, such as probiotic bacteria, as alternatives to growth-promoting antibiotics in the feed of growing pigs; in addition to encouraging a better adaptation of the piglet to the post-weaning phase, through late weaning.
Hiring women into senior leadership positions is associated with a reduction in gender stereotypes in organizational language
Authors: Lawson M. Asher , Martin Ashley E. , Huda Imrul , Matz Sandra C. 
Published: February 2022

SignificanceGender inequality has been deemed the “greatest human rights challenge of our time” by the United Nations, and scholars across numerous disciplines agree that gender stereotypes represent a primary way by which this inequality is maintained. Yet changing stereotypes in a systemic, enduring way is extremely difficult. This is at least in part because stereotypes are transmitted and perpetuated through the language societies and organizations use to describe women, especially those in leadership roles. Here, we show that hiring women into leadership positions is associated with organizations characterizing women in more leadership-congruent, agentic ways. This shift mitigates a critical barrier to women’s progression in organizations and society: the incongruence of what it means to be a woman and a leader.
Rodents monitor their error in self-generated duration on a single trial basis
Authors: Kononowicz Tadeusz Władysław , van Wassenhove Virginie , Doyère Valérie 
Published: February 2022

Significance
Evaluating the richness of representations mapping animals’ experience of time and space is a profound problem in neuroscience. Animals could base their behavior only on recent rewards, but they also could rely on more complex representations of their own behavior. When faced with a deadline, individuals seem to adjust their decision based on the overall knowledge of their performance. We evaluated whether rats monitor the timing of their own actions or adapt only based on recent rewards. Rats accurately reported the magnitude of their timing error in self-generated time intervals. The results show that rats track their own timing errors, deepening our understanding of error-monitoring abilities in rodents and the richness of their representation of elapsed time.
Kupyaphores are zinc homeostatic metallophores required for colonization of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Mehdiratta Kritee , Singh Shubham , Sharma Sachin , Bhosale Rashmi S. , Choudhury Rahul , Masal Dattatraya P. , Manocha Alzu , Dhamale Bhushan Dilip , Khan Naseem , Asokachandran Vivekanand , Sharma Pooja , Ikeh Melanie , Brown Amanda C. , Parish Tanya , Ojha Anil K. , Michael Joy Sarojini , Faruq Mohammed , Medigeshi Guruprasad R. , Mohanty Debasisa , Reddy D. Srinivasa , Natarajan Vivek T. , Kamat Siddhesh S. , Gokhale Rajesh S. 
Published: February 2022

Significance

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(
Mtb
) is the etiological agent of human tuberculosis (TB).
Mtb
can persist inside host macrophages by successfully adapting to intracellular conditions. Acquisition of balanced amounts of essential micronutrients is one such important process. Our studies have identified a metallophore produced on demand to restore
Mtb
zinc metabolic imbalance. These diacyl-diisonitrile lipopeptides, named kupyaphores, are specifically induced during infection and move in and out of cells to protect bacteria from host-mediated nutritional deprivation and intoxication. Furthermore, we identify an
Mtb
isonitrile hydratase homolog
,
expressed in low-zinc conditions, which probably facilitates zinc release from kupyaphores. Identification of this zinc acquisition strategy could provide opportunities in future to understand systemic zinc dysbiosis and associated manifestations in TB patients.
The importance of race, gender, and religion in naturalization adjudication in the United States
Authors: Ryo Emily , Humphrey Reed 
Published: February 2022

SignificanceThis study examines group disparities in naturalization approvals by race/ethnicity, gender, and religion. We find that all else being equal, non-White applicants and Hispanic applicants are less likely to be approved than non-Hispanic White applicants, male applicants are less likely to be approved than female applicants, and applicants from Muslim-majority countries are less likely to be approved than applicants from other countries. In addition, we find that race/ethnicity, gender, and religion combine to produce a certain group hierarchy in terms of approval probabilities. For example, Blacks from Muslim-majority countries are much less likely to be approved than Whites from other countries. These findings underscore the continuing importance of race, gender, and religion in the making of US citizens.
Isotopic filtering reveals high sensitivity of planktic calcifiers to Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum warming and acidification
Authors: Hupp Brittany N. , Kelly D. Clay , Williams John W. 
Published: February 2022

Significance
Human-induced carbon emissions are causing global temperatures to rise and oceans to acidify. To understand how these rapid perturbations affect marine calcifying communities, we investigate a similar event in Earth’s geologic past, the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). We introduce a method, isotopic filtering, to mitigate the time-averaging effects of sediment mixing on deep-sea microfossil records. Contrary to previous studies, we find that tropical planktic foraminifers in the central Pacific ocean were adversely affected by PETM conditions, as evidenced by a decrease in local diversity, extratropical migration, and impaired calcification. While these species survived the PETM through migration to cooler waters, it is unclear whether marine calcifiers can withstand the rapid changes our oceans are experiencing today.
Role of internal loop dynamics in antibiotic permeability of outer membrane porins
Authors: Vasan Archit Kumar , Haloi Nandan , Ulrich Rebecca Joy , Metcalf Mary Elizabeth , Wen Po-Chao , Metcalf William W. , Hergenrother Paul J. , Shukla Diwakar , Tajkhorshid Emad 
Published: February 2022

SignificanceAntibiotic resistance in Gram-negative pathogens has been identified as an urgent threat to human health by the World Health Organization. The major challenge with treating infections by these pathogens is developing antibiotics that can traverse the dense bacterial outer membrane (OM) formed by a mesh of lipopolysaccharides. Effective antibiotics permeate through OM porins, which have evolved for nutrient diffusion; however, the conformational states of these porins regulating permeation are still unclear. Here, we used molecular dynamics simulations, free energy calculations, Markov-state modeling, and whole-cell accumulation assays to provide mechanistic insight on how a porin shifts between open and closed states. We provide a mechanism of how Gram-negative bacteria confer resistance to antibiotics.
Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations
Authors: Belcher Laurence J. , Dewar Anna E. , Ghoul Melanie , West Stuart A. 
Published: February 2022

SignificanceBacteria secrete many molecules outside the cell, where they provide benefits to other cells. One potential reason for producing these “public goods” is that they benefit closely related cells that share the gene for cooperation (kin selection). While many laboratory studies have supported this hypothesis, there is a lack of evidence that kin selection favors cooperation in natural populations. We examined bacterial genomes from the environment and used population genetics theory to analyze the DNA sequences. Our analyses suggest that public goods cooperation has indeed been favored by kin selection in natural populations.
Disentangling the last 1,000 years of human–environment interactions along the eastern side of the southern Andes (34–52°S lat.)
Authors: Nanavati William , Whitlock Cathy , de Porras Maria Eugenia , Gil Adolfo , Navarro Diego , Neme Gustavo 
Published: February 2022

Significance
Understanding how people have shaped landscapes requires detailed information on past changes in climate, vegetation, fire, and land use. The environmental and human history of four sites along the eastern Andes of southern South America (34–52°S) shows the changing influence of people and climate on landscape development over the last millennia. Initially, burning by hunter-gatherers and climate variability shaped forest, shrubland, and grassland mosaics. Widespread alteration of fire regimes and vegetation ∼400 y ago is attributed to increased Native American pastoralism prior to extensive Euro-American settlement. Late-19th century ranching and logging led to broadscale changes in fire activity and vegetation across the region. These high-resolution, landscape-scale reconstructions reveal complex human–environment interactions that are often overlooked in regional-to-global syntheses.
The quadrupole moment of compact binaries to the fourth post-Newtonian order: I. Non-locality in time and infra-red divergencies
Authors: Larrouturou François , Henry Quentin , Blanchet Luc , Faye Guillaume 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
With the aim of providing high accuracy post-Newtonian (PN) templates for the analysis of gravitational waves generated by compact binary systems, we complete the analytical derivation of the source type mass quadrupole moment of compact binaries (without spins) at the fourth PN order of general relativity. Similarly to the case of the conservative 4PN equations of motion, we show that the quadrupole moment at that order contains a non-local (in time) contribution, arising from the tail-transported interaction entering the conservative part of the dynamics. Furthermore, we investigate the infra-red (IR) divergences of the quadrupole moment. In a previous work, this moment has been computed using a Hadamard partie finie procedure for the IR divergences, but the knowledge of the conservative equations of motion indicates that those divergences have to be dealt with by means of dimensional regularization. This work thus derives the difference between the two regularization schemes, which has to be added on top of the previous result. We show that unphysical IR poles start to appear at the 3PN order, and we determine all of these up to the 4PN order. In particular, the non-local tail term comes in along with a specific pole at the 4PN order. It will be proven in a companion paper that the poles in the source-type quadrupole are cancelled in the physical radiative type quadrupole moment measured at future null infinity.
Adhesion enhancement strategy for Parylene C substrate by nanograss technique
Authors: Chen Lang , Xu Han , Li Tingyu , Zhang Meixuan , Han Xiao , Jin Yufeng , Wang Wei 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Parylene C is a commonly used polymer in the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) field because of its excellent barrier property and process compatibility with other microfabrications. Whereas, the poor adhesion of other materials to Parylene C is the urgent challenge that restricts its real applications. This work proposed a strategy to enhance the adhesion between Parylene C or metals and the Parylene C substrate. A short-time oxygen plasma reaction ion etching process with ambient titanium in the etching chamber is introduced between the first layer of Parylene C film deposition (the substrate) and the second Parylene C or metal coatings. Parylene C nanostructures (nanograss) are generated on the substrate because of the oxygen plasma bombarding with sputtered titanium nanoparticles as nanomasks. Different feature sizes of nanograss were successfully obtained by tuning the RF power, oxygen flow rate and etching times. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that both the nanograss density and height (0.61 ± 0.02 μm–0.76 ± 0.03 μm) were positively proportional to the etching time with low RF power (150 W) and oxygen flowrates (60 sscm). Scratch tests are conducted after the second layer of Parylene C or metal coatings to quantitively analyze the adhesion enhancement. The results indicated that the adhesion of both Parylene C and metal on the Parylene C substrate with nanograss structures were enhanced up to around 7 and 15 times, respectively, compared to those on untreated substrates. This nanograss technique-based adhesion enhancement approach is easy-to-realize, robust, chemical-free, precisely controllable, thereby holds promising potentials in various Parylene MEMS applications.
2D materials and heterostructures for photocatalytic water-splitting: a theoretical perspective
Authors: Wang Guangzhao , Chang Junli , Tang Wenyi , Xie Wenjie , Ang Yee Sin 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Photocatalytic water-splitting for hydrogen generation by sunlight provides a new route to address energy and environmental problems. In recent years, tremendous efforts have been devoted to designing highly efficient water-splitting photocatalysts (PCs). Adequate light absorption, effective photogenerated carrier separation, and sufficiently large overpotentials for water redox are crucial in achieving high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency. These parameters thus strongly influence the design of novel photocatalytic materials. Two-dimensional (2D) PCs have flourished because of their large specific surface area ratio, short carrier migration distance compared to bulk PCs, enormous design flexibility via van der Waals heterostructure (HS) engineering and many other unique capabilities that meet the criteria for high-efficiency STH conversion. In this review, we summarize the recent developments of 2D materials and HSs for water-splitting applications from a theoretical perspective. Specifically, we first discuss a number of 2D materials and HSs employed for water-splitting. We review various strategies of material design to modulate and enhance the photocatalytic performance via improving light harvesting and carrier separation, such as the introduction of defects and dopants, and the application of strain, external electric field, rotation angles and ferroelectric switching. We then discuss the methods to evaluate hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction and STH efficiency. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of designing 2D materials and HSs for water-splitting are presented.
On the breakdown process of capacitively coupled plasma in carbon tetrafluoride
Authors: Wu Hao , Chen Zhaoyu , Wang Zhijiang , Rao Bo , Jiang Wei , Zhang Ya 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) in CF4 has been widely used in the semiconductor industry. However, its breakdown process at low pressure has rarely been studied. In this paper, we study the whole CCP breakdown process in CF4 using the 1D implicit particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) method. The detailed evolution of the plasma parameters is given, and both the particle balance and power evolution are discussed. The electron density initially grows exponentially, driven by the penetrating electric field. Both the ionization in the discharge gap and the boundary interaction are significant for electron avalanches. The formation of a sheath maximizes the ionization rate and the heating power, which thoroughly changes the field structure. In the post-breakdown phase, the growing negative ion density shrink the sheaths and changes the heating mode from the α mode to the drift-ambipolar mode. The particle generation rate and heating power show a growth trend after a brief decline. The growth of the recombination rate slowly balances the gain and loss of ions, which finally stabilizes the discharge.
Structure of the ion acceleration region in cylindrical Hall thruster plasmas
Authors: Doh Guentae , Kim Holak , Lee Dongho , Park Sanghoo , Mazouffre Stéphane , Choe Wonho 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
We investigated the structure of the ion acceleration region and the shape of the ion velocity distribution function (IVDF) in cylindrical Hall thruster plasmas, using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy on Xe II metastable ions. On the thruster axis, the acceleration front is located deeper than a half-length of the discharge channel length, and the acceleration region reaches up to 3 times the discharge channel length (several centimeters) away from the channel exit, regardless of the discharge condition. It is noteworthy that ion acceleration mostly (more than 70%) takes place outside the discharge channel. The IVDF is close to a single Gaussian inside the discharge channel. It however becomes substantially asymmetric when moving downstream. Double Gaussian distributions including cold and hot ion groups was in good agreement with the measured ion velocity distributions downstream with an R-squared greater than 0.995.
s-wave superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric W3Al2C superconductor: an NMR study
Authors: Tay D , Shang T , Qi Y P , Ying T P , Hosono H , Ott H-R , Shiroka T 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
We report on a microscopic study of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor W3Al2C (with T
c = 7.6 K), mostly by means of 27Al- and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Since in this material the density of states at the Fermi level is dominated by the tungsten’s 5d orbitals, we expect a sizeable spin–orbit coupling (SOC) effect. The normal-state electronic properties of W3Al2C resemble those of a standard metal, but with a Korringa product 1/(T
1
T) significantly smaller than that of metallic Al, reflecting the marginal role played by s-electrons. In the superconducting state, we observe a reduction of the Knight shift and an exponential decrease of the NMR relaxation rate 1/T
1, typical of s-wave superconductivity (SC). This is further supported by the observation of a small but distinct coherence peak just below T
c in the 13C NMR relaxation-rate, in agreement with the fully-gapped superconducting state inferred from the electronic specific-heat data well below T
c. The above features are compared to those of members of the same family, in particular, Mo3Al2C, often claimed to exhibit unconventional SC. We discuss why, despite the enhanced SOC, W3Al2C does not show spin-triplet features in its superconducting state and consider the broader consequences of our results for noncentrosymmetric superconductors in general.
Best practices for first-principles simulations of epitaxial inorganic interfaces
Authors: Dardzinski Derek , Yu Maituo , Moayedpour Saeed , Marom Noa 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
At an interface between two materials physical properties and functionalities may be achieved, which would not exist in either material alone. Epitaxial inorganic interfaces are at the heart of semiconductor, spintronic, and quantum devices. First principles simulations based on density functional theory (DFT) can help elucidate the electronic and magnetic properties of interfaces and relate them to the structure and composition at the atomistic scale. Furthermore, DFT simulations can predict the structure and properties of candidate interfaces and guide experimental efforts in promising directions. However, DFT simulations of interfaces can be technically elaborate and computationally expensive. To help researchers embarking on such simulations, this review covers best practices for first principles simulations of epitaxial inorganic interfaces, including DFT methods, interface model construction, interface structure prediction, and analysis and visualization tools.
Ferroelectric control of pseudospin texture in CuInP2S6 monolayer
Authors: Zheng Jun-Ding , Zhao Yi-Feng , Hu He , Shen Yu-Hao , Tan Yi-Fan , Tong Wen-Yi , Xiang Ping-Hua , Zhong Ni , Yue Fang-Yu , Duan Chun-Gang 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Spin–orbit coupling (SOC) plays an important role in condensed matter physics and has potential applications in spintronics devices. In this paper, we study the electronic properties of ferroelectric CuInP2S6 (CIPS) monolayer through first-principles calculations. The result shows that CIPS monolayer is a potential for valleytronics material and we find that the in-plane helical and nonhelical pseudospin texture are induced by the Rashba and Dresselhaus effect, respectively. The chirality of helical pseudospin texture is coupled to the out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization. Furthermore, a large spin splitting due to the SOC effect can be found at K valley, which can be regarded as the Zeeman effect under a valley-dependent pseudomagnetic field. The CIPS monolayer with Rashba et al effects provides a good platform for electrically controlled spin polarization physics.