bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experimental evidence challenges the presumed defensive function of a “slow toxin” in cycads
Authors: Whitaker Melissa R. L. , Gilliéron Florence , Skirgaila Christina , Mescher Mark C. , De Moraes Consuelo M. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract$$\beta$$
β
-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is a neurotoxic non-protein amino acid found in the tissues of cycad plants. The demonstrated toxicity of BMAA to diverse organisms, including humans, is widely assumed to imply a defensive function of BMAA against herbivores; however, this hypothesis has not previously been tested in an ecologically relevant system. We investigated the effects of dietary BMAA, across a range of dosages matching and exceeding levels typically present in cycad leaves, on the feeding preferences and performance of a generalist lepidopteran herbivore (Spodoptera littoralis).We observed no effects of dietary BMAA on the survival or development of S. littoralis larvae, nor any larval preference between BMAA-laced and control diets. These findings suggest that BMAA in cycad tissues does not deter feeding by insect herbivores, raising questions about other potential physiological or ecological functions of this compound.
Stereotypical descriptions of computer science career interests are not representative of many computer scientists
Authors: McChesney Jenna E. , Behrend Tara S. , Glosenberg Alexander 
Published: April 2022

AbstractUsing responses from a large respondent-initiated online survey, we find that the career interests of many current and aspiring computer scientists in the United States diverge from a popular and official depiction of computer scientists’ interests used for career and workforce development worldwide. Distinct profiles of career interests emerged from the data. These profiles suggest that many women in the field value social and artistic expression in a way not currently recognized by established depictions of computer scientists’ interests. Better capturing the diversity of interests in computer science might help to boost women’s, and men’s, engagement in this STEM field.
Reliability based geometrically nonlinear bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization of elasto-plastic material
Authors: Habashneh Muayad , Movahedi Rad Majid 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to integrate the reliability-based analysis into topology optimization problems. Consequently, reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO) of geometrically nonlinear elasto-plastic models is presented. For purpose of performing (RBTO), the volume fraction is considered reliable since that the application of (RBTO) gives different topology in comparison to the deterministic topology optimization. The effects of changing the prescribed total structural volume constraint for deterministic designs and changing the reliability index for probabilistic designs are considered. Reliability index works as a constraint which is related to reliability condition added into the volume fraction and it is calculated using the Monte-Carlo simulation approach in the case of probabilistic design. In addition, bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) method is utilized to study the effect of geometrically nonlinear elasto-plastic design. The plastic behavior can be controlled by defining a limit on the plastic limit load multipliers. The suggested work's efficiency is demonstrated via a 2D benchmark problem. In case of elastic material, a 2D model of U-shape plate is used for probabilistic design of linear and geometrically nonlinear topology optimizations. Furthermore, a 2D elasto-plastic model is considered for reliability-based design to demonstrate that the suggested approach can determine the best topological solution.
On the spatial phase distribution of cutaneous low-frequency perfusion oscillations
Authors: Borik Stefan , Lyra Simon , Perlitz Volker , Keller Micha , Leonhardt Steffen , Blazek Vladimir 
Published: April 2022

AbstractDistributed cutaneous tissue blood volume oscillations contain information on autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation of cardiorespiratory activity as well as dominating thermoregulation. ANS associated with low-frequency oscillations can be quantified in terms of frequencies, amplitudes, and phase shifts. The relative order between these faculties may be disturbed by conditions colloquially termed ‘stress’. Photoplethysmography imaging, an optical non-invasive diagnostic technique provides information on cutaneous tissue perfusion in the temporal and spatial domains. Using the cold pressure test (CPT) in thirteen healthy volunteers as a well-studied experimental intervention, we present a method for evaluating phase shifts in low- and intermediate frequency bands in forehead cutaneous perfusion mapping. Phase shift changes were analysed in low- and intermediate frequency ranges from 0.05 Hz to 0.18 Hz. We observed that time waveforms increasingly desynchronised in various areas of the scanned area throughout measurements. An increase of IM band phase desynchronization observed throughout measurements was comparable in experimental and control group, suggesting a time effect possibly due to overshooting the optimal relaxation duration. CPT triggered an increase in the number of points phase-shifted to the reference that was specific to the low frequency range for phase-shift thresholds defined as π/4, 3π/8, and π/2 rad, respectively. Phase shifts in forehead blood oscillations may infer changes of vascular tone due to activity of various neural systems. We present an innovative method for the phase shift analysis of cutaneous tissue perfusion that appears promising to assess ANS change processes related to physical or psychological stress. More comprehensive studies are needed to further investigate the reliability and physiological significance of findings.
Bi incorporation and segregation in the MBE-grown GaAs-(Ga,Al)As-Ga(As,Bi) core–shell nanowires
Authors: Sadowski Janusz , Kaleta Anna , Kryvyi Serhii , Janaszko Dorota , Kurowska Bogusława , Bilska Marta , Wojciechowski Tomasz , Domagala Jarosław Z. , Sanchez Ana M. , Kret Sławomir 
Published: April 2022

AbstractIncorporation of Bi into GaAs-(Ga,Al)As-Ga(As,Bi) core–shell nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy is studied with transmission electron microscopy. Nanowires are grown on GaAs(111)B substrates with Au-droplet assisted mode. Bi-doped shells are grown at low temperature (300 °C) with a close to stoichiometric Ga/As flux ratio. At low Bi fluxes, the Ga(As,Bi) shells are smooth, with Bi completely incorporated into the shells. Higher Bi fluxes (Bi/As flux ratio ~ 4%) led to partial segregation of Bi as droplets on the nanowires sidewalls, preferentially located at the nanowire segments with wurtzite structure. We demonstrate that such Bi droplets on the sidewalls act as catalysts for the growth of branches perpendicular to the GaAs trunks. Due to the tunability between zinc-blende and wurtzite polytypes by changing the nanowire growth conditions, this effect enables fabrication of branched nanowire architectures with branches generated from selected (wurtzite) nanowire segments.
Observations about utilitarian coherence in the avian compass
Authors: Smith Luke D. , Deviers Jean , Kattnig Daniel R. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractIt is hypothesised that the avian compass relies on spin dynamics in a recombining radical pair. Quantum coherence has been suggested as a resource to this process that nature may utilise to achieve increased compass sensitivity. To date, the true functional role of coherence in these natural systems has remained speculative, lacking insights from sufficiently complex models. Here, we investigate realistically large radical pair models with up to 21 nuclear spins, inspired by the putative magnetosensory protein cryptochrome. By varying relative radical orientations, we reveal correlations of several coherence measures with compass fidelity. Whilst electronic coherence is found to be an ineffective predictor of compass sensitivity, a robust correlation of compass sensitivity and a global coherence measure is established. The results demonstrate the importance of realistic models, and appropriate choice of coherence measure, in elucidating the quantum nature of the avian compass.
Continuous-time quantum walk based centrality testing on weighted graphs
Authors: Wang Yang , Xue Shichuan , Wu Junjie , Xu Ping 
Published: April 2022

AbstractCentrality measure is an essential tool in network analysis and widely used in the domain of computer science, biology and sociology. Taking advantage of the speedup offered by quantum computation, various quantum centrality measures have been proposed. However, few work of quantum centrality involves weighted graphs, while the weight of edges should be considered in certain real-world networks. In this work, we extend the centrality measure based on continuous-time quantum walk to weighted graphs. We testify the feasibility and reliability of this quantum centrality using an ensemble of 41,675 graphs with various topologies and comparing with the eigenvector centrality measure. The average Vigna’s correlation index of all the tested graphs with all edge weights in [1, 10] is as high as 0.967, indicating the pretty good consistency of rankings by the continuous-time quantum walk centrality and the eigenvector centrality. The intuitive consistency of the top-ranked vertices given by this quantum centrality measure and classical centrality measures is also demonstrated on large-scale weighted graphs. Moreover, the range of the continuous-time quantum walk centrality values is much bigger than that of classical centralities, which exhibits better distinguishing ability to pick the important vertices from the ones with less importance. All these results show that the centrality measure based on continuous-time quantum walk still works well on weighted graphs.
Association between physical activity and insulin resistance using the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance independent of waist circumference
Authors: Yoo Tae Kyung , Oh Byeong Kil , Lee Mi Yeon , Sung Ki-Chul 
Published: April 2022

AbstractOnly a few studies have evaluated the relationship between physical activity (PA) and Homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Therefore, we aimed to analyze the association between HOMA-IR and PA. We included 280,194 Korean without diabetes who underwent health examinations. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was completed. PA level was divided into sedentary, mild PA, and health-enhancing PA (HEPA). The HOMA-IR levels were calculated. Confounding factors including waist circumference were adjusted. The median follow-up duration was 4.13 years. A significant inverse relationship was observed between PA level and HOMA-IR (p < 0.001). Compared with the sedentary group, HOMA-IR was lower in the HEPA group (p < 0.001), even when HEPA group decreased PA level over time (p < 0.001). Mild PA (p < 0.001) or HEPA showed a lower risk of HOMA-IR progression (p < 0.001). Increasing PA or maintaining HEPA was significantly associated with a lower HOMA-IR (p < 0.001), HOMA-IR improvement (p < 0.001), and a lower risk of HOMA-IR progression (p < 0.001). Our findings support the inverse relationship between PA and HOMA-IR in a population without diabetes. PA might improve IR and prevent its progression among populations without diabetes, independent of the waist circumference.
The SARS-CoV-2 spike residues 616/644 and 1138/1169 delineate two antibody epitopes in COVID-19 mRNA COMIRNATY vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech)
Authors: Andries Jessica , Viranaicken Wildriss , Cordonin Colette , Herrscher Charline , Planesse Cynthia , Roquebert Bénédicte , Lagrange-Xelot Marie , El-Kalamouni Chaker , Meilhac Olivier , Mavingui Patrick , Couret David , Gadea Gilles , Despres Philippe 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe newly identified coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the worldwide pandemic COVID-19. Considerable efforts have been devoted for the development of effective vaccine strategies against COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been identified as the major antigen candidate for the development of COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine comirnaty is a lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA encoding a full-length and prefusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. In the present study, synthetic peptide-based ELISA assays were performed to identify linear B-cell epitopes into the spike protein that contribute to elicitation of antibody response in comirnaty-vaccinated individuals. The synthetic S2P6 peptide containing the spike residues 1138/1169 and to a lesser extent, the synthetic S1P4 peptide containing the spike residues 616/644 were recognized by the immune sera from comirnaty vaccine recipients but not COVID-19 recovered patients. We assume that the synthetic S2P6 peptide and to a lesser extent the synthetic S1P4 peptide, could be of interest to measure the dynamic of antibody response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The S2P6 peptide has been identified as immunogenic in adult BALB/c mice that received protein-peptide conjugates in a prime-boost schedule. This raises the question on the role of the B-cell epitope peptide containing the SARS-CoV-2 spike residues 1138/1169 in protective efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine comirnaty.
Influence of Chlorella vulgaris on growth, digestibility and gut morphology and microbiota of weaned piglet
Authors: Martins Cátia F. , Trevisi Paolo , Coelho Diogo F. , Correa Federico , Ribeiro David M. , Alfaia Cristina M. , Pinho Mário , Pestana José M. , Mourato Miguel P. , Almeida André M. , Fontes Carlos M. G. A. , Freire João P. B. , Prates José A. M. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Chlorella vulgaris (5% in the diet), supplemented or not with two exogenous carbohydrase mixtures on piglets’ performance, nutrient digestibility and gut morphology, fermentation products and microbiota. Forty-four male piglets weaned at 28 days of age, with 11.2 ± 0.46 kg of live weight, were used and assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments: cereal and soybean meal based-diet (control, n = 11), control diet with 5% of C. vulgaris (CH, n = 10), CH diet supplemented with 0.005% of Rovabio® Excel AP (CH + R, n = 10) and CH diet supplemented with 0.01% of a recombinant 4-carbohydrase mixture (CH + M, n = 11). Growth performance was not changed by the of C. vulgaris inclusion during 21 days of trial. However, total tract apparent digestibility of nutritional fractions was negatively impacted by the inclusion. In addition, the viscosity of duodenum plus jejunum contents slightly increased in all groups fed with the microalga. In contrast, dietary microalga increased duodenum villus height and promoted a healthier gut microbiota, with higher abundance of some specific bacterial taxa (Colidextribacter, Oscillospira and Lactobacillus). This study indicates that the dietary inclusion of 5% C. vulgaris improves piglets’ gut health without impairing performance. Data also indicate that C. vulgaris reduces nutrient digestibility but promotes compensatory developments of gut mucosa and prebiotic effects. Dietary supplementation with exogenous carbohydrases does not seem to be necessary for this inclusion level. Therefore, the incorporation of CH as a sustainable feed ingredient in piglets’ nutrition is a viable alternative approach.
Resilient energy management incorporating energy storage system and network reconfiguration: A framework of cyber‐physical system
Authors: Jalilpoor Kamran , Ameli Mohammad Taghi , Azad Sasan , Sayadi Zahra 
Published: April 2022

AbstractDue to increasing the intricacies of cyber‐physical systems (CPSs) and the severity of natural phenomena, upgrading network planning is vital to reduce the vulnerability of these systems. This study develops a novel preventive‐corrective resilient energy management strategy (PC‐REMS) for a CPS in two stages, exploiting the network reconfiguration (NR) and energy storage systems (ESSs) capacity. The first stage of the proposed PC‐REMS follows preventive actions based on contingency faults. In contrast, the second stage applies corrective measures for improving the CPS resilience to cope with natural physical disasters. Vulnerability assessment data is sent to the physical power system daily through the communication network. The first stage of preparing the CPS for predictable faults focuses on pre‐scheduled ESSs and preventive NR to minimise the expected energy curtailment cost. The second stage involves the network recovery in real‐time through corrective NR to minimise energy curtailment cost after the faults. Three resistance, recovery, and resilience indices are introduced for evaluating the effectiveness of the model. The proposed model is examined by performing multiple simulations on the 33 and 118‐bus radial test systems. The simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed PC‐REMS model in dealing with predictable disasters to improve the CPS resilience.
A Monte Carlo simulator to investigate cell‐to‐cell deviation in a grid‐tied battery pack
Authors: Wang Zeyuan , Wang Zhuo , Davidson Jonathan , Foster Martin , Gladwin Daniel 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBattery energy storage systems (BESSs) are commonly used in smart grids. Voltage deviation or imbalance among cells generally exists in multi‐cell battery packs. This work presents a study of the voltage deviation‐related phenomena observed during the operation of a grid‐tied BESS, Willenhall Energy Storage System (WESS), including the voltage deviation changes during full range cycle and the cut‐off mechanism activated by it. Electroimpedance spectroscopy measurements and equivalent circuit modelling were conducted on the same type of cell as that used in WESS to obtain cell‐equivalent circuit parameter distributions (the standard deviation and mean). Cell voltage deviation in a WESS‐sized battery pack (> 21k cells) was studied using Monte Carlo simulation through a proposed cell level battery simulator. Both experiments and simulations reveal that high cell voltage deviation emerges at the low and high state‐of‐charge zones where the cell internal resistance has a large value and large extent of deviation.
Blockchain based energy trading in ADN with its probable impact on aggregated load profile, available distribution capability and loadability margin
Authors: Shukla Devesh , Singh Shailendra , Singh Satyendra Pratap , Thakur Amit Kumar , Singh Shiv Pujan 
Published: April 2022

AbstractPower grids monitoring, operation, control, and commercialisation are transforming gradually due to technological advancements, and new frontiers of distinct applications are emerging in this field. Global emphasis on increasing the dependence on renewable sources of generation and the introduction of electric vehicles as means of transformation can potentially affect the traditional notion of grid analysis, monitoring, and control. The prevalence of communicable intelligent devices enables peers to transact and sell/buy power locally or to the grid. Ensuring security, privacy, and avoidance of double‐spending in these transactions could be manifested by utilising the developments in blockchain technologies. In this paper, modified IEEE 123 bus distribution system has been considered. The effect of incorporating the energy transactions over block‐chain in ADN on Available Distribution Capability, aggregated load profile, and load‐ability is evaluated. The effect has been quantified using blockchain efficiency factor proposed in this article. It has been observed that enabling intelligent electronic devices peers to transact over blockchain can improve the performance of the ADN.
A novel wearable free‐wideband antenna circularly polarized suited for biotelemetric devices with multiple‐input multiple‐output and high data rate capacity
Authors: Laxman Pillalamarri , Jain Anuj 
Published: April 2022

AbstractA small circularly polarized multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna is demonstrated here as a biometric gadget for consumers. In this article, the authors introduce a structure for antennas that consists of four essential parts that are orthogonally arranged opposite each other. The transmitted signal has around 10 db wideband response at 2.22 GHz, referred to as fractional band‐widths (FBW) which is 91.08 achieved when operated in free space. Also included is a 10‐db transmitter with a 2.44‐GHz band‐width, a FBW of 92.56%, and it can be used on wearables on human bodies. The authors have therefore calculated frequency ranges that cover the most important and unlicensed free of cost open‐source band‐width of 2.4 to 2.48 GHz that is also known as ISM band (industrial, scientific, and medical) range. When operated in free space and in human body proximity of 5 MM, the antenna also operates at 1.3 GHz, which is approximately 54.16% fractional band‐width, as well as 1.04 GHz, which is approximately 43.33% fractional band‐width. An antenna that is finalized in free‐space (or within 5 mm of a human body) has an optimum envelop correlation coefficient (ECC) beneath 0.22 (0.24), and an optimal gain of about 3 dB.
Sesquiterpene Lactones with Astrodaucane Skeleton from Astrodaucus orientalis
Authors: Hashempour Hossein , Herfati Farshid , Valizadeh Hassan , Mahmoudi-Kordi Fatemeh , Ebrahimi Samad Nejad , Hamburger Matthias , Farimani Mahdi Moridi 
Published: April 2022

AbstractFour sesquiterpene lactones, astrodaucanolide A – D (1–4) with unique structures, toghether with two known phenylpropanoid esters (5 and 6) were isolated
from a flower extract of Astrodaucus orientalis. The structures were established by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS), and the
absolute configuration of 1–4 was determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Compounds 1–4 novel architecture represents a new class of
sesquiterpenes with new skeleton. A putative biosynthetic pathway for their scaffold is proposed with a germacryl cation as the precursor. The suggested biosynthesis pathway is
similar to that of eudesmane sesquiterpenes with a different direction of protonation which then leads to the new skeleton, named astrodaucane by the 1,2-methyl migration.