bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Uniformly aligned flexible magnetic films from bacterial nanocelluloses for fast actuating optical materials
Authors: Zhang Xiaofang , Kang Saewon , Adstedt Katarina , Kim Minkyu , Xiong Rui , Yu Juan , Chen Xinran , Zhao Xulin , Ye Chunhong , Tsukruk Vladimir V. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractNaturally derived biopolymers have attracted great interest to construct photonic materials with multi-scale ordering, adaptive birefringence, chiral organization, actuation and robustness. Nevertheless, traditional processing commonly results in non-uniform organization across large-scale areas. Here, we report magnetically steerable uniform biophotonic organization of cellulose nanocrystals decorated with superparamagnetic nanoparticles with strong magnetic susceptibility, enabling transformation from helicoidal cholesteric (chiral nematic) to uniaxial nematic phase with near-perfect orientation order parameter of 0.98 across large areas. We demonstrate that magnetically triggered high shearing rate of circular flow exceeds those for conventional evaporation-based assembly by two orders of magnitude. This high rate shearing facilitates unconventional unidirectional orientation of nanocrystals along gradient magnetic field and untwisting helical organization. These translucent magnetic films are flexible, robust, and possess anisotropic birefringence and light scattering combined with relatively high optical transparency reaching 75%. Enhanced mechanical robustness and uniform organization facilitate fast, multimodal, and repeatable actuation in response to magnetic field, humidity variation, and light illumination.
Unraveling the electrocatalytic reduction mechanism of enols on copper in aqueous media
Authors: Cui Zhihao , Dong Xing’an , Cho Sung Gu , Tegomoh Modeste N. , Dai Weidong , Dong Fan , Co Anne C. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractDeoxygenation of aldehydes and their tautomers to alkenes and alkanes has implications in refining biomass-derived fuels for use as transportation fuel. Electrochemical deoxygenation in ambient, aqueous solution is also a potential green synthesis strategy for terminal olefins. In this manuscript, direct electrochemical conversion of vinyl alcohol and acetaldehyde on polycrystalline Cu to ethanol, ethylene and ethane; and propenol and propionaldehyde to propanol, propene and propane is reported. Sensitive detection was achieved using a rotating disk electrode coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In-situ attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy, and in-situ Raman spectroscopy confirmed the adsorption of the vinyl alcohol. Calculations using canonical and grand-canonical density functional theory and experimental findings suggest that the rate-determining step for ethylene and ethane formation is an electron transfer step to the adsorbed vinyl alcohol. Finally, we extend our conclusions to the enol reaction from higher-order soluble aldehyde and ketone. The products observed from the reduction reaction also sheds insights into plausible reaction pathways of CO2 to C2 and C3 products.
Sub-wavelength patterned pulse laser lithography for efficient fabrication of large-area metasurfaces
Authors: Huang Lingyu , Xu Kang , Yuan Dandan , Hu Jin , Wang Xinwei , Xu Shaolin 
Published: October 2022

AbstractRigorously designed sub-micrometer structure arrays are widely used in metasurfaces for light modulation. One of the glaring restrictions is the unavailability of easily accessible fabrication methods to efficiently produce large-area and freely designed structure arrays with nanoscale resolution. We develop a patterned pulse laser lithography (PPLL) approach to create structure arrays with sub-wavelength feature resolution and periods from less than 1 μm to over 15 μm on large-area thin films with substrates under ambient conditions. Separated ultrafast laser pulses with patterned wavefront by quasi-binary phase masks rapidly create periodic ablated/modified structures by high-speed scanning. The gradient intensity boundary and circular polarization of the wavefront weaken diffraction and polarization-dependent asymmetricity effects during light propagation for high uniformity. Structural units of metasurfaces are obtained on metal and inorganic photoresist films, such as antennas, catenaries, and nanogratings. We demonstrate a large-area metasurface (10 × 10 mm2) revealing excellent infrared absorption (3–7 μm), which comprises 250,000 concentric rings and takes only 5 minutes to produce.
From anticipation to impulsivity in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Degos Bertrand , Pouget Pierre , Missal Marcus 
Published: October 2022

AbstractAnticipatory actions require to keep track of elapsed time and inhibitory control. These cognitive functions could be impacted in Parkinson’s disease (iPD). To test this hypothesis, a saccadic reaction time task was used where a visual warning stimulus (WS) predicted the occurrence of an imperative one (IS) appearing after a short delay. In the implicit condition, subjects were not informed about the duration of the delay, disfavoring anticipatory behavior but leaving inhibitory control unaltered. In the explicit condition, delay duration was cued. This should favor anticipatory behavior and perhaps alter inhibitory control. This hypothesis was tested in controls (N = 18) and age-matched iPD patients (N = 20; ON and OFF L-DOPA). We found that the latency distribution of saccades before the IS was bimodal. The 1stmode weakly depended on temporal information and was more prominent in iPD. Saccades in this mode were premature and could result of a lack of inhibition. The 2ndmode covaried with cued duration suggesting that these movements were genuine anticipatory saccades. The explicit condition increased the probability of anticipatory saccades before the IS in controls and iPDONbut not iPDOFFpatients. Furthermore, in iPD patients the probability of sequences of 1stmode premature responses increased. In conclusion, the triggering of a premature saccade or the initiation of a controlled anticipatory one could be conceptualized as the output of two independent stochastic processes. Altered time perception and increased motor impulsivity could alter the balance between these two processes in favor of the latter in iPD, particularly OFF L-Dopa.
Computational systems biology in disease modeling and control, review and perspectives
Authors: Yue Rongting , Dutta Abhishek 
Published: October 2022

AbstractOmics-based approaches have become increasingly influential in identifying disease mechanisms and drug responses. Considering that diseases and drug responses are co-expressed and regulated in the relevant omics data interactions, the traditional way of grabbing omics data from single isolated layers cannot always obtain valuable inference. Also, drugs have adverse effects that may impair patients, and launching new medicines for diseases is costly. To resolve the above difficulties, systems biology is applied to predict potential molecular interactions by integrating omics data from genomic, proteomic, transcriptional, and metabolic layers. Combined with known drug reactions, the resulting models improve medicines’ therapeutical performance by re-purposing the existing drugs and combining drug molecules without off-target effects. Based on the identified computational models, drug administration control laws are designed to balance toxicity and efficacy. This review introduces biomedical applications and analyses of interactions among gene, protein and drug molecules for modeling disease mechanisms and drug responses. The therapeutical performance can be improved by combining the predictive and computational models with drug administration designed by control laws. The challenges are also discussed for its clinical uses in this work.
Long-range predictability of extratropical climate and the length of day
Authors: Scaife A. A. , Hermanson L. , van Niekerk A. , Andrews M. , Baldwin M. P. , Belcher S. , Bett P. , Comer R. E. , Dunstone N. J. , Geen R. , Hardiman S. C. , Ineson S. , Knight J. , Nie Y. , Ren H.-L. , Smith D. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractAngular momentum is fundamental to the structure and variability of the atmosphere and therefore has an important influence on regional weather and climate. Total atmospheric angular momentum is also directly related to the rotation rate of the Earth and, hence, the length of day. However, the long-range predictability of fluctuations in the length of the day and atmospheric angular momentum is unknown. Here we show that fluctuations in atmospheric angular momentum and the length of day are predictable out to more than a year ahead and that this provides an atmospheric source of long-range predictability for surface climate. Using ensemble forecasts from a dynamical climate model, we demonstrate long-range predictability of signals in the atmospheric angular momentum field that propagate slowly and coherently polewards due to wave–mean flow interaction within the atmosphere. These predictable signals are also shown to precede changes in extratropical climate via the North Atlantic Oscillation and the extratropical jet stream. These results extend the lead time for length-of-day predictions, provide a source of long-range predictability from within the atmosphere and provide a link between geodesy and climate prediction.
Knowledge of the perturbation design is essential for accurate gene regulatory network inference
Authors: Seçilmiş Deniz , Hillerton Thomas , Tjärnberg Andreas , Nelander Sven , Nordling Torbjörn E. M. , Sonnhammer Erik L. L. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe gene regulatory network (GRN) of a cell executes genetic programs in response to environmental and internal cues. Two distinct classes of methods are used to infer regulatory interactions from gene expression: those that only use observed changes in gene expression, and those that use both the observed changes and the perturbation design, i.e. the targets used to cause the changes in gene expression. Considering that the GRN by definition converts input cues to changes in gene expression, it may be conjectured that the latter methods would yield more accurate inferences but this has not previously been investigated. To address this question, we evaluated a number of popular GRN inference methods that either use the perturbation design or not. For the evaluation we used targeted perturbation knockdown gene expression datasets with varying noise levels generated by two different packages, GeneNetWeaver and GeneSpider. The accuracy was evaluated on each dataset using a variety of measures. The results show that on all datasets, methods using the perturbation design matrix consistently and significantly outperform methods not using it. This was also found to be the case on a smaller experimental dataset fromE. coli. Targeted gene perturbations combined with inference methods that use the perturbation design are indispensable for accurate GRN inference.
A suite of agronomic factors can offset the effects of climate variability on rainfed maize production in Kenya
Authors: Oluoch Kevin Ong’are , De Groote Hugo , Gitonga Zachary M. , Jin Zhenong , Davis Kyle Frankel 
Published: October 2022

AbstractAchieving food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a multidimensional challenge. SSA reliance on food imports is expected to grow in the coming decades to meet the population's demand, projected to double to over 2 billion people by 2050. In addition, climate change is already affecting food production and supply chains across the region. Addressing these multiple food security challenges will necessitate rapid enhancements in agricultural productivity, which is influenced by a host of demographic, agronomic, and climatic factors. We use statistical approaches to examine rainfed maize in Kenya, where maize cultivation and consumption are widespread and central to livelihoods and national food security. We find that improving a suite of agronomic factors, such as applying fertilizer, planting certified seeds, and extension services, will have a greater effect on rainfed maize productivity than demographics and can offset the effects of climate change. These findings could also offer insights into similar challenges for other crops in Kenya and other SSA countries.
Evidence towards a continuum of impairment across neurodevelopmental disorders from basic ocular-motor tasks
Authors: Canu Daniela , Ioannou Chara , Müller Katarina , Martin Berthold , Fleischhaker Christian , Biscaldi Monica , Beauducel André , Smyrnis Nikolaos , van Elst Ludger Tebartz , Klein Christoph 
Published: October 2022

AbstractFindings of genetic overlap between Schizophrenia, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) contributed to a renewed conceptualization of these disorders as laying on a continuum based on aetiological, pathophysiological and neurodevelopmental features. Given that cognitive impairments are core to their pathophysiology, we compared patients with schizophrenia, ADHD, ASD, and controls on ocular-motor and manual-motor tasks, challenging crucial cognitive processes. Group comparisons revealed inhibition deficits common to all disorders, increased intra-subject variability in schizophrenia and, to a lesser extent, ADHD as well as slowed processing in schizophrenia. Patterns of deviancies from controls exhibited strong correlations, along with differences that posited schizophrenia as the most impaired group, followed by ASD and ADHD. While vector correlations point towards a common neurodevelopmental continuum of impairment, vector levels suggest differences in the severity of such impairment. These findings argue towards a dimensional approach to Neurodevelopmental Disorders’ pathophysiological mechanisms.
Cell-free protein crystallization for nanocrystal structure determination
Authors: Abe Satoshi , Tanaka Junko , Kojima Mariko , Kanamaru Shuji , Hirata Kunio , Yamashita Keitaro , Kobayashi Ayako , Ueno Takafumi 
Published: October 2022

AbstractIn-cell protein crystallization (ICPC) has been investigated as a technique to support the advancement of structural biology because it does not require protein purification and a complicated crystallization process. However, only a few protein structures have been reported because these crystals formed incidentally in living cells and are insufficient in size and quality for structure analysis. Here, we have developed a cell-free protein crystallization (CFPC) method, which involves direct protein crystallization using cell-free protein synthesis. We have succeeded in crystallization and structure determination of nano-sized polyhedra crystal (PhC) at a high resolution of 1.80 Å. Furthermore, nanocrystals were synthesized at a reaction scale of only 20 μL using the dialysis method, enabling structural analysis at a resolution of 1.95 Å. To further demonstrate the potential of CFPC, we attempted to determine the structure of crystalline inclusion protein A (CipA), whose structure had not yet been determined. We added chemical reagents as a twinning inhibitor to the CFPC solution, which enabled us to determine the structure of CipA at 2.11 Å resolution. This technology greatly expands the high-throughput structure determination method of unstable, low-yield, fusion, and substrate-biding proteins that have been difficult to analyze with conventional methods.
Cell-imaging studies of highly substituted oxazole derivatives as organelle targeting fluorophores (OTFPs)
Authors: Adhikary Saswati , Mukherjee Kaustuv , Banerji Biswadip 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe field of biomedical science has progressed enormously in the past decade. With the advent of newer diagnostic tools for imaging and detection, identification of root cause of a disease is now remarkably accurate and specific. Small organic fluorophores in these connections are in great demand currently for cellular organelle sensing and detecting, due to their non-invasiveness, excellent accuracy and bio-sensitivity. Small molecule fluorescence probes offer most potent area for biological sensing with diagnostic imaging ability. These organelle targetable fluorescent probes are produced through synthetic manipulations to get the desired, decent fluorescence properties. When a suitable organelle specific functional group is installed within these highly fluorescent scaffolds, then these molecules turn out to be as lysotracker, mitotracker and cytoplasm-stainer in mammalian cells with high efficiencies (high Pearson co-efficient factors). The present work demonstrated an environmentally benign (green) one-pot, sp3 C–H functionalization of highly substituted oxazole derivatives with excellent photophysical properties. These molecules were further modified by installing organelle specific targetable groups (sensors/detectors) which selectively localize in specific intra-cellular organelles.
High-quality restoration image encryption using DCT frequency-domain compression coding and chaos
Authors: Wen Heping , Ma Linchao , Liu Linhao , Huang Yiming , Chen Zefeng , Li Rui , Liu Zhen , Lin Wenxing , Wu Jiahao , Li Yunqi , Zhang Chongfu 
Published: October 2022

AbstractWith the arrival of the age of big data, the amount and types of data in the process of information transmission have increased significantly, and the full-disk encryption mode used by traditional encryption algorithms has certain limitations of the times. In order to further improve the bandwidth efficiency of digital images in the transmission process and the information effectiveness of digital image transmission, this paper proposes an algorithm of high-quality restoration image encryption using DCT frequency-domain compression coding and chaos. Firstly, the image hash value is used for the generation of an encryption key with plaintext correlation, then lightweight chaos is generated based on the key to obtain a pseudo-random sequence. Secondly, the image is partitioned into subblock, and converted from time domain into frequency domain by employing Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) on each block, then perform quantization operation based on frequency domain information to obtain DCT coefficient matrix. Thirdly, the direct current (DC) coefficients and alternating current (AC) coefficients are extracted in the DCT coefficient matrix and compressed by different encoding methods to obtain two sets of bitstream containing DC coefficient and AC coefficient information. Fourthly, permute the DC coefficient bit stream by the chaotic sequence, and reconstruct it with the AC coefficient bit stream to obtain the frequency domain ciphertext image. Finally, the chaotic sequence is used to diffuse ciphertext, and the processed hash value is hidden in the ciphertext to obtain the final ciphertext. The theoretical and experimental analysis showed that the key length reaches 341 bits, and the PSNR value of the restored image is close to 60, all of which satisfy the theoretical value. Therefore, the algorithm has the characteristics of high compression rate, high-quality image restoration large key space, strong plaintext sensitivity, strong key sensitivity and so on. Our method proposed in this paper is expected to provide a new idea for confidential and secure communication in the age of big data.
The impact of air travel on the precocity and severity of COVID-19 deaths in sub-national areas across 45 countries
Authors: Recchi Ettore , Ferrara Alessandro , Rodriguez Sanchez Alejandra , Deutschmann Emanuel , Gabrielli Lorenzo , Iacus Stefano , Bastiani Luca , Spyratos Spyridon , Vespe Michele 
Published: October 2022

AbstractHuman travel fed the worldwide spread of COVID-19, but it remains unclear whether the volume of incoming air passengers and the centrality of airports in the global airline network made some regions more vulnerable to earlier and higher mortality. We assess whether theprecocityandseverityof COVID-19 deaths were contingent on these measures of air travel intensity, adjusting for differences in local non-pharmaceutical interventions and pre-pandemic structural characteristics of 502 sub-national areas on five continents in April–October 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) models ofprecocity(i.e., the timing of the 1st and 10th death outbreaks) reveal that neither airport centrality nor the volume of incoming passengers are impactful once we consider pre-pandemic demographic characteristics of the areas. We assessseverity(i.e., the weekly death incidence of COVID-19) through the estimation of a generalized linear mixed model, employing a negative binomial link function. Results suggest that COVID-19 death incidence was insensitive to airport centrality, with no substantial changes over time. Higher air passenger volume tends to coincide with more COVID-19 deaths, but this relation weakened as the pandemic proceeded. Different models prove that either the lack of airports in a region or total travel bans did reduce mortality significantly. We conclude that COVID-19 importation through air travel followed a ‘travel as spark’ principle, whereby the absence of air travel reduced epidemic risk drastically. However, once some travel occurred, its impact on the severity of the pandemic was only in part associated with the number of incoming passengers, and not at all with the position of airports in the global network of airline connections.
Timing of vagus nerve stimulation during fear extinction determines efficacy in a rat model of PTSD
Authors: Souza Rimenez R. , Powers Mark B. , Rennaker Robert L. , McIntyre Christa K. , Hays Seth A. , Kilgard Michael P. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractStudies have indicated that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) enhances extinction learning in rodent models. Here, we investigated if pairing VNS with the conditioned stimulus is required for the enhancing effects of VNS. Adult Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to intense stress followed by fear conditioning training to produce resistant fear. Rats were then implanted with a cuff electrode around the left vagus. After recovery, rats underwent extinction training paired with VNS (0.5 s, 0.8 mA, 100 µs, and 30 Hz) or with Sham VNS (0 mA). VNS rats were randomized into the following subgroups: During VNS (delivered during presentations of the conditioned stimulus, CS), Between VNS (delivered between CS presentations), Continuous VNS (delivered during the entire extinction session), and Dispersed VNS (delivered at longer inter-stimulation intervals across the extinction session). Sham VNS rats failed to extinguish the conditioned fear response over 5 days of repeated exposure to the CS. Rats that received Between or Dispersed VNS showed modest improvement in conditioned fear at the retention test. During and Continuous VNS groups displayed the greatest reduction in conditioned fear. These findings indicate that delivering VNS paired precisely with CS presentations or continuously throughout extinction promotes the maximum enhancement in extinction learning.